Omaha daily bee., 1903-06-14

mas passed beyond any use that can come
from transportation methods like those OF
the missouri river steamboat
Omaha I'm the Book.
Omaha figures incidentally In the nsrra-
tive Of Captain LaBarge, several little
affairs being recalled that necessitates the
mention Of this city, although in the main
Council BLUFFS Is referred to as the port.
These references are OF a date when Omaha
was but a struggling camp and Council
Blufs was a metropolitan" station on the
river, Later the conditions we're reversed,
but the flow OF incidents has removed the
narrative into another direction. On Of
the stories connected with Omaha is the
tragedy of Captain Spear, an English off,
Ger who was murdered by an United States
soldier on board a boat commanded by
Captain DaBarge. At st. Louis General
Sherman had arranged to send some troops
from Omaha north by the boat Octavia.
The story goes on:
Octavia left ST. Louis Tuesday, May z,
1867, on the most important trip / ever made
up the river. There were no incidents of
note until the boat reached Omaha. where
received at this point a passenger in the
person Of Captain w. d. Spear of the
seyenty,ninth Royal Rifles. an officer Of
DE was on his way to Salt Lake City by
way of the Missouri river, and was going
thence to California. He seemed to be a
man of means. This embarkation of the
troops and Of this officer was the prelude
to one Of the most distressing tragedies
that ever occurred on the Missouri river.
The troops were mostly Irish Fenians, and
all intensely hostile to the English. This
fact may in part explain what subsequently,
transpired. Spear, himself, felt doubts for
that he would be lucky II he got out Of this
scrape without accident. I did not know
what he meant, for he was a very fearless
| man. going on GhOrn frenupntly in spite OF
danger from the Indians. Just after mid
night on June z, or more precisely, about
1890 a. M, June 8, as Captain Spear and
Joseph C. LaBerge, my son, we're going up
the steps to the hurricane deck, Captain
Spear being "a little ahead, a sentinel, VIII
liam Barry. stationed near there. fired at
J Captain Spear, the bullet passing through
his head at the base Of the brain, and XII,
inquest was held by a committee Of the
passengers, consisting of Thomas E Tut;
Greene Clay Smith, Sam Mclean, Richard
Leach, T. H. Eastman, George w. Mclean
and w. j. Mccormick, secretary. Several
of the passengers and crew were sworn and
discovered for the deed. The sentneIS
orders required him to challenge only
shore, and it was expressly agreed with me
by Lieutenant Horrigan as a condition or
hurricane deck that they should not inter
fere In any way with the passengers. the
finding of the committee was mat 'tne
shooting was not in accordance with any
Instructions given to said sentinel, and that
he deserved the most rigid punishment
| strong sentiment among the passengers in
favor of lynching him, but the mllIary
one believed that he would meet with due
punishment in regular order.
Murderer Goes Unpunished.
II is worthy of note that Barry was
never punished. He was held under arrest
for a time by the military authorities and
finally sent back to his company. On rep
reservations from the British government
he was finally taken to Yankton to be tried,
where a verdict, written by the judge, was
returned by the jury. acquitting Barry of
the charge of murder.
Another important episode mentioned in
the book is the visit of Abraham Lincoln
to Council Bluffs in August, 1859. Here Mr..
Lincoln first met with Grenville M. Dodge,
and 1t is to the conversation then held that
Captain Chittenden ascribes the location of
the terminus Of the Union Pacific at Coun-
ell Bluffs instead OF at Omaha. The in
exorable logic of events has since reversed
this decision.
DupinE an Indian Agent.
Cne of the incidents of the early lays of
commerce on the river, when the affairs of
the. American Fur company overshadowed
all else in the northwest. concerns the run
ming OF a cargo Of alcohol past the watch
full Indian agent at Bellevue, in the summer
of 1874. and is hus -ecounted:
The new Indian agent at Bellevue was a
former Methodist minister Of the name of
liquor inspector as he had ever been in the
regular practice Of his profession. 1t was
his boast that no liquor could, pass his
agency. He every boat from
| stem to stern, broke open the packages,
overturned the piles of merchandise, and
with a long, slender, pointed rod pierced the
| ha1aq Of hlanHatq and clothing. lest kegs of
alcohol might be rolled up within. The per-
sistent Clergyman put the experienced
and it was with great difficulty that they
succeeded in eluding his scrutiny.
nr The STs EN- own OF t t6s RTSOieG@ spt SGwe si4e
nh o1r 'n But f'G he knew w hat even this device
Eetic agent would very likely have the bar
rels burst open. The captain, therefore,
had them all marked as II consigned to Q
Bellevue, and they were labeled In large
The moment the nose of the boat touched
the landing at Bellevue the captain, as was
his custom, ordered the freight for that
point placed on shore, and the barrels were
promptly boVled out upon the bank and
carried into the warehouse. The agent,
never suspecting this freight. went on
board, and after e most rigid search, found
proceed, but contrary to its usual haste in
getting away as soon as the Loading, and
| uAllOuullB Wit 0oAllA0ANH II at lux
rest of the day and gave out that it would
not sail until the following morning. The
extraordinarily good character of the boat
on this occasion, and the unusually long
delay in departing, reused the suspicious of
the agent. who stationed a man to watch
the boat and to whistle II he saw anything
wrong.
Everything remained quiet until some
time after midnight, except that a full
head OF steam was kept up in the boilers.
Presently there was great activity on the
boat. although with an ominous silence
about 1t all. The pilot, Captain La Barge,
was quietly engineering the reloading OF the
barrels. He had spread tarpaulins on the
deck and gangplank to deaden the noise,
and the fun crew of the boat were hurry
fashion. "what does this mean?' one Of
the ~deckhands asked Of another. I'VE I'M
loaded these barrels yesterday" why
don't you see?" was the brilliant reply OF
another. they're marked p. A. s. they've
got to pass"
The work was quickly over and every
barrel WIS on board, when the agents
sleepy guard awoke to the fact that some
thing was going on. He uttered hio signal,
and the agent made haste to turn out and
see what was the matter. La Barge and
Captain Sire, who knew full we'll what the
whistle meant. did not linger TO make ex-
plantations. Captain La Barge seized an
ak and cut the line. Get aboard, men!''
he shouted; 'the line has partedl'
The boat Instantly dropped back into the
under her own steam. She was already out
of reach of the bank when the reverend
inspector appeared and wanted to now
| WhV thew vera off so early. II WAS about