davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-06-16
nTMe Picket Guardr~ Still Fresh i'm Their Memories

his porch. You will pardon me, general,
for coming back / said. but l want to
ask Won a few questions. You were
chief comrnissary for Gen. Hancock?
Then YOU were at the battle of Rheems
station
OF should think 1 wasf the old, fellow
agreed
a. Then you recall l continued, that
your horse was shot under you, and you
dismounted a private next you. taking his
horseY
That is exactly what did. he said,
looking at me curiously.
We'll, general said ], I am tnat
private.
Tears came to his eyes and heLgraspen
my hand warmly. He had often wonder
ed what had become of me, fearing that 1
had not managed to get off the field. We
talked over that day for quite while
and then I asked: What became OF the
equipment, generalT
I've got them YETI he answered with
a smile. And that night we had a splen-
did dinner, sort Of army reunion. at the
home of my friend.
During the summer previous to this,
Gen. Smith had a cottage at Camden. Me-,
next to my own. / used to see him every
day. but never suspected that no was
the Col. Smith who, at the battle at
Rheems station, took my horse. At that
time he was a handsome young man with
rosy cheeks and black mustache. In
Camden he was a handsome old man with
white hair and gray mustache.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-06-16
LEVELS. ALONG he A11ERnAN NaE .

ever been built in the United States ex-
cept under the rivers surrounding Man
haitian Island, and In the construction of
all OF these toll Of human life has been
measured by scores. The Yuma siphon,
however resulted in the death Of but
one man. and upon this record the en-
gineers in charge pride themselves.
When tunnel is thus filled with COM
pressed air a man may enter 1t only by
very slow degrees. The pressure in nor
NAL lungs and in other air chambers of
the body must be adjusted to the high
pressure of the air in the tunnel. If
man were thrust suddenly into this
compressed air his sides would be caved
in before the air chambers within him
could adjust themselves. Likewise, If he
were taken suddenly from the compressed
air chamber into an ordinary atmosphere,
the compressed air within him would ex-
pand and ne would literally burst. So,
for the workmen on such a project, the
entrance to the tunnel must be arranged
in series of air chambers of different
pressures. The laborer goes into the
first air chamber, which is slightly greater
in it's pressure than is the outside air
and allows himself to become adjusted t
that pressure. Then he advances to a
second and third and fourth chamber,
in each of which the pressure is in
creased. and spends few minutes in
each. Finally he emerges into the high
pressure chamber, where he remains for
three or four hours, which shift consti-
tutes a days work under these exhaust
ing conditions. Having finished work,
he energies from the tunnel by the same
series of slow degrees that he used in
entering it.
OF the land covered by the Laguna dam
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-06-16
COLORADO MATTERS LOVING At lAeA

and at certain seasons carrying great
amounts of flood water. This stream
rambled rather aimlesSly over large
stretch of desert and very frequently
changed its course. The engineers could
find no way of capturing it for su1fi-
cient length of time to siphon it or bridge
it. It was easier to siphon the Colorado
after the ella had emptied into it.
So the water was brought down on the
California side until it reached point
opposite the town of Yuma. when it was
plunged into the earth to reappear upon
Arizona soil This task was very similar
to the work that had been done in New
York in putting subways under the Hud-
son and East rivers. The first step was
to sink a huge pipe vertically: until 1t
reached the depth of a hundred feet. Such
a pipe fourteen feet in diameter was
put down on each bank of the Colorado
Then two forces of men began working
toward each other under the river. Inc
formation through which they passed was
the usual silt of the delta To prevent 1t
from running into the ever advancing
tunnel and filing 1t up the usual resort
was had to air pressure.
The idea in this sort of work IS 70
make the pressure of tbs air inside Of the
tube so great that it will hold the silt
and mud and water out of the open end
OF that tube by the mere force of its pres.
sure. The builders of the tube must, OF
necessity work in this chamber OF COM
pressed air Labor under such conditions
is always surrounded by a great many
dangers. and numerous fatalities are
always expected. No such tunnel mas
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-06-16

below the dam to prevent washing. The
body of the dam consists of three con-
crete barriers, between which is filled
in vast quantities of stone. The floods
of the river pour ripplingly over this
gceat structure, now that it is complete,
and those same floods were to be encoun-
tered at every stage of its building. For
years the engineers pushed the two wings
of the dam further and further toward
the middle of the stream. Across this
section they finally built railroad
bridge. and from this trainload after
trainload Of powders was dumped into
the flood until, piled mountain high. they
diverted the stream into other channels.
Then, working in the face of flood wa
tiers that they knew to be approaching
from up the river, engineers and men toll
ed unremittingly night and day until the
final span. was completed in the very
teeth Of the flood.
one of the difficult and spectacular en-
cheering feats connected with the Yuma
project One which was probably more
difficult was pushing siphon under that
great stream a hundred feet below It's
bed in order that the waters that were
diverted by Laguna dam might be trans
ferred from one side of the river to the
other
There were lands to be irrigated on
both sides Of the stream. The reserva-
ton lands Of the Indians were on the
productive lands that were to be opened
for settlement were on the Arizona side.
Had the canal been taken out on the
Arizona side it would have been neces-
saM to siphon the ella river, tributary
of the Colorado flowing in from Arizona
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-06-16

canyon above dashed him to pieces and
Co-co-maht built funeral pyre upon the
desert and burned his remains. So do the
Indians at Yuma cremate their dead with
impressive ceremony, and SO do they al
ways burn with them some of the crops
that have grown from the floods of the
Colorado.
The floods of the Colorado go on for
ever. The flow of that stream Is suffi-
cient to irrigate many times the land that
is available. There is no objection to di-
verting all it's waters. because the stream
below Yuma runs through uninhabited
country. But the damming Of this stream
proved an endeavor which required the
overcoming of many difficulties. In the
first place, the river is mile wide. Its
waters had to be raised eighteen feet in
order that they might flow into the canal
Building cam that would raise the wa,
tiers of q great river eighteen feet would
be, under any conditions, no small task
But here the engineers found that the
earth as far as their drills could pene-
trate was made of no other substance
than this same sediment that had been
brought down by the stream. The huge
dam at Laguna had to be built on a foun-
dalton of sand or not built at all. In
Egypt and in India such dams of the
weir type had been built and had been in
successful operation for fifty years. With
ment decided to undertake the laying
down of this 600 OOO-to dam.
From shore to shore 1t was almost ex-
actly mile in length. Up and down
stream it has a width of 24S feet, while
there is an apron of stone above and
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-06-16

n unusual instance Of the bond of
~ comradeship that holds together
= = the "old fellows who fought elbow
tn elbow in the civil war has just befallen
Col. Myron M. Parker OF this city. Every
now and then one hears of anecdotes of
the spirit of fraternity that exists be-
tween these old veterans and of their ex-
IRENE pleasure in standing by each other
even in matters of but trivial Importance
trivial to any one except themselves
his own satisfaction.
Not so very long ago he accepted an In
vitation to deliver an address before one
of the army corps associations. or Veter-
ans of the war. His theme. in general,
was the part the private soldier played In
the struggle and the scant honor and re-
ward that have been bestowed upon him.
To illustrate his point. he very much
desired a copy of 1.-The Picket Guard"
song that enjoyed great popularity dur
ing and subsequent to the war. 1t mar
rates an attack by the enemy upon an
outpost in which several of the defenders
were killed; but that didn't amount to
much, the poem runs, because they were
only privates, not officers Though the re-
frain was vaguely fixed in his mind, Col.
Parker felt that he must have the song
complete to make his point effectively.
AS a last resort and with but little hope
of achieving his object he inserted small
advertisement in certain weekly that
circulates among the veterans Of the civil
war. He asked that any one possessing
the complete poem copy 1t of and mail 1t
to him. Then he set about preparing
other material to bolster up the theme Of
his coming address.
A few days passed and Col. Parker
breathed an -told-you-so" sigh of re-
greet and resignation. Then one morning.
to his surprise and pleasure. the proven
bal and Elusive needle in the fhaystack
was found, for the postman brought him
a letter containing the poem from a griz-
zled old soldier out in Michigan. That
very afternoon another arrived, and still
another on the late evening mail. The
next morning, too-well, Col. Parker 10
ow-convinced that some haystacks. CEN
tatn. mot onlX that oue. or.-nuchtuiD+
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-06-16

lies on a mesa which has an elevation
of eighty feet above the lowlandS to be
irrigated. The water may not be car
ried to this mesa by gravity system.
but must be lifted that eighty feet with
pumps. So perfectly is this system of
irrigation worked out however, that this
lifting OF a vast quantity of water Will
require the continued expenditure of very
little money. The Laguna dam itself fur
nishes an amount of water power that
will be sufficient for all industry that
may ever develop in this region. In ad-
dition to this there is drop in the canal
into electrical power and which will in
reality be the means of lifting the canal
to the mesa. Great pumps are to be in
stalled at the point where the lift Is to
be made. the power for their operation
will be wired to that point, and, almost
automatically, the great quantities or
water will be raised to the height Of a
three-story house.
These lands surrounding Yuma are the
most tropical Of any within the borders OF
the United States. AS the department
OF the Colorado river is similar to that Of
the Nile, so is the climate of its lower
stretches similar, and SO are the crops
that NAV be grown here of the kind that
NAV be grown in the valley Of the Nile.
This of all of Uncle Sans continental
soil. will produce dates. Dates have been
grown at Yuma for thirty years. During
the last decade orchards OF considerable
size have been planted. and these are To-
day bearing most profitable crops. me
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-06-16

that is to be irrigated, 100000 acres lies
Immediately adjacent to the Colorado
river, and is covered by its annual over
flow. Ten thousand acres of this land
is on the California side, and is on the
reservation that is owned by the Yuma
Indians. Each of these Indians is to be
allotted twenty acres of this most fertile
of irrigable land, which. with its perpetual
water right, would readily sell for 5000 an
acre. On the Arizona side there are
81. 600 acres of overflow land above the
ella river and 5000 below 1t. This lat.
ter block of land is in that corner of
Arizona which runs down the Colorado
river below the southern boundary OF
California, and which, therefore, is
bounded on two sides by Mexico. This is
the most valuable piece of land of them
all.
All three of these bodies Of land are
in the overflow belt, and all three are 10
be protected by dykes. Already the gov
eminent has built seventy-five miles or
these dykes to a height four feet above
the highest water level ever recorded IN
the Colorado Thus are the floods shut
out from them as they are shut out from
those low and wonderfully productive
farms of Holland. The building of these
dykes was the third step in the trio OF
engineering propositions carried to g sue
cessful end by the government engineers
in the reclamation of the lowlands when
are destined to become one of the most
garden spots in the nation.
On the Arizona side below Yuma there
is an additional 10000 acres of land Wnlcn
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-06-16

ligned needle. but score or more just
like it.
To date he has received over forty re-
plies to his query. Everybody, 1t seems
every survivor Of the war. at least
knows THE Picket" from start to finish
and some of the 'old boys" couldn't I'M
derstand how in the world Col: Parker
could ever have forgotten it. To all oil
which the colonel gracefully pleads guilty
One of the letters literally speaks for
itself and shows beneath its cruditles OF
spelling and diction that the heart in the
world-weary. grizzled old body of its
writer still beats warmly for comrade-
in-arms 1t reads:
Mondoyi. Wis. June 8, 1912
Dear Sir; As saw yor ad and and g gpur Gue o
as best could donot no as you can red II my
hand is rather unstidy for writing as am an
I once knew a man by the name Of Miron NJ
Parker, Co. M LIST Vermont Calv while l was
would be pleazed to get letter from you in
ansure to fhis? was cook in the clerks mess
and also IN the extra d Mrinf IN m old diary
Of 1865 as all exschanged addresses IN the
brakng up Of the hospital Il w not snGy y yS
man. So I will say goodby this from
Besides giving him the desired lines,
that letter took Col. Parker way back in
memory-back to the time he lay i'll in
the hospital with what was known as
..blow" fever, form of fever not gen.
orally fatal. not even dangerous, but
none the less effective in putting fight
ing man out of commission, and he re-
called clearly seeing the old fellow, then
a youth, of course, and writing his name
in his diary.
Col. Parker relates another instance Of
finding a long-lost and forgotten acquaint-
ance and comrade of those days years
after the blue and the gray had laid
aside their muskets to clasp hands in
eternal brotherhood.
In January. 1864. having just reached
sixteen years of age. l enlisted in Com
pany M. 1st Vermont Cavalry he says.
During that year my company was on
detached duty at Gen. Hancock's head
quarters. At the battle of Rheems sta
ton, in August, the Union troops were
pressed SO hard that it became almost a
rout. To arrest the stampede Gen. Han
cock formed line of battle composed Of
his staff. Company NJ and such other
secattertng, troops AZ he could pick up.
That4daysIsWaSeactfn gs016er3ye30r Gen
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-06-16
The Seaside Cocktail.

I1VOUR American cocktails" said
the Marquis OF Queensbury at
dinner party in New York. "are the
envy of all continental and English
hotel keepers.
The manager OF a London hotel once
told me that there is SO much demand
for the true American cocktail that
scores OF foreign walters come to
America solely to learn how to make
it."
Putting down his glass. the noble
lord smiled and said:
ct heard yesterday Of a most original
cocktail called the seaside cocktail
This one, however. / believe is not
strictly American. Here is the recipe:
mix a pretty girl with college stu
dent and soak them in moonlight till
midnight. Squeeze into a tiny dark
corner OF the pier Stir weu with the
music Of love waltzes. Serve with an
engagement ring"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-06-16

Hancock and happened TO fall In line
next to Col. Smith. who was Gen. Han
cocks chief commissary.
'As soon as our line was formed Col.
Smiths horse was badly wounded. The
colonel asked me to take his horse to
the rear and, if possible, save his equip
ments / had hardly started before a
cannon ball finished the horse. Fortu-
nately, just then l caught a horse owned
by an officer of Gen. Hancock's staff
who had been killed Being somewhat
conscientious, considered the request
from Col Smith equivalent to an order.
so 1 removed the equipment from the
dead horse, fastened il on the horse 1
had caught and then joined our forces,
which were just starting back to City
Point. 1t was just getting dark and
pouring down rain. I rode all night,
reached City Point the next. day ana
turned the equipment over to Col Smith.
"Forty-five years later l was in Ban
gor, Me. One Sunday a friend invited
me to drive through the cemetery at
Bangor. In one portion l noticed a line
of soldiers headstones. That section was
inclosed in granite copings with granite
battlements at the corners. l remarked
to my friend that was great credit
to Bangor. But he held that it was a
credit to Gen. Joe Smith, rather, through
whose efforts it had been accomplished.
He suggested that on returning to the
town we pass Gen. Smiths house, where
always a flag was floating.
Sure enough. the flag was floating and
Gen. Smith was sitting on his veran6a.
We introduced ourselves and chatted for
an hour discussing various generals
that Gen. Smith had known during the
war, and that / had known in Washing
ton since the war. During the converse
ton Gen. Smith remarked that he had
been chief commissary for Gen. Han
cock. The remark didn't impress me at
the time. but when I got back with my
friend it occurred to me that Gen. Smith
had said he was chief commissary for
Gen. Hancock.
by George.' / exclaimed. He may be
the man who took my horse!'
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-06-16

COLORADO river, tnat queen VI ueSSs
streams. has been made to yield to the
will of man and its magic producing
waters are being poured upon thirsty
desert sands. thereby converting them into
date groves as OF old Egypt. vineyards of
Palestine and orange groves of southern
California
close of the first decade of the existence
of the reclamation service, the water Oh
the Colorado will be turned into the
thirty miles of great canal that has been
built will go rushing through that mile
long siphon which plunges beneath the
river. will spread through the laterals
that lead to the individual farms. and this
project will be officially declared opened.
This is to be the elimination OF eight
years work on the part of the reclama-
ton service. Soon after that service came
into existence and began an investigation
to determine where it was advisable to
spend the money which Congress had
provided, il decided upon building one of
its most important projects on the lower
Colorado. This river. which finds its
origin among the SHOWS Of picturesque
Yellowstone Park in faraway Wyoming
appeals in many ways. 1t Is the longest
stream that empties into the PACING. Ihe
waters which il gathers in the nigh
OF
Idaho have cut their way in a mile-deep
gorge through the great plateau of north
ern Arizona and have given the world It's
most stupendous piece of natural scenery
in the Grand Canyon of the Colorado.
This silver ribbon that the observer be-
holds from the rim of that canyon soon
pushes out to an open desert and for 4UO
miles flows through a region of barren
ness such as exists nowhere else IN the
United States.
AS the Nile flows from a mountainous
interior and creeps through the sands of
desert Africa. so does the Colorado force
its way through the great American des-
ert From times geological this stream
has brought with it each year 61O0.OOO
tons of silt and has deposited this on its
lower reaches. This silt is sufficient to
build eighty square miles of land one foot
higher every year. As the ages have
passed the Colorado has built itself a
dyke upon which 1t rides on toward the
sea- AS the Nile overf1ows its banks In
flood times and makes all its valley fer
tile. SO does the Colorado spread out in
time of high water and inundate the
lands that are now to be reclaimed.
For ages before white man ever pene-
Cated these deserts the Yuma Indians
those most stalwart specimens of all their
kind-lived on these lowlands and har-
vested crops the growth of which was due
TO this annual overflow. OF the produce
of these lands the Indians regularly. in
their spirttualistic feast of the dead. paid
tribute to Co-co-maht their guardian
spirit. whom they believed to dwell In
mythical mountain at the center Of the
universe from which flowed the Colorado
Ages ago the son of Co-co-maht defied the
floods of the great stream and attempted
to ride from its source to its mouth in his
oSnoe. The rapids of the stupendous
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-06-16

country and to the seaside during the
summer months. At the Broad street
station in Philadelphia Saturday MORN
ings in summer may be seen numbers of
special trains that are made up especially
to carry thousands of suffering mothers
and children to the country for a few
days outing. Baltimore owns its resort
and expends large sums of money for the
same purpose. Washington, the most
progressive of cities in many respects,
has fallen behind its sisters in the sum-
mer outing provision it makes for its
poor.
The committee on the infant camp states
that a.Coufribution Of 50 viii take a child
10 the -camD and place It for a-Week, un-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-06-16

be raised before the balance Is needed.
With the early contributions the old
farmhouse was repaired and spacious
porch was added to it. that there might
be more protection out of doors for the
youngsters BY the LIST of July all things
will be in readiness and the campaign OF
garnering in the babies that are in danger
will be begun.
Since the health departments began to
collect figures of deaths and their causes,
the thing that has most appalled, has
been the number Of babies that are al
ways taken of in the summer. Many
people are able stosg o%to the country or to
the Seashore tnsthe.sunmer. Those VINO
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-06-16

reality. They figured out the amount of
money necessary to put through Tle
scheme and. early in the season. issued a
call for contributions among their friends.
These gave money, often in the name of
their children that the charity might
appear to the credit of the youngsters
helping their kind. Already 500 has been
given. AS but s1,5OO is required, there
seems no doubt that the entire sum may
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-06-16

are not numbered among the poor and
who have comfortable homes may yet
keep their babies in such a degree Of COM
fort that they are in little danger. These,
too may keaO ice and a good grade OF
food protected from contamination.
But 1t is among the very poor that the
hot weather causes disease and death to
run riot The milk that the baby re-
ceives is likely to be the cheapest in the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-06-16

der the care of physician and trained
nurse. thereby probably saving lie.
for a week for &c. For s12 two desperate
cases may be well treated.
OF primary Importance is the instruc-
ton that will be given to mothers while
they are under the care OF these trained
nnrses They will be- taught to give the
baby plenty of fresh air. They will be
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-06-16

in August, 100: in November. So. From
these figures it may be seen how the
death rate FORCES ahead during the sum-
mer months.
Washington has been doing compare
lively little for the children OF the poor
during the swelterng summer, yet the
Washington summer is more oppressive
than in most cities. New York takes
many thousands of children into the