4
Chairman of Canal Commission
- a
BwSfin
From stereograph copyright by Underwood Underwood N Y
Theodore P Shonts is head of the body in control of the work of digging
the Panama waterway Mr Shonts was formerly president of the Clover
leaf railroad
FIRST SCHOoTWEStT
OLD DOCUMENT GIVES CAHOKIA
ILL UNIQUE HONOR
Log Courthouse Recently Brought to
Chicago from St Clair County Re
calls Pioneer Days Built of
Black Walnut
Chicago Cahokia the quaint little
deserted village way down In St
Clair county almost on the banks of
the Mississippi is now claimed as
the cradle of the great free school
system of Illinois by members of the
Chicago Histocal society who have
brought to light an old document
dated May 6 1794 in which the citi
zens of Cahokia request the judges
of the honorable court of Cahokia
to allow them to hold their first pub
lic school in the courthouse The old
courthouse said to be the oldest in
the west is now situated on Wooded
island in Jackson park
The old document which fixes the
time of the founding of the Illinois
schools was discovered a few weeks
ago after it had been hidden from
human eyes for almost 100 years It
is written in French Translated it
reads as follows
To the Honorable Gentlemen the
Judges of the Honorable Court of
Cahokia
The inhabitants of the parish of
the Holy Family of Cahokia have the
honor to express to you at their as
sembly that they have the desire to
establish a school in the said parish
or town for the instruction of their
children
As they are obliged to do many
necessary public works in the parish
they cannot at once undertake the
construction of a building necessary
to hold the said school so these rep
resentatives ask you gentlemen that
you allow them to hold the said
school in your audience room of the
courthouse until they construct a
building which will oblige all the in
habitants whose children have their
instruction in the school and in
which case should there arise any
defacement of the said audience
room they will leave it in the best
condition which you judge necessary
and proper
That is why they supplicate you
to accord them this request as being
necessary for the public good In
this cause they submit themselves to
your good will and have the honor
to be very respectfully
Your very humble and very obe
dient servants Louis Sebrun
Louis Grand
Cahokia G May 1794
This according to the historians
was the first request for a public
school in Illinois after the revolu
tionary war when under one of our
first laws one section in each town
ship was set aside for school pur
poses
With the erection in Jackson park
of the old courthouse in which the
first Illinois schools were held Chi
cago now possesses the only original
historic public building west of Bos
ton or north of New Orleans The
structure was the seat of local gov
ernment in Cahokia in what is the
oldest county in the state
It was under the royal regimes of
King Louis XV of France and King
George III of England and finally
under the American stars and stripes
during the administration of the first
president George Washington after
the expedition and bloodless victories
of George Rogers Clark in 1778 when
he captured the Northwest Territory
from the British
The little building is constructed
of square black walnut logs about
ten inches square on the ends and
one story high The logs are set up
on end in the style of the construc
tion of the French period The over
hanging roof makes the top of the
porch which extends all around it
At the end is a chimney and fireplace
with the old hand wrought andirons
The ancient town of Cahokia was
the settlement of the Cahokia tribe
of Indians one of the Illinois confed
eration and the village was possibly
located as early as 1682 but the be
ginning of the history of the vil
lage practically dates from the found
ing of the church of the Holy Family
about 1700 by Father Francois Pinet
S J who also founded the Guardian
Angels mission at Chicago about
169G
Father St Cosme in the journal
of his voyage in 1699 states that his
party conducted from Chicago by Mr
De Tonty was rejoined at Peoria by
this same Father Pinet who was ac
customed to spend his summers at
the Chicago mission
The Cahokia courthouse was built
about 1716 according to local history
and was the next oldest building to
the church It was early used as
headquarters for the notary and civil
officers and local military officers un
der the French British and Amer
icans when in Cahokia It was also
called the garrison occupying the
most commanding corner of the pub
lic common in the center of the vil
lage where it overlooked all the
roads and approaches to the town
Pontiac the great Indian chief was
assassinated in Cahokia about 1709
while engaged in one of his conspir
acies The building occupied the mid
dle of a small plot of ground and for
merly was surrounded by a stockade
fence A small iron cannon occupied
each corner These were swept away
or buried in one of the great floods
Elevator Ride Is Fatal
New York Medical skill was un
able to check the nervous decline of
Mrs Frank Hennion which developed
after her return from a shopping trip
to New York and she died at her
home at Morristown N J Mrs Hen
nion received a severe shock while
taking her first ride in an express
elevator in New York She entered
the elevator on the tenth floor of a
skyscraper occupied by a furniture
company After returning home she
complained of a headache and a pain
ful illness set it Physicians diag
nosed her ailment as lockjaw They
concurred in the opinion that the dis
ease resulted from the terror experi
enced in the elevator ride Mrs Hen
nion was 26 years aid
20000000 TONS OF ORE
New Deposit in Canada Equal to Hold
ings of the Steel Trust
Cleveland The new deposit of
ore recently discovered in Canada
upon examination is shown to contain
almost as much ore as all the hold
ings of the steel corporation with the
exception of the Hill properties lately
purchased This information has
caused much comment among iron
ore men and it is said that inde
pendent interests in Buffalo and Pitts
burg are negotiating for the property
This new ore bearing property is
situated about 20 miles east of Port
Arthur and is about threo miles in
width and six miles long According
to recent tests the body will contain
slightly upward of 2000P000 tons of
ore
Estimates of the grade of this ore
vary One is that it will run about
70 per cent in metallic iron and with
in the limits of Bessemer quality on
phosphorus and having a low per
centage of sulphur It is also declared
that the moisture amounts to only
about one per cent whereas that of
the Mesaba range averages eight to
ten per cent It is declared that this
new ore adheres more closely to the
analysis of the Old Range Bessemer
and will be available immediately for
open hearth and Bessemer processes
of making steel It is declared that
the 20000000 tons indicated is the
minimum that is likely to be devel
oped
An Easy Recipe
By simple silence one displays
Great wisdom here below
It is by speech a man betrays
How much he doesnt know
Washington Star
OLD COLON 0 WANE
LAST REMAINING SETTLEMENT
OF FRENCH PASSING AWAY
With Decline of Fisheries little Town
on Island of Miquelon Off Mouth
of St Lawrence Fast Be
coming Depopulated
Sydney C B The last remaining
settlement of the oncetvast domain of
France on the North American con
tinent the little fishing town of St
Pierre on the island of Miquelon off
the mouth of the St Lawrence river
is fast becoming depopulated Grave
concern is felt by the French govern
ment over the serious condition of af
fairs The feeling of the French gov
ernment over the shrinkage in this
tiny island possession is not due to
pride alone From the intrepid ma
rines of Miquelon she picks the men
from whom she builds the fighting
strength of her navy
The exodus of the inhabitants ofi
Miquelon has long been noted Can
ada is striving to build up her great
northwest and is offering strong in-
ducements to immigrants The fish
ing industry of St Pierre has been
a failure for the last two or three
years and with the sole means ofi
sustenance taken from them the de
scendants of the hardy French ex
plorers have faced actual starvation
Government steps have been un
equal to relieving the privations en
dured by its colonists Recently 100
immigrants landed at North Sydney
from one schooner in charge of Dr
T A Brisson head of the coloniza
tion department for the province of
Quebec Dr Brisson says that on
the next trip 200 more will come
and that the end will not be even
then and the population of Miquelon
is numbered only by hundreds
The hardiness that has made the
men of Miquelon famous in romances
of the sea will now be employed in
new ventures Nearly all the able
bodied men have been promised em
ployment in pioneer railroad con
struction and others will seek some
steads in the wheat belt
France has made determined ef
forts to maintain this foothold in the
west When the tide of emigration
set from the island she filled up the
gap with colonists from the fishermen
of her own shores But with the de
cline of the fisheries and with the
ceaseless struggle for a meager exist
ence growing continually harder the
colonists have refused to remain
WORLDS MOST POLITE MAN
Many People Would Probably Regard
Him as a Crank
Clarksburg W Va Never guilty
of having said a cross word to any
body is the record of Robert Wilder
of Clarksburg and furthermore he is
highly respected by his relatives
which is saying a great deal No
Frenchman or Japanese could be
more polite than he
When Wilder was held up by a
highwayman near Dugans Dam Mr
Wilder handed over 1326 and apolo
gized for not having more with him
He was working on the roof of a tall
building when a fellow employe struck
him Wilder without the least display
of anger picked up his assailant and
after begging his pardon for the an
noyance he was subjecting him to
dropped the man head first upon a
pile of rocks He showed his forgiv
ing spirit by writing a nice obituary
for the local paper
Wilder smiles when a person tramps
on his corn and congratulates his
wife on her discernment when she
calls him names
Taken ill one day he insisted upon
telephoning the undertaker express
ing regret at the trouble he might
cause him
UNCLE SAM PAYS MINNESOTA
State Allowed 67000 for Indian War
During Rebellion
Minneapolis Minn The national
government will pay the state of Min
nesota 67000 to defray the expenses
of the Indian war in this state in
1862 3 The uprising came just at a
time during the civil war when it
looked as if the north would have
England to fight as well as the south
Thousands of armed Indians rushed
over the border from Canada and the
national government was unable to
protect the settlers
The state raised militia under Gov
Ramsay and the invaders were chased
beyond the borders and hundreds of
them were slain but not before many
settlers had been massacred
After the close of the war the state
made a claim on the national govern
ment for the cost of the war and it
has been hanging fire ever since
Auto Runs Printing Press
New York The electric motor
which is used to drive the press
in the office of the Staten Island Ad
vance in West New Brighton broke
down the other afternoon and an ex
pert from Manhattan found it could
not be repaired without being sent to
Philadelphia to be rewound John
Crawford Jr the editor found no
other office in Richmond borough
could print his 16 page paper so he
took his 35 horse power direct drive
automobile up alongside the building
had a hole knocked through the side
of the wall and the shaft of his press
run out through the building A belt
then was adjrated to the shaft of the
automobile and the paper was run off
successfully
SECRET OF GOOD COFFEE
Best Ingredients and Proper Making
Are Necessary
The secret of good coffee lies Inj
naving the best ingredients and in
he proper making says a writer ln
he New York World By the best In-
gredients are meant those delightful
coffees grown on well watered moun
tain slopes such as the famous Java
and Mocha coffees the Mocha and
Java mixed half and half It Is best
to parch the coffee grains just before
making the coffee but If this is not
convenient the coffee can be bought
parched in the grain but never
ground It should be ground imme
diately before using in order to pre
serve the delicious flavor
Good coffee should never be boiled
Bear this in mind The good Creole
200k never boils coffee but insists on
dripping it in a covered strainer slow
ly slowly drip drip drip till all the
flavor is extracted The water must
be freshly boiled and must never be
poured upon the grounds uiitil it has
reached the boiling point
It is of the greatest importance that
the coffee pot be kept perfectly clean
This point is only too often over
looked and yet the coffee pot re
quires more than ordinary care for
the reason that the chemical action ol
the coffee upon the tin or agate tends
to create a substance which collects
and clings to every crevice and seam
and naturally in the course of time
will affect the flavor of the coffee
Very often the fact that the coffee
tastes bitter or muddy arises from
this
DESSERT FOR THE LUNCHEON
New Vay In Which Apples Can Be
Cooked and Served
A change in a luncheon dessert may
be made by cooking apples in this way
and using them on occasion Allow
to every pound of peeled and cored
fruit three fourths of a pound of
sugar the rind of one lemon and the
juice of half a lemon Put the apples
into a stone jar in a pan of boiling
water and boil until the apples are
tender Then put them into the pre
serving pan with the sugar lemon
juice and the rinds grated Let these
simmer gently for half an hour re
move the scum and put into jars
covering when cold
Good Housekeeping says Oysters
seldom are breaded and fried at home
succesfully The mistake which most
cooks make is to encase them in egg
and bread crumbs This rarely is a
success The coating comes off giv
ing to the oysters a piebald appear
ance and they usually are overcooked
in the attempt to brown them evenly
Select sound oysters which have just
been opened Flatten each slightly andj
lay them in fresh milk Prepare a
mixture of equal parts of flour and
sifted cracker crumbs Oyster or rich
butter crackers are good for this pur
pose Let the fat be very hot Drain
the oysters one by one and dip them
in the cracker mixture Lay them in
a wire basket and fry in deep hot fat
two or three minutes Drain on brown
paper Garnish with parsley and
lemon
Fruit and Cheese Together
It is said that a little cheese at the
end of a dinner acts as a digestive
agent but whether or not this is true
no well appointed dinner is without it
In many homes a bit of cheese with
an accompanying fruit or jelly is used
as a dessert instead of some pudding
or pie It is just a sufficient finish to
a family dinner without dessert If
there is a dessert the cheese is fre
quently served with the salad roque
fort cheese with lettuce or tomatoes
Connoisseurs do not cut a roquefort
cheese until it is well advanced in de
cay and therefore it is not well to set
before a man of this sort a new bit of
the cheese It is more advisable to
leave it out altogether and give him
brie or cheddar both of which are fa
vored cheeses with men
Lemon Sponge
Soak dne half ounce good gelatine
in one fourth pint of cold water dis
solve it in another one fourth pint of
boiling water add one fourth pound
lump sugar and the peel of half a
lemon pour into an enameled sauce
pan and let simmer for one half hour
then strain and allow it to stand until
cool but not so that it sets Add to it
the juice of one large lemon and
whisk or beat the mixture until it is
perfectly white and thick Dip a
mould in cold water drain it put in
the sponge mixture and stand aside
in a cool place until the next day
When required for table dip the mould
into tepid water for one half minute
loosen the edges carefully with the
top of a spoon and turn out on to a
glass dish
Deviled Sweet Potatoes
Bake six or eight medium sized
sweet potatoes They must be dry
and mealy scoop them out of the
shell and mash finely then add one
tablespoonful melted butter a little
cinnamon or nutmeg a rounding tea
spoonful of salt half a saltspoonful of
pepper two tablespoonfuls of cream
and one beaten egg Beat all together
until light then heap roughly into the
shells and bake to a rich brown
Brown Bread
One cupful of sour cream one cup
ful sweet milk one cupful molasses
one teasponful each of soda and bak
ing powder and one teasponful of
salt Add enough graham flour to
make a stiff batter Lastly add one
half cupful each of seeded raisins and
chopped walnuts Turn into pound
and one half hours
i m
i
MMMMMMMMMrjry 7J
rilIlIFWVFiftSFs I
I NEW YEfllwiren - rB
I IKA5PAHI5HWLIACE ilir VilS fW 7 I
Is Jsjvfmka iiu f i 7ii ii F tow Him
12 cfM withNewYears Ul
vA aSitfk GIFTS TOR A Al
I Qnr0o J - rTiiftvi Turkish A
When pigtails and school were her
fashion Penelope was always awak
ened from indolence by the possession
of a new text book its resplendent
cover its crisp clean pages the In
centives to an ambition that the dis
carded old volume could never have
called forth
In Just such manner the Great
Teacher stimulates the grown up
Penelope to new thought new pur
pose new endeavor by again and
again placing a bran new year in her
eager hands
The new year idea is almost as old
and universal as the instinct of Im
mortality but the first of January has
not always been the starting point
for the procession of months and
even now by no means the whole
world follws the Gregorian calendar
The ancient Egyptians Phoenicians
and Persians began their year on Sep
tember 22 the Greeks of Solons time
on December 21 and the Greeks of the
Pericles period on June 21
From Julius Caesar on the Roman
civil year commenced January 1 but
the Jewish ecclesiastical year had al
ways begun at the vernal equinox
March 25 and this spring opening
day of bud and blossom and uni
versal hopefulness became the hon
ored one with Christian nations gen
erally throughout the medieval
period
In the latter end of the eleventh
century England which had strange
ly enough been starting its annual
records on December 25 began quite
accidentally to pay homage to the old
Roman divinity Janus for by chance
William the Conquerors coronation
took place on the first of January and
the birthday of the Norman rule be
came the birthday of the year as well
Remembering the loyal old Saxon spir
it conquered but not tamed we are
not surprised to learn however that
soon the inhabitants of England fell
into the more general habit of indulg
ing in new year festivities upon the
25th of March
The Gregorian calendar formulated
in 15S2 restored January 1 as New
Years day The Catholic countries
enthusiastically accepted it but the
Protestant ones adopted it slowly and
it was not until 1752 that conservative
England fell into line
The ancient Romans honored the
whole of January by offering sacri
fices on 12 altars to the god with two
faces whose namesake the month
was
Janus am I oldest of potentates
Forward I look and backward and be
low
I count as god of avenues and gates
The years that through my portals
come and go
While the whole month was kept
the first day was the gala occasion
Litigation was suspended reconcilia
tions effected impressive processions
made to the capitol offerings laid on
the altars the emperor surprised by
magnificent gifts visits exchanged
everywhere feasts spread in hospit
able houses streets ringing with
laughter and music of masqueraders
The giving of New Years gifts was
not confined to old Rome The Per
sians always exchanged New Years
eggs and it was the pretty custom of
the Druids to give a sacred sprig of
mistletoe to the faithful on their New
Years morning while the bestowing
of presents upon the monarch became
an absolute obligation
Queen Elizabeth the peoples favor
ite was simply showered with New
Sears contributions gold for her
purse chains necklaces bracelets
rings emuruiutjieu gowns anu man
tles petticoats smocks stockings and
garters and for the royal larder fat
oxen sheep geese turkeys swans
sapons fruit preserves marchpanes
and sweetmeats
But soon this custom was regarded
as a tax rather than a privilege and
during the rule of the austere Crom
well it died a natural death never
bobbing up again to make a popular
bow as sometimes happens to a dead
stage hero recalled to life by the audi
ences applause
Closely associated with the new
year season is the wassail bow its i
name derived from the old Saxon
phrase Wass Hael To your
health
was more nygieiiicauy it less pic
turesquely drunk in individual cups
The poor carried an immense wood
en bowl decorated with gay ribbons
around the neighborhood begging
baking powder cans and steam two 2sm1 um luXi 11 tuc ij
greuieuLs mat uiiiit up tuc icsmu
concoction
Wassail wassail over the town
Our toast It is white our alo It Is brown
Our bowl It is made of the maplin trco
We be good fellows all I drink to thee
In Scotland on New Years ove J
for some unknown reason called hog j
many day the doors of the houses
were thrown open at midnight to let
the old year out and the new year In
while in some of tho towns early la
the evening poor children swad J
died In sheets so folded up in front
as to form an Inviting pocket went
from door to door after bread and
small coin announcing their arrlvall
by some naive song shrilly given in
childish treble and enthusiasm
Rise up gudc wlfe and shako yourj
feathers j
DInna think that we ire beggars
We are bairns come to play I
And to seek our hogmany
Much excitement was manifested
over another Scottish custom Thej
first person who entered a house after
the clock struck midnight New Years
eve was called a first footer andi
often parties of first footers wentl
about calling on friends and making
merry generally
In striking contrast to this frivolity
was the habit the next morning of
opening the Scotch Bible at random
a verse in the chapter read containing
a prophecy to be made good by fatet
during that New Year
At all the courts of present day Eu
rope the New Year is celebrated with
great impressiveness it being the of
ficial feast just as Christmas is a
family one
In Belgium on New Years eve the
children have a special frolic tingling
with the thrill of suspense Early in
the day all the door keys in the house
are spirited away from their locks
Into small boys pockets A pet rela
tive called a sugar aunt or sugar
uncle is then beguiled into a room
and while her or his attention Is di
verted a key is whisked out from its
hiding place and the
door is locked Of course the pris
oner confronted by a hard-hearted-
giggling jailer is glad to negotiate
freedom at any price a ransoms poa
sibilities no doubt ranging from q
candy cane to a rocking horse accord
ing to aunties indulgent humor oi
the size of uncles pocketbook
The Germans have a very impres
sive old custom At Frankfort-on-the
Main in almost every house is a fam J
ily party and at the first strike of
midnight from the cathedral all open
wide the windows and filled glasses
lifted in their hands cry Prosit
Neujahr Happy New Year
France practically makes a Christ
mas of New Years day All Paris is
en fete and the Latin Quarter jubilant
with song fiddling and droll farces
while the poor starved art student
splurges in all sorts of culinary ex
travagances In fact even the beg
gars are merry singing instead of
whining their appeals for charity and
dancing a jig for a sou
The French children find their
stockings filled by good St Nicholas
who in his Christmas rush must have
thanked his lucky star that these
young clients would not expect a pro
fessional call until seven days after
he had attended to the impatient
American youngsters over the sea
After a midday dejeuner a la four
chette the younger members of the
family call on the older and in the
evening there is a grand reunion for
dinner
Amid all this French gayety there is
that one pathetic little touch that so
often creeps into this rainbow world
of ours where tears mingle with the
sunshine of our smiles If a member
j of the family has died during the past
12 months early on New Years morn
ing the near relatives meet at the
grave and lay upon it their offerings
of love and remembrance
The Russians following the Julian
calendar do not celebrate their New
Years day until January 13
The grown up not to be outdone by
the small fry now form a gorgeous
procession to pass under the critical
nose of the noblemans upper window
Oxen cows goats and hogs adorned
with evergreens and red berries are
driven past while old women bring
up the rear bearing gayly decorated
I barnyard fowls as presents
In our own country we Americans
I half pagan half Puritan take nnr
Until Queen Elizabeths reign one xew Year characteristically Yvith
wassail love cup was handed about flashing eyes and smilinc lins wn
the charmed circle gathered round the sveet its dawn dancing feasting up
great bowl but afterward the health roariously blowing our little tin horns
And at the same time in our secret
hearts the curtains of pride and con
ventionality closely drawn we sadly
sit beside the dying embers of the
past years hopes and shiver at the
knocks of the unknown future at the
door
MAY C RINGWALT
