JUNE Roundup

NEBRASKAland Parade launches summer full of fun

IT'S JUNE, and NEBRASKAland is going on parade. To kick off the tourist season, the "where the WEST begins" state will beat the drum, show off its wares, and generally raise the roof in the second annual version of "NEBRASKAland on Parade".

Set for downtown Lincoln Thursday evening, June 3, the extravaganza is just one highlight of NEBRASKAland Days, which will draw many famed personalities. Festivities will kick off June 1 and will feature evening Wild West shows, the first Miss NEBRASKAland pageant, and much much more. A flag raising ceremony and a booming cannon at the State Capitol will open each day's festivities.

Lincoln is preparing for the crush of people who will come to the Capital City from all corners of the state. Plenty of tourists will be on hand, too, to take part in the Game Commission sponsored shindig. Events are scheduled after the big show, and viewers can expect a long evening of fun doings.

. . . about Miss Paul Everyone is moving outdoors in June and this month's NEBRASKAland Hostess, Jane Paul, invites you to come along, A daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert T. Paul of St. Paul, Jane is a sophomore at Nebraska Wesleyan University, majoring in biology. Named NWU Beauty Queen this year, Jane is 20 years old and a member of Willard sorority.

Meanwhile, spirited thoroughbreds continue at a fever pitch at AkSarBen's one-mile oval in Omaha. Fast-flying ponies from some of the top stables in the nation will flash around the track to bring the crowds roaring to their feet. Racing opened there May 7 and continues through July 5, with rest only Sundays and Mondays except May 31 and July 5.

Horse flesh of another caliber will be in the limelight in horse shows and rodeos across the state. Slam-bang action will erupt from the chutes when Potter cuts loose its annual rodeo June 5 and 6. In mid-June, Plattsmouth will give hardy young cowpokes plenty of grinding sport with the Cass County Junior Rodeo and Horse Show. Following June 24-26 is Harrison's big showdown, featuring the best high school cowboys throughout NEBRASKAland. They'll vie for state championship honors, the winners going to the big National High School rodeo finals in Ogallala in August.

LAKE MALONEY on U.S. Highway 83 South of North Platte Cabins-Boats-Motors-Cafe Write for reservations Route 4, North Platte, Nebr. HAHLE'S FISHING CENTER CAFE AND ICE BOAT AND MOTOR RENTAL BOAT GAS—SKI BOATS TACKLE AND BAITS GUIDE SERVICE RED WILLOW RESERVOIR Rt. #1 McCook, Nebraska Ph. 345-3560 Sportsman's Paradise On Johnson Lake Boat Tow-In Modern Cabins Sportsman's Steak House Boat Ramp and Docks Bait and Fishing Tackle Mercury Motors—Lone Star Boats Sales and Service ELWOOD, NEBRASKA COLLINS (RsLdJDAt on Beautiful Johnson Lake . . . Lakefronf cabins - Fishing fackle • Boats & motors • Free boat ramp • Fishing -Modern trailer court - Swimming • Cafe arid ice - Boating & skiing • Gas and oil • 9 hole golt course just around the corner • Live and frozen bait. WRITE FOR FREE BROCHURE or phone reservations 785-2298 Elwood, Nebraska

Beatrice will deck out in old-time costumes for its second annual Homesteader Days June 13 through 20. Set to coincide with Homestead Week, the celebration centers around Homestead National Monument, at the site of the nation's first homestead. Activities are many and varied, ranging from canoe races to street dances.

JUNE, 1965   6 OUTDOOR NEBRASKAIond

A host of pretty girls will vie for the right to represent NEBRASKAland at the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City, when York entertains aspiring Miss Nebraskas June 17 through 20. Nebraska Swedes will pay tribute to their heritage with their annual Swedish Festival at Stromsburg June 18 and 19.

NEBRASKAland rushes pell-mell into a whole summer full of action and excitement, as June sets the pace for things to come. Everyone is on the move to the outdoors with their picnic baskets, barbecue grills, fishing gear, motorboats, water skiis and golf clubs.

There are still a few events for those allergic to the outdoors. Grunt and groaners will hit the mats at Lincoln's Pershing Auditorium on June 1, and the All-State High School Chorus will present a "Night With Cole Porter" there on June 30.

You name it, you can find it in NEBRASKAland in June, and all summer long. Check the added list below. Pick favorites and join the swing to NEBRASKAland.

THE END JUNE ACTIVITIES CALENDAR May 7-July 5—Omaha Horse Racing, Ak-Sar-Ben, 1-mile track. Dark Mondays except May 31 and July 5. 1-6—Linccln NEBRASKAland Days 5-6—Potter Potter Rodeo 10-12—Ogallala Nebraska Stock Growers Convention 10-13—Bloomfield Diamond Jubilee Celebration 11-12—Wilcox Annual Horse Show 1 1-13—Snyder Diamond Jubilee 13-20—Beatrice Homesteader Days Third Week in June—Broken Bow American Quarter Horse Show 17-20—York Miss Nebraska Pageant 18-19—Stromsburg Annual Swedish Festival 20—Howells Fifth Annual Open Horse Show 20—Ogallala Registered Quarter Horse Show 20-21—Oshkosh Garden County Western Saddle Club Horse Show 21-23—Lisco International Arabian Horse Ranch Trials 24-26—Harrison State High School Championship Rodeo Last week in June—Broken Bow 4-H Junior Rodeo Fourth week in June—Omaha National High School Speech Tournament 26-27—Clarkson Czech Days 26-27—Gordon Quarter Horse Show 26-27—Hooper Nebraska Trail Days No Date Set—Benkelman Quarter Horse Show Mid-June—Dorchester Dorchester Carnival No Date Set—Fairbury Jefferson County Horse Show No Date Set—Friend Invitation Golf Tourney Mid-June—Plattsmouth Cass County Jr. Horse Show and Rodeo Horseback riding Trail rides Boating Swimming Fishing Bus trips Li June 1 - September 1 Western NEBRASKAland camp for boys and girls, 12-18, on Lake McConaughy For reservations and information write to: Glenn Garton, Buffalo Springs Ranch Lewellen, Nebraska Phone 778-3987 Beginning and advance horse and rider training for 4-H and rodeo work JUNE, 1965 7

Museum of THE FUR TRADE

Life, times of mountain man and trapper yours to see at Chadron

RUGGED TRAPPER and bold fur trader may be gone, but they are not forgotten in NEBRASKAland, thanks to Chadron's unique Museum of the Fur Trade. Here the story of the mountain man's key role in opening the West is told through displays of those not-so-long-ago days when only a few dared explore a hostile wilderness. Just three miles east of Chadron on U. S. 20, the fascinating attraction is open daily to the public from May to September.

Basically, the museum tells the story of fur trapping in the Missouri Basin during the 19th Century. This was an era and region when traders and trappers were the cultural buffer between the Indian and advancing civilization. But the nine-year-old attraction also includes displays covering the full sweep of the American fur trade from Colonial days to the present. The museum is a field project of the Museum Association of the American Frontier, an educational, nonprofit institution chartered by the state in 1949.

A little over a century ago James Bordeaux operated a fur trading house at the site. His post has been completely restored on the original foundations and is a key part of the easily-accessible attraction. Bordeaux came to the area about 1840, setting up his post on picturesque Bordeaux Creek near the famed old Ft. Pierre—Ft. Laramie Trail.

The museum has gone to great pains to present the story of trapping as Bordeaux and the other rugged mountain men knew it. Unique and colorful, the attraction's exhibits boast a host of outstanding features. It features one of the finest collections of Northwest Indian trade guns found anywhere. The 80 that are on display were made for the Indian trade from 1700 to 1865. In addition, Plains rifles, bowie knives, and frontier weapons of all kinds are on exhibit.

Trade goods featured rival the rainbow in color and an Arabian market in diversity. Dyes from the Orient, beads from Europe, copper kettles, Canadian sashes, knives, vermilion, jewelry, textiles, medals, hand-forged traps, tomahawks, and countless other items used as goods or Indian annuities can be seen.

Furs on display include blanket-like buffalo robes on down to beaver, badger, and the rare sea-otter. Trappers' camp equipment, traders' coins, and quaint tools of that romantic era are shown. Some 500 volumes of history 8 OUTDOOR NEBRASKAland on the early fur trade are available to visitors as well as scholars.

At the reconstructed trading house and warehouse visitors can discover how the early traders lived. The house is completely outfitted with willow beds, a Dutch oven on the hearth, and store shelves stocked with goods. Painstaking research and interviews with the traders' descendants at the nearby Sioux reservation were done.

If you're headed for the Pine Ridge country, be sure to put down Chadron's Museum of the Fur Trade on your list. It offers a glimpse at an era in NEBRASKAland when the white man wandered an uncertain path.

THE END JUNE, 1965 9

SPEAK UP

YOUTHFUL WISDOM—We are very impressed with your educational and worthwhile magazine. We find it most helpful in our rural school in Stanton County. I am in the eighth grade and have had only one teacher since I enrolled as a beginner in 1956. We realize that rural schools are diminishing because many educators feel there is much to be desired for the education of elementary students. This is no doubt the feeling of many Nebraskans, but I think with our up-to-date magazines, our modern math, and the many, many privileges offered in this school, we certainly cannot be called backwoodsy.

I think because our teacher, Mrs. Siemsglusz, has been with us so long she realizes our needs, which have helped us develop a family-type atmosphere. No one is afraid to ask for help and everyone helps each other. With frustrations and worries eliminated, there is indeed a true learning situation.

I know I hate to see the time come when the little one-room schools are gone from Nebraska. I have had many wonderful times and have made many friends during my grade-school years. Our county superintendent, Mrs. Waring, deserves a lot of credit for our up-to-date methods and aids in our schools. She recommends Outdoor NEBRASKAland highly and insists that it be in every rural school.

We discuss the articles found in the magazine in our room and we find your illustrations, and especially the color pictures, a work of beauty. Because we give many oral reports in English, Outdoor NEBRASKAland is indispensable. It certainly makes us appreciate our great state. This letter is my way of giving you credit for we certainly enjoy our study of Nebraska via Outdoor NEBRASKAland.—Bonnie Pohlman, Stanton.

INDIAN LORE—Have stories of Nebraska's Indian chiefs been done by you? One I would like to know more about is "Blackbird". He was supposed to have been buried in Thurston County on his horse. I have read that someone had taken his head afterwards. Could you run parts of Mari Sandoz's books? —A Satisfied Subscriber, Scottsbluff.

From time to time Outdoor NEBRASKAland publishes stories about Nebraska's Indian chiefs. We will research the story of Blackbird sometime in the future and possibly do a story on him. We cannot publish parts of Miss Sandoz's books without an arrangement with the author.—Editor.

OLD TIMER—I watch your program on television and am subscribing to Outdoor NEBRASKAland. I have always been interested in Nebraska as I lived there until I was 15. I am sending you a picture of an old sod house which you may keep. I found it among some of my father's things. My father, W. A. Parker, homesteaded at Rushville at the time of the Indian uprisings. Later, he moved to Wood Lake and lived there until 1913. Then he moved to Iowa and lived there until his death in 1954. So, you see this picture is quite old, as it was brought here by him. Will be looking forward to reading your magazine. —Don Parker, Clarinda, Iowa.

REAL FINE—A belated thank you for the two copies of Outdoor NEBRASKAland that you sent me last fall. It is one of the finest magazines of its kind that I ever saw. I am enclosing a two-year subscription and will be looking forward to every issue.

In comparison to how it was when I was a boy, I am sure the average Nebraska sportsman must be thrilled indeed to have the hunting and fishing advantages that he has today. Now, he has thousands of pheasants where there were none. Deer hunting in my boyhood was unthought of. All this could only 10 OUTDOOR NEBRASKAland come through wise game management and the cooperation of landowner and hunter.

Having been interested in the outdoors all my life, Nebraska probably brings to mind many different things that one does not ordinarily think of.

The purple ink flowers that grow in the wild grasses along the Platte. The beautiful wild roses and their dainty fragrance. The milkweed in full bloom and the sumac when the berries are in their prime. The fresh smell of grasses growing in the spring and the spicy fragrance of wild hay being put in the mow. May baskets with sprigs of wild currant bloom and dainty apple blossoms. Bull dodgers with their prickly centers and saffron petals and the wild sunflower nodding in the wind. Warm, gentle evenings with the cicadas singing in the locust trees and June bugs flying around the lighted doorways.

Also, fireflies in the dusk and heat lightning flashing against the distant sky. Clouds reaching up to heaven and the terrifying rush and roar of the summer thunderstorm and the wonderful fragrance in the air after it had passed. The tangy sweetness of the harvest apples and the picking of wild grapes along the Blue River. The tart wild plums growing in thickets along the bluffs.

The bullheads and sunfish we used to catch in Davis Creek after a spring freshet. The thousands of geese going north in the early spring. The warm friendliness of Nebraska farm folks.

This is the Nebraska that I remember as a boy and I am sure that many other former Nebraskans remember these things with as much pleasure as I do.—Floyd Wisely, 724 Jackson St., Medford, Oregon.

We truly enjoyed Mr. Wisely's rich word pictures.—Editor.

RODEO FAN—I enjoyed your article on Jim Houston, (The Bronc Buster), by J. Greg Smith in the January 1965 issue of Outdoor NEBRASKAland. I would like to see more articles on rodeo. Thank you.—Bill Roberts, Cheyenne, Wyoming.

BETTER AND BETTER—The magazine gets better and better. The color pictures of Lou Ell are goregous. They whet the desire of one to see the state of Nebraska until it is almost unbearable. Do keep publishing them. I am sure they do wonders in bringing visitors to see the state.

The December 1964 issue was grand. Many thanks for the articles on Mari Sandoz and Mr. and Mrs. Vic Thompson's Spring Valley Wayside Park. My husband and I enjoyed a stop there in 1955 and Vic and Maude came out and visited with us. They took us to see some of the cattle, among them a steer that Maude was fitting for the Denver Stock Show. Its back was so broad, fat, and flat, one could have used it for a table. They are kind enough to still mail me a newsletter of the past year and their park every Christmas.

My husband is gone, but I'm still hoping I can find a safe driver to bring me on a trip or two through Nebraska. The Capitol interior is a must. We stopped to get a picture of it on our 1955 trip but had no time to linger there.

Just a note from a subscriber to whom you are bringing much pleasure.—Mrs. Fred Evan, Oregon, Missouri.

JUNE, 1965

OMAHA ...A Swinging Town

Rich in history, throbbing with excitement at every turn, this gateway to the West is geared to satisfy the tourist' every whim by Elizabeth Huff

ON THE BANKS of the old Missouri along NEBRASKAland's eastern shore sprawls the giant that is Omaha, the official doorman to the "Gateway to the West". Once as wild and woolly as they come, he has become a real 20th century swinger, with lots to see and much more to do.

A real goer, this giant is at once a rugged western he-man and the next moment a fancy-dressed dude. He's as big as the prairie sky and as friendly as only a westerner can be. He goes about the day-to-day business of living in many guises. Sometimes he's tanned and brawny as he sweats at his labor, then in a breath, he's the tall and dignified executive toting his attache case down Douglas Street.

Omaha glories in his stature. He is many times a tycoon with swank executive offices in tall buildings that probe the prairie sky. He is an insurance magnate, a free-wheeling industrialist, a beef baron, and a shrewd food-packer all in one. His business ties span oceans. Competitors find him a worthy foe and partners a loyal ally.

His far-flung interests reach from the boisterous river-front docks to solid, impressive corporation complexes. As the five o'clock whistle blows, thousands of aggressive citizens stream from his shops and factories, offices and mills, depots and piers. He is landlord to both big and small. The butcher, baker, and dressmaker all have their part in keeping him on the move. Department stores and fancy shops of every size and description line the up and down thoroughfares that are Omaha's main arteries.

Busy streets wind for miles and more miles through his stately residential areas, neat suburbs, and bustling business districts. He has blended the graceful architecture of yesteryear with the ultra-modern structures of today. All roads lead to Omaha, for he is the industrial kingpin where the WEST begins. From the lowliest trail to sleek, modern Interstate 80, he stands waiting to welcome all comers to his domain.

Omaha boasts some 345,000 happy residents. His people work hard, play hard, and he offers plenty of JUNE, 1965   opportunities to do both. In fact, his fun is so diverse, it is difficult to choose which brand to take on first.

OMAHA ...A Swinging Town

Whether he-man or the guy in a gray flannel suit, when the sun slides past the western horizon, Omaha is ready for a night on the town. And he's in the right place. Dozens of swank clubs and small cabarets bustle with the business of entertaining. Excellent steak houses serve sizzling, mouth-watering NEBRASKAland steaks. Gourmets delight in the delicious array that is just a waiter away.

After an excellent dinner, the glittering clubs beckon. The vocally-inclined head for the song-filled piano lounges. Top orchestras and combos play into the wee hours, and top-flight entertainers keep the night spots jumping.

Away from the tinsel and soft lights, your host offers myriad other things to be enjoyed by those of a more conservative bent. There are concerts, plays, musicals, and shows. Pop music fills the air every Wednesday evening throughout July and August at Peony Park, when the Omaha Symphony provides tunes under the stars. The audience sits enthralled, relaxing on a carpet of green. When the concert is done, visitors can put on their dancing shoes to finish the evening to the strains of a swinging band.

When day breaks again, Omaha puts on sports clothes for a round of golf at one of 17 public and private golf courses. A little later 23 public and private cooling swimming pools beckon. Then the whole family is ready to head to over 2,500 acres devoted to parks and playgrounds for family fun.

For an afternoon of heart-pounding action, Omaha heads for Ak-Sar-Ben Field and the races. This is the big attraction in early summer (this year from May 7 through July 5). Here classy thoroughbreds thunder around the one-mile track every day but Sundays and Mondays. It's the best in racing action from Chicago to the Pacific Coast. But racing is not the only draw at versatile Ak-Sar-Ben. From September 24 through October 2, the annual World Championship Rodeo and Livestock Show packs the house. Top cowboys from across the nation vie for big stakes here.

Omaha emerges as a free-wheeling cattleman as he tips his Stetson and strides into Union Stockyards. The big city has held the title of world's largest livestock center for quite a spell.

The stockyards is only one of the sites Omaha has to offer on his "Gateway City Trail". It begins at Joslyn Art Museum, a $4-million cultural center which is the show place of art from ancient to contemporary times. Overlooking the site of the Nebraska Territorial Capitol, Joslyn also houses one of the world's most outstanding collections of western art and artifacts.

From July 17 through August 8, the famed Dead Sea Scrolls will be on display at Joslyn in a traveling exhibit sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution. Written as early as 250 B.C., the leather scrolls were discovered only a few years ago, secreted in caves in Asia-Minor.

At Florence on Omaha's northern edge is the famed Mormon Cemetery. Here 600 saints died during their JUNE, 1965 15   brutal winter encampment in 1846. It was at Omaha that Brigham Young and his followers prepared for their epic journey West. A statue of parents by the open grave of a child is mute tribute to the faith and persistence of this harassed people.

OMAHA . . . a Swinging Town

Omaha reaches out an understanding hand to a small lad at Boys Town, home to a thousand homeless boys. This dream-come-true has far exceeded even the wildest hopes of the determined Irish priest named Flanagan who began it in 1917. Now Boys Town is a city unto itself with its own post office and city council. Boys of all races and all creeds can find haven here.

On the southern edge of the city looms Offutt Air Force Base, a gleaming, ultra-modern installation that is the home of the Strategic Air Command. The country's peace-keeping force with 12,000 men stationed around the globe is directed from an underground headquarters that is the nerve center of our air defense. The same security that guards a nation also prevents tours.

A little farther south stands Bellevue, the state's oldest city and the site of the first church built here in Nebraska. Erected in 1856 by Presbyterian missionaries, the church today serves as an Episcopalian house of worship. Visitors can also see an original log cabin preserved as a memorial to the pioneers.

With an eye for beauty, Omaha offers Mount Vernon Gardens, a replica of those found on the estate of the nation's first president. These gardens also provide an exceptional view of the Missouri River basin site passed by Lewis and Clark in 1804. Riverview Park Zoo is still another side of Omaha's character. In the process of expansion with a children's zoo, it already has an excellent collection of lions, tigers, buffalo, elk, deer, and monkeys to delight the entire family.

Omaha makes a giant step into the past at the Union Pacific Museum to relive the opening of the great West. An exceptional collection of western Americana is housed here. One section is devoted to Abe Lincoln.

To commune with nature, Omaha needs only to head for Fontenelle Forest, just a few miles from the heart of downtown Omaha. The largest tract of virgin timber in NEBRASKAland, the history of the 1,600-acre area dates back 6,000 years. The only inroads are nearly 17 miles of foot trails. This wilderness area was only recently recognized by the federal government as one of the top seven natural history sites in the nation.

Versatility is a key part of Omaha's personality, and special events have played a big part in making this giant swing. During the last week of July, nine states will be represented at the Midwest Regional Tournament of the National Water Ski Association at Carter Lake. In mid-August, top gal golfers from across the country will take to the links at Miracle Hills in a Jaycee-sponsored Women's Professional Golf Tournament. And on September 11, the Minnesota Vikings and the New York Giants will do battle.

Sports, culture, history, night life, parks—you name it and it's yours to enjoy with that swinging giant known as Omaha, a really great gent to meet and visit with any time of the year.

THE END JUNE, 1965 17

the PIONEER WOMAN

by Fred Nelson Hardship was her lot, but she helped shape a new way of life

ARTISTS HAVE sculpted her in statutes by the ton. ^ Painters have daubed acres of canvas with fancied likenesses of her, and writers have extolled her with thousands of words. Yet the pioneer woman remains an enigma. No one ever understood her and it is doubtful if she understood herself. But if she had never existed, the rich tapestry of NEBRASKAland history would be colorless and threadbare indeed.

The pioneer woman is only four generations gone from NEBRASKAland. Her joys, her sorrows, her toils, her triumphs, and her tragedies are still vivid enough to stir one's pride in the past and inspire all for the future. From inexhaustible springs of courage, the homesteader's wife drew the strength and determination to meet the hardships of this prairie wilderness.

Early NEBRASKAland spread no cordial welcome to the thousands of women who shared the rigors and heartaches of a new frontier with their land-hungry men. A few were broken by the awful loneliness, the grinding poverty, and the ceaseless toil of the early homestead. Others rolled with the punches of their raw and lusty environment. These found contentment and even fulfillment in the many-sided challenges of the prairies. They won over the land and lived to enjoy comfort and even luxury from its bounty.

Indians, grasshoppers, rattlesnakes, drought, floods, twisters, and prairie fires hammered at the pioneer woman. But even these terrors did not sear the spirit and erode the mind like the day in, day out, year in, year out monotony of the lonesome prairie.

Mrs. N. M. Ayers, an early settler in Furnas County, came to "New Brasky" in 1873 as the bride of a hopeful homesteader. More than 50 years later, she wrote a brief resume of her experiences for the Beaver City Times-Tribune.

"We traveled all day over the vast prairies without seeing a tree or a shrub, not even a sage bush. I never longed to see a tree as I did that day. Our second day's drive brought us to Turkey Creek at noon and there for the first time since leaving Lowell we beheld the beautiful native trees for which we had been longing."

The wife or daughter of a homesteader usually began her frontier life in a dugout scooped from the side of a hill. Cramped, dirty, and crawling with insects, this make-do home was enough to try the soul of the most cheerful and determined woman. A pioneer wife, living in a dugout, wrote to her sister in Iowa and mentioned that she had watched her son smooth out his bed with a hoe before he flopped on the floor. But the dugout had to be home until the settler seeded a crop and had time to raise a "soddy". If he was lucky enough to file on a claim with timber, he could build a log cabin. Generally, however, his home was constructed of "Nebraska marble", the tough fibrous sod of the prairie.

A sod house was no castle, even if it was infinitely more comfortable than a dugout. Mollie C. Dorsey JUNE, 1965 19   accompanied her family to Nebraska in 1857. Educated in Indianapolis, she was a teacher and seamstress. After her father filed on 160 acres on the Nemaha River she started teaching and boarded around with different families. Mollie remembered one place the rest of her days.

the PIONEER WOMAN

"I slept on the floor and festive bedbugs held high carnival over my weary frame the night through," she confided to her journal.

Standing in the door of her soddy, the pioneer woman could dream of a frame house nestled in a stately grove. Instead she was surrounded by the harsh realities of her day. But she could be sure of work if nothing else. Besides the routine of cooking, housekeeping, and sewing, she was expected to milk the cow if the family owned one. Taking care of the milk, churning the cream, slopping a hog or two, watching the oxen, and taking care of one to seven children kept the pioneer wife on the go from dawn to long after dusk. She was expected to clean and cook game and fish and double as a field hand during the harvest. Often she had to carry water from a well that was anywhere from 100 yards to a mile from the house.

Soap and candle making, patching, fire tending, and a host of other responsibilities filled every minute of her day. Somehow a settler's wife found time to decorate her soddy with old newspapers or pictures from a rare magazine. She was lucky to have two calico dresses to her name and if she did, she made them. Often she went barefooted to save her precious shoes for a trip to town.

The gals from the comfortable East had no inkling of the problems facing them on the prairies but they learned fast. Fuel was always a problem on the treeless plains. Quickly, the fastidious overcame their natural repugnance for buffalo chips and gathered bag after bag of them for burning. They learned to twist the tough prairie hay into long rolls to stoke the unique "hay stoves". Mari Sandoz writes of her mother's longing for the good clean heat of ash and maple that she knew as a girl. But if fire was a coveted servant on the prairies, it could also be a merciless master.

Mrs. M. A. Freas was another pioneer mother in Furnas County. One day a raging prairie fire roared toward her soddy. She and the children were alone at the time. She gathered up her brood and raced to the little "breaking", a patch of plowed ground about 80 rods from the house. Years later she described the experience.

"We all ran for our lives and arrived safely on the plowed ground. The flames rolled on around us and left us safe. I said, 'Let us pray God in His mercy and goodness to save our little home.' We did pray. Some said God had nothing to do with it, but I will always believe He did for our home was saved, although the ground was burned black around it."

Pioneer women were often alone for days on end as husbands sought extra work to supplement meager incomes or made long treks to mill or store. The normal female dread of Indians became an obsession with many when their menfolks were away. Mrs. W. W. Cox of Lancaster County was alone when an Indian scare sent her and the children fleeing through a storm-tossed night.

Uncle Peter Billows was an eccentric German who collected odds and ends like broken plowshares, horseshoes, log chains, and other junk. When the scare came he volunteered to lead Mrs. Cox and her children to safety. When he came for her, his wagon was piled high with his "collection". She (continued on page 52)

OUTDOOR NEBRASKAland

A SUMMER PLACE

Four enchanting state parks beckon vacationers away from hubbub of everyday living

AS PREPARATIONS for vacations get underway, Nebraskans can take a tip from that savvy New England naturalist, Thoreau. This 19th century writer and fan of the wilderness tells us that nature is as wonderful in the small and near as in the grandiose and remote.

With four state parks as near as a few minutes drive or no farther than a day's journey away, Nebraskans are prime prospects for Thoreau's wisdom. Spotted along the northern border, two in the eastern region and two in the west, the four state parks are enchanting outposts of unspoiled beauty. From the 500-acre Ponca Park in the northeast to the larger Chadron Park in the Pine Ridge, these meccas are as sprawling as the state itself. And although their attraction lies away from JUNE, 1965 21   the hubbub of urban confusion, the convenience of modern accommodations is not forsaken.

A SUMMER PLACE continued

Thousands have taken to vacation havens. Park personnel worked through the winter and spring to be ready for the rush of visitors for the May 15 opening. Activity will continue at a sharp pace until September 15, when all but Fort Robinson will close for the season. It will remain open on a limited basis until the end of deer season in November.

Thanks to a realistically financed 10-year park development program initiated in 1963, impressive strides are being taken to improve all facilities. At historic Fort Robinson State Park, for example, six new hotel rooms have been added this year. This brings to 33 the number available at the park lodge located on ground once used by blue-coated calvarymen. The year before nine rooms were finished. All are complete with bath. A large brick building, the lodge features modern accommodations but still carries an atmosphere from the days when the area was a military outpost on the western frontier. A restaurant is operated in the lodge offering complete dining.

A new feature at Chadron Park this year will be a group-camp facility consisting of a dining hall and three dormitory buildings. The buildings will be furnished and are designed so they can be converted into cabin units. The Game Commission is also constructing a mile of new armor-coated road leading from the headquarters area to the new swimming pool. Opened last year, the pool has proved a popular attraction to all visitors. It's located on a breathtaking overlook and offers visitors an exciting view of butte country.

Heading the list of park improvements scheduled for completion during the 10-year program are lodges for Chadron and Ponca. Additional cabins will also be built at these tremendously popular sites. Negotiations are presently being carried on at Fort Robinson and Niobrara. Once resolved, development will continue.

Both Ponca and Niobrara parks have swimming pools, cabins, and camping areas. Ponca has 10 double housekeeping cabins plus picnic areas, tables, fireplaces, rest rooms, drinking water, and playground facilities. Niobrara Park, just one mile west of the town by the same name, offers 408 acres of happy and hardy recreation grounds. The park features a lagoon for fishing 22 OUTDOOR NEBRASKAland and boating. It's only a short distance from the Missouri, and an hour's drive to some fine fishing and recreation at Gavins Point or Lewis and Clark Lake. Niobrara also offers a golf course, organized youth-camp facility, camping area, and 15 cabins, 10 of which have double bedrooms.

The popularity of cabin facilities at state park areas grows each year. In 1964, cabin guests totaled 11,666, representing 25,662 guest nights. This was an increase of over 1,000 visitors from 1963 when 10,366 guests utilized the cabin facilities. Registered campers remained about the same last year as in 1963. Then approximately 47,000 took advantage of the varied facilities. This figure includes three other camping areas and shows a 10,000 increase over 1962. Additional camping facilities will be developed at state park areas under the Game Commission's 10-year development program.

Visitors to the state parks range from the overnighters seeking a pleasant place to spend the evening, to the vacationer who calls it trail's end. To further accommodate vacationers, new reservation regulations have been established at Fort Robinson and Chadron. Neither park will now accept single-night cabin reservations in advance. This rule does not apply to the park lodge at Fort Robinson. This policy affects only advance reservations, and does not preclude one-night rentals on the basis of availability on the day of inquiry. With both parks becoming more popular each year, vacationers are urged to make reservations as early as possible.

Vacationing usually demands careful budgeting, and an outing at one of the state parks is made to order for even the most frugal. In many cases, it costs less to set up housekeeping at the parks than it does at home. Three-bedroom housekeeping units run $10 a day, two-bedroom units $8 a day, and one-bedroom units $5 and $6 a day. Lodge rooms at Fort Robinson range from $3.50 to $6 a day. Cabin rates are uniform at all state parks.

All of the 55 housekeeping cabins in the state parks are furnished and have sanitation and baths. Single units are provided at Niobrara and Fort Robinson. Double units are available at Fort Robinson, Chadron, Niobrara, and Ponca parks and Victoria Springs State Recreation Area near Anselmo. Fort Robinson has three-bedroom units. All cabins have electricity, and each bedroom has a double bed. Rollaway beds may be added at a nominal cost. Housekeeping cabins come completely equipped with all necessary utensils, bedding, and towels.

Visitors at Fort Robinson can enjoy camping and picnic areas, horseback riding, stagecoach rides, trout fishing and tennis. Most of these activities can be enjoyed at Chadron Park, some 35 miles to the southeast. Both Ponca and Niobrara, situated adjacent to winding rivers, offer timbered vistas of outdoor delight. Fort Robinson and Chadron boast unexcelled scenic splendor in their airy flamboyance of big buttes and towering pines.

Land acquisition work continues at Indian Cave State Park, a strategically located site adjacent to the Missouri River in southeast Nebraska. The historic area will be the largest in the park system and when completed will offer an array of fun facilities. The estimated cost of turning this timbered wilderness into a vacationer's delight will be $1 million, the funds coming from the 10-year development program.

All four of the present state parks are easily accessible and located either on or near highways. They combine the mystic and rustic charms of the outdoors with modern conveniences. More and more people are discovering the beauty and blessings that are there for the visiting, and they don't have to be a Thoreau to enjoy them.

THE END JUNE, 1965 23

RODEO NEBRASKAland

Buffalo Bill began rip-roaring shebang here back in 1882. Today it's rough and ready as ever Color Photography by Gene Hornbeck, Lou Ell Gary Kotyza

JUST 83 years ago this July 4, Buffalo Bill Cody rounded up the best of NEBRASKAland's cowboys and pitted them against the rankest critters in the Sand Hills. Billed as the Old Glory Blowout and featuring such right-off-the-range events as bronc busting, bull riding, steer roping, and wild-horse racing. Cody's first show turned into the makings of the wildest sport yet devised by man—rodeo.

What Bill started at North Platte has boomed into the nation's most popular spectator sport. Nebraska is mighty proud that the wild and wooly shindig took root here, and today is keeping the tradition alive in an array of shows that last the summer long.

Here cowboying is a way of life as well as a sport. In NEBRASKAland's ranch country, kids are literally born in the saddle and are ready to compete before they've worn out their first pair of boots. Young lads like Steve Schomp of Hay Springs enter every Little Britches Rodeo they can, and if they're lucky, end up as a kid-cowboy world champion as Steve did in 1962. From Little Britches, these up-and-comers graduate into the high school class. The best in the nation will be competing for world-championship honors at Ogallala in August. Becoming a professional is the next step along the line. Here Omaha's Jim Houston leads the way, the world's champion bareback rider one of the finest competitors on the Rodeo Cowboy Association circuit.

Heavy purses await Jim and the other champions at Burwell, home of "Nebraska's Big Rodeo". North Platte, Ogallala, O'Neill, Sidney, Broken Bow, Crawford, and Wahoo head the long list of other summertime blowouts. Come September, Omaha's Ak-Sar-Ben doles out the biggest purse of all at its world championship showdown.

Big rodeo or small, Little Britches contest or high school championship, it's all here for the seeing and enjoying the summer long. Rodeo's the greatest Wild West spectacle of them all, a specatcle that began and lives on in NEBRASKAland.

 

WHEN RODEO takes over the fair grounds the whole town swaps duds to play cowboy. Be they doctors or dudes, folks just naturally want to look and play the part. They'll do everything but take on the mean bucking stock, which in more sober moments, they chose to leave to the professionals. A quiet expectancy hangs over the rodeo grounds the day of the big show. Only the Brahmas and broncs seem to be oblivious to the hum of activity going on about them. These veteran performers have been through dozens of openings and are content to peacefully chew their cud till they get prodded into the chutes. The clowns apply their grease paint for another deadly game with the bulls, each willing to risk a mauling to make people laugh. Reigning over clowns, cowboys, and all the rest are the beautiful queens, gals who attain their titles on beauty as well as their ability to ride a horse. They head the grand entry that pours in to flood the arena with gaily waving flags, Indians, cowboys, dignitaries, and anyone else caught in the rush. Once it's done, ladies and gentlemen, hold on to your Stetsons. NEBRASKAland's Wild West spectacle is about to begin.

JUNE, 1965 27   28 OUTDOOR NEBRASKAland

FOR HIGH-FLYING thrills and lots more spills, rodeo's bucking events can't be beat. Each show rounds up the meanest mavericks on the range, then defies the cowboys to stay aboard the required eight seconds to get a piece of the prize money. Saddle-bronc riding is the primary event with the bareback rigging ride thrown in for still more spectacular shenanigans. For added kicks, the big NEBRASKAland rodeos feature a wild horse race. A cowboy has to be as clingy as a cat in saddle-bronc riding, depending on balance and know how to stick leather. A rigging rider counts on the sheer strength of one hand to stay aboard. Both events require the rider to keep spurring till the finish gun goes off. If he touches leather with his free hand, he's disqualified and out of the money.

JUNE, 1965    

ROPING is the classical event of rodeo. Here the cowboy bets all of his skill and most of his bankroll that he can get a critter down and tied in winning time. But betting and doing are two different things, for there's more to roping than throwing a loop. On any given day the cowboy can break the chute barrier, draw a spooky calf, or get his loop fouled by a gust of wind. He banks on his horse doing most of the work, and he'll pay a bundle to buy or borrow a proven mount. Most rodeos feature only calf roping, with the big steer-roping contests in NEBRASKAland a show all to themselves. Poke and pony work as one in both events. Roping calves calls for a horse that can tear out of the chutes in quick order, then stop on a dime when the loop hits home. The steer-roping mount is both fast and powerful. Instead of stopping when the rope rings the steer's horns, he takes off in high gear, dragging the tripped steer into submission. Then the cowboy jumps off, ties the "piggin string" around three feet, and gives the all-done "hooey". If the critter kicks loose, the cowboy has lost the game.

JUNE, 1965 33   35  

RODEO ROARS to its exciting climax when the Brahma bulls are prodded into the chutes. As docile as any range-fattened Hereford before the show, this hump-backed critter turns into a wild-eyed killer when he feels the leg squeeze of a cowboy gutty enough to climb aboard. Holding bull and cowboy together is a piece of braided rope, its ends gripped tight in the rider's fist. This isn't much for the waddie trying to ride out the cyclone the required eight-second eternity. With bulls, the cowboy is in as much trouble off as on. This is where the clowns come in, those grotesquely painted matadors who move in close to keep a downed competitor from getting gored. Their deadly game of tag has saved many a cowboy, though they themselves too often end up taking the long trip out of the arena in the meat wagon. Bull riding, bronc busting, and pretty girls; the sweat and dust and roar of the crowd—it's all a part of rodeo, the meanest sport ever devised by man, a sport that began here in NEBRASKAland.

CRUISING DOWN THE RIVER

A trim speedster becomes the raft that ships a quartet of businessmen back to the days of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn by B. C. Burden

MAYBE I should blame Mark Twain for my lifelong love affair with rivers, but I'm not going to. I enjoy them too much. A long time ago I read Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn and was smittened with the charms of river cruising. I can't woo "01' Miss", but I have her sister, the Missouri River, for a playmate, and she's quite a gal. Last year we had a weekend of cruising that was a real ball, even though she was in a tearful mood.

Four of us were in on the August date. The float began at Yankton, South Dakota, and ended at Union, Nebraska. I'm the owner and skipper of the River Pilot, a sleek 20-footer that is a real dreamboat. William "Bill" Wagner, A. G. "Al" Pekar, and Jan Perrin, all of Lincoln, are business associates of mine and shipped along as crew. Al was chief engineer and Jan was cook. Bill figured he was nothing more than a happy deckhand. We trailed the River Pilot to Yankton, and after a shakedown in the tailwaters of Gavins Point Dam, we headed downriver on a cruise all of us will long remember.

The River Pilot is my personal idea of what a long-distance cruiser should be. She's only 20 feet long and 8 feet wide, but she has all the comforts of home and a few besides. A big 140 horsepower inboard-outboard stern-drive motor gives the trim gal plenty of zip. She can accommodate up to seven people in a pinch and carry plenty of gear, too. A ship-to-shore radio, automatic pilot, stove, refrigerator, double bunk, and plenty of storage lockers make her a natural for long-distance cruising.

It was a moody, dripping day when we left Gavins Point. The upper part of the Missouri is undisturbed by the Army Engineers and is still in an untamed state. A number of false channels fan out from the main course and it takes some keen river reading to find the right slot when the visibility is poor. I guessed right on the first two and was congratulating myself when we ran into trouble in the third.

The River Pilot jolted aground in a downstream "chute". It didn't hurt her, but it was a cinch we weren't going anywhere until we got unstuck. Attempts 38 OUTDOOR NEBRASKAIond to lighten the stern failed so the crew went overboard to mush the craft off the bar.

Al and Jan muttered a bit about the "romance" of the river and ship's officers doing manual work, but I nipped the mutiny. I was in the water, too. It was a backbreaker but we got the craft into deeper water and resumed the voyage. There are six of these multiple-choice channels between Gavins and Ponca, but I guessed them right. Below Ponca, the channel is easier to read and navigate.

That night we camped on a sandy beach about 20 miles north of Sioux City. Jan came up with a pot roast, and we ate mighty well. It was a damp camp, but the weather was warm and nobody minded the moisture. I bunked on the boat, while Bill and Jan sacked out on the sand. Al put up a tent. It wasn't long before I heard a commotion on the beach.

"I told you we needed a gallon of the stuff, but you wouldn't listen," insisted Bill, his voice rising in indignation.

"Forget about it," Jan answered. "All the insect repellent in the world won't stop these monsters."

At breakfast I got the full story. Clouds of mosquitoes hit the beach and zeroed in on the boys. After the bloodthirsty devils had their fill the sand fleas moved in. Jan took cover in his sleeping bag, but Bill was too tall and got harpooned good. He had a few derogatory remarks to make about rank and its privileges.

Three Canadian canoemen were our unexpected companions for part of the cruise. The trio from Calgary was making an inland cruise to New Orleans. We overtook them on the Missouri and offered a tow. They came abroad with their mascot, a pet raccoon. The Canadians were having a time. Their Fiberglas canoe was loaded to the gunwales with gear, but they had run some mighty rough water at the start of their trip. They told us they had swamped many times on some of the wild rivers of the north. They were fine oarsmen and didn't mind the wettings a bit. Our tow saved them about a day of hard paddling.

The boys were wonderful companions and had a delightful tale. Their cruise was the culmination of a lifelong dream. Low on cash and high in confidence, they were determined to reach New Orleans in their rugged craft. When they ran short of money, they stopped and worked a few days for a stake and then pushed on. As word of their coming spread along the river, towns and cities went all out to welcome them. They were impressed with Nebraska's western hospitality and claimed it was the high point of their trip.

Busy visiting, we forgot about the raccoon until one of the Canadians missed him. We figured he'd taken a liking to the Nebraska shore and took off for parts unknown. We debated going back to see if we could find him, but Al vetoed the idea.

"If he swam ashore when you transferred over to the River Pilot, he's undoubtedly hidden out in some tree. We would never find him. Besides I doubt if we can pinpoint the exact spot where you came abroad. If the rascal went overboard while we were talking, we haven't got a chance of knowing where to look."

About an hour later, Al was checking the auto-pilot when he motioned us to come forward. There is a small hole for the device between the decking and the bottom of the boat. The raccoon was curled up sleeping in a little cubby, oblivious of all the worry he'd caused.

Our unexpected passengers posed another problem. Their added weight and the drag of the canoe was using up fuel faster than we anticipated. Fearful of fire, we hadn't shipped a reserve supply and the gauges showed our two 20-gallon tanks were dropping fast. We were in a relatively isolated stretch of the river and I was doing some fast arithmetic as I studied the charts for the nearest marina. We made it to Union with about two gallons to spare.

I didn't realize we were also chewing through our grub like a prairie fire on the loose. The three extra hands were making inroads, but the river air and the excitement of the cruise were honing our appetites to razor sharpness. We were eating five meals a day and snacking in between.

The weather was foul both days, but in a way it added spice to the voyage. Visibility was poor, and I had to keep on my toes to pick (continued on page 55)

MAY, 1965 39

SHOW ME THE WAY TO GO HOME

Play it cool with these handy tips and you won't sing those get-lost blues

IF YOU'RE a Sand Hills' stomper or a Pine Ridge prowler, you stand a good chance of getting lost in NEBRASKAland. In these untamed areas, the state's neat geometric pattern of roads peter out in a flurry of nameless trails that meander over the landscape like drunken snakes. In the confusing Sand Hills, every choppy looks exactly like its neighbor.

Basically, you are lost when you lose your sense of direction and cannot orient yourself in unfamiliar surroundings. How you react may mean the difference between another outdoor experience or trouble with a capital T. Fortunately, there are a number of natural and mechanical aids to help you regain your bearings and set you straight. All of them, however, require a little thinking before they will work. Remember, blind panic is your worst enemy when lost.

The Sand Hills are toughies. Back in 1865 they swallowed up a thousand tough horse soldiers and worked them over good for two weeks before the troopers reached the Niobrara River. It happened to Colonel Cole's detachment. The Missourians left Omaha as one of the tines in a three-pronged attack against the Sioux and Cheyenne during the ill-fated Powder River Expedition. Guided by experienced scouts, the heavily armed troopers wandered through the Sand Hills, hoping to link up with other elements of General Patrick Connors' command.

Somewhere in the hills, the scouts became confused and for 14 blistering days the soldiers circled the choppies, completely lost and probably unaware that they were circling. Sun-fried and disgusted they finally reached the river, their horses more dead than alive and the bluecoats mad enough to chew spurs. Later it was discovered they made two complete circles.

Colonel Cole could have avoided the slow burn if he had studied the "blowouts". The prevailing wind in 40 OUTDOOR NEBRASKAland NEBRASKAland is from the northwest. It gouges out pockets in the sloping choppies and tapers the sand into long fingers that point to the southeast. One blowout may not follow the accepted pattern, but over a reasonably wide area, the sand drifts hold true to the southeast and can be used for a guide.

Getting your bearings in the rugged butte country of the Pine Ridge can also be an easy matter if you know the secrets of the terrain. Here the major drainages flow west to east while the minor ones chute down the slopes in a north to south course. Keep this in mind the next time you lose your car or your camp. If you stay on the stream courses you'll home in like a pigeon.

There are other direction finders in the Pine Ridge but it takes a keen observer to find them and understand their message. On the trees, the heaviest, bushiest branches are on the south and east. The curled and flattened boughs are on the north and west. Study the trees over a wide area and a definite pattern emerges. It won't be compass accurate but it's close enough to plot a rough course.

A compass is the best mechanical device ever made to establish directions. Of course it won't point the way back to camp or guide you out of a box canyon. It does establish magnetic north, and when this is determined it's easy to ascertain the other cardinal directions. When making a reading, however, keep the compass well away from guns, knives, or automobiles. Metal affects the accuracy of the pivoting needle.

Not everyone carries a compass but practically everyone has a watch. It makes a good substitute compass when the sun is shining between sunrise and sunset. Lay the watch on the ground and place a match or small stick upright against the rim so its shadow falls across the dial. Move the watch so the hour hand points along the shadow to the sun. Halfway between the hour hand and 12 o'clock is south. If you orient yourself with a watch remember that east is on your left. Also make sure your watch is set for the standard time of the zone you are operating in.

In 1962, Boy Scout Bob Owendoff from Virginia hit on the "shadow-tip" method of determining directions. This simple and extremely accurate scheme is made to order for Sand Hills navigating where distinctive landmarks are not exactly plentiful. It requires only a reasonably straight stick and a patch of level ground. Like other expedient methods, it needs sun.

Plunge the stick into the ground and watch where the shadow falls. If the shadow is faint, tap the end of the stick. The slight movement of the shadow will help you pick it up. Mark the tip of the shadow with a pebble or a small peg and then wait 20 minutes or so until the shadow moves slightly. Remark the tip and draw a straight line through the two points. This is the east-west line.

Once the east-west line is established, draw a line from the base of the stick to intersect the east-west marker at right angles. Tip the new line with a crude point for easy identification. This line points due north. Quick and easy, this method can be repeated time after time to keep you steering a straight course, even when landmarks are scarce.

Except for the compass, all the natural and mechanical expedients for telling (continued on page 52)

JUNE, 1965 41

BOW TO DEER

by Bob Havel District Game Supervisor

IN JUST a few short years NEBRASKAland has racked up an impressive record in bow-and-arrow deer hunting. It boasts one of the highest success scores in the nation. Last season over 25 per cent of the modern-day Robin Hoods brought home game during the three-month-long either-sex deer hunt. Veteran archers from throughout the country have been impressed by the generous hunt and high success and are now anxious to take on NEBRASKAland's prime brand of bowhunting.

Archers have had the opportunity to hunt deer here for the past decade. Eight state-wide seasons have been held, and hunting of either sex has been permitted throughout the state during the last five seasons.

A quick glance at the statistics shows that the small nucleus of archers participating in the first hunt held in 1955 blazed a trail that would soon be followed by thousands of archers. That first year 173 hunters bagged seven deer. Since 1958, both the number of archers and the annual kill have increased impressively. This past season 2,256 archers took 596 deer for a 26.4 42 OUTDOOR NEBRASKAland success ratio. Success has averaged 24.0 per cent during the past four years.

Modern-day bow hunting received its first major boost in Wisconsin where the nation's first special season was held in 1934. Oregon helped the program along the next year by offering the first exclusive bow-and-arrow deer-hunting area. Now nearly all states provide a special deer archery season.

Bowmen here boast a season that lasts more than three months. For the past several years it has opened the third Saturday in September and continues through to the end of the year. Archers hang up their bows during the rifle season as a safety factor. Since most wear camouflaged clothing and stalk close-in to their quarry, they could be mistaken by rifle hunters. During this time stalking is next to impossible since the deer become very wild and wary from all the gunning pressure.

The entire state is open to either-sex hunting. If desired, a second archery permit may be purchased by successful bowmen. This liberal season has had little effect on the deer population. Over the 10-year period from 1955-1964, 2,436 deer have been taken by 11,735 archers.

Considering that the sport is relatively new and hunting somewhat difficult, bow enthusiasts have done remarkably well. It is not an activity for someone who is not satisfied unless he bags a deer every year. A gun is a much surer way to get game. Even with this limiting factor, many gun hunters are switching to the bow.

Converts are learning that there is more fun in hunting than the mere killing of game. Whether you hunt deer with a gun or bow, the enjoyment is trying to outsmart the animal. Of course, a bow hunter must do a better job because he has to get within 30 to 35 yards of his game. This requires skill, patience, endurance, steady nerves, and above all, a desire to give the animal a sporting chance.

To accomplish the high success and provide these many hours of recreation calls for co-operation from the quarry. Deer are now found in every county and along all drainages in Nebraska. A few short years ago they were void in many areas of the state. Deer presently occupy range which was thought unsuitable a few years ago. A short drive from most communities, including Omaha and Lincoln, puts a person in occupied deer habitat.

Deer have been taken by the bow in 83 of the 93 counties during the last two years. Dawson County led in total deer killed in 1964 with 27 followed by Custer with 26, and Saunders with 25.

Nebraska's terrain and deer habitat make archery hunting somewhat easier here. The narrow wooded drainages, small woodlots, and shelterbelts found throughout most of the state are areas of deer concentrations. An archer hunting this type of cover correctly increases his chances of success. Large areas with deer scattered throughout are much more difficult to hunt.

The present-day archer is more proficient in hunting techniques than his predecessors a decade ago. New hunting methods have been worked out. Each archer is learning from experience the best way to hunt the various cover areas. Archery clubs have now stepped into the picture to give valuable tips to neophytes. Many communities have ranges where the hopeful bowman can test equipment and sharpen his eye for the approaching season. Archery equipment has also improved considerably the last 10 years.

Conservation laws and types of seasons are geared to provide the maximum amount of recreation without endangering game resources. Nebraska's bow season fits easily within this plan, allowing considerable use of the deer herd without the danger of depletion.

Mule deer and whitetails have proved attractive to both resident and nonresident archers. Many hunters enjoy the opportunity and challenge in attempting to bag the double, both whitetail and mule deer. Whitetails comprised about 54 per cent of last year's bag.

A long and generous season coupled with one of the highest success scores in the nation make NEBRASKAland a natural for the big-game-hunting bowman. There is every reason to believe that the archery season will continue to boom here as more sportsmen take up this most challenging of sports.

THE END 43

NEBRASKAland's POET LAUREATE

IN THE SCHEME of things, some men are slighted in physical stature, but doubly endowed with shining talents and agile minds. Such a man is John Gneisenau Neihardt, the Poet Laureate of Nebraska. He is in fact "A Poet of the Early West", an 84-year-young master of narrative verse. John spent 30 years in NEBRASKAland, developing and polishing the genius that produced "The Cycle of the West", a five-'song' volume of epic poetry.

This great narrative in rhymed verse described the discovery, exploration, and settlement of the West over a 68-year span. The Cycle begins with the Ashley-Henry Expedition in 1822 up the Missouri River to the vast, uncharted "Big Country", and concludes with "The Song of the Messiah", a moving account of the Indians' dream of a saviour who would deliver them from misery and oppression as conquered people. The story of this epic era is recounted by Neihardt through the words and deeds of men who loomed great during this tumultuous period. Two songs of The Cycle were written and published while Neihardt lived in Bancroft, the Nebraska town that John claims brought out the best in him.

Under the poet's facile pen, the greats of the early West—Mike Fink, Will Carpenter, Jed Smith, Custer, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Dull Knife—come vibrantly alive. They charge through the pages of Neihardt's magnificent poetry with all the real-life dash and color they once displayed on the Plains and the slopes of the Rockies. Neihardt's tremendous vocabulary and vivid word pictures make these heroes real men instead of shadowy images in a history book.

The people of Neihardt's epics perform against the grandeur and sweep of the West, portrayed as only a man who understands this huge land can describe it. Throughout the entire Cycle, John's love of the West is a brillant thread that leads the reader eagerly on. No 44 OUTDOOR NEBRASKAland one can read "The Shooting of the Cup" or share Hugh Glass's agonizing crawl after a set-to with a bear without seeing the panorama of the land that bred such lusty adventures. Romantic and intriguing, Neihardt's poetry is also historically accurate.

Born near Sharpsburg, Illinois on January 8, 1881, Nebraska's Poet Laureate set his sights on the literary heights at an age when most boys are still concerned with slingshots and swimming holes. At 11 he determined to become a poet and at 15 had already produced two epics. Neihardt accompanied his restless grandparents to Kansas, then to Missouri, and finally to Wayne, Nebraska. Always practical, young John knew he had to have an education if he was to scale the literary peaks. The lad enrolled at Nebraska Normal College, forerunner of Wayne State College, and graduated when he was only 16.

"People claim I had pull to get into college," he said, "I did. It was a good, stout pull on a bell rope every 50 minutes from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. during each school day. The school offered me free tuition for my pull."

Wayne State College still rings the Neihardt bell to signal academic processions and announce football and basketball victories. Besides the bell, the college also has a hall named after its distinguished graduate and a bronze bust of the poet in the library.

After graduation, Neihardt taught school for a spell, then went on the road. He traveled around the country, staking himself with a variety of jobs, which included a stint as a reporter on the Omaha Daily News. He talked to many of the old rawhides who had helped tame the West and stored their yarns in his mind, planning to use them in future writing. Neihardt produced lyric verse and short stories as he boomed from town to town, working when he could. His first book, "The Divine Enchantment", was published before the move to Bancroft. It is now a collectors' item. Finally, he settled down and began turning out more verse and prose.

His home at Bancroft was near the Omaha Indian Reservation and he soon made friends among the tribesmen. From them he heard the ancient tales of the Indians and added their folklore to his store of western knowledge. He met Black Elk, an Indian Holy Man of the Ogalala Sioux and got his story. "Black Elk Speaks" is the result of a fast friendship between the aged medicine man and the young poet. The book is a sympathetic and dramatic portrayal of Indian life, customs, and religion.

Honors came to Neihardt as his poetry and prose gained fame. He received honorary doctorates from the University of Nebraska, Creighton University in Omaha, and the University of Missouri. In 1921, he was named Poet Laureate of Nebraska by the legislature, the first man ever to be so honored by any state. John accepted a chair as professor of poetry at the university and held it for three years. Later, he became literary editor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and after 12 years there, joined the faculty of the University of Missouri as poet-in-residence, a position he holds today.

At Bancroft, the determination to write "A Cycle of the West" firmed up and Neihardt composed and published the first two "songs" while living there. He promised himself the work would be finished in 29 years. He hit the deadline on the nose. Last March John returned to Bancroft to speak at a fund-raising dinner. The town's hard-working garden club plans to restore and furnish the quaint, little (continued on page 54)

JUNE, 1965 45

BLUEPRINT FOR BLUEGILL

Stunted midgets get new home in super-highway sand pits and just grow and grow and grow by Jerry W. Morris Fisheries Biologist

ALL ANGLERS dream of finding fishing spots where /\ only big ones bite. Their dreams may become realities of the future if present experiments of the fishery technicians for the Game Commission prove up. Preliminary results of this unique annual rotation study show promise of providing good sport fishing in selected sand pits year after year. The plan employs a stock-grow-harvest system spread over 12 months. It is based on the ability of some species of fish to grow at a very rapid rate under extremely favorable conditions.

Bluegill are the laboratory subjects in this experiment. The study is being conducted in selected sand pits along Interstate 80, near Gibbon. This is a logical spot for such a program since all the new lakes in the Platte River Parkway will receive tremendous pressure from residents and visitors alike when opened.

The slab-sided brawlers grow rapidly in a favorable environment and are readily available. Bluegill have an I enormous reproductive potential. If left unchecked, they will soon overcrowd a small lake or pond. This overcrowding results in an abundance of stunted fish which are a nuisance to anglers. Technicians are taking these 46 OUTDOOR NEBRASKAIond pennyweights out of their original homes and stocking them in the super-highway sand pits. Planting adult hatchery-raised fish in the pits would be a costly undertaking. Taking the larger gamesters from established waters and restocking them would not be practical. That's why the "midgets" get the nod.

These stunted fish grow rapidly when they have no other competition for food or space. The sand pits selected for the experiment have no other fish life. Growth rate in some is so rapid that the average weight of the stocked bluegill is more than doubled in three months. These encouraging results are spurring more experiments to see if undersized bluegill, stocked in the fall, would grow rapidly enough to become respectable catches by the end of spring.

Six lakes containing no other fish were stocked with runty bluegill in September 1963. The first were released in two different ratios of fish to water acre. Technicians selected the two stocking proportions because they showed the most promise from earlier research on growth rate. A check on the transplants at the end of May 1964, revealed that bluegill in some of the lakes had more than tripled their average weight. Most of the fish exceeded six inches and were weighty enough to put up a real scrap against a fly rod. In the fall of 1964, several waters were restocked so that more information on growth rates could be obtained this spring.

The sand pit plan has two objectives. Besides serving as a check of growth rates, methods are sought to provide even more large fish for spring anglers. Since growth rates may be improved if the bluegill's food supply can be increased, technicians are studying the kinds and amounts of bluegill food in the lakes. Under the controlled conditions of the pits, technicians hope to find a practical method to increase food organisms.

Bluegill reproduce very rapidly during their first summer. The youngsters compete with adults for the available food with a resulting decrease in the growth rate of both young and old. To avoid this, technicians will remove the uncaught adults and the newly spawned fish through a September application of a rapidly dissipating fish toxicant. Stunted adults will be restocked in the cleaned-out pits. After the restocking, the pits will be closed to angling until the end of May to give the newcomers a chance to grow. The cycle of annual fall restocking may provide good bluegill fishing indefinitely.

In the future, methods for reducing the summer reproduction of bluegill will be studied. If the technicians can come up with a practical method to curtail this reproduction runaway, growth rates may not decline after the first year. If this can be accomplished, it will not be necessary to close the waters to the fishing public each fall.

Successful completion of the promising research project and its practical application will provide additional angling bonanzas for NEBRASKAland fishermen. It could come close to making their dreams of big fish on the stringer a reality. When completed, the sand-pit saga will be another chapter in the never-ending story of fish technicians to improve angling here.

THE END JUNE, 1965 47

NATURE'S INTEMPERANCE

Get hep. Everyone's doing the NEBRASKAland Rock MATCH THEM Flag Butte Jail, Courthouse Hocks Signal Butte Lover a Leap Dome Hock Scotts Bluff Coffee Grinder Sugar Loaf

WHEN MOTHER Nature played her artful fingers over NEBRASKAland, she was prone to be temperate. Restraint was her guide and thus she left behind sloping hills, graceful tablelands, and gently flared valleys. But feminine inconsistency took hold before she was through. The sprawling Great Plains giant that was to become NEBRASKAland was trimmed with some prime examples of topographical ruggedness, grotesque in their grandeur but awesome in their serenity.

This fit of fickleness brought about gaping canyons and precarious bluffs. These buttes and cliffs, valleys, and crevices lend a character that the productive plains and river bottoms can only envy. For practical purposes these landmarks are of little consequence. But for fringe benefits in beauty they offer a tangy garnish to the state's beef and breadbasket bounty.

Shown here are eight of NEBRASKAland's noted natural landmarks for you to identify. Even if you've never stood in their hypnotic shadow or felt their humbling presence, you should know them. Their suggestive outlines should be a clue to their famous names. The next time you get the chance, take a day or so and drive out and look at these beauties. In the meantime, match the name to the picture to test your skill as a first-class NEBRASKAland sightseer. You'll find the answers on page 55.

THE END OUTDOOR NEBRASKAland JUNE, 1965 49

98 CENT CAT

My heart was in my throat. Could my "cheapie" gear stand the strain of struggle for biggest catch ever? by Archie Elsberry

THERE WAS no getting around the problem. I was in trouble, and the giant yellow catfish in the tail waters of Gavins Point Dam was glad of it. We had battled for 30 minutes and it was still a good old Mexican standoff. If anything, my finny adversary still had the edge. My 98-cent plastic rod and ancient line couldn't stand much more of his punishment, but I was determined to land the monster.

It all started on a June day when my son, Myles, and I decided to drive the few miles from Wausa to our favorite fishing hole. The morning was bright and beautiful and the water was like a mirror when we pushed out from shore in my small outboard. We didn't figure on any huge catches, but it was great to be out and we were confident we could string a few panfish.

I baited up my regular casting outfit, then almost as an afterthought, put a minnow on a little "cheapie" rig I had picked up in Omaha a couple of years before. It was loaded with 12-pound-test monofilament. It was a pretty sorry rod for big fish, but I wasn't expecting to latch on to any lunkers. Myles' rod wasn't much better, although it sported 30-pound-test line.

We took some 3 to 5-pound channel cats right off the bat and Myles observed that it was going to be a 50 OUTDOOR NEBR ASK Aland pretty good day if we could keep up the early pace. Just then, we got a touch of trouble. Our lines suddenly sliced through the water in every direction at once. For a second I thought they were fouled on a moving snag or somebody's outboard. Then I realized that the runs were caused by fish. All three rods were dancing and jerking as the fish zigzagged, trying to shake the hooks. Both of my rigs were going crazy, so I tried to reel them both in at once. When that didn't work, I jammed the butt of the cheapie under the boat seat and went to work on my casting outfit.

Myles seemed to have the bigger fish so I tried to horse mine in to give him some fighting room. Every time I gained a few feet, Myles seemed to lose. Finally, we co-ordinated our efforts and had both lines coming in. Each of us had a five-pound catfish. The two had swum together, fouling our lines. We were actually pulling against each other during the fight.

With the two fish boated I turned to my other outfit. I pumped in about 25 yards of line before something stopped it cold. I thought I was snagged and gave the rod tip a good jerk. The "snag" woke up in a hurry and took off.

"Here we go again," I muttered, as the line continued to sizzle through the water. Feeling the strength of the fish as he made his play, I knew I was in for it. Worried about the cheap rod and the old line, I played it cool and let the fish have his head. Rather than fighting him, I figured I could gradually wear him down by using just a little pressure. I would gain a little bit, than lose even more ground when the lunker made his moves.

We struggled for 30 minutes. The fish was tiring but so was I. He worked under the boat, but the water was 30 feet deep and I knew the critical part of the struggle was yet to come. I eased off to catch my breath.

"If you're tired, give him to me," Myles offered. "He's probably resting now just as you are."

"No, this is the-biggest fish I've ever hooked, and I'll either land him or lose him all by my lonesome," I declined.

Once rested, I pumped the line a little more, but the fish was stubborn and wouldn't budge. Then I remembered a trick I use on balky colts that won't lead. By pulling the reins sideways I can throw them off balance. They move up quickly before taking a chance on toppling. I figured that if it worked on colts, it could do the trick on my lunker.

Every time I pulled the line sideways, the yellow cat moved about three feet. It wasn't long before he broke water. I got one look before he dived and I knew I had a monster. Head down, he sulked, fanning his tail and holding toward the bottom of the lake. Finally, I got him up again and ran smack into another problem. He was too big for the net.

"Put the net under him so he lays across it, Myles," I ordered.

Myles did and the old slugger calmed down as he felt the rim of the net under his belly. My son flipped the net up, and my prize slid across the handle and flopped in the boat. Man, was I glad to see him aboard. He was 31 inches long and weighed a shade less than 25 pounds. It was the best catch of my angling career. We fished a little while longer and Myles caught another channel cat. But the excitement was over for me and we finally up-anchored and went ashore.

My "cheapie" rod may not look like much, but as far as I'm concerned, it's the best fish-getter of them all. As I told Myles, it's results, not looks, that count in the fishing game.

THE END OUTDOOR NEBRASKAland proudly presents the stories of its readers themselves. Here is the opportunity so many hove requested —a chance to tell their own outdoor tales. Hunting trips, the "big fish that got away", unforgettable characters, outdoor impressions-oil have a place here. If you have a story to tell, jot it down and send it to Editor, OUTDOOR NEBRASKAland, State Capitol, Lincoln 68509. Send photographs, too, if any ore available. JUNE, 1965 51

BULL'S EYE "BUYS SAC DOME PLASTIC OVER POWDER WADS 12 and 20 GA.—$2.50 per thousand Shofshell Loaders Load your own—it's cheaper and fun MEC Super 2SO Loader—Chrome Finished. The only loader specifically engineered to process the new plastics. There's nothing else to buy—complete for paper or plastics. Regular Price $59.95 Our Price ........$40.00 Dakin Single Barrel Trap Gun Vent. Rib — Monte Carlo Stock with Recoil Pad Weight 8-'/2 lbs. Light Recoil $189.50 Winchester Model 12 Trap Gun Vent. Rib —Monte Carlo Stock with Recoil Pad. There will be no more when our present stock is sold. Only $242.50 Federal Trap Loads 12 Gaupre, 7l/2-8-9 Size Shot. #M119 2% Dram Load ......$2.23 Box-Case ........$44.60 #T122 3 Dram Load ......$2.23 Box-Case ........$44.60 MEC Super 600 Loader Chrome Finished New! A progressive loader that tames the plastics quickly and easily. Drops shot, powder and primers automatically. Loads 600 shells per hour. A completely loaded shell every time you pull the handle. Complete for paper and plastic. Regular Price ............................$119.95 Our Price ................$80.00 Charles Daly Trap Gun Over and Under Monte Carlo Stock with Recoil Pad—Single Selective Trigger — Automatic Ejectors—12 Gauge—Full and Modified Chokes. $295.00 ttt 'SAC" PLASTIC YARIWADS NOW ONLY $5.00 per thousand Three different wad columns in one. No other wads needed. 12 GA. only. SACORK CUSHION WADS All sizes, V*m to %" $1.85 per thousand to $3.00 per thousand Loading Components ^V^sS'so640 Red Dot Powder Tin $'" 3 ,b' Kc9 $685 Come in . . . we're open 6 days a week!' COMPLETE MAIL ORDER SERVICE 544 No. 48th St. Lincoln, Nebr. 68504 dENTBU GUN We will ship guns and loaders prepaid. Blue Rocks, ammo and loading components freight collect.

SHOW ME

(Continued from page 41)

directions depend upon daylight. For those who prowl by night there is an ancient friend blazing in the night sky. Faithful old Polaris or the North Star has guided wanderers for centuries and it is still flashing its reliable beacon to all who "come home on the stars".

Before the Oregon Trail became the well-rutted highway to the West, hardy adventurers were pushing their way across the featureless prairies. They kept their bearings true by homing in on the North Star. At night they pointed the tongue of the lead wagon to the star and at dawn they checked for a landmark to their left. The pioneers beelined in on it, then selected another, and yet another as they toiled across the prairies. Thus the ancient friend of the mariner also helped the early skippers of the prairie schooners.

Identifying the North Star is easy if you can recognize the seven-star Big Dipper. The two stars farthest from the handle of this unusual constellation are the markers. Extend your gaze approximately five times the distance of the marking stars across the vault of the night sky and there is the North Star, the faithful talisman of those with an itchy foot and a heart for adventure.

When the Sand Hills choppies make you think you're seeing double and the Pine Ridge becomes a maddening maze, keep cool. You won't be the first person to lose your bearings and certainly not the last. Learn the directional secrets of the land and a few basic tricks of the exploring trade and you'll be home in no time.

THE END

PIONEER WOMAN

(Continued from page 20)

insisted they should take some supplies and he finally consented, provided Mrs. Cox walked. They loaded a 50-pound bag of flour and a ham along with some bedding. The three year-old daughter was tossed up on the wagon while the five year-old walked beside Mrs. Cox. The terrified woman carried her 16-month-old infant all through the night. When they arrived at a farm where some 100 settlers had gathered the group had only some green corn and Mrs. Cqx's flour and ham to see them through.

Not all of the women in early NEBRASKAland pushed the panic button over Indians. A favorite and oft-told yarn on the frontier concerned the prairie wife who was surprised by 10 or 12 braves, probably Pawnees, as she was frying meat. The woman continued to cook as the Indians milled around the cabin examining everything that caught their eyes. Some started pilfering the cooked meat and the wife retaliated with a broom. She flew at the 52 OUTDOOR NEBRASKAland startled warriors like a skirted fury. The Indians practically took the door with them in their retreat from the broom wielding demon. They did not return.

Birth and death were no strangers in a lonesome prairie soddy. Settlers had big families and usually there was a baby on the way every year. Often the woman had to endure the agony of childbirth alone or with only a helpless husband to aid her. If she was lucky, there might be a midwife in attendance. Many of the children died during their critical first year. Diphtheria was a great scourge of the young and filled many a country cemetery far too quickly with the little ones.

In less than a month Mrs. O. A. Harvey of Beaver City lost a little girl she had taken in after the child's parents died. Two months later she lost both of her own daughters to the dread killer. From somewhere she found the faith to write.

NEXT MONTH IN COLOR SUMMER IN NEBRASKAland

"Who shall question God's wisdom, power, or plan but the human heart longs to know why it seemeth good to deal with us this way?"

It was not all hardship and sorrow for the pioneer woman in NEBRASKAland. After the toils of the early years passed, prospering homesteaders attended church, camp meetings, school festivals, and dances. A dance was considered a flop that ended before dawn. Quilting bees were the bridge parties of the 1870's; and the women exchanged gossip and compared notes as they vied with one another to see who made the neatest, smallest stitch. The first luxury for the homestead wife was often a light buggy and a gentle mare.

The pioneer women absorbed the toughness and resourcefulness of the new country rapidly. Many of them learned to ride, shoot, plow, and plant as well as any man. At husking time, their nimble fingers matched the men-folks ear for ear.

Like their husbands and fathers they developed a fierce loyalty to the land and an amazing self confidence. They met the challenges of a rough and unyielding country head-on before they passed the land they had tamed so well on to the next generation.

There is no simple explanation for the fortitude, determination, and the stoic acceptance the pioneer woman displayed in early NEBRASKAland, but display it she did and in measure to spare. The time worn cliche that she followed her man is true, but it should be expanded to include the phrase, "and sometimes she led".

THE END JUNE, 1965 53

POET LAUREATE

(continued from page 45)

one-room cabin that he used for a study. It will be filled with manuscripts, first editions, and other mementoes of the world-famed poet. A Sioux prayer garden like the one described in Black Elk Speaks will be constructed on the grounds. Neihardt already has one at Skyrim Farm, his home near Columbia.

As excited as a boy, Neihardt tired out men half his age with his bubbling enthusiasm when he visited Bancroft. He skipped about town renewing old friendships and visiting familar spots of his past. After the banquet, he enthralled his audience with readings from some of his favorite works.

Complimented on his reading ability, the poet accepted the bouquets with a whimsical, "I ought to be good, I've been reading the same things for more than 50 years."

This fall, a Laureate Tour is planned for this grand old man of American letters. Neihardt can hardly wait to visit his old haunts, but he doesn't let the past interfere with his present.

"I enjoy young people, that's why I love my work at the University of Missouri. Young ideas and young people keep you spiritually alive. I have no intention of going to seed by retiring. Young people help you recapture your own youth," he asserts. Besides his classroom work, writing, and speaking engagements, Neihardt still has time to raise American saddle horses at Skyrim Farm. Another hobby is gem stones. He is currently considering a lyric sequence with the significant title, "I Shall Be Young With You."

Among Neihardt's many honors are listings in "Who's Who in America", "The World's Best Books From Homer to Hemingway", and "The Oxford Companion to American Literature". A bronze bust of the poet is along the west wall of the great hall in the capitol. John is probably the only man in the world whose official bust was sculptured by his wife.

The Nebraska Poet Laureate takes his honors lightly. Asked which tribute he prizes above all, Neihardt was quick with his answer: "Damn you, you made me cry." This remark followed by a hearty whack on the back came to the poet from a grizzled Sand Hills rancher who had just heard Neihardt recount the death of Crazy Horse in "A Cycle of the West".

"I have had much high praise but nothing that ever moved me more," Neihardt said.

Like the rancher, all Nebraskans would like to give their Poet Laureate a hearty thump on the back for all that he has done to put down their feelings —their love—of the big country known as NEBRASKAland.

THE END 54 OUTDOOR NEBRASKAland

RIVER CRUISE

(continued from page 39)

up the buoys and avoid the commercial barges that loomed out of the mist like prehistoric monsters. Under the gray-skies and in the mist and fog, the river's appearance was completely changed. It was hard to recognize the familiar land-marks that I knew from previous clear-weather cruises.

There was a wonderful sense of isolation on the Missouri, a challenge, and an air of mystery that appealed to all. The immensity of the river and its restless energy were magnified a thousand times. It didn't take too much imagination to see the river as it must have looked to Lewis and Clark. The rain blotted out all the symbols of civilization and we had the impression that we were completely alone.

Answers NATURE'S INTEMPERANCE 1. Signal Butte 2. Dome Hock 3. Scotts Bluff 4. Jail, Courthouse Rocks 5* Coffee Grinder 6. Flag Butte 7. Sugar Loaf 8. Lovers Leap

For me there were added responsibilities and mental workouts that I never experienced during fair weather. I was exhilerated by the surroundings and the response of the River Pilot to my commands. The challenges seemed bigger and the accomplishments greater. There was some discomfort and a keener appreciation of the taken-for-granted pleasures like warmth, hot food, and good companions. It was fine relaxation, and we made the most of it.

Jan summed it up when we finally docked near Union, "You know it is easy to fall in love with a river after a cruise like ours."

THE END State Capitol Color Slides The same outstanding color photography that appeared in the June and July issues of OUTDOOR NEBRASKAland is now available in 35 mm color slides. This unique set features 33 slides each depicting a different view of the interior and the exterior of the State Capitol. Tour this amazing architectural masterpiece in living color from vour favorite easy chair. See every magnificent detail that took weeks to photograph. Every Nebraskan will be proud to own this rare collection IL ™°uliL ?!so ,make an excellent gift for those away-from-home NEBRASKAlanders. Start your own NEBRASKAland slides collection Order this and all future slides featuring the best of OUTDOOR NEBRASKAland color sections. The supply is limited. To avoid disappointment, get your order in early. Entire Capitol Series (33 slides) $10 Set of three slides $1 Each individual slide 35 USE THIS COUPON TO ORDER NEBRASKAland State Capitol, Lincoln, Nebraska Enclosed is my check or money order for $------------------- Please send me the slides I have circled. Name_________________________________________ Address_______________________________________ City__________________________________________ State_____________ □ Entire Capitol Series 22-23-24-25 26-27-28-29-30- 31-32-33-34-35- 36-37-38-39-40- 41-42-43-44-45- 46-47-48-49-50- 51-52-53-54 JUNE, 1965 55

CANOES AND PADDLES Aluminum and Fiberglas canoes, new and used, for sale or rent. Get the best price from the biggest canoe dealer in Nebraska. Dave Hutchinson 5727 Baldwin Lincoln, Nebraska KM-0-7Vood Sfiitut A terrifm bait for WALLEYES CRAPPIES IORTHERNS At your sporting Roods dealer or order direct, iflf cents, postpaid. 'O-WOOD MFG., Seward, Nebr. MR. FISHERMAN:! ateur or >, cast lightest surface lures with ease and with any spin line. No lead weights or fly line required. Helps present lures in Natural Setting. Material and instructions for assembly, $1, postpaid. Sorry, no C.O.D. ACE DISTRIBUTING COMPANY Depl. S P.O. Box 75, South Omaha Station Omaha, Nebraska 68107 The Store at your door

Long Way Around. Recently it looked as though international relations were for the birds. With all of the cloak-and-dagger business it seems a poor duck can't even get where he's going without causing an international incident. When a blue-winged teal was downed in Pinar Del Rio Province, Cuba, it took some real diplomatic shenanigans to return its band to South Dakota. Because the United States has broken off relations with Castroland, the tag had to be relayed back to the state through Swiss officials.—South Dakota.

Clean, From the Bottom Up. Men who have been busy cluttering up outer-space are now busy cleaning up inner-space. Governor Pat Brown of California announced that a $100,000 state contract has been awarded to develop plans to help curb ground, air, and water pollution. This is the first of four state contracts to put aerospace brainpower to work here on earth.—California.

Benevolent Bird. A wacky crow has been stopping regularly at an Oklahoma City residence for handouts. Apparently acting as an air-borne good Samaritan, the bird unselfishly donates part of its goodies to the family's pet pooch.— Oklahoma.

Raging Rodent. An urban householder was harboring a chipmunk which was terrorizing his gardener. The employee refused to go back to work until the beast was removed.—Pennsylvania.

Sounds Fishy. Rumors about a fish that can speed along at 60 miles-per-hour have gotten the axe from some boys who should know. The fast-fish theory is for the birds, according to Aberdeen Research Laboratory and Cambridge University. Their research shows the fastest fresh-water fish is the barracuda. He chugged along at a mere 27 miles-per-hour and maintained that for only four feet.—Oklahoma.

Tons of Trout. About 10 million lake trout eggs are being hatched in state and national hatcheries to increase trout populations in the Great Lakes. Trout in Lake Superior are making a substantial comeback after nearly being eliminated by sea lampreys.— Michigan.

Surprise. Snatching an unattended suitcase turned into a full-blown tussle for four thieves recently. Spying the valise in front of a bus station in a California town, the four latched on to it in hopes of easy pickings. Three blocks later the quartet abandoned ship shrieking in terror with a howling bobcat hot on their heels.—California.

NEBRASKAland TRADING POST

Classified Ads: 13 cents a word, minimum order $3 September Closing Date, Jufy 1 BOATING FIBERGLASS CANOES: Three exciting models. Easily assembled kits. $29.95 up (factory direct). Free literature. Riverside Canoes, 5803C Victoria Avenue, Riverside, California. CAMPING CAMPING Trailer Kits, sleep 6. Basic kit $148. Details 10?. Stratford Camping Trailers, "N" Seymour Street, Stratford, Connecticut. VACATION at Green Valley Farm near scenic Devil's Nest. Fishing and boating on Lewis and Clark Lake. Lodging and board. Telephone 373-4492. Ray and Rosanna Braunsroth, Bloomfield, Nebraska. FOR SALE: All-season De Lux Camp. Over 1,000 square feet floor space, finished in Knotty Pine. Over 1,000 square feet concrete patio, also Lake-edge deck-house. Located near North Bend, Nebraska. $16,500. R. P. Callahan, 125 North 38th Street, Omaha, Nebraska. EXCELLENT overnight parking. West Chadron, one block off Hiway 20. Clean, warm showers, restaurants. Laundry. Picnic ground. Mobil Manor Court. RANCH VACATION. Family cabins in cool quiet canyon. Trout stream. $10 per day. Fall hunting information sent on request. Bob Goff, Chadron, Nebraska. DOGS VISZLA POINTING GUN DOG puppies sired by AKC field champion, Brok Selle. Dam of these puppies sired by Ripp Barat who has 15 field trial wins plus twenty placements to his credit. J. R. Holcomb, P.O. Box 177, Englewood, Colo. Telephone 781-1860. LLEWELLINS. The old-fashioned setters, puppies now available. Reasonable prices. R. J. Johnson, London, Kentucky. BEAGLES, fully trained $35. Started, $25 Pups, $20. Good gun dogs, ten days trial. Hayes Beagle Farm, Route #1, Darden, Tennessee, Telephone 847-2087. FOR THE BEST Pointers or English Setter pups, started or fully trained, Mike Baker, 3818 29th Street, Meridian, Mississippi. HUNTING DOGS: German Shorthairs, English Pointers, Weimaraners, English, Irish, and Gordon Setters, Chesapeakes, Labradors, and Golden Retrievers. Registered pups, all ages, $50 each. Robert Stevenson, Orleans, Nebraska. AKC BLACK LABRADORS. Spring and summer pups, $50 up. Two fine dogs at stud Few started dogs. Best hunting and field trial bloodlines. Kewanee Retrievers, Valentine Nebraska, Telephone 402-376-2539. VIZSLA Pups for sale, 4 and 5 months old. A.K.C and F.D.S.B. registered. Wayne Hoskins, Enders, Nebraska, Telephone TU 2-4858. BLOODHOUND puppies. A.K.C. Bloodlines !PpJ)eS..by none' Write for details. Fred Crandall, Kingman, Kansas. OUTDOOR NEBRASKAIond OUTDOOR NEBRASKAland FISHING FOR SALE: Rainbow Trout fingerlings for stocking farm ponds and gravel pits. Dugout Creek Trout Hatchery, Ralph Wagoner, Broadwater, Nebraska. REPTILES: Reasonable prices. Catalogue only 35. Reptile Sales, P. O. Box 267, Hacienda Heights, California. FISH BAIT CATFISH AND CARP bait. Five kinds. Dry and prepared. Dealers wanted. Write for pictures, prices, samples. Karas Katchem, Mead, Nebraska. QUALITY FLIES tied on mustad hooks. Six assorted sizes and colors, $1. Postpaid. Rice, 2914 N. Clarence, Wichita, Kansas. MEALWORMS (Arkansas Giants), 300, $1. 1,000, $3. 3,000, $6.75. Selected breeders 100, $3. Jon Bait, Box 13, Marked Tree, Arkansas. PRIME golden mealworms. 300, $1, 1,000, $3, including how to use, store, raise. Bob's Baits, Box 932, Terre Haute 2, Indiana. FISHERMEN: Three packs "Worm Lure", $1. Won't injure plants, night crawlers. Catch-more fish feeders (food included) $1 each postpaid. Bob's Worm Ranch, 2027 Central Avenue, Kearney, Nebraska. AFRICAN RED WORMS $7 per thousand, prices quoted 5,000 or more. Believing the African to be the finest. Lynn Davis Worm Farm, Tomball, Texas. FISH LURES FISHERMEN: Catch all the white bass you want and your limits of sauger, walleye and northern. Use a white or yellow SKITTER JIG. Send $1.00 and receive two ^-oz. jigs postpaid. SKITTER PRODUCTS, 205 South 15th Street, Norfolk, Nebraska. SEINES, gills, twine, fishnets, hooks, commercial fishing supplies. Catalog. Nichols, 500 Layton, East Saint Louis, Illinois. GUNS AIR ARMS and Ammunition. World's finest at Discount. Catalog 5£. Air Rifle Headquarters, Grantsville, West Virginia. NEW, USED AND ANTIQUE GUNS, send for list including Browning O & U's, Weatherby, Winchester, Ithaca, Colt, Ruger and others in stock for sale or trade. Send large self-addressed 10# stamped envelope or stop in, Bedlan's Sporting Goods, just off U.S. 136, Fairbury, Nebraska. MISCELLANEOUS BE PREPARED—Repair now. Inexpensive, reliable service. Cameras, meters, binoculars. Send insured. Free estimate. Modern Technical Repairs, 550-C Westbury Avenue, Carle Place,, L. I., New York. 11514. MULTIPLY the use of your pick-up, with a GEM TOP all steel, easy vision pick-up cover. Available in 24 inch to 36 inch above box height. Rear lift or walk-in door for all short or long wheel base, all makes of pick-ups. Can be removed or installed in minutes. Colored picture and price furnished on request. Specify make and type of pick-up. Jerry H. Woodman, Nebraska Gem Top Dealer, Shelton, Nebraska. Telephone 647-2946 evenings. HOME TANNING course, also make buckskin clothing. Complete details, $2. Fred Weissmiller, Rib Lake, Wisconsin. STONEGROUND CORNMEAL. Most complete line Health Foods. Many processed daily. Come see us or write. Brownville Mills, Brownville, Nebraska. HANDCRAFTED, proven Turkey call. Box and bow type with tone qualities and volume unsurpassed. Complete instructions. $3, post-paid. Discount to sports dealers and samples on request, while they last. Tonys Work Shop, Route #5, Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. PET SUPPLY CATALOG. Quality merchandise for all pets. Private monthly sales. Save money. Send 25c\ S & S Mail Order Company (N), 1323 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, New York. RESORT RANCH VACATION. 3,000 acre ranch located on the Niobrara River. Riding and fishing. Joanne Graves, Ainsworth, Nebraska. SCUBA EQUIPMENT BOB-K'S AQUA SUPPLY, Nebraska's largest scuba dealer. U.S. Divers, Sportsways, Voit, Swimmaster, Scubrapro. Air Station, Regulator Repair. Telephone 553-0777. 5051 Leavenworth Street, Omaha, Nebraska. TAXIDERMY SAVE TIME, Save Money. Mount small animals quickly and easily by using our body forms. Complete instructions for mounting animals, $1. Also, new modern course taught by master taxidermist and museum curator using latest plastic methods. Only course in existence with personalized assistance and diploma, $20. Brochure with full information on course, 25£. Supply catalog, 50. American Wildlife Studios, Dept. O-N, P. O. Box 16030, University Station, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 70803. TRAINING GUN DOG TRAINING, all pointing breeds and retrievers. Rates on dogs boarded and conditioned for hunting. Clean, cool, concrete runs. Best of feed and care. Top bred pointers and retrievers for sale. Reasonable rates. Platte Valley Kennels, Route #1, Box 61, Grand Island, Nebraska. TRAPS COLLAPSIBLE Farm-Pond Fish-Traps: Animal Traps, postpaid. Free information, pictures. Shawnee, 3934-AX Buena Vista, Dallas 4, Texas. THE BIG WINNERS ARE.. OUTDOOR NEBRASKAland Classified Advertisers Because: • More than 50,000 OUTDOOR NEBRASKAland readers form an active buying market for all types of products. From sporting equipment to health foods, all are sold through OUTDOOR NEBRASKAland classified ads. • OUTDOOR NEBRASKAland's reading audience keeps growing, but OUTDOOR NEBRASKAland's classified advertising rates remain LOW . . . only $.15 per word with a $3.00 minimum. # Classified advertising in OUTDOOR NEBRASKAland is attractively displayed so no advertisement is lost. The classified section consistently has high readership. # Most important, OUTDOOR NEBRASKAland classified advertising SELLS! So whatever you want to sell or buy, you'll hit the Jackpot with OUTDOOR NEBRASKAland classified advertising. For Winning Results, Use OUTDOOR NEBRASKAland Classified Ads OUTDOOR NEBRASKAland of the Air SUNDAY KGFW, KeanUsy (1340 kc) ;............. 7:05 a.m. Columbus (1510 kc) :L. .......... 7:30 a.m. GraM Island (1430 fee) ...... 7:40 a.m. Valenfttie (940 kc) .:,....... B:00 a.m. Norfolk (780 kcV !.......... 1:15 cm. KLMS, Lincoln (1480 kc) ..,........... $:05 a.m. KBRL, McCodk (1300 kc) ........ 9:45 a.m. CODY, Nortri^Platte (1240 kc) .10:45 a.m. Shenandoah, Iowa ) .12:15 p.m. KOGA, I^lhMa WO kc) . ...... 12:30 p.m. RCNl Broken Bow (1280 kc| p.m. MONDAY KGMT, fairbury (1310 kc) .... KSID, Siifay (1340 kc) ..... 6:30 p.m. WEDNESDAY KJSK Calumbtiis (900 kc) 1:30 p.m. KCOW AUianc| (1400 k 4s30 p.m. SATURDAY JXSR, Cnlidron^lO kc) ..... ...... 6:00 a.m. KOLT, ScattsMuff (1320 key. ..... a.m. SAWL, fork, (1370 kc) . ..... .12*45 p.m. KHA$> Hosting (1230 kc) ........... T#0 p.m. Siierior 1600 kc) ..... T;0O p.m. KWRV, tlcCook (1360 kc) ... 1:45 p.m. 1 KBRX, OPfNeill 0350 kc) . ...... 4:30 p.m. MNS, Slcux Cfty, Iowa (620 4cc) . . 6:10 p.m. . 9:30 p.m. DIVISION CHIEFS Jeff Bailee, assistant director Glen R. foster,^fisheries ADlck H. Schaffer, infor Mation and townsm Richard managernent CONSERVATION OFFICERS Chfefi Carl E. Gettmann, Lincoln —EIy|n Zimmerman, 387-2143 Craig, 395-2071 Alllance-LesDnafd SpoeHng, J62-1547 Bonsall, 9|8-2313 Schaepier, 962-7818 Anderson, 2941 Lee Bowers, 423-2893 ; Bridgeport—Joe Ufricb, 100 . Jeffries, B72-5953 Columbus—Lyman Wilkinsony 564-4375 - Cfawford-^GeteH Avey, 228 Owens; 446 Jonn Schuckman, 368-4421 David City-Tester H. Johnspn, 367-4037 682-052 Baumpn, 1293 Raymond Frandsen, 2817 Nielsen, 721-2482 Jim McCoJe, 436-2$86 Grand isiand Fred Salak, 1IS4-0582 Hastings Bruce Webe, 2-0317 Hay Springs Larry D. Elston, 638-4051 Kearneys-Id Grevihg, 237-5753 Lexingtons-Robert D. StrtcB, 324-2138 Lincoln~—Leroy Oryis, 488-463 Lincoln-Ntiert Kampsntder, 466-0971 Lnfcoln-ale Bruha, 477-4258 Nebraska City—Max ShowaHer, 873-7155 Norfolk—Robert Downing, 371-1435 Hartlt flatle—-Samuel Grasnick, 532-^46 North Ptte-Roger A. Gunther Ogallala—feoron Bunney, 2-84-4107 Omaha—Cight Albery, 58-2910 O'Neill—Jtnes J. Hurt, 33^-2268 Oid—Gerald .Wobdgate, 728-5060 Osthkosh-BJonald D. Huntrt772-3697 Panca-Ricard D. Turpinf 2521 Stanton—Robert C. Oman, ^439-2412 Tekamah--ehard Elston, ,278R2 Thedford- Henderson, 645-535^1 Vafentine-black Morgan, ^76-2634 Valley—Daryl Earnest, 359-2332 York—GaibWoodside, 36^-4)20 JUNE, 1965 57

EASTERN BLUEBIRD

notes on Nebraska fauna

HENRY THOREAU aptly described the bluebird as the songster who "carries the sky on his back". Beautiful and brilliantly dressed in nature's colorful finery, the bluebird delights all who see him. He gives added beauty to any landscape, and once seen, is never forgotten.

This lovable and gentle seven-inch bird divides with the robin the grateful mission of bringing the welcome news to NEBRASKAland that spring is at hand. He's known as Sialia sialis in scientific terms. The settlers of Plymouth Colony called him "blue robin" because of 58 OUTDOOR NEBRASKAland his rusty breast. Among the several other names, the more famous of these are blue redbreast and American bluebird.

Willing to rent for a song? This lovable character with "the sky on his back" is just tenant you may be looking for by Bob Havel District Game Supervisor

The male is a real Beau Brummell, sporting a uniform with bright blue upper parts augmented with cinnamon-chestnut throat, breast, sides, and flanks. The abdomen, anal region, and undertail coverts are white. His spouse is bluish-gray, tinged above and passing into bright blue on the rump. Front and lateral underpays are dull rufous-cinnamon with a white abdomen, anal region, and undertail coverts. Immature bluebirds have mouse-gray backs and spotted white breasts with only a tinge of dull blue in the wings and tail, hinting at the bright colors they'll wear when they grow up.

You seldom need to look very far to find a bluebird. He is a familiar sight in most all states east of the Rocky Mountains. The bird ranges from southern Canada on the north to as far south as southern Florida and along the Gulf Coast to southern and west-central Texas. In winter, he can even be found in the Bermudas and south to Honduras. His western cousin, Sialia mexicana, is found from southern British Columbia to central Montana, south to southern Mexico.

The pretty songster loves the open country. He wants no part of the deep forests. Orchards are favorite natural resorts, as are roadside trees and cutover woodlands. These furnish plenty of homesites, offering an array of hollow trunks or limbs. The bird always prefers a cavity of some kind to make the nest.

Suitable nesting sites are in great demand, and the bluebird must compete aggressively with house wrens, house sparrows, and starlings. He is as willing as any bird to set up housekeeping in a dwelling provided him.

Nest boxes made from short sections of hollow limbs are to his liking. They should be covered at the top and bottom and feature an auger-hole doorway. An entrance hole measuring 1% inches in diameter will keep starlings out. These homes should be set from 8 to 12 feet above the ground in open areas. Since bluebirds prefer large territories, the boxes should not be too close together.

The normal clutch size is from 4 to 6 eggs. The female does all of the incubating which requires about 12 days. Her mate takes charge of the fledglings while she is busy renovating the nest or building a new one for a second brood.

Not only is the bluebird beautiful to see, but he is also pleasant to hear. In flight, his soft "chur-wi" calls can be heard as he flies overhead. He can also warble three or four delicate gurgling notes.

Unlike some birds, the songster does little damage to fruit or crops. An examination of 855 stomachs showed that 68 per cent of the food consisted of insects. The balance of food was made up of various vegetable substances and was found mostly in specimens taken in the winter. Bluebirds eat heavily on troublesome grasshoppers in August and September when these insects make up about 53 per cent of the diet. The only trace of any useful product in the stomach consisted of a few blackberry seeds, and even these probably belonged to wild rather than cultivated varieties.

Missouri and New York have been so taken by the beautiful songster that they have named him their state bird. The Campfire Girls have also taken him to their hearts. Their "Bluebirds" group recently engaged in a nationwide program of erecting new homes for the clan.

In recent years, conservationists have voiced alarm at the virtual disappearance of the bluebird from vast portions of his range. Widespread use of insecticides, severe winters, growing competition from starlings, and the disappearance of old orchards that furnished favored nest sites have all been suspected of contributing to the decline.

The songster that "carries the sky on his back" will ever be a favorite in NEBRASKAland. Many nature lovers here have constructed sturdy homes to greet him when he returns each spring. They encourage all to follow suit to assure the bluebird will ever have a welcome home here.

THE END JUNE, 1965 59

Looking for a fishing motor that tucks in a car trunk, carries like a suitcase, goes like the wind and thrives on a 50 to 1 gas-oil diet? Looking for a fishing motor that tucks in a car trunk, carries like a suitcase, goes like the wind and thrives on a 50 to 1 gas-oil diet? You're looking at it! The carefree, new 9Vi & sea-Horse, of course!)

Meet the Sea-Horse 9l/2—shining proof that good things do come in small packages. Introduced just a year ago, this revolutionary compact is already our best-selling motor.

Enough power to plane a 14-foot fishing boat, yet the 9x/2 is so compact it packs in a car trunk like a 3 (actually it's 3 inches shorter). It totes like a 6 and the new low profile gives unlimited fishing room astern. Built-in fuel economy. Sea-Horse motors require no special fuels. From 3 to 90 hp, all 17 new models use regular grades of gasoline and oil and use a new 50 to 1 fuel mix to halve oil costs and up spark plug life 50%. How carefree can an outboard be? All Johnsons are so corrosion resistant that they need not be flushed after salt water use. Each one is backed by a 2-year warranty* covering both parts and labor. For the right engine to fit your needs see your Johnson dealer. He's in the Yellow Pages. Johnson Motors, 1911 Pershing Rd., Waukegan, Illinois. Division of Outboard Marine Corporation. In Canada: Johnson Motors, Peterborough, Ontario.

For 24 months after purchase, Johnson will replace, without cost to the original purchaser, any part of its manufacture which upon inspection proves to have failed in normal use due to faulty material or workmanship. VISIT YOUR NEBRASKA JOHNSON DEALERS Steinbaugh Appliance, Blair Moon Boat & Motor, Grand Island City Lock & Marine, Omaha Ashton Lumber Co., Ashton Lind Auto & Marine, Lincoln Chappell Body Shop, Crawford Gothenburg Marine, Gothenburg Misko Sport Shop, Ord Person's Sport Shop, Columbus Black Burn Auto Supply, Scottsbluff Bullock Inc., Grant Sportsman's Drive In, North Platte Gebert Auto Electric, Nebraska City Another carefree first in dependability