USA > Nebraska > Sherman County > Loup City > The trail of the Loup; being a history of the Loup River region > Part 7
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"As soon as the bodies were found, Capt. McNamar returned to Plum Creek and reported the fact. I. P. Olive lived here and also several of the men who participated in the murder. They were well known as dangerous characters, and no one cared to attempt to arrest them. Indeed returning at once to Pium Creek, Olive and his men had threatened to kill any one who should attempt to molest them.
"After a few days, a conference was held at the office of E. C. Calkins, at Kearney, to see what could be done. Sheriff James of Plum Creek, Dawson county ; Sheriff Anderson, of Buffalo; Judge Gaslin, E. C. Calkins and others were present. The Judge expressd a willingness to issue a warrant, but the question was who should serve it. Sheriff James refused to do so, fearing that the murderers could not be captured, and even if they could. that he would soon be hunted down by their con- federates.1 Sheriff Anderson objected to going into another county to make an arrest, attended with so much danger, but said that if the murderers came into Buffalo county, he would not hesitate to attempt their arrest. Two warrants were then made out for the citizens of Kearney and the law abiding portion of the inhabitants of Plum Creek had resolved that the capture should be made. Atty. Gen. C. J. Dilworth. who resided on his farm in Phelps county, near Plum Creek, had for some time, with the assistance of others, been working up a plan for the capture of the gang. On Saturday, January 5, 1879, he telegraphed to Kearney Junction that arrangements had been made to take the murderers, and that the citizens of Plum Creek only awaited assistance. At the former place, a well armed and determined party had been organized under the leadership of Lawrence Ketchum, a brother of one of the murdered men. This party had been
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COWBOY REGIME
anxious to attempt the capture of Olive, but had hitherto been held back by the wiser counsels of Dilworth, who sought by the use of a little strategy to surprise the criminals, and thus save the loss of life that would necessarily result from an open attack.
"On receipt of the message above referred to, the Kearney party took the first train bound west and arrived at Plum Creek after dark. Here they were met by some of the citizens, who took them to a place of conceal- ment, and, upon reconnoitering, it was decided to wait until the next morning, when there would be no suspicion, and they could be captured one at a time. On Sunday morning, Baldwin was seized at break of day at his hotel while starting a fire. A number of the party were concealed in the postoffice where Olive and a number of others were captured, one at a time, as they came for their mail. Fisher and others were arrested singly on the street. There was no bloodshed, and but little show of resistance. The prisoners were then taken to Kearney on a special train. On their arrival, Olive, Green and some of the others, fearing that they were to be lynched, turned pale and showed the most craven fear. They were all confined in the Kearney jail at first, but subsequently were distributed to jails in different parts of the state. On Monday morning, after the capture of Olive. the Mexican Pedro Dominicus, Barney Gillan, Sheriff of Keith county, and Phil Dufran were captured and brought in to Kearney.
"The time appointed for the trial was the next spring. The place selected by the presiding judge, William Gaslin, was at Hastings. An indictment was found against I. P. Olive, John Baldwin, William H Green, Fred Fisher, Barney Gillan, Pedro Dominicus, Bion Brown, Phil Dufran, Dennis Gartrell, Barney Armstrong, Peter Bielec and a man called MeIn- duffer, for the murder of Mitchell and Ketchum.
"The trial of I. P. Olive and Fred Fisher began at once and lasted for some time. Brown and Dufran turned State's evidence, and the evidence showed the murder to have been committed in the manner above stated. But Olive and his relatives were wealthy, and no expense was spared in conducting the case in their behalf. During the trial, which attracted the attention of the entire state, hundreds of indignant citizens of various parts of the state went to Hastings, hoping to see justice done. Judge Gaslin was scrupulously honorable, and the murderers had a fair trial. It was known, however, that money was spent freely in behalf of the prisoners and at one time it became so apparent that the end of justice would be thwarted that the people talked of lynching the prisoners, but as a company of soldiers guarded them this was not attempted. Although the evidence was strong against the prisoners, showing that they had deliberately planned and executed a most foul and cowardly murder, the jury went out and returned with a verdict of guilty of murder in the second degree. Judge Gaslin then sentenced I. P. Olive an Fred Fisher to imprisonment for life in the state penitentiary to which place they were taken.
"Immediately after the sentence of Olive and Fisher, their friends
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began to try to devise plans to secure their release. and the trial of their associates in crime was postponed. The following year, these efforts were successful, and the convicts were released from the peniteniary upon a decision of the Supreme Court of the state ordering them to be set free on account of technical irregularities in the proceeding of their trial. Let it here be stated that Custer county had recently been formed from territory that had before the county organization been in two judicial districts but now was understood to be attached to the western district. The Supreme Court beld that the prisoners must be tried within the limits of Custer county and at the same time held that this county 'was in no judicial district,' and hence, that the murderers could be tried before no district judge in the state. This was the decision of two of the judges of the Supreme Court, but Judge Samuel Maxwell, all honor to him, dissented in one of the ablest legal documents ever prepared in that court.
"The decision of the court of course practically released the convicts and put an end to the prosecution of their associates, nearly all of whom, however, had been allowed to escape from the county jails in which they were confined."
The closing scene in this terrible drama of blood was enacted in Colorado whither 1. P. Olive had sought refuge with his son William. For four years, so the story gues, had the released murderer been shadowed by some vengeful enemy, who had gone so far as to bring his son up to share this hatred The two, father and son, never let the Olives get a moment's respite, but pursued them with the bitterness of death. Finally in 1884 the stroke falls. The son of the unknown avenger shoots young Olive dead in a billiard room: the next day, at a cattle round-up, the crime hardened father falls before the unerring shot of the avenger in person.
It is now time to return to the North Loup, grateful that Providence has shielded the Valley from all such horrible tragedies as the one just narrated, proud in the knowledge that lynchings, and violence of a similar nature against man and law, have never tarnised our fair coat of arms.
But more, turn back in time -- back to the years 1868, and for the last time see the Valley preparing for the settler. The surveyor was then busy running township lines and preparing the way for the homesteaders. Nicholas J. Paul, well known as one of the founders of St. Paul in Howard county, had charge of this work. Records show that he completed his task in September, 1868. One William Hardin ran all subdivisions between 1865 and '70. The lands were now ready for filing.
We have already learned that the first white custodians of the Loup wore trappers and scouts. Several of these strange dwellers on the out- skirts of civilization played important roles in the making of the Valley and should be introduced without further delay.
When the first settlers reached the "Big Bend" in 1872 they encount- ered there an odd character, living in a habitation, half dug out, half log hut, perched on the side of a prominent bluff. Standing seventy inches in his moccasined feet, erect, muscular, with keen blue eyes, blonde hair,
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falling in waves over his broad shoulders and massive chest-such was Jack Swearengen, popularly known for miles around as "Happy Jack." A more upright frontiersman can not be imagined. Always cheerful, willing and ready to tramp for days to guide strangers in the Valley. Giving was almost a weakness with him. Many a time is he known to have gone hungry that some poor fellowman in want might be fed. "Happy Jack" has with justice been termed the "Pathfinder of the Loup." When the first settlers arrived he became their guide and adviser. Later, when the first settlement was assured, he again took up the trail and became their outpost on the Calamus. It was while here that Sioux Indians almost put an end to his eventful career. They took him captive and proceeded to kindle the fire for a slow roasting alive, when wiser council prevailed and he escaped with his life, on promise never again to be seen in the "Indian country." In 1872 he filed upon a claim almost opposite from the site of the future Fort Hartsuff. Here he lived for years in a dug-out on the edge of the picturesque canyon which to this day goes by the name of "Jack's Gulch," or "Happy Jack's Canyon." As a government scout Jack won an enviable reputation. He alone should be given the credit for running to earth the notorious horsethief "Doc" Middleton, a feat which many had attempted but failed.
Jack was by nature a recluse, and in time melancholia began to cloud his old time "happy" countenance. He became distrustful of his fellow- men, and immured himself in the old dug-out, where no one cared to approach him save his old friends and neighbors, the Goodenows. In 1879 he was removed by a brother to the old family home in Ohio; here, we are told, his malady, pronounced by physicians as "tobacco tremens." yielded to expert treatment, and Jack soon regained much of his old vigor and cheerfulness. Soon after this his father died, leaving an estate worth fully, $40,000. Thus was the old trapper and scout at a stroke placed in easy circumstances for the rest of his days. And there on the old homestead he now dwells, no doubt living over again the many stirring events of his life on the plains.
It is deemed advisable to close this chapter on beginnings with the life story of another great pathfinder in the Valley, that of Conrad Wentworth. The very graphic sketch herewith given was prepared at the author's request by one who knew "Little Buckshot" as intimately as a brother- George McAnulty of Scotia, himself no mean Indian fighter and soldier, and honored as one of our most substantial pioneers. He writes :--
"Among the many scouts, trappers, hunters, and all around plainsmen who have figured in the early history of the North Loup Valley, the most picturesque personality was Conrad Wentworth, known at that time from the Missouri river to the Rockies as "Little Buckshot," government scout and Indian trailer and fighter. His splendid courage and daring and countless deeds of heroism and self sacrifice have long been celebrated in romance and song. To this great scout's tireless energy and constant watchfulness the early settlers on the Loup no doubt often owed their
THE TRAIL OF THE LOUP
safety from attack by the savage Sioux. Wentworth came from a fine old southern family, but a natural love of adventure early led him to seek life in the West.
"While yet a mere boy he was employed to carry the United States mail from Independence, Missouri, to SantaFe, New Mexico. Here he saw his first Indian-fighting and developed the natural instincts of the scout and
----
TER
Eonrad Wentworth, or "Little Buckshot." Government Scout. Indian Hunter and Friend of the Pioneers.
guide, always watching, guarding. Later he went to Salt Lake City and took part in Gen. Johnson's campaign against the Mormons. At this period he performed some excellent work as a scout and gained the lifelong friendship and gratitude of the officers with whom he served. During the Civil War Wentworth acted as scout for Generals Sheridan, Hancock and Merritt: his work was ever of the most perilous nature and full of the greatest service to the government. After the war "Buckshot" returned
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to the plains to renew his acquaintance with the Indian and the buffalo, and for the twelve years next following he was employed as government scout and in that capacity came to the Loup Valley in 1871, as chief of scouts for the troops sent to guard the first settlers' homes. He was at
Garfield County Hunters; Alec Draver and Jim Barr.
that time an ideal trailer. He was well at home in all the western Indian tongues and dialects and his knowledge of the different tribes and their customs was simply wonderful. In stature he was rather below medium height. As he appeared in those early days dressed in his handsome suit
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of buckskin, with long curly hair with braided scalp-lock or riding the prairie mounted on his famous pony, "Billy," he presented a picture never to be forgotten.
"The settlers had, one and all, the utmost confidence in his judgment in all affairs pertaining to Indian craft, and felt perfectly secure when he was known to be in the vicinity. Reticent and modest, he seldom referred in anyway to the adventures which had made his name a household word. A man of great natural refinement, he led a life above all reproach. His domestic life was particularly happy, and his devotion to his charming young wife and children was touching to behold. Mrs. Went- worth was born and reared in Washington D. C. but the brave little woman that she was, she soon adapted herself to her husband's life and spent many happy years with him on the frontier. After passing through scenes of adventure such as falls to the lot of but few, the Wentworths settled in beautiful SanAntonio, Texas, surrounded by their children and grand- children. "Little Buckshot" has lived to see the trackless prairie over which he helped guide the vanguard of civilization transformed to a great and prosperous section of our common country-the great American Republic."
Coming of the Pioneers.
CHAPTER VI.
Center of equal daughters, equal sons,
All, all alike endear'd. grown, ungrown, young or old, Strong, ample. fair, enduring, capable, rich. Perennial with the Earth, with Freedom. Law and Love,
A grand, sane, towering, seated Mother,
Chair'd in the adamant of Time.
-Walt Whitman
T HE popular highway by which a majority of the early settlers made their way into the upper North Loup Valley had its southern termi- nus at Grand Island on the Union Pacific railway ; thence it extended north - ward, by devious windings, through the sand range south of the Middle Loup, crossing that river near St. Paul. From this place the trail con- tinued its northward trend, entering the North Loup Valley almost due north of the above mentioned town, and continuing thereafter up the south bank of the river. When the tide of immigration began to turn into the upper North Loup country two important settlements were already in progress in Howard county-the settlement of the Paul Brothers and associates at "Athens," or St. Paul, and that of "The Danish Land and Homestead Colony" at Dannebrog. As the history of the upper settlements, especially during the early years, is more or less intimately linked with the colonization of Howard county it becomes necessary to pause and note the circumstances of its origin.
A cold winter night in December, 1870, saw Nicholas Paul, one of the well known Paul Brothers-surveyors and colonizers, and a Mr. Moeller, Vice Consul from Denmark to Milwaukee, camped in the protecting underbrush on the South Loup, not far from where Dannebrog now is. Those two gentlemen, huddled under the bank of the river for protection, almost perishing with cold, represented interests which culminated in locating the first colonies in the county. Not in the least dismayed by such unpropitious a beginning, they weathered the wintery blasts and explored the South Loup as far as Sweet Creek before returning to the settlements. Acting upon N. J. Paul's favorable report a locating committee, consisting of N. J. Paul, Major Frank North, A. J. Hoge, Ira Mullen, Joseph Tiffany, Luther H. North, J. E North, Enos Johnson, S. W. Smith, Gus Cox and Charles Morse ascended the Loup from the Pawnee reservation in Nance County and carefully explored sections
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of all three forks of the river. The committee eventually concluded to stake their town near the Middle Loup, just midway between the other two forks. This important event occurred about the middle of January, 1871. A couple of months later N. J. Paul arrived on the ground with thirty-one colonists and in a short time houses were springing up in and about the new town. This, by the way, was first called "Athens," later changed to St. Paul, in honor of its founders, since there was already one town of the former name in the state.
Meanwhile vice-consul Moeller returned to Milwaukee and organized "The Danish Land and Homestead Colony." This oragnization also selec- ted a locating committee to come west to further examine the land and determine upon the most practical place for settlement. The men chosen for this task were Lars Hannibal, John Seehusen, L. M. Petersen, and Paul Hansen. A search of several weeks ended in the selection of lands on picturesque Oak Creek, southwestward from St. Paul. When the colonists arrived they founded here a town and named it Dannebrog to commemorate the cross-banner of Denmark, their old homeland.
Both of the settlements had a normal growth and time and, circumstance .considered, prospered. The men who built them did not long remain strangers to the upper settlements. Our fathers found it very convenient to stop over at St. Paul or Dannebrog on their periodic trips to and from the "Island." Those were the days of open hearts and hearths. The best the household could afford was none too good for the weary wayfarers. Ties of friendship were formed then between our fathers and the Howard county colonists that neither time nor changing circumstances have been able to sunder. Our hearts go out to those sturdy old pioneers "down the river" who were ever ready to extend a helping hand to the travel-worn trailers of the Loup. Long will their memory be cherished by the sons of these fathers.
It is a well recognized fact in American history that the Church was ever a leader in the colonization of our country in the day of its making. And when it was ripe for a westward growth the various church denominations were among the first to lead their flocks into the wilds. The consecrated man of God has been the most important factor upon the frontier. He became a pathfinder in a double sense. Not alone did he blaze a trail for the later comers, but he also fought to give the settlements the Word of God, which meant to establish law and order where chaos might otherwise have reigned. He saved the settlements from years of disre- gard for law and usurpation of the rights of the individual. He made it possible that right and not might ruled the wilds.
The North Loup Valley was fortunate in this respect. The first comers were all earnest church men, seeking here an asylum where to worship God according to their own dictates, and untrammeled by other denominations; or they were other honest folk of several nationalities, intent upon making permanent homes for themselves and their families. The very first to consider the possibility of a colony here were Seventh
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COMING OF THE PIONEERS
Day Baptists in Wisconsin. A community of these people, in casting about for homes in the new west, were attracted by the general press to the great possibilities of Central Nebraska and the Loup river country then in the course of exploitation They lost no time in sending out a committee to investigate the practicability of settlement in those much vaunted sections. Accordingly, C. P. Rood, N. B. Prentice, Amos Travis, and C. H. Wellman arrived in the North Loup Valley in June 1871. They explored the river northward as far as the chalk hills opposite Scotia, but determined to go no farther, as the majority of the com- mittee were not very favorably impressed with the country. Especially did it seem to thiem to be too far removed from the railway and ready facilities for transportation. At least one man of the four, however, was not dis- posed to turn back, and that
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was C. P. Rood. As he stood on the lofty bluffs looking Dannybrot north up the valley, this must have appeared to him a veritable promised land, if we are to judge of the enthusiastic minority report he made after the committee returned to Wisconsin. The majority report was adopted and for a time the matter was held in abeyance. Fortunately, this was not to be the end of it. For shortly we hear that young men in the Waushara county community had decided to seek homes in the Loup Valley. And for this decision no one
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THE TRAIL OF THE LOUP
is to receive more credit than C. P. Rood. When the boys had finally deter- mined to look up cheap lands in the west, his earnest pleadings and offers of financial assistance had the desired effect. What was more, Mr. Rood in person for a second time that woman . do the trip from Wisconsin to Ne- braska. And be it remeinb. was no laughing matter in those
days. It meant weeks of We ('' ing overland by team, over roads oftentimes almost impassable or throu,a wilds where the only paths were Indian trails. This second "voluntary committee" kept a diary of their journey from the hour of leaving till the hour of return and from it are drawn the following data, which will not alone illustrate the difficulties to be surmounted in reaching the Loup, but will also tell the story of the first men to actually select claims in the Valley. The writer is W. H. Rood, who still resides at North Loup. He says :
"September 28, 1871, in company with my father C. P. Rood, my broth- er-in-law Mansell Davis and John Shel don, a neighbor of my boyhood days, I left Dakota, Wisconsin, to view the Loup Valley country in Nebraska. My fath- er who had been one of a committee of four sent out by a colony with head- quarters at Dakota, Wis., had in the lat- ter part of June and early July visited the North Loup Valley. When a ma- jority report of the committee was against the advisability of settling in that part of the country, my father in a minority report strongly favored the Loup, declaring it extremely well adapt- ed for just such a colony. Mansell Davis, C. P. Rood, Member of First and Second Lo- cating Committees of the Seventh Day Bap- tists. John Sheldon and myself, having decid- ed to go somewhere to look for a home, received the proposition from my father, that if we would go to the Loup country in Nebraska he was willing to furnish the outfit for travelling (horses and wagons) and would stand an equal share of the expenses. It was to make this journey that we left Dakota on Sept. 28th 1871. Our first day's journey was naturally a heavy-hearted one knowing as we did, that it was to be a long one and likely to keep us from home for some time, since our intention was to remain in Nebraska through the winter. We found some very sandy roads today. We passed through Monticco and camped for the night at Port Hope on the Fox River."
With this introduction let us leave our trailers to find their own way across the states of Illinois and Iowa, as nothing of an unusual nature occurred during twenty-four days required for that part of the trip.
As they are about to enter upon Nebraska soil Mr. Davis writes further: "Sunday, October 22. Was on the road by four o'clock this
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COMING OF THE PIONEERS
morning. Reached a point opposite Nebraska City by sunrise. Crossed the Missouri River on a steam ferry, and soon were on a rough and hilly road in Nebraska . Thursday, Oct. 26. Were later than usual getting started this morning. Faced a hard cold wind, with lots of dust from burned-off prairie. Our road took us up Lincoln Creek to Hamilton Center where we camped for the night. The town con- sisted of one stone building and a dwelling house. The inhabitants were excited over the prospect of a rumored railroad. Friday, Oct. 27. was cold this morning and rather tough getting breakfast. Were on the road again at sunrise. Left the creek soon after leaving Hamilton and took across the prairie to Grand Island. The prairie had recently been burned off, so it was very nasty travelling in such a high wind. John and I chased some antelope but failed to bag any. Crossed the Platte river ford but found little running water. Arrived at Grand Island at about noon. Letters from home. Saturday Oct. 28. As this was Saturday we remained in camp all day. Saw our first Indians. The "Island" is a lively little place. Provisions are getting high. We begin to realize that we are getting a long way from home.
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