Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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CHUB. A Romance of West Virginia. BY DAVID LOWRY. CHAPTER XVII. HI TTTB counterfeiters' curious cabiw. As he spoke, Hank Dawson iarted forward and caught the rnac'B arms firmly in his great hands. " Don't! Don't! You'll break my bones," said the man as ho writhed. ?I don't care if I do." Hank lifted the man up on his feot by heer main strength. -.loere now. tvuui uwa una uieau, Cbub?" You can see for yourself, dad." Hank, still grasping the man's wrists, glanced at the man lying on the ground. "Why, if it ain't Bash?or the man as calls himself Bash." "I reckon he's hurt protty bad." Chub bent over Mr. P.ash and assisted him to a sitting posture. Bash sat up, looked around like a man just aroused 1ram slumber, and looked inquiringly at Halik Dawson. By this timo half a dozen of tho men *xid,boys who had followed Hank Dawson approached the spot, with wonder depicted on their countenances. "What is it?" Mr. Bash felt his head, then rose to his feet. "Why, don't you know?" said Hank Dawson. It's not strange if he doesn't, dad," aaid Chub. * fears as Jl lie uuesn l kijuw ?ucro be is yet," said Dawson. "This fellow," said Chub, pointing to tho man she held at bay?"thi9 Dick Treddlc can tell you. If he doesn't, I'll tell." Dick looked sullenly on the ground as Hank whipped a handkerchief out of his pocket and bound his hands behind him quickly. "Mr. Bash and me were standing here, or just over there. We didn't suspect there was any one near us. 1 was telling Mr. Bash this would be a good place to make a corner where no one would find one, when I heard a shot. Tho coward meant for Bash?but he missed. I wheeled, saw a whiff of smoke and tried to make out who was thero. It took some time, then, seeing the vines move in thero, I fired. "There wasn't a sound. I wa'ked wouna right here in front of this roundtopped rock, and Mr. Bash walked *round the other way. Just as 1 got here there was another shot, and ] hurried and found Mr. Bash lying on the ground, with Treddle there standing over him. "I had my rifle on him in an instant. I kept it on him and called, and he wore awful?you heard him, I roekon, Dad?" "Yes, I heard him." Hank Dawson looked as though hit) bearing was as keen as his desire to mete out punishment to Treddlo. He nrned on hira abrupt -7- "* "Where's tho other fc low?" ^jj^yhat, fe'Iow?" Tl^crc'iiiusi be two of you." _ ? "There just ain't, then." "No use lying. Dick Treddlo." "Iain't lying." "You are here alono. What are you doing?" "Find out, Hank Dawson." , "I will." Bank and Bash, who was none the worso for the blow that stunned him? Troddle had dipped his hair with his bullet, then struck him with the butt of bis gun as ho fell, rendering Bash wholly unconscious for tho time?immediately approached the cabin formed between the rocks, while the others stood near them"Hello!" Bash's exclamation was natural. There, just beside tho, entrance to tho cabin, were articles with which Mr. Bash was familiar. Numerous dies, bright drops or metal sparkMng on the ground, various tools were lying near. While Bash was examining these, directing Hank Dawson's attention to them, Chub darted pant them into the rear of tho cabin. Tho rear of tj;c> vaSJn was dark. But Chub was fearless. i Besides, she was fivaily convinced that her affianced was near by. Something In ber heart told her he was n(i& tihs was in a Cush of excitement at flfct poered about in the back part of th? cabin. Whilo bo/- father and the detective were,talking, pointing out this and that tool, ihey heard a quick, low exclama-, tion from the rear of the cabin. "It'st.?)UD?sncsiounu someicing. ~ Dank was going back when Bash said, "Well, let's strike a light." IIis action was suited tc the word. A light was struck, and Hank Dawson and too detective walked back to tho rour of too cabin or hut. There they beheld another opening, loading still farther back between the iwo rocks, through which Chub had disappeared. Where in the name of all that's wonder fui has she cone?" demanded Dank Dawson. "Here! let'# get & better light," said the detective. He iooked about him, and at last found ft lamp, which he lit Meanwhile they could hear Chub talking to some one. "She's found him! She's found him, Bash." cxclaimed Hank. "Thero's some one. 1 hope it Is Dan Bash." Tbey walked back, where Chub pressed in tho darkness. But Chub had an infallible guide?the Toire of her lover. Yes, ii 'i ts indeed tho volco of the missing bridegroom Chub heard as she tood in the back part of the rude hut it was like a moan, but to Chub's acute ear it sounded like "Belie"?tte name Tier lover catted her. It was thon'ihat Chub darted back through a door she had not noticed till that low sound fell upon her eager ear. She felt her way cautiously but quickly as she hastened to the back room, and there, retelling out a hand, guided only by a pencil of light that stole in from the roar, she felt around until her hand loucneci a rougn iauaer. P.issiug both hands over this to assure :Lers?'lf her surmise was correct, she 'beard a second time that sound. It was ihcn ?!io exclaimed: "Oh! Dan! I'm iiore?coming?coming." This was the souna that brought her .father and the detcctivo to the rear, to ?ne taticer, aown wnicn Chuu nau iw.ltly descended. A> Hank Dawson reached the ladder he called: "Where are you, Chub?" "Here, dad! Oh! quick?quick. Help me to get him out of here!" **I told ye," said Dank Dawson, nodoing to the detective. He descended the ladder immediately. Bash hold the lamp overhead. "My God! It's Bash, suro enough!" tho detective ceard flank say, as he faeld the lamp. "Can I help you down there?" "I reckon you can." "So. uo," said Chub, vehemently. Til kelp lift him, dad. I'll go first, holding j,).. ? " I t. mo detective could bear a strons'voifcx answer: "There's no need. If you'll unbind mj foet and my arms, 1 can manage aftei awhile to get up myself." As Hank reached up the ladder forth* lamp, the detective descended. Together the three looked at Dar Easb as he struggled into a sitting pos ture after be was unbound. His captors had tied his ankles firmlj logether, and then had tied his arms. H< was lying on his side in a very painfu position, when Chub found him there ii the dark. "Don't?don't touch that arm, please,' he said to Hank. "Sore?" "It's broken." "Broke, Dan!" Poor Chub's tears rose unbidden. They overflowed In spite of her. "Yes?broke in two places, I'm afraid.' He sat upright, moved his feet, anc looked at them. "Just wait until the blood circulates.* uoxv-^.1 t irsx-vx T'll V>alr\ it nn n. TnitP. * JLJCJC: X I\>v nuu x i i jjivj ?- w? ? ? ? Hank uncorked his poeket-flask, and, pouring out a stiff drink in the cup ol the cover, handed it to him. Dan Bash pulped it down eagerly. "That ought to help some,"said Hank. "It does. I fee! it now." "What kind of a hole is this, anyhow?" said. .Hank, looking around Jiijn. "Seems like a Lore fn ISe ground." "That's just what it Is," said the detective "See! Here is tho face of a rock. They've found a largo cavity here by accident?dug a little more earth out, shaped it into this queer shape, and used it for the Lord only knows what. See! Why, there wasn't much work to be done. Here's a rock on this side and a rock on this side. We're between two rocks with straight sides, or faces. " "That's so," said Hank, examining the place curiously. "If there were vines here it would be the place I dreamed about," said Chub. "You dr?araed I was lying here?" said the lover, quickly. "Yes?but there was room for the sue. to shine down on you." "So there is?or ought to bo. They've covered me up?kept the daylight out," said Dan, sadly. "Feel like movin' yet?" Hank asked in a sympathizing tone. Dan made an effort, and succeeded in mounting the ladder with the help of Hank Dawson's strong hands. He moved with difficulty. He was weak?faint with hunger and pain. "Is that daylight out there?" "Yes, Dan," said Chub, as she held his sound arm, and walked to the door of the cabin, followed by her father and the detective. "Tbauk God!" said Dan, as he put his hands up over his eyes, which were blinded by the sudden light. The crowd gathered near the rude hut cheered the moment they behe!d him. "It's him?Dan Bash! Hurrah!" The cheers that were sent up from Baldy echoed from tho mountain side to the road far below. They were caught up by the searchers below and echoed again across the other mountain slope, until the sound of rc.'oicing was heard full five miles over the mountains. Everybody within sound of the voices that chcered until their voices grew hoarse knew the missing bridegroom was found. 'chapter xviii. _ ' DAN BASH'S AWFOL EXPERIENCE. ' "That was a mighty close call," said Hank Dawson, as he viewed the man all Pino County was interested in now. "You look mighty bad." "Had nothing to eat?" tho detectlvc nolrnrl "Once only." "Well, this won't hurt ye a mite," said Hank, handing Dan a piece of Dread and a biscuit made by Chub. He also gave him a piece of cold meat. "That's Chub's biscuit, Dan." Dan only smiled and whispered something to Chub that nobody could hear. "Think you can sit on a horse, Dan? I don't see no other way to get you out ef this lonesome hole. It's about the wariest place I ever net eyes on. I didn't think there was such a mean piece of ground in the State as this is." "I think I'll manage." But it was taxing his strength. The detective was compelled to walk on one side of him, wuue JiaiiK* uawson waiKeci on me uiaer. And that was the way Dan Bash was brousrht out of the heart of lialdy. After he was out on smooth ground the detective returned to the cabin, to collect all that could bo found there that would be serviceable in the proceedings he Jcresaw they would necessarily figure in. He had willing hands to help him. While Chub and her father were making their way home with Dan Hash carefully, the detective was engaged with three or four assistants In carrying off all the tools and material that were foi'n(' in thecabin~the counterfeiters had" concealed themselves in for so many y^ars. That the place had been occupied for years was evident to all who were present I will leave the counterfeiters' tools i and their caretakers, and Treddle, the I captive, in the hands of the detective, an'cl follow Chub and her lover as they journey home. As Dan regained confidence and strength ho sat up like his old self on the saddle?he was an elegant figure on a horse, Dan Bash?and looked at Chub gratefuiiy. "Belle?do you know I owe ray life to you." "Why do you think 60?" Chub asked, as she blushed. "Those murderer!* Intended either to murder me or to starve me to death. Chub shuddered. "Tell me all about it," said Cliub. ' Yes," said Ilank Dawson, who was within ear-shot; ''I'm just achin' to know all about this strange business. I'll bet it'll make a big stir all over the country?this stirrin' up of a gang such as the Monks." "Yes?I've boen of some use in my way," said Dan, smilling. "I've sent for a doctor to meet us by the time you get home?you'll need more than one. may be. before that arm's fixed But toll us how you fell into the bands of that tarnal iuban, murdering crowd " "IJ's a short story. You know how much reason I had to be on the lookout for the Rang." "1 do indeed, Dan," said Chub. "I thought you would surely keep a sharp lookout," "I did. When I got ready to go to your house, instead o? ridinp on the road, I cut off on a by-path and kept on the mountain side, where I thought I would have an opportunity to see any ono who might be concealed. You ki.ow they swore there would never be any wedding." "Yes, I know," said Chub, in a low tone. "Well, I was riding a'.onR all right, when the strangest thing happened. A tree leu rigni avross me pain x was uu. It would have pinned mo to the eartl; had I not sprung quickly off my horse. As it was, a limb torn off in the crash?i big limb?struck rny arm, knocking m< to tbo ground and breaking my arm. li was almost the size of a tree. The man ner in which I fell prevented me fron twisting from under it, and it settlec down on me, pressing me flat agains the ground." "Oh! That was dreadful," said Chub "The body of the tree struck th< horse's flank. He bounded, but wa: caught among the branches. Ho mad< tremendous struggles.^ I could see hiu ** - ,-jSA I, flounder, trnt he probably was not se' v^rely injured; but tbe broken. Jagged I branches doubtlees hurt him. One small r broken branch cut my head?you can see the mark." , He held up his hand. "That explains where the blood camo , from," said Chuo. "What blood-?" "Your horse came galloping up to our fence long after the time you should have been there. I saw blood on the saddle?and marks on your horse." "You must have been frightened 1 greatly." , "It was terrible, Dan?terrible." "It has been terrible for both of us." "Yes, but you, you have suffered a thousand fold more than I have. But you have not told us all." "No. Well, I lay there, held to the ground by the big broken limb, until I ' thought I would die I tried to free in yI seJf. I tried to move away from under it?to slip out from under it?but every time I moved, it aeemod to settle heavier ' upon me." "That was enough to drive you crazy. " ! "I thought of you?or it might have. J liUIi I l>nt3U l/U Ktll <h UtMiU 1U mgr for my knife. I thought if I could get it out, it would be possible to dig a hole in the ground large enough to let me work out from under the limb that way." "That was awful." "I did not know then?nor until they found me?that the limb was not broken clean off the tree. A great big sliver? a tremendous splinter?and the bark i held it to the main trunk, and it settled I down just as the wind shook it, or 1 moved under it." ! "Could anything be more horrible than that," said Chub. 1 "I can't imagine it," said Hank Dawson. "It beats all lever heard of." "I got my knife out at last. I worked at the ground near my side. But it wa9 so slow, oh, such slow work." "Poor Dan?it was enough to turn your mind." "I believe I might have freed myself in time, but just as it began to look as if I would be able to free myself, a loud hello' attracted my attention. I answered. Think how long I had been lying there:" "How long were you under the branch, Dan?" Chub asked, fearfully. "Until some time last night, or early this morning." Chub uttered a cry of terror. "What! All that time!" "All that time?it seemed ages?ages to me!" Hank Dawson turned to look at him. "Out all that time! Under a big limbpinned under a limb to the ground! I wouldn't, believe any one could stand it! And with a broken arm!" We will nurse you Into good spirits W on J/1 ft Inm fnrtu Ia??J>ili, saiu vuuu, ju a ivn vuiiw* "I am in as good spirits now as I ever will be, Belle," said Dan Bash. Then Chub had to tell him her dream. As he listened, Dau Bash iooked very grave. "It's a strange Ftory, Belle, The dream is very near the truth. See how I was held under the big limb. I was covered with the brahch.es. I could not move?could only turn and look up through the leaves. Then, when they iook me from the branch, they put mo in that holo you found me in. And that, too, was like your dream. A crevice in the earth?just roofed in a little with earth and stones?and no way to work out?rocks on each side. It was very much like your dream!" "Well, we're back to plain facts now," said Hank Dawson; "and the plain facts is, we've got the hull Monk gang by the neck and heels, and if we don't pitch them into the penitentiary, why?it won't be my fault." "They deserve to be put there for what they've done to you," said Chub. "Yes," said her father, in a low tone; "and with the witnesses we've got agin them we'll make 'em wish they'd never seed Dan Bash. We'll make 'em swear they'd run ten milo just to get around his shadow." And Hank Dawson shook his head. He meant it. He was in dead earnest. |to be continued.; rrrn-nrrvrm A XT/OP limriWYr<ivrj. TVBERF 3)1) y.OV KTAra? In the world-wide conflict. When nil the hosts of God. And all the Devil's minions In battle-line are drawn. Where to you st.*:nd? Whpn the world ie full of evil?-. Aud everywhere we go. We're called upon to fight or yield To som3 relentless foe. Where do you stand? . When every living issue. And every great reform, To you for help is calling, And Duty urges on. Where do you stand? When every hour we live. For Hum and Error s blight We must take sides. or elso For trod nnd Truth and Right, Where do you stand? ?The Pen. TREAT) XO. You sec that man at the bar? Yes. He is a respectable man. is he cot? As men go. 1 But how intoxicated. Surely. Do respectable men knowingly get into that conditionV Sometimes : but this particular one is not so much to blame aft or all. Why not, pray? He met some friends about ari hour ago. Is that the same as saying that he was forced to drink more than w.'is good for him? Pretty much the same. But eould he not have stopped at a proper time? Ho might have, but it was scarcely practicable? Why rot? Because it is hard to refuse to drink when one is asked. But accepting once would not have him intoxicated? No : but there were five of his friends and each one insisted on ".setting 'em up" in turn, and then of course, he reciprocated Was each onO obliged to "set 'em up?" Certainly, jiml probably more than once. Why certainly? Because no Ac ricac citizen is allowed by , social ovistom to drink alone. Never? No.' never, unless lie does it on the sly. Do many >V it on the sly? Very few comparatively. Then every American eiti/.en who drinks is 1 linhio .nt .mv time to be compelled to get ! drunk ? i That is about the size of it. What is this custom called? Treating. l Why do not sensible Americans try to dif. courage it V A few do Only a few? ' Yes. only ? few are brave enough. Then the majority approve of it? i It would appear so. but they do not. l They submit, then, to ? social custom that ofteuer makes them intoxicated, and forces ! them to spend much more money than they ou slit? Yes. they submit, auil upon the whole quite 1 cheerfully. 5 Are all AmerSfan citizens fools? t Id the matter of treating most emphatically they are. tweryiinpp, now :um ior?ver,uuu iu 5 nil probability always will be.-Brooklyn j Life. c. 1 "What are those tiny chunks ol dough doing in that dish of strawj berries?" he Inquired, suspiciously, j "Oh, Henry," cried the young wife, j "I?I made them?they're shortj cakes. "?Judge. ? ' . " -* - & ^ THE SEA'S FOOD. EXHIBIT OF TIIE FISH COMMISSION AT THE FAIR. Various Fish-Catching Appliances ir former Years and at the Present Time?The Hardy New Bedford Whalers. ;S? N the exhibit oi ^ the United State< tingmTYf Coramieeior I jn tjje Govern' ?[ I mont Building, * jm I; says the Chicagc Record, is ehowr Hp=? the gradual pro gress of the toileri sea* ?-C| first thing thai v? strikes tne eye oi the sight-seer on entering the Government Building from the north is a whaling boat fully equipped for service on the sea. The hardy fisherman ?*?f New England, r potent factor in the early development of the country, is given his due. In cases all about are exhibited the aboriginal instruments used in fishing in contrast with tho modern. The bone hooks and fish-skin lines which the Indian used hundreds of years before the first settler built his hut are fixed on the walls with tho burnished hooks and silk lines just from the factory. The evolution of things piscatorial has kept in line with the evolution of the trades and sciences of the world. The exhibit of the Fish Commission has been arranged so as to emphasize this fact. Just as improvements in boats were made the lot of the fisherman was made happier. Years ago, when the Frenchmen first came to the coast of Newfoundland and spread their nets on the great banks, they sailed in vessels the general appearance of whicli resembled a modern CUI1H1 UUHLj liUUU HB Mil l J vuui un tuc Erie canal. They were caravel-built and had full convex bows, strongly raking, of round, full bilge. The quarter deck was high and the average length of the queer craft over all was about forty feet. ; \A - OLD WHALING BOAT IN This was in the early part of the seventeenth century, long before the rubber coat, or tarpaulin, was heard of. Then the fishermen stood in tubs for protection against the waves, and a strip of canvas was placed along the deck, which served as a wind-break. In those days the fishermen had a hard time of it. Their quiet little settlements on the coast of Newfoundland mnnrnino' Tn fill tllfi """ o Nations of fishermen aquatic life was made easier as time went on. With each year even yet the dangers decrease and the trade of the sea toilers is increased. The yawls of the caraveis of Columbus were identical with those of Newfoundland fishing-boate. These French fishermen laid the foundation of all the trouble which evon now makes them enemies of the native fishermen. Now the natives of the island refuse to sell bait to the Frenchmen, and have appealed to the British Government to keep their rivals out of the fishing grounds. The whalers of New Bedford are not forgotten by the commission. The most interesting part of the exhibit is devoted to the equipments of whaling vessels. A whaleboat fully accoutered is placed near the center of the exhibit of the commission. Over the doorway ? -mVinlor wifh humnnti leveled readv to hurl stands in the prow of his yawl. On the lookout, high on the mainmast, stands a whaler with telescope in hand looking over the waters for the / | y TIARPOOXf? AK5 HARPOON GTTNfl. "spout" of a whale. Two decadof ago Now Bedford was the greatest whaling station in the world. Now there iu only the memory of bustling streets. A strong odor of fish pervadce the place, and all along the streets, paved with cobble stones iu the fishermen's part of the town, are gates made of whale's jaws and gardens adorned with ivory teeth. Nearly all of the exhibits of the whalers come from New Bedford. There arc harpoons and harpoon gum invented by famous old captains oi whaling barks about which linger long "yarn's" of varying degrees of veracity and improbability. ' The old whaling vessel which-sailed from New Bedford' in years gone by has undergone a com-. . plete change. Now the vessels start from San I^ancisco for the Arctic Sea, where the whalo abides. They are k STUiti FISHEH. I i steamers of improved types. The i yawls are made of steel and are i guaranteed to give any refractory whale the toothache that takes it into" i his head to crash the boat between his i massive jaws. There is not the danger in whaling i there used to be, and the captains i make twice the money that the old . New Bedford seamen got on their perilous ventures. The darting boom 1 was invented by Captain Eben Pierce, f of New Bedford, one of the whalers of the old school, who knows more about the habits of the mammoth cetacean i and can tell more stories of trips in quest of sperm oil than any other resident of the quaint old Massachusetts town. i The darting bomb is about the only instrument still in use. Jt has a sharp spcar-end and is loaded with powder, which explodes when the spear sinks i into the body of the whale. There are i darting gnns, too, which shoot sharp ; projectiles and boom lances, which act on the same principle. The center of i whale traffic has made a jump across the continent and from the Atlantic i into the Pacific Ocean. Alaska holds her own in thc-fieheriee I hjiTisi Hf If 1 ' '' ^ I GOVERNMENT DUILDTNG. exhibit. The natives are the greatest fiuh Arm An nnrler the lirotection of the Stare and Stripes. They still use bone hooks and all the primitive instruments for fishing. Their fishing spears are converted into implements of offense and defense in war time. The simile touching on plowshares and pruning hooks do not hold good in Alaska. There are hooks and spears in the exhibit which were made by the Quilleute Indians when they first obtained iron by trade. The natives made use of the copper which they found in their mines, and their workmanship is surprisingly good. Angahgah is a native in Alaska, and his native heath is near Point Barrow. Ho has a mania for collecting fishhooks, and was persuaded by some patriotic American to present his collection to the Government. Tho hooks are adapted to halibut fishing. The lines are strong, made of kelp, called Nereocystis lutkeana for eaay reference by scientific men. The hooks are made of two shank of wood, lashed together at tho ends. Iron barbs arc fastened to the end of one - ? * * i shank and tne otner snanK js ruaeiy carved in the likeness of a fish. Some of the hooks are made of shark's teeth, some of splinters and others of hemlock knots. The materials used are of the simplest kind. The iron barbB, or the sharp teeth, are lashed on with strips of white cherry. One kind of lino is made of spruce root and is very durable. The slinging gear and the suood of the more recent halibut fishing instruments aro made of tarred cotton, with slot swivels, hemp gangings and galvanized iron hooks. By the aborigines even walrus whiskers are utilized in the manufacture of gangings. The sinkers were made of ivory and the lines of strips of whalebone. A gruff old sen captain from Provincctown on Cape Cod stroked his long gray beard and spent an hour at the cabinet where was exhibited the lines and hooks of the old cod-tishers. Provineetown is the home of homes for the fishermen of the Atlantic coast. It is ultima thulc of every codfish that swims in Vineyard sound or the bay to the West, The lines are rough-lookinc and the hooks are of uu recently J improved pattern. But thoy hook fish. Captain Lemuel Cook 6ent a line to the exhibit which he used from 1812 to .1830. He is a famous old fisherman, known from Hyannisport to the far Hide of Nantucket. The old man . from Proviucetown talked with ti i strong flavor of codfish and his voice , was a husky sea voice. He looked with contempt at the display of silk lines, nickel-plated sinkers and burnished h ioks. "I tell you what, ' he said, "thar air not so many codfish caught t nowadays as thar was when Lein. Cook and all of us had our way. Thare air j - -A.~ 1 ?A/mavfiiYU>? lOO IHUIl_y NbCUIUBUtfJO Ituu UU1.?U; like we used to have." From the single hatch beilarka of the Alaskan natives, bnilt of drifti wood and covered with the skin of a f female sea-lion, to the new fishing ; craft designed by Captain Collins of r the commission, is a long step. The evolution of the fishing craft is pictured in a cabinet just south of the north entrance to the Government building. The first of the fishing vessels which came to America was the Sparrow Hawk, which met an untimely end off Cape Cod. She sailed across the water in 1626, struck a reef and went to the bottom. Her old hulk, which had been embedded in the sands for nearly two and a half centuries, was uncovered in 1863 and put on exhibition in Boston Common. The steamers Albatross - and Fish Hawk, which are in the service of the United States commission, are the latest models of the fishing vessel. Captain Collins's model is of a fishing schooner of moderate dimensions and is being largely copied on both coasts. Its hull is built after the model of a racing yacht and the rigging is adapted to the needs of a fishing vessel. It combines the speed qualities of a yacht and the seaworthiness of a fishing schooner. Safety is also taken into consideration. The United States is far ahead of the Nations of the world in maintaining a fish commission and caring for its fishermen. A mnsenm has been established devoted to ichthyology, and the steamers of the fish commission cruise all along the coasts of 'the United States to collect specimens of fish life. Hatcheries have been established in all the States of the Union and every year the work grows in its scope. Carious Palindrmoes. Palindromes are, as the dictionary informs us, words or sentences which spell or read the same backwards as they do forwards, and in the superstitious ages they were supposed to possess magical virtues. There are cuvtroral roTrmrtahlfl PYamnlflS of nftlin UVTV?M. ? ? X dromes given in the formulas of old works on the "Occult Sciences," but, as most of them are in Latin, they will probably not be any more highly appreciated by the Republic's readers than they are by the editor of this department; therefore, their place will be occupied by something we can all understand. The English language does not readily lend itself to such work, but the following are considered fair specimens : "Madam, I'm Adam." (Adam's remark upon first beholding Eve). "Name no one man; Able was I ere I saw Elba." (Napoleon's remark when asked if he thought he had ever been able to overcome the allied armies). "Red root put up to order." (Druggist's sign). A young convert, upon being questioned as to his former life, made this answer: ' 'Lewd did I live, evil I did dwel;" "Trash! Even interpret Nineveh's art"Draw pupiFslip upward"Red rum did emit revel ere lever time did murder."?St. Louis Republic. A Girl of the Solomon Islands. We reproduce from the Illustrated London News a pictnre illustrative of the people of the Solomon Islands, over which Great Britain has recently established a protectorate. These islands, thirty-six in number, lie between five and twelve degrees south ol the equator, to the east of New Guinea, ir> tVi?? Afolnnoaiftn TAtrinn. Some of *** V&A Vs "? - I tbe islands, remarks Frank Leslie's, are mountainoue, rising to summits 8500 feet high, and tho scenery on the Rohokimbo and Aola rivers, in Guadalcanal one of the largest of the group, is very picturesque. The land is generally fertile, yielding cocoanut, broadly fruit, yams, and sago in abundance, and may be cultivated for sugar and [ cotton. The natives, who are of the black Papuan race are in a savage condition, especially in the northern islands, where they are tierce head hunters and cannibals; they use bonepointed spears, and bows and arrows, in lighting. They have large canoe*, which have tall prows and sterns, rising in wooden pillars elegantly adorned with carvings. Liberty's New Bell. The Columbian liberty bell has gone to the World's Fair. The boll is six feet in height, seven feet six inches in diameter at the mouth anil weighs 13,000 pounds. rue ^^?tw(nl*imnfif|,)^^ .' itf W iCfVl U?f0?0*7?AJ jgp? J, f |||||^ I THE NEW COLUMBIAN BELT,. tongue and bolt weigh 700 pounds, nutl, when placed on the hunger, the the entire bell will measure eight feet. The bell is composed of innumerable relics of battles for freedom from all parts of the globe. Around the top in the inscription: "Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth, good will toward men." About the bottom is the legend: "Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof." On one side is inscribed: "A new commandment I give unto you; that ye love one another." At the Fair the bell has been 6wung in front of Administration Building. ____ ^ llow Crabs Crack Jfuta. It does not seem as though a crab could possibly crack a nut, or would even wish to. But there are kinds of crabs which find the meat and milk of fresh cocoanuts very much to their taste, and they are as handy as squirrels at cracking them. There are two kinds of these nut eating crabs. One is the birgo and the other the pandanns. The pandanus is said to climb the trees after the cocoanuts; but when Mr. Darwin, the naturalist, was * sailing among the islands in the Indian Occan he saw both kinds of crabs, and he says he never saw them climb trees, tliAiinrh Via uhrmlrf fViinlr if. nnflHiKln Mr. Par win did see the birgos eatiiig the cocoanuts which lay upon tho ground, and hetellshow they managed a. The birgo's front pair of legs are '' armed with strong and heavy pincers. His last pair are provided with much smaller and more delicate ones. With the first pair of pincers the crab tears away from the eyehold end of the nut the husk which protects the three "eyes"?the three places where the shell is thinnest. Having torn ofT the husk, he begins to hammer with. all the might of one of his wicked looking claws upon one of the holes. As soon as he succceds in 'cracking one open he turns himself around and delicately inserts in the hole one of his pair of small pincers and so brings out the delicious food of which he w so fond. The birgo gets not only his food, but his bed from the cocoanut? He ' **" THE CBAB TEAES AWAY THE EYE HOLE OP . THE COCOANtrr. ' 1 . collects the moss of husk fibre which he tears from the nuts, and picks'it - " />nt nrifh V>in nlavn TlTltil it 7R liirht ftlld :y& soft. Then he carries it to his bar row where it makes him a fine mattress. The crab burrows are often robbed of their cocoantit fibre mattresses by ' the Malays. During the day time the crab stays in his burrow, and spends his time . V 0 feasting on cocoanut. At night ho . journeys back to the sea, where he bathes and refreshes himself for his next day on land.?New York Herald. What Clarence Wanted. All of Mrs. Morrison's children were i very fond of ice cream, from elevenyear-old Charley down to Clarence, the baby. One day they had all been particularly good, and Mrs. Morrison, who is an appreciative mother, filled their heart# with joy by taking them. all 10 a bakery near by for some ice cream. Four beaming faces smiled over the little table. "I will take strawberry," said Mrs. Morrison to the waiter. niar0iip.f> looked surprised. Did his mother prefer strawberries tothe dish they all liked so such? "I will have chocolate," said t;--'; Charley, with dignity, recklessly wasting his opportunity as it seemed. to his wondering small brother. Clarence turned anxiously to Johnny. Would he order some strange thing, too?" "1 want vanilla," said Johnny. Mrs. Morrison saw an expression of mingled doubt and determination on the face of her youngest. "What will you have, Clarence?" she asked. "I want ith-cream!" was the emphatic* reply.?Youth's Companion. Momentum of Vessels. Some years ago the Scientific American took occasion to interview it large | number of commanders of ocean ^ steamers concerning the momentum of vessels. ^Suppose," it asked, "a .steam vessel running at full speed and the engines were reversed, bow far would the vessel run Dei ore it ueyt*u to gather sternway?that is, to move backward!'' The answers varied be- * tween two and four milee, but the conclusion was reached that if two vessels were approaching each other under a full head of nteani they might, after hearing the foghorn at a distance of four miles apart, do their best to stop. and yet come into collision with each other, with serious consequences. Sixteen Years ol a Carriage Ride, Probably the longest carriage ride ever made iu this or any other country has been completed by jBisuo*> Ash, of Sunbury, Vt. Mr. Ash left his f home sixteen years ago and drove to { Minnesota, thence to Oregon and to J the Pacific eoast. He started for Vermont again seven months ago, crossing the .continent in a covered wagoi> ilrawu by two Indian ponies.?Philadelphia Ledger. The largest library in the world iy fcho Ribliothenue Nationale, Parii* founded by Louis XIV. It contains. 3,400,000 volumes, 30.1,00'J pamphlets, 17(1,000 manuscripts, 300.001* maps and charts and 150,000 coin* and medals. Pardonable Slang:. The Animal?"Well: How do I look?" The Man?' B-b-b-buily!"?Life.