Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-20
BEGINNINGS IN NEBRASKA.
Further Light on the Early Doings
of White Pioneers.
ALBERT WATKINS ON SUBJECT
Eminent Historian Gives Information
Concerning Certain Points that
Are Not Definitely Estab-
IIshed by Records.

Of The Bee: Prof. Munsterberg and other
psychologists have been at great pains of
late to prove and illustrate the unrelia-
bility of human observation and testi-
mony. The incidents of frontier history
are, for obvious reasons, peculiarly liable
to this inaccuracy; and because but little
critical examination has been given to the
early history of Nebraska, many Of the
most important events attributed to it are
either wholly apocryphal or materially APP
pretended.
AS a matter of course, then, some mis-
statements OF this sort crept into the very
enterprising story of early Nebraska his
tory, which was printed in The Bee. The
| approaching centennial anniversary will af-
! ford a much needed opportunity to give a
| corrected version, so far may be, OF
these early events; and the preliminary dis
! cussions of the subject of the celebration
also offer such an opportunity, because
| they are read with unusual attention. The
| state Historical society has lately been
giving particular attention to the collection
of facts relating to the early history Of the
Nebraska country and to their careful au-
| Identification; and it is in pursuance Of this
object that l. representing the society, am
submitting this communication
why the whites Came.
| 1t is generally known that the first white
people who came to Nebraska were here
for the purpose of exploring, trapping and
trading with Indians. These operations
were first conducted, far we know,
along the lower Missouri river, but grad
ually extended to its upper aters and to
it's continents. Probably we shall some
time gain much more accurate information
about this early occupancy than we now
have. We know, however, that the Lewis
and Clark expedition found all along the
Missouri river various places with French
names which seemed to have been firmly
fixed. In the eighteenth century the
French were very bold and enterprlsng
explorers and colonists in the upper lake
and Mississippi region, and it appears that
they were familiar with the Missouri valley
also, though they apparently had no fixed
posts or settlements there. They had regu-
lar trading posts along the lower part of
the river.
From the time of the Lewis and Clark ex-
petition our knowledge of this occupancy
of the shores of the Missouri becomes more
definite and accurate. That great expedi-
ton naturally gave a fresh impetus to the
enterprise of the traders and trappers
whose base of operations was at St. Louis,
at this time a French town with a popu-
lation of from 1000 to 1000. Soon after the
expedition large companies were formed to
carry on the fur trade whereas, before this
time 1t had been conducted in the main by
individuals or smaller partnerships The
two greatest of these companies were John
Jacob Astor's American Fur company and
the Missouri Fur company which for
twelve years was dominated by Manuel
Lisa, a very remarkable citizen of st.
Louis. These companies were organized in
the same year, 1905. Aston had already be-
come a great-probably the greatest fig
ure in the fur trade in the United States.
In 1910 he formed the Pacific Fur company,
, and intended to operate in the northwest
and particularly to gain control of the
Columbia river country.
Winter of 1910.
In the fall of 1910, the Pacific Fur com.
pany sent out its expedition, composed OF
the most notable trappers and traders OF
the Mississippi valley. 1t was stopped BY
Ice on its way up the Mississippi river al
point a little above the site Of the
; present city of ST. Joseph and spent the
winter in a camp the Nodaway rivers
near it's mouth. 1t made it's real star
from this camp April q, 1911. On April %
; the party camped on the Iowa side nearly
opposite the site, which afterward came tC
be known as Bellevue
While Astor's American Fur company
was giving particular attention to tho
Oregon country, Lisa's Missouri Fur com
pany established itself the Missouri
river above and below the Platte; so that
while We do not know accurately when tn,
Missouri Fur company first established it.
: self along the present Nebraska shore line
it began its operations there before The
= American Fur company. The neighbor
hood OF the Council Bluff of Lewis anC
Clark was in those earlier years thu
favorite place for the posts of the traders
a and in or near the year 1872. Manuel Lisf
: established the first post OF a permanent
l. character five miles and half below thu
:, Bluff and some twelve miles above tn,
q present city of Omaha We do not know
: when the fur traders first established
= themselves on the site of Bellevue, but 4
: is improbable that there was a post Their,
: or very near when the Astor expedition
went up in 1911 All we can say is that IL
q the early part of this century-the 18th
n traders and trappers established them
selves quite promiscuously and withou
"a permanency at many points along tn,
o shore line OF Nebraska above the mouth o.
/ the Platte
d Settlement at Bellevue.
Y white settlement in Nebraska was made a
lie Bellevue. yet It is inaccurate to say tina
Il this settlement was established at any par
n ticular time, Bellevue was a growth, no
creation. Moreover. 1t is not known whei
l. it first came to be called by that name
Ie Substantial and permanent trading post
ID were established there by the principa
lie companies between 1890 and 1880, and tn
D seat of the Indian agency for the local o
domestic tribes was moved from Council
II Bluffs to Fort Atkinson to Bellevue SOM
re time during that period. These two event
a were the main contributors to the founding
10 Of Bellevue and marked its permanency a
1t white settlement The statement ha
of been many times repeated that the Amerl
Is can Fur company established a station a
% Bellevue in 1910. but no authority has We
d. been given for 1t.
E. The treaties concluded with the Omahi
is and OTTO and Missouri Indians In March
1854. whereby those tribes ceded their land
I'd to the United States, were the beginnin
he fthe end of Bellevue; for as a result o
of the treaties, the Omaha were removed I
N the reservation they now occupy, and tn
e. OTTO and Missouri to a reservation on tn