vast rxaaa rOR ALL THE NEWS THE HALF-TON- E OMAHA DEE UNDAY Bee. bEST IN THE WES1 taoiu ova to rovm. The Omaha S COPY CENTS. VOL. XXXIX NO. 50. OMAHA, SLWDAY MORNING, MAY 2D, 1910. SING LB FIVE ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF HISTORY ' Quaint Old Bellevue, City of What Might Have Been, is to Be the Scene of Great Centennial Celebration June 23

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V. 1 A. bELixYur. Itoic OF '5 EBRASKA, the beutlful land of Indian romance, land 1 i of velvet verdure sloping la graceful undulation from mountain foothill to river brink, premier common-wealt- h reared from the prim- itive, thanks to pioneer brawn and brain epito- DDWCAN BELLETOE CET4E1E.KV 3 mized tersely, Nebraska, the llElirZSEXTOB IP f great. Is to commemo- about Mississippi rate the century spanning six other Frenchmen, who came up the river from Nw 'BrONEEB.. Orleans to St. Mo., up the tq 1810 and 1910. Charles, and thence what Is now eastern of June 23 will be an epochal the shores Nebraska. Manuel Lisa, wily landed on the site of Bellevue, so day in Nebraska history, ad- fur trader, history states, in 1805, leaving water a ding a belated but momen- and his crude craft for survey gave tous appendix to treasured of the adjacent landscape, he expression to his impres sion of the by exclaiming: archives, for on date, in beautiful vista that thereby catalogue quaint old Bellvue, there is "Belleview," meaning to the scene as sublime. That, so story goes, was origin of name of to be a picnic under State the the the Nebraska's village. In was iai Historical society direction historic the early days there conflict as to the spell ing many of old-time- rs preferring In- - beneatn strange blending primitive to celebrate the one hun- of Bellevue, the "Belleview" a massive monument erected by relatives. As to the value cesslble from this city, and such a of th age. dredth anniversary of the stead of "Bellevue," contending that "view" had a meaning, while of the estate he left, history conflicts. Some reports appraised his with the modern Is seldom seen in this progressive .', "vue" was not capable holdings JIEBJSTOBICAL SOOE.T'SC. founding of John Jacob As-- of definition. at 175,000, which in tnat era was a big fortune, while Leaving Omaha for Bellevue by trolley, you hustle for your car No historical review of Nebraska is complete without mention others aver that he had dissipated the bulk of his fortune. Certain canyons on by gigantic skyscraper!, fur-tradi- station. through city walled either side of Manuel Lisa, for it Is recorded of him he almost Harriman- - it Is, however, was a powerful of men, you The picnic program at Bellevue will savor of the reminscent, that that he leader an empire elbow vour wav throuch the crowds surxlng to and fro Ilk Ued the - - Back ,n LoulB- - from whlch port tne nrewi and a pioneer well you X harklnK back to the Dloneer era when Bellevue was prominent as St b"ler fitted for the hazardous task of blaiing the shifting particles of a kaliedscope. On street crossings Manuel sailed when he started Nebraskawards, there waited for him a trail through the wilderness. ever-onwa- rd the first white settlement of Nebraska, and when the names of are constantly on the alert lest you collide with the a wife who was later to be distinguished as the white woman Biographers of Peter Sarpy him - , Sarpy. Fontenelle, D Roin, Lisa, Burt, Cuming, Morton, first accredit with wonderful fore- taxlcab. You board your car amid the very essence of metropolitan to take up her abode In Nebraska, but wot not for Lisa, and eight, and is seventy-fiv- e years ago, Robidoux McKlnney, Iiard, Hamilton, Lowrle and others were be- that it related that when almost all environment. The motorman applies the power and you ar whlsksd when he found by taking to a wife the Omaha the vast area Mississippi - ing written indellibly into primeval annals. Time, for the once, that himself from west of the river was practically unten- away over viaducts and through long lanes of factory, home and tribe of Indians, he could enhance his trading power by many shek- - anted,- - he predicted craze which 'exists will in fancy turn back into the good old ways of the good old the land today. "The day etore, landing within a few minutes In the heart of South Omaha, els, he at once became a squawman. Subsequently brought will - days. he his come," he prophesied, "when Nebraska will be densely, popu- the great packing center, the source of beefsteak and pork chops white wife up the river and she spent one winter with him in his lated and will no longer be known as the 'west.1 And the dsy will On the night of June 23, following a day given over to remin- for the millions. There, amidst scenes of remarkable industrial Nebraska camp. Just how he managed to prevent domestic turmoil come when all of the west, even to the brink of the Pacific ocean, you on you glide away iscence, the scene of the centennial celebration will shift from Belle-jvi- e, activity, change cars. Seated the lnterurban, with two wives in the same bailiwick, one white, one red, historians will be as populous as the Atlantic coast." In fair measure the ancient, to Omaha, the modern, and In the splendid new these over a strip of country as beautiful as can be found anywherd 10 have been delinquent in recording. prophetic ng words have already been verified, and in the course of green, slope grace-Followi- Auditorium of the Nebraska metropolis, there will be speech-ma- k the world. Gentle hills, carpeted with nature'B closely one upon the other in the years from 1805 to time, basing conclusions on the present scramble for homes, r ing in which the present tense will prevail. At the Omaha meeting the fUuy away into peaceful valleys, while fringing this landscape en , CBln8 everttl eQln wnerem aanng expiorers touchea vermcauon win te complete. k..w k ..t.1.4 .. i0lu' tne east the majestic Missouri, curving In and out. rolling its bVdavoVJ IVmong . Mallet Another highly interesting early-da- y character was Logan Fon- - way of across on V) 4. J may of today the land turbid seaward. Back the river and the Iowa 'time to the Nebraska brothers, were Lewis and Clarke, Crooks and McLellan -- "' and the tenelle. half Indian, half French, who In 1853 was elected principal mountain range, a series of rugged bluffs, fulfillment. thero rises, like miniature Astor party. It was on April 28. 1810, that the Astor expedition, chief of the Omaha tribe of Indians. He was born near Fort Cal- - Hilltops along trolley AJ6t John Lee Webster, who came to. Nebraska In 1869, and who fantastic and weird. here and there the trail ueaaea uy vvuson t rice wum, a partner or jonn jacoD Astor or noun, iseD., May 6, 1825, and died on the battlefield In war between are dotted with magnificent homes many of them being occupied served as president of the constitutional convention which in 1875 New York, anchored its primitive on of Missouri fleet the banks the the Omahas and the Sioux at the Beaver Creek engagement, June Dy Omaha men who have turned to the open country for relief from ; drafted the present state constitution, will, by virtue of his office river at Bellevue, scaled the bluffs and opened the fur trading sta- 1800- - lne aeain or 'onienene cut snort a career which prom- - cows graze on pastures by as president of the 8tate Historical society, serve as presiding of- metropolitan congestion. Sleek luxuriant tion. It is in honor of this event, nominally, and as a blanket com- ised much in future achievement. When quite young he was sent ficer of the Bellevue picnic, also the meeting at night in Omaha. the wayside. Songbirds stir the morning air with lilt from swinging memoration of this and other expeditions in general, that the forth-- to St. Louis to be educated something quite out of the ordinary many - Local and visiting orators, some of the old school, some of the toughs of noble trees century old trees, of them. Every- comng celebration. June 23 this year, is to be held. among either whites or Indians in those days and that education you you new, will make speeches both at Omaha and Bellevue, and it is ex where, any direction look, are Impressed with the sublimity The Astor settlement at Bellevue in 1810 attracted the attention gave to him a polish, also a breadth of mental vision, which dis- pected many pioneers will come from various parts of the state. of nature. that of other traders and ndventurers, and in 18 23 there came up the tinguished him from other Indians of his day. He was the son of Is to be a most Important event, from a historical standpoint, and Half an hour or so of this trolley flight through awe-inspiri- ng It river from St. Louis a young man, Peter A. Sarpy, who was destined Lucien Fontenelle, descendant fcf French nobility, who came to Ne- as approaches keen interest is aroused once again in the scenes, and you hear the conductor cry: the date to become a most unique, as well as prominent figure in the subse- braska among the first settlers and, following the custom of the story which goes to make up Nebraska's early history a romantic quent . Of French extraction, reared in St. country, married an Indian woman from the Omaha tribe. The "Bellevue!" ways in primitive days, a story of empire story of primitive builders Louis, where he was an associate of the , the Cabanncs body of was recovered from the battlefield and You step from the car to the platform of a modern trolley sta- upstream in skiffs to reach the then western Dorado, who rowed El and other first families, he acquired considerable polish, as polisli was burled on a high bluff overlooking the Missouri river in the tion. Overhead hangs an arc light, telling you plainly that old a story fights, a story of diamonds in the rough, a story of of Indian was accounted In those days. He came to Bellevue as clerk for one outskirts of Bellevue, at which post he had rendered service to the Bellevue rare old Bellevue has been invaded by progress and triumph over seemingly insurmountable white man's obstacles in of the fur companies, and a little later succeeded to the manage-- government as official interpreter prior to his election as chief of that where once the tallow dip was the only light in use after sun. an unexplored region. ment. He was of small physique, wiry and capable of great physical the Omahas. .down, the electric bulb now scintillates its white rays In marked was While it la true that the Astor fur station established at strajn. He at once became friendly with the Indians, and gained the Almcst every paragraph of early-da- y Nebraska history brings In contrast to the many lingering remnants of the primitive yet to ba Bellevue 100 years ago, this does not Indicate that the settlement of title of "Great White Chief." at one angle or another the seen in Bellevue. was Nebraska proper dates so far back. Indeed, it not until along In Following the example set by name of Bellevue. Well may Turning from the hum of the trolley wires and the arc lamp, you 'SOs begun. the that actual settlement Fur stations, be it under- Manuel Lisa, who had pre- this beautiful old village be look out upon a motley array of buildings some new, some old. a stood, were outposts or guards of clvlllUatlon, mere advance and It ceded hlra to Nebraska, Peter deslgnsted as the cradle of few very, very old. For Instance, the Presbyterian church dates was a quarter more following the Astor regime Belle- Bellevue century or at Sarpy married an Indian in Nebraska's History Nebraska history. Perhaps back to the '50s, although by reason of damage wrought by the vue. the came. Even then they came numerically that homemakers woman. He was, however, no other locality In Nebraska recent cyclone, some te repairs have been made upon the weak, they enough them to but were heroic and of remained blaze a widower at the time of this The white settlement in Nebraska was at Bellevue. is so rich In historic lore. lower of the old house. Over in another part of Bellevue a way first stands the for other. marriage, his first and second The first Posloffice In Nebraska was established at Have you ever visited log cabin which was the original home of Rev. William Hamilton, fWbn and other early-da- y tradesmen settled wives having died. He re- Bellevue. Bellevue? missionary, who came to Bellevue in 1854. This historic structure upon Bellevue as an ideal trading post, there was no "Nebraska." mained In Nebraska, even The first Masonic lodge in Nebraska was organized at If not, no matter if you live Is now used by J. S. Betz, commonly known as "Grandpa," at a Perhaps old chief, came more Blackbird, the celebrated Indian ... after the fur trade waned, and Bellevue. in the furthermost corner of paint shop. Electric lamps dangling over log cabins rather anom- - farly than anyone else to actual rulershlp.....of the country which took high rank as a man of the state, journey is well it ? Yet, Is exactly you The first printing press brought to Nebraska was used the alous mixture, isn't that what see if you visit theoretically, as may afterwards became Nebraska, but anomalous it affairs. The county of Sarpy at Bellevue In publishing the Palladium, Nebraska's first worth your while, if you sre "Grandpa" Betz's paint shop, incidentally, it may be recorded present governor sound In this age, William Heary Harrison, of the WM named in bis honor, and newspaper. a Nebrasksn interested In Ne-- herein that no less interesting than the log cabin and Its historic governor Ne- - then territory of Indiana, was the first of n the organisation of the The first white child of Nebraska waa born at Bellevue. braska history. association is its present venerable occupant, for "Grandpa" Bets. braska. because, for governmental purposes, Nebraska was at that town of Bellevue, believed city-bre- at The first seat of territorial government was tempor- Bellevue college occupies. a now in his 88th year, is as spry as the average d man of to Indiana, capital waa Vincennes...... time attached and Its With the me time to oe tne ruture arily located at Bellevue. sightly eminence overlooking thirty years his Junior. i governor a thousand miles away, no railroads, no telegraph, and metropolis of Nebraska, he The first territorial governor of Nebraska died at the townsite. The Institution "Yes, I be busy meat all the time," said the aged Mr. Betz, "and not even regularly established mail service, It Is obvious that the active part. In 1882, took Bellevue. covers several acres of beauti- I am all the happier because 1 work. Joe Medill, the great editor, governor seated in bis chair In faraway Vincennes exercised but little hav- 1 i Omaha in the meantime The first teachers' institute west of the Missouri river ful hillcrest and has an array once said: 'It Is better to wear out than to rust out,' and I agree over bis distant ward- - ing from Bellevue Jurisdiction wrested the was held at Bellevue. of splendid buildings. It is with him. Yes, I'm 88 years old, but, pshaw, that's nothing. You Assuming Coronado, In 1541, white man to of government, Earpy 4 that was the first site The first school in Nebraska was opened at Bellevue. one feature of the modern ought to see Judge Gow he's ten years older than I be." look upon Nebraska and on this point there is some difference of moved to Plattsmoutb, where, Bellevue. The first religious service of Nebraska was beld at side of "Grandpa" Bets wag engaged in painting a window screen when 7 among historians It Is a matter of authentic record that In 1885, be died. His body Less than an by oWJm Bellevue. hour's ride his visitors from The Sunday Bee tailed to see him. He kept right TVvV.st white men to actually leave tangible evidence of their was taken to St. Louis, where, trolley csr from the center of presence were Mallet, leading a company of Calvary cemetv'ry, 1 here Pierre and Paul in it rests Omaha, the place easily ac- - .(Continued on Page Two )