PRECINCTS.     1875.     1876.
Linwood . . . . . .  724       753
Bone Creek . . . . . 404       385
Savannah . . . . . . 239       256
Pepperville . . . .  357       358
Summit . . . . . . . 200       220
Olive . . . . . . .  350       277
Franklin . . . . . . 357       428
Skull Creek . . . .  390       416
Oak Creek . . . . .  245       262
Center . . . . . . . 269       258
Union . . . . . . .  284       252
Beading . . . . . .  315       349
Read . . . . . . . . 182       198
Ulysses . . . . . .  107       216
Richardson . . . . .  57        67
                   _____     _____
     Total . . . .  4480      4695

In 1881, the assessed valuation, as returned to the State Auditor, is placed at $2,084,854.36, and includes the following amounts:

Horses of all ages 4,598, value $120,593; average value, $26.22. Neat cattle of all ages, 9,101, value $90,700; average value, $9.96. Mules and asses of all ages, 311, value, $10,441; average value, $33.57. Sheep of all ages, 1,951, value, $2,950; average value, $1.54. Hogs of all ages, 10,254, value, $16,037; average value, $1.57. Carriages and wagons, 1,424, value, $19,800; average value, $13.90. Value of railroad property, $245,337.36; total value of personal property, $647,167.36; number of acres of improved lands, 118,286 83/100, value, $573,026.83; average value, $4.84. Number of acres of unimproved lands, 217,129 29/100, value, $772,114.58; average value, $3.09. Total number of acres of all lands, 335,416 07/100, value, $1,345,141.41; average value, $4.01. Number of improved village lots, 557, value, $75,163; average value, $134.94. Number of unimproved village lots, 1,227, value, $17,383; average value, $14.16.

Estimating all lands at a value of $7 per acre, and all personal property as assessed at one-third of its actual value, and the total actual value of the county reaches $4,382,275.57. Number of acres of land under cultivation, 47,767, including corn, 39,335; oats, 4,852; barley, 717; meadow, 153; flax, 3,122; rye, 896.

Number of fruit trees, 17,944; number of forest trees, 1,700,537; number of grape vines, 493.

Population as returned by the several Assessors as follows, for the year 1881: Platte, 400; Linwood, 755; Bone Creek, 561; Savannah, 408; Alexis, 553; Summit, 380; Olive, 470; Franklin, 1,374; Skull Creek 730; Oak Creek, 525; Center, 502; Union, 541; Reading, 764; Reed, 387; Ulysses, 531; Plumb Creek, 70; Richardson, 83; total, 9,043.

The following is the roster of county officers since its organization, in 1868. During the years 1868 (fractional)--1869--Clerk, H. Pepper; Treasurer, D. R. Gardner; Probate Judge, C. C. Loomis; Sheriff, William Butler; Superintendent, H Pepper; Coroner, J. A. Taylor; Surveyor, W. T. Richardson; Commissioners, James Green, Henry Wilson, David Read.

1870-71--Clerk, H. Pepper; Treasurer, D. R. Gardner; Probate Judge, B. O. Perkins; Sheriff, H. Garfield; Superintendent, E. G. Paige; Coroner, J. A. Taylor; Surveyor, W. T. Richardson; Commissioners, James Green, Henry Wilson, David Reed.

1872-73--Clerk, H. Pepper; Treasurer, E. M. Perkins; Probate Judge, B. O. Perkins; Sheriff, James Darnell; Superintendent, W. J. Evans; Coroner, S. L. Brown; Surveyor, W. T. Richardson; Commissioners, Henry Wilson (1872), David Reed, A. F. Coon, F. P. Steele (1873).

1874-75--Clerk, C. C. Cook; Treasurer, W. M. Bunting; Probate Judge, J. M. Wilkinson; Sheriff, P. Murphy; Superintendent, W. J. Evans; Coroner, S. L. Brown, Sr.; Surveyor, W. T. Richardson; Commissioners, A. F. Coon (1874), F. P. Steele, Adam Hall, T. B. Myers (1875).

1876-77--Clerk, C. C. Cook; Treasurer, W. M. Bunting; County Judge. A. J. Evans; Sheriff, Abel Hill; Superintendent, A. J. Combs; Coroner, S. L. Brown; Surveyor, P. C. Patterson; Commissioners, Adam Hall (1876), T. B. Myers, William Butler and Adam Hall.

1878-79--Clerk, B. F. Rolph; Treasurer, Frank Davis; County Judge, A. J. Evans; Sheriff, Abel Hill; Superintendent, A. C. Fenderson; Coroner, G. H. Peebles; Surveyor, W. T. Richardson; Commissioners, Adam Hall, William Butler, A. H. Jones, J. M. Palmer (1879).

1880-81--Clerk, B. F. Rolph; Treasurer, Frank Davis; County Judge, George Osterhout; Sheriff, Abel Hill; Superintendent, R. V. Beach; Coroner, S. L. Brown; Surveyor, M. Grove; Commissioners, A. H. Jones, J. M. Palmer, P. B. Royce, J. T. McKnight (1880).

1882--Clerk, James Evans; Treasurer, Frank Davis. County Judge, George Osterhout; Sheriff, James Fenlon; Superintendent, M. C. Delaney; Coroner, S. L. Brown; Surveyor, M. Grove; Commissioners, J. M. Palmer, J. T. McKnight, George Hahn (1881).

The first public building of any description was erected in the summer of 1867, on Section 4, Township 16, Range 3 east. The material used in the construction was small, unhewn logs, the roof, made in the popular style of the times, was poles covered with prairie sod, its dimensions about 10x12. In this unpretending structure the first school was taught, Miss Ada Vanderkok, now Mrs. J. V. Wood, being teacher, and the juvenile members of the families of D. R. Gardner, James Blair, William Butler, James Green and Mrs. Solomon Garfield, the pupils. It was a subscription school, and the wages were set at $20 per month.

In 1869, the present school system was inaugurated, and under the supervision of County Clerk Hubbel Pepper, Superintendent of Public Instruction (ex-officio), nine school districts were organized. At the first enumeration it was found that there were but 153 of school age in the county. In 1870, the pupilage had increased to 204, and during this year the first apportionment of the State School Fund was made, Butler County receiving as her share $1,109.50. The following statistics will show the number of school age, number of school districts and yearly apportionment:

From the above it will be seen that the county has received $49,873.35 from the General School Fund of the State.

In 1867, the county owned one log schoolhouse. In 1876, it possessed fifty-four, of which number forty-eight were neat and commodious frame structures, well finished, and valued at $27,718.99, or an average of about $577 each; forty of the number, also, had furniture and apparatus averaging in value $180. There are now in the county one brick, one sod and seventy frame schoolhouses, valued at $43,266.48. Sixty are furnished with patent desks and apparatus. The total expenditures for the year ending 1881, were $33,463.54; total receipts, $38,710.96; total indebtedness, $13,005.77. Seventy-three male and forty-eight female teachers are employed, with a per cent of scholarship that will compare favorably with that of the older counties. As yet the county has but one graded school, which is located at David City. The first teacher's certificate was issued to Allen Jilson October 29, 1869. Charles Miller received the second November 6, 1869. The next on record are L. H. Slater, November 23; F. G. Gilbert, December 9; Jefferson Winship, December 20; J. W. Smith, December 24, making a total of six for the year.

The first school district was formed December 5, 1868, in the vicinity of Savannah, and comprised Sections 1, 2, 3, 10 and 11, Town 16, Range 3 east, and Section 36, Town 17, Range 4 east. District No. 2 was formed March 2, 1869. In educational progress, Butler County is somewhat behind her sister counties, but when we consider her youth, the progress she has made is quite wonderful, and her future looks bright and promising.

The first proposition for the purpose of constructing a railroad through the county came from the Burlington & Missouri Railroad in Nebraska, in 1872, proposing to build a road from Lincoln to Columbus via Ulysses and David City, asking as a consideration the county's coupon bonds to the amount of $80,000. It was submitted to the people at a special election of this year, and carried by a majority of the votes. A preliminary line was surveyed, but the promised road was never built. In 1874, a company, under the name and style of the Blue Valley Railroad Company, offered to construct a road from Lincoln to Columbus through David City and Ulysses, asking the county's bonds to the amount of $150,000. This proposition was submitted to the people at the general election of 1874, and lost. In 1876, Supt. S. H. H. Clark, of the Union Pacific Railroad, offered a proposition to the voters of Butler County, in which he agreed to build a road from a point at or near Valley Station, on the Union Pacific Railroad, through Wahoo and David City, to a point west in Polk County, to be known as the Omaha & Republican Valley Railroad. The county voted to issue its bonds to the amount of $119,000, and the road was completed and in operation early in the following year.

The last proposition came from a corporation known as the Lincoln & Northwestern Railroad Company, who agreed to build and operate a road from Lincoln to Columbus, touching Butler at the towns of Ulysses, David City and Bellwood. To this corporation the county issued its coupon bonds to the amount of $50,000, and precinct bonds to the amount of $50,000, making a total of $100,000. The road was completed and in operation during the month of February, 1880, and a short time after was practically sold to the Burlington & Missouri Railroad, the transfer being a lease for ninety-nine years.

In 1858, Mahala City was made the county seat by a special act of the Legislature. What vaulting ambitions and prospective fortunes were bound up in this little parchment city may never be known, as the writer cannot ascertain that it was ever tangibly located.

In 1859, an attempt was made to effect a county organization, in which the following named persons participated; John Beecroft, Thompson Bissell, William Bissell, James Blair, Solomon Garfield, William Earl, J. W. Seeley. Messrs. Simpson, Beardsley and McCabe, but this organization wag never perfected.

August 3, 1860, a patent was issued following the first entry of land, which was made by Josiah W. Seeley, by the "laying" of a military land warrant, issued to one William Bryant for services in the war with Mexico. With the exception of an entry on the fractional southeast quarter of Section 6, Township 16, Range 3 east, by S. D. Shinn, no other portions of Butler County land was subject to individual ownership by patent, deed or otherwise, until the summer of 1867.

In 1867-68, the famous speculator's tract was entered.

In 1869, the United States Government granted 97,000 acres, or nearly one-fourth of the entire county, to the Union Pacific Railroad Company.

In 1872, 5,760 acres lying south of the Blue River were granted to the Burlington & Missouri Railroad Company. Some years since, an occasional one of the immense Texan or Cherokee herds were driven as far east as Butler County, passing to and fro, from creek to creek, to the imminent danger and frequent destruction of the small but precious corn fields and gardens of the settlers. Upon a well remembered day in the summer of 1872, these chivalrous, freckled-faced sons of the sunny South, were put to utter rout and confusion, since which time the voice of the Texan herder has been heard in the land no more forever. An intensely dismal, blinding fog had succeeded a fearful night storm, which had the effect to disperse and stampede several thousand steers over the prairie and hills in every conceivable direction. The word was passed from mouth to mouth, steeds were caparisoned and mounted, and then, in the short battle of a few hours, ensued such a scene of carnage as one could scarcely wish to witness. Several hundred of these lank, long-horned, fierce-natured creatures, were ruthlessly slain, butchered and packed away in numerous and various receptacles, the flesh to be eaten, and the hides to be cut into lariats at some more convenient season. In valley, on hill, and all over the plain they fell at the hand of the exasperated settler. Arrests, prosecutions and threatenings followed in due course of time, but for some occult reason no one was so unfortunate as to be convicted, and although the strict morality of the proceeding is questionable, it had the effect to rid this territory of an abomination, both as regards the fierce, unruly nature of the cattle, and certain disagreeable propensities of the herders.

In 1871, Henniganville, afterward "Ollie" (better known as Section 6), planted her towers on a high hill, two miles westward from Old Butler Center, and lifted up her wee small voice in solicitation of the suffrages of the people touching the relocation of the county seat, becoming, indeed, a formidable rival in that long-to-be-remembered contest, and receiving at one time (November 5, 1872) a majority over all other points; but the election proved an egregious blunder on the part of the officials and everybody else, arising from the misconstruction of an ambiguous clause in the statute then in force concerning the relocation of county seats. This bloodless war brought out many amusing incidents, and not a little rancor of feeling grew out of it. Many will recall the sudden appearance of a train of wagons a mile or so in length (the train) slowly creeping over the table-land in the direction of Savannah. This cavalcade of determined citizens proved to be a deputation in the interest of Section 6, proceeding to that town in quest of the archives of the county. A big council followed, resulting in a truce, though many months ensued before all were convinced that there was no "job" in the transaction. The first session of the court was held in the court house at Savannah, May 20, 1871. As may be supposed, the docket was not cumbered to any great extent with the names of litigants and attorneys. One case only was brought forward for trial, and was in reference to the murder of one Edward McMurty, a citizen of Pepperville Precinct, by some Pawnee Indians. For some fancied insult to certain members of their tribe, who were in the habit of begging and pilfering among the settlers on the south side of the Platte, a party of the red-skinned assassins lay in wait for their victim at a secluded spot on Stage Company's Island, and, upon his appearance, riddled him with bullets and arrows, dragged his body into an out-of-the-way place and anchored it out of view in a water-hole by means of a forked branch. A change of venue was had on account of some supposed unfriendliness of the relatives and neighbors of the deceased, and the culprits were placed in the Omaha jail. Several trials were had, but the county officials ultimately wearied of drawing warrants for the payments of huge imaginary doctor's bills and other manufactured expenses on behalf of the prison officials; the incarcerated braves were turned loose to join their dusky comrades in further noble and humanitarian exploits.

April 10, 1871 and April 14, 1872, are remembered as the days of the great snow-storms, the like of which have never been known in this locality in all the annals of time. The former was the more tempestuous of the two, and of only twenty-four hours' duration, and no great losses were sustained. The latter raged for three days and nights. Out of the north-northwest came the hurricane, with terrible violence, laden with snow-flakes as fine as flour, penetrating the slightest crevice and searching out the remotest corner.

Stables and shelter that were ordinarily sufficient for their desired purposes were filled more compactly and solidly than could have been done by the hand of man. Many of the settlers led their cattle and horses into their dwelling houses, and saved a portion of their stock, which otherwise must certainly have perished.

In many cases, farmers found it impossible to go to stables but ten or twelve rods distant, and upward of three hundred head of stock perished from suffocation and exposure.

The year 1872 is marked as the event of the great prairie fire. It was the famous fire year, when the very atmosphere seemed laden with flame, and destruction was on every hand, as Chicago, Peshtigo and many other unfortunates can testify. The loss in Butler County was variously estimated at $15,000 to $20,000--a loss tenfold more damaging and felt more keenly, since it destroyed the pioneers' all. It is almost heart-breaking and discouraging in the extreme to look at a blackened home, the desolate and melancholy remains of one, two or three years of patient, hard, earnest toil, in garnering, saving and suffering upon the prairie, to be landed, as it were, back upon the bed rock of original pioneer helplessness and destitution, after having labored, in season and out of season, to obtain a genuine start on the road to competency and comfort; is one of the sufferings of life that men find it hard to "silver o'er" with aesthetic philosophy and "try, try again" maxims. Happily, a recurrence is now rendered impossible by the improvement made and the greatly extended cultivated area. Several sweeping conflagrations have spread terror among the settlers of Butler County in years gone by, but this was the most notable of all. It occurred in the month of October. This great fire came into Butler County from Polk County, and swept south, thence north, and finally south again, literally singeing over the entire county, reaching out its fiery tongues over impassable spaces, jumping hedge rows a hundred feet in width, and licking up in its unimpeded course hundreds of acres of standing corn, more than five hundred bushels of wheat, and other grains in granary and stack, 200 cords of wood and poles, 1000 tons of hay in stack, and much farm machinery, while scores of horses, cattle and hogs were roasted alive in pens and stables, and even in the fields. None but its victims can picture or describe the want, suffering and misery that it entailed.

The grasshopper plague and scourge of 1874 was also an occurrence which marked an era in the history of this county. The memories of these scenes are still painfully fresh in the mind to-day--how countless millions of lean, hungry insects came down in great, dark clouds, without so much as a whisper of warning; how, save the ripe and half-harvested wheat, they dev ured everything green reared by the hand of man; stripping the leaves from the trees, both great and small; laying bare as bean-poles the thrifty, half-grown corn-stalks; necessitating the absolute slaughter of the swine, both lean and fat; how the famous "aid society" came, with its remarkable exhibitions of disgusting selfishness and open-hearted generosity; well-paid chicanery, and faithful labor unrequited and unthanked; how the ensuing winter wound its dreary length along, while the unfrequent driblets of "relief coal" were lengthened out by the substitution of hay-weeds and corn-stalks; how, eagerly, upon the advent of spring, the first approach of the tender grass was watched and waited for in behalf of the starving horses and cattle, and the first fruits of the garden and field by their bean and meal fed masters. And then followed the abundant rains, the luxurious grass and the marvelous prodigality of vegetable growth, insomuch that corn in six months fell from $2 to 15 cents per bushel. May the recollection of these historic scenes and incidents of woe and lamentation grow dimmer and yet more dim as the months and years recede, and never be quickened by a similar event.