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About The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 25, 1896)
it: . The Hood River Glacier. f - It's a Cold Day When We Get Left. ' H - rT7. : r r : : 5 YOL. tiii. , hood ftiVEit, Oregon, Friday, December 25, isog. no. 31. OLD YEAR, FAREWELL I AREWELL, far. well, the Deat or friends must part. And us A token of how dear tbou art. How fond aud dear, Old Year, Old Year, Here take a glint of . gold from out uiy hair, A shade of rose from cheek and lip, and there Sprinkle a touch of snow . before you (TO, Old Year, before you ; go. Good-by. God-speed, "'all earthly things must end. One look Into your fading eyes, my friend. So fond and dear. Old Year, Old Year, There's mild regret within uiy heart In place of pain, v All that was sweet In thee shall once again ' . In memory live and make me glad, . ..Old Year; then why be sad? Now that we're parting. 'm Impelled to say, What I've In secret thought for many a day ' Yet still I love you. dear Old Year. ; you've always worn a somewhat somber face, .1.., , You've never had the winsome sprightly grace ; , That I remember In your foregone Kin, Old Year, that I have ushered in. ... Your stay was shorter, too. It seems to me. Than that of former years was wont to be. , Oh, fond and dear Old Year, Old Year, i. Mayhap for me all time Is near complete, . And toward the end you're hast'ulug with , - glad feet. ' i - ; Theu speed, no longer stay, Old Year, go swift thy way! . A Dakota , night.' The . prairie, Wrapped in mysterious shadows, rolls away to the south and van ishes among the ghostly stars.- Through the sedges of the marsh the night wind sighs fitfully; am3 he frogs,, from their reedy '""haunts, " croak a hoarse aoco'in paniment. r v ,.. . ForHnng -Brynjulson, - smoking in the dobr o'f his ''shack, and looking out over the moonlit plain and coteaux, there is but one word iu- the heart, one song on the lips of nature; Christina! , Well, indeed, did Hans remember her Iraids of golden hair her sparkling eye's the fair beauty of her ...northern, face. They had parted but that was long ago. "You will make your fortune in Amer ica, Hans. Be brave. 1 .will' come when you want me. God be with you, my dear one!'i.t.. , .', ... .,..'.,.,-,.... Not a day passed but these - words leaped from the memory to the heart of Hans Brynjulson. They we're oftener on his lips than were his prayers. , -1 ' . The first year, the dreaded southwest wind .searched;, and' withered a field al most ready " for" the reaper, but Hans saved enough grain to plant the land again.. Thic second - year,. -crops ' were backward and the wheat was "nipped" by fros.t andrshrivoled and blackened in the husk. The third year crops were beaten to the ground by bail.,' . T :,. How had. Hans contrived to keep body and soul .together during these years of trial? By mortgaging his; possessions. l-g claim, his horses, his farming imple mentseverything had been laid under contribution to tide him over the hard times-;-' -.- . ; - , i- . In his hands he. had a letter. It was dark and he could not read it but this was' "unnecessary.' He had conned - ft word for word until he could have recited It by note. The letter-was from Chris tina. She told her lover, in simple words, that she could not remain away from him longer, A longer absence, for her, was worse than death." - Surely, her willing hands would Vrve a mighty factor in his hard life. The meanest drudgery at his side and for him would be. happiness for her: '..The Stockholm sailed on the 1st of December for New York. Could he not send her money to . pay her-' passage? If so, she would come third-class all the way,'- God ' bless him for the faithful lover that he wast1 '' .", t Poor Hans! He had never written Christina of his heroic struggle with fate. What should he do now? Tell her all? No, no. ' His heart rebelled against such a oo.urs.eu..: Fair, loyal Christina! i He would send her the pnssage money. But where was he to get it? He started sud denly to his feet. The moonbeams, strik ing his haggard face, wreathed it with a strange beauty. - . "Ay skall do't," he murmured in" his broken English; "ay skall see'Messer Yonson in da niornin'!" . . .-, v;.., '"Say, do yon lnowT what that 'ere 'i.d,'KiTHi P'B LITTLE CHRISTINA, crazy Swede from' Pony Gulch has been :-up to.?" '.... . : " i Clirisl,arkiny the blacksmith, dropped the head of his hammer on the anvil and : supportel himself on the handle with his barteV'shewy arms as he addressed this . sentence to Cal Higgins, a farmer. " ,Whatnowr asked Higsins. "What's t& la tea?" 0 tMPy mm "Gone an' mortgaged himself to Law yer Johnson for $100." ; , ' ' ;. " 'Tain't possible!" - - " 'Tis, too--but it can't be legal." "S'pose the Swede can't pay up when the mortgage is due?" .. ' ! "Johnson'll foreclose, I s'pose." "Then he'd own the Swede, hey?" "More'n likely. Then he c'd hire him out by the day, ye see, on' git his money back in that way." "When's the mortgage due?" "New Year's Day." .. . - ' "What did the Swede want tbe money for?" ' "Dunno. He went over to the post office, bought a monry Order an' sent away ev'ry plagued cent!" "Don't that beat all!'1 exclaimed Hig gins, disgustedly; "that's jest ike them ; Swedes. Some fool spekerlatijn, I'll- bet a copper." . ' . It was Christmas Day. ' , In the nooks and crannies cf Wells County there was a bare suggestion of snow. The white flakes were :im:sually backward, that year, in taking possession of the country and the settlers shook their heads forebodingly as they spoke of a "green Christmas" and a "fat church yard.". '..'.". "Don't worry Chris,'"V remrirked the conductor of the passenger train that had thundered up to the station, "we'll have a regular, bender to make up for this. When the snow comes,, it'll be on u all in a heap -see if it ain't. . What's the matter, my man?". . The last words were spoken to Hans Brynjulson, who had touched the con ductor on the arm. "Ay been lo'kin' f'r mae little Chris tina by dees rraiii, but Ay can't see her, no place " began poor Hans. ' "Ah," went on the conductor, with a laugh, "some girl -.from -the States that you're going to marry! , No there were no passengers for Sykeston." Hans turned With a sigh. The post master wa"s. walking off with the maii pouch. and the forlorn Swede followed. He .had ji vague thought that the mail pouch might contain some news for him. Half au hour later the letters and, par cels had been assorted and the postmaster began distributing them to -the waiting throng. There were Christmas presents and loving tidings from dear ones in the East and many a .pioneer's face wreathed with happiness as the letters were read or the presents tucked snugly away in warm breast pockets. . "Here's something' for you, Hans," called the postmaster, and the pale-faced man who had been lingering near the door, doubtful but expectant, started for ward with a smile and an outstretched hand. That handwriting! The letter was from Christina! The envelope was hastily torn open and a pair of happy blue eyes began perusing the text. Suddenly, the happy light vanished from the face. Hans Brynjulson's limbs grew rigid and he lurched over against tbe counter with a moan of anguish. .English words, even in a free transla tion, are powerless to catch the pathetic vein that ran through Hans Brynjulson's letter, but here are its contents, done into our own language: : On board S. S. Stockholm, Dec. 10. My Dear One: . When you read this, my faithful love,, she who writes It will be with you but In the spirit. I am to die, the ship's doctor says, and I thank God that I have the strength to send you th'.s last word. I would that Our Heavenly Father had spared me to work for you, but, since this Is Impossible, work dou bly hard for yourself. Be brave, dear Hans, for my sake. Be patient and you will be fortunate. God tempers the wind to his stricken children aud he will not forget thee, my darlli g. My strength ebbs fast a last farewell. CHRISTINA. As the shades of evening crept over the sky and brought out, one by one, the cold, clear-cut stars, the words of a "IT'S HANS BRTNJUI.SON I" Christmas carol floated through the doors of the little Sykeston church and settled, like So many spirits of peace, over tbe qu!t village. ' A man, reeling through the semi-darkness, heard the song and stopped to lisr ten. As the last bar of the song died away, its cadence was broken by a disr cordant groan. A moment later as Law yer Johnson with his wife and little daughter came out of the church, he near- ly stumbled over the form of a man lying prbne upon the ground. "Why," he exclaimed, "it's Hans Bryn julson!" "Let him lie where he is," said Mrs." Johnson; "he's drunk, no doubt." ' "Well, drunk or sober, if he lies hete he'll freeze. It means a hundred dollars to me," said the lawyer, grimly; "ah, he's reviving. Come, come, my man, don't you know where you are?" ' "Messer Yonson?" returned Hans inter rogatively. "Yes, yes; get up and follow us.' You'll freeze to death lying there. You rnust't freeze, you know. It wouldn't be treat ing me fair. You understand why, eh? You can sleep In my barn to-night," .. ..,' ' The day after New Year's dawned with a calm that would have been foreboding, had not unusual weather so far marked the winter in Wells County. . p Little Bessie Johnson went to school in the morning and she had been gone from home an hour when a black cloud, rifted with wind, appeared in the north west. Like a great ominous banner, battle-scarred and brushing its ragged streamers across the sky, the cloud came on with racehorse speed. And then came the blast in all its fury. Helter-skelter, here and ' there, blew the wild white flakes; rushing around the corner of Law yer Johnson's house with an angry roar, the bits of snow played hide-and-seek among the eaves and then skurried away in the mad gambols of a whirlwind. "Goodness me, Silas," said Mrs. John son, turning from the window, "I can't see a yard away. What will become of Bessie?" ' ' - . "She'll be all right don't worry. The teacher will not let the scholars leave the schoolhouse until the blizzard is over." 4 ''ears, however, if long enough persist ed, in, will shake the stoutest- confidence. Thjus it was with the lawyer, and when, some moments laterLhis wife suggested tin' sec Hi he, ar do his 1 Hj am sie api tht to ma tha WOl ta' Brynjulson received , the information without comment and once more vanished into the storm. . ' , Of what he did after this absolutely nothing is known. The lawyer's daugh ter could not tell. She started home, she said, was overtaken by the storm and finally grew bewildered. Struggling vain ly for what seemed an interminably long time she had finally sunk senseless and exhausted into the snow. , When found she was snugly wrapped in the lawyer's fur coat while a pair of thin, rigid arms folded her close as though to protect her from the. drifting flakes. And when the snow was brushed from Hans Brynjulson's icy face, con gealed tears were found in the eye-lashes, and about the mouth mystery unsolva- ble there hovered a smile. Happinesi crowned with tears! Perhaps they were tears of joy; .per haps the boisterous winter winds bec'am summer zephyrs in the ears of Hani Brynjulson and whispered to him th word, "Christina, Christina, perhapi this also was the burden of the snow, flakes as they rustled down over him and wove their spotless woof into the weft of his life. Lawyer Johnson caused it to be dulj known that Hans Brynjulson had can celled his mortgage and it was Mrs. Johnson's own hand that gave the doc ment to the fire. W. W. Cook, in Detroit Free Press. . ' - - . :, How Not to Break Resolutions. - Ah, glorious resolution . , - " 1 Would you know how not to break It? Oh, friends and fellow citizens, , t The way Is not to make.It. Watching for Santa Clans. - 1 " tfi' ftd CARLISLE'S 'REPORT. Statement of the Government's Finan- -elal Condition Debt U Inoreaslns;. Washington, Deo. 23. Secretary Carlisle, in his annual report on the , state of the finances shows the revenues of the government from all sources to have been 400,475,408, and the expen ditures $434,678,654, which leaves a deficit for the year ended June 1, 1896, of $25,203,245. In addition to the ordinary revenues 1 collected daring the year the oaah in the treasury was increased by the fol lowing sums: From the sale of 100,000,000 4 per cent thirty-year .bonds till. 166,246; aud from the issue of 4 per oent bonds in liquidation of interest accrued on -refunding certificates converted dnring the year, $4,180, making a total of Hll.170,876. As compared, with the fisoal year 1895, the reoeipts for 1896 inoreased $19,102,215, of which the following are the prinoipai items of increase: : Customs .. 7,863,134 Internal revenue r 3,341,1(12 Profit on coinage of bullion doposited, etc 1,256,512 Postal service 5,516,0ISU There is shown to have been a de crease in ordinary expenditures of $4, 015,852. ESTIMATE FOR THIS" YEAR. The revenues of the government for the current . fiscal year are thus esti mated upon the basis of existing laws: - Front customs ; , ....148,O0O,0O0 From internal revenue 160,000,000 Miscellaneous sources 20,000,000 From postal service 89,793,120 . Total estimated revenue.............. $107.793,ll!0 . The expenditures for the same period are estimated at $472,293,120, leaving an estimated deficiency for the year of $64,500,000. These estimates of receipts and ex- . penditures, the secretary says, are ' made upon the assumption that there will be no substantial ohange in exist ing business conditions, and that the present scale of public expenditures will not be reduced. But if our ordin ary business aotivity should be resumed and the consumption of artioles subject to taxation should increase to its ' normal proportions, there may be, in fact, no defioienoy in our revenues. LAWYER STEEVES ACQUITTED. Jury . Came to an Agreement After Three Days. - . s ;' ., Portland, Or., Deo. 23. Xenophon N. Steeves is a free man, This morn ing at Hillsboro at 10 o'clock the one jaror who hung out for conviction cap itulated, and a verdict of aoquittal was returned to Judge MoBride's court. For over twenty-four hours the ballot stood eleven for aoquittal and one for conviotion. Saturday the jury stood ten for acquittal and two for convio tion, but yesterday one of 'the obstinate jurors gave up and sometime last night the twelfth man voted "not guilty" and the jury went to sleep. This morning when the baliff of tbe court was called he was informed that an agreement bad been reached. Juror Catchings was indisposed from the long confinement. , He became so ill yesterday that he had to be taken to a physioian. The great expense of the trial and the time and care expended in trying the case demanded a verdict one way or another, and when ' the result was announced in Portland general satis faction was expressed. The Steeves jury locked up last Friday evening and up to last night it was generally expected there would be a disagree ment. . ' . . .... ' ; Steeves returns to Portland this evening. ' He was the reoipient of many congratulations from friends to- ' day on his aoquittal. His friends in Portland have been confidont of his ao quittal throughout, and have resolutely stood by him during the trial. . A HEAVY FAILURE. , Natl-nal Bank of Illinois Closes Its . Duori Was a Large Concern. . Chicago, Deo.,. 23. The National Bank of Illinois, one of the oldest and best-known banking institutions in the city, with assets of between $12,000, 000 and $15,000,000, . closed today.. The following notice was posted oh the doors before banking hours: "'This bank is in the hands of the national bank examiner, by order of .the controller of the treasury." This action was deoided upon at a meeting of i the directors last night after the bank had been suspended from the Clearing House Association' of Chicago. , ' Of the sixteen banks that oleared through the National Bank of Illinois, two are. closed E. S. Dyer & Co. and . Warmansdorf & Heineman. . These two. are mortgage loan banks and savings societies in a small way, ' and their failure is not expected to affeot any business 'houses.. The assets of E. S. Dyer & Co. are given1 at $1,000,000; liabiliites, $1,200,000- Warmansdorf's assets are $650,000; liabilities, $400, 000. The Seourity Title & Trust Company-was appointed reoeiver for both firms. : ' . . ,y ' -,- ' ';'..;' ':":"' '; Six banks have made arrangements to clear through other banks, and the. remainder of the sixteen are making -similar arrangements as fast as possible. The failure was a great surprise in financial and business circles. The ' cause, of the suspension, as given in resolutions, are' "unwarrantable and injudioious loans'" Si J ' . ;-,