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LiSIER A YOUIAIS, Publishers.
WATOBOS3, - - - GEORGIA
The recent volcanic eruptions at the
antipodes would appear to be, in some
senses, good for the agricultural interest.
The New Zealand official analyst,'-Mr.
Pond, finds that the ejected dust which
has covered so large an area of country
is equivalent to manure of high quality.
General Miles, of the regular army,
says the average Indian will ir&ke as
much success at farming as a United
States Senator would at following a
deer’s trail over the plains. He agrees
with all the other Indian fighters that no
redskin will stay civilized. To expect
them to is to go against nature.
Fifteen years ago the buffalo ranges of
Kansas and Colorado were covered with
thousands of these animals. The other
day a party went out from Denver, and
after a week's hunting managed to kill
three from a herd of twenty-nine that
they found in Lost Park. It is said that
there arc not more than 2,000 buffaloes
now in existence. Systematic slaughter
has produced this shameful result.
The recent earthquakes have benefited
the petroleum business in Ohio and Indi
ana, as a number of wells bored for oil
and gas, which yielded nothing before
that, are now giving them out in paying
quantities.
LEND A HAND.
Lookup and not down; look oat and not
in; look forward and not back; and lend a
Look bravely up, dear soul, the gleaming
Dr. Charles L. Dana discusses in the
Forum the question, “Is life worth sav-
ingf* He places the value of adult life
to the State at least f?50, and its annual
productive power at $95. One-half of
all the deaths occur during the produc
tive age, so that the two hundred thou
sand deaths at this period, which occur
annually in the United States, represent
an enormous loss to the country. It is
also calculated that every death repre
sents two years sickness, and that there
are in this country about a million and a
half persons sick all the time. In Eng
land and Wales it has been found that
every workingman averages a week and
a half of sickness in the year. It is esti
mated that the wage-loss from sickness
in France is $79,000,000 each year, and
from death $188,000,000.
Tho “big trees” of California will soo^
be extinct. Seventeen lumber com-
jMOies, owning from 8,000 to 25,000
acres of redwood foreqt each, arc waging
a war of extermination with all the
weapons known to the modern logging-
camp. The demand for the wood is un
limited and alt the mills arc kept at
work to the limit of their capacity. Tho
forests are large, but the forces em
ployed against them are swift and irre
sistible.
Tulane university, at New Orleans, to
which a New York woman has recently
given $100,000, is to be the recipient of
the valuable archives of the Louisiana
Historical Society. Druing the civil war
the building in which they wore kept was
pillaged and the contents were dhrricd
north. The secretary of tho Wisconsin
Historical Society discovered them in
the possession of a soldier in Iowa, pur
chased and kindly returned them to their
original home.
Geologist Hall, of New York, hap
pened to hear Professor Williams declare
a paper read during a meeting of the
American Scientific Association that the
spirifer disjunct* and spirifer mesostri-
alis, two kinds of fossils, existed side by
side in the same rocks. This brought
Professor Hall to h ; a feet with the state
ment: “If anyone will show me the two
spirifers side by side in tho same rock I
vTTTi sacrifice my life's work, I will give
up my reputation, eat my hat, and make
the person who shows me the rock a
present of my coat and boots.” Pro
fessor Williams said nothing, but took
the first train to Ithaca, and returning
the next day, came to the meeting and
solemnly dumped a big box of rocks on
the floor. Jt was consigned to Professor
Hall in the following words: “The en
closed rock contains the spirifer dis-
juncta and spirifer mcsostrialis side by
side. You have it. Please eat your hat
and send me your coat and boots by ex.
press.”
‘•She can’t control her tongue” or “He
can’t control his tongue” are frequently
heard in this world where people, being
unable to control tho very tongues that
make use of the phrase, talk a great deal
about their neighbors. But there is in
St. Louis a man who literally cannot con
trol his tonguo, and the county medical
• society is looking into his case. Botts is
the man’s name. Muscular action being
■ involuntary, his tonguo shoots in and out
of his mouth ns docs the tongue of a
snake.
* ‘The straighten and probably tne
ibest built 400 miles of railroad in the
world,” says Demos Barnes, just back to
New York from Russia, “is between St.
•Petersburg and Moscow. The con
tractors who completed this enterprise
were two Americans—Messrs. Winans,
of Baltimore, and Harrison, of Phila
delphia. They arc said to have pocketed
some $15,000,000 each as a reward for
their enterprise. Trains upon the road
'• ^are numerous, cars good, freight busi
ness heavy, station houses fine and meals
first-class.”
The New York Time* declares that
'planting orchards for the growing of
fruit for the supply of foreign markets is
i to become a profitable operation.
But, like all other special business, it
must be carried on with system and
measure of fitness for the purpose for
which it is’intcnded. Hence the choice
of varieties is a most important matter
when the planting is under consideration.
Tho English people have peculiar and
very firmly fixed notions about the kinds
of fruit they want. Red apples are popu
lar with the masses; Rdssets are much
liked by the more cultivated consumers,
and such crisp,spicy,higli-llavorcd kinds
Newtown Pippinjand Spitzenberghave
always sold at high prices. Thus a planter
must conform to these tastes of his con
sumers and meet their demands. The
highest prices of last season were paid,
the order named,for the following va
rieties : Baldwin, Newtown Pippin, Seek,
Gravenstein, Spitzcnbcrg, Rhode Island
Greening, and Spy.”
Missouri continues to attract attention
on account of her marvelous products.
In one issue of the Missouri Republican
record is mndo of a six-months old colt
weighing 050 pounds; a pig of the *
age born with but threo'legs; a calf that
weighs but twenty poqnds, and so small
that it cannot reach its “dinner;” a rad
ish twenty-five inches around, twenty-
two inches long, and weighing 1DJ
pounds; the discovery of gold in Jasper
county, and a man who, in January last,
received at short range a pistol shot, the
ball entering tho left cyo, and going
through the brain, and who now is
well as a man can be.
Defective addresses and insufficient
postage arc the main reasons why there
is a constant flow of postage matter into
the Dead Letter Offioc. After reaching
the office every means is employed to
-certain the senders or owners of the let
ters and packages, and the articles of
fered at the annual sales represent the
proportion of the entire matter for which
no owner could bo found. The cata
loguo this year contains some seven thou
sand articles, a slight increase ov<
- number offered for sale last year, but
bearing about the sarao proportion to the
entiro bulk of the matter passing through
the mails. All dead mail Is retained ii
tho Dead Letter Office for two years, if
not claimed sooner, before being finally
disposed of.
One of the famous women's rights
women of tho West is the Rev. Miss
Annie Shaw, and good stories are told
of her pluck and smartness. Once when
vhe was riding through the lumber
region of Michigan the driver began to
talk insultingly. Miss Shaw stood it for
half an hour, and then suddenly drew
Derringer from the folds of her gar
ments, and said very quietly: “You
low, contemptible brute; utter another
word of that sort, and Til shoot you like
a dog.” The threat was sufficient. The
man did notntter a syllable the rest of
the trip. He helped to get a large
gregation for her at the settlement, “be
cause,” he said, “he liked her grit.“
Once at a public meeting a speaker who
had been discoursing on the traits
strong-minded women, among others
that of wearing short hair, suddenly
turned to Miss Shaw and asked:
the way, did you acquire that habit,
Miss Slaw?” “Sir, I was born so,” was
-the answer.”
Shine grandly out beyond the darkest night.
Tbe Eolemn, sobbing anthem's silver bars,
Streep dawn to us from Heaven's tar,
nameless height:
They sky is upward; all the trers and
Bowers
Hold up to God each dainty leaf and cup;
The beei and birds fly forth to greet the
All earth is glad, dear brother, look thou
up!
Look outward! Here the dreamy sunbeams
sleep.
Within tbe rock-encircled, sheltered shore:
There on the wide, wild sea dark tempests
sweep.
And wrecks go down in darkness evermore.
?et thou a light upon the treacherous sand;
Trim thou thy little lamp to pierce the
gloom,
And guide the sailor to his fatherland,
The weary wanderer to the gates of Home.
Look upward! outward! forward! in the race
Which God doth give thee, thou mayst
surely win;
Toil for tbe nobler life and higher place,
Work thou for God and man! Lookout-,
not in!
Send thou a helping band to those who err—
To all who need thy aid to stronger stand;
Wholorethman is God’s bast worshiper,
Forget thyself, my brother—lend a band
—E. Alice Kinney, in Detroit Free Fress.
THAT GRAHAM GIRL.
BY MARY E. BRUSH.
Well, it’s all ovevaw^»l*a glad of it.
I never want to camp out again as long
> I live! Nor does Cara Murray. To
think what a lovely time we had antici
pated, with Tracy Loring. the greatest
catch of the year, along, and only dear,
fat, stupid Mrs. Bartlett for our chap
eron ! There's no knowledge what mignt
liked to watch her. She had such a deft,
handy way of doing things. Both Cara
and I wished that cur mothers had taught
us something besides fancy things.
. She made a rousing fire in the fireplace
—you see, wo had taken up our quarters
in a log-cabin that, years before, had
been occupied by an old hermit trapper.
It was a rough affair, but just th?n we
were very thankful for it, considering
the rain outside. It had turned off so
chilly, too,that the fire felt very comfort
able, and what with the light, warmth
aud good sapper, wo had a very pleasant
time. The sapper was especially nice.
Helen had opened a couple of cans of
chicken; this she warmed in the sauce
pan, and pqured it over the toast, gravy
and alL Then she wrapped potatoes in
leaves and roasted them in the hot ashes;
and these, with the fish, coffee and other
things, mode a meal fit for anybody. The
gentlemen praised it up, at any rate, and
they paid that Graham girl so many com
pliments that she actually blushed. It
made her look pretty, too, and the fire
light falling on*her brown hair gave it a
S olden sheen that wc women couldn’t
clp envyiug.
‘•Now, what's to b^done:” said young
Max Collins, after supper. “Some of
us have got to tramp back to Giles's
farmhouse and get another boat.”
“You and I will go',Max,” said Tracy.
“Will can stay here and guard the la
dies. We’d better start to-morrow morn
ing if it’s clear.”
The weather was fine next morning,
and after an early breakfast (that Gra
ham girl made splendid corn pones
A MODERN UTOPIA.
Pleading Characteristics of the Peo
ple—A Land of Many Holi
days— Matter anil Ser
vant—Japanese Art.
Mhq distinction which Japan enjoys
is, that while other co-intries nave lovely
spots she is everywhere enchanting. The
whole length of the island chain, 1,200
miles in extent, hardly presents a spot
that would not be a subject for a land
scape painter. The great central moun
tain range, with the overtowering cone-
shaped rujiama, rises almost out of the
ocean below to be lost
clouds above. Long transverse spurs of
hil's run out into the sea. Deep, warm,
rich valleys have been everywhere cut
through the mountains and hills, ?nd
bordering the ocean fcitilc plains have
been formed from the weatherings and
washings of the great mountain masses.
Covering these plains, valleys, hillsides
and mountains is a verdure that riots in
luxuriance. Clear streams, from their
elevated sources, dash through narrow
gorges, pour in gleaming cataracts down
precipitous mountain sides and whirl
in crystal eddies at the feet of ovei
branching forest trees. It is a climnf
zone where the flora of the cold north
and that of tLe heated sonth meet and
iutermingle. l'he pine and palm, the
Tracy and Max left us. Poor Mrs. Bart- I ma p] c aud magnolia, the beech andbam-
lett actually whimpered when they went | boo? an( j t j, e oa k an( j t fi e oiange inter
‘ lace their branches in the same grove.
they meet, greet each other as politely,
and pass the compliments of the day as
freely and feelinglv as do those of higher
stations. While the vocabulary of com
pliments and blessings is a long one,
there are no words for a curse in their
whole language. There may be hate,
jealousy and envy, but they find no ver
ba! expression. It is a constant delight
to hear only pleasant words and good
wishes.
The relations of masters and servants
admirable as po-Viblc. They ate
RAILROAD TIES
mutual and confidential. While the
vant studies the interest of the master,
the latter makes the welfare of the ser
vant and his family his duty. The ser
vant is made to feel that ho is a factor of
some importance in his employer’s busi
ness by being consulted upon many mat-
of importance. The muster is polite
and kind and the servant deferential and
respectful on all occasions. The relation
of parents and children shows the same
refining influences. There is no a-sump-
of the author, ty of the drillmaster,
exaction of blind obedience, no ruling by
fear on the part of the parent. Obedience
is induced by patient teaching day after
day. The child is lovingly taught why lie
should do certain things, and why he
sould not da certain other things. The
bond between parents and children is
one of reason and regard, and the result
is that the child makes his duty to the
parent the foremost object of his life,
and his own interests aro made entirely
secondary. A foreigner might live in
that country for years and see less
parental tyranny aud violence than he
would see in most families in some other
countries in a month, and ho
An Industry Which has Attained)
Great Proportions — A Tie’s
Life—The “Tic King” ;
of tho West.
•om Cairo up the Illinois Centra! as
fur as Sigcl tho passenger notices on
each side of the road at almost every
station, ^ and indeed between stations,
huge piles of railroad ties, etc. Not
only is this the caso along the Illinois .
Central, but along other roads the same
thing can be seen.
“Wo have our fruit sca‘on, nut sea
son, and various other season 1 *, but this
is the railroad tie season,” said Road-
master Donoghuc of the Illinois Central.
“The season commences about October
Lt and ends in April and May. From
this you aro to underriaml that during
this period our busy time lasts.”
“How long does a tic live V'
“The averago life of a tie of course de
pends as much upon what it is made of
as the life of a man is generally gaged
by his habits—it is ail in the stuff that is
in it. The best t.es are made of burr and
white oak—that is, of the material most
available ties made from that material arc-
the best. Honey locust out asts any
thing we put down, but we can get but.
It seemed so awfnl to be left alone—
shipwrecked in the howling wilderness,”
she said.
“That’siAtSamixed metaphor!”ex
claimed Will; Vand not at all compli
mentary to my bravery I You know, my
dear madame, that 1 will defend you
as long as I have a drop of blo>d left—if
these warlike mosquitoes leave me any
hfive happened had it not been for that i i ea d the German with!) but he
fellow (lovely to
3rcat Britain has now 30,000 soldiers,
mostly Indian, in Upper Burmah. Her
army there is twice as large as the high
est estimates, before Thebaw’s downfall,
of tho force required to conquer and
hold the country; yet it has been an
nounced that large reenforcements arc
needed, and that it will take four years
at least to establish British rule. The
Bsitish arms, in fact, are opposed not
only by numerous bands of organized
thieves and outlaws called dacoits, but
also by Thebaw’s relative, the Myentzein
Frince, who represents tho national re
sistance and flies'the peacock flag al
most within sight of Mandalay. Most of
the insurgent leaders assert that they are
fighting in his cause. Many of Burmah’s
chief men Fay that, badly as Thebaw
misgoverned them, they would prefer his
rule to the chaos resulting from British
failure to enforce laws or dispense jus
tice. The fact is, says the New York
Sun, the British sailed up the Irrawady
l a picnic, treated grave questions of
civil reorganization as mere child's play,
and arc now waking up to the fact^that
they have a very big job on their hands.
Graham girl.
She was governess to Mrs. Bartlett’s
two children, Tom and Tiny (the worst
young ones that ever breathed!) and Mrs.
Bartlett said that she couldn’t possibly
think o;: trusting herself and # precious
little ones into the wilderness unless her
dear, faithful Helen went along. So, of
course, Helen Graham went, and so did
Tiacy Loring, Cara Murray, the two
Avery girls, and their collegian cousins,
Max and Will Collins.
It was jolly fun at first, for during the
journey on the cars Cara and I managed
to secure Tracy ourselves. Then we went
by stage ten miles to a lonely farmhouse
—a “jumping-off place,” as Tracy called
it—where we were to get the guide and
boat which were to tike us up Lake
Moosetic—dear me, I can never remem
ber those horrid Indian names! But
mind. Tracy said that he didn't
just like the looks of our guide, but Cara
and I thought him real romantic. His
name was Francisco, and he was kind of
brigimdish-looking, you know, with
flashing, black eyes, swarthy complexion
and long black hair. And he wore a
sort of picturesque Indian costume. lie
talked a good deal to us girls, and rolled
his eyes, and made up jingling bits of
poetry that didn’t sound bad. Tom
Bartlett said that he smelled of onions
and poor whisky, but Tom was always
making horrid speeches. However, this
time he wasn't so far out of the way, for,
if you’ll believe it, we hadn't been camp
ing out a week before that rascally guide
went off and left lis in the midst of a
howling wilderness fifteen miles from
any living soul. Took our boat, too!
And we had to make our own fire*, and
cook our own meals, and all that—
things which we had paid him to do.
Mrs. Bartlett is over forty, but she
Why She Should be Thankful.
Here is a story of Gloucester which it
ay be necessary to preface with the fact,
familiar enough to people who live on
it, but not >o familiar to inland rs.
that when a seafaring man dies away
fiom home a point is made of packing
his effects in his chest promptly and re
turning them to his family: A lady,
dressed in deep mourning, was riding in
Gloucester st r eet car, when another
lady, sharp of feature and inquisitive of
gaze, came in and sat down bv her side.
The sharp-featured woman fidgeted about
minute or so and then v btg.i;
catechizing the wornau in mourning
•Be you mourning the loss of relatives
na’amf” “Yes.” Husband or brother?'
•Both.” “Law sakes! Was they lost
at seal” “They died at New Or’.e in. of
the fever.” “Dear me su».! Both on
’em died o’ the yellow fever,eh?” “Yes.”
The inquisitive woman wiped away a
tear, paused for an instant, and then
resumed: “Was they hopefully pious,
ma’ami” “Yes, they were.” “And
(eagerly) did ye git their chists?” “I
did.” “Oh, well,” said the sharp-fea
tured woman, with a sigh of satisfaction,
“if thev died hopefully pious and von
got their chists, you’ve got a great deal
doesn't know a thing about housekeep
ing, for her husband’s sister, who lives
with her, sees to everything. As for the
Avery girls, they never enter a kitchen,
nor do Cara and I. Tracy Loring knew
©ore than we did, for he could make de-
i more filial devotion there in a month I terial at seven y
little of that. Along with tho buir and
white oaks we will place post oak, awl
placo the average life of a tie of that i
licious coffee as well as broil fish.
late in the afternoon, with a cold
and wind-storm coming on, so that
it wouldn’t have been prudent for th-
gentlemen to undertake the long tramp
through the woods back to the Giles
farm-house. Cara and I felt wretchedly.
In the first place, we we c conscious of
looking drabbled and shabby—there's
nothing like that to lower a woman's
spirits. You see, we had no idea of
what a wil'd, era y place the woods were,
and so we had worn dainty, flimsy suits,
whose ruffles and puffs had soon became
crushed and crumpled. The Avcrys
were in the sam; fix. As for that Graham
girl, she wore a plain navy blue flannel
gown, with short s’. irt and blouse waist.
Wc had all made fun of her behind her
back, but after a day or two wo were
forced to acknowledge that she looked
far more dainty and tidy than ourselves.
Anyhow, Tracy Loring s .emed to think
her attractive, for, from the very first,
he treated her as an equal with Cara and
me. and she laughed and talked as
freely as he did. t-h; never seemed to
mind the least hint, not even when one
day Cara threw out something about
working-people knowing their place. At
first, though, she drew herself up rather
stately (as she has a line figure!) and
looked Cara straight in the eyes as if to
find out what she meant, then a smile
began dimpling the corners of her mouth,
aud she sang out mischievously:
‘•When Adam delved and Eve spar.
Who then was the gentleman* ’
But to go br.ck to thc-tiinc the guide
left us. We ha l to have supper, of
cour c, but what and how?
“I've got some fish,” sa d Tra^y; “and
I.see that -Max has pi ked some fine
blackberries. I can make the coffee, but
the rest of the culinary affairs I’ll have
to leave in the hands of you ladies.”
“Oh, my goodn. ss graciomgroaned
i Mrs. Bartlett, “I never cooked a meal in
I all my life I”
Wc all echoed her word*, except Helen
Graham, who jumped up briskly, sav
ing: “.’II try Jo fix something though it
to be thankful for!”—Boston Record.
Was Willing to Quit
A good story i* told of an interview of
the Hon. W. H. H. Bingham with one of
the State boarders at Windsor. Some of
the prisoners were at work lathing the
guard room during a reemt official visit
of the “Governor, 1 ’and the latter was in
specting the progress of the work. Af
ter contemplating the process for a few
minutes. Gov. B.ngham remarked: “See
here, my man, you are laying tho«e laths
too near together; that sort of thing
will never do h The prisoner calmly laid
down h’s implements and said: “Gov
ernor, I am willing to be turned off and
discharged if my work don’t suit; I
never applied for this job or the situa
tion, and if my work isn’t satisfactory I
am willing to quit.” The offer was not
accepted.—Montpelier ( Ft.) Journal.
e'aboratc. for I fear
i limited. Pray, 3Ir. J.oring,
’tbe
rcsourc:
wbat doLS our larder contain?’
“Humph! Mostly caunel goods, I be
lieve. There are some loaves of bread,
but,? with a 3aiff, “they look kind of
queer, ).>•> Graham—th y have a pa’c,
whity-gri cn fuzz on the crust! It’s very
rrsthetic-looking, to be sure—but it
doesn’t smell good I”
“Heat and moisture hare made it
mould. Bread moulds easily in August
weather, and this is over a * week old.
But 1 can cut off the crust and toast the
inside.”
“That’ll be famous! I aia so hungry
I could cat my boots almost 1 It rej *
my soul to see a genuinely capable woman
—one with a ‘knack’! And now. Madam
Cook, I’m at your service”—with a low
bow. That Graham girl didn't
bit impressed—she only giggled, and
said, coolly: “Yon may clean the fish,
if you want to,” and Tracy l oring, the
out for a woodsman, and about the first
thing he did, after Tracy aud Max had
gone, was to tumble down a rocky place
—he was getting some rare ferns for
Saidic Avery—and break his leg! Well,
I don’t know what we would have done
had it not been for that Graham girl!
We were all about ready to go into hys
terics, but she spoke out sharp and com-
anding, and told us that we must help
ir. We somehow got Will into the
house—it must have looked ridiculous
to have seen us all pulling and tug-
at him—and on a cot, and then
Helen went to Mrs. Bartlett's medicine-
chest, which she had brought along on
account of the children, -and got him
something that would keep him quiet
and prevent fever. Then there was
nothing else to do but wait until Tracy
returned; and oh, it seemed ages.
In the meantime, something still more
startling took place. Wc were all rest
ing a bit after our exertions, when sud
denly in rushed Tom and Tiny, saying in
scared whispers, for Will was dozing,
and we motioned them to be quiet:
“Oh, that Francisco has come back!
He is coming up from the beach, and he
acts awful queer! He swore at us, he
did!”
“What! the guide!” said Mrs. Bart
lett. “Girls, he must bo drunk or crazy!
What shall we do? Oh! what shall we
do? Poor Will can’t protect us!”
“And he masn’t be disturbed, either,”
said Helen Graham, decidedly. “We’ll
have to settle with Francisco ourselves.
He does look crazy or drunk,” going to
the door and looking out at the rolling,
swaggering figure coming up the pebbly
path.
It was quite evident that lie was drunk
—unfortunately not enough to make him
clumsy and helpless, but enough to be
ugly and reckless. - His boldness showed
that l\e kn£lC''we, were without a de
fender.'
Helen Graham stepped outside the
door, one hand hanging down in the
folds of her gown. Her face wa3 white,
but otherwise she seemed calm.
“What do you want, Francisco?” she
called out, in steady tones.
Ho swore like a pirate as he answered:
“Now, look here, girl, you needn’t put
on any airs! There ain't no one but that
crippled dandy in there! I’ve come to
have my just dues. The boss, Loring,
wouldn’t allow mo any whisky, and sa
I went off and helped myself. Now, I’ve
come back to settle up! You women
have got to fork over what money and
valyablos you’ve gotl” and with that the
ugly brute drew a step nearer.
I never knew Helen Graham’s eyes
could flash so. “Stand back!” she cried.
She raised her right hands from the folds
of her gown, and I caught a steely gleam.
It was Will’s r.-volver 1
Francisco didn’t relish that little shin
ing weapon being pointed at him, and
he cringed down like a whipped cur.
“Now,” continued Helen, “you go and
sit down under that tree 1”
“Oh, I’ll leave now—I won’t trouble
you any more,” he mumbled.
“Do*a31 tellyoa—sit down 1” said she,
sharp and stern, and sit down lie did;
and then she mounted guard over him,
the pistol still in her hand. Wo begged
her to let him go.
“No,” said she; “I can't trust him out
of our sight! lie’s mean enough to do
almost anything! He’s got to stay
hero until the men come and he can be
placed under the arm of the law.”
So watch him she did all that lon^
ternoon. It was dreary waiting. Not
until the silver sheen of the lake gr<
purple with the long mountain shade'
did help come. Then, far down tho
lake, came a cheery “Yo—o—deli” and
two boats swept around the curve.
Tracy, Max. Farmer Giles and a trusty
guide were in them. And scarcely had
all our excited explanations been giveh,
when, what do you suppose?—that Gra
ham girl fainted away us white and limp
a3 any ordinary woman! There was a
good deal in the expression of Tracy’s
face as he caught her in his arms, and
Cara and I felt that our chances were
small—a man never looks like that unless
he is holding the woman he wants for his
wife I
Well, to return to the prose part: we
somehow got back to civili ation again.
Pcor Will was placed in the doctor's
care, and the poetical but erratic Fran,
cisco was handed over to the tender mer-
of the. constable. As for our-elves
—dear me! what with stones, mud,
i rs and underbrush, worms, snakes
d mosquitoes, to say nothing of tipsy
guides and plucky governesses—wc,
Cara and I, as I said before, never want
to camp out again 1—Frank Leslie’*.
heir of one of the richest and most aris
tocratic families, donned a big towel for
an apron, and went oat to obey her com
mands.
Then how she flew around I I rather
Around all the land are the waters of
the great ocean, from which soft winds
temper the heat of an almost tropic sun.
Living in such scenes of'enchantment
those people are as light of heart and
sunny in disposition as children, and so
polite and pleasure loving as to excite
the admiration of even tlieir French and
Italian visitors. There is no dwelling so
humble b it it has a spot for trees and
flowers. The rich have gardens in which
are faithful reproductions in niinia urc
of their varied landscapes, hidden in
trees and flowering shrubbery. Every
farmer’s plot of land is beautiful and
adorned. The gold of the ripened rice
and wheat is contrasted against a back
ground of green foliage. \V hatever name
may be given to the religion of that peo
ple, and whatever creeds and doctrines
may have been engrafted upon their be
liefs, the main feature of their worship
is an intense love, amounting almost to
an adoration, of naturo. Tnis appears
in their whole life. Th?y have built
their temples ou the sides of the great
mountains, embowered them in over
hanging groves, and surrounded them
with everything of flowering shiub. The
sites of these command beautiful views
of the surrounding country, and usually
are near fountains aud waterfalls. Tho
village shrines arc located in the most
charming spots of the neighborhood,
and no labor is spared to adorn and beau
tify them. The highways are bordered
by rows of trees, planted centuries ago,
whose branches form an evergreen arch
over the head of the traveler. The road
to Nikko, where the temples and tombs
of the Tycoons are situated, lias a grand
avenue of giant firs. For sixty miles
one may ride in tho shade of these wide-
branching trees. From Yokohama south
to Kioto, the old capital, 400 miles, the
road is one continuously shaded avenue,
winding along the ocean shore, around
narrow bays ancl inlets and over high
hills and. mountain sides.
Unlike their neighbors, the Chinese,
the Japanese take time from their toil
to enjoy all this. Their government may
have been despotic and arbitrary, but it
never overworked its laboring popula
tion. It gave them more holidays than
any people under the tun ever enjoyed.
They had what were known as the
‘qcjjji-roku” days, that is, all the days in
tb^/lunar months that were designated
by one or six. Thus the 1st, litb, lfith,
liith, 21st and 2*ith days of each month
were legal holidays. In addition to
these, the birthdays of the ruling Em-r
peror and Empress, aud also of several
of the greatest of their predecessors of
the ruling dynasty, which reaches back
through 2,000 years, are holiday;
village has festivals in honor of its patron
saint, and the saints of the famous
pics and shrines have festal days,
all these the people, in their holiday
dresses, gather at the temples and shrines
for thanksgiving and to admire the
beauties of earth and sky. Whole neigh
borhoods turn out their population,
leaving only enough people at home to
care for the households, and go some
times hundreds of miles, on what may
appropriately bo called these religious
picnics. They walk along the shaded
avenues, talking, laughing and singing.
They rest when weary from walking in
the shade of the great trees by some
clear stream, or some bubbling soring.
All these great highways are lined with
tea booths, where, tea, rice, eggs or cakes
can bo had for an incomparably low
price.
The spring ancl simmer bring the
flower festivals, when city ancl village
streets for miles are filled with the most
beautiful floral exhibitions, aud crowds
of admiring people. There is uo more
beautiful sight than one of the long
wide streets lighted at night and filled
with flowers. The love of the beautiful
has led the .Japanese to forego the grosser
pleasure of c Fng the fruit of the cherry
tree in order that they may en joy the
beauty and fragrance of the cherry blos
soms. There are large groves of the
double-flowered cherry tree* in all parts i
cf the country, which grow to enormous j
size. The flower '
and when
than is observable elsewhere in years.
Japnnesc ideal art is only a repro
duction of the beauties of nature. The
artist puts mountains, valleys, waterfalls,
lakes, trees, flowers and birds on porce
lain, paper, silk, satin and lacquer, but
beyond this field of decoration he has no
fancy. These arc some of the character
istics of the Island Empire and its peo
ple, but it must not bo inferred that
these finer traits of character mean
effeminacy, for they do not. These peo
ple are brave and daring, as all those
who were reared among mountains have
been in all ages. They have proved
their title to bravery on many a bloody
field. In spite of time con-timed in
pilgrimages and in worshiping nature,
they are industrious workers. They have
built up manufactures, c-tablishcd trade
and commerce, and developed a system
of agriculture that is more thorough and
brings better results than that of many
of their neighbors.—San Francisco Chron-
light
Ids.
Al&antco and Its People.
Ashantcc, a new kingdom on the Gold
Coast, has given tho British no little
trouble, and may give them a good deal
more. It is mountainous, well watered
and healthful, except in the lower dis
tricts, aud has a population of about
1,500,000, one-fifth of whom are war
riors. The beginning of the kingdom is
obscure; but traditions say that it wai
occupied several centuries ago by immi
grants lrom a region north of the King
Mountains, caused, probably, by the
spread of tho Mohammedan Empire to
Timbuctoo. The first known of it in
Europe was in 1700, when Coomassio
was made the capital by Osai Tootoo I.,
who, having overcome various separate
states, was established as a kind of
feudal prince over a large district. In
their course of conquest over the Fantces
the Ashantees followed them even to the
large seaport towns, aud butchered tlu m
by thousands. The British sided with
the weaker party, when the savage foe
attacked the foit of Auamboc, and
would have slaughtered the garrison
had not the British Governor displayed
a flag of truce. Hostilities lasted,
with some interruptions, from 1807 to
1820 when the Ashantees were finally
driven from the iea coast. Some four
teen years ago the British were involved
in another war with their old enemy.
Then an army under Sir G’aruet Wolseley
penetrated to the heart of the Kingdom,
burned Coomassie and returned safely to
the coast. Notwithstanding their re
verses and losses, tho Ashantees are still
belligerent and powerful, and enjoy
much prosperity as any negro nation in
western Africa. They are very barbar
ous and bloodthirsty; but their abund
ant gold, extent of territory and success
ful campaigns have yielded them pres
tige and prominence. They have no
military knowledge, but depend upon
their savage bravery and overwhelming
numbers, including many j laves, which
the chiefs can put in the field. The
King is < ommandcr-in-ckief, and often
leads his host in person. As an instance
of their desperate courage, many of them,
after defeat by the British, were so mor
tified and so fearful of degradation that
they coolly sat down on kegs of gun
powder and blew themselves into the air,
in presence of the hostile camp. The
government of those negroes is an abso
lute despotism, the King exercising com
plete control over the lives and property
of his subjects. He has spies every
where, and the slightest act or word of
disaffection is at once reported, and the
rebel is put to death. lie is the great
property owner; he levies a tax of twenty
per cent, on all manufactured gold and
all gold taken from the mines, so that be
is the richest individual in Africa.
Slavery prevails extensively, the chiefs
often holding 1,C00 slaves each; these
beings are for the most part pagan n<
groes, captured in war by Mobamnn
dans, brought from the interior and sold
„ .. too,” continued tho
roadmnstcr, “that tho life of a tio de
pends much on the ballust in which tho
timber is imbedded. I have had ties re
sound for fifteen years iu cinder and
rock ballast. They hist a long time a‘so
iu gravel—as long as ten years'. In ordi
nary earth ballast they become worthless
after seven years of service.”
“How many ties docs it take for one
Lie of road, .Mr. Bonoghue?”
“Twenty-six hundred. We watch tho
road closely, and as the old ones become-
useless we take them out and put in the
We do not commence on n mile
k or a section of track and put in
tics, beginning at one end, but our aim
is to keep up a uniform soundness from
one end of thejx^dTo thetothcr. 8ome
roads adopt of skipping ties in
spiking the ^J^oYluiu, but I lind this
impracticable and ctmgerous. Every tie
should be spiked*on both sides of the
rail. Old tics arc taken possession offl'y
the section men, who convert them into
firewood.
“Tics arc hauled to us frequently from
a distance of fifteen miles from the track,
eight to ten ties being an average load.
“Tics are just a-* much of a com
modity almost as wheat or corn. There
are icw general merchandise dealers
along the line who do not trade for tic*,
and t hey all make a good profit. In the
first place they have a profit on their
goods and will sell a tic for an advance
of at least live cents on what they paid
for it in trade. We are now loading and
shipping away almost as fast as we re
ceive them.”
Among other facts concerning the sub
ject of this article it was ‘ learned that
there are several heavy traders along the
Illinois Central and Ohio & Mississippi
Railroads and that the sketch would be
incomplete did wc omit a sketch of the
boss tie merchant of the West v This in
dividual, known ns Tom Finty, resides
at Xenia, 111., and is the richest man in
all Clay County. Finty came over from
Ireland some years ago aud engaged as
a section-hand on the Ohio & Mississippi
Road. Gradually he began to speculate
and gather up various articles, such as
tallow, cordwood, tics, etc., which he
disposed of to the road. He prospered
and branched out, starting a store in
Xenia, which he stocked'with job lots-
bought at low figures. He owus land along
the line and turns out an immense num
ber of tie3 in a day. To-day he has per
haps a hundred hands making tics, for
which he pays eleven cents each. He
uow has a contract for lOO.Oot), which
he ships North as fast as they can he
loaded. He is said to be worth at least
quarter of a million, and the Ohio &
Mississippi Road, it is said, frequently
owes him $25,000 atone time, lie lives
in a frame house all by liiinself. but
takes his meals with his brother, who
lives near by. The visitors at Xenia who
see him on the street would not distin
guish him from an ordinary day laborer.
On account of the extensive
trestles in bridging over low places by
railroads the pile business has also grown
in great proportioi
These arc cut from
logs, * barked and hauled to the
track. They are generally about c : gh-
tcen inches through, thirty feet long, and
one of them delivered on the car cost*
$8.79. The tics on this sort of structure
arc all sawed, and co3t $14 per 1,000
feet. Tic and pile makers make but
little money—au expert chopper cannot
get out more than filteen ties in a day.
He gets eleven cents each for these. £
that he would make only $1.05 per day,
and it is tho tic-trader, not the maker,
who coins the money, as seen in the case
of Tom Finty.—New York Tribune.
Japanese Pilgrimages.
In the villages, which are almost con
tinuou* along the roal-s, there aro nu
merous hotels where the plea-uic-seck-
ing pilgrims get their dusty feet bathed
i on arrival, a bath before retiring, two
by Mobamme- , mealg and a bed for tcn or fifteen cent*
mor ana soul f cacb 1)Crs0 ii. Forty miles east of
is a favorite j «« n.« *
7 here is a woman in Camden, Ohio,
from whese body, at different points,
there have been 'taken gold bars, or.
rather, needles. These pieces have varied
in length, from a half inch to four or
five inches, and are in thickness a little
larger than a darning needle. The only
solution offered is that in early years she
swallowed a gold coin, or piece of gold,
which, by some action of the gastric
juices of the stomach, was dissolved and
circulated through the system, then, by
some action of the blood, 'precipitated'.
of color, and almost every size of blos-
The summer sees streams of people,
the poor as well as the rich, going lo
gaze at Fujiama, the pearl of mountains.
No person is so poor and no di-stance so
great but several pilgrimages are made
lifetime to the venerated mountain.
In the autumn, when the golden rice and
wheat, and the brown millet "have been
gathered, the harvest festival is held
in eve.y part of tho country. There
in the groves, on soft green carpets
spread by nature, under the full harvest
nfoon, they make merry, night after
night, with song and dance. At these
harvest festivals all classes, from prince
to peasant, rejoice together over the
ample winter’s store. It is not only
in this intense worship of nature
that the beauty of their country has
molded and influenced their natural
character. It is seen in their domestic
intercourse. In all the conventionalities
of polite life they are far In advance of
any people in the Occident. This refined
politeness pervades every grade of so
ciety. It is just as noticeable among the
lower as in the higher classes. To be
rude in word or act is to become a social
outcast. The poorest workers, when
A Pretty Experiment
With so simple an article as a red cab
bage, a very old but pretty little chemi
cal experiment may bo made by the
young people, with the result of amus
ing and astonishing those around them.
The effc ts may be strikingly shown in
this manner: Cut three leaves of the
cabbage into small pieces, and after
E lacing them in a basin pour a pint of
oiling water over them, letting them
stand an hour; then pour off tho liqnid
into a decanter. It will be of a fine blue
color. Then take four wineglasses—
into one put six drops of strong vinegar;
into another six drops of solution of
soda; into a third the same quantity of
strong solution of alum; and let the
fourth glass remain empty. Fill up the
glasses from the decanter, and the liquid
poured into the glass containing the acid
•will quickly change to a beautiful red;
that poured with the soda will be a fine
green, and that poured into the empty
gloss will remain unchanged.
tral mountain
^ there
planted £00 years
int'j bondage. Polygamy is :i lavomo j Yeda0 arc ' tho t ,. ra ,,, e3 sarrita, situ-
mstituUon a maos importunes being ; „ tcd> a pictllrca;a0 sp , lr of tiiogrc.it
rnted by tho number of his wives. The ,-t.i —„„„„ The mad lead-
^ King is limited, poor fellow, to 3,333,
full bloom the-e groves are j who occupy two entire streets and arc
rl of b?auty, and are visited by ( rigorously secluded from everybody save
thousands of people, who spend the the sovereign and his feminine relatives,
whole day in tfiese flowery avenues. The T > look on one of them, even acciden-
chrysanthemum gardens, to be found in ! tail}’, is a capital offence. Adultery i3
all ton us and' villages, are points of ; punished by a fine, and retaliation of
great attraction. In these are to be seen any violent kind on the part of the hus-
every variety of that flower, every shade baud is thought mean and degrading.
The Ashantees seem to delight in shea
ding blood, and human sacrifice is a
part of their religious ceremony —Com
mercial Advertiser.
The road lead-
avenue of trees
__ ^ _ o __ It runs through
green, fertiic fields with the Bay of
Ycddo, dotted with countless white sails-
on the erne hand, and great mountains on
the otheR^During hal: the year this broad
road is lined with parties ot pilgrims on
their way to or from the-e temples.
Every mile or two has its village of ho-
t-ls for the entertainment of these peo
ple Some of these caravansaries ac
commodate COO guests. The number of
people visiting these shrines annually
will reach more than 100,000. In the
spring, when the rice has been planted,
the national rice festival takes place.
This festival continues for six days. The
neoolc uo out into the fields, into the
vallevs, (— — *-
_ to the terraced hill and
mountain sides to the shrines of the pa
tron saint of agriculture, and there give
thanks for the sun and rain that have
given such promise of an abundant har
vest. At night'every town is brilliantly
lighted, and rejoicing with music andl
dancing is heard till long into the night.
—San Francisco Chronicle.
Not Easily Lifted.
Oh. Farmer Jones is a man of strength;
At lifting great weights he ell other folks
knocks; '
Throughont this great world’s breadth and
length
He’s known as “the man with the strength
of an ox!”
Iron to him is 1 ke the snow's drift:
If you wrestle with him you will come to
h»nn;
thing he hasn’t the strength to lift
Bnt i
-‘iik&iii
'