University of Nebraska Lincoln - Cornhusker Yearbook (Lincoln, NE)

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H J hraska he State 1. The Past EOR uiuuimhercJ years Nebraska l.iy on the bed ot an immense sea. Then, thmugh ai es m ealculable, this sea-bottom rose and sank, accumulating the slow deposits of sea, lakes, and rivers. The rocks thus formed, covered with glacial gravel, the wind-blown loess, and finally the black alluvium of the rivers, became the physical Nebraska we know. The land for a long time teemed with animals of many species, far more varied than those of today. Finally, man appeared. We find grave-mounds and extensive flint-mines, evidences of an energetic though primitive race. Perhaps they were cousins of the mound-builders; we do not know. Nor do we know whence they came, or what became of them. More knowledge of these first Nebras- kans must come from careful study of the remains that are frequently being found. Here there is a gap in the record; then we find the aborigine displaced by the Indian. The largest tribe in this region was the Pawnee, which had attained a fairly settled life in the Loup, Platte, and Republican valleys. The Sioux family was represented by the Otoes, Omahas, and Poncas, and by the much wilder Brule and Ogalala bands farther west. A third group, the Chcyennes and Arapa- hoes, were Algonquins who had wandered far from their native lands in New York and New England. What white man first set foot upon Nebraska territory? The question has been warmly argued and still is undecided. The honor is often accorded to Coronado, but it is quite possible that his expedition of If 41 did not penetrate so far north. For two hundred years after him there was little knowledge of the Nebraska region, save from the memoirs of explorers who out-fabled Baron Munchausen. The first travelers who un- doubtedly visited the region were two French- men, the Mallet brothers, who led a party across It in 17. 9. Politically, Nebraska was a part of New France until 1762, when it was ceded to Spain. It was ceded back to France in 1800, and finally, in 18 ' 4, was brought under the American flag. From that year until 1 82 1 , it was first under military government and then attached success- ively to the territories of Indiana, Louisiana, an 1 Missouri. The first American explorers, Lewis and Clark, passed up the Missouri River in 1804, held councils with the Indians, and noted the character of the land. The most prominent Nebraskan of that early time was Manuel Lisa, a fur-trader. His post. Ft. Lisa, was established about ten miles above the site of Omaha in 1810 or 1812. During the War of 1812, Lisa ' s influence over the Nebraska Indians was sufficient to keep them loyal to the United States. An- other fur-post later developed into Bellevue, which is thus the oldest town in Nebraska. The first army post on the western plains, Fort Atkinson, was established in September, 1819. From 1821 to 18. 4, Nebraska was an unorganized wilderness. The main interest of the time was in the cut-throat competition of rival fur companies. This lawless period was terminated by the incorporation of the territory into the new Indian Country, from which white men were to be excluded. For twenty years settlement was debarred, but in the spring of 1854 the famous Kansas-Nebraska bill opened the gates, and settlers flcxided the Territory of Nebraska. Towns instantly dotted the east- ern border, and the rival villages of Omahi and Bellevue, with Florence, Plattsmouth, and Nebraska City close behind, began to clamor for the territorial capital. Omaha out-generaled her neighbors and for years thereafter the favorite legiskitive sport of the territory was the attempt, never successful, to remove the capital from Omaha. The year 1856 was one of speculative insanity. Embryo town-sites elbowed each other on the map, and wild-cat banks, with no equipment except beautifully lithographed notes, sprang up in every village. There was $750 in bank capital for every person in this territory on the edge of civiliza- tion. When the bubble broke, in 1857, poverty seemed more bitter than ever. Many squatters lost PaKC .■; Sud tliiu.sc iJeloiiymg tu Early S :lll :r