Omaha daily bee., 1889-07-21
OUR FRONTIER JOURNALISM.
A Few "Reminiscences OF North
Nebraska Newspapers.
AMID INDIANS AND COWBOYS.
Rounding Up the or's Truth
Teliing-A Missionary's Worldly
Mindedness- The First
Black Hills Report,
AMID INDIANS AND COWBOYS.
Struggles of the Country Press.


Struggles of the Country Press.
NIoBRARA, Neb., July 19.-[Special
to THE BEE. -Nebraska's frontier jour
nallsm is almost always interesting.
Personal experiences may seem egotis-
tical, but if possessed of u point are
usually allowable, and the reader for
gives reasonable astuteness. In 1874 |
started the first paper in Knox county,
a little four-column folio, of which | am
still the owner. At that time the only
papers in northern Nebraska, drawing
a line from the Missouri river west from
Tekamah, were the following: The
Tekamah Burtonian, West Point Re-
publican, Dakota City Mail, Ponca
Journal, Oakdale Journal and Niobrara
Pioneer. From the Missouri river
nlong the Platte there were papers in
each county as then organized; but the
vast country north was the home Of the
sand lizard, the antelope and the deer.
1t was very
THIN PICKING FOR NEWSPAPERS
in those days; and the Omaha dailies
were little better thar the provincial
dailles Of our state to-day. The editor
ial and reportOrial conscience, however,
was always safe, for there was no oppo-
sition editor to dispute your reportorial
lie about a big crop, an Indian scare, d
heavy immigration, or a scarcity Of
grasshoppers.
My position at this point was rather
a peculiar one, from the fact that he
Niobrara route was IL much-talked-of
one for the Black Hills country. My
first sensational report was q fight, made
by a band of Indians upon II party OF
eight white men who had gone up the
Niobrara valley,
BOUND FOR THE BLACK HILLS
They went into camp where Paddock
postoflce is now located, at the mouth
of Eagle creek. At about 8 o'clock the
Indians came down upon the party and
a lively fight ensued, killing one and
naming party picked up the dead and
wounded, reaching here early in the
morning. An indignation meeting was
held by our citizens, denounclng in
strong terms
THE T~REACHERY OF TIE INDIANS,
and addressing in as vigorous language
a long communication to Governor Gar
Der, praying for fire arms and powder.
While we received neither, the little
paper had the credit OF the first report
OF the battle, which went the rounds of
the press.
That same fall the Indian trader at
Ponca agency had been jailed at Yank-
ton for selling liquor to the Indians.
From what | could gather from men
who had been on the inside, the agent
was a silent partner in the leadership.
/ denounced the agent in not very po-
lite terms undor n flaming scare"
head, reading
s'MoDoC BITTERS FOR Lol"
and held that the agent should help
serve out the sentence. The agent inn
mediately wrote me a savage letter de-
manding redress or he should begin a
suit for libel. Being young and after
glory, / published his letter, bidding
him, Come on, Macdutfl" He dropped
the subject. but the state and territorial
press gave him and the little frontier
journal some free advertising. He very
soon after made his residence in Omaha
and a few years later came very nearly
getting through II steal of over $50 900,
claimed to be money dvanced to the
Poncas, but the payment was stopped IN
the treasury department.
During this period a prominent mis-
slonary among the Indians, who had a
most estimable wife aud a family of
boys,
GAINED A RAD REPUTATION
for familiarity with the dusky females
under his charge. His appetite for
strong drink became ~scandalous. One
day DR.. w. A. Burleigh, who was doing
big business in contracts and steamboat
ing from Yankton to upper river points
stopped of at Niobrara long enough to
invite the boys into the xxx saloon"
AS he poured out his ''red eye" the doc
tor said IN his laundering tones so we'll
o by all who knew aim. "That
high priest down here says he drinks
whisky because the waters bad; but by
-, l drink it because l like tn Soon
after this the missionary in question
visited Niobrara with other dignitaries
of the Indian service and drank freely of
~fire-water. He held up his glass, and as
he was Ipaying the customary compli-
ments to free drinks, remarked, "Gen-
tlemen, | take this
FOR sACRAMENTAL P~URPosEs!n
The little infantile paper struck n new
sensation, until the bishop was forced TO
depose this missionary from his sacred
oflco. II resulted in one OF the great
est ecclesiastical trials ever held in the
west, finally going into the courts. 1t
was settled about a year since and n
compromise made by which the bishop
gave the missionary a certificate OF
character. He is now peaceably at
work training the christian character
OF the Indian in another field. and has a