Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, April 13, 1913, PART TWO EDITORIAL, SOCIETY, Image 22
The Omaha Sunday Bee Magazine Page Copyright, 1013, by the 8Ur Compnnr. Great-Britain Rights ReierveO. BcfciiA Husband ToFitiKeRancfi How Ended the Romantic Quest of a Multi-Millionaire Railroad President's Daughter to Find a Mate Who Would Combine the Virtues of a Chesterfield and a Buffalo Bill Mis&OBessie Yoa kum, the Newport New York - Texas Heiress Whose Un usual Requirements for a Mato Have at J,ast Been Fulfilled. "Many an applicant for her hand was lifted into that empty place in her mental map, only to find none fitted." M1BS BESSIE YOAKUM, the younger dangM. tor of Benjamin Yoakum, the Texas "rail road man and multi-millionaire haa picked out a hUBband at last Bohlnd her rocontly an Bounced engagement to Mr. Francis Larkln, a Princeton graduate, momber of a lino old family ind millionaire in embryo, lies tho story of an In teresting, devoted and unusual flvo years' quest on the part of fair Miss Toakum. And here Is tho story of that search and the answer to tho ques tion of those of her friends whom oho had not takon into her confidence tony did she wait until she was twenty-throe beforo choosing her busbandT 'Because My the friends in whom she has at last conceded, becauso she wanted a mato who would fit hor Toxas ranch I Who would, as an artist would say, compare well with tho sconory; one who would look well riding a bucking bron co, and also look well falling oft said bronco; one who could wear "chaps" with ease and, a sombrero with distinction, b eablo to kill a rat tler on tho trail and lasso tho fleolng coyote. Most of all, a man who would be big onough to take the big West seriously, the ranch Just as Borlously and who would tako hold and run it up to a 100 per cent efficient standard. But said prospective mato must also fit well a city drawing room, be able to drink tea without pilling it or making a face, wear conventional evening clothes without looking llko a waltor, and dance the Tango, Becauso of theso laet condi tions. Miss Yoakum naturally sought her futuro husband in tho Newport-New York sot. "Surely," aho thought, "among all the men hero In New York I will find my ldoal. In Texas, of course, I could easily find the man to fulfill tho first conditions, tout where eould I And tho Toxnn who could drink tea without making a facor Miss Yoakum's tlvo-year quest and its present happy result stakes a most Interesting tale as oho telle it to her Intimate friends over the tea cups in her piak and white boudoir. Only her sister, the haaisesie Mrs. Paulding Fosdlck, has known of he etttsoUo search. Hor parents, who have rg4 her te marry young, have complained that "Beetle was hard to please," but even they did not kaew why. They did not know that all tho Urn that MLm Yoakum was experimenting with various mmbws of the Newport set, way back in her Ia4 she felt very certain that Mr. Lap kin woM eveataally prove the ideal one. Five years ago the Yoakuma took a large and expeaatve hettae In Newport. They wanted to lease "Craaswayv," the fftuyvesant Fish estate, tint had te he satisfied with one on the Cliffs. They wese welcomed with open arms, for there were two remarkably pretty girls in the family and Beajasatn Yoakum woe noted as one of tho richest railroad men in this country. It was speedily seen that Paul Fosdick, the tall, good lookrng eon of Mrs. Charlie Childs. had the inside road te Catherine's heart, and the young bach, elora a tho Circus Set turned to the younger later. 'A etcnay stroam of suitors has slnco wendoQ tholr way to tho Yoakum drawing room, but onO and nil thoy, like tho King of France, turn and march homo again. In this procession wero Cryil Hatch, ono of Newport's millionaire bacholor'd and usually devotod to Eloanora Sears, th"3 Burke-Rocho twins Mrs. Burke-Rocho's Bonn Charllo Sands, "Stuyve" Fish, Jr., oldest eon of Mr. BtuyvcBont Fish, Ralph Thomas, Henri Mar tin, tho Swiss Attache, and a dozen other men of all ages. In tho days when the two sisters wero email girls running about the folg ranch thoy showed tho disparity in their tastes that Is still so marked. Katherino, tho older, cared not a bit for tho ranch; in. fact, she hated it and all that it meant Sho would not learn to shoot, she would not ride tho broncos and ran away from cow boys and rattlers. Bessie, the younger, was muoh braver. Eha learnod to shoot beforo sho was ten years old and rodo tho worst horses on tho ranch bofore she was twelve. When she saw a rattler she killod It, and when she saw a cowboy eho smiled at him. Tho sconory that, made Kntherlne shudder with dread, made Bossle thrill with Joy. Whon sho entorod 'socloty she was unhappy becauso sho was compollod to llvo the life con ventional. It was tho great difference between tho ranch and tho men sho met in Nowport and Now York that mado her doclde to marry only a man who would fit her ranch. Said Miss Yoakum once: "You see, I was born In Texas, on the most beautiful ranch in the world. Thore are thou sands of acres of the most wonderful hills and rooks and grasa Holds, and the scenery is thrill ing. I always feel like kicking up my heels when I go back. It Is nothing like Fifth avenue or ways known that It would bo. Tho man I marry will have to love the ranch as much as I do and ho'U have to fit into Us life." Therefore, when Cyril Hatch, dark eyed, mys terious looking and a whacking good tennis play er, came up tho path leading to her heart sho put htm to a uevero teat Over the garage in her several homes Miss Yoakum has a gymnasium and shooting gallery fitted up. When Mr. Hatch began to show his In terest in hor, it is said, she took him Into tho gym and said: "Any man who hopes to win me must fulfill these conditions." And she pointed out a printed list pasted on the wall. Mr. Hatch wont over, and his dark eyes grew, darker as he read What I expect HIM to do: Live with me on my Toxas ranch. Wear "chaps" and eombrero. CompoBO well with ttho scenery. Ride a bronco. Lasso a coyotte. Kill a rattler. Keep the trail for twenty hours at a stretch. Kill and dress a steer. Throw and brand a calf Dress for dinner every night Sboot a deer on the run. Whon Mr. Hatch read this remarkable list he turned and bravely said that he could but try, and what should ho do first? Mr. Hatch's experience was typical of each man Somo suffered more than others, but all materially went through tho same things. Ho was willing to llvo on tho ranch, ho could shoot very well and was a good rldor. In these two last things the Newport-New York men oxcell anywny. But his voice broke whon ho attempted to sing, and when he trlod to lasso tho Yoakum's pet cat in place of a coyotte he mlssod and lassoed the chauffeur, who was peeking through the door. The cat ran away and stayed for three days. This was Bad, but not halt so sad as Mr. Hatch and his later competitors looked when they tried to throw and brand Miss Yoakum's Scotch collie. Mr. Hatch did fairly well until he had to don the chaps and sombrero and pose for Mb photograph before MIbs Yoakum's camera. Sadly she shook her head and sold: "Go away, you won't do. You do. not lit." "Neither do the chaps," muttered Mr. Hatch. And he went away. Sad and not much wiser. How the Fireflies Flash Love-Messages With Their Little Lanterns BBBBBBBBBHHaBn I & - V . . r '. vt ' X . ?-V V 5 t ' ' CTO ? -SSSSSSBHSBBSSSSSSSSSST f ISSSf I 11 1 V-l1 fHr ey DAWfS n. ''What a bad influenpe for the live stock if the suitor did not conform to the ranch standards." THIS problem that has interested psycholo gists for centuries, the mysterious ques tion as to whether such insects as the grasshopper and the cricket hear, or whether lightning bugs and moths see, has at last been answered In the affirmative by two noted scien tists of the day. At least, that 1b the Interpre tation that may be deduced from the recent ob servations and experiments of Professor Mast of Johns Hopkins Unlvorslty, and Dr. Karl Peters, of Berlin, Germany. The Instrumental music of crickets, grass hoppers, locusts and other Insects Is heard and appropriately responded to by their mates, according to the researches of Dr. Peters. The melodies of these little creatures may be merely noises to birds and man, hut they contain tho, love lyrics and tones of wedding hymns to them. Professor Mast's discovery has to do with the lightning or firefly and seems to indicate to many learned savants that these "beautiful illumlnants of the living Bummer nights" really are pos sessed of eyes that see. Professor Mast studied the behavior of light ning bugs for some time, and his observations led him to the conclusion that the female fire fly did not wander far from her own fireside, but remained more or less in the exact neighbor hood where you found her. In brief, the lady bus with the lantern placed amidships, does not fly At all. Jt crawls or moves about sluggishly. The paUftanUUs. that; Is tq say, the male gentry of the firefly community, are the foragers, gal lants, lovers and voluptuaries. It is the gentle man firefly that eoob flying around, seeking what ho Usteth, finding adventures and making love. Professor Mast found that tho gallivanting male Insect would fly about, when suddenly It would flash Us living lantern. It a feminine member of the trlbo was sticking to a tusk of grass, a twig, or at rest upon the ground, any where within a nearby area, It would flash a shy, modest response in tho way of a flash of light. First tho furaalo, then the male would signal in this way ono to the other. This would continue until the lover discovered its timorous mate hiding in the dell. Once they caught up with each other, and found their heart's desire, theirs would be sparking of the truo-lovers kind. The conclusion that may be drawn from a great series of experiments by Professor Mast is that fireflies make animated love by the glow of their wonderful little lights. They must have eyes that see, otherwise the one sex could not re spond to the light signals of the other sex. When all Is said and done there is really little difference after all between love-making and the amours of these little insects. The buttertllos, crickets, cicadas, and grasshoppers make lovo with their little lutes and lyres, man makes love with stringed instruments and "little liars." Lightning bugs mnke love with the winking love-light of their glowing lanterns. The love light in the eyes of the human lover, the flashes of color in milady's gowns ana mllllnary arq much the same sort of thing. Each man oddly enough failed on a different count Francis Roche, for Instance looked perfectly adorable In tho chaps and sombrero; he rode well and sang well, too, but he could not swear in the vernacular, and he uttorlv refused to go down to the slaughter house on East River and kill a steer. Ills twin brother. Maurlco, did not oven qualify to that extent He failed to lasso one of the neighbor's hens, and stopped right there. Charlie Sands cut through the entire list until he had to stand up against six cactus trees placed in one corner of the gym and lean nonchantly agaimst their stems. Charlie has always been considered rather handsomo, but he did not look so under the shade of the catcus. He lost his chance .utterly. Ralph Thomas, who has since married Mrs. Frank Gould, looked so perfectly improper In the chaps that he stopped there and would go no further. Henri Martin, being attached to tho Swiss Le gation In Washington, refused to live on the ranch, and he was out the very first count With all these admirers going through their paces, Miss Yoakum was a very busy person. It takes little time to tell, but these adventures and a few others took five years. But all this time there wsb another who was steadily qualifying for the place of ideal husband. No one realized It for Frank Larkln began when he was a student at Prlncoton. He went through his paces in the gym at the Yoakum estate in Long Island. When the day came, last November, when he could slip Into his chaps, toss his sombrero perkily on the back of his head and twist a cigarette while riding bare-back around the polo field, Miss Yoakum knew that she was looking at her future husband. But sho would not say "yes" until sho had seen him on the ranch itself, until she had fitted him with her own handB into the scenery and Been with her own eyes how he com posed with It Therefore in December she persuaded her par ents to go to tho ranch tor a few weeks' vlBtt and with the party went Mr. Larkln. With Mr. Larkln went the chaps and sombrero and a new rifle. When the party reached tho ranch Miss Yoakum happily discovered that Mr. Larkln com pared very favorably with tho men born and bred in Texas. He walked with the same swagger, Bang well, and talked eagerly of the day when he Bhould kill his first steer. There on the ranch, therefore, the Princetonlan qualified in every particular. He lassoed a coyette on tho run, rode a bad bronco for three days on the trail, swore in the vernacular and killed six rattlers. "But will he compose well with the scenery, will he harmonhte with the catcus T" asked Miss Yoakum of her palpitating heart. To answer this question she took him one day to the wildest part of tho ranch, whero the cactus were prjckly beyond words and the rocks abounded with rattlers. Nonchalantly Mr. Larkln leaned up against the cactus trees, rolled a cigarette with his left hand, sang a cowboy ballad with his tenor voice, and, when be beard a Busplctous souud back of him, twirled around with the song -still on his :!::;-;ii!:::i';!lti:U:i:::;::!!jfl '!"ti:":"!"l "Clearly any man who would try to catch a rattler by putting salt on his tail wouldn't do on the ranch." lips and the cigarette still in his left hand, be leaned over and killed a rattler with the gun in his right hand. "Yod aro to bo my husband," cried the pretty girl who had put him to this test But there was more to follow before they reached the ranch house. On their way home, riding among the clouds, so to speak, a group of wild hogs broke through the bushes in front and charg ed down on them. The Javallna Is a ferocious toast, and attacks humans as readily as small beasts. Mr. Larkln nad never seen one, but he bad heard of them, and swiftly he Jumped his horse and with his new rifle shot six of them. Tho rest ran away. The head of the largest hog baB been mounted, and will have a place of honor in .the future house of the adventurous Larking Thus has pretty "Miss Yoakum, one of the wealthiest young women in this country, and all-around sport, picked her husbana to fit her ranch.