291
THE recent rain and snow storm in Texas played sad havoc with the completeness and thoroughness of the telegraph columns of THE NEWS. Wet stormy, weather is the great enemy of the telegraph and newspaper men, and often presents difficulties that the outside world little dreams of. As an illustration of this the following is given: There is the closest telegraphic communication between the GALVESTON NEWS and DALLAS NEWS. all messages between the two editorial rooms being sent direct and usually without the slightest delay. Recently, however, a local storm occurred somewhere between Houston and Dallas and the result was "a strike" on the part of THE NEWS wite. For a time no dispatches were receieved, and then they commenced pouring in as usual, but brought through the Western Union office. The mystery was explained by a note from the night chief stating that all the Dallas dispatches were coming by way of New York. It was impossible to work the wires between Galveston and Dallas, a distance of 315 miles, but the long way round by new York, 3000 or 4000 miles, was clear and was taken advantage of, and thus the readers of the GALVESTON NEWS were given the North Texas news next morning just as though no difficulty had existed in obtaining in the way of procuring fresh news, bet between the telegraph men and the editors they are generally overcome, and the public reads the morning paper and discusses the news without appreciating the vast account of patience and ingenuity that has been expended in procuring it.
IT may be said of the late Daniel Manning he was such an upright man, even in office, that the meanest Republicans hesitated in attacking his character.
THERE have been dozens of good tickets suggested by the Republican papers, but none of them hear the names of either the ranter Fairchild or the ranter Tuttle. Which partly proves the general opinion that the grand old party only intends to wabe the bloddy shirt out-of-way places in the next campaign.
EVERY Democratic senator and congressman has forgiven the president for slights put upon them for not appointing their favorites to office. It may be observed in passing that senaors and congressmen can always hear the voice of the people, even if that voice never gets above a whisper.
IT is somewhat remarkable that the distinguished American John L. Sullivan, and the distinguished Englishman, Wm. E. Gladstone, both holding the same political views, should not have met before this time. As Mr. Sullivan has stated that he is not too proud to meet any man, "so he's white," the fault lies with Mr. Gladstone.
AT San Francisco Paddy Ryan and McAuliffe fought, and at the end of the third round had hammered each other into a pulp. Both men are heavy-weights, as are smith and Kilrain. In fact, that science of fisticuff has about eached that point where, if earnestness is displayed, the question at issue is quickly settled. In the light of late American prize fights the late fight between Smith and Kilrain, if not a hippodrome, was a poor display of pugilistic art.
MAURICE BERNHARDT is to mary Princess Virginia Clotilda Jablonowska, great grand-daughter of Lucien Bonaparte. If there should be issue Europe may make up its mind to have trouble. A mixture of the blood of Sarah and Bonapartes in any human being would make him a terror.
THE hoosier Republicans have met and resolved that it will be best for the whole country if the pension list is increased, the surplus expended on forts and the tariff retained as it now stands. In other words, Blaine's manifesto was hung up before the members and each one declared it to be his sentiments.
IF Sherman is really out of the race, Foraker is certainly in it. The latter can not hope to get more than the second place, however. Though there is but a little chance for the election of the Republican ticket, still there will be a universal desire that the Republicans should put no man at the head of the ticket who has not a robust constitution.
THE news comes that John L. Sullivan and Buffalo Bill are about to pool their business. There is but one more addition necessary to make the combination a great one. The man they want is within easy reach.
THE great raft which is now afloat in the Atlantic Ocean is about the only thing that America has put in the briny deep that is dangerous to any one except the persons on it.
292
Buffalo Bill's Little Joke.
To a number of his intimates, a few evenings ago, Mr. Sam Kayzer of the Chicago conservatory, unbent so far as to tell one of the experiences of his recent trip abroad. "There's quite a town over there they call London," he began, "but there was very little English, you know, about it when I was there. It was very American. From 'is royal 'ighness down to the bootblacks, the tendency of the British intellect was towards the formation of American habits and customs, as illustrated by Buffalo Bill and his wild westerners.
"I had been in town only over night when I ran across two Chicago newspaper men--Vance Thompson and the younger Busby. Together we set out to see what we could see. We found the entire population headed for the Wild West show. Somebody said 'is royal 'ighness would be there on the usual free pass, so we went, followed the crowd, and chipped in our few shillings for the encouragement of home talent. We managed to worm ourselves into a conspicuous position on the very edge of the track just as the old coach drove up preparatory to being pursued by a mob of whooping savages--at [$80?] a month and found, Buffalo Bill rode up alongside and the Britishers cheered themselves hoarse. He glanced in our direction, and recognizing Busby, winked for him to get into the carriage with his friends and help fire blank cartridges at the pursuing redskins. We got in and the old coach rattled up in the front row, sat 'is royal 'ighness explaining to the duchess of something or other that the Americas were really quite intelligent as a class and would doubtless get over some of their rough and bloody ways as they grew older, "it seems it had been arranged for 'is royal 'ighness to ride in the coach that day, and he came down to get in, but as he put his foot on the steps, he saw us inside, and so exclusive is he that it nettled him. He wanted us to put out before he would get in. But Bill came to our rescue. He had invited us, so he proposed to stand by us. 'You see,' said he, familiarly to the prince, 'those fellows are half-breeds, and pretty ugly ones, too. I don't think it would be wise to stir up any fuss with 'em. The're bad citizens when the're riled.' So the prince went back to his perch in the grand stand and we remained in the old Deadwood stage.
"When everything was ready they gave us a couple of dozens revolvers loaded with blank cartridges and away we went, the Indians after us and Bill with his cowboys after the Indians, everybody blazing away for dear life. Our ammunition lasted until we got back to the grand stand, where we drew up in a cloud of smoke and amid wild applause. The coach had been rescued and the Indians dispersed. Bill then rode up, and in a stage whisper, said that one of us must play dead. Busby said he'd be hanged if he would do it, and I swore I wouldn't make such a spectacle of myself. Vance Thompson was just making a s'milar declaration when a swarm of cowboys grabbed him by the legs and began pulling him through the windo, feet first. He was in for it and might as well make the best of it, so he let himself remain limp and played the dead man very well.
"'Yes, he's dead, ' said one of the cowboys, quietly slipping his fingers into Thompson's watch-pocket. This was so realistic that Vance was perceptibly thrilled. "'He's a goner,' said another turning one of the dead man's trousers pockets inside out and scooping up the contents. Vance could do nothing. To come to life now would make him the laughing stock of ten thousand people, if not the whole city.
"Another cowboy went for his breast pocket, where he carried his letters of credit and paper notes. This was too much. Visions of beggary were floating before his mind, and he was about to come to life and make an enormous fuss, when Bill rode up and told his cowboys that they had carried his joke far enough."--Chicago News.
293
NORTH PLATTE.
A Bustling City Midway in Nebraska Surrounded by Fertile Agricultural Lands.
Promising Auspicious Development in Commercial, Manufacturing, and Farming Interests.
The Home of Buffalo Bill, Who Resides Here on a One Hundred Thousand Dollar Ranch.
NORTH PLATTE, Neb, Dec. 24.--Special Correspondence.--In the hurly-burly of emigration westward one is apt to overlook the magnificent country and the magnificent lands which it has been my pleasure to note in Western Nebraska. I took a few days' rest on my western journey toward the land of the setting sun and stopped off at this active, stirring city. The farmer with limited means, and still better, the agriculturist with a secured competence, will find abundant opportunities for money-making in this section of the country. Lincoln County, in which I am temporarily sojourning, is quite large. It is inhabited by a number of wealthy stock-growers who have found stock-raising quite profitable, and also by an industrious thrifty class of farmers who have engaged in diversified farming and made it remnnerative.
Lincoln County has a population of 10,000, of which North Platte, the business center, has, I estimate, about 3,700 inhabitants. There are 2,500 square miles in the county. Its main products are stock, corn, wheat, oats, and hay. It raises also largely flaxseed, broom corn, and native and tame grasses. Its product of hay this year has been 40,000 tons, much of this product going into Wyoming and Colorado. Not withstanding the drought this season Lincoln County produced fully a one-hald crop of corn, exhibiting the fertility of the soil and its moiture-retaining qualities. The soil is generally a dark, rich alluvial clay and sandy loam, and produces anything that can be raised in the semi-tropical portion of the United States. The climate is delightfully pleasant, free from damp atmospheric condition. The mean elevation is 2,000 feet above the level of the sea.
Within a radius of forty miles of North Platte there are nearly 500,000 acres of land; free government land, subject to entry under the homestead, pre-emption, and timber culture laws, or in other words nearly one-fourth the surface of Lincoln County. There has been an increase of 400 per cent in values in grazing lands within the past five years, and improved farming lands have obtained a value ranging $10 to $30 per acre. The capability of the soil for agricultural products is unsurpassed in the State, and all intelligent persons know that Nebraska stands at the head of the list.
[illegible row]
NORTH PLATTE,
with its individual wealth of $5,000,000, has been made so by the generous wealth of the soil of its tributary sections. In 1886 its shipments amounted to $544,000. Its merchandise sales during the same period. $1,103,500, and its real estate transfers $1,438,000.
North Platte is a division headquarters of the Union Pacific Railroad. The round-house, general repair shops, and mechanical and manufactoring plants are located here. The total number of employees of the Union Pacific on the pay-roll in this city numbers about 450 persons, and the amount distributed annually aggregates $500,000. North Platte is regarded as of more than ordinary importance by the Union Pacific management, for the railway shops here are the largest and most complete of any in the entire system.
North Platte is 291 miles west of Omaha, and is located at the junction of two great valleys stretching into Wyoming and Colorado, making the city a natural pathway for railways. The Burlington and Missouri Railroad has already crossed with its extended ties of inter-communication the southern part of this county, from east to west, running through to Cheyenne, its present terminus.
The Duluth and Denver Railroad has been surveyed to this city, and, it is expected, will reach North Platte by 1889. The operation of this system will open the what fields of Nebraska, giving this State a direct outlet to Lake Superior for her grain, in competition with the Chicago markets.
There are some other projected systems, but none of tangible realizations at present.
Aside from the, vast products of Lincoln County there is the unorganized territory north of Lincoln and Logan Counties with prosperous farms and immense stock ranches that furnish North Platte with an immense volume of trade. There are still as before observed many hundred thousand of acres of land, and the Union Pacific, the great National highway of commerce, insures by its vast ramifying system a constant and unsurpassed market for all the products of the soil.
Even as a matter of speculation investments in Nebraska are sure to yield immense profits within the next decade, and the opportunities for the farmer, the mechanic, the merchant, and manufacturer are grand in their boundless capabilities.
The personal and real valuation of the county and town is in round numbers $2,000,000; of the city itself, $800,000. The increase in values in four years has ranged from 200 to 2,000 per cent. Business property is comparatively low, and still the increase has been large and the profits gratifying to the owners of reality.
Taxation, exclusive of city taxes, runs 40 miles, upon a valuation of one-fifth the actual value.
Besides the large slopes of the Union Pacific there is in successful operation here a flouring mill with a daily capacity of 125 barrels, turning out a superior and highly prized brand of flour. A creamery has been contracted for with a capacity of 1,500 pounds of butter per day. It is to be in operation.
EARLY NEXT SPRING.
The capital has been subscribed by the leading citizens to the amount of $6,500. This creamery will be an undoubted success.
North Platte needs other industries, which are, I might say, an indispensable necessity. A beef-packing establishment on a small scale---say a plant costing $20,000---would prove quite profitable. The large herds of stock in this and adjoining counties, the splendid markets for the product, and excellent means of transportation to various points of consumption insure profitable returns on such an investments. A vegetable canning establishment would also be highly desirable. There is a track of land three miles wide and seventeen miles long, comprising 30,000 acres, with an irrigated ditch in the center, and having absolute control of the water from the North Platte River, insuring a uniform and abundant supply of water, which can produce a rotation of crops, immensely valuable in the operations of a cannin establishment. The Western markets, or I should say, the mountain markets, are the best in the world for canned goods, and these very mountains are at the gates of the North Platte Valley. The opening here is one that should not be left unutilized very long. Another flouring mill will pay. A few tanneries are needed. The large yield of broom corn ought to insure the establishment of a broom factory: and flaxseed, which is also a large product, should find immediate utilization in an industril way.
One of the absolute requirements of North Platte is a first--class merchant tailoring establishment. I am informed that 75 per cent of this trade goes principally to Omaha and Chicago, for the simple reason that there is a woful lack in this branch of industrial operations. Ten hands could be kept steadily employed during the entire year by a first-class merchant tailor.
There is no good reason why agricultural implements and wagons should not be manufactored here. There is a large and increasing demand for these products, and by the very nature of things there always will be. Nebraska is destined to become in time the greatest agricultural-producing State in the Union, and her population of one million to-day will ten years hence exhibit three millions, and twenty years hence six millions of inhabitants. A large portion of these will of necessity, and because of advantageous surroundings, till the prolific soil of this State, and the manufacturer of farming implements and wagons who begins operations now will find the field an extensive and profitable one with the lapse of a few years.
Fuel is obtainable from the vast coal fields of Wyoming at a reasonable cost.
Business is not overdone in any of the branches of trade and the merchants are all uniformly successful. Failures are unknown.
The favorable location of North Platte, midway between Omaha and Denver, and almost equi-distant from Cheyenne, warrants the belief taht this city in the course of time will become quite a large commercial center with a population of 50,000 to 75,000 inhabitants. It may take fifteen to twenty-five years but there is no doubt that North Platte will be the seat of a flourishing commerical and manufacturing enterpot.
THE UNION PACIFIC
have actually surveyed and bought the right of way for a branch from this city into Central Wyoming for a distance of 100 miles.
North Platte raied $4,000 cash for a flouring
294
THE WILD WEST SHOW ABROAD.
MR. GLADSTONE GREATLY PLEASED WITH THE PERFORMANCE.
LONDON, April 28.—Mr. Gladstone and his wife to-day paid a visit to the camp of the Wild West Show. A special performance was given for their entertainment, and they were much impressed by the aborigines. Mr. Gladstone sat and looked on with all the evidence of childlike delight. After the performance was over he was introduced to Red Shirt, one of the Indians. Mr. Gladstone spoke to him at length, and asked him whether he noticed any difference between the English and Americans, or if he regarded them as brothers. Red shirt replied that he "didn't notice much about the brotherhood." Mr. Gladstone was subsequently entertained at lunch. Col. Russell, of Boston, presided. Mr. Gladstone, replying to a toast to his health, said, among other things:
"The institutions and progress of the United States have always been subjects of great interest to me—ever since, very many years ago, I studied the life of Washington. I became then aware, first of the magnitude of the destiny reserved for Americans, and second, of the fact that the period of the birth of the American State was of more interest than any other it was possible to study. Whenever a youth desirous of studying political life consults me respecting a course of study in the field of history, I always refer him to the early history of America. God Almighty made Englishmen and Americans kinsmen, and they ought to have affections for one another. If they had not humanity would cry shame upon them. I rejoice that the clouds which once obscured our mutual vision have almost vanished from our political sky and that the future is as bright and promising as the warmest-hearted among us could desire."
Col. Hughes-Hallet, member of Parliament, will entertain Mr. William F. Cody ("Buffalo Bill") at dinner to-morrow.
295
Mr. Haggard's Romances.
Some of the current criticism of Mr. Haggard's books recalls the whimsical criticism Cervantes made of himself: "This Cervantes has long been my friend. His book does indeed, display a little power of invention; it aims at something but it reaches nothing." One reviewer says that Mr. Haggard "has but a rudimentary ability to delineate character, which is the chief function of the novelist," yet concedes just "Jess" "is certainly interesting." If, in the surfeit of books palling all tastes now, any story is interesting, must it need be that before we grant a grace to the character as some other writers do who are tiresome enough? Another critic notes that in "King Solomon's Mines" the crescent moon in full bow rises over Kukuanaland from the east a little after sunset; the next evening it has suddenly become full; and the following day after it has become full it totally eclipses the sun. The critic justly doubts whether even in Kukuanaland moon and sun should play such hocus-pocus arts with astronomy. And even the least exacting reader will be more than once annoyed by the crudeness of many of Mr. Haggard's sentences. But it takes more and greater faults than these to damn a writer if his work is vital and strong. The world of readers are used to good writing. Never in the world were there so many good writers and so much good writing as now. That Mr. Haggard could be so much read and seem to so many readers to be worth their attention and commendation makes a strong presumption that he has distinctive and marked merits despite any and all shortcomings in his performance. But the history of literature shows that novelty alone may secure many readers and a wider and transient reputation. The history of criticism teaches its professors to make a modest and doubtful estimate of their forecasts. They are not prophets or children of prophets and their judgments are not likely to be prescient. For our own part we shall make a very moderate and misgiving estimate of Mr. Haggard as he seems to us.
He has shown the old distinction between the novel and the romance. In the former the imagination pictures what is: in the latter it invents what is not. The novel dealing with the actual but slightly transposed has come in these latter days to an almost unmixed realism. In the degree it has become realistic we were all outgrowing romance. While we are all in this mood Mr. Haggard surprises us with romances as fantastic as those that Cervantes caricatured to immortal death. He chose his line with deliberation. Here is a scene from one of his first stores: " 'Well, Ernest,' she said, ' what are you thinking about? You sare as dull as - as the dullest thing in the world, whatever that may be. What is the dullest thing in the world?' 'I don't know,' he answered, awakening; 'yes I think I do: an American novel.' 'Yes, that is a good definition. You are as dull as an American novel' And in the outset of "King Solomon's Mines" Allan Quartermain promises: "This history won't be dull whatever else it may be." Thus Mr. Haggard has entered the lists against the dulness of the American fashion in novels, and resolute to keep you awake as one of his prime purposes. He writes both novels and romances. The second story he published, "The Witch's Head," is a novel with the witch's head introduced unexpectedly to entertain the company with a by-play of parlor magic. It is a deus ex machina fabricated outright to scare the reader into wakefulness and differentiate Mr. Haggard's story from those American novels whose dulness is to his thought a pleonastic euphemism for a good honest yawn in the presence of one's lady-love. Mr. Haggard is secure in his invention: there is not witch's head nor anything like it in the American novels that we read. Lest we be too much humiliated by such contrasted pov-