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About Western news-Democrat. (Valentine, Neb.) 1898-1900 | View Entire Issue (June 1, 1899)
\ \ < > W well volunteers have borne tin- brunt of battle since the war Avith Spain began is HOAV a mat ter of hislorj * . A recapitulation of the main exploits of our armies in Cuba and the Philippines shoAvs at once how splendidly this contingent has upheld > the name ol America. When the Maine was destroyed in IhiA-ana harbor the ipeople eagerly clamored to be led to the front and Avhen Avar Avas actually declared the response to the call to arms AA-IS ten-fold greater than the needs. TAventy-fiA'e thousand regulars no matter IIOAV brave , skillful and well-disciplined could not be a match for ten times that number of trained regulars fighting under the banner of Castile , and. from the beginning of -military operations to the volunteer -lias come a gloAving share of the glory of daring , patient , effective Avork Avell done. The first fierce light of Las Quasimas was engaged in by Western volunteers In conjunction Avith negro regulars. These men Avere practically Avithout experience cavalry , but dismounted -and forced to plunge through a Cuban Jungle in the face of a hot fire. Wood's rough riders led the fierce charge. The -men were away from home in an un- tfrieudly climate , which in itself AA-as sufficient to enervate them. But they fought and Avon. Regular army officers - ficers , who scorned the national guard and hastily organized volunteers , open ed their eyes in wonder to see the "min ute men" ' conscripts of the West give the truculent dons their "trimmings" iu approved measure ! The men AA-IIO went to Porto Rico with Miles AA'ere of 'the same class with no previous ex perience under fire. Yet all the fight ing that amounted to anything AA-as done 'by Illinois and Ohio men , not of ithe regular army. Bennitt's Third Illi- aois hnd never said much , but it fought , and AA-ept that peace AA-as de clared just ns they had things nicely fixed "to smash the dons ! " The Philippine situation is worth go- iing over iu detail to analyze the fightIng - Ing mettle ihat has been shoAvn by our meAV men. Dewey Avon the first fight ithere so easily that nobody thought there would be another battle. As the disordered enemy took heart , however , OUTCLASSED DEWEY IN LOVE. The Spanish Duke "Who Did It Now Minister to Washington. Spain's UCAV ambassador to the Uui- rted States , the Duke d'Arcos , is a man Jn whom Admiral George Dewey once found a successful rival. Twenty years or more ago D'Arcos , then a poor Count , but a handsome , dashing fellow , was in Washington as a legation at tache. Dewey was also there in a .subordinate naval position , and was .equally poor. Both men were popular favorites. They AA-ere in society a .great deal together , and Avere Avell liked. Among their intimates Dewey was always "George ( " and D'Arcos , whose family name is Bruuetti , AA-as called "Jack. " DeAvey and D'Arcos both fell iu IOA-C with the same girl , the beautiful Vir ginia Woodbury LoAvery , of Washing ton. Archibald Lowery , who is rich D'ARCOS AND nis WIFE. -and proud and patriotic , did not like .either suitor. He thought his daughter could do better than marry DeAvey. As for Brunetti , he was not an American. In the father's eyes he AA-as impossible. Perhaps that was one reason Avhy the beautiful girl preferred the hand some Spaniard. She gave him a vow ihafc she would wed no one else , but she told her father that she AA-ould not mar ry without his consent. She kept both promises , but there was a long and ueary waiting. For years the father was obdurate ; the lovers were sunder ed. In the meantime Dewey had mar ried another girl. She was in her grave tAventy years and more before the guns at Manila echoed around the world. After many years the old Duke died and Jack Brunetti became the Duke .d'Arcos. He was named Spanish min ister to Mexico. Mr. Lowery finally uie President and General Merritt made up a force largely of volunteers , Avith a leaven of regulars to steady the lump. It Avas supposed that there would be only a summer picnic for the former , Avith the latter needed only for brief garrison duty until the ball Avas over. So it came about that the army of occupation of the Philippines Avas made up of 7. > per cent , of A'olunteers. Of sixteen regiments of these only one Avas from the East and South respec tively. The others Avere all Western , representing California , Kansas , North Dakota. Wyoming , Montana. Idaho , South Dakota. Colorado , Minnesota. Nebraska. Oregon. Washington. IoAA-a. and Utah all from Avest of the big river. These men had only that train ing at arms that comes from having a pistol as a regular article of toilet. Ninety per cent , of them had never been organized as regiments. Without being drilled , Avithin t\vo months after concentration many of them A\ere aboard transports and on their Avay to Manila. Five expeditions , Avith nearly 37,000 troops , reached the capital of Luzon by the middle of June. No drilling could be indulged in on the troop ships , but little time AAIS : given after debarkation for such things. But they Avere there to oust the Spanish , and ten days after arrival this nvw ma terial Avas engaged in a deadly strug gle. Under the most terrifying condi tions of night and a Avhirlwind of tem pest and rain they repulsed the enemy and covered their States with glory. No denial of the innate fighting qual ities of these men of the nation had ever been made , but all regular officers held that much training AVHS necessary to render them steady under fire , and ) enduring in a sickly climate. Yet these j niAv levies , fresh from counting-house and farm , accustomed to all kinds of good things to eat and drink , buckled down to army rations in a land 10,000 miles from home , took the good with the bad. and lacked not one whit of the steadiness of regulars. The first sortie of consequence by the Filipinos Avas on Feb. 3. It consisted of a preconcerted attack at a dozen dif ferent places on Otis' lines , and Avas as skillfully planned as any fight ever made , but it Avas soon turned into a disgraceful rout. Our volunteers did not know that under the rules of war they were licked at the start. Hence it came about that instead of retreat ing these hardy Westerners hopped over the fronts of their trenches and made for those occupied by Aguin- aldo's men , three times their number. They simply took them. They wanted the waterworks , and from the vicinity concluded that further opposition was useless and gaA'e sanction to the mar riage , Avhich AA-as carried out very quietly. The ueAV minister from Spain is an important man in Washington , and his wife a great lady. But there are people in Spain as well as the United States who think Miss Lowery missed a great opportunity when she said "no" to Dewey. HE LOST ALL , Including that Winsome Creature , the .Lovely Birdy Jones. It AA-as the first perfect day of the glad springtime. The Avarm sun bright ened the country landscape , and the odor of opefiing apple blossoms came upon the laden atmosphere. The lazy clouds floated dreamily in the sky over head , chiefly because they could not go afoot nor on the trolley cars. The rural roads Avere smooth under the hammer of innumerable AA'heels. and Clarence Wheeler had stolen Birdy Jones from her haughty Soho home for a ramble on his ' 97 tandem among the highAA-ays of the toAvnships. Stop ping from their run , they rested be neath a great oak tree Avhich oA-erhung a wayside spring. CoAvbells tinkled in the woodlot beloAV the meadoAV , and lit tle lambs with wabbly legs three sizes too big for them gamboled on the short green grass. On a broad , flat stone that looked doAvn upon the crystal water Birdy spread the lunch they hnd car ried in the tandem box , and dkirence brought AA-ater in a romantic tin can that he had found hard by. The soft Avinds-toyed with the girl's bleached tresses , which streamed over her face like a photogravure picture of tlK west Aviud to illustrate Longfiel- IPAV'S poems. Her cheeks flushed with the vigor of exercise and robust health , and AA'hen the young man approached her from the spring his whole thought Avas centered upon the winsome beau ty of the divine creature. He sat down by her side. His soul drank in the charm of the picture. She looked up from the can of embalmed beef that she Avas opening , with a smile of confi dent approval on her young face. Sud denly her eye kindled and the rosy flush of young womanhood gave way to a ghastly pallor. Her lip curled in deliberately and unkindly kicked the Filipinos out. In this instance hot headed determination set aside all rules of Avar-fare. VieAved in a regular Avay , the assailed Avere beaten , but irrepressible pitching-in defied all mar tial strictures , and the day was AVOU. In like manner , when Anderson Avas .attacked by August ! on Aug. 3 , thick- weather prevented the regiments from knowing that in a tactical point of vieAv they Avere as good as wiped out. But they pressed on diligently , fought their Avay past obstacles , half realized at the time , by sheer force of pluck- system and scientific skill out of the question. When Miller landed at lloilo Avith his handful of loAvans he seemed to have committed suicide. He faced a bunch of Filipinos ten times his mini- her , and Avell armed and Avell disciplin- ed. Yet he kept the toAvn , and Avhen the Tennessee regiment Avas added to his force , with a part of the Third artil lery , he Aveut into the country looking for a fight. He found one , and , to the chagrin of all military strategists , from [ j i j Charles Martel doAvn to Kitchener of j | Khartoum , he AVOU it. He had no right to do anything of the kind , but he did , and there is an end to the discussion that red tape and ironclad rules have anything to do with real enthusiasm and victory. What is aimed at here is to express Avhat "Teddy" Roosevelt , "Joe" Wheel er and others affirm : the volunteer of America is a fighting machine Avho im bibes practical skill Avith salt pork , bean soup , black coffee and bad bread. He does not need a course of sprouts at any school of technical AA-ar instruction if he can get the real thing in front of him. Lacking regular training , he does the best he can , coolly realizing all his advantages and marching up to the point Avhere he can do the most effec tive shooting. He makes use of Avhat skill he has , and then drops the whole science of war to find out who is shoot ing at him and IIOAV quickly he can shoot back. A great deal of jungle skirmishing has marked the Filipino conflict. Here the AA-ork of the Western volunteer has been such as to excite Avouder and ad miration on the part of trained officers of foreign lands , who neA-er dreamed a force of raAA- recruits could behaA'e so like steady regulars. Smokless pow der in bamboo Avildernesses could not daunt these men. They wrestled with the undergrowth as they would with a patch of sunflowers at home , they wriggled through right down upon the guerrillas , and the sturdy regular grin ned Avith approbation when he heard these fighting wildcats yell. scorn. Her classic head was lifted in anger. "Merciful heaven ! " shrieked the young man. "Tell me , dearest girl , what is the matter ? " But she stepped back , and , striking the attitude that she had learned at the Soho Amateur Dramatic Club , she pointed her finger at him and sakl in tones that would wither a load of hay : "All is lost , Clarence Wheeler. You are sitting in the pie ! " Pittsburg Times. A Model Town. "Three miles from noAvhere. in a lit tle backwoods village over in North Carolina the other day , I found the one toAvn in the Avorld where everybody Avorks , and no loafing is permitted. " said a well-known traveling salesman. "In this hamlet there's no idleness that is not voluntary or vicious , and this privilege is not alloAved eA-en to the wandering Willie out of a job. On a sign at the postoffice in Beechland is this injunction , from which there is no appeal : 'No loafing alloAA'ed in this toAvn. We AA-ork. and so must everybody else who expects to reside here for any length of time. Idleness breeds crime , and. as Ave never hnd a robbery or a murder here , Ave have determined to strike at the root of all eril. Tramps will be given one hour in which to de part , and honest men out of employ ment will be given work if they desire it. If not. they must git , and git as quick as their lazy legs wil carry them away from our village. This means ' " you. Exempt from Regulations. An Italian physician , rushing on his wheel to the bedside of a patient , AA-as arrested by a policeman for scorching , and notwithstanding the urgency of the case Avas compelled to go to court. When the doctor Avas finally released , on ariving at the home of the patient he found that she had died for lack of medical attendance while he AA-as in the hands of the laAA' . The circumstance led to the exclusion of physicians from the regulations regarding scorching. A married woman's tears excite curi osity ofteuer than they excite sym pathy. Satan probably originated the saying "Man wants but little here below. " In the lighting that lias taken place in the Philippines the difference be tween the methods of regulars and vol unteers has been strikingly manifested. The former move forward persistently and doggedly in silence ; the latter go to the front with yells and enthusiasm , but both go to the front. When Wheaton - on was opposed by a river , the other j side of which bristled with rifles , he j I halted for the pioneers. The regulars , j did the same , but the Oregon boys , be- j ing good swimmers and not liking to wait for bridges under tire , swam the river. AVhen Otis met the Marilao River Colonel Funston and a score of his men swam over and took some trenches which were manned by the Filipinos. So. e of the Washington boys saw a blockhouse flag. One of them volunteered to go and set it on fire. He did so under a heavy tire , and his comrades rushed up. in possession while the Filipinos gave in , affrighted at such foolhardiness and bravery. Like Grant's army in the Wilderness , the volunteer contingents have made a showing no nation on earth can match not a man has advanced backward in all that gallant army. Bullets fired from old rifles in the hands of supposed ly raw troops have done as much dam age ns bullets sent from modern guns by men wearing sharpshooters' badges. They have been kept constantly at the front , the reason assigned being that they are hardened to the climate , and better than any freshly arrived regu lars. It took General Otis less than half a year to reach a conclusion that all the precedents of the army and the science of war Avere useless in the face of the indomitable bravery , the match less aptitude and speed , the unbound ed enthusiasm of the American volun teer. Lacking skill as pioneers , they swam rivers ; knowing nothing of skill ed clearing work , they cut the jungle ; not supposed to be full-fledged soldiers , they camped on the trail of the sullenly retiring enemy with bulldog tenacity. Our regulars in the Philippines have proven themselves marvels of steadi ness and machine-like precision , but the volunteer all dash , spirit and pluck has shown that the true Ameri can fighting vim cannot be repressed , and , given expression , carries all be fore it to victorv. "White or Brown Brend. The oft-repeated debate between the advocates respectively of the white and brown in breads is again being car ried on in the columns of the London Illustrated News. Dr. Andrew Wilson takes the side of the brown , while Dr. Lander Burton writes in praise of the white , and he is supported by several other contributors. These latter pro fessionals are firm in the belief , after having made investigations Into the question , that white bread is more nu tritious than the brown variety. The latter has its merits , of course. It tends to remove the torpidity of the digestive system , which too often oc curs in persons of sedentary habits , and supplies also mineral matters especially phosphate of lime needed for bone-building. But the white bread also supplies mineral items , and as re gards fat it is said to afford a larger proportion of this important food than the brown bread. The great point our investigators lay stress on , however , is the importance of judging the value of a food by a physiological rather than by a purely chemical criterion. It is one thing to say that any food shows under analysis a large proportion of this or that nutriment , and quite an other thing to assert that it can be easily assimilated , or. in other Avords. thai its nutrients can be easily obtain ed by ( he body for the ultimate pur pose of nourishment. White bread overtops the brown in this latter re spect , and so AVO may rest content to kuoAv that in the ordinary loaf we have a typical enough represeiitatiw of the staff of life. France's M-itcfi Monopoly. The manufacture of matches is a very strict state monopoly in France , and a line of 1 franc per match is ruthlessly imposed on all contraband imports of the kind from abroad. Forgetfulness of this lately cost an English tra\'eler the sum of $100 at the port of Bou logne , Avhere he had to pay a fine of 500 francs on a box of wax lights , value 9 cents , which the custom house officers found among his luggage. When a man diets he eats oatmeal , ill addition to everything else he usuat ly eats. A ROMANTIC CAREER. The Stcry of an American Viscountess in Kncland. Of all t'ie beautiful and wealthy American girls Avho have contracted matrimonial alliances with titled Euro peans few have had'so romantic a ca reer as A'iscountess Deerhurst , AVJO re cently presented an heir to her distin guished husband. Viscountess Deerhurst. who is ac counted one of the most beautiful wom en of Europe , and who was also an heiress of great wealth when she mar ried , was an Illinois girl by birth , and her earliest years were ones of humble life. Her birthplace was a farm in Fulton County , near Farmington , and about twenty miles west of the city of Peoria. Her father's name was Will iam Daniel , but this was a fact known to only a feAV people when the beauti ful and accomplished Virginia Bon- ynge , a name that subsequently came to her. was launched in London soci ety with all the advantages that nature had lavished upon her , supplemented by the fascination of prospective mill ions. Her success was instantaneous , and it Avas not long before she had the eligibles of Great Britain's exclusive set at her feet. She AA-as taken up by royalty itself , in the person of Princess Christian , and her presentation to the Queen stamped her position in the great world of fashionable and exclusive so ciety. About this time came an event in Virginia Bonynge's career which near ly Avrecked her life and happiness , and the shock of which prostrated her for weeks with brain fever , and brought her near death's door. Among the horde of suitors that besieged her was a nobleman of high title , a long and Jofty lineage , and of distinguished and unblemished character. Ills suit pros pered , and soon his engagement to Miss Bonynge AA-as announced. A feAV weeks after the engagement was announced ugly rumors began to circulate in Lon don society about Miss Bonynge. These were to the effect that she Avas not the daughter of the millionaire whose name she bore , but that her origin had been o-f the most lowly nature , and that her father , after having served a term VISCOUNTESS DEERHURST. of imprisonment for murder , had wound up his career by committing suicide. Miss Boin-nge's noble fiance heard these rumors , and he investigat ed them. Their accuracy AA-as acknowl edged by Mr. and Mrs. Bonyuge , and he broke the engagement , without an instant's hesitation or eA'en an iuter- vieAv with the girl whose affections he had gained. London society Avas , of course , scan dalized , but some of the royal family declared it outrageous to visit the sins of a father on his innocent offspring , and as the favor of royalty in England outranks in importance the disfavor of all other classes the Bonynges main tained their position and outlived the venom of slander. It is necessary here to tell how Vir ginia Bonynge , daughter of a murderer and suicide , had been transformed into the child of a millionaire and an orna ment of English society. Her father's name AA-as William Daniel. He was a gardener in England , who had married a housemaid. Together they had come to America to seek their fortune. Dan iel and his Avife worked their way from New York across the continent , stop ping for a time at Farmington , 111. , Avhere they tried to run a quarter sec tion of land. It was while here , on the prairies of Illinois , that the Viscount ess Deerhurst was born , twenty-five years ago. William Daniel did not prosper as a farmer. He decided to go to California to dig for gold. Crossing the Rocky Mountains in those days Avas not Avhat it is noAv , especially for people who know what it is to want for money. The journey entailed many hardships for Daniel and his little family. Once on the Pacific slope he went to work as a common miner , whose only capital was determination to succeed and a strong constitution , and whose only tools were his braAvny arms. It was a rough community. Almost eAery man's hand AAas uplifted against his neighbor in the endeavor to protect himself. One day Daniel got into a fracas. He killed a man. AAas tried and sentenced to im prisonment. While Daniel was in prison Bonynge , then a strugirling miner , met Daniel's wife. She procured a divorce and the couple were married. Virginia Daniel j * then became Virginia Bonynge. j i < Bonyuge struck it rich and became one of California's bonanza kings. Dan iel's wife and daughter lived in luxury , while Daniel ate his heart out in a prison cell. He never kneAv until he Avas freed that wife and daughter were lost to him forever. When he was pardoned he went back to the scene of his crime in search of those he had left behind. They had disappeared. But some remained who were able to put him upon their track. He learned the truth , and it killed the little courage and manhood left after his Imprisonment. He plunged into deeper crime , drank to excess , and finally died by his own hand. In the meantime the Bonynges had removed to London. They found Ainer- \ lean wealth powerful , and , when re- enforced by the charms of a beautiful daughter , irvesistible. Then came the shock of the revelations of. Daniel's career. Soon after this period the Viscount Deerhurst became a suitor for the hand of Miss Bonynge. He Avas accepted , and in a short time the miner's daugh ter became Viscountess Deerhurst. Her life since has been a happy one. FROM DEEP DOWN IN EARTH. Queer Creatures that Came Out of an Artesian Well in Texas. The arrival at the fish commission of tAA-o living specimens of the Typhlo- molge Rathbuni has excited much in terest. These animals came from an artesian AAell ; dug by the United States fish commission to supply water to the fish hatchery near San Marcos , Texas , and are among the most interesting of subterranean organisms. The Avell Avas bored to a depth of about 1 , . > 00 feet , but AA-as afterward filled up , until it is now only 188 feet deep. A flow of 1,200 gallons of AA-ater a minute is obtained , ami with the Avater four A'arieties of Crustacea and this salamander have come to the sur face , all of which are new to science. As might be expected , these animals are blind , and the name given to the salamander is due to this fact , being compounded from the Greek typhlos. blind , and molge , a kind of salaman der. The second term is in honor of Professor Richard Rathbun of the Smithsonian institution. The larger of the tAA-o living speci mens is about four and a half inches In length. It has a large head , pro longed forward into a flattened snout , in which is the mouth. The eyes are covered by the skin and appear mere ly as small black specks. The body is slender and ends in a tail , flattened from side to side and used in swim ming. Projecting from the body are. two pairs of legs , the forward pair end ing in four toes and the rear pair bear ing five toes , as is customary among salamanders. These legs are used in AA-alking , and , though very slender , seem to possess much strength , as they lift the body clear of the ground , and by them it can climb over the rocks piled in the aquarium. The general structure is of a larval type that is , it resembles the unde veloped salamanders of to-day and the fossils of those of bygone ages. It is well known that fish and other inhab itants of subterranean waters are de scended from corresponding types found at the surface in the vicinity , but the typhlomolge suggests many prob lems. As it presents a primitive type , it may be an instance of arrested evolution lution or of reversion. When the an cestors of these specimens became en gulfed in the earth , it is probable that the form UOAV presented was the nor mal one , and that , in the absence of light and the presence of other ob stacles to animal life , evolution became impossible , and the type became fixed. On the other hand , this larval form may be the result of degeneration. Success in Liile. The successful man learns the rudi ments of business in early life , says C. I * . Huntington , general manager of the Central Pacific Railway. The unsuc cessful man is the one who in his youth watched the clock to see that he did not begin work a minute ahead of time or quit a second behind it. Those are the boys who are discharged first , AvheneA-er the staff is reduced ; but the boy who thinks of working in stead of quitting , and looks after his employer's interest instead of his own ease , is the one who is kept on , and goes ahead and succeeds. Success is a simple thing. The money saved in early life groAA-s into fortunes later on. The young man who can save 10 cents a day is a man of sense. He is on the road to success. But the young man AA-IIO trades this 10 cents for a cigar is a fool. There may be cases AA-here fortunes are made by jumps , but great success comes from persistent effort. It Is a mistake to point out the accomplished work of a successful life and ask a young man to duplicate it. The im mensity of such a work appalls him. It Is like taking him suddenly to the top of a high steeple to see a great city. The grQflt height makes him dizzy , butte to the steeplejack , who knoAVS his busi ness and has scaled the steeple , It is quite a little matter. That Is the rea son why rising men should not look ahead. They should work for to-day and to-day only , and if they do that faithfully and live economically , they will be ready for whatever comes on the morrow. Reminded of His Departed TV'ife. Widower I say , my friend , have you ever been here before ? Burglar N-no , sir. Widower Well , would you mind coming around quite often say once or twice a week and going through my trousers , just as you are doing now ? You don't know how much you remind me of my dear , departed wife , Ange- line. It seems almost as if she were alive again. Good-night , my friend , God bless you ! Judge. Russian Betrothal. V Russian Avooing culminates in the betrothal feast , at which the bride- elect cuts off .a long tress of hair and gives it to her betrothed , who in turn presents her with bread and salt , an almond cake , and a silver ring set Avith a turquoise. Rough on Him. He ( unreasonably ) Were you ever ia love before you met me ? She ( lightly ) Oh , yes ; but never since. Harper's Bazar. When you are old , and quarrelsome , and disagreeable , pray that itwill be your fate to live In the country , when * few will see you-
