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About The Springfield news. (Springfield, Lane County, Or.) 1916-2006 | View Entire Issue (March 17, 1921)
PAGE SIX TIIR SPniNGFIKLD NEWS jf lliQ ROBERT J. C STEAD Homesteader - Author er "Thm Cow Copyright, All Rights Reserved hmW " h it BUILDING THE HOME. Synopsis.-Dlsntind lwiun of ( 4 the seemingly barren outlook of hi j position a school teacher in ! Canadian town. Jchn Harris deter- I mines to leave it. take up land In I Manltrha and become a "home- tsteader." Marr. the girl whom he 1 t loves, declares she will accompany I him. They are married and set out , a for the unknown country. Aleo Mc- Crae. pioneer settler and adviser of t newcomer. proves an Invaluable , friend. Leaving his wife with the I family of a fellow settler. Fred Ar- l thura. Harris and McCrae Journey !over the prairie and select a home stead. Mary Insists on accompanying I him when he takes possession, and tmey Begin their lire work or making t the prairie fertile farm land. j CHAPTER II Continued. Ttint night, before the darkness had gathered too deep, they selected the site of their house on the very bench that McCrae had Indicated. It was about an acre In extent, and stood halfway between the prairie level and the bottom of the coulee, where a small river was now running- It was qu'te dark when they sought the cover of their little tent, and the wolves were howling far down the ra vine. Presidency they were startled by a crashing noise, as of some big ani mals rushing upon them through the poplars, and the horses. In headlong baste, almost swept over their sleep ing place. "That wolf howl put the fear Into the silly brutes," said Harris, speak ing calmly, although his own flesh was creeping Just a little. "I suppose they've ripped their tether ropes to pieces. Well, we'll tie them down here, where they'll have company." And he led them back a short distance Into the bushes. A moment later, suddenly, as If con gealed out of thin air, on the bank right above them, silhouetted against the dim light In the western sky, stood a horse and rider. Instantly Harris' mind came a warning of McCrae: "Sleep with one eye open when your horses are tethered out" Harris had no proof that the strange rider was a" horse thief, but It struck him at the moment that the terror of the horses might not have been due al together to wolves. He stole silently toward the tent. There was a gun there, loaded with shot for any possible game on the prai rie. As he moved In the deep dark ness of the valley he stumbled over a root and fell. The same moment came a flash of light on the bank, and Har ris beard the "thuk" of a ball bury ing Itself In the sod. He lay perfectly still. The stranger peered Into the darkness for a full minute; then, dis mounting, began to come cautiously down the hillside. Harris would have rushed for his gun, but he feared to reveal the whereabouts of his wife. So he lay still, and the stranger came on, the glint of his gun barrel showing In the darkness. It was evident he thought his bullet had found Its mark, and he proposed still to possess him self of the horses. But he was taking no chances. Presently he discerned Harris' body on the ground, and aealn raised his gun to his shoulder. Har ris lay in an agony of suspense, pray ing that the aim would be faulty, and that his assailant would advance un til he could sprins up and disarm him. Then came another flash, a loud re port, a yell from the Intruder, who half fell to earth, then scrambled to his feet, rushed up the hank, pulled himself somewhat limply on his horse, and rode Into the darkness. "Oh. Jack, are you killed?" cried the girl, rushing in his direction. "Not even hurt," he answered ; and she fainted In his arms. He carried her to the tent and op plied water to her forehead. As he was engaged In restoring her his hand fell on his gun. The barrel was hot. He raised her face to his, and kissed her again and again. In the morning they found a few drops of blood on the grass at the top of the batik. Harris and his wife allowed them selves no lime for nerve strain over the experience of their first night on their homestead. The next morning, after caring for their cows, they hitched the horses to the wagon, took an ax, a saw. their gun. and ti lunch, nnd set out for the valley, returning lute at night with sufliilent logs and poles'for the framework of their Louse and stable. The next day construc tion was comiw need. Four stout poMsj were set on end, enclosing a rectangle IL'xlO feet. The tops of the posts were "rifiiifcied by logs laid upon them dove tailed at the comers after the fushlon of woodsmen, nnd held lit po sition by wooden pins driven In auger holes. Lengthwise along the center, to form a ridge pole, another stout log was laid nnd the whole framework supported by additional posts, among which were two on the east side to en close the door. Small poles were then placed on end. sloping slightly In wards nnd resting against the plate logs. Similar poles were laid from the plate logs to the ridge pole to sup port the roof. Harris found a southern slope where the frost was out enough to admit to him plowing some sods. He plowed them, three Inches thick and H Inches wide, and cut them Into two-foot lengths with his ax. to the snd Injury of Its cutting edge. These sods were then built Into a wall like bricks, rest ing gently ngnlnst the1 framework of poles, from which. hovuevcr. they were separated by a padding of grass, which Harris cut In a slough with his scythe, and small willows from the ravine. This mattress of grass nnd willows prevented any earth shaking through Into the house Itself. A framework made of a hewn log was Inserted In the south wall 10 leave space for a window, which should be bought when the family finances could afford such luxuries. For the time being It would be left open In tine weather nnd cov ered with ennvas when the elements were gruff or unruly. The rag carpet, when no longer needed as a tent, would be draped In the doorway, pending the purchase of boards to make a wooden door. For a roof grass was laid on the poles nnd covered tightly with sods. Then Harris found a sticky, yellow clay In the side of the ravine, and two or three inches of this he spread carefully over the sods, like Icing on a great cake. The greasy clay soon Jiardened In the sun, and became so Impervious to water that the heaviest rains of summer made no Impression upon It. lty this time the snow was all gone, except in north-facing nooks nlong the ravine, nnd the frost was out of the sod in all places deep enough to admit of plowing. As the stock were taking no harm from the open air, thanks to the shelter of the ravine, Harris de cided to delay the construction of his stable until after seeding and to pro ceed at once with the plowing of bis land. He had also to make a trip to Arthurs' for seed grain, nnd to bor row a couple of sections of drag har rows. With It all, by the middle of May he had sown 13 acres of wheat, and notwithstanding a heavy srowfall about the twenty-third, by the first of June he had added ten acres of oats. With his help Mary had planted a small garden of potatoes and vegeta bles, and a few flowers were spring ing up at the door of the house. CHAPTER III. The Shores of the Infinite. The summer was a season of great activity and development. Harris did not sow any crop after the first of June, but applied himself then to the construction of his stable, which was built after the same fashion as the house. As McCrae had predicted, there was a considerable movement of settlers Info the district, and at several points their tents or rude houses now broke the vast sweep of the horizon. Tom Morrison had found hind to the satis faction of his heart within three miles of the Harris homestead, and bis big log house, 18x21, assumed the propor tions of n castle by comparison with the smaller homes springing up around. Some miles to the east Dick Matheson, straight from the lumber camps of the Madawaskl, had pitched his tent, and a few miles farther on was his friend of the shanties, John Iiurton. To the west were the ft rants', and to the north Hiram Riles and his wife, Lliza. A missionary had In some way spied out the field, and held monthly Sunday services ut Morrison's house; und Ir. Llain, when not In one of his unfortunate debauches, hud his headquarters at the new town of Plulnvlllc, which consisted of Semp ter's general store and n "stopping place," and which had sprung up near the Junction of two streams In antici pation of the railway. And so the lirst summer wore nwny and the first harvest was at hand. Any disappointment which had been occasioned by backward conditions earlier in the season wus effaced by the wonderful crop which now crowned the efforts of the pioneers. n their finest eastern farms they hud seen nothing to equal the great stand of wheal mid oals which ow envel oped them, ncck-hlgh, whenever they Invaded It. The great problem before the settlers was (he harvesting of this crop. It was n inithty task to at tempt with their scythes, but there whs no self-binder, or even reaper, within tunny miles. Finally Morrison solved the problem for the whole community by placing an order, at a fabulous figure, for n self-binder from the 1' nlted States. It was a cumbrous, wooden frame con trivance, guiltless of the roller bear ings, floating aprons, open elevators, and sheaf carriers of a Inter day, but It served the purpose, und with Its aid the harvest of the little settlement wus safely placed In sheaf. The farm ers then stacked their grain In the fields, taking care to plow double fire guards, with a burnt space between, ns a precaution against the terrifying fires which broke over the pnilrle as soon as the September frosts had dried the grass. A community some '.II miles to the eastward boasted a threshing mill, nnd arrangements were made for Its use after It had discharged the du ties of Its own locality. When Harris' thrashing was done he found he had 0O0 bushels of wheat nnd 700 bushels of oats In cone-shnod piles on his fields. The roods were fine nnd hard, nnd no snow hud yet "Not Even Hurt," He Answered, and She Fainted In His Arms. fallen, so he determined to begin nt once with the marketing of his wheat. His last cent had been spent months before; Indeed, It had been only through the courtesy of the storekeep er nt Plalnvllle, who was also post master, und who had stretched the law to the point of accepting hen eggs as legal tender In exchange for post age stamps, that Mury Harris had been able to keep up the brave, opti mistic series of letters written "home." So Harris decided that he would nt once market some of his wheat. Most of the oats would be needed for his horses and for seed, and what re mained would command good prices from new settlers the following spring, but some of the wheat must be turned WILL THAT ALARMED WORLD Eccentric Frenchman Planned to Build Up Large Estate, But In th End Signally Failed. Mingled wonder, Indignation nnd alarm were excited in the public mind over a will left by Peter Thelusson. a Frenchman, who died on July 2. 1707. It appears that the testator had accu mulated a large fortune ns n London merchant, nnd by the provisions of his will he left to his wife and children the sum of 100.000, nnd the residue of his properly, umountlng to about 000,000, he committed to trustees, to accumulate during the lives of his sons, and finally to revert to hit llilest great-grandson. Should no heir exist, the accumulated prop erty wus to be conveyed to the sink ing fund for the reduction of the na tional debt. According to the lowest calculation It wus estimated that the fortune would amount to .ISMMio.ooo. The will was generally stigmatized us absurd and Illegal, nnd the family le.-t-ed It In court, where It was sustained as II was likewise In 'lie house of lord In 18IHI un act wa pus-ed niakinu null It'tn money at once. During Urn 1st It r part or the summer they had lived exclusively on (he produce of IheM farms on vegetables from the garden fish ami d it ks from the stream, prsi rle chickens, nnd tin occasional run bit from the fields. The wild geese lunl deserted them early III the spring nnd relumed only after harvest. Ilul now they should have n change tin their tnble. Mnry had accepted the pioneer fare of the summer without complain), but of late Harris had discovered n strange longing In her eyes, and more than once she lunl arrested herself In the words "I wish we had" Then two penitent tittle tears would steal softly down her cheeks, nnd she would bury her head In his nrms ns he soothed her with loving words nnd promised that "after (brushing things would be different." So now he set out for Kmerson with the best load his horses could draw. 1 he first few miles he drove In silence, for there wns a heavy weight ut his heart ns he thought of the little wife alone with the responsibilities of the farm. That she would he faith ful to every responsibility he knew beyond question. Hut he wns not quite satisfied. A strange moodi ness had come over her, nnd even with him nt home she had nt times given wny to tits of downhearteilness width seemed altogether alien to her nature. Ten days later he retraced hl course In the teeth of a blinding Mix xnrd. A tlor.cn times he had been lost In the last sS hours, but he had devel oped the prairie dweller's sense of di rection, nnd hnd nlwnys been able ngnln to locate the trull. The Ar thurs would hnve detained htm, al most by force, but the thought of a pale, patient fnce, wrung with nn ag ony of anxiety not for Itself, made him adamant In Ids resolve to go home nt whatever cost. Th roads were almost Impassable; he left h's lumber st Ar thurs', but carried wltn him his win dow, a few hoard for a door, nnd s little bundle of dry goods. Everything else hud gone by the way surrcnd.red In exchange for food nnd shelter for himself and horses. "Thank Cod. oh. (hank Cod!" llO lifc. toMIM'KUl Isinglass. Isinglass is the dried swimming bludders of several vurietles of fish. The amount of gelatin In Isinglass Is from SO to ICl per cent ami even more. His prepared by tearing the nlr blad der or sound from the hack of the fl.-li, from which It has been loosened by striking several blows with n wooden club, then wushlng In cold water. The black outer skin Is removed with a knife, again washed nid spread on a board to dry In the open air. with the w hite shiny skin turned not ward. To prevent shrlvel'ng or shrinking the bladders must be fastened to u drying board. The best quality of Isinglass comes from sounds that an; dried In the sun. After drying tin sound Is again moistened with warm water and the Interior shiny skin is removed by hammering or rubbing. Finally It li lolled between two polished Iron roll ers. White and Red Roses Blended, The most Interesting combination of roses Is that of the union of the white rose of York with the red rose of Lancaster after the long struggle between those two factions when the red rose might have represented the blood that was shed nnd the other one the condition of the people bled white by the wars. To cement the pence Henry of Lancaster wedded pretty F.ll.ubcth of York nnd n clev er gardener of old England blended the two roses and made a new one, striped red and white. We have It In this country where It Is still called the York and Limcnster. though not every beholder realizes the slory held In its fragrant petals. all bequests for the purpose of ac cumulation for longer than twenty years after the testator's death. The last grandson died lu 1S"1. and a dis pute urose as to whether the eldeit son's grandson whould Inherit or the eldest great grandson. It was decided In favor of the former. Ily reason of litigation and accidents of management (he fortune Inherited was little more thun the orlg'nal ftioo.ooo. Considerate Hen. A her which deposits a frcdi break fast cgt, on her owner's bed. and then awakens him ut I be proper time lo consume the fruits of her Industry, Is, suites the Timber Trades Journal, I lie prized possession of a sawmill em ployee at lieiid, (Ire. Retiring at ii u. in. ihe end of Ills working day the man leaves open the window at i.lu l,i.(l lili. Short I v before noun lliw hen (lie In. nestles near her masters! shoulder lays her e. and rising pecks the sleepd uelitly on the Core head. )illie:l I Ion I'. nu'V like food culture; It chiii::e I be si.e. Inn n " II, W. I'.. " ! "Henifue" yuuiTtniulfls for aaylhlag li Iron or Woodworking Mschlnsry, Logging, Sawmill, Contractors' Kjuliinsnt, Ijnrjt. motives, Hollers. Kiiglnee. Crushers, Mall. ('Ills, Halting-, ete. lltirke Machinery nH fc's Hallway Ittrhenge Wdg., Portland, Or. MeATANo"pROOUC -OUOHT I VwMiio?iiiialille "assuring; prolan, lion lo shippers t.f dressed h". '"' gg". etc Try u. Ilmwn A Co , 110 lloyt. ! MOTOWCYCLI AN DP A WT ' ' ' AlT limkes F,i trim. KAKT HIIW MOTtl(CVIi.M CO. 44-4 IJIIAM A V IC. PAINLBIS OINTItTRY Kiprrt rinntlat ry. Having nf nearly . Pill ef high I flit (I la. trli I. N !: t'or. Jiut A Humal.le. PERSONAL "MAItltV'rV'TlSIcLYifi.r rssulla, try me: l"t and most aurrassftil "IIOMIII MAKKIt"; huntlrvils lith wish marrlsse soon; strictly runriilantlal; niiat reliable) yoara of eiprlti-; dVaerlptlon tree, 't he Hucrvsatul Club." Mrs. 1UU1, Itua Its, Oakland, California. mm PLATING NICK ft L AND HLVISI lTSTIlliils'rslivirml. l 0 'pairTpul lights II tO each. Tarts nukslwl. Hard ware rrinlah! California I'laUnf WU., Cor I rid and Salmon ma t PLUM Mil NO A PLUMtlNQ aUPPLIC " We' ran supply" you' wlthBiiy'aitidi 73 plumbing supplies al wholesale prlrea. we will gladly estimate coat of any Job, Write lor prices HTAHK-OAVIH CO.. tll-lvo tin Ht , J'orlland pouTtrv PtP "'" ""i7i-'a iTa Sri i:ioTTlp,tTrAmt?l1iiia lay MnlttO KU;H; wundarful rrpnnlvr, big tlfimuiiil, rimy to make, coat timll rttonoy mnkrr for husllera, ilrlalla five. Hollar t ill bring ninple arid KUitranlnrd formu la K. K. Klahr, lit) . Aluirlautt, lurt bind, Orrgon. TtACHKRi Or TPlUTMj; A r u P ! & "v n t "a nd if -n"iTdT iTirTii V rl Ope to Ilia tlngva. 4i Klfhliirr Hid , re garding Health, l!uipllira mid Hmteaa. ANITARVwtAUTV ,PAJRLQW 'lS. VeheTp iKe appaaranee of wornVaT Twenty-two Ineb awitrh or Iranaorma tlon, value 7 00, prire ft . oo to 411 Imkurn llldf. 2 Jm a sty e l"s o a p J Ana ruwdored Hoi el your 'groreTaA'slt for anmple. M A I K IN OHKUUN, I J Marvel Hoap, KS-J5 ltull Ut. OMl"tLLA"tPAIRINQ "Crt ovrrlnitTTVliulrlng iToioii'iniiil'tly'a'iiil mallad bars. hianiplva on application. The Hurrty Hbiip, lt,ui Al.lur, J'ortmnd. VVANTID PIS) PITCH """We b u f Fl r""l "ft c h'TrPaTi y ' " q u a n iTtyT Highest market price ' Payment un de llvery. Write for schedule of prices us pitch and squlpmant Nortbweatara Tur poatlne Co, ! Kmt Ninth Ml . Port tana, V ITA LIT V It KMT ll KI I.N! Al.L' H K V tin by Impluntnllon of gmt glnnda. Ilhruma tlani, litaaltuilr, bigh IImmI pr-il , ahortnraa of breath positively rHInvrd. Trt-alment dors not i onf Inr pullerit to bed. Absolutely fo ! 'rll for In formation. I. O Mox "f.5. Portland. Ore. Mnnv I'orlliuid t-iimniilnl TREES BEAUTIFY OUR ROADS Enthusiasm Displayed All Over Couiw try In Campaign for "Roads of Remembrance." Motor travelers ult over the coun try have stimulated a contagious In terest In planting trees by the road sides. The Federation of . Woinen'i Clubs, which was one of the first mi tloiiul organizations to assist In this work, bus plunted many trees nlonf sections of the Lincoln highway, writes Victoria Faber Stevenson la Sinclair's Msguzlne. Today It Is beau tifying muny roads by planting trees In memory of the men who served la the World war. In fart, enthusiasm for roadside tree planting Is evident all over the country In the widespread Interest which Is takeu lu "Itoads of Itemeuibrnnce." I'utrlotlc and civic organizations, women's clubs and boy scouts' units are providing miles of roadway wltb younj oaks and elms. These sturdy trees, which will perpetuate the mem ory of the men who took up arms for America are also giving the road beauty and Individuality. Perhaps tha most unique work of this chunicter which Is reported by the American Forestry association la being tlone In Georgia around the city of Macon. There the woman's auxil iary -of the chamtier of commerce la planting a huge cross of trees In hon or of the men and women who went to war from their vicinity. NUT TREES ALONG HIGHWAYS Michigan Is First State to Offer Re ward for Beautifying Its Im proved Roadways, Michigan Is the first state to offer a reward fur planting nut trees heslda highways. In Kurope the profit froia roudstde nut trees assists In main taining roads. Itoadsldu nut trees abroad are protected from vandalism by public sentiment, anil this Is true of the nut orchards In the principal celiters of production lu this coun try. , Much Money for Roads. Great I'.rltalu Is expending 110, 000.000 a year on highways. Improve by Dragging. Frequent dragging of a dirt ronil, with the King machine, not only main tains the proper curvature necesary for drainage, but develops a hard, well packed wearing surface and a firm base, with the result that the road constantly Improves instead of deteriorating, Fines for Overloading. Fines ranging from $L'.ri lo Sinn are Imposed on offenders who drive over loaded motortrucks on highways In Pciinsylvunln4 -I I