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13be Conservative.
man or men be made to go to tlio
Kickapoos and live for a while , as a
pnnishmet that I cannot vouch for , but
I do know that he had the dog layed out
in rich stile , had a grave dug , and
according to the Indian mode , had a
wolfs tail put up on a pole at the grave ,
and hired an Omoha Indian to go at
stated times for several days and crye
at the dogs-grave , as the Indians do for
their lamented dead dureing the Cols ,
last few years of his life he suffered
much , had several savere attacts , and at
last died at Plottsmouth , Neb. his rela
tives liveing in St Louis his remains
were taken their for final interment , it
was said that he left a property of some
seventy five thousand dollars , most of
which was in St. Louis , he had one
brother John B. Sorpy who died before
him who was a member of the American
fur company , and when I came west in
84 had charge of most of the fur com
panies business , the firm consisted of
Pier Schauteau & Co. Mr Cheauteau ,
John B. Sarpy , Bernard Pratto , Capt
Sears , Majr Sanford , and a young
Chauteau , Gov. Clark of the noted
t Lewis & Clark expedition was then Supt.
'of Indn. Affairs whose hed quarters was
at St Louis , who was supersceded by
Major Joshua Piloher , whos history I
have previously mentioned , and at
Major Col. Mitchell , and in Mr
Buoliannans administration re
moved to St. Joseph and a Boot. Robin
son , Supt. and was supersceded by a
Gentleman I disremember the name ,
and from St. Jos. the office was removed
to Omoha when Col. Taylor was Supt.
and so on to Supt. Jenney at the present
day The Indian trader ( Mr La Clair ) I
mentioned in connection with Mr. Cab-
baune , ended his existance by shoo tin
himself , he had been intemperate an
took a solemn oath that he wouldnot
drink any liquor for a certain time and
lived that time almost out , and was met
by some of his friends who persuaded
him to take a drink with them , he did
so , and in after sober reflection took a
pistol and deliberately shot himself.
Lucian Fontenelle , the father of five
interesting chilbren by an Omoha
woman , was a man of talants , and well
liked by all who knew him , he also had
great influence with the Indiana as-
pecially the Omohas , he was a gentle
man in his manners , was kind and
affectionate to his family , and a success
ful Indian trader , he in company with a
Mr Drips had a trading post at Fort
Larama. or Blackhills , and in the spring
of 85 built a log house to store their
goods , which they took on pack animals
to then ? fort up the Platte , the house in
which he died stands yet near the river
bank at Bellevue , close by where the
cars of the South Western B. B. run
daily , notwith standing his eccelant
qualities , and refinement as a gentleman
he followed the wake of most Indn
traders and finally died. "
The unimpeachable statement with
which the document ends is not such a
commonplace as it appears. There is a
neatly cut hole in the paper immediately
following the word "died , " which causes
confusion in the catalog of Indian agents
on the preceding page as well. This
hole is the workmanship of one of the
five interesting children mentioned
before , who , inspired by most praise
worthy filial piety , upon reading this
narrative one day , took his knife and
excised the words "of delirium tremens"
with which it originally concluded.
A. T. B.
A PIONEER LETTER.
Bellevue , Dec. sist , 1854.
My dear sister Emma :
We were made exceedingly happy the
day before yesterday by the receipt of two
good , long , letters from home , one from
mother , and one from our dear sister.
You cannot imagine what a glorious
effect those little sheets of paper have
upon us , especially when they come
from our dear homes. We are always
looking for them , always delighted to
receive them. How I wish you all could
visit us. I am sure you would enjoy it ,
for we could play ball , grace-hoops , and
shoot , with bows and arrows , in the
open air , and without our bonnets on.
You have no idea what pleasant weather
wo have. If it were not for the dry grass
and leafless trees , it would be summer
indeed. The sunsets here would vie
with world-renowned Italy and the
moonlight ! Words cannot express its
beauty. We have all kinds of melodious
music at pale moonlight the dulcet
strains of Indians , wolves , and sleepless
dogs have the same effect upon the air
as the perfumed breezes of the South ,
but to the ear they are far from pleasant.
We have such beautiful , high bluffs all
around us. From the summit of one
near our house we can see up and down
the Missouri a hundred miles , and , in
imagination , we can also see the spires of
the three new Presbyterian churches in
Detroit. On the top of this bluff is an
Indian burial ground. They have a
strange way of interring their dead.
Thy do not dig a grave , but wrap the
deceased in his blanket , place him either
on his feet or in a sitting position and
cover him witli earth. You will find
these mounds all over the country. The
Indians frequently put a biscuit or
piece of cake , with a bottle of cofiee , on
the grave , and think the spirit eats it ;
but the "spirit" is at ways a hungry wolf
or prairie dog. There are a great many
Omaha Indians here now , as they have
all come in from their hunt. They have
quite a little village in sight of our
house I should think fifty lodges. We
spent Christmas very merrily , at St.
Mary's , Mills county , Iowa , on the other
side of the Missouri river. The Ger
mans , about twenty families of them , in
that pretty village , which has three
windmills for grinding groin , celebrated
it as they do in Germany. It was celled
a "Christmas carol. " The ladies had a
conversation and coffee at three , while
the gentlemen practiced target shooting.
At seven we all went over to the "Astor
House , " partook of a worm supper , and
finished the day and evening by joining
in the merry dance. We had some
beautiful singing with piano and guitar
accompaniment. We continued our
Christmas by visiting Council Bluffs ,
and found Dr. and Mrs. Miller from
Syracuse , New York. Mrs. Miller is a
sister of George Dickinson , of the firm
of Higby & Dickinson , of Detroit. I
like her very much. They are going to
live in Omaha , twelve miles from
Bellevue. We have heard several re-
ports lately respecting a now governor's
being appointed. Good-bye ,
CAR A JOY MORTON.
THE CONSERVATIVE has already pub
lished a number of letters written by
Mrs. Morton during the years 1854 and
1855 , and may give some more contain
ing records of events of great impor
tance to the then sparsely-settled rim
of Eastern Nebraska. The author of
them , the mother of Joy , Paul , Mark ,
and Carl Morton , died at Arbor Lodge
June 29th , 1881. But her influence upon
the homo she so bravely aided to estab
lish remains in immortal strength , and
its trees , flowers , and books and pictures
are her constant eulogists.
NATIONAL CONSCIENCE.
A celebrated educator is exercised
over the alleged foot that our country is
gradually changing to an empire. Ho
ascribes it to the lack of public con
science. There is some danger. When
the fears of a great educator and bene
factor are awakened , it becomes a sign
of the times. Such men are not moved
by every wind that blows.
As science means knowledge , con
science means self-knowledge. But the
English word implies a moral standard
in the mind. I
It is true that , La the struggle for
office , the moral standard , some form of
the golden rule , is frequently lost sight
of. It is more frequently the case in the
struggle for wealth. But there comes a
time , in the lives of politicians and
speculators , when , like Solomon , they
arrive at the conclusion that , "all is
vanity and vexation of spirit ; " then
they begin to found libraries and to
pension the poor who have been the
source of their wealth. What we need
is to awaken this conscience in the
schools , before the boy has over-
burthened himself with wealth or fame.
In some part it is a dispensation of
Providence. It is not very hard lor a
temperate , patient , industrious person
to gain a competency , but , when one
sees his wealth piling up beyond his
ability to apply it to the increase of his
own happiness and that of his family
and immediate friends , it is time to un
load.
load.He should not soend it in direct acts
of charity , except in cases of emergency.
Help others to help themselves. This is
the motto for philanthropists.
Boys should be taught not to wrest
wealth from those who are honestly
struggling toward a competency. They
should bo taught to do right , even when
there is no law to compel them to do
right. A poor laborer once gave his
promise-to-pay. When it came duo , ho
could not meet it. The note became
worthless by time limitation. Ho
struggled on and was , at length , for
tunate. He paid the note , saying :
"Tho law does not bind mo , but con
science does. " That man at length
gained a competency , because everyone
trusted him. When such men are
placed in the councils of the nation , it
constitutes a national conscience.
JOSEPH MAKINSON.
Holdrege , Neb. , May 6,1901.
