The Syracuse Journal, Volume 20, Number 39, Syracuse, Kosciusko County, 24 January 1929 — Page 2

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By ELMO SCOTT WATSON N HIS book, “The Way of the West,” the late Emerson Hough paid a fine tribute to one of the earliest “Made in Ahierica” products when he wrote: “Witness this sweet ancient weapon of our fathers, the American rifle, maker of states, empire builder. Useful as its cousin, the ax, it is in design simple as the ax; in outline severe, practicable, purposeful in every regard. . . This is no belonging of a weak nor

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savage man. It is the weapon of the AngloSaxon; that is to'say, the Anglo-Saxon in America, who 1 invented it because he had it. . . Never in the history of the arms of nations has there been produced a weapon whose results have been more tremendous in comparison to the visible expenditure of energy; never has rhVre been a more economical engine, or an environment where economy was more impressive. . .' With it were equipped the early Americans. gaunt, keen, tireless that marched to meet the invading forces at the battle of.New.Orleans; and when the officers of the British army, on the day after that stricken field, found half their dead shot between the eyes, they knew they could lead their troops no more against such weaponry and suyh weapon bearers. The rifle had w °n the West, and it would hold it fast.” The weapon* of which he wrote was the long rifle, which, shooting a tiny ball, instead of a bullet, and as Hough also says, “shooting it with an accuracy hitherto deemed impossible in the achievements of firearms.” made it the favorite weapon of the American frontiersman just before tire Revolution. With it were equipped the companies of “expert riflemen” from Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania who marched in 1775 to take part in the siege of Boston and who later furnished the men for the famous Morgan Riflemen. It was the weapon which Daniel Boone and his associates carried into the “Dark and Bloody Ground” of Kentucky and because of their feats with it. this rifle became popularly known as the “Kentucky rifle,” or in the vernacular, the “old Ka intuck.” ( ’ And therein lies one of the curious inconsistencies in history. For the “Kentucky rifle” was originally made and perfected in Pennsylvania by Pennsylvania German rifle makers and it would hate been vastly more appropriate If this type of weapon had gone down in history as the “Pennsylvania rifle.” Recently press dispatches recorded a curious “coals-to-Newcastle” item in the fact that the Pennsylvania museum in Philadelphia had been presented with .35 examples of this weapon, through the generosity of J. Stogdell Stokes, a collector, and in the item they were called “Kentucky rifles”! The principle of the rifle, the twist in the bore, is said to have originated in the German states of the Palatinate, but it remained for German immigrants to this courtt-y to improve it and perfect its use This they began doing as early as 1732. and before 1760 the town of Lancaster, Pa., had a virtual monopoly upon the rifle-making business. After that date, men who had learned the trade there branched out for themselves and the fame of the Lancaster gunsmiths had spread throughout the colonies. By 1775 these Lancaster “graduates” were operating rifle shops in Baltimore and Cumberland, JMd., Alexandria. Newmarket. Winchester and Richmond, Va., Charlottesville, Camden and Salisbury. N. C.. and Augusta. Ga., Schenectady. Esopus, Onondaga. Johnstown and Canajoharie. N. Y.. not to mention the numerous ones in Lancaster, Easton and other towns in Pennsylvania. Sawyer in his “Firearms in American History” lists no less than 70 Pennsylvania rifle makers previous to 1783. of whom 25 were early Lancaster rifle makers, whose arms were in use at the outbreak of the Revolution, even if the men themselves were not then living. But of all .these, two were destined for the greatest fame. One of them was a gunsmith who operated his gunshop in Philadelphia before and after 1732 and in Lancaster before and after 1753. Jacob Decherd was his name (it is also spelled Dechert. Descherd and Dickert), but the American frontiersmen were to call his product a “Deckard” or “Deckhard” and to swear by it as “the sweetest-shootin’ weepon in the world.”

Beef Bones as Test of Town’s Prosperity

A visitor to Norton says he has a sore test for a town’s prosperity. He goes to the restaurants to buy beef bones and scraps for his dog. “If I find plenty of beef bones I know it is a prosperous place,’’ he «iid. “People spending lots of money usually buy steaks. Also, if money Hows freely, there are lots of scraps lef’ in the kitchensC-tf But if he ’inds no beef wines and

The other man was an Easton (Pa.) rifle maker years ago Emerson Hough started an inquiry as to named John Golcher or Goulchei, who for a while was employed in a Philadelphia “factory” to instruct in boring and grinding barrels, but who returned to Easton where be began turning out rifles that became famous, especially single-lock, revolving double-barrel rifles. One of his rifles was used by George Washington, but perhaps the most famous was that double-barreled Golcher with which Timothy Murphy of Morgans Rifle corps killed General Frazer at the Battle of Saratoga, which in view of the tremendous results of his deadly aim can appropriately be called a “shot heard around the world.” no less than that fired at Concord. Although so many of the rifles of these Pennsylvania craftsmen were carried into Kentucky by the pioneers who crossed over into that Promised Land before and during the Revolution as to give this type of arm the name of “Kentucky rifle.” the number was not enough to supply the frontiersmen’s needs In battling the savages who were trying in vain to stem the tide of white t invasion. So it was only natural that they should prevail upon one of the Pennsylvania rifle makers to establish a gun shop in the new country and some time before 1790 a certain Mills, said to nave been an apprentice of Decherd, was turning out “Kaintucks” at Harrodsburg. He lived there until 1815 and no doubt some o." the rifles were carried by the Kentucky and Tennessee frontiersmen under “Old Hickory,” who shot Pakenham’s veterans “squarely between the eyes” at the battle of New Orleans. Another Pennsyl-vania-Kentucky rifle maker, whose career covered both the flintlock and percussion lock period of rifle making was John Shell, who learned the trade at Liverpool, Pa., emigrated to Kentucky and died only a few years ago in his homestead on Greasy creek, where he had lived for a century, at the ripe old age of one hundred thirtythree I The “old Kaintuck” has had no more appreciative and better-informed historian than the man previously quoted, Emerson Hough, who writes of it in “The Way to the West” as follows: The ball of the American rifle was small, forty, sixty or perhaps one hundred of them weighing scarcely more than a pound. The little, curving horn, filled with the precious powder grains, carried enough to furnish many shots. The stock of the rifle itself gave housing to the little squares of linen or fine leather with which the bullet was patched in loading. With this tiny store of powder and lead, easilv portable food for this providentially contrived weapon, the American frontiersman passed on silently through the forest, a master, an arbiter, ruler of savage beast or savage foeman, and in time master of the civilized antagonist that said him nay. Even when the Pennsylvania rifle makers had helped push the frontier to beyond the Mississippi, their contribution to the “winning of the West” was not yet done. For it was the Hawkins or Hawkens, a family of Pennsylvania gunsmiths, who made the famous Hawken rifle which became the favorite weapon of such men as Kit Carson, Jim Bridger, Jim Baker and all the other old-time mountain men. The history of this family is not entirely clear. Sawyer states that Henry Hawkins (later members of the family spelled it “Hawken”) learned the trade at Lancaster. Pa., worked in the Harpers FeriN armory and went to St. Louis soon after 1800. However, the men who made the Hawken rifle famous throughout the great West were two brothers, Jacob and Samuel Hawken (sons ol Henry Hawkins) who were partners in a gunshop in St. Louis in 1822. After they put their product on the market, no trapper or fur trader would start out on an expedition up the Missouri or into the Rockies without a “trusty Hawken',” if he could nelp it. The only difficulty was that the exceeded the supply, especially at the price asked. For the Hawkens. and especially S. Hawken. who became the more famous of the two, had but one price for their rifles and that was $25, no more, no less. He could have obtained much more than that,, but he believed it was a fair price and maintained it.

few scraps, he kncws it is a tight town, where money is a rarity. “Poor people and those hard up don’t buy many steaks,” he continued. “They don’t, leave many scraps, either —they just buy what they think they can eat and they eat up everything on their plates.” The visitor said he has tried it out thorough .y in towns everywhere and a genera survey of business condi

tions in each town proved the beef bone a safe guide.—Norton (Va.) Crawford s Weekly. Apple Crop Improves in Size and Quality Owing to improved production meth ods the number of apple trees in this country has decreased in recent years, but the crop has increased in pro portion as well as in quality. The crop of 1926- was the largest ever. This apparent parado Is explained

THE SYRACUSE JOCRTfAL

Today Hawken rifles are rarities. Several now many genuine Hawkens there were still in existence and discovered that so far as is known . there were only four. Two were in the collection of the Missouri Historical society, one was owned ! by Judge Jules E. Guinotte of the Probate court | in Kansas City, and the fourth was the Hawken owned by Kit Carson, now preserved in the mu- i seum of Montezuma lodge. A. F. and A. M. of Santa Fe. N. M., of which Carson was a member, j At that time, a fifth was discovered by the author of this article in the collections of the El Paso J County Pioneer association in Colorado Springs, Colo. This weapon (which is pictured above) was lent to the society in 1910 by Le Roy Chapman , of Littleton. Colo. Near it was another famous weapon, also said ■ to have been owned once by Kit Carson, a .56 caliber Sharps rifled carbine, made by Sharps and i Hankins in Philadelphia in < 1859. These car- ' bines were made for navy use and had a leather { covering sewed on the entire length of the barrel to prevent rust. One of the partners in the firm which made this gun was Christian Sharps who began making rifles, which w’ere used in the Mexican war, although his first patent was not issued until 18-18. However, tt was not until 1859 that the Sharps rifles became famous. Then one fall day in that year old John Brown attacked Harpers Ferry and over the wires flashed the news that Brown and t.is men were armed ; with “Sharps man-killers” and that one of ! Brown’s sons had shot and killed the mayor of the town with that weapon. When the Civil war broke out the famous Penn- J sylvania “Buck Tail” regiment marched to war armed with these improved “man killers.” a short gun of .56 caliber with a sword bayonet. Instead of caps they used a tape which was coiled in a chamber close to the tube and when the was ready to fire the tape was pulled up so that one end would cover the tube and the hammer would strike the percussion tape. Another Sharps rifle, used in the - Civil war. was a ,52 caliber and ! used a linen cartridge. “Their rapidity of fire | and accuracy enabled a soldier marksman to hit his enemy first,” says Sawyer “And the renowp of Civil war companies of infantry armed with Sharps rifles soon gave rise to the laudatory term ‘Sharpshooters.’ ” But it remained for a later Sharps to bring that rifle maker his greatest fame. That was the old Sharps buffalo gun. This was the model made from 1875 to 1880 which used a metallic I cartridge and was made in three calibers, .40. I .45 and .50. These rifles had a thick heavy bar- i rel and the total weight of the weapon was from i fourteen to eighteen pounds. The bullet fired I from such a weapon had a tremendous shocking power, even at a range of a quarter of a mile or more. In fact, one of the most famous shots in American history was that made by Billy Dixon a buffalo hunter, at the battle of Adobe Walls in the Texas Panhandle in 1874. Popular tradition has preserved the tale of this shot and exaggerated it until it had Dixon killing an Indian at a mile and a half! Here is nvhat Dixon himself has to say about it in the story of his life which he dictated before his death in 1913 and which was published by his widow. Mrs. Olive K. Dixon, the next year: “The distance was not far from three-fourths of a mile ... I took careful aim and pulled the trigger. We saw an Indian fall from his horse ... I was admittedly a good marksman, yet this wrns what might be called a ‘scratch’ shot.” Theodore Roosevelt once said that the Sharps rifle sounded the knell of doom for the North American buffalo. He might have added that it did the same for the Indian, for when the red man was deprived of this staple in his food supply his day of dominion of a continent was done. So the product of another Pennsylvania rifle maker helped win the trans-Mtssissfppf West just as those of the earlier gun makers of the Keystone state had won the trans Allegheny West. For the “Kaintuck.” the Hawken and the Sharps rifles in the hands of American frontiersmen were tools with which a nation was nftirte.

by an increased output per tree and by the fact that the reduction tn the number of trees has taken place largely tn scattered family orchards and in less favorably situated commercial areas. Apple production for the market, according to the United States Department of Agriculture, has been increasing materially in some areas through better orchard management, better selection of varieties and increased bearing capacity resulting from an increase tn the age of the trees.

Rules Are Issued for Basket Law

Growers Are Advised to Dispose of Old Containers Now Illegal. (Prepared b< the United States Department ot Agriculture.) Growers who use baskets which are illegal under the Standard Container Act of 1928 should dispose of such i baskets prior to November 1, 1929, the United States Department of Agriculture has announced in connection with regulations covering administration of the act. The act applies to baskets in both intrastate and interstate commerce. Growers are advised by the department to regulate their purchases so . that ail nonstandard baskets will be disposed of before November 1, 1929. State Laws Inoperative. Another effect of the law, in the opinion of the solicitor for the depart- { went, is to make inoperative all state laws fixing weights per bushel for. • fruits and vegetables, when such commodities are sold in baskets meeting its requirements. This means that no state law which is in any way in conflict with the federal act. either in the matter of prescribed weights or dimension specifications, can be enforced as to fruits and vegetables sold I in hampers and baskets which comply with that act. The Standard Container Act of 1928. passed during the last session of coh- | gress, fixes standards for hampers. I round stave baskets and splint bas- ’ kets for fruit and vegetables, and for other purposes., Administration of the law is in the bureau of agricultural I economics, which bureau is also administering the act of 1916 tj) fix standards for Climax baskets for grapes and other fruits and vegetables, and to fix standards for baskets and other containers for small fruits, berries, and vegetables, and for other purposes. i The new legislation defines standard hampers and round stave baskets for fruits and vegetables to be of the following capacities: % bushel. bushel. il% bushels, 1?4 bushels, and 2 bushels. For the purposes of the act a bushel, standard dry measure, has a capacity of 2.150.42 cubic inches. Baskets and Hampers Banned. Standard splint baskets for fruits and vegetables, under the act. shall be the 4-quart basket. 8-quart basket, 12quart basket, 16-qtiart basket. 24-quart L basket, and 32-quart basket, standard

Perfectly Possible to Make * / Manure From Organic Trash

Useful Leaves, Grass Cuttings, Wee.ds and Straw. Manufacture of artificial manure from organic rubbish found about the yard and garden is perfectly possible. However, the user of the process may eventually be required to pay a royalty on every ton of manure so produced, according to Dr. F. E. Baer of the soils department of the Ohio State university. The process by which the rubbish is converted into manure has ; been patented by an English company, and the legality of the patent Is now i being tested in the American courts. Leaves, grass cuttings, weeds, straw and such material lend themselves readily to the manufacture of manure .which has all the valuable properties of the barnyard variety, and is far .more agreeable to handle, says the soils expert. The material should be piled in some out of the way place where it I can be moistened at intervals, and s then given an occasional dressing of Msne and sulphate of ammonia. In a similar fashion, by rhe use of nitrogen and phosphoric acid fertilizers and some form of lime, excellent manure may be made oh a larger scale with cornstalks, tomato vines, and the like. The practice followed I is scattering a mixture of 86 pounds I of sulphate of ammonia, 60 pounds i of superphosphates and 100 pounds of i limestone over each ton of material j as it is being built into the pile. Harness Should Be Kept in Clean Special Room Every farmer should provide a special ropm for his harness, separated from the main part of the horse stable. Most harness rooms, so-called, are immediately behind the animals or at some place in the barn where they absorb a large portion of the ammonia fumes that arise. It would be difficult to estimate the loss in harness leather due to its subjection to the conditions just described. The ammonia fumes eat the life out of the leather, Beef Breeding Animals ’ Very Good Property When a man can clip a SSO coupon from a SIOO plant every year, he does not sell the goose that lays the golden egg. During the past year or two, good feeder calves have sold at weaning time for S4O to $55, almost halt the value of their mothers. Prices of heifers and cows are exceedingly high and owners have been tempted to sell them. Many of the good heifers should stay in the herds jof the state to produce more beef for the' future. No one is certain w’hen the supply of cattle will increase to the point where it will start the price downward, but many who study the situation believe the break will not come for several years. Pastures in the range area of Nebraska and other states will be comparatively empty again next year if the present tendency to turn the females into money continues. Unless sope^ unforeseen factor enters into the those cattlemen who can resist the temptation and hold their breeding stock will be “sitting pretty” again next veur. ‘

dry measure, a quart standard dry measure having a capacity of 67.2 cubic inches. The legislation requires that “No manufacturer shall manufacture hampers, round stave baskets, or splint baskets for fruits and vegetables unless the dimension specifications for such (containers) shall have been submitted to and approved by the secretary of agriculture.” Also, that “It shall be unlawful to manufacture for sale or shipment, to offer for sale, to offer for shipment, or to ship, hampers, round stave baskets or splint baskets for fruits and vegetables, either filled or unfilled, or parts of such hampers, round stave baskets, or splint baskets that do not comply with this act.” The department regulations declare that a basket or hamper the gross dimensions of which are such as to give to the untrained eye the appearance of a greater or lesser capacity than that of a standard container, or which is not readily distinguishable from another standard container, is of deceptive appearance. Copies of the regulations which define the capacity and appearance of containers, tolerances and variations may be obtained from the Department of Agriculture, Washington. D. C. Produce Quality Eggs Always Best Practice Recently experiment stations have learne<i that poultry mash containing 30 per cent cottonseed meal. 4 per cent bone meal and 1 per cent salt would produce results quite satisfactory from the standpoint of egg. production. The Texas, experiment station, however, tested the keeping qualities of eggs produced by hens fed cottonseed meal and found, much to their surprise, that the eggs failed to hold up in storage. For immediate consumption the eggs produced by hens fed cottonseed meal ate normal in appearance, taste, etc., but they do not possess keeping qualities. Whether other vegetable protein, such as soy bean meal, will produce eggs with poor keeping qualities remains to be seen, but the findings of the Texas station show that poultrymen/must go slow in deviating from practices which are known to produce results. Certainly poultrymen cannot afford to follow practices which might njiake the preservation of eggs by cold storage more hazardous. f— —

causing it to crack, break and eventually go to pieces. Overcome this condition by all means, and supplement it with the practice of thoroughly washing the harness twice yearly, allowing it to dry. after which it is thoroughly greased with some dependable harness oil. This, in reality, is not a minor problem; it is one of extreme importance, and yet often sadly neglected by many farmers. Beekeepers Find Honey Bees Dead in Winter { Beekeepers who find dead honey bees in front of the hives may conclude that they have frozen to death. The chances are. however, that thej were overworked and died of exhaustion, according to Prof. W. A. Price of Purdue university. ' Bees, unlike many other insects, do not hibernate. They are active during the entire winter. They keep warm and escape'freezing by clustering and developing heat by tensing the muscles. The cluster is so arranged that there is considerable space within it, thus permitting much activity. The bees on the outside of the cluster are arranged compactly, and in away that prevent the rapid escape of heat developed by those inside the cluster. | Around the Farm | i Many farmers are now buying a small oat huller for their own use, and it should be a good investment. • • • Get rid of your cull birds as soon as possible so as to give the room to rhe pullets you wsyit to lay eggs. ! | * * « j One of the worst setbacks that a pasture can receive is through pasturing stock on it too early in the spring. • • • At no time is it advisable to do severe pruning unless it becomes necessary to correct an ill-shaped or badly formed tree top. • • • Days are short now, nights long and cold The hens must be kept busy feeding if they are going to eat enough to keep themselves warm and also lay eggs. When the shade trees are dormant it is possible to take effective steps for the control of any scale insects that have been observed during the growing season. Attention should be paid to getting cod liver oil of good quality. There is plenty of oil with a fishy smell that doesn’t contain vitamine D. Don’t waste money on low grade fish oil. • • ♦. Cedar apple rust is a fungous disease that passes its winter stage on red cedar trees and its summer stage on the leaves and fruits of susceptible apple varieties. The only control is the killing of the red cedars- • • • Egg eating, sometimes a troublesome winter vice, often comes from soft-shelled or tbin-slielled eggs breaking in the nest. Give the hens crushed oyster shells or ground soft ~ limestone—and darken the nests.

I i a— I SAME PRESCRIPTION HE WROTE IN 1892 ■M ■ » 0»n » n j) When Dr. Caldwell started to practice medicine, back in 1875, the needs for a laxative were not as great as today. People lived normal lives, ate plain, * , i wholesome food, and got plenty of fresh air. But even that early tliere were i drastic physics and purges for the relief 1 of constipation which Dr. Caldwell did. not believe were good for human beings. i The prescription for constipation that , he used early in his practice, and which he put in drug stores in 1892 under the i name of Dr. Caldwell’s Syrup Pepsin, is a liquid vegetable remedy, intended for women, children and elderly people, : ’and they need just such a mild, safe bowel stimulant. This prescription has proven its worth and is now the largest selling liquid laxative. It has won the confidence of people • who needed it to get relief from ■ 1 , headaches, biliousness, flatulence, indii gestion, loss of appetite and sleep, bad : breath, dyspepsia, colds, fevers. At your ( 1 druggist, or write “Syrup Pepsin,” Dept. 88. Monticello, Illinois, for free I trial bottle. I I Nasal Catarrh, Aching Muaclca, Sore Feet, ■ I Itching Pile*. Cuts, Burnt, etc. 2 SiteA Ir ii __ 20C and 35t * At all Druggittj. ■ ■ ■ Soviet Honors Woman ’ A woman factory worker, Tatiana ' Prusakova, has become mayor of GoI mel, one of the largest cities, .io the I White Russia Soviet republic. Since > i ! childhood Prusakova worked in the local match factory. After the revo ’ i lotion she became active in the Sovii ets. and now she has been elected j president of the Gomel Soviet, a posi- s tion corresponding to mayor or burg-» ’ ©master. i Help is Offered

and is freely given to . every nervous, delicate woman, by Dr. Pierce. W rite Dr. Pierce’s Ginic in Buffalo, N.Y\ for confidential medical advice. No charge for this service. "13btain Dr. Pierce’s Pre scription now, in liquid or tablets, from your druggist or send 10c

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to Dr. Pierce at above address, for trial package of tablets. One woman writes: “I have taken Dr. Pierce's Favorite Pie ' «cription off and on whenever I have felt the ■ need of a tonic and it has always' given me ■ entire satisfaction. There is no medicine that j I would consider so good for weak women as j the ‘Favorite Prescription.’ No matter what the ailment appears to be, if there is any sign j of woman’s trouble, ‘Favorite Prescription’ is tl‘e best remedy.’’—Mrs. Ella A Young, 714 W. Locust St, Bloomington. HL Have you ever tried Dr. Pierce’s' Pellets for the stomach and bowels? New Platinum Source Meta! experts in South Africa have announced the development of a process for the extraction of platinum from certain kinds of sulphide ores, says Popular Mechanics Magazine. The experiments show that about 75 { per cent of the platinum content of the original ore is saved, and the process is applicable to commercial production at a reasonable cost, the I engineers declare. — A German air traffic company has ’ started a 14-hour service between Ber- ■ lin and Leningrad, Russia, the time | being 42 hours less than by railroad. What W IJOU ' do When your Children Ciy for It There is a household that hasn’t heard of Castoria! At least five million homes are never without it. If there are children in your family, j there’s almost daily need of its comfort. And any night may find you very thankful there’s a bottle in the house. Just a few. drops, and that colic or constipation is relieved; or diarrhea checked. A vegetable product; a baby remedy meant for young folks. Castoria is about the only thing you have ever heard doctors’ advise giving to’ infants. ■ Stronger medicines are dangerous to a j tiny baby, however harmless, they may ■ be to grown-ups. Good old Castoria! Remember the name, and remember to buy it. It may spare you a sleopI less, anxious night. It is always ready, i always safe to use; in emergencies, or , for everyday ailments. Any hour of the { day or night that Baby becomes freti ful, or restless. Castoria was never (more popular with mothers than it is I today. Every druggist has it.

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