jpsr
I
- w -
tma 7 If IjjTj
week nobody on the Lazy H
ranch had caught more than a momen
tarj glimpse of the sun Chill winds
whistled and roared over the bleak and
desolate prairies on the range and fit
ful whirls of rain made it all the more
disagreeable to the weary boys who
were at work night and day to keep the
uneasy herd from rushing away to the
desert of the south Although it was
early for wintry manifestations yet
that a serious storm was imminent was
realized by all the men employed on the
ranch Great bunches of cattle milled
at various points on the range but little
effort was made to break the mills for
fear they would be followed by the
more serious danger of a general stam
pede Riders constantly watched the
fretful animals when they became
weary from hunger as they rushed
around in that ceaseless grind Noth
ing but a wall of horns was to be seen
as the steers presented an unbroken
front to all comers With the mutter
ing jf the thunder came lo wings and
tossings of the horns with added en
ergy in the tramp tramp of the fright
ened animals
It was hard and weary work to keep
the herd from starving as well as rush
ing wildly towards the gulf All over
the Panhandle country the same con
ditions existed and that gloomy week
In November was probably the most
exciting tour of duty the ranchmen
ever put in in a region where hard work
abounds and the rewards are small
Ten thousands pairs of horns were
enough to keep a small army of Lazy
H cowboys fairly busy when every
thing was pleasant Now there was
- need for double their number They
were scattered in groups under sub
bosses so that every man was doing
two mens work and that too without
an opportunity for rest excepting sucii
as could be snatched when the milling
bunches were quiet for a few minutes
If this thing keeps up much longer
said Curley Brock as the week was
almost gone I allow Ill jump the
game Im almost all cashed in now
and kaint stand it much longer Just
look at them bulls a millin and a-mill-in
there Ever see anything so mean
Why they aint done nothin fer a
whole week but tramp about and go off
their feed I allow there aint no use
of trying to break em whatever
Theyll break pretty soon or I lose
my guess said the boss Bill Martin
I figure that them cloudsll bust some
where hereabouts and then look out
Wisht I had some more ponies or least
ways some that were fresh We got to
ride considerble hard to keep up ef they
stampede which I allow they will
As he spoke a long tongue of brilliant
light left the clouds and winding a de
vious and uncertain way across the
black skies plunged into the earth at
no great distance from where the ranch
men stood Instantly it was followed
by a roar and rumble of thunder as if
a park of artillery had suddenly gone
into action The sound was deafening
the thunder in that country often being
sufficiently severe to shake the nerves
of the strongest man Following this
came a roar as of some mighty catar
act as the wind took sudden volume
and that huge bank of clouds bore rap
idly down upon the milling beasts
Just as suddenly the animals halted in
their march and turned frightened eyes
in the direction of the advancing
storm Then they moved uneasily
tossed their horns and dug up the turf
as the first spattering raindrops fell all
about and upon them
Here you fellers yelled Martin
Get busy there an head off them
blamed steers Dont ye see they are
goin to stampede Hurry and pint
m at that gulch over ther Ride you
devils as you never rid before
Suiting the action to the word the
boss put his pony into a violent gallop
and raced off toward the bunch shout
ing out his orders as he rode He was
mounted on a strong broncho and it
was well for him that the pony was
comparatively fresh for he soon found
himself in a position of serious danger
and there he stuck for a long time He
was caught in that stampede and hur
ried off toward the gulf at a terrific
speed his pony straining every nerve
to keep ahead and the steers racing
furiously behind in their efforts to get
away from the storm
As Bill dashed off to turn the flank of
the bunch just as the animals com
menced to change their revolving mo
tion for a straight away run Curley
lifted up his voice and quirt and made
a furious onslaught on the nearest steer
He swung his deadly quirt and
thwacked that bull with great vigor
ijcommunicating a sudden impetus to the
WUJOlUM
i
jvvi3vfi5t
iY
ULLS RACE FOR HIS LIFE 1
M
- r t r r or- or or- - - - - - - mr or XT
t OR over a
H threatening
week it bad been
great things For a
animals movements This had the
effect of starting many others in the
same direction and a couple of hun
dred bore rapidly down on Martin cut
ting him off and putting him in the di
rect pathway of the stampede
Whatever are ye doin ye blamed
fool roared Bill as he saw what had
happened Come around on the other
side ye cayote an head them bulls
offen me Durn yer skin think Im
part of this bunch
Curley saw the mischief and at
tempted to divert the enemy but it was
too late The other man had followed
his lead and the steers instead of head
ing for the gulch were racing in a wild
scrimmage straight away to the south
hunting solitude Bill went with them
He had to It was his duty anyway a
thought that afforded him little conso
lation for it was a race for life with
the chances about fifty to one on the
bulls with the sanie odds against him
Still being a man of family he gave
his pony free rein and raced as he never
did before or since as he has frequently
said himself It was all Curleys do
ing as that astute cowboy charged
X Sg
with undue impetuosity at an angle I
iH ijlVft
of struggling cattle Some of the hoys
behind noticed here and there the fallen
figure of an exhausted steer ay ho fell
from sheer weariness They yelled en
couragement to Bill for this was a
good sign and indicated that the herd
was rapidly reaching the point when it
would be compelled to stop On they
ran however without wavering pur
sued by the storm and chasing the fly
ing figure of the boss Would he es
cape death Nobody could tell
As the beaten pony struggled up a
steep ircjine after a mad dash down
into a gulch Bill felt the hot breath of
the advance guard of the cattle furious
as a furnace at his back He cast a de
spairing glance backward urged his
pony with foot and voice and was
tossed headlong to the ground He fell
from the stirrup rolled about for an in
stant and then lay still as he saw that
mighty herd leaping over the spot
where he went down Bruised and
shaken bjT the tumble half conscious
from the shock he lay there and with
the curious inconsistency of him in im
minent peril commenced a desultory
counting of the black forms whicn
plunged over him Where his pony
was he did not know and he fell to
speculating concerning him On ran
the steers and still Bill lay there his
dazed mind going through all kinds of
arithmetical problems
Finally the last of the herd passed
and the boss one of the most experi
enced ranchmen of the wild West rose
to his elbow and sent a careful glance
to the rear He saw his men racing
furiously after the cattle and suddenly
ducked again as the boys plunged over
his position Then it dawned on him
where he was He had fallen into a
natural ditch too deep to wade over and
just the right width to leap easily This
fact had saved his life for the first
steer leaped the ditch and all of the
others blindly followed suit Bill was
safe and he crawled out of his hole not
grateful for his escape but with a mind
full of wrath against Curley the
cause of his downfall
The ditch had also saved the pony
The little broncho fell when he threw
his rider and being deadbeat lay where
he fell As he had as much sense as his
master he kept quiet and when Bill
arose he saw that broncho quietly
drinking at a small pool his flanks
still rising with undue rapidity for he
was very weak Bill arose and intro
duced himself by taking the bridle and
giving the unoffending brute a savage
kick He then remounted and followed
ws over Curley was lying erfJZl on
tiie ground with a hole in his lungs and
Bill was nursing a badly wounded
shoulder
Well it was a bad business but then
none of the others felt any call to in
terfere and the combatants were hast
ened back to the ranehhouse and med
ical aid summoned Fortunately
neither was fatally hurt but Curley
did hospital duty for the rest of the
season and Bill took charge of the sta
bles He was scarcely fitten as ho
said for duty with the herd
An Effective Retort
Few things are more useful to a puD
lic speaker than readiness in turning an
interruption to his own advantage
Even the preacher can profit by it as
is shown in a story told of the late Rev
Dr John B McFerran in the Western
Christian Advocate
In closing a speech at a missionary
anniversary at Jacksonport Arkansas
1S5G he stated that once he was shrink
ingly timid when called upon to take a
collection but that he had learned to
take the shirk the throat and say
Pay me that thou owest
Just then a man sung out Yes l
heard it said that they would put on
your tombstone And the beggar
died
This created a laugh but the doctor
stood silent A tear stole down his
cheek and in a subdued tone he broke
the pause
Do you know what I told them I
said If youll add the rest of the verse
and was carried by the angels to Abra
hams bosom I wouldnt care
The effect was electric money rained
into the treasury and shouts made the
roof tremble
Port Blunder
General Miles has recently reconi
mended the fortifying of a number of
our seaports- and the enlargement of
some of the posts along our frontier
One of these is Fort Montgomery that
stands at the outlet of Lake
plain The mentioning of this long--forgotten
old fort recalls a queer fact
connected with its beginning and long
ago forgotten In 1S41 it was decided
to build a large post at the entrance to
Lake Champlain and work was begun
on Fort Montgomery as it was called
After a good deal of work had been
done it was found that the walls of the
fort were over the lines dividing the
United States from Canada Work was
stopped and a survey made and part of
iff VAttiwil -Hi
ON RUSHED BILL AND 02S RUSHED THE CATTLE
calculated to produce the result he had
brought about
As the cattle raced constant additions
wTere made until it semed that the en
tire herd was chasing Bill He reflect
ed as he ran that he had this advan
tage that when the ride wTas over if he
survived he could locate all of the
herd without much trouble Just how
long it would take to terminate the
drift was the problem as the herd was
mostly made up of young sters full of
life and fleet of foot Bill was busy
particularly in his straining effort to
avoid being inclosed in the rushing
herd He had a little the start of them
could he maintain it until a chance
offered to quarter the drive and escape
to one side He dug his rowels into his
ponys flanks and swore vengeance on
Curley as soon as the fun was over
On rushed Bill and on rushed the cat
tle Behind them with yells and shouts
spurring them to great efforts raced
the boys They were all pretty evenly
matched so that there was little
change in their relative positions for a
long time How long Bill does not
know It seemed a week to him but
nobody in his plight could measure
time with any degree of accuracy The
rain fell in torrents and the plains now
darkened by the fading day and the
heavy green black clouds was fitfully
lighted by the constant flashes of light
ning which mockingly illuminated the
pathway in front of Bill likewise the
steers At every flash and every roar
of thunder the bulls took on more
steam and after a short time Bill saw
with apprehension that they were gain
ing on him Would they trample him in
the mud It began to look as it tney
might for his ponys wind was about
gone and his panting was becoming
short sobbing gasps
On they plunged rider and pursued
making record breaking time in a coun
try where hard riding and plenty of it
is the daily portion of all Over shelv
ing broken land down into small
arvoj os and out again up the steep
grades plunged and seethed that mss
after the herd slowly knowing that by
this time the storm having broken the
steers were willing to quit and that
with plenty of hard work they would
all be collected
Well it was as he expected He final
ly found the herd scattered about on the
plans some lying down and some graz
ing but all showing evidences of that
wild flight from the driving storm He
also found those cowboys lying about
on the wet grass too tired and too sav
age to care what became of him He
advanced on the party and swung down
from the saddle and stood scowling at
the men as he hobbled his pony and
prepared to arrange for the night
I allow yer about the best bunch of
skunks I ever see was his greeting
Whatever do ye mean in stampedin1
that herd Get up an get busy all of
ye Scatter and see that them bulls
dont drift to where we all kaintfind
em Hear me
Which we do Bill drawled Cur
ley from where he lay all sprawled out
in the ground An we all aint goin
to do nothin of the sort I allow them
bulls is all right where they be and
they aint no use in stirrin of em none
whatever
Whos boss of this gang me or you
ye wuthless cayote Ye done all the
michief with yer durned quirt Get up
out of this or Ill sink my boot into ye
Which ye wont do nothin of the
kind Bill was the growling answer
as Curley half rose and returned the
scowl of the boss with interest I al
low they aint goin to be no bootin
yere I also allow Im goin to stay
right yere Ef theys goin to be any
bootin I hereby declares myself into
the game and so I tells you plain
Kin ye shoot roared Bill unlimber
ing as he spoke
A leetle said Curley rising to his
feet with a jerk and pulling his gun as
the other men scattered
The two men gazed wrathfully at
each other for a moment and then the
pistols blazed out shot following shot
until all were empty When the action
the work was torn down Later on it
was ascertained that part of the walls
of the post were still over the dividing
line An agreement was made with the
English Government which gave to
the United States that part built upon
and the outline of the old fort was com
pleted but as these mistakes had
caused so much trouble the post was
nicknamed Fort Blunder Work was
stopped on the old post at the breaking
out of the late war and since that time
it has been under charge of an ord
nance sergeant Soon work will be re
sumed and if the recommendations of
General Miles are carried out the old
post will be converted into the largest
and most strongly armed post in the
country as it is the intention of the
General to have a large number of the
largest guns made by our ordnance de
partment to protect the entrance of the
lake on which a few miles below is
located Plattsburg Barracks one of
the most important posts on our Cana
dian frontier Cincinnati Enquirer
Paying Inventions
The idea of copper toed shoes was
patented Jan 5 185S by a Maine gen
ius who made 100000 out of it An
other similar invention which made a
great deal of money was the metal
button fastener for shoes invented and
introduced by Heaton of Providence
R I At the time it was considered a
fine invention for the old sewed but
ton was continually coming off It has
gradually grown in popularity since its
introduction in 1SG9 until now very
few shoes with buttons on are manufac
tured without the Heaton improve
ments and appliances
No man is so worthless that a candi
date will not treat him with great re
spect
No woman is competent to handle
the kin question she is too
thetic
People are never too old to fall in
love or to fight over politics -
-
NOTES ON EDUCATION
MATTERS OF INTEREST TO PU
PIL AND TEACHER
The Great Question in Modern Peda
jrojry Is to Destroy Machine
Methods Fine New Gymnasium for
Columbia College
Personality of the Teacher
The Popular Educator has the follow
ing touching on the personality of the
teacher In the great majority of
cases the man or woman with a su
perior training and lacking a knowl
edge of methods is a greater teacher
than one having a knowledge of meth
ods whose educational training is lim
ited It has been said that a public
school training is antagonistic to genius
Whether that be true or not it is cer
tain the long continued training of
young minds in our graded courses or
study develops a sort of mental servil
ity A Connecticut paper queries
whether Abraham Lincoln would have
been the man he was had he been grad
uated from Harvard or Yale It is not
to be legitimately inferred from this
that the training of the schools and the
colleges inevitably weakens dignity and
power of mind It only suggests the
question whether our systems of work
are not weak in some vital point One
of the finest brains born on Massachu
setts soil Robert Raubone was hesi
tatingly given his diploma by Harvard
College because he spent his hours not
in the class room but in her magnifi
cent library We are not sure that the
paper to which we have referred is not
far from the truth when it says The
great question in our modern pedagog
ics is to destroy machine methods
which have so often proved hindrances
rather than helps to youthful develop
ment largely due to the immense
amount of work thrown upon teachers
owing to the overcrowding of the
liools and to substitute for them in
dividually the power of reaching and
impressing individual scholars This
must mean of course better brains in
the average teacher and here very like
ly is the root of the whole trouble
Finest in the World
Columbia Colleges new gymnasium
will be the finest thing of its kind in
America in the world in fact Yales
has been the model up to date but
President Seth Low never does things
by halves The first three stories of
the new building which will be known
as University Hall are to cost 4o0000
and the work upon thorn has already be
gun As the building approaches com
pletion the plans will be made to suit
whatever condition the needs of the uni
versity require The hall will have a
frontage of ISO feet and a depth of 2C0
feet From the level the students will
enter the gymnasium and on the floor
below will be the largest and finest
swimming pool in the world This pool
COLUMBIA COLLEGE GYMNASIUM
will contain 240000 gallons of filtered
water and will be about twice the size
of the Yale tank Around the edges of
the building will be placed showers
needle baths lockers and dressing
rooms The gymnasium will be like
the pool in the shape of a half moon
Over its widest part it will be 170 feet
and every conceivable apparatus for
physical development will be made use
of under its roof Overlooking the floor
of the gymnasium will be a great bal
cony Suspended from the ceiling
where it runs over the gymnasium and
circling the entire interior of the build
ing is to be built a great running track
twelve feet wide and nine laps to the
mile In the southern portion of the
building will be athletic rooms boxing
rooms fencing rooms and directors
apartments And now the men of the
university having an ell desire a yard
in fact and figure of speech for they
have asked the rich men of New York
to give 1000000 to buy an athletic
ground near the university site
The Tattliner Business
There are teachers who persist in ad
vising and urging pupils to tell tales on
each other They argue that for the
sake of discipline it is right to ask chil
dren to say who has committed some
fault In this way they inculcate a
habit in the young people of telling
tales of carrying tidings that is apt
to be disastrous in the future When
remonstrated with for this policy the
explanation is given that it is necessary
if the school is kept in order
It is alleged in excuse that in civil life
witnesses are compelled by the courts
to testify But that is an entirely differ
ent matter That system is for the pro
tection of society and is necessary but
the policy of telling talos is not needed
in any school It is not required as a
protection to the teacher and it makes
little ones mean and unkind to each
other It causes them to hunt for op
portunities to secure the teachers good
will by discovering to him or her some
action that has created a little disorder
It were better for the class room to be
quite disorderly than to ruin childrens
characters by encouraging tale bear
ing The boy or girl who refuses to
tell tales notwithstanding the urging
of threats of his teacher shows a char
acter that is creditable If a teacher
cannot preserve order without stooping
to the encouragement of petty mean--ness
that teacher is not suited for the
work There are many hardships and
An Interesting Table
5rV
C
many trials In a teachers life to fce
sure but that is no justification for cul
tivating the habit of tattling in school
Unfortinately there are teachers in
this city who encourage this reprehen
sible practice and do so regardless of
the dangerous effect it has on the young
children who are under their care It
is characteristic of young children to
avoid telling on each other and it is
a characteristic that should be encour
aged instead of being frowned upon
Stop this tattling business Parents
should use their influence to do so
Springfield Union
The School Reader
A school reader is a book of litera
ture as well as a practical book for
teaching an art A reader of high grade
contains or should contain a variety of
matter descriptions of natural objects
elevated oratory sublime tragical and
comic pieces wise reasoning humor
wit pathos poetic interpretation his
tory food for the intellect and food for j
the heart as well as a tonic for the will
Fully to appreciate such a book calls I
for larger mental attainments than alK
the other books of the elementary school
put together to render its lessons well
is the highest test of school culture
thoroughly to know its contents next
to association with a good teacher and
cultivated pupils is contact with the
best formative influence of the school
The reader is pre eminently the charac
ter making and the taste making book
It is the queen book of the elementary
school room Teaching the Language
The following interesting table ap
peals in the Western Teacher The
first column represents the Presidents
of the United States who were college
graduates and the second those who
were not
John Adams
J Q Adams
W H Harrison
John Tyler
James K Polk
Franklin Pierce
James Buchanan
R B Hayes
James A Garfield
Chester A Arthur
James Madison
James Monroe
Andrew Jackson
Martin Van Buren
Zachary Taylor
Millard Filmore
Abraham Lincoln
Andrew Johnson
Benjamin Harrison U S Grant
Grover Cleveland
The Teacher also calls attention
the fact that the two term Preside
are all in the second column
A Story of Seth Low
President Seth Low of Columbia Col
lege was valedictorian of his class at
the Brooklyn Polytechnic On class
of legal schools maintained during tmr
preceding school year
C X - CT-1--
oupijort oi nitK cxucients
The women of the Cornell University
faculty- are organized into a guild
which supports a bed for sick students
in the Ithaca City Hospital An effort
is being made to raise a 0000 endow
ment fund
Boiled Chiefs Head
One of the innumerable little wars
that England carries on with savages
has just taken place on the River Niger
in West Africa It concluded with the
eating of a human head by the native
allies of the British
A chief named Katshella had built
himself
the
into the territory of the neighboring
king who was under British protection
Katshella was of immense size and
fearful appearance He lived a life of
utter depravity
A British expedition of 150 men was
sent after him and smashed his strong
hold Lieut Festing who commanded
the expedition writes
The robber prince Katshella an im
mense man was killed just outside the
town and then the brutal instinct of
the niggers came out They cut offhls
head and sent it to the king I was help
ing He if you please had it boiled
and his mimtshis low native followers
ate it The king subsequently sent the
skull back to me and it was handed to
the doctor for disposal
The Beaver
The beaver is the national emblem of
Canada It appears upon the arms of
that country from the time of its first
settlement Its name survives in scores
of Canadian rivers settlements and
miscellaneous land marks It has a
place in the postage stamps of the Do
minion Beaver tokens were issued
at one time by the Hudson Bay and
Canadian Northwest Companies as tal
lies for skins bartered from the Indians
They are now among the rarest of nu
mismatic curiosities
Flying Fish
A Portland sea captain tells of his
sailing in Southern seas where flying
fish abound They would sometimes in
their flight in the night come aboard the
ship and drop on deck He had threes
cats that though they were lying asleep
below would hear the sound whenever
a fish struck the deck and would rush
up to get it They distinguished this
from all other sounds The crew tried
to imitate it in various ways but could
not deceive the felines
tr
George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
r
1
s
i v
VJ
Y
vi
day the exercises being over his speech
spoken and his diploma in his overcoat
pocket he stepped out of the building
to walk home An old man passing
seeing the lights and the people ac
costed him And what is this build
ing my son The Polytechnic Insti
tute sir Do you go there T Young
Seth Low drew himself up proudly and MJP
looked for an instant at the questioner if J
Then he answered I did once
Francisco Argonaut
Vermonts School Tax
For the support of its common schools
Vermont imposes a definite universal
tax of five cents on the dollar assessed
annually on the list of polls and rata
ble estate of the inhabitants The pro
ceeds of this tax are apportioned to the
several towns and cities and unorgan
ized districts according to the number
l 1
c
a strongnoiu on a tributary ofir
Niger from which he made raids
-3
K
h
fir-
