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A PERILOUS ROUTE.
The Unique M3.il _ Service Into tke
Interior of Alaska.
How Letters Are Carried to the
Upper Yukon.
Tbe most perilous mail service in
the whole world, us weli as the most
unique and the longest star route ser¬
vice on record, has just been estab¬
lished by tbe government through tbe
heart of Alaska. A vast part of the
territory is wild and uninhabited, but
ubout the recently discovered gold
fields there has sprung up a rude sort
of civilization and tbe hordes of pros¬
pectors and miners who have flocked
there dazzled by tbe intermittent re¬
ports of rich strikes have settled a sec¬
tion of tbe interior region. Tbe glit¬
tering of gold at Circle City, 900
miles inland on the upper Yukon
river, attracted a large number of
miners and others, who after settling
had no regular mail communication
with the rest of the world. Compelled
to trust to chance in sending out their
mail they sometimes paid ns much as
a dollar a letter for tbe privilege of
sending by persons leaving camp for
civilization.
The country was so inaccessible that
it was difficult even to secure any ttc-
curruto information, and tbe major
portion of the vast tract is still as lit-
tla known in the United States as the
remotest parts of the heart of Africa,
Postmaster General Wilson, through
his assistants, looked over this field
and its needs, and after a lengthy cor¬
respondence with Governor Sheakley,
finally obtained somo data. He found
that in tho vicinity of Circle City
there were about 900 people and many
more during tbe winter; that in going
over the proposed route, which has
now been adopted and is being cov¬
ered under contract, beginning at
Juneau, tbo mails could bo carried by
river for a distance of nbout 100
miles. Then would have to bo en¬
countered a difficult portuge of over
thirty miles. Supplies have to be
packed on tbe backs of Indians over
this strotcb, at tho end of which the
tipper Yukon is reached.
For the remainder of tho distance
to Circle City it was decided, as is
now being done, to carry tbo mails on
the river iu a small boat during a
abort season when tho river is open
nud at other times by a dog train.
This service is now an accomplished
fact. Tho first step was taken by tho
establishment of a post office named
Circle on March 19 Inst. L. N.
Question was appointed postmaster
and not long afterward a contract wus
signed with the Yukon Transporta¬
tion Company, a Chicago enterprise,
for carrying letter mail over the route.
The compensation for tho service is
$500 a round trip. Tho first trip was
made on June 11, when 1,471 letters
were started from Juneau aud carried
into tho Circle City post office on the
14th of the following month. This
initial expedition was under tho per¬
sonal supervision of the president of
the contracting oompunv, N. A. Bed-
loe.
The season was very late, and while
tho snow was too soft to permit the
taking of the launches over the Chil-
koot pass the lakes wero not suffi¬
ciently open to allowof their use. To
overcome this obstacle lumber was
purchased for two boats, to be built
on tho other side of Chilkoot pass,
where they would be launched on the
lakes. Half way to tho summit of the
monutaiu it was carried by the Indians,
when, tired out aud exhausted, they
absolutely refused to carry the lumber
further, nnd it bad to be abandoned.
Nothing daunted, tbe party pushed
ou with the mail aud supplies, aud at
the lakes logs were cut and a boat
built. From there down, going day
aud night, there was no mishsp, but
the seething waters of the can¬
yons and the terrible rapids passed
through aro enough to udd years to a
man’s life. The question now with
the little expedition was to get tho re¬
turn mail back to Juneau at tbe ear-
liest moment possible. It was impos¬
sible to start up tbe river owing to the
rap?.l water. For 500 miles tbe cur¬
rent averaged eight miles au hour.
Theu Bedloe concluded that if he re-
irfaiued at Circle City until tho end of
the mouth it would take forty-five
days to pole tho boat up the river.
It was, therefore, decided to go or
down to St. Michael’s and come ou*
through Bering sea. The party fiual-
Iv got back to Juneau, after traveling
6,500 miles, iu addition to the regular
trip, and saved over a month in time
in delivery of the mail.-—Washington
Star.
Outwitted the Detective.
“Moonshiners have great clever¬
ness,” said a New York detective who
formerly was a revenue officer in the
Southern States. “I onCe received in¬
formation thut a great deal of illicit
whiskey arid brandy was being made in
Polk County, Tennessee, aud went
over on a quiet reconuoitering tour.
Leaviug the train at Cleveland I took
a horse and started for Polk County,
representing myself as a timber buyer.
At the first house where I stopped for
the night, I told tbe man that I was
looking for timber.
i< ( Yo’ uin’t lookin’ fer no timber,’
lie said: ‘yo air buntin’ stills. Thar’s
several right aroun’ hyar au’ I don’
min’ helpin’ yo’, and I kin git enough
men to make up a posse. What’ll yo’
give?’
“I made him an offer. Next day he
and his son joined me, aud wo de¬
stroyed several small stills, but found
no large ones. He also gave me in¬
formation as to who owned them, and
a list of witnesses iu each case, until I
had sufficient to indict forty men.
“Returning a week later, all were
arrested and the grand jury indicted
them. When the trials were held,
however, the evidence fell through
and I could not convict a man. Tbo
witness fees amounted to several thou¬
sand dollars. Subsequently I learned
that the man whom I took for an in¬
former wus the ringleader of tho
gang, and piloted mo away from all
the large stills.—New York Press.
Novel Pile Driving.
In a paper recently read before the
American Society of Civil Engineers,
Professor W. H. Burn described some
experimental pile driving through new
stone-tilled crib work. Nineteen piles
were driven. Tho crib was thirty-five
feet deep,aud the piles, from fifty-two
feet to sixty feet long, were shod with
chilled castirou points, held, on by
straps spiked to the pile. The hammer
used in the driving weighed 3,500
pounds, and tho greatest number of
blows was 350. There was no diffi¬
culty whatever iu driving tho piles,
und there were no failures. In the
discussion following the rending of
the paper several other gentlemen
gave particulars of pile driving
through loose rock. Tho shoe used in
tho work of the Now York department
is oouicul, the angle of the cone being
about sixty degrees, the base of the
couo is flat, and it is secured to the
couo by a pin cast as a part of the
shoe and let into the onds of the pile.
This type of shoe is said to have
proved very satisfactory in praotice.
Tonal Colors.
There is scarcely a thing that the
human mind can conceive that is not
associated with color. And so, too,in
siugiug, from the highest to the low.
est note, the trained musician distin¬
guishes variegated hues. For exam¬
ple, the bass and poutralto produce
sound waves which suggest black,
green and red; the baritone and
mezzo soprano, greeD, red and blue;
the tenor nndsoprano,blue,purple and
white. Of course these tonal colors
aro varied according to artistic abil¬
ity. The singer who possesses a
“white voice” is either a teuor or a
soprano, and will never rauk with first
class artists. No singer has ever
surpassed Mme Soalchi iu tone pro¬
duction.—New York World.
It Was a Desert,
A mother was assisting her little
boy with his geography when tiny
came to the word “desert,” which he
could not understand, His mother
explained that it was a barren place—a
place where nothing could grow. Tbe
boy’s face brightened up at her words,
and feeling sure that he had solved the
difficulty, she asked him to explain
tbe meaning, and the prompt answer
came:
“My feyther’sbald heid .'’’—Scottish
Nights.
Russian thieves and burglars believe
that if they enter a house for tho pur¬
poses of theft and carry with them a
candle made of a murdered man’s fat,
they are certain to be undiscovered.
SUPREME COURT.
Important Work of the Highest
Tribunal in the Land.
Justice Harlan Tells How It Ar¬
rives at Its Decisions.
Justice Harlan, of tbe Supreme
Court of the United States, in the
course of a speech at a recent banquet
in Cincinnati, made plain tbe court’s
method of deciding cases, as follows:
“In my intercourse with the mem¬
bers of the bar I have found to my
great surprise that the impression pre¬
vails with some that cases, after being
submitted, are divided among tbe
judges, and that the court bases its
judgment in each ouo wholly upon the
report made by some one judge to
whom that case has been assigned for
examination and report. I have met
with lawyers who actually believe that
the opinion was written before the
case was decided in conference, and
that the only member of the court
who fully examined the record and
briefs was the one who prepared the
opinion.
“It is my duty to say that the busi¬
ness iu our court is not conducted in
any such mode. Each justice is fur-
nished with a printed copy of the
record and with a cop}' of each brief
filed, and each one examines the rec-
ords and briefs at his chamber before
the case is taken up for consideration.
The cuses are thoroughly discussed in
conference—the discussion in some
being necessarily more extended than
iu others. The discussion being con¬
cluded—nnd it is never concluded until
each member of tbe court has said all
he desires to say—tbe roll is called,
and each justice present and partici¬
pating in tbe decision votes to affirm,
reverse or modify, as his examination
aud reflections suggest. The Chief
Justice,after the conference, and with¬
out consulting his brethren, distrib¬
utes tbo case so decided for opinions.
No justice knows, at the time he votes
in a particular case, that he will be
asked to become tbo organ of tbe
court in that case; nor does any mem¬
ber of the court ask that a particular
case be assigned to him.
“The next step is the preparation of
the opinion by the justice to whom it
has been assigned. The opinion, when
prepared, is privately printed, and a
copy placed in the hands of each mem¬
ber of the court for examination and
criticism. It is examined by each jus¬
tice, and returned to the author, with
such criticisuis aud objections as are
deemed necessary. If these objections
are of a serious kind, affecting the
general trend of tho opinion, the
writer calls the attention of the jus¬
tice to them, that they may be passed
upon. The nuthor adopts such sug-
gestioua of mere form as meet his
views. If objections are made to which
the writer does not agree, they are
considered in couferenoe, aud are sus¬
tained or overruled ns the majority
may determine. The opinion is re¬
printed so ns to express the final con¬
clusions of tbe court,and is then filed.
“Thus, you will observe, not only
is the utmost care taken to make the
opinion express the views of the court,
but’that the final judgment rests, in
every case decided, upon the exami¬
nation by each member of the court
of the record und briefs.. Let me say
that, during my entire service in the
Supreme Court, I have not known a
single instance iu which the court has
determined a case merely upon the
report of one or more justices as to
what was contained in the record aud
as to what questions were properly,
presented by it. When you find an
opinion of the court on file andpub-
lished, tbe profession have the right
to take it ns expressing the deliberate
views of the court, based upon a care¬
ful examination of tbe records and
briefs by each justice participating in
the judgment.”
A Rooster’s Fight With a Hawk.
B. C. Willis has on his place, ten or
twelve miles north of Lampasas, a
rooster that has sense like a horse,
6ays a Texas correspondent of the
Philadelphia Times. Willis says th»t
for the past month a hawk has been
playing havoc with his poultry,and all
his efforts to get rid of the bird proved
fruitless. Being much away from the
house during the day Willis had little
or no opportunity to get a shot at the
bird, whose visits seemed to be timed
purposely to suit his absence. Last
Sunday, however, Willis stayed home
from church in the interest of his hen
roost, and loaded his gun for hawk.
About noon the bird appeared dip¬
ping down without any warning aud
sinking his claws into a big Brahma
hen. Willis made ready to fire as
soon as the hawk began to mount. He
seemed pretty slow about mounting,
however, aud it soon became evident
that be could not do 60 . His greedi¬
ness bad caused him to reckon be¬
yond bis strength; the big Brahma
was too heavy. Willis was going out
to rescue the hen when a slim young
game rooster appeared upon the scene
of action evidently prepared to take
part. Willis waited to see what
would happen. Without much adoo
the rooster lit into the hawk tooth
and toenail, giving him such a peck¬
ing and spurring that the big bird was
glad enough to let go his hold of the
hen, which went off clucking and
squawking mightily, The hawk, how¬
ever, was no slouch. Tnrniug upon
the rooster with evil intent, the two
together kept things pretty lively for
the space of a few moments, feathers
flying und blood spilling on both
sides.
By and by th*e rooster seemed to be
weakening. At all events be began to
recede, but his heels and head struck
out as lively as ever. Presently his
backing brought him up to a barbed-
wire fence, and hero be held his
ground for a moment, striking so for¬
cibly as to rile bis liawkship beyond
measure. In fact tbe bird seemed mad¬
dened beyond control, when just at
this critical moment the rooster sprang
through to the other side of the fence,
leaving the hawk to beat against the
wires till it became impaled, caught
hurd and fast on the barbs.
Willis lost no time in capturing tbe
hawk, and the rooster crowed lustily
over the victory.
Compressed Air Painting.
Cur painting’by compressed air is
being tried an the Pittsburg and Lake
Erie Railroad, says the Engineering
News. Tbe yard is well supplied with
air pipes, and the barrel of specially
prepared paint is mounted on a hand
truck so that it can be moved to any
part of the yard. Tbe air line con¬
sists of 100 feet of one-inch heavy
hose; tbe paint suction hose of fifty
feet of half-inch heavy hose, The
barrel is equipped with a float of pine
wood with four-inch hole iu the cen¬
tre. Over tho hole is a small hose¬
bearing tower, used us n support aud
hose regulator, insuring a uniform
feed of paint. This device is light iu
weight, and can be readily carried to
the top of a box car for spraying the
roof.
The time for carefully spraying a
box car is thirty minutes ; to employ
a man to follow with a long-handled
eight-inch whitewash brush, thirty
minutes additional, making labor cost
one hour per box car each coat To
coat a coal car of 60,000 pounds ca¬
pacity takes twenty minutes for each
coat, including the time of two men.
This road is also using a device for
spraying on paint for the lettering,
which, for covering uniformly, is con¬
sidered a decided improvement over
the stencil brushes, and will lead to a
great ffhving in the wear and tear of
stencil plates.
Water Works on His Farm.
L. W. Follis has finished putting in
a system of water works of his own
on his farm on Dry Creek, On the
hill above his residence is a never fail¬
ing spring that he has piped down to
the house. He has run a line to the
yard, where he can irrigate his lawn,
and has also taken it to the barnyard,
where it supplies abundance of water
for the stock. The spring is high
enough to give considerable pressure.
By attaching a hose, he can throw
water to the roof of his big barn. It
is a great convenience, and Mr. Fol-
lia says he wonld not take a thou¬
sand dollars for it.—Garfield (Wash.)
Enterprise.
A Weighty Testimonial.
Mr. Cookinskool—A tramp esme to
the house today, and I gave him some
of my home-made cake.
Her Husband—And what did the
tramp say?
Mrs. Cookinskool—He said he was
under a very heavy obligation to me.
,
Only Medium Bad.
“Well, Teddy, have yon been a good
boy today?” asked his mother, upon,
her return home late in the afternoon.
“No, ma’am,” repied the truthful
Ted.
“I hope you have not been a bad
boy.”
“No, ma’am, not a very bad boy, and
not a very good boy—just comforta¬
ble.”—Harper’s Round Table.
The Insurance Wanted.
Tbe Agent—Have yon ever consider¬
ed the subject of life insurance?
The Victim—No, but my wife has
just been introduced to an Italian
count, and if you have any wife insur¬
ance I might take out a policy.—New
York World.
Danger Environs Us
Tf we live iu a region where malaria is preva¬
lent, It is useless to hope to escape it if unpro¬
vided with a medicinal safeguard. Wherever
the endemic is most prevalent and malignant—
In South and Central America, the West Indies
and certain portions of Mexico and the Isthmus
of Panama, liostetter's Stomach Bitters has
proved a remedy for and preventive of the dis¬
ease in every form. Not less effective is it in
curing rheumatism, liver aud kidney com¬
plaints, dyspepsia, Biliousness and nervousness.
When a college student gets drunk in New
Vork city he is lined $2. The ordinary individ¬
ual has to hand over the usual $5.
When an article has been sold for 2S years, in
spite of competition and cheap imitations, it must
have superior quality. Dobbins’ Electric Soap has-
been constantly made aud sold since 1865. Ask
your grocer fur it. Best of all.
Cupid is the original sneak thief. He slyly
steals hearts away.
State of Ohio. City of Toledo,\ „„
Lucas County, f " '
Frank J. Cheney makes oath that he is the
senior partner of the firm of F. J. Cheney <fe
Co., doing business iu the City of Toledo. County
and State aforesaid, and that said firm will pay
the sum of one hundred dollars for each and
every case of catarrh that cannot be cured by
the use of Hall’s Catarrh Cure.
Frank J. CnENEY.
Sworn to before me and subscribed in my
■J o—'—. . !• presence, D. this 6th day of December, A.
seal 1886. A. W. Gleason,
—v —'' Notary Public.
Hall’s Catarrh Cure is taken internally, and
acts directly on the blood and mucous surfaces
of the system. Send for testimonials, free.
F. J. Cheney & Co., Toledo, o.
Sold by Druggists. 75c.
Hail’s Family Pills are the best.
No-To-Bac for Fifty Cents.
Over 400,000 cured. Why not let No-To-Bac
regulate or remove your desire for tobacco?
Saves money, makes health and manhood.
Cure guaranteed. 50 cents and $1.00, at all
druggists.
FITS stopped free and permanently cured. No
fits after first day’s use of Dr. Kline’s Great
Nerve Restorer. Free $2 trial bottle and treat¬
ise. Send to Dr. Kline, 931 Arch St.. Phila., Pa
Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup for children*
teething, softens the gums, reduces inflamma¬
tion. allays pain, cures wind colic. !15c. a bottle.
Piso’s Cure for Consumption has saved mo
many a doctor’s bill.— S. F. Hardy, Hopkins
Place, Baltimore, Md., Dec. 2, ’94.
ru
Merit is a characteristic oi Hood’s Sarsaparil¬
la and is manifested every day iu its remark-
aoie cures of catarrh, rheumatism, dyspepsia,.
9
M I E
Sarsaparilla
Is the best—in fact the OneTrne Blood Purifier.
Hood's Piiis SU$®S!SMS!
Cotton.
With careful rotation of
crops and liberal fertilizations,
cotton lands will improve. The
application of a proper ferti¬
lizer containing sufficient Pot¬
ash often makes the difference
between a profitable crop and
failure. Use fertilizers contain¬
ing not less than 3 to 4%
Actual Potash.
Kainit is a complete specific
against “Rust.”
All about Potash—the results of Its use by actual ex¬
periment on the best farms in the United States— is
told in a little book, which we publish and will gladly
mail free to any farmer in America who will write for it.
GERMAN KALI WORKS,
93 Nassau St., New York.
30 L-i—I i_i—i pm HtrUlftK FKttl HATCH FKEtl 138
oir'o't
tc uj. aatatnf exprsii offca, wtl) be entui*2 la 1 tu ur
a»Qa. 4oub!r mqci. S* W c «Jal 38 or 3» Cal»! Rov
eltor, 1 *o«:d Nickel f 4 Sun wind and Stem mi **t«b
k «l«cin» rolled jold 91 Vett *h*in, C triple eU*a» pin
v ed tea 9 l Pair fold
^ ffik #UUoui tpocQi (»ol4 w, rt b , charm worth plated 9 1 Cut
ditaettd f plated % 2 Scarf 1 70 *1 la.
fc iid t o\& pin, do*. Call**
Jgfr. P*® buttons, cll, 'l 100 Lead Envelope*. peacil eharpeaer.l 1 dot bifb Pocket pad* l**d
mem-
P B I sad ) perpotual button bole Boquet
m IS f>.-wv all «e ark, is order to introduce our CQ-
are i* that ?ou allow us to tend io •*»«
F» ckk f« £*' «f our fiaeU 10 c. eifnre t4
ue ^ ** ^ Maia'mati*® *lt
► • «»ed Remsmtxr you oaly pay 14-97
ajiifeK" TS/Tm ta:^V: toi 140 article* expreM aanod for the abero olgars and frea tb«
FREE JfiJl 4 iVlffiSaP do °' WttS'der are lf
J 3 * 1 1 the lei north g
yMkffjjjttatt what w« ack -doo ’I pep l cent
*ri- Wiaiten H'fg Co., Winston, N, C,
<3re?«-
COMPLETE Cotton, Oil anil Saw, Fertilizer tirt^t,
MILL OUTFITS •
—ALSO—
Gin. Press. Cane Mill und Shingle Outfits.
63r"Ca$l every day; work 180 hands.
Lombard Iron Works
AUGUSTA. and Supply GEORGIA. Co.,
!j £ ASTHMA
POPHAH’S ASTHMA SPECIFIC
Gires relief in FIT 1 minutes. Send
for a F&liE trial naeka^e. Sold by
Druggists. One Box sent postpaid
on receipt of f l.OO. Six boxes *o. 00 .
Address TH03. POPHAJL, PHILA., PA.
m