Later, Sioux county was divided into three equal portions -- the western part named Sioux, the central part Dawes, and the eastern third Sheridan county. Sheridan and Sioux still retain their original boundaries. Mr. McLaughlin, without changing his residence, then became a citizen of Dawes county and served as one of its county commissioners. Chadron was the county seat. Upon the division of Dawes county into Dawes and Box Butte county, he then became a resident of Box Butte county, without changing his residence.

The early settlers of the county were mostly of American birth, with a sprinkling of nearly all the principal nationalities. The Bohemians apparently were clannish and located in large numbers and were the dominant factor in Running Water, Lawn and Liberty precincts. There were a great many of German birth scattered over the county, without there being sufficient number to be called a German settlement in any one particular place. This was

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HISTORY OF WESTERN NEBRASKA

true of the [rish, excepl that a number of families--the Collins. Mahoneys, Shays, ' >'Maras and Silks settled in one neighborhood in Box Butte precinct. There was quite a settlement of Norwegians east of Hemingford. There were five "families of Danes congregated together a few miles west of Nonpareil. Four of these families are still residents of the county and with the increase in the families can buast of being the only nationality which now has more representatives than they had at the time the county was organized.

The pioneers probably endured more hardships than fell to the lot of their brothers who settled the middle and eastern states. While they had no forests to clear or stones to remove in order to make a home they had but little to build that home with. Ninety-seven percent of the houses which sheltered the first settlers were erected out of native sod.