rHE Omaha Sunday Bee
PART III.
THE OMAHA DEE
Best t'hn. West
I1ALF-TCIIE SECTIOII
PACES 1 TO
VOL. XXXVII NO. 4.
OMAIIA, SUNDAY MORNING, JULY 14, 1!)07.
SIXULK COPY F1VH CKXTS.
LOUIS GREBE YOUNGEST AMONG OttAHA PIONEERS OF '56
Story of a "Boy" Whose Fifty-One Years of Life Have All Been Spent in and Around Omaha in Active Work Connected With the Courts and the Law's Administration
LOUIS GREBE la El'years and 3 month old. He Has lived
In Omaha fifty-one years and one momh. He Is the young
est of the living pioneers of Douglas county. That Is only
one of his claims to special distinction. Another is that he
knows practically everybody in the county, and who does
not know "Louie" Grebe, district court bailiff and terror of crim
inals and evildoers for nearly thirty years? Whose spirit has not
been cheered with his perpetual good humor and optimism?
"I.oule" is an apostle of good'theer, a messenger of Joy. a winged
Mercury of happiness, a dispenser of light and airy persiflage that
cheers but does not wound.
Bluegrass, Scott county, Iowa, is the town whic h claims to. be Mr.
Grebe's birthplace and there are no other towns to dispute the
honor. The. date was April 18, 1856. (It will be observed that this
was precisely a half century before the great San Francisco earth
quake, which occurred April 18, 190G.) Apparently the child was a
prodigy even from birth. In his extreme youth he cast a prophetic
eye toward the west and gravely advised his parents that Nebraska
was the land of oportunity. When he hud reached the mature age of
six weeks he bade his parents get ready and follow him across the
plains to where Jhe great Missouri pours its turbid waters toward
the eouth. And his rarents, never doubting his wisdom for a moment,
followed him. Down the clear 'Mississippi river they went to St.
Louis. There they took another boat and steamed for days up the
muddy Missouri until they arrived at a busy settlement on the west
bank of the river. There young. Grebe advised his parents to tarry,
and there they left the boat. It was the infant settlement of Flor
ence. The above is a sample of Mr. Grebe's light and airy persiflage.
Translated it means that his parents came to Nebraska in 1856. They
settled in Florence June It, 1856, and there Orebe, pere, built a
home with lumber whlrh he had purchased in St. louis and brought
up on the boat. One Incident Grebe, fils, relates with gusto, though
he points out that he lias It only on Iteresay, to use a court ex
pression. His mother, he says, had allowed him to get too much of
the damp river air and when the boat arrived at Nebraska City,
Grebe, fils, was very ill. Theroup6n Grebe, pere, had to walk tea
miles down the river to a place where a doctor lived and where pare
goric abounded. "In all my adventures with criminals, I don't believe
I ever came as near getting. killed," saya Mr. Grebe, "as I did that
time. My father told me often that he had the biggest kind of
notion to throw me into the river because I was so much bother."
Played With Pappooses'
As soon as the Grebe home was finished the family moved from
its temporary abode at the Willett house to the little shack. The
elder Grebe opened a wagon shop and from this source he had a
good Income. For those were the days of the Mormon migration
nnd there were thousands of the faithful In Florence every day dur
ing the season. They arrived there from the east footsore; and
they rested. They arrived with wagons nnd pushcarts dilapi
dated and broken; and they had them repaired at the Grebe Wagon
and Carriage shops. He did a thriving business. Louie grew into a
toddling youngster and his favorite companions were the little brown
papooses of the Indians whose tepees were only a hundred yards
distant. "I used to be afraid of white boys," he says. Whan I saw
one coming I'd run with all my might. But I wasn't a "bit scared
of the little Indians. We used to have all kinds of fun, even playing
at war with each other."
' In 1860 the Mormon migration was over. There wera no more
wagons and pushcarts to be repaired. Omaha was forging rapidly
ahead of her northern rival. Then the wagon builder decided to
move. He did so In February, 1860, renting a building which stood
on the site cf what is now 1414 Douglas street. He conducted his
wagon shop in the front of the building, while the family occupied
the rear as a home. He remained In the same business all his life,
though he was honored with many high offices. He was a member of
the territorial legislature four terms, city treasurer of Florence,
member of the Omaha council, sheriff of Douglas county from 1869
to 1873. He was also a deputy sheriff for more than fifteen years.
His death occurred In 1894. Louie grew up In Omaha, helping his
father in the shop, going to school and laying the foundation of his
broad and cosmopolitan acquaintance with citizens. As a boy he was
one of the town's enthuslatslc base ball players. He was pitcher for
the "Resolutes" In 1873 and 1874. This team was the third in the
state to boast uniforms, the "Clippers" and the "Elkhorns" having
preceded them In this distinction. Young Grebe was one of the. wit
nesses of that awful base ball slaughter when the Red Stockings of
Cincinnati crossed bats with the Omaha at the old state fair grounds
in 1869. The result was a score of 60 to 1 In favor of the visitors.
Pitcher Fay of the Omaha made the solitary scor.
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LOUIS GREBH.
Some Boyhood Memories
Mr. Grebe saya that with all his hustling he never moved so faBt
as be did on one occasion in 1868. He was one of the spectators at
a fight between a bear and a bull which was arranged in the fall of
that year to taka place at the present Intersection of Twenty-third
atreet and Capitol avenue. But instead of attacking the bull, "Grlz
ily Joe," tha bear, ran for the spectators, who melted away before
him. He was captured at Florence lake by Mexican Sam, a "cow
puncher" employed by George W. Forbea. Another sporting event of
the early daya which, he remembers is the prize fight between Steve
Watson and Sam Moore. Tha.men fought continuously for fifteen
mtnutei and than Moore was knocked out. He was hauled away by
ei-Shrtvt Sam Reevea In a farm wagon to the creek beyond the
fighting ground and there brought back to life. This fight took place
on tha west part of what la aow the high school grouilds. The articles
were signed and tha purse waa hung up at the Club saloon on
Fifteenth street between Farnam and Douglaa streets.
After young Grebe completed his education at the high school he
worked for a time In his father's shop. Later he entered the Union
Pacific ahopa and learned the trade of machinist, at which he worked
for several year. Then began bis career In the courts when he was
appointed bailiff by Judge Eleazer Wakeley and Judge Neville, who
occupied tha district bench at that time. He was a bailiff for more
than twenty years. During that time he had charge of some Juries
on noted cases, including that of John Iauer, who was accused of
killing his wife at Twenty-sixth and Douglas streets; also that of
Libbie Beecher, who killed Henry King at the Paxton hotel In 1888.
It was while he was bailiff in Judge Wakeley'e court that ha
took unto htmself a wife. This event occurred June 11, 1889, and
the lady was Miss Nona Reeves, whose parents were also pioneers of
Florence. An indication of the esteem in which he was held is tha
fact that a purse of $175 waa given him as a wedding present by
the judges, bailiffs, lawyers and clerka with whom he was asso
ciated iu his dally duties. Arrangements had been made on this
occasion to have Mr. Grebe arraigned before the court on the charge
of "getting married." A mock trial waa to be held, at the conclusion
of which Louie was to be sentenced to accept the pursa of $175.
But, the newspapers of the Jay relate, two long-winded lawyers took
IP the noon hour with argument on a small case and therefore the
rraignment had to ba dispensed with.
In Pursuit of Criminals
How he ever came to be a hounder of criminals, Louie scarcely
knows. It always had an attraction for him, he says. He may have
inherited the taste from his father, who served so long as sheriff
and deputy. At all events he has been a faithful and efficient offi
cer of the law. He has been a terror to criminals and a swift
Nemesis upon the trail of such as have violated the laws of man. It
is his proud , boast that he has never come back without his man
hen he set out to secure him.
lie arretted John Q. Thomas on February :9, 1 S 90. Thomas
was wanted for the murder of a conductor on the Toulsvllle &.
Nashville railroad; also for stabbing three other men. A special agent
tracked the desperado to Florence and to a log house out In the
woods half a mile west of the town. Thither he went with the
special agent. Carefully concealing his star of office and his
weapon he approached the door of the cabin. He knew hie man
the moment the door was opened. He asked whether he wanted
work chopping wood. "But Thomas declined the proffered job. He
had work, he said. Grebe gave a signal to the special agent, he ap
peared and they made a rush for Thomas. After a terrific struggle
they threw him to the floor and clapped the bracelets on him.
Luke Simpson and his accomplice, Rose, were two more of
Grebe's victims. They were suspected of robbing a store In Whiting,
la. Grebe found two trunks filled with silks and other valuable mer
chandise at the Webster street depot. He laid In wait until Simpson
came to have the trunks removed. Then he captured him and turned
him over to the sheriff In Onawa. Then he took a rig and drove to
Decatur, where he captured Rose. Tn his house he found goods which
had been the pro eriy of a Decatur merchant whose store had been
burned the same night as the robbery In Whiting.
The coolest man in accepting his fate when the strong arm of
the law, represented by Deputy Sheriff Grebe, waa laid upon him
was Jeff Haywood, colored. He was charged with murder in Denver.
In spite of the fact that he had a stiff neck and was therefore
easy to Identify, he escaped the authorities for many months. Finally
word came that he was In Omaha. Grebe was put on the case.
He found by an underground means that he was a waiter at a local
hotel. The officer went to the hotel and had no difficulty In getting
speech with the man. "You are under arrest," said Grebe, as he
clapped the handcuffs on the fellow. The colored man looked be
wildered for a moment. Then he exclaimed: "Ah sure done ought
to knowed better'n stay here. Ah jest felt something gwlne to hap
pen 'cause Ah done lost mah rabbit foot last night."
Mr. Grebe served Vucle Sam as a special deputy United States
marshal under United States Marshal Frank White during the
Coxey army agitation in 1894. This was the time of the country's
most distressful Industrial plight. Factories were shut down
everywhere; business failures had reached an unprecedented height.
The army of the unemployed had never been so M;; before. It was,
moreover, a great time for the Industrial ami politic.il agitator.
Yellow newspapers bristled with articles rpcaktng with an amazina;
adjective display of "blankets of mortgages smothering the little
flame of life so tenderly nurtured by a million men upon our bound
less plains," "millions of acres irreclalmnbly In the grasp of hireling
aliens," "children starving at the breasts of half-dead mothers;
strong men, frantic with horror, begging fruitlessly for bread."
l ' Scattering an Army
At this crisis the Idea of Coxey had been hatched. It was tha
materialization of the theory that the world owes a living to all
men. It was an Industrial revolution, which only lacked size and
strength to overturn the existing form of government. "Why,"
asked the leaders in the movement, "nre the producers of food hun
gry? Why do the makers of clothing go in raps, and why do the
builders of palaces live In hovels?" And the obvious answer was
that the masses were being oppressed by the classes. Then came
the political Moses to load the people out of the Kgypt of bondage
and of oppression. It is well remembered still how the armies rose
from all parts of the country, from Maine to California, and set
out on their march toward Washington. Their demand was three
fold, namely: Government employment for unemployed citizens,
prohibition of Immigration for a period of tin years and prohibition
of aliens from owning land.
It was with a detachment of this army which set out from Denver
that Mr. Grebe had to do In his capacity of deputy United States
marshal.
"These follows had started from Denver in boats at the time
when the river was high," says Mr. Grebe. "They had built a lot
of light boats, Intending to float down the river to Kansas City.
But when they were passing a railroad bridge near Sterling the
boats struck some barbed wire which was strung across and spilled
them all out and lost the boats. Then they walked to Julesburg,
and they were good and tired when they got there. They tried to
take a train of freights there, and that's what called us out, because
the Union Pacific was In the hands of a receiver then, and there
fore it was Uncle Sam's duty, you see, to protect it from' any law
lessness. Well, they hurried us out to Julesburg, and there we were
eating dinner one day when the word come for us to drop our knives
and forks and hike to Big Springs in a special car. We did so and
surprised the army and arreBted them. There were about 280 In
the detachment. They were taken to Fort Sidney, nnd there we
turned them loose, about ten of them every day, sending them in
different directions, so as to get them scattered."
Other Official Duties
Mr. Grebe was the chief of police of the Douglas county fair for
fen consecutive years, and in 1894 he was chief of the blue coats
at the state fair. Among the gruesome duties which have devolved
upon him during his career was the hanging of Ed Neil, who had
cheerfully murdered an aged couple west of Seymour lake In order
that he might drive their stock to South Omaha and sell It. Mr.
Grebe selected the lumber, constructed the engine of death and
then purchased the fatal hempen cord from a man in Cincinnati
who manufactured rope, for the especial and exclusive purpose of
hanging wicked men. Mr. Grebe declares that the weeks preceding
this event were terrible ones for him. He was haunted even la
his dreams with visions of the work. Hi3 appetite failed and he
says he got down almoBt to a diet of bird seed. It was alao his
duty to assist at several other similar functions.
After his long career in dealing with bad men, Mr. Grebe thinks
the methods of Sherlock Holmes are useful only for the purposes
of fiction. "They're no good in running down a real man, he says.
"You might strike It right that way aud then again you might not.
I always Just went out and hunted for my man and inquired every
where, and I always got him Just as sure as Sherlock Holmes ever
did. aud never made half as much noise about it."
Mr. Grebe's last official position was that of messenger under
County Judge Slabaugh. It was his duty then to look up all caws
of murder and burglary and other evil dolus and law breaking. He
held this position until the close of .ludgo Slabaugh's term, the first
of this year. Since then he has been In tho real estate businens.
He now resides In Florence, having moved out there a year ago,
Mr. and Mrs. Grebe have two children, a daughter, Maude, and a son,
Howard. The latter Is an electrician iu the employ of the street
railway company.
Mr. Grebe has been a member of Beech camp No. 1 454, Modern
Woodmen of America, for seventeen years. He wiw a member of
Omaha's volunteer fire department for ten years. He has two
brothers, Henry and Theodore, both of whom are citizens of Omaha,
Vacation Time Spent at Home Aay Be Pleasant
PEOPLE who have acquired the summer va
cation habit and are obliged to forego the
customary outing can extract some com
fort and content from the calm philosophy
of one of their number whose resourceful
ness and skill in making home take on a summery
vacation atmosphere commands two columns of
detail and commendation In the New York Even
ing Post.
The action of the story revolves around the
wife. Her husband is around somewhere, though
Invisible. In spite of her yearning for aut-of-door
life and the allurements of the coast, the lakes
and mountains, she contends that It Is possible,
with a "little Ingenuity and artifice," to transform
the six rooms of her modest apartment and the
resources of the city Into a fair substitute for any
one of the three, the only essentials for the trans
formation being Imagination and a contented
spirit "Bawn and bred," not tn Br'er Rabbit's
brier patch, but in a slumberous, elm-shaded vil
lage, where summer meant a garden gay with
posies and a round dozen of dimity frocks to wear
when sitting on tha front porch with a party of
Jolly friends, it was a bit disconcerting when the
first summer of married life found business In
such condition that no vacation was possible for
her husband. But she had a good deal of Br'er
Rabbit's resourcefulness afld his cheerful accept
ance of a situation, no matter how bad. and she
stuck to her post gallantly, and won out with
honors. Just how she did It Is partly her own
secret, but some of her methods are known to her
friends, and have been helpful to others In Ilka
case.
Naturally, the most essential thing for com
fort in hot weather is a cool house in which to
live, and the secret of having such a house she
had learned from her mother. The average
woman believes that the best way to keep her
house cool Is to throw open all windows and leave
them open during the day, thus allowing the hot
sun to pour in and the hot air to All the house.
But that this method Is Ineffective is too often
proved by the stuffy rooms and heat-laden atmos
phere. A better way is the one substituted by the
woman who had learned by the wisdom of her
elders.
After a thorough airing of the entire apart
ment, at about 9 o'clock, when the first shafts of
sunlight began to pour Into her bed room win
dows, she closed every window tight, first lower
ing the awnings, then pulling down both light aud
dark shades. How often she sighed for the heavy
green outside shutters of her old home! Tbey
had been so effective In keeping out the heat. Now
she had shut In the cool morning air and shut out
the hot sun, and her apartment was well aired
and twilight dark until nearly 6. when she opened
wide every window. Many times a day she wished
that the man of the house was working In the
moderate temperature of his own apartment, in
stead of In the glare of a wide-open office. But,
at least, he could come home at 4 to the quiet,
shaded coolness, more delightful even, by contrast.
After securing freedom from heat, another
requisite of pleasant living was attractive, summery-looking
rooms. Nothing is simpler if you
have good taste, for luckily for those not possessed
of the purse of Fortunatus, It means. In brief, do
ing without things, or substituting cheap for ex
pensive furnishings. All draperies came down,
save protecting white cheesecloth curtains In bath
and bed rooms; heavy rugs were packed away In
tar paper and matting substituted. Linen covers
went over chairs and couches, and this was the
only Item Involving much expenditure. But, as
everyone knows, once bought they last a lifetime.
One thing one model summer housewife did not
do. She absolutely refused to swathe the pictures
and chandeliers In mosquito netting, after the
fashion of some ultra-fastidious housekeepers.
To enjoy one's apartment summer resort to
best advantage the wise contend that you must
dispense with the services of a maid and have no
cooked meals in the house. Breakfast in summer
la always a light meal In our typical instance,
fruit. Iced canteloupe or red raspberries are ain
brobla on a hot morning, a cold cereal, with fresh
rolls and coffee. If anyone Insists, were ail that
were needed to provide a delicious, satisfying,
healthful meal. Luncheon did not figure, for,
with the men of tTTe family out of the way, mere
woman can content herself with small pickings
and be happy. Dinner was a movable feaBt.
Sometimes a tea room In the next blojk was their
happy hunting ground; at others a downtown
restaurant tempted them with Iced consomme and
delhious salads; and again, were the evening un
usually warm, the family cook hsd selzad the op
portunity to prepare dinner at home. A cold
roast, done In the early morning, a vegetable,
salad, and Ices from the nearest caterer were the
component parts of many an evening's meal. The
crafty woman becomes adept In the preparations
of cold, alluring drinks, If she Is desirous of ca
tering to the pet tastes of her men folk. A candle-lighted
drawing room and the tinkle of ice
In tall glasses are aa effective as a chafing-dish
and a wood Are for promoting conversations. With
cold tea as a basis, and lemons, citrons, raspberry
vinegar, grape Juice, oranges and some cucumber
rind, fresh mint, ginger ale and lots and -lots of
Ice, a score of delightful combinations are possi
ble, and the labor involved is very slight.
Being housekeeper and maid both, even If the
housekeeping is light, Involves some work, and
some planning so that the work shall not come in
the heat of the day. Seven o'clock rising for the
housekeeper In a small family made It possible
to have breakfast over, dishes washed, beds made
and marketing done by 9 o'clock. Then an hour
more un special days, when any cooking was re
quired, meant a holiday until 5 or 6. Of course
this implies that all laundry work is taken out of
the house and that the weekly heavy cleaning is
doue by a special arrangement. Marketing early
means also getting the best of the day's supplies
at the green grocer's.
But no corner table under an electric fan in
a famous restaurant, no dim drawing room, no
cool dining room, can ever hope to equal In at
tractiveness on a hot day a comfortable bath room.
Any bath room will do, but there are bath rooms
and bathrooms. A shower bath is, bs all odds
the most deslrablo feature, aud a needle ppray for
. hot weather soul-satlsfylng In the extreme. A
huge bottle of eau-de-cologne should be a promi
nent feature, and one of the large Japanned pow
der boxes, with a huge puff and a generous supply
of powder, will be a grateful addition.
To combine comfort and taste requires no llttls
planning. One wardrobe was so well thought out
that It is worth recording, for it Is not impossible
for the average woman. There were three simple
coat suita, a white mohair, a tan linen and blue
rajah silk. Soma pretty shirtwaists, and two
linen skirts, three plain morning dresses of lawn
and one rather elaborate, white prlnresse gown
of batiste and lace gave the owner the proper
garb for every possible occasion In her unassuming
position. A white sailor, an embroidered linen
hat, a close toque, her best ppring confection, and
a white leghorn with her winter plume, made an
Imposing array, and she boasted six pairs of tie?
In wlhte, tan and black. So shopping in summer
may. be a profitable, money-saving amusement
To start downtown at 9, walk Munrely through
the shops, lunch, then rest in u department stort
parlor, in a big ( hair, before start in? home, li
neither fatiguing nor hot, and most women nnver
know the Joy of it for shopping Is usually either
a mad search for tho untitiainable or an attempt
to do forty errands in as many minutes.
If a contented spirit is to be one of the assets
needed to make summer in town endurable and
enjoyable, then thero is one thing the experienced
woman will warn you away. from. By all meant-
do not dwell upon the joys you are nih.sins by not
being In the country. Even a glance nt the news
paper columns of summer resort arrivals and de
partures, and chronicles of good times, may upset
an excellent equilibrium. Tempt ini; they are in
deed, most tempting, but if one must, she can, and
It is the better part of contentment to discreetly
eschew all such literature it bhe caunot buys to
share in the happy times.
