Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 8, 1907)
1(5 ypfli v. w- m ' f ".s -t.v iv- 'v.':f viws n 4 a Ml ij . r fv vfvTw - J 1 , , & Intel " &'7iiivi vix! --.i ;j -i s ' filial , i ; , - . ' -SWfrw ' ?4xvS:m-:-IP ,1 J Ts I IN 11 - 7 E7Esy jrap : f 1 " CM'ff fk ; , ' f -jfej TRANSCONTINENTAL, trains, driven by electricity instead of steam, long the dream of railroad experts, are on the verge of being put into actual use, and on a big scale. Moreover, the electric power that will drive mighty engines and haul heavy cars will be generated from the swift-running waters of a river, thus utilizing a poVer that is too often permitted to ko to waste. The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Is the pioneer that will establish the first road of this kind. Nor are its plans merely in embryo. The work of In stalling the road Is actually under way, and In a couple of years the swift waters of the St. Joe River, in Idaho, will give the energy that will carry freight and passenger trains across the Bitter Root Mountains and possibly all the way from Missoula, Mont., to the Pacific Coast. That this Is the age of electricity has long been recognized, but the displace ment of steam engines by electric has not been as rapid as was forecasted a few yean ago. BlectrJc engines have been substituted for steam for pulling train's through tun nels in the Rocky and Cascade Mountains In the Par West, while James J. Hill, the controlling genius of the Great Northern Railroad, has long planned to use elec tricity Instead of steam on the larger part of his lines. Heretofore, however, the matter has been simply discussed. The Mywaukee Railroad is the first to ex pend large sums of money to put the plan into actual operation. It now has over 2000 men at work along the shadowy St. Joe River, In Idaho, drilling tunnels, building roadbed, cutting down forests nd making corduroy trails over morasses nd harnessing the power of the river by means of a system of dams. Along the St. Joe River. The roadbed will be opened in less than three years, when electric power will be utilised in lifting great freight and pas senger trains over one system of moun tains, and possibly over a second. The stretch of the new line of trans continental ralroad between the Bitter Root Range, In Idaho, and Rock Lake, AV'ash., Is one of constantly recurring tunnels. As the survey now stands, there will be 14 tunnels on about 150 miles of line, the aggregate length being 10,000 feet, ranging from the 4000-foot tunnel in Lost Pass to tho numerous small bores through projecting cliffs not more than 50 feet long. Following as the line does the very Vjrlnk of the St. Joe River, It would have been strange If the engineers had not devised some scheme for utilizing the power which is wantonly wasted. The value of th river on the swift water j division will be apparent when it Is ! known that theoretically 200.000 horse power can be developed in one reach of So miles. Dams will be built as closely together as possible and practically every available cubic foot in the river will be harnessed. The cost of development is about $50 per borse power. Approxi mately 9,O0O,00O will be expended In this work. Amazing Power to Be Developed. Enough power can be developed. If con verted into steam power, to drive 600 big mogul engines with 160 miles of train, or EO.000 loaded box cars, more than the company now owns on all Sis lines. But a small part of this vast energy will be necessary to lift the trains to the sum mit of the Bitter Root Range and to drive them through the 150 miles of re curring tunnels. It is proposed to utilize the residue In propelling the trains still further toward the Pacific Coast goal. In the 35-mlle reach where the pow er Is to be developed the railroad sur vey runs on a four-tenths of one per cent compensated grade. That is, the grade of the curves is reduced enough below four-tenths of one per cent to compensate for the increased friction. About three-tenths of one per cent is the actual grade, equivalent to 15.8 feet to the mile or 633 feet for the entire distance. Roughly estimated, the mini mum flow of the river is 1500 cubic feet per second. Two and possibly three dams will be constructed, the survey men being already at work. One of the falls will be a few miles above the little saw mill and Summer resort town of St. Joe, where a dam 86 feet high will as sist in the development of 600 horse power. Another dam Is to be built at Cottonwood Island, ten miles further up the river. The construction of the series of dams wll result in the over flow of the bottom lands, but these have already been bought up by the company. A ranch recently purchased 7i5" STPAlL, LINE WILL OPERATE TRAINS THROUGH THE BITTER ROOT MOUN- for $26,000, or $125, an completely submerged. In many cases a dam from 50 to 100 feet high will back water several miles up the river, although it would spread but a few feet above either bank. As the average height of the roadbed la not more than 40 feet above low water the height of the dams is necessarily limited. The da-m shortly above St. Joe, at what Is known as Liittle Kails, is to be 86 feet high and will back the water 12 miles up the river. Great Lumber Knterprises. In addition to running the' transcon tinental trains, the water power de veloped is to be utilized in running sawmills, which are invading the ter ritory, heretofore given over to trout, Indians and Infrequent, hardy tourists. One company, subsidiary to the rail road company, has recently acquired 100,000 acres of timber land In north ern Idaho, 28,000 acres of which are tributary to the river and the new line of railroad. Some of this timber runs as high as 10,000,000 feet to the quar ter section. Hundreds of thousands of acres of timber land He right alongside the St. Joe River. The logs have heretofore been floated down to saw mills at the mouth. Hereafter it Is proposed to convert them into lumber at the scene of the felling, and transport them to eastern and western markets by the converted power of the river Itself. Tributary to the St. Joe, St. Marie and Coeur d'AIene River and Joeur d'Alene Lake, It is estimated there are 25,000,000.000 feet of standing timber, or enough to keep all the mills at the half dozen established sawmill towns In operation 150 years, during which time nearly three full grown crops will have matured. The work of surveying the roadbed, harnessing the swift waters of the St, Joe and laying out the proposed saw mills, has meant many arduous and hazardous engineering feats. Survey ors have been compelled to dangle over a cliff at the end of a rope 60 feet long a half hour at a time before being able to establish a level. Mountains of rock have been blasted down and great cuts filled up. In some places the cost of construction Is aggregating a million dollars a mile. The work has been inspected by President Earling and other high offi cials, who made a tour of the western reaches of the line recently. How Tinfoil Is Made. Valve World. Tinfoil, which is extensively used for wrapping tobacco, certain food products and other articles of commerce. Is a com bination of lead with a thin coating of tin on each side. It is made in the following manner: First, a tin pipe Is made of a thickness proportionate to its diameter; propor tion not given. This pipe is then filled with molten lead and rolled or beaten to the extreme thinness required. In this process the tin coaling spreads simultaneously with the spreading of the lead core, and continuously maintains a thin, even coating of tin on each side of the center sheet of lead, even though it may be reuueed to a thickness of 0.001 inch or less. DInna'a Footprints. Though the leaves are still and th amblnt air im hushed. I know she has passed but an hour ago this way; For the young green leaves of the bay are but newly crushed. And no scent Is surer to know than the scent of the bay; And the dust of the pollen is still afloat In the air That burst like steam from the pines as she bent the spray. The way she went, that way will her feet return. For here Is' ft sandal dropped In the heat of the chase; The buckle is set with rubles like eyes that burn In the heart of Jungle at dusk, from a tiger's face. And the golden glance of the daisy Is blurred with blood From the wounded deer as he paused in his deathly race. Ah, here she comes! The sound of her brasen horn Thrills all the pendulous leaves with Its threat of blood. And the bVsomi flutter down at the blast of scorn. Or seal their beauty anew In the oval bud. And the sweat of her steeds drips down as they neigh for home. And over the strangled flowers their wild hoofs thud. Wilford C. Thorley is the London Sat urday Bevlew. THE SUNDAY. OREGONIAX, BY ELECTRICITY I III -a wilb;vc 6 JC. t , K 1 5f r MS? V How Captive Animals Find Means of Diversion w LD beasts in captivity do not worry," declares an animal trainer. Why should they? They are not compelled to hunt for food and they have trained servants to wait on them." The speaker was a man who has spent most of his life in the care and study of wild animals. "Suppose these four-footed creatures were back In the dark places of Africa, where they roamed before their capture, says the Kansas City Star. Every time they ventured upon a search for food they ran the risk of some other beast jumping on their backs and crushing their life out. When they first come to us the sights and sounds are new, and of course they are nervous. But when they find they are sure of plenty to eat and that the keepers are their friends and protectors, they sink Into a state of com fort much like a domestic cat in a grocery store. They live long and happily, as their good figures and mild eyes show. "Some people think because they have to live in a cage that they are sure to get cranky and worn. See how captive lions are rounded out and how gentle they are in every way. The theory that living the life they must in their narrow room is sure to make them ugly and un lovable, if not insane, Is not borne out by facts, and I know whereof I speak. Wild animals adapt themselves to the conditions of their new home, and in vent ways and means of amusing them selves during the long watches of- the day. "Elephants, big as they are, pick out a lot of fun with each other. They will lock trunks and play tug-of-war until one or the other gives way. I have seen them frolic for hours in this ws-v with a PORTLAND, SEPTE3IBER GENERATED IN THE ST JOE TdlVEFZ , X "tyfJL ' ( "x, 3 feWfs l - "x cx. x. short piece of thick rope. Fanchon, the best looker among the 40 owned by Ring ling Bros circus, was broken of the habit of cigarette smoking by letting her play in this way with a mate that had been shipped with her to this country from her jungle home. A black-eyed, frisky youngster of an elephant that had spent two Winters in Paris introduced Fanchon to the cigarette habit. This high-stepper Is now back by herself. Ele phants will good-naturedly butt each other for hour, and sometimes there is enough steam in the drive to put one or the other over on his side or back. They will even sit up and spar with their huge forelegs and fence with their trunks at the same time. The ear-racking squeaks they make while playing in this way tells a story of their having a good time. "The cat tribe is a greedy lot and will fight among themselves at feeding time, but after the meal to over they mingle with good humor and seldom bear grudges. Tlfese animals are given a neck piece of beef that contains a bone, and the beasts are obliged to tear the meat off slowly and in small pieces. They are forced to chew It, and so they never have indigestion. When the bone Is picked clean, it has the shine of a billiard ball, and to see a bunch of lions, tigers or leopards toss the bone about is an inter esting sight. They have found amuse ment in this sport, and seldom miss catching in their mouths the whirling bone. The bone keeps going from mouth to mouth until it is pretty well scratched up and the beasts are tired. Finally it is turned over to some very old or very young one in the lot to break up and feast on its marrow. "Another way- the cats have of amus ing themselves is to play leap frog. One sSSSgsi:- - XX 1 8, 1907. is T0BECASE2? WTH ELEC TjQGITY THE rrorriE JOlVE& flfSr7Z? OF a- a M7l i?- x- x- te; will stand rigidly upright and the others will follow, the leader in Jumping over his back. Sometimes two or three stand side by side and at the Ringling's Win ter quarters In Baraboo, Wis., where there is a big exercising room for the lions and tigers, as many as six of seven will stand side to side for the rest to jump over. Sometimes these animals have actual wrestling matches it is said. They will stand away from each other. erect upon their hind legs, and spar with their fore paws lor an opening, w'hen they clinch, it is in deadly earnest, ap parently, and the weaker animal never gives up until he is flattened out on his back. "Even the hyenas, the meanest animals in the menagerie, at times run and jump and dance with each other. Two green eyed brutes with us spent most of their days and nights in snarling and snapping and now and then mixed up in a nasty fight. Charles' Ringllng put big rubber ball into their cage one day, and immed iately their quarreling ceased. Instead of tearing the ball to pieces, they acted as If it filled a long-felt want, and- be gan to roll and punch uud toss it with the utmost good nature. To see them try to balance it on their pointed noses was funnier than a clown's stunt. The diversion had a good effect on their nerv ous natures, too. for it got them more or less out. of the perpetual twistifig, twitching and grinning of their kind. "Monkeys are wonders in finding ways and means for mischief as t d1. as amuse ment. They are swinging. Jumping, hop ping nearly all the time. They look on the cheerful side of life anil cut up all sorts of dldos from morning till night. They seem bent on making life a round of pleasure, as if they instinctively felt that it must be short." ij xv p w:w wit - r - i.A ' I fx . 1 i l ? ; i . - Vt M i . -x fe? Xw.i ,I' ,'' t-JC w!xs j?vz:&, whe&e: mate:? POUY&IZ . IS TO 3- ttVEZOttZ? -YJTANS OjFJ3AT7S) An Ohio Boy's Airship PEDDAL.ING about the heavens with a bicycle frame suspended beneath a mammoth silk gas bag, 14-ytar-old Cromwell Dixon is the wonder of the mechanical world. In a flying machine of his own make the lad in short trousers has outstripped the man of all time. He flies directly against the heavy currents of air, across them or with them, at will. He floats, now up thousands of feet, now down, skimming the tree tops. He darts up as the eagle flies and drops as though he would strike the prow of his wonderful machine Into mother earth, as a battle ship would Jam a rival, says a Columbus, Ohio, dispatch in the Kansas City Star. He steers his craft, weird bird of pas sage that it is, like a pilot would steer a yacht. He rests when tired and spurts when the notion seizes him. Seemingly, he has perfected the means for aerial navigation, this lad of slender frame. tender years and genius. Cromwell Dixon has carried the Ameri can flag higher than has any other per son. So high he carried a small silk flag presented to him by the ladies of McCoy post, W. R. C, that his 36-foot machine looked a speck in the clear sky. Then he unfurled the colors and waved them, but those who looked, even with the aid of powerful glasses, were unable to see the flutter of the flag, or even an Indication of what the lad was doing in his high seat. He had reached an altitude of 8000 feet. There are no engines, no gasoline tanks, no noises about the newest of airships. An "alr-blcycle" the boy Inventor calls it. And with the old bicycle frame and pedals and handle bars he steers about at will, just as he would run a bicycle on a smooth stretch of asphalt. He uses the pedals for motive power, the handle bars for steering, the seat for the same pur pose which the bicycle manufacturer in tended it. Cromwejl Dixon is a natural Inventor. The flying machine, with its silk bag 36 feet long and 15 feet wide, its frame of wood and bamboo, its network above the gas bag, and even the apparatus for gen erating the gas, are his own handiwork. Only the hands of his widowed mother lent assistance. Not that Cromwell Dixon Is more ener getic than most boys. But the Dixons are poor. Years ago when Cromwell was an infant the father, a traveling passenger' agent for the Southern Pacific Railway Company, died In California. The estate was not large and the widow brought her two orphans, a girl and a boy, back to Ohio, to be with her mother. Unfortu nate investments, the item of caring for two children and thev expense of living, soon depleted the estate and Mrs. Dixon was compelled to earn her own living. She opened a rooming house and rented rooms to students. But In the vacation period this failed and she was forced to ply her needle that the little family might be kept together. From the time he was In kilts Crom well has shown an aptitude for mechan ics. His ideas, too, have run not to the commonplace things. He has always been creative. The boy studied and he learned. Around the corner, in the blacksmith shop, he whiled away many Idle hours. He visited the big and little machine shops in the neighborhood and in local automobile factories he has been spend ing whole 'days at a time. The lad's first invention was a motor cycle of his own make. He secured from a machinist an old gasoline engine. This he remodeled and attached to his bicycle. There was no nicely fitting and smooth running beveled gearing, no spring seat and ease of starting, but the engine, by means of the sprocket and chain, pro pelled the bicycle and propelled it rapid ly. Through the streets and alleys the lad chuck-chucked his way while the peo ple looked on in amusement, fear and wonderment. But the motorcycle was only the stepping-stone. Someone had given the lad a little wagon on his birthday which 'was propelled by means of pedals. He dis mantled the old motorcycle and attached the engine to the wagon, converting It into an automobile, in which he traveled through the streets of the capital of Ohio. But he soon tired of this.. Genius must be engaged. A flyTng machine. That's it! Then came the long days of work. The I ' . j i x v x. x x 7 aSMx' -x. silk for the bag must be procured. But with the persistence that comes from self-confidence, the lad and the mother, now his only source of help, plodded away. By and by the silk was secured. Then the pattern for the gas bag was designed, the needles applied and the bag was finished. But there is more to a fly ing machine than a gas bag. Let the boy tell how he progressed: "Well. I Just took two long pieces of wood and bent them Into shape, pointed at each end, and then bolted them. Then I took the fcrk and the waeels off the bicycle and rigged the frame up between the timbers. Then I rigged the sprocket wheels so that the pedals of the bicycle would run the long propeller which con sists of a rod of iron with a large wind wheel made of silk and bamboo at the end. Then I made a rudder and attached it to the rear, to be operated wkh cords fastened to the handle bars. In front and behind and beneath the propeller (or impeller) I rigged another rudder which regulates the up and down movement of me machine. Under the gas bag 1 sus pended a long timber, by means of a great netting, which goes arouna or en velopes the gas bag. To this timber I anchored the bicycle and its attachments and the machine was ready. That's all there is to it. except tnat It took longer to do the work than it takes to tell about it, a great deal longer." It was some time before the lad gained the consent of his mother to a trial flight with ropes attached to th- craft. The neighbors laughed. Wings to lift it rather than ropes to hold it would be re quired, they Jokingly said. A dozen bystanders who had gathered at the Columbus Driving Park a month ago held the ropes when the boy made his trial flight. The men ran along the ground and the boy pedaled and steered. The craft of the air floated, yielded to the steering apparatus and It was clearly apparent that it would be successful. Alterations were necessary, the boy admitted, but his toy was ready for actual business. He declared that he would try it as it was, however, before making any changes. His First Trial a Success. For an hour the mother steadfastly" refused to allow the men to release their hold on the ropes. Finally to tb entreaties of the boy she Tiodded her head, then gasped, for as the holds) were loosed the craft shot upward like a thing alive. The impeller turned, the pedals revolved, the rudder stirred lustily and the boy In -midair circled about above the heads of the multitude. "Watch me, mamma," he cried. Then up, up, up, he went till he seemed almost a speck In the sky; then he soared about as an eagle, cut figure eights, and on a straightway course he made remark able speed. He alighted about five mile from whore he started and his mother, who had been taken into an automo bile, was on hand just one minute after he came down. The first thing she asked was whether or not he waa frightened. He wasn't. But if he had troubles in getting his ship and in getting permission to use it, he has not been entirely free trora worry since his successful flight. He left his machine in a building In one of the local amusement parks and on the night of July 4 the building was fired by a shooting cracker. The gas bag and the light frame-work were consumed. Watchmen saved the heavy frame-work. The boy left next day for Toledo. There he told his troubles to Mrs. Roy Knabenshue. He 'had hoped to see the famous Knabenshue himself, for he had met him several times and had written him repeatedly concerning plans of both the boy and the man. Mrs. Knab enshue, however, said she would help him. She gave him silk enough for an other nnd a better gas bag, worth $1200, and told him he would be able readily to repay her some time. The new gas bag has been finished. The varnish has been applied to it and it ii a special kind, made on a formula of Knabcnshue's. The netting is on and the ship is ready to fly. Several short trips demonstrate that the air bicycle is much better than the old craft. "Just as long as I can pedal, I can travel," the boy said today. "And when I get tired pedaling, I simply float In the air until I am rested. It's too easy. There's no reason why -we shouldn't all be using them, and I guess we will be Boon."
