Conservative *
the chainmen of one surveying party
may have been more scrupulous in this
regard than those of another ; the sub-
divisional lines were in some instances
run several years after those of greater
I importance , and the trails may have
been obliterated by cultivationin the in
terval ; and the trails may have been ,
doubtless were in many oases , overlaid
by later freighting roads , and so their
original character wholly disguised.
The maps do , however , show some
things. They show a radiation of
trails from two Pawnee villages on the
south side of the Platte , some five and
eight miles below Fremont ; another less
distinct radiation from the Otoe village
west of Plattsmouth ; and a third from
a point on the Missouri in Thurston
county , no doubt the place of the
Omahas. No roads appear in the vi
cinity of Nebraska City , though this is
known to have been a favorite stopping
place of the Otoos after the building of
the block-house in 1846 ; probably for
the third of the reasons named above.
None appear in the region about Roca ,
where Mr. Blackman found signs of large
villages , nor any near Columbus , where
Judge Savage found Quivira ; would
this be because these centers of popula
tion go back of the traveling age ? The
Platte bottom , on the south side , is full
of them for a long distance up , and
there is a plain one running southwest
from the halfbreed tract , apparently ,
which dates from the 80's. But the
most distinct and continuous of all is
evidently the old highroad between the
Pawnee villages below Fremont and
those on rhe Republican river in Kan
sas. This runs east of Wahoo , crosses
Salt Creek very near Lincoln , the Big
Blue not far from Crete and the Little
Blue just below Alexandria , and passes
into i'ausas in the northeast corner of
Repul 'c county. This is rather singular ,
becausy the Pawnee Republic is sup
posed to have been in the northwest
corner of that county. The trail traced
on the maps is twenty-five miles too far
east to be a direct route to it.
A careful scrutiny fails to detect any
indication of trails leading toward the
pipestone quarries in southwestern Min
nesota , whither all tribes are commonly
supposed * to have made periodical pil
grimages for the material for the sacred
calumet. It is possible that all the po
etical legends about this neighborhood
1 laving been a neutral meeting-ground
for the different tribes , may have been
pure myth.
Calumet , by the way , seems to be the
biblical "shawm , " transplanted by a
queer freak of etymological fate.
A. T. RICHAKDSON.
SECRETARY WILSON AND FRUIT
GROWERS.
It is eminently proper for the depart
ment of agriculture to earnestly en-
deavor to encourage the growth of fruit
and the extension of the industry. But
t is of doubtful propriety or expediency
for the department to take any action
which will place the nation in the po
sition , even indirectly , of becoming a
partner with growers in the business of
exporting fruit to other countries. Yet
; his would , in effect , be the result if
Secretary Wilson were to carry out the
idea he apparently has of guaranteeing
shippers against loss , under certain con
ditions , or of defraying the cost of
transportation.
The authority under which Secretary
Wilson proposes to take this extraordin
ary action is an item in the appro
priation bill to the department of ag
riculture , setting aside $20,000.
"to investigate , in connection with the
other divisions of the department and
experiment stations of the several
states , the market conditions affecting
the fruit trade in the United States and
foreign countries , and the methods of
harvesting , packing , storing and ship
ping fruit , and for experimental ship
ments of fruits to foreign countries , for
the purpose of increasing the exporta
tion of American fruits , and for all
necessary expenses connected with the
practical work of the same. "
The expression , "and for experimental
shipments of fruits to foreign countries
for the purpose of increasing the expor
tation of American fruits"is construed
by the Secretary as permitting him to
guarantee shippers against loss , should
their fruit perish during transit , or to
guarantee the cost of transportation.
The comptroller of the currency gives a
hesitating acquiescence , but in his ad
ded "I know no law to forbid the same , "
there is an apparaut doubt of the pro
priety of Secretary Wilson carrying out
his plan. The amount of money in
volved is trifling , but the principle is ex
ceedingly great. It is , in effect , noth
ing else than a bounty , a form of pa
ternalism , against which the voice of
the country has been strongly raised on
more than one occasion. The language
of the item may be so construed as to
permit the department of agricul
ture to form this questionable partner
ship with the fruit-growers , but the
principle at stake is so important that
it would bo better policy for the Secre
tary to refer the matter to congress for
action. Philadelphia Ledger.
FOR SUMMER TOURS
September is the favorite month. The
Michigan Central offers a great variety
of tours by the best routes'to the prin
cipal resorts of
Northern Michigan ,
The Thousand Islands ,
The St. Lawrence and Saguonay ,
The Adirondack Mountains ,
The Berkshire Hills ,
The White Mountains ,
The Hudson and New York ,
Boston , Poland Springs , and the New
England Coast.
For particulars , apply to City Ticket
Office , 119 Adams Street , Chicago , 111.
Languages Taught by Mail
live te.iclicr'8 voice. tlirouKh
fliehdUon Standard 1'liono-
tfraph. tear lies t lie exact pro-
[ nunclatlon. French. Spanish
or German. Circular tree.
* . L lr .Bll Ml.7 'P ' " " * w
't ' Hcrtnlnn , P .g
AJR&t
in the coffee bin not
a pleasant thought ,
yet when coffees are
kept open in bulk who
knows what different
"things" come climb
ing and floating in ?
f lion ! Coffee
I put tip in sealed packages insures
1 cleanliness , uniform quality ,
I freshness and delicious flavor.
A good looking . _ _ _ ,
horsoand poor lookIng - * /
Ing harness la the . ,
worst kind of ft comJ J > -
blnutlon. * " - -
Eureka
Harness Oil if
not only mokes t ho harness and the 1.1
horse look better , but makes tha I
leather soft and pliable , puts It In con
dition to lost twice as long
/ as it ordinarily would.
I/ , / , Sold eyerynhere In cam til
I I , ilt > . ilH.by
STANDARD /I /
OILCO-Jla
Give
Your
Horse a Tj
Chance !
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