COST THE STATE $270,133.45
THREE
OF JUDGE POST'S DE
CISIONS. thowlnfHow He and His Republi
can Associates are. In a Large De
cree, Responsible for the Loss of
the Above Amount,
(World-Herald
Of the $557,000 lost by the state by
the state treasurer under the republi
can administration the sum of $270,
113.45 belonged to the, permanent
school fund. The World-Herald Invites
attention to the showing hereinafter
made which establishes the fact that
three decisions made by Judge A. M.
Post and his associates are, in a large
degree, responsible for the loss of
$270,133.45 of the permanent school
fund.
THE CASE IX A NUTSHELL.
The constitution of the state, adopt
ed In 1875, provides, section 9, article
I, that educational funds shall not be
lovested or loaned except on United
States or state securities, or registered
county bonds of this state. And the
tate is pledged to supply all losses
that may accrue in any manner to
these school funds.
January, 1889 The Nebraska su
preme court, composed of these etni-
Lnt lawyers: M. B. Reese, Samuel
faiwell and Amaaa Cobb, gave an
pinion at the January term, 1889, as
follows:
"State warrants Issued In pursuance
'jf an appropriation and secured by a
levy of taxes for their payment, are
'tate securities' within the provisions
Of section 9, article 8, of the constitu
tion of this state." (See 25th Nebraska
report, page 659.)
1891 The legislature of 1891 enacted
a law, found in session laws of 191,
chapter 48, declaring that when a war
rant issued in pursuance of an appro
priation made by the legislature and
secured by the levy of a tax for Its
payment, is presented to the treasurer
for payment, and there is not money
in the fund upon which the warrant is
drawn, the treasurer shall pay the
amount due on said warrant from eny
funds in the state treasury belonging
to the permanent school fund, and shall
hold the warrant as an investment of
the said permanent school fund.
February 20, 1894 Judge Post and
hie associates decide that the state
treasurer cannot be required to de
post the permanent school fund in do
poeitory banks. (See 39th Nebraska
report, page 353.)
May 2, 1894 Judge Post and his as
sociates refuse to issue a mandamus
against State Treasurer Hartley, asked
for by Goernor Crounse, requiring
Hartley to invest permanent school
fund In state warrants. In this opin
ion Judge Post and his associates held
that Hartley could not act alone in
tills matter, but a resolution to make
such investment must first be adopted
by the school fund investment com
mission. May 10, 1894 Governor Crounse
caused a resolution to be adopted by
the school fund Investment commission
requiring the state treasurer to invest
permanent school fund In state war
rants. June 2fi, 1894 Judge Post and his
associates render an opinion that a
tate warrant Is not a state security
and that even after a resolution is
adopted by the school fund investment
commission the state treasurer has no
authority to obey such a resolution.
(See 41st Nebraska report, page 277 )
January, 1897 As a result of these
three decisions by Judge Post and his
associates the sura of $270,133.45 of
permanent school funds, which was
too "sacred" to be deposited for safe
keeping in state depository banks and
too "sacred" to be Invested In state
warrants, "turned up missing."
HEUE ARE THE DETAILS.
Under the Nebraska constitution
adopted In 1875 the state Is required
to make good all losses suffered by the
permanent school fund , That same
constitution provides that this perma
nent school fund could be invested in
"state securities."
If we search for an early interpre
tation of "Rtate securities" we find it
in the fact that the members of the
constitutional convention of 1875 re
ceived their pay in state warrant,
which were recognized to be "state se
curities," and were paid out of the
permanent school fund and held as an
Investment for that fund.
In 1889 the Nebraska supreme court,
then composed of Judges M. H. Reese,
Samuel Maxwell and Amasa Cobb,
gave an opinion that state warrants
were "state securities within the
meaning of the constitution."
Under the republican regime the per
manent school fund became a source
of revenue to the personal use of re
publican officials, and the populist leg
islature of 1891 enacted a law requiring
that the treasurer Invested the perma
nent school fund In state warrants. For
a time the republican state treasurer
complied with this law, but iiubse
quently he declined to make further
Investments.
CROUNSES GOOD EFFORT.
Early In 1894 Governor Crounse
made a systematic effort to Induce the
investment of the permanent school
fund in state warrants. Hut there was
also on foot alKiut that time a sys
tematic effort to prevent the permanent
school fund from being Invested any
where or In anything except to the ad
vantage of the treasurer.
POST'S FIRST DECISION.
On February 20, 1S94, Judge Post
ud his associates rendered an opinion
(n which they held that the permanent
school fund could not be placed in
tate depositories. In that opinion
Judge Tost and his associates held:
"The depositing of the moneys be
longing to the permanent educational
fund of the state In banks undor the
provisions of the depository laws Is, In
effect, a loan and Investment of the
funds so deposited, and Is, therefore,
Inhibited by the constitution." (See
Stth Nebraska report, page SfS.)
la the light of this decision Gover
nor Crounse's great concern for the
security of the permanent school fundi
prompted him to make strenuous ef
forts to Induce the treasurer to Invest
Out fund In state warrants.
POST8 SECOND DECISION.
In order to test this question and to
force compliance with the law of 1891,
Governor Crounse had, on January 17,
1894, presented to Treasurer Hartley a
warrant in Crounse' name for $10.
Bartley said there was no money in the
general fund. Governor Crounse then
demanded that the warrant be paid out
of the school fund In compliance with
the law of 189L Bartley declined to do
this, giving as his reason that under
that law of 1891 it waa provided that
the authority to pay state warrents out
of the school fund must come by a
resolution regularly adopted by the
school fund investment commission,
which commission comprised the
governor, secretary of state, treas
erer, attorney general, and com
missioner of public lands and
buildings. Bartley held that un
der the law of 1891 the treasurer could
not act on his own motion and that a
resolution by this commission was nec
essary. Governor Crounse then applied
to the supreme court for a mandamus
upon Treasurer Hartley to require him
to pay the warrant out of the school
fund. Hartley set up the defense above
outlined.
Judge Post and his associates refused
to issue the mandamus asked for by
Governor Crounse on the ground that
the treasurer could not act alone and
the court added: "It is the duty of the
board charged with the management
and control of the school funds to de
termine when and in what sums said
funds shall be invested, as well as
what securities of the kinds authorized
by the fundamental law shall be pur
chased and the price that shall be paid
for the same. WHEN THE HOARD
HAS SO DETERMINED AND OR
DERED IT MAY BY RESOLUTION
entered upon the record of its pro
ceedings authorize and DIRECT THE
STATE TREASURER TO PAY OUT
THE MONEY THEREFOR." This
opinion was rendered May 2, 1894. (bee
40th Nebraska report, page 298.)
CROUNSE TOOK COURT'S ADVICE.
Governor Crounse acted on the sug
gestion of the court and subsequently
investment commission the following
resolution:
Resolved, That the sum of $200,000
of the permanent school fund of the
state of Nebraska, or as much there
of as may be necessary, Ik, and hereby
is, sot apart from which to pay out
standing warrants drawn upon the gen
eral funds, which warrants are regis
tered and bearing numbers from No.
13,292 to 18,000 inclusive; and the
state treasurer is instructed to at once
notify the several parties in whose
names said warrants are registered, of
his readiness and purpose to pay said
warrants, so that the interest on the
same shall cease, as provided In chap
ter 93 of the compiled statutes of Ne
braska, and when so paid the warrants
shall be held by the treasurer us an
investment of the permanent school
fund and shall be stamped and signed
as provided by law.
This resolution was adopted May 10,
1894.
On May 14, 1894, Stull Bros., a bank
ing firm at Lincoln, presented to Treas
urer Hartley a state warrant and asked
to have the same registered , so it
could draw Interest. In compliance
with the order of the board Hartley of
fered to pay the warrant out of the
school fund. Stull Bros, refused to ac
cept payment out of the school fund
and Insited that the warrant be regis
tered. Stul Bros, then aplied to the
supreme court for a mandamus to com
pel the registration of this warrant.
POST'S THIRD DECISION.
Judge Post rendered the decision on
June 26, 1894, and granted the writ.
The court held, in the opinion render
ed by Judge Post, that a state warrant
was not a "state security" as contem
plated by the constitution, and there
fore the school fund could not be In
vested In state warrants EVEN
THOUGH THE HOARD BY RESOLU
TION DIRECTED SUCH INVEST
MENT. (See 41st Nebraska report,
page 277.)
Governor Holcomb, in spite of this
decision, sought to Induce the republi
can state treasurer to Invest the per
manent school fund in state warrants.
Governor Holcomb Introduced resolu
tions to this effect In the school fund
Investment commission. He invited
opinions on these resolutions from
eminent lawyers, and among the re
plies was the following from ex-Governor
Crounse:
A HOT ARRAIGNMENT.
I have neither the t'me nor have I
access here to the authorities cited to
enable me to enter uiwn the discussion
you invite. Your resolutions, h jwevor
are substantially those adopted on my
motion by the board when I was a
member of it. YOU KNOW THEIR
FATE. Yours, I think, will fare no
better. The resolutions, In my judg
ment, are as SOUND IN LAW, as
WISE IN PURPOSE, but the wisdom
and Ingenuity of our modem Daniels
seem to run In the direction of
SHIELDING 'HIE PLUNDERERS OF
THE TREASURY rather than to PRO
TECT THE TREASURY ITSELF.
The republican attorney general ad
vised Governor Holcomb that under
the Poet decision the permanent
school fund could not lo In veiled In
state warrants, and Governor Holcomb
asked for ex-Judge Maxwell's opinion.
Judge Maxwell replied as follows:
I have reread his (the at'o ney gen.
eral's) opinion very carefully, and the
reasons he assigns fall to show that
state warrants are not state securities.
Although the opinion of Judge Reese
was not rendered In an action actually
pending, yet It was given to the legis
lature fn pursuance of a request for
the view of the court as to the pro
priety of passing a law for the invest
ment of the permanent school fund in
stale warrants. The question was very
rarefully corildered by the entire court
and the opinion prepared by him and
concurred In by all the other mem
bers. Judge Reese Is one of the best
lawyers In the state and was a member
of the constitutional convention of
1$75, and knew the object of the pro
vision was to make safe Investment
for the school fund. I see a cor
respondent In the Fremont Leader
calls attention to the fact that mem
bers of the constitutional convention
of 1871, wbtch was In session about
four months were paid In state war
rants which the state board Invested
the permanent school fun la. Thai Is
a fact. I was a member of that con
ventlon and also of the constitutional
convention of 1876. Chief Justice Ma
son of Nebraska City and Judge Lake
9t Omaha, both Judges of the supreme
court, were slo members of the con
vention of 1171, and their warrants ai
well as my own were paid out of that
fund and. no one questioned it.
COSTLY RESULT OF POST'S DE
CISIONS. By reason of these three dfeclsio." of
Judge Poet and his associates, deci
sions which overruled the opinion of
the court when It was composed of such
eminent lawyers ae Reese, Maxwell
and Cobb, the republican state treas
urer was enabled to hold for his own
use and benefit the sum of $270,133.45
of the permanent school fund, which
sum he has failed to pay over to bis
succecssor.
TRYING TO DODGE THE ISSUE.
Desperate Methods of Republicans
to Defeat Sullivan.
Fremont, Neb., Oct, 18. Shrewd
criminal lawyers are wont, in desper
ate criminal cases, to ignor the proof
presented against their clienU and de
vote their energies to abusing the pios
ecution. liy these tactics the main
question is often lost sight of and an
acquittal secured. These are the tac
tics the republicans are employing in
this campaign. Hut they must not be
permitted to dodge the issue. The
question now is not how Judge Sulli
van voted on the Omaha charter and
other measures when a member of the
legislature, eleven years ago; the ques
tion now is whether the looters of the
treasury shall have their cases tried
before a court composed entirely of
their own partisans.
Still, to show the desperation of the
republican managers in trying to be
smirch the fusion candidate for su
preme judge, we call attention to some
recent statements of the Omaha Bee.
That organ strenuously Insists that
Judge Sullivan's failure to vote for
Van Wyck for United States senator
was a betrayal of his trust. The fact,
however, Is that Judge Sullivan was
electel to the legislature as a demo
crat and was under no obligation or
promise, direct or implied, to votet for
Van Wyck or any other republican. It
has never been claimed and it i not
true, that he was ever petitioned, so
licited, or even expeited by anyone
from Platte county to vote for General
Vay Wyck.
The Bee still insists that Judge Sul
livan Is, or was until recently, a gold
democrat. Almost every voter in the
Third congressional district knows
this is not true. The editor of the Bee
knows it is not true, but he continues
to publish It-in the hope it may go
where the truth cannot follow it.
Recently it was stated in the Bee
that Judge Sullivan was elected to the
district bench by the railroads, as a
reward for votes given on railroad
measures. In the sixth judicial dis
trict, everybody knows this statement
to be false, and the editor of the Bee
himself does not believe it to be true.
Judge Sullivan's record on railroad
legislation Is found in House Journal
of 1887 at pages 882, 883, 1097, 1098,
1292 and 1597. Look at It. It appears
that he voted for a 20 per cent reduc
tion in freight rates, that he voted for
the maximum freight rate bill; that.af
ter t he bill was killed in the senate, he
voted on the day before adjournment
for the senate bill. Unrter the opera
tion of this same senate bill, freight
charges were reduced to 33 1-3 per cent
during the following summer.
The Bee has much to say about the
anti-gamblinsr bill. The record of m
measure Is found in H. J. 1887, pages
1338, 1400, 1612, 16137 It shows that
every act and vote of Judge Sullivan
tended to facilitate the passage of the
bill. The complaint of the Bee seems
to be that Judge Sullivan, with sixty
one others, voted in favor of an open
Investigation of charges preferred by
Mr. Rosewaler against an unnamed
member of the judiciary committee
Rut, after all, this Is not the ques
tion to be considered now. Judge Sul
livan was answerable to the people of
Platte county for his legislative record.
They find no fault with It. They gave
him in 1891, as a candidate for district
Judge, 1700 votes, although there were
three tickets in the field. Again, in
1895, with three tickets in the field
they gave him 1983 votes out of a to
tal of 3100. This matter is not In con
troversy. SALOON KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION
Nebraska Liquor Dealers Banded
Together.
The retail liquor dealers of Nebraska
met in convention Thursday afternoon
at Germania hall, Ompn 'or rnr ,,ur
pose of forn;ir" a urn. uvuni''
.'ion for ni'isua' ! ,fl' and w'a'.
vancement. Jt.hn Tien.e.v was "mad;
chairman and William baloney sec
retary of the convention. There were
about 100 delegates in attendance.
Mayor Moores delivered the address
of welcome.
Judge Bowman followed Mayor
Moores in an appropriate address.
A committee consisting of Messrs.
Charles Benson of Lincoln. Charles
Krug of Omaha and Fred Muchow of
Hastings was appointed on platform
and resolutions and a recess taken.
After a recess the constitution and
by-laws were adopted and the follow
ing1 officers were elooted: John C.
Tlerney, Omaha, president; William
Young, Harvard, vice president; Wil
liam Malonoy, Omaha, secretary, and
Fred Muchow, treasurer. The conven
tion then elected the following dele
gates and alternates to attend the na
tional convention of wholesale and re
tail liquor dealers, which will be held
at Indianapolis on the 19th of this
month. Delegates, William Butt, Om
aha; Joseph Schramlck, David City;
P. Stanton, Tllden. The alternates are
Charles Krug, Omaha; Henry Rholff,
Omaha, and August Lnurkee, Stanton.
The delegates will go uninstructed ex
cept to make every effort to secure
the next national convention for Om
aha In 1898.
At the evening session Omaha waa
chosen as the state headquarters,
place for the next mooting to be desig
nated by the president. A legislative
committee, two from each congress
ional district, was appointed.
Mayor Harrison adheres to his former
determination to prevent the sale of
liquors at the coming Chicago horse
show.
In a quarrel over a trifling difficulty
Miss Lizzie Harding shot and fatally
wounded Mlsa Mary Rosen baum at Jef
fersoDvllla, Ind.
ODD DIVORCE STATISTICS.
ENORMOUS DIVORCE BUSINESS
IN THE UNITED STATES.
Over 500,000 Granted In the Last
Thirty Years Those who Have
Been Married Four Years Are th
Highest in the List.
As there is no armor against fate,
so thee Is no time guarantee against
divorce. Action for divorce has been
begun, in several instances, on the
very next day after the marriage. On
the other hand, couples may Jive to
gether happily for twenty-one years
and more, and yet thit does not pre
clude the final advent of the demon
of divorce. It is a matter of record
that there are as many divorces grant
ed to those who have lived together
for ascore of years as to those who
have been married only five years.
The United States government has
collected statistics showing the dura
tion of the marriage before divorce,
these figures covering a period of
twenty years. In the last thirty years
5i0,0u0 divorces have been granted in
the United States. The figures for tha
last ten years have not yet been pub
lished, but for the ninetfen years from
18G7 to 1886 statistics show that the
divorcee high-water mark belongs to
those who have been married four
years.
Hegining with the one year married
people, the tor.il is, roundly, 15,000.
For the four-years married the total
mounts up nearly double 27,000. Then
it slides off; but until the figures for
those who have been married nine
years are reached the one-year figure
is not touched. It decreases steadily
until the twenty-one years are lumped
with those who have been married a
longer time, and still find it necessary
to dissolve the bonds that unite, and
the enormous total of 25,000 is reach
ed. Evidently compatibility need not
increase as the years fly by. In this
class, however, a reversal of "endur
ance" figures is shown, for the aver
age duration of married life for the
husbands is 47.47, while for the wives
it is only 26.70.
While, divorce aside, the average
duration of married life is from twenty-two
to twenty-six years, the aver
age duration of married life to the di
vorced is only 9.17 years, being 9.27 lor
the wife and 8.79 for the husband. This
difference between husband and wite
suggests that the weaker sex really
is the stronger in bearing the woes of
the married. These figures are for the
country at large.
New York state, owing probably to
its rigid law, shows up a little better,
men houlding out 9.52 years and Uie
women 10.62 pears. Hut, though the
wives do endure longer, hearl twice
as many women as men get divorces.
This proportion, is preserved pretty
evenly all through the table, whether
the couples have been married two
years or twenty. Upward of 25,000
divorces have been granted in New
York state in thirty years, and a third
of them coming from the New York
city courts.
The general charge of cruelty gives
the widest scope for the play of homur,
as well as some other things, in as
signing causes for divorce. When the
charges are brought by the husband,
the case Is apt to be particularly pa
thetic. Onem an got a divorce because
his wife kept insisting that he was no
man at all. A brow-beaten farmer
sowed his grass in August, which dis
pleased his wife so much that she
threw all aof the table dishes out of
the window.
One man's wife was a member of the
Brotherhood of the New Life. The
chief of the sect wouldn't give the
husband a permit to live with his wife,
and set a time three eyars distant
When thciy might meet. Another
man's wife refused to cook for him' or
to sew on his buttons. His neighbors
testified at the trial that they bad
often seen him with only one button
on his waistcoat. This wife wouldn't
let her husband go to fires at nigiit,
and when he did sneak away she kept
him awake till 3 o'clock in the morn
ing scolding him.
After being married twenty-five
years, a wife eni,braced thca pirit
rapping doctrine, wfc7i.li so hurt the
feelings of her spouse that he got a
decree o divorce. Another pair were
legally separated because the wife reg
ularly threw scalding tea at her hus
b.ind. On the first morn.'g aHer a certain
marriage the bride bea her hus.ui(i
with her shoe heel. He began suit
as suon as be got on his feet and won
it.
In onecase a husband cut off his
wife's bangs. Another woman's hus
band wouldn't work at all during the
week, but every Sunday he put on his
old clothes and worked "like a nig
ger." Still another husband threw a boot
at his wife. It didn't hit her, but it
did hit someone else, and this the
Judge thought waa sufficiently aggra
vating. One husband tried to starve his wife.
To be enabled to prove by the gro
cery bills that he had bought food he
carried It in by the front door, but
ho took it out of the back door and
threw it in the sewer.
If husbands want a day off they
should choose some other day than
the one following the wedding. One
who hadn't learned this lesson got
drunk the day after, which so dis
gusted the bride that she lost not an
hour In beginning suit, papers being
filed that very day.
One husband complained, not be
cause his wife made his shirts, but
because she bought him dollars shirts.
Another Insisted on smoking tobacco
when his wife waa subject to sick head
aches. One avaricious fellow kept
teasing his wife to deed him her prop
erty until he lost both. A husband
who wouldn't support his wife an
nounced that he "wouldn't work his
toenails off for any woman," and she
divorced him. A Judge has given a
divorce to a woman because her hus
band never offered to take her out
riding.
Husbands who quote to their wives
the Bible verse, "Wives, obey your
husbands," had better beware. One
husband added to this offense the
greater one of telling his wife when
she was sick, that the Lord command
ed her to work, and actually forced
her to get up and labor.
k THRILLIKG ENCOUNTER.
The three of us had been prospecting
for gold along the Purus river, 150
miles southwest of Lima, Peru, for
three or four weeks before I had the
good fortune to get a near sight of a
condor. I had seem them at such a
distance that they might have been
mistaken for crows, but though we had
all kept our eyes open and rifles ready
no specimen of the big birds had come
within cannon shot. When '0t com
plained of our bad luck to Jose, the
cook, who bad been born and reared in
the foothills of the Andes, he said:
"There is no other bird living so
strong and fierce as the condor, and
yet the sight of man frightens him.
He seems to know just how far a rifle
will carry, and he always keeps be
yond it. Last year an Englishman
hunted for eight months and never
got a shot at one."
"How strong is a full grown con
dor?" I asked.
"No man can tell that," he replied;
"but I will tell you what I have seen
with my own eyes. One day, a few
miles from my own house, while a
man who had been hunting sat upon a
rock in the open to rest, he was at
tacked by a condor which suddenly
dropped from the skies. Perhaps the
bird did not preceive that it was a
man, though they are very keen
sighted. As it came down it fastened
one claw in his back and the other in
bis shoulder, and struck him n. fearful
blow with its beak. It could "llot lift
the man, for he weighed 150 pounds, but
it dragged him along the ground for
many rods before it let him go. The
blow from the condor's beak had stun
ned the man, and the wounds inflicted
by its talons were something terrible.
The poor felow died from his injuries.
In another case, near the same village,
I was lying in the bushes one day,
when a condor swooped down on a
dog, fastened one claw in his back and
raised and sailed away without an ef
fort. The dog weighed at least twenty
pounds, and I am sure the bird could
have carried away double that weight."
A few weeks subsequent my foot was
pierced by a thorn and 1 had to lay up
in camp. A hammock was slung un
tier a tree, and after dinner I was left
alone, except for the presence of a she
goat Jose had bought from a native a
week before to supply milk for our
coffee. My companions went up the
stream prospecting, and the cook took
the other direction with his fish lines.
The goat was fat and full size; she
did not weight an ounce less than
forty pounds. She was feeding at a
distance of about thirty feet, and I was
lazily watching the butterfles which
hovered over her, when there sud
denly came sw-i-s-h like the fall of a
small tree, and a condor had his claws
fastened into the goat's back. I rose
up in the hammock and had a plain
view of what took place. The goat
was crushed flat to the earth by the
force of the collision, Jut arsost in
stantly struggled up and made a fight
to shake the bird off its back. The
wings of the condor were outspread,
so that the tips touched the earth on
either side and acted as levers, and
after a moment it struck the animal a
blow with its beak on the head or neck
which put an) end to the fight at once.
Blood followed the blow, and I saw
blood oozing from under the cruel
talons as well. As the goat fell down,
still kicking with its hind legs, the
condor balanced itself with its wings,
took a firmer grip with its talons, and
after a trial or two rose up and sailed
away over the tree tops in the direc
tion of a Mountain spur about five
miles away. It did not lift its burden
much above the tree tops, but the mo
tion of its wings proved that it was no
geat hinderance. When the men had
returned and I had related the incident,
Jose said:
"That ctfndor flew directly over my
head while I was fishing, and though
he continued on to the mountain I
marked the spot where he alighted and
can guide you. to it. It is a female
bird, and 1 have no doubt there is a
young one in the nest."
He added that the nests of the con
dors are almost always built among
the rocks, in spots almost or quite in
accessible, but that he knew of two or
three instances where eggs of young
birds had been captured by expert
climbers.
The next day he went off to the spur
and after an all day's tramp located the
nest, it was amongst a jumble of rosks
and the way was so rough and perilous
that he did not believe we could reach
it. While lying concealed he caught
sight of the male condor, and the fe
male bird also returned from a forag
ing expedition with a large bird in
her claws.
It was five days before my foot was
well enough to undertake the tramp,
and Jose and I started alone. We had
made a strong grass rope a hundred
feet long, and we had our rifles and
provisions for two days. When within
two miles of the spur we came across
a native and his son, the latter about
twelve years of age. When Jose told
them the object of our expedition the
father replied:
"Yes, there is a condor's nest up
thorn It has been there since my
grandfather waa a boy. I was close t5
It once, but it was empty. My son
here was near it, too, only a few days
ago. For a little money he will show
you a path."
That was exactly what we wanted
and I soon struck a bargain. The lad
had not approached the nest from be
low, but from above, and had not fotisd
the route very difficult. He had gone
near enough to see a fledgling in the
nest, but being afraid of the old bird's
return had retreated after a brief
view. He was a fairly intelligent lad
and proud to go with us, and he led
the way in a manner to give us con
fidence. While it was only five miles
from our camp to the base of the spur,
It was nearly noon before we reached
It. With the aid of my glass I could
make out the nest, and I also saw that
no living man could reach It by direct
approach. The height was fully one
thousand feet, and there was one
smooth perpendicular cliff at least a
hundred feet high. The boy, however,
struck up the mountain, and though he
led us the easiest way, It was a climb
to exhaust the strongest man. It waa
3 o'clock In the afternoon before he
tald to us:
"The nest is not far away now. When
we have passed that peak we shall be
close upon It."
The peak seemed not more thin
three hundred feet above us, but an
other half hour was spent In reaching
It. A dozen times during the ascent of
the mountain the boy bad scrambled
up the steep faces with the rope, and
fastened it so that we might have its
aid in climbing When we reached the
peak we found a natural path leading
downwards, and a few feet away it
curved to the right.
"Just beyond ihe curve Is the nest,"
whispered the boy. "If the old bird
is there what will you do?"
"Shoot her," I replied.
"But if both are there?"
"Then we will shoot both."
He looked serious and doubtful. I
did not expect him to go farther, but
he started off, having his bow and ar
row in hand, and we followed. As we
turned the curve we came full upon
the nest; the mother bird was there
feeding a fledgling. With a scream of
rage and surprise the old bird lifted
herself about ten feet Into the air; and
as I fired at her she fell. The lad had
rushed forward to the nest; Jose and I
were advancing upon the fluttering and
screaming bird which was only badly
wounded when the was a whirr
of wings and a shrih scream and the
male bird dropped from the eky fair
upon the boy's back. What happened
passed so quickly that we stood in
dumb surprise. The condor smiply
swooped down, fastened its talons In
the boy, and was in full flight with him
all In the space of ten seconds. The
lad must have weighed at least fiTTy
pounds, but the bird lifted him easily
and flew in the direction of our camp,
sinking a little in his flight down the
slope, yet keeping above the trees.
As we stood looking the wounded
bird fluttered over the edge of the cliff
and was lost to us; and in his grief
and rage Jose clubbed his rifle and
killed the fledgling at a blow. It waa
several minutes before we could realize
that the boy had been carried off; It
had been done so quickly that we had
not raised a hand to prevent.
It was night when we got down the
mountain, and noon the next day be
fore we found the father of the boy. I
had expected an outburst of indigna
tion and sorrow, with a claim of heavy
damages, b.ut when he heard the story
he simply said:
"It was no one's fault, and It Is no
use to look for the dead. He waa a
good boy, but be it so. Perhaps you w:il
give me a few pieces of silver to com
fort his mother."
Nearly Caught a Live Ghost.
If Mrs. Wilson of Halton Holegate, a
little Lincolnshire (England) village,
had not lost her nerve at the wrong
moment, she would have had the proud
distinction of having captured a reai
live ghost. As it was, it escaped, leav
ing nothing save a damp odor and a
doubt as to its existence
Mrs. Wilson and her husband are
quiet people and do not drink, and
their strange story is believed by those
who have investigated.
The first night they moved to the
house in question they heard strange
noises about midnight, as though a
person were knocking at the doors and
walls Once it seemed as though some
one were hurrldly moving about all the
furniture downstairs. Another time the
noise was like a heavy picture falling
from the wall, but in the morning the
inmates found everything as right ai
it was the night before.
Nevertheless, the servant man left
the premises, saying he dare not stop,
and the Wilson's had to secure the ser
vices of another. About six weeks ago
"something" was seen.
One night Mrs. Wilson before getting
into bed, where her husband had al
readv retired, thought aha would aa
downstairs to see if the cow was sate. "'w,,
She satisfied herself that the animal
was alright, and was at the foot of the
stairs preparing to go up again when
she saw an old man standing above her
at the top and gazing directly at her.
"He was standing," said Mrs. Wilson,
"as though he was very round-shouldered.
How I got nast I cannot say, but
I darted past him into the bedroom
and slammed the door. Even here,
however, I felt some one was behind
me. I turned round enirply, and
there again stood the same old man.
He quickly vanished, nut I am quite
certain I saw him. 1 have also seta
him several times since, though net
quite so distinctly." Aftc- recounting
Ler strange experience; M.'j Wilsoa
conducted the reporter, who investi
gated, to the sitting room, whero a
grewsome discovery had been made.
In one corner the floor, it appeared,
was very uneven, and here a day or
two ago, Mrs. Wilson took up the
bricks with the intention of relaying
them. No sooner had she done this,
however, than a most disagreeable
odor was emitted. Her suspicions
were aroused. She called her hus
band, with whose assistance a minute
examination of the place was com
menced. With a stick three or four bonee
were soon turned over together with
a gold ring and several pieces of old
black silk. All these had evidently
been buried in quick-lime, the bones
and silk being obviously burnt there
with. Dr. Gay, to whom the bones were
submitted, stated that they were un
doubtedly human, but he believed
they were nearly one hundred years
old.
Whether the ghost and the bones
were In anyway related Is not known,
but the elements of a first-class ro
mance were established by this grew
some find.
Hunt Alligators For a Living.
"There are men In the swamps of the
South who make their living by hunt
ing alligators," said a man who has
Just returned from that region. "Their
mode of hunting the saurian is very In
genious, as well as successful. In the
summer, when the Bwamps dry out, the
alligators, whirh abound there in large
numbers, live In holes ten or more feet
deep, and inclined or slanting. The
weapon of warfare used upon these
creatures la a long pole, at the end of
which is a sharp steel prod and hook.
This Is run down into the hole and
the alligator Is prodded until he be
comes mad; then he snaps the hook
like a fish, and Is Immediately caught,
H Is then drawn up to the mouth of
the hole and Is shot through the eye
until dead. The teeth are extracted
and the hide cut off. Both are sold at
some place near by. Some arts of the
alligator are eaten, If it be young."
John Plncard, aged 21 years, sob of
farmer living four miles southeast of
Slater, Mo., was stabbed to death hr
Us brother-in-law, William Haley. '
