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Thieves, Rascals and Sore Losers: The Unsettling History of the Dirty Deals that Helped Settle Nebraska
On they came, from Belgium and New Hampshire, from Ireland, Germany and Scandinavia, from the Chicago fire, from the territories: Utah, Wyoming, Kansas, the Dakotas.
All the way they brawled, about Indians, about border lines, about slavery, about who was the bigger imbecile.
And then they fought County Seat Wars in most of the 3,000 new counties.
A thousand of those remaining ended up in south central Nebraska, scrapping about Harlan County and which still-imagined town should hold the seat of government.
All the way they brawled, about Indians, about border lines, about slavery, about who was the bigger imbecile.
And then they fought County Seat Wars in most of the 3,000 new counties.
A thousand of those remaining ended up in south central Nebraska, scrapping about Harlan County and which still-imagined town should hold the seat of government.
317 pages, Paperback
First published April 23, 2015
28 people are currently reading
1300 people want to read
About the author
Marilyn Coffey
12 books23 followersGreat Plains writer Marilyn Coffey has written three books, 600 poems, and dozens of articles and stories. A trained journalist (B.A., University of Nebraska, 1959) and creative writer (M.F.A., Brooklyn College, 1981), she has produced work that includes a popular memoir, a record-setting novel, and a prize-winning poem.
Her poem, "Pricksong," reviewed in the Los Angeles Times Book Review and Newsweek, won a national Pushcart Prize. Coffey’s novel "Marcella" made literary history. It was the first novel written in English to use female autoeroticism as a main theme. Gloria Steinem called it "an important part of the truth
telling by and for women."
In 1989, Coffey’s memoir, Great Plains Patchwork, appeared. The New York Times called it entertaining and insightful. Atlantic Monthly featured a chapter as its cover story. Natural History bought two chapters, American Heritage one. Harper & Row, McGraw-Hill, Macmillan, and Harcourt Brace Jovanovich printed excerpts.
Known as a prose stylist, Coffey eceived a Master Alumnus award for distinction in the field of writing from the University of Nebraska in 1977. Since 1987, the UNL Archives has collected
forty boxes of Coffey’s papers in its Mari Sandoz room. In 1991, Coffey investigated the orphan train movement, developing three programs for the Nebraska Humanities Council. One became the second most popular of the 232 programs underwritten by NHC and spurred her to write Mail-Order Kid.
Now retired, Coffey taught writing at Boston University, Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, and Fort Hays State University in Kansas for thirty-four years, twice earning tenure. She became an interpretive reader/performer, appearing on local radio stations, statewide TV, and before more than 130 groups in twelve states, from Maine to Texas.
Coffey is an Admiral in the Great Navy of Nebraska, the state's highest honor. However, the honorary title is given
tongue in cheek, since Admirals in landlocked Nebraska claim jurisdiction over little but tadpoles. Governor J. James Exon appointed Coffey, a Nebraska native, an Admiral in 1977 for her writing achievements.
Marilyn Coffey also writes as Marilyn June Coffey
Her poem, "Pricksong," reviewed in the Los Angeles Times Book Review and Newsweek, won a national Pushcart Prize. Coffey’s novel "Marcella" made literary history. It was the first novel written in English to use female autoeroticism as a main theme. Gloria Steinem called it "an important part of the truth
telling by and for women."
In 1989, Coffey’s memoir, Great Plains Patchwork, appeared. The New York Times called it entertaining and insightful. Atlantic Monthly featured a chapter as its cover story. Natural History bought two chapters, American Heritage one. Harper & Row, McGraw-Hill, Macmillan, and Harcourt Brace Jovanovich printed excerpts.
Known as a prose stylist, Coffey eceived a Master Alumnus award for distinction in the field of writing from the University of Nebraska in 1977. Since 1987, the UNL Archives has collected
forty boxes of Coffey’s papers in its Mari Sandoz room. In 1991, Coffey investigated the orphan train movement, developing three programs for the Nebraska Humanities Council. One became the second most popular of the 232 programs underwritten by NHC and spurred her to write Mail-Order Kid.
Now retired, Coffey taught writing at Boston University, Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, and Fort Hays State University in Kansas for thirty-four years, twice earning tenure. She became an interpretive reader/performer, appearing on local radio stations, statewide TV, and before more than 130 groups in twelve states, from Maine to Texas.
Coffey is an Admiral in the Great Navy of Nebraska, the state's highest honor. However, the honorary title is given
tongue in cheek, since Admirals in landlocked Nebraska claim jurisdiction over little but tadpoles. Governor J. James Exon appointed Coffey, a Nebraska native, an Admiral in 1977 for her writing achievements.
Marilyn Coffey also writes as Marilyn June Coffey
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
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August 30, 2016A couple weeks ago, someone was posting on Twitter about how boring a complete nothing Nebraska was. At that time, I’d just begun this book, and my thought was, that flat land and those no-nonsense tornado-withstanding buildings hide a past a whole lot wilder than you think!
The focus of this highly colorful, tall-tale feeling non fiction work is the story of the long-standing feud between two Nebraskan cities in Harlan County, over which would get the county seat. The actual struggle took place 1871-1884, but the feud has come down a century and more since.
The author claims to have read uncounted (innumerable”) legal documents, court proceedings, records by historians, letters, and ancient newspaper clippings. There are no footnotes and there is only a partial bibliography, so the reader has to take it for granted that the conversations, and inner thoughts, as well as the physical descriptions, motivations, and goals of the colorful figures depicted here originate in some record or other.
The result is a highly readable, often funny, something darkly humorous and deadly satiric story of the Nebraska plains from the time they belonged to the vast population of buffalo and the Native Americans who chased them, up to the pompous, brass-band eighteen-eighties.
Many of the pioneers who first entered that land had greed as motivation, and their strategies and tactics proved it out. Others had visions of a new land, great opportunities after the wars and famines of other nations drove them to set forth across the ocean in order to start over. (Assuming they weren’t forced over, as in the case of the relatively small number of slaves brought in by settlers; one of the most satisfying small stories is of a man who brought along his six slaves, all of whom promptly took off, the two women first. And they successfully escaped him, in spite of thousand dollar bounties on their heads. One can only imagine what their lives were like with this guy.)
The grimmest reading is reserved for the wars against the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Sioux, and Pawnee, who were cheated and then massacred—and who often fought back just as viciously, both sides taking it out on the non-combatants, such as the thoroughly evil Sand Creek Massacre.
Rascals and sore losers abound as soon as there were enough people to try starting legislatures. Part of that colorful history are the early legislators who got themselves voted in via crooked elections, and proceeded to argue over whether or not one could drink out of a whiskey bottle while legislating. One of the few accomplishments of this bunch of rowdies (who had knock-down drag-outs over who got to hold the gavel) was to inadvertently repeal all laws, restoring Nebraska to colonial status. Too bad the British seemed unaware of their opportunity to come in and restore things to pre-1776 status. Or maybe they did know, and wisely decided it was too much trouble.
All-in-all it’s a fun read, and if those conversations and inner thoughts are more fiction than non, well, who is to say for certain?
Copy received from NetGalley
The focus of this highly colorful, tall-tale feeling non fiction work is the story of the long-standing feud between two Nebraskan cities in Harlan County, over which would get the county seat. The actual struggle took place 1871-1884, but the feud has come down a century and more since.
The author claims to have read uncounted (innumerable”) legal documents, court proceedings, records by historians, letters, and ancient newspaper clippings. There are no footnotes and there is only a partial bibliography, so the reader has to take it for granted that the conversations, and inner thoughts, as well as the physical descriptions, motivations, and goals of the colorful figures depicted here originate in some record or other.
The result is a highly readable, often funny, something darkly humorous and deadly satiric story of the Nebraska plains from the time they belonged to the vast population of buffalo and the Native Americans who chased them, up to the pompous, brass-band eighteen-eighties.
Many of the pioneers who first entered that land had greed as motivation, and their strategies and tactics proved it out. Others had visions of a new land, great opportunities after the wars and famines of other nations drove them to set forth across the ocean in order to start over. (Assuming they weren’t forced over, as in the case of the relatively small number of slaves brought in by settlers; one of the most satisfying small stories is of a man who brought along his six slaves, all of whom promptly took off, the two women first. And they successfully escaped him, in spite of thousand dollar bounties on their heads. One can only imagine what their lives were like with this guy.)
The grimmest reading is reserved for the wars against the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Sioux, and Pawnee, who were cheated and then massacred—and who often fought back just as viciously, both sides taking it out on the non-combatants, such as the thoroughly evil Sand Creek Massacre.
Rascals and sore losers abound as soon as there were enough people to try starting legislatures. Part of that colorful history are the early legislators who got themselves voted in via crooked elections, and proceeded to argue over whether or not one could drink out of a whiskey bottle while legislating. One of the few accomplishments of this bunch of rowdies (who had knock-down drag-outs over who got to hold the gavel) was to inadvertently repeal all laws, restoring Nebraska to colonial status. Too bad the British seemed unaware of their opportunity to come in and restore things to pre-1776 status. Or maybe they did know, and wisely decided it was too much trouble.
All-in-all it’s a fun read, and if those conversations and inner thoughts are more fiction than non, well, who is to say for certain?
Copy received from NetGalley
December 21, 2015
First things first: I received a copy of this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
Prior to reading this book I knew two things about Nebraska: It's a state in the Great Plains region and the capital is Lincoln. Thankfully, Thieves, Rascals and Sore Losers fleshed out a good chunk of the early settlement of Nebraska, providing a great deal of detail on the arrival of the early non-native populace, the manner in which the territory was carved out, and in-depth biographical information on some of the important people.
The voice of the book is surprisingly casual, often coming across with less of a voice of authority and more with the kind of manner that you would expect when having a conversation with a local on their front porch when they really want you to appreciate the area's history. One particular county gets almost all of the book's attention, possibly because that county is the most important in the state, but potentially just because it's the author's home county and she cared about it more than the others.
Unfortunately, the offhanded way that the book is written causes it to delve into highly speculative areas. One particular vice of the book is to represent scenes and conversations that are entirely imaginary beyond the probability that two people likely did speak to each other. While providing some information, almost all of these episodes read more like marginal historical fiction than real history.
This book will doubtlessly be popular with tourists and locals in Alma, Nebraska (perhaps less so in Orleans), and people who like their history on the colloquial side will certainly get a kick out of it. If you're looking for a more academic history book, you might want to look elsewhere.
Prior to reading this book I knew two things about Nebraska: It's a state in the Great Plains region and the capital is Lincoln. Thankfully, Thieves, Rascals and Sore Losers fleshed out a good chunk of the early settlement of Nebraska, providing a great deal of detail on the arrival of the early non-native populace, the manner in which the territory was carved out, and in-depth biographical information on some of the important people.
The voice of the book is surprisingly casual, often coming across with less of a voice of authority and more with the kind of manner that you would expect when having a conversation with a local on their front porch when they really want you to appreciate the area's history. One particular county gets almost all of the book's attention, possibly because that county is the most important in the state, but potentially just because it's the author's home county and she cared about it more than the others.
Unfortunately, the offhanded way that the book is written causes it to delve into highly speculative areas. One particular vice of the book is to represent scenes and conversations that are entirely imaginary beyond the probability that two people likely did speak to each other. While providing some information, almost all of these episodes read more like marginal historical fiction than real history.
This book will doubtlessly be popular with tourists and locals in Alma, Nebraska (perhaps less so in Orleans), and people who like their history on the colloquial side will certainly get a kick out of it. If you're looking for a more academic history book, you might want to look elsewhere.
August 2, 2017
This book was very confusing at first then just annoying. The author tried writing a non-fiction but didn't have enough information for to fill her book so she included fictionalized scenes to take up space. If she didn't have that much information why write a book that is over 300 pages?
Read
July 6, 2016I got to about 50 pages and unfortunately stopped reading. The words "dirty deal" appeared three times on two pages and I just cannot handle that level of editing.
DNF
DNF
January 1, 2021
My thanks to Goodreads for a copy of this ebook.
This book is partly fictional, mostly historical with a dash of histrionics, telling of the rapscallions involved in the creation of the state of Nebraska. The book is fun and interesting, but is a little odd to read. Ms. Coffey's writing is full of facts, but so much fiction is added, conversations made up, thoughts are given to characters, that you find yourself wondering why she didn't just go the whole historical fiction route. Also if you hate the word "Rascals" stay away. The word appears numerous times, in various forms in over half the pages. For a primer on Nebraska and its history this is a good place to start.
This book is partly fictional, mostly historical with a dash of histrionics, telling of the rapscallions involved in the creation of the state of Nebraska. The book is fun and interesting, but is a little odd to read. Ms. Coffey's writing is full of facts, but so much fiction is added, conversations made up, thoughts are given to characters, that you find yourself wondering why she didn't just go the whole historical fiction route. Also if you hate the word "Rascals" stay away. The word appears numerous times, in various forms in over half the pages. For a primer on Nebraska and its history this is a good place to start.
August 6, 2021
This book is presented as a historical account of the settling of the Nebraska territory in the late 1800's. Although, I believe that the facts that can be documented are probably accurate, I think there probably is a lot of embellishment to make the story more interesting. It really doesn't matter since the kernel of the truth is enjoyable and makes a very readable story. (There's a lot of shake-your-head history to the settling of this country and perhaps explains where we are today since we're descendants of these settlers.)
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review.
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review.
November 6, 2020
A great example of the corruption of our people and in our government from 150 years ago. Things never change in politics. I've read several books that refer to this time period; from the Civil War to the turn of the century, and am always amazed at the cruelties of people of those times. We ended the way of life for the native Americans and fought among ourselves, sometimes over such petty things. For those that aren't familiar with that part of our history it's an eye-opener.
November 14, 2016
I am not from Nebraska. I have never been to Nebraska. I've never been particularly interested in Nebraska, especially the particular counties of the state. So you might wonder why I requested an ARC of Marilyn Coffey's THIEVES, RASCALS AND SORE LOSERS and read it. It's because I'm a history nerd.
And, as Coffey's detailed history of Harlan County, Nebraska made clear to me, I knew a lot more about the state than I thought I did. This is, no doubt, thanks to a fascination with the Old West. Reading this book made me think of Laura Ingalls Wilder, of Willa Cather, of the novelization I've read of Tiana Rogers, of documentaries about the Wild West and the colorful figures then and there, and even of the Dog Soldiers and Cheyenne on the television show "Longmire." Coffey proves, with amazing success, that even the most minute details of history can be related to the larger picture that everyone knows just from... existing.
One of the best things about Coffey's book, though, is the... conversational nature of it. There are facts and figures, dates and details, minutiae and momentous occasions - all as any history book has - but Coffey tells the story of Harlan County, of her county, in a voice that is relatable to laymen and, rare for books like this, highly entertaining. Imagined conversations between the colorful figures in the county, who might seem dour and dusty in an ordinary book, bring to life a time and a place that must have been daunting and frightening and still a hopeful place to begin life. I kind of want to read Coffey tell me her interpretation of all my history now.
The only drawback is the last bit of the book, where Harlan County chooses it's name, it's county seat, and generally joins the "modern" world. So many vote counts and dates and judges' rulings bring the dusty and dour history back. But, then again, I like history so the "modern" parts are bound to lose me!
(I received a copy of THIEVES, RASCALS AND SORE LOSERS through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest & original review. All thoughts are my own.)
And, as Coffey's detailed history of Harlan County, Nebraska made clear to me, I knew a lot more about the state than I thought I did. This is, no doubt, thanks to a fascination with the Old West. Reading this book made me think of Laura Ingalls Wilder, of Willa Cather, of the novelization I've read of Tiana Rogers, of documentaries about the Wild West and the colorful figures then and there, and even of the Dog Soldiers and Cheyenne on the television show "Longmire." Coffey proves, with amazing success, that even the most minute details of history can be related to the larger picture that everyone knows just from... existing.
One of the best things about Coffey's book, though, is the... conversational nature of it. There are facts and figures, dates and details, minutiae and momentous occasions - all as any history book has - but Coffey tells the story of Harlan County, of her county, in a voice that is relatable to laymen and, rare for books like this, highly entertaining. Imagined conversations between the colorful figures in the county, who might seem dour and dusty in an ordinary book, bring to life a time and a place that must have been daunting and frightening and still a hopeful place to begin life. I kind of want to read Coffey tell me her interpretation of all my history now.
The only drawback is the last bit of the book, where Harlan County chooses it's name, it's county seat, and generally joins the "modern" world. So many vote counts and dates and judges' rulings bring the dusty and dour history back. But, then again, I like history so the "modern" parts are bound to lose me!
(I received a copy of THIEVES, RASCALS AND SORE LOSERS through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest & original review. All thoughts are my own.)
March 9, 2018
The history itself was interesting, but I just can not abide this re-creation of conversations. It is one of my biggest pet peeves in non-fiction works.
You can see the rest of my review on my blog:
https://allthebookblognamesaretaken.b...
You can see the rest of my review on my blog:
https://allthebookblognamesaretaken.b...
July 28, 2016
Nebraska, the Cornhusker State, doesn't grace many pages in U.S. History textbooks, but not for a lack of trying. Though often overshadowed by the more flashy of the Union (California, New York, Texas, and Louisiana, to name a few) Nebraska has as deep and eccentric a history as the best of them, and Marilyn June Coffey does her state true justice in "Thieves, Rascals, and Sore Losers."
Written in an approachable and amusing manner, Coffey takes us on a journey to Harlan County, and the hijinks of territorial disputes, the Civil War, and stuffed ballot boxes that plagued her birthplace at its, well, birth.
Surely a book all Americans should read, and anyone seeking a more diverse historical text than the run-of-the-mill wars & standard politics all too common with American textbooks.
Written in an approachable and amusing manner, Coffey takes us on a journey to Harlan County, and the hijinks of territorial disputes, the Civil War, and stuffed ballot boxes that plagued her birthplace at its, well, birth.
Surely a book all Americans should read, and anyone seeking a more diverse historical text than the run-of-the-mill wars & standard politics all too common with American textbooks.
August 28, 2016
I really enjoyed the story of chicanery and trickery that surrounded the founding of Harlan County, Nebraska. The problem with regional history is that it can become boring very quickly to those outside the region. Coffey avoids this pitfall by focusing on the people and their antics. Her informal tone and wealth of resources makes this a great tale. The only challenge in the ebook format is that you can't flip to a map or list of residents as quickly as you would in a book. Such reference materials go a long way in helping to keep all the details straight.
That aside, this was a pretty good book.
That aside, this was a pretty good book.
February 13, 2016
I have only been to Nebraska once, and I wish that I had read this book before my trip. I could have visualized how the areas started and then related that to the way they have become. It's amazing how many shenanigans were involved in start of many areas in the state, and I suspect that was similar in many of our states. The story and characters were very interesting and I'm glad that I won this book from Goodreads First Reads as it's a book that I wouldn't have thought that I'd be interested in. I thought that it was very good and well-written.
December 13, 2015
A non-technical book for the general public. Heavily researched around specific topics with suppositions when no factual evidence was provided. Not a fast-paced or exciting read, I skipped through several stalled chapters, but I appreciate winning the book through Goodreads giveaway.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews