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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. /