LAS VEGAS DAILY OPTIC, TUESDAY,. DECEMBER 15, 1914.
0
i WING to an. over stock of mercKandise we
are compeU'd to use this method to reduce our
stock; We will give you 25 per cent Discount on
All Men's and Boys
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TR AGO
SALE OPENS
Dec. 15th
Writer Who Outdid Poo in
Horror a Victim of Mexico
(By Bailey Millard
War has blotted out another bright
life that of Ambrose Bierce, a unique
figure in American literature whose
vivid army tales and keen satirical
papers and poems stamped him as one
of the most original and versatile of
writers. Bierce was a master of Eng
lish, as even his most ephemeral work
will show, and technically none could
touch him. He corrected Kipling, and
Howells, and in hia critical essays he
showed where many other famous au
thors failed in their ' facts or their
diction. He wrote the ' most grue
some, most harrowing, the most ter
rible tales ever published in this coun
try. Some of his poems were of rare
strength and (beauty.' His "Invoca
tion" Is said to have been the real In-
inn nf ..Klnlinfr'a "IUGRS!oTial."
and In this Instance newspaper men
have pulled the deadly parallel to the
supposed confusion of the famous
Englishman.
Bierce led a most remarkable life-
half hermit, half Bohemian, and alto
gether egotistical and cynical. In the
west he was the most hated and fear
ed of writers, and also the most court
ed and spoiled. He lampooned near
ly everybody in political and private
life with hair raising audacity. As the
dean of Pacific coast letters he made
and unmade authors and poets. The
dilettante worshipped him. He has
been called "the American Swift" "the
last of the satisirlsts," and "the Mau
passant of the west." He was an
iconoclast of the first order.
When Villa rose against Huerta and
the constitutionalists rushed to arms,
Bierce, who was a northern captain
in the civil war and was brevetted
tnaior for exceptional gallantry, went
to Mexico and joined the staff of the
doughty general. After the battle of
Torreon he was missing and has not
been heard from since. . There is so
little doubt of his death that his
friends and relatives have given up
searching for him and mourn him as
0:3 1:;;7 C:iv
13 Lcrli's It'
vawvi
Every tiny Infant makes life's per-
speotive wider and brighter. And what- !prlnt. He thought nothing of Crucl
ever there la to enhance its arrival and ' , , , . , T4 vj
to ease and comfort the expectant mother ; fying a popular Idol. anyooay
should be given j attention. . Among the j wrote about war, for example, he was
real helpful things fs an external ab- .. . . . , . ,.
domlnal application known as "Mother's 'pretty sure to be challenged by Bierce,
Friend." There Is scarcely a community wn0 was deeply versed In army af
but what has its enthusiastic admirer of t, , . . . . VA , mi.,,
this splendid embrocation, it is so well .fairs, not only having been a military
thought of by women who know that most engineer with General Thomas, but
drug stores throughout the United States . . . . 4l, ..a n,
carry "Mother's Friend" as one of their having the whole theory and practice
staple and reliable remedies. It is applied ,
to the abdominal muscles to relieve the
Strain on ligaments and tendons.
Those who have used It refer to the
aae and comfort experienced during the
HcTyenX
refer to the absence of nausea, often so
prevalent as a result of ; the natural
expansion. In a little book are described
more fully the many reasons why
"Mother's Friend" has been a friend
indeed to women with timely hints, sug
gestions and helps for ready reference. It
should be in all' homes. "Mother's Friend"
may he bad of almost any druggist, but if
you fall to find It write us direct and also
write for book to Bradlleld Regulator Cft.
4Q3 J.aioar Hldg., Atlouta, Ca.
in New York Times)
lost. His publisher, the Neale com
pany, which was paying him royalties
on his collected works, cannot reach
him with its checks or letters of in
quiry, and neither his daughter, Mrs.
11. D. Cowden of Bloomington, 111.,
nor his secretary, Miss Carrie Chris
tiansen of Washington, with each of
whom he corresponded regularly, has
had any word from him for nine
months. .
At the time he joined Villa he was
72 years old. His friends unite in
saying that if he were alive he would
not have left them so long in sus
pense. There has been a report from
San Francisco that on leaving that
city for Mexico ho was very despond
ent, and that he was1 going back to his
old game of war because he. Jacked
the courage to commit suicide. There
is another rumor that he actually did
efface himself In Sonora.
Neither of these stories deserves
credence. I knew the man well. He
was a fatalist and did not believe In
assisting fate. There are those who
affect to believe that he is letting the
reports of his death go uncontradict
ed that he may enjoy the reading of
his obituaries. But I should say that
this were very unlikely. Vain he was,
and not a little curious as to what
men thought of him, but not so vain
cr so curious as that.
Ambrose Bierce had a peculiarly
anomalous position in the world of
letters. The public, seeking out the
best sellers, was little acquainted
with his writings. This was partly
for the reason strange as it may seem
that he despised popularity and all
that the world stands for. This was
not merely from the desire to be dif
ferent, but for the reason that he 1'"
ed and thought entirely out of the
grnve. Like Thoreau, he held "men
and their dirty institutions" in utter
contempt. He would have lit his ci
gar with a t age of Emerson and would
have" Thrown Longfellow into the as-h
can, ,
Ho wculd never defer in the slight
est to the literary or philosophical
opinions of his fellows, cared nothing
for what they might say of his per
sonal conduct, however slnguar or of
fensive, and though he committed
many breaches cf custom and gave
many affronts, he never apologized.
Probably Bierce was more widely
known in the west than In the east,
although he lived and worked on the
Atlantic side during his best period
of production. He made no friends
among the literati, and was constant-
VT finding iauit witn mem in puuuo
0f modern warfare at his finger's ends,
There is no doubt that to Bierce, as a
member of General Villa's staff, the
0We DOt ft littlQ 01
their success,
Bierce, who was of NeW England
parentage, was In Ohio when the civil
war began. He enlisted for the north
in 1861, while in his twenty-first year.
Because of his marked ability and
great bravery as a soldier he rose ra
pidly from the ranks, and In the
-minrB. cnm mm at
WE ALSO
I Forty Dozen Fifty Cent Neck Ties at 25 Cto. Etagft I
All new up to date Ties Reversible and Flowing Ends.
course of time became a captain of
'Infantry. He was wonded at Cliicka
' manga, the scene of one of his most
vividly written and most horrible
tales. Of the end of this battle he
says in his journal:
Had the confederates marie one
more general attack we should have
had to meet them with the bayonet
alone. I don't know why they did
not; probably they were short of am
munition. I know, though, that while
the sun was taking itn own time to set
we lived through the agony of at
least one death each, waiting for them
to come on.
At last it grew too dark to fight.
Then away to our left and rear some
of Bragg's peole set up "the rebel
yell." It was taken up successively
and passed around to our front, along
our right and in behind us again un
til it seemed almost to have got to
the point whence it started. It was
the ugliest sound that any mortal
ever heard even a mortal exhausted
and unnerved by two days of hard
fighting without sleep, without rest
and without hope. There was how
ever. 'a space somewhere at the back
of us across which that horrible yell
did not prolong itself, and through
that we finally retired in profound
silence and dejection unmolested, i
After the war, irom which he
emerged as Major Bierce, he flipped
a coin to see whether he would go
in for literature or a military career.
Literature won and he began to write
essays and stories. The year 1870
found him in London in the brilliant
set of which Tom Hood was leader.
There he sent forth such poignant
shafts of ridicule of men and institu
tions as to earn for him the Bobriquet
of "Bitter Bierce."
On returning to America, Bierce
went west. In 1880 he was manager
for a mining company In the Black
Hills, where he had some desperate
adventures with bad men, chiefly
highwaymen. Later he was employed
as a writer by Frederick Marriott of
the San Francisco News-Letter. Here
he was given a free hand, and in his
pungent paragraphs he attacked every
body, high and low, and soon made
a name for himself all over the west
HEAR DEATH
BY Sf.iOTHERIIIG
But IlaskaJ, Willi Air of Culm,
Effects Her Delirerance.
Draper, N C Mrs. Helen Dalton, cf
fliis place, says: "1 suffered for years,
with pains in my left side, and would
often almost smotner to death.
Medicines patched me ud for awhile
but then 1 would get worse again. Final
ly, my husband decided he wanted me to
try Cardui, the woman's tonic, so he
bought me a bottle and I began using it
It did me more good than all the medi
cines I had taken.
I have induced many ot my friends ta
Ery Cardui, and they all say they have
Been benefited by its use. There never
iias been, and never will be, a medicine
to compare with Cardui. 1 believe it is
i good medicine for all womanly trou
i!es." v v.
For over 50 Tears. Cardui has been re-
leving woman's sufferings and building
weak women up to health and strength.
If you are a woman, give tt a fair trial
t should surely help you, as it has a
nillion others.
Get a botUe of Cardui to-day.
WHtt to: Chsttsnoofa Medlclns Co, Ladles
Idfisory DsC Chaltanoos. Tenn., fjr Sfciai
imtruciimi on your use and M-pag book, "Moms
rrestmatior Wamso." in plain wraucsr. B.C. lit
HAVE FOR
as the most vitriolic satirist of hia day.
When his book "Tales of Soldiers
and Civilians" was published In the
later '80s it was pounced upon by re
viewers, who declared it to be more
harrowing than Poe; but at the same
time the style was recognized as that
of a master. "A Son of the Gods,"
one of the stories in this book, Is fair
ly representative. A young officer
whose division is halted at the edge
of a wood to spare the lives of the
skirmishers rides forward alone to
the crest of a bare bridge, to make
the enemy disclose himself. He then
rides on In a storm of rifle fire.
The dust drifts away. Incredible!
That enchanted horse and rider have
passed a ravine and are climbing an
other slope to unveil another con
spiracy of silence, to thwart the will
of another armed host Another mo
ment and that crest too, is in erup
tion. The horea rears and strikes the
air with his forefeet They are down
at last But look again the man has
detached himself from tho dead artfc
mal. He stands erect, motionless.
holding hia saber in his right hand.
straight above his head. His face is
toward us. Now he lowers his hand
to a level with his face and moves it
outward, the blade of the saber de
scribing a downward curve. It is a
sign to us, to the world, to posterity;
It is a hero's salute to death and his
tory I
Again the spell is broken. Our men
attempt to cheer; they are choking
with emotion; they utter hoarse, dis
cordant cries; they, clutch their wea
pons and press tumultuously forward
Into the open. The skirmishers, with
out orders, against orders, are going
forward at a keen run, like hounds
unleashed.
In the end, of course, the young
hero is slain, but the inspiration of
his deed leads his comrades to vic
tory.
In his next volume of tales, "Can
Such Things Be?" Bierce appeared as
the most distinctive exponent of the
supernatural and terrible the world
has ever seen in literature. You may
search Poe through and never find
such riotous imagination as is reveal
ed in "The Damned Thing," "Moxon's
Master," and "The Middle Toe of the
Right Foot."
Bierce was ever a fighter, in civic
life as in war.
The bitterest of all his journalistic
battles was waged against Coilis P.
Huntington, who in 1896 was conduct
ing a powerful lobby at Washington
to pass his refunding bill, releasing
him and bis associates of the Central
Pacific railroad from their obligations
to the government Bierce went to
Washington. A newspaper man said
to Huntington, "Bierce is in town."
"How much does he want?" cynical
ly asked Huntington.'
The remark was reported to Bierce.
"Please go tack and tell him," said
that Journalist, "that my price la 73
milltion dollars. If when he is ready
to pay I happen to be out of town he
may hand it to my friend, the treas
urer of the United States."
-This 75 million dollars was the
amount claimed by the government
from the Central Pacific.
Huntington was defeated and the
money was paid into the treasury. To
Bierce was given much of the credit
for the successful campaign made
against the great railroad man.
FAMOUS TENDERLOIN CLOSED
San Francisco, Calif., Deo. 15. The
red light abatement law goes into ef
fect today, and the famous tenderloin
THIS SALE
section of the Golden Gate la no more.
The keeera of the resorts were noti
fied that the law would be rigidly en
forced, and the police will get busy
if the resorts are not all out of busi
ness today. It is believed that the
dive keepers will accept the inevitable
for there has been a grand moving out
during the past week, many of the re
sort keepers going to other cities.
Beat For Kidneys Says Doctor
Dr. J. T. It. Neal, Greenville, So.
Car., says that in his 30 years of ex
perience he has found ho preparation
for the kidneys equal to Foley Kidney
Pills. In 50c and $1.00 sizes. Best you
can buy for ' backache, ' rheumatism,
kidney and bladder ailments. O. G.
Schaefer and Red Cross Drug Store.
AdT. ,
"SELF DENIAL" DAY" ,
Baltimore, Dec., " 15.Today has
been set apart by the council as "Self
Denial Day," and In accordance wltU
the spirit of the occasion, cigars, soda.
Pr
1
0 o W&j
J f XUv 1
D ,
- """" J(f i
0 ilU " ' S i
o a- 1?? . i
The Las -Vegas' light -and Power Comrr.nv
candy, and other luxuries are tabooed
by most of the Baltimore citizens. The
fund for the relief ot the city's poor
and unemployed will be increased by
many thousands of dollars before
nightfall Mayor J. IL Preston is
heading the work of raising the fund.
and has found a hearty response.
Wheezing! n the lungs indicates that
phlegm Is obstructing the ajr pas
sages. BALLARD'S HOREHOTJND
SYRUP loosens the phlegm so that it
can be coughed up and ejected. Price
25e, SOc and $1.00 per bottle. Sold by
Central Drug Co. Adv.
EXHIBIT OF PAINTINGS
Washington, Dec. 15. The Corcor
an Gallery of Art today opened its
fifth biennial exhibit of paintings
from the brushes of American art
ists. Liberal orizes. donated
Senator William A, Clark of Montr
ana, are to be awarded, together with
.the Corcoran medals. In addition to
the awards, the Orccraa fund will
n u n
Copyright Hilt Schiffner it Marl f 1
SALE CLOSES
Dec. 24th
be parti utilized tbia year In the
purchas3 of the test American palct
ings.
Interest among American artists ia
very keen, and the best productions
have been gathered for the display,
which will be on daily exhibition until
January 24. The art Jury that win
decide the winners Is composed of
Edward W. Redfield, chairman. Ed-
m'md C. Tarbell, Ralph Clarkson, Rob
ert Henri and Erail Carlsen. The first
prize is $2,000 in cash and th Hmv
coran gold medal, and there are three
other prizes.
Checks Croup Instantly
You know croup is aangeronus. And
you ought to know too, the sense ot
security that comes from having Fo
ley's Honey and Tar Compound in the
house. It cuts the thick mucus and
clears away the phlegm, stops the
strangling cough and gives easy
breathing and quiet sleep. Every us-
er ts a friend. O. G. Schaefer at!
Bed Cross Drug Store. AdT.
0K
if