USA > Nebraska > Antelope County > A history of Antelope County, Nebraska, from its first settlement in 1868 to the close of the year 1883 > Part 19
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CHAPTER XLIII
THE DISTRICT AND COUNTY COURTS OF ANTELOPE COUNTY AND A SKETCH OF THE MEMBERS OF THE BAR - CONTINUED
BY F. L. PUTNEY, OF TILDEN
T HE time fixed by Samuel Maxwell for the first term of district court in the county was October 9, 1874, at Oakdale, and court convened on that date. This action of the judge was pursuant to the re- quest of L. A. Boyd, Z. Buoy, and A. Warner, county commissioners. The statute of 1873 provided this pro- cedure where the dates for terms of court had not been determined by the legislature. The court officers were Maxwell, judge; M. B. Hoxie, district attorney; W. W. Putney, clerk; and Jeptha Hopkins, sheriff. For nearly three years prior to this the dugout of the clerk, on Cedar Creek about four miles southwest of Oakdale, had been the court-house. I remember that Robert Marwood, treasurer; A. J. Leach, county superintendent; Jeptha Hopkins, sheriff; and Zebulon Buoy, county commissioner, took their oath of office there following the election of October, 1871. The county commissioners, for the con- venience of the public, usually met at some point on the Elkhorn River and generally at Elwood's store, about thirty rods west of the present residence of Jeptha Hop- kins. The first tax levy was made here. From the time of the construction of the Elwood hotel, in Oakdale, which was the first hotel in the county, until the erection of the little frame court-house in Oakdale, about sixteen by thirty-two feet, the commissioners held their sessions in the office of the hotel. This court-house was inadequate for court purposes and the first term of court was held in the old school-house. The grand jurors were Amos West, R. C. Eldridge, Byron Davis, Louis Contois, E. M. Black- ford, C. G. Rouse, John Hunt, Jacob Garlough, A. J.
245
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HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
Motter, Thomas Stolp, Orville Fields, James Gillespie, H. P. Davis, R. G. King, M. S. Bartlett, and Bernarder Trueblood. The petit jurors were G. W. Mummert, G. H. McGee, Henry King, Aaron Hollenbeck, J. W. Skiles, Stephen Hill, Robert Beeler, William Woolham, N. B. Eggleston, C. H. Derry, L. L. Bowers, John W. Ploof, James Craig, F. W. Richardson, Alex Belmer, A. G. Wright, A. D. Allen, William Rutledge, Robert Marwood, Thomas Grenier, Henry Brown, Ernst Michael, Charles E. Sale, and Edward Bonneau.
To a time about contemporaneous with railroad con- struction through the county, but few attorneys had settled here. There was but little litigation; fees were small and decidedly intermittent. Many of the pioneer lawyers were forced to perform manual labor for sub- sistence. One combined harness making with his pro- fession, another worked on the brick-yard, another in the saw-mill, and yet another in the harvest field. In fact, at this time there was a universal prayer among all classes that the favors bestowed upon the widow of Zarephath might be repeated and that the barrel of meal would not waste nor the cruse of oil fail. The early attorneys had but small libraries, there were no books to borrow, the lack of business begat indolence, and if a case did come to them the interval between that and the one preceding had been so long that court procedure had been quite forgotten. Consequently, non-resident attorneys were familiar fea- tures of the courts of the county in the earlier days. Rail- road activity stimulated all the fields of human effort and opened the way to future possibilities, and with this stimulus came another and a different type of attorneys. Conspicuous in this class and who have reached more than local distinction as attorneys undertaking law as a science are Ben White, N. D. Jackson, and Thomas O'Day.
The following persons have been resident attorneys: B. F. Admire, R. K. Beecham, C. F. Bayha, J. F. Boyd, George F. Boyd, H. P. Davis, W. P. Eaton, Herman Freeze, J. W. Getchell, J. H. Gurney, C. M. Herrig, D. A.
247
HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
Holmes, C. F. Huntington, N. D. Jackson, C. C. Jones, E. D. Kilbourn, Charles H. Kelsey, George T. Kelley, W. A. Lytton, M. H. Leach, W. F. McGinitie, R. T. Max- well, Alexander McKinstry, Thomas O'Day, W. E. Pilling, F. L. Putney, M. B. Putney, W. W. Quivey, J. W. Rice, S. A. Sanders, S. G. Sparks, J. B. Smith, S. D. Thornton, O. A. Williams, B. B. Willey, Robert Wilson, Lewis Warren, Benjamin White, and H. W. Zink, This is nearly accurate, though there have been attorneys located at Elgin whose names I do not recall. I am not familiar with the history of all these attorneys, nor is it necessary to the purpose of this chapter, as their being here was transitory and not of interest to the general public.
With the exception of S. D. Thornton, attorneys written of as county judges will not be included in this chapter. I mentioned W. P. Eaton, as he was the first attorney to settle in the county. He followed the fortunes of R. G. King from West Point to Oakdale. So far as I know his antecedent history is obscure, excepting that he was a veteran of the Civil War. He was of more than average appearance, a fair lawyer with an unfortunate habit which caused his death. He had no relatives here and was buried in the Oakdale cemetery.
John W. Getchell was the first resident attorney at Neligh. Sizing up the situation as it then existed, he soon abandoned his profession and entered upon a mercantile career which proved in the end successful. He lives in Neligh in affluence, with large interests in the county and elsewhere.
S. D. Thornton enjoys the distinction of being the attor- ney longest in practice in the county. He came to Oakdale in 1873, studied law with W. P. Eaton, and was admitted to the bar in 1875, Judge Griffey administering the oath of office. His long and almost continuous service as county judge and county attorney is evidence of his standing as an attorney and measures largely the confidence people have in his integrity and ability.
O. A. Williams won his degree of LL. B. in the law
248
HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. He began his practice of law at Neligh in 1888. He so grew in public esteem that in 1890 he was elected county attorney and served two years. He was appointed court reporter by John S. Robinson and occupied that position from 1894 to 1900. This occupation laid the foundation for a future greater practice in his profession. At the close of his service he again took up his practice in Neligh. He is a good student, careful of interests intrusted to him, and has an increasing clientage.
C. C. Jones was a native of Illinois, a graduate of Lom- bard University, was admitted to the bar in 1882, was prosecuting attorney of Marshall County, Illinois, in 1880, and located in Neligh in 1883. He had a successful practice at the time he was appointed register of the United States Land Office at Neligh by President Cleveland. After the appointment of his successor he reopened an office in Neligh but never recovered his former practice. He died in Omaha and is buried in Neligh.
Charles H. Kelsey is one of the youngest members of the bar, was born at Waterloo, Iowa, came with his parents to this county in 1881, graduated from the law department of the Nebraska University in 1895, located in Neligh, elected county attorney in 1897, and enjoys a lucrative practice. Mr. Kelsey has been prominent in republican politics and is considered an important factor in the deliberations of his party.
E. D. Kilbourn was the seventh county attorney; has lived in the county for several years." As county attorney he ac- quitted himself in such a manner as to gain in public esteem. He enjoys a good practice in which he is quite successful.
J. F. Boyd located in Oakdale about 1882, as a practicing attorney. Mr. Boyd's reputation rests largely upon his skill as a politician. He was twice county attorney, a district judge, and represented this district in Congress one term. After the close of his congressional career he re- opened his law office in Neligh, to which place he moved from Oakdale on becoming judge.
249
HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
George F. Boyd located in Oakdale about 1893, was admitted to the bar here and began the practice of law. He became county attorney, and at the close of his term seems to have quit law practice and taken up banking. He is president of the Antelope County Bank and his management of its affairs is giving that bank deserved popularity.
C. F. Bayha was at one time prominent in the affairs of the county, but gave the most of his time to land-office practice.
R. K. Beecham made some pretense to the practice of law but gave the most of his time to journalism at Neligh and was widely known in the county.
W. E. Pilling was an attorney at Oakdale and at one time had his share of practice there.
D. A. Holmes gained some prominence at the bar in the county, with his home in Oakdale. He moved from there to Norfolk, thence to Sioux City, then to Chicago, and later to New York City.
Ben White came from Iowa to Oakdale, where he formed a law partnership with D. A. Holmes. Later the firm moved to Norfolk, where the partnership was continued for some time. On its being dissolved Mr. Holmes went to Sioux City and Mr. White remained in Norfolk, forming a partnership with H. C. Brome, who was at that time local solicitor for the Northwestern Railway Company. This partnership relation brought Mr. White in contact with Mr. Hawley, the general solicitor of the company, and arrangements were afterward made whereby Mr. White was appointed as assistant solicitor with an office first at Fremont and later in Omaha. Some years afterwards Mr. Hawley died and Mr. White was made general solicitor. From a country law practice in Oakdale to general solicitor of the entire Northwestern Railroad system is a record seldom equaled and makes Mr. White's influence second to that of no man in the state. Mr. White's career as an attorney in Oakdale had nå promise in it of such a future. He was studious but not aggressive in practice. I think,
250
HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
perhaps, that he had a wider range of information than his compeers, other than his knowledge of law. I remember while editing the Oakdale "Journal" of publishing one of his addresses which was exceptionally pertinent to the occasion and was well written. He was pleasing in his manner of address and a ready talker when master of his subject. His mannerisms invited friendship and he was courteous and entertaining. I think Mr. White is the evolution of the law office and not of a law school.
Thomas O'Day was a familiar character in the courts of Antelope County from July 3, 1879, at which time he located at Neligh, until 1889, when he sought another location, settling at Portland, Oregon, in 1890, where he continues to reside. Mr. O'Day was born at Goshen, Connecticut, July 4, 1852, later moving as a member of his father's family to Moline, Illinois. He acquired a liberal education and taught school in Iowa and Bellevue, Nebraska. He graduated from the law department of
the University of Iowa in 1877. He commenced the practice of law at Bedford, Iowa, but changed his location, coming to Nebraska in 1878, teaching school in Sarpy County until June, 1879. Mr. O'Day, from the time of his first lawsuit in the county, took rank as one of the leading attorneys of this section of the state. I recall that he had quite an extensive practice in Pierce, Madison, Holt, Knox, Boone, and Wheeler counties. I remember at one term of court that Mr. O'Day was temporarily absent and that Judge Crawford told the clerk that if it was pos- sible to find a case on the docket in which O'Day was not interested on one side or the other to call it so that the court might transact business. Tom O'Day, I suppose, was of Irish descent and he had the ready wit of his race. He was apt in repartee, a fluent talker, and of good presence. He had unbounded faith in Tom O'Day, which always gave him confidence under trying circumstances. I remember that he acquitted himself with credit in the case of the state against Billy Reed, being associated with John C. Cowin, of Omaha, as junior counsel. Mr. O'Day was
251
HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
nominated for supreme judge of Nebraska in 1879, but was defeated. In his new home in Oregon, he started a successful career as a lawyer and was nominated for judge of the supreme court and again defeated. These defeats were owing to the democratic party being in the minority. In August, 1907, Mr. O'Day was appointed one of the circuit judges for the Fourth Circuit of Oregon which in- cluded the city of Portland, and nominated for the position again, but his party went to defeat at the election, carrying him with it.
M. B. Putney studied law with W. E. Pilling, and was admitted to the bar in Antelope County. He possessed to a marked degree the elements of an orator. His powers of analysis were good. He abandoned the practice of law temporarily and became a lecturer both for the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Modern Woodmen. Later he settled in Cleveland, Ohio, and resumed the practice of law and is building up a lucrative practice.
C. F. Huntington gave great promise as an attorney, but his unsuccessful contest with F. B. Tiffany for the district judgeship in 1883 proved disastrous and in some manner he came to an untimely death in New Orleans.
F. L. Putney was born at Strawberry Point, Iowa, in 1857, and came with his parents to Antelope County in December 1870. His school privileges were confined to the schools of the county and did not embrace more than fifteen months scattered over a period of eight years. In the fall of 1885 he purchased and successfully edited the Oakdale "Journal," studied law in the office of Thornton and Huntington until that partnership was dissolved, then alternately with Mr. Huntington and Mr. Thornton, and was admitted to the bar in 1889. The same year he went to Pacific County, Washington, and there commenced his practice of law and also purchased an interest in the Pacific "Journal" with John W. Phillips, and edited that paper. In the spring of 1890 he established the Willapa "Republican" and edited this paper until the fall of 1890, when he was joined by M. H. Leach, who purchased a half
252
HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
interest. Mr. Putney represented Pacific County in the state legislature in 1891 and 1892 and returned to Nebraska in 1893 and settled in Tilden, where he now resides.
In the year 1879 N. D. Jackson walked into Antelope County from Norfolk, spending his first night at the farm- house of A. Warner. He located first in Oakdale, moving to Neligh in 1881. He was born at Rugents Pond, in the state of Maine, in 1854. He graduated from Cedar Valley Seminary, Osage, Iowa, in 1877, and from the law depart- ment of the Iowa University in 1879. As district attorney, district judge, member of the legislature, and court com- missioner, to which office he was appointed April, 1905, Mr. Jackson won distinction as an attorney. His election as district attorney gave him an opportunity to develop his natural talents and to widen his acquaintance. In subsequent years he had an extensive practice throughout northern Nebraska, being chief counsel and assistant counsel in many leading cases. His history as court com- missioner takes rank with that of any member of the supreme court. Judge Jackson has established an enviable reputation for honesty and integrity in his profession. Every act of his as an attorney and jurist has had a ten- dency to exalt instead of tearing down and bringing to ridicule a noble calling. During an intimate acquaintance of thirty years I have never heard him accused of betray- ing a client or breaking faith with a brother lawyer. In the practice of his profession he exercises good judgment and conducts his cases along the lines suggested by strong common sense. He possesses none of the arts of a trained orator, but is a forcible speaker, and is not given to high sounding periods. His argument follows the evidence, and his logic is good. I think that all members of the bar will agree with me that Mr. Jackson has stood for years past at the head of his profession and is the peer of any attorney in northern Nebraska. I regard his recent change in loca- tion as a loss to the community. His knowledge of the law, ripened experience, and professional integrity may not be replaced at the bar of Antelope County for many years.
CHAPTER XLIV
A CHAPTER ON BOTANY
BY H. L. McGINITIE, A. M., OF NELIGH
W HEN Antelope County was first settled the fires in the spring and autumn had swept the prairies and uplands with great regularity and prevented the growth of forest trees and shrubs so that they were only to be found in the narrow valleys along the water- courses. Along the Elkhorn River, where they were in some measure protected from these fires, some varieties of trees had attained a very considerable size, and the settlers set up saw-mills and cut them into lumber with which they built houses and roofed sod houses. The common cottonwood (populus deltoides) grew to the great- est size along the Elkhorn valley, but the settlers in Ante- lope and the counties to the south soon carried them away for buildings and wood. The box elder (acer ne- gundo), black willow (salix nigra), almond willow (salix amagdaloides), sand bar willow (salix flavitalis), and some diamond willow (salix missouriensis), were generally dis- tributed through the valleys along the streams in the south part of the county. The red cedar (juniperus scapulorum) was quite plenty along Cedar Creek and other small streams. The hackberry (celtus occidentalis) was so plenti- ful along one of the northern tributaries of the Elkhorn River as to give its name to the stream. The crab apple (malus lowensis) was found along the Elkhorn and on the Verdigris, one of the tributaries of the Niobrara River in the northern part of the county. The choke cherry (prunus Virginiana) and the common plum (prunus Americana) were found along the streams and in the depressions on the uplands. The black walnut (juglans nigra), burr oak (quercus macrocarpa), linden (tillia Americana), red elm
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HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
(ulmus fluvia), white elm (ulmus Americana), and red ash (fraxinus lanceolata) were quite generally distributed. The ash and elms were utilized by the early settlers for posts and supports for their sheds and stables. All of these are still here and have greatly increased in number wherever protected from the fires, and elms, box elders, cottonwoods, lindens, and soft maples have been trans- planted to beautify the country homes and dwellings in the towns, until scarcely a farm dwelling is without its pleasant groves and beautiful shade trees. Indeed, many of the groves planted by the early settlers have in the last few years grown so large that they furnish lumber for improvements on the farms and wood for a lifetime. Many other trees have been added to the above list since the settlement of the county, notably Osage orange, white birch, silver, soft and hard maples, catalpas, locusts, and Lombardy poplars.
Many shrubs were here and native to the country. Two species of dogwood (cornus canadensis and cornus stoloni- fera), sumach (rhus glabra), sand cherry, and rosa blanda and in the northern part of the county the buffalo berry are found quite generally, and many others have come in with the settlement.
Many fine groves of black-walnut trees, planted from seed gathered from the native trees, are to be seen in the county and walnuts are no longer a great luxury. Since the fires have ceased a great transformation has taken place in the face of the country. When fires were permitted the trees were destroyed, except in a few depressions where a few stunted specimens of plums and clumps of choke cherries had withstood the ordeal of fire, and the dwellings of the farmer stood out in the sunshine and heat of the summer, and exposed to the wide sweep of the winds in the winter. Now the farmers' dwellings stand in beautiful groves and the streets of the towns and villages are lined by rows of beautiful shade trees, and we often hear the older settlers remark that the winds do not blow so constantly or so hard as in former years.
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HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
In the earlier settlement of the country, whenever the ground was broken or roads were traveled, the annual sunflower ( helianthus annuus ) and helianthus maximil- iana grew in great profusion and to a very considerable height, often for miles lining the roadsides as by a grovel. The perennial grew more along the water courses and still retains its vigor, but the annual plant has become greatly dwarfed by the general cultivation and the apparent change of seasons. The flowering plants were and are still found in great variety and embrace varieties common to the east and west regions. The pulse family, or pea, with at least twenty-eight varieties, is probably the most numerous. The most frequent of this family are the astragalus, psoralea, and trifolium, on the prairies, and amor pha along the streams. The ranunculus, or crow foot, show fourteen varieties, the rosace furnish eleven species with rosa blanda, the common wild rose, in the lead, but its habits are similar to the sunflower and it is gradually disappearing except where new ground is broken, when it has a run for a time. The crucifere@, or mustard family, furnishes twelve species; the umbellifereæ, eight; ona- graceæ, or evening primrose, seven; saxifragraceæ, five; schrofularace@, six; mint family, twelve; lily family, eight; euphorbia, six; night shade, five; verbena, four, and the buckwheat family many species. Many other families are represented by from one to five species. Among the novelties are five orchids and yuccas. In the early spring the face of the country is colored by the pea family, with many shades of blue, the puccoon and other yellow flowers, and the graceful yucca filamentosa, with its pyra- mid of beautiful white flowers, succeeded by the liatris, primrose, sunflower, shading off in the late fall with asters of all shades of color, fringed gentians, and other purple flowers. In the eighties, when the writer was a teacher, he made a very complete collection of the flowering plants of the county, classified them, and has since placed them with Gates Academy to be cared for while it remains a live institution.
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HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
No collection of sedges or grasses has been made and no accurate list preserved. However, the buffalo grass (buchloe dactyloides) was found to be present generally and was a valuable forage plant for a time, but it has quite generally disappeared through cultivation and close pasturage. The gramma grasses still remain on the uncul- tivated pastures and meadows. The wild oat, wild rye, tufted grass, fescue grass, meadow grass, hair grass, bent grass, foxtail, and panic grass were widely distributed and still remain. The sedges are numerous and various, but I have not made them a subject of special examination and classification.
Many plants have come, flourished for a time, and then gradually disappeared; notably the Russian thistle. It came with seeds and for a time was a serious menace to crops, but it seemed very soon to have absorbed the con- stituents of the soil necessary to its growth and has almost disappeared from the county. Many other plants have come in with garden and lawn seeds and for a time flour- ished, then languished, and again flourished when conditions and seasons became favorable. The eastern dandelion (dens leonis) has had a run for some years, but it varies with the seasons. There are some common varieties of ferns to be found in shady groves along the water courses, but not generally.
It is not possible to include all the varieties of trees, flower- ing plants, and grasses within this article and only the most salient points have been covered. The flora is much more extended and varied than it is possible to state and seems to embrace a larger variety than is commonly found in so restricted a territory.
CHAPTER XLV
THE CLIMATE AND CLIMATIC CHANGES THAT HAVE TAKEN PLACE SINCE THE COUNTY WAS FIRST SETTLED, AND THE PROBABLE REASONS THEREFOR
A S stated in Chapter IV, the climate of Antelope County has been modified to a considerable degree since the first settlement was made in 1868. Per- haps as good a brief description of the climate of Nebraska as it was known in the early days as can be found any- where, is the one given in the New American Cyclopedia, published in 1863, page 155, Volume XII, which reads as follows:
"The altitude of the country, considerable greater than that of the Mississippi Valley, secures to it a dry, pure, salubrious atmosphere, free from fogs and humidity. The climate is remarkable for the number of bright, clear, sunny days throughout the year. Rain is not abundant, the summer and autumn being comparatively dry. The extreme heat is one hundred degrees. This is tempered by the prairie breezes, and the nights are always cool. The winters are usually mild and open, with but little snow. The extreme cold is from ten degrees to fifteen degrees below zero in moderate winters, and from twenty to thirty degrees below zero in severe ones. High winds prevail in the spring and at times throughout the year, sweeping unobstructed over the plains."
It was generally known that the annual rainfall through- out the state was light and that it gradually diminished toward the west. It was supposed by the pioneers who first settled along the Missouri River that the country was fit for farming only for a distance of from fifty to sixty miles back from the Missouri River, unless it might be the valleys of the larger streams. One of the very early settlers of Dodge County, Mr. L. H. Rogers, who came to
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HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
Nebraska in 1857, told the writer that when he settled near Fremont he supposed that his cattle and those of his neighbors would have perpetual free range over the high lands adjacent to the Platte valley. It was thought at that time that the table and rolling lands of the state would never be cultivated, excepting those lying within fifty or sixty miles of the Missouri River. This same idea was pretty generally held by the pioneer settlers, even by those who came as late as the sixties, only the limit of cultivable high land was constantly being pushed farther and farther west. Many, if not all, of the first settlers of Antelope County had grave doubts about the climatic conditions and it was a question often discussed as to whether there was rainfall enough, except in favorable years, for successful general farming. There were certain conditions then existing that were not at all encouraging. In digging wells and cellars, the subsoil was generally found to be perfectly dry; there was no grass heavy enough for hay anywhere on the high lands, and generally scarcely enough on the low lands to supply the wants of the settlers. The first crop of wheat in the county was raised by Cran- dall and Allen Hopkins in 1870, on land broken in 1869. Crandall Hopkins' wheat yielded ten bushels per acre, and his corn was almost a failure. Sod corn in 1869 was a pretty good crop, but 1870 was a dry year and it looked bad for Antelope County, especially as the crops at Nor- folk and farther east were good. It looked as though we might be beyond the limit of a good farming country. High winds were frequent, especially in the spring months, and often blew for three days at a time. The snows of winter were blown by the severe winds into the ravines and low grounds and when melted were carried off into the ravines and streams. The rains were apt to be more violent than those of recent years and not of as long duration. Vegetation being comparatively scanty, there was little to retain the moisture as it fell, and the air being dry, evaporation was rapid. Severe storms both in winter and summer were more frequent than at the present time.
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HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
Gradually a change came. Cultivated lands absorbed the moisture as it fell. It was found that by keeping out the prairie fires, the vegetation thickened up and greatly in- creased, enabling the soil to retain the moisture by prevent- ing evaporation and by holding it from running off into the ravines. As a result, the subsoil gradually became saturated with water until now it is never in the dryest seasons as devoid of moisture as it was forty years ago. New springs have broken out in many places, and the little tributaries of the Elkhorn have permanent water farther up their courses than formerly. The native blue stem grass grows rank on the high lands, affording abundant hay, where before it was fit only for pasture. The air is more humid and dews more frequent and heavier than formerly. Dry winds in summer and severe blizzards in winter do not now occur as often, nor are they as severe as in former times. A three weeks' drought in the grow- ing season, while it is still injurious, is not nearly as destructive as formerly, for the reason that the subsoil gives back the moisture that it has been collecting in the past, and which before the country was improved would all have run off into the streams or been absorbed by the thirsty atmosphere. Hence it is seen that there has been a considerable change in climatic conditions. And yet it is not probable that there has been an increase in the rainfall. The changes in climate that have taken place are due to the fact that a much larger part of the moisture that falls now soaks into the subsoil than formerly, the reason for this being already given. The United States government began to keep a record of the rainfall in Nebraska in the year 1849, but the record was not made full and complete until 1866. From these records the rainfall throughout the state does not seem to have in- creased. According to these government reports the line showing a mean annual precipitation of twenty-six inches passes through the southeast corner of Antelope County, running in a northeasterly and southwesterly direction, while the line indicating a precipitation of twenty-four
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HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
inches runs through the northwestern part of the county, thereby indicating for the county a mean annual rainfall of about twenty-five inches. Mr. George S. Clingman of Oakdale has kept a record for the government since the year 1888, reporting daily, and has furnished such items as are necessary for this chapter.
Table showing the monthly and annual precipitation at Oakdale for 2123 years, 1888 to 1909 inclusive:
TABLE I
Year
Jan.
Feb.
Mar.
Apr.
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Annual
I888
.35
.57
1.35
1.44 9.70
3.86
3.06
5.98
.30
.70
.07
.88
28.26
1889
.88
.13
.20
1.68 1.57
4.90
4.03
.39 1.47
.29
.78
.60
16.92
1890
.85
.41
1.38
1.69
3.00
3.23
1.24 1.62
.82
2.39
.85
.01
17.49
1891
.85
2.13
1.37
6.08
1.32
10.24 8.06
2.06
.77
1.05
.31 1.39 35.63
1892
.43
.49
1.20 3.51
4.35
1.36
2.38
2.76
.I
.98
.2I
.39
18.16
1893
.15
.89
1.96
2.23 4.22
1.02
1.20
1.02
.33
.40
1.52
18.20
1894
.49
.30
.58
2.57
1.13
1.14
.78
.92
.84
1.75
.IO
.88
11.48
1895
.20
.35
1.50
3.81
3.62
5.01
.38 5.07
3.06
.05
.79
.0I
23.85
1896
.II
.05
1.14
6.94
2.51
4.50
6.17
1.12
1.76
2.39
2.66
.07
29.42
1897
.51
1.78
3.36
1.12
4.87
2.98
3.38
1.15
2.33
.64
1.44 25.17
1898
.55
.78
.69
1.88
5.75
4.82
2.15
2.92
.93
1.15
.53
.44 22.59
1899
.08
.47
.80
1.42
5.47
5.42
1.35
2.18
1.57
.88
.43
. 74 20.81
1900
.13
.53
.77 5.32
3.83
2.05
4.80
3.61
3.14 2.88
.20
.10 27.36
I90I
.09
.33
1.29
2.24
2.86
7.34
1.02
.80 6.83
1.78
1.05
.63 26.26
1902
.46
.25
1.23
2.07
2.56
5.29
6.29
3.28
3.74
.76
.09|
1.08 27.10
1903
.06
.82
1.50
|2.24
9.58
4.30
8.12
5.01
1.57
2.08
.66
.13 36.07
1904
.25
.58
.75
2.60 8.36
5.70
2.74 2.20
17.79
1.41
1.69
Tr.
34.60
1906
.47
.98
.99
4.90 2.16
3.91
1.49 3.53
5.12
3.25
.87
1.49 29.16
1907
.37
.77
.40
I.OI
1.87
3.44
5.15
2.23
1.72
.0I
.02
.97
17.96
1908
.IO
.65
.59
1.4I
3.33
10.20
4.52
4.01
.82
1.37
.64
.31
27.95
1909
.83
1.93
.20
1.34
5.78
2.53
3.59
5.34
Mean.
.46
.64
I.OI
2.81
3.95
4.59 3.56 2.85 2.21 1. 57
.62
.64 24.91
.48
2.00
2.90
5.90 4.87 3. II
1.98
5.26
.15
.33 27.53
1905
.78
From this table it will be seen that the mean annual precipitation at Oakdale for 212/3 years has been 24.91 inches; that the greatest rainfall is in June; that next in order come May, July, August, April, and September.
It also appears that a little over 71 per cent of the
3.26
1.6I
261
HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
moisture of the year falls from April to August inclusive, coming when needed during the growing season, and that a little over 80 per cent falls during the six months from April to September inclusive; that a year like 1907, which had less than eighteen inches of rain, may be a year of good crops, when preceded by a year of bounteous rainfall, and when the rain that does come is given when needed. It has come to be a matter of general belief that with the kind of soil we have in Antelope County, with its ability to absorb and retain moisture, the normal amount of rainfall is ample to produce and mature good crops.
Table II shows the monthly and annual mean tempera- ture at Oakdale:
TABLE II
January
18.8
July. 73.2
February
19.6
August.
71.7
March.
31.9
September. 62.7
April
.48.1
October
49.5
May
58.3
November
33.7
June
. 68.3
December
25.2
Annual, 46.7 degrees.
The coldest month on record, January, 1888, mean 4.6 degrees.
The warmest month on record, July, 1901, mean 81.6 degrees.
Coldest year on record, 1888, 2.4 degrees below normal. Warmest year on record, 1900, 3 degrees above normal. Highest temperature on record 110 degrees, July, 1894. Lowest temperature on record, 40 degrees below zero, January, 1892.
262
HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY
The following table shows the date of the first autumnal frost and of first killing frost.
TABLE III
Year First Autumnal Frost
First Killing Frost
1888.
September 18 September 18
1889.
September 15. September 18
1890
September 13 September 13
1891
September 3 . September 29
1892 September 14. September 14
1893 .
September 16 September 16
1894
September II
September II
1895
September 23 September 23
1896
September 6. September 19
1897
September 17
October 9
1898
September 7.
September 7
1899.
September 17 September 26
1900 September 29 October 7
1901
September 17 September 17
1902
September 4. September 12
1903
September 16
September 14 September 16
1905.
September 4. October 10
1906
September 27 September 30
1907
September 25 September 28
1908
September 28 September 28
1909. September 24
Average date .. . September 16. September 24
Earliest date .. . September 3. September 7
Latest date .... September 29
October 22
There is only a difference of eight days between the average dates of the first frost of autumn and the first killing frost, and the average of the two is September 20th. The frosts, however, have almost never occurred on an average date. Note that no September in the twenty- two years has been free from frost; that when the first killing frost is deferred till October a light frost may have occurred weeks before.
THE END
October 22
1904.
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