Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1891-12-04
SOMEWHAT STRANGE.
ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENT OF
EVERYDAY LIFE.

EVERYDAY LIFE.
Queer Episodes and Thrilling Alven.
lures Which Show that Truth Is
Stranger than Fiction.
FoR half a century engineers have
been trying to keep the Red River open
to navigation, but in spite of theh tho
bar accumulates deposits SO faa that
about ones o year steamers ore unsble to
oross. This condition exists at ths pres
ent time and will continue to exist until
the bar is attacked ngain. Whit the
loss is to traders can only be unda stood
by description of tho river and III trib-
utaries. The Rcd River, which ehpties
into the Mississippi, is navigaHe for
largo etc1.nbcats for hundreds ofjmiles
and for small steamboats, for mant hum
dred miles more. Its tributaries dc the
Black, Ouachita and Tensas Rivers and
on their waters and on those Of thd main
stream the trader can market his goods
in Northern Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas
and the Indian Territory. In add lion to
these principal streams there is th At
ohafalaya, which leaves tho Red River
not far from its junction with the Miss
issippi and flows to the Gulf. there Form
ing one Of the so-called mouths if the
Mississippi. Instead Of improvingnayi-
cation the Atchafalaya impedes | for
whenever both the Mississippi anh the
Red rivers are low, the latter discharges
its flow through the Atchufalaya, old an
immense mud bar forms betweei the
waters of the Mississippi and th3e Of
tho Red. The Atchafalayn itself spreads
out, as it approaches the Gulf, Into q
broad and shallow bayou. If tho en-
gineers could cut off this Troublesome
affluent altogether the bank at the mouth
of the Red River would soon be thing
of the past, for its natural flow is strong
and deep. Experience has shown, how
over, that science is poweress who ever
the turbulent Mississippi is factdr. In
the spring its floods roll up the Red
River and make great river Of tho
Atchafalaya.
Profanity the most expert pieoo of
note raising evor attempted has bee n re-
ceived ut the United States Treasury
Department from Dcnver, Col. 1t is in
the form of 81 silver certificate with
the Martha Washington head, raised to a
$40 National bank note. When the
great difference in the designs on the
two notes is taken into consideration the
work of the certificate raiser is indeed
remarkable and cannot be detected with
out close scrunity. The vignette of
Martha Washington ON the face Of the
certificate has boen 80 reduced in shape
that it is not visible except on close in
spection and over that the picture of
Benjamin Franklin has been painted.
All tho heavy dark background Of the
vignette has been entirely erased, and
above tho vignettc has been reproduced
the counter in which are written the let
tors "Ten." On the right side of tho
face Of the note the Treasury number
has been transformed into die bearing
tho figure 10. Tho geomotrical lathe
work on tho right hand side of the face
OF the note has boon transformed into the
figure OF woman resting on the back of
ON eagle soaring above the clouds. The
words "One Silver Dollar" on the geo
metrical die in the center Of tho faco have
boon cleyerly changed to "Ten Dollars. {"
On tho back OF tho note the large figure
! on either end has been removed, and
BY the skillful use of chemicals and ink
the note raiser has on the left hand pro
duoed an almost exact copy of the coat
Of arms of one of tho Western states
and on the right hand the eagle and flag
inclosed in an oval which appears ON this
part of every National bank note.
SrEsoBR H. CuRr,s, of Taylor County
Fla, is prepared to swear that no has q
mule that knows a thing or two. This
mule is Q bright bay, rather small bu,
clean-limbed, with large atfectionate
eye, and renders him very valuable ser
vice in an agricultural way. MIR. Curtis
says be don't sec how he could get along
without it. 1t does mans work addee
to its own in planting time. For in
stance, say ten-acre field is prepared
for corn. This mule is given bag con.
tanning tho grain, and along tho fnrrow,
1t moves sedately, dropping the corn a
regular intervals, much more precisely
than man could do it. The bag is hung
about its mock aud it dips its mouth in AZ
it goes along, dropping the corn in Che
burrows. Its owner insists that ther,
must be something very nourishing in tn.
mules saliva, as corn thus planted grows
more vigorously than when planted b,
hand. This naulo has also been taught t.
be useful around the stable and house. Il
will measure out corn and fodder for tn,
other mules. carry buckets of water *
shcm and seoms to know exactly what t.
do and whom to do it. 1t carries yeget
ables to the house and frewood also
puts down tho windows when it look.
like rain, hangs up tho clothes-line OF
wash day and seems DESTROYS of making
itself useful in every possible way. Mr.
Curtis commenced training it when i
WAS only six months old, and he says h,
has never regretted the time and ]abo
thus employed.
BoB LENDERS lives in Suwanee County
Fla, about two milos from Gopher Lope
and is horny handed farmer who don ;,
have to pay 2 per cent. o month fo,
money to run his farm on. He has plenty
Of stock, but the pride Of his place is on
ordinary Florida COW with open counte
nance and long horns. Mr.. Lenders has
an old-fashioned we'll with bucket md