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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 24, 1920)
TTTE NORTIT PLATTE SEMT-WEEKTiT TJURTINE PALESTINE: PIGMY LAND WITH A GIANT HISTORY The historic Holy Lund where moved the Ndzarcne whose birth will bo com memorated uround the world this week, Is characterized as "a tiny lit tle country," by Viscount James Brycc, la a communication to the Nutlonul Geography society: Though the traveler's hand books prepare him to tlnd Palestine small, It surprises him by being smaller than lie expected. Taking It as the region between the Mediterranean on the west and the Jordan and Dead sea on the cast, from the spurs of Lebanon' and liermoii on the north to the desert at Bcershebu on the south, It Is only 110 miles long and 50 to CO broad that la to say,' It Is smaller than New Jersey. "Of this region largo parts did not really belong to ancient Israel. Their hold on the southern and northern dis tricts was but slight, while In the southwest, a wide and rich plnln along the Mediterranean was occupied by the warlike Philistines, who were sometimes more than a match for the Hebrew armies. Israel had, In fact. Httle more than the hill country, which lay between the Jordan on the east and the maritime plain on the west King David, In the days of his power, looked down from the hill cltle3 of Benjamin, Just north of Jerusalem, up on Philistine enemies, only 25 miles off, on the one side, and looked across the Jordan to Moablte enemies, about as far off, on the other, "Nearly all the events In the history of Israel that are recorded In the Old Testament happened within a territory no bigger than the state of Connecti cut, whose area Is 4,800 square miles ; and Into hardly any other country has there been crowded from the days of Abraham till our own, so much history that Is to say, so many events that have been recorded and deserve to be recorded In the annals of mankind. "Nor Is it only that Palestlno Is really a small country. The traveler constantly feels as he moves about that it is a small country. From the heights; a few miles north of Jem-, salem, he sees, looking northward, a tar-off summit carrying snow for eight months In the year. It Is Ilermon, nearly 10,000 feet high Ilermon, whose fountains feed the rivers of Damascus. "But Ilermon Is outside the terri tory of Israel altogether, standing In the land of the Syrians; so, too. It Is of Lebanon. We are apt to think of thnt mountain mass as within the country, because It also Is frequently mentioned In the Psalms and the Prophets; but the two ranges of Leb anon nlso rise beyond the frontiers of Israel, lying between the Syrians of Damascus and the Phoenicians of the West. "Perhaps It Is because the maps from which children used to learn Bible geography, were on a large scnle, that most of us have failed to realize how narrow were the limits within, which took place, all those great do ings thnt fill the bonks of Samuel and Kings. Just In the same wuy tho clnssleal scholar who visits Greece Is surprised to Ilnd that so small a ter ritory suillced for so many striking In cldents and for the careers of so many fnmous men." "ENCHATlTED ISLAND" Cyprus, fairy land of the Mediter ranean, which Oreeks have been urging Orent Britain to turn over to them, has a history no less strange than the Ac tion of Shakespeare's "Othello," for which the Island, In part, Is the setting. Blchard Cocur de Lion wrested It from a ruler who had won It by forg ing letters In his monarch's name af ter thnt ruler, Isaac Communis, hod refused to let the Crusader's ship wrecked and seasick lady-love land there the tlrst time she asked. Itlchanl married Berengnrla there ind went his way. after turning over the Islnnd to n penniless udventurer, Otiv tin Lusliman. who founded a "feudal state amongst spice gardens and silken luxury," and thus establish cd a dynasty which has been described as the most romantic European his tory. Cyprus bulks large In the crotch of Asln Minor, like a huge fist with n lean linger pointing straight at An tinch. Historically, one may Imagine, the finger should bo crooked a hit more, in perpetual accusation of the stiltnn. the degenerate Sellm II, whose generals captured the island. Impelled In part, at least, by the fact thnt Sellm'H favorite wine came from there. Geographically, the promontory marks the line of Cyprns' prenistonc connec ton with Asia's mainland. There too. reigned the benutlful Queen Catherine Cornnro. adopted Venice." who. though jtrlef-strlcken by her husbnnd's death, struggled against Intrigue that the throne might be saved for his unnorn child. Rnri mm to OvnniR those "Tan fcw nf the Ivnnt." the Phoenicians. Snrgon, the king of Assyria who, as IboIrIi hnd .prophesied. iei "ine iwyv tlajna nrlsomira and the Ethiopians captives," also conquered Cyprus. Esnrhnddon, the Caesar and Carnegie of Assyria, who left nt Nineveh un Indexed library of many thousands of clny tablets, received tributes from ten Cyprian kings. Pausanlas, Benedict Arnold of Spartn, liberated Cyprus from Persian dominion, and Evngoras, one of the Island kings, hero of tho world's first known biography, penned by Isocrntcs, who united tho scattered principali ties, Is the King Arthur of island tra dition. Thus Cyprus reeks with composite memories of eastern, Grecian, Ilomnn, and even Anglo-Saxon civilization. No loss was It a focal point for religions. At Kouklla, where certain tides still pile masses of foam along tho shore, Aphrodite Is supposed to have been born of the waves. Here nre ruins of a temple for her worship, where originally fetes were held which, as one writer puts It, "were the scenes of a too literal worship of Venus," and where until recently It was tho cus torn to Immerse muldens In honor of the goddess' birth. Kouklla Is on the site of tho an cient Pnphos. The Paphos of today wns the one-time Nenpnphos, where St. Paul struck blind the sorcerer, Elymns, and converted Serglus Paulus, tho Uo nmn deputy. Tho present-day Lnrnaka Is on tho site of the biblical Chlttlm. whose ships are mentioned by Daniel, and whose Ivory Is referred to by Ezcklel. In Larnaka Is the tomb of Lazarus, who, after being raised from the dend, Is said to hovu become bishop of the renowned city. The area of Cyprus Is about equal to tho combined areas of Delaware atid Hhode Island, while Its total popula tion is about half that of the latter state. AZORES: MAY BE AERIAL HALF-WAY HOUSE The Azores Islands, In years to come, mny be an established mld-At- lantlc rest station for nlrphine flights across the ocean. Farthest from a continent of any Atlantic Island group, the Islands He 830 miles west of Capo da Roca, Portu- al, and more than a thousand miles southeast of Newfoundland, nearest North American land. Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, while the former were active, mado the Azores objects of scientific Inter est akin to thnt evinced in tho now famous Mount Kntmal region In Alas ka. Suboceonlc eruptions, sometimes piling up Islands which soon disappear ed, were characteristic phenomena, One early description of such an event tells how the earth and waters were rocked for eight days by earthquakes, followed by a vast caldron of Arc thnt seemed to sweep the sea's surface and consume the clouds, spewing enormous tnnsses of earth and rock. Then there appeared a group of rocks, ever grow Ing higher and wider until an nrea of several square miles wns contained In this "no man's lnnd." Later It wns shattered, and 'subsided, as the result of more earthquakes. The Azores comprise throe groups of Islands. Their total area Is less than thnt of Rhode Island; their popu latlon nbout equal to that of Kansas City. Mo. Most of the Inhabitants arc Portuguese. The rest nre Flemish and Moorish, with a few Immigrants from the United Kingdom. Fruits nnd fish constitute the prln clpnl exports. Oranges nre supplant ing pineapples, but the other products lemon, citron. Japanese medlar, and bananns mnlntaln their popularity. The prlnclpnl fish are the mullet, tun ny, nnd bonlto. Snlnt Michaels, largest Island of the group, has lava beds, caves which may bo traversed for miles, and a mam moth crater with two Jeweled lakes one azure, the other emerald at Its bottom. On Snntn Marin Is the church where Columbus knelt. Off Tercerln a sub marine volcano made its appearance as recently as half a ceptury ago. On Corvo have been unenrthed coins which suggest Cnrthngnlnn visits, and an Arabian geographer of the twelfth century described Islands of the "West em Ocean" thought to hnve been the Azores. About the middle nf thp fifteenth century the Portuguese sent expedl tlons to settle upon them. One Islnnd Faynl. was presented by Alphonso V of Portugal, to his aunt, Isnhelln. duchess of Burgundy. It was upon her marriage to Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy, thnt he founded the fa mous knightly order of the Golden Fleece. In 182!) supporters of Mnrla da Gloria against Miguel. In the struggle for the Portuguese crown, established themselves on the Islands, and for the three venrs following Queen Maria lived at Angra. one of the seaports nf Importance. Others are Ponta Delgada und Hortn. BESSARABIA: A CONEY ISLAND OF HISTORY Bessarabia, recently assigned to tho suzerainty of Koumanla, has long been n racial catch basin. Her population was more than 2, 000.000 before the war, and Included Moldavians. Little Russians, Jews. Bul garians. Greeks. Armenians. Tartars. Germans, and Gypsies; hut that list Is short compared with the encyclo pedic procession of Getae. Goths, Avars, linns. Bessl (whence her nnme). Ugrlans, Kumans, and Mongols, to mention but n few, slnco the days of the original Cimmerians. For Bessarabia, sloping southward from the westward foothills of the Carpatblnns, between the Dniester nnd Pruth, down to the Black sea and Danube delta, lay In the normal geo graphical pathway of tribes pushing westward from Asia and southward from tho bleak Russian steppes townrd tho warmer sencoast lands. Moreover, Bessarabia Is nt tho convergence of tiioso two hlstory-benten paths, and many times a clash ensued to decide which group should pass through the "neck of the bottle" toward Europe's lauds of milk nnd hone. Among the most harrowing of the In vasions wns that of the Mongols In tho fourteenth century. They enwo across the Volga under Until, grandson of that Mongol Chnrlcmagnc, Jcnghln Kahu, nnd though there Is no completu story of their depredations In Bes sarabia, thnt region probably suffered atrocities similar to others which aro recorded In harrowing detail. At Ryaznn women und children were used as targets In bow-und-arrow contests; slivers of wood were driven under the nulls of tho men; then they were cor ralled In churches to wutch their wom en being tortured, nnd finally roasted alive. Another city, Kozelsk, was re named Moballg, "City of Woe," and Kiev was laid waste after her people hud been maimed nnd murdered. A picture, of peaceful, pastoral Bes sarabia prior to the renewed ravages of tho World war, furnishes a pleasing contrast. A delight to tho few tour ists who went through the region, were the Moldavian homes. A Moldavian Interior was lmmncula(e nnd vivid. Brightly-colored ctirtntns and hangings were used. An Inevitable j decoration were rows of yellow gourds, the raising of which Is one of tho minor Bcssarablau Industries. Tho people nre deeply religious. Euch ortho- odox home had Its ultar, facing east ward, sacred bread beneath the Icon, und cornstalks placed In theshnde of u cross before It. Even the altars were colorful because of their draper ies nnd candles, and many times they were lnden with tlowers. The Bes sarablan women nre sprightly, bright eyed, and pretty. Moldavians constituted nbout half the Inhabitants of Bessarabia. Rou manln, It will bo recalled, was formed by the union of Moldavia and Wnl lachlat hence the adjoining Bes sarabia, with its large Moldavlnn pop ulation, long hns been the "Irredenta" of Roumnnla. THE BERMUDAS Tho Bermuda Islands suggest tho adventures of Robinson Crusoe In their colonization and present In their later chronology a curious parallel to United States history, with tho events pre dated by a number of years. Tho Robinson Crusoe comparison obtrudes because the island was dis covered and Inter settled as the direct result of shipwrecks, and the settlers had to build themselves a bark to set sail again. As for the anticipation of American history on n miniature scale, It may be noted that tho colonization toot place seven yeurs before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, Mass. ; that witch es were burned, Quakers were perse cuted, and miscreants wero ducked before similar occurrences are recorded in New England, nnd that slavery was abolished in 1831. The Bermudlans protested long before 1770 against tho mother country's rule, until the island prisons were overfull; but relief came In their case not through u dec laration of freedom, but by the ac cession of Cromwell. But the essential point of contact of the American with the Bermudlan arises from the all-but-forgotten fact that while the immortal Lafayette gal lantly helped the colonies conclude their war of Independence, the Bermu dlans supplied the ummunitiou to be gin It. So acute was the need for powder In 1775 that Georgo Washington wrote to the governor of Rhode Island that "no quantity, however small, Is beneath notice." Learning that there was a store In Bermuda, and that the Island ers wero unxlous to have the embargo lifted upon shipment of food supplies from the colonies, Washington address ed a letter to the people of the Island, who had shown themselves sympa thetic with the American revolution ists, promising them ample supply of provisions and "every other mark of affection and friendship which tho grateful citizens of a free country can bestow on Its brethren and benefac tors" if they would make this ammu nition available for the Continental army. It so happened thnt the powder hnd been procured before the letter was delivered, and with It the Continental army compelled the British to evacu ate Boston. Not only the sale of the powder, but the fact that Bermuda allowed the colonic to have salt, so Incensed Its I governor that he upbraided the citizens for treuson. anil feeling ran so high that he was removed. Ills successor was a native of Salem. Mass., whose loyalty to the mother country was such that he gave up large estates in the colonies rather than Join the revolu tionists, lie was connected, both by blood and by marriage, with the Win throp family. Under his rule the Is land's full allegiance to England was restored. ' Browne was succeeded by Henry Hamilton, during whose administration the town of Hamilton was founded and named for him. This town today Is tho seat of the Island government. It has a population of less than !t,000. It did not become the capital of the Islands until the time of Sir Jntnes Cockbtirn. lord chief Justice of Eng land, and before thnt time one of Its most famous lawyers. Cockburn, near ly three quarters of a century ago, made the plea of Insanity, which saved the life of Daniel McNaughten, who shot Sir Robert Peel's secretary. The Earth Has Grown Old lye eartlj Ijas grnum nlii uutlj its lutruett nf Sitt at (Ehrisimas it altuatts is unrittn: uFlje Ijeart nf tlfr jewel Attn tts sum tull nt mustr ureaus tonlj nn tlfe atr. Wirn snug nf 3t is muting, nln tartly, it is muting tunigljt! (xx tlje sttmuflakes tlfat murr tljg snu GIlje feet nf tlje (ftlrist-QIlilu fall gentle anil tnlfite, Attn tlje unit nf ffllfrist-fflljilu tells nut uritlj Might 3lat utankinn are tlje rljilurrtt nf (Snu. i he feet nf tlje Ijmnhlest utag tualk iu tlje ftelu Peter and the Mulberry Tree By Christopher Grant Hazard OME dogs lmve names. There was Caspar, the pup. He had a mime, hut he wns too young to know it. There wns old dog Bar ker. My father used to mako Barker sit up ami listen. Father would say to mo. "No orderly boy would leave his bat on the lloor like that. Barker wouldn't do It, If ho were n hoy." Then Barker would hark. once. Then my father would ask Barker If lie was u good dog, nnd Barker would bnrk twice. Some dogs tve no names. The little black nnd white dog ncross the street Is just u dog. but he will come when you whistle. There Is a dog near here who knows tho butcher curt when he sees It com ing. He drives nil the bens out of the yard, so he can pick up the scraps of meat thnt fnll from the curt while of meat that rail from the cure While the butcher Is getting the meat ready. This dog hasn't any name. He Is ho selfish that be Isn't worth nam ing. Once there was a tree, nnd It bad n iiiiuit'. It ww n mulberry tree. The man that owned tho tree hud a dog, too. Ills name was Peter, anil no lit tle dog was over more fund of meat than Peter was of mulber ries. lie would hunt I around In the grass, under tho mul berry tree, until he had found every mulberry that had fallen down. Then he would run agiiliist the tree and bump down u lot more. Some children heard nbout Peter nnd the mulberry tree and it made them think of something. It made them think of fixing up a Christmas tree, with many little pack ages itpon It like mulberries und then bumping the things off for Christians elfin. va kfMr burns lustrous attu fair. tlje angels is smtg. iiljere tlje feet nf tlje Ijnltesi Ijaue trnn, Sljis, tljts is tlje utaruel tn mnrtals reuealen Hljen tlje siluerg trmnnrts nf (Eljrtstutas Ijaue nealen. 55ljat utankiun are tlje rfjiluren nf (Snu. Phillips Brooks So, this is Just whnt they did. Chnrlle had the first bump. When he picked up bis package he found that he hnd a round hole with a square peg In It. There was n bit of pnper tied to the peg, and on It wns written: "Get Into (ho right place." Hurry's bump brought down n square hole with a round peg In It. Its pnper said: "Don't get Into the wrong plnce." Then Frank gave a bump that was a regular butt, und he held up a square hole with a square peg In It These words were with them: "A place for everybody, upd every body In his place." When Dick humped, ho go a round hole and n round peg. "What does this mean?" he shouted. "Tho same thing," answered Frank. "Sure," said Chauncey. Ohnuneoy was the littlest. Ho wns so little that he used to take his doll to bed with him und tnlk over with It, before he went to sleep, the things they had done that day. And he had Just learned thnt word "sure." He was so proud of It that he used to say It to bis father Instead of "yeth sir." Chauncey would soon learn that "sure" was not as nice as "yeth sir." Then tho girls said It wns their turn and they began to hump. Ruth got no nlphabet, so us to leant not to say "hlkjlmnop." Sarah had "a headache In her knee," so Mary bumped for her. Down came a pair of rubbers and Mary put them on "Inside outwards," Just to try thein. Then they nil bumped the tree for Chauncey, who wasn't big enough to bump hard enough to make anything fall. Such a lot of things tumbled otf. There wns u baseball glove Ruth tried It on ami her hand looked like u hassock; u breastpin Sarah pinned It on tier sleeve, "where she could set It;" two dull dress patterns; a new doll's bat a small hat ; a set of dish es, a doll's high chair; ami a tooth pick. (.'bnuncey wns like the old woman who lived In the shoe, lie didn't know what to do with all his things; but ho was careful to uso the toothpick every time he took a drink of milk. There wns still one package left. It was In the lop of the tree. One little girl, her name was Lucy, had not hnd anything. So the chil dren let her pull the top of the tree down to get this package. And there was the dearest doll Hint ever came off of a Christmas tree. It had blue eyes that would open and shut and the cunnlngest frock. Lucv. now tho doll's mother, thought 'i rare, that this wns tho very best gift of all, Then, Just as they wero going to go downstairs, there came a rap at tha door. "Como In," they shouted. Whnt do you suppose? It wns Santa Onus. Ho mnrched In with stockings , - : for them that m. wero nil bulging A&J'i'o; fI and hurstinir with good tilings. What fun they had with him nud with all tho things bo hnd brought They hnd such a good time that some of It spread away around tho corner to n house that Santa Cuius had not visit' yet So, everybody had something. This Is what God meant tho Christmas tree for. After their visit; 1 to the poor chil dren, they all went home Inughing und happy enough to wait n whole year for n new crop of Christmas cheer Just as the dog Peter, has to wait until another season for u new crop of mulberries. (. 1820, Western Newspaper Union.) C- - A Christmas Day Menu Firm co u rse Gladness. Entrees Love garnished with Smiles. Gentleness, with sweet-wine sauce of Laughter. Second course Hospltnllty. In some bouse Hospltnllty Is brought on surrounded with Relatives. In oth ers It Is dished up with Dlgnlturies. In n third, best of all, It Is served In simple shapes, but with a great vnrloty of Unfortunate Persons such as lone ly people from lodging houses, poor people of all grades, widows nnd childless In (heir affliction. This Is the kind most preferred; In fact, never abandoned by those who have tried It. For dessert Mirth. Gratltrtde nnd Faith hentcn togeth er und run in tho molds of solid Trust and Patience. Bonbons of Good Cheer and Kind liness. t HI? tf
