Echoes Across the Plains - Part 2

by Dorthy L. Mast

The Bird City area was once considered a part of the Great American Desert, where only the Indians could survive.

In 1873, the Legislature created counties out of the western half of the state of Kansas.  About this same time, an enterprising young man from the Denver area started on a journey by horseback across the so-called desert and continued across the western part of Cheyenne County, Kansas.  There were very few trees, but to his astonishment, the plains were alive with prairie grasses.

As he crossed the Republican River, he envisioned the possibility of a great cattle ranch.  A few years later with the interest and support of his family, this became a reality with its headquarters on the northwest side of the Republican River.

In the 1880's, it is not known exactly how two wealthy merchants from St. Joseph, Missouri, became aware of the richness of these prairie grasses.  However, they soon formed the Northwest Cattle Company and sent Benjamin Bird (who at that time, lived with his family in St. Joseph, Missouri) as manager to Cheyenne County, Kansas, who established ranching headquarters on the northeast side of the Republican River.

By 1882, Benjamin Bird soon had cattle grazing from the upper Republican River to the Smoky Hill River.  This was a productive enterprise, even with the encroachment of the homesteaders, until the blizzard of 1886.  Benjamin Bird and his cowhands were completely unprepared for a blizzard on the plains with the driving winds and freezing temperatures.

The loss of men and cattle devastated the enterprise and eventually bankrupted the Northwest Cattle Company.

Sources - The Benkelman Post, early Courthouse Records, early newspapers and the Bird Family Records.

Echoes Across the Plains – Part 2

By Dorthy L. Mast

The covered wagons just kept on coming and coming across the plains.

Several young people and adults have asked, “What was a patent and how did my grandfather or grandmother get one?”

It might surprise you the number of single women or widows that acquired patents.  One such woman, Miss Etta Lynn, acquired two patents, a “Five-year Proven Up,” and a “Timber Claim.”  She taught in the first private school in 1885 in Bird City on the first floor of the Court house building.  She also became the first superintendent of schools in Cheyenne County. 

Another surprise might be if you note the very first entry on your land abstract.  That could be a patent with a special number.  It might even tell you the type of patent.

There are several types of patents.

The “preemption” act of 1841 – A “preemption” was the right to purchase land before others.  The Federal Government had a problem administrating a land law of the public domain during Washington’s administration.  The problem was how to provide an equitable method of distributing land to private owners.  The first policy allowed large tracts of land to big interests.  A different policy was adopted that allowed the purchase of land for low prices by the sworn in settler.

There were two main methods of securing land in the 1850’s:

       1.  One was by means of Soldiers’ Military Bounty Land Warrant.  Since 1776 land warrants had been given as a reward to the Nation’s soldiers.

       2.  The land law of 1841 is known as the “preemption” act.  This act provided that the head of a family or widow or single man over 21 years of age could file for 160 acres of public domain.

             This claimant by law was required to erect a dwelling on the claim, make proof of his settlement to the register and receiver at the land office for which that official received fifty cents from each claimant.  The latter in accordance with the specifications laid down was required to swear that –

     a. He had never preempted before.

     b. That he was not the owner of 320 acres of any state or territory.

     c. He had not settled on the land for the purpose of selling it.

     d. He had no agreement or contract with anyone directly or indirectly to

         turn the land over to anyone else.

Persons swearing falsely were guilty of perjury according to the law and the perjurer was penalized by both the loss of the land and the money.

The “Railroad” Act – 1850

This act of 1850 granted to the states alternate sections of public land on either side of the railroad lines and branches to aid in the Construction of certain railroads.

An amendment under the Homestead Act allowed an ex-soldier of the Civil War who had served nine months to take 160 acres of land within the limits of a railroad grant whereas all other settlers could only take 80 acres.

Sources – Sod House Frontier by Everett Dick

                 Gov. – Military records

                 Early Bird City Newspapers

Note – One must remember that when someone staked a claim in those early times, he or she might have to travel a long distance to a land office by wagon, horseback or walk to file.  Fifty cents at that time was a considerable amount of money.  DM

 The Homestead Act of 1862



     The 5 years "proven up" patent - It provided that any person who is the head of the family or has arrived at the age of 21 years, and is a citizen
of the United States or who shall have filed his declaration of intent to become such and who has never borne arms against the United States
government or given aid and comfort to the enemy, is entitled to 160 acres of land in certain areas or 80 acres if taken in more favorable areas. Example: a Railroad Grant.  In most areas, the application fee was $14.00 and an additional $4.00 when final proof was made.  This varied sometimes depending on the area.

     From the date of application, usually called filing, 6 months was allowed for making improvements and on or before the expiration date, the homesteader had to be on the land and begin improvements.  He was further required to make this his permanent residence for 5 years from the date of application.  Any time after that date the settler could take out his final
papers provided that he did this within 7-1/2 years of filing.

     The final papers consisted of giving evidence that the conditions had been fulfilled.  If this evidence was satisfactory the patent was granted on
the testimony of two witnesses.

     Sometimes, historians study only one aspect of history instead of the overall impact that it made.  The Homestead Act of 1862 was one of these
aspects among many others.  The conquest and betrayal of the Indian tribes, the traders and trappers, the military pursuit of the Indian tribes, the
building of forts to protect the settlers - these are only a few of the aspects.

The Figure of an Indian Man Stood on the Ridge overlooking the Plains

     He was a man of peace, chief of his tribe as he stood overlooking the plains where large buffalo herds had grazed, but now he saw many head of
cattle.  As he looked far to the east, he saw a smoke haze on the horizon. This smoke haze had not been created by the controlled fires of another
Indian tribe, but rather was that of the encroachment of white settlers upon his people's hunting grounds.

     There had been many deeply angry and resentful voices around the council fires.  He could no longer control his people as once again the war
cry rang out across the land.  The buffalo hide hunters with their long guns came onto the land and killed so many buffalo for the hides and left the
carcasses to rot in the sun.  The Cheyenne did not kill the buffalo for sport.  They killed the buffalo for the survival needs of their tribe.  They
utilized every part of the buffalo as follows:

a.      The tongue - meat and hide brushes

b.     The skull - ceremonies and prayers of sacrifice

c.     The horns - cups, spoons, ladles and head dresses

d.     Muscles and Sinews - mostly threads and bows

e.      Hair - hand sewing, pillows, ropes, halters and bridles

f.       Bones - knives, arrows, beads, needles, quirts, awls and games

g.     Hides - tanned - leather with hair, moccasins, clothing, bags,
blankets and teepee linings

h.     Rawhide - par fleches, head dresses, clothing, glue and satchels

i.        Dung - fuel and signal fires

j.        Tails - fly swatters and teepee decoration

k.     Paunch - cooking pots and water containers

l.        Hoofs - glue and rattles

m.   Brains - curing hides

n.     Flesh (meat or organs) - roasted, boiled or dried

     The Indians gave honor to the buffalo by asking the Great Spirit to take the spirit of the buffalo to the Great Grazing Grounds in the sky.

     The recent attack of the white leaders' soldiers upon a group of Southern Cheyenne camped at Sand Creek to honor the treaty with the White Leaders.
The soldiers killed men, women and children, burned the teepees and food supplies, leaving the remnants of Indian that fled with only the clothing
they wore.  Many of them were wounded as they fled across the plains in the coldest month of winter (January) to the Cherry Creek campsite, (Cheyenne
County, Kansas) where they sent runners to the Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho for aid.  The above incident were only a small part of the betrayal by those white leaders.  The Indian Man realized how futile it had been to create an understanding with the white man of the "way of life" of the Indian tribes
because the purpose of the white men from the very beginning had been to drive the Indian tribes from the land.
Sources:  Life of George Bent by George Hyde, Cheyenne Autumn and the
Buffalo Hunters by Mari Sandoz, Love Song to the Plains by Mari Sandoz, Bury
My Heart at Wounded Knee, by Dee Brown.



Next Month:  Another Aspect of History - the settlers and the Forts