The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-12-15
OPENING The GREAT WEST
GEN. GRENVILLE VI. DODGE TELLS
OF HIS EARLY EXPLORATIONS.
He Describes an Interesting Incident
with Abraham LincO1n-TeIls How
the Union Pacific Was Built.
Omaha CNehN Bee. Dec. l.


cifc and Omaha:
when a voice called me up on the tele-
phone and informed me that this club de-
sired to give me a luncheon at which |
| could meet some of my old friends / was
surprised and rather objected but the voice
took me back to early days, and l thought
if those who were with me then carried
their friendship so long to desire to sec
me ii was great honor and satisfaction TO
me- and accepted with great pleasure.
Naturally when l meet you here under
such circumstances my mind carries me
back to the early fifties, when there no
Omaha and no Nebraska. The first time
l crossed the Missouri river with a small
engineering party L was greeted on this
side by Indians. No white man lived here
and no one in my party probably had ever
seen an Indian before. My duties as chief
of the party were to look up the country
ahead, and the young boy who ran the
party is a citizen to-day of Omaha. He
was with me many years, an able, con-
scientious, Woodworking, faithful man, to
whom / owe much, for he faithfully filled
all his positions. He is well known in this
city and l am glad to say has been hon
ored by ii. | speak of Mr.. j. L. House.
ADVENTURE WITH AN INDIAN.
leaving House to follow. On arriving at the
Elkhorn was tired, unsaddled to give my
horse chance to grass and lay down to
take nap 1 was aroused by the neighing
of my horse, and looking across the valley
saw a Pawnee Indian taking him fast
as he could force him along toward the
river. Naturally 1 was frightened and
hardly knew what to do, but instinct told
I r h
my rife, l started out toward the Indian,
hallooing at the top of my voice The pony
was evidently as frightened at the Indian
as / was and as stubborn in his move
| ments, and the Indian finally dropped him
and fled across the Elkhorn. Ten or more
years afterward, when / was in command
of this department and was ordered to
open the different mail and stage lines
| across the continent, which had been
closed for some months by the Indians, L
| raised a battalion of Pawnees to aid me
| as scouts and placed in command of them
| Major North, very valuable officer and
! one whom many of you know, and they
were of great service to me. The Indian
! who attempted 10 steal my horse was one
of the battalion, and stated to Major North
! that L made so much noise that L scared
the pony and himself so that he got away
! from me as fast as possible and never
stopped running until he reached the Paw
| nee village across the Platte.
ION my return to the party found them
! encamped on the emigrant road leading
! from Florence to the ElkhOrn at the cross
! ing Of the Big Papillion. During the day
the Indians had been helping themselves
| and the party was in far from happy
state of mind-in fact the Indians had
actual possession of the camp, and you can
! see my introduction to Nebraska was any
! thing but a satisfactory one.
GENSIS OF OMAHA.
Now, if l should try to portray to you
or any one the experiences, the trials and
! the sufferngs of the picket line of settle
| ment and exploration in those days you
would declare it more fiction than fact.
| Early friendships made under such circum-
stances are calculated to last. and it is one
of the great qualifications Of my life that
the ties that bound us together never have
been sundered. i cannot tell you anything
of Omaha to-day. but probably no one has
| better knowledge of the circumstances
! and facts that founded Omaha as a future
| great city. II you knew them all you could
/ see upon what slender threads at times its
/ existence depended. Omaha as a city was
came from the determination of the loca-
i ton on the Missouri river of the surveys
made under the direction of Henry Far
mum and William Sheffield far in advance
| Of any settlement of this territory. 1t fell
to my lot under the direction of that dis
tinguished engineer and more distinguished
citizen Peter A Dey, 10 make the first sur
vey across the State of Iowa and to deter
mine where in all probability line would
end upon the Missouri river in this parallel
| of latitude and where any railroad being
| built west would leave this river. None OF
you know the interests involved and the
matters raised in determining that point
| My services demonstrated that the true en-
| cheering and commercial line crossing
Iowa should come down the Mosquito and
| end In Council Bluffs, and going west tn,
| line should cross to the Platte valley anc
| up that to the mountains. and so on west
! The financial interests in Iowa were favor.
| able to line running down the Pigeon and
crossing to Florence: another diversion was
| by Bellevue, another south of the Platte
| and a fourth crossing at the mouth of the
! Boyer. and all these lines l examined.
| Before my survey had been finally de-
! termined the parties interested had planted
their stakes at Florence and announced
that as the crossing place of the Missouri
| river. My reports were sustained by Mr.
| Dey, and finally the decision made was re-
Versed and the crossing was determined tC
| be opposite this place. This being deter
| mined, / was authorized to commence work
al Council Bluffs, provided L could obtair
| local aid. and Pottawattomie county gave
me $780, 900 in bonds and Mr. Farnum fur
| nished the funds for doing the grading and
what work was done up TO the time that
| all work I'm the State was stopped on &C.
count of the panic. There is no doubt thai
the final determination of what is now
| known the Rock Island Railway cross
ing the Missouri river was what first drew
the attention of people 10 Omaha, and that
brought TO the Bluffs every railroad survey
at that time being made across the State
| and i think there are men at this table
who will say to you that that was the rea
first beginning Of Omaha.
CONVERSATION WITH LINCOLN
"In 1853, if / recollect rightly on my
way from "Reminiscences west with my
party. which had been out the entire sum
mer l camped my party in Council Bluff.
and went TO the Pacific House At tina
time Abraham Lincoln was visiting tn.
Bluffs. He heard OF my return from M
surveys and sought me out at the Pacific
House. and on the porch at that hotel h,
sat with me for two hours or more ant
drew out of me all the facts / had obtaine,
in my survey and. naturally, my opinion
as 10 the route for a railroad west and al
to the feasibility of building it. ] though
no more OF this at the time than that pos
sibly | had been giving away secrets tina
belonged TO my employers in this work II
1852. while in command of the District o
Corinth. Miss. | received a dispatch from
General Grant to proceed to Washington
and report 10 the President. No explana
tion coming of the dispatch. | was lttl
alarmed. for there had come 10 me a
Corinth great many negroes. and L ha'
placed them in what was known as contra
/ band camp and had placed over them Ger
tain soldiers guards This caused m
a good deal OF annoyance and trouble. Tn
white soldiers did not like the duty an
took every opportunity 10 annoy the ne
grOes even in some cases going so far a
to shoot them. The superintendent of tn
/ camp was Char plain Alexander, OF an Obi
/ regiment, a very able and excellent man
/ and he suggested one day 10 me that h
/ believed that negroes would be better Z
/ guard the Contraband camp than whit