Newspaper Page Text
Caught in an Ice-Floe
By WILLIAM A STIMPSON. ok
! The sun that winter afternoon was
quite warm, but the north wind,
blowing down the ice laden river, cut
flike a knife. Philip Ross, captain of
ihe barge Bessie, standing in the
jbow of his clumsy craft directing a
Bang of men unloading the stones
ywhich comprised the cargo, shivered
as the strong blasts rushed by, and
drawing his heavy overcoat closer
;about him, took refuge behind the
supporting mast of the derrick where
lhis body was not so much exposed.
| Quitting time arrived before all the
stone had been raised and landed, and
LCaptain Ross blew his whistle as a
Figual that work was over for the
day. The teamster unhooked the
horses from the derrick tackle; the
laborers gathered up coats and din-
ADer pails, and in an incredibly short
time they were lost to sight down one
©of the city’s streets. The two mem
bers of the crew and the cook had
been granted permission to spend
the evening on shore and left at the
same time.
! When all had gone, Philip walked
to the stern of the barge and stood
dooking out over the water. The tide
jwas ebbing, and the blocks of ice in
Ifl:he stream were being borne along
toward the bay in heaving masses.
yThe river, with its shipping, its mis-
Scellaneous cargoes and the sugges
ions of new and strange places the
;ight of incoming and outgoing ves-
Sels were always bringing before his
‘l;nind, was dear to the young man,
i nd he longed for the day when the
,:firm by whom he was employed would
isend him to sea on one of their ocean
lgoing steamers. ’
P One large cake of ice directly op-
Mosite him attracted his attention.
He folloWed it with his eyes as it
jwent tumbling along on its way to
jthe sea, and wondered how long a
itime would elapse before the action
©of the salt water would melt it.
¢ All at once the entire flow seemed
{fto pause in its onward progress. At
&he same time the deck on which he
tood began to rock like a vessel in
otion. The sensation awoke him
rom his reverie, and glancing hur
iedly over his shoulder, Philip saw
fthat the bow of the barge was swing
an about, for the bowline, a thick,
heavy hawser which held the for
[:ward part of the craft to the dock,
had parted, leaving only the lighter
ine at the stern to keep the barge
r;rom drifting away from her moor-
Jlngs entirely. L ,
{ Instantly Ross saw that another
flgg would have to be @a&hore to
tal'e the place of the broken hawser,
nd at once, or the barge would be
adrift. The distance between the
barge and the dock was too great to
leap, so throwing the loop in the end
f a line over a bitt head he dropped
the coil of rope into the bottom of
the dory fastened to the river side
f the larger craft, Cutting the boat
loose he picked up the oars and be
an to pull rapidly, following out a
plan he had formulated almost as
oon as he perceived that the bow
ine had parted. This was to pass
laround the bow of the barge, reach
he dock, fasten the other end of the
Tope to the snubbing post, and thus
hold the unwieldly hulk until he
lcould get a tug to tow the barge
}'back_to her position.
There were at his disposal only a
fstew seconds for the accomplishment
of hig object, and Philip bent to his
ftask and sent the dory out in the
river with strong, swift strokes. Then
turning the boat’s head up stream
and shoreward, he put forth all his
strength and skill in his efforts to
make the dock before the barge had
floated the rope’s length down the
stream,
! But, riverman though he was,
Philip had failed to consider the dif
ficulties of his task. No sooner was
[rthe dory well out from under the lee
©f the barge than the floating ice‘
struck it, effectually stopping its pro
igress, One huge cake caught the‘
:small boat in its embrace, and while
IPhilip was working around the block
ithe tide was carryinz the ice and
/boat down the stream.
By the time he had succeeded in
'getting cleat of the cake he was so
'far below the barge that it was use
!‘less to try and gain the dock in time
ito snub her, and Philip realized that
lhis efforts were to end in failure.
The unwieldly craft had swung
iaround and floated down siream as
far as the stern line would allow.
i,This hawser held her, much to Phil
ip’s surprise, but he felt certain the
rope would not stand the strain long.
+ The captain swept the river with
his eyes in search of a tug to tow
the barge back, but while there was
many vessels in sight, they were all
&oo far away for him to signal. Then,
too late, he thought of his plight and
that he was being borne down the riv
er toward the bay with a tide against
which it was not easy to pull. How
ever, he had no reason to doubt his
ability to regain the bank, and bend
ing to the oars again, pulled his best.
{ Blowly the boat began forging
ahead against the tide, and pointing
the bow toward the spot where he
wished to land, Philip settled him
self on his seat for some hard work.
' The warm sun earlier in the day
had loosened great quantities of ice
in the upper branches of the river,
and it was being carried down the
stream in mighty floes, some of which
extended all thé way across and were
particularly thick between the boat
and the bank. Philip had not pulled
two minutes before he found himself
surrounded by masses of floating ice
that offered such resistance that his
strokes were of no avail.
Provoked at his failure he turned
the dory towards the middle of the
stream where he thought the ice
might not be so thick, but it was
growing dark and he could not see
’ very well. Too late hg found that in
‘stead of bettering his position he had
gotten into a floe of larger propor
tions than the one which had first
held him. Somewhat alarmed at this
discovery he wheeled the dory about
and sought to pull shoreward again,
but the ice was getting thicker every
minute and he could make no head
way in that direction either.
The masses of 'floating ice were
larger and more formidable than they
had seemed to Philip from the deck
of the barge, and buffeted about by
the wind and current, were thrown
against the sides of the frail craft
with dangerous force. While using
the oars to ward off the larger cakes
that came toward him, he tried at the
same time to work the boat forward
in first one direction, then another,
but fifteen minutes of this course
demonstrated its futility. Reluctant
ly he gave up all hope of regaining
the barge and directed his energies
in efforts to steer clear of and push
aside the largest of the tumbling
cakes, husbanding his strength for a
time of need. 2y
The floe that held his boat swept
along in about the centre of the
channel and was avoided by the
smaller craft plying up and down or
across the river, while the pilots of
ferryboats that came close enough
for the young captain to hail did not
seem to think his danger sufficiently
great to warrant their stopping in
midstream and taking him aboard.
"~ The floe with which his boat was
floating soon approached the lower
end of the city where the water was
more frequently churmed by vessels,
A TOAST TO ARCHIBALD DERINGER.
P —EOOD—O— :
Here is a toast given by the toastmaster at a dinner
in honor of Archibald Deringer, which is eminently suited
for any other occasion in honor of a good fellow like
Artie:
“The spirit of Mirth presided at his birth. Wit
was his godfather, Humor his godmother, and they
christened him favorite son of Laughter. He is the hope
of the optimist, the despair of the pessimist, the destroyer
of woe, the purveyor of smiles, the custodian of cheerful
ness. He fosters fun and promotes pleasure. He has a
mortgage on amiability, he is the majority stockholder
in the sunshine trust, his eye is a beacon of gaiety, his
face is a map of drollery, his mind is a mirror of merri
ment, his heart is the haunt of happiness. Here’s to
our friend Artie Deringer.”
and PLilip began to entertain hopes
of speedy rescue. But he was doom
ed to disappointment. Each vessel
that came anywhere near his boat
sent ugly weves toward him, and
these threw the cakes of ice about so
that several times he fully expected
the planking of his frail craft to be
crushed. All his attention was re
quired to keep the dory from being
struck a fatal blow, and he had little
opportunity to signal his plight,
Passed by again and again, Philip
grew disheartened after two or three
such experiences, and was about to
sink down on a seat in sheer despair
when ke saw right ahead of him the
lights of a vessel anchored in the riv
er. The ice was bearing down upon
the stationary hulk, and hope rose
high in his heart when a turn in the
current caused the floe to veer, and
he passed by so far away that his
shouts were not heard by any one on
board.
Then a little further on a ferryboat,
loaded with passengers bound for the
suburbs on the opposite side of the
river, plowed through the ice not fifty
feet ahead of him, but the pilot’s at
tention was on a tug and its tow
crossing his quarter, and he did not
see the small boat and its occupant
frautically waving his overcozt. The
passage of the big ferrybcat disturbed
the water so much that the blocks
of ice were thrown about more rough
ly than ever. One huge cake fell di
rectly across the bow of the small
boat, and for a few seconds Philip
thought the dory was going down
then and there. But the block slid
off into the water finally, and imme
diate danger of sinking was past.
On swirled the ice floe uninterrup
tedly. It soon reached the point
where the river widened into the bay.
There were fewer vessels there, and
Philip was forced to the conclusion
that his chance of rescue was ex
tremely slim. But he comforted him
self with one thought. The wider
expanse of water allowed the ice
cakes to float further apart, and im
minent danger of being sunk by con
tact with a huge block was over.
Encour-zed by this he placed the
oars in the row-locks and tried again
to row, but the floating igce was still
too thick to admit of any progress
that way. Glving way to his despair
he crouched as far forward in the
bottom of the dory as he could, draw
ing his heavy coat about his form as
a protection against the pjercing
wind. But the keen blast penetrated
beneath the thick garment and
numbed his whole body.
Then a change came over him.
Tranquilly he viewed the situation
and resigned himself to his fate. In
'a half stupor he sank further in the.
stern as the blood began to move
sluggishly through his veins.
For fuly fifteen minutes he sat
lthus, so oblivious to his surround
ings that he failed to see a tug with
a tow of three barges approaching in
line that, if continue¥, would have
‘cut the dory in half, until the hoarse
whistle, warning him to get out of
the way, had sounded twice. The
second blast aroused him. He looked
up dully and saw the lights of the
tug.
In a second he was all animation.
Leaping to his feet he pulled off his
coat and began waving it around his
head. |
The pilot had comprehended the
situation when Philip failed to heed
the first warning, and as soon as the
young man began waving his over
coat, rang for the engineer to stop the |
engine. Then opening the wheel
house window he leaned out, the bet-{
ter to see through the deepening
gloom.
“I'm fast in this ice-floe and can't
get out,” Philip shouted, but his lips
were so cold that he did not speak
very distinctly and the pilot had to
guess his meaning.
Philip's senses were sharp enough
even if his body was numb, and he
took in the significance of several
sharp orders given by the command
er of the tug during the next sixty
seconds, in answer to which two men
cast off the hawsers leading to the
three barges. Then the man at the
wheel rang for half speed ahead.
Philip heard and understood the
signal and was filled with a fear that
the prow of the tug, forcing its way
through the ice, would push the big
cakes against his dory and sink it be
fore he could be taken on board.
Some such thought must have flashed
through the pilot’s mind at the same
time, for he suddenly left the wheel,
and leaning out of the window again,
scanned the floating ice that tum
bled about so threateningly between
the two crafts.
“The ice cakes here are big ones,
and you'll crush my boat if you’re not
careful,” Philip called.
The helmsman observed the mass
of floating ice with a critical eye, then
gave another order to the engineer
through the speaking tube, in obedi
ence to which the tug’s propeller re
duced its revolutions until the vessel
‘had just headway enouga to keep sta
‘tionary in the current,
Half a dozen imen—all of the crew
except the engineer, who remained
at his post, and the pilot, in the
‘wheelhouse—crowded to the how of
the tug, ready to lend a hand if need
ed, for the ice, impeded by the larger
craft, was piling around the frail
looking dory, now and then striking
the gunwale with such force that
only the stanchness of the little boat
kept it from being demolished.
With the oars, Philip tried to clear
a passage ahead toward the tug, but
in his eagerness he bore down too
heavily on one of the blades and
broke it off short. Throwing the use
less piece of wood aside, he picked
up the other aor and went to work
with that, hut he was afraid to strain
that one very hard for fear of snap
ping it also, and slowly the ice hem
med him in. Clearly he saw that it
was only a question of time when
the dory would go down and its sole
occupant be precipitated into the secy
water,
All hands realized that this would
occur before the boat could reach the
tug, and at a suggestion from the
pilot a sailor threw Philip a rope. “
“Tie that around your waist, and
when I give the word, jump for the
tug. 'We'll haul you aboard,” he
cried cheeringly.
Philip did as he was told, and, pre
pared to leap at the sigunal, stood
watching the distance between him
and safety lessen. One moment it
would seem to the anxious lad as
though the space betwwea the two
craft was not diminishcd an inch;
then the heaving mass of floating ice
would thin out a trifle and the cur
rent would bear the dory forward
perhaps six inches.
With the line securely fastened
about his waist, Philip felt a tem
borary assurance of safety, followed
immediately by an almost overpower
ing desire to throw himself overboard
and trust to the rope and the eager
crew to haul him upon the deck of
the tug. But he put the temptation
aside, assured that the older man
knew best,
Slowly the seconds dragged along,
and foot by foot the little boat and
the tug drew together. The distance
narrowed to twel e feet, and although
the ice cakes were threatening every
|instant to capsize the diminutive
craft, the dory still held her own.
Ten feet was the distance when the
long looked for deathblow was re
ceived. With a loud crash a huge
block slipped over its fellows, and
Snapping short the light »ar Philip
interposed, hurled itself against the
dory and struck it a glancing blow
that stove in the gunwale. The boat
began to sink slowly, but Philip,
whose control over himself had
grown more rigid as the danger in
creased, heard no order to leap, and
‘held his position, although it seemed
like courting death to do so.
' When eight feet away the gallant
little craft was still above the water
but struggling painfuly to keep
afloat. Not until the distance to the
tug had narrowed to six feet did the
| pilot shout a loud, “Now then!” and
Philip leaped, just as a big wave
‘washed entirely over the boat send-‘
ing it down instantly, The great ice
cakes came tumbling together in the
Spot where the dory had been. Philip |
found an instant’s footing on one of |
the largest of the blocks, and was
| Just about to lay hold of the out
‘stretched hands, when a wave tossed
|a big cake on top of the one giving
him his temporary footing, knocking
his feet out from under him.
Had the man with the rope re
téined his presence of mind and
‘hauled in on it when Philip leaped,
the latter would have escaped an
other harrowing experience. But the
saflor was slow, and Philip went in
the ice laden water, the huge blocks
and smaller pieces jamming together
over the spot wuere he had disap
peared, and when he would have
thrust arms and head above water,
he found a barrier over him which he
could not pierce. The strong current,
pushing the ice-floe against the hull
of the tug directly in its path, kept
the cakes wedged together so tightly
that to break through from beneath
vas an impossibility.
The sailor holding the rope.dared
not pull for fear of injuring Philip
in drawing his body through the ice.
For a moment or two there was con
sternation aboard the tug, but the
pilot was equal! to the emergency.
‘L_ea.ping to the deck he seizc. a boat
hook and began pushing aside the
'ca’kes directly over Philip’s head,
shouting to one of his men to do the
same.
Quick and strong manipulation of
the poles was all that saved the
yeung barge captain, for when an
opening large enough for him to
force his head and shoulders through
was made, and Philip’'s white face
arose, he was gasping for breath,
Leaning over the side of the tug the
men seized him and drew him aboard.
- Two hours later when he had had
his bruises attended to, had been
rubbed dry by the kind hearted cook
on board the tug, warmed with hot
coffee, and attired in a suit of the
mate'’s clothes, Philip hurried ashore
land uptown to where he had left the
#arge, and found it tied snugly at
bow and stern. :
A passing tug captain, so he learn
ed the next day, seeing the barge
about to break her moorings, had
towed her back ahd mended the
broken hawser.—Young People.
j WORDS OF WISDOM.
\ o bipi—
. There is at least one redeeming
feature about air castles, and that is
we do not have to pay taxes on
them. ;
The kindness of insincerity is like
the beauty of artificial roses; we val
ue it for what it is intended to repre
sent,
‘When you are in error never be
ashamed to acknowledge it. It gives
the other fellow no escuse for keep
ing up the argument.
If you want to know how people
speak of you behind your back, lis
ten to the reckless manner in which
they pitch into others.
The man who is always proclaim
ing that he is in the right is intoler
able; the man who admits he has
been in the wrong is charming.
" A couple of interviewers spent the
night in a cell with a man who was
doomed to be hanged, and in the
morning the prisoner was perfectly
willing to die.
Better be defeated in an honest ef
fort than to be discouraged and cease
to make that effort. Up and at it
should ever be the watchword of the
man who feels that he has right on
his side.
Militiamen, Real Soldiers.
Many of the militiamen of Chelsea
remained stoically at their posts of
duty while they knew their homes
were being burned and their families
driven out. The houses of both Cap
tain Renfrew and Lieutenant Grant,
of the Fifth Company, Coast Artillery
Corps, which was the first to be
called out for patrol duty, were
burned - to the ground during their
absence. Mrs. Renfrew had only
time to secure a hat before being
obliged .to flee with her children and
her mother, Mrs. C. B. Yeaton, who |
owned the house. Both house and
contents were uninsured, — Boston |
Transcript. !
B R e il (
An Unapproachable Horse,
An Erie young man cailed to take |
his sweetheart out driving the other
day, but when the stunningly attired |
young lady caught gight of the tyrn- |
out the young man had hired for the
oc¢casion she feigned a headache and
refused to accompany him.
“Why, Violet?”’ asked the aston
ished mother, “why didn’t vou go
with him?”’
“Well, mamma,’’ was the indignant
reply, “I%onsider that a very foclish
question on your part. How could I
g 0 when the horse he was driving
didn’t matech a single thing 1 had to
wear?”—Kansas City Journal,
NATION OF MARKSMEN,
The Swiss With Rifle, Through Regu
larly Organized Clubs.
At a time when the question of
military training for civilians is De
ing much discussed, a short account
of the Swiss system, from the Man
chester Guardian, may be of interest.
Every man in the peaceful and demo
cratic country of Switzerland is a
soldier in a modest way, befitting a
small nation.
The able-bodied Swiss enters the
army at twenty years of age and
serves sixty-five days in his first year.
For the next twelve yeurs he trains
for threz weeks every alteraate year.
At thicty-two he enters the Land
wehr, and has eight to ten days under
arms every fourth year until, at fifty,
he retives, and is required to furnish
no further service except in case of
war,
What the Swiss militiaman lacks
in military orthodoxy he far more
than makes up by skill with the rifle.
It is not too much to call the Swiss
a nation of marksmen. The training
periods are occupied only with drill
and tactics; the all-important matter
of shooting is left to the individual
soldier to carry out at other times,
and he does it under the auspices of
the shooting societies which are such
a feature of Swiss life.
These societies, under government
control, are called Schutzengessell
schaften in the German, and Societies
de Tir in the French cantons. They
are voluntary associations, varying in
size and importance with the town or
village they serve. Those in the
larger towns possess completely fitted
ranges and clubhouses; the small vil
lages do their shooting in any field
backed by a suitable hill. Every
peasant and townsman has easy facil
ities for shooting, and each man has
his service rifle always in his posses
sion.
Every man between the age of
twenty and thirty-two must fire thir
ty-two shots in' four eompulsory exer
cises every year, and the societies re
ceive a grant of two francs for every
soldier shooting this course on their
ranges. The income derived from
the grants generally suffices for the
current expenses of the society, sup
ply of targets and pay of marker.
There is no entrance fee or subscrip
tion as a rule, and heavy expenditure,
such as that incurred by the con
struction of new ranges, is met by a
speciai grant from the government,
Rules as to spectators, methods ot‘
loading and conduct on the ranges are
stringent. Loss of grant is incurred
by any breach or neglect of regulas
tions.
In addition to these exercises, many
competitions are held between differ
ent villages, towns and cantons. lln
summer the trains and steamers are
crowded with jovial bands of marks
men going to and from their shooting
festivals, The whole system of § iss
shooting is a good example of co:ov
eration between government and in
dividual. Every Switzer has his army
rifie; he can use it when and where
he ‘will, provided he does not endan
ger others lives; he is insured by
government against all accidents on
the ranges, and through his society
he can secure the services of qualified
military officers to organize and con
trol his shooting.
By treating rifle-shooting as a
sport, and as it is as popular as foot
ball is with us; and far more general
ly practiced, the Swiss have removed
it from its usual warlike associations;
but should occasion arise that which
has been learned in sport would hbe
used in earnest.
TS
Childish Plants.
The one special charge which Mrs.
Locke gave her husband on the eve
of her departure for a fortnight’s
visit to a friend was her fern—her
beautiful, wide-spreadingfern. “Don’t
forget it while I'm away visiting, will
you, Henry?"” ghe pleaded, and Mr, |
Locke answered that the fern should
be forever on his mind till she re
turned.
Therefore, when on the evening of
her arrival she noticed with a start
that the fern was not in its accus
tomed place, gshe turned reproachful
eyes on her husband,
“Now, my dear, let me tell you,”
said Mr. Locke, glibly, “if ever a man
kept his word, I did. That—er—that
fern was on my mind night and day,
I scarcely ever forgot it. I watered
it—oh, I must have watered it four
or five times the first two days. I
wanted to make sure it had enough,
“Then the water bhegan to run out
of the saucer, go I left it alone—en
tirely untouched, my dear, for the
next three or four days, just as you
would treat a person who had over
eaten,
“Then when it hegan to look-a tri
fle dry I watered it again, very faith
fully, but it began to look curious,
very curious, So I just took it round
to the florist, and he gaid he'd better
look after it for a week or go,
“He told me that both Jennings
and Wilkingson had brought their
wives’ ferns to him the day before—
same kind as yours, He says ferns
are something like children — they
miss the person they are used to, my
dear.” E
“I think very likely they do,” said
his wife dryly.—Youth’s Companion,
Indian Cure For Smallpox,
We publish a simple cure for
smalpox kindly sent by a correspon
dent:
“One ounce of cream of tartar, dis
solved in water, drunk at intervals
when cold,”” is the recipe, and in
recommending it the correspondent
says it “has cured thousands, nover
leaves a mark, never causes blind
ness, and bring®™speedy relief.” —
Advacate of India,
GBI ot ND R
S USCTENCE |
I 7 oo
A scientist says the telephone does
not transmit to the ear one-thou
sand part of the energy which it re
ceives from the line, e o
As a result of a series of investiga
tions on carbon at high pressure and
temperatures C. A. Parsons asserts
that in none of his experiments de
signed to melt or vaporize carbon has
more than a mere trace of black eor
transparent diamond been found in
the residue.
According to authorities from eigh
ty-five to ninety-five per cent. of the
men in civilized lands are right-hand
ed and have developed the low right
shoulder. This, however, is no new
phenomenon, for even the ancient
Greek sculptors had noticed it and
posed their subjects so as to make
them appear more symmetrical, :
There are plants so sensitive that
if, when standing by them, one should
suddenly put up an umbrella or sun
shade it would cause them instantly
to close together their leaflets and
turn down their leaf stalks, just as if
they were startled and alarmed by
the movement. On a sunny day,
when the temperature is sufficiently
high, merely a shadow coming in con
tact with their leaves will often cause
them to fall slightly.
The ‘‘axle-light” system {s in use
on the trains of the Atchison, Topeka
and Santa Fe Railroad on an exten
sive scale. Each car has its own stor
age batteries supplied with electrlcitx
generated by the axles of the wheels,
and the locomotive headlights derive
their illumination from the same
source, It is estimated that each full
train, exclusive of the locomotive, de
velops mnearly 05000 candle power
light. ;
Dr. SBimon Flexner states that for
ty-two years after an attack of ty
phoid fever the typhoid bacilli were
still being eliminated; plague bacilli
have been present in the sputum sev
enty-six days after recovery from
plague pneumonia, and influenza ba
cilli have been found in the sputum
one year after an attack of influenza.
The discovery suggests new views of
immunity, as the phenomenon ap
pears to be one of adaptive change on
the part of the parasgite as well as on
that of the host.
Professor W, D. Scott sounds a
hote of warning about the increasing
use of the eyes for reading and the
inspection of small near-by objects.
This especially affects school children.,
Professor Scott says that the human.
eye was evolved for vision,
and in its structure is relatively poor~
1y suited for near-by vision. The in
crease of all sorts of printing aug
ments the trouble every day, and “all
things seem to be conspiring to make
us use our eyes more and more for
the very thing for which they are the
most poorly adapted.” There is, no
doubt, much reason in this, but could
the world banish its printing presses
and retain its civilization?
T e—————
MONSTER MAP OF BRAZIL. |
To Be an Cutdoor Feature of the Nae
tional Exhibition at Rio de Janeiro.
A feature of the jubilee exhibition
which Brazil has planned to open
early this year, but which will prob
‘ably be postponed for some months or
perhaps to next year, will be an out
door map in relief of the republic sev
eral thousand square yards in size,
‘The plans are now being prepared for
the huge map in which every physical
feature of the country is to be shown
in miniature.
The mountains are to be rocky, but
with artificial caps of snow and ice.
The rivers will run with real water
and forests wiil hemarked with dwarf
plants.
. When the drawings and estimates
are made the Government will urge
the national Congress to make an ap
propriation for executing the work.
In connection with it it is proposed to
have a botanical and zoological gar
den in which eachof thetwenty States
'of Brazil will have sections in which
to display their characteristic plant
and animal life. It is also proposed
to have within the same enclosure
camps of all the different tribes of
Indians inhabiting the country.
The jubilee echibition is designed
to commemorate the opening by the
Portuguese Government in May, 1808,
of Brazilian ports to the commerce of
all nations, an event which took place
thirteen years before the separation
of Brazil from the mother country,
but which is regarded as being really
the starting point of Brazilian inde
pendence,~—~New York Sun,
Trees Immune to Lightning,
According to Dr. A. W. Borthwick,
quoted in Science, the popular notion
that some species of trees are very
frequently struck by lightning, and
other species practically immune,
is not justified by any obtainable
gcientific facts, The lightning, he
says, selects cne variety of tree as
often as another, except that the
higher ones are perhaps likely to
suffer the most. One of the supposed
immune trees is the beech, and oaks
and pines have an exactly opposite
reputation. They are, however, all
equally subject to destruction, and
if eone must stand under a tree dur
ing a thunder storm, one species is
as dangerous as another,
