davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1907-06-08

crlHelsei ne white Hshi ahlch
beats uron 7-7uo1e S. turned on his
slightest Et The very posees1ion q
such great wealth serves 20 antag0nizs
a considerable proportion o. the com
muniry and his mQst pTaIseworthy set
is attributed to Interior motives, per-
haps TO very selfish and unworthy
ones. One Of the most familiar IN
stances Of this IS the case Of a man
who ranks among the most liberal dis
tTibutors OF public beneiactions in the
world to-day, whose name is on every
ones tongue. and yet be is the subject
Of bitter attack. and his benefactions
are attributed to his desire to place
certain securities In conservative
hands throughout the country It is.
Of course. impossible to please every
one, and the dissatisfied element are
certain to feel a bitterness In direct
ratio TO the size Of the fortunes In
Yolvad.
The diseases Of the rich are still
another disturbing factor in this bal.
ance- 1t is no exaggeration to place
a number OF distressing physical ills
in this category. The nervous and
mental strain Of handling a great for
tune is exceedingly trying upon the
strongest organization. It was jay
Gould who remarked, during the ex-
element Of a great financial panic.
that a man controlling a fortune Of
s5O,000,000 had no time either to eat
or sleep. A man in active control Of
a great fortune is obviously under a
tremendous strain. AS a result cases
Of physical breakdown in Wall street
are common, and men young in years
are often old IN health.
Kidnapping Plots.
It is only short time since a plot
was revealed TO kidnap John D. Rocke.
feller and hold him for the payment Of
an immense ransom. Here is another
danger which a man less conspicuous
for his wealth avoids. The case was,
The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1907-06-08


a maritime lake belonging to the car.
This half included the PribyIov is
which. BY the way. we're not
discovered until little over cen
tury ago, owing mainly to the circum-
stances that they are shrouded Ia al
most perpetual fog. With the Islands.
Of course, went the fur sealsi and we
might have succeeded Ia protecting
and preserving the latter for an In.
definite period II only It had been
their habit to spend all of their lives
in the near neighborhood OF the Priby.
lov group.
Unfortunately. however, the seals
merely visit the Pribylov islands IN
the summer time. for breeding pur-
poses leaving them IN November and
returning In June. The rest Of the
year they spend in q migratory voy.
age to more southern waters, the herd
finding its way N the month Of Feb.
ruary to a latitude some distance
south Of San Francisco, and thereupon
turning northward again. Having
studied this habit or theirs. II has
been an easy matter for the masters
Of vessels specially equipped for this
sort Of fishery to follow along with
the herd throughout its entire mlgra.
ton, and to kin Of the animals ak
leisure.
Sometimes the seals, under such
circumstances, are speared white
sleeping On the water. but usually
The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1907-06-08

sells To load and unload their foreign
cargoes at Houston. the railroad cen
ter Of the southwest. and the Trinity
river are the most important The
latter could be made navigable for
iight-draught vessels al the way 70
Dallas. 300 miles from ti6ewater.
The canal at this point touches
Galveston with its fine deep water
harbor and docks. an ocean port Of
fast-growlng Importance.
Beyond the Brazos is the much
talked-of area generally particularized
as the Gulf Coast country. the phe-
nomenal produetiveness Of which is
Just becoming known This region
was recently given its first railroad.
The value OF the canal win be two
fold. It will open a great deal Of ter
ritory that cannot be reached from
the railroads and it will provide lover
The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1907-06-08
GOVERNMENT MAY DECIDE TO
SLAUGHTER ENTIRE HERD.
Tired Of the Uneven Fight Against
the Canadian Poachers Whose
Depredations Are Be-
yond Control.

L is practically certain that before
long the United States government
will decide to slaughter the entire
herd, thus wiping out the species com
pletely and finally. so far as the wa
ters Of the north Pacific are con
cerned.
When we acquired Alaska from
Russia we obtained exclusive property
rights ESQ It was understood) over the
eastern half Of Behring sea. which
up to that time had been regarded as
The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1907-06-08

There win be an element Of surprise
u tho advice Of Or. Henry Gannett or
the United States geological survey:
IT you are old, go % Alaska by ali
means; but II you are young. wait. .
MT 'aannett gives this reason for his
advice; The scenery OF Alaska le
much grandeF than anything else Of
the kind IN the world, and 1t il not
ven g DUH ones capacity for -.
1oyment ~ reeing the finest sIehss
6rst."
Los Angeles herald., 1907-10-27

Kentucky and Kearsarge surpass the older
ships to the tune of knot per hour.
In the fourth division is the lately COM
pleted battleship Minnesota and a trio Of
sister ships, the Ohio, Maine, and Mis-
sluri. The latter are each of 1880 tons
displacement and carry twenty guns while
the Minnesota Is 16,000-ton, 24-gun ship
being near of kin to the Kansas and Yer
mont that have place in the first division.
Despite their difference In size all the
ships In the fourth division boast the
same speed as those In the first division
When this Imposing array of battleships
arrive at their destination on the Pacific
Coast they will find awaiting them the
i u. s. s. Wisconsin, counterpart of the
Alabama and Illinois and the recently
finished battleship Nebraska, fifth mem
ber of a quintette of sister ships, the
other members Of which make up the
second division of the battleship fleet as
above enumerated Possibly, too, for the
sake of sentiment the historic Oregon,
now on the Pacific Coast, will be at
tached TO the combined feet.
To move sixteen battleships as one unit
half around the globe is a task the mag
nitude of which is not readily appreci-
itinerary which has been mapped out, will
have total length of 1922 knots which
Is equivalent to more than $4,000 miles
and 1t will require, 1t is estimated an
elapsed period of 115 days. OF this In
terval however, only 63 days will be de-
voted to actual cruising and the remain
ing 80 days will be spent in port or in
target practice. 1t is interesting to note
in this connection that the oregon made
Los Angeles herald., 1907-10-27

her memorable trip in sixty-three cruising
days. Her journey was shorter than that
of the present fleet since her destination
was Jupiter Inlet, Florida, whereas the
present undertaking involves cruise
from Hampton Roads, several hundred
miles farther north but the Oregon tray-
eled at only nine miles per hour during
much of the voyage whereas on the
Forthcoming cruise the battleships are ex-
pected to average speed of 11h to Il
miles per hour.
The battleship squadron commanded Dy
Admiral Evans Is to make the cruise 10
the Pacific by long jumps Only hve
South American ports will be visited but
at each Of these places Of call the inhab-
tants may be expected to form new
ideas of American prestige for shore lib
erty will be given to $1,000 officers and
men where not more than 800 wearers OF
Uncle Sans uniform have gone ashore
before. According to the present program
the batteship feet will leave Hampton
Roads on December II and will make
continuous jaunt of 1,7S0 knots to Trini-
did where the feet will arrive Decem-
ber %.
The boys in blue will spend Christmas at
Trinidad and will leave there December
2S for Rio de Janelro q 900 knots distant.
The feet will drop anchor In the harbor
of the Brazilian metropolis on January
10 and will remain there almost week
when departure will be taken for Punta
Arenas in the Straits of Magellan some
2.23O knots distant. Here the battleships
will tarry for the final six days In jan
uary and will then set out for Callao
1850 knots distant Here the schedule
Los Angeles herald., 1907-10-27
A2uZQAL -
LZEHZz5Z ZZ-AGzzZp
ZZZUGLI llZZZLZZuzCDT

time of arrival is February 13 and here
likewise six days will be devoted to re-
spite from cruising routine. Then comes
the longest lap of the journey, the cruise
from Callao to Magdalena Bay, stretch
of 3,012 knots. The final squirt from
Magdalena Bay to San Francisco is only
1000 knots In length and 1t Is expected
that If 1t is made without mishap the
floating fortresses will be enabled to drop
their mud hooks" within the Golden
Gate on April 10.
The task of managing feet of sixteen
battleships which must be kept intact
continuously will at all times be pretty
much of an undertaking but some por-
tions of the long cruise will put par
ticularly severe test upon the American
commander-in-chief and his captains. Con-
spicuous among these strenuous intervals
will be that required for the passage OF
the feet through the Straits of Magellan
Here stretch of 240 miles must be made
between daylight and dusk. With one
ship 1t would be easy enough but when
sixteen must make the passage the situ-
alton is decidedly different and requires
careful handling. The whole feet will
make a .'stop over" of one month at Mag
dalena Bay, Lower California and the in
teryal from March to April will be de-
voted to target practice. The protected
waters of this great arm of the sea are
well nigh ideal as a range for comped-
tive gunfire and the Mexican government
Los Angeles herald., 1907-10-27
-NZwnI RHyZZEaZLp ZIEHc cZE1RQEK

selected for this pretentious swing
around the circle comprise the very
cream of Americas floating fortresses.
All are up-to-date in that they have
without exception been built since the
Spanish American war and thus embody
the most modern ideas in design and
construction, whereas the fact that they
have been continuously in commission
makes for tried efficiency In men and
machinery. In the aggregate the sixteen
battleships have displacement of more
than $4,000 tons and they carry all told
more than 800 large guns-that Is
weapons of callber of four inches or
more.
For the purposes of this record-break-
ing cruise the battleship squadron has
been subdivided into four groups of four
ships each. The first division is headed.
of course, by the q. s. s. Connecticut,
flagship of Admiral Evans and numbers
In addition to that magnificent govern
ment-built vessel her sister ship, the
Louisiana product of a private shipyard)
and the twins Kansas and Vermont. In
the main essentials all four of these
battleships are very similar Each dis
places when afloat 10000 tons of water
and carries "a guns and all are rated
with a speed of about twenty-one miles
per hour.
The second division of the squadron is
made UP of four battleships which are
duplicates of one another In practically
every respect, namely the Virginia, Geor-
gia, New Jersey and Rho1e Island. These
heavy hitters carry, in each instance, the
same number of guns as the ships In the
first division. They are not quite SO large
having a displacement Of about $4,000
tons instead Of 10000 but what they lack
In weight they make up in speed being
capable of gait fully mile per hour in
excess of that of the aforementioned craft
The third division is made up of two
rairs of twins, the Alabama and Illinois
on the one hand and the Kearsarge and
Kentucky on the other. The members of
this quartette are of about the same size,
haying displacement of approximately
II, 800 tons each but the Kearsarge and
Kentucky mount twenty-five guns apiece
as against eighteen guns on each of the
other ships and likewise in speed do the
Los Angeles herald., 1907-10-27
HHRAREZ ny EQ21EzQT
6x4IH ZGTzYL2A2YCnQQHQ
ZIL4HD ELAN R2Ta -4RE
TIcP Az1ALH
CE2QQzsp ZZZA7XZ2
ELZYH.A LA1EGgAT

result of this wholesale destruction was
the practical determination of the herd
in few years. Tolstykh's expedition
obtained hardly more than forty furs dur
ing the winter Of 1880 whilst Dru-
shinin got only five in 1754-55. In his
account of a second expedition, made In
the following season, Tolstykh says that
mo sea-otters showed themselves that
year"
There were by this time twenty-five or
thirty Russian fur companies maintaining
outftting stations at the mouth of the
Amur, or on the shores of the Sea of
Okotsk. Their vessels, searching for sea
offers ranged eastward and during the
twenty-five years following the discovery
of the Commander Islands, determined in
quick succession the several links of the
Aleutian chain, finally reaching the main
land Of Alaska in 176S. 1t was in pur-
suis of the same object that Pribilov,
eighteen years later, came upon the group
of islands TO which he gave his name.
The account Of this discovery states that
when the Russians first landed, sea-otter
.'swarmed the shore Of Saint George"
1t is doubtful II one of the animals has
been seen on either OF the Pribilovs in
forty years.
In the progress of this pursuit. the sea-
otter was greedily slain without any re-
strictlon, so that the yearly catch, which
at first ran into the tens of thousands,
quickly dwindled to hundreds. At the
time Of the first coming of the Russians,
the waters of Alaska fairly abounded in
sea-otter. They were found in herds,
each numbering several hundreds dis
tributed over nm area extending to % de-
grees north latitude and embracing the
western Kuriles and points on the Kam-
chatka coast
About the close of the eighteenth CEN
Los Angeles herald., 1907-10-27

- HE sea-otter was first introduced to
n the knowledge of scientists through
- the investigations of Steller, the nat
uralist, to whose famous treatise, do
Bestiis Marinis,'' we owe the earliest
descriptions of the sea-cow, the sea-lion'
the fur-seal and the sea-otter.
Steller was member of that last
fatal expedition of vitus Bering which
discovered the Commander Islands. On
November A. 1741 (old style). the Saint
Peter. returning from the discovery OF
She mainland of America, passed the
southern extremity of Copper Island,
and. on the following night, landed it's
scrryey-stricken crew upon Bering
Island ntthis repellent shore they were
forced in the extremity of their sickness
to abide for the winter, burrowlng In
holes like beasts and warding on the Icy
blasts with skins of the fur animals tnat
abounded on that coast. When, at length,
thev effected their escape In rfckety
craft. fashioned from the remnants OF
their wrecked vessel, they left thirty of
their number and their dauntless COM
mander buried beneath the shale OF the
island that bears his name
Sea-otter were so numerous upon Ber-
ing Island at that time that they fur-
nished food for the crew OF seventy-seven
during the entire winter. On the return
Of the expedition to Kamchatka, In the
spring Of 1742, it carried back seven hum
dred or more of the beautirui Skins OF
this animal and keen demand at once
arose. The promyshleniks, greedy FOR the
present profit and utterly reckless OF ulti-
mate consequences, pursued and slaugh-
tered the creature, regardless OF age or
sex. Thus in 1745. Bassof and Trapezni-
kof secured 1900 skins on Bering Island
and In 1748, about 400 were taken. The
Los Angeles herald., 1907-10-27

Nm PREPARATIONS are going actively
forward at the government Office In
Washington and at the navy-yards on
Atlantic coast for the most momentous
project ever undertaken by the United
States Navy In time of peace. When,
during the Spanish-American war, the
battleship Oregon made the run around
the Horn to join the fleet in the West
Indies the performance was acclaimed,
and rightfully too, a remarkable feat
and yet 1t pales in significance by COM
parison with the plans for the coming
great cruise Of Uncle Sans battleship
squadron from Hampton Roads. Virginia
to San Francisco Bay.
The impending scheme for sending the
pick of the republics warships to the
west coast is part of a far-reaching
policy for shifting n preponderance OF
the American sea power to the Pacific,
where the national responsibilities are
most pressing and Yankee interests are
more or less in jeopardy. Already van
guard In the form of groups of our best
armored and protected cruisers have
sought the new seat Of naval power and
even torpedo 1otilla will be sent from
the Atlantic coast to complete the, cate
CORY, but popular interest centers OF
course, In the cruise of the sixteen bat
tleships of Admiral Evans feet, the
most spectacular feature of the whole
movement.
The feet Of heavyweight sea warriors
that will steam around the continent
under the direction of Fighting Bob"
is not only the most formidable squadron
ever assembled under the Stars and
Stripes, but compares well with the cor
responding possessions of any other
world power. Incidentally this homo
geneous group of sixteen battleships al
though 1t does not include all the Ameri-
can battleships by any means. makes
.--eassuring showing as contrasted with
yapans. full strength of not more than
A dozen battleships. This is comforting
b say the least for despite the assur-
-8pces of government officials that the
Cbattleship cruise is without any such
signihcance a large portion of the public
will persist in constituting this visit as a
yelled hint to the Mikado and his people.
The sixteen battleships that have been
Los Angeles herald., 1907-10-27

tury, the Russian American Company-the
great competitor of the Hudson's Bay
Comprny--was organised by imperial
charter with liberal power and privileges.
tory and as far as such a difficult matter
could be contrived. exercised supervision
over the hunters. A limitation was placed
upon the number OF animals that might
be taken in a season and certain other
rules OF protective character were laid
down.
At that time the otters, following their
natural habit, hauled out on land to breed,
to rest and to sleep. and to feed on the
shelldsh and sea-urchins exposed at low
tide. Under the regulations Of the Com
pany, they were taken in nets, and
dubbed, the use Of firearms being pro-
hibited. The females were spared and the
Los Angeles herald., 1907-10-27

first lesson taught the young hunter, after
he had learned to handle the kyak and
cast the spear, was how to distinguish
the sexes in the water by the color and
shape of the head and neck When hunt
ing on shore, care was taken to disturb
the animals as little as possible. The
sea-otter is exceedingly timid and readily
deserts q locality in which alarming sights
or sounds have been experienced.
The efforts Of the Russian-American
Company to avert the threatened extermi-
nation of the valuable animal met with
marked success. Twenty years OF the
enforcement of Intelligent regulations
were followed by a distinct increase IN
the herds. Even upon Bering Island,
whence. as we have seen, they had en-
tirely disappeared before the end Of the
century. sea-otters returned in large num-
Los Angeles herald., 1907-10-27

by Russians in Asia and Amerfca) the
skins OF the Sea-Otters are the richest
and most valuable. These animals re-
sort in great numbers to the Aleutian
and Fox Islands; they are called by the
Russians, Boobry Morski Bobr MorskoD
or sea beavers, on account of the resem-
blance Of their fur to that Of the common
beaver" In the period of protection. pre-
ceding our purchase of the Territory OF
Alaska, the average price Of sea-otter
skin was $50. With the ensuing de-
crease in the supply the market value
rose by leaps and bounds. The ruling
price In the London market Of 1888. was
500; In 1889, it was $160. in 1891, 500;
in 1895, $3.50; in 1898 $500. with occa-
sional purchases at much higher hgures.
Since 1900. single skins put up to anction
have frequently fetched more than $1,000
and In few instances have sold as high
as $1,000. a prominent furxier recently
remarked to the writer: 'The sea-ottef Is
fast becoming a rarity. In few years
the skins will sell entirely at fancy prices
We shall buy them on commisston for
merchant buys rare gems or a picture
dealer masterpiece"
We have comparatively little exact
knowledge Of the sea-otter and Its habits
The scattered descriptions in encycio-
pedias and other technical works are In,
complete and often incorrect. The draw
ings Of the amman are especially fauity,
even that of Wolf proceedings Of the
Geological Society of London, 1880, which
is the best, being open to criticism on
account of Its cat-like head.
The sea-otter (Enhydra lutrfsl is at full
growth about I'VE feet In length, In
cluding some ten inches OF obtuse cyIin-
drical tall. Its head resembles that Of
the sea-llon, but is less sharp and at
tenuated. It's black eyes have a rather
fierce expression, unlike the mild look
of the brown-eyed fur-seal. Its small
forefeet have FIVE short, webbed toes. Its
hind feet are similar to those Of seals.
being large, palmated fiippers. furry on
both sides, The peiage consists Of beau
tiful, thick. soft undermat Of deep brown.
somewhat lighter near the skin ana frost
ed with the silver tips of long, stir hairs,
which are generally removed when the
pelt Is dressed. On the head and neck
the fur bleaches to a gray color. The
skin Is so slack that the pelt OF ar
animal that measured but four feet viii
readily stretch to six or more.
The sea-otter, unlike the other members
OF its family, does not feed on ordinary
flsh, but eats mussels, CLAIMS, crabs and
sea-urchins. Its female resembles that
of the fur-seal in having but one pup at
birth, but 1t does not breed with the
same regularity.
That the exercise OF ordinary fore
thought on the part of our government
might have saved rne sea-otter from its
impending determination would seem to
be proved by the experience OF the Rus
sian-American Company and the example
of the Copper islanders, but 1t Is pro
ably now too late for the adoption Of
effective measures of preservation.
the herd on the Commander Isl -
decreased In the past few yee
is not reasonable to believe 4
otter viii there escape for
that has everywhere else
The disappearanee q
creature will be the
the fact that It is
OF its branch OF
Los Angeles herald., 1907-10-27

has granted perm,
The sending Of tn.
this lengthy practice y
ways on the Pacific e.
Uncle Sam pretty penny.
the cost of keeping the fleets
sion-that is the expense for the
the bluejackets and such routine ip-n
will be no greater than II the battlesh
were at anchor in New York barbor bus
there will needs be big outlay for pilot
age etc. and most important Of all, an
enormous bill for coal. Not that the
ships are going TO burn coal recklessly.
On the contrary they are going to be as
economical as possible and it Is because
of this desire to make the most Of every
ton of coal that the battleships which
are capable of steaming at speeds of from
18 to % miles are going TO be held
down to a uniform gait of IL miles per
hour or less Even at this most eco
nomical speed, however, battleship
burns ton of coal for every three knots
travelled or more than three tons every
hour so that 1t can readily be figured
that the entire feet of sixteen battleships
will consume several carloads of coal
every hour they are at sea. Uncle Sam
gets his coal at a lower rate than the
private consumer but his winters coal
bill for this cruise will be a yhopper, un-
official estimates ranging from 100000
upward.
The battleships will be accompanied on
Los Angeles herald., 1907-10-27

bers, SO that 'in 1927, no less than 200
otters were killed in one week at the Reef
near the present Nikolski village" But
this revival was short-lived. After the
transfer Of Alaska to the United States
the precautions Instituted by the Russian
company were relaxed and the old-time
indiscriminate slaughter was resumed. The
animals were shot on shore as well as at
sea, and cod-hsheries were established In
the vicinity of their haunts. Hunting
schooners visited the otter banks every
season and defled the hauling grounds
with camp fres and decaying carcasses.
Thus constantly harassed and driven
from their customary resorts on the land,
the sea-otters not only greatly diminished
in numbers, but actually changed their
habits Forsaking the hauling grounds
which had been rendered untenable, or at
least unattractiye. they no longer CAME