HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Herald, 1914-07-24, Page 5.: I'i.UIB S the
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Though South Africa, is steadily
beooxning covered with a network of
railways, there ;are still great
stretches of: country that are not
yet .linked up, le these parts the
ox -waggon is the only means ' of
transport, writes A. InotonRidger
in London Answers,
West of •Mafeking, right; to the
r eaboard, . there is one unbroken
stretch of veldt; and to reach the
Atlantic coast there is only one
way to travel, namely, trek it by
ox -waggon.
Fate once sent me on a trading
trek up to Lake Ngami.
Well, Lake Ngami is about .a
thousand miles from nowhere. To
be a little more accurate, however,
the lake lies in the north-western
part of the Bechuanaland Protec-
torate, 'and to reach the little
trading centre up there, one has to
Bross the northern part of the
dreaded Kalahari — a waterless
desert.
Athwart the Wastes.
My waggon and"eighteen oxen to
pull it, and the load on it was only
5,000 lb. But it took me over two
months to cover the five or' so
hundred miles that lay between the
small native capital of Serowe and
Tsau, the capital of Ngamiland.
Half of the distance was over
sandy, waferlcee desert, and the
rest through fe.ver and lion infest -
ted veldt.
"We'll outspan here, Natal," I
cried to my native driver.
It was just an hour before dawn,
and the African sky was lit with -a
myriad of etas. The oxen were
quickly unyoked,. but were not al-
lowed to graze, as we would be on
the move again in an hour.
We were half -way in the desert.
We. had been on trek twelve days.
The oxen were used to "thirsts,"
but the ceaseless strain of the sandy
desert was making itself felt, The
beasts were already looking worn
and shaken.
I sat down by the small fire we
had kindled, and smoked. Every-
thing was very quiet. The sleep-
ing veldt was hushed. Around us
were miles of flat, sparsely -vege-
tated countiy, every mile the same.
Not a drop of water had we seen
for two days since we had left the
•last well; and there lay thirty miles
of waterless veldt before the next
well would be reached. •
The saffron hue of breaking day
is now tinting the eastern sky. It is
time to inspan again. Soon the ox-
en are all in their yokes, and the
signal to start is given.
The sun has now risen. Itis
growing hotter. The oxen are be-
coming distressed. The merciless
whip descends—and again. It's no
time for pity. Water must be
reached! On and on the wretched
animals pull their load. The sun
is now high in the heavens. We
outspan.
In Scanty Shade.
The weary oxen lie under the
scanty shade of the stunted bushes.
We lie under the waggon, anehdoze
in the heat of the day. Everything
is parched and dry. Everywhere
around us is the sandy desert.
It is nearly sundown. Inspan.
again. Once again on trek overt
e
'same unending spoor. It's now
dark, and night brings some relief.
The stars come out in all their bril-
liancy, and the moon throws ghostly
shadows over the sleeping veldt.
Whoop ! Whoop,;, sounds in the
clear night air. A short outspan.
A little fire glows, and we drihk•a
hasty eup .of coffee. The oxen lie
exhausted. No .necessity to tie
them to their yokes; they are now
too tired to move 1 ,
Another dawn is breaking. It
grows lighter., We inspan again.
A startled stembuck,darts
through the bush at the sond of
the .approaching waggon, The -oxen
plod wearily over theheavy sand.
The axles of the waggon sink; the
wagers sticks fast, The merciless
whip descends. An ox falls at the
yoke, but is flogged into obedience
again. No time for pity! Water
must be reached,
Whoop! Whoop ! On and on,
Ona mile an hour—that is all we
can travel. The sand is so heavy!
We are outspanned. at a well,
Large, shady trees encircle our
camp, The suit is sinking behind
the trees and night is approaching.
The oxen have drunk their fill, and
are now wrapped in slumber -poor:,
patients beasts of bux••den, that
have done their workso fai'th'fully
and well!
We are now outof the desert and
by the river. Large, leafy trees
overshadow the waggon where we
are outspa,nned. Monkeys in little
bands clamber over the branches
nand ubter shrill cries, Behind es
flows the -• 'deep' 1 s ] d Rotle�tle ..its banks
1 ,
thickwith reeds, amidst which He
sneaking. crocodiles:
no road is still heavy,: but we
have water in plenty; so the oxen
pull well in the yokes, To-niorrow.
we shall outspen by a trader's store
and I am glad at the thought, for,
is is now a good many days since
I have spoken to awhite man.
The Hospitable trader isnow left
behind, and 'half, the journey is
done. But we'are now in lion veldt !
And fever is •with' us. I take quin-
ine that night, as I• feel .the first
adept oath .::of •that dr•eaad' enemy—,
malaria; Big fires also are lit be -
`side ,the line of sleeping oxen.
Faintly, in the distance, comes
the roar of the m,arauder, out on
his nightly prowl: The oxen stir
uneasily. An extra log is thrown
on the fires and the flames throw
queer shadows on our leafy hewer.
At The Journey's End.
My sleepy eyes -open at dawn. I
notice the fire is almost out. There
is a chill in: the air, and a ghostly
stillness about everything. I stir
the .dying embers with my foot and
throw on a few sticks. The kettle
is soon boiling, and a refreshing
cup of coffee is drunk.
As I go to give orders to inspan,
I suddenly stop! For I see the
spoor of two lions not ten feet
away from the front oxen. But one
gets used to that 1
Two more treks and we shall be
in Tsau. We are all cheerful at the
prospect—I, for I shall be able to
fraternise with some of my kith and
kin again; and the natives, because
their wages are due. The oxen,
too,, seem to know there is well-
earned rest ahead, and pull almost
eagerly in the yokes.
NFeW ZEALAND LAWS.
'Cello of Results of TilOman Suffrage
Since 1t393.
Jessie Mackay of Christchurch,
New Zealand, tells of the following
laws of benefit to the women of
her •country, passed -singe their en-
franchisement in 1893.
"Infant life protection act.
"Act to regulate adoption of chil-
dren.
"Industrial schools act amend'n
ment. •
"Juvenile smoking suppressi i
act.
"Servants' registry offiees act.
"Shop assistants' act (safeguard-
ing the interests and health of shop -
girls; have to sit down when not
serving, sanitary arrangements,
meal hours, ete.)
"Divorce and matrimonial causes
act (equal standard of morality; di-
vorce for wilful desertion for five
years, for habitual drunkenness,
failure to support ax, wife, cruelty or
for seeming incurable lunacy)..
"Criminal code amendment act_
"Act enabling women to receive
compensation for slander without
proving special damage.
"Summary legal separation act,
tq safeguard poog women against
brutal or drunken husbands.
"Factory act (recognizes in some
cases equal pay for equal work; not
generally, however).
"Municipal franchise act, extend-
ed,to women ratepayers or ratepay-
ers' wives (women eligible for town
boards, hospital and charitable aid
boards and to mayoralty).
"Old age pension act, which ac-
knowledges economic partnership of
husband and wife).
, "Women admitted to practice
law.
"Technical schools,. 'giving ,girls
equal opportunity. .
"Scientific temperance instruc-
tion in public schools.
"Te•stators' act (testator com-
pelled to provide for Wife and fam-
ily).'
Life of a Statesman.
A prominent politician gave an
address upon the life of a, states-
mean before a school. When he had
finished he said :—"Now, can any'
of you tell nee what a statesman is?"
A little- hand went up and asmall
girl replied :--"A statesman 'is .a
man who makes speeches." "Hard-
ly that," said the politician. "For
instance, I make speeches, and 'yet
I•aini net a eta,tesman." The little
hand again went up, and the an-
swer game triumphantly,:—"I know ;
a statesman iis� a man who makes
eeod.speeches
At the close of his talk before
the Sunday School the Bishop in-
vited` questions. A tiny boy, with
white eager face, at once held up
his hand. "Please, sir," he said,
'why 'was Adam, never a baby ?"
The Bishop coughed, in doubt as
to what answer to give but a little
girl, the eldest of several brothers
and eisters, came - promptly to his
aid. - "Please sir, she answered
artl . "therew.�as to nese
smartly,. nobody xr ss
him."
,1,4,NE S f. A;41ftNWA�%le
Man Who' Megapliwnut' the Riches
of the Peace River t: onliiia.
Always in o. new land, where
the vague fear of the unexplored
untested halts
andthe settler and
bids him ``think twice," there ,arises
one mar) of .bolder conference to
ebeeep out a trail ..and establish the
all-important precedent. Every
great ar• ricultxral section, of "Amer-
ica`has surrendered to axe and' plow
in its qday, not by the sudden ma-
rauding of a thotleand pioneer, but
by the coming of one man, ueua•Tly
a master -character, who broke the
epell, dissipated the ghosts, and held
up .a flag for a human stampede,
Jim Cornwall of the Peace" -River
Country, up toward thxe, top of the
inhabited Canada, is ink that• man
Before the day of Cornwall's'com
ing, the Peace . River ached for a
champion. In side the bogiebarrio
ers of remoteness lay an, infxti tude
of fertile miles where :a .wholena-
tion might wax fact. But no one
rose to say so -only a skimpy blue
book now and then to tell its bless-
ings. No railway took much interest
farm syndicates sniffed at the ninth
ernness of its location. Only a; ne-
madio farmer hero and there, Kwho
had nibbled at its riches, dareePgive
it a signed testimonial.
Fifteen years ago. frofn the fore-
castle of. an Atlantic liner stepped
a. ,sailor -man, one James Z. Corn-
wall, and bought a ticket for Ed-
monton. The Yukon gold rush had
driven its yellow fever into men's
brains and a: pathetic procession
passing northwesterly across the
continent into the land of ice- and
expectation. Spyingthe breakers
ahead, the sailor man prudeatly
east anchor half -way to disappoint-
ment. Taking fresh bearings by the
tales of newly -arrived trappers and
Hudson ]3ay Company servants he.
struck north into the lone wilder-
ness that the Hudson Bay Company
for 250 years . of fur breeding zeal
has fought to keep free of humanity.
He saw the Athabasca River with
its prodigal waste of water falls.
He broke the surface of the earth
upon its banks and knew the prom-
ise, of mineral booty. He tested its
waters and found them stocked with
food enough for a'marching army.
Further north and west he forced
bite, way portaged to Lesser Slave
Sake, thence to that mighty Pace
River, broad as Mississippi and just
a"s long. There the stood one early
morning, like Stanley before Nian-'
za., marvelling, unbelieving, than -
ed to his heart's eore,..for; here at
his feet lay., new and a. great cosin-
try . Next afternoon he was apply-
ing ior' work at the first settlement,
for he had decided to sign his
letters "Peace River Country" all
the days of his life.
.. Became River Pilot.
Yukon gold hunters passing up
the Athabasca came to the Grand
"Jim" Cornwall.
Rapids and then squatted helpless,
before e natural barrier of chtirli
ing waterfalls. Huge fees fell •no
expert Indian canoexnen to take
them and their cargoes through,
Jim. Cornwall saw his opportunity.
He persuaded .an old Cree to take
him down the boiling chutes twice
or thrice. Paddle' in hand, he
noted every twist and leap of the
current, every vicious boulder and.
ticklish .turn, and thereafter ' com-
menced to salt down some. of the
gold seeker's fees. It gave him
hie first thrill •of plutocracy. A
contract to drag the mails hundreds
of miles ,north of Edmonton fell va-
cant and he took it. That brought
him into ,a really vital business con-:
tract with the Peace Country and
ie diligently traded, trapped, mas-
tered the jabber of the C'rees, and
strung a. line of permanent posts.
up and down .the mail Mute; these
he sold later to Pavillon Freres:,
But more important than 'any of
this is that ,he squandered his en-
thusiasm on a, cause broader and
Ices
Personal. Whxle otl2ers t�zlkecl
cif Peace River as a good country
for themselves. Cornwall me,ga-
phoned it as a gi' nd eountry for
others. His persistent prcaChi ngs
of the Peace River goepel develop-
ed the whole colony into itinerant
evange1fsts. and coalportcurs. the
stage drivers and Indian guides,
took hold of ,the nein, glory song
end swelled it to such. volume that
folks en the southern prairies paid
neighborly visits, disappeared a few
weeks, then reappeared svitli family
and: caravan. If there was one :good
duty done more than another tha..
Cornwall performed for Canada: it
was to ethother out the idea that
seven hundred miles north of the
United States border is jest-
stone's throw from where Doctor
Cook discovered Peary. Really it i
nothing of the. Bort and•for proof
one need: only mention ythat ;in car-
tain sections of the Peace Country
ranchers keep their horses out of
doors all winter.
plc litie'ning force tile. mule dal t,he:
Hoer ,Jx111.. " V'�1'Je+ "•?'(� "
ne would las � era stc� . xaa.::
Y
but, not wet opera, Aiid the daseage.
would have been ;almost, entirely
!Above the waterline.
1: y . . , r,.
�:r, C,�ii,:a� a•lhc�, �1t,•t,l zic,d that t.
would not• have been dileelt fora
competent Seiko to, drop the lender
over the side.•of the liner ab the
point of.contra. In. de:Anse it is
frequently neeeseary to place a fen-
der at a particular sof and with-
out, any rraore werwng than was
afforded by the• approach of the
Storstad, At thee. time of the colli -
t 'sion neither .ship was moving faster
than a. few knots' an hour,
As to a remedy for similar acci-
dents in the future Mr. Conrad en
thusiastically approves .a suggestion
which . he says was anasie by a re-
tired tired captain in the royal navy. The
device is one that is in use on every
tugboat in the river: and. hay about
New York. And the •suggestion is
that the great liners just as the
humble tugboats be ':equipped with
a "pudding over the bows.
Every one who has watched • the
fussy, puffing little tugboats ptrsh
and strain to turn the big liners in-
to their dfieks has noticed that the
bow of the tugboat doe's :not coxae
in contact with the side • of the big
ship, Over the bow of each tug is
a heavy coil of rope wound round
an inside care of cork or hemp. This
coil, which is sometimes' two feet
thick, is elastic, oan be depended on
to spread out, absorb shock and
minimize any cuttings action when
steel bow meets steel side. And the
British naval 'captain's idea is that
big Iiners' and little liners, mam-
moth cargo boats and rusty tramps,
be required to carry these "pud-
dings" or "mieage•s" °over their
A Liao of Steamboats.
With a foresight shared ehiefi"y
by his own_, -,unfaltering confidence,
Cornwall undertook to put : ssteam-
boats on the navigable. rivers -to
save an overland trek tor that army
of settlers he knew had to come:
He sailed them on Lesser Slave
Lake and the Peace, River, real
steamboats, -with electric lightin
the staterooms and linen sheets and
Parisian menu cards -years before
any railway would venture to.eouple
them up with the great arteries of
immigration ; laat year, however,
the Canadian Northern Railway
opened a line to Athabasca Land-
ing and gave Peace River kingdom
the one muscular impulse- it moat
needed.
The northland is filled with
stories of Jim Cornwall. In Edmon-
ten, whether at the club or some
half-breed bang -out you may hear
how he swam down the river half
the night one autumn pulling be-
hind hien an upturned canoe on
which lay a helpless comrade. And
after that you may hear how he
carried medicine and sick room
dainties hundreds of miles into the
camps of the Crees to help along
some stricken 'lunger.' His diary
of action, ,crammed as it is into
perhaps two score years ,and five,
touches nearly • every •country on
the globe and most divisions of
society. When quite a lad he ped-
dled newspapers along the dock -
fronts of Buffalo, breathed in the
wine of stevedore politics and, allied
Himself when se rceay twenty to
the fortunes of "Elegy" Conners.
He' sailed the lakes until the res-
trietions of the deck jaded him,
then took to adventuring en land,.
roamed all over the States like
some Don Quixote, investigating
cities and men for the satisfaction
of James Cornwall. When Gen-
eral Coxey jumped up his mighty
legion of ragamiuffine, Jim enlisted
shuffled side by<side with the gener-
al to Washington and did the story
for half_. a dozen newspapers. It
was after the Coxey episode that
be tool: to the sea and worked be-
fore the mast, quitting that for the
Yukon gold rush and quitting that
again to become the apostle of the
Peace Country:—Robson Black in
Star Weekly.
1 CRE S] SAFETY AT SEA.
Cork Fender" Might Have Saved
Empress of Ireland.
A series. of accidents: to acean
linters, folloning close' on the heels
of. the Empress of Ireland disaster
in. the St. Lawrence, gives added
importance at present to investiga-,
tions and experiments having pur-
pose: the minimizing of the perils
of the. sea.
Perhaps the simplest suggestion
as to how the lass of the Empress
of Ireland might have been tweeted
comes from Joseph Conrad, the
English novelist. Mr. Conrad fel-
hewed the
ol:h wed`the sea for twenty years and
has been involved in a, collo,sion
himself, He is positive that if at
the moment the Storstad's bow was
about to pierce the side of the Em-
press a quartermaster or sailor had
had the presence of mind to drop
over the side of the liner one of the
big, cork fenders ab the point of
contact oi'•the two ships the utmost
damage done would have been the
crushing of a, few of the plates of
the Empress above the waterline.
These eerie fenders are always
kept on the deck of ships, though
as a, rule are only used when the
vessel is docking. As her bow or
side approaches the edge of the pier
the fenders axe lowered by ropes,
and by their elastic oom position
they absorb the forceof t
1 y b he can-
tact between moving ship wed lin:
movable pier. i:r. Conrad points
outthat the Empress and theStor-
stad were not moving` at any great
speed when they struck and than;
could the ,cutting. quality . of the
bow of the collier have been trans -
Muted by the cork feeder into sim-
bows.•:
-- STRAW MADE INTO FIBRE.
Expert ,Claims •$t0,000,000.Worth Is
Wasted Yearly.
Straw worth $350.000,000 if manu-
factured in fibre, is "being wasted
yearly in the prairie provinces, ac-
cording to Mr. C. P. Ogilvie, F.L.
S., of London.
Mr. Ogilvie claims to have dis-
covered a process which will trans-
form ordinary straw like that nos'
destroyed on, the'harvest fields at
threshing time into .. a naerchant-
able product. 'He is regarded asse.
scientific authority on textiles and
agriculture, having devoted the
best years of his life°to a cies$ and
comprehensive study of these sub-
jects. .
The .chances ,for the development
of a new industry are particularly
favorable in the Canadian ;North-
west, he says.While the straw
which is now burnt could be'utiliz-
ed for textile purposes. the growing
o1^special crops of fax is advocated
by the expert. He saris that 2,500,-
000 tons of straw worth $20 a ton
when turned into fibre is yearly
burnt on the prairies. Flax crops
could be raised, he said, with spe-
cial • conditions which could be
made to yield as much. as $600 to
$650 a ton..
Mr. Ogilvie pointed out that the
development of the new . industry
would provide employment all the
year round for thousands of textile
workers. He proposes that small
factories be established in all the
towns in the Northwest and that
1.
the farmers devote special attention
p
to the raising of high grade flax.
The textile expert has . arranged
toread papers before the British
Association of Scientists ,at their
gatherings in Adelaide, Melbourne,
Sydney and Brisbane. • From Aus-
tralia he will go on to. South Ameri-
ca. He has supervised the develop -
remit of 4,000,000 acres of land in.
the Argentine and has been active-
ly engaged in other agricultural
work. .
It is likely that Mr. Ogilvie will
deliver a series of lectures in. Can-
ada, next
an-ada'next year on his pioposals to
develop the textile ' possibilities.
which exist in this etiliary. He has
been asked to speak ;before several'
of the agricultural departments of
the universities in different pro-.
vinees.`
Frequently . StornaTesse(l.
"You should' lattnch out cin the
ocean of matrimony, my hay."
"I might if 3r were .sure of its
being a .Pacific Ocean."
Great Relief for .rya.
"What did papa say .•When you
asked hien for:m hand l"
y
"He didn't say anything. fie fen
on my neck and wept:''
Ali she Clot Wa e Sylllpitlhy.
7.
e Y- 11
Y^^t: xV Y k � i
C'ha z e at you Cita some
;�
thing for a poor, woman whose hus-
band oo nes out of jail to -day?
1lgy-eliero's gearter, Wire hom
my condolextee.
8 OF res
THE
! i: ONTAlllO Af t
fish• CO.1,LT)1131 tw;
tieuis ,From'Provinces iy'her
Ontario ;'Wye aiij (:ire`-
"Melting r god."
I. raudon tiytaxt. rr to err Ca
n.. pay
by-law providing for uuday
oars.
Winxt1peg .is getting more til
000,000 ,saucier of ,water edal113
Sts artesian welIs..•
There were a total of 1,283
court cases .disposed of ia.:Wi.
during the month of June.
At Harding, Man„ the fortifier
v'ator, with 4,000 bushels of grafi
burned to the ground.
A little more thariotwo weeks
was elaiteed, more than $10,000
Calgary oil stocks changed haul
Edmonton opened public
•
grounds for 'children, and will
a staff of instructors on hand.
Dice games and slot machines
been barred in Ddmoioton, all
stands and tobacconists being no
At Regina a dog bit a Chiix
and examination of the Bead o
asuniffmalering afterfrom wardsrabies.
sli;owed that.i
At Edmonton a foreigner was
$10 for having a revolver in his
gsessiiven t
on, thoughoIitm to he cleasworn: e a Mau
It •
In the Dominion Land Office at
nipeg, there il-ere 255 homestea
tries in the mo.ith of June, an Inc
of 28 ever the same month Last
William Hampton, a. wealthy f
er,in the I1ortlach district,
Moosejaw, was run down by a C. I
express at a crossing and killed.
At Langham. Sask., fire destr
the. Peter Wiebe 'flour mill and
National elevator, with a loss of
000. Two thousand Mashels of wb
were destroyed.
In Calgary, 700 babies were en
In the baby show, and 260 prizes w
awarded. fixe percentage points
girl°babies easily outclasses the bo
At Mannvil'le, Alberta„ Are wiped
a business block with a loss of $40,0
John B. Burch was the heaviest los
his $25,000 general merchandise st
being destroyed.
W. R. Gamlen, a Regina garden
was shot in the leg by a stray 32-c
bre bullet and did not know it till
found iris shoe full of blood about
hours later.
Building permits for June, in Win
peg, involved an outlay of $1,560,0
winch is $315,600 less than for t
same mouth. in 1912, and .$1,650,1
Iess than for June, 1912.
Edmonton capitalists want to bu
an "electric road front that city to 1\
nxao,e a. distance 45f 30 niiles,.and pros
ise to have the road in. operation'
October if they get the necessary p
mission.
Calgary's municipal street car sy
tem is not paying, and the reason
the failing off in patronage. In Ma
1914, 70,000 less passengers were ca
vied than in the same month in 191,
William Morris, a Winnipeg bab.
fell 60 feat on to a hard surface, an
was unhurt. The next day, Jame
Everett, a. Winnipeg man, fell 30 fee
on to a soft surface, and was believ
to be fatally hurt.
At Nipawin, Sask., somebody au
Sydney Keeping's wire fence noun
his farm. into 6 -foot lengths. Ther
was over half a rune of the fence, an
the Mounted Police will try to fin
out who was so industrious.
George Wrighteri, a Winnipeg engi-
neer, working for the city light de-
partment, was killed when an engine
he was driving crashed through a,
bridge it was crossing over the Winni.
peg River.
There are 1,369 certificated !Omar.
ance agents in Saskatchewan. During
1913 the people of that province paid
a hipremiums1
far instar nee the sum of
$6,239,329.07, and losses paid by the
companies totalled $2,937,430.77.
Miss M. E. Snownall, official court
stenographer at Winnipeg' for over
nine years, died at Regina, after a lou;
illness. She was said to be one of t'
ablest court.stenograplxers in Oanad
and, when forced to give up her occ,
pation through ill-bealth last Decer.
ber, was presented With a. purse o:
$1,500 by lawyers and court officials.
131; RIND T41 FATTIER.
My boys, he kind to father,
For he's been kind to you ;
Ite sought to lead you safely
Your life's brief pathway through,
Ire's cared for you and loved you;
.He's tried to save you pain,
And vdly- cxtxnsel,
I hopegien notkinwill incvain,
He wants to gree yoe happy,
He wants you to be true;
His lope and pride are centred,
Believe it, bey, in you.
How =tell of joy and comfort
Is in your power to give
This faithful, loving, father,
If rightfully ,you live.
13e manly, true, and honest,
In everything that's done,
And ,nhow him that his oeSuz eel
Is tr•ea, surred' by his Sons
13e kind when old age sprinkles
Its .snowtl•akdos in hie hair,
And make his dai t days happy
With )ovine words., and care.
E, Rexford.
'at a te Rtaatinotlt picnic in Saskatoon,
ovdt, 6,00ti+rlloopte were pre;'ient.