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
' . ;-,