davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Omaha daily bee., 1899-05-07

be made on the Delaware river. on that
stream shipbuilding had recorded other
notable achievements before my day. John
Mills, our boat yard foreman, who had
charge as foreman Of the Starbuck. ocou-
pied the same relation to the Dolphin.
While he was learning the trade at Will
mington in 1852, forty-seven years ago, an
iron steamboat OF $50 tons was successfully
launched from the shipyards of Harlan 6
Hollinsworth still one Of the best known
plants in the country. That very steamer,
built of boiler iron, and ironically called
a tin boat by the wooden shipbuilders of
that day, who alleged that 1t would break
in two II 1t should strand on a bar. is
now still in actual service, running from
Philadelphia to Salem, N. j.. 1t is, Of
course, a side-wheeler of low freeboard,
called after its first owner, the Major Rey-
bold, and l can see II daily from my office
windows plying its way along the very
stream into which it was first launched al
most a half century ago.
The inaccuracy Of the charge Of "struc-
tural weakness" made by a partisan exam
inirg board against the Dolphin, which was
launched April 10, 1884, was made apparent
in more ways than one. No ship ever made
without repairs such a voyage as the Dol
phin's famous cruise around the world. 1t
rs HOW III actual SERVICE, us Is inc DOSlOu,
which was in Dewey's gallant fleet in the
battle OF Manila bay, and is still in the
Asiatic station dealing with the recalcitrant
Filiplnos. The Dolphin is like the Boston,
a remarkably interesting type.
Nowadays we use by preference open hearth
steel for our ships. We can weld steel as
easily as iron and work it cold, bending
it as iron never would bend. II not bent
at right angles to the grain, iron splits like
a board, whereas steel has no grain. But
in those early days, the days Of experiment,
we knew comparatively little about work
ing steel. The substitution even of angles
of iron for straight iron beams, to which
the outer plates were to be riveted, was
then OF comparatively recent date. The
angles fit into the keel or backbone of the
ship, the plates are riveted to the angles,
and the result Is a marvel of strength, as
far superior to the straight beams used
before as an iron ship was to a wooden
ship. Yet the very first angle frame put
up on the Delaware was in 1854. And so
the magnificent steel ship of 1899, with it's
internal machines numbered by the score
and adapted to all the varying uses of it's
complement of hundreds of men, a thing of
beauty and utility perfectly conjoined, is
the creation of less than half a century of
human skill and industry, perseverance and
daring. JOHN B.. ROACH
Omaha daily bee., 1899-05-07

ing OF the ironclad Warrior. But nobody
knew what an ironclad was good for until
Ericsson's Monitor demonstrated It. The
raced wooden steamships which the Con-
federatos protected with railroad iron and
chains on the southern rivers gave Amerl-
can genius a strong hint. But when the war
came to an end but little more had been
accomplished. The monitors then building
were gradually finished and no new iron
clads we're ordered until 1874.
In that year we built for the government
the Alert and the Huron, the first iron
sloops OF war ever constructed. They were
Of 1,246 net tons. Another step forward
followed quickly when the contracts for
the great double-turreted monitors, Mianto-
nomoh, 2,025 tons, and Puritan, 2,S9S tons,
were awarded to us in 1876. These vessels,
each a pioneer on its own lines, grew under
my very eyes, and their great bulls and
engines are as familiar to me as the rooms
in my own home. For, though born in
Monroe street, in New York, while my
father was still working at his trade as
an iron molder, l have since 1871 devoted
my entire time to the shipyards in Ches-
ter. Since the day when ! went into the
Aetna Iron works. in Goerck street, be-
tween Rivington and Stanton, at the age
of IS, shipbuilding had been my study, my
Omaha daily bee., 1899-05-07

problems had presented themselves.
Comparing a wooden ship with an iron
ship, the original cost OF the latter would be,
say, 60 per cent more than that OF the
former, But the wooden ship would have
to be practically rebuilt in fifteen years,
while the cost OF maintaining the iron
ship for the period would be ordinarily less
than 10 per cent OF the original cost, The
Of the iron sailing ship was
splendidly shown by the behavior OF the
Starbuck in a terrific gale around the Falk-
land Islands; its iron masts, which We're
purely experimental, neither broke nor
strained, although It went through a test
which proved fatal to many wooden vessels
of the highest class, which happened to be
in the southern seas at that time.
The Starbuck was an iron ship. The first
steel side wheel merchant steamer in the
United States was the Alaskan, launched in
the Roach yards in 1888 for the Oregon Rail
way and Navigation company. It's length
over all was 2sS.4 feet, its beam 1856. and
its depth 1873. 1t was from the successful
achievement Of tasks like those that we
turned to the construction of the Dolphin.
And il was only fitting that these great de-
partures in this most ancient Of trades, now
become an art as we'll as a science. should
Omaha daily bee., 1899-05-07

he took in hand was a tall, lank farmer,
with a very thoughtful eye. He had watched
the batting of his neighbors in dead silence
and took the stand with perfect composure.
Simmondson evidently set him down as a
lout and when the witness hesitated over
some question a moment later he fired his
fayorite shot, What are y studying about?'
he beloved, ''Fraid of telling a lie, too, l
SUPPOSE Without any apparent haste the
eountryman picked up a massive inkstand
and hurled it straight at Simmondson's head,
catching him on the bridge Of the nose and
knocking him perfectly senseless. That's
what | was a-studyin' about he drawled
in the moment of dead silence that foi-
lowed the act. Needless to say, a
tremendous hubbub ensued, but every
body was secretly pleased. and, while
the judge fined the farmer heavily for con-
tempt, he subsequently RENTED the SEN
tence. Simmondson was carried home and
was laid up for several weeks. When he
emerged he was as gentle as a dove and it
was said that he never bullied another wit
ness. He subsequently drifted out to Cali
fornia, where he died during the war"
Omaha daily bee., 1899-05-07
VISIT FROM AN OLD-TlMER
DR.. Frank Powell Talks of the Early Days
of Omaha.
KNOWS THE MAJORITY OF OLD SETTLERS
Was Here When Pnwnees Camped on
Capitol Hill md Before Fort
Omaha Was Established
One of First MasOns.
KNOWS THE MAJORITY OF OLD SETTLERS

DR.. Frank Powell, eX-mayor of Lacrosse,
Wis, ex-scout and late MAJOR of the Sew
enth United States volunteers, was at the
Willard yesterday on his way to Wyoming,
where he is interested extensively in mining
property. DR.. Powell looks just as well
preserved as he was in early days, when,
as a resident of Omaha, he used to have
many friends among the old settlers. lie
was stationed here before Fort Omaha was
established. On February A, 1870, he helped
organize the first Masonic consistory here.
Albert R. Pike of Arkansas acting as the
intalling officer. He was district deputy
grand master for Nebraska and Colorado for
a number of years. He made a Master
Master of Colonel bill" Cody at Cottonwood
Springs, Kan, in 1869. When told that he
ought to consider himself a Nebraskan, DR..
Powell said:
"Well, l have a tender spot In my heart
for Nebraska, because / was so closely
identified with the interests of Omaha and
the state for many years. | was here whcn
the Pawnees camped on Capitol hill. In the
early days we used to think it was a nice
drive out to where the convent now stands
on Leavenworth street. l know the majority
of your early settlers. John A. Creigh-
ton. DR.. George L. Miller, p. e.
Her, Edward Rosewater and James
e. Boyd were among my friencs
in those days. The old Herndon house. now
the Union Pacific headquarters, was a thriv-
ing hostelry then, kept by Jim Allen, and
the Caldwell block was a popular resort on
account Of the newspaper which had an
office there. Henry NJ. Stanley, the ex>
plorer, was on it's staff. I recall when Mr..
Rosewater started The Bee. wondered
often whether it would be a drone or be,
come a honey maker. l an glad of its sue
cess.
while Omaha had great prospects in those
days, it was only a thriving village in COM
parison to what 1t is now. We used to hunt
around what are it's suburbs at the present
time. Those were busy days, and each new
resident found something to do without hav-
ing to look very far for 1t. | remember a
number of business propositions which were
made to me at the time. Since then they
have proven money-makers and the pro.
moters have become prosperous, influential
citizens. Men who were here at that time
have sought other homes and in my travels
| have met many of them, They always
speak Of the old days in Omaha with en-
thusiasm and it seemed to me | could de-
tect a yeaTning to visit old scenes and re-
new Tie friendships established in other
days. There was a breeziness about Ne
hraskans in those days which left its trace
upon the present residents of the state that
Omaha daily bee., 1899-05-07

almost equal possibilities, for the construc-
ton of the first metal sailing ship built in
the United States and one of the very first
in the world. This was the Title e. Star
buck, a full-rigged iron ship, launched April
4, 1883.
The Starbuck went into commission June
II, 1888, and it is today trading around
the world, one of the most picturesque and
profitable vessels Of its class in existence,
sailing from New York to San Francisco and
from San Francisco to Calcutta as readily
as though steam had never been discovered.
1t was built for William H.. Starbuck OF
New York and named by him after his wife,
Miss Title b.. Irving, a Chester girl. This
vessel was Of 2,03S tons, cost $3.50, 900, which
was considered a great deal of money to
put into a sailing ship, was 273 feet long,
42.3 feet beam, 1858 feet depth of hold and
175 feet from her main truck to the water.
1t was the first sailing vessel in the world
to carry metal masts, its being of three
eighths inch iron plates. But the Starbuck's
superiority to many tramp steamers did not
depend entirely on her speed.
In building this vessel interesting newS
Omaha daily bee., 1899-05-07

ambition, my lifework. / was proud Of the
yard which, before we secured it in 1871,
had turned out in 1863 the sister ships
Wateree, Shamokin and Suwanee, all double
ended, side-wheel iron gunboats. When a
tidal wave picked up the Wateree out OF
the harbor Of Callao, in Peru, and carried
her inland. miles from the ocean, to spend
her last years as a summer hotel, l felt
a sense of personal grievance. But l fore
saw that all which had been done in the
way Of metal war ships would soon be dis
tanced.
How the Dolphin Was Built.
In March, 1888, congress authorized our
first steel war ships, the dispatch boat Dol
phin OF 1902 net tons, and the protected
cruisers Boston and Atlanta, of 1926 tons,
and the Chicago. of S,507. The contracts
for their construction were awarded to
John Roach, the lowest bidder. The build
ing of a war ship of steel-a metal then
SO little known in practical working-was
a task that might well tempt the most ar
dent ambition. But already in December,
1882. we had taken a contract, fraught with
Omaha daily bee., 1899-05-07
Another Form of Crank.

Chicago Tribune: The audience applauded
rapturouely, and the favorite prima donna
came before the curtain and bowed her
thanks.
Again the audience applauded, and again
the cantatrlce appeared, smiled, bowed and
retired.
The great songstress was slow in acknowl
edging a third recall, and an earnest looking
man arose in one OF the boxes, thrust one
hand inside his waistcoat, commanded silence
with the other. and when the house became
quiet he spoke as follows:
while the gifted queen OF song whom we
all admire is making up her mind as to the
selection she will sing in response to your
enthusiastic encore | si5h to present a few
of the reasons that have led me to the con-
clusion that the twentieth century will begin
January /, 1900.
Omaha daily bee., 1899-05-07

is irresistible, and it is no wonder to me
that so much progress has been made"
Copper in Wyoming.
DR.. Powell then spoke Of the subject Of his
numerous visits to Wyoming and said in this
connection:
about eighteen months ago a couple of
hunters drifted into the country around Fort
Steele and discovered, about fifty miles south
of that place, what they believed to be a pay
ing streak of copper. They said nothing
about it, but returned the following summer
and devoted their energies to working what
they termed the Rambler mine in honor of
their first trip. News Of their discovery
spread and l became interested in that
section. / purchased several lots, and be-
came the president of a mining company.
Enough work has been done there to con-
vince me that the copper vein is one of
the best paying in the world. 1t starts at the
roots Of the grass and runs to a depth that
is surprising. We have no smelter, but
several offers have been made to put one in.
We haul ore fifty miles to Fort Steele and
ship it to Omaha. These mines pay, after
the deduction of the expenses of this long
transportation, from So, 900 to $50, 600 per
month. l do not think exaggerate when l
say it is the best paying copper region any
where. Recently we had some of the ore
SeuL 10 an dSSdyer LOT examination, as IL
was believed to contain gold. The report of
this assayer aroused false hopes, because it
led us to think that the ore held enough
gold to pay for the mining after the copper
was extracted. A second examination placed
a lower valuation upon it and we are 60
ing to submit it to another assayer. OF one
thing l am convinced, there is no better
place on earth for a poor man than that
region. With a small capital of 5000 he can
more than make a living, and / believe in
the majority Of cases he will make more
money than he can in the cities. A few will
amass great riches, but the land Is so prolific
that | believe it to be the greatest
opportunity | have ever seen.
1.-THE region is known as the Grand En-
campment country and the town itself has
inherited the name. This was given it be-
cause the plateau on which it is built was
formerly the camping ground of the NeZ
Perces, the Blackfeet and other tribes Of
Indians when they met for their fall con-
ferences. 1t is a beautiful plateau several
miles square, and is the only location for a
city in that region. There is plenty of
water, great forests of pine and the town is
in the heart of the great grazing district.
1t is eighty miles from Rawlins and has a
population OF perhaps 1000 inhabitants"
Omaha daily bee., 1899-05-07

several years after I was admitted and I
used to encounter him now and then in the
local courts. He was a large, portly man,
with a singularly intimidating presence and
when he got a nervous witness in his
clutches the way he would put on the
screws was something %frightful. This habit
led one day to a remarkable scene, of which
1 happened to be a spectator. He was en-
gagged in the trial of a case involving the
title to some farm lands and a number of
countrymen were called to testify on the
other side. They were naturally i'll at ease,
being unused to city ways. and when Sim
mondson came to cross-eXamine them he
found them easy prey. He harassed them
in every conceivable manner and whenever
they would show signs of confusion would
roar out, "What are you hesitating for? Are
you afraid you may tell a lie?" If the
victim replied No Simmondson would re-
tort, 4 was sure you didn't fear a little
thing like that, and if the answer was Yes
he would say with a sneer: Aha, / thought
SOL In short, he had them both ways, and
the poor fellows, being strangers to reparte,
ere badly discounted. The last witness
Omaha daily bee., 1899-05-07

is irresistible, and it is no wonder to me
that so much progress has been made"
Copper in MyOminR
Omaha daily bee., 1899-05-07
EVOLUTION OF THESTEEL SHIP
Story Of that Great Achievement Told by
John B. Roach,
THE DOLPHIN, FIRST OF ITS KIND
Charged with Being structuraIly
Weak IL Sailed Around the world
and CIinched the Argument
for Steel ships.

In the twenty-seven years I've been ship
building on the Delaware, the first steel
war ship, the first iron sailing ship and the
first steel steamship in the United States
have been built in our yards, and the first
compound marine engine ever erected in
this country was also constructed here. 1t
seems hard to realize that such a thing as
a steel ship was unknown a quarter of a
ago; whereas wooden ships plated
with iron were attempted as long ago as
1885, by the Dutch when they built the FINS
Omaha daily bee., 1899-05-07
TOLD OUT OF COURT.

"What do you do for a 1iving?" asked the
lawyer, frowning horribly at the Ratchet
faced young man undergoing cross-examI-
nation.
81, sir" answered the witness, hastily
diving into his side pocket, IAN the agent
for DR.. Korker's Celebrated Corn and Bun
ion Destroyer; greatest remedy of the age;
used by all the crowned heads Of Europe;
never known to fail to remove the most OBJ
stinate corn in less than twenty-four hours
or money cheerfully refund"
Here the court interfered.
Omaha daily bee., 1899-05-07

Order a case OF Cooks Imperial Champagne
Extra Dry. Tell your friends 1t is the best.
Then say, Il told you sol"
Omaha daily bee., 1899-05-07

1.-THE biggest court room bully I ever met
in my life" said an old New Orleans law
yer to a Times Democrat reporter, was an
attorney named Simmondson, who was quite
a noted character in the early days of the
Louisville bar. / practiced in that city for
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1899-11-20

The Japanese gardeners make n Sc
cret of the means by which the minia-
ture trees are produced; but, like many
other mysteries. the secret has been
discovered 10y the curious occidental.
1t is simple enough. consisting only in
the cutting of the roots when they first
begin to sprout.
Suppose a miniature oak tree is de-
sired. The japanese gardener takes
an acorn and an orange. He carefully
scoops out the interior of the orange
and fills the skin with rich mold. Ex-
actly in the center he places the acorn,
leaving a round hole in a line with the
sprouting point. He puts his orange
in n sunny place and waters it every
day.
Soon after the first shoot appears,
and in very short time afterward the
roots break through the orange skin.
These are shaved off continually. The
tree grows to about five inches high
and then stops. In n year il is a per-
feet miniature oak When the roots
cease TO grow. the ends are vanished
over and the orange imbedded in a pot
or vase. The tree becomes more gnarl-
ed and stunted every year and is train
ed to whatever shape is desired.-New
York Times.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1899-11-20
PIONEER LADY DIES,
Mrs. Kezia Parm enter Passes
Away in Her 10th
Year.
ONE OF CoUNFYs EABLY SETTLERS

End Comes While She is On Visit to H 2
Son in Rock IsIand-The surviving Fam
ny-The uneral to BE b cid wednesda!
at the Family Homestead in Anda,usIa-
Other Obituary.
Mrs. Kezia Parmenter, one of the
pioneer residents of Rock Island
county, died at 1O:40 o'clock thi:
morning at the home OF her son, E.
Z. Parmenter, on Second avenue,
where she had been on a visit since
last summer. Her death was due to
a complication of diseases.
Mrs. Parmenter was born Oct. II,
1928, in Pennsylvania. She came to
Illinois in the spring of 1889, and
lived for awhile near Macomb. In
the fall of 1889 she came to Rock ISL
and county and married Lorenz Par
menter May -, 1871. Mr.. Parmenter
died three years ago.
The surviving children are: Edwin
f. Parmenter, of Rock Island; Edward
l.. Parmenter, of Gilman. Iowa;
George ID. Parmenter, of Grinnell,
Iowa, and Willard +. Parmenter, who
occupies the old homestead in Anda-
lusia township. Mrs. Parmenter's
living brothers and sisters are Mrs.
Margaret McGrew, of West Branch,
Iowa; Oliver Robbins, of California;
James Robbins, of Unionville. Mo;
Mrs. Sarah Vanatta. of Reynolds, and
Mrs. Eunice Morehead, of Woonsocket,
S. ID.
Mrs. Parmenter was a member OF
the Baptist church of Taylor Ridge, a
devout christian, and a woman whose
kindly acts made her beloved by all
who knew her, and whose death will
be sincerely mourned.
The funeral services will be held at
IL a. IN. Wednesday at the home in
Andalusia, where Mrs. Parmenter re-
sided for nearly sixty years.
Irs. John Hall.
The remains of Mrs. John Hall, a
former resident of Rock Island, who
died at Mercy hospital, Davenport,
were laid at rest in Calvary cemetery
Saturday afternoon. Mrs. Hall was
75 years of age. She is survived by
three children: Mrs. w. G. Bush, of
w. L. Hall of Racine. |
Wis, and Miss Mary Hall, of st. |
Paul.
Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1899-11-20
The Weather We May Have.
Rain tonight and Tuesday.
Today 5 temperature -.
J. II. SHERIER. Observer.
CITY CHAT.

Stoves at Hynes'.
Hynes rents guns.
Golf goods at Spencer's.
Buy home of Reidy Bros.
For insurance, +. j. Burns.
For real estate, f. j. Burns.
Hurst's shoes are sure to please
Anniversary shoe sale at Dollys'.
Patee Crest bicycles at Spencer's.
Telephone 44S3. f. f. Mangold.
Sacred Heart bazar, Armory hall.
List your property with Reidy Bros.
Phone Huesing for A. b. c. beer
Clemann IL Salzmann for holiday
presents.
Family groups for Christmas pres.
ents At Smiths studio.
Dance at Turner hall every FRIDAY
evening. Admission % cents.
For bargains in business and resi-
dGnce property inquire of Hull Il Co.
Better than ever-the holiday dis
play of furniture at Clemann < Salz.
mann's.
DIR. Chase has moved his office from
the Y. NJ. G. A. building to 1900 Fifth
avenue.
c. f. Smiths photo rooms. Best
work. Prices reasonable. Opposite
Harper house.
Special inducements for Christmas
Pictures at Smiths photo rooms, oP-
Posite Harper house.
The How Smith Met Jones" COM
pany is stranded in Moline, the man.
ager having deserted.
A royal silk deal that will crowd
McCabe's silk counters for several
days. Act promptly.
a magnificent - offer of women s
handsome coats and jackets of many
kinds. See McCabe's adj.
Conrad Krebs, aged 81 years, died
of an attack of apoPleNy at his home
in Davenport Saturday night.
Silks for the three cities. Silks for
every body at % TO 90 per cent under
real worth. See McCabe's adj.
Now for Christmas. Clemanu &
Salzmann are receiving daily new and
pretty articles in furniture for gifts.
The exhibit of platinotypes at
kingsbGry's is attracting Christmas