Nebraska Newspapers

    - * >
,
JL DEczsroir oir LAHTD JCTZETES.
27i Order of Commissioner Sparlts on the
Subject Explained by That Getitletiian En
couragement for Settlers.
"Washington special : The order issued by
tho commissioner of the general land office ,
dated April 3 , declaring that final action upon
all entries of the public land , except private
cast entries and snch scrip locations as are
Jhot dependent upon settlement and cultiva
tion , should hereafter be suspended in Colo
rado , Dakota , Idaho-Utah , Washington terri
tory , New Mexico , Montana , Wyoming , Ne
vada and a small part of Kansas , Nebraska
.and Minnesota , and also declaring U < at final
action should bo suspended upon all timber
V * . entries throughout the country , has caused
# reat controversy In the territories named and
decided opposition from the agents and attor
neys at Washington and elsewhere , who are
engaged in the business of securing patents
for claimants. It Is claimed that the order In
question is paralyzing land business in all
parts of the country and doing great injury to
settlers who wish to prove up on their claims
so that they can borrow money to go on with
the Improvement of their lands. Commis
sioner Sparks said , when asked for his opinion
upon this point :
That order was Intended to cover what I
term infested districts. I have written a num
* ber of letters to people who are complaining
about It , and I want it thoroughly understood
that there is no disposition on my 'part to do
honest settlers an injury. It Is onlv the
kuayes and thieVes that I am after. I have
dozens of letters from persons living In these
districts who approve of the order. They say
that In many regions no' me entry in fifty is
bona fide ; that it 1st .aincss practice to do
false swearing to get a ultle to land. Timber
entries are almost universally fraudulent. Now
It is to catch these people that I have said
that we would suspend final action on claims.
This whole office. Including the assistant
commissioner , the law clerk and the various
chiefs , are in harmony as to the
necessity and wisdom of that order. Wo
talked It all over and thought of various means
to be employed JTor the end desired. One was
t to close the local land offices ; but in that
event settlers arriving in the district would
find themselves unable to locate. That plan
would not work. Then it was suggested that
we close the land office here , but that would
be obviously unadvisabie. So there was noth
ing for me to do except to say that I would
not ask the secretary of the interior nor the
president to approve and sign patents when I
believed that fully one-half of them were
fraudulent. I this way I believe I have saved
the public domain fully a million acres of land
since April 3. The charge has been made that
the order was political and geographical in its
character , that the south was oxcepted. There
are but four states in the south where the
United States has land offices Florida , Ala
bama , Louisiana and Arkansas. Texas ow ns
her own lands. 1 fancy there is some fraud in
Florida. In due time I will reach that. It
cannot be said that the south is excepted be
cause Secretary Lamar is a southern man.
The south was excepted because the. bulk of
Iraud is not in tha south. There is five times
as much territory In the corth that is not In
cluded in the order. Michigan , Wisconsin ,
Iowa , nearly all of Minnesota , Nebraska and
Kansas are not included , and in two of these
states Michigan and Wisconsin I know
there is fraud that we ought to look after. It
was not the intention to prostrate the land
business all over the country. Nothing of the
Idnd has been done. What we are really
after is to prevent the public domain
iroru goins into the bauds of ranchmen and
speculators. The bona fide settler can bor
row just as much money on his certificate of
entry or bis duplicate papers as he can upon
the patent. All the first class loan and trust
companies of tho east desire to know is that
the borrower should be a bona fide settler and
A
that he will be entitled to a patent. It is the
knave who wants his patent rushed through in
twenty-four hours. 1'ou will find that to-day
1n Illinois foity out of every one hundred
cntrymeu have never gotten their patents.
They lie here in this otlicc , and the settlers
WCF.J satisfied to have simply the duplicates.
But you will find that the Louisiana backbone
patents were taken out of this office promptly ,
just as youlll find patents have been taken
in all cases where there is fraud. When I am
satisfied there Is good faith on the part of the
settler , there will DC no difficulty in getting a
patent I shall satisfy myself by means of
special agents and detectives whom I can
thoroughly trust , and upon them I shall put
such checks and counter detection as vill
make it absolutely certain that no false swear
ing or fraud can secure a patent. I see that
the fight is Legun uponnmfiomthe land of
& fice lawyers here and all over the west , and
that the newspapers largely interested in the
whole subject of land office business have
opened fire upon me ; but I have determined
to stand by the order. Meanwhile bona fide
settlers all over the iest pick out their land ,
file their entries upon it , anil no on with their
improvements. The land Is theirs just as
much duriug the five years which the law re
quires them to stay upon it as it ever can be ,
and if they are worthy people there will be no
difficulty in their borrowing money , if they
need to'do so. I cannot see that , in order to
relieve these people of some anxiety , I should
allow thieves aud rascals to take millions of
the public domain by false swearing.
WIPED OUT JiY FLA3IE.
A. Fire In yew fork Entailing a Zoss of One
Million. Dollars.
The vast furniture factory of Henman
Bros. , at Magln and Thompklns streetsNew
York , was discovered on flro on the 37th. It
was a nvo story briok building : , occupied by
the Singer sewing machine factory , and was
saturated with oil. Tho wholo building was
surrounded with miserable tenement bouses
occupied by tbo poorest classes in the city.
The fire is intensely hot and nearly one hun
dred families wore driven from their homes
in the chilly winds of the morning1. At 4
o'clock the whole buildingwas in flames and
there was no hope of Paving any of the prop
erty. At 4:30 the alarm , for extra engines was
turned in , and it looked as if the WDole sur
roundingneighborhood would be destroyed.
.At 5 o'clock tho alarms for extra engines
were still being sent in. Tho factory was filled
with furniture , and the loss is estimated to bo
$1.000.000 ; Over three hundred men will to
thrown out ot work. At GUO o'clock the
streets were crowdedwith people , and tho
greatest excitement prevailed , as all in the
tenements were movingfurniture and seeking-
to save it from the flames , which were spread
ingin all diiections. It was two hours before
the flam's were fairly under control , 'ihe
factory Is a total loss. n cum an estimates his
loss at J50.0'X ' ) . which wns covered by insu
rance. The loss on the building he estimates
-at 5300.000 , covered to a large extent by insu-
ranco. Five hundred skilled workmen were
employed in the factory , and the loss of all
their tools aggregate in value about 520,000.
The surrounding buildings were damagc-d to
-tho extent of § 25,000. The Singer Sewing Ma-
chino company owned the burned buildirg1.
Impure Water'the Cause of Sickness
an a 3Tor tallty.
Philadelphia dispatch. The committee of
citizens appointed to raise funds for the relief
-of the sufferers at Plymouth , Luzerne county ,
.met at the office of the mayor. A. J. Drexcl ,
treasurer of the fund , reported that the con *
tributions amounted to § 10,452.41.
The report from the infected district showed
the number of cases since the epidemic started
was 905 , with a total of 53 deaths. At pres
ent there are 134 convalescents in town. The
whole number of families In destitute circum
stances is 346. An analysis of two jugs of
water taken from the river and from the well ,
made by Prof. Kcnzie , showed that both wa-
* ters were unfit for cither drinking or culinary
purnoses. The examination of this water
awikcns surprise , not that many are sick in
Plymouth , but that any should be well.
Police Surgeon Trench and Dr. Shakespeare ,
of Philadelphlahosnital , left for Plymouth for
the purpose of inquiring Into the wants of the
fMt i people.
Mary asked Charles , "What animal
dropped from Hie clouds ? " "The rain ,
. dear , " was the whispered reply.
CXCEOMJ.
It YtoUt Norton County , Kansas , With Dis
astrous Results ,
A cyclone visited Nortonsvllle , Goffs and
Frankfort , In northeastern Kansas , on the
27th , doing a great deal of damage to property.
At Norionvllle the railroad depot was lifted
from its foundation and set squarely across
the track. One dwelling bouse was complete
ly demolished , Another badly damaged. One
woman was seriously hurt at Qofls. Tho
Missouri Pacific depot was badly wrecked. A
car was lifted np and turned over twenty-five
feet away. William Hartes' dwelling was
wrecked. J. T. Richardson's barn was entire
ly wrecked and carried several miles. Gard
Pickets and Frank Movers' residences were
leveled to the ground and the household ef
fects were scattered over the prairie , wrecking
J. Hanley's dwelling and blacksmith shop , de
molishing Ed. High's and Jas. Gibbons' barns
and seriously damaging other property. No
one was killed , but the injured Mrs. Mayer
will probably die from the effects of a skull
fracture and Miss Mayer from the effects ol
internal injuries. At Frankfort the cloud
formed in plain view of the town , about n
quarter of a mile to the southeast , and struck
at 10:40. L. T. McKee's barn , the barns ol
Mr. Phillips and Mr. "Williams were demol
ished. No serious injuries are reported at
Frankfort.
A very heavy rain storm swept over leaven-
worth. Many of the streets were overflowed ,
while reports from tlfc interior of the couuty
show the storm to have been equally severe
through a wide extent of territory.
JIAXF-BREED XEADEK.
[ nlerrleired bjj a Clergyman , lie Claims
American Citizenship and Expresses Itis-
llltej'or ( . < itlilic Tr/cits.
Hev. Mr. Pitblndo , who was on board the
steamer Noithcothc with Bell after the lat-
ter's cnptnic , jjivos in interview with the
rebel leudur. which insubstanco isasfollows :
Kiel is dcsciibcd us a cunning1 , intelligent
man. Ho did not know what the author tioj
would do with him. He was authorized to
act , he enid. by the police and the Hudson
Uay authorities who tyrannized tho hair-
Vrvcds mid abufcd their power. Speaking of
the liattlo of lintocbo , Iteil said ho had 50u
IUCR eiifriiircd. of whom eight were killoJ and
n\o wounded. During the light he was pres
ent : u no HIT ihc men in the pit. He spoke of
the priCEis opposed to : iny attempt on the
] nii t of t.ie hsilt-biecds to Imve tlicfru rongs
lighted , unit dcnoituced thuni as t > nuiiiic.il
nnd interested. They turned ihu people tuminst
them beciiiiEc they itb&utned chil functions
ami turned the P/otestunts a uuiet them l > y
opposing them. The priests were HK'i"st him
not licetuiee lie rcbal o.i but because he did
not succeed in htloins them. Tne people
lor.-ied him to fixhtnnd would not let li.iu > ro
b.uk to the mountains. Ho was on his way to
jrivc himsc f up to Middletou , he saidhcii
the scouts coptureJ him.
On the subject of his religious views , ho was
vory communicative. He flcchircd Ins oppo
sition to the church of Home , and nuU its
pi iests had too much tj do w ith civil JJunirs
A council at Baloeuo , he fialdi adopted a re
ligious creed of distinct doctrines , which tl ey
wished to teach the people. "We believe in i
form of church government , " he s.iid.'e
piclcr the Episcopal. We would like to fee a
he id bishop for the dominion or tor tho new
world who would be independent of Home.
We do not think the uirairs or the church cin
be rl htlj' ndinm'stered EO tar away. Th s
country will never be free until sue shak-s
off Home. " When asked why he rebelled. "Jn
order to have the claims of tho halt-brceis
pi-anted. " He said : "We did notiebel. 'Ihis
matter is not rebellion. " He referred to the
treaty between the government and the half-
breeds ot Manitoba , and said that as no treaty
had been made with them they had never
transferred their right. They aimply defend
ed themselves and they desired to have an
amicable arrangement made for their inter
ests. Asked wtiat would be his answer if
charged with treason , ho said that as he was
a citizen of the United States he could not be
a traitor to Canada.
Receivers of Public JUbnejAppointed
The president has made the folio wins
pointments : Senator Edward G. IlosoJ
New Mexico , to be governor of the torril
of New Mexico ; Morris Taylor , of DakotJ
be surveyor-general of Dakota ; Mart
Sheaf , register of the land office at Watert
Dak. ; Downer Brandler , receiver of pi |
moneys at Waterlown , Dak. ; ex-Senatorr.
W. Tipton , of Nebraska , to be receive !
public moneys at liloomlngton , Neb. ; H {
Brausteler , of Idaho , to be receiver of pu
moneys at Boise City , Idaho ; A. C. Joue |
Oregon , to be receiver of public money
Eoseburg , Oregon ; Wm. L. Townsend , oW
egon , to borccoiver of public moneys at Itako
View , Oregon ; Mathew M. Maynard , of Mich
igan , to be receiver of public moneys at Mar-
quette , Mich. ; Wm. C. Itussell , of Louisiana ,
to be receiver of public moneys at Natchi-
tochcs , La. ; H. II. Bickcl , of Kansas , to be re
ceiver of public moneys at Larned , Kas. ; D.
W. Ware , of Missouri , superintendent of tho
Yt llowstcne National Park , vice E. Carpen
ter , removed. n
.1 Concert for ttte Coicboys.
The Theodore Thomas concert company ,
hich arrived in San Francisco on the : J7th ,
reports that their special train was hoarded
at Cooidfic. ! ; N'ew Mexico , by n herd of cow-
*
liois who. with drawn revolvers , mach
musicians play and Madame Matterna
The musicians benn playing "Home , a
Home. ' Iiut the cowboys yelled for thul
KansaTraveler. . " Thomas gave ordel
jrive them what they wanted. Mattorn *
plained of a headache , but the cowboys
not take "no" for an answer. Just a ]
was boRinninfr to comply with their rd |
the eng-ine whistled. The cowboys Jn |
and flred a volley as the train moved ol
THE MARKETS.
OMAHA.
WHKAT No. 2 GS'/J@
BARLEY No' 3 ; . . . . 48 @
RrE No. 3 56 ©
CORN No.3 mixed 34'/j ©
OATS No. 2 25Ji@
BUTTER Fancy creamery 21 @
BUTTER Choice dairy 14 ©
BUTTER Best country 13 &
EGGS Fresh „ 10 @
ONIOKS Perbbl 3 50 ©
CHICKENS Per doz. . alive 3 50 @
CHICKENS Dregsed , per lb. . . . 12 < &
LEMONS Choice 4 60 ©
BANANAS Choice 273 @
ORANOES Mesina 32.5 @
POTATOES Per bushel CO © I TL
SEEDS Timothy 2 10 © 220
SEEDS Blue Grass 1 31 ® 140
HAY Baledper ton 650 © 703
HAY In bulk 650 © 750
NEW YOHK.
WHEAT No. 2 red 1 04Ji ® 105
WHEAT On sraded red 86 < ja 8fiJ
CORN No.27 5 > © 54
OATS Mixed western „ - 38 © 40
PORK 11 0. 4 © Jl 75
LARD c 70 © 675
CHICAGO.
FLOUR Choice Winter /75 © 551
FLOUR Spring extra : 75 © 453
WHEAT Per bushel A.1 ; ® bs
CORN Per bushel * ' \VU 50
OATS Per bushel 4J40 > 345
PORK u 17'11 25
LARD 6 f o © 095
HOGS Packing and shipping. 3 70 @ 3 5)0
CATTLE Choice 350 © 475
tsHEBP Medium to good 2 90 © 3 50
ST. LOUia
WHEAT No. 2 red i OW © 1 02
CORN Jfer bushel * 44 © 4"
OATS Per bushel 34' ' © a5
CATTLE Exports 5 C5 'ftj 5 S >
SHEEP Western 300 © 4 f0
Hoas Packers 33.3 © 4 5
KANSAS CITK.
WHEAT Per bushel 80i © 8i
CORN Per bushel 40k © 401 !
OATS Per bushel w © 4l'
CATTLE tixports. 4 CO © 510
HOGS . 355 & 400
SHEEP Common to good 300 © 3 3Q
Teacher : "Suppose you had two
sticks of candy , and your big brother
give you two more , how many would
you have then ? " Little boy ( shakin , ° -
his head ) : "You don't know him : he
ain't that kind of a boy. "
Gen. Drum and Gen. Hazen Discuss
the Opposing Armies.
WashingtotfDispatcb.
E. 0. Drum , the Adjutant-General
of the Army , spent two months in Eng
land last summer. He is an enthusias
tic admirer of English troops , and be
lieves that England and JBussia will get
to fighting before long. He says that
Bussia has been quietly working down
towards the East India possessions of
England , and that a conflict in the fu
ture is inevitable. "The English sol
dier , " said Gen. Drum , "is the finest
in the world. I make no exception. A
regiment of Englishmen is the finest
body of soldiers ever gotten togeth
er. "
"You will not even except our volun
teer troops of the last war ? "
"No"said Gen. Drum ; "we had no
regiments of the purely American type.
They were mixed with the foreign ele
ment always. "
"Which nation do you thipk would
win in a fight England or Bussia. ? "
"I do uot believe that the English
troops can be beaten by any nation.
They love fighting. They are men of
high intelligence and their officers are
plucky fellows. ' The weak feature of the
English army at present is the absence
of any staff system. They have no reg
ular staff as we have in our army. No
'officer is trained up to hold an executive
position. Officers in the British army
are too apt to be placed in responsible
positions "through favor of influence.
This is the great fault of the service.
The Scotch make wonderful soldiers.
They are the only troops that have
made a reputation in military history
for a capacity to rally under fire. " Unite
them with the British and handle them
well , and you have an invincible army. "
Gen. Hazen was sent abroad during
the Turco-Bussian war , as a military ob
server , and had his headquarters at Vi
enna. He was with the Russian troops
for sometime , and was with Gen. Sko-
beleff for several days. Gen. Hazen
says that Bussia came very
near having a war with England
at the close of her war with
Turkey. If she had been fully pre
pared for it there would have certainly
been a war between the two nations at
that time. "I had a good many talks
with Bnssian officers , " he said. They
all are preparing themselves with one
idea , that is to some day test their
strength with the English. I saw a
great many of their regiments on pa
rade. The unceasing question that was
asked me was. How do our men com
pare with the. English ? The Bussian
soldiers are a "very fine body of men.
They have a greater personal devotion
to their officers and to the Emperor ,
their chief , than is known in any 'army.
Bussia has been preparing for a war
with England for along time. I sup
pose that the Emperor will be very
largely guided by the desire of the Bus
sian people. He has a very large debt ,
it is true , but it may be easier for him
to go ahead and have a war to divert the
attention of the revolutionists at home.
The Bussians have been moving south
for some time. It is inevitable that the
.will
better machine soldiers. They
more inclined to develop tho professi
al soldier than the English. The laj
are democratic in their ideas , very ml
like the people in this country. Iff
war comes it will he a severe and
tracted one. Gen. Hnzen did not tfi
that other nations would interfere , )
though certain alliances might be ;
He thought it possible that Kussial
more inclined to fight at the prg
time than at any other , because
land is in a certain sense at a disa
ting
the
ire-
nearly as well fixed , inasmuch as h
drawn from the consolidated fund , year
ly since attaining majority ( in 18G6) 15-
000 ; since his marriage ( iu 1874) ) 10,000 ;
pay and allowances as rear admiral and
superintendent of naval reserves , 1- ,
306. Miscellaneous charges special
packets for conveyance of his royal
highness and consort. 200. Total pay
ments on account of his royal highness
the duke of Edinburg , 26,59G 132- ,
980.
980.His
His royal highness enjoys the use of
the royal palace of Clarence House , al
lotted him by hor majesty , the queen.
A large sum was expended by parlia
ment , in altering and fitting up this
residence for his use. As heir to the
duchy of Saxe-Coburg , the duke
will shortly inherit the princely estate
and wealth of his uncle , the reigning
duke , and a royal income of 30,000
a year. Some idea of the duke of Ed-
inburg's wealth may be further gather
ed from tho fact that his wife on her
marriage brought him n private fortune
of 90,000 , a marriage portion of 300- ,
000 , and her life annuity of 11,250 a
year. At her death , these sums pass to
her children. Should she outlive the
duke , Her royal higness is to have 6- ,
000 a year from the British consolidat
ed fund besides.
Personal Paragraphs.
There are twenty persons whose gifts
to colleges aggregate over $23,000,000.
Three of these rich men Stephen
Girard , John Hopkins and Asa Packer
gave over $14,000,000.
D. 0. Marshall , to satisfy his own
curioaity , went through "Bates' History
of the Pennsylvania Soldier" for a count
of the Smiths that were in the civil war
from that state. The retult shows over
5,000 ( of whom 198 were field , staff and
commissioned officers ) , or enough for
five full regiments , officers and all.
The college graduate is apt to com
plain to sympathizing friends because
he finds it so hard to "got into journal
ism. " But every managing editor in
the country will tell you that it isn't
tho thousandth part so hard for the col
lege graduate to get into journalism as
it often is to get the first-principles of
journalism into the college graduate.
Eev. Dr. E. L. Magoon , pastor of the
North Broad street Baptist church , of
Philadelphia has tendered his resigna
tion , to take effect one year from date ,
with the understanding that he serve
fhiringf the interval without salary. He
is in his 75th year , and has been pastor
of his present charge a quarter of a cen
tury.
Charles Lamb always held Byron
lightly , and in a letter recently publish
ed for the first time ho is particularly se.
vere. "A line of Wordsworth is a lever
to lift the immortal soul. " he says"but
Byron's can only move the spleen. He
was at best a satirist ; in any other way
lie was mean enough. I dare say I do
him injustice , but I can not love him nor
squeeze a tear to his memory.
Mrs. Sallie Ward Lawrence Hunt
Armstrongwho has been known for
forty years as the most beautiful woman
In the south , was married for the fourth
time recently at Gait House , Louisville ,
Ky. The groom was Mr. G. 3 ? . Downs ,
a wealthy gentleman of high social
position , who is seventy-five years of
jge. Though the court-ship has lasted
fix years , the wedding is a surprise , and
will cause a great social sensation. The
bride is fifty-eight years old , but dosa
not look over forty-five.
The King of the Belgians , who haa
spent nearly $500,000 of his private for
tune in tho exploration and develop
ment of Africa , is said to have remarked
lately , "I am a very small man among
kings , but I do not see why I should
not be a great man among geographers
and cizilizers. " He has fairly won a
great name for himself , and the State
he is planning will be a monument to
his royal generosity. From the selfish
and greedy scramblers after territory it
is indeed refreshing to turn to a monarch
who seeks nothing for himself or for
his country , but who has done more
than all the European governments
combined to open the gates of Central
Africa , to curb the slave dealer and the
liquor seller and to lay in righteousness
the foundations of a mighty African
empire.
said
Ma ey , in a thrilling whisper.
We exchanged looks. He continued
"Remain quiet. I have a cobraca-
pella round my leg. "
Our first impulse was to rush away ,
but poer Maxey implored ns not to do
so. His countenance assumed a livid
hue ; the words seemed to leave his
mouth without that feature altering its
position , so fearful was he lest the
slightest muscular movement should
alarm the serpent and hasten its fatal
bite.
bite.We
We were in agony little less than his
own during the scene.
"He is coiling round ! " murmured
Maxey , "I feel him tighten. For
mercy's sake , call for some milk ! Let it
be placed on the ground near me ; let
some be spilt on the floor. "
Churchill cautiously gave the order ,
and a servant slipped out of the room.
"Don't stir , boys ! " This can't last
long. My fate will soon be decided/ '
whispered Maxey. "I have a wife and
children in England ; let them know 1
died blessing them. "
The milk was brought and carefully
put down ; a few drops were sprinkled
on the floor , and the affrighted servants
drew back. Again Maxey spoke :
"No , no , it has no effect ! Ife is clasp
ing tighter ; he has uncoiled his upper
fold. I dare not look down , but I am
sure he is aboutto draw back and give
the bite. O Lord , pardon me ! He has
undone another fold and loosens him
self. Can he be going to some one eke ? "
We involuntarily started.
"
"For the love "of heaven , don't sfcir ,
or I'm a dead man ! He still loosens ,
and seems to be falling off. "
At that moment poor Maxey ventured
to look down. The snake had unwound
himself and was making for thenilk. .
"I am saved ! saved ! " cried Maxey ,
leaping from his chair and falling sense
less into ihe arms of one of his servants.
In another instant the snake was killed ,
and our poor friend , more dead than
alive , carried to his room. He never re
covered from the shock. Brave and
fearless on the field of battle , he was
frightened into an early grave by
serpent.
A WAR BEBCENTSCEHCE. V
B a. Alvin P. Hovey Relates an Experi
ence With Grant at Viclrabnr * .
Indianapolis Journal.
"Have you heard anything to-day
about Grant's condition ? " inquired
Gen. Alvin P. Hovey , who is in tho city
for a day or two. He was told there
was nothing. "Well , " continued the
General , his voice thickening as he
spoke , "the old hero is not afraid of
death. I touched Grant many times
during the war. I thought then he was
something of a fatalist. Now , at Vicks-
bnrg but I musn't get started in on a
war story. "
The reporter encouraged him to pro
ceed. '
"About the last of June , or the 1st
of July , 1863 , the different divisions of
our army got very near to the fortifica
tions of Vicksburg by subterranean ap
proaches to their works. It was cus
tomary for the commanding officers of
divisions to visit their works every day ,
while their headquarters were securely
placed in a ravine near by. On my
front it was necessary to pass through
a narrow way or valley wlijch hud shrub
bery on each side. This open place
was 25 or 30 yards wide , and in full view
of the enemy. Nobody could pass the
space without a salute from tho rebels.
I never went without putting spurs to
my horse and hugging his neck as clos-
ly as possible. One morning early
Gen. Grant called at my headquarters
and asked me to show him the condition
of the works in my front. When I
came to the edge of the open space I
said : "General , when I pass over this
open space the enemy always salutes
me , and I dash the horse across at full
speed. "
"He repliedwith his characteristic
terse calmness , 'They can't hurt me , '
and deliberately walked his horse over.
I walked over also , as I was constrained
to do so , and we received a rattling sa-
luto from the enemy. The bullets
whistled around with more familiarity
than , was agreeable to me , but Grant
smoked as composedly as though on
dress parade.
"The breastworks of the division I
commanded then reached within less
than 200 yards of the enemy's ram
parts. We had mined almost to their
lines , and they had run countermines on
their side to ours. We were so close to
the enemy that the soldiers would of
ten place their hats on the point of a
bayonet and raise them above our
breastworks to receive a shower of
bullets. Arriving at this point.
Grant took his field-glass and raised
his head and breast above the level of
the fortifications. I begged him not to
do so. That he was not shot was al
most a miracle. I afterward remonstrat
ed with him on thus exposing himself ,
telling him the loss to the country
would be irreparable should he fall. As
I remarked before , he seemed impress
ed with that thing called destiny , and
carelessly said , 'Oh , they can't hurt
me. '
"By the way , I think I can tell some
thing about G"en. Grant on another oc
casion. The battle of Champion Hills
was one of the bloodiest of the war.
The division I commanded belonged to
McClernand's corps. By a delay caused
by my division being ordered to make a
feint on the enemy's lines , near Baker
creek , while the main army passed
round thewest flank of the enemy , to
ward Bolton Station , my division be
came detached from the main corps , to
which it belonged. We first , came in
sight of the enemy near what is now
called Champion Hills. At that time
my division was on the extreme right
the main body of McClernand's corps
being some two or three miles to the
left. As soon as the enemy was per
ceived scouts were sent out to ascertain ,
as far as possible , his real condition.
Gen. Jas. E. Slack commanded on3
brigade in my division and Gen. George
F. McGinnis the other. Here we wait
ed some thirty or forty minutes , with
the enemy's cannon on the hill in full
view. Gen. Grant rode up and T pointed
out to him the enemy's position. Bis
headquarters were at Champion's
house. 1 asked him if I should ad
vance. He said : 'Not yet ; wait
till McPherson comes up on your
right and takes position to support
you. ' Gen. McPherson's and Gen. John
A. Logan's forces soon arrived , and as
soon as they got in position I again
asked Gen. Grant if I should make the
attack , to which he laconically answer
ed : 'Yes. ' Slack's brigade bore off to
the left , and McGinnis' to the right.
McGinnis struck the battery full , but
Slack diverged a little to the left. Ifc
was a close hand to hand fight between
McGinnis' boys and thejrebels over the
battery and the guns were otirs. Both
brigades then advanced to a second bat
tery , perhaps a quarter of a mile in the
rear of the one we had captured , and
after a fierce fight took that also. But
the enemy , re-enforced , returned in
great numbers and drove us back to the
location of the first battery. We made
a second charge and the battery was
again taken. Again with overwhelming
force the enemy pressed my force back
down from the brow of the hill beyond
the first battery. This was a critical mo
ment. My men were fighting stubborn
ly , but against almost overpowering
odds. If the center had been broken our
army would have been divided into two
parts. There were 23 pieces of artillery
under my command , and again being re-
enforced I placed these 23 pieces on a
mound in a graveyard , and with shot ,
shell , and cannistcr poured an enfilad
ing fire into the advancing hosts. The
place was well timbered aud thick with
underbrush , but it was mowed almost as
with a scythe. They couldn't stand
that fire and swung back. Logan came
in' on the right and took several thou
sand prisoners. The enemy gave way ,
and Loring's forces broke off from the
rebel line and rushed back to Jackson.
This was , as I said before , the bloodiest
fight of the whole campaign. Gen.
Slack is dead ; Gen. George F. McGin
nis , as you know , still lives here in this
city. McGinnis was a magnificent
soldeir and a fine drill master I can
shut my eyes now and see McGinnis's
ad sticking up above the brigade liko
a toll turkey cock. At Chaiupion Hills
my command lost in killed and wounded
nearly 1,600 men , besides 500 more of
those who were sent to our assistance.
"Grant's headquarters were at Cham
pion's house. As the battle began , a
negro boy was sent to the well for water.
It-was an old-fashioned "well with a.
sweep. Just as he "was about to Tower
the bucket a cannon ball came along )
and took off the poor fellow's head. It
was the first discharge of cannon in thq
fight. "
THE ITATTTKE OF T E BOOMER.
An Old lady Telia Bob Bnrddtte What th
Oklahoma Van are Uke.
" " said tho old who '
"Lawme , lady got'
on the train at Olathe , Kansas , and was >
going down to Fort Scott. "Law me ,
you can't toll me nothin' about these !
Oklahoma boomers. Iknow 'om. No , " '
she replied , as laskedher for some per
sonal information about them. "Xdon'tt
reckon I ever sot eyes on one of 'em in
my life , but I know 'em. I know thej
kind. Why , look here young man , ther'sl
always been that kind of people out ,
West. Me an' my husband came to
Kansas away back in ' 56 when you was
sayin' lessons and gettin' Hoggin's at
school" Grandma was correct.only she *
should have put the floggings first , us
they were always in the majority
"and we took our land and settled
down to makin' a livin' an' raisin * tho ]
best family of boys and girls ever born on
Kansas soil. An' they was people come
here about the same time an' soon.after , ;
an'they was just like these Oklahoma :
boomers. They wanted to go in to Injun !
land. Now , you've got sense to know' '
just what Kansas an'Nebraska was along }
back iu ' 56. Jest millions an * millions !
of acres of land that never see a plow or-
felt a human foot ; jest as rich laudasj
'
overlay out doors ; jesb waitin' fer the'
plow an' the hoe , room fer nigh all crea-f
tion , an' yet they wan't a foot of it goodi
enough fer these fellows ; they wanted to
get on the reservation. 'In jnn land' they ! '
called it , nothin' would suit 'em but in-
jun land. An' nothin' would do but the
Injuns must be moved , so 't these men ]
could go onto Injun land. An' not a |
mite o' difference was there between thai
land on one side of tho reservation andj
the other. An' when these people got ;
on the reservation , 'twon't long afore,1
they got tired of it , and pulled up (
stakes , and follered away aiter tho In- ;
juns , to see if they hadn't got onto a
better piece of land somewhere. I.
wouldn't be a bit surprised ef you'd
find some old men down to Oklahoma
who have been follerin * tho Injuns
around from one reservatien to another
for the past 25 or 30 years. Land ?
Why , there's more good land , prairio
land , with black soil deeper 'n any plow
kiri reach , well watered and rich as
gold diggin's in Kansas an' Nebrasky
now than 11 be taken up an set
tled in 25 years , an * yet these fellows
down to Oklahoma can't find any place
to settle 'thout goin' onto Injun land.
I tell you , young man , it's all nonsense ;
there's no manner of sense in it an' no
excuse for it. When men out here onco
git crazy for Injun land , it'll stick to
'em's long as they live 'thout it's
thrashed out of 'em , an' if I was tho
President these tramps 'd settle down
on their own farms mighty quick , or
else go back to the states where they
come from. " And the old lady looked
at me with such uu expression of inflex
ible determination that I hastened
to assure her that 1 wasn't going near
Oklahoma.
Winter Clinate That Eas Its
Faults.
From tho Philadelphia Press.
This brings me to speak about my
experience of the climate cl Manitoba.
The variations of temperature are very
great. I have seen the thermometer
stand at 125 degrees inside a lent iu
summer , and at 58 degrees below zero ,
or 90 degrees below freezing point , out
side the house in winter. Such arctic !
cold would be unendurable if the air
were not so wonderfully- and clear ,
and often very still , that it does not
seem half as cold as it really is. Then
the changes of weather are not generally ,
very sudden : the heat and cold are very *
regular , and in mid-seasons the ther-
mometer does not fluctuate much.
The snow outside our houso is from'
sis to ten feet deep from November to ,
April. Moccasins , made by Indians of
moose skin , are used instead of shoos to
cover the feet , which are first cased in.
several pairs of stockings. i
"We were forced to melt snow for all
the water we used last winter. The
cold is so intense that when melted ,
snow water is poured from the boiler in-
to a pail , and taken at once across to the
stable , the.ice on it frequently lias to bo ,
broken with a stick before the cattle :
can drink. It is rather a common sight
to see people partly frozen. The part
affected tarns as white as marble , ani
loses all feeling. Unless you see your- ,
self in a glass , or are told'of it , yon are ,
not conscious of being frozen. In this'
plight it is best not to go near a fire , as'
sudden thawing is very painful. People
generally try friction , rubbing them
selves with snow , or , better still , with
paraffiiie oil. Occasionally , when one
is frozen , and far from help , the part' '
frozen , if an extremitv , will snap off.i
Last year a man living about thirty ,
miles from us was told that his ear was
frozen ; he put up his hand to ieel , and
the ear dropped off in his hand. Limbs
sometimes have to be amputated from ,
severe frostbites. My kitten's ears froze
and broke oft' last winter , and a neigh
bor's pony lost his ears in the same ,
way.
1 was surprised when I first found ,
the mustard freeze iu my mustard pot ,
which stood o foot from the kitchen
stovepipe and two feet above the stove , ,
where there was a blazing fire all day ; V
and every day through the winter. Yet ,
the mustard froze between every meal.
To a woman the most trying part of a
winter in Manitoba is not its severity .
for yon live in a warm house but its'-
length. Snow lay on the ground lastj
season for six months and a half , and the !
great lakes were frozen. j