4 'Che Conservative
THE CONSERVATIVE
HISTORICAL
INQUIRY. TIVE of January
24th , iii one of the
deeply interesting articles for which it
is noted , on the early history of the state ,
reviews a little work of 100 pages , issued
many years ago by Hon. James M.
Woolworth of Omaha , and entitled
"Nebraska in 1857. " The book , THE
CONSERVATIVE says , is prefaced by a
of Nebraska and "Kanzas "
map , pre
pared especially for it. The Nebraska
of those days was a giant in territorial
expanse compared with the Nebraska of
today and covered the greater part of
Colorado , Wyoming , Montana and
North and South Dakota. "And yet , "
THE CONSERVATIVE adds , "in all this
vast region there appear hardly more
towns than one can count upon one's
fingers. "
The book seems , from the review of
THE CONSERVATIVE , to be replete with
interesting matter. The early history of
the territory , from the days of Marquette
and LaSalle , the best routes from the
east to the Missouri river , the projected
railroads to the west , the weather , the
wild-cat banks , slavery and many other
topics are referred to. What , however ,
seems to have a special interest for
residents of this county is the fact that
one of the very few towns shown on the
map of this vast territory is "Nebraska
Center , at the month of Wood River. "
As Wood River empties into the north
channel of the Platte on the old William
Powell farm , now the John Williamson
sheep ranch , about two miles southeast
of Alda , that must have been the location
of "Nebraska Center. "
Who of our readers can tell us any
thing about this settlement ? Forty-
four years ago it was one of a dozen or
two 'towns thought worthy to have a
place on a map covering a territory four
times as great as the present state of
Nebraska. Who remembers its existence
who can tell of its fate ?
The history of the state is now being
written by Mr. Morton and Dr. Miller
and it is desirable from every point of
view that the history of Hall county
should appear fully and correctly in the
forthcoming work. If any one can give
us any information about "Nebraska
Center" we shall take great pleasure in
preserving the memoranda of what they
may be able to tell us and forwarding
the same to the editors of the history
referred to. * TRUTH-SEEKER.
Grand Island , Jan. 29 , 1900.
During many
REVERSE THE
MACHINE. years the legisla
tive machinery of
Nebraska has been utilized by repub
licans afraid of populism , and by the
populists themselves , to turn out statutes
inimical and threatening to capital.
The state has crippled corporations by
annoying requirements as to reports of
their business transactions each year to
certain county and state officers. The
state , by statutes , has sought to force
into publicity and public records the
private business of not only corpora
tions but co-partnerships. This legis
lation , in fact all legislation aimed at
combinations of capital , has tended to
drive out and shut out from Nebraska
millions of dollars which otherwise
might have been invested here in the
buildings and machinery of industrial
plants. The so-called anti-trust law of
this state , literally interpreted and
rigidly applied , could and would dissolve
and destroy every strong , energetic and
ambitious co-partnership , firm or cor
poration doing business in Nebraska ,
with the purpose and intent of securing
all of the trade in its line of production.
It really makes it a penal offence to
seek commercial power and supremacy.
Under that law the predatory insects of
party politics have deposited their
larvfe for hatching out official
maggots and butterflies , .like Old-
ham and Smyth. These brilliant
specimens of intellectual entomology , in
minutest form , have filled the partisan
atmosphere with chameleon glories and
the ears of the groundlings with the
monotony of calamitous prophecies.
But New Jersey , an older and
wealthier state than Nebraska , has taken
_ - the other extreme.
New Jersey vs.
Nebraska. That state hns
pressingly invited
and legislatively lured into its boundaries
corporate capital in every sort of legiti
mate line of industry , manufacture and
commerce.
the domicile of corporations controlling
more than a billion dollars of capital ?
Where are the beneficent results of the
laws against capital and corporations in
this state ? Where is the man , is he in
the state senate or the house of repre
sentatives , who will move for the repeal
of these miserable checks upon com
merce ? Why not reverse the machine ?
THE ROCA INDIAN VILLAGE SITE.
It has been my intention for some
time to give to the public an account of
the ancient Indian village site situated
about ten miles south of Lincoln , Ne
braska. Frequent mention has been
made of it in my articles to the press
and also in my private letters to
archaeologists in all parts of the United
States. This account will serve to make
permanent the data obtained so far in
my exploring trips over this once active
scene of Indian life.
This village covered a territory reach
ing from one mile north of Hanlon to
two miles northeast of Jamaica. The
pottery , arrowheads , axes and other
implements are found scattered more or
less thickly over the above defined
length , and a breadth of a quarter of a
mile on either side of Salt creek. This
makes the dimensions of the village site
about four miles long by half a mile
wide.
Those who are not familiar with the
Indian mode of building villages may
think that a solid city covered this area ;
this is wrong. The village is built
scattering ; that is a group of tepees here
and there as the elevation of ground
favors such a collection , first , with near
ness to water and wood ; second , advan
tage of view , to guard against attack
from an enemy , and third , position
where the smoke would not attract
attention from afar , but also near some
elevation or eminence which commanded
the hills and valleys for some distance
around.
This village site ( which I have named
the "Roca Site" ) is admirably situated
with reference to all these vantage
points.
This site was first visited about two
years ago and a quantity of pottery was
obtained at that time. The pottery is
similar in every respect to the specimens
found along the Platte river the same
year , and every effort has been made to
determine the exact position this pottery
holds in the annals of archaeology.
A careful study of all available data
on pottery and there is much reveals
some very curious and interesting facts
which will be treated connectedly and
at length at a future time ; for this paper
a description of the specimens found
will be enough.
"Blachware" Pottery.
The pottery is known as "black ware"
and is made in the manner described in
a prior paper ; by moulding the plastic