History of Custer County, Nebraska; a narrative of the past, with special emphasis upon the pioneer period of the county's history, its social, commercial, educational, religous, and civic developement from the early days to the present time, Part 19

Author: Gaston, William Levi, 1865- [from old catalog]; Humphrey, Augustin R., 1859- [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1919
Publisher: Lincoln, Neb., Western publishing and engraving company
Number of Pages: 1180

USA > Nebraska > Custer County > History of Custer County, Nebraska; a narrative of the past, with special emphasis upon the pioneer period of the county's history, its social, commercial, educational, religous, and civic developement from the early days to the present time > Part 19

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The country was covered with ice and snow until spring. The winter was very severe. the temperature ranging for days and weeks at from ten to twenty below zero .. The condi-

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tions were such that it was almost impossible for the cattle to get to the grass. The winds, which ordinarily blew the snow off the hills and left the grass thereon free to the cattle, could not affect this solid body of ice and snow.

The legs of the cattle, traveling about in a famished condition seeking food, soon became bruised and bleeding from contact with the sharp crust on the snow. There was plenty of feed on the ground, but the cattle could not get at it. They died by the hundreds and thousands. It was estimated that from seven- ty-five to ninety per cent. of the cows and calves on the range perished that winter and sixty per cent. of the steers also perished. They lay in piles behind the hills where they had sought shelter.

The following spring many who had en- gaged in the business in Custer county, and who until this winter had believed there was no grazing country equal to it, quit the busi- ness in disgust and left the county.

Nothing like this winter had preceded it in the history of the country, and nothing like it has been experienced since.

A TOUGH TIME IN 1880

H. Lomax, who at the present time is a resi- dent of Broken Bow and prominent in Custer county banking activities, has served his time as an early settler, and concerning his experi- ences makes the following statement :

"My first introduction to the South Loup river occurred in April, 1880, at a point about half a mile above the mouth of Ash creek. Having made the journey from Plum Creek in a heavily loaded wagon, we struck the river just as the sun was sinking into the western prairie and tinging the tops of the eastern hills with a glow of red. The log shanty in which we intended to camp was on the other side of the stream, and we started across. Be- fore proceeding ten feet our team stopped and the wagon settled to the axles in quicksand, the water gently washing the bottom of the wagon box. A portage was necessary, and not only was the cargo all carried across, but we had to wade back and forth with the dif- ferent parts of the wagon, taking out a wheel

at a time. Having at length arrived at our destination, cold, wet, and weary, we proceeded to prepare our supper. Our log shanty, in the middle of a dense grove of cottonwood and willow, had the river on one side and a bayou on the other. Before supper was ready a whirr of wings called me to the door. O. land of ducks! Hundreds were there before me of all colors and sizes - flying, swimming, diving, in the security of their ignorance. Af- ter this, duck was too common a food to be mentioned in our cuisine. Our shanty had been shingled with cow-hides, thrown on the roof. During the night a cold north wind whistled through the crevices between the logs of our dwelling, which had not been chinked, and we arose, took off the roof covering and pinned the hides up against the wall to serve as siding. After this, whenever it rained we put the hides on the roof to keep out the water and when it blew we put them on the side of the house to keep out the wind - a very simple and effective device which fur- nished additional proof of the truth of the old saying that 'necessity is the mother of inven- tion.' One of the settlers in this part of the country was Saul Garringer. He was a per- fect architect in the construction of dugouts, and he evolved from the original trapper's hole in the ground a series of apartments which lacked only electric lights and steam heat to make them equal to any modern palatial resi- dence. Whenever he was not making a new dugout he was building some addition to the old one. He was also a lineal descendant of Nimrod of old, and hunted exclusively with the rifle. He it was who gave me the first clear conception of the possibilities of rifle- shooting. While hunting ducks with him one day he observed that I always aimed at the body of the bird ; he explained to me that this cut the flesh up too much, and that he always hit them in the head.

"The spring of 1880 was extremely dry, so dry that the wheat in the Platte valley refused to sprout, and had to be plowed up and corn planted in its place. On the third day of July it began to rain and the rest of the summer was excessively wet. August 10th a cloud-

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burst occurred in the vicinity now occupied by the village of Callaway, which caused a serious flood in the South Loup and Wood river val- leys. The Loup bottoms were running with three or four feet of water for twelve hours. and the fringes of willows that lined the river banks were filled with cedar posts and rails that had been washed down from the corrals of ranches above. The rain, which fell during the greater portion of September, turned in October to snow, which continued to fall in enormous quantities all winter. During the fall, the work of the beaver, which was plenti- ful along the river, amounted to a veritable massacre of the timber which lined the banks. During the months of October and November they could be seen working in droves, prepar- ing for the long winter which their instinct warned them was coming on.

"Thousands of sheep had been driven into the country during the summer of 1880, and the winter which followed left in many cases not more than twenty per cent. of the herds alive. After a severe snowstorm in October and cold weather in November, the ice on the river was strong enough to bear heavy loads. The real winter snow began to fall December 16th, and from that time until March the ground had a covering of eighteen inches on the level, with drifts twenty fect deep. The wind was almost continuous and the cold at times intense. The cloudy days were unusual- ly numerous for Nebraska. In December the clear days amounted to seventeen, in January sixteen, in February eighteen. The average temperature at eight o'clock a.m. in December was 33; in January 25.9; in February 30.4. Cattle on the range stood day after day, week after week, chewing leaves, twigs, branches, and bank, until the trees were eaten bare as high as a cow could reach, and the branches were chewed so they looked like frayed ropes. Thousands of the poor animals died, and it has always been a mystery to me how any survived. In the spring many of them which survived lost their horns and hoofs, which had been frozen, and dropped off when the thaw came. When the ice broke up in the river it was a month before it could be crossed

in safety. John McGinn was then located two miles up Ash creek, where the Plattsmouth ranch now is. He had purchased some corn in Wood river valley but was unable to haul it across the Loup river, and it had to be dragged across with a rope. one sack at a time. At that time there was not a bridge across the Loup in Custer county."

HEAVY LOSSES

It is estimated that sixty to sixty-five per cent. of range cattle perished during the win- ter of 1880-81, which until the present time is referred to by old settlers as "The Hard Win- ter."

Blessings sometimes come in ill-shaped dis- guise. It was so in this case. The enormous loss of stock put the cattlemen out of busi- ness and delivered the range over to the settler and his breaking-plow. The growing fend between the rancher and the settler was over. This was to be an agricultural rather than a range country. This decree was written ir- revocably on the white banks of the drifted snow during the winter and fulfilled in the yel- low harvests that have succeeded each other since that winter.

AS THINGS LOOKED TO BISIIOP

The following is taken from a July, 1918, issue of the Custer County Chief and describes the impression Custer county made on a vis- itor who came here in March, 1881 :

"J. C. Bishop, brother of the late E. N. Bishop, of Gates, arrived in this city Friday of last week, from Boston. In a conversation lie told of the first time he saw Custer county. He came to Nebraska from Virginia. upon the solicitation of his brother, to enter the cattle business in the winter of 1881. March 1. 1881, he arrived in Broken Bow, coming overland from Grand Island. A big blizzard had just passed over the country, Cattle were dead by the thousands, frozen to death in the wil- lows along the streams. Mr. Bishop says he thought he saw at least 100,000 in all before he got to his brother's place. The cattle bus- iness did not look good to him, notwithstand- ing old settlers told him that every winter

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would not be like the last. But he contended that he might work for years and then lose all his increase in one storm, so accordingly he returned to Virginia. He states now that he was never more surprised than by the pro- gress and development of this country. He declares that the climate is different entirely and he attributes the change to the number of trees which now are to be found every- where."

ACCIDENTS AND TRAGEDIES

Trials and hardships are the common heri- tage of all pioneers. In March, 1878, J. F. Henderson, from Harrison county, Missouri, settled on Lillian creek. February 27, 1879, he went into Hunter's Shanty canyon to cut cedar for fuel and posts. He had nearly com- pleted his day's work when in felling a twenty- two inch tree it turned on its stump as it fell, in such a way as to strike Mr. Henderson, throwing him down the steep canyon side, where he struck on a pile of brush. His left arm was broken in two places, his left hip dis- located and the leg broken below the knee. In this condition, with snow. on the ground, he lay from sundown until after sunrise the next morning, when he was found by his wife. Unable to move him in any way, she went for help to the nearest residence, that of her daugh- ter. Mrs. James Oxford. It was noon when, with oxen and a wagon, they came back and the bruised and broken sufferer was taken a mile to the home of James Oxford. To get help was the next thing, and remembering that three trappers had been at the mouth of Lil- lian creek, Mrs. Oxford started for the camp, two miles away. One man was there, and when she told him of the accident to her father and asked him to go for help to the nearest neighbor's place, on Victoria creek, eight miles distant, the trapper said : "I know how to sympathize with you, for I lost my wife and child in a blizzard." He started on his sixteen-mile run, and came back the next morning with Isaac and Temp Merchant. Temp was dispatched for the nearest doctor, having to go to Loup City, fifty miles down

the river. Dr. Hawkins reached the Oxford home Sunday morning, the fourth day after the accident, under the influence of liquor, and incompetent to do the surgical work required. Running his hand hastily over the broken leg, he said: "Your leg is all right, but the arm will have to be amputated." With knife and saw he cut the arm square off, took two or three stitches from skin to skin across the freshly cut flesh, and said it was all that was necessary for him to do. Mr. Merchant in- sisted that the leg was broken and must be dressed. With reluctance. the doctor roughly tried to put the broken bones in place and bound them with splints, then left for his home. Seven months Mr. Henderson lay in that pioneer home, unable to get from his bed, when he was moved to Mrs. Comstock's home. Every settler from Loup City to Victoria creek vied with each other in rendering kindness to the sufferer. Connected with this incident is the pathetic death of little Daisy Oxford, the pet granddaughter of Mr. Henderson. A slender child of eighteen months, she sat at his bedside on the Saturday before the doctor came; rocking forward, she, in some way, caught the bail of the tea kettle, sitting on the edge of the stove, and the contents of boiling water was poured over her head and hands. The little sufferer, under the care of Mrs. Comstock, who had been sent for, lived nearly a week. Mr. Eubank preached her funeral sermon, and then remained four days, expecting to be called to preach the funeral of Mr. Henderson. Mr. Henderson did not die but lived to express his gratitude to the old settlers who filled the office of good Samaritan to him in those days.

NO CHRISTMAS PRESENTS

Another incident that speaks of the priva- tions of the pioneer's life and his love for his family, was the death of Arnett, on the Bayhof- fer place. Christmas was near, and there was no money to get the loved ones a present. The father took his gun, in which the breech pin was secured with a piece of wire, and went to the cornfield, thinking to get chickens to sell

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and buy Christmas presents. They found him next day with the breech pin blown through his head.

AN EARLY BLIZZARD

When C. W. Prettyman moved his family on to the new claim he had pre-empted in the Ash creek valley in November of 1886, he domiciled the family in an improvised shack while he was building a more substantial sod mansion. The shack was made by setting up two-by-fours on the ground in roof or V shape and covering them with shiplap. The gable ends were closed up by nailing up the wagon- covers.

On the 15th of November a snow storm set in, and before night it developed into one of the worst blizzards the country has ever known. He relates the experience of himself and family during the storm, as follows :

"The snow fell into our roof house like meal through a sieve. The situation was very serious and I was actually afraid that my wife and little ones would be frozen to death. I had sent my oldest son over to Mr. King's to look after the horses before dark, and I hoped that he would remain there all night and that they would come and rescue us in the morning. In this I was not disappointed. Soon after daybreak we saw them coming, plowing their way through the snow. I had slid out of my bed under the eaves of my roof, where I had laid under a sprinkle of snow about eighteen inches deep. and after digging around in a snowbank piled up in a corner I unearthed a suit of clothes and a pair of boots, which I got into. I then waded through another drift to the stove, dug it out and started a fire. By this time the wagon of Mr. King had ar- rived and we dug the children out from under their covering of snow, steaming like pigs in a straw stack, piled them in the wagon and set off for Mr. King's, under whose hospitable roof we stayed until the storm was over. When we returned to our shanty it was full of snow, which I scooped out and got out dry goods. Soon afterward we finished our house, having to cut the frozen sod with an ax."

DOWN TWICE BUT NOT OUT

M. E. Brandenburg came from Saratoga, New York, in March, 1878, and started a cat- tle ranch at the mouth of Sand creek, on the south side of the Middle Loup river, two and one-half miles southeast of the present site of Sargent.

He came at the beginning and has probably endured as many privations and hardships as the average pioneer. The hard winter of 1880-81 took from him his all, as it did that of many others, and he was compelled to begin life anew. He went to work by the month to get a new start, and had succeeded very well - when, in the early '90s, a series of disas- ters -an unfortunate business venture, the loss of his hogs by cholera, and nearly all of his cattle through chronic abortion, together with the loss of his crops - again floored him and left him a bankrupt at the beginning of 1895. A change in the tide of his affairs then turned the current into the channel of pros- perity, and in a few years he had one of the best stock farms in central Nebraska, the same comprising nearly 600 acres, valued at $8.000, and an equipment worth very nearly as much more, including one of the best herds of short- horns in the state, roadster, horses, a splendid drove of hogs and the necessary complement of farming implements, - all accumulated dur- ing the last eight years. Verily, the resources of the average Nebraskan are almost bound- lcss.

FROZEN TO DEATH IN POWELL CANYON

In speaking of hard winters and hard times J D. Haskell stands sponsor for the truth of the following account :

Elisha W. Clark, a hunter and trapper, was frozen to death in Powell canyon, northeast of Arnold, in December, 1879. Clark had been a colonel in the war of the rebellion, was a widower, and had for a number of years fol- lowed hunting and trapping for a livelihood. He established his camp in Powell canyon on December 2d, his only companions being his team and a couple of large greyhounds. About a week afterward he was seen by a cedar

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hunter on his way to Mr. Goodyear's hay stacks after some hay for his team, and said that he intended to carry the hay in his arms to his camp, which was three miles away. No more was thought of the trapper for some time by the few residents of the neighborhood, but one day the dead bodies of his two hounds were found near Mr. Goodyear's haystacks. The weather was intensely cold, and the ground was covered with snow, and it was feared that Clark might have shared the fate

of time. They had gnawed the bark off the tree to which they were tied and eaten every bush and twig within reach. One . of the horses had eaten off the limb to which he was tied, thus saving his life. The party scoured the vicinity thoroughly, without result. The county commissioners offered a reward of fif- ty dollars to anyone finding the body of Clark. During the following spring, while hunting for some horses, C. W. Hughey, of Arnold, came across the dead body of the unfortunate trap-

Powell Canyon, near Arnold, where some years ago a hunter and trapper lost his way and was frozen to death, his body not being found until the following spring

that had apparently overtaken the dogs. A search was immediately instituted, but no trace of the missing man or his team could be found. On the 1st day of January a party of cedar haulers reported that they had found a wagon and two horses in one of the numerous pockets of Powell canyon, and a party went at once to the place, where they discovered the horses. One of the horses was dead and the other nearly so. As Clark had been miss- ing for three weeks, it is supposed that the poor animals had been there about that length

per, at the head of a small pocket in the can- yon, his gun by his side. He had evidently died on his knees, apparently crawling into the nar- row place to get such protection from the cold as its walls afforded.

It was nearly night when he had been seen at the stacks after hay, and it is the supposi- tion that in attempting to return to his camp in the darkness he became bewildered in the maze of pockets that indent the canyon, until, overcome with weariness, he sank down and was frozen to death. The body was found five

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miles southwest of where his camp had been, and had he proceeded another mile in the di- rection, in which he was apparently traveling when he succumbed, he would have come into the South Loup valley within sight of Chapin's ranch.

THE BLIZZARD OF 1888

Old settlers shiver yet, when the famous blizzard of January 12, 1888, is mentioned. That was one of the fiercest storms that ever struck the country. Shortly before noon the wind veered to the north and west and with- out warning came the whirl and swirl of a blinding blizzard, such as the old settlers of that time had not seen before. The thermom- cter dropped twenty degrees in almost as many minutes. Hundreds of people were caught away from home and thousands of cattle and horses were out on the fields and ranges without shelter. The storm was so blinding that stock could not be driven against the wind. Accordingly they drifted with the storm and many perished. It was almost im- possible for a man to find his way through the blinding snow from the house to the barn, or from the barn back to the house. Teachers and children were caught in the school-houses and in many places stayed all night, and next day, in the school-house. If they happened to have fuel they were fortunate and suffered slight inconvenience.

The storm was general throughout the mid- dle west. It raged, however, with greatest fury in the Dakotas and northern Nebraska. Many lives were lost and everywhere there was a great loss of stock. Custer county was for- tunate, however, and no loss of human life was credited to this blizzard in this county. Many blizzards have swept the open prairies of cen- tral Nebraska, but the Custerites who weatlı- ered the blizzard of 1888 are past masters in the lore of storm. winds, and snow. During this blizzard the temperature fell to thirty-two in this county, but throughout the storm region it ranged from twenty to fifty-two below, which made this blizzard match and over- match the great storm of 1882.

A HARD TIMES CHRISTMAS

The following is from the Christmas an- nouncements of the Custer County Chief. De- cember 21, the issue before the celebration :

Christmas will be generally observed by the various churches of the city. The festivities will not, in all probability, be on as grand a scale as in years of greater prosperity, but will, nevertheless, be just as attractive and every bit as enjoyable. Instead of making a grand display there seems to be a tendency among all the churches to exert every effort in relieving the destitute and distressed, of which we have our full share. This, to say the least, is very commendable.

The next week the same paper gives the fol- lowing account of the exercises as they were rendered in the various churches of Broken Bow :

The Christian church gave a very nice en- tertainment on Christmas Eve, consisting of a musical and literary program. Santa Claus appeared and distributed nuts and candies to the little ones. On Christmas day a hand- some thing was done by the good people of this denomination. Instead of buying presents for the children, the money was used in pre- paring an excellent dinner, and over one hun- dred people were fed, including the children of the Sunday school and ten poor families who were invited in. The food which was left was then distributed among poor families.

The Presbyterian church entertainment on Christmas Eve was a novel affair. An old- fashioned fire-place was erected on the pulpit and above that was built a brick chimney. The bricks, however, were pasteboard boxes filled with nuts and candies which old Santa Claus distributed to the children. A good program was carried out. At the close of the enter- tainment the children were marched into the lecture room, where tables were spread and supper was served to them. This program was a complete surprise to the little folks and was much enjoyed by them.

The entertainment at the Episcopal church was held on Christmas night and was out of the usual order of Christmas doings. The pro- gram consisted of music and of short Christ- mas tales by Professor Currie, L. H. Jewett, Mrs. Chrisman, Rev. Robbins, and Mrs. A. Morgan. The latter was particularly interest- ing, as Mrs. Morgan related the story of her being stolen by cannibals on the Fiji Islands

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when a small child. Candy and nuts were distributed to the children of the Sabbath school.

The Christmas pyramid was the attraction at the Baptist church. It was laden with presents, which were distributed by old Santa Claus. A splendid program was rendered.

At the Methodist church a program of reci- tations, songs, etc., had been prepared and was successfully carried out. The little folks were nicely remembered with candies and nuts.

FILLED UP ON CHRISTMAS

Under the caption of "Christmas dinners" the Chief publishes, the following list of din- ner parties which were given on the hard-win- ter Christmas day of 1894:

Mrs. Belle Doxie entertained a lively crowd of young people at her home for dinner. Those present were Mr. and Mrs. F. W. Hayes, the Misses Flora Gould, Ora Spence, Grace Cox, Josie Sheppard, Lillie Snodgrass, and the Messrs. H. A. Thompson, Dr. Hallar, Harry Day, M. A. Sullivan, and E. R. Purcell.

The dinner party at the home of Mr. and Mrs. F. M. Rublee was made up of Mr. and Mrs. S. B. Thompson, Mr. and Mrs. Ed. McComas, Mr. and Mrs. F. B. Bartlett, Mrs. Patterson, Miss Mamie Thompson, and Mr. Nine McComas.

At the home of Mr. and Mrs. L. H. Jewett, there were gathered at a sumptuous feast, Mr. and Mrs. H. H. Wirt, Mr. and Mrs. O. P. Perley, Rev. Bailey, and Roy Wirt!

Mr. and Mrs. C. W. Shepherd entertained a party at dinner, consisting of Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Harris and family, Captain Burnham, and E. H. King.

Mr. and Mrs. E. P. Campbell departed from the time-honored custom of a Christmas din- ner and gave a Christmas breakfast to a party of friends, with a Christmas tree well laden with presents for the little ones. It was a unique affair. Those present were Mr. and Mrs. Alpha Morgan, Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Haney. Mrs. Scruggs and daughter Belle, and Mr. and Mrs. Mosby and family. Alpha Mor- gan acted as Santa Claus.

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History of Custer County, Nebraska; a narrative of the past, with special emphasis upon the pioneer period of the county's history, its social, commercial, educational, religous, and civic developement from the early days to the present time, Part 19

Author: Gaston, William Levi, 1865- [from old catalog]; Humphrey, Augustin R., 1859- [from old catalog] Publication date: 1919 Publisher: Lincoln, Neb., Western publishing and engraving company Number of Pages: 1180

Author: Gaston, William Levi, 1865- [from old catalog]; Humphrey, Augustin R., 1859- [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1919
Publisher: Lincoln, Neb., Western publishing and engraving company
Number of Pages: 1180