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THE DAY Wt GATHERED GOLDENROD.
A Jay of glancing arrow-points
Yet swathed In shadows, olive deop,
When curling leaves were shaken down
And drifted In a pungent lionp j
When searlot flowers fell asleep,
Knoh In a filmy pillow-pod,
And all the world was half adroara—*
The day wo gathered goldenrod.
So still tho air, in passing by
A rick of gathered corn we heard
A harvest spider’s startled (light
Wherein a yellow blade was stirred.
Some late and lingering autumn bird
Sang low, his lazy head anod ;
J(o haste nor harshness seemed to mar
The day we gathered goldenrod.
CAPTAIN SPANKER.
BY -TERRY COBB.
“Sever let me here you speak of
liim again as Miser Spanker,” sharply
ordered the old lady with a gentle and
attractive face as she turned upon
her pretty granddaughter, “Never!”
“But., grandma, that’s what they all
call him,” stammered the girl, who
was shocked by discovering for the
first time that her revered ancestor
lmd a temper in her composition.
“That’s the way of the world,” with
diminished fire and a careful readjust
ment of the cap that had been set awry
by her unwonted display of vigor. “We
jump from appearances to conclusions,
and the result is a great deal of injus
tice to our fellow creatures. Wo are
forbidden to judge at all, and we cer
tainly should not render a verdict till
wo ascertain the inmost facts. That’s
the way your grandfather would have
put it were he alive. He was by fur
the ablest lawyer in all this section.”
Fearing a diversion to the older
woman’s favorite theme, the younger
one promptly interrupted. “But isn’t
Captain Spanker close-fisted and penu
rious? His housekeeper has to take
u meal out every once in a while to
keep from starving, and they say that
his grocery bills are less than those
of his poorest tenant. I can quite be
lieve that he puts in the first half ol'
every night counting his gold.”
“Margaret 'Pemley, sit down and
hold your tongue. I just got through
telling you it was wrong to talk ns
you’re doing, yet you persist in it. 1
know the captain and you don’t.”
“O, I have a slight personal ac
quaintance with him, grandma. He
presented me with the image of a
whale he had whittled out of a pine
block oue day and took particular
pains to tell mo that I was a real trim
looking ‘little’ girl, though he knew
that, Dick had asked me to he his
wife. He acted abominably about that,
and I just believe that it was because
he was too stingy to give Dick a start
in life. Why, the horrid old captain
roared out as though he was hailing a
distant ship and declared it nothing
'but, a silly, stupid, childish affair. It
was worse than being a miser to come
between tjwo young people as deeply
in love as Dick and myself.”
“You’re just as set as your grand
father was, Margaret. It is a great
deal easier to get along with girls
when one has to spank them into obe
dience than when one is reduced to
reasoning with them. Perhaps I
shouldn’t tell the captain’s secrets,
but there doesn’t seem any other way
to convince you. I was quite a belle
when I was young,” and the hand
some grandmother blushed as she
gave a deft push to her side curls.
“Among other suitors I liact Captain
Spanker. He was a spruce young
sailor then and of good family. Ours,
you know, was among the most prom
inent in the state. I preferred your
grandfather, but the captain and I al
ways remained good friends. He
finally consoled himself by marrying
Dick’s mother. He was a little fellow
in a brave sailor suit when they ac
comxianicd the captain on a voyage to
China. It was a venture of his own,
and the result was that he smuggled
in an immense cargo of opium, land
ing it at an out-of-the-w ay and unused
harbor on the southern coast. Asa
result of this defrauding the govern
ment he became a very rich man for
those days and, at his wife’s solicita
tion, bought the tine place where he
now lives and settled down to enjoy
life as a gentleman farmer.”
“And you defend a smuggler, grand
ma?”
“There you go again, forming an
opinion on partial information. Sea
faring men, then, had very little re
gard for the revenue laws. They re
garded them as an unjust restriction
upon their trade and chances to make
money. But when he was thrown
with different associations his esti
mate of his duty toward the govern
ment was changed, and he resolved to
pay the duty on all that cargo as con
science money. I think it was about,
$lO a pound. At any rate it amounted
to a very large sum and few
would have undertaken to pay it from
a mere sense of patriotism and right.
I know that the captain consulted
your grandfather, who gave his ap
proval and assisted in borrowing the
money on mortgages covering the
captain’s estate. The sending of the
money to the treasury created a great
deal of comment at the time, but only
three of us knew who had sent it.
The captain’s wife signed the securi
ties, but she died without ever asking
what the money was for. She was the
most confiding woman I ever knew.
Bi -hard knows that the land is encum
bered, but thinks that it is only to
use the money in better paying invest
ments. The aim of the captain's life
from that time to this has been to re
deem the estate and leave it clear to
his son. He has given the young
mam more than he would have ac
cepted had he known. He went
through college, contracting unneces
sary debts, as boys will do, and then
came home to fall in love with you. '>
“You speak as if that was a misfor
tune.”
“No, but the captain is very proud
and very determined. I think he is
more determined than your grand
father was. You must remember
that I refused the captain, and lie
would never consent to his son marry
ing my granddaughter unless he had
a.fortune and a standing equal to her
own. ”
“ ‘Unto the third and fourth gener
ation,’ quoted the girl with a tremu
lous smile. “But I’m in love with
the grim old captain, now, and the
only way to get him for a father is to
marry Dick, just as I intend doing.
Miser, indeed! He’s grand and noble,
Wild brambles trailed a thorny wob;
Tho lumaoh’t lighthouse towered high t
And damson plums made purplo spot#
In orchards that wo wandered by,
A light was in tho autumn sky ;
A warmth was in tho autumn sod ;
Deep autumn turquois tipped tho heights,
Tho day wo gathered goldenrod.
Our ways have somehow slippod apart
Since then, and you would think it strange
Tho triiies of one idle day
Arise through every hitter change
And follow me in life’s wide range ;
To me, perhaps, it seems as odd
That Time will never lot me lose
That day we gathered goldenrod.
-Hattio Whitney, in Woman’s Home Companion.
no matter if he was a smuggler or
pirate oi; whatever it was. No wonder
Dick’s so dashing and brave and inde
pendent. He only writes me that
lie’s doing very well out there, lmt lio
wouldn’t, talk about coming home to
fix things up with ‘the dear old gov
ernor,’ as he calls the captain, unless
lie was successful. Dick thinks all
the world of him, though they did
quarrel.”
“Why doesn’t he write his father,
then?”
“Because he forbade it when they
parted, and you know they are not a
yielding family, I believe. I wish
they were more so.”
At the very time this conversation
was going on the few people that the
captain had about him were rapidly
concurring in an opinion that he had
gone crazy. His two latest meals had
been like banquets compared with
his usual repasts. He had issued a
Standing order that- hereafter he would
live as became the proprietor of one
of the finest landed properties in the
state. In the evening he went so far
as to sing in liis foghorn voice some
of the nautical classics that only go at
their best in the teeth of a gale. The
simple truth was that he had paid
the last dollar due on the mortgages
and was now longing for the safe re
turn of Dick, who had threatened to
own a gold mine before lie came back
to claim a bride. The captain even
thought of Margaret, and how like
she was to what her grandmother had
once been, but dismissed her with a
conviction that, she would not have re
mained true to Dick on so weak a
foundation as a girl’s first love.
Within a week the quiet community
was shocked by the report of Richard
Spanker’s death. He was on liis way
home and hud been shot by train rob
bers whom he had attempted to re
sist. The letter bringing this brief
account of a tragedy that left :he cap
tain nothing to live for am! almost
broke the heart of Margaret, told that
the papers and money belonging to
the young man had been forwarded.
They followed closely and showed that
Dick had made good his promise to
win a fortune. He was richer than
the captain himself. Then the girl
pocketed her pride and went to Dick’s
father. She read him the love letters
from his soli, and in each of them was
some sentiment of regard that filled
the old man with rejoicing while he
groaned at the thought of what might
have been. The beautiful young
woman and the captain were drawn to
each other in their common affliction
until she was as his daughter and had
already been named as the sole inher
itor of his property. Oue afternoon
they sat talking in the library when
one white-faced servant rushed
through the hallway to the rear of the
house while another stood, wide-eyed
and speechless, supporting herself
against the newel post.
“Dick,” shrieked the girl, as a
merry laugh came from without.
“Dick,” echoed the hoarse voice of
the old captain as he caught the faint
ing girl on liis arm and stood as
though to defend a beleagured ship.
“Wlnit’s the row, governor? Did I
give you a bit of a fright?” shouted
tlie same jovial voice. “And Margie,
too?” as he encountered the obstacle
to giving the captain a sonly em
brace. “Allow me,” and lie trans
ferred the burden to his own arms.
Nor was it water that brought her
back to consciousness and blushes.
And the-,first coherent sentence of the
captain was: “.She’s yours, Dick.”
Yes, it was Dick,bigger, handsomer
and more manly than ever. His vol
unteer traveling companion had laid
him out with the heavy butt of a
Colt’s revolver while they were on
their way to the nearest depot for the
East, and it was the robber who had
been killed with all Dick’s money and
papers on liis person. When grandma
and the captain danced quaint old fig
ures at the wedding it was plain to the
pretty bride that they were living for
the time in the atmosphere of 40 years
agone.—Detroit Free l’ress.
Soon From the Elevated lionet.
Biding on the elevated gives one an
insight into the different modes of ex
istence of the inhabitants along the
line. Here are some things the writer
caught a passing glimpse of oue day
recently:
A woman cleaniug windows and her
careful and fearful spouse seated oil
the floor holding on to her feet to
prevent her falling to the street lie
low.
A man shaving himself, while a
little boy held a highly polished dish
pan, which was officiating as a mirror.
Two babies asleep on a fire escape,
while their mother was chasing linen
op and down a washboard.
Anew colony of colored folk in the
once fashionable brownstone front
quarter of Fifty-third street, between
Sixth'and Ninth avenues.
A man and woman, evidently play
actors, thrusting at each other, with
foils.
A woman learning to ride the wheel
on a “bike” suspended in her bou
doir. —New York Commercial Adver
tiser.
A Ilewitrd for Crocodiles.
A reward was once offered in one of
the Indian states of a rupee for each
foot of crocodile killed. If a seven
teen-foot crocodile was killed, the kil
ler got 17 rupees. Some 30,000 ru
pees were paid for crocodiles while
the offer of tho reward held good;
this meant nearly six miles of croco
diles. * Then it was found that croco
diles were being imported from vari
ous states, and reward paying was
stopped.
WOMEN’S HATPIN?.
A Cm nad Akulmhl Thom Hum Horm
Started by Condon Caper*.
A crusade against ladies’ hatpins
lias been started in London. Two re
cent cases of loss of sight occasioned
by the enormous pins now worn by the
fair sex have excited the active antag
onism of that order of brutes who are
known as the sterner half of humanity.
One case says the New York Herald,
has mitigating circumstances. Poetical
justice ordained it should he a girl
that was the sufferer. She was blinded
by a pin in the hat of a companion
with whom she was playing. But in
the other case the fact that the victim
was a man lias sent a thrill of horror
through nil male England.
It is pitifully urged that the suf
ferer lmd reached the innocuous age
of forty. A mild mannered, kindly
bachelor, he was sitting in an omni
bus beside a young lady, whose ap
pearance, it must be confessed, was in
her favor. A sudden stoppage of the
vehicle jolted these two into what
might have been a juxtaposition de
lightful to the bachelor. Unfortu
nately the maid had a pin in her hat,
which landed in the right eye of the
Benedict. “He suffered momentary
but uot severe pain” —such are the
touching words of the chronicler—
“and shortly afterward left tho ’bus,
thinking he was suffering from a mere
scratch. See how kindly and consid
erate were his thoughts. As to the
lady, with the natural brutality of her
sex, she “proceeded to her destination,
never suspecting the injury she had
caused.”
During the night the gentleman
awoke in the most intense agony. He
sent for a certain Dr. Edgar Steven
son, who tells the pitiful tale to the
London Times. The doctor arrived
some twelve hohrs after the accident.
Here are his very words: “I found
that tho pin had penetrated the eye at
the margin of the cornea, and passed
obliquely through the iris and leus, a
portion of the iris protruding from the
wound. Though an immediate opera
tion saved the eye itself, for all prac
tical purposes tlie sight is lost, and
one is only surprised that tlie worst
results did not follow the entrance
into the eye of an instrument which
could not liy any means be considered
as surgically clean. ”
Dr. Stevenson offers many wise
thoughts suggested by this sad cir
cumstance. “I am informed, sir,” he
says, “that the hatpin is an absolute
necessity, and that it is quite useless
to press for its abolition. Nor, so
long as it is not used as a weapon of
attack and defence, as in some parts
of tlie Continent, is such au extreme
step called for. But I think it may
well be pointed out to ladies that, they
have in their hands, or rather in their
hair a dangerous instrument which
might easily be made less formidable
to others, by being worn of a moder
ate length. To use a ten inch pin to
attach a hat to a four inch bush of
hair seems to me not only full of risk
to the public but an ungainly and hid
eous device that can scarcely be con
sidered to add to the personal attrac
tion of the wearer.
QUAINT AND CURIOUS.
A St. Louis paper is marveling over
the case of a septuagenarian whose
white hair turned black in a single
filglit recently.
A daguerrotype of Louis Philippe,
taken in 1840 by Daguerre himself,
has been presented to the Camavalet
Mu sen m in Pijris.
The water is so clear in the fiords of
Norway that objects an inch aud a half
in diameter can be distinctly seen at a
depth of 150 feet.
“Ancient” coins, many of which an
tedate the Christian era, are made in
large quantities in London, and find
sale all over the world.
James Ferguson and Mrs. Bettie
Carrolton, liis sister, who claim to be
the oldest man and woman in Indiana,
are aged respectively 105 and 109
years.
Vinegar w ill not split rocks, so Han
nibal could not have thus made his
way through the Alps. Nor will it
dissolve pearls, so that the story of
Cleopatra drinking pearls melted in
vinegar must have been a fiction.
The blood of Rizzio, Mary Stuart’s
favorite, cannot be seen on the floor
where he was murdered by Darnley
and the other conspirators. What is
seen there is a daub of red paint, an
nually renew ed for the benefit of gap
ing tourists.
One of the feet of Louis Philippe's
throne, which was carried off from
the Toil cries by tlie mob in February,
1848, and burned at the foot of the
column in the Place de la Bastille, has
been presented to the Camavalet Mu
seum in Paris.
AVliilc Miss Belle Hope and five
friends were eating a picnie luncheon
in the mountains near Bellefonte,
Penn., a rattlesnake and a wildcat
fought to the death near them and
forty-seven rattlesnakes attacked them.
The men in the party killed the snakes.
A'eneer cutting lias reached sueh
perfection that a single elephant’s tusk,
thirty inches long, is now cut in Lon
don into a sheet of ivory 150 inches
long and twenty inches wide, and some
sheets of rosewood aud mahogany are
only about a fiftieth of an inch thick.
The German emperor’s imperial
train ’cost $830,000 and took three
years to construct. There are alto
gether 12 cars, including two nursery
carriages. The reception saloon con
tains several pieces of statuary, and
each of the sleeping cars is fitted with
a bath.
The most remarkable gold beetles
in the world are found in Central
America. The head and wing cases
are brilliantly polished w ith a cluster
of gold itself. To sight and touch
they have all tlie appearances of metal.
The gold and silver beetles are worth
from $5 to $lO apiece.
Submarine Klondike.
The first attempt to use the new
submarine craft, Argonaut, will be in
a search for bullion supposed to have
gone down in the ship New Era, in
1854, off’ the coast off New Jersey. If
the modern Jason is successful in his
undertaking, trips to the submarine
Klondike regions may become popular
with those who think drowning is an
easier method of death than freezing
or starvation.—Neiv York Herald.
UNDERGROUND STREAMS
EVIDENCES OF AN IMMENSE TIDAL
SYSTEM OF WATERCOURSES.
CoiiHtantly Oftclllating: Water, Affected ly
Storm* and Influenced by tlie Moon
Tin* Entire Earth’** Inferior I itdermiued
by Waterway*—Old Theory ltefuted.
A remarkable new theory concern
ing the nature of parts of the earth’s
interior lias just been promulgated by
Professor E. H. King, agricultural
physicist of the University of Wiscon
sin. It is to the effect that the sub
surface of the human footstool is in
ter-penetrated by water incessantly in
motion; that there is a vast network
of underground rivers, brooks,
streams, pools and rivulets constantly
flowing in various directions, some
shallow, some deep, some near the
surface, some far below the outer
crust —all of them having a definite
tidal motion and all subject to lunar
influence. Tlie theory is not based on
pure supposition, but certain tests and
observations have been made which
give legitimate bearing to it, in tlie
eyes of Professor King’s associates.
Professor Hallock of the physics de
partment of Columbia college, when
asked for his opinion of the theory,
said he considered it very ingenious
and quite within the range of proba
bility.
Professor King has even made au
tomatic records which show that
ground water is constantly in a state
of oscillation, which may extend over
a long period, may be seisinal, or may
correspond with the high and low
barometric waves associated with the
movements of storms. He lias made
a series of records which show that,
tlie surface of the ground water in a
well is much more responsive to at
mospheric changes of temperature
than is the barometer itself. He has
also found that during stormy weather
the movements of surface water are so
complex and rapid—so short in period
—-that a rapidly moving eronograpli
is required to separate them.
• Data from different wells and
springs seem to suggest that there ex
ists beneath the surface of the earth
an immense tidal system, which is af
fected by the moon, and which rises
and falls, or at least moves about,
with as much regularity as the tides
of the ocean. It is not stated whether
there is any intimate connection be
tween these underground streams and
the great streams and bodies of w ater
which exist on the surface, except
that they are both governed by lunar
influence, and that the natural pro
cess of percolation may indirectly con
nect them with each other. It is a
know n fact that the variation of water
from springs under barometric changes
is very great, and the surface of Lake
Mendota has been shown, even in
winter, when covered with ice, to be
subject to extremely complex oscilla
tions, some of which appear to be
barometric.
ft is a contention of Professor King
that these underground waters em
brace a worldwide zone. They are
not, therefore, confined to the United
States alone, but undermine the sur
faces of Europe, Asia, Africa and Aus
tralia as well. Professor King is
working to perfect a map of the un
derground streams of tlie w orld, and
as soon as he has finished we shall
doubtless know more of what the in
terior of the earth is like. The sub
stitution of a theory to the effect that
the interior of the earth is occupied
by large bodies of water is only anoth
er refutation of tlie old theory of the
molten character of the earth’s interior.
Years ago it was thought that the
centre of the earth was a molten mass
which was the result of the former
geological condition. It was held
that the earth had progressed from
its original entirely molten state; had
cooled off on the surface, auil was
gradually cooliug off toward the cen
tre. but that there must, in the nature
of things, yet remain a large portion
of the interior which was yet in a
molten condition. During late years,
however, scientists, while holding
this view to be in a measure correct,
yet contend that the process of cool
ing is very much more advanced than
it was formerly supposed to be. They
contend that the centre of the earth
is very hot, but that it is not precisely
a molten mass.
The possibilities of Professor King’s
theory are very great, and from a sci
entific standpoint his investigations
are very valuable, and the final results
are being eagerly awaited by all sci
entists.— Washington Star.
A BIC CANNING YEAR.
600,000,000 Sheet* of Tin Made Into Can*
in a Seanon.
In view of the fact that prominent
fruiterers say that this will be one of
the biggest canning seasons on record,
the process of tin can making takes on
an added interest. The cans are made
by machinery. Over 400,000,p00 a
year are produced in this country.
Out of the 7,000,000 boxes of tin
plate (120 sheets to the box) used
yearly only 2,000,000 boxes go for
general use. The remaining 5,000,000
boxes of tiu (000,000,000 sheets) are
made into cans. Common fruit cans
represent two-thirds of the entire pro
duct. Assuming six inches as the
average height of a can, some idea of
the enormity of this product may be
hud when it is pointed out that if the
cans were to be placed end to end, the
line would he 37,878 miles in length
—long enough to reach one and one
half times around the earth.
Twenty years ago a fruit can factory
consisted of several dozen men aud as
many boy helpers, who made the cans
all by hand, cutting them out with
shears, passing the sides through a
ringer to roll them into shape. The
bottoms and covers w ere shaped by
means of dies, and the parts all put
together and soldered by band. Nat
urally, when buying canned goods in
those days a few cents went to pay
for the can. AVhen twenty men and
their helpers, the most that could Ka
produced in these (lavs was 16,000 a
day. The same number of employes,
most of them boys, are now able by
means of automatic machinery to turn
out over 200,000 a day. There are
now in existence in New York, Chica
go and Baltimore large plants employ
ing machines having a daily capacity
of 400,000. The production has in
creased rapidly year by year as new'
machines have been invented, until
now it is only necessary to insert
quantities of tin shoots into one part
of the machine to have them automat
ically pass all the stages of manufac
ture and drop out at the other end in
the shape of completely formed cans.
This system of machines occupies
an enormous space, and a continuous
line of bright cans is seen moving rap
idly in all directions, as a plant usual
ly consists of a number of theso com
plex systems on a floor. Slightly dif
ferent machines are used for different
styles of cans—tomato andioorn cans,
baking powder, condensed milk, fruit,
spices, druggists’ materials, etc. —
some machines lapping joints over a
second time, so that they are water
tight without being soldered.
It is a mistaken idea that there is
no further use for the tin can when
thrown out with the rubbish. Smelt
ing companies keep wagons employed
constantly, and many individuals
make a business of gathering old tin
cans by the wagon load at the city
dumps and around the suburbs, re
ceiving as high as $3.50 a load.
At the smelters they are dumped on
a grate, where the flames from burn
ing shavings melt off the tin and lead.
Some of the remaining iron pieces are
frequently sold to trunk manufacturers
for use in binding the frames of
trunks, the rough surface of the metal
holding the paint well. Generally,
however, it is melted up over very hot
tires and moulded into various castings.
Most of these factories manufacture
sash weights, weights for elevators,
etc., from the tin and other common
forms of castings, although there is
now a method by which the iron from
the old tin cans can be refined and
used for first-class castings. New
York Sun.
CUNNINGLY WROUCHT MANSIONS.
Biril;. Which Build Houses and Stake
Out Garden Plots.
There has just been discovered by a
government ornithologist a tribe of
birds in the Island of New Guinea
which show themselves excellent
architects by building, each for him
self, a little house on the ground.
* Of course, the house that the bird
builds is not an elaborate pile of
brown stone or even bricks. It is
made merely of twigs and pebbles,
kept together by the interweaving of
the tall dried grass peculiar to the
, wild fields of New Guinea. But it
j answers its purpose just as well in
keeping off the rain and sun, and no
wind can knock down the house, ow
ing to the ingenious manner in which
the bird selects a site.
The birds have received the tem
porary name of garden birds, owing
to the fact that they fence in a little
plot around their houses, for no other
apparent reason than to let other
birds know that the enclosed plot is
private property.
When the male garden bird takes a
mute, he selects some level spot ill the
fields where he finds a tree not m re
than two inches in thickness at the
base. With this tree as a centre pole,
the bird builds his house of twigs,
leaves, pebbles and grass, and when
finished it is a cunningly wrought
mansion, shaped like a bell, and with
two stories. In the upper story sev
eral small openings are eft to act as
windows, and the ground floor has
one large opening which serves for
entrance as well as to let in the light.
When the house is finished the bird
erects a circular fence, two inches in
height, around his house, and thus
encloses a plot three feet distant from
it at every point.
The interior of each house is dec
orated with fresh leaves, the wings of
beautiful insects, pretty feathers
which other birds may have shed,
gayly colored berries, and even the
bleached skulls of birds that have
died in the fields long before.
The gardens of the birds are strewn
with wild blossoms, and when these
wither they are carefully replaced.—
New Yolk Journal.
Cuts and Swallows.
Some of your readers may be inter
ested in this incident, which happened
recently. AA T e took our two cats into
a field above our garden one evening;
a door led from the garden. There
were a great many swallows flying
about, I suppose young birds and
their parents. Suddenly, one flew
down close to the older cat and
screamed at it, flying as suddenly
away again. The old cat did not like
this, and made a few steps towards
the door, which was some way off.
Down came the bird again, and
screamed again within a couple of
inches of the cat’s face. This was too
much, and the cat flew to the door
and sat there, much agitated, when
down swooped the bird again close,
and yelled again at the cat, and over
the cat went into the garden. A\ T e
were left laughing and wondering,and
the other eat much interested, when
down came the swallow again aud
gave the scream as before into the
cat’s face. The cat put out her paw
and then fled over the door into the
garden with no hesitation, and the
swallows were left in possession of
the field. AVe tried the next evening
to induce one of the cats to follow' us
into that field, but she refused; she
evidently thought it too uncanny.—
Letter in London Spectator.
Ivory on tlie Congo.
Before the arrival of the Arabs
. ivory lmd no value; the natives often
did not store it. Having killed an
elephant they took only the meat; and
when the Arabs came and, pointing to
the ivory, wished to buy, tho natives
hunted about in tlie woods for ivory
of elephants dead a long time, and big
points were sold for a handful of
beads or a copper or brass ornament.
Kibon o was tho first to settle after
Stanley’s passage; he is said to have
bought immense stores of ivory, blit
all seem to have spent all they had.
All the natives along here joined Tippu
Tib on his way to Stanley Falls to es
tablish himself, anil they fought and
took part in raids for him.—Century.
Babies aud Bicycles Checked at Church.
Here is a progressive minister. He
is the Rev. Dr. Hauciier of the Grand
Avenue Methodist Episcopal church
of Kansas City, and lie has established
not only a bicycle checkroom iu the
basement of his, church, but also a
room where mothers may check their
babies while they attend divine ser
vice.
PIRATES LOOT A SHIP.
DESPERATE ACHINESE BUCCANEERS
IN CHINA SEAS.
They Board BrlfUll Steamer 111 tlie
tiiiiHo of Peaceful Paapenuere - Arms
t one,ailed by a Woman Ca|itain Killed
and Pasaeliftcrs Put to tlie Swol’d.
Like a story of tho buccaneers of
the Spanish main reads the account
just received of the attack upon a
British steamer in China seas, the
murder of many of the crew and the
looting of the ship.
Off the coast of Sumatra the steam
er Pegu, plying between local Chinese
ports, was attacked by pirates, her
captain slain, a number of her crew
and passengers put to the sword, and
everything of value in her cabins and
hold tarried away. The vessel ar
rived at Teluk Seuiawe with a score of
corpses on board and her decks yet
red with blood.
The Pegu left Penang for Oleh-Leli
on July 6 with SIB,OOO and a large
cargo. When between Pari Busuk
and Sitnpaug Glim, Sumatra, the ves
sel was taken possession of by eleven
Achinese pirates and one woman, who
had been taken aboard at Edie. The
vessel was steaming along at night,
and Captain Boss and Chief Engineer
Cragie w r ere at dinner in the saloon
when suddenly six armed Achinese
rushed in upon them from one door,
while two entered by another. The
officers were taken at a disadvantage,
but they defended themselves as well
as they could with chairs.
The pirates sprang upon them with
drawn swords, and the a nw’eildy weap
ons with which Ross and Cragie at
tempted to defend themselves were
useless in the unequal contest. The
captain, after felling two of tlie Achi
nese, was slashed about the hands and
arms until compelled to drop his
chair. He fled to the upper deck,
where he fell and was despatched at
once. When his body was found, after
tlie pirates bail looted the ship and
departed, it had been horribly muti
lated and dismembered.
Cragie succeeded in fighting liis
way through the raiders and reaching
tlie engine-room, where he liid and
was not followed.
While this combat was being waged
in the saloon, the battle had become
general throughout the ship. Simul
taneously with the attack upon the
captain and chief engineer, the re
mainder of the pirates had thrown
themselves upon the mate and steers
man, who were on the bridge. The
latter made a gallant fight, but were
soon cut down.
The serang, or overseer of the ves
sel, climbed up the funnel stays and
escaped the onslaught of the pirates.
The Pegu carried about fifty Chinese
passengers.
AATien the attack was made, the
Mongolians fled panic-stricken. They
w'ere followed by the merciless
pirates, and, according to one ac
count, at least thirty were killed.
When the vessel arrived at Teluk
Seuiawe, fifteen wounded passengers
were taken ashore and placed in hos
pital, where one of them has since
died.
After the short but sanguinary con
test, tlie Achinese began looting the
vessel. One of them was placed at
the wheel to steer the Pegu nearer to
land, while others ransacked the cabin
and quarters of the passengers and
crew. In the captain’s cabin they
found a repeating rifle and revolver,
a sum of money and valuable instru
ments. These w ere all taken, togeth
er with the clothing of the chief offi
cer. The safe was opened, and from
it SIB,OOO was taken. Having com
pleted their work, the Achinese took
their departure in the Pegu’s boats
and escaped to shore.
AVhen the Achinese boarded the
Pegu at Edie, they carried no arms,
and the supposition is that the woman
who came and departed with them
carried the weapons of her male com
panions hidden on her person under
her sarong. She was not searched,
though the officers of the ship, always
suspicious of the treacherous Achi
nese, made sure that the eleven men
carried no arms before they were per
mitted to come on board.
The Dutch officials at Teluk Seuiawe
found the horribly mutilated body of
Captain Boss lying in his berth, with
his hands clasped over his breast.
The body of one of his crew was lying
on the floor beside the berth. Cra
gie’s wounds are said to be not seri
ous, but one stab in the'chest anil
another in the back had been checked
by bones. The serang was oil the
bridge with the mate, steersman aud
another of the crew when the pirates
attacked the captain and Cragie in the
saloon. At the same time other pirates
rushed up the ladder and killed the '
mate and steersman, but the serang
dodged about behind the wheel, and
the fourth man tackled one of the j
pirates and escaped. The serang says
that while he stood there he could
clearly hear the chain running out to
port, putting the vessel in the direc
tion for land. After a bit he was dis
covered, so, bolting oft', he climbed
the whistle pipe, at the top of which
he remained for a short time. The
Achinese triqd to follow, but found
the pipe too hot and left him. One of
them took charge of the wheel, while
two others stood on the bridge, threat
ening to kill anybody who might at
tempt to ascend.
Tlie serang at last climbed down the
funnel, and in the dark evaded the no
tice of the pirates. He reached one
of the boats, and, uncoiling some rope
he found there, lie let himself down
into the water, where he hung for
over two and a half hours while tlie
pirates were ransacking the vessel.
Fortunately for the serang the pirates,
when they chose two boats in which
they left the vessel, did not select that
from w hich he was suspended. When
the pirates had gone, the serang
mounted to the boat and went to the
engine-room and called down to tell
the engineer to get up steam.—New
York World.
No Mistake About That.
Blinks—By the way, I must intro
duce you to my friend AA’inks. He’s
one of the best fellows in the world,
a noble fellow, glorious fellow. He’s
had a great many ups and downs,
Winks has.
Jinks—Judging from your enthusi
asm, he is now on one of the ups.
New' York Weekly.
KLONDIKE DUST.
Odd Facts and Fancie* About tho New
Lhiiil of Gold.
A mule express is to be established
between Dyea and far-off Daw sou City
during the coming winter. The en
terprise is in the hands of 0. H. Da
AVitt and John Roberts. Their schema
is to locate stations about fifteen miles
apart along tlie whole route, and keep
up communication by mules, carrying
packs of provisions right through tho
winter.
A St. Louis man, William Scliartbe*-
ger, lias obtained a patent on a ma
chine designed to overcome the diffi
culties of mining in frozen ground.
If it works well, the Klondikers will
not have to build tires and thaw out
the soil to get at the gold in winter.
The machine consists of a steel screw,
which is worked into the ground like
a post-hole auger. A cylinder of the
same diameter ait the screw, and two
feet in depth follows the screw into
the ground, and within the cylinder is
a well bucket, which has an open bot
tom, into which the detached gravel
and dirt are forced. When full, this
bucket is elevated by a windlass at
tachment, aud can be washed out and
panned while the bucket is returned
to the well for another load. The ma
chine will weigh less thnE sixty
pounds, and two men at the ends of
the levers can bore a hole inti solid
limestone if necessary.
It is understood that the Dominion
government has under consideration a
project in connection with the admie
istrution of the Yukon district which is
novel, but appears admirably calcu
lated to meet the conditions existing
in the new communities of the extreme
Northwest. It is the establishment
of w hat might be termed a “treasure
house,” in which will be stored the
gold of the miners, and for which they
will receive draft on United States or
Canadian banks of the full market val
ue of their gold dust. The passenger
lists of the steamer* that have sailed
from American ports show up to a re
cent date no less than 5566 persons
had left en route to the gold fields of
Alaska, and a conservative estimate
places the number who have gone from
Vancouver and British Columbia at
2000 or more. As the rush shows uo
signs of abatement ns yet, the chances
are that more than 15,000 people w ill
have set out for Alaska before the
Klondike fever subsides.
The largest mass of gold ever dug
out of the' soil of California was at
Carson Hill, Calaveras county.in 1854.
It weighed 195 pounds. Klondike has
not yet beaten that record, hut Klon
dike is young yet.
It is to he renlembered thaticc total
area of the Klondike diggings up to
date does not cover over 200 square
miles from Dawson City.
A monthly mail service has been es
tablished between Circle City and Ju
neau. This mail service is for United'
States mail addressed to Circle City,
and the mail is sent through from Ju
neau in a sealed bag, which cannot be
opened in transit. Mail for DawsoD
City, on the Klondike, Forty Mileand
Fort Cudahy will not be carried in
this mail, as these points are it Cana
dian territory. Communication with
these points will be irregular and dif
ficult, but arrangements have been
made to forward mail from Circle City
by the Arctic Express company.
All the veteran Yukon miners unite
in giving one bit of advice to intend
ing Klondikers—don’t start til! next
spring!
Sight >iin 1 Color Vision.
The high reputation of Dr. 0. H.
Williams as an expert in testing the
visual organs and the color sense—he
having in years past conducted thous
ands of tests in behalf of the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy railroad—is
well known. He declares that it is of
more importance to test the vision
than the color sense of employes on
railways, only about six per cent, of
those applying for positions on the
above-named road being found by him
to come up to the physical standard
required, and the same proportion
would hold on other railway lines. He
maintains that there should be two
standards, the higher for engineers,
draw-tenders and the interlocking
switchmen, all of whom should be of
normal vision, though after a man has
been in the service some length of
time the standard can with safety bo
lowered. Dr. Williams states that an
enginemau, after making' a long run,
was found to have lost a good part of
his visual acuteness, and therefore re
commends as short runs as possible.
He maintains, too, that the use of
tobacco bas a serious effect on the
sharpness of vision. Then, foo, un
less the lenses of lanterns are of uni
form color, an injustice may be done
a perfectly competent employe.—New
York Tribune.
New Way to Light Matches*.
A profitable noonday pastime, among
the gamins who frequent the vicinity
of Beading Terminal never fails to
draw a large and interested crowd,
says the Philadelphia Press. One of
the boys will lay ten matches in an
even row on the hard asphalt. The
heads of the matches all point the
same way, and the matches are about
an inch apart. Then the youngster
swings a cord on the end of which is
fastened ft piece of lead.
Swinging the cord rapidly, lie
handles it so deftly that lie hits at will
the head of each match and sets it,
blazing. He makes an agreement
with the crowd that if he succeeds in
igniting in this manner each of the
ten matches without missing he is to
have ten cents. .Usually the business
men who watch the performance are so
n ell pleased that the gamin gets con
siderably more than a dime for his
trouble and skill.
New Way t< I’.xtract Perfumes-.
Anew process for extracting the
perfume of flowers has been devised
by M. .1. Pussy. He steeps the flow
ers in water, which is drawn off when
charged with perfume and l'resh water
substituted. This keeps the flowers
fresh for a long time, and their life is
further prolonged by the use of a
saline solution such a-, the tissues of
the plants call for. The charged
water is then evaporated by the use of
ether. The process has proved suc
cessful with many flowers which pre
viously refused to yield up their per
fume, notably the lily of the valley.—
San Francisco Chronicle. /