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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 13, 1899)
THE OMAHA DAILY BRE : 'WliJDNESDA.Y , SEPTEMBER 10 , 1809. I ) an Illustrated , true and concise history of the C Special Pictures of the 1st Nebraska Railing "Old Glory" nt Pott Santa Cru * , tndrone Inland * , including the late Colonel Stotsenberg , Camp Mesa , the Hospital Reproduced from an illustration la " Ou ID Manila Illustrations taken pital and the fighting line a complete roster of the regiment , at the time by showing promotions , etc , White the Douglas , A Book war correspond In order to scive all the ent of the San to be friends Francisco Exam Pre of the First Nebraska an opportunity of hav iner. served ing a complete and correct history of the regl- for ment The Omaha Bee has at great expense placed this beautiful future The Old Bell t rt m ye , Zaarone book within their reach no coupon required order quick ns we Islnndn. Cast In refer Reproduced from nn IlluitratUn . In "in to Manila. " have only a limited number. ence. On sale at the Circulation department of The Bee Sent prepaid to any address upon receipt of the price. Iho Vlttt American Ittagr Xtalied Over Manila. Address , History Department Omaha Bee. . Reduced from au lllualratloa in "On to Manila. " A MISDIRECTED LETTER. Served to Put n Few Ideas in the Head of an Old Bachelor. By SUSAN BROWN ROBBINS. The postmaster cmlled a llttlo when ho passed out Uio mall , but Luther Wllklns did | not notice. Ho was trylnc to remember whither Itwas a yoaat cake or a pound of chouse he had meant to got at the store. lie went out ot the postofflce fltlll pondering and ended by forgetting both articles , his atten tion being diverted by the sight or two boys playing marbles on the sidewalk. This was the first sign of spring Luther had seen , si ? It waa no wonder that his memory played him faleo. After ho got homo and had eaten his sup per ho thought of the mall In hjs overcoat pocket. Ho brought It to the table and sat down to oramlno It. There was the weekly , county paper , a poultry Journal , an agri cultural monthly and last of all a letter. "Well , now. " said Luther , picking It up , "I wonder who's been writing to me. I don't know when I've had a letter. " Ho looked at It eagerly , held It nearer his eyes , then farther off. He removed his glasses and pollabed them In nervous haste. After replacing theun on his nose ho picked up the letter again and scanned It narrowly , then he looked over his glasses as If at some person and said : "I snuml" Ho sank In-to a reverie , out of which ho roused himself with a start to study the envelope wUb renewed Interest. "Mrs. Luther Wllklns. " he said. "Mrs. Luther Wllklns. And I nn old bachelor who never'eo much as hardry thought of getting married ! Mrs. Luther Wllklns , why. where In fiho ? And who la she ? "Well , I guess I'll see what's In It. " He Irnerted the point of hn ! knlfo under the corner of the envelope flap , then ho hoflltatod. "What business have I opening of hoi loiter * : " ho asked hlmaerf. "I never did oren Other folks' lettoro , and I guess I won't bogtn now. " Ho rose to his feet and carr"InK It to the mantelpiece leaned It up against the clock. Ho settled himself to liln papers , but thoughts of Mrs. Luther Wllklns kept In truding on what ho was reading about patent neat-boxM , and under-draining , and the new * of the village. TbarMfter , during all his waking hours , Mm. Luther Wllktos was often In his thoughts , Bhft even haunted hUi dreams at tlm i. Ha wondarM what she WRR like , and ho thought of the kind of woman he would wl h her to bo , and enjoyed himself very much In Imagining how It would seem to have h r meet him at the door when ho cnrne In from Uia fields , and how nice It would bo not to have to get hi * own meata. At first h WM a Httle cynical and told hlmtielf that tlvo Imagining was much more satisfactory than the reality would be , hut after awhjla be changed hie mind , and would sigh heavily when ha cimo Into his lort&ioma iiouso , The letter by Uu > clock , too , began to trouble him , Ho had a devour In c curios- ( iy to MO whit waa In It , and br idea ft did no * ennn Jtmt right to keep It no long buforo dellvwlnv It , Olio evening lit Juno Luthnr put on his beet elothex and walked three inlloj to sea w old ichoatmato who had in unmarried oouuln living with him , U eeomed to him that Bllta Hlltatt nit < 4 In exactly with his Idea of Mr * . I/lther Wllktna , Ho eama homo quite early vary much disappointed. Ullta wouldn't do nt oil , Ha worked doggedly for a month , tryIng - Ing hard to OilnU of tha dUquletlnK eub- Jeot. U was ire UM , and toward the end of July It was otwerved that Luther wan becoming very neighborly. He spent his ovenlngs at different neighbors' houses , he accepted Invitations to tea , ho went to church regularly and to all Sunday-school picnics. And still be could not find a suitable owner for the letter. "I must bo tcrrlblo fussy , " ho sighed , " 1'vo got acqualnte.1 with about all the women In town , they're nlco women , every one of them , but somehow they don't suit me. I gucsu I'll have to give up beat. " It was one cold , raw day In early Novem ber that Luther sat at n window making clumsy nttemats at mending a pair of very ragged socks. Happening to glance across the road he saw a woman out In the Hammond mend yard. She was busy raking up the fallen autumn leaves. "Letltla Hammond , " Luther commented , Dill Hammond's sister. We don't see much ot her lately. She don'teven , go to church , there's so mans * of Blll'8 children 'to look after , and Hill's wife Is BO took up with her clubs and things. It's hard on Letltla , but &ho never Jlnds a word of fault. " The sock ho was mending fell to the floor and the wooden ecs Inside It- struck with such a loud bang that the cat started In Its sleep. Luther did not notice. Ho was standing at tbo window otarlnc out. " 'That Is best which lleth nearest , ' " ho said solemnly. "What a fool I've been. " He found his hat and left the house , al most running across the road. He took the Iron rake away from Lotltla gently. "That's too hard work for a llttlo thine Ilka you , " be said. I Letltla's t > lue eyes were full of wonder , but she yielded up the rake weakly. "You'd bolter go Into the house , too , " said Luther. "It's cold out here , " I No ono had been thoughtful ot her before for a long tlmo and Letltla couldn't under stand U. When I.uthor returned the rake I she asked him to let her do something for him. I Ho carried her Jils best pair of socks. She wan horrified at their condition and mended ' them In a very artistic manner. I Luther looked at them In wonder and 1 reverence , "I'll never wear 'emhe eald , I when ho waa at home again. "I wouldn't Imvo let her do It only I knew It would make her feel bettor , and It gave mo a chance to see her , too. " Ho found that It wns nn easy matter to Invent expusca for seeing her , and finally , some tlmo In the winter , ho asked her In fear and trembling It stio would be Mrs. Luther Wllklnn. At first eho was afraid It would not bo right to abandon her brother's children , but her scruples molted away before the warmth of his eloquence. Then she con fessed that fiho was tlre-1. "It Is HO long that I have had to take care of other folks , and It would seem llko heaven to have some ono take oaro of me. ' Bo It happened that In a lltlo { ICES than a year tbo letter to Mra , Luther Wllklna was given to lid rightful owner , "Circum stances over which I had no control have prevented your getting It before , ' Luther said , i "Why , It's nothing but an advertisement of do mo now preparation of cereals. " she said , when she had opened It , ' Luther looked blank. "I eeo how It Is , " aha said , after a mo ment's thought. "They sent to the different ! grocers tor lists of their customers , and I then sent theno circulars to their wives. ' * | "Let's keep It. " said Luther softly. "If 1 U hadn't been for that " "Yes , we'll keep It , " eald Letltla , blush- Ing. PANABIA'S PEARL HARVEST. Average Value of the Gems Secured by Ulvern About tlBOOOO a. Year. The magnificent pearls which ornament the crown of Spain and which are so much admired by tourists who visit the cathedrals at Seville and Toledo were found in oyster shells In the Day of Panama and the largo strings and clusters which the Spaniards took from the Indians , both on the north and west coasts of South America , came from the same source. Pearl fishing la still car ried on to a considerable extent at Panama , reports the Chicago Record. In the spring of 1809 a boy 15 years old found an oyster tihat concealed a jewel now offered for sale In Paris for $10,000. He received Jl.OOO for It from a negro speculator named Justlans , The latter brought It to Panama and sold It to Felix Brhman , the banker , for n con siderable advance on that Pi ice. At tha Erhman banking house 'ho other day was seen an assortment of pcirls valued nil the way from $30 to $4,000. whlcii are Panama prices , and considerably lower thin these that would be asked for the same Jewels In London , Paris or Now York. Few pearls are sent to New York because of the dutv Im posed upon them by our government. Those that go are smuggled. The annual harvest of pearls here will average a value of about ? 150,000. Tneia aio several firms engaged In the buslneFt Prospero Penal. Pisa y Pisa , Aroscnema Hermanos , Madura Hermanca and others. The Erhmans do no fishing , but buy pearls of speculators. Pearl oysters are found In all parts of Panama bay. Two years n o nn ordinary fisherman found one near Taboga Island , net more than half a mile from the regular steamship anchorage , that contained a r rl worth $2 , < 00 , but the largest beds are about thirty miles from the city. The oysters .vo much larger than those found In northein waters and the shells are even larger elill. The oysters are rank and coppery , but are healthful and are eaten by the natives. The smaller ones nre often broucht to the Panama market. The pearl Islands , as they are called , compose - pose nn archipelago on the west side of Panama bay , abc-ut thirty rallea from the steamship landing. There are sixteen Islands and several Urge rocks , with between thirty and forty Uttlo villages of negroes and mixed Indians , a population of perhaps 1,000 all told , engaged In pearl diving. I'ho Islands are low and heavily timbered rind the soil Is fertile. The cocoanut groves and long stretches of white beach that glisten like silver In the sun make a pretty picture. Meet of the Islands belong to the mer chants pamed , who cultivate the soil as well as manare the fisheries. The largest , called Roy , which baa about one-half the population , la fifteen miles long and seven broad , San MIcuel St. Michael the chief town and headquarters of the fisheries , Is nothlns moro than a cluster of palm- thatched huta. Several stores are built of wood and corrueated Iron and n church of stone Is larger and moro costly than all the rest of the buildings of the town combined. There are two methods of operating nt the pearl Islands In Panama bay. Tbo owners of the oyster beds give permits to natives to fish In them upon the payment of a certain rental and a heavy percentage of the pearls recovered , and they In turn pay a heavy tax to the government. The divers can bring up all the oysters they please. The shells are valuable for mother-of-pearl , so that the tlmo Is not wasted even If tboy contain no gems. The divers plunge into ten or twelve fathoms of water , for the best pearls are fuui.d in the depest beds , and bring up as many sheila as they can In their arms , which their wives or assistants open In tbo boat. Of course only a few contain pearls , which ore deformities excrescences formed by the secretions of the oyster clinging to and accumulating upon foreign particles which have Intruded Into Its cloister. Sometimes a tiny bit of sand lodges jn tlio shell , and , the saliva and other secretions bathe It day after day , Just as thcy baiho the Ins'lcJo of the shell , and form the pearly coating It always con tains. Pearls are therefore accidents , and not ono oyster In a hundre'd contains them. The divers work for days , sometimes for weeks , without finding a single pearl , and the only reward for tholr labor Is the shells , which are worth from 5 to 8 cents each In the New York market and from 3 to 5 cents In Panama. Most of the pearls are email , according to the growth , and If they could be left In the water would grow larger. Some are mlnuto , llko blrdshot , which are worth from $1 to $10 each. Occasionally they find one oa big as a small pea , which will soil for $25 or $50. The value varies with the size and perfection. I saw a beautiful great black pear-shaped pearl at Mr. Erh- man's that would have been worth thou sands of dollars but for an Imperfection , which reduced Its vnluo to hundreds. It can bo set In a brooch wfth the fair side out , llko wo wear our best manners In company , and the world at large may ad mire It , but every expert wll | at once rec ognize why it was set that way. AU the Panama merchants I have named employ diving bells and send men down to the bottom of the bay to pick out the best looking shells , which are put In baskets and hauled up to the surface of the water and dumped Into boats. They arc paid by the month and work In gangs all day under a foreman , receiving stated wages and ra- tloaa. They have no share in the Jewels they find , and It Is difficult for them to steal unless the whole party , foreman and all , enter Into the conspiracy. O.\n OX TI1U FAT KNUI.VKER. IIU Story of Meeting the Simnlc Trntn lit Ihu fileiiilulu CrfiMMiiiK. "Yen , " said the fat engineer to a New York Sun man. "I've heard and read n lot about spook trains and engines , but I never had the extreme pleasure of getting next to ono till the other night. It shook Murphy up so that ho hasn't been able to work since , partly from nervous prostration and partly because he's too lame and eore. Every time I go out I think It will bo the last trip , as I be lieve that Epook train was a warning , "Night before last wo had done the honors on our usual 'grab train , ' picking up cars quite a ways up tbo division , when an engine on a branch train broke down and we got chased over the branch. It was a dark , stormy night , sucb as you read about In the dlmo novels when the heavy villain or his agent chucks a cloak over the head of the bandscmo and Innocent heroine and bustles her off to an Insane asylum In an automobile. " 'It's aulto while slnco ' a I've been over the branch , ' I says to Murphy ; 'we'll have to kinder fool our way , ' He grumbled out something , but as he was always crumbling I didn't pay much atten tion to him and we wore soon skimming along. Wo had orders to meet No , 16C west bound at the Junction and didn't wat to lay her out moro'n was necessary. As we eaktcd around a curve in Qlcndale I was i thinking what on Important guy the en- i glneer is and whistling 'My Dad's the En gineer' softly to myself when out of the , darkness ahead of us a headlight loomed up , I coming nt us full tilt. At the branch Is ' slnglo track this sudden diversion bad Its disagreeable features. I could see the on coming train plain as day. She had three coaches , eama as we bad , and was throwing sparks to beat the band , " 'Jump , Murphy , Jump , ' I hollered to Mike. 'No. 165 baa Jumped her orders. Jump for your life. ' "Then I gave one warning toot on tbo whittle , shut her off , soaked the air In the sinkhole , closed my eyes and waited for the crash. I would have Jumped myself only I thought I didn't have time. Its surprising how ( julck your past life will flash before you when you're near the pearly gates , and when you sift the wheat from tie chaff It's about all chaff. Then , In fancy , I was look ing at the next morning's papers and saw old worn-out cuts of a railroad wreck that they had used for every -train wreck In the last five years. I could ece the old hulk of an engine marked with n star , under which was printed : 'This Is where the brave en gineer was found , faithful to bis duty , dead with his hand on the throttle. ' "Just at this etngo of the game I would rather have been the Ice man , the gas man or any other old kind of a man , but the prospects were that I would bo a dead man. All this thirty seconds I had been waiting with cny eyes shut for the crash , but wo seemed to bo a crash shy. The train came to a stop within about 500 yards and 11 rubbed my eyes and looked ahead for 155 , i but It was nowhere In sight. I suppose you ! fellers will say I was asleep and dreaming , but I will lay bets that I saw that train , all right and Murphy saw It , too. It was no dream. The engine was soon surrounded by the train bands firing questions at meas If I was on the wltne stand. " 'Murphy , my fireman , fell off back there , that's why I stopped , ' I eays , for I dl'n't want to tell what I had seen and let them have the holler on mo. Murphy evident y hadn't'looked before be leapt for a part ot his blouse was fast on a hook on tbo tank , but they didn't have any difficulty tracing his course after they found where he struck. Ho had plowed a neat furrow right down tea a ditch on the side ot the track. He was a little the worse for wear , but still in the race and waa soon on the engine. " 'Say , Murf , ' I said to him , 'did you see that ? ' "He replied In a scared whisper : 'You bet I did , ' he eays. 'I bet neither ot us get home alive. It's a warning. ' " "Whore did you eay that was ? " asked an other engineer who was listening to the talc. "Right at Qlendafe crossing coming east. " "Well , you and Murf are two lunkheads , If you'd kept your eyes open a few seconds after you saw the spook you'd known what it was , " said the second engineer. "I got fooled there myoolf once. The bar of tbo Qlendalo house la right there at the crossing at right angles with the track. When they let their curtains down at night , according to law , tbo big , high mirror back of the bar reflects every train' ' that goes cast. Its on you I guess. " After a general guying from the stove committee the fat engineer said he didn't know anything about bars and bar rooms , he'd never been in ono in hla life. So they told him It was about time bo Inspected ono and bustled Into a nearby cafe where ho etood the shot. DoWltt's Little Early Risers permanently cure chronic constipation , biliousness , nerv ousness and worn-out feeling ; cleanse and regulate the cntlrt system. Small , pleasant , never gripe or sicken "famous llrtlo pills. " CAN'T DRIMC IN MODERATION , Ilenr Hint linn the Same Lruncntalilo WenUiicnx nil Some Men , "Dick , " the Russian brown bear in Lin coln park , Is In disgrace , resorts the Chicago cage Inter Ocean. Some admirer of the bruin family pushed n bottle of pure rye whisky through the bars of "Dlck'w" caga on Monday evening. The bear drank the 1 liquor and there was trouble the rest of the night , for he kept all the other bears of his household awake and also those In tbo flat above. The matter of "Dick's" fall from grace was the subject of grave consideration bcforo the Lincoln park board yesterday. The upshot - ' shot of It was a decision that the bear should | be ostracised from the society of his mates , One of the commissioners suggested the gold ) cure , but this was deemed Impracticable. A fipeclal cage will be built for him and he will be kept In solitary confinement and , away from temptation. Cy De Vry , the animal keeper , eaya that when "Dick" Is sober he Is a good bear , but I the minute ho tastes liquor he loses control of himself and gives full swing to his ap petite. When In his cutfs "Dick" claws the other bears , chow a the bars of his cage and becomes generally disreputable. He also tries to bite Imaginary foes , who , he thinks , are surrounding him. Three weeks ago the bear fell to thinking about his former free and untrammeled life In a gypay camp and resolved to change the scenery of his environment. Ho scaled a tall , Iron-picketed fence and led a number of keepers , citizens and policemen an exciting ohaso through the flower gardens. Yesterday morning , after his nightly ca rousal , "Dick's" nervous system was In n shocking condition. In his delirium he made a break for freedom. Hardly bad his long , broad feet begun to dig up chunks of the gravel pathwav before a lasso from the hands of Keeper Cy Do Vry went sailing over the head of bruin and settled around his neck. Then Park Policeman Guard and Keeper De Vry braced themselves at the other end of the rope and the bear's second trip In the open was brought to an abrupt close. He reared on his haunches , turned com pletely over , eotiimersault fashion , and struck the ground on hlo side with n thud. It was a dazed and degraded bear that was dragged back to the pit. The animal bad taken the earao method of egress ns on the first cccnslon. when bo scaled the rock' wall and nimbly clambered over n guard of sharp ened Iron bars which have appalled genera tions of bears not of the gypsy variety. COLOR 1'RINTIKG MACHINE. A RiiHHlnit Invention Wbich Applle * All the Colors lit Olio Time. , A contribution to the rapidly growing list of color printing machines cornea from Rus sia , the Invention of Ivan Orloff , a govern ment engineer. The Orloff machine puts on all the colors at ono time , Instead of apply ing ono at a time as tbo other becomes dry , which Is the practice with the ordinary flat color printing machine. The blocks which take the different colors are fixed to a largo cylinder. Each block receives the supply ot colored Ink Intended for It , and as the cylin der revolves the Ink on each block is trans ferred to a composition roller very similar to an ordinary inking roller. After the col ors , each In Its proper position , ore trans ferred to the roller , an engraved block or form follows and receives n perfect Impres sion .from the composition roller. Thus im pressed , the form passes on and comes in ocnta'ct with the paper on the Impression cylinder , whcro it printa all the colors at ODD operation. It takes only onu revolu tion of the cylinder to' effect the whole of tl.teo various transfers. The number of colors that can bo used Is limited only by the number of blocks and the slzo of the maohlno. It Is stated that 1,000 finished Impressions per hour can bo turned out by thte machine It hod a somewhat singular origin , having been designed for the Rus sian government to print multi-colored pat terns for bank notes. COMPOUND PROFITS. Mr. Skinner I just sold the last of those suburban houses I put up. Miss Weaver What are you going to do with all the money ? Mr. Skinner Invest it in quinine and sell it to the purchasers of the houses as soon as they have caujrht Hie malaria.
