Omaha daily bee., 1899-12-03
SHORT STORIES OF The DAY
Eventtul Career Of Miner Bruce Formerly Of
Nebraska, Now in Alaska,
ENORMOUS DEMAND FOR The AUTOMOBILE
Iowa Cured of Dcafness-why Two
Omaha Sportsmen Departed for
Home-How Two Young women
"Postcd" Thirteenth Man.

A copy OF the Nome News, published at
Cape Nome Alaska, contains among other
advertisements in its issue Of october 20,
the following:
Hotel Casco, European plan Minor Bruce,
propretor rooms for gentlemen"
Minor Bruce was formerly a Nebraskan
and for many years lived at Niobrara, where
he published the Niobrara Pioneer, and
was register Of the government land office
for one term. On leaving Nebraska he went
to Alaska, where he was also in the en-
ploy OF the government and travelled exten-
sively throughout the territory. His tours
have taken him all over the northwest from
the north Pacific to the Arctic and from the
Klondke to the Bering sea. He is we'll ac-
uuainted with the language and customs Of
the natives and thinks nothing of going un-
attended to any part of Alaska, relying on
his friendship with the Esquimaux and
Indians
Several years ago Bruce wrote vivid de-
scription of an alleged discovery in an un .
known region of Alaska, which he claimed to
have been the residence of some race long
since lost to earth. The vanished peope,
he said had inhabited walled city VIII ch
still existed in fair state of preservation.
The story went the rounds of the kmeri-
can newspapers and obtained a certain
amount of credence until the fact developed
that Bruce had simply described mirage,
common in the rarifed air of the far nor,h,
in which icebergs or other natural objects
appeared to the distant traveller in the guise
of towers and turrets Mr.. Bruce has SO
written book descriptive of Alaska whi h
has had a large circulation. He has revised
the volume from time to time, keeping it in
pace with the latest discoveries
About two years ago Mr. Bruce gathered
together a band Of Esquimaux and brought
them east for exhibition purposes and TO
allow them a glimpse of American civt.iza-
tion. Permission of the government was
obtained for the enterprise and during the
trip the natives were served with the fcoi to
which they had been accustomed, supplies
having been brought from Alaska for that
purpose They wore their native costumes
and excited great deal of interest.
Although the Esquimaux were in vigor-
our health when they left their Alaskan
huts and were given every possible care
the warm summer of the United States af-
fccted them seriously and it was necessary
to abandon the enterprise. Financially the
project was a failure and it was difficult for
the promoter to get his charges back to their
native health.
before the public was the reported famine
at Dawson. The miners were said to be
starving and Bruce sent an urgent request
to the government for their relief. The re-
suit was that Bruce, by pulling certain po-
ltical strings, induced Alger, then secretary
of war, to send to Norway and gather t.
gether from the northern part of that coun-
try a band of reindeer to carry supplies ever
The pass. The reindeer were shipped on
steamer to New York, supplied on the voy-
age with subsistence from their native
grazing grounds. With them came party Of
Norwegian drivers experienced in sledging
and with full equipment for the enterprise.
When the cargo reached Seattle it was
placed in charge Of Dr. Sheldon Jackson, in
charge of a Presbyterian mission in the
north, who came to Seattle to oversee the
loading of supplies. At this juncture news
arrived that the miners were by no means.
In the dire need commonly reported and that
food had reached them by other means. The
reindeer and their attendants were let on
he hands of the government authorities
lpd soon became a burden Considerable
expense was incurred in maintaining them
and the animals were finally disposed of to
showmen, butchers and others. The Nor
wegan drivers were sent home.
Bruce is now enjoying a peaceful and
likewise profitable interval in his eventful
career, caring for the wellbeing of sojourn
ers in the Cape Nome district.
Some queer and humorous mistakes some
times creep into large daily newspapers.
A few weeks ago an Omaha paper printed
an advertisement for a large eastern pat
ent medicine concern One part of the ad-
vertisement read as follows:
Tho following are few Of the cures made
by this remedy. E. A. jerks of Clarinda,
Ia, was totally deaf in one ear, hearing
restored in ten minutes
There happened to be msspeled word
in the first line, which was marked for cor
rectlon on the proof sheet. When a printer
makes correction in linotype machine work
it Is necessary to reset the entire line which
contains the error.
In making this correction the compositor
took out line No. 2 and put the corrected
line No. / in its place, making the para
graph read follows:
The following are a few OF the cures made
THE following are few OF thee ures made
Ia, was totally deaf in one ear, hearing
restored in ten minutes"
About ten days after the advertisement
appeared in print the newspaper people re-
ceived letter from the medical company,
stating that they had so many inquiries
about Iowa being deaf in one ear that 1t
was necessary for them to employ an extra
clerk to attend to the correspondence. !
Two ambitious young men connected with
a Harvey street wholesale house, who had
boasted somewhat of their prowess in the
conquest OF winged game wandered out
last Sunday to prove their pretensons. AS
they had advertised their going quite extern !
sively among their acquantnaces and had
generously bestowed upon their neighbors
a great deal of the game which they pro-
posed to bring in with them, they were
RANK, DISGUSTING CATARRH