HE part played by the rails In
feeding a hungry world Is per­
haps shown nowhere more pic­
turesquely than In the Union
stockyards at Chicago. Impos­
sible as It may seem, there are at
these yards 260 miles of tracks within
an area of one square mile. It con­
nects through a belt line system
with more than 26 trunk lines.
The cattle country tributary to the
Chicago Union stockyards embraces
about 1,000.000 square miles, says the
Railroad Man's Magazine. The range
cattle fatten In the Dakota-Iowa-Kan-
saa-Nebraska-Mtnnnsota corn belt In
addition to cattle are hogi, sheep,
mules end horses.
The system of handling this enor­
mous traffic la In two distinct parts—
the traffic over the granger lines prop­
er and the handling of trains after
they leave the freight terminals and
enter the belt line tracks. Any one of
the big trunk lines may be taken as
an example of
the
resL
The
live
stock
traffic
of
one
of
these
averages
a
400
mile
haul, the trains having right of way
over everything except passenger
service. The average stock train Is
of 36 loaded cars, and Its speed, all
•tops Included, la 35 miles an hour.
If the haul la from Omaha, the train
will be handled over three divisions,
meaning three crews, each consisting
of an engineer, fireman, conductor and
two brakemen, 15 men In all, and
these only to the terminal point
December. January, February and
March are the banner months, and
Monday Is the day of largest receipts
at the Chicago yards.
Wednesday
cornea next. The average njmber of
stock cars entering Chicago over one
of the great railroads on Sunday night
and Monday morning Is 700. Occa­
sionally the number of cars arriving
during the 8unday-Monday 24 hours Is
more than a thousand.
Thousands of People Employed.
The great yards themselves are di­
vided Into two great sections— the
western portion with Its packing
honsea and subsidiary Industries, and
the eastern part with Its pens and
cbutea. Here every weekday of the
year more than 60.000 persona labor
or transact business.
Between eight o'clock each Sunday
evening and nine o'clock Monday
morning during the four busy months
Inclusive from 22,000 to 23,000 cars of
stock, comprising approximately a
hundred trains, are unloaded In the
yards. The process of unloading con­
sumes around 12 hours. The average
must be one car unloaded every 20
seconds.
To the casual observer the trains ap­
pear to be masted In a hopeless jam,
and one might walk block after block
on the tops of cars
But despite this
seeming Impenetrable Jungle of roll­
ing stock, the trains are moved with
a precision that would shame moat
clocks or watchea.
This stock Is shipped principally to
commission brokers and seldom to
packing houses or other eventual buy­
ers. Bach train may contain every
class of stock that goes Into the yards
—horses, mules, sheep, hogs and cat­
tle.
Walk down Exchange avenue In the
yards on Sunday afternoon or evening
and watch the groups of Idle employes
whittling sticks and swapping yarns,
with nothing to do but wait. Now and
then a passenger goes by. but for the
most part It la expectant waiting. And
then. Just before dawn the stock trains
come hurtling out of the darkness,
bringing their thousands of live ani­
mals.
By daybreak the tracks are Jammed
for miles with the moving trains,
while the uproar la Increased by stock-
men shouting, whining, swearing,
threatening because they fear they
will
not
have
thetr
stock un­
loaded when the market opens. It Is
bedlam.
As soon as a train arrives
at the pens, Its movements having
been governed by the train director
In the tower, the locomotive la at­
tached to the opposite end.
The
length of time consumed In unloading
each car Is one and one-half minutes,
but many other cars are being emp­
tied In that same Interval.
There are ten chute platform« lead-
lag to all parts of the yard, and each
holds from I I to 62 cars, making a to­
T
dress of the person to whom the card
or booklet 1 b sent. On the front cover
la some such pleasing title as "Studies
o f Animal Life. The Hog Family.''
On the pages inside are pictures of
various members of the hog family,
and as the recipient turns to the last
page, on the back cover, he finds him­
self looking Into the mirror for the last
member of the family, which may be
varied to represent other animals.
BOY SCOUT PUZZLE SOLVED
Considerable Argument Over Ques­
tion as to Who Made Bull’s-Eye —
— Some Ingenuity Required.
When the Boy Scouts held their big
target shoot, which resulted In a tie
between
Oen. Dick, Col. Tom, and
C&pL Henry, considerable argument
arose as to who made the bulls-eye.
"Ton see. It was acknowledged that
each had scored 71 points In six
shots.
Now, It Involves quite a respectable
puzzle, for the reason that It re­
quires some little Ingenuity to pick
out the alx which each one must have
Boy Scouts’ Puzzle.
made to produce three totals of 71
points.
The answer Is as follows:
The three tie scores wers com­
posed as follows:
First— 50, 10. 6, 3, 2, 1. S econ d-
15. 20. 20, 3, 2, L Third—25, 20. 10, 10,
6 . L
A Russian Baby.
A traveler from Russia says that
Russian babies In Siberia are not
very attractive. He says that one
day he noticed in one of the houses
a curious bundle on a shelf; another
hung from a peg In the wall, and a
third hung by a rope from the raft-
era— this one the mother was swing­
ing. The traveler discovered that
each eurlous bundle was a child; the
one In the swinging bundle was the
youngest. The traveler looked at the
little baby and found It so dirty that
he exclaimed In disgust, "Why do
you not waeti It?" The mother looked
horror-stricken, and ejaculated, "Wash
Itl Wash the babyl Why, It would
kill It l ” What a happy country Rus­
sia would be for some boys! Never
to hear, "Wash your face and hands,”
“ Hava yon brushed your hair?"
Copyright. 1312. by Underwood
A Underwood. N . T.
The model below is the Richelieu turban, named after Cardinal
Richelieu of France. It Is composed of red silk crown, denoting the Car­
dinal's color, pulled and bound wlih a gold embroidered band. 1710 brim Is
slightly lolled on the front and sides. The model above Is wearing anoth­
er style turban hat constructed of fur with a feather standing out at side
which will be worn at social functions, being specially tltted to go with low
cut gowns and scarf drapery. The hat can be pulled down over the hair
to be In style.
PLAIDS ALWAYS
IN DEMAND I DESIGN FOR SILK STOCKINGS
Now Bid Pair to Be More the Rage
Than They Have Been for
Some Time.
Oriental Characters Are the Latest to
Be Used by Those Who Lika
Embroidery.
The material most commented on
at present is Scotch plaid, which is al­
ways associated with autumn, says the
Indianapolis News. Numbers of fash­
ionable women are ordering two skirts
with these new plaid costumes. The
semi-fitting jacket covering the hips
Is worn with a short skirt made for
the country. The material Just touches
the ankles, an<Tthe trimming consists
of a wide box plait, back and front.
The same box plaits repeat them­
selves on the second skirt, ordered for
town wear. Below the knees starts
s flounce o f the plaid material with
narrow box plaits touching one an­
other. This flounce adds extra width
to the new autumn skirts.
Straps in plaid trim the jacket at
the back, starting at the side beneath
a long, square steel buckle. A couple
of revers in surah widen as they cross
the shoulders and form a hood ending
In a point at the waist. One large
plaid button fastens the Jacket below
the bust
Girls who are fond o f needlework
will want to embroider themselves
two or more pairs of silk stockings
In the now fashionable Oriental de­
signs.
Select a good grade o f silk stock­
ing woven with thread silk, black or
any color you desire; then with a
sharp-pointed piece of tailor’s chalk
outline a design representing some cu­
rious Chinese or Japanese symbol,
lettering or number.
These can be found In any Oriental
shop or or. a Chinese laundry check.
They are not difficult to sketch, being
for the most part broad lines crossing
each other In a curious manner.
These should be slightly padded
with very soft darning cotton, so that
the center will be raised above the
outer edge. The embroidery Is then
done In fine floss silk, using brilliant
red, green, yellow, purple and blue. All
colors rich In tone are effective, and
occasionally threads of silver and gold
can be Introduced In the embroidery.
Care must be taken when applying
the work to colored stockings that tha
colors used In the embroidery harmo­
nize with that o f the stocking Itself.
Any color or combination o f colors
can be used on black.
Tiny beads and small flowera are
lovely when worked In rich Oriental
colors. For example, a spray o f wis­
taria Is charming on violet silk stock­
ings. Cherry blossoms on white or
green, Iris on blue or yellow, and the
flaming poppy on black.
When working, an easy way to keep
the stocking taut so the embroidery
will lie smooth Is to slip a china egg
or very smooth darning egg Into tha
etocklng, then hold the silk tightly
over that as you would for ordinary
darning. The embroidery will than
be perfectly smooth when worn.
EVENING CAP
Tinting Lace.
A weak solution of permanganate of
potash will tint laces that deep shade
of ecru so much used at presenL
It must be carefully dissolved, oth­
erwise It will produce stalna which
are Impossible to remove.
Test the dye with a small piece of
muslin before dipping the lace. If the
color Is too deep, dilute the solution
until the required hue Is obtained.
Never allow the lace to remain In
the dye; simply dip In and out again.
Tea or a solution of coffee Is excel­
One Perfect Boy.
lent to tint laces. The latter pro­
• j never heard of but one perfect
duces the fashionable string color.
boy,” said Johnny, pensively, as he
Lace trimmings to match the ma­
■at In the corner doing penance
terial o f the frock are much used this
"And who was that?’’ asked mam-
season.
With two or three simple colors
’’Papa— when he was little," was l _____
even an amateur can produce good re­
the answer. Then silence reigned for
The coiffure matters not at all with sults.
the space o f dve minutes.
on* o f these quaint new evening caps
which are much the fad for theater
Fregeh Ralncosts.
Tin for Toys.
wear. The cap is made of pearl bead­
The French raincoat la an excellent,
A shipload o f pieces o f tin left over ed gold net, which Is mounted over one to wear with fine gowns. It Is
from making salmon cans on the Pa­ thin silk. Heavy pearl bead and tas­ made o f rubberized crepe de chine and
cific coast was racently ssnt to Oer- sel ornaments at the sides drag the peau de sole. These coats are excel
saany to be transformed Into little cap dawn over the ears. The hair Is lent protectors, and yet are so light
H i soldiers and other toys for chll- softly waved and drawn Huffily beyond In weight that they will not leave their
Aren. Heretofore this prodoat has tha edge of the cap.
tal of I1J oars that caa be unloaded at
Imprint oa a beautiful gown.
feaaa entirely wasted
I
one time. The average la 31 cars to
the chute.
This roaring, protesting, squealing
horde of live stock la urged up the
cbutea, with the shoep waiting reluct­
antly for a leader.
Railroad employee and yard opera-
Uves detest sheep Sheep won't cross
a puddle of water until a bellwether
has been yanked over 1L and then
they won't atop till their leader has
bumped Into a fence and can go no
farther.
The animals In general are excited,
the nerves of the workmen are tense
and the controlling clement, time,
seems to spin by with tragic flout-
ness.
As each train la unloaded It be­
comes a dead thing, so far as the
yards are concerned.
It Is hurried
out of the way, making lta exit over
one of the three outgoing tracks and
apevdlng back again to the meadows
and the prairie reaches.
A thrilling acene Is being enacted
along the endless rows of pens. Punch­
ers on horseback (regular western
cayuses, at that!) are clattering over
the brick pavement or splashing
through the tnlre. Buyers represent­
ing all the packing houses, eastern
concerns and even Individuals are rao-
Ing to and fro, discussing fine points
In the stock, bidding for their favor­
ite herds.
Start for the East.
From the northeast and southeast
cornera of the yards other trains are
moving. These are bound for the easL
with stock on hoof traveling toward
New York. New England, and other
points that attend to their own kill­
ing.
While 2.600 or 3.000 cars are moving
Into the yards with their lading of
farm animals, about 800 cars are trav­
eling eastward with live stock that
has been purchased that day for those
distant market placet
And during this same period 00
crews of the stock yards railroad are
handling tbelr dead freight shunt­
ing 8,000 cars Into position, bringing
in and taking out the thousand and
one things that go to make up Indus­
try In the stockyards.
For those few hours the train di­
rector Is the busiest man In that
whirlpool of Industry-
He must ac­
count for every stop, every start of
each train received and returned. He
must determine by the bills Just
where the consignees can be favored
the most, and he must place hla trains
so that every chute la operating to Its
fullest capacity every moment of
these teeming houra.
To convey some adequate notion of
what this amounts to during the week
—Jammed into a few busy hours of
each day—let us look at the averages
for the weekdays of the four most
Industrious months.
Monday and Wednesday being the
two most
prolific shtplpng days,
bring about 4.800 loaded cars Into the
yards. On Tuesday and Thursday
there are added 3.200 more cars, and
on Friday and Saturday 1.800 addi­
tional cart go toward making the
grand total of 9.600 cars for the
week, constituting 270 trains.
Each
train moves over approximately four
divisions.
Besides this, about 1,000 cars of
live stock are ahlpped last eaah
week, averaging 30 trains, travers­
ing more than 600 miles end enter-
ng a territory where divisions are
more frequent.
High Society.
A new-rich dowager, only recently
removed from the environs of a west­
ern packing house, haa afforded much
amusement while clambering up the
slippery rounds of the social ladder.
One day, after she bad returned from
circumnavigating the globe, she essay­
ed to entertain a drawing-room with a
boastful account of her travels She
had been everywhere, and her flow of
English was augmented by frequent
waving* of her bedlamonded hands
and forceful nodding* of her Harmed
head.
"Did you see the Dardanelles?" ask­
ed a sprightly debutante.
“ And the Himalayas?' inquired an­
other fair young bud.
“ I dined with them In Parts,” replied
the dowager, triumphantly.
And aha wondered why everybody
The prince of Monaco presented re­
cently to the Academy of Sciences In
Peris some notes about cephalopoda
captured by him at an average depth
of about 13,000 feet. Cephalopoda are
ootopuaee, cuttlefish and squids. These
deep sea creature«, he eald, have suah
transparent bodies that ell their Inter­
nal arrangements can be eeen distinct­
ly, and even the course of the nerve«
through the head and tentacles may
b« traced. Several years ago the prince
described come cephalopoda which
had searchlights fixed upon their
beads. Me now describes a species
with eye« of which the lower half le
luminous, so that the eye serves both
for seeing and for lighting Any ani­
mal that Inhabits such deptha as these
do must hare artlflclsl light, for the
sun's rays cannot penetrate, and all
la abaolute darkness. So the eyes of
the«» cephalopoda are perfectly adapt­
ed to tbelr «-nrlronmenL
THE BLANKET TREE.
Blankets grow on tree* in Ecuador,
and while the Idea of an nil-wool,
fresh from the forest, bedcovering
might give Insomnia and a backache
to the child of civilisation who ilkea
to snuggle comfortably under several
layers of down and wool, the natives
And It all right, as In fact. It la.
When an Ecuador Indian wants n
blanket ha hunts up a demajagun
tree and cuts from It a five or all foot
section of the peculiarly soft, thick
bark. This la dampened and beaten
until the flexibility of the aheet la
much Increased. The rough, gray ex­
terior la next peeled off, and the aheet
dried In the sun
The result le a
blanket, soft, light, end fairly warm,
of an attractive cream color It may
be rolled Into a compact bundle with­
out hurt end with ordinary usage will
last for eeveral years.— Harper's
Weekly.
P
*
FARM HAS TRAGIC HISTORY.
A tragic history accompanies a
Welsh farm near Swansea The farm
la known as “Talywand*.’’ A man
named David Davies, a farmer, thirty
years old, committed suicide there, a
few days ago, by cutting hla throaL
When found In a field, the body waa
almost* beyond recognition, having
been attacked by rats. No fewer than
five tnqueata have been held by the
coroner at the farm on bodlea of
members o f the family during the
past few years, and all met singular
deaths. The father waa killed by
being run over by a cart which he
was driving: the mother died sudden­
ly; an elder brother waa thrown off
hts horse and killed, and another
brother hanged himself. A previous
occupant of tha farm, prior to the
tenancy of the Davlesea, also hanged
himself.
i
SMOKE COSTS MILLIONS.
More than 1600,000,000 a year Is
done In damage to merchandise, de­
facement o f buildings, tarnishing of
metals. Injury to human and plant life.
Increased cost of housekeeping and
losses to manufacturers due to Imper­
fect combustion of coal. In other
words. In abating the emoke nuisance
In the large cities this amount of
money will be saved, as well as In­
creasing the comfort and convenience
of the resident*. An Important step
In this direction has been taken In
Pittsburg, where the University of
Pittsburg has undertaken to call the
matter to the attention of those Inter­
ested In a series of papers published
In the form of bulletins.
FIR8T SON NOT A LW A Y S BEST,
The first born son Is not necessarily
the smartest, according to history.
Among famous men of genius who
came along late In their families are
Joseph David, Napoleon, Dickens, Lin­
coln, Washington. Cromwell, Tolstoi,
Daniel Webster, Franklin, Balsac, Ten­
nyson, Chopin, Tan Dyck and Rem­
brandt. The oldest son In thq family
Is not necessarily the best Being tha
oldest, of course, he will put on the
roost airs and be a family leader be­
cause of mere flrstnesa, but the young­
est boy may be the one whose name
will become distinguished, or the one
who will be the greatest comfort to
his parents.—Oalllpolls Tribune.
UNIT OF MAGNETISM.
The electron, or unit of electricity,
Is now supposed to form a material
part of the stoma of the various ele­
ments, and Prof. Pierre Weiss haa at­
tempted to prove that a similar par-
tide, which he calls the “ magneton."
Is the unit of magnetism. In testing
his theory be has made numerous ex­
periments on raagnetlMtlon at vary
low temperatures. He haa found con­
firmation of his view, and believes he
has shown ths presence of magneton
In the atoms of Iron, nickel, cobalL
copper, manganese and the metals of
the rare earths.
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