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About The Athena press. (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942 | View Entire Issue (June 17, 1910)
7T" ONE FARM "V l-4arafii Grower Who Began 35 Years Ago With Little Except Hope. MADE $150,000 LAST YEAR. tTow Has 12,000 Acres of Land and Will Plant It All In Wheat Sowing and Heaping. The crop of wheat from one farm In Thomas county, Kansas, sold last year for $150,000, That farm embraced 10,' 000 acres of land. This year 2,000 acres have been added to it and if the crop is as large and prices as good as last year the farm revenue should approximate closely $200,000. And that, most any one will agree, is a pretty fair income for any down trodden farmer. But beginning with that kind of a statement is telling the story back' ward. To bring the real Kansas at mosphere Into a story one must never speak of the dollars first, the Kansas City Star says. They always come, of course, in Kansas stories, but at the last and plentifully. To tell it right, one must start the story back twenty five years, in this case, to the conven tional setting when a pair of thin, Jf.ded, harness-scarred ponies draws Into the landscape and outlines against the setting sun a dilapidated covered wagon. Bronzed by the sun, and with that spring that ambition puts into the young, the driver, "Jim" Fike, springs from the seat to the ground. From under a canvas he swings two chubby babies to the thick carpet of buffalo grass and turns to give his arm to his wife. They are young and vigorous and at once begin the making, on that wide prairie, that which they have been planning for years a home. There is the regulation routine, the location, the trip to the land office, the filing of homestead papers, the build ing of the sod shanty, the like of which dotted the prairies in thou'sands in those days; the breaking of virgin soil and the planting of the crops, ind then sometimes the harvest. Through all the years of drought and hard times, through all the disappoint ments that come with the early set tlement of a country, through the bountiful golden harvests, this man toiled on, working harder and harder, but always with the Arm belief that the country was destined to be a great country of homes. Hope died in many a breast these trying times and many were those who wended their way back to the old home because they ' lacked the brave heart to face the hardships. But "Jim" stayed. "Jim" he was to everyone who knew him in those days, and "Jim" he still is to every resident of Thomas county. "Jim" Fike is one of the larg est and most successful wheat growers in America to-day. The average yield last year on his 10,000 acres was about Often bushels an acre. The price paid for the wheat, which was not sold in the usual way, but marketed in carload lots, was within a few cents of $1 a bushel. A large portion of it was shipped to the West, where millers were especial ly eager to obtain it. The Fike wheat farm does not all He contiguous, being made up of a num ber of farms ranging from 320 to 2,400 acres in extent. Harvest usually be gins about July 1, but last year har vest was late, and all over Thomas county the hum of the header did not begin until about July 15. To cut this 10,000 acres of wheat in fifteen days requires intelligent and systematic handling of the small army required to complete the work before the wheat is ruined in the field. Seven big steam plows were used in the fall plowing for this season's crop. FINDING A COUNTRY HOME. Bom of the Mlatakea Which Mail Re Uoarded Aatainat by Novtoe. It Is easy to prove that an income of $1,000 In the country is worth $2,000 in the city, and that the difference Is saved In the cost of living and In the fact that the home helps to support Itself. On the other hand, there are vexations, disadvantages and even hardships Incident to rural lite, and they cannot fairly be passed by, says Ralph D. Paine in Collier's. Money is bound to be wasted In experiments, in bungling methods, and in learning how to do things right The utmost vigilance Is required to avoid spend ing what Is saved on the one hand by going ahead too fast with Improve ments on the other. A dozen temp tations to put more money Into the place He in ambush at every turn. Economy is fully as difficult as in ths city. Isolation, lack of congenial so ciety, and maddening inability to find efficient servants in fact, any kind at all are insistent factors of the problem. The Initial outlay Is likely to be no more than halt the ultimate cost Tools and equipment pile up bills to dismay the novice. Labor Is lazy and untrustworthy. If there art children, and there ought to be chil dren In every country home, their ed ucation mutt be considered. It still remains true, however, that to find and own and Improve one's own farm, however small and humble, Is an achievement worth fighting tor, whether it be tor an all-the-year-home or not And tew there be who have won this tight that would willingly re turn to the fiat In the city or the hired house in the suburbs with its fifty-foot irontage of lawn. The ownership ol land, and plenty of it, creates a spirit of independence. It was the "embat tled farmers" who drove back the red' coats from the redoubt on Bunker Hill. To-day the foreign immigrant is populating the abandoned farms of the Eastern States and gaining prosperity for himself and his children. The man who is tied to the city by his business or profession, yet who genuinely desires for himself and his family the peculiar kind of content ment, health and self-reliance that are bred of country life, has the solution of the problem in his own hands. Let him first choose the region in which he wishes to live. Then let him lease a farm for a year, spend as much time on it as he can afford and learn all he can about making it productive. If he takes kindly to the experiment, let him go In quest of a farm of his own, buy it (and farms are sold on uncom monly easy terms of payment) and make up his mind to retire to It when ever circumstances will permit. Own ing a country home Is not a specula tion. It is one of the soundest and sanest Investments in the world. (MEKKEH The Simplex system of driving con crete piles, which the Blritish ad miralty Is trying at Rosyth, is the in ventlon of an American, F. Shuman. A steel tube, having a loose point or a pair of hinged jaws at the lower end, is first driven to the required depth Then, as the tube is withdrawn, con crete Is introduced, and this passes through the now opened lower end and fills up the hole made by the tube. The concrete is filled up to a level several feet above the finished head ol the pile, in order to allof! for sink ing as the tube is withdrawn. The plan has been successfully tried in many places. In an English review of the progress In aeronautics during 1009 the first place in the list of unsolved problems is given to that of obtaining a certain degree of automatic stability at slow speeds. It is recognized that the high velocity of flight required to enable the aeroplane simply to keep afloat must be lowered before the machines can become truly useful and safe. An other question is that of the engine. In order to make this certain in op eration, it is suggested that the weight must be still further reduced, so as to permit either of a duplication of parts, or of the employment of two complete engines, each under normal condi tions worklng.at only a fraction of its full power. A remarkable phrotograph of half a dozen porpoises, playing under water, just ahead of the bow of a steamship traveling at the rate of 13 knots an hour, has been published by a cor respondent of Knowledge, C H. Gale. The sea was calm and the photograph was made by leaning over the bow of the vessel. Mr. Gale calls attention to the singular fact that the porpoises, while easily maintaining their position ahead of the ship, showed no apparent effort or motion of body, tail or fin. Yet he thinks that they were not car ried along by movement of the water in front of the vessel, because air bubbles were seen rushing from their backs, and the photograph shows the effect of these bubbles by the white streaks on the backs of the animals. Sometimes they rolled over sidewise, but always maintained their position. In a recent book about ants, Rev. H. C. McCook gives some surprising facts about the mound-making ants of the Alloghenles. He has measured some mounds more than 30 feet In cir cumference, although rarely more than three feet In height. But around these there are many new mounds, In course of construction, only a few Inches In height. They are found in groups, one of which, near Hollidays burg, Pa., contains 1,700 mounds with in a space of 50 acres. Their total population Is enormous, and each group of mounds appears to consti tute a community an Insect kingdom or empire. In regard to their num bers, Doctor Forel is quoted as saying that these ant kingdoms have in all probability from 200,000,000 to 400, 000,000 inhabitants, "all formlcg a single community, and living together In active and friendly intercourse." Knakln'a Grave. Ten years ago John Ruskin passed peacefully away at Conlston. A grave in Westminster Abbey was immediate ly offered by the dean, but was re fused out of respect for Ruskln's fre quently expressed wish that he might be barled wherever he chanced to die, says the Westminster Gazette. Itle was laid to rest in Conlston chych yard on Jan. 25. In poets corner there is a medallion of him by On slow Ford, Immediately above the bust of Sir Walter Scott. In his native Camberwell the master's memory is perpetuated by the bestowal of his name upon the finely wooded park on Denmark hill, within a stone's throw of his old home. Ill Opportunity. "How did you manage to go through every house on that block in broad daylight without being detectedt" asked one burglar. "Very easily," replied the other. "1 selected a time when a moving van drove. up to a vacant dwelling. I worked while the neighbors were hang ing out of the front windows to criti cise the furniture." Washington Star. VALUE 01 SOCIAL QUALITIES. Every Mother Should See That Hei Daughter Poneiati Them. Thank goodness we are getting away from the idea that to be frivolous Is wicked and nowadays up-to-date pa rents insist that their children shall face life with a laugh rather than a serious face and that they shall have accomplishments as well as virtues. This question of accomplishments i a very Important one in a world which is seirish and exacting and doesn't want to give without receiving in re turn, the Duluth News-Tribune says. Who has not seen the wallflower girl, who, when others were enter taining the company, replied solemnly "I have no parlor tricks," which trite saying veiled very thinly the fact that Bhe was secretly envious of the cleverness of the others and wished she fcould unlimber and do something herself. Now, whose fault Is it the girl's? No, indeed her mother. No doubt that estimable maternal relative was of the sort who believe it their "duty" to see that the child tells the truth, is neat, punctual and obedient. No frills was her motto, but a thorough drilling in the three Rs, and, as she often observed to her lit tle girl, "handsome is as handsome does." Well, that may have often been the case in her day, but just now we are thinking of a great deal of the veneer, it would seem. It is very easy for a clever mother to cultivate social talents in her chil dren. Most little ones show a lean ing in some direction, and it is a mat ter of patience and tact to cultivate this. The main thing is to free the child from the dreaded curse of self consciousness, which prevents so many women fro mmaklng a success, no mat ter how gifted the yare. Encourage the children to give lit tle entertainments for the family In which each one does his part. Never laugh at mistakes, but enter into the spirit of .the children them selves. Home concerts are splendid things, wit hmother playing the piano and every one, eve nthe tiniest tot, joining in the singing. Make the boys and girls feel the have no right to hide their gifts, but should give them unselfishly toward the entertainment of their relatives and friends. In this way you will bring to them the true spirit of social life, which is an even mixture of give and take. It's caster to break away than it la to get back. Successful physicians are lucky guess A LAUGH ALL AROUND. And, aa Uanal, Those Who Laughed Laat Laughed Beat. "Common decency Is cheap abroad," said the man who had just returned from his first trip to Europe. "During all the time I was on the continent I was subjected to discourtesy in but one instance, and I think I got away with it then, at that. "We were crossing one of the Swiss passes by diligence, or coach, and stopped off for luncheon at some little town. It was hot, and I suppose I made rather a comical sight in my shirt sleeves and black glasses, with a handkerchief over my collar, as I stepped out of the vehicle to the road. I suppose, too, that the brand of French in which I tried to ask ques tions was pretty ragged. "Anyway, a group of young French men waiting in a carriage while their team was changed saw in me their long lost original scream, and the way they laughed was convincing, If not flattering. They weren't backward about pointing out the real, racy bits In the picture either, and they only .laughed harder when I glared at them mildly. Another American and I trudged off for lunch, and when we came back there was a bunch ready to take up the howl at me again. 1 looked at my compatriot and he at me. I don't think either of us put the idea in words, but we began. "We began to laugh. We fell Into each other's arms and laughed. We held each other up and laughed. We laughed till the tears rolled down our cheeks. We laughed till we couldn't stand. We rolled Into our coach, still laughing, taking Inspiration for each outburst from a glance at the French men. Well, sir, that bunch of Frenchmen just wilted. First they closed the'r mouths; then they lost their grins; then each one began squinting at the other, trying to make out' what was wrong. Before we'd been at it two minutes they all discovered they need ed a drink and sneaked off to the little hotel. We laughed till we saw the last of them, and then we laughed at the way we had turned the trick." Chicago Tribune. ' An Vnneveaaary Adjunct. Many of us have heard of the worn an traveler who, while riding through the Yosemite, exclaimed, "Oh, I do love scenery; it adds so!" M. C. M. Simpson, in "Many Memories of Many People," instances an opposite case where the scenery was considered not only unneeded, but rather obtrusive. In speaking of Sir George Cornewall Lewis, the famous English statesman, the writer says; Although greatly beloved, he had a very cold manner. He was a marked contrast to his enthusiastic wife, Lady Theresa, who once complained that a tree overshadowed a window of the drawing room of their country house, and Interfered with the view. Said Lewis, calmly and rather contemptu ously; "Why can't you, when you come into the country, sit with your back to the window and read a book?" A Ride on the Trolley. Raid Dolly to Polly: "Now this would be jolly! Let's all go to ride on the trolley!" But Daisy was lazy and said they were crazy, 'Twas too hot to go on the trolley. "It's chilly," said Mllly; "I think you are silly To want to ride on the trolley." Said Lizzie: "I'm busy; besides, 1 get dizzy Vhen I go to ride on the trolley." TJly Cook took a look at her new birthday book, .md wouldn't leave that for a trolley. "There's many a penny," said sensi ble Jennie, "Paid out for our fares on the trolley." Said Polly to Dolly: "Though it would be Jolly To have a nice ride on the trolley, It's funny, my honey, but we have no money, And so we can't ride on the trolley!" Chicago News. Hold on Tls-ht." Some smart men do not properly estimate the Importance of polite ness. Nothing Jolts a woman's sweet trust ing: dlsDOsltion like marriage. How Ned Waa Tied Up. "I'd like to know what has become of my cap," said New Brown, giving the room door an impatient slam, as though it were In some way respon sible "I've looked everywhere for it, and it isn't there." "I think," .said Ned's mother, speak ing with, calm assurance, in spite of Ned's statement, "that you will find it just where you left It. You know, Ned, I put up a special hook for your cap, but it doesn't seem to do any good, does it. You'll just have to hunt it up that's all. I can't stop to look for it." Just then the door . opened, and Alice, Fred and little Harry, accom panied by two of the neighbor's chil dren, came into the room, their eyes glistening, and cheeks aglow, as the result of a frolic they had been having on the lawn. "Why don't you come out and play, Ned?" asked Alice. "We've been hav ing such fun. Haven't we, Fred?" "I can't find my cap," said Ned, looking vexed and disconsolate. "You haven't seen it anywhere, have you?" "No," Alice replied. "I haven't seen it either," volun teered Fred. . Little Harry felt that the blame had therefore been shifted onto him. "I don't know where it is," he stoutly protested. "Really, I don't." "What is it that's lost?" asked Aunt Carrie, who had just come into the room, and had overheard the latter part, of the conversation. "Ned's cap," said Alice." "What, again!" said Aunt Carrie, ih astonishment. "That makes the fifth time this week, doesn't it? Now, let me see. 1 believe I did see your cap somewhere a very short time ago', Ned. I think yes, that's where it was, behind the sofa in the sitting room. I found it there when I moved the things to clear up the room. I think you'il find it on the table now." "Oh, yes," said Ned, with a surpris ing return of memory. "That's just where I put it. Laid it oh the sofa. I suppose it fell down." "Before you go out to play," said Aunt Carrie, when Ned had brought his cap, "I would like to ask you to do something for me." "What is it?" asked Ned, curious to know what she wanted. Aunt Carrie told Ned she would like to have him hold' the palms of his hands together and arms out straight. Taking a 6pool of basting thread from the pocket of her sewing apron, she wound the thread about Ned's wrists, drawing it tightly. "See if you can break it," she ask ed. Ned made a tremendous effort, but when he found that he was able to break the thread, a smile of satisfac tion and triumph lighted up his face. Then Aunt Carrie wound the thread about his wrists again, twice this time instead of once, but Ned succeed ed in freeing his hands again. "Well done," said Aunt Carrie, winding the thread about Ned's wrists a great many times and fastening it, after which she told him he might break the threads again. "I can't," said Ned, looking very sheepish when he took in the situa tion. Indeed, Ned looked so very helpless and woebegone that Aunt Carrie and the children could not help- laughing at him just a little. "Now let me tell you," said Aunt Carrie, "what it is that I would like to impress upon you all. It is this. Habits are very hard to break, for they are made up of separate acts, Just as Ned's hands, are held together by means of separate threads." Round Table. BOBBERY TOOK SIX HOURS. In Early Kanaaa City Dandlta Stop ped All Travelera One Afternoon. Three bandits, who spent an entire afternoon holding up twenty-five citi zens forty years ago were the pioneer sensational criminals in Kansas City. The robbery was begun at 1 o'clock and wasn't finished until dinner time. The bandits met, their victims at 26th and Main streets, which at that time was only a macadamized road lead ing out to Union Cemetery. Frederick Midland, a cabinet maker, employed by the Leo. J. Stewart Un dertaking Company, was an under taker at that time and was returning from the cemetery when he saw a small crowd down the road ahead of him. "I hurried up to see what was the matter and found that all except three of the men were standing with their hands raised over their heads," Midland relates. "I realized that a robbery was going on, but it was too late to turn back. The robbers were on horses and were stopping every one who came along the road. They saw me before I could get away and commanded me to line up with the rest and to hold up my hands. In those days the revolvers were even more formidable appearing . than they are to-day and I certainly didn't hesi tate about obeying. "Well, they kept us there without any trouble. As the farmers came by In their wagons they were forced to get out, tie their teams and join the growing line of victims. When a crowd of at least twenty-five had gathered the bandits began their work. I was at one end of the line, and one df the men started to search me while another began down at the other end. The third stood in. the foreground and preserved order with a display of arms that made us dizzy. That's ao joke, either, about a revolver barrel looking like a tunnel when It's point ed at you. "All I had was 15 cents. I figured that they would hand It back with an apology for robbing a poor man, but they were not that kind of robbers. The one who was searching me swore a little at my poverty and went on to the next man. When they had fin ished with the crowd they rode away rapidly and we dispersed. They were never captured, because the event was considered lightly. The only ones who were really angered were those who arrived first and had to stand with their arms In the air until the crowd had been collected it was al aost six taurs. The bandfta had not robbed us singly, because they know those released would spread the news. Kansas City Star. SERVANT PROBLEM IN AFRICA. Servitor Are All Men and Are the Dirtiest in the World. Servants are an absolute necessity in Africa, declares a writer in the De lineator. But next to the climate and the insects, the native servants are the greatest pests. Even the best of them are the worst imaginable. They delight in grease, rags and dirt. They never do anything if they can avoid it. Servants are all of the male gender. They are engaged by the month and paid in cash or merchandise, at their option. The principal servants are cook, house boy, small boy, jack wash and head man. I was very fortunate In getting one. Kls wages were $5 a month, cash, and all he could steal. He dressed in an undershirt and the cast-off trousers of some white man. At the end of the month, when he received his wag es, most of It went for rum and ani sette bought at the factory. When the money was gone he tapped a palm tree and drank of its fermented juice. No matter how intoxicated he became his meals were always on time and he was polite and deferential. He called me Missy. Because we both spoke English and he was a British subject, he looked after me in a way. He instructed the bushmen how to act and dress before a white woman. He warned me when there was any mischief brewing, and when he got into trouble, which was very frequently, he looked to me for aid. But he never forgot his position. He was small, slight, 33 years of age, could read and write and sing Moody and Sankey hymns. He came into my employ the day I landed in the bush and left me when I took the steamer at the coast to return to civi lization. On the march he was the first to start away with the cooking kit on his head; upon my arrival in camp he met me with hot coffee. No matter how discouraging the condi tions, he was faithful. Had I raked all Africa I could not have found more faithful servant. Only those who have lived in the bush can appreciate such a one. If native cooks do not like their masters they have a habit of feeding him slow poison. Many a white man makes his cook first par take of the food. When a girl gets her first letter from a man she keeps the envelope stuck in her mirror frame for six month THE WEEKLY 4J84 A charter for an American col ony was granted by Queen Eliza beth to Sir Walter Raleigh. ; 1622 The Indians massacred 349 of the , Virginia colonists. ' ;., 1676 Marlborough, Mass., destroyed by Indians. . ' ' - 1719 Spanish fleet intended for the ' invasion of England disperse! by a storm. - . . ' 1764 A circular letter was (issued by the Presbyterians of Philadelphia preparatory to the organization of a synod. ' I ' 1765 The ' British Stamp Act became law. ; ) 1790 Benjamin Franklin petit oned Congress to abolish slavery, this being hiB last public act. 1807 Abolltior. of the slave trace In the British Empire. 1 1808 The French under Murat entered Madrid. j 1815 Napoleon Joined by all the army after his return from Elba. 1836 Steam power was Introduced Into the mint at Philadelphia. 1838 Sir Francis Bond Head resigned office as lieutenant governor of upper Canada. 1849 Complete defeat of the Sardin ians by the Austrlans at Novara. 1854 Great Britain declared iwor against Russia. r 1861 Vote of Louisiana on secession made public... First State Legis lature of Kansas met j 1862 Gladstone presided at the fpre- sentatlon In London of a $10,000 testimonial to Charles Kean, the celebrated actor. ' ". 1863 Confederates tinder Clark cap tured Mount Sterling, Ky. ' ! 1865 The British Parliament granted ' $250,000 for the defense of Canada. 1867 The British North American t Act received the royal assent - 1871 Commune proclaimed at Paris. - ;' 1873 John Drew made his first ;iap- " pearance on the stage at the Arch . Street Theater, Philadelphia. lf 1877 Execution of John D. Lee, Mor mon bishop, convicted of being the main Instigator of the Mdun- Aaln Meadow massacre. ; ' 1880 Great banquet given In Montreal In honor of Sir Alexander Tilloch "' Gait the first Canadian high com missioner in London. , 1882 Samuel Blatcljford of New York appointed an associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. 1885 The Saskatchewan rebellion broke out with an attack of half breeds upon the Northwest Mount ed Police. 1890 President Harrison declared; the Bering Sea closed to unlicensed seal fishing. j 1892 The British and French govern ments renewed the "modus Viven di" respecting the Newfoundland lobster fisheries. 1897 Opening of the second session of the eighth Parliament of Canada. ....New steel arch bridge over the Niagara River completed. ; 1900 Canadian troops arrived at Cape Town to engage in war with the Boers. 1903 Strike in the cotton mills at Low ell, Mass., threw 20,000 out of em ployment 1904 United States Senator Joseph R. Burton of Kansas convicted at St . Louis of accepting a bribe. 1908 Great Britain and the United States reached an understanding In , regard to the fresh water fisheries disputes between Canada and the : United States. ' 1909 Crown Prince George of Servla renounced succession to the throne.' ....New Zealand offered a battle ship to the British Imperial army. ....Lieut Shackleton, of the Brit ish navy, reached New Zealand after having penetrated to wlthht , 111 miles of the south pole. Explorer Believe Peary. The new element of distrust thrown about the story of Commander Peary: by the refusal of the House Commit tee to favor special honors for his dis covery of the North Pole has 'brought out a defense from two noted polar ixplorers. Knud Rasmussen, the Dan ish expert In Arctic travel, Is quoted as saying that the length of sledge journeys which Peary claims : to have made Is not Impossible. Rasmussen himself says he has traveled on sledges from seventy to 100 miles in a day. But still he thinks It a little strange that Peary made those wonderful marches on his return journey front the pole when his dogs must have been very tired. Rasmussen thinks Peary should give all his data to Congress. From London comes an interview with Lieut Shackleton, who holds the Ant arctic record. He says one can not have the slightest doubt of Peary's achievement A Fort one In Busts. The University of Kansas has a col lection of insects which has just been invoiced and valued at 147,000. The collection was begun in 1873 and there ar6 now 130,000 specimens, all mount ed and labeled. Most of the specimens are American insects, but there is a !alr foreign collection obtained through exchange. All the known Kansas crop pests are mounted, together with sam ples of their ravages, and the fanners are being taught how best to malt ax uoon them