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About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 14, 1899)
, ' il.'R Conservative * 9 off his scalp and beginning at his feet and hands , literally skinned him alive. Some of the younger warriors started after the group of whites , brandishing their knives and clubs , but at a few harsh commands from the chiefs re sumed their places. The other Indians then started up a war-dance around the group , waiving their guns , clubs and other weapons and uttering fierce yells , keeping time to the discordant notes of a rude drum. Above all the strange noise arose the agonizing screams of the tortured man as his skin was roughly and hurriedly torn from his body. The white men watched the scene almost faint with terror at the sight. They feared that a similar fate awaited them , though confident that the chiefs would do all in their power to pre vent it. At last the awful work was done. A chief picked up the stoppings of skin , and brandishing them in the air , joined the dancers. The drum beat faster and the dancers danced and yelled with frenzy. When the dance reached , its climax the drummer suddenly stopped , and the chief , still bearing the grim relic of Rhines1 punishment , with the warriors silently and quickly went back to where their horses were left in charge of some squaws , and mounted and rode away. The white men hastened to the raw and bleeding form of their companion , which still lay outstretched upon the gross of the prairie. His heartrending shrieks and agonized cries for help had ceased , and they had hoped that death had relieved his sufferings , but his chest still rose and fell showing that life still remained. Realizing their utter in ability to help him they stood still for a few minutes around him. The move ment mercifully ceased , there was a prolonged gasp and Rhines was dead. Rhines1 body was wrapped in a blanket and buried on the banks of a creek. Before the episode the Pawnees had no name for the stream. Afterwards they gave it the Pawnee name for rawhide and when the white settlers took up the land and built their homes in that vicinity eight or ten years after , they called it the Rawhide. From The Oma ha Daily Bee , Saturday , September 10 , ! 1899. \ CAUSE OF ADVANCK IN DUMBER P1UCES. The year 1893 was one of great finan cial depression throughout the Unitec States. The sawmills held large stocks of logs and lumber , while dealers wholesale and retail , held full sup plies in their yards. The great railways had secured sufficient ties and their road beds had been placed in good condi tion. Suddenly most building opera tions were checked , plans for whole blocks of houses in contemplation were abandoned , and only such work was continued as was absolutely required The supply of lumber was far in excess of the demand for several years. Times jeing so hard small owners of timber worked it up into cross ties to secure some ready cash and the price was re duced much balow the normal value of timber , especially as the railways were compelled to purchase in as small quantities as possible. Stocks of dry umber were gradually reduced and less was manufactured than formerly. With the advent of more prosperous imes building operations were resumed , ; he demand increasing greatly during 1898 and 1899 , while the mills and yards which had been depleted during the years of depression could not supply the enormous quantities of lumber de manded by the building trades , furni- ; ure manufacturers and machinery composed largely of wood , especially such as was seasoned. Hence dry lum ber advanced in price rapidly. In De cember , 1898 , quartered oak was selling at $82 per 1000 feet , while in August , 1899 , it commands $55. All lumber advanced but not to such a degree as oak. Railway companies which had allowed their road beds to fall below the stand ard have found it necessary to buy an unusually large number of cross ties , the better times permitting them to lay new rails and cenerally repair track. So great has been the demand by all railways that ties have become an inter esting object , and the price has increased correspondingly , although not so much as oak lumber. And it has become necessary to employ woods of inferior quality in many cases. Several railway companies have adopted some wood pre serving process to lengthen the life of ties. ties.Barrels Barrels intended to contain volatile oils , spirits , etc. , require the highest grade of oak timber , and The Standard Oil company , and other companies using much cooperage have sent their emis saries into every quarter where white oak exists , securing all available tracts , even far in advance of the transportation lines. lines.Wagon Wagon manufacturers also have been on the lookout for high grade oak for spokes and wagon work of which enor mous quantities are annually consumed. Thus oak has increased in value more than other woods. The fashionable and most beautiful wood for furniture is quartered oak , and this also adds great ly to its high value. Twenty-five years ago Indiana was the timber field and Indianapolis was the center of the hard wood markets ol America. It was supposed that the supply of oak in this state could never be exhausted. Yet it has and now the nearest supply is in the mountain regions of southern Kentucky anc Tennessee along the head waters of the streams which feed the Ohio river anc this field is being so rapidly denuded that the railway companies operating this territory arefearful , lest they shall soon be without timber for their own necessities , and steps are being con sidered for their self-protection. It is totally impossible to make an in- diligent estimate of the quantity of timber in the United States , especially the hard woods. It would be well if congress should provide for a careful estimate as is done with the census and crop estimates. Very much mountain and hill land covered with brush and more or less imber is classed as'timbered lands , and ; he aggregate seems"very large , but it is deceptive. Millions of acres are of practically little value for present use , laving but few trees of good quality , 3ut much that is worthless. These ands are not appreciated , the annual increase seeming imperceptible to the owners , while fires and stock prevent a proper reaforesting. Unless the government will take speedy steps to point out the danger , so ihat the states and individuals will have a true realization of the facts , the pres ent generation will see the end of America's timber supply. Canada would gladly help us to pro long the lumber industry , but unwisely congress has placed such duties upon lumber as to prevent its importation , and thus we are hastening our own destruction. The vast export trade in lumber is in creasing as rapidly as our resources are decreasing. It is now known that British capital ists have recently placed an order with southern lumbermen for 500,000,000 feet of yellow pine. One railway company operating 2000 miles of roadway reports as to its tie renewals that $800,000 is annually ex pended for this purpose , being 15 per cent of its total operating expenses. 280 new ties are required per annum for each mile of track. At this ratio the 190,000 miles of railway operated in the United States , including street railways , requires each year 58,200,000 cross ties , and expend $285,000,000 in tie re newals. Considering the rate of consumption of our timber , which is more than double the increase of growth under present methods of management , the large amount exported and the dis couragement of imports by tariff duties , we cannot expect the lumbering in dustries to continue for more than two decades at their present magnitude. As in Indiana saw mills are still operated on smaller scales , inferior logs being hauled long distances which were formerly refused as worthless. So with the southern timber regions , some minor traffic will be continued for many years , but lumbering on the present scale will cease unless other methods are employed. JOHN P. BROWN.