STILL feeble, suffering, and apprehensive of results, I urged on my course, and about three in the afternoon reached the house of Rev. Thomas B. Markham, then residing upon the bank of the Missouri, nearly opposite to where the town of Kickapoo, in Kansas, now stands. Here I found a brother in Christ and a kind Christian family, who, though then afflicted themselves, received me cordially, sympathized in my condition, and ministered to my necessities.

     Brother Markham was a grave yet cheerful Christian man and minister, of mild and engaging disposition and much practical good sense. He had been a local preacher, steadfast in the ranks of the Methodist Episcopal Church up to the time of the reorganization of Missouri Conference in 1848, when, like many others, stirred by the necessities of the work and the scarcity of laborers, he joined the traveling connection, though already past the meridian of life. He had given a son also to the ministry, said to have been pious and promising, who, after a brief service in itinerancy, during which he encountered sharp persecutions, fell nobly at his post in the field of battle. Brother M. was well versed in the history of affairs in Missouri and upon the border, had spent some years in the Indian missions, and was able to give me much interesting and valuable information. Before leaving I engaged him to take charge of the work in the settlements of Kansas contiguous to Fort Leavenworth, till the ensuing Conference.

     According to expectation, the ensuing day brought on another paroxysm, by which I was completely prostrated, and for a period of about nine days I was confined by ill-

ness. For a time, uncertain as to the result, it was natural that my thoughts should turn, as they had more than once done before under similar circumstances, to the idea of dying from home, far from family and friends. The trial was severe; but, through the grace of God, I think I have, at such times, always felt resignation to the Divine will. Once I well remember having my pocket-book and pencil brought, and feebly tracing what I supposed might be a last brief line to the companion of my life, who has since preceded me to glory.

     But God had other designs for me. Through kind attention and medical aid, the disease was arrested, and I gradually grew better. As I improved, the conversation of my kind and pious brother entertained me much. In sight, just upon the opposite shore, within my very field of labor, were the Kickapoo Bluffs, on which the village of the tribe was situated. I gazed upon them with delight from my bed, while I listened to the thrilling incidents of their history from the lips of my friend, especially that of the very singular and extraordinary career of their noted prophet, Ken-i-kuk--if I have his name correctly--which has heretofore been given to the public through other channels. From the effects of this attack I did not fully recover till Autumn; and, as a result, the remainder of my trip was performed in great feebleness, and often with doubts as to whether I should live to complete it or not. Still I was resolved not to abandon the field till the object of my mission should be accomplished.

      By the 22d I began to feel as though I should summon up my little strength and again address myself to the journey. Reading of a meeting of some days' continuance to be held, on my way, in a neighborhood on the Missouri side, where, it was said, nearly all the residents had "taken claims" in Kansas, and intended moving over, and, being told that I could see more Kansas people there than at any point in the Territory, I determined to attend. Brother M. accompanied me to the place, where I found a settlement of

substantial Indiana farmers, and was made welcome. I participated in the Sabbath services, preaching from John iv, 35, and administering the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. We had an interesting meeting, and I saw no demonstration of hostility ; though I subsequently learned that there had been some prating on the subject of a gratuitous suit of tar and feathers, or some other lynching process. Repeatedly, afterward, for years, I stopped in the same neighborhood, passing and repassing without molestation.

     At this place I formed some acquaintance that proved of benefit to me in my after labors in the Territory; and to this neighborhood I afterward found occasion to retreat to find provision for myself and horse, in the scarcity and want that attended the early settlement in the contiguous part of Kansas. Near one year afterward, just about the time of the breaking out of violence in Platte county, good brother Markham was called home to his reward without witnessing the worst of the painful struggle which ensued. I was called to preach his funeral; consented, and fixed a day; but the scenes of outrage meantime had opened; the Platte county interdict upon our preachers had been passed; and the family never made the appointment.

     On the morning of the 24th I drove to St. Joseph, put my horses in livery, and sought out some kind friends with whom I might rest and recruit a few days; found disease prevailing in the place to a great extent. My purpose had been to cross into the Territory on horseback at this point, and visit contiguous settlements, but continued feebleness compelled me to change my plans. Finding myself unable to manage my team, I determined to dispose of them, and commit myself to the stage-route up through North-Western Missouri, stopping at different points, and making excursions into the Territories as health and circumstances allowed. I accordingly sold, at low rates, my carriage and horses, with such part of my equipage as I could, gave away the remainder, and prepared for another mode of travel.

     After a rest of a few days, taking a carriage in company with a friend, I crossed into Kansas, and visited, so far as practicable, the contiguous settlements upon the Kickapoo lands, which I found, at that time, to be the most extensive white settlement I had yet seen in the Territory. People were moving in, and cabins being erected with rapidity. During this excursion I had an interesting visit to the wigwam of Wa-the-na, a man of some consequence among the Kickapoos, and found his establishment fitted up after the real Indian style, but superior to any thing of the kind I had witnessed. The domicile consisted of two large bark camps, of two apartments each; the sides within were hung with flag matting, and the apartments furnished with bedding of the same material. The males of the household were engaged in catching and breaking wild oxen, and the females were employed in manufacturing the flag matting. Marks of thrift and neatness were apparent, not commonly found in Indian life. A Kansas town, near the place, now bears the name of the former lord of the soil.

     Returning to St. Joseph, I took my passage in the stage for Council Bluffs on the 28th, with the privilege of stopping at such points as I might think proper. Feeble as I was, I found that I must start in the evening and travel all night. Detained at one time on the bank of the Nodaway, waiting for the ferryman, and worn down by fatigue and debility, I lay down upon the ground and slept an hour; awoke and found myself chilled; was alarmed for the probable results, but traveled on and experienced no bad effects. I stopped a little after daylight at Oregon, the county seat of Holt county, some ten miles back from the river.

      Here I left the stage and obtained a horse, intending to cross into the Territory at the mouth of Great Nemaha, then understood to be the dividing line between the Territories of Kansas and Nebraska. By wrong advice I had been led, as I found, to stop about half a day too soon, and was subjected to a long additional ride on horseback, for which I

was illy competent. For some twenty miles I followed the stage road along the bluffs, and then leaving them turned in the direction of the river, arriving in the afternoon at the cabin of Colonel Archer, where I found a kind home among Tennessee Methodists, recently settled in Missouri Bottom. The day following being the Sabbath, learning that there was an appointment for preaching upon the river some miles distant, I resolved to attend. Accordingly, under the guidance of one of the Colonel's daughters, a skillful equestrian and pilot, I traveled through a densely-timbered bottom to the place. Here upon the bank of the river, at the house of old brother Proctor, I found one of the finest specimens of cabin hospitality, neatness, and cheerful piety that it has been my lot to meet with. I had a good rest in the morning; in the afternoon listened to a sermon from a good brother, exhorted a little, and had a comfortable season.

     On the day following my kind host volunteered his services to take me across the river in a canoe, ran up the Great Nehama a little way, and landed for the first time upon the soil of Nebraska Territory. Finding no settlers here, I spent some time in meditating, prospecting, writing, etc.; recrossed the river and returned to the cabin of my pioneer friend.

     Returning to Oregon, I again took stage early on the morning of August 1st, and about midnight, crossing the State line, reached Sidney, Iowa. Here I again left the stage, obtained a horse, and set off with a guide for the Territory, about fifteen miles distant. Reaching the Missouri River opposite old Fort Kearney, I was surprised to find a flue steam ferry-boat. The enterprising proprietors, of the two young cities just laid out at the site of the old fort, determining to "take time by the forelock," had made provision for an anticipated amount of travel and emigration, and consequent ferry patronage, which has never been realized. My first crossing at this point was under pleasant auspices. But this was of short duration, and many weary

have I since lingered and shivered, or sweated upon the shore, waiting the slow movements of one of the most dilatory flat-boat transits upon the river. Many of the early improvements in this country, especially in the vicinity of contemplated cities, were ahead of the times, and were compelled to take a step back till the actual wants of the country should call for their reappearance.

     OLD FORT KEARNEY was an evacuated military post, the name and the troops having been transferred to a new post about two hundred miles up the Platte River. A substantial blockhouse, one old log dwelling, and the remains of a set of rude, temporary barracks, were all that was there to be seen of the old fort. Squatters had taken possession of the lands, and the two rivals, Nebraska City and Kearney City, had been laid off, the one above and the other below the month of South Table Creek. The site of the old fort, now of Nebraska City, is bold and fine. I found a single frame shanty erected, in which were a few goods, and a single settler in the old fort cabin in the person of Major Downs. The Major had served through the Mexican war, accompanied by his heroic wife; afterward was a sergeant among the troops at the garrison, and, on its evacuation, had been left in charge of the Government property. Being on the ground and in actual possession at the passage of the organizing act, he laid his "claim" upon the land on which the fort stood, and became the original proprietor of Nebraska City. I found him to be a frank, generous-hearted soldier, possessing some noble traits of character, with some unfortunate remains of army habits. He took me to his house, treated me kindly and generously, exhibited quite an interest in my mission, took down his city plat, and, in my presence, marked off certain lots, since risen to a value equal to five times the outlay and expenses of my whole trip, which he then and there donated to the Methodist Episcopal Church. Major D. has since served one term in the Nebraska Legislature, and has been appointed Major-General of the militia of the Territory.

     Others became interested with him in the proprietorship of the city, and in the result he reaped but little pecuniary benefit from his early occupancy. But in my reminiscences of Nebraska pioneers I shall never forget Major Downs and his amiable lady. Their house has always been open for personal accommodation or for public religions service, and his large heart has always stood out in generous actions. They have both for some time been seeking for a higher life. I hope to meet them above.

     Almost the entire tribe of Otoe Indians were encamped about this place. The time having not yet quite arrived at which, by treaty, they were to give possession of their ceded lands and retire to their reserve, the white settlers were only in by sufferance, and the wily Indians fleeced them well for the privilege ; not only exacting a bonus from every settler, but hanging around, begging, and stealing, much to their annoyance. Our clothing and equipage had to be carefully kept out of their way. One of their number, a sturdy Indian man, belabored me to write him a "begging paper," such as are often carried by them in their excursions through the settlements, written by some unprincipled white man, and setting forth false pretensions to character and claims for aid. The gift of a quarter of a dollar at length silenced his importunity and rid me of him.

     I subjoin an extract from one of my published letters, dated "Old Fort Kearney, August 5th:"

     "They [the Otoe tribe] came together unsolicited, to witness a Fourth of July celebration, gotten up by Major Downs, and, as far as practicable, to share in its festivities. The affair is said to have left its projector several hundred dollars minus. To his no small annoyance the tribe remain. They are in a destitute condition, awaiting supplies promised by the Government but delayed. The Otoes are an inferior tribe, retaining, in a great degree, their primitive

Indian habits, generally drunken and thievish; the men idle and worthless, the women mere beasts of burden, cutting the wood, carrying the water, and performing all the drudgery, while their lords look upon them and their labors with silent contempt as they repose and fan themselves in the shade this morning witnessed an Indian  funeral. The child of Big Soldier, an Otoe Brave, died on yesterday afternoon. According to their National custom the evening was spent in loud, plaintive wailings, or rather howlings, to which I sat and pensively listened. Early this morning the squaws dug the grave upon an elevated spot in the prairie. Soon the body was borne to the grave in a rude box, followed by a flag, which was planted near by. The wailing was renewed for a time, the male mourners having their faces blackened. The body was deposited, and the earth, which had been thrown out upon a buffalo skin, was slowly scraped in with the hands, sufficient to cover it over. This was followed with a layer of stone, carefully laid down, after which I left them filling the grave. They leave the flag at the place and kindle fires around for some days.

     "In the minds of those who have long been on the frontier there is but little feeling for the Indians, and, with many, bitter hostility against them. It is becoming common among them to appeal to the Bible in proof of the inferiority and proper subjection both of the African and Indian races. I suppose they learn this from their theologians. A loquacious politician, with whom I recently traveled, appealed to Scripture in support of his positions, regarding the predictions of Noah in reference to his descendants as covering the whole ground of the perpetual enslavement of the one race and the extermination of the other. True, he fell into the slight mistake of reversing the prophecies as to Shem and Japheth, and locating all in the first chapter of Genesis ; but with a politico-theologian this was only a trivial error. To his own mind the argument was conclusive, and sufficient to silence all opposition."

     Having taken all the steps practicable toward the introduction of our work here, I took leave of the Major and his kind family, recrossed the Missouri, and, in company with Dr. D., a young man from Indiana, rode to a cabin at the foot of the bluffs, which I found to be the residence of one who, in boyhood, had performed for me the kind offices so common from the hands of juniors in a hospitable country Methodist family, now the head of an exemplary Christian household. In the neighborhood were a large number of my former acquaintances. Cabin hospitalities over, I returned to Sidney, and about one hour after midnight again took the stage. A fine, clear, pleasant night, the air balmy and refreshing; sat outside with the driver, and enjoyed the scenery. Passed Tabor, a beautiful site upon the elevated prairie, where a colony of Eastern people have settled, are making farms, building a town, and laying the foundation of a literary institution upon the plan of that at Oberlin, Ohio.

     It has often been my practice, when traveling by stage, to take an outside seat with the driver, enjoy the air and scenery by night or day, converse freely with the driver, and, as occasion offered, drop a word of kind counsel or warning to exposed and misguided youth. A scene of that kind occurred during this ride, which was riveted in my recollection by subsequent events. My driver was agreeable and sprightly, and our intercourse pleasant; but it was soon forgotten by me in after scenes. One cold Winter evening, in after years, when in the State-House of Nebraska Territory, at Omaha, awaiting the hour of divine service, a member of the Territorial Legislature, then in session, seated himself by my side, and commenced conversation. "Do you remember," said he, "on one night, in the Summer of 18--, traveling in the stage from S. to G.?" "I do," was my reply. "Do you recollect taking your seat outside with the young man that was driving, conversing with him, and giving him some advice?" "I have some recollection of the circumstance," said I. "Well,"

added he, "I am that young man, and I have long desired to meet you that I might thank you for the advice of that hour." He was then the head of a family, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and representing his county as a Legislator. Seldom have I met with so striking an illustration of the "blessedness" of "sowing beside all waters."

     Early the next morning we entered Glenwood, the county seat of Mills county, Iowa. The sun was casting its first rays upon the neat little white cottages of the village, ensconced in a grove between the high bluffs of Keg Creek. The appearance impressed me, and had something to do in leading me, at a later period, to "pitch my moving tent" in its vicinity, from which I have for years gone in and out to my Territorial field, and at which I now pen these lines--a spot endeared to me by joys and sorrows never to be forgotten.

     Next we passed St. Mary's, a village of foreigners, upon the bank of the Missouri, and nearly opposite Bellevue, Nebraska. This place is the head-quarters of Colonel Peter A. Sarpy, an old Indian trader, who has spent much of his life in the service of the American Fur Company--a man of singular character and habits, extensively known, and possessing great influence with the Omaha tribe, and also at Washington City. He claims to have first shown to Colonel Fremont the route through the South Pass of the Rocky Mountains. I have received many marks of kindness at his hands.

     ON the morning of August 4th the stage brought up at Council Bluffs City; the terminus of their route, and almost the northern extreme at that time of white settlement. This place had been originally settled by Mormons, and had borne the name of Kanesville. The original Council Bluffs are upon the Nebraska side, about fifteen miles further up the Missouri. They were so named from a Council held there with the Omaha Indians, by Lewis and Clarke, upon their famous western expedition. A garrison was afterward placed there, and it took the name of Fort Calhoun. Kanesville became a starting-point for Salt Lake and subsequently for the Plains generally. It passed into other hands, considerable trade sprang up, a land-office was located there, and the more imposing name of Council Bluffs was borrowed from the opposite side--there being none there to resist--and substituted for their former cognomen. It is situated at the foot of the range of bald bluffs, partially in the mouth of a ravine through which flows a small stream, and about three miles from Missouri River. It was the principal town upon the "Western Slope," and still maintains its ascendency.

     Having rested here for a season, received letters from home, formed some acquaintance, and obtained what information I could, I prepared for another excursion into the Territory. Having reached the extreme of northern settlement in Nebraska, this would close the present tour. Too feeble to risk horseback traveling, I hired a carriage and driver, and crossed the Missouri River to the town-site of Omaha, nearly opposite to Council Bluffs. Here I found

another steam-ferry under way, one which, being upon a great thoroughfare, has been sustained. Arrived at the site of Omaha, I found not a single building, and only a solitary pile of lumber upon the ground. A few claim-houses had been built in the vicinity, but no settlers were found. In silence I traversed the vast plateau, where since a young city has sprung up, ascended the eminence upon which the capitol now stands, and listened--rather incredulously I must confess--to the future plans and expectations of the movers in the enterprise.

     It was with men I had to do, and finding no settlers here I took my course down the river in search of human habitations; none appeared, save untenanted claim-houses, till I reached Bellevue. The reader may desire to know something of the process of "taking claims" in the Territories. It was done previous to the survey of the lands, and is a proceeding not governed by any law except the voluntary internal regulations of the settlers themselves. The Government, however, has always leaned toward the claims of these actual occupants, and being on the ground they were ready for pre-emption or purchase so soon as the lands were surveyed and the offices opened; meanwhile the squatters were mutually bound to protect each other in the possession. The particular formalities used in "taking a claim" were said to be to cut four sapling poles, haul or carry them to the spot, lay them down across each other in the form of a cabin foundation, then stick your ax in the structure, and "swear you will die by it." Claims are frequently "jumped," or taken a second time, and then a conflict ensued. Lines often clashed and interfered with each other. Much strife was caused and many lives were taken. Even females sometimes shouldered the rifle in defense of the claim.

      The only adjustment of these disputes was had in self-constituted associations of squatter sovereignty in the several settlements, a kind of modern court of piepoudre, or, as it frequently happened, by personal rencounter (sic) and the

death of one of the parties. The man from whom I obtained the title to the spot of my present residence, aged perhaps seventy years, removed to the Territory near by, became involved in claim disputes, and himself and son with two other men suddenly and mysteriously disappeared under the operation of squatter law. The public never has certainly known their fate, but the universal belief is that their bodies lie in the Missouri River. Public sentiment would not allow an inquiry, and the event has scarcely been noticed beyond the immediate region in which it occurred.

     Bellevue was an old trading-post and the site of an Indian Agency. But the most important and interesting feature of the place was the location of a Presbyterian mission, under the superintendency of Rev. W. Hamilton, whose life has been mainly spent in the work of Indian missions. Here were spacious log buildings, sufficient to accommodate a large boarding-school, with a considerable farm under cultivation. We were now above the Platte, in the country of the Omaha Indians, but the school contained pupils from among the Otoes also, and perhaps from other tribes. Here I received as usual a missionary welcome from Rev. Mr. H. and his kind Christian family, as well as the other inmates of the establishment. For a few days I rested; exceedingly feeble ; spent a Sabbath ; kept my bed all the morning; in the afternoon preached as I had ability, opening my commission in Nebraska Territory. A prayer meeting followed in the evening.

     While here, I made an excursion on horseback, in company with my excellent host and another friend, to the Platte River, with difficulty crossing the Papio and making our way through an almost impenetrable thicket of undergrowth to the bank of the stream. Here I stood upon the low, perpendicular bank of sand, and gazed upon its broad, rapid current, little dreaming of my after-familiarity with it to its mountain sources, of the days and nights to be spent upon its banks, and the many refreshing draughts to be taken from its pure current. The stream is known by two

different names, "Nebraska" and "Great Platte;" the one from the Indian and the other from the French; both of the same import, signifying "Broad Water," a name that would at once be suggested as appropriate from its great width and shallowness. It is almost impassable, from the rapidity of its current and its quicksand bottom. In a subsequent part of this volume the reader will be made more familiar with this noble stream.

     Bellevue mission has subsequently been a favorite resort with me when in this part of the Territory, and I have always found a Christian reception. Taking leave of the kind family, I was conveyed by Mr. H. to the ferry, some miles distant; crossed, and was compelled, feeble as I was, to walk and carry my baggage one mile and a half to St. Mary's, intending to take the stage to Council Bluffs. The stage failed, and I passed the night at a miserable house, revolving in my mind the uncertainty which seemed to overhang me as to my ability then to return to my home and family. In the morning I obtained a seat in a private carriage, and made my way again to Council Bluffs. At this visit I became the invited guest of the Pacific House, a first-class hotel, early erected and still doing a large business.

     The exploration northward had now been carried to the extreme of white settlement in Nebraska. Temporary provision had been made, as far as practicable, at each point, for preaching to the scattered settlers till Conference. Had there been more to do, ability was wanting. I again rested a few days, wrote letters, and prepared material for my report. For want of strength the design of returning through Kansas was abandoned, and I determined to take the northern route through Iowa directly home. Walking on day in the street, I was not a little surprised and gratified to meet a friend and member of my late charge at Richmond, the residence of my family. Learning that he was about to return, I at once placed myself under his charge, with the promise that he would see me through or stay by me on the way.

     The prospect ahead was by no means pleasing; my extreme debility and the roughness of the way; a stage-ride of over three hundred miles, day and night, to reach the Mississippi, with poor and scanty accommodations. But the direction was homeward. At three o'clock on the morning of the 10th my friend and myself took seats in the stage. One said to us on starting, "You will get a good breakfast at ----, and then you will find nothing more to eat for the next hundred miles," which we found almost literally true. Making good time, we reached, in the evening, a place where the stage usually lay by for one night, but our driver was obstinate and would go on. Arrived at Nodaway River late in the night; no ferry, and crossing bad. The driver attempted to take us over upon a raft of logs; worried a long time, and could not make land; came back and were driven through in the stage. Stopped at a wretched cabin; reconnoitered the premises; had a place offered us on the floor; loft my companion to occupy it, and betook myself to the stage till daybreak ; went into the cornfield, gathered some green oars, roasted and ate them, and was ready at the call of the driver.

     Strange as it may appear, under such fatigues I soon began to gain strength, owing, I suppose, under Providence, to being sheltered from the sun, exposure to which had seemed to be one great cause of my continued debility. The country became more pleasant as we advanced. About five in the afternoon reached the village of Winterset, agreeably situated in the open prairie. On the 12th, which was Saturday, arrived at Fort Des Moines and stopped for the Sabbath. Was kindly entertained at the parsonage by Rev. Wm. Butt, formerly of Indiana Conference, since a presiding elder in Kansas. Took part in the labors of the Sabbath, and on Monday morning found myself refreshed for the continuance of my journey. In the stage, at three o'clock in the morning, crossed the Des Moines River; feeling able to take care of myself, left my friend to pursue his own route. Passed through Iowa City; struck the Mis-

sissippi at Muscatine; found a steamer waiting to convey passengers to Davenport; becoming so attached to the stage that I declined to leave it; returned to my seat and slept comfortably in the stage thirty miles to Davenport, which we reached about two in the morning of the 16th. Rested a few hours; crossed the Mississippi to Rock Island ; took cars for Chicago, which I reached at five P. M., and found comfortable quarters at the Sherman House. Called at the Book Rooms and spent a season pleasantly with the lamented Watson. Passed through Michigan City, Lafayette, Indianapolis; met many of my brethren. On Friday, August 18th, reached my home at Richmond, having telegraphed ahead, and found my children awaiting me at the station-house, with many thanks to God for his abounding goodness to me and mine during my long absence. Through much of this tour a strong doubt prevailed in my mind whether I should ever again be restored to my family. But the time of my release had not yet come.

---

© 2003 for the NEGenWeb Project by Pam Rietsch, Ted & Carole Miller.