THE ALLIANCE-INDEPENDENT.
The Farmer's Mutual Insurance Company
of Nebraska
A Farmers' State Mutual company
has been organized under the new law
passed by the "farmer legislature." It
ii organized on very much the same
plan as the county mutual companies.
The principal difference is that in this
company a membership fee of one per
ceit of the value of the property insur
ed is charged. It is claimed in favor
of this plan that it furnishes a fund for
the payment of a large proportion of
the losses without making assessments.
The headquarters of this "company are
located at Lincoln. The company
seems to be on a bound basis, and its
officers show flattering testimonials.
This company insures all kinds 6f
farm property, including livestock and
grain, against loss by fire, lightning,
windstorms, and tornadoes. Write to
the company for further information.
Seo advertisement in another column.'
HS SAW THE KING.
But
It Took Both l'luck and Nerve,
This Boy Had Them.
Emerson's saying that a boy is the
true democrat was illustrated by the
adventure of a Maine sailor lad. He
wastatr Christianla, and made up his
mind that he would see the celebrated
Swedish king. Oscar. Accompanied
by another boy from the same ship,
says the Youth's Companion, Jack
Branscombe, he walked to the palace
and' found it surrounded by a moat
that looked impassable. But the boy,
whose perseverance and courage
merit commendation, however his as
surance may seem to deserve rebuke,
would not be balked. After some
search he discovered under the moat
a narrow tunnel leading into the royal
gardens.
The mouth ef the tunnel was choked
with rubbish, but the young sailors
mado their way through and into tho
gardens. Here they were at once sur
rounded by guards, who could not un
derstand their explanation, but tried
to conceal them from tlie view of an
approaching party.
Thn party were the king and his
retinae. Seeing the disturbance, a
gentleman stepped forward and asked
what was tho matter. The Maine
boy acting as spokesmanhis com
panion by this time shaking with fear
answered that they had come to see
his Majesty, Oscar I. They were
from Boston, and on their return
, home would like to tell their friends
that they had been face to face with
the king.
"Well" answered the gentleman in
per'ect English, "you have seen him.
I am the king." He gave the boys
several coins as souvenirs of the v s t
Th'rty years afterward that sailor
lad, George C. Perkins, h-1 becoxo
governor of California. Cne day ho
was on a pilot boat bound for Mon t
erey, and not'eed that one of the sail
ors was eyeing him intently.
Who is the governor? What state
does he come from?" asked the sa lor
f an officer.
jeolv.
RELENTLESS FJGHT.
V
i
Vul
o
A Bitter and Unrelenting Combat litwoen
t A Boa-Constrictor anl Tiger,
This is the story of a duel to the
death between two wild . creatures in
tire remote forests of South America.
The" battle was watched from begin
ning to end by Manuel the tiger hun
tec The duel was between a spotted
tiger and a boa-constrictor.
It was in the afternoon of a hot day
that Manuel walked softly down the
path that led to the camp, but upon
this occasion he was creeping along
with unusual stealthiness, for he had
a pretty clear idea that a tiger was
walking along the path a sbort dis
tance in front of him. At the proper
time he would attract the tiger's at
tention and offer hi in battle. Within
a few hundred yards of his hut the
hunter became aware, from subtle
animal instinct; that the tiger had
stopped in the path.
The hunter paused and listened.
There was a rustling in tho leaves
and a stirring in the undergrowth
that he. did not quite understand
Undoubtedly the tiger hnl found
something that attracted his atten
tion. The rustling ceased for a mo
ment, but began again a trifle more
vigorously. Then came a low, muf
fled growl and thrashing among the
leaves, as though the tiger was show
ing his teeth and swinging his tail
from side to side. The hunter crept
forward like a shadow. At a curve
in the path he stopped short. A
strange thing was going on in tho
narrow path a few yards .before him.
A tiger was pacing back and forth,
with his tail waving and his hair
bristling in sudden anger. In front
qf him lay a hugh boa-constrictor,
coiled ready for a spring. The big
snake's eyes shone like diamonds in
the sun, and his tongue darted in and
out like forked lightning. His great
coils were quivering with rage and
fury. What had stirred up those two
wild creatures to a pitch of anger
Manuel was unable to say. The
snake hadprobably been in the path,
about to seize some small animal
when the tiger appeared and broke
the spelL The tiger wanted the right
of way, or, at loast the chance to
pass on one side; but tho sna,ke had
only tightened its coils and stood its
ground, with unmistakable signs of
an aroused fighting disposition.
This annoyed the quadruped to
such an extent that he showed hia
teeth, growled and thrashed his tail
It was at this instant that the hunter
came along tho path and slopped.
Neither the snake nor the tiger saw
him and he stepped quickly behind a
cactus bush to await his opportunity
of being in at the death.
It very soon became apparent that
there was to be a fight Both crea
tures grew more angry each moment,
and watching it all with intense in
terest; the hunter smiled as ono
might smile who noted the condition
of a favorite gladiator.
While Manuel thought these
thoughts these two wild things in the
path moved back and forth, as though
sparring for an opening. Tho snake
was alert with sullen anger, his glis-
ping head darting here and there
e flashes of light. The tiger was
so vindictively savage, but his
(pd hide quivored with wave upon
of rising anger.
mgth the tiger, unable to re-
is rage, leaped at the serpent's
head like a dazzle of light
nake's head was not there.
r landed in the path on the
de of the snake, but almost
id had touched the ground a
g coil had been thrown over
e gave a thrilling cry and
ly a dozen feet in the air.
Led safe and unharmed on his
e of the path, a little shaken
rhaps. but sttll full of good
? blood. -."
HEKMAN-:-BROS,;
WHOLESALE AND BETAIL
Glotbins, Hats, Cans and FiimsMitg Goods.
BRANCH HOUSES:
BEATRICE, GRAND ISLAND, FALLS CITY, WEEPING WATER AND
AUBURN. 19t
Special Attention to Mail Orders.
PRICES 1-0"W.
inn
o
STREET
LINCOLN, NEB.
The snake was back in an instant,
coiled ready for defense. The tiger
crouched in the path as if about
ready to spring. The snake quivered
with nervous preparations. The
hunter caught his breath in quick an
ticipation. This was the critical mo
ment Furious beyond all control
the two wild creatures sprang upon
each other in the same instant For
a scant half second there was poised
in the air a yellow blur, wrapped
about with great glistening coils like
tho trunk of a small tree, and then
the snake and the tiger rolled in the
dust together.
It was a grand battle, and right
nobly was it fought The serpent's
coils were tightening about the tiger
with strained convulsive movements
of the shining skin, but the tiger's
long teeth and sharp claws were
buried deep in the serpent's neck and
body. In that terrible embrace there
could bo no result other than death.
Tighter grew the great coils; the
tiger's bones wore cracking one by
one. Deeper sang the long teeth; the
serpent's life-blood was forming little
pools in tho dust
Convulsively the fighters rolled in
the path, but weaker and weaker grew
their struggles. The end was coming.
Porfcaps foreseeing it the tiger made
one frantic, desperate effort to free
himself from the deadly embrace, but
the blood-streaked coils only tight
ened the mora Then the tiger again
panic his teeth and claws into the ser
pent's neck and body. He would die
as ho had lived, a thing of unshaken
courage. The serpent in a spasm of
pain and dying rage, tried once for all
to crush his enemy into a shapeless
mass, but his flesh and muscles had
been sadly torn away, and his neck
was breaking under the tiger's teeth.
The hunter caught his breath hard
and stepped from the shelter of the
cactus bush. The end was at hand.
Death was glazing the eye3 of the
tiger; the serpent's head fell helpless
ly to one skle. There was a feeble
struggle in the shoulders of tho tiger,
a galvanic shudder in the coils of the
serpent and then all was stilt It was
over.
Ol' Two Evils Choose the Lesser.
I told you," said the teacher, apol
ogetically, to Tommy, that I should
whip you if you didn't tell your fath
er you had run away from school,
didn't I? '
That's all right" responded
Thomas. "I didn't tell him. One of
your lickin' s is a picnic by the side of
one of dad's.
Photographing tender Water.
Photographing under water has ac
tually beea carried out so it is said.
Experiments were made in 1889 in
the Mediterranean to ascertain how
far daylight penetrated under water.
In very clear water, n'ear Corsica and
eighteen miles from land, tho limit of
daylight was found by means of pho
tographic plates'to be 1,580 ee
RIVERS.
Their Power of Cutting Through Walls of
Solid Rock.
We frequently see statements and
estimates of the amount of sand and
mud that is annually carried into the
ocean by the great rivers of the world.
No one who has seen a suddenly
formed rain torrent cut a deep chan
nel in a roadway can doubt the power
of water to wear away the features of
the globe. In fact it has been esti
mated that in about 6, 000, 000 years,
if the present rate of denudation be
continued, the whole surface of the
earth will be srnoothod off to one
general level.
But while it is easy to see how a
river and its tributaries can readily
cut their way through ordinary soil
and sand, it is more difficult to con
ceive the remarkable effects produced
by water which runs over a bed of
solid rock.
The Colorado river, for instance,
flowing between lofty walls of rock
and upon a rocky bottom, is still
deepening its channel
The explanation of the cutting
power of the water of the Colorado
lies, as Rev. Dr. Hutchinson, the
geologist has pointed out in the fact
that it is charged with sand, brought
to it in great quantities by its tribu
taries. This sand, being swept down
the steep gradients of the river,
wears away the rocky bed as emery
dust wears stone.
Thus nature assists nature on all
sides, says the Youth's Companion,
and tho sand that frost and wind and
water have formed out of the exposed
rock of the mountains becomes, in
turn, an instrument for channeling
and wearing away the better protected
rock of the valleys beneath.
Old and Young.
Thero is no surer antidote for the
effect which time has over us all, in
making our age evident than a young
heart
-I should like to live to be as old
as you are grandmamma," said little
Helen, ' but I don't want to be as old
as Aunt Susan, ever!"
'Why. why," said grandmamma,
looking over her spectacles, "what do
you mean, my dear child? Your Aunt
Susan is a great many years younger
than I am!"
' 'I don't seo how that can be," s.aid
Helen, much perplexed. "You al
ways remember the plays you had
when you were a little girl; but wnen
I asked Aunt Susan ono day she said:
For pity's sake, child, you don't ex
pect me to remember any of the games
I had as a little girl. It's so long ago
I've forgotten whether I ever playol
any!' " Arkansaw Traveler.
"You say you are a good washer
And ironer. How do you tell when
the irons are hot?"
How? By smelling the burning
linen, mum, of course. What's my
nose for?" Philadelphia Times.