THE SEMI WEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA.
& SfJ? IS, Robert M.Moulion lllllll L
fXf, ' !"
'A:-' .'-
PFe owe him a large
debt for our know
ledge of com culture
and are still learning
from him how to in
crease yields of grain
front jzotzj? 72&ZZ
I our allies, nnd thnt wo can muko tlilH
I country the granary of tlio world la
m duo to thut magician of tho globe
1 tlic aboriginal Burbank the North
fl Aninrlrnn liifllim.
There nre ninny who hull the red
mini iiM the greatest of agriculturists,
for his work on this continent In de
veloping nnd cultivating food plunts
luiH been nothing short of colossal. Not only staple
products, but also nmneroUH varlotleH of edlblo
(grains, vegetables and fruit, own their present
useful forms to his skill. It Is a popular fallacy
that tho Indian was merely a hunter, thut he lived
a haphazard and hand-to-mouth existence by fish
ing nnd tho chase and that his tilling the soli was
only an Incident of his communal life. It Is n Into
day to give tho guerdon of recompenso to' a raco
which so many times kept our forefathers from
Htarvatlon and furnished the cornstalk bridge on
which civilization came to these shores, and yet
oven now credit should bo given whoro It is due.
Most of the valued articles of diet of which tho
discoverers ami explorers of tho early day found
tho Indian In possession was not indigenous at all,
and muny of them came originally from tropical
countries many thousands of miles distant. Tho
Indian tribes mado frequent wnr excursions to
tho lower latitudes and brought back grains nnd
vegetables of all kinds which they used us seed.
Maize, or Indian corn, In Its present form repre
sents one of tho great achievements of primitive
planters. It came originally, It Is now generally
accepted, from southern Mexico and was eaten by
tho Maya tribes. At first It was nothing more than
a coarse grass on which were tiny cars resembling
tho top of tho wheat stalk. ISuch grain had Its own
envelope of husk. Occasionally oven now grains
of corn uro found which huve their individual
husk, thus showing how the mnlzo of our day
roverts to type. Tho plnnt was esaentlully tropical
and even now after centuries of culture In tho tern
pcrato zone- It Is sensitive to frost.
Tho tribes of North America saw tho possibili
ties of the grain and hastened Its evolution. Thero
has been crossbreeding since by white farmers, yet
as u matter of fact the corn culture of tho present
day is practically as it canio from tho hand of tho
Indian. Ho has adapted and modified It to vurlous
sections of tho country by a process of careful
selection.
All tho kinds of corn which exist today uro do
scribed in tho accounts of tho white settlers.
Ulack and red corn, tho whlto corn, tlio yellow
corn, nro all mentioned, not forgetting tho soft,
flwoot variety, tho so-culled gummy corn of tho
Indians. Tho culturo of corn wus more than
farming It was a religion. Tho selection of tho
need for tho next planting wub done with such
cure, tho various colorings wcro so studied nnd
modified that thero grew up a vcrltnblo mnlzo tra
dition. f All tho mothods of raising corn woro taken over
Ulrcctly by tho early settlers, and although thoro
liuvo como Into being mechnnlcnl appliances for
flowing, planting and harvesting, tho mothods
Jinyo really not changed slnco they wore de
veloped by tho Indian. Tho ground was loosened
with hoes mado cither of wood or of bono or
antler or flint with wooden handles. Tho well
chosen grains were put in holes mado by planting
sticks. If tho planting season hnd boon delayed
by frost tho Indians soaked tho grulu In water bo
that lost tlrao might bo made up in germination.
Frequently a llttlo hellebore or boiiio othor power
ful drug was added to tho water. This did not in
Jure tho grain nnd cither stupefied or killed any
of tho crows which might dig up the Bced. Often
hiiaros were laid for tho feot of tho birds, and
inter fantastic human figures were placed In tho
corn clenriugs, the precursors of tho modern scare
crows The weeds wero hoed uwoy from tho young
nlnnts mid us tho Beuson advanced tho youug com
wus hilled. Tho main work of cultivating corn
was done by women among tho Eastern tribes,
while In tho tribes of tho West and tho Southwest
tho crop was looked after by tho men.
Tho planting of tho corn wus in reality a fes
tlvul, us was tlio harvesting. Tho success which
attended the development of tho scraggly llttlo
tropical plant to tho splendid stalk often 18 foot
tall nnd with ears n foot and u half long, as spec
mens of tho raising of tho Iroquois are described,
wub duo to tho zeal und tho scrupulous euro of he
planters, Inspired by romunco. Corn In tho Indian
Hltlon became tlio food which cumo direct from
the breast of Mother Earth. Tho keeping of tho
rvroper seed wus a matter of sentiment and of
Kith. Mighty Mondamln, committed to the grave
as to rise agftln, and H was mo umy ml w.
of the soil that his Btalk should he perfect, that
cars should escape the Insect nnd the blight.
Tho harvesting of the corn Is in our modern
prnctlco essentially tho sumo process as that of
tho Indians. Tho method of curing nnd storing
has not changed. The corn was plnccd In vcntl
Intcd structures on stilts, for the corncrlb every
furmer uses is nn Indian Invention also.
So much for the Indian corn as scon in the so
called corn belt of the United Stntes. Here the
aborigines hnd developed It Into the lordly plant.
Tho Ingenuity of the Indlnn farmer came Into play
In the Southwest, where ho raised excellent corn
In what seemed a sandy desert. To Insure moisture
for tho plant tho Indian burled tho seed a foot or
more underground nt tho bottom of a holo bored
out by his planting stick. The deep-growing corn
Is one of tho wonders of Hop! husbandry. When
deeply Interred Mondamln comes to life, ho sends
somo slender roots upward, but under the now
conditions tho main roots uro not put forth until
they uro within an Inch or so of tho surface. Tho
Hopls build wind screens for the further protec
tion of tho plant. When the plant at last matures
tho part above ground looks llko n low bush, nnd
yet it bears line, well-formed ears. The United
States government used to try to teuch tho Indians
of tho Southwest how to form, but now it finds
It about, as prolltablo to go to school to them.
It hns been accepted for many years that In the
Dakotas and much of tho Northwest it was impos
sible for tho whlto farmers to grow corn because
all of tho varieties tried were killed by frost. Ro
cently It occurred to some scientists thnt despite
tho drawback of tho weather tho Mandan In
dians wero raising corn. An expedition under the
auspices of tho American Museum of Natural 111s
tory mado a study of tho agrlculturo methods of
tho Mandans. It doveloped that for centuries tho
farmers of tho trlbo had been developing a hardy
corn. The seed had been selected from year to
your from stalks which showed no effect of frost.
Tho stalks of this variety are so stunted that they
aro moro llko shrubs than tho plant which is com
mon to other latitudes. Seed corn raised by tho
Mandans Is to be sown all through that region,
which, according to the ofllclal maps, Is not nt nil
fitted for rnlslng corn, nnd thus" tho food supplies
of tho nation will oventually bo Increased by many
millions of bushels every year.
The secrets of tho cultivation of this strangely
acclimated tropical plant wero found by an arch
aeologist and not an agriculturist, and were hand
ed over by Ltuffalo Bird Woman and others of her
trlbo In tho belief that thoy might help tho whlto
neighbors. This, by tho way, Is returning good for
evil, for In the early years of tho white raco ou
this continent tho Indian was 111 requited for all
that he did for us.
Tho Indian discovered for hlmsolf the science
of Irrigation. Many of tho tribes, such as the
Crows and the Apaches, early mado use of the
river bottoms for the cultivation of tho staple
crop corn. When the condition of dryness came
they would construct a rough temporary dam of
. logs with which they could divert the course of
pnrt of the strenm Into their Innds. There wero
primitive ditches which distributed the wnter.
Southwestern Indlnns, howover, Wero hydraulic
engineers, who played every point In the game
against drought. They, and also the primitive
people who had preceded them, worked out ex
tensive ditches with channels and lateral branches.
These ditches as seen In Arlzonn and New Mexico
show how thoroughly the Indians had developed Ir
rigation on lines which we would hull In this dny
as scientific and efllclent. There Is much to bo
learned even by the farmer who has had the
training of the agricultural college If he will study
the system or Irrigation perfected by these tribes
of the Southwest, who In so many respects re
semble the Egyptians. Thoy mnde tho Gila river
their Nile, and, strange ns it seems now, we find
tho people of the Pueblos now tnklng up the cul
ture of nn Egyptlnn cotton under tutelage of tho
United States department of agriculture, and from
.seed brought from the land of the Pharaohs. In
this region nre also seen terraced gardens, which
aro watered In accordance with tho demands of
approved agriculture
It Is one of the Ironies of fate that in Oklahoma
and othor regions where the Indian and tho Cau
casian ruco meet in competition in ugrlcultural
arts, us, for instance, in the county fulrs, thnt
many prizes are awarded to our first farmers.
This especially applies to corn nnd other cerenls.
The great help which the work of tho Indlnn
will be to this country will no doubt be shown
Inter when an effort Is mado to utillzo to tho full
tho products which ho has so much doveloped. The
shortage of wheat, as reported, shows much could
bo dono in tho cultivation of corn, the plnntlng of
which In ninny pnrts of the country begins In
June. This grain Is put in this country In much
the snme category as the Great Chan of Literature
plnced oats when he declared that it was a grain
used in England for horses and In Scotland for
men. Tho peoplo of tho United States have been
shipping largo quantities of com for use of other
nntlons as human food and reserving their own
supply principally as feed for horses.
Modern science has given us wizards in the nrts
of hybridization, llko Luther Burbunk, and jet
with all the knowledge which civilization has ac
cumulated It has never been bettor served on tills
continent than by tho reul founders of our agricul
tural resources tho American Indians.
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World's Most Powerful Searchlight
It is ten feet high, its mirror has a dlnmctcr of
five feet, nnd It weighs three tons. Its benm Is ns
brilliant ns tho sun nt eight o'clock In tho morning
or four In the afternoon, Now York latitude, and
you can rend a newspaper by Its light 80 miles
away. The heat of Its focused beam Is so Intense
thnt It will set paper ullro nt u dlstunce of 250 feet
It hns a candlepowor of moro than ouo and a
quurter billion.
Theso nro a few astonishing facts about tho
Sperry searchlight, the invention of Elmer A.
Sperry of Brooklyn, N. Y., who Is nlrendy known
as the Inventor of tho airplane stabilizer and shlv
gyroscope bearing his name and tl first o'ectrlc
) arc light. When the last big air raid over London
was made by Zeppelins, the Sperry searchlights
bathed tho big dirigibles In beams of light they
could not escupe. According to uomo Loudon ac
counts tho Sperry searchlight Is tho Zeppelin's
Nemesis.
One of the most powerful beacons along the
coast Is the Sandy Hook lighthouse. iut tho
Sperry searchlight Is 21! times moro brilliant
than that light. Wero tho Sporry lamp subst.Huted
for tho lighthouse beacon, a ship passing out to
sea could bo bathed in light until It disappeared
below tho horizon. By swinging tho light back and
forth across tho sky it has been mndo visible 150
miles nwny. l-'or navy, use the Sperry lamp illum
inates a target ten times more brilliantly than any
other projector dovlsed.
Equipped witli a carriago that permits tho lamp
Jo bo turned in n circle and in any direction up to
00 degrees, the giant searchlight Is of tho greatest
value In dotectlng aircraft, Tho operator cannot
coutrol It near ut hand; tho great heat prevents
thnt. He must stand 50 feet nwny. At thnt dls
tnnce he Is nblo to focus nccurntely upon any
moving object. Becnuso tho ruys projected by tho
lnmp nro nearly parallel, there Is no diffusion of
light over a wide area. Tho beam Is concentrated.
When the searchlight Is being operated, the
temperature of tho urc Is 0,000 degrees Fuhrenholt
7,000 degrees higher thnn tho melting point of
tho metul holders of the carbons. Consequently,
In order to prevent theso parts from melting, n
current of nlr Is forced, by means of n motor
driven blower through tho enrbon supports nnd
discharged through the heat-radiating disks thnt
surround tho holders. In tho Beck lamp tho hold
ers aro sprayed with alcohol to prevent them from
melting.
The several factors which combine to make tho
rperry lamp so powerful aro tho small electrodes
tfcH special carbons used, tho manner In which
thrvv burn and tho parabolic mirror. Ponulnr
Sconce Monthly. 1
COULD HARDLY BE EXPECTED.
- vvj ouuit Hit! uuiKircn
liow it was that our forbears wero so Ignorant of
omer countries, sno tamed for an hour about
tho lacV of knowledge of navigation, tho small
ness of JiIps und tho fear of tho unknown. Then
sho notfted thnt Jimmy was not attending.
"Why was It that wo know bo little ubout other
countmr, -tuo years ago, Jltnuiyr sho said, spring
ing tho question upon him.
"Plnase, miss," said Jimmy, without a mo.
ment's Visitation, "becuuiA wo weren't born."
DIPLOMAT AS WELL AS SOLDIER
Gen. Hugh L. Scott Is probably
the most unique character In the Unit
ed Slates army. In the days of the
Indlnn disturbances on the Western
frontier he gained distinction as an
Indlun fighter, and as remnrkable ns
It might seem, later became the In
dians' friend and counsellor. He is
familiar with their folklore and talks
their sign language.
Several years ago, when one of tho
tribes went on the war path General
Scott was sent to the scene of the dis
turbances and after a few dnys of
friendly negotiations succeeded In
bringing about peace which the armed
forces of the stute had been unable to
accomplish. .
After Vllln's raid on American
border towns, murdering Amerlcnns
and looting their homes, General Car
ranzn having gained control of tho sit
uation nnd an American force having
been dispatched Into Mexico to run
down Villa, General Scott, accompanied by General Funston, held a series of
conferences with General Obregon, then minister of wnr In tho Cnrrnnza
cabinet, with a view to bringing about peace In northern Mexico nnd tho with-r
drnwal of the American forces from Mexlcnn soil.
He Is now the military head of the Amerlcnn mission to Russia.
HEAD OF ARMY TRANSPORTATION
MaJ. Gen. Henry G. Sharpe, as
quartermaster general In the nrmy, In
the present emergency hns before him
one of the greatest tasks In the entire
service. His department Is charged
with the duty of providing means ot
transportation of every character.
This includes the transportation of re
cruits to mobillzntlon points, to con
centration camps, and from there to
points of embarkation, and tho ar
rangement of transport facilities for
the carrying of our armies to Europe.
At the present time the war de
partment expects, If the wnr lasts, to
transport armies totaling 8,000,000 to
the European battle front. The trans
port fleet at the outbreak of hostili
ties was entirely inadequate to per
form more than a minute portion of
this task. It has been enlarged as If
by muglc, and by the time for shlpj
ment of the first great nrmy General
Sharpe Is confident thut nil facilities
will be nvulluble for the speedy transportation. The feeding nnd clothing of
8,000,000 men Is another tnsk which has to be performed by this department.
Already food and clothing have been purchased in quantities which will have
factories working continuously In turning out their products. Automobiles,
automobile trucks, motorcycles, wagons, horses and mules and their equip
ment nlso have to be purchased under the supervision of General Sharpe.
The one perplexing problem that Inconvenienced this department was how
to house the armies while training. When the war broke out, the quarter
master general found that there wns not sufficient tentage In the United States
to more than shelter the National Guard. To build temporary wooden bar
racks for half the troops solved the problem, and now as fast as cantonment
sites nre locnted tho necessury shelter Is being provided.
ADMIRAL GLEAVES WINS HONORS
At the beginning of our participa
tion In tho greatest war of history,
Rear Admiral Albert Gleavcs, com
manding the convoy which piloted the
large fleet of transports, worked in
perfect harmony with Vice Admiral
William S. Sims, who sent out de
stroyers to furnish additional protec
tion to our fighting men through the
submnrlne zone, with the result that
a complete victory was won by our
navy, the enemy scoring not even ns
much as a hit against the American
vessels nnd losing one or moro submu
rlnes. News of this splendid nccompllsK
ment wns printed just 10 years to the
day after the story of tho destruction
of Cervera's fleet provided another
glorious Fourth of July by telling In
detnll how one of tho most remarkable
naval battles on record hnd been won
by tho Amerlcnn nnvy. On tho Amer
lcnn side, though the ships wore stnick
muny times, only one mnn wns killed nnd one wounded. These cusunltles
both occurred on Commodore Schley's flagship, the Brooklyn. Tho Spanish
lost about COO in killed und wounded. The Amerlcnn sailors took an actlvo
part in tho rescue of the officers nnd crews of the burning Spanish ships.
Admiral Gleaves wns then In commnnd of the torpedo bout Cashing, us a
Ueutennnt.
WEYLER FIREBRAND IN SPAIN
Tho entire kingdom of Spain Is in
n state of uproar and disturbance. The
constitutional guarantees have been
suspended, the legislature hns been
prorogued, tho operations of tho civil
nnd criminal courts have been arrested
for tho moment and martial law has
been decreed throughout the length
and breadth of tho land. All theso
things contribute to an Impossible situ
ation. Of courso thero la a moving spjr'r
behind all theso military unions. Pro
nunclamentos would not hnvc been re
vived, after nil theso years, as a factor
In Spanish politics without somo Ini
tiative, encouragement und guldnnce.
These have been furnished by Captain,
General Woyler, mnrquls of Tenerlffe,.
whose name Is still held in sinister,
memory In the New World by reason
of tho cruelties that signalized his
reign as captain general of Cuba In tho
days when It still formed part of the
German origin, has relatives In Germany, nnd hns nlwnys been very proud
of his Prusslun forebenrs. All his sympathies hnve been with Germany In tho
present wnr, nnd he has been since Its commencement In closo association
with tho German nmbussndor, Prince Mnxliuillan Hohenlohe, and with ex-i
Premier Mnura.