The Red Cloud chief. (Red Cloud, Webster Co., Neb.) 1873-1923, February 23, 1900, Image 7

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SCENES FROM THE
British Prisoners in Pretoria The Queen With the Wives of
Soldiers at the Front A Trooper Sounding the Alarm,
While It Is not exactly n disgrace to
bo taken prisoner, especially when It
becomes a choice between captivity
mid death, still It Is discounting to u
BOldler who hopes for a chance to vin
glory and promotion to llnd hlniHcIf a
prisoner at the very opening of hos
tilities. Such was the fortune of war
for a law portion of two of Knglnnd's
"crack leglmonts," which were sent out
on a sortie from Ladysmlth In the
hope of driving back the Boers who
were threatening the town.
The Illustration shows the prison
ers as they were being marched
through Pretoria to the race course
of the town, which 1ms been mado a
military prison.
The picture offers an excellent
chance to study the .character of
"Tommy Atkins" In adversity. He has
no greatly dejected air about him, but
with British complacency has evident
ly decided to niako the best of his luck.
As long as he has ills pipe and a little
tobacco he can stand his forced resi
dence In the enemy's capital. And
"Ooin Paul." who, It Is said, "occasion
ally" smokes a pipe himself, will not
let ills hatred for the British carry
him so far as to forbid his F.ngllsh
guests this symbol of peaco and con
tentment. It Is an exceptional Honor to be a
member of the Life Ouards, with duty
to protect the life of the sovereign. It
niUTISH PRISONERS IN PRFTORIA.
la also an honor to bo u Reservist, be
cmibo having that titlo shows that one
lias sorved faithfully ten years In the
army, and now stands ready to bo
called upon In time of danger to tho
empire.
The war In South Africa has beooma
T1IK ALARM
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ho serious that the Reservists havo
been called out, and a patt of the 1.1 fo
(Suurds ate no longer directly guard
ing the Queen's person, but have been
hurried to the scene of hostilities. As
n mark of honor to the brave men In
these divisions of the army, the Queen,
who feels that she Is mother to her
foldleis. visited the Victoria Harruchs i
In Windsor, and there received the
wives and children- perhaps in some
eases the widows and orphans of tlte
Life (itianls and Resenlsts who ate r
at the front. I
The Mist Illustration on this page
portrays vividly the life on the Trans
vaal frontier. A young Knglishmun
and his wife have settled In South Af
rica and built for themselves a little
home. The Iloer farmers In the neigh
borhood have been Jealous of the "Out
lander," whose ways were not their
ways. Quarrels have arisen.
Hut the Iloer army Is far away, he
thinks, lie does not know t hat the
British troops in Natal have eoncon
tr.tted In u few towns and left the rest
of the country to the Invading Trans
vaal army, who have been reinforced
by his neighbors of Iloer blood.
Little l'aul Kevete. a trooper, rides
through the country giving the alarm
of tin Invaders' appioach, and what
the news means to the young lhigllsh
BOF-R ART1LLKRY "SHICLLINO" LADYSMITH.
couple can be Judged by a study of the
expression on their faces.
I'eeil Mm Hint.
Thoughtless people have not the
slightest Idea of the suffering of wild
birds during frosty weather, or when
the ground Is covered with snow. The
little ones of the household should b.e
encouraged to remember tho poor
birds, ho dependent at this time of year
upon such assistance. Remains of
cold boiled potatoes, broken small, will
be picked up eagerly; a handful of
rolled oats will be n perfect feast, and
cooked rice, barley, pease, etc., left
from a meal, and all much appreciated
by them. "The pleasure of watching
the birds Is very great especially to
children, whose natural love towards
all dumb, creatures Is Intensified by
tho knowledge that they are befriend
ing them, and, perhaps, saving them
from a cruel death. Those living In n
city Hat have, perhaps, not the sunns
opportunity of studying the wonder
ful variety of birds, but even a town
sparrow would be glad of a few crumbs
and tit-bits put out on tlie window sill.
Water, too, Is a tiling which few peo
ple think of, although 1 havo seen a
sardine tin filled with water and
placed on the window sill of a Hat;
and when I noticed tho avidity with
which several "dickies" camo and
drank, I knew that tho kindness which
promoted the action was not thrown
awuy.
To Inticre Ijirly ItMiiL",
Rally risers resort to all sorts of
methods to make sure that they will
bo up bet lines for business or pleasure),
as the necessity may lie. Perhaps tho
most unique and novel method ever
employed Is that of a young levenuo
clerk, whoso duties once or twice a
week require that he shall bo at a cer
tain pier at 7 o'clock, which Is about
nu hour earlier than ho usually gets
up. He tried an alarm clock, but as
often as not ho failed to hear It. Ha
asked one of tho servants to nrouso
him, but the servant frequently over
slept. Ho was In despair. Ono night
ho was wending his way home rather
TRANSVAAL WAR.
late. wondering how he was going to
Ret awake In the morning, when he
happened to pass a telegraph olllce. A
happy though struck him. Filtering
Tllli Ql'FFN AT TIIIC VKTOUIA '
BARRACKS IN WINDSOR. I
the olllce, he wiote out a telegram ad
dressed to hlniM'ir and signed with an
Initial. It read: "Mother is dying.
Come at once." Leaving Instructions
that It was to lie delivered at 5 o'clock
in tho inornlng.he went homo and went
to bed. Promptly at 5 a messenger
boy was energetically ringing the bell,
having been Informed that the mes
sage was an uigent ono and that
ho was not to come back without de
livering It. So well did the sehemo
work that the young man now resorts
to It ns a matter of habit.
Tho Hunker Hill Monument.
The corner stono of the Hunker Hill
monument was laid on the iJOth anni
versary of the battle of Hunker Hill,
June 17, 182.", by Lafayette, and tho
oration was pronounced by Daniel
Webster. It Is a square shaft of Qulncy
granite, 21! I feet high, III feot square at
the base and l.' feet at tho top. Inside
the shaft is a round hollow cone, seven
feet wide at the bottom and four feet
two Inches at the top, encircled by a
winding staircase containing 224 stono
steps, which leads to a chamber 11 feet
In diameter, Immedltely under tho
apex. Tho chamber has four windows,
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DIAMOND DEBRIS FOR FORTS.
Trobably tho Hoer-Hrltlsh war In
South Africa Is tho first on record In
which diamond debris has been lined
for formications. Whllo It Is Just as
deadly to bo killed behind diamonds
as behind common earthworks, there
Is a distinction nttaehed to the former
which Is InckluB In tho case ot the
and contains two cannons, named Han
cock and Adams respectively, which
were used In the war. The monument
was completed and dedicated .liino J7,
IS III.
HOW TO CLEAR WINDOW PANES
Klrrlrle Knit Korn Dm l'rot rrmu Ac
rinuiiliiltiiK mi tlie Cllii't.
It Is enough to give one chilly shiv
ers up and down his spinal column
and bark again to see an electric fan
In the window of a stole on Kuelld
avenue, whirling away as though the
thermometer Indicated a degree of
heat appi-oachlng that of Keutueky
politics. The fan Is in the big window
of the store anil It is kept there all
the time, whirling away as though It
were summer. It is an ordliiarv fan
and theie Is nothing about It to attract
attention save the fact that It Is going
and that It Is pointed toward the plate
glass window t tint Is, It blows the
air against the Inside of the glass. The
reason lor this odd use of an electric
fan In the dead of winter Is the solu
tion of one of the problems that ban
botheied storekeepers for years, ever
since there were stores and winters
probably. There have been Inventions
without number to solve the problem
of how to keep the frost from forming
on the Inside of show windows and
obscuring them so that the things In
the windows cannot be seen from the
street. Them have been Innumerable
Inventions to keep the windows clear
In cold weather, and some of the ex
pensive ones ate fairly successful. Tills
meichant has found the easiest and
cheapest, lie puts an electric fan In
the window space. Tho ran blows tho
nlr against the inside of tho glass
hard enough so that there Is always
a more or less lively circulation or air
over the face of the glass and this pre
vents the formation of moisture. Tho
Importance ()f having the windows
clear enn be understood when It Is real
ized that the show window represents
a largo percentage of the value of a
store for business purposes In tho
shopping district. A More that rents
for 3,000 a mouth would not bring
anything like that sum without tho
show windows. Cleveland Plulndealcr.
tier I)rnreit Lure.
Grace "I am going toeo Clara to
day. Havo you any messago?" Dora
"I wonder how you can visit that
dreadful dowdy! Give her my love."
Kverjr other Mhii Killed.
At tho battle of Hastings (A. I).
lOfiC), tho weapons being swords nnd
battle axes, r.flO fell fatally wounded
out of every 1,000 soldiers.
sanio unpleasant contingency when It
comes In a muddy trench that Is filled
with only common dirt. Tho heaps In
this picture nro tho hills of diamond
bearing earth around Kimberley. These
hills havo been armed with guns and
have served their purposes assorts excellently.
: .
)JEI) inthkih hoots
A TERRIULE DAY IN MEDICINE
LODGE, KANS.
I'otir .Mon Hull HiinU, Shooting the
President unit CiMhlrr unit Are Thfiii-
nli (iipluri'il mill I.jrueheit It Oc
curred Ituck In 'Ml,
The biggest day we ever had In .Med
icine Lodge, says a catllenian, was In
1SSI, when we had sl dead men on
our hands, nil killed with their boots
on. Medicine Lodge was then an old
town, as towns go in Kansas, and had
a bank of deposits for cattlemen and
the usual number (if dance halls and
saloons, though the latter had degen
erated Into "Joints" under the prohibi
tion lefonu. Well, on May I, Wiley
P.i.vnc, ptesldeul of the bank, and a
man named (ichhmt. cashier, opened
the bank that morning a little earlier
than usual. I was on the way to the
bank myself and was about a block
away when I saw four men ride up and
tie their homes. Thiee went into the
bank. There was an old woman cross
ing the stieet, and all of n hiiiuIcii she
yelled "bank robbers" at the top of her
voice and began to run. With that the
shooting began In the bank. 1 tot It the
president ami cashier wele shot to
death by the lubbers, livery man In
town who bad u gun, and we all car
ried 'em, got ready to shoot. There
was a lot of cowboys at the hotel and
In the Joints. They had ridden their
horses into town and had left them at
the livery stable witli saddles on.
When the shooting began to get hot
the robbers ran for their horses, climb
ed on nnd started up Medicine creek.
The cowboys were right behind thein,
riding ami shooting. They couldn't
get In range so It would be convenient
to drop, so they quit shooting and
made the bronchos climb. They never
once lost sight of them robbers. I
don't know whether they'd have
caught them very soon It tho robbers
hadn't made a blunder.
Harry Hrown, the city marshal of
Caldwell, and Hen Wheeler, his deputy,
weic the head lohbers. Hen was a big
hf,;l
WILHY PAYNIC.
fellow, nioro than six .'eel high, and
weighed 225. He was too heavy for ills
horse, and the hot so was losing his
wind. So what do they do but turns
up into one of the deep canyons, think
ing they could ride somewhere, l
reckon. Anyhow, they started up the
canyon, with the cowboys after them.
It was a deep one without any outlet
at the upper end. First tiling they
knew wo had 'em penned in by the
steep banks of the canyon on three
sides and the cowboys on the other.
It was a tight place, and It did not take
them long to agree to surrender ami
go back to Jail. I guess we did prom
ise 'em protection, leastwise we said IT
they would go back with us we
wouldn't hang them on the way to Jail.
Hut wo declined to be responsible for
accidents. That's natural enough.
How could we help It If something did
happen to them after they got back to
Jail?
Course, something did happen. They
knowed and wo knowed that It wiib
goln' to. They had been caught In the
act of Killing bankers nnd in them
days bankers were held in great re
spect, so they had nothlup, else to ex
pect. We put 'em In Jail safe enough
and put handcuffs on them. Along
towaril evening the boys began to ride
In from all over the county. They had
heard about the killing, ami after ma
ture deliberation it was decided that
the Jail was no safe place nohow, and
the state had expenses enough of Its
own. So, for the good of the com
munity, It was thought best to make a
short, sure Job of them and relieve our
selves from further anxiety.
Along In the evening some of tho
boys went up to the Jail to see how
the prisoners were. As I told you.
they wore all in Irons when we left "em
In the morning, but when we got up
there that night they had got Hie irons
off. How they done It I never iltn
know, ami they didn't have tlmo to ex
plain. Wlien the Uoor was opened
they broke to got away. Hrown got
such a start that It was necessary to
perforate hlin then and there. He died
without a kick. His deputy. Hen
Wheeler, had to be winged. They shot
him so he couldn't run and held him
for tin llnal (eremonles. Tho other
two robbers, Hilly Smith and John
Wesley, were cowboys, but, being poor
runners, and having been previously
relieved of their Winchesters and side
arms, they was easy to handle. He
sides, the boys knowed 'em and did not
want to disfigure them. They rounded
tip tho prisoners ami took 'em to a
louo tree handy to town and near tho
river. Then the three were strung up
on tho ono tree. Of com so, as Hrown
had already departed this life, tliero
wasn't no need of strlngln' him up. u
was a big funeral wo had tho next day,
six men dead, and all died with their
boots on. It was the biggest day wo
ever had In Medicine Lodge
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ROYAL SUPERSTITIONS.
l"riir of Wllhelm, I'runr .loirpli ami
Other Moimrcln.
No sovereign Is moio superstitious
or more careful not to Infringe on any
of tho old mythical adages than Wil
liam II. First, there Is tho white lady.
Then the fern- of a seventh son, Tor
when the piesent kaiser was quite a
tail u torceress predicted that three
emperors would occupy the throne of
their ancestors In the course of ono
year; that one of these fliree, who
should have seven sons, would brln
bad luck to the German empire nnd
allow It to slip forever from the llo
henollern grasp. The kaiser always
assures himself before going on horse
back that ho has a pierced fi-pfennlg
piece In his pocket, supposing It will
ward ofT danger. He Inherits these
scruples ft oni his father, tho Into Km
peror Frederick, who rather shocked
the stiong-mliided Princess Royal or
Kuglaml by bUnglng a sprig of white
heulher, emblem of good luck, when
ho proposed to her.
Reineiuberlng nil the senseless forms
connected with the Russian court and
custom, It Is not surprising that Nic
olas Is superstitious, mid very much
so. A ring which good Muscovites zeal
ously alllrm contains u portion of tlm
true cross Is handed down from ono
autocrat to the other, ami nothing In
the world would Induce the c.ar to
pel form the most trivial act without it.
impress Alex has no patience with
her husband's whims of this stamp.
Tho phantom of the llapsliurg dy
nasty, like that of the Hohcnzollcriis,
Is u lady, and her appearanco presages
death or other misfortune. "Fvory
tragic event -and goodness knows
there have Jieen enough of them
which has yet happened at the Aus
trian court." n well-known archduchess
declares, "has been announced by a
woman of rare beauty who wanders In
the corridors of Kchonbriinn castle."
Different Austrian notables avow they
saw litis Inauspicious creature short
before Aiehdiike Rudolph's dentil, anil
again before his mother's assassina
tion. The "white lady" of the Tullorlcs
was an ugly dwarf, whose appearanco
predicted an unnatural death to sotnn
member of the royalty. Though tho
Italian court has no such visitor, King
Humbert Is Just u trifle superstitious,
and no matter where he Is, or under
what circumstances, h makes it a
point to change his linen tlnee times a
day.
A PERILOUS CALLING.
Urine Ouiigrr Ainu) Attenili tlia
TrHluur of Wild ltent.
When yon see an animal trainer per
forming with ferocious beasts you may
tie quite right If you Imagine the man
as a fearless master of them; hut It
you think for an Instant that tliero Is
no danger, youire wholly wrong. A
trainer never confronts the beasts and
compels them to do his bidding with
out literally taking his lire in his
hands. He Is so used to the danger
Hint lie does not think of It each time,
ami lie holds his mastery of t'hem by a
soil of power that becomes habit, sec
ond nature, as it were. Just as he eats
Ids meals or performs any other com
mon employments. Or, to mako tho.
case more plain, he forgets the dangers
that surround him. Just as men In any
other dangerous calling do a painter,
for instance, who stands upon a nar
row platform hundreds of feet above
the ground. Ncveitheloss, the danger
Is ever present, and all the more terri
ble because ot tlie uncertainty or It. A
trainer must Inspire constant tear In
the brutes. What a power tor harm
there is in the elephant, tor Instance!
One swing or that powerful trunk, and
lie could crush out the life of the man,
hut he is possessed of an ungovernable
fear. Some animal trainers live to a
good ago and never have an accident.
They nro absolutely fearless In their
work, anil yet they may be no braver
than you or I when other animals aro
in question.
There was ono trainer who gavo a
wonderful performances with a number
of animals In one cage. He would tnka
all manner of liberties with tho rero
clous brutes, compelling them to do tils
bidding, making them form pyramids
and lying down on them. When you
consider how a cat or dog will some
times turn on you if not handled Just
so, you must realize what a tremendous
power the trainer must exert over such
huge, Havage beasts. There were al
ways a dozen other keepers about
when this performance wsb being en
ufied. and they were nrnied with pis
tols, hot Irons and rawhide whips. Ono
of the lions turned upon his trainer
once, nnd his arm was badly lacerated
before he could bo rescued. Of all ani
mals, keepers say the tiger Is tho
worst, and tin- most treacherous. it
Is necessary to keep an eye fixed pretty
constantly upon it, or It may rovolt at
any moment.
Wnutit Mil Kiitlrs llualmud.
A woialen leg and a glass eye played
havoc with cupld's arrangements at
Alto, 111., recently. A young woman
becamo engaged to a man in Iowa
whom she had never seen. Tho corre
spondence iiad lasted long enough to
convince both that they were "fated
to be mated." Tho date for tho wed
ding was sot and tho prospective brldo
waB nt tho depot to meet tho train
which was to bring her llance. When
tho train rolled in tho Iowa man
stepped down on the platform. Ills
wooden leg thumped, his glass eyo
wobbled. That settled It. Tho young
woman throw up her hands and
emitted a scream thnt would have
shamed uu Apache and ran like a deer.
Slio reached her home, locked herseir
In her room, and refused to seo her
lover, who, after a night's rest, discon
solately turned his face homeward,
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