THK M011N1NG ASTOULAN. ASTOUIA. UHl-XiOiN.
THURSDAY, -DliCEMBER 31
djtijoiltir' - iStaiorinn.
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Entered ai second-class matter July 30, 1906, at the postofik at Astoria,
Oregon, under the act of Congress of March 3, 1879.
Orders for the delivering of The Morning Astorian to either residence
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of pobncation.
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THE WEATHER
Oregon Fair, warmer southwest;
colder in east portion.
AN ECONOMIC ERA DUE.
The Porland Oregonian gives its
readers a rinigng warning against
the mad irresponsibility of modern
municipal extravagance, in its edi
torial columns of yesterday; a warn
ing that other cities than Portland
may well heed, Astoria included.
The tendency to take over tmmeas-
nreable debt and fasten it upon the
living and the unborn, irrespective
of the benefits accruing, or to ac
crue, is likely to plunge cities and
towns in a slough of fiduciary sla
Tery that only universal repudiation
shall ever remove.
It is time for the dawn of an
economic era; it is long overdue;
and unless it breaks soon, and the
Lisbon, San Francisco, Messina;
these are the names on the tongues
of men today; and each story bu:
magnifies and emphasires the piti
fulness of the other. And these
histories sad and dreadful as they
are, serve a noble purpose in knit
ting the earth in a mesh of tender-1
ness and compassion that must con
tribute to a higher civilisation and
make for universally better condi
tions everywhere; a consummation
that divests the overwhelming let
son of some of its appalling effect,
and leaves mankind happier and rich
er in inspiration.
ntMTl
BY BUFFALO BILL
:r.i:i"TBE8 TALCS 01 TEE PLAIK3
WPYKKOT.lOa,Hr WlU4AHf,WCY
TUB
IT f It. 1 rl
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REUF IN THE TOILS.
A sigh of genuine relief goes up
from the thinking masses , of the
Pacific Coast at the news from San
Francisco, that Abraham Reuf goes
to the penitentiary for 14 years. This
brief term does not measure at all
people get down to the realities of fw,,n. lse sum 01 ttus man ,nl(lu,ty.
fconest mt raHnnal Jiving ! mu .out it does compel the conclusion
- - .1.
and private, relation, no man may
say where the present course of
vicious and reckless extravagance
will end.
ibis city and county are going
straight op against an embarrass
ment of senseless debt as fast as
they can; the taxpayers are honest
ly and genuinely frightened at the
prospect of the passing of all stable
values under the pressure of exor
bitant and absorbing taxes. No sort
or advantage has been taken of the 100
per cent advance in he assessed
values of property made by Asses
sor Cornelius this year; and there is
bo let np in the expedients for. the
profuse and prodigal expenditure oi
the public funds in every depart
ment of civic life here; everything is
being done to silence the call to the
investor that can be done with any
legal semblance; and unless there i
a radical and summary change in the
policies now in force, we might as
well disband the Chamber of Com
merce and every other agency we
possess for the up-building of the
city and section. There is no nse
arguing the matter; it is past all
argument. The living, galling facts
are with us and it is up to those in
authority to save the situation
Will they do it?
THE NEWS FROM ITALY.
Making all deductions for exag
gerations inseparable from such dis
asters, the world is aghast at the
news from Southern Italy and its
sympathy will set instantly to the
ucvasiaira snores oi tnat sunny
clime, just as it did nearly two years
ago when the horrors of San Fran
cisco appealed to it. And America
must use this tremendous oppor
tunity to prove her sense of the fa
bulous generosity that met her
greatest trouble with almost incal
culable concert, and pour her largess
of compassion and practical aid in
Upon the unhappy people of Italy.
She will do it, alright, just as soon
as her agencies to this end can be
organized.
Everywhere the deepest feeling of
. commiseration is manifest on the
part of our people; the press is
earnest and expeditious; all the es
tablished charities of the country
are agog with the spirit of helpful
ness; private magnanimity will find
instant expression, and what money
and the best of fellow-feeling may
do to mitigate the awful conditions
in the Mediterranean, will be done
quickly, here, and in every civilized
state and community on the globe.
that justice is not dead in the Bay
City. And it means, further, that
there is a chance to duplicate, and
triplicate, the virtuous judgment,
time after time as he shall live
through them. There is nothing by
way of pity to mitigate the extrern
ity of reprisals against this man; he
was pitiless enough, God knows, in
the long gamut of his offenses, to
deaden any symptom of softness
that may rise to check the conscient
ious enforcement of the limits
against him; his family is amplv
provided for all time to come, and
the application of the Mosaic priii
ciple fits admirably here, and hence
forth. Abe Reuf has no kick com
ing; though it may take another sort
of courage than that born of endless
wealth, to support him through the
darkened years before him.
The long and foul history of his
crimes against civic and social law
has long since killed every vestige
of compassion that might have been
his and his interminable, adroit and
costly warfare in the courts has left
him without standing in any tribun
ai; he was condemned utterly
months and months ago, and the
judgment of Tuesday is but confir
mation of the pre-concept of his
guilt and the sentence, as far as i
goes, finds instant and impersonil
endorsement everywhere. Always
with the reservation that 14 years
may not be the end of the chasten
ing to be inflicted.
It is estimated that the American
people distribute 200,000,000 pres
cnts at Christmas time, at a cost of
$100,000,000. It may safely be add
ed that this is the best investment
of the whole year.
Mr. Taft said at a recent dinner:
"I am glad you all praise me before
I have taken office." Mr. Taft is too
modest. The praise in part is due
to the several offices he has already
filled with fine ability.
Christmas is also a harvest time
for John D. Rockefeller and his as
sociates. Working late at night on
sofa pillows, smoking jackets and
doll clothes means the withdrawal of
more oil from the storage tanks.
The understudy Castro left in hi?
place has "established a new govern
ment in Venezuela.'' Castro is w.:ll
enough acquainted with revolution
ists to put himself 3000 miles away
hen one was due against himself.
He proved to be a good judge of the
time to name a proxy.
DAVE often been asked tor sto-, ground.
W . ml ... . . . . . ....... u a . .
m nt-n aiuui iu i'au men or its
H west lu the early days. I mu go
ing tw tell now of my flrst "rouju"
with the worst kind of white men that
then Infested the frontier. These were
horse thieves. And horse stealing to
those days was a crime that cams
close In ranking with cold blooded
murder.
Once I wanted a gruaiy bear skin. or.
rather, one of my sisters wanted It for
rug. I had promised as soon ss 1
should bars time to get ber one, for
even In those times a big grltsly could
not be shot tn one's doorynrtl. It meant
a long trip through the hills and mors
than a little dauber." ' "'
After shooting a bear and skinning
him I start) back, but the- going was
bad. By sunset I saw I couldn't bop
to get back to camp that night So 1
looked about tor a good, sheltered spot
to camp. Just then my horse whin
nied. Ills call was answered from a
hollow just behind the creek bed along
which I was riding. I dismounted,
fastened htm and, rlfla In band, went
on to Investigate.
There, bidden tn a little gulch, were
about twenty horses. They weren't
guarded. Looking around tn the dusk.
I saw a dugout about a hundred yards
op the bill. Lights appeared through
the cracks. I clambered up to learn
who was there,
I knocked at the blanket door. The
voices I had heard as I climbed the
lop were hnsbed an at once. Then I
beard a half dozen sharp clicks. That
meant the cocking of rifles or revolv
ers. 1 began to wonder what company
bad stumbled into. Before I could
move back some on called:
Who's there r
A friend and a. whits man,' I re-
piled.
The door opened, and a big, ugly
looking fellow stepped forth and said:
"Come tn."
I accepted the Invitation with some
degree of fear and hesitation, which 1
endeavored to conceal, as I thought It
was too lats to back out and that it
would never do to weaken at that
point whether they , were friends or
foes. Upon entering the dugout my
eyes fell upon eight as rough and vil
lainous looking men as 1 ever saw
In my life. Two of them I Instantly
recognized as teamsters who had been
driving In Lew Simpson's train a few
mouths before and had been dis
charged. '
They were charged with ths murder
ing and robbing of a ranchman, and,
having stolen bis horses, It was sup
posed that they bad left tbe country.
I gave them no signs of recognition,
however, deeming It advisable to let
them remain In Ignorance as to who
I was. It was a bard crowd, and 1
concluded the sooner I could get away
from them the better it would be for
me. I felt confident that they wera a
band of borse thieves.
"Where are you going, kid, and
who's with you?" asked one of ths
men, who appeared to be the leader of
the gang. ,
"I am entlrclj'alone. 1 left Horse
shoe Station this morning for a bear
hunt, and, not finding any bears, I
bad determined to camp oat for the
night and wait till morning," said I,
I then Instantly wheeltd
around and saw that the uian ahead,
who was only a few feet distant, had
heard the blow and bad turned to so
what was the matter, his hand upon
his revolver. Wo faced each other at
about the same Instant, but before b
could fire, as he tried to do, I shot hlui
dead In his tracks. Then. Jumping on
my horse, I rods down the creek as
fast as possible, through the darkness
and over the rough ground and rocks.
The other outlaws in the dugout,
havlug heard the shot which 1 bad
Bred, knew there was trouble, and
they all came mailing down the creek.
" $hot aim dead tn hU track. '
I suppose by the time they reached
the man whom I bad knocked down
that be had recovered and hurriedly
told them of what had happened.
They did not atay with the man whom
I had shot, but came on In hot pursuit
of me. Tbey were not mounted and
were making better time down the
rough mountain than I was. '
At last tbey came so near that I saw
that I must abandon my horse. " I
Jumped to the ground and gave him a
hard slap with the butt of one of my
revolvers, which started him on down
the valley, while I scrambled up the
mountain side. I had not ascended
more than forty feet when I beard my
pursuers coming closer and closer. 1
quickly bid behind a large pine tree,
and in a few moments tbey an rushed
by me, being led on by the rattling
footsteps of my borse,' which they
heard ahead of them. 8oon they be
gan firing in the direction of the borse.
as they no doubt supposed I wss seat
ed on his back. As soon as tbey bad
passed .me I climbed farther np the
steep mountain, and, knowing that I
specimen of umulumd ' and one ol
the most deadly shots with rifts or
pistol that ever lived. In his en
thusiasm as a I'ntoii spy he mad a
detour around, down Into Texas and
back to southwest Missouri and Joined
the Texan under an assumed name
and accepted service its a Confederate
spy, consequently giving himself the
double danger of a spy's fate. There
fore by this menus lie became of tin
mense service to the Union forces,
For many months he wss conflden
tlal accret service agent for the Con
federate forces under General Price In
an Invasion of Kansas, and tn one but
tle while among their advance guard
he saw a maneuver of which, he
thought the Uniou general should be
Informed. He therefore made dash-
from the rebel to the opposing lines
Ills action was so sudden that the
southerners thought his horse had be
com unruly. Tbe audacity of hi
movements did not dawn n them for
a few moments, when, with yells, a
iund toot up hot pursuit. Hoth r
mles watched In breathless suspense:
but always famed for picking superior
mounts, be quickly distanced all save
one, who followed close up behind him,
firing several shots which whistled
close to his ear. Just when illckok's
horse was compelled to vault a small
creek be turned tn his saddle and with
his unerring aim dropped ths gallant
pursuer from bis horn and rode safe
ly Into the I'nloo line. Here be de
livered bis Information to General
Pleasonton, which turned the tide of
the day. . - ,
Probably the most noted event In bis
career was bis single banded figlit
with Jacob McCandlea and his gang
of nine men at Hock Creek, writers
Kansas, while riding pony express In
1801. This wss bis first great light
while coverlug his route, armed only
with two Colt revolvers. He halted
at Rock Creek Station to Bud the
stock tender dead and bis wife excited
by bis presence. As b approached
she exclaimed:
"My heavens. Bill, McCandlea and
his gang are In the neighborhood, or
were this mornlugP '
This gang of bandits bad been lay
ing a trap for Hlckok to get him out
of the way. Hushing to the door to re
mount and get back, he saw several
bends imp up out of the grass, and a
bullet struck the door jamb. Jumping
back and telling the lady to em-ape. he
was fortunate to Dud a loaded rifle
left by the husband which the Mc
Candlea gang did not think of, as
they saw that BUI waa armed only
with six shooters. There were some
raillery and badinage between blm and
McCandlea of a defiant nature when
McCandlea and nine bandlu rose and,
with a yell, charged for the door.
Tbey depended on taking the chance
of losing some of their meo and mad
a quick charge. Bill's instruction
were to me in such case, "WW. al
ways get the lesder." This be did, as
he fired straight at McCandlea, the
bullet catching him full In the heart
and he dropped Instantly. By this
time the desperadoes wer close upon
the csbln. Jumping aside, be emptied
the revolvers through ths cabin door.
Four men fell dead, beside MeCan.
dies, at this stage of the game.
Although wounded with buckshot
and bullet and struck over the bead
with a rifle that caused him to bleed
at tbe mouth and nose, be (till "stayed
wun -em." At this time, as be told
me himself, the cabin wss oiled with
smoke, and anything b struck or bit
was an enemy, and hi the gloom prob-
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52
Tot Infanti and Children.
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AT THE
.... BARERONIAN ....
Feature Film
"An Unfortunate mistake"
By Special Request Miss Holland will render that
' beautiful old hymn aeain f'Roek
ADMISSION 10 CENTS ... ' ' citato
few hundred yards down the creek I
beard one of your horses whinnying,
and then I came to your camp."
Where s your horse?" demanded ths
boss thief.
I left blm down at the creek," I an
swered.
Tbey proposed going after tbe borse,
but I thought that would never do, as
It would leave me without any means
of escape, and 1 accordingly said in
hopes to throw them off tbe track.
Captain, I II leave my gun here and
go dowp and got my horse and come
back and stay all night."
But my clover little game did not
work at all, as one of the desperadoes
spoke up and sald:
'Jlm and 1 will go down with you
after your horse, and you can leave
your gun here all tbe same, as you'll
not need It."
"AU right." I replied, for 1 could
certainly have done nothing else.
"Come along," said one of them, and
together we went down the creek and
soon ca me to the spot where my borse
was tied. One of the men unhitched
the animal and said, "I'll lead the
borse."
"Very well," said I. "I've got a cou
ple of sage hens here. Lead on."
I picked up the sage bens which I
bad killed a few hours beore and
followed the man who was leading the
borse, while his companion brought
np the rear. Tbe nearer we approach
ed the dugout the more I dreaded the
Idea of going back among the villain
ous cutthroats. My first plan of es
cape having failed, I new determined
upon another. I had both of my re
volvers with me, the thieves not hav.
1ns thought It necessary to search me.
It wns now quite dark, and I purpose
ly dropped one of the sage hens and
asked the man behind me to pick It up.
While He was hunting for It on tbe
ground J quickly pullt-d out one of my
Colt's revolvers and struck him a
tremendous blow 'on tbe back of the
bead, knocking him senseless to tbe
I at once struck out for Horseshoe
8tatIon, which was twenty-five miles
distant I had very hard traveling at
first but upon reaching lower and bet
ter ground I made good headway,
walking all night and getting Into the
station Just before daylight footsore,
weary and generally played out
I Immediately waked up tbe men of
the station and told them of my ad
venture. Slnde himself happened to
be there, and he at once organized a
party to go out In pursuit of the horse
thieves.
We bad a brisk ride and arrived In
the Immediate vicinity of tbe thieve
rendezvous nt about 10 o'clock In tbe
morning. We approached tbe dugout
cautiously, but upon getting In close
proximity to It we could discover no
horses In sight No one was Inside,
and the general appearance of every
thing indicated that tbe place bad
been deserted; that the birds bad flown.
Buch Indeed proved to be tbe case.
Among one of my earliest acquaint
ances was a young man, older than
myself, who was destined to become
famed In frontier history, while at the
same time legendary gossip bas caused
his career to bo somewhat misunder
stood owing to Its varied character.
This was James B. nickok, who, al
though bis name was James, will live
in song and story as "Wild . Bill."
While probably no man In western
history had so many notches on his
gun, It may be said that no man re
corded them of tener in defending right
enforcing law and dealing Justice.
In our early youth we were associ
ated In mnny adventures on tbe plains
in Indian warfare, wagon trailing,
hunting ; and trapping, and ' we hap
pened to be on the same side of tbs
fence when the civil war between the
north and the south left tbe plaint al
most alone to tbe red man.
"Wild Bill" soon became one of ths
most noted men in tbe confidence of
the Union generals In the extreme
southwest Ee was a magnificent
c
Fast Freight Seryice
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Through merchandise Cars from Toitland to A Horn
leave Portland at 6 p. m. Every Dy except Sun
day. All less than carload shipments delivered at
Freight House before 4 p. m. will arrive in Astoria at
0:5op. m. For further imfonnation call on ,
(J. 13. JOHNSON. acnil Agent A. & C. U. R.
IWi St, near Commercial 8t ' ASTORIA, OREGON.
Jeha Foa, Pra. P. L. Bishop, See. Astoria Saving Twi
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ASTORIA IRON WORKS
DESICNERS AND MANUFACTUHERS
OF THE LATEST IMPROVED . "f
Canning Machinery, Marine Engines and Boilers
r. CO"PLEcTf CANNERY OUTFIT! FURNISHED. ' '
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FINANCIAL.
First national Bank of Astoria
DIRECTORS
Jacob Kamm W..F. McGregor C. C. Flavei
J. W. Ladd S.S. Gordon
' .........$100,000
Surplus , , 25 000
Stockholders' Liability . , "!!!!!!!! ! JOo!ooo
rXTAHMNIIKI) 18M4V , r
J. Q. A. BOWLBY, President
0. I. PETERSON, Vice-President
J. W. GARNER, Assistant Caihir
FRANK, PATTON, Cashier
ASTORIA SAVINGS BANK
CAPITAL AND SURPLUS - $232.CS0
Transact a General Banking Business Interest Paid on Tlma Dtpos
our Per Cent. Per Annum
Eleventh and Duant Sit,
Astoria, Oregon
"Nine btmdlt charged fur the door."
Mj tbey assisted blm In their de
struction. But with bis faithful bowle
knife be never faltered until all was
quiet, calm and still, for be had struck
savage blows, following the dovll up
one side of t lie room and down the)
other and into corners, striking and
Tellini ""III he felt sure thnt every
one was down. ; ' '
Hlckok was wounded by three but'
lets and eleven buckshot and cut In
thirteen plsccs. It was six months be
fore "Wild Bill" fully recovered from
the results of what was one of the
most thrilling exploits In border story
-one. that Is not created by the ro
mancer, but Is well sutbentlcated-
that "Wild Bill' In single handed con
flict killed ten men, men of the most
doHpernte character. ,
SCANDINAVIANS AVER I CAN
SAVINGS BANK
ASTORIA,1 OREGON
OUR MOTTO: "Safety Supercede All Other Conidnt!oa ,
sr. '-'
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