Newspaper Page Text
HAIR SHEARERS.
Tempting the Peasant Girls of
France to Sell Their Tresses.
Traveling Cutters Who Buy
Human Hair for the Trade.
I went the other morning to the
Gate de i’Ouest, or western railway sta
tion, to see some friends off for Brest,
and while there, says a Paris letter to
the New Orleans Picayune, a commercial
traveler called my attention to a number
of men taking tickets for northern Brit
tany.
“They are shearers,” he said, “not
cheep shearers, but hair shearers, or
rather, to give them their business ap
pellation, they are coupers. 1 >«
Yes, they were traveling hair cutters,
and in about six weeks they will bring
back a quautity of tangled hair, fair,
chestnut, black or red, and it will not
be very long before it is transformed
into chignons, curls and plaits, ready
to adorn the noble brow or well-shaped
head of some grand lady. Happy these
peasants who have white hairs because
white is ten times more valuable than
black nowadays, and I may say by the
way, that the capillary business is look
ing up again. A little while ago there
was a lull in the trade which caused
some uneasiness among those in the
business. The native girls of Brittany
refused to longer yield tlieir locks for
10 franees per head, and the Auvcrg
nats, although more greedy at taking a
bait, had discovered a more lucrative
market. So desperate did the haircut
ters become that the jails were applied
to, but the prisoners persisted in refus
ing to have their hair cut. In this
grave state of affairs necessity became
the mother of invention. France de
prived of sugar cane discovered that
beets contained the necessary ingredi
ents for sugar, and so when affairs were
at their worst the rag gatherers came
forward. Thanks to the combings thrown
away every day, no less than a hundred
pounds weight of hair is found by them
on the streets daily; but if tho chiffon
nier saved this important trade he did
not become the arbiter of it, for the
“couper” still continued to flourish, and
•what is better still, the arena of his in
vestigations continues to extend, the
natives of Peidmont having long since
allied themselves to those of Brittany
and Auvergnat.
The habitual “couper” travels through
the country, tarrying at small towns,
where he puts his merchandise under a
tent, and he hangs over the door as an
attractive sign a heavy lock of hair;
then the village drums make known his
arrival, and immediately young and old
are flocking around his ostentatious dis
play. The women and girls are
tempted, some with lace caps, others
with dress materials, and not having
ready money to pay for their purchases,
they trade their hair for it. Of course
the longer the hair the more valuable it
is, for while a cheveluro of 40 centi
metres is only paid about 50 cents, hair
2 feet long will fetch nearly as much as
$2 to §2.50; moreover, tho female is
sustained by the hope that in a few
years her hair will be fit for cutting
again, so that in four years, or five at
the most, she will reap another harvest.
About 300 peasants annually offer
their heads to each waudering hair cut
ter, that is to say, some 6000 girls and
women of all ages, and even hundreds
of men seil their flowing locks. The
average harvest of each head represents
a weight of 200 to 250 grammes; and
collected in bundles of equal length,
but without regard to color, it is sold
to Parisian hairdressers at prices varying
from 25 to 1J.00 francs the kilo, but red
of a good shade brings in five times as
much, and snowy white, which is very
valuable, sometimes even 800 francs the
kilo. The coarser hair of Auvergnat is
more sought after than that of Brittany,
the shade being more uniform. In any
case it is all submitted to certain wast
ings before passing into the shop win
dows and these processes raise the price
considerably.
Who the Cherokces Are.
The Cherokees are educated and able
men—yes, cultivated men and women.
Their life is the life of civilization, and
their country is governed well aud
elaborately. They are perfectly aware
of their own rights and best interests,
and are rich enough to uphold them.
In Vinita, their principal business cen
tre, vou may find twenty or thirty large
SCHLEY COUNTY NEWS.
mercantile establishments, some of them
carrying $30,000 worth of goods, all
owned and carried on by the Cherokces.
In Tahlequah, their capital, you will see
an elaborate state house and find a gov
ernment which contains legislature, ex
ecutive and judiciary. You may, if
you have a taste that way, read their
code of laws or hear the two branches
of the legislature discuss new measures
for the good of the nation. Or, if you
prefer, you may rido a feu- miles out of
touu to their beautiful neu semiuar,
for , girls, . , costing round . hundred , i thou
a „
.and dollar, this last year, and paid for
out of the moue, coming from the loasa
of , the ,, Cherokee , strip. , .
It is no savage people that , educates j . _
its girb ... in such , building, teaching , ,.
a
them ,, dead , , and , .. living . , languages and - all
the “usual , , branches, . „ as the catalogue* „
sav, and , not , only builds the buildings af .
public expense,but , , educates , . the children,
aud , even clothes , ,, them, ,, if necessary, at -
the ,, cost , of , the ,, state, , , doing , . the .,
same
thiug for itr boy. in another school not
far away. And it might be interesting
to inquire what other southern state or
community has established, at the«
ueuso of the state, a *10,000 high school
l'ur co’ored children!
Such as these are the leaders of the
Cherokee Nation, with the training of
eaucatiou . ,. and , civilization, with ...
„ a
shrewdness , that , knows . its ., interests . . , and ,
sees how to defend them, with the hot
blood of the Indian race and the south
ern tradition, and with a genius and a
passion for politics; and behind them is
a people of the same sort in part, and in
part of the ruder, more savage sort, still
less likely to give up its rights, but
rather with the Indian tenacity even to
the death. All of them know well that
the Cherokee strip is theirs; all of them
know that already they have been
offered large sums for it, and that in the
national house of representatives last
year Congressman Warner advocated its
seizure on the very ground that it would
shortly be worth $12 an acre. It is for
this laud we have sent a commissioner to
treat with this people and to offer them
$1.25 an acre !—Christian Union.
Syrian Tillages.
The villages which dot the plains of
Syria are built of sun-dried brick, and
lack all evidence of the artistic sense,
There are no gardens, no plants. The
houses are jumbled together without
any reference to order, and crude in
construction and in furniture. A few
jars, a few mats and rugs—that is about
all. They are one story high and have
flat roofs. On each roof we noticed a
roller, which is used after rains to com
pact the mud. The chief article of fuel
is dung, which tho women work up into
cakes and plaster against the houses to
dry. The towns are usually located at
a fountain, but one we passed was a
mile away, and tho people have been
contented for generations to carry their
water all that distance rather than build
again. The men do not concern them
selves with that part of the household
economy, and the women carry all the
Avater in great jars on their heads. In
this region, but especially further
south, black goat skins are used—the
legs as, well as the body being sewed
up. We saw the Avomen wade far into
the beautiful body of water Avhere Gid
eon’s men lapped, fill the goat skins,
bind them around their shoulders and
carry them off to the nearest village,
tAvo miles away.
Swift Homing Pigeons.
Six homing pigeons of the Hudson
Homing Club, of Brooklyn, were liber
ated on a recent Sunday morning in a
race from Newton, S. C., air line dis
tance over 500 miles. The start was at
5.10 a. m., under favorable weather
aud wind. The first and only return
the same day was to the loft of Joseph
Herson, at 5.35 p. m., distance 517^
Miles, making an average speed of 1222
yards per minute, breaking the best pre
vious record of 1162 yards per minute,
made by a bird owned by Samuel Tay
lor, of Baltimore, Md. — Times- Democrat.
Discretion.
Customer (in 4 ‘25 cents a meal” res
taurant, out West)—“Gimme a glass
o’ milk.”
Waiter (cautiously)—“Got yer gun
wid ye?”
Customer (disgustedly)—“Nawl D’ye
expect me ter go out an’ shoot a cow for
y°?”
Waiter—“You’ve got coffee, an’ wo
don’t give milk an’ coffee too.”
Ilcmorrhagico-icteroidal typhus ii
raging in Brazil.
TRAINING SHEEP.
Teaching a Stupid Animal to
Perform in Public,
How a Trainer Succeeds in
Instructing Seals.
SIiss Rosa St ” r h « madc * » tad J of
*“P. ">» “•* limid <* “‘““'S '" ltcs
Da '' ld '"’cchsler in the Brooklyn C,U
sen. She owns three 1 performing ° sheep, r
“ d "“S’ d ° ™>dcrful tricks. Her
“count of the way she succeeded m
training them is interesting. ° * ‘It
should , be known that , sheep , , have
r
scarcely J any J intelligence, .... ° ’ and , therefore , .
no memory, * she said. . “Sheep are
carried . , through , ° a number of , perform- 1
from day .
ance3 to day for months at a
time, ’ until ,, they seem to do their tricks
merely J from , instinct. . . If taey , fail to
do one trick ... in their , . repertoire 1 ..... it is
“ cless to hav0 thcm W “ a 8* m . at tiat
« I attempted to make
«° back and do a ^ thi ?S *’"*
cmitll!d “ ' vould coatu!e them ’ aad
the ? would do notllill S- Near, 7 all the
animals keep their eyes on their trainer ,
while going through with a perform
ancc ' u "‘ M ' cr do ' Thlt
fact shows that they J lack the intelli
gence ° of a horse, a cow, or even a goat, ’
“
because the latter do have an ocular in
telligence, so to speak, that is wonder
ful. Sheeji have to be taught together,
they are so timid and lonely when they
are separated from their mates. The
way I trained the three I have, and
they are the only trained sheep in Amer
ica, was by petting them and getting
them used to me. I handled them
daily, patted them on tho heads,
and finally got them so they
knew their names. The male
sheep I found much easier to train than
the female. They are affectionate in
their disposition and do not require
much punishment to make them obey,
The fact is they are willing to obey, buj
are too dull to remember or know what
to do. I have a string attached to their
necks and guide them with it while
driving them over the bars. At every
performance I havo to exercise the same
care and go through with the same
amount of P h y sical exertion to make
them perform. If I could stop as Ido
wlllle traiuia S them at rehearsals, and
fondle them affectionately, I could get
more out of them in a public perfor—
mance. It is strange, but true, that
few animals like to lie down. The
trainer has to throw them down fre
quently, and hold them there. Well, I
have a stiuggie frequently to get my
sheep to lie down. Then they are anx
ious to got up and when the signal is
given they jump up as if they were shot.
Instead of a whip to pass over them I
keep a stick in my hand and occasion
ally use it on them, not to beat, but to
let them know that I ain near by and
watching. If they would look at me I
am sure I could train them to do many
more clever tricks. As it is, I have
taught these three seven or eight tricks
that they do twice a day.”
William McGovern is a well-known
trainer of seals. lie has devoted some
years to tlieso queer creatures of the
Arctic seas, and has achieved wonderful
success. He said that he begins to
train a seal to perform in public by first
making it familiar with the souud of his
voice, and added; “A seal soon learns
to distinguish a familiar voice from that
of a stranger. It often takes me five or
six weeks to accustom a seal to the
sound of my voice, and the next pro
cess in training is to inspire confidence.
I do this by taking it from the Avater
aud placing it on a platform. It is ner
vous and easily frightened, but I handle
it gently and finally get control of it
enough to show it liow to do things. I
have taught seals Iioav to ring bells,
play on instruments, shoot pistols and
sing or howl. They aro intelligent
enough to know that after ono trick
they have another to do, and so they
are impatient to get through. Their
sight is splendid, and if another man is
present on the platform Avhilo they arc
performing they are sure to see him and
object to proceeding further. They are
easily frightened and, if hurt in any
way, it takes a long time to restore their
confidence.”
Thc Curious Bibles.
The curious Bibles is a general name
given certain editions of the Bible which
arc prized by bibliomaniaci, not for any
intrinsic value, but because they contain
certain odd misprints or mistranslations.
Foremost among them is the Breeches
B.ble, so called because in the third
chapter of Genesis it speaks of Adam
and Eve as having “made themselve3
breeches” of fig leaves. This edition
first appeared in 1560, in quarto form,
and we owe it to the English reformers
exiled at Geneva. During the rain of
Queen Elizabeth it served as the regular
family Bible, its popularity being large
ly due to the Calvinistic comments that
liberally besprinkled the margin. The
Bug Bible, which appeared in London
in 1551, and was originally known as
Matthew’s Bible, is indebted for its
curious sobriquet to the fact that the
fifth verse of the ninety-first Psalm is
translated, “So thou shalt not need to
be afraid for any bugges by
night.” The original idea of the word
—a goblin or spook—is still to be
traced in bogie, bugbear, bugaboo.
The Wicked Bible, printed in London
in 1631, was so called because the nega
tion was omitted in the seventh com
mandment, so placing an awful injunc
tion upon the faithful. This is much
sought after, because it was promptly
suppressed, the printer being fined £300
by Archbishop Land. The money, it Is
said, was devoted to the purchase of a
supply of Greek type for the University
of Oxford. The Vinegar Bible was
printed in 1717 at the Clarendon Press,
and is so known because the parable of
the vineyard in the title to the twen
tieth chapter of St. Luke is printed
“Parable of the Vinegar.” The Whig
or Placemaker’s Bible obtained its
name from aa error occurring in St.
Matthew, v., 9, where “Blessed are the
placemakers” is substituted for “peace
makers.” The Treacle Bible has the
passage in Jeremiah, “Is there no balm
in Gilead?” rendered, “Is there no tre
acle in Gilead?” and the Douay (Roman
Catholic) version has been described as
the Rosin Bible, because the same pas
sage has the word rosin instead of trea
cle. Many years ago there existed in
the Stowe library the Book of Gospels,
on which the English kings down to
Edward VI. took the coronation oath,
with the huge brazen crucifix, which
the monarchs kissed on its cover. The
binding was of ponderous oak boards
an inch or so in thickness, fastened by
huge leather thongs. The Printers’
Bible makes David pathetically com
plain that printers in place of princes
have “persecuted him without a cause.’
The author of this translation may have
been indulging in a sly hit at the intel
ligent compositor, which many authors
of the present would gladly re-echo.
Yiewhig Columbus’ Bonos.
My first stopping place of any impor
tance -was Santo Domingo city, the pop
ulation of which is variously estimated
at from 17,009 to 20,000 inhabitants.
It is the seat of government, having a
palace, beautiful cathedral and large
barracks capable of containing 30,000
men, but now in a very delapidated
condition. There are ruins of very
great historical interest, particularly tho
unfinished palace of Columbus, In
some places the Avals are two feet six
inches thick, and as good today as
when built 300 years ago. Through
the courtesy of the Bishop Ave were
treated to a view of Columbus’ bones.
A great deal of ceremony attends the
display of these relics. Before they can
be taken from an inner vault three offi
cials with separate keys have to be
brought into requisition; that is to say,
the casket cannot be reached unless
three locks are undone. This took
some little time, as ono of tho gentle
men was not on hand at the appointed
hour. This delay over, the remains,
carried by four attendants, Av-ero placed
upon a table in one of the sido aisles for
our inspection. The outer casket was
of lightly framed glass, with a variety
of official Avax seals attached, A record
denotes when the casket was last
brought out for inspection, about three
years ago. Inside of all is a small
leaden box or coffin, containing what
little now remains of tho great discov
erer’s bones. The attendant priest, a
g°°d‘ natur cd and humored man, told us
l ' iC ^ s t 01 7 Hmir vicissitudes. At all
< vcnts ^ ie Dominicans believe implicitly
* n ^ 10 S enu Ineness of the bones, in the
a ^ ) ' ience anything to refute their
story. In the cathedral itself are som»
very good paintings by old masters.
The structure, which, circumstances and
place considered, is a very fine one,
took about sixty years to complete.
Brewster— That young fellow seems
to know more than yon do. Barclay__
wonder; I’m his father.
Amorita.
I seem to hear you singing in the murmur of
the breeze.
I listen to your tear drops in the rain amid
the trees.
There’s an echo of your laughter in the
brooklet as it flows,
And I feel your balmy breathing in the odor
of the rose.
Everywhere sweet and fair,
In the earth and sky,
Hints of you thrill me through—
Love me or I die.
The blossom by the wayside grows more
fragrant as you pass;
And brighter fla-h the dew drops as they
glimmer in the grass.
The hue that tints the ruby to your curving
lip replies.
And from the distant stars I catch the glory
of your eye.
Let my song, lithe and strong,
Through your lattice fly.
Ere the night wing its flight
Love me or I die.
What were life without you? O, 1 cannot,
dare not dream!
’Twere worthless as a shattered leaf upon an
autumn stream,
Tossed upon the restless wave by every blast
unkind,
And driven down the turbid tide, heart
broken, hopeless, blind.
O, my sweet, at your feet
Heed my lonely cry,
Grant relief to my grief—
Love me or I die.
—Atlanta Constitution,
HUMOROUS.
The worst thing a person can take for
a cold is advice.
Every man is sometimes a bait on some
other man’s hook.
When a man contracts bad habits hi*
income needs expanding.
The grocer ought to be a fine newspa
per man. He has a good many scoops.
The Goddess of Liberty is not a
broker, but she is frequently seen “on
change.”
When you feel like calling a big man
a liar be sure you’re right, then use the
telephone.
It is one of the distressing anomalies
of modern life that the man who can’t
sing does sing.
Everything has a beginning. Even
the burglar must be broken in before he
begins to break in.
Tell a woman that she looks fresh and
she will smile all over. Tell a man the
same thing and if he doesn’t kick you
it is either because he has corns or
daresn’t.
Cabby (who has received lib correct
fare)—Call yourself a gentlemen? Why,
I keeps a better gentleman than you to
black my boots 1 Fare—Pity you don’t
keep another to wash your face I
“John, this is a very bad report you
bring me from school.” “I know,
father, but you know you said if I
should bring you a first-class report you
would give me a dollar, and I wanted
to save you that expense.”
This is an Italian bon mot: At a cafe
a group of gentlemen discussing poli
tics; a young student entered and joined
in the conversation; his arguments did
not please the others, and one of them
said to him, “Be quiet! At your age I
was an ass myself!” “You arc wonder
fully well preserved, sir,” was the re
ply.
An Artist on the Battlefield.
There was an incident in the battle ol
Raymond which was as amusing as it
was characteristic of the chief actor,
Captain Tresalian, an Irish officer on tha
staff of General Logan.
Ho was seated astride of the topmost
rail of tho fence, across which in some
places, the fight Avas going on with
clubbed muskets; which side the cap
tain aauis most interested in was doubt
ful, for with cap in one hand and
sword in the other, he was encouraging
both parties to go in and do their best,
while he occupied a reserved seat a most
interested spectator.
This man was a type of tho soldier
who loves a fight, and true stories of
some of his doing3 seem almost too im
probable to believe. I think lie was un
conscious of danger, and I know that I
was not, for in some of my sketch-books
there are memorandum sketches of soma
battlefield occurrences which show
plainly that the hand holding tho pen
cil Avas unsteady; and jerky marks bere
and there make it pretty plain that tho
locality was an unsafe one. The sur
roundings, as well as tho danger had
some influence at the moment when such
sketches were made; for most of these
“Get-out-of-that” sketches, as my army
friends called them, show simply the lo
cality of some exciting incident and
not a general view.— St. Nicholas.