Newspaper Page Text
A TERRIBLE TREE.
Discovery of a Singular Vegeta
ble Product in Mexico.
It Kills Animals and Feeds
Upon Their Blood.
John H. Betterman, an American,
sends the following letter from Chihua
hua, Mexico, to the St. Louis Globe
Democrat :
I have taken much interest in the
study of botany during my sojourn in
this country, the flora of which presents
one of the richest fields for the scientists
of the world, and have wandered some
distance from town on several occasions
in mv search for specimens. On one of
these expeditions I noticed a dark ob
ject on one of the outlying spurs of the
Sierra Madre mountains, which object
excited my curiosity so much that I ex
amined it carefully through my field
glass. This revealed that the object
was a tree or shrub of such an unusual
appearance that I resolved to visit the
spot. I rode to the mountain, the
sides of which sloped sufficiently for me
to make my way on horseback to within
a few rods of the summit. But here I
was stopped by an abrupt rise so
steep that I despaired of reach
ing it, even on foot. I went
around it several times seeking for some
way to climb up, but the jagged beet
ling rocks afforded not the slightest
foothold. On the top of this knob
stands the tree I had seen. From the
spot on which I now stood I could see
that it somewhat resembled in form the
•weeping willow, but the long, drooping
whiplike limbs were of a dark and ap
parently slimy appearance, and seemed
possessed of a horrible life-like power
of coiling and uncoiling. Occasionally
the whole tree would seem a writhing,
iquirming mass. My desire to investi
gate this strange vegetable product in
creased on each of the many expeditions
I made to the spot, and at last I saw a
sight one day which made me believe I
had certainly discovered an unheard-of
thing. A bird, which I had watched
circling about for some time, finally set
tled on the top of the tree, when the
branches began to awaken, s
it were, and to curl upward .*
They twined and twisted like
snakes about the bird, which began to
scream, and drew it down in their fear
ful embrace until I lost sight of it. Hor
ror-stricken, I seize 1 the nearest rock in
an attempt to climb the knob. I bad
so often tried in vain to do this that I
was not surprised when I fell back, but
the rock was loosened and fell also. It
narrowly missed me, but I sprang up
Ufihurt, and saw that the fallen rock
had left a considerable cavity. I put
my face to it and looked in. Something
like a cavern, the floor of which had an
upward tendency met my sight, and I
felt a current of fresh air blowing on
me, with a dry, earthy smell. Evidently
there was another opening somewhere,
undoubtedly at the summit. Using my
trowel, which I always carried on my
botanizing expeditions, I enlarged the
hole, and then pushed my way up
through the passage. When I had nearly
-eached the top I looked out cautiously
to see if I should emerge within reach of
that diabolical tree. But I found it no
where near the aperture, so I sprang out.
I was just in time to see the flattened
carcass of the bird drop to the ground,
which was covered with bones and
feathers. I approached as closely as I
dared and examined the tree. It was
low in size, not more than twenty feet
high, but covering a great area. Its
trunk was of prodigious thickness,
knotted and scaly. From the top of
this trunk, a few feet from the ground,
its slimy branches curved upward and
downward, nearly touching the ground
with their tapering tips. Its appearance
was that of a gigantic tarantula await
ing its prey. On my venturing to light
ly touch one of the limbs, it closed upon
my hand with such force that when I
tore it loose the skin came with it. I
descended then and closing the passage
returned home. 1 wont back next day,
carrying half a dozen chickens with
which to feed the tree. The moment 1
tossed it the fowls a violent agi
tation shook its branches, Vhick
swayed to and fro with a sinuous, snaky
motion. After devouring tho fowls,
these branches, fully gorged, dropped
to their former position, and the tree,
iving no sign of animation, I dared ap
lomb it and tako the limbs in my
to 'd. They were covered with suck
resembling tho tentacle) of an
SCHLEY COUNTY NEWS.
octopus. The blood of the fowls had
been absorbed by these suckers, leaving
crimson stains on the dark surface.
There was no foliage, of course, of any
kind. Without speaking of my discov
ery to any one about, I wrote an ac
count of it to the world-famous botanist,
Professor Wordenhaupt, of the univer
sity of Heidelberg. His reply states that
my tree is the Arbor Diaboli, only two
specimens of which have ever been
known—one on a peak of the
Himalayas and the other on the island
of Sumatra. Mine is the third, Pro
feasor Wordenhaupt says that the Arbor
Diaboli and the plant known as Venus
fly-trap are the only known specimens,
growing on the land, of those forms of
life which partake of the nature of both
the animal and vegetable k ingdoms,
although there are instances too numer
ous to mention found of this class in the
sea. The Portuguese man-of-war may be
mentioned, however, as one, and the
sponge as the best known specimen of
this class.
How Indians Collected Petroleum.
From the existence of the remains of
certain curiously contrived pits lined
with roughly hewn logs found in some
oil-producing regions of Pennsylvania,
it has been surmised that the Indians
of those localities at a very early date—
perhaps long before the discovery of
America by the white race—both knew
of the existence of this oil and gath
ered it for their own use. The methods
employed by the aborigines of this coun
try in collecting what is called “surface
oil” did not differ materially from
those resorted to by the natives of other
countries, and which are still used in
many places. The plan was simply to
dig a pit, into which both water and oil
would flow. The oil rose to the surface
and was skimmed off or collected on
cloths, which were then “wrung out.’’
It was used by the Indians in a number
of ways. Externally, it was applied a3
a remedy for skin diseases and for the
reduction of sprains; internally it was
taken for a variety of complaints. It
was used as a vehicle for mixing paints
and an illuminant whenever they wished
to give eclat to some religious cere
monial. This was done by setting fire
to the oil floating on the surface of the
water, a similar custom having been ob
served by the fke-worshippers on the
borders of the Caspian sea. The white
settlers were quick to appreciate the
remedial properties of the oil, and con
siderable quantities were gathered and
sold under the name of “Seneca Oil.’’
The story of the progress of petroleum
from that time to this, when it rates as
an export fourth in commercial promi
nence in this country, is a wonderful
one .—San Francisco Chronicle.
A Peculiar Swindle in Paris.
The “Last Trumpet” trick is the
lastest device of Paris quacks. The po
lice are at present looking for several
charlatans who have been endeavoring
to reap golden harvests by swindling the
deaf. One of these gentry has been run
to earth, and his instruments, as
well as his prescriptions and general
system of operations, have been brought
to light. It appears the fellows and his
co-workers were in the habit of selecting
prosperous patients, to whom they
promised complete cures. They first
projected the electric light into the ear
of an ill-fated victim; then they stupe
fied him by poking at his tympanum
with a peculiar apparatus, and finally
the swindling part of the performance
began. The head charlatan murmured
in the ear of the deaf man through a
trumpet “Do you hear me?” It was
not intended that the patient should
hear the first time, nor even the second
or third, but after additional insertions
of instruments the trumpet was applied
again, and the quack asked his question
in a voice of thunder, and was answered
by the patient. The victim was then
told that he bad some medicine to take
and some injections to make into his
auricular organs, whereupon, highly de
lighted, he paid his fee and bought not
only the alleged medicalments, but a
patent and omnipotent silver ear-trum
pet as well, The victims, who were
not only defrauded, but rendered more
deaf than ever, were very numerous and
owing to their complaints and indica
tions, the police expect to bo able to
capture (he whole of the swindling gang.
—London Telegraph.
Making Light of Them.
“My husband is just like a tallow
candle.”
“ How do you mean ? ”
“ Ho always smokes when he goes
out.”
THE HIMALAYAS.
k Trip to the Highest Mountains
in the World.
The Strong and Hard-Working
Wives of the Mountaineers.
The following is an extract from a
letter written by Frank G. Carpenter,
dated at Darjeeling, in the heart of the
Himalayas:
From where I write the mountains
form a semicircle about me and there
are twelve mighty peaks of snow, each
of which is more than twenty thousand
feet high. As for mountains of two
miles and more m height I can see doz
ens of them. I am in the very midst of
the Himalayas and at what the world
says is the best point to view them.
Man here is fully as interesting as na
ture, and we have servants and guides
who are more like the people of Thibet
than India. There is no seclusion of
women here, and great strapping girls,
dressed in the gaudiest of colors go
about with flat plates of gold
hanging to their ears, each of which
is as big as a trade dollar. They
have gold on their abkles and bracelets
of silver running all the way from their
wrists to their elbows. Their complex
ions, originally as yellow as those of the
Chinaman, are bronzed by the crisp
mountain air, until now they have the
rich copper of the American Indian.
Both men and women look not unlike
our Indians. They have the same high
cheek-bones, the same semi-flat noses
and long, straight black hair. If you
will take the prettiest squaw you have
ever seen you may have a fair type of
the average belle of the mountains. She
wears two pounds of jewelry to the
ounce of the squaw, however, and her
eyes are brighter and she is far more in
telligent. She works just as hard, and
the woman of the Himalayas does much
of the work of the mountains.
I see women digging in the fiel ds,
working on the roads and carrying im
mense baskets, each of which holds from
two to three bushels, full of dirt and
produce, on their back. Just above the
hotel the road is being repaired, and a
side of the mountain is being cut away.
The dirt is carried about a quarter of a
mile and used in filling up a hole in the
hillside. It is all done by women. Two
women are digging down the dirt with
pick-axes and a half dozen are shovel
ling this into the baskets of the girls
who carry it from one place to the other.
These baskets rest upon the
back and shoulders of the
girl, and they are held there by a wide
strap which comes from the basket around
and over the girl’s forehead. They
6tand with the baskets on their backs
while they are loaded, and one of the
women who is doing the shovelling has
a baby a year old tied tight to her back,
and it bobs up and down as she throws
the dirt from the ground into the basket.
These girls carry easily 160 pounds, and
I was told that one had carried a cottage
piano a distance of twelve miles up the
mountain upon her back. This is hard
to believe, but after seeing the mighty
shoulders and the well-knit frames of
the strongest of them I can believe it.
The men are fully as strong as the
women. They are not eo tall as the
American Indian, and they are very
fierce-looking. Each wears a great
scimitar-like knife in his belt, and they
are just like the Thibetans whom I saw
at Peking. They are notorious as wife
beaters, and the woman of the Hima
layas has, as a rule, a very hard time.
Many of the men wear earrings, and the
women, both before and after marriage,
carry their fortunes upon their persons.
They wear strings of silver coins of the
size of fifty and ten cent silver pieces in
rows about their necks, so that often the
whole front of a woman’s dress is cov
ered with them, and the poorest work
ing-girl has her earrings of gold and
her anklets of silver.
It seems strange to see a woman whose
whole waist is covered with rupees, and
who has enough jewelry upon her to
keep her for at least three years, break
ing stone upon roads, and I have, during
the past week, seen at least a
thousand bare feet, around which were
silver and gold bands which would not
form unhandsome bracelets for our
American girls, Many of them are
#
fond of stone jewelry and a great many
turquoises are brought from Thibet and
sold here. One of these girls carried my
trunk for a five-cent consideration upon
tier back from the station to the hotel,
an d I see them plodding up the msun
tains with great baskets of wood upon
their backs, two of which would form a
good load for a mule.
They work all day for what would be
the price of a drink in America, and
their mountain huts would be considered
hard lines for the establishment of an
American pig. Little low huts, thatched
with straw, and not much bigger than
store boxes. They do most of their
cooking out of doors, sleep upon the
floor, eat with their fingers and wor
ship Buddha in a half-civilized way.
Some of them use the prayer wheel,
and this seems to be the only invention
they have, The prayer wheel con
sists of a metal box about as big
around as one which holds boot-blacking
and about twice as deep. Through it a
wire is stuck and this is fastened into a
handle a foot long. Inside the box there
is a roll of prayers written in Thibetan
characters, and the worshipper rattles
oil prayers at the rate of a hundred a
minute by giving the handle a twist and
setting the box to rolling. Each roll
records a prayer. Every prayer does
away with one or more sins and puts a
brick in the pavement which leads
towards heaven.
A Chinese “Jade Ring.”
The Chinese minister has made a valu
able gift to the regents of the Smith
sonian Institution at Washington. En
sconsed in a beautiful gold plush case is
a “jade” ring about ten inches in di
ameter and one-eighth of an inch in
thickness. It has a hollow center about
lour inches in diameter. The face of
the ring has ornamental spots and its
back is quite smooth. It is of a pale
pea hue, though it was originally of
cream color. Upon it is a cream-colored
spot about the size of a 10-cent piece,
which, if continuously rubbed with a
piece of silk, will grow in size. This
ring is known as the “Han Pek” jewel
of the dynasty of Han, who reigned
about thirty-five hundred years ago. In
that dynasty, according to Chinese
chronicles, the court officials, when
having an audience with the emperor,
held this ring with both hands, thrust
ing their fingers into the opening, and
guarding against moving their hands
while addressing the throne. It was
used as an emblem of submission or re
spect for their sovereign. It had been
buried with its owner, was unearthed
from the sepulchre recently, and is ' , on
sidered very valuable. — Chicago Herald.
Money Under the Mast
That masts of vessels are set on pieces
of gold or silver sounds absurd and
Ananias-like. One day, however, while
attending a launch at an East Boston
shipyard, said a Massachusetts man a
day or two ago, I stopped for a moment
to watch workmen taking the stumps
out of a vessel that had been dismasted.
Instantly that the mainmast was out they
were down on their knees grubbing
about the hole where the mast came out.
The foreman was quite as interested as
any one, and only that a sense of dignity
restrained him he would have left me
and joined in the hunt. So when a
man jumped up shouting, “I've got it,”
he called back, “How much?” The
man did not know, and handed up a
coin that, after some polishing, proved
to be a Spanish pistareen. I began to
think the Susan James had been sailed
by some modern Captain Kidd, who
had laid in the hull of his vessel with
silver pistareens, when I heard the fore
mon saying: “If you find any more
bring them to me, and they’ll go in with
the new sticks. ”
A Banquet in a Servant’s Honor.
A pleasant incident occurred in tho
family of Louis Sloss, Esq., on Van
Ness avenue, during the past week.
The occasion was a family banquet
given in honor of Annie Flaherty, the
Irish cook, who had served the family
for twenty-five years in that capacity.
It was the silver dinner. Happy the
mistress and happy the maid who can
maintain for so long a period pleasant
relations between the kitchen and the
dining room, “The best cook in the
world,” says Mr. Sloss. “The kindest
people in the world,” says Miss Flaher
ty, who cooked the dinner at which she
was the honored guest, surrounded by a
family of sons and daughters she had
aided to raise, over whose porringers,
school-baskets and marriage feasts she
had presided, presented with gifts from
relatives and friends of the family—it
must have been a happy family and a
happy occasion. From it wo could a
sermon write and a moral draw, which
none would read or heed .—Son Fran•
deoo Argonaut*
The Two Poetg.
‘T would not'weight,” one poet said,
“The wing of Fancy soaring high
Tip the blue dome of boundless sky;
Or part the downy plumage spread
Above her breast, even by a strand
Of silken service, wrapping there,
To send across the summer 1 md,
Such messages through the golden air
As humbler pinions deign to bear.
“My realties Beauty’s large domain;
My service, Art, for Art's pure sake;
That does not ask, and will not take;
The low rewards of use or gain—
That owns no duty in a song—
No Epic call that shall avail
To urge the right, or chide the wrong,
Or hearten hope when hope would fail—
I sing as sings the nightingale.”
“If through my verse,” another sang,
“A throb is felt, whose human l>eat
Reveals a purpose, strong and sweet,
To anodyne some deadly pang,
Or help some halting soul to reach
Firm foothold on the path that leads
Starward, through what my verse may
teach,
Or heel the hurt that inward bleeds,
Or spur some life to loftier deeds—
“I leave content the rarer height
Of Art to such ethereal souls
As Beauty’s finer air infolds
In atmospheres too keen of light
For earth-born vision. While they soar.
Let me keep warm within my breast
The heart-throb—and I ask no morel”
Men praised the Poet; for the rest,
God loved the lowlier singer bast.
—Margaret J. Preston.
HUMOROUS.
Cut flowers—Wallflowers.
A husbandman is not always a hus
band.
A rule of three—For one to take hia
departure. ,
The guillotine block is one of the
Frenjh polling places.
The dude is a great stickler for th«
correct thing in canes.
A swallow may not make a summer,
but a frog makes a spring.
The long and the short of it—The
measurements both ways.
There is no reason in the world why a
“baby show” shouldn’t bo a howling
success.
It is strange that in throwing up our
hands to a highwayman we throw down
our arms.
There are different ways of showing
wrath; the tea-kettle sings sweetest
when it is hottest.
The young idea may sometimes be
best taught to shoot by putting it
through a course of sprouts.
Mrs. Quarterest—What is your atti
tude toward Wagner’s art, professor.
Professor Balder—Hands over my ears.
Some men are born great, some achieve
greatness, and some have had fathers
who relieved them of all responsi
bility.
Old man son—Have you a telephone,
Biggs? Biggs—No, I am not on speak
ing terms with the company, Their
rates are too high.
Miggs: “I hoar a policeman was
killed yesterday in the discharge of his
duty.” Bliggs: “He probably didn’t
know it was loaded.”
Returned traveler: “Mr. Richman
could draw his check for a million when
I left. How much money has he by this
time?” Citizen: “He hasn’t any.”
“Eh? Wha— Did he fail!” “No;
he died.”
A Human Almanac.
Brown county, 111., has a prodigy ia
the shape of – ten-year-old boy with a
talent for days and dates. Roy Oden
weller, son of 9. P. Odenweller of In
dustry township, is the infant wonder.
Givo him any date in any month of this
year, last year or next year, and he can
at once tell you the day of the week
upon which it falls or has fallen. For
example, ask him on what day of the
week will October 17, 1889, fall, and
he will promptly answer “Thursday,”
which is correct. And so of any date
last year or the year to come. How he
arrives at the solution ho does not know.
Numerous gentlemen of undoubted ver
acity have repeatedly tested his strange
power. The little fellow is a bright
youngster, but does not exbibit any un
usual precocity beyond this peculiar
B^t. He says that beyond tho three
years—the current, the last and the
next—he cannot givo correct answers.
Next year he will lose all power over
1888 (with which be is now conversant),
and his mind will grasp that of 1891, of
which he now knows nothing. He has
no rule or method, nor does he know
how he arrives at the true answer, but it
is certain that he is correct when
answering .—Chisago Tribune.