Dakota County herald. (Dakota City, Neb.) 1891-1965, August 21, 1908, Image 3

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Opinions of Great Papers on Important Subjects.
2
A
A FATAL POOL BELIEF.
SURI'RlSl.Mil.Y large number of other
wise Intelligent pMst:s still entertain the
belief that, necording to Inw, those who
discover n presumably dead body must
It'll vp It as they find U until the coroner
arrives or minimizes Its removal. It Is
true that In iT.se of n murder, or even
of death by accident, It Is well for those who find the
lody to leave It mill Its surroundings as nearly - unmo
lested as Is consistent wlih common sense. This Is In
order that no cluv as to the manner of death limy Ik
destroyed, lint to did n man bunging by the neck nnd
not cut hliu down, or to llml n man Boutin In the
water und not make every effort at resuscitation pro
vlding, of course, that the condition of the body does not
lreclnde the possibility of life Is to do that which can
be called less than homicide only on the ground of Ig
norance. A case in point was that of Monday at Greenwich,
Conn. Dominlck Bond, supervisor of const m't Ion on a
ea wall, fell Into the water. Ills companions finally got
bold of him, passed a mpo about hisliody and tied It to
pier, supposing the man to be deid. Then they sent
for the coroner. When that oHieinl arrived he found
the man certainly dead, but declared that had he been
removed from the water and ordinary means employed
Jit the time his companions secured the body he could
Jhave Won resuscitated. Strange how some of these old
.beliefs survive! l.'tiea Globe.
Ml
Kumaumrm
mm
zri.rE3.
ANKI.NI) is learning rapidly which of the
myriad kinds of 'living things are friends
and which are enemies. Pcrts that ruin
crop are zealously studied and fought by
the farmer, but sonic pests that endanger
human life are tolerated because 'their
rr.vag"s are not visible to tne unscieniinc
ye. It took brave experiment to discover that the mos
. , 1 1 1 a io n ilnnillv 4iiioii,v nf- num. and & lonff cam
paign of education was necessary to prove the fact to
the public. The rat, being odious and a destroyer of
property, was more easily proved to lie a disease-bearing
scours. The International Association for the Scl
eutlflc Destruction of Rats, founded in Denmark, Is not
a fantastic society, as Is attested by the work in San
Francisco and other cities against this creeping vehicle
of the bubonic plague'.
The mosquito uud the rut have "got to go." And so
fins the house-Hy, which, far from being only a buzzing
nuisance', causes thousands of deaths a year. During
the civil war It wn found that Hies carried gangrene.
This early discovery has been explained by the later
Jlknowleilge of disease germs.
The fly Is attracted to all kinds of filth ; his feet are
barbed brushes which pick'. up dirt; and his track across
the food we eat is n path of pestilence when sel-n Ixv
neath the microscope, lie is the "principal agent In the
spread of typhoid." The increase of "summer com
plaints," intestinal diseases. Is r.ot due to hot weather
the human body easily adjusts Itself to mere temper-
Btur! but largely to the Increase of tiles from May t
August.
The tradition of the relation between filth and dis
ease Is sound; and the clean housekeeper has always
fought flies with screens and fly-traps. :
These old-fashioned defenses are still practical.' In
addition, the keeper of horses should screen his manure
pile and spray It with creosote or chloride of lime. To
allow files on food Is to run the risk of disease; to al
low flies to breed In or visit poisonous matter Is to en
danger one's neighbors. Youth's Companion.
T
THE LIFE-INSURANCE "TWISTER." .
HE "Twister," according to an Insurance re
port of Illinois, Is the anarchist In life In
surance. We hate anarchy In any form,
and are glad to see that one of the old
line companies is hard on the trail of the
twister. The twister, as most of our read
ers doubtless know, seeks to switch policies
from one company to another. He Is like tha bee who,
Instead of getting honey from the flowers, robs the hive
of his neighbors. In the past twisters have been agents
of other companies, but a new typo has pprung up. II
usually calls himself an Insurance expert, or an Insur
ance adviser, or some other name that anything but de
scribes him. He writes to the policyholder and asks
for the privilege of showing how the latter moy get
more Insurance in some other company for the same
rate. It is needless to say that this other company Is
often some company which has no financial standing.
Just at the present time the twister Is giving up to his
name by trying to twist a wrong interpretation Into the
Armstrong law, by saying that deferred or tontine divi
dends are outlawed, and by attempting to scare policy
holders In other ways. The only way to treat the
anarchist of life Insurance .Is to drive him out of busi
ness by having nothing to do with him. Leslie's Weekly.
m
PERSONAL EQUATION IN SUCCESS.
F you stop for a moment to analyze success
In business you will see that it comes
through contact with people. It is all
hinged -upon the manner of your contact
On every side you are surrounded by a
multitude of persons, in every one of
whom there exists a potential force that
may be exerted, at one time or another, to add to your
success. The oftene'r you cause that force to be ex
erted, the faster your business will grow. You can at
tract these Individual forces, If you choose, and get the
most from them. Or you can repel them and suffer
actual damage from having come in contact with them.
Or you may take a middle course, as many business
men do, and drift along in purely negative manner.
Looking at business In this light, It Is apparent that
the underlying element which contributes most to the
success of any undertaking, and to business in the aggre
gate, is the art of finding the vital points of human con
tact that will set In motion these forces. The personal
element must be stamped upon your business. System.
&AiiAJj'jraxbu.uiiitri.
akeial Psychology.
The new Institute of Zoological Psy
chology has a plant on u farm in the
neighborhood of Paris. The exact lo
cation, the New York Sun's corre
spondent says, is kept secret, to avoid
hindrance to the work by crowds of
merely curious visitors. The property
Includes meadows and barn-yards, a
wood of .considerable sl.e, and a large
loud stocked with tlsh. There are
spacious buildings. Including modern
stables, n riding school, stalls for iso
lating nulnials under special observa
tion, an injtiarluni nnd a laboratory.
On the roof of the) main buildiiig Is a
dove-cote.
How far the desire to study the
bublts ofvIivlng creatures under nat
ural conditions niuybo carried is illus
trated In the fact that a complete div
ing apparatus has been provided in
which observers descend to the bottom
of tho pond. There they remain for
tours, until the fish become accus
tiWucd tj their presence, and follow
their natural impulses in playing and
feeding. The student Is thus enabled
to note their habits at first hand.
Tlie oilier extreme or observation is
in. t-uu:i iiii:liiii (ii HiitMifri'ii iiiiiniirnin
dents sit through the night armed
with an electric llushllght to watch
the doings of owls, bats and noctur
nal Insects.
One of the conclusions reached by
tho students of the Institute is that
some animals possess a Bpcclal sense
by which they can detect the presence
of water even though they ennnot see
It. The experiments were undertaken
at the suggestion of David All a
resident of Australia ond a corre
sponding member, who wrote to the
Institute of his experiences with sheep
and cattle when being driven across
country. In a place where the pres
ence of water was wholly unexpected,
be says, "the leading animals would
suddenly lift their heads and draw long
breaths. Then they would almndo:i the
beaten tracks and start running
through the brush." Sometimes they
would run a nniv. ami a half to two
miles, and could not be stopped by the
drivers, their course Invariably leading
to a pond or spring hitherto unknown.
Tlie eincrlments were made on a
vater-rnt. First Its eyes were blinded
J a bandage, and then It was placed
ZT. a turntable, which was whirled round
until all sense of direction must have
,oecn obliterated. I'jon being released,
without a moment's hesitation I! started
directly for the pond, several hundred
yard' distant.
Frogs and toads were taken to a dis
tance oi uirco or lour miles rrom water
and turned loose. U seemed to take
them only n few seconds to local the
water, line oni iniu-i loan snowed the
lustlnet la the muiiu degree as' the
other.
Tli nnfnrn or Hourcn nf fi la
.A't clearly discerned. The observers
is the sight of birds and the homing
instinct of the carrier-pigeon. Many of
the members of the institute are In
clined to consider this a phenomenon of
far sight.. They have been taking by
triaugulatlon the height to which the
birds soar, and from that figuring out
the radius of vision they attain. A
bird which reaches a height of eight
hundred yards can see objects more
than sixty miles distant, and that they
ore keen-sighted enough to recognize
them cannot be doubted. At three miles
a vulture enu descry the carcass of a
kid hung on a pole.
$ "DON'T WOEEY."
CANADA HOME OF GOLF.
t'lml Club In North America Found
ed at Montreal.
As In the case of that other great
Scottish sport, curling, the honor of
having founded the first golf club in
America belongs to Montreal, the Cana
dian metropolis, says Recreation. Early
In the '"Os of the last century a Mr.
Sidney, n well-known golfer and curler
of his day. approached the Caledonian
society of Montreal, whose charter pro
vides for tho encouragement of Scot
tish sports among other things, with
regard to the desirability of forming a
golf club in Montreal. , Nov. 4, 1S73,
saw tlie' Montreal Golf Club founded.
A course was laid out on the side .of
Mount Koyal, the eminence from which
the city derives its name, and R club
house was built. Mount Royal Is a
public park, but arrangements were
made with the authorities for the use
of the course and ever since then, year
after year, the course has been kept
up at considerable expense, until at the
present time It is one of the brightest
freshest nnd most wholesome looking
stretches of Mount Royal. To perjetu
ate the memory of the man who had
been mainly Instrumental In tho found
ing of the club n hole was named after
him and when in later years the club
took up fresh quarters nt Dixie, on the
shores of Iike St. Louis, the same
thing was done on the new links. In
1SX1 the Montreal Golf Club, through
the Intercession of the Marquis of Luns
downe, the governor general of Canada
at that time, with her late majesty
tjuecn Victoria, obtained the privilege
to assume the ailix "royal" and to le
known thereafter as the Royal Mon
I real Golf Club.
A 4irr.it Tiling.
"Gee! I wlrhcd I was a Inventor,"
e tela lined Jimmy, loafing around the
ball park.
"What fur?'' demanded Tommy.
"I'd invent a knot hole w'at yer could
carry a round wld jTr an' stick In a
fence arywhercs yer pleased." Phila
delphia Press. .
'I'tie' I aually Are.
Mr. Hubbubs I understand the ladles
of the neighborhood are going to or
ganize a Dorcas society."
Mrs. Subbubs Oh, that's all talk.
Mr. Subbubs Of course, that's the
(V.iVct of every Dorcas society. PalU-
111s name was Hezeklah Doolittle,
and he was blessed with a sanguine
temperament. When he proposed to
Annie Warner, she inquired what means
he hud with which to support a wife.
"None whatever," said the cheerful
Hezeklah, "but poverty is no disgrace,
and some day I expect to strike It rich."
They were married and went to live
with Annie's parents, "until something
turned up." Hezeklah passed by the
small jobs, looking for something big,
but he was always on band for meals.
Annie fretted because they were a
burden on her parents, and chlded him
for his inaction.
"Don't worry," said he. "It will spoil
your bcuuty."
Hey-ekiah lived up to his own creed
and refused to worry, no matter how
great the provocation. Even when
Annie's parents turned them out he was
lerfectly calm. "The Lord vrlll pro
vide!" he exclaimed, placidly; but his
wife wasted no time la talk. She rented
a small cottage, bought some rurulture
on credit, and took In washing. .
"The debt on the furniture will soon
be due," 6he reminded him one day.
"'Never trouble trouble until trouble
troubles you,' " quoted Hezeklah.
So his wife did plain sewing at night
to Increase their scanty Income. Then
a baby was born, and Annie was unable
to work. "What shall we do?" she
cried. s
"Don't worry. It will Injure your
health," soothed Hezeklah. "I am still
exiting something to turn up."
Annie's folks helped them for a year,
and then she rented a larger bouse and
took In boarders.
"The rent will soon be due," she told
tur hiu-'band, ns she glanced anxiously
at the calendar.
"Take no thought for the morrow,"
reproved ller.tkluh. "The morrow w'll
take thought for the things of Itself."
Annie worked harder. 'Her caws la
creased ns the family 'Increased, anl
sin' lost her beauty, her health and nor
temper.
"You worry too much," remonstrated
her husband. "Why don't you take a
hopi-fnl view of life, as I do?"
Human cmlu'.aiicc has Its limits, and
the end ctune at last. Annie died of
overwork, her parents took the children,
and the hopel'il Hezeklah was left to
sbiCt for himself.
"'1 lie world owes m a living," ild
lie, so he took to the road. As ho
tramped out of the village, past tho
little country cemetery, his eyes sought
out t lie ansodiled grave of his wife, ai d
sighed.
The ways of Providence are Inscrut
able," he murmured, resignedly. "She
wis a good wife, but she would worry."
Life Is one glad, swevt song to me,"
fald the citizen with the ruddy com
plexion. "To-morrow I envelop my man
ly form In n flannel shirt nnd an old'
pair of trousers and go a-flshin'."
"Huhl" said the man with the pro
truding lower Up, with contempt In his
one.
"What's the matter?" asked the rud-
ly -complex ioned citizen. "Don't you
like to go fishing? I thought you were
quite an angler? Seems to me I've
heard you brag alnnit a twclve-p.uitnl
iass that you caught once when nolmdy
was looking. I never heard of any one
nit an Imaginative enthusiast catching
bass that weighed twelve pounds.
Kight is the highest I've ever dared to
atch."
"I used to like llshlns fairly well
when I was younger uud better aide to
stand hardship," said the man with the
protruding lower lip. "It's o little too
much like work for nie now."
"Work!" exclaimed the other man.
"What are you talking about? Work!
You must be crazy. Do you call sitting
under u shady tree and listening to tho
ripple of the water against the bank
working? What do you call 'sweltering
in an ollice from 9 till 5?"
"I Kiiid 'work' and I meant work,"
insisted t lie objector. "It's work and
mental r.n;?u!sli. What's more, the
shady Iree Isn't there. It's the hot,
blazing sun nil day, and if you're fool
enough to wait after the sun gies.dv.vii
It's clouds ami swarms of poisonous
mosquitoes. I've got n shady tree In
my back yard If I want to do any loaf
ing In the shade, and I can get a good
imitation of rippling water with the
lawn sprinkler. 1 thought you were
talking about fishing."
"I was," said the ruddy-complexioned
citizen. "I was talking of tho de
lights "
"And there isn't any place to sit
down," Interrupted tlie man with tho
protruding lower lip. "I know nil about
it. The ground on Ihe bank is too
moist to sit on, and If tbero ore any
shady trees It means that you're going
to get your tackle tangled up In the
branches and have to climb and scrape
the skin off your knees. I've been there,
so you needn't tell me."
"I was speaking of the Joys of fish
ing, not the petty incidental discomforts
that you exaggerate," said the citizen
with the ruddy complexion. "I was
thinking of the thrill of rapture I shall
feel when the tug comes nt the line;
of the triumph of landing a fine, leap
ing. Mapping fellow on the prass; of
the constantly lengthening string am
the
spoil."
"You weren't thinking of finding that
the boy who was to bring you your bait
failed to materialize, eh?'' inquired tho
man with' tho protruding lip, sarcastic
ally. "You weren't thinking of chas
ing over a marsh In mud up to your
knees In search of frogs that were hard
er to catch than, the fish? No? You
didn't contemplate the solitary, measly
little fish that you did hook getting
away from you?"
"You bet your life I wasn't contem
plating anything of tho kind," said the
ruddy-complex Ioned citizen..
Nor the rainstorm? I suppose you
like to clean fish when you do catch
them what? Get yourself covered with
slime and fish scales and run the fins
Into your hands !"
I'll Just clean enough for a mess nt
the place where I'm going to stay for
dinner and then take the rest hnme."
sold the other. "I get word that they're
biting fine. You'd better come along."
"I think I see myself," said the scoff
er. "How far is it, anyway, and are
yon Just going for the day?"
"Forty miles out nnd the' finest place
know of within a hundred, You can
bet on the bait's being ready for us,
and If we don't catch fish I'll never
fish again. We'll have eight good hours
for It. What do you say?"
"Let's look at your time table," said
the man with tlie protruding lower lip.
Chicago Daily News.
RETEOSPECTIOIT.
King, thou sweet bird of the days gone forever,
When o'er the greensward I rumbled so rreej
Tell of tho Joys that return to me never.
Save In tho song thou urt singing to ma
Far, far away are the fields decked with flowers.
Blossoms that once were tho Joy of my heart;
Long I sat binding them 'nenth tho cool bowers.
Crude tho' ,uy skill, nnd as childish my art
In the dull uncke of a hurrying city,
Hero was I destined alone to abide.
Toilsome my lot: Oh, the pity, the pity.
Thus to be caged, when the world Is so wide J
a Phantom Raft
In the early days of the gold-mining
craze thousands of young men pushed
out Into the great northwest, without
any very deinlto notion of where they
were going, or what their plan of action
would be wpea they got there. They
shaply Joined the stamped! for the Pa
cific coast. Imping to gain some trust
worthy Information cu route; or, break
ing nwoy entirely from the main body
of gold-Beekers, thty ventured Into un
known regions, In the hope of discover
ing some rich deposit In a locality
where there would be, la all probability,
none to dispute their claim, or to object
to their pre-empting and working a
wholo township, If they wished.
Among tho latter wero my college
chum, Robert Trefry, ami myself. We
got It Into our beads that tho region
near the headwaters of tho Yellow
stono river, then but very llrtlo known,
ought to bo rich In mineral deposits,
though wo bad but little or no evidence
upon which to base such a supposition.
But with the usual hot-headed ness and
romantic disposition of youth, wo
longed to get out of the beaten track,
and combine a llttlo of the excitement
of exploration with that of gold-seeking.
So, while the rest of our little
parry kept on to California, we branch
ed off toward tho northwest, equipped
with the usual prospectors outfit, and
were soon beyond the outposts of civili
sation. After three days of hard traveling,
without having seen a human Hieing or
a sign of one, we unexpectedly came up
with an old hwiter and trapper, who
was "backing" a load of supplies from
the settlements to his lonely cabin In
what Is now. the great Yellowstone
Park. Acquaintances are soon formed
j j in the wilderness, and In less than flf-
At . . . ,A. , i iiTT-u Mini it iro uiv Hirait. i I'll I L til. iliu
triumphant return with the finny I , . . , . , 1 . , ,
to our pack-mule, and we were all
Tamping aiong togetner. talking as
i ili'liililn Press.
ave named It the sense of humidity. i
They believe It consists in h perception! After the Mipper is oer ana me
of the direction In which the atuirm- j dishes dine, a woman removes her
rdiere contains most moisture. An f uort' Kitchen apron and sits down beside
will be made to discover whether nuyjlier husband with an air that snys.
men pofste It.
Now, tell me ull that has happened
Aras tha subjects ef laTestijatrcn, to-day.
You girls who are more or less
j snippy becauso you are young and good
looking, remember that it will not take
you long to get over It. A girl passes
from the young to the old crowd In.
four years.
The people always catch It ; the
poor man says "the people snub him";
the rlefc bii says "the senile are
toadies."
For many days wo Journeyed toward
the souni'S of the river, following the
vast, yawning canon, over whose edge
we oftea stopped to peer, nmazed nt Its
dark, cavernous depths. At some points
the gulf was simply awe-inspiring, the
walls of rock rising nearly a quarter
of a mile straight up from the water.
It was ou the ninth day of our Jour
ney up the river, at noon, tho oui
trapper was walking In advance, lead
Ing the pack-mule. All nt once be
stopped so suddenly that the mule's
drooping head run Into him, and came
near knocking him over the precipice.
Ho staggered, recovered his balance, and
struck back at the mule with bis left
hand, but never turned his face an In
stant from the gulf Into which he was
staring.
As we came hurriedly up, we noticed
the pallor of the old man's check. Even
his stern-cut profllo showed tho horror
depleted upon his features. Apparently,
ho did not heed our approach, or notice
us, as we lunit cautiously over the brink
of the canon, and gazed down at the
dark river, hundreds of feet below.
The sight that met our eyes was cer
tainly enough to chill the blood in
man's veins, and send a shiver down his
backbone. About fifteen feet out from
the wall of rock upon which we stood,
a rudely built raft was floating up
stream. On this raft lay the skeletons
of two men, glistening horribly white
out of the shadow of the canon walls
To the middle of the raft was bound n
large bundle, carefully wrapped in
slickers, the material of which had not
yet rotted away. Two rusty rifles and
an nxe completed tho freight of the
weird craft.
Too astonished to speak a word, we
all three stood rooted In our tracks,
watching the phantom raft, as It, ap
parently, made Its way .up stream,
against the current of the mighty river.
For a hundred feet or more It glided
along, smoothly and steadily. Then, of
had watched the shot with eyes thaf
fairly bulged from their sockets. When
he. saw the axe fink beneath the water
his whole demeanor suddenly changed.
Raising his own rifle quickly, be fired,
and the next Instant a puff like a small
loud of smoke rose from the bundle In
the center of the raft. As It cleared
way, we saw a wide, ragged rent In
the hnlf rotren wrappings, and out of
this rent was pouring a shining yellow
treara.
The trappc turned to us with a tri
umphant smile.
I thought so," he said. "It Is the
stolen gold. Now I understand how
It happened, riorre and Mort thought
It would be safer to take It away down
the river. So- they built a raft. Bui
the raft got caught In the big whirlpool
of the niaek Gap, and they couldn't get
It out. And here they've been going
round and round for eleven years In a
trap that no man could get out allvs
from. The breath has gone out of their
ImmIIcs, and the flesh has fallen off their
bones, but the gold has been kept safe
all these years. It is tho Judgment of
heaven J"
We went up stream five failles, till ws
came to a olert where a tributary
stream made Its way down to the Yel
lowstone. Near Its mouth we fouud
enough driftwood lodged to build an
other raft; and the next morning we
floated down, to tho whirlpool. Using
the utmost care, lest we ourselves
should get caught In the back current,
we managed to fasten upon the treas
ure raft with a long, rude pike-pole,
nnd by our united strength In paddling
and towing, we drew tho other raft out
of tho whirlpool, and suffering both to
float together down stream, succeeded
n landing, late that day, at a spot
where another cleft mado It possible to
climb the canon wall.
The gold diist was a treasure, Indeed,
not less than half a bushel of It, by
careful measurement. Wo carried It
back to the trapper's cabin, and Trefry
nnd I left him there to guard It, while
we prospected diligently for four
months. In the hope of finding tho lead
from which It was taken. But not an
ounce of gold did we scrape together
between us. j
On our return we took the gold out
to the settlements apd advertised for
Its owners. But though several claims
were put In by unprincipled parties, no
one was able to prove property; and
finally we came to the conclusion that
the treasure fairly belonged to those
who found It. We tried to get the old
trapper to take his third, but he would,
not touch a penny.
"I should have no use for It," he said.
It woujd only He behind my fireplace."
So Trefry and I went back to "the
States," richer by twenty thousand dol
lars. the treasure-trove of the Phantom
Raft. Chicago Dally News.
"WE MANAGED TO FASTEN 1'1'ON THE TREASURE RAFT."
leave,
III "lll Time."
When Wilkins' family arranged
To go away a mouth or ro,
His f acini expression changed
To one of sorrow and of woe.
He snid lie wished they wouldn't
Hut tliey refused to be misled.
"O. don't protend that you will grieve."
The family in concert said,
"For you'll be having a big time."
And when at last their train had gone
And he stood looking1 down t lie track
And wutclieil It rolling swiftly on.
And wished tlint it. was coming: back.
He turned and met a friend and sighed :
"They've Rone I don't know what to
do."
His friend looked at him, merry eyed.
And said: "Old man, I'm on in you
And you'll be having a big lime."
He ate wherever be niilit be
And triod to find a little fun;
A show or two he went to see,
Hut left before the play were done;
And those who knew hiin nodded then
Ills mood nml manner well l Io y read!
"His family's away nir.iin."
Willi knowing wink nnd smile' they
Kllld.
"And he's just having a big lime."
Hut Willin slowly homeward went
Ami wandered lliroiidi I lie silent rooms
Where memories persistent blent
Titei'is "Ives with nil t lie hollow glooms,
lie thomiht of her heart warming smile
And liow the children used to play,
And then he said: "It's quite a while
' Already since they went uw:iy
I'm ain't I having a big time V"
('lii;iil'o Tribune.
DlxelplliirU.
"These millionaires are discovering
i hut they can't run everything to suit
themselves," suld tho discontented per
sou.
"No," answered the observant one
"not since the multimillionaires came
along." Washington Star.
How people love an old saying!
They are ulways quoting, "There Is
nothing new under tha sun," yet thers
U souietUUi uew evrr d.'.y.
freely as if we had been companions
from the start
My partner and I soon found that the
advantage lay as much upon our. side
as upon the trapper's, for the latter'e
Intimate knowledge of tho country made
him a sure guide, and lie was also able
to tell us pretty much nil we wanted
to know nlwut the headwaters of the
Yellowstone, exceptlug whether gold
was to be found there. The old man
declared that he never had any desire
to accumulate the yellow iiietnl, ns he
did not care for the value It represented
in the marts of civilization. So long
ns he could barter bis furs for the sim
ple nccessltb's of a hunter's life his ev
ery want was satisfied.
"Do you know whether any other
party of prosiiectors ever came Into this
section la search of gold?" asked Trefry
of the old man, as we sat by our camp
fire, smokiug, one evening.
It wus n minute or more Is-fore the
trapper auswered. Then he said, sim
ply:
"Yes, but I don't know what ever bo
came of them." Further questioning
only caused him to shake his head. "I
can't tell you," he would say. "They
never came buck uiy way, at least."
We began to suspect that there Una
some mystery nUmt tho matter that dis
quieted our coinpau'.o:i. The subject
was ouo that he did not like to talk
about We brought It up sctiiI times
afterwards, but could get nothing more
out of him. i '
"I bfdleve tlie old fiIlow has u grain
of superstition In lib make-up," whi'i
pered Robert to me, iis the trapper took
his nxe and went out among the shad
ows to cut more wood for tlie lire. "Hf
has either seen tlie ghost of ono of
those prospectors, or Imagines be has
I'd give a good deal to know what In
came of them.''
By Oils time we hud reached the val
ley of the Yellowstone, If that high
table-land through which tho river has
cut Its tomb-liko chtinnel can properly
be called a valley. The trapper's cabin
Mil been reached und passed. Jt was
evident that he wished to aosompauy
us farther, ami we were not nt ull
averse to his doing so, for we hud found
blui not only very helpful In ways where
oar Ignorance was anytblrg but bliss,
but also an ogreeuble comiwnlon. As
for bis occasional fits of suiierntitlon,-
thej only suiumU us.
i sudden, it paused, swerved, began to
ivhirl. Mind finally shot out towards the
middle of the stream, und was carried
swiftly down by the muln current
For fully three hundred feet It sped
ulong; then It wus drawn sharply to
wards the cliff, and thrust out of the
iiialu current Into a great wlilrliKiol
which on more carried It steadily up
stream, only a few feet outskle the wall
of rock on which we stood.
"Look there!" cried the old trapper.
breaking the strained silence for ;tl
first time, and pointing downwards with
his trembling finger. "Those uro the
ghosts of Pierre and Mart, coiideiuiKd
to float forever up and down the Black
(Jap ! I told them no good would com
of stealing the gold. I warned them
that Hod's vengeance would follow
them. If they killed the limocvut men
who dug the treasure out of tlie rocks."
The old man cover.d his face with
his ha uds, nnd shrunk back upon the
ground, while Ticfry's eyes and mine
met In a significant look. The mystery
was out! The prosiiectors had been
murdered, and tlie old trar.per, our
guide, knew the men who had done the
deed.
Hut we could not think about the
tragedy thru. Our eyes returned with
uu Irresistible fascination to tne mys
terious raft. Could it, Indeed, be a
phantom, ns the old man had said? Wits
Its strange course, up nnd down the
canon, tlie result of a supernatural
agency, or merely nf natural laws? We
watched It breathlessly, as it swept up
stream and again npproat'lied the point
where Its course had hi abruptly
changed. Once more it slopped and
spun, as if struck by lanni; strong op
posing force, against which It was held
hy tile ctiuuler-i iirrcut l'roai behind.
Again It tiliot out towards tlie middle
of the stream, uud floated rrpidly dowu
current, only to be caught once more
by tho strange whirlpool and sent back
beneath tlie ciifT.
"line thing Is sure." mid my compan
ion. "That is no plianti iii raft, und to
prove it, I will knock that uxe lulu tho
wuter with a bullet."
Trefry wns a crack shot, and be
knelt, rested his elbow on his knee, took
careful uim. nnd tired. The next In
stunt the axe. which had been lying
near the edge of the raft, disappeared
lu the black water.
The 1U rriipptT, ttartg io bltitiuwa,
DEFYING A TORNADO.
Ilrhatlor of American Troops In tho
l'"ao of Awfal Death.
One of the most, remarkable events
In the annals of American arms occur
red nt Fort Crook, Neb., the other day
when n tornado struck the place, snys
the Kansas City Journal. As the dis
patches tell the Btory: "When the offi
cers realized that a tornado bad struck
tho post 000 men of the Sixth regiment
were brought to battalion formation,
und in the midst of flying slate roofs
nnd other debris they were marched
across the parade ground to the sub
stantial buildings, where they were put '
'ut rest,' and took to the cellars. The
fort wus damaged to the extent of
$100,000."
History and fiction alike have dwelt
upon the dauntless spirit of men who
have manifested their willingness to
"charge the gates of hell or scale the
heights of heaven," but doubtless no
better Illustration of the spirit was ever
given than when this devoted band of
American soldiers at Fort Crook form
ed ranks to "do or dlo" together In
the face of u resistless tornado.
Tlios.e who have never viewed the
fury of one of these terrible outbursts
of the angry elements can not Imagine
tltf dreadful reality of the scene, with
tho heavens blacker than night, the
darkness Intensified by blinding flashes
of lightning, the terrors of the storm
multiplied by the terrific crushes of
heuvenX artillery, and thej air filled
with swirling clouds which hide all else
but tho awful figure of death, the
ghastly funnel-shaped cloud which
makes gigantic leaps along tho ground,
uprooting trees and whirling houses,
animals and human beings through tha
sir on the wings of the death-denllng
wind.
It Is a sight to appall the stoutest
heart and to cause tho human mind to
realize the utter Impotence of man In
the presence of angry nature. Ths
charge of the Six Hundred at Hatak
lava was a trivial Incident of military
duty compared with the steadfast dis
cipline of the 000 American sofcllers at
Fort Crook who coolly formed In line
and braved the tornados fury as
though It were a matter of mere rout
Ine duty.
Ilia llraarn I'hrek.
"Io you know, sir," observed Poeti-
cus, "Unit on srniie uays i icei inucn
brlghte and abler than - on others;
these I call my golden days."
"My golden days," returned Proser,
"are pay days. After these come silver
dn.is. when I get dowu to halves nml .
quarters. These are followed by my
nickel and copper days. Let mo see,
now, this Is Friday. Isn't It? Ah, yes;
then this is one of my brass days lend'
me a liver, will you?" Boston Trans- ,
crlpt.
A Sly Hint.
"The macklnaw straw tiat Is all the
(ro now," remarked Mr. Horetu.
"In, lei d?" replied Miss Patleuco
Comic, .winning, "lo bud you haven't a
uiaekinaw with you tills evening."
Philadelphia Press.
When a country young man appears
ou the street with u girl hanging o'u
his arm, In 'mldltloi, to a haircut and
a sliiive, It 1 u sure slgu that be U
going to get married.
Occasionally a man gets the reputa
tion of being "deep" by saying talr.gs
neither he nor anyone vise understands.
Some farmers nre ah lull of Interest
ing Information as a dog la of fleas.
V
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