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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 11, 1907)
The Omaha Bee PART III. unday Por all the News THF. OMAHA BEE Best i". West HALF TONE SECTIOII PAGES 1 TO i VOL. XXXVII NO. 8. OMAHA, SUNDAY MORNING, AUGUST 11, 1907. SINULK COPY FIVE CKXTS. DAVID ANDERSON PIONEER HUSTLER AND EAPIRE BUILDER Adventurous Career of a Man Who Heard the Call of the . West More Than Half a Century Ago and Has Since Lived Amid the Stirring Events of An Empire's Development Lives mere a man in iMeoraBna wnu a mun "b ence than "Uncle Dare" Anderson, pioneer of two Btat, hero of a hundred episodes, far-sighted and energetlo man of business and today a hearty, 76-year-old citizen of South Omaha? "Truth Is stronger than fiction," Is a hack neyed expression, but it must be drafted Into use here to Indicate the romance of David Anderson's life. Born amid the peaceful valleys of Pennsylvania, he was destined to come in contact wlth the most profound human misery and to witness through years the most glaring human vice, the most reckless hu man lawlessness. A hundred tlmea he ventured Into the Jaws of death. Through It all ne carried lofty Ideals and retained his high Integrity. Without further prologue the curtain rises on this drama. The facts that he was born In a log cabin on the banks of the Brandywlne, Chester county, Pennsylvania, In 1832; that hla grandfather fought In the revolution under General "Mad Anthony" Wayne and his father In the war of 1812 under General Jackson, must be passed over quickly. Young Anderson left the farm at the age of 15, went to Philadelphia and was apprenticed to a painter. A few weeks after he arrived there he was attacked by the small pox and w&s sick for weeks. In 1849 he lived in Philadelphia through all the horrors of the plague. Had there been a Carnegie medal at that time he would certainly have merited it. Though but a boy of 17, he devoted all his time to caring for the sick and dying. The city was In an uproar. Parents deserted their children and children their parents when they found they had the mark of the great White Death upon their brows. "All night we could hear the cry, 'BriDg out your dead; bring out your dead!' In ghostly monotone," says Mr. Anderson. "1 took care of one woman and her three children, allick. Her husband had left them when he saw their plight. I devoted myself to this work night and day for three weeks. When It was over I went back to work, but was attacked by the awful malady a few days later. I took It coolly and pulled through. Many died of mere fright." As early as 1864 Mr. Anderson first turned his attention to the west. His travels led him as far as the Mississippi. In December of that year he married Miss Mary E. Deaver in Natchez, MIbs. She was the brave companion of many of his later adventures. His first venture Into the real trackless wilderness of the west was In 1858, when with ten other young men he started in a mule wagon from Philadelphia. They took a boat at Cincinnati and went down the Ohio river. One of the Incidents of the trip which Mr. Anderson recalls is stopping at Louisville, where they paid a visit to the "Ken tucky Giant," who kept a hotel there. This man was 7 feet, 8 inches tall. He greeted them cordially. . "His boots looked like small mud scows and his walking stick was four and a half feet long," says Mr. Anderson. Out On the Great Desert At Kansas City the adventurers disembarked, purchased wagons and proceeded to the west by the overland trail. At Junction City they entered a great desert, where no water was. Mr. Anderson recalls with vivid picture their passage over this dreary country. Twice they were on the verge of dying of thirst. With parched , throats and swollen tongues they were pushing on in the face of a scorching wind, when a big mastiff that accompanied them stopped at the foot of a mound, gave a long howl and pawed the earth. A dozen men seized picks and shovels and at a depth of ten feet cold, clear water In abundance was found. " Shortly after this they . descried a lone figure advancing toward them from the west. It wayed from side to side like a drunkard. As it came nearer they aw It was a white man, clad In rough clothes, clumsily made from bed ticking. He talked incoherently and pointed maudlinly to the west. They gave him water and food, and when he came to him self they bade him good-bye as he disappeared toward the east. He lingered in their minds In after years like a herald of all the dlsap- , pointed legions that were to come out of that country. Space does not permit to relate the adventures of this trip, which took fifty-two days. They had several fights with Indians, and they were overtaken by a hurricane. On May 6 they sighted the snow-capped peaks of the El Dorado, to which they were bound, and a few days later they pulled into Denver. "Denver at that time consisted of six houses, Including Denver hall," says Mr. Anderson. "The latter had an earthen floor, cotton wood gambling tables, stools and bar. It was the forerunner of 100 such hells which were to appear there within a few months. This humble place was the temporary stopping place of Horace Greeley, the great editor of the New York Tribune. He had passed us a few lays before id the stagecoach. I asked for and obtained an inter view with him In a little room adjoining the bar. He had just re turned from Gregory, the mining camp, and on the way his mule had thrown him over its head. I remember he wore the same old white hat, or its lineal descendant, in which I had seen him years before In Philadelphia. He was enthusiastic about the mountain country, though X think the mines had been 'salted' for his benefit during this visit. ' "The population of )enver at that time consisted of all classes of men scholars, authors, correspondents, bull whackers, miners, builders, professional men, capitalist and blacklegs. The latter tame to be in the majority. The first day I was there I witnessed a bowle knife performance, In which Bill Fastor and a Mexican amused themselves and a noisy crowd by cutting and gashing each other In a frightful manner." First Women in Denver Three women had accompanied the ten Pennsylvania adventur ers across the plains. They were the first women In Denver and their presence there called forth a chivalrous demonstration. In which the roughest Joined. They halted the wagons in Blake street and called repeatedly for Mrs. Thornton, Mrs. Chestnut and Mrs. Turtln. The women were abashed and could scarcely be persuaded by their husbands to pass the ordeal. Cheer on cheer came from the throats of that motley group, consisting of real gentlemen, dirty, bearded miners, bandbox dandles, thimble riggers, monte cappers, old moun tain hunters In buckskin, bull whackers, swinging their goads, In dian half-breeds and Mexican greasers. AH were reminded of mother, wife, sister or sweetheart, and for a time the presence of women made them forget their baser instincts. Proceeding to Golden City, the adventurers came to the real mountains. Here the wagons were taken apart. To the axle of the front wheel two sacks of flour and three hams were securely strapped. Then to these wheels eleven yoke of oxen were hitched and the ascent of the mountain began. All the long, sultry day they climbed the steep patch lined with broken wagons and carcasses of men and cattle. Death lurked in 100 places. It took two days to at tain the summit. Two years later Mr. Anderson discovered, explored and opened a route through the canon which did away with the necessity of climbing this mountain. Ho took up a number of claims In this region, but, being a man of energy and practical achievement, he turned his energies to the development of the country rather than to digging treasure out of the ground. He secured the right to carry the' malls from Denver to the surrounding mining camps. He called the enterprise the ' Colorado Pony Express." His route lay through Virginia gulch, and there one dark night he was set on by robbers. Fortunately his "mink skin" contained only $40 that night and the highwaymen left htm his letters. For these he received 25 cents each. "My arrival at the camps was the event of the week," he re-' latea. "All business stopped and the men came running. I have seen' great, strong men turn away and weep like children when they found there were no letters for them, so great was the longing for word from the dear ones far away in the east." Tri-weekly coaches had been established from Denver to the camps. The fare was 11 cents a mile. Into this little money-coining "- i 'k S?" ' " ' X DAVID ANDERSON. bonanza stepped the Overland company with dally coaches. Pas senger fares dropped, dropped, dropped, until they reached zero. Then the Overland company offered a sumptuous dinner at the Grey house as an Inducement for passengers and the Mail company countered by offering a cash premium. Eventually the Mail com pany was forced out of business. Criminals in Control A dozen tragedies were witnessed by the Intrepid young Penn sylvanian in that wild country. He helped cut down more than one hapless fellow who had met summary Justice at the end of a rope. Murder became so frequent and common in Denver that it was lit tle more than a Joke. "Another man for breakfast," people would tay with a laugh over their morning meal. "Every second door was a saloon," says Mr. Anderson, "and the enchantress, with her las civious attire and seductive smile, was not slow In arriving and es tablishing herself in this seething inferno. Secret oath-bound so cieties for the protection of criminals and desperadoes were or ganized. There was a Horse Stealers' league. John Shearer, pro prietor of the Jefferson house, was secretary of this remarkable organization. He 'stretched hemp' with the strong hands of the vigilantes at the other end of the rope. From paperB in his pos session it was found that John Ford, a lawyer, was president of the gang. He was to start from Denver to Leavenworth the follow ing morning to defend his friend and accomplice, the murderer, Jim Gordon. When the stage arrived at Coal creek, twelve miles from Denver, a squad of horsemen, masked and armed, met it, took John Ford out and up a dry ravine. The Horse Stealers' league had to elect a new president, for Ford was nver seen again." An amusing incident was the first marriage in Colorado, which Mr. Anderson witnessed. "I had Just come up from Denver to Golden City. 7.1y host there, Judge Borton, Invited me to go with him to the -wedding. He had never had occasion to use the marriage. ceremony, and, being somewhat embarrassed, he ordered the timid and bashful pair to arise and hold up their right hands. When they had assumed this position the judge solemnly began, 'Do you and each of you solemnly swear that you will true answers make to such questions as shall be put to you touching your competence to serve as' but here a titter from the guests apprised the judge that he had made a mistake, and he quickly switched to the right track. But the ceremony ended ludicrously, anyway. When it was concluded, and as the Judge was about to place the customary salutation on the lips of the bride, one of two horses which had been fighting Moonshine and Mountain Dew MOONSHINERS, heroes of song and story and the stage, are about to pass into the great unknown. The death-knell of this once prosperous ' but illicit business of making "mountain dew" has been sounded by public opinion, according to David A. Gates, chief of the internal revenue agent of the Treasury department. Today throughout the entire moonshinlng district of the southern states there are not ten le galized saloons. The stamp of public opin ion, so clearly written within the law, Is about to make Its Indelible impress on the bidden still without the law. It Is the Judg ment of the men who have taken their ltves In their hands in the fastnesses of the moun tains to face these criminals that the real solution of their difficulties is at hand. There has never been a more attractive personality to the writer of fiction or the author of melodrama than the rugged moon shiner, living on the craggy mountainside, with his primitive still hidden far back in the underbrush. He has invariably been made an object for the admiration and sympathy of those who rame in contact with him through these mediums. A professor of the University of Chicago once said that the Cumberland mountain region of Kentucky and Tennessee, where the moonshiner abounds, afforded one of the most fertile fields for the truthful portrayal of real Americanism, descendants of Scotch-IrUh parentage of early deep religious convic tions, singing garbled ballads of the old Scottish border, and relating traditional le gends from Erin's Isle, Here sprang the heroes of King's mountain, and here the federal government found lta sole solace among the southern states In the days of the civil war. Perhaps the first moonshiners In the United States were those who fomented the whisky rebellion in western Pennsylvania In the first administration of 'President Washington. This rebellion was broken only after the use of federal troops. There never has been since occasion to use an en tire army for the suppression of the moon shiners, but armed revenue officers have never ceased to patrol the" lone mountain tiaila in search of illicit stills, nor have they succeeded In overcoming that dogged re sistance to the internal revenue laws which came about through the eternal belief in nearly all moonshinlng localities that what is right for the father is right for the son. The feudists in Kentucky have, In many in stances, been numbered among the ranks of the moonshiners, and they have won for themselves the reputation among revenue officers of being the fairest and most dan gerous of all moonshiners. They have at times evinced such a high regard for the en forcement o the internal revenue law that they have been found enHsted under the revenue banner, gun in hand, for the sole purpose of slaying lawfully their enemies. Those Who have gone forth to fight the battle of the revenue law among the moon shiners of Kentucky, Virginia and Tennes see, the "wildcatters" of the Sand mountain districts of Alabama and the blockaders of South Carolina and Georgia, know them all to be of one characteristic. Only when forced to fight In the open does the.ordlnary moonshiner, by whatever name he may.be known, do so. This "hero" finds his favor ite fighting ground behind a favorite rock or tree which he has gained prefer ably without the knowledge of hja victim. Since 1876, when the revenue officers began their work among them, fifty-four of these agents of the government have been killed and ninety-four wounded, many of whom never saw the man who fred the shot. This does not include marshals and deputy mar shals who were killed In making arrests. No instance is known of a revenue agent being taken prisoner by moonshiners, the favorite method of the latter being to slay and have the matter quickly over with. John Carver, a posse man, killed In a raid in the Smoky mountain district, along the border line of Tennessee and North Carolina, In 1904, was the last revenue officer to give up bis life in the fight against moonshiners. The government keeps no record of moon shiners killed. Within the last five years the prohibition question has been one of the most vital is sues in southern politics. It is admitted by southern politicians that the negro question is at the bottom of the prohibition question, the theory being that the criminal class among the negro race as a whole is a prac tically uncontrollable element where whisky Is permitted. The growth of this belief has led the southern people to take drastic action with relation to whisky. It was the Issue In Tennessee last fall and Tennessee went "dry." It was an Issue before the recent session of the Georgia legislature and dry legislation was enacted by that body in re sponse to the demands of the Georgia peo ple. This growth of public sentiment has lta strongholds In the mountain districts of all the southern states. As stated above, the most notorious .(Continued on Paxa TwaJ ' outoirte kicked at the other, struck the mud and drove a great ball of It through the window and upon the faces of both Judge and bride." The famous frontiersman and scout. Kit Carson, became as friend of Mr. Anderson In July, IftfiO, when they met in Denver. Mr. Anderson remembers hlni as a short, heavy-set man, with hair somewhat strep kod with gray. He was an accomplished story teller. Mr. Anderson was a member of the Colorado territorial leg islature. Traveling Companions in Early Day In the fnll of 1859 Mr. Anderson was compelled to make a trip to the east, which he did by coach. On the way he met three traveling companions, whose ulimes were known throughout the na tion. The first of these came aboard at Julesburg. It was no less a personage than Joseph Smith, head of the Mormon church. The second was Artemus Ward, the humorist. The third was William H. Cooper, delrpnte from Utah to congress. They traveled together la the stage to Omaha. In the winter of 1859 Mr. Anderson made a trip from Omaha to Denver with a load of butter aud honey. He W'88 entirely alono, with no companion but his mules and hla faith ful dog. Jack. The Cheyenne Indians were on the warpath, and! he found many of the ranches burned and some of the keeper ' murdered. He went through the trip unharmed and sold his honey; in Denver at CO cents a pound and his butter at 75 cents. A most remarkable trip was that which he made from Denver to Omaha in 1S61. Just as he was leaving, a miner asked him to take his wife and three children along that they might return to their friends in New Jersey. At first Mr. Anderson refused, but finally he yielded. A beautiful summer afternoon it was when they, left Denver, but within six hours a terrific blizzard came up. One of the mules gave out and refused to go further. Mr. Anderson un hitched the animal, and, throwing himself into the harness, tolled along beside the other mule for. hours .through the snow. After midnight he reached the ranchhouse. Ho believes supurhumaa strength was vouchsafed to him for this contingency. Ho reached Omaha safely with his charges. Here he met his wife and children and started with them fon the west. Rains overtook them and they were two weeks in going from Omaha to Fremont. He decided to give up the far west and took a ranch in the Platte valley, eight miles east of Columbus. The second day after he located there his neighbor's boys shot at Pawnee Indian for stealing wheat. Half the Pawnee nation ap peared at the ranch to demand reparation. Mr. Anderson leaped! to a pony, hurried to Columbus and summoned men. With their) appearance an amnesty was brought about. A present of five sack of flour and n yearling colt was made to the redmen In exchange fqr the lifo of their late lamented brother. During Grasshopper Days During elxtecn years on this homestead Mi. Anderson raised Bix crops. In the summer of 186C he had to make a trip to Fort Kear ney. While there an odd-looking mist aroso in the west It came on with incredible rapidity and developed into grasshoppers. All along that route he flew like Paul Revere, giving the alarm. Some built fires around their cornfields, but the Invading insects smothered the flames with their bodies. The destruction was com plete. Since leaving the ranch In 1876 Mr. Anderson's life has been ex ceedingly busy. He went to Columbus and engaged in live stock 6hipping. There he established one of the best stock markets la Nebraska, and during the ten years he operated it he had stock; on the rail every twenty-four hours between Nebraska and Chicago. When the Magic city of South Omaha was founded he turned his attention in that direction, and in 1886 moved thither with hla family. He Immediately took an active interest in local affairs. He helped organize the first republican club and was its first presi dent. He helped organize the board of trade In 1887. He assisted in organizing the South Omaha Loan and Building association, and was a director for seven years. He proposed nnd helped organize the South Omaha Heat, Light and Power company and served as director six years. He erected eighteen buildings in the city and took a lively Interest in every public improvement. As chairman of the committee of the board of trado, he was largely responsible for securing the government appropriation for the postofflce building there. He originated the movement for the new city hall, now. nearly completed, at a cost of $70,000. , In 1903 he organized the Taxpayers league of South Omaha, which brought about several reforms. As president of this league he suggested the formation of a fire and police board and also sug gested the new public school law. The passage of these laws by the legislature brought about a great moral, social and political reform in South Omaha. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, of whom two are living. They are Mrs. Laura Fenner and Mrs. W. S. Cook ot Omaha. The grandchildren are Harry J. Fenner, who haa been wlta the Swift Packing company for seventeen years; Fred Llghtfoot, holding a responsible position la the Lincoln stock yards; Walten Fenner, who is on the theatrical stage, with the Hickman company, at Davenport, la.; Frank Llghtfoot, who is seeking hla fortune la the Klondyke; Mrs. Hazel Graves of Omaha and Mrs. Martin Cahlll of Ogden, Utah. There is also one great grandchild Anderson Cahlll of Ogdeu. Enjoys Evening of Life , In his comfortable home at Twenty-fifth and M streets. South' Omaha, Mr. Anderson lives today, with his wife, enjoying the fruits of a well spent life. It has been a full life and It Is a life of which, Mr. Anderson is proud. He has traversed every state and territory ' of this country and has been in many of the Latin countries. He was lost in the swamps of Mississippi and the forests of Minnesota;! he has scaled the rugged and ponderous Alleghenies, the Rockies and the Sierra Nevadaa and has looked down through the clouds from the loftiest peak of the White mountains; he has known men and Been life of all kinds; he was a member of the first national re publican convention convened In Philadelphia In 1856 and baa seen every president since Andrew Jackson; he haa listened to speeches by Clay, Calhoun, Wely-ter, Buchanan, Owen Lovejoy, Greeley and, scores of other celebrities and has had a personal acquaintance wlta many of the great men of the land. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson celebrated their golden wedding De cember 12, 1904, In the Ancient Order of United Workmen hall. South Omaha. More than 600 were present, including ex-Governor Boyd, Edward Rosewater, John B. Furay and many other leaders la affairs. Mr. Anderson declares be cannot bestow praise enough on the wife who has so loyally and faithfully stood by him through more than half a century of life, enduring the vicissitudes and pri vations of the frontier and performing her duties as wife and mother, calmly, courageously. Age has no sting for a man like Uncle Dave. His physical and mental faculties are unimpaired. He conducts his prosperous real estate and loan business, and during his spare time is writing a book recounting his experiences. He has a wonderful power of ex pression and remarkable memory which holds names, datea and details as vividly as though they had occurred only yesterday. Though he has gone through three terrible plagues smallpox, cholera aud yellow fever he Is today untroubled by any ills. He Is proud of the fact that he has never smoked, chewed or drank, and declares that any person should be able to live to be 90 or 100 years of age, provided and "Unc'le Dave's eyeB twinkle pro vided he starts in at 10 years of age with that object In view and abstains from all the vices, and practices all the virtues that maa should.