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About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 22, 1901)
* * * 'V J * ! t V * " S ' , . 'W'V 3" ? , : , - > V .yp T , - (7'W - , \ * _ ' ! ' - * ! ' 'W- " Conservative * 8" 1 halted , and were richly rewarded for their trouble. Tempted by their suc cess , they made a second trip , and were attacked and most of them killed by the Indians. " Two private travelers in this year also have left interesting tales on record. It is a pity there were not more of them. No doubt the western camp-fires of the 40's heard some pf the best stories that have ever been told in the world ; what would one not give for a full steno graphic report of some of those ses sions ? "Many a time , " said the Canadian Roynal to young Francis Parkman , in camp west of Fort Laramie , "when I was with the Indians , I have been hunt ing for gold all through the Black Hills. " ( That is , the Black Hills of Wyoming. ) "There's plenty of it hero ; you may be certain of that. I have dreamed about it fifty times , and I never dreamed yet but what it came out true. Look over yonder at those black rocks piled up against that other big rock. Don't it look as if there might be something there ? It won't do for a white man to be rummaging too much about these mountains ; the Indians say they are full of bad spirits ; and I believe myself that it's no good luck to be hunting about hereafter gold. " One Edwin Bryant , in the same year , fell by night upon the camp of "Old Greenwood , " near Clear Lake in Cali fornia. This Greenwood seems to be the same who figures in Mr. Beok- wourth's enticing memoirs ; he took Bryant in , fed him , and imparted wis dom to him. "I was hero twenty years ago , before any white man see this lake and the rich land about it. Thar's beer- springs here , better than them in the Rocky Mountains ; thar's a mountain of solid brimstone , and thar's mines of gold and silver , all of which I know'tl many years ago , and I can show them to you if you will go with me in the morning. " This brings us to the discovery of gold in California in 1849 , in a stream which had been frequented for many years by the trappers ; who , as one of them told Dr. Peters , never looked foi gold , never saw any gold ; and would not have believed it was gold if they had , unless it had had the stamp of the United States upon it. One result of the California discover ies wasthat the west was filled with men who knew something' of gold-bearing rocks , and particularly how to wash sand for the precious metal. But when the tim came for the opening up of the treasure-house of the Rookies proper , it is singular that it should have been no white man , but an Indian , that set the ball in motion. This was a Cherokee , a stranger , therefore ; a civilized Indian , in the cattle business , who found gold in 1852 on Clear Creek , which was then called Vasquez Creek. This was not mmediately followed up ; but others of that un-still people , in wandering from Georgia to California and back again , seeking rest for the sole of their foot , seem to have brought word of the ex istence of auriferous sand to the ears of Green Russell , the man who is known as the pioneer miner of Colorado. Gen eral Marcy would claim this honor for a teamster belonging to his command in 1858 ; "while our ferry-boat was being constructed , one of our citizen em ployes washed from the sands of Cherry Creek a small amount of gold-dust , which ho showed to me. Soon after ward he was discharged and went to St. Louis , and in a short time the mill- el's commenced flocking to the lo cality. " But other soldiers had seen the same signs the year before , accord ing to Bancroft ; and in any event , Green Russell was already on the march early in the spring of 1858 , accompanied by some of the Cherokees as guides. At Leavenworth others joined them , and a party from Lawrence was soon on their trail as well ; before winter there were four hundred men at Denver ; and the rest of the story is well known. The first mention of the discoveries from which Nebraska City began at once to expect so much for herself , oc curs in the News of September 4 , 1858. It is as follows : "The Pike's Peak Gold Mines. Ar rival of Mountaineers with the Dust. Six hundred dollars dug out in a single week with knives' and tomahawks ! ! 1 Where the mines are. How to get there. The Route. The Place of Outfit. Im mense Excitement. " The editor's information was not at first hand , however. He quotes from the Kansas City Journal of Commerce an account of the arrival of one party with gold , and from the Rule Western Guide another. The Kansas City paper says there were nine men , "all of them old mountaineers , who have spent their lives in the mountains. Mons. Bord- eau has not been in the States in nine years until the present time. " The fol lowing names are given : Bordeau , Richard , Boesinette , Prime and John Oantrell , an old citizen of Westport. The Rule paper announces the return of "our fellow townsmen , Charles Mar tin and Wm. Kenceleur , who have been absent for more than two months on a triptoPlatte Bridge. " This brings to mind the uucontra- dicted statement in that storehouse of misinformation , the published papers ol the State Historical Society , that A. G. Barnes ( of Lincoln in 1886) ) who reached Plattsmouth on Christmas Day of 1858 , was the first who brought gold from Pike's Peak to the Missouri river The editor of the News made a column and a half out of the event , auc closed with this : "The exoitemeni which has commenced to rage with such intensity throughout the border towns with reference to the now gold fields in the vicinity of Pike's Peak will be , wo predict , extensively felt and widely wit nessed throughout the States. There will bo such a rush for the Western Gold fields as was only witnessed in the grand rush for the rich placers of California. What destinies it will carve out for the Great West beyond the valleys of the Mississippi and Missouri , time alone can determine. " The first actual gold to reach Ne braska City was brought bv P. R. Urosswait , "formerly of Mills County , Eowa , " who on December 29th showed the editor "some fine specimens of gold , carefully preserved in a quill , also specimens of crystallized quartz contain ing gold supposed to have boon diamonds ends by the gentleman who discovered them. " A. T. RICHARDSON. A VERY IMPORTANT MEETING. August 80th , the Nebraska Park and Forest Association holds a meeting at Lincoln , afternoon and evening , in the botanical room of the university. Af ternoon session commences at 2 o'clock , and the evening session at 8 o'clock. This meeting is called immediately af ter the meeting of the National For estry Association at Denver , and we have secured speakers of national re pute. The address of welcome is to be given by Governor Savage , and the response by Chief of Forestry , G. Piuchot. New man , Hall , Clothier , and many others will address us. In the evening wo will probably have some stereopticon lectures bearing on forestry. There has been a force of government experts at work all summer studying the forest conditions of Nebraska with reference to planting on a large scale , and we will have some report of their work. Altogether , this will be one of the most important meetings over held in our state , and we hope for a full and enthusiastic gathering , so that the gov ernment may know we are interested in our own welfare. We want every member of the so ciety to be present , and bring others. We want a thousand new members , with then$1.00 each for admittance and annual fee. Send to the president * for minutes of the society. In a matter of this kind we trust the citizens of our state and capital city will show royal welcome and appreciation , and that from the 80th of August there will date a new zeal for the redemption of the sand hills and the plains , and that our great commonwealth will do something for state forests and parks. ' ' 0. S. HARRISON , Pres. ' E. F. STEPHENS , Vice Pres. A. J. BROWN , Sec. J. STERLING MORTON. ' ' Diw C. E. BESSEY. ' PETER YOUNGER. i Directors.
