"
1,4
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THE NEBRASKA ADVERTISER
'
TV. TV. 8ANDKIUJ, roblliher.
NEMAHA, NEBRASKA
CANNOT ROB US OF THE PAST,
Though cruel hands may strive to bllRht
Tho fruit we hoped the years would bring,
They never can destroy outright
Tho sweets that round tho blossoms cling.
If lips shall strive by unkind words
To make our futuro Incomplete,
They have not power to kill the blrdi
That In our hearts liavo sung so sweet.
Though unkind feet may turn aside
Within our path sharp thorns to lay.
They lack the power from us to hldo
Tho flowers wo gathered by tho way.
If faces shadowed o'er with hate
To flood our courso with fear havo
planned,
Thry cannot close tho happy gate
Through which wo havo passed hand In
hand.
Though strength of foes may hope to build
High walls to part our futuro ways,
They cannot fence the bliss that filed
Our souls through many yesterdays.
If cruel hands attempt to blight
Tho fruit wo hoped the years would bring,
They never can destroy outright
The sweots that round the blossoms cling.
So though they may our way pursuo
And seek our highest hopes to blaBt,
One thing they havo not power to do,
They cannot rob us of the past.
Thomas Freeman Porter, In BoBton
aiobc.
SMMtiiMMuWMMMrtHMitttiMMi
3 AT THE ElVrk HE
iXM. XXIL, JL.H1 jy c3
THE LARIAT.
: BY JUAN MORO. g
ALL sorts and conditions of men and
women came together in the cattle
days. It was one of the peculiar fea
tures of the time that there never was
nsked the question: "Who ore youV"
The newcomer introduced himself, as
did the miners of the mountains, in his
own way, and was taken for what he
was worth. His real value was usually
determined at short notice by the men
of the frontier, and when they had once
branded a stranger he might ns well ac
quiesce, for the word went along the
line as to his standing. When he did
not do so he found that t here was likely
to be n hint that he could not afford to
iieglcet nnd he obeyed.
When James Sorten came to the Cim
marron ranch and introduced himself
ns the younger son of a. wealthy New
Englander, disinherited because of his
fondness for the sports of the plains, he
was believed. He looked it. His ad
mirable form and his charming man
nersas manners went in those days
won to him the men and women of
the settlements, and mode him the
friend of the ranch boys wherever he
met them. Some of the boys will yet
remember him and the lively part he
played in the drama of the latter CO's.
Rivalries that are now turned toward
the managment of the corporations nnd
the manipulating of the prices of stock
were then hi that section devoted to the
handling of herds, and the ranch that
Iind the largest and most energetic
force of cowboys was the one that had
the better fortune in Hint line. Sorten,
who soon gained the title of "Yellow
back," because of his customary clothes
-of bright saffron, was the leader of the
rustlers. He could scent n maverick
farther than anyone along the trail,
nnd woe to the herder that allowed a
bunch to remain out on the prairie over
night it was likely to be missing for
good.
Of course there were efforts to put a
stop to the practice of running in the
wanderers, for at least a reasonable
time after the finding of the some. Hut
who could prevent It? Sorten went to
the trail every night to see if there were
any wanderers that needed protection
from the blizzards, and ofteii returned
with two or three thnthod strayed from
some passing herd. One night he did
not return as soon as usual, and when
lie came in it was with a white face, and
agitation written upon his entire body.
"What's the matter, Jini?" asked the
chief herder.
"Seen a ghost?" asked another.
4,No, but I'll tell you, boys," were his
words, "I've seen the fustest rider that
ever wus in this valley."
"Tell us about it."
"There ain't nothin' to tell. I was
over in the upper ravine looking fer any
ii-wanderin' steers that might be need
In' enre and hod found two, when along
come a stranger on horseback and or
dered me to git. I don't take any man's
sass, and I told him so. "What did that
critter do but give a whoop an' scare
lliem steers so that the3' went bel
lowin' down the ravine. I follered, of
course, an' when I eow that there wasn't
110 chnnce to git them home turned
nround to look at the other one. He
snt on his boss as quiet as you please,
mi' when I looked at him smiled, then
with another whoop started after the
steers himself, an' what do you think,
in a minute he had 'em in his line nn'
was drivin' 'em home which I take
it is over the other side of the trail."
It appeared afterward that he hnd
tried to overtake the stranger, but
failed hence his perturbation. The
boys all laughed at him a good deal,
and he fairly hnunted the trail to catch
another glimpse of the mysterious, vis
itor. Hut It was a week bci'orc he wne
satisfied.
A day off was given the cowboys by
reason of the failure of a herd to get
in from the farther range, and we all
went up to the town for n time. Jim
was looking for something all the
time, and when ns we enme within a
mile of the settlement he caught sight
of a sorrel horse nhend of us he gave
n little cry of joy and sank the spurs
into the flanks of his pony viciously.
We followed, and were by his side when
the sorrel was overtaken. Then we no
ticed something that we had not been
uwarc of before that the rider of the
sorrel was a woman.
Jim's fnce was a study. He was so
sure of his game, and when it came ab
it did he wilted. Hut he braced up a
little and began a conversation. It
was the daughter of the chief herder
across the river, and she was about ns
pretty a picture as often came to the
eyes of the herders in the territory.
She lnughed and joked with Jim, and
he deserted us to be by her side. We
rede and left them together.
That was the beginning, and for
about a month Jim and his girl were
the talk of the country nround. They
were stuck on each other if any two
ever were, and rode up nnd down the
ranges like wandering twin spirits.
Once Jim was scored on the range
agnin, nnd this time he swore that the
visitor made him give up ten head of
the finest calves that he had ever laid
eyes on. Hut none of us saw the
stranger, nnd the opinion of the ranch
was that Jim was a little leary that
night.
One day the order came to go to the
southwest after n herd and drive north.
It meant two months of hard riding,
and how Jim did hate iti
He rode over to sec his girl for good
by, and they had an affecting parting,
I guess. She loved him, and wnnted to
marry him before he went, but Jim
wouldn't have It so, though he prom
ised that it should be done as soon as
he returned.
Thnt was the year of the cattle suf
fering on the plnins because of the rain
and sleet. The herds were unable to
get from the ice the wet grass beneath
and starved and froze to death on the
northern plnins. In the territory there
was no suffering of this sort, but the
cold rain made it hard for the cowboys,
and they had the toughest time they
had ever been to keep warm while on
the range. They rode up nnd down the
lines wrapped in big blankets and with
DRAGGING AT THE END OP THE
ROPE.
all the scarfs they could gather around
their necks.
One night as the storm was worst
there came along the trail n little herd
not more than 200 half stnrved cattle
that hod evidently been herded
through the summer on their way north
and had not been pushed fast enough.
In the camp wagon that was with them
was a woman. She come to the ranch
house to get some food nnd we kept
her there all night, the cook's wife
sharing a bed with her. The girl
for bhe was not more than n child
asked if we knew n James Morris. Of
course we did not, but when the next
morning she took from her neck n
locket and opening it showed us the
fnce of "Yellowback," we all looked
blank enough, I tell you.
She went back to the wagon, but
they did not get any farther. The man
got sick somehow, and the woman went
to the other ranch where she met
Jeanne Arscy, the girl that had the
love of Jim or thought she had.
Well, the expected happened. She
told her troubles to Jeanne nnd the
girl knew that she had been making
leve to a married man. Mad? There
is no word to express it. She fairly
raged and rode the plains for days al
most beside herself. She vowed that
she would kill him and then was will
ing to forgive for the wife's cake. Hut
Jim did not come then.
The wife stayed and grew sick faster
than her father. At last she died and
Jeanne was free. Hut those who knew
were glad they had not the task that
was before Jim when he came home.
Our boss told us one day that the
herd would be in in a week. The ranch
was prepared for the coming, and the
cowboys looked forward to the event
with interest, for they would get a
dijy off in which they could go over to
the settlement.
At last the herd was within a day's
drive and the whole settlement was
waiting for it. The boys all knew the
situation between Jim and Jeanne and
wanted to see what would happen.
Jim was tired when he came into
camp and did not want to talk. He
ate his dinner in quiet and then Raid:
"Let's go over to the town."
Of course we were ready nnd a liulf
dozen of us went with him. On the
way he nsked if we had seen Jeanne.
We told him nothing about the visitor
of the past few weeks, nnd only when
we got to the town did we see him look
cheerful.
Jim drank hnrder than I had ever
seen him do that afternoon, nnd about
four o'clock wns in a lively mood, ready
for any sort of an escapade.
As we rode down the little street
we saw coming in from the ranches
a woman on horseback. All tho herd
ers fell back. They did not want to sec
whnt happened nt too short range.
Jim recognized his old 11 a me, and
hurried his horse forward to meet her.
Hut she did not hurry. Instead she
was in the most cxnsperating state of
deliberation.
"How arc ye?" called Jim, so that we
could nil hear.
There was no answer.
"What's the matter?" he demanded.
"Don't you want to marry me?"
For an answer she gave her horse a
blow with the riding whip nnd came
up to his side. In her hand wns the
rawhide. She lifted it high, and before
he could see what she was going to do
it came down across his fuce again and
again. He fairly howled with pain,
but she rode back to her side of the
street nnd kept up the highway.
'Til kill her," shouted Jim, and away
went his horse to the saloon where he
had left his revolver.
As he stood before the bar trying to
get the barkeeper to give it up she
rode in front of the house.
"Jim Morris," she called, "come out
here."
How white Jim turned! Buthe went.
"You cowardly sneak," she began.
"I thought I loved you once, but now
I know you. Do you remember those
nights that I used to scare you away
from the mavericks?"
Jim looked nt her in astonishment.
Had he been outwitted by a woman?
"And last month I held in my arms
a woman who had this picture. Do 3011
know it?"
She held out the miniature that was
in the possession of the woman with
the herd. Jim shuddered.
"Where where did you get it?" he
nsked.
"From your dend wife's hands. She
believed in you, and I did not tell her
better. She died blessing you, and do
you know where you ought to be?"
The womnn's eyes fairly blazed as
she sat there on her horse and faced
the little company of herders and sa
loonists. Jim never said a word, ne quailed
before the angry woman, but he was
too angry himself to give up.
"You said a little while ago that you
would kill me," she began once more.
"Get on that horse and let's see about
it."
A pony was standing near Jim's.
On its back the men placed him, won
dering what would be the next move,
but all hoping that the vengeance
would lit the crime.
"I'll count three," said Jeanne; "then
look out."
"One"
Jim was unarmed what else could
he do? He jabbed the spurs into the
pony nnd was off like a shot. Up the
long street he went, nnd had 300 feet
the start when came "three!"
Then we knew why the sorrel had
rounded up the mavericks. It ran like
the wind. At the sound of the mistress'
voice it was off, and the distance be
tween the two lessened. Out on the
prnirie they sped. Then came the end.
When within a short distance of the
fleeing man the woman drew a coiled
lariat from her saddle and whirled it
around her head.
Once, twice it circled and then away
in beautiful curves until it settled over
the head of the coward and deceiver,
Jim.
ner sorrel planted its feet in the sod;
there was a jerk, and fall, and then
away over the plain toward the ra
vine, where was the little cemetery,
she went, n dark object dragging at
the end of the rope. They disappeared
behind the hills, and she did not come
back.
Indeed, she never came to the settle
ment again, for she moved from the
trail country a few weeks after. But
the boys wished 6he would come, for
they wanted to give her a vote of
thnnks.
Howsoever, they went out that even
ing and buried Jim by the side of the
little sad-faced woman who was his
wife. St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
She Didn't Wnnt .Much.
When Andrew D. White, now the
United States ambassador at Berlin,
was our minister to Germany, nearly
20 years ngo, he received some queer
letters from Americnns, asking for his
iniluence in their behalf in court
circles. Perhaps the funniest of all was
a very mandatory epistle from an old
lady living in the west, who inclosed in
her letter four pieces of white linen,
ench some six inches square. "Wc are
going to give a fair in our church," she
wrote, "and I am making nn autograph
quilt. I want you to get me the auto
graphs of the emperor, the empresK,
the crown prince and Bismarck; and
tell them to be very enrefut not to
write too near the edge of the squares,
as a seam has 10 be allowed for putting
them together." Youth's Companion,
German Dully l'apoi-K.
Eight hundred daily papers are nub-
Jlifched in Germany.
BEE A WEATHER PROPHET.
She Hun SonrccM of ICiunrlcriKC Which
Jinn Cannot Vnthoin.
The question whether various in
sects and animals have the powers pop
ularly attributed to them of knowing
in advance whnt the weather is going to
be, and in particular of predicting the
fceverity of the coming winter, has fre
quently been discussed. A correspond
ent of Cosmos, M. P. dc Bidder, writes
to that journal that he believes the bee
to possess this power beyond doubt,
and he proceeds to give his rensous for
that belief. We translate his letter be
low. Says M. de Bidder:
"Everyone knows that nt the ap
proach of winter certain birds leave
northern regions and fly southward,
seeking under n wnrmer sky a refuge
ngninst the cold nnd rigors of the north.
"But everyone does not know of the
admirable foresight shown by the bee
about the time of the earliest cold
weather. It also feels the approach of
winter; nny, more, the bee seems to
understand a long time in advance
whether the winter is to be mild or se
vere. Between the migratory birds and
the bee there is this difference: the
former are driven away by the cold and
the bnd weather from the regions where
they are; the latter arc guided by a
special instinct of foresight, an instinct
which I make bold to call the bee's
meteorology.
"But the bee docs not know how to
flee before the approach of the winter,
and ennnot do so; he cannot abandon
the store so laboriously laid up during
the fine weather; he cannot leave the
hive where he has put away the neces
sities of life for the coming winter.
"Many times have I witnessed the
vigilance and foresight of the bee.
Forty years ago bee-keepers were still
using the old miter-shaped straw hives
with two openings or entrances. Well,
I noticed that about the beginning of
October the bees stopped up these tjvo
cntrnnces with wax, so as to leave pas
sage for only one bee at a time, thus giv
ing a lesson to the bee keeper who had
neglected to put a board over the en
trances to prevent the introduction of
cold air.
"Certain persons think thnt the bee
plasters up these openings ns the cold
increases, but this is an error. The bee
knows enough to take his precautionary
measures in good time, for when the
temperature of the nir falls to
five or six degrees (about 40 degrees
Fahrenheit) he does not leave the hive,
and when the temperature approaches
freezing he cannot, without exposing
himself to paralysis and death, separate
himself from the mass of individuals,
who then form a eoiupactball.
"There are others who believe that ex
traordinary' precautionary measures
taken by the bee are only the result of
coincidence, and that chnnce plnys the
chief part in them. This hypothesis is
not tennble. Besides, the bee-keepers
of all countries agree in saying and
their attention must have been often
called to the phenomenon that every
time that the bees have taken care to
seal hermetically the entrances to the
hive, so as to leave but a minute pas
sage for air, the winter hns been of ex
treme rigor. On the other hand, the
years when the bees have done nothing
to preserve themselves from the cold
have been marked by relatively mild
winters during which no heavy frosts
have occurred.
"Here the question naturally pre
sents itself: How can the bee foresee
the weather so far in advance, when
man, with nil his intelligence nnd
knowledge has not yet succeeded in do
ing this?
"In truth, I find no satisfactory an
swer to this question.
"Must we suppose that, toward the
end of the summer, a rigorous winter is
heralded by drafts of air of exception
ally low temperature, that escape our
perceptions and our instruments, but
are perceived by the bee, for protection
against the cold?
"However it mny be, before his
instance of prediction, whose exact
ness is not open to doubt, on the testi
mony of a large number of bee-keepers,
every observer of meteorological phe
nomena should stand confounded nnd
express his ndmirntion for the mys
terious meteorology of the bee." Lit
erary Digest.
niAcrimliiiitlon In Philadelphia.
Hundreds of colored boys nre em
ployed in Philadelphia to sell hot fish
cakes on the streets. The cakes, as 11
rule, are cooked by colored women and
tre ns delicious as fishcakes can be.
The boys carry the cakes in tin cans, to
the bottom of which is aflixed a heating
pot. They have also 11 small box of
fuel. They take a stand on some crowd
ed corner nnd in the course of an even
ing sell from CO to 200 enkes. To a sober
person the charge for each rake is one
cent, but if the purchnser shows signs
of having iudulged too freely in drinks
alcoholic n demand for five cents is
made and generally paid. Philadel
phia Press.
Ilcnntlfiil Indian HuiH't-HtltloiiH.
Among the superstitions of the Sen
eca Indians was a most benutiful one.
When n young maiden died they impris
oned a young bird until it first began to
try its powers of song, nnd then, load
ing it with caresses and messages, they
loosed its bonds over her grave, in the
belief thnt it would not fold its wings
or close its eyes until it hnd own to the
spirit land and delivered its precious
burden of affection to the loved and lost
one. Chicago Times-Herald.
ANCIENT CITY IN GEORGIA.
Trace of Civilized I.Ifc Found on Dc
inctrlim Inland.
It appears that there wos an ancient,
civilization on the coast of Georgia
prior to the advent of Europenns, and
the remains of an old town built by
civilized people have been discovered..
Gov. Atkinson hns received from.
Charles N. West, the secretary of tha'
Georgia Historical society at Savannah,
a letter telling of a prehistoric town ou
Demetrius island, just below St. Cath
erine island, off the Georgia coast. Tho
letter is ns follows:
"Hon. William Y. Atkinson, Governor,
Atlanta My Dear Sir: A night or two
ago while browslnc nmontr some books,
I came across a very extraordinary
thing. Do Brnhm, who was the royal
surveyor of the colony of Georgia in
1753, in his report to the bonrd of trado
nnd plantations, date unknown, states
circumstantially that he had found on
'Demetrius islnnd' the remains of an
ancient town of great antiquity. Ho
says that there were many nncient
dwellings in ruins, nnd thnt the town
had certainly been the work of civilized
people. It was so old and had been de
populated so long thut ho could not
even trace a tradition among the In
dians ns to the origin of the town, and
he could only guess thnt it hnd been
settled nnd destroyed some time in tho
seventeenth century.
"I have nlwnys found De Brnhm very
exact and have no doubt of the truth of
his statement. But it seems perfectly
obvious thnt any town of so ancient de
Dmiction that in the middle of the
eighteenth century no tradition evere
romnined concerning it must have con
siderably nntcdnted the sixteenth cen
tury. It will therefore be very interest
ing to find the old ruins, if possible, and
have them classed by on nntiqunrian.
"But my trouble is first to identify
'Demetrius island.' By De Brahm's de
scription it Iny between St. Catherine's
inland and the mainland. In fnct, he
gays so precisely, but I do not find tho
nnme Demetrius island on any map of"
old or modern date.
"Will you, therefore, do me the kind
ness to hand this letter to any person in
charge of the old maps of the state, and
to nsk him plense to nscertnin whether
the nnme of Demetrius islnnd can bo.
found on any one of them in the locality
specified? A very old map by De Brnhm
himself, of 1757, contnins the nnme 'De
metres Bluff,' just north of Hnrris"
Neck, nnd I think thnt is the locality al
luded to. But I would like to bo ccr
tcin. "A day or two of vacation next winter'
might be plensantly occupied in looking
up this site of whnt will probably turn
out to be the oldest town in North
America. You will find no allusion to
this extinct colony or settlement in any
history of Georgia, nor indeed in any
print whatsoever except De Brahm's re
port. With best regards, yours very
truly,
"C. N. WEST."
The oldest mnp in the office of the sec
ictary of state was drawn in 181S. It.
shows no Demetrius island, but
Colonel's island lies between St. Cath
erine's island nnd the mninlnnd nt the
mouth of Medwny river. Atlanta Jour
nal. FUNERAL WEDDINGS.
The Slrnntrc Custom Ohnorvcd hy m
Trlhe of Farther India.
Among the Shnn Karens of farther
India funerals are made the occasions
of grand wedding festivals, in which all
the marriageable young men and
women of the village are privileged to
participate. As it is not nlways con
venient to hold these interesting cere
monies nt the exact time a villager may
die, it is customary to deposit the corpse
in some temporary resting plnce till
the marriage market is favorable to giv
ing it obsequies worthy of its former
estate. Consequently six months or a
year may frequently pass before the
memory of the dead Karen receives the
honor which is its due.
When a good time comes for wed
dings, the remains nre taken from their
resting place and set upon a platform,
which has been prepared for them,
and the eligible bachelors and mar
riageable young women nre invited to
come and compete in a marrying match.
The "funernl service" is then begun
with a chorus of men celebrating the
beauties of Karen maidens in general.
The girls respond in n drawling falsetto.
The bnchelors, each in his turn, be
gin usually, for the sake of pence, withi
the most muscular maiden. If one of
them is rejected, he waits till his turn
come again, and addresses, if he sees
fit, some other girl.
The girls receive the proposals in per
fect self-possession, and respond to-
them in phrases like those with which
they have been addressed, the models
of which have come down from old
times. Bejections seldom occur, ex
cept when a man makes a mistake and1
applies to a girl who is known to bo
reserving herself for another. The "fu
neral service" goes on in this wny till it
is plain that no more alliances can be
made, when it is closed, and the body of
the deceased is buried. The matches
thus made nre binding, nnd no other
way of making them is in favor. De
troit Free Press.
An IjYtreme View.
"Whnt are mock marriages, Uncle
JTulius?" "Nine out of ten." Chicngo Becord.
Necessity is a good thing to make
a virtue of if you have no better ma
terial. Chiengo News.
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