Conservative * ? |
? :
locates this camp "in the northwest
corner of Atchinson county , Missouri , "
but this leaves a range of anywhere
within ten miles. The full description
is given above for the benefit of any of
THE CONSERVATIVE'S readers who are
inclined to curious research. The
"Bald Prairie , " according to Lewis and
Clark's map , was the wide bottom
directly opposite Nebraska City , and
they show it as running from Hamburg
to Pacific Junction. The camp of the
16th and 17th would therefore have
been at the extreme foot of it , though
this is hardly indicated by the text.
The "this , " a quarter of a mile below
the camp , is regrettably indefinite.
On the 17th , "Captain Lewis rode up
the country , and saw the Nishnahba-
tona , 10 or 12 miles from its mouth , at a
place not more than 200 yards from the
Missouri , and a little above our camp.
It then passes near the foot of the Bald
Hills , and is at least six feet below the
level of the Missouri. " Several con
clusions may be drawn from this. The
distance to the mouth of the Nishna is
a total mistake ; it must have been four
times as great as is stated. The camp
was below the place called by later
travelers the Grand Pass , which must
have been where the river afterwards
broke through to its present mouth ;
though it must have made sad work in
doing this , if it was six feet below the
Missouri. And the Bald Hills were be
low Hamburg , not above.
On July 18 , "a gentle wind carried us
along between the prairie on the north
and Bald island to the south ; opposite
the middle of which the Nishnahba-
tona approaches the nearest to the Mis
souri. At 18) miles , we reached an
island on the north , ( Iowa side ) near
to which the banks overflow ; while on
the south , the hills project over the
river and form high cliffs. At one
point a part of the cliff nearly % of a
mile in length and about 200 feet in
height has fallen into the river , 'it is
composed chiefly of sandstone inter
mixed with an iron ore of bad quality ;
near the bottom is a soft slatestone with
pebbles. " If the river lay then at all
as it does now , this can only have been
at Minersville , the old Otoe City. It is
hard to believe that the cliffs projected
over the river as the journal says.
"Made 18 miles and camped on the
south ( Nebraska side ) opposite the
lower point of the Oven islands. " A
little way below Nebraska City , there
fore ; but why Oven Islands ?
"July 19th. The Oven islands are
small and two in number ; one near the
south shore , the other in the middle of
the river. . Opposite them is the prairie
called Terrien's Oven , from a trader of
that name. " All this Oven matter is
passing strange. Dr. Cones' editorial
instinct told him also that something
was'fwrong here. "I suspect a snag , '
he says. Further ; "at 4) miles , vre
reached some high cliffs of a yellow
earth , on the south , near which are two
beautiful runs of water. ( Table
Creeks ? ) rising in the adjacent prairies ,
one of them with a deer-lick about 200
yards from its month. In this neigh-
jorhood we observed some iron ore in
the bank. At 2) miles above the runs ,
a large portion of the hills , for nearly
% of a mile , has fallen into the river. "
They do not appear to have seen it fall ,
though it is often said that they did.
There are numerous places above Ne-
jraska City , which may have been the
scene of this ancient land-slip. Ser
geant Floyd spoke of but one "run" on
; his day , which he said they called
Cherry Bun. They camped on an
island , not very far up , and the next
morning came to the Weeping Water
after traveling three miles. The pretty
translation of the old French ( or In
dian ? ) name of this stream is , it seems ,
the work of Dr. Biddle. Captain Clark
called it "the water which cry's ; "
Sergeant Patrick Gass , the "Weeping
Stream ; " and our friend Floyd made
"Cry's Creek" out of it. The journal has
no more to say of it than that it
emptied just above a cliff of brown clay ;
and on the next day , the 20th , they
reached the Platte.
It was more than two years before
they returned. On the 4th of Septem
ber , 1806 , they stopped in their rush
down stream to call upon their com
rade whom they had left at Sioux City
'On ascending the hill we found that
the grave of Floyd had been opened
and was now half uncovered. We
filled it up , and then continued down. "
The y were hurrying home , making 70
miles and upwards per day , and had
little eye for scenery ; the only mention
they make of any landmark in this
neighborhood is that they camped on
the night of September 9th "opposite
Baldpated prairie ; " perhaps , therefore
at Nebraska City.
A. T. RICHARDSON.
INDIAN JUGGLERY.
Coronado , in his account of the natives
met while exploring Quivera , and Java-
millo , in his account of these strange
aboriginal pwple , as well as many other
less illustrious writers , often refers to the
feats of jugglery practiced by these
aborigines. Many of the marvellous
feats are graphically described by more
recent writers , but the mass of readers
give them little credence.
I have been quite critical in the matter
myself , and have never referred to these
unexplainable antics which tickle the pen
of sensational writers , and I should not
mention them now were I still incredu
lous. During my recent trip to Colum
bus and Fnllerton , Neb. , I had the
pleasure of an hour's talk with the Hon
James E. North , of Columbus , a gentle
man who has had.a . wide experience
" ' '
with the Indians and is , probably , the
best posted man in the state of Nebraska
on Indian lore. This fact , coupled with
his fine intellectual power , and un
questioned veracity , leads me a willing
convert to the marvellous feats of
ugglery as described by many of these
writers.
Realizing the deep-seated incredulity ,
I desire to have these stories sifted to the
bottom now , while we have with us the
eye-witnesses , that they may be author
itatively incorporated in our scientific
investigation of the aborigines of this
state , and I challenge any one to refute
the evidence here presented.
Mr. North has kindly given m'e per
mission to use his name in connection
with these feats of jugglery which he
witnessed , and the high standing of this
gentleman in his own community and ,
in fact , throughout the whole state , adds
a weight which must be recognized as
conclusive evidence that the stories are
true. They are published now , while
Mr. North can correct any error I may
make in reciting them , and his address
is Columbus , Nebraska.
Major Frank North was one day riding
with a Pawnee Indian , when the Indian
stopped his horse and dismounted. Out
of the soft earth by the roadside , the
Indian formed a ball and flattened it to
resemble a turtle ; he placed it on the
ground and it immediately assumed the
form of a turtle , and Major North
plainly saw it walk away , having every
appearance of a real , live turtle. This
story , Mr. James E. North says , he has
often heard his brother tell.
Here is a feat of jugglery which is
not at second hand , and at least four
eye-witnesses are still living. In the
early spring of 1868 , Hon. James E.
North and wife , Mr. Lute North and an
interpreter by the name of Bowman ,
( now living in California ) were invited
to the Pawnee village , near Genoa , Neb. ,
to witness the "Corn Dance. " This
was a ceremony which the Pawnees
conducted every spring , to determine if
the year would be favorable for a corn
crop. It was conducted in one of the
largest lodges. A fire was in the centre
of the lodge , the braves , warriors and
visitors were seated around the sides ;
the medicine-man then took several
kernels of corn in his hand and passed
them around so that all could see , while
he went through with the strange antics
of the dance. He dug a small hole in
the earthen floor of the lodge about half
way between the fire and the side where
the visitors were seated , and planted the
kernels of corn , covering them with a
little earth , while the ceremonies con
tinued. A blanket was brought and the
spot was covered with it , while the
dance went on. After a few movements ,
the blanket was removed and behold ,
the kernels had sprouted , which bespoke
a favorable planting season. Again it
was covered and , after a short space of
