Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, September 13, 1912, Image 1
^ mTO^xxi-wBnS.^
l i qeist's sons, PubU.h.r., J % 4amil8 9??WI: 4s* promotion D)f (hij political, ^oqiat, ^grieulturat and ffommcrria! Jntercsis of th< ?mj4. { /PY CA?JT?'
established 1855. yorkville, 8. c., fpiday, september ib, 191^. n"0. 74.
VICTIM OF HI
Police Officer Who I
Murder of a Shy lot
Old Vishnudass, grain merchant I
and money lender of Talagaum, having
recovered his monthly dues from clients
in the surrounding villages, was
riding homeward, well satisfied with
his day's work. The proceeds of his
collection were contained in a number
of small bags cunningly concealed
within the folds of his voluminous garments;
and the melodious chink, chink
of the silver rupees, as they jostled
?* ml?Vi avnrv mnvpmpnt nf his
cat 11 uuiu nibu v ? v* j
pony, sounded gratefully In the ears
of the rider. Plump and bulky was
the equestrian, as became a man of
substance; lean and scraggy was his
steed, as befltted the drudge of the
most notorious skinflint in the district.
Vishnudass prided himself on his
honesty and rectitude?he owed not
to any man; on the contrary, many
men owed to him. He posed as a public
benefactor, as a friend of the widow
and orphan, always ready to relieve
the poor in time of necessity. Relieve
the poor he certainly did?of all
their cash, spare or otherwise. Woe to
the luckless wight whose name should
once become inscribed in the books of
the usurer. There it was likely to remain
till his dying day. Far better
would it have been for him to have
hanged or drowned himself than to
have signed a bond condemning himself
and his dependents to life-long
miiw?rv. Everv man has his own in
terest at heart, which, In the case of
Vlshnudass, figured out a trifle over
200 per cent Too much? Not a bit of
it. He would have his bond to the
last farthing, or the Sarkar (government)
would know the reason why.
Long live the Sarkar! Ij^lght the
shadow of its omnipotence never grow
lees. Why had law and justice been
Instituted in India if not to enable
Vishnudass and others of his kidney
to drain the life blood from the hearts
of the Indian ryots (cultivators) Let
the human scarecrows toil and moll
all day and every day, till the sweat
streamed down their emaciated
frames! What else were they made
for? According: to the philosophy of
Vishnudass. the peasant was made to
work, and the usurer was created to
enjoy the fruits of the peasant's labor.
Thus pleasantly, mused the man of
metal, over whose obese countenance
there stole a smile of smug complacency,
as he made a rapid mental calculation
of the interest that would accrue
to him on unpaid loans at the end
of the year, and decided on the terms
of renewal he would exact in each case.
> Next spring, on the occasion of his
son's marriage, he would astonish the
town by his munificence; the feast to
the Brahmans should be for quantity
and quality on a scale hitherto unparalleled;
the name of Vishnudass
should become great in the land. And?
who knows??perhaps some day he
might be elected a municipal councillor.
Absorbed In these reflections, and
forgetful of hie surroundings, he was
proceeding leisurely with slackened
rein, when his pony stumbled and
nearly precipitated him over its head.
Then he became aware that the hour
was late, that darkness was rapidly
setting in, and that Talagaum was
still a good six miles distant. The
district, he knew, was infested by dacolts,
always well informed by the villagers
of the movements of wealthy
travelers. Money lenders were their
natural prey. It was more than likely,
therefore, that some of these marauders
were even then lying in wait to
rob and murder him. His wretched
pony was ready to drop from exhaustion;
there was no possibility of reaching
home before nightfall. How he
his stuDiditv for not starting
betimes and accomplishing his journey
in broad daylight!
Skinflint though he was, Vishnudass
nursed his own hide with tender solicitude,
and would rather have given
two annas (now 2d) in charity than
have parted with a single shred of his
precious cuticle. Although, after the
fashion of the country, he carried a
tulwar (sword) incased in a wooden
sheath covered with gaudy velvet, he
felt little inclination to test the temper
of his flimsy weapon against the
broad blaues of the gentlemen of the
road. In this perplexity he suddenly
bethought him that there was a small
chauki (police guardhouse) on the
roadside close at hand, where he might |
perchance obtain a night's shelter.
Whipping up his steed into a slow,
shuffling amble, he gained the chauki
without mishap, and found the two
constables in charge, Faiz Ahmad and
Sheik Hoosen, cooking their evening
meal under a clump of mango trees.
Faint and hungry, having fasted since
morning, he would fain have asked for
food; but, prohibited by the rules of
his caste from breaking bread with
Mohammedans, he merely asked permission
to sleep in the chauki, explaining
that he dared not continue his
Journey through fear of the dacoits.
"You are welcome to such accommotion
as our humble dwelling affords."
said Faiz Ahmad, rising and saluting
the newcomer. "The sacred laws of
hospitality shall be respected. You
may rest with an easy mind, for not a
hair of your head shall be touched. My
comrade and I will give a good account
of the dacoits should they dare
to molest you. Say, Sheik Hoosein,
have not I spoken well?"
"Yes, brother," replied the other constable;
"on our heads be It to answer
for the safety of our guest," adding,
"the Illustrious one, who Is the mirror
of kindness and the soul of generosity.
will not forget that we are
poor men."
Vishnudass, accepting the hint, fumbled
in his clothes until he had found
the smallest of his money bags, ex-1
tracted therefrom two rupees, and gave
one rupee to each of his hosts.
"Make it five, master of millions,"
said Faiz Ahmad, extending his palm
with the solitary coin lying on It.
and winking at his comrade, "The dacoits
carry very sharp swords."
"They do indeed," corroborated
rs OWN PLOT.
expected to Profit By
:k Is Himself Slain.
??
Sheik Hoosein, "as many of their victims
could testify."
Realizing: that he was in their power,
the usurer reluctantly handed over
the money, though not till he had protested
in heartrending terms against
the iniquity of exacting from a poor
man such exorbitant payment for a
night's lodging.
The chauki was a small mud building
facing the road, with a single door
opening inwards and an iron grating
as a window in the back ^yall. Vlshnudass,
after locking the door, threw
himself down on a charpoy (bedstead)
and tried to sleep, but was kept awake
by the doubts and fears which tormented
his mind. He had intercepted
the glances of his hosts as their eyes
fell on his money bag, and had liked
them not at all. The constables had
already shown the cloven hoof hy extorting
money from him. How weak
he had been to accede to their demands!
Why had he not pushed boldly
on to Talagaum and risked encountering
the dacoits? He plight have
reached home without losing an anna;
whereas now?agonizing thought!?he
was a clear ten rupees out ui puuivei.
Consoling himself as best he could
with the reflection that on his return
to Talagaum he would call upon the
superintendent sahib and make a
charge of blackmailing against his
protectors, he at last fell into a fitful
slumber.
Vishnudass, after a brief spell of
sleep, was awakened suddenly by the
sound of low voices in stealthy conversation
without Springing up, with
all his faculties on the alert, he stole
cautiously to the grating and listened.
The speakers, of whom there were
three, were seated with their backs
against one of the side walls of the
chauki. The usurer recognized Immediately
the voices of the two constables;
and he discovered to his amazement
that the third person was no
other than Jemadar Abdul Kadir, an
mnoh nnllPP
uiliuciitiai anu iiiuvii~tvv|?wvv?i ofllcer
of Talagaum. What he heard
made his blood run cold. He could
hardly believe his ears. It was a plot
to rob and murder him, and, what was
worse, to bury his body. The inhuman
monsters actually contemplated committing'
to the earth the remains of the
noble and upright Vishnudass?most
orthodox of Hindus, celebrated for his
piety and for strict observance of the
tenets of his faith?whereby the sacred
rites of cremation would be denied to
him, and his soul would be lost. What
sacrilege! It was a wonder the earth
did not open up and swallow the dastardly
trio as they sat concocting ..heir
devilish scheme.
Vishnudass the wary, found himself
for the first time in his life, In a situation
of extreme peril. How to save
both his pelt and his pelf was the dlffi- "u
Ka ?nn? Ko/1 fn QAlvA Tfr
t'UIl pivuicill IIC uun Hfwu w wv. . v. ?
was characteristic of the man that,
even with death impending, he should
calculate his chances of saving that
which was only one degree less dear to
him than life itself?his money. His
first impulse was to try bribery, a pecuniary
argument being one to which
a poorly paid native official sefldom or
never turns a deaf ear. He would offer
his enemies a large sum of money
to spare his life, swearing at the same
time, by ail he held most sacred not to
betray them. Then It occurred to him
that Mohammedans, so truthful themselves,
know exactly what reliance can
be placed on the oatli or a Hindu, ana
that the axiom "Dead men tell no
tales," is thoroughly appreciated by
the Indian police, who as a rule leave
nothing-to chance. To reveal himself
would but precipitate his doom. It behooved
him, therefore, to remain silent,
and to trust to luck to extricate
himself from his unpleasant dilemma.
He conjectured rightly that the conspirators,
to avoid the possibility of
detection by chance wayfarers, would
defer the execution of their design until
they could act safely under the
cover of darkness. The moon was
shinning brightly in thaheavens; without
it was as light as day. Vishnudass
otILI o fou? hnnra of py
liicrnui c, uuu ovm u ?vu*? w
istence before him.
The unhappy usurer, crouched on the
floor of the chauki, trembling1 in every
limb, heard the details of the hideous
plot being gradually unfolded; how he
was to be murdered in his sleep; after
I which his corpse was to be dismembered
and buried under the mango trees,
where, it appeared, lay the mortal remains
of several other victims of the
j guardians of the peace. The murdering
and burying part of the business was
to be performed by the constables. The
Jemadar, who scorned to sully his
hands by dipping them in the blood of
a Hindu, would confine himself to
seizing the lion's share of the booty.
This worthy, after giving final instructions
to his subordinates, and assuring
them that he would return in a few
hours' time, mounted his horse and
rode back to Talagaum. VIshnudass,
though in the last stage of misery and
dejection, could not but admire the astuteness
of the police officer, who, taking
no risks, yet stood to win a large
? * ? % * 1 iim/lnw dlkviilor
siane; lor nt* kih-w mui, unu< i giwuiii
circumstances, he would have acted exactly
in the same way himself.
Falz Ahmad and Sheik Hoosein then
arranged that each should sleep in
turn, while the other kept watch. Vishnudass,
meanwhile, passed a weary
vigil, hoping and praying for succor.
Not a sound reached his ears save the
howling of the jackals scouring the
surrounding desert in quest of food,
and he shuddered at the thought that
these ravenous heats might ere long
be rending the flesh from his bones.
Two hours passed, and the moon was
beginning to fade from the sky when
the two constables commenced to converse
together in whispers. Vishnudass
with his ear applied to the grating,
heard Sheik Hoosein, the younger of
the pair, expostulate with his companion.
and declare he would be no party
to slaying a man, even a Hindu, in
cold blood; while Faiz Ahmad, evidently
a hardened villain steeped in
crime, jeered at him for his scruples
and accused him of cowardice. The
last taunt proved effective. Sheik
Hoosein ceased to demur further, but,
vowing that he needed a stimulant,
suggested that they would repair to
the nearest village and fortify themselves
with strong liquor?a proposal
to which Faiz Ahmad readily agreed.
The constables, peeping through the
grating of the chauki as a precautionary
measure, beheld the portly figure
of the Hindu stretched inert, and apparently
somnolent, on the bedstead,
and heard the heavy, stertorous breathing
as of one in deep slumber.
"The son of a burnt father sleeps
soundly, but will have a rude awakening,"
muttered Faiz Ahmad as he turned
away, satisfied with his inspection.
As soon as the coast was clear Vishnudass
ran to the clump of trees in
quest of his pony, but found him gone.
He determined, therefore, to take refuge
in the jungle, to reach which he
would have to traverse about a mile of
sandy desert. No sooner, however(
had he started than the sound of a
horse's hoofs clattering along the high
road from the direction of Talagaum
warned him'the Jemadar was returning.
Hastily retracing his steps, he
clambered up a tree, and screened him
self, as best he could, by lying at full
length along a thick branch. He was
only just in time. In a few minutes
the Jemadar arrived on the spot, and,
tethering his horse to the very tree up
which the usurer was concealed, entered
the chauki. Finding it empty,
and. concluding that his confederates
had already disposed of their, corpse, i
he flung himself down on the tharpoy, i
and was soon fast asleep.
Vishnudass in momentary expectation
of the reappearance of the Jema- i
dar, lay perfectly motionless, scarcely
daring to breathe, casting wistful eyes i
at the steed standing saddled and i
bridled so temptingly beneath him.
After a few minutes had passed, and
the Jemadar still gave no sign, Vish- ;
nudass, realizing that now or never
was his chance, slithered down the i
tree with remarkable agility for one
of his bulk, clambered into the saddle,
and, turning the horse off the ;
high-road, made for Talagaum by a i
circuitous route. i
Shortly after his departure the two
constables, mad with drink and lust- i
ing for blood, burst furiously into the i
chauki. In the dim light they dis- i
cerneu me iuiin ui a. man i/me |/?vuv
and helpless on the charpoy in the
abandon of profound slumber. With <
a savage yell they rushed upon the i
sleeper, and before he could rise <
hacked him almost to pieces with their i
sharp swords. '
"The Jemadar Sahib will have no <
reason to complain of the manner in 1
which we have carried out his or- i
ders," cried Faiz Ahmad, with a fiend- i
ish chuckle, "though we haven't I
made a very clean Job of it. Beat a <
hand, comrade, and we'll carry the '
unbelieving dog, or what's left of him, '
outside, and then relieve him of his i
money bags. You take his head and I
I'll take his heels." <
Sheik Hoosein was in the act of
raising the head of the murdered man, '
when his fumbling hands encountered I
a beard. With an exclamation of hor- <
ror he dropped his ghastly burden. 1
"What ails you, clumsy fool?" de- '
manded Faiz Ahmad angrily. 1
"The * Infidel has escaped us, and <
we've slain one of the faithful in- 1
stead," returned the other in awestricken
tones. "The dead man wears 1
a beard, so he can't be a Hindu."
"Impossible," retorted his compan- 1
ion. "You're either drunk or bereft '
of your senses."
"Judge for yourself, then," said
Sheik Hoosein, striking a match and
holding it close to the face of the
corpse. "And, what's more, we've killed
the Jemadar Sahib himself."
"Serves him right," said Falz Ahmad,
spurning the corpse brutally
with his foot. "Abdul Kadlr grew fat
and rich by the dirty work he delegated
to poor devils like ourselves, and
always took care to keep his own precious
neck out of reach of the halter.
At last he has fallen into the trap he
so often set for others. Kismet. It
remains only for us to bury him in the
grave intended for the Hindu, and
then to seek our fortunes farther
afield,"
Next day the superintendent of police,
acting on the Information supplied
by Vishnudass, caused the
ground under the mango grove near
the chauki to be dug up, and this led
to the discovery not only of the corpse
of the Jemadar, but of the remains of
numerous wealthy citizens whose disappearance
had been attributed to
the dacoits.
The virtuous Vishnudass, in recognition
of his eminent service, received
a handsome pecuniary reward from
the government, which enabled him to
extend widely his money-lending
operations and to increase proportionately
the number of his victims. Faiz
Ahmad and Sheik Hooseln found congenial
employment In the service of a
robber chieftain over the border, and
were never heard of again In British
territory.?Chalmers's Journal.
Modern Searchlight Control.?There
Is perhaps, no property of the searchlight
more important than Its capability
of throwing a powerful and concentrated
beam of light in any particular
direction. But the concentrated
beam is not always the most desirable.
There are times when a beam of
light well spread out over a large area
would be of very much more use.
Take, for instance, the case of a
steamer trying to pick up a buoy. It
is not very difficult to see that with a
concentrated beam having quite a
small amount of dispersion it would,
in most cases, take more time, than it
would with a less powerful light
spread out over a larger area. Having
once "spotted" the buoy, the concented
beam could be used with advantage
to follow it up. To provide this
dispersed beam a diverging lense or
"disperser" is used. This consists of
a number of cylindrical lenses mounter!
in n metal rlne. The direction of
the ray Is not interferred with in the direction
of the axis of the lens, but in
the direction at right angles to the
axis the ray is refracted as in the case
of an ordinary spherical lens. The
result is that, instead of a cone of
light having a focal point, there is a
wedge of light with a focal line.?Cassier's
Magazine.
W To do great things a man must
live as though he had never to die.
iHiscfllanfous grading.
MAY BE ISRAEL'S LOST TRIBE.
Circumstances Showing the Hebrew
Decent of American Races.
ta i- ?a j |m ala daaii ?# r*o_
II IB Wl UUWII III IIIC DUUIV Ul lawdras,
In the Apocrypha of the Bible,
that ten of the tribes of Israel Journeyed
northward one and a half years Into
a far country, where they might live
up to their commandments, something
they had not always done in their land
of Palestine; that they were lost track
of at the end of that time and nothing
has been heard from them since. They
sent back no word or message to th^lr
former companions and friends, and
where they went and what wa.', their
ultimate fate has been left- to blind
conjecture from that day to this.
The theory that the ten lost tribes
of Israel, after leaving their own country,
finally landed on the shores of
America, and established themselves
here is not a new onfe. It found lodgment
in the mind of Lord Klnsborough
and has been advanced by many others
since his day. Neither the adherence
to a religious creed nor even a belief
I? *Y\r\ AI lrlnn onlKnnf lolfir c\t tha Rlhlft
Is essential to the discussion of this
most interesting question.
In the books that comprise what Is
known as the old Bible, ancient authors
wrote exhaustively of the expe^
riences, both physical and spiritual, df
tfielr people. They gave their accouiit
of the creation of the earth, the faB
of man, the flood, the Tower of Babel
and many other unique things which
they regarded as the direct dealings of
God with them and their patriarchs
and the first man.
If the ancient inhabitants of America
were known to have been in possession
of legends that coincided almost
exactly with those of the ancient
Hebrews as related in the Bible, is it
not fair and logical to assume that tlje
former, at some time or another, by
some means or other, were in touch
with the progenitors of the Jewish people
or were a branch of that great people?
Have the discoveries of explorers
and American archaeologists solved
the mystery? Do the ancient records
found in the ruins of Mexico, Central
and South America and in many parts'
of the United States answer the v?uestlon
as to the lost tribes of Israel? I
think they do. 1
Before taking up the more serious
evidences that point to the Hebraic
origin of the ancient Americans let me
call the reader's attention to the physical
features of the American Indian.
His countenance has the indelible mark
of the Jewish race. The high cheek
bone, the high arched nose and the
slanting brow are unmistakable marks
of his Hebrew descent, a curse having
In all probability fallen upon the Indian
as upon the descendants of Hani.
[ merely mention this In passing, and ,
would not pretend to advance it as aJk,.
argument in support of my contention,
If it Were not sustained by many other
and more trustworthy evidences.
There were twelve tribes that made
up the original number of Israelltish
nations. And when they made sacrifices
they made them on an altar made
of twelve stones that had not been
broken by any instrument. Priest, in
his volume on "American Antiquities,"
declares that he encountered ample evidence
to show that many of the tribes
in Mexico and Central America offered
up sacrifices on altars made of
twelve stones, and that the sacrificial
form and ceremony were identical with
those of the ancient Hebrews. Most of
the Indian tribes still have the ancient
Hebrew way of reckoning time
as is depicted upon the famous Aztec
calendar stone.
On the authority of Dr. Le Plongeon,
the eminent archaeologist, who spent
eight years in Yucatan, assldiously
studying the ancient ruins of that
country, even the barbaric Toltecs left
undeniable evidences that they were
perfectly conversant with the Biblical
history of the creation and of the Garden
of Eden, and, of course, the two
illustrious pe' sonages who Inhabited it.
In the ruins of Copan, Dr. Le Plongeon
discovered a crude paint'ng representing
a woman seated beneath a
tree and a serpent entwined around
the base of it In the passage of the
years their version of the celebrated
temptation or tne motner or tne race
took on a more poetic form than the
one contained In the Bible. The Tolteos
had It that the woman?"Suchiquecal"
they called her?plucked a forbidden
rose from a tree and by that
act brought death upon the human
family.
These same Toltecs had the legend
of the Tower of Babel. Their version
of it did not vary from that of the
Bible In any essential feature. They
understood that this tower was built
for a refuge in the event of another
deluge. This, of course, also Indicates
their familiarity with the Bible story
of the deluge. They even had the particulars.
Their legend speaks of the man who
built a boat from a fire tree and that after
the flood had subsided he became
intoxicated on wine and allowed one of
his sons to disgrace him.
As late as 1819 the Shawnee Indians,
according to Black Hoop, one of their
chiefs, had a tradition that their forefathers
had come to this country
across a great body of water, and up
until the latter part of the eighteenth
century they made an annual sacrifice
tn celebrate. In thank offerine:. their safe
arrival on thla land.
In his "History of the Indians" Camara
publishes a statement made by
several of the early missionaries telling
of their experiences with an old
chief of a Nicaraguan tribe. They discovered
in their conversation with this
old Indian that he was as conversant
with the Bible version of the creation,
the fall, the deluge, and other notable
experiences of the ancient Hebrews as
were the missionaries themselves.
If one is sufficiently interested in this
subject to go into it deeper and more
thoroughly than I can take him in the
small space at my disposal, let him
read Paul de Roo's work on "Mexican
Antiquities."
These authors clearly establish that
the Aztecs were familiar with Hebrew
history as contained In the Bible. And
their man named Zelua led a colony
across a great body of land and then
of water to the New World. About the
only feature of the new country from
which this colony came that remained
in the Aztec tradition was that a high
temple had been built in it.
By the time of which De Roo writes
the Aztecs had lost the connection between
the country from which their
ancestors came and the legend of the
Garden of Dden, the flood and the Tower
of Babel. They supposed those things
had happened In the new country.
The Aztecs have left the most Interesting
ruins perhaps of any nation that
flourished In America In the far past 1
But I have no doubt that in the near
future the many buried cities and oth- :
ers submerged under the sea, recently 1
discovered off the coast of Yucatan, 1
with their records and histories, will '
have been unearthed and that the
true origin of America's ancient races
will be made known by the discovery
of some key to their hieroglyphics, an
Aztec "Rosetta Stone."
These people committed the record
of their travels and subsequent history
In America to painting. These paintings
have been gathered, or at least
most of them have, and are contained
in the Boturlnl collection and publish- *
ed by Cameth Carert and others.
Here we have, In these paintings, al- <
most unimpeachable evidences of the
fact that, so far as the Aztecs were e
concerned, they knew all about the '
Biblical version of the creation and <
those other events of which I have 1
spoken. All these records w#re made f
hundreds of years before Columbus (
was born. '
All Americans should take active in- t
tArMl In the hlntnrv of their ennntrv 1
and of all the races that have ever Inhabited
it As I said before, It does
not matter what one's religious belief
Is, or his lack of a belief, the subject
is one that should interest all,
purely for scientific and historic reasons,
if for no other.
If it can be established so clearly as
to leave no room for doubt that a great
branch of the ancient Hebrew race
came to America, and are really the
progenitors of the Indian trib i, it
would be a discovery of trein^ idous
importance.
To my mind the Hebrew origin of
the Indian is already established.
Ever since I can remember I have
had a great curiosity to know about
the ancient people of America, And
there was one race that captivated my
imagination. This was the Aztecs. I
read everything I could get my hands
on that dealt with them in any way,
and the more I read and investigated
their history the more impressed I be
came with their essentially dramatic
characteristics.?Baltimore Sun.
FINGER PRINTS FOR BABIE8
How New York Guards the Identity
of Abandoned Little Ones.
In the borough of Manhattan, N. Y.,
In 1911, more than 100 abandoned babies
were taken to Bellevue hospital
alone to be cared for by the public or
passed on to private charities.
In the same year this hospital received
as maternity cases about 500
women. Usually a woman leaves the
hospital two weeks after her child is
born. How many of the babies brought
as foundlings to Bellevue were born in
this same institution, taken away by ?
the mothers and later abandoned, no
one can tell. Nor can It be known t
which of them were born in the other <
hospitals in New York. Once in a t
great while a foundling baby is recog- 1
nlzed by the nurses as one of which ?
they already have record, and the i
mother is thereby discovered. But the f
identification of the babies and conse- <
quently of the mothers can be accom- 1
piished in every case and by the aim- 1
plest possible process?finger print the t
babies.
Is it possible to finger print very <
KoKloo? An ornwlmpnt ilist ner- (
formed has shown that the tiny Angers
of the baby in the earliest days of life
afTord well defined impressions.
Finger print Impressions were taken
recently in the baby ward at Bellevue
hospital. Baby C., two weeks old, was
quite unconcerned in the finger printing
process; Baby McD., however,
who had been in the world five weeks
and six days, wailed at the intrusion of
unexpected guests, but was quieted by
the assurance that only in the Interest
of science were his impressions wanted.
All the features which characterize
the adult finger print, loops, whorls,
and arches with clearly defined ridges,
deltas, terminals, etc., are distinct in
the smallest baby's fingers and thumbs.
Finger printing each baby required
less than two minutes, and all in the
ward could have been accomplished in
an hour or two. These impressions can
be taken by anyone with a little practice.
Classification and identification
require special knowledge, but are not
difficult to learn. Only an expert, however,
is familiar with the thousand
ways in which two finger impressions
may be distinguished.
The best results in the identification
of foundling babies could be obtained
If all public and charitable hospitals
sent to a central bureau a record of
each maternity case, including flqger
print impressions of the baby with a
description of the mother. When a
baby is found abandoned its finger
print impressions also can be taken
and sent to the central bureau. If the
abandoned baby was bom in ode of
the institutions sharing in the bureau,
the impressions would be immediately
rwn?ii!i!wi and the baby and its moth
er identified.?Philadelphia Ledger.
The Signature Broker.?The passage
of the initiative and referendum
amendjnent at the last election has
given rise to a new business In Denver
and in Colorado.
This is the business of the signature
broker.
According to the constitution at, It
stands now any law to be initiated
that is offered to the people direct.,
without the intervention of the action
of the legislature, must have signatures
to tfie number of 10 per cent of
the number of votes cast for governor
at the last state election.
A great many people have bills
which they think are good, but of
whose merits they have never been
able to convince the legislature. Nelth
er do they Know now 10 my men ease
before the people.
Enter the signature broker.
The signature broker offers to get
all the signatures needed to Initiate
any law, provided he is paid at the
rate of 10 cents a signature.
When the bargain is struck he employs
canvassers, whom he pays at the
rate of 1 cent to lj cents each for signatures,
leaving a pretty fair margin
of profit.?New York American,
WILY 8MUGGLERS OF CHINE8E.
How Government Agents are Baffled
By Coffins and loe Chests.
When last Tuesday's papers told
how Patrolman Cornelius Connell, on
his Harlem beat, had come upon a
red touring car with five Chinese
coolies hid in the tonneau, most people
probably thought how extraordinary
it was that any one should be so
anxious to be an American as to
smuggle himself into the country, like
cigarettes or silk stockings. On the
contrary, it was quite the usual thing
for Chinamen to do. The unusual
feature of the Incident was that the
coolies actually got to New York
without being detected. Most Chinamen
who meditate nefarious entry of
:hls country, and the setting up of
spurious residence here, undertake
that most difficult task with some decree
of caution. They do not attempt
it the start to reach the Mecca of the
Americanized Celestial?New York's
Chinatown.
Having set foot on United States
toil, either by way of the Puget Sound
oute on a lumber schooner, the Rio
Grande, Buffalo waterfront, a New
Bngland Ashing port, In any one of a
lozen or more wily ways, the average
Chinaman possesses sufficient common
sense not to travel to places
vhere extra Chinamen are likely to
>e marked. New York, big as It Is, Is
i bad place for a new Chinaman, uness
he has already begged, borrowed,
nherlted or stolen, the necessary
dentification papers, which declare
dm entitled to the privileges ofresdence
under the provisions of the
Chinese Exclusion act
A sensible coolie, tipped off by his
'rlends or the backer who has supriled
the money with which he pays
its way in, having crossed the border
it a point where passage Is a simple
natter, goes at once to a comparalvely
small town as his first stopping
riace. Small towns, some distance In
he interior of the country, do not
lave stations of the Chinese lnspeclon
bureau of the department of
commerce and labor. Neither do they,
ls a rule, have especially efficient poIce
forties. If there are one or two
aundrles or curio stores, it is easy
enough for the newcomer to be passed
off as a "brother" or "cousin"
rom San Francisco, Portland, or
ome other city having a colony. Since
he earthquake destroyed San Frandsco's
vital statistics, that city has
>een a particularly favored blrthspot
or stray Celestials. , ,
Strange as it may seem, the Chinanan
will endure any hardship, however
painful, to enter this "promised
and," where people are "easy pickng"
and laundry bills are fat. When
he Chinaman learns at school in Hu?eh,
say, or Shensi, how. much profit
here is in the American's laundry
vork his one ambition is to wrest a
Chinese fortune of a few thousand
lollars from the "foreign devils" and
eturn to Hu-Peh or Shensi and be:ome
a mandarin?or now, a reprelentatlve
in Parliament.
To enter, the Chinaman cheerfully
illows himself to be crated in boxes
>r nailed In casks with only a small
lir hole for relief. He has even been
cnown to cross the border in Pullnan
car ice-chests and in coffins. It
vas only three or four years ago that
jovernment secret service men dis:overed
that twelve Chinamen had
ohlnnoil tn Maw York from El
Paso In coffins and had suffocated on
:he way.
Another time, even more recently,
ileven Chinamen were dragged out of
i freight car In Texas, where they had
>een almost sufTocated by the load of
lay under which they had concealed
:hemselve8. The Immigration auhoritles
in New England got a tip
leveral years ago and raided a yacht
is It came to anchor In Boston harjor,
loaded with cooiles from St.
Johns. Then there was the notorious
:ase of the Frolic, caught In the harbor
of Province. At one time there
was an organized traffic In Chinamen
from the eastern Canadian and New
Brunswick ports to Boston, ProviJence,
and smaller New England harbors;
but It is asserted by the Federal
luthorltles now that this has been
broken up, so far as any system Is
;oncerned. That Chinamen are still
smuggled Into New England with irregular
frequency probably not even
the most confident official in Washington
would deny.
But for the vigilance of immigration
Inspectors the smuggling business
would be one of immense proportions.
It pays handsomely to
smuggle a Chinaman into this country.
Chinamen are valued at about 1
&500 each by their own countrymen,
ind Harry R. Sisson, chief inspector
nf the local Chinese bureau at No. 17
State street, estimates that the minimum
bounty paid for entering is $300.
Indeed, the outside Chinaman is so
inxlous to be inside "alle same Mell
:an cninee man" inai a rauguucu
pondage system has been built up,
whereby the newcomer works out his
Indebtedness to the merchant who
advances the price of his admission.
Briefly, here Is the scheme generally
followed: Suppose some launIryman
In Brooklyn has built up a
profitable trade and has a bit of monjy
:'n the bank. He needs an assistant
to handle the Increasing business.
Chinese labor Is not easily come
by. After a Chinaman has been here
i short time he owns his own business.
Only the greenhorns are willing
to work for anyone else. The
laundryman gets In touch?through
bis tong, perhaps. If he belongs to one
of the great Chinese brotherhoods,
which are something like fraternal
mutual benefit organizations and Joint
stock concerns?with those who are
professionally engaged In the smuggling
business. There are certain
bands who have perfect systems for
this smuggling.
The prosperous laundryman passes
[he word along to these purveyors
that he wants a "boy." Perhaps It Is
feasible to bring in the "Jpoy" as the
jon of the merchant who desires his
iervlces. and a forged birth certificate
nay be provided for him to make
?ood his Identity. But immigration
ifflelals are so strict that not many of
:hese attempts are made. It is gen?rally
better to endeavor to smuggle
:he newcomer safely into the Interior
)f the country before trying to set
fiim up as a regular inhabitant of the
United States. One of the favorite
Tieans of smuggling employed is to
take the "boy" across the Rio Grand
under cover of darkness or in dls
guise, or even to slip him througl
some isolated pass on the gulf cost
There are thousands of small island
along the coast of Louisiana which af
ford retreats for Chinamen who ar
trying to evade the law, and sometime;
the illegals are rounded up in the bay
ous like so many flsh in a net
"Of course, the Mexican border L
the place we have to watch closest,'
said Inspector Slsson. "You see i
Chinaman has to pay a head tax o
$500 to get Into Canada In the firs
place. Let me tell you, we know fron
our investigations that there is verj
little smuggling of Chinamen lnt<
Canada. There Is no tax Upon China
men entering Mexico, so it costs then
exactly $600 less to get Into this country
across the southern border. However,
a good many do try the northern
frontier, mind you, after all. It li
sometimes Inconvenient for a Chinaman
to get to Mexico, and they aresc
wild to get into this country that $50C
will not stop them if it seems the
quickest way to work the tHck.
"This office in New York is charged
with supervision of the states of New
York and New Jersey. The Buffalc
waterfront is about the hardest proposition
we have. There are fifteen 01
twenty miles of waterfront on Lake
Erie, along which It is perfectly prac
ticable for Chinese smuggler? to land.
We must keep a lookout for them
constantly?although, at that, they
put It over us, now and then, I presume.
We have only had two or three
cases In the last few months, However
?two or three cases that were detected,
I should say.
"I should say, offhand, that by far
the bulk of the smuggling goes on in
the west, along the Pacific coast,
which Is so much nearer to China
The smugglers even succeed in landing
boat loads of Chinks right In San
Francisco. It was not so long ago
that a boat load was caught In a creek
near Oakland. A schooner full ol
them had been brought up from
southern California, steered In through
the Golden Gate, and sailed up the
bay. She was a fishing vessel, and
the cargo of coolies was concealed
under piles of nets. As I remember,
our men were tipped off In advance.
Otherwise, the w.iole load would have
got ashore, and all or many of them
might have managed to escape us by
some contrivance or other.
"They are confoundedly clever at
getting hold of forged certificates. It
goes without saying that anything In
the shape of an official paper that ever
gets Into a Chinaman's hands Is religiously
preserved to the last scrap,
and handed down from generation to
generation. Chinamen are alwayi
coached before the attempt to entei
the country. Nowadays they even
have their hair cut and wear Ameii
can clothes, like the five who were
captured this week. That was a near
squeak. They were taken just in time.
A few more hours and they mlghl
have been lost to us. Despite our best
efforts It would have been at best a
long and tedious task to run them
down. They have the trick of swapping
papers down to a fine art"
To get back to tne question 01 m?
"Imported" Chinaman. If he has been
successfully smuggled past the Immigration
officials, the illegal Celestial
dutifully goes to work for the man
who furnished him with transportation.
He does not think of Jumping
his obligation to this master. There
has not been such a case within the
memory of the oldest immigration inspector.
Partly, this is because of the
Chinaman's sense of honesty and integrity
toward all obligations. Partly,
too, it is due to the fact that while a
Chinaman is hard at work he is Inconspicuous,
and the Inspectors are
less likely to get on his trail.
So each week he contributes a percentage
of his wages toward the repayment
of that $500, never attempting
to jump his contract And so day
by day he trudges to his work with a
?>-anniinttv that is incomprehensible
to the western mind, and in due
course of time, not a very long time tc
the expansive vision of an Oriental,
he becomes a free agent. By now he
has habituated himself to the wayi
of the country; if he had no adequate
papers he has certainly managed tc
secure them, and he is in every sense
of the word his own master?subject
merely to a certain form of espionage
by the Federal authorities.
On the other hand the smuggled
Chinaman knows that he Is never altogether
safe from the prying eyes ol
the law. He probably will not be
found out; the chances are against it
The Chinese Exclusion law, by the
way, is a very peculiar document. II
defines laborers and merchants, and
stipulates that Chinese laborers hav
lng once departed from the United
States, may not return, unless thej
show that they have a lawful wife
child or parent In this country
property that Is worth at least $1,00(
or debts of like amount falling du<
and pending settlement. Now, then
is not a Chinaman in the country wh<
will not enthusiastically lend a wife
child, parent and documentary evidence.
money, or even debts to asslsi
the return of a countryman, anc
swear himself blue in the face to perpetuate
the fraud. Anything goes wit*
a Chinaman, so long as it is "on" the
United States government. Indeed
after a slight examination of the question
of Chinese smuggling, one is inclined
to discredit the old theory ol
the lack of humor in the Chinese
character.
One of the cleverest tricks worked
by the Chinese is the way they carrj
on a slave trade, in the most open and
barefaced manner, by means of the
very papers issued for restrictive purposes
by the government Every Chinese
parent of wealth has no peace ol
heart until his daughter has been senl
back to her grandparents in China
But, always on the lookout for profits
immediately before the girl's departure
the father takes her before the
immigration commissioner and secures
a legal certificate of re-entry foi
his child. Confident that, his own
daughter will thereafter remain safely
In the land of her ancestors, he
auctions off the re-entry paper to the
highest bidder among the highbinders
and slave traders that infest all
Chinese colonies.
Certificate safe in hand, the slave
dealer sets sail for China, and traverses
its rivers, plains and mountain
sides until he finds a "double" foi
e the so-styled "adjudicated native," of
the United Statea. Sometimes much
& elaborate precautions are ifnored; a
L little make-up gives some resems
blance to the description written In
- the official document But they ale
ways promise her parents that she
s shall marry some wealthy American
ized Chinaman; they drill her in
* American phrases and a superficial
> knowledge of tjie United States and
' the ways of Its Chinese. They occai
sionally even go so far as to have the
f father of the original girl on hand to
meet tne dupe at the time of her entrance,
examination and Inspection,
and put up a fine show of parental
affection. But a few houra later she
Is a slave girl. This Is the end of the
worst of the Chinese smuggling.?
New Tork Evening Sun.
WIG8 OF OFFICE IN ENQLANO '
Fallen into Disuse and Only Judges
and Lawyers Wear Them.
Nowadays wigs of office form a decaying
race. The lordly full bottomed
wig of his majesty's judges still re1
mains, but more than one stern justice
' has 'been known to cool his fevered
* brow on a scorching day by discarding
" his imposing but oppressive head covering.
So late as the year 1880 bishops
' wore wigs when seated In the house of
lords, but since that date the custom
has fallen Into disuse.
' With the exception of the speaker of
' the house of commons the law retains
1 a monopoly of the wig. Barristers and
wiiviwi* niu* uiu
' Judges, but with far smaller and mo!*e
' comfortable "thatches." Then again
there is the wig of- servitude worn by
' footmen and other flunkle* and care>
fully dusted over with flour or powder.
ed oatmeal.
Search Great Britain and you will
hardly And half a dosen wig makers?
i that is, manufacturers of the ceremo>
nlal article. A full bottomed wig, such
: as a Judge would buy for twelve guln1
eaa, would last the remainder of his
life, and there have been very few
i Judges who have bought a second,
i Lawyers and barristers pay five guineas
for their official headdress, and
generally speaking, one wig is sufficient
for an entire professional career.
All official wigs are made from horse
i hair, and a maker of these articles
must search over more than a hundredweight
of stock hair to obtain a pound
worthy of use for this august purpose.
The hairs are built up three at a time
on a foundation of silk and a wooden
model is made of the subjects^ head
Dei ore me iuk commences.
Strictly speaking, official wigs areas
old as the hills. They have been found
on the heads of Egyptian mummies .
and were certainly known to the Greeks
and Romans. In the eighteenth century?the
senlth of the wig era?there
were thirty or forty varieties. Then,
the more Important the wearer the
larger the wig, hence our term "bigwig,"
applied to a magistrate.
Very different is the story of the shy
retiring wig whose mission is unblushingly
to mask baldness. Very often a
man, finding a white, bare patch on
his head, will have a "scalpette" made
to fit the spot so accurately as to defy
detection. As the bald spot increases,
so does the scalpette, until eventually
it becomes a wig, held in place by light
steel springs, clipping over the ears.
A man may be called upon to pay as
much as twenty guineas for a wig,
particularly if his natural hair is of an
unusual color. Each individual hair
in the wig must be built up separately
and cut to length on a foundation of
hair net
Women naturally Indulge in false
treeses to & far greater extent than the
mere man. The milliner's a.* Itself
often demands the aid of artificial hair
and nowadays Instead of the hat being
made up for the wearer, the wearer
must be made up for the hat Transformations,
pompadours, toupees, ringlets,
fringes and hair nets are a few
varieties of hirsute adornment prepared
for the fair sex.
A good deal of the so-called hair is
made from silk. It takes dye readily *
and lastingly, curls well and washes
admirably. A length of hair such as
one may buy at a suburban hairdresser's
for a couple of shillings probably
Is made from silk.?Answers.
Charming People of Fox*?'The people
of Fes are charming. During one's
walks or rides through the town it is
quite the exception, to be spat at, as is
often the case in other ultra-Mohammedan
towns, and the crowds, on the
wholes merely smiling and inquisitive,
like a crowd in Naples or any other
souin iittiiu.ii iuwii.
s Now and then some fanatic?generl
ally an epileptic?will try to raise a
I disturbance and will be gently retnov
ed by his friends; the Moors are kindI
ness itself in the face of poverty or afr
diction?but except for these and a few
, casual curses from the old and soured,
, the Christian dog may pursue his way
> in comparative peace, provided ho does
i not attempt to enter a mosque or pass
i the barriers placed in front of those
> streets leading up to the tomb of Mou,
lal Idris, the founder and patron arint
of Fez, by whom all good Fezzites
t swear, says the Pall MaM Oazette.
I Curiously enough in Fez the camera
- causes much less alarm than In Tant
frier and a great deal of Interest, and,
5 whereas In Tangier the people cower
, away and hide their faces in fear of the
. evil eye, in Fez they flock round one
. so assiduously that the taking of plcf
tures is often very difficult
? Perhaps one of the most astonishing
things after having seen the state of
I the other more "civilized".towns is the
r cleanliness of the "new" town. ComI
pared with Tangier, which is supposed
, to be scavenged by the great powers, it
is sweet; Instead of *he smells of decaying
produce and others too myste,
rious to fathom, on. is agreeably as.
sailed on all sides by the scent of the
orange blossom and pink rose petals
{ piled up in the shops and sold for distillation,
and the pungent smell of the
mint of which the Moors are so fond.
Beyond the town, sad to relate, the
. state of affairs is terrifying.
8ht Wat Still Thar*.?The sick man
s had Just come out of a loner delirium.
) "Where am I?" he said feebly, as he
felt the loving hands making him comI
fort able. "Where am I? In heaven?"
"No, dear," cooed his devoted wife,
i "I am still with you."
When a man's conscience troubles
him he thinks he has Indigestion.