THE COURIER
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BHfK
HENRY EDWARD MATTHEWS.
In Lincoln lives perhaps the youngest piano tuner in the country. He
Is Henry Edward Matthews, fifteen years old the 17th of last September.
He is rapidly gaining prestige among the best musicians in town for work
that is fairly marvelous, considering his years. Besides this outside
work he does all of the tuning in the music house of his father, E. R. Mat
thews at 1120 O street.
It was a case of measles that induced him to take to piano tuning.
Born near -De Witt, Saline county, September 17, 1886, he removed with
his parents to Lincoln at the age of six years. From that time on he at
tended public school until he reached the age of twelve years. He was
then taken with measles which so affected his eyes that he could no
longer attend school. He worked about his father's store. Taking a
great fancy to the piano tuners he stood about them much of the time
and finally one of them, Fred Eiche, volunteered to teach him. All that
year he studied under Mr. Eiche, then went to the factory of the Schil
ler' Piano Company at Oregon, 111. All summer he worked there from
bench to bench until finally he was able to build, and did build a piano
action. When he left. It was with an intimate knowledge of the action
building and regulation of a piano, knowledge that most tuners are lack
ing In. He had the highest recommendation of F. G. Jones, president of
the piano company. He began professional tuning at the age of four
teen. Among those who have praised his work are Mrs. L. J. Herzog, 1747
N street, who speaks of him as a genius in his line; A. A. Hadley, of
the Nebraska Conservatory of Music; Grace Gingery Ferris, 1724 J street:
W. L. Sheetz, professor of mus'lc or the city school, who tells of Mr.
"-Matthews practically rebuilding a piano for him, and G. C. Menzendorf,
1512 R street. The Chicago Indicator, a musical paper, recently devoted a
full page to his picture and recounted his achievements.
Mr. Matthews lives with his parents at 3169 R street. He is quite
a cornet artist and Is learning the violin. He has appeared in public re
citals a number of times with his cornet. Two sisters and two brothers.
all younger than himself, are also manifesting a promising taste for
music.
7n and Jlbout . . .
' Nebraska
A way to thwart drouth is suggested
by farmers out in the state who have
absorbed some ideas which they intend
to put In practice. Two or three weeks
after they have planted the regular
crop of corn they intend to go over
the ground again and put in some
more, the hills about ten feet apart.
Then let the drouth come. If It catches
the regular corn tasseling, why It is no
harm done. The later planting will be
in tassel shortly and its pollen will
serve to fertilize the neighboring ears
in sufficient degree to insure fruition.
It has been done, say these farmers,
with eminent success and what oth
ers have achieved Is not Impossible for
them. They have another scheme, too.
This is to soak their corn in kerosene
before planting. No bug, bird or
gopher will relish this sort of flavor
in its diet, aver the husbandmen.
Rare is the occasion of a balloon as
cension in Pawnee City. That is why
146 parents wrote out excuses for their
children that they might see the
strange sight instead of suffering in
the dull confines of the school room,
chasing education. That is why, also,
the superintendent was prone to anger.
He knew there was to be an ascension.
He was aware that nearly everybody
else was cognizant also. What most
others did not know was that it would
surely be delayed even if no fatal hitch
were encountered. But what a woeful
lack of originality the people dis
played! To have read the excuses with
the superintendent one would have
trembled at an amazing epidemic.
Two-thirds of the excuses nominated
sickness in the family. It was awful.
And even then there was no ascension.
The balloon displayed too many leaks
that had not been detected.
"Maniage Licenses!" In bold, impu
dent letters this significant sign occu
pies a shingle just outside the office
door of Judge Rettermann of Colum
bus. Nothing could be more plain.
Hardly anything could be more wise.
Did you ever go after a marriage li
cense? Doubtless you know then how
embarrassing it is to accidentally In
quire of the wrong person If he Is the
gentleman who delivers the documents.
It is bad enough to feel the necessity
of calling upon anybody for guidance
to the office. Though it looks commer
cial and perhaps more than slightly
mercenary there is no doubt that the
judge has earned the blessings of
many an ardent young couple.
Willma K. Smith is a three year old
girl who Is drawing a pension of $14
a month. She lives with her mother in
Seward county, who married Ed Kipp
of Seward after the death of her hus
band. The little girl's father enlisted
at Milford In Co. K. and this letter the
mother inserted in baby's name after
Its father died, in remembrajice of his
soldier career. He went to Chlcka
mauga with his company, took sick
and died. The mother applied for a
pension for the baby daughter and
now the midget is profiting by the
kindness of the government.
An old horse shoe was recently found
imbedded in a maple tree on the farm
of Dudley Anderson near Elk Creek.
With his help he was sawing through
the butt of a tree nearly a foot ami n
half in diameter. Suddenly the saw
struck an obstacle. The log was turned
and the tool applied on the other side.
After a few minutes It stalled again
and presently the horse shoe was
found. It was close to the center of
the tree and evidently somebody had
made a ringer on the trunk years ago.
neglecting to remove the instrument.
In 1S71 Ellas Lamb of Concordia de
voted a large part of his farm tract
to the cultivation of trees. Now the
timber has reached a good, solid, pro
fitable growth and he Intends to make
a little money from his investment of
years ago. He has not been bothered
by It In using the rest of his farm to
good advantage. He simply set part of
the tract to trees. In a few weeks,
with his new saw mill, he hopes to
have 40,000 feet of lumber on the mar
ket. Rummage sales have fallen many
'notches in the estimation of a Superior
woman. She was attending one as in
duty bound to her church membership.
She wore her new $15 hat, something
on the line of n stunner. In the course
of her busy endeavors she removed
the magnificent thing and laid it on the
counter. It wasn't later than ten min
utes ere it had been sold to an Innocent
purchaser for a dime and the woman
had ridden away in her farm wagon
before the loser could get track of the
missing. treasure.
Some might call this a rather stiff
diet. A little girl, daughter of a sec
tion foreman at St. Clare, not a sreat
distance from Superior, gobbled a
great quantity of orange peeling and
followed It up with a liberal appetizer
of canned cherries which her mother
had displayed on the table. The little
lady did not stop at 'seeds. The meal
certainly did not agree with her con
stitution. In a few minutes she was in
spasms. It happened that the doctor
was handy and his assistance did not
come too late.
Beaver City has a different kind of
a club. It is a woman's health club,
the merits of which are attracting at
tention in all the towns about. Every
week the members get together and go
through their exercises. They are not
the kind who are laced to the point of
suffocation. Their gowns are so fitted
that they have free movement for any
Item of their physical training. After
they have given their muscles a show
their minds get a turn. Papers are
read not on abstract theories, ancient
or biblical characters or Ibsen philoso
phy. They pertain to the culinary art,
the science of reputable and digestible
foods and the problems of keeping
house orderly, attractively and eco
nomically. Out at Neligh it hardly pays to order
hunters off your ranch. This is what
David McClintock did the other day
and he got a bloody head for It. He
came across two men who were hunt
ing on the ranch of his employer near
town, contrary to the advice of numer
ous signs and in spite of the reputed
opposition of the ranchman to this
kind of business. He advised these
large, impudent nimrods to heed the
warnings and brush by. He was met
with a cross fire of adjectives that
were unmistakably Irritating and he
attempted to herd the hunters off all
by himself. They instantly up with
their guns and clubbed him over the
head. He gathered himself up after a
while and wandered off to the city for
a doctor, faint from loss of blood and
face crimson with gore.
For one whole year Phil Holm of
Neligh was parted from his wandering
steer. Now they are together again.
The animal strayed away from his
ranch one day and he searched high
and low, over hill and swale but found
him not. The other day he discovered
among the animals of his neighbor hi3
long lost property. He Identified it by
a mark in the ear. Having replevied
the bast he took It back home rejolc
lng. The man insisted he had Just
bought it for $10 from u man in the
next township. They went later to th;it
man and queried him. "Thnt wns my
animal. I raided it from a calr," ho
wild, "but seeing there Is another claim
to it I will return your $40." and he did.
Valiant warfare Is being waged by
the Plattsmbuth News against the en
trance to this state of the eastern cus
tom of holding funerals in the evening.
Nebraska, It holds, should show its
love for its dent! by never adopting
this plan. The only merit In It Is th
fact that people who do not want to
leave their business interests In the
morning' or afternoon may attend the
iltes In the evening. This Is consid
erable In some Instances, "but." says
the News, "no Nebrnskun who wan n
true friend of the deceased will be loth
to leave his business any part of one
day to see his cold form for the last
time on earth. To do otherwise were
a confession of mercenary spirit too
contemptible for the honor of so glor
ious a commonwealth."
The oldest resident Fullerton. Nance
county, ever claimed will be 100 yeara
old the tenth of next October. He Is
C. W. Sherman who went there som
months ago with his family, from Sib
ley, la. Despite his great nge he looks,
they say, as young as sixty-five and
Is "as hearty as a buck and can run
as well." How has he kept himself so
well preserved? He says that for a
number of years he was a sailor and
went to many parts of the earth, as
similating all kinds and degrees of
good health from all kinds and degrees
of climate and atmosphere. He has nl
ways taken care to get plenty of ex
ercise and has scorned the use of all
tobacco and Intoxicants. He expects
to live twenty-five years longer unless
he encounters an accident.
Breezy pictures in a saloon at Hast
ings did not touch the admiration of
Carrie Nation when she was there a
short time ago. She grabbed a chunk
of Ice from a dish of olives nearby and
slammed It through the picture In a
manner quite like old times. She was
saved from rough treatment by a
handy policeman. Other saloon keep
ers locked their doors when they saw
her coming and" applied In vain for
admittance. One who did not see her
soon enough took occasion to escort
her bodily from his place of business.
He was irresistible.
A Dawson county farmer netted $10,
000 last year through Irrigation. This
year he hopes to repeat the winning by
going extensively Into the culture of
potatoes and corn. He has a twenty
five horse power engine with which ho
plows, turning fifteen furrows at a
time. For over a week It has been
smoking and pulling over the plains
that he calls his home.
.
What does this indicate of the brow
of a man who allows himself to think
of suicide? N. II. Nelson, a man living
in Rock Creek precinct near Wahoo
recently attempted suicide by way of
a revolver. He directed the bullet at
his forehead. When the smoke had
cleared away and the powder soot and
blood had been wiped from the in
jured man's face It was found that no
brain matter was issuing. The bullet
was found on the fioor, flattened from
its contact with the man's forehead.
The only injury was to the flesh that
clothes that part of his anatomy.
Here Is an Easter pleasantry (resur
rected) that is once more making the
rounds of the country press. Of
course It Is the essay of the school boy
on "The Mouth." This Is what the pre
cocious youth Is supposed to have said:
"The mouth is the front door to the
face; it Is the aperture of the cold
storage of your anatomy. Some
mouths look like peaches and cream.
Some look like a hole In a brick wall
to admit a door or window. .The
mouth is a crimson aisle to the liver;
it is patriotism's foundation and the