10 EARLY DAY STORIES. 



of the great Indian warriors of more recent times. We 

 have become a great people — wonderful discoveries are con- 

 stantly being made — great events are happening, one right 

 after the other, and these things all claim our attention, so 

 that we have little time to give thought to matters of early 

 history, and yet these things should not be neglected nor 

 forgotten. 



Before there was a railroad west of the Mississippi 

 river, the country then known as Nebraska territory had 

 the greatest thoroughfare of the kind ever known in histor- 

 ical times. This was the Overland Trail, starting at first 

 from Independence, Missouri, and afterward from West- 

 port, Missouri, (now Kansas City), with branches from St. 

 Joseph, Missouri, from Leavenworth, Kansas, and from 

 Nebraska City, Nebraska, these Hues all converging on the 

 south side of the Platte nearly opposite Grand Island, the 

 route continued on west through Nebraska to Denver, Salt 

 Lake, Oregon and California. On the north side of the 

 Platte river was another prong of this great highway that 

 crossed the Missouri at Sarpy's Landing, (now Bellevue), 

 and also at Kanesville, (now Council Bluffs), and these two 

 uniting at the crossing of the Elkhorn river passed up the 

 valley on the north side of the Platte, going directly through 

 the places where now stand the cities of Fremont, Columbus 

 and Grand Island. These two roads, one on the north, 

 and one on the south side of the Platte, united near Fort 

 Laramie in Wyoming and continued on west as one thor- 

 oughfare, but divided again farther west, one branch going 

 to Oregon and one to California, with still a third and 

 shorter one to Salt Lake. 



On the 7th day of May, 1859, gold was discovered in 

 Colorado. Prior to this date Colorado was unsettled and un- 

 known. There were a few traders and trappers within its 

 borders, and possibly a few settlers of Mexican lineage in 

 the extreme southern part, but as a whole it was a wilder- 



