USA > Nebraska > York County > York County, Nebraska and its people : together with a condensed history of the state, Vol. I > Part 5
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Wild Cherries of four species grow in Nebraska, They are the wild black cherry of the eastern counties, the sand cherry of the sandhills, the western chokecherry and the common chokecherry.
The Sand Cherry is a valuable fruit. It grows on very sandy ground, principally
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on the sandhills and at places on the high plains of western Nebraska. The ranch- men gather this fruit in large quantities and use it for a number of purposes as for jelly, jams, sauce and wine.
Chokecherries are widely distributed in the state. The western form produces large amounts of fruit, which are used for jellies, butter and other purposes. The chokeeherry is a common plant along the Niobrara and its tributaries, in the canyons of the Pine Ridge, along parts of the Platte, and at places in the Loup and Elkhorn valleys.
The Buffalo Berry, sometimes called the bull berry, grows along most streamns and ravines of the western and central counties. The plant is a strong branching shrub, 3 to S feet high, and with thorns and light colored leaves. The fruit is reddish when ripe. Probably most fruit of this kind is produced in the North Platte Valley on sandy land near the river. The fruit is gathered in large quantities late in the fall and used principally for jellies and jams.
The Wild Plum has wide distribution in Nebraska. It is especially abundant in the Frenchman, Medieine and Niobrara valleys. The fruit is used for butter and sauce.
The Western Crab Apple is present, but not plentiful in the state, occurring principally in the southeastern eounties.
The Elderberry grows abundantly near streams in the southeastern counties. It is used to some extent for jams and preserves.
The Pawpaw grows along the Missouri in the southeastern part of the state. It is most plentiful at or near Nebraska City, Peru, Brownville, Nemaha and Rulo. The ripe fruit is eaten raw.
Nuts grow in parts of Nebraska. Hazelnuts occur in some of the timber areas of the southeastern counties. The hickory nut is found in this part of the state and the black walnut is more widely distributed.
FISHI RESOURCES
By G. E. Condra, Director Conservation and Soil Survey
Nebraska has several kinds of fish in small streams, rivers, natural lakes, and artificial lakes. The following are the principal kinds: Channel cat, bullhead, crappie, pike, perch, trout, sunfish, earp and buffalo.
A subdivision of the State Department of Agriculture looks after the propaga- tion, distribution and protection of fish, lieensing and the enforcement of fish and game laws. There are three state fish hatcheries in Nebraska. A chief game warden and many depuly wardens are employed to conserve the fish resources of the state.
Speekled and Rainbow Trout occur in many of the small, swift streams of the northwestern part of the state, as in the Pine Ridge area and in tributaries of the middle course of the Niobrara. Some of the trout streams are Monroe Creek, Sow Belly Creek, West Hat Creek, East Ilat Creek, White River, Big Bordeaux, White Clay, Boardman, above its junetion with the Snake, Schlagle, Minnechaduza, MeFarland and Plum creeks. Trout occur also in the drainage ditches of the North Platte Valley and at the head waters of the Elkhorn and Loup rivers. One can find very good sport among the trout of Nebraska.
Bass of different kinds, of which the big-mouthed speeies is the most representa-
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tive, grow in several natural and artificial lakes throughout the state and fishing is very good at some of these places. At one time bass fishing was best in some of the sandhill lakes. Most fish here were winter-killed in 1915. Lakes were again stocked and fishing has become quite good. Beaver. Rat. Hackberry, Red Deer, Dewey, Willow, Enders, and Center lakes are well known bass lakes. Willow Lake is the best bass breeding ground in the state. Bass and perch minnows are collected here for stocking other waters. There are bass in the dredged lakes along the Platte, in a number of eut off lakes along the Missouri and Republican. in artificial lakes of the Loup, Elkhorn and Niobrara valleys and in some of the reservoirs of the irrigation distriets.
Bluegills, Sunfish and Crappie occur in most waters suitable for bass and perch. Some of the largest catches of crappie and sunfish are from dredged lakes near Fremont, Valley, Ashland, Meadow and Louisville.
Striped Perch are present in great numbers in Dewey, Red Deer, Hackberry and several other lakes of Cherry County. They oceur also in many natural lakes, artificial lakes and reservoirs, and in some streams. This fish is well suited to Nebraska and is easily caught. Its firm meat makes good eating.
Pickerel and Wall-eyed Pike grow principally in the Niobrara and North Platte, but are found in the Loup. Elkhorn and Republican, and several lakes. Large num- bers of pike are caught below the diversion dams in Scotts Bluff County. The catch each year is equal to many tons. The pike has been planted in several streams and Jakes.
Bullheads are common in Nebraska. in the streams, ponds and lakes. The yellow eat is a desirable fish. It has been distributed quite generally for stocking purposes.
Channel Cats are in all rivers of the state. They afford good fishing in the Republican, Little Blue. Nemahas, Loup, Elkhorn and Niobrara, and at places in the Platte. They are also found in many lakes.
German Carp, American Carp and Buffalo are found in many streams and lakes. The carp are caught mainly in the southeastern part of the state. The buffalo is widely distributed. occurring in practically all streams of the western counties. Gar and sturgeon are large stream fish. They occur principally in the Missouri and Platte. The eel has been caught in the Elkhorn, Loup, and Platte.
Frogs have some importance as a source of food. The small leopard frog thrives in most marshes and fresh water lakes. Though edible. it is not much used for food. The greenish bullfrog is native to the southeastern' counties. Many of the streams and lakes in the central and northwestern counties have been stocked with this frog. One of the best results obtained is in the boggy places of Long Pine Canyon. Frogs, now quite numerous in these places, are becoming of value for food.
Turtles occur in all parts of the state in both dry and wet places. The snapping turtle is widely represented by a number of varieties.
MODERN GAME RESOURCES
By G. E. Condra. Director Conservation and Soil Survey
The state's game consists of birds and mammals. Among the birds are the quail, grouse, prairie chicken. ducks, geese, snipes, plovers, and the curlew. The wild turkey
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HISTORY OF NEBRASKA
was formerly found in the eastern and southwestern parts of the state. The mam- mnals are the rabbits, raccoon, antelopes, and deer.
Bob White or Quail occur in parts of the state where there is brush and timber. They are quite numerous along the Niobrara and parts of the Republican, and are among the best game birds of the state, but have greater value in agriculture. There is no open season on quail at this time.
Prairie Chickens were formerly plentiful in the eastern and southern counties. There are few birds now except in the eastern part of the Sandhill Region. Grouse occur in the sandhills, mostly in the central and western parts. They are closely related to the prairie chicken, but the feet are feathered whereas the feet of the prairie chicken are bare. Grouse are much lighter below and this is particu- larly noticeable in flight. The prairie chieken flies less smoothly than the grouse. Both birds afford good shooting in the sandhills. Sage hens are not now found in Nebraska, but they do occur across the line in Wyoming.
Dueks are in Nebraska in large numbers during periods of migration and breed- ing. Some of them remain during the winter. Those breeding, principally in the lake districts of the sandhills are: Blue-winged Teal, Green-winged Teal, Mallard, Pintail, Ruddy or Butterball, Redhead, Canvasback, Ring-necked Duck, and Shoveller.
Hunting Ducks and Grouse. Duek and grouse shooting have considerable importance in parts of the sandhills. There are lodges or hunting camps at many lakes and marshes. The number of birds killed at these places during the open season is large. Hunters come from all parts of Nebraska and from other states. Duck shooting is very good in other parts of the state, and a number of geese are bagged each year.
The Upland Plover formerly was plentiful throughout the state. The numbers dwindled until a few birds were observed, sinee which time there has been a steady inerease.
The Jack-snipe or Wilson's Snipe is found in small numbers about marsh land, but seems to be decreasing as these areas are drained.
The Long-billed Curlew has increased in numbers the past few years. It occurs throughout western Nebraska but principally in the wet valleys of the sandhills. There is no open season on this bird in the state.
Shore birds and the Mourning Dove are hunted some in Nebraska. The dove receives natural protection in that many people are opposed to killing it on account of sentiment. There is no open season on the dove.
The Chinese Pheasant has been introduced at places in the state. If the bird is as successful here as it is in Colorado, it should become a source of food within a few years.
Rabbits are common in all parts of Nebraska. There are four species-the prairie cottontail, common in the eastern counties ; plains cottontail of the western part; the black-tailed jack rabbit, principally in the southern counties; and the white-tailed jack rabbit, mainly in the northern part of the state.
The rabbits are hunted universally. They afford sport and supply a considerable amount of meat. It would be possible to further develop them as a resource.
The Western Fox Squirrel occurs in native timber in eastern and southeastern counties. It is also found in planted groves in most parts of the state. The squirrel - is hunted to some extent for meat.
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The Raccoon occurs along practically all streams in the state, especially where . there is brush, and about the marshes of the sandhills. It is hunted very generally in wooded areas and is trapped in the lake districts. The opossum occurs in the timber belts and is found occasionally a considerable distance from forests.
The Prong-horn Antelope, once plentiful in all parts of the state, remains in Kimball, Banner, Sioux, and Garden counties. The largest bands are in Sioux County, south of Agate, and in Garden County, near Crescent Lake. The antelope is protected throughout the year.
Deer of two species remain in northwestern Nebraska. The white-tailed deer occurs in the Dismal River country of the sandhills, where for several years it has been protected by ranchmen. The black-tailed deer is found at two places in the Pine Ridge country. There is no open season for deer hunting in the state.
Wapiti or Elk were very plentiful in what is now Nebraska. They are reported to have occurred in largest numbers along Dismal River. A few animals are now in parks and game preserves.
The Bison, now extinct except for a few animals in parks and on the federal game preserve located about four miles east of Valentine, was formerly the most important hunted animal in Nebraska.
FUR BEARING ANIMALS
By Frank H. Shoemaker, of the Conservation and Soil Survey
The largest fur-bearing animals found in Nebraska at the present time are the beaver, raecoon, badger, lynx, bobcat, and coyote. Smaller animals with fur- of valne are the muskrat and the various species of skunks, weasels, and minks. For- merly the black bear, the wolverine, the marten, and the otter occurred more or less commonly in Nebraska, but all are now extinet within our borders, excepting possibly the otter.
Muskrats, by reason of their numbers, are probably of the greatest economie importance in Nebraska as fur producers. They occur in all parts of the state along streams and lakes, ponds and marshes, sometimes in large colonies. Considerable trapping is done, chiefly in the western part of the state and about sandhill marshes, and with good returns. The raising of muskrats for furs might be greatly developed there, as it has been in some states farther east.
Minks, Weasels and Skunks are found chiefly in woodland along streams. Their furs are highly valued if taken at proper seasons. These animals are all destructive to poultry, and for protective if no other reason, should be trapped systematically where poultry is threatened.
CHAPTER II
THIE NEBRASKA INDIANS
CHRONOLOGICALLY, 1673-1804-THE PAWNEES-PAWNEE WAR OF 1859-PAWNEE- SIOUX MASSACRE, 1873-MAJOR FRANK NORTH AND PAWNEE SCOUTS-THE SIOUX -DEPREDATIONS, DAWSON COUNTY-BUFFALO AND HALL COUNTIES-HALL COUNTY MASSACRES-TILAYER COUNTY-GENERAL CARR'S BATTLE WITHL SIOUX-THE OMAILAS-THE OTOES-THE WINNEBAGOES-THIE PONCAS-IOWAS, SACS AND FOX -ARAPAHOES AND CHEYENNES-BATTLE OF AUGUST. 1860-BATTLE OF ASH HALLOW-WHITE MAN'S TREATMENT OF THE RED MAN.
"The land was ours-this glorious land- With all its wealth of wood and streams, Our warriors strong of heart and hand, Our daughters beautiful as dreams. When wearied at the thirsty noon, We knelt where the spring gushed up. To take our Father's blessed boon- Unlike the white man's poison cup." -Whittier, "The Indian Tale."
Except for the prehistoric races that have been heretofore spoken of, and con- cerning whom no facts can be recorded here, the Indians were the first settlers of Nebraska. While their coming may have only antedated that of the first explorers by a few hundred years, their claim to precedence of residence cannot be doubted.
Before undertaking a chronological survey of the part the Indians played in formation of early Nebraska annals, we may first make a brief survey of the history of the various tribes found to be flourishing to any very marked degree in Nebraska. This will be interwoven into the first portion of the chronology to follow here.
1673-June. Father Jacques Marquette, accompanied by that devont Christian worker and missionary, Louis Joliet, embarked upon his great exploring trip of the "Father of the Waters." While he made a trip as far south as the Red River, the interesting feature to our narrative is Marquette's description of the hitherto un- known Missouri country, and thereby giving forth a first report on Nebraska Indians. In a most interesting chart of that expedition. now in the archives at Montreal. Marquette locates, in what is now Kansas and Nebraska, the following Indian villages :
The Quemessouriet ( Missonri). The Kenza (Kansas). The Ouschage (Osage). The Paneassa ( Pawnee). and the Maha (Omaha).
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That his information was surprisingly correct is seen from the fact that the French explorers found these very tribes in relatively the same position as indicated in the chart nearly two hundred years later.
1:01. Governor D'Iberville of Louisiana reported the location of the Maha and Otoe tribes.
1119. Dustine, French explorer, visited the Pawnee nation.
1720. Massacre of a Spanish expedition under Pedro Villazur by Nebraska Indians, purported to have been aided by hostile French.
1221. Charlevoix reports of the Missouri tribe, but not upon Nebraska soil. He reports concerning the extent of the tribes of Indians inhabiting the Missouri River above the Missouri nation. "Iligher up we find the Cansez ( Kansas) ; then the Octotatas (Otoes), which some call Mactotatas; then the Ajouez (Iowas) and Panis (Pawnees), a very populous nation. divided into several cantons, which have names very different from each other." This would lead to the conclusion that during the first half of the seventeenth century. the country now forming the State of Nebraska was inhabited along its southern border by the Kansas Indians; that the Platte River, then called the Rivere des Panis, was the home of the Pawnees, who had also villages to the northward-at a point a considerable distance up the Missouri River. And to the westward, lived the Padoneahs-a tribe long since extinet.
(While there is uncertainty as to whether some of these explorers just named above really visited Nebraska. it is known to a certainty that Dustine visited Kansas as early as 1719, and Bourgmont was there in 1724.)
1724. De Bourgmont, French commander, is reputed to have made a military expedition as far as the Nebraska region and counseled with at least the Otoes and Padoucahs.
1939. When Mallet brothers reach and name Platte River, they journey up river as far as its forks before striking south.
1743. La Verendrye brothers, on trip on which they discover the Rocky Moun- tains. describe the Pawnee Indians.
1770. Otoe Indians reputed to have established their chief village on the Platte, about three miles from the present village of Yutan.
1789. Jean Baptiste Monier, of St. Louis, reported to have found the Ponea Indians at the month of the Niobrara River.
1794. Jean Baptiste Truteau, under the Commercial Company, visited the Maha and Ponea tribes.
This brings the record of the principal intercourses between the white men and Indians of Nebraska down to 1804, the year in which, on August 3d, the first council held with Indians in Nebraska by representatives of the United States was held, at Council Bluff, now Fort Calhoun.
1801. Lewis and Clark. in the year of 1804, report tinding Pawnees, Missouris. and Otoes in possession of the Platte, the Poneas near the mouth of the Niobrara and the Omahas in the northeastern part of the state, centering around what is now Sioux City.
This gives us a roster of the principal tribes in Nebraska and their respective locations, and is probably a proper point at which to divert and divide the record of Indian history of the state into tribal divisions.
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HISTORY OF NEBRASKA
THE PAWNEES
Origin. Some early writers have taken the position that the Pawnees were the descendants of the ancient Aztec nation, but the best authorities agree that the tribe belongs to the Caddoan family, and that the original habitat was probably on the Red River of Louisiana. In the Caddoan migration toward the northeast the Pawnee became separated from the main body and established themselves in the Valley of the Platte, where the Siouan tribes found them at an early date. Some of the tribes, though, moved on northward. Thus the Arikari moved by way of the Missouri, penetrating far into North Dakota. Sometime later the Skidi (Wolves) advanced northward and halted at the Platte, there to be overtaken by the Pawnees proper.
The Pawnees called themselves Skihiksihiks, or "men par excellence." The popular name, and the one most in vogue, is Wolf People. They were a warlike and powerful nation, claiming the whole region watered by the Platte from the Rocky Mountains to its mouth. They held in check the powerful Kiowas of the Black Hills and waged successful war against the Comanches of the Arkansas.
There were from an early day four grand divisions, or clans, of the Pawnees, having distinct government, though with language in common.
There were Shani (or Tswa), the Grand Pawnees, with villages on the south bank of the Platte, opposite the present Grand Island; the Kitkehaki (Tskithka Petower Kattahankies), or Republican Pawnees, on the Republican River in northern Kansas; the Pitahauerat (Tapage), or Noisy Pawnees, also on the Platte ; and the Skidi or Loup ( Wolf), Pawnees, on the Loup fork of the Platte Valley.
Customs. Among many other customs that might be narrated :- They lived in well built log houses, covered with turf and earth, preferring these to the movable tepee, which was only used when the bands were on extended .hunts. They depended very much on agriculture, the raising of corn and pumpkins-more so than upon the buffalo hunt. In this manner they probably never outgrew the sedentary and agricultural habits peculiar to all southern tribes.
It is narrated that from time to time they sacrificed prisoners to the sun to obtain good crops and success in warfare. "Anyone was at liberty to offer up a prisoner that they had captured in warfare. The victim was clothed in the gayest apparel and fed and feasted on the best that could be had, and when sufficiently fattened for their purpose, a suitable day was appointed for the sacrifice, so that the whole nation might attend. The unfortunate victim was then bound to a cross in the presence of the assembled multitude, after which a solemn dance and other ceremonies were performed, and at their conclusion the warrior whose pris- oner he had been stepped forward and cleaved his head with a tomahawk, the other warriors filling his body with arrows. This barbarous custom, however, was finally stopped in 1820, through the influence of the missionaries."
1806. Lieutenant Zebulon Pike's exploring expedition, when on its way to the mountains in this year, encountered the Republican Pawnees in northern Kansas. This was a few years before they moved north to join their brothers already established on the Loup Forks. On September 29th, Lieutenant Pike and his aid Lieutenant Wilkinson held a grand council with the chiefs of that nation, a short account of which serves to give an idea of the northward limit of Spanish activity at that late time, and the degree of intercourse attainable with these Indians.
Vol. 1-4
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"The conneil was held at the Pawnee Republic Village (near the present site of Scandia, Kansas, in Republic County ) and was attended by 400 warriors. When the parties assembled for their council, Lieutenant Pike found that the Pawnees had unfurled a Spanish flag at the door of the chief, one which had lately been presented by that government, through the hands of Lieutenant Malgoras. To the request of Lieutenant Pike that the flag should be delivered to him, and one of the United States hoisted in its place, they at first made no response : but, upon his repeating his demand, with the emphatic declaration that they must choose between Americans and Spaniards, and that it was impossible for the nation to have two fathers, they decided to put themselves, for the time at least, under American protection. An old man accordingly rose, went to the door, took down the Spanish flag. and laid it at the feet of Lieutenant Pike, and in its stead elevated the stars and stripes."
1812. Treaty of amity with Pawnees by the Government.
Major Long's Report. 1819. The expedition of Major Long sent out by the War Department. Leaving Engineer Cantonment "just below Council Bluffs, on June 10th, it struck out over Indian country."
Similar treaties of amity to the one just mentioned as having been ratified with the Pawnees on January 5, 1812, had been made with the Maha (Omahas) on December 26, 1815, and with the Otoes on December 26, 1817, and Major Long was instructed to make investigation and see that these treaties, were lived up to by white man and red man alike. So he visited the Pawnee villages on his course westward. It would be impossible to take space to go into every detail of the life and eustoms of each of the tribes to be treated in this chapter, but an account of this visit will be worth our time and space. At sunset, June 10th, Major Long's expedition went into camp at a small creek about eleven miles distant from the village of the Grand Pawnees. Ilis account reads :-
"On the following. morning, having arranged the party according to rank, and given the necessary instructions for the preservation of order, we proceeded forward, and in a short time came in sight of the first of the Pawnee villages. The trail on which we had traveled since leaving the Missouri had the appearance of being more and more frequented as we approached the Pawnee towns; and here, instead of a single footway, it consisted of more than twenty parallel paths, of similar size and appearanee; at a few miles distance from the village, we met a party of eight or ten squaws, with hoes and other implements of agriculture, on their way to The eorn plantations. They were accompanied by one young Indian, but in what. capacity-whether as assistant, protector or taskmaster, we were not informed. After a ride of about three hours we arrived before the village and dispatched a messenger to inform the chief of our approach.
"Answer was returned that he was engaged with his chiefs and warriors at a medicine feast, and could not, therefore, come out and meet us. We were soon surrounded by a crowd of women and children, who gazed at us with some expres- sions of astonishment; but as no one appeared to welcome us to the village, ar- rangements were made for sending on the horses and baggage to a suitable place for encampment while Major Long, with several gentlemen who wished to accompany him, entered the village. The party after groping about for some time and traversing a considerable part of the village, arrived at the lodge of the principal chief. Here we were again informed that Tarrerecawaho, with all the principal men of the village, was engaged in a medicine feast. Notwithstanding his absence,
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