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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (May 11, 1920)
NORTH PLATTM SEMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE. THE VALLEY of the MODERN LIFE AMONG THE OLD, OLD REDWOODS Here's good reading a stirring tale by an able author about red-blooded people in an unique environment. Peter B. Kyne is as indigenous as the redwoods of which he writes with loving appreciation. Nevertheless, he has sailed the Pacific, been a soldier in the Philippines, and has served as a captain in France with the A. E. F. And the sheer merit of his literary workmanship has given this clerk in a California country store deserved nation-wide popularity as a short story writer and novelist. The characters in "The Valley of the Giants" are flesh-and-blood people Americans the sort we know our kind: John Cardigan, pioneer lumberman among the redwoods, a strong man with a great heart, the soul of a dreamer and the unshaken faith of the frontiersman; he loves his redwoods even while he cuts his way to fortune through them. Colonel Pennington, the modern captain of industry, with no more con science than a circular saw, no bowels of compassion, and contempt for the Jaw except as a means of camouflage. Bryce Cardigan, present-generation American of the right kind, who takes up the fight when his father falls in the fray and successfully battles against odds to save his heritage, even while his heart is divide, between his .blind sire and his dear est enemy. Shirley Sumner, niece of Colonel Pennington, a first-class American girl, with a mind of her own, a heart, red blood and good sportsmanship. And the story is as timely as its environment is unique. There is only one redwood country, and when the California redwoods are gone the redwoods are gone from the earth. John Cardigan and his like have laid most of them low, and threaten those that remain. So it is that a great cry has gone up from the people to save for future generations some of those forest giants that were full-grown when Christ was born with their cousins the sequoias they are the oldest and biggest living things of earth. So it is that the "Save the Red woods" league has sprung into existence. So it is that con gress is investigating the conditions preparatory to legisla tion for the establishment of a Redwoods national park. The American of the future will be able to see the Big Trees (Sequoia gigantea) in all their glory; Yosemite, Sequoia and General Grant national parks assure that. But unless money is provided for the purchase of a great grove of red woods, (Sequoia sempervirens) by congress, California or public subscription the redwoods are doomed to the ax and saw, with the exception of a few small and inadequate pre serves, And among these same redwoods lies "The Valley of the Giants." CHAPTER I. In tho summer of 1850 n topsail schooner slipped Into the cove under Trltildnd head and dropped anchor nt the edge of tho kelp-llclds. Fifteen minutes later her small-boat deposited on tho beach a man armed with long squirrel rlllo and an axe, and carrying food and clothing In n brown canvas pact.. From tho bench ho watched the boat return and saw the schooner weigh anchor and stand out to sen bofore tho northwest trades. When she had disappeared from his hen. he swung his pack to his broad and pow erful back and strodo resolutely Into the timber nt tho mouth of tho river. Tho man wns John Cardigan; In that lonely, hostile land ho was tho -flrst pioneer. This Is tho tale of CnruTgTUi nnd Cardigan's son, for In Ms chosen land thoI)Tohecr lender In the gigantic task of hewing a path was lo know tho bliss of woman's lovo and of parenth6od, nnd the sorrow Ihut cotucs of tho loss of"i perfect male ; ho "was to know the tremendous Joy of accomplishment nnd worldly hucccss after Infinite labor; and In tho sunset of life ho wns to know the dull despair of falluro nnd ruin. He cause of these things thero Is n tnlo to bo told, tho tnlo of Cardigan's son, who, when his slro fell In tho fray, took up tho fight to snvo his herllago a tnlo of life with Its lovo nnd hnto, Its battle, victory, defeat, labor, Joy, nnd Borrow, n tnlo of that unconquer able spirit of youth which spurred Hryce Cardigan to lend a forlorn hope for the sako not of wealth but of an Ideal. Hark, then, to this tale of Cardigan's redwoods; Along the coast of California, through the Becret vnlleys nnd over tho tumbled foothills of tho Const range, extends n belt of timber of an average width of thirty mllca. In approaching It from the Oregon lino Uie first trco looms suddenly against the horizon nn outpost, ns it were, of tho host of glnnts whoso column stretches south nearly four hundred miles to where tho Inst of tho rear ouard, maintains eternal sentry-go on the crest of tho mountains overlooking Monterey bny. Fnr In tho Interior of tho fltnto, beyond tho fertile Snn Joaquin vnlley, tho nllles of this vast . . . ... .. i army nom n mnuii Huviur wrn slope of the Sierras Thoso nre tho redwood forestH of California, tho only trees of their kind In the world and Indigenous only to tlu'Ko two areas within tho state, Notwithstanding sixty yenrs of nttrl tlon, there remain In this section of the redwood, belt thousands upon thousands of acres of virgin timber that had ulrendy attained u vigorous growth when Christ was crucified. In sizes ranging from live to twenty feet In diameter, tho brown trunks rlso porpendlculnrly to n height of from ninety to n hundred and fifty foot before putting forth a single limb, which frequently Is more nms slvo than tho grpwth which men cnll n treo In itho forests of Michigan. Scattered between the glnnts, like subjects nround their king, one finds noble fir, spruce, or pines, with some Valparaiso live oak, black oak, pepper wood, madrono, yew, nnd ccdnr. John Cnrdlgnn settled In Humboldt county, where the sequoia sempervir ens attains tho pinnacle of Its glory, nnd with tho lust fojr conquest hot In his blood, ho fllea upon n qunrter section of the timber nlmost on the shore of Humboldt bay land upon which n city subsequently was to bo built. With his double-bitted nxo and crosscut saw John Cnrdlgnn brought tho first of the redwood giants crash lng to tho enrth above which It had towered for twenty centuries, and In tho form of split posts, railroad ties, pickets, nnd shakes, tho fallen glnnt wns hnuled to tidewater In ox-drawn wagons nnd shipped to San Francisco In tho llttlo two-masted coasting schooners of the period. Hero, by the nbomlnnble magic of barter and trnde. the dismembered treo was transmuted Into dollars nnd cents nnd returned to Humboldt county to nsslst John unruignn in ins tasK or n owing an empire ou of n wilderness. Timo passed. .ionn unruignn no longer swung nn a"xo or fl ragged n cross-cut snw through a fallen red wood. Ho wns nn employer of labor now, well known in Snn Francisco as n mnnnfncturer of split-redwood prod ucts, the purchasers sending their own schooners for the enrgo. And presently John Cnrdlgnn mortgaged nil of his timber holdings with n San Francisco bank, made a heap of his winnings, nnd like a truo adventurer staked his nil on a now venture tho first snwnilll In Humboldt county. Tho timbers for It wore hewed out by nnnn; me nonnis ana pinnkH were whlpxnwed, It was n tiny mill, Judged by precnt- dny standards, for In n fourteen-hour working day John Cardigan nnd his men could not cut more than twenty thousnnd feet of lumber. Neverthe less, when Cnrdlgnn looked at his mill, his great heart would swell with pride. "Here." said John Cardigan to him self oxulttngly, when n lung-drawn wail toiu nun nis circular saw, wns biting Into the first redwood log to bo Author of "Cappy Ricks" milled since the world begnn, "I shall build n city and cnll It Sequoia. By to-morrow I shnll hnve cut sufficient timber to make n start First I shnll build for my employees better homes thnu tho rude shncks nnd tent-houses they now occupy; then I shnll build myself n lino rcsldenco with six rooms, nnd the, room that faces tho bny shall bo the pnrlor. When 1 enn afford It, I shall build more houses. I shall encourage tradesmen to set up In ImslnoHS In Konnnln nnrl to mv ritv I shnll present n church nnd n school- house. We shnll hnve n,volunteor lire department, nnd If God Is good, I shnll, nt a Inter date, get out some long-length fir-tlmbcr nnd build n schooner to freight my lumber to market. And she shall have three mftsts Instead of two, nnd carry half n million feet or lumber instead or two hundred Uiousand. First, how over, I must build n stenm tugbont to tow my schooner In nnd out over Humboldt bnr. And after thnt nh, welll Thnt Is sufficient for the present." Thus did John Cnrdlgnn dream, nnd ns he dreamed ho worked. Tho city of Sequoia wns born with the Argo nnut's six-room mnnsion of rough red wood boards and n dozen three-room cabins with lean-to Kitchens; and the tradespeople enmo when John Cardi gan, with something or the largeness or his own redwood trees, gave tnem ground nnd lumber In order to en courage tho building of their enter prises. Also tho dream of the school nouse nnd tho church camo truo, as did the steam tugboat and the schooner with three ninsts. At forty John Cardigan was younger than most men nt thirty, albeit ho worked fourteen hours n day, slept eight, and consumed tho remalningi two nt his meals. Hut through nil (hose fruitful yenrs of toll he hnd still found time to dream, and the spell of the redwoods hnd lost none of Its potency. At, forty-two Cnrdlgnn wns the first mnyor of Soquojn. At forty-four Jio was standing on his dock one dny, watching his tug kick Into her bertli tho first squnre-rlggcd ship thnt had over come to Humboldt bny to load a enrgo of cienr redwood for foreign delivery. Sim was n big Hnth-bullt clipper, nnd her mnster n lusty down Kastcr, u widower with ono dnughtet who hnd come with him nround tlu Horn. John Cardigan' snw this glri como up on the qunrtor-deck an stnnd by with n henvlng-line in bet bund; cnlmly she fixed her glnnc. upon lilin, nnd ns the ship wns shunted in closer to tho dock, she made the cast to Cnrdlgnn. He cnught the light hcnvlug-IIne, hauled In the heavy Mnnlln stem-line to which It wns attached, nnd slipped the loop of tho moorlng-cnble over tho dolphin nt tho end of the dock. "Some men wnnted nft here to tnke up the slnck of the stern-line on the winmnss, sir, lie Hiiouieu 10 uie skipper, who wns walking nround on top of the houee. "Thnt girl can't haul her In nlono." ' "Cnn't. I'm short-hnnded," the skipper replied. "Jump nbonrd. nnd help her." Cnrdlgnn made a long lenp from tlw dock to the ship's rail, balanced thero lightly n moment, nnd sprang to the deck, no Inserted n belnylng-pln In the windlnss, pnused nnd looked nt the girl. "Itnlso n chantey," he sug gested. Instantly she lifted h sweet contralto In that rollicking old bntlnd of the sen "Blow tho Men Down." Round the windlnss Cardigan walk ed, steadily and easily, nnd tho girl's eyes widened In wonder as he did the work of three powerfnl men. When the ship hnd been wnrped nn nnd the slnck of the line made fnst on the bltts, she said: "Please run for'd nnd help my father with tho bowlines. You're worth three foremnst hnnds. Indeed, I didn't expect to see n snllor on this dock." "I hnd to come nround the Horn to get here, Miss," he explained, "nnd when a man hasn't money to pny for his pnssnge, he needs must work It." I'm tho second mate," she explain ed. "Wo hnd a succession of gnles from the Fnlklnnds to the Evan- gollstns, nnd there the mnte got her In iron b nnd she took three big ones over tho tnffrall nnd cost us eight men. Working short-handed, we couldn't get any cnuvns on her to speak of long voyage, you know, and tho rest of tho crew got scurvy." "You're a brave girl," he told her. "And you're a tlrst-clnss A. H.." she replied. "If you're looking for a berth, my father will be glnd to ship you." "Sorry, but I cnn't go," ho called ns he turned toward the companion lad dor. "I'm Cardigan, nnd I own thli snwmlll nnd must stny here nnd look- after It" Thero wns a light, esultmit ieeljng in ins muuiie-nged ncarl ns b& scamp erel plong tho dock. Tho girl hnd wonderful dark nuburn hnlr and brown eyes, with n mllk-whlto skin that sun nnd wind hnd sought in vnin to blem Ish. And for nil her girlhood she wn a womun bred from n nice (his own people) to whom duuger and dosuul GIANTS By merely furnished n tonic for their courage. Whirl n mate for n man I And she looked nt him prldcfully. They were mnrrled before the ship wns londcd, nnd on a knoll of the logged-over lands back of tho town nnd commanding n view of the bny, with tho dark-forested hills In bnck and the little second-growth redwoods flourishing In the front yard, he built her the finest home In oquoln. Here' his son Hryce wns born, nnd here, two days later, tho new-mndc mother mndo the supreme sacrifice of maternity. For finlf n dny following the de struction of his Eden John Cnrdlgnn snt dumbly beside his wife, his great, hard hand caressing the nuburn bend whose every thought for three yours had been his happiness nnd comfort. Then the doctor came to him nnd men tioned tho matter of funeral arrange ments. Cnrdlgnn looked up nt him blnnkly. "Funeral arrangements?" He passed his gnnrled hnnd over his leonine head. "Ah. yes, I suppose so. I shnll attend lo It." He rose and left the house, walking with bowed bend out of Sequoiu, up the abandoned nnd decaying skid road through tho second-growth red woods to the dark green blur that marked the old timber, up the skid rond recently swnmped from the land ing to the down timber where the crosscut men nnd bnrkpeeicrs were at work, on Into the green timber where the woods-boss and his men were chopping. "Come with me, McTnvish," ho said to his woods-boss. They passed through a nnrrow gnp between two low hills nnd emerged In n long nnr row vnlley where the redwoods grew thickly nnd where tho smallest tree wns not less thnn fifteen feet In diam eter and two hundred nnd fifty feet tall. McTnvish followed at his master's heels ns they penetrated this grove, making their way with diffi culty through the underbrush until They Came at Length to a Little Am phitheater. - they enme nt length to a little amphi theater, a clearing ncrhnns u hundred feet in diameter, oval-shnped nnd surrounded by a wall of redwoods of such dimensions that even McTavlsh, who wns no stranger to these natural marvels, was struck with wonder. "McTnvish," Curdlgan said, "she died this morning." ' "I'm sore distressed for you, sir," the. woods-boss answered. "We'd a whisper in the enmp yesterday thnt the lass wns like to bo In n hnd wny." Cnrdlgnn scuffed with his foot a clenr space in tho brown litter. 'Tnke two men from the section-gang. McTavlsh." he ordered, "and have them dig her grave here; then swamp trail through the underbrush nml out to the donkey-lnndlng, so we can carry her In. The funeral will bo private." McTavlsh nodded. "Any further orders, sir?" "Yes. When you come to thnt llttlo gnp in the Jillls, cense your logging nnd bear off yonder." He waved his hnnd. "I'm not going to cut the tlm ber In this valley. You see, McTavlsh, what It Is. The trees here ah, man, I haven't the henrt to destroy God's most wonderful hnndlwork. Tlesldes, sho loved this spot, McTnvish, nnd she called the vnlley her Valley of the Glnnts. I I gave It toJier for n wed ding present because srfb had a bit of n dream that some day tho fown started would grow up to yotnler gap, and when thnt time cumo nni a cwld nfford It, 'twos In her mind to slvo her Vnlley of the Glnnts to f-'rquoln for n city park, all hidden nvrny hero and unsuspected. "Sho loved It, McTavlsh, 'twas our plnyhouso, McTnvish. nnd I who nm no longer young I who never plnyed uu til f met her I I'm n bit foolish. I fear, but 1 found rest nnd comfort horn. McTavlsh. mmn lutfnrw I nwt PETER B. KYNE Copyright by Peter B. Ityne her, nnd I'm thinking I'll hnve to como here often for the same. She was like this sunbeam, McTnvish. She she " "Aye," murmured McTavlsh huskily. "I ken. Ye wouldnn gle her ttmmon or n public spot In which to wait for ye. An' ye'Il bo shuttln' down the mill nn' loggln'-cnmps nn' lnyln' off the hands In her honor for n bit?' "Until nfter the funeral, McTnvish. And tell your men they'll be paid for tho lost time. Thnt will be nil, lad." When McTnvish wns gone, John Cnrdlgnn snt down on n small sugar pine windfall, his bend held slightly to one side while he listened to tlmt which In the redwoods Is ;not sound but rather the nbsence of It And ns ho listened, lie absorbed n subtle com fort from those huge brown trees,' so emblematic of Immortnllty ; In the thought he grew close to his Maker, nnd presently found that pence which he sought. Love such as theirs could never die. . . . The tears came nt Inst. At sundown lie walked home benr Ing nn nrmful of rhododendrons nnd dogwood blossoms, which ho arranged in the room whore she lay. Then he sought the nurse who had nttended her. "I'd like to hold my son," he said gently. "May I?" She brought hltn the baby nnd placed It In his great nnns thnt trembled so; lie snt down nnd gnzed long nnd enrnestly nt this flesh of his flesh nnd blood of Ills blood. "You'll have her hair nnd skin nnd eyes," he murmured. "My son, my son, I shnll love you so, for now I must love for two. Sorrow I shnll keep from you, please God, nnd happiness nnd worldly comfort shnll I lenve you when I go to her." He nuzzled his grizzled cheek against the baby's face. "Just you and my trees," ho whispered, "Just you and my trees to. help me to hang on to a plucky finish." For love nnd paternity hnd como lo him Into In life, nnd so hnd Ills first great sorrow ; wherefore, since he wns not nccustomed to these heritages of nil flesh, he would have to adjust him self to the change. Hut his son nnd his trees nh, yes they would help. And he would gather irJore redwoods now I CHAPTER II. A young nnlf-breed Digger woman who hnd suffered the loss of the lutest of her numerous progeny two dnys prior to Mrs. Cnrdlgan's death, was installed In tho house as nurse to John Cnrdlgan's son, whom lie called Hryce, the family ni'ine of' his mother's peo ple. A Mrs. Tally, widow of Cardi gan's first engineer in the mill, was engaged as housekeeper nnd cook ; nnd with his domestic establishment re organized nlong these simple lines, John Cnrdlgnn turned with added engerncss to his business affairs, hop ing between them and his boy to salvage as much ns possible from whnt seemed to him, In the first pangs of his loneliness nnd desolation, the wrecknge of' his life. While Hryce was In swaddling clothes he was known only to those females of Sequoia to whom his hnlf breed foster mother proudly exhibited him wlicn taking him abroad for an airing In his perambulator. With his advent Into rompers, however, and tho assumption of his American preroga tive of free speech, his fnther develop ed tho hnblt of bringing tho child down to tho mill oflieo, to which be added n playroom thnt connected with his prlvnte office. Hence, prior to his second birthday, Bryce divined thnt his fnther was closer to him thnn motherly Mrs. Tully or tho half-breed girl. Moreover, his father took him on wonderful Journeys which no other member of tho household nnd even suggested. Drought, cloudburst and blindness threaten to bring to naught John Cardigan's fifty years of endeavor. (TO HE CONTINUED.) Scottish Center of Industry. Dundee ranks ns one of the lending Industrial and commercial centers In northeastern nnd central Scotlnnd. The district of Dundee Is the center of the Jute Industry In tho United Kingdom nnd practically all tho raw Juto Imported Into the country, which nvcrnges 1,200,000 bales unnunlly, Is consumed there. It Is the staple In dustry of Dundee nnd employs nor mally nbout 35,000 workers. On the Other Side. Little Philip had cried till night with toothncho and upon receiving n nickel tho next morning ho went as usual to pet candy again. Ills nuntle, on com ing home, nnd finding ho had bought candy with her nickel, nsked him : "Why, Philip, I thought you weren't ever going to eat candy ngnln?" To which lie roplled : "Well, nuntle, I'm not outing this candy on tho toothache sllto" "Gee-Whiz! How it Hurts The Pain in My Foot!" ''Sometimes it la in my arm. Merciful Heaven, how my back hurta in tiio morn- ingl" It'a all duo to an over tibundanco of that poison called uric acid.' Tho kidneys are not ablo to get rid of it. Such conditions you can readily over come, and pro long lifo by tak ing tho advico of Dr.Pierco.whicb is "keep tho kid neys in good order." "Avoid too much meat, alcohol or tea. Drink plenty of pure water preferably hot water, before meals, and drive the uric acid out of the system by taking Auurio." This can be obtained at almost any drug stoio. Send a bottle of water to tno chemist at Dr. Pierce's Invalids' Hotel, Buffalo, N. Y., and you will receiver free medical advico as to whether tho kidnoya are affected. When your kidneys get slug gish and clog, you Buffer from backache, sick-headache, dizzy spells, or twinges and pains of lumbago, rheumatism or gout; or sleep is disturbed two or three times a night, take heed, beforo too late. Get Anurio (anti-uric-acid), for it will put new lifo into your kidneys and your entire system. Ask your nearest drug gist for it or send Dr. Picrco ten cents for trial package. Vaseline Reg. US. Pat Off. CAR BO LATE D PETROLEUM JELLY A clean, counter irritant for scratches, cuts, etc. Healing and antiseptic REFUSE SUBSTITUTES CHESEBROUGH MFG CO. (CONSOLIDATED) State Street NewY&rk Y ATI? Death only a matter of short time. 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I took one-third of i and began to feel relief; when it wai three-fourths gone, I felt fine and when it was uecd up I had no pains. Wife got m another box but I have felt the pain but twice. I used five tablets out of the new box and I have no more .stomach trouble, Now I write to tell you how thankful I am that I heard of EATONIO. I feel like, a new map; I eat what I like, drink plenty of water, and it never hurts me at all. Comfort Baby's Skin With Cuticura Soap And Fragrant Talcum Soip 25c, Ointment ZS soil 50c,Tilcum 25c. Watson E Ooleuian. ratem Lawyer, WaahlUKion. . J, ,,7.uu AOTiceana Iijo tree. FRECKLES g$5SP$i&3 I'llie Hull M-ctlon, closo uooU limivei 335 a levl. Ill a. wheat. HO a. Termi. Wrlle for llat wheat farim. P. K. Dlllman, Traer. Kn W. NyU., OMAHA, NO. 18-1920, TOO v i