Identifier: sdbutcherspionee00butc (find matches)
Title: S.D. Butcher's pioneer history of Custer County : and short sketches of early days in Nebraska
Year: 1901 (1900s)
Authors: Butcher, Solomon D. (Solomon Devore), 1856-1927
Subjects: Frontier and pioneer life
Publisher: Broken Bow, Neb. : (Merchants Pub. Co.)
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: Sloan Foundation

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image:
was entitled to one member. M.V. Moudy of Lowell, Kearney county, received the nomination and waselected. In 1875 we had abundant crops and immigration commenced to flowrapidly into the unorganized territory. During the winter of 1874-5 I circulated a petition asking the authoritiesat Washington to establish a mail route from Kearney via Loup City, Arcadiaand Douglass Grove, to New Helena, and we received the first mail over theroute on April 15, 1875. I was appointed postmaster at this place, my com-mission bearing the date February 9, 1875. Aaron Crouch, the mail carrier,received the mail at this office every Saturday. In May, 1876, there was a general uprising of the Sioux Indians, whoresented the intrusion of parties who were at that time pushing through tothe Black Hills. Most of the settlers in this county packed up their goodsand hastened to Loup City. We rallied a few of the settlers and built a fortof cedar logs. I applied to Governor Garber for fourteen stands of arms iWTz^.
Text Appearing After Image:
AND SHORT SKETCHES OF EARLY DAYS IN NEBRASKA. 117 and 2,000 rounds of cartridges, which we received, and most of the familiesthat had flown came back. Isaac Merchant, George Carr, Jacob Ross, W. O. Boley, Samuel Wagnerand his son, William, and the writer remained in the settlement while theother male members were removing the women and children to a place ofsafety. Our fears proved to be groundless, however. No Indians came tomolest us. although a hunting party of Sioux camped for some time a fewmiles north of us. Most of the settlers came back that fall, a few only re-maining away until the following spring. This was formerly known as Kountz county, being so named after thebanking firm of Kountz Brothers of Omaha. In the fall of 1877 the Olive brothers came into the county with 15,000head of cattle and established a ranch near the mouth of the Dismal river.Their cattle spread all over the western half of Custer county, causing untoldtrouble to the settlers. The cattlemen employed a l

Note About Images