"Woman With Hoe" Started Evolution of Houses
RANCH MYSTERY
A STORY FOR CHILDREN
By Paula Norton
Beth came out to Nevada to
spend several months on a cattle
ranch. She anticipated a quiet un
eventful visit there, but instead,
she found her Aunt and Uncle
confronted with the possible loss
of their ranch. An unidentified
band of thieves had been stealing
horses and cattle and in every
way trying to bankrupt Beth's
Uncle Walter. Beth, like her two
cousins, Ron and Tim, wanted to
help discover who was back of
the plot. While riding in a field
with the boys, Beth found a little
star-shaped wheel of silver and
she had a feeling that it might
be a clue to the identity of the
thieves. 8he became chummy
with the rural mail-carrier,
Claude, became he seemed to
know everyone, and he talked
freely.
Chapter 7.
BETH thought Aunt Mary a
darling because she was not
at all upset about the lunch
dishes that had not been washed.
After supper the family sat and
talked. There was MUCH to talk
about. The stolen horses, the
neighboring ranch where Aunty
had helped o 1 d Grandmother
Woods through the last hours of
her life and the riding lesson Beth
had had that day, which, of
course, led to the teasing one
would expect from Ron and Tim.
Then Uncle Walter said, "We
better be leaving to take that
carload of steers for shippin' into
the railroad next week. We won't
get a mint for 'em, but anything's
better'n nothin'." Be.th could see
the worry in his eyes. She knew
he was thinking about the cattle
and horses that he never would
sell.
"Do you think you'll be well
enough to ride in with the men
and the cattle, Pa?" asked Aunt
Mary.
"Sure I'll go along," he ans
wered. "Do you feel strong enough to
go, Tim?" grinned Ron. "You
better stay home this time and
let Beth go in your place. You
could make us some fudge!"
"Now, boys," smiled their .
mother.
Then Uncle Walter changed the
subject. "How's the ridin' comin'
along, Beth? You think you'll
make a good ranch-hand?"
As usual, Ron answered the
questions put to anyone but him
self. "Sure she's good. She had
old Daisy wishing she was back
In the old ladies' home 'stead of
tearing around like a circus
horse."
THE meal was over and not
once had Beth mentioned the
little star-like silver wheel she
had picked up in the field near
the dry-wash. It was to remain
her own special secret, at least
until she made sure if it was Im
portant The next morning, Uncle Wal
ter rode Into town to "look
around." After helping her aunt
to clean up after lunch, Beth rode
around the pasture alone. The
boys had plenty of work to do
and, as Ron said, "Beth's just
about got Daisy broken In now.'
She doesn't need us to see that
she sticks on."
Beth knew that this was meant
for a joke as well as a compli
ment for old Daisy waa slow
beyond words.
"When do I get to ride Bob?
You said I could as soon as I got
the hang of it with Daisy."
'Tomorrow, If you'll be a good
girl and make us a mess of that
fudge you've been braggln'
about"
As soon as the boys we;-e gone
Beth wont down by the mail box
to wait for Claude. She felt sure
there would be a letter from her
mother today and. besides, she
wanted to see Claude again.
She sat on the rail fence, knees
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under her chin, just as she'd seen
the boys sit on the corral fence
it was just as uncomfortable as
it looked.
THE blue haze on the distant
hills held her eyes for a long
time as she turned the silver
wheel over and over In her
pocket Then at the sound of
rattling wheels she turned and
saw the old rig and the sway
back horse coming down the
dusty road.
"Mornin', mis s." shouted
Claude. "Nothln' for you today,
only the paper for your uncle.
How is he?"
"Oh, he's a lot better, thank
you," answered Beth. Then to
make conversation she told him
about learning to ride. Claude
was interested because every
thing that other people did came
under the heading of "news" for
the mail carrier.
Beth asked about the town and
even got the courage to ask if
she could ride In some day with
Claude.
"Well, miss, I don't see as you'd
find it a very excltin' place,
comin' from a big city like you
do. But I'll be glad to take you in
my rig sometime if your auntie
says you can go."
Beth climbed down from the
fence. Before she could express
her thanks, Claude said, "Say,
how would you get back home
again If you rode in with me?"
"I could take a horse, couldn't
I . . . tied to your rig?"
"Well, now, that's a right smart
idea,, miss," smiled Claude. "Are .
you sure you could come back
out alone?"
"All I have to do is come back
. the way I went" And, woman
like, she had made her point
"Well, now, that's sure okay by
me. Anytime you're ready." He
gathered up the reins. "But I
can't see what you expect to see
to entertain ya' In a little old
town like ours, after comin' from
a real big city." He looked
puzzled.
"Well, you can't tell," smiled
.Beth." I might learn a lot of
things In a little town I never
would notice in the city," and as
she watched the mail carrier
down the road she took the little
wheel from her pocket and
studied It carefully aa It flashed
In the sunlight
(Continued next week)
MOIWLT
Our young readers have started
to express themselves and to tell
us about the things that interest
them most. Today w are printing
some information about pigeons.
By Craig Rolla Norton, 12
Of San Marino, Cat.
PIGEONS lay tholr eggs during
January and July. After July,
the young bird races begin. These
are the races for squabs raised
that year.
All pigeons must be banded
when they are three days old.
Eggs hatch at 17 days.
As for me, I'm interested In
almost every kind of pigeon, such
as dark checks, red checksr blue
bars, red bars, splashes and black
checks.
Once a boy shot a pigeon of
mine with a BB gun. I did not
see him do it but some other kids
said they thought he got It That
night when all the rest of the
pigeons were finally In the pen,
there was no sign of my favorite
pigeon. I just figured he had
died somewhere because he was
wounded.
The next day while I was out
freeing the pigeons, my sister
TAKL CAPE
Flour Making
First Step In
Food Culture
By Dick West
WHEN Edward Markham im
mortalized "The Mitn With
the Hoe" in that famous poem
which will be handed down to a
posterity possibly less hoe-conscious
than he, it is obvious that
the beloved poet wrote of the
present, with neither eye nor ear
for ancient and more arduous
days.
Because the gossip handed
down these many generations is
that the original "man with the
hoe" was a woman!
About the time our primitive
ancestors climbed out of tree-tops
and land hovels to house them
selves in stilted mid-lake dwel
lings, someone gave a bit of a
thought to agricultural pursuits.
Thus there was planted, in that
most inauspicious manner, the
seed which blossomed so fruit
fully into the current crop of
granges, farm bureaus, cultivated
crops and county fairs.
In early hoe culture it became
. woman's work to till the soil and
produce the food. This, of course,
In addition to her other household
duties. It was in this era, also,
that the domestic Industry began
to go kitchenward in a big way.
There developed not only the art
of preparing food from a form of
ground flour, but the making of
practical at least serviceable
utensils. Then, quite rapidly, came
a common interest in basketry
and ceramic lore.
SHUFFLING along the lane
leading to civilization, we'll
pass up the wild man of Borneo,
since we can work up not the
OTHER FOLKS
THE so-called savage races of
people seldom ever punish their
children. '
How would you have enjoyed a
breakfast In Rome of long ago?
Here is a list of the regular
breakfast dishes: A dozen larks;
a dish of marrow bones; a neat's
tongue; hot sausages on a silver
grill, and peahens' eggs.
The Egyptians were expert
wig-makers, for wig-wearing was
a fashion with them.
The Canadian Indians origi
nated the game La Crosse.
Though the Indians called It
baggataway, the French named it
La Crosse.
Dominoes Is a French game,
and ping pong Is an English in
vention. The Greeks played billiards
about 400 B. C.
In many parts of Europe today
stllt-walklng Isn't just a child's
game, it is used as a means to
cross flooded districts, or marshy
lands.
said, "Look look!" and pointed up
to a pole. There he sat. looking
pretty droopy. Finally he flut
tered down to me, and I picked
him up.
There was blood on his wings
and breast I took him as fast as
I could to another kid's house,
because he has pigeons and his
father is a doctor.
My friend '0erated on my pig
eon, with his father's operating
tools and got the BB out of the
bird. We left him over there for
a few days. He got all well after
awhile and came flying In with
the fst of the birds In a few
days.
You have to change pigeon
drinking water twice day, and
feed them twice a day, too. They
like to nest on pin needle and
eucalyptus leaves.
Along about the time women not men started using agricultural
Implements, human dwelling places began to improve. Here are
some sketches of early residences. Upper left, the Toradja dwelling,
found in Celebes; center, the Saxon Cruck house; right, the snow
and Ice house of the Eskimo; below, Crow tepee.
least enthusiasm for his favorite
food fried worms and pieces of
water snake served in sour egg
sauce. Likewise, we skip spryly
past the Toradjas, erstwhile head
hunters, because we have but one
head to lose.
However, the Toradjas did cre
ate something extraordinary in
housing. They built on a frame
work of cross-piling and the
houses were practically all roof.
The roof rose from the floor,
which was raised on log founda
tions six or more feet from the
ground. To top it off, a pair of
antlers or crooked horns reached
skyward from each rooftop.
Modern man, who believes his
housing problem Is one brimful
of perplexities, has at. least one
thing for which to be happy and
thankful that It was not his lot
to be of the tribe of Ba Venda of
Africa. Polygamy being a com
mon practice, it was incumbent
upon the husband to provide not
only a hut for himself, but one
for each of his many wives. Of
course, the women did most of
the work, grinding the grain, car
rying water and wood, tilling the
FREDDIE Is six and he lives in
the house on the corner. Bar
bara is five and she lives in the
house next door. Just around the
corner there is a big empty lot
So, one day Freddie decided that
it would be a good plan to build a
cave in the side of the little dry
creek that ran wiggling through
the vacant lot.
Then the Marshall boys, who
lived on the next comer, aald they
wanted, to help build the cave.
They b'rought a spade with a
broken handle, and a Uttle tin
bucket. So Freddie and Barbara
said they could help, too.
All afternoon the children
worked on that precious cave.
BY 4 o'clock the cave was a
very deep and dark one In
deed. Why. Freddie (who was the
boss I could almost get clear in
side. "Now." he said, as they all sat
resting from their hard work,
"don't you think we should plan
about whRt we're going to have
in this cave to eat?"
"What kind of a cave Is it?"
asked on of the Marshall boys,
"Is it a pirate cave, or a hermit's
cave, or what?"
"It's a pirate cave," said Fred
die. "Well, then we'd better have
meat and bird's eggs and some
Qjwwrid tte.
garden and preparing the food.
The husband ate alone in his
hut, the food being brought and
served to him by his youngest
wife. The children ate with their
respective mothers, while the older
ones were segregated according
to sex and each had his or her
Individual hut Hence, the hus
band and father of the Ba Vendas
was faced with a real housing
problem.
ALONG with the development
of hoe culture, . with women
wielding the hoe, came the do
mestication of animals. Great
herds were amassed by the more
thrifty, and horses were tamed
and made to replace shank's mare
as a means of transportation.
The next distinct step in crea
tive housing is credited to the
American Indian with the build
ing of two types of houses unique
in design and construction. First
was the familiar wigwam, about
ten feet in diameter and ten feet
in height, and the Eskimo Igloo,
or snow house.
Despite popular opinion, how
ever, both the wigwam and the
bananas and . . . . " But Barbara
interrupted.
"I can get some bird's eggs
from our canary's nest But, I
won't eat any of 'em," she fin
ished wi'.u a twiot to her little
face.
"I don'.t mean canary eggs,"
shouted one of the Marshall boys,
with disgust. I mean wild duck
eggs or pelican eggs, that's the
kind pirates find on islands." Then
to prove his statement be added,
"My brother read that in a book."
1 1 AHAT are you going to
W bring, follas?" asked the
boss.
"Well, I don't know yet. We
could bring the pan to cook the
things in."
Then Barbara jumped to her
feet "I could bring some apples
and we could make believe they'
were bananas."
This bright idea was met with
"boos" of scorn from the pirates.
Poor Barbara, she wanted so to
help with the plans, yet no one
was willing to accept her offers.
She tried again.
"How about me bringing my
little cooking-set I got for Christ
mas , ... ?" But she was not
allowed to go on.
"What do you think this Is, a
Coil's house? It's a PI KATE
cave!" shouted Freddie.
Then one of the Marshall boys
looked at her over his shoulder
and said, In a deep masculine
voice. "Say, they don't have
GIRLS In pirate caves. You better
run on home with your doll
dishes."
Barbara walked slowly away to
her tricycle. Boys were not nice
' at all, she thought, and she had
helped to dig that cave. Freddie
didn't say a word to call her back.
She rode slowly home.
As she put her tricycle in the
comer of the garage she whis
pered to no one In particular, "1
hope it rains hard tonight and
then their old cave will wash
away."
But it didn't rain at all, and the
next day Barbara and another lit
tle girl moved their doll dishes
into the cave.
Igloo are more or less mythical.
At least, they were the exception
rather than the rule.
Tho Indian preferred rectangu
lar dwellings fashioned of sap
lings, bark and skins, and he be
came most proficient in the art
of molding a fireplace from clay
and sticks. Tho fireplace soon re
placed tho proverbial sriouldoring
embers in the center of his single
room abode. It served a three
fold purposo for light for heat
and for cooking while the
"buck," his squaw and all their
papooses, with a varied assort
ment of pooches, snuggled to
gether on the hearth aa cozily as
honcymooners In a tunnel.
Moat and fish ever were the
mainstay of the Indian menu,
while bread made from the flour
of dried acorns, berries and herbs
contributed to tho faro which
early distinguished the Indian as
"a good provider.'.'
THE Eskimo usually lived in
conical tents made of skins
during the summer months and
with the approach of winter's
chill moved into a hut built half
underground and made of stone,
turf, bones and dirt The entrance
waa through a long tunnel, so
low one was compelled to crawl.
Eskimos dress entirely in skins
and both men and women wear
jacket suits with trousers tucked
into boots of seal. Writers by the
gross have commented in copiouB
columns about tho genuine jovial
ity of the burly Eskimo. It may
or may not be letting the secret
out of his bag of tricks to record
here that when winter winds
Building
MIRRORS are entering mora
Into the scheme of decora
tions, particularly in modem
homes. The effectiveness of the
illusions of space created by mir
rors, their sleek surface and the
ease with which they can be
shaped to fit any desired space,
appeal to the decorator as Ideal
attributes of a decorating me
dium, Another element which recently
has been Introduced Is the color
ing of mirrors. Now we can get
gold, gunmetal, pink, blue or yel
low or any other color which fits
into the scheme of decorations..
The mirror with a faint pink
tinge la very kind In its reflec
tions; pale faces take on the
healthy appearance of youth.
Gunmetal gives back the Image
without glare and almost without
color, so where dull effects are
wanted this tint or rather lack
of tint Is perfect
A large round mirror la a fa
vorite motif In decorating schemes
and ofton forms the proper relief
from the straight hard lines of
the modern room and furniture.
Bathrooms ,and small dressing
rooms now are lined with mirrors,
sometimes with etched designs on
them and sometimes in color,
which not only servo as the basis
BIRD WAYS
A HEALTHY adult pelican can
eat as much as ten pounds
of fish a day, any day.
A ten-pound turkey has 3860
feathers.
The little birds that light on
the backs of the rhinoceroses are
meat eaters, They live on the in
sects they find there.
Chimney Swifts are the birds
often found living In chimneys.
They can fly straight up and down
quite easily. Before there were
any chimneys, these clever birds
lived In dead trees.
The great Crested Flycatcher
decorates his nest with a snake's
skin.
There are BSO.OOO square miles
In Canada set aside aa bird sanc
tuaries. No on ran fish, hunt or
trap on these lands.
It waa one believed that tur
keys came from Turkey, and thus
those birds were misnamed, just
as Columbus, thinking ha waa In
India, called the American na
tives Indians.
sweep in, driving the thermome
ter to dopths colder than your
frozen assets, Mr. and Mrs. Eski
mo don two suits of skins, one
with tho hair Inside and one with
the hulr outside. These are sel
dom doffed. It seems that the suit
with the hair inside starts tick
ling and all winter long keeps tho
wearer In gales of gleeful giggles.
Both light and heat are pro
vided by a seal-oil lump which
hangs from the roof of the hut.
It Is made of steatite in basin
form with wicks of moss. Ven
tilation being what it is in an
igloo, ere the lamp has burned
long the place becomes extremely
hot and close, the hairy hides '
commence to tickle like lost win
ter's red flannels, and the Eskimo
laughs himself to sleep. But, with
the smell of burning blubber, the
odor of cooking and the closeness
of the place, not to mention the
dogs which sleep In the passage
way, it would be no laughing mat
ter to the confirmed fresh-air
fiend.
FOOD is principally meat, some
times boiled but more often
frozen and eaten raw. Blubber
also is sometimes eaten, but
rarely, because It is more valu
able for light and heat
' The Eskimo Is a prodigious
eater, which might be expected
in the frigidity of his native land.
The daily diet for each individual
goes something like this: two and
one-half pounds of flesh and blub
ber and one pound of fish, in ad
dition to berries and seaweed.
When they feel prosperous, as
much as ten pounds of meat may
be eaten. 'Tis said on reliable au
thority that a male Eskimo will
He on his back and allow his wife
to stuff him with tld-blts of blub
ber until he Is unable to move.
Notes
for the decorative scheme but the
practical purpose of a glorified
pier glass.
' '
In the modern apartment and
small home, every inch of apace
In the kitchen Is allotted Its spe
cial function, so when dish towels
are washed out it Is difficult to
find a place to hang the articles
to dry. Consequently they are
draped all over the house. A con
venient drying rack can be fas
tened to hooks In the kitchen
celling and can be lowered and
raised at will. Wash your towels,
stockings and lingerie; hang them
on the rack; pull them up to the
celling, and there you are!
A shelf across the back of the
coat closet just above the base
board Is a convenient place for
the rubbers and galoshes which
usually clutter up the floor. The
sholf should slope to the wall
and be act about an Inch or an
Inch and a half from the wall
so that dirt and mud can drop
through to the floor, whore It
can be cleaned up more easily.
Before purchasing an old house,
go down into the celler and ex
amine the sills on top of the foun
dation walls and the first-floor
joists. These are the points whero
decay or the depreciations of ter
mites will first take place. If these
are sound, It is safe to assume
the balance of the frame Is sound
also.
Outside wooden steps are sub
ject to rapid deterioration on ac
count of their constant exposure
to the alternating action of rain
and sun. As soon as any "soft
ness" or excessive spring In the
steps Is noticed thoy should be
examined, and any wood showing
signs of decay should be removed
and replaced. If the steps have
been there for any length of time
it might be well to replace the
whole flight
Ffinms
Anywhere in Calltbrnls Any Sire
Sn4 for Catalogue. Sarin ""
or, Contult Tout Broker
CALITORNU LANDS INC.
4JI MXMtMNry Hraw
Satt trwwnc. CaMtMftM
PAGE SEVEN