The Altus Plaindealer. (Altus, Okla.), Vol. 1, No. 29, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 13, 1898 Page: 1 of 6
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THE ALTLii> , PLAINDEALER.
VOL. I.
ALTUS, OKLAHOMA, THURSDAY, JANUARY 13, 1898.
NO. 29.
A MOTHER’S BLESSING
L J-
OUR home Is just
beyond that point,
is it not, Frank": ’
“Yes, captain.”
“It is too dark
for you to see it.”
“Yes; but I shall
be able to see the
signal.”
“W hat sig nal,
Frank?”
“The light in the
window.”
“I do not exactly understand you,
Frank."
“Then I will explain to you, sir.
You know that I have been with you
seven years. In entering your service,
my mother gave me her blessing, and
■commuted me to the care of heaven
and yourself. I was seven years of
age the day I first sailed with you, and
I am fourteen now. Have I ever given
you any cause for complaint, sir?”
“Never, Frank. But what of the
light in the window?”
“Have you never heard me speak of
it before?”
“I have heard you speak of your
signals as you rounded this point;
but I supposed you referred to your
mother's ccttage or the lights burn-
ing in it.”
“It was to a light which burned in
one particular window at this dis-
tance.”
“I will tell you, and then you may
Judge for yourself. When I left home
my mother said to me: “Frank, you are
now going to sea. Moat of your trips
will be made from New York to New
Orleans, and return. When you are
homeward bound, ‘you will pass that
point. If k be in daylight, you can
see our cottage; and if I am alive and
well, cur flag will be waving over it.
If it should be dark when you come
in sight, you will see a light in the
window, for I shall know about the
time to look for you, and as soon as
darkness comes on, the signal shall al-
ways be waiting.”
“And you have always seen that
light as you passed this point?”
"Always. This Is the twenty-third
trip we have made and never but once
have we passed that cottage in day-
light. The signal is always there; and
I tell you, captain, H always makes
my heart bound with Joy as I gaze up-
on it. I shall see it again in a mo-
ment.”
| “W ould ycu not like to be set ashore
opposite your home, Frank?”
"If I could be spared, sir."
“Yes. Y/e are from a southern port,
and though our ship is perfectly heal-
thy, wc will probably Le obliged to re-
main at quarantine for a time, as the
yellow fever is raging below. You
will have to join us before we go into
New York.’
“I would like to land, sir,” said
Frank, hir face becoming very pale.
“You can do so. But what is the
matter?”
'T^ook yonder, sir.”
"I see nothing in particular.”
“That is it sir. I cannot see it my-
self."
“The signal?”
“Yes, sir; the light is not there.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes; and it should be, for we are
several days behind our usual time.”
“Perhaps that is the reason of it.
Your mother may think that we are in
port, and tje expecting you to enter the
houre every moment.”
"Captain, something is wrong, for
she never removes the light until I set
foot in the cottage, after it has once
been placed in the window.”
“Are you sure that you are in sight
of the cottage?”
“Yes; for I can see it, although in-
distinctly, in the moon’s rays.”
"Well, we will land you, and you
can soon learn what is the matter."
It required but a few moments to
set Frank Ludlow upon ^hore, and
with a heavy heart, he bent his steps
toward the home of his youth.
Frank had reached a little grove
whieh adjoined his youthful home; but
here he paused and stood for some
time In silence. Tears started Into his
eyes, and he repeated the name of his
mother in a low tone. Then, as it
afraid to go forward anil satisfy him-
self, he called in a louder voice, and
still louder, but only an echo came
back to greet his ears.
A faintness came over the lad, and
he sank back upon the ground. But
he started to his feet’ again as if he
had been stung by a serpent. He had
seated himself upon freshly turned
earth, and its dampness chilled him.
He turned to look upon the spot, but
the tears blinded his vision. He brush-
ed them away, however, and then
gaze <1 upon the earth where he had
sunk.
A lresh mound met his gaze. It was
a new-made grave; and, with a cry of
agony, the boy fell upon it He call-
ed mon his mother to come back, on-
ly frr a moment, to bid him farewell.
But silence, deathly silence, was
arour.d him. Presently a hand touch-
ed h na, and he started to his feet. He
reoo; nized one of his neighbors, and
hr a ked:
“T >rlng. whose grave Is this?”
“You weie railing her name just
now ”
"liy mother?”
"Yea, Frank."
“Oh. tell nia all about It. I/tring."
“Come into the cottage first.”
The boy obeyed. As he entered the
humble house where he had seen so
many happy days, it appeared to him
that he could hear his mother’s voice
calling upon his name. He fancied
that he could hear her footsteps cross-
ing the apartment to meet him. But
she was not there. He entered the
room where the signal had usually
been placed, and gazed earnestly
around. Everything appeared to be
just as he had last seen it, and he could
not bring himself to believe that his
mother, who had embraced him at
parting only three months before, was
now sleeping in the cold grave.
He glanced toward the window. The
lamp was there, in its accustomed
place, but it was not burning. The
boy approached and gazed upon it.
The wick was blackened and crisped,
showing that it had been lighted; but
the oil was entirely exhausted, showing
how it had become extinguished. Si-
lently the devoted son regarded this
evidence of a mother's remembrance
and love, and then, turning to the
neighbor, he asked; “Loring, how long
has my mother been dead?"
“She was buried only yesterday.”
“Could you not have kept her body
until I came?”
“No; we did Just as your mother in-
structed us to do.”
“How was that?”
“For a week before her death your
mother kept that light burning in the
window."
"She expected my return?”
“Yea.”
“Well, go on.”
“Five days ago your mother called
me to her side, and then asked me to
bring her the light. I did so. She
gazed upon it, and smiled. Then she
told me to fill it afresh and trim and
light it. I did so, and she told me to
set it in the window.”
“Bless her—bless her!” sobbed the
boy.
“When I had replaced the light, she
said: ‘In an hour I shall be no more.
I should like to see my dear boy once
more, but I fear I shall not be able to
do so. But keep the light burning in
the window until the oil is exhausted,
and it goes out of Itself. Then, and
not until then, place my body in the
grave. If my boy arrives, he will see
the light if it be still burning, and will
hasten here. He will gaze upon my
pale, cold face, and read there the
words of blessing I would speak. If
no light be burning, he will know that
his mother is no more; and, bending
over my grave, he will weep and
mourn my loss. But tell him I am not
lost. Tell him to look up to the blue
He smiled, and hi* spirit passed
quickly away.
Did he not see the light his mother
had placed in the window of hia heav-
enly home, even before he had reached
it?
LIGHTING NIAGARA.
Monster Searchlights and Gelatine
Screens to Illnmlaata the Gorge.
Maryland the Greatest Hunting Country
—How a Typical Sportsman Arranges
for n Partridge Shoot—The Work of
the Drlrsrs.
\L
“LOOK YONDER. SIR!"
arch above him, and in heaven’s win-
dow he will see the light which his
mother placed there, burning brightly,
a signal and a beacon for him.' Say-
ing this, she died.”
“And you did as she requested?”
“Yes; the grave was made in the
grove yonder. At sunset yesterday the
lamp went out, and we then placed her
poor body to rest.”
Frank Ludlow did not sleep that
night, but set himself to work to beau-
tify and ornament the spot where slept
that dear clay. When morning dawn-
ed, the fresh, green sod covered the
mound, and flowers had been planted
upon it. This done, with a heavy
heart, the lad set out to rejoin his
ship.
When he entered the cabin, the cap-
tain asked:
“Well, Frank, was the absence of
the light explained?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Why, was it not burning?”
“It has been transferred, sir, to one
or the windows of heaven. I shall only
see it when I have made my last voy-
age across the dark river of death.”
Frank set about his duties with ap-
parent cheerfulness; but it was evident
that he was heart-broken.
The ship was again upon its return
voyage from New Orleans. It was op-
posite the point where stood the lone-
ly cottage and where slept the mother’s
clay. The entire ship’s officers and
crew surrounded the couch of the dy-
ing boy. He asked:
“Captain, are we not near the cot-
tage?''
•Yes. Frank?”
"But can you see the light burning?”
“It is not burning there. Frank.”
"Hut It Is burning up yonder, for I
ran see It."
*1 he brave boy did not speak again
An experiment in lighting the gorge
of the Niagara river, which was tried
in connection with the convention of
electricians, is likely to bear import-
ant results and has furnished a spec-
tacle of extraordinary magnificence,
says the Rochester Post and Express.
The illumination was arranged under
the personal direction of Luther Stle-
rlnger, the man who designed and op-
erated the illuminations and electric
fountains at the World’s Fair. On the
platform car, between two open cars,
he took six monster electric search-
lights and a number of colored gela-
tine screens. At 10 o’clock in the even-
ing the start was made down the
Gorge road. The search lights took
their electricity from the trolley wire
and when they were directed upon the
shores and tumbling river, and the
lights in the open cars were turned off,
the scene was rarely beautful. It
looked as though such (moon) “light
as never was, on land or sea,” had
transformed the scene. But as the cars
moved on and Mr. Stleringer changed
the screens, far more magical, wonder-
ful and startling effects were secured.
Now it looked as though one were see-
ing with Dante eyes, so red and fierce
was the scene, and so darkly red the
shadowy banks between which the
river tossed waves of blood. Further
down, beneath the new steel arch
bridge, where the furious rapids were
tossing the spray fifty feet or more
in the air, red and green lights were
used. Then the plain lights were
shown again and then, where the
rapids are strongest and wildest, the
red screens were used with an effect
whose wierdness the contrast vastly
heightened. So impressive was the
spectacle that for several minutes there
was absolute silence in the cars and
then a cheer of admiration broke out.
From that point to the end of the road
the colors were changed rapidly, with
beautiful effect, and at midnight the
party returned to the falls. It is said
that the success of the experiment In
sures the Illumination of the gorge by
searchlights next season and that
means the addition to the attractions
of Niagara of a wonderfully thrilling
night spectacle and one which, once
seen, will not be forgotten.
Former visitors to Niagara will re-
call that when the state reservation
was private property there was for the
last season or two a successful illum-
ination of the upper rapids and of the
falls themselves and a heightening of
their wildness and weirdness and
beauty by a similar use of colored
screens. The scene was one to re-
member and Niagara visitors have rea-
son to congratulate themselves that
private enterprise again proposes thus
to enhance the night wonder of Nia-
gara. For you may croak as you please
about "natural” beauty, nature Is too
prone to veil her beauty at night; and
if esthetes be shocked at an artlflofal
coloring of the water and find no com-
pensation for loss of naturalness In
such bewildering rioiousness of color
and grotesqueness as one can hardly
dream of, even they must approve the
lights which make visible the natural
beauty when darkness would other-
wise veil the scene.
tCNT BBOWN BIRD.
PARTRIDGE SEASON WITH-
OUT T. PARALLEL.
ss-r-
m
HERE has never
been such a part-
ridge season a s
that inaugurated
this fall. Not that
they are particu-
larly numerous on
the northern coast
for every effort
thus far made to
preserve them in
New Yorrk and
New England has proven practically
futile. But in Maryland’s rural dis-
tricts they are coming out fat and
plentiful. A Maryland authority says
this of the outlook:
Several causes have been combined
to produce this result. Last season
there was a marked scarcity of birds
and sportsmen went elsewhere, leav-
ing the partridges unmolested. Follow-
ing this was the mild winter, tn which
very few birds perished, and then
came a season in which the birds have
had an abundance of food and shel-
ter. The deputy game wardens, too,
have played an important part. They
have seen to it that the game laws
have been fully enforced, and thus few
birds have been killed out of season.
The State Game and Fish Protective
Association has brought into Mary-
land and distributed this year some-
thing like 4,000 birds, and these have
ail done well. As is well known, a very
large number of Western quail were
brought to Maryland in the past two
or three years, for the purpose of re-
plenishing the decimated coveys, and
now the indications are that the expe-
know what they are talking about state
that they never before saw so many
coveys.
This idea of importing pheasants
and partridges was, however, not con-
fined to Maryland. Connecticut tried
the experiment, and some years ago
imported a large number of Mongolian
or English pheasants, and which, un-
der a new statute, are protected until
October 1, 1900. A number of English
pheasants were killed last year in the
eastern part of the state after the old
protective law had expired. Tljey are
a large bird, and, it is feared, have
been practically exterminated by foxes,
of which hunters say there has been
a large increase of late years in Con-
necticut, but which do not seem to
have killed many partridges.
But the Atlantic coast counties of
the Middle South furnish the most va-
ried sport in the way of partridge
shooting just now. The party should
consist of at least five or six good
sportsmen. When the partridge terri-
tory is reached the party divides itself
into sections of three. Two act as
drivers, three as center and two as
outside men, generally stationed close
to the coast line. And then the typ-
ical partridge hunt begins.
A covey of partridges sweep over
the sea bank on the left of the line, as
if they had sprung out of the ocean,
and settle in the rushes some ninety
yards from the guns. Ten to one they
wiil go back before the drivers come
up, but hardly have they settled when
are heard from the gun farthest from
the shore two shots, and a pair—pos-
sibly a barren pair—fall neatly, one
in front and the other behind the
somewhat high fence under which the
coast gunners are standing. Up gets
the covey, and hemmed in by the sea,
come over the outside gun of the shore
end of the line. Startled, two of them
break off from the rest when the first
bird of the covey falls, and skim on
as far as eyes cm reach across the
sea.
Now the white flags are waving in
An Accidental Gold find.
Apropos of the recently reported rich
gold finds in Alaska the accidental
strike on the Payette river in Idaho,
seventy-five miles from Boise City
may be recalled. Two men named
George Bell and Dick Fraser were
“grub staked” to go out on a pros-
pecting tour. They skirmised around
for some time without striking any-
thing. One day Fraser went out hunt
ing and chased a bear and a cub up
a mountain side through heavy brush.
The game escaped, and Fraser sat
down to enjoy a brief siesta before re-
turning to camp. He pushed the brush
aside, and was digging thoughtfully in
the dirt with his fingers when he
picked up a piece of rich float. He did
not know what it was. but it was a
nice specimen of something, and he
put it in his pocket. He stuck his pick
into the .ground and encountered an
obstruction in the shape of a lead. Go-
ing to camp, he showed the piece of
quartz to Bell, and further investiga-
tion showed the latter that it was
worth looking into. A small quantity
of rock was taken out and brought to
Boise to be assayed. It went |1S8
ton gold.—Exchange.
The Kaiser's KaptojM.
There are 1.500 people upon the Ger-
man emperor's list of employes, in-
cluding 350 female servants, who are
engaged tn looking after the twenty-
two royal palaces and castles that be-
long to the crown. Their wages are
small The women receive not more
than $12 a month, and the men serv
ants, who number over 500. from 915
to $25 a month.
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SHOOTING PARTRIDGES BY THE MARYLAND COAST.
you Will hardly surpass the enjoyment
of a toy thus spent—and well spent—
on the seashore with the little brown
biro.
There IK aoroethtnir~«*>*»arat!ng, too,
in the sport on the coast. ara
many places bordering on the s<..
where partridges thrive remarkably
well, and there Is a special charm in
partridge driving in such localities, as
many novel features enter into the
sport which are to be found in the
more regular routine of country driv-
ing. To begin with, the element of the
picturesque is present in a high de-
gree; for a tidal shore Is always inter-
esting, with its flotsam and jetsam,
and a background of sea and ships is
always pleasant for the eye to look
upon. On the. shore itself it is the
multitude of tiny sandhoppers which
also forms an additional attraction for
the little brown bird. Partridges fol-
low close after the ebb-tide where the
water has just left, searching about
amongst the seaweed for what are, no
doubt, most succulent forms of food.
Near the sea the ground will always
support a large stock of partridges per
acre—that is, there is rsore food than
in many an upland country, for, in
addition to the sandhoppers, there are
these anthills in unusual numbers, and
many flowering grasses and estuary
weeds which provide excellent and
succulent food for the little brown
birds.
CHURCH MUSIC IN ROME.
Th0 Opposition to Any Reform Is Very
Strong*
The question of the character of the
music to be performed in religions ser-
vices 'has again come to the front for
discussion, says the London Standard.
At the recent congresses held at Ven-
ice, Milan and other places a strong
feeling has been expressed that the
time has come for a return to true
church music—that is to say, to the
Gregorian chant and to the composi-
tions of Palestrina and his ^-hool. The
“Congregation of Rites” has several
times revised the rules which regulate
religious services and the music Jpy
which those services'are accompanied.
But in spite of all the efforts of this
body during a considerable period, the
opposition to any reform presented by
the rectors and chapters of the basili-
cas and churches of Rome, and, aibove
ail, by the kapellmeisters who are in-
fluenced by the musical art of the de-
cadence, has been «o strong that all
the directions of the "Congregation of
Rites” have been of no avail. 9ome
five years ago a writer in the Clvllta
Cattolica, the famous Jesuit review,
one .Father de Santi, who is perfectly
de eourant in everything relating to
musical criticism, led a vigorous cam-
paign against all the ecclesiastical mu-
sic of Rome, not even excepting the
pope's chapel. He wrote with so much,
spirit and in so lively a style that the
kapellmeisters of the basilicas, the or-
ganists and the singers, attacked in
their own strongholds, besought the
intervention of the superior authority.:
They demanded that silence might be
imposed upon a disputant so bold as
to suppose that he could raise hia
voice against an integral part of the
ecclesiastical organization of Rome,
which had resisted so many efforts of
others, including Liszt, who, in the
time of Cardinal Antonelli, failed in
all his labors to regenerate the relig-
ious music in the Roman churches.
Father de Santi was accordingly ex-
pelled from the Eternal city and the
Civilta Cattoliija ceased to write About
music. When, at a later period, the
fiery Jesuit obtained permission to re-
turn to Rome, to his rooms in the Via
Respetta, it was on the condition that
he should neither write nor dispue up-
on musical matters, nor enter the
places where the music of the masa
was being taug’.. or practiced. Now
it has come to pass that Cardinal
Aloisi Masella, the intolerant prefect
of the rites, has been removed to tha
pope’s chancery, and he is succeeded
by Cardinal Mazzella of the Jesuits.
riaent is proving successful. The
Kansas quail is a stocky, plump bird,
about two-thirds as large, when full
grown, as the matured quail or part-
ridge, native to this vicinity, and its
flight, when flushed, is slightly more
rapid and higher above tbe surface.
Tha native quail or partridge will
•barge along, say six or seven feet
above the ragweed when started in
tha stubble. The Kansas bird will fly
twice as high as that."
Dorchester, Wicomico. Worcester.
Somerset. Prince George’s and Anne
Arundel counties. Marv'and, are fa-
vorite shooting grounds for partridges,
sad the reports from them this season
■PS aspedally encouraging Men who
the distance and birds are pouring on.
sometimes singly, sometimes in cov-
eys. The three center guns are having
more than they can do, and the outside
guns by the shore, who might have
been expected to have had a some-
what poor drive, have had as nm&y
birds as anyone else. The drivers
come gradually closer, and the bags
ought to be fairly well-filled If the
sportsmen know their business.
Walking up partridges has many
charms, and to properly organize driv-
ing you must first have looked over
and thus gained experience by the
knowledge of your grounc under every
conceivable condition. If you know
your ground, and are fond of driving.
Aluminium Hairpins.
New York Sun: Aluminium wire la
made of various sizes and used for a
variety of articles. Among its newer
uses is the manufacture of doors and
window screens. When exposed to the
weather such screens do not rust.
Aluminium wire is used in the manu-
facture of hairpins. In a few cases in
this city aluminium wire has been sold
to put on roofs for use as clothes lines.
The wire sold for this purpose was
No. 6 gauge, which costs 60 cents a
pound, and 1.000 feet of which weighs
twenty-four pounds.
Aluminium pigs sell now at about
42 cents a pound, which is about half
the price of a year ago. The sale of
manufactured articles of aluminium is
all the time increasing, and things la
great variety are made from it.
Peddling Speegei.
Sponge peddlers, traveling on foot
and covered front, flank and rear with
fluttering strings of sponges, are doing
sections of Maine. They present a
grotesque appearance, and are a good
mark for all rural canines. They
get on very well In fair weather, b>;t
when it rains they have to hustle for
cover with nil the speed they can at-
tain.—Boston Herald.
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The Altus Plaindealer. (Altus, Okla.), Vol. 1, No. 29, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 13, 1898, newspaper, January 13, 1898; Altus, Oklahoma Territory. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc497335/m1/1/?q=%22%22%7E1: accessed April 25, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.