The Springfield herald., 1900-03-02
DOINGS AT DENVER.
Items of Interest From the City and tho
State Capitol.

| gambling and saloon laws are not vio-
| lated, the district attorney has filed In
formations against large number or
men for breaking the law, and says
that he has ample evidence to convict.
| Gamblers are charged with operating
in some of the big Office blocks and
largest hotels. Evidence against them
was secured by Rev. Il. A. Chase and
/ other officers of the Anti-Saloon
League. 1t is now charged that one or
more of the grand jurymen are inter
ested in saloons or own buildings oc-
cupied by them. The general feeling
that some of the jurymen violated their
| oaths in voting against indictments
was evidently shared by Judge Butler,
who made some sarcastic remarks to
the jury when it reported. Nearly ev-
cry minister in the city preached upon
the subject last Sunday.
The street car postotiice system Is to
be installed in Denver. BY this plan,
which is now in effect in many of the
| large cities of the East, the street cur
system is used in the collection and dis
| tribution of mall. The routes of the.
carriers are greatly shortened, as they
| take their mail from the car, deliver 1t
to the houses and offices, and return
| to the car with the mail collected from
post boxes at street corners and on
private entrances. The mail Is jlandled
on board the ear exactly as by the rail
| way mail service on steam railways.
| City letters are sorted out for immedi-
ate delivery, while those which must
take early trains are brought to the
central office in shape to go Immediate
| ly to the pouches and be taken to the
depot The system has been found the
only one which Will make possible
| house to house collection of mail,
which the Postotiice Department Is try
| ing to introduce. While it will not re-
| duce the number of carriers, 1t will add
| greatly to the efficiency of the present
| force, and relieve the congestion that
comes when the mail is heavy, and the
carrier has to start from the central
postoffice with the entire load for his
whole district.
One of the first results Of the open
door policy of the Chinese empire Is
| the granting of concessions for mining
and other purposes to syndicate OF
| American capitalists, at the head OF
| which is Samuel Newhouse Of this city,
which comprises one of the largest en-
| terprises ever undertaken in this coun-
try. Several rich New York men are
associated with Mr.. Newhouse. Three
| concessions have been granted to the
company by the Chinese government.
| First, the exclusive right to mine for
the precious metals and precious stones
| In the district of Jehol. In northern
| China, 1GO miles north of Pekin cover
| ing an area larger than that Of the
state of New York. Second, the exclu
siye right to operate the coal mines at
| Shish- Meh- Chai on the east coast of
| China. Third, all the timber and all
| the mining rights, for the precious met
ais, iron and coal on both sides of the
Yalu river For more than year Mr..
Newhouse and his associates have been
at work on this project, and now thnt
| the concessions have been secured no
| time is being lost in making the neces-
sary Investigations of the vast terri
tory covered by the grant. corps of
engineers being now on the way to
| China.
| A petition to Congress asking that
tract of public land be set aside sufii-
cient to reimburse the state for Beech
er Island and the surrounding lands
required by the Beecher Island Me-
mortal Association will be sent to Wash
| ington this week. The State Land
| Board has agreed to deed the land re-
quired by the association, provided Con-
gress will give like tract of public
| land to the state. Representative
Shafroth will introduce the bill In
congress. 1t is the purpose to create
park and erect on the little sand is
| land In the Aricknree river In the east
| end of Arapahoe county monument
in memory of General George A. For
syth and his fifty followers, who, in
September, 1869, withstood for eight
days the siege of Chief Roman Nose
and nearly one thousand braves.
From September 18th to 2Gth
the white men held in check
the army of savage warriors. There
was incessant fighting, during which
| only five of the bcsieged white men
were killed, although they inflicted
heavy LOSSES upon the Indians. The
Indians had been gathering in the
| country for several weeks. Their de-
predations were directed against the
settlers on the plains. and General For
syth learned that 1O3 settlers had
been massacred. when he set out with
n company of fifty scouts to drive the
Indians out of the country. He had
underestimated the strength of Chief
Roman Nose, and before he could re-
treat to Fort Wallace wHs surrounded.
Reaching the little island in Arickaree
river, he formed brenstwOrk Of the
horses, picketing them to form hollow
square within which his men took ref
uce firing from under the animals. But
| the horses were soon shot down, when
the men dug holes in the sand, burying
themselves to their arm pits, and in
that position fired and held back the
savages. They lived on the flesh of
their horses, finding water by digging
in the sand. Two men succeeded one
night in escaping through the Indian
lines and made their way to Fort Wal
lace, where help was secured, and Col
onel Carpenter, with a company of SOL
diers, came to the rescue. driving back
the Indians and believing General For
syth's little band ON the eighth day
| One of the men killed on the island
| was Lieutenant Fred H. Beecher, n