The Norman Journal. (Norman, Okla.), Vol. 1, No. 13, Ed. 1 Friday, May 20, 1898 Page: 1 of 8
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THE NORMAN JOURNAL
VOL. 1.
NORMAN, CLh\ ELAND ( (),, OKLAHOMA, FRIDAY, MAY 20, I81IK
NO. 13.
Thou Lord that helped hi Lexington,
Thou Gort oT Bunker Hill,
Look down uoon the Nation now,
Protect and jruide us still
III Tb< • we trust
And win we must.
Grant that it be thy will.
Thou Arbiter of Justice.
Thou JuCjrc of wroiur and riprht,
The Fountain head of Liberty —
Direct us with TI y uiiirht
O'er all the land
8tretch out f h> hand
To strengthen in the flght.
Thou ruler of the oeean,
Thou Must .'r of the wave,
Wit niu whose hand re pose th
The lives of them that brave
The restless deep,
We pray Thee keep
Them and from dangers save.
Through all the din of battle
'•'he ttfunderinirs of grim war
IMess Tliou the stars; the crimson bui's
That wave for evermore—
IilesB, too, the brn ve
O'er whom doth wave
The bars and single star.
Selected.
LATEST WAS HEWS.
Extent and Importance of the
Island and its Wonderful
Fertility.
Despite the volumes of matter
being printed just now about
Cuba and the needs of the Cubans,
few people realize what the "pearl
of the Antilles" really is. In-
definite ideas from maps and de-
sciptions prevail to a considerable
extent, but intimate knowledge is
confined tu a very limited few.
That the island should be con-
siderable larger in area than the
state of Kentucky, for instance;
that it should be 280 miles lon-
ger, and that in width it should
vary from twenty to 13o miles
are facts the general public may
not be familiar with. Yet these
are truths. The island has a
range of mountains like a huge
backbone ranging from east to
west. They are real mountains,
the "Blue peak" towering up in-
to the air 7,050 feet.
The climate i hot and dry dur-
A ccording to the latest reports
the war is to be pushed to an
end. The Spanish squadron is
utill "out of sight" and it jB | « g the greater part of the year,
believed that it will endeavor to
avoid a conflict and keep afloat.
It is thought that the American
warships will be concentrated iu
Cuban waters aud that there will
be an early landing of large
bodies of troops. It is said that
unless something unexpected in-
tervenes, the land and naval
forces of the United States will
be iu action in less than a week.
Preparations are being made for
a bombardment of Cuban forts
to be immediately followed by an
invasion of troops. The war
department professes to feel no
apprehension that Admiral Dew-
ey and his men are in any waj
endangered by their occupation
of the Manila, harbor 011 the
present basis. Indications are
that within a week a large num-
ber of soldiers will be on their
way from San Francisco to
Manila. Cuba will be invaded
and while Sampson aud Schley
will assist in the campaign thev
will still keep an eye on Spanish
Squadron. It is rumored that
the Spanish fleet may try to take
Manila.
i'lie months from the beginning
of May to October are called the
wet season, though rains fall
during every month of the year.
From November to April the dry
season prevails. Rain often de-
scends in torrents from July to
September. It is said that no
snow has ever been known to fall
on the island, though frosts occur
sometimes on the highest moun-
tains. There are but few rivers
iu Cuba, the Cauto being the on-
ly on3 that deserves the import-
ance of being considered a navig-
able stream. Small steamers
ascend this river for a distance of
forty miles. A number of other
rivers, under favorable circum-
stances, oan b^ navigated for a
distance of from teu to twenty
miles from their mouths.
1 uu JotTKNAL eac li week will con
tain the telegraph news, terntoiial
news, a good continued story, Tal-
in age's sermon, miscellaiious reading,
and the news of the city and count\.
Cuba is one of the most fertile
islands of the world, the products
of its soil and the wealth created
thereby haying filled "the coffers
of Spain and deferred the bank-
ruptcy of the monarchy for manv
years. The chief agricultural
products of the island are coffee,
tobacco and sugar. The sugar
estates are the most important in-
dustrial establishments on the is-
land, ranging in size from 300 to
1,000 acres. The coffee estates
are also very important. Tobacco
is indigenous to Cuba and its ex-
cellent quality is famous through-
out the world. These estates are
scattered throughout the island,
but the most valuable ami fertile
are situated iu the western part.
The history of Cuba is merely
a recital of wrongs, a tragedy
with scarcely a breathing spell
between the acts. Governed bv
a race cruel by nature, the Cubans
have probably suffered more from
W'lliam's Kidney Pills
Has no equal in diseases of the <
Kidneys ai.d Urinary Organs. Have
kyou neglected your Kidneys? Have'
you overworked your nervous sys-j
rtcm and caused trouble with your
k Kidneys and Madder? Have you( i
\ si<U', ^'k; proinsi extortiou and barbarism from
^aD(l bladder? Have vou a flabby ap-\ | .
\ pea ranee of the face, especially r their masters than ail) other t>eo-
V under the eyes? Too frequent cle- A ; i P , . m,
isin* pass urine ? Willin.n's Kidney T I 11 times. 1 he stlf-
T Pills will impart new life to thedis-/ j ferings of the Cubans and the in-
leased organs, tone up the system^ °
\ and make a new man of you. By \ . tense sympathy of the people of
\ mail 50 cents per box. 3 . TT , * ' 1
williamsmfg.Co.,Props.,cleveland,o.\ \ the United States, induced Pres-
v ! ideut Polk to i'roi,ose' thro,,«i1
the United States minister at
Madrid, to purchase the island
from Spain, hut the proposal re-
sulted in nothing. Ten years la-
ter a similar proposal was made,
but after 11 debate on the question
iu the United States senate the
subject was dropped.
In 1868 the revolt known as
the ten years' war broke out.
The independence of the island
was declared by the insurgents,
and a considerable army was ac-
tive in the field and gained a
number of notable successes. Af-
ter ten years of guerilla warfare,
signalized by great cruelty, the
Madrid government promised cer-
tain reforms, and the patriots,
who were worn out through sheer
weariness of fighting, accepted
the inevitable. It is a matter of
history, however, that none of
these promises were kept, and
about the only change iu the ad
ministration of the affairs of the
island was the trebling of the tax
rate and the adoption of various
schemes of extortion. From that
time until the beginning of the
pre; ent rebellion the condition of
the people continued to grow
worse, and much of the native
population emigrated to othei
lauds to escape oppression.
The present rebellion was in
augurated by exiles, who possess
ed opportunities to develop plans
of freedom not enjoyed by Cubans
residing iu their native country.
They raised the sum of §70,000
and secured the co-operation of
several veterans of the ten years'
war. The discontent aud suffer-
ing of the people throughout the
island were so general that all
that was needed was to elevate
the standard of liberty, and will-
ing men gathered around it.
Within a few days after General
Antonio Maceo landed iu Santiago
de Cuba several thousand soldiers
flocked to him, though the Span-
iards were close upon his trail.
In the meantime, General Gomez
had gained several successes in
spite of the superior forces of the
Spaniards, aud he resolved to in-
vade the western portion of the
island in company with Maceo.
1 heir successes led to the erec-
tion of the famous trochns, which
were supposed to represent a di-
viding line between the territory
controlled by the opposing forces,
iu order to separate and prevent
co operation of the Cuban forces,
but which do not deter the rebel
j forces from going from province
to province at will.
On February ll>, 1S96, We\ler
! issued his two famous decrees of
concentration. JSy them every
human being in the country dis-
tricts was compelled to leave his
home, after it had been destroyed
by the Spanish columns, and go
to one of the fortified towns un-
der the vigilance of the Spanish
soldiery. The homes of the re-j
concentrados and their cultivated i
land were devasted, and around
the towns whore they had to live
not a piece of bread was to be
given them, in this manner, uu-
J der pretext of a military opera- <>"". meats, aud such other nece*
tion, one-half million people, most
of them women and children,
were condemned to die from hun-
ger. From the date of these de-
j crees until November, 1890, 300,-
| 000 people were murdered thus
I in Cuba. Since November, as a
result of A\ eyler's sanguinary or-
ders, the number has been in-
creased to 400,000. Previous to
the advent of Weyler the popula
tion of Cuba was estimated at
from n million to 1,700,000, but
at the present time it is hardly
probable that more than 1 million
native Cubans remain.—Ex.
Territorial News
1 *
1 lie two banks at Edmond have been
consoli'lated.
As t;ie result of the recent flood,
.Shawnee received no mail tor a week.
The. preliminary trial of
aud John Fiddler fur killing Thuis
ton \Y. Renin) in a saloon quarrel al
Shawnee, the day of the lecent mu-
nicipal election, was held last week.
'•Dutch" was ordered released from
lie custody of thu officers, after the
prosecution had presented its side of
the case, while John was held tor trial
swies of life as were not placed in the
second stones of the houses were de*
troved or ruined, and some of tlm
inhabitants lost everything they had
except tiner houses and what stock
that made its escape. The damage in
the river bottoms to crops is not as
K'eatas is the hlll-aide farms. The
l H-side farms are 8an(,v
gulches were washed ihrou-h them
1 111 somB instances are almost deen
enough to hide a horse. Consequently
there is considerable loss to the fann-
ers both on the bottoms and uplands.
Briefs on Cuba.
Spain colonized the island in loH.
The island is now under martial law.
r>u and again in l.v«. Havana
was destroyed by tiie French.
Matanzas was the first city to fall
into the hands of insurgents.
Cruelty ami injustice to the natives
has alwa\s been the creed of the
I .Spaniards.
j In 1948. President Polk offered
j .Spain $1.000 000, for the island, which
Dutch" j "tier was refused.
The present revolution began Feh-
man ^4. I Silo, when the republic was
I proclaimed b.v Maiti,
The revolution of 18(58 lasted ten
years, before .Spain succeded in com-
; promising bv promising reform.
I A triangular blue union, having
••■"■v uwuii nan ucm iui IIIHI " miflMI, Hit VI
I'he Judge reserved his decision imtii j star Miirl live stripes, three of
Monday. During the fight, Laac lien- lei1 )""1 tuo o1 white, is the flag of the
fro, brother of the murdered man,
wspaper changes j .. ' "lutl U|e leadership i
Oklahoma during ! T Topez. who, in I8.il, repeated
his sttempt to flee the island fium
I Spanish control.
was shot through the light breast. The first serious revolution took
A number of newspaper changes i y" ' Js'S, nmler the leadership of
have taken place iu
the past week. James II, .Scan , of the
Mulhall Enterprise, has been appoint-
ed observer in the U. S. Weather liu-
reau at St. Louis, and has sold Ills
paper to Thos. B. Woosley. The Ok-
lahoma World, a free silver paper at
Kay Center, has moved to Blackwell.
Ciias. llazelngg has purchased the Or-
lando llerald. The Vilot News has
oeen moved to the new town of Nar-
din. The Marshall Ilecord has sus-
pended publication, and that town is
now without a newspaper.
Three persons were drowned at
Young's crossing, on the South Ca-
nadian, Saturday afternoon of week
before last. A family by the name ot
Chaban had been stopping at Sacred
Heart Mission for several dajs, wait
ing lor the water to go down so that
the) could cross the river. The tami
ly consisted of a mother, a thirteen-
year old daughter and ihiee sous.
The wagon caps z-id, '.browing the en
^i it to paddle your
Blasts From Rams Horn,
A en tu re is a slippery road.
Bad habits never backslide.
It takes more than beauty to run a
kitchen,
Tne devil is most like a roaring lion
when he looks most like a sheep.
The wounded need the helping hand.
. The true hero bears insults aud
i keeps the peace.
It takes wit and
| own canoe.
Better a hero with hare body, than a
craven iu aimor.
He is often sold, who buys much at
the bargain counter.
Without a competency for old age
tire party into ihe water. The two none are happy and few honest
eldest pom managed to escape, but | The man who knows how to live
the mother, the daughter, and a boy j well, will not have to learn how to die
, aued six years, weredro vned. j well.
Tecumseh Republican: The floods! I,e wl'° shoots in the right direction,
last week on Little River and the | VVI" M°oner or later hit something.
North Canadian was bv far the great-i Many a man has to go away from
est that anyone now liv ugcan lestil> j home to become acquainted wit hhitn-
to. The oldest Indians who have \ self.
it is a long step in the right direc-
tion to be willing to take things as
I Hey come.
1 he devil will keep on coming to us
as long as we let him in v\ lieu tie
knocks.
Evervman who walks will mak
some tracks that others will be sure
been raised iu this country say the
water was higher by six or eight teet
than they ever knew it to be before.
The water covered all the bottom aud
iu low lands lroiu hill to hill and in
places reached a depth of 15 feet out-
side of the i iver channel.
The livers commenced rising stead-
ily as the rains descended untill Tues-
day night when the ^heaviest of the j 10 'ollow.
six davs rain fell,, hen they rose about | This life is the dress-room- dead,
JorU inches per hour until they „„9 the curtain and we step' out o„
reached the highest, llie main chan- . ,|,e enternal stage.
nels of the rivers were very swift and
carried logs, stock, aud everj thing else
within reach down stream. It is
reported that a great many horses,
cattle and hogs were drowned, but no
human lives were lost, although sev-
eral people were saved by brave men
wl.o built raits and plugged up wagon
beds and used them as boats. The
crops near the currents were washed ' heroism than Bonaparte on
out aud are totally destroyed. Luckily, j ol Austerlltz.
The young man who is afiaid to
loose Ins hours, his dimes and his
honor, is a fish worth catching.
Future generations will he forced
to learn that centralized wealth in a
republic is the nest-egg of revolution.
The poor roan braving cheerfully
the waves of adversity, displays more
the fields
however, but tew people had attempted | The hov at ten, wants to rule
to arm near the Little River banks. tlm at lwef|ty<
and out a small portion of the crops the state; at thirl v, he tries to rule his
on the bottom are damaged All the offsprings, and at to, tv. he has some
farm houses the bottoms eie ; Se,ioU8 thought of trying t„ , h,m.
paitly under water, the water in some ] st!|f
of them reaching as high as the ceil-, ——
ing. Household furniture, groceries,] Go to M. F. Merrill s lo. wood.
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Carlson, Anna. The Norman Journal. (Norman, Okla.), Vol. 1, No. 13, Ed. 1 Friday, May 20, 1898, newspaper, May 20, 1898; Norman, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc122978/m1/1/: accessed April 23, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.