General Nebraska News.
THE STATE AT LARGE
The St. Paul Milling company’s
plant at St. Paul has been sold to
W. F. Nteman and J. K. Jenkins of
Schuyler, who will take possession
immediately. They expect to make
some extensive Improvements and will
probably start the mill about Novem
ber.
The electric railway which Is being
built between Dakota City and South
Sioux City by Captain Talbot is pro
pressing rapidly. About three miles
are graded and two mile.i of rails and
ties are down. It is expected to be
completed to Dakota City by Novem
ber lf>.
Fred L. Dollard, a 19-yoar-old con
vict In the state penitentiary, died of
lockjaw, caused by a badly bruised
finger. In his death agony Dollard
disclosed his true name, he having
previously been known as Fred C. Lee.
His parents are respectable people of
Carbondale, 111.
Edward Long. ,lie boy who was shot
by Joseph Wall, a neighbor boy. was
buried in the Catholic cemetery at
Albion. The coroner’s jury returned
a verdict that the shooting was done
carelessly, but without malice. It
also protested against the practice of
young boys carrying and using fire
arms with consent of parents.
A message from Murray to the po
lice officers of Plattsmouth conveys
the news of the shooting there of Mrs.
William Brantner and the hired girl
by William Brantner. Od® bullet
passed tnrough a hand aud one
through a leg of his wife and «,i.a
through the arm of the hired girl. The
wounds are not considered dangerous.
Joseph Heytmanek died very sud
deniy at his home in Dodge. Ho had
been down town and come home a
short time before dinner, going up
stairs to lie down and rest. When
his wife called him there was no an
swer and on going into his room she
found him dead. He was a Bohemian
and about 50 years old. His wife and
four children survive.
Superintendent Fowler has received
from the printer his pamphlets on the
consolidation of school districts, the
centralization of rural schools and the
transportation of pupils at public ex
pense. The pamphlet contains reports
from the counties of the state where
the consolidation idea lias been tried
and the reports of trials in other
states. Mr. Fowler is a strong advo
cate of the idea.
Tlie forty-seventh annual meeting
of the Nebraska Congregational as
sociation closed at Geneva after a
three days' session. Distinguished
visitors from abroad, who delivered
addresses, were Secretaries W. A. Rice
of New York, Theodore Clifton of Chi
cago, Miss M. D. MofTet of Chicago
and President Bradley of Iowa col
lege. In addition to these, leading
ministers and laymen of the state
made addresses.
The state board of equalization met
in Lincoln and listened to the argu
ments of Tax Commissioner Fleming
of Omaha and others who contended
that corporations should be assessed
upon .their gross earnings. The board
decided that it was not a board at
present and could not give any deci
sion as to this or any other question
which has been or Is to be raised
prior to the time of organization on
December 15.
The residence of Frank Campbell at
Telcamah was destroyed by fire and
his 6-monthB-old child was burned to
death. The mother went to a neigh
bor's for w'ater a few minutes before
the fire broke out, leaving the baby
alone lti the bouse.
In Pawnee Cltv occurred the fine
hog sale of John Blatn, one of Ne
braska’s foremost breeders. The sale
consisted of fifty head of hogs, grade
and thoroughbred Poland China pigs,
which averaged $44.90 each, or a to
tal of $2,245. This breaks all pre
vious state records for high sales.
Many buyers from abroad attended
the sale.
State Oil Inspector Ed Church of
Lincoln and Deputy Inspector Barns
of Scribner were in Fremont and test
ed a carload shipment of oil in barrels,
sent from St. Paul and received there
for distribution to about fifty towns
of the state. The oil is supposed to
be on the market in competition with
the product of the Standard Oil com
pany. and Is of a little better quality
than most of what that concern sells
In Nebraska.
Children are not proper persons to
sign a .petition or remonstrance
against saloon licenses, although they
may have estates or inheritance in
land In the precinct in which it is de
sired to locate the saloon. That is
what the supreme court says in the
case of Thompson against Eagan, from
Cedar county.
Governor Mickey left for Fort Riley,
accompanied by Commandant Chase of
the university. While attending the
encampment Governor Mickey will
Tank as a brigadier general.
NEBRASKA'S SOD SCHOOLS.
_
Many Have Been Replaced with More
Pretentious Buildings.
The rapid decrease in the number of
sod school hour.es is one of the evi
dences of the advancement in material
growth of the public schools of Nej
braska. The number of school dis
tricts in the state last year was 6,666.
Of the 6,813 school houses then in ex
istence 5.900 were frame. £37 brick, 26
stone, 121 log, three iron and 436 sod.
The change in number will not be
known until all the counties file re
ports with the state superintendent.
Eighteen counties had one or more
log schools and 37 counties had one
or more sod schools.
While many people living in tho
state have nevOr seen a sod house of
any kind, the western part of the
state, particularly in the grazing re
gion, is dotted with school houses
made of sod. The fine school build
ings In towns of one thousand or
more inhabitants usually attract the
favorable attention of visitors to the
state. The tourist rarely finds the in
terior districts where the sod house
still reigns supreme. Out of *6.813
school buildings in thp state last year.
436 were of sod. The reports that
have thes far reached State Superin
tendent Fowler's office indicate a de
crease of at least 100 in this number.
Custer county, partly a grazing and
partly an agricultural region, com
prising territory as Targe as four ordi
nary counties and containing 250
school districts, still leads the list in
the number of “soddies." Last year it
liadd 99, this year it has only 73. Mc
Pherson. purelv a grazing region, had
a total of six school houses last year,
and they were all of the sod variet*.
It has the same number this year.
VINEGAR MUST BE PURE.
Deputy Food Commissioner Thompson
Sends Out Warning.
LINCOLN—To the Wholesalers and
Retailers of Vinegar in the State of
Nebraska: In view of the fact that
the vinegar question of this state is
in such a deplorable condition, that
there are no rules by which the manu
facturers and wholesalers have been
labeling iheir goods, and no conscien
tious scruples, in a great many cases,
for what we have been selling them
tor, the fact has presented itself to
this department that something must
be done to check the growing evil of
selling these goods for what they are
not, and the misbranding of the same.
So we wish to say that from this
time on the law must be strictly ad
hered to. Any vinegar found in the
state after November 15 that does not
come up to the requirements of the
law will be turned down, and the
wholesaler, if a resident of this state,
will be prosecuted, and if the whole
saler or shipper Is not a resident of the
state, the retailer will be prosecuted.
We wish to state further that sim
ply because some one has guaranteed
the vinegars to be up to the standard
will not exempt any one from prosecu
tion. The department Kindly asks the
state press to copy the facts herein,
so that the dealers in vinegars may
be informed.
Any one desiring the vinegar laws
may receive the same upon request to
the state food commissioner, Lincoln,
Neb. W. F. THOMPSON,
Deputy Food Commissioner.
Boy Dragged to Death.
CREIGHTON—The 9-year-old boy
of Leslie Letty. Fred Letty, of this
place, was killed while herding cattle
on the farm of Charles Iaueh, seven
miles northwest of here, being kicked
or dragged to death by his horse.
Nebraska Troops for Manila.
FORT CROOK—Two battalions of
the Twenty-second infantry, composed
of Companies E. F, G. ?{. I, K. L and
M, Colonel Henry Wygant command
ing, left for Manila.
Sentence is- Reduced.
LINCOLN—The supreme court re
duced the sentence or William H. Pal
mer from seven years In the peniten
tiary to two years. Palmer was con
victed of stealing a stray steer.*
Nabbed at Kansas City.
Deforest Hart, a book agent who
left Beatrice several months ago after
trouble with business men, is under
arrest in Kansas City.
Smokeless Powder Burns Gun.
NEBRASKA CITY—John Durham
and a companion were out hunting
seven miles northwest of the city.
Durham was carrying an old muzzle
loading gun. and, running out of black
powder, borrowed some smokeless
powder from his companion. The
first charge exploded the gun and
came near killing both himself and
his companion. Durham had a thumb
blown off and bis right arm was bad
ly burned.
MADE POLICEMAN A VICTIM.
Hypnotist Turned Man of Law Into a
Laughing Stock.
An amusing episode, in which the
chief figure was a hypnotized police
man. is reported from Bloemfontein.
Jrange River Colony. A professor of
nypnotism had taken a vacant shop iu
which to give demonstrations of his
mysterious art. and his stock-in-trade
included a bed, upon which reposed a
man who was represented to be in a
trance. The crowd that assembled on
the opening day to view the recum
bent figure included a member of the
South African constabulary. This
person went with a skeptical mind,
»nd, seeing the figure move, he at once
denounced the whole business as a
fraud. The professor, not a bit discon
certed engaged him iu conversation,
and the skeptic was soon keenly inter
ested in the wondrous tales the man
of science was relating. Suddenly the
policeman fell into the arms of the
professor, and went through some very
' strange antics, one of which was tf
arrest the professor as a dangerous
criminal. When it dawned upon the
crowd that the man of law was really
hypnotized the Joke was greatly rel
ished. After putting his victim
through a few more "tricks" for the
enjoyment of the other visitors the
professor restored him to his senses
as quickly as he had hypnotized him.
When he realiz.ed what laid happened,
the policeman, looking white and
frightened, made a hasty exit, and has
sluice made it a point to keep away
from all hypnotists.
______________________________ *
Spider as Spinner.
The spider needs no wheel to spin
its fairy thread. There are on its body
four to six protuberances, perforated
each by minute holes, sometimes as
many as a thousand. Through these
holes the liquid silk passes from inter
nal rteservoirs. and hardens upon con
tact with the air.
Bees Stung Poultry to Death.
A remarkable case of bees stinging
poultry to death was recently reported
to the Kent (Eng.) Technical Educa
tion Authority. Mr. Charles Waghorn,
of Paddock Wood, has a small orch
ard, in the middle of which are many
hives. One day he noticed bees wor
rying six cockerels in a pen. He lib
erated the birds, but the bees followed
and subsequently attacked nearly all
the poultry. Two cockerels were stung
to death, and several others suffered
so badly from stings that they had to
be killed. Many of the birds were
blinded by the bees, and their heads
were speckled and swollen.
Elms Absorb Much Water.
It has been computed that if the
leaves of an elm tree, sixty feet high
were spread out on the ground, edge
to edge, they would cover five acres
of land. These leaves, averaging
7,000,000 to a full-grown tree, will
transpire water to the amount of
seven tons during the normal summer
day. Were it not for the Ingathering
of the stomata during the night a few
elms would soon draw off all the water
from a district. As it is every market
grower knows what elms are like near
fruit < ;• market gardens.
Weather Note.
Very close, with approaching storm.
One Proof of Greatness.
On the continent no man seenifl to
be really famous unless his features
appear on a pictorial postcard. A
Frenchman who has recently come be
fore the world has received a letter
from a person at Geneva asking for
permission to reproduce his photo
graph in this form and offering 10 per
rent of the total takings.
Rare Animal Capt'ji 1.
An animal was captured . days
ago in the steam mill w< near
Leominster, Mass . that is ' n as
a “fisher,” ap animal of tin -t spe
cies that lives on fish, frog. thut
which is very rarely seen i this
part of the country.
A Wise Teacher.
At hd examination of applic-'-'ts as
teachers before tl.e Minnesota state
board, one of them, when asked what
country kaogsroo leather came from
answered: “Kangaroo is prodi. ed in
Kangiueo.”
OUR CASTLES IN SPAIN.
Dreamer Drops Into Poetry frr Express
ing His Longings.
"Young man hufltf nasties fci gpafn!"
—Joseph Cannon.
I'd like to be Inns* of the land of the jnss.
The chopsticks, pagodas and rice:
With my eyebrows aslant, a beard rather
scant.
And a cue that would go around twice!
'Twould' please me, I own. to alt ®n a
throne
In an ivory palace and see
A lot of savants in mysterious panta
tJet busy kowtowing to me.
I'd like to be shah or maharajah,
The Sultan of Sulu or Gutim,
Or hold down the Job of that haughty
nabob, *
His Joblots, the King of Siam.
In tlie tropical zone I would fain have my
throne.
Caressed by Its languorous breath.
To sit there in state with my black-and
tan mate
Would tickle me alinosL to death.
I also would like to London to hike,
Cs king of the tight little jab .
And see New York Cit throw a double
decked tit
iCv'ry time that I tossed it a smile.
All these. It Is plain, are birt castles in
Spain:
’Tis pleasant to build them—but yet.
I wish J'd the cheek to ask twenty a week
Instead of the twelve that 1 get I
—F. L. Rose, in Chicago Record-Herald.
MOUSE CAUSE OF MUCH TROUBLE
Little Animal Very Near Precipitating
a Tragedy.
Through the vagaries of a pet
mouse which had secreted itself be
neath the upholstery of a large auto
mobile, Miss Helen Finerty, daughter
of Joseph Finerty of New York, who,
with several friends, had planned an
outing to Ardsiey. was frightened into
hysterics the other day. Alarmed by
her sudden screaming as the little
rodent, ambling about the floor of the
automobile, began to ascend her ankle,
John C. McCafferty, the chauffeur, ran
into a fence on the sidewalk and came
near going down a cliff. The machine
was smashed. Miss Finerty fainted
and was taken home. Miss Finerty,
however, may be $100 richer for the
accident, for she learned that the mis
chievous mouse belonged to John J.
Dooley, a rieh contractor, who is a
candidate for Tammany leadership in
his district. The mouse has been
trained to eat from the hand and to
do other tricks. It is the same mouse
that a little more than a month ago
at a picnic of policemen's wives was
used to test the courage of women.
Superstitious about his loss, Mr. Doo
ley offered a reward of $100 for its re
covery.
Ambition.
“Well, my little man,” said the great
captain of industry, “what do you ex
pect to do when you grow up and in
herit your father's wealth? Do you
intend to build colleges or establish
libraries?"
• i ni goin' to buy a circus and drive
the band wagon myself.”
Watch Strangely Recovered.
Charles Ritner of New Britain,
Conn., complained to the police Sat
urday night that a gold watch had
been stolen from him. He could not
give any details as to the loss of the
watch. His daughter informed the
chief yesterday morning that the
watch had been returned. A man liv
ing on Dwight street brought it to
the house. He said that his dog
found it in the street and brought it
to him iu his mouth.
Ancient Family Name.
At the second reunion of the John
Taylor family at Hadley, Mass., the
information was given forth that the
Taylor name runs back to Baron
Tailleier. the Norman hero, who lost
his life at the battle of Hastings in
1066. Like many other family names
It has passed through a series of
changes from “Taillcfer” to “Tayle
fer” ami at last to “Taylor,” with
variations of "Tailer” and "Tayler.”
Must Tie Up Tabbies.
So many rabbits and quail are
killed by house cats running loose in
in the woods that the New Jersey
hunters want to have a law passed
allowing cats found in the woods to
be shot. The present law provides
that any person allowing a dog to
run wild shall pay a fine of $20. Cats
are said to be more destructive of
game than dogs, foxes, minks or
hawks.
Lamp Shade in Artistic Glass.
The accompanying illustration shows
an artistic lamp shade from the studio
of a leading artist in glass working.
This lamp shade is of leaded glass in
a nasturtium vine design in most beau
tifully blended and soft coloring.
ILJVS9 IN A TOMB.
John Janson, Civil War Veteran, Has
Chosen Queer Abode.
John Janson, a veteran of the civil
war. lives in a tomb. The tomb is
built in a rocky shelter in the old
Jones cemetery, near Reed's Corners.
N. Y. For half a century the tomb
has been the resting place of Janson's
wile. Since 1S70 the old man has
lived in this place of silence.
ft is fitted up in a neat manner, is
quite spacious and is divided into two
rooms, each 10x12 feet. Janson’s wife
is buried in a space at the rear which
is hermetically sealed. He eats his
meals in the front room and sleeps in
i the back. A skylight furnishes plenty
i of light for this strange home. At
I night it is lighted by an oil lamp.
The old man has few callers and
spends his days tilling the soil of bin
small tarm nearby. The cemetery has
not had an interment in many years.
It was laid out by the Hiram Jones
family a century ago. and the original
owners and their descendants are now
uqder the sod of the cemetery.
Janson claims sole ownership, al
though he has no legal title to the
ground. He is alone in the world, ex
cept a distant relative in Denver, who
will carry out the eccentric wishes of
Janson when the latter dies. The old
soldier has requested that at his de
mise his body be incased in a plain
pine box. Before the body is placed
in this receptacle the latter is to be
partly filled witli soft cement. Then
a covering of cement goes over the
body, entirely covering it. Janson be
lieves that his body will be entirely
preserved and at the sound ol' Ga
briel's trumpet lie will not have to
look around for scattered mortal parts.
An Autumn Joy.
These are the days when the tired man
Will carry round his gun
That weighs about a ton.
And call it fun
To wade through knee deep muck,
Beneath a broiling sun.
And then just miss his duck.
Had Miraculous Escape.
A horse’s mad leap down a hank
thirty feet deep, and the miraculous
escape from serious Injury of both
horse and rider, provided a short sen
sation among the visitors at Scarbor
ough the other day, says an English
exchange. A gentleman named
Churchill was riding along the espla
nade, when the horse bolted, galloped
madly dowrn the steep asphalted foot
path known as Birdcage Walk, and,
after jumping over a seat and iron
railings, leaped down the cliff and
landed on an asphalted walk. People
rushed to the spot, which is Dear to
the Cliff Bridge entrance, expecting
to find both horse and rider killed.
Luckily, however, besides being
stunned and bruised, tl.e rider was un
hurt. He was placed in a cab, but by
the time he reached his hotel was
able to walk. The horse was little
the worse for his mad escapade.
Caught Immense Turtle.
A turtle, which is declared to be the
biggest of its kinds ever seen, w'as
caught some time ago on the New
Jersey coast. Its weight Is 1,087
pounds. The length of its shell Is 10
teet 3 inches, while its width is 6
feet 7 inches. A dozen men can
stand on its back with comfort.
Topsy Turvy.
A severe Scotchman who can easily
be made to smile by turning him up
side down.
“That Line of Sport.”
"I hereby challenge any man in
town for a clam-eating contest to de
cide which is the fastest clam-eater in
town. I will make a side bet that I
can eat fifty clams quicker than any
man in that line of sport. Saturday
night I ate two dozen clams in one
minute. Challenges to George Kohl
mans, 729 Second street."—Baltimore
Sun.
His Great Mistake.
The feelings of the automobilist who
ran down his host and then told the
\yaiting family that he had torn a
wheel from the buggy of a drunken
farmer can be better imagined than
described.
History of New York City.
A firm has been engaged to compile
and print the old Knglish records re
ferring to the history of the city of
New York under British rule. Thu
cost will be $4,611.
VITAL POINT NOT THERE.
Much Infenuation, But Not Just WhaE
He Wanted.
the time the Bookstore Win
dows show a most engaging lot
Of the “How To" books and essay*
telling How and How to Not—
How tf> Know the Purple Pansy When
Yon Meet it in the Wood;
How to Tell the Poison Toadstool;
When ft Is or Isn’t Good;
How to Recognize a Sparrow. Fight
ing In the Garden Dirt;
How to Pick Out Proper Patterns for
a Woodland Walking Skirt;
How to Feed the Shining Gold Fish;
How to Know the' Cuckoo’s
Call;
How to Deal With Mr. Burglar When
You Meet Him in the Hall;
Hew to Play at Table Tennis; How
to Ping ami How to Pong;
How to do Artistic Fretwork; How
to Write a Funny Song;
How to Bet on Running Horses, So
You’ll Surely, Surely Win;
How to WalK Heme in the Evening
After loosing All Your “Tin
How to Win a Timid Maiden with a
Soft. Persuasive Coo;
how to Make Her Think She's Got to
heave Her Happy Home for
You—
Though I've searched the bookshop
windows high and low, from
morn till night,
I have never yet discovered: How
to Sell the Stuff l Write.
MANY USES FOR COAL.
Fuel Not the Only Purpose for Which
It Is Employed.
1 he jet which jewelers use is noth
ing but coal of a very compact nature,
in a Welsh country town there may
be seen a foot-bridge made of coal,
originally intended to be only a tem
porary structure, but found of suffi
cient. strength and firmness to war
rant its being used as a permanent
footway. At Barcelona, Spain, there
was constructed in 1888 a lighthouse
of compressed coal blocks. On a por
tion of the southern English coast, at
a small point called Kimerldge, circu
lar shale disks with a square hole
(very much like Chinese “cash")
have been turned up by the plow.
Curious geologists who heard of the
disks found that they were nothing
but coal money, for it seems that in
ancient England, in pre-Roman days,
coins or tokens of coal shale were
quite common and were perforated in
order to be strung together (like Chi
nese “cash") that they might be more
conveniently carried. Not the least
curious of the many applications of
coal is coal porcelain. Coal flower
vases, milk mugs, plates and sau
cers, hook covers, clock frames,
wash basins, inkstands, spools for
lace work, candlesticks and scores of
other articles are made out of coal at
factories in the anthracite region of
Pennsylvania.
Knew His Time Had Come.
The East Side teacher was talking
glowingly of her work. "Yes, they’re
rather tough little customers, these
schoolboys of mine,’’ she said, “but
they’re made of the right stuff. I had
one boy who was the torment of my
life. There was not any mischief un
der heaven that he did not think of
until I told him finally he would be
expelled if he misbehaved again. It
was not long before he was up to
more mischief, and I sternly sum
moned him to my desk, resolved to rid
the school of him. But he pleaded so
hard that I let him stay. Again and'
again that sort of tmng happened, and
1 yielded to his plea for annuder
chance.'
“I went to Charley’s house last
Thursday to remind him that school
was to open soon, and I hoped to see
him back. I found the little fellow
dangerously ill. In fact, there was no
hope for liis recovery. Nevertheless
his mother let me see him and she
whispered to me that Charley knew
he was going to die. I talked with
him a little while, trying to cheer him
up by saying that I expected he would
be hack In school in a couple of weeks.
He smiled at me bravely and said:
“ ‘No, teacher, I ’spect 1 don’t get
annuder chance dis time.’
“And he didn’t. The little fellow
died the next day.”—New York Press,
The World's Way.
He wrote
His soul
Into
A book:
The world
Refused
To turn
And look.
. He made
His faith
Into
A rhyme.
Anti still
The world
Could spare
No time.
But on
The day
When dumb
And dazed,
Despair- ‘
< 'ondemned.
And blind
And crazed
By means
Most weird
His life
He took,
Behold
The world
Bought out
His book.
—New Orleans Times-Demoerat.
Dust on Electric Wires.
It has been noticed that dust has a
tendency to collect on electric light
Uttings and wires, and on walls and
ceilings near them. The cause is be
lieved to be two-fold—partly the in
fluence of air-currents induced by'
local heating, and partly the electrifi
cation of the dust particles, which,
when floating in a room, are attracted
to the electric conductors on the non
earthed side of an earthed system.
