History of Hall County, Nebraska, Part 6

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

USA > Nebraska > Hall County > History of Hall County, Nebraska > Part 6

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).

We had sufficient firearms to fire 72 shots without reloading, about 50 pounds of powder, and other suitable ammunition in proper pro- portion, besides an ample supply of provision.

A proper organization was effected and cartridges to fit each and every gun were pre- pared in quantity. So our little party of men, women, and children were cared for com- paratively well. But the fortification here described afforded protection to only a small portion of the then already numerous settlers ; therefore, it was resolved to fortify the O. K. store kept by Henry A. Koenig and Fred Wiebe, about a mile and a quarter due south of us. William Thavenet engineered the work and later on was also employed by the officers at Ft. Kearny to engineer similar work there. Dr. A. Thorspecken was chosen as captain. The combined force at this place soon erected a formidable breastworks of sod which sur- rounded the buildings. The breastworks were provided on each corner with a tower built from green cottonwood logs, and these towers projected out far enough to shoot any party who would venture to crawl under the cover of the breastworks from outside. Sixty-eight men and about 100 women and children gath- ered into this fortification as a place of refuge and comparative safety.

THE SETTLEMENT PROTECTED

Requisitons were made for arms from the state but were responded to very slowly, and only 17 old muskets with ammunition were

furnished, for which the freight had to be paid by the settlers. Every day squads of men on horseback were sent out in all directions to reconnoiter the country, and at different places piles of straw and .brush were pre- pared to serve as alarm fires in case of an approach of hostile Indians, to warn those absent.

On August 22, 1864, Major General Curtis arrived with the first regular volunteeer

SOLDIERS' MONUMENT, GRAND. ISLAND Showing the cannon used in 1864

veteran cavalry, carrying with them one six- pounder cannon. The general's inspection of both fortifications resulted in his highly prais- ing the settlers of our settlement for the efficient measures adopted by them for their self-preservation. He left the cannon with us, remarking that it ought to be left with us for all time to come, as an acknowledgment of the pluck exhibited while all the rest of the settlers in the upper Platte Valley for hundreds of miles had abandoned the country. General Curtis considering the Grand Island settlement safe pushed on the same day of his arrival to reinforce the garrison at Ft. Kearny.

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HISTORY OF HALL COUNTY NEBRASKA

Here I will remark that after various and repeated trials in later years I was at last successful in having the cannon left with us, turned over to me by the proper authorities in Washington, D. C., and that I in turn have turned it over to the county authorities of Hall County, which fact is a matter of record. And thus the suggestion of General Curtis has been complied with.

It is but proper and due to Squire Lamb, as he used to be called, that he be remembered and his name mentioned when the Indian troubles of those days are referred to. Mr. Lamb was the frontier stagedriver of the Platte Valley. He and his son Henry and three other men who kept the overland stage station on Wood River about eight miles west of Grand Island did not abandon their station but kept a sharp lookout for the danger signals to join the fortified forces of our settlement in case of need.

SOME PAWNEES TREACHEROUS

Although we were on good terms with the Pawnee Indians, they camping near the settle- ment and trading with us, all of them could not be trusted, as the incident which I shall relate will bear witness. I have found good and noble individuals among them and mean and treacherous devils. In this respect they tally about even with us whites.

In the month of October, 1866, John Vieregg and I had trapped and hunted for about four weeks on the Loup between what is now called McKines Bluff and the junction of the river with the north fork near St. Paul.

It was principally beaver we were after, and occasionally we picked up other game, mostly antelope. Toward the end of the month we moved down the river to a point some- where opposite where Dannebrog is now located on Oak Creek, where we went into camp early toward evening. While fixing the camp and preparing our supper two Indians joined us and we gave them their supper, coffee and pancakes, or flapjacks, as we used to call them. These two Indians told me that they were Scidies, meaning wolf, a that "elk." Before I proceed to relate what branch tribe of the Pawnees, and that they happened, I must describe our camp somewhat

were out on a scouting expedition to locate hostile Sioux and their allies, should they infest the Loup country. These Indians seemed to be very friendly and invited us to cross the Loup and told us that there were lots of deer and elk (Baa) on Oak Creek. That this statement was true I knew, because I had observed coming down the river a large bunch of elks numbering about eighty, and I was anxious to get a nice fat elk for winter meat before we started for home, which we contemplated doing very soon. But my part- ner, John Vieregg, did not favor the scheme, he did not want to cross the river and the ox team we had was his, hence I was depending on his good will. Up to that time I had killed in all seven antelope, which had been taken home by Charles Petersen, who had been with us until recently. The Indians told us that they had some furs they would trade us, and that they would call on us the next day at 9 o'clock, that is, when the sun would have risen to a certain height on the horizon. I being anxious to get the "elk" went with the Indians to see them across the river so as to ascertain the feasibility of crossing with our team on account of the quicksand and water condition of the river. In watching the Indians crossing the stream diagonally I noticed that the water was hardly knee deep and their walking was steady, hence the quicksand not dangerous. When in the middle of the river, one of them stopped for a moment, and cried out : "kaki-heap a water kaki," meaning to say to me there was no deep water and that our crossing the stream would be done with safety. When I returned to our camp I was so much encouraged that I could see, in my imagination, a big fine elk laying stretched out in our wagon when going home. The next thing in order was the setting of our traps. While John Vieregg went on the river setting his traps, I went down the river toward the junction of the Loup. It was nearly pitch dark when John and I got back into camp, and I was ready to preach quite a sermon to John to induce him to cross the river after

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HISTORY OF HALL COUNTY NEBRASKA

We camped on one of those ravines and sand ridges which often stretch from one bed of the river to the next, and which are often deep enough, if the winds do not blow them away to somewhere else, to give temporary protection.

DISCOVER ENEMY IN TIME

In one of these ravines, or rather on the north side of one of them, our camping place was located. With a spade I had dug out in the side of the abrupt ravine a seat to sit on. Thus my back was protected with solid ground. Right in front of me was our camp- fire-and a fine one we had that evening ! John Vieregg was sitting on a turned-up bucket, on the left of the camp fire. Toward the river stood our wagon and trapping trophies, and on the outside of the wagon near our campfire leaned our rifles and shot- guns handy for us to get and ready loaded for immediate use.

It was a pitch dark night, no wind was stirring, and right behind our wagon in the lower part of the ravine and stretching toward the Loup River was slough grass almost as long as a short grown person. Such were the conditons when John and I were sitting near our blazing campfire, and I was at it in the most eloquent way at my command to con- vince John of the easy task of crossing that infernal river so as to get that "elk" I had in my head. This was about 10 o'clock p. m. when, while I paused talking to John for a moment, my attention was attracted by a very slight noise, which caused me to look in the direction it seemed to be; and I noticed at once by the glare of our blazing campfire the moving and the bending of the tall grass in two places close together, not more than twenty yards from our wagon. Without say- ing a word I jumped past the campfire to the wagon, grabbed a. long range double barrel shotgun loaded with goose shot 00, and in the twinkle of an eye had that gun to my shoulder aiming to send the shot so as to hit the animal that most certainly crawled in the slough grass, when up jumped our good friends, the two Pawnees. One of them was

holding a short shot gun in his uplifted left hand and the other one a bow and a lot of arrows. At this critical moment John Vieregg interfered, crying, "Don't shoot, don't shoot," and he came forward hindering me from mak- ing those two devils real good Indians by dis- patching them. We disarmed them and they had to take seats near the fire, while John and I laid down under our wagon, on and under buffalo robes, with all our guns on hand. I did not sleep that night but kept my eyes on our "friends" till morning when we let them go. But this was the last night we were out trapping that season. We made a good catch of beaver that night but went home the next day - and thus closed that year's fall hunt.

GOETTSCHE-FRAUEN MASSACRE

This little episode was followed by another nearly a year later on the same spot, wherein John Vieregg, Hans Klingenberg, and two young boys, Christian Goettsche and Christian Frauen, participated, and wherein the final outcome developed into a sad and bloody tragedy.

Considering the fact that those two Indians had engaged with us to meet us again the next day and instead crawled up to our camp- fire in the dark of a dark night with ready arms in hand, I think we ought to have killed them then and there, and I regret yet that I did not kill them.

It was in the beginning of January, 1868, when the four parties named, Vieregg, Kling- enberg, and the boys, Goettsche, 15 years old, and Christian Frauen, who had but recently arrived from Germany, 16 years old, went out for a hunt on the Loup River. They were after elk and deer, but found game scarce. In fact they did not see any fresh signs of them. After a few days of fruitless hunting they had con- cluded to return home (this was on January 6, 1868) after the men, Vieregg and Klingen- berg, had secured two young oak trees for wagon tongues, which were to be had on Oak Creek. The Loup was frozen over solidly and in places snow covered the ice. A heavy gale was blowing from the northwest when

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HISTORY OF HALL COUNTY NEBRASKA

the two men left their camp with their rifles and an ax, leaving the two boys, each with a double barrel shotgun, in charge of team and camp. When the men had about reached the middle of the river Hans Klingenberg thought that a rifle ball struck the ice near him and he told Vieregg about it. But as they had heard no gun report the men paid no further at- tention and went on their way. But Klingen- berg presently noticed that, as it appeared to him, another rifle ball was whizzing by and he again spoke about it, but since there was no gunshot report heard, the men went on and got their young oaks, then returned to camp. When they reached camp a ghastly sight pre- sented itself to them. Both boys lay dead in a pool of blood. Christian Frauen had a gunshot from the side through his head and Christian Goettsche, a pupil of our school, had a gunshot through the breast. The horses, buffalo robes, blankets, and both shotguns were missing and in the sand about the camp were the moccasin tracks of the red skins. Whether they had been Sioux or Pawnee is not known.

GOVERNMENT MAKES SURVEY

The government survey of public lands took place in Hall County in the months of July and August, 1866, and soon after I pre-empted the first 160 acres of land in Hall County, Jacob Wittig was No. 2, who pre-empted the next 160 acres of land adjoining mine on the southwest. I always lived, and live today on the identical pioneer claim, as near as our surveyor's survey agreed with the final gov- ernment survey.

The first school taught in Hall County was in 1862 about one mile south of the court house on the pioneer claim of Theo. Nagel, who was our first school teacher, and the number of pupils was six.

Game was abundant during all the years previous to the building of the Union Pacific railroad. Buffalo, elk, and antelope were to be found in herds. Grey wolves, prairie wolves, red and grey foxes, wild cats and badgers were numerous, while deer, jack- rabbits (hare), and cottontails, as well as

turkeys, prairie chickens, grouse, and quail were scarce.

The deer was nearly extinguished by the deep snows and the severe winters of 1856 and '57, but became more numerous in later years again.

The abundance of game was a great con- venience and help to the early settlers, and regularly every fall, mostly in the months of October and November, we went out on buff- alo hunts and trapping tours for beaver, otters, and minks were to be found along all streams. Wild geese, ducks, and other water fowl swarmed the country in spring and autumn.

Large numbers of wolves were poisoned with strychnine and trapped with steel traps every winter and the skins sold at from 75 cents to $3.00 a piece. I killed 75 wolves about my house the first winter. The best of buffalo robes could be bought from the Indians from $2.50 to $3. Buffalo robes were our principal bedding for years.

With the gradual decrease of wolves, foxes, jackrabbits, prairie chickens, grouse and quail increased very rapidly, but wild turkeys soon disappeared entirely around about Grand Island.

The winter of 1863 and 1864 was extra- ordinarily severe. Snow covered the ground from the middle of November, 1863, to March, 1864. A great deal of our corn crop was now covered all winter. Many cattle perished and several parties lost limbs; one man froze to death.

CONTRACTORS TAKE TIMBER

By this time we had two saw mills on Wood River. In 1863 the first windmill was built in our settlement, and several other windmills were built later on, but when in 1866 the Union Pacific railroad was built the timber land on the island in the Platte River was fraudulently withheld from market, a horde of irresponsible contractors were turned loose at the timber land in the Platte Valley. These men were not respecters of law and order, but cut and slashed down all timber thick enough to make ties for the railroad. The squatter claims of timber land, which had

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HISTORY OF HALL COUNTY NEBRASKA

been held for years, were ruthlessly invaded by them and all trees were cut down.

After nearly all timber had been thus taken, of course we had no more use for saw mills. After the devastation of the natural timber numerous groves were planted by the settlers, and they are now dotting the once bleak prairie in every direction.

I planted the first artificial grove of 6,000 trees in Hall County in the spring of 1860 on the west half of the northeast quarter of sec- tion 29, town 11, north of range 9, consisting of cottonwood, black locust, ash, and black walnut.

THE GRASSHOPPER SCOURGE

Great suffering and destitution prevailed all over the grasshopper-stricken districts, grass- hoppers visiting us from 1865 to 1873, worse at some times than others, and two aid socie- ties were organized in the state of Nebraska, to care for the destitute sufferers. The one, and the most effective aid society was The State Grange Relief Committee, which had its office at Lincoln. The other was called the State Aid Society, and it had its headquarters in Omaha. I was for the time being chairman of The State Grange Relief Committee, being the overseer of the State Grange of the state of Nebraska, while General Ord,1 in command of the military department of the Platte, was the chairman of the State Aid Society.

Thus it devolved upon me to confer with General Ord, to arrange with him so that the aid we could render would be distributed properly and systematically. Our committee had over $20,000.00 in bank at Lincoln, and daily more coming from all over the Union. Large quantities of relief goods were shipped to us from the eastern states, and the freight charges we had to pay to the railroad com- panies for transportation were considerable. Therefore I requested of S. H. H. Clark, the general manager of the U. P. R. R. Co. at Omaha, to grant us free transportation on all relief goods sent us over this line. Mr. Clark refused, flatfooted, to do so, but said he: "I will make you a reduction of two-fifths of full rates."

Thus the matter stood when I called at mili -. tary headquarters in Omaha to see General Ord, the chairman of the State Aid Society. I was received anything but cordially. The general told me to be brief - he was very much occupied.

Well, I was brief, and very few words were sufficient to inform the general of what I was driving at, but what I told him was enough to interest him so that he told me that I was his man.

After we had talked the matter over thoroughly, General Ord said: "I want you to get ready and go to Washington. We must have an appropriation from Congress, and you are the very man who is likely to get it, the way you present matters to me." He in- sisted that I should go, and to be short about it. Upon General Ord's request our relief committee agreed that I should try my hand at it. I at once prepared myself as best I could for my mission. First of all, I gathered statistics all over the stricken district in the state as to the amount of destitution prevail- ing. This was comparatively easy for me to do through our excellent organization through- out the state, having subordinate granges in all counties.

ASK CONGRESS FOR HELP

When I had reports from all quarters I carefully compiled them and when ready to start east from Omaha, I once more called on Mr. Clark, asking him for a letter of introduc- tion to Jay Gould, at the time the owner of the Union Pacific. Mr. Clark only laughed at me, when I told him that I was going to Washing- ton first, and next to New York to get. what he refused to grant us. He told me, "You will not get anything; neither in Washington from Congress, nor from Mr. Gould. Mr. Gould will simply tell you to see me about it, and that it is my business to decide in the matter of transportation." I answered Mr. Clark to the effect that all Mr. Gould could say was yes or no, but I would try it anyway.

"That's all right," Mr. Clark said, "at all

1 The town of Ord (sixty-three miles north of Grand Island) was named after General Ord.

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HISTORY OF HALL COUNTY NEBRASKA

events you will have a nice trip east out of the grasshopper money, won't you?"

I got a very nice letter from Mr. Clark, introducing me to Mr. Gould, and was off for Washington. I must say that I was not very hopeful myself that I would accomplish much, but I was into it and I resolved to do my level best to come out all right. I carried letters of introduction to several senators. Lorenzo Crounse was our representative and Mr. Hitchcock, the father of the editor and pro- prietor of the World-Herald of Omaha, was our senator, and besides he was an old friend of mine.

APPEARS BEFORE GARFIELD

I worked my way to Washington as best I knew how. I introduced myself to Carl Schurz, at that time senator from the state of Missouri, and I had the satisfaction in a few days to be requested to appear before Mr. Garfield, later president, who was at that time chairman of the committee on ways and means. When I entered Mr. Garfield's committee room he told me to take a seat. I sat down. Mr. Garfield looked me up and down for quite a while and never said another word. I do not know how long he was just looking at me, but I do know that I got angry about it and that I resolved to pay him back with his own coin, and I commenced also to stare at him, keeping my eyes fixed at one of his eyes without changing for a moment. He could not stand that very long and flinched, looking for a moment somewhere else, and then he commenced to talk and he said: "I understand, Mr. Stolley, that you are from Nebraska, and ask for an appropriation from Congress for the grasshopper sufferers of your state."

"Yes sir."

"Well, and will you please tell me how much of an appropriation you need for the destitute in Nebraska?" asked Mr. Garfield.

"Yes sir, about $500,000.00."

"Just about a cool half million of dollars," sarcastically said Mr. Garfield.

"Well, will you please tell me how you came to conclusions that it will take that much?"

"Certainly, I prepared myself fully before I left home," handing him my paper. "Here is a tabulated statement of statistics, which I gathered through the medium of our State Grange organization, which will explain every- thing to you."

For over half an hour Mr. Garfield did not look at me at all after I had handed him my statistics, but continued figuring. When at last he looked at me again, it was with dif- ferent eyes and he said: "Mr. Stolley, you will not get $500,000.00, but I shall recommend that an appropriation of $150,000.00 be made for the grasshopper sufferers, and I hope this will be done very soon."

Within eight days I sent telegrams to Omaha and Lincoln that $150,000.00 had been appropriated by Congress. Next I went to New York city to try my good luck with Mr. Gould. At that time I had a brother living in New York city and to him I went to stay while there. My brother was rather surprised when I told him of my mission in Washington and the success I had had, and when I told him that I would now try to get free transporta- tion for all relief goods, from Mr. Gould, he thought it was about time to give me some good advice and the following is about what he said: "Well, brother William, let me tell you, when you speak to Jay Gould, you must not talk as loud as you are in the habit of doing. It does not take well at all. You must control your voice, and not talk too loud. And another thing I want to tell you, you are not dressed well enough, you should wear better clothes when you go to speak to such men as Mr. Gould."

"Well," I said, "brother Frederick, is there anything else you have to tell me, then tell it, right now."

"No," he said, "that is all."

"Well then," I said, "if I am to watch the tone of my voice when I talk in matters of this kind, then surely I am a goner. I will let my heart talk and not pay any attention to whether I talk otherwise; as to my shabby clothes, you are probably correct, and you can let me have the very best overcoat you have and I will put it on and it will cover the short-

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HISTORY OF HALL COUNTY NEBRASKA

comings of the rest of the garments I wear, are destitute now, because the grasshoppers but I will tell you this right now, that over- coat I will keep, because I will be in need of it when I get to Chicago. Another thing, Fred, I want you to be with me when I see Mr. Gould and when I talk with him."

CALLS ON MAGNATE .

So the same day toward evening I and brother Fred went to the office of Jay Gould on 5th Avenue and Broadway, in a basement. When we entered Mr. Gould was walking the floors and dictating to three telegraph op- erators and he told us without asking us to take a seat that he would be at our service in a moment. He left us standing at the door. Presently he wheeled around in the middle of the room and said, "What do you wish?" Then I stepped forward toward him, trying to present my letter from Mr. Clark, but Mr. Gould said, never mind that letter, tell me first, what do you want of me. I said: "Mr. Gould, I am here from Nebraska. I have been in Washington and there secured an appro- priation from Congress for the grasshopper sufferers in Nebraska. Now I am here to ask if you will grant us free transportation of all relief goods which are sent to us over your railroad. I do not expect that you will grant this out of benevolence or christianity ; no sir, but you will grant it because it is your interest to do so. You, Mr. Gould, have millions of acres of land in our state which you want to sell; you have sold quite a lot of that land already, and the parties to whom you sold your land and who have made but part payment to you, are the very parties who

destroyed their crops, and unless we are en- abled to provide for them and they can raise another crop, they will be compelled to leave the state of Nebraska, and they will go back east and herald it all over the east that Ne- braska is the damnedest country under the sun."

When I had stopped talking, Mr. Gould said: "You shall have all the free transporta- tion you are asking for," and he picked up one of his cards and wrote on the back of it: "Mr. Sidney Dillon, N. 20 Nassau St. Mr. Stolley shall have all the free transportation he is asking for." Then Mr. Gould handed me the card, I thanked him in behalf of the destitute of Nebraska, and we left his office.

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History of Hall County, Nebraska, Part 6

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