Lincoln County leader., May 10, 1901, Image 2

LINCOLN CODNTI LEADER.
OBAB. T. A ADA K. SOULK, Pubs.
TOLEDO OREGON.
Russell Sage sayB he does not regard
It as a disgrace to die rich. We sus
pected that lie held some such view.
A woman got so stirred up while
reading one of Marie Corelll's novels
that she killed her husband. It doesn't
take much to throw some people off
their balance.
Nicola Tesla declares that there Is no
limit to the distance messages may be
sent by wireless telegraph. Why
doesn't he stop declaring long enough
to send a few?
And now a scientist has discovered
that the earth Is pear-shaped, tl is sin
gular that none of the people who are
perpetually scrambling over It ever no
ticed that fact before.
Two men died from eating an oyster
stew which contained oysters. This
goes to show that persons who want to
eat absolutely safe oyster stews should
patronize "church socials."
A woman In a neighboring State has
advertised herself as a candidate for
the attentions of the fool-killer, and In
the time-worn way of shooting a man
with a revolver that she did not know
was loaded.
No less an authority than Justice
Brewer tells the Yale students that
the Jury system as conducted In the
United States Is little better than a
relic of barbarism. It Is not hard to
believe him.
A Western woman pleads In defense
of murdering her husband that she
had been reading Marie Corelll's novel,'
"Thehna." It may come to a point
where husbands whose wives read
Marie's eccentric spoutlngs will have
to wear armor day and night.
Events In China seem to prove that
the civilized soldier when fighting
against barbarians rapidly sinks to the
level of his opponents. "Scratch a Rus
sian and you will find a Tartar" Is the
old saying. Amended it might read:
"Scratch a civilized white man and
you will find a primitive troglodyte, a
cave dweller of the stone age."
Much attention Is being attracted by
a decision of Judge Fursman, of the
New York Supreme Court, excluding
expert testimony as to handwriting.
There has been a great deal of dissat
isfaction throughout the country with
so-called expert testimony of all sorts.
Important cases have shown such ex
traordinary conflicts of testimony by
physicians, handwriting experts and
others that the value of such test!
mony Is gravely doubted, and It Is
more than probable that the load made
by Judge Fursman may be followed
by other courts until expert testimony
will bo largely restricted, If not entirely
abolished.
As defenders of property against the
attacks of would-be burglars woman
Is making a record for herself In these
days that Is not to be despised. For
merly the Impression prevailed that
the thief who was shrewd enough to
select a house for his ocratIons from
which the male members of the family
were absent was pretty well assured
of an easy Job. A numlicr of recent
events go to disprove this theory. The
other day In Chicago the young cash
ler of a restaurant pointed an old rusty
revolver at tho head of a highway
man who sought to snatch the money
drawer, and tho thief Incontinently
fled. In New York Mrs. Louise I'ryor
was robbed of her diamonds and mon
ey after being knocked down with
bludgeon. Hut the plucky woman
neither fainted nor remained helpless
from fright. At an opportune moment
she kicked the burglar on the shins,
throwing him to the ground. Seizing
his fallen weapon, she promptly chased
hi in into the arms of a policeman. The
moral of this new courage on the part
of women la one that should be taken
to heart by the adventurous highway
man, to the end that defenseless worn
en snail no longer ie considered an
easy marks for his operations.
It Is said on good authority that mag
azines for children are disappearing
There Is not the demand for them there
was a generation ago. This does not
mean that children are reading less, but
their reading Is of a different kind
They prefer books to magaitlnes. They
like the coherent story rather than the
scrappy matter In the periodical. They
do not like to wait a month for the eon
tinned story. Public libraries have ha
much to do In bringing about th
change. Almost every public library
has Its children's department of well
selected books, and children from the
humblest, as well as from the richest
homes may be seen any day In the pub
lie library enjoying the choice hook
before them. Tho Influence q publi
schools has been an important fivetor
of late in developing In children a taste
for good literature. Not only the read
ing book proper, with Its best selections
from the best authors, Is placed in the
hands of the child, but the reading mat
ter supplementary to this, which has
been chosen with wise care, is also a
part of the child's education. Entire
stories from Scott, Hawthorne, Louisa
Alcott, Dickens, Washington Irving,
and a host, of other writers are given to
hiidren as supplementary reading mat
ter. This has undoubtedly Influenced
their taste for classics and for standard
orks whose value is unquestioned. In
tiie higher grades entire plays of
Shakepeare are read, and the child who
leaves the grammar school has had the
privilege of a glimpse at least into the
orld's best literature. Further than
this, children in our public schools are
encouraged to take an Interest not only
n the history of the past, but in cur
rent history the Important news of the
day. To form the habit .of reading a
good daily paper, to know how to read
It since the process of selection Is dif
ferent with different Individuals to
be able to distinguish a passing fact
which may have little value from the
significant event which will change
history these are a part of the educa
tion of the child in our public schools
to-day. With all the defects In our
school system it is .one of the' most
hopeful signs of the times that a taste
for better reading Is noticeable In the
children of to-day.
In a recent address Senator TTopr ""'d
the most distinctive single characteris
tic of our time is the rapid and easy ac
cumulation of great wealth in individ
ual hands. lie discussed the phenom
enon with his customary calmness and
good Judgment. He said It was in some
respects a public danger. As a whole
his view is optimistic, for he believes
the dangers to be of a temporary and
curable nature. Senator Hoar Is not
one of those who fear the unsettling of
our republican Institutions through the
ngency of a permanent aristocracy of
wealth. In one or two generations, he
says, most of these great family for
tunes go back Into the general mass of
smaller holdings or are set apart for
public purposes. As a rule the rich
men of this country have been stirred
with a generous ambition to use a
large part of their wealth for public
purposes. Voluntary contributions for
education alone in the last quarter of a
century, exclusive of gifts to libraries,
have amounted to nearly $:100,000,000.
The absence of a law of entail insures
the dividing of fortunes among the
children, and many of these show a
genius for spending equal to the fath
er's genius for acquiring. Our laws
forbid the tying up of wealth for a
period longer than twenty-one years
beyond the life of a living heir. This
prevents any large mass of capital
from growing by accumulation for
more than a generation. It insures the
ultimate distribution of large fortunes
among the people In the form of wages
or public donations. One of the bad
effects of vast fortunes is their ten
dency to substitute luxury and extrav
agance In place of the plain living and
high thinking of our fathers. The sight
of such lavish display tempts many
foolish people to live beyond their
means. Still worse Is the tendency In
some quarters to use money for cor
rupt political ends. "The millionaire
who would corrupt a great state to get
a great ofllce," Mr. Hoar says, "must be
made to feel that his success will bring
with It neither Joy nor honor. Let pub
lic contempt and scorn blast hlui. Let
him be avoided as one with leprosy."
If the whipping post and the branding
Iron are ever brought back Into use, he
adds, their first victims should be the
rich men who deliberately debauch poll-
tics and buy their way Into high offices.
lie draws comfort from the fact that
England has gone through an era of
worse political corruption than the
United States has ever knowu and has
come out regenerated. What England
has done America can do, for the great
mass of the American people Is honest,
patriotic and incorruptible.
Stead on Yellow Journals.
"W. T. Stead, last summer, gave me
a rather original description of the
American yellow Journal from his view
point.
" 'It Is,' said he, 'like a magnificent
cruiser, that has been built without re
gard to expense, that Is provided with
the latest and most effective arma
ment manned by the choicest of crew
and marine experts, provisioned care
fully for a year's cruise, and in every
way lacking nothing excepting that
when the captain gets to sea he sudden
ly discovers that the compass has been
left behind!'
"Mr. Stead also added that the trouble
with the yellow Journal proprietor was
that he had no soul. Hut this opens up
a question that Messrs. Bennett, Pullt
r.er and Hearst would probably object
to have discussed. Their papers are un
doubtedly responsible for many actions
that are harmful and uncalled for. On
the other hand, I have known alPof
them to display feeling at times that
would seem to disprove Mr. Stead's as
sertionfor example, the retaining of a
valueless employee Just as beneficiary,
or the sending away on a long trip for
recuperation of a reiwrter or editor
whose health has I won wrecked."
Allen Sangree lu Alnslee'a.
HER WEIGHT IN GOLD.
BIG
RANSOM PAID A
BRIGAND.
MEXICAN
He Had Stolen the Tutor of a Rich
Man' Children and trie Sweetheart
of Hia Son A Romance of the
Mountain.
From the mountains of Mexico comes
a story that reads more like a romance
of medieval times than a narration of
occurrences in modern life. Indeed it
hardly seems possible that even in
Mexico such an event could occur. One
hundred and twenty pounds of gold and
alongside it 120 pounds of girl! The
gold ransomed the girl and the sou of
the man who paid the ransom now is
the husband of the girl.
Among the last lingering bandits of
Mexico Lulgi Cortinns still holds place,
his abode, If It may be so called, being
the mountains of Western Chihuahua,
where offshoots off the Sierra Madres cut
away from the main range by the Gulf
of California afford him a hiding place.
The rurales have not yet found him,
nor Is It likely they will, for Cortinns
has Just retired from 'business' with
the proceeds of his new venture, esti
mated at $40,000. It Is an ideal bandit
story.
Senor Poyerlma, grown rich by his
mines, realized, when no longer young,
Ihul liia cLiluitii'a euUeutiou was de
fective. His friend. La France, sug
gested that he send for Lorena Jarrett,
his niece, and make her the tutor of his
children. Lorena lived in Texas. She
was sent for and came quickly. She
BRIGANDS ORDERED
became more than a tutor to the chil
dren. The son saw in her much to ad
mire. They became lovers. Frequently
they rode out together Into the moun
tains. I
It was on one of these Joyous, free rides
that the shadow of Cortina fell upon
them. It happened that Miss Jarrett j
and young Poyerlma were riding along woods and placed lu the seat She al
lu the foot hills, drinking In the scenery most fainted with fear, for she knew
and stimulated by the wine-like ntmos-. nothing of the strange ceremony In
phere of autumn, when two men step- which she was taking part, although
ped from the wood, and pointing their
rifles at them ordered them to dis
mount.
Of course they complied. In fact re
sistance was Impossible, and they offer
ed none. The bandits tied the hands of.
their captives behind them and ordered
them to move on. The orders were not
delivered In most choice language, but
there was 110 misunderstanding them.
lucir horses were ridden by their cap
tors; and so they slowly clambered the
Bteep, narrow trail In tho hills.
At last they reached a spot that
seemed to suit 'the views of their cap
tors for a stopping place. Tho camp
ing was brief and simple. They were
ordered to sit down on the ground.
They complied.
The captors then went to playing
cards, not for amusement, but to divide
the spoils. The winner was to have the
girl la muchacha and the loser must
content himself with the boy. It be
came evident before they had played
very many minutes that neither of
them wanted tho boy, and that which
ever got him would lose no time lu
shooting him.
While the game was still In progress,
amid much cursing as luck seemed to
vibrate from one side to another and
then back." a tall, typical Mexican
strode Into tho recess and looked on.
He seemed oblivious to the presence of
the two captives, but very much Inter
ested In the game. But, seeing no
stakes, which In Mexico are always
kept in sight, he Inquired what the
game was for.
When the two players had replied the
tall Mexican with the mustache strode
over to where the two captives pre
crouched, and asked them who they
were. The very Instant young Poyer
lma had made known his identity he
remarked:
"I am Cortina!'
His name was sufficient. Young Poy
erlma practically felt his doom sealed.
But Cortina continued:
"I know your father well. We were
muleteers together In the old days be
fore he grew rich, and he knows me.
He knows my word is perfectly good,
and you need have no fear if you will
follow my directions. Come with me!"
He took the young man aside and
then told him his plans. They were
simple and brief.
In short, Cortina remarked that he
was anxious to abandon his career as a
brigand, but must have money enough
to live as a gentleman should. He then
told young Poyerlma to go to his father
and tell him that he could ransom the
girl on paying her weight In gold
'which," continued Cortina, "is cheap,
as she is not very heavy."
There was an agreement as to a place
and time for meeting, and young Poy
erlma rode away with his own horse,
leaving Miss Jarrett to wonder what
fate had In store for her.
Young Poyerlma lost no time in hur
rying home. He speedily acquainted
his father with the facts. Ordering the
pack uinuiuia to the front cf the haci
enda, he loaded two of them with sacks
of gold, partly in bars and. partly In
coin, and, the son leading the way, the
party set out to the hills to keep Cor
tlna's appointment. Reaching there,
THEM
DISMOUNT.
they found that a scale had been made
by balancing a pole over the bough of
a tree, and at one end a hoop of leather
thongs showed where the young woman.
who was to be the weight, should sit,
At the other an open-mouthed sack hung
ready to receive Poyerlma's gold.
Miss Jnrrprt wns lirnnclit from tho
the presence of the Foyerinias, father
and son, rensurred her. But she real
ized her position when the peons began
pouring the gold Into the sack.
Just as the pole tipped Cortina step
ped forward.
"Not another peso!" he called out,
grandiloquently. "I said her weight In
gold, and that Is enough."
Then Bhe was given Into the care of
royenma, wnue uortina, with many
flourishes and bows nnd adlos, followed
his men back Into the woods.
There was a wedding soon after, n
might be expected. Mrs. Poyerlma
lives with her young husband at the
marble quarry In Texas, Just across the
line, nnd tells the story only when the
neighbors press her to. But the Mex
leans call her "La sposa del oro" the
wife of gold.
Horses in Dos Moines.
DesMolnes has more horses In propor
tion to her population than any other
city or town In the United States, the
census showing a total of 0,031, or one
horse for every ten of the population
In China.
First Statesman Then we have
agreed to the demands of the powers?
Second Statesman Yes. The next
question Is how shall we avoid comply'
Ing with them? Puck.
Some people are bo foolish aud easily
worked that an agent could sell theut
a contagious disease.
TO
CHURCHES DECKED IN PEARLS.
Rare Treasure the Bay of Panama
Yielded to Spaniards.
When the stranger arrives at Seville
and Toledo and the guides conduct him
to the cathedrals of those old cities he
is struck with their magnificence and
the abundance of the pearls which are
their finest decoration. These pearls
came from the Bay of Panama and date
from the epoch when the Spaniards, at
the zenith of their glory, made the con
quest of America.
These Panama pearls rival the most
beautiful pearls of the orient. Quite
recently, In the spring of 1899, a lad of
15 years found an oyster containing a
pearl which was sold at Paris for 50,
000 francs. For his portion he received
20,000 francs.
A considerable quantity of pearls pro
cured at Panama are sent to New Y'ork,
where they do not lack purchasers, says
the Jeweler's Weekly. One consign
ment exceeded in value 730,000 francs.
The Island pearls are thus denominated
on account of the archipelago In which
the oyster fisheries are carried on. It
Is opposite the Bay of Panama. The
archipelago Is composed of sixteen is
lets, in which are thirty or forty small
villages of negroes and Indians. The
soil is fertile, but the principal occupa
tion Is that of the fisheries. The largest
Isle, called Rey, alone embraces half of
the population. San Miguel Is the chief
pla e of the fisheries, and there is a very
fine church. The Inhabitants are near-
1v all blacks. They are descended from
the negro population, from whom the
Spaniards learned the advantage they
could derive from the Island riches. In
certain of the islands there must have
been diamond beds. Some fine rough
diamonds were formerly procured.
There are two systems for carrying
on pearl fishing in the Bay of Panama.
In certain spots, where the yield is the
most abundant, it Is necessary to pay
the government a very high tax. At
other points the tax is small, but a per
centage on the prrls discovered Is add
ed to It Generally these pearls are
rather small. They usually bring from
5 to 50 francs each. Those which reach
150 to 300 francs are already much less
in number.
KURD AND THE CAMERA.
How Mumford, with Aid of Seyyid, Got
Borne Photograph.
The seyyld hackman and nothing
more exacted the deference due to
him, all along the road. Once beside a
deep, sluggish stream we came upon an
encampment of nomads, who had come
down out of the mountains to wash
and shear their animals, says Harper's
Weekly. They were hard at work, the
boys holding down the sheep and goats,
while the elders removed the fleeces.
The women, to whom health lent a
buxom kind of beauty, and who, after
the manner of mountain women, were
lax about the exposure of their faces,
went about among the flocks, drawing
milk into earthen vessels. As I leaped
across the stream, camera in hand, a
great cry of protest went np, and the
chief of the outfit, a bronzed, bearded
and rangy gentleman, who missed his
proper place In the world by not being
where he could play right guard on a
Prlncton eleven, came running with
half a dozen of his retainers and a doz
en Kurdish sheep dogs at his heels. He
was roaring lustily and waving his
arms in mandate to me to get back to
the other bank, and, reaching for a sort
of bush hook that he carried to make
the argument good. In the wildest
plunge of his onslaught he caught sight
of the seyyid's green belt. He stopped
as If some thoughtful person had pull
ed an airbrake on him, and began to
kowtow.
With wrath and reverance struggling
In him he r.sked the seyyid what sort
of being I was and what I was going to
do to his people with that "box which
had the evil eye In the end of It." It
was explained to him. He looked
doubtlngly at the camera, then whis
pered to the seyyld, "Is it a sin?"
"No," said the lawgiver.
The chief relaxed his hold of his
snickersnee, and put his entire com
pany, men, boys, Bheep, goats and rosy
cheeked women, through their paces,
while the evil eye winked knowingly
and often.
Children of the Soil.
The Cape of Good nope was discover
ed by Diaz, the Portuguese navigator,
six years before Columbus saw San
Salvador. In the middle of the seven
teenth century the Dutch East India
Company formed a permanent settle
ment at the foot of Table mountain.
The first settlers were French Hugue
nots, Dutch Protestants and German
Lutherans. As Immigration Increased
the hardy pioneers moved north from
Table bay on the great prairies called
veldts. Here as pastoral shepherds
they began that lonely life which has
developed In Its followers courage, self
reliance, love of Independence and of
solitude, the leading traits of the boer
of to-day. They were called "boer,"
which Is the Dutch word for farmer.
Italians as Cotton Pickers.
In the South the Italian are found to
be the best cotton pickers. They art
quick and have nimble fingers.
No difference how short a woman's
tklrts are, she will hold them up In go
ing over a crossing.