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Wdhniim fiemocrat
successor to
CHERRY COUNTY INDEPENDENT
ROBERT B GOOD - Editor Pbop
VALENTINE
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NEBRASKA
Success doesnt always bring happi
ness and contentment The dentist who
has the biggest pull always looks quite
down in the mouth
The Minneapolis Journal remarks
that a woman suing for damages and
holding a set of love letters is a terror
to men and angels What have angels
to do with it
Two footpads attempted to hold up a
member of the Ohio Legislature in a
corridor of the Slate House at Colum
bus But they succeeded in escaping
before he robbed them
Scientists say the time is coming
when we shall be able to talk with
the planets The necessity for more
talk is not urgent but any improve
ment in the quality will be thankfully
received
The habit of intellectual suspense is
a most wholesome and valuable one
especially where the spirit and actions
of another are concerned and nothing
tends more effectually to prevent un
just and cruel criticism
All that a man has to do in a place
where he is a stranger is to bridle his
tongue and his temper cultivate good
feeling and kind affections and meet
every advance of his neighbor with
courtesy cordiality and cheerfulness
There is often in one kind word one
look of sympathizing affection or one
small act of disinterested love more of
real nobleness of spirit than in actions
which have rung in the ears and found
sin echo in the hearts of admiring thou
sands
The cost of electric power in the
great railway tunnel of Baltimore is
rapidly declining and in a short time
-will be no greater than that of steam
Electricity in the industries is marcn
ing on with a steady and certain
sweep
The Boston Advertiser which carries
at its editorial masthead the proud
statement that it is a paper for the
best classes exclusively prints a two
column account of a dog fight But
perhaps this is what the best classes in
Boston want
If Cuba should win its independence
Spain will have no reason to regard
the event as a deep humiliation En
gland had to take the same medicine
over a hundred years ago and the
colonies she lost have done so well
that she is not half sorry
An electrical exchange says St
Louis is in very bad shape electrically
Let us hope the wives will be put un
der ground before the convention
crowds arrive Heres a shocking
proposition Whats the matter with
St Louis matrons anyway V
Taste if it means anything but a
paltry connoisseurship must mean
general susceptibility to truth and no
bleness a sense to discern and a heart
to love and reverence all beauty order
goodness wheresoever or in whatever
forms and accomplishments they are
to be seen
The duke of Veragua has been wax
ing exceeding saucy toward the Uni
ted States of late This probably comes
from Tom Palmers Veragua relief
fund which when last heard from
stood at 1GS It isnt wise to make
these foreign paupers independently
wealthj all at once
Conduct is at once the aim and the
test of all our learning our thinking
and striving The man lives most per
fectly whose most constant happiness
is found in the consciousness that in
doing the best he can for himself he is
also doing the best that lie can for every
being that is capable of having good
done to it
Englands decision to spend 100000
t00 in building new war ships this year
would be more formidable if the fact
were not known that the ships already
completed are decidedly short of sail
ors A landsman transferred at short
notice to a modern battle ship is about
as effective as a Spanish infantry maw
on a Cuban mule
Out in Kansas a judge has ruled that
if a man calls on a girl several times
and escorts her to entertainments occa
sionally he is legally engaged to marry
lier That judge evidently is suscepti
ble to outside influences If an old
maid asked him to do so he probably
would issue an injunction to prevent
the rising of the moon or would cheer
fully declare unconstitutional the laws
of natu re
in a recent Sioux Falls divorce trial
the fair plaintiff testified tliat for the
first three years of her married life
her husoand kissed her at least 100
times a day But at the expiration of
that time he lxjgan to lag in his atten
tions sometimes not kissing her more
than a dozen times every twenty four
hours The brute This unfortunate
young woman is clearly entitled to a
separation on the ground of extreme
ruelty
If we could trace out the needless
Buffering inflicted by men upon each
other we should find a large majority
of it to be quite unintentional involun
tary and even unknown to those who
caused it No plea in excuse is more
frequent than that there has been no
Tf XT
such purpose Men forget that Evil is
wrought by want of thought as well as
by want of heart That they meant
no harm to their neighbors or friends
or the public is well but their responsi
bility did not end there They should
have leen very sure that their acts
were as free from harm as their inten
tions
Some people may wonder why a sci
entist should devote time and energy
to the task of securing quantitive meas
urements of sensibility in persons of
different ages and different classes of
society To the careless or the ignor
ant a thermaesthesiometer or an algo
meter is of no consequence whatever
but that such delicate aids to psycho
logical study have great value will be
evident even to the masses in the near
future Dr Arthur MacDonald who is
a specialist in the United States Bu
reau of Education has developed some
interesting neuro social data Of espe
cial moment are those that relate to
school children one thousand seven
hundred and seven having been the sub
jects of the doctors simple experi
ments Whatever may be the scientific
value of Dr MacDonalds measure
ments their practical value amounts
to much A tabular statement of av
erage sensibility as to locality heat
and pain has been prepared present
ing which the doctor says that any pu
pil 20 per cent about or below these
averages for its age should be reported
to the family physician ought per
haps to be taken away from school or
if permitted to remain should not be re
quired to do the average amount of
school work Bright pupils with weak
bodies are now too common but with
the assistance of the clever psycholo
gist they may enjoy a measure of re
lief sufficient to give the physical self
a chance to catch up with the over
rapidly developing mind Practical
science is only the refinement of com
mon sense
Chicago Times Herald A poor negro
long out of work which he had diligent
ly soughtmad with hunger and desper
ate against society saw a purse lying
in the lap of a woman riding in a street
car He seized the money bag ran was
pursued overtaken and with a certain
penitentiary fate ahead cut his throat
The fashion that depriving women of
pockets compels them to carry purses
and other articles of value exposed to
the vision of poverty and want is bru
tal It is amazing that women right
minded kind hearted and rational in all
other things condescend to submit to
it They are miserable slaves of dress
makers Dressmakers are slaves of
style There was never a style that so
idiotically ruled a sex and there was
never a time when that sex claimed to
be more intelligent or half as independ
ent Lead us not into temptation
ought to be carried on the corsage of
every woman as of old the fable placed
on the breast the bag containing the
wearers foibles The poor fellow whom
the sight of a womans displayed purse
drove first to robbery then to suicide
leaving a family to the mercy of the
world is not the first victim of a fash
ion that for its cure only needs a pair
of scissors to cut a pocket hole or to rip
open a seam to make place for a pleat
that would conceal access to a pocket
without detracting from the grace of
the garment Cannot the Womans Club
and the various other philanthropic ag
gregations of women of which we see
and hear so much spare a little time
from aesthetics poetry parliamentary
law political economy and other high
er kindergartening to devote a little
time to expounding that very old but
always salutary phrase Lead us not
into temptation V Which being con
temporaneously translated means
Women in heavens name put pockets
in your gowns and stop driving men to
felony and suicide The grand jury has
done in its day worse things than bring
ing in a moral indictment of women
who carry purses in their hands and
watches secured only by frail stick
pins on their busts
A Bee Hunt
An Australian savage comes up to
an Irishmans idea of human skill for
he bates the bees A native seldom
fails to get honey when he discovers
the bee he has been watching for The
following description of a natives bee
hunt is given in Mr Arthurs Kan
garoo and Kauri
Warruyallah the chief of a tribe
went with two little nets to a small
pool filled his mouth with water and
then lying down his head hanging over
the pool he remained quiet for an hour
apparently looking at his own reflec
tion in tQie water Then the hum of a
bee was heard it went over
the pool round the blacks head now
on one side now on the other and now
close to his ear but not a motion be
trayed the bee hunter
But when the bee dropping close to
the water gave notice by the change
of its tune that it was about to sip
the chief with a snort squirted the
water from his mouth over the little
buzzer Before it had time to re
cover from the unexpected douche he
seized it dexterously by the wings
Then he prepared it for the chase
by fastening to it a bunch of wild cot
ton with some gum The bee was let
go it made for the hive slowly at
first on account of its novel burden
which impeded its progress and showed
a sign in the air for the chief io follow
Over bramble and brake went tlie
chief accompanied by the men of his
tribe and in half an hour halted at the
foot of an immense gum tree into
whose top the bee had gone
The chief mounted quickly but cut
ting notches into the bark with his
stone tomahawk In a short time he
brought down a quantity of honey
comb a small piece only of which con
tained honey The Australian bees are
stingless
When a man saves his money people
think he steals it
FitOM SAP TO SUGAR
CURIOSITIES OF THE MAPLE
SUGAR BUSINESS
How the Sap Is Obtained and How
Manufactured Into Snjrar and Syrup
A Profitable Thin for tlie Farm
ers of Vermont State
The Maple Sugar Industry
The process of making maple sugar
and syrup is quite interesting to the
majority of people of this country
AVhile some maple sugar is made in
New Hampshire northern New York
and Massachusetts the bulk of it is
manufactured in Vermont The sap
of the sugar maple begins to run
about March 10 usually and continues
three or four weeks according to the
weather Sap will run only when the
thermometer registers at least 82 de
grees F and stops flowing as soon
as the frost is out of the ground or
directly after the snow is gone The
sugar season comes when the Vermont
farmer cannot profitably employ his
time otherwise
As soon as the weather is favorable
the Vermont farmer gets out his
buckets and sets to work tapping his
trees as quicky as possible The ma
ple trees are tapped by boring the
trunks with a small bit usually a
half inch bit about V inches deep
and from one to three feet above the
ground Trees are not tapped until
they are one foot in diameter After
tapping a spout made of clean maple
liillliillrawllilll
THE HANGING BUCKETS
beech tin or galvanized iron and fitted
with a hanger for holding the bucket
is driven firmly into the hole made
by the bit A bucket of tin or wood
is hung upon the spout and the tap
ping process is finished The buckets
are like ordinary water pails gener
ally all alike and each farmer usually
paints all his buckets one color
Only one hole is bored in young trees
but it is not uncommon to have as
many as six buckets with two spouts
each hung to maples of large size If
the bucket fills with sap in a day the
run is a good one although twice This
amount is obtained in exceptionally
favorable sap days What is called
a good sized sugar orchard will
contain from 500 to S00 trees and in
the northern and central parts of Ver
mont orchards of 2000 to 4000 trees
are not uncommon
When the sap begins to run well the
fanner and his lannly must work
hard A man with a large farm will
employ help outside of his family fre
quently and use two or three pair of
oxen or horses to make the rounds
of the trees with a sled on which is
the large sap tub into which the sap
from the buckets is poured An or
chard of 700 or S00 or even 1000 trees
need not require the farmer to hire
help if he has two or three boys in
the family besides himself From an
orchard of 700 trees an ordinary run
of sap for two days will enable the
farmer to collect about SO barrels
Sometimes GO barrels of sap can be
collected from 700 trees in one day
As soon as the men begin to collect
the sap the fires in the big evaporator
furnace must be started and the boil
ing of the sap begun as fast as it is
brought in so that none will be wasted
by souring or that the quantity brought
from the woods may not so far ex-
Sff vm j fill
-- TZTJifi WT - I
T TS
GATHERING THE SAP
ceed the accommodations at the house
that while waiting to get room for it
much will be wasted at the trees At
the time when the sap is running
freely the farmer must often keep the
fires going and the sap boiling all
through the night and of course he
is likely to have to work all day Sun
day and Sunday night It is all-important
that he make hay while the
sun shines
When the work is hardest the fun is
at its best Those who have but a
small orchard will spare some of the
family to help a relative or neighbor
through sugaring
The modern evaporator makes it pos
sible to do much sugar making in a
short time The evaporator is made
of tin copper or galvanized iron and
is so constructed tliit the sap flows in
at one end and by means of partitions
r
where it is drawn off as syrup The
sap in the pan is kept shallow about
one half inch in depth and evaporates
very rapidly Rapidity of evaporation
is greatly to be desired not only on
the score of economy of time bu
because the sooner the sap is con
verted into syrup after it runs Iron
the trees the lighter will be the coloi
and the finer the flavor of the syrur
and sugar
The sugar house is a rough little
building with a shed half full of well
dried cordwood
The room is mainly
fi9t i X Mt H ft fil ICIIIil It L ll t
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WmlMwm
itliitltJvtviAI I ilrf MJ XfiSi Uai
mmWivB iMil
ilsiWii
tup sugaii house
occupied by the boiling apparatus anu
with the bunk of the man who has c
watch pans of boiling sap day and
night One side is taken up by the
oven which is built on a bed of brick
and consists of two brick walls about
2 feet apart 2 feet high and about
12 feet long A huge old fashioned
brick chimney is at one end where
there is also a sort of square brick
furnace to hold a big kettle In the
roof near the center of the ridge pole
a large slot opens to the sky as au
escape for the steam which rises in
heavy volumes from the pans on the
fire
The sap as it comes from the raapiu
tree is like water and has barely any
more flavor than good water But it
doesnt take much heat to produce
flavor A barrel of good sap will make
a gallon of syrup or eight pounds
of sugar After being reduced to syr
up in the evaporator the product s
allowed to cool and settle more or
less impurities being precipitated by
standing The syrup is now ready
for putting into cans for sale The size
most in use is a one gallon can
The proper consistency of syrup ih
generally conceded to lie 11 pounds to
the gallon and this degree of density
is reached at 219 degrees Fahrenheit
The sap is never made into more than
syrup in the evaporator Then it is
poured into a large porcelain lined ket
tle to be boiled to sugar If wanted
for sugar the boiling is continued until
the thermometer indicates 32o degrees
for pail sugar or 23S or 240 degrees for
cakes Avhen the mass is removed from
the lire stirred brisky for a short
time and then poured into tin pails
or cake molds as the case may be
to harden
The cake molds are often a series of
parallel partitions on a large wooden
board with space in them about 3
inches apart and just wide enough to
admit a knife blade The molds are
dampened with a sponge then the hot
water poured in Little fancy tins
are also used for molds The farmer
AX OLD FASHIONED CAMP
gets anywhere from 10 to IS cents a
pound for his sugar and from 75
cents to 1 a gallon for his syrup A
sugar maple produces on an average
about 3 pounds of sugar during a
season
Compliment to a Soldier
During the siege of Paris Marshal
Canrobert found himself for a moment
in the presence of a party of ladies
They were very much agitated What
is the matter ladies the marshal
asked
The matter said Madame Brohan
in whose house the people were as
sembled Why we are on the eve of
battle and I suppose fear affects us
Fear echoed the marshal look
ing about with a puzzled air
Madame Brohan rang her bell
Marie she said when the maid ap
peared bring a dictionary for the
marshal
Which was as much as to say that
the old commander did not know the
meaning of the word
They Never Move
There are but two European poten
tates who manage to get along with
out change of residence These are the
Tope of Rome and the Sultan of Tur
key The Sultan has never left Con
stantinople since he ascended the
throne in such tragic circumstances
nineteen years ago and his Holiness
has remained within the precincts of
the Vatican since the triple tiara was
placed upon his head
Moral courage said the teacher is
the courage that makes a boy do what
he thinks is right regardless of the
jeers of his companions Then said
Willie if a feller has candy and eats
it all hisself and aint afraid of the
other fellers call in him stingy is that
moral courage Atlanta Constitu
tion
Proud pop to old bachelor friend
I tell you Dawson theres no baby
like my baby Dawson Im glad youve
waked up to that fact I knew mighty
well there never was a baby like the
one you described Harpers Bazar
With most of your friends you treas
ure ud thimrs thev occasionally do or
extending nearly across the other end say that offend you
i i I
ISM
MRS CLEVELANDS WALKS
First Lady of the Land Takes a Daily
Fivc OIile Tramp
Mrs Cleveland always did walk more
or less but since her return to the
White House last fall she has let very
few samples of severe weather deter
her from her daily constitutional That
is what it really is a constitutional
Although nobody says anything about
it Mrs Cleveland has been gaining
flesh and she has also been working
energetically to keep it down
Mrs Cleveland doesnt ride a bicycle
She doesnt skate or play golf She
doesnt ride or hunt In fact she has
none of the fun of the outdoor life that
is open to women who live in an exec
utive mansion and have to keep up offi
cial dignity That is why she has taken
to walking
Rain or shine no matt r
MRS CLEVELAND OUT IN THE RAIN
what is on for the evening Mrs Cleve
land is ready for her constitutional
about 1030
Under ordinary circumstances any
woman in Washington would be de
lighted to be honored with an invita
tion to keep Mrs Cleveland company
for a couple of hours during the fore
noon Most of them did try it lor a
while After a couple of experiences
nil but the strongest have been content
to make a plea of sickness
Mrs Clevelands preference is always
for a black skirt This winter she has
usually worn one of the wide gored
black skirts of heavy cheviot Over
this she has a short jacket single
breasted with the buttons concealed
under the flap of the coat The sleeves
of the coat are not abnormally im
mense A superb chinchilla cape of the
new winter fashion very full and rip
ply covers her shoulders Its high col
lar is turned up only m the most bit
ing weather It is an immense cape
and must have been made to order to
suit Mrs Clevelands shoulders On
her head is a little black toque of vel
vet and astrakhan with a couple of
wings at the side and front There is
nothing striking or especially fashiona
ble about the outfit It is quiet and
comfortable and designed for ease also
The daily stretch is not less than five
miles If there is time and a compan
ion who is equal to it it is six or seven
miles This is one of the reasons every
body has been saying how well the
Presidents wife looked says the New
York World When she comes up the
walk to the White House her eyes are
clear and bright Her cheeks are
flushed with the exercise and it is to be
hoped that the real purpose of the train
ing is being accomplished Two of the
women who have held out best and
have been her most frequent compan
ions are Mrs Minot the daughter of
Secretary of State Olney and Miss Har
mon daughter of the new Attorney
General of the Cabinet
SOUTH AFRICAN RULER
Judce Steyn the New President of the
Oranse Free State
Judge Steyn who has recently been
elected president of the Orange Free
State was chief justice of that coun
try before his elevation to the ofliee
of the presidency The position had
been filled by the late F W Iteitz
X Vw
JUDGE STEYN
Judge Steyns election is considered
a Boer victory as his candidacy was
indorsed and promoted by President
Kruger of The Transvaal Dr Jame
son and his raid into the South Af
rican republic had the sympathy of
the uitlanders or noncitizens of the
Orange Free State Steyn stood for
the conservative or Boer interests and
his election shows the tide is flowing
r -
against British domination in this part
of Africa He is an able jurist a good
statesman and a strong man The
country over which he will rule is an
independent Dutch republic in South
Africa On the south of it is Cape
Colony on thewost Griqualand the
Transvaal on tile north and Xatal on
the east Its area is 4S32G square
miles The total population numbers
207503 of whom nearly 80000 arc
whites The government consists ot
a president and a council appointed by
the volksraad The country is divided
into nineteen districts with a land
rost to each appointed by the presi
dent and confirmed by the volksraad
The volksraad is a legislative bc dy
elected by the adult white burghers
half of the body vacating seats every
two years
SONG OF TEARS
Composer Who Gave It to the World
Is Now Dyinjr in Poverty
Frederick Nicholas Crouch the com
poser of Kathleen Mavourneen is
dying in Baltimore in poverty The old
mans mind is gone and he raves about
the coronation of William IV the cu
pidity of music publishers his old tri
umphs and troubles Hundreds of thot
sands of people who have been moved
to tears by the recital of his famous
song will be amazed to learn that its
composer is alive For it is an old song
and is involuntarily referred back to
years long since dead But it was
classic before it had become old and will
remain a living power in the realm of
feeling until human nature is essential
ly changed The poem itself was not
written by Mr Crouch It was first
published in an English magazine Here
it was that Crouch saw it That was in
1S37 when the musician was but 19
years of age These are the verses
Kathleen Mavourneen The gray dawn
is breaking
The horn of the hunter is heard on the
hill
The lark from her light wing the bright
dew is shaking
Kathleen Mavourneen What Slum
bering still
Oh hast thou forgotten how soon we must
sever
Oh hast thou forgotten this day wc
must part
It may be for years and it may be forever
Oh why art thou silent thou voice of
my heart
Kathleen Mavourneen Awake from thy
slumbers
The blue mountains glow in the suns
golden liirht
Ah Where is the spell that once hung
on my numbers
Arise in thy beauty thou star of my
night
Mavourneen Mavourneen my sad tears
are falling
To think that from Erin and thee I
must part
It may he for years and it may bo forever
Then why art thou silent thou voice of
my heart
Crouch wrote out his melody and of
fered it to a firm of music sellers who-
1 1 l
FKEDEBICK NICHOLAS CEOCCII
paid him in hand just They took
the piece and coined money with it
Edition after edition Avas sold and tho
song swept over the world
Women at the Helm
Among the curiosities of the Russian
dominions is a group of communes In
the government of Smolensk surround
ing the convent of Besjukow where not
only do women vote but where they
practically do all the voting and office
holding
As the returns from agriculture art
very meager in the district and there
are large towns not far away the male
inhabitants of the Besjukow neighbor
hood emigrate to these towns early in
spring to find work leaving few but
women and children at home and not
coming home to attend to the little mat
ter of voting
Inasmuch as the women have to do
all the farm work as well as the house
work in this singular community it
does not seem strange that they rather
insist upon holding the officesand not
assigning them to such old men as may
be about Futhermore it is said that
they have for a period of several years
managed all the public affairs of the
Besjukow district so well that the men
are quite content to abandon the tedi
ous work of government to them
Sometimes when the head woman
of the joint communes is presiding over
a public assembly of women to pass
upon important financial and other con
cerns certain of the men have been
known to come home for the purpose
of merely looking on and admiring the
method of procedure or else of hearti
ly felicitating themselves upon being
rid of so bothersome a duty
After tihat remarket the young
islim who had been telHng an inane
ghost story my mind was a blank
That accounts for it commended a
sharp young woman arid there was
-an interregnum of profound silence-
Truth
Shopkeeper How does it happen that
alt Miss Wait who will never be
hangedforherbeauty Piease sir my
clock stopped Shopkeeper I believe
you Boston Transcript
Have y ever observant
sudden-
iefUl maD dies and how lonTil
worthless
one holds out
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