Part 6

Simple chimneys are constructed of logs and mortar, or of stones and mortar, such as those built for log cabins; of brick, also of cement and of iron pipes made for the purpose. Since a long column of hot air produces a stronger current than a short one, the tallest chimneys, other things being equal, produce the strongest draft. Tall chimneys are larger at the base than at the top. This is to make the structure stable and to increase the draft by contracting the flue at the top. At the bottom the chimney is usually connected with the fire by a flue. A fireplace, however, is practically an enlarged part of the chimney.

The size and height of a chimney depend upon the size of the furnace. For larger furnaces there is greater danger of making the flue too small than too large. The stacks or chimneys of the largest steamships like the Mauritania and the Imperator are so large that two railway trains could run through them abreast, and they are about 175 feet in length. The difference between a chimney and a smokestack is in name only; chimneys constructed of tubing made from iron plates are usually called stacks.

--_From "The World Book". Courtesy of W. F. Quarrie & Co._

QUESTIONS

1. How does a difference between warm and cold air make chimneys useful?

2. Why is a tall chimney better than a short one?

3. How large are the chimneys or stacks on the largest steamships?

IS IT TRUE?

Arrange your paper as you are accustomed to do. Number the lines from one to ten. As you read each of the following statements, decide for yourself if it is true or false, and write the word _true_ or the word _false_ as the case may be, on the proper line of your paper.

1. Cloth is woven on looms.

2. Strawberries grow on trees.

3. The American Indians were always friendly to the early settlers.

4. Russia is a happy country.

5. The monks of the middle ages were the best educated men of their time.

6. The Pilgrims settled Virginia in 1620.

7. It is not important that a voter should be intelligent.

8. Warm clothing costs less than doctors' bills.

9. Education is cheaper than revolution.

10. Money earns money.

FRANKLIN WRITES FOR THE NEWSPAPER

Here is Benjamin Franklin's own account of his first attempt at writing. You see, he did not have a chance to learn to write, as you do, by practice in composition in school.

My brother had, in 1720 or 1721, begun to print a newspaper. It was the second that appeared in America, and was called the "New England Courant". The only one before it was the "Boston News-Letter". I remember his being _dissuaded_ by some of his friends from the undertaking, as not likely to succeed, one newspaper being, in their judgment, enough for America. At this time (1771) there are not less than five and twenty. He went on, however, with the undertaking; and after having worked in composing the types and printing off the sheets, I was employed to carry the papers through the streets to the customers.

He had some ingenious men among his friends, who amused themselves by writing little pieces for this paper, which gained it credit and made it more in demand; and these gentlemen often visited us. Hearing their conversations, and their accounts of the _approbation_ their papers were received with, I was excited to try my hand among them; but being still a boy, and suspecting that my brother would object to printing anything of mine in his paper if he knew it to be mine, I contrived to _disguise_ my hand; and, writing an _anonymous_ paper, I put it in at night under the door of the printing-house. It was found in the morning and communicated to his writing friends when they called in as usual. They read it, and commented on it in my hearing; and I had the _exquisite_ pleasure of finding it met with their approbation, and that in their different guesses at the author, none were named but men of some _character_ among us for learning and _ingenuity_. I suppose now that I was rather lucky in my judges and that perhaps they were not really so very good ones as I then _esteemed_ them.

Encouraged, however, by this, I wrote and conveyed in the same way to the press several more papers which were equally approved; and I kept my secret till my small fund of sense for such performances was pretty well exhausted, and then I _discovered_ it, when I began to be considered a little more by my brother's acquaintance, and in a manner that did not quite please him, as he thought, probably with reason, that it tended to make me too vain.

--_Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin._

QUESTIONS

1. What is there in this story that suggests that Franklin was a modest boy?

2. How does it seem to you, from this story, that young people in Franklin's day were looked upon by their elders?

3. Was he a good writer when he began? How do you know?

4. Can you tell the meaning of the words in italics, from their use in the story? Look them up in a dictionary and compare the meaning you find with your judgment from the way they were used.

YES OR NO?

1. I need six dozen 1-1/4" screws. They will cost me five cents a dozen. There are twelve dozen in a box, and a box will cost thirty-two cents. Would it pay me to get just what I need now?

2. All but three of the girls in our class are members of the United States School Garden Army. Edith is not a member of the United States School Garden Army. Is it possible that Edith is a member of our class?

HOW TO MAKE A SUN-DIAL

Did you ever think how hard it would be to get along without clocks? At almost every city street corner we can look at a clock; every railway station, every post office, every schoolhouse, has at least one; and everybody's house contains one or more. And at that, boys and girls are sometimes late for school.

No, we certainly couldn't manage without these useful mechanisms; and yet, there was a time, not so many centuries ago, either, when they were a rare possession; and a time before that when they had not yet been invented. What did our far-off ancestors do?

Let us pretend that we are going for a walk in the beautiful garden of a country mansion. Here in the midst of a rose bed stands a low stone pillar, with an upright, triangular piece of metal attached to its top near the center, and some figures marked in a circle around the edge.

This is a sun-dial. The owner of the garden has it here for a pretty ornament; but in the old times, before the days of clocks, people told the time by means of sun-dials, judging the hour by the position of the shadow cast by the piece of metal upon the stone. If you would like, just for the fun of it, to have such a sun-clock in your own little garden, there is a very easy way to make one.

Choose a spot of ground that is perfectly flat, where the sun shines all day long. Set up, or get your father or big brother to set up for you, a post four or five inches thick. Make it stand perfectly firm and straight. Now find a thin, flat piece of board--a box top or a shingle will do--and nail it like a table top on to the top of the post. After these preparations have been made, you must wait for a clear, starry night when you can go out and find the North Star. The way to do this is by looking at the "Big Dipper", the group of stars that of course you know.

The two stars marked A and B are called the "Pointers"; and, looking in the direction of the arrow, the next star in line with them is the North Star. Take a straight, thin stick, and fasten it to the center of the top of the post, slanting it so that it will point directly at the North Star. That is all you can do until the next day.

At twelve o'clock, if the sun is bright, you will find your slanting stick casting a shadow on the piece of board. Mark the line where it falls, and put the figure 12 upon it, to show that this line belongs to twelve o'clock. Do the same thing at one, two, and three o'clock, and so on through the afternoon. In the same way, the next day, you can mark the morning hours.

If you like, you can print on your sun-dial the motto that is often used for them: "Non horas sed serenas", which means "I mark none but sunny hours".

QUESTIONS

1. What did our ancestors use instead of a clock?

2. How can you find the North Star?

3. Can you draw a diagram of the sun-clock?

PUTTING WORDS WHERE THEY BELONG

Arrange your paper with your name on the first line and your grade on the second line. Divide the rest of your paper into four parts with lines drawn as shown below:

TRAVELING | BANKING | GRAZING | SEASHORE | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

Below is a list of words that is not very well arranged. Some words suggest a long railroad journey, some an errand to the bank, some the lonely occupation of a cowboy, and others a vacation at the shore. Write the words, TRAVELING, BANKING, GRAZING, SEASHORE at the top of your paper on the fourth line as shown above. Now rearrange the words below into four columns under these four heads, putting all the words that seem to suggest TRAVELING in the first column, and all the words that suggest BANKING in the second column, and every word that suggests GRAZING or SEASHORE in its proper column. When you finish wait quietly for the others.

discount station flock cattle train interest bridge deposit sheep check vault account cashier salt-lick grass ranch sand waves life-guard balance suitcase taxi signal curve ocean swim fence herd spring adding machine pass-book tree beach fish conductor ticket boardwalk engineer lighthouse steamer

AN INDIAN BUFFALO HUNT

This selection was written by a white man who ran away from home when a boy and lived among the Indians of the plains for twelve years about the middle of the last century. He married an Indian maiden, Washtella, and became a chief in the tribe. He gives many interesting descriptions of Indian life and customs, which probably give some idea of the way our own ancestors may have lived thousands of years ago.

The Indians depended upon the buffalo for their chief supply of food. Millions of these animals roamed the plains in vast herds. The Indians cannot be blamed in the least for slaughtering these animals for food, but the white men who drove the Indians from the plains killed the buffaloes often for mere sport, and exterminated them except for a few small herds now in captivity.

Read the story as rapidly as you can without skipping or losing the meaning, and be prepared to stand in front of the class and give a complete discussion of any of the topics given at the end of the selection.

When our camp was pitched, I walked out along the banks of the beautiful lake, to see what I could discover. Its waters were clear as crystal and full of fish. Not a boat, and perhaps not even a canoe, had ever rippled its bosom, and I could not but imagine, as I gazed across the blue expanse, that one day commerce would spring up, and towns and cities be built upon its green shores.

Looking to the north, I was startled from my reflections by seeing a large buffalo cow coming down to the water to drink. Hastening back to the village, I quickly procured my Hawkins rifle and ran over the little eminence that hid the lodges from the animal. She had approached quite near the water, and was not more than one hundred and fifty yards distant from me, when, hearing a noise in my rear, I looked back and saw several Indians running toward me with their guns. The cow at the same moment saw them, and turned to make off; but too late, for I had drawn a bead on her heart, and at one shot dropped her dead.

All the village came running and shouting, and the squaws gathered around the dead buffalo, jostling and elbowing each other as they tore off the meat. It is the Indian rule that game is common property, and my buffalo was soon reduced to a pile of bones by the knives of the busy squaws. I could not help laughing as I watched them struggling for the choice morsels. First, the skin was carefully removed, and then the muscles and gristle cut away. Then, just as a squaw was about to take the coveted part, she would be rudely thrust aside, and some other squaw would take it. These exploits were received with loud shouts of laughter, and no ill-temper or quarreling was observed among the excited crowd of women who surrounded the carcass.

On returning to my lodge, I found Washtella in great glee over my good luck, and she explained that it was no small matter to have killed the first buffalo slain in the hunt. Presently I received a message from the chief, and was informed by an old Indian that, having killed the first buffalo, I would be entitled to lead the hunt on the first day. Meat was brought me, and the skin or robe, which, according to the Indian custom, is always given to the one who kills the animal. So proud was Washtella that she did nothing all the evening but talk of my good fortune, and I could not help being amused at the boasts of the little maid. Nothing could possibly have happened that would have given her more pleasure.

The next morning, as soon as it was daylight, I was aroused, and told that the warriors were waiting for me to lead them in the chase. Assembling all of them before my lodge, I addressed them, saying I was a young man, and lacked experience, but if they would allow me, I would name one worthy to lead them in my place. This was received with loud shouts of approval, and as soon as quiet was restored, I pointed to a young warrior, and said: "He is a good man, go and follow him." The warrior I had selected was my bitter enemy. As his animosity was well known in the tribe, the honors thus thrust upon him, by one from whom he had expected no favors, surprised and pleased them. For a moment the brave hung his head, and then came forward, and, amid the shouts of the warriors, gave me his hand. Feeling unwell, I did not go upon the hunt that day, but in the evening, when the party returned, my old enemy came to my lodge, and as a token of his friendship, presented me with two fine robes he had taken during the day.

On the second day I went out with the hunters, and joined in a most exciting chase. Under the directions of a chief, we deployed at wide distances, and then, closing in, surrounded a herd of buffaloes on three sides; and as soon as the herd began to move, the chase began. Our tough little ponies bore us swiftly along, and soon the herd was hard pressed. Presently it began to scatter, and then each Indian, selected a buffalo and followed the beast up until he had killed it. It is astonishing how fast the great lumbering animals can run, and although they do not seem to go over the ground very rapidly, it takes a good horse to come up with them. Their shambling "lope" is equal in speed to an American horse's gallop, and they can climb steep hills and get over rough ground faster than a horse. They run with their heads near the earth, and a hundred of them will make a mighty noise that resembles the rumbling of distant thunder. The warriors do not stop to touch the game after it is dead, as the skinning and packing of the meat is the work of the squaws who follow in the wake of the hunters. For this purpose they have pack-ponies, and two women will skin and pack three or four buffaloes in a day.

The meat is brought to the village, is cut in narrow slices, about an inch thick, and three or four inches long. These slices are then hung on poles, or stretched on small willows laid across a frame-work of poles. The meat is frequently turned, and is allowed to remain in the sun and air for three days. It should be covered or brought in at night, and must not be allowed to get wet by rain while it is curing. This is called jerking buffalo, and is a simple and easy process of curing meat. The pure crisp air of the plains soon dries it, and then it has a sweet, pleasant taste. I have known climates on the plains where nearly all the year carcasses could be hung up and left without spoiling until used. Meat, when jerked, is only about half the weight and size it is when in a raw state. If soaked in water it will swell greatly, and then, unless used immediately, it will spoil.

When the buffalo flesh is dried sufficiently, it is put into parfleshes, or wrappers, made of rawhide cut square, which will hold about half a bushel. They are sewed up at the bottom and sides, the laps at the top being left open until they are filled. The meat is then laid in flat and packed tightly like plugs of tobacco. When two or three layers of meat have been put in, hot buffalo fat is brought and poured over it until all the interstices are filled up. Then more layers of meat are put in and more fat poured on, until the parflesh is full, when the laps are folded over each other and tightly sewed up with sinews. The meat is now ready for winter use, and two parfleshes are fastened together like a pair of saddle-bags, and slung across the back of a pony when the Indians travel. To prevent these bags or wrappers from hurting the ponies' backs, the under side is lined with fur or bear skin.

We had hunted four days from our camp on the lake, and although we had taken the utmost precaution not unnecessarily to alarm the buffaloes most of them had gone a long distance from the village. A council was called, and it was determined we should go over to the lakes that lay on the Jim River, sixty miles distant. We immediately set out, moving around the lake to the right of the buffaloes, so as not to disturb them. Our route lay across a beautiful level country through which meandered little streams eight or ten miles apart. We traveled leisurely along, however, halting on the creeks, and making about sixteen miles per day, for many of our ponies were already heavily laden with meat.

On the fourth day we reached the lakes, and again pitched our village. Here we found plenty of buffaloes and a great many calves, which were very acceptable to us, as we wanted some parfleshes of veal.

We hunted four days, and took a great deal of meat. Each family had from three to six parfleshes, according to its size, which was as much as it could use during the winter, and enough for the infirm besides. So the hunt was announced at an end, and we began to prepare for our return. I had been exceedingly fortunate, and had taken no less than nine parfleshes of meat and had twelve robes.

There are several methods of killing buffaloes besides the regular chase. One of these, as practiced by the Indians, is as follows:

The buffaloes are watched until they graze near a precipice, when two or three Indians put a buffalo skin on sticks, and concealing themselves under it, approach near the herd slowly, as if grazing. This must be done when the wind is favorable, and blowing from the buffaloes. If the decoy is successful, other Indians make a wide circuit, surrounding the herd on all sides, except that toward the bluff. Then they steal up as close as possible, and when the buffaloes, discover them, they shout, shake their blankets and poles, and close in upon the herd. The animals are greatly alarmed, but seeing the mock buffalo (which has managed to attract attention) set off for the bluffs, they rush madly after it. When the baiters reach the bluff, they fling the mock buffalo over the precipice, and betake themselves to holes in the bank or crevices among the rocks. It is in vain the leaders of the herd halt when they see the chasm; the mass from behind, crazed by the poles and blankets of the Indians, who are now close upon them, rush madly on, and press those in front over the cliff.

It is exceedingly dangerous to bait buffalo, as the herd frequently overtake the false buffalo and trample it beneath their feet, or the great beasts, falling among the rock, crush the Indian baiters to death. Many reckless young Indians, who as baiters have gone too far inland, have, after the chase, been found dead on the plain, or their mangled bodies lay at the foot of the precipice with the carcasses of the animals they had so cruelly deceived. It takes a brave Indian to be a baiter, but there are always plenty of young and foolish boys who are anxious to engage in the dangerous sport.

After the buffaloes have fallen and killed or maimed themselves, a party of Indians who have been concealed near the foot of the precipice suddenly advance and finish them with axes and rifles.

Our hunt having ended, the chief ordered that the usual feast and rejoicing should take place. A long pole was provided, a buffalo head put on the top of it, and a number of tails nailed, at right angles, to the sides. The pole was then set firmly in the ground, in the center of an open space before the village, and buffalo heads were piled up around it. The heads were set in a circle, and arranged to look as hideous as possible.

Immense quantities of buffalo meat were now brought, and the feast was made ready. At these feasts nothing but buffalo meat is eaten, and every one makes it a point to gorge himself to the fullest extent. Even the dogs are stuffed, and the women and children are persuaded to eat while they can force down a bite. The greater the quantity of meat eaten, the greater the honor; and some starve themselves for two or three days in advance, in order to do justice to the occasion. The meat is prepared in every form--boiled, fried, broiled, roasted, and raw.

When one can eat no more, he goes to the pole, and as soon as a sufficient number have collected, the dance begins. The warriors sit in a circle around the pole, and the squaws, gaudily dressed and painted, form a circle around the warriors. At a signal the drums beat, and all stand up. Then the squaws sing, and the warriors move around to the right and the squaws to the left, each keeping time to the drums. The dance is a slow, shuffling motion that soon makes one very tired. When one of the Indians gets tired, he steps out of the circle and another takes his place. As soon as it is dark, wood is brought, fires are made around the pole, and the dancing is kept up all night. The feasting frequently continues for three days, and at no time is the pole without its set of dancers. The amount of buffalo consumed is prodigious, when we consider that, besides the vast quantities eaten by the Indians, each family has from six to ten days.

When the feast was over, we began to prepare in earnest for our return. The meat was carefully distributed, so that no pony would be overloaded, and everything was neatly packed. It took both my ponies and all my dogs to carry my meat and lodge, so Washtella and I had to walk. We considered this no great hardship, however, as nearly the whole village was on foot. We made only eight or ten miles a day; but at last, after a most fatiguing march, reached the Missouri, and entered our old camp near Fort Randall.

--_From "Belden the White Chief"._

OUTLINE FOR TOPICAL RECITATIONS

Introduction--The Scene of the Camp.

1. My good luck.

(_a_) Killing the first buffalo of the hunt. (_b_) Cutting up the meat. (_c_) Receiving appointment as leader.

2. Chasing the buffalo.

3. The winter's food supply.

(_a_) Drying the meat. (_b_) Packing. (_c_) Transporting. (_d_) Ending the hunt.

4. Killing buffaloes by a decoy.

5. Celebrating a successful hunt.