Excerpt from Semi-Centennial History of Nebraska: Historical Sketch Touching the history of the world fifty years is but a short stroke of the pendulum, yet what marvelous achievements are wrought during that fleeting swing of time! The purpose of this volume is to review the development of. A great commonwealth, Nebraska, at the close of her semi-centennial, and to recount the principal incidents preparatory to Statehood. For the successful execution of the purpose outlined it has been our good fortune - and that of the reader as well, - to secure the services of Prof. A. E. Sheldon, A. M.. Whose elaborate investigations and extensive study of the history of Nebraska, have eminently qualified him for the task. Supplementary to this historical sketch, and realizing that the best aid to comprehension is comparison, we have sought to assist by a comparative showing, the reader's appreciation of the remarkable progress of a pioneer people. As such accomplishments are attained only through the activities of a sturdy race it is therefore assumed that a history conforming to the needs of the busy life is most essential. -with this thought the main points in the state's history are presented, and comparative illustrations of her resources and industries shown. Many of the illustrations have been made for special use in this history and are published for the first time. To the heroic, progressive Nebraskan this work is sincerely dedicated. Frank L. Lemon. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.