a Conservative *
THOSE HENRY RIFLES.
[ Written for The Conservative 1
At tlio annual meeting of .the Ter
ritorial Pioneers of Nebraska , on
January 15,1902 , a gentleman if I am
not mistaken it was Mr. Cox , of
So ward county made statements as to
two boxes of Henry rifles which were
sent to him while ho was employed
by the Union Pacific railroad com
pany , at the time the Union Pacific
was first built , and that he was under
orders to see to it that said arms and
and ammunition were delivered
promptly somewhere in Ham
ilton county , near the Platte
river , and that ho paid a man
§ 5 per day to get them there ; but
that he did not know what these
rifles were sent there for. Now , I
could liavo solved that mystery for
him right thorn and then , but thought
it better for the time being not to
come out flat-footed and thus probably
hurt some one's feelings. So I said
nothing and let the remarks of the
gentleman pass. But , at the same
time , I resolved that I would inform
you at an early date as to the ship
ment of these two boxes of Henry
rifles and accompanying ammunition
and what they were intended for.
Here are the facts in the matter and
they should never bo forgotten :
A great many early settlers along the
Platte river , in Hall and Merrick
counties , had taken their squatter-
claims , and quite a portion of their
160-acrc tracts consisted of valuable
timber land. These claims were
settled years before it was undertaken
to build the Union Pacific railroad ,
but when the contracts were let for
the furnishing of ties and other
timber for the construction of the
roadbed , a lot of irresponsible and ,
as was proved , reckless characters
were entrusted with the several jobs ,
and a cutting and slashing on all
woodlands along the Plattd river be
gan , that was horrible to behold.
These men were no respecters of the
rights of the settlers , but cut down
every tree big enough to make ties ,
no matter where found. They laughed
at the remonstrances of the rightful
claimants of the timberlaud , and
simply took everything they wanted
in the shape of trees wherever found.
Thus nearly all the timber along the
Platte river , from Columbus west
ward , was destroyed. I had nothing
but a barren prairie claim else there
would have been lively times with
the horde of ruffians the Union Pacific
company sent out to steal the timber.
As it was , I did not feel so very much
inclined to organize our settlers for
resisting them because souio of them
had followed bad advice and refused
to pay their honest debts to our ori
ginal town company. Therefore , I
turned them off whenever they came
to mo for advice. I told them that it
was not my funeral but that , were I
in their places , I would order the
robbers out of my timber , and if they
should choose to pay no attention to
my orders , I should , for a brief period ,
put up written notices ordering them
to quit or take the consequences , and
if this did not have the desired effect ,
I should open fire on them , and , if
required , I should kill a few of the
meanest of them ; and that that would
most likely make them a little more
considerate. "But , " said I , "it is
none of my business whatsoever and
you are asking a little too much of me
if you expect mo to do your fighting ;
you certainly have no claim on me as-
your leaderafter you have treated our
tovvii company so shamefully. "
Meanwhile the wholesale destruction
of timber went on , and there was no
let up by the several gangs hired for
that purpose. Only one old settler ,
whoso farm was about four miles
up the' river from mine , near the
mouth of Wood river by name Carl
Miller , was so infuriated that he ,
with a navy revolver and a double
barreled shotgun , attacked one of the
gangs single handed. They had hard
ly commenced to cut down1 his trees
when the crack of his gnu was heard
and cold lead began to whirr about
their ears , and the cowards ran for
dear life. This man Miller saved
his tract of timber of about 100 acres.
This courageous act of his and my
advice to other settlers , to help them"-
selves , had the effect of joining a
number of farmers together for the
purpose of defending their rightful
possessions of timberlaud , and it was
this prospective resistance that
prompted the Union Pacific railroad
officials to send the two boxes of
Henry rifles , to arm their robber
gangs with. The following incident
is in evidence : My nearest neighbor ,
on the south , had a claim of 160 acres ,
of which at least 100 acres were of the
very best timber. This man's name
is Fred Moller. A railroad contractor
named S. M. Hall took possession of
the timber , disregarding the rights
of Fred Mailer. This was at the
time when those two boxes of Henry
rifles and ammunition arrived. When
NY. H. Platt now a lawyer in Grand
Island , but at that time the clerk and
bookkeeper of S. M. Hall , the tie con
tractor handed out the rifles and
cartridges to their men he charged
them thus : "Shoot the ,
Dutch ! , " That is what those two
boxes of Henry rifles were sent for. I
think it is bettor that I did not speak
out in meeting when at Lincoln , as
it might have spoiled the good humor
of some of those present. But it can
do no harm that I give you the true
history of the disgraceful conduct of
those who stole nearly all the timber
along the Platte river in the years of
1865 , 1866 and 1867.
1867.WM.
WM. STOLLEY.
Grand Island , Neb. , Feb. 5 , 1902.
SAMPSON AND SCHLEY.
President Roosevelt , with his usual
thoroughness and careful attention to
detail , sums up the Sampson and
Schley controversy , and expresses the
hope that the matter be finally
dropped.
The president has taken the matter
up with no reference to the decision nj
of the board of inquiry , the minority
report , or the former action of President -
[ -dent McKinley ; but , after taking the
statements of the five captains most in
evidence at Santiago , ho is forced to
the conclusion that the report of the
board did substantial justice , and accordingly -
cordingly their decision is affirmed.
The president makes one statement
in regard to that famous "loop"
which will no doubt be a thorn in the
side of Sohley and his friends , when
lie speaks of the "dangerous
proximity" of the Brooklyn to the
foe , and says : "This kind of danger
must not be too nicely weighed by
those whose trade it is to dare greatly
for the honor of the flag. "
In summing up the president says :
"In short the question as to which
of the two men , Admiral Sampson or
Admiral Sohley was at the time in
command is of merely nominal char
acter. Technically Sampson com
manded the fleet and. Schloy , as
usual , the western division. The
actual fact , the important fact , is
that after the battle was joined not
a helm was shifted , not a gun was
fired , not a pound of steam was put on
in the engine room aboard any ship
actively engaged , in obedience to the
order of either Samson or Schley , save
on their own two vessels. It was a
captain's fight.
' ' Therefore the credit to which each
of the two is entitled rests on matters
apart from the claim of nominal com
mand over the squadron , for as far as
the actual fight was concerned ,
neither one nor the other in fact exer
cised any command. Sampson was
hardly more than technically in the
fight. His real claim for credit rests
upon his work as commander-in-oliief ;
upon the excellence of the blockade ;
upon the preparedness of the squad
ron ; upon the arrangement of the
ships head-on in a semi-circle around
the harbor ; and the standing orders in
accordance with which they instantly
moved to the attack of the Spaniards
when the latter appeared. For all
these things the credit is his.
"Admiral Sohloy is rightly entitled -
titled as is Captain Cook to the
credit of what the Brooklyn did iii'
