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the debts that stand. ?ften I think that the world is cold ^And^hat men are unkind, unfair; * viten a mourn ana iret ana scoiu And coddle my own despair, 'And often I think mankind must be In league foj the shame of defeating me. lYet, railing at men, I ought to know That I sm when my plaints are made, For there's many, oh, many, a debt I owe That never can be repaid. iWhat if deep in my heart they could sometimes see? The kind ones who have befriended me? ?S. E. Kiser. TltaWBro TT ~y ANS MEULLER used to toot 1^4 a trumpet* in the Third Cav] J airy. Hans was more or less a butt for the jokes of the men of his troop. He took all kinds of jibes with a good nature that was as perfcct as it was stolid. The trumpeter knew more about music than he Jdld muskets. When for a while he 1 tried what the other men called Btraight soldiering, he was continually t getting tangled up with his equipments, and on several occasions at skirmish drill he came within an ace of shooting himself. His comrades told Hans that as long as he confined his efforts to killing himself they would offer no strenuous objection, but that If he got careless and shot the head Off of some one else he must look out frAiiMa A c? o nf fo ho H ir? JLU1 U VU UtCi AAO i* UAUViV! va. *mv? mv ?.u one day come pretty close to putting a. bullet through the heart of Sergeant Peter Nelson, who forthwith thrashed Hans in an approved style. Captain "I'M GOING AFTER D0DD3." [Roberts called Hans "gross,", and said that he must stick to his trumpet . The ?dlct of his chief made Hansi 1 Ifefel badly. He blew the whole scale, , of calls, from reveille through fatigue, recall and drill to taps, but his soul ^Wasn't in his music. Down deep In Hans' soul there came the thought that somehow he was not like other men. The smartness of appearance which characterized Sergeant Nelson, Corporal 1 Brady and a score of privates he knew <could never be his. There was lacking In bis makeup that something which gives dash to a soldier. Hans used to fall over his feet in' a most unmilitary .way, and his hands were never in the proper places. There was one thing, however, that could be said of him. ho oItttqto trio/1 tn nhov nrrlpra iinr?lif ltly. He generally blundered a number of times while making the attempt, but the Intent was right, and that covers a multitude of sins much more serious in nature than mere blunders. The Third Cavalry was in the Wyoming country in the Elkliorn Creefc region. There had been a good deal of trouble with the N^z Perces and L (Troop had been kept on the jump most of the time for a month. L Troop was Hans' outfit. There had been one constant succession of scoutings. It had been necessary to send small squads In half a dozen different directions at one ana tne^ same nme. xne trumpeter had been forced to stay with the main body, which was not a very big body at that, at all times. He had been in everything in which the whole troop was engaged, but the idea of sending Hans out on a reconnoisance .where coolness and the subtlety of the devil were necessary for safety, was the last thing that had entered the head of the commander. One day, however, one of the coldest days of the second winter month, it became necessary to send a scouting party to investigate the rumor of the approach of a band of savages. Now it happened that the whole command was fagged out. and this in a nutshell is the reason why Hans Meuller found Himself for the first time in bis life ( in a position of acute responsibility. i He was ordered by Captain Roberts ^ to proceed with Sergeant Nelson and two privates northwest until something ,was "felt," or until the Sergeant was satisfied that a wrong report had been turned into the camp. When the little bcdy set out the fatigue of the individual members of the troop showed that it was not, so to speak, strong enough to keep these same individuals from giving Hans a send-off. Hans had a carbine and a revolver. His trumpet was hanging up on a peg. One of the bystanders said to the Sergeant in command, 'Look out for Hans if you happen to get into a scrimmage. The first thing you know he'll forget himself and he'll try to blow 'retreat* on his carbine. ^ ? 1 - .V... n :r Un?r. JLUU 111IIy lU5t U11C iiiuii ji iiaud jjuio his mouth to the "wrong end of the barrel." Then they said a few* other things to Hans. He was told to he sure not to get his canteen mixed up with his cartridge belt, and to make sure iliat he took note of the landmarks on the ,way out, so lie could get back to camp in a hurry if he happened to hear an Indian shoot off a gun. Hans took all this well enough, because the thought of actually going out on a scout was sufficient to knock all other things out of his head, resentment along with them. They had left the camp far behind them. Sergeant Nelson, who .was an old and tried campaigner, turned to his men and said: "We are getting near the place where we may expect to see something." Then he spoke seriously to Hans: "Meuller," too said, "vou're not half as bad, per haps, as the troop makes out, but I tell you honestly that I'm kind of lafraid of you when it comes to a pinch. Do the best you can and don't run. 'As a matter of fact, I think Jim Cros by was pipe-dreaming when he brought the rumor of reds in this vicinity into camp, but you may have a chance to see trouble, and if you do, please stick." ? ? +??<-?! * 1 ?-r tn J.uai was a. preuy iuu^u >v have to say to a soldier with Uncle Sam's unitorm on his back. Stick! Meuller's face went almost white under realization that the true significance of that admonition was that the Sergeant had a pretty strong fear in his heart that his trumpet tooter was a coward. Stick! He would show them if he was only given a chance. Sergeant Peter Nelson was an old and tried campaigner, indeed, but that day he made a mistake. He led his three men straight into an ambush. There was a score of painted Nez Percea straight across their track. The Indians had very little cover, but they used It so artfully that the old soldier Sergeant had actually thought that the bit of embankment and the few scattered bowlders did not offer cover enough to conceal a jack rabbit. The first intimation of the Indians' presence was a volley. Sergeant Nel * Tptt-h n wound sou wem iu uic giuuuu in his side. One of the privates, shot through the shoulder and leg, fell with him. The two men crawled behind a couple of rocks and secured temporary shelter. At the savage volley Hans Meuller's heart went to his throat. With the other private, who, like Hang, was unhlt, he fell back about forty yards and behind an adequate cover. There for five minutes they exchanged shots with the reds, who, in accordance with Indian custom, would not charge across the open, but depended rather upon being able to pick off the soldiers and then go forward without danger and take the scalps. Hans Meuller found that he could use his carbine. His heart went down out of his throat. He looked around him and saw that there was some chance of holding the savages off for hours. Out beyond he saw his two stricken comrades. They were not dead. 'He knew J that because he saw them move and occasionally weakly raise themselves and send a shot In the direction of the red foes. Hans said to himself: "Those mnot ho hrnnprht back here." Then UiCU UMWV VV ?- . ? he handed his carbine to his comrade and with it his belt and ammunition. "You may need these." he said, "If those fellows hit me." Then he jumped over the rock in front of him, and with his long, shambling, ungainly stride he made for the side of Sergeant Nelson. The Indians pumped at him. The balls whizzed by his head, cut his clothes in three places and spat spitefully into the dust at his feet Telling Nelson to grab his carbine, Meuller raised the Sergeant in his arms and made back for cover, his track all the way marked out for him by the shots of the savages. He dropped the Sergeant under the shadow of the rock and then stood on his feet. "Where are you going, Meuller?" said Nelson, feebly. "I'm going after Dodds," said Meuller, and he cleared the little rock to the front once more. I "God bless you, Meuller," was what he heard above the cracking of the ' rifles to his front. He reached the side of the wounded Doods, raised him and started back with him across the strip J of hell. Twice he staggered, as volleys rang out, but he reached the sides of his comrades, and placed Dodds between Nelson and the unwounded trapper. Then Hans Meuller fell dead. Relief came to the three surviving cavalrymen. The two wounded lived. In the little cemetery at a post in the far Northwest there is a headstone which is inscribed thus: : HANS MEULLER, : [ : TRUMPETER AND SOLDIER. [ : HIS COURAGE WAS BULLET : : PROOF. : ?Edward B. Clark, in the Chicago [ Kecora-JtieraiQ. The Red Rantlnc Coat. [ The origin of the red coat is a mystery. There is a story told "that one J of the early Henrys was so enamored | with the sport of fox hunting as to ordain it to be a royal sport, and the x*ed coat was worn in consequence." This, however, has been pointed at as absurd, as in those days scarlet was not a royal livery at all. One thing there can be no doubt about, and that is that the scarlet coat is very popular for those who hunt regularly. And it must be confessed that it adds picturesqueness to the scene. The question of color seems to be very much a matter of taste; it Is looked upon as an indication of social position. In the abatpn^t nnv one can don the pink, if so desired, but it is considered out of taste for any one to adopt that color if he does not liberally subscribe to the huut fund. The black coat is considered to come next in social position, and the ordinary inufti garment for those -whose subscription is very small Indeed.?Tailor and Cutter. Two Now French Caves. Two remarkable cases have been discovered in France by Messrs. Capitan and Breuil, In which the walls are covered with drawn and painted figures of the paleolithic epoch. These are mostly figures of animals, and some of them have been drawn with striking correctness. In the first cave, at Combarelles (Dordogne), the figures are drawn with a deeply engraved line and are vigorous in execution. They include the mammoth reindeer and other animals extinct in France. In the second cave, at Font-de-(?aume, not far distant from the former, blade lines are used, and sometimes the whole animal is painted black, forming a silhoutte. lied oclier is also used in the figures, which are sometimes four feet long. Many of the figures are covered with a stalagmite deposit which often reaches an inch in thickness.?Scientific American. Easy. The girls of Smith College at Normaftipton, Mass., are iddignaut at a new set of rules, one of which forbids any one of them taking a carriage ride with any students of Amherst College unless engaged to be married to him. There must always be two girle, but there may also be two men, provided they are all in the same vehicle. Announcements of many engagements are exDected.?Philadelphia Tim#s. ' I || A DAT WITH THE If 1 CRANBERRY PICKERS, jg TIT HANKSGIVING DAY and the 2 cranberry are one and Insen | arable in the United States, "g" During the year the cranberry has as steady a market as the cabbage, but in the month of November the demand for it is phenomenal, a little less than one-half the year's crop bej*111' ^ *" ~ ^ ^ = * A TOTJTHOTJL ' WOBKEB IN THE JHELD. ing disposed of in the thirty days. This year the total yield is estimated at 1,000,000 bushels, and over 400,000 bushels will be needed for Thanksgiving. The cranberry grower is a sharer in the general prosperity of the times, his vines yielding him nearly twice the crop of last year. From Cape Cod, nrwrVi tTTl X IHjLIU, \Y 1 (The field is irrigated from tl where American cranberries were first ! cultivated, to .the remote island of Kodlak, Alaska, the northern and westernmost point where the fruit is grown, the same reports of a bountiful harvest are given. Of all familiar fruits it is safe to Bay that there Is none of which so little is generally known as the cranberry. Originally It grew wild, as, In fact, it does to-day in several of the States bordering on the Canada | line, in the salt marshes of the coast I States, In the glades of the Alleghaj nies, and as far south as Virginia : and the Carolinas. Unlike the strawI berry, the wild cranberry Is distinctly ! Inferior to its cultivated relative. Both ! grow on a small, hardy shrub, about six inches in height. The fruit takes Its name from the appearance of the flower, which, just before expanding , Into perfection, bears a marked resemblance to the neck, head and bill of a crane. Hence the name "craneberry," which usage has made into cranberry. Sand and peaty ground form fhe proper soil, and instead of fertilizing, the grower is obliged to give the vines or bushes liberal coats of sand. The ground must be low, as it Is kept under ! water much of the time. The marsh, I or bog, as it is variously termed, Is so ! arranged that any section of it may be flooded at the discretion of the grower, the system of ditches and sluices being the same as those used in Irrigating the arid lands of the West. : The making of the beg is an expen! sive process, involving an expenditure of from $300 to $500 an acre, and an interim of five years elapses before the yield is really profitable. After that each year should give'a larger return on the investment. No rotation of crops is necessary, and the shrubs live and bear and increase endlessly. WINNOWING THE LEAVES AND STICKS FROM THE BERRIES. Planting a new section of bog is a simple process. A iinall handful of twigs is twisted together and thrust deep into the sand. They take root immediately, and within a year put fm-th now lmrlcrhts niul l>r>jrin to send out ruuners. The planting Is ejght or tea inches apart in rows. Gradually the space between fills up, and in an old bog the shrubs grow as thickly as buffalo grass. All they require then is weeding, sanding and flooding. Flooding is necessary not only for the growth of the plant, but to protect it from the early frosts of autumn. ! It is no unusual sight to see a halfhundred pickers at work in one section of a bog, -while the adjoining section is under eighteen inches of water. Beneath the transparent covering the berries are seen, the water only intensifying their brilliant covering and the deep green of the surrounding j leaves. . v ' ' v;. ' U" Picking cranberries is a task for nimble fingers. The picker, sitting or kneeling on the damp sand, plunges both hands," with fingers slightly cnroo/1 *nfA vinoa anH with fl quick movement strips the berries from the stems and tosses them into a pan beside him. When the pan is. filled it is emptied into a pail holding one-third of a bushel. The size is uniform and the pickers are paid by the pail. The berries are finally put into crates holding a bushel each. Before they are ready for market, however, they are winnowed of leaves and weeds, and are ready for the consumer. The first cranberries come from the Cape Cod bogs. There picking begins early In September and lasts until se- " vere frosts put an end to the season. The Long Island and tfew Jerseys-berries reach the market about two weeks later, or about the middle of September. In the' Middle States and the West the crop is not quite so early. Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Northern Iowa are cranberry States. The West consumes practically all its own product, and also a part of the Eastern yield. The western berry rarely finds Its way Into the markets of the East In the cost States the cranberry Is a remarkable favorite, and without It a mere turkey would be considered anything but a piece de resistance on the New England day of days. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New England consume more than half the entire annual crop. New York City alone requiring 250,000 bushels a year. For these berries the producer will average a minimum of $5 a barrel. The consumer pays at retail from five ^ c-M 1 * ! \Yv Wk, : [TH PICKERS AT WORK. , le ditches at regular intervals.) to ten cents a quart, generally the latter price. The price Is governed by the abundance of tbe yield. Sifting these figures it will be seen that a large amount of money goes to some one between the producer alid the consumer, but it must be borne in mind that cranberries, like apples, m.ust pay the price of long storage. Sometimes, when the oroducer can afford It, he puts away a large part of his crop, and lets It remain In storage until tbe last of December or the middle of January,_ when, as a rule, the price advances. There have been times when cranberries brought $8 and $10 a bar- , rel. There is a popular idea that cranberry growing is a sure road to wealth. ( A. BOO COMPLETELY FLOODED BT WATEB (The plants and berries are beneath.) One of the sages among growers, Mr. E. L. Brown, of Calverton, Long Isl- , and, (jails cranberries a "young man's crop." This means that a man who chooses cranberry farming as a road to affluence must be willing to wait, and to work steadily and with perseverance while he waits. A few years , ago a wealthy resident of Detroit, stirred by the glorified accounts of cranberry profits, invested $250,000 in , an attempt to raise the berries on a * large scale. He abandoned his enterprise at the end of the second year, losing almost his entire investment. Profitable as cranberry raising may be, under right conditions, to cultivate the berry successfully means that the grower must often carry a heavy burden of care and anxiety. So it is simple truth to say that in this year of bountiful .harvest, of all the thanks expressed on the appointed day, those of the Ulan who grows cranberries will be even greater and more fervent than , the appreciation of the thousands who delight their palates with the boon pomnanion of the turkey at the Thanksgiving board, the crimson product of the cranberry vine.?Charles Culver Johnson, in Harper's Weekly. A Dense Illinois Forest. There is .1 tract of laud in Tazewell County, 111., lying along the Mackinaw River, which consists of a continuous series of abrupt and deep ravines. Not a foot of the tract could be cultivated. The ridges are full of fox dens, wolves are occasionally found, and turkey buzzards hover over it in large flocks. Even people familiar with the territory have been lost in the dense forest. Except for a few giant oaks, the wood has 110 commercial value. The tract is known as the "Lost Forty" because no qne knows who owns it. For years it has been used for trading purposes, and many unwary persons from a dis tance have advanced money upon it and taken mortgages in various sums, only to receive a questionable title to a worthless piece of land. On the Tazewell County tax books the "Forty" appears with "Owner unknown." The land is watered by innumerable springs and the Mackinaw River, which winds Its way th/ouglfc For Gleaning Ships' Bull* The newest Idea In the way of contrivance for cleaning the bottom c ships at sea so as to avoid the e: pense of docking Is the Invention of Florida man. It is a long tube of car vas, with a sort of bag at the end c It. The tube Is lowered by ropes ove the side of the vessel, and the opei ator slides down Inside of It until h reaches the Dag. The bag is weighted at the bottoc to hold it down and keep it steadj and near the upper end of it is a glas plate, through which the diver ca.< look and see what he is doing whil removing the,barnacles and seaweed which have collected on the hull o the ship.?New York Herald. Disk Throwing Game of the Swlaa. The mountaineers of Switzerland ar fond of outdoor sports?competitiv tests of strength and agility. Amon; these sports that of "hurnussing Beems to be the one least known oul side of the little Republic, but an al tempt is about to be made to lntroduc It into the United States. The "hui duss" is a small disk, about two inche in diameter, much thicker in the mid die than at the ends. When the game begins the "hurnuss Is laid on the raised end of a beam whose other end rests on the ground the disk being placed so that its ric Drojects over the beam end. A shar] stroke witb a rudderlike stick on th projecting end of the disk sends th latter high up Into the air. The plaj ers are divided into two parties, hil ters and catchers, the endeavor of th latter being to Intercept the flyin 'hurnuss" by throwing short handle flat shovels up into the probable lin or its mgnt, ana men cull-u iue iu ici cepted falling disk with the hands. To insure to the catchers a point th 3 : \ f rosperitg on Farm-! The world-wide scarcity of stapl foods means high prices for city coi sumers; but for this country the scan ity habits cheerful side in the prospei ity of the farmer. Corn was badl EVERYTHI> hurt by the drought, but the smalle yield Is worth more money than eve: and some old corn Is still to be mai keted. The same is true of whea Beet-sugar production, prosperous 1 Colorado and Nebraska, makes in otnc ? catching mast be done within a marked space, beginning about twen>f ty yards from the hitters, widening c- more and more without limit ahead. If a the "hurnuss" be not caught it counts i- a point for the hitter; If caught, one if for the catchers. Whenever the disk falls three times in succession outside of the marked space the hitter Is "out;" also when the "hurnuss" Is Cn unnri o a All flia h \ fforo Pro taugau wu ouvu aa ait wuu uavvvau *mv out the catchers take their places. Whichever party makes the most points is declared the winner. How difficult It 1s to catch a "hurnuss" may be guessed from the fact that the small disk is often pitched twenty yards high and 200 yards away; yet practiced players manage to bring It down by throwing their queer shovels up in the way of its flights.?New York Herald. The Boy King of 8#*ia.tr There is something pathetic In the position of Alphonso XIII., the boy e king of Spain. As yet he has not felt the full burden of ruling the most turbulent country In Europe, but on May 17 next, when he completes his sixteenth year, he must, take over the duties of kingship and more than his share of its dangers.. In appearance a 1o/i* ndla thin UC 19 4UUC a uuiivaiu tuuf ^uivi VMM* and nertous, bat with a surprising reserve of endurance. Considering hla age be bas, it is said, a wonderful knowledge of mathematics, history, and military sclcnee, and he speaks English, French and German as well as his native tongue. Meantime Madrid has not seen mucb of him, and the general impression that be does not approve of the bull-ring affects his popularity. Q Bide la a Barrel. \ !k new thing in the way of pleasure s railways is promised for the coming a summer season. It Is nothing lesis e than "a ride In a barrel. The device s BEVOLVINO BABBEL FL7SB. I 1 ^rnmrnm \ Is siown in the accompanying cut I Railways of this kind may be erected ; during the coming spring at Cape May, ' Atlantic City, Asbury Park and Coney Island. The barrel flyer is the invention of the late M. C. Campbell, and one of them was built at Rltterville Park, near Ailentown, ds an experiment, and many thrilling rides were taken over it A Remark From an Auditor. a A Scottish member of Parliameni e was not complimented lately when he r- was addressing his constituents. He t- assured his hearers that he was noi e an idle member of the House, anc g that during the last two years he had d put no less than 182 questions to th?. e Speaker and the members of the government. "What an ignorant aula beggar yevmust be!" cried a voice 9 from the crowd. m States a good beginning. California ? fruit profits by quicker freight service * and by the short apple crop. Hogs J? sell at high prices. Horses three years F ago were shot as "varmints" in Mon* tana; now, because of the Boer war e demand, they are worth $40 to $50 l- apiece at the ranch. Long Island farmers are getting double prices for potatoes, which are a paying crop from y Mains to Michigan. Land has ad * Y? """ ify ..j,? ' :g going tup. ?From the Philadelphia Record. >r vanced in value; its owners are buying r, stock, ranking improvements. Agrir culture, the basic Industry of all, was t. never in a more flourishing condition1 n than in this country to-day.?New York ir World. 1 1?? ?t-?: The Outside We envy other men who ?eem To have ao much thet gives them pride-? Ah, but there's milk beneath the cream, There's mud below the limpid stream, The house may have a rotten beam That looks so well outside. ?Chicago Record-Herald. . . " ' Cordial CryVocalist?"Now, shall I bore yon It I sing 'The Palms?'" Company (with one voice)?"Yes, yesj ' do, do."?Indianapolis News. - *' ' ? Too Near Now. Teas?"Why, she psed to think tM Blchmans were very Dice people" Jess?"Yes, but they've moved is />' next door to her since then."?PhO* delphia Press. Jlan'n 8hor?. She?"It is comforting to me to know . - ' ? that woman's hand rules the world." ; He?"Yes, but you must not forget that man's hand holds It much of the time."?Ohio-State* Journal. BoiIdmi Methods. Nell?'II wonder why Mame gave he* age as only twenty-two when she xnaiv ried old Moneybags?*' Belle?"Probably she was giving discount for cash.",?Philadelphia Bee ord. Uncle Sasa'a Good Enough. "It is claimed that a certain gang ot ' counterfeiters' make better dollars than Uncle Sam does." "That's a. case where I believe In letting well enough alone."?Cleveland Plain Dealer. Sewing Machine Trains. "Gracious,, bow fast you're running?* remarked the dressmaker's lapboard, "You must be In a great hurr?" "I should say so," xeplied the sewing* machine; "I've got to make a train."? Philadelphia Press. A Guarded Reply. . "So you are on an automobile trip!" said the friend. "Where are you going now?" "I couldn't say for certain," answered Mrs. Cayenne, "whether It is home ot the emergency hospital."?Washington ? ( Star. A Cynical Suggestion. ? "How did the United States Senate ; i get the reputation of being such an exceptionally dignified body?" inquired the man who is always eager to leant "Probably it wasi'by going Into executive session at precisely the propet moment," was "the cold-blooded man's answer?Washington Star. Knotra His Bus! net*. y Mrs. Person?'"It beats me how Da Smart has such a tremendous practice. They say be doesn't know anything afiout medicine, or about diseases, either, for that matter." Mr. Ferson?"No; but he knows about all there Is to know about buman/nature.*"?Boston Transcript Bataltsetok. /7( ' } n , ii Mf ' Mrs. Justwed?"I gave that tramp # couple of the biscuit* I cooked this morning." Mr. Justwed?"Then we must turn the dog loose to-night The fellow will surely come hack and try to burn the barn."?Puck. ' 4 Juitlfltble, Perhaps. Excited Citizen?"I want a man ar? rested right away! I've been assault- < ed, and I wasn't doing a thing but T walking along the street in a quiet, orderly and Inoffensive manner, and - ' , whistling." Justice?"Um?er?what tune w.erfe ' you whisillng?"?New York Weekly. The Formalities. f "What would you say, my little man, ' If I were to give you a piece of candy?* p The small boy straightened his spectacles with his thumb and forefinger and replied: "I am compelled to remind you, sir, that the post prandial oration cannot* properly, precede the repast."?Washington Star. He Coaldn't Speak. Bilkins (suffering from a heavy cold) ?"I met forty-five different acquaintances this morning, andx Just fortyfour of them told me of some cure for . a cold." wife?"Didn't the forty-fifth offer any advice?" Bilklns?"No; he bad a cold hinsolf.'* ?New York Weekly. Chilly. "Is it an engagement ring?" "No," answered the ofttimes summer girl. "It is a souvenir." "But you say you don't remember who gave it to you." "That is true. But it may be considered an effective souvenir, none the less. I have no doubt the donor often recalls what it cost, and remembers me."?Washington Star. Shying Off. She?"How odd! Thai lecturer says blondes should marry brunettes, and vice versa. You're a decided blonde, you know." He?"I suppose so. You're a blonde, too, aren't you?" She ? "Oh, no! I'm a pronounced brunette." He (in terror)?"Now, Miss De Muir. ? 'ma KaIIatta fhft^ you call never rna&c uic umv your cream complexion and golden lialr are?er?not natural."?Chicago Tribune. ' .*! ' '*"'w t > . ' .v.> : ? V. <