-
X THERE IS NO DEATH ,
There , Is no death ! The stars go down
To rise uponsome other shore.
And bright In heaven's jeweled crown
They shine for evermore.
there Is no death ! The forest leaves
Convert to life the viewless air ;
{ The rocks disorganize to feed
The hungry moss they bear.
There Is no death ! The dust we' tread
Shall change , beneath the summer
> showers ,
To golden .grain or mellowed fruit ,
Or rainbow tinted flowers.
'There is no death ! The leaves may fall
And flowers , may die and pass away ;
They only wait , through wintry hours.
The warmr sweet breath of May.
* * ' '
*
There is no death ! The choicest gifts
That heaven hath' kindly lent to
earth
Are ever first to seek again
The country of their birth.
And all things that for growth or joy
Are worthy of our love or care ,
Where loss has left us desolate ,
Are safely garnered there.
I
Though life become a desert waste ,
'We know Its fairest , sweetest flowers
Transplanted into Paradise , i
Adorn immortal bowers.
The voice of birdlike melody
That we have misged and mourned
so long ,
Now mingles with the angel choir
In everlasting song.
There is no death ! Although we grieve
When , beautiful , familiar forms
That we have learned to love are torn
from our embracing arms
Although with bowed and breaking
heart ,
With sable garb and silent tread ,
We bear their senseless dust to rest ,
And say that they are "dead. "
They are not dead ! They have but
passed <
Beyond the mists that blind us here ,
Into the new and larger life
Of that serener sphere.
They have but dropped their robe of
clay
To put their shining raiment on ;
They have not wandered far away
The yare not "lost" nor "gone. "
Though disenthralled and glorified ,
They still are here and love us yet ;
The dear ones they have left behind
They never can forget.
And sometimes when our hearts grow
faint '
Amid temptations fierce and deep ,
Or when the wildly raging waves
Of grief or passion sweep ,
We feel upon our fevered brow
Their gentle touch , their breath of
balm ,
Their arms enfold us , and our hearts
Grow comforted and calm ,
And ever near us , though unseen ,
The dear , immortal spirits tread
For all the boundless universe
Is Life there are no dead !
4
The Prairie Dog in Kansas.
RAIRIE dogs hold more than a
P lion acres of what would other
wise be good pasture land in Kan
sas.
sas.The
The pest is In 67 counties and is In
creasing at an alarming rate. Every
attempt to exterminate them has
failed.
Governor Stanley appointed this year
an agent to gather statistics on the
prairie dog occupany and the damage
done by the little burrower through
out the state. This agent has recently
made his report. He finds the prairie
dog holding 1,224,854 acres. They are
most numerous in Logan countywhere
their villages cover 236,640 acres ; they
are next numerous in Finney county ,
where they have 212,160 acres , and next
In Gove county , where 'they occupy
211,960 acres.
In the extreme western part of the
state nearly all the pasture land is heldi
byfprairie dogs. The general estimate
of damage to the land is 50 per cent.
One big ranch owner says his cattle
will not pasture among the prairie dog
houses. A ranchman in Logan county
says he is now pasturing 500 cattle
where 1,000 were feeding before the
prairie dogs took possession.
The prairie dog is preyed upon by
many foes , but it is exceedingly pro
lific in spite of them all , multiplying
rapidly and extending Its excavations
"
to great distances. Indeed , when once
the prairie dogs settle themselves in a
convenient spot , their increase seems
to .have no bounds. There are many
places on the plains where the little
haps of earth before the prairie dog's
burrow extend as far as the eye can
reach.
A prairie dog is a cheery little fellow
with a watchful eye for his foes. He
- - - - 44 -
Petrified Forests of Arizona ,
petrified forests of Arizona still
THE a high place among the most
interesting natural phenomena of
this continent.
Giant trees lie here imbedded in the
earth , their wood transformed into a
stone of flinty hardness , but still re
vealing the texture in a remarkable
degree.
A bill .will be introduced in congress
this month providing for the mainte
nance of a government reservation of
the most celebrated of these petrified
forests , that at Holbrook. Prof. Lester
F. Ward of the National Museum , rec
ommended In his last report to the di
rector of the geological survey that
prompt measures be taken to with
draw the land from entry.
The forest has recently been brought
within easy access for tourists by the
establishment of a new railroad sta
tion named Adamana , whence it can
be reached , by a drive of six miles , al
though its most remarkable parts' lie
several miles farther southward.
At the 'first deposit , so-called , sev
eral sections of land .are strewn with
fallen and broken trunks washed , out
by erosion from the fine , grayish ,
sandy material in which they are em
bedded * Here is the noted Chalcedony
Bridge. * One-1 of the finest logs , nearly
four feet in\diam eter , spans the deep
gully , its-end resting on the banks'and
still * partly covered up. Much of ( Hie
woodvin this part'of the-forest is bro
ken up and .scattered , over the ground
in smallfragments ;
The second deposit , four miles to the
southeastcovers several hundred acres
and consists of'large" logs , many of
them tfiree and four feet in diameter ,
and the greater number broken into
cylindrical sections , , five or six feet
long ; on which the bark , although pet-
rifiCd'aiia having * the hardness of stone
appears vas natural as If the tree had
been felled but a short time before.
The third deposit , the largest of all ,
contains thousands upon thousands of
fossilized logs. Some of them are en
tire trees , with limbs and branches
Btill intact All the logs , both great
and small , and even the fragments , are
of great beauty and variety of color.
spends much of a bright day perched
on the top of his dirt heap , and at
the first alarm he shoots into the bur
row with a sharp , doglike yelp. He Is
very curious , and a keen observer may
see , just over the little hillocks , hun
dreds of sharp little eyes watching his
progress through the prairie dog town.
They are very tenacious of life , and it
Is only possible to secure one by shoot-
in ghim through" the head.
The burrows are as cosy as any
home could be. A single burrow has
been known to take five barrels of wa
ter. The burrow is dug in a sloping
direction , at an angle of about 45 de
grees. After descending five or six
feet they take a turn upwards. Here ,
where the rain water may not dampen
the nest , is the main dwelling. Often
times the burrows are so close there
are long continuous passages , and in
such places the underground cham
bers fairly honeycomb the ground.
The owl and rattlesnake make it im
possible for the prairie dog to have a
home exclusively to his own use. The
owl is .of the species Coquimbo ( bur
rowing ) owl , and the rattlesnake Is the
drea drattler of the prairies. Tears
ago it was supposed that the prairie
dog made no protest against admitting
the owls and rattlers to his home , and
it was customary to point this out as
the strangest ofall happy families. But
the naturalist has proven that this is
a mistake , and that the prairie dog
protests vigorously when the owl and
rattler enter , and oftentimes forfeits
his life in defense of the privacy of
his home. It is thought that the owl
does not prey upon the puppies in the
home , but it is known that the rattler
does so. So that he is not only an in
truder , but a dread foe as well.
These tracts contain the largest de
posits , but vestiges of the petrified
forests are found over a wide extent
of country. c
The forest is regarded as belonging
to the triassic age , and Is therefore
more ancient than the petrified forests
! of California and the Yellowstone Park ,
which are largely tertiary.
Nowhere are the fossil tnlnks In
their place of growth. The original
beds must have been a great deal high
er in the strata whjch were eroded by
the sandstone into which the trunks
were carried and which was probably
covered up by mesozoic seas.
t
New York has what is known as a
"funeral stenographer , " in the person
of a young woman skilled in the art
of shorthand writing. She attends the
obsequies of prominence and wealth
and jots down in her notebook all the
complimentary things the preacher
says about the deceased. If mourning
relatives desire she' transcribes these
notes and either arranges them in a'
book form or engrosses them upon a
parchment , for which she receives ad
equate and sometimes exceedingly lib
eral compensation. Of course the pray
ers are all about alike and do not re
quire preservation , but in his sermon
the preacher is apt to say some pretty
fine things , and it is the desire of
many up-to-date families to keep a
record of them. In no way other than
by the employment of a stenographer
can this record be secured , for , as a
rule , funeral sermons are extempora
neous speeches. The average minister
has not the time , to w.rite them out be
forehand and commit them to memory ,
and as it is bad form to read an
obituary discourse , obviously there "Is
nothing for It but to call in the sten
ographer. Hence the novel occupation
of this young woman and the financial
success that has attended it.
Chicago' Tribune : "I wonder why , "
said the pale , intellectual young man ,
"Cupid is always so much more active I
during thevwinter months. " "He has to
do something to keep from freezing , " .
said the matter-of-fact young man.
jp A * f ( . * , * * i * l"
* " Dehorning Cattle in the West { T
Is the time of year when ex
THIS upon the big cattle ranches
of the west do wonders in de
horning.
The long horn has been cast aside.
The cattle fare better with short
horns , do not injure each other and
may be herded , corraled and shipped
closer together than they could be
did they wear the great spreading
horns with which the popular mind as
sociates the Texas steer.
Out on the big ranches they are now
rounding the cattle in for dehorning.
The dehorner is as much an expert in
his line as the rope thrower is in his.
The cattle are corraled and at the exit ,
where but one steer may pass at a
time , is a small pen , called the stock.
At the closed end is an opening be
tween bars sufficiently large to lead
the steer to thrust his head through.
Three men stand waiting for him. One
of them throws down a wooden bar
which clamps the animal in a vise-like
grip and holds his head where he has
thrust it. The dehorners stand upon
the right and left. They carry long-
handled steel clippers , and when the
steer is caught in the stock they throw
'these over the horns and snip them
off in a jiffy. Thet bar is raised and
the steer is released to make room
for another. In a day a skilled de
horner can clip a thousand horns.
Before the clippers came into use the
ranchmen used saws. The dehorning
saw is still sold extensively. It does
not lop the horn off as quick as the
clipper , but it is a much cheaper tool ,
costing but $1.50 , where a clipper costs
$8.
$8.At
At the more northern ranches the
dehorner takes precautions against the
dehorned cattle taking cold. When
thhe horn is clipped a gouge is used to
hollow out the stub of the horn. Tar
Is thrust into this , seating it and pro
tecting the animal against cold. The
dehorner ordinarily goes around with
his outfit like a thresher goes from
farm to farm threshing wheat. A de
horning outfit consists of the stock ,
which is not too large to be carried in
a wagon , a clipper or saw , a gouge
and a quantity of tar .
* - - > - - * - * - - - - - - - - - - - * * - * - . +
Are Raising Macaroni Wheat J
t +
wheat , as good as that
MACARONI has been grown in the
Dakotas , Kansas and Nebraska.
So successful have been government
rests that American manufacturers 'are
offering No. 2 northern prices for wild
goose , macaroni wheat , which was for
merly invariably rejected.
It has been the theory of the millers
that'these wheats contain gluten in too
.arge quantities for making good bread.
It is also difficult to mill , because of
the hard grain , and its flour has been
found gritty and too coarse to compete
with that of other wheats.
Mark Alfred Carleton , government
cerealist , says the idea that macaroni
wheats to not make good bread is erro
neous , and points out that the French ,
the greatest bread-eating people in the
world , use it in large quantities for
that purpose. _ A small per cent of
softer wheat is usually mixed with the
macaroni grain. ,
Macaroni wheats differ radically from
the ordinary bread wheats and in the
field look more like barley than wheat.
The heads are flat , compressed and
bearded , the beard often being black ;
the chaff is usually golden yellow , but
sometimes black , and the grains are
large , hard , yellowish white and clear ,
or in wheats of the best quality , some
times translucent.
The quantity and quality of the glu
ten has been demonstrated to be finely
adapted to macaroni manufacture.
The wheats are extremely resistant
to drouth and resist the attacks of leaf
rust and smuts to an unusual degree.
They must be grown in dry districts
in order to produce the best quality
3f grain. The minimum rainfall must
be about ten inches the drier the bet
ter , provided the rain falls at the pro
per time and the soil is of the right
iind.
The thorough establishment of this
The Smallest Deer on Record
ONES of a tiny deer , five and one-
half inches high at the shoulder ,
and small enough to be stowed
.way in a coat pockethave been found
a a ploughed field in Renssalaer coun-
r. near Troy , N .Y.
industry will do much for the semi-
arid plains. A million or more of acres
can thus be given to profitable wheat
raising which , on account of drouth ,
have heretofore been entirely idle or
less profitably employed.
The farmers of the west and north
west are awakening to the importance
of this industry and carload lots of
macaroni wheat are in demand for
seed next year.
The official tests showed a yield of
one-third to one-half more per acre
than any other wheats grown side by
side with them , and in 1900 , when
other wheats were almost a complete
failure in the Dakotas , the macaroni
varieties produced a good yield of
grain of excellent quality. '
A few factories have shown that
from these wheats they can make mac
aroni equal to the foreign article.
The section best suited for raising
macaroni wheats.according to the gov
ernment map , begins west of the nine
ty-fifth meridian and includes North
and South Dakota , Nebraska , except
the extreme eastern part ; Eastern Col
orado , Western and Central Kansaas ,
Western Oklahoma , extreme eastern
New Mexico and Central and Western
Texas.
Outside of this strip , extending from
the Canadian Inie to the Rio Grande ,
the wheat > may be profitably grown ,
but of poorer quality , in Washington
and California. There are also small
sections in most every Pacific and
mountain state that yield macaroni
wheat. The success of the macaroni
crops , and the result of tests by mac
aroni manufacturers , during the last
two years has resulted in a demand
for the wheat far in excess of the
supply.
The United States imports over 16-
000,000 pounds of macaroni annually , at
an expense bf 1800,000.
A fore leg and foot of the'skeleton
remain intact. From these it is pos
sible to determme the exact propor
tions of the remarkable creature and
to know , beyond question , that the
skeleton is that of a deer.
The bones prove that the deer had
matured , but whether it belonged to a
diminutive species , or was a dwarf , is
not known.
The epiphyses , or ends of the bones ,
are firmly united to the shaft by os
seous tissue , showing that the leg be
longed to an adult deer. . _ _
This tiny deer doubtless lived in
that middle age of animal life when
even the horse was represented in a
species of little creatureswith five
toes. It was an age in which the ani
mal kingdom ran to extremes. The
great Irish deer , which was probably
contemporaneous with the little deer
of New York , was even larger than
the largest deer of this day. On the
other hand , there were the little horses
and the diminutive creatures of many
other species , one of which is prob
ably represented by the extraordinary
deer whose remains have been found
in New York. ,
- X
r .
t Moki Indians and Christmas * t
The United States Bureau of Tech
nology has bee'n making a special stu
dy of Christmas In America and one
surprising fact ascertained is that
many of the aboriginal tribes on this
continent , long before Columbus land
ed , were accustomed to celebrate fes
tivals corresponding to that of Yule-
tide. Indeed , they pursue the practice
even to the present day , and among
the Mokl Indians of Arizona , for exam
ple , there is much merry mumming at
or about December 25 , with exchange
of gifts and masquerading by persons
who are got up in picturesque costume
to represent supernatural beings.
The St. Nicholas of the Moki , how
ever , Is the Sun God , and their Chris
tian festival is to celebrate his com
mencing return northward from the
land of shadows that is supposed to be
located in the far south. On the top of
the highest building In the town the
priest of the sun stands and looks
away 100 miles to the southwest , where
the great San Francisco mountain up
lifts Its rocky mass out of the desert.
One end of the mountain Is prolonged
to the Eldon Mesa and by a series of
foothills and between the end of the
mesa and the second series of hills
there is a peculiar notch. In this notch
is supposed to be the sun house the
place where the sun god has his home.
When the solar orb sinks at nightfall
Into that notch , it has reached its most
distant point on the horizon , and on
the 2st day of December. Formal no
tice of the fact is given by the sun
priest , and announcement is made of a
general rejoicing. Various divinities ,
dressed in strange costumes , will ap
pear in the town , and the occasion will
be signalized by a mystery play , sym
bolizing the struggle of the sun god
against the powerful devils which try
to keep him back and prevent him
from returnnig to the north.
The sun god has a number of dan
gerous enemies hostile deities , among
whom the most powerful Is the great
plumed snake. This serpent divinity
is of ancient Aztec origin , and was
worshiped al lover Mexico and Cen
tral America In prehistoric times. He
was very troublesome in those days , it
appears , and on one occasion brought
[ about a deluge which flooded the val-
I ley ni which the ancestors of the Mokl
'
dwelt. At length he was appeased by
the sacrifice of the son and daughter of
the chief of the town ; but afterwards
he afflicted the people In other ways ,
so that they were obliged to migrate
northward to Arizona , And even yet
they are compelled to perform elabor
ate annual rites to appease him.
The great plumed snake figures im
portantly in the Christmas mystery
play , with a huge gourd for a head , a
red leather tongue and other incident
als to render him more effective , the
whole apparatus being worked by a
concealed man , who causes the head to
wag and the mouth to roar. Eventu
ally , however , the serpent divinity Is
appeased with prayersand offerings of
sacred meal , and the performance will
wind up with a combat between the
sun god ( represented by a man with &
round shield painted to look like the
sun ) and a number of devils In suit
able costumes , who try to push Santa
Claus back and hinder him from start
ing northward toward the land of the
Moki. Eventually , of course , he wins
the fight.
He who would be great inHhe day
of trial must be great in that of trifles.
Was With General Jackson *
The death of Captain "Bill" Ken-
drick , at his home in Jacksonville.Fla ,
marks the passing of the last com
missioned officer of the Seminole war
and one of the most historic and pic
turesque characters in all the country.
He died in the 78th year of his age ,
and his last hours , in a semi-conscious
condition of mind , were spent In an
incessant review of the Indian fighting
and the subsequent adventures that
crowded his long life. He was not only
famous as an Indian fighter , but as a
lecturer , politician and land owner.
Not a town in the south has not heard
of Captain "Bill" Kendrick. In the
picturesque old homestead , half hidden
by the vines and shrubbery that grows
with 'tropical ' luxuriance about the cot
tage , which is in what is known as
the oldest portion of Laville , the ven
erable Florida settler had been pass
ing the last hours of his life. He had
been seriously ill for only a few days ,
but the end was not unexpected , as
he had become very feeble and weak
from old age.
The history of 'Captain Kendrick's
life starts almost with the history of
Florida , It was a jocular saying that
he was one of those who came over
with De Soto. Captain Kendrick was
of English , not Spanish , s"tock , how
ever. It is stated that he was a grand-
nephew of John Kendrick , the famous
navigator , who was one of the first
American seamen to undertake useful
voyages of discovery.
Captain Kendrickwas one of the
original Florida "boomers. " He was
with Major Markstogether with whom ,
Missouri People Eat Dirt
Newest and most singular of St.
Louis sects are the dirt eaters , a com
munity of 75 men and women whose
Moses is William Windsor.
The dirt eaters take every day a
spoonful of dirt. Their leader believes
that grit is necessary to every animal ,
and that because mankind will have no
dirt in his food he is subject to many
stomach troubles that no other animal
has.
has.So
So the dirt eater goes every day to
his little sack of soil. He plunges a
teaspoon in and brings it forth heaped
wth goodold earth. He washes it
down with a glass of water , smacking
his lipsand blinking his eyes"as tho'
no morsel e'er tickled the palate of
man so deliciously as dirt.
Dirt eating is easy when one is a
child or an experienced dirt eater. At
all other times it is hard , and must
be learned. It is not easy to forget
that it Is flirt. It is not reassuring to
thnik that the particles of dirt in the
stomach might cause a thousand dis
eases now unknown because the dlr >
been kep't out of the stomach for hun
dreds and hundreds of years. But after
awhile the dirt eater develops his dirt
appetite. He comes to relish his dirt
as a girl' loves her fudge. He carries a
sack of it with him , and whenever he
is seized by a feeling that he Is get
ting away from the animal plan upon
which he was created he steps into a
corner and regales himself with a loam
lunch.
The dirt eater is particular , however ,
what sort of dirt he eats. He would
be no true epicurean If he were not.
This article' of his singular diet is
technically a sand. It comes from the
river bottoms , and is made up of many
little particles' of granite , marble ,
quartz and flint well ground and also
well rounded with age. The chief dirt
eater has the sand collected and steril
ised , and he distributes it among his
followers at 25 cents a sack. The sack ,
he traveled and lectured to audiences
In the north. His entertaining sketch
es of Florida's climate and other ad
vantages , including the famous alli
gator tales , called forth much com
ment and early drew attention to the
Land of Flowers.
Captain Kendrick's early history is
of interest. His services as soldier in
the Indian war has formed the sub
ject of reminiscences which many will
regret have not been preserved in
print. His title of "captain" was gain
ed in the Seminole war , he having had
command of a company. Captain Ken
drick could give thrilling accounts of
these stirring times. One of the sto
ries that he used to relate was of the
capture of Osceola , he having been one
of the party with Captain Miller to
suround the fallen chief.
In the Indian war he served under
General Jackson. The Incident where
Lieutenant Hartsunt had been sent out
with a relief party to the Everglades ,
was caught in the woods by the In
dians and all of the party massacred
except the lieutenant , who swam into
a creek and stayed there all night with
the alligators , was one of the favorite
storied that Captain Kendrick used to
relate.
The Indian war , however , did not end
Captain Kendrick's career as a soldier.
When the war between the states
broke out he promptly enlisted and did
some splendid service in the confed
erate ranks.
Mr. Pepke is entitled to credit for
putting up a good fight for his sparks.
is small , but it holds a good deal of
sand. So that daily dirt eating after
the St. Louis fashion costs about 10
cents a week.
Dirt eating in St. Louis is about six
months old and flourishes like a green
bay tree. The chief dirt'eater looka
happy and prosperous. The lesser dirt
eaters have every day a keen hunger
for their dirt , and they bring In their
friends.
The dirt eaters have pretentious
quarters. They are up at Eighteenth
and Olive streets , in what was until
recently the home of the Merchants'
League club. Here the chief apostle of
dirt eating , Mr. Winslow. has offices
and a lecture hail. He receives visit
ors during the day , and every night
he lectures to his class. He has now
75 men and w.omen who attend his lec
tures and eat his dirt.
This Is an amusing sect , and it
amuses no one more than its founder.
Kris Kringle himself is not more ro
tund nor more of a rollicking charac
ter than Dirt Eater Windsor. He is
50. He is bald. He has the Senator
Billy Mason build. He can sit in a
chair and sweedle his thumbs on him
stomach , which they say is the piece
de resistance in happiness.
"Are you the chief dirt eater ? "
"Yes , sir ; I'm the chap. I've eateri
my peck a hundred times over. Dirt-
is good. "
Then he laughs as fat men can , and
brings out a sack of the sacred soil.
"Have a dirt sandwich with me ? "
- "No , thanks IV
"What are you afraid of sandbar In
the stomach ? "
Thdn he takes a heaping spoonful
and swallows It with that sly wini
with which -Kentucky colonel takes
his whisky. He sends a glass of water
to chase it , and heaves a huge sigh of
content.
Holds-up trains the railroad " bridge.
" * . * * $
