Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1917-02-19
SHUMWAY DIGSDOWN
INTO STATE HISTORY
Land Commissioner Gives Pub
licity to Incidents Connected
With Happenings of Past.
BACKED UP BY RECORDS
(From a Staff Correspondent

Lincoln, Feb. l8,-(Special THE
records Of the state land commission
er's Office covering the surveys of the
state, contain some interesting stories
and Land Commissioner Shumway
is digging up some interesting facts
regarding the early history of the
state which at time when Nebraska
is about to celebrate its half century
birthday may bel interesting. In con-
nection with the discovery of these
stories, Mr.. Shumway says:
"The United States reclamation
service has requested that the land
department field notes for nine town
ships in Scottsbluff county, and they
were sent out today. The lands en-
braced are townships coming at least
in part under the big south side gov
eminent canal, now being constructed.
The surveys from which these field
notes were made occurred in 1877 to
1880 and they cover land in which is
much of history. 1t is strange that
men like George w. Fairfield who had
a vivid imagination, would fail to take
advantage of the historic possibilities
and embellish his field notes.
Description of Land.
The general description OF the
several surveyors relate principally to
local soils, hill, valleys and springs.
The famous Mitchell bottoms in 1856
is described as being a place where
tons of hay have been cut and
stacked. Fort Laramie gets the hay
from this township. Numerous appli-
cations were made by settlers to have
this township subdivided. 1t was sur
veycd by Alexander Schlegal, who is
now in the Interior department in
Washington, D. c.
"One of the stories of Alexander
Schlegars experiences occurred about
the year 1877.
When he was surveying in the
North Platte valley in the vicinity of
the Bosler ranch, the wagons went
to old Fort Sidney for supplies and
when ready to load up one of the
teamsters was found to be missing.
He was later found hanging to a cot
tonwood tree with a placard horse
thief pinned on his coat. He was in
nocent of such crime, but the purpose
of hanging was to intimidate the sur
veying party and discourage settle
ment on the cattle ranges.
Alexander Schlegal was an old sol
der, and was in the battle of Beecher
Island. He was undaunted by this
event and continued his work until it
was finished. The Bosler ranch later
went to the Ogallala company, largely
owned and controlled by William A.
Paxton.
Trail to California.
"Mr. Fairfeld's general description
of township 21-56 described in detail
the "Rubido Cut of Trail to Cali
fornia.' The Rubido trading post is
situated in the pass about ten miles
southwest of Scottsbluf.
Robert Harvey, A. B. McCoskey,
George Sowerwine, and the writer,
last summer visited the site of this
trading post and found the ruins of
the old store and blacksmith shop,
and the grave of F, Dunn, who died
June IS, l845. This grave is re-
marked in the notes by Mr.. Fairfield.
Basil Robideaux, the founder of this
post, early came from St. Genevieve,
Mo-, and in lS47 Francis Rarkman
mentions him as blacksmith at Fort
Laramie, who shod horses and oxen
at 81 shoe, prior to the purchase
of Fort Laramie by the government,
he was trapper, sometimes prosper
our, and sometimes having hard luck,
as was the fate of all early people.
AT one time he was deserted by
his companions when the smallpox
epidemic was raging over the west,
and an Indian medicine man found
him at the spring about four miles
east of Scottbluff mountains. His
gratitude for recovery at the hands
Of the Indian doctor, was SO great
that he married into the Sioux tribe.
He established a trading post at
Rubido's Gap in lS48 at a point
described by Stansburys as being near
the top of the hill where the road
crosses the gulch.' Evidently the
dangers from the Arapahoes who
were not on the best of terms with
the Sioux, caused him to move fur
Their from the bluff and locate near
the middle of the valley. Bragmentary
ruins of both habitations are still evil
dent.
mo word is said in the field notes