davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-10-02
Fooled Old Barnu1n.

There goes man who once fooled
the late P. T. Barnum," said CONNER
cial traveller for a New: York drug
house. AS he spoke a powerfully built
man of 20 years came in the Livingston
Manor Hotel and sat down.
Tell him. about 1t, BILL said the
drummer. The old man, whom every
one hereabouts knows: as old 'Bill
Hardy" began and told the following
story: - ......'
. TT was. back IN 40 that I saw.that P.
T.. Barnum had offered $500 for "a trout
that weighed five pounds or more. I
made UP my mind to get the money. I
was fishing one day at Shin Greek, now.
| called. Lew Beach, when. / caught. a
dandy trout. l. won't tell you how long
it was, but 1t weighed five and a quar-
ter mounds The: question was how To
ace in. New York. 1t was fore the Mid
land was built, and the nearest station
was Cochecton, on the New. York and
Erie Road, over. forty: miles. I got a
pail, though, that was. oblong' and filled
it with water. I: placed the fish. in 1t.
and filled it full Of spring water. I
managed to get to. Cochecton all right,
but had a hard time on the train. I
arrived in New Y DIRK about 8 O'Clock at
night and changed the water. in the
pail. which was heavy, but 1 was strong
in those days.: .-:,..<
I went directly t the Crystal Palace
and asked for Mr.. Barnu1n The man
ager told me he'd be. in at. 60 clock the
next morning. l, was put out at that
as the fish was getting distressed and
seemed to be sick. I went to the old
Bulls Head Hotel and all night I work
ed on the fish. The next morning he
seemed better. AT s. o'clock Twas wait.
ing for Barnum. He came in: and i'm
mediatelv began to dispute about 1t.
'I never made such an offer" he said;
land more: than that it. won't. weigh
five pounds I just hauled out. wad
of bills and offered. to- bet him 500 that
it did weigh five pounds.
:. Well, anyway, said: Barnurn, you
bring it around to- morrow morning,
and if it is alive I'll pay. YOU SIPS
II went. :back to the hotel and began
to think about it. The fsh:was dying.
L thought: How could i keep lit: up till
the next morning p IT. would lean over
and turn over. : l worked hard on that
fish. r. changed the water, every hour
and about IS. O'Clock J. put. a pint of
whisky in. the water. Well, talk about
a frisky fish,. He: was as: game as If
he were. only: five minutes out: of the
BeaverkiIl While ha. was this. way I
took him around. and .Barnufn grudg-
ingK gave me the money. Il called
around that afternoon. and found the
| fish was. dead: .Barnum told nae l was
a fraud. /: don't know how old whisky
affects fish now, but; what do you say
| if we have some: at Dresent?:
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-10-02

years. For years past we have been
spending fixed nitrogen at a culpably ex-
traVagant rate, needless of the fact that
it is fixed with extreme slowness and diff
ficulty, while it's liberation in the free
state takes place always with rapidly
and sometimes with explosive violence.
One of the "Great Discoveries
Awaiting Chemists"
There is a CLEAN of light amid this
darkness of dependency. In it's free
state nitrogen is one of the most album
dant and pervading bodies on the face OF
earth's surface has nitrogen gas press
ing down on 1t to the extent Of about
seven tons; but this is in the free state,
and wheat demands it fixed. To convey
this idea in an object lesson L may tell
you that, previous to its destruction by
fire Colston Hall, measuring LAG feet by so
feet, contained tWenty-Seven tons weight
of nitrogen in it's atmosphere. 1t also
contained one-third of a ton of argon. In
the free gaseous state this nitrogen is
worthless; combined in the form of nj
$4,000. For years past attempts have been
made to effect the fixation of atmospheric
nitrogen, and some of the processes have
met with sufficient partial success to
warrant experimentalsts in pushing their
trials still further; but 1 think 1 am right
in saying that no process has yet been
brought to the notice of scientific or COM
mercial men which can be considered sue
cessful either as regards cost or yield
of product. The fixation of atmospheric
nitrogen, therefore, is one of the great
discoveries awaiting the ingenuity of
chemists.
Nitrate From Niagara
The fixation of nitrogen is vital to the
progress of civilized humanity, and is a
question of the not far distant future
Unless we can class 1t among certainties
to come the great Caucasian race will
cease to be foremost in the world, and
will be squeezed out of existence by races
to whom wheaton bread is not the staff
of life. Let me see If 1t is not possi-
BILE even now to solve the momentous
problem. AS far back as 1892 exhibited,
at one of the soirees of the Royal So
ciety, an experiment on 1.-THE Flame of
Burning Nitrogen" l showed that nj
trogen is a. combustible gas, and the rea-
son why when once ignited the flame does
not spread through the atmosphere and
deluge the world In a sea of nitric acid
is that its igniting point is higher than
the temperature Of its fiame-not. there
fore, hot enough to set fire to the adj
jacent mixture. But by passing strong
induction current between terminals the
air takes fire and continues to burn with
a powerful fame, producing nitrous and
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-10-02

all her wealth in gold, iron and coal. she
will be unable to buy one-thouSandtn petI
of the food which she has, during nun.
dreds of years, thrown recklessly away
The more widely this wasteful system IS
extended, reclllessy returning to the sea
what we have taken from the land, tne
more surely and quickly will the finite
stocks of nitrogen locked up IN the SOILS
of the world become exhausted.
The Exhaustion of the Stock of Fixed
Nitrogen.
The store Of nitrogen in the atmosphere
is practically unlimited but it is fixed and
rendered assimilable by plants only by
cosmic processes of extreme sloWness
we liberate in a battleship broadstde has
taken millions of minute organisms pa
tiently working for centuries to win from
the atmosphere. The only available COM
pound containing sufficient fixed nitrogen
to be used on worldwide scale as
heterogeneous manure is nitrate of soda, or
Chile saltpeter. The nitrate fields of Chile
nave become of vast commercial iInpor-
lance, and promise to be of inestimably
greater value in the future; The
exhaustion of the worlds stock of fixed
nitrogen means not only a catastrophe
little short of starvation for the wheat
eaters but directly scarcity for those Sc
with a lower standard of living for meat
eaters. scarcity of mutton and beef, and
even the extinction of gunpowder
Nitrate Needs and Expenditure.
Experiments have proved that 22S6
pounds of nitrate of soda produced an in
crease of one bushel of wheat. At this
rate, to increase the worlds crop of wheat
by 7.3 bushels, about 112 cwt. of nitrate Of
soda must annually be applied to each
acre. The amount required to raise the
worlds crop on 900 acres from the
present supply Of 700, 100000 bushels to
the required $3.50, 900, 900 bushels will be
12,0o0,000 tons distributed In varying
amounts over the wheat-growing coun-
tries of the world. 1t is difficult to get
trustworthy estimates of the amount of
nitrate surviving In the inter beds. Com
mon rumor declares the supply to be in
exhaustible, but cautious local authorities
state that at the present rate of export,
of over one million tons per annum, the
raw material ''caliche," containing from
Is to so per cent nitrate, will be exhausted
in from twenty. to thirty years. If we
assume liberal estimate for nitrate OBJ
tanned from the lower grade deposit, and
say that it will equal in quantity that
from the richer quality, the supply may
last, possibly, fifty years, at the rate of a
million tons a year, but at the rate re.
CURED to augment the worlds supply of
wheat to the point demanded thirty years
hence, it win not last more than four
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-10-02

ed, as by one voice, to assist not only
in the protection of the coast line. but
in the development of international
trade relations. Such is the present
situation. The ship building firms OF
the country are to-day overwhelmed
with orders for sea-going craft.
It is aertinent to consider the espe-
ciaI advantages which will accrue to
San Francisco and California from the
construction of the canal.
These advantages will be more rar
reaching than is generally supposed
Not only will ths coast cities or the
Atlantic be brought some ten thousand
miles closer by water, with CORE.
sponding cheapening in the costs of
freights, amounting to more than one
half on grains and other products in
bulk. but San Francisco will become
natural port of entry for thousands or
ships of all nations using the canal to
carry on American, Asiatic and British
Columbian trade. The facts were well
put by William L. Merry OF San Fran
cisco. in a communication to the Cali
fornia Bankers Magazine. He said:
When the canal subject was first In
troduced TO the people of this coast IN
1880 the growing interest of the agrlcuI-
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-10-02

fact that fortunes have been lost here in
the export wheat trade, while none have
been made. 1t is not in the. prescience
of humanity to- foresee the future; to
correctly forecast the rainfall and wealth
er months in. advance, and to correctly
gauge crops at the four quarters of the
globe not yet planted; it becomes a gam
BILE against the forces of nature. Such
has been. the Pacific. Coast export wheat
trade; such 1t will cease to be the day
the canal is openi .-..-e'i
The time for transportation will be re-
duced to- twenty-five days, easy steaming,
and the distance decreased by, 10, 900 miles
Wheat will be shipped as other mer-
chandise, in any quantity. from five tons
to 5000, already sold by wire, or consigned
with a margin already aseertained, with
a delivery practically assured within a
day or two. 1t will become mercantile
transaction on comparatively assured
profit, however small, the gambling ele-
ment almost entirely eliminated. The
producer of small or large quantity can
ship his own product, If he wishes, as
ocean steamers will be always ready. to
receive 1t, or any other freight; in any
quantity. Ocean transportation Is the
cheapest known to commerce.. comparing
with average railway transportation as
one to five in cost and the ocean. is free
to all; admitting of no pools or combina-
tons. 1t is Coo great IIlghWay-natu re 5
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-10-02

river San Juan, where considerable
dredging will be necessary. The re
manning fifty-six and a half miles Of
the course through Lake Nicaragua
will require little attention, the water
being deep enough for all purposes.
AS is we'll known. the lake Is quite
large body Of water, having a surface
area of $500 square miles. Gauges
placed at it's outlet into the San Juan
River at it's lowest stage between the
lake and Toro Rapids show a minimum
flow of II, 800 cubic feet per second. The
volume of water is amply sufficient to
supply the canal on both sides Of the
lake.
So much for the outline of construc-
ton. The story of the trials and VI
cissitudes which have overtaken the
various combinations which have
sought to construct the canal would
fill several large volumes. The most
recent and notable attempt to con-
struct the great waterway was made
by the Maritime Canal Company of
New York, presided over by Hiram
Hitchcock and operating through the
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-10-02

leave his audience long in condition
of anxiety. Starvation, the great scien-
fist believes, may be averted through
the laboratory. Before we are in the
grip of actual dearth the chemist, he
says, will step in and postpone the day
of famine to so distant a period that
We and our sons and grandsons, may
legitimately live without undue solicit
tude for the future. Sir William failed
to name, like certain English and Aus
trian chemists, a chemical substitute
for the beef and mutton of commerce;
but he intimated that we may secure
largely increased wheat crops by COM
bustion of the atmosphere.
The Crime of the Municipalities
1t is now recognized that all crops re-
ouire what is called a dominant" ma
nure. Some need nitrogen, some potash,
others phosphateS. Wheat pre-em1nently
demands nitrogen, fixed In the form OF
ammonia or nitric acid. All other neces-
sary constituents exist in the soil; but
nitrogen is mainly of atmospheric origin,
and is rendered fixed by slow and
precarious process which requires a COM
bination of rare meteorological and geo
graphical conditions to enable 1t 10 ad-
vance at a sufficiently rapid rate to be-
come of commercial Importance. There
are several sources of available nitrogen.
The distillation of coal in the process of
gas-making yields a certain amount OF
nitrogen in the form of ammonia
400 900 annual tons. For long time guano
has been one of the most important
sources of heterogeneous manures, but
guano deposits are so near exhaustion
that they may be dismissed from consid-
Grafton There is still another and
invaluable source of fixed nitrogen-I
mean the treasure locked up in the sew
age and drainage of our towns. 1ndivid-
uallIy the amount 50 lost is trifiing,, but
multiply the loss by the number Of In
habitants, and we have the startling fact
that in the United Kingdom we are con-
tent to hurry down our drains and water
courses, into the sea, fixed nitrogen to
the value of no less than 916 600 per
annum. This unspeakable waste contin-
ues, and no effective and universal meth
cd is yet contrived of converting sewage
into corn. OF this barbaric waste of ma
nural constituents Liebig, nearly half a
century ago. wrote in these prophetic
words: Nothing will more certainly con-
summate the ruin of England than a
scarcity of fertilizers-it means a scarcity
of food. 1t is impossible that such a sim
full violation of the divine laws of nature
should forever remain unpublished; and
the time will probably come for England
sooner than any other country when, with
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-10-02
[NAp JnOMNo INIT OF
lPR opO5EO CANAL

the canal, the fact being demonstrated,
especially at the divide" that the sub
surface rock was not Of hard. refrac-
tory character, but could be easily
broken and excavated. This divide is
not to be compared to the giant ridge
which obstructs the route across Pana-
ma. One is a mole hill and the other a
mountain.
My Investigations Of the Nicaragua
canal route clearly convinced me that
1t was destined to be the chosen one for
an inter-oceanic canal. 1t does not re-
Quire a technical knowledge to discern
the comparative merits of the Nicara-
qua and the Panama schemes. One
trip over the ground at both places is
sufficient to settle all doubts
1t is not necessary at this time to
go into a detailed description Of the
proposed canal work, which would re-
ouire much space and make uninterest-
ing reading matter. at is sufficient to
say that the various surveys which
have been made have resulted in the
adoption of the following route: Start
Ing from the inner harbor Of San Juan
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-10-02

del Norte (Greytown) the line follows
a southwesterly direction for 1927 miles
to lock No. /, in the small valley of
Deseado Creek. Where this stream
crosses and interferes with the canal
it is to be diverted by artificial chan
nels. The first 1927 miles of the canal
will be at the level of the sea, forming
practically a prolongation Of the har
Dor of Greytown, the width proposed
allowing ample room for the passage
of vessels going in both directions. The
excavation will be entirely through fat,
alluvial deposits, as demonstrated by
numerous borings made.
The total length Of the canal is to
be 1926 miles, of which 61.74 miles
must be excavated, while 63.02 miles
will be slack-water navigation IN the
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-10-02

TIME speedy building of the
Nicaragua canal, which now
seems assured, will signalize a
new commercial epochin the his
tory Of the world.
It is a somewhat remarkable
coincidence that, just at this time,
when the Spaniards are removing the
bones of Christopher Columbus from
Havana to Madrid, thus formally
marking the close of their long career
of bloody conQuests, merciless control
and final decadence in the Western
Hemisphere, the Americans, who are
now enjoying the fruits Of Column
bus discoveries, should so suddenly
develop an irresistible expansive
energy, prompting them to prepare
mighty armada of modern ships, to be
sent forth through a new waterway, to
make sweeping conquests in the world
of commerce.
Never since the foundation Of the re-
E public has there been such a keen
realization of the enormous possibii-
ties of a developing trade between the
United States and Oriental and pan
American countries, or such a wide
spread and masterfuI sentiment in
favor of placing the American flag in
the vanguard of the nations engaged
in the grand rush for commercial su-
premacy.
1t was my fortune a short time ago
TO traverse the region in Nicaragua
through which the canal will cross from
ocean TO ocean in company with COM
petent civil engineer, our joint object
being to make an inspection with a
view to determining to our own salts
faction whether or not the canal
scheme was a swindle or practicable
commercial enterprise. From the Pa
'cific port of Brito to Lake Nicaragua
and again from the lake to the Atlantic
following the course of the San Juan
River and connecting valleys, We boat
ed and tramped, pushing through
swamps and tangled forests, following
all the time the surveyed line for the
canal, as laid out by the Nicaragua
Canal Construction Company.
At no point did we encounter geo
graphical obstacles of any consequence.
One narrow ridge had to be crossed
which divides the valley of the Deseado
from that of the Cano San Francisco.
Here a cut of 2.917 miles will be neces-
sary with a maximum depth of 298
feet and an average depth of 1112 feet
above the water, the depth of the canal
being thirty feet. In this cut will be
q per cent of the total eXcavating
necessary to build the canal.
OF this divide l would speak more
particularly, in view of the fact that
it is the only considerable rise of
ground along the entire route. Stand
ing upon the summit of it l took the
photograph from which the accompany
ing cut was made. 1t did not appear
like a hill, being merely a gentle swell
on the surface of the country. Ahead
in the distance could be seen the dis
tant hills of Costa Rica. 1t would ap-
parently have been an easy job to con-
struct a railroad UP the side of the
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-10-02


IA
III the preliminary Of the Nicaragua canal have
city the
field amount OF data
OF
dub which will be placed before Con
proposed canal
considerably than the es-
BIZ by Admiral
ak yeara
Of notifications
the canal at $1S8OOOo
svrllp lace estn a.
of
costly
ban1m be al a
of the
cheapy built 1t
private has been abandoned by
capitalists headed by Cran has looked
civil engineers
be
placedh
ing considerably n
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-10-02

gress granted charter to the Mari
time Canal Company to construct this
canal, with S1O0, 100000 capital and the
right to increase the same to 5000, OOO,-
600. In May, 1889, the incorporation or
ganized. The Construction Company
was an immediate Outgrowth, under
taking to do the necessary work for the
Maritime Company.
Active operations on the canal began
in $780, following preliminary surveys.
Harbor improvements of a costly char
acter were made at Greytown, a rail-
road was built for ten miles back from
the Atlantic sea coast through
swamp, preparatory to conveying ma
chinery and supplies to interior points
along the line of the canal. Large and
costly dredges were purchased at
fancy price from the representatives Of
the defunct Panama Canal Company,
and the digging of the great inter
oceanic ditch was fairly begun by the
middle of 1892. The dredges easily
scooped out the loose deposits Of sand
and loan near Greytown and the canal
began to slowly Iengthen out like
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-10-02

cure the investment Of their money to
keep the enterprise moving.
In the meantime Nicaragua was get
ting restless under the long delay and
was seriously considering the adVlsa-
bility of revoking the concession. Still
the canal company people kept 1mpor-
tuning Uncle Sam to come to their as
sistance. Public sentiment began to
slowly veer in their favor. Congress
became somewhat responsive. What
would have happened no man knows,
h,It lust at this iuncture the war with
Spain developed, the Oregon made her
famous trip around the Horn and the
building of the canal became GER
tainty At the same time the ques-
ton Of military necessity was not par
amount in the public mind. Tne al
turing prospects of a worldwide COM
merce had developed before the eyes
of both statesmen and private citizen.
and the Nicaragua canal was demand
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-10-02

created a sensation in his recent
annual address by setting forth
~ that the civilized nations of the
world stood in deadly peril Of not
having enough to eat, because the food
resources are rapidly dwindling in pro-
portion as population increases.
Sir William Crookes stands in the
forefront Of modern scientists. He is
the inventor Of the famous Crookes
tube that is used with such effect in
X-ray demonstrations. The startling
predictions in his address are as fol-
lows:
The details of the impending catastro-
phe no one can predict but it's general
direction is obvious enough. Should all
the wheat-growing countries add to their
area to the utmost capacity, on the most
careful calculation the yield would give
only an addition of some 100 900 600
acres. supplying at the average world
yield of 1871 bushels to the acre 1,270, 000.-
600 bushels. just enough to supply the in
crease of population among bread eaters
till the year 1881. At the present time
there exists a deficit in the wheat area
of 81 900 square miles-a deficit masked
| by the fact that the ten world crops of
wheat harvested in the ten years ending
1896 were more than per cent aboYe the
average of the previous twenty-six years.
When provision shall have been made, If
possible, to feed 230,000,000 units likely to
be added to the bread-eating populations
by 193l-by the complete occupancy of the
arabic areas of the temperate zone now
partially occupied-where can be grown
the additional 230 900 900 bushels of wheat
required ten years later by a hungry
world?
If Wheat Fails, What Are We to DoP
If bread fails-not only us, but all the
bread eaters of the world-What are we
to do? We are born wheat eaters. Other
races, vastly superior to us in numbers,
but differing widely in material and in
tellectual progress. are eaters of Indian
corn, rice, millet and other grains; bui
none of these grains have the food value,
the concentrated Notwithstanding power
of wheat, and it is on this account that
the accumulated experience of civilized
mankind has set wheat apart as the fit
and proper food for the development of
muscle and brain.
Science as Savior.
Having thus sketched starvation at
tired in robes of blacklist night, Sir
William Crookes. full of mercy. did not