The Goodland republic., 1906-01-19
SHERMAH'S FIRST PIONEER
JOE COLLIER, SETTLING HERE N
1879, Returns ONCE MORE.
Made His Living In This County at
First by SHINING BuGalOes
and Selling Hides.

Made His Living In This County at
First by SHINING BuHalOes
and Selling Hides.
Like the return OF Rip Van Winkle /
to his home after a sleep OF twenty /
years. was the jOurneyfng back from
Washington last week OF Joe Collier
TO these old familiar plains, where
once he saw them dotted in every di- |
rectiOn with grazing buhaIOes- To
him the looks Of the country has been I
changed by the activity OF the farmer;
GoOdland has grown strange by the
dfsaDpearance OF old buildings and
the multiplying OF more beautiful
ones, the faces OF the peOple-for ev-
eryone knew. Joe Collier and he knew
them-have almost all gone or
changed with the flow OF years No
one at fist glance seemed to know
this returned pioneer OF 1879. he
could only peer into peoples faces to
search out as landmarks those traces
he knew long ago. and occasionally
would be heard the exclamation with
warm handshaking. Why. this is old
Joe Collier, come back from the
deadl"
yes. that's me-" would be the re-
ply.
'GIad to see you; you are looking
we'll Your face brings up a flood OF
memories and then would come
round Of olden times.
Not only the history Of the county
in which Mr.. Collier has had a part,
but the residence here Of several Of
his children brings him back for a
visit He left here twelve years ago,
when the country was prOstrated with
hard times and drought, and the
n = =
fictitious boom. At that time he had
no particular end in view; he practi-
/ cally wandered" in the southern
part Of the United States, and in many
states Of the union, finally settling
| down in a little town in Washington,
! and becoming the proprietor Of
| butcher shop, which property he still
owns, the business being conducted by
an emplOye during Mr.. Golfers alb
| senCe-
Joe Collier came to Sherman cOun-
\ ty in 1879, when he was in the prime
/ Of manly vigor Upon these 1850
square miles composing Sherman
\ county, there was no other bOnafide
| resident then living He was the head
/ and front Of the civilization here,
i maintaining his wife and young chill
/ dren on the preemptiOn he had taken
| from the government with the money
| he got for skinning buffalOes killed by
| Jewell Van Meter, who was then the
/ owner OF a little grist mill back in
| Norton county. Van Meter was the
hunter and slayer Of the buhaloes and
| Collier, the gatherer Of the precious
hides. After a harvest Of fur had been
reaped, Collier would load up a wagon
box full and start for Wallace, Kan,
/ the nearest market and railroad, so
/ miles away. Van Mete- went with the
dfsappeparance Of the buhalOes, which
the fnsatiety Of the hunters kept re-
ducing and pushing farther to the
/ west But the citizen pioneer cOntinu-
ed in his lOrdship over the lands in
every direction 50 far as the eye could
4 reach He was the first postmaster in
| the county at Shermanville; builded
the first United States building out Of
sod, and tucked the boxes in a cor
ner that held the overland messages
/ for the few people which by this time
had come to Join him company in the
] settlement OF the county. John Bray
and Tom Clayton got their mail in
| those days from this little building,
which is now used for henhOuse on
the William Kuhrt place at Sherman
Vile, for Ruhrt is the owner OF the
oldest piece OF land in Sherman
, county When Collier first came to
this county from Rawlins county,
p where a year before he took a home
L stead under the government, what is
now Sherman county did not exist IN
name. but was included in the terri
toriaIly magnificent county Of Sheri-
dan, OF Of the west end Of which
r Thomas and Sherman counties were
I later taken Kenneth, now a little
town near HOxie, was at that time tne
- | county seat, where, il the assessors
/ f0
sonai possessions Of the frOntiersmen
they went to pay their taxes 1t was
n only a little journey Of about "a
s miles
] After a residence Of seven years il
this isolated spot, Mr.. Collier received
e his call into politics In other words
e Eustfs. and other mushroom towns
= had sprung I'D to vie for the seat Of
K the county government, and Collier
was recruited in the cause Of Eustis
e He invested there and, like many 9th
e ers, lost when GOOdland was VoteC
It victor in the fight for the county seat
e | Collier was carried with the tide anC
= was afterwards the proprietor Of
= meat market in GoOdland- He sole
out and the years that followed visit
ed a degree OF misfortune upon tn
s man Of the plains"
3 But it is not the purpose here t
y tell OF the shortcomings that hav
7 overtaken Joe. They have Overtakel
/ thousands Of the best and great-heart
y ed men. A drink isn't the beginnini
p of the worst things in the world Blu
II Joe has quit all that, and stands ono
D. more in the light Of native gOOdnes
% and honor. He is back to the Ol
3 Ioye-the children, the country, an
e to the spots where he has acted pal
S. II, the human drama-all of thes
y which have formed the warp and VOC
$ Of his dearest memories and Of hi
$ highest joys. He has a welcom
i among all his former friends in Good
4 land and Sherman county.
- Mrs. J. J. Knight and Mrs A
y KelstrOm and Mrs. Walter Lamb al
- daughters Of AIr. Collier.
OF