'Che Conservative.
NEBRASKA FORTY YEARS AGO.
I was clerking in a small store in
northern Illinois when gold was found
in Colorado , and on the 8th day of May ,
1860 , crossed the Missouri river at Atchison -
son , Kansas , and as a brother of mine
had nn interest in the ox teams and
wagons , I was appointed wagon master
for the trip to Russell's Gulch , Colorado.
We were loaded with machinery for two
quartz mills , and after walking the first
one hundred miles , about one-seventh
the whole distance , wo traveled along
very well and made the distance in
forty-eight days , which was considered
good time for loaded teams. We saw
quite a number of Indians , who were
all friendly as they were not yet ready
to go on the war-path. We saw a few
buffalo , but were a little early for
them as they were still south of us. In
their yearly trips north they generally
crossed the Platte some time in June. I
have seen and heard at night a constant
passing herd of buffalo lasting five days ,
and you could hear a constant splashing
iu the water of the Platte all through
the night. Our army officers would
pilot the English sports onto the frontier
and they would shoot down these creat
ures and let their carcasses rot on the
ground when their camp was full of
meat. We had plenty of antelope and
did not need the meat. In my nine
years on the plains I helped to kill one
buffalo , and then wo were out of meat.
After making the trip to Russell's
Gulch and helping to build the mills , I
tried quartz mining and we went 85
feet through cap rock and missed the
pay streak , and as our money was all
gone wo went to work for other parties.
The vein wo mentioned above proved
afterwards to be very rich , aud a spar
of the famous Griunell. I afterwards ,
in company with Wheeler Schofield ( a
brother of our General John M ) took a
ranch of 240 acres on the Big Thompson ,
55 miles north of Denver , where we
built the first irrigating dam on that
stream , if not the first one in the state ,
as we built our dam early in ' 61.
To show whether irrigation pays , I
will tell what was done on chis land.
We bought 178 pounds of very small po
tatoes in Denver at 15 cents per pound ,
and planted them in hills , with three
pieces in each hill , and raised from one
and three-quarters acres of ground 275
bushels of potatoes which we sold in
Denver at 6 cents per pound. The next
year we put out 18 acres of garden and
saw it all go in a few minutes in a flood
from the mountains. We then started
for British Columbia mines aud stopped
at Cherokee Crossing on the North Platte
river , about 800 miles north-west of
Denver where I rigged a rope ferry to
run by the ourrent of the stream. While
running this ferry a part of the Michi
gan Sixth regiment came along and took
the ferry from me and drowned six of
their own men , and Tom Ohivington ,
who was with them as guide or wagon
master. I was then sent to Fort Halleck
as wagon master for Company C , of the
Kansas Oth regiment. From there I
was sent to Fort Lcaveuworth with a
train to turn in. On this trip the Platte
river was dry and wo sunk barrels in
the stream to get water for our animals.
I then took three six horse teams loaded
with groceries for a trader on Cache
a Lnpoudrie river and left the teams at
Fort Kearney and went to work on the
Overland mail route. My run was 40
miles east from Kearney , and on this
route have seen all of the stations ( four )
hanging up in the sky aud the old flag
at the post with the stripes pointing
toward the earth. I was sent to Kear
ney to run out each way when needed ,
and this is what I was doing when I
drove into a station and found a dead
man to change horses for me. I waited
until daybreak and then went on over
the drive. I was on this part of the road
when the peace commission was attack
ed , and if the coach had been on time I
would have been its driver.
I was next ordered to arrange some
way to cross th e mail over the Platte at
Kearney , which we did by making a flat
boat aud hitched a yoke of oxen to it ,
aud when there was water the cattle
would wade or swim , and in crossing
the several strips of land would drag the
boat.
I next went on a ranch 12 miles west
of Kearney as a herder , and one evening
while out in the bluffs looking up some
stock that had strayed too far out , I was
nearly sxirrouuded by 17Cheyeunes who
chafed me about two miles to the ranch.
After we reached the adobe house we
put some guns out of the port holes and
Mr. Spotted Tail left us. In 1864 I was
captured by General Mitchell , Col.
Chiviugtou , and Major Majors , and tak
en before Captain Gillette at Fort Kear
ney , who appointed me wagon master
on an expedition against the Sioux. Wo
traveled 18 days , but could not overtake
the Indians. We started with 72 wag
ons and brought them all back , but had
to haul 10 of them as they were badly
damaged , having upset over the banks
of the Republican river , which we
crossed four times on our trip. I have
traveled over eighteen thousand miles on
horseback in my nine years on the
plains. I am 62 and , except rheumatism
some of the time , I am as sound as ever.
I do not use tobacco in any form and
took my last drink in 1871.
A. P. HAZARD.
Hebron , Neb.
In * " ° f.th !
CRUSHING THK ? .
, ,
TRUSTS. alleged determined
action of a large
number of members of congress to strike
at the trusts , we fear that nothing of an
effective character will be done , for the
reason that the majority of the members
ore unwilling to adopt what would be
, ' < *
the most effective means of accom
plishing this result. Those industries
which are freely subjected to a world
wide competition cannot , in the absence
of a trust which controls matters in
every civilized country , force up prices
to an extent that will be in the least
troublesome or oppressive to our people.
All but a very few of the industrial
combinations that have been formed in
this country that are popularly classified
as trusts are associations organized for
the purpose of preventing domestic com
petition , while at the same time sheltered
from foreign competition by the pro
tective tariff. The old argument of the
protectionists used to be that , while
temporarily protection would make the
price of an American produced article
higher than it otherwise would be , this
price would stimulate others to go into
the business , and the result of their
competition would be to force the prices
down to such a point that it made not
the least difference whether there was
protection granted or not. But the
organizers of the trusts propose to pre
vent this corrective competition , and
they usually succeed in doing it. If
congress enacted a law that any indus
try which was largely carried on by a
combination of this kind should no
longer receive the peculiar benefits and
favors of the protective tariff , it would
be the strongest restrictive force that
could be applied to trust formations. It
is just this effective action that con
gressmen seem to be unwilling to take.
They are apparently quite ready to pass
a number of laws that will have little erne
no effect , but when it comes down to a
radical treatment such as that just sug
gested , they exhibit a cowardice which
does uotjarguo well for the effectiveness
of any species of trust legislation which
they may see fit to adopt. Boston
Herald.
SERIOUS EFFECT OF CHRISTMAS-TREE
DEMAND.
Five hundred thousand symmetrical
straight-limbed young trees , from three
to twenty feet tall , a vast incipient
forest , were chopped down to supply
the Christmas trade of New York.
Of this number car-loads
, seventy-two - ,
with an average of 1,500 trees to the car ,
came from the Adirondacks , an aggre
gate of 108,000 trees. Over four-fifths
of the trees used , however , came by
boat from Maine , New Jersey and Con
necticut. The dealers are naturally
jubilant over the trade they have had :
"The largest business in trees and greens
in their history , " they say. But one
among them said :
"I could not help but feel sorry at the
ruthless slaughter made on our forests
to give a single day's joy. The sight of
so many tender , beautifully formed trees
reminded me of so many youths , whose
value lay only in their maturity , being
mown dawn to gratify children under
the age of reason. "
