University of South Carolina Libraries
V BY HUGH WILSON. ABBEVILLE, S C ., WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16, 1886. VOLUME XXX. NO 50. ^ winn n i CUBAN MULES AND OXEN. THE INFAMOUS ABUSE OF DUMB ANIMALS IN HAVANA. Diminutive Mules Whlcli Have Keen Founded into Absolute Submisslvouesn ?A Cart with Wheels Ten Feet in Diameter?Torturiug an Ox. But it the treatment of the poor by these people is exceptionally tender, their abuse ot all dumb animals is inlamous. There is 110 exception to this. A horse, a mule, or an ox i6 a beast of burden to bo drived and leaded to the last limit, and then pounded und goaded incessantly. Centuries of this sort of thiny have positively given these animals hereditary traits of demure patience and characteristic humility that are pathetic. A cabaliero will spur and lash hi> nonv to its utmost speed, disn ount at his destination with a parting kicli at the animal, which is no bigger than its rider, and the panting pony's head will instantly drop between bis knees, while it will actually go to sleep there with a look upon its t'aco which says as plainly as words can, "1 am sure to be awakened from this needed rest by a blow." And tho mute prophecy comes true. The Cuban mule has leen pounded into a submissiveness that has actually removed frum his character all of those marKed eccentricities which have mado the mule the helpful friend of the paragrapher everywhere else in the world. Here tho latitude and longitude of his ears, the quiver of his under lip, the restlessness of hu tail, or the sudden curvature of his spine mean nothing. He is shorn of dynamitic powers. He is not worth illustrating. '1 he ox and the heifer are worked and goaded to desperation, while the bull is reserved for life that bis life may be taken from him by demoniac lortura \ou will find hero the most primitive methods in the application of the use of do mestio ammais to the needs of agriculture and commerce, liavunua is a great city, but could you bave waikwd tho streets oi old Granada, Madrid, or Larceloua ;0J years ago, you would have viewed precisely the saino street sc< nes as you v.-ill see here to-day. You can not tind in (Jul.a a dray or a t'our-wheeled wagon. The twowheeled cart is u&ed for all hauling purposes. It is realiy a groat all air. The wheels are frequently ten feet in diameter, the felloes six inches broad and as thick, the spokes are big as your leg, and the hut) like a hair-bushel basket. The bodies of the carts are enormous. Many are covered like those "emigrant wagons" our ancestors "came west"' in, and aro also provided with great rush pouches which dangle and sway underneath, while the shafts are together larger thau tho little mule's whole body. J ...I. Iksm.l ?f An iron pin is suovtu luiuu^u uc tuu v> the axle to bold the wheel in place, and when "greasing" has boen overlooked the shrieking and groaning of a bevy of thcs_> carts are e.ual to the mailings of the old lied river trains that cnce trailed out of St. l aul to the far-away Hudson's bay couutry. 1 onies are rareiy used in these carts. The mule, heifer, ox, and sometimes bull, are the rnotivj power, und when it is remembered that everything brought into Havanua in the r.aiure of fruits and produce by the guajiros or country people, bave that portion transported in huge packs and pouches lashed to a mule's or a pony's back, all cartage between wholesale and retail establishments, all the moving of household furniture, and all the vast movement of freight to and from the docks of this, the eighth ranking commercial capital of the world, are accomplished exclusively by the use of such methods of conveyance, some id--a of the primitiveness and picturesquenes3 of the every-day working of sucli a system may be formed. 1 have stood at ferry entrances hours to study all sorts of Cuban people: but the carts, the way they are equipped and rfrivon thpir rontent<. and. above all. these carreteros, who are here at tbeir greatest because of the crowding and blustering, have always possessed the liveliest interest. Here inay be a mule-cart loaded with lodder from the country, the little mule absolutely obscured with cart, harness which weighs as much as the mule, and corn-stalks, the motive power a mystery were it not disclosed by the bells hung to the hidden animal, with the driver running along on one side and a helper on tho other, both yelling like demons and prodding savagely beneath the overhanging cornstalks wnere the mullled bells and animation are. Here is a great open cart piled ten feet high with bales of tassa;o or South American jerked beef, and drawn by an ox. The animal is inside ol immense shafts, the ends ot which rest in iron loops depending from ? ??l.? nonl* Knf nnnn Viia head. His legs seem spread with the load. Every step is taken as if doubtfully plung-d into space. The vibrations of the shaft keep his neck and head trembling as with palsy. His eyes bulcu from their sockets and his mouth is half opon. A ring is in his nose, and cor.ls of plaited grass, as lines, run from this ring to the right and left Letween his horns through rings set in tho huge yoke, and thence to the carretero's left hand, while his right holds a long poll*, lipped with a sharp iron brad, like a picador's pike in the bull ring. The face of that ox as he trembles and glares under his I burden is a sad sight to a man with a heart under his ve>t, but when this bold carret*ro awakens to the fact that his standing among men involves his asserting himself, it is then that the thunders <jf his voire are beard, and tho helpless brute is piked and prodded until the blood spurts iroirt his ranks ana ne squats liat m ins . tracks bellowing piteously in paia I never prayed i.od so fervently for a sound body and my old :.UU pounds weight as in the presem c of scenes like this, and if my prayer Lad been answered I would have made tussajo out of some ot these noble carretorors, if it had involved the two governments. ' You will frequently see several mules at1ached tandem to a huge cartload of freight, when three or four carreteros or inuieteros are lequired to produce, with scores of unmusical bells, the hubbub necessary to proKiesa The incessant howling and larrup1 iug by those muleteros usually prompt unimpeded headway; but once let the affair come to a standst.ll and all Christendom can not furnish another such a din. A score -O ?? ,I_:?,?;n .lu 1VL IJCl^aovrill^ Uli>Vlo ou^v.*.?nj ?_4?? tcend upon tbe scene, and tho whacking, bell janglin<*, and howling become simpiy ' indescribable. it is an exceptional thing to see Lulls harness? 1 to tho cart, but they sometimes are; and then it is curious study to note the national trait of critical obser \ ation of tbe animal by all, tho most distinguished ladies included. '1 hey will contemplate a bull with as quick and unerring a discernment and summary of value?and a bull's Aalue in Cuba can enly be estimated on tho basis of his possib e lighting qualities?as an American turfraan will judge of the "speed and bottom of a horse.?Edward L. Wakeman in Chicago News. A Chinaman'* I'uii hi English. Tbe secretary of the Chinese legation a1 "Washington is named Mr. Lang. He is civilized enough to know how to mako a pun in Engliih. At a reception the other evening he told a lady that "Atdd Lang bju?" was one of hJj ancestor, . / j | GERMAN COLONIES IN NEW GUINEA. ! An Old South Sea Trader's Account? Settlers and Natives. Finsch Haven is an open anchorage, but could bo made a good harbor at considerable expense. Tho settlement consists of six Germans and fourteen Malays, who are located on a small island in the bay, conJ nected by a main road with the mainland. I The settlers are forming plantations on the j mainland, but as yet only yams, corn, and other things are planted to supply present necessities. Only a few acres are as yet j divested of timber. The soil is splendid, , ; and the land is high and not densely ; : wooded A water supply is obtained from , j a large river about a nido to tha north- , | ward. j The natives are numerous, and appear to i < I be not, on the best terms with the Germans, | , who have erected four sentry boxes oil tli9 ; island, which are occupied by sentries every j , I night This precaution is fouud to Le necessary in consequonce of an att nipt having | Leen made recently by the natives to suri round and massacre the settlers. The j ! steamer Samoa arrived in the harbor just j as the attea.pt was about to be carried out. J I The natives were driven away, and now I ' are not allowed to co ne near the islan-.L | All trade with them has been suspended lor j three months. Iso force was, however, j | used. ' After a stay of five days at Finsch j , Haven, tho Truganini steam jd along the . ^ ; northwest coast about -'ill miles to Samoa ; j I Haven. Tho tcenery along the coast is ' . most beautiful, surpassing anything in the ! j j south seas. The coast line is hi^h, and ves- j ( I sels can steam close alongside, the water be- j j ! ing deep and freo from impediments to navi- , i gation. >'o river or creek was seen for the j . i wbole of this distance. Several islands were j j passed, all densely inhabited, tiie land b> , ; ing all cleured and studiled with houses, j l buitt in regular Now Gwnea fashion. ( ; j Portions of the mainland are densely ; j I wooded, other portions being covered with , a luxuriant growth of grass. There were J , apparently a great number of natives , j ashore. I j B:inioa Haven is a far better barber tban j ' Finscb Haven, but will require a large ex- i penditure to make it a good port. Tlio na-. j i tives are very friendly. They follow a^ri- . : cultural pursuit?, and bave well-cuitiVated gardens. The German settlement is on an i | isiand, tlio only means of communication I ' being by boats. Tbe settlers, who number fifty Germans only, are occupied in clearing j j this island, which is about half a miia long : : and a quarter of a mile wide, with the obj ject of lorining a townsbip thereon. Their j j efforts bavo not yet been directed to the i i mainland except in the way of trade, and , I not much of this has been done except in j S tobacco leaf, of which the native* grow a j great quantity, taking in oxcliange p.eces ot j , ; old hoop iron, which appear to be their ' j | only requirement The occupants of the ; settlement were healthy and happy. Tha . j climate at the settlements, although warm, j is very healthy, and the pioneers speak well j j of it. The pros;iects are exceedingly bright, l and there is every probability of agriculturists reaping a rich reward. The great I 1 drawback is the want oi harbors, which can only be overcome by an enormous outlay.? , Melbourne Argus. Nuns of a liuddliist Monastery. Strange to say, though wo must have visited scores of monasteries, I am not con! scious of having ever entered a Buddhist ] I convent, though th?so aro lvally numerous, i i and we occasionally fell in witi small par- ! i ties of nuns, m horn, however, it was dilli- j I cult to distinguish from the holy brethren, ; ! save by their diiniuutive size. Their dross j is precisely th-j same?namely, a long gray j or yoilow robe, white stockings ani thick | shoos, like those worn by men, and their j i poor bare heads are closely shaven?a pro- | cess to which the little 10-year-old novices 1 are partially sub'octed, and which is com- ] ploted when, at the advanced ago of Jii, tlio < full blown sister takes the vows of per- | pt-tual virginity, of vegetarian diet, and < | strict obedience to the percepts of Uuddha. I Those vows are ma.lo in the presence of | Koon Yam, the goddess of mercy, who her ! self was a canoui/od Buddhist nun, and j thenceforth the soie duty of these litr i I tlo nuns seems to lie in going from hou.<o j to house, wherever their servi.es ure re- 1 quired on behalf of dec-cased women, for ] whose benelit they chant prayers to Kooii ( | Yam the live long day. ] When this exciting work Is not required i they are said to spend their dull lives in a < state of utter vacuity, being literally with- i out occupation, savo that some of the i younger sisters employ their leisure upon i silk embroidery. I have s?en Buddhist nuns make a pilgrimage to many shrines, j < never, apparently, pausing for one moment in the ceaseless reiteration of the foursyllabled charm, "Orni-to Fu! O-mi-tu Fu." i You would probably have taken such lor gibbering idiots, but they were only de- i j vout little nuns accumulating stores of co! lestial merit by ascribing praise to To, i I alias Buduha.?Foreign Letter. | ; A Substitute for tlie Telephone. A baker who docs an immense business at Brusseis, having a chief depot and fifteen brunch establishments in-that city, applied to the telephone compuny for un estimate of the yearly co^t of communication be- < : tween his different shops. The charge | asked by the company seemed to him so exorbitant that he resolve 1 upon starting a new means of communication for himself. He had read in a military journal of tho experiments with carrier pigeons, and it struck him thut tho innocent birds might bo ju>t as well subsidised lor the art of j : sustain.ng 1110 as loriue nrs 01 uesiruymg. Ho had a pigeon house erected at bis head! ijuarters, and purchased liity carrier pig- 1 ; eons of the best race. Every morning each branch has throe < ; pigeons, who are sent off to tho head escab! lishment with tho list of orders wanted by | : the hotels and families in connection with |: the branch. Iiacb pigeon, at its arrival on j its own domestic lloor, touches a spring j1 which has an electric communication with a bed in tho manager's oil ice. '1 he system i is reported to succeed so admirably that it i will probably be adapted by other yreat ! houses. Tho in\entor writ.-s that tho cost i j of his fifty pigeans was less than the tele- I phone company asked for two months' sub- j scription. It is strange that the breeding j1 I and training of these usoiul birds have inado as yet but slight progress in this country.?San Frail' Leo chronicle. i A Full llr;ul <>r Steam On. I In his lecturo before tho Yale theological students a short time ago, tlu iiev. l?r. iiur- | ton said: '1 toll you, young gentlemen, a man must have a lull head of steam oil and I keep his whistle open \vid.;or a modern congregation will go to sleep over one of his sermons. Times have cbangod, and a preacher cannot pray an hour and then preach an hour, and then pray another | I hour, without disgusting a congregation of ; I the present day. \ ou must so conduct your ! I services that an hour spent in church will i j not amount to imprisonment."?Cleveland i [ Leader. A Natural Shampooing Water. Earbers near Mono lake, California, whoso 1 water is heavy with salts of sodium and borax, use it as a natural shampooing water, to the satisfaction of their customers. t . IN EVENING ATTIRE. ARISTOCRATIC AND RESERVED LOOKING YOUNG CLUB MEMBERS. An Illustration of tlio AstonndinR Airs \Vhlch Sorao of tlio Younger New Yorkero l'ut on Wlion They Obtain Any Social llecognltiou. A small club, of which I am a charter member, grew rapidly under tho manage ment of a lot of popular men, who had beon taken into the organization, and moved into * new club-house with extonsivo surroundings. The event was celebrated by an entertainment, which began at 'J o'clock at ui^ht, and which consisted of recitations, music, stories, and speeches. Tho day of the great occasion was very warm, the previous night had been somewhat oosLreper3us and dillicult to subdue, and I had just 5ot back from a look at the new athletic grounds at Staten islan l, with a good-na lurea oia rounaer, who was uuo ui mo i.wu . men who bad starte.l the club. He has an interest in a steamship line, is easy-going md pleasant, an authority on club matters, md has the entree everywhere in IS'ew York. Wo went to a little ale-house in l'birty-fourth street, and ate until 9 o'clock, ivhen we both thought of the club reception. We drifted up to tho new tiouso and went in. There were 150 y oung men in the place, and all but ourselves were in evening dress. I don't think ?ither one of us looked very distinguished in tweed suits, but thon men don't care particularly about thsir attire in a club with which they have boen familiar from its infaucy. At all events we pushed our way into the rooms on the first floor. A dozen pale faced, small-featured, and slim young ln^n staroil at us haughtily, aud refused to make room. We looked about, md neither of us recognised an acquaintance within shaking distanca. They were ill fellow-members, but they were all a lot i>f the most aristocratic and reserved looking youngsters that 1 have ever seen, and it was evident that we had not created a ijood impression. Una or two of tha oider club servants saw us, ami hurried in with jhairs, but they met with stubborn opposition from the dainty young men who were seated, as well a.i from those who stoo I in the way. I turned to the young man who stood next me, and looked at him timorjusiy. Ho wore a white waistcoat with ;old buttons, two cat's-eyo stud-,, x black tie, a well-fitting clawuanimer, wide satin strips down the sides of his trousers, bows on his boots, and pearl-colored giove.;, with blai-k stripes half an inch wide aiong the back of tha h:m,L lie wus al)0iit six tcot high, and presented u mean average girth or' about ten laches. His face was decorate 1 by an exclusive looking mustache, and bis ejes were partially closed, as though Le was very much bored with lifa Hj must have been nearly years o d. After looking him aver carefully, I ventured to ask, in a meek iiul respectful tone, it tiio president of the dab had spoken yet. Tiw young man turned very sJowly, lixed his glass in his ;ye, examined my companion an I myself Rith the utmost care, and then said: "Aw." "How's that?" my friend said, sharply. "Aw." We both looked at him inquiringly, but tie dropped his glass and deliberately turned I nvay. At this point we wore recognised Hid rescued by some friends farther away, but neither one of us forgot the haughty young man in evening dress. WHEN WE SAW HIM AGAIN*. We were walking up town briskly, towhan wn shw him a^ain. His mus taciie was there, as were his slim neck and liis reserved expression of tbe face, but all Lhe glory of apparel had departed; his boots wero run over at the side, ho wore a >hiny ortico-eoat, and under both his arms be carried big rolls of cloth, which ho was Bvidently taking lrom one importing house to another. We saw him from afar, and waited. Ke was smoking a cigarette, and was rushing along at a violent rate with his bales of goods. We stopped him and begged a. light from his cigarette. Ilo leaned over, hotly, in the most undignified manner, so as to hold one bale of goods on his knoe while be removed his cigarette with his free hand, and each of us consumed as much time as in tob-in r n liwlifL Then mv friend wu??-/5 ? ? o-- ^ asked him if he was well, amd he said "Yes, sir," clearly, respectfully, and with an indubitably Now York accent Wo talked about the weather and the affairs of tho club, while he fretted and famed at tbe waste of time; and then we examined the cloth, and asked hira its price a yard. After we had learned it, we went on our way. I relate tho incident as an illustration of the astounding airs that some of the younger New Yorkers put ou when they obtain any social recognition. The assertion that Is'ew York men are ill-manuered and shoddy is true as far as it concerns a few thousand young sprigs, ana who depend ver7 largely for social ^.'cognition upon their clothes, was a ?0 a week errand boy down town, lived in a cheap boarding house in Fortylirst street, and was supported by small remittances from his father, who keeps a j small supply store in ilackettstown, N. J. j His up-towu acquaintances only know him as a rnau of great elegance of attire, and he got into a club of some position, as many other men have, simply becau e h-j was unknown, l'ho man who was with ine on the night of the reception is so well known in clubdom that any man of acquaintance in New York ' must know him at least by sight. Yet ho was snubbed and insulted by an errand boy in a club which he had holped to organize, i because ho were a tweed suit instead of conventional evening attire. There seems to bo a wide difference of opinion about evening dress outsido of New ! York, but thoro is no que*tio:i of the man- j nor in which it is regarded hero. A young j man who is unknown and who has social aspirations would do well to wear evening dress invariably after dinner. Men who do not have to depand on their clothes for social recognition lioat about in frock coats, and, when the warmer months come, in light sack suits, to entertainments of all , sorts. If a man accompanies a lady or a party of Jadios to the tboatre he usually wears evening dress, but hundreds of men of unquestionably high social position go to the theatre, and even to the opera, when J thay feel inclined that way, in morning suits.?blakely Hall in iian Francisco Argonant. Tho Sirln; of Frisco's Pooplp. 'i 136 wniri ami sm.is ,uaa of tilings here reminds 0110 very much of ! the great western metropolis?Chicago. | Everything is rush, rush, rush, and nervous 1 excitement 1'roin early morn till close of day, und everybody excepting tlie Chinoso seems to be auected in this same way. .Even the ladies catch tue contagion, aud they, too, co brushing uloug the streets as if they were sent for and must ''get there'' ou tirao under fear of the severest penalties. Wo ' must say wo rather like the swing of tha peoplo in th.s respect. Aside from the heavy Chinese element here, the jieoplo of the city seem to be largely American, and a brighter, | cleaner-cut looking lot of businoss men wa j never beforo iav; in tho streets of any city ! in the Union. They are sharp and as keen 1 as a two-edged sword?Saa Francisco CorClbvclaad Loader. A GOVERNMENT POWDER MAGAZINE. A Brief Sketch of El: is Island?A Brave Quartermaster?A Bull Life. Elli3 island, or Fo *t Gibson, as it was ^ formerly tailed, is nor ;h of Bedloe's, island, about (jUO yards distant and close to the Jersey shore, although included in the First ward of New York city. The fort formerly mounted twelve guns and was garrisoned by a detachment of United States troops until some time during the "lifties," when it was formally transferred ;o the ordnance department of tue navy ,o bo used as a magaziua Until 18'i0, however, the army nominally controlled the fortiiication, which was i annually visited by an ollicer connected with tbo military service. In 1681 an order was received directing the removal of tlie guns and tbo dismantling of the fort; Since then the island has been, under the absolute control of the chief ol the bureau of ordnance, navy department, Washington. During the war of tae rebellion immense quantities of powder were securely stored upon tbo island, while the shell rooms were literally packed with projectiles of every description. There are at present five compartments used for thi manufacture of charges of powder anil tho storing of shell and other projectiles. Notwithstanding the dangerous character of the material, no instance has yet been reported ot" an accidont by explosion sin.e tht island was used as a magazine. This is dut> to the extraordinary precautions observed by the employes under ilio direciion of the oll cer in charge, who in each instance has been sclocted lrom the ranks of t he gunners of the navy. Notwithstanding tho care u'lsorved in handling shell several narrow escapes from accidont ha\o been rDporte.l. Lpon one occasion wtilo unloading some sixty pound shells from a sloop vjuarterman Cook noticed a wliito smoke iss uing from the tjo.t containing tha projectiles. Hastily snatching it up ho passed it lrom the hold to the do. k above shouting ti< the men at the shellwhip to "thiovv the blamed thing overboard." The men fled for their lives, while Cook, cooily climbing on deck, threw the smoking shell into tha river. For this brava I action ho was coinp iinented in general | orders by the chief of ordnance. There aro at present but lour watchmon I employed about the island, one of whom is ! constantly on duty to jrovent the landing of ! pleasure parties without permission and in 1 noting singula. The island is reachod by j 1 * r .1.. T ?u?. ? iiiuuiib Ui u iuwuuut Xi viii iuu at'izvy suis. u, a small rod liug on tlie flagstaff near tbo lamiing notifying the man 011 watch of the presence or visitors. As it is necessary for every ve.-sol of tiionavy when leaving or riiteritig the navy yarl to discharge or receive powder and ammunition from El.is island, thj place is sometimes enlivened bv the prescn o of naval ollicers. Beyond tbia, save whatever amusement may be derived from a cruise on the saucy little sloop Torpedo, belonging to the island, a residence of three years at the liaga/.ino is devoid of j excitement. ?.Now Voik Times. Tlio Agony of a Drug Store Clerk. When I was a youn nun I hail an experience that imprinted a degreo ot! taro in | me that bus probauly been wortii thousands I of dodars in after life. 1 was a clerk in a j drug store at Grand Rapids, Iilicb., and my > duties kept inj there from T in tbe evening ' until about ~ in tbo morning. One nigbt! in-it at dark a *otnan with a sbawl over her head came in, and, giving me a prescrip- i tiou, toid me to put it up quick. 1 hurrie.l I it tnrougb and >>ho paid uij and w^-nt out | About hull' an hour later a very well-known ; physician of tbe place came rushing in ani ! ;;aid: "Did you put ui? a prescription lor a. i woman a bit ago:" "i'es, hi;-," I 8j.i<l "Did j you uo it in a hurry?" "les," 1 answered again, with a pang of fear. "Give lue some ! tartar emetic, quick!" bo exclaimed, 'tbe! man it was for is dying!" I got tbe drug I mechanically, and ho toro out, leaving me J in an agony of douot and fear perfectly in- I describable. A man poisoned through mistake, a coro- ! ner's inquest, jail, trial, penitontiary, a j ruined reputation, my wife and children | beggars, all paved in galloping delile be- j foro mv whiriinir brain. I thought of suii-ide or flight; 1 paced up and down the 1 store and. gnawed at my nails. A couple | of hours elapsed and the doctor came in i again. "How is that man:" I gasped. "Oh, | he's dead/' ho replied indifferently. My j liod! 1 lelt my heart stand still lie walked j back toward the stove while I stood dazed by the door. Presently he strolled up and said: j "You put up that prescription, I believe;" "Yes." "Well," ho went on, "she never came | back with the medicine or the change j either." The world suddenly grew brigut again. I Logan to breathe at my normal rate of respiration. 1 thought that doctor was the loveliest human being I had over looked upon, iiut do you see this hair watch-guard I wear' "When I looked at it j next day I found that in those two .awful I Lours my hair had turned win to as tlio driven snow.? Dr. (Jhas. Harvey in (ilobeDeinocraU The Luck of a Noviuln Senator. "I've always believed in providence sinco one day, years ago, when I was sheriff over in tibea county. It was a roaster of a day, and I wa- returning on horseback from a hunt for some sluice robb. rs. I was siowly following a faint mountain trail, and the sun was .mat baking me, and the hor.-e was in a j lather. 1 came under the shado of a big rock, | anU thought it would be pleasant to get off and have a smoke. I sat down on a cool boulder, cut a pipeful from my plug, filled my pipe aiul felt for a match. Well, Joe, tiiire wasn't a match any where in my pockets. I searched and searched, but there was no match. I tell you, Joe, 1 felt worse over I that disappointment than I've done since, when the market has gone back on mo and hit me for lUit,000 at a clip. ;Hut while I sat there on that boulder wrapped in gloom, what d'ye suppose my eyes suddenly fell on.' A match, by heaven, j lyiug on tlio trail not sis foot away from ; me! I used it?though; I wrts a little I afraid to touch it at lirst?an.i had ray ! smoke. So you needn't worry about how ! this political light is going to como out A j man for whom Providence will go to the 1 trouble of providing a match for a smoko in j the wilds of the iSierra 2sevadas, where j man's foot scarcely ever treads, isn't likely 11/ QVU " ?? ... ? , . little thing liko being elected to tho luhed 1 .States sen&te. 15'. er since that time." con-1 eluded tlio ( omstoeker, "1'vo never refused ' a dollar to u parson, and have generally j done my I est in a quiet, unobtrusive way, j to make myself so.id with the people who have tho pull on 1'rovidence.? Senator Jones j in iiixn Fii-ucisco l'os* Tho Jules Verne of tli? Future. Tho imagination of a "<-y oar-old 1 oy is | often a slui-endous thing. On:- can't help j wondering how much a child of that uge j believes of his own big stories. This one for example: "i went out in do front yard ! dis morning," said Benny, "and 1 saw 'naw- i ful big horse up in a tree, and 1 tooked a | gun and 1 shouted it, and I tooked it in do house anil my mama picked do fedders oil! it and cooked it l!or brokr.it!"?[boston llecord. Mexico's I,?>:irl-Ii'ihbiii^ Monopoly. Fix large boats, all carrying tho Mc'tican are working on the pearl fisheries oil the Mexican Pacific coasi. A monopoly controls tiie iishing ground ?I?MH NEW YORK'S "FINEST." SAID TO BE THE MOST EFFICIEN1 FORCE IN THE WORLD. CrofTut Writes Concerning: Their Vigilance and KfTcctivonea*?Unusual liberty of Action?A Liberal Interpretation of Law. Perhaps it has never occuiTod to the reader that Now Yori: is tao bust policed city ol its si:.e in the world. Yes, our po lice are larger und finer-looking men, bettor dressed and belter mannered, beUer paid and more vigilant than the protectors of any other of the capitals of civilization. II may not be generally known that our police have unusual liberty of action; much more uuurijr wjuu llto luuuuu puuio?uiux d, o?ou than the gens d'armes of Paris. In the ef fete despotism 0? H. M. Queen Victoria, the police do not dare to lay a hand on a mar unless he is violating the law. In New York men are frequently nabbed and marched oil to the station house when guilty of no of fsns.9, merely be.-ause they have been knowi: to have been law-breakers and persons ol bad character. Well-known thieves and burglars marct defiantly past the guardians of the law ic London, conscious that their persons an ' sacred" uniess they are caught in the verj act of plying their vicious calling. A hun dred pickpockets may rush through tiu crowds of Hyde park or jostle the tarongi at the Derby races and tho polico are helpless unless they catch them in tho very act of picking pockets. A howling mob of ;>0,(JJO may gather with riotous and destructive purposes?in fact, just such a mob did gather last fall in Trafalgar square and threaten to sack Birmingham palate, and tho police merely stood arouud and waited for the overt act?w&ited for them to upsel the monument, tear down a fen.-e or attaci ih - palace windows. Tho New York policeman is not forbear ing. He feels that his business is to keep the peaco, and that he is a cross between a patrolm.in and a supreme judge. Ho can, and uoes, arrest on suspicion anil at pleasure. Iuthetim : of tuibulonee he keeps people moving; if three men are talking togethai lie orders them to separate and go aboul their business; if one is loitoring un necessarily he makes him hurry up or go to the station-house. If men or women who are too notorious enter places of amusement a policeman is very likely to order them to get out or be locked up, coupon or no coupon. AN "ABUSE OF AUTHORITY." When George W. Walling was superintendent?and our police never had a more eilicient head ?lie sometimes made broad his phylacteries in the maintenance of justice. Un every holiday, and in the presence ol all processions, lie would issue a blanket order: "Arrest all known pickpockets on the screec to-aay ana l?ko mom m: iuhi b wiu a j^ood deal of grumbling;and lawyers wer?j hired to prevent such an "abuse of authorty," but thj courts interpreted t:io law liberally, and the order was supported, and it is enforced to this day. This accounts in great part for the orderly character of our election nights anc our great public gatherings. "When Mather Arnold was hero, he was taken out to see the crowds on election night. With some trepidation, he took the ladies of the party, "though, bless you! such a thing wouldn'l be heard of in London:" His guide, Henry Bergb, took the party down to Chathan square, on the elevated road. There they got o:r, not knowing where they were, and looked around "oh, yes!" broke out Dr. Arnold, "this is all very well in this aristocratic part o? the city, but it would Le different if we were tc go to seme of the noisy centers of your pop ulution, where the tatterdemalians and roughs hold carnival!" The princo of Wales and Duke of New> castle expressed their astonishment at thf case with which i\'ew York police con trolled the disorderly; while at the recep tion ol' the prince and princess in London, tlu mob overpowered the police, seven per sons were killed and hundreds wounded. At the exhibition of the Groat Eastern iu England, pickpockets swarmed all over the ship, and thousands of pounds were stolon At iho exhibition of the sumo vessel here, she was visited by 100,(MO people, only six police wore 011 duty, and not a dimo is known to have been stolen. The Kew York policeman believes in the great valuo of an ounce of prevention.?Croll'ut's Letter in Kansas City JournaL Compulsory Prayers ?t a College. Tho enmpaign against compulsory prayers at Harvard is being waged furiously by the students. One cf thorn tells this incident to illustrate the hardships of the sys tem; ' The prayer cut is busted," said a sopbomoro when his girl asked him last night to come with his bicycie und join her with her tricycle for a morning spin, "I can't como.' "The wh? wiiut is bustedr" "The prayer cut Lou't you know what the prayer cut is.' It's cutting the morning prayers. Boii'c you know/ .Not going to chapel." And you've actually got to go to the chapel every morning." "Yaas, got my prayer warning yesterday." "And what's a prayer warning?" "Uh, it's a thing about so long and about so wide, and looks something like a postal L./vmfltliirvf fcriMiner ii!ra t.linfc* Imt what is your horror when you take it uj al ter a while to lind that it is a warning thai you have alisontod yourself from prayers all that is permitted, and that your attendance at chapel will be required heroafter." "And you'vo got to go to prayers after this.'" "I regret to say that I have. You can only *.ut prayi rs just so much, and I've used up my cut, as 1 said. Oh, I tell you those involuntary prayers are ihoono tyrannical survival of barburism that disligures the otherwise fair and pleasing aspect of the nineteenth century. They iiave got to go.''?.New York fciun. The Fastest Shaving oil Kocorri. "Just wait till yoa hear from im," said a low-browed, tough looking passenger. "For seven years I shaved in a shop where one barber run the razor over an average of sixtv faces an hour. What do you think of that;" "Impossible," oxclaimod sovcral listeners in chorus. ".No, it ain't impossible," continued the low-browol man. "This barber didn't do anything but uso his ra.or. "'ho men lathered their own faces while waiting their turn, and a boy handed him freshly honed razors. Seven or eitjht slashes Mas a shave, and the customers wiped their own faces after leaving tlio chair." "liow much did thu barber charge a head "Nothing: and he got no wages. He was tho barber in Jell'ersonvillo prison."?Chicago Herald. Hard to Hold Up Agt'.iust. M. Pasteur is under a strain very hard to hold up against. His door bell rings every two minutes and people press in on all sorts of pretext*, in???hi k BETROTHAL. aI love you," b? whispered low," In joy, for a moment bold; And suddenly, white ns snow, . The warm little hand grew cold. "I love you," again he said, And touchod tho soft finger-tips; Eut shyly she bent her head, To Wide the two trembling lips. "I love you"?she turned her face. His heart overfilled with fear; i "When lo, on her cheeks the iruca 1 Of one tiny passion tear! "I love you," he gently spoke, [ And kissed her, sweet, tearful-eyed; > The rose-blossom-fetters broke; ; "I lo.e you, too," they replied, j ?Frank Liempster Sherman in The Century. J TORTURE OF A "SCAPE-GOAT." A > Good' Friday's Kepentanco In Mexico? I Punlslilnq: the Wickedest Ulan. '< Once a year, on Good Friday, the Mexi' cans select a victim for the whipping, and - sometimes more than one. The selection is ' made by taking the worst one of the lot. This is determined by all making a confession before a priest of the year's mis> deeds, and the one decided to be the worst t sinner is selected as a sort of ''scape-goat" to > bear the torture. The martyr is prepared at the church by being stripped nearly naked and by being ? prayed fOr. Then ho is made to carry a i heavy cross full ten feet high, with the cross arm of five or six feet in length, and made > of wood six to eight inches in diameter. Ho carries this cross for a considerable dis' tanco to a place selected for the purpose, I where there is another larger cross erected. I Arriving at the upright cross, he carries his i cross around it and Is then permitted to lay ! it down. Here the business takes a turn not quite *o agreeable to the candidate, for he finds a crowd of worshipers surrounding him Two of these worshipers are armed with large cactus bushes of wliat i3 commonly called i "tree cactus" or "cane cactus," on act count of its being used to mako walking sticks of. This cactus grows to the hight of three or four feet and is armed with thou? rands of needle-like spines fully an inch ' long. The main stalk is as large as a man's ; w rist at the ground, branching otf as it rises, and each branch having many lateral branches from three to tive inches iu length, 1 all fully armed with needle-like thorns, i which are very poisonous, the prick caus' ing very painful, festering wounds in a short 1 time. Seizing one of the cactus bushes by the butt and which has been trimmed for the purpose, two begin the ceremi#jy by striking > the candidate on the naked back and marchI inir him ornnnH t.hft rrnsq tha rest keBninf? up a continuous shouting and singing, with ' music by a sort of wind instrument. Having whipped him around until their bushes > are broken up, they lorm a profession and > inarch him back to the church door, where 1 he is stopped. Here, with sticks like laths, the adhering pieces of the cactu3 are scraped off of him and placed on the ground > in the door where he is next to enter, walicir.g barefoot on the pioces of cactus, After this the victim is allowed to be taken to his LI home to get well or die, as the case may be. ' He is not allowed to pull out the thorns un> til they come out by fostering, and it fre> quently occurs that six or eight months i eiapso before he recovers. ' I went to see one of these ceremonies ' through curiosity, and I am not curious > ' enough to go to see another. The sight of the | Dieeain^ vicum, auujucu vu a wnuio wcu I I far exceeds burning at the stake, is no atI traction to me, though the poor victim never J; uttered a single groan during the per> f ormance. ?Mexico Cor. Kansas City Times. Sarali Off In a liluze of Glory. L lime. Sarah Bernhardt has gone off to London en route lor Spain, and has quitted Paris in a bla/.e of glory. Her brilliant suc? | cess in th? revival o? Fedora, which closed the series of her impersonations at the Porte I St Martain, was more than sufficient to , ! e:l'a:e from the minds of her adorers all I memory ot her failures as Marion Delorme and as Ophelia. The great actress was never II greater than she was in that role, wherein > Sardou has fitted her talent like a glove. She has introduced a new and startling effect , j into the death scene. When the dead Fedora : | rolls off the sofa she does not, as formally, i fall prone upon the lloor, but remains with : her head and shoulders resting on the edge l of the sofa, the dead face fronting the audii ence in most ghastly fashion. Also, Sarah which she makes full use in fedora. She has learned how to cry. Tho first time she visited England she remarked to Miss Ellen Terry: "Ah, Miss Terry, you possess an art which I long to be able to use myself?that of shedding tears at will." She ha3 lound out the secret now, and in the last act of "Fedora" the other night she , wept so profusely and so realistically that . j all t.:e rougo and cearl powder was washed i from her face by the continous showers of tears. She might have gone on playing ; 1' eJora to crowded houses for weeks and months to come. Lut she has taken her departure, and she will be gone a whole year, to tho sincero regret of tho play-goeis of , Paris, since she is the sole actress of gonius that now adorns their boards. What a strange compound is this singular woman? j a female Baruum backed by a great dra matic artist?Kachel mixed with a strolling 1 player. I cull I rom the columns of an evenI I...- noraii' t.liu nnewlotri rosnoetinsr I I "*o o ? i! her: Une eveniug \vh n her drawing-room i was crowded witb journalists, ono or them ; a.-ked las bostiss wiiat hud become of h.-r [ coilin. "It is worn our," made answer Mmo. 1 b'arali Bernhardt, "i ou used to sit upon it and uso it as a b.-n; h. I have an urn now . . instead. -My ashes shall bo deposited in it, and on it shall be inscribe !, '^ho is at rest' i ?or rather 'They are at rest'?meaning i you, gentlemen.Lucy II. Hooper's i'aris Letter. millionaire Flood's >*ob Hill Hon to. > i Mr. J. C. Flood will enter upon the occupancy oi bis now housj 011 2sgL> Ilill, S;tn 1'ranciseo, next 1'iiil. 'iho Alta California says: '"Tbis building is probably tho most expensive private resideu-o in America The structure is of veritable >.ew York swelldom brownstone, and tlio dimensions in tho clear are about HiUxlJj feet, with | I su.'Jicient surrounding gro.md for a floral j yaradiso. Tlio artist in ilmrgo is the same I gentleman who sup. rintenueil tlio Iiiilsfting I of the mansions of \ auuerbilt, Stewart, ' | Villurd, and other eastern millionaires: and ! liis delight over Lis piesent task is s>uch that | ho declares th-it the parlors of any oi them ' 1 i would l?e paled l>y comparison with tho i I back hall of tho Flo'.d palace. It is idle to estimate in particular tho coat of any of tho parts of tins magnificent editke or sot a j valuo upon the whole. Tue contractors for 1 the interior decorations are s-aid to have made an i intlay of ov.r >SOU,0;xi for their work and material alonj."?Exchango. j The Savannah .News says that the | | real reason why southern men wear their ! hair long is to keep tho sun from tanning I their necks. To do a kind act is tho proof of a good ; man; not bragging about it afterward, howj ever, is the proof of a noble man.? Jud j Lafagaa. THE ARIZONA SHEPHERD. I A LIFE WHICH PRESENTS BUT FEW ATTRACTIVE FEATURES. No Great Manual Lauor ana s>uu i^esa Mental Exertion?Camp and Cooking i Utennlls?Preparing the Modest Even- I inj Meal?A Night's Lodging. . -.>JB If the ancients deemed this life one of the happiest that man could engage in merely* I because it involves no great manual labor1 I and still less mental, I most heartily Ogre'} I with them, for I can imagine no life, unleaj I it be that of tho professional idler, that ro- 1 quires less of these ingredients than that of I the sheep-herder. There may be one or twd - I months in the year when be is compelled to I make a pretense of exerting himself, but 9 during the remaining ten months his lifd | work is to wander la^ilv ud and dowri I through tho woods, kicking small stones ou6 N 'ijfl of his pathway and whistling till the very 1 trees around him groan His only care is w- 1 see that the flock does not wander too far I from tLe camp and that no wayward sheep . I strays from the main band. It gives him' 1 no particular trouble to keep them at u.1 reasonable distance from the place of ren-. - -' dezvous, and should any black sheep become'; I so perverse as to attempt to sever all cod- * nections with his fellows, and to wander out 1 into the wicked world all by himself, a mere I ' shoo, there," and a stone well aimed quickly 1 strikes terror into his rebellious heart and j causes him to seek once more the society , ] from which he sought to separate himself. This, then, constitutes for the greater part I of the year what the sheep-herder is pleased j tsrcall his daily labor. But bis labors do j not cease witu the day, for when darkness j approaches be returns, not to the "bosom of j his family," but to his lonely and uninvit i ing camp, where he prepares his frugal . i meals ami indulges in tha 'halmv " to use a 1 favorite e^presoion of the poetic Mr- . j iSwiveiler. ' ? The camp usually consists of a small tent, in which are stored tha scanty provisions jiS and the necessary cooking utensils. Eetora j the tent a few sapling pine trees, if they can 1 be reaaily obtained, are arranged in 6uch a manner as to form a small inclosure, and ' j within this indosure a blading fire of pine I logs, which answers tue triple purpose oC heating stove, cooking ;-tove, and lamp, i? kept burning during the lonely hours of thor . long winter evenings, and its lambent Ham> ? light up the forest far and wide with a sort of spectral glow. * A J1EAL AND NIGHT'S LODGING. . TTnon reaching canrn the herder's first care is to prepare his modest evening meal. With tbis and in view he melts a quantity . ;a of snow in a tin kettle, thus obtaining suilicient water with which to ina^e bread and coffee. The bread is baked in a sort of irou t oven, having a closely fitting iron cover. This oven, in which the dou^h is placed, Li covered with glowing coals, and in a very few moments a well-baked, but extremely , unteinpting loaf, is turned out The bread | and coliee bomg iu readiness, B'thj would-b> cook applies himself to the cooking of meal, * ^{jj which is, except on state occasions, mutton. .. . >'3p| j The meat is cut into large pieces and placed . in a frying pan over the coals, where it allowed to remain until the external portion j at least have become browned. It matters very little whether the interior be cooked or. not. , To such a repast, with the possible addi- . tion of a few potatoes, onions, or beans, the i sheep-herder diligent.y applies himself each morning and evening of the greater part of . | me yenr. xijs taoio is cuo uaio ^iuuuu, u? . | table cloth?such an article is utterly uui knoniL He usually eats from the dishes iu | which the food baa been cooked, and, though knives and forks may always be found ia the camp, he prefers his fingers, acting on the principle that "lingers were made | before forks." After this barbarous rite is s concluded, he is at liberty to indulge in his favorite pastime of whistling, or, if he be a . Mexican, in brushing his teeth with an in- . ! strumeni which ho calls a "harp," but which ; in musical circles is generally designated as < the "villainous mouth-organ,"until he feels disposed to retire. This is a very simple . operation, and does not require much prepaI ration. Two or three sheep skins that serve I as mattress are placed on tUe ground, and a I few blankets are placed over these, _ which # v with a coat for a pillow, make up the royal couch. Divestiug himself of no other articles of apparel except his coat and boots, the herder wraps himself in his blankets, and i? I all prepared to receive the god of sleepwhenever his majesty may be pleased to ap: i>ear. He sleeps in blissful unconsciousness| of all around uutil the new-born light tellsi him that another dav has beuun. Then, | casting bis blankets aside and drawing oa 1 his boots and coat, he immediately proceeds ! to prepare breakfast, which is essentially i the same as the m.-al of the previous even| ing. This being finished, he drives his bleating flocks to their pasture, and perj forms the same round of duties as on the: preceding day.?.11. J. ltiordan in ChicagoTimes. Effects of Impurities in Metals* In a rjcont lecture Mr. W. C RobertsAuscen, chemist of tha British mint, remarked upon the wonderful effects often prodjeed upon meta'.s by minute quantities of impurities. Slight impurities in metallic copper would render ocean telegraphy impossible. When purified, tin loses its wellknown "cry," or noise made when bent A trace of arsenic increases the liuidity of lead so that it will roll itself into small shot in sliding down an inclined plane. fc-tandard gold melts at about 10 0 degree*, but if a lifth of 1 per cent, of silica bj added ^ it will soften in a candle-llanie. A trace of had added to gold forms an alloy much dl eaded at tho miut, the breaking strain of the gold beir*' reduced from twenty tons to five. Some metals have a reiuarlcaole pow.-r of taking up ga^s, palladium being capable of absorbing WW times its volume of hydrogen and giving it out again when heated. A remarkable discoveiy is that an alloy of rhodium and load will absorb nitrogen and oxygen, and when heated give them off with explosive v.olence as gun-cotton does.? Ariian?aw Traveler. Throwing Effect on tho Balcony. Clay Greene once played Romeo. He was to play it to a very beautiful J uliet, a lady who has been known on the New York stage for some tim\ Just bolore the curtain rose in the balcony scene the man who looked after the theater?this took place at San Kafaol?discovered that the footlights had been put out. This was dono, I suj>pose, to throw effect on the balcony. Concluding that something had happened, the studious and zealous guardian of the hall went out and got a candle. Clay was heaving bis whole soul up to that balcony and Juliet Capulet was leaning gracefully on the balcony, when the janitor calmly walked in with a pair of big boots on and a candle in his hand and deliberately walked along shutting out the actors ami lighting the 1'ootligbta. Clay will kill thas janitor when he gets money enough to buy it jury to ae>;uit him.?Sau Francisco Chronicle "Undertones." Moonshine whisky distilleries are reporter} to bo cropping out in all the moubtainouiparts of Pennsylvania ^