From photograph by Brady. Zachary Taylor, twelfth President of the United States, was born in Virginia in 1784. He served in the War of 1812, and in the Black Hawk War of 1832. In the second war against the Seminoles in Florida, he was made Commander of the United States army. At the beginning of the trouble with Mexico, Taylor was made major-general, and was ordered to the disputed territory in Texas. His series of victories in the Mexican War made him a popular hero. Until his election to the Presidency he had never held a civil office. He died at Washington, July, 9, 1850.
The natural region within the Alaskan territory is a broad upland through which the Yukon River flows to the Bering Sea. This river rises in Canadian territory. It is over 2,000 miles long, and about 1,500 miles of its course is in Alaska. The chief highway of travel in the interior of Alaska is the Yukon River. During the summer large steamers like those on the Mississippi River come from St. Michael upstream as far as Dawson. Some go up the Tanana to a point near Fairbanks. When winter comes the river freezes over; but it continues to be the highway of travel, for during that season dog sleds are used and with the help of the dogs there is a regular winter delivery of United States mail through this vast land.
Much time and zeal are expended in the embroideries employed in the making of their costumes. The laundering of the airy bits of finery would place many a laundress at a disadvantage.
To the women of Brittany, the annual ceremony is the one event of the year; the dress to be worn as it occupies the toughest of the young for months beforehand, and large sums are often expended on it; whilst to the old it is a time sacred to memories of the past, when the spirits of those that are gone seem to be present once more, and the days of their own girlhoods are recalled.
Partly through the influence of the Folk High Schools young farm men and women have started their careers with interest in landscaping, in improved homes, in near and attractive surroundings. Through cooperation, hard intelligent work, and conservation business judgment they have been able to overcome some great obstacles. They have revolutionized Danish agriculture.
One of the most abused birds in this state is the Owl. Here you see the Killicott Screech Owl, the common screech owl of Oregon. It is about the size of a half-grown chicken. It is the one we often hear hooting at night, either in the country or about town where there is a big clump of trees. It lives largely upon mice and small rodents, of which it consumes an enormous quantity. Nests are built in hollow trees with no other lining than the soft, decayed wood, and in these they lay their four round whitish eggs. The male usually his in some crevice nearby or sits outside the nest while the mother is incubating the eggs. So great is the appetite of the fledglings that the mother and father have to spend the greater part of the night gathering and storing up enough food to feed the babies the next day. The Screech Owl seldom does any harm, but few of the larger owls are very harmful in their habits, as they never neglect a chicken yard whenever there is any chance for them to pillage.