1889 HISTORY OF LINCOLN NEBRASKA

CHAPTER V

LANCASTER COUNTY -- ITS EARLIEST SETTLEMENT AND GROWTH -- INCIDENTS OF THE EARLY TIMES -- THE PROMINENT MEN WHO BRAVED THE DANGERS OF THE WILDERNESS

(67) To write the history of Lincoln comprehensively, Lancaster county, of which Lincoln is the seat of government, must be touched upon more or less extensively. It is a fundamental, a preparatory step, absolutely necessary to be taken. Hence the preceding pages, touching briefly upon the history of the whole State of Nebraska, are logically followed by a resume of the history Of the county, to be followed in turn by the history of the city proper.

It is agreed by all that the first white man to take up his residence in Lancaster county came here in the spring of 1856 -- thirty-three years ago. John Dee, who lives near Waverly, disputes with John W. Prey, of Lincoln, the honor of being the first white settler in the county. These two men arrived at nearly the same time, and settled in different parts of the county, Mr. Prey settling on Salt creek. The authors of this work held a long and very interesting talk with Mr. Prey, one evening during the early part of June, 1889, and from him gained many of the points given hereafter.

Being one of the earliest, if not the earliest settler, to make his permanent home in Lancaster county, a few words regarding Mr. Prey will be of interest to the readers of this book. John W. Prey was born in New York City, May 11, 1828, his father, John D. Prey, being in business in the city at that time. When John W. was only four or five years of age his father moved from New York City to the western part of the State, where he resided until John jr. was fourteen years of age. In the year 1842 the Prey family left New York for the West, stopping one winter in Illinois, and from there going to Wisconsin, where they resided until the spring of 1856, the family residence being a farm seventeen miles north of Milwaukee. During the residence of the Preys in Western New York and in (68) Wisconsin, John W., with his brothers, worked at farming, and built up a constitution which enabled him to pass through the hardships of pioneer life in two States, and still retain almost the vigor and strength of youth.

In the spring of 1856, John D. Prey and his son John W., left the homestead in Wisconsin intending to take up a new home in Iowa, but on reaching that State decided to push on and see what Nebraska had in store for them. They crossed the Missouri at Council Bluffs, on the ferry, and found Omaha a little hamlet of probably twenty or twenty-five houses. Continuing their journey, they reached Plattsmouth, and learning of the fine country on the "salt basins," determined to see for themselves what it looked like. So pushing on, they reached Salt creek on June 15, 1856. Here they determined to settle, and while John W. remained in the State and county, his father went back to Wisconsin to dispose of his property, and to bring the rest of the family to the new land of promise. While coming across the country from Plattsmouth, and when nearly to the Salt Basin, the Preys met three men who were returning from Salt creek, where they had staked out claims for speculation, not intending to settle on them. These men were from Plattsmouth, and their names were Whitmore, Cardwell, and Thorpe. These three men were, in all probability, the first to take up claims in Lancaster county, so that the history of the county really dates from the latter part of May or the early days of June, 1856.

At that time the land in this county was not surveyed, nor was there a land office established until 1857, at Nebraska city. In that year Lancaster county, or at least a part of it, was surveyed, and settlers could know just where their land was located. The Prey family took up five claims, John W. Prey's claim being on Salt creek, in Centerville, section 24, town 8, range 6, on which land he made continuous residence until December, 1888, when he moved with his family to Lincoln.

The Prey family was quite numerous, the names of the boys being John W., Thomas R., James, William, David, and George, some of whom still live in the county. Those were days of hardships, times that tried men's souls, and the pioneers who braved the dangers of storm and cold and starvation and Indian depredations are to he honored. Soon after the Preys located in Lancaster county the salt (69) basins began to attract people from everywhere, and the present site of Lincoln was the Mecca for many a settler who came to get the salt wherewith his daily food should be savored, and his horses and cattle salted. From Plattsmouth and Nebraska City, and later from Beatrice, from near and from far, came the people, with ox-teams and on foot, to get the product of the basin. Some of these visitors would remain a few hours, some several days; some would boil down the water of the basin, and thus get the salt, while others would scrape up the thin deposit and clean it from the dust, and use that. Of the salt basins further will be said in a succeeding chapter.

For some time the Preys were the only people living any where near the salt basins, the Plattsmouth men merely staking off their claims, and coming out semi-occasionally to look after their interests. During the first summer the early settlers could do nothing except break land, they having arrived too late to put in any crops.

The winter of 1856-7 was very severe; the cold was intense, and the snow averaged on the level three to four feet deep. It was about the hardest winter that has been seen in Nebraska, and while it lasted the people were much discouraged, and thought of returning to their Wisconsin home. But the bright, warm, bracing days of early spring-time dispelled this feeling, and the Preys set out to break more land and put in their spring crops. Only a little corn was planted this year -- 1857 -- but in 1858, the third year, a large crop was raised, and prosperity began to dawn upon them.

Soon after the Preys settled here, and before the early settlers numbered more than eight or ten, occurred the first Indian scare. From the beginning the Indians had been a source of uneasiness to the settlers, but not until early corn planting time in 1857 did any outbreak occur. At that time settlers began to drop in and take up land in Saltillo, and among them was a man named Davis. This man had a great desire to add to his experiences that of killing an Indian, and it was not long until he found an opportunity of gratifying this desire. He shot his Indian; but the consequences were worse than he anticipated. The Indians were numerous, the Pawnees, Otoes, and Omahas taking precedence in point of numbers; so when they found that one of their number had been the victim of a white man's bullet, they went on the war path immediately. The settlers became alarmed, and taking with them only those things which to them were the most (70) valuable, they started as rapidly as possible, and under cover of the darkness, toward Weeping Water falls, where there was quite a settlement of whites. The Lancaster settlers remained at Weeping Water about two weeks, but during that time several reconnoitering parties were sent out to view the country and report upon the feasibility of returning. During that time, also, a company of about one hundred men was formed at Nebraska City to quell the Indian uprising, and it marched toward the scene of supposed devastation. This trip resulted in the capture of one Indian, a Pawnee, who was brought into camp with a great flourish of trumpets, and consigned to the care of three men -- one of whom was John W. Prey -- to guard through the night. Early in the night the Indian asked to be allowed to step out of doors, which was granted, but no sooner had he stepped across the door sill than he bounded away into the darkness, leaving his moccasins, leggings, and cloak, and was never seen again by the guards. John Prey shot at him as he speeded into the darkness, and he afterward learned that the bullet from his gun graced Mr. Lo's head, leaving a little furrow through the hair. It was a narrow escape, for Mr. Prey prided himself upon the accuracy of his aim. However, the reconnoitering parties found that the Indians had quieted down, and in about two weeks the settlers returned to their homes. Most of the settlers found their houses either destroyed or raided, but the Prey house was untouched. This ended the scare of 1857, but it came at such a time that the planting of crops was seriously interfered with, and the harvest that fall was consequently light.

Within two weeks after the return of the settlers after this scare, the Government surveyors came and laid off the land so that it could be properly entered.

Everything was then quiet until in 1859, when bands of Cheyennes and Arapahoes came to the salt basins bent on mischief of some sort. Their coming was unannounced and unexpected, and when they reached the Prey homestead the men folks were all away, leaving only the mother, a young daughter aged twelve years, named Rebecca, and two boys, aged eight and fifteen years. This young girl was some little distance from the house when the Indians appeared, and she was immediately seized upon, with the evident intention on the part of the Indians of stealing her. Their plans were, however, frustrated by the courage of the mother and the (71) timely arrival of the male members of the family. But little damage was done to the Salt creek settlements by these Indians, who soon passed on to the north. With the exception of a false alarm in 1864, these were the only troubles of any note that the Lancaster county settlers had with the Indians, but at the time they furnished considerable interest to the little handful of men, who were braving these western wilds.

Mr. Prey is blessed with a splendid memory, and tells many interesting happenings, including the above, of these times of excitement. The nearest trading point, for some time, was Nebraska City, but during the first winter, a severe one, the Prey family were very fortunate in having laid in an ample stock of provisions from St. Louis, which doubtless saved them much suffering. Mr. Prey was treasurer of the old county of Clay, before it was divided, and has been one of Lancaster county's commissioners a member of terms.

During the Indian scare of 1864, when it was thought that the bloodthirsty Sioux would continue their marauding movements eastward from the Big Blue river, nearly all the people left the settlement in the region of Lincoln, then Lancaster. Several men decided to take chances and remain until they saw or heard something of the savages. Not being attacked for two or three days, they decided to go westward, toward the Blue river, until they should learn something of the movements of the Sioux. They were well mounted and armed with rifles and revolvers, the party consisting of Capt. W. T. Donovan, John S. Gregory, E. W. Warnes, Richard Wallingford, James Morgan, John P. Loder, Aaron Wood, and one other, eight in all. They saw no signs of redskins until they came in sight of the Blue river. Then while looking around for the wily Sioux warriors, they saw a single Indian peeping over a hill some distance to their rear, and decided to ride back, lest this incident might bode mischief. They had only began the movement of retreat, when suddenly there rose up from the low grounds, in response to signals, several hundred mounted Indians, right across their pathway, and the savages began to bear down upon the little company of whites, and to hem them in. The pale faces were paler than usual then, for it looked as though they were going to see more of the Indians than they had expected, and that death was not many minutes ahead. Having strapped their rifles to their shoulders and drawn their (72) revolvers, they made a start, to attempt the desperate feat of forcing their way through the line of savages, or die in the endeavor. They had only begun this movement, when the Indians put up a white flag, and one warrior rode down upon them, throwing away his gun to show his friendly intentions. The Indian hunters halted. The Indian came up, and said: "How: Me no Sioux, me Pawnee; me no fight white man."

To the great relief of the whites, this proved to be true. This was a band of Pawnee warriors, who were also out after the Sioux, and supposed they had caught a party of Sioux stragglers. When they saw their mistake they raised the white flag.

After this explanation the Pawnees rode right on after the Sioux, while the Salt creek soldiers returned to their homes, having lost a large part of their interest in the Sioux.

For some years everything moved along quietly, the number of` settlers gradually increasing. Among the earliest settlers who came into the county subsequent to the arrival of the Prey family and John Dee, can be mentioned, L. N. Haskin, of New York, who came in 1863; Geo. A. Mayer, Germany, 1863; W. E. Keys, Ohio, 1863; E. G. Keys, Canada, 1863; J. S. Gregory, Vermont, 1862; John Michael, Pennsylvania, 1856; J. F. Cadman, Illinois, 1859; J. P. Loder, Ohio, 1857; Maurice Dee, a native of Nebraska, born in 1860; M. Spay, Ireland, 1859; J. A. Snyder, Indiana, 1862; C. F. Retzlaff, Germany, 1858; E. Warnes, England, 1863; R. Wallingford, Ohio, 1859; J. A. Wallingford, Ohio, 1858; W. A. Cadman, Illinois, 1859; W. E. Stewart, Indiana, 1860; Oren Snyder, Wisconsin, 1862; Solomon Kirk, Tennessee, 1857; and Dr. W. Queen, in 1860; all of whom still reside in the county.

Chris Roche, brother of Lancaster county's present efficient Treasurer, Hon. Jacob Roche, has the distinction of being born in mid ocean, on board the ship that brought his parents to this country, but there is no record that the passage money for the young man was ever paid. However, he is a staunch, loyal American citizen, even if his birth was on the "rolling deep."

Lancaster county furnished but one soldier to the Union army during the late unpleasantness -- that is, but one was enlisted from the county -- and that one, who bears the distinguished honor, is Dr. Wesley Queen, who enlisted in the Second Nebraska Cavalry, at Nebraska (73) City, having then been a resident of this county but two years. He was postmaster of Saltillo when he enlisted, and left John Cadman to perform the duties of his office while he was away.

On the second day of July, 1861, W. W. Cox, the historian of Seward county, came to the present site of Lincoln, on the invitation of Wm. T. Donovan, from Nebraska City, and engaged in the manufacture of salt. In his "History of Seward County" Mr. Cox gives a number of incidents of early life in Lancaster county, and especially in connection with the salt basins. In company with Darwin Peckham, Mr. Cox began the manufacture of salt on the 20th of August, 1861, and continued the business for some years. At that time the nearest settlers to the salt basins were W. T. Donovan, who lived on the old Cardwell place, on Salt creek, about five miles up the creek; Joel Mason, who lived a mile further up; Richard Wallingford, who lived just across the creek; John Cadman, whose place was just across the line in old Clay county, near where the hamlet of Saltillo now stands; Dr. Maxwell, who lived near Wallingford; Festus Reed, who lived in the same neighborhood; and J. L. Davison and the Prey family, who had located above Roca. To the east lived William Shireley, on Stevens creek, while a little further up lived Charles Retzlaff and John Wedencamp. Aaron Wood was located near the head of Stevens creek, while John and Louis Loder lived down Salt creek, near Waverly. Michael Shea and James Moran were also neighbors, as the term then applied.

Late in the fall of 1861 the first frame building in Lancaster county was commenced, and it was finished in the spring of 1862. Richard Wallingford was the owner, and the work was done by W. W. Cox, he being a carpenter. Mr. Wallingford was evidently desirous of making a very fine house, for the doors were of black walnut, which timber was also worked into other parts of the structure.

The most of that little band of patriots that opened the way for civilization in Lancaster county, sleep. Jacob Dawson lived long enough to see Lincoln well established, while Elder Young lived long enough to see the city grow strong and vigorous, and well on the road to commercial supremacy. Elder J. M. Young was closely identified with the early history of Lancaster county, the town of Lancaster, of which he was the founder, and later with the city of Lincoln. He died on (74) Saturday, February 23, 1884, and a subsequent issue of the State Journal says of him:

It is seldom that the Journal is called upon to chronicle the death of a man who, living, had so many claims to the love and respect of his fellow men, and who, dead, leaves so great a lesson of faith and works behind him, or is so sincerely mourned, as Elder J. M. Young, who has at last, after seventy-eight years of labor in his Master's vineyard, gone to receive the reward of his faithful toil.

Up to within a year Elder Young had been quite vigorous and active, notwithstanding his burden of years. For the last year he had been suffering from bronchial affections, and for about two months was confined to his bed.

Elder J. M. Young was born in Genesee county, N.Y., near Batavia, on the old Holland purchase, November 25, 1806. In 1829 he married Alice Watson, at that time eighteen years of age, who now survives him at the age of seventy-four. The following year he moved to Ohio; and from Ohio he went to Page county, Iowa, in 1859. In 1860 he came to Nebraska, and settled at Nebraska City. In 1863, near the end of the year, he came to Salt creek, and selected as a site for a town, and what he predicted would be the capital of Nebraska, the present site of Lincoln.

The following-named persons located here at the same time: Thomas Hudson, Edwin Warnes, Dr. McKesson, T. S. Shamp, Uncle Jonathan Ball, Luke Lavender, Jacob Dawson, and John Giles. It was the original intention to make the settlement a church colony, but the idea was never utilized as projected.

On eighty acres owned by him Elder Young laid out the town of Lancaster, which was made the county seat. He gave the lots in the city away, half to the county and school district, and half to the Lancaster Seminary, a school which be hoped to see established here for the promulgation of his faith. He built from the proceeds of the sale of some of the lots a building, which was called the seminary, and which was occupied by the district school and church. It was burned in 1867, and was never rebuilt.

A church was organized here, and Mr. Schamp was its first pastor. Elder Young was then President of the Iowa and Nebraska Conference. The next year after the capital was located, the stone church was built. Elder Young's dream was to build up a strong church in the capital city. He worked assiduously for the object, and put into the work some eight or ten thousand dollars of his private means. When the church went down, and he saw that his dream, in so far, had been in vain -- that his dream could never be realized -- he was almost broken hearted; and this was the chief cause of his departure from Lincoln, which took place in 1882, when he went to London, Nemaha county, the scene of his closing days.

Elder Young began his labors as a minister soon after he moved to Ohio, in 1829. He was President of the Ohio Annual Conference for several years, and was President of the Nebraska and Iowa Conference for about twenty years. He was a man of rare vigor and fine attainments.

Elder Young left four sons: John M. Young, of Lincoln; James O. Young, of London; Levi Young, Lancaster county; and Geo. W. Young, of Taos City, New Mexico. He was buried in Wyuka Cemetery, on February 26, 1884. Elder Hudson conducted the funeral services, by request of the deceased, assisted by Rev. D. Kinney and W. T. Horn.

(75) Reminiscences of those early days are yet plentiful. Elk and antelope were abundant, and the settlers brought down many of these prairie animals to eke out their provisions. No buffalo were here at that time, having early -- before 1856 -- taken their departure for the west. Besides the four-footed animals, water fowl used to congregate around the basin, such as geese, brant, swan, ducks, and pelicans.

As the Union armies gained a foothold in Missouri, large numbers of rebels found it convenient to find homes elsewhere, and many of them came to the Lancaster salt basins, thinking, probably, that salt, being a great antiseptic, might save their somewhat unsavory reputations. Great hordes would congregate at the basins, and they would frequently show their spirit by acts that were hard for Union men to endure. Once they became so insolent and insulting that the loyal men of Lancaster found it necessary to organize for self-defense, but the rebels did not care for any real demonstration of their loyalty, and hence made themselves scarce.

The first sermon preached in Lancaster county, at least near the salt basins, was by Elder Young, on the Sabbath following the fourth of July, 1863, at the house of W. W. Cox, a fair-sized congregation being present. A Sabbath-school was organized soon after, it being the first one between the Missouri river and the Rocky mountains.

It seems to be pretty well settled that the honor of being the first white child born in the county belongs to F. Morton Donovan, son of Capt. W. T. Donovan, who was born March 12, 1859. Mr. Morton Donovan is still living, or was a few months ago, and in 1867 had the honor of breaking the ground for the capitol building in this city. On March 18th, of the same year, the wife of Michael Shea, on Camp creek, gave birth to a son, and soon afterward a child was born to William Shirley.

In 1862 the homestead law was passed, and the first homestead in Lancaster county entered under this law was by Capt. Donovan, on January 2, 1863, he choosing a place just east of the present location of the insane hospital. It was in the summer of 1863 that Elder J. M. Young and his associates, representing a colony of Methodist Protestants, settled on the site of the old town of Lancaster, (now Lincoln,) which land then belonged to the Government. Jacob Dawson and John Giles took homesteads adjoining the site, and in 1864 the colony was increased by the location on or near the site of a half (76) dozen more settlers. Up to that time Dr. J. McKesson, Luke Lavender, E. W. Warnes, J. M. Riddle, J. and D. Bennet, Philip Humerick, E. T. Hudson, C. Aiken, Robert Monteith and his two sons, John and William, William and John Grey, O. F. Bridges, Cyrus Carter, P. Billows, W. Porter, Milton Langdon, and three or four others, were the settlers on and near the site of the old town of Lancaster. In 1864, Silas Pratt, the Crawfords, Mrs. White and daughters, C. C. White, and John Moore, settled on Oak creek, about twelve miles northeast of the Lancaster settlement.

During the Indian scare of September, 1864, the great majority of the settlers abandoned their claims and sought refuge in the town, along the Missouri. A few, however, stuck to their claim, among whom were Capt. Donovan, J. S. Gregory, and E. W. Warnes, in the vicinity of Lincoln; Richard Wallingford at Saltillo; James Moran and John P. Loder on "Lower Salt," Aaron Woods on Stevens creek, and the Prey family on the Salt, south of Lincoln. The scare was of no great account, the Indians coming no further east than the Big Blue.

In the early days there were many lively and ludicrous scenes in the courts at the basin. Hon. J. S. Gregory and Milton Langdon were the principal local attorneys, and in nearly all causes were arrayed against each other. They were both keen and tricky, ever on the alert to catch the other napping, and their legal contests were sometimes very lively. Occasionally a case would arise that would put the lawyers, court, and officers, on their mettle, and such a case was one which came off along about 1864. A rough customer, who, it is said had been a member of the rebel army, came into the county and squatted for a few days in the little settlement which was afterward Lancaster. This individual having made some dangerous threats, and having stated rather publicly and offensively that he intended to kill certain men of the settlement, an information was filed and a warrant issued and placed in the hands of the Sheriff. All was then excitement, and while the court (W. W. Cox) was giving some directions to the citizens about assisting the Sheriff, who should appear but the alleged criminal, who came stalking into the court room, carrying his rifle in convenient position for immediate use, the Sheriff following him at a respectful distance of ten or fifteen feet. Judge Cox, with his native politeness, invited the gentleman to take a seat, but the criminal (77) promptly declined. He then took a careful survey of the court, all the surroundings, and with his rifle cocked and finger on the trigger, began a retreat, requesting all hands to stand out of the way, which they seemed much inclined to do. The Judge remarked to the Sheriff and posse: "You will be justified in taking that man if you have to kill him to do it," but they did not take him. He backed out with his drawn weapon, and no one seemed willing to risk his capture. But the culprit was bent on vengeance, and had seemingly no intention of leaving until he had wreaked it on somebody. He had become angry at the Judge for telling the officers to take him dead or alive, and so the next morning, while Mr. Cox was busy at the salt furnace, the scoundrel came sneaking up a small ravine in the rear, with a view of getting a sure shot at the man who had advised his capture. But the Judge saw the rascal before he could get a good shot, and the latter started off rapidly across the basin, followed by the Judge, who soon halted him. The villain cocked his rifle, but Mr. Cox did not seem to care for that, and marched straight up to the fellow, who curled down like a whipped cur. He received a court blessing in the open air, after which he left for parts unknown, and was never seen again.

The first term of district court was held in November, 1864, in Jacob Dawson's log cabin, and was presided over by Judge Elmer S. Dundy with the same rude dignity which he preserves to-day as Judge of the federal court.

Dawson's cabin stood where the St. Charles hotel now stands, and during the term of court Uncle Jacob was reduced to great straits to properly entertain the judge and attorneys. The term is all the more memorable because of a regular blizzard of whirling, drifting, driving snow, which came down almost the whole week. Judge Dundy appointed Judge Pottinger, of Plattsmouth, as prosecuting attorney, and as Hon. T. M. Marquett was the only other representative of the legal profession then present, he appeared on the other side in almost all the cases.

Soon after the first term of district court was held in the county, the legal talent was increased by the coming in of Ezra Tuttle, who located on Oak creek in 1865, and S. B. Galey and Hon. S. B. Pound, who settled in Lancaster in 1866. When it became certain that the war would result in the preservation of the Union, and that there would be ample security here as elsewhere for life and property, great (78) numbers of settlers began to arrive; and a further stimulus to settlement was the certainty of the building of the Union Pacific railroad. Its eastern terminus had been fixed in the fall of 1864, and the first ground broken at that time, and this may be said to commence the era of a new and vigorous life for Nebraska and for Lancaster county.

In 1866 the Hardenburghs and Lindermans took possession of the salt works at the big basin, and erected a portable saw-mill, which was of great use to the settlement. They also erected that year a frame house, which was used for a hotel, and a frame building, in which they opened a general merchandise store. In 1867 John Monteith and sons erected a building, in which they kept a boot and shoe store. Dr. McKesson built a residence in the north part of town, and Jacob Dawson commenced the erection of an elegant stone mansion, in which he afterward resided and kept the post-office.

At the old settlers' picnic, held at Cushman park on June 19, 1889, Mr. John S. Gregory was one of the speakers, and delivered an address full of interesting reminiscences, from which the following is taken:

The early summer of 1862 found me residing in Eastern Michigan, possessed of a comfortable bank account, with the ambition for adventure usual to adolescent youth and a Government commission as United States mail agent, a position which enabled me to pass free over the mail routes of the United States, including stage lines. About this time a relative who had passed by the salt basins on his return from California, called upon us, and advised me to take advantage of my opportunities and visit them, which I immediately proceeded to do.

The only railroad line then in operation west of the Mississippi was the Hannibal & St. Joe through Northern Missouri, and I took that route. The road was then in possession of the Missouri "rebs," their pickets guarding most of the stations; but the United States mails were permitted to pass freely, and although I wore the livery of Uncle Sam, I was not molested.

From St. Joseph to Plattsmouth I went by stage. At this point public transportation was at an end, and I hired a horse to ride the rest of the way.

From Weeping Water to the basin I followed an Indian trail over the "divide," then an absolutely unsettled waste of rolling prairie -- not a settler from Weeping Water until at Stephens creek William Shirley had a ranch, a log cabin of two rooms.

The older-settlers know what an "Indian trail" is, but as I think some of the later ones do not, I will describe it to you. When the roving bands of Indians pass from place to place, they pile the coverings of their wigwams and their camp utensils upon their ponies' backs, and they fasten the tent poles to each side of the loaded pony, the ends dragging along behind on the ground. They often pile 150 to 200 pounds on the pony, and sometimes a squaw and papoose on top of all that. Another squaw leads the pony, and after forty or fifty have passed along in "Indian (79) file," the sod is worn away so that it looks very much like a good wagon road. But ponies can pass where wagons cannot, as many a "tenderfoot" has found out to his sorrow.

I reached the present site of Lincoln toward evening of a warm day in September. No one lived there, or had ever lived there previous to that date. Herds of beautiful antelope gamboled over its surface during the day, and coyotes and wolves held possession during the night. Mr. Donovan, of whom Elder Davis has spoken, resided at the town (on paper) of Chester, about eight miles south. He (Donovan) did not remove to Lincoln until 1867.

About a mile west on Middle creek the smoke was rising from a camp of Otoe Indians, and down in the bend of Oak creek, where West Lincoln now stands, was a camp of about 100 Pawnee wigwams. I rode over, and that night slept upon my blanket by the side of one of them, and the next morning went over to the Salt Basin. The tread of civilization had not then marred its surface. It was smooth and level as any waxen floor. It was covered with an incrustation of salt about a quarter of an inch deep, white as the driven snow, while the water of the springs was as salt as brine could be. I had seen the basin for the first time, in its most favorable aspect, and was naturally quite enthusiastic over its prospects. A roofless and floorless log cabin stood upon the margin, built the year before by J. Sterling Morton, who had gone out from Nebraska City and "pre-empted" the basin; but it was deserted and desolate.

I immediately retraced my steps to Weeping Water, and there bought ox teams and wagons, and hired men, and went to work in earnest for the construction of salt works, which the following year I had in operation, and of the capacity of about two tons a day.

This salt found ready sale to the freighters from Denver and the mountain regions beyond, at two to three cents a pound. Until the railroads reached the Missouri river and brought Eastern salt into competition, it was quite profitable work. My first residence was a "dug-out;'' that is, an excavation dug into the bank of a hill, or rather the creek bank, with a big cottonwood timber for a ridge pole, covered with poles, then topped with hay and soil. At the rear was a log fire-place. The front was of sod. Rather crude was all this, but yet quite comfortable.

The county of Lancaster was organized in the spring of 1863, and I had the honor of being chairman of the first Board of County Commissioners. An attempt had been made to organize the year before, but it had fallen through because there could not be found available men enough in the county to hold the necessary offices.

In the spring of 1864 the "Lancaster Colony" located at Lincoln, composed of the families of J. M. Young, Dawson, McKesson, Merrill, Giles, Harris, Lavender, Warnes, Humerick, Hudson, and one or two others whose names I do not just now recall. They staked out the town and called it "Lancaster," and soon afterward had the county seat established there.

The first postoffice in the county was established in 1863, and was named "Gregory's Basin." I was appointed postmaster, with a yearly salary of $3. I was also allowed $12 per year for carrying the mail weekly from Saltillo, then in Clay county.

The Lincoln postoffice pays a larger salary now, but I am not postmaster. In (80) the fall of '63 and spring of '64 quite a colony of citizens of Northern Missouri came to the basin. The fortunes of war had made it unpleasant for the partisans of Jeff. Davis, particularly for those who had been suspected of indulging in an occasional shot from the bushes at neighbors of other political leaning; and they came up here to " Wait till the clouds rolled by;" but after the war closed, all went back to their Missouri homes.

About this time there came into our fold, from somewhere on the borders of Iowa, Mr. Alf. Eveland, and he became one of the "characters" of our early times. All you old settlers remember Eveland: a little, wiry, freckle-faced man, with hair as red as fire. He came to the basin and started a "saloon" at the cabin where he lived, with a keg of whisky, some beer, and a caddy of tobacco; but as he and his two sons-in-law, Jim and Kill Harmon, were its best customers, he didn't accumulate a fortune. But Eveland was ambitious. He wanted to be called "squire," so we elected him "justice of the peace," the first to hold that office in the county.

On the morning the Missourians pulled out for "home," one of them who had a lot of staves, of the value of about twenty dollars, came over to my works and sold them to me. I took the precaution to count and mark the staves, and took a receipt for the pay. A few days afterward, when I drove over to get them, I found Dr. Crimm (who had, you know, come up from Brownville, and had a bench of salt boilers in operation) loading these same staves. I asked him what he was doing with my staves, and he produced a receipt for pay of purchase price from this same Missourian, sold to him the same morning as to myself. We had been "sold" together with the staves, so we agreed to divide them equally. But just then the thought struck one of us that Eveland had been "squire" for several months and hadn't had a case, so we concluded to have a "law suit" and test the "squire's" capability. While I loaded up the property, Crimm rushed away, as angry as he could assume to be, and soon had a writ of replevin served. The day of trial came, and of course the whole settlement had to be present. As the doctor was plaintiff, he proved his case -- that he had bought the goods of the owner, paid his money, marked the staves, and had a signed bill of sale on the morning the owner went away; upon which the squire announced that as he was entirely satisfied of the plaintiff's ownership, and should so decide in any event, it would be unnecessary for the defendant to take any further trouble in the matter; but we both insisted that the defense was entitled to their proof, and then it would be the duty of the justice to decide the ownership. So the trial proceeded, the evidence, of course, being identical with the plaintiff's. And then there was a puzzled squire, running his fingers through his "aburn" locks, and careful meditation brought no solution; and after vainly endeavoring to have "us boys" go and settle our dispute ourselves, offering to remit all costs if we would do so, he took three days to "consider." At the end of that time he was no nearer a determination, and asked our "terms" to take the case off his hands, which we finally agreed to do, in consideration that he should "treat" all our friends from his saloon. Well, we called in every one we could get word to in the county, and we bankrupted his business. That was the end of the first lawsuit and of the first saloon in Lancaster county. Eveland resigned his justiceship in disgust, and removed to a homestead down near where the Cropsey mill now stands; but he has now gone from there, gone away from us, but not from our memory.

(81) During the winter of 1863, Mr. John S. Gregory, not having any other business to attend to, gave some attention to destroying some of the numerous wolves which then infested this region. He would insert a few grains of strychnine into little balls of fat, and then pass around a large circuit and drop the balls in the snow. The wolves would follow the trail, and snap up every ball. Every wolf that swallowed a ball was dead in a short time. He would then skin the animal, their pelts being valuable at that time. The carcasses he piled up in cords, north of Lincoln, to prevent the poisoning of domestic animals by eating the flesh. They were frozen stiff and stark, and corded up like wood. Toward spring Mr. Gregory had a couple of cords of carcasses piled up at one place. Then a lot of Pawnee Indians came along and stopped near the cords of wolf carcasses. Mr. Gregory, fearing they might eat the wolves, rode over to warn them of the danger. He found the squaws and papooses lugging the wolf' carcasses into camp, and he at once expostulated with them, by signs, trying to make them understand it was dangerous to eat the wolves. The old chief thought he was demanding the return of the wolves because they were his property, and at the chief's command, the squaws and papooses lugged the carcasses back, and piled them up again. They were not well pleased at the prospect of losing a feast, and returned the wolf meat with long faces. Finally a member of the tribe, who could speak a little English, came along, and Mr. Gregory explained to him that he did not care for the wolf carcasses, but did not want the Indians to be poisoned. This explanation was made to the Indians, who set up a big guffaw, and the squaws at once began to gather up the wolf carcasses and take them to camp, laughing and indulging in expressions of great satisfaction. They cooked up the last one of the wolves, and had a great feast.

Mr. Gregory learned from the interpreter that the Indians were well acquainted with the use of strychnine in killing wolves, and were in the habit of eating animals killed in this way. They had no fear of the drug, and suffered no apparent damage from eating the wolves.

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