USA > Nebraska > Douglas County > Omaha > Omaha: the Gate city, and Douglas County, Nebraska, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 12
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On February 20, 1857, a mass meeting was held in the Pioneer block in Omaha, to which delegations from the claim clubs at Bellevue, Elkhorn City, Florence and Papillion were admitted by acclamation. A committee was appointed to draft resolutions, expressive of the clubs' attitude on the question of claims and titles, and the following was submitted to the meeting.
"Whereas, It appears that evil disposed persons are giving trouble in different parts of this territory, in attempting to preempt claims, or parts of claims, held by bona fide claimants, to the great annoyance of the rightful owners, therefore,
"Resolved, That we have the fullest confidence in the power of the claim associations to protect the rights of the actual settler, and we pledge ourselves as men, and as members of the different claim associations of Douglas and Sarpy counties, to maintain the claim title as the highest title known to our laws, and we will defend it with our lives.
"Resolved, That persons shielding themselves under the act of Congress, to preempt a man's farm under color of law, shall be no excuse for the offender, who will be treated by us as any other common thief."
The resolutions were unanimously adopted and the captain of the "regulators" was authorized to appoint a vigilance committee to see that their intent was carried out. About this time John I. Redick happened to incur the displeasure of the Omaha Claim Club, although he was a member of the organization. Judge Redick afterward gave the following account of the incident :
"Several of us who were boarding at the Tremont House, on Douglas Street. attended a temperance meeting one night in the Methodist Church, just around the corner on Thirteenth Street. It was proposed to organize to secure the adoption of the Maine liquor law, and I was asked to say something. I objected to the proposition and said that such a law could not be carried out in Nebraska, and remarked, incidentally, that the United States laws allowed a man to enter but 160 acres of land, while the Omaha Claim Club said he could hold twice that amount and declared its readiness to defend him in claiming that amount. Next morning I went to my office and was met with a scolding by my partner,
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James G. Chapman, who said I had got myself and the firm of Redick & Chap- man in a nice muddle. He kept on with a regular tirade, but I finally got him to explain what he was talking about, and learned, to my astonishment, that I had been reported as using treasonable language against the Claim Club.
"I soon found that the town was posted with notices for a meeting of the club and concluded that I had stirred up a good deal of a rumpus, unintentionally. The club was a powerful organization, I knew, for I was a member of it. I laid in a revolver that day, loaded it and put it in my overcoat pocket. Then I told Chapman that he owed it to me to see that I had a chance to speak when the club met. The meeting was held in the Pioneer block. The first speech was made by A. J. Hanscom, the president, who spoke in a very reasonable, moderate way. He was followed by Mitchell, of Florence, who was very abusive of new people who were coming into the territory to break down local institutions. Then a man from Bellevue talked. He was followed by John M. Thayer in a ponderous way, and in a tone similar to that of Mitchell. Then Jim Chapman said that his partner ought to be given a chance to explain his views as to claim clubs and other domestic institutions.
"Thereupon I came to the front and for ten minutes dwelt upon the advan- tages of the Territory of Nebraska, and predicted its glorious future. Then I praised the Claim Club, and said I had improved the first opportunity I had to join it after coming to Omaha, a few months previously. I then said that I had no intention to reflect upon the club, and that what I had said had not been correctly reported. I added that I knew every man present was at least ordinarily a brave man, and with that I produced my revolver with one hand and took out my watch with the other, and said: 'I denounce the man who has thus misrepre- sented me as a liar, a coward and a sneak, and will give him just one minute to come out and face me.' As the time was ticked off, no one moved, and when I announced that the minute had expired, there was a burst of applause which convinced me I had nothing to fear."
FIRST LAND ENTRIES
The first document placed on the Douglas deed records was a description of the lands claimed by Alfred D. Jones. It was dated November 6, 1854, and was recorded by Lyman Richardson, the first register of deeds, on February 20, 1855. No survey lines had yet been established and it is interesting to note the manner in which land owners of that day would describe their holdings by "metes and bounds." Mr. Jones' description is as follows :
"Commencing at the mouth of Purgatory Creek and running thence east to the Missouri River ; thence down the said river to near the mouth of the slough ; thence west to the bluff ; thence up under the bluff to the place of beginning, containing about forty acres between the slough and the river; and bounded as follows: North by Peterson ; east by the Missouri River ; south by Reeves, and west by Hanscom and Allen. The lines are all distinctly and well marked so they can be easily traced, and all the improvements are on the part of my claim south of Omaha City, and also another part of my claim north of Omaha City, described as follows: North by H. D. Johnson; west by W. Johnson ; south by W. Clancy, and east by T. Jeffries, containing about 160 acres ; and is
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well staked, so the lines can be easily traced, and a furrow on the north, west and south."
One can readily see that the cutting down of blazed trees, the transfer of claims to others than those mentioned as owners in the description of the boundary lands, or the obliteration of the "furrow," would have a tendency to place a cloud on the title, but in the absence of the official survey such descriptions as the above were common. They were the best the claimants could do, and as a rule they were respected by everybody. The government survey of Douglas County was completed late in the year 1856 and the United States land office was opened at Omaha on March 17, 1857. The settlers anxiously awaited this event, as they could modify their claim boundaries to conform to the lines of the survey and obtain valid titles to their lands. Under the preemption laws each settler could enter only 160 acres, but it was a common practice to hire some one to preempt other tracts, and through this method some became large real estate owners. The first entry at the Omaha land office was made on the day the office was opened for business by Jesse Lowe and included the Omaha town site. The patent for this land bears date of October 1, 1860. At a public sale on July 5. 1859, John McCormick, as trustee for the Council Bluffs & Nebraska Ferry Company, bid in certain lands for which the patent was issued on May 1, 1860, five months prior to that of Mr. Lowe.
EARLY-DAY JUSTICE
In the settlement of the United States there was hardly a frontier settlement that was not the resort of men who would rather live by appropriating the property of others than by honest labor. While the reign of law was in its infancy, the machinery of the courts imperfectly organized or at some distance from the "margin of civilization," and isolated settlements were without methods of quick communication, the outlaws stood a much better chance of escaping the clutches of the law than they would have done in the older communities. It is therefore not surprising that they sought the new settlements to carry on their nefarious practices.
Horse stealing was one of the most common of offenses. Early in the nineteenth century the notorious John A. Murrell organized what was probably the first regular chain of horse thieves and highwaymen in the United States. It extended from the central portion of the country to the Southern States, where there was at that time a great demand for horses. A stolen horse could be concealed throughout the day in some convenient thicket and at night passed on to the next station in the chain until the market was reached. Even after the death of Murrell, some of the men educated in this school continued to operate in Indiana, Illinois and Iowa, and no doubt the theft of horses from some of the carly settlers of Douglas County could be traced to this gang.
In the summer of 1856 two vagabond characters stole two horses near Omaha and sold them to the Pawnee Indians on the Elkhorn River. The horses strayed away from the Indian village soon afterward and returned to their homes. The Indians followed the trail and claimed the animals, but the owners refused to give them tip. After being convinced that the horses had been stolen from the white men, the Pawnees agreed to hold the next persons who came to their camp with horses for sale and notify the settlers.
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Not long after this the same two men again appeared at the Pawnee camp and wanted to sell the Indians some mules. They were arrested and brought to Omaha. Douglas County was then without a jail worthy of the name, and the settlers, after a consultation, decided to give each of the thieves thirty-nine lashes on his bare back, shave one-half of his head and then turn him loose, with the admonition to get out of Nebraska and stay out. A colored barber named Bill Lee did the shaving, and it is said he hid an artistic job, after which the thieves were taken to an old liberty pole that had been erected the year before on the block bounded by Farnam, Harney, Twelfth and Thirteenth streets. One of the thieves was stripped to the waist and tied to the pole, when the question came up as to who should wield the rawhide that had been obtained from a nearby harness shop. It was finally suggested by someone that the Indians do the whipping. They assented and one of them started in to admin- ister the punishment. but he was too severe and was stopped by the crowd. It was then proposed that the owners of the two horses first stolen should each whip one of the thieves and this arrangement was carried out to the satisfaction of the bystanders. The thieves were then released and were never seen about Omaha again.
While the mob was gathering Chief Justice Ferguson ordered P. B. Rankin, then United States marshal, to disperse the crowd, and confine the two men in order that they might be tried according to law. It is said that Rankin delivered the order to disperse in such a low tone of voice that he could be heard only by a few persons standing close to him and he was afterward charged by Judge Ferguson with being in sympathy with the mob-a charge he never took the trouble to deny.
Early in March, 1858, John Daley and Harvey Braden, whose home was in Harrison County, Iowa, stole some horses near Florence. After a long chase they were captured and brought back to Omaha, where they were confined in jail. They were given a preliminary hearing and committed to jail in default of bail. A few days later a small crowd gathered at the courthouse on the northeast corner of Sixteenth and Farnam streets, where the Paxton Building now stands. There was no demonstration of any kind. One of the men walked quietly into the sheriff's office, probably knowing that Sheriff Reeves was absent, took the key to the jail, and before Mrs. Reeves could give the alarm unlocked the cells in which Daley and Braden were confined. The others then went into the jail, took the two prisoners in charge and moved hurriedly northward. About two miles north of Florence they came to an oak tree with a convenient limb extending almost horizontally over the highway. This was selected as the place of execution, but unfortunately the crowd had but one rope. The diffi- culty was overcome by throwing the rope over the limb and hanging one of the prisoners on each end of it, where their bodies were afterward found, back to back.
Public sentiment condemned the lynching and the coroner made a rigid investigation of the affair. Dr. G. L. Miller was foreman of the coroner's jury and Byron Reed acted as clerk. Witnesses were brought in by main force by deputy sheriffs, and though some of them admitted they witnessed the hanging they denied having a hand in it. The jury could not determine who were the leaders. Four men were afterward indicted, but they took a change of venue to Sarpy County, where they were acquitted. Sheriff Reeves was fined heavily
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by Judge Ferguson for dereliction of duty in not protecting the prisoners placed in his charge.
Among the early settlers of Douglas County was George Taylor, who built his cabin on the military road, where it crossed the Big Papillion Creek, about ten miles west of Omaha. In the spring of 1861 James Bouve and John S. Iler went to Taylor's house while he was absent, tied Mrs. Taylor and threw her on the bed, where she was struck several times by Bouve because she refused to reveal the hiding place of a sum of money which the robbers sup- posed to be in the house. Bouve wanted to set fire to the cabin, but Iler objected. They then took what money and valuables they could find and departed, leaving Mrs. Taylor bound. Mr. Taylor returned home soon after- ward, and upon learning what had happened he hurried to Omaha, where he swore out warrants for "John Doe" and "Richard Roe." Thomas Riley, then city marshal, took the warrants and found Bouve and Iler playing cards in the back room of a saloon. As they seemed to be flush with money he arrested them and took them before Judge Armstrong. They were identified the next morning by Mrs. Taylor and they were confined in separate cells in the court- house. Iler confessed, telling where the booty taken from the Taylor house was concealed. The next day a mass meeting of citizens was held in front of in Pioneer Block, on Farnam Street, at which it was decided to try the prisoners by lynch law. Twelve men were chosen as jurors, William A. Little and Robart A. Howard were assigned to defend the prisoners, and the trial proceeded. After hearing the evidence, the jury returned a verdict of guilty, but recom- mended leniency as to Iler, on account of his confession and his restraint of Bouve in wanting to burn Taylor's house. When the result was announced to the waiting crowd outside everyone seemed to be satisfied. About midnight that night a body of masked men went to the jail, overpowered Marshal Riley, took the keys and hanged Bouve to a beam in his cell. Iler was not molested. Coroner Seymour held an inquest and the jury returned a verdict that "James F. Bouve came to his death by hanging, by persons unknown to this jury." Iler was afterward released and entered the army, where he made a good record as a soldier, being mustered out as a sergeant.
Vigilance committees were not unusual during the pioneer period, and Omaha was several times purged of gamblers and other undesirable characters through their operation. On one occasion, late at night, a number of masked men, with drawn revolvers, entered a gambling house and notified the pro- prietors that they must leave Omaha within twenty-four hours. Further warn- ing was unnecessary. If a resident whose honesty or morality was not above suspicion happened to find a placard bearing a skull and cross-bones attached to his door some morning, he knew what it meant and immediately departed for a more congenial climate. Sometimes this method of warning was abused by one who took advantage of it to get rid of an undesirable neighbor, but in a majority of cases it was well deserved.
But times have changed. As the population increased the law-abiding, order- loving people came into such a majority that outlaws stood no chance of escape from legal trial and punishment. Lynch law and the whipping post are no longer appealed to as a means of preserving order and protecting property, and Omaha ranks high among cities of her class in the enforcement of law and the preserva- tion of life and property through her established courts.
CHAPTER IX
THE PIONEERS AND THEIR WORK
CONDITIONS IN OMAHA NOW AND IN 1854-PIONEER LIFE AND CUSTOMS-INDI- VIDUAL SKETCHES OF TWO SCORE REPRESENTATIVE PIONEERS-THEIR WORK AS THE "BUILDERS OF OMAHA"-A LESSON TO BE LEARNED FROM THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS.
In this year, 1916 of the Christian Era, the citizen of Omaha and Douglas County is in the full enjoyment of all the fruits of modern progress and develop- ment. When he has occasion to make a business or social call in another part of the city, or the adjacent rural districts, he can step into his motor car and smoothly glide along over paved streets or established highways to his destina- tion. Or, if he is not the fortunate possessor of an automobile, he can always find in the excellent street railway system a cheap and efficient means of transportation. If he desires to take a longer journey, several trunk lines of railroad, equipped with powerful locomotives and coaches almost palatial in their magnificence, are open to him. When he enters his residence at night, all he has to do is to push a button or turn a switch and the room is immediately flooded with electric light. He turns a faucet and receives a supply of pure, wholesome water, in any quantity he may need. It is an easy matter to telephone to the grocer to send up a sack of flour, or to the coal dealer for a load of coal, or to a friend in a distant part of the city an invitation to dinner. His children attend a modern graded school; a boy brings the daily newspaper to his door : theaters offer choice of an evening's entertainment. He worships in a church heated by steam and lighted by electricity, and listens to the music of a pipe organ that cost several thousand dollars.
But does he ever pause to think how all these comforts and conveniences were made possible? Let him for a moment draw upon his imagination foi conditions as they existed in what is now Douglas County at the time the Omaha Indians ceded the land to the United States in March, 1854. Or let him go a little farther back to November. 1853, and trace the wanderings of Alfred D. Jones and the Allen brothers as they blazed the trees marking the boundaries of their claims in anticipation of the treaty. Let him read in another chapter of this history how these men crossed the Missouri in a leaky boat, waded through the tall marsh grass, slept at night on the bare ground, and all for what ? That they might be the first to select lands in what is now the State of Nebraska.
Compared with the conditions of the present day, the pioneer encountered a few actual hardships and a great many inconveniences. When the first settlers came to Omaha there were no automobiles, street cars or steam railways. An
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occasional steamboat on the Missouri River brought them supplies, and for land transportation the ox team was the most reliable motive power and the prairie schooner the most common vehicle. Instead of the electric light, the tallow candle was the best known method of illumination. Even kerosene was then unknown. Sometimes the supply of candles gave out, when the housewife would improvise a lamp by using a shallow dish, in which was placed a quantity of lard or other grease, with a loosely twisted cotton rag for a wick. One end of the wick was allowed to project slightly over the side of the dish and the projecting end was lighted. Such a lamp emitted smoke and odor that could hardly be tolerated by fastidious persons of the present generation, but it answered the purpose then. Often during the long winter evenings the family would have no light except that which came from the roaring fire in the fireplace.
Breadstuffs were not to be obtained by telephoning to the grocer then. The settler had to take his "turn of corn" or a sack of wheat and go several miles to mill, where he would wait his turn, and frequently he would not return home until the next day. On "grinding days" at the old mill a number of men, while waiting for their grists, would pass away the time in athletic contests, such as foot racing, wrestling or pitching horseshoes. Even cooking stoves were a luxury that many homes could not afford and the meals were prepared at the fireplace, an iron teakettle, a long-handled skillet and a large iron pot being the principal cooking utensils.
Water for domestic purposes was obtained by digging wells to a deptlı sufficient to "strike a vein," the wells being walled with stone, brick or a wooden curbing to prevent their caving in. In times of drought many of these shallow wells went dry and water was obtained from the Missouri River. As there were no means of filtering this water, it was allowed to stand in vessels until the mud settled to the bottom, when the water was drained off and used unfiltered. Yet, notwithstanding all these difficulties, the pioneers toiled bravely on, im- proving a little here, a little there, and building step by step Nebraska's metrop- olis. And as one looks back over their labors and accomplishments, he cannot help agreeing with Robert Burns that
"Buirdly chiels and clever hizzies Are bred in sic a way as this is."
Following are individual sketches of some of the pioneers who were active in building up the city and county in the years immediately following the organ- ization of Nebraska Territory. It would be impossible to mention everyone who contributed in any way to the development of that period, but those selected are fair representatives of the real pioneer type-men who possessed the courage to meet and overcome obstacles, and who were buoyed up by the hope of a brighter future for the city they were engaged in building. For the convenience of the reader their names have been arranged in alphabetical order.
James T. Allen came from Pontiac, Mich., in December, 1855, and located at Bellevue. He brought with him a number of fruit trees and ornamental shrubs, as well as a bushel of apple seeds, for the purpose of giving variety to the treeless prairies of Nebraska, of which he had heard. Some of his neighbors were inclined to laugh at his notions, while others availed themselves of his
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kind offices to establish orchards upon their claims. In 1859 he removed to Omaha, and two years later took charge of the Herndon House, which had just been built by Lyman Richardson and Dr. George L. Miller. After conducting the hotel for about six years he took a position in the postoffice and was the first superintendent of the free delivery system when it was inaugurated in Omaha. In 1869 he engaged in the seed, plant and nursery business, an occupa- tion more to his liking and for which he was eminently well qualified. In 1880 the Union Pacific Railroad Company made him superintendent of tree planting along the right of way of the road, a position he held until his death on No- vember 20, 1885. Mr. Allen was the author of several works on horticulture, and at the time of his death was president of the Nebraska Horticultural Society.
George R. Armstrong, a pioneer of 1854, was born at Baltimore, Md., August 1, 1819. When eight years old he went with his parents to Ohio, where he learned the printer's trade. He continued in newspaper work until 1854, when he decided to "Go west and grow up with the country." After visiting several localities he selected Omaha as the place having the greatest possibilities for the future. The next spring he formed a partnership with George C. Bovey. and the firm of Bovey & Armstrong built the territorial capitol, the Pioneer Block, the Congregational Church, the first courthouse and a number of other early buildings. Mr. Armstrong was a member of the Legislature of 1857; was elected mayor of Omaha in 1859 and again 1862; served as probate and county judges ; was clerk of the District Court from 1866 to 1875, and was also clerk of the Nebraska Supreme Court until, the capital was removed to Lincoln, when he resigned.
Soon after his election to the office of mayor in 1862, Mr. Armstrong resigned the office, entered the army and was commissioned major of the Second Ne- braska Cavalry. He served with his command in Nebraska and Colorado against the Indians and at the close of the war was made brevet colonel by President Andrew Johnson "for meritorious services." In 1877 he was employed in the law department of the Union Pacific Railroad Company, and was then for about five years chief deputy and cashier in the office of the internal revenue collector. In 1886 he erected a large warehouse on Izard Street, between Thirteenth and Fourteenth, and engaged in the agricultural implement business with his son. Ewing L., under the firm name of Armstrong & Company. In January, 1891. he retired from active business pursuits and passed the remainder of his life in the quiet enjoyment of the fruits of his labors in earlier years.
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