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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 30, 1906)
Sunday Bee: HALF T01IE SECTION Pages 1 to 0 ' -""No Filthy Sensation THE OMAHA DEC Best & West VOL. XXXVI-NO. 15. OMAHA, SUNDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER SO, 1906. SINGLE COPr FIVE CENTS. AROUND THE WORLD WITH WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN Norway, the Land of the Midnight Son, is Full of Beautiful and Majestic Scenery and is the Most Democratic Country in All Europe, Having No Titled Class Among Its Citizenship The Omaha At J ERGEN, Norway. June 29. (Special Correspondence of The Bee.) Norway was so full of attractions at the time of oat visit that I am at a loss to know In what order to treat them. As those things which are permanent will Interest a larger number than the transient ceremonies tiattending the crowning of a new king. I shall give preference tto the most distinguishing feature of Norway, that which has been Interwoven with her name, viz, the midnight sun. I J win r In Ita aroialMlltv anil in tho fort that Itn rllmnt IN mod erated by the Influence of the gulf stream, the coast of upper Nor way furnishes the best opportunity which Europeans have to mount the Arctic merry-go-round and view the sun through the rhnla mfa-titlAaa .lav T la a wnl. BTTiaHanrA 4hla naaatnir front day to day without intervening darkness, and one returns from it somewhat exhausted, for the light tempts him to encroach upon the hours of sleep. ' . The North Cape, the northernmost point of the continent of Europe, is usually the destination of the tourist, but it 1b not nec essary to go so far to see all that there is worth seeing. There are several towns above the Arctic circle where for several weeks the sun never sinks In the horizon. At Bodo, which Is but little more than a day's ride by boat from Trondhjem, the sun Is visible ' at midnight from May 30 to July 11. At Haromerfegt,. which is the terminus of some of the steamboat lines, and which claims to be the northernmost town In .the world, the sun does not set be tween May 13 and July 28, while at Tromso, not quite so far north as Hammerfest, the inhabitants have but ten days less of mid night sun. . We stopped at Svolvaer, one of the chief fishing stations of the Lofoden Islands, nearly 200 miles north of the Arctic circle. We arrived about seven In the evening, and even before reaching there would have seen the sun but for a bank of clouds. bhind which It; passed at about 11:30 on the previous night.' Svolvaer nestles at the foot of some snow-crowned r-kn which shut out the north era horizon, and it Is necessary to go out into the open sea or to climb a mountain to get an unime.i unieu view. With ourusual good luck we found an English-speaking Norwegian who had studied in the United States, and with him to direct us. we spent a memorable night amcng the islands. ' ... Sailing Through Scenery . The channel to1 the north, known as Kaf tsund. Is one of the most I picturesque along the entire coast, and the Troldfjord, which leads Jjom It through a rdfckbound gorge to the outlet of a' famous mountain lake, is not surpassed In rugged grandeur. Troldfjord deserves to be described by a poet, for prose cannot do it justice. If any of my readers have ever passed through the Royal Gorge In southern Colorado they may understand me when I say that Troldfjord Is a Royal Gorge with ita walls widened to a quarter cf a mile and lengthened to a mile, and the space between them filled with transparent sea. whose surface perfectly mirrors every rock and shrub. At th upper end of the fjord Is a majestic cascade, the dashing, splashing, foaming outlet of the lake 200 feet above. Our launch ceased- ita throbbing and floated swanlike on the ... ;viainomiess wnier,- wnue we leaiesiea our eyes on-a picture so neau ' tlful that darkness hesitates to, draw- a curtain over Its 'charms. " j. The mountain,' Dlgermulkollen, selected as atobservatlen point. Is n -the Raf tsund, and not far from the Troldfjord. .lJ I cannot glvp 'His 'height, bat when I guessed at It before-'the ascent I put It at 500 or 600 feet; after ascending It I am satisfied that It is a thou sand. We timed our trip 80 as to reach-the 'top at midnight, slak ing our (hirst from "the 'snowbanks ar6nghV trail and "It "was the "v. fauK of the clouds that we did not see the orb of day -at this sea " sou and In this latitude he is orb of night as -veil as he reached the lowest point; but they were kind to us a little later, for through a rift In them we' saw the' faceof old' SoV Jus long enough tc be sure that he, like ourselves, was up for all night. Even though the clouds concealed the sun at the witching hour of midnight, the v light was the light of day, and I had no difficulty In reading a paper (which truth as well as loyalty to my own publication compels me to say was the Commoner). The fact that we almost missed seeing the sun at all leads me to remark that many make the entire trip without catching a glimpse of it We were informed that an ex cursion steamer bad gone to the North Cape' and back in mist and rain just a few days before. s It had occurred to us in planning ovr visit -to Norway that cloudy weather had to be taken Into con sideration, but we found that clear nights are the exception rather than the rule, especially during the latter part of the season. Center of Cod .Fishery ' Svolvaer is a quiet place In summer, but, during January, Feb ruary and March Its little, harbor ; Is full, of fishing smacks, for tb.000 men flah In the waters of the Lofoden Islands. ' , Cod is the principal Bah taken and cod-liver oil is one of the chief products of the Islands. Immense Quantities of dried fish are shipped to southern Europe, while the fresh and salted fish find a market In the British Isles and Germany. If one desires to see merely fjords, glaciers, lakes and moun tain streams, the southern part of Norway offers a sufficient va riety of each. Bergen, the principal city on the west coast, the second city In the country and a former member of the Hanseatic league, is the seaport of this northern Switzerland. With the ' Sogne fjord on the north, Hardanger fjord -on the aputh and west and a chain of lakes almost connecting the two, one can see every variety of scenery in a three days trip around' Bergen. As we. had but two days to spend there," we had to miss the northern fjord, but ITurdanger, the -twenty-one mile ride across the mountains and the railroad from Voss back to Bergen furnished such a wealth of acenei y that another day could hardly have added much to our enjoyment .."' . . -.. ' Taking a boat at Bergen, we devoted eleven hours to winding about through Hardanger fjord, and every moment -presented some new attraction. These fjords seem to have been formed by a con vulsion that opened great cracks In the mountains which line the coast of Norway. In some places the shores are precipitous cliffs reaching from the water upwards for hundreds of feet, but for most of the way the banks slope back and are covered with stunted pines and undergrowth." Scattered all along the way are Innumerable cascades and waterfalls, varying in width from a few Inches to many feet At one place we counted eleven of these In sight at one time, and we were never out of hearing of their music. Some of them are harnessed to little sawmills. At one point the boat halted within a few hundred yards of a great glacier which .is crawling down a mountain gorge and from whose mouth, as from a fountain, gushed a ceaseless stream. For ages this mass of Ice has beu slowly moving down from the mountains, and every day tons upon tons melt and disappear, but Its losses at Its base are made good at Its top, and It lives on like the human race, ever dying and yet ever young. Not a Farmer's Paradise Disembarking at Elde, we took a four hours' carriage ride, following a mountain stream to its source, crossing the range at an elevation of a thousand feet and descending along another stream to the lake upon which the village of Voss Is situated. From this point a scenic railroad, which passes through fifty-two tunnels In seventy miles, took us back to Bergen. ' As might be gathered from what has already been said, Nor way dees not Impress the tourist as a farmer's paradise, although agriculture Is first among her Industries. The farms, as seen from the routes of travel, seem very diminutive and are usually triangular in form and look like wedges Inserted In the cracks of the moun tains. Occasionally a valley Is broad enough to invite the cultivation of a level place of land and the invitation was long ago accepted. Potatoes grow well in Norway and are of excellent flavor. On the coast boats they furnished the staple, and sometimes almost the only vegetable, although the bill of fare often Included seven dif ferent kinds of fish, nearly as many varieties of cold meat, half as manjr brands of cheese, besides white, brown and black bread. V ' v. ;.ss ' J' O.i ' ' - - f r - if-. . - V ' ' ' ' i 4 1 s KINO AND QUEEN OF NORWAY. Rye, barley and wheat are grown In the southern districts, and grass everywhere. Owing to the frequent showers and tho long days of summer, grass grows very rapidly, but as it is difficult to cure it the people have adopted a plan which looks peculiar to foreigners. They build frames that look like sections of a fence and the green hay Is hung upon4he boards or wire, as the case may be. The lower rows are protected from the rain by the upper one, and -the air has access to all oMt About three hours' drive from Bergen there is a little wooded Island on-which the great Norwegian , violinist, Ol'e Bull; "built a summer home where he was wont to retire at the' conclusion of his tours and where at last he died A He was not only a great admirer of American institutions and of the American people In general, but he married an American, and his daughter returns to Norway every year to celebrate May 17, Norway's independence day, at her father's home and with her father's countrymen. The daughter Is one of the many connecting links between the two countries, and by her Invita tion, extended through our consul, Mr. Cunningham, we had the privilege of visiting this historic spot. Wo were slad to do so, be cause Ole Bull was not only one of the great musicians of the last century, but he was one of the greatest democrats that Norway has produced a democrat not In a partisan sense, but In thai broader sense In which It describes one who believes in the people, trusts them and labors for their welfare. There are many public men in Norway worthy of mention, but space forbids an enumeration of them. There Is, however, a relic of great historic interest to which I must devote a line. It Is the Viking ship, a thousand years old, now on exhibition at Chrlstlania. It was dug up twenty-five years ago and Is fairly well preserved. .It gives one an Idea of the ships used by those early seamen of the north whose daring exploits make flctton seem tame, t ', i- v It so happened that we arrived in Norway just in time to attend the coronation of King Haakon J I, and we had tour first opportunity, to see royalty on parade. The new' king is a son of the king of Den mark, and his wife. Queen Maud, is daughter of the.klng of England. When,, last year, Norway withdrew from her union,, with Sweden, the crown was offered to a son of King Oscar, but the offer was refused, . and it is probably not too much to say that the Norwegians expected it to be refused, but they wanted to show that the separation was not due to anta& nlsm to the reigning house. It was then tendered to the son of King Frederick and'accepted. I shall speak later of the circumstance which explain this selection; It is sufficient at present to say that the new king Is a sober, earnest, sensible looking young man of about 35 and seems to have made a very favorable lmpres-, sion upon the Norwegian people. By the courtesy of Minister Graves, who represents our country at Stockholm, and who, our minister to Norway not having received his appointment In time, was our nation's special ambassador to at tend the coronation, we received Invitations to the coronation cere monies and were presented at court. While the newspaper reports 6f the coronation may rob .-what I am about to say of its freshness as news, I shall venture to describe what wo saw, begging the read er's Indulgence if I betray a lack of familiarity with the technical phrases employed on such occasions. The coronation took place at Trondhjem, the former capital, a city situated on one of the numerous fjords that Indent the western const. The building selected for the occasion was the Gothic ca thedral, the largest in Scandinavia, which was commenced in the eleventh and completed In the fourteenth century. It is a hlstorla building and belonged to the bishopric of which Iceland was a part 'beforo America was discovered by Columbus. The cathedral has Suf fered from several fires, and a part ef It was In ruins for three centuries. It is now sufficiently restored to furnish a larger audience room than Is to be found In most cities of the size. Under the dome a circular space was left for the royal party, while the visitors were seated, the foreign representatives nearest the center, on raised seats in the nave and transepts. A broad .aisle was. left, extending from the entrance through the center to the -chapel at the other end. Lutheran Ministers at Ceremony Just before time for the king to arrive, a company of white robed Lutheran priests marched from the chapel to the door, and a stalwart body of men they were. They marched back at the head of the procession, the king following, his crimson, ermine-lined robe trailing many feet behind or it-would have trailed but for the fact that it was carried by four attendants. The king was accompanied ; by several officers and followed by the standard-bearer, holding aloft the royal banner. Then came the queen, wearing a robe similar to the king's, but It only required three attendants to keep its folds from the floor. She was attended by three maids of honor. The king and queen were escorted to thrones on opposite sides of the aisle, and the representatives of royal families occupied seats next to them. The prince of Wale, sat nearest the queen, next to him Prince Henry of Germany, and the American ambassador next. Near tho king sat Denmark's representative, then Russia's, and next to him the representative from France. There was gold braid galore; some of the foreign representatives had enough on their clothes to put the sultan of Sulu to shame. I never before saw so much gold, and I have been wondering since whether there may not be a new yellow peril of which our financiers have. little dreamed. Our representa tives used les? of this ornamentation (they all wore military uni forms) than those of any other country, and the question arises, what Is going to become of the honest dollar if, with the spread of the ideas of a republic, the amount of gold braid is decreased and a vast quantity of gold is poured through the mints Into the volume of the world's currency. It might 'so enlarge the' Volume of . money as to make the money changers clamor tor the demonetization of gold, and then the sllverltes would be called -gold bugs for -Insisting upon the free and unlimited coinage of gold! ' - , Late Squeal of an Old Scalp Lifter Geronimo Mates an Attack on the Military Record of. General Crook AMONG northern Indians, hostile or peaceful, General George Crook was esteemed a brave and truthftn. soldier. When called out to pursue and punish marauding bands, or In ac cepting the gage of battle from Indiana on the warpath, the intrepid "White Cloud.", as the Indians named him, performed the task with such vigor and effectiveness that one ex perience was enough for the hostlles. . At the council fire he, was equally effective in palaver, but when an agreement was made in writing or by word, General Crook stood by It, 'even though good faith Imperilled his command. How many agreements with Indians were made by him during his campaigns on the western frontier it would be hard to say. They probabfy are unnumbered, xr any one of them was broken by General Crook the fact was not asserted dur ing his lifetime. On the contrary, his good faith and kindliness in dealing with the Indians 6ccasloned much criticism from the very large class who believed that the only good Indian was a dead one. It would be surprising, therefore, If one did not consider the source, to find the charge of treachery and falsehood lodged against the soldierly record of General Crook. The author of the charge Is the Apache chief, Geronimo, the untamed man-killer, and unrecon structed savage, who has been induced to put In book form the story 'of Apache wars in the southwest Several chapters of the story are printed in the New York Herald. Those relating to the campaigns of Generals Crook and Miles are here reproduced: "In the summer of 1883 a rumor was current that the officers were again planning to Imprison our leaders. This rumor served to revive the memory- of all our past wrongs the massacre In the .tent at Apache Pass, the fate of Mangus-Colorado, and my own un just imprisonment, which might easily have been death to me. Just at this time we were told that the officers wanted us to come up the river above Geronimo to a fort (Fort Thomas) to hold a council with them. We did not believe, that any good could come of this conference, or that there was any need of It, so we held a council ourselves and, fearing treachery, decided to leave the reserva tion. We thought it more manly to die on the warpath than to be killed in prison. "There were In all about two hundred and fifty Inldans, chiefly the Bedoukohe and Nedni Apaches, led by myself and Whoa. We went through Apache Pass, and Just west of there had a fight with the United States troops. In this battle we killed three soldiers and lost none. , . "We went on toward Old Mexico, but on the second day after this United States soldiers overtook us about S o'clock In the after noon and we fought until dark. The ground where we were at tacked was very rough, which was to our advantage, for the troops were compelled to dismount In order to fight us. I do not know bow many soldiers we killed, but we lost only one warrior and three children. .We .had plenty of guns and ammunition at this time. Many of the guns and much ammunition we had accumulated while living in the reservation, and the remainder we had obtained from the White Mountain Apaches when we left the reservation. "The troops did not follow us any longer, so we went south al most to Casa Crande and camped In -the Sierra de Sanarlpa moun tains. We ranged in the mountains of Old Mexico for about a year, then returned to San Carlos, taking with us a herd of cattle and horses. . . "Soon after, we-arrived at San Carlos the officer In charge, Gen eral Crook, took the horses and cattle away from us. ' I told him' that these were not white men's cattle, but belonged to us, for we "5wia ymASPTi from the Mexicans during our wars. I also told him that? we tO?-?ntend to kill these animals, but that we wished to keep thefiV aiiS-ajrte stock on our range. He would not listen to me, but took the stock. I went up near Fort Apache and General Crook ordered officers, soldiers and scouts to see that I was ar rested. If I offered resistance they were' instructed to kill -me. "This information was.brought to me by the Indians. , ,; When I learned of this proposed action I left for Old Mexico, and about four hundred Indians went with me- They, were the Bedonkohe, Chokenen and Nedni Apaches. At this time Whoa was dead, and Nalche was the only chief wKh me. We went south into Sonora and camped In the mountains. Troops followed us, but did not attack us until we were camped In the mountains west of Casa Grande. Here we were attacked by government Indian scouts. One boy was killed and nearly all of our women and children were captured. "After this battle we went south of Casa Grande and made a camp, but within a few days this camp was attacked by Mexican soldiers. We skirmished with them all day, killing a few Mexicans, but sustaining no loss ourselves. "That night we went east into the foothlllaof the Sierra Madre mountains and made another camp. Mexican troops trailed us, and after a few days attacked our camp again. This time the Mexicans had a very large army, and. we avoided a general engagement. It is ( senseless to fight when you cannot hope to win. - " , "That night we held a council of war; our scouts had reported bands of United Stat? and Mexican troops at many points In' the mountains. We estimated that about two thousand soldiers were ranging these mountains seeking to capture us. "General Crook had come down Into Mexico with the United States troops. They were camped in the Sierra de Antunet moun tains. Scouts told me that General Crook wished to see me and I went to his camp. When I arrived General Crook said to me, 'Why did you leave the reservation?' I said: 'You told me that I might live In the reservation the same as white people lived. One year I raised a crop of corn, and gathered and stored It, and the next year I put In a crop of oats, and when the crop was almost ready to harvest you told your soldiers to put me In prison, and if I resisted to kill me. It I had been let alone I would now have been In good circumstances, but Instead of that you and the Mexicans are hunting me' with soldiers.' He said: 'I never gave any such orders; the troops at Fort Apache, who spread this .report, knew that It was untrue.' Then I agreed to go back with him to San Carlos. "It was hard for me to believe him at that time. Now I know that what he said was untrue, and I firmly believe that' he did issue the orders for me to be put in prison or to be killed in case I offered resistance. . . . "We started with all our trlbu to go with General Crook back to the .United States, but I feared treachery and concluded to re main In .Mexico. We were not under any, guard at this time. The United States troops marched in front and the Indians followed, and when we became suspicious we turned back. I do not know how far the United States army went after myself and some warriors turned back before we were missed, and I do not care. ... ' -"I have suffered much from such unjust orders as those of General Crook. Such acts have caused much distress to my people. I think that General Crook's death was sent by the Almighty as a punishment for the many evil deeds he committed. "Soon General Miles was made commander of all the western posts, and troops trailed us continually. They were led by Captain Lawton, who had good stouts. -The Mexican soldiers also became more active and mora numerous. We had skirmishes almost every day, and aq we finally decided to break up into small bands. With six men and four women I made for the range of mounatlns near Hot Springs, New Mexico. We passed many cattle ranches, but had no trouble with the cowboys. We killed cattle to eat whenever we were In need of food, but we frequently suffered greatly for water. . ... ; Continued on. Page Two.) - Cantata '-..Written by Pastor " , After, some excellent, music, instrumental and .vocal, a member of the clergy ascended a pulpit wt far from the king and queen atid delivered an earnest address. He was a typical Norwegian, powerful of frame and strong of face such as we might imagine one of the Viking chiefs to have been. Then there was more music, and it may interest the readers to know that all the music was prepared for the occasion, the words of the cantata being by, the pastor of the church and the hymns being written in the language of the peasants. Finally the king arose, proceeded down the aisle to the chapel, and, kneel ing, received from the bishop the insignia of office, the crown being placed upon his head, a gold chain about his neck, a sceptre in one hand and a golden globe in the other. As soon as he returned to the throne the queen advanced to the chapel and was likewise Invested, ,ind then the premier, Mr. Mlchelson,' proposed a salute to the king and queen. The people responded' with earnestness and the exercises were concluded. '.'.: :. "' . ; f I do not expect to witness another coronation, and It -will-be some satisfaction to remember that the first and' .only one '.attended was that of a king whom the people of their' own accord selected; for if there is anything more democratic than-a republican form of government it is the .fundamental principle that the people have a' right to have whatever form 6f. government they desire. Jefferson emphasized this doctrine when the people of France called Napoleon to the throne, and it'has Bible, sanction as 'well; for when the chil dren of Israel still demanded asking even after' "Samuel explained what a king would do, he was. told to let them have their way. The next day we put on our best clothes and joined the line that passed before the king and queen. It was not a very satisfying experience, but it is worth something to know how such things are done, and, i may add, the more an American sees of- it the more he appreciates the simplicity of public life In his own country. Norway is Democratic : Norway, in spite of the choosing of a king,' js the, most' demo cratlc country In northern Europe. She has. no.; nobility, confers no -titles and had to go ouUlde of her own realm to find' oneof royal birth. She had her kings and princes In the early days,'- but one Norwegian statesman ' explained to us that when they lost their privileges they emigrated to America and went to farming. The choice of a Dane was not strange, if a king was to be chosen from without, for Norway was united with Denmark for more than tjhree centuries, and there has always been" a friendly feeling, between the two countries. It was expedient, too, under the circumstucea' to offer the crown to the son of the Danish-king, for this 'brought Norway's throne into-kinship with the thrones of .England and Russia, as well as with that of Denmark, in fact, the' circumstances and the situation had a good deal to do with the four-to-one vote in favor of a monarchy. When it Is remembered that Norway's paramount aim was to secure Independence and that this, might have been jeopardized by an attempt to establish a republic at .the same time, It is really surprising that one-fifth of the people had- the courage to vote to plant a republic amid surrounding monarchies. There are many In Norway who prefer a president to" a Klngand who object to having two and a half millions of people taxed nearly $200,000 a year to pay the salary of a kingly figurehead, but the monarchists reply that the king's position Is purely ornamental and enables the government to maintain cordial relations with other European countries while the people govern themselves through the Storthing. They point out that the king has much less power than our president. While this is true, they forget that a president elected by the people and holding office but four years can be trusted with more executive authority than, an hereditary monarch. The Storth ing has absolute power, and as its members are elected by universal suffrage every three years, and as there is but the one parliamentary body, public sentiment finds prompt expression in the government. It can be truthfully said, therefore, that with the exception of the executive branch of the government, Norway is thoroughly demo cratic and that the influence of the king Is reduced to a minimum. Norway has a promising future. Her people are hardy and .intelligent. Education has teen compulsory for fifty years, and it U the country's boast that It spends more per capita, on schools than any other country In Europe. Because of Norway's immense ship ping interests she demanded a separate xonsular service, and It was the refusal of Sweden to consent to this that led to the separation. Now that" her destiny Is in the hands of her own people,' much Is to be expected of her. Her sons and daughters, those who have emi grated to America as well as those who have remained at home, prove to the world that it Is possible for a people to acquire the refinements of civilisation without losing their original strength and vigor. .(Copyright, l0C.j. IV. J. BRYAN,