Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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TH E WINDS. | r The North wind's howling legion* J1 Swept down from boreal regions, I 1 Prom the pallid zone where winter's throne 1 Was wrought in the wide waste, wan and (* lone, i 1 Uunumbered years ago; ' They come on wings whose flutterings Bestrew the world with snow, And their icy breath is bitter death, Their footfall only woe. The East wind comes with sadness ] And pain, and midnight madness, Prom a solitude where curses brood ] And poisoned dews on tue dales are strewed, I ' And sorrow throttles gladness; i1 It comes like a g!:o;t from spectral coast ' IV here eypre s branches wave, j j And out of its plumes fall ghastly glooms ! Like those that encircle the grave. The South wind comes a-sighing, ? To buds and blooti s replying, 1 He comes in quest of love and rest, And presently, ou a rose's breast, In i apture lies a-dying; He comes like dreams, and only seems, * His cradle is his tomb; His l'fn is n son? to murmurinor streams. I1 His death?a rich perfuuia. J The zephyr, fragrance laden, ' Briugs balm to man and maiden? c Brings dove-eyed rest to the troubled breast j From the mystical regions of the West? t Frcm love's enchanted Aiden; 1 It comes with new.-; as fresh as the dews t That gather iu starry hours, With wonderful store of tender lore * From the sweel book of the flowers. ?Gjorrji K. Cam]). 1 S ATTACKED BY PIRATES. I K T rr. ? i r (JillllUd itxiciitv; OilO Oh 1VI vui\'9t 110UV4 j ^ on the Lr.'tith bark Huntress, and one morning ia the seventies wc left Singipore, bound to the South by way of the Stra ts of Sunda. We h.:d sixteen hands | on the b.:rk, a d for armament we hud g a nine-pound; r mounted on a carriage ' and a good supply of muskets and pikes. All of the seas t.? the north of Australia , are suspicious waters for an lionet thip. ^ Pirates have abounded tliere ever since j( ships began to sail, and I'm thinking it will be long before the business is wiped out. There are hundreds of islands iu the Java and Banda Seas, and each one of them offers a secure headquarters for a gang t of native pirates. They arc not as bold as before the government cr.ti-ers got or- ^ ders to patrol those waters, and sink ^ every craft which could not show honest . papers; but they are there still, and the Q temptations are 100 great to cxpcct they can ever be entirely suppressed. On our way up, when olf the Red Islands, on the northwestern coast of Sumatra, we overhauled an Italian brig called the Campello. She was stripped of sails, cordage _ and most of her cargo, and had been set j., fire to and scuttled. For some reason ^ the flames died out, and the water came in an slowlv that shf> was flontrd six hours after the p'ra'es abandoned her. ^ Our mate was > ent of! to I oard her, and ^ he found a shocking state of a'Tairs. She had been !ai 1 abo.ird wlthr ut resistance by , two native boa's, armed only with muskets . and pistols. The crew had at or.ee been sl made prisoners, and S'.*t to work to strip c the ship and hoist out such cargo as the a pirates coveted. She was run in behind |? one of the is'ands and anchored, and for \ three days and nights the pirates were *1 hard at work on her. Each m in of the crew worked uudcr a guard during the day. and at night Caplaiu and all were v secured in the fore.astle. The crew a numbered fourteen. ? . Toward evening of the third d:iy the r' pirates had secured all their plunder. Sev- ^ everal native crafts had been loaded and p . tailed up the coast to some rendezvous, * and only one remained to take on the last ? of the plunder. As no actual violence had been oTered C'apta'n or e. ew during -( the three days, there was hope th t the pirates would go away and leave them in s possession of the robbed and dismantled a brig. Just what shift they would have made in this casi I cannot say, for the ? craft was left, without sa l, rope, block . or provisions. About 4 o'clock in ih?afternoon the crew were ordered forward. N while the native collected aft, and at a v given signal lire was opened on the de- F fenceless men. To their credit let it be 1 recorded that they seized whatever weap- a ons tney couia my nanas on ana ua?ncu , i . at the pira'.cs, but it was simply to die like brave men. In ten minu es the last oue was shot down. The pirates then raised the anchor and got it into their boat, bored holes in the ship's bottom, and started a fire in the hold amidship;. The information I have given you came from a little chap on board who was , making his first voyage as an apprentice. ' Hewas, if I remember right, only thirteen . years old. On the moiniug of 4he third , day he managed to hide a'nong the 1 cargo, and the pirates completed thei: . work and sent the hulk dri'ting out to , sea with nit having missed him. Hewas on deck to catch the painter of the mate's boat when sle drew alongside. J and to one of our cre .v who cou'd speak Italian he gave the s>t ry as straight a~ j the Captain cou'd have ta'ked. "We reported the affair at Sing-pore4 and a British gunboat was scut off to in- 1 vestigute. She returned before we had J completed our loading, a::d reported f iii a sue iiuu niauu uu uj^v.u> ui it ,, was a warning for our ( aptain, and he wisely determined to herd it. We touk 0 on shell and grape for our cannon, a c dozen revolvers were purchased for the crew, and on the very day we left, the c Captain brought aboard two very heavy rifles which he had picked up somewhere v at a bargain. I call them rifles, b;;t they c were young cannon, carrying a three" a ounce bail, with powder enough b hind J it to kick the marksmaa 1 all" way across the ship. We left Singapore as well prepared as a m reliant vessel could be, and ' at seem? that the Captain was advised to bear well up toward Torneo, and give the Red Island? a wide berth. We T crosse 1 the equator at least a .hundred nines to tne east 01 tne isianci3, as l overheard the Captain say. and then altered our course to the southeast, calc dating r to pass to the east of Biliton Island bj fore hauling away for Suada Strait. 1 The bark ma le good weather of it, 1 and we had crossed t!:c e juator and run ' down on the new course until liiliton | might h>ve been sighted from the mast- J head, when the e cam! a calm. The w'nd had died away about m'd forenoon. 1 and the drift o' ?he bark was t> tit ! north. We looked for a change at sun- j set, but nothiug came, and the night ' nas^cd without wind enough to move a 1 BE* K .1 -?r U~1 icamer. iuy WJUUU nas iKiun niivuuitjlight came, and we got the word to turn ' up lively. To the Northeast, off th_* ' coast of Borneo, two or three green islands were in sight, and between us and the islands were two native craft bearing down upon us. These craft were about the size of pilot boats, half dccked over, and rig^id like a catboat. They had been sighted when six or seven miles away, and as my v atch came on deck the mate descended from the perch aloft, where he had been using the glass, and reported to the caplaiu that the craft were approaching U3 bv the use of sweeps, i m. rtxi calm still hold, b it it was clear :nough to a sailor's eye that we should lave a brce e as soon as the sun began o climb up. No maa asked himself he errand of those boats making out for ;he Huntress. At thnt time and locality :hero could be but one answer. The [Japta'n presently called us aft and said: Men, the craft which you see pulling jut for us are pirates. Wo shall have a breeze within an hour, but they will be liere first. If we cannot heat them off, sve are dead men. They take no prisoners. [ lo:>k to see every man do his duty." We give him a cheer, and began our preparations. The cook was ordered to till his coppers full of water and start 1 rousing fire, and the nrais w re Drought up and served out. There were :hree or four men who had served at a ieavy gun. and these took charge of the ;antion, and the piece was loaded with i shell. When the Captain called for lome one to use the rifles, the only man who auswered was an American. He took ;hem aft, loaded them with his own lands, and by the time the pirates were ivithin a mile we vere as ready as we jouldbc. The bark was lying with her icad to the east, and the fellows were ipproaching us from the north, on our >roadside. The mate kept his glass joing and announced that both craft vere crowded with men, but that he rould see no cannon. They made slow irogreas, and we were impatient to open he fi^ht. By and by, when they might live been three quarters of a mile away, he Captain passed word for the gunners o send them a shot. Iu a few scconds he big gun roared, and we all saw that he shell tie?v over the pirates and burst n the air. It was a good line >hot and omething to enc-urage, but before the annon >cnt another shot the American lad a try with one of the rifles. The aate was watching his shot from the igginjj, and the report had scarcely died way b.fore he shouted: "Good for the Yankee! lie hit at lean couple of them." The second shell from the cannon burst ver one of the boats and took effect on omc of t!.e men, as reported by the late. The American then fired again, nd a^ain his bullet told. "We were doing iravely and were full of enthusiasm, but he struggle was yet to come. The fcl3ws bent their energies to creeping loser, and pretty soon they opened on us riih musketry, and the ball* began to ing through the riggingin a lively manor. We had our musdets ready, but he Captain ordered us to hold our fire nd ket p sheltered behind the rail. One f the piratical craft was a quarter of a lile in advance of the other, and the hird shell from the cannon burst aboard f her, and must have killed and roundeJ a dozen or more men. There .*as grfat confusion aboard, and she regained stationary until the other craft ame up. During this interval the Amerian got m two more shots, which found ict.ms. We now looked upon the vic)ry as assured, and there was cheering rorn one end of the ship to the other. We rerea litt'e ahead of time. The third tiot from our big gun burst it, and al tiough no one was hurt, we were thus enrived of a great advantage. As soon as the Captain knew what had appened, be called upon all the crjw to helter themselves and wait to fire nt lose (jrnr;e"3. One man was detailed to j ssist the cook with the hot water, and owder and bullets were placed handy ar reloading the muskets. I was staioned near the gun carriage, and I no:ccd several shells lying about undei sot. The American kept firing away rith the riiles, knocking over a pirnte t every shot, and pre ty soon the two raft were near enough for us to open re with the muskets. I presime we rasted a good many shots, f(9t we were reen hands and greatly excited, but ] m likewise certain that we also did reat exe ution. We had a plunging re down upon a mass of half-naked feljws, a-id we must have weeded out a till third of them. There was no air tirring. and the smoke sooa grew thick bout us. By and by the >houts and ells of the pirates sounded dose at hand, nd their (raft were laid alongside and hey b'gan climbing the rail. We now lung djwn the muskets and used the reolvers and pikes. When the revolvers fere empty we used capstan bars, clubbcd duckets, or whatever we could lay lanlsupon. Our rail was clear in huff on/1 tlim T T\ir-lrf?rl llr* a slw>!l nd ft burning wad and ran forward. A lozea n:itivc3 had gained the bow and lere pushing' our men buck. I lighted he fuse and gave the shell a roll along he deck into"thj crowd, and I give yo ; iiy word that not one of thcra was left livo after the explosion. One of our aen 011 the quarter threw a second shell, nd I brought the third one and threw it rom the bow. The fight was endeJ. A bit of wind >!c .y the sm >ke away, and we lo jk'.'d lown upon a tciriblu ."-ight. The boats ^emcd full of dead and wouw'ed, the iving sought shelter under the half leeks. Why, there were bodies without heads, heads without bodies, and armj .nd legs and pieces of bl odv meat enough 0 make the bravest tura pale. As we ut their lashings they drifted oif, and he A me icai with his big rifles :>n 1 two >r three of the men with misket<, kept ip a fire on eve. ything that moved. I'resmtly the breeze came up, and as we made ail and got the bark where we could 1 indie her we ran down for the dhows. I'liey were light built, and it needed inly a fair blow to crush them. The first >nj we struck on her starbo :rd quarter, md, although the bark glanced off, we :rushed in her t'mbers, and she filled and vent down inside of five minutes. There vjre about twenty living men on the >thcr, and as we bore down for her at i pood pace they uttered shouts of terror fid made signs of surrender. Cur Capnia had no mcrcy for thera. We put lie ship right at the dhow's broadside, ind we cut her square in two and rolled ;'.ie bow one way and the stern the other, vhile the living, wounled, and dead vent into tho 3ea together.?New York S"n Odd Ears and Eyes. With reference to the discovery by the I'roy T>lf{/ra>n that a large number of jcrscns in its city arc becoming deaf in >ne ear?a fact which the Telejram seems nclinc-d, without much reason, to at- ! ribute to the use of the telephone?a j 'Traveler" writes to the Buffalo Courier: ;I made some extended experiments ; with the telephone some fix years ago md developed the fact that nearly every .ubject, oat of some thousands, heard :>ettcr with one car?usually the leftban the other." He abo learned afterward that it wa* quite common for the iyesight of one eye to be better than the jiuur. Nntmcgs Poisonous. The common nutmegs aro poisonou9 in large doses. In a ca3e which came under medical tr?atment, a lady had Eaten a wholo nutmeg and a half, which caused extreme drowsiness, then great nervous excitement, followed by subsequent depression and pain in the region sf the heart. This case points to the ITcsence of an active principle which should be investigated. LEAD PENCILS. THE INTERESTING PROCESS OI THEIR MANUFACTURE. Graphite and its Peculiarities?Mix Jiitf the Clay and Forcing the Coil ?Filling the Wooden Case ?Separating and Shaping. The consumption of lead pcncils in this country is estimated at 250,000 a day. This is at the rate of one per day tc every 100 of population, or about 73,000,UOO a year. Graphite, which is the softest substance dug from the earth, is taken in the lump direct from the mouth of the mine tothe icducing mill. Here i r is pulverized by stamps under water, the particles floating olf with the wa:er through a series of tanks. It comes to the factory in barrel?, in the form of dust. The powder is lusterless and of a dingy color. It is finer and softer than any flour, and can be taken up in the hand just as water can, but is hardly :rctainert more easily than water is. If one attempts to take a pinch of it between * " " ? -i ii 1 tne iorenrger aim uiumu it ia ttajm as quicksilver, and tlie only sensation left is that the flesh is smoother than beforo. The first process in manufacturing is to separate the graphite dust further, ticcording to fineness. It is mixed with sufficient water to run very freely, and is then turned into a hopper, from which the water runs slowly through a series of tubs. The coursest and heaviest j articles settle to the bottom of the first tub, the next coarsest and heaviest in the next, and so on, the movement of the water being made very gentle. On reaching the last tub, the powder, being twice as heavy as water and sinking in it if undisturbed, has so far settled that the water discharged at the top is nearly clear. After the flow is stopped ani the powder allowed to settle, the clear water is withdrawn by removing successively, beginning with the upper one, a number of plugs inserted in holes in the side of each tub, care being used not to agitate the contents so as to disturb the deposited dust. This being done properly, the deposit is removed through the gates at the bottom of each tub. The separation is thus performed, by this ingenious process of "floating," more perfectly than it could be by any direct handling, dry treatment being wholly impracticable. For the finest pencils the deposit from the la^t tub only is used, but for ordinary and cheap grades that from the two before the last will answer. The graphite is now ready for the clay. This is a peculiar pipe clay from Germiinv After bein<? sub'eeted to the floating proccss the finest is mixed with the graphite, in proportions varying according to the degree of hardness required. The more cluy used the harder the pencil. For medium grades tht proportion is about seven parts clay to ten graphite by weight. The gr.iphitc and .clay are mixed together with water, to the consistency of thick cream, and the mixture is fed to the grinding mill-, which consist of two flat stones, nboul two feet in diameter,placed horizontally, only the upper one running. Between these the mass is ground like paint, foi the finest pencils as many a? twenty-foui t'mes, thus securing the most pcrfect strength, uniformity and frecness from grit in the leads. After grinding the mass is inclosed in etout estiva? bags, and the clear water forced out by hydraulic pressure until it be.omcs a thick douj?h. It then goes to the forming press. This is simply a small vertical iron cylinder, having a solid plunger or piston driver by a screw. A plate is inserted in the bottom having an opening of the shapi and si e of the lead desired, and the graphite is 6lowly forced through the hole, exactly as water is forced from 8 3 -3 J synnge, coiling ltseu rouna anu rouuu like a coil of wire on a board set beneath the press. The coil is taken up at intervals, "rove" oil straight by the bands into length* sufficient for three leads, which are straightened out, laid in order on a board and pressed fiat by putting a cover over tnem. They are tinallj hardened by placing them in a crucible and baking in a kiln. The handling must be done expeditiously, a* the leads be^in drying immediately and becimc brittle a^they dry; but in first issuing from the press they are so plastic thai knots may be tied loo-ely in them. The leads are now ready for theii wooden case. For the cheapest pencil pine is used, for the common granes ar ordinary quality of cedar. At the saw mills the cedar is cut into blocks, aboul seven ii ches long, and these are sawed into strips about three and a half inches wide and three-sixteenths of an incf thick. The pencil consists of two part: glued together, with the lead between, Each strip is wide enough to make th< halves of six pencils. The pencils an made six at a time, and imperfect strip; are put together so as to make a fill strip out of the parts. When th;s< boards (which are now ready for shaping reach the factory they arc first past in t continuous line, under a cutter which Oiifa oi*- litflo rrrftfWPH rnnnd or a^nnrp for the loads, and smooths the far es bi the same sti oke. The lead in the foreigr pencil lies wholly in one-half of the wood, the other slip being put on as t cover, as nearly everybody has found oc casion to know by the covers coming off and leaving au unpleasantly flat surface; but the American method has the glue equally in each strip. Accordingly the two strips are glued alike. Filling the leads is done bv girls, sit' ting at brass covered tables. The firs) tikes a grooved slip with her left hand and a bunch of leads in her right. Spreading these out in her fingers like the s:icks of a fan, she dexterously lays them in the grooves and passes the filled slip to the girl at the left, who puts over it another slip which has just re> ceived a coating of hot glue from abrusl: wielded by a third. Any two slips fit together and the uuited pairs arc laid it a row and pressed together in an iror frame by a screw, and the row of slips i left to dry. The rough ends of the slip! and the projecting parts arc next grout.c smooth airainst a wheel covered witl Band pape-r, and are then ready for th< most interesting and characteristic pro cess of all?that of scpa:ating and sha ping. The work of separating anel shaping them is done by tin: same operation of i sing c machine. The slips arc fed 0111 by one under n revolving cutter, whirl sepaiat s miu ruiums mem uu uuu oi-> by cutting awav the superfluous woo 1 As tliey comc from under the cutter the; arc tinned over nt.d passed under ti see ond one, which does the same work oi the other side, so that they fall into th basket in a continuous stream, six wid" of finished pencils.?Brooklyn Eagle. The biggest building in the Unitet States will he the City Hall of Philadel pliia, now in pro: ess of construction Between $11,00),00) and $12,000,001 have been expended upon it since 1872 It is estimated to cover 2,800 mor square feet than the Capitol at Wash .vjgton. Rhymes Tor Borrowers. Some people have a straDge way ol . designating their ownership of books, i* Of course you remember, when a schoolboy, what ridiculous Jdoggerel some of * the scholars wrote in theirs. As for example : "This book is John Smith's My fist is anot ler: You touch mo And you'll fee; the other." And again: "Steal not this book, mr honest friend, For fear the gallows'll be thy end." ( A great many grown-up children have 1 nuoptea tne CUSlom JU u giuver uiuu?? | The two verses commonly used aro: "If thou art borrowed bv a friend, 1 Right welcome shall he be, 1 To read, to study, not to loud, i I But to return to me." | And this: < I "Not that imported knowledge doth ! , Diminish learning's store; < ; But books, I find, it often lent, i Return to n:o no more." I j There is one found in a book formerly 1 j belonging to a well-known resident of j | New York: "Any one may borrow, but ] I a gentleman returns." David W. Jayne's j I books have the following Scriptural j 1 quotation: *'Go thou rather to them thftt | j sell, and buy for yourselves." The fol- j ! lowing rather severe lines were used by a massncnuscits uiuu; , "Stern power of Justice, lift thy waiad < In spite of mercy's look; s Strike him who with presumptuous hand 1 Purloins this valued book." , J Aaron Putnam,who flouri-hed :in Med- ^ | ford, Muss., about one hundred years j ! ag t, used these lines: "The wicked bor- , row, but do not return again. See thou j .art not one of that mimb.r." Dnncau i C. Pell, of New Yoil:, had this rather J j churlish motto, not at all in keeping ' with his character: <-He does not lend , , his books/' W. J. Snelling, one of the , 1 early editors of the Rnston Herald, li d | these instructions: "Do not turndown ( the leaves to mark thu place, but put in j ; a slip of paper. Do not give the book ! to children for a plaything. Handle not . with dirty hands. Return the book when you nave read it." _ I An Editor's Coolness. ; Mr. McRoberts, new editor of the 1 Leeds (Eng.) Mercury, was at one time a | reporter in this city. He was the most i argumentative and, at the same time, the j calmest man that c? er struck the town. 1 j lie would stop work at a fire to argue. 1 Mr. McRoberts was on his way home early one morning, when an American i citizen suddenly popped up with a pis- ] , tol, leveled at his head and said: i "Throw up yer hauls!" t J "Why?" asked Mr. McRobcrts, undis- i turbed. 1 'j "Throw them up." ' i 1 i "But. what for?" < "Put up ycr Lands," insisted the foot- 1 ' pad, .'haking the pistol. "Will you do 1 ' i what I tell ycu?" I ! I "That depends," said Mr. McRoberts. { 1 "If ye can show mc any reason why I s 1 should pit up ina hands, I no say bat 1 what I weell; but ycr mere rcquaistwad i be no justification fur me to do sae ab- 1 ; | surd a thing. Noo, why should you, a i ' t complete stranger, ask me at this 'oor 'o 1 ! the mornin', on a public street, tae put | up ma hands?" i | "Dash you!" cried the robber, "ifyou ] don't quit gabbin' and obey orders, I'll t ' | blow the top of your hi ad olT!" j 1 "Whaat! Faith, man, ye must be oot < ! o'yer heed. Come, noo. puir buddy," < J ' sai'd Mr. McRoberts, soothingly, coolly 1 1 j catching the pistol and wresting it with ] a quick twist out of the man's hand, < ' j "come, noo, and I'll show ye where i : they'll take care 'o ye. Ilech! Dinna ye ' | i try tae fecht, or ecod I'll shoot ye. By * ' 1 the way, ye might as weel put up yer aiu 1 [ hands, an' jist walk aheed o'me. "That's < [! it. Trudge away, noo " ! j And so Mr. McRoberts marched his ' 1; man to the city prison and handed him ; over to Captain Douglass. i 1 ' i I-.J :J? ! "it wuaanu oe u uru iucu mc j>n> uiui ' ! in a strait-jacket," he said serenely to |! the offcer. "There's little doot but the I buddy's daft." II And he resumed his interrupted home- : ward walk.?San Francisco Post. r I % I r i Washington's Private Secretary. ! j There is in the western part of the city s an old warehouse, built in the last eenf tury, in which the archives of Governt j ment were stored when brought here by I water until houses conld be prepared for r | their reception. This warehouse belonged I to Col. Lear, a native of Portsmouth, N. i : II., who wrs fitted for college at Dum1 mer Academy at Bvfield,Mass.,graduated t; at Harvard University in 118 and two I j years later became Private Secretary to ? j Gen. Washington. In 1S02 he becaino i j Consul-General at Snn Domingo, and iu II UOl he filled the same position at Al-1 . ! giers. The next year (lbO-3) he went aa J | Commissioner to negotiate a pcace with i I Tripoli. On returning to the United 3 Slates he beoame an accountant in the 1, War Depa tment. One morning in OctoJI ber, 1810, af:er Col. Lear had finished > ! breakfast, he took the morning paper i and walked to the summcrhouiie in his i . <- ? j- o i j } aru. cuun auer iu?; miuuus ui u , I were beard, which alarmed the family, r and proceeding to th<; summerhou;e th?y i ( found Col. Lear seated on a bench with ' h;s brains blown out and the fatal pistol iJ 14 his death grip. When Washington 1 gave Col. I.ear his T.ar correspondence : | to classify; he di.ected him to burn the : i letters of Mrs. Washington as he <amo J across them. She v. as not an accomplished scholar, and her noted closeness in money matters doubtless led her to make occasional remarks in 1 a lly spelled ' sentences, which Washington wished to 11 have destroyed.?Bet,: Parley Poore. A Rich Editor's Stables. The stables belonging to George W. Childs, proprietor (if the Philadelphia Ledger, are described by the Philadelphia News as folows: "A merciful man is merciful to his beast." Mr. Childs is a mcrciful man. I That goes without saying, but I will say : j it nevertheless. His stable is larg^, tine ' | and fiite.l with every comfort for horse ( 1 nnniiDnlnrM ffir II fc|?n d;ltl tg. It iiaS i | none of the brass mounted frippery or j i nonsense that ntr.de me think, when I J . visited Frank Work's equine palace iu ( . New York, that th?rc < ught to be a law , to prevent men wasting money in such a , r manner. Mr. I hilds's stable is not only i comfortable and convenient, but it is also ] , B architcctually beautiful and in harmony I, i with tlie ho:i.cc of which it is so necese | sary an adjuuct. The stable for his Jersey i [ cows is plain, but fitted with every com y fort desirable for the beautiful animals. ' . What a blessing it would be if all dairy- ! 3 ! men were to have their kine as clean and c ! as well kept as his are. There isplent) I of running water at AVootton. A little . ' creek is being trained at present to run ] with multifuriousVaterfalls. Its water L utilized in many ways and cools the milk 1 in the wost perfect spring-house I ever - saw. The trouah in which the water . runs around the milk vessels is of white ) glazed tile, and the water flows through . it as clear as < rystal. The inte ior of e the building itself is of white flint, ami - I never saw anything cleaner or sweetei looking. A WESTERN SAHARA. 01 A VAST EXPANSE OF STERILE w COUNTRY IN CALIFORNIA. l? ai tl Inhabited Only by Coyotes, Lizards and Snakes?Miniature Vol- 0< canoes ? Mir-ige and ? Sand Storms. a 01 Occupying the southeastern angle of 111 California is a vast expanse of dry and sterile country, thi northern portion of which is known as the Mohave Desert, h and the southern as the Colorado Desert. ? In the absence of natural landmarks, the h dividing line between the two is a little " indefinite. They are, however, about r< uqual in extent, and cover altogether r< some thirty .thousand square miles; their ^ exterior boundaries, cxccnt on the east, where they border on the Colorado Hiver, ^ being not very sharply defined. 11 The summer heat on this California " Sahara is more than tropical. The thermometer during the day marks from 125 :o 130 degrees in the shade. Topograph- ? icaily, this region may be described a* a cw-lying plain, the greater part of it be- 01 ing elevated but little above sea-level, while some portions are depressed below u ;hat level. Scattered over this plain are ^ ;lus:ers of basaltic mountains, dark and ? icrag?y: isolated buttcs, low, irregular S hills and ever-shifting ridges of sand. ?. l'he plain itself is of a sedimentary or ^ narine origin; the more elevated lands ? lave resulted from igneous ageucies. " rhese buttes are, in fact, nothing but ^ ;he cones of dead volcanoe3, and ths de- ^ irnocorl oiirfni-M siirmlr the lwrlsof dried- ^ ? C-J I lp seas. | e: There are two of these low lying basins i * ' ivithin the limits of this southeastern ! 01 tvilderne 3. One, the site of the salses, j jr mud volcanoes, is situated on the b Colorado Desert, in the vicinity of Dos ! b Pulmas Station, on the Southern Pacific J P Railroad. The other, known as Death ! tl Valley, is located on the northern border j ^ jf ihe Mohave Desert, 200 miles further ; is to the north. The former is seventy feet j below the level of the sea, and the latter j c.( 150. The two cover an area of several; r* thousand square miles. In the basin of j the salses. miniature volcanoes forming md dissolving, and the hot gases escap ing from innumerable vents, denote J' there the continuance of a feeble solfa- j ^ tar'c action. j 11 Owing to the presence of extensive ; 0 salines, and the rapid evaporation that ' " here occurs, the mirage is frequently j st seen on these deserts, appearing soine- H times in great perfection. These optical | si illusions take on here not only the sem- tc jlance of real objects, but also at times J fi nany weird and fantastic forms. Lying i )ff in the ha-.y atmosphere are seen j el what seem to be pellucid Ink s, dotted j ei with islands and indented with head- c( ands. Stretching away in the mist are tl jreen meadows and groves,with palatial tl structu es and caste lated ruins beyond, b! While we look, the scene undergoes a ts itrange transformation, and tak.ng on , e1 ,ess familiar and pleasing shapes, slowly e: fadea away?cloud and of youth?em- G i'.em of human hoped tl A peculiarity of this wilderness cli- b< r.ate is the sand-storm, a meteorological lii phenomenon not unlike the simoon ai hat prevails in Arabia and other parts of ? Africa. It consists of a strong wind, I imounting sometimes t3 a gale,"coming I jp with a black cloud that obscjros :he sun, fills the atmosphere so completely with sand and dust that vision is p: obscured, thirst greatly increased, and pi respiration rendered extremely di.1:cult. y< Th'j stifling air, the darkness, the st strangeness of the entire surro indings, tl [ill the traveler with a dread that in- hi :lines him to stop and shelter hiimclf as best he can f.om the effects of the g<le. Even animals are so oppressed with fear j ei when exposed to the sirocco that they ; tl stop in their tracks and obstinately re- ti fuse to go. I ci Having raged for a day or two, the w wind ceases to blow, the dust clouds set- d tie, the air cle.irs up, and the sun, shin- al ing cut with its accusto.-rcd fierceness, ei restores to the * leaden sky its former tl brazen aspect. Swept by the blast, the Band dunes shift like th; billows of the ocean, vanishing in o::e place and reap- w pearing in another with each recu ring j is ten-meat. These simoons, though hardly j a less terrifying than the thunder storms e; that visit in the summer time countries ] further east, are by no means so refresh- v insVery misleading to the stranger are the ti maps of this region, with their arroyos ana rivers, their lakei and springs, laid c down thereon at convenient intervals, ei It is well to supply, as far as may be, the si deficiencies of nature, wherever we find " them; wherefore, one appreciates the h motive of the topo^japher in hia en- g deavor to represent this arid and for- v bidding country as it should be, even ft while one h:'s to lament that these ad- d di ions are almost wholly mythical. The p only stream of any si;-.e iu this entire a Edom is the so-callcd Mohave River, c: which, as if abashed at the unmerited f< houor confered u; on it, hastens to hide a itself in the sand, asserting its presence tl thereafter only in a terie3 of modest ! ii pooh, which, standing apart along its g faintly marked bed, grow smaller and j w smaller, and finally disappear altogether. | Of the few springs that have an actual b existence here the water in some is so impregna'ed with salt, soda or other h rfnlotnp'nns minpral that it is wholly Un tit to dr.'nk. g Traversing these d.'serts, more p.irticu- ai larly in tho neighborhood of the mountains, arc numerous deep ravines, having steep sides and broad, evenly sloping bottom's. They are the creations of the cloud-bursts which arc not uncommon n here, and which, when they cccur, till o: these channe's with water in a very few tl minutes. The flood, which soon sub- tt sidos, oniric* down <jrcat quantities of cl jand and gravel; but th-; g eater po tion fc is swjpt down and deposited at its u mouth, where it fornix moraines stretch- i: ing far out in'o the plain below. A rav- b iue so eroded and afterward partially C' filled up is called a "wash"?"arroyo pi scco" of the Spaniards. ol So far as runniug streami or useful s? forests are concerncd, this may be called fl n wnf<>rl(V!<5 and a timberless land. The cl only trees found growing in it, save some jr willow and cotton-wood along the Color- ir ido River, consist of the several varieties pi of the palm, a worthless wood, and the n: mcsquite. which, though useless for lum- a' l>or, makes an excellent fuel. Bunch i w jr.iss of a nutritious kind is found grow- m ing over a large portion of these deserts; tl sparsely in some places and very abund- pj nntly in others. Much of the soil here is, ni in fact, exceedingly fertile, and with v< irrigation capable of producing large T crops of both fruit and grain; its sterility b! is duo only to its dryness. The cactus d of many varieties abounds. It is a vile al shrub, detesled alike by man and brute, as Reptiles take shelter under it, but do not ]a feed upon it. The only animals that bi abide in these fields of desolation are ai hares, rabbits, and coyotes. There are U; no Indians; even the Digger can not live fi here. Birds are rarely seen. The rep- ft tile family is represented by the li/ard, ti the hoi-Dcd tood. aud'the rattlesnake.? e: Overlaid Monthly. ^ Treatment for Topers. You likely number among your friends r acquaintances some hearty old chap ho has "taken a drink of good -whisky J cfore breakf-ist for forty seven years, ad couldn't eat without it." Now, at le risk of having this worthy but prejuiced person laugh himself into a state f apoplectic red-fneedness, let me sugest that as old as he is he may yet find j substitute?not only a cheaper one, but : ne that will never coax him to take lore than is good for him. Tnk; any j lan who is in the habit of looking in : le bottom of the glass for "pure socia ii:ty" at intervals irom noon until raiaight, and for stomach comfort before 1 e breaks bis fast in the morning, and :t him, after he has arisen and dressed, ;pair to a drug store iustead of to a bar- j )om. He has no appetite. He does : ot feel as though ho were "all there." istend of a cocktail let him ask the rugijist to prepare a m'xture of these igredients and quantities, which, when lixed together, shall constituto a single ose: Chloroform, five drops; tincture giner, half teaspoonful; compound tinclre caidamon, two teaspoonfuls; water, nc wineglassful. Swallow that slowly?take five mintcs to do it. Ysu will be surprised to nd that in about fifteen minutes the "all one" feeling will have disappeared. A entle, pleasant warmth is lolt in place f the gnawing sensation, and in a very ttlc while there are dceided symptoms f bein<? hunsrv. A' repetition of the ? - O O * 4 ose inside of an hoar, in case the attack ic night before was very severe, will 0 no harm. A cup of black coffee venty minutes after ihe fi st dose is an xcellent thing to follow with, provided le patient is not of a particularly nervus temperament. You will lind some men whose nerves ecome unstrung upon very slight alcoolic provocation, and such mon are rone to try the similia similibus curanlr racket. The best thing for a case of lat kind is the drug store again. Here 1 the dose: Bromide of potassium, thirty grains; jlcrina, two teaspoonfuls: elixir valeante ammonia, two teaspoonfuls. I'll guarantee that you will never resort > whisky again after you have tried hichevcr of these doses that may suit our pai ticular case. As coon as you feel blc to eat, in; ke your breakfast of oatical principally for two or three days, n the day after taking the first dose, ivest in two Havanna oranges and sub;itute the juice for the pick-me-up tonic. ! the stcmach rejects the or.inges as too veet, throw them away and try the >nic again, and eventually return to the uit. This treatment will begin to show its Tect in a few days. Instead of that unisy, uncomfortable feeling there will )me a vigor and a natural exh laration lat will brighten the eye and quicken ic step. A brisk walk around the lock, if you live in the brick and morir section, will not (omeomiss. I would ren go so fnr a3 to advise a five minutes' terete with half-pound dumb-bells, rasp them t'rmly, and strike out as lough you intended thumping somejdy. All that is needed is faith and a tt!e perseverance, especially perseverlce. Three weeks will bring the faith. -Philadelphia Telegraph. Dollar Dinners for Half Price. "It is wonderful to know how many rominent business men, who would not ut their hnDds in your pocket to pick jur purse for any consideration, will ;and in with restaurant waiters to beat ie establishment," said a prominent olel man. "hlow is ine game woriceaf "It is a simple thing, but it depends itirely upon the large crowds that irong fashionable restaurants at dinner mc. Whin sixty or seventy men are iting in one room the cashier can't see 'hat each one has unless hi leaves his esk, and it is very easy for a customer t the farther end of the apartment to it a ninety-cent dinner and pay for a airty or forty cent meal. "How?" "In this way: The customer gives the ra:ter a daily tip of a dime. The waiter i careful to .-cc that his benefactor gets thirty-cent check, say every time he its a ninety-cent meal. The check is aid nt the couutcr and no one is the riser." "Are waiters never caught at these ricks?" "Of course, once in a great whi'e. A hap that wore his white apron a' the ad of that eating bar for six months," lid Ihe speaker, pointing to the bar, 'got caught at last. Ho was in the abit of giving an old, white-mustached entleraan soup, roast, three or four egetables, desert, coffc, and o.'ten a ;w crackers and Roquefort cheese, every ay. Well, that customer ought to have aid $1 .1 meal, but he never brought in check for over fifty cents. At last the ashier took note of the meal provided ?r half a dollar. I called the waiter up fter inspecting one dinner purchased by !iat man aud the fifty-cent check turned i, and boun-ed the waiter. It had a ocd moral effect among the other alters, forty in all." "Is there no means to prevent this eating the house?" The hotel man shook his head sadly as a cm'*? "Vnf. pntirclv." But whenever a waiter in his place cts regular tips that waiter is suspected ad watched.?Philadelphia News. Iron In the Confederacy. Iron was now the precious metal. War ot only monopolized the entire product f the south, but so sore was the need lat frequent calls were made for planition bells to be ca5t into cannon. Many [lurch bells were also given. In the cry >riron! iron! a large society of ladles ndertcok to furnish material for buildig an ironclad by collecting all the ruken pots, pans and kettles in the onfederacy. The home folk had to deend almost eutirelyon the reworking of id iron. An active and unremitting arch was maintained for every superuous or cast-away scrap. AH old vehi .03 and farm implements not absolutely (dispensable were demolished, and tho on they contained was diverted to the ressing needs of the moment. All idle ii!s were carefully withdrawn and laid way for future use. A sharp lookout as kept for stray pins. Women kind ,adc their boast of the weeks or month* icy had passed without missing a single in; while the loss of a good darning celle would have be:>n a calamity inilving perhaps half a neighborhood, he rapidity with which such indestrucIc articles as pins, noedle9, buttons, etc., isappeared from the face of the earth 'ter the blockade was established was > unaccountable as the speed with which ,rger things wore cut. Jinny a hardcset housewife, in her distress, "vowed," id half believed, that the Yankee inanfacturcrs, with a prophetic eye to the it'.ire, had purposely made tho wares mt south of the most worthless descripon, in order that their collapse might iibarrass us in the prosecution of the ur.?Ailantic. ^ . 7..;^ \ ^ . ;-; v ' % POPUIAB SCIENCE. Two hen swallows taken from brood* at Pav.'a were released in Milan. They returned to their nests in thirteen minutes, showing their rate of flight to have been eighty-seven and a half miles an hour. Late investigation has shown that poisoning from ico creim and from cheese is due to the preseneo of tyrotoxicon, but it seems to be yet undermined whether this is a living germ or a chcm* ical poison. Recent investigations by Dr. R. yoa Helmholtz, with regard to the formation _r ~i j i "i j ul uiuuu iu satuniiuu air, uru saiu tu uuufirm the explanation given by Prof. Tyndall that the sky is indebted for its blue color to the particles of dust floating in the air. The quantity of coloring matter which must be mixed with a perfectly white powder?such'as carbonate of magnesia ?before the human eye can detect it, ha9 lately b:en the subject of some interesting experiments, from which it appears that red and yellow are most easily detected, sixteen and seventeen parts respectively being sufficient to perceptibly tinge 100,000,000 parts of white. A gentleman wh) died recently in Paris left a legacy of $'.003 to h:s niece in Dubuque, Iowa, who died about the same J, hour of the sera; day. The question which died first turns upon the relation of solar to trus time, and must be determined by the dilferjiLce of longitude. If the niece died before the uncle the legacy will revert to his estate, but if the contrary, her heirs will receive it. The soundness of t'mbermay be ascertained by placing the ear close to one end of the log, while another person delivers a succession of smart blows with a hammer or mallet u] on the opposite end, when a continuance of the vibrations will indicate to an experienced ear even the de?rree of soundness. If onlv a dull thud meets the car, the listener may be certain that unsoundness exists. < Dr. A. Tucker Wis?, an English authority on pulmonary diseases, says that the effects on tlia Anglo-Saxon"ra?e of living in a cold clinnte may be seen in 1 Canada and some <>f the Northern States of the American Union, wlierc the race is physically superior jxnd more vigorous than that of the parent ttock. This is contrary to th 3 belief of most English tourists, who insist that the race ueteriorates physically in the colder parts of America. Sugar cm be mndc from any descrip-. tion of vegetable fibre, such as sawdust, rags or tow. The proc sj is to digest for reveral hours in sulphuric acid, then' to dilute the mixture with water and to . ; boil for some time, when the rags or what not will be found to have undergone a magical change and to have been converted into stiga . A curious fact is that 100 parts of rags will yield 115 parts of sugar, the increase in weight being due to the elements of water absorbed during the change. Human Interest lit Animals. The interest which yearly increases in horses and other domesticated animals will be as much manifested as ever at the summer resorts. Although attended with much difficulty and annoyance, people with ho;ses of th ir own, used eitner'for the saddle or driving, try in many instances to have them rumored to the seaside or suburban places where lh"y make their longest suburban s-tay, in order that they may have the en oyment of them. To a greater extent this is the ca?e with f.et dogs, though many of the best summer hotels and boarding-housej object to receiving them, and there is , hardly a hotel man who has not had to meet and settle the difficult dog problem; for while gueVs. as a rule, object to having mise;ab!e little whipper snappers trotting and snarling around the passages and sceiug them,J|as sometimes happens, brought into the dining-room, there arc many persons who think so much of their pet bow-wows that they will not go th mselves where their canine darlings are refused. It is mainly in order to gratify the growing human interest in the, animal world that at so many placcs of summer resort special accommodations for horses and other animals are being provided and facilities increased for having them contribute to the arhusemcnt of the great crowds that congregate at theie places. ? PL ilnAnlnh ia Tim:s. Terrific Encounter With a Snake. The reptile, when he saw he was discovered, lifted his scaly head above the grass an instant to lay his course, and with tire sparkling from his wicked eyes came straight toward us. When he was within a few yard*, however, a well directed shot from a revolver and a shower of stones turned h'm aM ie, a little. A? ho paused, w.'th the evident intention of renewing his chirge, I fired another shot, my last cartridge, and grasping the club with both hands, determined to sell my life dearly. As he came on again, I struck at the moust?r twice, missing him both times, but turning him back. As he fled crashing through the underbrush, his hideous figure gleaming in terrible undulations, I was after him. He shot out of the woods, however, and swept tViniviari fop in ndrftnCA of me. Less than ten feet away from him a little girl was picking berries lit the road side, unconscious of her danger. I shouted to her with all my strength, calling upon her to fly, and screamed: "The snake! The snake!" Tiie child saw the scaly monster, and heading him off as he crosscd the road, put her bare foot upan him and killed linn with a switch she broke from a bush near by. She then went on picking raspberries while I measured the snake. He was nearly seven inches long, but y m noed not say anything about that.?B rlttte, in Brooklyn r.ajie. A Queer Tavern. George Wickhara. the brother of exMayor Wickham. who has just returned from Europe and dazzled the other diamond meichants with the splendor of his importations, describes an cccentric establishment in Shoredifch, London, known as "Dirty Dick's." The original proprietor would not have the spiders disturb-d nor the floor swept, and was imitated by a chop house ia Thames street. New York. But he had other peculiarities which are net observed by his successors. No person could be served twice at his bar on the same day. Wags who tried to deceive the landlord by walking out and then coming back through another door, with their coat collars turned up and their bats tipped over their eyes, discovered that the barkeeper was keen enough to detect them, and that the rule was inflexible. All drinks were the same price. For threepcp.ce you might take a glass of ale, of gin, of brandy or of champagce. The queer tavern in a streetof Lond in, which corresponds to our Bowery, was the first place in which champagne was sold by the glass. As patent corks were not yet invented, the cranky proprietor preferred to spoil a whole pint of the wine rather than violate his own regulation about prices.? New York Star.