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About The Loup City northwestern. (Loup City, Neb.) 189?-1917 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 9, 1908)
THE IMPORTED GRIZZLY A Veracious Nature Story By Edwin J. Webster (Copyricbt, by W. G. Chapman., “Tom Wilson's imported grizzly, cre ated lamentable havoc among Pike county animals during his short yet strenuous career," said Deacon Tod gers pensively. “I5ut in the end he fell a victim to the intelligence and scientific knowledge of the dean of the local black bears. And when Tom Wil son came to look for the remains of his pet he found that nothing but a patient search over this and the sur rounding counties could collect enough for a decent burial. “Tom captured the grizzly out west when it was a cub and had trained it to hunt for him. When the bear was nearly full grown he brought him east and turned him loose on the innocent bears and wildcats of this county. The grizzly had been trained so that he wouldn't eat anything but cooked meat. While active, he wasn't an especially intelligent bear. and. not being able to cook his own food, he would turn the proceeds of his hunt ing expeditions in to Tom Wilson. Tom would deduct a liberal share for “The Local Black Bears Give Him the Glad Hand.” the benefit of the person he described as 'honest Tom Wilson.’ The rest he cooked and pave to the grizzly. Of course, Tom got all the furs, and the game was as good as a gold mine to him. I remonstrated with him on the wickedness of it. "The next day, while I was walking through the woods, I heard something come tearing through the underbrush. Not wishing to imperil a valuable life I hustled to one side and awaited de velopments. In a minute a black bear broke through. After him came Tom Wilson's grizzly. The grizzly was the faster sprinter, and a moment more a funeral would have been all that was coming to the black bear. But just in time he struck a tree big enough to bear his weight, t'p it he scrambled. The grizzly couldn't climb, so he stayed at the foot and growled. " 'Unless I am mistaken in the char acter of that venerable bear.’ 1 said to myself, 'swift bumps and painful ex periences will teach Mr. Grizzly to re gret he meddled with him.’ "That afternoon 1 went out into the lot back of my house to blow up some stumps with nitro-glycerin. I had the glycerine in a can. and. as I had use for it. would pour out a little into a small pan. I had been at work only a few minutes when I looked up, and there was that same black bear watch ing nifwim an expression oi me most intent interest. He had evidently stayed up in the tree until the grizzly had grown tired and then had come down with revenge in his heart. I knew that kindly old black hear wouldn't harm me: so I went on blow ing up stumps without paying any par ticular attention to him. "Pretty soon the bear wandered over to the can of nitro-glycerin. He sniffed at it. Then he took a taste. Nitro-glycerin. has a sort of sweet taste, but I was surprised at the look of joy which spread over that bear’s intelligent coumenance. "'You had better leave that stuff alone.’ I warned him. 'Nitroglycerin isn't the proper health food for black bears. If you should swallow some of it and then happened to stumble or jar yourself, vour honorable career would he brought to a sudden and ex pansive finish.' ) "Maybe that worthy old bear didn't ' understand every word I said, but he certainly gathered in my meaning. His heart was set on having that nitro glycerin. however, even if he didn’t intend to use it himself. Hut he was a moral bear, a bear of good prin ciples, and he felt it wouldn't be right to take my glycerin without giving me something in return. He gave one more longing look at the explosive and then piked off to the woods as fast as he could go. "At first I was considerably puzzled to account for the action of that black bear. He certainly knew too much lo eat the nitro-gl.vcerin, and I couldn't think of any use that even an animal of his wisdom could put it to. Then I remembered the looks of hatred he’ had cast at that grizzly when r.p tfc: tree. '“He's preparing som- kind o' r surprise party for that grizzly, l thought, 'and by the time Mr. Grizzly recovers from the surprise there won’t be enough left of him for an inquest.’ “About naif an hour later the black bear returned, carrying in his mouth the biggest and fattest coon I had seen for months. He laid the coon down by the can of nitro-glycerin. Then he looked at me in an inquiring manner. 1 saw what he meant. “ it's a fair exchange,’ I salt,. ‘Leave the coon, take the glycerine, and try and make life interesting for that big grizzly.’ “1 was mighty curious to know what lilan that good old bear had in his head, so I followed him. He carried the can of nitroglycerin to one of the * paths frequented by the grizzly in his excursions for the purpose of teaching Pike county animals the strenuous life. Every little while the black bear would stop and chuckle to himself at the thought of the surprise he was i preparing for his enemy. lint he was i mighty carefui fo put down the can r nitro-glycerin on these occasions, for he was a wise bear and appreciated that gleeful chuckles and nitro glycerin don't go well together. When he reached the path used by the griz zly he carefully opened up the can and left it standing in the middle of the path. Then he wenttquite a dis tance down the path to where there was a sharp curve. Just around the curve the black bear rolled a good sized rock, so that it stood directly in the path. A person or animal running swiftly down the path and not know ing the rock was there would be cer tain to smash into it and get considei able of a jar. Having laid his trap, the black bear hurried back and hid himself about half way between the rock and the place where he had placed the can of nitro-glycerin. "Along towards evening the grizzly came hulking rown the path. He saw the nitro-glycerin. smelled of it. and then tasted it. Grizzlies have quite a sweet tooth, and. after having once tasted the stuff, that big bear couldn't rest until he had eaten every mouth ful. When he finished he was a per fect example of an explosive bear. “ ‘If anything jars your feelings or stomach, my furry friend,’ I remarked but in low tones, ’you'll enter the bear happy hunting grounds in detach ments.’ as soon as uie Dig grizzly nau eaten the explosive, the black bear made his appearance down the path ar.d began to send out challenging grcwis. The grizzly looked up, and for a moment seemed stunned at the im pudence of the smaller bear in growl ing at him. But the black bear didn't seem frightened. Instead. ?le stayed in the path and made insulting re marks in the bear language, and if he hadn't been such a venerable and re spectable bear, one would have said he was making faces at the grizzly. The grizzly didn't lose any time, but start ed down the path with the evident in tention of giving the black bear a life lesson on the evils of insulting bigger; bears. “As soon as he saw the grizzly was fairly under way, the black bear turned and scampered down the path as fast as his short legs could carry him. The grizzly was gaining on him. but 1 noticed the black bear had al lowed himself sufficient start so that ihere would be a good interval be tween them when Mr. Grizzly reached the rock. When he rounded the curve the black bear dodged into the bushes at one side. The grizzly was going too fast to turn, and of course he never suspected there was a big rock in the middle of his weii-worn path, and he smashed into it at full speed. "For about a minute there was a steady rain of grizzly. When it stopped the black bear emerged from the bushes. He had been considerably jarred himself by the explosion of the loaded grizzly. But he didn t mind that and was on hand with a bear gloat that it did a person's heart good to see. He fairly danced about the place where his enemy had last been seen. I never saw a look of more per fect content bn the face of anyone, man or bear. " 'Grizzly bears are all right in their uncultured way,' that good bear seemed | “For About a Mirnuto There Was a | Steady Rain of Grizzly." to bo saying to himself. 'But when they run against nitro glycerin and the intelligence of Pike county bears, an explosion is the only funeral sermon coming to them.’ > "Tom Wilson was considerably wor ried when his pet hunter didn’t return home that night. The next day he started out to find him. He followed the grizzly’s trail to where the explo sion had occurred. Then he couldn't understand what had happened. " ’I’ve heard of explosive tempers' he said, puzvlcd-like. ‘and my pet cer tainly had one. But this is the first time 1 ever heard of one tearing a hole ir. the ground.’ "I explained what had happened. Torn could hardly restrain his grief at the thought of his grizzly's fate. ".‘His life was one long career of victory,' said Tom with tears in his e; 3, 'hut even a grizzly can't stand a diet cf nitro glycerin and hard knocks. I wcnld inter him with honors if 1 <■ id. But I would have to celebrate id.;, r.br. euics over the bigger part ot ti • county. And I'm r.ot willing to r' : 1'• t continuous performance fu nerals, even for the sake of my cher ished pet.’ ” These pretty braces may be reproduced in a variety of materials, and be ing quite separate from the bodice, may be worn with any dress. The first sketch illustrates them made up in black glace ribbon and ecru lace insertion. The ribbon that goes over the shoulders is wide and folded, and is 'joined to each edge of insertion. The epault tes and waistband are of narrower rib bon with same insertion, the wide ribbon being used for the short sash ends. In the second picture the braces are shown made of glace silk, chosen the same color as the dress they are to be worn writh. Materials required for No. 7a: 3 yards wide ribbon, about 5 yards narrower ribbon, 4% yards insertion. 4 tassels. For No. 8a: Ha yard siik 22 inches wide, 2% yards insertion, 4 tassels. Clever Ideas in Birthday Surprise A clever birthday surprise was planned by a friend for a girl on her twentieth birthday. Twenty giris were invited. Each girl sen-, a little gift appropriate for the year for which they stood, yet adapted to the girl’s present needs. For one year old a neat little package marked "Always hungry" contained an old-fashioned candy stick; another for two years old had written on it. "She likes to make (mud) pies," had in it a little apron; three, "She has a tea party,” was' a little cup and sau cer; on the package which repre sented her fourth birthday w<ts marked, “She. has a place at the table;” it contained a napkin ring; for her fifth birthday the gift was a little purse containing 20 pennies and this inscription, “She spends her first pennies;” a sack was the present for her sixth birthday, “She goes to par ties." “She learns to write;" a pretty penholder was given her for her sev enth birthday, and for her eighth. "She has a sweet tooth," was a box of candy; nine, “She loves pretty rib bons,” was several yards of ribbon; a little thimble was the gift for her tenth birthday, "She learns to mend;” the present for her eleventh was a box of stationery with "She receives let ters” written on it; for the twelfth a piece of music was given with this sentence, "She learns to play the piano;” 13, "She is an athlete,” a pair of Indian clubs; 14, “She loves flow ers,” a dainty vase; 15, “She is fond of tennis," an ornamental racquet; 16, “She loves to read,” a book;. 17, "She does embroidery,” a work bag; IS, “Shfe likes to be dressed up," clasp pins; 19, “She dresses her hair high," an ornamental comb; 20, "She is a full-fledged young lady.” a fan. Braid Effects. Wonderful effects are gained with braid of different widths wound around each ether and over little forms. Francis, who clings tenaciously to gray, shows a fresh relay of winter models, among which is a delicious frock in softest dawn-gray cloth. The skirt fits with perfect smoothness over the hips and is very full at the foot where appears a trimming of three rows of flat braid inclosing rows of narrower braid. These are set in clus ters of three, all ending at the side of the front breadth. Between each clus ter is a great roll, shtiped like a bob bin of solidly wound gray silk. It has an appearance of great weight, but the mold over which it is wound is hol low. The coat is a distinguished-appear ing model, half-long and loosely fitting. It has its front edges trimmed with an immense twisted silk cord, and a line of the bobbins in two sizes, alter nating, follows the edges. The wide, short oversleeves are also edged with the twist. The Latest Hairnet. At last there is a hairnet which ob viates all difficulties of adjustment and wears extraordinarily well. It is bag-shaped instead of triangular and conforms so well to the prevailing style of hair-dressing that the elastic pressure of the net is evenly distrib uted all over. A draw thread of strong, but invisible, silk is intro duced at the edge, and upon this thread the entire strain of the net is supported. At the end of the thread a non-Uetachable pin gives ease of handling and fastening. This net is made of human hair and comes in all shades. Tighter Bust Line Is Fashion’s Decree The newer gowns and waists show a tighter bust line than in many years, and as all skirts are fitted closely over the hips, underwear must be se lected which will assist in securing a sheathlike, or, as it is called, a hip less dress skirt. To effect this, underwear must be chosen that has little fulness and no unnecessary gathers or pleats. The petticoat pantaloon is being universally worn, either as a separate garment or joined at the waist to a boned corset cover. The latter is also a necessity, owing to the r.ew bust line These petticoat pantaloons are a great improvement over the divided skirt. They are draped over the hips with out a ripple, being cir'cular, conse quently bias, without darts or other seamings. Both divisions of the garment flare to a width of a yard and a half at the knees, to which still more fullness is given by added ruffles, long or short. Soft, undressed materials, such as China silk, pongee or nainsook, are employed. COLLAR AND CUFF SET, An effective collar and cuff set for a coat, made of white linen and em broidered in a simple design, stitched at the edge. Valenciennes lace adds the finishing touch. Sailor Suits for Girls. For the older girl sailor suits are the most worn. They are practical and becoming to almost everyone. They should be made with a wide col lar and the sleeves should be mod erately full, with turn back .cuffs. The skirt should be plaited. The skirt is made of three and a half or • four straight widths of the goods, and should be hemmed before it is plaited. A belt the size of a child's waist is then taken and the plaits pinned to it until 'they are the desired width be fore basting. Girls of all ages should have knick erbockers to wear with each frock. They should be made of the same goods as the dress and should be short enough not to be seen below the hem of the skirt. Afternoon Frocks. The prettiest afternoon and evening dresses seen this season are those of mourseline trimmed lightly at the cor sage, the effect is most lovely. The cloth must bo the exact shade of the mousseUne. SAND AND CLAY GOOD ROAD MAKING MATERIALS Hard, Durable Highways Can Be Constructed at Small Cost— By William L. Spoon, Government Road Expert. Natural sand-clay roads may fre quently be found in localities where the soil contains the right proportions of sand and clay, in sections of the country where the prevailing subsoil , is composed entirely of clay, or, on I the other hand, is of an extremely sandy character, these materials may be properly mixed so as to overcome I as far as possible the objectionable features of each. The mixing of sand and clay as a form of road construc tion has received careful study and is of great importance, especially to the Atlantic and gulf states, where throughout large areas sand and clay j are practically the only materials available for road building. The best sand-clay road is one in which the weiring surface is com posed of grains of sand in contact in such a way that the voids or angular spaces between the grains are entirely filled with clay, which acts as a binder. Any excess of clay above the amount necessary to fill the voids in the sand Fig. 1.—Clay mixed with sand to the i point of saturation, with the angular j sand grains in contact. is detrimental. If a small section taken from the surface of any well constructed sand-clay road is ex amined with a magnifying glass, the condition of contact which exists be tween the grains, and the small pro portion of clay which is required to fill the voids may be seen. Wherever this proper condition of contact exists for a few inches in thickness upon the surface of a road, it will bear comparatively heavy traf fic for a long time, even when the sub soil is sand or c!a>f. The proper mix ture or saturation point of clay and sand can easily be seen by referring to Fig. 1. , All the experiments that have been made by the government indicate that the materials should not be mixed in a dry state, but that they should be thoroughly mixed and puddled with water. It makes little difference by what method the stirring or mixing is done, so long as it is thorough and proper preportions of the materials are obtained. If an excess of clay is used in the mixture, as shown in Fig. 2, the grains of sand which are not in contact are free to move among and upon each other, so that no par ticle exerts more resistance tj> pres sure than if the entire mass consisted of clay alone. On the other hand, if an insufficient amount of clay is used, the mixture will lack binding i>ower and will soon disintegrate. We may now outline the methods which have been used to obtain the proper contact mixture, although it will be necessary to discuss separately the methods of treating slaking and non-slaking varieties of clay. It will readily be seen that it is less economi cal to haul sticky or plastic clay and spread it upon sand than it is to haul sand and spread it upon clay. The clay is difficult to dig and handle and Fig. 2.—Sand-clay mixture with an in sufficient amount of sand, the grains not being in contact. usually comes out in lumps, which, if placed upon the roadbed and covered with sand, are apt to remain unbroken unless great care is taken in the mix ing. The bad effects of lumps of clay in a sandy subsoil and the effects of traffic on such a mixture are illustrat ed in Figs. 3 and 4. Fig. 3 shows a cross section of a road into which lumps of clay have been worked. Fig. 4 shows the dis placement of these lumps when sub jected to the prolonged action of traf fic, and the resulting formation of deep ruts and general disintegration of the surface. It has been pointed out that thor ough stirring and puddling are abso lutely essential to successful sand clay construction. This is most easily brought about , immediately after a hard or prolonged rain, the clay hav ing been previously spread and the larger lumps broken up as completely as possible. The surface should then be covered with a few inches o? sand and plowed and harrowed thoroughly by moans of a turning plow and a cut away or disk harrow. This stage of the work will of course be found some what disagreeable, leading, as it does, to the formation of a thick, pasty mud; but it is the only practicable way in which the necessary mixing can be accomplished. Many experi ments have been tried with dry mix ing of the clay and sand, but all have been more less unsuccessful. In cases where the plowing and harrowing are considered too expensive the mixing may be left to traffic. This, however, inevitably leads to a muddy road sur face for a long time, although finally it is possible, by a proper distribution of the sand upon the clay, to bring about a fairly ,,'ood result, even by this simple method. In case a slaking clay is used, very much less puddling is required, as there are practically no lumps to be broken up and the mixing can easily be done with a harrow after a rain. Slaking clays do not usually make as effective binders as the more plastic clays; therefore in dry weather the road surface becomes more dusty. It will be seen that the best clay for this kind of construction is one which slakes sufficiently easily to enable the lumps to be readily broken up, and which at the same time, without being too plastic, has sufficient binding pow er to cement the grains of sand and form a smooth, impervious surface on the road. Clays of this nature which have given excellent results are found in abundance in many of the southern states and doubtless exist elsewhere. Their color is usually red or mottled red and white. Occasionally clays are found sufficiently sandy to be suitable for use without further mixing. When this is the case it is only necessary to spread the material on the road and allow it to pack under traffic. It is obvious that it is necessary to pay careful attention to the physical prop erties of the available clay in the neighborhood of the road, as it will frequently be found economical to haul good material for some distance rath er than use an inferior material which is close at hand. The qualities to be considered, as has been pointed out. are the greatest binding power ob tainable, together with the least Fig. 3.—Cross section of road, showing lumps of clay placed on a sand sub soil and covered with sand. Fig. 4.—Cross section of road, showing displacement of lumps of clay when subjected fo travel. amount of labor necessary for disin tegrating and mixing. An easy method for making a rough or approximate estimate of the volume of the clay filler required for any unit quantity of a given sand is as follows: Two ordinary glass tum blers of the same size are filled to the brim, one with dry sand and the other with water. The water is then poured carefully from the one glass in to the sand in the other until it reaches the point of over flowing. The volume of water re moved from the glass which was originally full of water can be taken as an approximate measure of the voids in the unit volume of sand con tained in the tumbler. A simple cal culation will reduce this to percent age volume. Practical experience has shown that the tendency is to calculate too little rather than too much sand for given amounts of clay, and almost invariably a second and even a third application of sand is necessary over and above the calculated amount. It often hap pens that clay will work up to the sur face under "he action of traffic, in which case an extra top dressing of sand should be added when required. Sale of Buttermilk.—Nearly every town or city offers a good trade in buttermilk. The demand is much greater than many people might think at first notice. Many cooks prefer buttermilk for baking certain hot breads and cakes, both because of its cheapness compared to sweet milk, and of its superior acid content. Those who do their own churning and have a short distance to haul to town could no doubt develop a trade In this by product that would be worth the while. Ordinarily buttermilk retails at ten cents a gallon, which would amount to about a dollar and twenty cents a hundred. Gallon molasses cans are nice to deliver the milk in. Use Tar Paper.—If the poultry house has cracks or knot holes In the walls through which the ^d blows or the cold gets into • the house, cover the building with one or two thicknesses of tar paper or, better, with some of the prepared roofings and sidings manufactured and sold for the pur pose. The hens will lay enough more eggs during winter to more than pay the cost of making their house com rortable.
