NEWPORT DAILY INDEPENDENT
PERCY H. VAN DYKE, Publisher and Editor.
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NEWPORT, - - ARKANSAS.
A THIRSTY SCOUT.
Smvived a Dose of Alkali Water That
Killed Mules.
A prominent army official tells an.
interesting story of the late Frank C.
Bennett, one of the most famous
scouts of the southwest 20 years ago,
says the Baltimore Sun.
“Bennett,” says the officer in ques
tion, “was forced to follow a trail
intothefamous Staked Plain of Texas,
and, like many others, lost his way
and wandered four dayswthout food
or water. He was so long absent that
the commander of the detachment
from which he had been sent was at
last forced to conclude that Bennett,
despite all his wonderful knowledge
of the country, and hi® almost super
human power of endurance, had been
added to the long list of that arid
plain’s victims.
“We were all sitting around the
camp fires discussing the matter one
night, when suddenly the attention
of one of the group was attracted
by a wraith-like figure coming out of
the shadows some 30 feet away.
“ ‘By the Lord Harry, it’s Bennett
himself!’ shouted one of the men.
“But as we arose to our feet the
shouts of joy froze on our lips—Ben
nett, crazed by thirst, had thrown
himself prone before a pool of alkali
water, from drinking which two
mules had died that day, and was
lapping it up with his tonguehanging
out of his mouth and his breath com
ing in short, quick gasps like a wind
-| 1 T
SPIKING HIS GUNS.
w. w. JACOBS INTERVIEWED.
A Little First Hand Information About
a Novelist and Humorist.
Mr. W. W. Jacobs, whose amusing
novel, “At Sunwich Port,” has just
made its appearance, is quoted this
way in a recent interview:
• “I do little work and I have no
methods. I published my first book.
‘Many. Cargoes/ in 1896, and since-*
then one book of mine—never a very
large one—has appeared each year, ex
cept in 1899, when I did nothing.
“When 1 want a* idea 1 sit down
and think of one, and take as long as
I possibly can in working it out.
Sometimes I publish a story exactly
as I first write it; sometimes I make J
many alterations. I really have no
rules.”
Mr. Jacobs is a slender, fair man.
about 38 years of age. The reputa
tion of being humorous is, he declares,
a very undesirable possession.
“People who meet me at tea wait ex
pectantly for my conversation to scin
tillate, and it never does. If I could
be humorous all the time T should
write a story a day. As a matter of
fact, one’s jokes are often born after
much tribulation.”
Speaking of humorous writinggen
erally, Mr. Jacobs said he thought the
essence of the art of comedy was know
ing -what to leave the imagination of
the reader to fill in.
He lives at Buckhurst Hill, Lon
don, and says that the district is ad
mirably suited for quiet literary work,
as he and the milkman are the only
AN IMPORTANT COMMA.
A Court Bows to It, and It Determines
the Import of a Contract.
An agreed case between Thomas
Mitchell and the Southern Railway'
company hinged on a comma in the
opinion of Judge O’Doherty, who de
cided the ease, says the Louisville
Courier-Journal.
Mitchell is a contractor and con
tracted to repair a tunnel in Indiana
for the railroad. 11$ agreed to in
demnify the defendant from all acci
dents to employes or other persons
injured in the tunnel while it was be
ing repaired. Mills Buxton, one of
his employes, was struck by a train
while working in the tunnel and _ . ^
brought suit for damages, against the
road, which was compromised by the
payment to him of $355. The sum
paid Buxton was deducted by,the rail
road when it and Mitchell had a set
tlement for the work. The plaintiff
denied that he was liable for the sum.,
and a friendly suit was filed to have the
the following clause in the contract
construed:
“Said contractor further agrees to
indemnify and save harmless said rail
road company from all casualties or
accidents resulting to employes en
gaged in the work contemplated un
der this contract. c.r to any third per
son who may be injured or damaged
by the said contractor or hisservants
or agents in the performance of this
contract.”
It was claimed that Mitchell’s lia
bility in regard to employes was-limit
ed by the clause “injured or damaged
4- Vi i-i "ini /T /i a Vi 4tin a4 Ati Vi n T* O 1 1
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Mr. Murphy—Now Oi guess that saw-bones won’t dun me anny more,
an’ him just afther killin’ me woife.”
tu iiuuuu.
“It was a dramatic moment. The
man had been slowly dying for days
for want of water, and now it appeared
that water was to cause lvis death.
“But regular army officers don’t
waste time in thinking of tliedramat
ic interest of anything. We pulled
Bennett away from that pool fighting
like a half-starved hyena, and then
we crammed lard down his throat as
fast as he could take it.
“He didn't die. He simply became
an animated soap factory for a space
and then he recovered.
“We taunted Bennett after that by
telling him that his constitution had
been proved to be harder than that
of a mule.”
THE MOTIVES OF MISERS.
Glamour of Gold au2 Mania for Collect
ing Are Tniuencing Factors.
Is there no charm or glamour in
gold itself which attracts, and in a
sense overpowers the miser, though
it does not often induce him to steal?
There may be in some cases. Doctors
sav that kleptomania, though so often
pleaded as a dying defense, really ex
iste. esneeiallv amonsr children, and
that it is in some way mysteriously
limited and defined, the full strength
of th'e passion being excitable only by
certain objects, usually shining. The
pursuit of gold for 5,000 years may
have bred in the mind a hereditary
tendency toward its acquisition, as a
concrete and visible article, which is,
we may remark, a# often manifested
by the rich as by the poor. Asiatics
often hoard coin and jewels to their
own hurt, knowing that their posses
sion involves extreme danger, and we
could ourselves relate two authentic
stories'of great accumulations of gold
coin, made by Englishmen who seemed
to derive pleasure from its actual sight
and touch. These are. however, wc
fancy, rather illustration® of the col
lector mania, so often described and
analyzed in the ease of books am:
china, than instances of true miserli
ness, which is based, we are convinced
rather on fear and an abnormal kinc
of mean pride than on the passion fot
hoarding. That is often divorcee
from avarice. It was not for thei:
value that George IV. kept every coa
he had ever worn, or that Mr. Blanl
bought wardrobe after wardrobe it
which to preserve every morsel o
clothing that had ever been in hispos
session.—London Spectator.
A Needed Course.
It is a great pity that the elaborat
high school and college courses d.
not include lessons in patience; it i
about all the pupils will need afte
leaving school.—Atchison Globe.
A FAMILY OF CONSULS.
History of an Appointment Held Since
Washington’s Time.
When Horatio Sprague, United
States consul at Gibraltar, died a few
months ago, says the New York Post,
it was announced that the Sprague
family had been longer in the consular
service than any other, but recent in
vestigations prove that this distinc
tion belongs to the members of the
celebrated house of Fox, who have
continuously retained the consulship
at Falmouth, England, since the es
tablishment of the United States gov
ernment.
State department records at Wash
ington, D. C., show that Robert W.
Fox, the first consul, grandfather of
the present incumbent, was appoint
ed by George Washington, on May 30,
1794, and that since then his descend
ants have controlled the post at Fal
mouth against the protests of poli
ticians of both parties, who enter as
their plea that the position is held by
an Englishman. But sentiment and
the fact that the original Fox was ap
pointed by Washington have defeated
the aim of the office seekers. The
holding of this consulship has always
been a trust of honor with the Foxes,
since they are a wealthy family, and
the office yields but $300 yearly.
During the career of Robert Were
Fox, the first consul, Falmouth was
the port from which mail packets
sailed to all parts of the world, which
lay to the west and south of the Eng
ish channel, and was the scene of great
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occupying this post, was engaged in
extensive mercantile mining, and fish
ing enterprises, and by these laid the
foundations of the fortune that has
been handed down to his descendants.
Many noted people were entertained
at his home, and in 1828, a few years
after the death of Mr. Fox, his widow,
Civilization has girdled the g
China. And as civilization has n
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J OUR CONFLICT jj
$ WITH CHINAS ::
i . . - -- -.- «•
i Bu HON. JAMES R. NlftNN, i:
4> United States Congressman from Illinois. 1 •
4* ■ ■
++'H4+WW-Hh++++++++++++++
would not if we could. We coulc
forces of progress are too great
years Japan has been revivified. A
commenced to throw his morning
pire has awakened from its long 5
of the most active and progressh
doubt that similar results occur
awakens with her hundreds of mi
more imitative, and more willing t<
nation, it will cause a reawakening
justment between nations and pec
, come deadly, but the skirmishes 1
west and the civilization of Cnina
I wonder if the hordes of Chi
awakened, will not attempt, throuj
power American civilization as the
, came the civilization of Rome. T1
) ever, will be more desperate thai
s Rome. The civilization of Chin;
r civilization of America. The peop:
ica are of two different races, whi
who was noted for her hospitality, re
ceived the queen of Portugal, who
held a reception, there.
Robert Were Fox, jr., appointed
consul in 1815, devoted much time to
the study of science, and made many
discoveries. In 1815 he proved that
there was a real increase of tempera
ture experienced in descending Cor
nish mines—a fact previously assert
ed by th Saxons miners, but long dis
puted by such men as Humboldt and
Arago. Among his many valuable
inventions was the deflector dipping
needle, which has been used in every
Arctic and Antractie expedition since
that time in determining the magnetic
condition of the different parts of the
earth’s surface.
President Lincoln appointed the
third consul, Alfred Fox, in 1863. This
gentleman won the highest commend
ation from the government for his
efficiency and faithfulness during the
late war. The coast at Falmouth is
very dangerous, and often ships are
wrecked there; Mr. Fox did all in his
power in rendering help to these ship
wrecked crews, and for this was high
ly rewarded by the heads of the na
tions.
Howard Fox, F. G. S., the present
consul, was appointed by President
Grant. He had been acting as depu
ty consul, but in 1874 succeeded his
father to the consulship.
Fined by Telehpone.
In Ontario a man summoned for
e breach of the law, and being unable
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mitting his guilt, and was fined a
dollar and costs through the same
medium. _
When Telling Your Troubles.
Tell your troubles as you wish to
have them repeated, not as they really
are.—Atchison Globe.
lobe. The oldest civilization is in
loved westward from China it has
changed in degree, character and
force until now, having encircled
the world, the civilization of Eu
rope and America is forcing its
way through the entrances into the
Chinese empire.
We may perhaps find that we
are waking a sleeping giant, but it
is impossible for us to stop. We
not if we would. The impelling
for our resistance. Within a few
s the sun of western civilization has
rays on her shores, that little <etn
leep and has suddenly become one
e nations in the world. Who can
in China? And when China fully
llions of people, more economical,
> work than the people of any other
of all mankind and possibly a read
pies. The conflict has not yet be
ave begun. The civilization of the
are in conflict.
na, when that nation is thoroughh
jh mere force of numbers, to over
Goths and Huns and Vandals over
le coming conflict with China, how
i the one which caused the fall of
i will never amalgamate with the
e of China and the people of Aniei •
ch can never coalesce. .*
/
males living there- who do not go to
the city by early trains.
Two of his stories have been drama
tized, and he is thinking of writing a
p^y- _
ABOUT BIRD’S-EYE MAPLE.
Really Cut from the Rock Maple—Ordi
nary Trees Much Cheaper.
“The man who said that the veneer
known as bird’s-eye-maple is produced
only by cutting any maple log around
the log is very much beside the mark."
said a woodworker who makes a study
of fine woods to- a New York Sun re
porter.
“Bird’s-eye maple and curly maple
are both cut only from the logs of the
rock maple tree, Acer saccharinum.
in which a beautiful lustrous grain is
produced by the sinuous course of the
fibers.
“This tree is not at all the common
hard maple. It is a hard maple, but
is full of the little gnarls called eyes.
“Men looking for bird’s-eye maple
logs go through the standing timber
and pick out the bird’s-eye- maple
trees, paying for them from $30 to $‘50
a thousand feet in the woods. Ordi
nary hard maple logs are worth only
from six to seven dollars a thousand
feet.
“It would be impossible to cut a
piece of veneer with eyes in it from a
common hard maple log, and would be
equally impossible to cut a bird’s-eye
maple log, no matter how you cut it, so
that, if wrmld not s.hmv the eves.
“When a boy, many years ago, I
have split up many a bird's-eye maple
log, and stopped to admire the spots
distributed all through it. Ordinary
maple was then, and possibly is, so
cheap that it was used for firewood in
many places.”
ELIZA GRIER.
A Negro Woman Who Was a Successful
Physician in Georgia.
Eliza Grier, a colored woman and
a physician, who was> a native of
Mecklenburg county, died in Albany,
Ga., recently, in her thirty-ninth
year. She was a daughter of George
Washington Grier, of Matthews, and
has had, says the Charlotte (N. C.)
Observer, a distinguished career.
When young she was graduated with
honors at Scotia seminary, in Cabar
rus county. She was afterward grad
uated from Fisk universitv, studving
medicine, and subsequently took a
post graduate course in medicine at
another college. She stood a flatter
ing examination before the medical
board of South Carolina and practiced
medicine at Greenville for a short
while. She then went to Georgia and
.located in Atlanta, after having
passed an examination before the
Georgia medical board. Some years
ago -he moved to' Albany, Ga., and
practiced her profession there until
her death. She left considerable
property.
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*
road contended that the words quoted
only limited the plaintiffs liability
for the “third person,” and to support
the claim called attention to the corn
ua after “under this contract.”
The comma makes Mitchell liable
to his employes for damages inflicted
by his agents and therailroad, accord
ing to Judge O’Doherty, who gave
judgment for the defendant.
The conclusion of Judge O'Doher
ty’s opinion is as follows:
“The court has not the power to
transpose or eliminate a comma, al
though such action would diametric
ally change the import of the contract.
The court can only construe the con
tract exactly as it stands.
BENJAMIN SWIFT.
Who He Is, What He Has Done and How
He Has Done It.
It is no longersecret that “Benja
min Swift” is merely a pen name of
the author of “The dame of Love,”
about which, under the title of “Lu
dus Amoris” so much is being written
just now in England. The novelist’s
real name is William Romaine Pater
son. He is young, a Scotchman, and
has written about a half dozen novels.
He has been charged with following
too closely on the heels of Carlyle and
Meredith, each in turn, but the Eng
lish press seems to be unanimous
that he has now shaken off his models
and, in “The Game of Love,” come to
the front with a style of originality
auu power, xnis is according to
prophesy, for “Benjamin Swift” has
been the subject of much English dis
cussion, and there are wise men who
declare that he will one day be pro
claimed great.
From the beginning Benjamin
Swift has always made his stories
striking. He has shown a tremen- v*
dous originality, though somewhat
eccentric and sometimes unpleasant
in his earlier work. Out of these
youthful extravagances he has, in the
judgment of the current British press,
now emerged*
Benjamin Swift was born in 1871.
He was the son of a Scotch physician
and was educated at Lausanne,'Switz
erland, and at Glasgow university.
At Glasgow he took the degree of
master of arts with first-class philo
sophical honors. He is now a full
fledged professional novelist, with his
home in London.
His first essay in fiction was “Nancy
Noon,” published in 1896, when the
author was 25, and this has been fol
lowed by “The Tormentor” (1897),
“The Destroyer” (1898), “Siren City”
(1899), “Hartnell” (1899), “Nude
Souls” (1900), “The Eternal Conflict”
and an esssay (1901). To these he
has now added a new novel, “The
Game of Love,’ which has just been.'
published in this country by the Scribe
ners. Its English title is “Ludue
Aiuoris.”