The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-04-07
THE sHEEP MAN,s STORY.

There's hester at the water hole
He's drove his homestakes deep,
And we must move acrost the plain
Me and three thousand sheep.
For me and Mr.. Nester Man
Talked sassy yesterday
conversation in which guns
Had quite a lot to say.
Move on a zippin' bullet sings,
"A A,fiyin' past my head;
Z II stay awhile I answered back
In form of nodded lead.
But when night come We quit our talk.
And when knowed that must hunt
some other place to drink.
I knowed the old sheep range was
ia fingered there too late:
Inc homeSteader must have his way
tbs in the book of fate.
So when the mornin' broke again
slung flag of truce.
And me and Mr.. Nester talked
And drank of friendship juice.
He let the sheep band have its fill,
And then said good-by,
And trailed the herd, with old Shops aid,
To some more friendly sky.
Where are we goin'--well. that's hard
1t stumps me, confess;
But old Wall Street, guess
Arthur Chapman in the Denver Repub1i-
can.
French Cave DwelIers.
There are no fewer than 1000. 900
cave jewellers in France" writes
traveller. Whether you travel north,
south, east or west, you will find these
curious limitations of the homes of
primitive man. They stretch for fully
20 miles along the valley of the Loire,
from Blois to Saumur, and as the train
proceeds you can catch a glimpse from
time to time of their picturesque en-
frances, surrounded by flowers and
verdure. AS likely as not you will see
the inhabitants standing or sitting in
front of their mysterious looking cav
ems, and unless you have learned the
contrary, you will be inclined to i'm
agine that they possess some of the
characteristics of the troglodytes of
old. and that their homes are mere
dens. Not SO, as you will find on Wis
iting them.
They are nearly all well-to-do
peasants. owners perhaps Of some of
the vineyards that deck the slopes on
all sides, and their habftations are, as
rule, both healthy and comfortably
furnished. These singular houses are
remarkably cool in summer, without
being in the least damp, while in win
ter they can be warmed much more
easily and better than ordinary apart
ments. The health of the modern
troglodyte is as a rule, excellent, and
it is not uncommon to find centen-
arianS among them. This, however, is
by no means surprising when we con-
slider that their homes are not only
healthful to live in, but are also COM
fortably furnished and fitted up.
I'm the majority of cases these
rock houses were not excavated for
the special purpose of being inhabited,
but with the object of obtaining stone
for the building of houses. At Roche
to Ixxyn I4r,r cd
out of a single block of stone, and
the ingenious owner, in addition to
making a two-story villa therefrom
has provided himself with a roof gar
den. from which a fine view of the
valley can be obtained. A similar
cality the disused quarries are said to
date from the days of the Romans. -
Chicago Daily News.
Legacies to Royalties.
The largest legacy ever bequeathed
$2.5O0,000 which the miser John Neale
left to Queen Victoria. But it is no
uncommon occurrence for subjects to
make requests by will to their sover-
eign. An eccentric old Scottish lady,
by name McWilliam who lived near
BalmoraI, and upon whom our late
queen had bestowed many favors, left
to her benefactress a handsomely fit
ted vault in a neighboring churchyard
The late Lord Abingdon left legacies of
$500 apiece to. the Queen and the
Duchess of Connaught. and requested
that the king would accept a set of
very quaint and beautiful waistcoat
buttons.-Dundee Advertiser.
Educated Horse Retires on Pension.
Having served his master faithfully
for twelve years Tom. horse belong
ing to Samuel Goodman, a Republic
can leader in Bayonne, has been pen
stoned Sunday the horse was sent to
North Branch where he will have
nothing to do. The animal knew the
way to and from the several freight
stations in Bayonne. and all that was
necessary was to call out the name
of the station and Tom would take
the wagon there without being guided.
New York Press.