Imperial press., May 04, 1901, Page 2, Image 2

About Imperial press. (Imperial, Cal.) 1901-1901

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Imperial Press
Saturday, May 4, 1901
PACIFIC COAST ITEMS
A Big Klondike Clean Up— Fight With
a Mountain Lioness
A San Diego Murder Mystery— A Big
Court-Martial — Twelve Men Over
come by Gai
San Francisco.— The State commis
sion in lunacy has filed with the board
of supervisors a demand for the pay
ment of 11380, expended by the State
for the maintenance of insane per
sons from this city at the Mendoclno
hospital.
In its communication to the board,
the commission aoks that provision
for the payment of these claims be
made in the next tax levy.
Bis; Klondike Clean Up
Seattle, Wash.— James H. Arden, of
one of the mining companies of Daw
son, came to the city on his way to
London, England. Arden said that the
clean-up this year in the Dawson camp,
would, from a conservative estimate,
amount to $30,000,000, making it the
biggest output in the history of the
Klondike.
Mr. Arden has had an extensive ex
perience in the Klondike, and says that
the new strike in Eldorado, below the
level of the old bedrock, is not in the
least exaggerated. He is taking to
London samples of the quartz from the
ledge lately struck in the country rock,
and which runs from Victoria Gulch on
Bonanza to Eldorado. This quartz,
■which is said to be fabulously rich, is
free milling gold, Mr. Arden thinks
■will raiße the Dawson camp a great
deal in the estimation of the financial
centers of the world.
SAN DIEGO MURDER MYSTERY
A Man's Body Is Found In a Car Loaded
With Hay
San Diego, April 21.— What appears
to be a case of murder came to light
this afternoon when some men began
to unload hay from a Santa Fe car
that came in Thursday and has been
standing on the track on Che wator
front. In the car was found the body
of a man dressed us a laborer. <md
lying on the hay, apparently asleep.
An examination quickly showed tha,t
ho was dead. By his side were his
shoes, and in one of them was a bottle
of morphine, and the supposition was
that death had beon cause by the drug,
but when the corpse was taken to the
morgue the physicians discovered that
his neck was dislocated, and they de
clare that he was dead drunk when he
was placed in the car.
The identity of the dead man is un
known, and the affair Is a mystery.
Fight With a Mountain Lioness
Phoenix, Ariz.. April 22.— John
Asher, had a fearful fight with a
great mountain lioness in the Four
Heads country several days ago.
While looking after his cattle he
■was attacked by the brute, and only
the aid of his dog saved him from
death or fearful injury. The lioness
leaped upon him from a high rock,
before Asher could loosen his gun from
his saddle. The cat and man rolled to
the ground together, and the lioness
was getting the better of him when
the dog, a big mastiff, Joined in.
The diversion allowed Asher to get
his gun and he soon killed the lioness.
The dog was so badly mangled that it
died. . - J
Big Court-Martial
San Francisco, April 22.— A court
martial of unusual rank has been ord
ered to sit at the- Presidio. Several
officers of General Shatter's staff are
appointed to sit on it, and Major John
A. Hull, judge advocate of the depart
ment, Is judge advocate of the court.
There are thirteen members of the
court. All this seems to indicate that
an officer is to be tried.
All the officers are under oath to pre-
Berve the utmost secrecy in tEe matter
and claim either that there is nothing
unusual on foot or that they know
imperial prcae
nothing about It. No officer stationed
in this department is known to have
committed any court-martial offense,
but is is possible that, among the num
erous officers who have been return-
Ing from the Philippines lately, Borne
one may have been sent to General
Shatter under arrest and with orders
for his immediate trial.
Twelve Men Are Overcome by Gas
SEATTLE, Wash. — Overcome by
smoke and gas from a passing freight
train, twelve men fell Insensible In
the Great Northern tunnel through the
Cascade Mountains.
One hour later a track-walker stum
bled over their prostrate bodies. Sup
posing that all were dead, he hurried
back to the town of Cascade for as
sistance. A special engine and crew
were sent out and brought In the
bodies.
Eleven were resuscitated, but J. A.
McDonald, who fell Into a ditch
through which water was running, was
beyond help. It is supposed that he
was drowned rather than suffocated,
as he fell face down In the water.
THREE BIG TRUSTS
I Are About to Be Floated—Telephone
Trust, Stove Trust, Theatre Combine
San Francisco. — The Bulletin prints
a story to the effect that a gigantic
combination of all the telephone In
terests of the United States has been
accomplished, and that John J. Sabin,
president and manager of the Pacific
States Telephone company, with head
quarters in this city, has been chosen
president of the largest and most im
portant division of the new combine,
with a salary of $35,000 a year.
The presidency and management of
the Pacific States Telephone company
will be retained by Mr. Sabin, who will
reside in the east for a period, however,
until he has replaced the system there
upon a basis comparable to that of San
Francisco.
In the majority of the eastern cities
flat rates are in vogue, the subscribers
paying for their telephones by the year.
The California man is to introduce the
graded rate system now in effect in this
city and along the coast.
The American Telegraph and Tele
phone company has assumed practical
control of the telephone lines of the
United States. The capital stock of
this company is $90,100,000, and the
number of its stations 800,880, while
it has 1,961,000 miles of wire strung
over the entire country.
Detroit.— A special to the Evening
News from St. Louis says: Although
efforts are being made to keep it
secret, the fact has leaked out here
that the organization of a huge stove
trust is nearly completed, taking in all
the large stove manufacturing concerns
of the United States.
New York.— A partnership has been
formed by George W. Lederer and M.
B. Leavitt to establish an amusement
circuit in the principal cities of Cuba,
Mexico and Yucatan.
Novel Horse Race
Prescott. — A novel race occurred here
between two horses owned by Dan
Reams and Joe Ray, of Big-Bug. The
wager was $400. Reams was required
to cover a distance of twenty-six miles
on a wagon road, while Ray was to
select his own route, the one reach
ing Prescott first was to win the
money.
Ray selected a trail seventeen miles
in length, between the two places,
and covered the distance in "one hour
and seventeen minutes in spite of the
fact that the trail is quite precipitous
at several places. Reams, whose horse
was much larger and stronger, covered
his twenty-six miles in an hour and
forty minutes, contrary to expectations.
Neither animal is apparently injured.
Kasson Resigns
Washington— John A. Kasson has
seveTed his official connection with
the stato department, where he has
been since the beglnnning of Mr. Mc-
Kinleys administration, engaged as
special plenipotentiary to conduct the
negotiations which resulted in the
drawing of a number of reciprocity
treaties and arrangements under the
terms of the McKinley act.
Although thus severing his officia
connection, Mr. Kasson holds himself
ready to respond to any call of the de
partment for the special information of
which he is possessed. Meanwhile the
bureau iv the state department which
he organized will continue In ex
istence.
FOR THE FARMER
A Few Items Gathered for the Inter
est of Our Rural Readers
STARTING YOUNG GRAPEVINES
A Boycott Declared on California Straw-
Berries— Heat of Wood and Coal—
Disposing of Sick Chickens
Reports from various parts of Mex
ico Btute that unusually heavy and late
frosts have caused great damage to
the grain crops all over th^repub c.
Wheat has suffered particularly. Fruit
orchards on the west coast have been
slightly damaged and the orange crop
will be cut down considerably.
A farmer near Phoenix, Arizona,
planted one grain of white Australian
wheat and at harvest time from it had
sprung 1360 grains of large fat wheat.
He planted ten acres of this wheat
and harvested 177 sacks, each weigh
ing 138 pounds. The single grain
spoken of produced thirty-six stalks.
To prevent the loss of fruit on trees
by frost, the fruit-growers of the Yak
ima valley, Washington, are building
movable fire sheds which can be drawn
through the orchards by horses. By
the burning of wood and damp straw,
a dense smoke is caused, which effec
tually dispels the frost and Prevents
injury to the buds.— California Culti
vator.
Oranges in London
W N. White, Covent Garden, Lon
don. England, wrote to the New York
Fruitman's Guide under date of March
15. as follows:
"Oranges— There is great trouble in
this trade. Many are useless. The
weather in Spain spoiled quite a lot,
and some of those that have been
shipped ought to have been left at the
manure heap, as they have to be
thrown away here— freight, packing
charges and boxes all lost. Others just
pay the expense. Those that are good
fetch high prices. At yesterday's sale
Murcia Bloods, 150s to 200s, fetched
9s. to 11s.; sweets, 4205, 16s to 265..;
4205, large, 265. to 405.; 7145, 15s. to
las.; extra large 7145, 18s. to 265. Cali
fornias are in demand, those here being
Washington navels. Seeing that best
oranges are now so badly wanted, I
recommend some 150s to 175s budded
seedlings of good quality, as I think we
can give a good account of them. We
could also do with some California
mandarins and grape fruit."
This item is of Interest as showing
the situation in London a month ago.'
when California oranges could not
reach New York for want of trans
portation facilities.— L. A. Herald.
Farming in Alaska
It will be a matter of surprise to
most people to hear that Alaska will
produce farm feed of great value. Prof.
C. C. Georgeson, the special agent of
the United States Agricultural Depart
ment, in charge of the experiment sta
tion at Sitka, after two years of ex
perience, says:
"There Is not the slightest doubt
that grain can be matured almost
anywhere in Alaska. I have obtained
this year samples of perfectly ripe bar
ley, oats, wheat and rye from several
points in the interior as far north as
Eagle. These grains were grown and
matured there this year. With one
exception they were volunteer products
from, seed accidentally scattered and
grown wild. If grains will grow and
mature without culture, it stands to
reason that they will grow and im
prove with culture. I also grew flax
at Sitka the first year. It attained
a height of more than three feet, ma
tured seed and produced a fiber of ex
cellent quality. There is no doubt
that flax can be made a successful crop
in the coast region of Alaska.
Starting Young Grapevines
There Is a general stampede all over
the State to plant grapevines and all
sorts of methods are used. In the
north, anything that is not on re
sistant roots is not considered worth
while planting, on account of the
phyloxera. At this end of the State
people are importing standard varie
ties on their own roots, from phyloxera
infested districts of the north. These
importations should be stopped, wheth
er the insect is discovered on them or
not. It would be an easy matter to
quarantine against the phyloxera from
the north if proper steps were taken.
Lincoln.
There are many fine vineyards la
Southern California tkat will continue
to pay well for perhaps a generation,
provided the phyloxera Is kept out.—
California Cultivator.
Boycott on Berries
PHOENIX, Ariz., April 19.— The Art
zona Berry Growers' Association has
been perfected. Plans were made for a
boycott of California strawberries,
which are being shipped here in large
quantities. Imported berries are of in
ferior quality and in bad condition by
the time they reach here, and some of
them, shipped, out of here as Arizona
f-uit, have caused serious damage to
the reputation of local berries.
Sick Chickens
About the best way to treat a sick
chicken is to kill and bury it. If it is
grown, cut off its head, selecting a
place for the operation where the
healthy birds will not get at the blood.
Bury the body near a grapevine, if
you grow grapes. If It is a deformed
or sickly chick do not bother with it,
but kill it and bury It near a potato
plant. It will give more profit there
than it will In any other way. In most
sicknesses the fowl is neglected until
it has spread the disease. The attempt
to doctor, if made at all, should be
made just as soon as the bird begins
to mope. Cholera, the worst disease
we have to contend with, is spread
through the droppings. A cholera in
fected bird may be kept in the next
pen to the healthy stock wlOi only a
wire netting to separate them and will
not spread the disease among the flock.
But the trouble often Is the sick bird
is not separated from the flock soon
enough. A poultry raiser of our ac
quaintance is very successful, and he
rigidly enforces the rule to kill every
fowl that shows signs of sickness. He
says that others may spend their time
doctoring hens if they wish to, but he
has no time to do it and does not care
to run the risk of having sick birds
about. He boasts of raising ninety
chicks out of one hundred. In a loft
in his hen house he keeps a salamander
stove, which he can readily heat up,
and in that stove he burns every sick
fowl that he kills. As intimated above,
we think a dead fowl can be put to
better use than that and not endan
ger the flock either. On a smaller scale
I have tried the killing remedy and it
has worked well. Do the best we may,
and we shall lose chicks and have some
sick fowls. However, cleanliness, ex
termination of lice, careful feeding and
care not to overcrowd will reduce sick
ness to the minimum. Much of the
trouble that comes to the young flock
Is the result of weak stock, and a weak,
sickly chick is better dead than alive.
It Is folly to breed from weak stock
if we know it, but having done it.
weeding out the flock Is advisable, and
a necessity. Save the strong chicks
and destroy the weak ones. Weed out
as heroically as you weed out a herd
of cattle of sheep. — Optimist.
Heat in Wood and Coal
Farmers as well as others have oc
casion to consider the fuel question as
one of some importance In Southern
California, and therefore they will be
interested in the statement made by
the Rural New Yorker that the pro
portionate heating power .of coal and
wood has been found by experience
to be that one pound of charcoal heats
seventy-three pounds of water from 32
degrees, which is the freezing point,
to 212 degrees, which is" the boiling
point of water; that one pound of an
thracite coal heats seventy pounds of
water In the same way, and one pound
of dry wood heats thirty-five pounds
of water the same, so that the coal has
just twice the heating power that dry
wood has. and a little less than char
coal has. Of course wood that is not
dry loses a proportionate heating value
corresponding to the quantity of water
remaining in It, and air dry wood has
on an average 12 degrees of water in
it. So that we may reasonably esti
mate the value of one ton of anthra
cite coal to be equal to two cords of
wood.
"Honest Tom" Sampson
New York. April 20.— "Honest Tom"
Sampson, detective, army veteran and
life-saver, died last night at Mount
Vernon, N. Y.
Captain Sampson had sixteen medals
for meritorious service, a number of
them for saving life, one being
awardede to him by Congress. He
aided in the arrest of Mrs. Surratt.
Miss Fitzpatrick, Edward Payne and
Dr. Samuel Cox, who were implicated
In the plot to assassinate President