The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, July 28, 1897, Image 2
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CHAiTEK XIII.
A <^y.'E.
Iwo days had ja?scd by sinco the
failure of the bank and the occurrance
of attendant unfortunate disaster, and
Arnold Dacre still lingered at Ridgefleld.
Defiant, self assured, and craven, tearful
by turns, he had lived through
those forty-eight hours with the lamentlag
dread of a man hoverir.e over a pow,
dor miue, watching the course of events,
hoping for developments that would
show the cards running his way, and
wondering what the end would be.
So far as the bank itself was concerned,
tbe law very speedily acted. The
books showed accuracy and system, its
managemet, entire honesty. To all
seeming, dead Abel Merwyn had speculated
rashly, had blindfolded his subordinates
to the fact, and when the crasb
came had left them to face the crisis.
There were some discrepencies in the
accounts that needed explaining, but
the old clerk John Wharton, who kept
the books of the concern, was not called
on to elucidate them. So violent had he
become, that he had to be forcibly restrained.
and the evening before he was
confined in the county asylum, a hopeless,
mental wrectf.
Arnold Dacre had sought a score of
Interviews with him, haa seized upon
numerous pretences to linger near him,
to question him. In a half-lucid moment
he had caught the name "Cupples" from
Wharton's lips, mixed with some unintelligible
jargon concerning the packiV
age. If clue it was, it was a frail one,
but Dacre resolved to trace it down.
Of Flora Merwyn and her rescuer, not
a word or a trace had Dacre gleaned.
He began to believe that the convict had
fl?d the country with the woman he
loved. To openly battle Dacre meant
recapture, and he would scarcely risk
that, and. In this way of thinking, Dacre
at the end of two days, decided that it
would be safe to remain at Rldnefield,
and prosecute his search for the precious
missing package.
The dead banker had been buried.
All RidgeGeld was talking about the
strange disappearance of Flora, and the
old housekeeper was fairly frantic about
her. Dacre ventured no theory or explanation,
but when the intelligence was
brought to the little village that Ray
"Webster had escaped from the penitentiary,"it
was generally decided that Flora
tjd heartlessly abandoned her dead
father, and, with what money she could
rlid, had Joined her lover, and fled to some
Qistans lana. wnen it was R<arrifu
later that her personal fortune In the
city had been withdrawn from Invest-'
ment the week previously, people believed
this explanation of her atsenco
more readily than ever.
It wa3 jo9t at dusk the evening after
tbe departure of his tool and ally for the
insane asylum, that Arnold Dacre presented
himself at the door of Wharton's
forri^er lodgings.
. in-THave you the key of Wbartoa's
roomX' he asked ol t^e landlady.
'kYes, sln^sEe replied. ~
"I thought so. Will you please let mo
have thorn?"
"He nasleft nothing there."
Dacre knew this. He himself had superintended
the packing of the trunk of
his unforturate victim, in a vain search
for the missing package.
"That is true," he vouchsafed, "but I
am Id hopes of finding some trace of certain
papers belonging to the bank secreted
about the room. The kevs, please.''
Once in the room Dacre began a persistent
and a thorough quest. Somewhere
the package had been secreted.
. Where? He tore up the carpet, ho
delved in the grate, he ripped open the
bedding, he explored every nook and corner
of that many-cornered room.
"It's no use!" he groaned, sinking to a
chair, and mopping his dripping brow
desolately. "What can he have done
with it, for certainly it Is not here?"
Tap?tap?tap!
Faint, spasmodic, the startling summons
fell on the door. Dacre walked
to it
"Who is there?"
"Mr. Wharton, please let me in!" |
panted a weak, a wavering voice.
"Who Is It?" demanded Dacre, still
bent on parleying with a possible intruder.
"CuppYs?Tom Cupple9. Oh! it'9
come again?help?hel?"
"The voice died away suddenly. Arnold
Dacre started as from an electric shock.
Cupples! that was the name John
"Whartcn had employed in his incoherent
ravings, and In connection with the missing
package, too.
Dacre had sought for the man, had
learned of his fidelity to the old clerk,
and cf his mysterious disappearance.
These facts, taken in connection with
his strange disappearance, his evident
ignorance of the absence of Wharton,
smacked of suspicion. With fateful
augurie9 at soul, Arnold Dacrc quickly
opened the door.
"Ck)me in. '
A huddled mass lying across the threshold
looked up at him with pleading
eyes.
"Why'.jvhat's the matter here?" de
mantled Dacre, narsniy.
"Help me?" the words were a scarcely
audible jumble.
"Help you! are you hurt?"
But the man, sinking back more helplessly
than ever, was silent. Dacre essayed
to drag him across the room, and
as he placed him on the couch he observed
that hands and feet were flexible
and inert, that his head bung stupidly,
while his Jaws were distended as if he
had lost all control of the muscles on one
side of his face.
'Are vou sick?" he persisted, "Are
you hurt?"
. .. "No," gasped the other fa'ntly, paralvzed!
I had it?had It before. On the
. road it overtook me?then here Three
, * times and out?water!"
With pain he spoke the words. Dacre
understood. Some powerful excitement
or over-exertion nad brought the poor
wretch to his linal struggle with the grim
monster, paralysis.
He secured a glass of water from the
table, and crested it to the lips of th6
suffering inan.
"Better!" panted Cupples, "but it?it
can't last. Quick! ? vital. Must see
hiin?Mr. Wharton."
"Wharton?" repeated Dacre, "ho is
not b*:re."
A blank, despairing expression crosseo
the hageard face.
"lie is sick?he has been removed to a
?a hospital in the city," explained
Dacre.
"Then send?send?"
"Goon!" urged Dacre, eaeer to learn
the cause of the man's anxiety.
"For Mr.?Arnold Da?ere."
"Why!" exclaimed the cashier, "that's
me."
Tom Cupples looked relieved. He had
never seen Dacre before, but he accepted
his statement as true.
"Mr. Wharton told me?told me," he
panted, "to see you?if anything?any
? a A. u: ?
itiiuK nappeiieu iu uim.
aJ. . . . .
RWYNS
TUKIUnC
"Yes! yes!" murmured Dacre eagei
"lie told me to hide?hide it. He t
mo to tell you?to give you?"'
A paroxysm of weakness caused C
pies to falter, but Arnold Dacre, in
intensity of his emotion, fairly galvani
him into new 'ife with the magn<
power ot his vehemence.
"To give me what?"' he demand
"Speak, man!"
The answer came with difficulty, i
It came, bringing to the face of the a;
plotter a wild, eager glow, that m;
his sinister, avaricious eyes spar
brighter than ever.
"ioe pacKape: caspeu uuo prwir
man.
CHAPTER XIV.
T1IE SECRET.
"The package?" cried Aroold Dac
his whole being rising with exultatit
hODO, and suspense.
Tom Cupplos nodded and easped. TI
he faintly articulated.
"It was a manilia paper package, 3
Wharton gave it to me Tuesday nigh
"It is the same!" cried Dacre, tra
formed with excitement and expectan
"Quick, man! you have it? give it to i
It is mine."
Cupples shook his head slowly, as if
indicate some negation to the ra;
queries of his interlocutor. He tried
speak and sank back, the sound gurgli
in bis tbroat spasmodically.
"Speak, I tell you!" ordered Dai
fiercely, amid his eagerness, losing si$
of the man's weak and helpless ci
dition. "He told you to give me 1
package, you have it! No?"
The nodding head movli.g nervou
from side to side tried to answer him.
"Then you know where it is?''
Oh! the plotting heart took hope, :
Cupples indicated a strong affirraati
"Where is it?''
Cupples made amotion for more wat
It moistened his feeble vocal organs
"He gave it to me?hide it?he sai<
panted the invalid, in a scarcely audil
tone.
"Yes, yes! brace upl don't weak*
and?you hid it?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"Too long to tell you?I haven't t
the strength. Far away. I thought
so ordered it?safe place."
These sentences were spoken in d
Jointed easps. Upon the utterance
each, the baleful plotter hung as if I
life depended upon their significance.
"Coming back?I bad a stroke. Hur
?excitement?did it I never thought
to get homo. I met a charcoal burner
near?near Deepford. He wrote ? t
details of the hiding-place. I fearedwould?forget."
"Wrote it?" stormed Dacre, with si
den alarm." "Why! he will go and $
it."
"No. Does not know?what is hidde
Started for here. Another stroke. Do
up. I am going to die?but I obeyed
my friend ? my dear friend ? my de
friend-g^ - ?* -Hl5
eyes closed, and he subsided into
silence and a rigidity like to that
death'.
"Rouse up!" shouted Dacre, shaki:
him fiercely. "The directions?the pac
aee!"
"In the cave?in my pocket?no?tl
one?leftside of my coat. Water?w
tor?"
AmnM cnrnn(T tn tn.hlA f
the glass. Before Le regained the si
of the prostrate man, however, with
violent convulsion, the latter sank ba
senseless.
"He's gone or going!" muttered t
schemer hoarsely. "Oh! will the p'ip
tell. Yes. Yes, it is here?it is hei
glory! I have it."
From the man's inside coat pocket,
drew forth a paper. It was creased a
marred with charcoal dust. About
open it, he glanced at the door si
pioiously.
Some one had pushed It open a trif
He fancied he beard the low breath!
of some one lurking therej
"Is there some trap in this?" he grou
out suspiciously, "No! no! The man w
too sincere. Who are vou?" .
He sprang suddenly to the door a
opened it Upon Its threshold stood
stranger. He was a peculiar-looki
man, dressed In nome-spun, wearing di
spectacles, and with a face as tawny
that of an Indian.
"W'batdo you want?" demanded Daci
scowline suspiciously.
The strauger regarded him fixedly a
unabashed.
"Beg pardon," be said, in a low, i
natural tone, "but is this room 1
rent?''
"Yes?no?I don't know?ask the lar
lady."
He slammed the door shut and lock
It this time, with such force that a ci
rent of air generated struck the fr
lamp on the table. There was a sha
snap, and the glass chimney shatter
into a dozen pieces. Endeavoring
turn down the smoking wick, Dac
burned his fingers badly.
"Perdition seize it," he raved as t
smarting pain of the fiery contact caus
him to tip the lamp over on the table.
He managed to blow it out before t
oil had spread. Then he started for t
door, but ho halted irresolutely.
The man was in a wild fever of ii
patience. It seemed as if ha clPald r
wait till he reached his own room
read the contents of the precious dot
ment secured "from Tom Cupples.
There was an open grate in the apa
ment Seizing an armful of old pape
Dacre flun< them into the Ore place.
Snap?flare! a lucifer flashed up. ]
threw the burning match on the pi
It flamed up with a tierce, sullen roar.
Crouching to the hearth, Arnc
Dacre unfolded the paper with treu
ling hands. JSageriy bis eye scanned
"Beyond Deepford," ran the ri
charcoal scrawl, "in a cave?"
At that moment, a sudden jar echc
through the room. It sounded from 1
door, and thither Arnold Dacre direct
a hurried glance.
The transom looking out into the h
had moved?was some one at it wati
| ing him?the mysterious blue spectaci
man, perhaps?
Ho never knew, for just then the op
transom formed a vicious draught.
It swept the precious document fr<
bis band.
Ere he could recover It, a swoop s<
it straight into the blazing heap in i
grate.
Lie grasped it with tho frenzy of i
spair,'to find only a brittle morsel
ashes in his baud.
The only ciue to the missing packa
trao iclinc n Hnnrl Kta nlr Tftm C*.\
J plej' secret was a secret still!
[to be continued.
Grave of Lincoln's Mother.
An association has been formed at
dianapolis, Ind., to carp for the grave
Nancy Hanks, the mother of Abrah
Lincoln.
' ?. *
* .
CULTURE OF BANANAS. ;
A CENTRAL AMERICAN INDUSTRY OF :
CREAT PROPORTIONS. i
I
The Banana Has the Foremost Place In .
the Importation of Tropic Fruits to
- This Country?Easy of Cultivation? ^
Big Returns to the Banana Farmers. ]
As a tftble delicacy ami a fruit now
universally sought and consumed by
| the Ap -xu people, says Frank
r)y | Leslie's alar Monthly, the banana
olj readily aua easily takes the foremost
place of a|l the vast products of the
up- tropics. It has been but a brief span
the of years since this dainty and toothzed
some denizen of Central America beJt'c
came generally known, especially to
e(j the vast interior cities of the United
States. But the intimacy which steam
bUt navigation has established between
rch this country "and the tropics, as well as
ido the rapid transit to points remote from
kle the seaboard, has rendered possible a
most stupendous traffic in the most
at0 delicate and perishable fruits.
Under such favorable and encouraging
conditions, the banana
trade, with almost incredible rapidity,
has increased from a few thousand
^ clusters, eighteen years ago, to the
' enormous annual importation of over
ien five million bunches.
If tradition is to be relied upon, the
Jr. banana has an ancient and royal
t." lineage from the earliest and mythic
uS" epochs of human career. The fruit is
I -n i _ _ l .1 I
also Known in tne Ji,ast as "Aaam s
ue" Fig," which fortifies a claim made of
t0 its having furnished, from its great 1
pjd broad leaves, the primeval costumes of :
to our first parents. It is considered the i
ng musa paradisica of the botanists, and
its vast spreading foliage would have i
easily invited selection as a covering
for the nakedness of those early '
he dwellers *u the Garden of Eden.
Contrary to the prevailing idea, the i
sly banana is not indigenous to the Western
hemisphere, as its first roots were i
brought over to'America by a monk
for in 1516, and was first cultivated in
ve- Honduras. It is natural, therefore,
LOADING BANANAS AT PUERTO COBTEZ.
L?tS
that the first country of its adoption
^ should now be the foremost in its '
importation, and the unknown eccle- 1
he siastic, who brought over the first 1
-I : germ, was the pioneer in one of the '
i greatest fruit industries of the new 1
id- world.
:et The lowlands of all tropical countries *
are essentially hot, and while not 1
"g gracious and inviting as a residence '
_ for man, they furnish a very necessary ;
ar condition of both soil and climate for J
tjie development and propagation of (
a the banana. Under such a climatic, s
of state, the vigor and energy of man
will decline and he would be unable (
to properly cultivate the plant and *
reap the full benefit of its production, '
,j3 if required to use as much exertion *
a- as .is demanded in other latitudes. 1
But nature here, in her great and (
or beneficent economies, comes to his rede
lief and has provided against the
a necessity of aiiy hard work and moder- j
ck ated all demand for any severe mental
ho or physical exercise. The farm work
is liflrht. simole and easv. while it can
re, all be confined to the cool hours of
morning and evening, leaving the
be laborer to enjoy his favorite siesta, in
n(i some inviting shade, during the heated
^ term.
There is a fallacy prevailing that
[e the banana forms the principal and
staple food of these natives. This is
not'only a mistake, but, strange as it
nd may appear, they often warn foreigners,
as sojourning in the country, to beware
of too free an indulgence in this species
of fruit. The natives never eat the
a | banana, except when it is cooked like
^ j the potato, and generally while it is
a3 j preen. This precaution against eating
the fruit is not so necessary in
r0i j temperate climes, where disorders of
the intestinal functions are not so
nd dangerous and where the digestion is
not weak and low, as in hot countries.
|n* The banana grows luxuriantly !
or throughout the lowlrfnds of Brit- \
- -I- J G TT?., i
lOli UUU U^'UUIOU XXV/UllUX ao, VI UUVO
mala, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. A
ed small supply also comes from Colombia, i
ir- Jamaica and Cuba, but the bulk of our
ail supply is harvested in Central America.
rP Th? most suitable soil is the sandy,
e(* alluvial deposits, along the banks of
rivers and streams not often subject
to overflow, and the cultivation is conhe
fined to weeding, thinning out and
ed "molding up." Any deficiency in the
"stand" of the crop planted iB easily
he supplied by the purchase of slips at
he one dollar per hundred. Just eight
m- 1
3m BANANA FARMERS OF SI*]
;nt months after this slip is put in the
110 ground it will fcirnish its tirst bunch
^ of bananas, and one only requires a
machete and a forked stick to gather
of the fruit. When ready to cut, the
bunch is taken four feet from the
Lee ground, in order to allow the moisture
to drain back into the stool of the
plant: the forked stick receives the
bunch find lets it easily to the ground
and the stalk is allowed to decay and
enrich the soil. Suckers soon shoot
In* out from the stump aud all but two
are cut away and planted elsewhere.
One average bunch will stand about
four . feet in height, weigh ninety
pounds, have twelve handles or
clusters and contain 180 bananas.
4.n acre will produce about
250 bunches during the second year
ifter planting, and an average yield for
Hi#* fnt,nre of 300 bunches per annum.
The price of the fruit fluctuates slightly
during the season, but averages at
the steamer from twenty to thirty cents
per bunch, and to the frugal and careful
farmer this represents a profit of |
thirty-five or forty per cent. This may
A BANANA SHE
sound extravagant, if not incredible,
to our American farmers, but it is
nevertheless a fact, which can be substantiated
by a number of our citizens,
who have settled La this country and
1 - 11 ' i- T ,1 ???
are making smaii iortuxies. jju.uu u?u
be obtained very cheap, and to clear
it up and prepare the first crop has
been computed to cost nine dollars per
acre. The natives care but little for
any more than their immediate necessities,
and consequently are mostly
the laborers of numerous enterprising
foreigners, who constitute the bulk of
the banana farmers. The opening of
new markets and the greatly increased
demand for the f.-uit has stimulated
the clearing and opening of many mjw
and extended farms during the past
three or four yearn. There is always
a certain and sure sale for the product,
as each farmer, at the very beginniug
of theplauting season, can contract ':or
the sale of his entire crop to any of the
competing lines of steamers which regularly
visit the coast. If he choofies
this course the only thing that shotdd
concern him is proper attention to make
the yield as great as possible, having
no uneasiness as to his market. The
competition for the business has become
very Btrong and many additional
3teamers and new markets have been
sreated, as a stimulus and encouragement
to increased production.
The banana trade of British Hcnluras
is not very extended, and its
product is mostly obtained from Staan
CJreek, Punta Gorda. and Monkey
River in the lower part of the province.
Nearly all of the fruit business 01 tms
lolony, including cocoanuts, it absorbed
by New Orleans.
The fruit business of Guatemala is
jxclusively confined to the Atlantic
side ancl to the ports of Livingston,
[zabal and Port Barios. Although the
:rade has been comparatively small a
lew impetus will be given it by the
lompletion of the railway1 to Port
NATIVE MESTIZO LABORERS.
Barios, as this will traverse the Montagua
Valley, one of the richest sections
of Central America.
IHe traae 01 nonauras, cuiiuueu
also to the Atlantic side, is the most
extended of all the tropical countries.
Her leading banana ports are Puerto
Cortez, Ceiba and the islands of Ut:Jla
and Ruatan, although some fruit is
also taken from Tela, Truxillo, Irione
and Gracios a Dios. The bulk of the
imports, however, come through
Puerto Cortez, the terminus of the
Honduras Railroad, which traverses
the great Sulaand Ullna valFeys for a
distance of forty miles. This section
T-r c,~
LA VALLEY, HONDURAS.
is exhibiting the greatest development
_ i* il. ^ ini1n?4n?t V\o nKcari'O/l
U1 lilt" UUUilUUt 1UUU.1UJ IU k/W V/^rv'w l ?VM
in Central America, and with improved
railroad facilities is destined
to become one of the greatest fruit depots
of the world.
The business of Nicaragua is confined
to the ports of Bluefields, Greytown
and Pearl Lagoon, and practically
the entire product is shipped to
New Orleans or Mobile. Renewed interest
in the industry is mauife3t
throughout this section, and 1'refh
lands are being opened to bahana cul-'
tivation along the Rama and Es condido
Rivers. ...
/
The banana trade of Costa Rics
confined exclusively to Port Limoii
shows the most rapid growth of an
other Central American country. It
product, raised mostly in the canto
of Matina, has grown from an outpr
of a few thousand clusters in 1882 t
1,500,000 bunches for the preser
year. According to the statement c
! Prtnanl Tlnlrrorln of Now Vnrlr flit
WUOU1 JUV1KWUV) i?v V
city alone has received about 700,00
bunches during 1896, while the r<
?- M \V^- N O^,*, ,v^
-X -e^ss<5^>JtesS^?A. ^ *
D, NICARAGUA.
k
ceipts at New Orleans from Coal
Rica have been fully as much, if n<
in excess of that figure. From calct
lations made, on reliable statistici
the approximate banana productio
of Central America for the presei
year is as follows:
| jL/UUVUC
British Honduras... 325,0(
Spanish Honduras 1,750,01
Guatemala 450,0(
Nicaragua 600,01
Costa Rica 1,600,0<
Total 4,725,01
This is considered a very conservi
tive estimate, and if the amount <
local consumption, rejections and los
from over-mature fruit is considerec
the product will easily aggregate ov?
five million bunches. Add to this ti
amount of the fruit brought from Ji
maica, Colombia, Cuba and -o}h<
sources, and the whole will approx
mate very close to eight millio
GOLD BRICK, ONE-THIRD
bunches. Engaged directly in th]
business are about thirty steamers an
an equal number of sailing vessels
while double that number are engage
in the traffic in connection with othe
products of the tropics.
The Latest In Woman's Coiffure.
This new movable strip fringe is
boon to wheelwomen and dwellers t
the sea. It is an English idea not y<
new "tbansformed" coiffure.
seen here. It is fixed to a sing
strand easily concealed among tl
front loeks and does not heat tiie nea
How to Keep Flowers Fresh.
Some people are not aware th
flowers will keep fresh much longer
the stems are set in a dish of sai
than if they are plunged simply in
water. Put the flowers into a vase
usual; then carefully sift into the va
by means of a funnel sufficient sand
fill it nearly to the top, shaking it
that the sand will settle down amoj
the items., Gradually add water u
til it stands a very little above the ti
of the sand, and repiemsntne water
often as needed.
The Discoverers of Annesthesla.
The credit for first using ann?sth<
ics, which has done so much to less*
human pain, must be shared by thri
men; Wells, of Hartford, Conn., wl
employed nitrous oxide in 1844; Mo
ton, of Boston, who tried ether su
cessfully in 1846, and Sir J. Y. Sim]
son, of Edinburg, who introduce
chloroform a year later.
I 1 man nriil i
il cuiupnuj U1 *uvu
ihe British ship Intrepid were take
from "Vera Cruz to the City of Mexi<
by the English colony of the capit
city, at an expense of 83000, ami gai
concerts there which captured tl
town. The men were entertained an
as well pleased as the citizens.
' .... .. : r
k> | HEN KILLS A "RATTLER."
> A Fierce Duel In Which "Biddy" Wblppec
y the Snake.
8 Attorney Ben T. Hardin, of Kansas
n City, Mo., is never happier than wher
lt he has a gamecock nnder each arm. H?
0 is an enthusiastic breeder of fowls, and
1
A HEN WHIPS A RATTLESNAKE.
raises nothing bnt game chickens.
Occasionally the chickens raise trou
ble. Tbey raised a rumpus about a week
ago, and as a result Mr. Hardin was
treated to the novel sight of a fierce
duel between a hen and a rattlesnake.
The lawyer was proudly watching his
pets wander towards the bushes at the
further end of the yard, when suddenly
one of the hens gave a cry of
? alarm. It was too late. The seven
rattles on the tail of a big snake
sounded, and an instant later the fowl
was struck. A hen by her *ide, instead
of running away, got her fight^
ing blood up, saw a chance for a good
battle and pitched in. She fought
scientifically, and proved that she knew
_ a good deal about the vital spots of a
* ? * _ 9 _
)0 sna&e. sne maae a lew passes, aoagX)
ing for advantage, and before the rep^
tile realized its danger one fierce peck
30 at the back of its head ended its exist?
ence. The hen that was bitten by the
50 snake died in agony.
Jj COLD BRICK WORTH $72,000.
53 A Solid Cone of the Precious Metal, OneThird
Actual Size, as Pictured,
sr A solid cone of gold was received
le in New York recently by the agency
i- of the Bank of Montreal, from the
ir Caribou Hydraulic Mining Company,
i- of British Columbia. The chunk was
n the result of about two months' work
I
ACTUAL SIZE, WORTH 872,000
is at the mine, which is largely owned by
d officials of the Canadian Pacific Rail?,
way Company.
d The precious mass was taken to the
sr United States Assay Office. It weighed
4149.90 ounces Troy. In appearance
it resembled a su^ar cone, save that
the sides were more rounded and the
a apex not so pronounced. It measured
iy nine inches at the base, was ten inches
>t high, and is worth 872,000.
A Remarkable Doable Tree.
. The accompanying cut of a double
J ash is from a photograph taken by
f Professor William Werthner, of the
Dayton High School. The tree, writes
A. F. Foerste, in the Scientific American,
stands near Waynesville, Ohio.
It is a very symmetrical coalescence of
two blue ash trees, five feet apart at
the ground and at fifteen feet above
joining to form a perfect trunk that
I extends to a height ot some seventy
i feet. Each tree is from fifteen to
' eighteen inches in diameter, and each
, trunk, as well as the upper bole, is
' perfectly normal, nor does the fork
| show any signs of a flattening, ridge
or one-sided coalescence. Hence, the
union must have taked place,when .the
trees were saplings.
Is this a "natural graft," or did
_ some Indian possibly use the saplings
je as part of his wigwam support and tie
c- DOUBLE ASH JTEAR WaWeSVILLE, OHIO.
p~ I
>d them so tightly as to induce a coalescence?
The size of the trees (considering
the slow rate of growth of the blue
. ash) seems to make them antedate the
white settlers in Ohio.
:n
5<? An ordinance prohibiting screens in
saloons has been adopted in Cleveland,
:e Ohio.
ie
id Texas is to tax cigarette dealers to
the tune of $1000 a year.
?n
a tempeeancecolumnM
THE DRINK EVIL MADE MANIFEST^H|
IN MANY WAYS. VI
Away With the Mocker? InTestimation x
Shows That the Largest Percentage of
Insane Persons Reach That Deplor.
able Condition Through. Strong Drink*
What makes the silliest talker?
You give it up? Why, wine,
The mockerl s
What ma^es of man a rocker?
Well, whisky?yes! and wine,
The mocker!
And woman dainty, what shall shock hec
80 painfully as wine,
The mocker!
J
To Davy Jones's locker
We'd gladly send strong drink,
The mocker!
Drink and Insanity.
The more recent and careful Investigation
of the relation of drink to insanity
tends to confirm the belief that by far the
largest percentage of the insane are 80
through drink. A most valuable contribntion
to this study has just been supplied by
Professor J. Holt Schooling, Fellow of th?
Royal Statistical 8oclety of 0?reat Britain. \
He has just completed a very interesting
investigation by which he has been enabled ?'\
to show some curious facts relative to the , g
insanity of the British people. He tells us 1
how many persons go mad and why they _;'l
do so. He declares that 'one person in.
every 306 of the population of Britain Is a .
maniac, and that that ratio promises to increase.
"Entering into the causes as to why men,
go mad, Professor Schooling," says the
New York Herald, to which we are indebted
for this item, "strikes a mighty blow for
the cause of temperance when he makes
the statement, solely inspired by his investigations
and the accurate results thereof,
that drink, liquor, sends mad nearly onethird
of all the persons who become insane ,
in Great Britain from the eight leading I
causes of insanity in that territory." 1
He places these eight principal causes of |
insanity and the percentage of each as regards
every hundred of lunatics as followsr*
Drink, 33.6; domestic troubles, 15.1; mental
anxiety, 13.4; old age, 13.2; adverse circumstances,
,13; accidents, 6.5; religious ex* ,
citement, 4; love affairs, 3.2.
Whisky Did It.
A weaver named Robert Pendlebury, of
Chorley, died on Saturday night. On the <
previous afternoon a ctfrt belonging to
I Messrs. Walmsley and Charnley, spirit
merchants, Preston, was passing along
RpJlway street, when a bottle containing
six gallons of fvhisky fell to the ground
and broke, the contents running into the
channel. A number of% men quickly*
dammed up the channel and began to
scoop the liquor with anything available,
and to drink it neat. Pendlebury, who was
thirty-six years of age, got the lid of a pint
can and drank from it nearly thirty times, ,
becoming helpless and speechless. He was
conveyed home in a wheelbarrow. His
tongue became perfectly black, and although
Dr. Rigby attended him, and emetics
were administered, he never recovered
consciousness. The
poor wretch had no wish to kill himaaif
HoH hflon traJnari hv thft lfnnnr
traffic to believe whisky to be a good crea-, 1
ture of God, and be thought it a shame
that any of It should run to waste. Saving
it in his stomach cost him his life. Ana
this is the sort of "creature" that the law
authorizes its makers to sell.?Alliance
News.
j A Victory Won.
A young gentleman who had not been out
in the world a great deal, and had neve*
attended a banquet, was invited with his
father to attend a very fashionable one in a
certain city. Many kinds of wines and
liquors were served. Seated at the table
by the side of his father, the waiter approached
the young man with liquors and
wines and asked him what he would have.Somewhat
embarrassed, and not knowing
what to say, he thought a while, looked
around, ana ai lasi earn 10 iue >v?iicr;
"I'll take what father does." The waiter ,
passed on to the father. What should he J
do? What should he take? Aroused fully J
to his responsible position, more so than he
had been before, the father said with emphasis:
"I'll take water." The battle was fought,
the victory won, and the destiny of his boy
as a man to temperate habits fixed so tea
as he had the power to do it by his example.
%
The Trouble With His Throat.
A young lumberman of northern. . /
Minnesota, whose habits of drinking had
given the "blind staggers" to his business,
reformed and ran his sawmill with profit.
While in the transition period he met Tom,
All VIU UIOUU.
"How are you?" asked Tom.
"Pretty well, thank you, but I h$ve just
seen a doctor to have him examine my
throat."
"What's the matter?"
"Well, the doctor couldn't give me any
encouragement. At least, he could not
find what I want to find."
"What did you expect to find?"
"I asked him/to look down my throat for
the sawmill and farm that had gone down
there in drink."
"And did he see anything of them?"
"No; but he advised me if ever I got another
mill to run it by water."
The Great Disease of Paris.
"Intemperance," says Dr. Max Nordau,
"is the great disease of Paris." This statement
may be placed beside the declarations
of some American travelers. that Parisians
are a temperate people with all their wine
drinking; Nordau has practiced in the
hospitals of Paris and knows well what he
says. One may not see any drunkenness
on the boulevards, nor in the Tuileries and r
the Bois, but the roofs of Belleville cover
the most tragic scenes of suffering and sorrow
due to the intoxicating cup. One of
the most popular drinks in Paris is the
deadly absinthe. Body and mind are said
to crumble together under the influence of
this terrible liquor. As a rule, Parisians
may not drink to bestial excess, but they
drink very, vexy often. The average work- j
mun lo Pfinetantlv under the stimulus Of
alcohol * |
An Inebriate's Legacy.
Edward Lee, an inebriate, who died at
Oswego, N. Y., left the following last will
and testament:
"I leave to society a ruined character, a
wretched example, and a memory that will
soon rot. I leave to my parents as much
sorrow as they can, in their feeble state,
bear. I leave to my brothers and sisters as b
much shame and mortification as I could
bring upon them. I leave to my wife a
broken heart, a life of shame. I leave to
each of my children poverty, ignorance, a
low character, and a remembrance that
their father filled a drunkard's grave. For
drunkards to read when they get time."
California's So-Called "Mild Wines."
kaJnfli caf/1 fA.Hov in n rata a fit
?UUC11 ID UCJUfj Cttiu
California's "mild wines," and papers descant
upon their harmless qualities as a
beverage, when the fact is these same mild
wines are rapidly bringing the State into
unenviable prominence for drunkenness, f
While twenty-fourth in population, she is
fifth in liquor-dealers and sixth in criminals;
and the city of San Francisco has a
saloon to every sixteen voters.
Conatantly on Guard.
The celebrated John B. Gough to his dying
day would not allow himself to be in a
room alone with a? bottle of whisky. Thi9
I man and others in like situation were able
| to hold the disease in abeyance, but with
i any emotional disturbance, any relaxation
of the will, the appetite would assert its
sway and relapse occur. The will of any
man is only as strong as it is at its lowest
I nnint nf rHl?Y?tion as a chain is only as
strong us its weakest link.
DeathR From Alcoholism. 'v
The United States census gives the number
of deaths from alcoholism in 1880, as ^
1592; in 1890, 2C57,an increase of sixty-seven
per cent. If the same ratio has been maintained
during the past seven years the
present annual death-rate from alcoholism
is 3903. In the Marine Hospital service of
the United States, in the year 1893, 1894 and
181)5, there were treated 158,803 diseases.
Of these 867 were cases of alcoholism 5M
per thousand.