The Omaha Sunday Bee
PART III.
AoVertloo la
nfJJ-TOIIE SECTIO'J
PACES 1 TO 4.
THE OMAHA DEE
Best vcst
VOL. XXXVH NO, 23.
OMAHA, SUNDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 23, 1907.
SINGLE COPY FIVE CENTS.
JOHN HICKEY WHO CUT WILD HAY ON FARNAM STREET
Another Irish Lad Who Ventured Across the Ocean to Find His Future and Life. Work in a Land He Helped to Redeem from the Wilderness and Who Has Prospered with Nebraska.
OHN EICKJCx ee mowed hay en Fimtn street between Tentn
and Fourteenth streeta He fir at marked out tbe boundaries
of that now bmr thorough fare br plowing a furrow alone
T
J each side after be bad mowed tbe bar and fathered It tote two
rows of haycocks. Of coarse, all this was long ago back la
1864, wben be arrived la Omaha pennllesa Today Mr. Hickey, 74
Tears old. and worth a few hundred thousand dollaa, la living near
Gretna, Neb. His career Is full of events and bis keen, witty Irish
mind has preserved the memory of them with all the bumoT of their
small details.
Be was bora In Parish Lochlln, County Carlow, Ireland. In II S3.
His father bad a farm of twelve acres, where famine was carried
on In tbe summer. la the winter be hauled coal from the coal"'
mines to the towns In a cart and thus managed to fain a Urine for
his large family. John was t years old when a number of the neigh
bors began to prepare to go to America. The boy begged bis father
to let slm accompany them, pointing out that there would be one
less Booth to feed and that he might gain a goodly portion of the
wealth which was so abundant In America. Eventually he gained
bis point, the U shillings were scraped together to pay his passage
and he sailed with the party from New Ross on the ship Empire.
Tbe passage was a stormy one, requiring seven weeks and three
daya Tbe ship was old and scarcely seaworthy. Tbe boy bad
failed to bring food, as the other passengers had done, and he was
compelled by the captain to do hard labor for bis board.
Tbe shrp arrived finally at Quebec, where the boy immediately
began to look about for something to do. No one wasted to hire a
mere child In tbe city and he searched long before be finally secured
a place as an apprentice la a cooperage. He remained there three .
years as apprentice and then worked one year as a, Journeyman.
Then be went to Montreal, where be worked as a gardser and driver
for a French woman of meana After a short time there be deter
mined, contrary to the advice of his employer, to go out Into the
backwoods and work la the logging cam pa He(dld so, working for
Farewell Bros., who were building a ship on .the 6t Lawrence river.
Here bis skill as a cooper netted him results, for he was able to
make axe bandies and therefore received the munificent salary ot
1S a month, while plain woodehoppers received only 11.50. Subse
fluently be went to Buffalo. N. T., and worked two summers In a
cooperage, spending tbe Intervening winters In the logging camps
near Prince Albert. Hamilton and Toronto.
Not a Life for Hickey.
"But, be says. "1 kept looking at the poverty of the woodsmen.
X saw them working there for nothing and I saw them coming out
of the woods greyheaded and humpbacked and sure, thinks I, tls no
place tor ma."
Just as this time be beard of tbe Nebraska treaty with the
Indiana and the opening up of that territory. He set his face toward
tbe far west and went by beat over the lakes to Chicago, which was
only a Tillage then. "I'd like to re broken me legs In the mud In
Chicago," be aaya Thence be went by railroad to Rock Island, 111.
From there be pushed westward In the stage, but at Iowa City found
himself without money. Fortunately, there was a cooperage estab
lishment there and he secured employment. After saving 26 ha
continued to the west, theoretically by stage, but really on foot.
They had old horses In the stage," he aaya. "We had to get
out at the bills and walk, to any nothing of pushing now and then.
At last the blooming stage broke through a temporary bridge.- I
left It then and walked ahead. Sure, and It was three days before
the stage caught up with me.
"I arrived Is OouacH Bluffs finally and then I thought sura
I was oat west. One of the first things I saw was BC1 Olamcy drlv.
lng a team of six elks that he'd caught as broken to harness out
on the plains." v '
After viewing this odd sight he passed on, heading toward the
Missouri river. Boon he beheld a man coming toward him running.
"Where are you going!" asked Hickey when the man was
within hailing distance.
"Nona of your business. I'm going where I please," was the
Quick reply.
"But he dldnt go where be pleased." says Mr. Hickey, "for Just
at that minute the sheriff appeared behind him riding a fast horse.
He caught the fine rascal. The man swore at the sheriff something
awful and said he wasnt going to stay in lafl without tobacco. The
sheriff said If he'd stay in the Jan and not break out again he'd
see that be got tobacco. The man said he would and away they went
back to tho place they called the Jail la Council Bluffs then."
His Start in Omaha.
Arriving at last at the Missouri river young Hickey looked
across to see Omaha. Where be bad expected to see a thriving set
tlement be saw aothiag but Indiana A maa named Hlgley raa a
ferry across the river. Because of Indians on the west bank Hlgley
left his ferry each night s the Iowa aide and returned to his home
on tho Nebraska side la a skiff. Hickey went over with him la the
skiff, paring his last shilling for sis passage. Where Omaha was
alleged to bo he found nothing tat a village of half a dotes rude
bats. It was as desolate as the northern woods and the young man
bad no friends and no money. "Kentucky" Woods owned one of
the shacks and also a big heart To him Hickey went.
"Do you want some supper?" asked Wooda
"Tea, but Fve no mony," said Hlcker.
"It's all right. Toull have money some time," was the replr.
Woods took him in. ted him and gave him a place to sleep.
Hlcker bunted everywhere for employment, but In vain. He
eould bare gone to Florence and worked as driver for the Mor
mons, but this be dldnt want to do. One dar he met a tall man
out on the prairie. He looked like an Indian.
"Can you talk English T" asked Hickey.
"Ten, I went to school In Washington." was tho reply.
"What do you do for a living?" naked Hickey.
"I hunt." said the tall man.
"Ill hunt with you." said Hickey. And so he became a hunter
with the Indian, who was a half-breed, and the two roamed the
plains together until the appropriation was made for building the
territorial Capitol Then business opened up and Hickey secured
other employment He was well acquainted with Acting Governor
T. B. Cuming and knows a little about the details of bringing the
160.000 of gold to pay tor the new capital to Omaha.
Story of the Kegs of Gold.
"Governor Cuming sent me down to the river to cut the lee
awar Trom the banks," be said. "I'd not finished when he came
along In an old wagon without anr endgate and hU brother-in-law,
Mike Murphy, with him. Ther went over the ice to Council Bluffs
and late In the afternoon ther returned. They had two small iron
bound kegs In the wagen. As they were driving up the west bank
tho kegs slipped out of the wagon and rolled down the bank and
onto the ice. Both of the men had been drinking and they never
noticed when the kegs slid out Well, I knew each keg contained
S25.O0O Is coin. I rolled them across the ice to the Iowa aide and
burled them In the snow among the willowa
Next morning I was at the river when the governor comes
down. He looks around quite awhile. I could see he was consider
ably troubled. Finally says be to me: 'Johnny, have you seen any
thing of two small kegs?' 'What kegs? Bays I. But me face gave
me away. When he saw I knew about the kegs he looked a lot re
lieved. I took him over the Ice and showed him where I'd burled
the kega Ther came with a wagon and get them. And. would you
believe It. I never got a nickle for saving them $50,000. That's
the fact
"It was before this time that I'd mowed the bay on Farnam
street It was a good crop and I bad two rows of haycocks down tho
JOHN HICKEY.
middle of the street, from Fourteenth to Tenth. After it was cut
I took tho plow and sort of graded the street plowing a farrow down
each aid a Tho ground was hard and I remember I had to put on
an extra horse to do the Job."
He was la the personal employ of Oorernor Coming for awhile
and then worked on tho capltol building. Water had to be hauled
from the river to make the mortar. Just before Governor Cuming
left for a trip to the east bo arranged with Hickey to dig a well.
This Hickey did for S3 SO. It was seventy-eight feet deep and had
seven feet of water. It was In use for many years. Soon after this
ho went with William Paxton to Texas and brought cattle to Omaha.
Ho spent seven years In freighting from the Missouri river to
Pike's Peak and to Utah points. He also was one of the early gold
miners la California, but made more money la trading than In min
ing. He was associated with William Morrison, another Omaha
pioneer. In seme of these enterprises. Mr. Hickey saw for the first
time the woman who. after an exciting courtship and after various
vlclBsltudes. he won for his wife. Tho two young men were riding
past tho pioneer hut of Jonathan Edwards, located near Forest City.
("A bit or a grove of elms up tho gulch was tho forest and three
or four houses were the 'city,'" explains Mr. Hickey). As ther
passed this hut a handsome young woman was drawing a bucket of
water trom the well
I nodded mr head toward the young woman and says I to
Bill. There's tbe girl I'm going to marry " relates Mr. Hickey, as ho
has proudly related tho story a thousand times. "Bays Bill to me,
'Don't talk that way. Who are you to be thinking ot marrying tho
daughter of General Edwards?' They called him 'general' and tho
Edwardees were the aristocracy of the town all right Tbe young
woman was tho school teacher for the district and a girl of great
education. I was nothing bat an igneraat rough freighter, without
any money or anythlag else. But I meant what I said."
On March 10, 186S, Mr. Hickey married this girl, who was Miss
Rhoda B. Edwards. The marriage was clandestine, for the parents
of the bride were unalterably opposed to the match. The groom
was bo poor that he even had to borrow a pair of shoes from a friend,
Mike Lac r don.
"I had oar little elopement all arranged with Rhoda," be aaya.
"Wo started out to get mo wife lata In the evening and drove up to
tho Edwards house about midnight Everybody was asleep. I got
out carrying a heavy blanket I'd brought along, for the weather
was bitter cold. She was waiting for me at the window. I can see
her now, looking so sweet and trusting. First she banded me out
her bit ot trunk and then I received her, me heart beating bard all
tho time for fear the old folks would wake up, Mrs. Edwards being
a light sleeper altogether. I wrapped me wife In a shawl and took
tho trunk un me shoulder as If it was naught but a cigar box. Back
we went to the wagon and drove away to the squire's. He had in
structions that we'd be along and be married us right sway. We
stayed there the rest of the night as his guesta Next day we went
out to my claim on the Santee bluffs and began housekeeping.
The anger of the parents of the bride was great when they
found that their only daughter had married the rough freighter.
For months It was rather a grim joke about the community that
General Edwards was "laying" to shoot his unwelcome son-in-law at
sight But eventually a reconciliation was brought about when the
son-in-law had proven that he was worth r of the girl. While tbe
young people wero still living in their log home Mr. Hlcker built a
jsrettr frame bouse nearby, In which his parents-in-law lived.
Trials of a Young Wife.
Mr. Hlcker and his children and friends never cease singing
tho praises of this cultured young woman who underwent the hard
ships of tbe pioneer life there on the lonely claim. ' Money was so
scarce that the husband had to leave the farm and go to work. He
bad no horses at the start and was accustomed to walk twenty-two
miles to a place where he had employment His young wife re
mained alone In the cabin, surrounded by Indians. One day while
the husband was gone two big Indian bucks came in to the cabin.
They demanded meat and to enforce the weight of their demands
one of them grasped the young child in Its cradle by the hair and
flourished a knife above its head. "Scalp baby If no give meat," be
naid. Of course, the terrified woman did the only thing there was
to do, gave up the precious store of meat and lived as best she could
Until her husband's return.
But the time of vengeance came duly. Mr. Hickey was at home
one day when two backs arrived on one of their predatory expe
ditions. He was at some distance from the house, cutting wood.
The bucks made sure be was not at home and then proceeded, ac
cording to their habit to ransack the little home and terrorize the
occupants. While this interesting little proceeding was going on
Mr. Hickey appeared over the hill and, answering the gesticulations
of his wife, who had been watching for him, he hurried to the cabin.
The bucks were too much engrossed In eating and plundering to
notice his approach. Just as he came up to the house they bsw
him and ran. He reached inside the door, where a rifle stood loaded,
and a moment later the fleeing redmen dropped in their tracks.
Indians Always Remembered.
The Indians had received no more than they merited, but still
the pioneers were haunted with a fear of terrible vengeance. Only
a few miles away there was a camp where hundreds of Indians lived.
Would they come to find the missing and if they came what would
they do when they found them dead? But time passed and no one
demanded to know what had become of the braves whom Hickey had
shot and later had buried side by side during the night Neverthe
lesvthe Indians knew well who it was that had shot their brethren.
A year later ther hadnot forgotten it. At that time Mrs. Hlcker
was In Forest Cltr when a squaw came In with ber pappoose. This
she exhibited proudly to a small crowd of the settlers. Mrs. Hlcker
pressed forward and begged to have a look at the baby. Then tho
Indian woman's manner changed suddenly. She looked angrr. "No,"
'she exclaimed.-snatching the babr to ber breast "Not show pap
poose to smokr man's wife. Smoky man kill Injun. Puff, puff."
IlluBtratlve of their poverty In those days Is the fact that Mr.
Hickey made three trips from his home to Omaha to tell the post
master here to hold a letter which was addressed to him, but which
be bad not been able to get because he lacked the 25 cents due on
It for postage.
Mr. and Mrs. Hickey bad eight children, of whom six are living
They are: Timothy D. Hickey. a farmer near Gretna; John Hickey.
Jr.. a rancher In Sioux county. Nebraska; .Mra Mary Winter of
Adrian. Mich.; Mra Mary Novotny. who lives on a fsrm near Gretna
Edward Hickey of Gretas and Roy Hickey. who is In the hardware
business In Hemlnglord, Box Butte county. Nebraska. Mrs Hickev
died in 1001. " 3
Mr. Hickey Is sffil In excellent health, though confined to a
chair on account of a broken hip, which he sustained a year ago
He Uvea at present with his daughter. Mrs. Novotny. near Gmni
Ho owns 1.440 acres of land In Sarpy county worth $100 an aero
and 1,600 acres In Box Butte county.
Southern Tobacco Growers Gain Victory Over Trust
Iw Kentucky and Tennessee, along the southern
boundary of the one and the northern
boundary of the other the border ot the
tamed blue grass region are twenty-odd
counties whose chief product is "dark" to
bacco, so called because of Its color and texture.
This tobacco Is peculiar to the locality, as much
so as is the celebrated Perlque tobacco of Louis
iana, whose growth Is confined to a single parish;
or to the fragrant leaf which nourishes only In
Cuba's Vuelta-Abajo district
The section which produces this dark tobacco
la known as tbe "Black Patch." and over It one
of the hardest fought of all the savage wan of
peace has now staggered to a finish a war be
tween the producers of the crops and that formi
dable antagonist, the American Tobacoo trust
Victory rests with the planters. The foe has
stacked arms and surrendered. The net result is
that whereas three short years ago the tobacco
grower, cultivating his crop on the slimmest mar
gin of profit and forced to take such prices as the
trust offered, having most always to seek a pur
chaser, now has the purchaser seeking him or,
more accurately, the head of his association and
with whom the vast majority of the planters have
pooled their Issue. And the purchaser Is now
paying 20 cents where he formerly paid 4 cents,
and is glad that the association leu him off at
that
Three years ago the leaf tooacco ot the district
brought an average of 4 cents a pound. That
was the exact cost of raising it This condition
had obtained ever since the Tobacco trust had en
tered the field to stifle competition and to cut
profit of tho plantera Its own profit ware, of
course. Increased In the ratio that the planters'
profits were decreased.
They rebelled. And out of that rebellion grew
an organisation a cohesive and defiant body, a
confederacy of planters which, through the untir
ing effort of It Indomitable leader, gained the
support of the forty banks scattered throughout
the district, these agreeing to tide over the Imme
diate necessities of all members of the associa
tion. With that assurance the crops wore rtorod
in central warehouses, and thus barricaded tbe
flag of no surrender was run up and nailed to the
mast
Ensued a struggle as bitter as the one which
brought that awful hemorrhage of '61. While the
majority of the planters had become members of
the association, there were many who held aloof,
some tor one reason, -some for another. Naturally
came estrangements and bitterness. Barns were
)unied, warehouses dynamited and there' were
caher deeds of violence to mar this fairest ot all
fair regions.
But it should be strongly emphasised that the
association never countenanced any ot these re
grettable occurrences. Nor has It ever been
proved that association members were guilty of
felonious deeds. It is known as the Tobacco
Planters' Protective association, and its leader,
Mr. Felix G. Ewing, who is now an invalid in this
city, having worn himself Into sickness over tb
cause which he had espoused, again and again Im
pressed his followers, by speech and by letters,
that the association would countenance no deed ot
violence, and that the association would itself
prosecute any member guilty ot such deed.
The Inception and growth of the movement
which resulted In the overthrow of one of the
greatest trusts in America is in Itself an absorbing
chapter. The tobacco produced In the Black
Patch is uBed more extensively abroad than it Is
In this country, Its usual exportation to England,
France, Germany, Italy and Austria, exceeding the
exportation from all of the other tobacco growing
regions of the republic It was the staple crop of
the regions and up to the time that the trust ap
peared upon the scene it had been a very profitable
one to the planters.
The trust came, that is. Its agents did; the In
dependent buyer was forced from the field, and
the prices which had been kept normal by the
competition ot the Independent purchasers dropped
lower and lower the margin of profit grew less
and less, until In 101 the price ot the tobacco
Just balanced with the cost of Its production. The
method of the trust was to divide the tobacco
growers into various small territories, to each of
which certain buyers for the trust were assigned.
If the planter did not want to accept the pittance
which the buyer offered ho knew that the tobacoo
would rot on his hands, as there was no competi
tor to offer a higher price. That the American
Tobacco company, the Continental Tobacco com
pany, the Imperial Tobacco company and the
Regie contractors of Europe had entered Into a
criminal combination was brought out by Rep
resentative Stanley before the house committee,
when he secured an Indictment of the American
Tobacco company.
Tbe foreign companies, whose agent, Mr.
Stanley asserted, had entered Into the combine,
were purchasers tor Italy, Australia, England.
France and Spain. But up to 1903 there was still
an open market this being the German port of
Bremen. The method which tho trust adopted to
kill off the independent buyers who had been send
ing their purchases to this port was related to the
house committee by Mr. R. E. Cooper, a warehouse
commission sales agent of Hopkinsvllle, Ky.
"We sent to Bremen, which had been an open
market heretofore, until last year, a quantity of
tobacco to sell in the open market there. This
year the American Tobacco company, when we
shipped our tobacco to Bremen, took from its re
serve a quantity ot tobacco and put it on tbe mar
ket at cost I was one of the unfortunates. We
put our tobacco on the Bremen market expecting
to have a sale for It but Instead the American
Tobacco company put its tobacco on the market
there in opposition, and sells It at prime cost hero
just what it coat without any freight or ex
penses; and it cost us iy cent a pound to ship
tobacoo and sell it In Bremen, to pay the expenses
of it The American Tobacco company threw its
tobacco on the market and Just knocked ours out
entirely at a tremendous loss to the American
Tobacco company, of course, but while they can
stand the loss, we cannot We have our tobacoo
In Bremen today and we cannot sell them."
The Independent buyer was forced to retire
from the field. He eould sot compete financially
with the American Tobacco company and its for
eign allies.
Such was the situation when Mr. Felix Grundy
Ewing sent out an Invitation to a few of his
farmer friends of Robertson county asking them
to meet him at his home. Glenraven. Tenn., for
the purpose of discussing the tobacco situation.
The best prico which the farmers could then ob
tain for their tobacco was 6 cents a pound That
was the actual cost of raising It The "sense of
the meeting" was that the situation hod become
intolerable and that tbe only way In which relief
could be obtained was to form an organiraUon to
fight that other organiraUon the American To
bacco trust and It foreign constituents.
Mr. Ewing was chosen bead of the Incipient
order and at once set about the formidable task
of combating the powerful foe. With indefatiga
ble energy he entered Into the contest, made many
speeches In many different localities, and then
burned the midnight oil over correspondence cir
culars and newspaper work. The purpose of the
campaign was to enroll all the planters ard to
bind them to an agreement to place all of their
tobacco in the hands of a central committee
Mr. Ewing came to New Tork and sought aid
of the big financier, of this city. They listened
coldly and refused to have anything to do with
what they considered a Utopian dream. But still
stout of heart Mr. Ewing returned south with
the determination of trying to effect another or
ganisation that of the local banka Hi earnest
ness and energy won. The banks, about forty in
number, entered Into an agreement to see tho
farmers through In their battle with the trust
Pledging themselves to advance money to the
amount of three-fourths of the value of all crops
frown by association members.
On the heel, of this announcement came a
great increase m member.hlp. Every week added
cores of new members, and now the membershln
include. 27.000 bona fide planters. theT con
trolling more than 80 per cent of all the tobacco
crop, grown In the "Black Patch." And It expect,
to control during the spring of isog fully 60 000
hogshead, of tobacco, and at the advance reuched
this year of from I to 20 cents per pound New
Tork Time.