Collection of Nebraska Pioneer ReminiscencesDaughters of the American Revolution. Nebraska
History
Collection of Nebraska Pioneer Reminiscences
Daughters of the American Revolution. Nebraska
Frontier and pioneer life -- Nebraska; Nebraska -- History
During the early sixties, many bands of Indians numbering from forty to
seventy-five, visited Weeping Water. It was on one of their visits that
the writer made the best record he has ever made, as a foot racer. The
seven or eight year old boy of today would not think of running from an
Indian, but half a century ago it was different. It was no fun in those
days to be out hunting cattle and run onto a band of Indians all sitting
around in a circle. In the morning the cattle were turned out to roam
about at will except when they attempted to molest a field, and at night
they were brought home if they could be found. If not the search was
continued the next day. Some one was out hunting cattle all the time it
seemed. With such a system of letting cattle run at large, it was really
the fields that were herded and not the cattle. Several times a day some
member of the family would go out around the fields to see if any cattle
were molesting them. One of our neighbors owned two Shepherd dogs which
would stay with the cattle all day, and take them home at night. It was
very interesting to watch the dogs drive the cattle. One would go ahead
to keep the cattle from turning into a field where there might be an
opening in the rail fence, while the other would bring up the rear. They
worked like two men would. But the family that had trained dogs of this
kind was the exception; in most cases it was the boys that had to do the
herding. It was on such a mission one day that the writer watched from
under cover of some bushes, the passing of about seventy-five Indians
all on horseback and traveling single file. They were strung out a
distance of almost a mile. Of course they were supposed to be friendly,
but there were so many things that pointed to their tendency to be
otherwise at times, that we were not at all anxious to meet an Indian no
matter how many times he would repeat the characteristic phrase, "Me
good Injun." We were really afraid of them and moreover the story was
fresh in our minds of the murder of the Hungate family in Colorado, Mrs.
Hungate's parents being residents of our vicinity at that time. Her
sister, Mrs. P. S. Barnes, now resides in Weeping Water.
Thus it will be seen that many Indian experiences and incidents have
been woven into the early history of Weeping Water. In conclusion to
this article it might be fitting to give the Indian legend which
explains how the town received its name of Weeping Water. The poem was
written by my son, Rev. A. V. Hunter, of Boston, and is founded on the
most popular of the Indian legends that have been handed down.
THE LEGEND OF WEEPING WATER
Long before the white man wandered
To these rich Nebraska lands,
Indians in their paint and feathers
Roamed in savage warlike bands.
They, the red men, feared no hardships;
Battles were their chief delights;
Victory was their great ambition
In their awful bloody fights.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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