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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (May 21, 1915)
THE SEMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE. NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA. JIN THEJlpjfittT STRONG MAN OF GREECE r EVV facta In nutural history aro ho interesting as the aunual migra tion of birds, and largely because thoro is such llttlo real under standing as to tlio naturo and methods of this remarkable phe nomenon. Theories aro plen tiful, but a demonstrable expla nation of all tho facts involved 1b still wanting. Homo of tho Inhcront characteristics of migra tion, such as tho apparont sense of direction posscssod by birds, seem to defy observation and analysis, and to bo absolutely boyond our ken so far as any understanding goes. Tho causo Itself of this curious habit so far is only conjectural, but tho most logical explanation Hcoms to bo a search for food. This apparently holds good for tho fall flight from North to South, when Insects havo perished from tho cold, and vegetation dlod, so that both insectivorous and grain-eating birds are alike affected Yet somo members of both spcclos, crows, Jays, quail, partridges', wood ducks', chrdlnal grosbeaks (tho ordinary rod bird) and ofton some red-headed woodpeckers, remain North throughout tho win ter and manago Bomohow to make a living nnd perpotuato their species. Even if theso bo exceptions to the general rule, there still remains tho unanswered quoatlon. Why do not thoso birds who winter In tho South re main thoro throughout tho year Instead of going North whon tho spring opens? Food Is abundant and apparently southern latitudes aro as fitting for tho rearing of young au tho far North. As a matter of fact, wo really do not know, though wo have Bomo Interesting and plausible theories about It that do not boar the tost of queotlonlng. So as usual whon wo run across Bomo mystery in animal Hfo that wo cannot unravel, wo call it "Instinct," and lot it go at that. Of this one thing wo may, however, bo quite sure, that In stlnct In animals always serves Bomo usoful pur pose, nnd is usually an expression of naturo's enro for tho preservation of tho species. Years of observation havo dovoloped tho Inter esting fact that thero are certain woll-doflned routes In nil countries which tho migrations follow, certain water courses, certain chains of mountains, certain valleys, nnd this seema to obtain from ono generation of birds to another. Whether tho younger birds learn this from tho older birds who havo boon before, or whether they simply mechanically follow tho older birds jn their flights Is largely conjecture, but two facts soom well established. First, that animals evidently havo norno method of communlcnting with ench other. Evoryono who lias heard Bob Whlto call together tho scattered covoy, or tho lien give tho alarm for a hawk to her chickens, Is convinced on this point Tho second fact scorns, however, to controvort tho theory of tho older teaching tho younger ones tho way they shbuM go, for It has boon shown in many Instances that flocks composed ontlroly of tho yetir'n broods of young birds make their first migratory flight alono and unnttondod by tho o'dor birds, and find their way unorrlngly along tho usual routes of migration. Onco moro wo havo to fall back upon instinct. Just how birds find their way from ono distant latltudo to another is tho most lnoxpllcablo ot all the many mysterious facts of migration. Tho length of tho flight from northern habitat to southern wlntor resort varies according to tho different Bpocios of birds all tho way from 1,000 10 3,000 miles, nnd In n few cason to 5,000 miles. Yet these distances aro apparently traversed in generally direct straight lines, and with tho most orderly and businesslike methods ot procoduro. To sny that tho older birds show tho younger birds tho way (since this has been shown to bo vi n true In many cases) only romoves tho difficulty back Into tho remote pact, for at somo time thoro had to bo somo birds to find tho way tho first time, and wo only dodgo this difficulty whon we talk of inherited InBtlnot. It 1b clearly not a caBO of birds seeing their way and being guldod by landmarks. It is known that migrations ns n rulo take placo at night, and that In general birds fly very high, in fact, at (tremendous heights, when migrating. Under touch conditions finding their wuy by sight Is im possible. Moreover, tho sight thoory breaks down In tho caso ot thoso birds who croBB great Htrotchcn ot water whero there aro no landmarks whutever. There is a spoeloa ot cuckoo which Btnninors In Now Zealand nnd wlntora in eastern Australia, which moons a straight flight of somo 1,800 miles without rest or stop across tho track less waters, Cortaln npecloa of humming birds that winter in Central and South America spend their summor vacation in tho United States, and to do so must fly across Bomo 1,000 mllc3 ot tho Gulf ot Mexico. A recent experiment domonstratod that nelthor tho theory or seolng tho way nor previous knowl edge of tho routo can account for tho finding of tho way In migration. Fifteen torns wore taken from tholr nostlng places on Bird Key, TortugaB (ono or tho Islands of tho Florida roef) and wero rolenscd at distances varying from 20 to 850 miles from their home, and 13 of the 1C found tholr way back safoly. Observations havo &1bo shown that the same birds return to tho same spot year aftei year. Robins that winter In Florida will build their nests In the same tree In a northern state as long as thoy live. An dx plantation which Is In much favor is the probahlo j"SPS8lon of a sixth souso tho snnuo of dlrec- tlon concerning whosu physical basis and naturo wo aro ontlroly In tho dark. It seems to bo u sonso common to mo&t animals. It Is extremely well developed in horses and dogs, and likewise in fishes, who year after year come back to tho same stream to spawn. It is possessed to a lessor degree by man, being moro pronounced in the Bnvago than In tho civilized man, probably be causo In tho lattor disuse has dulled Us percep tion. Tho speed at which blrdB fly during migration probnbly varies according to tho natural capacity of tho species. Nevertheless. In such flights The Bird Or the Cat? "The Bird or tho Cat?" has become a scratch ing subject which Is making tho feathers fly In many a heretofore peaceful neighborhood. Bird lovers who have attempted to establish sanctu aries for their feathered friends havo been com pelled to revise their visiting lists according to whero her royal highness, Tabbyklns, holds sway. Tho bird man who has found to his sorrow that any bird nnd cat combination means catastrophe, oven whllo ho Is taking tho mangled body ot the llttlo feathered tenant, that he has worked for months to attract, from the clutches ot tho lnno-cont-looking, fluffy, four-footed murderer, will' bo assailed by tho cat-owner, who Indignantly de clares that Avhllo other low-bred creatures may catch blrdB, she knows her own blue-blooded darling Fluffyklns Is too well bred and too well fod to do such a deed! Naturalists statistically rank the foils domes tlcus as third in tho bird-destroying agents, hold ing every roaming cat responsible for tho lives ot at least fifty birds a year. A gamo warden who reports 200 quail killed by a mother cat 'u less than a year on tho gamo presorvo advocates tho wholoBalo extermination of cats under tho super vlBlon.of a game warden. Tho valuo of tho cat to catch mlco or rats Is disputed by a bird enthusiast, who maintains that this Nero ot tho anlmnl world will hush forever tho Joyous song of any llttlo feathered choristor simply for his own nmusomont when not In need of food. Whon ho dlnos ho goes nftor a cold bird In preforonco to any other delicacy, and will catch mice or rats only as a last resort to koop from starving. Tho most boHous nrrulgnment against both the domostlc und stray cat is mndo by tho boards of health, who havo found these animals to be carriers of scarlet fever, dlphthorla and other dlscnBcs moat fatal to tjiolr human assocInteB, A successful business mnn says that if a cat kills a little chicken In tho yard of tho avorago farmor, tho cat Is made nway with. If tho four footed hunter comes homo with a quail, ho 1b potted; yet tho quail Is of grcator economic vnluo to , tho farmer than Is either tho cat or the ihlckon. Ho thinks, for humano rensons, tho wild or Btiny cat left on abandoned farms should bo put out of tho way. A cat-a-coinb, whero feline prowlors may bo laid permanently to reBt, la considered a necessary adjunct to every bird Banctunry by a bird con servationist, who has triod, without success, vari ous mothods to provont cats from killing holploss song nnd insectivorous birda so valuable to mnn. Atiother long sufforor from cat depredations con siders n nearby deeper bath, In which to lm merso and leave tho Bavngo depredators, la tho only way In which a bird bath may bo maintained. Somo friends of tho birds think to license tho cat and hold tho owner reaponslblo for his pot's dostructlvcnesB will solve not only tho vexing cat, but also tho kitten, question. Thoy conclude that if a person pays foi n llconso ho will not bo so they display a speed and endurance ontlroly out of their ordinary wont. A little sandpiper, which summers in northern Siberia near tho Arctic, has to fly over the Himalaya mountains in order to reach India, where It passes the winter. In doing this It must riso to heights of four miles and up wards to clear tho towering ranges. Wilson's petrol is known to rango from the South Ant arctic ocean to tho northern limits of British America. As ducks and gcoso aro almost tho only birda whose migrations have been seen In tho daytime, many telescopic observations and Instantaneous photographs have been taken of them during flight. These observations Indicate that tho flight of ducks, particularly teal, must frequently reach a speed of 100 miles an hour and over. Even with th$ slower flying birds It is possible to cover long stretches in one night, as tho flight seems to bo pursued without rest "all throught tho night." Tho probable choice of night for flight Is that tho day may bo de: voted to feeding. Besides, the dangers of tho birds of prey, other than owls, aro thus avoided. Tho ducks that reach this latitude In the spring aro frequently vory thin and poor, evidently ow ing to tho stronuousness of their voyage. Ono of tho remarkable characteristics of mi gration Is tho regularity ot Its annual movement nmong tho different species, often the same day each fall and spring marking the departure and arrival. Tho flights seem invariably to be In flocks, whether tho species bo gregarious or otherwise. No sooner is the destination reached than the nongrcgarious species separate either singly or In pairs. Ono exception to this are robins, which aro nongrcgarious In tho North, but Invariably go In flocks In the South. JuBt whysomo birds of the tamo species stop In, ono latitude whllo others go farther on Is not known, though probably the question of food supply Is tho determining factor. Tho wholo subject of migration Is ono of the interesting phenomena In naturo which has been a matter of common observation for some thousand years and yet ot whoso essential nature wo have only tho scanteat Information. apt to desert his cat, leaving It dependent upon hunting for a living. Optimists who still bellevo that cat nature may be educated or restrained, suggest that bells und bright ribbon bo placed on pussy bo that a warn ing will precedo her fatal spring. Others advo cate that tho poles of trees on which bird houses aro placed should bo Bheathed In tin or wrapped In barb wire to prevent the cat from climbing up and destroying tho half-grown nestlings before they can fly to safety. A thorny rose bush Is advised by another humane person; but tho over proacnt cynic thinks It much better to plant tho cat at the roots of tho roso bush, where he Is sii ro In time to ovolvo into harmless fertilizer. MYSTERIOUS JAGS. "Boffela says ho makes It a rulo never to take a drink beforo six o'clock In the evening." "Ahem!" "Well?" "I frequently see him full during tho day and I was just wondering If ho had hit upon some way to take his liquor hypodcrmlcally." PUZZLED. "I novor can toll what you men aro talking about," said tho debutante, with a pout. "What's tho matter now, Colestluo?" "I mot Mr. Brokerly Just now, and ho said he'd been up to his nock In wheat all morning, yet I never saw him look moro Immaculate." IN THE EUGENIC HOUSEHOLD. "These eggs aro exactly as 1 like them, Hor tense." "Yes, Archimedes, I submerged their, in water at 212 dogreea Fahrenheit for exactly two and one-half minutes." TOO EULKY. Stout Wife How do you like my masquerade coatumo? I'm a page. Husband Pngo? You look more like a vol- umc. Princeton Tiger. HIGHBROWS. She Didn't you think tho people at Mrs. Clan dor's reception wore nil oxtromoly dull? "Yes, but you know It was author's day." NATURAL DEDUCTION. "I wonder how thoso spirit meSBnges aro writ ten?" remarked tho dense party. "With a medium pencil, I imagine," replied tho wiao guy. NOT THE RIGHT KIND. "I don't see how you can stnnd (hoso howllns Btudonts with tholr class yells for everything." "Woll, you boo, they're such a cheery sort." V3F Greeco's advance toward a rear lzatlon of her national aspirations re ceived a momentary check In tho re tirement of tho powerful Promlor Vonlzelos, whoso program of entering tho war on tho sldo of the allies was frowned upon by that other hero of presont-day Greece King Constan tino. Fow believe, however, that tho differences between tho two men who aro to tho now Greoco what King Vic tor Emmanuel II and Cnvour were to Italy, will bo of, very long standing. Tho world recognlzos in Vcnlzcloa tho strong mnn of Groeco who In in credibly fow years has accomplished so much in rehabilitating tho prcstigo of his country. By moans of his new constitution, adopted after tho revolution at Athena. In 1910, Venizelos was ablo to effect tho far-reaching reforma In putting down political corruption, and creating terri torially a new Greece Ho brought Crete, Macedonia, Epiros, and tho islands under the Greek flag, and besides almost doubling tho slzo ot his country he reorganized tho political, naval, and military administration from its foundations. To tho fact that Venizelos is a Cretan is due in port the zeal with which ho has labored for the reunion ot tho Greek peoples scattered through tho Levant, and particularly those under the dominion of Turkey. Ho was born In a vlllago of Crete in 1SC4 of a family of very modorato means, but long traditions. Ho saw his own house burned to tho ground by tho Turks, and tho vigorous youth, 'of whom.it Is recorded that ho was a troublesomo pupil in frequent conflict with his follows, had much occasion later to strengthen his determination that Crete was to bo free. mm TIRPITZ THE ETERNAL nooi inniini uwnwww When historians come to analyze the great European war and begin to find out its rca) causes, say in about fifty years from now, it would not sur prise some of the closest students, of these remarkable times It they were to discover and put down as one of the greatest causes Alfred von Tlrpltz, admiral of tho German navy, tho crea tor of the Gprman navy, and one of the creators of the German foreign aifd domestic policy. "Tirpitz tho Eternal" is his name in Germany. It la "Tlrpltz the Eternal" because while tho kaiser has appointed and discharged chancellor after chancellor, and army and navy officer after army and navy officer, Von Tirpitz has gone on forever. For seventeen years he haa been at the head of tho German navy and for seventeen years he haa been un- llagglngly at work making it tho ex traordinarily efficient left arm of Ger many that it i8. Hla career began at the age of sixteen. Today ho is sixty-six years old, active, vigorous, de termined as over. To anyone who would suggest that he is approaching tho closo of his, active life ho las only to point out what hla navy and especially his submarines have done and aro doing under his command. In nppearanco Admiral von Tlrpltz scarcely suggests tho man that his policy has shown him to be. Ho Ib moro than six feet in height. Ho is stout and bald. His flowing whiskers parted In the middle are his most charac teristic mark. His manner la extremely mild, though determined, and Is somewhat more academic and professional than bureaucratic. MICHIGAN'S PIED PIPER Michigan haa found its Pled Piper in tho person of Representative Har vey A. Penney of Saginaw, serving his first term In tho legislature, who comes forward with a bill designed to drive all tho rats from tho precincts of the Wolverino state. Representative Penney, after hav ing made an exhaustive study of the rat, haa failed to discover just what tho rat's mission in the world is, but ho has found that tho rat breeds In filth and is dangerous to the public health, bolng a disease carrier Just aa aro the fly and tho mosquito. Besides this, Mr. Penney polntB to tho harm tho rat doea to everybody and every thing with which he comes in contact. Tho rat robs tho granary as well as tho grain In the fleld, and starts fires well, everyone knows tho innumer able slna of which tho rat 1b guilty. Government reports show that tho rat caused $30,000,000 in damago in the United States laat year. Tho news- papers all over Michigan rallied to tho Penney bill, nil being a unit in de claring' thoro is not n slnglo reason that can bo advanced why tho post should bo allowed to exist, that Is, all except tho township clerks who will bo compelled to tako the toll of tho dead. CHICAGO'S COWBOY MAYOR It seems quite fitting that William Halo Thompson should rulo over Chi cago, the city whore tho largest stock yards In the world are located, for ho has been a cqwboy and ranch owner und has complete knowledge of tho cattlo business. His careor as a cowboy started In 1881, whon ho was fifteen years old. Ho went to Choyonno, Wyo., to spend a vacation from school, and from that tlmo tho lure of tho plains called him from Chicago every summer. Ho rodo tho ranges of tho Standard Cattlo company In Wyoming, Colorado arid Montana. Later ho purchased a ranch ot his own In Holt county, Nebraska, and managed It until tho death of his fa ther, In 1001, forced his return to Chicago. Mr. Thompson Is nn enthusiastic yachtsman, nnd the problem of mak ing tho lake front tho proporty of tho pooplo and tho playground of tho city will bo ono of tho important matters bo will bo called to settle Thoro will ho tho recreation pier, tho improvement of tho land along tho lake front, and tho establishment of municipal bathJnc beaches to be considered. 1 M