Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About The Boardman mirror. (Boardman, Or.) 1921-1925 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 7, 1925)
JUST A DESERT EPISODE By GLEN D. HURST ( by Short Story Pub. Co.) THE setting for the last chapter in the life of Old Man Murphy was the heart of the Nevada desert ; the time the exhll fteatlng but turbulent spring seasou of Re year 190 . The old man stood In the door of his cabin on the side of a rugged des ert range, and In troubled spirit he gazed at a group of strangers moving about In apparent excitement on the light-colored porphyry foothills that lay between him and the gray, parched flat In the deceptive distance. It was only at long intervals during more than a generation since the old man bad lived alone In that cabin that any one had disturbed his solitude, and this sudden Invasion he resented. He had prospected and mined In a desul tory way for so many years unmolest ed that he felt a sort of proprietorship In the surrounding country. The time was when he welcomed his fellows to the desert domain, but It was now long past. When he lo cated the "Atlantic Cuble" and "Nova Scotia" silver lode claims he felt that his long search for riches had been uccessful. Under the stimulus of slons of wealth bis mind's eye saw warms of treasure seekers burrowing In the hills about Mm and tils own claims yielding bonanza. Then It was he Invited I lie whole world to share his discovery and good fortune. How ever, the small silver ledge attracted little attention and the district was deserted except for Murphy, who worked his own vein and never guessed the real secret of the hills over which he prowled. The years went by and Old Man Murphy, growing more grizzled and bent, became morose and cared less and less for the society of his kind. As a young man he had left friends and family behind and joined the for tune hunters In the far-off western desert. Then he had every hope of returning soon with wealth abundant. His failure nailed bis pride. The years of brooding alone created a stranize antagonism toward contact with his fellows. Old Man Murphy wntched In silence the activity on the bills below till he saw one of the strangers coming up the trail toward him. That was too much. He turned into the cabin with muttered Imprecations on the In truders. The stranger had tome with friendly Intention. He told a story of a trreat find, one that would have thrilled the old man had he heard It twenty years before. A shallow trench across the peak of one of the yellow hills had opened a vein of picture rock, lltemllv snarkllng with crystals of gold. Murphy merely glanced at the glittering sample of ore offered In proof and turned away, grumbling about the Invasion of his district. The next day he packed his scraggy cayuses with provisions and dlsup Teared In the direction of Excelsior range where he could be alone for a while. Worn out with tramping about the mountains Old Man Murphy returned In a few weeks to his cabin on the "Atlantic Cable." During his absence a wonderful change bad come over the district. All around him for miles prospectors were locating every foot of ground. Near the site of the orig inal gold discovery n town to shelter thousands was building. The explo sion of giant-powder charges blasting the rock In a hundred shafts and tun nels kept up a continual roar. Miners dodged about In the smoke and dust, showing each other specimens of gold besprinkled quarts. From Ills em inence Murphy could count half a hundred automobiles, loaded with pas sengers, speeding In clouds of dust and sand along the three new trails through the sage-brush, all converging In the new camp. The old man contemplated the change with heavy heart. Ills soli tude was a thing of the past. A tres pass he was powerless to stop was upon him. A monument of rough stones newly placed on Ids claims caught his eye. He strode over to it and read the lo cation notice In anger. W ith a vicious kick he tumbled the pile and tore the notice to shreds. Returning to his cabin, he loaded both barrels of his shotgun ami took a position command ing a view of the razed monument and the two trespassing prosectors, who were working In a newly started tun nel, unmindful of the old man's pres ence. "You fellers git off my claim. Don't ye know I've had this ground fer thirty years. Git If ye know what's good fer ye." he shouted hoarsely, much excited. The prospectors left their work to face the big gun lev eled at them. They protested, argued aud threatened, but- Murphy's manner was menacing and his lingers twitched nervously on the trigger. They were compelled to retreat. The prospectors made several ef forts to get possession of the clnlm and replace their monuments, always to be met by the big shotgun and the old man behind It, who kept on con stant guard duty. When provisions ran low, rather than lend encouragement to the boun tifully stocked stores oT the new camp. Murphy made a night drive to an Iso lated trading post sow tweuty mllea sway. Late one afternoon Murphy sat with the gun across his knees guarding his claim. Away In the distance the route of one of the new trails there appeared a gang of workmen. His attention was attracted by the line of telegraph poles they were erecting. That evening he sat long In the darkness musing Intently, and the next morning he put away the gun, fastened bis cabin door, and skirt ing the camp was soon tramping at his best pace through the sand toward the line of poles. He spent the day trailing along with the construction gang. A new Murphy came back to the cabin that evening. The prospectors had taken advan tage of his absence to replace the mon ument he had destroyed. "Let 'em have it. Let 'em have It," he mused when he saw what had been done. He scrawled a few Hues to the "boys," telling them they would be bothered no more aud to go on with their work, and placed the note where they would easily find It. As regularly and persistently as he had stayed on guard duty during the preceding days, Murphy now followed along with the line builders, watching every movement of the construction work. He stepped off the distance be tween the poles, observed the number set each day, and In the twilight, In his cabin, he figured the number of days till camp would be reached. Each evening he checked off the day's prog ress, chuckling happily to himself If the wol; hud gone better than usual or feeling depressed If some accident bad been the cause of delay. The last strand of wire was strung. The click of the sounder as the key closed told the Initiated that all was finished. The operator was taking his place at the table when Old Man Mur phy pushed through the crowd that tilled the new office and leaning over the operator uttered an appeal thut was backed by the longing of his whole soul. "Boy, let me send the first one?" "The operator stared at the flushed face Incredulously, then Into the deep set, now brilliant, uppeallng eyes. Scarcely knowing why, he answered the old man by stepping hack. Mur phy flung himself into the operator's seat and placed his fingers on the transmission key. The dispatch to be sent first lay open before him. It read : Crosscut on Balloon hill claim opened up four feet of high-grade as saying Into the thousands. Withdraw offer for sale. With hesitation and an uncertain "send" the old man commenced: ROA BU-II,B BETTER HIGHWAYS AID TO BUSINESS stdckBI PHPTI Alin OFFERS A MARKET vi i ur-ii 11 for your PRnniirr FORAGE CROPS ARE SWINE NECESSITY Portland, Oregon. VAUDEVILLE PHOTO-PLAYS Complete Change Saturday Adults, Week day Matinee 20c; Evenings, 36c. Continous 1 to 11 p. m. Children 10 cents all times It wns not the message before him. The operator looked worried. He advanced one hand toward the Instru ment to stop the old man, then as the message became coherent he listened intently.- The receiving operator at the other end of the wire was puzzled to get this message: " will prove an additional link be tween the nations whose friendship Is founded upon their common Interest and reciprocal esteem." Now the old man's fingers were tingling with the electric Impulse of the instrument; as If by magic the old touch came back. He began the trans mission of the copy before him. It went over the wire with the speed and precision of an expert. He labored under an Inward excitement a mys tery to the onlookers. With a steudy hand he sent dispatch after dispatch until the accumulated pile was ex hausted. With the last click he opened the key and turned to the crowd, triumph aud satisfaction lu every fea ture of the rugged, time-worn face. "Boys," he said, "this Is a great day a great day fer the desert an' fer me. How I hated to see you fellers come but I dldu't know yer was goln' to bring this I didn't know it. I've been holdln' down a claim In this dis trict fer near thirty years, boys I'm kind o' shriveled up body an' soul, bein' here so much alone an' I wanted to be alone till the end," then he ad dressed the operator. "Ye thought somethln' was wrong when I sent out that first message, didn't ye? This desert has laid be tween me an' that message fer forty years, it's .a long time, boys, since I was counted' one of the best operators in the country. That was In the lute eighties. I was so good at Opera tin' that when the first cable was laid I was put in th' service. That was a great day, too, fer me, an' I relayed that message from Queen Victoria to the President. It was the first one across. A few years afterward I got th' gold fever an' I've been on the des ert ever since, but I never forgot that message, and I Just had to send It out first to get my bearln s. An' to think this thing has followed me and found me In the desert after all these years." The excitement thut sustained the old men was passing. "But now I'm glad ye come. I'm satisfied, boys I'm satisfied. The eyes dulled, the Hps twitched In an effort to speak, and the head dropped. Old Man Murphy was seized with a paralysis a paralysis of death. The business value of getting peo ple Into their stores Is appreciated by all merchants. That Is the purpose for which they advertise. Once a pro spective customer Is inside a store there Is opportunity for a sule. A mer chant may have a good line of mer chandise, his prices may be reason able, and his display may be attrac tive; but the people must be provided with a good road to his store or they will not come there. The residents of a city will not make the fullest use of their streets If they are muddy or dusty, and themerchnnts will not en Joy the trade they should have If their prospective customers cannot find good roads to their stores. Any street In any community can be made attractive by the simple expe dient of paving it properly, and It Is to the advantage of every taxpayer to help highway officials or the town council put through improved high way and street improvement programs. People who own business or residence property are learning every day that civic Improvements that call for the proper paving of streets are the best kind of Investments investments that pay sure dividends. The well-paved street Is worth money to every merchant on It, as well as being highly convenient for shoppers. A well-paved business street will Impel customers to the door, with consequent Increase In business as the opportunity is offered customers to make their purchases without the In convenience of muddy, dirty, dusty pavements. Clean, pleasant, healthful surround ings are most desirable In nny resi dence district. This condition Is pro vided In a well-paved street, besides making It safer for children as well as for the motorist. Property values go up where a well-paved street repluces a rutted, Impassable thoroughfare. Cities are judged very largely by the attractiveness of their streets. Stran gers looking about for locations are quick to Judge the business and social Standards Of the community by Its thoroughfares, particularly the resi dence streets. Visitors in a well-paved city will instantly sense the progres sive spirit of the place, they will long remember the orderly Influence of busi ness and residence sections, and they will carry the story of Its clean, charm ing streets back to their homes. Public Improvements of any kind cost less In the long run where they are made as nearly permanent as pos sible. The first cost of permanent paving Is no more than Inefficient types, and their maintenance Is either minimized, or entirely eliminated. Consequently the type that pays divi dends to any community Is the perma nent, durable, sanitary, fire-safe type. Other advantages of paved streets are found In fire and health protection. Good paving on streets ami alleys Is one of the prime essentials to lire pro tection. Fire hazard is greatly re duced If even, clean, skid-proof thor oughfares are In every section of the town so thut any point can be renched quickly nnd easily by the fire depart ment. Health Is a by-product of clean liness. Health officers Insist that san itation ns reflected In the conditions of the streets and alleys has a direct bearing upon the general health of the city's Inhabitants. Hence, a street that Is well paved will be easily cleaned, and will be free from ruts and holes thut breed filth. Experience has shown that forage crops are necessary for growing pigs economically. So states William 0. Skelley, assistant animal husbandman at the New Jersey State College of Agriculture, who continues: "Pasturing on green forage saves a great amount of feed, allows plenty of fresh air, gives the animal exercise and helps to keep the quarters sani tary. "Where It thrives alfalfa makes one of the best permanent pastures for swine, us It can be pastured from early spring to late summer and Is high in protein aud mineral matter. Since heavy pasturage Is Injurious to the crop It Is well to restrict the number of pigs, allowing the plant to grow and be good for two or three cuttings of hay. "Bed clover also makes nn excellent forage. Pigs should not be turned on It until It h?.i reached a good growth, as too early pasturing Is likely to kill It out. It can lie pastured until it be comes woody in the summer, when It contains too much fiber to be taken care of by the pig's digestive tract. "Sweet clover Is another leguminous forage Which should be pastured rather closely, as this encourages new growth ami hinders woodlness. "Bape Is unsurpassed as an annual forage crop for swine. It Is palatable, succulent and high In protein and ash. As It may be sown both early and late In the season, forage may be provided at any time In the summer. Pigs should not be turned on It until it is about ten Inches high. If rape Is nut pastured too closely growth will con tinue until fall. "Field peas, gown either alone or with oats or rape, Is a very satisfac tory summer forage crop, as it Is n legume ami compares with alfalfa and clover In Its protein content. "Bye furnishes a supply of green, succulent feed material In the late fall and early spring and Is therefore of great benefit to the breeding herd especially the brood sow nursing fall and spring litters. "A number of other forage crops, such as soy beans, bluegrass and even some weeds are relished by swine. The point for the grower to keep in mind is that every hit of green material con sumed by the pig means a saving of some grain In growing that pig for market." Better Franklin Service Storage and General Repairing ANDERSON & RICE, RRuatlway' 5709 404 Hoyt Stn-i't at Ninth Portland, Ore Ancient Custom, Anyway The origin of the SU erstUlon con cerning knocking on wood is doubtful. Some authorities attribute it to the ancient religious rite of touching a crucifix when taking an oaih; others to the touching of beads of the rosary when praying. Among tbo ignorant peasants of Kuropo the custom prob ably began with the habit of knocking loudly to keep away evil spirits. Clir FLOWERS & FLORAL DESIGNS Clarke Bros., Florists. 287 Morrison St "Special Delivery." The Post Office department says that "special delivery service Is the prompt delivery of mail by messenger during prescribed hours to persons who reside within the carrier limits of city or delivery offices, or within ono i mile of any posl office, or to patrons of tho rural service who reside more than one mile from tho post office but within half a mile of a rural route." We Specialize in Hides, Pells, Wool, Mobair, Tallow, Cascara, Oregon Grape Root, Goat Skins, Horse Hair Write fur Shipping Tag's & latest Price List Portland Hide & Wool Co. 101 UNION AVENUE NORTH, PORTLAND, 0RE00N. Branch at Pucatello. Idaho Earth's Diameter Dr. Hayford made calculations for the International Geodetic Physical union and announced that tho earth Is precisely 7,926 miles and 078 thousandths of a mile in diameter ami 7, 8!)!) miles and 904 thousandths of a mile through the poles. WHY Experiment! Y'ars in n. tual practice in Portland an u Spim. Insist npfcinHzintf in rheu -unities' lu'uruiRiu. neuritis and all Hciltl wuakiit'sm's. If help you want, HtH-k the oldest in its work. 18 Geo. S. Breittling, D. C. tint; Broadway Btdsfi Portland, Oregon Save this t'iird. Peculiar Division. Out. of the mouths of babes anil sucklings may be perfected definition as well as praise. For example, there is the case of tho teacher who, at tho close of tho reading lesson, was ques tioning her class on tho subject mat ter thereof. "What is an oyster?" alio asked, "Please, miss," replied the bright boy of the class, "It's half a Dadaers' Work a Menace. liadgers spend most of the'r time digging ut the burrows of the flick- err.au or grounu stiuirret ami leasuiig fjsl ,lm nftjj a m,f on the fat occupants. Thus, while do- ing the greatest service to tho ranch man their big burrows on the prairies are a menace to every horse and rider on the plains. Sleep Machine Invented An Inventor at .Maclesrteld, Fnglund. has perfected a machine that, he thinks, will cure Insomnia. The ma chine Is placed alongside of the bed and emits light rays of twelve differ ent colors, flashing at prearranged pe riods. The effect of this combination of colors and periodicity la Intended to lie soothing and to Induce sleep. The color flushes at such regular Intervals have a peculiar effect upon the retina. It Is said. The Inventor maintains he has cured several stubborn cases of sleeplessness in ten to fifteen minutes. Roadway Will Run to Old French Fort Toulouse I'lnns are under way for the build ing of a hlghwuy to the old Preach Fort Toulouse, which wus an Indian town nearly 400 years ago. Fort Toulouse Is In Klmore county, neur Montgomery, Ala., a short dis tance from one of the principal high ways leading Into the city, anil It Is the Intention of historical experts to make this point available to tourists. The plan was launched by I'cter A. Brannon, curator of the Alabama De partment of Archives and History. It was only recently that a marker was placed at old Pole Cat Springs, 30 miles from Montgomery, where Lafay ette spent the night on Ids way to Montgomery. Fort Toulouse Is rich In history. A granite shaft has been placed there to commemorate the old French out post of 1714, which Is a miniature rep lica of the shuft erected to General Montgomery on the plains of Abraham, at Quebec. The old French cemetery Is at Fort Toulouse, and here some of Jackson's men were burled, the place becoming known as Fort Jack son. The treaty of 1K14 by which the Indians ceded all their lands south of Fort Jackson to the United States was signed there. Alfalfa Versus Clover for Pasture for Swine Alfalfa excelled red clover as a pas tare for hogs in recent comparisons made at the Indiana station. Alfalfa proved capable of carrying more hojs per acre than clover and produced slightly larger gains with less corn thau was required on clover pasture. The showing of clover pasture, how ever, was very satisfactory. The tun pastures carried 18 to "0 spring plga to the acre when the pigs were full fed nnd about seven pigs when limited grain feeding was practiced. In one test pigs were fed a limited ration of two pounds of grain daily for each 100 pounds live weight. Part of the plfg grazed alfalfa and part clover pasture. (Julus made by the two lots were practically Identical, hut the pigs on alfalfa required only 249 pounds of corn per lit) pounds of gain, compared to 206 pounds for the pigs on clover pasture. In a comparison of pigs which were full-fed corn and tankage on the two pastures the pigs on alfalfa outgulncd those on clover by a slight margin antl required five pound less corn anil four and one half pounds less tankage than the pigs w hich ran mi clover pasture. Engineering Term. The term "four-cycle," used In con nection with an internal combustion engine, means that there are four pis ton strokes for the accomplishment of the processes in the engine. TheBo strokes are termed tho intake stroke, the compression stroke, tho power stroke and tho exhaust stroke. Pioneer Greek Teacher. Tho first regular teacher of the (reek language and literature at Ox ford university, Knglaud, wus William Orocyn, an English classical scholar, who was born at Colerne, Wiltshire, about 1440. Ho died at Maidstone, in 1519. Menhaden Fish Defended. Menhaden fish, the oil from which has many commercial uses, is also an excellent footl fish thou, h BS vol un popular because of Its t 'eat number of bones. Food experts, however, are overcoming this by grinding the fish, bones aud till, so us to make a fish meal or powder, in which form it can be converted into cakes and eaten easily. Tree Hides Weapons. A revolver and a steel trap wero found Inside a tree when it was tut. down near Norborne, Mil., recently. The weapons evidently bail been placed al the bftse of the tree ago anil it grew around them. years Original "Mother Goose." The first Mother (loose stories were published in French by I'errault in 1097, under tho name of his lnfaut son, Perraut d'Arman court. These tales consisted of ten stories, of which seven are founded on earlier Italian tales. Perfect Accord. "Do you let your wife have her own way?" asked tho henpecked huabantl. "Absolutely," replied the independent one. "When she sayH It's going lo rain I let It rain, and when she says she just knows It's feoiiB to snow, I let it snow." Exercise for Stallions Stallions should have a liberal amount of exercise during the breeding sea Son, especially during the last half. They should have the equivalent 'if eight or ten miles a day on the read This exercise should be given early in the morning. Nothing will pay bet ter In the management of a public service stallion than this kind of c erclse. I I I I l-H-H )! I-I-I-I ! I I -M H--M-1- Live Stock Notes 1 1 i i 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 i i i : i i -h New Jersey Roads With the completion of Irs construc tion program for this year, the New Jersey state highway commission will have added 100 miles of Improved roads to the state's system. The board has now under contract 06 miles to be paved this summer and awards of work to be made shortly will In crease this total to 100. New Jersey now has 8)0 miles of state highway rentes and 41M of these miles have been completed with a bard-surfaced puteiuent. Use pure-bred sires for more ami better meat, milk, wool and eggs. Corn and cob meal Is not consl ti ered u good horse feed. Horses will do better ou a mixture of corn and bran. Nature's tonics for young pig" are exercise, sunshine, plenty of green, succulent teed, plenty of good water, uml clean aurrouudlnira. Cull all undeveloped pullets anil old hns from the flock. Farly hatched pullets will molt early In the full antl be ready for laying ttexl winter at a season when egg produc tion Is low and prices high It has been shown thut young chick are most susceptible to Infestation of roundworms until about 12 weeks of age. With severe lnfestullun death may occur In two weeks In mild In festatloits chicks live, but growth Is slower end resistance to disease less. Clouds Close to Earth. The highest clouds in tho sky gen rally are not more than two miles ibove the surface of tho earth. Plant Stimulation. Nitrate of soda is gootl for plants ami flowers if used in moderation. It Increase's the vegetable growth, stimu lating the foliage rather than the flow ers. Too much will prove injurious. Nature's Peculiarities. Many a man thinks admirably wi ll who has a poor Utterance, while oth er's have a charming manner of speech but their thoughts are trifling. Tribute to Faith. Faith Is I he great elevator of Char acter, anil has a wonderful Influence ou the Ideals, it lifts us lo the heights anil gives us glimpses of tho prom ised html. II is tho "light of truth ami wisdom." Orison Swett Murdou. Rats with Rabbits. Itats, both bfOWB Sad gray, have been found living with rabbits in their holes by a rat catcher in Lincolnshire, i England. Bread Winning. An economist announces that the number of women bread winners Is growing constantly. No doubt there are more winning It thnn thero urc baking it. Detroit Freo PrOSS. Sage Observation. The Child who Is decked with prince's robes and who has Jeweled chains around his neck loses all pleas ure in his play; his dross hampers him at every step.- -Tugore. Ourselves to Blame. It many times falls out that we deem ourselves much deceived In oth ers because wo first deceived ourselves. Facial Surgery Old. Facial surgery, Including tho re modeling of Injured noses, ears ami lips, was known in Italy as long ago as 1 540. "The Shallows Murmur.'' The smaller tho caliber of mind, I ho greater the bore of s perpetually open nioulh. Oliver Wendell Molt i. Insect Pests Costly. The losses caused annually by In sert pests In the United States aro estimated by entomological authori ties to reach the sum u, 2 '100,000,000. You Want a Good Position Very well Take th Accountancy and fiualnesa Management, Print Sacratarl aj, Calculator, Comptometer, tit anus ra id'. I-. I'uninJirixlilp, ur CominraJ Taaoa rtr Cours at Behnke-Walker Ths foremoM Buslnaaa Collect of tha Northwest which has won mora Accuracy Awards and Gold Medals than any sthar thool In America. Bend for our Huoraas Catalog-. Fourth Street near Morrlawj, p,,tii.,r.d i ' M Walker PTea P. N. U No. 32, 1925 Excellent Advice. Speak little and well, If you wish to be considered ns possessing merit. From tint French. She Knewl Woman (at Wlllesdan) No matter how you listen lu our flat you cannot hear what the people Bay In the next flat. I know. Tit-lilts. Rather Exclusive. Wisdom will not die wllh tho peo ple, and it Is evident that it objects to living with lots of 'em. Atlanta Constitution. Indian women climb the highest hill top at night to wull for tho dead. New Fluff Rugs Miul From Old Carpets "Wear Lilte Iron" Deal Direct with the Manufacturer. Abtaituta nil- f n r . ' GuaranUwd. u I iu Your Ma terial or Write for 1'ricea. WEHTEKN VUVFV HUG ( OMI'ANY. Union Avenue Nor. Portland, Oregon
