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Show Colorful Old West Lives Again In Omaha Historical Museum II b,;t if il,. : , f. f v! f - ! Ap - U 5 -I i- , 1 r -l l l s l-c i 1 f 5; t , f i - k K , , if, 'it - I - 1 Vj Mf Jl J5 J ' v , iff W ti MO 1 HISTORY WAS MADE . . . With the rifles, saddle and other equipment equip-ment included in this general view of a section of the historical museum. shot pouches and other pieces of equipment used in pistol shooting. A rare old book showing the trails from Texas to Ellsworth, Kas., one of the roaring "cow towns" of the '70s, and a collection of branding irons highlight'the mementos of the day of the cattleman and cowboy. cow-boy. Mute symbols of a still earlier day when the buffalo and bison roamed the western plains by the Railroad Exhibit Is Visual Record Of Pioneer Days WNU Features. OMAHA, NEB. The roaring, roar-ing, hectic days of the Old West are not dead they still live in all their flamboyant glory in the Union Pacific's historical museum located in the company's headquarters building here. Fascinating documents, maps, relics, weapons, furniture, books, household articles, farm implements, imple-ments, personal possessions and other mementos of the men and events which carved an empire out of a wilderness comprise a dramatic and graphic visual record of the struggles, tragedies and triumphs of the pioneer West. Portray Progress. Interwoven with the faded relics and ghosts of long-dead pioneers and heroes of the West are exhibits portraying por-traying the epic record in the building build-ing of the Union Pacific, which played an Instrumental role in the westward expansion of the empire. Shunning away from the musty and moldering atmosphere atmos-phere of the typical "museum Idea," all the exhibits are designed de-signed to preserve all the color and adventure which prevailed In the pioneer days. Since this valuable historical collection col-lection was opened to the public in 1939, approximately 200,000 visitors representing every state in the union and 41 foreign countries have registered regis-tered at the museum. Reminisce on Careers. Bearded oldsters wander through the exhibits musing over items which recall their own picturesque careers when they and the West were young. In contrast are school children and street urchins, intrigued in-trigued by the drama in the win-" win-" oing of the West. Side by side come scholars and business men, housewives house-wives and railroad executives, while during war years many a serviceman discovered that browsing brows-ing around the exhibits provided an ideal means of whiling away the seemingly endless wait for trains. Curator of the museum is Mrs. Euth Cultra Hamilton, former school teacher who has been associated asso-ciated with the railroad for many years. f -t L?ids Womart's Role. -SWa to her clan, ( Mrs. Hamilton f admits that her ono regret is that the museum collections are almost wholly a memorial to the great men of the past. "No one remembers those anonymous anony-mous women who ranked with their men as courageous pioneers," she complains. To museum visitors, however, how-ever, she can point out a few household articles which serve as mute reminders that even while heroes conquered the West, someone had to cook and sew, rear children and help with the farming. Modern-day housewives stare un-comprehendingly un-comprehendingly at such primitive devices as candle molds, a sauerkraut sauer-kraut stomper, a broom of hickory splints, a spinning wheel and reel dating back to 1859. Typical of the hardships which the pioneer woman wom-an endured are exhibits of crude farm implements an awkward flail, clumsy hoe and handmade barley fork. The old iron Dutch oven and grill in the museum once were the only cooking utensils owned by some Mormon family, which carried them across the plains on the historic migration from Nauvoo, 111., to Utah. Recall Indian Raids. Many souvenirs of the constant guerrilla warfare between the hostile hos-tile Indians and workmen who pushed the rails ever westward also are on display. Supplementing the tomahawks and arrows is the handiwork handi-work of Indian women who engaged en-gaged in more peaceful pursuits than their warriors. Included in the display are fine baskets and bead-work, bead-work, tobacco pouches, medicine bags, amulets and other articles fashioned by Sioux women and decorated dec-orated with embroidery of flattened porcupine quills dyed with roots and berries. Wild-eyed youngsters gaze in awe at the pistols which spat flame and lead in the hectic early days but which now rest peacefully in the museum's display cases. Many Guns Shown. A huge .69 horse pistol is on display, along with flintlocks dating back to the American revolution and pepper-box types, derringers, ball and cap and muzzle-loading types. In one case are guns taken from train robbers while another case contains bullet molds, cartridge loaders, powder flasks and horns. 1 f ' HI I I Vs'i . I THE WILD AND WOOLLY WEST ... Is re-created for goggle-eyed youngsters in this display of guns and knives. millions are the watch and scissors used by "Old Jim" Bridger and a money belt and autographed picture pic-ture of "Buffalo Bill" Cody. The epic migration of pioneers pio-neers over the Mormon trail, Oregon trail and other pathways path-ways to" the West is represent- s' , '".tl-i Wii- fin I ed by many relics. Attracting major interest is an original map issued to westbound pioneers, pio-neers, showing every place across the prairies where food could be obtained and the location loca-tion of blacksmiths. Rare and original photographs of the Great Emancipator hold the spotlight in an extensive Lincoln collection. col-lection. A replica of the Lincoln funeral car also is displayed. Tribute to Rails. With the building of the West irretrievably ir-retrievably linked with the development develop-ment of rail transportation, the museum mu-seum features mementos in the history his-tory of railroading. Principal item is a yellowed telegram tele-gram bearing a single sentence, "You can make affidavit of completion comple-tion of road to Promontory Summit" Sum-mit" This message, sent by Gren-ville Gren-ville M. Dodge, chief engineer, to Oliver Ames, then president of the U. P., signified completion of construction con-struction work, and on the following follow-ing day the Golden Spike was driven driv-en to join the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific as the first transcontinental trans-continental railroad linking the East and West. EN ROUTE TO PROMISED LAND . . . Mormon pioneers used these crude farm implements and household utensils on their historic trek from Nauvoo, 111., to Utah. |
