USA > Nebraska > Douglas County > Omaha > History of Omaha from the pioneer days to the present time > Part 14
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' I'm a bull-whacker, far from home, If you don't like it, just leave me alone- Eat my grub when hungry, drink when dry ; Whack, punch, swear, and then lie down and die.'
That same afternoon the elder had handbills distributed around in the camps, giving notice that he would preach at the 'Big Elm Trees,' near the military bridge. Between three and four hundred pilgrims and bull-whackers gathered there and attentively listened to him. No other minister would have had a corporal's guard for a congregation from such men. I have no doubt that the elder sowed some gos-
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pel seed here and there in that crowd. About this time A. D. Jones was selling groceries on the corner where the Commer- cial bank is now located. Sam Orchard was engaged in the same business in a building where the U. S. express office now stands. So also was George Clays, in a small way, in a one-story building, which has long since disappeared, at the northeast corner of Farnam and Thirteenth streets. The lot on which the postoffice stands was used as a corral. Kountze Brothers occupied a little one-story frame building, where the Nebraska National bank now is. Billy Hughes was their bookkeeper. A. J. Hanscom's residence was on the lot now covered by Duke's hardware store, No. 1404 Douglas street. From that point to the military bridge was the fashionable drive, going to Bovey's row, now St. Cath- erine's academy, and to Col. Richey's house-a red cottage opposite St. Barnabas' church. There were only three or four houses in the whole distance. A little brick building, kept as a German hotel, occupied the Farnam street front of the square where the Paxton hotel now stands. On the opposite side of the street was the office of J. R. Meredith. The town was pretty well scattered. F. R. Goulay, the photographer, was enterprising enough to try and get a picture of the 'city,' and after many efforts found a point where the camera would take the largest scope. This was about where P. H. Sharp's house stands. The picture was too true. It didn't show buildings enough to suit the citi- zens, who wanted to send copies of the picture to their eastern friends. Ben. Stickles, the dentist, and the organ- izer of the first fire department in Omaha, as well as the first officer of the Pioneer hook and ladder company, wanted to have the instrument 'swept around and get in more houses, and put them in the picture.' Goulay couldn't get the camera to work that way, and he couldn't improve the picture."
As Dr. Miller observed in his "Home Gossip" column of the Omaha Herald in after years: "Omaha was practically extinguished under the financial avalanche of 1857, and did not emerge from its effects until the advent of rail- roads."
As may be concluded, the condition of affairs in the city was not improved in 1858, nor to any appreciable extent in 1859. However, the tide of immigration, as has already
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OMAHA IN 1866-LOOKING EAST ON FARNAM STREET.
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been stated, began once more to flow in this direction in the latter year, and Omaha added quite a number to her popula- tion, and increased her business.
It was during the year 1859 that the subject of the Pacific railroad first found formal public expression at a meeting held early in the spring in Pioneer block. At an adjourned meeting, a memorial setting forth the advantages offered by the Platte valley route was formulated by a committee and circulated throughout the territory for signatures.
In 1860, the city was estimated to contain about 1,500 buildings and 4,000 inhabitants. The buildings were chiefly of a substantial character and were very creditable struct- ures for a new town.
The first telegraph line into Omaha was completed on October 5, 1860, when communication was opened with St. Louis, and thence with all parts of the United States. This line was constructed by Edward Creighton, who also orig- inated and constructed the Pacific telegraph line in 1861 from Omaha to Salt Lake, where it connected with the other half of the line from California, thus uniting the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. During the years 1860 and 1861, Omaha made rapid strides. In December, 1863, the construction of the Union Pacific railroad was formally inaugurated amid great enthusiasm by the breaking of ground in the presence of a large gathering of people from Omaha and Council Bluffs. From this time the success of Omaha was assured, though its effects did not become apparent until a year or more later, when work upon the route was begun. The work continued steadily until com- pletion in 1869.
In 1865 the boom in business commenced, but did not fully get under way until the following year. The close of the civil war brought thousands to the west, and Omaha, proud of a growth superinduced by the building of the Pacific railroad, held out inducements to which heed was given by large numbers, many of whom remained and have since become wealthy, enterprising and influential citizens. With the dawning of 1866, the city grew more rapidly and trade was extended to distant points in the west. Manu- factures increased, public and private improvements began to rise in various quarters of the city, additional schools
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were provided, and new religious and secular societies were organized. Meanwhile, work on lines of railroads from the east was progressing so rapidly that it was a question of but a brief period when the iron horse and trains of cars would be substituted for the steamer and coach. In fact, the substantial prosperity of Omaha-with only occasional halts in her on ward march-dates its origin from the year 1866.
CHAPTER XXI.
MILITARY HISTORY.
THE EARLY MILITIA-AN INDIAN SCARE IN 1855-THE PAWNEE WAR IN 1859-THE MILITIA CALLED OUT-A BRIEF BUT GLORIOUS CAMPAIGN-OMAHA AND NEBRASKA IN THE CIVIL WAR-THE INDIAN SCARE OF 1864-SETTLERS FLOCK INTO OMAHA-THE CITY UNDER GUARD-THE SCOUT OF CAP- TAIN TAFFE'S COMPANY-CAMPAIGN OF CAPTAIN PORTER'S COMPANY
Military titles were almost as numerous in Omaha and vicinity in 1855 as they were at the close of the civil war, ten years later. Many of of our citizens are under the impression that John M. Thayer first gained the title of general in the war of the rebellion. Such is not the fact, however. He was a general as long ago as 1855. Another fact not generally known is that A. J. Hanscom was a colonel in the early days. Upon examination of the terri- torial records we find that two regiments of militia were organized in 1855, under authority of a proclamation issued by Acting-Governor Cuming on December 23, 1854, in which he recommended the formation of two regiments of volun- teers. Commissions were issued as follows: John M. Thayer, brigadier-general, first brigade; Peter A. Sarpy, quarter- master-general; William English, commissary-general; John B. Folsom, adjutant; H. P. Downs, inspector-general.
First regiment .- A. J. Hanscom, colonel; William C. James, lieutenant-colonel; Hascal C. Purple, major; J. D. N. Thompson, Thomas L. Griffy, adjutants; John B. Rob- ertson, quartermaster; Anselum Arnold, commissary; M. H. Clark, surgeon; George L. Miller, assistant surgeon.
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Second Regiment .- David M. Johnson, colonel ; Richard Brown, quartermaster ; Gideon Bennett, commissary ; Wil- liam McLennan, adjutant ; Isaiah H. Crane, surgeon ; Wil- liam Hamilton, assistant surgeon.
The militia was organized for protection against the Indians. The Pawnees, in the spring of 1855, had com- mitted depredations in Dodge county. A commission, consisting of J. M. Thayer and O. D. Richardson. held a council with these Indians on the Platte river The Indi- ans were informed of the desire of the government for peaceful relations, and at the same time they were told that they would be held to a strict account for any depredations. The result of this council, however, was not considered sat- isfactory, and hence the organization of the militia. It was a wise precaution, as it gave to the settlers a feeling of se- curity, and no doubt kept the Indians in check. A band of hostile Sioux made their appearance near Fontenelle in July, 1855, and caused quite a scare among the settlers. Governor Izard at once authorized General Thayer to raise and equip a volunteer company of forty men. The first company of volunteer militia was also assigned to service under General Thayer, to whom further authority was given to demand an increase of force, if necessary. The scare, however, subsided with the disappearance of the Sioux, and General Thayer's army was not obliged to take the field.
Four years later, in the summer of 1859, the volunteers were called into active service in the so-called "Pawnee war." Omaha took a prominent part in that episode of our territorial history. On July 1st, messengers arrived in the city from Fontenelle and other points in that vicinity with the startling news that the Pawnee Indians were driving off stock, burning houses and threatening the lives of the people. Steps were at once taken to suppress the enemy. General Thayer started immediately for the scene of hostilities with the light artillery company of Omaha, in command of Captain James H. Ford. Upon the evening of the 5th of July, Governor Black, who had been temporarily visiting in Nebraska City, arrived in Omaha with a portion of company K, United States dragoons, in command of Lieu- tenant Robertson. Advices from General Thayer at Fon- tenelle were to the effect that the settlements for fifty miles
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had been broken up and abandoned, and vigorous action was necessary. Governor Black lost no time in organizing a small army with which to reinforce General Thayer, whom he joined on the morning of the 8th, south of the Elkhorn river. The consolidated army consisted of about 200 men, and was officered as follows: Commander-in- chief, Governor Black ; major-general commanding expedi- tion, John M. Thayer. The staff of Commander-in-Chief Black was composed of the following : Lieutenant colonels, John McConihe, R. E. Bowie, C. D. Woolworth, Samuel A. Lowe. General Thayer's staff consisted of Captains R. H. Howard, A. S. Paddock, Witt Black, J. W. Pattison. The companies were as follows :
Omaha Light Artillery-with one six-pounder cannon - Captain, James H. Ford ; first lieutenant, E. G. McNeely ; sergeant, William Searight. Sixteen men, one wagon, twenty-one horses.
First Dragoons-Captain, George F. Kennedy ; first lieutenant, J. C. Reeves ; second lieutenant, C. A. Henry ; first sergeant, J. S. Bowen. Fifty-two men, four wagons, fifty-seven horses.
Second Dragons-Captain, R. W. Hazen; first lieu- tenant, William West; second lieutenant, H. C. Campbell; sergeant, Abram McNeil. Fifty-one men, five wagons, forty-six horses.
Fontenelle Mounted Rifles -- Captain, William Kline; first lieutenant, James A. Bell; second lieutenant, William S. Flack; sergeant, John H. Francis.
Columbus Infantry-Captain Michael Weaver; first lieutenant, William Grauman; sergeant, John Browner. Thirty-seven men, four wagons, eleven horses.
Columbus Guards-Captain, J. Rickley; first lieutenant, J. P. Becker; second lieutenant, J. C. Woolfel. Eleven men.
When regularly organized the regimental officers were: Governor Black, commander-in-chief; John M. Thayer, major-general; William A. West, colonel; B. H. Robertson, United States army, lieutenant-colonel; Samuel R. Curtis, inspector-general; E. Estabrook, adjutant; - Reed, major; W. T. Clarke, quartermaster; A. U. Wyman, commissary; Henry Page, wagon-master; J. P. Peck, William McClel- land, surgeons.
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The campaign was brief but glorious. General Thayer in his report tells the result in a very concise manner: "The troops came upon the Indians and the Indians surrendered. The line was formed, the cannon was planted and the chiefs of all the different bands came forward, throwing down their arms and raising white flags. The interpreter was directed to communicate with them, and they asked to have a coucil. They ackhowledged that their young men had committed these depredations, and offered to give them up, and did bring forward six, who were delivered up. Two of them were shot as they were trying to escaps the next day. The guards informed me. I did not see it done."
Mr. John T. Bell, who was a mere boy at the time, was one of the volunteers in the "Pawnee war," and his reminis- cences of the campaign, as embodied in the following sketch from his pen, will be read with interest not only by the old campaigners, but the people of Omaha generally:
"The Pawnee Indians, at that time," writes Mr. Bell, "occupied two villages about twelve miles directly south of Fontenelle, and on the south side of the Platte They had behaved themselves very well, considering that their depre- dations consisted chiefly in robbing hen roosts and picking up little odds and ends of personal effects belonging to the whites, and the settlers had concluded there was no danger whatever to be apprehended from them, but in this they were doomed to disappointment.
"In the latter part of June, 1859, the entire tribe of Pawnees-braves, squaws, pappooses and dogs-left their villages and marched across the low land intervening be- tween the Platte and the Elkhorn, on the west side of the latter stream, just opposite Fontenelle. Here they remained a day or two; after which short delay, they proceeded up the Elkhorn, without crossing it, pursuing a northwesterly direction. They said they were going up the river on a grand buffalo hunt, and would be gone several moons. On the day after they left their first camp on the Elkhorn, half a dozen bucks crossed the river at a point about a dozen miles above Fontenelle, and attacked an old bachelor by the name of Uriah Thomas, who was living alone in a little log hut some distance from any other house. The Indians took his pocket-book, containing $136, a package of valu- able papers, including several land warrants, drank up all
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his whisky and drove off a fine yoke of oxen, after first having taken the precaution to lock Mr. Thomas up in his shanty. After the Indians had been gone for sometime, Thomas set about effecting his release, which he accom- plished with but little difficulty, and then cautiously pro- ceeded to Fontenelle and gave the alarm. Of course, the wildest excitement prevailed. A company of a dozen men or so was immediately organized, and an advance was made upon the Thomas mansion, after a careful reconnoitering by scouts. No Indians were discovered, and the party con- cealed themselves in and about the hut, and waited patiently for several hours; but no Indians making their appearance, the whites returned to Fontenelle. Two days afterwards, the people living at West Point and De Witt came down to Fontenelle in a body, and reported that as the Pawnees moved up the river, on the west side, marauding bands had crossed over to the east side, and had burned the dwellings of the settlers, ripped up their feather beds, scattered the contents, and used the ticks for blankets; tore to pieces clocks for the purpose of getting the brass rings to hang in their ears, and drove off all kinds of stock. Thirty men, armed with rifles, shot-guns, muskets, and revolvers, started for West Point the next morning in wagons, reach- ing that settlement about the middle of the afternoon. They saw no Indians that day, and after deliberating over the matter, concluded to return to Fontenelle the next day, but decided before doing so to send a portion of the party to De Witt, some six miles up the Elkhorn. As this detachment was on the point of returning to West Point to rejoin the others, having met no redskins, a scout came in with the information that he had seen a small body of In- dians crossing the river a mile or so distant. Arrange-
ments were instantly made to capture the party. A portion of the white men took position in one room of Mr. Moore's double log house, while the rest kept themselves out of sight. The people of the house were instructed to admit the Indians into the unoccupied room of the house, and after they were all in the room, the outside door was to be securely fastened, then the middle door between the rooms was to be opened; the white men were to rush from the room in which they were concealed into that occupied by the Indians, and then their capture would be a very easy
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matter-as they thought. It was a very neat plan, but it didn't result as well as it was expected. The Indians, eleven in number, approached the house; they were invited to walk in, which invitation was accepted, as it was evi- dently their intention to go in whether they were invited or not; the outside door to the room was closed and fastened; the signal was given; the door between the two rooms was opened; the white men rushed with a yell into the room which was occupied by the Indians. The slippery devils shed their blankets, dived down among the legs of the white men, slipped out like so many eels, burst open the door and were out of the room like a flash, and all the white men had to show for their strategem was the lodge- ment of a slug in the wrist of one of their own number- Mr. James H. Peters-which was brought about by the accidental discharge of a gun during the melee in the room. The Indians were followed out of the house by the whites, who blazed away at them as they ran toward the river. Two or three of the Indians were killed, one wounded, and one captured.
"The whites then hastily got their wagons together, put the wounded Indian in one of them, and started back to Fontenelle, being very anxious to vacate that section of the country before the Indians who had made their escape from the house should reach the Pawnee camps, and tell the tribe of the fracas. The whites had not proceeded far before the wounded Indian gave evidence of being dead. He was closely examined by those in the wagon, who agreed unanimously that he had departed this life. As it would not pay to haul dead Indians, the wagon was driven to the bank of the Elkhorn, near which the road ran, and the corpse was picked up and pitched into the river. As soon as the supposed-to-be-dead Indian struck the water, he dived down and swam under the water for the opposite bank, and it was then discovered that he had been playing ' possum.' But even an Indian cannot stay under water all the time, and when that red rascal's head broke the surface of the stream, as he came up to get a whiff of air, a load of buckshot was deposited in the back portion of his cranium by a white man who never could appreciate a practical joke. The Indian never reached the other side of the river alive.
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"It did not take many days for the news with regard to the killing of the Indians at West Point to be carried to every part of the territory, and the entire country was in a blaze of excitement. It was generally thought that the Pawnees would at once declare war against the whites, and outlying settlements were supposed to be in danger of immediate extermination. Governor Black issued orders to the few militia companies then organized, to hold themselves in readiness to move at a moment's notice, and muskets were shipped to the different settlements, with orders for the immediate organization of other companies. The settlers along the Elkhorn river flocked to Fontenelle, which village was turned into a military camp. The growing crops were neglected and suffered much damage thereby. Pickets were thrown out during the day, and a cordon of sentinels surrounded the place at night. All the ammunition was collected together, and pewter teapots, teaspoons, etc., were moulded into bullets. Blunderbusses, which had done good service in patriot hands during the revolutionary war, and which had not been loaded or cleaned since, were dragged forth and burnished up. Old sabres, which had figured prominently on 'muster days' celebrated by the fore- fathers of the present owners, were produced, and measures adopted for the purpose of inducing them to leave their scabbards from which they had not been drawn for years. It was reported every day for a week that ten thousand Indians were approaching the town fully attired in the traditional war paint and feathers, and in consequence of these cheerful stories the people were constantly kept in a state of exciting suspense. At night each bush or shrub would be transformed into a stealthily approaching redskin.
" A week of this sort of life drifted by, and no attack had been made. By this time a force of about two hundred men had gathered in and about Fontenelle, and it was then resolved by the officials of the territory that it would be a fine stroke of policy to cross the Elkhorn, follow the trail of the Indians until they were overtaken, and then and there attack them and administer a lesson which they would not soon forget. A sufficient number of wagons were provided with the necessary camp equipage, and a large amount of provisions (several barrels of whisky being included in the latter), and on the 5th day of July the force
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moved across the river, and went into camp on Maple creek, a few miles from Fontenelle. Governor Black accompanied the expedition, of which he was the commander-in-chief, though the battalion was under the command of Colonel- since Major-General-Thayer, who had served in the Mexi- can war.
"Omaha was represented in the expedition by a gun squad, commanded by Captain James Ford (who became a general during the war), and of which most of the young men of the city were members. Among those who went out as members of this organization and otherwise were Captain Ford, Hobart Ford, Si De Forest, Bob Howard, U. S. Marshal West, George and Ed. Hepburn, General Esta- brook, George Armstrong-mounted on his famous bob- tailed black trotter-Charles Woolworth, A. S. Paddock, James G. Chapman, Cam. Reeves, John McConihe, Dr. Henry, Major J. H. Croft, W. J. Kennedy. Dr. J. P. Peck accompanied the army as surgeon, driving in a single buggy his chestnut sorrel 'Mack.'
"Our mounted force always rode at the head of the columns, preceded by a few scouts, a considerable distance in advance. The sun beat down upon us with terrible force, and the sandy stretches of country over which we passed, at intervals, threw out an immense amount of heat. Our horses were very poor and weak, and the excessive heat, together with the heavy loads, soon began to tell on them, and consequently the progress made was very slow indeed. We had no roads, as the country had not yet been surveyed, and no settlements had been made. We struck the trail of the Indians and followed it steadily over hills, through valleys, and across streams which were always miry. Here we would generally be delayed somewhat, as a bridge of some description was required before we could get the wagons across. A force would be set to work to cut brush, while another would mow down the heavy slough grass. The brush would be thrown into the stream, the grass piled on the brush, and then if the banks were very steep the horses would be unhitched from the wagons, which would be let down by ropes, and then drawn up the opposite banks by teams which had been previously taken across. Notwithstanding the many difficulties encountered, we usually traveled as far in one day as the Indians we
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were pursuing would march in three, it being an easy mat- ter to locate the place where they had camped each night, these encampments being about seven miles apart. The utmost precaution against surprise was observed when, at the close of a long, tedious day, a convenient spot for a camp would be selected, the wagons corralled, and the animals turned out to graze. At an early hour in the night sentinels would be posted all around the camp, and relieved every two hours. After about a week's travel, during which we had not seen a human being, excepting those of our own party, we came one evening upon a single Indian lodge. We knew that we could not be very far behind the Indians, as the last few camps we had passed gave unmistakable signs of having been but recently va- cated, and when this lodge was discovered, it was sur- rounded at once and found to be occupied by Jim Dick, an under chief among the Omahas, who told us that the Paw- nees had been joined by the Omaha and Ponca tribes. and that with this increase of numbers there were at least 5,000 Indians in the party we were in pursuit of, and that they would encamp that night about seven or eight miles farther on, having occupied the camp at which we found Jim Dick's lodge, the night previous, he having laid over one day's tramp on account of his squaw being sick. This somewhat startling news called forth a hurried consultation. Five thousand Indians could utterly annihilate our force of two hundred undisciplined and poorly armed men, provided the Indians were disposed to fight. Jim Dick told us that the Omahas would not join the Pawnees, as they wished to remain at peace with the whites, but it was impossible to say what the Poncas would do. It was finally determined to go forward. The Omaha and his squaw were compelled to go with us under guard, in order to prevent the news of our approach being conveyed to the Indians, in camp.
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