frequently called upon to attend cases in various parts of the city. He was permitted to attend to his patients, but was shackled and accompanied by Sheriff Peterson. It was but

     [Boyd's Opera House, substantially and attractively constructed, stands at Fifteenth and Farnam streets in the business heart of the city. It is of brick with stone trimmings. The building was erected in 1881 by the Hon. James E. Boyd, one of Omaha's foremost citizens. He started out with a view to having a model opera house, and succeeded. He placed the matter in the hands of John McElfatrick & Sons, experienced architects, and the result was a safe and comely edifice with every convenience for the public, and every accessory for the comfort of the actor, combined with the most desirable stage effect. There are larger houses of the class in some eastern cities; there are more showy ones, but for quiet elegance, for neatness devoid of gaudy display, for acoustic properties and general welfare of audience and players, Boyd's Opera House is all that could be desired. The house was

BOYD'S OPERA HOUSE.

built exclusively for the presentation of the drama and opera and is complete in every particular. It is 77x132 feet in dimensions. The front is 90 feet in elevation and the rear 110. This additional height is for the better working of stage appurtenances. There are 976 grand opera chairs and a gallery capable of seating 690 persons, making a total seating capacity of nearly 1,700. There are six proscenium boxes which are perhaps as elegant in finish as any in America. The proscenium opening is 34 feet in width. The stage is 50x74 feet. The scenic effects are complete and adapted to the presentation of every style of play. The danger of fire is reduced to a minimum, the building being heated by steam throughout and a complete outfit of fire apparatus on every hand, and at every performance there are two detailed firemen ready for duty in an emergency. The management has no difficulty in securing the best attractions. Omaha is classed as a good "show town," with a population of 100,000, made up mostly of enterprising people of sufficient refinement and culture to patronize Art in all its branches. It is not strange then that such a Thespian temple as Boyd's Opera House should be crowded whenever the merit of the attraction is such as to appeal to a cultivated taste. It can be fairly said that no other opera house can present a finer line of attractions. The leading stars on their tours from coast to coast always book Omaha, and the patrons of Boyd's see the first talent of the land. The Boyd Opera House was opened October 24, 1881, by the Fay Templeton Opera Company in Mascotte, and since that time it has been running with a success which, always marked, was never more pronounced than at present. Mr. Thomas F. Boyd, a brother of the proprietor, has acted as manager from the first. The present high standing of the house with the public and the theatrical profession testifies to his capabilities. He is assisted by E. E. Whitmore, in the capacity of treasurer. The two, combining experience with a desire to sustain the reputation of the house, and at the same time gratify the public taste, have at all times put forward their best efforts, and to them must be ascribed a large measure of the success attained. The central location of the house will be noted by all visitors. Perhaps no other corner in the city could so well have been adapted to theatrical purposes. It is passed by most of the street car lines and is in easy reach of the leading hotels. It is not too much to say that Omaha is proud of Boyd's Opera House.]

natural that Dr. Henry should make many warm friends, and as a result the next grand jury did not indict him. It was maintained that he had acted in self-defense. Thus was the first murder case in Douglas county disposed of. Dr. Henry became a very prominent and enterprising citizen, and erected the first portion of Pioneer Block, a three-story brick building, in 1856.

[George Ingersoll Gilbert, one of the "Seven Gilbert Boys" -- sons of Deacon Simeon Gilbert -- who were noted in Vermont as having passed through the same university, was born in Pittsford, Rutland county, Vermont, and graduated at the University of Vermont, Burlington, in 1853. Immediately after leaving the university he was appointed Professor of Mathematics in Louisiana
College, Louisiana, which position he filled till 1856, when be resigned. Having studied law he was admitted to the bar in Chicago, Ill., in 1857, and the same year came to Omaha and entered into practice. In 1858 he was elected City Attorney, Mr. A. J. Poppleton being Mayor, and during his term of office represented the city at the United States Land Office, in cases involving titles to all the original entries of land within the corporate limits of the city, outside of the Mayor's entry of 320 acres. His official connection with these cases made Mr. Gilbert thoroughly acquainted with the early titles to Omaha real estate, and his later practice has been largely in that direction. In 1860 Mr. Gilbert formed a law partnership with Hon. George B. Lake, and in the fall of 1861 was elected Prosecuting Attorney for Douglas county, which position he resigned in 1862, and in company with E. B. Chandler crossed the Plains. In the fall of that year he was	GEORGE INGERSOLL GILBERT.	one of the discoverers of Boise Mines, then in Washington Territory. The following winter the Territorial Legislature created a county covering the southern half of what is now Idaho Territory, and in the act named Mr. Gilbert Probate Judge of the new county, in which capacity he held the first legally constituted court in that section of the country. While practicing his profession there he was largely interested in placer mining, in connection with Mike Murphy, well remembered by all early settlers in Omaha as a brother of Mrs. Cuming, wife of the late Governor T. B. Cuming, and of Mr. Frank Murphy, now president of the Merchants' National Bank of Omaha. In 1867 Mr. Gilbert left the Territory and went to Chicago, where he engaged in the commission business as a member of the firm of Gilbert, Wolcott & Co., in which he was interested until 1873, the firm meantime passing through the great Chicago Fire in 1871. In 1869 he returned to Omaha
and soon afterward resumed his law practice. In 1876 he formed a partnership with Mr. B. E. B. Kennedy, which association still exists. In 1887 he was appointed by Governor Thayer one of the Fire and Police Commissioners provided for by the new charter of Omaha, passed at the last session of the Legislature. Upon this Board of four Commissioners, with the Mayor as a member, ex-officio, has devolved the onerous duty of establishing a metropolitan police system for the city of Omaha.

and A. J. Hanscom. Some very stormy scenes ensued. The Speaker at one time ordered the sergeant-at-arms to arrest Hanscom, who defied the officer to carry out the order. It was evident that the arrest could not be made without a serious altercation, and the sergeant-at-arms abandoned the attempt. This was a great victory for the Omaha men, who now became bolder, and made it so disagreeable for the Speaker that rather than occupy the chair he pretended to be sick, and appointed General Strickland to fill the chair in his absence. Finally, by a judicious use of money, enough votes were secured by Omaha to prevent the passage of the capital removal bill over the Governor's veto. When

RESIDENCE OF H. KOUNTZE.

the fourth Legislature convened in the winter of 1857-58 the capital removers once more came up smiling, and as usual introduced a bill to locate the capital elsewhere. Mr. Hanscom, although not a member of this Legislature, was called upon to act as the leader of Omaha's defenders. One morning the House went into committee of the whole, and elected as its chairman Dr. Thrall, who thereupon took the Speaker's chair. A great deal of time was taken up in talk, this being a part of the Omaha programme. It was continued until after the Council adjourned. Late in the afternoon a message was received from the clerk of the Council. A question was at once raised under the joint rules that no message could be received by one branch when the other, that sent it, was not in session. Mr. Decker, the Speaker, endeavored during the discussion to take the chair, and announced that the committee of the whole would rise and receive the message from the Council. Hanscom, who had the usual ex-member's privilege of the floor, yelled to Thrall to hit Decker over the head with the gavel. The result was a very lively fight. J. W. Paddock and Michael Murphy, both members of the House, sprang forward to prevent Decker from assaulting Thrall, and during the scuffle Hanscom grabbed Decker by the back of the neck