Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 137, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 June 1918 — Page 3

LOST FORTUNES OF OZARK MOUNTAINS

MISSOURI HIDES MANY RICH DEPOSITS OF METAL Thousands of Dollars in Ore Have Been taken From Veins Carefully Concealed by Owners. St. Louis, Mo.—Missouri tradition is replete with stories of “lost” mines, hidden treasures of siliVer, copper and other metals, but there is one "lost’ 1 mine in the state, the existence of which has been partly verified. It has bee n the object of search more than fifty years since its disgruntled operator ‘buried” it to prevent it from passing out of his possession. In the search of fifty years hundreds of prQspectora have '•gophered” its supposed whereabouts and thousands of dollars have been spent in frying to reclaim it, but it remains concealed. The mine is known as the Old Slater Mine and is supposed to be situated on the Jack’s Fork branch of the Current river, near Eminence, : the county seat of Shannon county. Years of litigation have been responsible to some extent for the lack of more exhaustive search, but this has been settled, and J. W. McClellan, a former state legislator has begun the search anew. The history of the lost mine dates from pre-Civil war days before the creation by the legislature of Shannon county. The story of the lost mine has been retold so often by the ord settlers of the Current river hills that several versions have been evolved from the original facts. However divergent the stories, the fact that the mine once produced copper in paying quantities to the sum of more than SIOO,OOO is history. As the story is related, Joseph Slater, an Englishman and a practical miner, explored the Current river in 1830, and some time thereafter a short distance from Eminence discovered rich veins of copper ore. He immediately Sunk a shaft and set up a mill, operated by water power. His employes numbered six. Slater shipped his ore overland to the Iron Mountain railroad, some sixty miles distant, or floated it down the. Current river and the Mississippi to New Orleans. About 250 square miles of land em braced by Shannon county were re serted by the government as “copper lands.” Slater is known to have been operating his mine- at the time the land was thrown open to entry. The story is that one of the Chiltons—pioneers of southeastern Missouri —went to the land office and filed on the land which embraced Slater’s mine. Slater heard of Chilton’s plan and hurried off in pursuit. Realizing that Chilton’s advantage could not be overcome, Slater returned and ordered his employes to “bury” the mine. The shaft was filled with debris and the veins, said to have run near the surface, were covered with sod and trees. The employes are said to have taken oath that they would never reveal the location of the ore deposits. His mine “lost,” Slater awaited Chilton’s action. The fight for possession of lhe property followed and this litigation continued several years, when Sial er died. It was during the Civil war that fate came near removing Chilton as an obstacle in Slater’s path. Bands of guerrillas overran the country, stealing and murdering. They had destroyed the town of Eminence and were moving in the direction of Chilton’s farm. The latter saw them coming and tried to flee on horseback, but was detected. He was pursued into a dense forest, and there he abandoned his horse and concealed himself in an iwy-coyered tree. From his place of concealment he could hear the bandits planning his murder, but they failed to find him and gave up the search. That tree which saved Chilton from death still stands on the Chilton estate. With the death of Slater an attempt was made to obtain from his former employes the secrets of the mine’s location, but persuasion failed. The old prospectors Used the “divining rod” and later mining engineers were sent to Eminence to make-reports on the old mine. All agreed that there was evidence of abundant quantities of ore. The old settlers of the Ozarks clung long to the belief that precious metals could be found in paying quantities. They cherished the traditions that the Indians and Spaniards mined silver and concealed the sources. Mysterious markings on the rocks were carefully preserved in the confidence that they indicated the neighborhood of silver ore.

DOG DESTROYS MOUNTED PET

Stuffed Canine Is Torn to, Bits In Fierce Attack. Briar Top, N. Y—Recently Hiram Bash entered the Annex case in Main street, followed by his bulldog. A few years ago Abner Quilter, proprietor of the case, had a bulldog. When it died Quilter had it /taounted and placed it In a front window of his saloon. Bash’s bulldog saw the mounted dog, pounced upon it and before any one could interfere tore it to pieces. Quilter says he would not have taken $25 for his stuffed pet

A woman has as many ways of making man feel cheap as she has of Bsing up stale bread.

CLOCK WITH 95 FACES TELLS DIFFERENT TIMES.

Colossal Indicator Vie* With Unique Self-Winding Watch in ’ Glasgow. * Petrograd, Russ la. Petrograd boasts what is in many respects the most wonderful clock in the world. It has ninety-five faces. It indicates simultaneously the time of day at thirty different spots on the earth’s surface, besides the movement of the earth round the sun, the phases of the moon, the signs of the zodiac, the passage over the meridian of more than fifty stars of the northern hemisphere and the date according to the Gregorian, Greek, Mussulman and the Hebrew calendars. The works took two years to put together after the clock had been sent in detached pieces from Switzerland to Russia. A Glassgow watchmaker tells about a watch that was brought to him for repairs and surpassed in Interest all others that he had seen during his forty-two years of business. It was self-winding. The case was that of the regular hunting watch, and every time it was opened It partly wound the watch by the closing of the Hd. Where the lid joined the watch there was a little lever, to the free end of which was joined a scythe shaped rack, which worked into a wheel with rachet shaped teeth. Instead of the ordinary fly spring there was a spring fixed to the plate, and attached by means of a short chain to the lever. As this spring pulled the cover open the teeth of the scythe slipped over the teeth of the winding wheel, and by closing the cover the wheel was partly pulled around. To wiiid it completely the watch had to be opened and closed eight or nine times a day.

SIGHTLESS STOREKEEPER IS WONDER TO PATRONS.

Cincinnati, Ohio.—Ask any one in the vicinity of 1920 Eastern avenue who is the most talked of man In the neighborhood and he will say, without hesitation, Arthur J. Kob, the sightless man, who keeps a small department store at the above address. Nearly every one thereabouts patronizes Kob because it is always marvelous to the customers to see Kob go immediately to the article asked for, measure it, or weigh it, wrap it up, and then give back the exact change. Kob is 48. He has been totally blind since he was 8. He was educated at the Columbus State school, and took up piano tuning, which he soon dropped and entered the grocery and notion trade In the neighborhood where he was born. He has a bright little son, 6 years old whose vision is perfect. For nineteen years he has been in his present business. For eleven of those years he kept his own accounts along with his work in the shop, and he has always taken care of the store. He will climb to the ceiling for a certain order and In a moment be In the center of the store unhesitatingly picking out some other request. He has no difficulty with his array of candies or cigars or threads, or, in fact, anything in the establishment ■

BEES BUILD HIVE IN CHURCH

Ar* Finally Smoked Out and Their Honey Seized. Lima, N. Y.—An alcove back of the pulpit of the M. E. church of this village held 50 pounds of fine honey recently, but it has been confiscated for the pastor. For several months a buzzing was heard in the alcove and became very annoying to pastor and congregation. The pastor and trustees decided to rout the bees. They took the alcove apart. The bees resented disturbance and the men were stung and driven away. Bat they wanted the honey, and forcing smoke through a gas pipe drove the bees from the alcove. Fifty pounds of honey was secured, which was presented to the pastor.

TAKES NAP IN “DEAD’’ ENGINE.

Workman Starts Fire and Man Is Bruised and Burned. Tamaqua, Pa. —Arlamond Wagner had a narrow escape from being burned to death at the Reading railroad shops, when he crawled into the firebox of a “dead” locomotive to make repairs and fell asleep. In the meantime, not knowing that a Worker was in the engine and believing the repairs had ijeen made and not reported, the foreman ordered the engine fired up. A pile of wood was ignited and the flames were just beginning to pour through the firebox when Wagner woke up. He plunged through the firebox door headforemost and sustained severe bruises, in addition to his barns.

BOY IS 16; HAIR NEVER CUT.

H« Guards His Locks Jealously, Fearing Sameon’s Fate. Webster Springs, W. Va. —Joe Donahue, 16, who lives near this city, has never had a haircut. His locks reach almost to the ground, and he is proud of them. When a child he had a long Illness and his hair grew to great length. When he recovered he became so proud of his locks that he has never had them cut. He fears that if his hair is cut he will lose his strength like Samson did. He guards his hair closely, tying it up about his head when he retires at night; fearing that persons with evil designs will try to separate him from Mb precious locks.

THB rfßilG REPUBLICAN. RENSSELAER. ENIi.

GOES 51 FEET IN AN 18-INCH WELL

CONTRACTOR DARES DEATH TO OPEN DEEP SHAFT. Makes First Trip In History Into Hole After a Bit Which Had Stopped the Work of Drilling. Bliss, Okla.—Down 510 feet in an 18-inch oil well is the perilous trip made by N. C. Essary. The trip, the first of the kind ever made, was to take a drill bit out of the well which had clogged it at the bottom and stopped drilling operations. Before finally securing the bit Essary made eight trips into the welL It was like a trip across the River Styx, according to Essary, who is a drilling contractor. “Of course, the fact within itselt that it has never been accomplished before made me a little creepy," Essary said, “and when one of the drillers cried and another’s voice got trembly as they pleaded with me not to undertake the feat, I became a little more trembly, but none the less determined. “As I started on my first trip down the well all those present told me good-by. Their voices trembled and their eyes didn't look just right. And I must confess that that was the most trying time of the whole deal, but I had my heart set on the trip and wanted to hurry and get myself where I would not be moved by sentiment, so I gave the order, ‘Let ’er go, or I’ll cut the rope.’ “As I moved slowly down into the well I kept wondering if it wouldjget any tighter, for a 185-pound man fits an 18-inch hole pretty tight. But after I had descended about forty feet below the 20-inch pipe I discovered I was going to have plenty of room, except in places where the formations were hard. As I passed through the tight places into large roomy yawning caverns it would make me scringe, for I would dangle around on the table and could not touch anything for support, and they looked like large, red mouths prepared to swallow me up. “Then I went into another tight place which proved to be pure white lime, with faint traces of blue streaks, like a checkered pavement which J once saw on the ground floor of a temple, but down, down, down, I went It was a pew and strange world to me, and by the time I was half way down I began to look for bottom. I had to feel the walls when the light was out, to determine whether I was going up or down. “You can imagine my surprise when I reached the depth of 370 feet and could no longer hear the voices on the surface and could not yell loud enough to be heard myself, for I had expected to talk to the boys at tha top. I felt lost in a way, for I realized that we had made a mistake by not arranging a signal code by means of the flashlight which I carried. However, the boys on top were lost more so than I was, for I knew where they were, and they didn't know just where I was, for when I was within about ten feet of the bottom they stopped and talked the matter over and hurriedly decided to pull me out and run the bailer. I yelled as loud as I could to, lower away, but they just pulled me out anyway, to see if they had caught any fish. They were using me for bait, they said. # " “When I reached the surface a crowd of about twenty-five had gathered to greet me. They looked upon me as though I were a new-born babe. They all tried to talk to me at once. “The air is bad as far down as 370 feet, where there is a seepage of gas, but lower than that it is just cool and damp, and has an odor of fresh earth. It also had a mist of rain falling continuously, and small pebbles falling from far above would sound like distant thunder, and as they came nearer would crash louder and louder as they struck the sides of the hole, and by the time they reached the bottom would gather other loose rocks and rain promlscously on and around me. At one time I saw flashes of lightning and stars all at the same time, and heard loud crashes of thunder. The well was caving worse than usual. “On my last trip I succeeded in tying a chain around the lost bit, which weighed 2,000 pounds, and pulled it out, which was a saving of $3,000. “I made eight trips altogether, and no one trip was any less Interesting than the others. If it wasn’t for the danger involved, I would be glad for some geologist to make the trip with me, and explain those beautiful strata of white checkered, blue, red and mixed colors of rock as we pass through.”

BASS CATCHES BLACKBIRD.

Fish Shows Traits of Cat in Securing Its Dinner. Merced, Cal.—A curiosity in the way of a four and a half pound black bass with a full grown blackbird, besides a bevy of Insects of the beetle variety, tucked away in its stomach, was brought from the Merced river by Forest N. Wilcox, of Flint, Mich., who was conceded by his angling mates to have made the prise catch of the day. * The bass, he said, acted very much like a cat in "setting” the bird before it leaped from the water to catch it

Beyond Question.

"Old Father Time is something of a vaudeville artist.” "Well, he’s a great headliner.”

FARMER FIRES NAILS THROUGH SKUNK'S TAIL

Heavy Charge Disables Old MuzzleLoader, but Modern Weapon Ends Animal’s Activity. Wellington,- N. Y.—For a week a skunk has been prowling around the Arba Pary farm near here, mtlrtnr it unpleasant for the Pary family. p Recently Mr. Pary saw the animal ; in a field fifty rods from his boose. ; Pary has a muzzle-loading shotgun. He got out the firearm, powder and caps, but found he had no shot However, I he knew what to do. He placed a quantity of powder in the gun, followed by a wad, some shingle nails and a number of brass tacks. The gun being loaded, he started for the field. v The skunk appeared tame and as Pary approached it moved a fe'w feet and stopped at a fence post. He got within shooting distance, stopped, aimed and fired. The skunk jumped, made things lively for a few minutes, but did not appear to be mortally wounded. Anyway, It did not leave the post. • Pary returned to the house, started to reload the gun and then discovered that the charge had blown the lock away. During the afternoon Pary came to the village and purchased a 30-30 caliber rifle and a box of cartridges. He returned home, loaded the rifle, went to the field. The skunk was by the post, and as frisky as ever. Pary shot the skunk through the head. When he was sure the little animal was dead he went to it and was surprised to find its tall nailed to the fence post. Pary says that when he shot at the skunk in the forenoon a nail from his muzzle-loading shotgun pierced the skunk’s tail, entered the fence post and held the animal fast. Pary avers that he found four nails and seven tacks imbedded in the post

1,500 DIAMONDS FOUND IN ARKANSAS FIELDS.

Gems Picked Out of Crude Machine By Watchman —One Weighs Thirty Carats. Buffalo, ArL—From 1,000 to 1,500 diamonds have been found by one company Operating in the Pike county diamond field during the last year. The caretaker of one of the properties that is idle found 200 during that period, having recovered them by a crude hand-washing method from the peridotite, the formation in which they are found. The largest diamond found is reported to have weighed thirty carats. As to the actual production of the field no one knows because operations are guarded very closely. One company, however, has been In steady operation for several years. The ground belonging to this company and others is inclosed by high barbed wire fences and no one is admitted without proper credentials. The company has a big diamond washing plant near Murfreesboro, Ark., the dirt being hauled by a motor railroad about two miles. The main peridotite bed occupies about eighty acres. Two other smaller areas showing peridotite have been discovered two miles from there. One shows from ten to fifteen acres of this diamond bearing ground, and the other about five. ’

BAN ANTONIO "MACK” IS SMARTEST BULLDOG.

Is 14 Years Old, But His Doing* Ar* Spectacular. San Antonio, Tex. —Mack, the 14year old registered English bulldog owned by H. C. Flint, of this city, first acquired local fame several months ago when he prevented a burglar from robbing his master’s house. He has long been a neighborhood . celebrity, however, his many less spectacular performances gaining him friends among people of all ranks of life except burglars. Aside from being an efficient watchdog, as was demonstrated when he seized the burglar, who was escaping through the window with a bag full of silverware and cut glass he has many other accomplishments. He herds chickens as a collie does sheep, he brings in wood in the evening, and brings in the newspaper and the mail. When all the members of the family are too far away to hear the telephone he calls them to it as soon as it rings, and on one occasion he saved the house from burning when he called his mistress into the room where the rug had caught fire from the grate. Moreover, In spite of his age, Mack is an expert mouser.

ELEPHANT SUFFERING FROM LOCKJAW SLAIN.

Big Beast Is Strangled to Death By Engine and Tackle. East St Louis, 111.— Judy, a 9,600 pound elephant attached to a large circus for many years, was executed in the. railroad yards here in order to relieve its sufferings from lockjaw. The elephant was put in a refrigerator car, which had been blocked with ties, and stakes, and a rope was fastened around its head, passed through a email window in the forward end of the car and attached to the tender of a locomotive. When all was ready the engine pulled, and the rope broke.* A chain was then procured and arranged as was the rope. Again the engine moved slowly ahead until the chain was pulled taut, and in thirty minutes the elephant was pronounced dead by strangulation. Judy was 50 years old.

When a man finally succeeds in putting his past to sleep he is always afraid some one will come along and wake it up.

LAST PORT MADE BY PELORUS JACK

FAITHFUL DOLPHIN SUCCUMBS TO INFIRMITIES OF AGE. After Piloting Ships 35 Years, He Grieved for Absent Friends and About War. Sydney, Australia. Pelorus Jack is dead. The famous New Zealand pilot fish had conveyed steamships frawi yVellington to Nelson at a point .near French Pass for the last thirtyfive years. According to Ben Ruddles, the tarry-handed, bronzed, and bearded bo’ sun of a British freighter, the finny pilot died from the infirmities* of old age aggravated by grief of the war. j “I knew Pelorus Jack back in 1886,” said Ben Ruddles, "when I was bo’sun of the old Wanagatiki, running be-' tween Australia ahd New Zealand, and he was a smart, young dolphin dazzling blue and white in color and about fourteen feet long. ' “In those days Jack, as the fish was ' known by all men in the coasting and , deep-water trade to New Zealand, i could swim like a streak, and moved ; so fast that when the sun wa. shin- I ing strong all the officen. on the bridge and lookout forward could see was a flash as he jumped out of the ■ water ahead to show his dexterity.

“Jack always kept on the starboard bow as he knew that was the Captain’s side of the ship, and was a regular nautical aristocrat in manner. Skippers who followed Pelorus Jack never grounded on any shoals or hit rocks, and this became so well known that many of the older mariners would not go thru French Pass unless he was ready to pilot them. “They all took a delight in feeding him with pieces of beef and small fresh loaves, which Jack had a great fondness for. One of his best friends was Captain Inman R. Sealby, of the White Star Line, who afterward had the Republic, and the two were so chummy that Jack would miss two or three vessels when he knew that Sealby was about to leave Wellington for Nelson. “In *904 some young landlubber, with more money then sense, came along in his yacht and fired a shot at the old pilot fish as he came under the bow and knocked a chunk off his starboard fin. This cruel act upset Pelorus Jack so much he swam away and was not seen for three months, and many of the coast skippers believed that he had given up his job. “Finally the New Zealand government sent a dispatch boat to look for him, and Jack was discovered hiding up a small inlet in a lonesome stateand brought back to French Pass. To protect him from further attacks the governor of New Zealand issued a special order in council establishing a fine of SSOO for any person who attempted to injure Pelorus Jack. “Just before the war began it was noticed that the famous dolphin was turning gray and was showing his age in other ways. He took on a shovelnosed whistling grampus called Billy to teach him the pilot business, but Billy had lost his port headlight, and had to carry so much starboard helm that he was continually going aground. Then Jack got hold of a frisky young dugong named Wiffin which indulged in so much skylarking around the nips that the officers would not trust him, and the sailors used to chuck coal at him to chase him away. ‘What with his age and sciatica, in the part which wagged his tail, and missing all his old friends who had been called away to the Atlantic trade by 'he war, Pelorus Jack just pineo away and died. His body was found on the sandy shore near French Pass, and out of respect for his long and faithful services the crew of a coast steamer dug a trench and put the body of the old finny pilot in it on a bed of seaweed and planted a blue gum tree at the head and tail to mark the spot.” Ben Ruddles, who seemed much affected by the death of Pelorus Jack, said that after the war the officers and men in the Australian and New Zealand coast trade would take up a co’lection for a monument to the only fish ever known to have been honored by a special order in council.

BOY CLIMBS LOFTY TREE TO FREE TRAPPED BIRD

Ten-year-oid Lad is Awarded a Medal for His Daring and Heroic Act. Hartford, Conn.,— The Connecticut Humane Society has informed 10-year-old Michael Ravoefe of East Hartford he is to have a medal for rescuing an imprisoned robin. Little Michael had to climb an elm tree 75 feet high to effect the rescue. The robin had flown to one of the top-most branches with a long string in its bill for nest-building. The string caught in a stout twig, and as the robin worked to get it free, the string tangled about one of its legs. It was thus held prisoner. It took the boy more than half an hour to work his way to the top or the tree. But he managed to reach th? twig to which the string had fastened itself and snapped it off. With this hanging to its leg the robin fluttered to the ground, was released and flew off chirping at its restored freedom.

An up-to-date woman is seldom up to date with her age.

SCARED BY GHOST OF SLAIN WOMAN.

Screams Arouse Inmates of Boardtaf House at an Early HourSpirit Voice Speaks. Graham, Va.—Great excitement pi* vails at Ennis, a mining town in too Pocahontas coal field, as a result oC an alleged ghost making its appear* anee in one of the company houses during the early morning recently. A* the'story goes, soon after midnight tha screams of a woman were heard in tha house and the occupants, some eight or ten people, were awakened by IL Upon investigation, the voice of * “spirit” was heard and she gave her name as Smith and told her excited listeners that she had been murdered in that same house fourteen yean ago by two negroes and one white man for her money, which amount the voice named at $143. “She” stated that she had come to Ennis to visit, giving the name of the family she was visiting. The returned spirit further is said to have made it known that she had a brother, Frank Smith, living in Columbus, Ohio. The entire town was awakened during the night and hundreds flocked to the place, where, it is claimed, many heard the strange voice and vouch for the genuineness of the story. It is estimated that no fewer than three thousand people visited the haunted house during the day. The voices again spoke the next day at 9 o’clock, the -story goes, repeating the details of the tragedy. Replying to a question, the spirit stated that she bad been in torment and that the devil had permitted her to come back to earth and make known the secret of her death. The excitement spread so rapidly that many from near-by towns are going to Ennis to visit the premises. The occupants of the haunted boarding house are moving out, while the boarders sought new quarters on the morning of,the alleged visit of the ghosL The mines at Ennis are said to be paralyzed as a result of the ghost story as the miners refuse to go under the ground during the excitement A number of Graham people visited Ennis, attracted there by the ghost story.

RAIN SAVES INDIAN HANGED BY BANDITS.

Bear Claw Escape* Death When Water Stretches Rawhide Noose About His Neck. Antlers, Okla.—Bear Claw, an Indian, escaped death by hanging here through a providential rain. He had been suspended from a tree and had been left for dead by a gang of bandits. Rain, however, caused the rawhide to stretch and the Indian was able to Jiberate himself. Bear Claw is one of the highest type of red man. He is educated, owns a cattle ranch in the hills of the old Indian territory, and is the terror of *ll cattle and horse thieves. Recently in pursuit of several of these gentry, who had stolen some of his stock, he chased them until dark, when he was waylaid and captured. The robbers strung him up to the branches of a tree with * rawhide riata. In the darkness the noose was not placed correctly. Expectant of the pursuit of Bear Claw’s friends, and a sudden rain coming up, the thieves hurriedly departed, In the firm belief that the Indian would soon be in the “happy hunting grounds.” But the rain caused the rawhide to stretch and in a few minutes Bear Claw was free. Only a short time before that a bear cornered the Indian in a cul de sac in the Jack Ford Mountains. Bear Claw had no weapon except his beloved tomahawk. Nevertheless, in the scrimmage that followed, the bear was left with a split skull and the Indian without a scratch. He stilil wears a necklace of Bruin’s slaws, though that is not the cause of his name.

ARIZONA COWBOY FINDS $400,000 IN GOLD.

May Be Treasure Hidden by Priests 75 Years Ago. Phoenix, Aris.—The discovery of * $400,000 cache in the hills of Graham county is reported by H. R. Whitman of Solomonville. The discovery was made by Joe Walsey, a cowboy, who is making efforts to find the former owner. While hunting stray cattle northwest of Solomonville, Walsey found a tree trunk from which the handle of a shovel protruded. Investigation disclosed an iron box containing old Spanish gold, coins and gold vessels, the intricate working of which is said to bring the. value of the find above $400,000, estimated as its worth as bullion. The gold has been taken to Safford. Old residents of that section say Walsey has found treasure hidden by priests who left that section about seventy-five years ago, when it was a part of Mexico. It always has been believed the priests buried the church’s wealth before fleeing.

LIGHTNING STRIPS HEN OF HALF ITS FEATHERS.

One Side Plucked Clean, While Other Remains Unharmed. Toledo, O. When lightning struck the barn of F. H.. Dischenger, near Elmore, Ohio, a hen sitting in the haymow was plucked entirely clean of feathers on one side, but without other harm to her or the eggs on which she sat Two litltle chicks were hatched out the morning after the stroke. A $250 horse was killed and another stunned.