The Omaha Sunday Bee
PART III.
Always Read
THE OMAHA DEE
Best 'hn. West
IIALF-TOilE SECTION
PACES 1 TO
VOL. XXXVII NO. 2.
OMAHA, SUNDAY" MORNING, JUNE 30, 1907.
SINGLE COPY FIVE CENTS.
JOHN FRED BEHM SOLDIER CONTRACTOR AND OPTIMIST
Youngest Member of the Famous Old Fighting First Nebraska Has Had a Strenuous Life Amid the Stirring Scenes of Western Development, but Feels Strong and Good-Natured Yet.
A MAN of original and pronounced Ideas, of philosophical
' temperament and of contented spirit Is John Fred Behm,
pioneer of Omaha, civil war veteran, Indian fighter, house
mover, contractor and musician. His has been a life of
variety both in occupation and In fortune. It has always
been a life of energy and effort. He was born In the little
village of Moechel, near the city of Stutgart. Kingdom of Wurtem
berg, Germany. His father was a cabinet maker of industrious and
frugal habits habits which enabled him to acquire the old stone
house where they lived and.the fertile vineyard which occupied the
steep hill riBlng from the back "of the house. Rut his father had
also pronounced ideas regarding the right of every man to life, lib
erty and the pursuit of happiness. Therefore when the Fatherland
wa wrenched by civil strife In the troublous years of '48 and '49 ha
took a leading part. He was one of a company of rebels who sur
rounded 800 Prussian troops and killed them. This was too much
for the powers at Berlin. A price was set on his head and one night,
after bidding a tearful farewell to his wife and children, he crept
out of the house and hurried away toward Antwerp. He arrived
there, took ship and came to America. Two years later the father,
having secured a foothold In the new world, sent for his wife, his
three sons and daughter. They polled also from Antwerp. The ship
waa tossed by storms and bo buffeted about that It did not arrive
at New Orleans until three months later. The water supply ran out
and for daya the passengers and crew stared Into the gaunt face of
Death. But they did arrive safely at last and were united to the
exiled husband and father In New Orleans. The family remained
there two years and then moved to Indianapolis where the father
secured work as a carpenter.
In the spring of 1856 they decided to come to Omaha, which
had Just been settled. The family with about twenty-five other
Germans from Indianapolis arrived in Omaha April 28, 1856, on the
steamer "Emigrant." having come most of the distance by the river
route via St Louis and St. Joseph. Here the father again secured
work as a carpenter and the family lived first in a house on Cass
street between Nineteenth end Twentieth streets. This house had
two rooms downstairs and a loft above. In these quarters the twenty-five
Germans lived witht the Behm family, boarding there and
sleeping In the loft for several months. The house was sold event
ually to George Barker and the Behms moved to a place on Chicago
street between Eleventh and Twelfth streeU where they conducted
the "Deutsche Gasthaus" tor a time.
Printing in Early Days
JohnFred, or "Fred," as he has always been known, was only
12 years old when he secured his first employment, which was as
"devil" In the office of the Omaha Nebraskan, then published by
M. H. Clark. He helped print and distribute the first telegraphic
newspaper ever published in Omaha. This was in Clark's printing
office on the second floor of a building at Thirteenth and Douglas
streets. A. N. Ferguson, afterwards a judge, did the typesetting and
presswork. The paper was printed on a hand press. While Mr.
Ferguson worked the lever and laid the sheets of paper In place, It
was the duty of young Behm to ink the typo, which had to be done
with a hand roller. .
"I went to work at 6 o'clock In the evening and wasgenerally
through at 6 in the morning," says Mr. Behm. "It took us about
five hours to print 200 papers. Then I used to take a bundle to
the old Btage station on Eleventh street between Howard and Har
ney streets. These went to Ibo' south. '1 also took a bundle id a '
stage station on Twenty-third street between Cuming and Izard
streeU for the north and northwest. There were no electric lights,
sidewalks or anything of that sort and I did all that tramping
through the dark and cold and snow. For this I got $12 a month."
Mr. Behm was the youngest enlisted soldier in the First Ne
braska, being only 13 years old when he enlisted, May 20, 1861.
He waa made a drummer boy and all through the war waa known
by the sobriquet, "Taps."
"I think there waa never eo fine a regiment of soldiers as that
one." he says. "We used to be drawn up down there near the
Union Facific headquarters. There we were mustered In and there
the beautiful flug made by the women of Omaha was presented to
us. EHzubeth Davis, afterward Mrs. Herman Kountze, and Gusste
Estabrook were leaders In making the flag. It was a beauty and I
remember Gussle EMabrook making the presentation speech. She
was surely a tine speaker. We carried that flag through the war
and we brought back what was left of it. The staff la down at Lin
coln now in the museum."
Tough Times In Arkansas
"Taps" went throvth the first part of the war as a drummer
boy. Then he re-enJlsted as a soldier with a rifle and went through
fifteen engagements, including Shiloh and Fort Donaldson, lie
was taken prisoner by a large band of rebels In August, 1864. A
force consisting of seventy-five cavalry from the First Nebraska
had been detailed to protect a large number of men making hay
for the government on Grand Prairie, Ark., between Duval's Bluff
and Little Rock. The rebel general, Shelby, surrouuded them with .
overwhelming force. The besieged threw up fortifications of hay
bales, but the rebels, who had four cannon, kept up a fire which
set the hay afire and the Union men were compelled to surrender.
Just after the surrender a regiment of Union cavalry came over the
hill and there occurred what Mr. Behm calls "the prettiest fight"
be aver saw. But the rebels were strongest In numbers and got
away with their prisoners.
"They stripped us of all but our underclothes immediately,"
says Mr. Behm, "and In that condition in our bare feet we had to
walk across about three miles of hay stubble. I remember Sergeant
Major Slocum, who was very weak, leaned on my arm. The soles
of my feet were all raw and bleeding when we finally reached the
woods. Whea we arrived there they wanted to go faster and they
took Blocuni away from me, set him up against a tree and shot him.
"We had bad about thirty negroes with us a wagon drivers
and helpers. After we had reached the woods the rebels decided
to shoot these and they also decided to have some fun out of It.
v6o they said tbey would give overy nigger a chance for his life.
'About fifteen men with rifles were stationed along In a line and
then one negro at a time was let go and they shot at him as he ran
screaming and begging for aiercy. It was a horrible sight. They
were all shot down, though one fellow I thought was going to get
away-,. He had got beyond the line and was still running. But sud.
denly he wobbled and then, tell like the rest of them. After this
slaughter the rebels proceeded with ua. We marched all night and
In the morning arrived at the rebel prison between Batesvllle and
Jacksonford. Ark. It was a stockade about tea feet high. During
the two weeks we were kept there we were fed on about a pint of
bran a day. We had no way to cook It. But by putting it In our
hats, nixing a little water with It and holding It on a stick near the
tlxe we were able to make it a little warm before eating it.
Oak Leaves as Food
Iders one occupation as honorable as another, and he caw uo In
congruity in tolling all day at the niont laborious klud of work and
then spending the evening in the pursuit of his beloved music! He
became one of the leading musicians in tho city on the bass viol,
and the trombone, playing In the orchestras at the several theaters
with Prof. Hoffman and Prof. Stelnhauscr. While he was thufc
busied he yielded to the persuasion of friends and entered the city
council,' where he served two terms. Ho was also a member of the
state legislature one year.
He took an active part In the volunteer fire department of
Omaha. He was the first paid fireman in the city department and)
he fired the first steam engine owned by the city. He "held tha
nozzle" on probably tho most sensational fire that ever occurred la
Omaha, that which consumed the King grocery establishment at v
Twelfth and Farnam streets. A young clerk by the name of Baker
had stolen some money, killed another clerk named Iligglns and
then set the place on fire to conceal his crime. Mr. Behm found
the body lying In the smoky room when he pushed In the burning
building with the hone. A few months later he was one of the
guard which walked beside the carriage that took Baker from tha
JhII to the scaffold at Twenty-fourth and Douglas streets, whera
he w'aa executed.
Discovers a Murder
Circumstances caused Mr. Behm to play a part in the sensa
tional case of Judge Cyrus Tater. Tater had come across the plains
from the west with Isaac H. Neff. Arriving at Omaha they camped
on a bluff near where Locust street vnow is. Tater murdered Nefl
during tho night, wrapped a heavy log chain around vhw body and
threw It Into the river. The following morning Mr. Kehni hap
pened to be walking along the river bank at that point and sav. ,
the body. He drew it out and notified the authorities. Tater had
fled with the wagons. He was pursued and caught this side of
Columbus. His trial took place In Omaha and he was condemned
to death.
"The scaffold on which he was hanged was erected right on
the spot where the murder took place," says Mr. Behm. "An im
mense crowd was there at the execution and I never saw so many
fainting women' any other time In my life. He made quite a long
speech just before he stepped on the trap. He was a very eloquent
orator and his words moved many to tears. He protested hla In
nocence to the last."
During the '90s Mr. Behm went west and engaged In contract
ing on a large scale. Among other things he built the water works
at Astoria, Ore., and did much paving in Portland and other cities.
He waa president of the Pacific Paving company. But he met re
verses and returned to Omaha, where he has resided since that time, i
always busy and always contented. He is now in charge of allthe .
real estate owned by the First National bank, keeiiingoar6Ucut.
sidewalks repaired and looking after all the multitudinous details w
of properties. ,
Mark Topley Personified
J. FRED BEHM.
racks. But a crowd gathered around me and a policeman stopped
me and said I'd have to get more duds on before I could appear on
the streets."
Young Behm was taken to Benton barracks and there recruited
his strength. Then he was sent to Omaha, whither his regiment
had come several months before. The regiment had already been
sent to Fort Kearney to quell the Indian uprising and thither "Taps"
went and served until 18GG. The duty of the regiment, among
other things, was to accompany the overland stages from one sta
tion to another, twelve soldiers going with each stage. Mr. Behm
remembers the attack of a large band of Sioux on Alkali station,
where they killed all the garrison. He also recalls what he declarea
was the most pitiful sight he ever witnessed. This was 1,200 ham
strung cattle. The Indians had killed the men who were bringing
them from Denver and then from pure delight In cruelty had sev
ered the tendons of the hind foet of the animals. When Mr. Behm
saw them they were crawling around the prairie painfully on their
front feet, the rear ones being entirely useless.
He was a member of a band of 20p soldiers who pursued 1,000
Sioux a distance of eighty miles hrough a country where there was
no water. The Indians stampeded their horses one night and they
were compelled to walk back to the fort. A very narrow escape
for him was one occasion when he and two companions were riding
down from a remote post they called "Camp Banishment" to James
E. Boyd's brewery, on the Wood river, with the mall. A band of
Indians surprised them and Behm's two companions were shot. An
arrow intended for himself struck his horse Just behind the saddle.
The animal was not disabled, however, and bore him safely out
of the reach of danger.
All Sorts of Activity
He returned in 1866 to Omaha, noting on the way with much
surprise the cuts and embankments marking the line of the new
Union Pacific railroad. "I never thought they would have any use
for a' railroad out there," he says. For twenty years then he en
gaged In the business of house moving and the art of music. He
possessed naturally that Utopian ideal of citizenship which con-
"I was worth $75,000 in 1890 and now I am broke,' " he saysv
"But that makes no difference to me. I came into the world with
out anything and I will go out of it the same way. I couldnt take)
any money along, and so what should I want it for? I do my work;
and I do it well, and that is a great satisfaction. And I've got good
friends. John Crelghton, Herman Kountze, W. A. Paxton and Ed
ward Rosewater were all my frlendB, and they did everything for
me. When I came back from the west Edward Rosewater made
a special trip to Washington to try to get me a contract. .Would
you find many men that would do that for you?"
Mr. Behm in 1878 married Miss Carrie L. Preston in Omaha.
They have three sons, Frank Lee Behm, until recently a baUlff In
the district court here, now lives In Seattle. Floyd L. Behm and
Forrest E. Behm both live In Omaha. Another 6on, Fred Behm, Jr.,
was killed in an accident a few years ago. Mr. Behm is a member
of the Veteran Masonic association, the Grand Array of the Republic,
the Union Veterans' union and the Eagles. He is proud of the fact
that he voted for Abraham Lincoln and for every republican presi
dent since then. He also enjoys the distinction of being probably
the youngest pioneer of Omaha, only 59 years old. He has had a
remarkable business career. Though he did business in contracting
amounting to more than $1,000,000, he never drew up or had drawn
up for hl'm a written contract and he never lost more than $30 on
his collections. Contented, he lives in the city with which he has
grown up and he has a philosophy all hlB own:
"I used to be a great church member, but I got to going fishing
and I found it did me more good than going to church. I go out
to Cut-Off lake every week now, generally Saturday afternoon and
Sunday. I have a place out there and tackle and everything and I
just fish. I love to do it and I don't believe the Lord Is going to
punish me for doing that."
Some Triumphs Wrought by Aodern Surgery
I
"At the end of two weeks we were paroled and turned loose
In that hostile country. We had nothing on but our underclothes
and there was nothing to eat in the country. For daya we lived
' on oak and aaaesfras leaves. Yes, oak leaves are pretty good eating
when a man's hungry. As we got nearer the north we reached or
chards and cornfields and then we feasted. At Patterson, Mo., the
first Union station on our route, we found there were no cloth- -
us. We walked forty miles farther to Pilot noma of Mn. Reichenbers at
a freight train and went to St. Loul.' i--'-1'1 Harney atreeta win b
provides inroug-noui wun tne latest fts-
N the department of surgery, as opposed tq
that of pure medicine, advances have been
made of a nature which today may well
cause those who are acquainted with the
state of medicine in the '60s and the '70s
to rejoice In the Improvement of surgical methods,
and likewise to Indulge In legitimate surprise at
the rapidity with which Improvements In treat
ment have been made. No doubt the surgeon has
a great advantage over the physician In the sense
that he comes more directly into contact with the
disease states which it Is the object of his Bclence
and art to cure or relieve. From the nature of
his particular inquiries the physician literally has
often to work in the dark. " The surgeon, on the
other hand, lays bare the seat of disease, and the
great advance of the surgical art in modern times
may be summed up in the statement that the mod
ern surgeon has learned that practically no organ
or tissue of the body Is to be regarded as lying
outside possible Interference.
No better or more instructive example of this
latter fact can be found than in the case of the
brain. It certainly had long been known that
persons who were suffering from head Injuries,
and who had lost a relatively considerable amount
of brain substance In consequence, frequently re
covered, and In many cases did not exhibit such
marked failure of the mental powers as might
have been expected when regard was had to the
severity of the accidents. As a matter of fact,
the brain itself is not an extremely sensitive organ,
and head Injuries mostly concern the surgeon
from the point of view of the brain case Itself, and
not so much of the organ which that case is In
tended to contain and protect. Many instances
are on record in which extremely severe brain in
juries have been recovered from with a "acuity
hen
'' Ith
at I o'clock on a Sunday niornln.
and slept till daylight . Then..'",' for
lurti and equipment for eleetrlo lights.
The ay at em will be rurntahed with fluah
thariea"Lv"" medical men.
and broke hla h'nMjcal lnterf'
waa killed. This Jot.. yog.
ewered well to the deecripiu
man. Aa far aa known ha had t
or connocuoua in Omaha.
ce
aspect. In thw first place, It was necessary to
note the duties or functions performed by differ
ent parts of the brain. This knowledge came to
us from the researches of various observers, and
today, as a result of such Investigations, we And
the whole surface of the brain mapped out with
accuracy in respect of the duties discharged by
each part or area. I need hardly remark in pass
ing that these areas do not correspond in any
sense with the divisions one sees In a phrenolog
ical cast of the head. A new phrenology, if I
may still use that term -that of science has
.
ousted the old.
The functions of the brain being known, it be
came an easy matter to diagnose or Identify par
ticular symptoms exhibited in brain diseases with
affection of particular areas of the brain. Twitch
ing of certain groupB of muscles, for example,
are related to the part of the brain which covers
theBe muscles, so that if the surgeon and phyxlcfan
together have reason to suspect that a special
area of the brain is involved, say through the ex
istence of pressure of a tumor, the surgeon can
today safely cut down upon the spot, remove the
tumor and not merely in many cases prolong life,
but effect an absolute cure of the case. Such
brain operations, in fact, represent one of the tri
umphs of modern surgery, rendered possible not
merely, as in the case of the thyroid gland, by
the definite and efficient research of science into
the natural functions and duties of the brain, but
also aided by the experience of the modern sur
geon, and, I need hardly add, by the fact that
through the act ion, of chloroform and other anaes
th est lee the abolition of consciousness on the part
of the patient is perfectly effected.
I can well remember when the membrane
which lines the abdomen, and is reflected over its
various organs a membrane known as the peri
toneum was regarded by surgeons as a singu
larly dangerous structure in respect of Its as
sumed liability when touched or irritated to pass
Into a state of inflammation. This view, through
Improved surgical practice, has been entirely ex
ploded. The peritoneum today, In various serious
operations, is practically as freely handled as is
the skin, and very many serious internal diseases,
especially of the nature of tumors, are removed
with perfect safety to the patient. Indeed, the
death rate from such operations presents today,
In respect of Its lowness, one of the most satis
factory testimonials of the perfection to which
the practice of surgery has attained. This spe
cial aspect of the matter relates itself In a very
marked manner to an aliment which of late days
has become unfortunately only too well known by
name to the public. I refer to appendicitis. The
affection in question Implies inflammation of a
small rudimentary or vestigial organ attached to
the first part of the large Intestine. It undoubt
edly represents in man the remains of a structure
which In certain phases of lower life continues to
be large. Subjected as it apparently is in modern
civilized life to lrriatlon of various kinds, arising
from various sources, the appendix exhibits in
flammatory action which, if not promptly treated,
leads to serious results. The modern physician,
aa the result of his experience in other directions,
fearlessly tackles the appendix and removes It.
Ia this way tbousmds of lives are saved year by
year which in former days were sacrificed to the
natural fear of the surgeon to meddle with pans
or to interfere Id conditions supposed to be be
yond the reach of human aid.
Even an organ like the heart, which might
certainly be supposed to He outside the sphere of
the surgeon, has now come to be Included within
his province. .' Not so very long ago a case oc
curred In I-ondon where a man stabbed In the
heart was taken to the hospital. The wound In
the heart waa duly sutured or stitched, and the
patient made a perfect recovery. Surgery In this
rase undoubtedly ssved the assailant from being
indictei on the capital charge.' The heart is, of
course, a hollow fnuscle, and In the case of a
wound of thla orgin everything mast depend upon
the particular part which has been injured. If a
vital part, and one closely' connected with what ;
we may call the Internal mechanism of tha organ.
has been touched, recovery, of course, is lmpossl-
ble; but where the substance of the heart itself 1
alone has. been affected surgery is enabled to 1
place the patient in a condition favoring recovery;
and this notwithstanding the apparently constant
work of the organ. For example, last March a
negro, $0 years of age, was treated for a wound
of the heart in New York. To show how aa oth
erwise severe injury may not necessarily ba a
fatal one, the patient In this case walked a cer
tain distance to the hospital after being injured,
and within forty-five minutes was operated upon.
The wound was on the left side of the ventricle.
After due treatment the patient recovered. In
another case, reported at a German surgical con
gress, a wound of the heart was successfully
treated, the injury being on the right upper cavity
or portion of the heart. It is related that this
wound In the heart was closed by three silk su
tures; and, although the patient suffered from a
complication of troubles thereafter, hU recovery
waa perfect, and he was able to follow his trade,
which was that of a butcher.
Surgeons know that in a certain number of
cases where the heart has been injured patients
may recover without any operation at all, this
being, cf course, due to the fact that the wound
in the heart cloaes of itself, a result which, again,
depends very materially upon the part of tha or
gan affected. More extraordinary still are those
accidents In which Injuries to the heart have been
Inflicted by bullets. Here it might be assumed
greater laceration or destruction of the heart
substance takes place. Yet many cases are known
to military surgeons and others in which perfect
recoveries have taken place as the result of effi
cient surgical treatment. Indeed, Individuals are
alive today who carry about embedded in their
hearts bullets which have, so to speak, niaj
(Continued on Page Six.)