USA > Nebraska > History of Nebraska > Part 4
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The removal of the Delawares to lands between the Platte and Kansas Rivers led to a war with that tribe, who, in 1832, burned the great Pawnee village on the Republican River. They then re- moved to the Platte, in the present Butler County, where small-pox carried off large numbers of them. By treaty of October 9th, 1832, they sold lands south and agreed to remain north of that river and west of the Loup River. Provisions were then made for education and they were soon possessed of comfortable homes, good farms and schools, but all this was checked by the Sioux, who attacked
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them in their hunts, killing many, and finally invading their vil- lages, burning them and killing men, women and children, and driving them south to the Kansas River. The Government re- garded this as a violation of their treaty and stopped their annui- ties, their missionaries and farmers left them, cholera and small- pox swept off hundreds, and in three or four years they had lost one half of their number. Returning again to the Platte, they re- sided for many years at the junction of Salt Creek with that stream near where Ashland now stands.
By treaty of September 4th, 1857, they sold more of their lands and were soon afterward removed to their reservation in the valley of the Loup Fork River, containing 288,000 acres. In June, 1861, they numbered 3,414, and furnished the government a suffi- cient number of scouts for the Indian war of 1864, on the plains. This increased the hostility of the Sioux, who, after making peace with the government, turned again on the wretched Pawnees, slaughtering them without mercy, and effectually stopping their progress and improvements. By act of Congress June 10th, 1872, 118,424 acres were sold for their benefit, the grasshoppers having destroyed their crops. On October 8th, 1874, the Pawnees in general council agreed to remove to a reservation in the Indian Territory, where they were taken in the following year. They have a perpetual annuity of $30,000, with an appropriation for education, farming, etc., of $22,600 more. There is no grammer or vocabulary of their language.
THE OTOES,
In 1854, occupied the south eastern portion of the State, south of the Platte River, their hunting grounds extending as far west as the Blue. They numbered at that time between 800 and 1,000, all told, and their principal village was a few miles below the present Nebraska City.
The Otoes belong to the Dakota family and were originally a part of the Missouris, with whom they have been for years united, forming one village. They were known to the French in 1673 under the name of Attanka, and calling themselves Wahooh- tahta. Major Long, who explored this country in 1819-20, says the Otoes were a band from a great nation living at the head
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of the Mississippi River, from whom they separated in about 1724, coming west to the Missouri, their first settlement in Nebraska be- ing near the mouth of the Great Nemaha River. Their next camp- ing ground was on the Platte, fifteen or twenty miles from its mouth, and it was from this camp that several of their Chiefs and warriors went to visit and hold a council with Lewis and Clarke in the summer of 1804, at the latter's camp on the bluffs of the Mis- souri sixteen miles above Omaha, from which incident the place derived its name of Council Bluffs. From the Platte they came to the Missouri and established villages on the plateau now occupied by the city of Omaha, where they were living in 1820, but removed shortly afterward again to the Platte, near their old homes. Abandoning this place they established permanent villages of earth-covered huts on the Missouri a few miles south of the present location of Nebraska City, where they were living at the time of the opening up of the Territory to settlement. Treaties were made with them on June 24th, 1817, and September 26th, 1825, and by treaty on March 15th, 1854, the confederated tribes of Otoes and Missouris ceded their rights to the lands lying along the Missouri, and were removed to a reservation of 16,000 acres on the southeastern border of the State, where they still remain; both tribes, together, in 1879, numbering less than five hundred souls. The western half of their reservation has been appraised for sale.
THE SANTEE SIOUX,
About eight hundred in number (1879), are located in Knox County on the Missouri River, near the mouth of the Niobrara, on a reservation of 115,200 acres, of which one-fourth is adapted to tillage, and nearly all the rest suitable for grazing. These Indians wear citizens' dress and are the most civilized of all the Sioux. They have five schools under the care of the Episcopalians.
WINNEBAGOES.
The Winnebagoes, a tribe of the Dakota family, live on a reservation of 128,000 acres at the Black Bird hills, on the Missouri River, in the northeastern part of the State, north of and adjoining the Omaha reservation, and numbered, in 1879, abont 1,650. They lived in Wisconsin and Minnesota in 1793. After being defeated
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by Wayne they made peace with the Government, but in the war of 1812 took sides with the English. After several treaties being made with them at different times, they were removed in April 1863, to Crow Creek, in Dakota, above Fort Randall. The place was entirely unsuited to them, affording no means of livelihood or support, and surrounded by hostile tribes of Indians. Deaths were so numerous from disease, war and famine, that out of 1,985 but 1,222 were left. They left and succeeded in reaching the Omaha reservation, and appealed for shelter. In May, 1866, they re- moved to Winnebago where all had to commence anew. In June, 1869, they were assigned to the care of Friends. They are a quiet, peaceable people, wearing citizens' clothing, electing Chiefs an- nually, and preserving order by means of an Indian Police. Lands were allotted to such as wanted to take up farms, and in 1874, they numbered 1,445, with farms, cottages, stock, and three day schools. On their removal from Minnesota, 160 half-breeds, who had taken land, remained, and these received as tribal share $800, but many have lost this and lands, and have joined the tribe in Nebraska. In the winter of 1874 they numbered nearly 1,000. Most of these were removed to a small tract purchased for them near the Win- nebago reservation, but many of them left almost as soon as they reached it. Attempts by the Catholics and Presbyterians to bring them back met with little success.
PONCAS.
The Poncas resided for many years on a reservation near the mouth of the Niobrara River, in Dakota Territory. They were originally a branch of the Mahas or Omahas, and resided on the Red River of the North. Here they were attacked by the Sioux, and after losing greatly, removed to the opposite side of the Missouri and built a fortified village on the Ponea River. They united with the Omahas but have generally kept apart. Their constant pursuit by the Sioux kept them wandering until reduced to a wretched condition. At the beginning of this century their number was very small, but after the coming of Lewis and Clarke and the treaty of June 28, 1817, and June 9, 1825, they improved rapidly, and in 1832 they numbered 750, a large majority of which were women. On March 12, 1858, they sold their lands to the Government
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and went on a reservation near the Yanktons, the compensation to be in installments of $185,000, with the support of schools and agricultural aid. But their crops failed and they were harassed and killed by the Sioux. A new treaty March 10th, 1865, gave them a reservation of 576,000 acres of bottom land near the junction of the Niobrara, in Dakota, where they formed three villages. In the distribution of Agents the Poncas were assigned to the Protestant Episcopal Church, and soldiers were sent in 1874 to protect them. They then numbered 730, and 132 half-breeds. They are an in- offensive, agriculturally disposed people, speaking the same lan- guage as the Omahas.
In 1877, the Poncas were removed to a reservation in the Indian Territory.
In 1879, thirty of these Indians, with Standing Bear, their Chief, left their Reservation, and returned to the Omaha Reserva- tion, where they remained until a detachment of soldiers were ordered to take them back. On arriving at Omaha, under arrest, by order of the Interior Department, in charge of soldiers, a writ of habeas corpus was sued out, and heard before Judge Dundy, of the United States Court, where Hon. A. J. Poppleton and J. L. Webster, volunteered their services on behalf of the Indians, which came on in Court May 2d, and after a careful hearing, they were released from custody. They returned to the Omaha Reservation. The question, however, is still pending in the U. S. Courts.
On June 3d, U. S. Court, Prosecuting Attorney presented the case before Judge Miller, who decided he had no jurisdiction over the Ponca prisoners released by Judge Dundy, on a writ of habeas corpus, as they were not in Court, but would continue the case in order to give Prosecuting Attorney Lambertson time to investi- gate further. The Indians, however, are at liberty.
IOWAS, AND SACS AND FOX.
The Iowas, and Sacs and Fox Indians occupy a reservation of 32,000 acres in the south-eastern corner of the State, extending over into Kansas.
In 1879 the Iowas numbered about 250, and the Sacs and Fox 100.
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The Iowas are a tribe of the Dakota family, and were called Pahucha-dirty nose,-and by some, Grey Eyes, or Iowas. Mar- quette, in 1673, lays them down as the Pahoutet, living back of the Des Moines River, and consisting of eight clans-the Eagle, Wolf, Bear and Buffalo, which are still in existence, and the Pigeon, Elk, Beaver and Snake, now extinct,-each clan being distinguished by a peculiar way of cutting the hair. The Iowas, numbering 992 in 1824, were removed by treaty of September 17, 1836, and placed on the Missouri, above Wolf River, but a part broke off the next year and became vagrants, living by theft and hunting on grounds of other tribes. A Presbyterian mission and labor school earnestly maintained from 1835 to 1866, failed to save this people, and in 1846 they had declined to 706. By treaty of March 6, 1861, the tribe, reduced to 305 souls, ceded all but a reservation of 16,000 acres; in 1869 they agreed to sell this and remove, but retracted, giving part to the Sacs, who actually sold their reservation. In 1872 they numbered 225, and were quite favorable to the school, which had sixty-three pupils. They dress in civilized garb, have a number of good frame and log houses, and cultivate several hun- dred acres of land, while the value of their stock is about $8,000. The United States holds $57,500 in trust for them, the interest of which is paid annually to heads of families.
The Sacs and Fox have long been united, forming one band. In 1822 they lived on the Mississippi River, near Fort Armstrong, and are spoken of as being expert hunters and canoemen. They cultivated corn, beans and melons, and a few were employed in the lead mines near Galena, Ill. Treaties were made on August 4, 1824, and July 15, 1830, in which they ceded lands. They were to some extent involved in the BLACK HAWK war of 1831, at the close of which the two tribes made a treaty at Ft. Armstrong with General Scott and Governor Reynolds, ceding lands for an annuity of $20,000 for twenty years, and by a subsequent treaty at Rock Island, a part reserved in the last embracing 256,000 acres, for $192,000. They then settled on the Des Moines River, Iowa, on an irregular square tract about 140 miles each way; the Foxes at this time numbering 2,446. Government removed them again by treaty in 1842, and in 1849 they were chiefly on the Osage. Since then in spite of the Government's efforts to civilize and improve them,
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they have declined in numbers very rapidly, rejecting with a steady persistency missionaries and schools. The united Sacs and Fox in 1822 numbered 8,000, but were reduced in 1874 to 1,135, of whom 500 were in the Indian Territory, 338 in Iowa, 200 in Kansas, and ninety-seven on their reservation of 16,000 acres in the southeastern part of Nebraska, adjoining that of the Iowas. They have an annuity of $10,506.
CHAPTER III.
NEBRASKA, ITS GEOGRAPHY-MINERALS-TOPOGRAPHY.
Nebraska is included between latitude 40° and 43º north, and longitude 95° 25' and 104° west from Greenwich.
It is bounded on the north by Dakota, east by Iowa and Mis- souri, from which it is separated by the Missouri River, south by Kansas and Colorado, and west by Colorado and Wyoming, con- taining an area of 75,995 square miles, or over 48,000,000 acres of land. The width from north to south is two hundred and eight miles, and the length in the central part is about four hundred and twenty miles, extending from the Missouri River westward to the base of the Rocky Mountains.
Geographically, Nebraska is not far from the center of that portion of North America which may properly be called temperate in climate. The most aggressive and prosperous States of the Union lie chiefly between the same parallels. It is in the direct line of the great tidal wave of emigration to the gold fields of the Terri- tories and the Pacific Coast.
Nebraska is altogether a prairie State, having no mountains nor any hills of magnitude. Its surface consists of undulating prairies, rich alluvial valleys and table lands, stretching away into extensive level plains, with a gradual ascent from the Missouri River westward, reaching an altitude on its western border of about five thousand feet above the level of the sea, and yet the incline is so gradual that in the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad up the Platte Valley, not a tunnel, trestle or fill of any importance were required, nor a single difficulty encountered from the Missouri River to the foot of the Rocky Mountains.
LXII
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TIIE MISSOURI RIVER.
This, the only navigable river in Nebraska, forms the eastern line of the State, being the boundary between it and the States of Iowa and Missouri. It is an exceedingly crooked, treacherous stream, and yet it has been, and is to some extent, an important avenue for both travel and freight to the more distant northwest. Its source is in latitude 45 north, and longitude 110:30 west, high up in the Rocky Mountains, and the distance it flows from the Great Falls to its junction with the Mississippi River is 2,575 miles. Its course is nearly north to the Great falls, and thence to the northeast until it joins the White Earth River, from whence its course to its con- fluence with the Mississippi is generally southeast. Below the mouth of the Kansas River, the Missouri runs almost a due east course through the State of Missouri, emptying into the Mississippi in latitude 38:50 and longitude 90:45 west. Its chief tributaries between its mouth and Fort Leavenworth are the Osage, Grand and Kansas Rivers, the first two being navigable from 150 to 200 miles. North from its confluence with the Kansas it receives the Nodawa, Little Tarkio, Big Nemaha, Nishnabatona, Little Nemaha, and Platte Rivers before the city of Omaha is reached, while further to the north it receives the Boyer, Little Sioux, Big Sioux, James, Niobrara, White Earth and Yellowstone Rivers, besides a large number of less important streams. From the point where the Platte empties into it, to the mouth of the Yellowstone, the Missouri varies from 400 to 1,000 yards in width. The Missouri seems to hold a mortgage on the lands that flank it on either side, and it often takes such lands by force, only to return them when some other change in its ever shifting course is developed.
Previous to the exploration made by Lewis and Clarke, the impression prevailed among the Spanish and French residents in what was then known as the Northwestern Territory, that the source of the Missouri was near the point where it joins the Niobrara, and most of the maps in use previous to the exploration referred to, locate its source at or near the point mentioned.
THE FIRST STEAMER ON THE MISSOURI.
The Western Engineer, built at Pittsburgh in 1818, by the
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United States Government, was the first steamboat to navigate the Missouri.
She left her moorings at Pittsburgh on the 3d of May, 1819, having on board an exploring expedition, sent out by order of the Government to explore the Missouri river and the country west of it to the Rocky Mountains. The expedition was under the com- mand of S. H. Long, Major in the United States Engineer Corps, and arrived in St. Louis on the 20th of June, one month and sev- enteen days after starting. The mouth of the Platte was reached on the 17th of September following, and on the 19th of the same month the expedition cast anchor near the mouth of Boyer River, on the Iowa side, about five miles below Council Bluffs, mentioned by Lewis and Clarke, where it went into winter quarters. The point of encampment was known as Fort Lisa, and was occupied by the Missouri Fur Company as a trading post. Here the explorers remained during the winter of 1819-20, Major Long in the mean- time returning to Philadelphia, the then seat of Government, with the reports of the expedition. On the 20th of June, 1820, Major Long returned to Fort Lisa, with orders from John C. Calhoun, then Secretary of War, for the expedition to proceed overland to the headwaters of the Arkansas and Red Rivers for the purpose of exploring those streams and the country contiguous to them, and in accordance therewith the expedition left the boat at this point and proceeded up the valley of the Platte, holding councils with the numerous Indian tribes through which they passed.
The Western Engineer, after the departure of the expedition, received a new commander and was employed for many years thereafter in transporting Government supplies to the forts and trading posts along the Missouri river.
The Platte, the principal interior river of the State, is a broad, shallow stream, with low banks, about 1,200 miles in length, and is formed in the western part of the State by the confluence of the North and South Forks which have their sources in the Rocky Mountains, the former in Wyoming and the latter in Colorado. The course of the Platte is eastwardly through the central portion of the State, dividing it into two nearly equal portions, and empty- ing into the Missouri River on the line between Sarpy and Cass Counties. It has many large fertile islands, valuable at present for
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their timber and fine grasses for hay. The great valley of the Platte, famous for its beauty and productiveness, extends through the State from east to west, and is from three to fifteen miles wide.
The Platte has a large number of important tributaries flow- ing into it from the north, though none of any size from the south, with the exception of Salt Creek, in the eastern part of the State. The principal streams on the north are the Elkhorn, Loup and Wood Rivers, Shell and Prairie Creeks.
The Elkhorn is about 300 miles in length, and a remarkably crooked stream. Its source is in the north-central part of the State in a number of sloughs or lakes, which cover an area of fifteen or twenty miles square, and its course is south-easterly, passing through the Counties of Holt, Antelope, Madison, Stanton, Cum- ing, Dodge, Washington, Douglas, and Sarpy, emptying into the Platte River in the last named County. The Elkhorn is a beautiful River, narrow, but deep and rapid, and furnishes unlimited water- power for manufacturing purposes, as do also some of the larger creeks which join it on either side. The bottoms, varying in width from three to six miles, are composed of a sandy alluvium im- pregnated with carbonates and phosphate, and produce a large yield of the cereals and vegetables.
The Loup River, the largest of the tributaries, is formed in Howard County by the junction of the North, Middle and South Forks, which rise in unorganized territory in the northwestern part of the State, each being a stream of considerable size. The general course of the Loup is easterly, passing through the Counties of Nance and Platte to the south-east corner of the last named where it joins the Platte. It is a swift running stream with fer- tile bottoms composed of a sandy loam, varying from three to five miles in width.
Wood River rises in Custer County and flows easterly through the Counties of Dawson, Buffalo and Hall, emptying into the Platte in the southwestern part of Merrick County. It is a small stream, has a slow current, and seldom overflows its banks. The bottoms are comparatively narrow but rich and productive.
Shell Creek is a sparkling stream rising in the northern part of Boone County, and flowing in a southeasterly course through Platte and Colfax Counties, joins the Platte in the southeastern part of 5
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the last named County. It affords some excellent mill privileges, and the valley through which it passes is remarkable for its beauty and fertility. The bluff's which skirt it rise in places to a height of from 75 to 100 feet above the Platte bottoms on the south.
Prairie Creek rises in Buffalo County, flows northeasterly through the Counties of Hall, Merrick and Nance, and empties into the Platte in Platte County. It is a slender stream, about 80 miles in length, and its course lies through an undulating, sandy prairie of average productiveness.
Salt Creek, the most important tributary of the Platte from the south, rises in the southern part of Lancaster County, flows northeasterly through that County and empties into the Platte near the town of Ashland. It is a very fine stream, supported by numerous creeks and springs, and passes through a beautiful and fertile region of country. It also furnishes unusually good mill privileges.
The Republican, one of the finest and most important rivers in the State, waters the southern tier of Counties, as far east as Nuckolls County. It rises in the mountains of Colorado, flows in an easterly course, entering Nebraska at the southwest corner, passes through the Counties of Dundy, Hitchcock, Red Willow, Furnas, Franklin, Webster and Nuckolls, and thence into Kansas. The water of this river is clear and has a fall of about seven feet to the mile. The Valley of the Republican, varying in width from two to six miles, is famed for its magnificent scenery and rich bottoms. The Republican has a large number of very fine tribu- taries in this State, of which the most important are the Stinking Water, Blackwood, Red Willow, Medicine, Muddy, Turkey, Spring, Thompson, Center and Rock Creeks, on the north, and Driftwood, Beaver, Sappa and Prairie Dog Creeks on the south. The majority of these streams furnish an ample volume of water for mills, and with their branches, nourish and drain a large extent of country.
The Niobrara River, the largest stream in the State north of the Platte, rises in Wyoming, flows eastwardly through the northern part of the State, forms part of the boundary line between Nebraska and Dakota, and empties into the Missouri on the northeastern boundary of the State. It has a rapid current and extensive alluvial bottoms similar to other large streams of Nebraska. In places
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contiguous to the stream, however, there are considerable areas covered with a loose, shifting sand, yet the greater part of the bottom land is fertile and beautiful as any one could wish. The Niobrara passes through a country 300 miles on the west, almost wholly unsettled, and there are greater bodies of timber along its course and on its tributaries than in any other part of the State. The principal tributaries of the Niobrara are Snake River, the Pines, Willow, Eagle, Red Bird, and Verdigris Creeks, on the south and the Keya Paha River, Antelope, Clay and Reunion Creeks on the north. The Keya Paha River forms a small section of the boundary between Nebraska and Dakota.
White River, a direct tributary of the Missouri, rises in the northwestern part of this State, and flows northeasterly through Dakota.
The Big Blue River, one of the most beautiful streams in the State, rises in Hamilton County and flows in a general southeasterly course into Kansas, passing through the Counties of Polk, Butler, Seward, Saline and Gage. The Big Blue has a rocky bed, and is famous as a mill stream, also for the lovely scenery of its valley, and dry, rich bottoms and table lands. The principal tributaries are the North and West Blue Rivers and Lincoln Creek, or Middle Blue, each furnishing sufficient water for mills.
The Little Blue River rises in Adams County and flows south- easterly, nearly parallel with the Big Blue, passing through the Counties of Adams, Clay, Nuckolls, Thayer and Jefferson, and join- ing the Big Blue in Kansas. It is a stream scarcely inferior to the Big Blue in size and importance, in the grandeur and fertility of its valley and its splendid mill advantages. The principal tribu- taries are Big and Little Sandy Creeks on the north, and Morehouse, Elk and Muddy Creeks on the south. These also have volume of water sufficient for mills.
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