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About Plattsmouth weekly herald. (Plattsmouth, Nebraska) 1882-1892 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 11, 1892)
r Circulation Large, axes Keasonab e Returns Remunerative, PLATTSIWOUTH HERALD Is i W celly ligl'l quel spcciql ei'tisiqg mediqfl o qll rfto seel o icqcl families tlioqgl- IFvlII ZaforaCLatiorL And Kates On A - A. B. KNOTTS BUSINESS 601 Cor Fifth PLATTSMOUTH PqMicqtioq of 'cjlqc qs d - pplIcation. MANAGEK. and Vine St. NEBRASKA AVAYEULANI) ni.u ui uirir uiu iiv, aunbrana cou Kins, until the whole settlement seems on family of kiu folks. They are from the north of Europe, where they have been trained to ummestionable obedience and plotlding industry." "How much did It cost you to bring them here!" I asked, as we were riding from place to pine on the estate. "Seven dollars a head," he answered, as though speaking of a herd of cattle. "I see you have been in America long enough to have learned some of her shrewdness." "How 80?" "You could never have brought people here without some previous arrangement. How did you nminL't it?" "Very easily. You see I had lionght large tracts of lands from the railroad com pany and they were under some obliga tions to mo. I asked for honest rates to bring settlers in. At first I could not get rates that would justify me in bringing them. Hut after a great deal of cousulta titm, we arranged with dltferent railways aud lino of steamers, until the fare was just seven dollars per head by the family." "These buildings, how did you arrange for them?" "There again the railroads heled me. I got rates for everything. Each house as it stands cost me fifteen dollars. The tenants built them, themselves." "How will you ever get your money back?" I a-sked. "Each man is hired by the year, until the, land begins to produce something, theti they will rent. Whatever I pay for building or living expenses Is kept from tho wares. " "Wiiat do they live on? 1 see the land has just been broken." "You have seen tlio little- provision store and postolllce; well, that is kept by my agent and an account is kept with each tenant of the amount of provisions be Is in dubt for. It is brought here from various places." "Do you furnish the farm implements?" I asked. "Yes, I furnish everything; but I get a discount on largo purduiie and reduced rates on railroads, so It is not so expeuslve as it seems ut llrst sight." "You see this is flno noil," he said, lift ing a handful and exaiuing It. "It is a fine, rich, sandy loam," I said. "Then this is the lino country where the great desert used to bo. Tlio homo of the bullaloand roaming red skins has been re deemed and is now being purchased by English and American landlords at a rapid rate." "It has not been three years since I first located these lands. Then I was far in ad vance of civilisation, but now it has gone way beyond me. If Ijord Sanders hud not come with me I should never have got Mis session of so much land all in one body as I have it now." "I waa just going to ask you how you got possession of so much land. "There are two classes of land open to settlers: railroad lauds and government lands. The railroad lands I lought by the section. I was told that no foreigner could obuiiu lands from the government in any form, but Ind Sanders understood the ways of the laud olllce and helped mo. There are three forms by which government land can be obtained, home stead, pre-emption and timber claims. Homestead laws give to each head of the family a right to enter a quarter sec tion by living on It five years and then proving up. The pre-emption laws re quire the applicant to till the soil and pay from one dollar and twenty-five cents to two dollars and fifty cents per acre, ac cording to the location. And the timber claim allows a quarter section to the quali fied man or woman who pays fourteen dol lars and breaks five acres the first year, cultivates it the second and plants cither seeds or cuttings for timber until he ran show some six thousand living trees on the land he claims." "Well, you could not comply with any of. those requirements, could you?" .- "That is where ImtA Sanders helped me. We thought of every name we could and then went to the land olllce, and, with the aid of a good bonus, we had names enough entered to take up the alternate sections. Then, as soon as my tenants came, each one was placed on the desired quarter sec tion and began to cultivate it. When the time comes for proving up it can be shown that the lands have changed hands and are In the hands of actual settlers. I shall enter it in each tenant's name and pay all the fees and rent the lands to them, while they transfer to me the fee simple." "Now I see how you manage It. But 1 ihould think the American people would object to foreigners coming here and hold ing so muelrluiid." "They are always glad to have foreign ers come and make actual settlement and my tenants will qualify just as soon as possible; then there cun be no objection to them. And the railroad lands we can buy as much of as we like; though some wild fmiatlcs are making a fuss alxrat it" "I uudorstand that Englishmen now own about twenty million acres in the United States." "I believe that Is true. We are gaining the lands our fathers lost without fighting any bloody battles for them." "I remember reading in an English pa per before I left home that ,'No matter what course Congress may take to prevent It, the inheritance of the American people will yet como into the possession of the English nobility.' Now I nee what It meant. But some are working to defeat your plans." "I do not wonder that the American people are waking up to the truth of the situution. English and Scotch landlords already own as much land in .America as the entire state of New York." "Here is a piece of ground that must have been under cullvation before you saw It," I said, as we came to an old log cabin. "Yes, Wnvcrluud, that I bought of an old man who had lived here a number of years. When I fenced my property he found himself without a highway." "Hut you had no right to do that." "The cow boys I had here herding my stock made him feel a little uneasy." "Then you forced the old man to leave this beautiful piece of ground where he hud tolled to start a home?" I asked. "I bought him out," said v the duke, wincing under the word force. . "Did you pay him for his Improve ments?" "No, I could not afford to do that. I paid him the same that I paid for railroad lands." ' ' "Then his two or three years hard work went for nothing." "He had one or two good crons from the land." "I think the 'equal rl-ihto to all' clause In the American constitution has been nt""V I end 'miirht makes rlcht' has oeen inserted in it steaa." I "You are right in that, Waverland. The ! boasted liberty of America Is only In the name, when they submit to being gov erned by money, backed up by physical fiirce. Just look at Jay Could; lie counts his wealth by the hundreds of millions! When he wants to steal anything by law he fluds plenty to help him. Liberty, in deed! It's all bosh!" "I do not wonder that we hear of riots and strikes. No one would object to his great wealth if he would allow fair wages to his employes. Hut when, month after month, he cuts down their wages a few cents at a time, until starvation is at their doors, I am not surprised that they rebel. Then I have beard that his men are com pelled to pay a monthly tax to establish and maintain a hospital fund, under Mr. Jay Gould's finely organized system of tyranny," I said, as we started foi our little boarding house after a long ride In this dukedom. Thus riding and chatting from day to day, sometimes on horseback, sometimes on wheels, but always In hunting suit; with gnmo bag, dogs, servants, and guns, we spent two weeks on the duke's great estate. It is in extent about twenty-five miles wide by fifty long, equaling In size about two counties of the common size In Kansas, Illinois, or Nebraska, a medium principality in Germany, or a small duke dom iu England. It Is a huge Joke on the American theory of liberty aud equal rurbta. wenver, tne qunlnt city of the West, was our final resting place. It lies at an alti tude of 5,375 feet, aud about fifteen miles from the mountains. Going to the Windsor Hotel, we enga ged rooms, had dinner and went out to see the city. We passed down one of those long, straight streets, shaded on either side by beautiful trees. On each side of every street flows a constant stream of water, often as clenr and cool as a moun tain brook. The water is supplied to the city from the Platte river, by means of an open channel. Tho fountains and water works are supplied by the Holly system of pumping the water from the river. It is sout with such force through the pipes that in case of fire It sends a strong stream of water through the hose. "The muttering sound of water Is re freshing this warm day," I said, as we were passing along the shady street. "Denver never seems to me oppressively warm. The number of Its trees and foun tains und these little rills always insure a refreshing temperature," said Mclvorno. ' "This city, with its wondorful develop ment of art; tho unexpected intelligence of Its people; their rellned method of thought and handiwork; their knowledge of science and their great material wealth, exhibit the beautiful theorem f Emerson when ho says 'The powers of a busy brain are miraculous and Illimitable!' Once this was a sterile waste. Hut mind, probably the mind of one mnn, if we could trace it home, was what conceived the possibilities of this mighty city," I said, after spending hours looking at the wonderful things brought into use in the few years since this wai known as the great desert of the West. "Why, AVaverland, you are quite elo quent in your praises of this new world. Hut It is wonderful as you say. It is like tho fairy palaces In the Arabian Nights." "Do you know how many inhabitants this city has?" "About soventy-flve thousand." "How clear and pure the air seems. It Is a luxury to breathe it," I said. ' The climate Is one of the things that DenveriteB are very proud of. Do you see that man with the hose watering his plants?" asked Melvorne, calling my at tention to a beautiful yard where a foun tain was sending up its silvery spray, that glistened in the rays of the sotting sun. "Yes, I see him. What is the use of his watering things? Everything looks as bright and fresh as those lilies ut the base of the fountain." "That's the secret of all this beauty. If it were not for the use of the ditches, pipes and hose, the sifting sand would choke everything In Denver." "Why, are there never any showers to supply nature with the needed moisture?" "Seldom any rain falls, though clouds often appear. The display of lightning is magnificent and sometimes very destruct ive." "How clear and bright the snnshine to. What would they think in England or Iro land of this climate?" "It would" be hard to tell. But the clear blue heavens and the bright sunshine are among Denver's greatest charms." "Whero do they get their building ma terial from, there is such a variety?" I asked. "There are brick kilns In the suburbs of the city. Stone and other material is found near by. There Is a great variety, and men of taste choose the material best suited to the style they intend to build." "I have noticed that there seemed to be an individuality In the style and shape of the buildings. Not two are alike." "Every one seems to vie with his nelgtl 1 1 i i i i . . . ... uur iu iimning ms nome me mosn attract ive. Taste and wealth have worked with magic power In changing these wild cactus-growing plains Into these charming homes, with grassy lawns and beautiful flower gardens. "There is a fine building, what Is it?" I Inquired. ' "That's their opera house; one of the fin est on this contment." ' ; i "School houses and churches are numer ous. The people believe In education and the cardinal virtues of morality. Here they seem to strive for the poetry of life the higher thought." "We find here the intellectual culture that makes life so attractive in well estab lished society. It Is made up of New York, Boston and the East, transplanted and developed Into a more healthy state. Here even the Bostonians forget to say, I am irom Hoston.' " We spent a most dellghful afternoon, but when evening eme we were so far away from our hotel that we were glad to take a street car for the return trip. These handy little horse power coaches travel the streets of Denver with as much pomp as In any of the older cities of the Eastern States. It was hard to believe that this proud city was little more than half a score of years old. Here was to be seen the wonderful electric light; and the tele phone wires formed a complete network over our heads.; The city was well furn. ished with gas, .Every luxury or need of man's nature had been provided for., , , When we reached the hotel we passed into the dining rooms. At a table to the left of our own was a group of happy peo ple, if we conld Judge by their merry vot ces and mirthful laughter. "What's ' the matter, Melvorne?" I asked, for his face was as white as a ghost. "Great heavens! Can it bo she?" he ex- j claimed, without hearinir mv remark. While I was watching his face I caught the sound ot a familiar voice ana ex claimed, "Stella!" Though my back was toward the table I was sure It was my long lost friend. Hope sprang to life and defied self-control. I was near the dearest object of my life. I soon should know if my future was to be bright or dark. Supper was of little mo ment now, the inner sensitive life was su preme. Melvorne left the table and I fol lowed. We sought the hotel register. There we found the names of Mr. and Mrs. T. B. Ixdlard, Idy Irving and Miss Stella Everett, nil of Ixwdon, England. With out a word we each passed to our rooms. There, like David Copperfleld, we spent some time over our toilets. At last Mol Torne came to my room, saying: "Are you ready to go to the parlors? 1 have seut word asking the party to meet some old friends there. For I discovered that Miss Everett was your friend, and, no doubt, you recognized Ijuly Irving as mine." I was ready in a moment, and together we entered the magnificent parlor. As I entered the door, 1 heard my name called, and I fancied in an undertone of gladness. I crossed tho room, scarcelv knowing what 1 did, and taking Stella s hand in mine said in an undertone of tenderness: "Have I found you at last, my long lost darling?" For a moment a glad light sprang to her v Hut Instantly it ensnared and she wiMidrew ner mind. 'turning to tne gen tleman and lady sitting near, she present ed me to Mr. aud Mrs. Lollard. How can I explain the thoughts of the moment? Stella's voice and tho glad sur prise that beamed a Joyous welcome from her eyes, had been so full of tenderness, and, I fancied, love, that my soid was agi tated by the sweetness of the hope that love had been returned. But this repulse, what could it mean? For a few moments my thoughts were beyond my control. I neither spoke nor moved. Hut only for an Instant. Composure returned and I was master once more. Turning to Mr. 1j1 lurd, I said. "Are you Intending to take a tour of the mountain scenery In Colorado, or are you Just passing on your homeward journey?" "We came to Denver, thinking of spend ing some t ime hero. Are you at liberty to Join our party?" "Yes, sir," I answered, "that, I think, would bo ngrecuhln to both tho Duko of Melvorne and myself." ; "Then that Is the famous Duko of Mel vorno that I have so ofteu heard of?" asked Mr. liOllard. Melvorne and lndy Irving had left the room without presenting tho duko to her friends. They were now enjoying a pro menade on the broad piazza of the hotel. "Yes, sir, that U tho Duko of Melvorne. We have Just been visiting his ranch In i Dakota, and aro now going to visit his smaller one in this state," 1 answered. "lie seems to have found a friend In Lady Irving," snid Mrs. Lollard, a lively little brunette. "Ho was very much surprised when he discovered her In the dining hull. And I was equally surprised to hear your voice iu this strng hmd, Miss Everett," I said, turning (o Stella as I spoke. "May I ask how you came to be so far from home?" "I came with Lady Irving. We have been traveling together," she wiM, "How are your mother and ulster?" "My mother is di ad. Myrtle Is with An nie Wren," 1 said, wutehiiig lier face a-s I mentioned Annie's name.. S'eiU changed her position as 1 spoke, but I had found a key to her Indifferent manners. "Your mother dead:" ihe rxcl.i'inod af ter a moment's pause. "I lave so ofteu pictured her calm, swerl face with a look of welcome on it for me, when I returned, for I always meant to see her again, she was so kind to me." The tears glistened In her eyes as she spoke of my mother. "And little Myrtle, how I would like to see her, she was very dear to me." ; "Mother died In the winter. I had been to Loudon, and was called home suddenly on account of her illness. She lived only a few hours after my return." WTiile I was "Sir, I never gave jou cause fo take ixich WtertU-4 vrllh rnc." telling of my mother, Stella had forgotten her self-imposed tojk of appearing cold aud haughty. While we had been talking, I had been thinking. The old adage came to my mind, "Faint heart never won fair lady." I thought that I would test her in difference, and said: "Miss Everett, would yon enjoy a walk on the plom?" offering my arm as I spoke. For an Instant she seemed unde cided. Then she answered by placing her hand upon my arm. As soon as we were alone I asked: "Stella, have you no. words of welcome for me after these long, weary months of aDsencer" iso answer. "Do you know that I sought far and near for some news of my lost friend, and, now that I have found you, when my heart Is full of rejotclug, you have no words of welcome. ' , Still no answer, though I paused a mo ment in our walk that I might listen. "Darling, have you no love for me in your heart?" I pleaded, taking hor hand that lay upon my arm in my own. She would not permit even that, but turned from me, saying: "Sir, I never gave you cause to take such liberties with me." I thought there was a sound of pain in the girlisn voice. Once more I pleaded: "Stella, Miss Everett, excuse me," I said, 'Tor troubling you, but I must know the truth. My mother told me all she said to you that morning before you left Wa- verland. Did you believe that I loved An nie Wren?" , , She turned her face toward meln the bright moonlight. . It was full of reviving hope as she answered: "Yes, Sir Loyd, I beJIeved It and that was why I left Waverland." ' "0, my darling," . I said, taking ber hand, "how could you believe that anyone was dearer to me than your own sweet aelf?" "I believed it because your mother said It was settled long ago, that you were to nrnrrv Annie." There was lust a oulver of pain in the voice that maae tnis cornea aion. "Was that the reason that yoo left War verlaudf" "It was." "Then you loved me Just a little, even though you left mo?" "Yes, Loyd, I loved you," came in a whisper too faint for aught but a lover'a . ..... I. . V L- l 1 V. ear. lilll 1i wua i-uuukii. i iieiu uci iw uij heart and kissed the sweet Hps and pure white brow. My heart uttering all the time In a glad refrain the words of the old song, "My heart now sadly dumb shall sieak to you alone." How changed the world seemed! I had secured the love of the one individual in all the world that could Inspire my heart with noble aspirations. We did not need words to tell tho old, old story, for the sweetness and the honor of the new-found compan ionship hail a language all Its own "No more weary hours, my lovel" I said, as I led her to a seat. "Did you think you could hide your love from me by assuming indifference?" "I was afraid I could not, that wa why I left Waverland." . "Do you know the anguish I felt when I knew that you had gone? Whero did yon go? How did you fare? Tell me all, my darlinar." i ioumi ijaay lrvmg, as yon see. va have been traveling together a king time," she answered evasively. "Hut did you find her at once?" "I cannot tell you now. H would take too long. I have found friends continual ly." "If I had known you were safe I should have beeu happy." "I do not believe that," she said archly. "You would have tried to find mo if yon had known where I was." "You are right. I never would have been contented until I had learned my fata from your own dear Hps. If mother had not come to the library door Just when she did, I should have known it then." "I felt the Impulse. And I knew that my life would le very dark without you.' My hungry heart was ready to respoud to the call of joy and hope." "My hopes were rudely shattered when I came homo and found that you had gone. What a dreary life I led for days and days. But one evening it seemed to mo you cam and said, 'If I were you I would not lot my inheritance go to waste.' Thon other wo"ds that you had uttered, words of con fort, and words of cheer, came to my mi.nl. They inspired me wit h courage and filled my heart with hope. I was almost sure that sometime wo would meet, aud that I should yet win your love." VHow long was that after I left?" . "About a mouth. Why?" "I remember ono evening about that time 1 had been feeling that In all this great world there was not one Individual tlist needed me, or that I could benefit by living'. There seemed to bo no place for inn, no loving heart, to claim mine in r turn. While I sat musing in that melan choly frame of mind, I seemed to hear your voice saying, 'I need you! I am coming for you!" From that time I never believed that you would marry Annie, or that yoj loved her. I remember thinking how pleasant It would be if mind could answer mind. It seemed almost as real as life." "But this Is real," I said, "mind can an-' swer mind, and heart enn speak to heart. But how came you here? I never dreamed of finding you this side of the Atlantic. Or have you been leading mo on with your magnet tc powers, to find you here so far from home?" "We have been coming toward each other," she said laug! I tier. "I have often thought of Waverlan'' ''ear old place; I have often sketched 1 r Ijidy Irving. But it would not be . ..e saute, now that . your mother Is not there. She waa very dear to me. My heart went out In sympa thy for ber in her loneliness, und I sought to make her happy." "And you accomplished more than yoa ' can ever know, my dear. My mother re-' remembered you, and asked us to forgive her for the pain she had caused us both. She gave her dying blessing on our love and prayed that we might meet. She said that she hod missed you more than words ' can tell. ' I believe that grief for yon short ened her life. She had learned to love aud ' trust you, and when you left her all was , Bona. But where have you been all thes months?" I asked again. ' "Traveling with Lady Irving," ahe an swered again. "I am so glad she has at , bust met the man she has loved from child- ' hood. Her father promised her hand in marriage when she Vas but a child. She obeyed his wish and became the wife of her father's friend. But all the while the Duke of Melvorne, or James, as she calls him, ; was her heart's Idol. We have often talked of old friends, and how often she had hoped for a chance ot meeting the duke since she had been a widow, for Lord Irv ing lived only a short time after their mar rlagtr, and, what was very strange, her father died about the same time, leaving her alone in the world, with no nearer rel atives than Sir Wren and his daughter. Her mother died when she was a little child. And now In this far away land she has found the happiness for which she longed." "Not only Lady Irving and the Duke of Melvorne , have found . the longed-for friends of other days, but ourselves as , welL" I said, leading her bacS to the par lor. . When we entered the parlor we found .'. Lady Irving and the duke engaged In quiet i conversation. As we entered be came fop - ward with the lady by his side, saying: i "Lord Waverland, allow me to introduce , i to you the future Duchess of Melvorne!" "Allow me to introduce to yon the fut ure Lady Waverland, now Miss Stella Ev erett." I rejoined. ' "What part of tho world have yon been traveling through?" asked Melvorne ot Lady Irving. , "We have been through parte of Italy, . France, Germany and the East Indies. Then through the Sandwich Islands into -California since last fall." "You are only birds of passage, I shoitld .-' say from the short time you snt in eacS' place," I said. "We were there long enough to see th places of greatest Interest but not long enough to become attached to any particu- lar spot," said Stella. , "When did you reach Denver?" asked Melvorne. . i "On the afternoon train from the west When did you reach Denver?" she asked "On the morning's train from the east," ' answered Melvorne. . "So yon came from the east and we from ' 1 the west, to prove that the world Is round, ' by meeting In this queen city of thi " plains,", said Stella. "There are a good many grand things on this round bolL Io ' the past few months we have seen wonder ta sights." : i "Yes," said Lady Irving, "California alone is an art gallery of exquisite pict ures, painted by nature's own hand. 1 wltib wa eould hnv met therfc" Continued.