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THK OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: MAY 'J. hW.h
Box Butte County a Lusty Young Section Moving in the Front Rank
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HB first settlement In Box Butte
county . was made by John 8.
Hughes In 1879, on the Niobrara
river. In section 6, township 28,
range ' 57.' Prior to that time
' there had been a number of
T
cattle ranchea located along' Snake creek,
the first being established by the Ogalalla
Cattle company, and by Paxton & Bosler.
None of the land ' embraced in these
ranches was ever patented to any one con
nected with either of the ranches, and upon
the advent of the settlers into what Is
now Box Butte county, ' the herds and the
movable personal property belonging to
the cattle companies ' were transferred .
farther west. Between the years 1879 and
8M this county was Just one large cattle
i ranee, and In 1886 and 1886 settlers poured
i In, and nearly every quarter section of
available land was taken.
'-'The first meeting of the county commis
sioners was held March 23, 1887. At the
date of the organisation of the county the
population of the county was approxi
mately 5,000. The boundaries of the county
have never been changed since the date
of' Its organization.
'The county derives Its name . from a
large grass-covered butte located In the
northeast part of the county, and which
towers about 150 feet above the surround
ing territory, and which, on account of Its
peculiar shape, has always been called
"Box butte." Who first gave It this name
Is hot known, as it has been called that
ever since Buffalo Bill hunted the buffalo
on the plains surrounding the butte. The
but tea of the northwest axe as mile posts.
marking period, and event. In the history
of the county. Among the numerou. butte.
of this section of the country none has a
more interesting history than the "Crow
butte isu-mimA fiv mii f rva
ford. It can be seen for miles in every di
rection, standing like a sentinel guarding
the pine-clad hills on the south and the
beautiful White river valley, which wind,
across the country at it. feet on the north.
Its ha.ttle-arArrri iMai r Avldencea c9
the hard-fought battle, which occurred bo-
tween the ' tribes of hostile Indians that
once inhabited this section ot the great
west
The soil of Box Butte county is princi
pally a black, sandy" loam, rich in phos-
phates and where irrigation Is possible.
immense crops of cereals and roots can be-
raised. The" rainfall is very Uncertain.'
The average altitude being over 4 000 feet
t,x tht. .,. .iw-v. ennt Tu'in. rX
year with another, there are at least 300
days of sunshine in each year. In no
county. In the state Is there a greater per
cent of Its total area adapted to agricul
ture J than lii this county, and when there
I. sufficient rainfall most abundant crops
nt v.ir, ,.i,v.u. . - ..i. n.r.
has never been a year since the arrival of
the first settlers In whloh the farmers have
falled to raise fair crop of potatoes with-
out Irrigation., and In favorable years the
yield has ' been . .enormous. Box Butte
county potatoes have established a reputa
tion fo excellence that extends over sev
eral states
One feature of this county Is sure to at
tract the attention of the stranger. It la
trie opportunities here for engaging in the
dairy business. Already the farmer, of
U1ls county have 2,200 cows on their farms
and they am now. using 135 hand separa-
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ALLIANCE JUNIOR NORMAL. 1908 TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
Gossip and
Roosevelt's Mfo-leaa; Buret.
o
IV El or six year. ago. relates
G . Outing Magazine, president
I : Roosevelt visited the Getty.-
Decoration day speech, and I
was one of three Press associa
tion men to go along on his special train.
Coming back to Washington, the president
Joined General O. O. Howard, General
Daniel Sickles, the then commissioner of
pensions, Ware, and the newspaper men.
In the smoking compartment, and naturally
enough the talk turned to war and carnage,
battle, murder and sudden death. Mr.
Roosevelt did. most of the talking. It la
true, but the others got a chance to aay
something every now and then. Finally it
came to Commissioner Ware's turn.
"Mr. Roosevelt," said he. "I kad a most
Interesting visitor the other day, and never
have I regretted so much the Inelasticity
of the pension laws.
"This visitor was the most disfigured
human being I have even seen. He had sjo
noae at all, one ear had been shot or cut
away, a musket ball had gone through both
hi. cheeks, and he had other marks and
scars too numerous to mention. He had
been a union cavalryman, and bis record
was ot lbs best. . But Jie was strong and
healthy . and tho examiner, had reported
WOMAN'S CLUB OP ALLIANCE.
tors. The county at the present time has
650 acres seeded down with alfalfa. This
has made it possible for these farmers to
ship last year 13,000 poufTTls of butter and
17,000 gallons of cream. Go Into any sec
tion of this county where dairying Is car
ried on, and yeu will usually find good
comfortable houses and barns and the peo
ple prosperous and Intelligent. Dairying
furnishes employment on the farm for boys
and girls, and this means better men and
better women. The value of the dairy
products of the United States Is 700,000,000
annually, or, In other words one and a
ha,f t,m greater han all the gold and
Pduoed world, and a greater
Pruon p" .
Therefore
the state that
is well adapted
for dairying 1. fertunate.
What " Box Butte county needs at the
present time i. an Influx of Industrious, in
telligent farmers, with a little capital.
the opportunities are as good here as can
be found in any part of western Nebraska,
where tho farm, mu.t be
irrigauon.
What 1. it that makes a town worth liv-
lng In? What excuse ba. Alliance for the
claim that it la a good residence or a good
business town? True, it is the center of. a
large circle or gooa terming ianu, bhu mere
are loU of other section, with just as good
farming Jand. .We will assume that the
native resources around Alliance are
ample. The soil is fertile, the methods of
farmlng and stock raising good, the crops
are uniformly fair, and the cattle on the
range is in good condition. Under normal
conditions, the town of such a rural dis
trict should share it. prosperity. Here we
find a county seat that partakes of this
condition. The visitor observes that the
houses are well built, the grounds well
kept, and the homes attractive and artis-
tic. He is impressed at once with the fact
that the value of the beautiful is ap-
predated by the citizens and that the spirit
of co-operatloh is abroad. And he Is liable
to have a faint ausplclon that a woman's
club is exercising an Influence here.
It will be found that In every progres
sive community a substantial number of
energetic, public spirited men and women
have systematically gone about the Im-
provement of their homos; they have set
examples, they have devoted themselves to
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Stories About Noted People
that he was rut entitled to a pension. I
thought It pretty rough."
The president leaned forward until hi
face was about three inches from the com
mlsaioner'a He lifted his arm and brought
his closed fist down on Mr. Ware's knee
with a good sound thump.
"Mr. Commissioner," he cried, "you take
a wrong view of this matter. That nun
ahould have been proud of those wounds,
thoae honorable disfigurements; positively
happy aver them. He should have been
willing, lf able, to ry the government a
bounty for them Instead of begging a pen
sion from the government.
"Let me tell you something, Mr. Ware.
I have always been unhappy, most unhappy,
that I was not severely wounded in Cuba;
that I did not lose a leg or sn arm or
both; or that I was not wounded In some
other striking and disfiguring way. The
nearest I cams to It waa when a spent ball
struck the back of my hand. It merely
raised a lump, and even that disappeared
In a day of two. Oh, hew I wish, hew I
have never eeaaed to wish, that it had
gone clear through. That would have left
some kind of a scar at least."
We all sat there In silence; In wonder
too deep for words. If anyone else in the
world except the president of the United
States, or the occupant ot some other office
on equal dignity, had tried to get away
11111,11 " tH-sni nspr iiivtm n -ii t ,l.,i..,.,nl.,,l,l,-lti
BOX BUTTE COUNTY OFFICIALS.
fostering the spirit of local pride of home
town work. They have determined to make
their town most satisfactory to live In; a
plaoc of beauty, convenience and health.
They have directed their energies toward
making their town the real heart of the
surrounding community. Every towns
every city the sine of Alliance, Is the cen-
ter, the heart of its surrounding country.
It may be a weak, Inactive heart, or it
may be a strong, enthusiastic, pulsating
heart, carrying the current of it. influence
vigorously Into the remotest corner of the
terrltery it dominates.
A good farming community buys much.
The people live well and raise a wholesome
variety of products, but they buy through
the year many things. The average farmer
spend. $27 a year for supplies. Some buy
more, seme buy less. Now, this means
a large circulation of money, perhaps $300,
000 or $400,000 are expended annually. How
and where do they spend it? I. the town
itself sucn as to Impress them with a reel-
tilled without lng that it Is the real heart of the com
munity; is it a pretty town In which they
cannot but feel a Just pride? Has It well
kept .treet. and good roads leading Into
it over which It la a . delight to drive,
either with a light buggy or a hsavy
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to market? Has It shade trees and an at-
tempt at least at a public park to make It
attractive? In short, Is it such a place as
a man may be glad to visit, to ratronlze
and to call It his town, and where as he
retires In his latter year, frem the active
work of farm life he may move or look
forward to moving into and becoming him
self a resident.
Box Butte county sent to market last
year over 11,000 head of cattle, 1,000 fat
hogs, 2,000 horses and 3,900 fat sheep. This
vast amount of stock was nearly all
shipped from Alliance. Can anyone doubt
that with this sum flowing through the
heart of the community year after year the
heart will not strengthen and grow and be
able to send back through Its channels a
stream of prosperity and increased value
to the farms out of which It Is the growth,
that the entire community wltll not be
stronger? The community will become a
better place to live In, in both town and
country section,
The railroads are doing much for Alii
FROM ALL OVER NORTHWESTERN
with any similar statement, he would have
been told to run along and sell hi. paper,
and not bother grown folk, with such non
sense. As it was. General Howard looked
dazed. General Sickles gave somethln ap
proximating a grunt both being "honor
ably disfigured" civil war veterans and
the rest of us smoked away and said neth.
lng.
J satires White aaa Holmes.
Mr. Justice Holme, and Mr. Justice
White of the supreme court personally are
more 'ntlmate than any of the other mem
bers, relates the New York American. So
soon as court adjourn, these two venerable
men emerge from the capitol together and
swing down Pennsylvania avenue at al
most a Weston gait. The former la a re
publican of abolitionary antecedents and
environment; the latter a stickler for the
sovereignity of states, and when a young
man believed in slavery.
They were talking tariff the other day
during ono ot their strides, and Mr. Justice
White agreed that gaudy and expensive
articles ot apparel should be taxed. "I
believe In the proposed tariff on gloves,"
he said.
Mr. Justice Holmes gazed at hint In ap
parent astonishment. "Don't you ever tell
me again ' that you are not on terms of
friendship with Standard Oil," he said.
ance and for Box Butte county. As the
steel tracks blaze the way, towns have
sprung up and homos arc dotting the
prairie. The plow and hoe are converting
the raw prairies into productive farms and
ranches, where the soli and the climate
need only a little of man's Ingenuity and
labor to make productive fields. This
county will always be a great stock-raising
country, owing to the mild climate, the
nutritious native grass, the abundance of
hay and feed raised and the suitability of
certain sections for grazing purposes. The
tendency now Is toward the raising of
small bunches of finely bred stock instead
01 mo immense neraa inni once c.verea
the plains. Unimproved land can now be
bought at from H to $ an acre and la
rapidly advancing in value The ranchea
are becoming the homes of the owners.
Men are Improving and beautifying their
places with the expectation of remaining
on them permanently.
While the county is first, last and all the
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TEACHERS OF
t)me a stock country, the reader must not
jnfer that this is the only resource. No
ther county In the state, compares with it
in the number oi acres oi poiaxoes in
each ye4r ,.nd lB the price they bring
on tne market. This county raised last
year and shipped out 6.511 bushels of pota-
t0M. This forma one of the county's
princpal industries and ene that is safely
counted on by the farmers as an unfailing
Industry.
The productiveness of Box Butte county
and the volume of business done by Al
liance can be appreciated when we state
that last year there were shipped out from
the county seat seven cars of grain, twenty
cars of horses, 272 cars of cattle, six cars
of sheep, 101 cars of potatoes and 162 cars
miscellaneous. Burlng the same year
there was shipped Into Alliance 210 cars
of lumber, 349 cars of coal, twenty-three
cars of farm Implements, thirty-five car.
miscellaneous. This county haa a valua
tion of about $6,000,000 and about 7,600
people.
The county has fifty mile, of railroad,
and but few railroad station.. The school,
of the county are In a meat excellent con
dition when ooe stops to consider the new-
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NEBRASKA ATTEND THIS SUMMER SCHOOL FOR TEACHERS.
"What do you mean?" asked the Loulsl
anlan, In rather an abrupt tone.
"Simply this," the Boston Jurist an
swered: "If gloves they being one of the
expensive articles women must have are
to go higher, - It means that fewer pairs
will be purchased. So, it the demand Is
less, the gloves at home must last longer.
And how can this be done? By cleaning
and preserving them. And how are they
preserved? By using benzine, gasoline and
the like, products of the Standard Oil.
"The next time a Standard Oil case ap
pears before us I am going to keep a
mighty close watch on your vote, Ed, a
mighty clove eye."
Geaeral Grant's Early Days.
Mrs. Emma Dent Casey, writing in the
Circle magazine of her memories of Gen
eral Grant, refute, some popular legends
which have been current.
There' 1. the famous story of Captain
Grant living In such poverty that he had
to . haul his poor little fagots ot wood
through the. city with an ox team and
blow on hi. ungloved fingers to keep them
tram freezing.
The truth is that he and hi. negroes cut
the wood and he often sent one ot them te
the elty with a load to sell to the families
of a Mr. Blow and Mr. Bernard. Mr. Ber
nard was the brother of my brother John',
wife. During the Christmas holiday, ene
winter the negro who generally drove the
team for Captain Grant was 111 and there
was no one to send in his place.
The captain's St Louis friends sent him
nes of tills western frontier. There are
about sixty school districts In the county
and ninety te.tcliers. A groat Improvement
has been made Inthe country schools dur
ing the arimlnUtratlon of County Super
intendent Phillips, who Is a man well
adapted for thin position. The average
salary raid teachers Is 147. SO.
Alliance is the county seat of Box Butt
county and Ic is decidedly In advance of
the rest of the county. It Is not only one
of the largest, but It is one of the most
thrifty cities in western Nebraska. It has
two public schooN, a J 10.000 high school,
$49,60 Catholic academy, $40,000 hotel, state
Borm4 ,na mtny educational advantages,
Tn. v,rnmelt land office la located here,
Tn ta . WM0 clty na two natlonaJ
h.nk. wlth ,,,-., .,. .. n.mn.
papers, pressed brick plant, water works
and one of the finest creameries In the
state. The creamery pays . the . highest
prices for products. Its goods being shipped
all ever the west. Alliance has four lum
. ber yards and large retail stores.. Its popu
lation is Increasing at a swift rate. Its
growth is not a boom, but a Steady growth,
as the surrounding country settles .up,.
The first Intimation that a town was to
be built on the present site of Alliance
In June, 1887, when the Lincoln I And
company, then cloeely associated with the
Burlington & Missouri River Railroad com
pany, purchased all of section 36 and platted
a townslte. The reason for the selection of
this particular 'ocallty waa because of the
proximity of the large ranching and farm
ing Industries and also to establish a
division point for the Burlington road,'
where a reundhouse, machine and repair
shops could be located. The future metrop
olis of northwestern Nebraska was then
launched, buildings sprang up In rapid
succession, settlers swarmed In, and In
eight weeks Alliance was a flourishing
village of over 700 Inhabitants. On March
88, 1888, the board of county commissioners
met and Incorporated the village of Alli
ance. In 13 the population of Alliance
THE ALLIANCE SCHOOLS, D. W. HAYS,
had reached a point when it could be ad
vanced to a city of the second class, and
this was consummated April 8 of that year.
The Alliance land district, which com
word that they were out of wood, and,
accordingly, he' hitched up hi. team ot
white horse to his big wagon, loaded on
the wood and hauled It to the city him
self. He probably hauled several loads In
this way. I do not know how many. Any
other man with the same temper of spirit
and the same lack of false pride would
have done the same.
On ene of these trips, as the captain wa.
driving along seated en his load of wood,
he suddenly, came face to face with Gen
eral Harney and his staff. The general,
resplendent In a new uniform . and gold
trimmings, eyed the figure of the farmer
on the wagon with astonishment. Then he
drew in his horse, Grant stopped his team,
and the pair smiled into each other's eyes.
"Why, Grant, what In blazes are you
doing?" exclaimed Harney.
The captain,, sitting comfortably atop his
lead of wood with his axe and whipstock
at his side, shifted one muddy foot across
the other, and drawlsd:
"Weil, general, I'm hauling wood."
The thing waa so obvious and Grant so
naive that General Harney and his staff
roared w'th laughter. They shook his hand
and Joked with him and finally carried him
off to dine with them at the Planters'
hotel. That is the true story of Captain
Run-dewn-at-the-heela Grant peddling wood
for. a pittance in the .treet.
A Perilous Predlcaaneat.
Robert Herriok, - the brilliant reallstlo
novelist, said at a recent luncheon at Chicago:
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SOD SCHOOL. HOUSE IN BOX BUTTE
prises the counties of Sheridan, Dawes,
Sioux, Box Butte, Deuel, Cheyenne and
Scott's Buff, had Its seat or United States
land office. In Alliance, and Is still, tran
sacting a large amount of business.
In the early settlement of this part of
the state, and in the organization of most
of the counties, it was thought best to at
once issue the bonds of the county and
erect expensive public buildings. This
county has never assumed a bounded in
debted n ess for such purpose. The rate of
taxation for county and state purposes Is
only 21 mills on each doll.ir of assessed
valuation.
The location of Alliance as a distrib
uting point for the great northwest is not
surpassed by any ether city , In western
Nebraska. This fact was recognised by
the International Harvester company,
SUPERINTENDENT.
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SOME LEADING MEMBERS OF ALLIANCE COMMERCIAL CLUB.
which has established headquarters here
for western Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyo
ming and a part of Colorado, and at this
time there are wholesale grocery firms
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BOX BUTTE COUNTY
"There Is a type of American wife who.
In her greed for wealth and display, brings
un happiness on herself. She rather re
minds me of the fat man and the table
d'hote dinner,
"This man entered a restaurant that
served a dinner at the fixed price of 75
cents. He knotted a napkin about his neck
and fell to heavily. So heavily, In fact,
that the waiter, after a whimpered conver
sation with the proprietor, approached him
and said:
" 'Beg pardon, sir, but I'll have to charge
you a quarter extra; you eat so much.'
"The fat man, rl and short ot breath
from hi. excessive gorging, said earnestly:
" 'For goodness' sake, don't do that! I'm
nearly dead now from eating 75 cents
worth. If you make me eat another quar
ter I'll bust. New York Times.
John Dtew and His ehew.
Repeated efforts madu by a beedy look
ing individual a short time ago- to "touch"
a well known actor, playing at one of the
Broad street houses, recalled a lot ot
stories of how vsrlous actors have come
to grief and how they appealed for assist
ance. Some stories were serious, some funny,
says the Philadulphia Ledger, and among
the latter was a yarn concerning Jack
Barrymore and his uncle, John Drew. It
was a good deal like adding insult to in
Jury, but Jack got the money, anyway.
He waa returning from a tour of Aus
tralia and stopped in Baa Francisco Just
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COUNTY. WITH TEA CIIER AND PUPILS
looking over the field with a view of estab
limbing branch house's here. ' Its railroad
facilities give quick sen-Ice to the western
portion of South Dakota and ' Montana,
Wyoming and the whole northwestern,
country. It Is a division point on the Bur
lington, which maintains a largo round
house and machine shops, and which gives
employment to a great number of work-"
men. The payroll for these shops and
trainmen and office forces exceods $6,000 a
month. The total valuation of tho rall
road properly 111 Alliance Is said' to bo
about $0,000.
But the greatest glory of Alliance Is Its
public schools. Every citizen of Alliance
feels a Just pride in tho excellence and
progresslveness of the schools. The en
rollment for last year was 931, -with twenty
four teacher, employed, with salaries
ranging from $1,650 per year to $70 per
month. For seven year, these schools have
been under the ablo management of D.
W. Hayes. Tho Junior Normal at Alliance
had the largest enrollment last year ot
any Junior normal In the state, D. W.
Hayes, the city superintendent. Is principal
of the Junior Normal . school. -
At present two civic organizations aro
doing much for the good of the city. The
Woman's club was organized three years
aro and has a membership of twenty-five
representative womon of the city. This
year they have taken up the work of es
tablishing a public library, putting up a
substantial Carnegie building and Improv
ing the city park.
Tho Commercial club has a membership
of l.V) and Is very active. It is of recent
organization, but not only laid plan, for
several desirable improvements in the city,
but has brought about some of theso !m
provements. It is working not only ' for
the city of Alliance, but for tho develop
ment of the entire county. At present It is
sending out 500 letter, to 600 potato grow-
f
a
ers, giving them the best information ob
tainable in regard to the best varieties of
seed and the growing and marketing of;
their potatoes.
COMMISSIONERS.
in time to meet the earthquake. Jack lost
everything but his clothes, and Just as
soon as he could get a place where he
could write a letter he directed ono to
John Drew, making It rathor strong.
"Dear uncle," he wrote, "I am up against
it in this fair city, and anything you can
send me will be greatly appreciated. I was
asleep when the earthquake arrived, and
was thrown clear across the room into a
bathtub filled with water. The ahock
aroused me, and, after dodging a few fall
ing walls, I managed to reach the street,
slill clad In my pyjamas. When I reached
the street I was met by two soldiers, who
Immediately put me to work clearing the
debris. You can see that I am up against
it. and I shall await an early reply."
When Barrymore received his uncle's re
ply he found It to be both short and sweet.
It ran as follows: "'Dear Jack: I always
knew It would take an unnatural convul
sion of the earth to make you take a bath,
and I was also sure that it would take
the United States army to put you to
work." But the letter contained a money
order.
1
Rather a Kan.
Dr. Madison C. Peters waa discussing the
question, "Will the Coming Man Marry?"
He instanced a certain lyp of bachelor.
"This man," he said, "is a hypocrite. He
uses' hik religion as a cloak."
"And what will lie do In the next world,
eh?" said the reporter.
"Oh," said Dr. Peters, "ho won't need
any cloak there." New York Tribune,
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