Newspaper Page Text
IJ A -I®Bll
VOL. XXVII.—NO. 43.
MYSTERIOBLY DISAPPEARED.
(Copyright. IS»< by the Author.)
We were dining together Brown. Stark
weather. the American, whose name I' can
not recall, and myself. Starkweather had
just returned from a trip to the Rocky
mountains, and he had made the acquaint
ance of the American on board the Atlantic
steamer. According to Starkweather the
American was the very best of good com
pany. and he had invited US to meet him,
assuring us wo should pass a most delight
ful evening. We were not told whether
the man was a millionaire, a humorest. or
a buffalo hunter, into which three classes,
as I have been given to understan 1, the
entire population of the American states is
divided; and. as he never rpok. during the H
whole of the dinner, ex.-ept to ask for • r j
decline some article of food or drink. I •dd |
not find him a particularly entertaining ,
person; but when we had arrived at cg-irs I
the American g ive a sigh of relief, lilted
back his chair on Its rear legs, .-nd looked
about him with a contented expression. and
a general air of having laid aside busmens
and prepared himself for pleasure.
We were speaking of th*- mysterious dr: -
appearances of a man. who, according to
the newspapers, had left his house in
Bloomsbury squire a fortnight ago to post
a letter, telling his wife h- would return
in five but who had never since
been heat.l of.
"There is something in these disappear- ■
ances that I cannot understand,” said I
Brown. “Kvery now and then some win. •
who has not the slightest reason for m- I
mitting suicide or for running away, walks
out of his front door and disappears utterly
and forever. Say that of these men a cer
tain percentage does commit suicide. or u.h -
run away, and that of the rest another per- ■
c—ntage is knocked on the h«-ad and drops* d |
into the Thames, there will still remain a. '
large number of disappen rances to which I
we can attach no explanation. Take this !
Bloomsbury man, for example. 1 know a ! (
man who knew him intimately, and be t< Ils .
me that a better man never lived, lie had •
not an enemy in the world, and lie was de- |
votedly attached t.» lits wife and children. ,
lie had a comfortable Income ami did not ■
owe a penny. lie was an exceptionally ;
hard-headed. clear-brained man. and the
hypothesis that he suddenly w -nt mad is
out of the question. So is the theory that
he was murdered at 7 o'c lock on a summer
evening between Bloomsbury square and the
corner of Fouthumpt*.n row. And this is
only one ot half a d ’on similar cases that j
have come to lay own knowledge.”
Htarkweather and 1 agr*«-d that the sub- ]
1, 1-ct was a mysterious one. and that Ul >e ,
i»t be some explanation fdr these disap- >
arnnees which no one had'yet though. of. 1
• •1» was then that the American s ‘ ’ icy
broke silence. and began a monologue
which lasted f«r the rest of the <-v nir.g.
••Gentlemen.” !.*• began. "we have just
such disappearances in the states. Os
•■ourse when .i cashier or a broker disap- |
pears we all kn >w that his time for dos
ing up his business affairs and takng hi.; i
securities across the bonier into Canada !
has come; but. g*»o*', quiet, honest |
just such men as your friend there has |
been describing. disappear with us mor. j
often. 1 reckon, than they do with you. I
have lost two intimate frierds in tn.it way,
and it naturuliy mad* me think a good ileal
abou* th.- thing. That's the way I came
to fin-1 out the truth about it. though I
have never told .i living soul, knowing that
there is nothing so credulous as a human |
being, and that if 1 told what 1 knew nine
people out of ten would think 1 was :• lu
natic or a liar. Bui over this side I find
that people believe things twice as easy as
they do with is. Just think, for a minute,
how all you Kngiishmrn believe in your
—. But there —I guess we don't want to
talk poltti.-s tonight. Howev« r. I'm cuing to
tell you what I know ais.-at myst- . I, us < is
appea ranees. because 1 calculate that you'll
le- liable to believe it. and because I'm go
ing to riaris tomorrow, and as 1 don't ex
pect t» come back to Lon ion again, it won't
so much matte.- whether you believe it or
not.”
He paused for a moment and drew three
or four t.iii-T* at h:c v.s.-r. Ue le-cg-d h»n
by all means i > £•.» •>:; with his story, and |
as I was f- ling a litll - • . .wy. ■ -I th.-
man's voice was soothing in moi.otutious <
inflection. I rather thought th.'t i Jiis story •
did prove tiresome 1 could sleep'through I
at least a p.trt of it. ;
"I was living in Chicago, g.-ntlem n.” I
rrs’im*'*! the American. "wh.-a t ;e first of |
my ftien.ls dfc-..p|w-and. He v -s u n..l ;
estate agent, and was making money b n! ,
ovvr list, with nothing on the face < ti e",
earth to worry him—having l>-< :i h-ppiiy [
divorced on.y that very year. He had !»■•• u j
spending the evening at my hou.«-, ai d
about Iv o’clock he start, d f*-r his lodgings, 1
which w< n- in the next street, not !•«> ya.xis
away. Hr had a sore throat at the time. |
and he said as he left me that he should 1
stop in at the druggist’s on his way home
and get some medicine, lie did so, as 1 as- |
terwards found on inquiring of the drug-Ist,
druggist's shop, no man ever h--.rd or
but from the iiionw-nt that h-.- i«ft the tn.-
p.»>jjtie u.wq wr.q i.-nui tt : t
loosely in the pocket, or .Is it • .!-i not
saw him again, and no mxi ever found the
least trace of him of any sort, size or de
scription.
“That was. say. ten years ago. Two
years later another friend who had been
married only three week*, an 1 was the
ha ppi* “t man I ever struck, disapiwared.
His wife wasn't feeling very well one Sun
day evening, and he insisted upon going
for the doctor. It was about S o'clock in
the evening, and it was a bright moonlight
right. The doctor's office was in the same
’••reel, about three blocks aw.-ty, and the
street was always full of people at that
hour. But from the time my frieiw! shut
his front door behind him, he vanished
completely, lie never went to the doctor's
»ffice. ro far ms we itould find out. and the
only trace of him that was ever found was
the evidence of a boy in a druggist's sh- p
’hat was about half way . betw < n my
friend’s house and the doctor's office. The
boy rather thought that a man answering
to the description of the missing man had
rune into the shop at 8 o’clvek. and bought
an ounce of cuiorate of i»oiash. but as he
didn't knw my friend ho could not. of
course b«- sure that it was hr. From that
day t .’this nothing was ever heard of Jul.us
H. k ,k. which was the n ime of my miss
in* friend, and his estate has been settled
by the lawyers, anil his wife has been mar
ried at least once since then.
•! K ., t into away of thinking ov. i the |
d' aps-arance of these two men. and trying
to invent some theory that would account
for it. i invented half a dozen theories,
but every one of them broke down. I was
absolutely certain that the men had neither
ran aw-av nor committed suicide, for I .
knew . n .,ugh about both of th -n to know
that this was simply impossible. Then. I
•Sain, the chances were at least a mill, on •
ALDEN.
By W.
to one that they had not be<-n murdered.
No man can be kili.-d early in the even
ing In a crowded street without attracting
the attention of somebo<iy. Even a police
man would notice a thing like that. My
friensd had not been enticed into some dark
alley and there murdered, for they were
not the kind of men to have 'that game
played on them. You might as well try
to entice a cat to walk into the river. Then,
too, if they had b< -n murdered, what ha 1
b.-.orne of their bodies? A human body.
gt-nUein. it. L; a mighty awkward thing to
dispose of surreptitiously, as you must
I ■ j tn i n. Well! n>- more
I thought of the matter, the more certa.n
I was that the missing men had not been
made away with, and not run away of
their own accord, nor committed suicide.
Then what had become of them, and doze ns
of other men who had disapp-ared under
similar «-ircuinstances? There didn’t seem
to lx- any answer to this question, and tha’
aggravated me. The thing beat me. and
1 h.it - to be beaten. But one day I was
r- i-llng in a newspaper of a new sort of
puniiowder. and the whole thing was clear
to me at once. That is ;o say. 1 knew I
had the clue, and when you have the clue
to anything, you etn consider that you
have -..it the thing, that i.s, of course, un
less you are a detective.
“I went around to the university, to a
friend of mine who was a professor of
ch. mlstry. and I raid. Tlrickerhoff. t-11 me
if chlorate of potash is an explosive?*
•••\V«I!’ I should smile;’ says he, or words
to th it effect, 'it's one of the most power
ful of explosives, and when It Is mixed with
certain oth -r ingredl. ".its—some of which
an- as common as pork - it is-ats dynamite
clean out of sight. Why, sir. 1 can make
a i explosion out of chlorate of jsitash that
woui i blow the whole cltv ot Chicago to
l-.ir.t-lis--, and you could cany enough to
do tie- deed in your trousers pocket.
•• Till me one more thing,* said I. ’ls
tnere any .-xrlo-ne which does a lot of work
with very little noise?
“ ’Now 1 sc • what you are driving at,’
srid Brinckerhoff. ’You are wanting to’ln
vent a noiseless powder, and are thinking
of chlorate of potash. It won't do. my
frierd. Y«>u can manage chlorate of potash
so as to give you a tremendous explosive
force with next to no noise, but you can
n.-ver harness it so as to use it in firearms.
Other men have tried it before you ever
th< u-ht of it, but they have all failed. Try
something that is slower than chloride of
pit.i.di if you want to succeed in anything
except blowing your own In-ad off.
"1 had learned ail 1 wanted to learn of
Brinckerhoff, -nd I knew now for certain
that I v. is on the right track. 1 wonuered
that the idea hud not come to me beforo.
You remember that the lir.-t of my friends
v. ao disappeared had been last seen at a
urucgist's where lie had gone to get some
medicine for a sore throat, and Gial there
wts some reason to suppore that the sec
ond man who disappeared hud bought
chl< rate of potash at another druggist's.
Looking at th-r facts in the light of what
Brinckeuhoff had said, 1 felt reasonably
sure that in both cases chlorate of potash
was at the bottom of th* mjoterious disap
peuranee cf my two friends, and i set to
work to try to prove it.
"1 I- >ugiit a coupie of ounces of chlorate
of potash, and that evening 1 gave a good
big dose of the drug to my lanulaly's cat,
putting it in the center of a. meat pill. The
cat Lolte 1 out without the least suspicion
an I t watehi-l patiently to see if the beast
voaid dis:i|p-.ir. She di 1 nothing of the
kin-!, bin aft-r about half an hour site curl
e l up on the fiuor and went into convul
sions; and. aft-r freeing her mind as to
ti.v tl i< k that she toum 1 had played on
iter, she died without th? slightest inclina
tion io explode. However that didn't shake
mj iaith in my theory, llrinr keihoff had
t that warn chlorate < f pota : h was coni
biiieii with some substance, lite n;-.m-- of
v.l.i h he would not give me, its explosive
powers were enormously increased. Wnai
was that other su'isiance? it seemed to
m-- that this question could not be a very
di:i. -.:!t one. The two men v. ho had dlsap
!ted : t I.eve had this substance some
iv.i. „Lout them, am! it must have come in
a tual con act with the drug,
"hat the-: amis of peopl** take
chlorate of potash or carry it
«■; -i p.H-k ;s, and don’t <i's:tpp»ar ir.u-t
m -i.i that ’-i<l< n't hat-pet: to have the
.uh iny.-.era-.i • su:- tan--.- about thi-m. it
was ti.<-:i a substance v.ni h my two friends
1.. with them, but which the average man
h:ive t t.n.e In ' ontaet with the chlorate of
le i-.-ii. \Vi',it i-ould this substam-e be?
•d. I \ riied over that problem for
vie. .., ac t ii..t earn.- to any conc.u-
si«..i. ' n: ■ d chlorate of notn.-h with every
:• 't ot t- tig th-i* 1 . -ul ! ftnagine a sane
man might pos-didy h ive in his ; oat pocket,
but 1 could mu i ro hc-c th* terrible explo
sive that Hrmk. -hi.ff had -p-k- a of. It was
not phosphoiu- no;- sulpau,. nor anythin;,'
*-!-e that is u.-ri jn making mat h-s. It wt-s
■ ■ tobacco, not . .. tt not n ;r*bea,
nor gum. nor flour, imr anything elst that
I could think of. 1 was I : inning to get a
little disheartened ’, h-n <r:' <1: y I had to go
to a dentist to have a tovtl- till . id ;i;.-te
I made my discoverey. The dentist was
one of those men who think that tm y can
distract your attention from dental opera
tions by |M-rpetually talking to you. The
theory is that the suffering you undergo in
your ear makes you forget the suffering
you undi-rgo in your ti-eth. This particular
i me;-n-‘- • .-d t- ir.-i-.. mo ;.!!
a.iont th- we..th«-r and the jioliti- s of Amer
ica and Europe, and the progress of a.-iro
nomli al dsi -overy. and tin- last n<-w novel
that he r id. an 1 gradually h • worked
round to my two friends who had disap
pear, d, and remarked ho.v singular it was
ti;:-.t thev p . i iM.th b.-i-n under his hands
within the wi-ek le-fori- th y dirapp-are I.
"This uati tally laierest-M me more than
I car.ii to say. ind i asked him what he
lad dime for my friends. He said he had
nl'.i-il two tilth for one and seven for the
oth. r. ’Filled them with gold. 1 suppose,’
said I. though I ilidn't suppose anything of
the kind. ’Not ail of them,’ said the den
tist. "There w.-re several cavities that were
too large for gold fillings, and in them 1
used cement.’
"What is you- cement made of? I asked
in a careless sort of way.
’•’\\<!.. that is a ttade secret,* he re
plied. ’To tel] the truth, t don’t precisely
kt.iiw ivh.it ail the ingredients arc inytelf.
I'll show it io you-* So saying he opened a
drawer, and taking out what looked iik- a
thick sheet of gfluv, he laid it on the table
b-s.de me. ’That is it.* he said, ’though, of
course, it has to be soft'. •>■•<l before being
used.*
"Just then the dentist excused himself
for a moment, and went into the other office
to speak to a n< wly arrived patient, and I
implored the opportunity by stealing a bit
of the cement. You sei* I did it in the
cause of science, and cvcryiwdy knuw.s that
ATLANTA, GA., MONDAY, OCTOBER 22, 189-x.
a ninn has a. right to do anything in th--
cause of science, from vivisecting a dog
to writing books- on j>oiiti<-al economy.
"When 1 got home 1 made a powder of
that cement ami 1 mixed a very little of it
with a very little chlorate of potash. Then
1 looked around for somethin* to try it on.
My landlady was out of cats just then, and
th- re was no available dog to be had. How
ever, I thought 1 knew where I could bor
row a cat, so 1 took a sin ill covered bas
ket and a bit of dried herring tin-l I w--tff
to a neighbor’s where J had seen half a
dozen cats in the front yard, and I didn’t
have much trouble in stealing one—ln the
interests of science, you understand.
‘1 took the cat to my room, and when
she had agreed to overlook my conduct in
putting her into a basket I gave a meat
pill, compounded of chlorate of potash and
the cement 1 had borrowed of the dentist.
She swallowed It and asked for more, but
didn’t get it. Then I hung a. string from
the corner of the table and advised her to
play with it, which she accordingly did.
You know how excited a young cat will get
over a si ring. V» eil. that eat got so excit
ed after a little while that she took to
throwing hers -if around on the floor
and a .umst the log o" the table in a
mighty reckless way, considering she
was making a delicate i-h-.-mie.il ex
per|ni<-nt. Suddenly 1 heard a little faint
puff, as you might say, for you could
hardly call it a report, much less an ex
plosion. and. gentlemen, as true as 1 am sit
ting here, there wasn't so much as a hair
of that cat to be seen. And, what's more,
nobody ever found the least trace ot' that
animal, nut even so much as a particle of
du- or soot. 1 needn’t say that the doors
and windows of the room were locked, and
that nothing is more certain than that the
cat wasn’t hiding under the furniture. N->,
sir; that cat had disappeared the same as
my two friends has disappeared, and I
had solved the mystery of their disappear
ance at last.
"Why b iven't T published this discovery?
Be<-.-iuse it wuiil-1 do more harm than good.
Brinckerhoff was right in trying to keep
me in the dark as to the way of making
such a tremend-ius and silent explosive, if
I had published my facts anybody could
have made that explosive, and by this time
the anarchists would have blown nine peo
ple o-.it of every ten into the oth. r world.
I wouldn’t tell what 1 know even now.
W r- it not that the cement of which I
speak has gone out of use, and there
nrohahly isn't i>- dentist living wild knows
how it is in.-.de. All I know of the matt- r
is that If you have ever had a tooth filled
with cement of any kind, you had better
k--. p clear of chlorate of potash. You
might make the combination by ai-rfdcnt,
just as my friends -lid, and then wt shout I
hear of another mysterious disappearance.
Very likely you don’t nltogether believe
what I've l-e- u telling you. but you can't
deny that it does - yplaln how people mys
teriot I. app u. and that there bn’t
.my other exp'.mr.tion that meets the ca.-e.
That is sufficient reason for behoving the
theory, as ev-ry n-i ntlilc mnn will tell you
it’ you disbelieve it, you might just as well
disbe!l--v< the theory of gravitation. You
can't prove the existence of gravitation as
a univer .al law, but you believe it be
cause it explains all the facts, and it Is
the only theory win h does explain them.”
ONLY A NEU SPA Pl./i POET.
(Inscribed (o Frank L. Stanton. Eugene
l-'i hl, James Whitcomb Itlley, George E.
L’sjwen and other timely troubadours.)
"He’s only- a newspaper poet,
He’s simply a singer of songs,”
How all the oracles know it.
And murmur in envious throngs, 5
hit's pinning some timorous verses
th- v. ritii’ r some sonorous strain;
The cyni -s are Hinging their curses.
The critics complain.
He toys with the muse and ho dallies.
He’s writing at cyclonic speed,
H»- sings of the hilif- ami the valleys.
Os rivers that wat-r the mead;
Os trees when- the foliag • quiver
tnd bend with -heir burden of fruit.
Os leavi s that will rustle ami shiver
When summer is mute.
Os brooks that will babble and bluster
Ami chi tier in frolicsome- gtee,
Wn-- ■■ the p rt little robin will cluster
And th-.- thrush and the blacktiir-l agree.
Ami t’li-n he will pipe of the prairie
Ti-at s roiling l its billows of green.
Os ix.tsterous ore-.zes that vary,
So stinging and kei n.
I-’. -nk Stanton !-■• singing so l.lithelv,
A:;-1 ,i-!s us th. sou- of the south;
Hi- Georgian he si - s .rightly,
\ ul red as t->-- is her mo<i;h.
I; son- with rapture is ri’r.'ing,
Ai.-I wells in a glorious >.r;-it’,
?>-id soars like file nightingale singing
lb.-; passionate pain.
They write for the day. for the season,
’j r e presses are er.iaehini-, tln-ir muse;
T-- polish their v- is--,: i. treason.
The public is after the news.
The U--ar. -tarli.i;.- miblie is crying,
“<>li. thrill vs. or mak - us f--el gay—
Don’t gri- ve u. with sorrow or sighing,
For w- have to pay!"
“Jim” Biley - til! sprawl' in tiie grasses,
Or ic'sks 'neath the a»gis of June,
Ah. l c->os of the lithe. lily lasses,
i-f b'-< s and their murmuring croon,
And l-'ietd in a tioli--s.ii'.: - manner
still pnitti- s of sweetness and light,
The coloni 1 still carries the banner
And leads in the tight.
—Jaims E. Kinsella, in Chicago Inter-
Oecan.
SOME OF NAPOLEON'S MAXIMS.
lb- who is unmoved by tears has no heart.
Wh“n firmness is sufficient rashness is un
necessary.
Gii- f has its bounds, which must not bo
exceeded.
Th-- best way to cure the body is to quiet
the mind.
Fortune has always been the first title to
consideration.
.Military bravery has nothing in common
with civil courage.
It I.- the cause and not the death that
makes the martyr.
Nothing is done v; liile something still re
mains to lie done.
fine conscience is the inviolable asylum of
th. liberty’ of man.
't he woman w<- love is always the most
beautiful of her sex.
There are calumnies against which even.
Innocence loses courage.
Fanaticism must be lulled first in order
that it may be uprooted.
All predictions are imposture.-, the result
of fraud, folly or fanaticism.
Girls innnot be better brought up than by'
their mother; public education is not suita
ble to them.
There is ’no more fatal misfortune for a
man than to allow himself to be governed
by his wife; In such case he is neither him
self nor his wife; he is simply nothing.
OUR GOVERNMENT.
THE ItmnlXG IT n’JLT, JIAVJj AT
THE lilt EAT EXPVSITIOX.
THE HANDSOMEST ON THE GROUNDS.
It llnrmonlzca Moro with the Other Fulld«
ing* Than the One in Chicago Would.
A Description of the Architecture.
Washington, October JB.—(Special.)—Here
is the architect..’ plans of the exterior view
of the government building forth- Cotton
States and International exposition to be
held in Atlanta next fall.
The plans were drawn under the super
vision of Acting Supervising Architect
Charles E. K.-mper, who is the repiesenta
tive of the treasury department on the g.>V
erument board of the exposition.
This plan lias been approved by the archi
tect’s office and the t;--cret»ry of the treas
ury. ft must, however, have the api-rowil
of the posttnasier general and the secretary
of th- interior before it cun be finally adopt
ed and submitted to contractors for blds.
But Ihe approval of these two cabinet of
ficers is merely a matter of form. The
plans of the architect are always accepted.
The budding is 260 feet by ISO feet, though
the entrances on the four extreme ends,
sixty feet in width, are ten feet additional.
<
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4 ■ . • I". *-* r* Jr
'C- '..t ■' • " ■ ’ ' "N"
y .T.
Till; GOVERNMENT BLILDJNG AT THE COTTON STATES AND INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION.
From a Sketch of the Architect’s Original Drawing.
The main portion of th- building is nn? '
story, twenty-live feet to th- eaves. The j
central, or clear story, ot the building Is I
forty feet to th- eaves. 'This is in the shape 1
of a cross. In other words, the building [
is of rectangular shape, llnnked by four !
round towers extending up to a height of j
forty feet, with the main entrance project- ;
ing, and a. clear story in th- shape of a c:os; i
extending above the rectangle. This clear
story rises fifteen feet above the main
story affording its windows j effect light and
ventilation.
The main oeniral tower rising to a height
of a hundred feet is capped by a
room and platform to be used by the signal
service bureau and for a naval searchlight.
At the two main entrances of the building
there are offices an 1 reception rooms, but
in the main building there are no divisions
except those which will be made by the sev
eral departments to divide their respective
exhibits. The interior of the building is
open to the roof, there being no galleries,
and in construction similar to those de
signed by Mr. Gilbert.
The exterior of the building is covered
with shingles, roof, sides and front, and
will harmonize with tile other buildings on
th- ground, both in general design and con
struction.
The government building being placed i n
the hig.'it. t site and having a comm..tiding
position, wiil undoubtedly be th- must im
posing structure on th- groun Is. It will
iiartnoniz- with the other buildings an I,
then lor:-. Is mure uppropuat- fi>-- rite gn at
snow than tiie buihting wlii-'i lev. stair.l >
on th- W'lrlu's lair ground- in t'h.cago.
This la: 1 .ing -.vlll cost ;••!>.' " and tn- ex
hibits i:i< h are lo i■■ plai' -l in will he
gotten together bj th- govt : ommis-
sion at tin expense of .-1.". t.
The eomml.'siun which wi l l> charge
of 1 Ins t.i. pixy is co.niosel oi tin \• rv t• st j
ami malearnttl men umi- tli - tiflen-nt
depart::- -tits of the guvermnent. They have
ha I m> h xperienee and it is their lea
to give Atlanta ev.-n a h -tt.-r governm- ’>t
exhibit titan that displayed at tt.-- world’s
fair.
Th- building is a beauty and the exhibit
inside v. ill be the finest t’a'.- government li.-.s
ever made. E. W. B.
VKNEZI'KI.A COMES
To Form One of tho Attractions :»t Atlanta’s
Great Exposition. <
Washington. October 18.— (Special.)—AL 1
ready the international character of the "
Atlanta exposition is established.
Tho r, public of Venezuela has d cided to '
be fully represented there.
This fa.-t has astonished even the govern
ment officials who ii.nl hardly looked for <
official gow riunent dsiplays. Now that Ven
ezui la has decided upon this step, there ri - "
mains no doubt but that each ot the other l
South American republics will be repre
sented.
This news was communicated to the (
state department by United States Minis
ter Hazelton, who stales that the Vene
zuelan government is entering Into this
scheme with groat enthusiasm and tiiat '
the display will be of a character highly i
creditable to that govermn nt. It is prob- ;
able that the government will erect a ]
special building for the exhibit. •
MoiuetliiiiK' About \ enezwelit.
The republic of Venezuela has an area offi- .
ciaily stated at 599.538 square mil-.-, it be- ,
ing thus three times the size of France and
ot Germany, five times that of ItHy and, .
exe- pting Russia, larger than a.:y of the ,
European nations.
Its line has an extent of I.S7G miles,
indented by the gulfs. The territory of the ,
republic is divided Into three belts, vi;.. .
The euLivatcd. the pastoral and thu wooded. ,
in the first there are cultivated coffee, co
coa, sugar cane, bananas, cotton, indigo,
cocoa nuts. Indian corn ami all the pro- ■
ducts oi’ tin- torrid zone, and many of those j
of the temperate zone, such as Tie', wheat, ;
barley, etc. The cultivated regions are ;
mostly made up of extensive valleys, sur- ,
rounded by high moun aitis and wat- red by <
abundant rivers. The pasture lands are
vast plains, where many kinds of grasses ;
grow, and which are, in many places, tra- i
versed by rivers, some of which are navi- I
gable. The wooded belt is situated near the (
Orinoco, and contains very rich gold mini ~. ]
Hire are produced, without the necessity
of cultivation, caoutchouc, sarsaparilla, di- :
> vi-divi, the tonka bean, copaiba and other
articles much prized in foreign markets. i
The great mountain chain of the Andes,
which commences to the west of the straits
of Magellan, after skirting the entire Pa
cific coast of South America, sends out two
of its ranges towards Venezuela, their great
altitudes furnishing vailed climates. In
the 1,876 miles of hi r coast line Venezuela
has fifty inlets and thirty-two ports, be- '
sides numerous anchorages. Among these
ports there are some which could well give ,
anchorage to the < ombhied 1! <-t.' of Europe, j
Th- territory ot’ Venezuela is traversed by j
1.017 rivers, the longest of all being the |
Orinoco, which is on- of the greatest of the ■
world. Its length is 1.475 miles, almost <-n
--tireiy navigable, and ir. some places being ;
twelve miles wide. Its narrowest part is in
front of Bolivar city, and it there meas
ures 3,000 feet in width, which is one-fourth
of its average width. The Orinoco has l:t<>
tributaries, rendering navigation to the
neighboring republi- of 00l >mbia easy, and
the branch caH-d the Cis-quiare unites it !
i with the river Negro, a great tributary to
I the Amazon, so that from the mouth of the
I Orinoco on he Atlantic, there is established
■ the extensive water communication whi-h
crosses Venezuela. Colombia. Ecuador, Boi- j
ivin. Peru, and which reaches as far as
Brazil.
The Climate «»f Venezuela.
There are only two seasons in Venezuela.
summer and winter. Tho first is dry. and
tl’.e latter rainy; but tiie trees retain their
verdur - and pro lui-e toe entire year, as if
it w-re a jorpeim,! spring.
The climate of Venezia l.i is varied. On the
coast it. >•- hot, but there are never failing
breezes, and on the highlands it is cool and
delightful, and tier:: are ioca.lti-s where
tn- mountains ar- covered with eternal
snows. Although Venezuela is situated in
the tropic zone, the temperature does not
rise as far as it does in the corresponding
latitudes of North America, fi he average
it -at reaches So degrees ..n tiie coast and tiie
highest tempera tt:r< felt on the highlands
is 71 degrees. Fahrerb. t. In some parts of
the coast tin- climate is not healthful, but
in the rest of tiie country it cannot be sur
passed.
Venezuela is one of the richest republics
cf South America, as regards natural re
sources, and easy means of developing
th-in; for, although it..; territory is crossed
by the mountain systems their configura
tion presents many practicable ways of
communication wit!; the [ I.tins and valleys.
The greatest weaitn of Venezuela consists
in her agrieultuie, and eotf-e and cue a are
her principal products, fi'he value of the
annual export of coffee is e. ■timute.l at
JfE.Ue'.OW, ami that of cocoa at more than
ue-i.iXte. Tiie breeding of cattle is at. i.-i
--er source of wi i!th for Venezuela. The ex
portation of hides amounts to fl.A‘u,vx> a
j.--ir.
Timre wore in ISSS. 17,6.60,665 uotr.i. ani
mals in the country, against enty 3,302.672
in 1873.
Th.- population of Venezuela, according
to the census of 1891 was _‘.;LJ..'27, .tn in
crease of ZIV' over the census of > SI.
Tiie native Indian population i.-- estimated
at 326,*io<i. of which number 210,(H.i') are civil
ized. Th'- republic is divided into nine large
suites v a< n subiiivid <! into sections, er Hls
tri'-ts). a federal district, live territories
and two national settlements.
Venezuela abounds in mines o’" gold, sil
ver. copper, iron, 1- ad, quicksilver, coal,
salt, petroleum, asphalt, kaolin and several
oilier minerals. The hand of man has hard
ly touched tiie smallest part of that great
wealth. There are only in active operation
some gold mines in Guiana, belonging to
native anti f- reign eomoanies; tiios- of
copper id Tucacc.s. which belong to an Eng
lish company; the cual mines of Narlcual,
owned by the family of the ex-president, J.
G. Monagas, an! those of copper if Caru
p;ino, worked by an American company. ’l’he
total value of the miner.:! output in ISB6
was 28,060,600 bolivar of which 24,070.320
was of gold. The j-.oid mines of Yuruari are
< nsidcred among the rich<.--t of tiie world.
From ISS7 to IMMt tie ..' rcrmlueed respectively
95,3'2 ounces. 71..7'1 ounces, 87.159 ounces and
Si'.i'tii'! ounces. It may be sail that their
working is Just l i .-inning. nevertheless
their annual output now amounts to $11,0w1,-
000.
A Good System of Instruction.
Primary instruction is gratuitous and
obligatory. The nation maintains 1,415
schools, and there are besides munl- ipal and
private schools, national an I private col
leges. two universities, and Hie A- oi my “t
Arts and Trudes. There were in 1890 in the
various public and priva-c sch. ols
scholars of both sexes. The proportion of
those roe -vlng education io Venezuela Is
forty six for e:i< h 1,000 Inhabitants. There
are three principal public libraries and <>f
these th- Blbltoteca Naciona! contained, in
is'ss. ::i,125 volumes.
There ure several rail lin-s already com
pleted and others are being actively ci.n
--st>-m 'cii !>y F."gli:il, Ainevi a’l and Get'< l td
< onip ini-s. Among the latter are the < en
tral railroad <!•', rro. arril t'entral). wha-h
wifi unite Caracas with the capital ot the
state -I' Carabobo and will be 240 kilometers
in length, ami the great Venezuelan ra l
roads (Gran Ferrocarril da Venezuela) about
SW) kilometers in length, starting frem Cara
cas. with its term -ms In the city ol San
Carlos, on the plains of the republic. Tiie
length of the railways now in operation is
282 miles and 1.210 miles are projected or
under construction. An American company
hus already undertaken to build a cable
PRICE FIVE CENTS.
road between Caracas and the near-by
jort of La. Guaria, cutting through Mount
Avila by a. costly tunnel. Venezuela has,
furthermore, good telephone and telegraph
service and is connected by cable with Eu
rope and the United States. The length of
the telegraph lines is 3,536 miles and the
number of offices used jn the service is 10J-
At the end of 1596 th-re were In the republic
seventy-four foot and horse post routes
three railway, four river and nine ocean
routes. In the year ISS9-90 the amount of
business transacted by the 172 post routes
consisted of ♦.071,365 letters, packages, etc.
A State of Political Pence.
■Venezuela having, as is hoped, reached the
period of firm and fruitful peace, with the
assurance of her liberties, begins to attract
to her rich soil a current of industrious im
migrants, to whom th? government offers
great inducements. Agriculture, cattle rais
ing. mining and commerce attract not only
laborers, but also great capital, to which
. ome Amerii-an corporations . contribute,
Foreigneis are very well received and treat
ed in Venezuela. The greatest fortunes in
the country have been made by foreigners.
Venezuela is one of the South American
republics which have most largely increased
their commerce with the United States
in the last decade. In ?SSO there
were exported to the United States
products to the amount of S6,OU),OtV and im
ported merchandise to the value of |2,Z7d,oi<ffi
In ISJ® her exports to the United States
amounted to more than SIOJKri.COO, and she
bought in the same period merchandise
valued at s.■<>>,ooo, which is more than she
annually sells to and buys from England,
I Germany. France nnd other nation* of Eu
repe. The direct steamship communication
' existing' between Venezuela and the United
' States has brought this alxii’t. and the
| friendly reflations, daily growing closer,
i which unite the two republics, efficaciously
; contribute to tit? progressive growth of their
i mutual commerce.
In deciding to be represented at the great
Atlanta fair, the Venezuelan government
I wishes to place its entire resources befur*
the people of the United States.
EXPOSITION NOTES.
lhe Eadies are Called «»» for a Design for tin
IVotiians Building at the Exposition.
The lady architects of the country have a
fine opportunity before them to display
their skill in designing. Last Tuesday th*
building committee of the woman's depart
ment, of which .Mrs. Edward C. Peters is
chairman, issued an advertisement, caliind
on the lady architects of the country to
submit plans for the woman’s building. This
building will be one of the best at the expo
; sition, and the designing is to be done by
1 a lady. It will be on a par with the wo
j man s building at the world's lair, ilcro is
. the advertisement issued by Mrs. I’etc-rs:
■■Design will be received until November
; 25th Lrom women architects for the v -
| man's building to l>e ere.-led in eonnec*u<ai
i w.th the- Cotton States and international
> exposition, to be held at Atlanta, Ga., Scp
j <ll b-r to December, Dys.
‘First and second pr- mitims ?f $!’") and
' ■ will be awarded for plans. For |
lars, di: ;-a*n- and data apply be 1 tter to
-.MIiS. EDWARD U. PETERS,
•‘Ci.airman Building Committee Cotton
States and International Exposition Com
pany, Atlanta, Ga.”
For the Colored Man.
The colored exhibit at the exposition wHI
be housed in a large, commodious building
that w.Il be one of th? most attractive and
| imposing structures on th© grounds.
I it was at lii'.-t intended by the officials of
j the exposition to r» model the present ma
j cb.inery hull. This idea, however, has been
abandoned and the proposition now is to
erect a new building and one that will be
large enough to accommodate the proposed
exhibit <>f the negro lace.
Air. Gilbert, the supervising architect,
has been directed by the officials to pre
pare a drawing of the building and submit
It to the board as scon as possible.
Since the proposition to set apart a. build
ing t.> the color*.’ race was firs* suggested
the idea has steadily grown until its pres
ent magnitude lir.s been assumed. The
central part of the building to be erected
will be used as an assembly hall for the
negro* j who may desire to hold conventions
or gatherings during the exposition.
i t I as been suggested that an interesting
exhibit might be prepared to occupy tha
entire length oi one of the wings, showing
by a series of gradations, the progress made
by the negro race in civilization, beginning
with the jungles of Africa and the rude huts
of the natives, and passing through suc
cessive stages until the present advanced
condition of the race is reached. This will
be-the first opportunity the colored man b.ag
ever had of making an ocular demonstra
tion of his progress, in the world's history,
i and every m in. woman and child who has
j t'ic least pride of race will make the most
j of the opportunity.
The colored exhibit at the exposition has
I been discussed by the negro* s of the city,
end all of tin m are enthused over the out
look of a splendid exhibit that will be an
honor to th*? negro race in the south.
To Mnlu- Shoes.
Mr. N. Mess, of Baltimore, representing
N. Ilesg Bros., shoe manufacturers, is in
the city, and he called at exposition head
quarters yesterday to ree President Collier
' with reference to putting in a big exhibit
j :>t the Cotton States exposition. He wants
I a space 20x7d feet on which to erect a
shoe factory. He proposes to turn out KM
pairs of shoes daily. Ho will be given the
desired space and his exhibit will be one of
the most interesting that will be at the ex
position. Even' stage of shoe manufacture
, ing will be shown to the visiting public.