THE COURIER
that none of them more than stirred
slightly In the water he hastily cram
med a couple of neVv shells into the
sun and prepared to shoot again when
a man appeared from hiding and
threatened htm with arrest If he did
not pay damages for disfiguring his
decoys. Sheepishly the clerk dug
forth his purse and plucked therefrom
a suitable sum. Then the man, who
was really more amused than angered,
took pains to spread the story about
town. It was too much for the young
man and he has sought greener fields.
He tried to kill himself by shooting
through one of his big toes. Martin
Quinn, a man living near Ainsworth,
Is the person. He had resolved to sui
cide. With a weapon In hand he was
about to shoot when his wife discovered
him. They struggled for possession of
the revolver and in the course of their
"efforts it was discharged. The bullet
pierced the big toe of the left foot of
hubby and it so unnerved him that
he lost his hold on the pistol, and his
wife won. She hastened to drop the
gun in a well while her disconsolate
husband coddled his toe.
These are the days when a great
many restless Nebraskans are packing
their goods and making tracks for
some far country. But It is not wholly
an ebbing tide. There are not a few
who are hastening back to the state
convinced of their mistake in ever
leaving. F. B. MoCall, a man living
near St. Edward, is one of these. He
left some time ago for the borders of
Canada. He was sure that Nebraska
was no place for any man of spunk
and ambition. Not only has he come
back, but the $1,000 he paid for the ex
perience he counts as the best Invest
ment in knowledge he ever made. It
took that amount to recover the place
he occupied before he left and pay the
incidental expenses of the trip. The
instance has many parallels.
If the Howells Journal is to be trust
ed not a sack of outside flour has been
sold in that city in ten years. A dec
ade ago the business men there ar
ranged for the building of roller mills.
It was on the agreement that they
would import no flour. That was all
right and the millers In turn agreed to
turn out nothing but the very best
grades. So far, says the Journal, both
have kept the bargain and no citizen
but he who has sojourned elsewhere
has had, a taste of any but local -flour
in ten years.
It is wonderful how the old ones do
stick. The Humphrey Democrat
prints this: "It is said a Columbus
preacher announced that he would de
liver a sermon on 'Hell and Who Will
Be There.' Before the week was out
he received letters from two editors
(we don't know whether Edgar How
ard was one of them or not), three ho
tel men, two barbers, six bankers and
all the lawyers In town, threatening to
sue him if he dared mention them in
his sermon." Scriptural literature tells
of no resurrection more remarkable
than that of dead gags among the
country newspapers.
"I'll leave my happy home for you,"
sang the squatter to the river as it
engulfed his little cabint and he left.
It was a lonesome man who had re
nounced the world and got as far away
from It as convenient by erecting him
self a shack on a small island In the
middle 'of the Platte not far from
South Bend. There he dwelt and It
was his custom to cultivate the rich
soil about his little home without the
interference of anybody. But a short
time ago trouble came. An Ice gorge
formed some distance bt-low and the
water backed up over the banks. It
kept backing up and presently sedate
but vicious cakes of ice were batter
ing at the walls of the little dwelling.
Needless to say that before this min
ute the recluse had grasped his oars
and paddled away in the little boat he
had kept prisoned In a cove. On shore
he watched the process of assault and
battery until not a vestige of his home
was left. The island was submerged
and he had been thoroughly rebuked
for attempting to live apart from so
ciety. The recent very high wind was re
sponsible for the death of M. H. Smith
of Loup City In a peculiar manner. He
had left the city to visit his farm about
eight miles away and among other du
ties he sought to' repair the windmill.
It stood on a tower about thirty feet
high. Though an old man upwards
of sixty years of age he did not hesi
tate, to climb to the top. The mill was
turning violently with the fiercely
blowing wind but this did not deter
him. As he raised his head above the
level of the little platform a sudden
gust veered the fan wheel and It
whirled against his head. The next in
stant, with face and scalp pitifully
torn he fell to the roof of the mill
house below and from there rolled to
the ground. Here he was found dead
a short time later. So deep and ragged
were the wounds on his head that it
was thought the whirring wheel killed
him instantly.
A man living ner.r North Platte
solves 'the irrigation question this way.
He has adapted the running gear of
an old wagon to a gasoline engine.
Wheeling this to the three wells on his
place he manages to keep the reser
voirs full with perfect ease. Of course
there Is no need for ti in windy weather
for then the mills do the work. He is
simply 4 prepared for any kind of
weather fate chooses to administer.
Two horses recently met death in an
odd manned near Red Cloud. Their
owner had driven to a dance and dur
ing the progress of the revel some
jealous person had taken the liberty
to unhitch them. The lines were Still
tied to the wagon wheel. As soon as
the animals were free they gayly
strayed away. Before going far they
reached the creek. Over the bank they
went into it with, the .wagon lodged In
bramble in such a way that struggles
were unavailing. The tightening lines
forced the heads of the horses down
ward into the water, the wagon being
several fet above them, and there
they were found later, drowned.
Do you believe it? George Fox of Al
liance says Christian Science is restor
- ing his sight. From infancy he has
been deprived of vision in one eye.
He has expended considerable money
in treatment, hoping that the defect'
might be cured. Not long ago he went
to Omaha and there chose to see If
Christian Science would help him in
any way. A few weeks' treatment
has been taken and now he writes
home that sight is beginning to return
to the recreant organ.
A wild cat large enough to make
away with a good sized calf, the larg
est cat ever caught in the neighborhood
of Broken Bow was trapped not long
ago and his hide has been stuffed. It
weighed thirty-six pounds and stood as
high as a wolf. Judge Sullivan of Co
lumbus has bought It and will keep it
where it will be an everyday reminder
of the primeval periods. The trap was
set for a wolf but the cat got into it
with both fore feet and its rage at
sight of man was calmed, with a pellet
of. lead.
People near Alliance have recently
received five bushels of what Is called
Macaroni wheat, a grain which, it is
said, will Btand any kind of drouth
without wilting. An experiment will
be made of it this year and if It finds
it can really endure what Nebraska
calls a drouth more will be sowed next
year. This grain is raised in Uralsk,1'
Russia, and in Central Asia, where no
more than ten Inches of moisture fall
yearly, on the average. It is thought
that if it can resist this ind of weather
there, nothing Nebraska can boast of
will harm it. The berry is large,
smooth, lovely to look upon and deli
cious to the taste. The Ave bushels
shipped to Alliance will be sowed in,
areas wide apart, round about Alliance,
to "be sure that it has a reasonably fair
trial. If it falls for one man it may
succeed with another 'and thus some
seed may be carried over for another
season.
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Miller & Paine
Dress Goods,
Cloaks and Suits,.
Linens,
Underwear and Hosiery,
Cotton Goods,
Rugs and Draperies,
Millinery,
Notions and Trimmings,
Etc., Etc.
G and 13th Sts. Lincoln, Neb
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