Pecos County Pickings. (Fort Stockton, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 1, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 30, 1899 Page: 1 of 8
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CABS
|H*T MKT
riON.
|B«rths Maf-
devised
I who con-
model in
land whose
rement in
|chea” were
Caasler’a
vaa then a
■attached to
|rr« Haute
original
| but at first
railroads,
Woodruff
patent in
Irlty of in-
led. Having
(he was, af-
Itted to at-
I on tho
between
ag its first
personally
each pas-
e, and was
| passengers
the trip.
Mked about
demand for
|anently es-
tie sleeping
i'oads when
jNew York
loodruff full
|lng his car
merits to
President
tlroad com-
pass to Mr.
I be ran the
|ss earnings
rn fare for
Idea began
| west In the
Pullman,
Woodruffs
licago, con-
might be
passengers
cars com-
provlded
he altered
|Chlcago It
them into
considered
ky previous-
b*. Pullman
|Lhe Chicago
st a cost of
|t departure
was named
by the let-
that the
ild be qultSi—
lg cars that
It had Im-
|d deck and
llgher and a
flien in ser-
sble altera-
land bridges
J cars of Mr.
|re than old-
s, provided
|ts, stored at
> and spread
sre so con-
Each car
passengers,
iras a double
|sgle berths
or fixtures
charge was
for an up-
experlment,
|sleeplng car
odern ideas
Id be was
1 Thomp-
he Wasson
at Spring-
867 or early
rom him by
One of
ts in sleep-
wlder and
provements
found that
pper berths
and vitiated
in the In-
ti ve feature
le deck, af-
he ordinary
Another
oductlon of
which per-
s bedding in
behind it
keeping cars
d placed in
York Cen-
ween New
He subse-
i to draw-
vel, and in
■ar of this
ms about
sbout 11,000.
In North
arsa nearly
only about
is la that
and Natal,
species,
them, about
the present
^Pfctrs Countij Strivings.
VOL. Tl.
FORT STOCKTON, PECOS COUNTY, TEXAS, THURSDAY, MARCH :«>, 1899.
NO. 1.
PUT TO SLEEP BY PHONOGRAPH
This, with the Aid of Revolving Color Disks, Is the Newest
Cure for Insomnia.
If you can’t sleep, tie up to a phono-
graph. It dispels bad dreams and goes
a long way toward preventing those
forms of insanity to which insomnia
and nightmares lead. Many a man in
the over-busy life of today takes his
worries to bed with him, where they
torment him half the night. This Is
wearing on the nerves, for after being
harassed by the thousand noises of the
city during the day the nerves demand
rest. Only sleep can give It to them,
and nowadays the time set apart for
sleep is all too short, thanks to the
demands of business and of social du-
ties. And to be deprived of half of even
this scant portion by a lot of demon
plans and schemes that are trouble-
some enough In day time is an unmiti-
gated outrage.
Dr. J. Leonard Corning has Just In-
terested his colleagues by a remai'k-
able treatise showing how to induce
sleep in even the most obstinate cases
of Insomnia. The doctor’s method Is
one of substitution. He puts harmony
in place of discord. Instead of dis-
traction he introduces concentration,
and soon unconsciousness, or If his
patients dream their dreams are pleas-
ant rather than morbid.
He uses a phonograph, supplemented
by a magic lantern, fitted with revolv-
ing disks of various colors, and so con-
trives that the patient is under the ef-
fects of color harmony and sound har-
mony at the same time—a duplex lul-
laby. It Is a combination few, if any,
can resist, though the doctor modestly
1 says that his Instruments are merely
K “adjuncts to the purely medical re-
sources already at our disposal.’’
Dr. Corning materially softens the
tones that come from the metal dia-
phragm of the phonograph. This sof-
with his going to sleep. Besides, If
he looks steadily at the revolving
lights his power of attention will ex-
haust Itself, and, forgetful of this head-
gear, he will fall quietly to sleep to
whatever tune the phonograph hap-
pens to be delivering. Sometimes a
particularly fidgety patient may need
trional—10 to 15 grains—but that Is
seldom.
The lantern is the ordinary stercop-
tlcon with rotating disks Instead of
slides. The disks revolve In opposite
directions by simply cog-wheel gear-
ing, for which a small electric motor
supplies the power. As the light falls
on the screen when the disks are In
motion there Is a gentle flowing con-
tinuity of effect, as though one were
watching a running brook, and at the
same time a harmonious though ever-
changing color effect, as though one
looked down upon the dancers from a
box at the charity ball. To avoid
breaks In the flow of harmony, which
might weaken or discompose the pa-
tient, the doctor uses two phonographs
connecting the tube of the second to
the tube of the first. Just when the
cylinder on the first machine has run
out he starts machine No. 2, and the
interval between the two is hardly
appreciable. He always places his
phonographs in a room adjoining the
one the patient occupies, because he
can operate them there without fear
of disturbing his subject. It a patient
Is particularly weak or debilitated, Dr.
Corning advises some form of mild
stimulant before the treatment be-
gins.
Wlieo IV»tner Soothe*.
"Harmony,” says the doctor, “is
more effective than melody In this vl-
up In art and music, but overfond of
speculative philosophy, two years ago
suffered an emotional strain. After
that he had to do a great deal of brain
work. He became morbid. Then an
eye trouble shut him from his books
Recovered from this he still had mel-
ancholia. Under treatment he cheered
up completely, and whenever since
then he has felt dangers of the "blues”
he has only to recall the images and
the music of the treatment, and the
clouds roll by.
A man past middle life had good di-
gestion but bad dreams. He believed t
they were evil omens. He would not
hear of phonographic vibrations for a
long time until, finally, declaring his
skepticism vehemently, he consented
to try Dr. Coming's plan. He was slow
to go to sleep, but ho did eventually. !
Then the doctor put out the lamp, but
kept the music going two hours more. |
The next morning the patient said he
had dreamed as much as ever, but j
pleasantly. He took music every night
The Papuans of New Guinea
A Correspondent Among the Aborigines
of the Worlds Largest Island.
(Port Moresby, New Guinea, Letter.)
Eight months ago the Philippines
were as little known to the great
newspaper reading world as New
Guinea or Papua is today. New Guinea
lies right in the track of the steamship
route between Hongkong, Manila and
Sydney, N. 8. W. Your representative
started from Sydney In October to vis-
it the big tropical island, and saw what
must some day be a country of great
progress and wealth.
The aboriginal population of New
Guinea is believed to exceed 1,000,000.
They are pure Papuans, and may be
after that for five weeks, when the described as a barbaric race. Many of
memories of his former nightmares
had gone. Only once since then has
anything approaching his former trou-
ble bothered him.
A speculator who took his cares to
bed with him, thoughtlessly at first,
but later because he could not help
himself, came to such a state that
sleep without drugs was impossible.
These ceased to affect In time, and he
began the use of stimulants by day to
keep himself up and by night to put
himself to sleep. After a while this
scheme failed. He lost his grip. He
did not care for music, but the colors
help him. and he went to sleep in a
couple of hours. As treatment advanc-
ed, he fell to sleep earlier and earlier,
and began to appreciate the tunes.
them are still cannibals; most of them
are warlike; and all of them are hon-
est. which latter fact is sufficient proof
that they have not yet become civilized
In the ordinary" acceptation of the
term. In appearance they are decided-
ly picturesque, being well-formed and
graceful, and possessed of by no means
ill-looking faces. Their color ranges
from light to dark brown, some being
as fair as the Samoans, and others
again almost as dark as negroes. Their
heads and features vary so much in
size and shape that they cannot be
classed under any one type. Their hair,
which is wavy and luzurlunt, they
wear mostly combed back over their
shoulders, and often held off their
foreheads by bands of fibers or beads.
Finally by recalling their accompany- in their hair, of which they are very
lng color harmonies he could bring the
music back to mind, and after treat-
ment ceased he could call up the cure
by a slight will effort, if need be.
A young woman, who could enjoy
neither reading nor writing, who was
Jit
'up
V
5—3-
tenlng Is due likely to the length of
the rubber tube between the phono-
graph and the patient.
Usually folk wish the lights out
wtyen they would sleep, unless they
are badly trained children and over-
nervous and afraid of nightmare; but
the doctor uses lights of many colors,
and, moreover, makes these colors
revolve, which gives an hypnotic ef-
fect.
Read/ for the Trial.
The patient lies on a couch ready for
the doctor to begin operations. He
wears the acoustic hood or helmet,
which a long rubber tube connects
with the phonograph on the shelf over-
head. A speaking tube connects
with this tube. Through this the pa-
tient hears what ever the doctor has
to say. Back of the patient is the
■tereopticon with an electric battery
attachment for running the revolving
disks. At the foot of the couch Is the
Bcreen on which the lantern casts the
kaleidoscopic designs. The helmet 1b
of canvas or soft leather. It fits tight-
ly to the head, except at the ears,where
the doctor has cut the material away,
leaving the face exposed. Over each
ear, Instead of the cloth or leather,
theiti Is a metallic souser Just deep
enough to cover on the ear without
pressing It. There Is a nipple at the
top of each saucer, to which the ends
of the forked rubber tube attach. Aft-
er arranging the helmet properly the
patient can He In any position com-
fortably wunout losing mnnectlon
with the phonograph, .which obviously
he could not do if he used the ordin-
ary metallic forks. As the edges of
the saucers have soft pads that press
closely against the head about the ears,
they shut out effectively all sounds ex-
cept those from the phonograph or
from tta apaaklng tube.
The helmet’s pressure is sufficiently
unusual to make It a hindrance nt
niter the patient haa
bratory form of
treatment, and for
this reason selec-
tions from the
Wagnerian compo-
sitions render ex-
cellent service. Ar-
peggios and minor
chords are likewise
e)ceedlngly effective. Most of the
music to be had In the shops is
worthless for the purpose, but I
am happy to say that of late, what
with the Improvement In the re-
producer and the more dexterous prep-
aration of the cylinders, more perfect
though less plentiful harmony is now
avall&Me. Should the volume of sound
be too great, it may be diminished
either by plugging the ears or by
blocking the conducting tube with cot-
ton."
Not only do musical vibrations drive
away the blues and bad dreams, and
produce cheerfulness and pleasant
dreams In their stead, but when ad-
ministered during profound uncon-
sciousness they massage the brain
cells, so to speak, giving that almost
ungettable ofgan a sort of physical ex-
ercise that stimulates and strengthens
its material, J 1st as hearty outdoor ex-
ercise or work in a well ventilated
gymnasium strengthens other parts of
the body. They are a helpful stimulant
and also an efflt tent substitute for the
drugs and intoxicants so many use to
keep up the pace they feel they must
maintain In business, or In pleasure,
or In both. Any one of these things
U a whip, but It Is not well to whip
the brain. Exhausted brain cells re-
cover slowly, far more slowly than
thoee cells that make up the tissue of
the body. Phpsical prostration is a
trifle when compared with nervous
procuration.
Caass That W#ra Cars*.
Dr. Co 'lng cites these case* ee rep-
resentative of ike classes of patients
HOW IT IS DONE.
always in dread at the thought of
work or at responsibility, was pro-
foundly melancholy each morning
from the time she awoke until mid-
day. She had not the least impulse
to arise until she had drunk strong
coffee or other stimulant. She tried
many treatments without relief. At
last she tried the phonograph and the
revolving colors. Her melancholy dis-
appeared. With the aid of a little tri-
onal she was asleep soon. The next
morning she felt better than she had
for months. The depression was gone.
On the fifth night the trional was un-
necessary. Her appetite returned with
her Improvement, and soon she was
well.
&
Valuable Swords of Honor.
A carved sword of honor, owned by
the Gackwar of Baroda, India, Is by
far the most valuable In the world,
Its hilt and scabbard being encrusted
with diamonds, rubies and emeralds
of the rarest kind, the whole being
valued at £220,000. Several of the na-
tive Indian princes have swords of
honor of more than half the value of
that belonging to the ruler of Baroda,
the golden hilts being studded with the
most valuable precious stones. The
Shah of Persia had a sword valued at
upwards of £10,000 which he wore on
hie visit to Great Britain. The czar
of Russia and the sultan of Turkey
possess swords, set with diamonds and
other precious stones worth thousands
of pounds. The sword of honor p re-
nted to Lord Wolseley by the Egyp-
tians Is set with diamonds and valued
can fly 1M miles as hour.
proud, they wear fancy comba. In-
geniously constructed of bamboo, fish
bones, and artistically decorated with
feathers and beads. Some of the
coastal men dye their hair a sort of
light red color. This is done by the
application of lime, but whether with
the fixed Intention to dye It or with
the object of killing parasites, I am
unable to say. In agriculture, house
and canoe building, wood carving, pot-
w-rt / au't in •, vt't \ - r*^x
minor arts of life, they have attained a
fair degree of proficiency. Some of the
personal orna-
ments of this inter-
esting people are
very pretty and in-
genious and much
of their carving,
considering tho
fact that they have
at their disposal
the most primitive
tools—sharp shells
or stone—Is won-
derfully executed.
They fully recog-
nize the rights of
property, Including
the individual own-
ership of land.
Many of their
customs are quaint;
many more arc
grewsome. Th e y
are great believers
In charms, and
many of them
wear a number of
strange ornaments
always about their
person. The fight-
ing charm of the
northeast coast na-
tives Is made of
boar’s tuskB, stand-
ing out from an
oval-shaped disk of
native twine, closely plaited, and
worn around the face and over the
crown of the head, under the chin
and before the ears, and kept in posi-
tion by a sort of bit, which they hold
firmly between the teeth. It gives them
a very ferocious appearance, especially
when they have their war paint on,
and Is supposed to afford them an im-
munity from wounds or death by bat-
tle. Their love charms are of various
designs, and are generally believed to
make the wearer lrrtsistlble in the
eyes of the fair sex. One man. a mem-
ber of the Taburl tribe, showed the
writer a charm by which he said he
, had married “three fellow Mary”
(three wives), and, Judging from the
readinec* flth which he parted with
it for tomahawk, It would appear
that Vflth him, at least, marriage was
a failure. Many of the natives bury
their dead beside their houses, but
others place the bodies on raised plat-
forms some way from the village, and
when the flesh disappears from the
bones take the skulls and keep them
In a hut built for the purpose. Al-
though In their blood feuds, “to obtain
payment” In blood fur a slain relative
or tribesman, they never in their wild
stats hesitate to kill women and chil-
dren, they are In natural disposition
neither bloodthirsty nor cruel. They
are all cheerful and communicative,
very affectionate in their domestic re-
lations, and have a keen sense and en-
joyment of humor and fun. They laugh
oftener than they frown, and, having
. nothing to want for, live n happy-go-
lucky Mr. Mlrawber existence, never
working till they are hungry, and then
leaving the morrow to take care of it-
self. They are a flowery, poetic peo-
ple, and sing their peculiar pastoral
songs as they pursue their every-day
avocations. Thus, as they paddle their
canoes toward their favorite fishing
haunts, they sing of the dancing wave-
lets and the bright sunshine, and If
employed nt their taro and yam
patches they chant of the plentiful
harvest they will snatch from the
breast of the earth.
They do not appear to have any par-
ticular religion of their own, unless
their unstinted worship of nature may
be called a religion (and some would
call it the truest form of religion), but
many of their dancing and war songs,
which even the singers are unable to
Interpret, and which have been handed
down from ancient centuries, point to
some sacred observances, now forgot-
ten, that were In vogue long ago, al-
though time has altered their meaning,
and they have lost all religious sig-
nificance.
They are particularly superstitious
and somewhat mercenary, and it Is
quite a common thing for one tribe
to be subsidized by another to provide
wind, rain and plentiful harvests from
land or sea. 8hould a man be sick or
die,* It is obvious to his relations that
he has been Invisibly speared by
some earthly enemy. Should no fish
or wallaby fall to their snares or
their spears, a breach of contract on
the part of some local sorcerer ac-
counts for the had luck, and woe be-
tide the sorcerer who comes under the
ban In this way! To Buch simple
causes many of the old-time Intertribal
wars might have been traced—and, In-
deed, their deep-rooted superstitions
are accountable for much trouble at
the present day. Their ideas about a
-rv*V\trc arflltm *»•** 7 »» r r • r
ary. Some natives, on being ques-
tioned, have expressed an opinion that
United States. On the occasion of his
recent visit to St. Louis to officiate at
the golden Jubilee celebration of St.
John’s church, the Philadelphia pre’.atn
rode In a carriage to the parochial res-
idence with Bishop Glennon, who also
assisted In the ceremonies. Bishop
Glennon Is rather diminutive in site,
and of slight build, especially In the
stomachic region, while Arc'tbishop
Ryan Is tall and very robust. As they
alighted from the carriage Archbishop
Ryan said to his companion: "Bishop
Glennon. I once was asked to explain
the difference between a bishop and an
archbishop. I answered (and the arch-
bishop extended his arms in a semi-
circle from hts own healthy body, a^
the same time glancing rather sharply
at Bishop Glennon): The difference Is
all In the arch.”
MURDER AND ITS PENALTIES.
Stall.lie* nagarUluv Effect of Capita)
1'unlthiurnt on This Crime.
From the New York Post: At *
hearing before a legislative commit-
tee In Boston on a bill for the abolition
of the death penalty. George L. Patters
son of Cambridge presented statistics
bearing on the subject. He said that
he had at one time made a special
study of the matter uud had collected
considerable material from original
sources. In Michigan, which was the
first state to abolish capital punish-
ment, there were thirty-seven murders
In the thirteen years preceding the
passage of the law abolishing the death
peuuky, and thirty-one In the thirteen
years following its abolition, a small
decrease on the face of It, but as tho
population had In the second Interval
increased about 00 per cent the actual
decrease In murder was more than 40
per cent. Khude Island abolished the
death penalty In 1852, and from 1860
to 1870 the records allowed that there
had been a decrease In the crime of
murder of about 40 per cent. In Wis-
consin, where the penalty was abol-
tow.
and in Maine, where It had been abol-
ished and reinstated and again abol-
V
%
Ml
I v®
A NATIVE VILLAGE IN NEW QUIN EA.
after death there is no more—that
their bodies crumble away—and that
Is the end; while others, with more
Imagination, have asserted that a long
Journey is taken by the departed,
sometimes by gea and sometimes by
land, until fertile mountains or Is-
lands are reached, where a life of
peace and plenty awaits them. As
with the Chinese, bo with these na-
tives—It is by no means an uncom-
mon custom for food to be placed be-
side the graves of the dead. Feast-
ing, dancing, national chants and oc-
casional cannibalistic luxuries usurp
with these people the functions and
religious ceremonies common with the
more civilized races. Departure for or
return from trading expeditions or
war. the ingatherings of yams, as well
as the occasion of birth, marriage or
death, are all celebrated with consid-
erable eclat, accompanied with much
feasting, banging of drums and gener-
al "corroboree.” Their dubus, or
carved pillar temples, are obviously
associated with religious, or, rather,
superstitious conceptions, but, so far
as has been ascertained, at least, they
have no heathen god, and In spite of
the efforts of the missionaries, do
not seem particularly anxious to alter
their state.
niahop and ArrhbUImp.
The St. Louie Republic prints the
following: "Archbishop Ryan of Phil-
adelphia. who was formerly coadjutir
bishop to the lets Archbishop KenrL'k,
of St. Louie. Is one of the beet known
wits In the Catholic hierarchy of the
i^ied, the decrease had been about the
same. In Iowa It had been abolished
and reinstated, but In the four years
from 1872 to 1876, while the penalty
was not in force, there was one mur-
der for every 1,200,000 of the Inhab-
itants, as against one murder for every;
800,000 in the four preceding years.
From sources not original he had
gathered these facts: In Norway, from
1869 to 1879, fourteen men were sen-
tenced to death and only three exe-
cuted; In Austria, from 1870 to 1879,
there were 806 death sentences and
only sixteen executions; in Denmark,
from 1870 to 1880, ninety-four were sen-
tenced and one executed; in England,
about 76 per cent of all the trialg for
offenses not punishable by death re-
sulted In conviction, while only 33 per
cent of the trials for offenses punish-
able by death resulted in conviction; in
the United States the average number
of trials for murder each year was
about 2,500 and there were from 100 to
150 convictions. Holland has abolished
the death penalty, and there has been
a decrease In crimes formerly punished
In that way. In Portugal, which abol-
ished the death penalty In 1867. there
had been a marked decrease in homi-
cides, as he had been assured by the
United States consul at Lisbon, who
had consulted native authorities.
Oeveremeit.
In the government of men a
deal may be done b> severity,
love, but most of af) by a
pays no respect to
J
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Keady, Ray M. Pecos County Pickings. (Fort Stockton, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 1, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 30, 1899, newspaper, March 30, 1899; Fort Stockton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth988435/m1/1/: accessed July 10, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .