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A Long Trip for a Fish.
A member of Cambridge Univer
sity has just returned to England
after a trip of more than 2,000 miles
into the interior of Africa, all for the
sake of finding and studying one
particular fish.
To make a journey of this kind
for a more fish may seem quixotical,
but was caused by sound scientific
reasoning, for the fish in question is f
one of the most wonderful living,
forms in the world.
It is the Polypterus, known by the
African natives as the Bischir.
The Polypterue is a big pike-like
fish, being three and more feet long
when he is fully grown. He is cov
ered with an armor of scales so hard
that it is quite impossible to pierce
it with even the sharpest knife, and
the natives never try to take the
Beales off the Bischir until after they
have boiled him.
But the armor of the fish, ourious
as it is, is not the great peculiarity
which has incited the eager scient
ists to hunt for the Polypterus, or
Bisohir, although oho armor gives
BOme hint as to the realinterest that
the fish has for the world to-day.
Armored fishes like this one are
survivals of the long past ages when
the world was different in every way
from what.it is now* The £olypte-
ruH, like our own oornmon sturgeon
and mud fish or dog fish of western
waters, are all direct survivors of an
epoch when vast aud nightmaredike
monBterB roamed and sWatn ahd flew
through the air. Their direct an
cestors saw the lizard bird and the
flying amphibians and the Bea-Ber-
'pents of millions of years ago.
Of these monsters all have vanish
ed except the armored fishes.
Now of all the armored fieheb the
Polypterus is most interesting,' not
because he is armored, but because
travelers have found him again and
again buried an hot, dry, sflu-baked
mud in hottest Africa, Using with
apparently as mnoh comfort as if he
were splashing in cool water.
This is because the Polypterus
has a lung, or the beginning of a
lung. And the significance of this
is that iu the course of evolution all
the fishes retained their gills with
just a few exceptions like his. And
the disCoVeries of fossil forms mil
lions of years old sho w that the fish
that did develop luhg;k may have
been the very earliest ancestors of
the land animals that we know now.
So, the Polypterus, as the most
striking of fchejlufig-breathiiig, land-
hibernating fish, is worth a 2,000-
mile trip because lie may have been
the first creature to have a lung—
indeed, he may have been an ances
tor of man.—Ex.
• (
No Hope There.
While Jack Smith .was walking
home late the other night he notic
ed that other footsteps were follow
ing him, says Answers.
“Great Scott!” he muttered.
“Those three chaps behind me are
hooligans fa* certain! If it ooraes
to a fight I shan’t have- a ghost of
a chance! But must it come to that!
Let me tbinkl”
An instant’s consideration, and
the plan was formed. He put a
pencil behind his ear, pulled out his
notebook and turned abput.
“Excuse me,” he said, “biff can
either of you gentlemen point the
out the house where the daring bur
glary took pi (ice a few hours ago?”
The hooligaus stopped in astound
ed silence.
“Orikeyl”, said one of them;
“What a set of fools we’ve been to
waste our time! What’s the good
of thinkin’ we could get anything
out of an anything but blessed jour
nalist?" '
M
Working Night and Day.
• The busiest and mightiest Tittle
thing that ever was made is Dr.
King’s New Life Pills. These pills
change weakness into strength, list
lessness., into. energy, brain-fag into
mental power. They’re wonderful
in building up the health. Only 25c
per box at Holtzciaw’s Drugstore. •
Mineral wool, whioh is used for
packing around boilers, furnaces and
pipes to retain heat, to deaden walls
and to keep out cold, is made from
furnace slag by blowing air through
i b while molten.
For a lazy liver try Chamber
lain’s Stomach and Liver Tablets.
They invigorate the liver, aid the
digestion, regulate the bowels aud
prevent bilious attacks. For sale
all druggists.
Twain’s Roast Chickens.
Recently Major John B. Downing
of Middleport, Ohio, was discussing
army chicken stealing and the vari
ous ways the boys had of preparing
them to be served, says the Phila
delphia Ledger. The major was a
Mississippi river pilot in his young
days, ami stood "at the wheel as a
cub under, the watchful eye of
“Sam” Clemens, the Mark Twain of
the present day.
"Speaking of chicken stealing,”
skid the major, who is now gray and
reminiscent, “we had great times on
the Mississippi when Mark Twain,
Jake Estep and myself were togeth
er. Jake would have, made a typical
soldier. Hfe' eould locate a fat pul
let in a whole coop of half-breeds.
“In those days we carried a great
deal of poultry from points along
the Mississippi river to New Or
leans, particularly during the holi
day season., At many places the
coops werb four and five days on the
levee when we landed. Estep always
had an eye out for. a particularly
promising coop, and usually kept in
mind the place where it had been
stored away.
“Shortly before midnight he would
go on deck and extraot several plump
fowls from the coop he had ‘pre
empted.’ The chickens were dis
patched without a protesting
squawk, the enffailB removed, but
tne feathers leftlntaol. Seasonings
Were then inserted and the fowls in
closed in a heavy casing of Boft clay
to the thickness of two inches. They
were then oast atpong 'the hot em
bers in the ash pan and permitted to
roaBt to the queen’s taste. When
thoroughly cooked they were remov
ed and the clay casing broken from
about them. The feathers came
away with the clay, leaving olean,
Bmoldng hot fowls ready for the
dish of hot butter awaiting them
upstairs. Estep with a fork stripped
the flesh from the bones into the
melted butter, while the rest of us
stood about and smacked our lips in
anticipation. Dear, dear, but they
Were good! In cooking them m
that way all the rich flavors were re
tained—I can 'almost taste them
now, and I wish I could as a matter
of fact.”
Hotel for Six Thousand Quests.
The largest hotel ever erected for
an exposition, will be within the
Wot’ld’8 Fair grounds at St. Louis.
A contract has been signed for the
construction of this mammoth build
ing, the rates in whioh will be con
trolled by the Exposition. Rooms
will be divided into four olasses, ac
cording to size, not Icbs than 500
rooms to each class, The rates will
be, on the European plan, for each
person, $1.00, $1.60, $2.00, $4.00
and ,$5.00 per .day. The latter prices
will command very large rooms with
baths. Meals will be seyved to such
of the guests as desire them at the
following prices: Breakfast afid noon
lunokeon, 50 cents eaoh; evening din
ner, 75 cents. The hotel manage
ment will collect from each jguest 60
cents extra each day to cover the
price of admission to the Exposition
grounds. The hptel will be made
larger than now contemplated if the
advanoe booking of guests shall war
rant.
♦ According* toi'the London Local
Government Board’s report, the
people of that city pay £30,000 a
year for the water which is added
to jkhe milk. The rate of adultera
tion for London was 15.2, as
againstt 10,3; in .the twenty next
largest townB ot England and Wales
and 9.5 in the .rest of the country.
Tiie milk received into Lonnon, says
me Dairy Trade and Can Protec
tion Society, is approximately 144,-
000 imperial gallons.
.... - 1 —
Brutally Tortured.
, A oase came to light that for
persistent and unmeroiful torture
has perhaps never been equaled.
Joe Golobickof Colusa,' Gal, writes
“For 15 years I endured insuffer
able pain from Rheumatism and
nothing relieved me though I tried
everything known. I came across
Eleotrio Bitters and it’s the great
est medicine on earth for that
trouble. A few bottles of it com
pletely relieved and Cured me.”
Just as good for liver and kidney
troubles- and general debility." Sat
isfaction guaranteed. Only 50c at
Holtzclaw’s Drugstore.
Austria will participate officially
in the World’s Fair, A representa
tive will be appointed shortly.
Predicting Democratic Victory.
Atlanta Constitution.
Ex-Governor Robert E. Pattison,
of Pennsylvania, got on his feet in
an Alleghany democratic meeting
last Wednesday and made a speech
that set the crowd on fire with en
thusiasm. He declared that there
is no reason in the present Btatus of
national politics to cause the demo
crats to be discouraged. On the
contrary, he thinks the republican
party is close to shoal waters and it
will take almost a political miracle
to keep them from stranding on a
lee shore.
The self-confidence of the repub
licans has been overstrained. Taking
advantage of that fact, a system of
graft has been inaugurated and the
postal scandals are the first irrup
tion of the trouble that has taken
hold of the whole organism. Other
departments are showing signs of
boils on tbeir bodies and investiga
tion is now the order of 'the day in
Washington.
Therefore, as the stalwart Penn
sylvania governor sees it, the great
slogan of 1904 is likely to be the
old war-cry: “Turn the rascals outl”
The people, he thinks, want a house
cleaning and do not like the presi
dent’s way of going about it. The
need for an overhauling of books
and methods of administration once
engrafted on the public mind and
conscience 1b likely to override all
sentimentalism and lead to a demo
cratic victory, which iB the only true
way to get-a thorough lime-light on
conditions and cause the enforced
hegira of the grafters.
This is a cheerful and plausible
view of the situation and we are not
sure that Mr. Pattison is not right
in his predictions.
The Lingering Department.
“A large and overwhelmingly
dressed colored woman came in
here yesterday,” said the floorwalk
er, according to the Washington
Post. “She was evidently a stran
ger in the store, but the world was
herB, aud she felt at home anywhere.
She sailed up to me with <a rustle of
nearsilk that you could have heard
in Alexandria.
“ ‘I want to go to the lingering
department,’ said she. I hesitated
till she had repeated her remark,
then I said:
“ ‘Oh, yes; you’ll find the waiting
room at the head of the stairs, over
there.’
“ ‘I don’t want the waiting room.
I wants the lingering department,’
she said.
“Then it dawned upon me what
she wanted, and I sent her three
aisles over and tvvo floors up to the
place where 6 things made of white
muslin and lace and babe ribbon are
sold. And considering the -length
bf time that the average Bhopper
spends over the choice of a garment
up there, I thought ‘lingering’ was
just as appropriate a word as ‘lin
gerie.’ ” ,
The Central! off Georgia Mway
In a few hours you can be on the shores of the Atlantic, listening
to the roar of the surf, drinking in the wine-like air, bathing, boating,
fishing and dancing, and mingling with a gay throng of charming,
good-natured people; the bluest of blue skies above you.
A maximum of pleasure at a minimum of cost.
For full information, rates, schedules, etc., ask your nearest
Ticket Agent.
LOW-RATE EXCURSION TICKETS
W. A. WINBURN, J. C. HAILE, F. J. ROBINSON,
Vice-Pres. and Traffic Mgr. Gen'l Pass'r Agent. Ass’t Gen'l Pass'r Agent.
/eSP? 1
What is described in a Texas pa
per as “a good, green bug” has
made its appearance in the cotton
fields, of that, state and is eating the
boll weevils. The new bug does not
attack the cotton plant, it is said.
Possibly it doesn’t now, but what
will it eat after the weevils have
been' destroyed? Maybe it would
be well enough to wait for develop
ments before diluting on the green
bug’s goodbess.-—Exchange.
—I — ' "■ *■ ■ •:—•
—One of the largest families in
St. Louis, Mo.,, that off Arthur W.
Becker', is joyously celebrating the
birth of a baby girl. , This' is the
first time niff 140 years- that a girl
has been born in the fa'inily. The
grandfather, J. Becker, had five
boyB, and the father, Jacob Becker,
had four male heirs. The father of
Jacob Becker .had no sisters and no
daughters, and none of his sons had
any daughters.
— ^—
The statement that one battleship
costs more than thej value of the
ninety-four buildings of Harvard
University has been questioned, but
the official reports state that the
Oregon, which is the most expensive
battleship in the United States na
vy, cost $6,575,032.76. The valua
tion of all the buildings and land of
Harvard University is $5,300,000,
WANTED—SEVERAL INDUSTRIOUS PER
SONS in each state to travel for bouse estab-
lisoed eleven years and with a large capital, to
call on merchants and agents for successful-
and profitable-line. Permanent engagement.
Weekly cash salary of $18 and all traveling ex
penses, and hotel bills adyaheed ib cash each
week- Experience not essential. Mention refer
ence and enclose self-addressed envelope. to30
THE NATIONAL, 331 Dearborn St., Chicago.
SOUTHERN NURSERY COMPANY
(INCORPORATED.)
TENNESSEE.
WINCHESTER,
Offers to Planters 1,000,000 Peach Trees, 500.000 Apple Trees,
Grape Vines, Pecan Trees, Ornamental Trees, in fact,
everything grown by first-class Nurserymen,
absolutely free from any disease.
TREES THAT GROW AID HEM ifjUIT
AT E1VE AND LET ElVE PRICES.
AGENTS WAITED. Write to
1
Special
Bought
and Sold
to out of town customers
^on our Circulating Library
Picture Frames made to order
in best manner at lowest.prices.
McEvoy Book . & Stationery Co.,
572 Cherry Street, 1 MACON, GA
. The Best Spring' and Suiansney
• Medicdjrae fos* Balbies CSS. CBildren.
Spring and Summer bring grave dangers to babies and children.
Thousands of little ones die of boweltroubles brought on by eating
unripe fruits, vegetables, etc. Serious results often follow a slight
derarigemenfof the digestive organs, llaby Ease is the safest, most
effective ond best medicine for all stomach and bowel troubles of
babies and children. Pleasant in taste—children like at.
25 CENT® FOR. LARGE BOTTLE
If, your druggist hasn’t it, write to the manufacturer,
T. P. MARSHALL, MACON, GA.
Ask about the F(REE GOLD (RING offer.
>
Makes biliousness & bad complexions.
Then where’s your beauty? Keep the
system in good condition by taking
BIS
flVER.
and Tonic Pellets which gently assist i
‘ Nature in eliminating the poison, make good
k blood, good digestion, and will keep the 1
^ Roses in Your CKeeKs. ^
Complete Treatment 25c.
at all
H
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i» Pptee and