USA > Nebraska > Douglas County > Omaha > History of Omaha from the pioneer days to the present time > Part 10
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The following story of the doings of the early claim clubs is another good illustration of how they managed affairs in those days: An Irishman had entered the claim of another at the land office, receiving therefor a certificate, and he was soon afterwards taken in hand by the club to which the first claimant of the land belonged. The man was knocked down, tied and put in a wagon which was driven under a big cottonwood tree; a rope was put around his neck and he was told to say his last prayers, for unless he would sign over his certificate he would be hanged at once. The Irishman declined to either pray or sign over, and was instantly strung up. He was left dangling a moment, and was then cut down and restored to conscious- ness. Being still obstinate, he was again elevated, and a second time released from the unpleasant situation. He still refused to comply with the demands of the club. After a short consultation it was decided to lock the pris- oner up, put a sentinel over him, and starve him into sub- mission. The plan was carried into effect, and after the Irishman had stood it till he had suffered extreme torture from the want of food, he sent for the leader of the club and told him he was ready to transfer the certificate which he had received at the land office, to the one who had first
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occupied the land, and also to sign a quit-claim deed. This being done the prisoner was released.
A. D. Jones, in defending the Omaha claim club, main- tains that the wrongs complained of were the acts of "spe- cial claim clubs," and not those of the original organization of 1854. and that the association which held a meeting when the land office was opened and decided not to permit any man to pre-empt land without the consent of the asso- ciation. was not the old club, but a new set. Concerning the claim clubs we find the following interesting paragraph in Woolworth's "Nebraska in 1857:" "Where the land has not been surveyed, the United States law affords no pro- tection to a squatter, against a jumper: that is, a person en- tering upon his claim and asserting a possessory right to it. To afford protection in these cases, the territorial legisla- ture passed an act, approved March 6th, 1855, relative to claims on the public lands, by which it is provided that the squatter may hold 320 acres by forming with his neighbors a club, which is required to make and record with the re- gister of the county its regulations. By this act these clubs are invested with legislative powers for their neigh- borhoods. Their operation, is this: A member of the club has fulfilled the requirements of the rules in staking out his claim, recording it, and improving it. A person steps in and claims it for himself. The matter is brought before the club and examined. If the second claimant, who is called a jumper, can not show that the first claimant has no right to hold the claim, under the regulations of the club, he is required within a certain period to withdraw his claim, on penalty of expulsion from the territory, or of death. Such is the necessity of the case, that in any event in which he should not yield the penalty is promptly en- forced. Most clubs construe a person who is not a citi- zen of the territory a settler, provided he has a tenant on the land. But few cases of extreme measures have arisen. These regulations afford pretty safe possession to the actual settler; although it can be hardly doubted that the law of the territory conferring legislative authority on the clubs, is unconstitutional. Still public opinion is more than law."
The rules of these clubs were the only security of the settler prior to the land sales, and hence much can be said in their favor, notwithstanding there were some abuses-an
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inevitable result whenever men take the law into their own hands. Claim-jumping was considered the highest crime in those days-horse stealing coming next in importance. Claim clubs were a necessity as long as squatter titles existed. but as soon as government title to land could be obtained. there was no further use for such organizations, and accordingly the Omaha claim club, as well as all other similar associations in Nebraska, disbanded in 1857-58.
During the year 1856 the land in the territory was sur- veyed by the government. The title of the land, the reader is reminded, was still vested in the government.
The first entry of land ever made in Nebraska was in March. 1857. in which month the river counties were thrown upon the market. The title could only be acquired from the government under the pre-emption law of 1841, which required a settlement on the land by the party making the entry. The only exception to this was in the case of cities and towns, which were entered under the municipal act of 1844. The pre-emption laws were very liberally construed. The parties who entered the land qualified themselves under the law by a residence of five days on the tract claimed; in after years, however, a six months' residence was required under the same law.
The first public sale of government lands to the highest bidder was made on the 5th of July, 1859. Up to this date no land had been offered in the market except in the river counties.
Colonel A. R. Gilmore was the first receiver of the United States land office at Omaha, and Colonel J. A. Parker, was the first register.
The land covered by the site of Omaha was granted in two patents-one to John McCormick, dated May 1st, 1860, the land having been bid off by him at the public sale of July 5th, 1859, acting as trustee, and the other to Jesse Lowe, mayor, dated October 1, 1860, on the entry made March 17. 1857.
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CHAPTER XVI.
PIONEER JUSTICE.
THE WAY THEY TREATED HORSE THIEVES IN THE EARLY DAYS AT OMAHA-TWO HORSE THIEVES
HAVE THEIR HEADS SHAVED AND ARE PUBLICLY WHIPPED AT A LIBERTY POLE- TWO OTHERS ARE TAKEN BY A MOB FROM THE JAIL AND HUNG TO A TREE NEAR FLORENCE-THE HANGING OF BOUVE IN THE JAIL BY THE VIGILANTES FOR THE ROBBERY OF MRS. TAYLOR-THE DOINGS OF THE VIGILANTES.
In every new country the settlers frequently feel called on to mete out justice to offenders, in their own peculiar way, owing to the inefficiency of the laws and the execu- tives, if any there be. Pioneer justice is swift, and although sometimes rather harsh, it is generally adminis- tered impartially andcorrectly. No guilty man escapes through the law's delay or through the law's techni- calities As a sample of pioneer justice we will relate the following truthful tale: It was in the summer of 1856 that a couple of vagabonds stole two horses from the settlers in the vicinity of Omaha, who had been frequent losers by the operations of horse thieves. These two horses were sold by them to some Pawnee Indians near the Elkhorn, on the south side of the river, south of Fremont. One day soon afterwards the animals strayed back to Omaha and were recaptured by the owners. The Indians came after them, but of course could not get them again. They were ques- tioned as to their claims to the animals, and replied that they had bought them from white men. They were then told that the next time any white men offered to sell them horses to hold them as prisoners, and give information of the fact. Shortly afterwards the same two men made their appearance among the Pawnees and wanted to sell them some mules. The Indians, remembering that they had lost the horses which they had purchased from these men, and not forgetting the instructions they had received at Omaha, at once arrested the thieves and brought them into the city, delivering them up to the whites. There was no jail in town then in which to confine them, and if there had been
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the society was not sufficiently developed to punish crime in the usual manner. So the matter was talked over among the citizens and others, and the conclusion was ar- rived at that the thieves should have their heads shaved, that each should receive thirty-nine lashes on the bare back, and that they should return to the Indians the amount received for the horses.
The crowd at once proceeded to carry out their decision. A colored barber named Bill Lee, a Madagascar negro, was employed to shave their heads, and he did the work in a
APEX
SALOON
4.1
TWO HORSE THIEVES PUBLICLY WHIPPED.
highly artistic manner. He shaved the right side of the head of one of the thieves and the left side of the head of the other.
The prisoners were then led up to a liberty pole, which had been erected the year before on the then vacant block between Harney and Farnam and Twelfth and Thirteenth streets, in front of the old Apex saloon, which was kept by Charley Green and Dick Kimball, the latter of whom still resides in the city. The Douglas house, which was then the leading resort in the town, stood not far distant. One of the thieves was stripped to the hips and his hands tied to the liberty pole. A heavy rawhide was brought out and
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everything was then ready for the whipping. The perform- ance, however, was somewhat delayed on account of there being no one who seemed willing to handle the rawhide.
During the delay the trembling wretch stood there waiting for his punishment, At last, however, it was sug- gested that the Indians should do the whipping. The Indians readily assented, and one of them started in rather too vigorously, so that he had to be checked. Another suggestion was then made that the owners of the horses that had been stolen should undertake the job. They ac- cordingly performed the whipping to the satisfaction of every one, especially the Indians, who seemed to greatly enjoy the scene, and they were the only ones who really appeared to relish the performance. The owner of one of the horses whipped the first thief, who counted each lash as it fell, and when the last stroke was applied, he yelled out, "That's all." The other thief was then led up and tied to the pole, and was whipped by the owner of the other horse. The names of the two men who did the whipping have passed out of the recollection of nearly everybody, but one old settler of Omaha informs us that they were Patrick Gurnett and Jesse Shoemaker.
The citizens all regretted the affair, but regarded it as an unavoidable necessity, as there had been so much horse and cow stealing going on. Chief Justice Ferguson- whose son, A. N. Ferguson, is now a lawyer of this city -- was greatly opposed to this transaction from the very start, and did all in his power to stop it. He said it was all wrong, and that they had no business to take the law into their own hands. He directed B. P. Rankin, then United States marshal, to disperse the mob, confine the prisoners, and give them a hearing.
Rankin, who did not think it advisable to act in opposi- tion to the sentiments of the crowd, obeyed the order, but in such a manner that it had no effect whatever. He is said to have delivered the command of the judge in a tone of voice little above a whisper. No one paid any attention to him. The whipping proceeded until the full punishment had been inflicted. after which the victims were conducted to the river and allowed to depart. They never showed themselves in this vicinity again. and it is quite likely that they were effectually cured of horse stealing -- in Nebraska, at least.
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In the month of March, 1858, two men, one named Harvey Braden and the other John Daley, two desperate characters from Harrison county, Iowa, were hanged by a mob for horse stealing. These two fellows had stolen horses from some farmers at or near Florence, six miles north of Omaha. They had lost horses before. and could not recover them. After a long and determined chase they
HANGING OF BRADEN AND DALEY FOR HORSE STEALING.
captured Braden and his companion, Daley, together with the stolen horses. They conveyed the prisoners to Omaha, where they were incarcerated in jail. They had a prelim- inary hearing before a magistrate, who committed them to jail in default of bail to await their trial.
A few days afterwards a small party of men early in the evening gathered around the court house, at the north- east corner of Farnam and Sixteenth streets, which was
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approaching completion, and was partly occupied .* One of them stepped into the sheriff's office, and without any demonstration or saying anything, walked to the further side of the room and took the key of the jail from the nail where it was hanging. He left the office before the sheriff's wife could give the alarm. She was the only person there, her husband, Cam Reeves, being absent.
The party of men then entered the jail, and took out Braden and Daley and tied them with a rope. Dumping the prisoners into a wagon, they drove rapidly to the north, being followed by a large crowd of men in vehicles, and on foot, who no doubt anticipated the result. The whole party proceeded to a point two miles north of Florence on the main road. The wagon stopped under an oak tree, from which a stout limb projected. A rope was thrown over this limb, allowing the ends to hang down. One end of the rope was tied around Braden's neck, and the other around Daley's neck, the one rope being thus used to hang the two men. The wagon then started up, driving out from beneath the unlucky horse thieves, who were thus left dangling in the air, with their backs to each other, or nearly so.
The mob quickly dispersed after the hanging. The bodies of the victims remained suspended there till noon of the next day, and when they were cut down it was found that Braden, by some means or other-a matter of mystery, by the way, to everybody-had got the rope into his mouth, so that the noose did not pass around his neck. He had, un- doubtedly, just previously to his being launched into eternity, worked the rope up to his chin, thinking in all probability that he might thus save his life until the crowd had disappeared, when he might either he able to release himself, or some one might come to his assistance. When the wagon drove from under him the rope very likely was jerked from his chin into his mouth with very great force. But no one came to his rescue, and he was found as dead as his companion. The remains were conveyed to Omaha for the purpose of having an inquest held over them, and were placed in the same cell from which they had been taken alive on the previous evening. The next morning the bodies were found horribly mutilated by the rats. Byron
*The old court house has been vacated and torn down, and the lot is now owned by W. A. Paxton, who has erected thereon a handsome six-story business building
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Reed and John Logan-the then city marshal-were the first to make the sickening discovery. Public sentiment was very strong against the men, whoever they were, who had done the hanging.
A coroner's jury was empanelled. Dr. George L. Miller was elected foreman, and Byron Reed was the clerk to take down the testimony. The inquest lasted two or three days. A great deal of feeling was manifested on the part of the farmers whose horses had been stolen, as well as on the part of the people throughout the country. It was even found necessary during the progress of the inquest to employ a number of deputies to assist the sheriff in bringing in obstinate witnesses before the jury. In one case it re- quired the combined strength and exertions of four men to fetch in a certain witness who absolutely refused to say a word about the case. It was well known that he was pres- ent when the men were hanged. Some twenty or thirty witnesses, who saw these men hanged, were examined. They admitted the fact of being spectators, but said they had no hand in the affair. and did not know anybody who had. The coroner's jury failed to find out the leaders of the mob. Although they had their own suspicions, they could not substantiate them by any legal evidence. The result, however, was that four men were held for trial at the dis- trict court for participating to some extent in the mysterious affair. They were tried and acquitted, but not before they had taken a change of venue to Sarpy county. It is a fact that this affair ruined every one of them, mentally and financially. They had previously been prosperous men. but after this trial they met with reverse after reverse, and never recovered.
The sheriff was afterwards indicted, tried and convicted of direlection of duty in not preventing the hanging, and was fined several hundred dollars. Judge Fergusonwas the chief justice at the time, and James G. Chapman the prose- cuting attorney. The records of this case have all been lost.
Sometime in the spring of 1861 there came to the house of Mr. George T. Taylor, who then lived on the military road ten miles northwest of Omaha, where it crosses the Big Papillion, two men named Bouve and Iler, who were what might be termed professional tramps. There was no
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one at home except Mrs. Taylor, whom they assaulted and ordered to deliver up what money and valuables that there were in the house.
Mrs. Taylor, being a resolute woman, made objection to the proceedings, and attempted to scare them off, when Bouve seized her, threw her on the bed, tied her hands and otherwise fastened her so that she could not move, and then struck her, but without inflicting any great injury. He then wanted to burn her up, but Iler prevented him by interfering and saying that he ought not to strike a woman or hurt her, as all they wanted was money. Bouve said he didn't care for the consequences. They then robbed the house of money and other valuables, consisting mostly of silverware. Bouve was not satisfied with the plunder, and thinking that Mrs. Taylor had not revealed the whereabouts of all the valuables, he pointed a revolver at her, and would no doubt have shot her, had it not been for the second interference of Iler who said he didn't want any murder committed. The remarks of Iler in Mrs. Taylor's behalf afterwards saved his life. The thieves gathered up their plunder and came into Omaha.
Mr. Taylor returned home shortly afterwards, and upon learning the circumstances immediately came into Omaha and gave an account of the robbery.
Mr. Taylor next went before Major Armstrong, who was police judge and mayor of Omaha, and swore out a complaint against those old offenders John Doe and Richard Roe, as the real names were unknown. Thomas Riley was then city marshal, and a good officer he was, too, during the three terms that he held that responsible office. In his hands the warrant of arrest was placed, and it was not long before he reported that he had discovered two men, whom he had not seen in town before, playing cards in a saloon under the Western Exchange Bank building. He had learned that they had first made their appearance here early that morning, and seemed rather free with their money. Riley was ordered to arrest them and bring them before the court, which he did without any unnecessary delay. The prisoners gave their names as James Bouve and John S. Iler, and said they had just come in from the west and were seeking employment as laborers. Judge Armstrong had them searched. and not being able to identify them as
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the perpetrators of the robbery, and after apologizing to them for the indignity they had suffered. they were dis- charged. As soon as Bouve and Iler had retired Judge Armstrong suggested to Marshal Riley that he had better keep an eye on them so that he could find them in the morning. The judge then sent Mr. Taylor home with di- rections to bring his wife and hired man to the city before noon of the next day. Next morning Marshal Riley was directed to rearrest Bouve and Iler, on whom he had kept a strict watch. After their release they had gone back to the saloon under the Western Exchange building, and in a braggadocio style swore that they would "make the town ring," as they were expecting plenty of money from friends in a day or two. When they left the saloon in the morning they were followed by Riley down to the river where he ar- rested them. They were no doubt intending to go to the spot where they had buried their plunder. Marshal Riley brought the men before Judge Armstrong. Mrs. Taylor had arrived in the city by this time and had been placed in a back room by Judge Armstrong, unobserved by anybody. The court room was thronged with spectators, who were directed to arrange themselves against the sides of the room, and Bouve and Iler were placed among the crowd. Mrs. Taylor was then brought forth. Her presence created quite a sensation. She was a tall, slim, stately woman, past the meridian of life, her pale, intelligent face had a weird expression, and altogether she impressed the look- ers-on with the fact that she was no ordinary person and one that had evidently seen better days. The judge stated to her why he had sent for her, and asked her if she would know the men who had robbed her if she should see them again. She sprang to her feet and striking a tragic atti- tude, screamed out, "Yes, I could tell them among ten thousand people!" She then began at the head of the line, looking steadfastly into the eyes of each man as she slowly passed along. Finally she stopped in front of Bouve, and exclaimed, "You are the man. I know you even if you have shaved off your whiskers, for I never can forget those eyes." This act of identification was a thrilling episode, and the crowd felt relieved from the suspense in which they had been held up to this time. Mrs. Taylor then walked along the line a few steps farther and halted in front of
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Iler, saying, "And you are the other man; you saved my life. It was you who said, 'Jim, don't shoot the old woman""
Both men were then committed to jail and put in sepa- rate cells. That night a committee of citizens visited Bouve and informed him that Iler had confessed. They did this expecting to get Bouve to commit himself, but they did not succeed. They then tried the same game on Iler by telling him that Bouve had confessed. Thereupon Iler told everything and informed them where the money was hidden. The committee, accompanied by Marshal Riley, who took Iler along, then went to the place, on the bottoms near an old brickyard north of the present loca- tion of the Union Pacific shops, and there by the aid of a lantern they found the money and other articles. Iler was then taken back to jail.
The next day a large meeting was held in front of Pioneer block. There were over five hundred men present, and among them the very best citizens of the town. It was. decided to try Bouve and Iler, then and there, by a jury of twelve good men. The jurymen were selected, and the trial proceeded in a room in Pioneer block. Wm. A. Little,. afterwards chief justice, and Robert A. Howard defended the prisoners, and pleaded eloquently for the law to be allowed to take its course. The jury found the men guilty of the offense charged, and the question was whether they should be turned over to the vigilance committee, with the recommendation that Iler should be treated leniently. The question was also put to the crowd outside, after they had been addressed pro and con by several eloquent speakers, and they voted in accordance with the verdict of the jury, that the vigilance committee should dispose of the case. They voted by stepping across a dividing line, and when the crowd dispersed it was pretty generally understood that the vigilance committee would have a "neck-tie sociable" that very night. And so they did. At midnight they pro- ced to the jail and overpowered Marshal Riley, who was in charge, and taking the keys from him, the crowd passed him outside over their heads. They then unlocked the door of Bouve's cell and hanged him to a beam in the hall, the tips of his toes actually touching the floor, so that the planks had to be taken up to let him have a free swing.
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The county was thus relieved of any further expense or trouble in the case. It is said that he died game, making no confession and cursing the crowd in the most bitter terms. He is reported to have killed several men in Colo- rado, being a gambler and a thief by profession, and a daring desperado. A coroner's jury, consisting of Emerson Seymour, Francis Smith, Jesse Lowe, A. J. Hanscom, M. W. Keith, Benjamin Stickles and Thomas L. Shaw, returned a verdict that Bouve came to his death by hanging by per- sons unknown to them.
In consideration of Iler's efforts in behalf of Mrs. Taylor at the time of the robbery, and his confession, he was set free by the vigilantes, who directed him to leave the coun- try. They nearly scared the life out of him by firing their revolvers after him as he rapidly disappeared out of sight in the darkness. He went as far as Bellevue and obtained employment in a saw-mill, but a few months after he en- listed in Captain W. G. Hollins' company of volunteers, served through the war and received an honorable dis- charge as sergeant.
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