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Show IflDtiD Years Agn TTcxiay ;, Uncle Sam wants more model citizens It's unlikely that you'd find citizens today like the anonymous debtor whose conscience caused him to mail the United States government $4,400 in July 1883. With the money was a note which read: "Please place the amount of the enclosed en-closed draft to the credit of the United States for the benefit of the same." The government eagerly accepted accep-ted the draft and placed it in the "conscience fund." While the debtor apparently apparent-ly was trying to keep from going under, another gentleman gen-tleman tried and failed in his attempt to literally keep his head above water. A dispatch dis-patch from Buffalo on July 28, 1883 reported that noted English swimmer Capt. Matthew Webb perished in an attempt to swim the Niagara River at the Whirlpool Rapids. His intention inten-tion was to pass Whirlpool on the Canadian side of the river. He managed to navigate the rapids, but when he hit the whirlpool, he rushed to the American side of the river, where the waves were estimated to be 30 to 40 feet high. While Capt. Webb was lost, the dispatch commended com-mended the attempt by noting that the "shoot of the rapids was extremely thrilling." In Chicago, a Rosebud Agency special reported that the Sun Dance of the Sioux Indians was held, with about "1,000 savages being present from all parts of the country." coun-try." The dispatch recounted that 15 warriors participated in the dance, after fasting four days before the event. "The bodies of all were frightfully lacerated, according accord-ing to the usages of the tribe in testing in the game the qualities of the participants." par-ticipants." But, reported the Record, it was probably the last Sun Dance to be witnessed wit-nessed "as efforts are now being made to have the government interdict these barbarities." In Park City, the big news of the day was the completion com-pletion of a tunnel into the Ontario Mine, "the greatest undertaking in mining ever accomplished in Utah, the distance run being over a mile, and the connection made being almost perfect," wrote the Record staff with pride. Less happy news was the "disastrous" result of a school meeting, in which two-thirds of the attendees voted not to levy taxes, "and that for the present decides the school question in Park City." The Record noted that parents could send their children to school at the Park City Academy or St. Mary's of the Assumption. "If they are not able to patronize either of these schools, their children can be educated in the streets or kept at home. This leaves public schools in Park City in : a sad plight, but where the ; majority rules, the minority j must succumb. We wish for the benefit of the youth of the . Park it were otherwise," : said a dejected Record report. Education may have been a problem in Park City. But ' in St. Louis, discipline in the schools was the focus of attention. at-tention. There, school ; authorities, "after a long ; discussion on the subject, have decided not to abandon corporal punishment in public schools." In every issue of the Park Mining Record could be found editorial comments , and tidbits of interest to its ,' readers, including: .. "There are only eight cases of suicide mentioned in , the Bible. These are too " many for the good of the : book and the teachings it is designed to convey." The Re- , cord made no comment as to ' whether it supported the ' rewriting of the Bible to " eliminate that offensive . material. In a lighter vein, the Record reported that "A celebrated circus manager ; is on the hunt for a new curiosity for his show. The fellow is seeking to find a young married man whose, wife can cook as well as his ; mother did. Twenty-six ' states have been explored thus far without success." |