davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-05-15
ARTESIAN WELLS.
How a Supply of Water Is Obtained in
SOuth Dakota.
Harper's Magazine for MAY.

Harper's Magazine for May.
The story of the artesian basin under
part OF South Dakota seems fabulous 1t is
even more astonishing than the wealth of
coal that underlies the farms of Nortk
Dakota.
Under jim River Valley, In both States,
there is said to lie a vast lake of crystal
water. The fact is amply proven
in South Dakota, where, between
the northern and southern boundaries,
there ara already more than fifty
high. pressure wells. or ''gushers," as they
cali them there. a hundred. or perhaps
more. loH-presSure wells, reaching a flow
closer To the surface, are at the foot Of the
Cook counties almost every farmer has his
own low-pIessure we'll. But the won
derfRl wells are the high pressure,
deep ones. wherein water is struck at
from 800 to 1900 feet. The pressure in
some Of these wells is 200 pounds to the
square inch. One at WoonsOcket supplies
5000 gallons a minute. One at Huron serves
for the towns water system and fire pro
lection, One at Springfield has force
enough for more than the power used in a
60-barrel fiouT-mill. One at Tyndall is ex-
peeted to irrigate 500 acres. II is calculated
that two-ineh well Will water 100 acres /;
a three-inch we'll, $40 acres; and a
Eight miles above Huron a well is
used on farm that produced So bushels
and 20 pounds il wheat to the acre. as
against Is bushels in the unirrigated land
OF the neighborhood. Some who profess to
know say that the great basin is inexhausti-
BILE. and that tie opening of one we'll near
another does not affect the first one. Then,
again, read that this is not wholly true.
But, at all events. no one doubts the pres
ence of a vast body OF water, and no well,
even among those that are years old,
shows any sign Of giving out.
The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-05-15
WHY SHE REMEMBERED.
A Peculiar Circumstance Which an Aged
Colored Woman Recalled.

Colored Woman Recalled.
washington Post
at was a curious incident in great law
snit involving 100000 in value" said
Hon. Charles Gibson of st. Louis at the
Arlington, "in one of the old land suits in
our State. A Spanish concession was made
of two lots in the village called Little
Prairie, near New Madrid. in the name of
]. Smith. The village was literally swal-
lowed up by the great New Madrid earth
quake and submerged in lake. This was
in 1911 In 1915 Congress passed an act
giving to all the owners Of the injured land
The right OF relocation on any part OF the
unOccupied public domain. This eonees-
sion was relocated by Colonel Easton on
what is now the most valuable part OF
st. Louis, but the courts have always held
that the relocation belonged TO the
real owner of the injured lands, no 0dds
who made IT, Some 90 years afterward
narties claimed the land as heirs Oh one
John Smith Of Cape Giraudeau. The de-
Pendants. for whom | appeared, claimed
under the deed from James Smith. the
blacksmith, made and recorded In 1915.
The question was; Which was the true j.
Smith to whom tile concession was made
under the title of j. Smith.
'"rhe plaintiff gave a good deal OF evil
dence showing that ii was John Smith, but
the time was so remote that his evidence
YVES all circumstantial. The defendants
nrodueed very old French woman as a
witness, who testified directly that she
knew the concedee and that he was james
Smith. the blacksmith, in other words, the
gTantor of my clients. This would Of course
settle the case for defendants unless some
thing was done. On cross-exanInation the
plaintiffs attorneys questioned her about
her age, and thereby proved that she was
only between 3 and years old
when the earthquake happened. Then
she was asked how she came to re-
member at so remote period that
James Smith was a blacksmith residing in
the lost village. She replied at once that
the blacksmiih-shop WAS opposite the house
where she was born and partly raised.
That all the men of the village assembled
there one day and put Smiths thumb in the
anvil-screw aud squeezed it until he con-
fesved that a lot Of counterfeit money,
when they wanted to show had been in his
possession, was under the anvil; that they
raised the anvil and there found it, and
took Smith off to prison, and that IL made
such an impression upon her mind that she
never forgot it.
The jury at once rendered verdict for
defendants on this evidence. She was the
only survivor of all the inhabitants OF the
village and seemed TO have been kept alive
by providence just TO give that evidence.
The trial was nearly 20 years after the
earthquake, vet her evidence was not only
graphic, but absolutely conclusive"
The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-05-15
PARSOH JOEL.

The California gold fever was AT It's helght
when the crowd of fortHne-seekers, excited
nv the prospect of immediate gain, rushed
to the hanks Of the Bangalong.
We-that is, Jack Petit and had fol-
lowed the gold away up the river Tor long,
weary miles. sometimes in company, often
alone, occasionally finding dust, but more
frequently digging from sunrise until sun
set without seeing speck. In common
with thousands Of adventurers, who were ID
similar plight, va were Knocked Oy the
tickle jade Fortune.
The most incomprehenslble thing about
it all was that there seemed to be some
party forever IN advance OF us; IoT,
although the banks of the river were nnCis-
turbed. the water came down from the mis-
laden with mud, which was easily reeog-
nizable by miners eye.
Il was only after a long ted Gus tramp,
with heavy hearts aud ever-llghtenlng pocK-
cts. that re came upon the advance party
They welcomed US with what grace liiey
could. which was not much; but our ARRIVAL
mattered little. for others quickly came
along err trail. now in companies ahu AGAIN
sinply. until there were fully % g0lu-SeekeTs
of almost as many natlonallVles upon the
ground, All Of these remained, NOT one wen
farther. There was no need. for he bed OF
f6a goid mad been discovered. Within the
snaee of a square mile or so, tGeFeaoDuJs lay
enough of The precious metal to have en-
riched thousand miners beyond the dreams
The camp was pitched on the bank Of the
river. which. under the scoTching Of the
summer sun, had dwindied down to mere
freshet There was none too much water
The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-05-15

venient, then. throwing ourselves upon our
horses. dashed away in swift relentless pur-
suit.
The fugitive evidently observed this, for,
putting his steed TO its fullest streteh OF
speed. he rode reeklessly over every impedi-
mens. and his retreat appeared secured, tor
he distanced the foremost OF US at every
stride.
In another quarter of mile he would
have gained the shelter of the ranker scrub,
where pursuit would have been hopeless;
but before he could do so puff OF smoke
floatpd out over a distant reef; THIS was
followed by the report Of TIfe when
reached our ears as we saw tie eau'ptne
horse stumble, throwing the rider heavily
over its head.
A man-it was youug Togue = came
lesurely across the rocks, carrying sun
smoking rife In his hand. lie was making
directly for tie scene OF the catastfopht'
but some Of the rGers reached the spot al
most as quickly rs he.
magnificent sorrel, lay dead in its tracks ~
yards behind its hapless rider, who was
bruised out Of all semblance to humanity.
A coarse red wig had fallen from his head
aud rich wealth OF bioOd-drasgled, tangled
golden hair trailed cut over the stones,
Young TOgue stopped, wiped his weapon
and co0lly remarked:
81 thought something had gone wrong,
/ that's why fired. Sorry, wiped the TEL
/ low out, though.
'By the jumping Jehoshaphat. it's our
PaTsOn joel; anyway it's all that's lelt OF
! him." murmured some one.
TOgue stepped forward light OF reeog-
/ milton flashed into his eyes, and he fell upon
4 his knees, tearing away the rough coat IN
4 his fEenZed endeaYOr to discover whether
| the heart had ceased TO beat he had
scarcely done this when he spraDg to his
feet, with CONSERVATION depicted on bis
/ face. crying, Boys, by all the powers, II Is
/ a wOman!
We were still standing. bafled and
angry, around the corpse, when band OF
1 hoTsemen dashed up at hand gall0p. AS
/ the leader spTang from his horse he bali
| pushed, half dragged MISUNDERSTANDING
TuffiaE TO the front
''nere, you honest fellows" he called out
! in tones of command, ''do any Of you know
this rapparee scoundrel? We caught him
! gaooting around three miles below, and as
he couldn't give a good account Of himself,
took the liberty Of bringing him along with
| US"
a dozen men sprang forward to look into
the captive's face as he glared dehantly,
| daring them TO dc their worst, and he read
! death in their eyes.
Then the fellows gaze fell upon Parson
| JOEL In a moment the strong man was
bowed with anguish, his foTtitude forsook
| him, he fell upon his knees, gently raised
the battered head in his grimy hands and,
! passioUat.lY kissing the paljd brow. walled ::
"Oh. Bess! Bess Good heayen"
Then We all knew that Joel Baldwin,
! parsOn. SicK-nurse, trusted friend aud gold
| robber, was none other than Bess, the
netorioF0us queen of the pirates of the
! prairie and the villainous road agents, who
mad for so long been the scourge of Cali
| f0rnia. For one brief moment afterward
we felt sad at heart-AH the Year Round.
The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-05-15
FLUENT FIBBIRG.
an Essential Qualification of Successful
SaleswOman.
PhlladAlnnia inns


chow can girl be truthful and become a
clever saleswoman?" This is the actual
remark OF a girl employed in one of our
large stores, and an hour spent in her es-
pecial department revealed that fluent fb-
bing was an essential element in her line Of
business at least. The first customer was
an elderly lady with a Denchant for gay
coors altogether unsGited to her years. A
black bonnet being produced she shifted au-
dibly and remarked:
That, oh my. you don't suppose / want
to look like my wn grandmother"
Certainly not, madam. That was an or
der for customer. / have not looked for
yours vet" All, the ready little fibber.
rs MORE ribbon fash0nable?' gees On
the aged customer.
Yes, indeed, quite the newest thing"
The hat is sold and buyer number two
comes in.
~ want a bonnet trimmed with satin
ribbon. no MORE mind; that is altogether
too much behind the times"
Quite right, madame. We do not use
MORE at all on our newest hats"
"po you think this is bec0ming?" with
an anxious glance in the mirror opposite
moniOuS get up imaginable.
Yes. indeed; Ii is Just your color, and
those tips are awfuily stylish; don't you
think so?" appealing TO the writer, " no is
put to utter confusion by this sudden cues
ton, and, like the man Of the story, has no
lie ready.
Il am sure you will like it; if it doesn't
suit bring il right back. for il is one of cur
best selling styles aud we Will have no
trouble to get rid OF 1t. p"
That settles il; if others are anxious for
ID il must be desirable, and away she goes
with a bandbox perfectly satisfied, whereat
the salesgirl gives a sigh of relief I'VE
have tried for weeks to sell that fright and
now, thank heaven, il is gone"
Ia the next 20 minutes she told three sep
arate customers that gray, green and red
was the leading color of the season; that
/ flowers, not feathers. would be used, and in
the next breath assured a young woman
that ostrich TIPS were far more elegant than
/ artificial flowers. Maligned and praised
/ steamers, and in fact told just as many fps
/ as there were minutes, yet she is one of the
/ best and most honest little creatures in the
4 world. and would revolt in holy horror from
/ a lie on any ether subject, but considers in
/ business everything fair and square and ibs
| glbly in the interest OF her employer. It's
! only bit Of character after all and to be
met It'll every day.
The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-05-15
SAVED FROM THE WRECK.
A Fortune Made From Burned and
SuHEGl Ships.
The Work Is One Always Of Difficulty end
often of Dsngsr-An Object Lesson on
the New Seawall.
written for THE MoHNINe CALL.

On section of the new seawail, Just to
the west OF Lombard-street wharf. the cas-
ual observer can hardly fail to notice an
area OF about quarter OF an acre pietur-
esauely hesped over with old junk. There
are big anchors and ships galleys, cabins,
boilers ard engines much the worse for
wear, piles of scrap iron, masts and spars.
in short, all that has contributed in days
gone by to make up the tout ensemble Of
many a goodIy ship.
This spot is Whitelaw's wrecking-yard.
It is the privilege of few to make fortunes
out Of the msfortunes of the many, and in
the commercial world. especially Of stocks
and shares, the fortunes are not always hon
orally acquired. But in the case now under
consideration Mr.. Whitelaw has made the
best of bad job; in other words, be has
accumulated a competence honorably and
sQuarely by removing those obstacles to
The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-05-15

science over such difficulties. This vessel
has appliances capable of lifting 60 tons of
dead weight, and yet even this enorm GUS
power is sometimes INADEQUATE to the de-
mand.
Some of the wreckage on section of the
seswaH has remained there for many wears.
In the chaos Of old junk may be seen bags
of nails, forming part Of the cargo of the
Elizabeth, cemented into a solid mass by the
partial solution Of the iron oxide, its subse-
quent deposition and consolidation with tn q
sand. If the walls of the dwellings at
Vacayile, Winters and Dixon had been
cemented with such material they would
be standing to-day.
None of the wreekage is sold or bid far
on the spot The old iron goes To the fonp-
dries, the newer articles are sold 10 be fitted
into new ships, the old copper Of the galleys
goes to the smelling works, the lead takes
the same course and the lumber goes in a
variety OF ways. Many Of the old cabins.
etc, are sold to customers who subsequently
make shanties of them. Nothing is wasted.
To the careless observer il might seem that
it would be matter OF imDossibility TO find
a use for the accumulation of such n mass
OF wreck and rubbish, but the end In this
case justifies the means. aud the eempp-
tence which Captain Nhitelaw has realize q
from the spolls OF the tempest shows the
truth of the old adage, 40 every man a
business
The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-05-15

above, the wondrous carvings OF the enan.
eel and the chantry faces, the. high altar and
the filmy Gothic rered0s, to that marvellous
east window, greatest in Britain, Dehina-
you have here Toasted upon as per ,itsor Z
Christian temple as the inspired puiidolS
have ever wrought.
And fer these reasons: MassiYeness anu
spaei0usness have been brought into loving
proportion. Perspective and embellishment
are here a poem In harmony. Loftiness has
been, in tho delicate groEing. fretwork ana
traeery of the roof. so LUMINOSITY en-
wreathed, that all the upward aspect to the
beholder is one of instant and lasting exul-
tatiOn. Never elsewhere have L seen sucn
perfect blending of miracles Of human
handwork with the magic OF distance and
the enehantment of light.
To simply the art-lover there is profound
Measure to be derived from VISIT 10
Gloucester Cathedral. The student OF
eeclesiastic art will discover ample examples
from the time OF the Ola Anglo saxon lll
builders down past the early Norman work.
ers along the development IN the hrst ana
middle pointed perpendicular and the mod
ern Gothic Whoever loves to dwell upon
ecclesiastic history will find world OIL ma.
terial in tradition and fact from the TIME OF
Lueins. in the second century, to that Oh
Victoria In this. TIE antiquarian can come
upon no richer field. And he VINO uelVes
in civil history will find much to feast upon
here where parliaments have aSsemDieu,
kings have been crowned and monarehs lie
entombed.
More unique splendid and interesting
than those Of any other British cathedral
are the cloisters. North and south they
are 144 feet in length, 147 feet long in the
cast and west alleys, u feet wide and is
feet in height with the famous CHAPTER
house reached from the east walk. The
fan-vauting of their roof is the earliest
specimen in England, and the most magnii-
cent extant. Here in open, arched and en-
battled recesses, overlooking the sunny
cloister-garth the old monks studied and
wrote, one will linger long and lovingly in
these. And, could [ have my wish. with
The ehapter-house for dormitory. in these
noble cloisters l would idle and dream, and
in restfulness and peace work out some
grand design. EDGAR L. WAKEMAN.
Gloucester, England, April 3. 1892.
The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-05-15
The Champion Chicken story.

The story of the goose that laid the
golden eggs may have been good anecdOte
in the good old times before the Great
West was discovered, but a story from
Butte, Mont, overtops it. A few days ago
j. a. McConville, who lives in Montana
street, killed one of his chickens for dinner
and was surprised to find a quantity of gold
nuggets in its crop and giZZard. Having 81
chickens that had scratched in the same
patch, he began p0st-mortem prospecting
on them. In each chicken he found mug
gets, and the total quantity gathered had a
cash value of 1857. The gold was sold 10
the State National Bank and pronounced Is
carats line. MIR. McConviile bought 90
chickens and turned them OUT to do scratch
mining on the goldfelds surrounding his
hencoop. After four days he killed one
chicken and mined 81 worth of gold from
its crop,
The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-05-15

A hum Of excited voices now drowned
the speakers words. When 1t ceased he
had gone.
judging from The conversation which fol-
lowed, It seemed probable that the paTson.
if lie should attempt to carry out his inien-
ton, would encounter a lively opposition;
tie camp not being an assembly OF saints,
net even latter-day ones.
But something occurred that night which
entirely altered the situation.
A sharp word spoken by TOgues son to
rough Yankee led 10 a rapid unmuzzling Of
bulldogs" with the result that the bar
Keepers son, who was general faForite,
vas shot through the shoulder.
Camp opinion ran high against the per-
petrator, who was even threatened with
lynching.
When the tumult was at its highest the
parson came back. and quickly made him.
self master Of the condition of affairs.
"Hold, unhallowed men," he exclaimed,
in those low, earnest tones of his, would
YOU add sin 10 sin? Let this man 20, and
your forgiveness shall be bis greatest pun
ishmeBt."
stand aside, mister; this amt no time
for preaching-we air on business here"
II will not. Who amorg you has right
70 take away life which he cannot resiore?'
A voice in the rear OF the CROWD rejolned ::
81 guess, stranger. we beT. And we air
going, too.
A rough-looking man, who was to all ap-
pearance a leader in this roughly c0nsh-
tuted court Of justice, now interposed. He
said
you mean well, stranger, no doubt; but
YOU air out Of place here. Take ny advice
and make yourself scarce, for you can't do
good and YOU NAV do harm. Jake here has
got to die; we says it. 'Tisn't the first time
he has been too handy with bis shooting
iron, but IFS got to be The last. En-, boys2 ?"
"Bnt I tell you, men, You viii commit
murder"
The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-05-15
VICT0RIA'S CROWN.
1t Contains 1000 Precious Stones ard Il
Valued at 81, 5OO,O 900.
Retail JeWeIer


Retail Jeweler.
The crown of the Queen of Great Britain
and ireland. made in 1888. has been esti-
mated to be of the yalye of S1.50a,0 900. 1t
weights nearly two pounds and comprises
more than 5000 precious stones. of which
fye-sixths are diamonds. The lower part OF
the band is row Of 129 pearls, the upper
part of liz.
Between them, in front, is a large sap
phire. Behind is a smaller sapphire, with
six others aud eight emeralds. Between
the two great sapphires are ornaments con-
tanning 2S6 diamonds. Above the band are
eight sapphires surmouuted by eight dia-
mOnds, and eight festoons containing 100
diamands. In the front Of the crown Is the
ruby given by the Black Prince Of Pedro,
King of CASTLE. This is set in Maltese
cross, and forming the cross are IS large
diamonds.
Three other crosses, containing $50 dia-
monds, are around the upper part of the
crown. Between the four crosses are four
ornaments with four rubies in the center,
and containing respectively 81, SO, 50 and 81
diamonds. From the Maltese crosses rise
four arches, composed of oak leaves and
acorns. the leaves containing TBS diamonds.
The 80 acorns are each of a single pearl,
and are set in cups made of 81 diamonds.
Above the arches stands the mound, con-
tanning 54S diamonds, aud above the mound
is the cross, containing a very large sap
phire, four very large and los small dia-
mOn1S.
The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-05-15

on the steamer San Pedro. wrecked in the
harbor Of Victoria, b. c., last November.
In this business of recovering the wreck
age of burned aud sunken ships there are
employed two schoOners, the Samson and
the Catalina, and the steamer Whitelaw.
The first thing done. after the position OF
the wreck is aseertaiued and the case placed
in Captain Whitelaw's hands. is to send
down divers to discover if the vessel can be
saved and repaired. IL not, it becomes
matter of bargain with the owners, and
price is agreed on for everything, Whiteaw
taking all the risks. 1t is not al
ways sure thing. In the case of the
Palestine, for example, which lay Ia
the exact track of navigation between the
bar and the heads, the operation had 10 be
conducted with all possible speed and in
manner to leave little hope Of recovering any
of the cargo. The strong currents, the heaps
of sand raised by the dynamite charges,
and the virtual impossiblity of the divers
keeping their feet. made the task an ex-
tremely arduous one and the profits were
propOrtiOnately small. To those whose
taste runs in the direction of lotteries and
chances the work Of wTeeking ship would
appeal strongly as a splendid possibility of
profit or loss. and it speaks we'll for the
Judgment of the man who in a long course
of such operations has a satisfactory balance
on the credit side Of the ledger.
The difficulty of lifting heavy weights Ia
a seaway or on an iron-bound coast can be
better imagined than described. The Sam
son is an object-lesson 10 the triumph OF
The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-05-15

navigation which are necessarily produced
by the burning or sinking of ship.
Like all great enterprises this one began
in very small way. Mr.. Whitelaw came
TO California in 1868, having served hard
apprenticeship on the deep sea, and bring
ing with him the native Caledonian's char
acteristics of patience, pluck and thrift.
Not all the 81 wrecked vessels on which
Captain Whitelaw las operated have con-
tributed to the pile of junk now lying on
the seawall at section 3. Where it has been
possible to raise vessel, refit her and re-
store her to her owners In a condition of
usefulness. this has been done. This was
the case, for instance, with the steamer
Costa Rica Of the Pacific Mail Company,
which was wrecked near Point Diablc, Just
inside Point Bonita. also with the ship Con-
stitutiOn of the same company, which came
into this port on fire and was seuttled and
sunk 10 Mission Bay to put the fire out, also
with the steamer NewberD, which was sunk
off the North ways. near the Potrero, also
with the steamer Umatilla, wrecked in
Esquimalt harboT, also with the British
ship Clan Mackenzie, wrecked near Coffin
Rock. In the Columbia River, and which
was raised in p days.
Among the ships recently wrecked and
totally lost on which Captain Whitelaw
worked with profit to himself and benefit
to the community were the ship Elizabeth,
lost off Duxbury Reef in the storm of Janu-
airy, 1891, and the ship Palestine. which
foundered of Point LObos a few months
later in the same year. be is now at work