PAST AND PRESENT OF SAUNDERS COUNTY          261

   The Pohocco Woman's Club had its beginning in the autumn of 1901. The women in the community where Union, Marietta and Pohocco precincts join decided to form a sunshine society. After meeting a few times and discussing the affair the decision was made to organize a woman's club. This was done on November 20th at the home of the late Miss Kate Thompson. The first officers were: Miss Frances Moore, president; Mrs. Lizzie Willey, vice president; Mrs. Grace Williams, secretary; Miss Kate Thompson, treasurer. The charter members were: Miss F. Moore, Kate Thompson, Mesdames Lizzie Willey, Grace Williams, Martha Moore, Anna Estey, Louise McCord, Mary Hannan, Mary Conrad, Maggie Fenerstein, Lizzie Galliglee, Emily McClean, Margie Guckett, Libbie Tammell, Emily Willey, Minnie Davis and J. H. Frahm.

   On February 27, 1914, a number of farmers met at the courthouse and organized the Farmers' Assessment Tornado Insurance Association, insuring against wind, storm and tornado. D. H. Thompson, H. P. Thompson, Andrew Carlson, h. N. Nelson, P. W. Olson, C. A. A. Challquist, Frank Hledik, C. A. Cook and Andrew Bowen signed the articles of incorporation.

   The last railroad bond of the county was paid up in January, 1907. Years before the county had voted $130,000 in bonds for the Union Pacific and Burlington roads. The interest ran on and it was estimated that $400,000 was paid in order to cancel the original debt.

   N. H. Barnes came to Nebraska in March, 1868, lived in Omaha three years, in Moline, Illinois, two and a half years, and came to Wahoo in March, 1874, and started a small tinshop. He was born in Iowa in 1852.

   Henry Anderson, the first banker in Wahoo, came in 1875. A sketch of his life is used as an introductory to the description of the banks of Wahoo.

   Erand E. Baxter came to Nebraska in March, 1867, and located near Fremont in Saunders County, where he took a farm and resided there until March, 1877, and then moved to Wahoo and took up work with the Union Pacific Railroad Company.

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He was a native of Ohio, having been born there in the year 1842.

   Charles P. Beebe came to the State of Nebraska in 1856 and located near where the City of Fremont now is. He lived there until 1872 and then moved to the Town of Wahoo and started dealing in farm machinery. Mr. Beebe was one of the organizing members of the town board of Wahoo. He was born in Green Bay, Wis., in 1845.

   John Beermaker came to Nebraska in 1869 and took up a homestead in Douglas County. In 1874 he moved to Wahoo and opened a furniture store, which was the first furniture store in the new town. In 1875 he added a hardware stock to the general store. Mr. Beermaker was born in France on February 1, 1835, and emigrated with his parents, who first located in Ohio in 1858.

   N. H. Bell, one of the first lawyers in Wahoo, came to Nebraska in October, 1873, and first settled at Ashland, and when the county seat was moved to Wahoo in the month of December, 1879, he transferred his residence to the latter place, and was the second lawyer that located in the town. He was born in Oakland County, Mich. on December 8, 1838, and was admitted to the bar at Fremont, Ia. He was the third justice of the peace in Stocking Precinct, after the organization of the town.

   Olog Berggren came to Nebraska in 1869 and bought a farm four miles east of the present City of Wahoo, where he resided until 1877, when he moved to the city and started a sale stable. He was born in Sweden in 1853 and emigrated to the United States with his parents in 1863.

   Ole R. Brodboll came to Nebraska in the spring of 1869 and bought a place in the county, where he resided until January, 1878, then moved to Wahoo and bought the Wahoo grist mill in partnership with J. Young, from J. C. Flor. This was the first mill in Stocking Precinct and the second in the county. Mr. Brodboll was born in Norway on April 17, 1826, and emigrated to the United States in 1868.

   Samuel G. Chaney came to Nebraska in May, 1871, and settled in Saunders County on Rock Creek, on the homestead where he lived, worked and improved his farm until November, 1879, when he was elected to the office of clerk of the district court for the term of four years and moved to Wahoo December 2, 1879.

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He was a native of the State of Maine, having been born there September 9, 1837.

   Clay C. Clifton was born in Wisconsin in 1848 and came to Nebraska in 1875, locating at Ashland, where he went into the live stock business, staying until 1877. Then he moved to Wahoo and engaged in the stock and grain business.

   Joel D. Cook was born in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, August 21, 1843. In May, 1868, he came to Nebraska and located in Omaha; here he built a station and hotel along the line of the Union Pacific Railroad and in 1869 located on a farm in section 22, Stocking Precinct, Saunders County.

   Curtis M. Copp came to Nebraska in 1871 and located about three miles north of the present City of Wahoo, where he started a nursery. In 1875 he came to Wahoo and started to read law with his brother, C. S. Copp, and was admitted to the bar before Judge Post in 1878 and then began the practice. He participated in seventy-two engagements during the Civil war as a member of the First Iowa Cavalry. He was born in Tioga County, Pa., on June 27, 1838.

   H. H. Dorsey first came to Nebraska in 1868 and first located at Fremont, where he started to clerk in a dry goods store. In 1874 he took the position of bookkeeper in the First National Bank at Fremont and stayed until 1879. He came to Wahoo in the latter year and opened a bank in connection with his brother. He was born in Maryland on March 19, 1857.

   William H. Dickinson settled in Nebraska in March, 1869, and took up a homestead in Saunders County, and lived on his farm until 1875, when he moved to Wahoo and opened a real estate and loan office. He was elected county surveyor the same year. He was born in Yorkshire, England, February 23, 1848, and emigrated to the United States in 1865.

   J. R. Gilkeson came to Nebraska in 1870 and settled at Omaha, where he stayed until March, 1874, then moved to Wahoo and began to practice law. He was admitted to the bar at Omaha in 1873 before Judge George B. Lake. Mr. Gilkeson was born in Pennsylvania October 27, 1847.

   Darwin C. Hall settled in Nebraska in the spring of 1872 and stayed on his farm until the fall of 1879, when he was elected county judge. He was one of the first settlers in Chester Pre-

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cinct. His birthplace was Franklin County, New York, and the date was December 6, 1846.

   Anton Jansa came to the state in 1868 and to Wahoo in 1877, where he started a lumberyard, which he sold out soon afterwards and built his brewery. This was constructed in 1880 and was the first brewery in Saunders County.

   Charles S. Johnson came to Nebraska in August 1877, and opened a law office at Wahoo. In June of the same year he had been admitted to the practice before Judge Post. He was born in James County, Iowa, August 31, 1854.

   Henry Johnson came to Nebraska in January 1870, and located at Ashland, where he started the first livery stable in the town. In January 1878, he was elected to the office of county sheriff. He also served for six years as a member of the town board of Ashland. He was born in Wayne County, Indiana, on October 15, 1828.

   John Joseph came to the state in 1878 and started a gristmill at Clear Creek, Saunders County, and left that same year and came to Wahoo, where he started a grocery store. He was an Ohioan. William Grafe, who was associated with him, was born in Germany in 1854.

   Randall H. Knapp was born in Parma, New York, November 13, 1831, and came to Nebraska in 1856, stopped at Omaha during that winter, then in March, 1857, went to De Soto, Washington County, where he farmed until 1861, then went to Fort Kearney, ran a hotel until 1865, then moved back to Washington County, and in 1868 came to Saunders County and located on a farm in Cedar Precinct. He was elected to the office of county treasurer in 1873 and again in 1875 and was the first mayor of the City of Wahoo.

   James M. Lee came to Fremont, Neb., in 1857, and began to farm, but in 1868 came to Wahoo and started the first store in that village. He was one of the founders of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, the first church in the town. He was born in Ireland June 24, 1829, and emigrated to the United States in 1851, first settling in Pennsylvania. John R. Lee was born in Ireland February 13, 1840, and came to this country in 1850 with his parents, who settled in Wyoming County, Pa., where they resided until 1854, when they moved to Grant County, Wis.;

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here John R. lived until 1857 and then came to Nebraska and located near the present City of Fremont. In 1859 he went out among the Indians on the Pawnee Reservation and stayed three years, most of the time being spent in trafficking and trading. He went on buffalo hunts with them and learned to speak their language very fluently. After this he returned to Fremont and remained there until 1869, then selected the site and started the Town of Wahoo. Here he opened a store with his brother and remained until 1874; it was mainly by his efforts that the county seat was moved from Ashland in 1874; he was also the first man to run a ferry for settlers across the Platte at Fremont. When he first came there was not a house between the present site of Wahoo and the Town of Premont.

   Isaac R. Mengel was born in Lancaster County, Pa., July 12, 1814. He remained at home until he was twenty-one years old, then moved to Illinois and located in Sangamon County, and there engaged at getting out railroad ties for the Great Western and Wabash Railroad Company and also at wagon making, which he fallowed until 1868, when he moved to Nebraska and took up a homestead in Oak Creek Precinct, Saunders County. In 1873 he was elected county judge and served in this capacity until 1879. He was also a justice of the peace at Wahoo.

   R. B. Morton, M. D., came to the state in 1870 and took up a homestead four miles west of Wahoo, where he lived until 1873, then moved into town and started the first drug store in the town, practicing his profession at the same time. He was born in Crawford County, Pa., and commenced his first practice in that state.

   Otto Ostenburg located on a farm a half mile east of Wahoo in 1870. In 1872 he moved to Fremont and started in the grain business. Here he remained until 1876, when he returned to Wahoo, and was the first regular grain buyer located here, also erected the first elevator. He was born in Germany on May 25,1843.

   Charles Perky came to Nebraska in 1866 and first located at De Soto, Washington County. He came to Saunders County in 1868 and started to farm at Cedar Bluffs, where he lived until the fall of 1877, then moved to Wahoo, where he was engaged as deputy county treasurer of Saunders County and in 1881 was elected to the office of treasurer. He enlisted in the War of the

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Rebellion at Warren, Ohio, in 1861, in the Seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company H, and served fifteen months. He re-enlisted in the fall of 1862 at Massillon, Ohio, in Company A, One Hundred and Fourth Volunteer Infantry, served until the close of the war, reaching the rank of first lieutenant. A complete sketch of Mr. Percy's life and activities is contained in Volume II of this work.

   Douglas R. Phelps came to Nebraska in 1868 and first located in Omaha, where he worked at the carpenter trade until 1869, then moved to Saunders County, took up a farm, operated it four years, then went to Fremont. In September, 1879, he came back to Wahoo and went into partnership with Mr. Stratton. He was born in Wyoming County, New York, April 25, 1844.

   Isaac E. Phelps came to the northern part of Saunders County in March, 1869, and there pre-empted and homesteaded. Here he stayed until the spring of 1874, when he moved to Wahoo, and engaged in the carpenter and building business. He constructed the first county court house. He was born in New York State May 14, 1841.

   Thomas Rance came to Nebraska in October, 1879, and started the first regular carriage factory in Wahoo. He was born in Illinois in 1854.

   Thomas W. Riddle was born in West Virginia on September 10, 1847, came to Nebraska in 1866 and settled at Ashland, Saunders County, where he started to work by the month on a farm. In 1868 he took up a homestead on Rock Creek, this county. In 1872 he started a general merchandise store at Ceresco and was the first postmaster and founder of the office at that place, which he served from 1872 until 1879. At this time his entire stock of merchandise was destroyed and then he moved to Wahoo and in 1881 started the De Roe House at that place.

   James A. Smith came to Nebraska in 1875 and bought a farm in Chapman Precinct, where he resided until the spring of 1877, then came to Wahoo. He was born in Ohio in 1848.

   Melville W. Stone was born at Delaware, Ohio, December 11, 1837. He was educated at the Ohio University and the Bellevue Medical College of New York City, also in Iowa University. He enlisted in the War of the Rebellion in the Seventh Iowa Volunteer Infantry, Company H, and in September of the same

PAST AND PRESENT OF SAUNDERS COUNTY          267

year was transferred to the medical staff of the Cumberland Army by General Grant and remained in the Government service until 1800, being transferred to the State of Nebraska took charge of the Fourth Regular Infantry, where he remained until 1867. He then took charge of the Thirtieth Regular Infantry, stationed at Red Cloud during the Indian war, and in 1869 was stationed at North Platte and at the same time was appointed surgeon for the Union Pacific Railroad Company. In 1870 he moved to Polk County, Neb., near Osceola, where he practiced until 1872, and then moved to Wahoo, Saunders County. He was afterward surgeon-general of Nebraska, and president of the state medical society.

   John Steen was born in Norway on October 20, 1841. He came to this country with his parents in 1853 and located in Iowa. He served in the war with a regiment from that state. He afterward came to Omaha and Fremont, and in 1877 to Wahoo, where he engaged in the lumber, hardware, and farm machinery business.

   James B Sturdevant came to Nebraska in 1869 and settled on a farm in Saunders County. Here he lived until he moved into Wahoo and there started the first photograph gallery in the town. He was born in Pennsylvania May 24, 1824.

   F. M. Stratton came to Nebraska in 18?8 and took up a homestead in Saunders County. In the fall of 1870 he was elected county clerk. He was born in Jefferson County, New York, January 8, 1845. Mr. Stratton held many official positions, in the county, in Wahoo and in Ashland, during his life here.

   Moses Stocking, of Saunders County, died at his residence Friday, September 90, 1881 of paralysis. His wife, all his sons and daughters, except Mrs. White, Oregon, and Mrs. Bo worth, Colorado, were at his bedside.

   The following autobiography was written by him at the request of George S. Harris, land commissioner of the B. & M. Railroad. This was first published in the "Transactions and Reports of the Nebraska State Historical Society," Volume I,

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1885, and they have kindly permitted its use in this History of Saunders County.

"To George S. Harris, Esq., land agent of the B. & M. R. R., Neb.:

   "Sir--In complying" with your request to furnish you a short autobiography of myself, I am aware that I shall lay myself open to the charge of vanity and a desire to become conspicuous on very small capital.

   "I have no knowledge of the family name or history further back than my grandfather, who was a small farmer and also a tanner and shoemaker in Chatham, and later at Middletown, in the State of Connecticut. His family consisted of three sons and a daughter--my father, born in February, 1775, being the youngest. The oldest son, Moses, entered the marine service at the age of sixteen, in the war for independence, and fought under the command of the heroic Paul Jones. Every member of the family, so far as I am able to learn, were whigs of the revolution and gave their aid and sympathy to the party that defied the British throne. This was also true of my mother's family, the Ishams, of Colchester, Conn.

   "In 1809 my father, Reuben Stocking, emigrated to the State of New York, and settled among the hemlocks of the Town of New Berlin and the County of Chenango, where I was born in April, 1813. After spending in that locality ten years of the very prime of his life, in February, 1819, a bankrupt in purse and with a family of ten living children--the three oldest of which were girls, he moved to Monroe County and for three years was a renter. In the spring of 1822 he pushed on to the County of Genesee and settled upon a tract of wet timbered land. Here commenced such a struggle for life as few families on these fertile and beautiful prairies will at the present day appreciate. In debt for 110 acres of wild land, one-third of which was swamp, no capital, wheat worth 25 cents per bushel, the Erie Canal unfinished, merchandise to be hauled in wagons from Albany, everybody poor, few schools and those of a low order. Poor as they were I was enabled to attend them only a month or two, snatched from the labor of the woods during the snowiest portion of the winter--no public libraries or newspapers from which to glean knowledge, nor time to read except the short period between a

PAST AND PRESENT OF SAUNDERS COUNTY          269

hard day's labor and much needed sleep, nor other light than a tallow dip or the kitchen fire; it is no marvel that when in my 17th year and I had finished my last day's attendance upon a school, I had acquired only the plainest rudiments of an English education.

   "At this age I was active and robust in constitution, possessed of a retentive memory, and ambitious to excel.

   "At this time Dr. L. B. Coates, of Batavia, offered me a situation in his drug store with the privilege of studying medicine under his direction. This offer I appreciated and ardently desired to accept, but poverty's stern form interposed between my ambition and me. My father had become broken in constitution, his family was still large, a heavy debt hung over his farm and I was his main dependence in the labors of the field. The doctor's offer had to be declined. This I considered as the turning point in my life; and changed it from a career of letters and scholarly attainments to the rough realm of the frontiersman.

   "Continuing with my father, except when working out as a hireling, until my 23d year, I then determined to push into the western country and explore it for myself. Consequently the evening of the 3d of November, 1835, found me a passenger on the unlucky steamer North America, Captain Appleby, bound for Detroit.

   "The day had been beautiful, but as we steamed out of the port of Buffalo a cloud black as Erebus lay beneath the fast declining sun. Before we could reach the bay of Erie, one of the most fearful storms of that stormy lake broke upon our staunch craft, in all its fury. Added to the other dangers was the hull of Commodore Perry's old warship Superior, aground in the channel of the bay; in attempting to pass which the North America ran aground. We shipped her rudder, lost her anchors and drifted against the piers, where we lay until the afternoon of the second day before we got off.

   "From Erie I made my way to Ashtabula, Ohio, on foot; thence by stage to Willsville, on the Ohio River; thence on foot to Wheeling, W. Va., where I stopped three weeks with a brother there located and engaged in the jewelry business. Leaving Wheeling somewhat sooner than I had contemplated I fortunately avoided a little hand to hand encounter that had been

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planned (without consulting me) by a highway robber, who expiated his crimes upon the gallows the next year.

   "With a heavy pack, pursuing my way on foot on the national pike to Dayton, Ohio; thence up the Miami Valley to Fort Wayne; thence down the Wabash to Huntington; thence north by section lines much of the way, fording rivers and taking chances of food or lodging, tracing my way slowly through the dark forests, often marching to the tune of howling wolves, I reached on the 8th day of January, 1836, in St. Joe County, Mich., the home of an aunt, a twin sister of my mother's, whom I had been especially charged to find. Resting for one week, I had arranged my pack for a start on the next day to continue my tramp to the Mississippi, when a sudden attack of inflammatory rheumatism put me under the doctor's care instead of on the road. I remained here about sixteen months. The financial crash of 1837 having stagnated all business rendered the sale of land impossible, and being dead upon my feet with ague, I returned to New York in the fall of that year. The next summer I worked for an old neighbor, married in the fall of 1838, and with my wife and father's family returned to St. Joe County, Mich., determined if we could not sell our lands to make a living by improving them, but as events have proved, this was a mistake--we had better have given them away and searched for a healthier climate, for after fourteen years more of hard labor, sickness and suffering, we were compelled to get away from that living graveyard, and sold a splendid farm of 186 acres for the paltry sum of $2,000 on seven years' time.

   "Leaving my family in Michigan, the 16th day of March, 1853, found me at Glenwood, Mills County, Ia., with a span of horses and $700 in cash. Having long been accustomed to a level country the hills about Glenwood appeared mountains to me, which, with a wrong impression of the climate together with ignorance of a prairie country, combined to make an unfavorable impression upon my mind and I continued undecided till about May, when an offer from the late J. M. Cooledge, of Glenwood, induced me to start for California with a drove of cattle. Notifying my family of my intended movements, the 19th of May found us on the west side of the 'Big Muddy' and our first camp in the Indian country was pitched on what is now Main Street, in the

PAST AND PRESENT OF SAUNDERS COUNTY          271

City of Plattsmouth. On the 28th day of September, after four months of severest toil and never-ceasing watchfulness, we reached the banks of the far famed Sacramento River, worn out, exhausted and alkalied.

   "The following September I bade adieu to that wonderful land of sunshine and fruits, and took passage on an ocean steamer for my home in Michigan, via the isthmus and New York. Looking around among old scenes and friends for a few days I determined to leave that sickly locality as soon as possible. Closing up all affairs, the 22d day of November found my family on board of a wagon and on the road for Glenwood, Ia., where, after a cold, tedious journey, we arrived December 25th.

   "Being more desirous of schooling my schildren than acquiring wealth induced me to locate near that sheltered town, but the experience of fifty-five years discovered to me that I had made a mistake upon that point--that there was but little educational spirit in the place; further, that in a commercial point of view, I was on the wrong side of the 'Big Muddy.' Consequently I crossed the river and located a claim on Four Mile Creek, in Cass County, Nebraska, where I moved my family in the spring of 1856, rented ten acres of poor breaking for wheat and corn, upon which a good crop was raised. I erected a double cabin and broke about forty-five acres upon my claim, upon which I raised about thirty acres of very good sod corn, but had the misfortune to lose it by a prairie fire. While attending the deathbed of a sister at Glenwood, the Pawnees stole my best ox and both of my cows. The death of my sister and her husband, within two weeks, left upon my hands their small children to provide for and educate, increasing my family to twelve persons at the commencement of the terrible winter of '56 and '57. Speculation being rife through the country, and town sites almost as numerous as the population, I was induced to take an interest in the Cedar Island Town Site, which, after much trouble, turned up a blank.

   "The dry season of 1857 gave but an indifferent crop off my forty-five acres of but partially rotted sod, excepting in potatoes and pumpkins, the yield of which was truly astonishing, but the sudden change in the weather late in October, accompanied with high wind and snow, spoiled nearly all of the potatoes. In 1858 I put the same ground (which had now become well rotted) in

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wheat, oats, barley, corn, and potatoes, all of which presented a most promising appearance up to July. In fact, I had cut and shocked the barley, and cut one day on the wheat, when near sunset, a rain of twelve hours' duration set in, causing a most unprecedented flood on Four Mile Creek. I barely saved enough of damaged barley for next year's seed. The news of the discovery of gold on Cherry Creek, in Colorado, reached the river in September. I, with a party of a dozen from Plattsmouth, Pacific City and Glenwood, on the 18th, started for the newly reported discovery, determined to prospect and discover if possible the existence of the precious metals in that then unknown land. Spending some six weeks of the most beautiful weather in prospecting along Cherry Creek, the Platte River, and several of its tributaries, also among the foothills of the mountains, and finding float gold in almost every hole which we dug, the conclusion was forced upon us that when the season should favor penetrating the recesses of those grave old mountains, we should be enabled to open the vast storehouses of their hidden treasures. Therefore, when winter set in upon us, about the 1st of December, we turned our attention to the location and building of a town, as a base of future supplies. This idea gave to the world the present City of Denver. I had already seen enough of the country to be convinced that for stock growing it was second to California only in the greater severity of its winters; also that on trial a large portion would prove to be a fine agricultural region. At that time this idea was generally scouted.

   "The above views determined me to return to the Missouri, dispose of my farm, and arrange affairs so as to return to Denver in early spring. About December 14th, a party of two Plattsmouth men and three Laramie men, three wagons, and a half dozen yokes of cattle, took up our line of march for Plattsmouth, arriving home January 8, 1859. At Plum Creek, on the trip, a lucky shot from my rifle brought down a buffalo cow, which saved our party from starvation. On looking into the market after my arrival home, I found the whole community struck dumb with commercial panic. To sell a farm was an impossibility, cattle suitable for the plains very high, and could be purchased only with gold. I could make no shift that would not bankrupt me, and again I turned my attention to farming, raised good crops, and

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extended the area of broken ground. In the spring of 1860, not having yet been able to make a desirable shift so as to return to the mountains, I determined to push the farming to the extent of my ability, and put in fifty-five acres of wheat, thirty acres of corn, with some minor crops. I next hitched up a pair of cows, and some two-year old steers with my oxen, started a breaking plow and the planting of a crop of sod corn. Each day's work was leveled smoothly and dragged with brush and harrow. The corn came up finely. By the first week in June, some forty acres had been broken and planted. The wheat was headed out beautifully, the thirty acres of corn had been plowed once and second plowing commenced, and the ground clean and the corn growing finely. A better prospect for a good crop could not be desired, when, presto, a change came over the spirit of my dream. About 4 P. M., June 10th, a cloud dark as Erebus came wheeling up from the horizon with the speed of a locomotive-wind blowing by turns northwest, west and southwest. Instantly dropping chains, I started the teams toward their pasture, but before proceeding 200 yards the storm burst upon us in all its fury. I tried to get off the yokes but found it impossible; the cattle ran for shelter at the top of their speed. The only armor between my skin and the hail and rain was a cotton shirt. Thoroughly drenched in a moment, smarting from the driving hail, I seized a grain sack, and drawing it across my shoulders as a partial protection, hurried towards Four Mile Creek as fast as I was able, and on reaching it jumped in, and got under a bridge for shelter, standing in water knee deep until the storm was over, by which time I was pretty thoroughly chilled. A more complete wreck of bright prospects than my farm presented after the storm was over could scarcely be imagined. The corn field which looked so fine two hours before was now as bare as a freshly-plowed fallow; not a hill, not a plant, was left to show that it had been occupied. The wheat field was no better, nothing left but pelted and broken fragments of what had been wheat plants. But, thanks to the recuperative vigors of the plants and the fertility of Nebraska's soil, the corn pushed rapidly up into sight again and made a tolerable crop. The wheat stubble sprouted up and headed out with small heads, making about five bushels to the acre, and ripened but little later than the regular harvest. Having lost by fire, flood and

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storm the greater portion of three out of five crops which I had planted in Nebraska, and falling short of reaching expenses of the farm about seven hundred dollars, I determined, in September of that year, to turn over the management of my farm to my wife and three sons, the youngest yet in his teens, and for myself endeavor to strike something that would enable me to pay off my debts. Notifying my creditors of my intended course, they each readily assented. Accordingly making a careful estimate of the quantity of wheat required for seed and one year's board, I soon had the small balance in Hersel's mill, and in due time removed therefrom forty-two sacks of flour. Putting forty of them in a wagon, and hitching thereto one pair of grown and two pairs of two-year old steers, the same cattle that had already plowed and harrowed seventy acres of prairie that season, about noon of the 10th of October, set out for Denver.

   "At Wahoo Ranche I overtook the train of C. L. Cooper, and traveled with it. At Plum Creek we were caught in a severe storm of rain, hail and high wind, so cold that their work stock froze in the corrals. At ------- Creek met a snow storm that fell six inches deep; very cold weather followed the storm. At other times on the trip we had very pleasant weather. Arriving at Denver we found the market glutted, left a portion of our load to be sold upon commission, and with the balance we started for Faryal at the foot of the Snowy Range, arriving on the 14th of December, but were compelled to store our load for want of purchasers. Before reaching Faryal our cattle took the sore tongue disease, then prevalent, which reduced their flesh very much, so that when we reached winter quarters on the plains near Colorado City, they presented a sorry appearance. In February I took charge of Mr. Cooper's train of seven wagons at a salary of $400 a year, including the privilege of my own wagon in the train and also of looking after my farm when at the Missouri River. Under this arrangement I performed the business of freighting till the close of 1863, traveling each year from three thousand to three thousand five hundred miles, and subsisting the stock exclusively upon the grass which grew upon the routes traveled. In the meantime my family had made more than a living from my farm.

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"In the spring of 1864 I sold my teams and found myself in possession of $2,000 and out of debt. The Indian hostilities having rendered freighting a precarious business, I determined to try droving. Accordingly, in company with Jacob Penny, I went to Kansas for a drove of cattle. Collecting about three hundred head on the Verdigris, we made our way back to Nebraska, arriving at Wyoming about the 1st of July, where we sold the greater part of our herd to the Mormons, who were outfitting at that point for Salt Lake City. This venture paid us a fair profit.

   "Having had some experience in wool growing, I now determined to procure a flock of sheep--a class of stock that would require less help to manage, and also allow me to stay at home. For this purpose I started in October for Wisconsin, but finding prices high and holders unwilling to sell, did not buy in Wisconsin. Returning via the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad, I heard of a flock of merinos at Marshalltown, Ia., just arrived from New York. From this flock I purchased 100 ewes and 100 lambs, and in Story County, Ia., I purchased 90 coarse wooled sheep. In July, 1865, I started for Michigan for more sheep. I bought 500 head in Jackson County, mainly ewes and lambs. Started them on the 22d of August from the Town of Concord; arrived at Plattsmouth on the 22d of November, after one of the most tedious journeys ever performed by sheep. Rain, rain, rain, and but two mudholes between Laporte, Ind., and Chariton, Ia., the Mississippi River making the division. Previous to leaving for Michigan, I had selected a location in Saunders County, and within the railroad land grant, for a sheep farm, and directing that a quantity of hay be put up for wintering. For this point, on Christmas Day, I started with a flock of about five hundred sheep, leaving the remainder -- stock, farm and family -- in charge of our three sons. That farm of 240 acres we still own. My family moved from the Cass County farm in the spring, of 1870, to our lands in Saunders County, being located on both Wahoo and Sand creeks, near where the waters of the two unite.

   "Here in Saunders County we have plodded along slowly, adding something each year to our improvements and steadily increasing our stock. Our sheep farm at this time consists of 1,040 acres of deeded and homesteaded land, on which we have comfortable buildings, 400 apple trees, 320 acres under cultivation, 400

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acres enclosed in pasture with 1,200 rods of fence, 20 acres seeded to timothy and about 5 acres planted to forest timber. Besides which we occupy one section of railroad land of which 120 acres are under the plow, 400 acres of meadow, 160 rods of hedge planted, and on the same land there are 400 feet of shedding 16 feet wide, 14 inclosures fenced with pine fencing, and three corn cribs made with pine lumber. Our stock consists of 1,500 sheep, 4 head of meat cattle, 25 head of horses and mules, and about 45 head of hogs.                 moses stocking."

   Mr. Stocking served Saunders County two years as county commissioner and a more faithful, intelligent officer Saunders County has never before or since had. He was the first man to introduce blooded cattle in the center of the county. His first purchase was from the celebrated Daniels herd, of Sarpy County, consisting of a cow and a bull. The cow cost $225 and the bull, a yearling, cost $150.

   Mr. Stocking was for years a prominent member of the state board of agriculture and at the time of his death was one of three men in this state who were elected life members of the board. In 1875 he delivered the address at the state fair in Omaha, which was a production worthy of the man and the occasion. He was always an active member of the board and was also a prominent member of the state horticultural society. On January 16, 1878, he was elected president of the Wool and Sheep Growers' Association. He was an original member of the society and drafted the constitution and by-laws which were adopted. He was an active member of the Fine Stock Breeders' Association and was elected a vice president at the time of its organization. He was a member of the State Historical Society and one of the charter members of the same. He was a member of a committee of awards on wool at the great Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia in 1876 and also received an award on fine wool which he exhibited there.

   In the fall of 1871 he was employed by the B. & M. R. R. Company in Nebraska to examine their lands. He made a personal examination of the entire belt and made his report of the same, which is still on file. About this time he contracted a severe cold which settled upon his lungs and from that day until the

HON. MOSES STOCKING
One of the first settlers of this county, and authority on pioneer
history. Died in 1881.

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end his lungs were never sound. He was subject to frequent hemorrhages of the lungs, often bleeding two quarts at a single time. These spells greatly prostrated him, but he was possessed of a remarkably strong constitution and his rapid recovery from these prostrations was often the subject of remark among his intimates. His mental faculties were sound until the moment of his death.

   Mr. Stocking was never a politician, though once, in the republican convention at Lincoln, his friends ran him for the office of governor. He received a very handsome vote, but failed to get the nomination.

   A marble monument, erected on the first ground broken by him in Saunders County, in the burying ground of the Knights of Honor, points the spot where the mortal remains of our honored and much lamented citizen repose.

   Moses Stocking was born in the State of New York April 27, 1813, came to Nebraska in 1865 and located just five miles north of Plattsmouth, where he pre-empted some land and started farming. He was one of the first settlers in this part of the state. In July, 1865, he took up another claim in Saunders County, at Wahoo, and when Stocking Precinct was formed it was named after him. He died October 1, 1881. A portrait of the Hon. Moses Stocking may be found in this volume.

   The following few paragraphs were written several years ago by A. E. Sheldon, of the state university, and are interesting, especially to the early settler of Saunders County:

   The object of this summer expedition is to locate, describe, plat and photograph some of Nebraska's sites for historic and scenic parks, which state legislatures and local communities may hereafter beautify and set apart for public service and enjoyment -- and to make report thereon to the Nebraska Conservation Commission. It is also to add to the growing popular interest in Nebraska's historic places and to promote and deepen the conviction that Nebraska's landscapes are among the most beautiful in the world and that breathing places for play and recreation of Nebraska people may be found within the borders of our own state and their free use and enjoyment made possible by planning, publicity and public spirit.

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   The expedition consists of two persons, a top buggy, a reliable horse, a camera, an alcohol stove, a roll of bedding and a box fitting on the back of the buggy containing the kitchen outfit and commissary. The total baggage weighs about seventy-five pounds.

   As in Sherman's march to the sea the country along the route furnishes forage for the expedition, as well as scenery for the inspiration of its members.

   The early stages of the journey lie along those familiar miles stretching from Lincoln to Greenwood via the Burlington route. The islands of golden rod are just turning yellow in the sea of summer green. The purple flowers of the iron weed are dotted with living blossoms of white butterflies. The kingbird, the shrike, the mourning dove, the brown thrushes, the cuckoo (usually a shy bird) and especially the noisy and industrious red headed woodpecker, are the most constant bird companions along the road, although the first day's "catch" of birds numbered twenty-six species.

   Crossing Salt Creek at Greenwood the first night's camp was made on a high hill overlooking Clear Creek Lake at Memphis on the Ashland-Schuyler branch of the Burlington. Here the waters of the clear flowing stream which rises in the Pohocco highlands, have been dammed, covering several hundred acres of meadow with deep water. A mammoth ice house covers several acres, and hundreds of men work in winter harvesting one of the biggest local ice crops in Nebraska and making the town's chief industry. This is an excellent example of long dormant resources utilized by advancing population and industrial development.

   Saunders County is one of the very best agricultural counties in Nebraska with a record for grain and stock production which gives her place in the first rank.

   Death of the Trees-The most obvious feature of her landscape today is the death of the trees. Nearly every farm has an old orchard and a great grove of forest trees planted in the days of hardship and struggle by the pioneers of the county. Half of the trees in these old orchards and groves are dead and more are dying. The people say this is the work of the last two years of short rainfall. All trees seem to suffer alike, the hardy native cottonwood, the boxelder and elm with the exotic apple, peach

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and catalpa. In some groves of several acres three-fourths of the trees stand staring skeletons against the sky line, a picture of melancholy appeal and desolation strange in Nebraska landscapes. The death of the trees brings the borers and swarms of red headed woodpeckers multiply and "knock" incessantly. Competent critics here say that it is only the groves and orchards in grass which die, that surface cultivation will save the trees even in the dry years.

   Tenant farming and owners' farming advertise their difference to the traveler. In most cases one may be absolutely, certain of a rented place and inquiry verifies surmise. The men, women and children who make these noble farms are far from the land, the temporary interests of the tenant reach no further than the yearly "skinning" of the soil; farm buildings fall out of repair, orchards and grove die, the general economic and industrial conditions decay. Let no one doubt that prophecies of future loss and deterioration are to be found in tenant farmed districts in the choicest parts of Nebraska and that a better tenure for the worker and more care and investment by the owner must be had or our state will suffer heavily -- and suffer soon.

   Farmers here say that wheat is making half a crop, by which they mean ten to twenty bushels per acre. Corn on rich bottom land is twice as high as that on the upland. All the corn is as yet of good color and promises a fair, but not a heavy crop. The proportions of corn to small grain in Saunders seems, to be about three acres to one this year. Alfalfa seems almost unknown, only a few small patches appearing.

   Camp at Indian Mound -- The second night's camp was made on top of Indian Mound, part of the farm of W. H. Dech, in the edge of the Village of Ithaca. This is a remarkable spot, geographically and historically. A tongue of land lies between the valleys of Wahoo Creek and Silver Creek. Here the tongue rises into an elevation of 200 feet which commands a distinct view of a large part of Saunders County.

   For twenty or thirty miles in all directions the eye sweeps over the smooth valleys and low, folding prairies which lie between. No other hill in the state affords a more striking survey of so much rich and beautiful Nebraska landscape. The prairies of central Saunders County do not rise into high divides as in

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other counties. All the streams flow from the Platte to the Platte, making the hypothenuse of a triangle whose other two sides are the Platte River of today, and indicating by their structure and by the soil beneath the time when the Platte River itself ran across this angle through the heart of Saunders. The entire region is thus one valley and all of it is seen from Indian Mound.

   Across the road 300 yards away on a lower hill is Indian Mound Cemetery where the white successors of the Indian are laid to rest. Between the two is the beautiful home and orchard of Bill Dech, one of the best known of Nebraska's anti-monopoly agitators. Upon due consideration I am now inclined to the belief that Mr. Dech is more fully entitled to the name "The Nebraska Agitator" than any man now living and the title may be taken as a term of commendation by those who like Dech and of reproach of those who don't like him.

   Mr. Dech is now seventy-two years old, has lived in Saunders County since 1866, has talked more grangerism, greenbackism, farmers' alliance and populism than any other man I know, and is still at it with as much energy and nervous enthusiasm as when he was first elected to the Nebraska Legislature in the early '70s and woke the echoes of the old sainted red sandstone state capitol with his vibrant Pennsylvania Dutch voice. Mr. Dech has lived and fought through three eras of social and political movement in Nebraska life and is a well stored granary of reminiscence and information on Nebraska political history. To the frightened conversatives during the social revolution of 1890 he typified the anarchist; to the mortgaged farmer of the same period he represented the torch of industrial liberty; to his friends always he has been a literary and social philosopher.