Oregon: city coura
EM
MAGAZINE SECTION".
OREGON CITY, OREGON FKIDAY. FEBRUARY 16, 1906.
PAGES 1 TO 4.
THE NEW WEST POINT,
STRENUOUS LIFE PROVIDED
FOR THE YOUNG CADETS
AND FUTURE OFFICERS.
Mm Is to Make Men Quick and Self-
Reliant Extensive Additions Being
Made to Institution Social Life a
Feature
The United States Military Academy
at west 'oint has long enjoyea an in
ternational reputation as the finest
training Institution In the world, and
j this prestige will be considerably en
hanced upon the completion of the
large scheme of Improvements now
under way and upon which Congress
will expend more than seven ' million
GUARD MOUNi' AT WEST ' POINT.
dollars ere they are fully completed in
the year 1912. Already the Creation
of the "new West Point" has pro
gressed far enough to prove how bene
ficial will be the undertaking.
While the primary purpose of Uncle
Sam's unique institution on the banks
of the Hudson River Is, of course, to
educate young men for positions as
officers of the United States Army, the
superiority which has won for it
world-wide fame is due to the marvel
ous efficiency of the mental and physi
cal training without regard to the use
to which the knowledge is to be put.
It Is In the Interest of this ambition to
graduate perfect specimens of Ameri
can manhood that the costly Improve
ments are being carried forward.
Nearly Trebles Present Capacity.
For one thing the new buildings will
provide accommodations for 1,200 ca
dets, instead of for 450 as at present,
and these new structures will also in
clude a new gymnasium, riding hall,
academic building, cadet headquarters,
etc., as well as a handsome hotel for
The Cadets h
Become Ex
pert Polo
Players and
Swordsmen.
the accommodation of the numerous
visitors, including many members of
the fair sex, who come to the Point for
the various social functions which are
scattered through the school year.
The new West Point will place some
added comforts within re- -h of the
cadets in gray but it will result in no
lessening of the strenuous activity of
their every day life. The West Point
er is roused at six o'clock every morn
ing, after eight hours sleep. He must
be on the Jump from tne moment ne
opens his eyes, for only twenty minut
es is allowed him to wash, dress, fold
up his bedding and set In ordor his
room and its contents. At 6.30 o'clock
the young men form in companies and
march to the mess hall for breakfast.
Almost immediately after breakfast
begins a routine of study that includes
such branches as mathematics, draw
ing, modern languages, geography,
chemistry, geology, etc. Interspersed
between the study and recitation hours
are intervals of drill, and what in any
other school would be given over to
recreation periods are devoted to ath
letics in accordance wun a ueuuue
program.
10 Plane rnysicaiijr rci isn.
The cadets at West Point go in for
almost every known muscle-building
exercise. Early in the morning they
irn thrnmrh the well-known "sotting
up" drill and time is also devoted par
ticularly in summer to tennis, golf,
polo, hurdle riding, baseball foot ball
and swimming . The gymnasium pur
suits include boxing, fencing-, single
stick exercise, etc., in addition to
which instruction and practice In
dancing are compulsory during two
years of the four year course.
u it. r-va- ? a ' , art i
(J liWli
The social side of life at West Point
has unquestionably proven one of the
greatest attractions of this unique
school, admission to which is so eager
ly Bought by young men in all parts of
the country. 3 Ordinarily the West
Pointer has only half- an hour dally,
the interval following supper that he
can call his own. On Saturday after
noon however, the lads are "free" from
two o'clock until 6.30 o'clock, the sup
per hour, and on Wednesdays there Is
similar freedom from 4 o clock In the
afternoon until 6.30 o'clock. At such
times the famous Flirtation Walk,
where so many romances have had
their beginning is a mccca for a con
siderable portion jof the young men.
On Saturday evenings from 8.30 to
10.30 oelock there is dancing.
When They Camp Out.
In the eyes of most of the cadets the
happiest portion of the year at West
Point is the summer interval when the
whole battalion goes into camp in the
wooded area on the north side of the
Academy grounds, remaining under
canvas from June until September.
During this season visitors are espec
ially numerous, and the social life at
the Point Is seen at its best
The cadets at West Point are In very
truth picked men, for not only is ad
mission gained by passing a very
severe entrance examination, but
there are examinations scattered all
through the four year course and If a
cadet fails to comeup to the mark at
any of these periodical tests he Is al
most certain to be dropped from the
rolls. Indeed, so severe is this weed-
ing-out process that only about one
half of the young men who enter West
Point succeed In graduating.
A Democratic Institution.
One phase of conditions at West
Point which is calculated to make
every American proud of the institu
tion Is the splendid democracy which
prevails. Special privileges are un
known at the Point. The boy whose
father is a multi-millionaire wears the
same grade of clothing,' sleeps in the
same kind of a bed and eats food that
is precisely on a par with that fur
nished to the cadet who started in life
as 'a bootblack. Each student at the
Military Academy receives from Un
cle Sam the sum of five hundred dol
lars a year and out of this he must
purchase all his necessities at the
"store." If he spends more than the
allowance such excess is a debt which
Is duly charged against him and must
be liquidated from his future pay.
He Broke up the Meeting.
A temperance lecturer, speaking in
Keene, N. H., reminded his hearers of
the story of Dives and Lazarus. He
pointed out how, when Dives was in
Hades, he did not ask for beer or wine
or whisky, but for one drop of water.
- - w--- --rr-r--T'- " -ir-rr-" '" - K
DANCING IS CONSIDERED A NECESSARY ADJUNCT TO Th'K "POINT,"
"Now, my friends," said the lecturer,
"what does that show us?" A voice
from the back of the hall instantly re
plied: "It shows us where you temper
ance people go to."
PALACE FIT FOR TITANIA.
MOST BEAUTIFUL PALACE IN
ENGLAND RESIDENCE OF
AMERICAN WOMAN.
Is Now Looking for an Irish Castle.
Canada Wants a Local Premier
Native American Might Hold Such
a Position.
The Duchess of Roxburghe, nee Goe
let of New York, after many fruitless
attempts to find a suitable residence in
Ireland, has intrusted the matter to
Lord Barrymore, who married, as his
second wife, the widow of Arthur Post
of New York, and thereby, quite natu
rally, greatly improved his financial
position. That is one reason he Is par
tial to American women and willing tc
do all In his power to assist them. Few
men know Ireland better than he
does. At one time he was one of the
best hated men In the country, and
diligent students of Irish history with-
THE DUCHESS OF
to the last quarter of a century would
say that it is a wonder he is still liv
ing. He is looking out for a house
for the Duchess in picturesque Galway.
A. fine mansion, constructed of Irish
granite and situated between Tuam
and Claremorris on the Midland and
Great Western Railway, has been in
spected in this connection. It is known
as Grove Castle, and was erected about
forty years ago by an eccentric- bach
elor millionaire named Cannon. The
estate attached to the house is of little
value, but the house and grounds are
beautiful. There is plenty of fishing
and shooting in the neighborhood, and
in the hunting season it attracts many
aristocratic folk.
Floors Castle is the English resi
dence of the Roxburghes. It stands on
a terrace overlooking extensive mead
ow lands spreading down to the Tweed
at its junction with the Teviot. It is
like a veritable fairyland of cupolas
and minarets, of turrets and embras
ured parapets. The castle was built
In 1718 by Sir John vanbrugh, in the
conception of some happy moment. Sir-
Walter Scott described "t" mansion of
Floors" as "a kingdom for Oberon and
Titania to dwell in, whose majesty and
beauty impresses the mind with a
sense of awe mingled with pleasure."
Vanbrugh might well be dubbed the
"architect to first dukes," from his
close association with Blenheim for the
first Duke of Marlborough, Kimbolton
for the first Duke of Manchester, and
now Floors lor the first Duke of Rox
burgh, who had just received this fur
ther title. The third duke was so en
grossed with the lifelong task of get
ting together his priceless collection
of old English literature that he tad
no t'me for the domestic life, and, dy
ing unmarried, left no son. The dis
tant kinsman who succeeded died also
without a son, and the title for a while
I ! . If.
was dormant pending a dispute be
tween three claimants. Until this time
the family surname had been Ker
alone, being the ancient family of the
Kers of Cessfprd; it now became Innes
Ker, as it remains for the settlement
of this three-cornered dispute awarded
the title to Sir James Innes, as heir
by right of a maternal ancestress. It
is a very pretty little bit of character
istic history that Duncan Forbes, the
historian, records in reference to this
succession of James Innes as fifth
duke that "his pedigree of thirty de
scents proceeds regularly from 1153,
and that in all their long line the in
heritance never went to a woman, that
none of them ever married an ill wife,
and that no one ever suffered for their
debts."
Americans returning from Europe
complain that invitations to the Italian
court under the present king, Victor
Emmanuel, are a good deal more diffi
cult to obtain, and are more sparingly
distributed than was the case when
Humbert occupied the throne of united
Italy in the Quirinal at Rome. The
ROXBURGHE,
foreign envoys are required nowadays
to personally vouch for the social
standing of those of their countrymen
who are admitted into the presence of
the king. It is well-nigh an impossi
bility for our Ambassador to vouch for
the social standing of every American
tourist who happens to be "doing"
Rome and takes it into his head to
go and "call" on the king.
In the Dominion of Canada there is
a sentiment growing more or less lately
favoring the appointment of a Cana
dian to the exalted post of Governor
General. The country has always been
ruled by some member of the nobility
sent out from England by the Crown.
It is possible, therefore, if the Crown
looks with favor on the petitions, that
some day a man born In the United
States may become Governor-General
of Canada, There is nothing but the
sentiment of the people to prevent this,
There Is no native-born clause, as is
the case with the Presidency of the
United States. One who becomes a
British subject by naturalization la
just as good a Britisher as one born
under the British flag.
Disguised as a Tramp.
That a man moving amongst the re
spectable classes should disguise him-
seir as a beggar, and go in search of
adventure, is not a new idea. A young
man with a taste for such experiments,
nowever, introduced a novel feature,
when masquerading as a tramp, by
visaing, amongst others, some of his
friends.
He had a . splendid opportunity of
testing their benevolence, for none of
them recognized him with his seedy
garments and-general, air of wretch?
edness.
His pilgrimage lasted five days, and
aunng tnat period (he started in an
appropriate state of pennilessness) he
Deggea or earned just about sufficient
to live in a rough fashion.
He received innumerable Insults
(many rrom unsusnectine acquain
tances), and only one kind word (from
a stranger). Even when he entered a
shop or lodging-house with money to
pay ior nis needs his ragged garments
procured h!m much contemptuous
treatment, and he learned a severe
lesson on the importance of clothes.
Indeed, his cynical conclusion Is
that a man who seeks charity should.
before all things, be well dressed!
A Happy Family,
A so-called "happy family" P. T. Bar
num used to exhibit consisted of a lion,
a tiger, a bear, a wolf, and a lamb, ail
penned together in one cage. "Remark
able!" a visitor said to Mr. Barnum; "re
markable, impressive, instructive! And
how long have these animals dwelt to
gether in this way?" "Seven months,"
Barnum answered, "but the lamb has
occasionally to be renewed."
YAST PETIRFIED FORESTS.
ANCIENT VOLCANIC UPHEAVALS
IN ARIZONA DISCLOSE HUGE
STONE LOGS.
Varl-Hued Adamantine Forms Mil
lions oi Years ola Preserved by
the Government Against Spoils
tion naturul wonders.
Once they were a forest of stately
pines grown to a height far beyond
uiat attained by tne trees of today.
Ages passed, and through some unex
piaiuaule act of nature they were up
rooted, prostrated to the ground,
probably buried beneuth,tue earth by
v oiuumc usnes anu me snows oi many
winters. JSext came the waters of
floods, leaving over the prone glauu
an inland sea, and ail truces of the
green forest were swept away. Vast
periods of time passed; the seas van
ished; volcanoes sent their ashes high
in the air, and the explosions from
tne interior or tue eartn swept up
ward the debris, among which were
the wrecks of the pines. Following
wis penoa tne waters hurried toward
lower levels, gnawing the masses
and endeavoring to eat Into the very
cell structure of the logs. Erosion
was at work, and after centuries,
through the probable action of acids
and alkalies, the logs of the ancient
forest ure revealed to human eyes.
Preserved For Future Ages.
This is the history of the wonder
ful petrified forest of Arizona which
Congress, at its last session, set aside
as a Government reserve. There are
in all about 5,000 acres of land in this
reserve.land valueless for commercial
or agricultural pursuits, but the hand
of nature has created of this vast ex
panse a garden of monuments to the
vegetation of long ago, forming an
attraction for people from all parts of
the world.
Trunks of treeB, some a hundred
feet long, and huge logs, lie in a con
fusion in the same position as when
nature, in the resurrection of the an
cient forest, broke out in explosion
due to the eTuptlon of volcanic crat
ers. In every direction are to bo seen
pieces of petrified wood, some only as
large as a toy marble, others in
blocks and logs from eight to ten
feet in diameter; others are buried
partly beneath the shale, and occa
sionally there projects from the side,
near the top of the mesa, the end of a
uge log.
These mesas are In themselves
wonderful structures. They are com
posed of shale, clay and sandstone of
many colors, and the ravages of
storm and wind have eroded their
sides so that here nnd there they
stand out like the playthings of a
pre-historic giant child. By ponder
ing ' upon this sight a faint . idea is
given of the countless number of
years that have rolled by since this
erosive process" commenced.
While there are to be round van-
ous localities in Arizona, New Mexico
NATURAL WONDERS
and Utah, where petrified wood oc
curs in great quantities, yet the re
gion known as the "Petrified Forest
oi Arizona" is most notable, and is
properly classed amon? thp nnturni
wonders of America. .In the first
place, it is much more ancient than
the petrified forests oi the Yellow.
stone National Park, and of certain
parts of Wyomlne and Cnllfnmln. the
difference in their antiquity as geolo
gists count being millions of years,
and secondly, there is no other petri
fied forest in which the wood nsHnmes
so many varied and wnndrmn hrm.
and colors. The solidified wood In
this mineral state places, the logs and
blocks among the gems of precious
stone. The mineral wood is converted
into shalcedony, opals and agates, and
many of the pieces closely approach
the condition of jaspar and onyx.
The degree of hardness attained by
them is such that they make an exel
lent quality of emery.
Among the color seen are every
conceivable shade of black, red, white,
Si'
PETRDJIED SENTINEL OP THE MESA.
yellow, blue-purple and lavender; and
each piece has every natural appear
ance of wood, though all are as hard
as steel. Here and there sections
show Bigns of decay arrested by the
peculiar progress which converted the
wood into mineral. The traveler sees
small chips upon the ground, and on
picking them up, finds them as heavy
as so much lead and as dense as
flint. The Government, while allow
ing visitors to carry off little pieces of
this character, prohibits the removal
of any large blocks.
Huge Stone Log Bridge.
But after all, the climax of all this
scenic beauty Is the "Natural Bridge,"
consisting of a great petrified trunk
lying across a canyon 20 feet deep,
and forming a natural foot-bridge on
which men may easily cross. At the
point where the bridge crosses, the
canyon is about 30 feet wide, but the
trunk lies diagonally, and measures
44 feet between the points at which It
rests on the sides oi the canyon. The
total length of the tree exposed is
111 feet, and measures where it
crosses the center of the canyon, 10
feet in circumference.
In the past few years the log has
begun to show signs of yielding to
that peculiar inclination of all petri
fied trees to crack up into immense
pieces; In fact, in several places trav
erse cracks have already appeared.
The Government, In order to preserve
OP THE SOUTHWEST.
this natural curiosity, has caused two
stone abutments to be erected be
neath it, making of It a bridge of
three spans, in the hopes of preserr
ing It for many years to come.
GOLD miMFREE
AND -" "
An Amrrfrtn Morcnietit Wttch with
Solid GU-FUted oae. wirrtntrd to
kwp correct timet cautl la ppcriiiot
to Bolid (hM Walch, wimotod tot
'A vcvif alio a (Juld-FUltd ULn Mt
with a tiparklinffUtmarftgmorrntO
toy on (or M-iiiitfl only a Jewelry
floTeme- at low tin caco, mm n
aDd Udrcn for Jewelry. if ,
When Mild, tend ui
"Jitl'S.
the and we eudyou
Dm uom waicn ana nmi, a j "
COLUMBIA. NOVELTY CO,
no