USA > Nebraska > Antelope County > A history of Antelope County, Nebraska, from its first settlement in 1868 to the close of the year 1883 > Part 15
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19
190
HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
moving into the county, I may be pardoned for so doing. It was in the month of February, 1873, that we arrived, a family of seven, with all the livestock and household goods that we possessed, three loads in all - children, furniture, feed for the family and horses - and moved into a log cabin of one room, twelve by fourteen feet. This had been walled up hastily in the fall and roughly chinked and plas- tered with mud, which as it dried had fallen out in many places, through which the cold wind was blowing. The roof had been covered with green boughs, the leaves still cling- ing to them and covered over all with dirt. The prairie mice, thinking this a good refuge from the blasts of winter, had congregated there, I may safely say, by the dozens. There was the bare earth for a floor with the grass still standing on it; the rough logs, with the cracks partly stopped with mud, but more where there was none; a half window in each end, with a door in the east, made of rough boards, and the threshold we had to step over every time we passed in or out was the biggest log in the whole build- ing. I stood there with my baby in my arms, taking in the situation. A person who has never had any experience of that kind can hardly imagine what one's feelings would be under like circumstances. After a little, I went and sat. on a pile of boards that were lying in the snow, and took myself well in hand. Had I not the courage to endure what other mothers had endured before me? At any rate, here we were under these conditions and the comfort and happiness of my family, I knew, depended largely upon me, and I went into the house perhaps a sadder, but wiser woman, with a firm determination that whatever lay before me I would do my best. I asked my husband to take off the wagon sheet, which we tacked overhead on the side of the roof where we put the beds, the two beds filling one end of the room. This would keep the leaves and dirt out of our faces while we slept. The other things we ar- ranged as best we could in the space that was left, putting some under the beds and hanging some upon the logs. Here we passed the remainder of the winter, which proved
19I
HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
to be fine and so warm that my husband rented land on Cedar Creek and sowed his wheat the last day of February and the oats in March. The grass on the prairie was pretty good the first of April and as feed was scarce nearly every one turned their cattle out on the prairie to pick their liv- ing.
Easter Sunday that year came on the 13th of April. What a lovely, soft, sunshiny morning it was, and after breakfast, as we were expecting friends to spend the day with us, we went out for a walk over the prairie, the chil- dren running ahead hunting for flints and arrow heads. About ten o'clock, as we were on our way back to the house my husband remarked that the wind was getting around in the north and that it was beginning to cloud up. About eleven o'clock the company came in the midst of a slight shower of rain and a few claps of thunder. This was not unusual at that season and caused no surprise, but the showers continued and during the afternoon we had three, always accompanied with some thunder. As toward night it grew colder and the rain increased, the guests went home to look after their stock that was running out. We had not yet been able to get a well put down on our place and had to haul our water in a barrel, about a quarter of a mile, from a little creek. My husband said, "I believe I will get a barrel of water to-night, we don't know what the weather will be in the morning." I walked along to hold the horses while he dipped the water and as we came back it began to sleet. We saw a flock of brants flying around as if lost. He ran on ahead after his gun and killed two of them. It continued to rain and snow until bedtime, the wind blowing cold from the northwest. In the morn- ing when it seemed about the usual time to arise, there was very little light in the room, and it continuing just the same we arose and looked out of the door and found snow everywhere. The windows were almost snowed over and it was so damp that it clung to everything it touched. The wind was terrible, We ate our breakfast in the gloom and then my husband made an effort to reach the barn, but
192
HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
had to come back after several vain attempts, and the wind not subsiding, he gave it up for that day. And what a day it was - dark and dreary inside, and cold winds and storm outside. The water in the house gave out, and going to the barrel we found it blown full of snow and frozen over, and we had to melt snow from that time, for after the storm was over the ravine where we got water was full of snow for several days. There we sat the whole day through, listening to the wind as it blew the snow against the house with great force, and thought of the poor stock that was without food and very little shelter from the storm. We had plenty of fuel where we could get at it so we did not suffer from cold or hunger, but it was the dread and suspense that were so terrible. The children hovered around the stove and whittled - they made all the litter they chose without reproof. My husband kept the fires, melted the snow, and scolded about the weather. I tried to repair some of the children's clothes but the light was so poor that toward evening I lighted a lamp and prepared the evening meal, which all ate with relish regard- less of the raging storm. We went to bed early and the night was passed in quietude.
On Tuesday morning we did not wait for the light when we thought it time to arise, but found no change in the weather. Nothing could be seen but snow whirling and drifting, rising high in the air, then dashed back to earth with cold and cruel fierceness. About the middle of that forenoon the wind seemed to abate somewhat, and another attempt was made to reach the suffering stock. He was gone a long time, and a very trying time to the waiting ones, anxious for his return, when finally we heard a call, and opening the door, he staggered in with a young colt in his arms, which he placed on the floor, and after he had recovered his breath a little he made the trip a second time after the mother which he led in shaking with cold and snow balls clinging to her mane. He told me to take the bedding off the bed farthest from the stove. On this there were two ticks filled with hay; one of which he opened and
193
HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
spreading the hay over the floor said "Come, Nellie," and she walked up to the hay and commenced to eat. He placed her colt near her and she stood there, untied, with- out once trying to leave the corner in the twenty-four hours she was with us. Not so the colt. In his effort to stand on those awkward legs he blundered against every- thing he came to. One of the other horses had broken loose and stumbled over a bank into a snowdrift and smoth- ered. The other two and the cow stood there shivering with cold, the snow having blown into the hay so that it was almost impossible to get enough out for them to eat. One of the children was sick that day and had a high fever. How to manage the sleeping that night was a puzzle, there being one bed for seven of us. ] began by placing folded comforters between the bed and the wall, to make it as wide as possible, and then set chairs along the front side of the bed with a feather bed and plenty of covers. On this I put two of the boys, two more at the foot of the bed, and that left three for the head. In this way we passed the night. The Scripture tells us that "weeping endureth for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." It was so in this case. When we got up it had stopped snowing, the sick child was better, but a trackless waste of snowdrifts, such as I have never seen before or since, and some of these drifts lasted until the middle of June. Clear and pure looked the earth as far as the eye could reach, but this was the 16th of April, and when we looked at it that way, it was rather disheartening.
There was no time to indulge in a fit of the blues, every one had work to do, and all were glad they had the privi- lege of getting out again. Some of my readers will per- haps think they could not patiently have borne what I and many others did, some being compelled to lie in bed for lack of fuel. Others lost every head. of their stock, and scarcely a family that did not meet with some loss. As for ourselves, we thought it a happy termination to so dreadful a storm, and have never in all these years ceased to be thankful that it came upon us at a time when every
194
HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
member of the household was safe beneath the shelter of that humble log cabin that I once so heartily despised. The following summer and fall we were amply rewarded with abundant crops. My husband raised six hundred bushels of wheat of excellent quality on twenty acres of rented land, two thirds of which was his share. We also had a large crop of oats, and an abundance of everything else that this country produced at that time. We have experienced no more such terrible storms, and when there have been bad storms, we have been far better prepared for them.
CHAPTER XXXIV
A LITTLE GIRL'S LIFE IN ANTELOPE COUNTY IN THE EARLY DAYS
BY MRS. KATE M. BRAINARD OF OAKDALE
I WAS not born in Antelope County. That is not my fault, but it is my misfortune. It is a good place to be born in. I was born in Dodge County, Nebraska, October 27, 1868, and came to what is now Antelope County with my parents in May, 1870, at the age of one and a half years. My earliest recollections of the county history are therefore rather dim, with the exception of a few incidents which I recall very distinctly. I can see the little old log house with its tiny windows, and the floors made of basswood puncheon which warped so badly that my baby feet could not step over their edges, and shrunk so there were great cracks between the planks. So the puncheon floor was soon torn up and thrown out of doors. After that we lived on an earth floor with strips of rag carpet spread down to make it look more homelike. I can see the deep ravine which was back of the house, which was a source of mystery and delight to us children as long as we lived on the old homestead. It was about half a mile or more in length, with steep, high banks, and filled with timber. Here many kinds of delicate wild flowers grew, such as the yellow and blue violet, wild honeysuckle or columbine, Jack-in-the-pulpit, and many other favorites. Here we learned our first lessons in botany long before we went to school. My brothers were great lovers of everything in nature and so we soon knew not only the names of every tree, shrub, vine, and flower in the old ravine, but much about the nature and habits of the same, and the same way with the birds and animals that we saw.
I have often thought that while the children of the earliest settlers were deprived of many advantages of an
195
196
HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
older settled country, still they had many privileges and pleasures that do not come nowadays. Every Sunday afternoon that was pleasant we would coax father and mother to take a walk up the ravine. We played there all the week by ourselves, but it was always new and more interesting when papa and mamma could go, too. We al- ways learned something new, heard new stories, so that all the beautiful things took on new beauties, and every badger hole was fraught with new mysteries. We learned, or at least my brothers did, to know the track of every animal from the tiny mouse and rabbit track to the track of a deer or antelope. About half way up the ravine and near where it branches off in two deep cuts, stood the old cedar tree whose lower branches furnished us with a number of Christmas trees. Farther on there was a clay bank where nothing grew, but which furnished a clay excellent for moulding. There we made all kinds of funny figures, built railroads and bridges, forts and cities, and spent many long, happy hours.
Our pets were numerous and of great variety. We usually had anywhere from one to half a dozen rabbits, either the small gray variety or the jack-rabbit, in the summer, which we would keep a few days, when they would either get away or we would get to feeling so sorry for them, seeing them shut up all the time, that we would let them go, only to replace them in a few days with others. At one time my brother brought home a full grown fox squirrel. I suppose he was too old to be taught new tricks. At least he never took very kindly to confine- ment and never got very tame. He was always gnawing out of his box and racing all over the house, knocking things off the shelves and stirring things up generally. So we soon turned him loose to take care of himself. Another favorite pet with my youngest brother was a large horned or hoot owl. I don't know why he wanted them, because, living entirely on small animals as they do, it was hard to get food for them. But I suppose they were an interesting study to him; at least he had several at different times.
197
HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
One of these, I remember, caused me considerable grief. It was after our new house was built, the old log one being fitted up and used for a granary. The owl was kept up- stairs in the old house while down stairs in an empty bin was an old mother cat with her family of four baby kittens. I visited the kittens many times during the day, but kept away from the owl unless the boys were there, as I didn't like to hear him "crack" his bill at me. What was my astonishment and rage on one of my visits to find Mr. Owl in the kittens' nest. Two of the kittens had already disappeared down his capacious throat while the third was all down but the tail, which was fast disappearing. I gave one scream, seized the remaining kitten and fled to the house to pour out my trouble in my mother's arms.
Another entertaining little pet was a young wildcat. This the boys obtained by trading some flour for it with some Ponca Indians who were camped on the creek, trap- ping. He was as playful and affectionate as any kitten, and we soon grew very fond of him. But one morning while a neighbor waited at the door with a heavy lumber wagon the kitten got under the wheel, and, the horses backing up suddenly, his short life was ended. But of all our pets the best loved by not only the whole family but by the whole neighborhood were Frank and Fanny, our antelopes. I can see them yet so plainly, although I was only a tiny little girl when father brought them home. Queer, wobbly little fellows they were at first - could scarcely stand alone- but with good care they grew rapidly and were soon running all about. They were never tied up or kept in confinement in any way, but roamed all over the place and neighborhood at will. But they knew where home was and who was their protector, for if, as it frequently happened, a neighbor's dog gave chase, they came flying home and up to old Captain (our dog), who immediately sent Mr. Dog home about his business. Fanny was a quiet little thing and never gave any one any trouble, but Frank was a "rake" and was full of pranks that he was always trying to play on us. When
198
HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
the garden was planted he would sneak up quietly from behind and paw the seeds out of the ground as fast as they were put in, until he was discovered at his mischief, when he would go bounding away out of reach. I couldn't go out of doors alone without he would knock me down - never hurt me but seemed to delight in seeing me tumble over, for I would no sooner get on my feet than down I would have to go again, until my screams would bring some one to my assistance, when away he would fly again, just out of reach, where he would stop and bound up and down, fairly quivering with delight. But his favorite trick was always reserved for strangers, - strange men. I believe he was quite gallant to the ladies, but let a strange man come there and Frank would always keep his distance, feeding quietly just as any respectable antelope should, apparently taking no notice of anything until father, be- coming interested in the conversation, would forget to keep watch of Frank, who would slip up quietly from the rear - Whack! and over would go Mr. Man like a nine- pin and before he could collect his scattered senses and pick himself up the antelope would have put a good distance between them and be quietly waiting for a chance to repeat the performance. The boys decided that they would break him of this disagreeable trait. So one day, when some one was there, they borrowed his coat and hat and arranging them on a post as lifelike as possible, waited for Frank. He came, full tilt, but to his amazement the supposed stranger never moved. He tried it again, this time a little harder. Same result. This was some- thing he had never met with before, and evidently he could not understand it. He backed off, shaking his head, took a run and another bout with the post. I do not remember how many times he butted his head against the post, but after a while, tired out, he stopped, a sadder if not wiser antelope.
The spring that they were a year old, Fanny grew rest- less and uneasy and seemed to want to go away, but Frank wouldn't leave. She coaxed him for a week or two, going
199
HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
away for a day or two at a time and then returning, but as Frank evidently couldn't be prevailed upon to leave home, she finally gave up and took her leave without him. After Fanny had gone Frank stayed closer at home, follow- ing the members of the family around like a dog, and if possible, he grew more mischievous than ever. I could scarcely play out of doors at all, he bothered me so, and one day I overheard father tell some one that he was afraid he would have to kill Frank, he was so mean to his little girl. Now I had no idea what the word kill meant, but if it was something that would fix Frank so that he couldn't knock me over every time I went out of doors I wanted it done. So every day after that I would tease to have Frank killed. One day as I ran around the house I came suddenly upon a sight that struck me dumb with horror. There hung our antelope, head down, throat cut, and father just ready to dress him. Now I knew what "to kill" meant, and my baby heart was torn with sorrow and remorse to think I had been the cause of my troublesome playfellow's death. It is needless to add that none of us could eat a mouthful of the meat, tender and sweet though it was, but we gave it all away.
Fanny stayed away all summer, but returned in the fall, bringing a strange antelope with her, which followed her clear down into the cattle yard, just across the creek from the house; then becoming frightened, he ran back over the hills and out of sight. Fanny acted pleased to see us all and stayed all winter, leaving again the next spring just before the big April storm. We never saw her again and as so many antelope and deer perished in that storm it is more than likely that such was her fate.
In those days we usually had plenty of wild meat, such as elk, deer, antelope, with prairie chickens at certain seasons of the year. We children were used to it and liked it, but mother used to get tired of the wild meat and was always telling how much better beef was and wishing we could have some beef. Finally Mr. Putney, a neighbor, killed a beef and of course divided with his neighbors,
200
HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
sending us a liberal supply. We children were delighted and could hardly wait until dinner for mother to prepare some of that steak. But oh, how disappointed we were! It seemed so tough and tasteless, and I wondered how any one could prefer beef to venison.
We were always quite proud of our school. Our dis- trict was No. I, and that of itself was considered a distinc- tion. We had a frame school-house while the other school- houses, with one exception, as far as we knew, were sod or log. As this same school building was afterwards bought by Mr. Eggleston and used for a chicken house, I hardly suppose it was as fine a building as it seemed to our child- ish eyes. But we did have a good school and pleasant surroundings, for the school-house stood in a cozy little nook, not so very far from the creek, where there were lots of timber, wild flowers, and many delightful places for play. When I commenced going to school, and for some years afterwards, I was the only scholar that was born in Nebraska. The other children used to twit me of this fact and rather poked fun at me for never having been out of the state.
In the year 1878, when I was ten years old, I took a trip with my parents and little sisters to the southern part of the state, a distance of four hundred miles there and return, to visit an aunt. We went in a covered wagon and camped out at night. What a trip that was! A journey across the continent in a Pullman car couldn't compare with it. I learned the name of every county visited, and every stream we crossed, and every town that we passed through or any where near. It may be interesting to some to know that in that whole distance we only saw two or three frame houses outside of the towns. At Kear- ney I saw the cars for the first time, and father bought some pears, the first we had ever seen. I remember that I got out and walked across the bridge over the Platte River, which is a mile wide at that place. But my greatest joy was that when I arrived at my aunt's there was a high hill back of the house where I could see over into Kansas.
201
HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
I know now that if father had had any idea how I longed to step across that state line he would have driven the five miles farther to have gratified me. But I kept my thoughts to myself and we came back home without my having been "out of the state." But thereafter when the children would taunt me of that fact I would toss my head and say, "Well, I guess I have seen over into Kansas, anyway." And I really believe that that gave me some prestige.
It was during my twelfth year that we bought an organ and I commenced taking lessons of Mrs. Leduc in Oak- dale, going back and forth, a distance of six miles and return, on horseback. But the same year the railroad reached Oakdale and Antelope was no longer a frontier county.
CHAPTER XXXV
THE PIONEERS OF ANTELOPE COUNTY AS I KNEW THEM
BY E. P. M'CORMICK, OF CAVE CREEK, ARIZONA
T HE honorable secretary of our Pioneer Association has greatly honored me by assigning to me the preparation of one or two chapters of the proposed history of Antelope County. He has accurately sounded my heart; he knows that though I have been bodily absent from that county for many years that my heart, my affections, have remained there, to yet cling to old-time associates. Our pioneer experiences were the golden ones of the lives of all of us. In our several ways we did about our best, and now that peace and rest which God giveth to His beloved is reflected on the evening twilight of our lives.
It is my recollection that most of us who settled in Antelope County in the early seventies and before, were veterans of the Civil War. And I include among such veterans those who had not borne arms, but had stifled personal ambitions and dispositions for war, to remain at home to engage in the indispensable duties of protecting the homes of us as of them; to cultivate the fertile farms, and thus raise food for the armies, and to engage in the resolute defense of the government against the Copper- head element whose penchant for murders and rapacious anarchy was not palliated by the soldierly magnanimity of the rebels in the field. Indeed, our brothers who re- mained at home for the above purposes were as brave and as devoted as we were out in the front, and when the war closed and these stay-at-home fighters had accomplished and discharged their pledges we were more than willing to divide honors with them.
The services of these home guards put the same grim, martial stamp on their faces as that on ours, powder-smoked.
202
203
HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
It is my recollection that these veterans came mostly out of the besieged homes and indomitable commands of Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin. There were veterans also from other states, but Iowa furnished the most of them, and then some less the other states above named. I recall them as I first came in contact with them, as strong, heavily bearded men, calm in manner and indomitable in purpose. Then these veterans but vaguely suspected that which later they knew, that when they migrated from their Iowa and Wisconsin homes to Nebraska and to Antelope County, they thus reënlisted in a war of con- quest of empire that for them would end only with their lives. After a while those veteran immigrants realized what a solemn thing it was to be specially set apart for life- long fighting in a conquest of empire.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.