Omaha daily bee., 1909-05-16

ginning. IL was cast IN the
- drama Of Nebraska to be the
t4INNNYI pathfinder of the Far West,
- and we'll has II acted its part.
The silent years went by and nature
waited. Life came, the little beaver fol-
lowed up the stream to its head waters.
The buffalo made their trail through the
tall grass along It's fertile valley. The
Indian followed the buffao, or made a
narrow trail through the brushy thicket.
The White Hunter in the employ of the
Hudson Bay Fur company followed the
Indian trail. the prairie schooner and
then he civil engineer followed the
hunter and the palace car rolled after.
Each have played their part in the dra-
matte story.
AS the ceaseless tide of civilization
rolled Into Lincoln county, It brought the
peace which overcomes war. the Industry
which overcomes ldleness and the arts
Of Ignorance. 1t made the worrier a
worker and the consumer a producer.
Then men built a city, North Platte.
They did not know they were but full
filling the laws OF destiny, but nature
knew. North Platte Is aggressive and
progressive ii could not play a small
part, II was fashioned on too broad a
gauge, too big a plan. 1t has been de-
veloped by men who. living the strenuous
liltt uO InlnBS mat count IOT ADVANCE
ment and prosperity.
North Platte is a child of the Platte
river. It's origin. its present possibility
and it's future greatness are all due In
part to this stream.
The water of this stream, for irrigat-
ing purposes, is what will and does mean
more to the city than anything else pos
sibly could, and its destiny being fore
told from the beginning, is already reel
ing from the loom OF fate, and the future
is merging into the present with crafty
ing certainty. There is something in
the scenery along this stream that quick
ems every sense and makes one keen for
danger or experience or pleasure, especially
pleasure.
The wilderness along the Platte river is
not it's only charm. There are human in
terests clinging about that region which
fix the attention and stimulate the magma
ton. 1t was along this stream hundreds
of years ago primitive man went with his
copper spear and knives. They floated
down the stream In their primitive canoes
and returned rich with spoils. Tha they
got copper is a certainty. How they found
II is a mystery. To this day along the
Platte river may be found their rude stone
hammer and the mass of copper on which
they left the imprint of their labors.
Lincoln County has come to the point In
its history when land values are such that
no section is so remote that 1t Is not on
the threshold OF new agricultural develop
ment. In no single year have far western
lands had such a decided advance In value,
30 that It takes them from range to pro-
posed cultivated areas. This fact might
give rise to anxiety as to the future and
the fear that too much credit and worth
is given to semi-arid lands IL II were not
known that agricultural intelligence has
come, too; that what these lands can
safely do Is known and that It is history
that the second great wave of settlement
never recedes to any such extent as the
first. This second wave of settlement on
unoccupied lands in western Nebraska, so
marked in 1905, is made by farmers Of ex-
perience and means, while the first was
largely made by migratory and INDECENT
people. in no way equipped to contend with
frontier conditions. The present movement
viii become fixed and 1t will succeed.
There is this additional. that must i'm
press everyone. and that is, the fixed and
settled appearance that the county is max
ing with the passing of each year. Thu
count as a whole Is strong and substan-
tial In every appearance, with permanent
improvements in keeping with cities In
many older counties The appearance OF
the great prairie farms has changed.
Buildings, handsome and commodious, ap-
' pear everywhere. There is no landscape
in Lincoln county. not dotted with forest
and fruit trees. The fixed settled home is
most prominent. and every comfort that
modern invention and progress has brought
into use is found. Apart from the life
and surroundings Of the people Of this
county, with all these changes that oultiva-
ton. forests and development have brought.
there Is a climatic change that must i'm
press itself upon those who have lived long
in the county. Lincoln county always was
enviable in this way. 1t Is growing more
and more 50 as billiards are schooled into
breeEes and the scorchins winds OF summer
are tempered by the million groves and
shady place until all seasons are rounded
into a climate with all the delights Of many
localities and with the unpleasant features
OF none.
The advance In land values has been on