Image provided by: Yamhill County Historical Society; McMinnville, OR
About The Yamhill County reporter. (McMinnville, Or.) 1886-1904 | View Entire Issue (April 29, 1898)
MAXIM AND HIS FAMOUS GUN. HOW TO ENLIST IN THE ARMY. Not One in Ten Can Come Up to Uncle Sam’s Requirements. Many are called, or think they are called, to serve Uncle Sam In the regu lar army, but few are chosen. The swaggering tough stands on the walk outside of the city recruiting office, and says, with a leer, "I guess dey’ll take all dey kin git” Then he goes up stairs and finds that 93 out of 100 are rejected. Including himself. The army varies from the navy In the fact that there is no ban to promotion from the ranks to the highest grade. General Nelson A. Mlles, at the head of the United States army, Is uot a graduate INDIAN SWEAT BATHS. Natives of British Columbia Parboil Themselves. The N'hla-Kapmuh Indians of the Interior of British Columbia have sweathouses and indulge in a treat somewhat similar to our Turkish bath. By the side of streams of melted snow, at some distance from the vil lage, among the pines and tlrs, are two curious structures. One is made of small poles set up like the roof of a house. These are covered with fir boughs, and finally with earth, the door, facing the setting sun, has a blanket hanging over it Within, on the south side. Is a circular hole (In the ground) about two feet In diameter and one foot deep, filled with burned and crackled stones. The remainder of the floor Is covered deep with a soft lied of fir twigs. In front of the door one will •ee traces of a good-sized fire, and many stones, both those that have been burn ed and blackened in the fire and those brought near, but still unused. This Is the men’s sweathouse, or part of the bathing outfit of the village. The other structure is similar to this in essentials, but at this particular village It is not covered with soil. It Is roofed with blanket mats or skins when in use. This Is the sweathouse for the women. When the N’hla-Kapmuh wants to take a bath be builds a fire and heats a number of stones. These he rolls Into the hole in the floor of the village sweat house. He then enters, closes the door with his blanket, and reclines on the new bed of tlr boughs. Here he lies until In the close small hut, with no opeulng for ventilation, and close to the roasted rocks, he perspires as free ly as do the stokers In the hold of an ocean liner. He then rushes from the bouse and leaps Into tlie melted snow of the mountain torrent. Returning to the sweathouse, he repeats the opera tion until satisfied that every |>ore of his skin has tss-n cleansed by this vig orous treatment. These Indians say tney take this bath about once a month, and one may well imagine that that is sufficient, for it is not hard to believe that the absence of sick people at the village Is due to this trying custom. Ethnology of Kissing. The kiss was unknown nmong the «{»original trlls-s of America and of Central Africa. 1-Tom the most ancient times, however, it has ts-en familiar to the Asiatic and European races. The Latins divided it into three forms—the osculum. the basluiu ami the suavlo- lum—the first being the kiss of friend ship and respect, the second of cere mony and the third of love. The Sem ites always employed the kiss, and Job speaks of It as |>art of tlielr sacred rites, as It Is to-day In the Roman Catholic Church. The Mongolian kiss Is not the same ns that which prevails with us. In It the lips do not come into actual contact with those of the person klsstsl. The nose is brought Into light contact with the cheek, forehead or hand; the breath Is drawn slowly through the nostrils, and the act ends with a slight smack of the lips. The Chines«' consider our mode of kissing meet detestable. We ou our part regard their method with equal disdain. Darwin and other naturalists have attempted to trace twick the kiss to the act of the lower animals who seize theli prey with their teeth. The average man does not take a great deal of In terest In the ethnology of the subject, however.—IxMidon Mull. The Interior of Patagonia. Professor J. IL Hatcher, of Princeton University, has newly returmsl from n remarkable trip of exploration lu a hitherto unknown region of South Africa—namely, the wild interior of Putagonla. He visited Washington a few «lays ago for the purpose of de positing with the Burvuu of Ethnology a rich collection of objects Illustrating the mode of life of th«* various tril>es of aborigines In that port of the world. These Datives are among the strangest and most picturesque savages In exist ence, Borne of them being descrltied as representing almost the lowest stage In the scale of human development. Their country, too, is more than ordinarily Interesting, being associated since the earliest times with rumors of gigantic human Inhabitants and an astonishing fauna. Quite recently some skeletons of birds that had heads as big as those of horses have actually been dug up. They stood at least nine feet high, and had short wings, claws like an eagle's and a beak like a condor’s. It Is likely that they attacked with success the largest mammals contemporary with them, being the biggest fowls of prey that ever lived; but they liecame ex tinct long ago, and so there was no op portunity for Professor Hatcher to se cure a living specimen. Italian Marriage Brokers, In Genoa there are regular marriage brokers who have lists of marriageable girls of the different classes with notes of their personal attractions, fortunes and circumstances. These l»roker8 go about endeavoring to arrange connec tions In the same off-hand way that they would a merchandise transaction. Marriages there art* more often a sim ple matter of business calculation, gen- erally settled by the relatives, who often draw up the contract before the parties have seen each other. It Is only when everything has been arranged and a few days previous to the mar riage ceremony that the future hus- —L band is Introduced to his Intended wife. Should he find fault with her manners and njHMirance he may annul th«' con tract on condition of defraying th«' brokerage ami any other expenses In curred. Marble In Australia. Fine marbles of various colors have tHM'n found In several districts of New South Wales. A pure white Is equal to th*1 second-class Carrara; another species is black, with white streaks and gold markings. There are grays and browns of various tints nnd In th«' vicinity of Lucknow are immense d«'- poalts of green serpentine well worthy of attention. A RECRUITING OFFICER. of West Point, and there are many In stances of private soldiers and even "outsiders” becoming commissioned of ficers. The appointments to the war school of Instruction nt West Point, on the Hudson River, fifty miles nlxjve New York City, are made by Congressmen, each representative having the right to detail an eligible youth, between the ages of 18 aud 21, from his district when it Is not represented at the Mili tary Academy. The President also has been given the authority to appoint ten. “at large.” and usually grants the favor to the son of a former or present officer of either branch of the military (which Includes navy nnd army) service. Entrance examinations nnd annual reviews of book knowledge are the same ns at the naval academy, and during the summer the cadets go Into camp near West Point. The fact is that, aside from drills In seamanship, howit zer and boat practice, the course of In struction at both the academies. West Point and Annapolis, is very similar, for the naval cadets are exercised In infantry tactics, fencing and broad sword exercises, ami on their dally evening parade present fully as Impos ing a presence and exactitude ot mar tial stride as the military pupils. Th*' special difference between the two schools is In the age ami pay of the students. The West-Pointers, as Indi cated lu the age requirement for ad mission, are older men, and, while their annual stipend during the scholastic term of four years Is about the same as that given at Annapolis, upon gradua tion they become second lieutenants, and receive a larger salary than that allott**«l to those completing the course at the naval academy. Promotion with them to the grades of first lieutenant, captain, major, lieu tenant colonel, colonel ami brigadier general Is fully as slow as It Is In the naval service, but their compensation Is always comparatively larger. For this one reason the army might be con sider*'«! the more favorite branch of military service, yet there has never been any ¡sipular or privately deter mined feeling that It was so. To those that wish to enlist ns pri vates there are recruitlog stations to be found In every large city of the Unltcl Initiait Sharpshooters. Wonderful laioni. Mr. Hunter—I have a speaking sc quaintance with Mias Throckmorton. Mr. f»i>atts—You are very lucky. All her other acquaintances are listening acquaintances.—Judge. The Uncle—Are you entirely satisfied with your loti The Niece (still angry at her grandfather’s will)—No, I’m uot It ought to have a house on H.—Har lem Life. Cloves often savor of the spice of wickediH'aa. little good to the crop from them. When we take into account that much of the exi>euse of commercial fertilizers con sists In the cost of distributing them evenly through the soil. It will be seen that the highest priced. If also the best, may be really the cheapest. Unplowed Headlands, Gate« for Handling Hogs. The device shown In the accompany ing illustrations for handling hogs 1 when they are to be rung or for other purposes. Is very useful on the ordinary I farm. The first picture represents a 1 chute and gates which will shut behind • THEY MINED IN ALASKA. “OJIbway Joe,” the Chippewa chief, who died In Superior, Wls., the other day. Is sal«l to have kllleil mor«' North erners thiui any other man in the Con federate armies. He was a sharpshoot er. having joined the Confederacy b«'- cause of a personal grievance against the Fv*leraJ Government. Recent Improvements In the Millar loom will. It Is claim«*«!, revolutionise th«1 weaving Industry, as, with less at tention than ordinary. It will turn out from 140 to 200 yards of worsted coat ings In ten hours. I ! I Lost Only Their Labor and $1O Ten Apiece in Six Months’ Operations. THE RECRUITING OFFICE. TURKISH BAT1I OF INDIANS. may be very rapid In time of war. If he is an educated man and of any es- [j«*clal ability, he may be wearing a colonel’s epaulets before he returns from the fields of battle. In the piping times of peace his advancement is to that of corporal and sergeant, technlo- ally termed noncommissioned officers, and then If he has Influence or his own Individuality dominates he may be al low*^ to attempt the examination for a first lieutenancy. If he succeeds In pass ing both the physical and mental de mands, he Is then a commissioned offi cer In the United States army, and his career Is as free before him as If he nad all the training and glories of a West Point course. The signal corps of the army Is also an excellent branch of the service, but the complement is limited, and admis sions generally are rare. The men In it form a sort of Independent corps and of a class relatively between a private and a minor commissioned officer If you desire to enlist, you must be between 21 and SOyears of age, of good character nnd habits, ablebodled, not less than 5 feet 4 inches in height and weigh between 128 and 190 pounds. If your height Is above 5 feet 10 Inches and your tvelght more than 165 pounds, you may join the artillery or Infantry, but not the cavalry. MAGNET THAT DOES THS BUSINESS. States, ami the applicant may select either the cavalry, infantry or artillery. The applicant must nect'ssarlly fill the special requirement« of age, stature and cheat measure ami be In good bodily condition. If so, he la very liable to be '.mediately enrolled ami receive clothes, ■belter. boanL meillclne, surgical at tendance when necessary aud the ex orbitant cash sum of $ 13 a month. But. then, the entire allotment Is worth $43 or $3o a month, ami there are some men who can’t earn this sum. The promotion of the private soldier Every one who had ever been In Alaska of course began at the opening of the Klondike craze to relate personal experiences which In some way or other had connection with the subject of gold mining. Many of them had a chance to make a fortune, if they had only known, and others saw millions, more or less, taken out of the ground with a broken shovel, and the man whose only capital it was come back tc the States and live happily ever after ward. But In spite of the Ingenuity which has been put Into the manufac ture of these stories, there is an orig inal flavor to one told by a soldier at present located In the United States army In this city. It was In 1880, when he was In the navy, that he was stationed on a vessel near Sitka. There was considerable gold l>t'ing taken out near there, and an enterprising speculator got hold of a party of marines on the ship and In duced them to buy his mine. There were 100 of them who finally went Into the scheme, and they paid $10 each for their new source of wealth. There was always a good deal of sjtare time on their hands, and they easily secured permission to use this In working their claim. For six months the soldiers dug quartz by day and dreamed of suddeq wealth by night. All were confident of being able to retire from the service with comfortable riches, and looked sadly on the poor officers, who would have to keep on soldiering all their lives, not being in the scheme. At the end of six months they had a large pile of quartz, and, loading it Into all the old barrels, bags and provision cases they could find, they sent It by ship to the nearest crushing mill. Then followed weeks of waiting till the re turns should come, and an air of sub dued Importance grew in each man who expected at any time to be inform ed that he was worth thousands of dol lars. At last the ship came which brought the returns from the consign ment and the gallant hundred gathered around the treasurer of the company to hear how much each was now worth. That individual opened the message, and a grim smile froze on his face as he went through a short calculation on the back of the envelope. “Gentlemen,” he said, “you each owe the sum of ten cents to the steamship company that carried the quartz. The gold In It was just $10 short of the freight charges.” And then he passed his hat, while one of their number sought out the ship’s chaplain to lead In a short ser vice.—Springfield Republican. ANECDOTES OF STANTON. How the Great War Secretary Helped ail Injure«l Mail in Pittsburg. Th*' school children of Steubenville, O.. have contributed the money for a memorial tablet to be piace*l on *he house where the great war secretary was born, says the Boston Evening Transcript. One of the Steubenville people who knew him In his early man hood tells of an Incident that occurred while he was practicing law In Pitts burg. His mother lived In Steuben ville. Stanton was accustomed to re turn home frequently by boat on the Ohio. One evening when he came on board he saw a poor fellow lying on the forward deck. He Investigated, and learned that the poor fellow had fallen through a hatchway and broken his leg. The fracture remained unset and un cared for. The young lawyer went to tiie captain and nsked what the neg lect meant. The captain replied that the man lived In Pittsburg, and could be attended to when he got home. Mak ing no comment on the Inhumanity, Stanton went to the boat carpenter’s chest and borrowed a saw and ax. He took a stick of wood, cut such a length as he wanted, then he whittled out a set of splints. Then he went to his stateroom, took a sheet from the bed. and tore It Into bandages. He ordered three or four of the crew to assist. The fracture was reduced, the splints nnd bandage« were applied. Stanton went to the cookroom and ordered pre pared a jug of vinegar and water with which to Bteep the swollen parts. Dur ing the ninety miles of the trip from Steubenville he sat by the Injured man applying the bath. When the boat reached Pittsburg he hired n hack and took hts patient to his home. non CHUTE. and before the hog and hold him In position. There Is just room enough for him to stick his nose out and while in this position rings con be Inserted. The sides of the chutes must be much closer together than shown in the en graving, so that the hog cannot turn aixmt. In fact the width should be Just sufficient to allow a hog to pass through. In the second Illustration Is represented the side view of another It Is the practice of many farmers In plowing grass land, especially for hoed crops, to leave an unplowed space, us ually calk'd a headland, on which tlie horse can turn when used In cultivat ing. But with a careful horse this care Is uot necessary In growing corn or potatoes, though the nurseryman’s more valuable stock may justify IL In growing corn, some farmers plant two or throe rows of potatoes next the fence. But these scattering rows of potatoes are difficult to harvest, as the wagon has to be drawn all around a field to gather a few potatoes. We used, In the later years of our farming, to plant corn out to the end of the row. If, while small, a hill of corn was step ped on, there It still time to plant a hill of beans. Yet we always noticed that the outside rows of corn ripened ear lier and had better ears than those In the middle of the field. Most corn is planted too closely to yield the largest amounts of grain.—American Cultiva tor. IHgestlbllty of Ensilage. There can be no doubt that ensilaged food, being succulent, is much more di gestible In winter than the dsy food that it theD supersedes. If there Is a little fermentation In it, that shows that the food Is already partly decom posed and more ready for the gastric juices to act on. But to effect this advantage the succulent ensilage has lost some of its carlsmaceous and more of Its nitrogenous matter. This Is rep resented by the cartonle acid gas at the top of the silo, which Is relied upon to keep It sweet by excluding oxygen aud preventing further fermentation. New Cisterns. DEVICE FOB OPENING GATE. gate and pen so arranged that the door can be opened and shut without getting Into the pen. These devices ore so con venient about the hog lots that It is a surprise that more of them are not in use.—Orange Judd Farmer. Manure for Strawberries. The strawberry plantation requires very heavy manuring to produce its best yield. Every year on most plants there is a succession of berries, the first and second pickings being alinoet always larger and finer than those that rii>en later. But If the later season Is very wet, as It sometimes Is, we have known the later crop to ripen up and be very nearly as good as the first This suggests that In addition to the top dressing applied in winter there ought to be an additional fertilization, while the crop is forming, and this last should be always dissolved in water, so as to be readily available. Nitrate of potash Is the best manure to be thus applied. This Is saltpetre, and costs five to six cents per pound. But a very small lump dissolved In warm water and applied freely will keep the vines fresh and vigorous to the last, and will make a great Increase In the size of the fruit. The labor of applying liquid ma nure Is more than Its cost, and Is great er than can be generally afforded for any other crop than the strawberry. Handy Wheelbarrow. The Iowa Homestead gives an Illus tration of a handy wheelbarrow that may be used about the farm. It is made from the two front or the two hind wheels of a little express wagon which has seen its better days. This wheelbarrow has the advantage of Lav ing the load over the wheels and sus tained by them Instead of being held by the one wheeling IL The design ex It Is a hard matter to use the water from a newly cemented cistern. The common way Is to let It fill up and then stand awhile, then draw the water out and even then the next filling will taste of the cement Instead of all this la bor and waste of time and water, take pearline or salsoda, dissolve It and scrub the cement thoroughly after it is hard. After scrubbing, rinse the cis tern out clean and remove the water. The cistern will then be ready for the water and will taste very little of the cement and can be used at once. Cheap Sweet Potato Plante. A correspondent of the American Ag riculturist says that when sweet pota to vines are about 18 Inches long, cut off 12 or 14 Inches and set out as shown in the Illustration. Treated In this way, this planted vine will raise the THE PLANTED POTATO VINE. best of potatoes and its removal will not Injure the original plant Rust in Carnations. A writer in an English paper gives this recipe for preventing rust in car nations, which he received from a gar dener in Germany, whose plants were unusually fine and In healthy condi tion. He mixes two pounds of vitriol and four of freshly slacked lime In. twenty-seven gallons of water, and stirs well together, until It is clear, not blue, ami then he adds two pounds of sugar and mixes all again. With this he syringes his plants once a week, early In the day. The syringing should be done quickly, finely and evenly. Arbor Vitae Hedges. In order to have a full hedge the plants should be about two feet apart In the row and carefully trimmed once a year. In the fall loosen the top soil on both sides of the hedge and apply wood ashes. Keep a close watch for the basket worm, which does consider able damage to evergreen hedges of this kln*L The plant is best known to some as "flat cedar,” because the leaf nANDT FARM WHEELBARROW. Is flat. It Is one of the most beautiful plains Itself, and the wheelbarrow can ornamental plants grown. be made very easily if the wheels are at Pennntn. hand. Peanuts require a light soil, sandy loam being excellent The seeds are The Aaptiragns Bed. To make a new asparagus bed dig a I planted about throe Inches deep and trench two feet deep and fill It with the soil kept loose. They seem to be rich, well-rotted manure to the dep>th benefited by lime or wood ashes on the of twelve inches. Over the manure soit The plant is very pretty while scatter bone meal and sulphate ot pot growing, and a few of them In a garden ash, any quantity preferred. Then iu!d to Its attractiveness. Plant the cover with three Inches of rich «11 rt, seed« In May, or as soon as possible and on the dirt place the roots, using after danger from frost Is over. The 2-year-ols growth, about two feet seeds should be removed from the apart, as they will thicken in the bed shells, and care should be taken not to every year. Corer with rich dirt, and break the crown skin covering of the throw the soapsuds over the bed when seeds. ever possible to do so. Once an aspara When to Plant the Garden. gus I ms I I s made It should last for twen Do not be deceived by the advance ty years. warm weather of spring and put in the Buying Cheap Fertlllxera.• garden crops too soon. It will be time There Is no longer much desire among enough to complete the planting when well-informed farmers to get the lowest Uie apple trees begin to bloom. A late priced fertilizers with the Idea that frost will destroy all tender plants. these are therefore the cheapest. It Is Cool nights are also detrimental to the Impossible to cheat nature. All the ele growth of such plants as squash, A woman has no cause to hold her ments of fertility, mineral or nitrogen beans, melons, tomatoes and corn. The head above her neighbors, unleaa she ous. cost money, and If little money 1» grountl must tie warm before plants calls her dress makes a modlstfe given for fertilizers, we can expect but will make headway In growth.