The herald. [microfilm reel], February 20, 1898, Image 21

About The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
HOW THE DAM BROKE.
YOUNGSTER'S EXCITING EXPERIENCE AND .
NARROW ESCAPE.
He Is a stout, middle-aged man now,
and in his life has had many interest
ing experiences, but none more exciting
than those he passed through on the
night the dam went out, and the fol
lowing day.
The pond held back by the dam was
altogether the greatest feature of the
village In which he lived. It covered
twenty or thirty acres, being quite big
enough to furnish boating and good
places tar swimming in the summer.
While to the -winter Its frozen surface
afforded skating for all the villagers.
Naturally it was chiefly as a source
of amusement that the youngsters of
the place were interested ln the pond,
but the older Inhabitants looked upon
it with pride from other and quite dif
ferent viewpoints.
The smooth surface of the water, in
which long rows of willow trees were
beautifully reflected, added much to
the attraction of the place and brought
many a desirable new resident, while
the power of the stream which made
the pond possible turned the wheels
of all the little town's modest indus
tries save one. The foundry, indeed,
was fitted with a steam engine for
blowing the blast of the cupola. But the
grist mill, the saw mill and the sash
and blind factory were operated by
waterwheels; and all the ready cash,
except that put in circulation by the
farmers round about, was brought to
the place In return for the products of
these industries, paid out in the torn
of wages, and, in turn, given over to
the general store keepers for groceries
and other necessaries of life.
It is not surprising, under these cir
cumstances, tlhat every one in the vil
lage and for miles about was Interested
in the dam and the pond. In the sum
mer, wihen the stream was low and the
mills and the factory had to shut down
partially or altogether, there was gen
eral gloom; for wages stopped and
money wns scarce. In the spring and
fall, during the heavy rains, there was
general anxiety lest the men who were
constantly employed to watch the dam
should grow careless, or the rush of
water become too great for control.
Yet for years and years the village
survived each season's period of low
water, and the caution of the men who
watched the dam was sufficient to pre
vent disaster. But at last there came a
ELLEN OSBORN'S FASHION LETTER.
New ToTk, Feb. 11.—The dressmak
ers, buyers and heads of dry goods
departments who sailed for Paris after
Christmas are returning, and the de
signers who retired into their inner
consciousness to evolve ideas are
emerging; bo that it will be possible
shortly for women who like to get their
work "done up early" to provide them
selves with a spring outfit and be free
from dress worries.
Whatever may have been true in the
past, it Is not true now that the wo
men of best social position devote any
undue proportion of their time to their
wardrobes. There is a period in tho
late winter and another in the early au
tumn when dresses are planned and
ordered with an eye to form and color
and a nice sense of suitability to the
person and to occasions that have be
come part of a cultivated woman's
education. In the midseason there arc,
probably, gaps to fill or necessary re
plenishments; but aside from these,
once an outfit has been prepared, the
subject is dismissed from tho mind.
"Why, bless you, child," said a wo
man whose rank in the social world
could hardly be questioned, when asked
by a young visitor to take her shop
ping, "that's something for which I
canH find time!"
A little while ago, when times were
hard in the South, a Southern woman
from a "busted boom" town was stay
ing with a Northern sister and was
, urged to have some dressmaking done.
She refused, saying that not a woman
In her set could afford good clothes and
that she couldn't look her friends in
the face unless she were respectably
shabby. A feeling not wholly unlike
this limits the number of gowns bought
by some women who do not have to
consider money. A successful toilette
calls for such perfection of fit, such
delicacy of color, harmonies and con
trasts, such thought in the selection of
ornaments and such care in every de
tail that many women who are rigor
ously exacting as to what they buy are
equally careful not to buy profusely.
Said a woman of this order recently,
time of bad luck to the village, and
then occurred the experience so vividly
remembered by Charles Waterbee,
Esq.
A SPRING STORM.
It ma in the spring. The water was
already high from the melting of the
snows up the valley, but the ioe had
fortunately gone out without doing
rmich damage, and the villagers hoped
the worst of the season's danger was
over. BLill, there were some forebod-
ings, and the boy heard 'Squire Fore
man say, late in the afternoon, that he
hoped the 'threatened rain would hold
off till the water had prone down a lit
tle. As darkness set in, however, the
raindrops began to fall with a steady
monotonous beat on the roof and the
windows, and later in the evening lulled
the boy to sleep as he lay in his trun
dle-bed close under the eaves.
Some time in the middle of the night
the boy was awakened by a roar which
he thought at first was thunder. It was
so loud that it frightened him; so he
jumped out of bed and ran down stairs.
Neither his father nor his mother were
In the house. Then he perceived the
roar to be caused by the rain, wfhich
had grown to something very like a
cloudburst. But evidently something
more than a mere rainstorm was going
on, and, without stopping for an urn
'"Every dress costs so many hours that
I dare not appear before my friends ln
too many, else they will feel that I am
squandering all my rime."
Women like this keep up with the
world's progress. Even if they did not,
it they had no hobbles in education,
art or philanthropy, the exactions of
society, life itself would leave them
less time to spend upon dress than is
consumed by many women of smaller
means who save a little money at bar
gain counters and special sales at the
cost of much nerve force and vitality.
Economy of life commends the so
ciety woman's plan of settling dress
questions, so far as possible, twice a
year. The custom of the best society
approves the purchase at these buying
periods of a moderate number of cos
tumes, varying with the demands of
one's position, as artistically beautiful
as taiste can make them. A profession
of too costly and unsuitable clothes
marks the snob as plainly as neglect
of the dress marks the person of little
sensitiveness or refinement.
In early buying this season there are
things to avoid. The success of the
broad, striped sashes in Roman colors,
which light up dark dresses amazingly,
has led to the bringing out of dress
silks in stripes and plaids of monstrous
dimensions. In large, high rooms some
of these might do for wall hangings,
but considered as costumes, even for
giantesses, they are things to shudder
at.
Spring dresses Will be made with
overskirts; but these will be as long as
the underskirts, perhaps lifted at some
point to show the contrasting material.
A graceful design that appears with
many varieties among the early models
has a princess overdress opening in
front over an underdress and bodice of
a different color. I have by me some
fine old prints of French and Italian
costumes in the sixteenth century, from
any one of a number of which this idea
might have been adapted. One of the
Infants of Spain ln 1598 shows a satin
petticoat hemmed with a broad jeweled
brella, or even to ask permission—as no
one was there to grant it—he dressed
and went out Into the storm.
For so small a place the streets were
crowded, and he soon saw that all were
headed in the direction of the dam. At
first he was puzzled, but after a little
he found that the structure upon which
the village depended for prosperity was
ln danger ot being carried away, and
that mast of the able-bodied men ln the
town were being pressed into service to
avert the impending disaster. Of course
so small a lad as he could hardly be of
assistance, but he saw no reason why
he should not see the fun, and followed
gaily on, soon finding other lads of his
acquaintance who looked upon the sit
uation as he did.
INEFFECTUAL STRUGGLES.
The night was so dark that for a time
after reaching the vicinity of the dam
he found it not easy to make out much.
Rut he could hear a good deal and see
something. The roaring had Increased
a thousand fold. In his little room It
had come mostly from the falling of the
Breaking of the Dam.
rain upon the roof; here It was pro
duced chiefly by the rushing of tbe tor
rent over the dam's broad sluiceway.
Little by little, as his eyes grew accus
tomed to the darkness, he could discern
a much bigger volume of foaming white
water going over the dam than he had
ever before seen.
The task of the men who were trying
to save the dam would not ordinarily
have been a difficult one, for the only
thing they could do was to raise the
great mass of planking which formed
the "waste-gate." If it could be opened
the water would go out, the pressure
would be reduced, and the dam could be
saved. If the gate could not be opened
there was every reason for fearing that
the structure would be carried away.
But the gate had not been moved for
some months, and though it was built
with special reference to easy handling
bond. The overskii't of richly figured
brocade flows back from the front and
just touches the ground. It is trimmed
up and down the sides with gold thread
embroidery.
LOS ANGELES HERALDi SUNDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 20, 1898,
New Gowns for the Spring Season.
In such an emergency as now presented
Itself, it stuck obstinately In its ways;
the twenty or more men who were
throwing their weight upon its levers
were quite unable to move it. The wa
ter rose higher and higher as
worked; there were shouts of encour
agement from those on the shore who
could not get an opportunity to work;
there were cries of, "Now, all together,
boys! Let her go!" Then there were
murmurlngs in the crowd that unless
the men were soon successful the water
would rise above the sluiceway and be
gin to pour over other parts of the dam.
If that happened all were lost, because
the dam was mainly a simple bank of
earth which would speedily crumble un
der the rushing water.
"AWAY SHE GOES."
Young Waterbee had never been so
excited In his life. Of course he was
drenched to the skin, but ho knew noth
ing about that, for his excitement had
fairly brought on a fever. His own
father was one of the most prominent
at the wastegate's lever, and the boy
watched him proudly as he worked and
directed the others. Suddenly there,
came a cry from the waitcher on the
dam's dirt bank.
"She's over the dam, boys; It's no
use. Hun, If you want to save your
selves!"
The men at the lever hesitated for a
few moments, working more frantically
than ever and determined not to give
up. But those on the shore, seeing the
danger more clearly, rushed nut and
fairly dragged the frantic laborers from
their dangerous post. This movement
was none too soon, for while the last
man was still at the lever, the big bank
toppled over and gave way with a bel
lowing crash beside which the previous
roar wias a whisper. Fortunately, none
of those who had been at the waste
gate failed to escape, but the crowd set
up an agonized groan as its members,
saw at least six months of prosperity
go swirling down the valley,—a con
fused mass of boiling, muddy water,
uprooted willow trees and timber. A
little later the crowd heard ominous
crashings from below, as the wall of
water and mud struck the buildings
below the dam that stood ln Its resist
less way; and then everybody knew
that the disaster was even worse than
they had feared.
FISH AND QUICKSAND.
It was a curiously desolate scene
upon which the clear sun of the next
morning arose. Where the millpond's
smooth surface had stretched the day
before, there was now a vast and mud
dy depression. Of tHe dam nothing was
left but two ragged ends. Scattered
over the bottom of the pond were little
pools, and those were literally filled
with Ash, —bullheads, pickerel, sunflsh,
and eels mostly; there were loads and
loads of them. Many also were to be
seen gasping upon the mud a long way
from any water; and the boy 3, Includ
ing young Waterbee, made a rush for
them.
Of course most of the lads explored
the muddy bottom without permission,
and young Waterbee's parents had spe
cially forbidden him to go out. I have
It from his own lips that it was his first
intention to respect the prohibition;
but the mud and the fish were too
tempting,—he forgot the warning
words, and soon found himself, with
the other boys, gathering up armfuls
of the scaly, flapping creatures.
While his fun was at its height, he
stepped upon a smooth glistening spot
to reach for a specially large pickerel
lying in a shallow pool. The surface
felt queer when he stopped on It. and in
a moment he sank bo his ankles. When
he tried to raise his feet he found that
impossible. There was a strange, strong
suction, the like of which he had never
before experienced. He called to the
boy nearest him, and the boy came to
him help. In a moment the latter, too,
was fast and both were gradually sink
ing. They both cried for help, and then
they heard somehodv yell:
"Quicksand! Quicksand! Get planks
and pull the boys out."
But it took men to do this, and be
fore they had arrived and accomplished
their task, the two boys were engulfed
to their necks and almost exhausted
with fright.
A sorrier looking pair of youngsters
when they were at last rescued was
never seen in that village—and it may
be added that there were never two
more disgusted boys, either. Young
Waterbee's friend had to suffer the
added misfortune of a thorough thrash
ing for his reckless disobedience, but
Waterbee's father and mother decided
thet he had been punished enough. And
to this day he thinks they were right.
Copyright, 1898, by Bacheller Syndicate.
The overskirt of twenty years ago
copied the ugly panniers of their
sixteenth century originals, but failed
to copy tho longer flow of the draper
ies; ending below the knees, they out
LATEST SCHEME FOR DRILLINC OUR SOLDIER BOYS.
Lieut. Butts Claims That With the Aid of Music the Drill Move
ments of a Body of Men May Attain the Precision
of a Perfect Machine.
"*T"HER.E has Just been inaugurated
( in the Fifth United States Infan-
I try a practice which has hereto-
I fore been considered largely im
practical—drilling to music; not
the music of the bugler with
which every one is familiar, but music
by the band.
The originator of this Idea, Lieut. Ed
win L. Butts, of the Fifth Infantry, be
lieves that In this he has found a plan
to make the drudgery of garrison work
less irksome and at the same time pro
mote efllciency In the drill.
Heretofore the soldiers have gone
through the manual of arms without
perfect regularity and precision, follow
ing the commands and handling the
guns in the best manner they could and
according to the tactics prescribed for
them. It should be remembered, by
the way, that the famous Upton's tac
tics are no longer the vogue In the
United States army, but rather those
laid down in what is called tho "Man
ual of Physical Training for the United
States Army," by the same Lieut. Butts
who originated the musical drill.
Lieut. Butts believes in the utiliza
tion of music wherever possible and
states that fact in his manual, but no
attempt has hitherto been made to
carry the plan out in detail. The rul
ing military tactics do not say what
time shall be kept by the soldiers to
the movements of the drill, nor that
all the men in the company shall mak?
each movement together. The musical
idea, however, makes this entirely feas-
ible, and really comes nearer to the
military idea of perfection—a machine
—than ever found possible heretofore
in general army drill.
Down at Fort McPherson, Ga., where
this drill takes place, when the time for
the evolutions comes, the band places
itself in front of the regiment, where all
the men in the rank can hear the mu
sic Then the chosen strains are heard
and the soldiers execute each move
ment in exact accordance with the time
kept by the leader of the band. The
effect is really inspiring.
the figure sadly. The overdresses of
IS9B will omit the panniers but revert to
the stately length of the days when
hurry and rush were unknown.
It is an Interesting fact, that in the
days from which we take the overskirt
Each beat of the time is a sign for a
movement of the gun. and it is a not
able fact that the men who have the
least Idea of musical time have no dif
ficulty whatever in being entirely uni
form in the drill movements. At no
time has the band played lively airs,—
at least up to the present. By and by,
when the soldiers become proficient, the
time will be increased, for it Is the in
tention to drill to faster and faster
music until the limit has been reached.
The old army tactics, Upton's, con
tained a provision that the manual of
arms should be executed by numbers.
In this ca3p each soldier counted and
each movement had a number. In this
way the men were able after great
practice to execute the drill with pre
cision and exactness. The only trouble
was that they would often miss a num
ber and in that way fail to keep to
gether.
Now, with the help of the band and
one time for all, the soldiers are able
to count exactly, and the drill move
ments are accordingly executed with
regularity. To appreciate the new rifle
drill, it is necessary to understand
what the soldier must know and do ln
the hair was dressed much as it is now,
turning back from the face and stand
ing out at the sides.
The underskirt of 189R is three yard*
and a half round. The outer skirt la
much wider. Sleeves will become even
smaller than they are and ruffles will
continue rampant. Dresses for all for
mal occasions are made long, but the
Instinct of self-preservation stands out
for short street dresses.
Spring hats, as thus far displayed,
are almost evenly divided between the
ugly pork-pie shapes affected this win
ter and straight brims. Fanciful toques
in coarse grass and ribbon straws are
numerous. Some are extremely pretty;
others look as If they had been crushed
in the two hands and then tied up with
ribbons and flowers. A satin crown, a
willow brim and a mass of white vio
lets Is a favorite combination. Large
black hats are trimmed with tulips. A
wide hat in reseda straw has knots of
.orange velvet under the brim and is
trimmed with orange and pale yellow
jouqulls.
A dress which forms part of a Feb
ruary bride's trousseau is of powder
blue cloth with a separate undenskirt
of red silk trimmed with narrow ruffles.
The overskirt is brightened by red rib
bons run about it at intervals and
held by hurt toned tops of blue. At one
side are sash ends of the cloth—a newer
fancy than ribbon sashes; these are
edged by red silk ruches. The bodice is
of powder blue silk with a front of
white lace, upon which opens a sur
plice front of red silk drawn down
straight on one side, draped across and
edged with a silk ruche on the other.
The hat for wear with this costume 13
of blue straw with black ostrich
plumes.
A visiting dress recently finished and
beautiful in color is of a delicate pearl
grey cloth with an underskirt of silk
covered with green chiffon. The prin
cess overdress opens down the front
and is trimmed with an exquisite vin*
embroidery in grey, brown and old rose.
The bodice has open fronts of grey
cloth with guimpe of chiffon over silk.
There Is a high cloth collar with square
revers upon the shoulders. A four-in
hand tie of green velvet reaches to the
waistband.
ELLEN OSBOB.N,
. Copyright, 1898, by Bacheller Syndicate.
response to the call of the music. Here,
for Instance, aro what are called the
exercises of the first set of the drill:
At first note raise rifle smartly to
ohest two inches below chin, elbows
close to sides, wrists well bent back.
Lunge well out to left oblique, left foot
leading, at same time extend rifle for
ward, barrel to rear. Carry rifle to
chest, wrist bent back. Turn to right
about on heels. Extend rifle forward.
The New "Drill by Music."
Carry rifle to chest. Carry left foot to
right, and face to original front. Drop
rifle to ready. In all lunging the rear
foot remains flat on the ground, leg
well straightened out.
That is the first exercise. This is the
second: At first note bend trunk of
body forward, legs remaining straight
and If possible touch ground with rifle.
Swing rilie well out to front and over
head, arms and legs remaining straight,
wrists bent well back, eyes on rifle,
back hollowed. Swing rifle down and
then trunk forward to position as at
first note. Drop rifle to shoulders be
hind neck, forcing chest well forward,
eyes directed to the front. Resume po
sition. Drop rifle to chest. Drop rifle
to ready. The first four movements are
executed slowdy, the last four rapidly.
The third exercise is as follows: At
first note carry left foot about fifteen
inches to the left, turn body to tha
left on hips, rising well upon right toe,
left foot fiat on ground, and swing rifle
to left to horizontal position over head,
back hollowed, wrists well bent back,
eyes on rifle. Swing down across body
and over head to right, arms remain
ing 3iraight, the reverse position of
first movement. Repeat to include 16th
count.
The fourth exercise is: At first note
lunge directly lo the left, left foot be
ing planted about 36 Inches to the left;
at same time swing rifle over head,
arms remaining extended, wrists bent
well back, back hollowed, eyes on rifle.
Lunge directly to the front, left foot
leading, and tako position just de
scribed. Lunge directly to the right,
right foot leading, and take same posi
tion as before. Lunge directly to the
front, right foot leading, and take for
mer position. In lunging the leading
foot should not be planted so as to Jar.
When the exercise is understood so aa
to be executed together, the foot should
lightly strike the ground so as to en
able a quick return to ready.
The fifth exercise is the same as tha
first, substituting the words right for
left and left for right. "The drill by
music," says Lieut. Butts, in reply to a
question addressed to him as to the
result of the drill, "is easily learned. It
affords the utmost precision, and, what
is more important, renders valuable
und necessary physical training attrac
tive, obtains unconsciously hard work
from each man, and thus produces the
results aimed at.
"The ride drill Is considered superior
to other forms of physical exercise for
the soldier. It brings all the muscles
or the body into play and teaches each
soldier to become expert in handling
and manipulating his weapon of war
fare. Such an exercise is found to ob
viate the necessity of the former set
ting up drill. It affords variety in gar
rison work to the various company,
battalion and regimental drills, and as
a rule is looked upon with much favor
by the enlisted men."
The drill by music will not hereafter
be confined to rifle drill, but '-will bo
equally applicable to the army system
of eali.sthenlc exercise, dumb bell and
other athletic drills.
Copyright, 1898, by Bacheller Syndicate.