The St. Louis Republic. [volume], July 06, 1902, Magazine Section, Image 36

About The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919

Image provided by: State Historical Society of Missouri; Columbia, MO

                
THE REPUBLIC: SUNDAY. JULY G, 1902.
DAUGHTERS OF THE REVOLUTION
HONOR MEMORY OF CAPT. SMITH.
I oWHERE JESSE JAMES. GUERRILLA ROUGH RIDER, RESTS NQW.tx
F
' mSSSSSMf. , -J& - 2 Ik 4 T
lisp wRs,35rIlttV aPSSt uf '
tSqTySifydjSiprjc; fe?C353 a As a border fighter Jesse James was given
fMfrlJ'fSx!StKPaiBT,wi Bk is f"1"! burial, and his former com- .
' SSVsffira ISjiSSJt?yi BoWsB'w "" a. rades In Quantrell's band, who acted as I
7j&Nx?&I M-SilviSir3 JsbbVJV frex ." ife pallbearers. seemed to bring an echo of)
faun ' ii urn" m. i-Hiimr7itnniTyi- n
By a Republic Photographer.
B X. MOTHER OF JESSE JAMES, WITH FRIENDS AXD RELATrVEB.
Urs. Zcrelda. Samuels, the mother. Is the Old lady on the left. leaning upon the arm of
Mrs. HI George. The pallbearers, HI George, Warren "Welch, Sam Whltsett, Frank
Orecc, Bill Gregff end Frank Morrow, who were comrades of Frank and Jesse James In
.QoantrelTa band, are In the foreground.
2. This picture shows the new casket containing tho bandit's body as it was being
placed In tho hearse at the Samuels farm for reinterment at Kearney, Mo.
SnUTTOJ TOR THE BTJNDAY RnrUBUC.
Jesse James's relatives were shocked last
Sunday, when they learned the condition of
his remains. They were supposed to have
been embalmed and buried In a $509 me
Xalllo casket. Even after a lapse of twenty
years It was belloved that tho corpse would
be In a fair state of preservation.
The mystery of who paid for the coffin
in which the noted bandit was originally
burled has never been cleared. When Jesse
James was Killed by Bob Ford at St.
Joseph, Mo., April 13, 1S52, the body laid
there several days, awaiting the arrival
of the bandit's mother, Mrs. Zerelda
Samuel, who went from the farm near
Kearney to claim 1L
Before elie arrived an undertaker received
an order to provide a coffin, which would
be of the ben metal used for the purpose.
He declined to state from whom the order
came, but the impression was general that
(the funds were raised at Jefferson City.
fThe condition of the casket lost Sunday
Indicated that It was of cheap tin, badly
soldered.
When tha picks and shovels, wielded by
a email party of relatives, on the Samuels
farm, penetrated the soft earth and struck
xhe casket, anticipation, mingled with
varied emotions, was written upon each
countenance. Young Jesse James, under the
dripping ehelter of a bullet-riddled tree,
stood with his erais folded. How should he
find hli father, whose real name he never
knew until aflr death7
Perhaps at that moment, while the rain
fell In sweeping gusts, the grassy hillsides
and deep ravines surrounding the farm
.were forgotten blotted out by the memory
of days when an a lad of 7 years he bad
stood at his father's knee nnd heard him
read to his faithful mother newspaper ac
counts of Jes?o James. LJttlo Jesse then
bora his father's assumed name, Howard,
and. was known as "Tim." He did not
then realize the significance of his father's1
irequtnt absence from home or the alcrt
es ever prevailing in fhat home. Nor did
lie appreciate the full purport of a brace
of pistols, which lay constantly in reach,
no matter where hln father moved.
KIP POLLARD LOCATED HOLS
MADE BY FORD'S BUL.LET.
Now he was to seo his father as the wotld
had known him, provided the undertakers'
art had been fairly successful. Childhood
lmpreesScns were to give placo to a mental
imprint from glancing at the corpse Jn no
other way has it been possible for young
Tents to form a mature Idea of how his
father looked at the time of his noted ex
ploits, for Jesse James, after he was 29
years old. never hod a photograph taken.
Out of the grave, seven feet deep. Zip
pollard, one of the diggers, called to young
Jessei
"Send the boys to the side nnd wa will
lift it up."
Through tha drenching rain the email
group of bystanders moved to tho open
place, while Pollard and Zach Loffoon. both
boyhood friend of the bandit, began to
raise the moldy, rust-coverod casket. When
sear the surface tha bottom cf the coffin
t ell eat.
The remains dropped with the excelsior
ied. back Into the grave, and the skull
rolled to one side. Young Jesse turned his
face away for a moment, then gave direc
tions, to throw out the top And tides of the
casket. This was does. Pollard picked' up
the skull and placed it again In the collar
of tho black broadcloth suit which ap
peared bright and glossy, and In strange
contrast to the decay surrounding It.
With the rain beating upon it the skeleton
In its somber wrappings was then lifted to
the surface.
Again the skull rolled off. and Pollard was
the first to part the locks of dark-brown
hair, which still held on, and with his filn
ger find tho hole which Bob Ford's bullet
made. It was an inch behind the left ear.
Young Jesse bent over, examined the hole
and then noticed the gold-filled teeth.
"Yes," he said slowly, "that's where Ford
shot him. The teeth are filled with gold, ns
grandmother has described. We can be
aure lt"Ts my father."
He had In mind his grandmother's fear
that the body might have been stolen, not
wlthstandinf tliat for twenty years sho had
watched the grave from tho doorway of
her little cottage. It was only a few feet
from the door, in the southwest corner of
the yard, nnd beneath the big tree where
her second husband. Doi-:-r Reuben Sam
uel, wan strung up three i ines by officers
who sought to extract from Mm informa
tion concerning the James boys.
Tho remains were carried to the house
and deposited in a cedar coffin, covered
with black cloth. The coffin was rolled into
the room where detective nad thrown the
bomb which killed little Archie Samuels and
tore oft his mother's right arm.
There the casket rst-d uniil the funeral
party arrived in the afternoon.
Splendid Physique Indicated
By Puffs in the Clothing. (
An idea of how Jesse James appeared in
life was had, despite tha .decomposition.
Though the clothes may not "make the
man," the fold? of the old-fashluied Prince
Albert coat, the lest and trousers, in which
the bandit was buried, were eloquent. Broad
ehoulders and a deep chest were denoted by
the puffs and creases which marked the
manner in which the form had once filled
the garmenta The trousers, now partly
crumpled over dust and bones, mutely in
dicated what once were sinewy limbs. Tho
length of the kneleton. about 5 feet 10
Inches, corresponded with accounts of his
height, and it was easy to believe tliat he
weighed 1T0 pounds.
A glance at the face of the skull, with Its ;
high, broad frontal bone and square Jaws, J
afforded a mental picture of the border
warrior as he was in life. Imagination
easily supplied a pair of eyes which have
been described n3 without definite color,
but possessing a gleam, now blue, now
black, and having a peculiar glint that may
be noticed to this day in the eyo of his
brother, Frank James. Among frontiers
men and soldiers It is known as the "marks
man's eye" Alert, yet steady, it Is ever
penetrating. Josrc James Is said to have
had such nn ce.
The heavy brown hair was brushed back
from n parting on the extreme left side,
and even after the skull had rolled upon the
ground It was noted that the brushing ef
fect had a peculiar grace which Zip Pollard
said was characteristic of the man. The
full, brown beard, though neatly trimmed,
stood out aggressively from square, firmly
set Jaws.
Actd frrtTn tho tire nith n? fh- fnrnHnr
and the width between the ears, the back !
formation of the skull indicated brain ca
pacity and intense emotional powers, ac
cording tthe laws of phrenology. A deep
seated bump, following graceful lines, was
there to suggest passion such passlca that
would lead a guerrilla warrior, sufferlns
!. WHERE JESSE JAMES WAS BORN
Log calin on the Samuels form near Kearney. Mo., which has li abandoned,
the door ore partholes through which the Jamet boys fired on pursuers.
from real or Imaginary wrongs, in strenu
ous time?. Into a life of outlawry.
As a border fighter Jesse James was given
his Fecund burial, and his former com
rades in Quantrell's band, who acted as
pallbearers, seemed to bring an echo of
that Interstate strife in which Jesse was
trained as a rough rider. There, perhaps,
he lort the snse of fear, and received the
training which made his career of ad
venture conspicuous In history.
lli George, now a Deputy SherlfT of Jack
son County, who enlisted Frank and Jess?
James in Quantrell's band, may be taken
as a type of James's early companions.
Hugged, fearless In speech and manner and
a dead shot, he speaki of desperate lighting
in the same Jolly way that he tells of hav
ing to cat dog meat on a campnlgn. Upon
joining his fellows on the veranda of the
Burlington Hotel at Kearney last Sunday he
called: "Lookout for scouts!"
The way In whoich he said It seemed to
his hearers as though he would be as will
ing to ride against a body of enemies with
hi bridal rein In his teeth and shooting
with both hands, as he would to sit quietly
and tell a Joke, Frank Gregg, another pall
bearer, who was one of Quantrell's cap
talns. gave the same lmprepslon.
Stern Comradeship of Those
"Who Had Fought Together.
During the proceedings Incident to the re
Interment a certain grlmntss marked tha
bearing of these men. Thy gave the impress-Ion
that no regrets were to be ex
prcssed. No matter what Jesse James was.
or was not, he was their comrade In tho
border warfare, and If that warfare had
anything to do with leading him Into his
Fubsequent career it was not a matter to
lament; ho was still their comrade.
To Frank James and each other they
were "Boys." Their conversion In
Frank's room at the hotel where hte lay
sick while the body of Jesse was being ex
humed at the farm, four miles away, re
lated back to war times. Not a reference
was made to tho years when the James
boys were on the road. Frank never dis
cusses this subject.
Even when the funeral party, composed
of the pallbearers, "members of the family
nnd newspaper correspondents, arrived at
the house In the afternoon, Frank refrained
from calling attention to the old port holes,
or the bullet scars In houses or trees. He
pointed out the room in which his little
half-brother was killed by detectives, and
where his mother was maimed.
"And that is the direction In which they
ran." he said, wavins toward the hill west
of the house. His eyes showed an unusual
gleam, and for the first time his voice re
vealed a trace of feeling. For a second only
the expression of the "marksman's eye"
was Intense.
Visitors unfamiliar with the history of
tho Samuels farm found it difficult to real
ize that amid such a scene took place a
part of tho James series of tragedies. That
here Jesse was born and his family lived.
When the sun came out in the afternoon
the landscape surrounding the whitewashed
farmhouse was the essence of pastoral
peare. Billowy fields of com and crimson
ciover scintillated with drops of water like
diamond dim upon folds of green satin.
Dark cloud"? formed the background, shad
owing the detp ravines that lead from the
farm Into the branches of Clear Creek.
Pool Where the Boys
earned to Swim.
Along the bluffs of this creek the funeral
cortege passed, and from a high elevation
Frank James pointed out a "swimming
hole" which he and Jesse frequented in
boyhocd. Beneath these same bluffs detec
tives afterwards hid. Just as they also con
cealed themselves behind the mock-orange
hedges, where Cow wild roses, elder and
hollyhocks are blooming Midnight raoes of
pursued and pursuers, dead shots and des
perate riders, a score of years ago, took
place on the road over which the silent
funeral procession slowly passed.
From the roadway one could see the
homes of Mrs. Mary Barr. Jesse James's
daughter; John Samuel, his half-brother,
and his half-sisters, Mrs. William Nichol
son and Mrs. Joseph Hall, all of whom
have neatly' Kept cottages, surrounded by
fertile fields, in the black soil of which
grow abundant crops of grain. It is a
garden spot Clay County and visitors are
shown extreme courtesy.
On tho way to tha Samuels farm, th
Over
residents of Kearney had gazed upon tha
rroccssjon of six carriages and a hearsa
from doorways and windows. The rain
had subsided when the funeral party re
turned, and every house along the streets
trtversed reemed deserted. There are only
alj3l two streets, and the route covered
both, the cemetery lielng on the"routHwet
side of the town, while the Samuels farm
is on the northeast.
Loyalty of Friends Who
AKSembled at the Cemetory.
The deserted vlllairo was accounted for
J7 the crowd nsjxmbli-l under the poplars
an3 maples at the emetcry. which may be
sen from afar off. It occupies the nl?h
et hi!! about Kearney. Almost the entire
population awcmb'.ed there, and with th'm
were many jersirs who had driven in
from the country throimh the storm. Mo-t
of the spectators gathered close to the
fresh grave.
Pollard and Iiff-on. who had exhumed
the remains, dug the n-w crave, and the
moment the pallbearers arrival with the
casket long straps ere placed beneath it.
Tlire It was susjiemled until Mrs. Ssmuel.
supported by her son. Troiik James, and
grandson. Jesse. Jr.. nmf up. and stood
at tha hd. "Lower it." Hi George sakl.
and without a word being spoken the coffin
was lowered and the earth piled uin It
Mrs. Samuels, her black veil covering her
face, sobbed quietly. Frank Jarats looked
not so much at the jtrate As he did towards
the West, where the sun. through fU-etins
stormcloudn cast blood-red rays over Mark
thunder caps, and left a rainbow upon the
shimmering green of r.ear-b hills. Young
Jesse's face wore an In-vrutahle expresion.
Members of the family deoted their at
tention to tlw aged m-ther. while tho
spectators cracd over each other" shotiM
tts for a gHmpf? of the siivrr plate on the
top of the orltin bearing the name. "Jeste
James."
From the home was brought a box of sea
shells and some garden pinks, nhlch the
pallbearers iinrl about the little mound.
On one lde Is the grave of Sirs. Jame
and on the Oliver the gravo of Archie Sam
uels. Temporary head and foot boards were
sU in place. twaitlng the removal of the
white phaft from the Famueln' yard, where
the body had retted since April. iWj a few
days alter Bob Ford cut short Jesse's
career.
Mrs. Samuels Will Return
to Old Home.
The new gtave is within a stone's throw
of where once stood the Baptist Church
In which Jese James was baptised in ISC
A minister of the Baptist Church, the Rev
erend Mr. Martin, conducted Jesse's funeral
service thirteen years later. That service
was attended by many who witnessed tha
reinterment, and they agreed with Mrs.
Samuels that a sco!id rt'llgluus ceremony
was not desirable.
"After all the tragedy." said Mrs. Samuels,
"I now hope to spnd the last few years
left to me in peace. I thank God that
Frank has proved to the world that he Is
a good man. an upright citizen. He prom
ises me that next spring, if wo live, he
will go with me to our old home and re
main by me until the end. Jesse Is at rest
wlfh his wife and little brother, and I
now fee' no uneasiness abcut his body. Ilia
soul. I know. Is safe. There, on the farm,
we may be contented, and try. as far as
possible, to let the 'dead past bury Its
dead.' thinking only of the bright side, and
looking to heaven for the future."
W. V. BRUMBY.
Whims of Famous Singers.
Mme. Scalchl wa." In a very sad way If
the met any one who squinted, and she
would co through a whole host of evolu
tion to rid herself of the evil spell.
Mario's foible was smoking. As smoking
was forbidden at tha theater, ha would
never sign a contract until the clause
which made him an exception to the rule
was inserted. He would have his valet
waiting In the wings with a match and a
cigar, and would rush off the stage, taka
a few whiffs, and then return to a tender
love scene. The cigars that he smoked
coat him half a crown, and he never more
than partially finished one. Even the
street boys in London knew him and when
they followed his carriage, cheering, ho
would h-i-ve a handful of coins ready to toss
to them.
SfcUl Con-saetvjfnee of Tie 5aaiay BijoWIs.
London. June 50. No doubt the attention
which the American Daughters of the Rev
olution have bten giving recently to the
deeds of Captein John Smith, and the po
Ject of marking the third centennial of liia
landing in America by the erectkn of a
talue. will cause an unusually large num
ber of Americans to visit the last resting
place of the founder of Virginia while they
are In London this summer.
The remain- of the great colonku ll in
the old and picturesque Church or St. sep
t It-lire, which stand in lloJborn Viaduct,
where It has Newgate I'rt'ftn for a neigh
bor. The Englishman, whose life Poeahon
tai is said to have saved, died in Londort
In 15H. and was burled In St. Sepulchres
because he happened to b vlrttiiig tho
house of a friend who lived in the parish.
Tho church irat partly detmyej in the
great fire that awt-pl aay most of the
London of IMS. and rendered MO.to) pvupie
homeless. The church was one bou.lary of
the conflagration, and Its walls were left
standing together with the stone adorred
with the heads of three nej?re3 which
marked the adventuruus Captain's lat
resting place. The brass tablet to hl mem
ory was destroyed, but fortunately rvords
of It had been left, which mado it possible
to duplicate it In the restored St. Sepul
chre's. The quaint inscription is of uncom
mon Interest Jut now.
There was mere than a touch of pathos
in the life which Captiin Prolth lived in
England aftor he returned from hli second
voyace to America, during which he mada
hl famous explcrations of the coast of
New England. He wk brimful , enthttsl
am over the resources or the new l.ind
from which he had e-nie. arc! eaer to In
fect tho whole comitrv with bis enrti'tsi
asm. He was successful in n'.nltig so nm-h,
and there eerr- small d:ulK that it was
"ic Interest cratcl by hi TVsrriptkm of
New England." 'True Relation of Occur
rence in Virginia," and many o'her trc ,unts
of his travels, thit ontrilxitr. large.- to
the English colonization of Plymouth, ilos
ton and Baltimore. But he wae never to
lead another expedition, as he had o inucn
hojed. The PI) mouth Company made him
"Admiral of New Enilanr." but th-: brok
their promise to appoint him to tbe"l-.i.Jrr-ship
of colonization sirr:,-,. He offer -d to
load the Pilgrim Pnthrrs. who decline! his
services, though tiley :il take obi book
and maps, and &ae the leadership to .Miles
Standhh Instead.
Smith had named the country he had ex
plored "New Rngland." and he had to figct
to have the name kept, as many fo'k wr
envied hirn the honor of having bes!rr-i
It wanted to have It changed to Xusco-icis.
WILL STUDY BIOLOGY IN UN OUTDOOR LABORATORY.
Spehd Cunmwngtace of The Sunday J5oibi!i
Boston July 1. There Is soon to be opened
at Sharon, a. few miles out of this city, a
novsl scientific undertaking to be cull-d
th "Sharon Biological Observatory."
whleh it is axpected will do work of a
kind that has never yet been taken up In
this country In Just thl same way. except
perhaps and then only In part by some
of the official State agricultural experiment
stations. Tho director, to whom the es
tablishment of the obTrvitory ! due. will
be Mr. George W. Fields of the Massachu
setts Institute of Technology, and although
at present the etatlon Is nominally a pri
vate matter. It will be conduced In accord
ance with the advice and with the co-operation
of the biological department of the
Institute, with the intention of putting It
in th- hands of n puMIc bonnl of 'rH,t"I!,
at the first available opportunity. Some rw
aeres of fields nnd pasture-, vallev land
and wooy hillsides have been -et rM ior
the olxervatory. ami the w.rk to b- done
bids fair to become of vital Iroportanee o
the farming- Interest of the wh"le coiinlry
as well as to the general health and hy
gienic life of dwellers In towns and clttes.
Scientists LTare Made the
Acquaintanre of ev Growths.
Bacteriological rtudy will be a Ure part
of the work. There was a time when trie
name bacteria carried with It only an tin-pl-ajunt
suggesti'.n-to most person it
probably does now; but In the past few
years the rcUntlsts have made the e
quaintanre of many becterial arowth that
are lneijclal. It sms almost possible,
for ex.ampl. that some day they wr
well enough understood and trained. If such
an expres-Mon can 1 applied to them.
that thev shall be the means of coiv.-r'ing
the sandy ttretches of cisit land, or per
haps, even the great de-ertn like Saha-a.
Into blooming gardens. And It Is to afford
an opportunity for the Investigation not
only of this, but of every variety of pml
lem connected with natural conditions out
of doors, and of food products, the treat
ment of domestic anlnals. study rl nativo
birds, and the everyday creatures of the
field, that the Sharon observatory Is belns;
established.
The obervatory will supplement and at
the same time cooperate In th modern
methods of i-cientlrle observation that ha
of late y-nrs almost monopolised natural
liltry and .n"l a place where teachers
can bring their cHsses on open-air er'ar
tf .lis. where tlie living er-atures will serve
as object es.on to Illustrate th- Instruc
tion of textbroks. 1-cture". char's and
laboratory laeilgitbms. Not that the rn
lm.1l will be confined In ctige" like th den
izens of a zoo. Rather the obe-rvatory will
be stock-d with all available native birds,
fishes and animals and it is pretty w!l
stocked already for that matter like a
gtrat preserve, so that teachers nnd stu
dents may go hunting for them with rei
cils nnd notebooks Ins leads of g-jns and
game bags.
How Darwin Made It is
Important Discoveries.
Whoever has read any or the many ac
counts of Darwin's methods will remember
that It was largely in this fashion that the
great naturalist mane many of his moat
Important discoveries, and It is the Ifjp ot
those interested In the new observatory to
lenwaken this Intimate acquaintance with
the living creatures as a means of sdn
tlnc investigation. It is believed. In sh-rt.
that the laboratory, with Ita mlcrostpsr in
vestigation of animal organism, is al right
In Its place, but that the livinir animal,
c'lmblng a tree or making lt-:r a l.urr'iw
in the ground, ought not to be altogether
mglected.
Actual opportunity for this Int'mate ac
quaintance with nature Is not often avail
able In the neighborhood of large cities, and
then only in a more or ! haphazard
fashion. One goes out to find a robin, but is
very likely to find only a tramp. Bat at
Sharon, about two miles distant from a
small town, famous for Its health, quiet and
respectability, and only about hair an hour's
railroad Jcijrpev rrom Boston or Provi
dence. Is to be a great preserve wher- th re
are neither tramps nor poachers, and were
the birds, beast and fishes are to he plea
tirul and protected. Moreover, the 3W acres
covered by the observatory Include a widely
diversified territory. There are lowlands
nnd uplands, brooks, ponds, pasture,
marshes and scattering plcc-s of pr'raoval
forest. One may study the niatu.g of HtiH
In spring or the countbjMi tr.k whlcn
birds and beasts have left upon the snow
of a winter's morning with equal fariLty.
and with nothing but the time-tab!- in your
pocket to recall the fact that one Is within
fifty miles of a great city.
Nature study is the subject of the course
wrich tha Institute of Technology gives at
the observatory tor the first time during the
present summer, primarily for teachers
and others whose time Is too much taken
up during the winter to permit attendance
at schools or colleges. The work iail down
for the summer school very well Illustrates
the relation between the observatory and
schools In general for the Institution is by
no means Intended as a great recreation
park for persons who like to see the birds
and animals without desiring any more in-
I h
ill
r tftfli 1
WHERE CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH IS BURIED.
St. Sepulchre's Church. In London.
Canada or Perm.iqull. The hope that he
might yet lead colonist to America, died
hard In him.
He wrote work after wcrk descriptive of
America, and ilnnlly took to traveling? about
the country Isjrlbutlijg them gratl. snd
never failed to send a whole armful to any
rich noMeman whom he had h"ard was fit
tins out an expedition perhaps the disap
pointment over not pettintr a commnny
irt-yed upon his mind, perhaps the life of
xcitement. advrtfre p.nd physical strain
hid told op his constitution mor3 than he
tbouglit. but his health gradually broke
down, until he died at the early age of 51.
During his Inst years in England. Captain
STsIth seems to have had no home of his
own. but to have spent mo3t of his tima
w:th different old friends. Most of the
lat work he did a history of the sea wat
turned o"t at the home of Sir Humphrey
Vildmiv. In Isox. but he died while vis
irntr Sir S -n-url Sa!ton.UU. In the Parish
of 3t S. puicre. From that gentleman's
A BIT OF THE "BIOLOGICAL.
tlmat- scientific acquaintance. Th? students
will b-c:n w.ti. g. r.eral blolosy the study
of thoe processes of the living organism
which are common to animal end vegetable
life, ard embracing, therefore, a general
laboratory and text-look knowledge of
p'ants and animals with the whole observa
tory as a dally utjl lejwon. Thn. on this
InsH of g-n"al knowledge, the course will
cover suceedvely "everal branch's of ioo!
ogv and botany, and the students will thus
lienwie r-niUariz- d with animals ns animals
and w.th plant' as p!ant. Finally, the last
week of the course will be devoted to physi
osrnphy the why and wherefore, ns it
were, of k ocraphy. and will Illustrate bit
1-- bit the natural processes that have de-it-loped
the hills, valleys, brooks and pomis
of the observatory. But the Influence of
the obeervatoty naturally does not stop
tl-ere.
But th? is. after all. only fl small r"rt cf
the programme of the new lntitutIoru It?
direct bearing upon economic pr.Jems Is
p-rhape of even greater Importance.
There Is the "nltroeen rtxirjc; organism."
fer example, which !nll the josstbiiiiv of
turning the desert of Sihnr-. c b-for-mentioned
Into a sr!en Thfc mfcrolie,
which is still so n w In "ientlfic recogni
tion that it has r-ally not been christened,
although It has pparr I commercially un
der various1 names given St by manufactur
ing comp.nla. lives at the roots of clover
and other leguminous plants, and manages.
by some aa yet unknown process, to ex
tiact nitrogen from the air with the plant
as a medium of transmission. Apparently.
tl.nt 1. the little microbe sucks nitrogen
out of the air. using the plant very much
aa a thirsty customer makes use of a straw
in abstracting the liquid portion of an lea
cream soda. The plant, however, still gets
the b-nerlt of the nliroeen. and so does the
soil In which It It growing. The fact Itself
was Hscovrred when srltntlfle investigation
began seeking a rM"on why the planting
of clover In soil from which agriculture
had already exhaurted the nitrogen, re
stored the soil to its crlglnnl condition and
made it serviceable .'or the planting of
other crt.s. And it was found that this
kindly microbe could be artificially trans
ferred to certain oilier plants which could
thus be grown In what had always been
considered hostile territory. The discovery
Itself simply opens th field to a long series
of future experiments and its possibilities
can only afl yet to distantly Imagined.
Again there Is the microbe that purifies
sen use and this Is only one out of many
othr microbes which are engaged in a
work of purification of one kind or another
that h a material aid to humanity and
that is now being Investigated at th- Insti
tute, and for whoe comfort special ar
rangements are likely to lie made at the
Sharon observatory. In the animal king
dom tnere are likewise a long Hat of possi
ble Investigations. It has been recently
proved at the Institute, for example, that
a certain system of feeding hns produces
an egg In which there Is a marked addition
of Iron. There Is the posIble development.
by feeding, grafting, or mating, of new or
special breed of plants, fruits, trees, pig
eons. er poultry. There Is the Improve
ment of food products of all descriptions;
even the Belgian hare, which most persons
regard as a luxury. Is excellent food and
very like a chicken, acordlng to those
who have eaten it in California. But the
question of the best methods of breeding
the chicken-Hka Belgian hare In the cli
mate of New Ensland Is still a subject for
experiment and observation. And this list
is a mere suggestion of the relation be
tween sclenc and the problems of every
day existence, for which the new observa
tory Is Intended to offer a place for careful
Investigation and solution.
The observatory is thus meant to mrve
a two-fold purpose. In Its relation to all
house Is dated the qm'nt will which tho
Captain drew upon the day he died, and
which begins: "I. John Smith, being slcka
In bodys. but of perfect mind and memory,
thanckes be given to AlmigMIe 1 there
fore." Th old warrior had ah"ut JS.CO
In the shape of lands and houses. wMch he
left to his friend Thomas Parker a clerk
in the Privy Seal Office, on condition that
Parker bury him. pay all debts and distrib
ute various little legacies. To his brother's
wire he left "the some cf fowerscore po'icd9
cf iawfu.il money of England." nnd to his
"coen." Stephen," "ten pourtdes." To Par
ker's son he willed his 'trunck.' which ha
said would be found la Sir Samuel Soltcn
etall's houe. and "my beste suit of ap
parell of a tawney color, hose, doublet. Jer
kin and cloakt."
He nlso made provision for his monu
mentfor he was determined to be remem
beredand set apart no less than K'0 to pro
vide the n. st stately funeral that London
could supply.
OBSERVATORY" AT SHARON. MASS.
.he schools In Its Immediate vletelty B
will be a permanent Mecca fcr the ednca
tlonal pilgrimage of teachers and students
a typical Naw England countryside pre
served nrlth all its present natural comple
ment of birds, beasts, fishes and iceneryj
tarring, of course, the larger wild animals.
In its broader sense It offers an opportunity
for all the men or corporations Interested
In modern economic problems from a Stata
( government anxious to develop the best and
i mot economical method of sewage disposal
I to a private person seeking to perfect soma
! half-achieved Improvement In tha growth
j of cereals or the breeding of poultry to ei
j p-riment under the best possible conditions
J and with the advice and instruction of the
j technology biologists. The possibilities ara
( apparently unlimited for the actual scien
1 tiflc study of agr.etilture. and of all food
1 products is practically Just beclnnlnr. and
1 there Is hardly n department of life upon
which the Investigations already ttnder way
j do not mere or leos directly touch. Stata
i agricultural experiment stations, such as
I that at Amherst, in this State, have al-
r-ady Khown somo of thesa possibilities; but
j th- S.aron otwrvatory Is intended to cut
, out a new pre'h and concern itself wholly
j with wnrk that has not been elsewhere un
dertaken. Her Souvenir.
"What In the world is this bunch of
burned-out matches fori" asked a girl curi
ously, as she Investigated the souvenir cor
ner In the den of a friend. She touched a
little bundle dangling by a blue ribbon un
der e college pennant
"That." r-pllcd the friend, with a remi
niscent smile, "Is a memento of the neat
est compliment I ever received.
"It was one evening- when I was driving;
In the park with Harry. We had all sorts
of fights verbal, of course and the cabby
almost went to sleep on his perch. For we
were ro many miles deep In the excltlrur
game of word-fencing thrust nnd parry,
guard and riposte and all the rest of it.
whatever the technical terms are that we
Just forgot everything, ourselves, included,
in the clash of battle."
"How late wa3 It?" asked the other girl
in a whisper.
"Twelve o'clock." solemnly, "and realty
those hours had Just flashed by like a
whish of electricity. I never dreamed It
was ro "
"But wbat has all this to do with tha
souvenir?" Indicating the bunch of matches.
"I was Just going to tell you. When Har
ry relit his cigar be remarked that that
was at least the dozenth time he had struck
a match in the course of the drive. And
that was the highest compliment he could
pay any woman to get so interested that
he would let his cigar go out every few
seconds. He told me to watch a man's
cigar when talking to me: It was a sure
sign of my conversational abilities If thero
were many matches left on the floor to tell
the tale."
"And so you gathered them all up?"
"Exactly. They were all over the bottom
of the carriage. I am greatly puffed up
over their number count them!" '
"Why there are twenty-two."
The little rapid fire gunn-r in word wars
nodded complacently. "Yes and he threw
a few over the side," she added regretful
ly. "But you Just watch the cigar here
afterIt Is a great rival to have vanquished
single-handed, I think."
"But soma women don't allow men to
smoke In their presence," suggested tha
other.
"That Is where they make a great mis
take banishing a rival Isn't conquering it:
besides. I like the fragrance of a good
Havana. And it Is an added spice to victory
to slay your rival In open field," and sfc
rodded wisely.
I
t
A4fr..avJJJt!?-1ga
.-
aW-jHf. -,, fcr .
tsiasv-jXfi -- v '
-gEn? yatMiuv
-VV'W