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L REAT FALLS TRIBUNE. VOL, 2, GREAT FALLS, MONTANA TERRITORY, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1886, NO 27 A TENDER EPISTLE. Extract From a Tenderfoot's Letter to the Old Folks at Home. GREAT FALLS, Nov. 10, 1886 DEAR A-: Your letter etc. Our hot weather is over now and it has become nice and cool. I am doing well here. 3My land will cost me about $600. When the railroad gets here it will be worth at least $2,000. I have been living in another man's shack for some time; but when he came bac- I had to move out to the stable and bunk with my cayuse, until a young English man, who has taken up a ranch near me, kindly invited me to live with him. I thought if I bunked in with him I could lie in bed mornings a.l take a snoonze while he got breakf't. tand did house work generally. But as minds of grnat men perambuli'te the same meandering streams, Johnnie Bull had the same idea. So, as we lay in bed the first morning the clock struck seven and finally the hands reproachfully pointed to 7:30. But still neither of us made a move. Then we decided to rise unanimously. So we tried the "one, two, three" racket, but that meth od failed as ignominiously as it did at the Sanders' rally in Great Falls, an account of which I wrote you. After we had united our feeble efforts in building a fire, an animated discussion began, upon what we should have for breakfast. At this point I discovered that my chum had not a great mind, for his did not run with mine, on the same bill of fare. I wanted bacon and potatoes, while he insisted, with British tenacity, that he must have potatoes and bacon. After the controversy had nearly led to blows we .compromised by preparing both dishes, bacon and potatoes and potatoes and bacon. Afte our bounteous morning repast each went to his respective work. When noon came I kept right on at work thinking that the Englishman would go home and get dinner. But when I went over to the shack at about 1 o'clock I met my'partner following up the same cue. He had been quietly taking a rest in the hay-stack waiting for me to take the initi ative step towards getting dinner. Our I menu i.. substantially the same as the one -wh:ch we had for breakfast. As neither of us would wash thre dishes, each took the same outrit wh'ich he had for the previous meal. Each tried to secure the largest pii cs of bacon and potatoes. But towards tiie end wve each, with comnrmenda lie foresight, -:.w that there would be an odd piece of "g'ub'" left. oi we began stufung oarselv.-', each trying to eat faster than the other to capture the coveted last mouthful from the platter. But we both reached the goal at the same time and there was a general charge upon the sacri fice. A war of words followed; one curs ing in French verbs, the other in hug-latin. Finally, an eight-cornered oath got tangled in rv false teeth :med before I could ex tricate it, lIer Majesty's subject had com pleted the acquisition by conquest. At night neither would build the fire. I said I wasn't hungry; but he was. So he cook ed his own bacon and potatoes for supper and for fear that I would get some of the crumbs, Johnnie Bull gorged himself to such an extent that he lay awake half the night with the colic. hIungry as I was, that made me smile. My triumph was complete. The next evening we heard there was to be a prayer-meeting in town. As my chum had never been and I never went, we concluded to try it. My "spirit ual" partner is one of the biggest rakes in Northern Montana, so you can imagine my surprise when he arose with becoming gravity, and began a prayer. It proved to be a very lengthy one, but beautifully worded. I saw that he had committed it to memory from some good book. But when a venerable deacon sneezed as loud as Gabriel's trumphetmy friend of the bo gus piety, was moved to laughter and for got his lines. But his gall with more con stancy than his memory, staid with him, until he surmounted all difliculities by winding up with with a thundering amen, which was taken up and re-echoed by some of the sincere church people. Yes terday, in driving down a steep butte our cayuse fell flat. The Englishman jumped out and sat on the horse's head to hold him down while I watched the wagon. But the plug would not recline. Up he jumped, smashing the thrills into splinters 4 and throwing English onto some sharp i rocks which terribly lacerated his best l clothes. When we were returning to our I "villa" a cow-boy ran against us and broke i the whitlle tree. English and I held a council of war, but the C. B. looked so brave c and determined that we decided that we would settle the matter by arbitration. o This we did by treating him with silent contempt. Such is life in the far west. Yours as ever, H. CHESTNUTS. Oh, what made the chimney sweep? And why the codfish ball ? t And why. oh why, did the peanut stand? a s And what makes the evening call? Oh, why should the baby farm? And why does the muttou chop? I Can you tell me what makes the elder blow? Or what makes the ginger-pop? y - Say, why does the trundle-bed spring? And why does the saddle horse fly? Or what mean cur mad- the pillow slip? A And why does the soal boilers lye? o What made the monkey wrench? o Or why should the oid mill dam? c And who did the -hoemakcrs strike? E t Or why ditd the raspberry jam? ? --Nu York Sun. Oh, why does a metre never meet? And why does'nt rhyme wear out? n Hexameter old was written in feet; h Modern verse must have the gout. e Why, oh why, does he swear "the old mill?" Small wonder the codfish ball: Oh, why does the chestnut, a glided pill, Htave no effect on the poet's gall? In Bulgaria, a poet named Stovenoff, 3 wants to make that much troubled country e: t a republic. If he's behind in his accounts el and has'nt Stove em off, he can come to , t this country. Canada is next door. c< "The Goddess of Liberty's torch has not w been lighted since Saturday night."--Asso- U ; ciated Press Disp.tcl. F Same old story. Saturday night torch light processions seem to have just the tc same effect in New York as out here. d, The Helena Heratd devotes seventeen 0 lines to "How to Cross a Street Car Track," 8 1 and sums up by advising drivers of vehi- t( cles to "cross at right angles." d Why don't they do things methodically t in the capital city and pass some such laws tl as the following: n I. Vehicles intending to cross a .treet E car track will march parallel to the track st 1 to point of intended crossing. II. At point of crossing a marker must - be placed (whip-stock, pitchfork or other convenient article may be used) and the horse or horses, mule or mules command- m ed "right" or "left wheel," aý the exigen- n: cies of the case may demand. III. Cross at right angle to track. , IV. A right angular cro-ing havingv been effected, the animals mu t be again directed with ri.ht angular and military precisi an. V. For and upon every violatin of I at this law and conviction th.. l" ,. the off .- I der, etc., etc. fe Such rules as he above w uld show , congress we have hae s e style abot us in ' - Montana and are jun:iy entitled to aimis- ill sion to the sisterhood. th During the recent election in Pulaski county, Arl.aneaw, one of the township ballot boxes, when brought to the county to clerk's oiHle was found to be empty. "how is this?" asked the clerk. "Hfow is whatL" the man who had ac brought the box replied. "Why, there are no ballots in the box." "They told me to bring the biox," the fellow replied; "did'nt say nothing about the tickets."-Arhoi sre Tci,'er. Wedding Bells. of The Daily Colenist. Victoria, B. C.,of Nov. mi 4th, contains an account of an important society event in that place, viz: The Ei marriage of Mr. John Fullerton to Miss "' Annie Reid, second daughter of Rev. John gr Reid, D. D., and a sister of the 1Rev. John ri Reid of Great Falls. P1 of Great Falls' Wants, fu A shoemaker-one that don't want the sil whole earth preferred. ne A tailor. Em A fire department. is A daily mail. re; A more prompt mail service. gu A grip on bad Boswell, the barber. inl A string on black-leg Burcz nski. to A church or two. M: A bridge. th A public library. tei ed The Graders Are Comieg. su It is announced that the graders are to tic begin work at once at Great Falls, and dii finish the road-way this fall ready for rails he in the spring. This will throw a great deal wi of money in circulation and enable every the man in town to go to C. P. Thomson's and we have a suit of clothes made to orderbythe tlu fashionable St. -Louis tailoring house he we represents. This house is no job lot house MI such as are usually represented in this wa country. if Li e THE ACQUISITION OF LOUISIANA. it Why France Ceded It to the United States - Jeffersons Peaceful Triumph. Before continuing with Lewis and Clarke in their dreary marches through the un known wilderness of almost unexplored country, it would be well to review from "Blaine's Twenty Years in Congress" the acquisition of the itst, unknown tract then called Louisiana. Mr. Blaine says in substance: A great European struggle, which ended twelve years before our Revolution began, had wrought important changes in the political situation of North America. On one of the results of the "seven years' weir" was the cession of Florida to Great Britain by Spain in ex- I change for the release of Cuba, which the English and colonial forces had wrested from Spanish authority, the preceding r year. England held Florida for twenty years, when among the disasters brought upon her by our own revolution, was its retro cession to Spain in 1783. France gave up Canada and Cape Breton, acknowledged F the sovereignty of Great Britain in the or iginal thirteen colonies as extending to the 1 Mississippi, and by a separate treaty, sur rendered Louisiana. on the west side of the Mississiipi, with New Orleans, on the c east, to Spain. This country, which the effeminate Louis XV surrendered to Spain, was of vast but indefinite extent. Spain continued in possession of it until 1800, when through the diplomacy of Bonaparte, the entire territory was retroceded to France. The formal transfer of so great a terri tory on a distant continent, was necessarily delayed, and, before the Captain-General a of France reached New Orleans in 1803, a Spanish authorities had become so odious to the inhabitants that there was ccnstant danger of open revolt. Senator Ross of Pennsylvania, moved in the United States' senate, that the govern ment be instructed to seize New Orleans. Bcit the prudence of president Jefferson re strained every movement that might in- c' volve us in a war with Spain. Meanwhiler ir. Robt. R. Livingksi, our minister at e; Paris, was pressing the French govern nient for concessions touching the free navigatiou of the Mississippi. Mr. Liv ing_-ton wa.s re-enforced by Mr. Monroe, sent out as special envoy by president Jef- a ferson. The instructions of Mr. Madison, l then Cer tarv of state, to Mr. Monroe, I show that the utmost he expected was to 0 acquire from France the city of New Or lean- and the Floridas. Though Mr. Jef ferson oid not ku, w the terms of the treaty a between France and Spain, he knew in- tL stinctively that they deeply concerned the interests of our country- lie saw that by n: the eo:nnercial disability upon the western =ecti.n of the country its progress would be imp. ded. He determined, therefore, ti to acquire the control of the left bank of ] the Mississippi to its mouth, and by the ti purchase of the Floridas to give to Goorgia and tlhe Mississippi territory, unobstructed access to the Gulf. But ev-ent. beyond tlhe ocean were work ing more rapid!y for the interest of the t nited States than any inlluences which the gov..riment itseli could exert. Before Mr. Mon:oe reached France in the spring of 1i03, another war cloud of portentious magnitude, was hanging over Europe. t Fearing, that in the threatened conflict, England, by her superior naval force, would deprive him of Loui.-iana and thus greatly enhance her strength on the Ame lrican continent, Bonaparte, by a brilliant plom tic strok', placed it beyond the reach of British power. He said "I know the full value of Louisiana, and have b'en de sirous of repairing the fault of the French negotiators who lost it in 1763. But the English wish to talte possession of it, and it is thus they will begin the war. They al ready, have twenty ships of the'line in the gulf of Mexico. The conquest of Louis iana would be easy. I have not a moment to lose in putting it out of their reach." Itr. Monroe and Mr. Livingston had no au thority to negotiate for so vast an extent of territory; but the former was fully possess ed of president Jefferson's views on the subject and he felt assured that his instruc tions would have been ample if the con dition of France had been foreseen when he sailed from America. Communication Swith Washington was impossible. Under the most favorable circumstances an ans wer could not be expected in less than three months. By that time British ships would probably hold the mouths of the Mississippi, and the flag of St. George be waving over New Orleans. Monroe and Livingston both realized that hesitation would be fatal, and they boldly took the responsibility of purchasing a territory of d unknown but prodigious extent, and of pledging the credit of the government for a 'um which, rated by the ability to pay, e was larger than a similar pledge today for t five hundred millions of dollars. d The price agreed upon was eleven mil- t n lion, two hundred and fifty thousand dol e lars in six per cent United States bonds, I t the interest of which was made payable in n London, Amsterdam and Paris, and the t t principal at the treasury at Washington. a In a separate treaty the United States d agreed to pay twenty million francs ad- p ditional, to be applied by France to the n satisfaction of certain claims owed to a American citizens. Thus the total cost of Louisiana was, in round numbers, fifteen q millions of dollars. b No difficulty was experienced in putting , the United States in possession of the ter ritory and of its chief emporium, New Or leans. The French government has re garded the possession of so much conse- m quence, that Bernadotte, afterwards King of Sweden, was at one time, gazetted as r. Captain-General; and, some obstacles su per-vening, General Victor, afterwards marshal of France, was named in his stead. in But all these plans were brushed aside by fc one stroke of Bonaparte's pen; :nd the ti United States, in consequence of ,favoring th circumstances, and the bold and compe- be tent statesmanship of Jefferson, obtained a b territory larger in area than that which was at wrested from the British Crown by the th Revolutionary war. ot The country thus acquired forms today, the states of Louisiana, Arkansas, Missou- to ri, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, is west of the Mississippi, Colorado north of m the Arkansas, besides the Indian Territory iti and the territories of Dakota, Wyoming and Montana. Texas was also included in le the transfer but Oregon was not. The ne Louisiana purchase did not extend beyond th the main range of the Rocky mountains, cc and our title to that large area which is of included in the state of Oregon and the territories of Washingori and Idaho, was te claimed first, by the right of original dis- th covery of the Columbia river by an Ame- ex rlcan navigator in 1792, second, by original be exploration in 1805; third by original set- cf tlement in 1810 by the company fitted out ii by John Jacob Astor and lastly and principally, by the transfer of the Spanish title in 1819. Mr. Blaine adds that it is cu not probable that we should have been t able to maintain our title to Oregon if the intervening country had not been previ- a ously secured. IIe says that the acquisit ion of Loui iaua brought incalculable wealth, power, and prestige to the Union, t and must always be regarded as the mas ter-stroke of policy which advanced the United States from a comparatively feeblei nation, to a continual power of assured strength and boundless pronfise. It was to obtain a more accurate knowledge of co' this vast region c:dled Louiuiana, of its to- sr pography and resources, that the expedi- ere tion, under Lewis and Clarke '.v, fitted a out by president Jefferson. hlit 1 The Elly-Vater. Jim McKittrick was an old-timer, a prospector and miner of early dlay. For years he had dodged and fought shy f the civilizing intluences of cities, confiu- c ing himself to the mountains. At last when it became necessary to se cure financial aid for one of his miuling schemes, he was forced to visit IIelena. His friend put up at one of the fashiona- I able hostelries and there the miner sought 1 him. The urbane clerk gave Jim in charge r of a bell boy who escorted him to the ele t vator. Up went the mountaineer, and in I a few moments he descended, his friend c not being in. "Say, mister," enquired our worthy, "what d'ye call that fixin'?" I "My dear sir," answered the clerk, a '"that's an elevator." "An elly-vayter," mused Jim. "Has it i got a rope fast to it to hist with?" t "Yes sir, a wire rope." I t "Supposin' that rope broke," queried the I searcher after truth. f The clerk explained in detail the whole arrangement of it, dilated upon the latest t improvements, air wells, compressed air I etc., and supposed he had convinced his, r hearer of its perfect safety. Jim looked at his informant with doubt ful gaze and replied: '.That's all right about pressed air an' sich, but for histing up an' down, gimme an old fashioned bucket, a stout rope, as stanch win'lass an' a pardner on top ye kin s trust." t And as he shot out of the door he c added: c "Don't want none of your durned elly- ' vayter in mine." 1 e THE MANLY ART OF SELF DEFENCE f Written for the Tribune: r For some years the noble art of self defence has lost its popularity owing to the bad element which has crept in. England, of all modern countries, has been the great centre for the prize ring. The best blood of the land habitually attended the scenes of well matched glove contests. But, after a time the hue and cry was raised that the ring and boxing in general, was brutalizing and demoralizing. As a last measure to sup press it, an act of parliament was passed, making its public practice unlawful. But, although a law was passed against it, it was still tolerated. As a natural conse quence scenes and places pertaining to it began to be shunned by law-abiding peo ple, arid the good element generally, drop ped out. Be this as it may, the intrinsic merits of the gcience caught public attention once more and brought it slowly back from the verge of oblivion to place it in the highest rank as an exciting, manly spo}End'health giving exercise. Its present unparalleled Iopularity may be fully attested by refer ing to the innumerablle schools and clubs for its promotion which have arisen throughout the country, pheouix like from the ashes of its previous ill savor. The best colleges in our land have not been backward in seeing the merits of the.case and Harvard and Yale are today taking the lead in this work as well as in their other departments of study. Some would ask what claim has boxing to popular consideration? That question is best answered by describing in brief the manifold advantages to be derived from its practice. Lord Chesterfield in one of his notable letters to his son said that although it was never gentlemanly to knock a man down, there were times when no gentleman could help doing it. Such times do not often occur, however. The cery best medical authorities of this generation consider sparring to be the most beneficial of indoor exercises Every muscle of the bodies from the tips of the toes to the crown of the head is thoroughly exercised in a lively bout with the gloves. Of few, if any, of the multifarious oc cupations and pastimes of life can this be said. So right h re we can truthfully say that nothing tends to give full proportion and symmetry to the human frame better than sparring. Look at the beautiful, clear cut, tlowing lines of the body and limbs of a well-trained boxer! This graceful con tour, erect carriage, beautiful proportion of one part to another, and manly, self-re liant bearing is only attained by careful and frequent practice with the gloves. Although it takes years of practice to ac complish the wonderful feats of skill and strength exhibited by our most noted box ers, yet any man can learn a great deal in a few months that will be of great use to him, to say nothing of the imhnproved per sonal appearance, agility, health, tone, vig or and power of endurance that he will g:ain. His lungs will become larger, his wind longer, his heart more vigorous, his ability to endure fatigue greater, his per ceptive faculties keener, his thinking pow ers more active, his self-confidence more assured (but mere self-confidence does not imply that abomnable thing-self-conceit) and he will, by gaining these valuable blessings, be able to enjoy life better and look on the bright side of things even when misfortune overtakes him. Some people run off with the idea that boxing requires no skill, tact, observation or special reasoning power; but this is wrong, and in conclusion we quote a few words on this point from the lips of Prof. E. F. Shaw, late professor of the manly art at Harvard. He says, "Most exercises, after a time, become mechanical; we can indulge in them and at the same time be thinking or fretting about other matters. Hence, we can readily understand why boxing is preferable to almost any other form of exercise, because it actually com pels one to forget for the timebeing every thing but the wholesome occupation of both body and mind, or receive punish ment at his opponent's hands." F. P. Thanksgiving Day. In the afternoon of Thanksgiving Day an elaborate, dinner will be spread at the Park Hotel, and in the evening there will be a grand ball and supper; all of which should receive the patronage of our citizens. The menu for the dinner will be the finest ever set before the peo ple of Northern Montana.