Very respectfully, JOHN H. MICKEY, _Governor_. _To whom it may concern_: It is with pleasure I write a few words of commendation for the book written by Mr. Gilbert L. Cole, of Beatrice, Nebraska, entitled "In the Early Days." It is well prepared and full of interest from beginning to the end. It is of great value to every Nebraskan. _July 28, 1905._ D. L. THOMAS, _Pastor Grace M. E. Church_, Lincoln, Neb. An interesting, thrilling and delightful bit of prairie history hitherto unwritten and unsung, which most opportunely and completely supplies a missing link in the stories of the great Westland. MRS. A. HARDY, _President Beatrice Woman's Club_, Beatrice, Neb. BEATRICE, NEB., July 30, 1905. I have just read "In the Early Days," by Col. G. L. Cole, and I find it an interesting and instructive narrative, clothed in good diction and pleasing style. Few of the Argonauts took time or trouble to make note of the events of their journey and our California gold episode is remarkably barren of literature, a fact which makes Col. Cole's book doubly interesting and valuable. M. T. CUMMINGS CONTENTS. CHAPTER I.--Setting up Altars of Remembrance, 13 CHAPTER II.--"God Could Not Be Everywhere, and so He Made Mothers," 23 CHAPTER III.--"But Somewhere the Master Has a Counterpart of Each," 32 CHAPTER IV.--Our Prairies are a Book Whose Pages Hold Many Stories, 41 CHAPTER V.--A Worthy Object Reached For and Missed is a First Step Toward Success, 51 CHAPTER VI.--"'Tis Only a Snowbank's Tears, I Ween," 58 CHAPTER VII.--We Stepped Over the Ridge and Courted the Favor of New and Untried Waters, 67 CHAPTER VIII.--We Had No Flag to Unfurl, but Its Sentiment Was Within Us, 77 CHAPTER IX.--We Listened to Each Other's Rehearsals, and Became Mutual Sympathizers and Encouragers, 87 CHAPTER X.--Boots and Saddles Call, 98 CHAPTER XI.--"But All Comes Right in the End," 108 CHAPTER XII.--Each Day Makes Its Own Paragraphs and Punctuation Marks, 123 INTRODUCTORY. If one is necessary, the only apology I can offer for presenting this little volume to the public is that it may serve to record for time to come some of the adventures of that long and wearisome journey, together with my impressions of the beautiful plains, mountains and rivers of the great and then comparatively unknown Territory of Nebraska. They were presented to me fresh from the hand of Nature, in all their beauty and glory. And by reference to the daily journal I kept along the trail, the impressions made upon my mind have remained through these long years, bright and clear. THE AUTHOR. IN THE EARLY DAYS ALONG THE OVERLAND TRAIL IN NEBRASKA TERRITORY, IN 1852. CHAPTER I. SETTING UP ALTARS OF REMEMBRANCE.