Lincoln County leader., May 18, 1900, Image 3

BIRD'S-EYE VIEW
4 gm- - i
i i ' 1
LAST OF THE "LONG HORNS.
Texan Stockman's Unique Contribution
to the Paris Exposition.
Unique among the exhibits at the
Paris Exposition will be the contribu
tion of a Texas stockman, J. M: Doble,
of Ramires, Live Oak County. His
curiosity Is the celebrated Dobie steer,
than which there will be no exhibit
more remarkable and yet so character
istic of the Lone Star State.
The Dobie steer is known through
out South and West Texas. He is the
rough and graphic standard of meas
urement of the West Texas stockman.
FAMOUS DOBIE
"Big as the Doble steer" is the hyper
bole they use when describing a pair
of horns. It Is a hyperbole, for travel
the wide plains over and another steer
with a pair of horns such as has the
Doble steer cannot be found. He Is
the last of the old tribe of monster
horned cattle of the plains that gave
to Texas its additional nickname of
"'The Long Horn State." The steer
measures 15 hands and weighs be
tween 1,(500 and 1,700 pounds. His
enormous horns from point to point
measure nine feet seven Inches. The
horns could easily be made to measure
over 10 feet if taken ptt the steer,
steamed, and straightened. When the
steer Is standing in a natural position
on level ground the tip ends of his
horns are fully six feet above the
ground.
Time was, fifteen or less years ngo,
when the long horns were no curiosity
in Texas, but to-day there are few re
minders of the grand old herds that
have been so closely Interwoven with
the history of the State. The steer In
Tarls will excite the wonder and com
mand the admiration of all visitors to
the world's great show.
PE NETRATED SHREWD DISGUISE.
Prison Guard Was Interested in a Mov
intc Grass Plot.
Green Casey, a convict at San Quen
tln, has won the admiration of all bis
fellow convicts at the prison for the
novel contrivance he baa Invented In
order to make his escape rom the pris
on walls some time ago, and through
Sheriff Langdon of Santa Clara County
the story has leaked out.
Casey was a kind of trusty around
the prison grounds, and while working
In one of the grounds in the vicinity of
the prison he took It Into his head that
he would like to escape, and was be
ginning to tax his mind as to the most
advantageous way to suit his purpose.
As he was strolling around on the green
grass which grows In abuudance around
the prison an Idea struck him that if
he could Imitate the grass by some
means he could elude the watchful sen
tries and make good his escape.
Through the aid of his convict friends
be procured some pieces of burlap, and
with the aid of some rope made them
Into a long coat that would cover him
completely when lying on the grass.
He "" i town wheat from the
OF THE PARIS EXPOSITION GROUNDS
prison stable and sowed It on the first
layer of ills coat. He cast It down
carelessly at one end of the prison
grounds, and watered it dally. In a
few weeks the grass grew up through
the sack coat, and before a great while
the piece of burlap was conformed into
a grassy lawn.
He was now ready to carry out his
plans, and patiently waited an oppor
tunity. At last he succeeded in getting
his new contrivance across to the north
west of the prison, and in a few min
utes was under his grassy coat.
Slowly he crept along with the clever
ness of a worm, and from all appear-
STEEK OF TEXAS.
ances success would crown his efforts.
But his progress was too rapid and
very soon he heard footsteps coming
In his direction. The moving grass plot
which was slowly making its way up
the hillside soon came to a sudden
standstill as the eye of a guard had no
ticed the grass moving and came to In
vestigate the phenomenon. A kick In
the ribs apprised Casey that his plan
had been discovered. The guard took
Casey and a red shirt now covers his
breast. San Francisco Call.
Spr.ng on the Farm.
The sweet, balmy breezes of springtime
are melting the last fall of snow,
And soon the bluebirds will be sinking,
to cheer ou the man with the hoe;
The gentleman with the lone gallus, who
down the corn-row slowly plods,
With n right-and-left whacking and
smashing, to bust up the newly
turned clods.
The lee has gone out of the streamlet,
and green leaves peep forth on the
trees;
The worm-fence Is patched up in places,
and new "gums" are placed for the
bees;
The spring house has been fumigated, and
bed clothes are aired on the line,
And the whole farm breathes out a warm
welcome for the coming of spring's
blessed time.
The colt is turned loose in the pasture,
painted over with rank kerosene;
The anvil rings out Its wild clamor as
the "plow p'luts" are Hindu shurp
and keen;
The boys dig for bolt in the barnyard,
for the creek water's muddy nud
warm,
For spring is nt hand, rousing up this old
land, and there's joy, life and work
on the farm.
Spider Ml It.
Apropos of the new spider silk, a
Philadelphia manufacturer has dis
covered In an old book on color, dated
1814, an account of attempt to promote
spider silk culture, which failed be
cause the spiders, when brought to
gether, fought to the death down to
the last survivor.
They ilewani Dome-tic.
When a German servant girl reaches
her fortieth year In the employ of one
family she Is presented with a golden
cross by Empress Augusta Victoria.
Last year 144 of these crosses were dis
tributed, only one of which went to a
resident of Berlin.
BARB-WIRE TELEPHONE LINE.
Three Towns in Indiana Connected by
Using Ordinary Fence Wires.
One of the most novel telephone sys
tems lu the world Is the "barb-wire"
line, which connects the Indiana towns
of Anderson, Fendleton and Ingalls. It
is fifteen miles in length. Its Inventor,
builder and sole owner, Cusslus Alley
of Pendleton, now has six subscribers
at $50 a year each. The time Is not far
distance when there will be tenfold this
number. One clothing company nt An
derson, with branch stores at Pendle
ton, and the Wagner glass works, with
offices nt Anderson and factory at In
galls are using this barb-wire system lu
their business affairs exclusively. They
use the line frequently. They can con
vert It Into a private line by plugs so
arranged that when one party Is using
the line he can cut out all others ex
cept in Mr. Alley's residence, which Is
used as a central station. Ordinary
phones are used with no special
strength of battery and there is very
little trouble with the lines.
In constructing the line, Mr. Alley
used the top strand of the barb-wire
fence of the Big Four railroad, making
the connections with the offices of his
subscribers with ordinary telephone
wire. In some Instances where the
posts hnd rotted It was necessary to
paint the wire and posts with rubber
paint to Insulate the wire. This Is fairly
satisfactory and puts the line in shape
to be used as well In wet weather as at
any other time. The inventor expects
to put In a newly Invented form of glass
Insulator, which Is very cheap and the
only one yet found that can be used on
a fence wire line.
On this line, wagon roads are crossed
thirty-seven times and railroads six
times. At these crossings the line Is
either carried through a gas-pipe con
duit, with Insulated wire or by building
bridges, which Is done by merely nail
ing a piece of timber fifteen feet long
to the last fence post nnd extending
BARB WIRE FENCE TELEPHONE.
high enough to allow clearance for traf
fic. The whole line of fifteen miles was
built at a cost of about $100, and the
outfit for each house, consisting of re
ceiver, transmitter, battery, call, etc.,
costs not over $10. The magnet bell
call is used.
This barb-wire line Is connected with
the Independent long-distance tele
tnnce telephone line nt Ingalls, and In
this way Indianapolis nnd Greenfield
may be reached by the users of Mr.
Alley's system.
The line has been In operation since
December nnd has not been out of or
der except for a few hours, when a
fast train on the railroad struck a cow,
threw her body against a fence and
broke the wire. A telephone communi
cation, by this simple method. Is placed
within the reach of every community.
Farmers who do not have regular tele
phone outfits and wires leading to their
AND BUILDINGS.
residences are supplied with a Binall
instrument at a very small cost. This
little contrivance Is so arranged that it
enn be Httnchpd to thp mnln hnrh wire
at any point and thus the farmer is
enabled to call up his city merchant, or
broker, or lawyer Just ns well as If ho 1
had the ordinary telephone equipment.
Orang-Outang vs. Bur lar.
Some two years ago a retired officer
of the merchant service, living in thq1
Kue d'Alesia, Taris, M. Duchesne,)
brought home an orang-outang from
Borneo. Since growing to its full sizu
the brute Is a terror to the neighbors.
Its muster won't hear of its being
chained up, contenting himself with
shutting the animal in his bed room
before going out. This was done yes
terday, but unfortunately for him,
Nicolas Bargeve, alias "The Devourer,"
had determined to make u professional
call at M. Duchesne's apartment with
intent to burgle. Now ns this Illustri
ous character had only been three days
nt large after completing his ninth term
of Imprisonment, he was naturally un
aware that such a pet as the orang
outang was tolerated In these particu
lar rooms. Consequently, when the
burglar was suddenly pounced upon by
two hairy paws, he was somewhat sur
prised, nud his serenms soon brought
help, with the result that Mr. Bargevo
was drawn out of the room by his feet,
In a very Iguomiulous fashion. He was
taken to the Infirmary, nnd it Is report
ed that he has gone mad and now im
agines himself to have been chauged
Into an ape. Loudon Post.
Soda Water to Appease Hunger.
Soda water Is now prescribed as a
palliative for hunger, especially for the
abnormal hunger produced by disease.
The seat of hunger is found In the solar
plexus. By the use of water charged
with carbonic acid gas the branches of
the solnr plexus distributed through the
mucous membrane of the Htomnch are
Influenced In such a way that the ab-
normal Irritation of the plexus, w hich
Is the foundation for the ravenous hun
ger often present In diabetes nnd cer
tnln forms of indigestion, may be great
ly mitigated, If not wholly appeased.
Artificial Willow.
One of the curiosities nt Chatsworth,
the Duke of Devonshire's place, Is a
weeping willow made. of copper, nnd so
dexterously fashioned that nt a dis
tance It resembles a real tree. It Is
actually a shower bath, for by pressing
a secret tap, a tiny spray of water
can be made to burst from every
branch nnd twig of (he tree, to the dis
comfort of any who may be under It.
Sensitive UnliNWH thing Machine..
A gold-weighing machine In the Bank
of Englnnd Is so sensitive that a pos
tage stamp dropped on the scale will
turn the Index on the dial a distuuee of
two inches.
A GENTLEMAN RANKER.
Bow He Spoiled His Letter Than
Trooper's Life. .
He was sitting with his back against)
a bowlder, his rifle barrel resting on ai
stone, the stock on his knees. He wan
using the stock, for a desk and was
writing laboriously In pencil on a
crumpled half-sheet of paper, says the
Pall Mall Gazette.
"This is devilish hard work," he said,
"but I must get it done to-day. 1 was
always a poor list at a letter. How
Jo you spell reconnoissanceV"
Trooper 043 gave him his idea of it.
"That's all wrong," he said. "I'm
jure there Isn't a 'k' In it. But It doesn't
matter. All my spelling's goue to tho
Jeuee. I never learned anything at
school, and not much since."
Trooper 043 laughed. "Seems to me.
you know a lot," he said.
"No blarney! If you don't know asi
much you ought to be ashamed ofj
yourself." i
Trooper 043 laughed again. He was
lying on his stomach with a sharp eye
toward a possible shot. A dozen other!
men were intent ou the same business,!
while a couple more were looking after
the horses.
"They never offered me no commJs
slou," he said. ,
"Well, I didn't take the one they of-j
fered me, did I? I made up my mind,
when I was a kid I wasn't going to bo
a gentleman. I don't see why you
should keep ou snickering. Tell me how
to spell rhnt blessed French officer"
Enwn cl,nl T ,H,1V c-r-, VV
v Ouui Uf, 1 UttAXt , OV.V
good of being a gentleman, like a lot
of chaps I knew; It dldu't look like a
trade that'd suit me. I did assorts
of things to harden myself; used to
wrap up In a blanket and sleep ou the
Boor Instead of in bed. I dare say you
think that -was all tommy rot. Well,
pVaps It was."
A bullet buzzed overhead. Trooper,
043 sighted and fired.
"Got him?"
"I wouldn't like to be the bloke's wife
and fam'ly."
"Tell me If you see anything else. 1
must get this finished."
He scribbled on for a time In silence,
dropped his pencil, picked It up, ami
rose to stretch himself:
"Git down, stoopld!" said Trooper
043.
A second bullet buzzed ami the oth
er's right arm dropped to his side.
"Slick through the shoulder," he said.
He sat down again, looking a little
pale.
"Now you've bin and spoilt your nnd-j
writing," said 043. "Told you so. Doe
it urt?" I
"No, not much. Here, just sign my!
name at the end of that letter, will
you?"
Trooper 043 signed the name in a
shambling, awkward hand. Then ho(
began to grumble again.
"Just like you! The best in our lit.tloj
lot got a 'ole In him. BH' me, If youi
ain't a daisy!"
The other took the letter and cram-'
med It Into his pocket with hie. left
hand.
"Shut up," he snld. "I can shoot
from the left. Hello! Look out!"
The men were on their feet nnd In
the saddle In a moment, nil but Troop
er 043, who fell to one of the twenty
bullets that had spit among then. The
letter writer was down again In a flash
and hnd him across his horse. Trooper
D43 laughed again, though rather fee
bly. "Well, you are a daisy!" he said.
The men scattered and rode off In a
sputter of bullets.
"Drop me," snld Trooper 1)43. "I'll
be all right. You'll only git copped."
"Shut up!"
They did not get copped, but It was
a ride to be remembered all the days
of a man's life. Also, tho letter was
spoiled.
"You ought to ave the V. C," said
043, some hours later. "You fair saved
me."
"Did I?" said a voice from the next
bed. "And you spoilt my letter, you
ungrateful beggar. You might have
chosen somewhere else to bleed."
Trooper 043 grinned and tried to turn!
his head.
"Fair saved me, you did," he saldj
"You ain't a gentleman, ore you' Oh,
no!"
Schoolboys Being Demoralized.
A New York superintendent of
schools says; "We have had more cases
of corporal punishment to Investigate
this year than usual. Our boys seem
more than ever given to fighting. I
think It Is due to the wny In which
most of the newspaiwrs exploit the
doings of prize fighters. Not only Is
a great deal of space devoted to prlzo
fights, but the pugilists and scenes at
tho ringside are fully Illustrated. Now,
all this . has a bad effect on the boys
and Is the cause of most of their disor
derly acts."
Largest Orchards in the World.
Views have been taken of the or
chards of Messrs. Miller and Pancake
In the vicinity of Romney,,V. Va., for
exhibition at the Paris exposition.
These orchards are the largest In the
.world, comprising 250,000 peach and
;plum trees. They planted 181,000 trees
the past year and cleared for planting
Jl.735 acres of timber land. The first
jseason their orchards came Into bear
ing they shipped 100 carloads ot
peaches and plums.