Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The Columbus journal. (Columbus, Neb.) 1874-1911 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 1897)
vC "--s"wi--',i0s?i'Si- s. ao?' " "" ,rfc -"iftw-- m - oi Ijrantai VOLUME XXVIII. NUMBER 34. COLUMBUS, NEBRASKA, WEDNESDAY. DECEMBER 1, 1897. WHOLE NUMBER lA'SS. V fc- r.R s : A LITTLE BLACK BOG. LITTLE black dog, running frantically around the old stone mansion, paused suddenly pncked up his ears and listened. Then came a voice. "Here Beautiful! Here I am! Here at the cellar win dow! Oh, you dar ling dog!" - Four small feet pranced and skipped about, while a shaggy little wisp of a tail wiggled and frisked and endeav ored to say: "I simply can't tell you how overjoyed I am to find you. I've looked everywhere for you. I really believe I could almost turn myself wrong side out from sheer happiness at seeing you again." "Come close. Beautiful! But don't you dare to bark a word, 'cause like's not that dreadful, dreadful woman will come and take you away from me." At this Beautiful plumped his nose through the small opening at the win dow, sniffing violently, and then giving voice to a loud and sympathetic whine. Just then two hands, coming from out the darkness of the cellar, closed round his soft, warm body. It was a hard, tight and uncomfortable squeeze, and such tugging and pulling you never caw in all ycur days. That the feat was accomplished at all was probably due to the fact that Beautiful's daily breakfast, dinner and supper rolled in to one meal would not have made a re sectable between-meal bite. Beautiful, it must be explained, was. like his small misress,a charity board er at Miss Jane Smitbson's Select School for Young Ladies. Suffering similar injuries, there was between the two a bond of deep sympathy. Once inside. Beautiful was given a tender hug of welcome. Then, holding him closely in her arms, Lura sat down upon a pile of old carpets and pro ceeded to open up her heart. The dog. accustomed to those little secret ses sions, showed his deep interest by looking up lovingly into his mistress' face and endeai'oring vainly to bestow kisses thereon. "She says I am very, very bad. Beautiful." Lura explained in soft whis pers. "She has said that an awful many lots of times, and I'm getting kind'er 'fraid. I am. But honest and truly, you know. I couldn't help it. Honest I couldn't. I broke a plate, I just told her that the plate was all Eoap-sudsy. and that it slipped right out of my hand quicker'n I could catch it. Oh. Beautiful, you ought to seen her. She got so ma-a-d. She said she'd teach me to break dishes and then talk back to her, and then she hit me hard, just dreadfully hard. Beau tiful" here the dog's big, friendly eyes looked tenderly into hers "and then she put me down here." A rat ran squeaking across the floor. Beautiful sprung up, stuck up one ear, and growled savagely. Lura caught hold of him and drew him back into her lap. "That's just as nice as can be of you. Beautiful, to say you'll keep 'em away, but I hadn't finished talking to you, and you know it's not a bit p'lite to interrupt. Why, I used to be as "fraid as anything of rats, but now when I'm 'fraid I just think what my dear daddy said to me. He said: 'Lit tle daughter, it pretty nearly breaks father's heart to go and leave his girl, but she must be a brave and plucky little woman, and he'll come back and never, never go away from her again.' "Beautiful." she said, slowly, "he's a dreadfully, dreadfully long time a comin back to his girl." And then the flood came. It began by a single tear hurrying down a sor rowful little face and descending upon the dog's satiny black coat. He, feel ing that his little mistress was in deep distress, shared her sorrow by whining piteously and burrowing his nose in t"he soft little hollow of her neck. For some time they sat thus, the girl sob bing and crying as if the burdened heart had reached the limit of endur- h: "SHE HAD NEVER ROWED SO HARD BEFORE." tnce and could no longer bear up un der its load of worries. Suddenly Beautiful straightened up. growled mysteriously, and then as sumed an air of defiant guardianship. Lura understood. The "dreadful wom an" was coming. The cellar door opened with a bang, and a face peered down into the dark ness, while a shrill voice piped: "Put them down there and don't be all day about it." At that, a little old man. from whose arm swung a basket filled with live, squirming lobsters, shufiled painfully down the stairs. On the Atlantic coast these "lobster men," as the peddlers of shell fish are called, are-familiar characters in every town and village, and this one, who was a weekly caller at Miss Smithson's Select School, was a special friend of Lura's. Feeling the humiliation of a prisoner unjustly sentenced, Lura crept back in to the deeper shadows. And then it was that a most unusual and unlooked for thing happened. With a growl and a bound, Beautiful broke away, dashed up the stairway, and flew straight at Miss Smithson. clutching his teeth firmly in her apron. It was a most undiplomatic perform ance and one quite worthy of the faita ful littl friend. .& .r"B Of course Miss Smithson screamed at the top of her voice and fought wild ly, but Beautiful continued the attack with undaunted valor until Lura and the lobster merchant took a hand. Then he was forced to desist. "The vicious beast!" gasped Mis3 Jane Smithson, as soon as she was free to survey her torn, disheveled gar ments. "I have said time and again that I would not have him around." Then, turning to the old crippled ven der who was looking dazed and won dering, she said: "I'll gladly pay you if you will take that despicable little animal where I shall never see him again." Lura stood palsied and speechless. As in a hideous dream, she silently watched her one dear companion being taken from her. Suddenly she gath ered courage, clinched her small fists and cried out: "How dare you! How dare you! My daddy gave Beautiful to me! Oh, I hate you, I hate you!" "That will do. my lady." Miss Smith son replied, tartly. "Back you go in to the cellar; I am unaware of having yet given ycu permission to come out." The door fell to with a bang, Lura's Lrown curls barely escaping. A few hot tears of anger came, then Lura rushed to the cellar window, the one through which, but a short time ago, she had welcomed her dear Beautiful. She had now but one thought and ambition to escape and to rescue the plucky little defender of her rights and privileges. It was hard work pulling off the rough boards and the poor fingers 1 led more than once before the task was finished. She heaped up the old carpets, and breaking through a curtain of spider webs, scrambled out. With flushed cheeks and flying curls she ran across the lawn and down the street to the shore. Miss Smithson's 'I "SHE BEGAN TO SOB." Select School gracJ a little village en Long Island Sound. Her anxious eyes hastily and eagerly scanned the groups of small fishing craft that dotted the calm waters of this picturesque arm cf the great Atlantic. At last! She saw them! Thore they were, the old, bent lobster-man pulling at his oars, and Beautiful her own dear Beautiful sitting up as big as you please on the seat of the stern as dignified as the captain of an ocean liner. "Beautiful;" she cried. "Beauti ful!" But it was no use; they were too far away. Now if Lura had been like most girls of 13 or thereabouts she would have gathered up a corner of her pinafore and cried it soaking wet. but you see that wasn't her way. Reverses cre ated energy, not despair, wiin her. It was scarcely a moment before her small feet were swiftly carrying her down the long stretch of sand to the boat house. Then she jumped into a dory, slipped the oars in the locks, and be fore you could say "Jack Robinson" she was in hurried, breathless pursuit of her dear Beautiful. Like the majority of children brought up in towns close to the ocean, Lura knew how to handle a boat. Now and then she adroitly rounded the bow of an anchored vessel or sped past a fish erman who. with his long rake, was busily digging oysters from out their sandy ocean bed. She had never in all her life rowed so hard before, and she did not cease her strongest efforts for what seemed hours to her. Her heart gave a great bound when, after awhile, she discovered that she had not only gained in the race, but that the lobster man had stopped to rest. How she worked, (fighting the waves that were now running briskly and splashing in a white foam against the sides of the dory. She braced her feet more firm ly and pulled with all her might and main. Then oh, gladness she heard a sound that brought a thrill of joy to her heart and caused a big lump to bounce up into her throat. It was Beautiful! He had seen and recognized her and was barking his happiness across the water. There was a splash. Was it possi ble? Yes, yes, he had plunged from the boat and was swimming to her. Dear, loyal dog. "Come. Beautiful! Come, Beautiful!" she called, the tears of happiness mak ing such a mist that she could scarcely see the black head bobbing among the waves. Rowing with all her strength, she pulled bravely toward him. There was now but a few yards be tween them. She could hardly wait until she once mere had her shaggy Beautiful close to her heart. Had he not been the one friend and consolation during a whole miserable year of trou ble? He had almost reached zhe boat when a low, heavy "whistle sounded ominous ly near. . Lura turned." There, coming directly toward them, was an ocean steamer. 'Hurry, Beautiful, hurry." she screamed. "We're in the steamship channel! Oh, hurry, hurry!" She dragged him into the boat, wet, dripping, panting. She clutched the oars and pulled for her life their lives, Beautiful's and hers. The great steamer whistled again. It was bearing directly down upon them, like s monstrous swimming mountain. Beautiful, scenting danger, crouched to the bottom of the dory and whined dis mally., Xura could hear the. steady thump of the propeller, then voices shouted excited warnings. Her strength was fast being exhausted, and her poor, blistered hands gave up the race Just as the towering hull of the vessel swept past a few yards distant. I he pilot saluted the little heroine with several sharp whistles, and the passengers, crowded together at the rails, cheered lustily. One man, more excited than the others, rushed fran tically across the deck and called to the captain to lower a boat But Lura was quite unaware of all this tribute to her pluck and bravery. For as soon as danger was passed she collapssd completely, and putting her hands to her face, began to sob con vulsively. The oars slipped from their locks and the dory tumbled about as it struck the steamer's swells, but she did not heed. She failed even to notice that the steamer had slowed down, and that a small boat was being swiftly pro pelled toward her. But when a pair of familiar arms closed about her and the dearest f oiee in the world murmured, "My little daughter," she realized the first. fjaeat happiness of her life, and each could only sob, "Daddy, daddy," while Beau tiful, faithful and devoted, showed his love and gratitude by fondly burrow ing his nose between her poor swollen little fingers. Helen Follett. DOCTORS ADDICTED TODRUCS Many New York Pby.lciana Wrecked by Constant Ue of Narcotics. From the New York Sun: The ma jority of professional men of this city who become addicted to the habitual use of drugs are physicians, and this fact was strikingly illustrated a few years ago by the success of a young doctor who has since become one of the best known men in his profession. When he had been out of college for only a few years a lecturer in one of the city colleges decided to decrease the number of his lectures preparatory to retiring altogether from work. At that time there were three young phy sicians equally qualified to succeed him, and it was decided that the choice should be settled by allowing the men to lecture for a certain period and se lecting from them the one who was most successful with the students. The three men entered the competition with equal opportunities, but only one of them survived. The other two fell away through the habit which has wrecked the prospects of so many promising young men in New York who seemed certain to win eminenca in their profession. The one who did not fall a victim to the use of drugs won the place and the distinction that followed. "Scarcely a year passes without the disappearance from New York of some more or less prominent physician," said a doctor the other day after recalling the mysterious death of a well-known physician several years ago, "and it is usually the use of some drug that causes this retire ment, which is sometimes temporary, but more often lasting. Cocaine has been one of the things very much used by them, but morphine, opium and oth er narcotics are as much in use. The habit of using them in the case of physicians seems to come from the fact that, knowing the amounts in which the drugs cm be safely used, there is never any doubt in their minds that they can indulge them selves moderately and with no fear of excess. Another reason is said to be that physicians know the agreeable ef fects from the use of these drags bet ter than persons who have never had experience with them. Whatever the causes may be, the truth remains that no class of professional men produces so many victims of these drugs. And the more surprising feature of the whole affair is that they are the men who would in the ordinary course of affairs be least expected to yield to such temptations." Did Sound Queer. Mr. Wickwire Aren't you a trifle late in getting home? Mr. Wickwire I went to the theater. They had a nautical piece on; I have been to a good many plays of one kind and another, but this is one you want to see to see sea scenery "Henry Wickwire! Have vou been drinking?" Descendant of Jonah. A man in Morgantown, W. Va., has engaged a lawyer to secure damages for the loss of passage money paid by Jonah when thrown overboard and cared for by the whale. He traces his anc2stry to Jonah and hopes to secure principal and interest Going by the Wind. There is a clock in Brussels which has never been wound by human hands. It is kept going by the wind. Plenty of Teacher In Bclgiani. There are 10,800 teachers in the diminutive kingdom of Belgium. HOW THEY ARE USED. The lower grade of molasses, which is unsalable, is used as a fuel. It is sprinkled over the sugar cane from which the juice is extracted, and when put in the fire burns with a strong heat. One hundred thousand tons were used last year. Waste pieces of cork, when carefully cleaned and powdered, are used as an absorbent called suberin. Burnt cork is an artist's pigment; linoleum made of linseed oil and pressed cork, is a floor covering and when embossed and decorated is Lincrusta Walton. Slag, the refuse from smelting works which accumulates at the rate of mil lions of tons a year, instead of form ing mountains of waste near the fur naces as. it used to do, has entered into the construction of roads and has been made into bricks, paving stone, tiles and railway sleepers. The tree roots which have bothered farmers and those who have cleared away land have turned out mines of wealth. Logwood roots yield an excel lent dye, and those fortunate enough to bae waste land covered with log wood stumps are making money. Roots of walnut trees are of value when cut and sawed and turned into costly French veneers. Broken glass and the waste from glass furnaces are heaped together and melted down, dressed and cut into beautiful slabs, forming an artifi cial marble of decorative design. De signs in relief can be obtained while the material is still warm and soft. Every year a couple of thousand tons of broken glass are collected in the streets of London. WITH HIS MOUTH. NO ARMS BUT EDITS A NEWS PAPER SUCCESSFULLY. Espett TTtth a Typewriter Writes Editorials with His Teeth and His Toes Indomitable Pine's or Aarrn Smith. HAT - ARE - WE here-For" Flana gan, "Cyclone Jim" Davis and James 3. Hogg are not the only remarkable men in Texas, say3 the St. Lonis Re public For anoth er exxample, there is Aaron Smith, ed itor and proprietor or the Mount Pleasant Times-Review, who writes editorials with a pen held in his mouth or between his toes writes them with ease, too, and says he does not mink it very much of a feat, at all events, not worth talking about. Editor Smith is compelled to resort to this unusual method because nature neglected to provide him with arm. His birthplace was in Miller county, Arkansas, and he was born July 23, 1868. His father, Alexander Smith, a native of North Carolina, was a wagon and carriage maker by trade, but in later years a farmer. He was married tj Martha E. Phillips, daughter of th2 Rev. Joseph E. Phillips, a leading Methodist minister of Alabama. To them were born ten children, Aaron be ing the second. Aaron was born without arms, and he early acquired the remarkable gift of using his feet for hands, and as naturally as other children learn to use their hands. It might be supposed that one born without arms would lead a solitary and lonely life, but he early learned to substitute his feet for hands and engage heartily in games and pas times with his companions. When quite small he learned to feed himself with his feet, and at the age of seven had learned to write. About this time he entered school, standing at the head of his classes. He was no less at home on the playground, where he engaged in games of marbles, croquet and ball, becoming an expert in marbles and croquet. As a matter of pastime, in youth he acquired some proficiency in performing on the guitar and piano. At a very early age he began to map out a course in life and to realize the importance of a thorough education. Want of funds, however, prevented more than a high-school education, but he afterward finished the courses of philosophy and logic and others at home. To this fund of knowledge he added by extensive reading. Mr. Smith's boyhood days were spent in Cass county, Texas. He moved to Mount Pleasant" Texas, in November, 1SSS, where he studied law and was admitted to the bar the following spring, at the age of twenty. Success attended his efforts from the first. He built up a good law practice and was particularly strong in his ar guments before a jury. In September, 1S93, he formed the idea that the news paper business offered a more inviting field to one of his physical disabilities, and. finding the Mount Pleasant Times Review for sale, purchased it. He has managed it with great success, making it one of the best county papers in Texas. All this time he has taken an active interest in politics. In 1S94 he was the Democratic nominee for coun ty judge, and was a member from Ti tus county of the state Democratic con vention in 1S96. which elected dele gates to the Chicago convention. He is also a member of the Texas Press Association. Sept. 24, 1S95, he was married to Miss Carrie P. Sweet, daughter of the Rev. E. M. Sweet, a prominent mem ber of the Northwest Texas conference of the M. E. Church South, the wed ding being the culmination of a happy romance of his boyhood days. To this marriage has been born a lovely little girl. Mr. Smith is editcr and business manager of his paper. In writing he holds the pen in his teeth, working at an ordinary desk. He also writes with his toes, either with pen or on the typewriter. By holding a leadpen cil in his teeth and striking the type writer keys with it he is enabled to write at a fair rate of speed. Mr. Smith has been so long accustomed to writing in these unusual ways that he wonders that people think it mar velous. Flight of Birds at N'ijtht. Mr. Frank W. Very of the Ladd Ob servatory, Providence, R. I., has made some curious observations on the flisht of migrating birds seen at night cross- ' mg tne race oi tne moon, tie watched , them with a telescope of four inches' j aperture, magnifying forty times. The observations were made in the latter part of September. The great major- I ity of the birds moved from north to ' south, and traveled in little companies. Their average speed, as calculates by Mr. Very, was 67 miles an hour, al though some appeared to travel at the rate of more than 100 miles an hour. strange Work or Lightning. The London LaEcet report! the remarkable case of the killing of Maj. Jameson by lightning -in a field near Guildford on August 25th. There was but a single flash and a clap of thun der. The victim was found lying on his face, dead, with his clothing torn to fragments and scattered widely around him. Even his undergarments were rent to ribbons and scattered over the ground. The soles of his boots were stripped off, brass eyelet holes were torn out, and nails forced from their places. Tea, In Heaven. Cornhill tells a story of an Englieh woman of high station who bewailed to a friend the loss by death of a some what ill-bred but extremely wealthy neighbor, who had been very liberal In his help to her country charities. "Mr. X. is dead." said she; "he wn? .o -,i and kind and helpful to me in all sorts of ways; he was so vulgar, dear fel- j low, we could not know him in Lon don; but we shall meet in heaven." j jsBKC'-rTI- 1 THE TONE OF THE BELL. if Hot laaproTed. by the lie of Gold or v - , m SllTer in the Metal. Ttere Is a general belief that the introduction of silver or gold In the castiag of a bell assures for it a supe rior'tone, but an expert in founding bells? says In the Church Economist thatsuch a belief is erroneous. He saysthat the best tone effect in bell metal is confined within very narrow limits, for any so-called bell metal having more than SO parts copper to 20 parts tin is too soft to produce ths best' quality of tone, while that hav ing more than 23 parts in the 100 is muck too brittle. There are belles in Euype whose clear tones were for many years credited to gold and sil ver that were supposed to have been added to the bell metal. An analysis was made not long ago of the metal in one of these bells and it failed to show; any trace of gold or silver. The old tfersMn bell founders-used to make their bells of SO parts copper and 23 parts tin. In the opinion of this ex pert the strongest and best toned bell is obtained from 79 parts copper and 21 parts tin. "After the bell is 'drawn,' " says the expert, "two sweeps are made and adjusted to an upright spindle in the center of an iron case or flask, the flask having perforations all over it. Over the surface of the flask is coated wet a layer of loam of equal and suitable thickness and baked. Then another layer is coated on and baked, and so on, layer after layer, until the proper shape, etc., is secured. There are two such iron molding cases, one fitting ever the oth er. The under one has the loam coat ing on its outer side, which has the inner shape of the proposed bell. The upper iron molding case or flask has the loam on its inner surface and forming the outer shape of the bell; this is let down over the under mold and carefully adjusted equally all around, leaving a space inside between the two molds. The under flask is called 'core.' The space is filled up by the molten bell metal, which, when cooled, is the bell. When the bell is taken out of the molds it is polished, and then the hangings, tongue (or clapper), etc., fitted to the bell, and it receives a severe ringing test, partly to ascertain its tone and resonant quality, and to observe its mechanical excellence and adjustment. Then, if it appears to be good in all points, it is shipped to the purchaser. The mak ing and shipping of a bell usually re quires from ten to fifteen days in the smaller sizes. The larger sizes, i. e., from 1.500 pounds and heavier, require more time. A peal of three or more bells requires from forty to ninety days' time, while a chime of nine or more bells requires from three to six months. Any foundry can, of course, readily make and select nine or ten bells in tune for a chime, but tune ia one thing, tone is another." LAST OF THE DARLING FAMILY Brother of I lie Fanions Grace Now a Tauper. The news will be leceived with some surprise, not to say disappointment. that the only surviving brother of the famous Grace Darling is now a pauper in receipt of parochial relief, says the Westminster Gazette. George A. Dar ling, the last of the family, is an old man, and though once fairly prosperous has, through the failure of the poor fishermen of Seahouses, North Sunder land, where he lives, fallen into such poverty as to necessitate his receiving relief from the parish rates. The old man adds to his scanty living by selling "The True History of Grace Darling's Life" and "The Journal of Grace Dar ling's Father." The house in which the heroine was born and the house in which she died are still standing and occupied in the charming village cf Bramburgh.in the unique parish church of which St. Aidan's Grace was bap tized. She lies buried along with all the Darling connection in the still churchyard of Bramburgh, and for the third time since her interment in 1S42 the canopy memorial above her ashes has just been restored. After having stood a few years the effigy of the heroine a recumbent figure with an oar on her arm, looking toward the is lands which she made illustrious be gan to decay and was removed to the interior of the church, where it still lies, weather beaten and rain worn. Very curiously, the roof of the tran sept in which the original effigy is pre served has just given away and is de clared unsafe. The outside monument some 15 years or so ago was restored and a new effigy placed beneath the stone arcaded canopy, but in the great storm of four years ago the canopy was blown down and the second effigy de faced. After lying in ruins for some two years a new canopy has just been erected and the recumbent figure of Grace Darling repaired. The coast is a wild one, but there has been some thing strangely fatal in the fortunes of the tombs of once whose -praises once rang through Europe. Far worse, however, than any ruined monument is the cold neglect of the heroine's last surviving relative. "Surely," says the correspondent who sends s these par ticulars, "something should be done to brighten the eventide of the life of one so closely associated with a great Eng lish heroine." Ran Away With the Inn. A curious landslip occurred a few days ago in the village of Sattel, in Canton Schwyz. An inn situated" by the side of a hill was carried, without sustaining any injury, 35 feet down the hillsife, stopping just short of being precipitated into the river Steinen. The-raad in front of the house, the gar den, rnd all the immediate surround ings of the inn are intact. By the house were two large elms, and even these have in no way suffered. Ex. STUB ENDS OF TRUTH. Mc. tal beauty is but mud in blossom. The wounded need the helping hand. No expert can pick the locks of Deity. It lakes wit and grit to paddle your own canoe. The true hero bears insult and keeps the peace. Without a competency for old age, cone are happy and few honest. The devil is most like a roaring lion when he looks most like a sheep. If you would teach your children pa tience, show them what it is. Ram3 Horn. SPECIES OF EEDW00B. A SECTION OF ONE OF THE GIANT CALIFORNIA TREES. Was One of the Mostv Wonderful Ex hibits at the Chicago Exposition, and Is Sow One of the Cariosities at th National Capital. RIOR to the open ing of the World's Columbian exposi tion at Chicago in the fall of 1S93, the govern ment de cided to place on exhibition one of the mammoth trees of California. The idea originated with the Hon. H. A. Taylor of Wisconsin, then United States commissioned of "railroads and the representative of the interior de partment on the board of management of government exhibits. The officials in charge of the Yosemite and Sequoia National parks of California, were in structed by the war department, which supervises the parks, to make an ex hibition of the location of the various trees and give an estimate of the cost of securing one of the monsters for exhibition. The task seemed impos sible, for the first step, to fell one cf the trees, is the work of five men for a month with pumps, augers, wedges and other accoutrements neces sary to do the work. Several of the trees were measured, photographs taken and the report made stating the possibility of the proposed plan. The size of the trees was not the only diffi culty that confronted the men but the location and access was also to be con sidered. There are eight or nine groves of these denizens of the forest, averaging one-half mile in length and one-eighth mile in width, situated in a mountain country several thousand feet above the sea-level and seventy-four miles from Stockton. The most famous of these are the Caliveras and Maripoosa SECTION OF THE "GENERAL NOBLE." groves. Many of the specimens easy of access were found to have been damaged by fire, wind, or lightning, while others, though in a favorable lo cation, were not recuiar in form, but partly decayed at the base, cr bulging so as to spoil their symmetry. After a careful inspection the "General No ble," named in honor of the late sec retary of the interior department, who was deeply interested in protecting the forests and upon whose recom mendation Sequoia National park was made, was selected. This tree was much smaller than others in the grove (the "Father of the Forest,".now pros trate on the ground, was 435 feet high and 110 feet in circumference) but was chosen on account of its soundness and symmetry. After a selection had been made it was with difficulty that any one could be found willing to un dertake the job of cutting, hauling and shipping eastward the desired section cf the large tree. After numerous methods and plans had been submit ted a contract was made with the King's River Lumber company, a branch of the Moore & Smith Lumber company of San Francisco. The sec tion to be transported was subdivided into forty-six smaller sections, some of these pieces weighing over four tons each. It had to be hauled with teams of sixteen mules each on strong trucks built especially for the purpose, a distance of sixty miles over the rough mountain roads. The cost of hauling and delivering on the cars was 7.500. It took eleven freight cars to transport the forty-six pieces to Chica go, and the total cost of installing the sections on the Exposition grounds was 310.475.S7. After the close of the World's Fair and the exhibits were being removed to their permanent locations this section of the big tree, which was taken from the trunk twen ty feet above the ground, was shipped to Washington and placed in the Smithsonian grounds a few yards from the agricultural department, where it stands as one of the many curiosities of the nation's capital. The "General Noble," from which this section was cut, was 300 feet high, twenty-six feet in diameter and eighty-one and one-half feet in cir cumference. I's bark is over eight inches thick, and the tree is supposed to be over a thousand years old. The foliage of these trees resembles the cedar, the wood is very heavy when green and will quickly sink in water, but when seasoned it is light as dry cedar and polishes nicely. No such specimens are found elsewhere in the world, nor are they surpassed in majesty and grandeur by any of the multitudinous marvels of nature. They were discovered by Mr. A. T. Boyd, a hunter, in 1S52, and at once were the talk of the scientific men and jour nals of both continents. The genus, a species of redwood, was named in honor of Sequoia, a Cherokee Indian, whose American name was George Guess. They are cinnamon colored and the bark is smooth, porous and light. Some of the few representative specimens now in existence are named: Hercules. Hermit. Old Bachelor, Old Maid, Siamese Twins. Uncle Tom's Cabin and Mother of the Forest. They are not reproductive as no sprouts spring from the roots, therefore the government has, at this late day, pro hibited cutting them, thereby leaving to the merciful hand of Nature the final destruction of these giants of the forest. Increase of Population. During the last sixty-five years the increase of population has been: In France. IS per cent; Austria. 45; Italy, 4S; United Kingdom, 63; Germany, 75; Russia, 92; British colonies, 510: Ucite3 States, 625. v iVi"nJ v Sk it I LENGTH OF A THOUGHT. 5arprUlas ftesaits of Experiment 3Iai! by a Noted llrlllih Scientist. How long does it take a man to think? Professor Richet, at the recent meeting of the British association, gave the results of his investigations Into this subject. He found that by menullr running up tbe notes of the musical scale for one or more octaves and then dividing the total time by the number of notes thought of. the time taken for each note was one eleventh of a second. There are va rious ways of arriving at conclusions as to the amount of time necessary for realizing any physical sensation or mental impression. If the skin bo touched repeatedly with light blows from a small hammer a person may, according to Professor Richet, distin guish the fact that the blows are sep arate and not continuous pressure when they follow one another as fre quently as 1,000 a second. The small est Intervals of sound-'can be much better distinguished with one ear than with both. Thus the separateness of the clicks of a revolving toothed wheel was noted by cue observer when they did not exceed sixty to the second, but using both ears he could not distin guish them when they occurred oftcn er than fifteen times a second. The sharp sound of the electric I spark of an induction coil was distin guished with one ear when the rate was as high as 500 to the second. Sight is much less keen than hearing in dis tinguishing differences. If a disc half white and half black be revolved, it will appear gray when its revolutions exceed twenty-four per second. It has been found that we can hear far more rapidly than we can count, so that if j a clock-clicking movement runs faster I than ten to the second we can count ! four clicks, while with twenty to the ! second we can only count two of them. ALL OXEN LOOKED ALIKE. Reason Why a Lawyer Couldn't Tell One Animal from Another. From the New Orleans Tiraes-Dem-ccrat: An ambitious young lawyer paid his first visit to a country court holding its session not far from New Orleans not long since. He went to represent a big railroad in a suit brought by a countryman to recover the value of an ox, which departed j this life in a vain attempt to hold up the limited mail. The question be fore the court was one of identifici- j tion. and the countryman had testi fied that he knew the ox by its color and the flesh marks. The young city Iawyer rose and with dignity said: "If your honor please, there can be no question that this witness has sworn falsely when he testified that an ox can be recognized by his color. I was a stenographer before I became a law yer, and for two days, your honor (drawing out his notebook), I hive tak en a detailed description of every ox that passed the hotel, and I am pre pared to swear as an expert that 'all oxen look alike to me." " "Vou are trifling with the dignity of this court, sir." sternly said the judge, "and I will fine " "Hold on. judge." said the clerk: "there hain't been but one yoke of ox- ; en in this town in a week. Old man ' Henley's been a-haulin wood, and the lawyer's been counting the same oxen over and over." , "Judgment for plaintiff." said the judge, and the city lawyer, glad to es cape the wrath of his honor, took his departure, a sadder but wiser man. Cse for Oltl Cold. One of the most sensible "fads" among the girls just now is to save up all their old jewelry, old gold thimbles which have the tops worn off, gold fob chains, gold bracelets, and pins, and even necklaces, and take them to some reliable jeweler, who will either melt them down and make what she wants out of them, or else will exchange them, allowing her for the weight of the gold. One girl made a collection for several years of boken bits of jew elry and, with some of her grandmoth er's added to them, sold them to her own jeweler and now is the happy possessor of a beautiful pearl necklace which she got in exchange. Harper's Bazar. HI Sermon too Strong. Rev. Archimedes Colbert, pastor of , a church at Mile Run, Ohio, has preached some sermons so strong that he made many enemies. Monday night he was shot from ambush and will die. O Tes! Houston, Tex., has a lawyer named Crank. And there are others. THINGS TO KNOW. The relative size of the ecrth as 1 compared with the sun is, approxi- raatelv, that of a grain of sand to an or?nge. ' The psaltery of Spain is supposed to have been introduced into that coun try l-y the Moors. It is still in com mon use among the peasants. The eye of the vulture is so con structed that it is a high pt)wer tele- scope, enabling the bird to see objects ' at an almost incredible distance. i The Eastern hemisphere, on -which dwen nicety-two per cent cf the pop ulation Ci the world, has 170,792 miles of railway, or forty-six per cent of all the railways. A snake does not climb a tree or brush by coiling around it, but by holding on with the points of its sciles. A snake on a pane of gla?s is almost helpless. The eld log cabin in Front Royal, Va., in vh'ch George Washington liv ed while, surveying between 1743 and 17i, is still standing in fair condition and is used as a spring house. It is said that the patterns on the finger-tips are not only unchangeable through life, but the chance of the finger piint3 of two persons being alike is less than one charee in 61, CCO.000.000. In China government appointments are dctei mined by the literary attain ment of the applicants, and numerous instance" are known of men spending many jears in preparing for the gov 2n?i:ient examination. The number of miners employed in gold n.ming in Xew South Yalas dar ing 1S95 was 12.0C3 in reefing. 9,4S2 Europfans and 710 Chinese in alluvial working, making a total of 22,207 men, ar increase of 773 on the number so employed during 1S95. THE OLD RELIABLE. Columbus State Bank (Oldest Bank in the State.) Fays Merest on Tims Deposits ASD Mates Loans en Seal Estafe. ISSUES SIGHT DH.VFT3 OJC Omaha, Chicago, New York ami all Foreign Countries. . 4HrV SELLS STEAMSHIP TICKETS BUYS GOOD NOTES And helps Its customers when they need he! j orncEns axd Dinrcrorts: Leajtdei: Gerhard, Fres't. R. IL IlEMir, Vice Tres'r.. 5t Iir.UGGEn, Casli:r. Jons Stauffer, Wir. Isccher. ERC1AL BJUIK OF COLUM3US. NEB., HAS AN Authorized Capital Gf Paid in Capital, - $500,000 90,000 ornj:iL-: a II. SIIELDOV. Trevt. II. I'. II. ol lllMU IT. Vice Trc. DAMH. -i'HUAM. Ca-.Mer. ritAMC i:o:Ei:, Asst- Cash'r. DIUEv T K-: C. II. Snni.DON. II. I. II. OEiH.rr.cn. Jov Welch. W. . McAllister. Cwil Kiexke. S C. Gkay. riMVK KOMltKlU 5TOCK1I LPEKS: Sareldv Ellis. .1 Hkmiy Wcr-mia. I'LRK l-RW, Hn.MtY LOEKE. Dame, rim vu. . I. II. Oehlkici. Hecccca Keckei-. .El). ' . fi LLKY. .1. r HrrKKis Estate, U. M. INsLOW. Rank of Deposit: intercut allowed on time deposit-,; bnv and jell eehansf on United States and Europe, and buy and sell arall able ciurltie-j Wesh iM be n!eaed to -r!re vour builnes'j. Hesolicit your pat ron.ijo. Columbus Journal ! A welcly newspaper de Totcd tho best interests of COLUMBUS THE GOKriir CF PLATTE, Be Stats ot NsDrasKa THE UNITED STATES AND THE REST OF MANKIND The unit cf rscasnre with us i $1.50 A YEAR, XT PAID Ui ADTAIfCB. Eat oar limit of nsefulnets la not prescribed bv dollars and cen's. Sample copies sent free to anj address. HENRY GASS: Coffins : and : Metallic : Cases ! tRtpairing of all kinds of Upkol ttery Goods. Ut -COLrJIBCH.NEBIUSEA- commons journal xa nzriitro to rtniyisH astthlng &EQCTRED Or A PRINTING OFFICE, -WITH THX- 23 1 COUNTRY,
