IfflMSy BRIEF
pell:
NEWS NOTES OF INTEREST FROM
VARIOUS SECTIONS.
ALL SUBJECTS TOUGHED UPON
Religious, Social, Agricultural, Polit
ical and Other Matters Given
Due Consideration.
Mrs. Paulino Wittukkl died nt her
homo In West Beatrice from blood
poisoning caused by a scratch slio ro
colved n fow dnyfl ago on her foot. Sho
was Gil years of uge
At Cozud, during n storm, a barn
nnd n horeo wore struck by lightning
belonging to Mr. Charles E. Alien.
Tho horse, which was a valuable trot
ter, was killed hiBtantly.
Farmers In Gage county began cut
ting wheat last week. Tho grain Is
very heavy and It Is estimated tho
yield will averago from twenty to
thirty bushels to the aero.
Thomas Colo and wife, pioneer set
tlors of Gage county, wore thrown out
of their buggy on their way home and
both seriously .injured. It Is feared
that Mrs. Colo Is fatally Injured.
Anton Krunlcka, a well-to-do farmor,
residing fourteen miles southeast of
Sidney, was shot In tho right cmplo
supposedly by his stepson, Androw, a
lad aged 1C. Kruplea will probably
die. Tho boy la half wlttcd.
Captain 13. 15. Woods, commanding
Company A. Nobrnska National guard,
announces that ho has made arrange
ment to tako tho local company to
Stromsburg, whoro they will take part
in tho celebration at that place.
Tho residence of J. M. Murphy of
Mndlson was struck by lightning and
Mr. Murphy was knocked over and .
rendered unconscious for some time
by tho shock. Tho houso was not set
on fire.
The office of the Grand Island steam
laundry was burglarized and $18 In
cash obtained. The thieves tried un
successfully to get Into the Inner cash
box of the safe, and thus missed ob
taining $300 more.
Whllo painting tho otccplo of tho
Swedish church at Hordvlllo, Fred
Cuminlngs and an assistant by tho
name of Mlldorbach experienced a fall
and serious injuries, Tho scaffolding
supporting them gavo way and they
fell to -tho ground, a distance of fifty
feet.
An appeal from tho decision of
.Tudgo Cornish of tho Lancaster coun
ty district court who held that the
nonpartisan Judiciary law was invalid
will bo taken to the supreme court and
it is thought the transcript wjll bo
filed with tho clerk of tho supremo
court.
Induced by the stench that filled hlA.
nostrils, James Denman, farmer, living
along the Platte, south of Alda, rode
to tho river's edgo to Investigate and
r- i i i , 1 I t 1 1 .
lounu lougeu io u wiru iuiiuu mm
stretched to an Island, tho body of a
man badly bloated. Tho body was
that of Milton O'Neill, who was
drowned whllo bathing.
Boston, Mass., dispatch: Miss Jos
ophlno Buttcrflold of Norfolk, Neb.,
got up before the other 270 members
of tho Wellesloy collogo class which
graduated, at n dinner In Boston and
blushing a rosy red, confessed she has
fully determined to got married," In
fact, that she Is already engaged to
a young man whoso name sho was ox
cused from giving.
Soth, the 15-year-old son of Mrs. J.
Magloy, living five miles north of
Mead, wont to tho barn to harness a
team of mules, preparatory to a day's
work In tho field. About a half hour
afterwards tho boy was found between
tho mules nnd tho sldo of tho barn,
lie. hnd been seriously and perhaps
fatally kicked.
Mr. and Mrs. Edward McComas of
near Brownvillo had tho pleasure of
having their six daughters with thorn
at homo last week, when the 57th an
niversary of their marriage was cele
brated. Two of tho daughters camo
from California, ono from Custer
county, ono from Richardson county
and two from Nemaha county. Tho
four sons were unablo to bo present.
To ascortaln whotlfur Boone county
is entitled to n county recorder, the
assessors have taken an approxlmato
census of tho county. The aggregate,
population Is not far from tll.OOO, fall
ing considerably lower tnan was gen
erally anticipated, Tho county asses
sor has not yet finished tho totals, but
when finished tho total valuation of
tho county will show that tho averago
Is just about $2,000 for each man,
woman and child In tho county.
Carrying with her a handsomoly
typewritten letter from Gov. Shallon
borger, Mrs. John Lohnn was In Lin
coln, on hor wny to Omaha. Sho Is
,tho Indian woman who Is tho mother
of twenty-one children. Sho hnd near
ly nil of them with her. Sho Is a full
flooded Cherokee and sho Is reputed
to bo tho real hustler of tho family.
John Lohan, her husbnnd, tnkes life
less seriously. "It takes $7 a day,"
oxplnlned Mrs. I.ehan, "to buy moat
and bread for my family. It costs
much money to live. Business Is
poor.'
Tho body of Itoy SImms, whoso
death occurred at Toulon, 111., from ty
phoid fovor, was brought to Soward
for burial. Tho deceased wus about
25 years old.
Rev. Jacob Adrlnnco of Fremont,
who was tho ilrst Mothodlst mission
ary to Invado Colorado and who
preached tho first MothodlBt sermon
in Denver, will bo a guest of honor at
tho celebration of tho golden anniver
sary of tho founding of Mothoillsm In
Colorado. Hov. Mr. Adrlanco and his
wlfo aro to go to Donvor, and are to
havo all of their expenses paid by tho
Methodists of that city.
IASINO n lleolngthlot
on n special train Is
a new foaturo Just In
troduced into detec
tive work in Kansas,
and has served to at
tract attention to the
Anti-Horse Thief as
sociation, which made
use of that unusual
m o t h o d recently at
Parsons, Kans. A po
llcoman, In collusion
KcoqcMXKsy
with others, hnd bur
n'arlzed a store, boon nrrosted, and
escaped Trout Jail. Ills route was
learned, nnd there being no regular
train soon, a special was chartered,
and with u bunch of Antls, ns the
members of the A. II. T. A. are called,
aboard, started In pursuit. When it
returned n few hours later It had
aboard tho pollceiuan-burglnr.
The Antl-Horge Thlof association Is
rathor a novel organization now flour
ishing in tho mlddlo wost, having
members ns far east as Ohio, and as
far west us New Mexico, and a total
membership of 40,000. It Is organized
on tho lodge system, and comblnos
both protection and detection In Its
plan of operation protection, In that
Its members unlto In guarding the
person, home nnd property of each
member agnlnst unlawful interfer
ence by others; nlul detection, In that
the members will hunt nnd capture
any persons who transgress on tho
rights of any member, nnd hunts for
and recovers stolen property. Tho
detective features aro for tho purpose
of making tho protective features
moro successful and effective. Tho
order often spends ten times tho
value of n stojen nrtlclo In recovering
U, but It teaches thieves what to ex
pect If they molest the property of
any member. Hiring n train to chnso
a thief Is a heavier oxponso than any
public officer will, or can, nfford to
incur, but that oxponso was small
when divided among hundreds of
members, and they consider It well
spent. A big thief Is In tho peniten
tiary, and an Impresslvo lesson has
been taught to other thieves In that
r
localty. ,
There Is a marked difference be
tween the A. II. T. A. nnd the old-time orgnni
jntlons of that nature The vigilantes, about
whom our fathers sometimes speak, often set
themselves up as Judge, Jury nnd executioners.
They sometimes held "necktie" parties in some
secluded spot In the woods on a dark night,
mil perhaps there would bo a light-fingered
gentleman missing from that community the
next morning. Tho regulators, about which wo
have read, sometimes forced peoplo to lcavo
tho neighborhood or "tako tho consequonccs."
Their motives for such action were often (pies
tlonnblo. Not bo with tho A. H. T. A. It does
not violate ono law to uphold another. It Im
poses a strict obligation upon Its members to
oboy the law thoinsolves. It then commnnds
others to do likewise or suffer tho pcnnlty tho
law provides. It catches criminals, but turns
Ihom at onco over to the officers of tho law.
Somo havo styled the A. II. T. A. an officers
aid socloty. and In fact its record entitles it to
that appellation. It opposes mob violence with
ill of its Influence, and lias- proventcd moro
than ono lynching. It has recently been mak
ing Its plans to prevent if possible the Intro
iuetlon of "nlght-ridlng" In Arkansas and
Oklahoma. "Protect the Innocent; bring tho
guilty to Justice," Is Its motto.
A mistaken idea some people havo of tho
A. II. T. A. is that It looks after horse thieves
only. Every kind of stealing, as well as other
violations of tho law, comes within the scopo
of its work. Cages aro on record where the
A. 11. T. A. spent ton dollars to recover a dol
lar whip. One such case usually puts an end
to whlp-steallng In that community. Uh object
In doing so Is not tho vnluo of tho whip, but
tho lesson taught. It convinces thieves It Is
not prolltnblo, and Is oxtremely hazardous, to
A Strange Hoosier
Waterpower
By A. E. MARSH.
i AT Kit POWER was the foundation
of our Industries. But this hum
bio agent of producing energy
was abandoned In favor of tho
more flexible and availablo Btcam
when the coal fields were opened.
Stcnm was hailed as tho giant of
civilization, but hud scarcely established Itself
when It, too, wns found too clumsy, ami tho
electric current, which could bo carried many
miles over n slonder wire, whllo steam could
bo carried only as many feel through a cum
brous pipe, beenmo tho monarch of our mills.
In tlio hibl decado gasoline, which does not
need oven tho dondor wire, but enn bo c.irrle-d
In tho most convenient tin enn, hns assumed
a largo shuro of tho burden of relieving man
of physical exertion. And now, after tho
others havo had tholr Inning, millions aro be
ing spent to dovolop waterpower again.
Niagara, which for years wub useful only ns
an artist's modol and a spooning ground for
Mr. and Mrs. Nowlywedlias boon "harnessed"
to light tho streets of Buffalo. Tho Great Falls
of Montnnn, tho International Falls on tho
Canadian-Minnesota bordor, the mountain tor
rents of Switzerland, tho Victoria Falls In cen
tral Africa, which. 15 years ago wore almost
regarded as u myth of tho explorer; oven tho
humblo St. Anthony "falls" at Minneapolis aro
earning tholr living.
Tho turning of water into horscpowor baa
given employment to tho wits of our greatest
engineers, and tho mo3t complicated projects
have been put through to ndn.pt tho powor
nlunts to tho varying conditions found lu tho
Wj
steal from a me nib or.
Thieves have been known
to pass by tho horse of a
member and tako that of
his neighbor. Tho thief
knew it was enslor to elude
one man than many.
This unique, practical nnd
useful organization was
ilrst organized In Clark
county, Missouri, during tho
civil war. MaJ. David Mc
Keo, a bravo soldier, was
Its first president, nnd his
first efforts was to suppress
bushwhacking In northeast
Missouri. Tho disorganized
condition of tho country
gnvo tho rrdor men much
to do, nnd it grew nnd
sprend until it now extends
over seven states.
John W. Waif of Parsons,
Knns., Is tho supremo presi
dent. Wall is a born detec
tive nnd a crack shot with
a Winchester at long range.
Ho lend tho crowd that
chartered tho special train
to seek the fleeing police
man. Through tho thor
oughness of tho organization Wall Is nblo to
call ,to his aid, by secret methods if needed,
members of tho order nlmost anywhere ho may
go, and with this assistance his work has
given rise to tho saying "If Wall goes after
them he will bring thorn In."
Some of tho experiences of the order read
different streams, and some of these stand to
day as our greatest triumphs of engineering.
But for native ingenuity- doing something
with nothing, getting results with neither
tools nor materials, nothing but puro Ynnkco
Ingenuity, tho mill which stood for many years
on tho brink of n little waterfall In Jefferson
county, Indiana, between the little Presby
terian collcgo town of Hanover and the Ohio
river, and only recently has fallen .Into dis
use deserves a Carnegie medal.
Tho stream, which has less than three miles
of length from Its source lu tho hlllsldo
springs to Its mouth in tho Ohio, wns so In
significant that It was never graced with a
name But lu tho old days, beforo some unex
plained geologic changes occurred, It carried
a flow of water 20 feet wide and thrco deep,
with tho speed of a mountain torrent. About
half a mllo from tho Ohio It spread out sud
denly over a flat rock 40 or 50 feet wide, and
plunged over Its brink n sheer 90 feet. Tho
rock was of hardest limestone, but undornenth
was a stratum of schist and rotting slnto, so
that a cavo, llko tho Cavo of the Winds at
Is'lugara, was hollowed out. It made a qulto
roomy, nnd, strange to say, dry apnrtmont,
and was appronchablo In but ono point, which
was hnrd to find.
During tho War of 1812 a hermit lived in a
hut built in this cavo nnd spent his time com
pounding salt potro, which ho sold to tho powder-makers.
Ho disappeared as mysteriously
as he came, and for a year or two tho falls
were left to roar out tholr own destinies.
In 1815, among tho settlers who rushed west
after leaving tho army was a shrewd millor,
William Gordon, lu whom the hard sense of
his Scotch heredity was well mixed with a
shrewdness acquired of Yankee environment.
Ho enmo down tho Ohio In a flntboat and
stopped at ovory settlement seeking a location
for a mill, llo stopped at Hanover, and whllo
rambling through tho hills on a hunting expe
dition, stumbled on tho falls. Ho was struck
with tho vast waterpower going to waste, ami
whou he made Inquiries about It ho was an-
minium -
like sketches from Conan Doyle, but they aro
actunl happenings. Tho work of William
Weaver In capturing two yegmen at Carl
Junction, Mo., holds tho record for grit, dnrlng
nnd activity among the antls. Weaver arrested
a man ho know was wanted, and Btartcd off
with him. Four strnngers nearby, ono with
swered that tho peoplo had neither tho means
or tho materials to mako uso of It.
But Gordon was not that kind of man. Ilo
pitched his tent near the falls and lived with
them day and night for several weeks study
ing how to overcome the hnndlcnp which tho
lack of tho proper facilities mndo to develop
ing tho powor. Ho flnnlly discovered tho en
trance to tho hermit's cavo, and explored tho
falls from tho roar.
Ilo flnnlly announced to tho farmers of tho
settlement that ho would havo a mill running,
ready to grind their corn by tho tlino of tho
fall harvest. Ho announced at tho same time
Mint ho would buy nil tho cow's horns that
could bo found In tho community.
The Idea of mixing cow's horns and a grist
mill wns rnthor confusing to tho country folk,
but they were willing to bo shown, and camo
from miles around, and oven from Kentucky,
across the river, bringing all tho honiB thoy
could find, which they gladly donated when
tho plan was explained to them.
Gordon and his two sons had rigged up a
stout oaken shaft across tho brink of tho falls,
on which was mounted a wooden whool threo
feot In dlamotor, with wldo flanges. Over this
ran a pair of log chains, Joined nt Intervals
by cross chains, much In tho form or tho
chains used on nutomobllo wheels. To these
cross chnliis, which wero about six Inches
apnrt, they riveted tho cow's horns, tips down
ward. Tho chain carried over a thousand
horns, nnd thoy served ns an oxcellont substi
tute for tho buckets which Gordon hnd neither
tho materials nor tho tools to mako,
A little mill was set up on tho bank, and
soon Chain-Mill Falls was tho busiest spot In
tho county. For 15 years tho cow horns sapg
their llttlo song us they ground tholr grist,
until flnnlly tho mill could not tnko enro or
tho business, and Gordon had to turn engineer
again.
Ho explored behind the falls, and found that
a portion of tho rock had scnled away, leaving
tho sheir over which tho vntor llowed a baro
20 feet thick. This gave him tho Idea, and
two guns nnd each of tho others with
a gun. camo to tho rcscuo of tholr
comrnde, and beforo Woavor waB
nwaro, thoy had five ugly gutiB pointed
nt his hend nnd his own hands nnd
guns wero extending upward toward
high heaven. Tho lendor of tho gang
told the others to get away whllo ho
took care of Weavor with his two
guns. "Drop Mint gun or you dlo,"
came tho command to Woavor in no
uncertnln tones. A pnuso, and again
the command wns repeated. Tho two
men stood staring Into encli other's
eyes, ovory ncrvo nt hlgir tension. It
wns a trying moment, ono In which
most men would hnvo dropped tho
gun. Weaver Ib small and lithe Ho
knows no such thing ub showing tho
white reathor. As president of tho
grand lodgo of tho A. II. T. A. in Mis
souri ho had been drilling others for
Just such work. lie, their lendor,
must do his duty. Ho dropped to tho
ground llko a flash, nnd ns ho dropped
ho sont two ballots through tho body
or the stranger, whllo two othors went
whizzing over his own head. "I'm nil
In," snld tho stranger. Weavor kicked
tho dying man's guns boyond his
rench and stnrtcd after his first man,
aud In a few minutes had, him on tho
way to jail. An hour later It becamo
known that yeggmon hnd blown a safo
lu a nearby town during tho night,
and that Weavor had put an end to
tho enrcor or two or tho men who did
tho work.
Bill Rudolph, "tho Ironton, Mo.,
bank robber, who hnd oluded tho
Plnkertous tor months nnd had killed ono ot
tho best detectives In the country, was cap
tured by tho antls nenr Paola, Knnsv not long
nfter ho made his daring cscapo from tho St.
Konls Jail by dashing through' tho Jailor's
houso In broad daylight. Tho nowspapers said
ho was captured by a bunch of runners, but
they wore men who had boon preparing for
months for Just huc)i cases, and wore acting
under direction or tholr chosen leader.
Bob Wortliman, a noted crlmlnnl, who was
sont to tho penitentiary rrom tho Indian Terri
tory u couplo or years ago, got gay, and ho nnd
two or his pnls naught an uctlvo nntl whllo on
his way homo rrom church ono Sunday night.
Thoy started to hang this nntl, but nor com
pelling him to tako an oath or tholr own mak
ing, thoy roleased him. This particular antl
dropped out or the hunt, but tho othor mem
bers kept It up until tho rascal was put in
snrekcoplng, whore ho still remains.
Theso aro only a row or many cases, but
they serve to show the work or the order,
Tho A. II. T. A. is organized on tho lodgo
system tho samo as tho many other rratemal
orders, except that It has a different object In
view. Its workings aro secret only In so far
as Is uocessnry to Its success and to pro
tect It troni Impostors. The cost or mainten
ance Is a trifle It seldom costs n mombor
moro Minn a dollar a year, and often less than
that.
Tho activity of the A. II. T. A. has a far
reaching Influence It Ib a potent factor In tho
lino of moral uplifting. It lends aright thoso
who will bo led, but lays a heavy hand on
those who persist In their efforts to llvo from
tho fruits of other men's toll. It provents
crime. It is a public benefactor, ror a thlof In
Jail can steal from no man. An actlvo A. II.
T. A. lodgo is a blessing to nny community.
ho proceeded to put It Into execution at once
Tho stream waB dammed to ono Bldo, expos
ing the rocky bed half way across, above tho
falls. Gordon procured dynnmlto and sunk a
shaft 5 by 15 feot to tho cavo below, about
ten feet back from tho blink of the falls. A
dam was built at tho brink, so the entire How
was diverted through this hole. A new two
Ktory mill was built and n bigger chain hung
lu the shnft, to which hugo wooden buckets
wero rastoned, and Gordon found to his Joy
Mint ho hnd moro power Minn ho hnd any uso
for, and actually had to ronioyo ovory third
bucket to lesuen the speed.
