Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1950-2-15, Page 76��u1Eilder By Millard [till Wilkinson Young Eben Clifford drew rein and studied the broad valley of the Iloosielt at his feet. An hour ago he had abandoned the trail made by his predecessors on their ride from Bennington to Albany, and skirted the western shoulder of Mount Anthony, If Indians were waiting to ambush hint, Eben felt sure they would choose the Hoo - sick, It offereda means' of escape, should the mall rider by any chance be accompanied by an escort. Eben felt once more of the lea- ther pouch that was tied behind tthe saddle. Contained therein was a dispatch of the utmost importance for G'en.' Newton at Albany. Col. Allier of the Bennington garrison had called Eben aside that morning. "No one is supposed to know you're carrying the papers, Eben, An escort would only excite sus- pici i. You must go alone. There is, of course, the possibility that Bonney, the white renegade, and his Indian cutthroats, have learned' what Pre up ,to. In any event, if you're attacked, destroy the ,papers." He sat for a long time study - the valley without moving. A curious sense of excitement stirred his blood.Without know- ing why, he sensed danger. A minute later he glimpsed a column Of smoke rising from the.summit of a hill across the valley, A signal fire! They had sighted him. Eben sucked in his breath. Well, his chances of getting through were pretty slim now.- There was only one ford in the Hoosick that was accessible at this time of year. They'd never let him cross it. The sensible thing to do was turn back and insist upon an escort. Ile kept to the high ground for. an hour, watohing the smoke signal A thin smile played across his lips . Sensible, butt not advisable. Eben explored the river for half a mile in both directions, then ur- ged his mount into the stream.+ The water was icy, breath taking. In another moment the horse's legs went out from under him, and the swift current was carrying them ra- pidly down stream; Eben did all he couldto help the noble beast in its fight to reach the opposite shore. He was beginning to think he had underestimated the strength of the current, when they struck a sand- bar. he horse floundered, nearly lost Its footing, then gripped hard and held. Eben breathed a sigh of relief. After a momentary pause he urged the beast toward the west bank, Ten feet from his goal he drew rein sharply. A loose stone had come tumbling down from the high bank. Eben sat very still, his heart pounding. A feathered bonnet showed above the enbankment. He tried franticall, to get his mount toward the east bank, but the river sheared off there; the strength of the current was against hint, The Indians• were running along the bank, howling and screaming their triumph, In an- other' moment he'd be swept against the high west bank and they'd be upon hint. Remembering Col. • Albee's in- structions, !.+",ben unwrapped the leather mail pouch, gripped it tight- ly amid flung himself from the back Of the floundering horse, Instantly water swept over his, .head. He swan as long and as far .as he :mils' beneath the surface, Then he sobbed into view and a sense of dismay sent his heart downward. He was within three feet of the West bank, A leering Indian was reaching' out toward hint. Dimly, as he went udder again, nen head a chorus of wild shouts. • He was far below the spot where the Indian bad stood, but equally as elose to the batik. Tohis amazement there were two soldiers standing these yelling and gesticulating. One of them was Gee. Newton. The sotind - of gunfire came from upriver. "Thought you [night have sten then' smoke signal and realized they tied sighted us," Gen, Newton was 'saying, "Figured Bonney Would lie up to something, so fled a detnthnient oils to meet you." Mien stink to the ground. It a;:- good to teat,. Queerest Mine In The World John Clayton Gillibrand, bespec- tacled, middle-aged citizen of Chats- worth, California, has become wealthy "dishing up" oysters 10,000,. 000 years old! He's not a restaurant owner but a miner with the most unusual diggings in the world—an oyster mine situated cm a mountain up bill a mile above sea level. This southern California rancher accidentally stumbled on the huge bed of oyster fossils while strolling over his property one, day about twenty years ago. It has made him rich, Gilbraud's ranch is not the type that most farmers yearn to own -or rather it wasn't until the discovery was ,rade, Situated in a hot, arid section 2,400 feet above sea level, little vegetation can grow in the rocky soil. Gillibrand's sniall herd ' of cattle failed to thrive on their sparse diet, and he was hard put to grow enough garden' produce for his own table. One day, in debt and discouraged, Gillibrand trade a tour of his proper- ty, wondering whether to sell it. Kicking .disconsolately into the loose earth on top of Tapo noun;, tain, an ugly hill. right in the centre of his ranch, he noticed a handful of prehistoric sea shells. He put a few in his pocket as curios. Some time later he showed the fossils 'to a geologist and took him to the spot where they had come to the surface. Gillibrand's friend tried to conceal his excitement, and a few days later he ?eported that Tapo mountain was, in reality, a huge mound of prehistoric oyster shells and other fossils containing 97 per cent, calcium, a product in big de- mand as poultry feed and fertilizer. Scientists explain that the unusual deposit—the largest of its kind in that part of the world—is the result of a tremendous earthquake which occurred millions of years ago. The convulsion lifted the ocean bed a half -mile into a mountain. The mar- ine life died and was converted:into nearly pure calcium during the thousands of centuries that followed. The Tapo -bed was found to con- tain oysters of all sizes, some of then[ as much as three feet in dia- meter. These form the top layer of an estimated 50,000 -foot -deep ac- cumulation of marine sediment. Test holes have- proved that Gillibrand's oyster mountain is at least 2,300 feet deep and probably deeper. The rancher, however, isn't wor- .rying about the full extent of the de- posit. Even at the rate of his present mining operations, digging and the processing 100 tons a day, he says he has enough untrained shells tp keep his crew of fourteen nien busy for 500 years. Gillibrand did not rush out to sell training shares in order to finance his new business. He bought an old lorry and a second -had rock -crusher and for several years tinned, crushed and packaged the product with his own hands. Gradually, the business was expanded from the 'profits. To- day, Gillibrand has more than $150,- 000 invested in equipment, and profits are estimated to be over $500 a day. Won The Bet Trte song writer was a guest at a party. He loaded himself with food and drink, and then began annoying the piano keys. When -he finished, the host walked up to him. "While you were playing," smiled the host, "I made a bet with a friend. What was the name of the song you played?" The song writer smiled proudly, "You've never heard it before," he boasted. It's one of my new compo- sition.:" The host nodded. "Then I ,win, my bet," he said happily. "My friend insisted the piano was out of tune!" IDDISSLIDLOSSSUI WE'RE RUNNING FOURTH! IT MIGHT BE WORSE— MUCH FOOD WILL ONE HOUR'S WORK BUY? I'1 II ll I: i ^ fl :! iI! iilr'I i i� :f: I'i 111:!!1 ��l�IIiSI% I!!Illil,!!Ilj II ! (1 I !l Ill!:ill 111 ilii;nry1�1!!hi';Il!'1111:1; fIU11SIIIIIIIIlI:,I,II!11i'!YI 1 ll l; Ili1II ,!:''111'1111' I �y6: I II!!I:I 1111!Ili !� 1 V,1! II Jir, ll , I IMI II '11 ' i11111I lint II !AFT N� ill 111' Taking the United States as equal to III11 !i i I 1 �iiil!III j Il III 'Illi 100 per cent, this chart shows what !I11II,uH1 !LI:Ill,l iklil :. proportion of the American worker's i! Illi I'I!i!(IQjilil i lll!II!i 1 !i'li l!I III iet can be bought with one hour's III i1V'I!;Id'li�'11 it dill�'i 1 I il:l'It. work in other countries. Figures are h II from U. S. Lobo (Deportment h! ' :furs d :I,� I I :! rl'!I'•. !: :r:LL.LIJIt:Fit!YIA ;Ng SD .Landing A Good Shoal of Snoek A post-war addition to Britain's larder, about which there has been a good deal of controversy, Is a fish called "Snoek." John Seymour, in London Call- ing, tells of catching some off bhe coast; of South Africa. For a typital day's fishing in Walvis Bay waters, each vessel car- ried a crew of from eight to 13 men, with Swedish or Portuguese skippers and colored or half-caste crews from the Cape. We- would steep the night hove -to, right out on the ocean, and at dawn we would muster and get the ship ,moving, either by setting bhe sails to draw or by starting pp bhe engine. Then we would' take our places round the stern, standing between the gun- wale and a fence of planks, which was to keep the fish from getting under our feet. Each man had a short, hand -line fastened to the rail. On the end of the hand -line was a fire trace, then a heavy, conical lead, then a steelhook, the size of the outline of a man's hand, with no barb on it. Tied to the eye of the hook was a frayed piece of shark skin, which flashed through the water, and looked like a pilchard—at least,'the snoek thought it did. - As the ship sailed slowly along, we jerked our lines in the water to attract the snoek. We might keep .this up for an hour or two without getting a bite, and then, suddenly, every man's line waswhipping and cutting through the water with a fish on it. We had to pull in our lines with all our strength. It was like hang- ing on to a bucking bronco; and if you did not pull in right smartly, your fish would weave about and tangle up other people's lines, and. then you would hear some very choice Cape Dutch. All around was 'frenzied activity —every man pulling fish • in and swinging them out as fast as, he' could, the fish leaping and juming about on the deck belilnd, people swearing and shouting, and people bowling for the cook to .leave his pots and pans in the fo'castle and come and fish, too. , I have done many things, but I have never done anything more exciting . than get- ting in a good shoal of snoek. The battle might last an hour, by which time the stern was heaped high with fish, which were falling over bite fence of planks and get- ting mixed up with our feet. Then was the time for the skipper to give the order to "head," but it was al- ways a job for him to get us to coil lour lines, for every snoek that we caught meant .snore money for us. "Clo's for de misses an' shoes for H \i\\ — By Harold Arnett CEMENT SPREADER A LOT OF TIME CAN B& SAVED IN LAYING ROLL. ROOFING BY USING THIS SPREADER TO APPLY CEMENT. IT CONSISTS OF A FUNNEL PROVIDED WITH A HANDLE AND A LEATHER FLAP FOR CONTROLLING THE CEMENT FLOW. FASTEN THE FLAP TO THE spout WITH A PIECE OF WIRE. PIPE CURE MOISTEN THE INSIDE OF A NEW PIPE BOWL ..AND COAT 11' WiTH POWDERED SUGAR. THE SUGAR, WiLL BURN AND COAT 114E BOWL WITH THE FIRST SMOKE. TIAs WILL BREAK IN A NEW PIPS. 7lfarlks, RICH., /MI de babbyl" Old Petrus, who stood next to me, used to shout. s. "You Mean dop for Partial" some cynic would reply — "dop" being the South African for brandy, But, at last, we would consent to coil our lines, and each man would take up a great carving knife and begin to slice off the heads of the snoek as fast as he could, and - throw sheat overboard. 'The suock's gills are filled with little thorns, and as you have to put your fingers into the gill to hold the -fish, it is rather painful. However, we gaffed the headed fish forward out of the way, swilled down the deck, and returned to our lines, Maybe, we could start catching again immediately, or perhaps we would wait an hour or two before striking them again. Meanwhile, two widened old Cape Malays were busy at the flecking tables. One would pick up a snoek by the tail, lay it on the table, and, with four quick strokes with a little knife, lay it open along the back so that it was flat like a kipper. Within a third of a minute from being picked up, the fish would be - flying through the air into a wash- ing tank. From there, it was pitch- forked out again and taken to a salting table. It would be rubbed in the salt, then flung into one of a half -a -dozen huge, wooden tanks, which took up most of the space'on the deck. It would lie there pickling in its own juice for, perhaps, 24 hours, and then, after dark, when the fish would not bite, it would be my privilege, as mate, to pitch it into the hold with, perhaps, 1,000 others, and stow it into a neat stack. Save the Surface! Consider the automobile. Though it is a rugged piece of machinery, its owner, aided by the designers and the accessory trade, pampers it with protection. Once the radiator was the front of the automobile, Now it is cov- ered by the hood and protected by a grille. Thee the grille must be defended by a bumper and a bump- er guard. The metalof the body is covered . with the finest, hardest, and shin'est of enamels. Yet the. careful car owner covers the enamel wan wax - or a plastic finish—he must protect the paint that protects the metal. Even underneath, the modern car now usually wears a rubber under- coating to guard it from mud, sand and rust. Inside, the manufacturer selects his upholstery for style and dura- bility; and a salesman persuades the buyer to put on seat covers to pro- tect the upholstery froin being soiled—or seen. Remember the cat's that stood in a few salesrooms before the holi- days, wrapped in cellophane like Christmas packages? We fully ex- 'pec:t some day to see one of those being driven down the street,—The Christian Science Monitor. One -Timer Maybe you've heard the one about a passenger flyitig ,over Canada. "Say," the man next to him sud- denly inquired, "did that Dionne fellow ever have any more quhttup- lets?" "Certainly not." "I knew it," maintained the other triumphantly. "1 always said that guy was a .flash in the part." More To An Egg Than You'd Think The story of the egg is an in- teresting one. Most of us take for granted that an egg has a shell inside of which there is a yolk, a .White, and an air cell. Close examination will, however, reveal several more parts. Just inside the shell are the outer and inter shell membranes. Next to these mem- branes can be found the white. Close observation will show not oite but three layers of white. Next to the shell membranes is a layer known as the outer thin white. And then comes the dense or thick white. inside the thick white is the inner thin white. And, believe it or not, there's still another layer, not easily seen by the eye, which surrounds the yolk and goes by- the ythe fancy term of chalaziferous layer of white. This layer is pro- longed toward the ends of the egg in which two whitish cords are twisted in opposite directions and tend to hold the yolk in the center of the egg. Within the chalaziferous layer of white and around the yolk is the vitelline membrane. This serves to keep the yolk in nearly round shape. The yolk is made up of several layers and closely, associated with the yolk is the germ spot. Postage Stamps That Caused Trouble Sometimes the desiget of a stamp achieves far-reaching affects. Two strikng examples of stamps which caused much mischief are, first, the original issue of Sudanese stamps under the Anglo-Egyptian condo- minium; and, second, an early issue of George V stamps intended for use in India. With the coining of peace in the Sudan, British local commanders were concerned with converting erstwhile enemies into co-operative friends, (No easy task, as it turn- ed out!) Imagine, then, the horror of the local proconsuls when it was dis- covered that the stamps sent out from England had all been water- marked with what, to a true son of the Prophet, was the symbol of the Cross! Yet the watermark was not a cross at all, but a quatrefoil— cruciform ornament beloved of Go- thic artists. But how were the Mo- hammedans—fearful that they were to 'be tricked into becoming Christ- ians by being made to kiss (or lick) the Cross—to know that? Not content with having foolish- ly, even if unwittingly, offended the Moslems of the Sudan, those res- ponsible for the issue of the Em- pire's stamps committed another blunder calculated to offend the sensitive prejudices of Moslems: this time of the Indian variety. The stamps, designed by Mr. McKenna!, showed King George V wearing the Imperial crown, robed in ermine and collared with the chain of the Order of the In- dian Empire, from which chain de- pended the miniature model of an elephant which is the badge of the Order. Now, on none of the stamps is it very clear that it is an elephant which is intended to be represented, but on the two annas and three annas values it seemed to be clear. to the outraged Moslem Indians that the artist had drawn not the noble elephant, but the lowly Kog— an animal regarded by every Mo- hammedan as unclean. Once again, uproar, The whole issue was with- drawn. The strength of the Spanish mon- archy lay, It is well known, in the loyalty of the Spanish land -worker to the Crown. The peasantry, indeed, was the stumbling block to the plans the countryside was for the King of the revolutionaries, and while the mien of the cities feared to act. Yet it was a stamp which turned the support of the peasantry away from the King. In 1929 et stamp was issued show ing the heads of Pope and King ox the same oblong. Iu that same year a stamp in the aeries issued In com- memoration of Goya, the groat Spanish painter, bore a reduced fac- simile of his famous painting of the Duchess of Maya. This lady was painted once clothed, once unclothed Those responsible for the Span- ish postal issues chose the unclothed version. Peasants Scandalized In the "Maya" issue the enemies of the Crown saw their great op- portunity, All over the land they buttonholed the peasantry and said, in effect: "Lookl you remember how devout your King used to be? You remember seeing that stamp show- ing him and the Pope together? Well . , . now look at this! He has forsaken the Pope and taken a loose woman to live with him. And, look! he's had the effrontry to put her picture on a stamp!" It there is a moral in all this, it is that stamps should all be of de- signs as "safe" as those, say, of Mexico, of 1884, which merely bore the value -numeral, the value in words, and "Mexican Postal Ser- vice," Even tine non -committal designs of our own stamps have given of- fence. There was a stamp of King Edward VII In which either faulty printing or the wear of the block had caused the shadowy shape of a dancing -girl to be seen. outlined • against the shadow of the iCitig$*.. ' cheek! Faces Death 770 Times A human guinea pig in the cause of science—a young British civil ser- vant, Charles Howard—has volun- tarily faced death 770 times. Experiments were conducted with mosquitos specially fed for fourteen days with blood already infected with pernicious malaria. For half an hour every morning and every afternoon for three days, Mr. How- ard plunged his arms into a cage swarming with the disease -bearing insects and carried three jars filled with thein on his legs, With arms and legs swollen from hundreds of bites, he developed pernicious malaria and was ready for the clinic. The physicians remov- ed a portion of his infected liver and followed closely the exact be- havior of the disease, What before had been conjecture now became s.cientific fact, a basis for future experiments and, one .day, it is hoped a lead to a' final cure,, Rig Argument In States Regarding Smaller Cars Experts are beginning to think that Americans are at last ready to start buying small cars. They're dead sure millions of Am- ericans want a car priced a lot low- er than the cheapest 1950 models now being shown. Since mass production of auto- mobiles began in. the U.S., car makers have kept a vigilant eye on the market to see if Americans, like Europeans, would demand any great numbers of tiny cars. From time to time companies have tried to • sell midget autos in the U.S. Most of them failed. Only two or three managed to keep' going any length of time, on a small scale. Now, however, several factors exist which [night change the situ- ation. In the auto industry it's a burning question, The present pros- • perky ‘has given thousands of families enough income for two cars. A small car might be the an- swer for the second one. On the other hand, the greatly increased costs of new cars has put then beyond the incomes of thous- ands of other families. This might create a big untapped market for a snappy small car selliing for less that $1,000, Thdte's also the chance of a small car becoming a lad. American tastes are unpredictable. There is much evidence that the fondness for great big ears has Import: Sales of British cars, 11ke this Austin have doubled in the U.S. in past month. Straw in the Wind: Experimental Nash, which could sell for $1000 or less, is touring the U.S. to test public reaction. waned. Owners .have complained that they are too hard to handle in city traffic and too hard to park. Women drivers are the biggest kickers on this score, The Nash company has led the field in reviving the small car ques- tion. It made one sample model of a car which will sell for $1,000 or less, if the company decides to start making them, It is taking the auto around the country to sample opinion. If enough potential custo- mers are discovered, the company will start to make the cars in quan- tity. It has a foreign -made motor, gives up to 50 -miles -per -gallon, and has a maximum speed of 65 m",p.h, Its size is halfway between the smallest European cars and ordinary U.S. cars. It seats two pelsons and has no fancy chrome trim or ac- cessories, but most people who have seen it agree its the best designed "little" cat yet made, At the same time the market for imported small cars is having a sud- den revival. For the past year sales of small British cars in the U.S. averaged about 500 a month. Last month sales more than doubled, Only part' of this increase is ac- counted for by the devaluation. Sensing this new attitude toward small cars, 'U.S. salesmen for the small French Renault, which sells for slightly more than $1,000, have increased their sales rcetitly and report greater interest in the auto. Convinced that this trend is more a demand for a cheaper car the Kaiser -Frazer company is planning to start manufacture of a new standard -sized low -price model, which may be offered to undersell Ford and Chevrolet. It will be pow- ered with a new "supersonic" en- gine, to be produced by the Willys- .Overland company, Low original cost phis cheap operation will be the car's features. Other details of it are secget. Despite this evidence, the bigger auto makers still don't see a $1„00l car hitting the market any time soon Charles E. Wilson, president 01 General Motors, said flatly that the people won't go for one that could be sold for that price, at this time However, a spokesman for the come patty, qualiflying Wilson's state. went, says GM is watching the mar. ket very closely, and if n big enoug1, small car demand is detected, ifs' company will start [rating them, IMO SOMSOS W WOULD SMASH TlbfT RADIO ONTRIH PORCH tsar pOOR.., IT1s DRIVING MC CRAZY I BORROWED IT FROM YUltR WIiS, MR. FuDDL&...GeS STMUST'VC EXPLODED'R SOMarlett.,.f CCLL.:. •�