Newspaper Page Text
MOMESTOVS MATTERS.
It costs $500,000,000 to support tho
criminals in this country. It is not
estimated how much the criminals
who are not in jail cost the country,
but it is very much more.
TTolves still abound in France. Last
year rewards were paid for the destruc
tion of 1,305, the amount reaching
over $4,000. Nine persons were at
tacked and killed by wolves during the
year.
The New York Tribune says that
“one of the minor results of the upris
ing of El Mahdi in the Soudan may
possibly be a gum-arabic famine.
Most of the gum arable of commerce
comes from the country now in the
possession of the false prophet, and
since the fall of Khartoum little gum
arabic has found its way out of the
Soudan ”
The surprising statement is made by
an exchange that the demand for gun
powder is greater in times of peace
than in war. It is said that more was
used in the construction of the Iloosac
Tunnel than during tho course of the
late civil war. The United States con
sumes on the average 100 tons a day,
which is estimated to be more than
would be burned in a battle in which
50,000 men would fire forty rounds
each.
The cook in a New York club was
bothered by a number of rats, until he
hit upon a novel dish for them. He
collected a small pan of wine-bottle
corks, and chopped them up. Then he
fried the pieces in lard, and breaded
them. The rats ate them at night,
and drank from a dish of
water conveniently placed. In a few
pectoraliou Lhß
and Mr. Thomson, having been voted
a great medicine man, was expected to
cure diseases in this way; but so great
was the demand on his salivary organs
that he could only satisfy his patients
by taking repeated draughts of water.
Equally strange is the custom of all
the unmarried men and xvomen living
in villages together, while the married
folks live by themselves; these latter
are allowed to eat and drink what they
like, but the unmarried ones may only
eat meat and drink milk. As soon as
a man marries he ceases to be a warrior
ami Las to tend the herds of cattle.
He is no more allowed to join in cat
tle raids, or that extermination of
his neighbors which is continually
going on, and which seems to be the
greatest delight that the young Masai
is capable of e” ring; and it is proba
bly because ■ c y would have to forego
the pleasures of rapine and bloodshed
that these amiable people decline en
tering into the state of matrimony.
They have certainly a kind of relig
ion, but very little even of that, and
seem to have no belief in a future, as
all dead bodies are thrown to the
hyenas, who are so encouraged by be
ing thus continually fed that if no one
should die to provide them with a
feast, they help themselves to the liv
ing by taking the children out of the
shuts,— London Field,
£ljc ® njcttc.
VOL. XII.
A LITTLE CHILD.
Down from the hill, up from the glen,
With waving flags and warlike din,
They rushed—two troops of mounted men—
The boys in blue, tho boys in gray;
And they had almost met that day,
When, lo! a child stood in tho way.
Its hands were filled with flow’rs; its eyes.
As clear and soft as summer skies,
Were opened wide in grave surprise.
Upon the pretty baby head
The sun a golden blessing shed.
“I want mamma,” the sweet voice said.
Both captains shouted, “Halt! * Tho men
Reined in their eager steeds, and then
The blue leaped down, and up again,
And galloping like mad, he boro
The chiUl he’d grasped a mile or idcßß
Back to its mother’s cottage door.
Loud rose the cheers from blue and gray
As smilingly they turned away:
There was no battle fought that day!
•—Harper's Weekly.
Catching'
The New Orleans Times- Democrat
translates from a French journal the fol
lowing description of the singular man
ner in which crocodiles are captured in
Cambodia:
On the 10th of February, 1878, after a
long voyage through Uurmah, Tenasrim,
and the kingdom of Siam, 1 reached
Pnom-Penh, capitol of the Kingdom of
Cambodia.
■ I bore with me a letter to King Noro-
Mun. 1 will spare you all descriptions
M Pnom-Penh, as well as of my recep-
Man by h’s majesty. What 1 promised
M>u was the history of a crocodile hunt
H-here it is:
■I had been well received at court.
Miter having been kindly treated by the
■lug, all his ministers did their utmost
M> give me a pleasant welcome. Several
Mrvauts had been placed at my disposal,
Mid also one of the court carriages w ith
H fine team of thoroughbred liirrnanese
Horses.
■ I did not fail to inform iny hosts of
■ty passion for the chase, and for three
Months they had spoiled me like a child,
■very day some hunting party or other
Mid been arranged for my benefit. From
Mie nelicourvi—a peculiar sort of little
Mane which 1 never saw anywhere else
Mtcept among the hikes and shallow
■reams of Siam or Cambodia—to the
Myal tiger itself, I had hunted almost
Mery sort of creature.
■ One morning on returning from my
Mrly drive I found awaiting me the sais
M the prime minister, who said tome:
■ “Tabe, Thouann!” (Good day, my
Mrd).
I “Tabe, Sais!’’ (Good day, servitor) I
Mpffed. “Who scuds you?”
■ “My master invite i yon to upon
Him forthwith, at hi.- ¥ paler. .
■ “Forthwith—nowr-
I “Yes, my lord.”
I “I go.”
■ And ordering my coachman to follow
Mie Sais, who had started off at a run. I
Mon found his excellency awaiting me
M the threshold of bis dwelling.
■ “ Excuse me,” he said, “ if I have dis
Mrbed you: but I acted by the king’s
Mders. His majesty invites you to a
Mocodile hunt. We shall be absent at
Must one week.”
■ I thanked his excellency and promised
■> be at his house by 5 o'clock next
Horning, whence we should g.> together
M the palace to join the caravan of
Minters.
B At 4 :30 o’clock next morning we ar-
Mved in the courtyard of the palace. A
■hole army of servantshad a.ready com-
Meted all necessary preparations. The
Marses, carriages, elephants, and palan-
Hen destined for the use of Norodom,
Ms guests, and his wives, were all then
Mar the palace front. Further off was
■long train of wagons freighted with
Movisions and supplies, as well as the
Mnts and planking required for our tem-
Mirary quarters.
■lt did not really seem as though we
“ere going to hunt, but to war. The
prime minister left me in the midst of
the crowd and hastened to rejoin the
king.
At precisely 5 o’clock Norodom ap
peared, surrounded by the high officials
of his household. All those present
bowed down or prostrated themselves. I
took off mv hat.
Norodom, I. must confess, descended
the palace steps with real majesty. His
palankeen awaited him, he got into it,
and his various wives got into other sim
ilar conveyances prepared for them.
As soon as the king and his wives
were in their vehicles, the rest of those
entitled to the privilege of driving or
riding, mounted their horses or their
conveyances, and the whole royal suite,
comprising more than three hundred per
sons, of which number about one hun
dred and fifty were footmen, and twenty
five were soldiers, armed in European
fashion, proceeded on its way.
At 8 o'clock we made the first halt; at
midnight another halt, followed by din
ner and the inevitable siesta. At 4
o’clock we halted for the night. Then
the king’s men proceeded to erect the
edifice in which his majesty was to re
pose for the night—a sort of immense I
cage, elevated upon posts six feet above .
the soil. Below this cage was another
structure for the king's harem. The
twenty-five soldiers formed a circle
about this portable palace, and kept all
the rest of us at a distance from it.
SUMMERVILLE, GEORGIA, WEDNESDAY EVENING, JUNE 24,1885.
Great fires were then lighted in a circle
around the whole encampment to keep
dangerous wild beasts at a distance. The
evening's meal was prepared. At 8
o’clock the sentinels were posted, the
fires fed with plenty of wood, and we
lay down and slept without paying any
attention to the roaring of the tigers.
Next day the same ceremonies wer
repeated. The day after, about 9 o’clock
in the morning, wo arrived at the shores
of a little lake, about two and a half
miles in circumference, which had been
our point of destination, and which, we
were assured, was haunted by innumer
able crocodiles.
Our camp was pitched on the western
shore of the lake, and preparations to
catch the great saurians were immedi
ately begun.
The minister, by order of Norodom,
placed the chief of the hunters “under
my orders. That signified that he was
to keep me perfectly well informed
about everything which might take
place.
. The chief conducted me some distance
Ito the right of the camp, and showed
me a company of some fifty Cambodians
I busy binding together a number of
smooth planks by means of bamboo
ropes.
About twenty of these rafts (I cannot
tell them by any other name which ex
presses their form equally well) were soon
finished.
Near by a number of other men were
engaged in preparing strong running
j nooses, made also of bamboo filaments.
After inspecting these raft and noose
factories, the chief took forty men with
him, and all of us skirting the lake,
made our way to its eastern bank.
The most absolute silence was enjoined
upon all.
On reaching the south-western part of
the shore, tho chief, whom I followed
closely, approached the bank. In an
swer to my question, he said:
“Thouann, I am looking for the slid
ing paths of the crocodiles—the places
they choose for leaving the water and
i climbing upon the shore. See!”heob
. served, suddenly pointing to a declivity
trampled smooth—as level as if heavy
cannon had been constantly rolled over
i it, “there’s where they come out. If wo
I can notice him, the one who comes here
will not be easy to nail.
Nail? I only wondered in my mind,but
I my eyes must have been like two points !
of interrogation, for the chief of the
hunters added after looking at me a mo
ment: “Yes, nail! You are going to
| sec something yon never saw before in
your life."
He posted a sais at this path, and we
continued our inspection. Thirty points
were choseu, and thirty men were sta
i tioned at them.
Before turning back to camp I said to
the chief:
“But I have not noticed a single
wrinkle on the water—are you sure there
are any crocodiles?”
He did not answer; but tnkinga piece
of wood, he wrapped it in a bit of red
cloth and flung it about twenty yards out ■
into the water.
Fifteen seconds passed—a few wave- !
lets appeared on the still mirror of the
hike; there was a sort of dull sound,
followed by a great shock in the water.
I could not see anything distinctly; but
the wood wrapped in red cloth had dis
appeared.
We returned to the raftmaking estab
lishment. Thirty rafts—fifteen feet long
by’ about four broad —were ready. A i
hundred running nooses were also pre- I
pared for operations.
At a signal from the leader all the men
not on duty as soldiers followed him.
Each raft was carried by four men, while
about a dozen followed us with the
ropes. "To-morrow morning the baits,”
said the chief, “will be attached to the
rafts—about 8 o’clock—quarters of j
meat.”
We came to the first crocodile bank, ;
and preparations were made to place the !
first strap in position.
Four men laid the raft on the bank,
and than gently pushed it down the
slope till the further end was about two
feet under water. This bank like all ;
other spots chosen—was overshadowed
by a tree, in which one of the Cambod- |
I ians w ill be stationed. On the lake end
of the raft a large running noose was
attached, intended to catch the croco- ;
i dile’s tail: on the upper end a second |
• noose was placed to seize the crocodile’s ‘
! head. The nooses are operated by long I
! strings, which were so arrnged as to be
; pulled at the proper moment by the man >
! percheel in the tree.
These arrangements being completed,
j preparations were made for the night.
Fires were lighted behind each trap
to keep the crocodiles in the water until
■ dawn, when the hunt was to begin.
At four in the morning, Norodom, his
ministers, the courtiers, and the invited
guests, are all awakened. From his
i elevated cabin the king can get a good
view of the capture of the crocodiles.
His guests, all armed with lances, take
their way to the western bank of the
1 lake.
All around the lake, the sais are posted
;in their respective trees; the rafts are
baited; the fires are put out.
About six or seven paces from each
raft, a little to one side, crouches a sais
armed with a mallet, and great sharp
nails from eight to ten inches long.
Absolute culm everywhere. Tho day
breaks. The crocodiles, which have
been imprisoned in their slime for twen
ty-four hours, must w ant to breathe.
We wait.
About 5 o’clbok little eminences pit*
themselves about the water. They re
main awhile motionless, then they begin
ito move altogether. In the middle of
' the lake we behold a regular conciliabu
! him. Tw’enty, forty, a hundred croco
i dilos assemble, play about, dive and re
appear alternately.
Suddenly they all remain still. Have
they suspected something, or heard some
| noise? No; the breeze has wafted to
j them odors of flesh.
A long black mass detaches itself from
the assembly of saurians, and makes for
the great slope. Others betake them
selves to their favorite morning landing
places.
Norodom has seized his telescope, and
watches the progress of the drama with
intense interest. All the rest of us look
on breathlessly in silence.
The biggest crocodile has reached the
edge of his pathway. There he stops.
I Perhaps he is wondering what that bait
is. A whole quarter of an hour passes
| by. Tho snout of the alligator leaves
the water and now his fore-legs are on
the raft.
Everybody holds his breath.
He keeps on climbing—slowly—very
slowly. The bait is there, only twenty
(inches from his nose. He seizes it. At
: the very same instant the sais in the tree
above him pulls the strings which oper
ate the running nooses, and the reptile,
'■ caught at once by head and tail begins to
struggle furiously. Immediately the
other sais leaps forward, his hammer in
■ one hand and a huge nail in the other;
i and while the mqnster stretches his legs
■ in trying to reach the water, the sais
nails the right fore foot to the rail. Tho
worst of the job is over. In tho twink
ling of an eye, the right hind-foot is also
nailed down. Then, boldly stepping
over the alligator, the sais immediately
nails the tao left-feet also to the raft.
Thus crucified, the saurian is well
muzzled, and his tail is fastened firmly
with bamboo ropes.
He is carried to Norodom and measured
—seven and a half feet long.
We remained on the (pke shore two
weeks, and during that time caught six
teen more crocodiles, which were brought
alive to Pnom l’enb, and then skillfully
butchered. 1
The Cambodians are very fond of cro
codile flesh, and I must confess that I ate
it myself without the least repugnance.
Ordinarily it sells at two cents a pound
in Cambodia—except when the animals
are caught during a royal hunt, and then
the “king’s crocodile meat” sellsfor foui)
cents. Just on the same principle that,
in France, President Grevy’s rabbits sell
at four francs a pair, while yours or mine
are worth only forty sous.
It is nearly seven years since f enjoyed
the hospitality of King Norodom, and 1'
would not have thought of publishing
this recital of my hunting adventures had
not public attention been again called to
the gttod king of Cambodia—who was
so kind me—by the action of Procon
sul Thompson in despoiling him of his
estates.
The Mexican National Pawn-Shop.
A City of Mexico letter to the Baltimore
American contains the following account
of the Mexican National pawn shop;
This is one of the most remarkable inst’'
j tutions in Mexico, and is well worthy of
a visit. It is situated on Empedradillo
street, almost opposite the famous Aztec
calendar in the wall of one of the Cathe
dral towers. This is one of the oldest
edifices in the city, having been originally
built as a private residence for Cortez
shortly after the conquest. It retains a
great deal of its primitive style, and the
modern tourist has much to admire in
i its quaint old doors, windows, stair
cases, ceilings, etc. Its founder xjjas
i Count de Regia, Don Pedro Terrcrcs,
i who, in 1744, endowed the insti
tution with $300,001) out of his private
fortune. His object was philanthropic
in every respect, being to relieve tho
‘ poor and those whose difficult circum
stances compelled them to have recourse
:to usury. Money is loaned on very
, liberal terms, according to the rules and
regulations of the establishment, the
rate of interest never being lower than
three or higher than twelve and a half
i per cent, per annum. There are many
curious articles stowed away in the pic
ture, candelabra, silver-plate, timepiece
> and miscellaneous rooms, and the grand
vault of the bank connected with the
pawning establishment usually contains
from $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 in solid
silver and gold. The jewelry depart
ment contains one of the richest and
rarest collections in the world. Pearls,
rubies, emerald and diamonds in great
numbers dazzle the visitor s sight. Many
of these jewels are merely placed here
for safety, others for the consideration
of money. Some are handed down from
the date of the conquest, and, beside
their intrinsic value, are of great interest
to the antiquarian.
At balls and dances in public halls in
New Orleans signs which read “No
weapons allowei” are conspicuously dis
played, and policemen search the men
before they are permittee} to enter the ’
building. |
WOBOS OF WISDOM.
swells in prosperity will shrink
In advewßy.
Os all thieves fools are the worst;
they rob you of time and temper.
The serene, silent beauty of a holy life
is the most powerful influence in the
world.
There is a wide distinction between
gossip and the intelligent discussion of
character.
We should never wed an opinion for
better or for worse; what wc take upon
good ground we should lay down upon
better.
The age of a man resembles a book; in
fancy and old age arc the blank leaves,
youth the preface, and manhood the
body or most important portion of life’s
volume.
Caution in crediting, reserve in speak
ing, and in revealing one’s self to a very
few, arc the best securities both of peace
and a good understanding with the world,
and of the inward peace of our own
minds.
There arc three friendships which are
advantageous, and three which are in
jurious. Friendship with the upright,
friendship with tho sincere, and friend
ship with the man of much information
are advantageous. Friendship xvith a
man of spacious airs, friendship with the
insinuatingly soft, friendship with the
glib-tongued—these are injurious.
Cripples in Congress.
A Washington correspondent writes
that there will be at least three one leg
ged ex-Confederates in the next Con
gress, to say nothing of Wade Hampton,
who is one-legged nnd an ex-Confeder
atc, but did not lose his leg in tho war.
The three in question are Senator Berry,
of Arkansas, Senator Butler, of South
Carolina, and Stone, of Kentucky, who
succeeds Oscar Turner.
A one-logged man seems to be a better
runner, on the whole, thin one with two I
legs. Mr. Oscar Turner on liis arrival at
Washington after tho beginning of the
last session of Congress, on being asked
about his successor, remarked that he
was a one-legged man, and an cx-Con
fedcrate. “They tried everything in the
district with two legs,” said he, with a
grim smile, “and couldn’t beat me, so
they tried the one-legged fellow, and by
George, they beat me.”
There are a much larger number of
wounded and crippled ex Confederates
among Congressmen than there arc
wounded and crippled ex-Union soldiers.
There will be a round dozen of them in
the next Congress, perhaps more.
Berry will find company in the Senate,
for besides Butler, who lost his right leg
at Brandy Station, there is Kenna, who
enten d the service a mere child—he was
but seventeen years old at the close of
the war —and xvas wounded in the ser
vice. In the House there will be Mr.
Stone, who outran Oscar Turner; Oates,
of Alabama, who lost his right arm in
front of Richmond in his twenty seventh
battle, and after having been five times
previously wounded. Herbert, of Ala
bama, who was disabled at the battle of
the Wilderness; Davidson, of Florida,
who was so badly wounded in ’O4 as to
render him unfit for further service; Cox
of North Carolina; Aiken, of South Car
olina, who was shot through the lungs
hi ’62, but served a year or two after his
partial recovery; Gibson, of West Vir
ginia, who was obliged to retire from
service on account of his wounds; Ca
bell, of Virginia, who was wounded
twice, and O’Ferral of the same State,
who received no less than seven wounds
during his career in the Confederate ser
vice.
Dexterity in Nut-Cracking.
“There is a new thing in nuts
just now,” said a fruiter to a reporter.
As he spoke he pointed to a large show
case, in which were displayed the
kernels of different varieties of nuts.
“All our nuts are shelled now, and our
sales more than doubled.”
“Why, the street pedlars have shelled
nuts, too, haven’t they?” said the re
porter.
“Yes, but have you noticed the way
their nuts are broken and crushed?”
Look at these and you will see the hick
ory nuts arc in halves, and the same is
the case with our walnuts.” i
On closer observation it was noticed
such was the case, hickories, walnuts, ;
pecans and Brazil nuts show they had
been separated* from the shell by ex- i
perts. i
“We are giving steady and rcmuncra- i
five employment to four families at •
breaking nuts. The nuts are given to <
them to break and we pay a small amount 1
per quart for the meats. A German
family breaks all our walnuts, a French
man on the north side takes the pecans,
and the hickory nuts are broken by an
American family, which is supported by
the work.”
“It doesn’t take much experience t
break nuts?” said the reporter.
“Don’t it?”Didyou ever try to break a
shell-bark hickory nut? If you didn’t,
you can hardly have an idea how difficult
a thing it is to extract the meat without
crushing it xvith the shell. Why, those
peotfle we have serve a regular appren
ticeship at it, and it takes some time be
’ fore one becomes an expert at the busi-
I uess. — Chicago Inter- Ocean.
NO. 23.
FUN.
Is a bass drum a dead beat?
A court of inquiry—-Is the old man in?
El Mahdi is not much of a profit to the
English. — Siftings.
Can the tailor’s nag be properly called
a clothes horse?— Boston Bulletin.
A roller skate may gather no moss, but
it barks a good many skins. —A'ew York
Journal.
“Are animals mathematical?” asks an
exchange. Certainly. There is tho
adder snake.— Graphic.
We propose that the phrase “money
no object” be amended to read “money
no objection.”— Derrick.
“You can’t make the wife, who has
asked her husband for some money with
out receiving a response, believe that
silence is golden.— Boston Post.
If your neighbor’s dog injures one of
your chickens you can collect damages.
If he injures one of your children you
cannot. Moral: Raise chickens.—Bos
ton Post.
An exchange says: “Round waists aro
still in fashion.” Wo should hope so.
What would become of us if it gets to
three-cornered or pentagonal waists?—
Boston Post.
The expression “Thank my stars!” is
rarely heard from the mouth of a theat
rical manager. Wc do not pretend to
know why ; we simply state the fact.
Boston Transcript.
“A San Francisco society young man
is making a collection of ladies’ gloves.”
Up to the hour of going to press tho
ladies have given him more “mittens’'
than gloves.— Norristown Herald.
An agricultural journal says “Spring is
the best time in tho year to move bees.’
It may be; but if a bee settles on youi
neck, or any other portion of your anato
my in the fall, don’t wait until tho
spring to move it.— Norristown Herald.
“It is criminal to kiss,”
Said the beautiful miss.
And the youth, xvith effrontery sublime.
Kissed the maid and said, “There!
If I’m hanged I declare
( It will be for a capital crime. ”
—Boston Courier.
There is said to have been discovered
a kind or tobacco which if smoked or
chewed, will make a man forget that he
owes a dollar in the world. Wc can’t
see the utility of this. The crying need
of the hour is a kind of tobacco that
will make men remember when they owe
a dollar.— Siftings.
Farragut's Flag-Ship on Fire
From an account by Commander Al
burt Kautz, in the Century war papers,
we quote the following: “No sooner
had Farragut given the order ‘Hard a
port,’ than the current gave the ship a
broad sheer, and her bows went hard up
on a mud bank. As tho fire-raft camo
against the port side of the ship, it be
came enveloped in flames. We were so
near to the shore that from the bow
sprit we could reach the tops of the
bushes, and such a short distance above
Fort St. Philip that we could distinctly
hear tho gunners in the casements give
their orders; and as they saw Farragut’s
flag at tho mizzen, by the bright light,
they fired with frightful rapidity. For
tunately they did not make sufficient al
lowance for our close proximity, and the
iron hail passed over our bulwarks, doing
but little damage. On the deck of the
ship it was bright as noonday, but out
over the majestic river, where the smoke
of many guns was intensified by that of
the pine knots of the fire-rafts, it was
dark as tho blackest midnight. For
a moment it looked as though tho
flag-ship was indeed doomed, but the
firemen were called away, and with the
energy of despair rushed aft to the quar
ter-deck. The flames, like so many
forked tongues of hissing serpents, were
piercing the air in a frightful manner,
that struck terror to all hearts. As I
crossed from the starboard to the port
side of the deck, I passed close to Far
ragut, who, as he looked forward and
took in the situation, clasped his hands
high in air, and exclaimed, ‘My God, is
it to end in this way!’ Fortunately, it
was not to end as it at that instant
seemed, for just then Master’s Mate Al
len, with tho hose in his hand, jumped
into the mizzen rigging, and the sheet
of flame succumbed to a sheet of water.
It was but the dry paint on the ship's
side that made the threatening flame,
and it went down before the fierce attack
of the firemen as rapidly as it had sprung
up. As the flumes died away tho en
gines were backed ‘hard,’ and,as if prov
dentially, the ram Manassas struck the
ship a blow under the counter, which
shoved her stern in against the bank,
causing her bow to slip off. The ship
was again free; and a loud, spontaneous
cheer rent the air, as the crew rushed to
their guns with renewed energy.”
The One-Cent Piece.
Tho common one-cent piece is com
posed of 95 per cent, copper and five per
cent, tin and zinc. There is no nickel in
it. Its real intrinsic value is about one
tenth of a cent. The old penny used to
be made of pure copper, and was worth
one-third of a cent. Few counterfeits
have been made on the one-ccnt pisce.
It would not pay. Too many would
have to be made and distributed to pro
duce any money for the sharpers. The
old penny was once counterfeited, the
fraud being made at Birmingham, Eng
land. It didn’t pay and the counter
feiters gave it up fora bad job.
A SUBMERGED CONTINENT.
A Vast Area of Land that 13
Now Under Water,
Evidences and Relics in the Pacific Ocean
of an Intelligent People.
Capt. L. U. Herandeen, a mariner
who has spent years in sailing the Pa
cific, related to a reporter, a few days
ago, facts that he had observed which
tend to prove the theory set, forth by
Dana that there is an immense area of
the Pacific Ocean bed, lying under the
equator, about 6,000 miles in length
and about 3,000 in breadth, that has
been gradually sinking lower and
lower for thousands of years, till now
and that once was lying in the sun
and washed by waves is buried in
fathomless depths. The following is
the interesting story told by Captain
Herandeen:
“There is ample evidence that a vast
area in the Central Pacific Ocean, now
sunk far deeper than the fathom line
goes, was once above the surface of
the sea, and most probably inhabited
by a race of people far superior in in
telligence and civilization to the Poly
ensians and Kanakas who now dwell
on the rocky islands, which in former
times were the tops of mountain peaks.
An immense area of the ocean bed has
been sinking for thousands of years,
and tho character of the people who
have lived in that region of the world
seems to be sinking lower and lower
as the land subsides. The first thing
that called the attention of scientific
men to this great fact was the forma
tion of the innumerable atolls and
barrier reefs in that part of the Pacific
Ocean. They found on the outskirts
of this area that there were islands
fringed with coral reefs.
“As they sailed past these beautiful
islands they saw other islands with a
barrier circling them. A coral reef a
few feet below the surface of the
water girdled the island at a distance
from it varying from a half to thirty
miles, and whose presence was marked
by a ring of snowy foam made by the
breakers. As they penetrated further
into tho region of the sea they came
upon atolls, which are formed by cir
cles of coral inclosing a smooth sheet
of water. These lagoons were found
to vary in diameter from thirty miles
or more to only a few feet, but corals
do not build their reefs at a greater
depth than 100 feet, and yet by sound
ing these singular reefs in the Pacific
Ocean, it was found that the coral
reached as far as the fathom line
went. The conclusion of scientific
men was tint the bed of the ocean
was gradually sinking, and that the
corals began to build fringing reefs on
the islands, and as the land sank the
corals kept steadily at work building
up as fast as the land went down. As
the island disappeared the fringing
reefs became stolls or circles of coral
inclosing a calm lagoon. It was found
that the reefs below 100 feet are dead,
and it is inferred that at a lower depth
than that the corals were killed by
Cold. This is the generally accepted
theory in regard to the subsidence of
the Pacific.
“But there is other evidence which
is more interesting, because it relates
to the decay of a great race of people
that once inhabited this region. A few
years ago I stopped at Pouynipete Is
land, in the Pacific, in east longitude
158 degrees 22 minutes and north lati
tude 60 degrees 50 minutes. The is
land is surrounded by a reef with a
broad ship channel between it and the
island.
“At places in the reef there were
natural breaks,that served as entrances
to the harbors. • In these ship channels
there were a number of islands, many
of which were surrounded by a wall of
stone five or six feet high, and on
these islands there stood a great many
low houses, built of the same kind of
stone as the walls about them. These
structures seem to have been used as
temples and forts. The singular feat
ure cf these islands is that the xvalls
are a foot or more below the water.
When they were built they were evi
dently above the water and connected
with the main land, but they have
gradually sunk until the sea has risen
a foot or more around them. The na
tives on the island do not know when
these works were built; it is so far
back in the past that they have even
no tradition of the structures. Yet
the works show signs of great skill,and
certainly prove that whoever built
them knew thoroughly how to tran
sport and lift heavy blocks of stone.
Up in the mountains of the island
there is a quarry of the same kind of
stone that was used in building the
wall aboflt the islands, and in that
quarry to-day there are great blocks
of stone that have been hewn out
ready for transportation. The natives
have no tradition touching the quarry;
who hewed the stone, when it was
done, or why the work ceased. The
natives are in greater ignorance of tho
great phenomena that are going on
about them than the white man who
touches on their island fora few hours
for water. There is no doubt in my
mind that the island was once inhabi
ted by an intelligent race of people
who built the temples and forts of
heavy masonry on the high bluffs of
the shore of the island, and that as the
land gradually subsided these bluffs
became islands. They stand to-day
with a solid wall of stone around them,
partly submerged in xvater.— San
Francisco Call.