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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 1910)
BETZVHXE TAEES ins Schwartz and the Shadow i Parker Bailor, Atdhor of Fids isPids Eic ILLUSTRATED y PETER. NEWELL Last Tuesday nbout flvo o'clock Bab klna Schwartz, who was nt ono tttno lone of llctzvlllo'H most respected lets-luro-classlBtfl, walked up to Uncle Ash dod Clootz'n back door and asked for Ave dollars. Ho said that If he couldn't havo that ho would willingly nccopt a squaro meal, a pair of shoes, n toothpick, or any old hunk of chew ing gum that might ho sticking on the undcroldo of n chair or table. Ho finally compromised on a chew of fluo cut tobacco. From tho story told to Undo Ashdod wo Judge that Dallclna lias been having a hard time of It since he loft Hotzvlllo and went west. Uncle Ashdod happened to remark that Balkans was so thin ho hardly cast a shadow, and Dnlklns Immediate , ly burst Into tears. He said ho couldn't boar to hear a shadow men tloncd after what had happened to him In Colorado. Halklns said that as soon ns ho struck Colorado he know ho was In God's country, and ho decided ho would settle down thoro If ho could find anyone that would feed and lodgo him frco gratis, and giro him clotlios for nothing, and the first week ho was there ho found tho right widow, and they wore married In June, and Balklnu settled right down to work at IiIb Job, which wnfl pulling n rock ing chair Into tho shadow of the house and dropping off comfortably to Bleep between meals. Ho said ho liked tho Job first rate, except that the mm out there keeps moving all tho time, nnd tnnco to get In the shadow again, but tho next moment ho realized that he Bcttlo down about n half a mile away, It away. Ho says ho saw tho houso was still In tho shadow of tho house. Yes, Blr, ho Bays It was a fact, ha was still In tho shadow of tho hoUsol Ho said ho did not try to account for It at first, but In a mlnuto ho figured that tho shadow must have been very loosely attached to tho house, and that whon tho wind struck the houso it was blowing so high that it did not touch tho shadow at all, but Just wrenched tho house looso from tho shadow, nnd. left" tho low-lying shad ow whero it was. At first, Halklns says, ho was mighty ploosed mighty pleased because ho did not hnvo to movo his rocking chair, but tho next moment ho bogan to weep, for ho saw that he would hnvo to walk all tho way to tho houso every meal time, nnd then wnlk tho half inllo to tho shadow for his nap, nnd If it came to that, ha might as well bo tramping again, Ho says ho put up with It for a weok, for tho widow's Bake, and tramped back nnd forth between tho house and tho shad ,ow three times a day, and then ho got sick of It. Ho said ho felt that n lo cation half a mllo awny from a houso was no plnco for a house's shadow, and ho was looking nt thp ' shadow moodily. ono day when ho noticed that tho shadow was curling up a little at one edge, and that gave him an Idea. So ho got tho ox toani and EOItOE WASHING ton's homo and tomb at Mount Vernon hnvo becomo a Mecca for contlnunl pilgrimages by tho pcoplo of a grateful nation, to say nothing of the fro riucnt visits of dis tinguished foreigners i but, oaaiy onougn, tno uirinpinco 01 tho Father of Ills Country, locaton some milts nearer tho mouth of the otomac, is neglected nnd to a con siderable extent uuknown. hortu- atcly n movement has been recent- inaugurated to rcstoro nnd pro- servo Waucuoiu pianmuon, wncrc Washington was born nnd whero ho pent his boyhood. This project is coincident with tho plan for the res toration of Stratford, tho birthplace of Robort 13. Leo. Tho opportunities for a memorial shrlno to tho military leader of tho confederacy nro, however, comcwhat superior to thoso nt Wakefield, for whereas tho ancestral homo of tho Lees is yet standing In a fair state of preservation thero nants of tho old buildings at Wake field savo Bomo tumble-down log structures of uncertain origin' which are reputed to havo onco nerved ns slavo quarters, but which nrb now utilized ns corn cribs. Tho old manor houso in which Gcorgo Washington oponed his eyos upon tho world was burned in tho last century, but the brick chimney, within tho arch of which four people could sit, and tho cornerstone with a portion of tho foundation wcro saved. .Shortly beforo the civil war the his toric farm passed Into tho hands of a family which at tho outset showed Ho vVns Looking nt tho Shadow That tho Shadow Was Cu the shadow of tho house would shift around somowhnt, nnd thon rinlklna had to got up and mova his chair Into tho Bhadow again. And nothing he :ouhl sny would mnko tho widow toto his. meals out to him ho Just had to braco up nnd wnlk Into tho houno for them at mcnl tlmo, or go without. Hut ho was pretty reasonably happy. Ho Raid ho would sit thero In tho shade and slumber, and wh6n ho wcnrlcd of that ho would sit thorn nnd dozo, and between times ho would got u llttlo chnngo by sitting thoro and sleeping. Halklns said he couldn't Imagine but ono thing that might spoil his hap piness, which was that tho houso might tnkb nro and burp down, and then thero would bo no shadow of It for htm to nlccp in, nnd ho Bald ho had awful nightmares right thero In tub daytime, dreaming ho wan trying to.fvo the Bhadow of tho Iioubo, and the shadow Blowly disappearing iih thp house burned, nnd then ho would awaken nnd find that tho bud had moved around and wan shining on him, and ho would havo to got up and go to all tho cxprtlon of moving his rocking chnlr into tho shadow again, Along about August 6th, when tho sun was at its hottest, Hnlklus was Bitting thoro In tho shadow of tho hotiBo when ono of thoso nwful Colo, rado winds enmo up. HUT! U came, with tho suddenness of nn explosion, nnd struck tho. houso full force, and tho rirftt thing Halklns know tho houso was sailing away through tho air. Ho Bald that for u mlnuto ho could hardly reallzo It. It was a medium high wind nbout ton feet high nnd down whero ho was thero was not a rlpplo of air not enough to rock his chnlr hut It caught the houao and whooped and hiK first thought wrb that be must get up nnd tote his qhalr nU (Ant Ula- Moodily Ono Day When He Noticed rllng Up a Llttlo at Ono Edge. hitched it onto tho looso edgo of tho shadow and drovo tho ox-team in tho direction of the house. At first tho shadow Boomed to bo following nil right, but when ho got about half way to tho houso ho saw ho was mistaken: tho shadow wnB not following, it was fastened tight to tho earth at tho other ond, and It was Just stretching out long nnd thin, llko a sheet or rubber. Hut he goaded tho oxen on, nnd drovo tip to tho Iioubo, and nailed tho end of tro shadow to tho sldo of tho house It wasn't much of a shadow In that Bhapo, It was stretched out half a mllo long, and correspondingly nar row, but Dnlklns said ho thought ho could mnko It do, for It was wide enough to sot n rocking chair In. Hut that night n tcrrlblo thing Imp pened. Tho widow heard a nolao In tho chicken coop and got up to see whnt was tho matter, and Just as she stopped on tho Bhadow tho far end of It cumo looso and It snapped llko a rubber band. Halklns Bald It snapped up ugalnst tho Iioubo with n nolao llko a cannon. Naturally a shadow that has been stretched half n mllo and then suddonly loosened at tho far end would do that. It completely "killed tho widow; killed hor thoroughly, It struck her bo hard, and broko tho rocking chnlr, and Halklns Bays that when ho wont out nnd buw that rock Ing chnlr all smashed, ho didn't havo tho heart to remain, nnd ho come awny. Ho told Undo Ashdod thnt tho only thing ho had left of thoso happy days was a small pteco of tho Bhadow ho cut off as n memento. It looked to Uncle Ashdod llko u small piece of shluglo at first, but when Halklns held It i:p lu the sun In tl;orlght position Undo AHhdod saw that It had It shadow with It all Ight. H did fot a fact! (Cspyrlsht, W?, by W. 5. Chnmnn.) George Washington's Neglected oiilh Wace rWtM e o it a b washing- i I., Or v ions ii oiuo huu iuiuu mnnHiii i m LV H Iff becomo a Mecca for lHFi-i-HlHngaiHI TVSLH contlnunl pilgrimages HHLlBSHliLwnil YZ-iA by tho a HmJUBKmSGMBmStBlmK nro no rem- ii iwrnesmmm yjnA, nmm ii fL TLX VfAJLDON FASVCETT 1 ft. J A some appreciation for Its associations. A suc ceeding generation, however, demolished tho chimney nnd the romnnnts of tho walls In ordor to secure tho bricks. A mnrblo slab, bearing nn inscription giving tho dato of WaahlnKton's birth and other Infor- mntlon, which had been Bet Into tho great arch of tho Ilrcplnce above mentioned was removed to tho old family burying ground, but in niacins: it beneath two ancient ilg-trces. nlantod by tho mother of Washington, It was broken and Its fragments Ho thero to day, moss-grown and vlno-covored. Later on picnic parties landod on tho snndy beach and mado such a prac tice of carrying away the bricks ns souvenirs that John W. Wilson, tho owner of the farm, took steps to provont further trospasslng. Only a few of tho old bricks, together with tho cornerstones, nro now loft. Theso bricks, by tho way, wero brought over from Eng land nearly two centu ries ago. serving ns ballast for tho vessels, which also brought all tho -woodwork nnd other fur nishings. Tho broad portico of tho old . house faced tho Potomac, which is here miles in width, and in tho estimation of many persons tho view nt this point surpasses that at clthor Arlington or Mount Vernon. In tho year 1895 tho national government erected nt Wakefield a miniature copy of tho Washington national monument with the Inscrlp- tlon "Washington's Birthplaco," and In small letterB at tho baso tho words: "Erected by tho United States, A. DJ 1895." Latterly plans havo been pro jected for rebuilding tho old mansion,! placing in a conspicuous portion. -of! tho structuro tho few bricks remain ing from tho old houso and UBlng tho original cornerstone In the old family burying ground! nt Wakefield thero has recently been: put in plnco a granlto slob in memory of -Augustlno Washington, father oC Georgo Washington. This stono wast provided by tho Society of tho Colo nial Datnen of America. In this grave yard, nlso, Ib a mnrblo slab tearing un inscription that indicates thnt It was placed in its present position la 1729. Probably tho principal reason for tho neglect of Wakefield by tho tour- timt visits- Mount Vernon is found la tho Isolation of Washington's birthplace. In coa-. Junction with tho erection of tho governmental monument at Wakefield a BUbstantial pier was built extending somo dlstnnco out Into tho Poto mac, but this pier Is noW In shoal water and none- of tho larger steamers plying on tho Poto mac can reach It. In consequence tho only avail able means of reaching Wakefield la to take pas Bago on ono of tho steamers bound for Colonial Bench, tho leading Bummer resort of tho, lower Potomac, and upon arrival at tho boach to either charter a launch for tho trip to Wakefield or else rencli tho samo goal by a considerable drive over roads that aro nono too good. Even, this timo consumlng method of making a pllgrlmago to Wakefield is impracticable In winter. Washington Is tho mightiest name of the earth long alnco mightiest In moral reformation. On that name a eulogy Is oxpected. It cannot bo. To add brightness to tho sun or glory to the namo of .Washington Is alike Impossible Lot nono attempt it. In solemn nwo pronounco tho namo aud In its naked, deathless splendor leave It shining on. Abraham Lincoln. 1st throng America has furnished to tho world tho char acter of Washington. And If our Amorlcnn insti tutions had douo nothing clso that alono would havo entitled thorn to tho respect of mankind. STARTED IN VIRGINIA WW Coiite, boya, closo tho window and mako asood Arc, out,-, i-iiiiurvn, an snuK nil nrounu; 'TIs tho dny that uovo birth to our country's blcas'd Oil u, Thftn Int II .V I 1 1 nlnnnn.. I ....... ...... (iiviinuiu uu UIUWI1CU. Dear wife, brine your wlno, and In iplto of.. Imrd On lhln ilnv nt ton! tvn'll hn ' Como. nil every Klaus till It poura o'er the brim, ji urn wiiii nmucira men sucrry. Old Sons'. i HE foregoing verso Is from ono of tho old birthday songs In honor of, Gcorgo Washington, Thoso songs, wero sung eyen during tho llfctlmo of . the first president. For Washington was alono among Americans In having his birth day regularly und publicly colobrnted during his lifetime. Tho honor of having originated tho publlo ob sorvnnco of Fobruary 22 Is ono of which tho tpwn of Alexandria, Vn., is Jealously proud. Alexandria was Washlngton'o county town. Ho attended church thero; ho voted nnd paid tnxos thero; his physician lived thoro; ho bought of Its trades men, contributed to Ha charities, was head of Its Masonic lodge, organized Its fire brlgado. Washington nnd Alexandria olthor contrndlct tho theory that a prophet Is not appreciated at homo or they are an exception to provo tho rulo. Right nfter tho close of tho revolution Aloxnndrla began to xelebrnto tho birthday of hor hero. Perhaps tho old town had acquired tho habit, for tho blrthnlght balls In honor of King Gcorgo hnd been tho climax of social functions under tho old regime. At nny rnto never was allegiance more nrdently transferred nnd tho now blrthnlght balls becamo oven moro elabornto than tho old. Alexandria having sot tho fashion, other places took up tho custom. In 1784 tho French officers who hnd served under Washington colo brnted February 22 In Pnrls; that Is to say, it was not then February 22, but, according to tho reckoning of that day, Fobruary 11. While ho was president tho birthday wbb al ways eclobrated at tho city whlchwoB tho capi tal for tho tlmo being. At night thero wero gala performances nt tho" theaters and a ball which tho president and his wlfo nttondod. It Is recorded that ono of theso balls In Phlla dolphin was enlivened by tho fact that ranny of tho young ladles wore twined among their curls bandeaux vnbroldercd with tho words, "Long live tho President!" On theso occasions tho presi dent nnd Mrs. Washington wero conducted to a sofa placed under n canopy. Tho president did not stay thero much, but moved nbout among tho other guests with the dignified courtesy which always marked him in society. On his blrthdny in 1797 ho nnd Mrs. Washing ton wero in Philadelphia. Tho ships In tho har bor were dressed with flags aud tho houses wero decorated. Evory half hour tho church bells rang. Government ofllclals and foreign diplomats called to congratulate him. Tho ball at night wns lu tho amphitheater, specially floored and deco rated. Thero wero about BOO guests and accord ing , to au oyo witness "ovory countonnnco bo spoko pleasuro and approbation; oven Democrats forgot, for a moment their enmity," Tho next year, 1798, Washington nttended tho celebration given by his friends nnd neighbors at Alexandria and somo accounts dcclnro that it was tho last tlmo ho did so. He was at Mount Vernon in 1799 on his blrthdny, It being tho occa sion of ono of tho greatest festivities In tho his tory of tho mnnslon, tho mnrrlago of Nolly Cub tls. Tho ceremony was performed nt early candlollght In tho banquet room and was attend ed by the gentlefolk from all tho country around. In splto of tho wedding, howovor, Washington Beems to havo slipped away for a look In on tho doings nt Alexandria; for thero Is on account of that colebratlou In nn old copy of tho Alexandria Gnzotto In which his prosonce Is mentioned. Tho great ovont of thnt particular day was a sort of Bham ntlack on tho town by threo companies of Iocnl Infantry. They wero embarked on tho armed schooners Ncptuno, Trial and Mercury and succeeded In making two Inndlngs, but nfter "a heavy and continuous street fighting" wero finally compelled to surrender. Tho general had arrlvod soon nfter tho nffalr' began and whon tho evolutions woro closed ho "presented his highest respects to nil tho parties engaged In them." Apparently being duo for tho wedding eight miles distant, ho did not romnln for any of tho dinners which followed nnd at which bo extromo n number of toasts wero drunk thnt ono trembles at tho thought of how the youthful soldiers ncqultted themselves at the ball In tho ovenlng. That was tho last of his birthdays which Washington himself lived to eclobrate, but bis homo town faithfully continued tho custom. G, W, P. Custls, tho grandson of Mrs. Washing ton, spoko nt tho public dinner In 1849 nnd said it was tho elxtloth celebration of Fobruary 22 which ho had attended in Alexandria. Tho ac count of that dinner, by tho way, save that "the sumptuous provision was enjoyed with much hilarity, tempered, however, with moderation." Besides tho blrthnlght balls thero was another fenturo of tho early celebrations in Alexandria which wus peculiar to that town. Washington had founded an orphan asylum thero nnd whon on his birthday thero would bo a meeting, with an orator. In ono of tho churches, tho orphans wcro conspicuously present nnd camo In for a special piece of oration. Tho account of the meeting in 1840 Bnys that nfter tho oration a col lection wns takon up for tho benoflt of tho asy lum. The Alexandria celebrations woro often ad dressed by G. W. P. CubUb. in 1811 Richard B. Leo was tho orator. Somo Idea of newspaper methods of that day may bo had from tho fact that although tho celebration that tlmo was men tioned In tho Gazette of February 23, It was not until February 25 that a real nccount appoarcd. During tho civil war tho celcbratloif of the birthday censed. Alexandria was nrdently south cm In Its sympathies and was, moreover, too much In tho track of war to tako notlco of oven Its own pot anniversary. It was not until 1870 that It began n fceblo revival of tho old festival. That tlmo thoro was merely a presentation of n stand of colors to tho cadets of St. John's acad emy by tho young ladles of Mount Vernon Insti tute. In 1872 tho cadots pnraded and thcrQ""wns a jjlrthnlght ball onco moro. in 1870 a real celebra tion wns arranged, to which "thousands of strang ers" camo and upon .which occnslon "tho Rouses that wcro mourning at Lee's death" Robert E. Lee "all dlsplnyed tho American flag." , Many houses displayed pictures of Loo and Washington sldo by side. But thero wns no blrthnlght ball, and on tho platform of tho speaker's stnnd thero was a vacant chnlr placed to honor tho memory of G. W. P. Custls. "tha old man 'eloquent.' Slnco 1876 tho celebrations hnvo been rather Irregular In tho town which originated them. But of lato years a society has been formed which arranges nnd carries out an elaborate programme every alternato year. Whereas tho orphans used to bo a center of birthday attontlou, the Interest Is divided now between tho llromon and tho sol dlere. Last year thero wcro detachments of federal troops nnd of United States Ballots In nddltlon to the District militia, Washington has a perma nent claim to poso as Alexandria's "favorite son" and theso biennial nffnirB nro the biggest things of their tgrt in tho country. February 22 is the Alexandrian's ylorlaus FourUi.