Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1902-07-02

| ,Ihems our ordinary ONION sets tDst W "
raise around Topeka
"of course that is a fable, but Cali
fornis raised the onions ell right. The
oth her day was at the Palmer House, In
| Chicago, where some ssngamon county
farmers were telling stories about their
| big erops-six gourds on hill Of corn,
with quart OF shelled corn In each
gourd.
"a Fort Wayne man said;-'Tbat's
nothing. In Philsdelphis ! have seen a
1 dozen policemen sound asleep on one beat
That's another fable.
A TALL TIMBER STORY.
"But here is true story about the big
timber OF Puget Sound. We were out
prospecting for timber and running sur
vey line when we came across the finest
timber country In the world. The trees
are not so large az tbose in Californian
but they stand as thick as bsmhoos and
as straight as arrows without limb for
300 feet from the ground. On forty acres
they cut 100000 feet OF lumber.
| "in the redwood district Of northern
California, they cut from one tree 5s4,-
Il W. tttk Vi Itt&f AufDBEIs btct1t1 thNetak
q lot OF shakes and slaves and several
carloads OF shingles. From another tree
they built q court house and four
churches.
| "once on the Russian river we bad a
mighty interesting experience In getting
across with bunch OF cattle. The river
was clear up to the top OF the banks, run
ming like mill race, with chunks OF ice "a
biz as freight cars shooting the current.
We travelled for couple OF days trying
to End place 10 ford. Suddenly we saw
an enormous redwood undermined by The
current, lying across the river. i ordered
every man TO get his axe aud construct an
incline corduroy. so that the cattle could
mount the log. II took three days hard
work to build the approaches on both
sides. Then we drove The cattle over, bat
found forty head missing. They didnt
fail into the river, they didn't stampede,
aud there were no indians around TO steal
them, but they had disappeared.
| AFTER two days search, when ws
were about to give II up, Billy Thomas
gave shout and we saw q lot OF horns
A rtathAbk NGh u y hhtA h1Ats Wv AhNNStf-
| gated and found that the forty head In
their scrsmble to get scross the river bad
strayed into n hollow limb, and, not hsy.
Ing sense enough to go Backward, they
were trying to get ont through The knot
hole. We finally rescued them.
al tell you that was q dandy redwood
and have no doubt IL 10 there to this day
4 k.t
have never told bis story except to wes-
| tern men and people who know me. Tell
q story like that east OF the Missouri river
and you'd be run In by the police"
Continuing. Capt. Burbidge sid:-"I
might 60 on telling these stories by the
hour, every one OF them solid truth from
the ground up. They are the original
source whence Mark Twain go, his jump
| Ing frog aud other tales.
HOW INDIANS srAMPEDgp.
Zone OF the most curious adventures
ever had was when crossing the sierrs
| Nevadss, 10 '52. We had big wagon
train, were well provided with provisions
and ammunition, with plenty OF beet on
hooi for fresh meat. one night We were
1 6eAbN aptN AsSfN VI Atf%s ~
| valley. But a cautious tendsrtoot, W no
was an Indian hunter, by nature. thoagh
he had never seen more than DOZEN red
skins, said we'd better camp on high
ground, that we might not be surprised
by fadisns.
| "Privateiy | thought II wss a good
idea myself, but had seen none and did
I A a.
| journey of the place. We went Into
camp and we're sleeping sonndiy, when
one Of the steers got loose. and. uostng
around the camp for fodder, rsmmed his
head into an empty salt barrel. Finding
! himself FAST in the barrel. the steer began
10 whirl around @s ~ erszy with the eiian
sIsggers. Then, beliowlng like a mad
hts MORE sound like forty esiiiot 90, tie
steer started down the slope at race horse
| speed, vi; b the bsrrel over his head snc
his horns sticking cut.
"fhere we're 500 Indians csmped all
around Us, and we knew nothing Of Il,
/ until bat steer viii I b. barrel on bis head
believing like a fog horn, stsmpeded The
Indian ponies, aud In an instant the trees
we're shaking with war wboop- and
frightened horses. The Indians took one
look at the horns and he barrel coming
directly at them, aud followed their
| ponies, with the medicine men shouting
that the devil was after them.
THAT steer which cost ns $40 ia Kan
sss City, saved our camp and all the
| women aud children, besides driving of
the Indians. Next day we captured
about 100 Indian ponies. Gentlemen,
that episode occurred In 1852, and letter
from my son-in- law, In Csisverss county,
received Monday, informs me that these
Indians are running yet"