The Morrills and Reminiscences - C. H. Morrill

to have the power to read men, seldom making a mistake. When I requested a letter of introduction to some of his eastern friends, from whom I desired to purchase land for the Lincoln Land Company, a corporation in which he was the largest stockholder, he refused, saying, "These people are friends of mine. They would ask my advice and I should tell them that, in my opinion, this is not the time to sell."
     Under President Perkins the Burlington never issued a gold bond. He declared it was not honest for the Burlington to promise payment in gold when, under the law, all payments could be made in the lawful money of the country.
     The lives and work of such men should be published as an inspiration and guide to the young men of the future.
     Nebraska had a successful crop in 1896 and the State began to recover from the terrible disaster brought about by successive crop failures and panic. During this year I was elected president of the Lincoln Land Company, better known as the Burlington Railroad Townsite Company; also president of the South Platte Land Company, which was another Burlington townsite company. These two companies had a paid up capital of six hundred thousand dollars; their headquarters were in Lincoln. At that time I was also president of the Boston Investment Company, and president of the Lancaster Land Company. Mr. Perkins was in control of all these companies with the exception of the Lancaster Land Company.

In the year 1908 the Nebraska State Legislature passed an act providing for the division of Cheyenne county. The county was divided by vote, the line of division running east and west a few miles south of the town of Bridgeport. By vote the part north of the division line was called "Morrill" county in my honor. An election was called by the Governor of the State to decide the location of the county seat and also to elect officers for the new county. The following is a copy of the Governor's proclamation:

"WHEREAS, The Secretary of State has notified me that at the general election held on November 3, 1908, a new county, known as Morrill County was erected or established out of part of the territory of Cheyenne County, Nebraska:
Now, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority in me vested and in pursuance of the statutes of the State of Nebraska, I do hereby order an election of county officers for the new County of Morrill, Nebraska, which said election shall be held on Tuesday, the twenty-second day of December, 1908. Notice of said election shall be given by publishing a notice thereof in the Bayard Transcript and Bridgeport Blade, newspapers published and in general circulation in said new County of Morrill, for two consecutive weeks prior to said election, and by posting notices in three conspicuous places in the new County of Morrill. The county officers to be elected at said election shall be one county treasurer, one county clerk, one county judge, one sheriff, one county attorney, one county assessor, one coroner, one county surveyor, one county superintendent of public instruction,

and three county commissioners. At such election, the voters of the county shall determine the permanent location of the county seat; for this purpose each voter may designate on his ballot the place of his choice for the county seat. The voting places of all of the various precincts in said new County of Morrill shall be the same as they were at the last general election except the voters in that part of Trognitz precinct and the west half of Davison precinct embraced in said new county shall vote at the voting, place of Redington precinct, and the voters of that part of the east half of Davison precinct and Union Valley precinct included in said new county shall vote at the voting place in Court House Rock precinct.
     By virtue of the authority in me vested and in pursuance of the statutes of the State of Nebraska, I hereby designate Bridgeport, in Morrill County, Nebraska, as the temporary county seat until the permanent county seat is located at an election by the electors of said county, and I hereby declare Bridgeport as the temporary county seat of said Morrill County, Nebraska.
     IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed the Great Seal of the State of Nebraska.
     DONE at Lincoln this 12th day of November, A.D. 1908.
[Seal.]

By the Governor.
GEO. C. JUNKIN, Secretary of State.

At the election it was decided that Bridgeport should be the future county seat. Morrill County is to a large degree still undeveloped. The land is very fertile and when once under cultivation produces alfalfa, sugar beets, and other crops in abundance. Irrigation projects now under construction, when

completed, will make possible the farming of large areas in this county. Both Bridgeport and Bayard are live, growing towns. Bridgeport is a division station of the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy railroad. At Bayard there is a sugar factory now under construction. Morrill County is sure to become one of the best and most productive counties in the State. All counties and towns along the North Platte River will, in the near future, become prominent in the history of Nebraska. The town of Morrill located in the western part of Scottsbluff County was also named in my honor.

On one of my trips to the Big Horn Basin in company with Mr. T. E. Calven, we met General Nelson A. Miles of the United States army, and Colonel W. F. Cody (Buffalo Bill). They had just returned to Cody, Wyoming, from a trip up the southern fork of the Shoshone River, where they had been spending a vacation at Colonel Cody's hunting preserves, known as the T. E. ranch. This ranch was located about fifty miles west of the town of Cody, very near the border line of Yellowstone Park. The mountains on either side of the Shoshone River are lofty and come close together, and it is a rugged and wonderfully picturesque place. To see the sky one must look almost straight up. In all my travels I have never seen a mountain ranch with so many attractions. General Miles had, during different Indian wars, traversed this entire country many times. We had the pleasure of dining


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