Ai. *
be Conservative.
seized this opportunity of replaoiiig his
most , by a young oak which he found
iu the wood along the shore. All hands
were set to work on it , iu order that it
might be ready the next day. This
was rendered necessary on account of
the old one having given way.
"I took this opportunity of making an
excursion into the country ascended
the hills or bluffs , which , though steep ,
are not much more than two hundred
feet above the level of the river , and
command prospects of great extent. I
could see the meandering course of the
river , between the two ranges of hills ,
or more properly of high land , for
thirty or forty miles. Some of these
hills are cut into precipices forty or
fifty feet high , without any appearance
of stone. It is a light yellow colored
earth , with a considerable mixture of
sand. There is an immense extent of
prairie on both sides of the river. The
hills are not always abrupt , but in
many places rise gently , and are ex
tremely beautiful. The river hereabout
is very crooked. In following the hills ,
along which there is an Indian path , I
could go to a point up the river which
will most probably be our place of
encampment tomorrow night.
"May 8th. Last night , having finished
our mast , we had it put np this morn
ing before day , and at daylight set off
on our voyage. Weather cool , but no
wind , and the sun apparently regaining
his empire. Passed through a country
in the course of this day , chiefly open ,
with very little wood. The river very
wide : in one place it appeared to me
nearly two miles. Encamped at the
falling in banks , or grand eboulment.
Wind has entirely abated. "
The landmarks along this particular
stretch of the river , as named by all
the early travelers , are singularly
hard to fix. It seems , however , as if
this place where the river was cut
ting into the bluff , which several of
them mention as a conspicuous ob
ject , must have been just below Ne
braska City. There are plenty of old
cut banks , above and below town ;
perhaps somebody will yet make out
which one was fresh a hundred years
ago.
"May 9th. Set off at daylight-
continued a short distance under sail
with a light breexe. Several of the
men are sick ; one has a pleurisy ,
and others slight fevers and coughs ,
from frequent exposure in the water.
There appears to be no hills or bluffs
to the north east side , the whole
distance to the Platto. Encamped
some distance above a hill , called
L'ooil offroi , from an Indian chief
who was scaffolded hero some years
ago. "
Nothing is said of either Table
Creek , Walnut Greek , or the Weeping
Water , all of which ho passed just
here. His "Scare-eye hill" was most
likely Rock Bluffs.
"May 10th. A dreadful storm
raged during the whole of the night.
Set off this morning under sail , in
expectation of reaching the Platte
before twelve , but in the course of
an hour it failed us , and changed to
N. W. At ten , it became so violent
that we were compelled to put to
shore , whore we remained until
towards evening and again attempted
to proceed but finding the wind too
strong , again landed and encamped ,
having passed the mouth of the
Platte. At the mouth of this river
there is so great a number of bars and
small islands that its entrance is
scarcely perceptible. The river en
ters by a number of channels or
mouths : the color of its waters is the
same with that of the Missouri. The
country hereabouts is entirely open ,
excepting in some spots along the
river , where there are groves of cot
ton wood , and on the hills a few
scattered dwarf oaks.
"May llth. Set off with my gun
to take a walk into the country.
Traversed the prairie , which had
been burnt , and reached the high
laud about three miles distant ; the
high laud rises gradually to the
height of about two hundred feet ,
the country then becomes waving.
The other side of the Missouri ap
pears extremely bare. I wandered
towards the Platte , or rather to the
point of the upland between the
river and the Missouri , which com
mands a very extensive prospect. I
discovered a great extent of open
country , gently rising grounds , with
a soil everywhere extremely rich.
The Platte is full of islands and sand
bars , and appears as wide as the
Missouri. On my return , I saw sev
eral Indian mounds.
' ' The river Platte is regarded by the
navigators of the Missouri as a point
of as much importance , as the
equinoctial line amongst mariners.
All those who had not passed it be
fore , were required to be shaved , un
less thov could compromise the mat
ter by a treat. Much merriment was
indulged on the occasion' . From this
we enter what is called the upper
Missouri. Indeed the change is pro-
ceptiblo and great. ' '
On the 12th they passed some old
Otoe villages : the only mention the
writer recalls of this tribe having
ever lived north of the Platte. The
young man walked over the site of
Omaha "a charming prairie , and of
the richest soil. "
Next day ' ' we have now reached
the highest point to which settle
ments will probably extend on the
western side for many years. In the
evening passed high , clean meadows ,
called the Council Bluffs , from the
circumstance of Lewis and Clarke
having held a council with the Otto
and Missouri Indians when ascend
ing this river. It is a beautiful
place. ' '
Of the landmarks above Omaha he
speaks of Blackbird hill and Floyd's
grave , where he saw not a ' ' seeder
post , ' ' but a cross ; and so they passed
on up. Brackenridgo went as far as
Fort Lisa , above the Maiidau village ,
iu the middle of North Dakota , and
was glad to return thence to St.
Louis , which place ho reached with
out incident hi August. A. T. R.
ROOSEVELT AND THE TRUST
GIANTS.
( From The "World's Work. )
Difficult as it is to formulate , every
thoughtful man knows that the gen
eral tendency of great corporations is
to secure , by the mere pressure of
their power , leaving out of considera
tion all cases ot criminal intent , ad
vantages that an ideal democracy
must deny them. A giant , unless he
be an unnaturally gentle giant , gets
a larger share of the sidewalk than
he is fairly entitled to , simply be
cause he is a giant. Every thought
ful man knows , too or feels even if
he cannot formulate his feeling that
as between the two great political
parties the great interests have been
more at home in the Republican
household.
Now , apart from engaging qualities
which make him a good leader ( wit
ness his dextrous management of the
Cuban case in Congress ) , and which
make him an admirable Executive
( witness his management of Germany
in South America , whereby a prince
of the royal Prussian house came to
the United States on a friendly visit
instead of German gunboats going to
Venezuela on a hostile errand ) apart
from his qualities as Executive and
party leader , Mr. Roosevelt has a
profound love of fair play , iu great
matters and iu small , which gives
promise of a struggle for mastery be
tween him and the great interests
which have found in his party a
deferential hospitality. He , too , is
hospitable , as he ought to be ; but the
bigness of the giant does not , in Mr.
Roosevelt's mind , entitle him to more
than a giant's share of room.
DID YOU EVER ?
James N. Green , a chicken doctor ,
has located at No. C84 Garden street ,
West Beatrice , where ho will examine -
ine and doctor chickens , turkeys ,
and poultry generally , for roupe ,
cholera , pinkeye , gaps and all ail-
meiits that chickens are heir to. His
charges are one cent a head and ho
guarantees a cure , and will take sick
chickens for pay.
It costs nothing to give him a trial ,
and as ho comes highly recommended ,
ho is certainly entitled to a chance to
show what ho can do. Beatrice
( Nob. ) Democrat.
