Broaden your research to include nearby towns

The sad thing about old newspapers is that a good portion of them were lost to time. Some that were saved had articles clipped from the paper leaving blanks, others were so damaged that it is hard to read what is written, and the McCook papers are no exception to that rule. Consequently, when you are researching McCook and the surrounding area, you need to broaden your search in Nebraska newspapers rather than clicking on a McCook Tribune tab when you are using www.chroniclingamerica.gov .

While I was doing research on the 1914 McCook High School Football team, I found this little gem in the Omaha Bee. It has nothing to do with football, but the narrative of early McCook and Oberlin is quite interesting.

Excerpted from the April 27, 1885 Omaha Bee: “THE KANSAS CRUSH. In common with a great many other Nebraska City people we had the bad luck to contract that disease now so prevalent, yelept the Kansas fever, and as nothing will cure the same except a change of climate, or the absence of that necessary, familiarly called “boodle”, (a large amount of money), we chose the former pleasant and efficacious (capable of having the desired result) remedy, and here finds us at McCook, the starting point for most who seek Kansas land.”

“At Oxford, the junction station east of McCook, the B & M railroad are erecting a new and elegant eating house, which for unique and nobby design surpasses any of the company’s eating houses this side of Denver.”

“We arrived at McCook at about 10:30 pm, and seeking a hotel were soon in the arms of Morphine, oh, we mean Morpheus (Greek God of dreams), our limited knowledge of medicine and the names of great men of our country sometimes makes us make misstatements, but we are usually able to correct them after a moment’s thoughts. N.B. – ‘Morpheus’ was the nickname of our bedfellow, a young and, of course rising lawyer from Atchison. We called him Morpheus because he didn’t go to sleep, but was continually reaching under his pillow to feel if his pistol was all right, as he seemed to have a deadly fear of being robbed and murdered during the dark hours of the night by some of those prairie plants called ‘cowboys’ which are so numerous around McCook.”

“Next morning found 5 of us in a spring wagon in route for Oberlin, Kansas. About 16 miles from McCook we strike the Kansas line. Near here we find several tombstones and pine slabs which we were told marked the resting place of a party of land hunters we were massacred by Indians in 1878. Two miles from here we find the first and only post office on the route from McCook to Oberlin, a distance of thirty miles. A grist mill, run by the water of Bear creek, three sod houses and one store comprise this town or post office.”

“After a ride of about ten miles through this country we reached Oberlin. This town is about ten years old but has never amounted to much until the past year when the rush for Kansas land commenced. It is pleasantly situated in a little valley and claims of population of about 1,500. Business is very lively here at present-especially the land business. Every other building is marked ‘U.S. Land Office.’ Every stage coming into Oberlin is crowded with land hunters and the good land is going rapidly. Our party took lands in Cheyenne County, near the “preacher’s crowd party” that left Nebraska City last week.”

“After transacting our business and the U. S. Land Office, which by the way was crowded with parties intent on entering land, we ordered our team and departed from Oberlin. We forgot to mention that when we first sighted Oberlin we were surprised to find some of her buildings flattened to the ground a la pancake and others twisted around out of plumb. Upon inquiry we found that a Kansas zephyr (tornado) had struck the town a few days previous and raised a “monkey and parrot” (euphemism for a hell of a time) time generally. Among the buildings blown down was a skating rink, one of the largest in the state.”

As always when I am researching, one article leads to another search and now this one makes me want to find out more about that tornado and the skating rink. Perhaps some of the many Kansas reference books at the SWNGS library will help.

If you want help doing historical or genealogical research, our library is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1 – 4 PM and is located at 110 West C Street, Suite M-3.