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About The Falls City tribune. (Falls City, Neb.) 1904-191? | View Entire Issue (June 24, 1910)
From Far Away Siberia Interesting Letter from Dr. F. F. Tucker, who with Mrs. Tucker and the children are on their way to this country, after an ab sence of seven and a half years, as missionaries in China. Eastern Siberia, May 28, 1!H0. Dear Friends—With the frozen ex pans- of beautiful Lake Baikal on one side and grand timbered and snow-capped mountains on the other, I will write briefly of the first week of our 7,MO mile trip from Panghai ehwang to Edinburg. My hands are cold and writing on the train is poor work at nest, so the writing is sure to be hard to read. A week ago, at about three in the morning, we left Panghiactawang, the scene of our labors for these seven and t. no-luilf years. We had expected to slip quietly away, but numerous friends insisted on setting us off at lhat unearthly hour. Margaret, Just ns we got inside the front gait wailed "chin-chin, go homo," for she did not appreciate night travel in a Chinese cart William shortly Inquired "Why is Tientsin so far away?” Wo were at Tt hehow about six, where the D. Iion.no Jollied ua and where ninny more friends saw us. The railroad from here to Tientsin Hnved us many days of camel travel and we surely needed the good nights' rest, and the rost/un uplift of the Sabbath following, for the tension anil stress of the last few days had given us but scant time for sleep. Tho trip to Tientsin was a hot one, and one could hut sorrow to see the scorched fields, so sadly in need of rain and much of the wheat past recovery. On Monday there was many business items to see to, securing of money for the trip in Mexican dollars, Japanese yen, Rus sian roubles, and English pounds, to say nothing of arranging for lulls for the children, theirs having blown out of the window on the way to Teh ehow. Late in tile evening of the i’iid we loaded our express train at Tientsin, and found ourselves in such good com pany us Dr A. II. Smith, Miss Por ter and Miss Reed of our own mis sion, and Itishop Roots, amt others. Despite Margaret's calls for her China nurse, we were soon all asleep not even stopping to read tho many farewell letters we were favored with, lo get tin* medical work in as good shape as possible to leave, had been u task, and l did full routine duty ii’> to the day before leaving, even then leaving over seventy patients in the hospital for the assistants to see to. We still have hopes of another physician going to aid in our absence —though we do not know that the mission board will send ns back.) We wanted to do so much and seem to have failed so often! Tuesday we continued all day, see-1 i*g friends as we passed at a number of points, and arriving at Moukden1 (or Mukden) in the evening. This1 is the end of the Chinese Imperial! railway and we changed cars to tho Japonese line, the So. Mancliwai rail-' way. A few hours wait enabled tne1 make a flying trip to the Mukden! hospital, where suggestions, not a1 few. were gathered from this justly tamed plant. The long ride in a semi Russian “droskha” was much enjoy «*d. I'p to 1100 years ago tills truly ancient city was the capital of the Ifanchur. who for these three cen turies have ruled all China. Much of tho ’ast fighting of the Russo-Japan-1 esc war was in this region. The old and the ne„w mingle us electric liglils1 blaze forth in the old towers of this old capital. Genuine Pullman ears were a com-! fort on the Japanese line, but early morning found us at Ch ang Ch lan (Long Springs) where (Wednesday) w changed cars again, this time to thel Siberian branch line and took pos session of our present commodious second class compartment in the In ternational Express. Being 54 by 80 inches in size, we have ample room for bundles, children and ourselves. A fellow passenger was in distress because she had lost the key to her trunk, but though I filed away num erous keys, 1 could not open it, so rivets were filed off, so the needed passport of money could be reached. The country has been interesting thatch roofs, plenty of moisture, a mingling of races, Jauanese, Chinese, Mongol, Manehu, Russian, not to mention the Germans and French on "our” train. The land in North Man churia seems marshy, and capable* of supporting a far greater population. At least along the railroad the Rus sians dominate, all but this in China. The Japanese, too, are capturing the Manchurian trade. Before the war America sold three million dollars worth of cotton goods to Manchuria, now two-thirds of the trade in this line has gone to the Japanese "broo onie.” The "soya’’ bean is the crop of Manchuria, it being estimated that this jear $30,000,000 worth will be shipped to Europe. The bean oil is worth nearly as much as the cottou seed oil anil Is In great and Increas ing demand. At Harbin we had a wait of several hours and joined the through ex press. Others well known to us are now on the train, as Bishop Har ris of Japan, Mr. Hoste of China In land Mission, and Mr. Orr-Ewing al so of C. 1. M. at. the town of "Man churia" and we had all our baggage examined, and since then have been whirling along in Siberia, which proves to he a most interesting coun try -at least in the south portion, and still waiting for agricultural de velopment. \ YVe patronize the dining car part of ill" time, (125 kopecks for a good meal i luit mostly draw on our ample lunch basket, assisted often by I*. ‘ I'l’.li, Our alcohol stove is a bless inr., and fresh milk may be bought most anywhere of hare-footed Hus ■duti maidens not to mention liie ease with which one may gel bread land plenty of hot water. The children enjoy travel unite as muc !i as their parents and are really very good. William solemnly ans wers Mrs. Bashford that "William is very careful!” for he never uses itie ;'rsl personal pronoun. About thin wonderful railroad, the j‘‘Highway of the Bear,” I may have | more to nay later. It is certainly a great feat. Tunnels, horseshoe curves, steep grades, signs of battle with wnt cr, with bandits, and with ice abound, j Two days ago a tunnel nearly two miles long was passed. The road par allots North Mongolia for 1000 miles, at a distance of a day's march, and I it is not possible to think this is mere circumstance. The Portsmouth treaty does not permit the use of the Manchuria ‘‘cut off” for military or siragotic purposes, so the Bear is now building the Amur rrailroml. 1,320 miles, at the great cost of $150, 000 a mile. in her 300 years of ownership of Siberia, Russia finds but one and one-fourth million in this land that is three times the size of Frame. But advances are now com ing, and already begin to show. What scenery we now have! The hides and fis ae mirrored in the waters of the fur-famed Lake Baikal, and the snow peaks are reflected in the placid surface of this largest body of fresh water in the Old world, 300 miles long. The scenery reminds one of the Yellowstone Rake, and the scores of tunnels but enhance it. The mountain streams sparkle in the hrright northern sunshine, and God is everywhere. It is curious to note that our bills in the dining carrs are dated thir teen days behind the dates we use still using the old calendar. We find wraps most acceptable a great relief from the heat of the Shunt ing plain. The Russian settlements, even in the rolling uplands, are few, hut the neat log cabins, most attrac tive. The village church is of course the tuincipal building and usually the only one at all painted. Yesterday we passed the important rail center of Chita th(> home of a Russian friend among the firs at the foot of the mountains. Here we passed thirty ears of immigrants—the crudest and fiercest lot of humanity we have seen—going to the Amur River region. | neglected to say Dr. Sid ney Gerlick of Japan is on tlie train, as also Dr. Ilykes of the American Bible Society and others. But this is gating lengthy. We soon reach Irkoutsk, beyond the lake and change ther« for the week of travel to Mos cow, and will write again from there. Love and greetings from all. F. F. TUCKER. Frank Peck's Claim Dates. J. B. Whipple, Poland China Dog sale, October, 15. 1910. MONEY that TALKS -BACK THERE’S a lot of money here and in this vicinity. Possessorsof that money read this paper; they swear 1 y it. They want to l>e shown. I If your goods are right, they | want to buy. This paper " talks to that mom ;• at rt :ular intervals. It’s money that talks back and taiks 1 ack strong. Get your i are—do your talking tin a our ad vertising columns. (Copj right, IJi*. . . . t.. VIRTUE IN A GOOD PUDDING In This Instance It Banished “Pa's” Pessimistic Thoughts and Opal Got Her New Dress. "T-and! how disagreeable everything Is!” cried Ma, "here's Jule a-gittin’ mad at her own brother, and here's you, Opal, havin’ no duds to wear to the plenir. Hut I don’t believe I'd ast yotir Pa for a new dress, 'cause that’d make everything more disagreeable than ever." But Opal could not give up the Idea of a new dress, and so, as soon as her father and her brother .led were seat ed at the supper table that evening, she courageously said: “Pa, can I have a new dress to wear to the pic nic?” "A new dress," echoed her father , grulily. “I don't know nothin’ about It; hut this I do know, we’ve gottn he awful eareftil of money jest now while the faetory’s runntn' light.” “Whal’d 1 tell you, Opal?" asked her mother significantly. Pn ate his potatoes and meat in grim silence. Hut after he began on the rice pudding his scowl gradually relaxed, and a look of peace over spread his tired face; for the pudding tasted very good to him. And as he slowly munched the raisins, he glanced speculatively at Opal; then, after every crumb was gone, said pleasantly, “What kind of a dress do yon want, Opal?” "A thin white one; and I can’t go to the picnic without a new dress." Pa sheepishly handed Opal three sil ver dollars. "Oh, thank you. Pa,” cried Opal joy fully. “Can 1 have if, Ma?” ‘"Didn't your Pa give it to you? Hut I ditnno as lie would if we hadn t worked on his feelin's with the pud din’.’’ worried Ma. "A good puddin’ turneth away wrath," grinned Pa.—From "Tuggin' to be Genteel," by Bessie It. Hoover, In Everybody's. Brave Nurse Saved Patients. The story of a nurse’s heroism was (old at St .Andrew the other day, when the Ambulate association of Scotland awarded their gold medal to Miss Sophie Macpherson for bravery j at. a fire. Some time ago the Princess Christian mission in Freetown, Sierra Leone, was burned to the ground, the whole building being destroyed in 20 minutes. Miss Macpherson, who was then a sister in ihe hospital, was walking through the grounds when she observed that the building ! was on fire. She at once ran to the hospital, and gave the alarm. The na tive nurses, unfortunately, became excited, but Miss Macpherson got the patients out of bed, and carried them down the outside stair aid into a place of safety. She returned several times, in spite of the smoke and flames, and ultimately succeeded In saving all the patients (seven in num ber) before the arrival of outside help. Venice Had First Great Bank. The first great bank in the world was the Hank of Venice, established in 1157, when the Queen City of the Adriatic was at the head of the com merce of the western world. At that time the great current of the trade between Europe and Asia passed i through the Persian gulf and the Red sea to Alexandria, Egypt, and was car ried In ships across the Mediterranean sea and through the Adriatic to Ven ! ice, where It was distributed to vari ous parts of Europe. Venice was a sort of autocratic republic, founded and supported by Its merchants, who were famed throughout the world for their wealth and reliability. They founded their bank, which was guaran teed by the government, and was held In high credit In all the great citieB on the routes of trade. The word "bank" was derived from the Italian word “banco," n bench or counter over ; which the business was transacted. Mrs. Lange Takes Command. When Rudolph Lange, who arrived on a steamship from Hamburg with his wife and child, bound for Allen town, disembarked from the boat at the Washington avenue wharf one day | recently he found that his pocket had | been picked of $S0, all the money he j possesed. The man had no money to buy rail- 1 road tickets and was in the depths of j despondency, until his wife, from some mysterious place, produced $28. "Give that to me,” said Lange. "Aber nicht,” said Mrs. Lange. “In America the frau takes charge of the j money, and we will begin being Amer- j leans right now." "That’s the proper spirit,” said an ; Immigrant officer who stood near by. | "I guess you’d better give the kid to j him." She did. and, to cap the climax, Lange took him and never made a whimper.—Philadelphia Times. _ Real Freak Dance. Brilliant success is claimed for a freak dance and supper, acid recently in Pittsburg, where everything was done backwards. When the dancers, numbering several hundreds, assem bled they found the ballroom sur i rounded with "magic mirrors." On the back of each guest was pinned his name written backwards. With his supper partner he danced backwards to the banqueting tables, on which the guests sat, while supper was served on the chairs. The meal began with black coffee and ended with soup, it ‘was served by waiters who wore false faces on the back of their heads and walked backwards, with their coats buttoned the reverse way up the back. Dancing opened with the “home waltz” and closed with a grand march UNTIL JANUARY 1st SIX MONTHS The Falls City Tribune Richardson County’s Leading Newspaper -FOR m 50 Cents A Clean Family Newspaper. An expo nent of all that's good and wholesome; fearless in its condemnation of all that is evil. We want YOU to read it. Grand Opening The New Zimmerman Music House has thrown its doors wide open, and in the fullest sense are now ready to serve the public in their line. A full line of all kinds of Musical Instruments will be carried, together with exten= sive assortment of Sheet Mu= sic and musical supplies. TWO CARLOADS High Grade Pianos just re= ceived and now ready for inspection. Zimmerman nouil FALLS CITY, NEBRASKA