The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, September 11, 1898, Page 19

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1898. 'WHAT A s R S s SIS CAN SIE =K~ S Sy HOUT MONF P Y N2 J. W. Goodkind was stranded in New York without any money. In this predicament he decided to start across the continent for San Francisco. What singular adventures he met with, how he fared and what sights he saw will be found below: T is pos the continent ble to cros . = 3 = .o ©On the road. ) 2 from New York to San Francls®d “igiy weeks ago I was ‘broke’ in New regular washroom at the depot, just of the town. without a cent of money to STt yones o ooiq”in narrating his expe- like a first-class passenger, and re- with and have a good time in the rience. “I had not a cent to my name, moved all marks of travel. This wash- be park bargain. and there was no work in sight. One Toom was as free to me as xt} had beenv lic institutions. J. W. Goodkin 1st proved it by morning I was compelled to go without a paying patrpn‘ O,f th.e mad.l My G Sctusl tinl " He in this city a breakfast. I killed the foreroon wan- clothes were fairly good and as I sur- s few days ago and w stoppi v‘ffkd dering what I should do. Third street hotel six weekS 1 had owned in th on the jo 3 be none My room rent w e oo s ward to spending While tr: this “Goodkind Streets. fashion” has 1 \ntages it is not Pelled to do this if a happy thought had E .an.: i -\‘ 2 i Deoames not struck me. ROy, WAy, other hand it has .. WhY not go to San Francisco? I said to myself. to set out at on pends on how the trav- ss the con- of the most a cent in his < en it to me. pocket he was whirled through beauti- ful valleys on fast ex ns. He continent with mers and enjoved decided to make Buft: > great lakes. He vis- jective point and to tra: H d a num- high road. The trip wa And as a ed several ant one. ould be inclined to ply delightful. look upon Goodkind’s a of hardships, 1 be, achievement as 1 such indeed =l @ 1\l "D, August 3.—Toward the end of my leav natives that clephants had fol- from the hills. The place where fully three days’ march dis- K camp at once and moved off. On th hen ret from an unsuccessful hunt af! € came across a small v had evidently got our wind berd of wil its. Th and were alre: on the move, So, hurrying around to leeward, we lay down the track which they seemed to be fallowing. As soon ts lost our wind they apparently lost their heads also the time being and for several m round and round in a circle. 1is should ha opportu but the shikaries (trackers) we ore we could get within shot the e following day we struck off in the dir K rday’s elephants ned to have taken, and during the morning came on the t s of what was probably anothe the same size. Three or four hours’ tracking brought us up with the elephants, which we; attered through the bush, feeding as they went. The wind was ha i As we moved round we came in full view of a large femate elephant, and su had to lie motionless where we found ourselves till she shifted her position, which was not until the whole herd had moved off. It seemed as if they were going to escape us; but we followed steadily and an hour later again came up with them, this time gathered together in the one place. I was determined to get a shot if possible, and so, fol- lowed by my shikaries, ran up to the herd in a crouching position. At first there appeared to be nothing but cows and calves, the former of which did not charge, as they often do in similar circumstances, but, herding the caives together with their trunks, shambled off through the bush. herd of about As I hesitated a moment what to do the bull came crashing i to join the herd, but turned away the moment he caught t of me. This compelled me to do something at once or allow the elephant to escape. The only chance was a slim one and a dangerous one. Knowing full well that I could not kill the monster 1 fired at what I could see of him. The shot took effect in the way I had expected. Instantly he stopped, allowing the rest of the herd to break away through the forest. Then he turned and caught sight of me. With a snort of rage and pain he charged through the underbrush. Trees as thick as a man’s body he smashed like matches and the earth g under his heavy tread as if a railroad train were passing. This was a most trying moment and called for the joved life for all there was in it while dering up and down the wharves, won- Everything world had been sold. s up and I looked for- night in the I surely would have been com- I made up my mind But I was hungry. “However, a meal came tomethrough ance meeting with a friend, ed me to dine with him. him that I was going West. who I told If 1 had asked him for a loan he would not have As it was I started off across the a full stomach. I had 1o my first ob- 1 over the Le- 1 very pleas- The weather was perfection, and nature looked her best. over the State of Pennsylvania wassim- The mountain scenery The ride road. y “Landing in Buffalo. I went into the veyed myself in the glass I saw that I presented a fairly good appearance. “I then hunted a restaurant and told the proprietor I wanted a bite to eat. He told me to be seated and brought out the best he had in the place. You may be sure I filled up. Then I started to hunt a job. “Work was plentiful in Buffalo and I was soon engaged by a man on the docks. T had considerable time to my- self and visited all points of interest in the town. The beautiful parks, the fine public buildings and any number erous. on the lake. “Work was not plentiful in Cleveland, so I put in my time taking in the sights I strolled about on the handsome streets, listened to the mu- sic in the parks and visited all the pub- day and then took a steamer for To- “My second night on the lake was almost as pleasant as the first. no steamer chair, but had to stretch out on the deck. comfortably and early in the morning reached Toledo. “1 got an easy job without any trou- ble and stald in the town several days, finding the people hospitable and gen- I saw all there was to see and thoroughly enjoyed myself. “My next stop was at Detroit, also This stage was not as romantically pleasant as the others, be- try roads. 1 staid there only one progress toward the Pacific Coast. did it. moving west. Ihad of days at a farm it wWes generally the However, 1 slept constantly running:through the coun- try. Sometimes I rode in box cars and sometimes I walked over the fine coun- Occasionally 1 got a lift from a farmer, but I always made ““Whenever a day's work turned up I If there was no work I kept After working a couple State and a good producer of farm products, but the people are cold and work is scarce for. walking gentlemen of the road. “From Council Bluffs I crossed the Missouri on a trolley car and }anded in Omaha, where the big exposition was in progress. I spent a couple of days taking in the sights. The exposition alone was well werth my trip. Words cannot describe it. I saw more than I ever expect to see again and thorough- was grand and I enjoyed every bit of it just as much as if 1 had paid my fare instead of beating my way on the train. so, I fancy, than a cushioned parlor car that passed me at one station on the HUNTING ELEPHANTS of other attractions were all as free as air. “But I never forgot while sightsee- ing that I was on my way to San Fran- cisco, so I stald in Buffalo only a few days, although I must say the town treated me mighty well. “Cleveland was my next stopping place, and I started out with a little money in my pocket. For 50 cents I bought a ticket on a lake propeller and started early in the evening. It was a most enjoyable moonlight night and I lay back in a.steamer chair, getting the full benefit of it. . Cabin passen- The last part of my journey . was gers who paid big prices for state- t has a made in a boxcar and was a little rooms were no better off than I, for it rip about it. warm and close, but not much more was too hot to live inside. About mid- night I dozed off and slept until morn- ing. cause it was not moonlight; but I had nothing to complain of. “The Detroit people proved a sorry lot to me. Work was scarce and grub was more expensive than at the other places I had stopped at. I had to econ- omize. But I slept in a good bed, ate plenty of fruit, which was cheap, and had plenty of other things. I kept myself looking fairly well. There was not much to see here, but such as it was I took in and then concluded to get out. “Jackson, Mich., was my next stop. On account of a constitutional short- age in cash I was not spending any more money than I had to, so I made the journey on a freight train. There was no hardship connected with it only a slight discomfort. The worst blow I suffered on the trip was when I ar- rived at Jackson and found that it didn’t have a public wash room at the station just as there had been at all the other places. You see it was a great point with me to always look as spruce and clean as I could when I entered a city. Work and seeing sights seemed to come easier. T looked pretty battered and found out the effect when I strueck a man for a job. He had no use for me. “This was a lesson that had been rubbed into me enough and after that I always specially managed to look °nt whenever I asked for work. From now on I simply wandered as my fancy suited me. Sometimes I paid small fares and rode for short distances on the elegant trains chat are THESE PHOTOGRAPHS.” A LIVING TOAD IN A SNAKE. I should be obliged by your inserting the following experience if you think it re- markable: Yesterd: e killed an adder (?) here about 38 inches long, and seeing that he had made a 1 evidently some little time before, out of curiosity we opened him and extracted a large toad, which was about half-way down the snake’s in- terior, or about e} inches. The' toad, whose head was much wider than the s and whose body W many times as | s his enemy’s head we of course all thought must be dead: and we laid him on a flower bed, wonder- ing how hé& could have got inside the snake at all, for it certalnly seemed a e of the greater being contained in the less. Of course we kncw the marvelous stretching powers of a snake's jaws, but Dispatch, words came true. this Lo celipse them 5 L e s P tethoten ot Jamaica and it follows: ing to him, and, a water 1y astonished to see him revive, so much s0 that he stood upon all-fours, blown out like a balloon, and made a kind of a dart at a stick in the most comical way. E\enlm.ll{ “Jonah,” as we promptly christened him, disappeared among the flowers, Can any of your readerfi cwme a like case of resuscitation? ‘erhaps some of them might be able to afford in- formation as to the probable duration of the toad's entombment. W. MAJOR. F. Woodlands, Bettws-y-coed, N. Wales, Au- Bust 2, L PROGRESSO ITALO-AMERICANO, a newspaper printed in New York City, contained in its latest issue the following remarkable let- ter with which is here printed the Italian editor’s prefatory note, as translated by the Berlitz School of Languages, for the Sunday Post- Christopher Columbus, destitute, sick and starving at the place where now is Kingston, Jamaica, wrote to his King and Queen that the New World by him gained to Spain would bring ruin to the latter and thus avenge the wrongs and cruel treatment that this mation has caused him. His Cuba is the last nail in the coffin of dead Spain. That It is in the records of the Council House of Letter of Christopher Columbus, in Jamaica, to King Ferdinand: JAMAICA, 1504, IEGO MENDEZ and the papers that I send through him w.ll show your Highness that I discovered in Veragua some rich gold mines, and as I intended to leave my brother at the River Belin, had not heaven’s decree and the greatest misfortunes of the world prevented me from carrying out my plan. Highness as well as your successors should have the glory and advantage of ally-and that the completion of discovery and the colonization should be reserved to more fortunate penple than the unlucky Columbus. If God grants me to have Mendez reach Spain I have no doubt that he will convince your Highness, my High Lady, that this will not be only a Castilla and Leon, but the discovery of a world of people, greater than the most houndless human fancy could imagline, or tha: avare . However, it is enough that your of lands of wealth, custom for the people to give me a big bundle of grub in addition to my pay It was always enough to last me sev eral days. As the weather was pleas- ant I nearly always slept ontdoors under the shelter of some friendly hay stack. So you see I needed very little money. “Before ieaching the Mississippi River I visited Kalamazoo, Mich., and spent several hours in the beautiful public library there. Then I moved over into Indiana and took in all the principal tow; including Wabash, Logansport, Danville, Decatur, Bloom- ington, Peoria and Burlington. In most of these cities T was well treated and could have obtained steady work at any of the places. But I was bound for Californi the land of plenty. I was on Westward, ho! business. “I crossed the Mis ppi on a fine ferryboat and landed in Burlington, Ia., in the best of shape. I was feeling fine after my three weeks on the road. The trip did me good physically and T am sure I improved my mind, for T saw many strange and curious things. ‘“There was very little work to be had in Iowa, as I discovered almost as soon as I arrived. As my few dollars were growing smaller I concluded to shake the dust of the State from my feet as soon as possible. T stuck to freight cars as much as possible, but occasion- ally got bounced. I managed to see what there was to see of Des Moines and Ottumwa and got across the State in three days. Towa is a beautiful ly enjoyed myself. if I paid to get in and stopped at the Just a: much so as finest hotel in town. Omaha is very hospitable. That is, without any money I found it so. “Almost broke I pulled out of Omaha, on a stock train. Then my troubles began. I had struck the thin edge of the Western country. Food was scarce, work scarcer and the landscape deary. Across Nebraska it was flat and bare, and then desolate mountains rose on all sides as I got into Wyoming.. “Utah was no more encouraging. “By the time I crossed the Nebraska line my money was practically all gone and I had to go along as a ‘bum.’ ‘Water to wash with there was none, and I even went thirsty on more than one occasion. Food was hard to get be- cause the people who might have given it to me had not enough for them- selves. “At night I always slept on the ground, and occasionally I passed nights of horror when I heard the wild beasts howling around me. Frequently I heard rattlesnakes hissing near me, and had to get up and build a fire to keep them away. “Ogden was an oasis in the desert, but times are hard in the State and I could not get work there. However, I was well fed and given a place to ep, so that the few days I was there I thoroughly recuperated, and with a scant layer of fat on my ribs I pushed on West. “I got a job in a hay field near Bat- tle Mountain for a few days. The money I earned there got me some clothes when I got to Reno, so that when I neared the California line I was looking like a gentleman. Once more I began to really enjoy life after those horrible weeks I had spent on the deserts of Wyoming, Utah and Nevada. “At Truckee I thought I had struck Paradise. Beautiful mountains, cool streams, big trees and hospitable peo- ple. Food was plenty and nobody greatest coolness o if each moment w: I could see mothin, pulled the trigger. The ball his knees specimen. be crushed to death. i 0? the elephant came, ng larger with every jump. His trunk wa V! in the air and he \\'8)5 E N ilnest e He was boiling with rage. As T glanced along the sights of my rifle it seemed as as an age and the elephant the universe, g but the With foam, and the two cruel tusks of shining ivory. He would not get into the his trunk in the way fraction of a second When the elcphant was within fifteen feet of me I re- alized that I must make two shots of finishing him and would let me go hungry. I was in God’s country, sure enough. “I could easily have ridden down the mountains on a freight train, but I con- cluded to walk and get the full benefit of the glorious yiews of mountain scenery. I was feeling happy again and was thoroughly enjoying life. For a very little bit of work people gave me food and money besides. “The walk through the snow sheds was thoroughly enjoyable. “I had a glimpse of Donner Lake and the grandest views on all sides of me for miles and miles. Then I spent a day or so in the big orchards of the Sacramento Valley, and when I had seen all T wanted to see, moved on to San Francisco. “Here I am, still enjoying myself. The Palace Hotel is a grand place and well worth traveling miles to. No, am not stopping there, but nobody has refused me permission to see the beau- ties of its magnificent court and splen- did halls. But there are so many things to see in San Franci§co, all with< out money and without price, that I am glad to be here. “This ¥s the best place T have struck and a fitting wind-up to my pleasure trip across the continent, which I made without a cent to start out with.” —_——— The Museum of Natural History, New York, has recently acquired one of the finest collections of butterflies in the world.- The specimens were secured in every part of the earth by scores of col- lectors. High prices are paid for buttere flies, and some private collections, such as that of the Hon. W. Rothschild at Tring, Herts, are said to be worth £100,- 000, more or less. Some New Guinea but- terflies have fetched £50 apiece. One of the Rothschilds is said to have paid £200 for a Papilio, now quite comimon. The demand for rare specimens has led to dig- ho‘nestyr. The insects are dyed, or eise Wwings from one species are f: the bodies of otherpspecies. el o OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO0OO0OOOOOO000OO000OOOOOOOO0OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOGOO006000OO00000000OOODOOOOOOO0000309000 IN SOMALILAND. % % n my part. To miss my aim meant ta his monster body seemingly grow- bellowing in the wildest manner. cavernous mouth, dripping position I wanted. He kept of a true shot to his brain and each came nearer and nearer. grazed the top of his head and brought him to as limp as a rag. struck the earth the trunk stretched two feet of where I was crouching in But I wasted no time. planted a ball right between the elephant's eyes. close range it took instant effect and a long-drawn breath the monstrous creature lay dead. Having shot one elephant I now only wanted one more That night eiephants watered close to the zeriba (camp). daybreak and were still following at found where the tracks had been crossed during the night by a larger herd, in which were several bulls. These latter We followed and presently discovered gathered together under a shady forest tree, When the monstrous body out to wthin one or the underbrush. rifle in position and At the with one quiver and I got my in a water hole ‘We went after them before midday when we where the flies seemed to bother EPHANTS, AND WE CUT OUT THE IVORY @AND TOOK them less than elsew here. The wind blew in the right direc- tion so the stalk was comparatively easy. I gave the nearest bull the heart shot with the right barrel, and, as they paused before moving off, ran forward and fired the left into what I thought was the head of the same elephant. All disappeared in the bush, but, on following up, trumpet- ing in front told us the bullets had taken effect. We found {zot only one elephant lying dead, as I had expected, but WO. I had evidently fired at two different animals and thus unintentionally killed a third elephant. Both had fallen fully fifteen miles from camp, so we found it necessary to return at once. Heavy rain fell during the night and by the time we left the zeriba the following morning all tracks seemed to an unpracticed eye obliterated. The Somalis, however, soon picked up what remained of the trail, by means of which we were enabled to discover the dead elephants, cut out the ivory and take these photographs. J. JOHNSTON-STEWART. ice itself could desire, but not by me, nor by this paper, nor by any mortal tongue could be described the anxiety and the sorrows of my body and mind, and the destitution and dangers of my son, of my brother and of my friends. Ten years already we are bound to this place, lodged on the uncovered decks of our ships thrown ashore, one against the other; those of my men who were healthy have deserted me under the Porrasi of Sevilla; my friends, who remained true to me, are mostly sick or dying; we have con- sumed all food supplies of the Indians, and these have left us now. So, we are all exposed to starve, and these misfortunes are accompanied by the worst circumstances, that make me the most unfortunate victim of fate that this world has ever seen. It seems like God’s anger has favored the envy of Spain, and would punish as criminal deeds the undertakings and dis- coveries that the past ages would have recognized as grand and worthy. It is evident that one resorts to every means to cut the thread which Is about to break, since I am in my old age, oppressed and afflicted with unbearable pains of gout, and I am now languishing and dying of this and other sickness, among the savages, where I cannot find any medicines, nor proper food for the body, nor a priest, nor sacraments for the soul. My men are rebelling against me; my brother, my son and those who remained faithful to me are sick, hungry, dying; the Indians have forsaken us. The Governor of San Domingo sent to see whether I was dead, rather than to help us, or to bring me away allve from here, for his boat did not bring us any letter, nor has communicated with us, nor did they want to receive any letter from us. I conclude, therefore, that the officers of your Highness intend that here must end my travels and my life. Q, holy Mother of God, who has pity on the oppressed, why did not Bobadilla's knife kill me when he deprived me and my brother of the gold earned jn such ha-n_d maaner, and sent us back to Spaln without any trial, ERARAR S R B R e e R R R RS e R R e B R R R R R R R R R R R O B S S e S R : PROPHECY OF COLUMBUS CONCERNING SPAIN AND CUBA. : MR E R E S P PP OGS At et R R TP PP TS TY PP P PPPPPPPPS PSSP PUTTI DU EU NSO EEY without any crime ,without even a shadow of bad conduct? Let the whole worla and every jus- tice and mercy loving soul weep for me. And you, glorious saints of God, you who know of my innocence, and who see all my sufferings, have mercy on me. Because, although the pres- ent generation is envious and hard:hearted, curely the future ages will pity poor Christopher Columbus, when they will learn that he, risking his own life and that of his brother, with very little or no expense to the crown of Spain, in ten years and four voyages rendered more services than any mortal being has ever rendered to any prince or to any country, and not- withstanding he was left to perish, without being accused ©f the slightest crime, in poverty, in misery, having taken everything away from him but his chains, so that he who gave Spain a new world has neither safety nor a hut for himself nor for his unfortunate family. But if heaven would continue to persecute me, seeming dissatisfied for what I have done, just as if the discovery of this new world should be of harm to the old one, and as a punishment for this it would allow my life to end in this miserable place, you, gogd angels, you, who help the oppressed and the innocents, bring this sheet to my grand lady. She knows how much I have done; she will believe what I have suffered for her glory and service; she will be just and kind enough not to allow that the children of the one who gave Spain such untold wealth, such vast and unknown kingdoms and empires, should be without any food and should only live of alms. She, if she lives, will consider that cruelty and ungraiefulness will ex- cite the anger of heaven, the v-ealth discovered by me will become an in- strument to excite the entire mankind to revenge and to robbery, and ‘Spain will suffer what just now her envious, malignant and ungratefu! peo- ple cause others to suffer. Within a few months after writing this letter Columbus was returned to Spain, where he lay a long time system has now in prison awaiting trial. The total length of the world's telegraph| A horse will live twenty-five days with. Teached 4,908,921 mlf: I o . ut food, merely drinking water,