Indiana State Sentinel, Volume 35, Number 9, Indianapolis, Marion County, 3 April 1889 — Page 5

THE lIVDlATs A STATE SEIN IIIS EU W EDIN JSSJJA-Y, APRIL 3, 188Ü.

THE PIONEER FARMERS.

EARLY DAYS IN THE COMMONWEALTH Settlement of Indiana The Territory The First Farmer The Various Soil and Crop Discussed Karly Cotton liaising Urattei Topic. At a recent gathering of farmers at Franklin several addresses were made by prominent gentlemen. The following, by Judge IJanta, will be found exceedingly entertaining to the farmer-readers of The Sentinfj- Judge Banta said: MR. PRESIDENT, Ladüs and Gexti.emf.xI have been nsked to talk of thi pioneer farmer and of pioneer farming in Indiana. The subject is an attractive one to me. antitrust the little I shall ajr may not le iriihout interest to you, and I hope that it may not be altogether without prolit to us all. According to the latest judgment of the historian, Indiana was first settled by European "about 171:7." This is the conclusion reached by Mr. Dunn in his late history of Indiana, and the evidence seems t? sustain him. The firt settlement was by the French at Yincennes. Other French settlements followed, all, bo far as I now remember, beinj? confined to the rivers. One wan on White river ia the extreme northwest corner of this (Johnson) county. When the pioneers moved to the V.'hite river country in lM'O, they found on the Iiiph ground, on the west side of the river, a tract ot land containing several hundred acres, covered with a dense 'growth of yonni? timber. The original forest had been cut off at a former period and the land had been under cultivation. There were the remains of cabins and also a stone wall. John Tipton, who was one of the commissioners for the location of the state capital, saw the place in lxi'O, and wrote about it in his journal. From the scant information at hand it would seem the place had been settled not later than 1750. almost one hundred and forty years ai;o, and the first white man's farming in our county must have been done at that place and alruosi that time. The first settlers found on the east side of "White river, a mile or less below the site of that old French and Indian town, a cabin and a clearing. There had been the house and the farm of Capt. White, a Delaware Indian. Not far off his neighbor, Johnny Duck, lived; but Johny's farm, if he hail one, seems to Lave attracted but little attention from the early settlers. It was otherwise with Capt. White's. A pioneer moved into his abandoned cabin and planted his little field in corn. A mile or so below Capt. White's place was another ancient clearing. There Bluetire, an Indian ehief and his band, had once lived and hunted while their squaws cultivated corn and pumpkins in the clearing. On Indian creek and on ?u:rar creek and on htotta creek remains of other Indian clearings were found by the f ioneer settlers of this county, liut it is not of ndian farmine nor of French, which doubtless was little better than Indian, that I propose talking on this occasion. This is not the time to go into a discussion of the settlement of Indiana. Up to the close of Teoumbeh's war, the settlers within the present state boundaries were few and confined to the southern border. The Indiana territory was tbe best advertised of any of its day. The Kentucky pioneers drew tbe enmity of the Wabash and White river Indians from the beginning. Bands of these Indians were every now and then making raids upon the Kentucky settlements and the Kentucky volunteers were not flow in carrying the war back to them. In 1711 Clen. Charles Scott, at the head of seven or eight hundred men, marched from the mouth of the Kentucky river, "tht most direct route," to the Indian towns near Lafayette, and he must have passed through our county. During Tecumseh's war the citizen soldiery of Kentucky marched and countermarched through and through the state. Now, all this marching up and down the country between the Ohio and the Wabash made it the best known wilderness of the day; and so, after the Indians were done fighting, all the Kentuckians had to do was to come over and take possession, and they did it. One-half, if not more, of the pioneer settlers of southern and central Indiana came directly from Kentucky. The state that sent the next largest number was Virginia. After Vircinia came North Carolina, and not much behind North Carolina, if any, was Western Pennsylvania. A good many came from Kast Tennessee and a sprinkling from Sjuth Carolina. All the states east of the lilue Hidge and north of the l'otoinic contributed, but of all, New Jersey, I think, sent the most. At the close of the war, the emigration to Indiana was as great, if not greater, than had everl before been known in the History of any American state, and in ten years the population ran up from fifty or sixty thousand to a quarter of a million. In lsio Indiana was made a state and two years thereafter all the f reat fertile recion watered by White river and its tributaries, now known as Central Indiana, was ceded by the Indians, and after another two years it was thrown open to settlers; and within a year thereafter, it is not too muc h to say that there was not an area of territory since organized into a county from the Mnseatuck to the head waters of the Wabash, in which one or more settlers' cabins were not erected, save the places kept as "reserves." Thence on the state filled up rapidly, and in a few years neighborhood was linked to neighborhood all over that part of the state, from the Wabash southward. These pioneer settlers were the pioneer farmers of Indiana. All had been farmers whence they came. It was only one here and there who come to the state for any other purpose than to engage in farming. There were no cities nor towns to draw settlers; no mines, no lumber interests, no cattle enterprises nothing but the hope and prospect of clearing out farms and making homes. Have you, sons and daughters of the pioneer settlers, forgotten the stories they used to ted of their poverty in the beginning? Of all the men who moved to Johnson county in the early days there was not one whom I now call to mind that entered, or was able to enter, a section of land in one lump. A few were able to purchase a half section, and a great many a quarter section. Still, there was a large number that could not purchase more than eighty acres, and more than we are apt to think unable to buy any land at all; and what was true of the pioneers of this county was true in the main in this respect of the pioneers of all the counties. Uut the poverty of the pioneer farmers of Indiana was not the greatest of their drawbacks. Did you ever stop and think over the unfavorable conditions that surrounded your fathers in the beginning here in Indiana? IIow they were hedged in by nature and compelled to fight, as it were, for their daily bread? What one of you, that has descended the Ohio river, that has not observed along the Indiana shore ail the way from the I'.ig Miami to the Wabash, a range of high hills, now down to the river shore and now receding therefrom? Along this range of hills there is the highest rid:re the line where the rainfall divides are part running in rills, or small creeks, down into the Ohio, and the other slowly flowing northward into the water-courses of the Wabash system. So near to the Ohio lies this water-shed that there is hardly a mill stream all the way from the Miami to the Wabash. J low is it to the northward of this water-shed? The country opens out in one vast plain, occupying the greater part of southern and central ind'ana a plain that when the pioneer farmers came was Iled with marshes and swamps and lagoons. I know there were hilly regions within the territory I allude to, but I am peaking of it in a general sene. 1 haven't the time to dwell upon this feature of the newstate of Indiana, but we can gain no adenuate idea of Indiana farmers and of Indiana farming in the early days, taking into the account the peculiarly wet and sponvy condition of the country in the be.pnnin.'. Let me ca;l your attention to another fact in this connection. The physical geographers peak of our American continent as the Forest continent for the reason that the American forests excelled in growth and magnitude the forests on any other part of the globe. Our Indiana forests, before marred by the hand of man, were the equal of any on the continent. It is hard for us to realize to-day the condition of the state in this respect a half or three-quarters of a century ago. Tbe great oaks and poplars and the lesser trees, the beeches and maples and hickories, and other trees standing pole to vole with their branches woven into an unbroken canopy a hundred feet toward the tun, that were to be teen all over Indiana when the first farmers came, will soon cease to exist even in memory. - In a little over half a century, with the aid of the ax and fire, the magnificent forests of our state have been, in a great measure, swept from tbe face of the earth. One or two facts may in this connection teach more than an hour's declamation. Of the four men who cut the wagonway over the after-siie of this town (Franklin), three lived to be old men and I have talked with them many a time about the condition of tbe country when they came to it. Oeorge King had selected at an earlier time a high knoll ou

the west side on which to Kaild his cabin. The movers camped on the hieb, ground since occupied by Franklin college ou the east side. It was about half a mile in a straight line between the two points, between which lay the little delta of Young's creek and the Hurricane. On this rich, moist alluvial land the forest growth was wonderful. Sycamore, oak, poplar, walnut, elm and ash of largest size were here. And there were also' beach and sugar trees, hackberry and buckeye and all the other wood indigenous to our Indiana forests. Wild grape vines thick as a man's leg sprung to the tops of the tallest trees. Beneath was a thicket of spice wood "twenty feet high," interspersed with other bushes and young saplings, while the ground itself was covered with down logs from the newly fallen tree to the log so rotten that a blow of an ax would knock it to pieces. Through this forest, made up as it was of the sprouting and the grow ing, the young and the old. the big and the little, the living and the dead, the down and the standing, the deer made their "runways" with comparative ease; but the movers on that early spring day, sixty-six years ago, were from sun to suu cutting a wagon road from knoll to knoll a distance that a brisk walker of to-day on our streets can easily pass over in ten minutes. Now, I do not wish to be understood as saying that the timber everywhere was as heavy as on this fertile spot of alluvium on which our town stands. In other places there was a little thinning out: the grape vines were scarcer; the big trees less big or the saplings less abundsr.t, but everywhere a heavy forest was encountered by the pioneer farmer. Before the pioneer farmer could plant a grain he had to cut or clear out his patch or field in the woods. Think of the toil that engendered! The first thing after the cabin was the clearing. Everything had to be done with the ax. The rule for c'.eiiring was to cut down all tree "eighteen inches and tinder at the knee." All the down logs, have the largest, were cut or "niggered" into lengths for rolling. The larger trees were burned to death with the brush and "trash." O, the draft upon muscle and brawn the old log-rollings made! I have interviewed in times past more than a hundred of the pioneer farmers on this very subject, and all told the same story in substance. Let me say that while the custom was to cut down everything "eighteeu inches and under." a few farmers "cleared smooth" from the beginning. Theodore List of this county cleared eiirht acres "smooth" the first year. He once told me the' logs were so thick that a mau could have walked all over the clearing ia rows as close as corn rows and never touch foot to ground. It required the log-rolling force of his neighborhood four days to roll those logs. Erery able-bodied pioneer farmer spent from two to four weeks every spring rolling logs. 1 have heard men say they frequently were called upon to go four miles to roll logs. Lvery log-roller had a clearing of his own going on, and if his logs happened to be in heaps his custom was to fire "right up" and "pick trash" often till 10 o'clock at niirht and be up and out at 4 the next morning to tiring and "righting up" before going to the neighbor's rolling. In his absence the wife and children, if any, were often expected to keep the fires going in the clearing. It took a man on an average of three weeks to clear an acre of land ready for corn, and so yon can see that the pioneer farmer who made his bread had, in the language of the times, to "stir his stumps." I have spoken or the general poverty of the people and of the swampy condition of the country and of the great forests that had to be cleared away. Let me briefly refer to another fact worthy of being kept in mind in this discussion, and that is the general unhealthfulness of the country. For more than twenty years after Indiana was made a state, hardly a year passed without the more or less prevalence of the most fatal sickness in certain parts. Some years it would be mostly confined to the low lands and on others to the high lands. I'.ut so general was Its appearance during the fall seasons that the people, in some places at least, made preparation for it. They put their houses in order. The mortality among the men was greater than among the women, and hardly a fall passed that in every neighborhood there was not heard the wail of tbe widow. Other circumstances might profitably be mentioned in this connection was there time for it, such as the early and late frosts and the want of markets. But I have dwelt long enough on the pioneer's unfavorable surroundings. The picture I present is made by only a touch here and there. It would take a book, and no little book at that, to tell the whole story. The little field cleared, it may not be unprofitable to take a peep at the farmer at Iiis plowing and plantin?. All sorts of shifts were made to raise the first crops of corn. More men than you would now imagine got along without any plowing. Men planted and tilled with the ax, the mattock, the hoe. the shovel, in a word, with any implement with which they could dig up and stir the ground. Still, these were the exceptions. The great majority plowed after a fashion from the start. Poor liorses were the rule in Indiana in the early days, and poor horses made weak plow beasts then as now. if the farmer had but one horse he broke Iiis hind with the shovel plow. Indeed the first breaking was very generally made with the shovel plow, drawn by one horse, no matter how many horses the farmer owned. The old shovel plow had a broader and shorter bit than is the case with the ones I here and there see now-a-days; and it was generally constructed with a bar of iron passing through the beam down to the point of the shovel. When the plow struck a root or a stump, it hopped over the obstruction and ran into the earth on the other side. This made poor plowing, no doubt, but it was the best that could be done in land cleared in the green and it served the purpose better than you might think. Corn and beans and pumpkins ami turnips planted and sown in the virgin earth that had been plowed with a shovel plow grew amazingly. There was a freshness and a verility in the new soil that long tilling has done much to eliminate. The "wire edge" has been taken off, 6o to speak. The implements used by the pioneer farmer were few, and. tested by the implements in use to-day, they were cheap. If the farmer did not stock his own plow, a more skillful neighbor did it for him. His plow gears were handmade. His trace-chains he, in general, bought, but everything else he could make, at least with the aid of an ingenious neighbor. The corn crop was, by all odds, the most important crop of the Indiana pioneer farmer. He relied upon it to make the bread for his family, as well as the food for his horses and cattle. It was peculiarly well adapted for green woods cultivation. No other grain could be so well grown in the beginning; indeed, I may safely say Indian corn w as the only grain that could be successfully grown at the start. Oats soon followed, and next came buckwheat. Wheat came last of all. On the little wet, shaded and new fields wheat refused to ripen, or, if it did, it was of very inferior quality, or, worse, "sick wheat." "Sick wheat" was quite common in the early history of farming in this state and "sick wheat" made bread that made sick men. I have often wondered how Indiana could have been settled had it not beeu for the Indian corn. Without it, its settlement would have been delayed for many years. A detailed description of the pioneer farmer's implements would enable you younger men to appreciate more than you do the vast strides that have been made since his day. Hut there is no time for that now. I can barely refer to the "bar-share plow," the plow with which he broke his fields just as soon as the roots began to rot. The bar-share was low down in the life of the plow. It was little farther removed from the oriental farmer's plow, made of a forked tree with one fork cut long into a beam and the other cut short into a plow, than it is from the best improved plows of to-day. After the bar-share came the "Cary plow." This was a vast improvement on its predecessor, though, like it, it bad a wooden moldboard. Lvery farmer throughout central Indiana had his flax patch and his flock of sheep, to both of which he looked for the material that made Lis clothes. In the southern and especially the southwestern part of the state the farmers raised cotton. This seems to have done quite well in the beginning and gins were so numerous as to be convenient to every neighborhood. The tame grasses, so profitable to the farmers of the present, were unknown here in the beginning. 1 am not sure that this was an unmixed soiL The brouse answered the purpose of pasturage for the cattle quite well, and even the horses soon learned to support themselves in the woods. As for the hogs, they found such a wealth of mast as to keep fat the year round. There were not only no tame grasses but scarcely any wild ones. The new held brought forth according to the seed planted or not at alL There being no grasses nor weeds in the forests, there were no seed lumbering in the little fields to sprout into noxious grasses and weeds with the first warming up of the soil with the sun. The pioneer fanner had the squirrels, and the coona, and the woodpeckers, and even the wild turkeys and the deers, to contend with in the early days, but the grasses and weeds kept out of his patches for some time. The first weed to conie was what the pioneers called the "butter weed." It grew tall and its white downy seeds vexed him when cutting up his corn. He snutlied them up his nostrils and picked them out of his hair. The "butter weed" grew on high dry land and lasted in a field only for a season or two. On the wet margins soon came the smart

weed, nnd after that Spanish needles, cockleburs, fot-tail and all the other abominations that came to stay and still live to vex you as they did your fathers. I'asr weed, however, in Johnson county, was of later growth. It was not seen on the uplands, at least, till some time in the '40's. The wheat crop came in time. It was corn bread, and nothing but corn bread, at the first. But the superior excellence of the Indiana wheat is proven by the fact that wheat in bread long ago practically drove corn bread from the Indiana tables. In Kentucky corn bread still holds its place. The Kentuckians were cornbread eaters of necessity in the beginning, the same as were the Indianians. The "dodger" is king yet on the Kentucky tables, while the loaf has taken its place on the Indiana. Why? Some ay it is because of the greater excellence of the Kentucky corn. Don't you believe it. It is because of the greater excellence of the Indiana wheat. Don't you know that we live in the wheat belt of the world? If we do not eat the best of bread, it ia our own fault Let us be honest whenever we see a poor loaf and lay the blame to bad farming, bad milling or bad cookiug anything rather than to bad lands. I have told you that in the beginning wheat did not do well, and I repeat it. It is a delicate grain and could not make headway in the new, raw, wet, shaded fields. But that condition did not last long. In a few years farmers found their wheat crops yielding bountifully in spite of coarse cultivation coarse cultivation unavoidable because of rough land and the want of proper farming implements. You sow wheat the same as your fathers did, only you have better implements, cleaner ground and are thus enabled to do nicer work. You make a better job of it, because you have better facilities. The great change is in the manner of taking care of the crop. In the beginning the sickle or reap hook was the only machine used for cutting the grain, and it is a long stride, to be sure, between the sickle and the .latest improved reaper and twine-binder a long one, indeed. I am not very old, but I have seen the last of the sicklemen at work in the wheat fields in Johnson county, and there was less difference, I verily believe, in their mode of harvesting and that practiced in the wheat and barley fields of Iloaz, near Bethlehem, 3,0 years ago, than between their mode and yours. How wonderful the improvements in this respect the past fifty years! The cradle followed the sickle. The author of the "History of Posey County'' says the cradle was introduced in that county in 1840. In Dearborn county, 6ays its historian, it was introduced about ISoO, and I think it came to Johnson county about the same time. It was considered a great improvement over the sickle, and so it was, and it held its ground for twenty years or more. It must have been early in the '50 s w hen the first reapers came, and about the same time when the first thrashing machine made its appearance. Before that all the wheat was Hailed or tramped out, and a good deal of it cleaned with u sheet. The wheat fan was a great improvement over the sheet. It is the fashion, and always has been, I suppose, for the present to decry the past; for the children to speak slightingly of the fathers an I of their methods. No doubt many modern cultivators of the soil entertain a very poor opinion of the pioneer farmers of Indiana, as farmers. More than once have I heard the sons and grandsons of pioneer farmers apologizing, as it were, for the limited knowledge and poor ways of their ancestors. Why, I once heard a man even speak contemptuously of his father's lack of knowledge of what he termed the "science of farming," after he himself had run through and wasted, by mismanagement, his share of a farm made valuable by his father's labor. Gentlemen, the pioneer farmers of Indiana need no apology. They merit the highest praise. The truth is, taken as a whole, they were, as tested by the standards of their age, nnd tried by their surroundings, good farmers. Indiana was settled by as good a class of farmers as ever took possession of a new land. They were of the best of their day. Other new states have, since their age, made more rapid progress than Indiana did, but the fact was due to other causes than to the quality of the first men. The physical surroundings have been far more advantageous. At the beginning of this century the Virginia farmer was the model farmer ot America. Kentucky was settled mainly by Virginians, and the Virginia-Kentucky farmer who came to Indiana brought with him the experience acquired in the new country of Kentucky, and by that much he was a better farmer than the Virginia farmer, here in the Indiana woods. I tell you, the pioneer farmers of Indiana are worthy of our grateful remembrance. My father was one of them, and he farmed as wisely from the level of his day as the best farmer in the county from the level of this. Indeed, it is no disparagement of the farmers of "Sliiloh" to say that his farming was as good as the best of theirs. He had to contend with difficulties of which they know nothing, practically. And my father was no better than yours and yours, and so on to the end of the row. Oh, if it had not been for their poverty, and the swamps, and the forests, and the sickness, and the want of roads and markets, and of a long catalogue of facilities in general, what farms thev would have made and what farmers they would have been! No! Do not apologie for the pioneer farmers of Indiana. The art of cultivating the soil has made wonderful progress iu Indiana during the past fifty years. You have inherited the knowledge the pioneer farmers possessed and you have lived well up toward the close of the most remarkable century in the world's history. It has been a century of crowned thought. Never has there been a century in which the thought of man has been pushed so far toward its verge in search of new plans and ways. The old implements have long since been throw n aside to rot in the fence-corners. The old plows, flails, thrashing-floors, fanning mills, flax-breaks, swingling boards, wooden pitchforks, sickles, cradles, brush harrows. Where are they? (tone into the limbo of the past They are among the things that will soon be forgotten. But they are closely allied with things which never should be forgotten. I mean the energy, determination, thrift and invincible courage of your fathers. It was the labor of their hands "that made possible the grand opportunities of the present. All honor to the pioneer farmers of Indiana. A Necessary Addition. I Baltimore American. Congressman Frank T. Shaw was sitting in his room yesterday, busily answering letters and inquiries from his constituents. He was interrupted by one of the colored waiters of the hotel. He came in timidly, and after considerable preliminary the waiter finally told the doctor that he wanted to write a letter to a young lady in St Mary's, and wouldn't he please write it for him. Dr. Shaw is eminently a philanthropist. He put aside a mass of letters, and, after getting al the necessary data from the waiter, wrote out the letter. Into it he breathed tender devotion and coy love, and when at last he signed the waiter's name he felt conscious that he had written a letter that he might in other days have been proud of. He gave it to the eager lover. The waiter read it over. Then he said: "Would you add one more line, please, doctor?" "Certainly," said the good-natured member. "Well, sah, jusl please say: 'Lxcuse mistakes and bad writing on account of pen.' "

No Hope. PucW.l Tenitent Printer "I have been such a terrible sinner that I fear there is no salvation for me." Minister "Cheer np my friend. There is hope for even the vilest." "But I have been such a great sinner. I have worked on Sunday papers, putting in type accounts of prize fights, murders and all manner of crime, thus helping to spread its influence all over the land." "But there is still hope for you if you only repent." I am glad to hear you say so. I have often put your sermons in type and thought how full of love they were, and " "Are you the fiend who, when I wrote of Tale martyrs in their shrouds of tire,' made it read, Tale martyrs with their shirts on fire?"' "I am afraid I am. I " "Then I am happy to say that I do not believe the hereafter holds any hope for you." In Good Company, Anyhow, Lewistown Journal. I felt (on a certain occasion) like the drunken Irishman who got np at the wrong time in prayer-meeting. The parson asked all those who loved the Lord to please stand. Everybody in the house stood except this Irishman, who was asleep. The minister' eye caught the unlucky man. "Now," he thundered, "1 want those who don't love the Lord to stand." The Irishman had partly come to his senses, and not fully grasping the situation, sprung to his feet, thinking the others in the congregation would follow. But staring about him and seeing every man and woman seated but himself, he looked at the minister and exclaimed: "Parson, (hie) you an' I are in a very (hie) hniall minority, ain't we?" Children Cry for

THE DISASTER AT SAMOA.

REPORTS OFFICIALLY CONFIRMED. All of the American and German Men-of-War Wrecked With Frightful Lom of Life The Engli-H Man-of-War Calliope Alcn Escaped. ' "Washington, March 30. The following cable message was received at the navy department this morning: Auckland, March 30. Secretary of Nary, Washington: Hurricane at Apia, March 15. Every vessel in harbor on shore except English man-of-war Calliope, which got to sea. Trenton and Vandalia total losses. Nipsio beached; rudder gone; may be saved but chances are against it. Will send her to Auckland if possible. Vandalia lost four officers and thirty-nine men, namelv: CAPT. SCI I OON M A KEP, PAYMASTER ARMS, LIEUT. )F MARINES SUTTON, PAY CLERK JOHN ROACH, HENRY BAKER, W. BRISBANE, WILLIAM BROWN, QUARTERMASTER MICHAEL CAS II EN, M. CRAG IN. B. F. DAVIS, THOMAS (i. DOWNEY, M. ERICKSON, S. C. C.EIIRING, ADOLPH GOLDNER, GEORGE GORMAN, V. B. GREEN, JOSEPH GRIFFIN'. E. M. II AMMEI R, JOHN IIANCHETT, C. H. HAWKINS, W. HO WAT, FRANK JONES, GEORGE .7 OR DON, M. II. JOSEPH, JOHN KELLY, THOMAS KELLY, N. KINSELLA, C. P. KRATZKR, CHARLES KRAUS, FRANK LKSSMAN. GEORGE MKKKAGE, AYLMER MONTGOMERY THOMAS RILEY, H. P. ST ALM AN, C. G. STANFORD, JOHN SIMS, G. H. WELLS. JOHN MI LI FORD, HENRY WIXTED, ANKOW A. A PECK, PENDING TECUOR, Nipsie lost seven roen, namely. W.GALL1N, JOHN GILL, JOSHUA HEAP, THOMAS JOHNSON, DAVID KELLEHER, HENRY POUTRELL, WILLIAM WATSON, All saved from the Trenton. Trenton and Vandalia crews ashore. Nipsic's on board. All stores possible saved. German ships Adler and Eber total losses. Alga beached; may be saved. German losses ninety-six. Important to send 300 men home. Shall I charter steamer? Can charter in Auckland. Lieut. Wilson will remain in Auckland to obey your orders. Faller accounts by mail. Kimberly. The following dispatch has been sent to Lieut. "Wilson lor Admiral Kimberly, care American consul, Auckland: Take such steps with regard to Nipsic and wrecks and sending men home as you may deem proper. Full power given you. Monongahela sailed for Apia Feb. 21. " Tracy. Capt. Selfridge, U. S. X., was found at the navy department this morning, peering over a chart of the harbor of Apia, which he visited several years ago. Ho paid that while it was a very bad harbor, it was the best on the island of Upola. Like all the Pacific island harbors, that of Apia is formed by a coral reef, encircling the island at a short distance from the ehore. The anchorage ppace available for men-of-war is contracted, being about one thousand feet wide at the mouth of the harbor. The bottom is sandy, affording but a slight hold for an anchor and the harbor is exposed on the north. On each side of the entrance are coral reefs which are awash at high water and surrounded by shoals. The depth of water ranges from four to eight fathoms, pretty deep w ater being- found close iu phore, which would enable a ship to pet close in. Hurricanes or cyclones at Apia are usuallv from the southwest and, revol ving in the harbors, tend to force vessels on the rugged reefs or rough shores. The last hurricane occurred at Apia just six years ago. Fortunately, no men-of-war were in the harbor, but every merchantman was driven ashore or wrecked; houses were destroyed and palm trees uprooted. It is the opinion of Admiral Harmony, who is also familiar with the Samoan islands, that the English man-of-war owed her escape to the fact that she had steam up and was enabled to push out to sea. The news of the disaster created a profound sensation at the navy department and everybody, from the secretary down, freely expressed his regret, Secy. Tracy could not see cause to condemn anvone. The ollicerR in command of the vessels were competent men and had doubtless adopted all proper precaution against disaster, but these hurricanes, which assumed cyclonic proportions, were simply irresistible, as was proved by the extent of the loss of vessels. Lieu.t Lucien Young, who is himself almost the 6ole survivor of .the wreck of the ill-fated Huron olf Cape Hatteras, looked sadly over the list of the drowned and marked down poor Roach, the paymaster's clerk, as an old shipmate gone. fhe Trenton was launched from the "Sew York navy yard in 1S77. She was ship-rigged, 2Ö3 feet long, forty-eight feet beam, 10.6 feet draft, and 3,100 tons displacement, or about eight hundred tons more than the Boston or Atlanta. She ha.l 420 oflieers and men aboard w hen she sailed from home. The Vandalia was built at the Boston navy yard and was launched in 187". She was 216 feet long, thirty-nine feet broad, seven feet threer inches draft and 2,100 tons displacement. She was rated ns a twelve-knot ship and carried 200 ollicers and men. The Nipsic was a vessel of the old war navy, but after eight years at the Washington navy yard, she emerged, in lST'J, as a practically new vepsel, little but the old ceel remaining. She was bark-rigged, 1S5 eet long, '.Vt feet broad, 14.3 feet draft and 1,:75 tons displacement and was a slow vessel as things now go, being set down as a little over ten knots in speed. She sailed from the United States with ISO olficers and men aboard, making the total strength of the American fleet at Samoa MX) men, or nearly double the strength of tbe German forces. The Olga had 267 men, the Adler 128 men and the little Eber eighty-seven men, yet with one-half of the number of the American forces, these unfortunate vessels appear to have lost more than twice as many men. Some naval officers think that this is an indication that the American vessels had greater structural strength than the German ships, or that superior seamanship was shown. A SERIOUS PROBLEM Confronts the Government Through the Destruction of Her Fleet. "Washington, March CO. By the destruction of the American fleet at Apia the navy department finds itself confronted with a serious problem. Short of the China station, where there is a small fleet of old wooden vessels, at least one of which can never ' hope to J successiuny croba lue l urine,-' mere aro almost no American war vessels worthy of the name in the Pacific ocean which can be sent immediately to Pitcher's Castorla.

Samoa. It would not be wise policy to allow events to drift along without the presence of one or more American naval vessels. The Mononganela, an old storeship, carrying a couple of howitzers, sailed with stores for Samoa, from Mare Island, Cal., Feb." 21, and should arrive in a week or two unless she encounters bad weather. The Dolphin, a dispatch boat, which is formidable through the possession of one great gun, might be ordered from China; or the old Mohican, now at Panama, might be sent to Samoa, but this about completes the list of available ships and none of them would worthily represent the authority of the United States. By dint of extra work, the Charleston, now building at San Francisco, might be gotten ready to sail in about three weeks, but her batteries would not be complete and the government w ould be at great expense, as the contractors would probably insist upon a remission of the penalties already accrued for delay in the construction of the vessel. THE NEWS IN SAN FRANCISCO.

Intense Excitement on the Streets and Builetin Boards Eagerly Watched. San Francisco, March 30. The news from Samoa caused intense excitement on the streets. Every bulletin board was surrounded by an anxious throng, eager for particulars. Husiness men whose interests extend to the South Pacific Island?, when questioned regarding the disaster, expressed belief that no American merchant vessels were in the harbor of Apia at the time of the disaster, though a number of coasters were reported wrecked, unless some inter-island trader, carrying the American flag, had run in there for protection. From the accounts received by vessels arriving during the past two weeks, it would seem that the wind and rain storms in the South Pacific ocean had been exceptionally eevere and had been accompanied by electrical disturbances. Commodore John Irwin said, concernin? the disaster, that it w as w holly unprecedented in the history of the navy. "Not through the war period," he said, "even along the Atlantic coast was there any disaster comparable to this." '"Those hurricanes are local disturbance of terrific violence," said one gentleman. "I spent many years in that region and know how, sometimes, the hurricane will come almost without warning and in less than four or five hours all will be calm." The loss of the pavmaster and clerk, with Capt. Schoonmakerof the Vandalia, is considered due to the observance of the naval rule that the captain 6üould always be the last to leave his ehip and the paymaster and clerk should not leave until just before the captain. The officers and crew of tbe Vandalia were well known to San Francisco and there were many touching scenes at the U. S. pay-office Avhen the list of names of the dead was displayed, many persons living in this city having friends or relatives on board the w recked vessels. One of the lost, Ben Davis, is understood to be a relative of a wealthy family somewhere in the East, but was disowned for marrying a girl his inferior in social position. When his wife died Davis came on to San Francisco, and only a few weeks ago signed as a seaman on the guard of the Vandalia. George Norman, one of tbe crew of the Vandalia, was w ell known anions the Pacific coast seafaring men. He has a family living in this state. John Wanchett was recently employed on one of the ferry-boats running across San Francisco bay, and signed as a recruit on the Vandalia. John and Thomas Kelly were employed in the navy some time before going, to Samoa. It is understood that their relatives reside in this city. Charles Krauz was also known here, and previous to entering the navy he worked as deck hand on one of the steamers plying between San Francisco and Jaquina bay. An Expensive Cablegram. Washington, March 30. It is said at the navy department that Admiral Kimberly's cablegram containing the news cost between $700 and $S00. The difficulty of obtaining, telegraphic news from the r'amoan islands is very great. The dispatches received last night and this morning by the Associated Tress were first taken from Apia to Auckland, New Zealand, about two thousand miles by steamer. The news was then transmitted by cable from New Zealand to Australia; thence to Banjowanjie ; thence to Singapore; thence to Penang; thence to Madras; thence to Bombay; thence to Aden ; thence to Suez ; thence to Alexandria; thence to Malta; thence to Gibraltar ; thence to Lisbon ; thence to London, thence to New York. Consternation tn Berlin. Berlin, March 30. The first heard here of the Samoan disaster was a telegram from London early this morning. Neither the admiralty nor the foreign office received any direct cable advices and were loth to believe the report was true. Inquiry at London appeared to confirm the story and there was general consternation. It was not until this afternoon that official telegrams reached the admiraltv. A PECULIAR AFFLICTION. On Leg of a St. Paul Man Grows Longer Than the Other. Glohe-Denioorat t. Paul Special. J. C. Sexas, a well-known business man on Jaekson-st, is at the present time the wonder of the medical fraternity of this city. Within the last four months his right leg has grown from three to four inches longer than the left one, and Mr. Seias is compelled to use crutches in order to move. Mr. iSexas was, previous to four months aco, a hale and hearty man, thirtyfive years old. About that time he began to notice that one of his limbs was shorter than the other, and also felt a queer sensation in the muscles of that member. Several consultations of physicians were held, during which time the limb continued to grow in length. It was finally decided to send one of the physicians East to a New York hospital for the purpose of making inquiries as to what the disease was, or whether there had ever before appeared anything of the same nature. The ihysician, after a long and careful inquiry, learned that there had been only one case of the kind reported to the New York institutes, or the world at large. That case was somewhere in the East, and after the great medical experts had examined it it was pronounced a case of paralysis of the hip. Mr. Sexas' case is pronounced precisely the same as that of the eastern patient, and it is understood that the physicians are now engaged in treating it as paralysis. The paralyzed limb is not any larger than the other one, with the exception of tbe knee-cap, which is slightly disproportioned. Mr. .Sexas is able to go to and from his place of business on crutches, and apparently docs not sutler much. Boils, pimples, hives, ringworm, tetter and all other manifestations of impure blood are cured by Hood's arsaparilla. Catarrh Cured. A clergyman, after years of sufTerin from that loathsome disease, catarrh, and vainly trying every known remedy, at last found a recipe which completely cured and saved him from death. Any sufferer from this dreadful disease sending a self-addressed stamped envelop to Prof. J. A. Lawrence, 83 Warren-st, New York City, will reoeire the recipe fres of charge. Charles Batton, aeed twenty-one, hung himself near Fayetteville Tuesday. He had only recently been married. He left a letter (saying that he was in trouble. Subscribe for TiiR Weekly Sentinel and get the famous puzzle, "Pigs in Clover." Subscription one year, $1.10. Subscribe for The Weekly Sentinel and get the famous puzzle, "Figs in Clover." Subscription one year, 1.10.

ji.wii iwm imm

i ial Ii Ii l

- - .--...- .- ...... s. - - . , .

for Infants and Children. Cartorta Is so well adapted to children that I Castorla cores Colic. Court "pa-H" t recommend it as superior to any prescription I Pur Btomach. Diarrhopa, Eructauon. . kaowB to me." IL A. AacHia, 31 D., J C1 P- promotes 212 Bo. Oxford St, Brooklyn, XT Without Injurious medicatioa, Tax CECTAca Compajct, TT Murray Street, N. T.

'M " 'l "IMl,l."VJ'H""1"".1 i ii-fTTiiir --fnr.ik'i?fi These twin diseases cause untold siiTenrg. Doctors admit that they are difficult to cureso do their pa tlenti ralE&'s Celery Compound Las permanently cured the worst cases of liietnnatlsia a.nl neuralgia so say those wL.o have ued it. "Ilaving been trcutlcJ wltb.rheuinat5.nn at the knee and root lor live years, l v-as almost unable to pvt r.TVrnd. nnd was very olien coiuliied to my bed for weeks tt a time. I used only one bottle of ralne's Celery Compound, and waa perJoctly cured. I can now Jump around, and feel as lively as a boy." 1 pans Caeoli, Eureka, Kevada. FCRSALE. NO USETO OWNER. $1.00. six for 13.00. DrujrSTi Mammoth testimonial paper fres. Wells, Richardson & Co.,Props.,Burllngton.Vt. DIAMOND DYES SÄÄ

kHEHT SI m E

(PATENTED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

,is,-i,,)rVVJr

'OOOOOfehcsns mmm

Rl 4siKd ft Suburban Netdro, Tarm Buildings, Verandas, Cardena. Lawns, Poultry Yards, Crtlcfcsn Houses and Coops, Church Premises and Cemetery Lota. A1k lor Wlnejow and Skylight Guards. Crape Arbors. Trellises, Tree Boxes, Slpns, Office)

nan, vww mnm v-r man, aau nvTUUf uuin Mtl ALLICLATTICt Of WIRE WORK.

9E.ND rUR ILLUSTRATED CATALOCUE.

Central Expanded Metal Ca. N. W. Eipasded PITTSBURGH.

CHICAGO.

F PI ART CARRIAGES HARNESS MÄIlüFÄCTüniliG CO llllOlU la do!'ireiulueOtotfcniinutcturer'Mnc3 -JiV r.H ti.v.i n..

KukJ J"o. 1. rsrm Harness. JfTO$V$2440

w ' v 13 LLin 1 1 . i ... i . ir i , hu u.rr . . v . AjSl'Vl. i'ur L J'r. hav dilt 6, wnn t.'is coDsaiaer. VeahipnwbeTv, with pri tOje y X4.minu9 bfi,r b-tvit

We pv frcxnhi efutrrfe tolh irn, if not sntisftciorT. Varrart everything tor 2 yen ro. Atit one tbttt can trritu cn or dor s dasei rr Hirnwna from us m wail u

pay tllto towjmo tor taera. are rirte ct !! fm- SKJ.

ONE PRICE, ONLY. Jr it J yk ?-'J Platform. ComMncitton, tod It .fvftttf? vvH11 ' J t"t ois ". 1 ?- Top I- Ui.-rie. ;iZfirie'ix,&-9 I- V liners rome or !d et ?ili). OurMl).") " i tbl ßKliSI

. Y ..mäj ... rtui , kjAß. ivu. i; .Iii i p., i a vfo box and deliver on cars tn i-lkhiirt, frt of iharoe.

IIOIIJIJ1 IT 4, W LI V-,i KJ T

Oar fin r en are iH-ntber. Single.

Light Donble, M" j to s io. til pose CwatiHpt. Free.

AddWvy. b. F3ATT, Sec'Y. ELKHART, INDIANA.

DS7RI.es US

i-,t I? l-XZ'im - r .. "

For Elllous snd Nervous Disorders, such as Wind and Pain in the Slomach. Sick Headache. Giddiness. Fulness, and Swelling after Meals. Dizziness and Drowsiness, Cold Chills, Flushings of Heat, Loss oi Appetite, Shortness of Breath, Costivenci , Scurvy. Elctches on the Skin, Disturbed Sleep. Frightful Dreams, and all Nervous and Trembling Sensations. Ac. THE FIRST DOSE WILL GIVE RELIEF IM TWENTY k'lNUTES. This is no fiction. livery FuOrer i earnestly invited to try one Box of these Tills, and they teilt beacknoieledged tob a Wond rfU if iiciia" Worth a truinea abox."BüEClIAM S PIIAS, taken as directed, will quicltJy rttorefemaU tocoraplete health. For a WEAK STOr'ACII; IMPAIRED DIGESTION; DISORDERED LIVER; they ACT LIKE MAGIC: few doses wilt work wonders upon the Vital Organs : Strengthening the muscular System; restorinplon-lost Complexion; bringmjr back the keen edae of appetite, and arousing with the ROSEBUD OF HEALTH the ohole rhysicul tmertrvol the human frame. These are " facts "admitted by thousands, in all classes of society, and one of the best sruarantees to the Neroons and Pebihtatcd is that BEECKAH'S PILLS HAVE THE LARGEST SALE Or Af.T PATENT MEDICIME IM THE WORLD. Full directions with each Box. Prepared only by TIIOS. BEECH A 91, St. Helens, Lancashire, England. Bold by DruffffUf generali?. B. F. ALLEN Ä CO., 365 and 367 Canal St., New York, Sole Agents for the United State3, vho, (if your druggist does not keep them,) WILL MAIL BEECHAM'S PILLS ON RECEIPT OF PRICE 25 CENTS A BOX.

STATE OF INDIANA, MARION COUNT V, i".: In the Superior Court of Marion county, in the fatate of Indiana. No. :i3,i6 Complaint for divorce. Lydia K. iMuith vs. Jesse K. Smith. Be it known that on llth day of Marrh, 18!, the above-named plaintirt, bv her attorney, tiled iu the office of the Clerk of the Superior Court of Marion county, in the State of Indinna. her complaint agaiDst the above-named defendant, and the vaid plaintirt liavin also hied in said Clerk' olliee the i.rhdavit of a comjietent iwrwn, howinjf that said defendant, Jesse K. Smith, is not a reilent of the Mate of Indiana (and th:ttaid aetion is for divorcei, and, whereas, said plaintiCs having by indorsement on said complaint required .-ud defendant to appear in said court and answer or demur thereto, on the 20th dayof May, 139. Now, therefore, by order of said court, snid dfendant last above named is hereby notified of t ha filing and pendency of Faid complaint against him, and that unless he nppoars and answers or demurs thereto, at the calling of said cause on the 2'ith day of May, the same leinii the thirteenth ja Heia! day of a term of Mid court, to le bt un and held at the court house in the City of Indianapolis on the first Monday in May, 1-'J, said complaint an! the matters and thins tiiereia contained and alleged, will be beard and determined in his absence. JOHN It. WU.noN, Clerk. Frank McCray, Attorney for I'laintiff. 27-at JOTICE TO HEIRS, CREDITORS. Etc. In the matter of the estate of George Hickman, deoe&xed. In the Marion Circuit Court, March terra, 1W. Notice is hereby plven that tieore W. Hickman, as administrator of the estate of eorge Hickman, deceased, has presented and filed hia account and Touchers in final settlement of said estate, and that the same will come up for examination and action of said Circuit Court on the loth day of April. lt-JO, at which time all heirs, creditors or legatees of said estate are required to ape3r in said court and show canse, if any there be, why said ac-miut and vouchers should not he approred. And the heirs of aid estate are also hereby required at the time and place aforesaid, to appertr and make proof of their heir-hip. GEuKtiE HICKMAN, Administrator. Arthur V. Brown, Attorney. 27 3t OTICE TO HF.IKS, CREDITORS, Etc. In the matter of the estate of Minerra Hickman, deceased. Iu the Marion Circuit Court, March term, 1?9. Notice 1 hereby given that George W. Hickman, a administrator of the estate of Minerra Hickman, deceased, has prevented and filed his account and vouchers in final attlrmnl of aid esiaU, ar.d that the am will come up for rumination ad action of aid Circuit Ceurt en the loth lay of April, lr-4, at which tint all heirs, creditor or If jrateos f said estate are required to appear In ' sali eonrt and show cause. If uy there be, why satj ecount tnd Touchera should not be approved.'" AtiH the heirs of said estate are also hereby rtxruircd atthe time and place atoresaid, to appear and make protdof their heirship. GKGKGK W. HICKMAN", Administrator. Arthur V. Brown, Attorney. .- . 27 2t WsloiriiM, TaMenttx, Rteker. for fc-bool.Clur" I'arlor. net out. Catalogue Ires. T.S. ltio.CtUogoil.

3

URALGIA "Palne's Celery Compound has been a Godsend to me. l"or the p;it two years I tiave fuIferrd wltii neuralgia ct the heart, üoetor arter doctor falling to cure m. I nave now taken nearly tour bottles ot the Compound, and an tree from thi complaint- I feel very gratftnj to you." CBA& u. Lewis, Central Village, CU Paine's Celery Compound "I have been prestly arj!ctd with acuta rheumatism, and cou'.d 2nd no relict until I uk1 lY.ine's cv-lery Compour.d. After usln six ixjti les ot tr.ls medicine I ssa. now cured ol rlieumntle vxour.ks." SAJicrL IIctchissox, So. Corrlsh. "S. n EiTects Lasting Cures. Pains'r.Cclery Ocmpo'JDd has perrcracd many other cure3 a3 morvelou3 as tiiese, copies ot letters sent to any address. Pleasant to taie. docs not disturb, but aids üjestion, nd entirely v?gr:tb!e: a ch'll can taio It, Wliat'a tho uro e t satrerlxis longer with rLeusiatiiaa cr neuralgia? n jprcfiLrgvpcn Ladaied Food are Ilcclihy, CHl!-0 Happy, Huirt'j. It it Uncfdckd. This proJoct is msde of the BEST QUALITY OF SSI Ära! if fiTFPi -ttt i DURABLE, RIGID, ORfJASfltNTAL and KODERATE IN COST. Mef2 Co. St. LoL'isEipanfct! Metal Co. ST. LOUIS. Kirkel fiamroi middla mn to order t'bartonn, S 1 S. all '. 1 Ottlt 812 tc 2J. BOX UNACQUAINTED WITH THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE COUNTdr WIU OBTAIN MUCH INFORMATION FROM A STUD Y OF THIS MA OF THl GREAT ROCK ISLAND ROUTE C, R. I. & P. and C, K. & N. E'ya.) Cost, Northwest ar.d Southwest It Include CITICA.OO. JOLIET. KCCK ISLAND. DAVENPORT. DES MOINES. COUNCIL. TSL.V7TS. WATEIiTOWN. 6IOXXX FALLS. XINKEAPOLIS. PT. PATJL. ET. JOSEPH. ATCITTSON. LEAVE JiIWOKTU, KANSAS CITY. TOPEKA, COLOKADO EPUINGS, DENVER. PUEBLO, and hundreds of j'rosperoua cities and towns tm verein vast areas of tna richest farming lands in the weeU SOLID VESTIBULE EXPRESS TRAINS Leadin? all competitors In splendor sind lorirrs f scrrr.moda' ions iliy between CHICAGO and COLOiiADO SPRINGS, DENVER suad PUEBLO. Similar magnificent VI.tTlBlLK TRAIS service (daily) between CHICAGO find COTTNCXL, BLUFFS (O id A ILA), and between CHICAGO and KANSAS CITY. Modem Day Conches, clernnt Diniuff Cars (serving delicious zneals at moderst prices restful Reclining Chair Cars (seats EREEI end Palace Elrpintr Cars. Tbe direct bns to NI DEGN. HORTON. TTUTCHTN tON, WICHITA. ABILENE, CALDWELL, and all points in Southem Nebraska, Kansas. Colorado, the Indian Territory and Texas. California Excursions daily. Choice, of routes to the Faciac coast. The Famous Albert Loa Routo Buns superbly equipped Express Trains, dally, between Chicago. 6k Joseph. Atchison. LeaTenworth. Kansas City, and Minneapolis and SC pauL The popular tourist line to the scenic resorts and bunting and fishing: arounds of the northwest, lis Watertown and Biouz Falls branch trawersea the rrroat "WHEAT AND DATB.T BELT" cl Northern Iowa, Southwestern Uinnesota and Bast Central Dakota. The Short Una rla Seneca and Kankakee offen fadliUes to travel to and from Indianapolis, Cia d&natl and other Southern points. Tor Tickets, Maps. Tolders. or desired Information, apply at any Coupon Ticket Office, or add -asa E.ST. JOHN, E.A.HOL3ROOK, Oon'l Manager. Oenl Tit. & Pass. Act. CHICAGO. TLX. vnitur Nril WANTED to 1rn Trlea-rar'aT. YUUnU ntll filBBllons iumS.hed ... as oiiahtied 0t of Wnuns". lw. l"art;ciiiar frw. Addrees V.Ot.MLVt liUOH JaoesiUe, Wis

CIL iHr 8" mi-! -T - M-i

SIOO I o3I25 f .

TÜZI

'a N ' V '

-u V, -e ?sr;