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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.