Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1911-09-15

MURDER were Une principal business,
built castles on the hills and when
ever they saw a merchant with a rich
caravan of goods, down they would
swoop ON him, grab his valuables and
kill the defenders. These adventures
and wars were what the world called
history and during the middles ages
the place where hell was continually
breaking out was along this beautiful
valley. The use of gunpowder finally
put an end to knights in armOr and
the Germans and the French strug-
gled for the Rhine. Napoleon conquer
ed the valley, organized into a repub-
Inc and finally annexed it to France.
The Allies conquered Napoleon and
restored the Prlssian king and the
petty princes to their possessions.
The war of 1870 between Germany
and France pushed the boundary a
considerable distance west and made
the Rhine valley all German, under
the newly organized empire.
Most rivers begin in small way,
from springs, creeks, and little
streams. The Rhine is the outlet of
Lake Constance and rushes out of
that inland sea great river ready
made, and begins with a magnificent
waterfall second only to Niagara It
is a wide, deep river and as soon as
it emerges from the Swiss mountains
becomes the great highway through
Germany and Holland to the ocean.
Along it's banks are timber, coal and
iron, great cities with factories and
fertile lands titled to the utmost
point. The freight rate is the low
est possible and the productive value
Of the country is Increased by the
ease and cheapness with which the
markets Of the world are reached
Steamboats, and barges go up and
down in much greater numbers thar
do the freight trains of America s
greatest railroad. For much of. its
length the banks are walled and the
cities, towns, and villages are almost
continuous. In width the river is
from 500 to 1900 feet, and it is about
$50 miles long. The last 1860 miles
1from Mannheim to the German ocean
mas a channel of not less than thirty
feet in depth, and in that $50 miles
the fan is only 2SO feet, the last hun
dred miles only 80 feet.
So much for the Rhine from
business viewpoint. This little tow
Of Koenigswinter is on 1.-The pictur
esque Rhine at the foot of th'
Drachenfels, the last Of the big hin
or mountains by which the Rim
! flows in its course from Mannheim
to Cologne. We stopped at the hOtl
city of Bonn, seat of a good univers
ity, and an old town. Beethoven wa
born in Bonn and we visited the III
tie house he selected for that even
in his life. 1t was most intereStin
to see the things used by the grea
composed, and among them the org
nal drafts Of many of his grea
works. Beethoven's folks were poe
: and when only boy he played 10
pipe organ at the church and was
the Bonn string band. When Z
years of age he went to Vle1n
where he was taken care of financ'
m ly by the Austrian emperor. He nev
e married. He and a countess fell
love with each other but her folks
s not approve Of her marrying a muz
clan. Beethoven's father sang TEN
" and his grandfather had led the Boz
brass band, and Beethoven himse
!. was giving lessons. So they c0u
"A not marry though / don t see why
tie countess did not arrange II lat
y when Beethoven became famous. ]
he was very deaf and probably We
cranky, for he was great musicia
- and perhaps the Lady Amelia back
out herself.
This Is what is called the pietI
:, esqse Rhine, for here the river rr
e through some German mountain