Nebraska Newspapers

    Dakota County Herald
DAKOTA CITY, NEB.
IOHN H. REAM,
Publisher.
A musician complains of his wife's
Cats. Fiddle nt rings!
A Mexican oil syndicate is forming.
Purely there will bo no attempt to
frater that stock.
Harry Thaw's nephew In n mission
ary In Syla. He might hnve' tried It
first on the family.
. Hereupon the deceased wives' Bisters
In England may legally and properly
assume a waiting attitude.
That Kansas man who Is reported to
bo turning to chalk probably saw no
pther way of making his mark in that
State.
There has been another advance In
f the price of radium. Fortunately It Is
possible to operate the kitchen with
out radium.
George Gould recently snubbed Count
Jionl In Iondon. We have not learned
the particulars, but It Is probable that
Bonl had struck hlui for a quarter.
. "When the devil dances, decent peo
ple should bo In bed," shj-s the Raltl
anoro American. If he Is In the vicin
ity, some people would prefer to get un
der the bed.
Richmond Pearson Mobson and Julia
Marlowe were born on the same day.
It will be Indelicate of Ilobson If, know
ing this, he willingly permits people to
Hud out how old he Is.
A London tailor says that green
frock coats will bo fashionable for
morning wear next season. After that
It will be more difficult to tell whether
A man la fashionable or merely crazy.
Charles Blondln, who once crossed
Jffagara Falls on a tight wire, Is said
to be living In Connecticut, "doing odd
Jobs." It is a safe bet that none of
them Is as odd as that Niagara "stunt."
A granddaughter of Mrs. William
Astor It going to marry the divorced
husband of an opera singer. Some men
have such luck. They go through life
without ever being compelled to work
at all.
The seismographs keep recording big
earthquakes that cannot be located.
However, as long as tho earthquakes
continue to happen where they oun't be
found there Is not likely to be any seri
ous public protest
, In thirty-two centuries, asserts a Chi
cago university professor, man will re
Tert to cannibalism. After that It
ought to be easier to decide what
should be done with trust magnates
who try the people's patience.
Queen Alexandra has set the fashion
of carrying a muff In summer by going
about London with what Is descrlled as
"a dainty triflo made of flowers, feath
ers and chiffon or tulle" to match her
toque or ruffles. The Queen does not
use It t0 ke('P her hands warm, but
as a portable pocket for her purso and
handkerchief.
"It Is Impossible," soys the Philadel
phia Record, "not to admire tho tem
per of John D. Itoekefeirer." Mr. Hock
efeller's physician has given him twen
ty-five years more of life, his golf Is
better than It bus ever been In the
past, ho bos ceased to bo troubled by
dyspepsia and, according to his own
statement, he has had little or nothing
to do with the Standard Oil trust for
years. Why shouldn't he be In a good
temper?
Trof. Harry A. Garfield, recently
elected president of Williams College,
la a son of James A. Garfield, who was
an alumnus of Williams. The retiring
president. Dr. Henry Hopkins, Is a sou
of the most famous president of Wil
liams, of whom General Garfield said
that d log with Mark Hopkins at one
end and a student at the other was a
university. Tho two distinguished sons
of distinguished fathers In one insti
tution furnish valuable evidence on tho
luestlon of Inherited ability.
The Minneapolis Messenger tries to
Interrupt the work of reform by Inject
ing the old notion that reformers should
first reform themselves. Gov. Itlddlo
ays that Just now It Is very popular
to criticise the railroads and the trusts.
1'robably they have brought this upon
themselves and possibly they ore not
setting any more tuau Is coming to
them. But It may be well, while call
Ing attention to the beam lu the oilier'
eyes, to search for the mote that is In
your own. As for Instance: Have you
ever reiurnea ror taxation all your
property and at Its true value? Do you
use a seine for fishing? Do you shoot
game out of season? Are tbcro weeds
m. your street front more thau a foot
high? Do you use an abandoned well
as a cesspool? Do you run your auto
mobile faster than the legal speed? Do
you bury dead animals, or throw them
In the river? Do you pay tho preacher
what you promised him, or do you ex
peel your salvation free? iht vou
leave your horse untied on the public
afreet? Do you pasture your chickens
u yonr neighbors' gardens? Do you
use profane language on tho puhll
atreet? When your neighbor Is out of
CTuln, do you charge Win Ave cents
tusbc more for It nt your own door
than you can get for It after hauling It
rto town? Do you put the large pot
toes on top? Are you ns careful
rentea property as ir it were your
own? Did you ever Jn your whole life
return a borrowed liook? Or an urn
brella? Do you listen with avidity to
the mean gossip ubout your uelghhor?
Probably few people think of pcucils
la eouneellon with the subject of for
estry, but there is a very clone cotincx
tlou between the two. Every year there
re manufactured In this country nine
813,0O0,iKX ix-iu-lR and that uieuns
consumption of 7,;hm),(Kjo cubic feet of
rood. It liUppeus also that the pencil
manufacturers have to be particular
about the wood. It must be, a one of,
the circulars of the government's forest
service Bays: "A sft wood, even and
straight grained, free from defects and
one which will not. check or warp."
Now there Is Just one kind that seems
to be entirely satisfactory and that Is
the heart wood of the red cedar from
which much the greater percentage of
the total output of pencils Is made.
Taking Into consideration Tie fact that
there Is great waste In getting the right
quality, that the trees ore confined to
Dixie land, that no systematic effort
has been mode to husband the supply,
and there Is n prospect of Important
changes In the pencil Industry In the
not very distance future. The circular
says that "it Is certain that somn of
the mills now In operation must, shut
down inside of a dozen years, nnd this
regardless of any measures which may
tie taken In the meantime to protect the
yonrg growth." It Is calculated that a
stand of seventy-five to eighty trees for
pencil wood will show profit of G per
cut at the end of sixty years. For n
man with n small holding and a Ion?
irt toward the grave this Is not un
attractive investment, but It Is pointed
out that pencil manufacturing corpora
tions might wisely Invest lit largo hold
ings and care for them In a scientific
manner. Suggestions for their proper
ire are given, and It Is a satisfaction
to know that In this ease ns In many
others the forest service Is doing n
ork that should prove of very great
value to the people. The pity Is that
the government was not aroused to the
necessity for the work before such
havoc had been wrought'wlth the coun
try's magnificent growth of tlmler.
WITHIN ARCTIC CIRCLE.
limns of NaCnre's Irony the Cotton
rinnt of the Fur orlh.
The climax of nature's Irony In the
arctic Is the cotton plant, says tho Cir
cle. Wherever cotton blooms, declares
the miner, Ice Is not far below. One
may trudge for miles through fields of
cotton, the white, silky tops swaying
defiantly in tho arctic breeze. The
blossom Is silky, dainty, Illusive as the
down of our own yellow dandelion on
Its way to seed.. From June until late
August the tundra Is white with the
cotton plant. Unlike the cotton of the
Southern States, the fiber Is short and
soft, having more of the texture of silk
than of cotton.
The cotton plant will, In all probabil
ity, some day, Is? tho means of develop
ing an Alaskan Industry, giving employ
ment to thousands. To-day, however,
the cotton fields are purely decorative
splendid sweep of Immaculate bloom
In a bleak, tlmherless landscape, guard
ed by hills ever hung In veils of deep
est purple. In great bouquets It Is oc
casionally met In a miner's shack,
while not a few housewives gather the
otton for pillow filling.
Throughout the cotton fields flowers
bloom In abnormal splendor, ns becomes
country In which the sun shines con
tlnuoiisly during summer's voluptuous
reign. It Is nn Intoxicating Joy for the
flower hunter to gather great nrmfuls
of purple larksupr, bluebells, monks'
head, primroses, sweet peas, beautiful
purple and red asters large as the most
cultivated lilies of the valley, baby
breath, yellow arrow, sage rose, pink
and white arctic geranium, crimson
rhododendrons and giant flreweed, nil
growing on tho hillsides. To enumer
ate further Is to reproduce a flolsts' cat
alogue.
RAILROAD WRECKERS.
More Strenuous Workers than Fire
l'lichtern In II I it ( lllrn.
The career of the wrecker on a big
railroad Is like that of a fireman Ir.
tho lire department of n big city, only
more strenuous. Like tho tlremau, the
wrecker is on duty every second day
and night, and, like the tlremau, tho
wrecker braves bll.zards and sleet
storms, often facing hardships nnd
cruel suffering nnd even death for the
saving of life and property. Hut
whereas even In emergency tho II reman
never covers an area greater than tho
most populous section of a elty the
lino traversed by tho wrecker covers a
hundred or more miles and whereas
the llremau Is In touch with at least
such comforts as he may snatch while
on his feet, not Infrequently tho wreck
er Is landed in the heart of a wilder
ness miles and miles from tho nearest
town, and the pangs of hunger ure add
ed to privation.
Sometimes when a big wreck has
happened and cars and engines are
piled high on crushed and mangled
bodies the wrecker Is rushed through
darkness and snowdrift to work from
twenty-four to forty-eight hours with
out even a chance to take tils cap off.
and Just as his "Jab" Is nearly com
pleted along conies nnother-nlarin that
sends him sixty or seventy miles In
nn opposite direction, where box cars
and coal cors have heaped themselves
thirty feet high, paralyzing tho road
and costing thousands o' dollars' worth
of loss lu time and pre 'go almost ev
ery hour.
Dcsplto these hardships, the danger,
the excitement and the bustle of tho
work endear It to the men. Applelon's.
The Old Cnlfakln Shoe I.nee.
The modern boot lace Is anything but
a luxury. It Is nearly always Just too
long or a little t' short, and. iiltliou.-h
made flat. It soon becomes mrled with
a little wear. In the old days laces
were made of calfskin, and nearly ev
ery furmer was an expert. He would
cut a disk of leather three or four
Inches in diameter, slick the point of
a sharp knife blade In u lmnril, pls.ee
the thumb nail the tbtckness of a match
from It and quickly draw the string
through the opening, tho perimeter be
ing reduced the thickness of n match
at every measure of the circumfer
ence. Then the square string was
rolled between the sole of the sine
nnd the floor till perfectly round, after
which It was greased with tallow.
Such a lace would last for months.
Hound lines nre now made of fiber,
but tls'lr shine soon wears off, giving
them a much worn appearance.
"iHig on that foil woman," said a
man to-day, "I cua't do anything with
her." There never was a man who
could do anything with a foui wowaii.
CORRECT WAT TO SWIM OS DRY LAND.
::i H i kA.-.-: . V'V '" . V J. " , :S ..-. - r,.t a
SWIMMING WITHOUT WATKU : AN INVENTION
THE STROKE.
"Mother, may I po out to swim?"
"Yes, my darling daughter.
Hong your clothes on a hickory limb;
Hut don't go neur the water."
One naturally concludes that tho
daughter will learn very little of the
art of swimming If she oltcys the com
mand of her mother, for water always
has been regarded as Indispensable to
swimming. It Is not so any more. A
contrivance has been Invented which
does away with the necessity of Mary
Ann going Into the water when she
wants to swim, and It even renders it
unnecessary for her to hang her clothes
AUTOS DEADLY A3 WAR.
Flsrnrea Prove that Automobile
Ia
lied Peril of Civilisation."
The automobile, with Its terrifying
nnd dally Increasing list of permanent
ly Injured, dying ami dead, abundantly
proves Itself the Red Peril of Civiliza
tion. Wherever It goes upon the high
way, when guided by the hand of n
speed-crazed devotee, tho motor car
leaves lu Its wake a trail of destruction,
desolation ami death.
The long list of accidents this year
show that the execution wrought by
the motor car Is more deadly by far
than that of the Spanish guns at San
Juan hill.
Since Jan. 1, 11)07, nt least 1U per
sons have been killed and 3f!2 Injured
In the United States by automobiles
a total of 47B. After the battle of San
J u an hill Lieutenant Colonel Roose
velt's report showed that of the 400
0 4fj4P' yyii i
TUB FLYING DEATH
Hough Riders who went Into action only
"Eighty-six were killed or wounded."
The record of the automobile Is writ
ten lu red and that red Is the blood of
Its many victims. The vast majority of
these persons were killed outright. In
addition to these there were many oth
ers who were so natuy injured inui
they died later, but their deaths went
unrecorded lu tho teeming columns of
tho newspapers.
Hut this roster of tho dead, appalling
as It IS, ny no means rciueeius me sum
total of the destruction wrought by the
automobile. In this country to-day
there are hundreds of men, women uud
children with broken legs, arms, ribs
and .skulls, with crushed feet and
marred faces, who have been perma
nently disfigured or crippled by the
ruthless automobile.
In almost every way that could bo
Imagined have Injury and death been
Inflicted by the lied Peril In the hands
of reckless drivers. lu many cases the
drivers themselves have gone down to
destruction with tho machines they pro
polled. The long list of accidents shows that
many were killed and Injured as a re
sult of radii. Speed lovers, crashing
along the highway by day or night.
have been hurled to death against rocks
and trees and telegraph poles. Oth
ers have lsen thrown from skidding au
tomobiles on sharp corners and dashed
to destruction on hard pavements.
Many have been killed by collisions
with street cars, lire engines, passing
vehicles, railway trains and other au
toinolilles. Others have met their fate
on the perilous race course, where mad
men had assembled to risk their lives
lu breaking an old speed re?ord or to
established a new one.
The Red Peril Is n living nnd fearful
thing. IndlauaiMiUs Sun.
Sure I'nouiih.
"Slick Pete si-ems to have got next
to that young dude," said tho tlrst
bunko man, "but I wonder what's the
use."
"Oh, there must be somcthin' In It,'
replied the other, "fur Pete don't waste
bis time."
"Well, anyhow It looks as If be was
trylu' to do somethlu' fuolislu" 1'hllu
delphla Press.
In this world the hardest knockswe
get are dclJTercd by our supposed
. t rleuda.
FOR PRACTICING
on n hickory limb. She can go swim
mlng with her clothes on. In brief,
It Is nn apparatus to teach In schools
and nt home the movements of swim
ming. From n stout wooden frame
hangs a series of slings, one broad ono
for the body and two narrow ones for
the ankles. From bands the pupils
swings, and makes the leg and arm mo
tions of swimming. The leg slings are
balanced on weights nnd pulleys so ns
to allow of a compensating motion. Tho
Invention Is German, and Is meeting
with great popularity In gyninar.lunis
and physleol culture schools.
A WOODLAND DANGER.
However, the I'olson Ivy la j
t'tterly Without Merit.
There are few persons In the esstern
part of America who are not' familiar
with tho common poison .vy Its sin
ister three-fingered nvea creeping
alongside the harmless five-lingered
woodbine or Virginia creeper. Some
persons are immune and may pick the
leaves at will, but others are so sus
ceptible that the wind will carry the
poisonous vapor and bring discomfort
without contact with the plant Itself.
Cows nnd horses feed with Impunity
upon the vine, but it Is terribly poison
ous to dogs, producing convulsions
which result In death. A volatile sub
stance which forms salts when com
bined with alkalis has been Isolated
from the leaves, known ns toxlcoden
dric add. This resembles formic neld
and Is the source of the isdsonlng.
OF TUB HIGHWAY.
More Interesting to the many suffer
ers, says the New York Evening Post,
Is the fact that a certain cure for the
painful skin blisters Is found lu a so
lution of potassium permanganate.
This blistering effect on the skin
was taken advantage of bj' old-time
doctors and administered in cases of
skin disease. One roods that In 1(5 K
the jtolson ivy was Introduced Into
England, and In 17!S was used as n
medicine in Europe. Even before this
the juice of the plant hod been used
is a marking Ink, ami Is to-day widely
mploycd for that purpost. It resists
soap, acids, alkalies and bleaching pow
ders, and yields only to ether. So,
when tho nature writer Is out In the
wilds, away from stores nnd human
dwellings, mid his Ink gives out, n
splendid substitute may be found In
the Juice of the poison Ivy which will
guarantee the physical permanence of
tho record of his observations if not
the veracity of the facts themselves.
nother commercial use for the Juice
of this plant Is In the manufacture of
a blacking fluid for boots and shoes.
ilotv Doll Are Mode.
Many big things are needed to makt
a small doll. She has her beginning In
n great trough, where workmen knead
up luto a dingy paste old cardboard,
even old gloves, old rags and gum
tragacanth. They nre great brawny
fellows, these men, naked to the wolsr,
wearing leathern aprons. In an ad
joining room the paste is poured Into
molds for the busts, the arms, the leg
of dolls Innumerable. There Is a spe
cial machine for stumping out thq
hands. I should not like to confess
how long I stood In front of It, fas.
ciliated by the steady stream of ijueei
little bauds that fell ceaselessly froui
the Iron monster. It was awful, uu
canny, hypnotizing. Indeed, tho wholo
sight was grim and monstrous. Tin
low factory rooms were misty wltlj
steam aud lit by strange, red glowlnq
fires. Always the great steel niuchluet
pulsed and changed, and through thii
mist sweaty giants of men went to and
fro with heaps of little greenish arm
and legs until you began to think thai
some new Herod had kilUM all the Ht.
tie people In tho world. Everybody's,
There are a good many reasons why
a woman Is never on time, and union,-
them Is one that no man ever recog
nizes that she has a great deal to da
"feoofcf f?o WoM" &rtd PonQtrcJQ
ffG Most 6?ArciuQ &nd
fn?OirprfdJtfa Heftan &? tfie Goa
Time was when Africa wns cnlled the
Dark Continent, partly because so lit
tle was known of Its vast Interior, and
the maps furnished by the cartograph
ers took so much for granted, when
they did not absolutely misrepresent
the country. Hut the Dark Continent
now Is fairly well explored, aud parts
of Its Interior nre ns well chnrted os
many places nearer liome. Hut Asia,
even now, centuries after Marco Polo
traversed it, seems to contain much
that Is new, because It Is so little
known. That part of the continent
which lies along the Himalaya and on
Its crest, has been so little traveled by
moderns that uutll the Hritlsh entered
Tibet by force recently the country
practically was an unsealed book to
the outside world.
An adventurous Englishman, David
Frnser, who represented the London
Times in Manchuria during the Russo
Japanesewar, litis just finished one of
the most remarkable journeys ever un
dertaken In Asia, nnd has brought back
some most alluring photographs and
an entertaining tale of his experiences.
Fraught with Excitement.
Even lu the remote East, where civ
ilization still Is of tho most primitive
pattern, It Is not Impossible to take a
Journey without having any thrilling
tales of danger to tell. The people In
the iuterlor of Asia are as a rule pa
cific, and the traveler who does uot
make himself offensive to the natives
generally arrives at his Journey's end
without serious difficulty. To imagine
there ure no natural dangers Is, of
course, erroneous. There nre; for to
climb some of tho Highest mountains
In the Himalaya range Is Itself an
an experience fraught with excitement,
and, at times, of positive danger. Mr.
Eraser, indeed, nearly lost' his life In
attempting to return by way of In
dia, through a pass blocked with snow.
The regions In which he traveled are
generally held to be the wildest and
most Inhospitable In the Eurasian Con
tinent, but the traveler, who had as
companion n Rrltish olllcer, succeeded
lu making his remarkable trip without
any serious mishap.
After the close of the war Mr. Era
ser decided to make a survey of the
interior of Asia, in the little known
regions of CUiuese Turkestan, Tibet,
Chinn, India, Russian Turkestan and
Persia. Of these, perhaps, Chinese Tur
kestan Is the least known to the outer
world, nlthotigh Fersia, beyond the
chief cities. Is nlmost nn unknown
quantity to the average person, even if
tho latter affects to be experienced.
Tibet has been entered by several trav
elers during the last decade, notably
by Sven Hedln. The Tibetan war, If
the conflict may be so dignified,
brought thut hidden country to the
front, nnd many of Its peculiarities
have become familiar, although Mr.
Eraser found there was still something
to learn there. Russian Turkestan has
been visited, along the line of the Rus
sian railway advance, nnd, consequent
ly, is not altogether an unknown coun
try. In the course of his wanderings
through this high region, where for
mouths at a time the traveler was at
an altitude of n mile or more, Mr.
1'rascr crossed the Himalaya three
times, and also made journeys across
the Knrnkorum, Kuen Leu, ami the
Alai, the names of some of which are
unfamiliar to most readers, lie used
mmie of the most remarkable modes of
conveyance. Through Chinese Turke
stan Ae had to rely on camels; In Tils't
the homely but entirely efficient yak
wos used, and in parts of his tour he
Eiade use of a donkey caravan. In
addition to these means of transpor
tation ho also covered 800 miles on
foot.
Some of the ground covered by Mr.
Fraser has been traversed by one or
two other travelers during the last few
years, but the part of Tits't lu which
be wandered may be said to have been
never trod by Europeans. He was
much Impressed by the hill country of
Slkklin, a small State north of India,
which nestles at the foot of the Him
alayas like a pass through the great
mountains. At one side lies Nepal and
ou the other is Hhoton. Heyond lies
the weird and mysterious country of
Tibet.
One of the World's Marvvl.
The Sihk country, he relates, "Is
probably one of the most marvelous
regions In the world, presenting, ns it
does, lu dose proximity tho rich lux
urianiv of tropical vegetation and the
wintry solitudes of everlasting snow.
Marching along the slopes of one of
Its exquisite valleys at a height of
8,.rSK) feet above sea level we came to
one point where we were able ti look
over a precipice that hank straight
down for '2,() feet to the bed of the
Teesta River Itself, here no mure than
1,6iK feet above the sea.
"On the opposite side of the valley
was a deep rift In the tree-dad hills,
and lookiuj up this gorge the eye sur
mounted rlde after ridge In quick
succession, until It finally rested ou the
top of Klnehinjunga. liS,150 toft, the
third hl.iiest mountain lu the world.
No more than thirty miles separated
the Teesta from the top of Its lordly
nelghlwr, and In the dear air It was
almost Impossible to believe tho dis
tance was so great."
The panorama spread before the
traveler at this point did not fail to
make a conquest of Mr. Fraser. "It
looked," he suld, "as If the very foot
of Klnehinjunga was set In a tiny
thread of silver that gleamed far be
low us, and that his mighty flanks rose
sheer until they ended In the twin
white peaks, 2(i,(i."i0 feet above. The
dark hillside and rushing waterfall, of
serrated ridges and gloomy gorges, of
blue glacier and lofty snow fields af
forded by this scene Is surely one of
the wonders of tho world."
Peak Five Miles lIIBh.
Heights of mountains lu the Hima
laya region, where they ore the great
est In the world, are difficult to com
prehend by those who have never been
so fortunate as to climb, or attempt to
climb, these , Immense elevations. But
a fair Idea of the height of Klnchlu
junga may be had by the simple state
ment that, could the mountain be laid
on Its side, and Its base placed at Del
aware avenue. Its summit would be
found to be nt (10th street, or within a
few hundred feet of five' miles.
The traveler found another marvel
ous country In the regions stretching
north from Simla, where official Indln
spends tho "summers, l.lMJO mihs west
of Slkkim. "From the sumuior capital
of India," he says, "the foothills of the
great backbone of mountain lie tum
bled In Inextricable confusion nnd
scored nt Intervals by the sources of
the famous rivers that give its name
to the Punjab. The first encountered
Is the SutleJ, rising in the distant
mountains of Tibet and racing through
dark gorges until It debouches In the
plains 300 miles below the point where
we crossed. Over the Jaolewrl Pass.
10,200 feet, we cross luto the lovely
volley of Kulu, which lies about 4,000
feet above the sea. Then over the Uo-
tang Pass, 13"0O feet, into Lahoul, a
country hare and desolate beyond be
lief, and nt no point lower than 10,-
000 feet. Crossing the Shingo Pass.
10,000 feet, we are in the most rugged
of ail Himalayan countries, Zanskar,
where we cross four passes of over
10,000 feet above sea level before de
scending Into the valley of the Indus
and reaching tho ancient and curious
town of Loll, ll.."()0 feet."
Travel Through looillnml.
Hero It seems that the voyagers have
hardly made a beginning, for immedi
ately north of Leli lies the Kharduug
Pass, 17,800 feet, quickly followed by
a drop to 10,000 feet, aud then another
rise to tho Sasor Pass, 18,000 feet.
"Between these two," says Mr. Fra
ser, we engage a large caravan or
ponies to carry the baggage, for In
fourteen days' travel tiiere will be no
habitations, no food for man or beast.
nor even fuel by the way. Everything
must be carried except water, of which,
alas, there Is too much In this sum
mer season, when the hot buii daily at
tacks the eternal snows that flank the
route. From the top of the Saser we
drop Into the valley of the Sliyok Riv
er, l.",100 foot, where great glaciers
poke their snouts across the valleys
and choke up the passes. Through a
long, doop gorge we slowly and labor
iously climb to the Depsatig plain, a
great stretch of smooth gravel beds, 17,-
000 feet above the sea, and over which
we take a day to travel.
"Heyond Depsang we rise to the
lofty Kurakoruin Pass, 1S,."i() feet, and
In throe days later cross the Suget
Pass, 17,000 feet, after which we drop
down to U,(KM) feet, and once more en
counter human beings and some vege
tation." Krtim C'nmels to YqLr.
Arrived nt Kurg.ih, the travelers
were on Chlne.se territory, and the
ponies were exchanged tor camels, for
horse transport is useless In tho bed
of the rushing Karakash River, .which
had to be forded many times during the
four days they followed Its course. The
SanJu Puss. ld.OOO feet, had to be sur
mounted, and this necessitated a change
of the baggage from camels to yaks,
for only the latter patient beast can
climb Its steep and dangerous ascents.
Chinese Turkestan, says the travel
er. Is a desert Indeed, but his route lay
through a sucees-doa of the most de
lightful and refreshing oas.-s, where
"milk, cream and ii nicy, vegetables aud
the finest fruit lu tlu world, are ob
tainable almost for the asking."
At a height of only .,ii;ti fct. accord
ing to Mr. Fraser, travel U easy and
pleasant compared with tho toil and
hardship of the in uiutaiiious regions
passed. Tile travelers rested at Kasli
gar, and then plunged into the moun
tains once more, crossing the Alai range
by the Terek Pass, U'.Oi'n feet, and
then finding themselves in liit-s'.an ter
ritory. There were still ih) miles of
caravan traveling bet'or. t lie travelers
reached tlw Transeaspi-m railroad at
AhdIJan, whence they were sped to A
kabad, a town ou the Persian Iwrdor.
Meshed, the famous city of pilgrim
ages, was reached after crossing moun-
tain passes of the comparatively low!
level of 7,0tM) feet.
t'nnB'ht In n Illlssnrd.
While crossing a Persian pass nt nn
elevation of lO.OtjO feet the explorers
were caught 'In a blizzard, but they es
caped without even a frostbite, and
continued to the tomb of Omar at Nal
shapur. Finally the route took them
to Haku, where the adventurous part
of the Jimrney ended. In the course
of the tour across unknown Asia they
traveled about 2..""i()0 miles on various
primitive modes of transport and about
ktanr on looi, lo s;i,v noiiiiu oi int.' count
less miles covered by railroad and by
carriages.
RATTLERS AND BEAR AT PICNIC
Iloys Start War of Annihilation'
Anions; Sunken t nnllire Cub.
Hoys ut a picnic at Greeley. Pa., re
cently had mre fun, snys the New York
World. Much of It was due to the fact
that there has not been such n drought
In like County for fifteen years. The
Delaware looks like a lost river, the
beds of the smaller streams are dry.
The picnic was held at Rattlesnake
creek. In which so little water retnalna
that It does not hide the bowlders on
Its bed. Every boy had a putty blower,
made from a straight piece of aider,
from which tho pith had been punched,
leaving a e:;!!ier big enough for a bird
shot.
Soon the boys discovered a colony of
rattlesnakes preparing to cross the
creek toward them. Every like County
boy who Is not n nature faker knows
that a rattlesnake hates to wet Its rat-
tlcR The bnva hhl In flip hnuhpa fiiwl
waited. Twelve rattlesnakes were in
the approaching bunch. The biggest
started ahead to recounoiter, the oth
ers waited on the bank.
The scout snake made his tortuous
way from bowlder to bowlder,' and
finally his rattles, dry, reached the pic
nic grounds. He rattled a wireless "all
right" to the eleven, which crossed In
Indian file. The boys turned their
putty blowers on the snnkes and tired
fast nnd accurate broadsides.
Maddened by the hall of shot the
snakes turned ou one another, and soon
every one lay dead, killed by the venom
of each other. The twelve snakes'
combined length was sixty-five feet.
Rot- this ivna lint nil tbe fun. Ar
luncheon the temptlug odor of honey
on the sandwiches attracted a very
small cub bear from his home In a
neighboring wood to the picnic ground.
The boys fed It on bread and honey and
took home a real but docile teddr bear.
Kopolt'on Trusted Ills Omens.
Napoleon always had nn unlimited
trust In his presentiments. When the
news came to him that one of the Nile
river bouts, the name of which was
L'ltalle, hud been wrecked and the
crew put to death he gave up all hope
of ever completing his conquest of.
Italy by annexation. Napoleon believ
ed that the stars exercised an occult
Influence over human destinies. When
General Happ, at one time his aid-decamp,
returned from the f iege of D.mt
sic he found the emneror gazing with
concentrated 'attention at the heavens.
"Look there!" shouted the emperor.
"It is my star! The fiery red one, al
most as large as the moon! It Is be
fore you now, nnd, nh, how brilliant!
It has never abandoned me for a sin
gle Instant. I see It on nil great oc
casions. It commands me to' go for
ward; It Is my sign of good fortune,
and where It leads I will follow."
A lu'erful Hint.
Anion,'; the presents lately showered
upon a Maryland bride was one' that
was the gift of an elderly lady of the
neighborhood with whom both bride
and groom were prime favorites.
Some years ago, according to t!
Woman's Home Companion, the dear
old soul accumulated a supply of card
board mottoes, which she worked and
had framed, and on which she never
failed to draw with the greatest free
dom as occasion arose.
In cheerful reds nnd blues, suspend
ed by a cord of the same colors over
the table ou which the other presents
were grouped, hung the motto:
"Fight on ; light ever."
One of the Farmers' Trualtles.
"To illustrate the damage clone by
the hail some weeks ago," said a prom
inent Cedar Township farmer the other
clay, "there were two wheat fields about
n quarter of a mile apart In my neigh
Isirhood. Before tbe hall the prospects
were about even, but one threshed out
seven bushels per acre and the other
seventeen showing that the hail cut
the crop ten bushels per acre In the
field over which It passed. Columbia
Statesman.
Stie Knew Her.
"Yo-.ir friend, Miss Passay, has be
come quite chummy with Miss New
combe. I don't suppose there's lmi'h
difference In their ages."
"1 can't answer for .Miss Newconilie,
but there Isn't any difference In Miss
Passay's age. She has been 21 for the
past ten years, to my knowledge.".
Philadelphia Press.
On
Oil I'll.
"Yes. I sleep In the garage now and
the chauffeur sleeps In the house."
"What's that fcrV"
"The chauffeur' Is troubled with In
somnia tied the midnight rides be took
in my car In order to pass away tho
time were altogether too extensive.",
Cleveland Plain Dealer.
KilrUK.
"That summer resort proprietor is a
sharp one. Isn't heV"
"l should say so. I fell off the dock:
and he charged ine for an extra bath.'
Cleveland Leader.
When a man does a creditable thing,
people say he didn't do It ; but he Is
often accused of doing discreditable,'
things he didn't do.
How a wo'iian with a mean husband,
regrets that she didn't, as u girl, allow
greuter apiircciatlou of her father.