Newspaper Page Text
Sir IB®Mw
BI *«f IIR
VO L. N XVII.—NG ><3.
STOHY OF THE
(WEB®.
BY MOLLIE ELLIOT »E.mLIX,
Author of “Little Jar,vis,” “ Midshipman
I’aulsiing,” “Maiil Marian,” “Children of
Destiny,’ and Other Stories.
Copyright; All Rights Reserved.
CHAPTER XI.
Just at sunset that night the anxious
group of officers on the deck caught sight
of the smoke from tiie Nstitui’s funnels, an I
in a little while the great frigate came in
sight. As she near.u her anchorage in tile
sunset giotv the;.' com . see tne scarcity of
officers on her decks; th-re were only Bry
dell, M:;::::i:;g and Buxton, for, although
Verdery was on deck lie was seated in a
chair with his eyes bound up.
"Gentlemen,’’ said Admiral Beaumont to
hl.- ollie. - as the snip Wits brought to
and anchored in semnanlike style, "yonder
shows what can be done by a lot of school
boys who know th. ir duty and can do it.
The < Ide: t ot those young officers, young
Brydell, is scarcely more titan a boy. yet
he acted with ail the boldness and d. vision
of a man, and has done as w< 11 as you or
1 or any of u.t could. ' Ami then a cheer
went up ftom the crowds on the docks, the
admiral hading and waving his cup en
thusiastically .
As soon us a boat could be set off Admiral
Beaumont, the euplain am! tit. officers went
aboard. When Brydell met them at the
gangway, he v. as far from being the trim
and tresii-looking young fellow he had I)’ ■ n
twenty-four hours before. His eyes were
heavy from want ol sleep, and his fuco
evidently n< de I washing. Bis uniform had
got wet and d; i 1 on him without improv
ing his appearance in the least. But Ad
miral Beaumont saw nor., of this; he only
wrung Brydell’s hand without speaking.
Brydell, with a Hush rising in his wan face,
Baid smiling:
"No neck:■ nts, admiral, except Mr. Ver
dcry's w ith his eyes, and the : argcon says
that will not hi serious, and one staysail
torn, but I think it can be mended.”
Verdery, holding on to the surgeon's arm,
rose to shake hards with the admdi. ‘‘An 1
1 wish to t. 11 you, sir,” he said, loudly, so
everybody could In ar him, “that 1 was dis
abled at tl.” !>• ’.’imiing of the storm
and never gaw an order, and the safety of
the ship and her company is due entirely
to the coolness, ability and courage of Mr.
Brydell, w l:o commanded through it all. an I
that of tlie other officers under his orders.”
Brydell turn ’d .-t :.•:«■• >ti; he had i nly done
Ins du. . a:' I fie 't ashamed to be made a
hero of in that way
Any oile r olti r, I am sure, would have
done as »<•!!. ’ he managed to stammer.
“Mr. < >av. lord. Mr. Manning, Mr. Buxton,
“Very trie .” said the admiral, smiling,
“It is presumed that all officers do their
duty intelligently in an emerge, ey, but
It is very gait good fortune for a young
officer to have a • ham-e lor distinction, and
to be equal to the occasion, and I desire to
expies ■ my very great satisfaction at your
conduct.”
Tiie other two young midshipmen and the
Ver,: ry’s adm. able •. v. rap’.> in remaining
t>.i deck frogottin, and the Naiad was in
deed a happy snip. And ia a little while a
boat w.c- ..’.a pulling from the Spitlire,
and in a f w mimiti . '..’ap’.aia Brydell step
ped aboard the Naim;.
Brydell wti.-: so worn out witlt fatigue and
> n* below
gt or. \ i.-.ecj't ' tin > c g elation of seeing
bis father, but h waited for that. Captain
Brydell had m . i.t to shake ’. aids with him
formally in the p •> .-'■•iiri' of so many officers
and men, but before they knew it, almost,
father ami son were in each other'; arm;’.
The admiral took Brydell by the shoulder.
“Young man,” said he, “do you go below
B . sleep. Captain I
want to hear all about tie. affair from some
one who observed your gallant conduct,
and will do ts justice mu h more than yon
would, so go.” Brydell needed no second
order, lie went below, r.m! throwing him
self, all dressed as he was, upon his bunk,
in live minutes was seeping nke a log.
GIIAI’TER Nil.
When Bryueli waked ,t was rear daylight
next laormug. Bis litst li.ought., v. con
fused and tm n the re. lie.tion oi Black's
biew and t.ie tel ,'iule i or.si.quem es to a sail
or ol st. :. ng an officer ruswed to his maid.
And he fl m. : iber- d p. o • Grubb, 1:: early
fricn ~ ai d ihomiit lo Lillis it. ”ls 1 ent. no
Lv.f I wilt, lor Grubb’;,
bake. ’ He v. is so trouble-; ihat v. uid
bu ]*.>•• . and dressed and Went on
d<ck very early.
A; soon as tiie regular routine was gone
through, the aumiral kui lor him into the
cabin, where lie asked an exact account of
t'. t'l yliiing, v.-y daily in regard io Gluck’s
it t luck. u?; him. 1- Il at ihicu told bt>n
iii ik n».* x .1 cunvukru ida< a usdaae.
This truubh • . iiiral Ueaumont as it had
troubled Bryd 1. He iiad sincerely ru
tp.ei’.a poor Grubb, and the spectacle of
Im. bov'i. uowiiiaii was a painful one.
■•I have i sued an order this morning for
u court martial, u;:*.; y *u will ,>:obably be
tire 11. St .. an taiKu,” i I l.e.
Xdmirul,” sai 1 Brydell, after a mon.ent,
•T would like your permission to see Black;
I do:, t eare anything for him, but 1 prom
’ ;...._ , ■ ;d to lo w hat I could
fur his sun, and I’d like to tell him that 1
ha veil t any animosity towa rd him.
The admiral gave his permission, and Bry
tlell went below to the dark place whei.’
Black was in irons. He was sitting up, with
a scowl on his fae , and even in tiie dim
light of tiie grewsome place Brydell saw
tmit it was Esdailc.
"I’m sorry to see you here.” said he, when
th*’ marine on guard had turned his bark.
“Tiie more so that 1 believe your father
was a man 1 loved very much.”
“I’m Esdailc, if that is what you mean,”
answcrel. the supposed Black, coolly. "Os
course I’ve gone to tiie dogs, driven to it by
being driven out ot my class. My money
went a long lime ago, and us 1 knew no
way of making a living but by shipping be
fore the mast, here 1 am.”
Brydell said not a Word, but the thought
of poor Grubb, his simple honesty, ins mis
taken indtilgeiiee to ins boy, his enduring
poverty and privation all ins life for this
boy almost overcame him. E.-dailo, watch
ing Brydell' lace, saw he was deeply mov
ed, and so toueiiing is tiie si ;ht of magaa-
I’.imitv and sympathy that few hearts can
withstand it. Bsdaiie's could not. After a
few nr neats l;c broke the pa nful pan e,
saving sit niimiy an 1 wlili son:’ tiling like
u sob ! ’ tv. ’ .1 his words, “and when 1 saw
you standing there, last night, an officer,
and with such a chum e lor distinction, 1
coudn’t help hating you; and when you
spoke to in.; snarply about my duty, 1 went
crazy, 1 believe, and struck you. Now, 1
suppose I’ll have five or ten years in prison,
am! after that I’ll take my choice between
Ki» workhouse and the jail.”
8.-ydell, like most courageous and upright
men, had a tender heart, and the words of
the man before him, scarcely a year older
than himself, gave him a powerful shock.
“I'm sorry to hear you talk that way,” Im
said, after a moment; “but 1 want to tell
you this, that although I shall have to tell
exactly what happened before the court
martial, 1 can't find in my heart the least
feeling ot revenge against poor old Grubb’s
son, and when you are let out of prison, if
you'll come to me, I'll do what I can for
you, because I promised him when he was
dying’ Brydell paused, and a slight
change came over Esdaile’s face at this, but
he said nothing, and Brydell turned away.
The next day but one, the court met, and
it made short work with Esdalle. The tes
timony was complete, ami the offense ot
striking an officer, under the circumstances,
was almost as grave as if it were in time of
war.
When Brydell was called upon for his evi
dence he gave it in a plain and straight
forward way, and his examination brought
out the fai t that the alleged Black was the
son of Grubb, th. marine, who had been
known to one or two of the older officers in
the court. Brydell could not but make the
best showing lie could for Esdaiie and some
thing m E-daile’s luce secur'd to indicate
th.a a humanizing process was going on
i him. • i indeed the t urn g j nt
in his life. Before that he had not fully
r. the wrong-doing oi his whole life,
but linding himself on trial for a chaig ■
that must . :.d him m prison gave him se’ine
awful moments of reflection.
Only a day or two .vere rin'”.imo.l in the
trial. Evi r? time that Bry l. II saw Esdaiie
led forward to his piaee to lie tried for what
was in military morals and discipline a ter
rible offen- ’, it gave niiii a ieeiibg of agony.
He thought of his kind oil frond, ami the
tears would come into nis « ves n spite ot
himself. Esdaiie was singula' ly ccol, and
beliaved civilly and respee’.f i lv lo the
At last the verdict was given ' tit —five
years in prison. E\ ary.no ly was surprised
at its leniency. Esdaiie, when called up for
sentence was asked if he had anything
to say.
“' inly this, if you please gentlemen," he
answered calmly in the tone and manner of
an educated man. "The time was when
Air. Brydell and I were not so unequal In
our standing. I made a. mistake -commited
a fault, if you will—in my early youth that
his made me what I am. I had not seen
Air. Brydell since, we had both of us been
youths together. < in the night of the storm
I stood apart from my mates watching him
and envying him. Here, thought I. is lie an
officer, suddenly finding himself in a po-
s. nto reap tne greatest credit, with the
admiral, the captain and ail the officers in
the squadron to witness it, while I, a sailor
before the mast, forced to conceal my real
name, poor and friendless, might have been
where he i . And whi n I wen’ aloft 1
s. l ively knew what 1 was doing. When 1
came down on deck he spoke to me; I be
lieve that he acknowledged that he spoke
impatiently and some tb-vd seemed to rise
up in me ai d I would have killed him if I
could But that Las all passed. I have been
tried fairly and impartially and ail I can
ask is th- c. rcy "I' the court.”
in tiie mid.-: ol a deep an i breathless
silence the verdict was read— dec years in
prison E daile, still wearing his impassive
look, neither groaned nor fell as men some-
t. do in his awful circumstances; he only
sml, after a painful pause of a few min
utes:
“ 1 th.":;!, the court for its very moderate
punishment an I I should like the favor of
seeing Air. Brydell.”
Brydell was hastily sent for. He had
purpos’ ly kept out of the way; the sight of
Esdaile’s misery was terrible lo him. He
was found, though, and at once came in re
sponse to the summons.
"Air. Brydell,” said Esdaiie, in the same
composed and reasoiiable voice, “1 have
reci.it -d my setwnce and nothing I may
say or do now can mitigate it. You will
therefore think me sincere when 1 ask
your pardon tor my conduct and tell you
that if I. live to get out of prison I will
li’.H.i a different life. Won’t you shake hands
With me, sir?”
Brydell, choking with emotion, held out
his hand and for the first time in tiie lives
of tl; • two young men they met in mutual
good will.
It was now tinr? for the Naiad to sail
for home, and Esdaiie had to be taken back
in her before he was consigned to prison.
He was la »t in solitary confinement and
tr- .iti’d rii/iiously but not unkindly. Bry
dell aske'i permission of the admiral to go
i Esdail’.: s cell every day for a few min
ute:. 'l’l'y would talk togetiu r and Bry
lieli bc;;an to see that Esdaiie was in
ti ■ 1 a. changed man. Tl’.’ ■: visits became
tii : one bright, spot in Esdaile’s hard lite,
;.:.d Winn at last, the ship reached New
York he felt that he had at least one friend
in the wollu.
i me night some .' ears after that. Brydell,
now one of the brightest lieutenants in
the navy, sat in lies pleasant quarters
writing. His wile sat near him uniter a
sol’ll.'- shad.d lamp reading. After a long
lenee, bi only by thi scratching of
Brydell’s f n, h turned to her and handed
her a paper.
"Read that Minna,” he said, "Esdaiie,
I believe is a reformed man. These people
will give him a j-laee as bookkeeper, but
as lie told them frankly his past history,
they write me if 1 will go on Esdaile’s bond
thi.y will take him. 1 don't be
lieve there is tin.- slightest danger; his
fault, you know, was not connected with
money, but 1 don't think it right for any
man to assume this sort of responsibility
without his Wife's consent. So it rests
with you whether I shall guarantee Es-
Minna took the letter and read it caretuky,
then handing it back said softly; "Os course
you must sign it. Didn’t you promise the
pc ,r marine when he was dying that you
would befriend his boy?”
“It is you who are befriending him now,”
answered Brydell. “Whenever a man is
ived then ilway: a g 1 wt>man who
has a share in it. .Between us we will
redeem my promise to dear old Grubb.
Here goeS|” And. r.rydell signed the letter.
The End.
Love :md the Master.
Love, he led tiie Alaster
Ina garden lone
Where the darkness shadowed him
With its grief and moan.
Ar i O for him—the Master
Within that garden drear!
The keen thorns climbed and kissed his lips
And left the.r crimson there.
Love, he led the Alaster
Brom that garden dim,
And with sharp thorns in mockery
Wreathed round the brow of him.
And O for Him -the Master,
That Love should kiss and kill.
An 1 carve Him there a cross to bear
Alone to Calvary hill.
Love, he led the Alaster
Erom the midnight gloom;
O’er the wild and wounding thorns
Made the lilies bloom.
An 1 O for Him—the Master,
For garden, cross and hill!
The hands that scourged him lie hath kissed
And lives to love th- m still!
—FRANK L. STANTON.
ATLANTA, GA., TUESDAY, MA'ROII ‘27, 1894.
IN COLUMBIA.
cor. SCRUGGS WRITES OF SOUTH
A M ER ICA.
It Has All Sorts of Cliniates-Tlio Country
Abounds in Great Forests of Bamboo
—Valuable in Japan—Etc.
By W. L. Scruggs, ex-United Slates Minis
ter to Venezuela and the United States
of Columbia.
The territory of tiie present republic of
Colombia corresponds approximately to that
of the old viceroyalty of New Granada. In
181!) New Granada united with Venezuela
and Ecuador in the formation of the first
republic of Colombia; but in 1831, when the
union was dissolved, New Granaua resumed
its colonial name, and divided its territory
into departments. These departments were
divided into provinces; the provinces were
divided into cantons, and the cantons into
parishes. Subsequently, when New Grana
da assumed the name anu title of the
“United States of Colombia,” tiie five de
partments were subdivided into common
wealths called slate.-;; but in i-85, when the
name of tl”: country was again changed lo
that of the "Republic of Colombia,” the
states became "departments,” thuogh they
still retained their respective names. It is
important to keep these changes in mind, if
we would avoid confusion and obscurity in
studying the geographical position and gen
eral aspect ot tiie country.
H.
A glance at any good map of the Ameri
can continent will show that the republic
of Colombia occupies a conspicuous and
commanding position upon it, although we
may not be able to quite agree
with a Colombian writer who
claims that his country is “the
navel of the world.” The republic is bound
ed on the north and northwest by the Car
ibbean sea and tiie free state of Costa
Itica; on the south and southeast by Fern,
Ecuador anft Brazil; on tne east ly Vene
zuela ami Brazil, and on the wi_.-t by the
I’acmc ocean.
At e thus have a vast xcregularly shaped
country, extending from the equator to a
little beyond the Jlth parallel of north lati
tude, and from the 70th to the 82d degrees
west longitude, ami containing an area of
about •’>14,000 square mill’s, exclusive of its
numerous islands on the Caribbean and
I’aeilia coasts, in other words, the area of
Colombia is larger than that of either
France or Spain, and is about equal to that
of the original thirteen commonwealths of
our first federal union.
We observe also that the coast line of the
republic is something over a thousand miles
on tiie Caribbean—tiie only distinctly Amer
ican :-i a on the continent, and that >t has a
eoast line i f nearly two thousand miles on
the Pacific. Both these lines are marked
”■ ( mi roi s ba •s, - ulfs, ini ai . h
burs, ami along both, within easy distance
oi Hie mainland are num tous fertila is
lands, which constitute part of the national
domain. As yet. however, few’ of these is
lands are inhabited, and perhaps uot more
than one-fourth of the mainland is occu
pied by actual sei tier.’.
111.
The topographical fez'uies of the country
arc varied and interesting. There are
ranges of high mountains, broad and deep
valleys, rolling steppes, elevated plains, i<-y
pyramids and snow -capped sierras—all in
ters] rsed w” h great rivi rs, fri sh water
Likes and rapidly running streams. In the
language of Baron Humboldt, the tourist
ne.d.s but "a thermometer and a mule to
find any elimat • he wants within the com
pass of a lew leagues.” When he tires of
the lurr.'d heat of the coast and deep val
leys, the frozen regions of the sierras are
just in siglit, and wd:en hi Ims had en >u ;h
of perp, tual siu iiig in. can easily find au
tumn or summer.
Near the southern border of the republic
tiie Andes ; art into Iwo distinct ranges,
and a little farther northward one of these
is again divided into two others, thus mak
ing three distinct cordilleras. One of these,
turning wesiwaru, runs parallel with the
Paidi'i; coast and passes through the isth
mus into Central America und Alexico; the
second or middle range, running' due north
ward, soon terminates in tiie Caribbean
sea, while the third, bending eastwird, ex
tends to the shores or tiie Atlantic. Nearly
all the;.- ranges attain to great height, but
the mot conspicuous peaks are on the cen
tral and i astern cordilleras. Thus, for in
stant e, the peaks of Ailo del Trio are nearly
10,(0) f< et above the sea level; those of Alto
del Aiotite ale over 13,000 feel, and those of
the Sierra Nevada, attain to the extraordi
nary height of nearlj' 21.000 feet.
The most extensive and fertile of the n.’-
rnerous tabie lands are those of Pasto,
Fopyan and Tt;querri's. in the department
oi tne Cauea; Santa Rosa and Ilerveo, in
the department ol Antidquia; Bogota,
l bate a.id Simajaeo, in Cunditiamarcu;
Sogamoso, Tunja and Chiquinquira, in
Boyai-a, ami Pamplona and Jeridos, in San
tander. The Jirnate on all tin plateaux is
that, of pi rp tual spring, and tin- soil i.s ex
ceptionally fertile. Two and three crops
may b. easily raised on the same ground
within the year, and the planting and the
harvest season may be m almost any month
of the twelve.
The great prairies, or llanos, as they are
known tn the language of tiie country, are
generally eastward of the cordillera of Su
mapaz and extend to th-- borders of north
ern Brazil and southeastern A'enezueia.
They are va: t, treele: i ions, but generally
well watered and thickly matted with j><—
rennial grass s, which afford excellent pas
turage. Tiie soil is a black loam of immense
depth, and needs but cultivation to be even
more productive than the plains of Louisi
an:’. and Texas.
The great forests of the republic occuppy
the valleys ol the rivers, Hie coves of Hie
mountain ranges, and the rolling steppes
southeastward o< the prairies. Alany of
•'lose forests are ao dense as to be almost
impenetrable, but nearly all of them, at
b ast in so far as they have been explore'!,
abound witlt all varieties of cabinet and
dye woods, and every species and variety
of medicinal plants known to modern
science. The dense groves of bamboo would
be a source of great wealth in countries
like China and Japan, where that pictur
esque and beautiful plant is so extensively
utilized in the arts.
I AL
The geologic formation of the country is
generally igneous ano metamorphic, except
where it is purely alluvial as in the deltas
and in many of the valleys of
the great rivers. The masses of
the cordilleras are granite, gneiss,
porphyry and basalt. In many localities
there are thick carboniferous strata which
often crov out to the very surface, but are
so generally broken and distorted by vol
canic ac' on as to be difficult to trace. In
most places these disturbances appear to
have been of comparatively recent date,
a.nd in others the volcanic forces are still
actively at work. Thus, for instance, the
subterranean he.’t is so great near Soga
ntosa as to sensibly effect the climate, and
the extinct volcanos near Villete periodical
ly emit heat and smoke. Deep gravel beds
of glacial origin are seen on the sides and
foothills of many of the high mountains;
and in some parts of the Sierra Navadas,
as for instance at San Ruiz and Tolima,
the frozen drifts are still doing their silent
work. ’
In some remarkable instances, the larger
rivers of the interior seem to have cut their
way through mountain ranges; as for in
stance near Tur.ja and Velez, and on tiie
western verge o7 t; 1( > plateau of Bogota. At
Tunja and Velez the Sogamosa appears
to have become the outlet of a series of
highland lakes within a comparatively re
cent geological period. And so also at
Tequendame, twenty-eight miles from the
national capital, there is every indication
that the rupture of the mountain was an
event of perhaps less than ten centuries
ago. Here the waters of the plain break
through a deep and narrow fissure and
plunge over a precipice more than six hun
dred and fifty feet high, and thence descend
in a scries of sma'lvr cataracts to a deep
canon in the torried plains of Anapoie and
Tocalme.
I have already had occasion, in a former
paper, to refer to some of the principal riv
ers of the isthmus. Besides these, however,
mention may be made of the Bayano, or
Chepo, as it is perhaps more frequently
called, which flows into the great shallow
b|iy of Panama; the Darien or San Aligucl,
whi' It Hows into the gulf of the same name;
ahd also the San Juan, which lias its outlet
in another part of the gulf of Darien. On
the Atlantic side the principal river is the
Atrato, which, after a course of some
three hundred miles, flows into the gull
of I’raba. At Quitdo. some two hundred and
twenty miles from its mouth, the Atrato
is more than eight hu: dri-d and fifty led
wide and from eight to twenty feet deep.
'Thence upward some thirty-two miles to
San Fabio, the rise of the current averages
only about three ai d one-half inches to the
mile, and light draught steamers ascend
with little difficulty. The impression which
one receives while exploring this valley is
that it was once, and at no very remote
period, and estuary of tiie sea, whose wa
ters broke upon tiie foot, of Hie cordillera;
and the lossilifi rous rocks mar Hie head
xvaters of the Tuva, on the opposite side,
seem to indicate that not a great many cen
turies ago tiie whole country was sub
merged by the Pacific ocean.
The fact is generally overlooked that the
river .Amazon waters Colombian soil for a
distance of about six hunnr.d miles, and
that it forms, in part, the boundary line—
or wnat is claimed to be such —between
Colombia and Brazil and also be
tween Colombia and Ecuador, and
it is perhaps generally overlooked ("X
--cept by the British authorities in Gu:ty
ar.a) that the great Orinoco and its ablu
ents are navigable far into the southwestern
plains and valleys of Colombia; and that tiie
possession of tint tluvial highway means
easy approaches, not only to central and
southeastern V 'nozucla, but to a portion 01.
Colombian territory as large as our states
ot Virginia ®r Onio.
A*.
The republic is peculiarly rich in minerals.
From the bord rs of Costa Rica to those of
v. zeula. thn’>e is hardly a department or
even a petj ‘ ’cfecture, i’) wi:i--'i go > nas
not !>'■!'•.• • J 1 '* % yed in gre. ■ ’-ess
titii s’; the remoe»» E.'“ .*r depart-
ments and of Choco. Antioquia,
Tob ina, Alarii/nito, Sopyan, Geona ami I’. ; -
aromanga, there are gold deposits which
experts have pronu meed equal if not su
perior lo those of California of forty years
ago. Small diamonds have been found in
many localities, ami on others sulphate of
mercury is Known to be abundant. Tl'”rc
are several, though as yet partially devel
oped, silver mines; and the great, coal beds
near Cull are said to extend beyond the
western cordillera to within a tew mihs
of the Pacific shore. A i.’ins of bituminous
coal and also of the richest iron ores, crop
out to the very surface around the idges of
the plain of Bogota, and also Sacho, seme
leagues beyond. Near Rio Haelie, on the
Caribbean coast, are apparently inexhaust
ible beds ot the best canal coal. Rock salt
abounds in the foot hills around the pla
teaux of Bogota, Tunja, Pamplona and Tu
querres; and sulphur, alum, magnesia and
asphaltum are found in various places. The
emerald mines of Aluzo are famous the
world over.
In all parts of the republic, where 'he al
titude is from two to four thousand feet,
me coffee j .ant seems to mdig- aejs. The
celebrated C.imibi ttes. m the r. mote in
terior of Cunidamarea, are sai l to produce
the most deliciously flavored coffee
in the would. None of this,
tiie better grades of Columbian coffee, ever
finds it way to the United Stales. It i/
always bought up early in tiie season,
sometimes even before harvest, for the
European markets. In tiie tierras cali
entes, or hot districts, cocoa, bananas,
yueen, airaeuke, sugar cane, indigo, tobac
co, vanilla and riee are among tiie staple
products; while in (lie intermeulate is inmis
wheat, barley, oats, potatoes and many of
the other cereals and vegetables of the
north temperate zone are successfully cul-
VI.
Within a single day’s journey one can
find tiie four seasons and the vegetable
peculiarities of tiie three zones. In the deep
willies we find ail tiie tropical flora, where
tiie sugar cane and plantain are indigenous.
On tiie elevated plateau we find maize,
wheat, potatoes, peaches, pears and ihe
other products of the temperate zone, on
the bleak paramos we Hud the wild potato,
and nearly ail the coarse grasses and stint
ed shrubs commonly seen hi tiie high lati
tudes of the north. And farther up we
rarely fail to tird the flora of tiie arctics.
In the vicinity of Papyan we see the ehin
chona growing to perfection; higher up,
at an altitude of 9,0D0 feet, are wax palms
one anu two hundred feet high: and still
higher up, on the sides of the great frozen
mountains, are the cedar and the balsam.
In tiie lower valleys, the sugar cane will
continue in good condition without re
planting once in a. lifetime. In the region
of Gachela the quinquiana tree is indigen
ous; and near by is the vegetable wax of j
southern Asia. In many parts of the
country the arraeo is a common growth- -
a tree which yields t>n exceptionally bril
liant rose-colored dye. which, when mixed
with the juices of the yucca, becomes a
glossy black. Tiie so called "sweet milk
tree” (laemelles ddulis) or leche-miel, as it
is known in the language of tiie country,
grows abundantly near Medina. Tiie bark
of this tree exudes a milk-like fluid, which
the Indians use as an article of food. In
many parts of the interior the currucai
(isica helerophila) is a common growth.
It yields a resin that, is very white, aromatic
and rich in turpentine. AA'hen heated over
a fire this resin becomes a brilliant paste,
very similar to Burgundy pitch. On tiie
banks of tiie GaT anta river grows a tree
called the neeha (a species of the fevilla
tarrillo) the exudations of which are used
in the treatment of cancers and tumors.
The sarsaparilla (smilax- officinalis) is found
in great abundance at altitudes of from one
to three thousand feet.
The fauna of Colombia is no less inter
esting. Among the native animals are trie
puma, jaguar', the sloth, armadillo, eMy,
tapir and ntanyi varieties of monkeys—
nearly all, in tact, except the catarine of
southern Asia. In some regions, especially
about the mountain caves on the outskirts
of the plateaux, the red deer is not unusual.
Black bear abound in many of the cordil-
: leras. The tiger is found in many of the
’ jungles of the lower valleys, and a large
species of wildcat and panther inhabit
i the forests and jungles of the Magdalena
and the Aleta. The condor or Andean eagle
I is usually seen only at considerable alti
i tudes. The polyborus (known in Vem’zue'a
■ as the caracara) is often seen about Guad-
■ lias, I'baque and Fusugasuga. Parrots of
i all varieties abound every where .below alti
tudes of four and five thousand feet. In
I the valleys of nearly all the great rivers,
• but more particularly in that of the Aleta,
' there is a species of boa constrictor simi
’ lar to the great boa of India, and in all
tiie torrid districts is every specie and
i variety of serpent life known in tropical
; Asia. ' But I do not now remember ever
: to have seen a common snake in localities
i above 7,000 feet altitude, or a black scor
: pion or a centipede at an altitude of more
' than four or live thousand feet above the
I sea level.
AMI.
I Such is the country as nature has made
I it —picturesque, beautiful and exceedingly
I rich and varied in resources. 1-ut as xet
' man lias done very little for it. '1 lv- great' r
i part of it is still an unbroken wildern'-ss.
: Even in its most populous and civilized dis-
I triets, as, lor instance, on th. • great plat< anx
i of Bogota and Tunja, agriculture is still in
. a very primitive state, and tic < hid rural
industry is cattle breeding. The immense
! coal and iron beds have hardly been dis
turbed. AVith an abundance of exeoptioual
ly fine water power, th< re Te no manufac
tories. AVith gold and silver mines richer
i and more numerous than those of California
or Now Alexico, the average annual pr'"iu''t.
■ of gold has been little more than SC..’.i'i'.""D
' during the past twenty years, and the
' avera.ge annual product of silver less than
: $1,200,000. The richest mines are in the
! remote inferior, difficult of access and with
out means of transportation; and few <>r
’ none of them have as yet been worked by
modern machinery And yet nearly half
a century ago, before the gobi discoveries
i on the Pai'iii'- slope, Colombia, was th'' lir :.
but one, of all thu gold producing countries
ion the continent. It has been said that
; “in Colombia one walks on gold” and. lives
| without effort on the indigenous products ot
: the soil. There is only wanting labor and
i capital, scientific appliances and facilities
for rapid and <'heav> transportation to make
i it the greatest gold producing country on
: earth.
. The commercial possibilities *>f the coun
try are almost incah uT 11 and*-the time
i is not very remote when this fact will b •
I more fully' real’;-."! by the great commercial
i powers of the world. And yet Colorfibia s
i highest aggregate of exports during any
■ one of the ten years from 1881 to 1.891, never
I exceeded .813,1501).GOO in our currency, while
: the highest aggregate of imports during
any one year of the sum-' period, was not.
more than $15,000,000. The reason of this
:is obvious enough. There are almost no
means of interior tr.".i.:-portntion. Indeed,
aside from what is afforded by the naviga
tion of a few of the principal rivers, there
I are absolutely none. There are not cxceed-
■ ing 100 mil' -■ of operat< 1 railway in tiie
| whole republic, even including tl'.? forty--
| seven miles across the isthmus, and there
i are as good as no <lirt >r macadam roads
for carts or wagons. The entire transporta
! tion in the interior is by pack m”les and
peom.s, just a. it was a century m.o. The
■ t ‘;:>ple have been ti o much absorbed in local
? politics, and too generally o<'c.U’>i' 'l in civil
| wars, to pay much attention to internal
I improvements:.
VI IL
As an illustration of the difficulties with
which Ihe commerce of tiie country has to
contend, take for example a single bale of
goods shipped from New A’ork to Bogota.
In the first place the bale must not be over
125 pounds weight, otlu rwise its tran-'p'ir
tation may be indefinitely delayed after
: reaching the Colombian coast. This eon-
■ dition complied with, tiie bale, after a
roundabou voyage of twelve r fift<
i arrives f t Sa.vanilla. It is there discharged
I into a cluinsj' barge, toweu ashore an I
placed tn a warehouse. After v Hing it
: turn, it is skipp'd thence by rail s<>m“ til
teen miles, to Barranquilla. where it passes
• through the custom house and is carted
across tiie city to another warehouse, near
: tile river whi'.rt. Here’ it. age awaits its
turn for shipment by riv. r steamer. it
: then make.; a ten days’ voyage of il': 1 ) miles
lup the river to Las Yaguas. Here it is
I discharged into a warehouse and awaits
: its turn for shipment by rail fifteen jniles
!to Honda, where it again discharged into
I a warehouse to await its turn for shipment
i by railway some four or five mill’s lo
Arranca-Plumas. ITere it is tak< n from the
ear and carried down a steep bank, pla' -'d
i on a ferry barge and roved to the opposite
side of the river. It is then lugged up ;tn-
1 other steep bank and placed in another
. warehouse, where it awaits its turn (some
i days or, possibly, weeks) lo begin the
I tedious ami toilsome jourin m: I a k
! to Las Alanzar.as, on the western ? of
i the great plateau. Here it finds still an
' other warehouse, and lias still another rt t
; ing sfll before being carted across th
| plain by oxen to Bo'-totn. it has been ]. r
l haps fully two months in making the tran
: sit from the port of original departure to
the place of final destination. and the
fre’ght and insurance and storage ail com
missions of middlemen and forwarding
agents and the mountain road tax. amount
to more than its original cost in Now York.
WILLIAM L. SCRUGGS.
An Old Easter Bonnet.
A faded Easter bonnet,
AVith old-fashioned ribbon on it.
In a bandbox in the corner, old and quaint;
Yet a dreamer might discover
Just the memory of a lover
In that bandbox—or the picture of a saint.
I know not who hath worn it.
Nor whose fair hands did adorn it;
I| is older that my life is. I am sure;
Yet, this fair, though fading, feather
Seems to hint of Springtime weather
And a sweetheart, in the merry days of
yore.
I believe the maid who wore it
Had a mirror—stood before it
For an hour, on that Easter morn of old;
And she wondered how he’d like it
AVhen the Easter «un should strike it.
And light up her locks of hazel or of gold.
AVith what dainty eare she pressed it
On her fair head: How he blessed it—
That sweetheart, with the buckles on his
shoes;
How his heart beat every minute,
AVhen he saw her smiling' in it
And wondered if those lips he'd win or
lose!
Thus 1 muse; but while deb iting.
Comes my wife, who has been waiting;
(I’d forgotten, and had left her in the lurch.)
And she says: "That there old bonnet
AVith those awful ribbons on it,
Was the cook's. Come on; it’s past the
tiMu: for Chur, h!”
-FRANK L. STANTON.
Where Slavery Still Flourishes.
From The Des Aloines Leader.
Pennsylvania is a black patch on the i
map of the union. It is the home of the I
robber barons and the white slave dr,vers i
of America. Typical American labor was
long ago driven from the mines and fac
tories of that state. Intelligent, indepen
dent workingmen are not to be f und tliere
to any great extent. The tariff robbers
pocket the profits derived through govern
ment aid and then hire the cheapest and
most ignorant labor to be found in Europe.
T >e American laborer who formerly made
his homo in Pennsylvania is now a tramp
or living in another state.
FIUCE FIVE. CENTS
IHE FORCE OF HABIT
A SKETCH.
By Robert L. Adismson.
There is nothing so deceitful as reforma-
I tion. 11 is fair-faced and firm-looking, but
in a vast number of cases it is nothing
' more than a feeble and strengthless patch
t ing' up of the moral structure. Ultimate
collapse is wrought in its constitution. The
reformed man de es him self. He imag-;
ines that he has by a sudden resolve t’c
quired enough resi tini foi t( >iak him
prooi against the influences which have
; been enjoying free rem. He keeps a mstlf
: in a sort ot’ moral hothouse for a season,
i but some day the worldly winds get in and
j the promising structure is wrecked.
I ■■ ■■ is not an am maly,
but it is something hard to acquire, Re
formation that stands the test of two or
three decades involves < na’ural
stren th. A d :■ repri ents
chances to do the wrong things aga..n, and
1 the man who stays reformed that long is
1 some sort of a hero.
Jim Ruff’s reformation has alw tys keen
; one of the anchors to my faith :i human
ity. When 1 remember its complet mess, its
lastingness and its security I feel th: t the
1 yoke of habit is not such a hopeless bmd
■ of slavery after all. Run is ::o mc-e able
I to understand it than I. speaking of it the
i other day he said:
I "it's twenty year ago now sence I te
i formed, and in all that time it hev fa led
me but once—jes’ once. A'ou b.uinT m idee
I how hard it’s been at times; it es’ seen td
j lak old Stone mounting herself couldn't
' hoi’ me back, but 1 wuz hilt ba.w.. AVhut
i did it? I don’t no. Time and e.'gin Ds.ivs
to myself, ’Shorely this ain’t you, Jim
Hough?’”
Surely it was not the Ruff that the pec pie
of a certain mountain village once knew.
They knew him as lighting J mi, and it was
; a common saying that "Jim had ruther
i light than eat." which was lit rally true.
■ Jim had a reputation lor looking Ic r fiiTts.
I It there was a man in the entire county
I who gained local notoriety as a lighti r
j Ruff it a point to pick a -iuair. 1 with
I him at tiie first opportunity. Huff’s per
i social appearance in those days was pecu
' liar. His eyes were of deep blue and his
i hair of a gold-brown line, long, thick and
■ curly.
Ruff was a champion of .he old and weak,
but those who knew him hinted that it was
I championship involved than from any no
bility of heart. One day on the public
square he met old man Bassett crying.
The old fellow told him that Fred Fike,
a local fighter of considerable note, had
insulted his daughter. “I’m too old to whip
him.” said the old man. "He’d kill me.”
“Come with me,” said Ruff, and Lo led
the way to one of the principal stores,
where Pike was surrounded by an admir
ing crowd. €>n the way fte picked up a
keen buggy whip and hand i it to old Bas
: sett, who limped, wandi ig. Rust
! astonished the crowd and I’ike, by gath
-1 ering the latter in a firm grip and dragging
him into the street. He gave him a thor
ough shaking, and, nmlio Hng to old Bas
sett, said, "Lay it on!” Bassett plied the
hip, but I J ik’ ■ ; .. ■ is r< tnce.
Ruff’s list settled him. AVhen he pickid
himself up lie was willing enough to sub
mit to the warm chastisement that old
Bassett gave him.
In those days Harvey Wade was a fighter
of no mean pretentions, and was a powerful
! man. He has grown old now, and there
I arc streaks of gray in his beard. "Os al!
i the lights I've ever had.” 1 once heard him
I say, "the one 1 had witii Jim Huff was
the only one that ever excited me. I whip
ped him, but it was by getting in the first
lick, it was a scared lick —I had no idea 1
could hit so bard. I must have knocked
him twenty feet. The next day lightning
struck me as 1 was walking down the
street. When I came to about a halt
dozen of the boys were standing around
me in the drug store. T tole you Jim liulf
would git you,’ one of them said.”
Court week was Ruff’s favorite season.
All (lie fighters came to town and as the
dispensation of whisky was more than
usually liberal, lie was kept busy at hi:>
favorite amusement. Tiie local government
never took official cognizance of his lights.
Fighting seemed to be regarded as his
constitutional right.
But at thirty oim refortped. Something
like ten thousand lights during a life-time
of thirty years hau driven into his head
the iii.int of wisdom that ... was all vani
ty, "foolishness,” as he expressed it. He,
bravely enough, announced that lie had re-
'•■Z ain’t goiu’ to jinc no church ner noth
in’,” said Jim, "Fm jes’ agoin to quit!
And he did. No man w is t'o uid with nerve
sufficient to olfer him an ins but wli’. u
Fred Fike publicly announ > I In it he was
tim best man in A.elve counties and Ruff
allowed the challenge • * l un lotici d,
stock in his reformation went up above
par. Jim also stopi drinking. He be
came useful in a small store, which he
started to take the place of his salary as
marshal. He sacrificed the marshalship in
Hie course of his reformation, tsiowly he
became a quiet man. Years ago he came to
Atlanta to live, and not a person among
those who have known him here suspect
‘his past. His reformation was
stei’iJy, unpretentious, se are and coin
plc-te. About ii dozen years ago he joined
the church . nd in a quiet way is a very
worthy member, I learn.
I met him coining up town on an electric
car the other day and repeated to him some
oi tiie remarks ihat 1 LaJ In ard about him
on a rec. nt'visit to his old town.
“Yes,” :. assented, "but it's all foolish
ness. It come lo me one day that it. wus,
and 1 sed to mxset', ‘Jim Ruff, you may be
a. tool, but its ter the ant uv experience;
you ain't constitushionaiiy one. You’ve quit!
Next day when 1 went down town 1 didn’t
k now my . '
where 1 wuz a talkin’ p'irty big, an’ 1
almos' fergot. It wuz the hartiest tiling in
th< world not to hit hin an 1 j it. gritted
my teeth and didn’t say a word. I’ve been
talked to purty hard sen then.” ; hi
witlt great pride, "but I jes, srideii . ad sed
somethin' that nobody but me heered.
"Thirty years is erlong time, but jes’ once
hev i broke over, it 'uz ’bout three years
ago; 1 went up Home and it happened to
be 'lection day. I guess I mils’ have looked
awful old un I no ’count fer them fellers
pit ked at me all day. 1 Hidn’a do nuthin’, but
jes' walked off quiet like ami sot down by a
tree. I’urty'soon they d come errotind mat
in' remarks and insinuatin’. I’wenty-lour
years 01. retormin. wuzn’t ti> be spoilt right
in a minute. They went off an’ left me
sayin’ that there warm no use tn loohn
with a dead man. 1 tuk that alright and let
’em go on. ,
"Yuu’ve been to country 'lections, I guess.
AYi il. I’ve li. en to hundreds, an' with the
excitement an’ tiie liquor there s plenty ot
tun. This 'lection was purtii'kler exeitin ,
but il wuz long erbout the midule ol the
evening ’fore I got back the old lection
leeiin'. About a 'lozeu leib rs were havin
a reu. h und tumble light right in tront o£
the polls, an’ every teller tmi.t wanted to
wuz t.ikin’ part. .
"Well I Hl in right m .he thickest pal I
of that’ fracas. A >iz it lively ’ ll looked
sorter like a eycii'ne. Every roily went to
fi'*Titin’, and lor about twenty minutes it
wuz old times eigin. I hain’t hreu to a
•lection since. Thirty years is a long turn-,
and doin’ a thing thirty years gives you a
lot of practice und makes it i jsy, but. 1
can’t risk myself—l jes’ can’t do it—ala
"ill’ 1 got off the car and bait’ way down the
block 1 saw him stop to assist a blind man
find his way.