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About The Loup City northwestern. (Loup City, Neb.) 189?-1917 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 24, 1897)
\ OUR GOLDEN TERRITORY. ! * _l tvvvwwwvwwwwwwvw* It is almost thirty years dnee the foresight of one man secured for the United Mates a land whore value Is < very day becoming more ati l more known and appreciated liy the people of the Union. He bravsl ridicule, and opposition of every sort, from ev ery source, and with a pertinacity liorn of Inward conviction, he never reeled until he had "pen Alaska be come the property of the United Mates. The name of HeerPtary Heward will be forever associated with that remark able purchase, hf which we secured from Russia for seven million two hundred thousand dollars a territory nine times the slate of the New Kng land states; teeming with gold mines, rich In furs, abounding In fish, and clothed with forests. But at that time no one. not even the Russians them Mclves, knew what u rich country Alat kn was, and many were the Jokes made iit the expense of .Secretary Scward'i < iittiiMlasm. The papers sneered at it, one of them suggesting to President Johnson that he visit "this land of val uable snow and merchantable Ice,” for the general Impression was that It was an Ice-bound country, access to which war crowded with Hlberlun-llke diffi culties, the people as a whole knowing very little about It, and not stopping In consider that Its thousund miles of coast was washed by the warm wateri of the Japan current, tbits modifying the climate, so that winters In Sllk:t are scarcely more severe than those In New Vork, while the summers are refreshingly cool. Secretary Heward worked with almost a seer's vision to ' 1 '' 11J | > J11' 11 || I >-> lll’Ull W SIH. i illl'l *•* i van ably seconded by Charles Sumner, | whose a pee h In the senate on "the ces sion of Husslan America” was one of | the finest efforts of Ills life, and at length I lie vast district became the property of the United Slates, Then < a me he puzzling question ol naming the territorial baby, because it si old name, "Husslan America," wit no longer appropriate. The wits ex erelsed their Inventlv. powers, sng gestlng en li appelatlons as "American Siberia," and "Zero Islands," but Charles Simmer showed Ills line taste hy suggesting "Alaska" (Hie grest land), a name which the Indians used In connection with the southern part of the peninsula. The ceremony of the transfer was very simple. Had one been In Sitka a certain bright October morning in IXfJ7 he would have seen beautiful Sitka buy guy with the flut tering Stars and Stripes on three Unit ed States warships, while from every stall and roof of the village waved the emblem of Hussia's power, In front of the old castle on Its lofty, natural elevation were drawn up the troops of both countries, who silently awaited fho firs' salute front one of the United States ships, tt which signal the order was given to lower the castle's Huswiau Aug. Scarcely hud the sound of the American guns lost themselves In echo, when the Husslau batteries boomed forth, and the American flag gayly WHITE HOUSE KAI'IDH, YI KON UIVER. mounted to th<- top, while both coun try'* gun* rounded u duct, ttfter which * t he itmunun governor formally realgnod I I* budge of office to America'* repre .-cnt.ttlve and the hind belonged to l'n <1. Mtm That night there wa» a ban* «|i,et m l ball at the ittntlc. and th> it the Kunian famtlleg. many of whom were cultured, educated people, pre pared to leave I he coHDtr) In |>oM*e»*toii of il<- pew owner, mo thai In a few month* the native* and I’ulted Slate* triHtpa, together with UBMcrttpnlotta ud vngtttrera, were the- *ole occupant* tlradually th- latter id*** wa* attper ■ ruled hr hoii-»t pi o*pn tor* and nigged phia* «r*. whom acconat* of the brawl) '•I th« I tint am acted the toarUt* who now mgtiallt flood the conal tealou. where niiiue of the graudr*t ornery of the » old can hr *een I.* mug Victoria, the i><>ai tieatn* it* •iipennne pa»*ag* among (he innum erable laUttd* which net glare Ilk* #a * trvle * he Ktaai In verity and truth, they are Ike *pwr* of ikal unbroken moctitiain range wkich form* a wall alone >he IVilh coaat from worth to *uwth At hi *t, owe begin* to count ► <k«*a U'andv but la eoon loat In a maaa «l hgwrwa, tor them M a goodly timpani of about | law varying la *iae from email, dell- at* pair Be* at greea i i great traetal at tend a* laige o the •lata of Mo*, hweetl* A* the boat it idea ta »nd out of thte tabvrtath of ea'WU, the grew# be*-woe* A tbodo- > pte, far new <ombtnaHw« of targwoMa watge. teiee •>*»■ bed »A> •twatle group WWVWWTWTWWyyTTt w-m -W tains, and forests centuries old are -unstantly presenting themselves. The Vosemite seems but the child of thla nast, grand congregation of rocks,while Pike's Peak la but a strayed little brother, for one after the other, on all •Ides, mountains that lose thenmelves In the sky's snow hanks rise perpen dicularly from the smooth, level sur race of the water, Neptune demanding no tribute during this voyage, as one meets the open sea only while crossing Queen Charlotte Sound and Dixon Un tranee. A bird flying high over head, >r a seagull skimming the water's rnlr ror-llke face, give evidence of the feathered Inhabitants of these unex plored wildernesses, while a birch-ha rk canoe filled with Indians darting across the water, add the last touches of wild ness to the scene. Hut the "noble red man” Is nobler at u distance than upon nearer acquaintance, for the first set tlement where the water carriage lands. Fort Wrangell, discloses the natives freed from all picturesqueness, Ihclr totem poles alone culling out ad miration. Before almost every hut ore seen these stately emblems, sym bolical of the natives' pride—* pride which humanity shares, for does not everyone respect a coat-of-arras? The navage and white man here meet in common ground, for each desires In fluence, and In Indian affairs he who erects the most splendid pole Is reck oned a man of wealth, for these her aldrlc emblems cost the owners from $1,000 to $2,000 of our money, A line cedar log, perhaps fifty feet long, is chosen, and this, after It has been stripped of the bark, Is curved with the faces of men, beasts and blrda. which may or may not be painted, and to every Indian this true geneologlcal lice relates a plain story of the owner, showing Ills descent (which Is reek oned on his mother's side), the power ful alliances made by his family, and the great events In the tribe's history. The dry of Its erection Is a proud one for the savage, as the event Is cele brated by the ciitlie tribe, and that host who can ruuke the greatest display by lavishly feasting all his guests on the delicacies of this land, by giving them expensive blankets us souvenirs, is counted tin- most Important, and takes a correspondingly high rank, even It be beggars himself In the operation a parody on modern civilization. Having exchanged good United Unites money (of which they seem to know the value) for silver suoons on the handles of which they huve carved totem poles, and having reveled In their old art work baskets made of the split roots of the cedar, woven together by hand so tightly that ttiey would hold water, rnd painted with native colored day In rude geometrical figures, the tourist tlnds himself once more drifting through a never ending panorama of nature's arranging and painting, until the glaciers begin to make their ap pearance, eacii one of which seems more beautiful than its predecessor, un til that (juteti of glaciers, the Muir, Is reached. ldke a shy maiden. It has been s’hary of Ita beauty, hiding lts»lf In a bay which la rather formidable 01 entrance, as it In usually Hlied with a Hcet of Icebergs and floe* which per sist In keeping three-fourths of their bodlc# under water, so that a vessel wUblng to make their acquaintance must be shod In Iron. The giiitlug it the Ice under the ship's metal heel, the fierce rushing In and out of the tides, and the distant booming of iiuturc artillery as the Icebergs break away from the glacier's face and fall Into the water, make one's hloud tingle, and ctpevtation has reached Its climax | when a sudden turn into an Inlet brings 1 one lace to face with one of the Host novel awe instill ms sights In all ibis great round wot III Muir glacier un like .no into of Ita fellows -rive* the bay Mount t'rttiuu and Mount f'ntr wrather towering I.Mw feet strive the water, like gtant wnirlc* guard this fiSiam gem It does not stoop down tv reash the s« i hut luridly, hsilvwll so pittas hr* the edge of the water, pee sawllng a solnl wall ot let over fW le*l high ssd three miles aeruaa It* face - a eight to dasate and fascinate man hind treating the skip. lifeboats land ‘h eaptnag tuurkMa in a ravine nl tk« side of (bin be river, abd the smefci (brosagh sand and houkter la t«egun a scramble rbk In reward, an the tup id tbe gla star tg a sH*pgrepatbu» nf 1 r.s«*a*te». mwnv of whtrb are as keauttfol eat •ymmetrkral ae If they were >m ftom Carrara marble by master artists in days of yore. Even the sun seems to pause and smile more genially as hr sees himself reflected In a thousand brilliant Ice-facets which separate it rays Into their prismatic hues. Tbit linger as he may, the time comes when only the moon and stars see the won derful beauty of the place, for boat must say good-by when Sol's eharl >t passes on. as It Is not safe for a vessel to be overtaken by night in that Ice dotted bay, which Is so unlike that other hay which caresses the banks «-f Sitka, the most Interesting settlement In Alaska. A single street, at the head of which Is the old orthodox Greek church, with Its picturesque green minarets, chime of bells and lint clock, divides (lie village Into two parts civilization and heathenism. On the one side Is ihe Indian rancherle oi settlement, for the government now compels the natives to live In houses or huts which front the lieach In e double row, each place being white washed and numbered. The Inside consists of one large room with a hole In the middle of the roof, through which the smoke of the lire escapes, Ihe soot on the celling forming black stalactites of the most fascinating shape and form. In this common liv ing room, the entire family, Includlio hordes of dogs, cal and sleep, while the only touch of plcturosqueness about the rancherle are the beautiful canoe* covered with gay blankets, which arc drawn up on the beach. On the other side of the graveled highway are the trading store, custom house, barracks, mission schools and governor's castle which Is a most Interesting square old structure made of huge logs held to gether by iron bolts, Its foundation t:P Ing a rocky elevation which Ih snr rounded on three sides hy water, while the fourth springs abruptly from .b. surrounding land, thus forming u nat ural and Impregnable fortress. Tlu view from this commanding height Jls doses a semi-circular bay which m!«h he the twin of the beautiful bay of N.i pics, not even the lire mountain being absent, for the extinct volcano, Kdgc < urn he, far In the distance to the rlgh', wrapped In a royal purple mantle, guards the hundreds of emerald Island* which stud the silvery, glittering ex panse of water. Hack of the town ar the everlasting hills, whose rising slopes us blue as lapis lazuli, gradually bide themselves in vellH of filmy, fleecy clouds until they change their gown* to the pure whiteness of perpetual snow. Nature seems to he "setting for hot picture," for everything about Sitka presents views to fill a water color-ar tist with rapture. ICvcn the sun linger* long before dosing his eyes on thi* perfection, for 9 o’clock In August find* i'lm still out of bed, flooding the scent with glorious mellow light, which gradually fades through the red of re gret, and the gray of resignation, to ih( tender amethyst of hope, for the gentle afterglow which tints the snow-capp* mountains, and Is reflected hy the Is land-set bay, seems to be a promise ol tomorrow's return, and one secretly envies him the sight, for ere that Hint comes the steamer will have carrie* Its human freight many miles from thb haven of perfect beauty, on the home ward voyage from this land of poeti* loveliness--America’s Switzerland. Helium la r. Stine. Helium, it will he recollected, Is c chemical element which was known tt exist in the sun and some of the star> long before it bad been discovered oi the earth. When found on our globe two years ago, It was discovered In i rare mineral of Norway named clevelte Since then clevelte has been In demant In chemical laboratories, and Its rarity has made It costly. Recently n mint was opened near Ryfylke, Norway, con taining an abundance of clevelte, to gether with several other rare miner als. Tlie clevelte from this mine, ex amlned in London, has been found riel In helium, and it sells for about $" * pound. Fnue it Population of .lolni nui MlMir^. Johannesburg, according to the lat pst figures, has now 1-30,000 Inhibltants 51,000 of whom are whites. There art IK,205 British, 3.335 Russians, 2,26. Germans, silt Dutch, 442 Frenchmen 3'i 1 Swedes and Norwegians, 200 Ital Ians, and 048 from other non-AfrlcBt countries; the others come from th< Orange Free Slate and the Britlsl South African colonics. FIGS AND THISTLES. The ring of the dollar Is not heard in the death chamber. Jilnd acts find a dozen friends befort kind wishes get an Introduction. Tee truthful are youthful though thali checks are withered with age. The rich man In hell didn't ask (o be taken out. lie wanted to be made mil t fortkin > where he was, Gone lice a sinner tbut you are con cerned ibout him. and he will soon lie i once ucd about hlmn*lf There la some difference between hope-*o re.tgion and «i -itr....« c i but, there la between tougg) twt|:j it end clear •unablao A euchre piecing, dam ng theater going beer di oklug church lucin'ei tan do more to .'color el He the JFOUIbl , than a full Scope > The great her w'iu la not cartwa, whether anyhudy b being hruugttt i«>, repentance by hla p,* ashing haa uiD | underspent the lair t According to the rtlhtl »l entwtl m il > religloa, the p-nit eat I on the day ul l*»ntertiat should here been "cut te 1 !u*ll logical lacultlee. ' Instead at 'nil tu the heart " I*-.-,e*w Who Wotftld hoW, aid gie|a so l walk un their hneee lur the eah* i .if being gretesnted to tjoeea Victoria, -•■use Ikeaseeltse trow the Wed os* > t»» Wight twee# «l the Ktag «f K ngi • the prwye* aseettag Maas s Mow JOYS OF HARRISON. •YHEELS BABY CARRIAGE AND CLEARS UP UNDERBRUSH. Hi* l'.i’rrf*ldfnt Must Enjoy lloth, for llf'ii lt«*< (iiiihiK Plump in III* Aillron flock i ottftgc Proof Agwlnwt Politics — lie Is Vvrjr Democratic. KS! There's no tellln' by appear ancea," said the man who rowed me up the lake from Old Forge in the Adlrondacks to my deatinatlon. "When we was eomln’ down here 'tother day a young woman Hays: '.See , that old gentleman cleaning up brush. | It must be hard work bending over, he is so fat.’ ’That’s Benjamin Harri son, ex-presldent of the United .States,’ says I." The ex-presldent Is working on the grounds of his new summer home with ull the zeal of a pioneer who has a growing family to provide for. His beard Is white, but be Is young In heart. An ulr of geniality and of eheerlness pervades the Harrison cot tage such as would surprise politicians who have memories of the tempera ture In the White House during his administration. There is one man at Old Forge who maintains manifest skepticism of the natives not withstand ills# flint lif. It Hi Imfin " llntwiuf lion Harrison" actually "crack a smile" in the presence of the new baby. The baby now weigh* eighteen pounds and Is as round und us red us a pippin. When Father Harrison re lieves the nurse in pushing the baby carriage up and down In front of the cottage 111* face shows that lie has found an occupation more congenial than being president of the United States, He trots the Infant on bis knee, pi wiggle;, his forefinger before Its eyes with some of the awkwardness of a young father with Ills firstborn, but with deliberate <u;e. Ha by McKee’s nose la quite out of joint. Son Russell's non Is completely broken, and he works at clearing off underbrush with a daintiness and a lack of naturalness and force which might well call forth a rebuke from the boss," The ex president work* like a veter an handy man. Unlike Hon Russell, he rolls up Ills sleeves and goes "right in." Hut then Hon Russ Is blase. He has not the enthusiasm of a young father. sion was that the president wax ex tremely neat; withal a city man never j to be dragged out of city clothes and a citified appearance. However, we all know what transformations the arrival of u baby may make. When Mr. Har rison clears away underbrush he wears a delightfully grotesque little slouch bat, a neglige shirt, flve-ccnt suspen ders, a pair of old trousers and old leather legglns which show wear, while Son Russ’s show only style. “There's no deer shooting now,” said the ex-president as he put Ills hands on his hips, drawing the deep breath and taking the restful position of a workman who has a moment’s leisure; “and It’s pretty hot to fish in the day time, So I am just clearing up the front of my new place a bit. There Is a lot of work to do yet before we get Into good shape. It’s rather hard to make a lawn where this underbrush Is. Wfl ('lit It dnwn and rnnt it iin nmtiv thoroughly one year, and when we come hack the next It haa grown up aguln In the tnoat audacious manner. We're also ripping out some of the atumpa left from the cutting of the tree* when we firat built our cottage. Then thla apot was nothing more than a hatch of foreat % good place for the deer to come down to the water to drink. We had a great deal of pleaaurw In aelectlng the tree* which we were to leave for ahade, both aa to individual Iwauty and to harmonious arrangement of the whole," Aa greatly lutereated n* I «as In the ex-president'a view* aa a pioneer, | waa more Interested In whatever he might say about the tariff Idll *ud the return of prosperity. H ink. r* and merchants." he vald know better than I whether or not prosperity |* returning. Here in the wno«la I am quite out of politics." He waa proof against any requests I fur a word on the t'uban. the Hawwltan or the Hehrlng Msa questions, and no tees silent about the tkaglsy bill. Roll* I Ilea, la awy form, It* thought, laudvlsa Ids for aa s»pr*sid#*i enjoying the qutet of his summer home Mow that Mr llsrrtaow has a wife i sad a hahr. to whom b* devotes him self with tas gailaalry he goes less sad lass to the etuh. a shooting gad retreat low otganualloa tompused wf well to do sad solid professional sad , hualwsas men, whkh h«s a has sum- . msr eluhhwkse Sot far from the Mstrh I atm .oils*# Nte great frtwwd. Mr Mhephsrd. still ’ romes over to see him. and occasion ally he finds time for an hour with Mr. Shepherd on the piazza of the club house. Friend Shepherd is just such a man as Mr. Harrison weald be expected to like. What a vast contrast he Is to Mr. Cleveland's ruddy-fared and j strong-voiced friend, Broker Benedict! | Friend Shepherd looks Just as neat and smooth as the Mr. Harrison whom we j knew as president. He aiwnys orderoji whole section In the sleeping car long ' beforehand when he Is going to or from the Adlrondacks. so as to have the use of the upper berth In order to keep the creases in his trousers In a state of rigid preservation. He Is quiet, thoughtful and correct. Hike the ex presldcnt, ho Is celebrated for general taciturnity and for particular verbosi ty In asking a multitude of questions about when the train or boat goes while waiting tor it. As either Is opposed to taking the initiative In a conversation himself, the natives wonder how they can ever talk together; but this peculiarity may explain how they get on so well, like the two old army officers who, on be ing introduced after spending the after noon together, became the fastest of friends. One had said: “The service Is going to the devil"; the other re plied, "Yes, d It, It Is;” and that was the extent of their conversation. "Son Hush,” who was so festive In the earlier part of his father's admin istration, has been almost forgotten by the public and Is growing more sedate, and some say more wise. The ex president Is, If unythiug, more portly than ever. In Ills shirt slepves, with out th(‘ gracious fold* of a frock roat, he appears as round as a Imll. He takes no exercise, except pushing the baby carriage and clearing away under brush. Unlike Mr. Cleveland, he has no naphtha launch. When he travels on file lake II Is in a rowboat, Ills guide and man-of-all-work being at the oars. The new law which prevents the “hounding" of deer, the luring of them to a certain spot with salt or attract ing them with a "Jack light” is a dis appointment to Mr. Harrison, who will now have to hunt the deer, instead of having the deer brought to him. Form erly his guides and their dogs hounded the deer into the water, where they were kept swimming until the ex-presi dent from the bow of his boat dis patched them. Or else at night he was rowed along the shores with a light In the bow of the boat. Often in this way the prey is brought within two or three yards of the muzzle of the rifle. As the guides say, "You cun ulinost reach out and touch them." Both "hound ing’ and "jacklightlng" are scarcely considered legitimate sport by Ameri can sportsmen. What Mr. Harrison de sires more than anything else Is the venison for his table, it is said, and he sees no more cruelty in getting it in one way than In another. FREDERICK PALMBR. AS TOLD BY HORATIOSEYMOUR rii« Th«nk>|lvlnf rreclanaatloa That the? ( It rKjmrn <'»n<irtnat*«1. Speaking of Horatio Seyraour, an old New York politician recalls the follow ing anecdote, which, he aHRerta, tbs Governor lined to tell on himself: "I hnd Just taken my seat In the rail way carriage when I noticed two minis terial looking men In front of me,” said the Governor. “ ‘Do you know this Horatio Seymour?’ asked one. ‘No,’ came the answer, ‘although t have seen him.’ ‘Have you? Then I pray you to tell me how he looks.’ ‘Well, he looks what, he Is- a great drunkard/ answered the one who had seen the Governor. ‘Dm,’ said the questioner, sadly, ‘It’s a great pity that he should be Governor. I understand that he owns an Interest In more than half the rum shops In Utica.’ ’Yes,’ was the re sponse, ‘and he has to look out for them in the morning, as he Is always too drunk In the afternoon to attend to that or any other business.’ I pricked up my ears,” concluded the Governor, ‘‘for I was curious to know what had caused these two to go for me so severely. Presently I discovered. ‘Have you seen his Thanksgiving proc lamation?’ asked one. ‘Yes, and I think It scandalously Infidel.’ ‘So do 1/ And yet that proclamation was written by the rector of the leading Kplscopal church In Albany." IIU lftrok*n Ethel—I saw Count Hardupskl last evening. Cousin Tom Does he talk ait broken ly as ever? Ethel Oh, yea. 1 heard him nak pa to lend him live pounds before he left • uinKo flail HU Wnakueu. "Mrs. Cumso la a shrewd woman.*’ “What mukea you think ao?” "She attaches u cyclometer to the lawn-mower, and gives Climso » medal every lime lie scorea a century,” a Hrrat Mental Hlraln. “How much Insanity develops In hot weather!" “Yes people lose Ihelr minds when their Ice bills come In.” KNICKNAMES OF CITIES. New York -Gotham, Louisville Kali City. Aberdeen Granite City. Keokuk -The Gale City. Pittsburg The Iron City. Hannibal—The Bluff City. Chicago The Garden City. Rochester—The Flour City. Pittsburg—The Smoky City. % Ht. Louis—The Mound City. * London—The Modern Babylon. New Haven--The CBy o( Elms. ^ Detroit—The City 01 the Straits. Indianapolis The Railroad City. Raleigh, N. C. - The City of Oak*. Brooklyn—The City of Churches. Baltimore—The Monumental City. Nashville The City of the Rocks. Springfield, III. The Flower City. Cincinnati —The Queen City of tin West, Cleveland and Portland—The Forest Cities. Buffalo—The Queen City of thi Hakes. Ancient Rome -The Mistress of the World. Washington -The City of Magnlllceni Distances. Philadelphia The City of Brotherl; lx>ve and the Quaker City. Brussels—Little Paris. The name I* sometimes applied to Milan. Cincinnati- Porkupolls. This nano has sometimes been applied to Chicago Boston The City of Notions, th» Puritan City, the City of Culture, thi Modern Athens, and the Hub of the Universe. TUK KK l‘HK4ll)«VV UMt HUiMu ' (tM Hl.i IDUKtMUACtC I'l.AO*
