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About The Red Cloud chief. (Red Cloud, Webster Co., Neb.) 1873-1923 | View Entire Issue (March 23, 1900)
"fVr " tr 7 ' THERE IS There Is no placo llko Nome to tho gold-seeker of tortay. As the season approaches for tho ntuiual departure of thousands of gold hunters to the Klondike nml to tho Alaskan gold Holds It Is discovered thut tho destlna tlon of nine In every ten Is Nonu writes n Seattle correspondent. It Is tho new Kl Dorado of this wonderful region, 1b said to bo richer than nny of tho other much-heralded districts. Certuln It is that In Its formative pe riod It is in 010 Interesting. It lies ut tho mouth of two rivers, tho Snako and tho Nome, which afford every facility with their numerous brunches and ramifications for wash ing the placer dirt. The gold Is easily accessible and abounds In quantities thit have attracted many miners from tho older established localities. A great Item of expense which Is generally attendant upon the opening of an Kl Dorado lies In tho cost of prospecting both In time and money. Many months and many dollar.? have been spent tho world over In prospect ing worthless lands, but hero things aro different. Here It Is possible to do- tormlno the value of a claim, or nt least to asccitnin whether It Is worth working or not, almost at a glanco as the soil to be prospected llos but a fow feet below the surface, either on tho beach or back In tho foothills. There Is but littlo non-producing dirt to remove, ns bed rock Is found five feet below tho surface. Men who havo suffered with the gold fover for fifty years aver that tho Inland mines of this district aro very similar in geo logical formation to tho early placer mines In California. During tho min ing season at Nome almost all the op erations wero confined to beach dig gings. This was duo chiefly to tho accessibility to water and to tho fact that littlo was known of tho Interior mining regions. Two million dollars have been ex tracted from tho beach already nnd no estimate can be mado of what lies hid den there. Prospectors havo gono over sixty miles of this beach and say that In every Inch of It thero Is pro cIoiib metal. Tho beach for many miles Is dotted with mining claims. Tho particular sand in which tho gold is found is ruby red in color and lies In strata from two to nine Inches In thickness. Labor is tho greatest Item of ex pense, but this when taken In propor tion to the not gains dwindles into Insignificance. Perhaps ono of the greatest advantages of these fields lies in their accessibility. Tho greatest dlfllculty is manifested In tho landing of both passengers and freight from tho vessels to tho shore. Tho gold It self has been pronounced by experts to bo of an exceptionally puro quality. It Is clean and bright, Is easily retorted and amalgamates perfectly on tho copper plates, which Ho nt the bottom of each rocker. The spcclo Is found In flno par ticles nnd small grains In the pay dirt along tho beach, whllo In the In terior and along tho numerous creeks tho product contains nuggets of ox oeptlonal size and weight. Theso nug gets nro genorally smooth worn, show ing that they havo at somo time been washed about or worn by tho friction of Ice In somo prehistoric period. This is the district into which tho new gold seekers must plunge. Tho miner on his arrival at Nome may pltJ'.i his tent any placo until ho lo cates his claim, either upon tho beach, the four stakes, one for oach corner of the rectangle. As soon as a ploco of land Is docided upon by the prospec tive miner tho district recordor is no tified, who, for the small sum of $2.50, examines tho records to find out If thoro nro any previous claimants, nnd, If none aro found, places tho location on record. The nrea allowed Is 500 feet In width nnd tho length depends on tho geo graphical formntlon. Tho width may vary from a hundred foot to half a mile. Tho creek on tho borders of which the claim Is taken up genorally passes through tho claim. What Is known technically as tho rim, or rlms, forms tho boundaries on oithor end of tho claim. Tho rim Is nothing clso but that placo In tho formation of the land whero tho hills forming tho water ehod begin to rise. It Is estimated by tho transportation companies that thero will bo a heglra of gold soekors, numbering somo 25,000, to theso now gob! fields within tho next few months. Nil nil n c or Nulls. Many children nnd somo grown per sons hnvo found It In order to nsk why nails were called tens, eights, sixes, nnd4o on. Thero nro various oxplana- .iWUous tor. this, and tho scholar can ac- NO PLACE LIKE NOME. THE LAND cept thnt which pleases him best. Ac cording to one statement, "when nulla wero mndo by hand, the penny was taken as ti standard of weight, and six worn made equal to the weight of a copper penny." This explanation Is open to criticism, on account of the very small size of tho nails, of which six were needed to balance even the largc-siied, old-fashioned copper pen ny. Others aie much more probable. Ouo explanation holds that tenpeuny nails originally sold for tenpenre a hundred, and so on, the smaller nails selling for the lower price. Another explanation Is that one thousand nails of tho tenpenny size used to weigh ten pounds, one thousand of the sixpenny size six pounds, and so for other sires. Of tho ordinary sixpenny nails thero mo eighty to the pound; of the eight penny there aro fifty; tenpenny, thirty four; twelvepenny, twenty-nine. INK ROLLERS USED IN 1041. Not Until n Fntr Yi'lirt .;, llownor, Were Tliry Aliiilo nf (lliut mid MiilHMm As long ago as the .sear 1041, so his tory tells us, a Chinese blacksmith, Pl-Chlng by name, made a paste of glutinous earth upon which he en- CAPE NOMB CITY. graved separate characters. These he baked, making movable type of earth enware. Even to this day In China the Impression is made by inking tho typo with a brush; a thin absorbent paper is then laid upon the face of tho type and pressed lightly with n dry brush. Wo have now the llrst way by which Ink was transmitted to type. This way of taking un Impression continued until about 1474, when pelt balls were Introduced. If In "perfoct" order these would do good work. They were made In the following way: A piece of strong grain pelt or skin was selected, and from this the grease had to bo ontirely icmovcd. It was then soaked 14 or 15 hours and afterward "curried" by drawing It across a post until every particle of dampness had gono. Then long treading by tho feet followodr Wool was wrapped under tho skin nnd the pelt was tightly placed ovor, but tho great dlillculty of getting it In order nnd the uncleanll ness of the operation led to the Intro duction, about 1807, by Mr. Maxwell of Phllanelphla, of tho dressed sheep skins or "skin rollers." as they were called. Hut they, too, wero abandoned, being found too heavy for tho hand. About 1815 Mr. Fanshaw of New York Introduced an Improved roller mado by wrapping u blanket some eight times around a plcco of wood three and a half Inches In diameter, turned true, nnd with an Iron spindle on each end. Tho skin was then tightly wound around tho blanket nnd afterward nailed to tho wooden end. It was In 1817, by tho merest chance, In ono of tho potteries In Staffordshire, England, that tho composition of glue nnd mo lasses first saw the light. This com position was used in tho potteries for what are commonly called "dabbers." Mr. D. Foster of Woybridgo, England, was tho first printer to apply this com position to letterpress printing; but oven he did not understand Its great 9HK ARMY HORSES IN WARM Ono of tho necessary adjuncts of every military camp which counts ca valry among Its forces is a corps of farriers. Horseshoeing nt tho front, however, Is not performed as It Is in tho woll-stocked blacksmith shop. Tho cavalry horso requiring a shoo Is seized by two or thrco soldiers, promptly dumped over on his sldo and, while It Is held down by a number of Tommies, OF SHINING GOLD. usefulness, He merely spread It, when In a liquid state, upon u piece of can vas and then made, iv ball of It. This Is the only way In which It dlfferod from the pelt ball. Tho Inventors of printing machinery were not quite so slow, however. About 1S30 tho composition was used as a coating on wooden cylinders; and hero we hnvo the first application for printing presses worthy the name of u "roller," without which printing machinery could never have reached tho state of perfection It has nttalned today. In land Printer. A FALSE BEARD. Why hii Aiui'rlcHii In Kurnnn 1 1 ml to Weiir On. Among the vat led bric-a-brac, ob jects of art, and souvenirs of travel that ndorn tho walls of ouo of tho coziest bachelor "dens" In New Or leans Is a false beard nml mustnehd put together on a false foundation and supplied ss 1 1 It a pair of delicate wlro hooks to go over tho ears. It Is Jet black In color, and Its effect Is a trllle piratical. "These falso whiskers," said the young broker who occupies the apartment, "are an Interesting relic When 1 tell you that I used BUILT IN A WEEK. them in all the banking business I did when I was nbroad a couple of years ago you will no doubt look for tho dark lantern nnd Jimmy to complete the set. My experience, however, was not bur glarious, and tho story, In a word or two, Is this: I had never been In Eu rope before, and wasn't posted ns to the best way to carry money, so on tho advlco of a friend who ought to havo had more senso I got an old-fashioned letter of credit In New York ono of thoso Idiotic arrangements that havo a photograph of tho holder pasted In a little circle nt the top of tho page. When I procured the letter I was wearing a full beard, which, I am told, changes mo very materially, but while staying In Iondon I got tired of It, and one dny, on a sudden Impulse, I had It taken off, never thinking of that confounded letter of credit. I had no occasion to uso tho document until I nrrlved In Paris, nnd when I present ed It at a bank there was turned down hard. The teller, or whoover ho was, told mo ho couldn't think of paying money to a man who bore no resem blance whatever to tho ofilclal photo, and, when I explnlned tho situation, shrugged his shoulders nnd advised mo to come back nfter I grow nnother beard. Going out I chnnccd to notice a costumcr's shop, and was seized with an Inspiration. I rushed over, bought that curio now on tho wall, returned to tho bank.clnpped It on my classic mug, nnd said, 'Now glmmo that money.' Thero was some talk, but I got It, nnd afterward 1 worked tho same scheme from one end of Europo to tho other. The bank people regarded It ns an amusing American eccentricity. With out it I would havo lost at least a month, laying up somewhere, waiting fox my bristles to break out." Now Orleans Tlmes-Domocrat. Hardship. Tho natlvo soil of man hood and self-reliance. J. Neal. tho army horueshoer goes to work and has tho charger shod bofore ho could eat n feed or oats. A small portable bellows and forgo enables tho farrier to travel about the lines nnd do his work wherever wonted. Tho accom panying illustration shows ono of theso army horscshoers putting shoes on nn obstreperous ofllccr's mount In South Africa. " ' '- THE DESERT ULOOMS. All llfcnmo n Hun Knntr Whnl to Do, nml I)I1 It. In tho southwest corner of Franco, between tho rivers of Adour and tla ntnne, arelongHtretehesof pine woods, green and cool. Where these pines now stand was a barren waste In tho middle of the last century. Hun nml wind vied with each other In making the land drier and dustier. Over tho stormy bay of Hlscay came winds that not up great sand storms.nnd sometimes burled whole villages. The whole re gion was one of hopelessness and de spair. Pate was against It. Hut at last there came along a man who ac kowledged fato only ns something to be overcome. His name was Hte montler, and he was an Inspector of roads. He began fencing In tho desert. He built a fence, and behind It planted a handful of broom seeds. Hehlud the broom seeds he put seeds of the pine. Tho fence protected the broom Heeds, nnd tho broom grew. Then the broom in Its turn niTordod shelter to tho deli cate pine shoots. Soon tho (lines spread, and their tough roots bound tho sandy soil together. The llrst step was accomplished. Then canals were made to drain tho wet parts nml carry the water to tho diy. Thus did ono man, by patient effort, turn n dreary desert Into a homo for un Industrious nnd healthy population. It was un Instance of triumph ovor fate. Phila delphia Times. IN SOUTH AFRICA, Table Mountain Murk thn Tip End of the Contlnriit. You Innd In South Africa nt the foot of a mountain 3,600 feet high. They call It Table mountain, and tho vnll of mist that, excepting on very clear days, ovcrhnngs It, South Africans aro pleased to term tho "table-cloth." Presenting n front of solid rock 1,000 foot In height, perpendicular nt a wall, and for half a mile on top quite lovel, this mountain offers tho best natural sign board on earth. Time nnd ugaln havo English firms attempted with fabulous sums to secure It for advertis ing purposes, but ns yet thero has been no such defacement. Tablo mountain marks tho tip end of tho dark conti nent. Below it nestles tho city of Capo Town, n beautiful bay stretching out In tho foreground. On tho west tho mountnln breaks off nbrnptly, nnd tho railroad skirts about It to tho Interior. On the east It slopes Into n hilly, plc turesquo formntlon known ns tho "Lion's Back," and then gradually rises Into tho Drakensburg mountains. This Is tho only great mountnln range south of tho Zambesi, and by noting Its location ono may understand In n trice Just what South Africn Is geo graphically. Steaming along tho east coast from Capo Colony northward, you havo the Drakensburg In view nearly nil tho way to Bolrn, a distunco of 2,000 miles. In Capo Colony and Natal tho mountains In mnny places dip to tho water'a edge, nnd with n field glass ono may aeo on their cragi and peaks smoko curling up from tho na tive vlllnges. Alnsllo's Magazlno. Ill- Tiitnc In I'rnTtdrnrp. Providence has tho largest sllvcr waro factory In tho world, tho largest screw factory, tho largest manufactory for small tools nnd tho largest fllo works. Porhaps It Is especially unlquo In producing more Jewelry than any other city In tho United States nnd nearly as much as tho rest of all tho country combined. There Is no city which possesses so many separato nnd distinct shops for tho manufacture of n single commodity as Provldenco does for tho manufneturo of Jowelry. Thero aro at least 250 separato factories de voted to tho making of gold, silver, rolled plated, oloctroplntcd, and brass Jewelry and novoltles. In addition tho auxiliary Industries for furnishing supplies of special labor to tho Jew elry factories number moro thnn 75, Many of tho Jewelry shops aro small, employing only ten or a dozen hands, whllo somo employ as high ns 300, and In ono case 1,400. Nashville Am erican. Take a Hnow Hath. Ed Dlctz, a promlnont nthlcto of Northwestern university, Is acquiring considerable celebrity In Evnnston for his snow baths. Every evening beforo retiring Dlctz plunges head first Into n snow bank. After floundering about vigorously for a few moments ho throws his robo about him nnd rushes Into the houso, Dlotz says n snow bath Is not so bud "after you become used to It," and ho speaks in glowing terms of tho exhilaration that follows It. Chicago Tlmea-Herald. A HEROINE OE TEXAS WHO DARED TO SURPRISE A MEXICAN JAIL. After llliln of uoo SIIIm, IUoum1 Iter l.ovnr mill AfUr ItuiiiiltiK fight Willi Mvilran Holillrr ( umluotuit lllui In afcl; llnck to Tfift. Tho remarkable deed of a Texas girl, Cora Brandon, who with wonderful kill nnd audacity rescued her lover nnd now her husband from u prison In Mexico, after running lights with Mexican dragoons, has placed her In the lists of sensational heroines. lnst fall her lover, Handal Harret, want to Mexico, with other cowboys, In tho employ of a wealthy cattleman for tho purpose of bringing a large head of wild steers back to Ulanco county. For a time U.irrct wrote regularly and then without any explanations his nils elves censed. Some weeks ago tho oth er cowboys letumed and gave tho rea sons for Barret's silence, it seems that the cowboys nttended n dance In n llt tlo Mexican town nnd that tho festivi ties had broken up In n row. A Mexi can was wounded nnd Handal, accused of having shot him, was thrown Into Jail, llefore turning homo the cow boys had securtid n lawyer to defend him. The bravo girl Immediately dotor- COHA nilANDON. mined on going to her lover. Telling her parents that sho was going to visit relatlvca, she saddled her mustang and set out to rldo 200 miles to Sabluas, Mox., 100 miles In Texas and 100 miles more beyond the Rio Qrnndo. When well on her way she exchanged her clothing for man's attire, donning her brother's suit which she carried with her. Nearly all of the way she rodo alono and often Blept out on tho plains with the wolves howling nbout her camp fire. When she reached Sablnas he Interviewed the lawyer who had been employed to defend Handal. A littlo Investigation convinced tho young girl that tho circumstances sur rounding her lover's caso presented fow encouraging features. Tho lawyer could not even tell her when Hnndnl would have to appear In court for trial. "It might bo a year or mnybo two years," he said, "before the honorable court would take up the matter." Sho found the wounded man and learned from his own lips that ho did not know who shot him. Ho had never been badly hurt and he snid thnt ho felt eorry for tho Americano. Miss Uran don sought tho Jailer, who at first pos itively refused to permit her to hnvo un Interview with his prisoner. "1 have my orders," he said. "I cannot let any one into the prison but the lawyer or one of hU relatives a mother or his wife or alBter." "Hla sister will bo horo to-morrow," replied tho quick-witted girl, und sho walked away. Next day the girl again donned fo mnlo nttlre and saw 'her lovor. Sho told him of her plans to effect his escape. From the Jailer she obtained permission to bring In her lover's sup per, and going out sho immediately purchased a splendid horse and a re Tolvor for Randal. Dy arrangement this Jiorso, together with her own, was to bo ready for mounting nt a certain hour that evening near the Jail. In tho evening whon tho girl entered tho Jail with Randal's supper sho Invited tho Jailer to step inside, saying thnt sho wanted him to help her to opon a bot tle of wine. She sot the fow dishes that she carrlod on the floor, and hand ed tho bottlo to tho thirsty Mexlcnn. When ho stepped toward tho only win dow In the gloomy vault to secure tho benefit of a few straggling rays of light, she quickly handed Randal a revolver, and whispered tho word, "Now!" Tho Texan bounded forward like n panther and brought tho weapon down on tho Jailer's bend with so much force that ho fell lu a heap on tho stono floor, barely uttering a groan. To mako sure of keeping tho poor devil silent, they drew a handkerchief through his mouth and ttod it fast at tho back of his head, and after binding hla hands and feet they walked out of tho Jail nnd locked tho door. It was now quite dark and they mounted their ponies and rode quietly out of tho littlo town without attracting the least attention. When tho sun rose next morning they were little less thnn 50 miles from that gloomy prison, and they were nbout tho same distance from Texas. Thoy might have reached homo without fur tho trouble, but a captain of rurals, who was guarding the famous Free Zono against smugglers, rocolved notlco of their escape and ho hurried squads of his command to the various croppings an tho Rio Grnnde. Just nt tho moment whou tho happy lovers were congratulating themselves over their good fortune, they worn sudden ly confronted by six Moxtcan dragoon. They turned nsldn Into the clinparral, and although the Mexicans sent a shower of bullets nftor thorn they suc ceeded In getting out of sight of their pursuers, nnd utter a hard rldo of somo hours reached the Itlo Grande. Hero they wero overtaken by nnother sqund of rurnls, nnd after exchanging shotn with them they boldly plunged Into tho river, preferring to take the risk of drowning rather than to bo carrlod back to u Mexican dungeon. Tho sol diers mined bullets about them, and sxvcrnl dragoons continued the pursuit in tho water. The lovers would have easily escaped, but a ball struck llnn dal's horso and disabled him. Tho young man was forced to abandon hla animal, nnd In doing so ho lost bin pistol. His devoted and bravo littlo sweetheart hail no thought of abandon ing tho man for whom she had already braved so many dangers. Drawing nor revolver, nho turned her pony towards Handal, nnd ns she called to him to seize tho animal's tall she fired nt tho nearest Mexican. Then turning nor horse's head toward tho Texas shoro, she threw herself ovor on his back and deliberately scut ouo bullet after nnother In rapid succession Into tho faces of her pursuers. What tho re sult of theso shots woro she does not know, but tho lovers reached tho Texas side In safety. A few days after reach ing her homo In Hlauco county she wan married to tho man sho had rescued. EXTERMINATING WILD HORSES tlrunt lUniU of thn North vvit Arc lUphllr YlnMIng to CIvllliMlun. Tho wild horse of tho west seomo destined to share tho fate of tho buf falo. Slowly, but surely, thn great hcids of these beautiful animals which i oiiiu tho plains of Washington, Idaho and Montana are being decimated. In tho last two years at least 65,000 head of horses hnvo been removed from tho ranges of eastern Washington alone. Their disposition has been approxi mately as follows: Shipped to Chicago and other eastern markots 20,000, sent to Alaska during Klondike rush 8,000, canned Into horse meat at Linton, Ore., for shipment to Franco D.000, driven to Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colo rado and Utah, largely for pack and saddle horses 10.000, broken for iibo by now settlors In Washington 10,000, died In the last two winters 8,000. This Iojh husi been double the natural Increase, reducing tho number of wild horses In thnt state from about 126,000 to 80,000 or 00,000. At this rate of decreaso thoy would last for somo years, but the fat Is that the hornea arc being confined to a smaller area each successive year, thereby increasing their chances of de struction. At least 6,000 horseB died of stnrvntton Inst winter In the dis tricts north and south of tho Snake river. Now York Journal. MRS. ADAIR'S APPEAL. Mrs. Cornelia Adair, who Is now In this country in tho interests of the hospital ship Maino, which it mny bo remomborcd wna provided by American women In England for the nurslug ot wounded British soldlcrB In tho Boer war, Is herself an American, bolng daughter of tho lato Gen. Wndsworth, of Genesoo, N. Y., who fell nt tho battlo of tho Wilderness. Tho Idea of fitting out n hospital ship originated with a Mrs. Blow, an American, nnd sho, with Lady Randolph Churchill, formod a committee ot American women In London to carry it out. Tho Bum ot $155,000 was raised in a short tlmo. At this Juncturo D. N. Baker, of Baltimore, Md., president of tho Atlantic Trans port compnny, offered tho steamship Maine nnd Its crew to the committee, to bo used as a hospital ship as long as tho war lasted. This gift represented an outlay ot between $16,000 and $20, 000 a month. To equip tho vessel the committee expended $125,000, and as It costs somo $16,000 a month to keep tho ship In service Mrs. Adair, who In the absonco of Lady Randolph Churchill, is the head ot tho commlttoo, cornea hero to Interest Americans In tho work. Mrs. Adair Is well known In the fashionable society of New York and. Newport, Her first husband was a Mr. Hltchlo, of Boston. In 18G7 sho mar ried John Adair, who was one of tha MRS. CORNELIA ADAIR, great land magnates ot Iroland nnd high sheriff ot the County Donegal. Sho 1b very wealthy In her own right. Mrs. Adair, In an appeal to tho Irish In this country, mentions tho fact that years ago, when fnmlno wob raging la Ireland, her father chartered a ship, filled It with corn from his lands at Gonesco and sent it across tho Atlantic to help the Bturvlng peasantry. Misery loves company, but the com pany seldom returns the compliment. I 1 L t.fl . Ml.il. I J(T.7 h V t a stJiay?x2'UmmiwM- I . -.. -t M-nrrt If - rf ' - . iillMillillM .- "-'"--' ' r-jA - - -- r !! maamrm .. ,u . . .. . . .,. .,.uj..mm ,. . .it . --- ..... "GBtMt&HlMKKKEJuKite3EBmwS& j,',3r&tMtmaMSiSiKdfKtl&KBI,t. l..frMjlMjiAJrjjMiMMBMMMB