Mills and Joe Smith were the first to build houses on the north side of the river in the present limits of Scotts Bluff county. Mills started his first and Smith finished his the first. The first pump was driven by Wellington Clark on the place of Mr. Purdy, and while a man was on the way to the river to get some water to prime the pump, a cow was milked and the pump was primed with milk.

One evening, while Mills and Smith were working on Mills's soddy, they had reached the top of the walls, the sods seemed so heavy to

them that they improvised a slide with the endgate from the wagon to the top of the wall, and were working them up in the slow and laborious way. George Baltes came along afoot. He had walked all the way from Sidney. They told him when they finished unloading they would go to camp, and get supper, and he had better tarry with them for the night. George accepted, and notwithstanding his long walk and weariness, he picked up the sod and planted them on the top of the wall without slide or help. George was a powerful young man and he keeps much of his strength rnd vigor after thirty-five years.

PERRY BRAZIEL ARRIVES ON THE TEXAS TRAIL -- TRAILING CATTLE TUDITH BASIN -- SUNDERLING'S ELK-SKIN TROUSERS -- THE DRIVE TO PINE RIDGE -- TWO GIRLS OF THE PRAIRIE

Along about 1879, Perry Braziel "met up" with "Shanghai" Pierce, at Coffeyville, Kansas, and from there to the North Platte valley was only a short drive according to old ways of thinking. Colonel Braziel said that the country looked good enough to stay in a while, and he went to work for Coad, by whom he was employed for two or three years.