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About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (July 11, 1901)
'Cbc Conservative * berths , rendered more or less private by * matting screens ; there is but one en trance , through a rather low-pitched passage. Cool in summer , warm in winter , they are never troubled with smoke. Many are much larger , but this it the usual size , in which several fami lies live. The village consists of about fifty of these lodges ; close by are pens of wattled canes , for the security of the horses by night. There are 50 or 60 acres of corn on the flat below , with the slightest attempt at fencing , but dis tinctly divided , where it is not in patches. " They were unable to cross the Platte , so rafted a single man over to make his * way for aid to "attrading house , 8(1 ( miles above , on the Missouri " He returned - ] turned next day , "bringing with him a half-breed and the old Frenchman , Barada , the semi-amphibious , universal interpreter , and father of forty child ren. " These auxiliaries assisted them to cross in a boat which they made of two elk skins ; the colonel had to strip and help push , and nearly perished with cold. He admired the Blkhorn when he came to it , but not the Papillion ; and | "having ridden 25 miles in an E. N. E. direction , we arrived this afternoon at Oabanne's trading house , which is a few miles below old Fort Atkinson , on 'Council Bluff , ' and were delighted at having accomplished the last of our difficulties ; which had their origin and aggravation in cold rains. ' ' i Here they learned that the Otoes had been gone ten days ; "they fear the smallpox , which is here reported to be at Liberty , Missouri. Four or five hun- doedof the Pawnees have died of the influenza , which has passed through this region as an epedemic. Winter , spring and summer , the weather is very damp and cold. " The summer of 1881 was therefore very much like that ol 1901 in Nebraska. They spent a few days here hoping for "the Fur Company's steamboat Yellow Stone , " to come by. There was doubt as to her getting down that yearOne day the colonel rode with "a resident of the country to view the localities and ruins of Fort Atkinson We found but melancholy memorials oJ 4 the long occupation of the post by the gallant , the 'marching 6th ; ' soon the luxuriant blue grass will alone reminc the traveller of the former existence o : this post , renowned in stories. " When they decided to return , they secured an unsound canoe and embarked having with them five pounds of sali pork for all provision. "In a few hours we passed the spot where the Grea1 Platte impetuously discharges itself bj several channels right across the cur rent of the Missouri , thus causing a tur moil amid the waters rather dan gerous to our primitive navigation A change is here observed in the river scenery , and a great improvement : i now resembles that of the Ohio , or up per Mississippi ; and it is romakablo that ; he bluffs rise from the river only on the right bank , for 200 miles below this point ; they are hero crowned with for ests. On the north side is a wonderful bottom , perfectly level , and averaging about three miles in width ; about lalf a mile of this , nearest the river , is almost invariably a lofty forest , be yond , a beautiful savanna. About 400 square miles of exceedingly rich and beautiful , level , and well-watered ground in a body ! Thirty-five miles lower , we passed the mouth of the Riviere do Table , running from the south ; five miles lower , there is a remarkable pass , where a bluff of vertical rock pro jects into the river , where it is not above 150 yards wide. "The next day we passed the mouth of the little Nemehaw , just below which is apparently a fine place for building a bluff handsomely sloped , and sufficient timber : and , it is said , a vein of stone- coal close at hand. About three miles lower is the most beautiful spot I have seen on the river. Not far from here the Ottos last winter killed forty elks in deep snow with their tomahawks. " They arrived safely at "Cantonment" Leavenworth on the third evening. This mention of "Riviere de Table" is noteworthy. It shows not only that Table Creek bore its name as early as 1881 , but indicates further that , like the Elkhorn , Papillion and the great Platte itself , it was christened in the very ear liest days of fur-trading by the French voyageurs. It may not be too much to hope to learn yet why they so named it. It is also to be noted that the two creeks had but one mouth at that time , and that this was five miles up stream perhaps joined with Walnut Creek , a ; the writer has been informed was the case in the 50's. Certainly the "bluff of vertical rook , " near the remarkably narrow channel , can have been no other than the bluff just above the Nebraska City bridge , where the first levee was located. 4 A. T. RICHARDSON. URGE THAT MORE TREES BE PLANT ED. Arbor Day has passed , and this is no the time of year to plant trees , but as we now appreciate shade and note the benefit to the country by reason o thousands of trees having been planted in years past , we cannot resist the temptation or the inspiration to urge that more trees be planted. Nemaha county is pretty well supplied with young forests , it is true , but there are thousands of acres that could bo put tone no better use than to be planted to trees If we could just be "Big Injun" for one season we would see thatoatalpas , elms maples , or even box-elders were put on in the waste places and about the home of the people. Nemaha Granger. I THE TORRENS LAW. A notable feature of real estate maters - ; ers during last week , in Chicago , was ho report of the Torrens committee of lie real estate board on the rapidly jrowiug sentiment in favor of this sys- ; em of laud transfer. The reportwhich was submitted by William A. Bond , of ; he committee at a recent meeting of the board , contained among the list of names of those who expressed their un qualified indorsement of the system , practically all those whose support has ) een desired by the friends of the sys tem. So fully do they represent the great real estate interests of the city as ; o make the report a complete vindica- ion of the merits of the system. In the report submitted a mouth ago there was a list of fifty-five real , estate and mortgage firms who had indicated their willingness to accept certificate of bitle issued by the registrar of title of Cook county in making mortgage loans. The report submitted by Mr. Bond last week contained the names of over 1,100 leading attorneys and real estate firms , nineteen building and loan associations , and a large number of property-owners. In addition , the sanitary district , the Pennsylvania railroad company , and the Chicago and Western Indiana railroad company expressed their willingness to accept a certificate from the registrar as satisfactory evidence of title to any property that the respective bodies and corporations may desire to purchase. It is only after a long struggle that the system has succeeded in effectually winning its way into the favor of those interests centered about real estate. It was first introduced to the Illinois legis lature in 1891. The first law was de clared unconstitutional , but the present law , passed in 1897 , was pronounced valid by the supreme court. It is claimed for the system that a title registered under it can be dealt with more safely , quickly , and inex pensively than under the old system. The expense of the first registration , in most cases about $24 , is not equal to the cost of an abstract since the Chicago fire , if there have been many transfers ; and the cost of each subsequent trans fer under the Torrens system , $8 , is much less than the expense of a con tinuation of abstract. While of real and permanent benefit to all land own ers , the law is of special value to smaller property-holders , to whom the present system is a source of never-ending and heavy expense. Chicago Tribune. "The supreme court of the United States has reasserted the light of taxa tion without representation , that the colonies fought to overturn , " criticises the Philadelphia Record ( Ind. Dem. ) . "It would have been better to abandon our islands than our constitution , though it was not necessary to abandon either the one or the other. "