Omaha daily bee., 1899-11-12
TRAGEDIES OF EARLY DAYS
.Musty Records Of Pioneer Ooronsrs I'm
earthed at ths Court House.
TALES OF MURDER, SUICIDE AND MYSTERY
McCormick-Lec and HoIiistcr Murder
Cases RccnIIcd-Iiow Pioneer Cor
oners Kept Their Papers
woman burned 10 Death.

In an isolated corner OF the district clerks
office there is bundle of papers musty with
age and replete with the story OF early
day tragedy in Omaha. This bundle con-
tains the records Of the pioneer coroners OF
Douglas county. These interesting relics
were discovered one day last week by Alex
Schlegel, record-keeper in the district
clerks office. Some Of them dating back
TO 1855 had probably not been unfolded be-
fore within the last thirty years. Curiosity
prompted Clerk Schlegel to look into them.
He knew he had such records, but his
attention had not been directed to them in
the midst of the hurry and worry OF cur
rent documents
glance at these papers reveals the
difference between the official methods today
and OF the long ago. p. G. Peterson was
coroner in 1856, and he thought no record
OF an inquest was properly cared for until
he tied a string around 1t.
Tragic End of Hollistcr.
There is the story of one tragedy-the muir
der Of George w. Hollister, a young attor-
ney and surveyor-written by Coroner Peter
son on old-fashioned legal paper, blue as
indigo, which it is said. had not been un-
tied since April, 1855, when he approved 1t
and put IL in its official keeping place. The
edges OF tnlS Dlue paper are yelioN do "h
autumn leaf, for time has left it's mark, but
the inner portion Of the document is as
bright as it was the day 1t was fled
Hollister came to Omaha from the east.
He was the scion OF wealthy family and
carried a diploma from Yale His legal
education had not yielded the income he de-
sired and he turned his attention to sur
veying He went with a party to do some
work at Bellevue. The surveyors were ac-
cused OF trespasslng upon the property of a
settler-in those days every land owner or
land holder was a "settler'-and quarrel
resulted. Holister was shot and killed.
There was some doubt as to who fired the
fatal shot, owing to the fact that the set
tier had friends who took his part. The
courts acquitted on the ground that the man
who took the life of Hollister was poor
and could not be spared from his family. "
Friends Of Hollister prepared a lengthy
paper reviewing the crime and portraying
the many virtues of the deceased. This
paper is on file among the other time-worn
archives. The killing occurred April 3, 1855
The narrow band of ribbon tied around
this document by the coroner who served
forty four years ago, was knCtted so that
douglas county, Territory of Nebraska"
a knife had to be used in opening it. Coro-
ner Peterson evidently intended to preserve
the record at all hazards. On the reverse
side of the inquest papers this endorsement
appears:
''Coroner's fee. So
In the sos and early SOS the coroner did
not have MANY cases, because 'settlers"
were not so plentiful as they are now. and
only the more important cases were called to
official account.
woman Kills Woman.
But getting over into the COS several hap
penings occurred which not only aroused
the coroner, but the whole of Omaha and
Douglas county. Notable among these was
the murder of Margaret Mccormick, March
12 1869, by Matte Lee. At that time there
fIourlshed in the outskirts of the city place
known as "The Farm A drinking bar
was feature of the resort, and its keeper
catered to tho highcla sporting element
Wine flowed freely there in those days and
high carnival was held, but everybody con-
nected with THE Farm was sworn to :e-
crecy and honor in the SOS was a better
brand OF honor than that of later years.
AT least there was more danger connected
with forfeit.
Margaret Mccormick and Matte Lee were
rival bellies in the same circle. Men were
chivalrous then and women were daring.
Matte Lee dared Margaret Mccormick one
night to go with her to "The Farm" The
dare was taken. One was as game as the
other.
The girls went to ''The Farm" Flushed
with the wine that admirers lavished. they
became quarrelsome Each applied cpl
thets They clinched. They fought a
furious battle, as women fight, beginning at
the head of the stairway. First one and
then the other had the better OF the con-
test Friends who stood aghast at first re-
covered their wits and separated the fight
ers. Matte Lee rushed downstairs. A mo-
ment later. when spectators thought the
trouble had been settled, she hurried up
the steps again and grappled with her ad-
versary. They fought down the stairs and
out into the yard. Spectators gathered
around just in time to hear a pistol shot.
Hasty examination failed to reveal any in
jury from the shot, but the Mccormick
woman said she felt Ill. The fight ended
and she was carried upstairs and put to
bed. Slight traces or blood were noticed
on her garments, but this was attributed to
scratches for it had been reported that the