10 Conservative *
THE MORMONS OF 1846.
"Wo hike from the Niobrara Pioneer the
following iuterestiug sketch of the
earliest settlement of Knox county.
The Pioneer is one of that sturdy band
of country-town newspapers that are
performing their work , of education ,
quietly and without ostentation , every
week upon the people of Nebraska. It
is in its 27th year , and its motto is
"There is no place like homo. "
Mormons Fix Old Landmarks.
Isaac and John H. Riddle , accompanied -
, panied by J. W. Towudseud , of Crete ,
arrived in town Friday. They were
hero to locate the remains of Newill
Knight , and 15 others , mostly children ,
who died during the winter of 1846-7
while the Mormons were in winter
quarters on the opposite bank of the
Niobrara river. The Riddle brothers
are Mormons , and were with the first
party that ever crossed the Missouri
river on their way to "the promised
laud. " They are here at the instance
of the soil of Mr. Knight , who proposes
to erect a handsome monument. Secre
tary Fry , of the L'Ean qui Court ceme
tery , offered in behalf of the associa
tion a plot of ground in our cemetery if
they would exhume the remains and de
posit them iu Niobrara's cemetery and
erect such a monument .as they say will
be erected , which is under considera
tion.
tion.The
The early history of Niobrara is very
vague as to this settlement of Mormons ,
and the arrival of these gentleman has
settled some points of history not known
before. Isaac Riddle is from Provo ,
Utah , and was 16 when his father and
family came here in the fall of 1846.
"My father was the van guard of the
Mormon pioneers , " said Mr. Riddle.
" "Wo first struck up the Missouri in 1845
with 80 other families. A little below
old Fort Vermilliou , South Dakota , we
fenced in 2,000 acres of bottom lend
along the Missouri the south line be
ing fenced by the Big Muddy itself.
Here we put in a crop and spout the
winter of 1845-6. "Word came that
Prophet Smith and his sou had been
killed , and wo were ordered down the
Missouri to Kaiiesville , where we were
to meet the exodus from Nauvoo , Illi
nois , which we reached three weeks in
advance. " Here Mr. Riddle described
the persecution under which these
pioneer families had passed from the
hands of the gentile.
" at Niobrara accident "
"Being was an ,
continued Mr. Riddle. "We were
ordered away iu the spring to the
Rocky mountains 150 wagons. The
first wagon wheel that over made its
mark where Omaha now counts its
hundreds of thousands was made by our
party. We were the path-finders. We
loft the Missouri river in the mouth of
July , 1846 , after the president had issued
a call for troops to fight Mexico , and 600
of our people responded. Our main
camp was at Kauesville , ( Council
Bluffs ) as a supply and outfitting point
midway to the land of promise. We
proceeded up the Platte , and while in
camp at Pawnee Station , a courier ar
rived with orders that we should pro
ceed no farther , as it was feared wo
could not reach the end of our journey
before winter. Soldiers were stationed
hero and the government had put in a
crop of wheat , oats , potatoes and corn.
The Pawnees were troublesome that
spring and frightened the farm laborers
out of the country. When wo arrived
this crop was abandoned , and we con
tracted to harvest it for half the crop.
After this had been garnered orders
came for us to hunt winter quarters.
About a dozen Ponca Indians were on a
visit to the Pawnees , who reported we
could get excellent winter quarters with
them. They piloted us from the PJatte
along about the route of the Elkhorn
railroad. There was motive , however ,
in the desire for our company. We had
a small cannon along wdth us , and they
had seen us shoot it. Having had much
trouble with the Sioux at the west of
them , this cannon was considered a
'heap big iron killer. ' Our company
went out with the Poncas in their win
ter hunt , going where the pine was
quite heavy. The woods were full of
wild turkey , and all along the bench
land where your town now stands were
Indian camps from the mouth of the
Niobrara to about half way to the Five-
mile creek ( Baaile ) . The whole prairie
was alive with buffaloes then , and there
were large quantities of timber skirting
the two streams. "
It has always been supposed that the
reason the Mormons left here was be
cause the Poncas made them trouble.
Mr. Riddle said that there was'nothing
in the story. "It was not our purpose
to remain there merely to winter.
During the winter we had eaten the
harvest of the former season and re
turned to Kanesville. Wo went down
to Five-mile ( Brazile ) creek , going to
about where Oreighton is now , then
struck southeast. "
'How does it come , Mr. Riddle , that
what is known as the 'Mormon trail'
goes vfest of Creighton ? " asked the
Pioneer interviewer.
"This was due to the high water in
*
1850 , when the main camp moved. The
water was very high that season and
the Platte and Elkhorii impassable. Our
old trail was taken to the point where
the trail bore easterly , and we then
started due west in order to 'head the
Elkhorn , ' going into the Black Hills and
then onward. We crossed the Niobrara
river at the 'big falls' with a good rook
bottom. "
Isaac Riddle is an old white-headed
man. He said that ho was the husband
of three wives and the father of twenty
children , twelve of whom are still liv-
ing. "When the hour came to give up
my wives or go to the penitentiary , "
continued Mr. Riddle , "I chose the lat
ter , and am , in the eyes of the law , an
ex-convict. Peace came to two of my , i
wives and I have but one now. " '
"During the winter of our camp at
tl'e mouth of the Niobrara , Newill
Knight made two mill stones out of the
drift boulders found on your'hill tops
with which we wore to grind our corn
by horse-power. There is no such thing
as a 'Mormon canal' as you suggest. 1 * '
This was hero the same as now , except 7 | | ;
perhaps it has boon enlarged by the elo- vl
nients. These old mill-stones we should ; ,
like to embrace in our proposed monument
ment to their maker. We have trailed
them pretty close , but whether they can
be found or not we cannot say now.
*
The son of Newill Knight is what we
call 'a lucky miner' and counts his in
come with six figures. His tithe to the
church is $1,000 per month , has leisure
and is liberal hearted. He has sent us
out to locate the grave , which we have
succeeded in doing , exhumed some of the
ashes buried 55 years ago and found re
mains of the fire-brick. The buildings
were built as stockades against the en
croachment of the Sioux warriors , and
what we found was , of course ,
only a small portion of the enclosure /
that held 65 families. The graves are t V
about 60 rods from there on Buffalo , '
Chipp's laud overlooking the Niobrara )
Island and your Running Water. We
shall return probably in the fall and ,
begin operations. " j
TOLD BY A TREE.
Railroad Commissioner Rogers , who
was here af ew days ago , was talkiugabout
the value of North Carolina timber.
He said that he had only one story to
relate , and that was a big one. A man
in western North Carolina was selling
standing timber walnut trees. The
man who was buying came to one very
handsome tree. He told the owner he
could pay as much as $50 for that tree.
This excited the owner. He did not
sell , but sent for experts. The owner
got $1,500 for the tree ( curled walnut )
as it stood. The man who cut it
down realized $3,000 for it on the
cars. It was shipped to New York ,
veneered one-sixteenth to one-quarter
inch. The sales were watched and esti
mated as best as could be done , and when
all was disposed of , it turned out that
the tree brought nearly $60,000. The
point of it is this : We have no idea as
to the value of our timber , much of
which is being sent North for a mere
song. We can become rich in North
Carolina if we work our raw material
as others work it for us , High Point
Enterprise.