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About Corvallis gazette. (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 7, 1904)
TOILERS of the COLUMBIA By Paul De Loney Ms ft Author of " Lord of the and other Pacific Coast Stories CHAPTER I. The Storm. "Down she went!" "All aboard were lost." "She made a gallant fight." "Seel She comes to the surface again t Ihe loreoging exclamations came from a group of fishermen who etood upon the ehorea of Baker's bay and watched a ehip battling with the waves on the Columbia bar. The rain fell in long, slanting, twist ing sheets. It appeared as if the heav ens were a vast waterfall svrayed and tossed by all of the gods of fury. The wind howled and moaned like a power ful monster, making the earth and everything upon it tremble while it pursued itE way as steady as a tide from the deep. Trees bended their boughs to the cround and writhed and auivered to the end of their tiniest roots. Houses rocked and s waved like a weather vane upon their foundations. The more timid of the men and the women and children, though accustomed to storms, crouched and trembled with awed ex- pressioi s upon their faces as they lis teneu to the deafening din which was eweeping the earth. The Waters at the bioad mouth of the Colun bia river arose like wild steeds as they met the storm-driven waves of the Pacific and battled with them for supremacy. The combatting elements formed like a mountain rang along the bar, showing, with the rapid ity of a kalefdeecopic view, peaks, gulches and canyons , as the waters rose and clinched and then fell and divided 'lor another attack. - t jyatureigave her picture additional 'irandeur by the coloring. The ap proach of night through such a storm, $rhile there was still enough ehaded light to cast a lurid haze over the scene, the mingling of the. blood-red waters of the river with .the.green and, white of ocean streaked the whole, with a hue emblematic of contest and death. The tides from the deep seemed to be angered by the battle above their heads and rose higher and higher, with a power that made the. rock-bound shores shake, to crush out the wild con test between river and waves. The spray dashed up even to the timber belt above the beach, creating a fog en the windows of the high-perched light house that made the newly lighted lamp appear dim, and the whole moun tain range along the coast to the north quivered to its foundation while stay ins the mighty rush of the waters from the ocean. ' A group of fishermen stood at a point on the shores of the bay. They were drenched to the skin, but they did not mind this. They were more intent upon watching an object battling for its life on the bar of the river. f It was these who had made the exclamations given at the introduction of this chap ter. It was the severest storm for many years. They had been partially drawn, practically thrown ashore in their crude fishing boats by the receding waters from the conflict between ocean and river. While anxious eyes watched them from the windows of the fishing village in the rear, which was wrapped in the landstorm, they looked more anxiously out to sea. Having been handled so mercileBsiy by the waters which had spent their fury and were re treating from the battle at the bar, they trembled at the fate of an object which they discovered in the center of the rag ing conflict. It toseed and leaped and rose and fell like a wounded and bewildered animal pierced by a bullet from some hunter's rifle. Now on a peak, which shot up like a rocket from the depths below; now on the brink of a deep canyon, formed in the twinkling of an eye; now on a narrow ledge pending over a deep abyss, and then in the depths of a gulch, whose watery walls were crash ing down upon it then it disappeared from view! "Down ahe went I" said one fisher man. "All aboard were lost," said another. "She made a gallant fight," remark ed a tbiid. "Seel She comes to the surface again 1" exclaimed the man who had first spoken. The ship had instantly appeared again. But it writhed in the roaring surf like a stricken serpent. It had been a fine rigged sailing vessel, but now it was a mere bull with part of a deck and a few stumps of masts left. It had been the pride of a country and, like a brave soldier wounded and dis armed, it was fighting the enemy even in its dying gasps. It lunged this way and that. One moment it careened on its side; another it stood on its beam ; then it reared op li-e an animal in desperation, and with the agility of a cat regained its position on a. wild wave and rode it with a gal lantry that charmed the fisherman. Then lost for a n.oment it appeared again as if it had been discharged from one of Neptune's greatest guns sta tioned on a moro of the deep. "Bravo!" shouted a fisherman. "She deserves to live," said another. "But look!" shrieked a third. The shattered vessel had crossed the bar and was heading straight for Sand island. Caught on the receding waters ahe was dragged mercilessly toward her doom. Desert. Orrmw Sketcfiea." The storm grew stronger in its fury, As if angry at the prolonged life of the dismantled (hip, it gathered over the spot where it was making its last feeble fight to live. The sheets of ram grew thicker, the steady wind grew stronger the waves dashed together behind her and reared high up into the air. Then they broke apart and those receding sent the vessel on more rapidly. (The spray from the ocean and the sheets of rain from the heavens formed a veil which obscured all lor a brief time. The fishermen stood like statues for a few moments. Night was'closing in But for one brief instant there was glimmer from the departing day ana the men ashore saw the stranded vessel standing withnose in the sand while the victorious waves were pounding her at a rate that must soon break her to pieces. But to render aid to those aboard the sinking ship was impossible. No earthly craft could live in euch sea. Slowly and sadly the toilers of the Colubmia wended their way to their homes in the village where they told the story of the wreck. CHAPTER II. Age and" Infancy Drift Ashore. With the closing in of darkness the storm abated. As if rebuked by the deep shades of night it skulked away like a Bubdued trespasser. Only its rumblingr-disappearing footsteps ctuld be heard in the distance. -out lorjne Dooming or old ocean's mad waves, who seemed to feel that she had conquered all within her grasp and was reaching out her arms for the sky and rocks to catch all above and about her, a stillness would ha?e p retailed such as only exists in a calm after great storm. The fishermen began to emerge from their homes. The news of the terrible fate of .the ship and her crew had spread about the village. .While there was none of those hardy fellows who would dare the white-capped waves. yet they could not sleep while succor might be rendered in some manner. Heacon lights were kindled upon the hills along the shore and above the safe landing places . so - jthat if.,, any craft should have survived the storm it might steer for the place whre landing did not mean certain death, though the best was hazardous. "More wood!" they shouted, as the fires began to die down and in every di ruction spectre-UKe iorms were seen moving about like shadows among the big trees that lined the hills near the hore. Others lined up near the water's edge with ropes in hand, and strained their eyes and ears for a glimpse or a sound that would direct them to a place where humanity's most charitable act could be bestowed. But it was a night of work and vigi lance without reward. No an object was seen, not a sound heard save that of the receding waters as they returned to the deep from which they came. The son shot above the horizon the following mornjng with a flash. The sky was as clear as a crystal. The waters were as smooth on the bay as a lawn. Only out on the bar did an oc casional whitecap show its head. The beach was soon lined with men, women and children. The smoldering fires on the hillsides sent swirling streams of white smoke straight toward the heavens. The great trees above the leacb had straightened their boughs and no evidence remained of the battle with the storm save the broken limbs and the high piles of driftwood that littered the shore. On the approach of a newcomer a first glance was cast out over the bay. It was followed by a cloud of disap point men t on his or her face. Sand Island had claimed many victims and another disaster was to be added to her record. Buried deep into her sands was " the hull of another vessel. Only a few stumps ot masta remained above the wreck. Strain their eyes as they would under the shadow of their Lands or through their strongest glasses, not . a living thing could be discovered on or about the remains of the vessel which had made such a gallant fight the pre vious day. Suddenly a boat shot out from the shore to the east. An involuntary hiss escaped through the lips of the other fishermen. It was old Seadog and his boys. They l.ad slept through the night while others kept the beacon fires burning. They were not now on a mis sion of charity bent. They had gone for plunder before. But old Seadog had other motives in view. His keen eyes had pierced deep er into the storm the previous day. He had also been reading the marine news, besides letters and newspapers from a foreign land. He thought he recognized the vessel's country, by the vessel itself and had a motive for being first aboard shonld his surmise be true. On they dashed, propelled by the skilled oarsmen, growing less and less until like young jackals they lifted their boat on the sands and climbed over in to the hull of the stranded vessel. The people began to break away in small groups. They were silent but old Seadog and his boys were con demned in the minds of many. Still they did not know the real motive that prompted the land pirates. The men scattered up and down the beach that they might find whether any evidence of the vessel or her crew had drifted ashore. This had always -been their custom and small boats and. dead bodies had .often been ' found. even so soon after great catastrophes." V In a tew hours the searchers began to return to the Village empry:handed. Aa they came each : reported in turn that nothing had been found.;. Ithad been .a severe . storm, however, and everything had probably been dashed to pieces against the rocks about Cape Disappointment, and the bodies of the crew, they thought had been sent to the bottom of the sea or were lashed to the remnants of the vessel where all must be dead. ' The forward party which followed the beach toward the ocean, and had proceeded about a mile was startled by a noise while climbing among the drift wood in a little cove. - "A wharf rat!" exclaimed one. "No, a weasel," said another. "It is the voice of a human being, as sure as you live!" shouted a third, who was nearer the sound than the others. ' 'On then," replied the man who had first spoken. The members of the party all rushed to the place from which the sound em anated. , ' "jjian't i ten you7" said the man who had proclaimed it a human voice, when he reached the place. .wen, I told you that it was a small human being, and it is," replied the man who had pronounced the.cry aa cuiuuig nom a wnari rat. ; r i - It s mate is old enough for you, remarked one of the fisheimen. ' "Yes, but he is of little use now, he is dead," was the reply. "Not much, see, he opens his eyes!" shouted one of them joyfully. A , sad picture, yet one that gave pleasure to the fishermen, presented itself. A short, stout old man, with gray hair and whiskers, lav lashed to a broken spar of a ship. He was probably three score and ten. Tbe spar lay upon his right leg and he could not move. Had this not been the case he could never have relaeeed himself fiom the timber, for he was numb and dazed, more dead than liv ing and the chords had drawn deep in to nis body, But in toe aged man's clasp, like that of the dead, he held close to his heart a crying infant. CHAPTER , III. Old Seadog Rejoices.' Long before the old man and the child were found, other fishermen had launched their Doatsand had pulled out on the bay. Some went to the fishtraps and oth ers made straight across to the wrecK. but. oia beaaog naa prepared to go aboard the stranded vessel and to hold it against all comers until he should carry out his plans. Firearms had been secreted in his small boat before leaving shore and these were trans ferred to the wreck. . One of the boys was left on guard while the old man leading the others went on a searching tour of the ship, They soon found that the vessel pos sessed but little that was of value for it had discharged its cargo at San Fran cisco, and nai come to the Columbia for a return consignment. But it was not wealth of the kind that the world considers valuable that old Seadog was looking for , it was that which would remove all cloud from the title to his own wealth. It was while thuB engaged in ran sacking the unfortunate vessel that the advance guard of the fishermen arrived in their small boats. Old Seadog ' was always first appealed to by his ions be fore action was taken and the one on guard called to his father And informed him of the approach of their neigh bors. The old man rushed upon deck and seizing a gun, ne presented it and said: "Upon your lives, come no closer, men! Stop where you are and return to your boats or I will shoot!" "what r;ght have you to the craft?" asked the bolder of the party. , "The right of salvage men, tbe right of salvage! We were first to board her after she went aground," replied the old man. "Well, we will report you to the i law," shouted one of the fishermen ae tbey left the place, some returning to the village and others pulling for their traps further np the bay. (To be continued) Dug Into a Wolfs Den. An Oklahoman named Lawson ha an unpleasant experience while visiting his brother-in-law, Mile Blodgett, who lives near Adobe Walls im the Texas panhandle. Lawson went wolf-hunting alone. ' Next day his horse was found saddled, but without a bridle. Blodgett summoned about thirty neigh bors and began searching for Lawson, who was located after nearly a day's hunt. His feet were sticking from the top of a wolf den and about three feet of dirt rested on his body. Lawson was so fastened that he could not ex tricate himself. He had dug down in the wolf den about five feet on a slant in a manner something like the entrance to a dug out, then lay down in his trench to reach in after some coyote pups. , He caught one and threw it out and it is supposed that this frightened his horse, which was tied to a bunch of bear grass near the hole. The horse, making lunge,, caused tne oanKs to cave, the dirt falling on the prostrate body of the man, covering his body and head. The dirt caught him with his arms stretched out in front so he could not use them to much advantage, but he managed to work his hands and shove the dirt down the hole until his head was uncovered and he could get air from the top. He lay in this position from 5 o'clock Thursday afternoon till 10 o'clock Sunday morning. Kansas City Star. ' ' . - Laplanders have been known to skat a distance of 150 miles in one day The oldest graduates of Yale and Harvard are ministers. . A Japanese bride gives her wedding presents to her parents as a slight rec ompense for the trouble they have taken in bringing her up. The power of an engine In India is sometimes given in elephant instead of horse-power, an elephant-power being equal to twenty-two horse-power. In England, the annual consumption of Southern fruit amounts to fifteen pounds per head. In Germany It aver ages not quite three pounds per head. The average passenger haul on steam railways has increased from twenty- three to twenty-seven miles since elec trical lines have been competing for suburban business. The botanical papers report that De Vries, the great Dutch experimental evolutionist, has by long continued se lection produced a variety of clover which has normally four leaves. India was in possession of a steel secret once, which is lost now. This was the inlaying with gold of steel blade3 in such a manner that the strength of the blade was not impaired nor its temper spoiled. An investigation of the Obi and Yenesei Rivers, made under the aus pices of the Russian government, has revealed the fact that these streams are navigable by ocean stamers for a distance of 1,000 miles from their mouths. A Chelsea (England) hospital Is mourning the loss of a bequest of $6, 000 through a legal informality. The testator signed his will in his bed room, and the witnesses thoughtlessly carried it into another room before signing it, thus making the document invalid. An English watchmaker has just fin ished making a tiny watch in. the form of a shirt stud. Its dial is two-six teenths of an inch in diameter, and it Is to be worn' with two other studs. By. turning the upper stud the watch is wound, while by turning the lower one the hands are adjusted. More than 8,000 women are employed in the various government offices in Washington, 2,044 of .whom have en tered the service after competitive ex amination. Nine hundred of them are paid salaries ranging from $1,000 to $1,800 a year, the others being paid the compensation of ordinary clerks $600 to $900 a year. ; "Conscience money" In Great Britain now amounts to thousands of pounds annually. The first sum noticed was on March 30, 1789, when $1,800 was carried to the public account in conse quence of a note received by the chan cellor. The writer with troubled soul implored him, "as an honest man, ' to consider the money the property of the nation, and to be so just as to apply it to the use of the state in such a man ner that the nation may not suffer by its having been detained, and thus to ease the conscience of an honest man." INSURES HER LIFE FOR A CLUB. Chicago Woman Evolves a Strikingly Original Plan of F inane-. Mrs. Pauline Harriette Lyon, secre tary of the Woman's Athletic Club, of Chicago, has evolved a strikingly orig inal plan to pro vide the club with a permanent and palatial home of its own. She has had her life insured for $350,000 and with the policy as collat e r a 1 a Chicago banker will ad vance the amount, which will be used Miia. i'. h. Liua. in addition to $zw,- 000 already on hand for the erection of. magnificent 12-story clubhouse. For ty members of the club, which includes Mrs. Emmons Blaine, Mrs. J. Ogden Armour, Mrs. Harold McCormick and others of equal social and financial prominence, have agreed to pay the premiums on the insurance. The club will have a natatorium, gymnasium, recreation rooms, libraries, fountain room, bowling alleys and numerous sumptuous apartments for Chicago's select women and will be the best fit ted elub of the kind in existence. Ollfl or Kacnral Glass. A cliff of natural glass can be in Yellowstone Park, Wyoming. seen It is half a mile long and from. 150 to 290 feet high, the material of which It con sists being as good glass as that arti ficially manufactured. The dense glass which forms the base is from sevewty flve to one hundred feet thick,- while the upper portion, having suffered and survived many ages of wind and rain, has naturally worn much thinner. Of course, the color of the cliff is'not that of natural glasa transparent and white but is mostly black and some places mottled and streaked with brownish red and shades of olive green and brown. Heaviest in Winter. Some curious experiments have been made at one of the royal philanthropic institutions in Copenhagen. For some years back the seventy boys and girls in the place have been carefully weigh ed every day in groups of fifteen and under. Thereby it is proved that the children gain weight mostly in autumn and in the early part of December. From that time till the end of April there is scarcely any increase in weight. More remarkable still, there Is a diminution till the end of sum mer. Show some people real, diamonds and they will Insist tbey are glasa.' Miss Nellie Holmes, treasurer of thel Holmes, Young Woman's Temperance Association of Buffalo, N. Y., strongly advises all suf fering women to rely, as she did, upon Lydia E Pirildiam's Vegetable Compound DBAS Mrs. Pinkham : Your medicine is indeed an ideal woman's medicine, and by far the best I know to restore lost health and strength. I suffered misery for several years, being troubled with menorrhugia. My back ached, I had bearing-down pains and frequent headaches. I would often wake from' restful sleep, and in such pain that I suffered for hours before I could go to sleep again. I dreaded the long nights as much as the weary days. I consulted two different physicians, hoping to get relief, but, finding that their medicine did not seem to cure me, I tried your Vegetable Compound on the recommendation of a friend from the East who was visiting me. l am glad that I followed her advice, for every ache and pain is gone, and not only this, but my general health is much improved. I have a fine appetite and have gained in flesh. My earnest advice to suffering women is to put away all other medicines and to take Lydla E. Pinkham'S Vege table Compound." Miss Nbiaik Holmes, 540 No. Division St., Buffalo, N. Y. Hiss Irene Crosby, prominent in Social Life in East Savanah, Ga., adds her testimonial to the value of Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound. Remember that erery woman Mrs. Pinkham if there is anything about her case or symptoms she does not understand. Mrs. Pinkham's address is Lynn, Mass. Her advice is free, and is cheerfully given to any ailing woman who asks for it. $5000 FO R FEIT U if cannot forthwith produce the original letters and Signatures of Move Msumanuua, wmca wui prov Cause and Effect. 'Now, that is what I like te see, observed the rural merchant to the proprietor of the great "department store. "All your clerks are full of vim and energy." 'Yes," replied the proprietor with a sarcastic smile. "We close at noon to day and they are getting ready to go out" Mothers will find Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Byrnp tne best remedy to use lor tueir cnuaren during the teething period. Heredity. Binks Speaking of heredity, do you remember Forrester, who bought some wild land and turned it into a -farm? Winks Yes; he was the inventor ot a very effective stump puller. Binks Just so. Well, his son is a very successful dentist. riTO rennanehtur unrea. iroataor 110 after first ey"s nm ofDr.KHne's Great Narva Bestorer. Send for Frea S)2 trlalbottleandtraatlaa. Sr. B. H. Kline. Ltd.. ur -Jcb St..- FhUadelnUa, Pa, New York's Classic Cities. New York State is full of cities and towns of classic nomenclature. There must have been a wave of Graeco Roman lore when the christening of municipalities took place, with a by product of Asianism as a seasoning. There are such names as Rome, Troy, Athens, Cairo, Syracuse, Ithaca, Sparta, Italy, Greece, Egypt, Tyre, Memphis, Venice, Florence, .Corinth, Parma, Milan, Naples, Hector, Ovid, Delhi, Delphi, Diana, Paris, Pompey, I lion, Palmyra, Palermo, Marathon, Mycenae, Napoll Nineveh, Babylon, Romulus, Siloam, Smyrna, TJtica, Vir gil, Homer, Cicero, Ceres, etc. CASTOR I A For Infants and Children. The Kind You Have Always Bought Bears the Signature of So Convenient. Mrs. Urban How. yon must enjoy liv ing in the eoontry. I suppose you can get all the fresh fruit and vegetables you want. Mrs. Annex Oh, yes. Such a nice ped dler comes out from the city three times a week. Brooklyn Life. Deab Mes. Pdteham : "It always gives me pleasure to find an article of real value and - unquestioned merit. I have found Iiydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Com pound well calculated to relieve and cure the various troubles arising from irregulari ties and menstrual pains. " Much, suffering could be spared if we only paid more attention to proper living and diet, but as long as women do hot do this, vour Vegetable Compound has come to the front as a true friend in need. I have been very pleased indeed with, the relief it has brought me. I find that I have perfect health now, and that my mind is also more clear and ' active since I used your Vege table Compound. It has been of great benefit to me, and I gladly recommend it. Very sincerely yours, Miss Irenb Cbosbt, 313 East Charlton St., East Savannah, Ga." is cordially invited to "write to mmr aosoiuce genuineness. Iff dl B. Fimkiutm Bled. Co., IVynit, Ma Muscular Faith. Mrs. Meeker 1 don't take any stock in these faith cures brought the laying on of hands. about by Mrs. Strongun Well, I do. I cured mj little boy of the cigarette habit in that way. Miseries of Wealth. Binks There is a man who can afford to hang his overcoat on a fifty-dollar hall rack, instead of suspending it from a nail in the wall. 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