The courier. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1894-1903, 1895-09-28
HISTORICAL

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Elm the rapid growth ss territory an
state. little or no attention has bee
bestowed on matters of history. an
historical records Of any kind are yer
scarce. Anent the period in which tn
transition from territorial to stat
government occurred-the most impor
tant epoch in the short life OF the stat
there is special dearth of authenti
records. and for the incidents cld ex
periences OF this time one has 20 rel,
largely upon the personal "reminiscences
Of those who were fortunate enough Il
have been residents OF Nebraska prio
TO the adoption OF the constitution o.
1866. The dates are easily enough
arrived at, but there is little Other
accurate data on record. The early
history Of the supreme court did moi
escape the general neglect. and il this
brief sketch does not abound in details
and particulars il is partly due to the
remissness Of the early Nebraskans. To
give clear idea OF the supreme court
Of to-day. it is neces sary to 60 back to
the beginning and trace its history down
to the present time. In the original
constitution, approved February 8. 1866.
it was provided that the supreme court
OF the state should consist OF q chief
justice and two associate justices, each
to receive q salary OF $1,000 per annum.
These judges, it was also provided,
should hold the district courts Of
the state. The state was then divided
into three Judicial districts. The first
district comprised the counties OF
Richardson, Nemaha, Otoe, johnson.
Pawnee, Gage, Jefferson. Saline. Fill
more. and Nuckolls; the second CON-
prised the counties Of Cass. Sarpy.
Douglas. Saunders, Lancaster, Seward,
and Butler; and the third included
Washington, Dodge, Platte, Cunning,
Burt. Dakota, Dixon, Cedar, L'Eau-
Quiz Court, Kearney, Lincoln. Hall, and
Buffalo. Each judge had one of these
assigned to him by enactment
Of the legislature, and when the supreme
court vas not in session at the state
capitol, most Of the time OF the judges
wss spent in making the rounds of
their respective circuits. As the dis
trict courts were held alternately in the
different countieo, the judges were kept
very busy, although in the early days
The dockets were not overburdened with
cases. During this period there were
,nly two railroads in the state. The
owns along the Missouri river were
most OF them accessible by rail. but the
inland towns were only reached by long
md dreary stage rides over the sparsely
ettled prairies. Many an interesting
tory is told Of these journeys, and
While the lot Of the circuit riders was
lot an easy one, their life was relieved
y frequent amusing experiences Law,
$ it was known and practiced in Ne
'raska the first five years after the
rganization Of the state, was not a
emarkably profound study. and some |,
ueer things were enacted in the court
ooms OF the pioneer days. Judge Max
'ell is the only member Of the present
upreme court who was on the bench
nder the old regime, and the hardships !.
nd crudities. ~ well as the peculiar
lies and strange occurrences or the pre- ,
mendment days, are still fresh in his .
lind. The judges then, as now, served Z
z years. and although the legislature !
e sance had the power to increase the