USA > Nebraska > Lancaster County > Lincoln > Lincoln, the capital city and Lancaster County, Nebraska, Volume I > Part 1
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LINCOLN
The Capital City
AND
LANCASTER COUNTY NEBRASKA
ANDREW J. SAWYER Supervising Editor
ILLUSTRATED
VOLUME I
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY 1916
787162
F X AND
19 7
Prophet:
Dve warriors, O ye young men, O ye women, O pe people!
Dear the words that 3 am speaking!
In the days that yet are coming, In the days of the tomorrow, Were beside the stream Riskithe ke There shall be a mighty village, There shall be a town of white men, Fairest tolun in all nebraska! Riskithe shall our people call it, Riskithe, Salt-Town, shall they call it; But the white men, they will name it For the brabest of their warriors, For the noblest of their chieftains, For the wisest of their wise men! 3 have spoken, I have spoken.
"Pageant of Lincoln," 1915.
A PREFATORY REMARK
The history of a community is, in many respects, particularly the pioneer history, a story founded upon tradition. It is a well known fact that the records of the days of long ago have not been properly preserved. In the beginning of Nebraska history, as recorded by white men, and also that of Lancaster County, settlements were miles apart. This was a country of long distances, without the telegraph and telephone to shorten the leagues. The pioneers traveled in the saddle, upon wagons or on foot and thought nothing of it. It is after one gains a luxury that he thinks it indispensable. The motive of the Easterners in coming to this trackless prairie was purely an economic one. The exodus to the Great West occurred when living conditions became undesirable or unprofitable in the East.
The men who have attempted the task of preparing a history of the city of Lincoln and Lancaster County, Nebraska, have endeavored conscientiously to perform the work and to secure facts which are creditable to the present genera- tion and which should be recorded for the benefit of the generations yet to come. The biographical volume should be especially interesting in future decades to those whose ancestors have made history in the past. The teachings of the fathers and pride in their achievements have been mighty factors in the world's advance- ment. The pioneers who builded states were not the products of chance, but came from strong and vigorous ancestry.
That, in this history, much has been omitted which should have been preserved is probable ; that some statements have not been sufficiently extended is likely ; and that some generally accepted facts may not accord with individual experience and preconceived notions is possible ; but the men who have prepared the work have done the best they could with the means of knowledge at hand.
History is not like mathematics, an exact science. Witnesses in court who see the same things rarely see them from the same angle or testify alike as to the exact faets. Much of history, as stated before, is tradition, tales passing from mouth to mouth, from sire to son, from generation to generation, and the truth never gains in the transmission of these tales. We accept as fact a great deal of history which doubtless never occurred; much that in the light of the larger experience of our time we know cannot be true, but we take it with allowance and glean from it what good we can. The public and written records are reliable so far as they go, but are more often defective or incomplete. The recollections of actors in past events are of value as history, but their credibility must be taken with regard to the accuracy of their observation and memory, the soundness of their judgment and their reliability to relate the facts unbiased by precon- ceived notions or personal interest.
No one person was delegated by law or nature to be supreme in the collection of historical facts. It is a labor of the people and not of an individual; nor is
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A PREFATORY REMARK
any one individual or society qualified to a superior extent to perform such a work. The shop-keeper, the merchant, the banker, the lawyer, the physician, the capitalist and the layman, all, have their bit to add. Careful procedure and intelligent work are the main requisites, notwithstanding the moss-covered ideas which have existed in regard to the writing of history.
From all available sources the historians have sought to gather the facts for this work. The development of Lancaster County covers one-half of a century ; the greater part of it has been accomplished in the last twenty-five years, but in the brief space of time which this history covers, the early settlers who have made history have nearly all gone. Many of the pioneers moved on to newer scenes when population, as they felt, began to crowd them. They were not content to be other than pioneers. The most of the first generation of settlers upon the wild prairie are dead. They were too busy making a living to leave much record of their doings. We hope that the record of this county and city will prove, on completion, all that its projectors have promised and that its subscribers will appreciate the work which has been accomplished. All our judgment of our fellow men and of their work may follow the old adage: "Be to their faults a little blind; be to their virtues very kind."
CONTENTS
A PREFATORY REMARK
CHAPTER I
SOIL SURVEY OF LANCASTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA
CLIMATE - AGRICULTURE - SOILS - MARSHALL SILT LOAM - MARSIIALL LOAM - WABASH SILT LOAM-LANCASTER FINE SANDY LOAM-ALKALI-SUMMARY. . . . I
CHAPTER II EARLY SETTLEMENT OF LANCASTER COUNTY
THE PREY FAMILY-OTHER SETTLEMENTS-INDIAN DISTURBANCES-PREEMPTION AND HOMESTEAD LAWS-FIRST CLAIMS IN THE COUNTY-EARLY TAX LISTS. . . 16
CHAPTER III
ORGANIZATION AND GOVERNMENT OF LANCASTER COUNTY- COUNTY ELECTIONS- COL'RT IIOUSE. 27
CHAPTER IV
IMPORTANT PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
THE FIRST BOARD-EARLY MEETINGS-TAX LEVY-LOT DONATIONS-OFFER TO BUR- LINGTON-TERRITORIAL BRIDGE-MORE LOT DONATIONS-PRICE OF LOTS-STATE CAPITAL INDUCEMENT-INCORPORATION OF LINCOLN-OFFER TO RAILROAD COMPANIES-BURLINGTON BONDS-OTHER RAILROAD BONDS-COUNTY OFFICE ROOMS-NEW PRECINCT DIVISION-FIRST COURT HOUSE AND JAIL ACTION- RAILROAD AIDCOURT HOUSE SQUARE EXCHANGE-LANCASTER COUNTY POOR HOUSE AND POOR FARM-STATE FAIR PROPOSITION-AID FOR L. B. & R. V. R. R.
COMPANY-FIRTHI-O. & R. V. R. R. COMPANY-L. & N. W. R. R. COMPANY- BENNETT-COURT HOUSE LEVY-PRECINCT FORMATION-WAVERLY-HICKMAN -ROCA-COURT HOUSE BOND ELECTIONS-COMMISSIONERS' TOUR-WEST LIN- COLN - COURT HOUSE CONTRACTS - SECOND BIDS - SECOND PLANS - BIDS - UNIVERSITY PLACE - RAYMOND - COLLEGE VIEWS - JAIL BONDS - ILALLAMI -PANAMA-FLOOD SUFFERERS-SPRAGUE-DENTON-DAVEY. 42
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER V
THE STORY OF THE SALT BASIN
THE LEGEND-EARLY EXPECTATIONS-SALT CREEK SETTLERS-EARLY DAYS AT THE SALT BASIN, BY JOHN S. GREGORY-LITIGATION OVER THE SALT LANDS-THE LINCOLN SALT BASIN, BY JOHN H. AMES-SUBSEQUENT WORKINGS. 57
CHAPTER VI
THE TOWN OF LANCASTER
.... .76
CHAPTER VII
REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS TO LOCATE THE SEAT OF GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE OF NEBRASKA
CONVEYANCER'S REPORT-REMOVING THE STATE ARCHIVES. .80
CHAPTER VIII JOHN MORRIS' REPORT ON STATE HOUSE CONSTRUCTION
THE FIRST STATE CAPITAL, BY THOMAS MALLOY. . ...... .93
CHAPTER IX
THE CAPITAL QUESTION IN NEBRASKA AND THE LOCATION OF THE SEAT OF GOVERN- MENT AT LINCOLN, BY C. H. GERE. . 100
CHAPTER X
TIIE BEGINNING OF LINCOLN. . . . . . . 112 V
CHAPTER XI
THE BEGINNING OF LINCOLN AND LANCASTER COUNTY, BY W. W. COX
BIRTH OF LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, BY CHARLES WAKE. .. . . II7
CHAPTER XII LANCASTER AND LINCOLN LOT EXCHANGES
LOT EXCHANGE TABLE-UNSOLD LOTS, JANUARY 1, 1869-FIRST LOT PURCHASERS IN LINCOLN-EXPENSES OF SURVEYING LINCOLN-EXPENSES IN ADVERTISING- EXPENSES FOR AUCTION-COMMISSIONERS' ACCOUNTS. J30
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER XIII
THE PROGRESS OF LINCOLN AND HER UTILITIES
PAVEMENT -- SEWERAGE-STREET CAR LINES -- WATER, GAS AND ELECTRICITY- TELEPHONES-TELEGRAPII COMPANIES-EARLY EXPRESS COMPANIES-POLICE FORCE-FIRE DEPARTMENT II
CHAPTER XIV GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY OF LINCOLN
CITY ORGANIZATION-FURTHER ELECTIONS-THIE COMMISSION FORM OF GOVERN- MENT . 153
CHAPTER XV
LINCOLN BANKS AND BANKING. 166
CHAPTER XVI
THE PRESS OF LINCOLN. .170
CHAPTER XVII
TIIE LINCOLN POSTOFFICE
.... 175
CHAPTER XVIH
THIE LINCOLN LIBRARY 179
CHAPTER XIX
TIIE SOCIAL SIDE OF LINCOLN
.186 V
CHAPTER XX
MILITARY HISTORY OF LANCASTER COUNTY
ROSTER OF LANCASTER COUNTY SOLDIERS IN THIE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR. . . . . 197
CHAPTER XXI
THE PROGRESS OF EDUCATION IN LANCASTER COUNTY
EDUCATIONAL BEGINNINGS-UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-UNION COLLEGE-COTNER UNIVERSITY-NEBRASKA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY-PUBLIC SCHOOLS-SMALL PERCENTAGE OF ILLITERACY-LINCOLN'S NEW HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING VOCA- TIONAL TRAINING IN LINCOLN PUBLIC SCHOOLS-OTIIER SCHOOLS-THIE FIGHT FOR EXTENSION OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY-COTNER UNIVERSITY AND BETH- ANY, BY J. Z. BRISCOE. .217
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER XXII
THE CHURCHES IN LINCOLN AND SUBURBS
METIIODIST EPISCOPAL-PRESBYTERIAN-CHURCH OF CHRIST, SCIENTIST-LUTII- ERAN CITURCHES-EVANGELICAL-BAPTIST-BRETHREN-UNITED BRETHREN- LATTER DAY SAINTS - HEBREW - REFORMED - NAZARENE - SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST-UNION CHURCH-EPISCOPAL-UNITARIAN-CATHOLIC-CHRISTIAN -CONGREGATIONAL-UNIVERSALIST-AN EARLY PASTOR'S STORY. 242
CHAPTER XXIII
THE BENCHI AND BAR OF LANCASTER COUNTY. ..... 267
CHAPTER XXIV
TIIE MEDICAL PROFESSION
... .271
CHAPTER XXV
THE INCARCERATION OF THE LINCOLN CITY COUNCIL, BY A. J. SAWYER. .... .274
CHAPTER XXVI
THE STORY OF TIIE CRUSADE. . . . ... 294
CHAPTER XXVII
THE RAILROADS OF LANCASTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA ...... .298
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CHAPTER XXVIII
LANCASTER COUNTY TOWNS
II.WELOCK - UNIVERSITY PLACE - BETHANY - COLLEGE VIEW - BENNETT - WAVERLY-FIRTH-ROC1-HICKMAN-OTHER LANCASTER COUNTY TOWNS. . 30I
CHAPTER XXIX STATE INSTITUTIONS
THE STATE PENITENTIARY-REVOLTS-THE STATE HOSPITAL-TIIE STATE FAIR . . 314
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER XXX
MISCELLANEOUS
BRIEF HAPPENINGS IN LANCASTER COUNTY JIISTORY-LANCASTER COUNTY CENSUS-POPULATION OF INCORPORATED TOWNS-PAGEANTS-A PIONEER IN LINCOLN-ANIMALS IN EARLY LINCOLN-AN EARLY CLUB-HOTELS-FLOOD OF AUGUST, 1889-TERRITORIAL REPRESENTATIVES-LANCASTER COUNTY'S ONLY LYNCHING-CRIMINAL CASES-TIIE OLD SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION . .319
CHAPTER XXXI
REMINISCENCES 338
A
Lincoln and Lancaster County
CHAPTER I SOIL SURVEY OF LANCASTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA
BY JAMES L. BURGESS AND E. L. WORTHEN (U. S. Department of Agriculture)
Lancaster County is situated in the southeastern part of the State of Nebraska, approximately fifty miles west of the Missouri River and about half way between the Platte River and the north boundary line of Kansas. Meridians of longi- tude 96° 40' west and latitude 40° 50' north intersect near Lincoln, which is located near the center of the county. The county is bounded on the north by Saunders County, on the east by Cass and Otoe counties, on the south by Gage, and on the west by Saline and Seward counties.
The surface of Lancaster County varies from gently rolling to rough and hilly. While the county lies wholly within the boundary of the Kansan drift, the glacial material is more pronounced in determining the surface configurations in the west half of the area, where glacial action and subsequent erosion have devel- oped a broken topography. It is quite noticeable that the most irregular surface is found on the south sides of the streams flowing east. An exception is found in the case of the main channel of Salt Creek northeast of Lincoln, where the higher hills are on the north. The lowest point in the county is found where Salt Creek passes into Cass County, where the elevation is about eleven hundred feet above sea level. From this point the surface rises north, west, and south finally reaching an altitude of 1,500 feet in the southwestern part of the county along the divide between the Salt Creek basin and the valley of the Big Blue River. The general elevation of the county is about twelve hundred feet above tide.
Beginning in the southwest part of the county, at a point 1.500 feet high, there opens out toward the north and northeast an elliptical basin, with an average depth of probably two hundred feet. This basin makes a broad curve near Lincoln, turns to the northeast, and leaves the county a few miles east of Waverly. It is traversed throughout by Salt Creek and its tributaries, the most important of which are Rock Creek, Little Salt Creek, Oak Creek, Middle Creek, Haines Branch, Antelope Creek. Stevens Creek, and Dead Mans Run. Near Roca the main channel of Salt Creek divides into the south and west forks. A part of the drainage in the southern part of the county finds its way into Big Blue and Nemaha rivers, but the greater part is carried by Salt Creek into the Platte River.
Vol. I-1
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LINCOLN AND LANCASTER COUNTY
The population of the county is practically all white and mostly native born, though a large percentage of the people, particularly in the rural communities, is of foreign extraction. The early settlers came to this country from Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and from various eastern states. The first settlement was made in 1856 on Salt Creek, about fifteen miles south of where Lincoln now stands. The county was organized in 1859, and the state capital was removed from Omaha to Lincoln in 1867.
The rural population is grouped roughly into settlements representing various nationalities. In the southern part of the county are the Germans, in the south- eastern part the Hollanders, in the northeastern part the Swedes, and in the north- western part the Irish. Except in the rough country around the headwaters of some of the western tributaries of Salt Creek, the rural population is fairly dense.
Lincoln, the most important city and the best immediate market in the county, is situated near the center of Salt Creek basin, and is one of the most important railroad centers in the state. There are a number of small towns in the county. These are composed generally of farmers who have collected together for church and educational advantages. These small places also serve as shipping points for the farmers. Crete, a town of three or four thousand inhabitants, is located only a short distance across the west boundary line of the county and affords a limited market for the farmers in the southwest section of the area.
The transportation facilities are excellent. The Burlington, the Union Pacific, the Rock Island, the Missouri Pacific, and the Northwestern railroad companies operate lines through the county and place it in direct connection with Omaha, Chicago, Kansas City, Denver, and other large cities.
CLIMATE
Lancaster County is situated wholly within the rain belt of the Mississippi Valley and has a moderately humid climate. The normal annual temperature is 50° Fahrenheit, the normal monthly temperature ranging from 22° in January to 76° in July. The average annual rainfall is about twenty-seven inches, most of which occurs during the growing season, from March to October.
While this area possesses a mild climate for about eight months in the year and a rainfall well distributed throughout the season of plant growth, still it is subject to those occasional extremes of temperature that may be expected to pass over the upper Mississippi Valley, especially the western part, once in every five or ten years. The winters sometimes become so severe that the less hardy perennials are frozen, while, on the other hand, the crops may fail now and then from drought, accompanied by hot, dry southwesterly winds. The years 1894 and 1901 were noted for continued and destructive droughts. During July and August of these years the soil became greatly heated, being more than 72° at a depth of thirty-six inches below the surface. While these years were most destructive of crops, it frequently happens that some part of the growing season has insufficient rainfall. The corn crop may be injured during the early summer, or the wheat, and especially the oat crop, may be cut short by prolonged dry periods during the spring, as in 1906. In any case the damaging effects of
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deficient rainfall in this area may be largely offset by improved cultural methods, which will be discussed later in this report.
AGRICULTURE
The first settlers came to this part of the state in 1856, when the area within the present limits of the county was all virgin prairie. They were molested by the Indians until 1864, when the Government succeeded in confining the latter to their respective reservations.
The first settlement was small and quite isolated, but in 1859 the overland trail from the East to the West was changed from Ashland to a more direct route through this territory. The colony was thus brought into more prominence, and the population increased rapidly.
It was not thought at first that spring wheat would be profitable or that winter wheat would stand the climate in this latitude, consequently only corn and flax were grown prior to 1870. Corn was and has since remained the principal crop in the county. Flax was found to be quite a remunerative crop on virgin soil, but when the land became older the yields were small, and finally, in the early 'Sos, the land became so infested with noxious weeds that the cultivation of this crop in any quantity was abandoned.
In 1870 an agricultural society was organized "for the development of agri- culture along all lines suited to this latitude" and for the development of mechanic arts. It was about this time that the farmers began to test the possibility of wheat production. The first variety tested was known as "tea" wheat, so called from having been found in a package of tea imported from China. This was grown for several years as a spring wheat, but was finally superseded by another called "grass" wheat. This "grass" wheat was grown for a number of years also as a spring wheat, but about 1888 the farmers by accident discovered that this could De grown as winter wheat, and from that date the growing of winter wheat gained some importance. The production of winter wheat in this area, however, received its greatest impetus when the state experiment station demonstrated the value of certain varieties from Russia and Turkey. From 1890 to 1898 hemp was grown in the bottom lands along Salt Creek, its discontinuance being due to a change of ownership of the lands on which it was grown.
The only serious difficulties the farmers of this area have encountered were the grasshopper pest in 1874 and the droughts that occurred in 1894 and 1901.
The implements used in the early agriculture were those for breaking and pulverizing the sod. Then came the check-row corn planter, the gang plow, the disk harrow, and other modern implements suited to the agriculture of the area, the lister being introduced in the latter 'Sos. This implement plows the land and plants the corn in one operation, and its labor-saving merits at once recom- mended it to the farmers, especially to those who were tenants and desired to farm very extensively. Not only among the tenants, but also among those farmers who own the land, has the use of the lister become quite general. Re- cently, however, the more progressive landowners have begun to doubt the efficiency of the lister on the soils of this county, recognizing that while it may save much labor it frequently causes a shortage in crop yields and is always prejudicial to the maintenance of productiveness, thus decreasing the intrinsic
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LINCOLN AND LANCASTER COUNTY
value of their lands. All the implements used are such as are suited to general agriculture. There is little or no intensive farming done and only a very limited number of stock raised, the principal products being corn, wheat and oats.
Corn, oats, emmer (sometimes incorrectly called spelt) and sugar beets are planted in April and May, a period during which a relatively large proportion of the rainfall is likely to occur. This rainfall coming when the land is without vegetation is usually attended with serious washing, especially on rolling fields where a series of trenches has been made by the lister in planting the corn crop. Indeed. all the soils in the area except that found in the bottoms are very susceptible to erosion, and during the season of planting care should be taken to put the soil in a condition to hold the utmost amount of moisture. This is impor- tant both for future plant growth and for protecting the soil.
The crops are harvested from July to October. Those harvested in July are likely to suffer some damage from heavy rains, while those harvested in October and November are not generally in danger from too much moisture.
General grain farming has always absorbed the interest of the farmer in this county. Corn is the most important crop and, until recent years, when the experi- ment station made an effort to introduce some diversification in the farm prac- tice of the state, corn was practically the only money crop grown. Corn and wheat are now both put on the market, but oats are not considered in the present economy except for home consumption. Nearly all the grain is sold from the farm, only a very limited number of hogs and cattle being fed for market. There is a large acreage in wild grass, the amount of land devoted to this kind of forage ranking next to that seeded to oats. The acreages in alfalfa and clover are about equal. The millets are grown to some extent. Sugar beets, macaroni wheat, and emmer are comparatively new crops in this area. Sugar beets and emmer are worthy of extended cultivation.
While practically all the staple crops of the area are grown on every farm regardless of soil type, the farmers, nevertheless, recognize that the soils in the eastern half of the county are richer and better adapted to corn and wheat than the soils in the western half, where the glacial drift affects both the topography and soil composition. In the western half of the county as a general rule the lands are in wild grasses, while little or no land is in virgin sod in the eastern half, except in close proximity to some of the streams. The heavy soil in the east half of the county is well suited to clover and alfalfa, as well as to the cultivated grasses.
Perhaps the necessity of crop rotation receives the least attention of any factor entering into the economy of farm practice in this area. The present sys- tem of cropping follows corn with oats, and oats with wheat when any rotation at all is practiced, but on many farms corn follows corn for years in succession. When a change is made oats arc sown in the spring on "stalk" land, and the oat stubble is plowed in the fall for the succeeding winter-wheat crop. Clover and alfalfa fields are seldom seen in the area, hence no rotation looking to the main- tenance of soil fertility is practiced in general. The barnyard manure is frequently wasted, notwithstanding the soil is often in serious need of it.
The soils and the climatic and market conditions in this area suggest certain specific methods of farm practice which no farmer in the county can afford to ignore. The soils have such physical qualities that moisture enters slowly and
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LINCOLN AND LANCASTER COUNTY
escapes by evaporation very rapidly during the hot summer months. The farmers in general do not plow the land deeply, and hence limit the amount of moisture the soil can hold. The surface is generally quite rolling, sometimes hilly, and requires deep plowing and in certain places terracing to prevent erosion ; but the general rule is to put the corn crop in with the lister, and by so doing reduce the surface of these rolling fields to a series of ditches, while the space between the rows is rarely broken deeper than the tooth of the cultivator runs. By this method of listing the surface soil is rapidly decreasing in depth because of erosion. The nature of the soil and the climatic conditions make it imperative that every effort should be made to conserve moisture, yet the methods of soil management allow great quantities of the annual precipitation to escape by evaporation. By listing the land about 25 per cent more surface is exposed to the sun's rays than would be exposed should this surface remain level; moreover, the use of the lister pre- cludes the possibility of surface mulching, which is of extreme importance in the early spring, when the seed is germinating and when a few days of drought may greatly reduce the stand.
Most of the labor is performed by the farmer and his family. Some of the' farmers employ one or two hired men, but the price of labor is high, owing to the demand for laborers in the city and on the railroads. Farmers say they can afford to pay as much as $25 a month the year round for good men, but there seems to be no supply at this rate.
According to the census of 1900, of 555.520 acres of land in this county about 92 per cent is in farms and about 80 per cent of the entire area is improved. According to the same authority not more than 39 per cent of the farms are operated by the owners. The tenant system is thus seen to play an important part in the agricultural practice of this area.
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