TITE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: JULY 21, 1P07.
How he Union Pacific is Putting Aissouri River Iud to Practical I
I11t.' lvn In V.a tk. :
I 'ul,"c me l loon
v I I'ai-IIU: legal department mar
D
X
f in HU iniProsrmg. ir not a 111-
trlcate, as any rniinn trt tilth iha
"r Height tariff now in dispute.
t-Xl time., the Msvollll rlv,.r hHS
brought int., court the qucclon of who own.,
the farm. the men whoso land is r,n t.,p or
the man who- land was on top before the
river (tot In lis vagarious work? Jut at
Hres-m. the In Pacific la b ,sy pm,IK on
tom of It., shop grounds. tht,tv acres in
xtent. a lay. r of real estate recovered from
jfr,U' river whu.1, is to I... six r.-.-t In thick
ness an. I of r ,.,al area. :;, six feet of
noil thirty air.. In extent Is a prcttv r-ftlior-tablf
farm, puprfially w!i.n It Is alji-r.-nt
to tlm business portion of a crest city
like rinia,:a. V,r thin i-.s.son the owner of
the roal estate in South Dakota, pi lor to the
time It started down stream, may spppnr
and put in a claim for hi f.um. and. un
der the law, ho would hn clearly cntltl'd
to take I, Is properly v h. r- he finds It. Thia
would make it a trltle awkward for I he
r.nhv.m company, hut It ntlii s . ure hi-
(Mnd the proposition that the claimant
would have to Identify his real estate before
tun court would permit bin, to enter upon
It. It might bother bis somewhat to pick
out the particular particles and specifically
establish his ownership to each, so that
maybe, inter all, the company Is safe in do
liiK What II la.
I'roccim Sni a rn One.
It Is merely sucking the bottom out of
the rlvir. or, rather, the mud out of the
water, and using It r,,r filling on a pl. ee of
low around. This Is not n especially novel
proceeding, nlthoiiKh this Is the first tlm
It has been practiced here. Til.- principle
was long mt, adopted by the rnglnreis en
gaged In constructing Jetties h( the Missis
sippi delta. Pnwn there It was not so much
question of building new ground as It
was of u new channel, and the mini p imp' d
tip was merely riirriod to n convenient d's
lan. e and dumped ' Into the river again
Where It could not be washed back Into the
channel being prepared. When the Hanta
Vis railroad was s. ekmg admission to San
Francisco, It found Its cntian e blocked.
and In order to tvciiie il ..pni kpuiiiiIs and
terminal fa.'liiti -S a lew thousands acres of
the bay were purchased, an. I then the pro
cess of r.lllnn one part of the lay with
sand pumped from mud her was resorted to.
I'.y this means the Santa Ke has provided
Itself with ample yard room In San Fran
cisco. Alter I lie -ireat disaster at (ialveston
It was decided to raise the entire town
Kite s ane eleven feet, so that a repetition of
th" tidal wave would be lrnMs.tble. This
work wan also accomplished by pumping
mud from the iulf of Mexico Inland and
allowing the water to run bai k. In this way
the rnn.it stupendous undertaking of the sort
ever set ailo.it w i s in: lly and speedily fin
ished. Kli . ,i liere the engineer has made
tMe of the Kline expedient and always with
Success.
fpil of tli Missouri.
The Missouri river Is admirably adapted
to the purpose. Its bottom Is primarily of
rock or haritnnn, whit h Is pearly the same,
but over th'.s Is a deposit of silt varying
from thirty to I'iO feet In depth, and which
Is easily removed by pumping. If It were
not no, In present conditions, the river
carries sujh an Immense load of silt and
( unn
V'T
Hand in Its ordinary course that Just pump.
the water would soon provide the
led filling. The engineer In charge of
government wort on the river esti
mated that for the year 1301 the Missouri
river moved more tons than all the rail
roads In the I'nlted States combined twice
over. That Is to nay, the amount of mud
Sioux Indians Gather for a Pow Wow and the Forbidden Sun Dance
AHI.Y In AdtII. 1907. at a council
XT I of the chiefs of the Sioux In-
I dians. it was decided to hold a
last great meeting of tha Sioux
tribes on July 4. ' The
place selected for this assemblage
was on the Uttla White river,
near the Rosebud Agency, S. D. llajor
Kelley, the Indian agent, consented to the
celebration under condition that nona of
the acts prohibited by the government were
to bo carried out, and that this was to be
the last gathering of this kind.
Word went forth to the Santee, the
Tankton, the Winnebago, the Pine Ridge,
the Ixiwer Brule and the Rosebud Sioux
that a great pow-wow and celebration
would be held at the designated time and
place, and that all of the traditions of the
tribe would ba carried out. With tho
usual speed of Indian communication, tha
news was passed from camp to camp, and
from tribe to tribe, and tha hustle and bus
tle of preparation began. Tha squaws
mada bead work, reed work, leather work
and gay bonnets and dresses of feathers
and fine furs, to be used In tha dances
and traditions of the trlbas. Two weeks
before the Fourth all was in readiness for
the start and they commenced their long
drive to-the grounds. On the night of tha
td 10,0)10 Indiana wera encamped around
the groat circle to ba used for exhibition
purposes.
Picture in your mind a circle ono and
one-half miles in diameter and, closely sur
rounding tha edgoa of the circle, side by
aide, 4.0U0 tents and tepees, in many places
Ujfht or tan deep; picture Inside of this cir
cle at tha north, a half-mile circular race
track; at the aouth a great yard, containing
wild horses for tha bronco busting con
teats, and cattla for tha roping contests,
and in the center an allepttcal enclosure,
200 by 100 feat In axtent, surrounded by a
ruda shad of boughs, with an opening at
either side, and in the center tha sacred
pole, which is to be used In the sun dance
and "give-away" ceremony.
In preparing for tha sun dane a youiuj
virgin is selected by the women of the
tribe, to have char4B of the proceedings.
Before sunrise on the morning of the dance
aha leads the way to the woods and selects
a straight tree, six to eight Inches In dla
meter and about twenty feet in height.
Taxing a new axe, which has never been
defiled by striking timber, she strikes tha
first blow to fell the tree. A young brave
then climbs the tree, cutting off the boughs
as he ascends except the ones at the very
, top. Any one wishing to enter the dance,
ify may then throw him a lurlat of rawhide
' or braided hair, the end of which la at
tached in the tree top, while the lower part
la split and hangs down the pole. He then
descends from the tree and it Is cut down,
but It must never touch the ground froru
the time It is chopped down until It la
planted in the dance ling.
This dance is for the fulfillment of vowa
made to 'Uod. For example, an Indian'!
child may be very elck and expected to.
die. TUe Indian vows to his God that if
he will spare the life of the child be will
aacrlllee 2.0 piccea of his flesh from eoma,
part of his body at the next sun dance.
Or, if an Indian has a bitter enemy, whose
life he seeks to take, he vows to his Uod
t I that In case the dcd is accomplished he
I will dance around the sacred pole a certain
number of hours.
The giving of gifts Is also a part of
tha sua dunce. An Indian ho'isehnld will
many times take to the sun dance all of
their belongings and give them to their
frlttuUa, Thia custom was to Illustrate
carried hy the river amounted to Just
little over twice as many tons moved on
mile as the freight carried by the rail
roads of the I'nlted States for the snnut
year. This fjlvcs some Idea of the mighty
work done hy this wonderful atrcaua. as
Veil as of the amount of silt carried In
suspension. A few years ago a test mada
of water tnken from the mldehannel of tlx
river near the Douglas street hrhhr
allowed that about fioo pounds of mud pr
I.omi gallons of water wan the proportion.
This would make about one pound of mud,
to forty gallons of water. So it Is ngt
likely the I'nlon Pacific will run short of
material, even If the bottom of the river
doesn't hoi J out. It Is equally certuln that
whatever bole Is made In the bottom by
the removal of the C.WOOrt cubic yards of
earth necessary to make the fill will aldo
soon be redeposlted by the river, the ma
terial being brought down as It has for
ages from 'the ulluvlal plains between
Omaha and the pass In the mountains from
which the great river debouches.
Itebiiildliitc the Shops.
The remodeling and enlarging of th
Vnlon Pucllle railroad shops in Omaha
which has. been enrried on during tha
last three years, has made necessary
Borne extraordinary methods in raising
the grade of the land upon which tha
additions to the plant are being built.
Ret ween the present shop buildings and
the river lies a territory of about thirty
ai res upon which there have been tracks
formerly, but which Is about six feet
below the level of the ground to the west.
It was for the purpose of raising thia
tract of land that the railroad company'
let out a contract to a dredging company
of Kansas City and the dredge has been
at work since spring.
The machine was brought up the river
with the steamer Omuha, carrying a crcv
of six men. Including a captain, fireman.
the feeling of friendship and good will be
tween one another, and at the tlmo when
these dances were held every year re
sulted In little loss to anyone, as If one did
not receive as much as he gave at that
time, he would probably do so at the next
dance.
At the hour when the dance is to be held
the multitude assembles in and about the
ring and the virgin announces that their
God Is calling upon them to do acts of
friendship and benevolence and to do acts
of bravery and courage and endurance in
fulfillment of rast vows. The givers of
gifts then spread their gifts in the center
of the ellipse and call upon their friends
to come forward and receive them. Tha
gifts consist of all kinds of bead work,
leather work, furs, trunks full of gor
geously colored cloth, horses and saddles
and sometimes buggies and wagons.
If the Indiun has vowed to sacrifice a
certain number of pieces of flesh, the medi
cine man of the tribe takes a sharp knife
and cuts the required number of pieces
from some portion of his body. If the vow
was jo dance around the sacred pole, the
medicine man cuts two silts from either
breast and beneath each of the strips of
akin so left he introduces one of the parts
of a lariut that hangs from the pole. The
Indian must then dance and Jump and
heave upon this lariat untl the strips of
flesh are torn out or until he faints from
exhaustion, when the medicine "man cuta
the flesh and lets the thongs out they
must never be untied. At the last sun
dance held in this territory one Ind'an
danced for fifty houra without food er
drink.
On the morning of the Fourth, after the
sacred pole was erected, an Indian attack
on an Immigrant train was very realisti
cally enacted. alow traveling train of
Two Incidents
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engineer and three deck helpers. This
force was increased to sixteen men when
the work was begun, the extra men being
immigrants was attacked by a band of
1.000 mounted braves in full war pa'nt,
who were making sad havoc until they
were put to flight by a force of Uncle
Sam's Indiun police. The next on the pro
gram wus the grand charge around the
camp circle by perhaps 4.fK) mounted In
dians, who made the hills ring with their
war cries, as they charged- madly around
the circle, a iVsdunco of four n:l!es.
Tho thousands aFreinbled then began a
movement toward the dancing ring, and
the give-away ceremony began. This hail
been in progress nearly an hour when tiie
news reached Major K. Hey that they
were conducting the forbidden sun dance
and give-away. Major Kelley was soon on
the ground with a force of Indian police
and the crowd was ordered to .vacate tho
dance ring, and the sacred pole was taken
down. Chief Hollow Horn, the chl f in
charge of the ceremonies, was ordered to
strike camp and go home, and nut to re
turn to the eelebrat'on under peri! of being
placed In the guard house. This ar'used
the ire of the old warriors, many of whom
could boast of a score of scalps, and there
was much talk of going on the warpath.
Many of the old chiefs made eloq i vit
speeches and pleaded earnestly with tin
major to be permitted to carry on the
dance, and were furious nt his refusal.
Only the cool hpad. the steady nerve and
the iron will of Major Kelley averted
bloodshed. Finally seeing that It was use
less to plead their ause longer the braves
sullenly submitted to the inevitable 'The
tears silently flowing down their stnlii
cheeks. This enisode cloned the celebra
tion for the older Ind'ans. Their hearts
were no longer turned to the gladness and
Joy of enacting the old traditions, but to
the fact that never again could their be
loved sun dance be given. There were
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Connected with the Unveiling of the Schiller Monument
JUST AlJ THE YUIU RoPPED.
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"WTIERH THE PIPE DISCHARGES.
used on land while the. silt which the
dredge draws from the river 1b being
distributed.
still a few dissenters among them, but rea
son finally prevailed.
In the afternoon there were horse races,
roping and broncho busting contests and
at niaht a fino display of fireworks from
the bills.
After the fireworks display, walking
around the circle one would come upon
groups of 100 or more Indians surrounding
a huge buss drum danclns to Its tum-tum-tum
and croanlng In an und'soprnnble
sing-song the sonss of their forefathers.
There were about thirty of these groups
around the camp, making altogether a
wlerd and unearthly sjund. On Friday
morning another council was held and it
was decided to break camp the following
day, thus cutting tho celebration down
from two weeks to two days on account
of the restrictions placed upon them. Oal
two deaths occurred during the encamp
ment. One from a young Indian bens
dropped by his horse.
Saturday evening they struck camp and
started in all directions for their homes,
thus ending tho lust great assemblage of
the 8loux tribes. A. D. S.
Dallas. S. D.
Indian Helationahips.
' It would seem odd to have a half a dozen
or more grandparents, but you would If
you were an Italian. The father's brother
and the mother's sister ur. not uncle and
a lint,' but father and mother Instead. The
father's sister and mother's brother yrc
aunt and uncle. Your father's father's
brother (your great-uncle)" would be your
grandfa'her, his wife j'our Hrandmother.
In like manner your mother's mother and
her huKband would be your grandmother
and grandfather. So if your father's father
had several brothers and your mother's
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The pumps of the dredge when buuiC
Into the river bottom bring up a line,
muddy silt, which is run through pii.ua
mother several sisters you would bo the
richer In grandparents If you were a Sioux.
Your father's brother's children and your
mother's ulster's children would be your
brother and sister, their children your sons
und daughters, but yjur mother's brother's
and your father's (sister's children your
cousins, while their children in turn would
be counted your nieces and nephews.
In former days an Indian married his
wife's sisters, too, und as father to all
their children these children were In a
sense brothers and sisters. In that way
these Intricate connections existed. Now
very few Indians do this, for civilization
and Christianity have changed ull this. But
most of tho middle-aged Indians of the
present day arc children of men with sev
Some Quaint
A I.lva One at 102.
REDITINO his years to the free
use of whisky, beer und tobacco,
Joseph Zcitlin of No. j:.6 Lexing
ton aven'ie, Brooklyn, celebrated
his lm'd birthday last week by
Indulging
In an extra allowance of drink
and smukc.
Mr. Zeitlln emphatically denied that
drinking Is b;id for the health. Ho has not
been under the Influence of liquor for many
years, and yet he has not passed a day for
more than fifty years without taking about
ten drinks of wliinky or beer.
Hn la string and vigorous, and yesterday
went for a '"tig walk and played with his
great-grandchildren. He appears to be
from twenty to thirty years younger than
he Is. His appetite Is good, and he said he
B CHILLER. 8INQI.NQ MAIDKN'a.
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PIPE LINE Arr.OPfl THE HOTTOMS.
extending cut across the land. The Ions
mud puurs from the funnels and spread
out over the surface of the ground, while
the water eontnlned in it comets ' to tha
top and Is drained off without dilh.i.Ti y.
It Is estimated tha the capacity of too
machines when running at full pressure
is ever 1.50H cubic yards of dirt In u day.
Even at this rule It will probably take
the rest of the summer to make the thirty
cros which Is being raised a level tract
six feet higher than it now Is. It may
be necessary to take from tbu river bed
SfiO.OOO cubic yards of mud before the
work Is nccoinpllshe.il. When It Is raised
to the dctdrod level the land will be used
partly, as before, for trackage and partly
for building sites. A huge plant such as
the I'nlon I'liciiU: shops grows so fast
in capacity and extent that there will hn
no trouble In finding use for all this land
that can be made available.
Work or Three Years.
Not many Omaha, people are aware that
during the last three years the entire con
struction plant of the railroad has been
so completely changed that hardly a de
partment remains tha sumo. In the pres
ent year ulone a new machine and erec
tion shop, a boiler shop and several store
buildings have been added. The old boiler
shop has been remodeled Into a power
housn, and a new smokestack, which
towers to a height of 1100 feet and 6
Inches, was raised beside. Another fea
ture of thin power house Is a coal trestle
Which makes it possible to dump coal
directly into tho bins from the cars. The
new machine shop in 160x398 feet in ex
tent, built of brick, steel and concrete,
on a foundation of piling. Just north of
It is the boiler shop, which Is almost as
largo and of similar construction. Tho
largest of all the buildings contemplated
is the new car shop which is now being
built. Tha passenger department, where
eral wives. So the children in school now
are related to a degree entirely too com
plex a problem for their teachers.
In ono of the government schools ono
of the teachers. Ignorant of ull this, was
consoling a llttlo girl who had lost her
mother. "I have another mother," said
tho child. The teacher was amazed until
It was explained to her that the dead
woman was, according to our way of count
ing, only an aunt.
Another teacher, ulso new, had a group of
children out walking. They met a man In a
wagon. "Who is that?" asked the teacher.
"My father," spoke up one of the children.
In a few moments a horseman passed
them. "My father," said the same child.
Although amazed, the 'teacher said nothing.
and Curious Features of Life
did not feel any older than he did twenty
years ago.
Born In I.odz, Poland, July 3, 1805, Mr.
Zcitlin made a fortune as a manufacturer,
and enmo to this country twenty-five years
ago to spend ills last days with his daugh
ter. His theory of eating and drinking is
to take what he wants when he wants it.
On some days he eats five or six ineal.r and
on other days only one or two. He drinks
on the same plan, taking whisky or beer
whenever he feels inclined to do so, but
varying the monotony by taking a few
drinks of cordials or wine every day or
two. He prefers strong Havana cigars and
makes his own cigarettes.
A l.lglituliiit Prank.
Lightning played a prank at the Paducah
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the conches will he built, painted nnfl up
holstered, will be l7Ky!4'J feel, while tin
freliUit car portion will be a Ions, and 1.'9
feet in width building. Two other addi
tional buildings, a paint and wheel shop
nnd a paint store house, will soon be
erected.
Water, heating, fewer and pipe systems
in tile yards are kept In a continual statu
of rapid change when the building oper
ation are so' heavy. They must bo kept
lit working order till of the time whether
the buildings Willi which they connect
lire being used or remodeled, and yet tie
whole sy.'tcin In constantly In use and
nt no time has It been necessary to ceasu
working on important const ruction of any
kind because of changes which nre hom r
made. The tracks as Well i.re constantly
being torn up and moved. I hiring tho
year lHOii over thirteen miles of tracks)
were moved and a mile and a sixteenth,
additional were laid. This includes only
standard gauge trackage, however, anil
the narrow gauge operations were as ex
tensive. IMimt In Alnaji Ornnlnffi
During the same year Were built nr
office building, whore tho offices of tha
mechanical departments aro housed, n
blacksmith shop and an iron house, thn
three covering a combined area of over
60,000 square feet. In tho oftlce bulldlnir
are tha laboratories, where all chemical
work necessary in construction is carried
on. As It grows out toward tho river
tho great car and locomotive building"
plant will extend over the ground which
the dredge Is now bringing up from tha
bottom of tho river. In its present oozy
conditions it does not look very solid,
but it settles into the holes and packa
dry into firm earth. If for no other rea
son the Union Pacific should ho con
gratulated for having found a practical
use for Missouri river mud.
until a third man appeared and was also)
the child's father. Then the teacher be
gan to doubt the child's veracity. Ia
reality tho three men were brother; there
fore, as one was the child's father, tha
others wero, too.
Not only are there the numerous bloodl
relations, but adopted onea as well, and to
adopt a man because he has dona you a
favor la to adopt all his relations.
"In-laws" and their many ciinneotlona
are counted, too, the same of ono's "step
relations."
Do not attempt too far to count an In
dian's relatives; you will be confronted,
with a worse problem than "How old Id
Ann?" Q. V. B.
Flora, S. D.
(Ky.) dry docks last Friday that almost
caused a riot beside stunning four men.
Dick Thompson, foreman; Louis Moss,
Will Jordon and Tom Bass were working
together. Jordoit called to Moss to help
him and as he turned the holt of lightning
struck the dry docks. Moss, who waa
working with a brace and bit, was floored,
by what he thought waa a blow In tha
back. He sprang to his feet to hurl a ham
mer at Jordon when he saw the latter
sprawling unconscious over a beam he hail
been sawing. Thompson and Pasa wera
lying in a heap, and other workmen who
noticed the confusion, rushed over to seize
Moss, who to all appearances had laid out
the whole crew with a hammer. It re
quired several minutes to solve the puzzle.
Squirrel W Ultra a. Snake
The story of a buttle between a aqtrlrrel
and a large blacksnaka is reported by
John Withers, a prominent farmer, wlu
lives north of Carrollton, Mo. Mr. Wlthera
has some pet squirrels on his farm, ami
a few days ago, when he went to feed
them, he noticed a commotion going on
in the squirrels' nest. In a few moments
a red squirrel emerged from the hole la
the tree, dragging a blacksnaka.
Both were fighting desperately. Tha
snake was at a disadvantage, however, for
the arpilrrel had a strangle ho hi behind tha
snake'a head und shook his unwleldry an
tagonist much us a dog would a rut. The
anake endavored to encircle the little squir
rel with Its colls, but could not do so, and
presently both the snake and squirrel fell
to the ground, the squirrel still retaining
Its hold on the snuku.
Mr. Withers stepped up and the squirrel
released Its hold and scampered hack up
the tree. The snake, which measured
pearly six fet in length, was nearly dead,
atul was dispatched by Mr. Withers.
Millions fur liahlea.
"St my sons marry I will double their
Incomes, and If they have children I will
again Increase their Incomes and also
provide that .h child shall have an es
tate worth I2S0.0U0."
This summary of a remarkable provision
In the will of the late John H. Bletson,
tho millionaire bat manufacturer arid
philanthropist, was made 1 uhllc in Phila
delphia. In brief, the will of the ug'l
man practically makes eeiy chlhi. born
to ids sons a baby." Having left
about 7flO.0lrt, Mr. Ktitson was In a posi
tion to make these provisions, if a normal
number of children ure born to the sous.
