Omaha daily bee., 1918-06-16

For this week l am going TO devote my
space to reviewing a fascinating little Dook
inscribed on the cover The Morrlls and
"reminiscences" sent me as a personal token
by my esteemed friend, Charles H. Morrill,
who is soon to pass his 10th milestone
and with whom I served on the board OF
regents of the University Of Nebraska many
wears ago. Retired from active life some
time ago. Mr.. Morrill, has been devoting
spare moments to compiling the record OF
his family and writing ou: his own, personal
experiences which take on particular IN
terest because he was not only one OF the
pioneer builders OF Nebraska, but also oc-
cupied several positions Of public response.
bility that brought him into the thick OF
things at several crucia, stages OF the state
history.
The only child Of member Of the famous
Morrill, family OF New England, left mother
less at the age OF II, brought up by an aunt, aunt,
marrying at the age OF 20 and Immediately
enlisting in the union army, returning to
New Hampshire at the close OF the war,
Mr.. Morrill, as he himself says, determined
to take Horace Greeley's advice" and went
to Rockford, ILL.,, where he found work in a
soap factory at $50 month. His ambition
to be the owner of farm led him to seek
his fortune still farther west and is plainly
the propelling force that can be traced all
through his wonderful story OF his life. His
first failure at farming only spurred him on
and his constant accumulation of debt bur
dens only inspired renewed energy. When
in 1872 he got on his feet financially through
successful cattle feeding in Iowa, he took up
the westward course again. His interesting
account OF going through Omaha is as
follows:
"It was about March I, 1873, when |
started to Nebraska with my wife and
/ children in two covered wagons. We had
at that time 12S head of cattle and eight
head Of horses. We were obliged to cross
the Missouri river at Omaha in Jerry
boat, as no bridge had been constructed
Omaha | stopped to purchase some sup
plies at the store of J. J. Brown &
Brothers, wholesale and retail grocers.
Mr.. Brown was standing in the doorway
of his store. AS / went out he asked If
was the owner Of the herd Of cattle in the
street, and also where | was going. told
him had taken homestead on the Big
Blue river southwest of Columbus, and
| that was on my way there. He then said:
Now, young man, with 100 head OF cattle
| you have such good start it is not neces-
sary for you to go out into that dry coun-
try | have 800 acres of fine land lying
standing which | will sell you for SO an
acre, and give you all the time you want
to pay for the same thanked him for
his offer, saying that had already estab-
lished my home on the Big Blue and that
we hoped to be there in less than one
week. | then asked Mr. Brown if it would
| be possible for me to get Sl00 draft
cashed. He offered to go with me to the
Omaha National bank, where he intro
duced me to Mr.. ]. H. Mllard, the presi-
dent In conversation with him, he said,
We like to see young men like you coming
| to Nebraska. Whenever you come to
| Omaha, drop in When in after years,
| | embarked in the banking business be-
came we'll acquainted with Mr.. ~Millard.
| No man tried harder than he to assist the
small banks and pioneer business men OF
| Nebraska"
Mr.. Morrill and his family settled in Poll
county, which has been his home ever since
although other interests have taken him from
time to time to different parts OF the coun
try. At the time of the gold discovery il
| the Black Hills he made an expedition uf
| there which is graphically described:
"The only way to reach the Hills was
by stage from different points along the
Union Pacific railroad. The principal
point for equipping was Sidney, Neb.
Upon my arrival in Sidney I found the
town surrounded with freighting outfits,
many Just arriving from the Hills, others
just starting north on their journey. At
that time there was one company OF
| United States soldiers located at the
military post near the town. Saloons and
| dance halls were numerous, all dong
aourishins business. During. the night |
heard shooting and many voices mingling
with the reports of<guns.' dressed hur-
riedly and went dowik>to see what all the
excitement was about. The landlord of
| the hotel informed me that | would be
more likely to retain my health and return
to my family if ! remained inside.
an the morning was up early and
went out upon the street | found dead
man lying directly in front of the hotel.
Several men passed while was standing
there, but no one seemed interestd in the
victim. One party OF passersby stopped
moment and | inquired the cause OF the
trouble. | was told that there was no
trouble at all that the boys was havn'
little fun shootin' up the town, and, as
usual, somebody got hurt At the break
fast table the killing was discussed as an
everyday affair. When ] had finished my
breakfast, I found that the corpse had
been removed. / am here reminded OF an
item which I afterward saw printed in a
Deadwood newspaper concerning local
incident. 1t reads:
"'Last week two freighters from Sidney,
Al Smith and Cy Jones, had few words
in a Deadwood saloon over game OF
cards. Jones called Smith liar. Jones
leaves a wife and four small children
Eastern papers please copy
There was one stage line running from
Sidney to the Hills. 1t was owned and
operated by Jim Stephenson and a. Mr..
Marsh, both Of Omaha. The stages them
| selues were Of the Concord coach tYne, the