USA > Nebraska > Hall County > History of Hall County, Nebraska > Part 2
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CHAPTER XXIII - THE MEDICAL AND DENTAL PROFESSIONS IN HALL COUNTY The Doctor - Doctors Here in the 'Seventies - Early Physicians Registered - During the 'Nineties - Since Then - Osteopathic Doctors - Hospitals - St. Francis Hospital - Grand Island General Hospital - Dentists of Hall County - Dr. Howard C. Miller - D. A. Finch - Between 1885 and 1896 - 1896 to Date
405
CHAPTER XXIV - THE BENCH AND BAR OF HALL COUNTY
413
The First District Court in Hall County - Second Term of District Court - Third Term 1871 - Term of April, 1872- Court in 1873 - Court Work, 1874 - Court in 1875 - In the Fourth Judicial District - Court in 1877 - Court After 1877 - From 1893 on - In the Matter of the Change from the Old Court House to the New - Re- tirement of Judge John R. Thompson - Court Officials of Last Fifteen Years - The Lawyers of Hall County -- At the Beginning of Hall County Court Work, 1868- Those Who Came During the 'Seventies - Arrivals During the 'Eighties - During the 'Nineties - Arrivals Since 1890
CHAPTER XXV - CHRONOLOGICAL SURVEY OF HALL COUNTY'S PROGRESS 429
CHAPTER XXVI - HALL COUNTY'S PARTICIPATION IN MILITARY AFFAIRS PRIOR TO APRIL, 1917 Hall County's Quota in the Civil War - Indian Troubles - Fort Kearny - Lyon Post No. 11, G. A. R. - G. A. R. Building Association - Encampments at Grand Island - Spanish-American War - Co. M of 2nd Nebraska Infantry - Chas. E. Norris Post No. 6- Spanish-War Veterans -Co. M., Fifth Nebraska National Guard, to Mexican Border, 1916 - History of Fifth Nebraska Infantry (134th U. S. Infantry) Mustered Into Federal Service in World War Digitized by Google
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER XXVII - HALL COUNTY'S PARTICIPATION IN THE WORLD WAR 1917- 1918 Nebraska in the War - Nebraska's War Drive Records - Nebraska's Record on War Savings Stamps - Hall County's Serive "Back Here"- First Meeting, April 5, 1917 - Red Cross Organized, April, 1917 - Enlistments for Service - To First Train- ing Camp - Ft. Snelling - Drives Fast and Furious - Registration Day, June 5, 1917 - The Early Summer of 1917 - The First Drawing - Late Summer and Early Fall, 1917 - Late Fall and Early Winter Activities - The Questionaires - The Legal Advisory Board - During the Early Part of 1918- During the Spring of 1918- 1918 Registrations - The Last Lap - September 12, 1918, Registration - The Third Drawing - The Happiest Day Hall County Ever Knew - The Hall County, Nebraska Chapter, American Red Cross - Organization - Women's Committee - Membership and Financial Campaigns - Executive Committee's Work - New Board and Officers, 1918 - Women's Bureau - Financial Report and Status of Chapter - The Hall Coun- ty Council of Defense - Hall County Service Board, Government Appeal Agent - Ladies Auxiliary Council to Council of Defense - War Activities Committee - Other Liberty Loan Campaigns- The Home Guards - The Food Administration - Federal Fuel Administration - Four Minute Men - War Savings Stamps Campaign Committee United War Work Campaign - Other War Organizations - List of 1237 Men Who Entered Service from Hall County
441
ROSTER AND RECORD OF HALL COUNTY PATRIOTS ' . 485
CHAPTER XXVIII - PERSONAL MENTION OF SOME OF THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN PROMINENT IN THE UPBUILDING OF HALL COUNTY . 562
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ILLUSTRATIONS
R. J. BARR .
. Frontispiece
WILLIAM CLARK AND MERIWEATHER LEWIS
4
J. STERLING MORTON
JOHN C. FREMONT .
6
STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS
7
Gov. FRANCIS BURT
8
SURVIVORS OF HALL COUNTY'S ORIGINAL COLONY - IN 1907 16
LOG HOUSE BUILT IN LATE FIFTIES AND PART OF FIRST SETTLEMENT
21
SOLDIER'S MONUMENT, GRAND ISLAND, SHOWING CANNON USED IN 1864 27
INDIAN HOUSES .
PIT-ALI-SHARU-U (PAWNEE CHIEF) .
RED CLOUD (SIOUX CHIEF)
INDIAN RELICS
MAP OF HALL COUNTY SHOWING RIVERS AND TRAILS
CONCORD STAGE-COACH
FREIGHTING SCENES .
FARLY SCENE IN WESTERN NEBRASKA
WOOD RIVER VALLEY .
A. SCHERNĘKAU
AN INDIAN VILLAGE
PANORAMIC VIEW OF GRAND ISLAND, 1879 .
96 98
PANORAMIC VIEW OF GRAND ISLAND IN 1919
107 108
CITY HALL, GRAND ISLAND
110
PIONEER PARK, GRAND ISLAND
110
SECOND STREET, GRAND ISLAND . 112
113
MUNICIPAL WATER AND LIGHT PLANT, GRAND ISLAND
116
VIEW OF GRAND ISLAND ABOUT 1890 SHOWING STREET RAILWAY SYSTEM 118
JAMES JACKSON 123
INTERIOR OF JAMES JACKSON'S STORE
124
INTERIOR OF CITIZENS STATE BANK, WOOD RIVER
128
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36 37 40 44 60
61 62 67 72 77 89
CENTENNIAL ENVELOPE USED IN 1876 FOR PONY EXPRESS BUSINESS GRAND ISLAND IN 1874
103
GRAND ISLAND IN 1875
CENTRAL POWER COMPANY PLANT, GRAND ISLAND
114 PUBLIC LIBRARY . ·
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xviii
ILLUSTRATIONS
SCENES IN WOOD RIVER
131
BANK OF DONIPHAN, 1888
136
STREET SCENE IN CAIRO
141
FIRST SETTLERS OF HALL COUNTY PRESENT AT THE QUARTER CENTENNIAL, 1882 159
OLD HALL COUNTY COURT HOUSE
NEW HALL COUNTY COURT HOUSE
O. A. ABBOTT
186
GEORGE H. THUMMELL
SILAS R. BARTON
SOLDIERS AND SAILORS HOME, GRAND ISLAND
OLD POSTOFFICE, GRAND ISLAND
U. S. POSTOFFICE, GRAND ISLAND
EARLY FACTORIES AND RAILROAD FACILITIES IN GRAND ISLAND
238
GRAND ISLAND CANNING FACTORY
VIEWS OF SUGAR BEET INDUSTRIES
FAIRMONT CREAMERY COMPANY PLANT, GRAND ISLAND
NEBRASKA TELEPHONE COMPANY BUILDING
242 247
GLOVER BUILDING, GRAND ISLAND 248
PROPOSED ADDITION TO LOUP VALLEY PACKING COMPANY PLANT, GRAND ISLAND
250 250 252
GRAND ISLAND HORSE MARKET .
GRAND ISLAND HORSE AND MULE CO. PLANT
253
NEBRASKA MERCANTILE COMPANY BUILDING, GRAND ISLAND
254
FORD BUILDING, GRAND ISLAND
259
WHEEL CLUB, GRAND ISLAND
261 268 269
FRED HEDDE'S GRAND ISLAND STORE
270
INDEPENDENT BUILDING, GRAND ISLAND
279 282 283
THIRD STREET, GRAND ISLAND, 1919
WOLBACH STORE, GRAND ISLAND, 1874
284
LOCUST STREET, GRAND ISLAND, 1919
285
THIRD STREET, GRAND ISLAND, ABOUT 1893
286
C. F. BENTLEY
UNION PACIFIC SHOPS
UNION PACIFIC DEPOT, GRAND ISLAND
324
C. B. & Q. DEPOT, GRAND ISLAND
325 330
CATHOLIC CHURCH AND PARSONAGE, WOOD RIVER
331
GRAND ISLAND CHURCHES
336
GRAND ISLAND CHURCHES
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187 190 191 192 192
239 240
THE DONALD COMPANY BUILDING .
BOYDEN DRUG STORE, GRAND ISLAND, IN THE '80's
GRAND ISLAND'S NEW HOTEL
THIRD STREET, GRAND ISLAND, MIDDLE '90's
300 322
SOME GRAND ISLAND CHURCHES
169 176
ILLUSTRATIONS
xix
Ev. LUTHERAN ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, GRAND ISLAND WOOD RIVER CHURCHES .
341
DODGE SCHOOL (OLD HIGH SCHOOL ) GRAND ISLAND
GRAND ISLAND HIGH SCHOOL
GRAND ISLAND SCHOOLS
354
WOOD RIVER SCHOOL .
360
GRAND ISLAND BUSINESS AND NORMAL COLLEGE GRAND ISLAND COLLEGE BUILDINGS
PROPOSED MASONIC HOME
A. O. U. W. BUILDING
371 371 371
OLD MASONIC TEMPLE
ELKS BUILDING, GRAND ISLAND
378 384
LIEDERKRANZ, GRAND ISLAND
384
Y. M. C. A. BUILDING, GRAND ISLAND
388
INDEPENDENT BUILDING, GRAND ISLAND
396
FACSIMILE PAGE, DAILY TIMES, GRAND ISLAND, FOR OCTOBER 9, 1874
399
FACSIMILE PAGE, DAILY TIMES, GRAND ISLAND, SHOWING BUSINESS FIRMS ST. FRANCIS HOSPITAL, GRAND ISLAND GRAND ISLAND GENERAL HOSPITAL
401
409
410
VIEW OF DONIPHAN
449
TANK AT GRAND ISLAND ·
451
NEW HIGH SCHOOL, GRAND ISLAND
483
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352 352
363 365 371
I. O. O. F. BUILDING
PLATTESDEUTSCHE HEIM, GRAND ISLAND
FACSIMILE PAGE, GRAND ISLAND DAILY EVENING TIMES, NO. 2
397
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LIST OF PORTRAITS
ABBOTT, O. A.
566
BARNES, MR. AND MRS. ELI A. .
614
BARR, R. J. .
Frontispiece
BENTLEY, CHARLES F.
689b
BOYDEN, DR. HENRY B.
599
BUECHLER, A. F.
818
BURGER, MR. AND MRS. W. J.
845
CARR, GEORGE W., AND FAMILY .
626
CARTER, MR. AND MRS. J. J.
925
DODD, DR. EDWARD
729
EDWARDS, MR. AND MRS. A. E.
779
EGGERS, MR. AND MRS. JASPER ELLSWORTH, JOHN
689a
ETTING, ALBERT .
669
FARNSWORTH, DR. A. H.
675
GEER, L. T. .
623
GIDEON, JACOB M., AND FAMILY . GLADE, HENRY
583
GOEHRING, RICHARD, SR.
701
GRAHAM, ALEXANDER, HOME
868
GREEN, MR. AND MRS. JOSEPH. HAGGE, WILLIAM A.
752
HAINLINE, T. M.
691a
HAINLINE, MRS. T. M.
691b
HANN, MR. AND MRS. JOHN C. C. HANNA, JAMES R.
774
HARRISON, W. H.
613
HARRY, HENRY
650
HARRY, MRS. HENRY
651
HEDDE, FRED .
563
HULETT, MR. AND MRS. J. H.
899
JONES, GLENN
619
KELLEY, DR. PETER C.
706
KNUTH, HENRY, AND FAMILY
765
KRUSE, K. HENRY
883
LESCHINSKY, JULIUS, AND FAMILY
635
MCCUTCHEON, RUBEN P. .
664
McDOWELL, W. H.
865
MARTIN, H. N., AND CHILDREN
861
MARTIN, W. E. .
879
METTENBRINK, CHARLES H., AND CHILDREN
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895
·
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605
·
892
840
LIST OF PORTRAITS
MICHELSON, JAMES
693
MIETH, AUGUST, ST. .
854
MULLEN, MR. AND MRS. W. C ..
857
NEUMANN, GUS E.
· 570
ORVIS, H. C.
905
PAINE, BAYARD H.
813
PAINE, IRA T.
823
PETERS, HENRY, AND FAMILY
808
RATHBUN, MR. AND MRS., AND FAMILY
886
RICKARD, MR. AND MRS. CHARLES L.
827
ROBY, GUSTAVE, AND FAMILY
836
SASS, DETLEF
786
SASS, MRS. DETLEF
787
SCHIMMER, MR. AND MRS. HENRY
797
SCHIMMER, MARTIN
770
SCHUMACHER, HENRY
711
SIEK, MR. AND MRS. HANS
881
SMITH, MR. AND MRS. J. W.
871
STARKEY, DR. HARVEY L. .
933
STOEGER, MR. AND MRS. JOHN
875
STOLLEY, MR. AND MRS. FRED
715
STOLLEY, WILLIAM
724
STOUGH, DALE P.
913
STRATMAN, H. H.
681
STRATMAN, H. L.
681
TAYLOR, ROBERT
· 686
TAYLOR, ROBERT BRUCE
688
THOMPSON, MR. AND MRS. DELL
719
THOMPSON, JUDGE JOHN R.
639
THOMPSON, W. H.
629
TILLEY, MR. AND MRS. A. D.
783
TIVIOTDALE, ROBERT
725a
TULLY, C. H.
579
VEIT, LOUIS
591
Voss, FRED, AND FAMILY
644
WATSON, DR. E. ARTHUR
595
WILES, F. M., AND FAMILY
848
WILLIAM, EDWARD, AND FAMILY
696
WINDOLPH, MR. AND MRS. ADAM
725b
WINDOLPH, MR. AND MRS. J. P.
747
WINGERT, JEREMIAH A.
· 737
YUND, J. H.
· 733
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RICKARD, MR. AND MRS. GEORGE
827
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HISTORY OF HALL COUNTY NEBRASKA
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HISTORY OF HALL COUNTY NEBRASKA
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CHAPTER I
HALL COUNTY, NEBRASKA, PRIOR TO 1858
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PURPORT OF COUNTY HISTORY - DISCOVERIES AFFECTING HALL COUNTY - TERRITORIAL RULE - LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION - THE ASTORIAN EXPEDITION - LONG'S EXPEDITION IN 1819 - FREMONT'S DESCRIPTION OF GRAND ISLAND - INI- TIAL STEPS IN FORMATION OF NEBRASKA - TERRITORIAL GOVERN- MENT PRIOR TO 1858
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The work of the student of history has heretofore been confined almost wholly to the political, religious, and literary develop- ment of peoples. Their industrial, commerc- ial, local, and individual work-a-day and so- cial development has been subjected to inex- cusable neglect. In school, at home in the recesses of our private libraries, in the club, and in the public library we spend our hours in devouring the history of the World; the narratives of the nations, and once in a-while we drop down to the story of the state in which we live. Those of you who have read through the first volume of this set will have become familiar with the story of the state of Nebraska. But even when that has been mastered there remains the fact that the his- tory of Nebraska is fundamentally built upon the individual activities and cooperation of the ninety-three counties, each one of which is a separate and somewhat sovereign community in itself, as well as an inseparable integral part of the state.
Not a day passes but that men and women of little note, do great deeds, speak great words, and suffer noble sorrows; of these obscure heroes, philosophers, and martyrs the greater part will never be known till that hour
when the many that were great shall be small and the small great.
The foundation of the spirit that we call the Nebraska spirit lies in the struggles and individual freedom that have been evidenced by the pioneers and builders of each of these . ninety-three counties. The history of a na- tion, when given a broad general examination, seems to be a narrative of wars, political struggles at the polls and in the legislative halls, with an occasional venture into the original development of an important venture, or opening of a new source of commercial growth. The biographies of presidents and rulers ; of commanders of the armies; of the statesmen who struggle in the forensic battles of the legislative halls ; of explorers who open up new realms, seem to be the structure around which the history of the nation is written.
Then to come down to the county, the com- munity in which one resides, is not the same rule true? Is not each home, each school, each church, each lodge, and each administra- tion of local county and city government a similar step in the development of that com- munity ?
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HISTORY OF HALL COUNTY NEBRASKA
The history of Hall County naturally begins with the history of Nebraska, of which it is an inseparable part. Wherever each individ- ual student of history would agree that the history of the United States begins, there likewise the history of Nebraska, and, indi- rectly, that of Hall County, begins. It is un- necessary to consume the pages of this volume to be devoted to the particular history of Hall County, with a detailed though interesting narrative of the general early history of Ne- braska except inasmuch as the more impor- tant facts have a direct bearing upon the par- ticular stretch of territory that eventually be- came Hall County.
DISCOVERERS
When Christopher Columbus dared to ad- venture where others feared to go, and by a single act revealed to the astonished gaze of Europe the existence of new lands of won- derful beauty and promise where none were believed to exist, and, at a blow, dispelled forever the ignorance and fear which hitherto had enslaved the mind and paralyzed the en- deavor of the most favored and most intelli- gent portion of the globe, he opened up to the descendants of many European peoples the fertile soil of the Platte and indirectly discovered Hall County, just as much as any other portion of the United States. The dis- coveries that followed during the next century also indirectly applied to Nebraska and to Hall County. The people of all western Europe during the fifteenth century were emerging from the "Dark Ages" and freeing themselves gradually from the forms of gov- ernment which had characterized the feudal system, and for the first time since modern Europe had arisen from the fragments of the Roman Empire its governments were coming into the hands of able rulers, the common people of each country were beginning to think for themselves along currents that evolved the influences and motives that three hundred years later drove their descendants across the broad Atlantic and impelled them half-way across the undeveloped Western continent and invited them to settle down
along the broad banks of the Platte and build the community, the growth and development of which we are about to narrate in the follow- ing pages.
The history of Nebraska is generally and properly said to begin with the voyage of the heroic LaSalle in 1682. Preceding that, the story of the explorations of Louisiana Ter- ritory by Spaniards in 1539-44 reads more like a medieval romance than an authentic his- torical record, and the discovery of the Mis- sissippi River by the valiant cavaliers of that period opened up the way for subsequent events. DeSoto's little band, the flower of Spanish chivalry, had bravely wandered for about four years through the almost impen- etrable forests and recesses of the new Con- tinent until they wound up in the lower Mis- sissippi Valley. In the spring of 1541 the glorious sight of the broad Mississippi - the mighty Father of Waters - burst upon their wondering vision. DeSoto crossed the mighty river in hastily constructed boats, and pursued his wanderings on the western side. It is probable, but not certain, that his eyes may have rested on the broad prairies of the now fertile state of Nebraska. But it is cer- tain that Nebraska must have been visited by Spanish explorers long before the advent of the earliest French and English explorers to whom we can trace events with an unbroken record, for portions of the armor and equip- ment of the Spanish adventurers have been discovered in this state in years past. Just to whom these relics belonged is a secret that may forever be locked up in the breast of un- written history.
For nearly a century and a half after the ill-fated DeSoto slept beneath the waters of the great river which he discovered, the Mis- sissippi Valley, and naturally likewise the Missouri and Platte valleys, remained undis- turbed in the possession of Indians. Spain made no direct effort to civilize the region she already could claim by right of discovery. France and England in the meantime became rivals for the affections and possession of these new fields of conquest. England was establishing herself along the coasts of the
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HISTORY OF HALL COUNTY NEBRASKA
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Atlantic, and France was obtaining a foot- hold at Quebec and pushing her hold up the St. Lawrence River. The first men to enter upon a systematic exploration of the vast region of which Nebraska is a part were the Jesuits, or' members of the Society of Jesus, a famous religious society founded by Ignatius Loyola, a Spanish knight of the sixteenth century. The work of the Jesuit missionaries led to the discovery of the Ohio River and the partial exploration of two routes to the Mis- sissippi, before the eyes of the territory-hunt- ing Europeans rested upon the northern por- tion of that great river and its tributary ter- ritories." A young fur trader, Louis Joliet, and a Jesuit missionary, Jacques Marquette, set out on a perilous undertaking on May 17, 1673. After a month of steady pushing for- ward, paddling in canoes along the swift cur- rents of unknown streams, and threading their way through dense forests, on June 17 they reached the mouth of the Wisconsin. Then they pushed their canoes out into the broad, rolling Mississippi, and drifted rapidly down its current. They passed the mouth of the Missouri, on down to the mouth of the Ohio, and still further down until they came to the mouth of the Arkansas. They brought the emblazoned trail of travel a little closer to the unlocked bosoms of the Nebraska prairies. But as said before, it remained for another intrepid Frenchman to complete the work left unfinished by Marquette and Joliet, and to take formal possession of Louisiana in the name of the King of France. An historical sequence of events leads the mind steadily forward from the discoveries and accomplish- ments of Sieur de LaSalle till by well defined processes of differentiation and elimination a point is reached where the commonwealth of Nebraska stands forth clearly defined in the mighty sisterhood of states which comprise this North American republic.
In 1682, LaSalle set up his wooden column on which had been inscribed the following: "Louis the Great, King of France and of Navarre, King. April 9th, 1682."
Then he spoke the words that brought the great basin of the Mississippi under the
scepter of Louis XIV, and standing on the delta of that great river, he called into ex- istence the territory of Louisiana, out of which came Nebraska, and the first semblance of organized, political government was ex- tended over the vast and unknown regions of dense forests to the north and west, to the apparently limitless prairie watered by thou- sands of streams and peopled then only by savage Indian tribes, the abode of buffalo and other wild denizens of the forest and plain.
The following list of viceroys who ruled over the vast territory of the New France in central North America may be indirectly said to be the first governmental administrators of this part of the continent from which Ne- braska and her county daughter, Hall, even- tually sprang.
Robert, Cavalier de La Salle. 1682-1688
Marquis de Sanville. 1689-1700
Bienville 1701-1712
Lamothe Cadillar. 1713-1715
De L'Epinay
1716-1717
Bienville 1718-1723
Boisbriant
1724
Bienville 1732-1741
Baron de Kelerec. 1753-1762
D'Abbadie
1763-1766
In 1762, France was compelled by force of military necessity to relinquish to Spain her title to Louisiana. During that time the terri- tory destined to form Nebraska, and its sub- division, Hall County, was under Spanish sovereignty. That government combined the semi-military government until 1803, when the territory passed under the flag of the United States. The list of Spanish governors of that period were:
Antonio de Ulloa 1767-1768
Alexander O'Reilly 1768-1769
Louis de Unzago 1770-1776
Bernardo de Galvez. 1777-1784
Estevar Miro 1785-1787
Francisco Luis Hortu, Baron of Carondelet 1789-1792
Gayoso de Lemos. 1793-1798
Sebastian de Casa, Calvo y O'Farrel 1798-1799
Jean. Manual de Salcedo.
1800-1803
Although France regained possession of Louisiana on October 1, 1800, Jean Manuel de
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HISTORY OF HALL COUNTY NEBRASKA
Salcedo remained as governor until the United States took formal possession.
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The account of the negotiations which led of the peaceful acquisition of Louisiana forms one of the interesting chapters of our national history, and both familiar and available enough to render it unnecessary to detail it in full at this point. During the years in which Spain had controlled the central portion of our continent, her policy in restricting the free navigation of the Mississippi River had stirred up much contention between the
isiana Purchase than the real development of that region began. It was indeed a tremendous accession to the territory of the young re- public. The very figures that attempt to con- vey to the mind some idea of its superficial area are themselves impressive. It more than doubled the previous land area of the United States. In round numbers it exceeded 883,- 000 square miles. Out of it, in addition to the present state of Louisiana, there have been carved Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kan- sas, Nebraska, Iowa, North and South Da-
AK blank'
Meriwether Semis 1
United States and the Spanish government. France had been delayed long enough in tak- ing actual possession of Louisiana that cir- cumstances forced its cession to the United States before there could be any change in policy. The Mississippi River formed, at that time, the only outlet for the products of the settlers west of the Alleghany Mountains. The change from Spanish to French control did not augur any real relief, for Napoleon fully appreciated the immense value of Louisiana and at once began the work of fortifying the entrance to the Mississippi.
LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITLON
No sooner had the United States govern- ment acquired the vast territory of the Lou-
kota, two-thirds of Minnesota, one-third of Colorado, and three-fourths of Wyoming. At the time of its accession to the United States its known population did not exceed five thou- sand souls, nearly one-half of whom were slaves. In 1810 the first federal census showed a population of twenty thousand, of whom one-half were still negro slaves. If taken today, a census of the same territory would hover around twenty million, all free men.
But the sagacious and energetic Jefferson had matured a plan for exploring the Mis- souri River country, almost before Congress had ratified the treaty under which possession was acquired. That least known portion of the territory, then, in fact, almost an unknown land except possibly to the Indians, fur
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HISTORY OF HALL COUNTY NEBRASKA
traders, hunters, and some French priests, who appear to have visited nearly every por- tion of the territory, lay awaiting some di- rected attention.
In May, 1804, the far-famed Lewis and Clark expedition was started up the Mis- souri River charged with the duty of explor- ing that great river from its mouth to its source and then on to the Pacific Ocean. This party, consisting of nine young men from Kentucky, fourteen soldiers of the United States army who volunteered their services, two French watermen, an interpreter and hunter, and a black servant belonging to Cap- tain Clark, with several other members, as watermen and assistants, set forth. Follow- ing up the Missouri River, they came in sight of the present Nebraska on the afternoon of July 11, 1804, and camped opposite the mouth of the Big Nemaha.
This expedition is of particular import- ance as it gives the first historical glimpse of the eastern border of Nebraska. From the point where it first touched the present state at the southeast corner to the point at the northeast corner where the Missouri River reaches its borders the distance is 277 miles as the bird flies. According to the govern- ment survey, the distance between these two points is 441 miles; following the meander- ings of the river. The Lewis-Clark expedi- tion recorded 556 miles of river front for the state in 1804. The journals of Lieut. Wil- liam Clark and Capt. Meriwether Lewis did not chronicle any thing definite as to Hall County or the Platte Valley, but their journey past Nebraska brought one step nearer the arrival of attention to this Platte Valley. In 1806, General James Wilkinson, then com- mander in chief of the United States army and also governor of the territory of Louisi- ana, sent forth the expedition of Lieut. Zebu- lon M. Pike, which resulted in the discovery of Pike's Peak. This party travelled a route that lay somewhat south of the Platte, and in fact it has been somewhat the subject of controversy as to whether their trail crossed north into Nebraska or stayed in northern Kansas.
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