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THE NEBRASKA ADVERTISER
1.1 I !
W. W. HANDKUH, 1'nhlUher.
NEMAHA, - - - NtilMlARKA.
THE VOICE IN THE CHOIR.
Up In tho mimlc-loft I heard
A volco of wotihrotiH tone,
I.lka warlilltiK of u Imppy bird
That Joyed o'er winter flown.
Ab nlnner T was never nlntinM;
So I could not aspire
To rlpo to hucIi a hclitht mi stand
IJcnldo her In tho choir.
I loved her: and I t until: my wlta
. Another plnti I Icmjw:
I tried it, and well, now nlio hIIb
IJonltlc mo In tho puw.
Her voice bIiirh nnd my henrt replies,
Hcjolclnir In Iovo'h crown j
Bho "ruined n mortal to tho BklcH."
I "drew an niiKel down."
OcorKo Ulrdfloye, In Town and Country.
f-fo-f-fe o -f.f
THE "TANIFA" OF SAMOA.
-
IIY I.OIMH UlX'tCIC
MANY years ago In 1873 ut the
close of an intensely hot day, J
set out. from Apia, the. principal port
of Samoa, to walk to u village mimed
Luulli, u few miles along tho count.
win hound on ti pigeon-shooting
trip to tho inotintaliiH, und intended
sleeping that night at LuiiM with
some niitivo frlcndK who were to join
mo further on. Passing through the
scmi-lihiropciinlzcd town of Mnluutu,
I emerged out upon tho open bench.
Willi mo wiih a .voting Polynesian
liulf-ciiKte naiiii'd Alan, about 22 years
of ne, and one of tho most perfect
specimens of ut Iridic manhood in tho
.South Pacific. For hIx iiiouIIih wo
hud been business partners in a snuill
culler trading between Apia und Hu
vnll the largest Island of the Sumouu
group. Now, after some monlliH of
toll, wo were t Hiring a week's holiday
together, nnd enjoying ourselves
greatly, although at. the tiinu the
country wiih In tho throes of nn In
ternecine war.
A walk of u mile brought ub to the
mouth of thu Vaivnsa river, u small
Htrcnm flowing Into thu kcii from the
littoral on our right. The tide was
high; therefore wo hailed u picket
stationed in tho trenches on thu op
poHlto bunk, and asked them in a joc
uhir manner not to fire at. iih while
we wore wading across. To our sur
prise for wc were both well known
to tho contending partleH and on very
friendly terms with them' half n
dozen men sprung up and excitedly
bade us not at tempi to cross.
"Go farther up the bunk nnd cross
to our olo (lines) in u canoe," added
a young Munono chief, whoso family
T knew well. "There is a tanlfa about.
Wo saw It. lns.t night."
That was quite enough for us for
the name tuuifii sent a cold chill down
our bucks. We turned to tho right,
and after walking a quarter of a mile
liiunu to a hut. on tho baiilv at. a npot
regarded as neutral ground. Here we
found some women and children, and
n ennoe; and in Ichs than ilvo minutes
wo were lauded on the other side, tho
women chorusing tho dreadful fa to
that would have befallen us had wo
attempted to cross tho mouth of the
river.
"IS Hum gafa le umll" (" Tls five
fathoms long!") cried, ono old dnme.
"And n fathom wide at. tho shoul
ders," said another lady, with u shud
der. "It hath come to tho mouth of
tho Valvasn because it lialh smelt the
blood of tho three men who wore
killed In the river hero two days ago."
"We'll hear the true yarn present
ly," said my. companion as wo walked
down tho left-hand bank of tho river.
"There must, bo a tanlfa cruising
about, or else thosu Munono fellows
wouldn't, have been ho scared nt un
wanting to cross."
Ah Boon uh we reached tho young
chief's quarters we wero made very
welcome, and wero obliged to remain
nnd Bhnro supper with him and his
men all Htalwart young natives from
tho little Island of Munono, a, 'lovely
spot situated in tho straits separat
ing Upolu from Suvaii. Placing our
guns nnd bags in tho euro of one of
-tho warriors, wu took our seats on
the matted iloor and tilled our pipes;
and, whilst a bowl of kavu was being
prepnrcd, Ll'o, the young chief, told
ur about, tho advent of tho tanlfa.
Let. mo first, explain, before giving
tho chief's statement, that tho tanlfa
is u somewhat rare and greatly dread
ed member of tho shark family. JJy
mnuy whlto residents It was believed
occasionally to measure from 20 to 25
feet in length us a mutter of fact it.
seldom exceeds ten feet; but its great
girth and solitary, nocturnal hublt.
have invested It, even to tho nutlve
mind, with ilctionul powers of vo
ruclty and destruction. However, al
though tho natives' nccounts of tho
crcuturo are exaggerated, it is renNy
it dreadful moiiHter, nnd is tho more
dangerous to human life because of
tho persistency with which it fre
quents muddy und shullow water ut
the mouths of streamHl purticulnrly
after a freshet caused by heavy ruiu,
i.yr).".MwiM'M
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4ii , x .', ji-
presence cannot be. dhv
Into the port of Apia there full two
Hmull streams called rivers by tho
local people tho Mullvnl and tho
Vnislgugo. I was fortnnuto enough
to-sec -specimens of tho ttinlfn. on
three occasions, twice nt. tho Vnlsl
gngo und once nt tho mouth of tho
Mulivul; but I hud never scon ono
caught, or even sufficiently exposed
to givo nn Idea of Its proportions.
However, mnny natives particularly
nn old Kurntungun nnmed Hnpai, who
lived In Apia und was the proud cap
turer of several tunlfa gave me a re
liable description, which T afterwards
verified. A tatiifu ten feet long, Ilnpal
assured me, was an enormously bulky
and powerful creature, with jaws and
teeth much larger Hum un occon
hiiunliiig shark of double that length;
nnd Us width across tho shoulders
was very great. Although It gener
ally swam Hlowly, It would, when it
had once sighted its prey, dart ulong
the water with great rapidity, with
out causing n ripple. At a vlllngo in
Suvaii, u powerfully-built Woman,
who was Incautiously bathing at the
mouth of a sfrenin, was suddenly
swept away by ono of these sharks
almost before hIiu could utter ti cry,
so swiftly nnd suddenly was she
selcd. Several attempts were mudo
to capture, the brute, which continued
to haunt the scene of the tragedy for
several days; but it was too cunning
to take u hook, und wiih never caught.
The tanlfa which had been seen by
the young Mnnono chief und his men
thu preceding evening bud niiide its
appearance soon after darkness had
fallen, nnd hud cruised to and fro
across the mouth of tho ViiIviihii till
tho tide began lo full, when it made
its way Hcuward through ti passage in
tho reef. It was, so Ll'o assured me,
quite eight feet in length and very
wide across the hend und shoulders.
Tho water was clear, und by the
bright starlight they could discern
its movements very easily; once it
came well into the river and remained
btntionnry for some minutes, lying
under about two feet of water. Some
of the Mnnono men, hailing a picket
of the enemy on the opposite bank of
the river, asked for ti ten minutes'
tmeo to try and shoot it. This was
granted; and, standing on the top of
the sandy trench; half a dozen young
fellows fired a volley at the shark
Troin their Sniders. Nono of the bul
lets took effect, nnd tho tanlfa sailed
slowly off again, to orulso to and fro
for another hour, watching for any
hapless person who might cross the
river.
.lust as the kavu was being hnnded
round, some children who wero on
watch cried out thai the tanlfa had
come. Springing to his feet, Ll'o
again haded the enemy s picket on
the other side, and a truce was agreed
to, so that, "the white n.n could have
a look ut the malic" (shark).
Thirty or -10 yards away was whnt
seemed to be a huge, irregular, waver
ing muss of phosphorus, which us It
drew nearer revealed theoutlinesof the
dreaded fish, it came in straight for
tho mouth of the creek, passed over
the pebbly bar, and then nwnm leis
urely about. In the brackish water,
moving from bonk to bunk less than
a dozen feet from the shore. Tho
stream oT bright, phosphorescent
light which hud surrounded its body
when it first appeared had now, ow
ing to there being but a minor degree
of phosphorus in tho brackish water,
given place to a dull, sickly-greenish
rolled ion, accentuated, however, by
thin, ivld streaks "caused by the exu
viation from the nostrils and gills of
viscid matter common to some
species of sharks, and giving it a truly
terrifying appearance. Presently a
eouplo of men, Inking careful aim,
fired at I ho creature's head; in an In
stant It. darted off with extraordinary
velocity, rushing through thu water
llku it submerged comet, If. I may use
the illustration. Both of the men
who had fired were confident their
bullets had struck and badly wound
ed the shark, but were greatly dis
gusted when, ten minutes afterwards,
it again appeared, swimming leisure
ly about at 110 ynrds from thu beach.
Three duys litter, as we were re
turning to Apia, we were told by our
native friends that the shark still
haunted the mouth of tho Valvusa,
and 1 determined to capture It. I
sent Alan on board the cutter for our
one shark-hook a hook which hud
done much execution among tho sua
prowlers. Although not of the larg
est size, being only ten Indies In the
shank, it wus -nude of splendid steel,
and we had frequently caught 15-foot
sharks with It at sea. It was a cher
ished possession with us, and wc al
ways kept it and thu four feet of
chain attached to It. bright and clean.
In the evening Alan returned, no
compnnicd by tho loeul pilot (Cupt.
Hamilton) and the master of a Ger
man bark. They wuntcri "to see the
fun." We soon hud everything In
readiness. Tho hook baited with the.
belly portion of a freshly-killed pig,
which tho Miinouo people had com
mandeered from u bush village was
buoyed to a piece of light pun wood
to keep it. from sinking; and then,
with 20 fathoms of brand-new whale.
Itnu attached, wo let it drift out into
the center of, thu passage. Making
our cud of the Hue fust to the trunk
;.r;jjar
when its
corned.
i MaMr:mntfmKWH"as
of a coconnut tree, wo set some chil
dren to watch, nnd went Into the
trenches to drink some kavu, smoke
and gossip. We had not long to wait
bnrcly half an hour when wc heard
a warning yell from the watchers.
Tho tanlfa wns In sight! Jumping
up, and tumbling over ench other In
our eagerness, wc ruBhcd out. Alas!
wo were too late; for tho Bhark, In
stead of approaching In lt usual leis
urely manner, made a utralght dart
at the halt, and before wo could free
our und of the line It was as taut as
an Iron bar, and the creature, with
the hook firmly fastened in his juw,
wan plowing the water into foam
nmld yells of excitement, from the
natives. Then suddenly the lino fell
slack, und tho liulf dozen men who
were holding It went over on their
bucks.
In mournful silence wc hauled in tho
line. Then, oh, woe! flic hook our
prized, beautiful hook wns gone,
and with It. two feet of the chain,
which hud parted nt. the center swivel.
That particular tunlfa was seen no
more.
Nearly f wo "months later, two of a
much larger size appeared at the
mouth of the Vnlvnsa. Several of the
white residents fried night after night
to hook them, but the monsters re
fused to look ul tho baits. Then
appeared on the scene un old one-eyed
Malay mimed Ulco, who asserted ho
could kill them easily. Tho wny ho
set to work wus described to me by
tho nittlvcH who witnessed the opera
tions. Taking a piece of green bam-1
boo about four feet in length, he split
from it two Htrips, each an inch wide.
After charring the points ho sharpen
ed flic ends carefully; then, by grent
pressure, he coiled them up into as
small compass ns possible, keeping
the whole in position by sewing tho
coil up in tho fresh skin of a fish
known as the isuumii a species of tho
"leather-jaclcet." Next, he asked to be
provided with two dogs. A couple of
curs were soon provided, killed, nnd
the viscera removed. Tho coils of
bamboo were then placed in the va
cancy, and the skin of the bellies
stitched up with small wooden skew
ers. That, completed the preparation
of the baits.
As soon as the two sharks made
their up-"nrnnce one of the dogs wns
thrown ...to the water, and was quick
ly swallowed. Then tho second fol
lowed, und it wus quickly seized by
tho second tanlfa. The sharks re
remained cruising about for some
hours, then went off ns the tide began
to fall.
On thu following evening they did
not turn up, nor on the next, and the
Malay insisted that, within five dnj-s
both would be dead. As soon ub the
dogs were digested, he said, the thin
fish-skin would follow, the bamboo
coll would fly apart,- nnd the sharpen
ed ends penetrate not only the sharks'
bellies, but protrude through the
outer skin us well.
Quito a week afterwards, during
which time neither of the tanifa
had been seen, the smaller of the two
was found dead on the beach at
Viillele Plantation, about four miles
from the Yaiviisn. Tt was exumined
by numbers of people, and presented
a curious but horrible sight; one end
of tho bamboo spring was protruding
over u foot from tho belly, which
was so cut and lacerated by the ago
nized efforts of the monstor to free
itself from the instrument of torture
that, much of the intestines was gone.
That, the larger of these dreaded fish
hud died in the same manner there
was no reason to doubt; but probubly
it had sunk in the deep water outside
the barrier-reef. Chambers' Journal.
TEE GRAND MEDICINE MAN.
Nect-HHury Aoiiulrcmcntn of the In
dian who Avon la Ilpcotne a
WlMcncre In IHh Trlhe.
The ceremony of tho Grand Medi
cine is nn elaborate ritual, covering
several days, thu endless number of
gods and spirits being called upon
minister to the sick mnn und to
lengthen his life. Tho several de
grees of the Grand Medicine teach
tlio use of incantations, of medicines
and poisons, nnd tho requirements nec
essity to constitute a brave, says the
Open Court. "When u young man
seeks adnihsion to the Grand Medi
cine lodge, he first fasts until he sees
in hia dream some uniniul (tho mink,
beaver, otter and fisher being most
common), which he hunts and kills.
The skin is then ornamented with
beads or porcupine quills, und tho
spirit of the unlmtil becomes the
friend und companion of the man."
The medic! re men have only a limited
knowledge of herbs, but they are ex
pert. In rim-sing wounds, nnd the art
of extract lug barbed arrows from the
flesh can bo learned from them.
In olden times yes, to within the
memory of living Ojibwaj-s the medi
oiuo man nt tho funeral ceremony
thus uddre-sed the departed: "Hear
friend, you will not feel, lonely while
pursuing your journey toward the
setting sun. I have killed for you a
Sioux (hated enemy of the Ojibwnys)
and I have scalped him. He will ac
company you and provide for you,
hunting your food ns you need it.
The scalp L)iuo tskcn,1ubc-it for jour,
rnoccasiui. "" w --. . J
-
'.iSSmi mhmm'' "I'WtfBiMw
CftAtffe!.
yy --fr-flpThkVnl (1
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SILO CONSTRUCTION.
,
ObHcrvntlnim nnd Kxpcrlence at n
Ohio Fnrmcr Who Sfiyn lie linn
Xo Ax to Grlutl,
Before binding my silo I examined
Kilos of different construction, some
of stone, some of cement and others
of wood; some round and i.ome
square. Then I built my silo of wood,
square, with corners well rounded. I
aimed to make my Silo strong and
cheap. There arc many methods of
construction, some complicated and
costly. Hut 1 still think that the
simplest, strongest, cheapest uir
tlght pit that will preserve the silage
Is the beat.
1 believe that, for the best prac
tical results the diameters should
FRAME FOR SILO.
range from 12 to 10 feet, according to
the amount of stock fed from the
bilo. I do not think it advisable or
practical to build a silo smaller "inn
12 feet square or 12 feet in diameter.
And rather than go above 10 or 18
feet In diameter I advise increasing
the capacity by building more silos.
The craze just now is for the round
fctnve silos, but I think the average
farmer who expects to build a silo
would better build a square frame
with rounded corners, for the follow
ing reasons:
A square wood silo with ribs or
girts around it horizontally, lined up
nnd down inside and weutherbourded
outside, whether built in a barn or
outside, whether tied to another
building or standing alone, will al
ways be firm and rigid, and will not
suffer from the drying-out proccs3
CORNER OF THE SILO,
that occurs during the hot weather,
when the silo is empty. And this, I
think, is a strong point in favor of
the frame silo. I have learned of
round silos that went to wreck, like
an old barrel, in the dry weather. In
the Wisconsin bulletin No. 83 the
writer says lie visited a number of
stave silos that were badly dainnged
and wrecked in this drying-out proc
ess und by thu wind. In my judg
ment this wrecking process would
be worse in a silo where the staves
had been spliced, for they must be
made, weaker in splicing the staves.
As T am not u draughtsman, I in
close an illustration from the Wis
consin bulletin that exactly indicates
the framework of my silo, except
that my silo is liO feet high and that
the girts are closer than here indi
cated. TJie corner pieces or segments
arc not properly indicated in the cut,
ho 1 have drawn another sketch thnt
more clearly indicates them. In Fig.
2 you will see that 1 have the corner
well rounded. From the inside of the
corner (A) to the face of the segment
(11) is 12 inches, and we have no trouble
in going around this corner with or
dinary tongued nnd grooved flooring.
Wc lined this framework with yellow
pine flooring and gave it a coat of hot
coal tar every year; one dollar's worth
of tar and one dollar's worth of labor
nre ample for this work. It Is air-tight
and preserves the silage perfectly, and
I believe if the tarring Ssnot'neglected
the lining will last indefinitely. Some
advocate a brick lining, but 1 do not
think this practical, for the crevices
would let in the air and the outside
woodwork could not well be made air
tight. While in wood-lined silo,
tongued and grooved, the moisture of
the silnge will at once swell it into nn
,lr-tlght condition,-und -when the. tar
ring is well dohe the drying out is re-
OTwKTri" inr U I ivVni ri
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duccd to the minimum and the wood
protected against decay.
The next pit 1 will build will be of
fchc same construction, but larger. 1
believe It is pruytlcal to build them
firm enough ond strong enough
against nny bulging, up to 16 feet
square. I do jioU.Uiiuk cement jit all
practical in bilo construction (except
as u foundation), for the least swell
lug or contraction would crack and
break the coating and let the air in.
M. C. Morris, in Ohio Farmer.
ORCHARD CULTIVATION.
I. nek of It In the Chief Cnunc of Ilnr-
reiiuoKH, According to n Cnun-
iliiui Authority.
A Cunadlan fruit grower says thut
from lils own experience and that ol
ninny others the conviction is firmly
formed that the lack of proper cultiva
tion Is the chief cuiisc of barrenness in
orchards, although there are many
other causes. The cultivation of an
orchard should begin before it is set.
by having the soli in a splendid stnte
of tilth and rich. The .selection of a
site is of Importance. Peaches and ap
ples do best on a lighter soil, but not
leachy. Pears and plums do bettci
In it heavier soil. Do not attempt tc
grow any kind of a grain or hay crop
They draw too heavily on the moisture
which your trees require, and you can
not eon.seri"lt by cultivation. You
may grow a hoed crop for a few years,
but do not get too near your trees. As
the roots extend keep back with your
crop. Put in a hoed crop that comet
off the ground early or that does not
occasion any moving of the soil In the
late summer or fall season. As an in
stance, early potatoes may be growr
because they are off the ground in
good time, but not late ones, for tin.
harvesting of them keeps the solloper
and prevents tlie proper ripening ol
the wood. Many young trees huicbceu
damaged or killed by lnek of cure in
this line. A young orchard that hat
been enriched and well tilled tendinp
to grow an excess of wood may br
thrown by seeding down, but dc not
lcuA'e your seeding bub a short time, as
an orchard in sod will begin to gc
down before you urc aware of it. As
soon as your orchard begins to benr.
stop growing a crop of any kind and
cultivate shallow. As soon as the
ground is in a proper condition in
spring begin cultivating, and keep it
mellow and well tilled until about the
first of August, then if your soil h
lacking in nitrogen (if the suckers
show a growth of 12 inches nnd the
leaves arc n good, healthy, dark green,
it is indicative that nitrogen is not
deficient) seed with clover and plow
under, shallow, the following June. If
clover will not take, try peas. If you
nre not needing nitrogen, then sow
some rye, but it must be plowed enrlj
in the following spring or it will rob
your trees of moisture which they need
later on. Some sow outs, but barley
usually makes a ranker growth than
the oats during the fall season. These
crops die and form a splendid covering
for the land, protecting the roots and
making the soil much more receptive
to the rainfnll, which is u valuable con
sideration. A good cultivator or disc
harrow will put your soil in good con
dition in the spring without the use of
the plow. Cultivate thoroughly Prai
rie Farmer.
tJrent Vnrlntlonn In Milk.
Great variations are noticeable in
the portions of milk drawu consecu
tively from the udder of the cow. At
the New York station a cow wns
milked pint by pint and each pint was
tested for fat. The following- results
were obtained: 0.85, 1.-13, 1.08,2.02,2.21:,
2.05, 3.28, 3.74, 4.05, 4.80, 4.48, 4.30, 5.23.
There is a difference between the first
and last pint of over 000 per cent.
Cows at different ages produce milk
varying in richness. One agricultural
writer says that u young cow pro
duces richer milk than does an old
cow. Wc are not yet ready to accept
this statement as of a fuct. Farmers'
Voice.
Modern Method In the Dairy.
The question of breeds and, breed
ing is an important and interesting
subject one on which there is room,
for great difference of opinion; hut the
matter of testing the cows to learn,
definitely whether they are paying
their way decently or not is now so
simple that there is little excuse for
going on with our work blindly or with
inglorious uncertainty, and if by test
ing we llndi that there are inferior
producers in the herd, consuming us
much food us the superior producers
it is clearly in order to insist on their
expulsion und the substitution of a
more profitable machine as soon au
practicable. Hairy and Creamery.
Itiipe JVot (Jooil Jov IIoi-hcm.
llapo is essentially a sheep feed.
Prof. Shaw, of Minnesota, who intro
duced rape into this country, says
that it is an ideal .succulent crop for
sheep, but does not recommend it for
horses and milch cows. If hoi-sew
will eat it they should not be per
mitted to pasture on It only for u
short time each day. Wu doubt if
they will eat it if they can get grass
or hay. If you huve some sheep they
will make good gains on rape and
will cat it with avidly. Farmers"
Voice,
t.
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