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WILLIAM EUGENE GUTHRIE : 1930 ORIGINAL, SIGNIFICANT NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT DIARY HANDWRITTEN BY AN AGED HISTORIAN, BUFFALO HUNTER, GENEALOGIST AND WATER RIGHTS ACTIVIST IN WASHINGTON DC TO FIGHT ONE OF HIS FINAL BATTLES

12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall. On offer is an original, historically significant 1930 manuscript diary handwritten by noted Nebraskan William Eugene Guthrie (sometimes Guthrey), Civil War historian; Nebraska cattleman and ardent activist involved in a government dispute concerning water rights and the Platte River. Guthrie had hunted buffalo; broken in horses to be used by soldiers in the Civil War; was an ardent genealogist making copious notes from the family Bible and recorded herein; was an historian of the battles in the Civil War, just to name a few of his credits. William E. Guthrie was also known for having shaken every President's hand since Lincoln, up to, and including President Hoover in 1930. On the 26th day of September in 1930, he was on his way to Washington D.C. to fight yet another battle. William Eugene Guthrie was a noble man of high character, family values, and fascinating personal, first person history to be told. This historic journal commences as Guthrie is in Washington, D.C. to see Willis Van Devanter, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States to hear Guthrie's case pertaining to water rights, along the Platte River in the state of Nebraska; the date is September, 1930. The Platte River is a major river in the state of Nebraska and is about 310 mi long. Measured to its farthest source via its tributary the North Platte River, it flows for over 1,050 miles. The government and Guthrie and his associates, had an ongoing disagreement pertaining to their water rights along the Bridgeport irrigation district; Belmont Canal and Empire Canal, water rights on Guthrie's property along the Platte. He is going to Washington DC to urge the importance of securing a hearing to get a final decision on this case. His handwritten entries include: "My first reaction upon being asked this mission was appalling. To approach a Justice of the United States Supreme Court and to talk to him about land in which I was personally invested, seemed to me most fool hardy. Assured by both R. O. Canaday and Judge Wright of Omaha, attorney for the district that such an attempt would be entirely ethical I finally agreed to undertake the mission and as a result landed in Washington D.C. on the 28th day of September, and registered at the Hotel Raleigh." "I learned that Justice Van Devanter had not returned from his summer vacation and as it would be a few days before his return my thought was why not see Gettysburg. I had many times wished I would have an opportunity of going to that famous battlefield. I have been something of a student of the life of Pres. Lincoln and of the Civil War. Many of the municipal battles of that war have been an interesting study to me and none more interesting then the battle of Gettysburg and the battle of Vicksburg. In 1881 I made a trip from Cincinnati to New Orleans in one of the famous steamers. The steamer stopped at Vicksburg half a day and gave the passengers an opportunity to visit the city and the battleground. Vicks and Gettysburg were the deciding battles of the Civil War. Having seen Vicksburg i had hoped I would some day see Gettysburg, and I did in 1930! He goes on to say that the battle of Gettysburg in his opinion was not only the decisive battle of the war but a decisive battle of the world." He was able to be on the tour bus alone and the tour guide gave him an answer to all his questions. Then Guthrie stood where Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg address and was overcome with the historical importance of this sacred place. Returning to Washington, and calling Van Devanter office he was able to secure a private talk with him on Oct. 3 at 8:30 A.M. They talked about the famous "lease" as to the property and the water rights. Van Devanter's final remark to Guthrie was "This lease will probably come before me and I will sift it through from top to bottom." I said thank you very much and this ends my mission. Before I left (having been acquainted with Van Devanter 40 years ago), Justice Van Devanter then said to me; before you go you must go with me to my rooms and meet with Mrs. Van Devanter; he then called on Mrs. Van Devanter and Mrs. and I had a very pleasant visit. A very pleasant ending to a rather trying ordeal - and thats that." The following day Guthrie decided he would like to go and talk to President Hoover. He knew Mr. McKenna who had been at the Whitehouse for years and would be the go-between he would need to get through to have a private visit with Hoover, and thus he went to speak to McKenna and reminded him that he had shaken every Presidents hand since he shook the hand of Lincoln. McKenna was moved by this and secured a private visit in the Whitehouse. "Jan. 23, Needless to say I was at the Whitehouse the following day at 1:30, and on that Friday of Oct. 3, 1930, I was admitted to the President's office and was cordially received. President Hoover seemed much interested in the fact that I had seen President Lincoln and he asked me many questions. One question was "do you remember how President Lincoln looked?" I certainly do Mr. President. I shared my very clear impression as to the rough course of his jaw, and the sadness apparent in every feature, and especially I do remember his eyes. Hoover remarked to me "Mr. Guthrie you are indeed fortunate." The President then shook hands with me cordially and I remarked "Mr. President I hope to have the opportunity to vote for you in 1932, and he replied you are good for another 10 years at least." Guthrie was 81 years old at this time, and had arrived in Washington D.C. by train and bus. Before going back home to Nebraska, he then and there decided to go and visit as many living relatives as he could, and as many of the Civil War battlefields as he had the energy to do, and thus begins his fascinating odyssey, as he writes in captivating detail of all that he saw and did. Midway through this diary, after all his visiting, traveling and sight seeing in Marion, Ohio, Shenandoah, Woodstock, Harpers Ferry, Manassas, Indianapolis, St. Louis, MO, St. Joseph, MO, &c. he decides to write his memoirs. He commences to remember when he was 12 years old in 1861, and with his older brother Silas's, transporting horses to Washington D.C. to be sold to the United States Government for their use in the Civil War, and when he first saw Lincoln. This part of the journal goes on for several pages and is spell binding as to how this whole horse transporting, selling and trading procedure was carried out by the government. It was there that he not only saw Lincoln, but was able to shake his hand. His handwritten entry: "The incident which stands out most clearly in my mind during my stay in Washington was the day I saw President Lincoln. Returning to our hotel one day we found the street for blocks filled with crowds of people waiting for the President to pass by. Presently there appeared a Landau drawn by two big black horses, driven by a big Negro in uniform and high hat. In the carriages there were 4 men, two facing the horses and two facing backwards; all wore high hats. On the right side facing front was as I then thought, the tallest man in the world, and this was Lincoln. The impression left on my mind that day is confident as to that appearance of Lincoln, and still clear to this day. I too remember soldiers everywhere. The country surrounding the city was literally covered with lamps and tents. I recall that one Ohio regiment was camped near the city, and a company that was recruited near Marion, Ohio. Captain Schofield of this company was an old friend of ours and Uncle John visited the Captain in his tent, taking me with him. After several weeks in Wasington D.C., returning home and taking up farm work was quite a let down after so much "high life" and how I longed to get into the army and have a uniform like the "boys." He goes on to write about his exploits while buffalo hunting; His mother's visit to "her boys" in 1882; The Pioneers; Then and Now; &c. He ends this memoir by signing his name, "William E. Guthrie, Bridgeport Nebraska, March 31st, 1931." He then adds his handwritten "The Sequel" to include Grandmother's Bible and Old Time Religion; Pioneer Mothers; Religion Then and Now, &c. The last few pages of this incredible and engrossing handwritten book are genealogy records copied from "the old Bible belonging to Isaac & Rachel Guthrey; Marriages, Births, Deaths, and a final foot note; "From Maggie, he was the first to go." Maggie was his daughter and she was recording that he died before her. This historically important diary may have history in here that one could not find in a history book as it is a first person account of life as it was lived by William Eugene Guthrie born July 26, 1849; (married Margaret Snow Hewitt 12-3-1885), and known by his friends as Billy Guthrie, died at the age of 85, on Nov. 15, 1935. Affixed to a page is a cut-out from the Wyoming Stock Growers' Association of the "Guthrie & Oskamp Cattle Company, W.E. Guthrie, General Manager, Cheyenne, Wyoming (1885) PO address, Cheyenne, Wyo. Range, La Bonte, Wagon Hound and La Prele Creeks." BIO NOTES: Guthrie in the History of Western Nebraska: William E. Guthrie, whose extensive business activities and public efforts had made him prominent for years in Wyoming and Nebraska, was a resident of Bridgeport since 1904, and was then the secretary of the board of irrigation in this district. Mr. Guthrie was born at Rue, in Marion County, Ohio, July 26, 1849, the son of Isaac F. and Rachel (Fredrick) Guthrie. The father was born in Ohio, a son of Joseph Guthrie, and a grandson of Colonel John Guthrie, an officer in the Revolutionary War. Mr. Guthrie's parents were married in Ohio and he was the second born of their twelve children, the other survivors being as follows: S. A., in the sheep business in Wyoming; a sister, the wife of County Clerk Clelland, of Converse county, Wyoming; P. E., in the cattle business in Broken Bow, Nebras

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