History of Hall County, Nebraska, Part 5

Author: Buechler, A. F. (August F.), 1869- editor
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: Lincoln, Neb., Western Pub. and Engraving Co.
Number of Pages: 1011

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At the same time the breaking up of the prairie had to be attended to without delay, as the season was already far advanced. Only about 50 acres were broken the first season, all told.

On July 12th the work began in earnest; some chopped logs, others hauled them to the place of building, still others prepared wood for the burning of charcoal to start the black- smith shop. In the meantime a train was dis- patched to Omaha on the 23rd of July to get a new supply of provisions. On Saturday, August 15th, some of the new settlers could already move into their new houses, and on 27th of August all four houses were occupied.

These houses were built on the south half of the northwest .quarter of section 14, town 11, range 9, now part of the farm owned by Chris. Menck, one of the pioneer settlers. In the meantime another town had been located about seven miles west of ours, which was called Mendotte, by David Crocker, Wm. Potts, and Wm. Painter, but this town was abandoned soon after and the townsite was occupied by David Crocker who afterwards sold his claim to Fred Zoaas and then moved to Santa Clara County, California.

On Monday, September 21, 1857, four teams were dispatched again to Omaha after provisions and clothing, which were shipped, the provisions from St. Louis and the clothing from Davenport, Iowa. Fred Hedde returned to Davenport, Iowa, and brought a long list of clothing of which the settlers were urgently in need. The town company was not obliged to furnish the clothing needed, since their contract only called for provisions. I took the matter in hand and went to Mr. Barrows, who was sick at his house. I presented the matter in a forcible way and told Mr. Barrows that I certainly should advise those in need

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HISTORY OF HALL COUNTY NEBRASKA

of clothing to abandon the settlement unless the clothing and bedding needed was fur- nished. Mr. Barrows was a very kind hearted man. After he had listened to my pleading he said: "Stolley, hand me that check book." He gave me a check for $500 and remarked: "There is the money, the boys need the clothing, the Germans are honest people." And our pioneer settlers were en- abled to remain in the settlement.

SECOND COLONY

On July 5, 1858, more new settlers arrived

who participated in the year 1857, because they had a much harder and more tedious journey and they had none of the advantages the first company had in the Town Company furnishing them provisions in the first year.

The first Pawnee Indians visited our settle- ment in November, 1858, but on the 27th day of August, 1859, about 1,500 of them passed through the settlement committing some dep- redations by stealing green corn and taking and digging potatoe, but they were otherwise friendly.1

On Januar o, 1858, the house of Wm. Stier

LOG CABIN OF ONE OF THE FIRST COLONY TO SETTLE IN GRAND ISLAND

from Davenport, Iowa, with a train of ten teams, bringing in addition about 20 persons, 20 yoke of oxen, besides milch cows and a number of young stock; and thus matters began to look brighter in our young settle- ment.

The pioneer settlers in the year 1857 had a soft snap crossing the state of Iowa com- pared with those following them the next year. I had no trouble keeping our train together, and it was a harmonious lot when we reached Grand Island on the 5th day of July, 1858.

I will say this much for those who joined our settlers in our Grand Island settlement in the year of 1858, that everyone of them is entitled to as much credit as any one of those

and Henry Schoel was consumed by fire and hardly anything saved. A meeting of all settlers was called and the sufferers were cared for as best could be done. A year later, Tuesday, January 18, 1859, a great calamity befell our young settlement. Three men from Florence, near Omaha, on their way home from the newly discovered gold fields in Colo- rado, recklessly set fire to the cinder dry prairie, one of them remarking, "I am going to burn the God d-d Dutch settlement," and they came very near destroying every house so far built.

1 Mr. Menck says 1500 Sioux and Mr. Stolley says 1500 Pawnee came through in summer of 1859. Whether they spoke of the same Indians or there were two the editors have not ascertained.

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The principal sufferers were Wm. Christian Menck, Mart Stelk, Frederick Aatje, Hans Wrage, Matthias Gries, Rudolph Matthiesen, and myself. The good people of Omaha, so it is said, made up a purse for the sufferers, but the party who was to deliver this help to us kept it for himself, and has never been heard of since. Verily these were trying times for the pioneer settlers of Hall County.

At the time this took place I was back in Davenport trying to wind up my affairs there so as to move my family out to Nebraska. I lost all and everything I had in the world but the suit of clothes I had on my back.

In 1859 I took my family, consisting of wife, two year old boy, and a newly born daughter, out to Grand Island to stay. The settlers planted their newly broken land to corn and the crops amounted to over two thousand bushels.

MARKET FOR CORN

When I arrived in the settlement to stay for good, I advised that we try to sell and de- liver our corn to the government for the troops stationed at Ft. Kearny.

Colonel May, then in command at Ft. Kearny, proved to be a strictly honest man and also a warm friend to us settlers. I had no trouble at all to interest him, and through his instrumentality I made a contract for the delivery of 2,000 bushels of corn, more or less, at $2. per bushel, 1,200 bushels of it to be delivered as shelled corn at Ft. Kearny and 800 bushels to be delivered at Braks camp in the ear, where the government cattle herd was kept. This co-called "Braks camp" was about twelve miles down the river, hence only about 28 miles distant from our settlement, and on Grand Island itself ; thus not requiring the hauling of corn across the several chan- nels of the Platte River.

Heretofore the corn had been freighted from Fort Leavenworth at an expense of $3.50 to $4.00 per bushel, and Colonel May had many difficulties to overcome before he finally succeeded in obtaining a permit from the war department to contract for the sett- lers' corn at almost half the price the govern- ment had to pay before.

Contract rings existed even at that time, who enriched themselves by fraudulent con- tract.

Many of our settlers found remunerative employment at ,Ft. Kearny at times when their presence at home was not needed. Be- sides this trade with the emigrants to the newly discovered gold mines in Colorado, to California and the new territories of New Mexico, Montana, and Oregon, became quite profitable to the settlers.

For a number of years we settlers had an excellent market for our produce at home as well as the 40-mile distant Ft. Kearny. A good sized cabbage sold frequently for fifty cents and a fair-sized watermelon at $1.00. Gold and silver coin was the only medium in trade.

Large trains of prairie schooners passed almost every day up and down the Platte Valley, and frequently lame cattle and young calves could be bought at extremely low prices by the settlers, which in a few weeks were all right again. Thus the Grand Island settle- ment prospered and soon became one of the best in the state notwithstanding the very. severe drawbacks we had been subjected to.

DAVENPORT COMPANY . FAILS

While the actual and bonafide settlers were doing well in our settlement, it was the very reverse with those who expected to make a paying speculation out of it. It soon became apparent that it would be quite awhile yet be- fore the seat of the government of the United States would be removed to the original town of Grand Island, containing an area 1,440 acres, the southwest corner of which is to be found on my old pioneer farm.

The terrible financial crisis of 1857 swept away many a banking house throughout the country, and among them was the banking house of Chubb Bros. and Barrows, of Wash- ington City, Boston, and Davenport. Difficul- ties arose between the Town Company and the settlers, and the result was that the Town Company soon gave up the idea of carrying on the speculation farther after they had in- vested $6,000.00, all lost to them, and A. H.

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Barrows, personally, $500.00 paid out for the purchase of clothing.

A. H. Barrows, so I have been advised, died in Philadelphia in a poor house. W. H. Gurley died soon after him in Davenport, Iowa, and also B. B. Woodward died in Davenport many years ago. R. C. Barnard, Lorens Barnard, Joshua Smith, David P. Mor- gan, and Wm. Seymour, left the settlement soon and I cannot say what has become of them. Of all the German settlers who par- ticipated in the settlement in the year 1857 the following parties are still alive: Fred Hedde, Wm. A. Hagge, Henry Joehnck and wife, Christian Menck, Kai Ewoldt, Wm. Stehr, Fritz Landmann, Herman Vasold, the four year old child, Line Andresen and my- self. Hence, twelve of the original thirty still reside in or near Grand Island, except Wm. Stehr who lives in Iowa, Herman Vasold who lives in Saginaw, Michigan,1 and Line Andresen, who is married and lives near Omaha, Nebraska.

Of the pioneer settlers now dead Fred Vatje and Fred Doll committed suicide, Vatje tak- ing strychnine and Doll shooting himself. J. Hamann was thrown by the upsetting of his wagon on the tracks of the Union Pacific railroad and the cars passed over him, kill- ing him. All the rest have died a natural death. The first child born in Hall County was Nellie Stehr, daughter of William Stehr, on March 3, 1858.

In the spring of 1858 a lot of Mormons settled on Wood River and opened up quite a number of farms, and the first newspaper ever published in this county was published by them. It was printed weekly and named The Banner and was edited by Joseph E. Johnson.

SOME OF THE FIRST THINGS

In the spring of 1863 the Mormon colony removed to Salt Lake City and with it The Banner, but this paper was republished in that city by the same Mr. Johnson under the name of The Mountain Eagle.

Hall County was organized in the year 1859 and the first officers elected were: Probate

judge, Fred Hedde; county clerk, Theo. Nagel; county commissioners, Hans Wrage, James Vieregg, Henry Egge; justices of the peace, William Stolley and R. C. Barnard; sheriff, Herman Vasold; treasurer, Christian Andresen; assessor, Frederick Doll; consta- bles, Christian Menck and Matthias Gries.

But when a case was brought to trial be- fore William Stolley, justice of the peace, viz : Lorens Barnard, killing, by shooting, one of the horses of John Vieregg, the case was ap- pealed and carried into the Omaha courts, and there it was decided that our county organi- zation was illegal, and the consequence was that we got along without law and courts much better and at less expense for years. Later on the legislature of the state legalized the first named officers. Great times we had in those early days.

The first postoffice was established in the spring of 1859 and R. C. Barnard was ap- pointed the first postmaster of the county.

The first weekly stage was put on the road from Omaha to Fort Kearney on October 1, 1858. It changed to a tri-weekly in 1860, and became a daily mail in. 1864.

HUNTING IN 1860

In the month of October, 1860, Christian Andresen, two others and myself, ventured with one ox team and one horse team for the first time to cross over into the Loup River country on a hunting expedition. After marketing our produce at Ft. Kearny we recrossed the Platte River and went up Wood River for a distance of about 12 miles. Here we stopped for the night. We noticed that a prairie fire was raging over towards. the Loup River, and after going into camp, and after the sun had disappeared, I noticed some- thing passing over a ridge towards the Loup on the other side of Wood River. We con- cluded it must be a bunch of buffaloes coming from the Loup. Three of our party took our rifles and crossed Wood River to meet our meat as we supposed. We found a well beaten buffalo path which only strengthened our sup-

1 Herman Vasold, first sheriff of Hall county, died in Michigan in August, 1919.

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HISTORY OF HALL COUNTY NEBRASKA

position that buffaloes were coming that way. number of grey wolf pelts and beaver skins, So we took our position under a steep hill and what was more we captured a fine Indian pony, which we found running wild in the Loup bottom. The pony came visiting our horses and one of our party who was pretty good at throwing the lasso, managed to throw the noose over the head of the animal. We valued the pony at $80 and Chris Andresen bought the pony, paying each of us $20 in cash.

over which the buffalo path was leading. Meanwhile it had become quite dark and we had squatted down on our knees, our rifles all ready for action, expecting every moment for the buffaloes to appear over the abrupt hill be- fore us, and ready to send our rifle balls crashing through their bodies - and they came! I could see plainly their silhouettes appearing as they came into sight not over thirty yards away over the top of the hill, but I saw that they had the sharp figures of horse ears and nothing similar to the heads and forms of buffaloes, so I whispered to my friends, "For God's sake don't shoot - they are horses - and no buffaloes." As soon as the approaching game reached the top of the hill I called a loud halt, and said, "Who are you?" at the same time ready to pull the trig- ger of my rifle. Instantaneous came an an- swer in plain English "Good friends." That ended our buffalo hunt that evening. They proved to be two trappers who had come from Des Moines, Iowa, to hunt and trap in the coming winter up and down the Loup River. They had not been careful with their camp fire and while they were out setting their traps for beaver and otter the rising wind set the prairie grass on fire, and nearly every- thing they had . was destroyed, provisions to last them three months, ammunition and all, even their guns but one. Their wagon was burned, and only the rear part of it was left on which they were riding now to reach the nearest settlement. Of course, we helped them all we could. I bought all their lead and gave them something they could eat, and we all went to sleep, glad that we had been spared to kill people who were in distress, and they were glad they got hot coffee and everything needed for them to get on the way home.

Well, that fire their carelessness had started crossed Wood River and burned 400 tons of hay in stacks, on the north side of the Platte River, opposite Ft. Kearny, belonging to the government. The next day we crossed over to the Loup River and had a week of hunt- ing. We killed five buffaloes and loaded our teams with choice meat. I also got quite a

INTERRUPTION OF A PRAYER

On our way home on a very cold and stormy day, we reached the dug-out of Henry Peck, a Mormon, who was living with his wife and a lot of children, all boys, in a cave 12×20 feet, which was located about where the town of Wood River is now. Henry Peck was the first storekeeper in Hall County, and was very anxious to sell us his goods, which he had in the rear of his cave. We asked to stay all night with these people, and our request was cheerfully granted, and Mrs. Peck made her- self busy at once to make supper for us. Meanwhile Henry showed us his grand stock of merchandise, consisting principally of cali- co, shecting, two pairs of cheap blankets, pins, needles, buttons, and other trinkets.

When supper was ready we were invited to sit up to the table, which we did. The cave or dugout was about seven or eight feet deep from the level of the ground. . A long heavy cottonwood log had been placed lengthwise over the cave, and willow brush and slough grass covered with a layer of mother earth constituted the roof, which rose not much above the level of the prairie. When we were about to help ourselves to the supper, our host, the cave dweller, gave us to understand that he was to offer prayer first. So with forks and knives in hand we obeyed orders. Henry Peck proved himself then and there to be very devout, and we were enduring an ex- ceedingly long winded "prayer." There seemed to be no end to it, and at last I could hardly hold my eyes open owing to having been out all day in a cold wind, and now the sultry, impure air in that dug-out, without any venti- lation, had its effect on me.

Vehemently the Mormon elder (for that Digitized by

HISTORY OF HALL COUNTY NEBRASKA

rank our friend Peck held in the church) once commission as officer and departed to join the more thanked his heavenly Father for the confederates. blessings of the day, when a crash of the I was well acquainted with a number of the officers at Ft. Kearny and had warm friends among them, and they urgently advised us before they left that we had to abandon our settlement as the Indians surely would clear the territory of Nebraska from all white men as soon as the troops were withdrawn. While heretofore all Indian depredations had been committed up the valley of the Platte River toward the Rocky Mountains we were now to have our share of it in this county. roof above us startled us all. Presently dirt began to fall right on our table, and much quicker than I can describe what happened, piles of dirt came down, and then four legs of an ox were dangling right over our table. And while the poor ox let go an unearthly sound, plainly expressing his fright, our pray- ing Mormon friend lifted his fist toward that ox in distress, and stamping one foot, said "God damn you" where his meek "Amen" should have been.

On the next day we arrived home after a pleasant outing of three weeks.

GARRISONS CALLED AWAY

During the first years we had no trouble with the Indians, the Pawnees, the Sioux, Cheyennes, Kiowas, or Arapahoes, altho the Pawnees were continually at war with the last named tribes, and raids by either party were often made, when they would pass our settlement with their booty and trophies, the latter in shape of bloody scalps tied to long poles, and singing as they passed their monot- onous song of victory or defeat as the case might be.

So little we feared them, until trouble be- gan, that we did not stop the work of hauling hay in the month of September, 1869, when a running fight took place between the Pawnees and the Sioux on the island opposite our farm, although we heard distinctly every shot fired, and saw the Pawnees retreating down the river pursued by the Sioux. But this feeling of safety did not last long. When the re- bellion broke out and the first shot had been fired at Ft. Sumter, all troops stationed on the frontiers were ordered east. Nearly all the officers then at Ft. Kearny were southern- ers, and hostile to the northern cause.

A Lieutenant Tyler, left with a small com- mand at Ft. Kearny, immediately after the departure of the greater portion of the gar- rison spiked all the cannon there, twenty in number, claiming that he feared a surprise from Missouri rebels, and then resigned his

FIRST MASSACRE BY INDIANS

Nearer and nearer to us serious depreda- tions were committed by the savages. It was on February 5, 1862, that we were startled by the first massacre of whites by Indians in Hall County. Joseph P. Smith and Andresen, his son-in-law, farmers on Wood River, living about twelve miles west of Grand Island, went out after some building logs to the north channel of the Platte River, about two miles south of their claims (farms) accompanied by two of his sons, William, 11 years of age, and Charles, 9, and his grandchild Alex And- resen, about 14 years of age. Andresen, who took a load of logs home in the morning, re- turned to the woods where he had left his . father-in-law Smith and the above named boys and two teams, the property of Smith, about 9 a. m., and found all of them brutally massacred by a band of Sioux Indians. The old man Smith had several arrows in his body and was lying on the ice with his face down, holding each of his boys by one hand. His son William was still alive when found. He was shot with an arrow and one of his cheeks was cut open from the mouth up to the ear. He soon bled to death after being carried home. The other son, Charles, had his skull mashed in and his neck broken, probably with a war club. Young Andresen was found some distance off in the woods with his skull broken. The four horses were taken away by the Indians.

Joseph P. Smith immigrated to Hall County in the fall of 1861 and came from Lake

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County, Indiana. Besides farming, Mr. Smith had opened a small store on his farm.

The settlers throughout the county, upon being advised of the massacre, were in the saddle at once and went in search of the mur- derers, and Jesse Eldridge with seven other settlers on Wood River captured 17 Sioux, all armed with bows' and arrows. These Indians were captured about 18 miles east of Ft. Kearny in the dry channel of the Platte where they hovered under the bank of the channel, evidently trying to hide from pur- suers.

The military authorities at Ft. Kearny with Captain Johnson in command requested that the Indians captured by the settlers be turned over to them, which was acceded to, and after some time had elapsed the Indians were re- leased, Captain Johnson remarking, that he would rather see twenty farmers killed than one Indian, for fear that Ft. Kearny would be attacked by the Sioux. However, it was proven that the parties captured were not the guilty ones in the massacre of the Smith family.

Two girls, nieces of Mr. Campbell, re- spectively 17 and 19 years of age, and also two little twin boys four years old were carried away captives by the brutes. At the same time a German by the name of Henry Dose was killed near the Campbell place. The Indians robbed the house of all they wished to, killed some stock and got away without being overtaken.

Months afterwards the government bought the two little girls and two little boys from the Indians, paying them a ransom of $4,000 in money, so it was reported at that time, and in addition had to release a Sioux squaw and papoose captured by Ed Arnold's company of Pawnee scouts at Elm Creek the same season.

PANICKY FEELING RESULTS

In August and September, 1864, all sorts of rumors about hostile Indians were afloat. It was reported that they were coming in a great force to take Ft. Kearny and devastate all settlements below. Many feared that even Omaha was not safe. The very soldiers sta-

tioned at Ft. Kearny surely were not able to protect themselves, let alone settlers and settle- ments. So it was that soon the wildest panic prevailed.

From far up the Platte Valley to Columbus the settlers, with very few exceptions, left their homes, and even east of Columbus many people were fleeing for dear life. It was re- ported that even the drygoods clerks in Omaha handled the muskets, and were out on picket, and it was said that our governor sent his family across the Big Muddy into Council Bluffs on account of the imminent danger of an Indian attack on the good city of Omaha.

At Grand Island for a distance of twenty miles the main traveled road along the Platte .River was covered with fugitives on the 13th and 14th of August, 1864. In vain I urged a number of them to stop and take matters coolly. Heavy loaded wagons with household goods and provisions, bedding, etc., droves of cattle and horses, cats and dogs, people on foot and horseback hurried along in great con- fusion. The rising dust clouds everywhere along the road gave evidence of the fearful panic that prevailed. It was truly a most pitiable sight to see those people leaving their homes, their ripening corn and vegetable crops, we may say "their all."

But the settlement of Grand Island was not deserted. The people of our settlement re- solved to give Mr. Indian a warm reception should he venture to attack us.

Two years previous, in the year 1862, I began to build my own fort. This fortified log house I built about 150 yards south of my farm house. It was 24x24 in size, pro- vided with 25 port holes, had a well inside; all that was needed to complete this place of comparative safety, was to put on a proper roof.

When the above mentioned panic set in I had my pick and call among the settlers to join me, and thus I soon had my fort well manned by those who were likely to fill their places in case of an Indian attack. We were 35 persons in our fort, women and children included, and we soon had the fort completely finished, by adding an underground stable for

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horses 88 feet long in connection with the fortified log house.

"FORT INDEPENDENCE"

This was the first nucleus of defense orga- nized to repel an Indian attack in the Grand Island settlement. A small United States flag had been purposely made for us by a lady friend, Henrietta Axalsen, in Davenport, Iowa, which I tied to a pole and raised it over our fort - which we called "Fort Inde- pendence." This was the first star spangled banner that ever floated the air in Hall County. We have kept the little old flag in remem- brance of the times gone by, never to return.

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History of Hall County, Nebraska, Part 5

Author: Buechler, A. F. (August F.), 1869- editor Publication date: 1920 Publisher: Lincoln, Neb., Western Pub. and Engraving Co. Number of Pages: 1011

Author: Buechler, A. F. (August F.), 1869- editor
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: Lincoln, Neb., Western Pub. and Engraving Co.
Number of Pages: 1011