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 20

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 20

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).

Mr. and Mrs. H. M. Sullivan shared an elegant dinner at their home with Mr. and Mrs. C. L. Gutterson and family, Mr. and Mrs. F. M. Currie and family, and Mrs. Kimel Barns.

Mr. and Mrs. George Purcell entertained Mr. and Mrs. W. G. Purcell and family, and Mr. W. T. Scherr at the Christmas dinner.

At the home of Mr. and Mrs. Alpha Mor-

gan a Christmas feast was served to Rev. and Mrs. E. Robbins, and Mr. Con Gibson, of Ansley.

Mr. and Mrs. E. C. House entertained J. H. Thompson and J. E. Mallett, of Ravenna, at their home on Christmas day.

At the home of Mr. and Mrs. J. G. Maulick there were assembled at a Christmas feast, Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Eastham, Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Maulick, Miss Henderson, and Mrs. Bailar, of Strang, Nebraska.

THE GLOVERS WEATHER NINETY-FOUR

H. B. Glover writes his experience in get- ting through the hard winter :

"In the late '80s homesteaders were prov- ing up on their claims and mortgaging them. A Custer county mortgage had a certain mar- ket value in the east. One could borrow from five hundred to eight hundred dollars on a quarter-section, at ten per cent interest, - making out the note and mortgage at seven per cent interest for five years, then figuring the other three per cent for five years, which on an $800 loan would amount to $120, making a sep- arate note of this secured by a second mortgage due in two and one-half years. This went to the agent as commission, and it was so attractive that agents traveled the country soliciting the homesteaders to prove up and take a loan. The agent in some cases advanced the money for the expense of making proof and in case that the homesteader had not resided on his claim the requisite five years they would ad- vance two hundred dollars for the purpose of "paying out" or commuting the homestead. The loan business became so lucrative that ir- responsible parties went into the business ; making out the papers on a piece of land, promising the money within sixty days, then placing the papers on the eastern market to sell before he could fulfill his part of the con- tract.

"Thus the country practically all became mortgaged and in the case of the rough land mortgaged for more than it was then worth.

DIDN'T CARRY OFF THE MORTGAGE

"Many a homesteader on a rough claim, considering his place well sold, as soon as the money was paid over loaded his family and

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goods into his wagon and went back to his wife's folks and when the "soddy" went down there was nothing left on the place but the mortgage. Others stayed and while the crops were good could make a living. but prices were so cheap that they couldn't raise the in- terest and taxes. Then came the crop failure of 1890, when we didn't raise enough to live on. More of them left their places to the mortgage. In 1890 and 1892 we raised good crops, but prices were low, yet we had just about recovered from the failure of 1890. The year 1893 came with a half of a crop and a general business stagnation, -labor out of employment and Coxey's army invading Wash- ington. Everybody was hard up. made their old clothes do another year, hoping for better times next year. Next year was dry. The ground was dry clear down. We had a rain and snow storm the last days of March that wet down about six inches. The grain came tip, no more rain came and it died before it got big enough for a cow to feed on. We then put in some more seed, hoping to get rain to make it grow. A light shower came and brought it up so that we could see the drill rows across the field, and that is as far as it got. as the moisture was all gone. We planted and cultivated our corn. There was enough moisture, retained by the cultivation to bring the corn up high enough to brush the axle of the cultivator and some tassels began to show, but there it stopped. We went in with a sled corn-cutter to save the fodder, cut about seventy acres of the best of it and got about fifteen loads of the fodder. We had broken up eight acres of sod in 1893. This was included in a field of spring wheat, and from this eight acres of backsiting we harvest- ed and threshed sixty bushels of wheat. This, with our fifteen loads of fodder. was the entire crop from 360 acres under cultivation.

"Stock lived in the pasture but didn't grow. How to get through the winter was the prob- lem. We sowed sixty bushels of rye in the corn field to make fall and winter feed. We never saw it again. We sold ten head of cows for eighty-five dollars, sent a bunch of heifers and horses up to Cherry county to winter, and

kept at home just what stock we thought we needed to keep. Thus everybody got their fodder or whatever feed they had stacked up and we turned everything out before the first of September. And they fattened on the buf- falo grass. We dressed a beef about Thanks- giving time and another between Christmas and New Year's. They were both in good shape and made good beef.

"We went into the winter with feed enough on hand to feed about thirty days. We were favored with a mild, open winter and had to feed but two days, so had our fodder left to feed our teams while putting in our next cro".

"Such was our personal experience in our struggle with the drouth of the early '90s. Our farm, like the rest, was mortgaged, but being one of the better class of farms we thought it worth staying with. In fact. we. didn't know where we could go to better our- selves. Our mortgage became due in 1893. We were able to pay the interest. The year 1894 came and went. In March of 1895 we received a letter from the agent of the loan company, not demanding a settlement but ask- ing if we were in need of any assistance in the way of feed and seed to put in our crop.

FOURTH OF JULY HAIL STORM

"In the spring and summer of 1879 the crops gave promise of an abundant harvest and the settlers looked forward to a good return for their labor. They were celebrating the Fourth of July at New Helena, in the most approved style. eating. drinking, and making merry, when a cloud no bigger than a man's hand was observed in the northwest, which grew with alarming rapidity until it overspread the whole heavens, and out of it came one of the most destructive hail-storms this county ever expe- rienced. The crops were literally beaten into the earth. Not a bushel of grain was harvest- ed in Victoria valley that year. A few tur- nips sown after the hail storm were the only crop produced in that section. The log school- house where the settlers were gathered to celebrate the Fourth, had three windows on the north side. The glass was broken into fragments by the hail. after which George Carr

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

attempted the impossible feat of keeping out the storm by covering the three windows at one time with a blackboard long enough only to cover two. Men, women, and children crowd- ed into the building, terror-stricken, some cry- ing, some praying, and, I am sorry to record it, a few swearing. The hail streak was about four miles wide and passed down Clear creek, completely cleaning out the crops in its course. The settlers had to haul their feed and seed for the next year from Grand Island and Cen- tral City, 120 and 130 miles distant. In 1880 we had good crops, but the hardships and pri- vations of these pioneer days have been lived through, and while some have fallen by the wayside and still others gone to 'the land be- yond the river,' many of us remain to enjoy the fruits of our early trials, proud of our noble county and its splendid citizenship, and confident of its continued growth and develop- ment.

DRY NINETY-FOUR

"To the residents of Custer county the drouth of 1894 was a new experience. . They had seen slight drouths before, even in Custer county, but never before had they seen a spring and summer with entire absence of rain. Even in the spring the ground was so dry as to make plowing difficult, and as the season advanced it was impossible. But the crop was put in and made a good struggle for life. Up to the 4th of July there was still a. chance for a crop. The corn was of fair size, and still green. On the 4th of July there was a slight shower, early in the day, but followed by blistering sunshine. By night the corn was flat on the ground, beyond help from any amount of rain. But the rain did not come, even after it was too late, and long before frost every green thing was dead, and the leaves had fallen from the trees.

"This meant more than financial loss; it meant a year of privation and suffering to most of the people of the county. It meant that if they were to stay in the country they must support themselves and their children without help from the soil, and with little or no resources of any kind. There was little

stock in the country, and it was worth little. Good cows sold for ten dollars, and good thrifty calves for two dollars and fifty cents, or even less. Many people sold every thing they had and left the country. It was all they could do, for the time, but in a year or two most of them came back and turned their ex- perience into profit. Some farmers were able to stick it out by hunting wild game all winter, and using brush and cow-chips for fuel.

HE WON OUT

"The determination of some of the people was almost beyond belief. I have in mind a little, bent, old man who had managed to gather up a little bunch of cattle. He had no land. Instead of selling his cattle he got some warm clothing and just lived in the hills with his cattle, moving them from place to place, wherever he could find old dry grass. It was his opportunity. In a few years he had a good half-section of land and many cat- tle, the increase of the little herd that he had nursed through that winter.

HAD TO BE HELPED

"It soon became clear that without help some of the people would perish, and before cold weather the county was organized to meet the situation. In each precinct, with the super- visor at the head, relief committees were or- ganized to care for the needy. The east was almost careless in its liberality. Help came from abroad, and those who could, helped their neighbors. Farmers who had it, sold seed wheat to their neighbors, and waited a year for their pay. Not a single instance is reported of any one trying to turn the people's needs to profit. Persons asking or accepting aid who did not need it were very few, while the needy who refused all aid, and even helped others, were many. Real need never asked in vain. In the winter following this drouth, Dr. A. J. McArthur went to Missouri and collect- ed enough money to buy a car load of seed corn, which he shipped to Custer county. Of the scores of business men asked to contribute to this car, only one refused, and strange as it may sound, he was the only one who asked to

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see the doctor's credentials. Not only did they give, but always with a word of encouragement and sympathy. The railroad shipped this car free of charge, which was their general cus- tom.

POOR BUT HAPPY

"One very noticeable thing about the people during this dronth was their cheerfulness. Not only did they refuse to be starved ; they re- fused to be discouraged. There was more so- cial intercourse among the people during this year than ever before, and I am ready to be- lieve that the habit has survived to the present time. Hunger only sharpened the sense of humor. When a straw hat or corset was found in a box of winter supplies the fun was for everybody. Sometimes the 'needy' played tricks on the relief committee. For a time, in Westerville, the relief committee had their 'of- fice' in the front of the bank. One day a very ragged man came slowly across the street to- ward the bank door, and the committee began estimating what all he would want. When he came in, he went to the cashier's window and asked for some change, pushing a fifty dollar bill through the window. A few people the drouth entirely crushed. For a few hundred (lollars, farmers sold good farms that are now worth as many thousands. A few lost all com- mercial pride, and took advantage of the times to repudiate their debts, but to the country the drouth was a great benefit. It stopped reck- lessness in spending and in the making of debts. Men had homesteaded, and then mortgaged their farms. The money had come without effort, and they were spending it without judg- ment. The drouth stopped their income and their credit. They could neither earn nor hor- row, and never again can a year's misfortune force them to beg. More than any other one year. 1894 has contributed to the great pros- perity of Custer county."

A HOME-GROWN CYCLONE

In the matter of weather and storms Custer county has always been rather independent and has insisted upon doing business for itself. It generally keeps abreast with current weather

and puts on tap any article that seems to be fashionable and popular. Not to be outdone, the county put on a late fall cyclone of its own in October, 1913, which at the time was de- scribed by the Custer County Chief as follows :

"At six o'clock Thursday evening, October 3, 1913, Custer county was visited by a terrific cyclone, which went the full length of the county from southwest and northwest. It was · terrible in its fury and practically every build- ing in its path was wrecked or damaged. It passed Broken Bow on the southeast, just miss- ing the city. The fair-ground buildings were a total wreck, and all the buildings on the Brenizer ranch and John Squires' place, a few miles south of town, were completely blown away ; the M. K. Hagadorn and J. A. Hutch- inson homes, just southeast of the city. were wrecked. The cyclone formed near Lodi and went southeast to Burwell, its path being from one-quarter to one-half mile wide. Much dam- age was done to farm properties, and though no fatalities were reported, the following people were hurt: Flossie, the ten-year-old daughter of Will MeCaslin, who lives east of here, was badly crushed and was taken to the Ryerson hospital in a precarious condition. Mrs. Mc- Caslin was injured about the breast, another small daughter and the baby had their heads badly cut, while Mr. McCaslin sustained sev- eral bruises. In the Sargent district the fol- lowing people were injured: John Speer, col- lar bone broken ; Mrs. Bevington, badly bruised but not serions ; Mrs. Frank Kidder, rib broken and badly bruised ; Melvill York, badly bruised about the body (all of these injured, it is un- derstood, were taken to Sargent and placed in the hospital ) : George Hill, head bruised. The worst part of the storm in that vicinity passed about two miles east of Sargent.

"The above account was written after the forms had been made up and the paper ready for press. A full description will appear next week."

WORST BLIZZARD IN THIRTY YEARS

Beginning with a gently falling rain on Thursday, March 14, 1913, and during Thurs- day night turning into snow, with a high

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

north wind prevailing, Friday saw the most destructive blizzard this section of the state has known in the past decade. A record in a local newspaper gives the following data:

"During the whole of Friday the storm raged to such an extent as to make it unsafe to leave shelter, and heavy losses were sustained by many of the stockmen and farmers of this and adjoining counties. At this point but little snow fell, but what did come was drifted so badly as to make the roads impassable for the next two or three days. Between this city and AAlliance it was reported that from nine to eighteen inches of snow fell during Thursday and Friday, and at no time after the early af- ternoon of Thursday did the prevailing high wind show a cessation until late Friday night. The heaviest loss of live stock from reports coming to this city on Sunday and Monday was suffered by feeders and ranchers in the vicinity of Brewster, Dunning and Thedford, although local farmers and feeders suffered some heavy losses. Peter Erickson, who ranges cattle on the North Loup, was a heavy loser, over two hundred head of heavy stock suc- cumbing to the storm. A. McClain, of Dun- ning ( father of Ira McClain of this city), had 315 head of cattle he was carrying through the winter and out of that number lost 150 head of the heaviest stock. He had taken up and placed under shelter about one-half of his herd, consisting of young animals. The remainder were left on the open range and drifted into the Dismal river, where the heavy loss oc- curred. The loss of Mr. Erickson also oc- curred from the animals drifting into the river. L. H. Jewett of this city, who had ninety-five head of heavy stock on the Dismal, lost forty head in the same manner. Mr. Jewett reports that this snow had drifted over the river and the lighter and younger stuff were able to cross over the snow in drifting ahead of the storm, but that the heavier stock went through the snow and mired in the river.

"R. B. Beauchamp, of Dunning, was another heavy loser of the same vicinity, having 180 head of stock in the storm and losing ninety of them. His cattle, however, were in the open pasture, and drifted ahead of the storm into

the fence corners, and it is supposed a good many of them dying in the stormn, were tramped to death by the remainder of the herd. Most of the Beauchamp herd were young stock that was bought last fall at an average price of thirty dollars per head. Henry Andrews, of Anselmo, also was a heavy loser, the storm taking fifty-five head out of his herd. His cattle were partially sheltered. A. M. Cook of this city lost fifty head out of his herd of 235, near Linscott. Other losses in that neighborhood are: McConnell, twelve head of milk cows: George Zutavern, 200 out of a herd of 575; and a man by the name of Whitney lost sixteen - his entire herd.

"J. D. Gage, a lumber dealer at Dunning, had twelve head of horses perish from exposure to the storm. The loss in horses, however, was light as compared to cattle losses. Miller Heller, a Kinkaid homesteader of near Hal- sey, suffered the loss of sixteen head of milk cows. It is estimated that the loss to the Kin- kaiders was very extensive and as they are in the majority of cases unable to lose any stock, they will feel the loss to a greater extent than the heavier losers who deal extensively in the live-stock business.

"I. N. Bovee, a former resident of this vi- cinity, but now of Halsey, in a letter to Mr. Jewett, states that while his live stock suffered from the storm he lost none and considered himself very fortunate, as the loss in his neigh- borhood was very heavy.

SHEEP PERISH IN TRANSIT

"A train of double-deck cars loaded with sheep was pulled into the Burlington yards at Whitman early Friday. On the train were about 11,000 head and during the day the larger part of the whole load perished. It was estimated on Monday that of the whole 11.000 only about 2,000 had survived the storm.

"Fred Wagner, of Wagner, was reported to have lost twelve head of cows and four horses in the feed lot. His loss on the range was supposed to have been heavy, but just how much has not been reported.

"Near Mullen the storm was very severe. Following is a letter received by the Republi-

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can Tuesday morning from W. B. Adams: 'Just a line to tell you of the terrible condition of the poor old sandhills after the blizzard. About forty per cent. of loss in cattle, and horses about ten. I lost nine head out of 200; J. H. Lowe lost 700 head of cattle, and E. Crain lost eighty out of 153: W. W. Ma- haffy lost his whole herd and John Boyce lost about 100 head; John Morrison, of Mullen, lost about seventy-five head. Joseph Heelan sixty, and Richard S. Fox lost 100 out of 118. That is about the way it runs in the sandhills. No lives lost that I have heard of.'

"The loss in the immediate vicinity of Bro- ken Bow was very light compared with the losses of the northwest part of the county, Blaine and Thomas counties. Tierney Brotli- ers, who are operating a ranch at Wagner, report the loss of probably forty head of cattle. They also lost some hogs in the local feed yards. besides the loss of ninety head of pork- ers on the South Loup. Raid Skinner suffered a loss of seventeen head of cattle at his farm twelve miles north of the city. Judge Sullivan lost six head of cattle and Harve Andrews lost five head. Others losing cattle reported in this office were George Bush, five head, and R. F.

Burnett, two head. Tom Finlen lost five head of horses at his farm south of town. and John Price suffered the loss of a like number of horses at his farm. Other losses have been re- ported but no confirmation of the rumors had been reported at that time.

"Robert E. Shaw and Thomas G. Butler, of Milldale, were in the city Tuesday. They re- ported the loss of stock in their vicinity was very light, but the losses to the northwest of them was quite heavy. The heavier loser was Clarks Philpot, near Gandy, who lost several hundred head -thirty or forty per cent. of his herd. Dan Haskell's loss was small. Henry Andrews, of Anselmo, reported a loss of fifty- seven head of cattle out of 500. George Temp- lar, north of Broken Bow, reported to have but fourteen head of cattle. Charles Sanders, of Ortello valley, reported to have lost sixty head of cattle. Jewett & Andrews, Broken Bow, four head of cattle. Harry Knapp, southwest of town, reported loss of twelve head of cattle. J. J. Boblits. South Loup, reported loss of five head of cattle. Vincent Steadry, west of town, reported loss of two head of cattle. Lon Davis, east of town, reported loss ofone mule."

CHAPTER VIII

A CHAPTER IN BLACK

THE MITCHELL-KETCHUM TRAGEDY - THE SHOOTING - THIE ARREST - ESCAPED THE KERANEY MOB - JUDGE GASLIN'S STORY - DEPUTIZING A POSSE - TURNS STATE'S EVIDENCE - JUDGE BOBLITS TAKES A HAND - THE HAUNSTINE TRAGEDY - HAMER AND OTHERS QUIET CROWD - THE EXECUTION TAKES PLACE - THE ONLY EXECUTION - A FATAL

LAND QUARREL - WAR BREAKS OUT - SPILLED THE BOOZE - MAKING AN HONEST MEXICAN - FATAL HILARITY AT ANSELMO

If there is a skeleton in every closet, there are tragedies in every life and dark pages in every history. The people of Custer county are neither better nor worse than other Ne- braskans or other people of the middle west. Their story is about the same, their experiences very similar. If crimes have been committed, if human life has been taken, and human blood shed, it is only incidental to the settle- ment of a country by hardy pioneers, no mat- ter what sterling traits of character the ma- jority of the people might possess. There are sheep of shaded wool in every flock and in every early contingent that settles upon a vir- gin soil there are desperate characters. This cannot be avoided. It is one of the handi- caps of humanity. Adventuresome spirits al- ways flock to the west and front. Men of tem- per and reckless disposition are apt to consort in the sparsely settled frontier, where disposi- tions have no governor and law is but slight control. A lawless character may make more local history in the unbridled orgy of one night-hour than a dozen men of sterling worth in a lifetime of probity. The peaceful pur- suits of life are devoid of the spectacular and are generally too commonplace to be recorded in a country's annals.

If recorded here are episodes that reflect small credit on law-abiding people it must be remembered that these are the crimes and deeds of the ill-starred few who are neither typical

nor representative of the great mass of Custer county citizens.

The early settlers of Custer county were on the whole as fine a group of men and women as American homes of the east and north could produce. Nowhere among the children of men could you find a better people, stronger in vir- tuous traits or more sensitive to honor and rectitude. They were intelligent, law-abid- ing. conscientious, and God-honoring. The marvelous development of Custer county, the establishment of its splendid homes, schools, and churches are due to this fact. No people could have wrought better, nor under the cir- cuinstances accomplished more.

When the size of the county is considered, the number of people who have moved in to tread awhile the maze of chance and rounds of fortune, Custer's record is exceptionally good. Blood and thunder do not run riot in the pages of its history, notwithstanding the fact that in an early day a witty brakeman on the Burlington Railroad used to shout to the passengers, "We have now crossed the line in- to Custer county. Prepare to meet your God." A faithful record of the past demands that crimes and felonies be chronicled, and the historian must obey.

Butcher's History of Custer County devotes twelve pages to the lynching of "Kid Wade." It seems that Kid Wade, without over much ceremony. appropriated a fine race horse be-

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HISTORY OF CUSTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA

longing to a man named Pulliam, who resid- ed in West Union township, and made his es- cape into the north counties. John Roth, a neighbor of Pulliam, organized a posse and started in pursuit. The chase was long and lasted for months. Concerning it many ex- citing and almost romantic incidents are re- corded, but as all happened outside of Custer county they are not germane to this history, other than to record that the horse was found and returned to Pulliam, that Wade was cap- tured and while lodged in the Bassett jail was taken out by a band of masked men and hanged to a telegraph pole. It was severe

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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 20

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