Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Sidney Telegraph: The missing pages of history
M. Timothy Nolting
In the spring of 1876, Texas cowboys, James M. Riley and his brother Joe took part in the roundup of 2,500 head of longhorn steers on the Nueces River. After the herd had been gathered and road-branded the brothers joined the drive that was headed for the Dakotas. It was the first large herd of Texas longhorns to cross the state of Nebraska for delivery to Sioux Indian Agencies on the Missouri River.
Although Joe apparently made a good hand, James was a bit more restless and following the southern end of 2,500 northbound longhor...
Reader Comments(1)
sturmfuss writes:
Excellent artiloe by Tim Nolting. the Joe referred to as riely's brother may be the same fellow clalled Joe Smith who rode with Doc Middleton and was lured to his death in Sidney by Charlie Reed. Reed later shot and killed Hank Loomis and was lynched in 1879. In 1876 sidney would not have had a chief of Police as it was not a chartered community. all policing would have been vested in the county sheriff, Con McCarty.
05/28/2013, 8 am