Spains Buried Wealth
The Carthaginians and the Tyrians
-regarded Spain as EI Dorado It is
but a poor country today but potential
wealthjlesjnjtsrpck bound hillsJust
OUK PRESIDENTS
MARTIN VAN BUREN
The eighth president of the United States was a native of KInderhook
N Y He became president in 1837 at the ago of fifty five and died at Kinder
thook in 18G2 Like his great predecessor Jackson he was a Democrat He
-was secretary of state under Jackson for a time and was vice president during
second terra His administration was distinguished chiefly by the
-establishment of the independent treasury system for the care and disburse
anent of public moneys Van Buren was a candidate for president at three
succeeding elections but suffered defeat each time
CHESS CLOCKS
There Are Specially Constructed Ones
Used In the Game
Hourglasses or sandglasses were
formerly used for the purpose of meas
uring time at chess matches but now
-specially constructed clocks are In
use for this purpose These clocks
consist of two clocks mounted on a
common base which moves on a pivot
the two clocks therefore being on the
sarms of a sort of seesaw The beam
ior base is so constructed that when
one clock is elevated it stands perfect
ly perpendicular while the depressed
cclock lies over at an angle but as the
mechanism of each clock is so con
structed that it only moves when the
clock is perfectly perpendicular it fol
lows that when the upright clock 1
going the depressed clock is at rest
Another and more modern variety
has the two clocks fixed on the same
level but with a small brass- arm
reaching from the top of one to the top
of the other This arm acts on a pivot
and can be brought down into actual
contact with one clock at a time by a
rtouch of the finger When it is thus in
contact by an ingenious device the
clock is stopped and the desired result
is attained The working of the clock
during a match Is simplicity itself At
the commencement of the match the
hands of each clock point to 12 Then
at the call of time to commence play
the clock of the first player is started
then as soon as he makes his first
move lie stops his own clerk either by
depressing it or by touching the arm
referred to the same motion starting
his opponenfs clock So it goes on
during the entire course of the game
each move being marked by the stop
ping of one clock and the starting of
the other
COUNTERFEIT BILLS
The Check Letter Test on United
States Currency
The United States government prints
its currency and numbers its bills in a
series of foun so that every piece of
paper money turned out bears one of
the check letters A B G D One of
these letters Is always found In two
places on a United States bill in the
upper left hand corner and In the low
er right hand corner The placing of
the letter on the bill is not determined
by the number of the bill The rule is
to divide the last two figures on the
note by four Should the remainder be
-one the check letter must be A should
1t be two the check letter Is B three
the check letter is C and nothing the
letter D
For example I have before me a
five dollar certificate Its number is
8MS0730 The terminal number is 30
Divide by four The result is seven
Tvith two over The check letter Is B
Here Is a yellow back gold certificate
twlth twenty three as its terminal num
ber Divide this by four and we have
-five with threo over C is the check
letter
Should this rule of four fail to work
-on any United States currency note
you may bet all you have that the
money is bad Some counterfeited bills
-are right to their check letters but a
rgreat many are not so if the rule of
four works The bill may be still bad
but if it doesnt it Is surely bad This
rule applies only to United States cur
rency and not to national bank notes
Minneapolis Journal
asInthe days of the ancients When
those acquisitive mariners the Phoe
nicians first set foot in the country
they exchanged their commodities
says Aristotle for such immense
quantities of silver that their ships
could neither contain nor sustain the
load though they used it for ballast
and made their anchors and other im
plements of silver So rich in silver
was the country then that the people
are said to have made their commonest
domestic utensils of the metal and
even their mangers The Romans
found that thr Ir greedy forerunners
had sadly diminished the precious
store yet enoirgh was left to satisfy
not a few proconsuls
The Truthful Woman
It is no exaggeration to say that a
more or less truthful woman is looked
upon with grave suspicion What is
more nobody believes her If she
quite truthfully pronounces her age to
be twenty nine everybody at once says
then she must be at least thirty five
while if she should ever be cajoled In
to admitting tlw number of proposals
she had In her youth it will only con
firm the popular impression that she
had been very lucky to catch a hus
band at all London Ladies Field
Force of Habit
Redd I see flmt man Finn has got
an automobile
Greene And was quite amusing to
see him the first week he had it
now so
Why every time hed blow his
horn hed stop and look around He
used to peddle fish you know Yon
kers Statesman
In Ai tomobiledom
Scientist Light travels at the rate of
about 1S7000 miles a second Chauf
feurGee thats goin some Auto
Enthusiast slightly deaf Pardon me
tir But what make machine was It
you just mentioned Bohemian
Her Cleverness
She Mary Graham is certainly a
very clever wotoan yet she has little
to say He Thats where her clever
ness comes In She leads a man to be
Meve that she thinks he is worth lis
tening to
Adam and Methuselah
A faithful student of Genesis for
j many years Insists that Adams age
was not 930 years but 930 moons and
counting thirteen moons to the year
he died at a little over seventy one
years By the same calculation Methu
selah 9G9 was only seventy four
Otherwise says the sage they
would have required eighteen or twen
ty sets of teeth during their lifetime
New York Press
A Breaker
1 Mistress Jane have you cemented
the handle on to the water jug which
you dropped yesterday Jane I start-
ed to mum but most unfortunately I
dropped the cement bottle Punch
i Lame
The railroad wants to dig a cut
right through our suburb
And do they offer no excuse
Oh they say divided outskirts will
be more modish Washington Herald
It is because It Is always impossible
to know how a woman will act to
grasp tho workings of her mind to
pierce the veil that hides the Innermost
recesses of her soul that she has held
such complete sway over man He
can never definitely rely upon her
London World
Reades Eccentric English
Reades use of the English language
too was eccentric not to say ludicrous
In A Simpleton he wished to
signify that two people turned their
backs on each other In a fit of temper
he wrote They showed napes De
scribing the complexion of the New
Haven fishwives in Christie John
stone he says It is a race of wo
men that the northern sun peachlfies
Instead of rosewoodlzing In Readi
ana he describes a gentleman giving
a lunch to two ladies at a railway res
taurant as follows ne souped them
he tough chickened them he brandied
and cochinealed one and he brandied
and burnt sugared the other brandy
and cochineal and brandy and burnt
sugar being Reades euphemisms for
port and sherry respectively While
he was preparing his series of articles
on Old Testament characters he read
what he had written to John Coleman
on one occasion and came to this star
tling passage in his argument
Having now arrived at this conclu
sion we must go the whole hog or
none
Coleman objected to this phrase
You dont like the hog I see said
Reade Well its a strong figure of
speech and its understanded of the
people but yes you are right Its
scarcely Scriptural so out it goes
Gentlemans Magazine
Eass Are Real Cute
It is related for a fact that t reason
bass jump and it is common practice
of tho fish Is because they wMi to ac
quire grace and strength in testing
their ability against that of fishermen
Several men who say they know
what they are talking about point out
that bass do most of their jumping
during the spring and are especially
active just before the open season be
gins
At this time they may be seen doing
long distance jumps somersaults and
side stepping
One bass expert goes so far as to say
that he spent an entire afternoon
watching a three pound bass dragging
a long willow sapling through the
water and acting as if it were caught
on a hook
Leaping into the air it would turn
In a half circle as if to disgorge the
barb and then it would swim back
ward in an endeavor to snap the
branch
This fisherman asserts that what
jumping the bass do during the sum
mer Is merely to keep in practice and
not get stale Philadelphia North
American
Improving Nature
To paint the lily to gild refined
gold when taken in a literal sense
seem processes too absurd for serious
deliberation Flowers of unnatural
hues however bloom in florists win
dows and the color green as applied
to the carnation is no longer confined
to the title of a book But the Persians
do even worse things in the name of
beauty They dress up their flowers
according to Mr Wills in The Land
of Lion and Sun
Persia is not a land of flowers Zin
nias convolvulus asters balsams wall
flowers chrysanthemums marigolds
and roses are the principal blooms of
the country
The Persians not content with the
plaiu flower cut rings of colored pa
per cloth or velvet and ornament the
bloom placing the circles of divers
hues between the first and second rows
of petals
The effect is strange One at first
glance supposes he sees a bouquet of
curious and bizarre flowers of entirely
new varieties
The Boomerang and 3 Inventors
The boomerang ib ier a puzzle
One might think that lue highest laws
of mathematics had been laid under
contribution in the perfecting of it
The convexity on one side the flatness
on the other and the sharp knifelike
edge on the inside of the convexity
have the air of having been carefully
thought out Yet the people who in
vented this singular weapon cannot
count higher than five and are desti
tute of all the arts and amenities of
life Theirs is perhaps the lowest
plane of human life Some people have
assumed that the boomerang was the
creation of an older and higher civili
zation but for this there is no evidence
It must be the product of an age long
empirical use of throwing weapons
London Spectator
Sandys Criticism
A young Scotchman went to a Lon
don school of music where he learned
to play the violoncello fairly well On
his return to his native village he gath
ered his friends together to hear his
new instrument When he had played
one or two tunes he looked up expec
tantly xfter a slight pause his old
grandfather spoke
Eh maun he said Its a maircy
theres na smell wi it Liverpool
Mercury
He Knew
Lady Customer I wish to tell you
how these shoes of mine are to be
made Shoemaker Oh I know that
well enough largo inside and small
outside Meggendorfer Blatter
Pretty Bad
Wife Arent you going to smoke
those cigars I gave you Husband
No Im keeping them till Tommy be
gins to want to smoke Theyll settle
It Illustrated Bits
Authoritative
So you are going to leave your stu
dio
Leave No Who told you so
Your landlord Philadelphia In
quirer
Self conquest Is the greatest victory
-Plato
SPEECH- OF PARROTS
Do These Birds Understand What
They Talk About
Those of us who possess talking par
rots are often asked the question Do
you think they really understand what
they say Sometimes I have been in
clined to say Yes so striking has
been the fitness of the birds remarks
at other times No When a bird has
been carefully taught or has learned
from his own observation a consider
able number of set phrases and sen
tences there are certain to arise occa
sions when one or another of his ex
clamations fits in happily with the con
versation or circumstances of the mo
ment Some few instances of such co
incidences for every one of which I
can vouch may interest your circle of
readers Some years we were present
ed with a young green parrot The
bird must have been only a few
months old as she gave no sign of her
red tail This however quickly ap
peared and Polly soon gave evidences
that she was listening to sounds and
learning to reproduce them We now
began to give her talking lessons by
continually repeating over and over
again set words or phrases and were
soon repaid for our pains Polly began
to talk and quickly mastered a good
many of her lessons She added a
good many self acquired accomplish
ments such as cab calls milkmens
and paper boys cries and the cawing
of rooks Her piercing whistle would
often cause the milkman to stop and
look around thinking tho call was
for him Tolly also learned to imitate
the song of the canary She would
look up at her little yellow matcin her
cage above and call her Sweet sweet
pretty little Dick pretty little Dick
On one occasion the dressmaker was
ushered into the dining room and was
startled by the bird exclaiming Hel
lo Whats your name What do you
want She surprised a lady visitor
on one occasion with the rather un
usual inquiry Are you nice About
this time I was suffering from a very
painful complaint and it would al
most seem as if my suffering drew
out the birds sympathy for on one oc
casion she said to me Hello Whats
the matter with you Are you quite
well I replied No not quite well
Polly whereupon she replied Not
quite well She was once in the room
where a member of the family was
practicing singing and presently made
the remark emphasizing the last word
Whats the matter with you When
signs of going out for a walk are ap
parent we are invariably and repeated
ly bidden Goodby goodby with the
accompaniment of many kisses Upon
our return Polly Inquires Where have
you been and upon being informed
usually replies Glad to see you back
During last winter my wife was one
morning putting up an old stove for
Pollys benefit near her cage On the
half landing the bird watched her with
great interest and presently said Do
you feel cold Count your bless
ings was a phrase Polly found great
difficulty in mastering Count your
bless being all she succeeded in utter
ing and soon dropping this as too trou
blesome However after a time we
tried her again Now she drops out
the bless and solemnly exhorts us to
Count your count your sins A few
weeks ago a servant was engaged in
polishing brasswork near Pollys cage
and the bird immediately started talk
ing to her Hello Polly What do
you want Whats the matter with
you Are you quite well Do you
feel cold Where have you been
and much more Eliciting no reply
she shouted out Why dont you talk
and drew the retort from the woman
Because I am too busy Polly Polly
replied How shocking H Dann in
London Spectator
The Gray Horse
You may change a farmers religion
or politics make him think lie is rich
and handsome or sell him a dog hut
you will never make him think a gray
horse Is not a jewel I read some
where recently that gray horses were
not up to the standard or words to
that effect I never was so astonished
in my life I have always thought
and do now that gray or white horses
were the handsomest toughest breed
on the planet
The celebrated Arabian horses are
white or dapple gray Famous gen
erals In all wars have ridden white or
Iron gray chargers Circus men select
gray horses to draw the band wagons
in street parades A great packing
company always selects Percheron
horses not so much for the color but
because their feet will stand traveling
on the pavement better than any draft
breed It is said that Joan of Arc rede
a milk white horse and St John the
revelator saw a white horse in heaven
Revelation vi 2 Half of the draft
horses In Aroostook are white or gray
and another decade will see 90 per cent
of them of that color
Value of a Cheap Acid
In a vessel of platinum lined with
gold some sulphuric acid hissed The
vessel is costly but the contents arc
hardly worth 2 cents a quart said the
chemist Yet you have no Idea what
a public benefactor sulphuric acid Is
Without it for instance we could have
none of the finer sorts of Fourth of
July fireworks and neither could we
have any more war for gun cotton
nitroglycerin lyddite dynamite In
fact all the high explosives could not
be made without sulphuric acid With
out it we could have no coal tar dyes
It Is this acid that releases the lovely
colors locked In coal tars black slime
Without it the farmers would have
none of the wonderful superphosphate
fertilizers It Is sulphuric acid that
poured on worthless old bones turns
them into a marvelous soil stimulant
Yes this the cheapest of all acids Is
udmltted to be the most valuable of all
iclds as well Exchange
The Only Big Show
in
THIS YEAR
McCook Monday Sept 16
Gollmar Bros the Greatest of American Shows
- -A CIRCUS THAT IS A CIRCUS- - -
A million dnllur tiientiKcric 5 cIontcl stages mill ijuarier mil hippo
drome track The Kruutest amusement organization of modern timet A herd of ln
elephants Daisy the cutest ha by elephant tner born to life a sacreil j lute eamel the
the only living black hippopotamus in nil creation a man destroj inn VlaiL Vark
500 People 10 Kinds of Music 300 Horses
The Mighty Spectacle The Queens Birthday
With a monster ballet of 100 dituciiiK tfirls Tho cleanest and most honorably conducted
show hi the world Ecry forenoon at 10 oclock -absolutely the Kruatvst panoramic
view of the largest free street procession ever brought together in an open air demon
stration Seen ojicn dens of wild beasts golden steam callioie and ten oilier kind- of
music free for everybody Poors open nt 1 and 7 oclock for insjection of the hii imk
erie performances one hour later Will exhibit ut
McCook Monday Sept 16 Excursion on R R
A
They Were Quite Common In the Sev
enteenth Century
Of the various examples that have
been given of early specimens of the
clockmakers art not the least interest
ing are the several types of lamp
clocks One of these was of a kind
quite common in the seventeenth i
tury and consisted of a lamp burner
placed at the base of a glass oil recep
tacle mounted vertically on a suitable j
standard The oil reservoir had at- t
His Wife Won
A Georgia man who was unpopular
In his community insured his life for
2000 He took the policy home to his
wife and said
Maria heres a life insurance doc
ument for 2000
Thank you dear said his wife
How are you feeling today
Not well he replied and I dont
think I am long for this world and
when I die it is my wish that you de
vote 1000 of the money to defraying
my funeral expenses j
Mercy on me exclaimed the wife
Why do you want such an expensive
funeral I
Ill explain Im well satisfied that
nobody will attend my funeral and I
want to hire people to go at so much
a head Im going out today and see
what arrangements I can make for
attendants on that melancholy occa
sion If they wont come gratis why
Ill hire em an give em an order on
you for the money
He went forth and at nightfall re
turned with a dejected look
Maria he said its no use You
can have the whole 2000 Just go to
my funeral yourself Atlanta Consti
tution
Daughter But he is so full of absurd
ideals Mother Never mind that dear
Your father was the same before I
married him Town and Country
EAGI
CAN EARN AS MUCH AS A MAN
We wan- bovo and Kirli who want to earn money to solicit subscriptions to tir
-- r 11 i II I lInnnL i i iiir au u 1 tint
rk as n ndilt an older p r on we will pn jou ju t the unii J Iih Kansij lly
Wwklj Star N the est Icnowii weekly iiewrpnper in the west and jour -pare tune - t
w
inking lor it will pa jou iiuinlsi iiiir not in to- waienos or oiner -man ware- mi
cash Write toda for t rm and full information
Address jhE WEEKLY STAR Kansas City Mo
LAMP CLOCKS
Ji P SUTTON
McCOOK
tached to it a scale facing the burner ggRSSjg
and showing the hours beginning at 4
oclock in the afternoon at which time
the lamp was to be lighted in winter
and ending at 7 oclock in the morning
The lamp being lighted the gradually
descending level of the oil as combus
tion proceeded marked the hours
The other device of later origin dat
ing back to the beginning of the last
century utilized the same principle It
consisted of two communicating on
chambers superposed by a clock dial
In one of the chambers was placed a
night lamp to illuminate this dial and j
in the other was suspended a float
from a cord which passed around a
small pulley The latter was mounted
JEWELER
MUSICAL GOODS
NE3RASKA
SEGGS CHERRY COIJH
RUP Cures BRONCH Hi
xittii
tBa4s3MJJS 3 ii
IfessiS
m
iisSarrl
7SirtaiiE 4
gJUlil
You Ought to
Go Somewhere
This Autumn
on a horizontal axis ending in the cen
ter of the dial The float of course de- Qieap One Way COlOIliStS
seenueu as tne on was consuineu una
carried the Index hand along with It
thus marking the hours precisely as
in the case already cited Pearsons
Weekly
J2SJea
MAm
Tirt fpQ Daily dunujj Ss jitemofcr and
lvauc October to the Pacific cast
and far west points at about half rat s
The low rate James-
io ine Easi
town Espositi0II tlck
ets can be uspd for your autumn trip to
New York Boston and otbor
cities These are the last cheap rates of
the season
Late Autumn Trips West
Lw
rrtfe
excursion tickets to Coljrad j Hi-
and Big Horn mountain wiil remain
on sale durinjr September the lo rate
round trip tick ts to Pacific ct t will
not be on sale after September loh
Homeseekers Excursions
See the west with its 1G07 crop- West
ern farm lands including irrigate d ir ds
are constantly advancing iD value bet
ter locate now
Big Horn Basin and Billings
hlQtHrt We run perbouallj
excursions to help you locate on iriat
ed lands at the lowest prices thv will
double in value in five years Join me
on these excursions No charge for
services Write D Clem Deaver gent
Burlington Landseekers Bureau Omaha
GEORGE S SCOTT
Ticket Agent McCook Neb
L W WAKELEY G P A Omaha Neb
3