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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 10, 1905)
F)POI0 f SI aves scores of Lives JL I.(KA SKVIKi: s .lit in f. at oct urn d where scenery and invlrontuitit urn wi ll calculated to Inspire n being willing to risk Imt own life In an effort to mvi' others from N ine crushed aid run riKt 1 l in ;i t h frightcm-d liors. s and freight w.igon. An in, l.h nt meeting of the old pioneer of the heroine of tin- Sl rr:i N who wis familiar witli the pioneers with a Ilc t uro of (hi hravi "Ill Virginia Cltv mlmrs kn w Flora Hi.' hoof ilf n (1. of tw nty zcti loaded yawning summit. nd to f .nfi' to 1 canons, t if Mr wrote illow t Ilf I stupendous pre.lpio s. and the dizzy his sister to avoid tho dang, rous route 1 emigrant road through Woodford's n. The ambitious votinif man believed that he was about irvt st n magnificent fortune, and lie wanted his sister reci iii ly c, .f Ni vad.i ':m1.I t.l In story prs' girl Si vi of tliern o;i nd.rn the mr morlis. .nti'i'id with a ca-is 1 the name recall. d and one nled his lirother Nearly nil the r well, and few l look upon walls of th. pn tty face that will hereafter hall without recalling pleasant a from Nev. II lot' join n Perilous Trail Over Sierras. I'he old Van Horn trad. barely wide enough to he called grade, was tin worst hi the world. It was n shortcut i California to the gnat silver mines at Virginia City. Prospector md fr. igh win dared to vi iiliirt1 to live and In lp him to njoy It. He had been nniong tin fist to reach tin- new mines, nnd. falling in with nn old comrade named Frank fiat. lord, tie y limited several (food ida i m s. Sevier and (.aylord became partners, and. while they wire ri ailing a harvest of gold. .lack suddenly concluded that hut one thing was in-i , ssary to complete Ills happiness. He h id le aril tint his sb t, r was not well contented, and h" wrote her to mine an I keep house for him "and cook flap Jacks for me and my partner." he added, "at $o a flap." Quite naturally the bright young girl was eager to get e protection of In r hrother nnd live In a land w here so abundant. " Vi s am going." she said to a 1 win ri' .liiiies do not circulate and quarters are the ci ins ever seen." All of this was phasing to Frank for he had read scrips of Flora's letter, nnd he d upon her picture, and he hi gun to regard her as r the smartest and the prettiest young girl In the under gold 1 friend smallest (aylord. had look llltogetll the dizz v hi ii: lit sa veil y. The old route foil n iomtiiI Sierras to the old Wood lord s cation. Aft. traveler had to pull throu along tile shores if the tea. It--.1 V.i n I lorn coiv i i vi d 1 1 r.il days in ninkimr the. wed tl.e summit of the snow migrant trail at the head of d. -ri tiding this rugg"d gorge the Ii tie hot sands of Cirsnn valley river until th. m w mines wi re his cutoff i iigim i r for of freight Muli ii (ike a 1 rout line. Mormon. " 1 1 would laborers." said he. lid Van Horn soon m. i ml. Mount I a his every trail constant were pouring Into th. 1 1 . a nil h" hired i v. r picks in their hands of tl.e mountains to dig trails along the sides of tie the slopes, digging away bottom of Ihi' gorge, toon id' a of making n practicable trains and Ihe ovi fl uid stage pMl.ition laughed at the old ati.l of gold and an army of with two families (apt. Slack had ( " was COVel'i d his I'egi ajl the I antry ill. s of had I 'II wa--'ream vall.y. I ra nip of 1 1 i. s,. (actors at his coiu vi n .1 w i 1 1 i (i tits, and over i (nigra n t s a n.l antoiia nls cut valh y grass and sold ea-iie in .sight. Men Willi tided from Ihe summits out footholds and in narrow m. (itli. r lal.on rs lay II.it against locks and dropping them to the f.i t b. low. II. 11. a' Slisp, X Avalanche of Runaways Approaches, noise had itii i i as. d until it was like the roar of an The danger was apparent to every one. The fright rses would certainly crash into the wagons and i splinters. Probably hnrsi s and wagons would the precipice. There seemed no chance tor Gaze Into Gorge from Dizzy Heights. due could Maud nnd look down upon Ihe backs of inglca and the tops of tall pines Into a dark, forbid, lin;r abyss, the bottom of which had never been pressed by the foot of man. There were long reach, s of tl.e grade winding along the sides of stupendous slopes that were ban ly wide enough for u single team. Tin re wen " passing places." but the freight ers were not always cautious or sober, and sometimes big freight trains nu t win re it was Impossible for them to pass. Such misfortunes win licim-nily followed by bloody tragedies, and often one or boih of the trains were wrecked. Passenger who were so unlucky as to get seats on the canon side of the big Concord coach suffered terrors un speakable in following the dangerous grade. A glance from rhe window of the rmnli as li was passing along the edge of an appalling proclpi.-. would send a thrill of horror through the frame of the strongest and bravest, tine looked from the coach window down, down through space into a gloomy vault, apparently miles away. At short Intervals the canon was narrow and one could hear torrents of water roarin; th-ough tin dark gorge. At other points the coach iipii.ared to hung against the side of the mountain and rclually lean over. Harvest of Death and Gold. Though several frightful accidents happened soon after the famous grade was thrown open, freighters and pros pectors, eager to reach the new mines, struggled with each other In trying to crowd ahead on the dangerous route. No one thought of abandoning the short trail. Old Van Horn wis harvesting a fortune in tolls. You had to pay well for risking your life on the Van Horn grade. Willie valuable mules and big freight wagons loaded with costly merchandise were crashing In a tangled mass from the narrow, hurriedly constructed grade Into the bot tomless abyss far beyond human reach, old Van was care lessly tossing bottles of gold dust and sacks of golden nug gets Into a Hour barrel In hind his cabin door. The people were money mad. All were eager to gather great fortunes while the precious mineral was lying thick In the Nevada mountains. Men and women were willing to risk their lives and struggle, with the most appalling perils on the road that led to the newly discovered bonanza. Flora Starts to Find Brother. Flora Sevhr. an orphan girl, who lived at Placervllle, Cul., wanted to join an only brother who was engaged in mining In the famous Comstock district in Nevada. The Van Horn grade was Mulshed about the time that this young woman was making pn pa rat ions for her Journey. Jack S.vler had crossed the Sierras, following tin- old Van Horn trail, and It made hlni shudder to think of the .i ,,w TOYS OF A IM making seems to have reached about a near the zenith of Its possibilities as have any of the practical arts. In fact, it appears that In a large measure the inventor of the modern mechanical toy lias outdone the original pur pose of the toy to amuse mid kei p .pilot the small progeny of the family. This modern In tricate mechanism In almost iveiy way tend.i to discourage the Imagination of the child until when " the wheels have gone round " half a dozen tlnus the elaborate toy become a commonplace bore. It is one of the expressions of . '',' l., ff&jlHi'Mr 'r' ' ijje''' K " 'Ci AVC against the wall as far away as possible from the In mk '"Vi"-.-: . ... A Mifj'Xik w- ' s.s . ' They could look down upon clouds that wire floating In th. whole world. XV VN.--r ...... -yVv IfpAVf &,WC&'J'S -W74. S n.ospl.ero far below th.-,,,. ,t , ' . ''; ,. !'' jPtJ P-T ywW''&V t ff ' While crouching against the wall, slowly pursuing ili.n U.,lt C..LIJJ.. T.,:i '' ''. ''ffi-''')tfif -sf 'Srb& .j?'' - K)iV,!-'Ui .lourney in silence, shuddering with I orror. one of the chil Finds Herself on Forbidden Trail. r ' &r-,fil4&ttr 'i.i: " ' no,.,,- Flora S, vhr sit out to Join her brother In company ASvV X j:f JftP? JrMTiif ',1' V rfmS 9 iJJ'Crfr Flora Sevi.r stoii.ed and turned h. r head. "I hear it of good people and several brave men iV. W ',Jl':''-& f T " ' ph. in enough." sh. s.ild. tt sounds like a storm." fought the Modocs and the Flutes, and Xi .sT.- X'- L'SjJt-: A&fo T--" AmtfiM'. X S . ., v v...i. wi'h scars and glory." Col. Mcl,ane had led XTXr-ritfX' - -"X ftf MT&'i JTH'S X i,,k,., ,,., his lean. h-.,r:. saw t. .... .... incut In action on many bloody fields, and deserved zZrrf$ ' ?VX. 1 iii 4tT Jt3& v"fA "f one of his big wagons with his hat off. In II, . attitude ,. cridil Ill-it had b,,n bestow,.,! upon hlni for gal- WMjtX ,ii!r r?Mr ViWi one who is listening. "What is It - she shouted. under tire He hid two sons who. were both gradu- VWiX 7i WW'. '.'; "A runawav team." was the np'v. a military s,h ...I. and they were as brave ns lions BPjNaL V'x vTX. Sst ...rFSr ( Vi . r, ii Jk ir'z .k.-.' ,-;( ;. '. The x v v- X... a 0& mmh yil filf The fail, ilies lv in two vLonscrow.e.l Willi v -n to d. structio Hid even the old MX Flora got a delayed letter from not to venture upon the Van Horn grade. Starlit d. she looked hurriedly around, and then asked h, r companions about it. The answer was: "The mules are on the Van Horn grade now." The fright ened young girl had read blood curdling stories of the ap pallipg disasters that had occurred along this terrible moun tain route, but it was now too late to make a change. Strawberry lake was on the summit of the Sierra Nevadas far above the clouds in a region ,.r perpetual snow. "The temptation to risk the dangerous grade and be transported to the warm valley in a f.-w short hours was irresistible. Famous Freighter Promises Aid. Tom Audrain, a famous freighter, stopped at the spring to get a drink of water. Flora knew the man well. He was fearless, and true to his friends. Kotnembering the tragedies and disasters that had occurred on the grade, she felt glad to be ill company with such a man. While Audrain was talking to Miss Sevier and telling her of h r brother's "strike" on the Comstock. two otlu r freighters came to the spring. They commanded teams of ten horses, each drawing a train of three big wagons. Moth of the freighters drank of the cold waters as if their throats were parched. One fell upon the ground and burled his face in the cool grass ,the other washed his hot face, and then his forehead, slowdy descended upon his knees, and he began to snore. Audrain looked at them and shook his head. " They have been making a night of it at the station." he said. Hanger was lurking there, but no one scented It. Audrain poppi d his w hip. and. while his long train of sixteen mules were strain! telling the chains, lie turned to Flora and said :" Follow my train of wagons, and if you fall I will catch you." The smile that accompanied her words of thanks was forced, but the presentiment of disaster in her mind and shudder that possessed her body was real. Trapped on Narrow Ledge. About a iiiih- from Strawlnrry lake the grade passes along the brink of a perpendicular precipice at an appalling distance from the bottom of the gloomy gorge. Here the women and children, sickened by looking from the dizzy heights, begged to get out of the wagons. Trembling with terror when they stood upon the narrow trail, they crowded any one to escape being mattghd or hurled Women and children began to scream. soldiers lost all pr. sein e of mind. "Crawl un.hr tl.. wagons." shout, d Tom Audrain. At that moment the mad anim.tls came in ii u . Th, y were running at the top of their speed. Foam was living from their nostrils, and 1 1 it i r i.ms were gl.uiiig with ti rtor The big wagons were bounciir: over the rocks like toys. Some of the w omen .swooned, and one had to be r, strain, , I from plunging headlong over fin- precipice. It was a moment of awful peril. Some of the sople f, 11 upon the ground, praying, and others crawled under tin- wagons. Twenty great draft horses, mad with terror, and six big freight wagons were only a few yards away, and Just nady .men and I helpl, ss group ,w a nl a- to fall upon the shrieking women and a group of men who were wringing their hands Flora Saves Score of Lives. Flora Sevier had been thinking hard, and, at th, last moment, a happy inspiration possessed her. She sprang into one of the hacks, and. seizing a revolver, she threw herself iipon the grade and ran straight toward the approaching avalanche of hot s, s and wagons. localizing that success de pend,! upon a cool head and steady nerves, she did not at I. and to tire until she could almost touch the plunging leader with th, muzzle of her weapon. H i friends thought that she was purposely courting death. She was almost under the forefeet of the mad leader when a blaze of flame poured from In r revolver and he f, II to his knees. Of heroic mold. File ran to extreme peril in older to make sure work. Aiioth, r shot brought the other horse to his side, and the animals le hind began to pile up on the pair that was flounder ing in a death struggle upon the narrow grade. Suddenly one of the stiuggling animals rolled over the brink of the precipice, win re It hung for a moment suspended by the gear chains. Then followed die of the most nppalllig scenes ev. witnessed by human beings. The poor mad 1 rules, neighing, bellowing, nnd groaning like dying men am women, rolled in pa'rs into the gloomy abyss, dragging the long strings of big Height wagons after them, ltoth teams twenty horses and six wagons, disappeared In a few si coin s. Wins Applause and a Husband. When Flora reached Virginia City she distovirnl that tho news papers had announced her coming w hile telling the story of In r strange adventure, and she found that the mill, rs in th, camps regarded lu-r as a heroine. " Why, it was noth ng." she said. "Anybody could have done it." "Hut anybody' didn't think of it." said Mr. (laylord. "and you aloni of ;dl the crowd had Ihe n. rve to do it." Flora became th- cook, assistant, and business adviser of th: i Jaylord-Scvier partnership. Soon she proved that" her business Judgment e,;iah ,1 that show n on tho Van Horn grade. Caylord. falling in love with her beauty, wisdom, and courage, succei ih-,1 in getting her consent to a life partnership with him. l TV CJ CSI1A CP . Sf &&Q AMP OF T0D&V VtK s Mi- xx !trtS:"xv childishness which prompts the small gl'l to paroxysms of tears because her old doll of soiled rags was destroyed on tho eve of her acceptance of the ilaborate creature which In min iature cries, talks, and closi s Its eyes in sb-ep. Today, as much as ever In th evolution of the toy, thn thing desired is to hold childish attentions largely through the stimulation of the Imagination. A real locomotive on n steel track, catrying its fireman and engineer by steam ex ertion, does not leave much to the imagination of the small boy. The greatest success In that line was u locomotive v ilh a pine box cab. a salt bariel boiler, a stovepipe smokestack, all running on abandoned handcar w he, Is upon a plank track, going dow n the incline by force of gravity and returning under the pressure of several pairs of boyish hands. Aboriginal Toy Probably Rattled. The first toy of the aboriginal baby doubtless was a some thing that caught the infant eye and which rattled acceptably to the Infant car. After ii.noo years there have been few Im provements in principle and form of the toy attracting the Infant. Perhaps in our own backwoods America In an earl day on,- of the cleverest makeshifts was brought about ly the overburdened mother who sought relief from baby tyrannies by appealing to its gormandizing rapacities. For this purpose a stout bit of tape was tied securely around a piece of linn, fat polk, with the other end of the tape at the distanci of a foot, made fast to the baby's wrist. I'm l,r these conditions the youngster could suck at the poik with gusto, with no f, ar of dropping It out of his reach, while more than all else. In case the meat was drawn Into the child's throat there was no danger of his choking, for the nas .n that at the first i hoklng scn-ation the arms would he involuntarily thrown outward, the tape Jeiking the meat again to a safe distance. Jet leaving it In reach at the same tune. The i fleet of the infantile win Id as a stimulant to the inventive faculties In all peoples probably never' has been fully appreciated. Kxcept in those races where In primitive states the young of a people were suathi d and bound in bands to the winking mother, no aboriginal types were free of the necessity of some form of amusement for th, ir young. The maternity Instinct in the female offspring probably made the doll one of the earliest diverting tilings for children, espe cially as in much of the early superstitions of religion s une figure of tlie human being was used and naturally would have attracted the eye of the female child. The mechanical toy for the male child laid lis inception In the disposition of the child to anticipate maturity and to play at hunting, shooting with primitive weapons, and ;n other ways imitating the ways of the father of the houshold. In some of the lower types of humanity there Is a marked precocity in the infant and small child. In lompetillon with the white, child in the learning of books some of these races lower in the scale, show marked ndaptal ility In the infant years, but suddenly reach the limit of their capacities a few years later and thereafter are hopelessly outstripped by the Aryan peoples. Toy Making Involves Genius. Hut this precocity in the youth far down the scale has had its Intiueinis u-.n the imaginations and Inventiveness of the lower onleis of men an 1 women. The same spirit and in centive have come right up with man to the present when the perfection of a toy that m miniature will do all that the prac tical, useful machine accomplishes for the adult may ma. in volve a higher inventive and constructive ability. For Instance, a stationary engine and boiler weighing Too pounds would be easy of construction, whereas a su th running miiilaturi.- engine weighing "oo grains, built proportionately, would in volve a much higher order of mechanical execution. In all times the one ippeuling ,uali(y in the toy. after its possessor has reached an observing age, is that It enables the little nun to play the grown up. ls.iiirc a small bit of hu- who has anticipated a m.ukct for the more Intricate, larger, ee.Mi.v ,1, she to f.lav .ii some real activitv 111 tlio life of .and more costly production. In doing so he has appealed tc His parents, his Imagination will have had to be stimulated; and once stimulated to the thought, there are evidences that a too marly perfect mechanical device to that end Is robbing the youngster of some of the most pleasurable possibilities In the game of make believe. Toys Increase in Cost. The changes that have come about In the last g, in ration have been ill keeping only with Ihe gem ial disposition towaid extravagance. As nu n and women have di manded nioi, of luxury In realities, so the young have been imitative in their tl, mantis in tin- toy world. Thirty years ago. w hen a daily in wspapt r sold univi rsally for a cents, a doll that cost SI was regard, d as worth a society note; today with the daily paper selling for 1 or 'J .-cuts, a doll that costs or .Jo is comiiioi.pl. ice in the larger cities. For boys' toys thirty yiars ago a tin horse costing a iiiailer to be drawn ucriMS the sitting loom tloor or a hobby lorse of dappled sides mounted upon rockers, to cost fl..Ml were things to stir a whole In Ighboi hood. Today there are locomotives, stationary etigin, a, dynamos, and the like that spoil a Jflmi bill in the purchase. And el they are as matter of fact Mo.-k for a toy department at Christmas time as if in the running of them dividends wen- to be paid upon . .mini n and preferred slocks in th, pliyroom. Nothing illustrates the evolution of the toy lu the last gem-ration better than dots the cannon litt-ciack, i l I la in,,, Icrn fourth of July celebration. Thirty yens ago the Chinese importation of the comparatively hai mh-ss small ciackcr made joy for thousands; a, day the terrible cannon cracker makes teals for the multit udes. It is to be doubled if the active inlhu necs of the juveniles have In i ii exerted w id, ly toward this elahoi atlon ,.f th, toy. liath, r it lias In en the Influence of the inventive elder p. rson the adult buyer who. hav ing pass, d Ids imaginative stage of existence, is almost univ.-i sally likely to lie attracted to tho material accomplishments of the man who makes toys for children after a man's own ideas of what children should covet and conserve. The best end to be served by the toy will not be reached until in one way or ano'het the toy Is relegated to that first great end of stimulating a healthy imagination in the child. m i8XX ISSlsfS v.'vv xf X) X -"X;)ry X -v, X