Newspaper Page Text
JACKSONVILLE’S ATTORNEYS.
lIIE DIO FIRE HAS LEFT THEM IN
A BAD WAY.
Court Record*, Legal Pnpcm nnd
I,nv Llbrnrlo* All Destroyed—Mini)'
nine) of LonK Standing Swept Out
of Existence—Legal Ruslness In
(lie Florliln City film Pruetlcnlly
n standstill Because of the Con
ditlon of \ffnir*.
Jacksonville, Fla., June 2.—Among the
many complications arising as a result of
the great fire which swept out of exist
rnce, temporarily, the larger part of the
,-ity of Jacksonville, nothing Is so con
tusing as the situation of the legal fra
ternity. Although the Legislature has
. een prompt In passing measures designed
to protect the property owner and has
provided, in a measure, for the re-estab
lishment of titles, the status of the liti
gant and his counsel is causing many an
able lawyer in this city a great amount
~f perplexity and misgiving.
Proportionately, no class of citizens
have suffered as severely either directly
~r Indirectly as these who make their
livelihood by the practice of law. Almost
without exception, the law offices were
destroyed and the members of the bar. in
most instances, lost their residences also.
Cosily libraries, the result of years of ac
, umulation and careful selection, were ut
terly consumed. Very few attorneys
saved any considerable portion of their
papers, and as a consequence, are at a
loss how to renew their standing in court
in many suits where documentary evi
dence is necessary to obtain a hearing.
White the individual losses are great,
the most irreparable damage comes from
the fact that every record of the Circuit
Court, every document filed with the clerk
since the days of the old English regime,
followed by the recession of the territory
to Spain and afterward to the United
States, has been wiped out. Theoe records
were kept in a building separate from the
court house, and the structure was not so
durable and mope exposed. The county
judge and sheriff were more fortunate,
and so were the tax collector and assessor.
h~ they were located in the court house
and had time to remove their papers.
The city records were also nearly all
destroyed. Cases which' have dragged
their way through the courts for over a
generation, and have been handed down
pom father to son as a source of income
that could always be relied on, have, in
n .my instance, been thrown out of court.
The immediate result has been stagnation
In legal circles,, and many young lawyers
have actually been put out of business.
Among the important bills which passed
the Legislature and became a law is one
making an abstract of title prima facie
evidence of title.
But in the main the party in possession
i the gainer by the destruction of so
many legal papers.
Numerous cases are admitted to be
' 1 by the statute of limitations,
v ‘ before the fire, were considered in
good standing.
TV re has been a rush to the office of
the Circuit Court clerk to have valuable
jtapers and deeds recorded, and over 500
instruments have been recorded within
the past three weeks. The abstract com
] anies are employing an extra force of
stenographers and typewriters for the
purpose of expediting the work of estab
lishing titles. The loss of law libraries
has been general, and it is estimated that
s i,(NX) would hardly cover the value of
hooks destroyed. Asa consequence, the
estalishment of a law library on a large
scale will probably result. Several months
hsfori the tire the Jacksonville Law IJ
brary Association was formed, with J. W.
Archibald president, and quite a number
of lawyers had clubbed together for the
purpose of forming a library. They al
ready had a library of considerable di
mensions, and, fortunately for the asso
ciation, it was well insured. Since the
lire many of the leading lawyers who have
lost their libraries have expressed a de
sire to join tlie association and the re
mit will be one of the most complete
libraries of the kind in the South.
President C. M. Cooper of the bar as
t ittion Is of the opinion that the relief
afforded by the Legislature will help
matters (considerably but does not think
that it will prevent many suits from be
bg discontinued, where witnesses are
dead; property involved destroyed, or
where in many instances' the statutes In
tervene.
The uncertainty which exists has had
t >me effect on real estate transactions,
w here parties wished to sell. When court
sits again there will be a rush of per
sons into court for the purpose of per
fecting title. Until then legal business
in this city will be practically at a stand
still.
TERRIBLE FIRE IN MEXICO.
Mauy I’lanta tioviM Destroyed and
Seventy Pemonn Cremated.
Chicago, June 2.—A dispatch to the
Tribune from Oaxaca, Mex., says:
Further details of the great fire which
faswi on the isthmus of Tehuantepec for
several days have been received here.
Il '*r seventy people were unable to es
caj.M the rapid progress of the flames and
burned to death. The Are started
oe a coffee plantation and owing
,0 the dryness of the vegeta
ati .i, it was soon beyond control and
wrought great destruction to growing
< r, l - Many thousands of acres of coffee
,r bananas, orange trees and other
tro l and products were destroyed. A num
"‘ plantation buildings were destroy-
lfio.se who met death in the flames
ft * r ‘ ill families of plantation laborers,
who oeing unable to escape <he Are, per
isne.j jn their huts. The Are burned for
* n 'lays and was Anally quenc'hed by a
heavy tropical rain.
I ,
FLORIDA FRUITS.
interesting exhibit nt the Pan-
American.
B'lfT i 10, June 2.—Florida has a very in
' ,, K exhibit in the Horticulture
* i,ncr of the Pan-American Exposition.
Aiming the rare things which partlcu
•> U |ii. ase the Northern people are
'll nineapplo trees bearing fruit,
•oanut palms that reach almost
‘ 1 ling, a great many green and
; oanut* In clusters, a quantity of
a ii'tt.i fibre and two magnificent yucca
, 1 ,r ees. In addition there Is a mag
'lisplay of oranges, grape fruit,
J ver the entrance to the space con
the exhibit. In rustic letters is the
'Florida Fruits." The roof of
"sure l painted to represent the
f ~lc state - The post Which sup
" dome Is treated wo as to regem
'*• palmettos*. The entire rx
"vered wtth n dome, on the
■'lilch is a golden pineapple.
M , m misloner* from Florida are T.
; '' " I of Tampa, C. C. Challar of Ar
y ,| Frederick Phelfer of Jackson
■‘•'l.l’Vli A It I oil ( K MO>G.
*" r| " 1 H Hlh Old Row at a Went
'•rglnln fhnreli Festival.
r "irg, W. Va., June 2.—The
* risque nong by Robert Ctw
-l:!"d a row at a ehuroh festival
1 Valley, thirteen miles from
1 h. Hedrick and Mac Mi ls ugh-
K. 'mgeroualy cut and P. 0.
~. , ’• his teeth knocked out. Rob
in 1, McMcLaughlln, Johti Ittan
„ ' r Alleman and John Pettit
* *"ta*.
A MYSTERIOUS STABBING,
Yonng Man Picked Up in Street* of
Gainesville Bndly Wounded.
Gainesville, Fla., June 2.—Last night
W. D. Fagan found a man lying in the
street in front of the new publtc school
building, in what he thought a dying
condition. While viewing the unfortunate
man, Mr. Fagan noticed M. B. Saunders
passing, and called to him. The two gen
tlemen got a carriage and placed the
wounded man therein, taking him to the
boarding house of Mrs. Johnson, on Mag
nolia street. Dr. Harrison Hodges was
summoned as quickly as possible, and
rendered medical assistance. The man,
whose name is Samuel Poteet, was
found to have a stab, presumably from
a knife in the side, from which he was
bleeding profusely. The doctor stopped
the bleeding and dressed the wound. The
young mail stated that he could form no
idea of who cut him and was not aware
of the presence of any one until he felt
a keen pain in his side. He started to
walk to the city for assistance, but be
came so faint and weak from loss of
blood that he fell in the road, and re
mained there until discovered by Messrs,
Fagan and Saunders. He stated that he
had been in the city for only about three
weeks, and knew very few people,
and had had no difficulty with
anyone. He seemed perfectly at a loss
to account for the affair, which is shroud
ed in mystery. The man was painfully,
though not dangerously, wounded.
A severe hall and electrical storm, ac
companied by a strong wind, passed over
this city yesterday morning, doing Con
siderable damage. The wind blew down
several large trees and did considerable
damage among the fruit trees. The hail
was followed by rain, which came down
in torrents all day. Vegetation has been
badly damaged, especially contaloupes,
which will soon be ready for marketing.
The other crops were also damaged.
The day and boarding school of Miss
Maggie Tebeau closed Friday, after a
most successful term. This makes the
twenty-sixth year, during which time
Miss Tebeau has enjoyed the distinction
of conducting one of the most thorough
schools in Florida. Two handsome gold
medals were awarded for first and sec
ond honors. Larkin Carter won first
honor, while Belle Sadler was second. Le
onora Vidal, Islay Eddins and Elsie Smith
were awarded beautiful books for dili
gence in work during the term.
Hon. W. G. Robinson, manager of the
cotton department for the firm of H. F.
Dulton & Cos., has returned from a visit
to Rhode Island, much benefited in health.
Mr. Robinson will, in the coursei of a few
days, issue his annua) statement of the
condition of cotton crops in Georgia, Flor
ida arid South Carolina, giving the acre
age, general standing, etc., of the crops.
The committee having the matter tn
charge, will soon begin the erection of a
new church for the members of Holy
Trinity. It is stated that the old church,
as well as the rectory, which are on the
same lot, will be sold, and anew rectory
will also be erected.
Plans have been submitted and accept
ed by the Board of County Commission
ers for the remodeling of the county jail
here. The lower portion of the building
will be converted into cells, in which the
white prisoners will be kept. As the Jail
is now arranged, white and colored pris
oners are in the same cells. The change
will be appreciated by those white men
so unfortunate as to be in jail.
The Building Committee of the Presby
terian Church will soon begin the erec
tion of a handsome manse for the home
of the pastor. The new house will be lo
cated back of the church.
“CHIEF PARKER" A PRAI'D.
Waycross Han No Paid Fire Depirt
ment.
Waycross, Ga.. June 2.—The following
appears in to-day’s Savannah Morning
News:
“Chief Joseph Parker of the Waycross
Fire Department is In the city, a guest
of Superintendent Magntre. The Waycross
fire-fighter came to Savannah for the
purpose of inspecting this department,and
spent the greater part of yesterday look
ing at the apparatus at the several fire
stations.
"The Waycross Department has Just
been reorganized by Chief Parker and 1 is
now a paid department with fifteen men.
Anew engine has been ordered and Chief
Parker expects to meet the machine with
Its makers to-day. The steamer is of the
La France make and is a modern piece
of apparatus in every way. The Way
cross fire chief announced himself as well
pleased with what he saw in Savannah,
and he is considered by firemen to be a
good Judge of a good department."
When the paper was read here this
morning there was quite a difference of
feeling among our people. Some felt very
indignant, some were amused and not a
few felt an inclination to kick young
Parker.
This is not his first adventure of the
kind. At Douglas, on one occasion, he
was dined and wined to the Queen’s taste,
by the good people, while he made all
the necessary arrangements to bore an
artesian well. Incidentally he bought out
a store while there and had the force of
clerks up all night taking stock. Asa
sequel to this he was roughly treated.
At Folkston he represented himself as a
rich young man, made some big trades
and got married there.
He was simply playing a game on Sa
vannah's fire chief. He is not officially
connected with our fire department, and
has absolutely no authority from that or
ganization. Is probably a member of one
of the hose companies.
We have no paid fire department here,
and every statement to that effect made
by Parker is absolutely without founda
tion.
The matter of a paid fire department
has been discussed here for some time,
but no action has been taken.
In Justice to Waycross, the good name
of our city and her noble fire laddies the
Morning News will please publish this.
D. B. Sweat.
MINICAL l! MO VS COXCEHT.
il „
\ Flensing Operetta Rfndcml by
College Alnalolnn* nl Tn lln hnssee.
Tallahassee, Fla., June 2.—The fourth
annual concert of the Musical Union of
the State Normal College occurred Thurs
day night at the opera house, and con
sisted of Smart s pleasing operetta, "King
Rene's Daughter," by a ladles' chorus of
thirty voices. The principal soloists were
Mrs. M. E. V. Clemenos, Mrs. W. .T.
Sampson and Miss M. E. Hall. The com
position was well received by the audi
ence.
The programme by the musical depart
ment of the Institution was excellently
supported by the violin and cornet recital,
rendered by Prof. Eugene F. Mlkell of
the State College of South Carolina. The
following numbers were given:
Violin solo, "Palms" (Faure).
Violin solo, “Flower Song" (Baggs),
Sextette, "Danuble Waltz," I-acomb.
Cornet solo, "Under the Daisies," Wlll
sut.
Cornet and Piano Selections—Mlkell.
Trio. “Lift Thine Eyes.” Mendelssohn.
Violin Solo, "Angels Serenade," Brings.
Oov. Jennings has appointed the follow
ing commissioners of deeds for Florida in
the state of Oeorgts: Thomas U Hill of
Savannah. A. F. Berry of Metcalf. Walter
H. Beekesof Maoon. Richard M. tester of
Savannah.
The Oovernor ha* appointed Hon. K. F.
Skinner of Pensacola to represent Florida
tt the Southern Industrial Convention, to
pssesnole In Philadelphia on June IL
THE MOKNING NEWS: MONDAY, JUNE 3, 1901.
IT MIST BE THE CLIMATE.
In England American Hotel Indica
tor* Play Sad Trick* With the In
experienced.
From The London Onlooker.
"Como,” 1 said, recollecting that
‘'Come” is the term one generally uses
in America when a knock comes to your
bedroom door, and as I was staying In
a hotel which boasted that it was run
on American principles I wished to show
that 1 was accustomed to American man
ners.
A smart page boy entered the room,
bearing a lemon and a pair of squeezers
on a tray. I looked at him in astonish
ment.
"What have you brought me a lemon
for?” I asked. "Is this a delicate Ameri
can attention?”
“You ordered one, madam."
“I ordered a bath,” I said, “and I don't
think that even in France they would ex
pect you to wash off the dust of a three
days’ Journey with one pale lemon and a
pair of squeezers."
"Sorry, madam, but the indicator point
ed to a 'lemon,' and it was my work to
bring one up to 82.”
"Perhaps I set (title indictator wrong," I
said; "but it doesn’t matter. Will you
please order me a bath or tell the cham
bermaid to come to me?"
"Sorry, madam, but I’nt attached to
the indicator only. You must be careful
how you set it; place 'the finger on the
disk at the words 'hot bath’ "
I interrupted him. “Oh, yes, I know all
that. I followed the Instructions most
carefully. But if you can't order me a
bath you can go. Leave the lemon,
please.”
I set the Indicator very carefully for the
second time, and waited for the impor
tant knock on the door. 1 had not to
wait long however, for the indicator was
certainly answered more promptly than
any bell I ever rang. A fresh page boy
knocked at the door and entered, and I
detected a look of mild surprise on his
face when he saw me. “No. 82’ was evi
dently not the sort of party whom he
expected would order a glass of port wine
at 8:30 A. M.
I allowed him to place the wine on the
table beside the lemon before I spoke.
"I wanted a hot 'bath," I said, "and
you have brought me a glass of port wine.
Are you boys playing a practical joke
on me?”
“Certainly not, madam; I am sorry, but
the indicator pointed to ‘port wine,' and
it was my 'busines to fetch it to Room
82."
“Then I certainly don't understand the
Indicator,” 1 said. "Will you kindly set
it, for I suppose you are not allowed to
order me a bath?”
"No. Very sorry, madam, but I am at
tached to the indicator; I can't take or
give any orders.”
He wound up the machine with an air
of great superiority, and then left the
room. I sat down and waited to see what
would happen.
A still more startling knock came to
the door, and this time a full-grown man
appeared. “Cab at the door madam; shall
I take your luggage?”
"Take my luggage!” I said in tones of
despair. "I'm in my dressing gown! I or
dered a hot bath!”
"Very sorry, madam, but the indicator
pointed to 'night porter and cab.’
"For heaven's sake," I said, "go down
stairs and ask someone to order me a
bath, and send the cab away."
"I’m sorry, madam, but the bath is out
of my line, but I’ll send the cab away.”
In a moment he had disappeared.
I searched the room for on honest beli,
but there was none to be seen, so there
was nothing to be done but to try the in
dicator again. It was evidently a very
delicate machine which required know
ing.
In less than five minutes the first page
boy who had brought me a lemon bounded
into my room carrying a large pitcher of
(iced water on his arm.
"You young wretch!" I said, "you know
quite well that I have been indicating for
a bath for the last half hour and more.
Why did you fetch up that iced water?”
"Sorry, madam," he said, with a merry
twinkle in his eye. “It’s my duty to fetch
up to the rooms whatever article the
finger on the disk pointed to; we’ve got
to do it quick and sharp. I'd have got
into trouble if I hadn’t attended to my
.orders."
"I wish to goodness," I said, "that there
was a sensible bell in this room, or that
one of your indicator boys was allowed
fco carry a message or that someone
who isn’t attached to the indicator would
come to the door.”
"Very sory, madam, but I’d get my dis
charge if I do anything but obey the in
dicator. Try the blqoming thing again."
he suggested; “it might point to 'hath’
this time; you never know your luck.”
There was nothing else to do hut to
try my luck as he had suggested, and
this time I waited with some degree of
curlouslty to see what would appear.
The knock came to the door again, fol
lowed in a moment by a waiter with a
Continental Bradshaw upon a silver
charger. How I wished it was the mana
ger’s head!
••put that Bradshaw down, I said,
"beside the lemons and the port wine and
the iced water. I'm quite tired of play
ing this game; I ordered a bath, and all
these thing have been brought to me in
stead.”
The waiter put the Bradshaw down on
the table and glanced at the indicator
With supreme contempt. “These ma
chines,’ he said, ‘may he all right in
America, but they don’t seem to suit the
English climate. I’ve Just been and fetch
ed up a bottle of whiskey and soda water
to an old 4ady as occupies Room 65. She’s
holding a temperance mer'ing this after
noon, and she thinks as how I’m playing
a practical Joke on her.”
The other three times I tried my luegt,
hut without success; telegraph form, hot
water for shaving, and a list of the Lon
don theaters were fetched to me with
great promptness and a considerable dis
play of nice feeling. My last attempt, how
ever brought the manager; the finger
had pointed to his august name, which
afforded me an opportunity of expressing
my feelings upon th" subject of Ameri
can Indicators versus bells.
SOME FAST RUNNING,
Good Work Done on Vnllsbnrg Board
Track Yesterday.
New York, June 2.—A crowd of more
than 7.000 persons saw some exciting con
tests of speed to-day at the meet on the
Vallsburg board track.
Quarter-mile professional (flying start),
was won by Frank Kramer of Bast Or
ange, with Floyd McFarland of flan Jose,
Cal., second, and H. B. Freeman of Port
land, Me., third. Time 0:27 4-5.
Five-mile professional handicap was
won by H. B. Freeman of Portland. Me.
(jo yards); Tom Cooper of Detroit
(scratch), second, and F. A. MaoForland
Of San Jose. Cal. (scratch), third. Hardy
Downing of Los Angeles (100 yards),
fourth. Time 11:0? 3-6.
Actors Give Onion Mappers.
New York Letter in Pittsburg Dispatch.
Yesterday wus "Onion Sunday in the
theatrical calendar. There Is an unwrit
ten law of the stage that no actor who
nas to make love behind the footlights
shall ever eot onion* during the regular
season. A number of leading companies
closed their seasons Saturday night, and
yesterday the odor of the succulent onion
was heavy over the land. At one Broad
wy restaurant sat Oils Skinner eating
a dish of row onions with a reminiscent
look of exaltation. Charles Stevenson,
Mr*. Carter's leading man In "Zaza," gave
an onion supper at the Hofftruiii llou*,
and a dozen leading aetresae* likewise
raised the ban which has barred onion*
from their menu* during the winter.
IN RACER’S MAINTOP.
* ______
PERILOUS PERCH OF M ASTHEAI)
MAS OA’ A YACHT.
Danger Increased by Rigging—'Toll
man of Shninrnek II Escaped Se
rious Injury or Death by Being
Below When Accident Occurred.
Courage and a Clear Head Neces
sary,
From the New York Mail and Express.
Landsmen find somelhing peculiarly fac
liiating in watching the lofty work of a
Steeple Jack. To their minds his is the
star aerobatic occupation of the age. That
o simple thing like reeving a pesky set of
halliards should require the attention of
an expert human airship with the at
tendant dangers doesn't appeal to the folk
ashore as being at all hecessary when it
really is.
In the old days of sea punishments,when
hard knocks went with every turn of the
wheel the sailors had to lay aloft to the
music of a capstan liar or marling spike,
one of the worst miseries was to be mast
headed. Many a poor lad, almost par
alyzed with fear, was sent to his last ac
count through being ordered aloft to the
toothpick platform near the sky, from
which he subsequently fell and was killed.
"Fell from aloft" was a frequent entra
in the log books, and covered a lot of
cases that looked like murder.
If a sailor runs any danger from going
aloft on a square rigged merchant sailing
craft, where there are stout ratlines to
cairy him up and a broad top to stand
upon when he gets there, what must be
the danger of the masthead men on a
racing yacht that has neither ratline*!
nor substantial looting to rest upon?
None but the best sailor is selected for
this task. Besides the great danger In
volved, the men sent aloft during an
aquatic contest must have exceptionally
cool heads under most exciting circum
stances, and their duties are as many as
those of a small boy in kite time. Some
years ago, before innovations in sails and
running rigging made It neessary to keep
a man stationed on the spreaders or cross
trees during a race, it was considered
most hazardous that any tar should go
aloft to this giddy perch in fair weather
while under way, but that he should do
so in a gale or other bit of a blow added
immensely to the risk and the reputation
of the man.
A Narrow Escape.
It Was the merest accident that the
masthead men of the Shamrock 11., two
in number, should have laid below when
the destructive squall struck that racer
lajft week. The men had been busy a few
minutes before clearing the sheet of the
club topsail, which bad Jammed close to
the spreaders, and had taken up a posi
tion, one standing and the other seated,
on the weather spreader, when hailed
by the deck and ordered to lay below.
They had hardly returned to the deck
when the squall passed over the boat and
wrecked her. Capt. Howard Patterson,
of the Nautical School, who is an expert
in yacht racing, says that nothing In the
world would 'have saved these men from
sudden death had they been in their regu
lar positions aloft when everything went
scooting over the side.
‘‘They would have been shot down to
lot-word like projectiles from a gun,” said
the former admiral of the Haitian navy,
“and if not struck dead by falling gear
or bits of the spars, would have been
buried under the immense weight of can
vas and drowned. Neither of them could
have possibly escaped. There is no place
so perilous during a yacht race as In
the top. A drinking man can’t take the
Job ami live, because a clear head is ab
solutely necessary. I am very fond Of
yacht racing, but you will kindly excuse
me from becoming a masthead man. I’d
rather play with dynamite or go help dig
the tunnel. I like life too well to go In
for the sky end of the business.”
When it is realized that the spreaders
of the average cup defender are light
enough for one man to pick up and walk
oft with, and that they have been made
in latter years of ordinary galvanized iron
piping, with a diameter not much bigger
than Hie smallest part of a baseball bat,
trimming down to a very narrow point at
the outer end, the unstabillty of the sail
or’s footing may be appreciated. To this
is added the fact that the bight of the
lower and upper masts of a cup defender
is such as to make It impossible for her
to pass under the Brooklyn bridge with
out sending down or telescoping this top
mast.
The mast of the Independence measures
130 feet from the deck to the truck, the
topmast being sixty feet from the hounds.
There are two sets of spreads on the
Constitution, the main ones being Just
below the head of the mainmast and the
auxiliary spreaders about one-third of
the distance below the main ones. The
topmast shrouds lead over the main
spreaders and sot up on the
chain plates on each side of the
yacht. Another shroud on each side leads
from tlie masthead direct to the chain
plate. From the mainmast one shroud
on each side lends over the auxiliary
spreaders, and two masthead shrouds on
each side lead straight to the chain plates.
The auxiliary spreaders are eleven feet
long and the mala spreaders are twenty
two feet. In the Constitution the spread
ers are rounded like a yard on a square
rigged vessel, the outer ends being of
small diameters.
An Acrobatic Job.
The duties of a mastheadman have be
come manifold with Improved rig, strange
as it may appear. The new telescopic
mast demands his almost constant atten
tion, a uni when being lowered or holated
from the deck needs a good deal of oil
ing. Thus the mastheadman must now
carry an oil can to the top with hint,
In addition to his other cares. His prln.
clpal work, however, consists in seeing
that nothing aloft Jams, and he fre
quently ha* to shin along the gaff to
free the throat or peak halyards. Under
all circumstances he must be very acro
batic to perform his maneuvers.
There have been beach stories of mast
headmen falling asleep while seated on
their tottering perch, but they apply to
fiction rather than to fact. A* a rule, the
Job is full of excitement, and there are
few of the comforts of lethargy about
the task.
The masthead men usually become more
courageous and less cautious as they con
tinue at the business, and some of them
do their woik as automatically as they
expand their lungs. Asa general thing
their greatest trouble is the topsail, us
ually a dull) topsail The latter has a ,
spilt laced to its luff, which project* weii
above the truck. About one-third of the
way from the top of the sprit, the hal
yard tallblock is bent on. The standing
part of this halyard make* fast Just
rbove the sheave on the mast, then the
ether end leads through the halliard block
cn the sprit, thence through the sheave
on the mast and down on deck. There is
a club inced at the foot, and the sheet
Is bent about one-third of the way from
the end. The tack line or pendant I* set
up on deck, with a tackle alongside the
niaat. These sheets and halliards fre
quently get Jammed, and the masthead
men must clear them as soon as possible.
Second* oftm win or lo*e yacht race*.
Another of his duties Is to pick up the
turning mark during a race, and to "sing
out" to the deck. Then there Is the eter
nal lookout for slack of rigging, spinnak
er and headgear.
Fall Means Death,
When the mainsail Is hoisted the maat
head man lays aloft on the hoops of this
Immense piece of canvag There are twen
ty-four hoop* on the Constitution. When
the sail Is not set the man Is sent aloft
in a boatswain's chair that is usually
bent lo a gaiitlinc. Seldom doe* the top
man "shin up-hand" aloft. It I* too much
of a task in thane days of immense sail
area and loft spars. At best the man
always faces the chances of destruction
by being swept off his feet in the thresh
ing and plunging of th eslanting hull. It
is a giddy and unstable perch, so high
that the diminished man usually looks
from the deck like a mere speck. Many
times he is drenched to the skin by rain,
it being impossible to send an oilskin or
sou'wester up to hint. Bpars have come
down about his ears and he never knows
what is coming nextf His ascent and de
scent through mid-air is like the move
ment of a spider ut work on her thread.
The job is so exciting that the average
masthead man is permitted to swear
every time he tells a story about his work
above. As Kipling's 'Mulvaney said of
love-making, the masthead man's job:
’Tis onwhoiesiin. ’tis dangerous, an’ 'tls
ivrything else that's bad."
WHAT CHILDREN READ.
A Librarian Sny* the Girls Turn to
Love Stories Almost in Infancy.
From the New York Sun.
“Girls, as a cluss, haven't any breadth
and grasip in literary taste,” said a well
known librarian to a reporter. "They
don't want to know about things. They
want to know about little girls, and in
cidentally about little boys. As they get
older they like to read about older girls
and boys. That's their development. Now
tlie boys want books about things. That
puts them in touch, but they want to
know what ho does rather Phan what ho
feels. They like hunting and adventure
and fighting of all kinds, physical or
moral, Just so long as the tight Is a good
one. They can find history and biography
absorbing if the books are full of force
and dramatic actions. They can take an
impersonal interest in stories. The girls
can’t.
"Of course. I'm deadllng in generalities
now. There are exceptions to every rule.
Still, I’ve had a long experience, and in
the course of it I’ve found Just four girls
who liked boys books, books of action
and adventure, better than stories of
sentiment and of things within a girl's
personal sphere.
"It is the same attitude that shows in
late life the objectivity of the man, the
subjectivity of the woman. I’ve tried my
best to interest girls in books that will
take them out of themselves. It is quite
useless. What makes the situation worse
is the appalling scarcity of the better
class of so-called girls books. There are
grades and degrees of hopelessness even
in the girl’s book. We have no worthy
successor to Louisa Alcott. She wrote for
girls and appealed to girlish taste but
she wrote books that were in the main
wholesome and sane and bright and forci
ble. When she did bow to the girls' de
mand for Hentiment and lovemaking she
didn’t become maudlin.
‘ Some of the Sophie May and Mrs.
Whitney stories have had the right flavor,
but I give you my word if I had a email
daughter and I culdn’t coerce her into a
interest In boys’ books, I wouldn't know
where to get literary pabulum for her.
For a while there are the fairy stories,
the good fairy tales that ore a literary
heritage of the race, but after she gradu
ates from them, what next?
"Somebody ought to sit down and write
good, breezy, wholesome stories of modern
girl life, with the flavor of the athletics
and outdoor sports and good times that
our girls certainly are having, but, bless
your heart, the girls probably wouldn't
read them. They’d go back to the poor
but beautiful girl who Is snubbed by her
classmates but carries off the school
honors and the most eligible young man
in the book. It's a funny thing how even
the infant feminine gravitates toward love
and matrimony.
"I’ve about decided that since girls will
have sentiment the best thing to do with
them after they’ve gone though the very
limited course of rational girls' books is
to promote them to novels designed for
grown-ups. Of course, those novels would
have to be selected, but at least there
are a goodly number of novels of love
and romance that are clean and sane nnd
have respectable literary style and ra
tional pictures of life. They would be bet
ter for n girl than most of the stuff label
ed ‘girls’ books.'
“ Now the boys know what they want
nnd they have a larger supply to draw
from. It Is easier to write a good story
for boys than to write one for girls, nnd,
in addition to the modern books, there
are a good many of the standards that
appeal to hoys. There's a theory that the
modern child will not read Scott; but I
find that ‘lvanhoe’ and 'The Talisman'
at least, keep their place In the boy's
heart. They arc always out and are worn
so rapidly that we have to replace them
frequently. The little gtrl doesn't care
for Scott, In spite of the romance. It's
too remote. She can’t picture, herself In
Rowena’s place. The action is outside the
range of her possible experience, so she
loses Interest, but the boy doesn’t care
whether he can ever be an Ivanhoe or a
Richard Coeur de Lion. They were bully
good fellows and he likes to read a/bout
them.
“It’s the same way with the Round
Table stories. Now, there is romance and
sentiment that ought to appeal to the
feminine mind. It doesn’t. In all my ex
perinee I've never heard a girl ask for
the 'Morte d’Arthur’ or say she liked It.
I never knew the boy to whom It didn’t
appeal. I believe that after all, there’s
more Imagination and kinship with real
romance in the boy mind than In the glil
mind.
"The fighting of the Round Table
knights Is the thing that wins the boy's
heart, but I find that the sentiment back
of it, the chivalry, the God. king und
my lady-love, finds an echo, too. The
boy likes a certain amount of old English
in the stories. Sidney Lanier was wise
not to knock out all the old phraseology
In his 'Boy's King Arthur.' The boys
like the strangness and pomp of the un
familiar words. I gave the King Arthur
stories to some small boy* at a summer
resort last year. They took to them like
a duck takes to water. One afternoon I
heard two of them under my window.
They wre disagreeing about something.
The smallest one was ready to tight.
“ ‘Come on and Joust with me,' he
said. " you want to tilt with me I'll smite
you a mighty buffet that'll knock the
daylight out of you.’
"Boys like biography If It's the right
sort. If the boy Isn't too preternaturally
good and if he did brave thLegs and final
ly succeeded. I’ve been ted In see
ing what American was most popular
with young America. Daniel Boone wins
in a walk. It Is eusy to see why. He was
a fine sturdy hero and there were the
Indians. Any man who fights well com
mands boy respect. If ho does his
fighting against Indians. •so much the
better. The red men ought to be held in
grateful remembrance If for nothing else
than for the Joy he ha* afforded to tho
small boy.
“Adventure and travels take with the
boy* If they aren't too Instructive. The
conscientiousness of the modern writer 1*
terribly hard on the boys. There has been
so much theorizing about what children
should read and about education made
easy and information In coated pill form
that the men who write boys’ books think
they must be Instructive at any cost to
tlielr stories.
“That's a mistake. Boys wilt read book*
that tell how to do things and make
things and be things; but when they have
a story, they want the story. If there is
a moral in It they will gulp the moral,
provided the story is Interesting; but
they bitterly resent Information dragged
In by the heels and interfering with the
action of the story. If the writer* put
cyclopedia chapters In for padding and
to increase their Income they have my
blessing, hut If they think they sre edi
fying and Instructing youth they are
mistaken."
—K otiomy.—Our Ide.i of ao economical
woman is a woman to whom the most rx
p*native hat* in the ahop happen to b*
unbecoming.—Detroit Journal.
BRAVE SUHFMEN.
Dereliction of Duty on Their Part
Extremely Rare.
"I am glad to see that the charges of
dereliction of duty made against the
surfman of the United States Life-Saving
Service who was on duty on the shores
of the Golden Gate on the night of the
wreck of the steamer Rio de Janeiro,
were disproved in the coroner's inquest.”
said a treasury official to a Star reporter
to-day.
"The officials here were disinclined to
nccept the first statements that the surf
man had heard two whistles of the ill
fated steamer, and had failed to report
these signals of distress to the crew in
the surf house, which was close to the
scene of the wreck, as being true, and it
appears that they were correct. It was
shown that the whistles were not those of
a steamer In distress, and not being blown
in the manner w hich would indicate that
assistance was needed, the surfman nat
urally gave them no more than passing
attention. Had the whistles been sounded
in such a manner as Is customary to sea
men to blow for help, it is probable that
many of the passengers and crew of the
steamer might have been picked up by
the life-saving crew.
"The history of the life-saving crews is
one continuous story of bravery, courage
and devotion to duty on the part of the
crows, both collectively and individually.
Incidents without number might bo pro
duced to show Intelligent action on the
part of these men in the locating of
wrecks in fogs and storms, and the heroic
attempts to save fife. For a member of
the service to fall to report signals of
distress would be as unusual as it would
be criminal, and all concerned are glad
that the surfman's story has been offi
cially proven to have been true.
"There are but sixteen life-saving sta
tions on the Pacific coast. It Is only In
the few winter months that storms rage
on thnt coast, and at other times the
ocean is true to its name. On the coasts
of the great lakes there are fifty-eight
stations, one at the falls of the Ohio, at
Louisville, Ky., and 11*4 on the Atlantic
and Gulf Coasts, manned by about 1,900
men In charge of superintendents, the pay
of the surfmen being J 65 per month. The
large proportion of stations on the great
lakes is occasioned by the prevalence of
the tierce storms in these inland waters,
of Which Lakes Superior and Huron have
eighteen, Lakes Erie and Ontario eleven
and I-ake Miehlgun twenty-nine.
"Speaking about the loss of life in ma
rine disasters, out of the fifty-three lives
lost last year one-half of them were sac
rificed by the Injudicious attempts of the
ship-wrecked men of two vessels to es
cape In their own boats, instead of wait
ing until aid could readh them from the
shore or until their situation should bo
demonstrated to be hopeless. Landing
through the surf In heavy weather in al
ways hazardous, and ship-wrecked marin
ers have been warned against it Jimo
and again by the life-saving service. In
the wrecks mentioned all who remained
on the vessels were saved by the life-sav
ing crews, thus proving that nil might
have been saved if they had remained on
board.
“In addition to lending aid at the
v recks of large vessels, the crews per
form every year many individual acts of
heroism, and lend aid to the wrecks of
small craft, like sailboats, row boats, etc.,
and of this class of vessels there were 329
casualties last year, these boats carry
ing 781 persons, of whom five perished In
wrecks and storms.
“The service lent its old in addition to
364 large vessels, carrying 2.855 persons,
of whom forty-eight were lost. Sixty-one
vessels were totally lost. The estimated
\rtlue of all of the ships, Including the
cargoes, was about *9,500,000. The crews
furnished succor to 675 persons at the sta
tions, and provided dry clothing to 273
persons who were rescued utterly desti
tute.
"The frequency of disasters on the lake
coasts Is shown by the fact that, while
there were 407 disasters on the Atlantic
and Gulf coasts, there were 2.54 on the
coasts of the lakes, and but thirty-two
on the Pacific coast. The most deadly dis
trict in point of the number of disasters
io the second, or the coaKt of Mussahu
setts, where there are thirty stations, and
there were U 26 disasters last year. The
fourth district, embracing the coast of
New Jersey, has 41 stations, the largest
number of all the districts, but the num
ber of disasters were only sixty-two. Next
to the MassnarhuspUs coast, the eleventh,
or Lake Michigan district, is the most
deadly, following with 102 disasters. The
fifth and sixth districts, which take In
one of the graveyards of the Atlantic,
Gape Hatlerns, had combined eighty-five
disasters.
“It must be a decidedly unpleasant as
well as dangerous predicament to be cut
otT from the land by the rising tide. Surf
men rescued five persons thus helplessly
placed last year. Huntem are often
caught by the rapidly rising waters. They
pulled out of the water sixteen persons
who had fallen off piers, and rescued fif
teen swimmers and bathers. Five were
rescued from death on drifting ice. Two
men were overcome by the cold; while
four Intoxicated men were rescued from
danger. A surfman also pulled a child out
or a cistern, into which It had fallen.
"To show the alertness of the men It
should not be forgotten that but for their
warning signals on shore, I#4 vessels
which were in <hmgcr of stranding, would
have been driven on shore. The patrol
men also rendered minor assistance to
over 600 vessels. In addition to the num
ber of persons rescued from vessels by
the ordinary apparatus of the stations,
thirty-two were saved by lines thrown
from vessels to the surfmen on shore,
and thirty-ieven were carried ashore by
the sife-eavers, who waded 1 out Into the
surf after them.
’’These brief facts show the courage
and efficiency of the surfmen to their
limited extent, and the public, no doubt,
shares wtth the government the gratifica
tion that a charge of neglect of du.ty was
not sustained In the Rio de Janeiro case."
A Man Francisco Gamliler.
From Bret Harte's "Under the Red
woods."
I remember one handsome young fel
low whom I used to meet occasionally
on the staircase who captured my youth
ful fancy. I met him only at midday, as
he did not rise till late, and this fact,
with a certain scrupulous elegance and
neatness In his dress, ought to have made
me suspect that he was a gambler. In
my Inexperience It only Invested him with
a certain romantic mystery. One morn
ing ns 1 was going out to my very early
lueakfast at a cheap Italian cafe on Long
wliarf. 1 was surprised to find him also
descending the staircase. He was scrup
ulously dres>td, even at that oarly hour,
but I was struck by the fact that he was
all in black, and his slight figure, but
toned to the throat In a tightly fitting
frock <oat, gave, I fancied, a singular
melancholy to his pale Southern face.
Nevetheless, he greeted me with morn
titan his usual serene cordiality, and I
remembered that he looked up with a
half-puzzled, half-amused expression nt
the rosy morning sky a* he walked erfew
steps with me down the deserted street.
I could not help saying that I was as
tonished to see him up so early, and he
admitted that It was a break in his usual
habits, but added, with a smiling signifi
cance 1 afterwards remembered, that it
was “an even chunee If he did It ugidlt."
A* we neared the street corner a man in
buggy drove up Impatiently. In spite of
the driver’s evident haste my hundaome
acquaintance got in leisurely, and. lifting
his glossy tint to me with a pleasant
smile, was driven away. I have a very
lasting recollection of his face and figure
as the buggy dlsapiieured down the empty
street. I never saw him again. It was
not until a week later that I knew that
an hour after he left me that morning iia
was lying dead ill it Utile hollow behind
It i->.i*
heart In a dual for which ha had arisen
so early.
THE SLANG FOUNDRY.
HOW ODD BIT EXPRESSIVE
PHRASES IRE COINED.
Otir Slang Save* English—London
Philologists Say English Tongue
Would Rapidly Die Without It.
Host Phrases Originate On Farm
or Kniieli.
From the Chicago Times.
The London Society of Amateur Philolo
gists, the members of which are devoted
to tlie study of language, has gravely
deidtled that If it were not for the addi
tions made from time to time by Ameri
cans, English would have to be classed
as a dead or at least as a rapidly dying
language.
Front this country, however, come so
many apt and novel phrases which are
incorporated Into the body of the Eng
lish tongue that it is still live and grow
ing, And both in the United States and
abroad students are beginning to recog
nize the importance and the value of
words and phrases which start as slang
and, because they vividly describe some
prevailing condition, graudally find their
way into the standard dictionaries.
The English society mourns because
almost all the slang which Is found
worthy of permanent adoption originates
in the "States." But it is proud of the
fact that in England has originated at
least one popular phrase which has not
found its way into this country, and
which, if one may venture an opinion,
is never likely to do so. The new English,
phrase is "twencent," and it is used to
describe anything which is extremely
up io date." It is, of course, an ab
breviation of twentieth century, and in
the English eye is a remarkable example
of condensation and wit.
But the philologists of London and
American authorities agree in the opin
ion that comparatively little slang of the
sort which endures and becomes part of
the language originates in large cities.
Nor is It used first by educated and re
fined people. The so-called "educated
classes" add little to a language except
some stilted words which are borrowed
from the classics, or scientific terms,
which are also likely to be derived from
one of the dead languages. It is the
me n ou the farm, on Western ranches,
111 gold and silver mines and In other
similar occupations who give the lan
gauge its vitality and growth.
Thus the men who pack mules and
horses for the trail over the mountains
and plains of the great West put a tight
"cinch’ on many a "critter" before the
general public began to talk familiarly
of “getting a cinch" on any proposition
in which It was Interested. The lumber
men In the great woods of Wisconsin
and the Northwest plied up many millions
of logs in booms and watched the logs
go tearing down the swift little rivers
after the "boom was busted” for many
years before the stock brokers and real
estate agents adopted their phraseology.
Now there are few people Indeed who and
not know what a "boom" is and what is
likely to happen when a "boom Is bust
ed.”
Speaking broadly, there are two kinds
of slang. One depends for Its popularity
on the mere fact that the phrase is
mouth-filling and pleases the popular
fancy. Such slang Is likely to have only
a temporary popularity. The slang which
lives and which sooner or later becomes
a |>ermanent part of the language is that
which really means something, which de
scribes some act or condition in anew
and vivid way. There are many people
who are greatly impressed by the sound
of any phrase, the meaning of which
I hey do not understand. It was this feel
ing which proved so effective when Dr.
Samuel Johnson was vocally attacked by
one of the famous fishwives of Hliitnga
gate. Dr. Johnson knew that it would
be Idle and useless to answer the woman
In kind, even if he had been willing to
lower his dignity to that extent At the
same time he did not wish to listen to
more of her abuse. Accordingly he pointed
the finger of scorn at her and exclaimed
In a voice of Indignation and contempt:
"Madam, you are an Isosceles triangle, a
parallelopipedom, an octagonal rhomboid/
Tile fishwife was totally overcome and
was unable to answer the doctor’s scath
ing denunciation, but it is not recorded
that the use of mathematical terms ha*
ever become popular in the vocabulary
of Billingsgate.
Another kind of slang which ha* a
merely temporary popularity is that which
exaggerates an already slang expression
and carries it beyond the point of ab
surdity. Two street arabs, for instance,
may be quarreling In the gutter.
’’W’wan,’ says the first; "you've got a
wheel in yere head."
"Rots,” says the Other. "Yere nut Is
a reg'ler bicycle factory.”
Most people know what ia meant when
a man is said to have "a wheel in his
head,” but the bicycle factory Joke car
ries It a point beyond permanent appre
ciation.
The only class of highly educated people
who contribute to any extent to the
growth of the language Is the college
students. College slang is so vivid and
has been so generally adopted that a
dictionary has been issued which is en
tirely devoted to the subject.
From terms originally used in college
games the language has adopted many
useful phrases. It is not many years since
the first curved ball was pitched in a
baseball game, and yet the current phrase
"I am onto his curves,' has a meaning
entirely without connection with the
baseball diamond. From the field sport*
of collegians have oome the phrases to
"Jump on” a man and “Jump on him
with both feet.” Even the great Ameri
can game of draw poker, which will not
he claimed as a college game, hs added
several common phrases to the language.
Many a man who has never tried to
“fill two pair” has "called a bluff” or
declared that he would "go It blind.”
It was a farmer’s boy who had touched
his tongue to the iron pump handle on
a belowt-zero morning who 1 discovered
that "to freeze to" a person expressed
a strong degree of attachment.
Almost every business and profession
has given the most picturesque words in
Its particular vocabularly to enrich the
language. From the Stock Exchange, for
instance, come "bulls” and "bears.” a
"corner.” and "margin,” though thesa
words were originally borrowed and given
new meaning by the stock brokers.
From the stage has come another whole
set of words words which are now In
general use. The words "mascot" and
"hoodoo” were Invented on the stage
and have since been added to the voca
bulary of the general public. Another
common word which originated on the
stage and passed thence Into newspaper
offices is "fake." To-day almost .every
one would know what Is meant when a
man is described as fakir or a plan
as a fake. The stages through wbloh
"fake" passed before It finally became
a component part of the language Illus
trates the general process through which
all slang expressions go hefore they find
admittance Into the dictionary. First
"fake" was Invented to describe some
thing tricky or Intended to deceive.
Actors "faked" their scenery; they "fak
ed" their lines. Then the expresslva
word was taken up by the newspapers,
and a writer who paid no attention to
facts was denounced for writing "fake*/’
Finally the general public got hold o
the word. After having been In general
use for a few year*, Mr. Howell* and
other writes let it onto the’s pages with
out. the apology hf quo* itkni marks.
Then ih* men who m ike the dictionaries
took It up, and beheld the recently de
spised I' fske" was adm|ttda into all
•Irclea
5