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About Valentine Democrat. (Valentine, Neb.) 1900-1930 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 29, 1903)
> w 'll A newly arrived Westerner Avas confronted - " fronted in a street of NCAV York late jit night by a ruffian with leveled re volver , who made the stereotyped de- -tnand : "Give me your money or I'll blow your brains out. " "Blow aAvay , " paid the Westerner ; "you can live in JsTew York without brains , but you ean't without money. " 1 A South Sea Islander , at the close /pf a religious meeting , offered the fol lowing prayer : "O God , we are about .to go to our respective homes. Let tot the Avords AVC have heard be like Ihe fine clothes we Avear soon to be [ taken off and folded up in a box till another Sabbath comes around. Rath er , let Thy truth be like the tattoo on ur bodies ineffaceable till death. " The recent death of Martha Canary better known as "Calamity Jane" has revived many tales of her remark able adventures in the West during the early troubles. Once , it is related , she jwas riding In a stage-coach driven by Jack McCaull , a notorious character of pcadwood , S. D. , when a band of In- aliaus SAvooped doAvn. McCaull Avas jwounded , and fell back on his seat. ( The six passengers in the coach were helpless with fright. "Calamity Jane" scrambled to the seat , lashed the horses into a run , and escaped. It was this same McCaull who afterward AAas fiiade the most memorable example of f'Calamity Jane's" Arengeance. McCaull khot "Wild Bill" Hickok from behind a { tree , for a reason never known , after J'Wild Bill" had staked him. When "Calamity Jane" heard of it , she start- fed at once to find McCaull. "Wild bill" was her friend , and the fact that she had once saved McCaull's life did deter her from taking it. "I gave him once , " she declared , "I'll take : k now. " She came across him Bectedly in a meat shop , seized a r , and , threatening to brain him moved , waited till her friends . AAras onfe of those who him over a cot- I'.th grim satisfac- fain kick his life Walter Wellman I liie other day , of a < ? bullet of an as- i'sident Cleveland his two terms as ind lived in Mad- 'n u , . demeiu'ed fellow im- that he AA-as in love with Mrs. ' Cleveland , and used to send her a love- letter every day. One morning , Mr. Cleveland was coming doAA-n the steps of his house to drive to his law office in William street , when this crazy fel- POW met him face to face , and pulled the trigger of a pistol aimed straight fit the heaA'y figure standing on the Bteps two yards aboA'e him. By one of those miraculous interpositions of Chance , the cartridge missed fire. Be- ifore the miscreant could use his weap on again he Avas seized and carried way. He was found to be insane , and in less than 24 hours was placed in an asylum , Avhile the story , was kept out of the neAvspapers. I was at the house iwithin a few minutes , and the pistol fwas given to me. I haAre it yet ; also the bundle of crazy love-letters. It jwas a Avell-made rim-fire revolver , and every other cartridge exploded at the first trip of the trigger. Mr. Cleveland jprobably OAves his life to the chance that the one cartridge which- had too fthick a rim was the one which the in- 'eane chap tried to fire. " AMERICAN FARM CONDITIONS. jje Sizs of United States Farms Greater in 19OO "Iliau in 1800. The average size of farms for the country as a whole < r.is greater in 1900 khan in 1890. This , is , of course , a Jnathematical corollary of the fact that ! the farm acreage increased faster than the number of farms. It has al- Xcady been pointed out , however , that .the additions to the farm acreage in- ( dudcd large tracts of unimproved land an the Western States , used as grazing jfarms. While this has materially af- ifected the average size of farms for 'the country as a whole , in the older portions of the country there are no Vindications of any general movement { toward a consolidation of farms , or of tendency on the part of farmers { toward the cultivation of larger farms. Jn the Northern States east of the Mississippi there was no very marked change in the size of farms. Massa chusetts , Rhode Island , Pennsylvania , * Xew Jersey , Ohio , Indiana and Illinois [ showed a slight diminution in the average farm area , while the other States in this region showed a slight Increase. In the Southern States east X f the Mississippi , on the other hand , the increase in the number of farms far exceeded the increase in farm area , and consequently tlu * average size of ifarms was materially diminished. * J Only one-half of Hie total farm acre- fcige in 1GOO was reported as imprn-ed , out this represents a gain over 1800 of , o7,17G,436 acres. Most of this increase in the crop-producing area of the coun- ( ftry was contributed by the States of the Middle West , the greatest exten- iin being shown in Minnesota , where the increase during the decade exceed- ted 7,000,000 acres. Increases of be tween 4,000,000 and ' 5,000,000 acres ' [ were reported for Iowa , North Da- , 'kota and Oklahoma. On the other lhand , in many States the area of im proved farm land was smaller in 1900 Ithan in 1S9D. A decrease is shown in Jtfll the North Atlantic States , especial'- Jy in New England , This is due priii- I. clpally to a change in the kind of farming carried on in those States ; the raising of corn and wheat for the mar ket , having become comparatively un profitable under the influence of West- era competition , has been largely superseded by dairy farming and mar ket gardening. In these pursuits , ; which are , of course , stimulated by the proximity of a large urban population , , the Eastern farmer apparently finds it to his advantage to cultivate less land than he once did , but to cultivate j it more intensively. Accordingly , the less fertile lands , and the meadow lands that cannot be mown with machines - ' chines , have in many cases been conj - j verted Into permanent pastures. The increased average fertility of the land retained under cultivation , the use of the silo , and the growing tendency to cultivate corn and forage crops , in stead of hay , for winter feed , are all factors which contribute to the same end enabling the farmer to raise on a sruallr area the winter feed for the animals that can be kept , during the summer , on the enlarged area of pas ture land. Century. PRESERVING THEIR DIGNITY. A Little : Mnsiiiem Transaction in "Whicli Kach ' Vas Successful. "Being in Constantinople , " said the Philadelphian who had circled the earth , "it was up to me to buy a Turkish scimiter. I believe they all do that except the Germans , who run to pipes. In looking through the bazaars I came across a weapon that had an ancient look and was assured that it had been worn by a Turkish general fifty years before. The price asked was about $20 in our money , and I promptly declined buying. As I did so the merchant tore his hair and cried out : " 'What docs this man want ? This weapon has slain twenty men. Is it not good enough to hang on the wall ? ' "I was about to pass when he asked me what price I would give. " 'Not over $10 , ' I replied. " 'Now may my beard be singed and my hair torn out by the roots , ' he howled as he walked about. 'I give you the word of a believer that this sword has slain thirty men , but be cause I must raise money to-day I will take $15 for it. There it is yours. ' , " 'Not for § 15 , ' I replied , knowing that he would come down to my fig ure. " 'Then let the blight fall upon me and mine forever more ! I say to you and all men are rny witnesses that this sword has slain forty men , and yet you cavil at the price. Not § 15 for such a relic ? To-day I go buy j another wife and money I must have , j Take it for $12 aud know that you : have robbed me. ' i " 'I said $10 , ' I replied as I looked carelessly around. " 'And may I never sleep or eat again nor say my prayers , ' he fairly howled as he tore off his robe. 'Here ' is a sword that has slain its fifty men , and lived in history , and yet you look upon it with contempt. Ah , if I did not need money within the hour ! Bob ber of the unfortunate , take it at $11 and begone. ' " Til pay you $11 on one considera tion. Tell me truthfully how many men this scimiter has slain ? ' "lie looked at me for a minute and j then stroked his whiskers and replied : " 'If I answered sixty you would think me a liar , and if I answered ; none you would have to lie to your j friends at home. Therefore , that each may preserve his dignity , hand over . your $10 and take the sacred relic away. ' " Law Too Costly a. 1/axury. A lawyer , addressing the Louisiana Bar Association , declared that litiga tion has become so much of a luxury that lawsuits are diminishing ; that the rrcat expenditure of time as well as ) f money required in the prosecution of i lawsuit deters men from resorting to the courts for the redress of their ' grievances. A Southern judge was quoted as saying that he had spent sne-fourth of his professional life wait ing in court houses for his cases to be sailed. The delays of the law are an incient grievance , but it is not certain Lhat they are an unmixed evil. The deliberate procedure of the courts may not encourage litigation , ant it promotes settlements out of ; ourt. Substantial justice is often reached by compromises which save : ime and court costs. The slow rneth- Dils of the courts have resulted in vol- intary arbitration in certain trade dis putes. Much of the law's delay is due ; o the technical errors of lawyers in ' the conduct of suits. An examination ) f the records of appellate courts show- ? d that a large percentage of appeals were on points of practice. A more .horoughly trained bar would , there- lore , hasten suits to judgment. Legis- ation being largely controlled by law- ' fers. it is somewhat surprising that ivoidable delays in procedure have not j ) een removed. Their removal , accord- ng to the Louisiana attorney , would end to increase lawsuits and profes sional emoluments. Philadelphia ledger. Another Funeral Needed. Representative Sibley of Pennsylva nia went to Mexico , a time ago , to look ifler some interests he has there. Be- ng a vigorous and energetic man , he vas worried by the shiftless habits > f the natives. One day in the City of Mexico he law an imposing funeral procession , "Whose funeral Is thathe asked if a Dian passing. "No sabe , " yaid the man. "Good ! " shouted Sibley ; "now If they rill bury inauana , too , this country rill amount to sometlxias. " Saturday iveutng Poaf * HQW TO CRiPPLi Ithar Powers Can MaVIt Ilei by Cutting : Off Its Moiiny Xio-Iy. An article on Russia ' ibLshe.1 ii u'European , a journal of in eriUitidia. iifluence issued in Paris , 'jas altiaca-i ] 10 little attention in the I < uropa. > ress. The author is the Danish p. b icist , Bjorustjerue Bjornsoii. He a tumes that Russia is an undesirable Ind dangerous element in Eurpe n.C ksia , and as a means of thwarting he * lurther advance proposes that o.hc nations stop supplying her with nr.'ii > y. Since 1899 , the writer estimates. Russia has borrowed abroad $700uCO , K)0 ) with which to build fleets and t naintain an army no less than to es tablish the gold standard and buih ! railways , and M. Bjornscn seems In : ake it very much to heart that "tin * arger part of this foreign gold , which las maintained the Russian institution lud served its plans of oppression ai.d ) f conquest , has flowed from the coun try of 'liberty , equality and fraUr airy. ' " "It is admitted in France and Anier ca , " M. Bjornsoii goes on to say , "thai vithout French gold the Russian insti : utiou would have gone to smash loni ; igo. No centralized power , even ih best , is , for any length of time , c.ipabl ) f governing so many and varied pee ? ks. No hand , no matter how pov , rful , can stretch ever such an enoi nous territory or unite so many con I'ary destinies , created by varied cli mates and by numerous -acial and re- iigious differences. But what the best jovernment , what the most powerful hand cannot perform becomes chaos ind misery under a feeble autocratic power or a bureaucratic institution .hat is mercenary and mendacious , un stable and oppressive. Without the foreigner's aid it wouLl have destioreJ Itstl ? , whether by revolution or b.v isphyxla. What , hswer , would have been most natural would have been a general disintegration of the adminis tration of the ccljsjal masses of Rus sia according to a scheme of federal- ! Eation. , "With the aid of thoforeigner's gold ill the inflammable material of this formidable accumulation of in ustica and distress has been able to subsist antil it has become a danger to xis all. L'nless a Avar pr'platcs liar upon hoi cei-hbors a ar ' . liich wouLl be fol lowed through long years by thunder- iiiirs and tumults she will continue to 20 art them as of yore. On this point tluhsian and foreigner agree. But war will come. If up to the present time the all-powirfu ! Russian institution luis not recoiled before any of the means taken to prolong its existence , Kir/ should it recoil bel'ore war ? 'What ever t1 result of the Avar , one tiling is certain the payment of interest vill qease. Russia will thank the aid ? iven her by state bankruptcy. " Pub ic Opinion. Tj'pical City of America. The results of recent investigations how that Philadelphia is pre-emi- icntly the American city. In 1790 , vhen the first census was taken , and or at least two decades afterward Philadelphia contained more inhabit ants than any other American town. Ls early as 1810 the population of Phil- delphia was 113,210. According to the : ensus of 1900 Philadelphia contained 1 ,293.097 , of whom 998,357 were na ive and 295,340 foreign born. In not L single ward of the city are there ' lore foreigners than natives. Of those nhabitants both of whose parents i vere born in the same foreign conn-1 ry , 221,590 claim Ireland as the birthj j ilace of their parents ; 159,233 , Ger-1 aany ; 53,029 , England ; 44,320 , Russia , nd 27,060 , Italy. Of the native born population of 'hiladelphia (998,357) ( ) , 814.548 Avere iorn in Pennsylvania , 30,978 in NCAV ersey , 23,184 in Maryland , 21,893 in sew York , 20.GSS in Virginia and 1C- 55 in Delaware. Comparatively few esidents of Philadelphia were born in SCAV England or the Western States. ? hat is to say , Philadelphia does not xercise upon those sections of our ountry the magnetic attraction exert- d by NCAV York. Of foreign born residents in Phila- elphia only 05,384 are naturalized. It oilov.'s that the political influence of lie so-called "foreign vote" is insig- ificant. Harper's Weekly. Catching Kins-Tail Monkeys. Ring-tail monkeys , one of the most aluable and expensive of the smaller nimals , are caught in an interesting ray. A cocoanut is split in two and a auana Avith a piece of Avood running tirough it placed lengthwise through lie nut , the tAvo halves of which are raAvn together by wire. Then a hole 3 cut large enough for the monkey's aAV to enter. The monkey spies the empting nut from his tree. He hops OAvn , looks it over , sees the hole and mells the banana inside. He is fond f bananas. Putting his paw in. he rasps it , but the Avood prevents it rom coining out. Then the catchers ppear and the monkey runs for a tree. ut he cannot climb because of the ocoanut on his paAV and he AA'ill not let o of that , so he is captured , pawing rildly at a tree trunk. The Ounce ol" Prevention. Cholly What makes you think old figgard thought you had come to him 3 borrow money ? jack oh , he began talking right way about how hard up he was. iomerville Journal. What Happened to Muldoon. O'Toole Muldoon sthruck his isthidy. McKick Is he in jail ? O'Toole NaAv ; he in th' harsepittle,1 -Baltimore American. A man Is punished so much for talk- ig too freely'that an oldonan usuallj ilks less thaa a young one. FANCY TAILOJGWJOWN. IT IS RAPIDLY COMING INTO POP ULAR D MAND. Tendency IB on. Account of Reaction Against Zibcllincs and Other Kouuh Cloths Velvet Likely to Take Promi nent Place Amen r Winter Fabrics. Tork correspondence : * EEPING ' track of the recent rulings in the uses of cloths requires close watching. Already , with winter yet to \ be reached , there has appeared a * change in the stand ards set positively only a few weeks ago. Then it seem ed as if there waste to beno escape from zibellines and their kind , in either plain or elaborated tailor-mades. Very soon it appeared that the more novel of these weaves were not suited to elaborate make-up , and tailor-mades that depended for dressiness on their trimming began to come out in smooth cloths. At that stage tailors were incline'1 to sniff at these models and hint , A- le admitting their beauty , that the o r grade of goods was newer. Now tli t's a simple state- the newly stylish shades represented , and many fancy weaves Thevlatter are noticeable for originality , goods of equal novelty being hard to find elsewhere. As to the use of these , it would seem that many of them are too fanciful for employment except as trimmings. But stylish dressmakers when urged to in dorse this impression are inclined to be come non-committal and to hint that whole gowns are to be made of such vel vets. Dressed-up women will be a gay array if such is to be the case , but nat urally no dressmaker can see anything regretable in that prospect Then as to trimming with such weaves , it will tend to liberality of amount and rather to showincss of treatment Combinations in which velvets are to be a factor are promised in large numbers. Girdle belts of velvet will be a mark of stylishness. Velvet insertions will be many , and the in-set pieces may be numerous and of fanciful xh'apc if the wearer desires them so. Velvet ribbon may be let in through the mesh of coarse laces , and sash ends of the same will terminate in handsome fringe. Yokes of this material will ap pear on both bodices and skirts , and the more conventional bandings , collar , cuff anil pocket finish of it will reappear. In all of these the velvet may be plain ou fancy , according to the ideas of the in dividual. While the novelty sorts are so showy that it would seem ns if they would warn most women to use them warily , if at all , their numbers and va riety insure numerous purchasers , so this * winter's "velvet season" is likely to be memorable. For the accompanying pictures , models \ selected from fashions were exclusively i having good indorsement Just now J A TAILORED ZIBELLINE AND A COMBINATION OF TWO SILKS. mcut of no especial significance as it appears in print , but spoken by a tailor it is a most potent message. Yet it was not enough to induce women to surren der altogether to the mixtures and nov elty weaves , undeniable as was their stylishness. So dressy tailor gowns in cloths of smooth surface and fine tex ture became in demand , and now it seems as if they might take almost as high rank as they did two seasons ago. They're of the fancy tailor-made order , of course , with quite as elaborate trim ming as they had when they last were abundant Some of the ornamentation is hardly of the character of tailor finish. That's where the "fancy" comes in. But if this point brings some incongruity , it is not to be detected except by close analysis , aud the latter is forestalled by the favorable impression such tailoring creates. According to early promise , this is to be a velvet season. Such was the prom ise a year ago , and a year before that , yet little came of it beyond a sprinkling of velvet dress-ups and not a great deal more of outdoor gowns. The velvet used for these gowns was almost without ex ception plain of weave and solid of color. The sh i le usually was moderately sub dued , too , though now and then a greener or a blue took on assertive hue. Prac tically all of velvet that was fanciful in weave was reserved for trimmings , and as such was employed sparingly. This winter there is 1'ely fo be a radical change. Anyway , the means are at hand for it , for the stocks of velvets include the usual 'fine array" of sljlid 'colors , with there are many show dresses more im pressive for bold treatment than for beauty. These are not represented in this selection , though the latter is well marked by tasteful originality. The gown of the small picture Avas tan silk' voile , Avith elaborately embroidered front and skirt yoke. Sleeve puffs were of silk to match. At the left in the next picture is a tailor gown of brown zibel- liiie , with finish of brown cloth and stitching. Beside this is a blue silk dot ted Avith green , its passementerie com bining the two colors. Plain green silk trimmed waist and skirt. An elaborate pattern gown is first ha the next picture. It was gray cloth embroidered in black silk , and was made up with plain graj cloth and black velvet as shown. Then NOTICEABLY UP TO DATE IN TRIMMINGS. conies a tailor snit brown cheviot in browns and 'yak lace collar with brown silk ornaments. The bro-vvn velvet end passementerie trimming of these skirts is eloquent of the new trickery with vel vet Last here is a blue silk voDe heav ily edged with black brussels. In this dress , which in its way is a typical one , another promise of not long ago Is brok en or badly bent. Women were to turn away from lavish lace trimmings , ac cording to this prophecy , and among the simple , inexpensive methods of employ ing lace trimmings that -were to come ha , edging was to be one. This picture shows a sample. Lace robes and spangle and flittered net dresses are to be the fashionable evenine costumes the coining season. MJtfCAN LOYJERS AMERICANIZED. Mexico , the country of mystery , ro mance and hot tamales , bull fights , cock fights and sombreros , dashing caballeros - balleros and dark-eyed senoritas. with Ls restrictions and grave-faced duen- oas , is the scene of a revolution , more warmly waged than the usual Latin - country opera boulte war. The American Invasion is responsi ble for the conflict. American men and women have gone to Mexico annually. The freedom of the girls contrasted with the restricted life of the raveo- haired Castilian girls , w-ho. from infan cy , were reared in an atmosphere in which the only men were members of their own families. Mayhap the Mexican beauty saw her sweetheart through the httliee work screen , or leaned from a balcony while be , lacking the daring of Romeo , was forced to stand on the pavement and whisper sweet nothings. When ad mitted to her home he could not see her alone. In Chihuahua the young men and women have tired of this ancient method of courtship , and have formed a "bachelor club. " The young women will go to the club without ehaperones and will be escorted to their homes by the men. To prevent mistakes , each member has promised not to marry for one year. The or ranizatian has croftt- ed excitement , and the * conservative Mexicans are indignant. The members of the club wereChappy at hist ac counts. HIS CENT CAM I BACK. Biuall Coin Travels''A-row ml uti.l Fin * ally Ketarns to Owner. Take an ordinary copper cent piece , stamp it with a private mark , put it into circulation , and what are the ehances that you wil. ever see it a ain ? rhere is one man who says that , he tried the triv.-k and sneceoclel at it. Ha is a business man , who rtfases to al low his name to be used in print about the storj * , but he tells the tale to many af his friends , and he vouches for its truth. In 189i , he snys , he found a cent piece dated 1893 in the restaurant of Lhe Lafayette Hotel. He pocketed It for luck , and as a memento of a jolly little dinner scratched his initials on it just over -the feathered head , while m the cheek he added thoee of the aotel. Until 1S9G he treasured tha lorn , then drew it out of his pocket ivith a handful of other change , and Before he realized it the cent piece had jone the mysterious way of all money. A year ago he chanced , being of a curious turn of mind , to fall into con- , * ersation one evening -with a profes- ; "onal beggar at Broarl an.I Chestnut ; trcets. He upbraided the man for jetting so much money for nothing. "Oh , " said the beggar , "I don't get o much. That's all I've got in the ast hour , " and he held up a cent > iece. At that moment the electric light iell upon the coin , and the business nan , to his amazement , caught sight > f the letters "H. L.-on the cheek of he face. He took the coin and exam- ned it more closely. Sure enough , here -were his own initials just above he feathers , -where he had placed hem a half dozen years before. At once his prejudice against beg- ring vanished. "I'll give you a dollar for that coin , " te cried. The beggar grew wary at his eager- less and demanded ? 5. Needless to iay he got it , and also , of course , the : ent piece _ has never since left the. msiness man's watch chain. Phila- Lelphia Press. "Was Ready to Fight. A well-known Portugese engineer , I. Mesnier , happened to be passing a his boat near the American squad- on , which is at present anchored in he Tagus , when ho was nearly struck > y an overripe apple which some one ad hurled from the cruiser Brooklyn. An indignant remonstrance only drew rom the sailors who were looking cut genial string of Yankee pleasantries , 'he irate engineer then pulled up to tie cruiser and , denouncing the Amerf" jans as cowards , Insisted that titj ? aould send his .card to the pommaSfflk r , whom he formally challenged to a uel. Thus , attitude quite won the hearts f the Americans , who , after freely pologlzing for the exnberance of spir- 5 which had led to his being offended , iw him off , now quite mollified , with round of cheers. London Leader. Hardships. An Atchlson. mother admits that the lost difficult thing she ever attempted as to ask her daughter the morning fter her commencement If she -would 'ash the breakfast dishes. Atchlson lobe. In keeping a scrapbook about yomv iff , don't keep everything.