The Columbus journal. (Columbus, Neb.) 1874-1911, December 01, 1897, Image 1

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VOLUME XXVIII. NUMBER 34.
COLUMBUS, NEBRASKA, WEDNESDAY. DECEMBER 1, 1897.
WHOLE NUMBER lA'SS.
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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.
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xa nzriitro to rtniyisH astthlng
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