The Aiken recorder. [volume] (Aiken, S.C.) 1881-1910, August 30, 1889, Image 4
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A FATAL RAVINE.
A Place in Yellowstone Park
Where the Air is Poisonous.
The Bones of Many Animals
Found in the Deadly Gulch.
“In Yellowstone Park there is a ra-
▼ine that proves as deadly to animal life
as that Djath Valley of Java, where wild
beasts perish by the score, ” said Henry
W. McIntyre at the Palace Hotel the
other night. The gentleman was con
nected with the party who surveyed the
Teservation, under the leadership of Ar.
nold Hague, the park geologist. While
following the streams to trace the ex
tinct hot springs the explorers reached a
ravine in which the bones of many ani
mals, bears, deer, rabbits, and squirrels,
were found. The presence of the re
mains caused the party much wonder,
and a solution of the strange affair was
found only when a crow that had been
seen to fly from the side of the valley to
a carcass that was yet fresh lit on its
p:cy, and almost immediately fell to the
ground.
“The death of the bird,” continued
Mr. Mein yre, “was caused by gaseous
exhalations, whose presence in the park
had been before unsuspected. The
larger game also met its death by inhal
ing the deadly gas. The ravine is in
the northeastern part of the park, in the
vicinity of the mining camp of Cooke
creek, and not far from the line of the
mail route. AU about this region gas
eous exhalations are given off, which
form sulphurous deposits. In the al
most extinct hot spring areas of Soda
Butte, Lamar River, and Cache and
Miller creeks the ravine was found.
This region is rarely visited, although
it is an admirable spot forgame, which,
however, goes unmolested by man, the
law’s against hunting being very severe.
The road to the valley has few attrac
tions, and the visitors to the fossil
forests and Hindoo basin seldom make
the trip.
“In the centre of a meadow, reached
by an old elk trail, is a shallow de
pression that w T as once the bed of a hot-
spring pool. This is now dry and is
covered with a slight deposit of salt,
and that is a bait that attracts the elk
and other game of that region. The
‘lick’ extends for seventy-five yards up
the ravine, and is thicker and more
palpable toward the upper end. The
creek runs past along the side of the
valley and boils and bubbles as if it
were the outlet of a hot spring. But
the water is cold, and the disturbance
on its surface is caused by the emission
of gas, mainly carbonic acid. It also
contains sulphur, as particles of that are
on the sides of the creek. As^ we^
went up the stream the odor of
sulphur became very strong and caused
irritation of the bronchial passages.
About eighty yards above Cache Creek
were the bones of a large bear, and
near by was a smaller grizzly decom
posed, but with the skin and hair yet
fresh. Only a short distance farther
on were the skeletons of many more
animals, such as elk and deer and other
large game. Squirrels, rabbits, birds,
and insects were lying about in quanti
ties, and the ravine looked as if it had
been the ‘scoop* of a drive into which
the animals of the park had been hunt
ed .ami had been left there to die of
hunger out of mere wantonness. There
were no wounds apparent on the bodies
before us; all the animals had been as
phyxiated by the deadly gases that
hung a few feet from the surface of the
gulch.
“The first bear we saw was a good
way down the gulch, where a neck is
formed. To that point the gas must
have been driven by the wind, and its
deadly nature may be easily guessed
when it is remembered that the slight
est motion causes a diffusion of ether
that would tend to decrease its noxious
properties. Here is the explanation of
the oft-repeated assertion that game was
being exterminated by hunters in the
Yellowstone, notwithstanding the strin
gent laws that had been passed for the
protection of animals there. I had seen
it noted that each year bears, deer,
mountain tigers and other wild animals
were disappearing from the reservation,
and it was asserted that friends of the
people who had charge of the park were
allowed to hunt there in defiance of the
law. There were probably 150 bodies
of wild animals in the gulch w’hen I was
there. But, although there were skele
tons entire and single bones, it rau*t not
be supposed these were the remains of
all the game that had found death iu the
ravine. They had accumulated only
since the last rain storm. Through this
gulch a mountain torrent runs when the
snows have melted from the mountains
or after a hard rain. Then all things,
stones, bones, and bodies, are tumbled
together on tbeir way to the mouth of
the gulch, whence they are carried away
iu the creeks or are left to mark the
course of the stream and bleach on the
table lands. I had noticed near the
Mammoth Hot Springs the bodies of
mice and bugs, but had never attributed
their presence to the deadly gases that
were so rapidly killing off the large
game of the park.
Sharpshoctlng Fish.
Dr. Carl Meister, a German traveller,
is telling some very curious stories just
now about shooting fish which he found
in the rivers and small lakes of Siam.
The shooting fish passes most of its
time doing nothing in the deep, quiet
pools near the shore. When it becomes
hungry it swims slowly down stream
near the surface of the water. As soon
as it sights a fly or bug on a bush or bit
of grass at the water’s edge it floats up to
a position within two or three feet of the
insect. For a few seconds it remains
motionless, apparently taking aim with
its mouth about a hair’s breadth under
water. Then it projects its under jaw
slightly beyond the upper jaw and fires
from the little round aperture thus
formed a drop of water at the fly or bug.
This drop of water moves with lightning
rapidity, and invariably hits the insect
at which it is aimed. The insect falls
into the water and the fish gobbles it.
Dr. Meister says he has often seen a
shooting fish bag thirty or more insects
in quick succession after this fashion.
Bugs with hard shells or heavy wings
are sometimes impervious to the shoot
ing fish’s drop of water. Any ordinary
insect, however, of smaller size than the
end of a man’s thumb is usually knocked
senseless by it.
In Siam Dr. Meister caught and pre
served in his aquarium several shooting
fish. They became very tame. They
would shoot at almost any kind of an
object that was held over their tank.
To test the accuracy of their aim. Dr.
Meister occasionally held over the tank
a bit of white pasleboard, on which
was painted a black fly of about half
the size of the top of a lead pencil.
Ninety-nine times out of a hundred the
fish hit the fly squarely, and the one 1
hundredth time missed it only by a
hair’s breadth. The end of a pencil, or
a finger, or any small, round object,
held over the tank, always attracted a
tiny shower of drops from the fish be
low. Three of the shooting fish were
trained by Dr. Meister to jump five or
six inches out of water to sret bits of
food from between his fingers. Dr.
Meister considers a shooting fish to be
the most intelligent of all fish, and
destined to supplant gold fish in the
parlor aquariums of Europe and
America. The shooting fish is usually
the size of a man’s hand, short and
thick, and of a grayish-green color.
Four heavy black stripes cross its back,
which, near the sides, is of a silvery
hue. It is a very shy and cautious fish,
is rarely found near other fish and is
very difficult to catch.
A Height of Atlantic Waves.
Accurate measurements prove that,
during stonus, waves in the Atlantic
rarely exceed forty-three feet from hol
low to crest, the distance from crest to
■ f ictft7—fffltl t’uu'n V.'peuCi
thirty-two and onc-half miles an hour.
More recent observations in the Atlantic
give forty-four to forty-eight feet as the
highest measured waves; but such
heights are rarely reached, and, indeed,
waves exceeding thirty feet arc very
seldom encountered. The monsoon
waves at Kurrhchee breakwater works
were found to dash over the wall to the
depth of thirteen feet, or about forty
feet above mean sea level. The greatest
height of waves on the British coast
were those observed in Wick Bay, so
famous for the exceptionally heavy seas
which roll into it, being thirty-seven
and one-half to forty feet. Gicer. seas
to the depth of twenty-five feet poured
over the parapet of the breakwater at
intervals of from seven to ten minute?,
each wave, it was estimated, being a
mass of 40,000 tons of water, and this
continuously for three days and nights.
During severe storms the waves used to
rise high above the top of Smeaton’s
Eddystoue tower, while at Bell Rock
the seas, with easterly storms, envelope
the tower from base to balcony—a
height of 400 feet.
A “WHITE CHIEF.”
Colonel Jordan, a Pale-faced
Leader of the Sioux Nation.
How He Persuaded the Indians
to Cede Their Lands.
Erratic Courses of Bullets.
Bullets have been known to flatten
round a bone as if the bone, having been
broken, had been thus joined W’ith the
pliant lead. In another curious case, a
bullet went exactly six times in and out
of a skirmisher’s body without doing
him any serious harm. Kuceling when
firing the ball had passed first in and
out of ouc ar.n, had traversed the ribs,
entering one side and making its exit
at the other, and finished its erratic
course by entering and finally taking
Us departure from the other arm of that
curiously perforated soldier. Another
bullet passed through thick plate-glass
and smashing against a wall, flew into
particles, bespattering a man’s face
without seriously injuring him; while
the instance of a little child, -who, en
deavoring to stop, in her childish play
fulness, what turned out to be a spent
cannon-ball, which danced like a play
thing before her, and who was crushed
to death by its falling on her as she
ran forward to catch it, is still fresh iu
the memory.—Argonaut.
The Eighth Wonder.
Gus: “Frank is an original man ”
Joe: “How so?”
Gus: “I met him. He was seedy
fend I offered to lend him 50 dollars.”
Joe: “Well?”
Gus: “He said 10 dollars would do.’
TUe Snow Plant.
The snow plant was first discovered
in the Sierras by a naturalist accom
panying General Fremont’s party to the
Pacific slope in 1843. The early de
velopment of the plant takes place un
der banks of deep snow. They come
to the surface as the snow melts away
from them. A recent arrival from
Emerald bay brought with him a plant
the stem of which is eighteen inches in
length. It is kept in snow and looks as
healthy as when it was plucked from
the place where it grew. — Virginia City
(fitv.) Chronicle.
The “white chief” whose marriage to
a squaw princess put it in his power to
become a leader of the Sioux Nation is
Colonel Charles P. Jordan, and to his
influence more than to that of any other
white man, except General Crook, is due
the ratification at the great Rosebud
Agency of the act dividing the Indian
reservation in severalty among the Sioux
and opening up to the whites a vast and
fertile tract of land in Dakota. Mr.
Jordan not unnaturally feels pleased
with the result of the labors of the Com
mission at Rosebud, where he is now the
Government’s licensed trader, and where
he was for a year or two in partnership
with Marion D. Lytle, the stepson of
President Harrison’s brother Car
ter, and nephew of General William H.
Lytle.
Colonel Jordan is a spare but well
proportioned man of keen, penetrating
eye, bronzed face, brown hair and mus
tache and medium height. By right of
marriage to an Indian princess he is a
“white chief,” and has more influence
among the Sioux than any other white
man perhaps in Dakota. When asked
how the Sioux were persuaded to cede
their lands and what were the new and
dramatic features of the ceremony,Colo
nel Jordan said:
“We first called the half breeds and
•squaw men’ together and argued the
matter to them. The next day we ap
peared in the grand council, which was
exclusive and where a large crowd had
assembled. I made an earnest speech
after several chiefs had spoken bitterly
against the bill. Afterward when the
main council with the commissioners
was held, when the crisis was expected,
and when hundreds of warriors had at-
sembled, the hea l chief, Swift Bear,
called upon me to speak after several
Indian chiefs had talked against the
bill.
“I referred to my speech made in the
Indian council and advanced other argu
ments. When I sat down I saw that
while many were willing to sign, each
feared to take the initiative from dread
of the opposing chiefs. Knowing Crow
Dog, the slayer of Spotted Tail, to be
all right, because of conversations I had
had with him, and knowing that he
was more feared and fearless than any
other Indian, I quietly moved over to
where he sat and asked him t<^ come
forward with me and start the signing.
* -He got up, and another influential
Indian, Standing Bear, accompanied us
"to Hie tabic at which the Commissioners
sat. They both signed their games,
and I then motioned to the head'chief,
Swift Bear, to come forward. He did
so and signed. Then the rush ' com
menced, and two additional tables had
to be supplied to accommodate those
who wished to sign, and hundreds came
forward, and the work was favorably
commenced. The next day another
counsel with the kickers was held by the
Commission and Two Strike and several
other chronic kickers again harrangued
against the bill, and things looked very
unfavorable. When Two Strike had
concluded his bitter speech I sat in the
rear of Gen. Crook and suggested that,
notwithstanding the unfavorable appear
ances of things, he notify all who de
sired to sign that they could do so at the
agency office. The council then broke
up and many started for the agency
office. I went there also and, seeing the
crowd was unable to sign as fast as was
required, I asked that another table be
furnished. This was done and enough
signatures were obtained to make the
negotiations successful here.
‘ 'Several councils were held by the
Commissioners with the Indians, during
which time my lieutenants did the in
terpreting along with Louis Richards,
and when the councils broke up the four
of us corralled the kickers and brought
most of them to time.”
Colonel Jordan is about forty years of
age. He has several children by bis
Sioux wife, and a valuable and well
stocked cattle ranch near Rosebud. The
influence of such men with the Indians
is one of the most hopeful signs of the
progress the two races are making to
wards a better understanding of each
other.—A'ew York World.
Rat and Poll Parrot.
Chris Pharo owns a poll parrot that is
a dandy. The other morning a rat,
lured by the luscious smells of the bake
shop, left the stenches of the cellar and
sewer, and, climbing up stairs, made a
raid on cream puffs, gorged down a few
tarts, nibbled the macaroons, and sam
pled the pies and giugerbread before his
depredations were discovered. Then he
was hustled off with a vengeance, and,
rushing into the room where the parrot
was, succeeded in breaking into Polly’s
cage. Polly was playing circus with
her claws and bill, and when she spied
the rat she came down on his back with
both claws and he d it firmly to the
bottom of the cage. The rat rolled
over and twisted its head around,
squealing like mad as Polly pecked at
its eyes and soon had them both out.
The rat snapped and tore out some of
Polly's feathers, but she held fast to the
varmint and succeeded in killing it.
Then mounting her perch and ruffling
her feathers about her neck, she au-
aouaced, “Polly waats a cracker.”
A Perennial Lai
Joseph G ear Johnson‘was sent to
Roff Home, at 31 tson, Ga.. a few days
ago, and his cisc is probably one of the
most remarkable that ever went to that
or any other hospital.
He is a paralytic, anl one side is en
tirely useless. The stroke came on him
some two months ago. He is a locomo
tive engineer, and was able to mak- a
good living. He had seen a good deal
of the world, and geuerally saw the
bright side of it. It was in the town
of Clinton, S. C., that the stroke came
on him. He was on a run that carried
him into that town. He was one day
doing some work on his engine and
talking to some one ^standing near.
At the moment he received the blow he
was in the act of laughing and, strange
to say, the muscles and nerves of the
face that are brought most into play m
the act of laughing are the ones that are
most affected, and over' these he has no
control whatever. He feels, of course,
as if there is little left for him to live
for, being utterly helpless.' But he can
not think of it nor tell of hist roubles
and the doubts and fears that torment
him without laughing.
He has a wife and five children, and
when this affliction came upon him he
went to his father-in-law, who lives in
Wilmington, N. C., and told him of
his condition and of his inability to care
further for his family, and telling him
at the same time that he did not wish to
be a burden upon any one, but would
go somewhere and seek seclusion and
calmly await the closing of what was
henceforth to be a useless life. The re
cital of his parting with his wife was
most pathetic and heartrending,yet with
tears in his eyes and a heart full of ago
ny he was forced to as though ho
was telling the mostbJBrwous incident.
He has wandered from one country to
another, and has frequently gone for
several days without a* morsel to eat.
Recently he spent a n:ght in the woods
in a violent rain storm.^ His crippled
leg refused so serve hiss!. 1 longer, and he
was compelled without shelter, to take
the violence of the storm. His thin
clothing was wet to the skin, he suff
ered the pangs of hunger, and the reci
tal of it made him shudder all over, yet
he laughed all the time he was telling
it. It was a most pitiful sight. He
savs he dare not go to church lest he be
accused of making sport ofythe services
and be requested to leave the church.
And as for a funeral it would be out of
the question for him to attend 'one.
Cattle Breeding.
That “blood will telP'^s as true of
cattle as of horses or any other domesti
cated animals. Breeds of cattle can be
improved just as surely and with as
good results as trotting or running hor
ses can be bred to a I standard of ,
’excellence” andlTia of interest to know |
that much more attention is being paid
to the breeding of cattle in the United
States at present than was the case for
merly, when everything with a tail and
hide and horns was considered good
enough for range or farm cattle.
Richard Johnson of the Bureau of
Animal Industry has just returned to
St. Louis from a three months’ trip
through the cattle districts of the West,
the object of his trip having been to as
certain the condition of farm and range
stock, and especially to learn what im
provements have been made in the grade
of stock on the ranges. He says that on
the whole the result of his examination
is satisfactory, and that in most of the
cattle-raising parts of the West the
grade of the cattle is improving.
He calls particular attention to the
changes which are taking place in the
Southwest. The Texas long-horn, a
sinewy animal, is being rapidly replaced
by a cross between the Durham and
Devon, and the average weight of the
catlic in that section is greater by more
than 100 pounds than it has ever been
before.
When one thinks of the enormous
number of cattle raised every year in
the Southwest, especially in Texas, the
fact of an average increase of 100 pounds
in weight to each animal presents itsell
in its true light, aud gives an idea ol
the increasing wealth of the country. —
San Francciso Chronide.
SALT MOUNTAINS.
Strange Story of Captain Mellon
of the River Colorado.
Relics of the Prehistoric Man
Discovered in the Salt Beds.
Captain J. A. Mellon, one of the old
est white settlers of Fort Yuma, A. T.,
who lived in Yuma two years without
seeing a white woman, and who com
manded the first steamer, the Gila, that
ever went up the Colorado River to the
mouth of the Virgin, is at the L ck,
having arrived lately, says the San
Francisco Examiner.
Few pioneers in any land have had
the strange experiences of Captain Mel
lon. “It is over 25 years, now,” he
said, “since I went to Fort Yuma, and
the changes I see in San Francisco sur
prise me.
“Have I been running on the Colora
do River all this time? Yes, and let
me say that there are stretches of hun
dreds of miles on that river that are less
known than the heart of Central Africa.
We go up there to get salt. There are
great mountains of salt up on the Vir
gin, which is a tributary of the Colora
do, each of which is larger and higher
than goat Island. The salt is pure and
white. It is clearer than glass. You
may take a piece of it seven or eight
inches thick and read a common news
paper through it. The salt mountains
cover a stretch of about 25 miles on
both sides of the Virgin, seven miles up
from the Colorado. A single blast of
giant powder will blow up tons upon
tons of it.
“This salt does not dazzle your eyes,
as you might expect, while riding along
on the river steamer or clambering over
them. It has a layer of sandstone from
two to eight feet thick over it. When
this is torn away the salt lies in full
sight, like a great snow-drift. How
deep it is, nobody knows. This salt is
destined to be the source of great
wealth. Hamilton Disston, the big saw
manufacturer, and Baldwin, of the Bald
win Locomotive Works, arc the only
men who have secured any of these salt
mountains. When the Utah Southern
Railroad is pushed on from Frisco,
Utah, it will tap the gigantic salt moun
tains, and then an enormous revenue
will be realized for them.
“I brought down with me for
the Academy of Sciences here some
queer things from the salt mines.
Under the cap rock was found charred
wood and charcoal, besides some mat
ting made of cedar bark. The salt had
preserved it. It might have lain there
thousands of years. Evidently there
had been a slide that covered up the
5 1 ‘\ ,n 'p n H
Sweet Peas.
The history of the pea family is an in
teresting one. The pea originated in
the East, where it has boen known and
loved from immemorial times. Young
Daniel, when he fed upon pulse, may
have included this sweet product of the
garden in his abstemious fare. Be that
as it may, the people of the East were
familiar with it long before it became
known to the Greeks and Romans. The
pea was introduced into Europe during
the Middle ages, and was not cultivated
in England until the time of Henry
VIII. The pea-flower is papilionaceous,
or having a winged corolla resembling
the butterfly. The fruit is contained in
a legume or pod. The pea has spread
from India to the Arctic regions. At
least. 50 kinds arc grown. Indeed, the
Pulse family, to which the pea belongs,
is so numerous as to include 6590 plants
agreeing at least in the one feature of
pod-bearing. Peas arc not only pleas
ant to the taste, but they are nutritious,
as they contain much cassein.
The variety of pea grown in the flower
garden and known ns Sweet Pea, is a
native of Sicily. It is worth while to
watch the bee make a visit to the pea-
blossom. The stamen and pistels ar e
hidden in the lower projection of the
flower. The bee lights upon this part
and its weight forces the petals down,
while the stigma, conveying pollen from
the surrounding anthers on its hairy
style, protrudes and striking the bee,
dusts it well with pollen. As in the
case of the scarlet geranium, the bee
seems to know by instinct just what
part of the flower to alight upon. The
pea is such a cheerful looking flower,
that it really appears to enjoy pommel
ing the busy bee.
Aside from the pretty flower, every
part of the pea is beautiful, for the vine
is graceful, the foliage fresh aud clean-
looking, the pods curious and the ten
drils of interest as transformed organs.
KILLED FOR A SLAP.
Dead at the Age of 130.
A remarkable old Turk has just gout
to his rest. Hadji Soliman Saba was 13C
years of age and counted his descend
ants by scores—all of whom, however,
are grandchildren aud great
grandchildren, as he leaves no son:
or daughters living. He had seven wives,
all of whom, like his sous and daugh
ters, died before him. Hard work and
simple living seem to have been the se
cret iu enabling Saba to nearly doubW
the allotted span. Except on occasion?
of high festival barley bread, beans anal
water made up his diet.; He labored in
the fields as a farmer, living much in
I
the open air and wearing scarcely any
clothes. A mattress ai^d a straw mat
men. Strange to say, a similar dis
covery has been made in the salt mines
of Louisiana. The rocks up toward the
salt mountains are painted and cut into
hieroglyphics which none of the Mojave,
Yuma, Piute or other Indians know the
meaning of.
“There arc valleys a’oag the great
but as yet unknown Colorado, singly,
as much as 120 miles long aud twenty
wide. That will be
country of the globe,
as the va'.ley of the
will redeem them.
brought on them as sure as destiny.
constituted his bed.
until three days before his death.
He was never
Inknown Dead.
:ain, number-
Wealth Left by the
The banks of Great
ing 380, have deposited with them
$4,500,000,000 belonging to their cus
tomers, and it is calculated that a con
siderable portion (perl aps a fifth) of
this vast amount will
Numbers of persons
without any intimation
their friends and then
the scene. A large re
from notes burned, lost
wise destroyed.
ijever be claimed,
deposit money
of the fact tc
disappear frort
trenue is derived
at sea or other-
A Soldier’s Routine.
The United States soldier's first duty
begins at half past five in the morning,
at which hour revillc is sou nded by the
buglers of all the batteries. At this
signal the men all leave their quarters
and form in single file on the parade
ground. The roll is then called by the
sergeant, who also presents his morning
report to the captain. This report
shows the number of men on duty, the
sick and the absent. Ap plica! ion for
leaves of absence are handed in with
the report, and after the commander s
approval the men are all dismissed, ex
cept those who are to do guard duty.
The guard detail is made out the even-
in?; before it is read out, and the men
who are appointed serve for 24 hours,
with a relief every two hours.
At oue o’clock retreat is sounded,
and the men are inspected and dismissed
until evening assembly, just before sun
down.
The full regimental band is on duty
at sundown, and also all the buglers.
Dress parade occurs at that time, and
the sight is a beautiful one. The
soldiers and officers arc all in full dress
uniform, and the manuel of arms and
field movements arc executed before the
regiment is dismissed for the day.
Tattoo is sounded at nine o’clock,
which is a signal for the men to “turn
d,” and at fifteen minutes past nine
taps sounds, at which time all lights
must be extinguished, unless a special
order has been issued by the officer of
the day.
Besides military duty tho ^oldier is
subject to extra service. In connection
with the barracks there is a good sized
farm, and the soldiers are frequently
required to throw aside their guns for
hoes and other agricultural implements.
They also do all sorts of outdoor work,
frequently imposed as a punishment for
some offense.
A soldier’s wardrobe consists of two
suits of undress clothing, one dress uni
form and helmet, collars and cuffs,
shoes, stockings, underwear, and all
other necessary articles of apparel, fur
nished by the government, to the
amount of $220 for five years. —Atlanta
Constitution.
The Wonders of Alaska.
The prevailing forest trea of Alaska,
says Mr. George Davidson of the United
States Coa^t Survey, is the Sitka spruce,
growing to great size, covering every
part of the ground, and climbing the
steepest mountain sides to the height of
2000 or 2500 feet above the sea.
We measured felled spruce trees that
were 180 feet long and four feet at the
butt, while adjacent standing trees
measured over six feet in diameter,
were branchless for over fifty feet and
estimated to be 250 feet high.
Hemlock, alders and willows are
found; but the most remarkable wood
of the country is the yellow cedar, with
fine, even texture, fragrant smell, good
size and greater strength than ■ the
spruce. It is a valuable addition to, the
cabinet woods, and is superior as a ship
prehistoric n’Tihnu
It can be obtained of ample size for
frames and knees of ordinary-sized'ves-.
sols. We measured one 18 feet in cir
cumference, and estimated it to be over
125 feet in height.
On Kadiack island the forests cease
toward the south. The yellow cedar
docs not grow on the northeast part of
the island, but the average size of the
spruce is less than two feet in diameter.
Hemlock is found in abundance and
has its value for tanning purposes.
When the forests of Washington Ter
ritory and Oregon are exhausted, Alaska
will be the great and our almost inex
haustible resource in the future.
the real orange
They are as rich
Nile. Irrigation
Water will be
»»
Judge Terry Shot After lusult-
ing Justice Field.
Tragic Sequence to a Famous
California Divorce Case*
A Railroad in the Holy Land.
The preliminary surveys of a railroad
to run from Jaffa on the sea coast iu
Palestine to Jerusalem, and thence to
Bethlehem, have just been completed,
and a party of engineers have started
from London for the Holy Land to lay
out the route. A company has al
ready been formed to build the road, in
which a number of English aud French
bankers are interested. From all ac
counts it is a purely business enterprise
without a trace of sentiment of religious
fervor.
The travel in the Holy Land of late
years has been increasing steadily, and
it is believed if first class railway accom
modations were furnished the number of
tourists who annually visit Jerusalem
from all parts o the earth would soon be
trebled.
Invention of Omnibuses.
The invention of omnibuses is due to
the philosopher Pascal, who, in Febru
ary, 1667, obtaiued a “privilege"—
what we should call a patent—for pub
lic carriages to travel through certain
streets of Paris. They held eight pas
sengers, who paid six sous each, and
were very successful, although an act
of the parliament of Paris forbade them
being used by lackeys, soldiers and
other humble folks. Pascal died in
1667, and his useful invention did not
long survive him. The omnibus reap
peared in London about the beginning
of this century, and was adopted in sevr
eral French provincial towns before
Paris accepted it again.
Charles XU. and the Bomb.
As Charles XII of Sweden was dicta
ting a letter to his secretary during tho
siege of Stralsund, a bomb fell through
the roof into the next room in the house
where they were sitting. The terrified
secrc ary let the pen drop fromhishand.
‘ -What is the matter?’’ quoth the
king.
A dispatch from San Francisco, Cal., says:
One of the most sensational tragedies that
ever startled the people of the Pacific coast 1
occurred during the morning at Lathrop,
a small town on the Southern Pacific
Railroad, a few miles from Stockton,;
in San Joaquin County. David S. Terry,
ex-Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of
California, slayer in a duel of United States
Senator David C. Broderick, assaulted
United States Supreme Court Justice!
Stephen J. Field is a public dining room at
the railroad station, and was shot dead by-
United States Deputy Marshal David Nagle,
who was traveling as Mr. Field’s body guard.
The shooting occurred in the presence of
about sixty or seventy people, and created a
scene of the wildest excitement. The cause
of the shooting was the well known quarrel
existing between Judges Terry and Field,,
which grew out of thelatter rendering a de
cision adverse to Sarah Althea Hill, plaintilT
in the famous Sharon divorce case, who dur
ing the litigation became the wife of Terry.,
Dispatches from Lathrop, Cal., state that-
upon the arrival of the Southern overland;
mail at 7:20 a. x. Justice Field and Marshal.
Nagle walked into the dining-room for break
fast and sat down side by side.
Judge David S. Terry and wife, who fig
ured in the Sharon divorce case, came in
also. They were going to another table when
Mrs. Terry recognized Justice Field, and im
mediately retired to the train. As soon as
she had left the dining-room and before she
had reached the train. Judge Terry walked
over to where Justice Field sat, and, stooping
over him, slapped his face.
Deputy Marshal Nagle thereupon arose
from his seat end shot Judge Terry through
the heart. While he was falling Nagle shot
again, but missed Terry, the bullet going
through the floor. Both shots were fired
within a few seconds and before any one
could interfere.
Whether Judge Terry’s intention was to
provoke Justice Field and draw a weapon be
fore the latter could turn is, of course, not
known, as Deputy Nagle, who sat opposite
Field, prevented this by firing, his first shot
resulting in the death of Terry.
After the shooting Deputy United States
Marshal Nagle backed up against the wall of
the dining room and warned every one not to
arrest him, saving he was a United States
officer in the discharge of his duty. There was
no semblance of an attempt to molest him at
time. Constable Walker took Deputy
;le from the train at Tracy and \
him to Stockton, where he
any
Nagl
with
jail.
District Attorney White ordered the arrest
of Justice Field upon his arrival at San Fran
cisco, and telegraphed the order to the Sher
iff of San Francisco.
Justice Field mantained his quiet demean
or, and replied to a press representative^
when asked to narrate the particulars of fhe
shooting, as follows:
“I can tell you the story in a few w,'rda.
For the last few months all manner of re
ports, both public and personal, have reached
me that Judge Terry had threatened to sub
ject me to some form of indignity, if be
should happen to meet me. This fact caused
the United States Marshal to decide to pro
vide such protection as he could during my
stay in this State. When I started for Los
Angeles to hold court. Deputy Nagle accom-
pamed me. He seemed to be a quiet gentle
manly official, though I only met him twice
while away from Los Angeles. He asked me
in that city when I intended to return, and
accompanied me, taking a seat in the sleep
ing car opposite to me. We heard this
morning that Judge Terry and his wife were
on the train,but paid no attention to the fact.
When we arrived at Lathrop, we entered
the eating station to get breakfast. I took
a seat at the end of the table, while Nagle
sat on one side of me. Terry and his wife
came into the room soon after. As soon
as she saw me she went out of the room, as I
afterward learned, returning to the car for
her satchel. Judge Terry rose and I supposed
that he intended accompanying her. Instead
h» ■iWWl till! •
struck me a heavy slap in the face. I
was completely astonished, and, seeing be
was making _ ready to strike again, Nagle
cried out ‘Stop, stop,’ but Terry
did not desist, and as he was raising
his* arm a second time, Nagle shot at
him, the bullet entering his heart. He
fell to the floor, Nagle shooting a second
time, but the second snot did not strike him.
That is the complete story so far as I am
aware of the facts,” said the Justice in conclu
sion.
Protection was accorded to Justice Field,
it is claimed, by authority of Attorney-
General Miller, who telegraphed from Wash
ington to the Marshal of the district to see
that the person of the Justice was protected
at any hazard.
VETERANS IN_A WRECK.
Rails Spread Under a Pennsylvania
Train With Fatal Effect.
An excursion train on the Butler branch of
the West Pennsylvania Railroad, loaded with
veterans returning from the reunion of the
102d Regiment at Butler, was wrecked at
Sarvers, seven miles east of Freeport, Penn.,
two passengers being instantly killed, three
or four others fatally injured and twenty-
five more or less seriously hurt.
The dead are: Mrs. Puff, an old lady, resi
dence unknown; Farrell, child, Butler; W.*
Powers, Laurenceviile, Penn.
Tho wreck was caused by the rails spread
ing on the end of a small bridge that spans
Bnffalo Creek, the timbers on which the rails
were laid being so rotten that the spikes had
been forced out the side by the weight of tho
train passing over them.
The rails plowed through the second car
and the escapes were miraculous. One lady
had her dress cut from the wrist to shoulder,
another lost a small piece of her cheek, a third
had her chin cut and many others in the
second car narrowly escaped.
The train consisted of a smoker, day coach
and combination coach. The engine stood
about 100 yards from the wreck still unin
jured on the track. The smoker was smashed
in splinters and fell fifteen feet down the em
bankment.
The front truck of the coach was also
thrown over the embankment, the hind
truck remaining on the track. The combi
nation also remained on the track. Of t ha
twenty passengers in the smoker one was
killed and nineteen injured, it being a marvel
that all were not killed. >
At the wreck the sight was truly heartrend
ing. On either side of the track, for a distance
of nearly a quarter of a mile, in
jured veterans were laying on cush
ions and, in some instances, on the
bare ground. Women and children,
wounded and bespattered with blood, sat
and lay around pieces of the wreckage.
The doctors and others on the relief train
at once set to work to care for the injured.
bomb, sire!” cried the sccre-
“Ah! never mind the bomb; it will
go off presently.”
And it did.—Harpers “Drawer*”
A TERRIFIC EXPLOSION.
Three Men Killed by an Accident to*
a Threshing Machine.
A terrible accident occurred about noon at
the farm of Charles Dinsmore, eighteen miles
southwest of Aberdeen, Dakota. Three men
were killed and several others seriously in
jured by the explosion of a threshing-ma
chine engine boiler.
The engineer, Frank Arnswoldt, aged
twenty-nine years, was blown seventeen rods
and instantly killed. William Sheeler, aged
twenty-three, was blown twelve rods, and
was dead when picked up. The fireman, whose
name is unknown, recently from Jackson,
Mich., aged about twenty-five, had his head
blown off.
J. Kritel had a leg broken and was badly
scalded on the other leg and body. Two
others were injured, but not dangerously. A
team of horoes attached to a water wagon
was blown into tbe air and carried several
rods. The wreck of the engine was scattered
all over the prairie.
J. Shinsky, the owner of the engine, was
absent at the time of the accident. It is sup
posed to have occurred from a defective boil
er which had been used five years and
was cracked and rusty. The threshing crew
was composed mostly of Russians and infor
mation is difficult to obtain.
Spring chickens are sEKbpefTby