Omaha daily bee., 1902-07-27
PLEADS FOR THE PIONEERS
Najsr John N. Burke Talks of Things Now
Fast Disappearing.
HISTORY DESERVES BETTER RECOGNITION
Men who Made Nebraska H~abitRbIe
Ought to Have n Larger
Place in Confederation
of the Public.

"In the parks Of every city Of the west
there should be either a log or sod house,
whichever most accurately typihes the past
condition of that particular section, and
surrounding that house should be the
humble, crude possessions that were con-
spicuous In the u~nboundaried back yard
and front yard primeval," is the declara-
tion Of Major John NJ. Burke.
Major Burke is, as every newspaper mar
and q great many other people know, the
John the Baptist Of Nebraska's Buffalo
Bill, and in that capacity has circulated
pretty generally among the English speak
Ing peoples. The rest Of the globe he
has trotted In private capacity, taking
time to observe what the ages have done
for each nation, or rather what each ma
ton has done for itself in the ages, and
he has advanced TO that point where a
man begins to spare time from observation
for contemplation-to look once at a con-
dition, but think twice Of it's Significance.
81 am not talking shop" he said in en-
interview given The Bee during his visit
in Omaha last week, when ! say that II
Buffalo Bill didn't come to Omaha oc-
casionally your younger generation here
wouldn't have any way Of getting a clear
conception of the very things that were
part and whole of their granddaddies' life.
I came up here from st. Louis by boat In
1865. Leavenworth was then the great
freighting point, Kansas City was a weakly
infant, Council BLUFFS had a prospect Of a
railroad and a future that should make IL
the rival OF Chicago, London and Pekin.
The cub, Omaha, sprawled out from the
bank of the river with nothing In this
world to commend It but its spunk, and
buildings where your Fourteenth street
hotels now are would then have been as
far removed from the life center of the
community as is the modern seminary.
Nebraska Was wild West.
1.-THE territory Of Nebraska just those few
years ago was the wild west Today the
children in many towns Of the state stand
In open-mouthed amazement at sight Of a
real Indian and know so little OF sod houses
that they wonder how often the walls have
to be moved. The reservations and the
newer sections Of the state. which are
really the older sections, still preserve
some Of the pioneer aspect. but children
are not sent to Indian reservations TO spend
their vacations nor permitted to ramble
into the unrailroaded sections. College
graduates, having learned from books every
thing that there is to know on this side Of
the water. are sent over TO Paris to study
ART, or 70 rma 10 study music, or 70
England to study manners. and, perhaps, a
few to Greece and Rome to study the his
tory Of a people who are now out Of the
running. How many OF these young people
can tell when Nebraska was admitted to
the union Of statesG How many know when
the hrst permanent settlement of whites
was made2 How many know Of the incep-
ton and history Of the western railroads
q factor In the nations Affairs since the
very hrstf How many can name the tribes
that originally held this territory and tell
which we're friendly, which ugly. How
many Of those who are familiar with the
mythical achievements Of ancient impos-
sible gods are acquainted with the actual
deeds Of the men who made the habitation
Of Nebraska POSSIBLE? How many can
master and ride a horse1 How many have
schOoled themselves TO hold directions