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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 18, 1906)
THE bSZCSa DAILY" JOURNAL, PORTLAND. SATURDAY EVZ::i:;3. AUGUST 13. mm 11L All EE P. RITOl SjHPR'S (Em 1& . OM IONACIO gar out hla text 'Thou fool, this night thveoul hall be required of thee. He u fat greaay. yallow-faoed in Portugal the starving flock were led - by wall-fed anepnerds. "All the fat onee ; of the earth." Mid tlla psalmist In an cient Israel, nihU eat and worship. Scores of teem. haggard face were' lit - by the shafts of March aunahlna itrnm Ins through the window of the church at Camera;, the stained jjas palmed pale cheeks , with strange colors ; the little lights twinkling before the shrines through clouds of floattng Incense shone on large, hungry eyes In dark corner. But the fat. In the person of Dom Igna clo, worshiped with well-llned paunch. "'- Affonso - Bordlno had knelt dovoutly, ' . Joined loudly In the responses, crossed - himself " piously and -earnestly. This was mechanical. During the service hla , shifty eyes had wandered to hla neigh' bora to the) tawdry, painted, wooden v figures of virgin, and saints, decked in .cheap robes" and flashy Imitation Jew . els. He had shoveled anaff Into his nos trlls from a . wisp of dirty paper. . and had spat noisily at Intervals on the mar bis floor. But now the text caght his wandering mind, fie listened enviously aa the priest told the story of the rich man whose ground brought forth pi en teeualy untn he had no room to bestow his fruits. Dom Ignaelo'e heavy faoe became animated aa be warmed to bis sermon.' His dull eyes flashed: he raised - his arms In dramatic. Impassioned ges ture. Affonso heard the rich man de , bating the subject of his weslth's dis posal; asw him aa he looked at his nar row barns and the fruits and goods piled without shelter; listened with Interest ss he addressed his soul: "Soul, thou hast much goods laid tip for many years; take thins ease, eat., drink and be marry! Affonso envied the rich man. -Much goods I For many years!" . But then, startling, tremendous, break-, lng suddenly upon the solemn stillness of ths church and upon , the rich man's self-complacent plans, cams the voloe ' of God. uttered by his priest: ' Than fool; this night thy soul shall be required of thee!". It Seemed like a thunderclap, heard in the silent church. Affonso gave a littta ; Jump.' , It was like It. was like sudden death coming on sins anassolled.- Dom Ignaclo raked over his own soul for sins too easily ' found. "I will go to confession today, he mattered. "But hs sympathised with the rich man. Hs wondered vaguely whv God's thunder broke In upon ths summer calm of the man's compls raiunr: and. while his ' thoughts wan dered, missed ths priest's application of the text.' not only to his hearers, but to their unhappy country, suffering God's Judgment for their neglect of him In prosperous ye re. Affonso knelt to ths altar and went out. Ths praca ' was bathed In bright - sunshine. On the sign of - ths poet house ths-legend Tao vlhho bom" in- . vlted him to enter. , He took a coin from , Ms tattered pocket oook his last coin snd looked at the smug visage of Queen Maria with a Sigh. . While hs hesitated, the door of the mayor's house, across the square, opened. Affonso entered the cafe of the posthouss and took his seat in a shady corner oa one aids of ths . wlds door. '--. In ths praca a few lean pigs wars root ing, snd half -starved poultry scurried hither and thither after specks of corn. Ths church, ths long, rambling post bouse, the priest's dwelling, ths yellow . walls of ths Banta Clara convent, snd a tew open shops In which all the work, . as la eastern countries, was carried oa to full gase of the passerby, formed the . sides of ths praca.' Narrow, squalid ' lanes of small bouses, painted tn many colors pale blues and creams, and pinks, and greens ran Into ths square. Dirty, brown-skinned children played among . - the garbage with ths pigs, who shared ' their mud-floored hovels. Wider roads, one running north, ths other between . plans trees, south to Miranda, entered the praca at either end. A wooden cart with clumsy wheels was being dragged slowly across the square by a yoke of ;' bony oxen. In the - background, high ": above' the mayor's house, - high shore ths weather-beaten facade of the church Itself, towered ths gloomy Serra . de Louisa,- Its ragged summits piercing the blue sky, clouds half veiling the middle heights, the lower slopes covered . with a carpet of dark evergreens. . Affonso - Bordlno watched the ' Juts come across the praca for hla midday glass and gossip. A long-bodied man,' the , mayor, with, short legs waddling - over from his house with a slow, un gainly gait, like some overgrown beetle staggering on short hind legs. Affonso ' marked bis fat. long body with resent ment But he took off his hat and - bowed low as ths mayor entered. - ' , "Well, Bordlno," gasped the mayor, ' short , breathed snd pompous, as be , passed to the cork-coated chair await- lng him.' ' , No offer of a drink from that quarter. As ths clock strode, Dom Ignaclo and , two of the mayor's cronies, the fldalgoes of Camara. came tn talking and laugh ing. The landlord of the : posthouss hastened to wait on these, guests. Affonso-sat alone In his corner, resting his chin on a lean, brown hand. He eyed the little group furtively, , and . stroked the gray stubble of his two days beard with an ugly rasping sound. "Aguardiente," said Bordlna gruffly, aa the landlord came near blm. He sipped the spirit with a malicious eye on the gentlefolk drinking good wine In their corner. The sermon had stirred bitter memories of prosperous davs; French drums and bugles, leading alien armies Into Portugal, had brought pover ty to Affonso, ss to many others. Once be had looked forward to speaking to Ms own soul In some such fashion as ths rich mas in ths parable. But two of his beet mules bad been taken by the enemy, without payment. In the early days of the struggle.. Another had fallen down a precipice oa ths 0rra ds Louisa. Its bleached bones, among the stones of the 'valley, taunted him whenever hs took -the mountain road. Now two only were left, and little enough work for even these. Rubbing' his hand absently against the rasping beard, and taking the spirit In tiny sips, Affonso peered St ths group with small, malicious eyes. They could drink their wine; they .could fill out their trreedr bodies with good fare, ami KM apart bUa svea fw rig u drink to ths enemy. Ths Juli was talking In his gasping, spasmodic way about the French. Messena had followed Welling ton to Torrea Vedrea, and was retreat ing again .from those faatneasea Spam; retreating with a fierce, ragged, hungry army, killing and burning and destroying as It swept through the help less land. The. mayor and his com' panlons talked, horror-stricken, of the atrocities perpetrated In Saatarom and the neighboring villages, i ; "Of course, we ars safe," said the mayor, pompously, confidently. "We have nothing to fear at Camera. Tb saints be praised, we ars off ths line or march of thoss fiends." A little meager gentleman opposite him muttered something implying doubt; ths mayor turned oa him almost brusquely.'--. . "There Is no question," hs asserted. I sm confident of It Look at our posi tion." He placed hla glass in the center or tne tame. -"Hers Is Banta rem. and tnis (moving ths bottle) Is Camara. With a long finger nail hs scored a line in the wooden tabls. "There." he said, triumphantly, "that ie theft- routs. We are leagues from their road." - He. raised a plump' hand to brush away further objection. - v "All the same," said ths other man. T shall give a stiver candlestick to flan Jose thst thev mar nass us bv." "Ponf r said the Jnla eontsmblidously. i snait- not, - its caugni uam ignaeio s dull eye, and added, hastily, I will give two In gratitude.- But pray that they may not coma No. - i shall not bother the saints with whst can never happen. uamara is as ears as as parts" Affonso Bordlno rose and went out. He glanced at ths mayor's fins housi through ths window of one room as hi passed;- he could see a pier glass re flect Ins a snread table; the srllded frame caught the sunshine like gold. "Solid . . . gold," thought Bordlno. His heart wss bitter. His thin ' fingers turned over In one ragged pocket ths small Changs left from his glass of spirits. He was going toward Miranda that afternoon, carrying a few skins of wine with his mules. He went to the stable. The Journey was scarcely worth ths fsw small coins It would bring in payment He harnessed the two sorry beasts. fastened on the' wine skins, swung his light body Into the saddle of ths better mule and set out. The ribs or tne mules showed through their skins, from which the hair had worn In places, leav ing sores snd great bare patches. His naked feet were thrust tn shoes, to on of which a hugs rusty spur wss fast ened. : ' ' Hs left the avenue of planes, behind and entered a long road, bordered first with cactus and then with thick woods. At a bridge a league or so from Camara hs ' dismounted. Jogging through ths country a brilliant scheme, still hssy In detail, bad entered his quick brain. Hs lav on his back on the broad stons coping of the bridge, and.-lighting s thin cigar, puffed blue smoke towsrd ths blus sky as hs reflected. In the background of hla thoughts glittered the gold-framed . mirror In ths great house on the Praca. His eyes bright ened with greed and cunning. Suddenly the clatter of boors reacned his esrs. Hs sat up on ths edge of ths bridge, below which a noisy stream ran over great boulders, between banks cov ered with fern and drooping trees. It was the mayor's son on his lltrtlo An- daluslan cob, riding st breakneck pace riding, thought Affonso twitn anger, yet with tho glow of a cheerful secret), to the spread table In his fsthsr's house. The muleteer remembered Just tn time that discovery would Imperil his plana He whipped his mulss into tns rorest. and through - ths screen of leaves watched Manuel de Bllva as ns passed in a cloud of dust. it was too earlv yet for Arronso to return to Camars, and his Intention of going to Miranda was abandoned. He lay looking up at the sky as ths sun marched down ths heavens. ' It was quite warm. Later tnr ths yesr tns wan would have been a Dancing piece zor green and brown llsards; on summer Journeys Affonso bad often- scared them out of their inn aiumner ax mis very place. He chuckled to himself as hs thought out tne aeiaue 01 nis scheme. A long draugnt or wine, squeesed from one of ths skins In his charge, gave him courage. Only one cigar was left In his pocket; he had been Saving it ror nignt. out now ns stuck it between his teeth and flashed a light from flint and steel. (It wss an Indication of his hopes. - ' -" At last when ths sky was ro, ns started up and mounted. He rods at a leisurely pace until hs reached ths s ve nus of plane trees. Thsn hs dug ths great Iron spur Into ths flanks of his mule, thrashed the other furiously with his whip and goaded tns jaaea oeasia Into a noisy gallop. It hs killed them now, what matter. Paster and faster thev flew, terrified., urged on by blows and cries snd ths sharp biting of ths spur. Little groups of peasants wsrs in the road; women with baskets on their heads, men driving oxen, men and boys carrying wins skins. Tho skins his mules csrrted thumped on the worn flanks; the wine gurgled and frothed; one bag let out a littis stream, use blood, which poured down the hide or the beast that carried it and left a red trail on the road for ths dust to drink. What matter. Pebbles flew beneath the flying hoofs; the whits dust closed be hind them like smoke. Men, noys ana women scattered to left snd right The French! Ths French!" he yelled. "The French devils ere coming!" Where T Where t When 7" Oh, mother of Ood! Blessed saints!" ' . The startled cries and Invocations, the eager, anxious questions roiiowea mm unanswered. A little throng of fright ened peasants clustered together with terror-stricken, bsckward looks, and then ran after him, stumbling and falling In their haste to reach ths praca. , Hers svenlng bad gathered more peo ple. Affonso clattered through tb crowd, shouting bis news hoarsely. At the house of ths Jul ho flung himself from ths saddle. He ""tore his hat off, burst In unannounced, found himself, al most breathless, in ths room with the gilded mirror. ' i Ths maroe was alone.' Ha srlajined no hastily from a bundia which hs was fastening with a look of almost guilt certainly of terror. question was In big dull eyas, '-.,., A TftOOPr.f 31 HIS. HR5 i fun .y" "Ther are commgr gasped Affonso. his-heart thumping with excitement and fear of failure. "Ths French ars com ing). I saw them in ths road near Mi randa!" . - : .' - The mayor's short legs trembled under ths weight of his long, fat body. He put one hand on ths tabls for support. With dry lips hs gasped out oueetlona Afonso answered.' fearing exposure with every word. Perhaps he would staff at ms - poet,-hoping to -make farms for Camera. - - -, - . - "There Is no time to save anything!' cried Affonso. "They ars : within a league." h . ' ;.' I am going:- I am going." rained the Jul. breathlessly. "Manuel!" He shrieked out hla son's nams. "They ars hers already. They are within a leagus. They will be here before we have tlms to escape. Manuel I Do joa heart" There Is no time to savs anything. I tell you," repeated Affonso, rushing out before Manuel could enter from an up per room. Tho people, through whom Bordlno had forced - his way, in ths square had already spread ths news. His spirits rose as hs thought how easy his task had been, and how successful. Men, J I.' , . " WV I I SSSS I ' II f J,. ' -SwVBBSj-SBBk, . . . ... Jessie jamcsjOutlaw's Son,BedeemsFamily st N MISSOURI a sturdyvoung man Is redeeming a family name rrora scarlet disgrace. ' t "", Jesss James, a son of ths 'noto rious outlaw, is now a full-fledged law- year., ' ; - - ' A few days ago be passed a success ful examination before the , Missouri ttats board of examiners at an attor-Dey-at-law. " ..-...-, . His father broke ths law under many extenuating - circumstances, some still plead but Jesse means to uphold ths dignity of ths law. In the courts of Missouri, which wers cheated by .assassination of an oppor tunity to glvs his father a trial, young Jeans perhaps hs will always bs called "young tfesse' is enrolled ss a lawyer along with the nams of T. T. Crittenden, ex-governor of Missouri, under whoee administration his father wss killed by a former ally In outlawry.- , Started as Offics Boy. Ths nams of Jess James ts enrolled on this earns record with that of T. T. Crittenden Jr., who gavs Jssss a posi tion as offics boy whsn ths lad was II years old.; '' - ' Jesse jsmes wss nana leap pea as rsw boys are. : Hla father had been an out law. He Was left an orphan at years of age, without money, and with a bad nams to live down. Soon aftsr ths bur ial of his father, his mother wsnt to Kansas Cltv. ' - She made a living for herself and her two children by sewing. Jess went to school until he was It years old. When hs reached hla twelfth yesr, ths boy decided thst hs was old enough to work for his mother. One Sunday morning he rend ths following advertise ment tn the want columns of a nsws- pspert ; ..''--v. Wanted An office boy by T. T. Crittenden Jr." , Perhaps ths boy knew that this was the son of ths man whs had caused efforts to bs mads to capture his father, which resulted In his fsthsr's being as sassinated; perhaps hs did not At any rats he answered the advertisement the next morning. Secured' His First Job. Whsn hs arrived at the Crittenden office be found that there wers 10 other boys ahead of htm'. Hs did not turn away, but mingled wlth them to take his chance...- , r Mr. Crittenden, who waa busy at hla desk mi ibe box entered, finally Jit a Jssfe . y women and children were sssembled, ready 'for flight toward ths mountains; some empty handed In their terror,, some carrying hastily packed bundles. Ths nuns from ths Santa Clara convent hud dled together like frightened hens. Dom Ignaeio, mounted on an asa, rmrrshaled ths people, a good, shepherd to his flock: in the supreme moment Turning f his bead,- Affonso saw the mayor's short legs already gripped saddle; his wifs rods pillion behind him, clutching . his brood, long body; - Manuel, had taken a child on hla horse. - Ths sight of his wlfs and her mother, bareheaded. In the frightened, chatter ing crowd, reminded Affonso of ties, hs had overlooked. Should he tell them his secret? Msrla wss beautiful stllL He and shs shared many memories of dances. Jaunts to qulntaa in ths moun tains, glorious festa days, when bands played and fireworks . flsxlad In broad daylight before ths church. It would be something to see her prlds . In . bis cleverness. - But then, again, ' women have curious scruples. Hs ran risks by telling them. .And Maria wss not grow ing younger. . There were : wrinkles where dimples had been, gray hairs turned to ths boys and looked thsm over carefully. Toung Jesss was ths smallest of thsm sll and may have been the youngest.- vi v He was: clean-cut manly looking littis fellow, r Hs possessed a steady eye, a Strong' little nose, a firm chin, and his boyish mouth bad a tins of elo quence. The head was leonine, the ualr straight and combed clsan across his high forehead. - r.: ' Ths little fellow's profile, his ex pression, his straight," wiry little body, all expressed energy, loyalty, keenness, ambition and pride. There wers othsr fins boys in' ths lot of tl from which ths lawyer had to pick, but bs . wss takrfn with the littlest fellow. - - - He dismissed the others and called Jesss to his side. - After a few words with ths boy hs hired him. Mr. Crit t ended testifies that the boy was faith ful to every trust, qutet and well-behaved. "- - ... g : A few years later Jesss secured -1 position In a paoking-hous as a clerk., Hs wrots a book In defense of his father. Ths book was published. It had a big sale. Missouri people, and especially western Missouri people those who knew most of ths days, and deeds and misdeeds of Jesss James sympathised with ths boy's efforts to give the real Jesse James to ths publio, to show wherein much that Is charged agalnat his father waa the Imagination of iVO-eent blood-and-thunder writers who had never put foot on Missouri soli or been farther west than Buffalo. When Jesss became 11 ' years of age he had (TOO In ths bank. And ths 1700 wss in his good friend's bank Swln ney's bank. Besides Jesss owned a lit tle eottsgs In which his mother snd sis ter lived..- V I,1- '- ' ', Charred With Train Robbery. ' A little Is ter, when Jesse had suc ceeded tn taking all care from his mother's shoulders, of giving her: peace and plenty In hor old age, and In edu cating his sister, whsn hs had attained sn honorsd manhood and was receiving ths compliments of all good cltisens, a most dramatic train robbery was pulled off In Jsckson county, near Kansas City. The men who had made It a point to loaf aroujid Jesse's cigar stsnd wsrs suspected by the officials and county officers, and several of them wers ar rested. Confessions and alleged confes sions followed. Jesse was srrested on a charge of train robbery. His mother wae prostrated. ' . ' It was'vchargd that Jesss, with ao mingled with the black. Sometimes her tongue had a rough edge to It In an hour- or so ho- would bs master of wealth enough to buy him the love of any young and pretty girl in Portugal. In Spain, In Europe. He - would bs a great lord. Maria was -well enough in the mud-floored cabin among ths pigs ana poultry. - But in . ths palsos ha meant - to buy 'far from Camata no; but be would be generous, and glvs them ths two mules . to rids away on. Tet svsn s hs dragged them towards the women, who ran with ahtill clamor of greeting and questions, towards him, his Intention changed. He had forgotten that he would want a beast to carry off his. wealth. -But they could have the sorrier mule. '.;;' ' "Tes. yes; ths French are coming. I saw thsm near Miranda," " hs cried, mounting the trembling women on the tired mule. "I wlU stay to ths last I am not afraid." , He gavs ths mule a blow with bis whip; it hobbled in the rear of the pro cession, thst .was . already leaving the square. . The excited talk, ths sobs of women, ths clattsr of hoofs, tho nolss of hurry oompllcea, bad -held up one'of Oeorg Gould's Missouri Psclflo passenger trains and robbed the safe in the ex press car Of something near- f 40,004. Immediately thoss who had been strong eat In the condemnation of his father pronounced him guilty without reading more than the headlines ovsr ths storlss in ths nswspapers. "v ' . 7. : i. Who cams to hts aid Younr Jesse Acquitted. , , ' ' " ' Ths ex-governor who had sought ths arrest of his father for alleged crimes and crimes known, ths ex-governor's son who had hired him as offics boy and ths banker friend. Jesse's trial came up. He was ably prosecuted. Hs was cleared absolutsly: of the chargs of train robbery. . , A friend of Jesse, visiting Kansas City one day, asked a companion of the wsr days: ,. "Has this trial mads ths boy bitter r "It has- mads him stronger," was ths reply, . T-r a ' . ;- ,; ' Ths young man was much saddened, not by the' ehsrge of train robbery s gainst himself he was clear of that the publio accepted ' ths verdict of In nocence - and sympathised with him but ths failure of his old mother's health. Soon afterward she died. But sbs died knowing that hsr boy was an honest man, and that was a great relief to him. In ths recent class of IT law gradu ates Jesse James stood first His aver age in alt branches was II per cent Jesse ts a self-made man. He la 11 years old. Hs is worth f 10,000. Hs is sn attorney-at-Iaw. Hs made every dol lar of hla money by honest hard work. He is married. He has two children. Hs lives in . his own houss. Hs has nsvsr tasted whiskey. His friends ars among ths foremost men sf Missouri. 1 Winning Fish Story. ' The ejiampion fish story ef lsoe conies from Whlteheiee. Pemwrlviala. ' It kj-'abrnt a LealKh valley enadnrtnr who booked a ettfUh which be eon Id sot Isad. He wa alnet to rive sp la despair when another flebertnea offeree to wad the street end par the fl.h. To hi nrprlaa the fisherman f on fid bis Has en ferine the besfhnle ef s Deer keg. The keg we nras4 (aher and found To eontals fonr ponadieatri.il, whir bad grows to large t paaa throafh tb tmnf bole. Now Ualnel . , Mis Ags Agalnat " antoln Green of Jewell, Vermont. ws re jected by tire raerottlas-efflese enrlng the etrll war bereft ef bl adeaneed a. -Mr. Drees la now 1V year M. and m remarkanlr sons health, lie' would sot be takes as sr taaa M rests ef age, . . . . ing - footsteps. Dom Ignaclo'a strong voles, urging, chssrlng. beseeching, en eouraging and calling down on the in yaders all ths euraes of ths church, dlsd away. Ths Praca was smpty at Isst Not a soul waa left tn Camara; not soul.-savs ths soul to which he waa al ready muttering tho rich man's promise With. Intoxicating Joy Affonso found himself In possession of ths village Hs entered the -church.. Dom Ignaclo had taken some of ths sacred relics but had lsf t the treasure. Hs looked greed II y at the gems on ths robes snd on ths gold and silver plate. He rubbed his hands In an ecstasy of Joy aa he thought of ths palacs hs would build. Ha would have-gold mirrors gold sverywhere and red and green and blue hangings everywhere, snd musical boxes; like ths on from . Paris tho clockmaksr has shown him. s . Hs harnesifd . his muls to a heavy wooden cart which would carry him away with his spoils Then he entered ths mayor's house. Here In cellsr and kitchen he found choice wines and food to nerve him for his long task. Enter ing ths room In which he had told hla story hs gaxed around open-mouthed M Its magnificence, seen now at leisure. Hastily he seised some glided candle sticks snd thinking them solid gold car ried them to the cart He dragged the mirror from the wall, stamped the glaes into fragments, tried - to wrench away the frame. He muat get tools for this. and leaving it to a more convenient time, he ascended ths staircase to the upper rooms. . In the first he entered he gaaped with wonder: hla eyes narrowed and glittered with greed. All. wss tn disorder; drawers wers flung open, piles of clothes and ornaments littered the floor and bed. Hers were rich dresses, fins silk, scarfs, glass bottles stoppered with gold. Ivory fans, richly carved and painted brooches, .gems., chains. But first hs must dress himself for his trav els." ' He flung off his old ragged clothea, put silk stockings on bis bare legs, and donned the mayor's beet garments." i A great scarf of finest silk, changing tint with- each movement of the light gavs a picturesque nnisb to his dress. it -eyas now growing dark.. He lit a candle In a (liver scones on tbs wall, and filled his pockets with trinkets. The silence . was growing oppressive. : ' Ho wanted to finish his work hers quickly; there waa much to da Tearing a cur tain from ths bed, he poured into it at haphazard, the richer and gaudier con tents of -ths chamber. Ths csndls cast hugs, fitful shadows as hs moved, once or twice hs started nervously; a little clock in ths room frightened him Into a panlo by sudden striking. Hs seised It In both hands and hurled it savagely Into ths mingled hesp of wealth and rubbish. Vagus terror of ths loneliness and darknese began to make Itself felt Hs Imagined noises on ths stairs. In the square. In ths rooms below. - He wss frightened of everything beyond the rim of light Affonso began to regret that he had missed confession. There were other sins which might hsve C been washsd out, and so left his soul cleaner for ' this. Still, hs worked on eagerly. Hla task in this room wss neatly done. Hs took ths candle from the sconce, snd fixed It on ths dressing table tn its own grease, and then tore the silver sconce from its socket. As he did an a noise behind him startled blm. Ite turned sharply the blood f rose In his veins, snd his hslr rnss as he saw a strange man eyeing him. In panic terror he hurled ths scones at him with all his fores. There was a shiver of breaking glass. Hs had broken his own tmsge In curtained mirror-Mils own. Image, dis guised in ths garments of the. mayor. - Bordlno leant by the bed, gasping. . In mlnuts or . two- self-possession - re turned. Ths notse had been but the whirring of ths little clock as it ran down.' He bent and featened ths bun WORLD'S GREAT SPRING. Wonderful , Underground Lake in iOregon County, Missouri ; 4 From ths South wst, Month aftsr month papers and maga tlnss 'publish glowing accounts of ths beauty and grandeur of ths lakes of Swltxerland, ths rivers of Germany or the glaclsrs of Greenland. . Tourists snd globs trotters have stood on the Alps, "gondolated" In Venice or climbed the Matte rhom, but how .many American tourists know anything of their natlvs land outside ths "old school book won dsrs of Niagara. Tellowstone and To- semlteT Y'-'V v'' ''''' !!'' l"i ''"' In Oregon county, Missouri, and Pul ton county, Arkansas, srs grouped Grand Gulf, Mammoth Spring and Spring river, natural curiosities ao . wonderful, ao beautiful and furnishing so many open ings for investors ' that wers they hid tn the forests of Africa, or within the shsdow of ths mountain peaks of south ern Europe, artists would haunt them with their sketch books and, posts would rave bf their soul-lnsplring beauty. ' Ths Grand Gulf Is ths crowning won der of the group... Two shallow streams about ens fourth of a mils distant from each Othsr, flowing In ths sams direc tion over an elevated plateau, sudden ly drop into csnyons 100 1 fset deep These two canyons form a ' Junotlon half 'a mils below, where they strike a mountain lying directly across their path. This mountain has been tunneled by the action of the water, and the natural bridge thua formed la no less a curionlty snd almoat equal In slss to the famous Natural , Brtdgs of . Virginia. Aftsr passing through this mountain ths unltsd stream strikes snother moun tain and tunnels It for ssveral hundred feet, and. then apreada out Into an im mense underground lake, ths area of whloh has never been ascertained. Many parties have snjoyed the tunnel- and pic nics have 'been held by torchlight on the margin of the lake, but still It remains a mystsry. No light can sxlst long over the. bosom ef the lake snd nothing can bs heard ssvs ths far-away rumble of ths waters as thsy rush on. - This underground lake ts ths reser voir which supplies Msmmoth Spring, ths largest spring la ths - world, - with Its 10,000 cubio feet of wster a mlnuts. Ths most surprising feature In connec tion with this extraordinary natural cu riosity Is ths fact that when these great canyons srs filled with- water, svsn to the arch of ths natural bridge, hundreds of feet deep, the volume, of water In Mammoth'Spring is not increased. - Mammoth Bjrrtaa, covers it acres oX dle. As his thin, brown fingers turned, over, the treasures his ' spirits - rose. There wers "much goods" hers; with icsss aione ns mignt sat ana anna ana be merry for many days. H. tried to put sslds ths memory of ths morning's v text 4hat terrible sentence uttered by -the voice of Ood: "Thou fooL this night thy soul" - -What was thatt Hla heart beat fast again. - He crept to ths window, look lng out over ths praca There was a -clatter of hoofs, coming from the Mi randa roaa. He stood rrnsen witn nor ror, though his hand fumbled nervously at the unshaven chin. Hs atood, fas cinated, as a score or" so of troopers. ' mets. rode Into ths praca; as a lively air struck iin: aa ths tramn of unnum bered Infantry anawered the muelo of their band. In a second life had, flowed " daok wunin in empty wana; nut lire terrible snd msnacing to him. Affonso' s . limbs trembled;' all strength seemed to have left him; be watched.' unable to tear ' himself from his post' Shouts. curses,- snatches of song, rose above the ever-growing 'blare of brass and roll of drum. Guns flashed out-- flreil at random, in ths dark night Ths men poured Into the-houses, fierce to steal and slay and outrage. ; Already,' as by magic, fire were springing up in ths sqiisre. Affonso watched everything. He cams to his senses as the? drsw near the mayor's house. A little lane . ran down beside the ' house from ths praca. Hs might slip-out snd down It . unobserved.- Shaking In every limb, hs turned towsrd ths door. - His treasures wers forgotten, though his pockets still bulged with stolen goods. Kicking off .' his shoes, he ran noiselessly. In ths mayor's silk stockings, down ths stairs curious figure In the fine. Ill-fitting clothes. Hs stood shivering .In ths door way, walcini his chance. At last, with his' eyes on the enemy, hs rsn -out Affonso gavs a squeal of terror, as hs rsn Into some obstacle which his cau tious glance, Intent only .on ths French, had missed. . It waa hla own muls, al ready terrified by ths suddsn noise. Ths animal dashed off across.; ths praca, dragging after it ths heavy csrt; sll syes, turning; towsrd it saw. In the-light ' of ths newly kindled tires, ths man rac ing for safety.. : A trooper, with shouts and laughter, - set his horse at him, striking with his saber as hs passed. The blow missed. Affonso rolled In the dust, rose again,' mads again for ths alley, shrieking, mad ' - with fear: "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee." God's voles seemed thundering In - his . eare. Death was at his heels, catching him unassolled. At tho mouth of the lane a squad - of ' infantry stopped - him with r their- bayonets. -"Don't kill him yet; - don't kill him," yelled the trooper, amid , guf fawg-vof laughter. He : waa forced back at the-nolnt of weapons. Hs raced '. across the square. "pricked forward on to the bayonets of other men. The cav alry, with shouts of glee, hunted him 1,1 1 0 ....! V. squsrs wss barred. Stumbling, stsg gering, shielding his bowed head with . arms .that dripped- blood,. Affonso rsn. hither snd thither., screaming until tbs mountains answered with mocking echoes.'. He dropped st last In ths cen- , ter of ths square, and lay qulvsring, but silent -V- - " - - Boms men turned him over with their feet, and looked at ths glaring eyea . With shouts snd laughter, like school boys from their rams, - ths soldiers poured Into the- house, ransacking, de stroying, piling up great stscks of fur niture for their blvouao fires.. As : ths flames lesped and feu, hey - showed a huddled figure,, now in soiled -finery, now but a darker patch of shad ow, in the center of the greet squsre: a tiny figure, very still, vsry lonely not unpathetlc. ,'"..:-'-. ;;':': --'- ground 100 feet deep with crystal water. Spanned by an Immense steel bridge, . navigated' by . naphtha : launches and flowing its OO-OOOcublc feet of water a mlnuts over a dam of solid masonry 170 feet long snd tl feet high. It pressnts -an admlrabls picture. . ,.: . i It Is too beautiful for an attempt, at' description, and ths spring alona sup plies watsrpowsr equal to thousands of horsepower. It seems to holdlta own " more ssrens than the pyramids and aa unchangeable as ths decrees of fete."-" Nothing effects It Its purity remains undimmed when showers- of spring ' transform mountain streams Into varite. ble sewers; cloudbursts that drown 'wide 1 valleys snd drouths that drive cattls to ths distsnt lowlands neither add to . nor take from its constant nevry-vary- tng flow, and the keenest blast of old winter that ever scaled ths Osarks and rushed as a conqueror down thess sunny slopes hss never yet been able to cap- ' ture and Imprison In Its Joy fetters a single wavelet on ths placid bosom Of this mighty spring. -., , . Mammoth spring drives ths machinery of ths Mammoih Spring Roller Mills, ths largest mill In aril north Arkansas or south Missouri; ths Mammoth Spring Cotton Mills and Mammoth Sprtng-Elec-trio Light company, while unnumbered volumes of water fall unharnessed into the valley below, creating Spring river, the tlneet power stream in America. The Hudson may be grander, the St Lawrence mors romsntio or ths lordly -Mississippi mors majestic, but Spring rlvsr, for ths. brightness of Its waters," ' ths quiet beauty of Its wooded banks. ' for Its long, deep pools shaded by tower ' tng ellffs, for its rushing rapids snd ". Its hundred waterfalls, can Justly claim ' attractions unequaled by any stream In " America or abroad. The rains of sprlngtjme tielthsr mar -Its beauty nor add to Ita volume; ths ' droutns of midsummer drink not a drop of Its waters, and winter, which chalnae all neighboring streams with Its toy fet-. tors, imprisons not a . curl pf Spring river. , ' The giant which saucily -defied ths deluge, the drouth and the rude buffets of old winter ts a submissive Slavs n ths hsnds of progress, and Is now meek ly learning to turn the laths and threw the shuttle. r , ' ; The Joyous free song of lta waters li' marred by a falae note with a metelllo t ring, and ere long thess ahsdy. grass oarpeted banks, where children plsy an t ths angler catches ths unsuspecting baas, will bs llnsd with mills and fac tories that operate without feae . coat strike, and the song at the Mr. ' snd, the melody of the waterfall will '' be replaced by the whir or the snlndla and the sigh ot the operatives. I
