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About The Athena press. (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 22, 1909)
THB TWO HIGHWAYMEN. ' I long have had a quarrel set with Time, Because' he robbed me. Every day of life Was wrested from me after bitter strife I never yet could nee the sun go down Hut I was angry in my heart, nor hear The leaves fall in the wind without a tear Over the dying summer. I have known No truce with Time nor Time's accom plice, Death. The fair world is the witness of a crime Hepeated every hour. For life and breath Are sweet to all who live; and bitterly ' The voices of these robbers of the heath Bound in each ear and chill the passer-by , What have we done to thee, thou mon strous Time? 'Vhat have .we. done to Death, that.w must die? Humble Beginnings Not long ago a grizzled millionaire miner from the far West dropped into town, lie occupied a superb suite In one of Washington's most luxurious ho tels; during his stay here. Among his callers was a young man from his own state. This young man married, not long ago, n young woman "out home.' They got along nil right, tidily on his $1,000 a year, earned as a government clerk. The old miner had not only known the young niau from his boy hood, but he had ridden the young man's wife on Ills knee all the way to Banbury Cross, when she was a little girl In pigtails. "Son," said the grizzled miner to the . young man from his home slate, when the latter was making his call at the fine hotel suite, "you and Aggie are keeping house here, aren't you?" z 7. "Well, we're living lu a little flat, If that's keeping house," the young man replied. "Well," said the wealthy old miner, "I sure do take It powerful hard that you and Aggie don't invite me up to your place and give me something to eat I sure do." The young man started to make some reply, hut the old man wasn't through "I'm getting mighty tired of hotel and restaurant grub," he went on. "I can't get any taste or good out of It It all THE TWO SAT PEN81VI AND SAD. tastes alike. If you and Aggie only kuew how I've been sort 0' hankering for a good, big flilln' layout of shoulder and greens, I'll bet a box of matches that you'd have taken pity on me and asked me to your place to have Borne. Ever have shoulder and greens? Noth ing on earth like shoulder and greens, after all, Is there?" The young man looked a bit embar rassed. "Well," he said. "Aggie and I have talked time and again about asking you to take dinner with us since you came on here this time. Hut you know what these dinky little three-rooms-iiul-a-bnth flats are or do you? And Aggie aud I had sort of an Idea that maybe well, to be frauk.that after all the splendlferousness that you're used to, why, It might make you feel sort of uncomfort oh, ours Is Just a plain little dump, you know, and we thought maybe It would er " "Look a-here, boy," Interrupted the old miner, "will you and Aggie give me Home shoulder and greens to-morrow evening, say at 6 o'clock?" ' "You know very well that we'll lie delighted to have you," replied the young man. "All right," said the old man. "Write me down the address. I'll be there." "And, Joe," he added, as the young man prepared to take his leave, "you'd better warn Aggie about the low-down, ornery, simmering habits of greens. It takes a lot of greens to make a proper mess of Vm. A pretty whopping bas ket o' greens well, I've seen a bushel o greens, almost, Ml dowu to 'most nothing," and then the two laughed and the. young man went away. On the following evening the bluff, ruddy, flne-looklug old mining man ar rive! at the little flat on the minute. It vm a neat and tastefully furnished flat, but small, of course. "Sure you've got plenty of greens?" the old gentleman Inquired, with mock anxiety, wheu be was greeted by the pretty young matron, whom he had known a a child. "I've been worrying 1 good deal over that to-day." "Oh, stacks ami stacks of greens," she replied, adding, "but If there shouldn't bo enough I could eke out by lulling down the rubber plant, you know," and so the little dUmer began merrily enough. The shoulder was a sweet piece of mast-fed meat from Virginia, and after the old intuer hud tucked his napkin j under his chin In the old-fashioned BOBKOWINOianLJNDINO 1 x : Quoth Toor IUcbard : ; "lie who goes a-borrowing goes n-sorrowing," but really, Isn't It usually the lender who does the sorrowing? Some people seem to have' the borrowing habit. They're always "Just out of something, and Instead of doing without, or supplying their own need, they ask a loan. It's a postage stamp or a little change for the laundry boy, car fare or a quarter for the contribution box, and a treacherous memory is a convenient excuse for forgetting the small. obligation. :.v'-. ,. There Is a saying, "The way to lose a friend is to lend him money." This Is certainly true if the friend' doesn't or cannot repay, because he has a sense of guilt or discomfort over an undischarged obligation, and the lender .has n sense of injury over being kept out of-what belongs to him. He who is refused a loan feels hurt- and affronted, and he who refuses feels uncom fortable in denying. Moreover, if bornwed capital la. the beginning of a business success, no matter how scrupulously the loan has been repaid, the one who furnished the capital regards himself as In a way the source of his friend's prosperity. . . " "Neither a borrower nor. a lender be," Is a good working rule. But if occasion comes when a temporary accommodation seems necessary, make it a point -to repay, promptly. And the smaller or more trivial the sum or the article borrowed, the more carefully should we charge memory with It. It Is little things we are apt to overlook, but It Is not safe to predicate on the forgetfulness of those who have obliged ns. One of the most awkward of situations is reminding a friend of n forgotten obligation of this kind, and the curious thing is that the neglectful one always feels a little affronted at having been reminded. "Couldn't she have waited a little? ' I was lust coIiil' to return it!" . way and gone at it, he came pretty close to looking like a thoroughly sat isfied elderly man. "D'ye children know," he said, as he passed his plate over for the third helping, "that I've been In training for this ever since yesterday? Fact. I've hardly eaten a mouthful since you lu lled me or, belter, since I Invited myself. And ii's worth the fasting." After the dinner the old boy fixed ilmself In a big rattan chair In the tiny oozy corner near a window and got a well seasoned briar pipe belong- ng to his young host agoing. "A cigar after shoulder and greens!" he exclaimed, reprovingly," when the oung man offered hint a cigar. 'Mighty tidy place you've got here," he said, after a pause,- waving his pipe around. "Slick as a- crick ell, I'd call it. numb luxurious, In fact, and a sort of mbtty. llgbt, of. recollectlou ap peared In the gray old eyes of the man. "I suppose Mary and I wouldn't have looked upon this as a sort of heaven away back yonder lu the tangle of years when we were struggling along the best way we knew how." The young matron bad been picking out soft little chords on the piano, but she crossed over aud sat down by her husband. "Didn't have any such things as cozy corners when Mary and I made our start at housekeeping," the old boy went on, crossing his legs and leaning back and puffing away at his pipe. "Not many scrumtlferous flxln'g of any kind, for the matter of that. Fact Is, It was a shack. And, on top of that, a one-room shack. Built It myself after working hours, Cut the rub spruce and fir to build it, too. "I was a tlmberman then In a new silver mine sixty miles from a railroad. (lot $25 a week, which wasn't much, minting how costly It was to live. "Well, after I got the shack built I ent dowu to Boise and asked Mary she was teaching school there. Mary was agreeable about It we'd . been beaus since we'd met a year before, al though after I went to work in the new mine I didn't have much chance to see her. "But Mary was ready, and we got married In Boise City, and I took her to the shack I'd built. Marvelous days, those both of us young, you see, and not bothering much about anything nor minding any sort of lucouvenlence, so long as we were dose enough to each other so's'l could holler across the gulch on my way to work and on my ay home. And it was a home, plumb and proper never bad any such home since. I made the stove myself, too, out of an old rusty two-horse-power toller that I cribbed from the engine house. Made most of the furniture, too, Includ ing the bed, spare times. Wagon freighting was costly, and beds and gear like that ready made, cost a heap f money out there those days any how, they were beyond me. "Had a rag carpet on the floor of the shack that Mary'd been making herself. fter schK)l hours, for a year. Dishes were mostly wooden I was pretty handy with a jackkulfe those - days. Had calico curtains In the one window Mary had an artistic eye, and the ay she draped those curtains sure was something dainty. "I got the water from thecrlek, about 400 yards back of the shack. sed to fill up the three big barrels ouce a week, and let the water settle. "Dtdu't have any frvsh meat, unless I shot It o' Sundays freighters used to fetch tu the salt meat once a week. er the trail. Canned vegetables, too. nd scandalously high they were. "I'd started a truck patch, but the soil wasu't adapted to truck raising. All right for flowers, though. Mary got hold of some (lower seeds aub- scribed to a dollar'-a-year weekly, I be lieve, aud got the seals as a subscrip tion prize and she had the prettiest little garden of flowers In front of the shack you ever saw; sweet William and pansies and bachelors' buttons and china asters and marigolds and old things like those. ', ; , "She used, to sit in that teenehy flower garden of summer evenings and play on the little old ten.strinw.rt zither, fixed out with numbers for each string, that I got for her down at Boise. Mighty fetching and sweet the music from the-zither sounded, too, out there I11 the open air, with the wind stirring through the branches overhead, and Mary with her nrettv homf anA a. er In her dark hair, tilted back against a tree, humming the tunes she played. Our first born nrrived In that shack The medical man who officiated on that occasion was a fellow who'd been ar rested and locked up for horse stealing. They allowed him to come to our shack in company with a deputy marshal, and then they took him back to the lockup ngaiii. - . "Well, Mary and I and. inter th' first one kept house in that little, old hand-made shack, snuattlns at th hnH of the mountain, for three years. Speaking for myself and if Mary was on eartn sued Join me in saying it those were far and away the happiest years of our lives, they sure were." After same music the old mnn tnnh his leave, with cheery praises for the young wife's dinner of shoulder and greens. The two young ueonle snt wn. slve and silent, for quite a while after the old gentleman had gone. "I guess our little flat Isn't so Hii.w. after all, eh, little woman?" hum Mm young husband then, pinching his wife's cneoK. Washington Star. A Conqueror of Circumstance. Matthew II. Carpenter, of Wisconsin, who entered the Senate In 1809, was a hard student, but never Indulged In des ultory reading. When Investigating a subject, writes II. G. Howard in "Civil War Echoes," he would never aban d n the work until it was thoroughly mastered, It was this habit that gave him such fluency of speech. ' Ills skill In grouping facts before a Jury, before a court or. In the Senate, he always maintained, was due to his study of the style of Clarendon's "History otV the Hebellion." A friend who knew him Intimately and who finished the study of law with him, says: "He was a wild, rollicking boy, full of good humor and practical jokes, but of the kind which are harmless. . lie was appointed a cadet at West roint, but after a year or two he could stand the discipline and restraint no longer, lie obtained a furlough, and never re turned.' ; ... - " '..',.'. . . . . ' ..' , 'ile had a most determined charac ter concealed under a very jovial, free, and easy exterior. After he beunn the study of law he became totally blind. and for two years and a half did not see the light of day, "Although It was believed that he was hopelessly blind, he never f.ilti-i-wi In his determination to master the great principles of the law. He had a su preme contempt Tor a mere case lawyer, and would never read a second time any case that was uot decided upon principle. Showed the Kneels. "Where were ye last night. Casey?" "Shure, Oi plinged into the sostml swim at McCarthy's." "01 know the watlier is nlver very dape there, au' Judgiu frim yure fae ye must have hit botthom," ruck. If you have a secret to keep, lock It up and throw away the key. Xou may be as good as pie but ioa f people dou't like pie. FTTH AT A BAGGAGE AUCTIOW. Gambling Spirit Caoaed Soma Un profitable Pnrchaaes. ... Fatrous of a Grand avenue auction house indulged In a mild propensity to gamble this morning in bidding on a quantity of uncalled-for baggage sold for the Kansas City Southern Railway Company, says the Kansas City Star. There were more than 200 pieces dis posed of, including paper parcels, paste board and wooden boxes, handbags, suit cases and trunks. All of the pieces were more or less dilapidated, The nature of their con tents was kept secret, so that purchas ers experienced the risk and fasclna tiou of buying "a pig in a poke." Bid ders were guided largely by ."hunches" as to the value of a package, and they would frequently compete in a spirited fashion for a small parcel, when hardly an offer could be secured for a larger oue of similar appearance. "Good goods come in small packages" was the old saw that seemed to be In the minds of a majority of the speculators. ! . , "Oh-h-1 nere Is a valuable-looking bundle," cried the auctioneer, holding" up the smallest of a pile of parcels and peeking carefully into a small hole In the enveloping paper wrapper. ' "It's red, too." ' This bit of Information so lntmmed the Imagination of a stout colored wom an that she bid 40 cents as an initial offer and was awarded the prize before she had a chance to change her mind. The package contained a soiled red "bandanna" handkerchief. Well-trained employes passed up the various objects to the platform on which the auctioneer held forth. Hand bags, "telescopes" and trunks were la boriously hoisted up, the helpers strain ing and groaning in an affectation of bone wrenching effort. The Instant a sale was concluded the object was un ceremoniously slapped off the platform, usually giving out a hollow echo as It lightly struck the floor. A grunting em ploye tugged desperately at a ' large cloth "telescope" and slammed it down with a crash on the platform. "There you are !" exclaimed the auc tioneer, triumphantly. "There Is a valise full of gold nuggets lost by a miner returning from the Klondike. How much am I offered?" . , Eighty cents was bid and accepted. Pushed from the platform, and "tele scope" fell with a sound that unmis takably proved it empty. The crowd roared with laughter. ' - ; A large crowd attended the sale and the bidding was spirited, though the advances in offers seldom exceeded 5 cents at a time. . , - - ' S Wit of the Youngsters $ Tommy Where have you been, Wil lie? Willie Been, flshln' Tommy Catch anything? Willie Not yet j but I will when I get home. ! Teacher What is an engineer, Tom my? Tommy A man that works an engine. Teacher That's right. Now, Johnny, what Is a pioneer? Johnny A woman that works a piano. "Now, Mabel," said" the Sunday school teacher, "what can you tell me about Adam and Eve? "Nothing," an swered the little miss. "Mamma says I mustn't talk about people behind their backs." After asking a blessing on various members of the household the small boy concluded his prayer as follows: "And, Lord, don't forget to bless Broth er Charlie and make him as good a boy as I am." ...... "The Bible says there will be no mar rying In heaven," said small Harry. "I wonder If that Is true?" "Of course it Is," replied his little sister. "How could the women marry when there are no men in the place?" ',.-.. Small Harold had attempted to draw a picture of a horse on his slate. "Slam ma," he queried, "can God see every thing?" "Yes, dear," was the reply. "Well," continued Harold, "I'll bet He will laugh when He sees this horse." A Mairulf ring Pinhole. Obtain a piece of blackened card ana make a hole in it with a needle; then place a very small object say,, for In stance, a tiny insect on the end of a pin or gum to a strip of glass and view this object through the needle hole In the card at about an Inch from it The Insect will appear quite distinct and about ten' times larger than Its natural size. If, however, you suddenly with draw, the card without disturbing the object, the lafter will be invisible: The reason Is that the naked eye cannot see at so short a distance as an IncB, but the card with the hole enables the eye to approach within an inch and to see not only well, but, as It were, ten times better than with the naked vi sion. : :' -'.' -''' ' ' , . 9 ... II' .111-1 I TbV Right Aaawef. "I assure you," said the persistent suitor, tbat I will not take no for an answer" - . -You needn't," replied Miss Bright "I'll say 'yes" upon one condition." , ; "And that Isr "Just ask me if I am determined not to marry you under any circumstances." Philadelphia Press.' Attend the Institute. The farmers' institute season is at hand. Now, Mr Farmer, these meet ings are for you. They are held for the purpose of bringing you and your neigh bors together to discuss the fundamen tal principles and facts concerning your great business. State speakers will be on hand to Instruct and lead the dis cussions, but you must be there to get any benefit from the meetings.; It is your duty to yourself and your neigh bors to attend an'd take part in the farmers' institute when it is held in your county or township. ? Do not go in a critical mood, but go with a desire to learn more about farming and if you have some problem that Is worrying you, tell about. lt and. may . be someone can help you out. Perhaps your experi ences will be of direct value to some other man who l's having a hard time. The farmers' Institutes were estab lished for the same purpose as our ag ricultural colleges and experiment sta tions ; for the purpose of furthering the cause of agricultural education ; ; of helping the man on the farm better un derstand his business and thereby make a greater success. The State speakers are all thoroughly practical' men and women who have had - experience In what they talk about and are willing to give help and Information whenever they can. But the success of any farm ers' Institute meeting will depend upon the farmers themselves whether they will attend and take part in the pro grams. Enthusiasm is generally mark ed by numbers and when an enthusi astic body of men get together, there Is sure to be some good come of it farmer's Guide. ' - Cheering. Aspirant You have heard my voice, professor. Now please tell me candidly what branch of vocallsm It la best adapted for. Professor Well cheer ing! The. only time ouie husbands tae tbIr wives arms Is when they assist them into 1 carriage at funeral ,:, The So-called "Alaska" Wheat. The Bureau of "Plant Industry has prepared the following statement In anticipation of Inquiries concerning "Alaska", wheat: , ' A variety of wheat under the name of "Alaska" Is being widely advertised ns capable of yielding at the rate of 200 bushels to the acre 'under ordinary soil conditions" and even better "under ?xtra conditions." It Is stated that this variety was found growing wild In Alaska, and claims of the most ex travagant nature are made for It In consequence of this notoriety the de partment Is receiving many requests for seed. ' ' ' ; ' .. ;''. ":'"V This type o wheat has been known for many years both. In this country and In Europe. ; It has been tried at several state experiment stations in the webt ern part of the United States during the past fifteen years, but nowhere have the yields been high enough to merit attention. The wheat has been grown to a very limited extent on certain heavy undralned soils In France for many years. In such locations It is said to yield rather better than ordln ary wheat,; but as It is one of the pocr est wheats known for making flour, It Is never grown where ordinary varieties f wheat will thrive. . , ' Homemade Feed. Cotter. An old lawn mower can be arranged to tnake a fairly satisfactory straw or feed cutter. One must rig up a hopper, WORKING THE LA.WN MOWER. as shown In the sketch, and attach the mower to the lower end of it so that the straw or grain will Just strike the knives where the grass usually conies Into the mower. A crank and a belt arrangement makes it easy for one mail (q feed and turn the the cutter.. This is a good use for a lawn mower In the winter time when it Is not working outdoors. Farm and Home. , ' Keeping Milk Siree. In some of the mil ft studies made at the New York Agricultural Experiment Station t Geneva), It was observed that carbonic acid gas in the , milk tended to prevent Its souriug. t This seemed worthy of further iuvestlgation and a series of tesjs was conducted In which the gas was combined with the milk under varying pressures, using the ordinary soda water charges and seal- lug, the bottles to retain the gas and exclude the air. With the higher pressures of gas, souring of the milk was delayed indefinitely ; as bottles charged under pressure of 173 pounds to the inch remained sweet for -five months. The riillk, thus treated mikes an agreeable drink, and It Is believed that the process will be valuable for preserving milk for use on sea-going vessels. In hospitals, and elsewhere. Full details of the tests are given in Bulletin No. 292 of the station, which may be obtained on application. Prairie Hay and Cora. As the result, of some experiments In fattening cattle. It was shown; that when prairie bay was fed with corn lone it gave small, unsatisfactory Ckliis and very little profit . Loco Weed. It has been found by Government experts that the poisonous action of the loco weed Is due to barium. Investiga tions have been in progress for the past few years to determine the cause of this condition of range stock,, which has come to be known as "locoed!" The reason the weed Is so poisonous in some sections and not in others is that on some soils it contains no barium. The Bureau of Plant Industry, In a recent bulletin, says that it is possible to kill out the weeds jf the pastures are fenced, as the weeds grow In patches. There Is no feasible way ; of ridding ranges of the weeds,, however. It was found that locoed cattle can In most cases be cured by a course of treatment with ! strychnine, while locoed horses can generally be cured by a course of treatment with Fowler's solutions. The animals under treat ment must not be-allowed to eat the' loco weed and should be given only nutrlous food, but as far as nnsihi food with laxative properties. To this enu magnesium sulphate was admlni. tered to correct the constipation, which iB.uuuosi universal among locoed ani mals. It' should be noted, too, that magnesium sulphate may serve to some extent as an antidote to the polson; . " Dipping Fowls for Lice. V To treat ft number of fowls lndlvlo. ually with louse powder Is a -tedious, unpleasant task. An easier and equally, successful plan Is to dip the fowls in a reliable brand of sheep dip. ' , Hold the fowls by the legs, heads - down, with one hand supporting their heads. Let the solution cover , every ' part of the body from the toes up, ex cept, the head and eyes of , the hen." Re- ' serve this part until last,, as the hens gasp and struggle when their' heads go " under.. Pull, the fowls to and fro sev- eral times in.the tub, which insures the solution percolating through the feath- ' era and reaching all sections of the - body.v ;: . :,'''' '?;;','',,; J Keep each fowl In the solution not less than one full minute, and two. min utes is often better. Dipping should be performed only on warm, clear days so the fowls can afterwards dry them selves In the sun and will not catch colds. Agricultural Epltomlst . Graft and Stock. The question of the influence of the stock on the graft and vice versa has been much discussed. The experiments recorded by M. L. Gulgnard '" in the Comptes Rendus were .made - with a view of discovering whether there" Is , any migration of chemical substances ' from the one to the other. Plants rich j In compounds of hydrocyanic acid were ' chosen, as this Is easy to detect. It was found that when a plant containing-a 1 hydrocyanic glucoside is-grafted on one .) destitute of it, or inversed, there Is no passage of this substance from the one to the other. The general conclusion seems to be that grafting Is a sort of artificial symbiosis in. which each spe cies retains its Individuality. It Not a Cnre-All. A great many have had an Idea that pasteurization was going to solve all of the difficulties regarding our milk supply, but after a close study of the matter we believe that it is often used as a cure-all for milk and cream that Is not fit for human consumption has been proven that, the pasteurlza tton given in the usual commercial way kills only the lactic acid germs, which nature placed In the milk as a pro tection, while the pathological germs which are the real menace to health are left In an alkaline instead of an acid medium all ready to multiply when other conditions are favorable. Breaking a Colt. Everj- fdrmer's boy should break t, colt to ride and drive before he can call his eduention complete. ' It will be an experience that . the boy will be " proud of and which will do. him much ' good. Three things must be taught every colt to make it useful. They are courage, obedience and good workman ship. The first is necessary to prevent horses becoming frightened at unusual; things; the second Is required in order thnt If Itl'l IT Ka nt crnvl con-liw n.4 l the third.case the horse's value-depeadaay upon .the neatness and consistency with I V. t ..1. 14. nnwnwMn l . .1 . , . I uiiu 11 I'ciiuiua fus wiHK, rieju ana . Farm. .-- - Good Feaec Wtro Splicer. There are not many people who know how to make a-good neat wire splice. in tne picture ngure A shows the Brat- V movement and figure U the ends after they have Anally been secured. V Valao of a Can. A Denver dealer In dairy eowr' the valuation of an animal ty the price at the rate of $12 a .. milk given daily rich enough to 34 per cent of fat To this pricA adds or subtracts I for every oA, fourth of one per cent By this ral a cow is bought entirely on ber merits. w