Compendium of history, reminiscence, and biography of Nebraska : containing a history of the state of Nebraska also a compendium of reminiscence and biography containing biographical sketches of hundreds of prominent old settlers and representative citizens of Nebraska, Part 4

Author: Alden Publishing Company
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago : Alden Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1402

USA > Nebraska > Compendium of history, reminiscence, and biography of Nebraska : containing a history of the state of Nebraska also a compendium of reminiscence and biography containing biographical sketches of hundreds of prominent old settlers and representative citizens of Nebraska > Part 4

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In the early days of the settlement of this state there was a great prejudice against irrigation, and any one who advocated it was looked upon as an enemy of the state. Many of the pioneers who settled in the western portion of the state, realizing the uncertainty of agriculture when de- pendent upon the natural rainfall, constructed a number of canals which demonstrated the value of irrigation.

We quote the following article bearing on this subject from the latest report issued by the state board of agriculture: "Nebraska has now over 2,500 miles of canals, covering over one million acres of land. In the western part of the state the normal flow of many of the streams during the height of the irrigating season has already been appropriated, but only a small portion of the entire flow is used, and a large amount of land can still be reclaimed by an intelligent system of storage and by educating the irrigators to use the water upon the land when it is to be had instead of waiting until the crops are suffering and every one desires to use the full amount of his appro- priation. On some of the smaller streams the plan of distributing the water by a time schedule has proven very successful. This allows each appropriator to use all the water available in the stream for a short period, and then turn it out to

be used by the next one who is entitled to it. In this way it is possible to accomplish much more than could be accomplished when each irrigator is restricted to the amount of his appropriation, which is sometimes only a fraction of a cubic foot per second, and is allowed to use it for the entire season.

"We have a district irrigation law in Nebraska which enables a majority of the land-owners in any territory which is susceptible to irrigation from a common source, to organize a district, and this district has authority to vote bonds for the construction or purchase of works, and to levy a tax to raise money to pay these bonds and also to pay for the maintenance of the works. This law has worked out very successfully in many cases, and we have some districts organized under it which are finely improved and in good financial condition.

"There has been considerable development along the line of pumping water for irrigation, and quite a number of plants have been put in operation, employing windmills, water wheels, gasoline and steam engines for the motive power."

Taking everything into consideration, Nebras- ka has made very good progress in irrigation im- provement, and is in position to make still great- er development in the future.

STATISTICS.

In 1874 the government report showed that Ne- braska raised only 3,619,000 bushels of wheat. In 1880 this had grown to 12,922,000. In 1890 the government gave the figures as 15,315,000 bushels, and in 1900, 24,810,000, but since then the state has made wonderful development in the way of wheat growing. In 1902 it raised a crop of 52,726,000 bushels; its crop in 1905 was 48,002,000 bushels; in 1906 its wheat yield was 51,709,000 bushels, and in 1907, when the crop was short everywhere, the government report made it 46,879,000 bushels. In 1910 the produc- tion of wheat was 45,151,000 bushels. It has also become a great corn-growing state. As late as 1880 its corn crop was only 59,507,000 bushels. Eight years later it raised 144,217,000 bushels. In 1898 the government reported its crop at 158.754,000 bushels; in 1904 it was 260,942,335 bushels; in 1906 its yield was 241,383,537 bush- els, and the reports for 1910 give the yield as be- ing 178,923,128 bushels.

The above figures are given to show by way of comparison the marvelous growth of the state and its development as an agricultural region. The growth has been equally marked in regard to other crops, and also in its manufacturing and commercial interests. This is evidenced by the growth of bank deposits in Nebraska. In 1890 the bank deposits in Nebraska were reported as being $48,770,811. In 1905 they had grown to $134,991,210, and two years later (1907) they

COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY, REMINISCENCE AND BIOGRAPHY.

were given as being $178,361,355.13. On Septem- ber 1, 1911, the deposits amounted in round num- bers to over $200,000,000.

In speaking of the prosperity of the state and the general condition of its people, Governor Sheldon, in closing one of his Thanksgiving proc- lamations, said: "Our granaries and our store- houses are filled with the products of our farms and our factories. Our pastures and our feed lots contain cattle, hogs and sheep without number. Our commercial and business institutions are sol-

vent. Our people, realizing that they must go up or go down together, have full confidence in each other's honesty and integrity. The indus- trious and frugal for a decade have been well rewarded for their labor. This has enabled them to provide their families with the comforts of life and build beautiful homes in our cities through- out the country. For all these things that have promoted our peace, prosperity and happiness, it is fitting that thanks should be rendered unto Him whose invisible hand controls our destiny."

CHAPTER II.

THE DISCOVERY AND EARLY HISTORY OF THE PROVINCE OF LOUISIANA; EARLY EXPLORATIONS, EARLY SETTLEMENT; THE BIRTH OF NEBRASKA- PRINCIPAL EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF THE STATE.

IT is difficult looking back through the mist of years to arrive at an incontrovertable conclusion as to just when and by whom the mid- dle portion of the United States was first visited by white men. There is a wealth of interesting historical documents and writings recounting the invasion of this part of the continent by whites and tracing the march of civilization, most of which base their beginning with the French ex- plorers, but it is now regarded as an established fact by many historical writers that the south- western and middle portions of the United States were included in Spanish explorations early in the fifteenth century. One of the expeditions which is referred to by many historians is the Coronado expedition. It is related that in about the year 1540, Coronado, who was then governor of New Gallia, organized an expedition and exe- cuted a march from Mexico to the region which is now the heart of Nebraska and Kansas. That was as marvelous an undertaking as the history of this continent affords. Not only was the region to be covered an unknown land, but the obstacles to be overcome, the mountains between and sub- sequent stretches of sand plains and desert made the undertaking a gigantic one. And yet under these conditions it is said that an army of about one thousand men was pushed across the arid plains, the rugged mountains and barren deserts. which lie between what is now Nebraska and Mexico. This, it must be remembered, was eighty years before the Pilgrims landed on the shores of New England; sixty-eight years before Hudson discovered the river which bears his name; sixty- six years before John Smith commenced the set- tlement of what was afterward to be Virginia; and nearly a century before Jean Nicolet estab- lished commercial relations with the Indians of

Wisconsin. This expedition was organized to search for fabulous wealth which was supposed to exist in these regions, of which marvelous tales had been carried to Mexico. The end of the long march is graphically told by Judge J. W. Savage, a careful student and an eloquent writer on Ne- braska's early history, in the following words: "Northward from the Arkansas river for many weary and anxious hours, the little band which accompanied the adventurous general pursued its way over the Kansas plains. July had come, the days were long and hot and the sultry nights crept over the primeval prairie, seeming to rise like a shadowy and threatening specter out of the grass. But stout hearts and good horses brought them at last to what I am satisfied is the southern boundary of Nebraska. And here, along the Platte river, they found the long-sought King- dom of Quivera; here was Tartarrax, the hoary- headed old ruler of the land. But alas for the vanity of human expectations ! The only precious metal they saw was a copper plate hanging to the old chief's breast, by which he set great store; there were no musical bells, no gilded eagle, no silver dishes, no rosary, no image of the Vır- gin, no cross, no crown, that they had been led to believe existed. In the midst of his disappoint- ment the general took a melancholy pleasure in hanging his guides who had so egregiously mis- guided him. It is said that the guides here boldly avowed that they knew of no gold; that they had brought the invaders into the wilderness to perish with hunger and hardship, to rid the peaceful dwellers in the Rio Grande and Pecos valleys of their hated presence, and met their fate with stoicism which the Spaniards called despair and remorse. Here then, upon the southern boundary of this state at a point not yet easily ascertain-

COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY, REMINISCENCE AND BIOGRAPHY.

able, but doubtless between Gage county on the east and Furnas county on the west, Coronado set foot on the soil of Nebraska and remained for twenty-five days. I have heretofore adverted to the fact that this location of the northern terminus has not met with universal acceptation. The arguments, however, in support of the theory seem to me to be unanswerable."

While it is true that the location of the north- ern terminus is not definitely settled, most writers concede that Coronado's march-following the itinerary given in the Spanish documents and papers-must have carried this band of explorers up somewhere into the Kansas-Nebraska prairies. The land of Quivera, and the Seven Cities of the Buffalo, referred to is surrounded by much gla- mour of romantic mystery. Although a number of contemporaneous narratives are preserved refer- ring to this kingdom and to remarkable searches made for it, it is singular that hardly any two writers agree as to the location or the ultimate terminus of the searching expeditions.

At about the same time another event was transpiring, also under the folds of the Spanish flag, which for years stood undisputed in point of priority, and an epoch is marked in American history by the discovery of the Mississippi by Ferdinand DeSoto in 1542.

It is related that in 1542 Ferdinand De Soto, with a band of Spanish adventurers, acting un- der a commission from the sovereign of his native land, discovered the Mississippi river about the mouth of the Ouachita. After the sudden death of their leader, in May of that year, his followers, after burying his body in the river, built a small vessel, and in July, 1543, descended the great river to the Gulf of Mexico. Thus the mouth of the Mississippi was discovered one hundred and thirty years prior to the discovery of its upper valley by the French missionary priests.

By virtue of this and the conquest of Florida, Spain claimed the country bordering on the Mis- sissippi and the Gulf of Mexico, but made no at- tempt to colonize it permanently. At that time it was tacitly understood by the various mari- time states of Europe that the discovery and os- cupation of any part of the New World made a legitimate title to the country. Although the valley of the Mississippi was thus taken posses- sion of by Spain, the failure of that power to con- summate its discovery by planting colonies or settlements, made their title void, and the country was left open to be rediscovered and taken pos- session of by other powers.

In 1534 and 1535 an intelligent and capable French naval officer, Jacques Cartier, discovered and named the St. Lawrence river. He took pos- session of that country in the name of his king and built a rude fort, in 1541, near the present site of Quebec. This was sixty-six years before the English made a setlement at Jamestown, Virginia. From that time on the country became known and settlements sprang up along the great

river and it became the province of New France. In 1608 Champlain selected the site of the old fort of Cartier's as the future capital of the pro- vince. Champlain made many explorations in and around the country, and in 1609, ascending a tributary of the St. Lawrence, found that beau- tiful sheet of water in New York that bears his name. After visiting France, he returned and in 1615, accompanying a tribe of Indians to their far off hunting grounds, discovered Lake Huron.

It was early in the seventeenth century when the revived religion of France quickened the fervor of her noble missionary priests. Led by their zeal to the New World, they penetrated the wilderness in all directions from Quebec, carrying the tidings of the Gospel to the heathen. Along the river St. Lawrence, through the chain of Great Lakes, westward, they pushed their way, establishing missions and endeavoring to turn the savages to their faith. This movement be- gan in 1611, when Father La Caron, a Francis- can friar, the friend and companion of Cham- plain, made a journey to the rivers of Lake Huron on foot and by paddling a bark canoe. In 1632, on the establishment of a government of New France, under the commission of Louis XIII, and the patronage of his great prime minister, Ar- mand Duplessis, Cardinal Richelieu, the work of converting the Indian passed from the order of St. Francis, to that of Loyola, the famed Jesuit. Burning with a pious zeal and animated by a spirit of self-sacrifice, rarely, if ever, paralleled in the history of missionary work, these latter, simple priests, penetrated the wilds of the Cana- dian frontier, and through toil and pain, often to martyrdom, carried the cross to the remote tribes of the Mississippi and its tributaries. Brancroft, the historian, says: "The history of their labors is connected with the origin of every celebrated town in the annals of French America ; not a cape was turned or a river entered, but a Jesuit led the way."

In 1634 the Jesuits, Brebeuf and Daniels, fol- lowed by Lallemand, made a journey into the far west. Joining a party of Huron Indians, who had been in Quebec, and who were returning to their homes, they pushed their way, enduring, without complaint, untold fatigue and suffering, by lake, river and forest. They penetrated to the heart of the Huron wilderness. Near the shores of Lake Iroquois was raised the first house of the Society of Jesus in all that region, and soon two villages, named St. Louis and St. Ignace, sprang up among the primeval forests that were then the homes of the savage red man. The mission of. Brebeuf gave to the world its first knowledge of the water courses of the St. Lawrence valley. From a map published in France in 1660 it is seen that these pious priests had explored the country from the waters of the Niagara to the head of Lake Superior and had heard of or seen the shores of Lake Michigan.

As early as 1635 Jean Nicolet, who had been

COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY, REMINISCENCE AND BIOGRAPHY.

one of Champlain's interpreters, and who had come from his native land, France, to Canada in 1618, reached the western shores of Lake Michi- gan. In the summer of 1634 he ascended the St. Lawrence river with a party of Hurons, and thence onward to Lake Michigan, and during the following winter traded with the Indians at what is now Green Bay, Wisconsin. In 1635 he re- turned to Canada. He was married in Quebec, October 7, 1637, and lived at Three Rivers until 1642, when he died. Of him it is said, in a letter written in 1640, that he had penetrated the far- thest into these distant countries and that if he had proceeded "three days more on a great river which flows from that lake (Green Bay), he would have found the sea," for such was the common be- lief in those days, even among geographers and other scientists.

The hostilities of the Iroquois, or Five Nations, a confederacy of fierce and bloodthirsty savages, prevented the journey of Raymbault and Picard to the west in 1640, but the following year at the great feast of the dead, held by the Algon- quins, at Lake Nipising, the Jesuits were invited to visit the land of the Ojibway or Chippewa In- dians, at what is now Sault de Sainte Marie. Ac- cordingly, September 17, 1641, Fathers Raym- bault and Jogues left the Bay of Penetanguish- ene in a bark canoe for the rendezvous, where, after a passage of seventeen days, they found two thousand Indians, who had congregated to meet them.

At this assembly the fathers learned of many as yet unheard-of tribes. Here was heard the first mention of the Dacotahs, called in the Ojib- way tongue, Nadonechionec or Nadouessionx. The latter name, abbreviated by the French, forms the present name of those fierce nomads of the North, the Sioux. It has been truly said "that the French were looking toward the homes of the Sioux, in the great valleys of the Missis sippi and Missouri five years before the New Eng- land Eliot had addressed the tribes of Indians who dwelt within six miles of Boston harbor." In the ardor of his enthusiasm for discovery Raymbault expected to reach the Pacific ocean, then supposed to be but a few hundred miles west of where the Mississippi river is now found. However, he was laid low by the hand of death, dying in 1642 of sickness brought on by hard- ships and exposure.

In August, 1654, two fur traders joined a band of Ottawa Indians and made a long journey in- to the far west. In two years they returned with some fifty canoes and two hundred and fifty na- tives. They described the rivers and lakes of the west, and the tribes whose homes stretched away to the northern sea and mentioned the Sioux who dwelt beyond Lake Superior and who wanted to trade with the white man.

In this way the exploration of the western country was extended from the eastward into the wilds of the great west. The adventurous spirits 2 1/2

from the St. Lawrence explored the great lakes and adjacent regions, planting the seeds of com- merce and civilization, and we see the trend of exploration pushing still westward toward the land of which we write. Among those who should be mentioned as having helped to carry civiliza- tion west of the great lakes and who explored considerable territory in what is now Wisconsin and Illinois were Father Rene Menard, Father Claude Allouez and Father Jaquez Marquette. It seems that in the year 1660 the superior of the Jesuits at Quebec, learning of the many savage tribes to the west of the missions, and burning with zeal for the advancement of the cause of Christ and his church, and aiming at the conver- sion of the heathen, sent this Father Rene Me- nard and another priest as apostles among the red men. Father Menard's "hair had been whitened by age, his mind ripened by long exper- ience, and, being well acquainted with the pecul- iarties of the Indian character, he seemed the man for the mission." The night previous to his departure sleep deserted the eyes of the venera- ble priest. He knew that he was going into the land of ruthless, savage barbarians, and he thought of his friends. Two hours past midnight he penned a letter to a friend, the pious simplicity of which is a monument to this estimable priest. Early on the morning of the 28th of August, 1660, in company with the party of fur traders, he departed from Three Rivers. October 15 he arrived at a bay on Lake Superior, to which he gave the name of Ste. Theresa, its discovery oc- curring on her fete day. The party remained at this point all winter, hard pressed for want of food, being driven to all sorts of shifts to avoid starvation. Having received an invitation to visit them from the Hurons and Ottawas, Father Men- ard started for their villages on the island of St. Michael. In some manner he wandered away from his guide, got lost, and, although the guide sought him faithfully, was never found; he per- ished in some unknown manner. Relics of him were found from time to time in Sac and Sioux villages many years after, but no tale ever came to his many waiting friends to tell how or where he died.

In the summer of 1663 the news of his death reached Montreal. His succesor was soon found, for the impassive obedience of the members of the Order of Loyola brooked no opposition to the command of a su- perior. Father Claud Allouez was chosen to carry the cross to these heathens, and to follow in the footsteps of Father Menard. Impatiently wait- ing for the chance to proceed to his work, he was unable to find conveyance and convoy until the summer of 1665, when, in company with six of his own race and color and four hundred savages, he started. He built a mission at La Pointe, on Lake Superior, where he taught the simple na- tives his religion and took up his work among them. Here he, too, heard about the Indians that

COMPENDIUM OF HISTORY, REMINISCENCE AND BIOGRAPHY.

had their homes on the banks of that mighty river, a stream which the natives knew by the name of Messipi.

Although he had done a great work exploring the country around the southern boundary of what is now Wisconsin and in the northern part of Illinois, and had preached to all the Indians met with in that region, Father Allouez grew discouraged, and pased on to other fields. Sep- tember 13, 1669, he was succeeded by the famous Father Jacques Marquette. The design of discov- ering the Mississippi, a stream about which the Indians had told so much, seems to have origin- ated with Father Marquette in the same year of his reaching the mission of the Holy Ghost at La Pointe. The year previous he and Father Claud Dablon had established the mission of St. Mary within what is now Michigan. Circumstances about this time were favorable for a voyage of discovery among Indians. The protection afford- ed to the Algonquins of the west by the commerce with New France had confirmed their attach- ment, and had created for them a political inter- est in France and in the minds of Louis XIV and his great financier, Colbert. The intendent of justice in New France, Talon, determined to ex- tend the power of France to the utmost border of Canada, and for this purpose Nicholas Perrot was despatched to the west as an emissary. The lat- ter proposed a congress or convention of the In- dian nations at St. Mary's mission, and the invi- tation to attend was extended far and wide. Per- rot arrived, and in May, 1671, there assembled at the Sault de Ste. Marie a great gathering of In- dians from all parts of the northwest. From the headwaters of the St. Lawrence and the Missis- sippi, from the great lakes and the prairies be- yond, from the valley of the Red river of the north, and from the plains of Dakota they came, and it was announced that there should be peace, and that they were all under the protection of France. The same year Pere Marquette gathered together one of the broken branches of the Hu- rons at Point St. Ignace, which became quite a religious establishment.

These things having been done, the grand ex- ploring expedition to the west to discover the great river so often heard about was the next to be attended to. May 13, 1673, Marquette and Joliet, accompanied by five other Frenchmen, set out. Louis Joliet was a native of Quebec, born in 1645. He was educated by the Jesuits for the priesthood. He, however, determined to become a fur trader, which he did. He was sent with an associate to explore the region of the copper mines of Lake Superior. He was a man of close and intelligent observation, and possessed consid- erable mathematical acquirements. In 1673 he was a merchant, courageous, hardy, enterprising. He was appointed by the French authorities at Quebec to discover the Mississippi. He passed up the lakes to Mackinaw and found at Point Ignace the reverend Father Marquette, who was ready to

accompany him. Their outfit was simple-two birch-bark canoes and a supply of smoked meat and Indian corn. The friendly Indians tried to dissuade the father and Joliet from undertaking this voyage, saying that the Indians of that quar- ter were bad; that they were cruel and re- lentless, and that the river was the abode of all kinds of demons and evil spirits, but this did not intimidate these bold and hardy men. Passing the straits, they followed the north and west shore of Lake Michigan to Green Bay, where they entered the Fox river. This they ascended with great labor until they came to the village of the Kickapoos and Miamas, the extreme point to which the explorations of the French had as yet extended. Here Marquette was much pleased to see "a beautiful cross planted in the middle of the town, ornamented with white skins, red gir- dles and hows and arrows which those good peo- ple had offered to the Great Manitou, or God, to thank Him for the pity he had bestowed upon them during the winter in having given them an abundant chase." On assembling the chiefs of the village and the medicine men, Marquette made them a speech, telling them that Joliet had been sent by the governor of New France to discover new countries, and himself by God to spread the light of the gospel. He added that he feared not death nor exposure to which he ex- pected to be called upon to endure. From this place, under the guidance of two Miami Indians, the expedition started to cross the portage from the Fox to the Wisconsin river. On reaching the latter stream the guide left them and they pushed their way down the rapid waters of the Wisconsin until, upon the 17th of June, their frail barks floated upon the majestic waters of the Mississip- pi. Down the mighty "Father of Waters" they voyaged until they reached the mouth of the Illinois. Up the latter stream they paddled their way through a virgin land, encountering many difficulties and privations. At the forks of the river they entered the Desplaines, and by that and the Chicago river reached Lake Michigan and finally Green Bay. At the latter point Father Marquette remained to recuperate his exhausted strength, while Joliet and his companions has- tened on to Quehec to report his success to his superiors.

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Compendium of history, reminiscence, and biography of Nebraska : containing a history of the state of Nebraska also a compendium of reminiscence and biography containing biographical sketches of hundreds of prominent old settlers and representative citizens of Nebraska, Part 4

Author: Alden Publishing Company Publication date: 1912 Publisher: Chicago : Alden Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1402

Author: Alden Publishing Company
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago : Alden Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1402