NEBRASKA IN BRIEF
NEWS NOTES OF INTEREST FROM
VARIOUS SECTIONS.
ALL SUBJECTS TOUCHED UPON
Religious, Social, Agricultural, Pollt.
leal and Other Matters Given
';. Due Consideration.
Western Nebraska has of lato ro
celved somo flno rains.
Hebron hns taken steps to provldo
a complete soworage system.
ArrcstB In Kearney havo been ma
terially lessened Blnco the lid went on.
Wcltkainp's hardwaro store at WlnB
low was broken Into and about $100
worth of knives and cutlery taken.
Charles Jacobs, who oscapod from
tho ponltontlary was enptured by Mar
shall Goblo near Prairie Home, and
brought back to prison.
Henry Bucholtz, a young fnrmor
living In tho western pnrt of Merrick
county, was adjudged Insane at a
hearing of tho tho Insanity board and
has been taken to tho asylum at Hast
ings. A requisition was Issued for the re
turn of J. H. Storrs, alias J. H. Mc
Carthy. Tho latter was arrested at
Soattlo nnd is charged with tho em
bezzlement of tho funds of tho Horn
estate.
Llttlo Edwin Graham, of Fremont,
4 years old, was pullod out of a rain
barrel just in tho nick of tlmo. Whilo
playing on tho back porch at the homo
of D. A. Ward, tho boy fell hoadllrBt
Into tho barrel.
Although only one-half of tho aver
age vote was polled for the proposed
Isbuo of $100,000 bonds for tho now
High school building nt Hastings, tho
proposition was dofeatcd by a major
ity of VOtCB.
Butch Wlllard, who waB being held
In the county jail at Chappoll on a
chargo of horse stealing, made his
escape. Ho wns given his liberty for
a fow moments, Improving tho oppor
tunity to mako his got-away.
Norrls Drown Is preparing to re
open the Sonator nrown resldonco In
Kearney. Tho daughters, Lucllo and
Jane, are at the Nobraska university,
and will return to Koarney with Mrs.
Brown at tho closo of the school year.
Tho case of Stato of Nobraska vs.
Frank Tomka for violation of an In
junction of tho court was heard In
court at Madison. Tomka admitted
having violated the Injunction alleged
nnd tho court adjudged him guilty
and fined him $100 and costs.
PostofUco employes a,Te (planning
several Interesting entortaluments for
tho postmasters of Nebraska, who
meet in Lincoln in their sevonth an
nual convention Juno 8, 9 and 10. E.
R. Sizer, postmaster In Lincoln, la
prosident of the organization.
In federal court at Lincoln James
Martin declared that ho had been ar
rested and Imprisoned in Nobraska
City merely because ho "was a nigger
nnd had $500 In the bank" Ho Is su
ing William Heboid and Otto Jensen
for damages to the cxtont of $11,000,
Dotails havo been recolved of a,
murderous assault on Davo Bailey, a
former Central City boy, In Seattle,
Wash. As a consequence of his be
ing mistaken for a wealthy citizen of
Seattle ho wns held up, robbed, choked,
slugged, thrown Into a lake and half
drowned.
Misses Gretchon Spencer and Miss
Vivian Rector, two young women of
Nebraska City, who havo beon in Chi
cago for tho last threo years proparing
themselves for tho stngo, havo gono
to New York city to accept a position
with one of tho leading companies,
which travel out of that city.
Deputy Sheriff W. C. Condlt, of
Dodgo county, has his left foot cut off
at tho ankle by a train at tho Union
dopot In that city, while trying to
navo tho llfo of Frank Kent, a young
man temporarily Insane, who was be
lng taken to Lincoln for treatment.
Kent also had a leg taken off and sub
talned othor Injuries which will prob
nbly prove fatal.
Tho rccont heavy rain played havoc
with the dam of the Albion electrlo
light company, ncross tho Beaver. Tho
dara was put out of commission last
fall and tho company Installed a stenm
plant to tako -is place until repairs
could bo made. The company last
wlntor expended thousands of donars
and a vast amount of labor to put tho
dam In shape again and had just com
plotcd Its work.
The sanitary conditions of tho moth
ods by handling cream In a large num
ber of receiving stations nre of such
a nature hb to require tho attention
of tho Stato Pure Food commission
and an olllclal notice has beon sent
out by Commissioner Mains that
wherever conditions exist that will
render cream or milk unclean or un
wholosomo, or where a samplo of
cream or milk has been taken before
it has been thoroughly stlrrod, or
whoro any false or unfair test has
been mado, tho operator of such sta
.tton will bo subject to prosecution
.under tho pure food law and uIb per
,mlt will bo cancellod.
Twenty graduatos will go out of tho
High school at Oakland,
Tho board of education of Grand
Island has Instructed a committee to
investigate tho cost of a manual train
lng and domestic science department
and It Is expected that tho samo will
be Installed as part of tho high school
curriculum for next year.
At tho school bond election hold In
Clay Center thoro wore 140 votes for
and 33 against. Tho proposition la
for $12,000 and tho proceeds will be
used to build a duplicate of tho pres
ent Btructuro, or rather to double tho
size under one roof.
The Katydid Mine
By an
Captain Dickson's Own Story of Unearthing a Colossal Fraud
3
S A RULE tho in-1
spec tors of tho
post-office depart
ment look after
matters of fraudu
lent uses of the
malls, Bald Capt.
Dickson on a cer
tain occasion
when I had
dropped in for a
quiet smoko and a
glads of sherry,
but when a caso
ilovelops unusual difficulties the so-crot-servlco
department Is called
upon. This doos not often happen,
howover, for there 1b a lot of rivalry
between these departments nnd not
llttlo Jealousy. It Is only as a last
resort that our branch of the ma-
hlnery of government Is brought Into
requisition, and not until tho post-
offlco Inspectors havo failed uttorly.
caso of this character occurred
a few years ago In one of tho larger
western cities.
It was a mining-case a company
backed by $50,000,000 capital stock
and, to nil appearances, It wns a
legitimate scheme. Among Its direc
tors wero four" or flvo well-known
western mining mon, ono I remombor
bolng an ox-United States sonator. It
advertised extensively In tho nowspa
pcrs and by circulars. Orders for
stock wero pouring Into tho company
In such largo quanltles that It re
quired two and threo mall-wagons,
sometimes, to haul a slnglo day's
mnll.
Tho advertising matter of tho com
pany, which operated undor tho nnmo
of the Amalgamated Gold Syndicate,
was cleverly written. It stated that
tho discoverers of tho mine woro two
poor prospectors without kith or kin
but with hearts overflowing with gen
erosity, who, from tho two millions of
Btock that each owned, derived a rov
cnuc greater than either could spend
and, appreciating tho afflictions of tho
poor and tho scant opportunities for
a man of small means to And a safo
and profitable investment for his sav
ings, they had decided to sharo their
wealth and prosperity with tholr fol
low men.
Tho company placed $2,000,000 of
stock upon tho niarkot each year,
$1,000,000 in January and $1,000,000 In
July. It advertised that no ono person
would bo allowed to subscribe for
more than $100 of each semi-annual
Issue and that the subscription-books
would bo closed ns soon as tho re
quisite million was subscribed.
Tho post-ofllce dopartmont becamo
Biisplclous ns soon as tho advertise
ments began to appear, and the In
spectors were immediately put upon
the caso. They worked for six months
and found nothing that supported
this suspicion in tho slightest. On
the other hand, they established be
yond doubt that tho mine had been
discovered by two poor miners who
had no relatives living, so far as
could bo determined; that they had
Induced capitalists to Invest $1,000,000
In cash In the venture, and had then
organized and Incorporated tho Amal
gamatcd Gold Syndicate with a paid
nip capital of $5,000,000, selling tho
mine to tho corporation for $4,000,000
of stock. Tho mine was called "The
Katydid," and It had beon worked for
a tlmo by the corporation at a big
proflt. Tho two minors, poor no long'
or, had, after a tlmo conceived their
charitable scheme, and hnd put It
through much against tho wishes of
the minority stockholders, who woro
poworloss to prevent It.
Accordingly, tho capital stock had
been Increased from $5,000,000 to
$50,000,000 and tho chartor authorized
$2,000,000 of tho Increased Btock to
be sold each year.
Tho company apparently did every
thing that It, advortlscd. It rogularly
paid Its stockholders an annual dlvl
dend of 20 per cent.
Hudson, one of tho miners, was
president of tho company, and in
charge of tho offices It maintained In
tho western city, which I have already
mentioned, while Mason, tho othor
of tho dlcoverors, was general mana
gor and In control nt the mlno. Both
Hudson and Mason boro out tho char
actors that tho advertising matter of
tho syndlcnto gavo to them. They
dressed In rough, cheap clothing
chowed tobacco, and showod a dlsre
gard for monoy that Is characteristic
of mon who havo worked hard all
their lives against an adverse fortune
and who have suddonly como Into
great wealth. In ovorything thoy
acted tho parts of uncouth, unodti
cated sons of tho soil.
At tho Katydid mlno, visitors woro
always welcome. They woro shown
over tho properties with the grcntest
freedom, only one place, tho small
building where tho metal was separ
ated from tho amalgam, was denied to
thorn. Mason explained this by say
lng that tho company possossed
secret process for refining which ho
had discovered and which was known
only to himself, to Hudson, and to
Boldon, tho company b chomlst.
This, in brief, was tho status of tho
caso when I was put on It. It was
given to mo because I hud boon
miner and prospector and had studied
geology and assaying.
Aftor working a week on tho caso I
was satisfied that the company was
Ex - Operative of the Secret
a fraud, but I readily saw that I had
no common crooks to, deal with.
My figures showed that the mlno
wns producing less than $300 of oro a
day, llttlo more than enough to pay
tho oxpensos of oporatlng, and cer
tainly not enough to sustain the ox
pensivo ofllces In the city nnd pay
tho fabulous dividends on tho stock.
I didn't tnko a bit or stock In
Ma&on's claim of a secret process of
refining. I know that was a fako out
right, but I wanted confirmation of
it, and tho only way to obtain this wns
to get Inside tho llttlo building nt tho
mlno where Mason and Beldon slopt
nnd whero the separation of tho gold
from tho amalgam was effected.
I had almost worked myself Into a
fever over It when, ono night, I went
up to my room nt the llttlo hotel of
tho mining camp aftor supper and sat
down to read myself to sleep. I had
bought a couplo of paper-back novels
nt tho drug-store, from Its rather lim
ited stock, nnd among them thoro was
a copy of Victor Hugo's masterpiece.
I hnd road tho book before, but It was
n favorlto of mlno nnd I hadn't much
cholco In tho matter of selection, I
was so wrought up over tho question
of getting Into tho reflnlng-plnnt that
connected reading wns out of tho
question, so I skipped about through
tho book, rending n chnpter hore and
we SAM ofms wcr.
n bit there until I camo to tho adven
ture of Jean Valjean In tho Paris
sowers. In nn Instant I was tingling
In overy norvo, for I hnd found tho
solution of my problom, ulthough It
was both foolhardy and besot with tho
gravest dangers.
Tho reducing plnnt whb In a low-sot
building, adjoining tho stamp mill, nnd
the water supply was convoyed to It
from a dam somo dlstnnco up the
canyon through an Iron plpo two feet
In diameter. Tho water supply was
limited, nnd nt night tho flow was shut
off. leaving tho nine oulto empty. I
had observed tho plpo In my rnm
blings about tho neighborhood of the
mine but had novor thought of It as
n possiblo entrnnco to tho building
until I rend of the hunted Jean
Valjean taking to tho sowors llko a
rat to escape his lmplacablo foo. Pos
sibly I never Bhould havo thought of
It If I had not chanced to buy the
ten cent book at tho drug-store. This
Is but an lnstnnco of tho influence on
our lives of soomlngly trivial things.
Tossing tho book upon tho floor I
hastened out Into tho night nnd mndo
with all speed for tho big plpo. Tho
wator left tho rosorvolr In a sluice
way of concrete nnd ran for somo 200
yardB In a trough of tho hiiiiio mate
rial until Its course crossed a deep,
narrow gulch, which mado tho plpo
nccosBary. TIiIb was to bo my point
of entrnnco, as from hero on U tho
mill tho plpo was contluwws,
jawm; tCTvaiiw
Swindle
Service
It was something aftor ten o'clock
when I completed my Investigation,
and 1 decided to cxploro tho pipe with
out further dolny. I removed my shoes
nnd hid thorn beneath u bowlder,
looked to tho cartrldgoa In my re
volver, a precaution 1 havo always
taken slnco n certain ndventuro down
on tho Rio Grande Then I cropt Into
tho plpo. It wns cool nnd clammy and
ns dark as n dungeon. I had n little
pocket electric flash-light, but waa
afraid to uso it, as tho distance to the
rcduclng-plont wns less than 100 yards
from tho ravine.
My progress wns slow and tiresome.
Noverthele88, In good tlmo, I camo to
a point where the pipe mado an ab
nipt turn Btralght down, which con
vlnced mo that I was about at tho
end of my Journoy. I reached down
tho holo a far as my arm would go,
but couldn't touch bottom so, after
listening for n tlmo nnd hearing noth
ing more than n distant drip, drip of
water which was most lonesome, mys
terious, and melancholy, I toio my
pockothandkorohlof Into strips and
weighted It with n cartrldgo bo that I
might sound tho Inky depths bolow.
I was scnslblo enough not to drop
down Into the plpo without making
n reckoning, ns I had learned this pro
caution by sad experience. To my
great relief tho plummet struck hot-
torn nbout four feet down and I cau
tiously lowored myself, foot flrst, Into
tho well.
11 was ntthor close quarters, but I
managed to feel about mo In ovory di
rection, nnd to my dismay found that
at this point tho plpo divided Into half
:i dozon smnllor ones, nono of thorn
over six Inches In dlnmoter. This wns
a sad blow to my hopes and I folt nl
most dofoated, bo great was my
chagrin, Thoro was nothing to do
but clamber bnclc to tho straight
strotch of the pipe,, whoro I patiBod 11
moment to think.
It was so dark that I couldn't soo
my hand boforo me, so I thought it
safe to take out my pockot-lump and
examine my surroundings, Flashing"
It ovorhend, I wuh overjoyed to see
that tho bond In tho plpo whb hi
ranged with a clrculnr door which
was hold down by a spring catch
which fastened beneath n llango. 1
roloaaod this, and was rojolced to
fool tho door movo upward whon I
pushed ugalnst it.
It was an opening largo enough to
permit a man's body to puss through
it, and I suppose it must havo beon
arranged so that the plpo could be
cleaned out If It should bocomo
clogged with leaves or IruHh. At any
rata It offered the much sought en
trance to tho building, for when I
pushed tho top upwards a few Inches
nnd peored out boncuth It I could soo
tho fulnt rnyu of tho perfect moon to
ftc;ed upou the Ik-.- brick walls of
tho building. With aroai caution 1
raised tho ll'd upright and crawlod out
of the oponlng.
I wns Indeed within tho mystorlous
building. In my oxcltomont nt this
dlBcovory I rolonsod my hold of the
upright lid nnd it foil to with a metal
lic report that sounded, to my tense
senses, llko tho boom of a const-do-fenso
gun.
Tho noxt Instant I heard a voice,
which 1 recognized ns Mnsoli's, excit
edly bellowing:
"Who'8 that," ho demanded. "Hoy,
Bolden," ho continued, "something's
broko loose."
I didn't know what to do, so great
was my surprlso at my own rash act
and Its consequences.
I could hear Beldon slcoplly cnll
back something that I could not mako
out and Mason reply. Thon thoro
was a creaking of springs nnd two
dull thuds as tho men sprnng from
their beds. It was a ticklish situa
tion, nnd I cortnlnly thought tho Jig
wna up. Luckily, neither of tho mon
had a match and I could hear them
swearing luridly over this fact, tho
rattle of n tin lnntem punctuating
tholr profanity. This gavo mo an op
portunlty to tnko a hasty survoy of
my surroundings. I Bprnng from my
porch nstrldo tho big plpo to tho con-
croto floor six foot bolow and scram
bled beneath a long table that Btood
at ono sldo of tho room. Thoro wna
Just enough moonlight Hlftlng through
tho dirty. Iron barred windows to
glvo mo a baro Idea of my situation.
Tho building was 30 or 40 foot In
length nnd I was near tho farther end
from tho room whoro I could hoar tho
men stumbling about In tho darkness
nnd swearing llko troopers. On ovory
hand wero tables and boxes and ma
chinery and waBhlng-trougliB. Not n
second too soon had I concealed my
self, for Bcarcoly had I reached tho
deep shadow of tho table when
hoard a door grato on Its hinges and
the foo bio rayn of a lantern llluniln
ntod a fow cubic foot of Bpaco about
tho lanky legs of tho raw-boned
miner.
With my heart going about 200
boats a minute, I crouched beneath
tho table, gripping my revolvor and
very much In doubt nbout what
Bhould do If I woro discovered, which
scorned a certainty. Of course
could havo shot both men and made
my eBcapo through tho llumo-plpo, but
there was nothing to justify this con
duct, Thus far I had nothing but bus
plclon against tho two men, and bucIi
an act would havo beon nothing Iosb
than murdor. I decided to lot matters
shape thomsolvoB and only endeavor
to keop out of night.
The men blundered about tho room
for awhile, tlio lantoin rather luindl
coping than aiding them in tho!
soaich. I could hour ovory word thoy
said and tho unoaslncBH thoy showed
wns cortalnly a suspicious clrcum
stance.
Finally thoy stopped a short dls
tanco from my plnco of concealment
I could seo tholr foot, about which
tho lantern's light concentrated, and
thoy woro fuolng away from mo, which
gavo mo a llttlo more hope of cs
caplng.
Bullion wns speaking.
"I toll you," ho said, "It was boiiio
thing tell. It wa'n't unythlug olso bo
cause I knot ovory oor Is locked. I
scon to 'em mysolf Bcforo to turned
In Just ns I doos overy nlglU.
"That don't mnttcr," retorted Mason
with warmth, "wo can't tako chances
atid wo must find what mado tho
noise if wo havo to look all night.
Nothing could havo fell if it hadn't
been pushed over and It takes some
thing live to push things ovor. I
hnlnt liked the way that stranger has
beon poking nround hero lately, l'vo
had my suspicions of him all tho time,
nnd I camo nenr as anything taking A
pot shot at him that day I found him
hid out bohlnd a bowlder watching tho
mouth of tho mlno through his spy
glass." "Why didn't you," queried Bolden
in a sneering tone. "I'd a done It, It
I had been tho ono to find him.
What's tho mtittcr with you Is yon
don't want to do a thing but coppor
your sharo of the swag and pl.iy Bafo
all tho time. Wish I'd 'a' found him.
Ho'd been wolf feod In less'n nn tlmo."
"Well, taint no uso fussing nbout It
now," replied MnBon. "I'm glad I
didn't Bhoot him, for It would havo
brought a lot of detoctlves and gov
ernment men about horo and would
havo spoiled our gamo right off.
"Well, lofa go back to bed," yawned
Bolden, Ignoring tho taunt.
"Not until we'vo found whnt mndo
that noise," nnswerod Mnson. "You
wait horo until I got tho headlight
from tho omco. This blamed lantern
ain't worth Bhucks."
"All right," grumbled Beldon, and
Mnson wont townrdB tho door, swing
ing tho lantern' ns ho walkod.
I had heard enough to Justify mo in
arresting tho men nnd in going to nny
length to accomplish it. Mason ( would
not bo gono long, I well know, bo I
decided to capture Boldon boforo his
partner returned.
I stealthily crawlod from undor the
table, my Btocklng feet making no,
nolso upon tho concrete floor, nnd
wnrlly npproached tho unconscious
Bolden. I could Just mako out his
bulk, whoro ho stood In a dark por
tion of tho building, and I could hoar
tho rustling of his clothing. Ho
scratched a match and I hold my
breath." Fortuno favored mo. Ho wns
lighting n corn-cob plpo, Ills back fair-
to mo. Llko a Bhadow I glided to
ward him and with a quick, sure
Btroko brought my heavy revolver
down upon tho back of his neck with
a sickening, crunching Impact.
Ho fell without a groan and lay llko
ono dead. Nevertheless, I took tho
precaution to Blip n pnlr of handcuffs
upon his wrists, nnd thon I sprang
towards tho door through which I
could seo tho light of Mason's lantern
advancing. I waa not a Bocond too
Boon, Ah Mason crossed tho threshold
I struck him a heavy blow upon tho
head and ho wont down lko nn ox
In tho shambles. I handcuffed him
and picked up his lantorn.
Noxt, I packed tho unconscious mon
into tho room whoro thoy slept ami'
deposited them upon tho bed, after
which I sot about rostorlng thorn to
coiiBcloiiBiioss. This room oponed Into
tho ofllco whoro wbb situated tho
vault. Aftor some llttlo tlmo MaBon
groaned and sat upright.
Woll, pardnor," was hln crestfallen
greeting, whon ho hnd looked m'o over
carofully, "I guess you hold tho trump
curdB. Whnt do you mean to do
noxt?"
Ho showod no resentment nnd
Boomed, at flrBt, to think thnt I waa
a bandit. I showed him my badgo
which had an electrical effect upon
him.
In my brlof acquaintance with him
I marked hlin bb a man who would
confesB ovorything nd endenvor to
oBcapo punishment by Implicating his
confederates, so I explained to him
as much of my suspicions as scorned
oxpcdlont and mado sovoral guesses.
This qulto overpowored him, and aftor
It ho waa as pliant as wax In my
hands. Ho confessed ovorything nnd
opened tho big vault for mo and
showed mo tho books of tho compnny.
I had oxpoctod to havo some difficulty
with him and to have to do movo
blufllng thnn proved necessary, but
he did ovorything In his powor to
help mo.
Ho snld that ho, Bolden, nnd Hud
son had turned tho trick without as
sistance. Thoy had concolvod tho
glgnntlo fvaud when the mlno began p
to fall, mid hnd oxperloncod llttlo dif
ficulty In putting It Into effect. On
tho flno Bhowlng tho mine had mado at
ilrst, thoy succeeded In gottlng $1,000,.
000 JnvoBtcd In It, aftor which they
had Incorporated and begun to soil
Htock. Thoy took tho money thoy re
colved for stock and converted It Into
gold coin, which thoy shipped to tho
mlno, whero It wbb molted down,
run Into bars, shipped back to tho
city, and sold us bullion, a part of It
going to pay dividends.
I had suspected HiIb when I hud tho
quantitative analysis of ono of tholr
bars of gold mndo, for It had showed
tho porcontngo of amalgam that li
used In gold coins. Tho last shipment
of gold coin wnB In tho time-look safe,
which wouldn't opon until oight
o'clock next morning, so I mndo a
hasty examination of tho books and
thon trussed my two prlsonors up llko
turkeys whllo I went to rouso tho
marshul. He was an intelligent Irish
man, who hnd knocked nbout tho
world a good doal, and It didn't tnko
long to oxplnln tho situation to him.
Ho accompnnled mo back to tho mine,
aftor I had wired Instructions for Hud
son's arrest, and relieved mo of my
charges.
I spent tho night going ovor tho
books and examining the records In
tho vault, and by morning I hnd ovory
thing I wanted to lay baro one of tho
moat colossal Bwlndlos over attompted,
(Copyright, VJ09, by W, 0. Chapman.)
(Copyright In Great Britain.)
