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ft THE DAYS. . - ~ ~~—
rhy pass, mute figures, through a sombre
gate.
When Time, the W ardor, turns the noise
less key.
Veiled are their faces, and a mystery
~A grayest robe enfolds their cloudy state—
h single marcn they move, nor aoon, nor
late,
And gifts, joy, good, the fruits of life’s
fair tree.
Love the crown, the cross of pain, and pov
erty,
Their full hands hold, these Almoners of
Fate!
Tor some, they wake glad bells to chimings
soft;
To some, they bear the chrism of sweet
death'
Vainly we strive to bar their footsteps oft,
Or, eager, call on them with quick-drawn
breath.
They pass, unmoved, to join the shadowy
train
}f vanished days, that shall not come again.
—Hhtnbfth H . AYsire, in Cotmopolitwi.
Caught Bv Comanches.
In 18G8 a hunting party composed of
several prominent citizens of 81. Louis,
Cincinnnti, Louisville and Chicago, and
numbering about thirty in all, entered
the country of the Comanche Indians in
that elbow of Texas lying between New
Mexico and the Indian Territory for a
tour weeks’ stay. There waa a temporary
camp of soldiers at the junction of the
Big Wichita and the Tied Rivers at that
time, and as we reached it on our way
into the country, I was bitten on the leg
by a rattlesnake, and laid up for five
days. I was with the party in the eapactiy
of scout and hunter, but as it was a
strong one, it was decided not to wait
for me. They were to follow up the Red
River to the mouth of the Little Wichita,
and I should doubtless overtake them ere
they had decided on a permanent camp.
While the Comanches were bitterlv
hostile at that date, they had been sadly
reduced by small-pox and driven to the
north, and the old frontiersmen stated
their belief that the party would not even
see one. When I left camp I was four
days behind the party. As all were
mounted and intended to push right
along, this meant a matter of ac least
eighty miles to me. However, I had a
hardy mustang, was well armed, and
when I rode away from the camp I had
about regained my strength. I felt a bit
of dizziness as I galloped along over the
trail, and soon discovered that my eyes
were weak. The party had left a plain
trail, and as my mustang, had had a long
rest he kept to hia gait with hardly a
break up to high noon. Along the hanks
of the stream the country was wooded.
A mile to the west it was plain and
prairie mixed, sometimes badly broken
and then as level as a floor for several
miles.
At noon I came to a small creek, and
watered and baited my horse and ate my
luncheon. I had just mounted for a new
start when I heard a “Yil yi! yi?” on
my right, and I turned my head to sea
five Comanches coming out of the timber
on their ponies. They were about a half
a mile away, and had evidently just dis
covered me. They were to my right and
rear, and as I started off on the trail I
had no particular anxiety for my safety.
There wasn't an Indian pony in Texas
which could overhaul my mustang in his
present fresh condition. The yells were
repeated as 1 moved away, but after go
ing r mile 1 looked back and saw that
the red men lwl settled down to busi
ness. They were strung out in line, and
adapted their pace to mine. That meant
a long chase and a test of endurance.
When a man ridcß for his life the
greatest fear is in overdoing the matter.
If he pushes too fast at the start he will
'‘blow” his horse, and the effects will be
felt after the first ten miles. 1 had beeu
five years on the plains, had a pretty fair
'tock of nerve, and I rode to favor my
beast. He would have gone a third
faster had I permitted it, but 1 rode to
keep my distance and gain nothing.
Every mile or so I shifted my weight
forward or hack, to relieve the burden
ou him, and so the afternoon wore away.
The timber was always in plain view on
my right—-the plains on my left. At 2
o’clock I rode right through the spot
where the party had camped the first
night, and-as the Indians did not stop to
inspect it or give up the pursuit, 1 kuew
that they had visited the spot, before
They were some rambling party out ou
the warpath, but too weak to attack the
larger party. As the sun began to sink
in the west they sought to shorten the
distance and bring me within rifle shot,
hut a woid to the mustang checkmated
this.
Had I been able to keep the trail after
three o'clock, I should have counted on
finding the party in their second camp by
sundown, as we were getting over the
ground at a rapid pace, but at about that
hour I came to a rough, stony district,
where the passage of the horses had left
no trail, and 1 went ahead ut random,
planning to keep nay distance from the
river. Twice, in crossing small creeks
my horse got a ..lit tie water, and as the
sun finally went down he seemed to be al
most as fresh as at noon. It was to be a
starlight night, and as soon as dusk came
I urged my beast to a faster pace, and
bore more to the left. When I believed
that I had.gaiued quarter of a mile I
swerved sharp to trie right, rode for forty
rods, and then dismounted, and gave
“Custer” the wftrd-' to lie down. \Ve,
were both flat on the earth w hen the
party of pursuers ssepf. by, and the
“thud! thud! thud?” of their ponies
feet came very plainly to my ears. WheS
they had passed on, I led my horsy to
ward the timber, and reached it without'
hearing anything further from the
Indians. We pushed through the timber
to the river, and here were both grass
and water. I had a cold bite in my
haversack, and after disposing of it
stretched out and went to sleep, hoping
[ had given the red men the slip. I
jpened my eyes next morning in astonish
ment. Seated in a circle about me were
•he five Comanches, while their ponies
were feeding with my horse. There was
a fire, and the Indians had evidently
eaten breakfast. - They were smoking as
I awoke, and there was a grin on each
face as it was turned toward me. I lay
on my hack, with my hands clasped
under my head, and such was my
astonishment that I. could not move.
Fortunately for me the fellows took this
for nerve. I looked from man to man,
and finally said, in Comanche;
“It is easy enough for a squaw to
track a horse after sunrise, and even a
boy could make prisoner of a sleeping
mau."
“Ugh! ugh!” grunted two or three of
them.
“When yur people at home hear of
your brave deed they will sing soags in
your praise!” I continued, speaking in
tones of contempt: “Here, I have the
claws of a grizzly bear which I shot a
few months ago. Take them, and you
can secure further praise by claiming to
haye killed the beast yourselves!”
From the instant I realized my situation
I knew that I was in for it. Coolness
and nerve are what count in such emer
gencies to throw the Indian off his bal
ance. 1 sat up. rubbed niy eyes, reached
for my haversack and got tome meat and
bread, and as I toasted the meat at the
fire I said, addressing myself to the
leader:
“Had 1 known you were Comanches
I should not have run away. I thought
you were Chiekasaws on stolen horses.
I shall be ready to go as soon as I have
eateu. I want to see the Comanche
country—the great plains—the Canadian
River —the mountains full of caves and
waterfalls- your Chief, Thundercloud.”
lie asked me if I belonged to the
party ahead, and I told him no. He
asked me how I dared start out alone for
the Comanche country, and I told him
that 1 had trapped the mountain lion and
cut out and eaten Ills liver while still
alive, anti therefore feared nothing living.
I could see that they were badly puzzled,
anti that they had no idea of offering me
violence, and I increased then- wonder by
saying, as I finished my breakfast:
“Corns! It is time to go. We hare \
a long ride and I am anxious to see your
country.”
I whistled up my horse, and hail him
nearly ready before they moved. They
had taken my rifle and revolver, and I
did not seem to liave noticed the fact,
hut strapped my blanket to the saddle,
lighted my pi])C, and waited for them.
They came together out of earshot and
had a confab, but apparently did not ar
rive at any satisfactory conclusion.
When we were eeady to go I said:
“Two of you must ride ahead and
three behind. It is an honor due me,
and you cannot show me too much re
sjiect."
They looked at me in wondpr and
amazement, and I continued :
“And if wc should encounter any
white men, avoid them, as I do not wish
to be seen.”
That last observation drove the peg
home. When we set out two rode in
front and three behind, and no Indians
were ever more puzzled. In later years
I met one of them, and he told me that
their plan was to torture me as soon as I
awoke. Even the one who was to have
the honor of scalping me had been desig
nated, and the plunder had been ap
portioned. And after they had con
cluded to take me prisoner to a village
one hundred miles away they meant to
tie me to my horse. .They weie beat out
of this by my queer remarks, intended
just for that purpose. We moved to the
west about five miles, then held to the
north until noon. Afternoon we turned
to the east, and I figured that they were
flanking the camp of the white party by
thcii manunivrc. Wc rode to the east
until nightfall, and theu went into camp
in some timber alongside a creek. Sev
eral times during the day I had expressed
my impatience at our slow pace and
asked them to get on faster, and when
wc went into camp I saw that I had
them off their guard. They looked
upon ino more as a curiosity than
a prisoner, and this very fact bred
anew danger. After eating I sat apart
from them to smoke aud meditate, and to
give them opportunity to compare notes.
It did not take them long to satisfy each
other thnt I was a “bad medicine,” and
that if they carried me to their village
my presence would bring disaster. They
urged that I be killed, but theu came
the questiou of who should do it. Each
was afraid that the deed would bring
wrath upon his head, and so far as I
could make out each oue refused the
task. While they were talking 1 moved
carefully backward on the earth, and by
and by I had twenty feet between me and
the nearset man. All the horses were
loose in the timber to browse. The guns
were on the other side of the fire, where
l could not hope to reach them. Just
when the five got their heads together to
discuss something they did not wish me
to hear, I arose and stepped backward
out of the light of the fire, and I bolieve
I was a huudred feet nwav when they
missed me. Every mau sprang to his
feet with a yell and rushed for the point
where I was last seen.
I had meanwhile dropped to my hands
and knees aud was crawling to the left
toward the guus. As the rush came 1
dropped beside a log, and one of the red
skins leaped square over me as he cleared
the log, I heard them scatter and beat
about, and while they were hunting for
me 1 crawled along and got my gun. It
was a Winchester, aud anew thing to
them, and it had been left behind when
they patched uptheir rifles. Icreptaway
prjtsof the circle of the lire and then got
the shelter of the tree. The Indians beat
arrouad for a good half hour, and then
e|me all'fn, chagrined and disgusted. A
quarrel took place at once, one blaming
the other for my escape, but something
like peace was restored by the leader say
ing that I could not go far oq foot, and
that they would recapture me next dav.
In such event I was to be put to the tor
ture at once.
Something now took place which the
reader may harshly criticise. While I
could have crept away I would not. I
could not have secured my horse, and to
be alone and afoot in that country meant
suffering and peril. I had been a scout
for several years. I had been ambushed,
shot at, pursued, and wounded. Two of
my comrades had been hacked to pieces
by this same tiibc. Travel as far as I
could that night they would be likely to
i overhaul me next day, and if again re
captured they would burn and torture me.
I had all these arguments in my defence
as I lifted my gun and took fair aim at
leader. He went down as my rifle
cracked, and was followed by a second
and a third before the surviving
, two could comprehend what was going
| on. Neither stopped for his gun, but
both sprang away in the darkness. I
I tired after them, and, strangely enough,
shot one through the hip. He traveled
with his companion for twenty miles be
fore he lay down to die. The fifth war
rior headed to the east, until he got
among the mountains, and, after having
time to reflect, he decided not to go back
to his tribe. The loss of his four com
rades and of his entire outfit was some
thing he could not explain satisfactorily,
and he was fearful of being made the
victim of his chief's anger. He therefore
renegaded to the Chiekasaws, and was
with them when he gave me his story.
I stood guard all .night, and when
morning came was satisfied that the two
who escaped had no idea of returning.
After a scanty breakfast I caught up the
six animals, packed up everything of
sable, and then searched the dead. The
three had about S7O in gold and silver
among them, and one had a white man’s
scalp, which had been taken within two
days. When ready to start I headed to
ward the southeast for the river, and at
3 o'clock rode right into the camp of the
party, which had settled down for sport
and had giveu me no thought. Next
day a party of us rode over to give the
bodies a more careful inspection, and we
found on each one a silver Government
medal, given them during Lincoln’s first
terra, as “good Indians.”— New York
Hun.
A Spider Catches a Fish.
The physical powers of the Lycosidcp,
the popular running, ground or woll
spiders, are well illustrated by an in
stance recorded in the proceedings of the
Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadel
phia. The result as reported was
achieved by pure strength and activity,
without any of the mechanical advan
tages of a snare. Mr. Bpring, while
walking with a ’friend in a swampy
wood, which was pierced by a dike three
feet wide, was attracted by the extraor
dinary movements of a large black spidei
in the middle of a ditch. Closer exam
ination showed that the creature had
caught a fish! She had fastened upon it
with a deadly grip just on the forward
side of the dorsal fin, aud the poor fish
was swimming round and round slowly,
or twisting its body as if in pain. The
head of its black enemy was sometimes
almost, pulled under water, but the
• it / it . U-t 1J i t*. ...
sucugiu ui tiic usu vtwum uui> pcium au
entire submersion. It moved its fins as
if exhausted, and often rested. Finally
it swam under a floating leaf near the
shore and made a vain effort to dislodge
the spider by scraping against the under
side of the leaf.
The two had now closely approached
the bank. Suddenly the long black legs
of the spider emerged from the water,
and the hinder ones reached out and fas
tened upon the irregularities of tho sides
of the ditch. The spider commenced
tugging at his prize in order to lnnd it.
The observer ran to the nearest house for
a wide-mouthed bottle, leaving his friend
to'watch the struggle. During an inter
val of six or eight minutes’ absence the
spider had drawn the fish entirely out of
tlie water; theu both creatures had fallen
in again, the bank being nearly perpen
dicular. There followed a great strug
gle, and on Mr. Spring’s return the fish
was already hoisted head first more than
half its length out upon the laud. It
was very much exhausted, hardly making
any movement, and was being slowly and
! steadily drawn up by the spider, who had
evidently gained the victory. —Popular
He knee Monthly.
Finest Specimen of Sevres in the World.
.The so-called Isabey table, considered
the finest specimen of Sevres iu the
world, has been irreparably damaged by
the carelessness of the porters engaged at
removing it from the building in which
it was exhibited during the Paris Exposi
tion. The table was made to the order
of the first Napoleon, and exquisite min
iatures of that monarch and of his four
teen marshals were executed by Isabey on
the porcelain. Four years were con
sumed in the makingot the chef d’oeuvre,
ami for it Napoleon paid the sum of
S7OOO. At the fall of the Empire the
I table was returned to the factory for the
purpose of having the royal arms and a
figure of ivory inserted; this was never
done. The artist Isabey,hearing that his
great work was about to be sold to a
speculator who intended to cut out the
portraits of the marshals and sell them
separately for extortionate sums, hustled
around and induced a private individual,
one M. de Serres, to buy the table aud
preserve it. Do Serres paid $12,000 for
the treasure aDd hid it away for thirteen
years. In 1830 the famous table was ex
hibited in Paris aud in London. During
the reigu of Napoleon 111. repeated ef
j forts were made to sell it to Eugenie,
i but the Empress would not buy; so the
!'table remained in the De Serres family
! until 1887, when it was purchased for
' S6OOO by the daughter of Isabey, the
! artist. Set up last year in the Paris Ex
position, it was conceded by all who saw
!it be the masterpiece of Sevres. And
I now,after a notable history, it is cracked
j from end to end by a blundering truck
, man! —Chicago Fetes.
A Great Engineering Work.
j The Manchester (Eugland) ship canal
which is slowly approaching completion
is one of the greatest engineering works
of the age. The engineer, Mr. Leader
Williams, recently stated that there were
employed upon it 11,489 men and toys,
182 horses, 5000 wagons (iucludiug / cars J
as we call them), and 169 locomotives.
The work necessitated the laying of 213
miles of railway, and there were used
,every month 8000 tons of Portland ce
ment and 10,000 tons <jf coal. —Hail
nay Age.
BUDGET OF FUNJ !
HUMOROUS SKETCHES FROM,
VARIOUS SOURCES. /
/
The Modern Philosopher— Padsei
Alarm — Commercial Chat—The fa
Sense ©t Proportion—They l
Go Together, Etc
Hasting not and resting not.
He moved on grandly like a star*
Serene, untroubled, ’mid the hot
Hard struggles of our human war. .
'T was not because his soul was great,
He thus withstood all worldly shocks, ,
His father left a large estate, *
And he was blessed with “gilt-edged”sto. .
—Puck j
COMMERCIAL CHAT.
“What do you think of the clothing
trade?” said the tramp to the scarecrow,,
after swapping suits with him.
“I like it better than tile stationary,
business,” answered the scarecrow. p"
FAI.SE ALARM.
He—“l’ve a great mind to kiss you.
Bhe—“lf you do, I’ll ring!” '
He—“Oh, please ”
She—“To have James tell mamma
that I’m very busy and must not be / dis
turbed .” Chatter.
RELATIVE BEAUTY.
Gilroy—“That’s a veryl plain-looking
girl in the nearest box.”
Larkin—“That girl is worth $500,000
in her own right.”
Gilroy—“Ah! now I look at her again
I see she is really handsome.”— Epoch.
#
THEY GO TOGETHER. -I>*'
Stern Papa—“Ah, going!”
Late Goer—“ Yes, sir. Your daughter
and I have enjoyed a feast of reason.”
Stern Papa—(moving his right foot
with great velocity)—“And now you
have a flow of sole.” — Muntey't Weekly.
SHE HAD A MUSICAL DAUGHTER.
Book Agent—“ Here is that book,
ma’am, ‘How to Play the Piano.’ ”
Lady of the House—“ What book? I
did not order any book.”
“No’ra, but the neighbors did, and
they told me to bring it to you.”— Pick
Me Up.
THU SENSE OF PROPORTION.
Saleslady—“ For a garden hat, madam,
the one you are trying on is hardly large
enough. Now, this would be much bet
ter.”
Customer —“Oh, no. That wouldn’t
do at all. Our garden is very small.”—
Bolton Beacon.
A CAUTIOUS WITNESS.
Lawyer —“You Say deceased was a poor
man.”
Witness —“Yes, air; very poor.”
Lawyer—“ Had you ever been inside
of his house?”
Witness—“No, sir, but I kuew that
he kept seven dogs.”
KEEPING HIM OUT OF TEMPTATION.
Spacer—“Do you prefer having MSS.
sent in by mail, or would you mind my
calling with what I write and wish to
submit for your consideration?”
Editor—“ Send it in by mail. I have
a prejudice against shedding blood and
do not wish to be tempted.”
THE HACKMAN IN THE FOREST.
“Would you like to leave?” said the
woodchopper to the Young Tree.
“I don’t know but I wood,” an
swered the Young Tree. “Can ybu
take me down with a hack?”
“I guess so,” said the chopper; “see
ing you’ve only got one trunk.”— Puck.
A LITTLE HOME CHAT.
Papa—“ How are you progressing in
your language lessons, Ethel?”
Ethel—“Oh, I have learned to say
‘thauk you,’ and ‘if you please’ in
French.”
Tommy—“ That’s more than you ever
leaned in English.”— Terre Haute Ex
press.
A DEEP QUESTION.
Ilichleigh—“Julia, don’t you think
you could bring yourself down to love
me just a little?”
Julia—“l don’t know. I should have
to go down pretty far.”
Richlcigh—“How far?”
Julia—“ About the bottom of your
pocket book.”— Munsey's Weekly.
TRIED THE MATCHES.
“Go get me some matches,” the Baron
ordered his valet, “and see you try them
before you bring them. The last were
no good.”
The valet goes and returns.
“Well?”
“They are all good, sir; I tried them
every one.”— Burlington Free I'ress.
GYMNASTICS MIGHT HAVE SAVED THEM.
A.—“ Come, now, you must own that
you have gone partially mad on the score
of gymnastics?”
B. —“Mad? Why, gymnastics mean
strength, health, long life.”
A.—“ That may be, but the fact is
our forefathers knew nothing of gymnas
tics, and ”
B. —“And they arc dead, every man
of them!”
TOO HEAVY TO BE REMOVED.
“There is one solace left me, at least,”
remarked the old farmer. “After all
my boys leave and go up to the city,
after the pigs and the cattle die, and
everything else forsakes me, there is at
least one thing that will stick to the old
farm.”
“And that is 1”
“The mortgage.” —Lawregce Ameri
can.
THE PHILANTHROPIST AND PHILOSOPHER.
Wife—“ John, dear, define a philan
thropist.”
Husband —‘ ‘A philanthropist, my love,
is a man who gives away other people's
money.”
W.—'“And what is a philosopher?”
r H.—“A philosopher i£ a man who
bears with resignation the toothache
from which his neighbor is suffering."—
Pick Me Up. /
——— *
TWO VIEWS OF IT.
Parker—“ How do you like Miss
Knowitt, Tangle?”
Tangle—“Oh, I admire her immense
ly. She is such a brilliant conversation
alist.”
Parker (meeting his old friend two
years later, when Miss Knowitt has be
come Mrs. Tangle)—“And how do you
get along with your wife, Tangle?”
Tangle—“ None too well. She talks
too much.” y
V''
fjf takin'o time nr the forelock. /
' He—“l love you, Maud.”
/She—“ All right, Harry. Aud you
'may keep company this summer on a few
conditions.”
“Name them, sweet.”
“You must not try to work the bacilli
’in ice cream racket on me, nor cut all the
drowning accidents out of the papers to
show me, nor tell any chestnuts about
poisonous serpents at picnics-. ’They
won’t work. Now, I think We can get
along very well, "—Lawrence American.
MEAN, BUT TRUE.
The boys at a certain college not fat
from New York, have got what they call
a “fearful down on Professor X.” Con
sequently, they make his life a howling
failure. He was woke up at one in the
morning the other day by a violent ring
ing at his bell. Drawing on his dressing
gown, he threw up his window and in
quired what was the matter.
1 ‘Burglars are around, and we wanted
to tell you that one of your windows is
open.”
“Which one?” he asked, anxiously.
“The one you have got your head stuck
out of,” replied the students in chorus.
A TRICK OF THE TRADE.
Owner of Premises (to tenant) —“Now,
Jones, you may show me those rooms
that you think need repairing. ”
Tenant (with alacrity)—“All right.
We’ll begin with ”
Owner (enthusiastically)—“One mo
ment! Is this your baby, Mrs. Jones?
What a remarkably pretty little fellow!
Ootsy, tootsy, pootsy! Won’t you come
and sit on my knee, baby? Bless its lit
tle bright eyes! I’ll be along in a minute,
Mr. Jones.”
Mrs. Jones (to baby)—“Go and sit on
the gentleman’s knee, dearie.” (To Mr.
Jones) —“John, I don’t see that there’s
anything about the house that needs fix
ing up so very badly.” —Chicago Tribune .
BUT HE couldn’t.
A couple of men got into a dispute,
and one of them brought his fist down
upon the table with the exclamation:
“I can lick you out of your boots in
two minutes!”
“I guess you can,” replied the other.
“I can lick you and the whole familj
behind you!”
“Ob, no.”
“Yes, I can!”
“I don’t believe it.”
“But I know I can!”
The mild mannered man turned to the
crowd and asked:
“Father, Bill, Jim, Tom, Henry, Wal
lace, Stephen, George, Andrew, do you
hear that? Mother and Ann and Betsey
are not here, but I guess we can do
him.”
And the ten jumped on to the boastei
and had him yelling for mercy inside o!
a minute. —Detroit Free Press.
Won by Tact.
A quaint story, illustrating the valut
j of tact, is told by a Farmington (Me.)
Chronicle correspondent about Mastei
| Tommy Anderson, an old-time peda-
J gogue. Once he taught a school in Farm
ington where the boys had driven out
I several teachers. He found that the
! chief conspirator was a good looking,
| grown up girl, bright, saucy and proud,
i The schoolmaster wore his hair in a cue,
,as was the fashion in those days. When
|he was “doing a sum,” with his head
j down, she tossed his cue back and forth
Sasif it were a toy, much to the amuse
ment of the scholars. Uncle Tommy said
nothing but kept thinking. He knew if
he called out the guilty girl and punished
f her, the big boys would rise and carry
! him out. So he adopted unusual tactics
in conducting his campaign. He found
a lot of long hair hanging up in a barn.
From this he selected and smoothed out
a bunch resembling a cue, and tied it up
nicely with a ribbon. Taking this to the
school room early the next morning, he
suspended it from the peg where the girl
always hung her cloak and hood, then he
commenced to set copies as usual. When
she came in and spied the curious con
trivance she looked surprised and puzzled.
Quoth Master Tommy in a mild tone of
voice: ‘ ‘Miss, I have brought that bunch
of hair for you to use as a plaything in
stead of my cue.” The proud spirited
girl was humiliated before the whole
school and could not help crying. Uncle
Tommy had won the victory by stratagem
rather than by force of arms and had no
further difficulty with his scholars.
Statistics of a Cat Hospital.
The sanitorium for aged and indigent
cats at Brighton, Mass., has made its re
port for the year ending April, 1890.
Officially it is known as the “Sheltering
Home for Animals,” and its regulations
include the care of dogs that are ill oi
have no fixed place of residence. The
unsympathetic small boy of Brighton
calls it the cat hospital. The report
bears upon the epidemic of la grippe,
which seemed to find the cats unprepared.
Large numbers were prostrated by this
mysterious and dread disease, and not
withstanding the utmost precautions, the
deaths were numerous. There were 171
cats received, while the number of dogs
was 184. Ninety cats found homes, while
llO.dogs did the same t’nipg, which, ac
cording to the opinion of experts, tends
to show the superiority of dogs. —2Ve<
York Tribune.
VAGABOND ICE.
GLACIAL BERIiS WHICH MAKE
OCEAN TRAVEL DANGEROUS.
Greenland is the Great Factory tor
the Formation of Icebergs—
Studying the Movements
of Float ing Floes.
Knsigu Hugh Rodman, of the United
States Navy, has just returned from A
trip to Labrador and Newfoundland,
where he went, for the purpose of obtain
ing a more accurate knowledge in rela
tion to the movements of ice within the
lines of regular ocean travel. lie says in
the Washington Star; Newfoundland,
aud the mouth of the St. Lawrence Rivet
yearly send out miles of ice thAt: Is ex
tremely dangerous t 6 navigation. In
deep waters the course of ice can be easily
traced, but iu shoal water this becomes
difficult. The movements of the ice de
pend in a great measure upon the variohs
currents that tra verse the Defeat? lit this
vicinity, as well as tipDh A great variety
of other Force's, and little can be said
With Ahy degree of definiteness as to the
probable movemeuts of ice beforehand.
Hundreds of vessels have been lost from
ignorance of the local path of ice, and
many are damaged severely yearly on the
same account.
Greenland is the great factory for the
formation of icebergs and the" most of
those that make an annual appearance in
the northern waters are from this region.
It is a large island, entirely covered by
ice, that flows down to the sea and,
breaking off, forms bergs and fields,
Each glacier produces from ten to twenty
bergs a year, an annual output of ice
that has been estimated at 250,000,000,-
000 of cubic feet, or, calculating at the
rate of five pounds a day for every man,
woman and child in the United States’
enough to supply this country for at
least a hundred years. But only a small
proportion of the year’s production of
bergs ever reach the trans-Atlantic
steamer lines, for many are nVelted, but
more are broken up before they get into
the navigable waters. Off the Grand
Banks the bergs are the most plentiful
during the spring months. There is a
great difference in the rates at which
beigs travel. One may reach the south
ern waters the same year in which it is
produced, while another may be several
years going the same distance. The ice
fields are a great obstacle to the progress
of the bergs,smashing them Up and caus
ing their disintegration. The ice of the
bergs is very brittle, and sometimes the
sharp blow of an axe will shatter a berg,
and they are often demolished by the con
cussion of the report of a cannon. They
break up with loud reports that can be
heard some distance. Water ofien melts
in crevices of the bergs, add then by
some change of temperature freezes again,
and then it often happens that by reason
of the expansion and contraction due to
the change in the condition of the water
the ice is split, and thus bergs are fre
quently destroyed. They melt away as
they get into the warmer water of the
south, and are ground against the fields
and broken ice that they meet on the
way. Some of them last for several
years. They quite often have long, out
lying spurs projecting under the surface
of the water that are very dangerous to
ships, for they are invisible and may
pierce the side of a vessel. Bergs are, as
a rule, nicely balanced, and are quite
apt to tumble over if disturbed. On a
clear day a berg can be seen for a long
distance on account of its brilliant white
ness, and at night from its refulgence.
In a fog bergs may be detected by their
apparent blackuess, but more often by the
echo which they throw off from any such
sound as a fog horn or a whistle. An in-
strument on deck catches the echo waves,
and by a perfected mechanism their
lengths may be measured, thus giving
the mariner some idea as to the distance
he is away from his danger. Field ice is
constantly drifting and seems to have a
motion within itself that is always carry
ing it on in some direction. It often breaks
up, drifts and freezes again the same
day. Two vessels, caught in the ice near
to each other, may, in a few days, be
many miles apart, although there is not a
time when one could not walk from one
to the other. The Arctic ice takes several
seasons to make, while that made further
south forms each season. The latter is
softer and does not last as long as the
other sort. Only an average sized berg
can get across the banks, owing to the
great depth of water which they draw,
and many are grounded there to melt
slowly away.
The cod follow the ice down aud feed
under it, while the seal, the sort that is
hunted for its leather and not its fur,
makes the ice its breeding ground. This
furnishes a lively industry to many fish
ermen of the north, who go out in fleets
is soon as the ice begins to come down
aud race foi the bergs and fields. The
catch averages about $1,000,000 worth
each year, but the business is perilous
and the risks are great. It is a peculiar
fact, that has been lately demonstrated,
that all the ice does not form on the
surface of the water, but often makes in
from ten to fifteen fathoms down. Arti
cles that have been lost overboard
have been found in cakes of ice
mouths or years after. As they are
heavier than the water and could not
float, this is accounted for by the expla
nation that there are spots in the under
current of the water that are colder than
on top, and ice forms when it could not do
so above. The present year has been un
usual in the number and the size of the
bergs that have been sighted, their ap
pearance having been much earlier than
ever before. It is estimated that fully
SIOO,OOO a year would be saved in coal
alone if steamers could sail in such
courses that they would not meet ice in
their routes.
Scientific farming in Italy is to be un
dertaken this year by a company owning
a capital of $20,000,000. If the opera
tions prove successful, the old wooden
plow, pulled by oxen, that has held the
field since an era before the Roman
C.-esars. will urobably have to go.
tile is king.
In the course of a recent article thi
Chinese Times of Tien-Tsin remarks that
the practical power of poverty is perhapi
greater in China than anywhere else;
the beggar there is King. It is a distinct
force in politics, and of this there hav
been many examples in recent times,
The greatest of all the statesman of thi
last thirty years, attd the ohe who is tht
least known, owing to his early death.
Was llu Lihyi, Viceroy Of the Hii Killing
during the tiffite Of theTaiping rebellion'
ll was he who thought out and organized
the scheme for the suppression of that
rebellion, for which his lieutenants, Tseng
Kwo-fan and his brother, Tsrt Tseng-tit hg
Peng Yulitt. and Li Hung Chang trapes
the glory, lie was distinguished bj, hli.
poverty, as wAs Tseng itwo-fan himself,
Peng Yulin, and Tso. 1
These men wielded immense influence
over the counsels of the State, chiofly on
account of their poverty, whi2,ti in s
Chinese official is a test of probity, an
influence which owes much of its strength
to the attachment of the people to every
man who comes unspotted thi ough the
severe temptations of Chinese official life.
Everything may be forgiven in China to
a poor official. The greatest blunders
of Tso Tsung-tang were condoned and no
eccentricity of policy or brusquerie of de
| pertinent was able permanently to dimin
i ish his influence. The greatest living
' example, however, is the redoubtable
Viceroy Chang Chintung, who owes
much to the vacuous condition of his
purse. “No doubt he is by nature coura
geous, but his courage derives its daily
sustenance from the consciousness that
he has nothing to fear. No treacherous
subordinate or blackmailing censor Cad
find a hole in his armor of proof , add he
holds his head erect add defiant, triumph
ing even over his own mistakes and
shortcomings.
“Who butte would have dared td al
low confusion in the finances of his Gov
ernment, and then to coolly dSlt the
Board of Revenue to pass his accounts eri
bloC? Only his poverty aha purity could
have so emboldened him. To such ad
official reforms are possible, because ht
has not a host of hdngry clansmen to
provide for otit of the public resources;
nor any personal interests Of his owu 01
his subordinates to conserve. The courl
does not conceal its irritation at the ways
of the imperious little man, but it dare
not say very much, for the country is
with him-. He may proceed from one
audacious failure to another, and maj
spend the State’s money virtually As hi
pleases, but he Will gt) very far indeed
before he will seriously compromise hi!
position in the country. He defies for
tune with the genial levity Of one who is
not in her debt and who has no future
favors to bespeak; he is a veritable
power id the State, resting on the three
fold basis of his pen, his patriotism, and
his poverty, but the greatest Of these i$
poverty.”
A tar Chaser.
llenry Wilber is a “car chaser.” H
is employed by great railroad corpora
tions to travel all over the continent look
ing up lost freight cars. In speaking Of
his business he said.
It is a very active one, as it calls me
from Nova Scotia to California, and from
Canada to the City of Mexico. There
are some fifty of us thus employed, and
we can all truthfully say that we are
men without a home. The work in the
main is hard and monotonous. When 1
find a lost Car or a lot of them, I notify
my superiors, and make arrangements to
have them forwarded to some poinl
where they can make connections with
my own road or one with which it has
intimate relations.
“Now and then I have an out-of-the
way experience. On one occasion 1
found a first-class freight car far up in
the Michigan pine woods. The lumber
men had run it off the track, built it in
to a frame house, and had the space be
tween the wheels boarded in so as to
make a very decent b.vement. They re
fused to yield possesion, but finally com
promised and let me have it whan the
seasou was over and they went dawn to
civilized life to spend their hard-earned
wages. In Canada one of our lost cars
was taken by some loggers, cut into
halves and converted into handcars. In
this case they had destroyed the original
platform and most of the iron-work, so
that it was not worth the expense of
restoring the wreck and bringing it back
a thousand miles.— New York Star.
A Gopher’s Long Sleep.
Early in 1861 a young farmer of Bul
loch. Ga., furnished a home for himself
and bride. The kitchen was a log one
with one of the old-fashioned hard clay
floors. He had built over a gopher hole,
and of course the hole was filled up and
the owner was forgotten. - The farmei
went off to the war and when he camj
back he found some charred timbers. The
house was rebuilt and the dirt floor was
still a feature. But the kitchen wai
never remodeled. The other week the
mother, who first set foot on the clay
floor twenty-nine years ago, was sitting
by a window, when chancing to look
down on the kitchen floor she was aston
ished to see it show signs of being dis
turbed underneath. For five minutes
she watched it intently, and then called
other members of the family, who entered
just in time to see his gcphersliip emerge
from his long sleep. —Atlanta Constitu
tion.
A Plague of Porpoises.
The French fishermen are troubled by
the depredations of porpoises, for which
they have not succeeded in finding a
remedy. An attempt was made to catch
them in seine nets, but they jumped out
of the snares. They were scared away
by guns and torpedoes, but the fish were
frightened and disappeared with them.
They are too numerous to be shot one
by one in an effective manner. The only
thing to be done seems to be for the
fishermen to unite and drive them away
in crowds; but this will have to be often
repeated. Insurance and payment of
damages by the Government are the last
measures of relief suggested; but they,
too, are expensive to somebody. —Popular
Science Monthly.