Willmar tribune. [volume], February 14, 1912, Image 10

About Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931

Image provided by: Minnesota Historical Society; Saint Paul, MN

                
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SEVOSLESOWT
-SV DOUGLAS WETMORE CLINCH
S CCXPYRZG&2'J3y IZ2ZD JLND JttB&Ar
evolution of a woodsman ia de-
^H pendent on certain characteristics
^M which constitute the "sixth sense."
This spirit never tires, is known
^M fnl to' the cosmopolitan world as
a "The Call of the Wild," and ac
KjQ ~H g§ counts for the man sixty years
^yJm$/A young Sensitiveness and super^
stition are prominent factors,
coupled with stubbornness and'Ob-C^
servation, and then the stage is
reached when the sixth sense is born. Disputed or
not the theory governs this story, which deals with,
a Sowet. the pocket edition of the Great Horned
Owl, the element of luck, and a moose which re
quired much hunting
Peabody Lake supplied the necessary back
ground. Nestling as it does between the Big Se
vogle and the North West Miramichi, thirty-five
miles of portage road demands patience to reach
It. As the day was far spent. I rounded its last
turn revealing Ned Menzie's hunting camp. Five
flays of shooting remained. Five days to redeem
"/r SFFAf£D FOR TH£ LAST TJME
CfLAS/CED OV&? 77tAr JP/FZF—"
reputation which had, unchallenged, pasted
through the outposts of disaster.
Previous to this trip I spent fifty odd days of
that year in woods travel. Aside from my caribou
hunt, misfortune had in various forms denied my
possession of that woodman's sixth sense. Dur
ing the summer I became aware of the persistent
denial. Cracked waugan-sticks, bewitched fry
pans, damaged canoe-ribs, lost pipes and fly books
]were its outward visible signs. On my September
tnoose trip my companion jammed the safety and
then overshot. The following day a pack horse
from the settlements jingled its bell just as the
iknoll beyond the portage was startled by crack
ing limbs. Then three moose (two bulls and a
•cow) came into the water at even, a scant half
liour in the wake of the first weird call. In the
mist of the morrow I stalked by mistake a spike
xtorn. We missed the "water" country by a mile
•on the first October hunt, and after tramping
twelve miles to the ridges found the first snow
Inirled with crust.
Arrived at Menzie's camp Peter Prisk took me
in hand on the morning of the 25th. His re
marks of "plenty moose," the departure of two
"50" heads for the settlements, and my knowledge
of the sport, discounted our limited time. Still
bunting on the snow is the most deadly method of
stalking. Nothing short of a damaged rifle, rain
followed by frost, could, in such a country, have
prevented the labeling of a fine bull moose.
As we worked up-wind such assurance dominat
ed my thoughts, but as I raised my Winchester to
brush aside a snow-laden bough I discovered that
t^e rear sight had been split. One minute the
range was fifty, the next perhaps, a thousand
yards. As the cracking of a frost-bitten birch
became resonant above my fervent remarks Peter
struck a fresh track. Suddenly he clutched my
arm, stepped to one side, and whispered "chuut!"
Not fifty yards away a 50-inch bull, with heavy
pans and beautiful brow prongs, stared at me
through the thicket. As he rose to his feet my
sight rose in unison, to the extreme limit
Never in six years of shooting did I experience
the anguish, mortified by Peter's incredulous
countenance, which chilled my senses as the
Hoxie grazed the wither. For a few seconds tree
trunk clanged on antler, tiny particles of frozen
crust sparkled in the sunshine, and then all
sounds save the sighing of the western breeze,
ceased as abruptly as they had begun. For an
hour that afternoon and several the next day
Peter and I tracked that "started" bull. The
places he led us through demanded more than
patience. In a yard the trail was lost and by one
o'clock on the 26th we had selected another
•which appealed to Peter's particular tastes in
tracks
The day in question was warm. This ?rew the
frost and mild clouds of steam or woodland vapor
rose from the hollows. The traveling was heavy
anri tedious No stop could be made for lunch,
pnd depression settled down over our very souls
Shortly before two o'clock vve sighted a cow. As
sho swung in her tracks I recognised the 'slicking
of a bull's hoofs going at the trot. I whispered
to Peter and we circled till the Indian, vith one
foot in the air, paused. I was completely fagged.
My legs ached from tramping through tls-i crust
This narrative is vouched for by the
Ottumwa correspondent for the Bur
lington (Kan.) Republican: "James
Xlark had the misfortune to lose a
fine horse last week. We had a horse
that was not doing well, so one day
last week we were at the store and
told .Jim Mark about it, and he said,
'Here, take this package of condition
powders back with you, and that will
tlx him all right.' So we gave It to
One On The Horse
/HAO
ofay
JWO vtjri/*s, TO
and tne knee-deep snow. At that precise moment
all the moose in Christendom were not worth a
square, hot meal.
Suddenly—doesn't express it „A11 I remember
is that the largest bull moost I ever expect to see
literally whirled across the mist-enveloped open
ing in the swamp. A smaller bull was on one
side a cow on the other. These were fully ma
tured moose compared with him, mere pigmies.
All his size was adequately expressed in a fast
moving, gigantic wither, and high-held set of
black, long-hanging antlers. I will take my oath
they were 65 inches across.
I fired. As the second shell slid into the cham
ber Peter, who had forgotten dinner, and was
very much excited, jumped in front of the muzzle
of the .33. For 200 yards all our remaining en
ergy conveyo* our breathless bodies through the
two-foot snow. Then, having brushed the sno^
from off a deadiiJl, Peter collapsed and mur
mured, "By Hell, dat one dammer moose."
I have a recollection, a painful memory only,
of the cold lunch and tho tramp that night to
camp. The snow had covered innumerable dead
falls. Between two of these my right moccasin
had lingered. For two days I nursed a strained
right hip.
One chance only remained, fo en Friday and
Saturday I was helpless. The teaff. would be in
on the morrow, and, as I lay that night in my
bunk, all the hard luck of the season mocked me
in the "creeerrk" of the cooling stove. I recalled
sportsmen I had placed that season and hov Miey
had—on their first trip—all killed their n^se.
Then that Injun—and how polite 60me of the^
are—agreed it was hard luck, yet down in his
heart of hearts I was but one more "sport couldn't
chuute." But finally that night I slept, and Just
as the first streams of daylight were trickling
through the snow-guarded lanes of the forest
Peter awoke rie by emphatically stamping on his
moccasins.
A new species of angelic smile was hovering
over his features and he was talking to someone,
that was sure. Perched on the sill of the window
was a tiny sowet owl. Catching the minute
creature Peter gazed Into its two round, golden
eyes, and as the "tit-tit" of Its sharp bill broke
the stillness, exclaimed "him eyes just like big
ten cents apiece—he mean moose." Even the
game leg felt better and at nine we swung to the
cabin door, to frriug back, as Peter felt sure, "one
big haid."
When I thinfr of that morning I wonder some
times how many of us have experienced that
"just naturally can't lose" feeling we occasionally
have thrust upon us—we men who don't fit in.
Everything works like charm and the joy of liv
ing is In our wr.lk, our smile, the very twinkle of
our eye. We define a new meaning as to why
the world gees on. We are even egotistical
enough to thing it was made for ourselves.
Over the Frock we went, on—on—on. How
that moose lltt us through swamps, over ridges!
Here we would cross the fresh trail of a deer,
again the track of a traveling family. "Dat nod
der kind moone" Peter would lisp, and the hill
would hide our vanishing form.
I knew whrti the trail became "warm"—when
to "get ready""—7 saw him the the same moment
as Peter. W* ftnew he must have antlers for
there were the tMl-tale marks on the trees. Just
now he was starding to one side of a huge yel
low birch. Presently he moved forward, his neck
the horse, and then we fixed him a bed
of Straw. When we went to see the
horse next •morning be waB acting aw
fulty queer, so we went up to the store
anA told Jim about it, and when we
went to leave Jim said: 'Hold on, I
am going with you, and maybe I can
tell what is the matter with your
horse.' When we got to the barn and
opened the dtor^we saw the horse sit
ting down on his bed of strav Jim
fry
Yankee Inventions.
"Yankee inventions" meet one at
every turn—all kinds of little "con
traptions," that are supposed to make
flings easier, but really tend to snake
so-/ftc#attic*
JCHOWMSDCS'
outstretched in the act of
feeding—and horns he sure
ly had.
It seemed for the last time
I glanced over that rifle., Be
fore the deep echoes came
back to me from the sunlit,
leafless groves, the first shot
had entered the shoulder.
The bull moved slowly for
ward, sank, and the tips of
his antlers appeared above a
bunch of swale. I cleared
deadfalls on the run. Peter
was somewheres behind,
that was all Almost on top
of that moose my moccasins
landed, as summoning bis re
maining strength he rose to
his feet and plunged off at
an awkward, rambling trot.
I suppose Peter's fears were resurrected. I am
almost afraid mine were, too. Regardless of, the
fact that I possessed but "half a dozen shells, I
emptied them, one after another, into the retreat
ing flank. Down! the bull came and I, with my
eyes particularly wide open, hastened up, en
deavoring as I traveled, to yank out a few remain
ing Hoxies wrapped up in my hip pocket. Twice
that bull went down. Twice he again got up. I
had only two shells to my knowledge. The excite
ment became intense.
Now almost all my shots had been end on, and
there is nothing harder than to stop a moose
when only his hind-quarter shows. I was deter
mined to have a side shot or none. I circled, on
the run, a bunch of swale. Just as I did the bull,
some twenty yards ahead, crossed over a tiny
brook, glared at a deadfull, and wheeled. Look
ing round for a place to jump I glared back and
fingering that magazine as I never felt it before,
I emptied those Hoxies. I was so close I could
hear the air "swissh" from the bullet holes. The
moose turned once more, endeavored to clear the
deadfall and came down to stay. At the same
moment I found one remaining shell.
In a few minutes Peter came slouching along.
We talked over generalities as one is wont to do
on such occasions, but not a word would he say
about the shooting. Then while Peter removed
the scalp I prepared a fire on the snow as he had
showed me how, for, be assured, there is a dif
ference in fires that stay fires when there is two
foot of snow beneath. As I mused I unpacked
the kettle, filled it at the brook and summoned
Peter. Washing his hands in the snow Peter
drew close, warmed his hands at the lire and
sipped the tea. He looked at the fire, my empty
rifle, the steaming scalp of the bull, and then at
me. "You make good shot—you kill moose all
'lone—you build fire on snow and boll ketths—
^ome.day you make good hunter." Smilinglj^I
parted two pieces of bacon and held them close
to the fire. Now there was something to live
for. Peter himself has said it.
WOMAN HAS THE ADVANTAGE
My maiden name was Julia Scheffknecht. and
my home was in Anderson, Ind. I had a happy
childhood. When I was fifteen years old I realized
a difference between my brothers and myself, and
resented it. They could go about almost as they
pleased I was under strict watch. I grew dis
contented. I ran away from home.
During all( these years the sense that women
are slaves to conventionality grew upon me. I
Tasked at men, and thought that their freedom
waa far superior to my condition. It seemed to
me unjust. Besides, I had grown disgusted with
the women I knew.
A restless curiosity grew in me to know by ex
perience just what a man's life is. This longing
soon took action.
In my flvst husband's wardrobe I found a blue
serge suit, brown flannel shirt, a black four-in
hand tie and a "pancacke" hat. These I put on.
I tucked my hair under the hat and went down
town. No one detected me. I found that my
disguise was safe.
In secrecy 1 began practicing all the little acts
of men. I learned to walk with my hands in my
pockets, to brush my hair back with a masculine
gesture when I took off my hat, and to whistle.
I thought it necessary to learn to smoke, not
only cigarettes, but cigars and pipe, all of which
mastered, though I did not like them. Out of a
spirit of bravado I went into a saloon and bought
a vlrink of whisky, which nearly choked me.
Latfev I learned to drink it to keep warm.
Wit $45 in my pocket I climbed on the tender
of a fast passenger train bound for Lafayette.
Ind., th3ee months ago. When we reached La
fayette 2 climbed down and landed square in the
arms oi two yard detectives. I went to Jail. My
hair fell over my shoulders when I took.off my
hat. Then I got my first lesson in the advantage
of being a woman. They not only released me,
but bought me a ticket to Anderson and wom
en's ctohes.
In St Louis, for one week, I learned how great
a hardship it is to be a man. I was penniless,
homeless and friendless. I walked the streets all
day looking for work. From my experience In
Indianapolis and Chicago, I know that I could
have obtained wart immediately as a girl. As a
"man," I was unable to find it.
Then wrote my guardian for money. It came
by express order, and was made out to "Mrs.
Julia Fittenger-McHenry." I went to the ex
press cflce and told them that I was Mrs. Kit
tlnger-tfcHenry's broiber-in-law. They refused
to give me the money, $24.83. This was the last
straw. I went to police headquarters.
"I'm Mrs. McHenry," I told the captain. He was
Incredulous. I was detained all night
I waa so dismayed by my adventures that I de
termine'! to return to skirts. My advice to «U
women who want to wear the trousers in the
family 15: "Don't. You don't know what advan
tages
ylu
the Denver Nows.
looked at him and then said: 'Say,
where that package I gave you?'
We got it for him, and he looked at
it and exclaimed: 'Great heavens,
man, I have made a mistake and giv
en you poultry food. Your horse has
gone to setting.'"
are giving up."—Julia S. McHenry, is
one nervous and miserable. To fasten
a pair of dress-shirt cuffs, to light a
cigar, or even to get powdered soap
out of a patent receptacle at a public
wash place, one must nowadays be
something of a mechanic and carry a
pocket kit of trools, which is hard on
those unpractical persons who dofflt
possess sufficient mechanical ingenu
ity to drive a nail in straight.
By the way, won't some American
genius invent a lawn mower thai
makes pleasant noise—or. no notiM
EXCELLENT J»H0QT CUTTER
Home-Made Affair Proves Equally Ef
fective as Fancy Priced Implement"
—How It Is Made.
I have a root cutter that I made
which doeB the business Just as well
as one that would cost a fancy price,
says a writer in the Orange Jodd
Farmer. I can cut a bushel of roots
in less than two minutes. Anyone
handy with a saw and hammer ca&
make one like it.
Make a box, a, 8x10x12 inches. For
the slide, b, use two pieces of inch
boards 1% inches wide and 28 inches
Homemade Root Cutter.
long. Make the knife, c, out of a
piece of sheet iron sharpened on both
sides. It should be two inches wide
and 8 inches long. Nail sheet iron 8
inches wide on top of the slide frame
and put the knife in place as shown.
Fasten a bow made from the end of
an old buggy shaft, as shown by d.
Hinge it to the slide and fasten it to
jthe handle, e, with a bolt. Nail two
cleats on the side of the legs, as
shown by f. The slide will operate
on these.
WATERING COWS IN THE BARN
Successful Dairyman Rigs Up Port*
able Tank, Large Enough for
Three Animals to Drink.
A successful dairyman recently out
lined to us his method of watering
ttoe cows in the barn, says the Ohio
{Tanner. He objected to using the
long, continuous feed trough for wa
tering, his objections being that there
will be in the process considerable
evaporation into the atmosphere of
the barn. Damp air in the barn
means that it will be chilly. The evap
oration from the gutters and radia
tion from the cows saturate the air
more than it should be without any
further addition from the trough.
To overcome that objection and yet
provide a means of watering In the
stall he had rigged a trough on low
wheels. This movable tank was so
constructed that it would run nicely
above the continuous feed trough. In
that way the cows can be watered in
a very short whlfa without being
loosened from their stalls. The tank
was made long enough so that three
cows could drink at a time. A man
may be sweeping the feedway at the
same time or doing other work while
moving this tank cart from time to
tfme.
HOMEMADE FEEDING TROUGH
Easily and Cheaply Constructed by
Using Common Lumber—Excellent
for Giving Roughage.
A good trough is easily and cheaply
constructed by* using 2x4s, 4 feet long
for corner posts set 2 feet apart, and
a 4-inch trough 1 foot from the
ground, using twelve 2-inch boards
for the bottom of trough.
Common 6-inch fencing boards
serve for the slats, set 8 inches apart
Home-Made Feeding Trough.
thus each sheep has 4 inches of feed
ing space, and thirty sheep may feed
at a 16-foot trough. Roughage will
feed nicely from this trough.
Cannot Feed for Butter Fat.
Though careful feeding will to some
extent Increase the amount of milk,
the butter quality cannot be Improved
much except by breeding up the herd.
The way to'do this Is to select cows
which give large quantities of nrilk hav
ing a higher per cent, of butter fat
than that contained in the milk from
the cows you already possess.
8hould Get Separator.
A farmer who lives too far from a
good market for whole milk should
get a separator. He should feed the
skimmed "milk to the pigs and calves.
Not only does a separator save labor
for the women folk, but also for the
men. Aud the returns are greater in
the long run than if the whole milk
was sold.
Frozen Pumpkins No Good.
Pumpkins will freeze if you don't
watch out and frozen pumpkins are
of no good to anything. Good. ripe»
sound pumpkins are enjoyed by the
COATS and help the milk flow very
much.
Variety of Feeds.
A variety of feed for cows will tend
to cori-ect bad flavors and other objec
tionable features of certain kinds of
feeds, such as turnips, oil meal and
the like.
Best Bull None Too Good.
If you keep a bull, keep him fbt
breeding purposes, and have one
worthy of that part. The other bulls
either dispose of when they areeeivef
or else convert them into •teen.
FEW RECORD-BREAKING COWS
fte"1,!fHlb,tf
Strides Made by Daffy
i'dfttfe during Past Half Dozen
*"Years—Pew ResultsVv^
It wouldnstartle.a dairyman fit
years ago to look at.some tff the rec-'
ords established recently by leading1*
dairy breeds in America. Then a cow
that wquld produce 127,432 pounds milk
In a year would have been considered
as prosperous aft, the^d world looked
upon Columbus' idea of the earth be
ing round. However,'Colantha 4th
Johanna, the famous Holstein cow,
produced that amount of milk under
careful supervision. It tested 3.64 per
cent butter fat, being a total of 998
pounds butter fat for the year.
Another Holstein, Lunde Korndyke,
was a close second, with 26,192
pounds milk to her credit for a year,
which tested 3.33 per cent, or a total
of 872 pounds butter fat.
However, all good cows are not
Holsteins. Readers will recall the re
markable record of the Guernsey cow,
Dolly Dimple. She produced *8,808
pounds milk in a year which tested
out 878 pounds fat.
Jersey breeders have something to
brag about. Jacoba Irene produced
17,253 pounds milk in a year, which
yielded 952 pounds butter fat. Anoth
er Jersey cow, Olga 4th's Pride, gave
'16,275 pounds milk, producing 871
pounds butter fat hi a year. A third
Jersey, Sophie 19th, while giving only
14,373 pounds milk, made 854 pougds
butter fat. There are a half dozen
or more well-known Jersey cows that
have exceeded the 800-pound mark for
butter fat in 365 days. When the aver
age farmer gets a cow that will pro
duce 300 pounds butter fat he thinks
he has something pretty good.
Then again, Ayrshires are not to be
Ignored. Netherhall Brownie 9th, an
Jersey Heifer.
Ayrshire cow, has a record of 18,110
pounds milk which produced 820
pounds butter fat.
Other breeds like Brown Swiss and
the dairy strain oi Shorthorn have in
teresting records back of them. When
a dairyman gets out of sorts with the
world and thinks little progress is be
ing made let him contemplate some of
these facts and note the really re
markable strides dairy cattle breeding
has experienced the past half dozen
years.
Cleaning the Separator.
In cleaning the separator be sure
and see that the parts are dried rap
idly so they will not rust still the
drying should not be done with a
cloth, as much lint will be left, and
on this will, be large number of bac
teria. Boiling water will cause the
parts to dry rapidly and evenly, and
will be death to many of the bacteria.
Records Are Essential.
It is impossible to build up and
maintain a dairy herd except .thorough
discriminating selection, and this
can only be attained where careful
records are kept and a high standard
of excellence sought.
Test for Quality.
When you test your cows for quan
tity, you must also test for quality in
order to determine definite results.
Some cov give a greater per cent
of butter fat than others.
One Silage Question Settled.
The dairy farmer who does not build
silo usually has some reason which
satisfactory to him, but he cannot
onger use the excuse that silage has
a detrimental effect on milk quality.
Butter Worked Cold.
Butter worked cold will contain
less moisture than when worked
warm. The food laws allow a certain
percentage of both salt and water in
butter.
DAIPY NOTE'S
The dairy increases the crop yield.
As a soiling crop for milk and brood
sows alfalfa is superior to the clovers.
One way of increasing profits in
many dairy herds would be to sell
tome of the cows for beef.
Three feeds a day for the new calf
ire better than the same amount in
two feeds.
Doesn't it look as though the cows
would never get enough when hay is
ip to $15 or $18?
Why not find out Just how many of
(he herd are boarders, and then get
rid of the boarders?
In keeping cows never be without
clover. It is one of the foods es
sential to good dairying.
Clover anad corn furnish a fodder
ration that can not easily be im
proved upon for dairy cows.
Every up-to-drte dairyman knows
that it is absolutely Impossible to get
clean milk from a filthy cow.
Dairy cows fed for records in cold
weather generally receive their water
with the edge taken off of it.
Sometimes it is well to improve the
man with the cows while working for
Improvement among the cows.
Why should the horse be curried
and brushed any more than the cow
that produces a part of what we eat?
Treatment, especially of the cow
with a nervous disposition, has a
great deal to do with getting best re
sults.
Get the buttermilk out of your but
ter. Anything but a package of but
ter with brine drizzling out every
where.
Cows giving milk should have one
quart of corn chop and one quart of
wheat bran mixed with the cut foddet
three times a day.
Selecting the best heifer calves from
the best cows and keeping a first-class
sire.,are methods of building up
dairy herd within the reach of aU of
REARING every great engineer
ing record of the world's his
tory and surpassing its own
mos£ sanguine expectations,
the canal digging army at
Panama, which has marched from
one victory to another under the lead
ership of Col. George W. Goethals. is
oow preparing for the final assault on
the heights of proud Culebra moun
tain.
Against what odds this canal army
has fought, few, «ven of its admirers,
fully appreciate. When the plans for
its construction were prepared, it was
estimated that nine years would be
required to remove the 103.000,000
cubic yards of material it was then
proposed to excavate. Since that time
one difficulty and another has arisen
and has forced up, notch by notch, the
total amount of material to be remov
ed, until today it is estimated that
the entire task will represent the ex
cavation of 195,000,000 cubic yards.
Slides in Culebra cut have been re
sponsible for a part of this Increase,
while the widening of that part of the
big ditch by one-half has added much
more. Then the ocean currents in the
Pacific and the work of the Chagres
river on the Atlantic side have de
posited large quantities of silt in the
line of the canal and all of this must
be removed, writes Frederick J. Has
kin in the Indianapolis News.
Yet in spite of this tremendous in
crease in the amount of material to be
removed, the last shovelful will come
out in a little more than six years
after the work began in earnest. Thus
it will be seen that while the amount
of work to be done has increased by
more than seven-eighths, the time in
which it was estimated it could be
done has been cut down by approxi
mately one-third. Furthermore, so
magnificently has the canal army re
sponded to the demands of its leader
for efficiency that the vast amount of
additional work is being done with
money saved by economical operations
on the work originally planned. When
one stops to consider that all of this
additional work is being done on sav
ings effected elsewhere, and that it
has not added one penny to the orig
inal estimates of cost, the marvelous
results of the efficiency campaign on
the isthmus become apparent.
Culebra cut always has been the
backbone of the canal problem. Once
it was thought Gatun dam would be
the most knotty feature of the work,
but this great dam has proved so
much less of a problem than was an
ticipated that the canal officials long
ago ceased to worry about it. They
felt, four years ago, when they were
beginning to plan the foundations of
this great structure, that there would
be many difficulties to overcome, and
yet they were prepared to meet them.
The actual work has not been nearly
so difficult of accomplishment as they
had expected, very much to the dis
comfiture of those people who insisted
that the dam could never be built.
6n the other hand, Coulebra cut has
proved to be a much greater task
than was anticipated. When Presi
dent Roosevelt ordered that its bot
tom width should be increased from
200 to 300 feet, he added a consider
able element to the difficulties of the
problem. The great masses of ma
terial that have been sliding into the
canal from the adjacent banks, one
slide alone having a surface area of
47 acres, have added Immensely to
the seriousness of the problem at
Culebra, and yet, one by one, these
difficulties and obstacles have been
overcome, so that there now remains
to be removed less than 16,000,000
cubic yards out of a total of more
than 88,000,000. So rapidly has the
work progressed that it is expected
that within four months the big cut
practically will be completed, except
the three miles through the heart of
Culebra mountain. There will remain
on that date, in that three-mile
stretch, 11,000,000 cubic yards of ma
terial. It is expected that 30 steam
shovels can be operated advantage
ously in this contracted area, as
against 42 now in operation. Assum
ing that the 30 can do as well In pro
portion as the 42 now are doing, the
last shovelful of dirt will come out in
less than 18 months from the present
date.
The canal authorities always are
prepared for any emergency that may
arise. They take nothing for granted,
and accept no risks. Every step must
be proved as well as human instru
mentalities may prove it before it is
taken. They prepare for every im
aginable contingency. Recently they
had a government geologist from
Washington make an on-the-ground
study of the geological formations of
the Culebra region, and they are as
sured from these investigations that
they have made all necessary allow
ances for further possible slides. Yet
tbey are preparing to meet any new
ones which may develop. Should there
be any additional slides after June 1.
1913, the canal authorities will meet
them by moving the great dredges of
the Pacific division into the cut and
dredging out the incoming material
at the rate of millions of yards a
month. By that time the locks and
dams of the canal will have been com
pleted and the water can be turned
late OWebra cut Bai this la eas
tingency that is practically certain
not to arise.
Taking a journey through the canal
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, one
may see everywhere evidences of the
rapidity with which the canal is be
ing completed. The seven-mile sea
level section between deep water and
the Gatun locks is already opened to
navigation. It can now be used oy
craft of moderate draft,
and
will be
completed to its full width of 500 feet
and its full depth of 41 feet before
Thanksgiving day next year. At Ga
tun one finds additional evidence of
remarkable progress. The locks at
that place are now within a year of
completion except for the installation
of the gates and other lock machinery.
By the first of April the Gatun dam
will be ready to hold 55 out of the
final 25 feet of water in Gatun lake.
That part of the dam between the
locks and the spillway is already prac
tically completed, and the other sec
tion is being pushed to completion
rapidly. The whole structure will be
completed nearly two years before the
official opening day of the canaL
After passing through Gatun locks,
one finds the finishing touches being
applied to the next 26 miles of chan
nel. The completion of the relocation
of the Panama railroad along the high
ground to the east of the canal has
taken the road out of the Chagres val
ley. This permits that entire portion
of the old Panama railroad to be done
away with, and by May 1 the 26 miles
of the canal between Gatun and Las
Cascades will be entirely completed.
DEPENDS ON WATER IN LUNGS
That a Drowning Person Must Rise to
the Surface Three Times Is
Merely a General Belief.
A group of old salts were discuss
ing the popular belief that a drowning
person must come to the surface of
the water three times before he can
possibly drown.
"Well," said Capt. "Tom" Morgan,
"there is little ground for that suppo
sition. The truth, a drowning person
may sink the first time, never to rise
again, or he may, as in the majority
of cases, rise three times before he
sinks forever.
"It all depends on the quantity of
water he swallows when he sinks
and the size of his lungs. The hu
man body in life naturally floats while
the lungs are inflated. So long as
one keeps his head above the water
he can float with very little effort.
"But as soon as the person sinks
he gulps down a lot of water. If aft
er he has swallowed this water he
has any air left in his lungs he will
undoubtedly rise again, .and will con
tinue to sink and rise until all the
air has been worked out of his lungs.
"In most cases the frightened vic
tim swallows enough water when he
sinks the first time to leave him ex
hausted, but as there is still air left
in the lungs he soon finds himself on
the surface again. Each time he
sinks, however, the supply of air in
his lungs grows less, until ultimately
there Is nothing left to support him.
when he will drown."
Cold Storage Lady Bugs.
Lady bugs of Nevada origin are Im
ported into California to destroy many
of the insect pests of vines and orch
ards. They are found in moss under
the snow but at that season they can
not be pressed into service, because
the worms on which they feed have
not yet appeared, while the lady bugs
are still hibernating.
.Accordingly the little Nevadans are
placed in refrigerating wagons and
thus conveyed to California, to re
main in cold storage until their serv
ices on vines and trees are required.
During all this time they take no food.
With spring come the destroying
worms, and then the lady bug is
taken from her prison and dispersed
where sho appears most likely to do
her work well. As she is ravenously
hungry, the work is begun and con
tinued until the worms are destroyed.
—Harper's Weekly.
Attaining Correct Carriage. -v
To attain correct carriage one must
walk erect and to achieve this end
there is nothing better than trying to
walk with a book or similar article,
such as a box of writing paper or sev
eral music books. This is sure to keep
one from developing the swaying of
the body more to the one side than
the other. Stays that force the oppo
site of this rule should be discarded
and destroyed, for they are not fit for
the individual to wear, for if they
work against erectness of carriage
they are really a menace to the health.
Throw out your chest better to have
commenters say that you are so
straight that you appear to be failing
over backwards than to be round
shouldered and moreover phthisical in
appearance in looks, if not In fact.
i&>
The Natural Way. "Hi
"What is the best way to do with
any subject for debate which ia en
the carpet?"
U! Jjt
"Make sweeping argument* eJH
U. of course."
-f
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