The Wickes Pioneer (Wickes, Mont.) 1895-1896, October 05, 1895, Image 3

THE GREAT SOO LOCK. LARGEST OF ITS KIND IN ALL THE WORLD. More Tonnage Now Poem,* Through bull Ste. Marie Canal Than Passe% 'through That at sues -Profit of URING THE RE - cent visit of Secre- tary Lamont to the tiorthwest he took occasion to exam- ine the grain -car- rying water route which Uncle Sam has for some years been constructing, and one result of this inspection may be seen in the recommendations which he will make to congress for the con- tinuation of the work. The Sault Ste. Marie canal is at the entrance of the highway thus provided. Between Lake Superior and Lake Hui - on there is a drop so great as to create rapids in the St. Mary's river which ships cannot risk shooting. Ac- cordingly the United States has con- structed a ship canal and locks around the St. Mary's falls, which, admitting vessels at the Lake Superior end, al- lows them to drop slowly through anti letting out of the water until the Lake Huron level is reached, when the lower gate is opened and they can pass through again. This work was originally undertaken by the state of Michigan more than two -score years ago. Indeed, its first suggestion dates back more than half a century; but delays were experienced, and work on it was not actually under- taken until 1853, when a company was organized, under an act of the legisla- ture of New York, which, at a cost of about $1,000,000, or nearly double as much as was estimated, carried out the enterprise, completing it in two years, as agreed upon, anti opening it in 1855. The enormous value of this waterway In transporting not only the grains but the ores of the northwest became at once obvious, and the canal in turn de- veloped the industries of the northwest, so that soon enlarged facilities were needed. Congress had contributed 750,- 000 acres of land, which had been used as an element of value in the construc- tion of the original canal, the contrac- tors taking this land in payment for the construction. However, it became iivident that, in order to secure a proper amount from the federal treasury for Its improvement, it would be necessary to transfer the canal from the owner- ship of Michigan to that of the United States. This was accomplished in the year of 1881. In the meantime, how- ever, congress had, eleven years earlier, made an appropriation of $150,000 for a more capacious lock, and this was com- pleted shortly after the transfer just spoken of, and is now in use. The total amount of expenditures on the lock and the improvements of the canal exceed- ed $2,150.000. But history repeated itself in this ease, since by the time that lock was completed it became obvious that a new and much larger one would be neces- sary. Congress was, successfully ap- pealed to, and half a dozen years ago the huge lock now under construction was undertaken. It will be open for use next year. Briefly stating its di- meneione, it has a length of 800 feet be- tween gates and a width of 100. and will accommodate vessels drawing twenty- one feet of water. This is sufficient even for the great whaleback barges and steel steamers that carry from 50,000 to 100.000 bushels of wheat. The stone side walls of the lock are 1,100 feet long in all and forty-three feet high. The work on the big steel gates, which are fiVe in number, including both the lock and guard gates for the upper, lower and intermediate locks, is already near- ly or quite completed, and so is the masonry of the canal. What remains to be done during the present year and the greater part of the next is the con- struction of the approaches and the cribs. To show the need of this work It is enoligh to state that the freight carried in 1894 through the canal was much more than double what WRS carried six years previous. Indeed, the enormous amount of more than 13.000,000 net tons wee carried in that season, which was an increase of more than one -fifth over the preceding season; and that was done with the present facilities. Thus more freight Is carried already there than through the canal of Suez. The government has done other ser- vices for the northwestern grain traffic, Including the digging of a submerged canal in the stiallovt . ft below !Ake Huron, called the St. Clair fiats, and the blasting out of the ridge of rocks across the Detroit river, known as the Lime- kiln crossing; and doutalesa It will find still other work to do. litritivii Art Rt The works of the et iidents in the Brit- ish naeional competition of schools of art s wit toil ha vi' been Re)ected by the ex - eminent for rewards, are this ,Par Set nut in the exhibition road galleries. ail invent to the mathinerY galleries, and turposite to the school of Firiet14 PWe are told In the catalogue that the stir - prising mimber of 47,975 works of all kinds, from schools of art and branch Schools. Were Rent up for eramInnition. 4.044 being Relfarleil out of these for na tional campetitien, end the Anal awarde being made by the examiners out of this last seleelion. It fa again in the branches of purely decorative art, pic- torial and sculptural, rather than In painting. neulpture and architecture proper- that Is, In the minor rather than the major art that the student show excellence. THE KANGAROO. He Is • Succeee In Many Ways, but Doe• Not Show Off In Running Down Hut. Leather made from the akin of the kangaroo is one of the new products in the leather line. It is soft, strong, and the light grades are particularly Well adapted fur light summer shoes and for shoe tops, while the heavier grades will bear more usage than any other leather finished on the grain side. The light skins are made into the finest brilliant glazed kid and in dull finish for ladies' line shoes, and the heavy ones are finished for men's fine work. Much of it is crimped and sold for tongue boots. Shoe laces of good qual- ities are also made of it. The skin of the kangaroo has a wonderfully mus- cular fibre, which contributes largely to the strength of the animal, enabling the females to carry their young in their pouch until old enough to take care of themselves, and aiding the kan- garoo in his long leaps when in motion. The animal is a native of Australia and adjacent islands. It is a distinct spe- cies, and has no counterpart in other countries. There are a great number of families, some scarcely larger than a rat, others of almost gigantic size. The giant kangaroo (Macropus major), the family which furnishes the most valua- ble skins, was discovered by Captain Cook about a century ago, at which time it attracted much attention among nat- uralists. The natives of Australia call the old males \booma and are slow to attack them. The \booma\ has paws as large as those of a mastiff, though of different shape. His feet are his Weapons, and when attacked he is a dangerous antagonist. When raised to his full height his hind legs and tail form a tripod, upon which his body rests, carrying his head as high as that of a man on horseback. The kangaroo lives upon. vegetable food, and roams over the plains of Australia in large flocks. Its teeth are so constructed that it can feed upon roots and live up- on barren plains, where other animals would starve, and to its destruction of roots is attributed the sterile plains so common in Australia. When feeding a large male stands at his full height and acts as sentinel, while the balance of the flock lie on their sides and browse. At the slightest approach of danger the sentinel soonds the alarm, and in an instant all are erect upon their hind feet. They leap with their forepaws clasped close to their body, the tail stretched backward, while the powerful thigh muscles are caused suddenly to straighten to the joints, by which act the body flies through the air on a low curve. The ordinary jump is about nine feet, but thirty feet is often made at a leap. When pursued by hunters, and on level ground, or on an up -grade, they can outrun the fleetest dog, but down -grade they lose their balance and roll over. The flesh of the kangaroo furnishes excellent food, Kangaroo venison being considered a dainty dish, while the tall furnishes an excellent and nutritious soup. Elecirieltv KIlin Weed.. Weeds along railroad tracks are now killed by the \electric weed -killer.\ It conelets of a car carrying a dynamo, which sends a heavy current into a sort of rake of tine wires dragging among the weeds on each side of the track. As the wires touch them the weeds are \electrocuted\ down to their smallest rootlets. It is proposed to introduce the same system in farming. NIB, Serpent's Overland Trip. Harvey county, Kan., reports a mon- ster bull snake that milks cows in the pasture. It must be the sea serpent taking a transcontinental trip. SELECTED PLEASANTRIES. IT EXCITES INTEREST. THE SUCCESSFUL TRIP OF THE BICYCLE FLYING MACHINE. How a New Work World Reporter Easily and Safely Guided the Ship — The Sen- sation of Iteing ugh I p in the Rest Is an expensive luxury to most people. Detroit Free Press. \I think I can stand ft,\ said the hungry man. \I was a tax -collector for three yearm.\—Tid-13Its. No Cause To. --Mrs. Blzkit—My hus- band never refers to his mother's cook- ing; he seems perfectly satisfied with mine. Mrs. Bizkit—Not to me. You see, his mother used to keep the boarding-house I was stopping at when I married him. --Roxbury Gazette. The chances are that Mrs. Corbett will have more fun on that $100 per week than Jim will in raising it.— Washington Post. Manhood has a contempt for coward- ice. That is why you get angrier when you see the other fellow isn't go- ing to fight. , -Plain Dealer. Tommy --Paw, if the lion Is the king of beaste, what is the rhinocerousl Mr Figg—The politician, of course, nig hide Is two inches thirk.--Cialves- ton NeWS \That's all right.\ said the landlord. briskly yeti wait till you've seen my advertkernent announcing that half the hotel is reRerved for the use of herb- eior guests Chicago Record. 4 Will Phase Him \So you think you can stand the arduous duties of the variety actor' You know in our play we find 04,111Sinti to thros you down a thirty-foot flIght of stairs into a barrel of rainaater Mistress Wily' are you going te leave' Cook Well. yer daughter has 541 many duties a 'titIhi' on 'el .. . O'm nefeared people II tank genie of thim is a-callitS on me Philadelphia Record. Mrs. Skim Tki your hoarders pay promptly? Mrs. Sayre They did at first, Mrs Skim Why don't they now' Mrs Sayre They have got so fat they . 'ant get their hands in their pockets Ilarper•rt Bomar. Mrs. White And do you mean iii RAT that you and your husband always agree about everything' Mrs Black Alwayte except, of course, now and then when he's out of humor or pig headed, or something of that sort. Roston Transcript. XTRAORDINARY interest has been aroused by the recent sueees sful trip of the Worl it's airship, \The World,\ in New York. In the eastern part of Brooklyn. where the ascent was made. little else has been talked about for weeks past. Or- dinarily, a person hears a story about an airship or a flying machine with a good deal of scepticism, but when one is confronted with evidence in the shape of the machine in actual operation, it is difficult not to believe. And that is the sort of evidence that was provided for thousands of persons just two weeks ago Saturday, who were so for- tunate as to be on the spot when \The World\ rose proudly and intelligently into the air, or who chanced to be some- where in the line of its flight from Brooklyn to New York city, back to Long Island and thence to Yonkers, says the New York World. The entire trip was made pursuant to a set design of the World reporter, who operated the machine. It was no foolhardy venture, and the outcome could hardly have been Other than successful, although many who saw the 44,seent maeveled at the aeronaut 'a &MAK, and expressed them - Selves as being satisfied to remain on the earth. The reporter, however, had carefully experimented with the air- ship before making this ascent in pub- lic. He was fully aware, in the first place, that the trip would be just as safe as a ride In a trolley car, and, per- haps, indeed, a good deal Rater. And, in the second place, he was perfectly confident that he would be able to guide the machine, though a rather Mitt wind was blowing at the time. No claim Is made here that the World's airship is a mechanical bird, or a mi- raculous invention, which can be made to fly rapidly in the teeth of a fieree gale. Any such claim is absurd on its face. But it Is asserted with perfect sineerity that a machine has been de- vieed and et -inform - led which is capable of being gelded at the will of the op- erator. when the weather Is anything like favorable Such a machine is the Worlire airehip Such a machine was that which has solved the problem of aerial navigation The reparter had become familiar with the ohtritpulation of the airship at the \Balloon Farm\ of Prof, C oun_ Carl E. Myers, the Inventor, In Herkimer ty. N. Y. Experiments have been con- tinued over a t onsiderable period, the idea being to make the 'ultimate trial at NeW York t•It v a success, and to elim- Blatt , every imaaltile feature that could rontriliide to mu failure The reporter had little din iiity in vetting the knack of the machine. and It e se not long be- fore he (amid handle it as deftly as the professor h meet( It will be remembered. according to the description and Illustration printed In the Sunday World. that the airahlp Is propelled by a huge sail propeller. Deprived by a palr Offre411114, quite aim - liar to those used nit a 1,14...rle The main part of the mashine in shaped nemeil TROMP net with a peettlifir sect Somewhat like a Rp1T1)1141. being a 4011 dent. In which she nearly In,* her life Ile -pointed hag of cotton material. She began teasing a rooster, which which is filled with hvdregen The turned and sits , lied her In the fare, propeller Is situated in front of the op severing the temporal artery The chied eretor. who IS seated on a bicycle -seat was bleeding tee'eleath when the physi- within a coneentr:-.. ring of Pteel inn arrived and etopped the flow. Around thle ring are arranged a num- ber of bags of sand which are of con- venience in ascending and descending, *tad within easy reach are the handles to a pair of wings, one extending out- ward on either side. These wings are the guiding agencies, as there is no rud- der. When it is (looted to rise, the operator cants himself backward in his seat, thereby throwing the wings at a slight upward inclination. The propel- ler being in brisk motion, the tendency is to draw the machine forward and to push it upward. The device is so simple that one would scarcely expect it to work, yet by this means the reporter has ascend- ed often to heights of 1,000 to 2,000 feet. The operation is reversed when the aeronaut wishes to descend. In turn- ing around, either one or the other o' the side wings is turned so as to off( • its surface to the wind. The other sid, meeting no resistance, swings arouns immediately. The operator may thus point the machine in any direction he pleases. When the wind is blowing very strong it is best to point the for- ward end directly to windward, as, ow- ing to its peculiar shape, the balloon part of the structure offers very little resistance in this position. The air strikes the point first, and then seems to loose its force in passing around the convex surface. It is thought by soffie scientific men that an object may be even moved forward towards the wind under these conditions, it being argued that the wind passes around the sides of the structure and closes in behind, giving (he whole machine a forward tendency. The ball nozzle has been ex- plained on this principle. During the sixteen or eighteen' trips made by the reporter in practice an - THE LIONS ROARED. They Recognized Their Old Friend and Were Oterinyed. Considerable excitement was caused in the big zoo at Glen Island by an In- cident which demonstrated the memory and sagacity of a huge African lion, and a lioness. The beasts had been yawn- ing before se‘eral thousand people, when something suddenly attracted their attention. They bounded against the bats of the cage as if in a vain at. tempt to gain their freedom, and at the same time let out a series of roars that could be heard half a mile away. The tigers in the adjoining cages became in- terested and added their roars and growls. In an instant every animal in the big zoo, and there are over 1,000 of them, had joined in the frightful chorus. The shrill bark of the hyena: and wolves was heard above the rest and added actual terror to the scene. Finally the huge elephant Siam caught the fever and, holding his trunk high in the air, gave a roar that was piatily heard at the other side of the sound. The fawns and (leer and the little baby zebu dashed into the sheds, trembling with fright, while the monkeys grovel- ed with terror at the bottom of them! cages. Walter Bannister, the keeper and half a dozen assistants were at once on the scene to make an investi- gation. It puzzled them. There was no apparent cause for the excitement, yet the big lions Continued their roars and bounded about the cage. \Turn the hose on him; he's got mad,\ suggested one of the spectators, who said he knew all about lions, as he had read a book on animals in his boyhood. Things were becoming furious, when an elderly mar forced his way through the crowd I HE AEROC) CLE JUST AS IT ASCENDED. other method of guiding or of assist- ing in guiding the airship was (Retest,- ered. This IS to incline the hotly in whatever direction it is desired to go, In order to turn to the right or left, , it is simply necessary to lean in the direction desired. In fact, the whole process is so sim- ple anti the senmatIon of being so high in perfect safety and with the power to , control lale'R movementm is so agree- able, that orwe you have made a trip you will be a confirmed sky bicyclist. When moving about the upper atmos- phere at pleasure the air navigator feels a sort of pity for those who are so linfortnnate as to be forced to re- main on the earth. They are subject to all terrestial conditions to earth- quakes, lightning and tempest and tile- procesm of the law. The World airship navigator. on the other hand, may efl cape all these insonvenient things. He can approa , b the earth near enotigh to carry on a t•onversation In a moderate tone, and then, with a RIMple move- rnPnt of the body, a Alight , liange In the lnellnation of Its ark, he soar\ Upward allOVP your head until his fligilt is stopped only by the ale:once of suit ficient air to breathe, or Is retire , et the leg M11)44 l's In Its presctit condition the airship Is operated entirely hi leg pov.'er. of imirle. IS more Or h , Fot otlgatlattle- tory In a quiet at ttioRpliere wh-n there is no or ‘er% tittle wind blowing. one t an get along sit well h‘ 0 1111 11 T pushing the pedals When a violent gale is blowing. however. It would be desirable to have some more V lgorous mot I VP power It some f111411 power were provided the machine might easily make its way into the eye of the Nivarly k1114)a hr a Remoter. 111 year 4)1)1 ‘1 r,r hum',' Conn , girl \This is all my fault, sir,\ he said to Mr. Bannister \My name is Tom Le- roy. and I''.. handled lions all my life.\ As he spoke he stepped over the railing. Mr. lianniitter at once recognized the name and made way for him. The man went close to the cage and thrust his two arms between the bare. The lions for a moment seemed frantic, then quieted down and began to lick the man's hand as the crowd fell back, ex- pecting each Instant to see the man In jured Ile explained to Mr. Bannister afterward that he had trained the Bone to do many tricks years ago, and had traveled with them for many seasons. He had not seen them for sonic years, yet they recognized him the motneist tie came within sight of the cage. and made an uproar that Was quieted as soon at I, e caressed them. The heastm had passed through several dealere' handt before coming to Glen Island. and 11 was not known that they were trick Bons until Mr Leroy informed Mr. Stettin's reprcsent nth/ e New York Tribune Couldn'i Rwallow the Whale) Story. Rev Henry W Pinkham. pastor of • Ilapt 4,1 , •hiirch at Ilritigeport, Conn., recently preached a sermon about Jon- ah. In whleh he took the stand that the 'whale did not swallow the prophet. Now, he Is going to resign berause his congregation Rays the illbie Rays the whale 110 Ra11110W .1011R1) alrOl there:Oro It 11111fit he true Rev Pinkharn beetime prominent genie menthe ago, when one Sontlay morning he placed on either side of his reading desk a kettle of beer, which he said he had bought on Of way to ehurch tahy 11111.4.' racing mate, ornnha'a einaileet cycling expert is a si,l1,1 4 years old She rides a la inch e ha l o she takes long rides In the eountry with her mother almost every day. and can do a la mile turn without the least evidence of fetigee She has made several exhibition rides at fairs, the last at Ottemwa. Iowa, where she rode with Baby illiee, the 157 pound rider- of ChiellfrO THE REWARD OF HONESTY. It Is Not Always So Free and GinsonTinue an to Br Very Encouraging. \The case presented in last night's paper of a reward of , $10 being paid foe the return of $50 reminds me of a simi- lar anecdote only different,\ said the Indent New F.'nglanti member of the club to a Utica reporter. \It happened in Providence (R. I.) forty years ago, when the city coutainei but one mil- lionaire, who was an \bid Scotchman named Alexander Duncan. One (lay Mr. Duncan, in leaving his office, dropped a large roll of bank notes in the street. They escaped kjs eye, but nut that of the small boy, who is around everywhere, anti who pounced upon the bills immediately. The roll contained $500. When Mr. Duncan received it h eagerly counted the money and, finding it correct, he turned to the boy and said: 'I thank ye, my little tnan.' Then, noticing the look of dismay in the poor lad's countenance, he felt In his trousers pocket and fished out a eoin, which he handed to the tinder of his wealth. And the coin represented—what do you think?\ \Five dollars?\ \A dollar?\ \A half dollar?\ \A quarter of a dollar?\ \Just half of that. It was an old Spanish coin that we used to call a ninepenee in New England and that you would call a shilling'in New York. In other words, it was twelve and a half cents which Alexander Duncan,4e millionaire of Providence, paid to the honest boy who found and returned to him $500.\ A POET'S LICENSE. Squeezed the Hand of an h:iiipreas in the Fervor of Recitation. U. W!' Smalley, In \Studies of Men,\ relates the following incident: \Tenny- son was one of the party invited some years since by Sir Donald Currie on a yachting trip, the yacht provided being an ocean steamer of the South Africa line, known as the Pembroke Castle, Mr. Gladstone was another guest, I think—certainly he was on one of the two or three trips then taken. There was on board a young English girl, since married and dead, whose beauty and intelligence and charm were all remarkable. Tennyson attached him- self to this brilliant and sympathetic creature. He was often asked to read, and it became his habit In read holding her bend, which, In the fervor of recita- tion, he often iniessed. The ship put in at Copenhagen, and the Princess of Wales and the Empress of Russia, then on a visit to her old home, came on board. There was luncheon. and after luncheon Tennyson was exited to read; and did, sitting between the Empress on one side and the English girl on the other. When it was over and they bad gone up on deck, he asked the girl whether she thought the Empress liked it. 'Well,' answered she, 'her Majesty must have thought it a little unusual.' 'What do you mean?' I mean that I don't think the Empress is in the habit of having her hand squeezed in public, even by poets.' It seemed proper to Tennyson to offer to the Empress his most humble apologies for his mistake. The Empress laughed, and told him she had enjoyed the reading extremely.\ has orsy Whiskers and a Terrier. A bicycle seems to call out a man's latent peculiarities with unfailing cer- tainty, and there are always interest- ing examples of such development to be seen among the riders in the park or on the roads. A gray whiskered man rides on the boulevard almost every day with a small Skye terrier in a wire basket fastened to the front of the bi- cycle lust below the handle bars. He has been riding this way for several months. and in never seen without the dog. The animal's expression is a cu- rious combination of terror and ennui, .and there im an alertness in his look which might be understood to indicate that he would jump out at the first op- portunity. Other similar riders are to be seen on the road everv day. hut un- fortunately all of them Sr.' not HO harm. less.—New York Sun. li'l•ntn Boarded for RO Cont• a Month. Boarding houses for plants are a nov- el institution, ileeigned for the housing of plants for families who elose up their city 'mutes for several months during the slimmer, Every woman who love flowers is at her wits' end to de' 'se it means of having her plants cared for while she Is away. In the case of a large ar1.1 valuable collection this bes comes a eerinus matter Often In the spring and slimmer anyone passing florist's may See In his window a strip of painted glees or, some other sign, bearing the words 'Boarding House for Plants. 50 Cents Apiece.\ A few of the eetablitthmente offer accommoda- tions for 25 cents This prtee covers a month's hoard anti lodging for a single potted plant. ele•olantl'• Flag. .111st at the eastward of (Tray (Tables stands a flagpole. which towers fa) feet high toward the clear blue of the sum men sky. The moment he Infuse% the place an ktnerlenn flag, which waves from the apex of the flagstaff, Is loW- Pre& which tells all onlookers that the president is not at home, for when he IR at h011ie the glorlfiliR Filar spangled banner IS always whipping about the sighing wind Many a marine glees fitSenipg the flagstaff from cottages and . hamlets miles around, and many glass, owners smile when they see the flag ho not flying and mutter to themaelves4 \cleveland but gone fishing again.\ Hainclie'• Rosy Week. Following Is a aociety item from Ce- dar Point. Kan \Maud Hastings watt pretty busy while here last week. Elbe broke John Sayre'm colt to ride, raked alfalfa, pitched wheat and killed a snake Come again', ?dandle\