Nebraska Newspapers

    THE NOKOLK. WEEKLY NEWS-JOUNAL FRIDAY FEBRUARY f > 1909
. . . . . . . . . .
THE NEWEST UNITED STATES'
LINDSAY DENISON.
A very graphic moiy < if the
rucL'iit Trli | | > county land rush , from
the pen of Llndsiiy Denlsi.ii , concernIng -
Ing whom Tlio News spuU'1 lust Satur-
cliiy , IB iirliiUd In the Kohtiiary mini-
1)or ) of the AIIIIM lean Magazine. Be-
ciuiso of "local color" the story will ho
of uiumiiUl Interest In Norfolk anil
throughout the norlhwusl. Numerous
photographs are used. In | iart the
writer says :
They hroUo down the gates of the
Omaha railroad station , Sunday afternoon -
noon , thoHO homo-nookerst. They hroUo
down the gates for the chance of rill-
Ing sixty-live or seventy-live to a car
there are just sixty scats in a day
coach wldo uwiiko and talking corn ,
lolltlcs and religion for slxtuen hours
through the night to a raw llttlo town
out on the pralrio , there to tnako oath
to tliolr signatures before a notary and
wldo nwako , talking corn , politics
and religion , munching tough sand
wiches and drinking boor out of bottles
tles go jostling each other llko steers
in a cattle car , sixteen hours back to
Omnha.
I meandered Into It on Monday. It
wasn't so bad then. The railroad people
ple had begun to fool cheerfully rem
iniscent about It. Hut the patched-up
gates were there ; the crowd was there
which was llko nothing except tlu >
crowd In the Now London station after
n Yale-Harvard race ; S. F. Miller , who
has a railroad title n yard long In
which "tralllc agent" are the most Im
portant words , was there , with ten
or twelve subordinate agents working
like redcap ushers In more peaceful
places and times : examining tickets ,
announcing trains , helping boost
bundles aboard , assigning conductors
ami brakefnen , holding the baby for ! t
.minute , unlocking car doors and explaining -
plaining that everybody would have to
change cars at Norfolk Junction.
Braden and Reynolds at Work.
The journey through the night was a
broadening experience. The really
educational part of It didn't begin until
Norfolk Junction. There were parlor
cars as far as that. To bo sure there
was a meat drummer from South
\ Omaha who had not that regard for the
dignity of the office of president of the
United States which one had learned
to look forward to as a pleasant cer
tainty west of the Missouri ; and there
was a fat farmer who disturbed one's
reading constantly by the raucous as
sertion that Roosevelt didn't make the
corn grow , lint at Norfolk , there was
S. M. Braden , who bosses as much
Northwestern railroad as there Is west
of the Missouri ( and that's no forty-
step path from the back porch to the
well ) , and C. H. Reynolds , who runs
the details of things between Omaha
and Pine Hill. They were both run
ning details that Monday night. "Gee !
Wish you'd been with us here yester
day , " they would say , "then you'd have
seen something. Things are easy to
night. " They amplified by explaining
that Braden was going to get into a
real actual bed at1 o'clock In the
morning and sleep until C o'clock and
that Reynolds was going to get Into
the same bed when Braden got out of
It and sleep until 8 o'clock. It was
fun to sit on a table near the stove
In the dispatcher's office and hear the
two of them and the dispatcher do
things first Reynolds and then Bra
den reaching out In Impatience and
taking the telegraph ticker thing away
from the dispatcher and sending or
ders by their own hands.
"Here , " one of them would say , "how
many did Jones and Ellsworth say they
had on Second 107 ? Six hundred and
fifty ? Two hundred for Dallas ?
Where's Pete ? Pete ! Say , Pete , put
out a call for Elmer and the rest of
that crew that got In here on Third S
and got up a Fourth 107 to leave here
on the arrival of Second 107 about 2
o'clock. They'll want seven cars and
a baggage. Now jump ! "
The shack shook , there was a blind
ing headlight glare in our eyes and a
train rumbled past the windows and
stopped. "Mr. Reynolds , what Is
that ? " "I'll find out , Mr. Braden. '
"Hero's George ! Never matter. What's
that just come In. George ? Fourth 19
Where's Third 19 ? " "They say the >
passed her at Meadow Grove. Sir ;
power busted. " "Tho deuce you say !
George , break your neck getting up ti
Campbell's boarding house and tel
him to ilnd a fireman and take thai
switch engine from over near the
wood-pile and go up there and heli
'em out. Stove ! Where's Stove ? Stove
1 thought I asked you to get mo i
sandwich and a pall of coffee ?
So It went for three hours , unti
V Fourth 107 pulled out ahead of First
V Second and Third 107s for Dallas
Moreover , it had been going so for a
week and was to continue for a woel
to come. Ten times the traffic tha
the road was built to carry going on
with hut a nlnglo accident , that of n
drunken man falling In front of a
moving train and only once In a long
while a cdmplalnt or an angry word.
Hut from Mr. KnlHkorn , the big boss In
| Chicago , down to the ticket scllern at
Dallas and O'Neill there wasn't a
I '
'whimper or a growl ; they just kept
ht on getting from six to ten extra
mo-passenger trains a day Into the
lonebud country and getting them out.
Each train had three conductors
mil two extra brahomon ; one oonduc-
or to run the train and the other two
o celled fares and keep the peace.
And that's Unllotl States railroading.
There's Homo distinction In being a
good railroad man out beyond Chicago.
What state are we In-now ? " 1 asked
at. Paul conductor coming home ,
You're In the state of Minnesota. "
laid he with arrogant pride , "in the
itato of Minnesota ! Whore they do
allroadlng as Is railroading and not
is though It was running a depart-
iicnt store chaimo trolley. " )
But the real education came after
hey had sorted the crowd on the plat-
onus and had taken the O'Nolll pas-
cngors off the Dallas trains , almost
iy the scruffs of I heir necks , and had
alien the Dallas passengers off the
TNelll ( rains , had given everybody a
banco to eat and had seen to it that
nosl of the women passengers were
ottled In the most comfortable car
if the train. Just how plain , simple ,
one women , carrying babies , dared to
go to the Rosebud opening I had not
hen learned ; but they did go , bun-
Ireds of thorn.
The Ride Out of Norfolk.
The journey out of Norfolk Into the
jl''ht began with wrath and disgust ,
lersonal and Impersonal ; with con-
empt for the shallow brutality of
iiagazlno editors and self hate for
avlng entered Into the quest of en-
ortalnmcnt and edification of maga-
Ino readers ; with utter shame for the
Unking herds of humanity who were
mining , like greedy cattle to the feed-
ng troughs , for the very remote
hance of winning a free farm. With
,11 Us selfishness and conceit , wasn't
lean , leather-padded Now York better
ban this ? The journey ended In that
ustrous sunlight such as only a
iralrlo morning knows , with n new
ind healthy sense of partnership in
ho ruddy , homely eagerness of true
\merlcan citizenship. It isn't often
hat ono is privileged , after an all-
light slttiiig-up journey , to find him-
elf wider awake than when ho started ,
t is nevertheless a cheering expert-
mce.
In the first place one with even the
udlnients of a sense of humor cannot
eng support himself In despising fcl-
ow mortals for grimy hands and
bvlously unclean linen and porsplra-
lon when one knows that ho Is himself
list as filthy. Moreover , good nature
s the great grouch solvent , after all :
et the men around you be altogether
; lad of living , let them be persistently ,
mlslly glad , and in time you will be
glad too. And at last , despite your-
elf. a lllckor of a smile escapes from
ho corner of your mouth and then
he big Swede opposite , whose knees
mvo been crowding you all night ,
jursts Into a roar of delight and tells
on the joke about his wife and Eck-
trom , who Is sitting beside you. It Is
Shakespearean but altogether a joy.
\nd you laugh so loud and so long
hat the whole car-load of sixty
they've all been vaguely wondering
vhat has been the matter with you )
crowds over the backs and the arms
of the seats and demands to be let In
the joke. And you laugh again ,
vlth them , until the tears make white
channels down through the coal dust
) ii your checks.
"HI ! hi ! George ! " shouts an aged
irother with tobacco bedraggled
whiskers , "here's a feller from Now
\ ork. Now ask him what he thinks of
your fool guarantee for bank deposits.
\sk him , I dare ye ! " "You ask him
low ho votes , " pipes up George ,
whose whiskers are longer and there
fore have lodged more tobacco juice ,
and then I'll tell ye what he's going
to say. " Once more joy is uncon-
nned. The tumult of corn , politics and
religion rages again. There were 114-
000 of us going out , hundreds of miles ,
to register ; only one In twenty-three
of us could possibly win ; the other
: wenty-two would feel mighty sheep
Ish when It was all over ; wo all knew
It. So , whenever we passed another
tralnload , or drew Into a station be
side another train , every man on both
trains stuck his head out of the win
dow and bawled : "Suck-or'r'rs !
' ' " roared with
Sucker'r'rs ! and then
laughter when the other train whooped
the gibe back.
But through it all there is one ring
Ing , singing overtone , clear and thrill
ing as the strains of The Star Span
gled Banner : "We are the United
States , thank God ! "
Don't laugh , you from east of the Mis
sourl. You would have heard It too
had you been thoro. It was Irreslst
Ible , and must have reached you. And
you-from-tho-other-sldo , you need no
warning against scoffing. You know
the song. It Is In your free clean air
In your star-sprinkled nights. In your
big winds , and In the drumming of
your horses' hoofs. But that big free
rich note never booms out as clear
and as unmistakable as when thou
sands of you are gathered together era
a half serious , half reckless holiday
such as was the last Rosebud lam
opening.
What the Crowd Was Gathering For
As to the land opening itself , every
body who reads newspapers is casilj
to bo reminded of It Tripp county
South Dakota , comprising about one-
third of the old Rosebud Sioux Indian
reservation , had been practically
cleared for white settlement. The
Rosebud Slon.v who wanted to become
far morn In Trip ] ) county made their
choices a year or more ago and farms
were allotted to them. Those who
did not want Trlpp county farms
moved over Into Meyer county , further
west. This Isn't brutal they moved ,
they were not moved the Sioux of
this generation Is more of a farmer ,
at last , than a nomad. About 5.0001
farms of KiO acres each were left
vacant In Trlpp county. The land he-j
longed to the Sioux , but they were
neither capable of occupying It nor
of directing Its occupation. The gov
ernment , by act of congress , opened
the county for settlement by home
steaders , reiinlrlng the usual condi
tions of many months' continuous rest-1
deuce , a certain area of cultivation ,
the digging of a well , the erection of
a permanent habitation anil the payment -
mont of an equitable sum of money
to the government as trustees for tho1
Rosebud Sioux. There are almost a
million people In this country today
who want farms. There are rather
over eighty millions of people who
waul something ( whether It Is a farm'
or a pair of shoo laces ) for nothing ,
There were only 5,000 farms In Trlp'p'
county and many of them arc far'
better than others.
So there had to bo a drawing. It
was the only fair way. An auction or
any competition other than that of
luck would have meant that a free
and equal chance was denied to those
who needed the farms most the
farmers' sons and daughters who had
been crowded olT the farms Into the
cities as clerks or school teachers , or
bartenders , or worse God save the
mark ! Nevertheless there was a con-
dltion of the drawing which was nee-
essarlly unfair. The applicant had to
find the means of getting to Chamberlain -
lain , Prcsho , O'Neill , Valentino , Greg-1 ,
ory or Dallas , all towns near the
boundaries of Trlpp county. A perfectly -
fectly square dual would have pro-
vlded just as cheat ) an opportunity for
the Hungarian in the cellar of a Now
York tenement or the Tuakegee graduate -
ate of Georgia as for the farmer boy
of Bonesteel. The round trip fare
from Omaha to O'Neill , which was the j '
most popular registry town , because
It was the cheapest to reach , was $7.50 . '
'
The writer heard this sum referred to
frequently as "the ante , ' ' but was un- ,
jable to Ilnd the signification of the' ' '
erm. The requirement of personal at-1' (
cndancc on the borders of the land , i
lowever , served the purpose of a '
juaranteo of good faith and also was
i
jased on the presumption that the
vonld-bo settler must desire to look at'1 I '
ho land before applying for his farm , ' i
'tulge ' Wltton , the representative of the ; '
Jnlted States land office at the draw- ,
ng , tried to devise a plan for draw- [ '
ngs in all the cities of the country ,
nit the expense and general compllca-
lens of the scheme caused him to be
iverruled at Washington. In future
Irawings , It is likely that a worked
out elaboration of his original plan
vlll bo followed with a provision that
he winning applicants shall make a
considerable cash deposit immediate-
y after the drawing , in order to show
jood faith. There are bankers In
ilenty In the west who will make such
i plan practicable. And then , whether
rom the west or east , every land-
usher faced this affidavit :
I of
lostolfico , aged. . . .years , height
'cot. . . .inches , weight. . . .pounds , In
support of this , my application for
egistralion for the next land open-
ng to bo hold after the date hereof ,
lo solemnly swear that I am a citizen
of the United Stales , or have declared
ny Intention to become such ; that I
am not the owner of more than ICO
icres of land , and have nol heretofore
undo any entry or acquired any tllle
: o public lands which disqualifies mo
from making homestead entry ; that I
lionestly desire to enter public lands
for my own personal use as a home
uid for settlement and cultivation ,
and not for speculation or In the in-
lorosl of some other person ; that I
present this application for that pur-
Dose only , nnd have not presented and
will not present any other affidavit of
this kind.
The foregoing was subscribed and
sworn to before me , after It was read
to or by affidavit , this day of
19. . . at
This application must be sworn teat
at one of the places named in the
proclamation.
This matter of raising your right
hand and swearing that the facts in
this affidavit are true Is ordinarily
easy enough. Wo do It , within reach
of the Atlantic breezes , every little
while , and think no more about it.
But even in the clamor and tumult of
O'Neill and Dallas , there was that ac
cented clause : "that I honestly desire
to enter public lands for my own per
sonal use as a homo and for settlement
and cultivation , and not for specula
tion or In the interest of some other
person ; that I present this application
for that purpose only. " It stared you
In the eye. It was perjury not to
mean It the perjury that could never
be proved , because you could always
say you had changed your mind since
you swore to it. But something had
broken through into your conscience
and understanding since Omaha and 1
Norfolk Junction , If you were a real
American. It gave pause. Then , as
In the rush of emotion that comes up
behind your eyes sometimes and
makes everything n llttlo bleary for a
minute , the truth was made to shlno
on you : Hero , after all , was the
United States , the heart of them.
Hero was everything from Lexington
and Hunker Hill to El Caney ; everything -
thing fioin the Boston Tea Party to
the unpleasantness between Kcnowiw
l.andls and Standard Oil ; everything
that Is the essence of this nation , no
matter how thoroughly that essence
was disguised elsewhere or how
freshly It reeked In Dallas. It would
he worth while to live out hero on
'the ' pralrio in heat and In snow , in
( dust and In wet gumbo for fourteen
'months ' ; lo know neighbors who were
. nearer to you fifty miles away than
'tho ' folks up-oiu'-fllght-front In your
New York flat. And you gulped a llt
tlo and you mild to yourself : "By
George Washington. Abraham Lincoln
and the Fourth of July. I DO mean It ! "
And out loud you said , raising your
hand : "I do ! "
I The mere incident that they drew
'six ' thousand names out of the heap
after that and never found yours
among i them Is Immaterial and Irrele
vant. You had found your citizenship.
'After ' that you were eager and alive
to your country for a while. Your
eyes ' were free from tiie scales for a
little. ' These observations are merely
,
a ' collection of memoranda of the
' glimpses ' which came in that period
of Illumination.
I ' "Billy the Owl" and "Crook Nose
' Jake. "
j First of all , Dalian and the drawing
at ' Dallas were clean. This was partly
duo ' to Judge Wltton. partly to the
Jacksons of whom much more here
after ' but most of all to the sort of
thing ' which made you stop and count
a hundred before yon signed that af
fidavit. There was a public conscience
at ' largo in the Trlpp county opening.
Not ' everybody had it ; to some it came
as an alien and disagreeable shock.
So it came to Billy the Owl and
Crook ( Nose Jake , for Instance. If
ever ( you encountered a long-beaked In
dividual ( with a mole over his right
eyebrow , , like a slnlsterly elevated
second eyebrow , and soon thereafter
wore , jostled and lost your scarf-pin or
your pocketbook , you nave met Billy
the j Owl. In traveling across the
country ( with campaigning politicians I
have | seen Billy the Owl culled out of
crowds < and hustled away by the police -
lice 1 of a score of cities. Ho loves
crowds < , especially holiday crowds. It
'was < without any perceptible shock
therefore I that I recognized Billy the
Owl i and a few retainers on the Dallas
train. I One of the companions , though
I 1 did not know It until later , was Crook
'Nose ' Jake. Their eyes fairly shone ;
one ' could almost imagine that they
I' were ' drooling at the corners of their
mouths ' as they looked over the possi
bilities ' of the harvest as It was man-
fested ' by the carload of prosperous
merry countrymen about them. Tnoy
j' alighted ' at the Dallas station and be-
' part of the swirling torrent that
was making up the street to the regis-
'tration ] offices. Coming down against
the current was a fat , genial little man
who is hero to be called Mac the
agency which employs him deprecates
self exploitation by Its operators. His
face was alight with pleasure when he
saw the Owl and his company. He
fairly dove through the crowd at them ,
hands extended In welcome.
"Hollo. Mac , " said they , "what you
doing here ? "
"Police , " said Mac , broadly smiling
still.
"Is the graft good ? " Inquired the
Owl. This was merely a perfunctory
question. Nobody could look at that
crowd without knowing how good the
graft might be.
'Lots of chance for it , " said Mac.
'What's the best hotel here ? " asked
Jake.
"The Dallas , right up at the top of
the hill lo Iho loft , " said Mac.
"Good hotel ? "
"Fine ! Live there myself , " said Mac.
Then there caino a sudden but inex
pressible change in his tone. "Sorry
you fellows can't see it. "
"How you moan ? " The Owl was
obviously a lllllo dazed.
"Because there's a train for Omaha
going out In ten minutes and you're
going out on It. "
The crooks looked stupidly at Mac
for a full half minute. He meant it.
An impassable blank wall had risen
between them and thu Promised Land.
Ono by one , without the courlesy of
a good-by , they picked up their bags
ind turned their faces to the railroad
stallon , muttering bitter curses to one
another as they went.
Keeping Straight for Fear of "Mac. "
It was also part of the scheme of
llilngs that homescekers should go
away with pleasant memories of Dal
las and without regrets for waslo and
shame. The town was "clean. " There
wore some gambling tables , to be
sure ; public sentiment demanded
them ; but they were so carefully su
pervised that there was practically no
"trimming" of drunkards or boys.
Philanthropists who aeslrcd to force
you to accept a complete set of collar
butlons and sluds , as good as gold and
much more duraulo , or the best razor
In the world and a handsome scarf
pin all for thirty-five cents , flourished
on every corner. But the chuck-a-luck
and spindle abominations on the open
street , the slolght-of-hnnd making of
hort change and all the vllo nnd slimy
excrescences of n rush camp , llttlo and
big Ihoso wore suppressed as fast
as they appeared. Every night there
was a march by Mac around through
the back streets nnd the unclean ones
w.oro' marshaled to the station and
turned over to Iho baggage man with
the direction : "Seo they don't get
off this side of Norfolk Junction. '
There was a Jail ; on occasional vlsils
1 found It occupied ; the prisoners
were usually thieves who had at
tempted to plunder chock rooms or
I who wore arrested by request of the
1 onlclnls of other states or towns ; they
] i wore a cowed and tame lot. On one
; call 1 found that the warden had gone
over to Main Hired for breakfast and
Idt Ihe criminals In marge of bin
black-and-white sheep dog. Of what
use was It for them lo break out ?
I'hey couldn't get anywhere.
But nobody saw an n crust made ,
There wan no brawling. If you .stood
too long on one spot listening to a
mercenary orator , a quid spoken man
in ordinary clothes came up lo you
and gently called your attention to the
tact thai Ihere wore a lot of other -
I
plo In town and you weio blocking Iho
sidewalks ; won hi you mind moving ?
"Now , suppose , " I said to one ot them
Just an though In earnest , "I didn't
move. Suppose 1 wan unreasonable
and ugly about It. What would you
do ? "
"Why , " said he , looking mo level In
the eye , "there ain't been many sucii
cases. But If wo get up against one , i
we kind of shoulder him oil' down a
nldo street and persuade him to
good and if ho won't be persuaded |
there's usually enough of un around lo
can him.Vllh modestly apparent un-
Intention he'disclosed a glimpse of a
silver star on bin waistcoat.
"I just wauled to know , " said I.
"There's quite a number took with
the same curiosity , " said he , unmolll-
lled , and wo drifted apart , to mod
again in Noise Thompson's cliibroom
late that night , with Noise to explain
things and make un shako hands and
uo friends and laugh over It.
A Gentle Reminder of Breakfast.
The plan did not stop with the pro-
tecllng and cherishing of the registering -
ing visitor. Three well graded roads
wore built out across Trlpp county , all
converging at Dallas : tills , lest other
border towns , north , west or south ,
might by accident become the center
for the trade of the 5,000 now fanners.
Trunk telephone lines wore erected ,
with Dallas as "central. " Artesian
wells were sunk , In plenty. A reser
voir was built ( cheerfully known as
"Lake Dallas" and covering about
three acres ) .
It was all clear United States. It
may not have been as sanctified as
some of us would like to sec a now
town bul there wore some others of
us who would have liked it far rougher.
It was a town built to order for the
host of the people who came to it
the biggest blessing an American could
well gather unlo himself in Ibis gen-
orallon was to mix in and surge around
with them , arguing , laughing , swap
ping slorics. Everyoody was every
other body's brother until ho was
proved unworthy and was glad of it.
Even the racket of it was a stimula
tion. Every few hours , perhaps at
twelve noon and perhaps at throe in
tno morning , ono of those looming
trains came hooting into town. From
every front door came the megaphoned
howls. There was one follow who
woke mo at two-hour Intervals every
night for a week ; his voice made the
windows ratllo , and in that climate his
subject was every bit as entrancing
as the clink of silver and glass that
greets ono at tho/loor of Dolmonico's :
"Breakfast waiting for you here . . .
Consisting of ( long pause ) oatmeal .
. . . baked apple . . . hot rolls . . .
hot cakes AND syrup . . . . Fried
hlcken ( very long pause ) . . . pork
gravy ( still longer pause ) . . . AND
lotaloes . . . with coffee . . . like
nether . . . used . . . to . . . make !
This was for breakfast and nil for
hirty-flvo cents ! ' *
The band was alwnys blaring some-
vhero. Bert Morphy , a little Irish-
nan , who sings ( see posters ) "to beat
bo band" In the open air , was lending
ils melodies first to gather a crowd in
rent of one tent and then in front of
mother. The notaries had barkers out
ranged four deep across the sidewalk
every ten steps. Picture poslal cards
were spread fan like before your eyes
f you paused for a second. Hambur
ger sandwich men throw an affec-
lionale arm across your shoulder and
explained thai you couid got 'cm wither
or without onions , but always hot and
for just ono dime , ten cents. There
was a noisy exultation about it all.
Some folks were making money , to be
sure but whether the coins were
lingling In Iho cash boxes or not ,
everybody was having a good time and
mighty glad to let the whole world
know It.
"I'm Down and Out , " Said One.
The writer was around aiding and
abetting when Frederic Thompson nnd
the lamented Elmer S. Dandy were In
venting the new Coney Island , the
ype of all the amusement trolley parks
across this country now. Superttcially ,
Dallas may seem to have been some
thing like that : but If It does not
seem to have been something more ,
then what is written hero is a failure.
For there was more. This was not a
more Jaunl or an excuse for laughing
and forgetting toll and sorrow for a
night. Those thousands were hunger
ing for homos and soil of their own ,
they were longing for the chance to
dig in it , sweat over it and make the
land fat ; and , being of us , being
t'lilted States , they went Into the of.
fort to realize this longing with a
cheerful understanding that the chance
was small eager , but resolved lo
make the host of disappointment re
solved to squeal and growl not at all
but to laugh and to try again some
other way nnd some other day. Some
woman ( I think It was the ever blessed
Mrs. Callemlor ) who was nur.slng r
sick man across the hall , gave mo UK
keynote , ono night. Ho was a gambler
blor ; ho was dead broke , deserted b >
the other gamblers who were alsc
broke and could only leave bin
twenty-one dollars ; ho was 111 almost
o death with pneumonia and every
* ) ody was taking turns sitting up will
'him. ' Ills was about the only audible
voice of misery I heard In Dalian.
"I'm down and out , " 1 heard him
groan i ; "Ihere's no use being good to
me. i Let me die ! "
"Now , Mr. Connors , " the woman's
voice i answered , gently , "lhat'H no way
to t talk al all. Not heio In Dallas. Act
j i llko I a winner , oven when you think
j you're ; not. "
j A / Great Piece of Luck for Another
Old Boy.
No , It wan not the only voice of mhv
ery. ( There wan a big old man with
eyes llko a Newfoundland do'g and
close clipped hair , lie caino up to me ,
as everybody who knew the sight of
another man'H face came up to everybody
body- between train times ,
"Drawn yet , brother ? " he asked. O
course 1 hadn't. "Too bad , " be trnld
"hut I ain't neither , deal game tt
watch , though , ain't It ? "
Ills hand was shaking pitifully. Ills
lips 1 wore dry and cracked. Ills voice
it trembled. He was on the very odgt
of < i going all to pieces , with almost m
chance of recovery. He Haw that 1
saw and started away.
"You bettor come o\er lo Noise's
with me , " I said , lie grabbed my arm.
'I'll do that , son , " ho said , "and thank
you. Itut just one condition. I used
o have a picture of myself home , when
had a home. And It looked Home-
.hlng llko you. It was took before 1
tnow what booze was. I'll go ovoi
here with you if you'll drink Mass
sarsaparllla ) yourself. If you'll do
hat and tell me you think I can get
over it , I'll go you ! "
One of the altogether delight fill
" nomorles of a lifetime Is the way the
° ld boy came piling down the street to
ntoh mo Just as I was leaving Dallas ,
ind ( free from shivers or the smell of
vhiskoy ) told mo thai he had drawn a
claim and that ho was going to pick a
arm twenty miles from any town and
send for his wlfo and kids and start
) vor acaln.
Where Jealousy Played a Part.
Nor was It all good-natured ; that
vould hnvo been fatuous and silly.
Now towns cannot grow In a now
country without rivalry. And there
vas all the bitterness of strife which
H In the story of Bay City and Sagl-
mw , St. Paul and Minneapolis , Taconm
uid Sentllo , San Francisco and Oak-
and , Beally , Rhyollle and Bullfrog.
Gregory was the town that wo In
Dallas hoard most about , though
O'Neill was no friend of ours. Wo
cackled spontaneously when wo hoard
hat O'Neill had sent a kick into Chicago
cage to the effect that Braden and
loynolds had boon moving their trains
n and out of O'Neill so fast thai the
registralors hadn't any time to spend
nonoy in the town. It was signed
'Business men of O'Neill" and there
WAS humor in It , wasn't there ?
Dallas also caused to be printed
irciilars , to bo distributed nt Norfolk ,
extolling the economic advantages of
Jallas. O'NoI. imiud circulars , do-
oled to O'Neill. Gregory sent barkers
lown the line ; they spoke almost ex
clusively of Gregory. When the
irairio flro rolled up on Dallas and
icarly licked it off the face of the
earth , Gregory sent men and wagons
oaded with barrels of water over to
lelp Dallas make its light for salva-
lon , and Dallas sent the band and
Morphy down lo Iho junction , 120
nlles , lo make noise and proclam that
Dallas was all there and more ready
linn ever to receive guests.
The Winners and Their Excitement.
Of the drawing , of Judge Wilton's
mtienco and tact , of the two tiny
; lrls , Dema Rose ( the real Rose of
he Rosebud ) and Virginia Wagner ,
vho kicked up the 11-1,000 sealed appli
cations with their feet and picked out
the first winners , and the two small
joys , Wesley Tenth and David Haley ,
who relieved them for the last two
days , Ihe dally newspapers have lold.
Hit some of us , who stayed over to
see what Dallas would bo like when
.ho drawings wore finished , saw the
icst things of nil , and the saddest.
We saw some of Iho winners come
jack. The names of Iho winners wore
[ irlntcd in about all the newspapers
within 300 miles of Dallas. So those
ivho had gone homo after registering
their applications did not have to wait
'or the government notification. It
ivas one who had drawn along In the
SO's who appeared first He caino In
on an almosl empty train. He was big
: md red cheeked and ho wore his
trousers inside his boot legs. He had
orought his wife with him from away
east in Iowa somewhere. She was
plump and red cheeked and broadly
smiling , too. . Every ten paces or so
he set her up against a doorway and
rushed at somebody on ono or the
other side of the broad street.
"Hey ! " ho shouted , "my name is An
derson. I won Number Eighly-bhink.
You come up on the same train with
mo. I think j on give mo luck. I want
to shako hands. " Then he charged
back at his wife and led her ton stops
more , until ho had exchanged felicita
tions with the notary who had sworn
him In , with the restaurant waiter who
had sold him his first Dallas sandwich ,
with the newsboy who sold him his
first paper , with Alico-Whero-Art-Thou ,
the chambermaid at the hotel , and
with everybody else who looked like
somebody ho had soon before and with
lots of people who didn't. Ho couldn't
tell you why h ) had come back for
the farms are not to allotted until
spring except that ho "wanted the oh :
woman to see that It was all true ! "
The Losers and How They Kept on
Hoping ,
There wore a lot of these. And
there were the others the losers
They were cheerful enough by day , as
von met them around town ; cheerfu
even as you and 1. But long after mid
night , there wax a constant lighting o
matches , or the bobbing light-point ot
a i lantern out by the shed where the
typewritten announcementH of the ru-
milts of the drawing were ponied Thin
lasted for three days after the last
name was drawn ; betokening one af
ter another of Iho bitterly disappoint *
ed , going out secretly lo look Iho
whole UHI over again to make Hiiro
that there had not been HOIIIO over
looked name If was so easy ( o lultw
one name In six thousand. ( They
drew n thousand extra mimes to pro
vide for forfeitures. )
These forlornly hopeful people made
i cluster about the shed all day long ,
too all the more pltlfurbocuiiHo every
) tie In Dallas who mid won a dmncu
uiiew of It , within ten minutes after
ho name was announced. The newu
traveled like a light flash.
It was nil good , Iho bitter and the
sweol together. \ \ o may be belter
ban our fathers wore , some of IIH.
I'ho best that was In the inthcrH.
hough , Is with us yet. It In a mighty
United Stales- and healthy.
Along between Cleveland and Buf-
'alo on the way back to New York
hero came a time In the lounging
ar of the Limited when It necim-d an
hough the man sitting opposite wan
IK lonely and as unoccupied as I wan
iiywlf. And so I went over and wit
leslile him and began telling him
some things about Dalian and the
) allan people , what the big Swede told
ibont ICckntrom , and I lie rest. He wan
lollte. Hut when I paused for breath , ho , <
said , "Really , how singular" and ho \
licked up a newspaper and turned
so that ( Inflight would fall on it prop-
rly and no thai his back would bo
ownrd me.
There wan really nothing to bo
ingry about. After two weeks in Iho
{ osebud country , I had forgotten my
vist-oMho-MIssoiirl mannorn. That
van all.
Railroad News.
Humphrey Democrat : J. Greena-
vnlt of Hralnard , has become agent
for the Northwestern al thin place In
ilnco of Frank Flick who Is now at
'etorshiirg temporarily as relief agenl.
Mr. Grconawalt was here some tlmo
igo as relief agent. Ho Is a man of
iloanlnp ; personality and wo hope ho
vlll find Humphrey a congenial place
n which to live and do business.
Fremont Tribune : In order that a
Yemeni surgeon could gel aboard it
it hurry to the bedside of a patient ,
ho Northwostorn'.s evening 'northwest-
jound train wan hold twelve minutes
at the union passenger station Dr.
I. II. Tthodcn had been summoned to
) orform a surgical operation as a last
esort in heroic efforts to save the llfo
it' a man who resides near Scrlbner.
The operation pna performed.
S. B. Lopp , who has boon a brake-
nan on Iho Burlington between South
Sioux City and O'Neill , successfully
mssed the examination of that road
ind also of the Omaha , and Is now a
conductor. Conductor
Lopp has a run
between Sioux City and O'Neill.
Exeter Enterprise : E. S. Agur linn
icon promoted to the joint agency of
ho Northwestern and Santa Fe at Su-
icrlor. Ho has been one of the lead
ers In n long list of popular railroad
non who have boon stationed In Exe-
er during the lant twenty-five years.
He will bo chocked In about the first
of February.
Conductor O'Neill , the old-tlmo
Northwestern passenger man between
Lincoln and Missouri Valley , has been
ibsenl Horn his run for several days
in accomil of illness. Ho has been
aid up al his home in Missouri Val-
ey. Conductor Biamln , also of Mis
souri Valley , is on Mr. O'NelU's run
luring Iho latter's absence.
estimate of Expenses.
Stale of Nebraska , county of Madison
ss.
This is to certify that at a meeting
of the board of county commissioners ,
leld'at the court house in Madison ,
Nebraska , on the l th day of1 January ,
A. D. 1901) ) , that being the first regu
lar meeting of said board In the
nontli of January , j909 , the following
estimate of expenses of Madison
county for the year 190 ! ) was pre
pared and , on motion , the same was
adopted.
County bridges ? 25,500.00
County roads 10,000.00
General Fund Items.
Hlprapplng streams 3.000.00
bounty Institute- 10ooO !
County printing l.COfhOO
County attorney's salary 1.000.00
Care of paupers IJ.000.00
Fuel , postage and expense. . . 1,500.00
Books , stationery and sup-
"Hes 1,500.00
Election expenses 3,000.00
Salary county assessor and
deputies 3.500.00
Soldiers' relief 800.00
Poor farm expenses l.OOoioo
County superintendent's sal-
nr > ' 1,000.00
Salary clerk of board 500.00
County commissioners' salar-
los 3.000.00
Bounty on wild animals 500.00
Jailor's foes 1,500.00
Janitor's salary and ox-
peuses 1,500.00
District court , Jurors' nnd
county officers' foes 7.000.00
Insanity commission 1,200.00
Aid to agricultural soclo-
tlos coo.oo
Furniture and repairs to
court liouso. nnd Insurance 1,500.00
Clerk of the district court's
B"lnry 500.00
Salary of she-riff and assis
tants 2,110000
Witness my signature nnd the seal
of said county this llth day of Jan-
uary. A. D. 1909.
George E. Richardson.
( Seal. ) County Clerk.