The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 15, 1896, Page 16

16 THE SAN - FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1896. A Life Was at Stake in the Most Exciting Game of FreezeOut Ever Played “No, I don’t play poker any more,” said | a big Westerner, who came into an up- town clubhouse the other night with some friends who bad been showing him the town. He spoke rather seriously, al- though he had been chatting and laugh- ing in a loud, breezy way until the very moment when somebody suggested a littie game of draw as an approbriate wind-up of the night’s diversion. “Why, how is that?” exclaimed one of his friends. “You used to play a stiff Youhaven’t sworn off, have you?”” no,” said the Westerner, stiil seri- +I have not sworn off, but there is no excitement in the game for me now. The last game I played was too exciting.” The thrilling story thereof, as told in the New York Sun, runs as follow ““It was 2 dozen years ago, when T wasa tenderfoot, with the usual allowance of freshness, und ignorance of frontier perils. We used 1o call it brashness, and I was certainly brash. I roamed around -the country rather for the better partof a year, with & more or less vague purpose of settling somewhere, but not esring| much where. I had money enough to| start with, whenever 1 should find an | ovening to suit me, but I was not in a hurry, and was enjoying the freedom and adventurous life of tne plains asonly a voungster can who is not obliged to put up with the hardships, but looks on them as mere incidents. “I was well aown toward New Mexico when there was a rumor of Indian troub- les, and 1 heard that a company of United States troops were on the march toward one of the principal villages where the redskins were particularly sullen. 1 bad | been out hunting for a week with a couple of fellows I nad met in one of the towns, when we got the news from a stranger who came into our camp late at night and asked for supper. He aamitted when we | questioned him—not too clo-ely,for inquis- | itiveness is at a large discount on the vlains, but casually—that he was a scout | in the Government employ and was on his way to join this company. Iy to be some pretty warm work,’ he said when we asked a little more, ‘for if the red devils are not on the warpath now they will be 1n a day or two, and you fellows will do a smart trick if you turn back.” “Turning back, however, didn’t seem very attractive to me when there was so much excitement ahead. I promptly re- marked that 1 thought I would go on with | the sceut and offer my services to the cap- tain in command. I told you I was pretty | brash at the time, and I bad no knowledge | ous. of military affairs. My notion was that the captain would be glad of a recruit, or, at least, that he would make no objection to my going with him, “I noticed that the scout looked at me a little curiously, but he evidently thought it was not his business to educate tender- feet, and he only grunted. My two com- panions were as fresh as I was, and we told the scout we would go along if he had no ohjection. “It's a free country, end I reckon you can travel wherever you like,” he said, with a grin that 1 understood better after- ward. “*We started before dawn, and had some thirty odd miles to go to strike the trail where the company was expected to camp that night. There were still some ten miles to go when, as we were rounding a small hill, the scout suddenly leaped from his horse and called to us to do the same, “He had seen Indians, and, to cut it short, we camped that night in a place where the scout said that four men could bold out for a while, even against the hun- dred or so in the party that had surround- ed us. It was a certainty, though, that we would all lose our scalps unless help eame, for there was no water to be had, and the Indians knew it and made themselves comfortable * just out of range of our rifles. The scout didn’t say much for a long time, but we could see that he was thinking as hard as any of us, and we were all pretty busy at ic There didn’t seem to be anything to suggest, or at least | there was nothing that I could think of | excepting to make a dash and try to break through. Nobody said anything in replv when I spoke of that, and the -scout | gave me a look of disgust that made me angry enough, but shut me up all the same. Finady he said: *“‘It’s just this way. These devils have caughtus and they know 1t. They won’t make a rush | for thev know we will shoot, and an In- dian wiil never risk being shot if he can get bis man without. We can’t fight our way out. There’s too many of ’em. And we can’t stay here any longer than we can live without water.’ “I asked him if the captain wouldn’t make a search for him, and he said the captain didn’t know he was coming. “He’s on his way south,’ he said, ‘and the trail he is on is ten miles to the east of us. There's only one thing that I see, and that means cerlain death for somebody, I reckon. It’s certain deata for all of us, though, 1f something ain’t done.’ We asked him what it was, and he said: ““‘If one man can make his way south- east tar enough, so that the noise of “the firing will reach the company, the captain will send a searching party. It all de- dends on how far the man gets before he the idea of riding out alone into that pack of fiends, but I realized that our only chance was for somebody to go, and I knew life was as sweet to the others as it though, for the scout to give his advice, which was for one to ride out, waving a white handkerchiel. He was to keep to the eastward and ride as hard as he dared | THEY | is kilied. If we all ride ont we will all be killed. If one man goes the others may | stand a chance.’ “We all looked at one another in silence i for a good while. My blood ran ‘cold at o = PLAYED A GAME FOR A was to me. Instinctively we began first talking about the way the man who should go should maneuver to best advantage, | before raising the question who should be !the man. It took only a few minutes, LIFE. toward the Indians, looking sharply for the weakest point in- their line toward his right. He shou!d then, make a dash and ride as hard as possible until it was all ! had to decide who should go, and I sup- posed, of course, that we would draw lots, but one of the men spoke up unexpectedly: “ “Whoever goes,’ ‘he said, ‘doesn’t want 10 start for some hours. The scout says just after daybreak is the best time. What 1s the matter of settling this thing with poker? We can play freeze-out, and three games will settle it, the winuer dropping out each time.” “The proposition caught me. You know I used to pride myself on my poker. After a little hesitation the others agreed. The man who proposed it had the cards and wecounted out 600 coffee beans for chips and began playing on a blanket folded and laid on the ground. You would think the details of a game like that would fix themselves in the memory so tuat I would be able to tell you every hand I held and every bet I made, wouldn’t you? Well, I can’t. In fact I can’t tell any- thing about the first game excepting that 1 was the first man to lose all bis chips. I had played often enough for what I thought were high stakes, but the thought that I was playing for my life rattled me completely, and I really believe I bet at random. Whatever I did I lost, and the man who had proposed the game won out. He was shot in a gambling-house three months later—had an extra ace in his sleeve, I believe, or something like that. “The next freeze-out, between three of us, was a com paratively chort one. Itdid not take more than twenty minutes for the scout to gather in all the chips, but short as it was I managed to get myself together a little, though I was still full of the thought of the value of the stakes—a thing which, I have noticed. always inter- feres with my piay. When I consider the yalue of a chip it alwaysinfluences my ‘| betting one way or the other, even though 1 try not to allow it to do so, and in this case I said to myself that each bean repre- sented the one hundred and fiftieth part of my life. In other words I was gambling away months and years instead of money. *When the third game began, however, I pulled myself together with a most tre- mendous effort and really became as cool as I ever had been before at & game of cards. The man I played against this time was a young Englishman whom I had grown to esteem highly in the short time I had known him. He was a gentle- man clear through and as cheery and com- panionable a man as I ever met. His peo- ple at home never heard this story and I hope they never will. They know that he was killed by the Indians and that he was on a hunting trip, but they never heard of over, firing as oiten as he could. Then we his last game of cards, nor of the way he rode to his death. We had each 300 bean g and half a dozen hands were deait before either of us got cards to bet on. Then on my deal I caught three deuces and made it fifty to play. He looked at his cards and raised me fifty, which I covered. He drew one card and let it Jie without looking at it, while he watched ma. Isaw him Jook- ing, of course, and I am more glad than Tam of almost anything else I ever did in an almost useless life to think that I made the worst play 1 ever saw made. I !iked the man well, as I said, and some impulse that I couldn’s understand then, and can’t explain now, told me to leave the thing to chance, and to give him a little the better chance. I had played with him before, and I was certain that he had not come back at me the way he did on two pair. He wasdrawing to a flush, and somehow I felt that he had filled it. Of course I should have drawn to the strength of my hand, but I didn’t. I drew one card only, holding up an eight spot to my deuces, and I shoved all my ‘beans into the pot without looking at my draw. “He gave me one look, in which I read a perfect appreciation of what I had done, and without a word, and without lifting his fifth card he pushed his chips forward. Then my nerve gave out. Igrewas white as death, I know, though no one ever told me so, and I actually could not lift my cards. His nerve never shook, though, apparently, and he turned his fifth card over as he laid it on the blanket. They were ail clubs. He looked atme, and I swear I saw regret in his eyes. I tell you he was a man. Then I managed to turn my hand over. I had drawn the other eight.” The Westerner stopped. He drained his glass and then said: “Waiter, bring another bottle and bring me some whisky besides. This stuff doesn’t g0 to the right spot.” Then, after he had had his drink, he said: “You don’t wonder, do you, that I don’t play poker any more ?” “No,” said his hearers, *‘but finish the story.” *Oh! there isn’t much more to it. At least that is the end of it, as I think about it. The Englishman shook hands with us all and rode away. We watched him until he fell, and he must have gone fully three miles. A good many Indians fell before he did, for he was a clever shot. Later in the day the ccmpany came to our rescue, and I am glad to say a good many more Indians paid for his death with their own.”’ "The Costly Havoc of the Leopold Trouvelot’s experiments with | moths prove rather expensive for the | State of Massachusetts. The apparently | insignificant fact of a moth’s escaping irom his lsboratory near Maiden several | years ago has resuited in a cost to the commonwealth of that State of more than $500,000, while it is probable that about $200,000 additional will have to be ex- pended. The ravaces of the gypsy mmoth and the efforts made to stop it mark one | of the most exasperating problems with | which the scientists and entomologists of | any State in the Union have ever had to | contend. | The Commissidhiers of the State Agri- | cultural Department having this matter | in charge are now sending out the reports, and are rejoiced to anncunce that they have reason to believe that the pest isat | last under control. ! In 1868 Glenwood, in Medford, was the | home of a distinguished French artist, | naturalist and astronomer named Leopold | Trouvelot. Trouvelot at that time was | deeply interested in experimenting alon - 1 the line of silk culture. In the latter part of the year he imported from Europe some | insects’ eggs, and among them were some ! of the dreaded “gypsy moth,”” as com- | monly called, but scientifically termed | Porthetria dispar. This moth in Europe | had done incalculable damage to fruit and forest trees. W AMENE %, 55 5 i by 1889 dozens of towns in the wooded country within a radius of twenty miles of Boston were interested in the questinn of what was to be done with the “caterpillars.” In. the summer seasons orcburds in a single night wouid be stripped of every leaf; currant bushes would be laid as bare as by fire, and even the native pine woode sufferea as well The moth was becoming a menace not only to Eastern Massachusetts but to the State and to other States. From meetings of the selecimen of the towns the agitation spreaa to the Assem- bly of the commonwealth, and in Decem- ber, 1889, Governor Brackett referred to it in a message to the Legislature. Early in 1890, as the result of a law passed on the subject, a board of commissioners was set at tions regarding the extent of terri- tory infested by the moth. It was ascertained that this included fifty square miles at least. The board employed scientists and entomologists, and these in turn proceeded to arrange the methods of tighting the moth. spraying of the trees with paris green. The work was applied in the widest range at Me iford, Malden, Arlington, Chelsea and Everett. It required some time for the commissioners to discover the full ex- tent of the territory infested with the moths, but atlast it was seen that towns THE ELM KILLED BY THE MOTH. One morning Monsieur Trouveiot, while at work in an upper room of his home, at 27 Myrtle street, was called away for a moment and did not think to pull down the shutters. A stray puff of wind blew some of thess moth eggs from the table and into the yard. Trouvelot, on discovering what had bhappened, was greatly frightened, for the fecudity of this species of moth is almost ineredible. He made diligent examination® snd took much precaution to spray the trees near his home with poisonous componnds. No particular attention was paid by the pub- lic to his ennouncement of the accident. ‘Within a very few years the gypsy moth had become so numerous about Medford that it threatened to destroy every vestige of vegetation. People were fighting 1t and every summer marveling at the as- tonishing myriads of caterpillars. They covered trees, fences, grasses and side- walks. For years owners of land fought the pest as ' they could, but all the while it kept spreading, and as far distant from Boston as sixty miles were tormented. The first year of the operation of this law made it plain that the scientists were accomplishing something. The region which the men treated did not suffer greatly the following year. In the prose- cution of the work of moth destruc- tion in the last six years the commis- rionex_’s have made many important dis- coveries that are extremely valuable in a scientific and agricultural way. Many valuable machines have been invented for use in this particular work. Several in- genious compounds have been prepared which have proved most effactive, The work of fighting this pest has been tremendous in its demaud for ingenuity, patience and -determination. Hundreds of acres bave been gone over foot by foot; brush land bas been burned over for the purpose of destroymg eggzs or categ pillars; even stone walls have had to be thoroughly sprayed. To one who had been in this State in 1880 work making investiga- | The first step was the | Gypsy Moth jand viewed a portion of the loeality in question the attempt to exterminate the moth or prevent its getting into other parts of the country would have seemed about as likely of success as the bunt ce s isin sight, however, and Massachu- setts citizens are rejoicea. Toshow what bas been ‘done the fullowing table is sug- gestive of the immensity of the under- taking: Trees inspected—1891, 3,591,982: 1892, 2,109,852; 1893, 4,108,494; 1894, ,229; 1896, 14,374,945, Buildings inspected—1891. 87,586; 1 102; 1893, 8328; 1894, 27,430. Wooden fences inspected—1891, 53,219; 1892, 24,936; 1893, 15,902; 1894, 35 B. Stone walls inspected—1892 814; 1894, 1620. Among the insecticides used were com- binations of ammonia, benzine, bromine, bromine vapor, chlorine, carbon, bi- sulphide, calcic, chloride, corrosive sub- limate, creosote oil, coal tar and | ' powder. Those found to be most effec- tive were the chlorine and bromine 892, 29, through a haystack for a lost needle. Sac- | | vapors. These insecticides were designed for destroying eggs. For operating 1ng-insl the moth in the caterpillar stage {'most effectual, | largely used. | Certain of the feathered tribe have | proved valuable agents in the moth de- | struction. Among these birds are the | bluejay, cuckoo, catbird, chickadee, crow, robin and woodpecker. Curiously enough, though paris green is | the prolific English sparrow is not a great | | feeder on this species of moth. | to prefer the canker-worm. It seems | Although more than $300,000 bas already | | been spent in this 1mportant effort, and | the ravages of the zypsy moth are being | restricted to a few of the interior towns of | Massachusetts, the danger is far from ‘disposed of. The commissioners will ask the Legislature to appropriate $200,000 | for carrying on the work of the coming 4 year. In the managemert of their labors the commissioners have eolicited the advice and 1nspection of the leading entomolo- gists of the country. tracted much interest in the scientific world and many European savants have | sent communications to the agricultural | board regarding the experiments in this | enterprise. it was found thatarsenate of lead was the | The work has at- | Atrtificial Rain in a Artificial rain-making and the creation of breezes while traveling at the rate of a mile a minute in a railway car constitutes the latest triumph of inventive genius. The man who bas conceived the appa- ratus by means of which these remarkable results can be brought aboutis E. H. R. Green, the general manager of the Texas Midiand Railroad. Mr, Green labors un- der the disadvantsge, so many people would believe, of being born with a s.lver spoon in his mouth, for he is the son of Hetty Green, the richest wcman in America. Mr. Green'’s clever idea has made if pos- sible for a person to travel in the warmest day of summer without suffering in the least from those twin evils of railroad journeys, dust ‘and heat. The practica- bility of the idea has been clearly shown by thorough trial, and within the past week several cars equipped with the in- vention have been daily runniug on the Texas Midland Railroad. It has been be- lieved that such a thing as constructing » practically dustproof car was out of the question. The new idea shows again that } A Church That Is Modest and Very Rich The Smallest House of Worship in the City Belongs to the Wealthiest Con- gregation The smallest church in this City is vrobably the Swedenborgian, on Lyon street, near Washington, though the little church of St. Mary the Virgin, at Steiner and Union streets, presses it very close, Comparing roughly the exteriors of the two churches one would say at once that the Swedenborgian edifice was much smaller than the Episcopal structure, but upen closer inspection one finds that the difference between the two is very smail. The Swedenborgian church is designedly modest, even humble, in its exterior, so it looks much smaller than it really is, But thers are costly treasures of both art and architecture within, and, curiously enongh, this smallest church in the City gives shelter to what is probably the rich- est congregation in the City. At all events, there are no questicns of church debt for this congregation to puzzle over, and the modest, Llumble, meek little brick structure cost more money to build and furrish and enjoys a more expensive site than a far more pretentious church edifice built by many a poorer congregation. It is called the Church of the New Jeru- salem No. 2, being the second Sweden- borgian church in this City, and in- teriorily it is one of the architectural beauties of the OCity. It was designed chiefly by the late A. Page Brown, and there are some rare paintings and fur- nistings within. . All about the little place is very quaint and odd, even strange for'a church, but very artistic as well, and quite unconventional. Its rival in point of smallness, the Epis- copal church at Steiner and Union streets, has been known as Frank Pixley’s chirch, but, in fact, the late editor did very lhittle for the church, though qtiite recently his widow has donated the land. ————— Bome ingenious rogues in Calcutta and Bombay purchase favorite brands of liquors in the original packages. They remove the good liquor, without tonching the cork or the capsul, and substitute vile stuff, This is done by drilling a hole in the bot- 1om of the bottle and filling the hole with wax when the spurious liquid has been introduced. i & They Do Business on a Tiny Bit of Land e | Smallest Piece of Improved Real Estate on Sacramento Street, Just East of Kearny The smallest piece of improved real-es- tate in San Francisco has a frontage of 6 feet 8 inches on the nortk side of Sacra- mento street, a few doors east of Kearny. For a piece of business property in the beart of the City this is as queer a little place as one could.imagil The lot ad- joining it to the west hasa frontage of 13 feet 4 incoes, while the lot on the east, which belongs to Michael Frank Michael, has a frontage of 44 feet and 2 inches. This 6 foot 8 inch strip is the property of Mrs. Mary A. Gibbons, an Alameda lady. It bas a depth of 59 feet 6inches, and every inch of bofh depth and width is fully utilized. There is a single-story, weather-boarded, blue-painted frame structure on the premises,, which brings quite a fancy rental, everything considered, for it is oc- cupied by two different firms and as many businesses, C. L. Giiler makes and sells metal dies, signs and letters here, while the firm of Koch & Harney, job printers, also do a considerable trade in this tiny struciure. The place has a show-window, of course, and a front door, which gives ingress and egress to the proprietors and their em- Pployes, but should a fat man seek to enter that door he would have to turn sideways. This is undoubtedly the very smallest piece of improved realty in Sau Francisco, and aside from this is one of the old Jandmarks of that quarter of the City. None of the stores in that neighborhood are very large, but, considering the value of the improvements, no other property in that block pays as good an income on the investment. s The ex-Empress Eugenie, who is still engaged on her memoirs, uses a penholder that is set with diamonds, This was em- ployed by the fourteen representatives in signing the treaty of peace in Paris in 1856, and was presented to the ex-Empress 2s a memento, —————— Lifeboats are now being made in some quarters of pumice-stone. This is a mate- rial of great lightness and strength, and a boat made thereof will support a consider- xsble load, even when full of water. = Smallest of Their Kind in Town He Lives In 2 Tiny Box on the Wall The Smallest Residence in San Francisco Is Inhabited by Wong Seek in China- Sowfx The smallest residence in San Francisco is, of course, located in Chinatown. It is not, however, at the end of a dark alley in a damp cellar. In many of these are some very diminutive roosting piaces, but they areelegant homes and flats compared tgQ ‘Wong Seek’s private residence on the cor- ner of Waverly place and Clay street. Wong's home is about as big as his skin —a trifle larger, of course,'to allow for his wooden shoes that go to bed with him, but the difference is not material. Wong’s home is 8 box nailed to a brick wall over the fruitstand where Wong makes a living that would not keep & white baby fat. Directly oppesite—that is to say, on the southeast corner of Waverly place and Clay street—there is another Chinama:u who has a residence similar to that of Wong. But his is larger than Wong's— whether owing to larger 'wooden shoes or to just what is not known. But it meas- ures fully a foot more in length and is an, inch or so more in thickness. The dimensions of Wong’s private resi- dence—he lives in it all by himseli—are 5 feet in length, 2 feet in width, with a ceil- ing height of 3 feet clear of the gas fixtures. For a pillow Wong haus a 90-cent oil-stove, and in the morning he cooks his break- fast on his pillow. He uses a rope-ladder to get into his home, and when he has tucked himself in for the night he pulis up his ladder and is safe. * Wong is saving lris money and will some day take the steamer for China and eart off 200 or 300 American gold dollars to the slums of Hongkong, where he will live like a prince. % e ———— In the Russian army two daysa week are observed as fasts—Wednesdays and Fridays—on which days all the soldier gets in the way of food is lentil soup and black bread and a drink consisting of water in which rye bread has been ab- sorbed.. —_—— No fewer than thirty-six specimens have been added to the reptile-house of the Zo- ological Gardens, London, during the last few weeks, several of which are new to the collection. The-chief of these is an Indian python. nothing is impossible and. that modern inventive genius can accomplish almost anything. The modus operandi of Mr. Green’s con- trivance is simpleand the mechanism free trom complications. Between the windows in the car is a ventilator so arranged as to be directly, or almost directly, beside the passenger. This ventilator is covered with a screen of exceeding fineness, both inside and out, and there is an arrangement so constructed that at the will of the passen- ger a fine spray of water plays between the two screens. This water has as its source a supply contained in a tank lo- cated beneath the car and between the trucks. It is forced upward by means of compressed air. It may readily be seen that the screen will prevent the entrance of cinders and like particles which have beeu both a menace and a discomfort to the traveler on the railway. At the same time the water, playing between the screens, catches each particle of dust, washes it away, thus keeping the air as it enters the car as fresh and clean as that in the pine woods at break of day. The car will be, so far as air is concerned, in as good a condition when traveling through the alkali desert as when passing through & country which blossoms like the rose. { rummm. T - we?GG LR RAS “® © Each of the ventilators is three feet long and remains open constantly. It is the spraying of the water which the passenger is able to regulate. With this new idea in operation it 1s wholly unnecessary to open the windows of the car at all, as the ven- tilators cause a constant change of air. Asa matter of fact the air in the car iy rendered much purer by means of Mr. Green’s invention than it would beif it found entrance through the windows. As severe a test as it is‘possible to make was applied toa car equipped with the new invention a few days ago. and the result is surprising. Fuily forty men took pa: age in this car on the trip referred to. The windows were locked and the ventil- ators put in perfect condition. The spray of water was turned on, anda the current moved steadily between the screens of each ventilator. Every passenger was a smoker, and each one lit a cigar. The routs over which the car ran was one of the dustiest sections of the road. The ailway Car volume of cigar smoke was enormous, and yet by means of the ventilating apparatus and the sprays of water the air in the car remained agreeable from first to last. While it is very difficult to indicate by means of illustration an accurate concep- tion of Mr. Green's invention, the accom- panying picture, which is drawn from a photograph taken especially for the pur- pose of rendering this article clear and ex- plicit, shows the position of the ventilator in the car and gives something of an idea ot its construction. The car in which this invention is placed is a palace one, luxtiri- ously fitted up. The ventilator gives the impression of being merely ornamental work until closely inspected. On the out- side of the car nothing is observable. At the bottom of the panels in the inte- rior of the car between each window is a small glass knob. The knob, however, is sunk in the woodwork so thatitisnot noticeable unless one looks for it. Iten- ables the traveler to have breezes at his pleasure. By slightly turning this knob the little doors or deflectorson the outside of the car are opened and in the direction in which the car is going, just the reverse of the method obsérved in the elevated e st railway trains, which prevents the cinders sifting into the car and at the same time permits veniilation, 7 AL (2 . /. 4 VIEW OF THE DUST-PROOF ' CAR. Thus 1t will'be seen that the air in plen- tiful quantity is admitted from the oat- side. On 1sadmission it encounters the first screen. Then it must sitt through the spray of water. After that comes an- other screen, and thus it is made plain that the air of necessity must be pure By the time it reaches the breathing appara. tus of the thoroughly comfortable passen- ger. It might be thought that it would be a matter of difficulty to secure a suffi- cient supply of watér, but as the only way in which that supply is reduced isby evaporation, the same water being used over and over again, it may readily be seen that the question of sufficient suj is not a difficult one to answer. . Inasmuch asthesuccess of the invention has been instantaneous it muy be stated with confidence that it is only a question oftime when the apparatus will be adopted by all railroads. It certainly solves the problem with which railroad men have been struggling for many years.