The Omaha Sunday Bee
PART III.
For all the News
THE OMAHA DEE
ECSt tf. West
HALF-TOSIE SECTIOH
PACES 1 TO
VOL. XXXVII NO. 19.
OMAIIA, SUNDAY MORNING. OCTOBER 27, 107.
sinum: copy fivk cents.
JAMES GOW WHOSE CENTURY OF LIFE IS NEARLY TOLD
OMAHA had not
pioneer of Ne
Fifty-three yes
city of 150,001
V ' few tnlle. n tl
Almost a Hundred Years of Life, of Which More than Half Have Been Spent in Nebraska, the Tale of This Man Who is Still Hale and Active in the Home of His Youth
MAHA had not even been dreamed of when James Oow,
Nebraska, passed his forty-second birthday.
tears Mr. Oow has lived in Bellevue while a
)00 people has sprung up In the wilderness a
the north. He was born on a form in wh.
inRton county, Kew York. August 16, 1812. James Madison was
president of the United States then. Washington had been dead
only twelve years. The countr was againt Involved In a war with
Great-Britain and was gaining glory on the sea and on the great
lakes. Three days after the birth of Mr. Cow the famous frigate.
Constitution, captured the British frigate. Ouerrlere. He was more
than a year old when Perry gained his celebrated victory over the
English and sent his famous message to Washington, "We have met
the enemy and they are ours." He wbb 2 years old when the British
burned Washington.
The place of his birth was full of historic association. Colonel
Baum and his Hessians had marched across the Oow farm during the
days of the revolution. General Burgoyne made his final surrender
only a few miles from the farmhouse. James Gow was the fourth
of an old-fashioned family of eight boys and four girls. His father
. was Scotch and a good type of that rugged race. The farm was
good practising ground for a rqgged man used to battling with
r.aturd. It was stony and the soil was barren. Only by means of
hard labor could the sturdy pioneers wrest from it a living
James worked hard and managed to get a bit of schooling in
odd times when the ceaseless grind became a little less pressing. At
the age of 18 years he started life for himself, leaving home with
nothing but the clothes on his back and a crude knowledge of car
pentering. He found work in the neighboring towns and when em
ployment became scarce there he tramped all through the state work
ing as a journeyman and picking up additional. skill in the branches
of the trade. He worked for Ben Rathbun, who did so much in the
building up of the city of Buffalo. He engaged also in the carriage
making business and it is his pride that ho has constructed every
thing in this line from a wheelbarrow to a railroad car.
When He Was Twenty-One
When James Oow had attained the age of 21 years there wer
less than fifty miles of railroad In the United States. The railroad
was still regarded as rathor a visionary undertaking by the con
servative people of the day who shook their wise old heads mlstrust
lngly and said it was an evil tendency f a corrupt generation that
wasn't (satisfied with the honest horses and cattle the Almighty had
created to draw people about. The world had Just been startled by
the invention of the friction match. New York City had 200,000
people. Henry Clay, Daniel Webster and John C. Calhoun were the
leaders In national statesmanship. William Lloyd Garrison and Wen
dell Phillips were In the height of their glory, while Longfellow,
Whittler, Holmes and Emerson were Just beginning to attract no
tice. Chicago had not even attained the size of a village when James
Gow was 21. The site where the big city now stands on the south
shore of Lake Michigan held at that time only a two-story log trad
ing post and a couple of other small log huts. Omaha? Omaha
was unthought of, undreamed of. Its very sight was considered a
great waste which could never be reclaimed to the uso of a civilized
people. There wasn't a white settler west of the Mississippi river.
' The time when the first white man would build his borne on the
present site of Omaha was still more than twenty years away.
' This serves to show two things the age of James Gow and th
marvelous growth of the western part of America, especially Ne
braska, and particularly Omaha. "The years of aman'i life are
three score years and ten." But James Gow had attained to that
age a quarter of a century ago. Ho is now, 96 years of age. , ,
In the course of his Journeying In the days of his youth back
In the early purt ef the nineteenth century Mr. Gow penetrated the
western wilderness as far as Michigan. He secured plenty of work
there and -when, with true Scotch thrift, he had saved up a snug sum
of money, he Journeyed back to the old home place, where he had
lyft a girl behind him and on December 1, 1841, he married Miss
Lucy M. Cleveland. The young people bade farewell to their re
spective barren farms and set their faces toward the west. They
made their novel honeymoon trip by boat and stage through the
nearly primeval wilderness by way of Canada and settled in the town
of Birmingham, Mich. -
Call of the West
With the money so thriftily saved young Gow bought land and
heard of Council Bluffs and yielded to the call of the west. One of
his brothers decided to accompany them to Nebraska. The entire
Journey had to be made by wagon for there were neither steamboats
nor railroads in that vast primeval wilderness. With their families
they set out In one Ught and one heavy wagon. The long trip was
made without special Incident. 'After wading tthrough the deep
mud of Illinois, he says, they struck the old Mormon trail In Iowa
and four weeks after leaving Michigan they reached the east bank
of the Missouri river. They visited n few days in Council Bluffa
and then proceeded down the river to a point opposite the present
site of Bellevue. s
"There wasn't a sign of the hand of the white man on the west
side of the river." he says, "and but little on the east. We met
Peter A. Sarpy at his fading post only a few days after we reached a
permanent camp. It was In the spring of the year and the Mack
inaw boats were coming down the Missouri from the hunting lands
f the northwest laden with buffalo hides and the pelts of other
animals. We drove down to Sarpy's trading post at St. Mary's and
watched the rough trappers unload the skins secured during the
long winter's hunt. There we met the famous Peter. He was a very
agreeable sort of man, polite and pleasant. I learned to know him
well after that. He loved to tell stories. But when he was Intoxi
cated I must confess that he was not a very agreeable customer.
On June 20, 1854 I crossed the Missouri the first time. There
was an unoccupied house right west of the present railway station
and we moved into that I had a team and as teams were very
scarce la the country I found profitable employment bringing goods
over the river and doing hauling of various kinds.
Fourth of July in 1854
"On July 4 of that year we had a big celebration here. Settlers
came In from far and near and Peter A. Sarpy himself gave an ox
to be roasted for the Indians. There were about 900 Omahas
camped on the bottom land along the river to the north of the set
tlement at that time. One of the first things I did was to pay my
respects to Logan Fontenelle, chief of the tribe. He was half French
and half Indian and he inherited from his father all the politeness
of the French race. He was not the gruntiug, unresponsive creature
that most of the full blooded Indians are. He dressed like white
men. I remember one thing Fontcuellp told me on that occasion.
Pointing out to the Missouri river he said that 200 years before,
the Father of Waters had its course over against the bluffs on the
Iowa bide. I did not believe it at that time, but I do today, for even
in this short half century I have lived here It has moved westward
and U atlll moving In the same direction.
"Logan was much beloved by the Omahas. I remember his
funeral here in Bellevue. He was killed, you know. In a fight with the
Sioux while be was leading bis people on one of their buffalo hunts.
His body was brought back amid the lamentations of all the people
and the funeral was attended by a large concourse of people from a-11
around, not only Indiana, but whites, for ho held a high position
among tha people of both races. Stephen Decatur stood at the gravo
and delivered an eulogy. And then all the white people went away
and Hft the Indians to en the final words over their bent loved
chief. One of thorn with a wonderful gift of oratory delivered an
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JAME3 OOW.
oration lasting some hours and then the all went sadly back to their
tepees." "
The second house in which Mr. Gow pnd his family made t!i'!r
home was built of Cottonwood logs. Mr. Gow bought it from Joseph
La Fle3che,va. Ponca chief, for $10. This house is still Btaniiitu: in
Bellevue and, with Its old fashion somewhat disguised by means of
modern siding, Is used as a home.
Mr. Gow remembers the winter of 1855-5G very distinctly, with its
great fall of snow and Its long continued and 6evore cold. The
little settlement was alarmed frequently during those days with
rumors of Indian uprisings and the scattered settlers to the north.
south an;! -ccst would come rushing into the village for protection,
l-.ellevite was the great hea-lquarters for the Omahas and there the
government school and mission was located.' Mr. Oow was a close
porHoual friend of Rev. William Hamilton, the Presbyterian min
inttr In charge of the school.
"Many's the time I've seen Mr. Hamilton riding or running
through the brush catching the little bronze colored scholars," he
siijs, "and many a one I've seen him carrying, kicking and scratch
ing and crying into (he place of learning. In the winter he didn't
have much trouble to got them to come to school, but In the spring
and full it was a pretty hard Job.
"The v hole tribe went away lu the spring on the big hunt. Men,
woiiK'ii, pappooses, tepees, dons and everything went away. The
Indians trusted me pretty much and some of them iised to store the
government Ftip'illci Hour, coffee and sugar in uy garret while
they were gone. They would always try to conceal the stuff
so It wrs not vlslblo to the naked eye and (hen shake a finger at me
In parting and say, 'Ugh, Omaha steal.' When they returned after
. two months frcn the hunt they would come in and take the stuff
away without ro much as thanking me."
Fate of the Village
The years went on and (he several sottlemeuts along the river
rcrew and gathered strength like young Hercules. And the question
arose upon which should fall the mantlo of good fortune that would
transform it into a great city. In Bellevue were men who believed
nntuTO had made the river bed and banks at that point Ideal for the
construction of a railroad bridge and that therefore Bellevue should
be the site for the Union Pacific terminal. Thy also believed the
same kindly nature had made the country there level and that there
fore It was the ideal site for a great city. Meetings were held and
great plans were mude Just as meetings were b"fng held and great
plans being made in Omaha and Florence. The story of this strug
gle In which the happy lot fell to Omaha Is old.
But this never worried Mr. Gow. With true Scotch practical
ness and conservatism he declared in one of those meetings of the
optimists that they would Vbave plenty of room on a forty-acre lot
for all the town they'd have In the next ten years." They laughed
at him. And. had the fortunato lot fallen to Bellevue, they would
have laughed best. As things turned out, however, he proved the
better pror.het.
Mr. Gow was elected county Judge of Sarpy county In 1869.
He was re-elected four other times, serving altogether ten years.
During theae years he lived In Papllllon. He was elected to the
lower house of the legislature In 1882 and served through the ses
sion of 1883. He was active in school work in the early days. He
organized the first school district In the county. No. 1, located at
Bellevue. This was In the fall of 1835. Though not a member of
the church he has aided actively in church and charitable work.
Mrs. Gow died In 1860 and Judge Gow has never remarried. He
has six children. They are William Gow. a farmer near Bellevue;
Dr Frank F. Gov.-, of Schuylerville, N. Y.; James Gow of Bellevue;
Fdward Gow of Bellevue; Mrs. Elibazeth A. Peters of Bellevue and
Mrs. Lucy Durrie of Des Moines. Ia. He has twenty-five grand
children and nine great grand children.
Marvel of Physical, Health
Today, In his ninety-sixth year, Judge Gow is a marvel of phy
sical and intellectual strength. He reads the dally papers and mag
azines; he hears perfectly; his complexion is rosy and healthful; his
eyes are clear; his nerves are strong; he sleeps soundly and he
spends most of the day out of doors walking about and taking an
active iiitorest in the same town in which he was interested befor
there was any such a thing as Omaha. Ho ascribes his health to the
fact that he has always taken good care of himself and also to the
salubrious Influence of the Nebraska air and climate. His parents
did not live to extraordinary asies and therefore" the Nebraska oxone .
must be credited with preserving the life of this pioneer so far be
yond the time usually allotted to mortal men for their earthly ex
istence. He lives In the comfortable home of his daughter, Mrs.
Peters, and rejoices in his distinction of being the oldest citizen ot
the county and the oldest pioneer of 1854 in the state.
Regarding the future of Bellevue, Judge Gow is an optimist.
He believes that within fifty years at the outside Bellevue will be &
part of the great city of Omaha, which will then have upward of a
half million people. Omaha and Bellevue, says he, may be likened
to Jacob and Esau of old. Omaha secured the blessing which by
rlnht of topography belonged to Bellevue Just as Jacob secured the
blessing which by right of birth belonged to Ksau. Omaha has
prospered and become rich even as Jacob did and now she is re
turning nearer and nearer to Bellevue as Jacob returned nearer and
nearer to Eau. Sne is senrtlm; presents in advance as It were not
flocks and herds and men-servants and women-servants as Jacob
sent but street car lines, telephones, electric lights and such other
things as a great city tan glvo. And within a Tew years, declares
Judge Gow, Omaha and Bellevue will meet and embrace and b
part of one great city.
Reminiscenc
es
of
a Pioneer Builder of Churches
HIGH on the honor roll of western pioneers
whose courage and self-sacrlflce mude
possible the advantages and opportuni
ties the present generation enjoy3, must
be written the name of Rev. William
Kelly, the venerable Omaha priest who died latt
week at the patriarchal age of 87. Ambition, ad
venture and fortune, singly or collectively, were the
Inspiring motives of the pathfinders. Fame or for
tune spurred them far beyond the outposts of civ
ilization. For one or both they penetrated the
trackless plains, explored .mountain fastnesses,
faced not only the hardships and privations of life
In the wilderness, but the constant menace of hos
tile Indians. Among them were men ot heroic
mold strong, determined men who almost uncon
sciously fashioned the die from which half a dozen
states were cast.
Our hero was cast in a dirterent mold. H
Bought neither fame nor fortune. Adventure had
no attraction for him. The 'motives which
prompted civic pioneers to do and dare bad no place
In his plan of life. The mad scramble for rich
mining camps which he often encountered did not
swerve him from the path of duty, Tunre wasn't
a trace of selllabness In his make-up, hence the
feverish scramble for material gain found him im
mune. But he was ambitious for the cause to
which his life was consecrated. All the material
wealth which came to him during his active life as
a priest, and it was a great deal, was devoted wholly
to bettering mankind. He effaced self from all his
work. He entered the ministry a poor man a-id
passed to hiu reward poor in wordly goods, but rioh
In achievement
Father Kelly's life resembles in many respect 3
the career of Father Pat Manogue, who became the
"miner bishop" of Nevada. Beginning as a miner
amongxmlhers In Virginia City in the middle '50's.
be studied the lives of his associutes, read books
while others played the game, and when sufficient
means were secured he left camp for college, re
turning in a few years a priest to devote his lifo to
the welfare of his former fellow workmen. Father
Kelly landed in the United Statts in August. 1S5C,
as a member of the Order of Christian Brother!
His mission was to secure assistance for the home
of the order in Ireland. His experience on reach
ing the middle west convinced him that he could
render more effective service' for lellgion by be
coming a priest. The following year finds him in
the seminary at Cape Girardeau, Mo., and two
years later he bad completed his studies ani ...
ordained In Omaha June 25, 1859, by BLshop Junius
O'Gorman.
The Catholfc church in Nebraska and the west
was then In Its Infancy. Juet four years before,
May, 1855, the first mass was ctloDrHVed by Father
Emunds of Iowa on th a present site of Omaha. The
following year, 1856, clu,rches were built in Omaha
and St. Johns, Dakota county. A few mouths bo
fore Father Kelly's ordlnulion the vicariate of Ne
braska was established and Rt. Rev. James O'Gor
man, u member of the Troppist order at Dubuque,
la., appointed bishop. The vicariate embraced
what is now the states of Nebraska, Wyoming -and
Montana, an area of vast proportions populated by
buffaloes, Indians and a fringe of white people
-:long the Missouri river. It was the destiny ot
Father Kelly to range over this vati. region, follow
ing each succeeding wave of population, minister
ing to the spiritual needs of his people and cheer
fully sharing their hardships and privations. Hla
txperiences were many and varied, thrilling and
.amusing, and often full of danger. Only a few of
them are duflniU'ly known. Rarely cotjd he be in
duced to talk about old times, ar.d th-u only with
come fri'Mid whe happened to share- ov wltncps. the
experience. o strong was thin irit of self -.-ffa' e
ment that even his associates nt the old a'..edral
could not secure a connec ted story tti his pioneer
life.
Simple and unassuming in hia.uwu ways. Father
Kelly arnnned that his fellow men were tlmilarly
constituted, and this trait made him the victim of
friendly Jokes. Along In 1863 he was on duty ot
the Rulo mission. Jim Lane's freebooters ard Jay
hawliers mado frequent taids Into southern Ne
brabla, appropriating horses, cattle and other
movables. Settlers were aroused and in a shooting
mood. After one of these raids Father Kelly late
one evening arrived at a settlement Imlow Nebraska
City, whern he was well known. Befc re he could
reach the house whe-e he was to stop he wes sur
rounded by Beveral men ho blustered a'.vnt the
activity of horse thieves and insisted thfit V r.aa a
Ftispiclous character. -She' l ed and .iluiost sie-:-.-lers,
the priest protested l is innocence and begged
the privilege of proving his Idntiiy. This was
granted grudgingly. Arriving at the door of a home,
the Jokers left the priest telling his story to the head
of the family, dodged around the building and en-te-red
the apartment by the rear door. Seeing his
captors face to face, the priest's fears vanished and
he joined In the laughter of the Jokers, though w it U
many cautions against repeating the DerforniitiM.
The building of the Union Pacilic railroad
brought Father Kelly in contact with a greater va
riety of life than was possible In t'ae peaceful- mis
sions along the Missouri. All shades and condi
tions of men and some women followed the great
steel hlfehway as It advanced over plains and moun
tains. Towns were created ia a day aad flourished
for a time. The end of each division became a
metropolis, for n brief period and attracted the fiot
suui of humanity which fattened on tho earnings of
the co iiiit ruction gangs. The principal street was
a lino of dance halU, gambling parlors and saloons.
Life was of le:;s value than the coin of a gambling
table. The rattle of the chips, the discordant
music of dance lialU and the ribald song often were
fcilenced by the crack of pistol shots. In following
his line of duty Father Kelly observed all shades
of border outlawry, often shocking In Its abase
ment, but over and around it shcue the btrenuth of
sound mauhood which gradually increased and mas
tered each situation and brouvht order out of chaos,
la tois uplift Futner Kelly exercised the potential
forco of a nilaisier. Ho wes a peacemaker of the
highest clu.-is. But he we not always .successful.
e); nue o...-i'sion he strove to qukt a row in a ,rad
!;;., vamp. iut the combatants had their guns un
iimbered. The, shooting befcnn. When the sinoko
of Luttlo lifted it iu rotated that the priest eanio
out fioin beuv-uth a table. Oa another occasion he
iiitod tha construction camp at Dale Creuk. A
despuiai'? row was brewing at the time. Seieral
blanketb had been stolen from a washline near a
boa; din;; house. One man was suspected, watched
and finally accused. Under the unwrlit.-u law of
self-preservation v. hich prevailed ia all camps theft
was classed a hiKh. crime aud proof of theft often
meant death. The u-jcuscd man confessed, and
while doing so the enraged victim covered him with
a rifle. Luckily for the thief, one of the party
knocked the rino out of range and the ball went
into the air. The culprit had yet to fat tht pen
alty the camp miht decree, but bfioro further ac-ti-.
n was had ihe p ace-rr.akiiig priest reached camp
au'j settled tt.e dfSculty. Next morni'ip, )'.'. ul
Ui k. liiihai nicd, was put on the road to Denver u:id
warned not to come back.
Cheyenne, the present capital of V.'yoiuiu;;, was
platted in thu sprint? of 1867. 1 he rallroi.d was
completed to the townsite a few numtha later. Be
fore winter set Jn there were 5.UU0 people iu the
towu. It was the warmest collection of humanity
i.n the footstool. The yours Hty Mas all aad mora
what Cy Wafmau wrote of Creed
It Is all day In tho daytime.
There is no night lu Cheyenne.
Father Kelly, as usual, followed the railroad
Into town and promptly set about the task ot
building a church. In performing this task he
had tho active co-operation of good and bad, the
latter class as liberal as the former. In going
the rounds one day seeking men with good hearts
and generous pursps, he encountered a typical
"Lad man," with two howlUers In his belt and a
scowl that seemed to say, "I'm a killer, I am."
Father Kelly did not scare. There were men In
side the door and he wished to see them. The
bad man interposed and roared, "Who are you
what do you want?" The idlest explained. With
an oath and a "Come with me," the bad man
grabbed the priest by the arm and piloted him
through the gambling parlor, Introducing him to
each sport In turn and at the same time delicately .
hinting that a Inderal donation would save trou
ble. The bad in?n Insisted on showing the father
'through every gambling Joint In town, repeating
in each the same operation and confiscating where
pei8uat:on failed. Father Kelly used to say that
this wrs the only hold-up he witnessed without
pro! est.
Early In 1868 Father Kelly, following tha ad
vancing rrilroad, paid a visit to the soldiers at
Fort Steele. Returning from the post he waft
accompanfel pa far ns Medicine Bow by John BV
Coad, where they sepn rated. The priest secured
put-rage on a work train bound for Laramie. The
(rain had covered about half the distance, when It
encoun.fred a fierce suow rtorm which soon
brought it to a standstill. Tin light engines of
those days, plgmits bcslilo those of today, were
practlcrlly u.-eless lu bucking a snov. drift. Dark
ness fen on the snowbound train. Day succeeded
t-lehi, each passing hour seeirfed to Increase the
fury of the storm- For three days and nights It
ravd unnbi t d, fllllng gulches and valleys to un
known depths Fortunately, the train carried a
ttock of provision which was considered suffi
cient for a moderate siege. The drifts around
:lio (rain w.v not large, but they seemed moun
t;:ir(...8 at Pafh t,ni1 Ag day aftep day pug8jjd
v.lihout re!l -f. provisions ran low and the amount
del.id out each day grew smaller. The besieged
dug paths throurh the drifts to secure feul. Mean
while eottraoidinary efforts were put forth at
Cheyenne and Laramie to reach the Imprisoned
train. Every available locomotive and snow plow
Continued on Page FlraU
