Reminiscences ol a Wayfarer
■^P^PfiwiiP^y^TOTriii ■ i—>—nrTr—HmnrrrT nffrr ttt i—aMPiifiwa ijw wwa
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
Jl’DOK LYNCH HOLDS ( <H IH
The flood in lhc Nemaha was
a revelation to the people. No
one appeared to have any i»l• ■ ;i
that the stream was subject to
such freshets and the prestage
of bottom land over those on the
high ground.suffered materially. ,
There lias never been any con
siderable farming done in the
valley of the Nemaha east of
Salem. A considerable part of j
it is utilized for pasture and for
grass land, but even that is of
doubtful utility as floods are
liable to come at any time and
the grass harvests have been
destroyed time out of mind by
such freshets
About the time this flood oc
curred, some lawless persons,
either the same night, or the
night before, relieved several of
onr people of some of their
horses, and fled with flieni into
Kansas. As soon .is the word
got about and a party could be
organized for pursuit, Wilson
M. Maddox, young William
(toolsby, son of William <1.
(Joolsby on the Muddy, and
some others constructed a raft
of some kind, crossed over to
the smith bank of the Nemaha,
and pursued the thieves until
they captured four persons they
believed to have been engaged
in the depreditions ami returned
with them to Archer. No atten
tionwas paid to territorial lines
or to the law of congress regu-1
lating the extradition of fugi-j
fives from justice escaping from
one territory or state into an-,
other, but regardless of all these
the pursuing party I mentioned!
captured their men and brought
them into Nebraska for punish
inent. To tluit end word was
passed through the neighbor j
hood, and nearly all, if not all, I
the leading citizens in the vicin
ity assembled at Archer to con 1
sider what should be done in the]
way of ascertaining the guilt of
the persons accused and also to |
take order in the matter of their]
punishment.
inert* was nocrmunai tout* m
the territory at tlu* time, and in
another part of this paper I will
relate how that unheard of cir
cumstance came about.
Two of those parties hearing !
that there was a lawyer at Falls
City sent word to me to come
over to Archer. I did so, and
listened to their story and 1 be
came convinced that at least
two of the parties were not !
guilty and so informed Mr. Mad
dox, and those he hail called to
his assistance in the neighbor }
hood. It is a fact everywhere!
true in the west at that time, |
that the people held in greater!
detestation the offense of horse!
stealing than they did any other'
ni the whole calendar of crime.
This I think, is a fact well at
tested by the experience of all
men who have passed any con
siderable time on the frontier.
I shall give the name of but
one of the parties accused, as it
is possible the others may have
some friends in the country and
I have no disposition to wound
their feelings by what 1 here re
late of a disagreeable incident,
in which they were in no way
involved, and which may have
been a mistake from the begin
ning.
The man whom I thought to
be guilty without any doubt,
was named Sam Thomas. He
was a young man of bad repute
and had been in the Kansas
troubles from their inception,
and it seems, had graduated in
the art of horse stealing. He
was certainly an adept. There
was no uarticular organization
of a court such as is known to
be presided over by his honor
Lynch, or resort to a
^Committee of inquiry or farcical
trial by jury, but the people
consulted and talked among;
themselves and with me very
freely, very candidly, and they I
finally becoming satisfied I was
right as to two of file party, let
them off, Imt the other two, one (
besides Sam Thomas, were con
detuned to he whipped fil'tv
lashes for Thomas and twenty
five for the other one. This was
my first appearance in any court
in Nebraska, and it was about
as revolting an experience as
anybody would care to undergo,
I had heard and read of Judge
Lynch's court, but had never
seen it in operation. I had also
heard and read much of mobs,
disorderly and unlawful assem
blages, the ostensible objects of !
which were to administer sum j
mary punishment for infrac j
lions of the law without wait
mg for the regularly constituted ;
authorities to take action in the
premises, but this was the first
of the kind that ever came under
my observation, and in fact, it '
was the last of the kind.
There was nothing violent in :
the conduct of the men assem
bled on tlii- occasion, and those ;
nt the men present whom I re-i
member, I knew to be then, and I
for the rest of their lives after i
wards, as good citizens and as I
orderly members of the com-!
munity as could be found any
where. They talked the matter
over very’seriously and in the i
light of the circumstances sur
rounding them and their pro
perty. At that time there wa
im law or code, nor other public
protection for life or property
in the commonwealth of file ter j
ritory. and they were left with j
out any protection from depre
dubious of the kind they were I
that day considering-, other than
Some dI llie accounts f had
read of man’s inhumanity t<>
man in the darker ages of the
world, came vividly before my
imagination. The instruments
of torture that man's cruelty to
his fellows have invented the
thumb screw, tin* boot, t he
breaking on the wheel, suggest
ed themselves to me while this
terrible ordeal was in progress
of enactment before my eyes.
Among the live who adminis
tered punishment to Thomas,
one of them, whose name 1 will
not mention, touched the poor,
writhing, quivering', tortured
body so lightly that a fly would
not have been destroyed by any
of his strokes. This man was
not loud in his profession of
religion, if indeed in* made any
profession of the kind at all,
nor was he demonstrative in any
way touching the comfort and
wellheingofthose about him,
but the whole nature of the man
was laid bare tome in the mode
in which he pretended to whip
that outcast. The criminal was
a lawless man and all that, but
at the same time he was a hu
man being with the image of his
great creator stamped upon
him, and it was consideration
for the being who bore that im
age, and not the horse thief,
that controlled the strokes of
the whip in the hands of tlu*
man I refer to.
The next man to the fore and
the last of the detail, was a cer
tain Mr. Wright, whom 1 had
seen about Kails City during my
brief residence there, and whom
I had frequently observed at
public religious services, where
lie was prominent in all that
went forward, and withal rather
loud in his devotions, so loud
indeed, that 1 had become pos
sessed of some doubt -is to th<
sincerity of his professions, but
as 1 had no disposition to sit in
judgment on a matter that war
to be settled between him and a
higher authority, 1 am not sen
sible that I thought much about
j And from that hour forward,
and during the whole of his life
i afterwards, I honored the man
for his humanity, fn the hush
th.it fell upon that infuriated
company, concerned for the
safety of their property rights,
and for flit' good order and well
being'of the community at large,
at this sudden assertion of that
| feeling of mercy that distin
guishes the civilized from the
savage, that one “touch of na
! lire that makes the win tie world
j kin," there was produced among
; them a strange commotion, con
| fused and indefinable, but as
! potent as though each had heard
j the voice that once declared,
| and is always declaring) "Mess
ed are the merciful, for they
shall obtain mercy. ' The feel
lug produced in me has never
passed away.
The balance of that gruesome
| function was performed in a
kind of perfunctory way, and all
departed feeling, I little doubt,
as 1 felt, that the less of such
.exhibitions among the people,
the better it would be for the
general public morality. From
that day to this, mob law has
but once since been resorted to
in this county.
(>ne man had been hung a few
days before at St. Stephen for
the same offense, but it was the
last. Some years later three or
four road agents of the kind I
have described, were hanged by
a mob at Table I lock in Pawnee
County. Some stir was made
about it, and .Judge Dundy di
rected the (iranil Jury to hue
ligate the transaction, but noth
ing' came of it, and mob violence
ceased in that county.
At the time of which L write,
and for a year and a half before,
Nebraska was without a (.'rim- j
inal Code. The territorial legis
lature at a previous session iv
pealed the Code adopted at tin
first session in 1*55.
The reason for that repeal as
given in the last published his
tory of Nebraska, is only parti
The Flood
the force they were able to bring I
to bear in their assembled char
actor, 1'p to that time there I
had never been but one courtj
held in the county, and there
was not another one till in
March, Is.V.i. It looked like a
cruel piece of business, and it
was, disassociated from the idea
ol punishment for lawlessness.
The victims were bared from
the waist up, their feet tied to
gether and their hands securelv
tied to the wheel of a wagon, ■
with their bodies slightly bent1
over while receiving punish I
mont. In the case of Thomas,
it was arranged for live men to.
give him ten lashes apiece and
in tlu' administration of the pun
ishment I had an excellent op
portunity to judge of the nature
<* the men who inflicted the
punishment. The instrument of
torture used was a green hickory
withe probably four feet in
length and half an inch in dia
meter at its thickest part. This
terrible weapon, in the hands of
a strong man, applied with his
full force to the naked back of
a human body was a sight 1 hope
never to see again while 1 re
main in the world. 1 refrain
from givinga particular descrip
tion of the strokes as they were
applied to those unfortunate
men. The remembrance is too
terrible to put on paper.
-
it. He was one of a specific
kingdom come class that are to.
be found wherever men a r e
found on earth, who arrogate to
themselves the whole job of re
forming the world, without tak
ing into account the probably
unimportant fact that they need
about as much reformation a»
anybody else; but as we are all
a little disposed to excuse in
ourselves what we condemn in
others, we may conclude they
are not entirely singular in that
behalf, and the charitable view
perhaps, is, that in the economy
of the inscrutable they perform
some purpose not clear to the
finite ken, and like all .other
things in nature, have their ex
istence from inexorable and ah
solute necessity.
At the call of the master of
ceremonies, he stepped forward,
took' the instrument of torture,
and with his whole force laid it
across the back of the already'
bleeding and maimed victim,
each stroke being harder, if
possible, than the one preceding
till 1 ncle William Goolsby, his
eyes Hashing with uncontrolable
anger and indignation, caught
the hand of the murderous mon
ster and wrenched the whip
from his grasp, saying “Stop,
you brute, there is enough of
this,’' and throwing it on the
ground ordered the man untied.,
ally true In that work it is re- j
cited that the repeal was brougt
about at the instance and large
ly by reason of the preponderat
ing influence of a lawyer at Ne
braska City: and while the ac
count mentions a terrible mur
der that had occurred in Otoe
county in which one Hargus had
slain a man of the name of Lacy,
in a cowardly, brutal, and cruel
manner, the inference is sought
to be given that the repeal of
the criminal code was not so
much to assist this murderer'to
escape punishment for his crime,
as it was to assist some smart
financial operators at Nebraska
City and elsewhere in the terri
tory, to escape punishment in
connection with the wildcat
banks that had been chartered
by the legislature at a time pre
vious. The lawyer's name given
in that history is A. A. Brad
ford, then a citizen of Nebraska
City. The murder of Lacy and
tlie prosecution of Hargus L
mentioned in connection with
the bank frauds so called in that
history, but the inference .sug
gested by the writer is not jus
tified as will presently appear.
Now I happen to know that at
that time, it was not even sus
pected,that any f ran d u 1 e n t b an k
ing had been done in the terri
tory: but it might have been
known that they were illegal in
stitutions, and were in violation
of an act of congress, but wheth
er that fact was known or not,
there is little doubt of their be
ing smart schemes for making
money out'of a thoughtless pub
lic, but if they violated any law.
it was the act of congress pass-1
ed many years before, in which |
it was provided:
“That no act of the Territor
ial Legislature of any of the
territories of the United States
incorporating any bank or any
institution with banking powers
or privileges, hereafter* to be j
passed, shall have any force oiy
effect whatever until approved j
and confirmed by congress.’’
This act was passed in con
nec.tion with the abrogation by
congress of similar laws in the
territory of Florida. If those
Nebraska chartered banking in- ,
stitutions were in violation of
any law, it was this, and as
none of the laws of the territory,
authorizing them were ever ap
proved by congress, but were j
put in operation in defiance of,
it, they were illegal institutions,
and every man connected with
them was liable to indictment
and prosecution in the United
States courts, and the repeal of
the Nebraska criminal code,
could afford them no immunity.
If any frauds were committed
by their means the criminal laws
of the general government were
ample for the punishment of the
offenders, and if justice mi sear-1
ried by reason of unfaithful ol'fi
cers neglecting their duty in
that behalf, the fault can not be,
atoned for at this late date, by I
laying the blame on a dead man
who wits not one of those de
faulting' officers.
It was certainly competent for
tiie legislature to pas> banking
laws, but it was not competent
for those laws to be put into ef
lective operation until they were
approved by the congress of the
United States. Certainly, be
fore they could be so approved
they had to be passed by the
local legislature, and in the do
ing of that, there was obvion>! v
no fraud. If any were commit
ted afterwards by putting the
banks in operation before the
legislation of the territory was
approved by cortgress, it is no
where shown that Judge Brad
ford was connected with them.
It seems to me a very great in
justice lias been done to the
memory of Judge Bradford,
whether intentionally or not is
not for me to say. I only know
the interference suggested i s
not justified. Perhaps that his
tory would not have been writ
ten in its present shape if the
author had known that such
legislation required the approval
of the American congress before
it even had the semblance of law
about it.
I had the pleasure of a per
sonal acquaintance with Judge
Bradford from the spring of
till I saw him last in life at the
city of Washington in 1HOU. He
left Nebraska some time in the
decade of 1 ->«•(> and was shortly
afterwards appointed one of the
United States judges for the ter
ritory ofColoradoand when 1 saw
him in 1869, he was represent
ing that territory in congress as
its accredited delegate. He was
a citizen of high character in ev
ery community where he resid
ed at any time during his whole
life, and never until J saw it in
the history of Nebraska have I
heard or read anything deroga
tory of his character as a citi
zen or public servant. I honor
ed the man in his life and I honor
his memory in his death and it
is in vindication of that memory
and of the truth of history, that
the foregoing is written.
1 he repeal of the criminal
code saved the neck of the man
Hargus, but it furnished no im
munity from prosecution to per
sons engaged in illegal or fraudu
lent banking. Offenders in that
particular, if such there really
were, could not have been pun
ished, under the circumstances
in any but federal jurisdiction.
1 do not excuse Judge Brad
ford tor his share in the repeal
of the criminal code. It was 1
great social and legal wrong
hut like many other crimina
lawyers might do, under like
circumstances. |r* justified th
act as a means of saving' tin
life of his client, it was one o*
doubtful professional moralit
to say the least of it.
GEHLING THEATRE"*
ONE NIGHT
Friday, March 19th
■ _
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first time in America)
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Magnificent Scenic Production
All Star Cast
Arranged and Staged by Hortense
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Prices, 35c, 50c, 75c, $1
Orders for seats Will Be received
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Wallpaper
Bargains
Our new line for Spring is
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Don t fail to see our Last
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The PRICE sells cur Wall
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We carry all the best brands
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Varnish Stains.
Come in and see our line
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McMillan’s
Pharmacy
Opposite Postoffice Tails City, Neb.
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Ycur druggist sells Dr. Miles’ Nerv
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price of first bottle (only) if it falls
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