• *Z 'X •V".?TV- ? r>: •-'; V>V»$ T H E G I R L A T T H E H A L F W A Y H O U S E r35?pK» i'iiOK OF T!IK STORY OF THE COWBOY Co m t a my t v r k 1 vmm a bleached buffalo skull, which !«y half hidden in the red grass at his £W% BRIDGING, AN INLAND SEA. CHAPTER J& ^' £ CHAPTER IX.--Continued. "Well, you see another town goln' op below here about twenty mile--old man Plum's town, Plum Centre. I run the mail an* carry folk acrost from EHIisville to that place. This here is Just about half way acrost Ellisville's •bout twenty or twenty-five mile north of here." The tan man on the wagon seat turned his face slowly back toward , the interior of the wagon. "What do you think, Lizzie?" he asked. "Dear me, William," came reply from the darkness in a somewhat com fJiaining voice, "how can I tell? It all seems alike to me. You can judge better than L" "What do you say, niece?" The person last addressed rested a hand upon the questioner's shoulder and lightly climbed out upon the seat by his side, stooping as she passed under the low bow of the cover frame. Her presence caused Sam to instinct ively straighten up and tug at his open coat. He took off his hat with a memory of other days, and said his "Good mornin'" as the schoolboy does to his teacher--superior, revered and awesome. Yet this new character upon this bare little scene Was not of a sort to terrify. Tall she was and shapely, comely with all the grace of youth and health, not yet tanned too brown by the searing prairie winds,and show ing still the faint purity of the com plexion of the South. To Sam it was instantaneou^y evident that here was a new species of being, one of which he had but the vaguest notions through any experiences of his own. His chief impression was that "he was at once grown small, dusty and much . unshaven. He flushed as he shifted and twisted on the buckboard seat. The girl looked about her for a mo- Your name, sir, I don't know, but we are very glad to meet you." "My name's Poeton," said Sam, as he also now climbed down from his sett, seeing that the matter was clinched and that he had gained a fam ily for his county--"Sam Poston. I run the livery barn. Do you allow you'll move up to Ellisville and live tnere?" "Well, I've started out to get some land," said Buford, "and I presume that the first thing is to find that and get the entry made. Then we'll have to live on it till we can commute it. I don't know that it would suit us at Ellisville just yet. It must be a rather hard town, from all I can learn, and hardly fit for ladies." "That's so," said Sam, "it ain't Just the quietest place in the world for women-folks. Still," he added apolo getically, "folks soon gets used to the noise. I don't mind it no more at all." Buford smiled as he glanced quiz zically at the faces of his "women folks." At this moment Sam broke out with a loud exclamation. "Now, you listen to me. IH tell you what! You see, this here place where we are now is just about a mile from the White Woman Sinks, and that is, as I was sayin', just about half way betwen Ellisville and Plum Cen tre. Now, look here. This country's goin* to boom. They's goin' to be a plenty of people come in here right along. ~ There'll be a regular travel from Ellis do^n to Plum Centre, and it's too long a trip to make between meals. You just go down to the White Woman and drive your stake there. Take up a quarter for each of you. Put you up a sod house as quick as you can--I'll git you help lor that. Now, if you can git anything to cook, and can give meals to my stage outfit when I carry passengers if! y*,* He kicked aside a bleached buffalo akulL fc'-v ment in silence, shading her eyes still with her curved hand. "It is much alike, all this country, I ' should think--" But what she/ would have thought was broken into by a sudden exclamar .•> tion from farther back in the wagon. A large black face appeared at the aperature under the front wagon bow, and the owner of it spoke with a cer tain oracular vigor. "Fo' Gawd, Mass' William, less Jess stop right yer! I 'clare, I'se jess . wore to a plum frazzle, a-travelin' an' a-travelin'! Ef we gwine settle, why, less settle, thass all I say!" The driver of the wagon sat silent for a moment Then quietly, and with no comment, he unbuckled the 'reins and threw them- out and down pS 'upon the ground on either side of the iwagon. %. • *' "Whoa, boys," he called to the up.-: jiiorses, which were too weary to note ' that they were no longer asked to go fe,\ farther on. Then the driver got de- 3liberately down. pi-'/'!,; "Well turn out here," he said, strik- ^ ̂ 'ing his heel upon the ground with Yf I: significant gesture, as was an uncon- "scious custom among the men who > chose out land for themselves in a £££ ;|r new region. "We'll stop here for a < bite to eat, and .1 reckon we won't ' ' go any farther west How is this jgW country around hereWor water?" - »Oh, that?" said skm. "Why, say, yon couldn't very well hit it much betr ' ter. Less'n a mile farther down this Km trail to the drouth you come to the Wr$:. Sinks of the White Woman Creek. CE>, They's most always some water in that creek, and you can git it there any place by diggin' ten or twenty -r fCCt "That's good," said the stranger. t- > "That's mighty good." He turned to ^MV^tae wagon side and called out to his v^wlfft- "Come, Lizzie," he said, "get . ^-"out, dear, and take a rest. We'll have bite to est and then well talk this , „. ~/"Ijail over." • The woman to whom he spoke next : appeared at the wagon front and was •aided to the ground. Tall, slender, black clad, with thin, pale face, she seemed even mpre ugsuited than her ttiusbaud to the prospect which lay before them. Immediately behind her there clambered down from the wag- • on, with many groanings and com plaints, the goodly bulk of the black woman who had earlier given her ad- •ice. "Set down yer. Mis' Lizzie, in the shade," she Bald, spreading a fug upon the ground upon the side of the wagon farthest from the sun. "Set down an' git a ress. Gawd knows we all needs it---this yer fo'saken ken- try. Tain' good as Mizwmry, let lone Kalntucky er Ole Vehginny--no, mam!" There was thus now established, by the chance of small things, the loca tion of a home. It was done. It was decided. There was a relief at once upon every countenance. Now these persons were become citizens of this land. Unwittingly, or at least tacitly, this was admitted when the leader of **»<« little party advanced to the side of the buckboard and offered his hand "My name is Buford," he said slow Jy and with grave courtesy. "This Is •gr wife; my niece. Miss Beanchamp. A through here, why, I ckn promise you, youH git business, and you'll git a- plenty, too." Unconsciously Buford's eye wander ed over to the portly form of tie negress, who sat fanning herself, a little apart from the others. He smiled again with the quizzical look on his face. "How about that, Aunt Lucy?" he asked. "Do hit Mass' William," replied the colored woman at once with convic tion, and extending an energetic fore finger. "You dess do whut this yer man says. Ef they's any money to be made a-cookin', I kin do all the cookin' ever you wants, ef you-ali kin git any thing to cook. Yas, suh!" "You ain't makin' no mistake," re sumed Sam. "You go in and git your land filed on, and put you up a sod nouse or dugout for the first seasdn, because lumber's awful high out here. It's pretty late to do anything with a crop this year, even if you tad any breakin' done, but you can take your team and gether bones this fall and winter, and that'll make you a good livin,, too. But--'scuse me, have you ever farmed it much?" "Well, sir," said Buford slowly, "I used to plant corn and cotton, back in Kentucky, befo' the war." Sam looked at him, puzzled. "I allow ed you'd never ranched It much," he said, vaguely. "How'd you happen to come out here?" The quizzical smile again crossed Buford's face. "I think I shall have to give that up. on my honor," he said. "We Just seem to have started West, and to have kept going until we got here." "From Kentucky, eh?" said Sam slowly and meditatively. "Well, it don't make no difference where you come from; we want good men in here, and you'll find this a good coun try, I'll gamble that Now I must be gittin* along over toward Plum Cen tre. See you again if you stop Jn here on White Woman--see you sev eral times a week, like enough. You must come up to Ellis soon as you git straightened out. Say," and he drew Buford to one side as he whispered to him--"say, they's a mighty fine girl--works in the depot hotel-- Nory's her name--you'll see her if you ever come up to town. I'm awful gone on that girl, and if you git any chanct, If you hapen to be up there, you Just put In a good word for me, won't you? 'd do as much for you." Buford listened with grave polite ness, though with a twinkle in his eye and promised to do what he could. Encouraged at this, Sam stepped up and shook hands with Mrs. Buford, and with the girl, not forgetting Aunt Lucy, an act which singularly im pressed that late inhabitant of a dif ferent land, and made hi™ her fast friend for life. 'Well, so long," he said to them all in general as he turned away, "arid good luck to you. You ain't makin' no mistake in settlin' here. Good-bye till I see you all again." He stepped into the buckboard and clucked to his little team, the dust again rising from under the wheels. The eyes of those remaining followed him already yearningly. As Buford turned he stumbled and kicked aside S=CaC£Eg££2£3S9Bfe&L k-iv The Chase. The rammer flamed up Into sodden heat, and seared all the grasses, and cut down the timtf flowers. Then gradually there came the time of shorter days and cooler nights. Obvi ously all the earth was preparing for the winter time. It become not less needful for man* kind to take thought for the morrow. Winter on the plains was a season of severity for the early settlers, whose resources alike in fuel and food were not too extensive. Franklin's fore thought had provided the houses of himself and Battersleigh with proper fuel, and he was quite ready to listen to Curly when the latter suggested that it might be a good thing for them to follow the usual custom and go out on a hunt for the buffalo herd, in order to supply themselves with their winter's meat Franklin, Battersleigh and Curly set out. These three had a wagon and riding horses, and they were accom panied by a second wagon, owned by Sam, the liveryman, who took with him Curly's mozo, the giant Mexican, Jmpn. The latter drove the team, a task which Curly scornfully refused when' it was offered him, his cowboy creed rating any conveyance other than the saddle as far beneath his station. At night they slept beneath the stars, uncovered by any tent, and saluted constantly by the whining coy otes, whose vocalization was betimes broken by the hoarser, roaring note of the great gray buffalo wolf. At morn they awoke to an air surcharged with some keen elixir which gave de light in sense of living. All around lay a new world, a wild world, a virgin sphere not yet acquaint with man. Early on the morning of the fourth day of their Journey the travelers noted that the plain began to rise and sink in longer waves. Presently tuey found themselves approaching a series of rude and wild-looking hills of sand. For many miles they travel ed through this difficult and cheerless region, the horses soon showing signs of distress and all the party feeling need of water, of which the supply naa been exhausted. They pushed on in silence, intent upon what might be ahead, so that when there came an exclamation from the half-witted Mexican, whose stolid silence under most circumstances had become a proverb among them, each face vu at once turned toward him. "Eh, what's that, Juan?" said Curly. Say, boys, he says we're about out of the sand hills. Prairie pretty soon now, his says." (To be continued.) THE "LITTLE FATHER'S" WORK. Youngster's Tender 8olic!tude for His Baby Brother. 'You see and hear a lot about 'child mothers' in the tenement house dis tricts," said a gas collector yesterday, "but nobody seems to notice the 'child fathers.' There may not be so many of them, but there are some, and they should get due credit 'I saw one coming down town In a Sixth avenue 'L' car the other day. There was a woman, a foreigner I suppose, for she wore no hat--one of those pale, half-fed looking women-- who had with her a fat babe-ln-arms and this boy, this 'child father.' He was a black-eyed little chap of nine or ten years, and the interest ha took in everything around him was in strong contract to the lifeless look and man ner of the Woman. Every once in a while he would look to see how the baby was getting along. It was sleeping, and he seemed satisfied. The woman appeared anxious about her station, and with a few words the boy calmed her. Then, before the train got to Bleecker street, it stopped, and she, apparently thinking it was at the station, started to leave her seat. The boy laid his hand on her arm and she sank back. Then, when they came to the station, he spoke to her and they left the car, he seeing that she got out without being jostled. On the plat form he put up his hands, took the baby and started away, the pale wom an following. 'If you ever saw any 'child mother* more solicitous for a baby and a wom an than that boy was, I'd like to know it--New York Press. One of the Most Stupendous and Difficult Feats of Railroad Successfully Accomplished. The River Oxue. Few features of the strange lands of Central Asia are stranger or more cele brated than the great Amu Daria, the ancient Oxus, which has been attempt* ing once more to change its bed. For more than two and a half centuries this river has flowed into the Aral sea, but for 400 years before that, ac cording to ancient records, its destina tion was the Caspin, while It has changed its whole course In the same way yet once again within the period of which there are records remaining in the latter classical authors. At the beginning of last month, for the first time in several generations, the Amu Daria began to break new ground again. Swollen by unusual floods, it began to drive a channel in the direc tion of a prosperous town which has sprung up of recent years In the neigh borhood of a great bridge on the Trans-Caspian railway line. A thou sand men have been engaged day and night for weeks past constructing dams to protect this town and keep back the river in its old bed and the cost of the work has already amounted to many thousands of dollars. It Pleases John. John D. Rockefeller makes It a cus tom to address his servants at morn ing and evening prayers. One of the maids was asked by a friend if she appreciated the discourses. "I never thought of that," she re plied. And then she added: "I only looks at the old man, and I thinks to myself: You poor dear gentleman, how you are enjoying yourself." Kangaroos Being Killed Off. The kangaroos are disappearing in Australia. Since 1877 it Is stated that 7,407,863 of them have been^ killed there. It's as difficult to convince a stub born man as it is to fatten a wind mill by running corn through It. v 1 - * • ' e have in times past been told much of wonderful feats in railroad building, and much has been written of the engineering skill and daring that directed the course of the iron horse across the plains and mountains that lie between the Missouri river and the Pacific ocean. "In the grandeur and magnitude of the undertaking, the Union Pacific-Central Pacific has never been equaled. The energy and perseverance with which the work was The Ogden-Lucln "Cut-Off" is 102 miles in length, 72 miles on land and 30 miles of trestle work and "fill-Ins" over the waters of Great Salt Lake. It presents a practically level track ex cept for a short distance on the west end near Lucin, Nevada, where a slight grade is encountered. The use of this cut-off will throw out the trans-continental traffic over the old line from Ogden to Lucin, Nevada, around the lake. This strip . ' " tfr •; ; -i lake, it will be almost a continuous fill-in supported by trestle. Near the middle of this will be a gap of 600 feet of open trestle work left for the Bear river, which flows into the arm of the lake. Across Promotory Point runs five miles of solid road bed, and here diffi cult work was encountered, a cut of 3,000 feet long in sand and rock of barren bluff being necessary. At tfri* point, the most beautiful on this in- The Lucin "Cut-Off" Across the Great Salt Lake. urged forward and the rapidity with which it was executed, are without a parallel in history," were the state ments of the special government com missioners to the Secretary of the Interior. Thirty-five years ago there was no time to spend on work similar to that which has just been completed. Then the world was watching while the builders of the Union Pacific and Cen- of track Is one of the most expensive of the Harriman system, the maximum grade over the long Promotory hill is 104 feet to the mile and helper engines are always necessary. The elimina tion of the use of these engines will mean the saving of at least $1,500 a day In operating expenses and also a saving of several hours in running time. The original scene of the cut-off View of the Track Across the Great Salt Lake. tral Pacific raced for supremacy. It was a magnificent contest, but nowa days the owners of the road have been brought to consider other problems. One of these necessitated the solution of the grade question and the straight ening of the track. One of the most interesting and dif ficult feats of railroad engineering ever undertaken has just been com pleted--the building of a bridge across was conceived by the late Col. W. J. Huntington. The plans were perfect ed after the late Col. Huntington's death and approved by Mr. Harriman when he assumed charge of the line. Active work was oomjmenced in 1902, and thus the almost impossible task was completed in about 22 months. The last pile was driven dui> ing the last week of October. This great work has cost over $4,200,000. land sea, surveys have been made for an immense summer resort Across the west arm of the lake Is eleven miles of trestle work with a fill-in approach of four miles at each end. In completing the work of span ning the lake one great difficulty was encountered across the east arm by the settling of fill-ins and trestle work. This was caused by the salt of the flow of the Bear river having collected for centuries over the bottom of the lake and having formed a salt wall of 100 feet It took 1,000 tons 6t rock in piles which appear to have reached the bottom of the lake proper and which has resulted in a firm and splendid road bed. In a speech which he made at the Alta Club, Salt Lake City, on the eve of the opening of the "Cut-Off," Mr. Harriman said: "The work involved in this plan has been supervised by Messrs. Harriman and Kruttschnitt of the Southern Pa cific. and Messrs. Burt and Berry of the Union Pacific, and these two rail roads have spent in the last three years somewhere near $130,000,000 in repairs and Improvements aside from the expenses of operation or mainten ance." Colossal Crowds. In an Introduction to his "Digest of the Results of the Census of England and Wales in 1901," Mr. William San ders gives the following curious sta tistics: "If all the people of England and Wales had to pass through Lon don in procession, four abreast, and every facility were afforded for their free and uninterrupted passage, dur ing twelve hours dally, Sundays ex cepted, it would take nearly four months and a half for the population to file through at quick march, four deep. The length of this vast col umn would be 3,788 miles. To count Railroad Officials at Formal Opening of the Ogden-Lucln "Cut-Off." the Great Salt Lake between* Ogden, Utah, and Lucin, Nevada. The work being practically com pleted, the new track was formally opened last Thanksgiving day when Mr. E. H. Harriman, head of the Har riman lines, and a big party of railroad magnates partook of Thanksgiving day dinner in the middle of Great Salt Lake. The cut-off runs from Ogden west fifteen miles over level country be fore reaching the lake proper, then across the east arm of the lake nine miles to Promotory. Then five miles of solid road bed and then nineteen miles west over the west arm of the lake toward Lucin and thence across the Great Salt Lake deeert^to Lucin, Nevada. Across the eut arm of the them singly at the rate of one a seo< ond would take nearly two years and a half, assuming that the same num ber of hours daily were occupied, and that Sundays also were excepted." Philippine Constabulary. The constabulary of the Philippines is an armed force of six thousand natives. DEATH THAT WA8 FORETOLD Ghostly Meeeanger King Gustavus Alone Could 8ee. King Gustavus IV of Sweden, who reigned in the early part of last cen tury, was taking supper one evening with a prince of Baden and others, among them a Count Lowenhjelm. Suddenly, half-way througn the sup per, the king let drop his knife and fork and, turning to Lowenhjelm. said: "Look! Don't you see?" at the same time gazing across the table. No one understood what he meant and so he dropped the subject. Later, af ter the prince of Baden had departed, the king said to his companions: "When I asked you whether you saw anything I had myself distinctly seen the double, or wraith, of the prince of Baden enter the room and, passing round the table, place itself behind that prince's chair, where it quickly faded away and vanished. You know," added the king, "the terrible Import attached in our country to such ap paritions and, having given you the key to what you may well have thought unaccountable conduct on my part, I now request yon to keep strictly to yourselves what I have im parted to you." The following even ing and at the same hour, according to Count Lowenhjelm, while the court was seated as usual at supper, the clatter of horses' hoofs were heard in the palace quadrangle and a cour ier was speedly announced, who brought tidings of a disastrous car riage accident in which the prince of Baden had lost his life. Clear 8elf-Rlghteouaneas. Dr. Charles H- Parkhurst was talk ing about the self-righteous. "They are a strange class," he said. "Whenever I think of them I am re minded of a man who died In Leipsic while I was studying there, some thirty years ago. This man waa so abominably self-righteous that they say he murmured as he lay dying: "'And if I owe any man anything I freely forgive him the debt.'" Old City Directory. The Berlin directory, the 1904 •dtk tion of which Is just oat, has com pleted its 200th year. j TEETH OF THE RAT. One of the Flneet of Natural lmple< ments. One of nature's finest Implements la the tooth of a rat Its edge is as hard and sharp as the finest steel. The rat keeps in constant practice. To gnaw off the legs of a living bird does not come amiss, and to destroy the soles of elephanta' feet Is one of Its records. Some years ago the ele phanta at the London zoological gai> dens, were observed to be very rest* less, could not keep still, and appeared tender about the feet The authorities invoked th<p aid of Frank Buckland, the naturalist He traced the circum stance to rats. At night they stole from their runs and as the elephants slept calmly nibbled and tore at the huge feet The quicks had been eaten completely off the mighty nails and the flesh beneath tunneled. Appar ently similar tricks had been resorted to in the case of the hippopotamus, for several times rats were found where the creature had turned In his sleep and crushed his pmali enemies !»•> neath his flanks. Were Her Friends. The way of the society promoter is hard. One who recently organized a ball for some persons who thought that her friends might be an addition to their own list, sent out the invita tions and left out one family that her employer had sent in to her. The hostess asked her a few days after ward how it happened that these names were omitted, and there were traces of agltatioin in her manner. " They are not people that anybody knows especially," answered the pro moter, "and they can't be of Hie least good to you. So I Just left Chem ent altogether." "I know," answered the hostess, en- deavoring to be as calm as possible. It is quite true thpt they may not be of any social advantage to us. But, on the other hand, they have been for twenty years my most intimate friends, and it is a little--just a little embarrassing to me to have them left out when I give a party." "Oh, in that case," answered the social promoter with obvious contempt for any such blending of business and sentiment, "I am perfectly willing to send them invitations." Best in the World. Estherville, la., Feb. 1st--Mr. George J, Barber of this place says: "Dodd's Kidney Pills are flhe best medicine in the world. There is noth ing as good. I had been sick for over 15 years with Kidney Disease which finally turned Into Bright's Disease. I was treated by Doctors In Chicago bnt they didn't do me any good. The best Doctor in Estherville treated me tar five years with no better success. I heard of Dodd's Kidney PiHs and made up my mind to give them a trial. "I am very thankful te he able to say that they cured me completely and I think they are the beet medicine in the world." The honest, earnest, straightfor ward experiences of real living men and women are the only material used in advertising Dodd's ludney Pills. One such testimony is worth more than a thousand unsupported claims. The people who have used Dodd's Kidney Pills are those whose evi dence is worth consideration and surely nothing can be more convinc ing than a statement like Mr. .Bar ber's. There are thousands ef others just as strong. Was It YouT Somebody did a golden deed. Somebody proved a friend in need. Somebody sang a beautiful song, Somebody smiles the whole day long; Somebody thought 'tis sweet to ttve^ Somebody said, "I'm glad to give," Sonlebody fought a valiant fight, mebody lived to shield ttie right. Was that somebody you? --Buffalo Evening Timea, To the housewife who has not yet become acquainted with the new' things of everyday use in the market and who is reasonably satisfied with the old, we would suggest that a trial of Defiance Cold Water Starch be made at once. Not alone because It is guaranteed by the manufacturers to be superior to any other brand, but because each 10c package con tains 16 ozs., while all the other kinds contain but 12 ozs. It is safe to any that the lady who once usee Defiance Starch will use no other. Quality and quantity must win. Crematories in Germany. Just a quarter of a century has** elapsed since the first German crema* tory was built at Gotha. To-day there are nine crematories in Germany. Quit Coughing. Why eough, when for 25o and this notice you get 25 doses ef an abso lutely guaranteed cough cure in tablet form, postpaid. WIS. DRUG CO., LA CROSSE, WIS. (W. ». tJ.) Money in British Malts. The income of the British postofliee from money in envelopes having no or insufficient address is $30,0*30 or $36,000 a day. No chromos or cheap premiums. but a better quality and one-third more of Defiance Starch for the same price of other starches. Web feet would be useful at timea if the human race possessed them. CITC permanently cured. Wo fltaor ncrrogmgwn tURt rllw hret day's use of Dr. Kline's Great Nerve •r. Bend for FBKE 82.00 trial bottle and treattNb fimJL. a. Kuotc, Ltd., SSI Arch Street, PliUade lpfalat, Bk Rockefeller and Rothschild! Surely this is the apotheosis of the trust. Wise is the man who uses his bllng blocks as stepping stones. FOR RE>'T OR RAT is . _ Otop Payment*. 8EVKR.AL CFOIOB T. SMdforllrt. J.miLilAUL,SiouxGttr King Pete of Servia waste to Anybody want his Job? Mrs. Winalow'a Soothing Sjrnp. children teething, softens the fpinin, reaue fMMUttkxi, allays pain, cures wind oollu. SSoa c Dont shake the milk might give whey. ttmmmimciuniinniMiHmmmMit h b m TRA08L MARK, Lom of Tim®. Lo«a of Momv. Umi of Placo, Loss of Contort, •afaOow In th« train of not St Jacobs Oil For Rheumatism* Neuralgia, Lumba^Oi Sciatica. SpraiM . R Ws enrad tbooaaada. Wit «nm. Prie* 25s. wd 50a. A Sure S JL--. relief for ASTiHmL Sotll 1'V nil 1 " 9I0WXU.A00L.atn. Oluxlentowti. 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