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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 29, 1907)
PART III. Sunday Bee HALF-TIME SECTIQIi A Paper for the Horn THE OMAHA DEE Best West PACKS 1 TO I VOL. XXXVIt tfo. 15 . OMAIIA, SUNDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 29, 1907. The Omaha JOHN BAPTIST KUONY PIONEER WHO DEFIED BAD LUCK He Left the Blue Alsatian Mountains Far Behind to. Seek His Fortune In the New World, and Had More ?han One Man's Share of Rebuffs JL r W 'aHB life of John B. Kuony, Nebraska pioneer, epitomizes in I a striking manner the history of the commonwealth of Nebraska. Buffeted a!boutfor many years by physical and financial storms, beaten frojfi pillar to post, defeated h at every turn and constantly assailed by the "slings and arrow, of outrageous fortune," he" persevered patiently ana" hope fully In his adopted state until the mysterious wheel of fortune turned and brought him abundant wealth and prosperity. The course of the commonwealth of Nebraska from its youth to the pres ent time was the same. Maligned for years as part of "the great American desert," handicapped by lack of capital, suffocated by financial panics and wildcat banks and almost strangled by visita tions of grasshoppers, floods and drouths, her brave people perse vered patiently until the wheel of fortune turned and brought wealth and prosperity In fullest measure. Hero Is the story of John Baptist Kuony. He was born June 6, 1831, in Soppe-le-bas, canton of Masseveaux, arrondlssment of Bel fort, Alsace, France. His father kept a store In the village and gave his children a good education., John Baptist attended the town schools and, when he had graduated, took up the study of Greek un der the tutorship of the parish priest. The study of these branches, however, seemed to be leading toward the prleRthood whither he had no desire to go. Therefore he dropped the dead languages and entered the college at Colmar, where be remained for three years. None of the plans suggested for a life In France appealed to him as much aa the prospect held out from America. His parents in the end were reconciled to parting with him and on November 9, 1851, he left the quiet of the little village to venture out across the sea Into the unknown land. His father was able to furnish him only enough money to pay his passage across the water. He felt sure of getting employment at fabulously big wages as soon as he should touch the money-strewn shore of America. He went to Havre and there the troubles of his life Seemed to start. "The ship "Constan tlne," on which he was to embark, could not be made ready for three weeks, and It .was not until December 2 that it cast off and set sail. Literally Worked His Passage The Constantine wan a small three-masted sailing vessel of rather ancient build and design. It proved to be unequal to the winds and bfllowa of the December sea and on the ninth day out the miserable passengers were startled and thrown Into a panic at being called to man the pumps. The old hulk had sprung a serious leak, a gale was blowing and the nearest land was hundreds of miles away. The sails were torn to shreds and scattered to the four winds. The ship drifted helplessly for days and only the continuous pumping kept it from sinking. "We took turns at the pumps one hour on and one hour off, day and night," says Mr. Kuony. "Some of the passengers became sick; othera went raving mad. Finally the storm abated, but the leak in the snip could not be repaired. A passing vessel saw our signal of distress, answered It and gave us a spare sail. This was rigged up and by means of it we made the rest of the voyage, which took seventy-two days. We hadbeen ordered to take provisions from Havre for sixty days. Ordinarily the voyage took only thirty-five or forty days If the weather was favorable, but sixty was considered a safe estimate. Our provisions began to give out long before we sighted land, and then we drew from the ship's atores four crackers and two ywM.c anj. rcwemoer my partner ana myself finding Borne stray crumbs which we made into a soup, using sea water Finally one night we sighted the lights of New York and then there a. great rejoicing. We were pretty well toughened to our arduous jnbora by that time, but were not sorry to give them up. We cast 'anchor, but that night another storm arose, the anchor dragged and we were stranded on a sandbar. All' efforts to get free failed and finally two schooners were sent out which took us off. They con veyed us to land and then In wagons we were taken through the deep snow to a village and there we took the cars for New York." But the young adventurer found that coins were no more plenti ful on the streets of New York than In France. He had only a very mall sum of money, and after searching in vain for work he left for Buffalo. There, because it was midwinter m.H tu.,, , . mvicudv u y VUU1U UUL ':. " ;'',.. .'' "7 ' .J; "... V .? '.-;,:r'.V1 ' i-iT-V-v ' ".. Vi" ' ' " : v r'l- : i "'' ' ' : . iVv'X'.'':' " "'" ' ' '''' -' '" ''( i L '.'fV-' 4. ''-.'H I .;. V i : ZA Vf - f ;' I JOHN BAPTIST KUONY aoon the cracks between the boards were so big that you could look out almost anywhere. When it snowed we had to sweep the snow off the tables In the morning. There was no floor in the place, but r ft A trrmy n A or a m An J uv a & i . . . - - SDeak Enallsh he was aisn ,..., . ... , ouwuubi. io a aepm oi rour incbes. The a position teaching the German parish 'school at Lanr... w w V";,A'"-"VU u",OB oa lP- niiar aras were laid . pansn scnooi at Lancaster. Here- along each side to be used hv th mut, a. .,. mainea at tnis place until sDrinir. vh.n roVinoi . - - - i6iiuu uuutm on me t ua u loOK passage ror Milwaukee. . The only employment he could get there was tending bar in a saloon, for which work he received $8 a month. Caught by the Cholera As soon as he got enough money ho left this Inhospitable city went by rail to Whitewater. Wis., thence, by stage to Galena. 111., by boat dewn the Mississippi to Muscatine and by stage to Iowa City He expected to meet some old frlenda of his family there. When he arrived be learned' they had left Just two days before. Undaunted he got a Job splitting rails and chopping wood. In the spring he returned to Muscatine and worked on a fruit farm. Then he worked In a atore in Muscatine. , That fall he took the last boat down the river to St Louis, thlnklttg maybe fate would be kinder to him in a city. But he was mistaken. He could get only the least remunera tive work and the hardest He knocked around at several things and then, to make matters still worse, the cholera broke out Thousands died and young John Baptist Kuony was present at the bedside of many who writhed in the tortures of that awful plague. Through the day the wagons, which he says looked like hayracks, went about tna city gathering up the coffins. At the time the cholera broke out he had been empolyed by Architect Rumbold. who drew the plans tor the first territorial capi tal building of Nebraska. But the architect fled from the city and when the plague had abated young Kuony was unable to find em ployment Discouraged and desperate, he finally went to a labor agency. There he met Samuel Bayllas of Council Bluffs, who had come to 8t Louis to buy a saw mill. He persuaded the young Frenshman to come up the river and work in the Pacific house In Council Bluffs. Kuony gladly agreed and. in company with others from St Loula, made the trip up the river by boat. He waa aUll penniless upon his arrival and the scene which met Llm at the boat landing, then at the present site of Lake TWTanawa waa a dreary one. ' His Start in Omaha -They unloaded a lot of hardware, vegetables and groceries there on the bank." he said." and when we got off we built a fire In one of the stoves, took a kettle from a pile, filled it with water from the river and boiled a lot of the Dotatna h .v . d uiviu. Alter wo T.ad eaten three Indians came up and stood watching us. Finally bae of them readied down insldo his blanket and pulled out a long string of the entrails li some animal. He colled these on top of the atove and let them roast Then the threa ate them. This was my introduction to the 'noble rwl c.au" of the west" Thr.t afternoon he walked In to Council Bluffs, then known as Kanetville, ard took lils position at the Pacific house. This was late in th summer of 185 4 and few of even the tr rllest settlers of Omaha had arrived. In Noiember of that year Mr Kuony visited Omaha and took op a claim about four miles west c the river. He built a coltonwocl cabin on it at a cost of $25. ?heu,'hU evil fate still relentlessly pursuing him. Induced him to believe the claim was worthless and he abandoned it. It la ut-edless to point out that the land is very valuable today. Mr. Kuony was the first cook In Omaha'e first hotel, the Douglas house, located at Thirteenth and Harney streets. He helped the SVells brothers open this place. "It was a poor sort of a building." he says. "After they got the main part done they found it was too small, so they built a. shed to tte ou.th. for a dining room. It waa made of green lumber and In this primitive place many of the members of the first terri torial legislature ate their three meals a day. There were no dinner suits In that crowd. Often overcoats, ear tabs and fur caps were the correct dinner garments, for the wjntry blasts came In through the shed so fiercely that sometimes the viands were frozen in the dishes before they could be eaten. After the legislature adjourned Wells brothers disposed of the Douglas house and $60 waa due Mr. Kuony in wages. His employ ers wanted to give him ten Omana city lots in settlement, but that Before He Floated Safely Into a Snug Harbor fate pursued. Marriage seemed no charm agaiust it. They sold out the Nebraska house that same fall. This son of hard fortune next decided to try real estate. He bought a lot at Eighteenth and Cass streets for $600. He put the rest of his money in "Capertown" lots, that is. In lots of imaginary towns which had been laid out by hopeful men all over the state. When he had got nil his money safely invested in this manner the panic of 18 57 came and swept everything away. He was penniless again. Then he moved with his family to Fort Calhoun. More Venture, More Trouble There the undaunted young couple Bet to work with true French Industry. Mr. Kuony did manual labor and his wife saved hia money. The reBult was that they were able to buy a lot and erect a cottonwood house 14x22 feet In size. , This was the first home they had owned and they began to think their evil fate had relanted. Then came again the imp of misfortune and whispered In their ears wondrous tales of great wealth Jn Colorado. They decided to make one more attempt They sold their house, bought a wagou and hoist's and set out across the plains for Denver. The hardships of that trip were only the hardships common to the trip across the plains. They pressed on west from Denver and located a claim in Willis Gulch, where they found what they believed to be paying "dirt" For many weeks they worked. Mr. Kuony and his partners hauled tons of the ore many miles to the stamp mill. When It waa broken up the value was found to be just $9. Once more they "pulled up stakes" and set their faces toward the cast. They were absolutely penniless and without even food. Ar riving one day at a cabin, they were so hungry that they would have almost committed robbery for food. No one was at home. With an axe they pried up a window, entered and eagerly devoured the stale bread and vegetables which they found within and then, with the pangs of hunger somewhat dulled, cooked a full meal with flour and potatoes which were on the place. Arriving at Ia:it In Denver, they set dauntlessly to work. With the persistence and courage of two small ants they Bet about repair ing their broken fortunes. They opened a restaurant and it pros pered. Had the Imps of misfortune forgotten themT It seemed so. Then came the big lire which, in 1863, burned down a large part of Denver. The restaurant was among the ruins. With the little money remaining they decided to return to Nebraska. Historic Event in Denver Mr. Kuony recalls some of the scenes of early Denver. He worked for a time in the great gambling house, Denver Hall. He saw the shooting scrape between John Steele and William Byers. The latter had started a paper and iu order to have it on neutral ground between Denver, standing on one side of Cherry creek and Aurora on the other, he had built his office on piles in the middle of the creek. Steele bad shot a negro in a saloon. Byers in an editorial denounced the deed. The next afternoon Mr. Kuony saw a lot of friends of Steele take Byers from his office and carry him to the Criterion saloon, where they were going to have a "trlaT." He es caped them, but the next day John Steele rode up to bit office and shot him through a window. Steele fled and a man naniedTollock shot him as he galloped up Blake street. Occurrences of this kind were not at all uncommon in Denver in that day. Upon returning to Calhoun the Kuonys established a store. Mis- zortune naa struck its last blow at them in the Denver fire. Since then they have prospered. "Mr. Kuony conducted his store lor twenty years. Industry and frugality won. He retired from busi ness in 1887 and built a comfortable home at Twenty-Becond and Maple streets. Omaha. There he and his wife have lived 'ever since. They have acquired considerable property in Omaha and elsewhere. Their only daughter, Josephine, wife of W. G. Snockey, died in Manltou, Colo., in 1884. . , Mr. Kuony represented Washington county in the legislature in 883 and 1885. He was a member of the school board atfd school treasurer in Calhoun. He was appointed postmaster of Calhoun in 1864 and hold the position until 1878, when he resigned prior to taking a trip to Europe with his family. He was mayor, treasurer And niomTipr nf the oitv imiTiMI nf ra!hnn I. - . . house In Pnnnrll Tilnffa T ., v tv t " l" vnrij nays ne . auia wv iuBiBB nouse uuu naa tne distinction or being treasurer of the Vigilance committee took charge of the culinary department, when George Mills was run- He was also secretary of the Washington County Old Settlers' aaso n ng the place There he met Miss Regina Maag. who was also em- elation for a time. He was a member of the Omaha Board of Trade ' ployed at the hotel. They were married July 18. 1856. at the Doug- from its organization in 1877. He joined Solomon lodge No 10 las house This was the second marriage performed ' in Omaha. Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, in 1867. in which order he 'held Lach of the young persons had been thrifty and had saved . some most of the offices at different times. He is now a member otCanl. money. That same evening they moved their few belongings to a . tol lodge No 3 x . ; S..bn!hk u,,dln' hlcJ 8,tni Btand8 on the southeast corner of .Mr. Kuony has withstood the misfortune, of life most excellently Thirteenth .treet and Capitol avenue, and the next morning they and has arrived at his seventy-seventh year in strong health He la u.s Bigu mem me steamer cneery ana happy, truly "a man that fortune's buffet, and reward. oui uu reieniiess nas ta en with equal thanks." imp of misfortune which had pursued him so long whispered him not -to take them and he obeyed. The lots would now be worth tens of thousands of dollars,-as they were all located In the heart or the bus iness district. Then this muc.h-buffeted-about pioneer returned to the Pacific opened the "Nebraska House. landing seemed to shout aloud for patronage. Lone Man's Long: Fight With Lumber Comoanv r Backwoodsman Succeeded in Bringing a Corporation to Time and to Recognize His Personal Rights , ' How a Wisconsin C HIPPEWA FALLS, Wis., Sept. 28. "The only way to take Diets Is to kill the whole family, for the women and boys shoot as well as Diets does." That', what Sheriff Gylland of Saw yer county said in July, 1906, when he returned from one of the many fruitless expeditions against the outlaw of Cameron Dam. At that time John Cameron Dam ' inC,UdlDg PP-nce sake, make a display against, me. but if Dletz was hauling hay. Hi. wife .aw three cuardl- Cameron Dam they Bhouid see me comlng wUh my popgun they ttoZETZl The astonishing part of the affair has been the would take to the woods, like many of the marshal, told him about It inability of authorities to serve court orders on have done before them." h i .v. A. ., . , ,M Diet.. Charles Peterson, then sheriff of Sawyer In Aprll, 1905. twenty-eight United State, dep. leave hi SrS.' Td'wWk LndTnT hid county, was the first to fall. uty.marsbals camped near his home. Diet. wa. in the underbrush Helen DleT. Vged 13 aaw him On April 26. 1904, he went to Dletz'. with an sure that they had been sent to capture him, but and ran to the house with the new. ' injunction from Judge Parish restraining him from they did not exert themselves more than enough to Clarence, the boyrstarted out to warn tha man interfering with the movement of the logs. He re- draw their Dav. He hart an ma Anrniintari wltK In nnlfr.vm thai mmIh l a . F. Dletz. backwoodsman, had succeeded for more trn.,i .ithm.t t..vin,r .t.,,H k... 'J. "".I..: .V w.marew ne would be ,o .ujuuvwvu. lucui, uut uuiuiuK Bciiuuu uccurrea. i ne out. law snot, m ne dot taii vnima B v . . A week later Deputy Sheriff Fred Clarke ar- next experience was with United States Marshal the spot. The father ran for hi. gun and Clar- rlved from Haywood. He wanted Dletz to return W. T. Pugh on April 13. 1906. One of the Diet, ence's elder brother quickly fired ten shot. Into with him without a warrant, saying, "You had 6et- bos answered the marshal', knock at the door of the underbrush where the soldier waa believed ta ter go, for if you don't they will send an armed their home. - be hldlns: than two year, in defying thevmandates of the state and -federal courts, had defeated the strategy ot a score of sheriffs, marshals, constables and their deputies who had sought to serve legal papers on him, and with the aid of only his wife and hi. five children, not counting the baby, had repelled again and again the attacks of parties, one made up of state guardsmen, who tried to take him by force. In these attacks the Diets guns wounded at va rious times eight or ten men, and hi. pwn boy, Clarence, aged 10, was shot in the forehead. Now the long campaign ha. ended. The Dietse. are all alive. What Sheriff Gylland said was true, Ergo, Diets is a winner. The cause of the trouble was a lumber com pany's refusal to pay Diet $8,000 toll for logs driven down the Thornapple river through his prop erty. When the company declined to pay he built at Cameron Dam, near the edge of his holding, an obstruction that held up more than 20,000,000 feet ot logs, valued at $200,000. The mills on the river below were compelled to bbut down. The .company tried every legal device to oust Dletz without avail andlast week it wa. compelled to settle. Many time, the company ten dered a peace offering, but Diets held out, for an acknowledgment ot the justice of his claim. Now he's got it. together with $15,000 for permission to float the logs. force with a bench warrant which calls for your body dead or alive, and if you don't go they'll shoot you." "If It Is going to be a shooting game I am a good shot myself," responded Diets. Another week passed, and then ex-Sheriff Giblin and William Elliot and a posse ot about twenty men, all. armed. . made an attempt to capture the man who then wa. being referred to as the outlaw. He had been warned of their coming Dletz had lot. of sympathisers and was lying In wait for them about tour miles from his home. He said he didn't want to put bis wife and children within rifle range. Gllbln, so Dletz declares, fired first. Four shot, struck the ground on the knoll behind which the outlaw was lying and the dirt nearly blinded him. "I ran into the forest and hid behind a tree," he saya. "Then I fired several shot. Into the air to scare them. They hurried away like a lot of frightened children." Whether they really hurried is not known, but "Is your father in. my boy?" he said. Tell The shot, came thick ni fast i him I want to talk with him in a peaceable man- - nlove of th inmu. n... ,, , - w-" " "j wimoBBea vne battle say. that Diet, fired first, and that when ner. Dletz came, and Immediately Pugh began to open a bundle of papers. Dletz told him to get off his premises Immediately. Near the house wa. a woodpile, and a. Mr. Pugh left, carrying a revolver In nl. hand, he shoved the package In between the stick, ot wood. Dletz saw it and es soon aa Pugh wa. out ot sight he took a pitchfork from the barn and with it 'removed the package and without touching It with bis hands threw It into Thornapple river. He doesn't know whether It contained warrant, or an Infernal ma chine. The most serious encounter between the Dletzes and the authorities waa on July 26, 1906. Sheriff Gylland had made four unsuccessful attempts to get the outlaw. Governor Davidson was then asked to asnlBt the county authorities to the extent of turnUhing the aid of member, of the, National Guard. Governor Davidson finally consented to the fact remains that they did not serve any paper. 8end ",x militiamen, on the outlaw. Diet. ha. always maintained that - When the attacking party approached the DleU the men who were sent to arrest him didn't really place the outlaw sent word to them that he had the soldiers sent an answering volley Mr.. Diet, and her two .on. and three daughter, hurried from the barn into the house carrying rifle.. Bul let, came from the porthole, which had oeen built , in the Louse. The battle lasted for an hour, with almost con tinuous firing. One guardsman wa. wounded se riously. The boy, Clarence, aoon recovered. After that engagement Governor Davidson ex claimed: "Diet, must be taken now, no matter what the cost." But the next morning he decided that he didn't want to order the killing of Dietz or any of his family and that certainly would have resulted had there been a stronger attack upon them and matter, drifted along until the other day. when Diet.', brother met W. L. Moaea of the Chippewa Lumber and Boom company in St. Paul and received from Moses $16,000 for per mission to float out the log. that bad been held captive .o long. Until the last the logging company had refused year. tf Wth TilAt hn Tiitm AtA't V The home of the Dletxes. the scene of thla four want to do so. Some month, later, when they were enough ammunition to last three months and in- pies about taking 'the money through a thiL r.' contention, is la a forest that is as nearly talking of sending the state guardsmen after him. tended to use it. The guardsmen, in uniform. ,on. so long as the payment was a recognitloiro't r - .u upper j jj.eia iu: uiarcoeu on towara me nouse. . the Justice ot the claim for which h . t, ot the MiaaissippU Mr,. DieU hold, title to eighty "The .oldiera. If they ahould come, might, for Who fired the firot ahot U a matter ot dispute, family had fought