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Show TREMENDOUS ! TRIFLES S3 ! i By ElMO SCOTT WATSON "LITTLE GRAINS OF SAND" A DGTJST 30, 1S13. The morning sun was heating down on Fort Minis near Lake Tensaw in Alabama Ala-bama and its inhabitants knew they were in for another hot, sultry day. By and by a gentle breeze sprang up, but with the blazing sun overhead, over-head, it brought little relief to the 500-odd soldiers and settlers crowded crowd-ed in the little fort Outside, the vagrant breeze swirled around the palisaded walls, stirring up the sandy soil and drifting drift-ing it gently back and forth. There was no one on guard at the eastern entrance, so nobody noticed that the sand was piling up little by little lit-tle in front of the heavy log gate which had carelessly been left open. Maj. Daniel Beasley, commander of the fort, standing at the door of his quarters as the drums began to beat the noonday mess call, may have noticed it But If he did, it didn't seem important. A moment later he saw another sight which chilled his blood. Speeding across the sandy field outside the fort straight toward that open gate, came a mass of "Red Sticks" Chief Red Eagle's fierce Creek warriors, war-riors, at least a thousand of them I Shouting "Indians! Indians!" nt the top of his lungs, Major Beasley dashed toward the gate. As the howling savages swarmed down upon him, he thrust his shoulder against the rough timbers and pushed with the strength of despair. de-spair. It started to swing shut, then stopped. The drifted sand was holding it back. The major bent his back and pushed pushed. It was too late. A Creek warrior sprang through the opening and tomahawked toma-hawked him. "Little grains of sand" because of them more than 250 men, women and children died. U. S. BECOMES "UNCLE SAM" EARLY in the Nineteenth century Ebenezer and Samuel Wilson were large landowners and meat packers near Troy, N. Y. Well-liked by everybody, they were familiarly known as "Uncle Eb" and "Uncle Sam." Soon after the outbreak of the War of 1S12 New York and New Jersey militia were camped near Albany. Elbert Anderson, Jr., of New Jersey, was given the contract for supplying them with meat. Anderson appointed Samuel Wilson Wil-son as an inspector to see that the meat was good and properly packed. On every barrel which he passed Wilson stamped the letters "U. S. E. A.," signifying that It was supplied sup-plied to the United States government govern-ment by Elbert Anderson. One day a soldier asked an Irish employee of Wilson's the meaning of those letters. "Why, that means Elbert Anderson and Uncle Sam," he replied. "Uncle Sam who?" his questioner persisted. "Why, don't you know?" the Irishman Irish-man said jokingly. "That means Uncle Sam Wilson. He owns all the land near here and he's feeding the army." This remark was taken up and repeated by the soldiers and In a short time the use of the term .became .be-came widespread. An Irishman's witty reply to a soldier's question thrust unexpected fame upon Samuel Sam-uel Wilson and resulted In a personification per-sonification which cartoonists made familiar throughout the world. HARNESSED WIND A70UNG man twenty-one years old happened to see a bad railroad rail-road accident "If the brakes had only held," the engineer said before be-fore he died, "I could have stopped In time." The young man's name was George M. Westinghouse and It is one of the universal names now. He Invented the air brake. With the courage of his convictions, convic-tions, he talked his way Into the office of one of the most Important railroad men in America. He began to tell this captain of Industry what he had made that would Insure the safety of passengers on the trains. The magnate laughed. "Do you mean to say," he asked young Westinghouse, West-inghouse, "that you can stop a train with wind?" "Why, yes," said the young man, "if you want to put it that way." "I've got no time to wante on fools," was the railroad man's reply. re-ply. But soon afterwards, the official was present at a demonstration of the new-fangled Invention. With mounting skepticism, he watched a train coming at full speed down a clear stretch of track. Would the air-brake work? Only George Westinghouse West-inghouse knew that it would. But he was not prepared for the sue- j ccssful climax of the demonstra- j tion. The brake was applied too i suddenly and the train stopped so abruptly that it jumped the track! The air-brake marie Mzh speed ' railroading possible. It Is one of the most tremendous trifles of th machine ae. v. - N-f-Tpapor 'nloa. |
