GIANT TASK IN RAILROAD BUILDING
Two Carloads of Powder in a Single Blast 230-
000 Paid for One Mile of Track 2629 Men
Employed on a Piece of Track Being
Built for the Wabash System
Cumberland Md May 2 -Look
out Look out Its going off was
the wild cry heard a few days ago in
Paw Paw a small mountain encircled
West Virginia town on the new line
of the Wabash twenty miles east of
Cumberland when the ringing of
bells and blowing of whistles gave
the warning that in a few minutes
the button would be pressed that
would explode 8000 pounds of giant
powder in the rocky mountain side
directly opposite and close to the
town
For three days the people of Paw
Paw had watched men carrying can
after can of powder into the tunnels
dug into the face of rocks As the
number of cans disappearing in the
mountain side increased the alarm of
the people grew and some in terror
left the town while those remaining
filled their ears with cotton and wait
ed for they knew not what
At last when 325 cans of powder
8125 pounds had been emptied In
the arms extending right and left
from the inner ends of the two 45 foot
tunnels wires laid and the tunnel
closed the electric button was press
ed There was a deep rumbling re
port the whole earth seemed to rock
as though shaken by an earthquake
and tons of rock plunged forward and
toppled over into the canal and river
Carloads of Powder in One Blast
Not a stone had been thrown a hun
dred feet toward the frenzied town
but 20000 yards of rock had been
torn from the mountain side and many
precious days saved the contractors
who are building the link connect
ing the Western Maryland railroad at
Cherry Run with the West Virginia
Central railroad at Cumberland and
thus bringing nearer realization
George Goulds dream of making the
Wabash railroad an ocean to ocean
line
It was only the proximity of this
blast to a town that made it particu
larly prominent on this railroad con
struction that is requiring a blast
for almost every foot of the roadbed
In fact it was a small one in compari
son to some that have been fired In
one blast in Sidling Hill mountain
the charge consisted of 1400 cans
of powder just two carloads and
when it was put off rocks weighing
half a ton were hurled through the
air hundreds of yards across the Po
tomac river and striking telegraph
poles along the Baltimore Ohio rail
road broke them off close to the
ground
It is this necessity for almost con
tinuous blasting that has done much
toward making this sixty five mile
strip of railroad construction the
most expensive of any built in recent
3ears with the single exception of
the line over which the Wabash en
ters Pittsburg The cost of building
the first five miles from Cumberland
averaged 250000 a mile and the
average cost for the sixty five miles
fs 100000 a mile In building this
connecting link the Wabash has had
to contend with an unusually large
number of obstacles of a surprising
variety some placed in the way by
nature others by man
Tunneling Through Solid Rock
Until the advent of the Wabash it
was supposed there was no feasible
route through the narrow gaps in the
mountains between Cumberland and
Hancock forty miles save those fol
lowed by the Chesapeake and Ohio
canal and the Baltimore Ohio rail
road It was this belief that has kept
life in the old waterway life sus
tained by the Baltimore Ohio Rail
road company to bar out any possible
rival Some years ago the Hon Henry
G Davis then owner of the West
Virginia Central railroad had a route
surveyed through the country follow
ed by the Wabash but it was given
up as impracticable As a result it is
not surprising that the construction
-of this road is proving one of the
greatest undertakings of years re
quiring application of almost every
method known in railroad building
and the ingenuity of contractors who
have built railroads in almost every
state in the union has been taxed to
the utmost
Upon forty miles of this line there
are engaged to day 2629 men 300
animals nine locomotives and nine
steam shovels For eighteen months
there has been no cessation of labor
and It is hoped that in eight more the
work will be completed
Obstacles to Be Met
An idea of the difficulties encoun
tered can be formed from the fact
that this line in forty miles crosses
the Potomac river nine times the
Chesapeake Ohio canal seven
times the Baltimore Ohio railroad
three times passes through moun
tain ranges and spurs by five tunnels
varying in length from 700 feet to
4400 feet through ridges and hills
by innumerable cuts many of them
over fifty feet deep through solid rock
and some almost a mile in length and
that a great portion of the road is
being cut out of the rocky sides of
mountain ranges directly above the
canal One of the most unusual dif
ficulties in railroad construction and
yet the most troublesome on this line
has been a disposition of the earth
and rock removed in making the road
lied a difficulty arising from the fact
that the Wabash follows closely the
canal route While waiting for legal
right to bridge the old waterway it
was necessary to push the construc
tion work and to do this the contrac
tors employed some striking methods
At Welton tunnel a mile south of
Cumberland a large wheel was placed
on top of the mountain above the
tunnel entrance cables were run
from this across the river and canal to
the low land where filling was neces
sary and the rock from the tunnel
was carried over in a large iron buck
et suspended from the cables The
laborers camp was located on top of
the mountain and the men construct
ed a 150 foot ladder leading up the
precipitous face of rocks from the
mouth of the tunnel and this ladder
they ascended and descended many
times a day
In the construction of the Indigo
tunnel a method never before employ
ed in the East and rarely elsewhere
is being employed This is the great
est tunnel on the line being 4400
feet in length It passes through a
Sidling Hill mountain range and
makes the Wabash a straighter line
and almost a mile in three shorter
than the Baltimore Ohio It is being
made by drilling the heading the full
width of the tunnel twenty four feet
and nine feet high through from the
bottom or at a grade level and the
rock will be blown down until the
required height Is reached Old con
tractors accustomed to driving the
beading through from the top shake
their heads and pronounce this meth
od a costly experiment but Mc
Arthur Bros say the strata Indigo
shale is just right at this tunnel for
this method and are confident It will
be a success The heading is being
driven from both ends at the same
time and the men are within 100 feet
of each other nine feet a day being
the progress made from each end
The men working from the eastern
end have penetrated only eleven
inches further than those coming
from the western side
The Stick Pile Tunnel
In order to cut a roadbed through
the masses of rock that rise straight
up from the bed of the canal it was
necessary to wait until navigation
closed for the year In the meantime
the holes for the blasts were all pre
pared and when the water was with
drawn about a month later than ever
before thousands of pounds of pow
der and dynamite were exploded in
these holes and the canal bed was
filled with earth and rock for many
miles which must be removed within
the next two months
The only place where the Wabash
leaves the canal and river for any
considerable distance is at Bayard
thirty five miles east of Cumberland
After crossing the Baltimore Ohio
railroad the river and canal at a diz
zy height on a 1370 foot bridge five
150 foot channel spans with viaduct
approach it strikes boldly into the
mountains After running through
tremendous cuts over deep ravines
and through the Stick Pile tunnel
1600 feet in length it emerges from
its five mile run through the heart of
the mountain at Orleans W Va This
is considered one of the heaviest
pieces of work on the line but here
as at many other places a compara
tively straight line is secured with
moderate grades and with a saving
of almost a mile over the Baltimore
Ohio route
The first work was done on this
connecting link on July 21 1903 and
the contract called for its completion
in eighteen months The delay and
extra work occasioned by trouble
with the canal rendered its comple
tion within contract time an impossi
bility Now October 1 is the date
set for the opening of the road but it
Is claimed January 1 1906 would be
a nearer date
From Cherry Run to Hancock ten
miles the road is completed and trains
are running on it For ten miles east
of Cumberland the roadbed is ready
for the rails and the three bridges
are in course of erection At numer
ous other places there are four and
five mile stretches completed but
there remains a great amount of
difficult work to be done It is only
the fact that work is being rushed
day and night regardless of weather
conditions and without regard to ex
pense that makes safe the prediction
that not later than January 1 1906
the Wabash will have this line open
for traffic
Endurance of the Jap
In the orient there is a new art of
war depending upon a new style of
physique of a race which has never
before been put to this work The
Jap is short stocky and blessed with
muscles big enough for a much taller
man He is consequently able to do
more work than a European of equal
weight A rural letter carrier thinks
nothing of distances for which we de
mand horses and in exceptional cases
the rickashaw man has been known
to trot forty miles in a day dragging
the passenger The daily drills of the
soldiers include athletic exercises too
severe for the average European sol
dier such as running up and down
long flights of stairs It is not sur
prising then that their troops should
coVer long distances and the reports
of four successive days of thirty five
twenty five thirty and fifteen miles of
marching are perfectly credible They
are reported to have marched forty-
eight hours without food and with
little rest and then to have fought
well though captured men have
iropped asleep instantly American
Medicine
I THE NEWS IN NEBRASKA j
ELECTION LAW CASE FILED
Matter to Be Brought Before the Court
for Decision
LINCOLN Chief Justice Holcomb
granted Orpheus B Polk a Lincoln
attorney an alternative writ of man
damus compelling Secretary of State
Galusha to appear and show cause
why he should not placed on file a
certificate of nomination offered by
the Relator By agreement of attorneys
the case which Is a formal one made
up for the purpose of testing house
roll 235 the biennial election law will
be for hearing at the first sitting in
June This was dpne to give the nu
merous friends of the court who de
sire to be heard an opportunity to file
briefs Attorney General Brown filed
a formal demurrer denying the suffi
ciency of the petition and setting up
the fact that under the law there will
be no election in the year 1905 Al
though Brown is formally the attor
ney who will defend the law the ma
jor portion of that work will neces
sarily fall on the friends of the court
The relator alleges that he has pre
sented a formal certificate of nomina
tion for regent of the university and
that its acceptance was refused He
asserts that he is an independent re
publican candidate for the place Polk
had intended to initiate the proceed-
ings by offering a certificate of nom
ination for the county judgeship with
County Clerk Dawson but that official
intimated that he would probably ac
cept it for filing
CAUGHT A RUNAWAY TEAM
And Has Now Married Girl Who Was
in the Vehicle
NEBRASKA CITY A few days ago
at the home of the brides parents
occurred one of the prettiest weddings
of the season It was the marriage of
Miss Nora Miller to Mr Joseph Led
better of Jufieau Alaska The wedding
was a very elaborate affair and a large
number of guests were present The
bride is the daughter of Councilman
Frank Miller and wife and one of the
handsomest young ladies in the city
The groom is a wealthy merchant of
Juneau After the ceremony the couple
left for the south and will travel until
the latter part of next month when
they will go to their northern home
This wedding is the outgrowth of a
romance The young lady was up in
Alaska two years ago with her cousin
visiting her uncle a wealthy banker
of that country and while out riding
one day the team took fright and ran
away They were headed for a high
bluff when caught by Mr Ledbetter
who chanced to be out riding on horse
back The young man was invited to
the bankers home where he met the
young lady twice before she returned
home Mr Ledbetter fell in love with
her and the following year made a
visit here The groom has become
wealthy since he went to that north
ern country He was a comparatively
poor boy when he left his home some
seven years ago to go to the frigid
north to carve out his fortune
OLD VALUATION STANDS
Pullman Car Company Assessment
Remains Unchanged
LINCOLN Pullman car magnates
may rest in peace The valuation will
not be increased over the former as
sessment by the state board of equali
zation This was apparent when the
members listened to desultory argu
ments this morning and then laid the
whole matter over until another meet
ing
State Treasurer Mortensen favored
a valuation of 100 per cent However
it was moved by Secretary of State
Galusha that the valuation be the
same as last year and Land Commis
sioner Eaton thought that he approved
such a course However it was de
cided to look into the franchise value
a little bit But it was stated that the
valuation would not be raised and the
representatives of the Pullman inter
ests did not seem worried
As to Common Law Marriage
The supreme court denies a motion
for a rehearing in the case of Soren
sen against Soressen from Valley
county involving the right of the
child of an alleged common law mar
riage to the large estate left by a
wealthy farmer The court holds that
there is a presumption of the exist
ence of marriage which arises from
co habitation and holding each other
out to the world as husband and wife
and public policy will not prevent a
child born of such relations from avail
ing himself of such presumption in a
contest as to legitimacy
Cleveland Helps a College
LINCOLN P L Jackson financial
secretary of Hastings college at Hast
ings Neb went to Princeton N J
for the purpose of asking ex President
Cleveland to contribute toward the en
dowment fund of the school A dis
patch received from him says that Mr
Cleveland has made a liberal contri
bution
Must Show Ability to Maintain Wife
LINCOLN The supreme court holds
that Fred Goddard sentenced by the
Chase county district court to nine
months in the penitentiary for wife
desertion is entitled to a new trial
because of deficient evidence and be
cause the information fails to state
that he wilfully and without good
cause neglected and refused to main
tain His wife The dpficiency in the
evidence the cout states lay in the
failure of the prosetntnn to prove
STATE NOTES
A fire at Auburn destroyed property
to the value of 5000
The new Christian church at Peru
was dedicated last Sunday
Grand Island will probably institute
a rock pile for transgressors
A new flouring mill of 100 barrels
capacity is to be built at Brainard
Charles Jones will open a parK at
Beatrice with boating on the Blue as a
feature
The Methodist church at Nebraska
City has just celebrated its golden
anniversary
Kearney is perfecting arrangements
for putting a first class base ball team
in the field
Final plans for the remodeling of
the Burlington station at Lincoln have
been completed
Nebraska City saloons are now re
quired to close at midnight and to re
main closed all day Sundays
Charged with statutory assault on
his 16-year-old stepdaughter Anton
Nelson of Kennard was arrested in
Fremont
Campbell Bros shows which win
tered at Fairbury gave two perform
ances in that -city and then left for
the seasons tour
Timothy Sedgwick of York was low
man on the major fraction of the state
printing Several minor contracts
were secured by Lincoln firms
Food Commissioner Thompson of
Hall county has been reappointed by
Governor Mickey He received his
first appointment two years ago from
Governor Mickey
The work of tearing down the old
court house at Wahoo is now in prog
ress the material to be used in the
construction of a dormitory annex by
the Luther academy
Fremont is to have a Chautauqua
assembly the coming summer given
under the direction of local people
Rev Frank Emerson James has taken
the initiative and is already engaged
securing attractions
State Treasurer Mortensen has
bought 60000 of Boyd county bonds
at face value the bonds to begin
drawing interest July 1 The bonds
are dated April 2 1905 draw 4 per
cent interest due in twenty years
H E Hassinger for years the pro
prietor of the New York Racket store
in Seward has sold out his business
and accepted a position in the civil
service for which he intends to leave
before the middle of the month
Cnarles Mcintosh of Tecumseh the
man wanted on a statutory charge is
still at large despite the efforts of
Sheriff Cummings to locate him A
child was born to nis alleged victim
Miss Gates
While he was engaged in unloading
refuse in a subble field on his farm in
Hall county Dietrich Steibecks horses
became frightened he fell in front of
the wheels and the wagon passed
over him crushing his ribs and fatally
injuring him
As yet Charles M Chamberlain of
Tecumseh has failed to secure a suffi
cient number of signers to his 25500
bond for trial on the charge of embez
zlement He is going out among his
friends under the care of the sheriff
soliciting signers
At Long Pine while Rev A L
Tainter pastor of the Methodist
church was holding services his
house was entered and 23 in small
change the Easter missionary offer
ing and his overcoat were taken The
thief was arrested
Notices were posted about Schuyler
of the loss by some one of 700 600
in 100 bills the remainder in bills of
smaller denomination The loser was
Murt McKenzie who walked from his
home to the postoffice and back Sun
day and while on the trip suffered the
loss as recited The money has not
been found
George Hefferman of Jackson Neb
was found dead in his room in the
Hotel Locke at Sioux City He had
been in the city on a drunken debauch
and is supposed to have accidentally
turned the gas on during the night
Harve Beckner who was arrested at
New Richmond Wis on the charge
of deserting his wife and eight chil
dren was brought back to Nebraska
City by Sheriff Shrader and will have
his hearing before Justice Timblin
He states he and his wife agreed to
separate and he made all provisions
for the care of his family before leav
ing there
Members of the state board of equal
ization are anticipating trouble in con
nection with the amendments to the
revenue law permitting county as
sessors to correct real estate assess
ments Reports from Sherman coun
ty indicate that an effort has been
made to reopen the real estate assess
ments made last year under the pro
vision for quadrennial valuations of
such property
As M L Neely a young farmer of
Otoe county was going home early
Sunday morning a Missouri Pacific
engine and three cars caught him at a
crossing and run him down His bug
gy was crushed his horse killed and
he was badly injured bet will prob
ably recover
Exeter has a new industry and
manufactory by the name of the Bril
Iiantine Polish company an entirely
new process and compound in liquid
form for all kinds of cleaning and
polishing work uas been discovered
which is claiming considerable atten
tion locally at present
T jfiT rWfiipWW
nWipiKH
jpRjeftftlp i
FOOD VALUE OF FRUIT
Prejudice Against Its Liberal Use Is Result
of Erroneous Notions
There are many popular but un
founded prejudices against the dletic
use of fruits It is generally sup
posed for example that fruits are
conducive to bowel disorders and
that they are especially prone to pro
duce indigestion if taken at the last
meal The truth is the very opposite
of these notions An exclusive diet
of fruit is one of the best known rem
edies for chronic bowel disorders
During the late war large numbers
of the soldiers suffering from chronic
dysentery were in several instances
rapidly cured when abundantly sup
plied with ripe peaches Fruit juice
may be advantageously used in both
acute and chronic bowel disorders
Care must he taken however to
avoid fruit juices which contain a
large amount of cane sugar Juices
ot sweet fruits should be employed
or a mixture of sour and sweet fruit
juices or acid fruit juice may be
sweetened with malt honey or mel
tose a natural sweet produced from
cereals Raisins figs prunes sweet
apples and pears may be mixed with
sour fruits
Indigestion sometimes results from
the use of fruits in combination with
a variety of other food substances
but fruits taken alone constitute the
best possible menu for the last meal
of the day The combination of fruit
sugar cream bread butter cake and
pie may well produce bad dreams and
a bad taste in the mouth in the morn
ing The use of fresh or stewed fruit
alone without any addition whatever
will produce no disturbance and will
leave no unpleasant effects behind to
be regretted in the morning Very
acid fruits sometimes disagree with
persons who have an excess of acid
and those who are suffering from
chronic inflammation of the stomach
but with these exceptions there Is al
most no case in which fruit may not
be advantageously used
The notion that acid fruits must be
avoided by rheumatics is another er
ror which is based on inaccurate ob
servations The fact is rheumatics
are greatly benefited by the use of
fruit At the same time they should
abstain from the use of flesh foods of
all sorts beef tea and animal broths
and all meat preparations also tea
and coffee as well as alcohol and to
bacco It is of course possible for
one to take an excess of acids as one
may take an excess of starch or any
other food substances Vegetable
acids differ from mineral acids in the
fact that they do not accumulate in
the body but are assimilated or util
ized in the same way as sugar and al
lied substances
Diseased Cattle for Slaughter
A deliberate attempt to send a car
load of diseased cattle for slaughter
in New York was recently foiled by
the State Agricultural Department
Word was received of the shipping of
the stock and the car was intercepted
in the railroad yards in New York
by the departments agents Of
twenty cows found in the car three
were in a dying condition and soon
expired Eight others were suffering
from advanced tuberculosis and at
least three from pneumonia It was
also learned that several others of
the herd had died at Utica before
they could be transferred to the car
on the New York train It is intend
ed to prosecute the shipper of the cat
tle
A Substitute for Leather
An English inventor has devised a
perfect substitute for leather which
can be used for boots shoes and for
every other purpose for which leather
is employed The new tissue is called
wolft It is being extensively used
in England having been adopted by
the London Shoe Company especially
for walking shoes on account of its
coolness and its lightness Wolft is
more durable than leather and is
much more waterproof while at the
same time more porous which makes
it a nonconductor and to a large de
gree obviates the necessity for wear
ing rubbers which are needed by one
whose feet are clad with leather only
when the slush and mud is so deep
that the feet are half buried at every
step
Frances
Willard and Fashionable
Dress
Said Frances Willard in one of her
last addresses speaking of the ad
vancement and present status of
women
But be it remembered that until
woman comes to her kingdom physi
cally she will never really come at all
Created to be well and strong and
beautiful she long ago sacrificed her
constitution and has ever since been
living on her by laws She has made
of herself an hourglass whose sands
of life passed quickly by She has
walked when she should have run
sat when she should have walked re
clined when she should have sat
She has allowed herself to become a
mere lay figure upon which could be
fastened any hump or hoop or far
thingale that fashion mongers show
and ofttimes her head is a mere ro
tary ball upon which milliners may
perch whatever they please be it a
bird of paradise or beast or creeping
thing She has bedraggled her sense
less long skirts in whatever combina
tion of filth the street presented sub
mitting to a motion the most awk
ward and degrading known to the en
tire animal kingdom for Nature has
endowed all others that carry trains
and trails with the power of llftine J
them without turning in their tracks
but a fashionable woman pays lowli
est obeisance to what follows in her
own wake and as she does so cuts
the most grotesque figure outside a
jumping jack Sho Is a creature born
to the beauty and freedom of Diana
but she is swathed by her skirts
splintered by her stays bandaged by
her tight waist and pinioned by her
sleeves until alas that I should live
to say it a trussed turkey or a spit
ted goose are her most appropriate
emblems
Food Value of Eggs
Eggs are a very nourishing food
and represent two important ele
ments fats and proteids in an easily
assimilated form A single egg
weighs about one and one half
ounces of which one ounce is white
or pure albumin and one half ounce
yolk The nutritive value of the yolk
is greater than that of the white
though its bulk and weight are small
er Its solid constituents are about
one half of its fat Fresh eggs prop
erly prepared are readily digestible
The best mode of preparation is
whipped raw or cooked for twenty
cr thirty minutes at a temperature of
about 160 curdled The yolks are
more easily digested when boiled
hard and the whites are also easily
digested when hard boiled providing
care is used to reduce the coagulated
white to minute particles which may
readily be dissolved by the gastric
juice
A single egg is equal in value to a
dozen oysters
Very Dissipated
There are a good many persons
who might be said to be dissipated
and all broke up according to the
Japanese use of the word illustrated
in the following anecdote
They are telling in Boston of two
or three Japanese students of rank
who have been in the habit of dining
each Sunday at the residence of one
of the prominent citizens of the Hub
On a recent Sunday one was absent
and when the host asked why one of
the guests said solemnly Oh he
cannot come He very very dissi
pated The host thought it best not
to make any further inquiry at the
time but after the meal he ventured
to ask the same young man in pri
vate You say Mr Nim Shi is not
well
No he not very well he very dis
sipated
He hasnt been drinking
Oh no no he no drunk
Not gambling
No no gamble
May I ask what he has been do
ing then
Oh he very dissipated He eat
sponge cake allee time he all broke
up now
RECIPES
Mashed Peas With Nuts Soak a
pint of Scotch peas overnight in cold
water In the morning drain and put
them to cook in warm water Cook
slowly until perfectly tender allowing
them to simmer very gently toward
the last until they become as dry as
possible Put through a colander to
remove the skins Cook the peanuts
separately drain from the juice rub
through a colander and add to the
peas Beat well together season with
salt turn into an earthen or granite
ware pudding dish smooth the top
and bake in a moderate oven until
dry and mealy If preferred one
third toasted bread crumbs may be
used with the peas and a less propor
tion of nuts Serve hot like mashed
potato
Graham Gems Place one pint of
cold water in a crock add one egg
beat water egg and a pinch of salt
together Then add 1 cups of white
flour and cun of graham flour beat
thoroughly and bake in a quick oven
Irish Corn Soup Take one pint of
slice potato cooked until tender add
one pint of corn pulp obtained by
rubbing cooked dried corn through a
colander Season with salt add wa
ter to make a proper consistency re
heat and serve
Split Pea Soup For each quart of
soup desired simmer one cup of split
peas very slowly in three pints of
boiling water for six hours or until
thoroughly dissolved When done
rub through a colander add salt and
a slice of onion to flavor Reheat and
season with one half cup of thin
cream or a spoonful of nut meal pre
pared as directed below Remove the
slice of onion with a fork Serve hot
with croutons
Croutons Cut stale bread into
small squares or cubes and brown
thoroughly in a moderate oven Put
a spoonful or two of the croutons in
each plate and turn the hot soup over
them
Baked Parsnips Wash scrape and
divide drop into boiling water a lit
tle more than sufficient to cook them
and boil gently till thoroughly tender
There should remain about one half
pint of the liquor when the parsnips
are done Arrange on an earthen
plate or shallow pudding dish not
more than one layer deep cover with
the juice and bake basting frequent
ly until the juice is all absorbed and
the parsnips delicately browned
Serve at once
Orange Nectar Extract the juice
of six oranges and two lemons being
careful not to get the flavor of
rind Add enough water to make six
glasses of nectar Sweeten
1
4 h
1
Y
f
