Reminiscences of a Wayfarer
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.
TUI. COUNTY SKAT I’M.IIT
The summer of IW**came ti»
an end a> all terrestial things
do, shading itself off into the
autumn and the autumn into win
ter, and then the snow and the
blizzard, and the storm of a
heated yes, red hot county seat
tight that lasted for many a
year after.
As remarked in a former pa
per, the removal of the seat of
County government, by act of
the legislature, from Archer to
Salem, was not at all satisfac
tory to the people, and the de
mand that the legislature pro
vide for the submission of the
question to a vote of the peo
ple, was general throughout the
countv. It would doubtless
have been attended to by the
preceding legislature which met
at Omaha in the winter before,
viz., 1857 and IK'h, hut for the
fact of the split that occurred
in that body, by which one fac
tion moved up to Florence, an
old Mormon town, while the
other remained in Omaha. I
have mentioned this circum
stance in a former paper, and it
is sufficient to say that neither
faction was the legal law mak
ing power, and no law was
made. The one, however, that
we elected in August, ’5H, and
convened in October following,
by proclamation of the gover
nor, passed an act empowering
the commissioners of the conn
ty to call an election for the
purpose of choosing a perma
nent seat of government, by
vote of the people. The law
provided that at the first elec
tion, every town in the county
would lie a candidate for that
honor, but il no one of them
should receive a majority of all
the votes cast, the commission
ers should call another election,
and only the four towns reeeiv
ing the highest number of votes
at the tirst election, (assuming
that there should be more than
four contestants for the place),
could be voted for at the next,
and if none of them should re
ceive a majority, then tin1 two
highest was to lie selected as
candidates in the third and last
election, which would of neces
sity, end tin* contest. Hv the
terms of tfle act, the elections
"were to be called in quick- suc
cession, and were, in fact, held
in t he month of December.
There were several candidates,
Rulo, Winnebago, Yaucton, St.
Stephens, Archer, Falls Cilv,
Salem, (ieneva, Middleburgh,
and may be some other points,
but as only the four highest
could be voted for at tilt' second
election, the others are unim
portant. The first battle was
to be one of the four, and to
win out must be one of the two
in the last heat and the highest
in the number of votes, in other
words, the winner must take all
the tricks. It was Falls City's
hour of trial, and though she
took all the tricks and came out
ahead in the final and last elec
tion, she was later deprived of
the fruit of her victory by a so
called contest of the election,
which by statute, was heard and
decided by the county clerk who !
proved it to be an unfair or dis
honest official who held against
Falls City, and gave the county
seat to Salem, notwithstanding
the proofs showed that a clear
majority of the votes had been
cast for Falls City.
It was easy to see that the
election had settled nothing,
and that the whole controversy
would have to be submitted to
the arbitrament o f the ballot
again, and under circumstances
controlled by legal safeguards
that would not only evoke from
the people their untrammeled
expression on the subject, but
would see to it, that that ex
pression was not thwarted by
trickery and dishonest officials.
The battle had been a hard one,
and though tricked out of our
success, we were by no means
subdued, and preparations for a
renewal of the contest with
greater vigor than ever, were
at once set on foot.
There are not many in life to
day who remember that first
bout in our county seat fight. I
can call to mind less than a half
dozen people who participated
in it, and as some of them will
probably see what I here say
about it, 1 shall take it as a
favor if they will indicate any
inaccuracy of statement they
may observe in my version of
the facts, and rest assured that
all proper corrections will be
promptly made.
And now let me indulge in
something of retrospection. To
bring before my mental vision
the times, the scenes and the
principal actors in that long
past struggle for local and pul
itical supremacy, I must bring
back the vacant country,abolish
the court house, the prosperous
towns, the railroads, the splen
did farms with their comfort
able dwellings, barns and ryral
improvements that mark the
intervening years of progress;
think away the tine church
buildings a n d school houses,
public roads and bridges of iron
and stone, resurrect the dead
and re instate the wild waste
and the wilderness things of a
day that is dead, for in no other
way can I present what I have
in memory, blurred and faded
as they are, by the (light of so
many years; that what 1 write
may become intelligible to otb
ers. The conditions were very
p r i m a l i v e and the sur
roundings exceedingly poor, but
everybody was full ot ener
gy, vim and hope, and the com
ing county seat scrimmage a
something looked f o r. Palls
Pity, a little hamlet ot six or
eight hovels that looked like
they had ran away from some
where and got lost on the prai
rie, had some at) or t»0 peo
ple living in it that Spring, had
something near l.'O when Un
tight opened. When it became
Known tnat tin* act had passed
authoriziny the people of the
county tc* settle the countv seat
question in the mode I have
mentioned, a council of war was
held,noses counted and our yen
eral resources in the way of
votes taken into account. We
had many friends on the Muddy
and its affluents the McKlrov,
Coos by and Sardim branches,
quitea yood number on the north
and south forks of the Nemaha,
and on Lony branch in the
northwest part of the county.
There was but one votiny place
west of Salem. It was on the
South fork of the Nemaha and
not far from the west boundary
of the county, at the house of a
Mr. Spicer. That votiny place
has always retained the name
and the country in the southwest
part of the county is now known
as Spicer township. It was ar
ranyed that some of our people
should attend that poll, and as
it had no candidate and it was
the only subdivision of t h e
county that had not—we e x
pected a yood vote for Falls
City, as all the people in the
west end voted there and the
field was a yood one to labor in.
Win. Simpkins,who lived on the
Nemaha just above the falls
and who was the owner of a
team of horses and a wayon,
Jesse Crook and myself, were
detailed to yo to Spicer for
work on election day.
Simpkins furnished the trans
portation and our election com
mittee furnished all the rest. It
was extremely cold weather and
\v«* were forced to make t!ie tripl
by easy stages, and to that mid
we left Falls City the day be
tore,went by the way nf Salem,
Where We procured a supply of
electioneering a rn m u n i t io n,
which we carried in a jug, and
thence by the way id* North fork
intending to pass tile night at
the house ot Mr. John Rotlien
bergerpi well to do (lerman set
tier and a strong friend of our
town. Mr.Rothenbeger lived on
tlie north side of tin* river at a
point a few miles west of tile
present town of Dawson, and I
believe his son ot the same
name, John Rothenberger, is
now tlie owner of the old home
stead. From Salem we travel
ed between tin* Nemalias, and
to get to Mr. Rothenberger’s we
had to,cross tlie river, which we
could not do with tlie team be
cause tlie river was hard frozen
and the banks were so steep as
to make it dangerous to try to
take tlie horses over.
it was dark when we reached
the place for crossing and as
there was an old log stable on
the south bank of tlie river, we
put the horses in it and after
feeding with corn we had in the
wagon for the purpose,prepared
to cross over to Mr. Rothen
berger’s house, which stood not
far from the river. Crook and
Simpkins, both much larger and
heavier than myself, got over
all right, but when I made the
attempt ami had reached about
the middle of the stream the
ice broke under me, and 1 went
down.
I threw out my arms and
caught the firm ice on each side
and by a quick muscular exer
tion of my arms succeeded in
throwing my body out of the
water and onto the ice. I never
could determine how I did it,but
as 1 was young, active and a
light weight, and my quick
movements prevented any ser
serious consequences.
Anyhow I got out uf the river
and over t> the north side in
double quick time, but my
clothing was thoroughly soaked
with water, and before I got to
the house, short as tlu* distance
was,every rag on me wa> frozen
as still as a board.
Mr. liothenherger and his
excellent family welcomed us to
his hospitable roof, and ascer
taining my predicament from
the colil bath I had just been
treated to,a suit of .Joe Watton’s
clothes was furnished me and a
room provided in which to make
the change, when the young
ladies, and I think there were
three of them, took mine to the
kitchen tire where they were
dried and ready for use in the
morning. I have never been
more kindly treated, and I don’t
remember of a time when I need
ed it more. Hut T have a sequel
to relate in connection that fall
in tlie river which l will attend
to presently.
We passed an agreeable night
with our friends and after a
hearty breakfast in the morning
we went over to Spicer precinct
and put in an active day among
the voters,assisted by Mr.Roth
enberger, Joseph Watton,
and some others from both forks
of the river, Long branch, Easly
Creek and other points, and
when the votes were counted
Falls City had received a very
comfortable majority; and when
the votes of tlie county were
canvassed Falls City was found
to be not only one of the four
for the next race, but had re
ceived the highest number of
any of them, though short of a
majority of the vhole. T h e
high towns were Falls City, Sa
lem, Ivulo and St. Stephen, and
about two weeks after another
election was held with those
named as the candidates. In
that election Iiulo and St. Ste
phen fell out, and the final tilt
occurred between Salem a n d
Falls City,with the result above
stated. What followed as a
consequence of that election
contest and the unfair decision
of the county clerk wlioheard it,
will be detailed in my next pa
per, but just now 1 have some
thing to record as a kind of
addenda.to the ludicrous circutn
I stance ot mv falling through the
ice in that freezing December
night of fifty years ago.
It was, I think, about twenty
years afterwards and when the
episode had passed from my
recollection- we lose much of
what occurs in the monotonous
repetition of things common to
all days 1 was engaged in a
trial ot a cause, in our district
court. My client was defend
ant in a suit tor damages com
mitted by trespassing animals
on the growing crops of the
plaintiff. Among the witnesses
forthe plaintiff (who was Mr.
Herman Tiehen an extensive
farmer and land owner west of
Salem, and who is yet one of
our most valuable citizens) was
a lady who I learned was Mrs.
Tiehen, but whom I did not
recognize as any one 1 had ever
seen. I was given an op
portunity to cross examine the
witness and did it something
like this:
“You are, I believe, the wife
of the plaintiff.’’
The witness said “yes,” but
the manner of saying it accom
panied with the amused and i
quizzical way she looked at me,!
was somewhat puzzling, but 1
put another question, when she
broke in a pleasant laugh say
ing, “You know me,” she evi
dently thought I was pretend
ing not to know her, which was
an error, for at the moment 1
had not the slightest notion
that 1 had ever seen her any
where. Then, with a still more
amused manner, “You haven’t
forgot the night you fell through
the ice on the Nemaha,and I and
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sisters dried your wet clothes by
the kitchen tire? You know me."
The old experience came back
tojne like a Hash. I was back in
that'pnfernal river again, and
what was more,I was in a consul
I erablyjworse fix,for I was being
laughed at by everybody in the
court house. The crowd had
got on to the ridiculous figure 1
cut'scrambling out of the river,
wet to the skin, my clothes
freezing on me,and memaking a
bee line'forjthe house and a fire.
“Entering into the spirit of the
fun that was then rampant
around me l said, “Yes I re
member, and you are a daugh
ter of Mr. Rothenberger. It has
been a long time since I saw
you, and I certainly did not
know lyouJas'Mrs. Tiehen."
Welljthe incident passed off
very pleasantly, but I must say
in all candor that I was never
so badly sold in the whole
course of my life.
I never meet that agreeable
lady, which 1 do frequently,
without observing that same
amused smile on her face which
leads me to think that she has
not forgotten either my trouble
in the river, or in the court \
house.
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