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AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES.
ANCIENT ANTIQUARIAN RELICS EX
HUMED IN KENTUCKY.
The Kentucky geological survey has
made some interesting developments in
American antiquities, especially in
opening ancient cave dwellings. Salt
cave, a cavern which, though less gen
erally known than Mammoth cave,
presents chambers and passages nearly
_as extensive as those of that peerless
natural opening, was found to contain
ancient fireplaces scattered for miles
along its galleries. For hearths small
piles of stones were made with a hole
in the centre to receive the faggot of
dried twigs perhaps smeared with
grease. Bundles of these faggots, tied
up with twisted bark, were found.
Cane reeds, probably the remains of!
ancient torches, were very abundant.
A more weird discovery was made in
a small chamber three miles from the
mouth, where the prints of sandaled
feet were found in the dry soil. Large
numbers of the sandals, neatly made
of dried and twisted rushes, were also
obtained, as .well as other articles of
clothing made from the inner bark of
some tree. These articles must be of
immense age, and owe their preserva
tion to the peculiar air of the cave. To
preserve them from perishing by con
tact with the outer air, they were all
would give worlds if he could only *be
impressed again and take in the relig
ious feeling that possessed him when he
composed the hymn.
“Home, Sweet Home” was com
posed by Payne, a wanderer who never
had a home. The inspiration came to
him from scenes through cottage win
dows, where bapny families grouped
together at home.—U. J. Lomon
Ancient and Modern Prisons.
Most Americans who have traveled
in Europe have seen the dark cells
built in tne foundations of the doge’s
palace at Venice, or those peculiar
box-like structures in the town halls of
Ratisbon, Nuremberg, and other
places, where prisoners were formerly
penned in smaller quarters than the
dens of animals. They arc entirely
dark, with but one small opening, a
ceiling only six or at most seven feet
high. No bed was supplied the priso
ner, and no one entered bis cell for any
purpose whatever. What confinement
in such a pen must haw been can only
be imagined from a report made by
the surgeon-general upon the hygiene
of the United States army. The cells
in the guardhouse at Madison barrack,
Sackett’s Harbor, N. Y., are "9 feet (j
inches high, and 8 feet 11 inches by -1
feet in area, and he describes them as
follows: “The cells have no ventila-
soaked in thin glue and mounted be- j t ' on whatever, and there is nv) light,
tween glass. No bones either of men j except a jmnw fP ot th , at a PP e . ars . at
or animals were found, but a careful i an a P? rtare n . ear . t l0 inches
comparison between the objects gath-j ’. v '* nlckes 111 siza> klc T ai . e dai
ered and those obtained from Short cokl ; dam P» and S loom 7’ aad 1U th , cn !
cave, which is eight miles from Mam- > a P ris,ai . er LS smothered and punished
the collection of the ZS ‘anti-! suiHcient quantity to nearly extinguish
quarian Society at Worcester, Massa-1 a h g hted «mdle f * ?» the floor. In
chusetts, there is a mummy obtained dlcm a Iaaabi no 1 t only depi ived Ox ns
from Short cave, and thus'the means 1 liberty, light, and Ins lifes breath, but
are at hand for a careful study of the t mvn efHuvia tum U P 0U hu . n iis a
osteological characteristics and habits
of the life of an American race which
must be of great age. The explora
tions were made by Profi.F. W. Put
poison.
cupied.
Happily they are seldom oc-
Works of Art in th8 Capitol.
, . Besides the works of artnowinthe
nam, who has given an account of! cn j ) j t0 ] > seve ral will shortly be placed
thein in the American Naturalist | out ^ e 0 f ; t , and among these a pair
for July. Near 1 ageville, Kentucky,, 0 f magnificent bronze vases, measuring,
he found the remains of ani ancient | eac jj^ g j x f er , t by ten;! their upper
cemetery, including at least thirty and j ei | cg gtanding about twelve feet above
probably many more graves. One. t j lg f 00 t-paths which lead due east from
which was opened was circular, about j tho ortico of the cap itol. One
three feet deep, the sides lined with t j )ese vase .«, which is now in posi-
slabs of limestone, and the bottom cov- an( j w jjj | )e unveiled in a few days,
I had a pee]) at yesterday. It is oblong
in shape, elaborately decorated with
leaves and other appropriate designs,
and has been finished with the greatest
care and nicety. When filled (as it is
intended to be) with flowering ami
trailing plants it will, with its mate op
posite, form one of the most beautiful
features in any of the public grounds,
and will he a great improvement to
cred with thin shale. Portions of fif
teen skeletons were found, represent
ing persons of all ages. The adults
had evidently been placed in a sitting
posture against the limestone walls. A
fragment of pottery was found near
the surface, and may be part of a ves
sel which was placed on the grave, in
stead of in it, as is usually the case.
These graves are unlike anything hith
erto known, not resembling those of ^ e approaches to the capitol from the
either the Indians or the Mound, q’| ie cos t of these two vases is
Builders.
Hymns.
Dr. Deems says “every hymn is a
prayer.” We say every hymn has a
history. Bishop Heber wrote the
justly celebrated missionary hymn,
“ From Greenland’s icy mountain,”
etc., in about an hour, and gave it to
the. printer with only one correction.
Mrs. Brown, of missionary note,
composed the beautiful hymn, “ I love
to steal awhile away,” while oppressed
in a foreign land by very disagreeable
surroundings.
Cowper, afflicted with an aberra
tion of mind, went forth to the fields
to destroy himself. While there,
God’s spirit moved to prevent his vio
lence, and he composed the solemn
yet beautiful hymn, “ God moves in a
mysterious way.”
. Holierson wrote the glorious old
hymn, “ Come thou fount of every
blessing,” etc., but in after life
“strayed from the fold,” and meeting
with a pious friend who knew him in
tts better days, confessed that he i
about six thou-and dollars each, which
is considerabl; less than the cost of the
famous brom. doors, that also are
among the attractions of the capitol,
one of which cost one hundred thou
sand dollars, and the other fifty-five
thousand. The entire value of the ob
jects of art in a. d about the capitol is
between two and three millions of dol
lars ; but it should be remembered that
nulllV of obiecio, now piaccu ill
the old hall of representatives, are the
gifts of several of the states, New York
having recently contributed two, viz:
Bronze statues, of heroic side, of Clin
ton ani Livingston.— Washington letter.
£ix hundred plaster casts of Ameri
can fishes have been prepared for ex
hibition at the centennial. This,
mode lias been chosen in preference to
the exhibition of the stuffed fish,
which conveys but a poor idea of the
form and none of the color. To pre
pare tho casts the freshly caught fish
is used as a model, and the cast is col
ored by a skiful artist. The work has
been done with happy success.
The Black Hills Gold Diggings,
A Denver News reporter recently
had a talk with a Cheyenne man. He
said that Cheyenne is just now the live
liest town in the west, all on account
of the Black Hills furore. Crowds of
people come and go every day. On
Monday one hundred and forty persons,
variously equipped and representing
all classes, left there for the gold coun
try. The departures numbered about
fifty on Tuesday. Teams and wagons,
all bound for the one goal, arc moving
constantly in th:-streets.
The fare from Cheyenne to the dig
gings ranges from $15 to $25, accord
ing to the bulk and weight of the pas
senger’s baggage. At this price the
passenger boards himself, in a style to
suit his tastes or circumstances. The
emigrants come from everywhere.
Missouri is sending along*good many,
while the states further east, even
those away off on the seaboard, are
represented in the exodus; but the
biggest and hardiest-looking crowds
coine from the west, Utah, Nevada
and California, but mostly from the
former. These western fellows are,
for the most part, miners, with money
enough to prevent their becoming an
incubus on the country, in case they
don’t strike a rich pay-streak right
away. The people who come from the
other way belong, for the most part,
to the unemployed and impecunious
classes, who having nothing to do and
nothing to live on, might just as well
go to the Black Hills as anywhere else.
The drones, as they are called the
world over, are a conspicuous element
in the march to the hills. This infor
mant says that quite a large number of
prospectors have already returned for
their families and taken them into the
new settlement. Quite a party of very
nice ladies, with their children, have
started within the last week. The em
igration of bad characters set in early.
A half dozen demireps from Denver
and Cheyenne reached the hills two
weeks ago. A gentleman just in fr6m
the diggings reports that a couple of
dance-houses will he opened at Custar
City about the first of the month.
Dancing damsels have been ordered
from the “ centre of civilization,”’ and
are now on the way. j
The Irrigation of the Nile.
In connection with the present rela
tions of England to Egypt a recent of
ficial publication by the government
of the latter country concerning its re
sources is peculiarly interesting. Pro
gress has been the leading idea in
Egypt for a number of vears, and it is
not therefore strange that the official
volume should be filled rather with an
account of what Egypt has done than
what she is. A little strip of soil on
each bank of the Nile until lately
formed the sole arable land in the
country; on either hand stretched the
desert; but it was a desert which need
ed only moisture to make it a fertile
field. This moisture the laborers of the
Khedive have supplied by 863 canals
of considerable size, thus redeeming al
ready 350,000 acres and putting 500,-
000 more in a fair wav for being re
claimed. Five hundred steam pumps
have added their efforts to the irriga
tion of the soil, and supplement the
100 nnn nnlp-hueketa “till in iiae Fd- j
ucation has increased in a wonderful j
degree; where one child had the priv
ilege of attending school under the
Khedive’s predecessor 1,000 have the
opportunity now. Trade has kept
pace with other improvements. Twen
ty vears ago the annual exports from
Egypt were valued at $12,000,000;
they now exceed $50,000,000, nearly
all of which is sent to England. The
British influence in Egypt is much
greater than is usually supposed. En
glish engineers build the Egygtian rail
roads and canals, and English railroad
men run the trails. Englishmen com
mand the armies, control the civil sei-
vice, and direct the finances, while
English banks supply the money.. En
gland now virtually owns the'canal,
abd for the Khedive the change from
the position of Viceroy of the Sultan
to Viceroy of the Queen would be very
slight.
Wonderful Trees.
British consuls in Brazil notice the
extraordinary floral wealth of that vast
empire. Their reports in 1875 call
attention to the abundance of the trees
from the juice of which India-rubber
is prepared. At Aracaty this has re
cently becojpe the most valuable ar
ticle hrouglu into the produce market
of that place. From Bahia consul
Morgan sends a translation from a
book published by the inspector of
the custom-house of that port, in which
it is stated that (he consumption of a
century would not exhaust the supply
of India-rubber. The inspector gives
an account of a very remarkable tree, .
the carnauba palm, which grows in
Brazil without any culture, and it is so
hardy as to flourish in the most pro
longed drought, and has often served
at such times ns the means of support
to the population of more than one
province. The top, when young, is
an appreciable and nutritious article
of food; and from this tree also wine,
vinegar and a saccharine matter are
extracted, as well as a kind of gum
similar in its taste and properties to
sago. From the wood musical instru
ments are made, as also tubes and
pumps for water. The delicate fibrous
substances of the pith of the stalk and
its leaves make a good substitute for
cork. The roots have the same vir
tues as the sarsaparilla. The pulp of
the fruit is of an agreeable taste, and
the nut, oily and emulsive, is roasted
and then used as coffee by many per
sons. From the trunk are obtained
strong fibres, and also a species of flour
similar to nmizena. and a liquid re
sembling that of the Bahia cocoa nut.
From the dried straw are made mats,
hats, baskets and brooms, and large
quantities of the straw are exported to
Europe for the manufacture of tine’
hats. Finally, from the leaves is pro
duced the wax used in the manufacture
of candles, and tho export of this wax
exceeds £162,000 a year in value. The
inspector suggests that perhaps in no^ v
other country can there be found aJk
plant applied to so many and varied^
purposes. »*’.
Important Scientific Djscovep.y.
—The warlike habits of the Papuans
and their implements of warfare are de
scribed in a private letter recently ad
dressed to Dr. Hooker, of London.
The writer says that no man leaves his
dwelling even to go to his bit of culti
vated land without his powerful bain-
boo bow and a few deadly poisoned ar
rows. The poisoned arrows are only a
few among a great number not pohon
ed, being distinguished by elaborate
carving and painting to prevent acci
dent. They are {minted and barbed
with human bone brought to almost
needle-like sharpness, carefully finish
ed ; they are poisoned by being plunged
in a putrefying human corpse. The
late Commodore Goodenough and his
men suffered from arrows so poisoned.
Tt is a sort of blood poisoning that.
i;i,o „tl,ni. Unrle of irieeiilntinn
not develop itself f»r several days, but
the slightest et-uitch, touched with it,
produces almost always a horrible
death. The symptoms of poisoning
are accompaniesl by violent spasms
like tetanus, with consciousness* until
the last.
Bei.i.e Boyi>, of Confederate fatue,
is a quiet and matronly resident of a
western city, has a middle-aged hus
band and several children. Sne shuns
all notoriety, and will not even Allow
her friends* to expose the bogus Belle
Boyds that travel about the country •
beating hotels and appealing to the
Masons for aid.