Omaha daily bee., 1918-11-24

Morton to make the address of the
day. That address, delivered g
years ago, from the box of farm
wagon beneath the shade of native
oak tree, reads today like a gem of
clear, masterful thought The fair
was styled, The Territorial and
Agricultural Fair" and the exhibits
comprised live stock, farm products,
mechanism and art. Morton was
awarded 81 premium for his best
stallion, more than 4 years old; $40
for the best draft stallion, and S.
for the best Suffolk boar In his
opening remarks Furnas introduc d
Norton as notable figure of the
commonwealth" Morton at that
time was q years old and had lived
five years in Nebraska.
First Tractor in Nebraska.
The visitor to Nebraska City may
view stone marker near the Bur-
lington depot, bearing reference to
General Browns steam wagon,
Prairie Motor" Gather up, mates,
and hear the story of the first
tractor in Nebraska, So years ago.
This marker was placed by the Ne
braska State Historical society a
few years ago to commemorate the
starting point of this steam tractor
which was given a grand and glor-
ious public reception in 1862. John
L. Webster of Omaha delivered the
address for the historical society
when the marker was placed.
In 1862 a New York man known
as General Brown believed that the
locomotive limitations of oxen and
mules in hauling freight out to the
great west, could be improved. He
brought his steam wagon to Nebras-
ka City and hooked it up to three
road wagons laden with five tons
of freight and two cords of wood.
His prospective destination was
Denver, but when he had travelled
II miles out of Nebraska City a
crank of the prairie Motor" broke,
The general returned to New York
for repairs, but the experiment was
abandoned.
Inception of Good Road Movement.
The advent of the prairie Motor"
however, aroused such public inter-
est that mass meeting was called
for July %, 1862, to consider road
improvement for steam wagons.
That probably was the inception of
the good road movement In that
year there were five stage routes
from Nebraska City to the west, all
meeting at Fort Kearny. The stage
fare to Denver was SIS and it re-
CURED one week, travelling days and
nights, to make the journey.
Judge D. J.. Golf, one of the oldest
inhabitants of Nebraska City, re-
lates that he enjoyed ride on Cen
eral Browns steam wagon along
Central avenue in 1862. He recalls
that the "Prairie Motor" was an
imposing piece of mechanism and
was all right while it was moving.
The judge offices with Robert
Payne and this twain remind the
visitor of Dickens characters. Judge
Golf is one of the historical authori.
ties of the county He served many
years as police Judge, and although
"a years old, he is not too old to
enjoy joke at the expense of Bob
Payne, who is one year his junior.
The judge arrived in Brownville in
1857, and transferred his bag and
baggage to Nebraska City in 1860.
He learned to set type in the news
paper office of Robert w. Furnas.
If anyone doubts the story of
Browns steam wagon, he need only
inquire for Ed Gregg when visiting
Nebraska City. Gregg owns the
cylinder of the old wagon which
was described in the Scientific
American of August, 1862 That
isn't all that might be said of Ed
Gregg, for he was mechanician for
Eddie Rickenbacher, American ace
now overseas, when Eddie went in
to his first automobile race at Ne
braska City, July 4, 1910.
Nebraska City concluded next
Sunday)