The tribune. (Beaufort, S.C.) 1874-1876, July 05, 1876, Image 1
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The Beaufort Tribune.
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VOL. II.?NO. 33. BEAUFORT, S. C., .TITLY 5, 1876. " $1.50 PER ANNUM.
Galileo.
Jesus ! thy saints have waited long
For rended sky and wrath divine,
When thon shalt c >ma with angul throng,
And in tlio pomp of glory shine ;
But holier than such cloudy throne
Thy watch and walk bosido the sea,
When midnight's stars in beauty shone
Ou tho still waves of Galilee.
The ministers of pride and power
Have wrought a chango in human thing",
And seen, in some propitious hour,
Thy kingdom patroniz id by kings,
But nearer to thy heart was laid
Tho humbler learner at thy kneo,
Drinking tl>c gracious words that made
Tho night diviuo on Galilee.
Grandly the skill of art may show
In pictured wall and chanted hymn,
Whore high barbaric windows throw
Strango light into tho c'.iai eel dim ;
A scone of simpler art was thine?
The song of maidens by the sea,
And fishers' nets in bended line
Along the shore < f Ga'ileo.
The foxes fi >d a sure retreat
Iu holes upon the mountain's breast.
Where the gro 111 olive branches meet
The birds Lave bnilt their sheltered me! ;
Tho cows and sheep, iTico night began,
llo newrrd front wood and will'have *p d'
And left them to tho 8on of 5Ian,
Who has not where to lay bis head.
Oli, Christ! whatever men mrv ssy.
They, not thyself, in pride liavo grown ;
And let them rot expect the day
When th< y bhall see thee on a throne,
Nor look for wonder and for sign,
But thy full soul of life to see
In eyes whom light of love divine
Outglei mi the stars on Galilee.
The Story of the Seal.
rnero is probably no part of the
earth's surface, used for farming or
stock raising, that produces bo handsome
a yield to the acre as the narrow
beaches of the Prybilov islands in Bullring's
strait. These are four in number,
St. Paul's?with 21,120 acres, St. George,
with about 17,01/0 acres, Otter island, a
mile aud a half long and less thau half a
mile wide, and Walrus island, a mere
flat rock, rising but little above the surf,
a quarter of a mile long aud a hundred
> ards wide. The first two have together
savonty-one miles of coast line, but so
much of the shore is bold aud rocky
that only eighteen and three-quarter
miles are visited by the seals.
On St. George several thousand sea
lions have taken possession of half a
mile more of lauding. The beaches on
which they breed are narrow reaches of
sand varyiug from forty to 150 feet
wide, and covering a total area of 6,387,340
square feet, or not quite 147 acres.
On this area about 100,000 seals are
killed yearly, worth $700,000. This is a
yield of $4,762 nu acre. Tho United
States government obtains from these
islands a rental of $55,000 yearly and
$262,500 for 100,000 sealskins. This is
taxing these barreu sand beaches to the
amonnt of $2,150 per acre. Figures
like these deserve consideration, for it
is only by buch computations tlint the .
value of fisheries to the country will
ever be made apparent. In the present
case it is satisfactory to know that the
government tux is a blessing to the
world.
Tho. total number of seals wliieli
breed annually on tho islands is computed
at 3,493,670, and before the restrictions
placed on the huut by government
they were killed at the rate of
240,000 monthly. This would have extirpated
them in loss than five years.
Now tlio number is limited to 100,000 a
year, and they are said by some observers
to bo increasing at the rate of live
per cent, annually. The abovo number
does not include those which aro killed,
but the breeding community which is
preserved. Of non-breeders, the number
is estimated at 1,500,000, so that
the total seal population is about 4,700,000
The malo seals land first, in the latter
part of Aprd usually, or in May. They
always choose for their resting grounds
or 'rookeries" such beaches as are
strewn with large bowlders, where the
new-born seals can have some protection
against tho sweep of the surf. On landing
they givo themselves up entirely to
sleeping, but meanwhile keep a sharp
lookout to prevent young bachelors and
old weak patriarchs from coming to tho
rookery. This system of natural selection
is advantageous* to the race and to
their human pursuers also. It keeps
the stock strong and hardy aud sends the
bachelors of less than six years (the age
L. !1_\ L~ 1 1 11
ui muvuriiy) iu liuiu iueill.se 1VOH lip Bt
some other poiut, where they collect together
ami cau be readily herded by the
hunters without alarming the breeders.
The females do not laud for a month
after, and aro tben taken possession of
by the male nearest to the poiut at which
they leave the wuter. The selection is
not mado without tremendous lighting,
and some of tho old seals are wounded
and killed, or driven off. Prof. Elliott
says : ' It appears to be a well understood
principle among the able-bodied
bulls that each one shall remain undisturbed
on his ground, which is usually
about ton feet square, provided that he
is strong enough to hold it against all
comers. Some of these bulls show wonderful
strength and courage. I have
marked one veteran, who was among the
first to take up his position, and that
one on the water line, where at least fifty
or sixty dosnerato battles were fought
victoriously by him with nearly as many
different seals, who coveted his position,
and when the lighting season was over
(after the cows have mostly all hauled
up) I saw him covered with scars and
gashes, raw and bloody, an eye gouged
out, but lording it bravely over his
harem of fifteen or twenty eows, all
huddled together on the same spot he
had flr.-t chosen." The fighting is done
with the mouth, and when the jaws have
olosed on a foo the effort of slinking
them loose leaves an ugly wound ; "the
sharp canines tearing out doep gutters
in the skin and blubber, or shredding
the flappers into ribbon strips."
The families averago about fifteen
cows each, and they take Tip so little
room that a space two feet square suffices
for a cow, while the bull, being much
larger, needs about twice as much room.
Within two days after landing the young
are born, and in threo or four days more
the guardian patriarch allows tho mother
to retreat to the water, where she spends
most of her time, returning to land
whenever the young seal requires food.
Seals are good mothers, and nurse their
young for nearly a year, or for more than
a year if they do not have another birth.
While the mothers are playing in the
water the old male remains on shore and
takes care of the pups. It is thirty-five
or forty days before the pup cau be
taken to the water, and four months be
I iorn ue is strong enougn to louow tlie
mother on her migratory jonrney through
the ocean. As each mother has one pup,
the four square feet of ground which
formed her resting place carries two
lives, and tho computation given above
of 3,193,670 breeding seals on these
islands is made from a measurement of
tho area occupied by the "rookeries."
Pi of. Elliott found their distribution so
uniform that ho calls it " a tine instinctive
law of distribution," and says the
government agent can always safely report
upon the condition of the seal crop
by observing the area occupied by the
animals between the tenth and twentieth
of July. That is the week of their greatest
expansion. When the purpose for
which they have landed is accomplished,
the systematic organization breaks up,
and the seals scatter, some straying inland,
and tho whole herd may cover
twice its noimal ground. Of every
100,000 breeding seals more than 85,000
are cows and less than 15,000 bulls, and
in a few weeks after the females begin
to land, there are about 180,000 parents
and pups on the same ground.
In the autumn and early winter the
seals take their departure.^ Where they
go is not ascertained definitely, but they
probably spread themselves over the
North Pacific, following schools of fish
or frequenting banks and shoals where
they can find food. The amount of
food required by them is immense. At
five pounds each per day, which is not
half enough for a full grown male,
they, the seals of these two islands, will
eat up no less than three million tons
of fish in a year. This immense quantity
makes it evident that human caro
can do nothiug to assist their propagation.
In tho sea they have enemies,
but it would be simply impossible to
obtain food enough for them at the
islands, even if it were the only point
to bo considered. To get such a supply
they spread themselves over the
ocean, and there come in contact with
enemies us voracious as they are.
Killer-whales and sharks make such
havoc among them that of a million
pups, which is the estimate of a year's
ii crease, not more than one-half return
the next spring. Some observers put
the proportion much lower, and with
great probability considering the helplessness
of the sucklings. The second year,
however, they are better able to care
for themselves, and do not lose more
than one-tenth of their numbers. After
that they do not suffer much during
their lives of fifteen or twenty years.
From natural enemies tho pups have
most to fear, for they are probably the
most toothsome, as well as the most
helpless. In the stomach of one killerwlialo
no less than fourteen small harp
seals were found. But man also has
his share in their destruction, and he
strikes what he finds without regard to
age. The seal loves to sleep on the
surfaco of the water, and are often surprised
in this condition by whalers
and the natives. It is quite common
to find shot and even bullets imbedded
iu th j blubber, just under the skin , of
the young seals killed on the islands.
Were it not for these vurious enemies,
there is no knowing where their increase
would stop. Out of a million pups born
every year, 550,000 are destroyed at sea
in the first two years of life, 100,000
move are killed for their skins, and
probably 25,000 are killed by natives, or
die soon after birth. This is a total loss
of (175-000 of loss khan fivo yjaara at ana
yearly, by accountable causes, aud yet
tho increase is reported at five per cent.,
or 200,000 seals a year. As tbe artificial
destruction of one-tenth the annual increase
by man does not interfere in the
least with their perpetuation, Prof. Elliott
considers that they have arrived at
their maximum expansion. One reason,
however, for tho slight effect of the
hunt upon their numbers is that none
but males are killed. Of tho 450,000
which survive at the ond of tho second
season, one-half are probably males.
But their family relations are such that
only one-fifteenth of the males are
needed, and the remainder, or more than
200,000, can bo killed in their second,
third, and fourth years without disturbing
their natural inorease. In fact, on
its present basis, the seal hunt can safely
supply abont 180,000 skins a year.
Tho conditions of this business are
such that there is no re/ison why, without
unexpected accident, the seals
should not continue to earn at least
$300,000 a year for the United States
government for centuries to come. To
make this certain it is proposed to have
them carefully mapped as they lie on
their breeding grounds, and compared
from year to yoar. They bear this inspection
very well. Those which arrive
earliest are sometimes timid, but when
the males are in great numbers they
take no notice of the inspector. They
are fortunately not affected by village
sounds, unless very near, nor the stench
of the slaughter field.
The habits of seals are as interesting as
those of any animal known. The mere
fact that, if the observers are not mistaken,
only one-fifteenth of the males
can set up a family, indicates that the law
of selection must bo iu active use among
them. The cows do not come to land
until their young are ready for birth,
and having borne them, they leave the
principal care of the pups to a husband
who i* not the father. Thero is no
proof, but evidence to the contrary, that
the seals, male or female, seek the same
rookery year after year. The strongest
warriors get tho first pick, and the ays*
tern of uulimited roguery in which they
indulge makes it impossible for a cow to
return either to her old homo or her old
husband. The strongest bulls establish
themselves on the water line, and when
tho first cows appear they aro received
with great aflability, and coaxed and
urged up ou to the rocks. Their new
found masters and protectors aro violently
jealous, and tho new acquisition
canuot bo enticed uuless the rival fights
a successful battle. But the fortunate
husband soon has his attention called to
a new appearanco of cows, and while he
is engaged with number two his next
neighbor reaches his long neck, picks
up number one by the nape of the neck,
and lauds her within his own precinct.
When number two is brought to shore
the two bulls at once have a fight, during
which two other rivals take possession
of both cows! The gentle cow thus
progresses with some rapidity to a back
station whero the lord is not so often beguiled
by new arrivals, and thero she
rests. As before said, these cows bring
forth almost immediately. Then they
leave the pups in charge of the bull,
wlio carea for them so faithfully that he
sometimes remains four months out of
the water. Duriug this time he is deprived
of food, and lives on the store of
fat lie has accumulated during the winter.
This trial is much more severe than
that of the bear's hibernation, for the
seals arc extremely active during their
deprivation. No special .organic provision
for this ordeal has been found,
the stomachs showing 1 o peculiarity
either in 6p.iug or fall. The long fast,
however, greatly weakens them, aud
after two or three months the old bulls
who have not been able to get a place
ou tho breeding ground, and have conscquoutly
spent the summer in cruising
around behind the rookery, find it possible
to come forward and drive out their
once powerful antagonists. This phase
of seal life is as singular as any other,
for the new comer does not think of
driving away the pups born under the
seignorago of his predecessors, but on
the contrary takes the place of faithful
guardian to them.
As to the cows, they are so gregarious
thut even when they come in such numbers
as to be able to make a choice they
prefer the best filled harem. They will '
not lie quiet away from the great mass ,
of their sisters. Tho consequence is that
Che stations nearest the water have from
twelve to fifteen cows each, and those in ,
the rear from five to nine. "When they
come up from the water they bl-a-a-t to
1 -
meir young, wno answer in tlie same ,
manner, and in this way they are quickly
singled out. Some signal is necessary, j
for after they are two months old they
collect together by tens of thousands,
frolicking and sleeping. Yet it is strange
that tho mothers will see them killed (
without showing any concern. Even the
tierce old guardian who protects them
and their mothers seoms to have no in- ]
terest in them personally. It is a precint
that he guards, and if they stray ,
beyond that, they get no care from him. ,
The pups do not know their mothers,
but being inclined by naturo to bl-a a-t !
incessantly, the mother can find her i
own. By the time she reachos it, it j
may have fallen asleep, and then she i
has nothing to do but take a nap her- |
self, for she cannot find it in the wrig- (
gling and crawling mass of thousands of i
pups, and she will not lot any other take
its place. i
The females come to maternity at two <
years of ago, the bachelors at five or <
six; and as there are a million and a half <
of these classes who are not admitted to \
the harems, it is obviously necessary to \
have some provision for them in seal I
sociology. They take their rest on so- <
called "hauling grounds," of which
there are two kinds. The most favored
is near the water, iti some place apart
from tho breeding grounds. The other
lies further inland, and must be reached '
by passing through the precincts guarded *
by tho patriarchs. The bachelors are '
allowed to do thia, and a path running 1
between the h&rems is by common consent
regarded as neutral. On this path- 1
way a steady stream of bachelors is '
passing, while tho neighboring patriarchs
guard their seraglios with re- j
doubled vigilance.
Such are some of tho peculiarities of (
a seal colony, and a much more complete 1
account of them is given by Prof. Elliot !
in a letter from tho secretary of- the
treasury to the House of Represents- |
tives, published by the Unitod States '
government. The sound arising from ?
| these great breeding grounds, he says, 1
" where thousands upon thousands of
angry, vigilant bulls are roaring, chuckling.
piping, and multitudes of seal <
mothers are calliug in hollow, bla-ating i
tones to their young, which in turn re- <
spond incessantly,is indescribable. It is, i
at a slight distance, softened into a deep 1
booming, as of a cataract, and can be 1
heard n long distance off at sea?under
favorable circumstances, as far as five or
six miles?and frequently warns vessels
that may bo approaching the islands in
thick weather of the proximity of land."
The value of tho seal islands to the
United States government is, by a common
modo of calculation, as follows :
Two milliou seals of suitablo ago for
killing, at $2.62}, gives $5,250,000.
This amounts to twenty years' taxes, but
takes no account of tho annual rent,
which would be $1,100,000 moro in that
time. Total value of seal islands alone,
$6,350,000. The other furs which
Alaska sends to our markets bring at
least one-half the value of the soalskins.
Would Jump oil the Car.
Ho stood on the corner, waiting for a
car. He was dressed up to kill, and he
knew it. His hat Bhone like tho headlight
of a locomotive. Ho had au umbrella
in one hand and a sachel and a
bouquet carefully wrapped in tissue
Saper iu the other. The car came along,
to did not hail it. Ho did not want it
to slop. He could get ou it without putting
the driver to that much trouble. He
had seen others do it, and knew Just how
it should bo done. The front platform was
crowded, but that made no difference to
him. He would show the passengers
standinc rmon it how to do the thine
gracefully. Ho stopped to the track, 1
took bis umbrella, sachel, and bouquet
in one band, and, as tbe car passed
bim, grasped tbo brace on tbo front platform
with tbe other. Tbe car was going
at a good rate of speed. His feet flew
into tbe* air, and as bo assumed tbo perpendicular
be mauaged to get one of
them on the step. Then be shut bis bat
up like au accordion against tbe stomach
of a fat gentleman who was at that moment
drawing in a mouthful of smoke
from a regalia, and who was, in consequence,
too full of indiguation?and
smoke?for utterance. Then tbe
" killer" laid bis sac.bel, bouquet, and
umbrella down upon tbe platform very
suddenly, and apparently without any
intentim to do > o on bis part; and then
be laid himself down upon them. This
was also done in an irresistible way.
At this moment tbo driver put the
brakes on very suddenly, and bo rolled
over on bis back. Tbe man who was
behind him stopped on bis stomach and
leaned over tbe dashboard?gazing intently
at the track, as though be saw
somethiug there to attract bis attention.
Then tbo passengers righted themselves,
and our hero gathered himself up and
went inside the car, amid suggestions
about " learning bow to get on rf car,"
etc. Hut be only smiled sarcastically.
He knew what be was about. The next t
time they saw a passenger attempt to get t
on a car be thought they would make t
room for bim. Aud tbe passengers, on i
their part, made up their minds that tbe t
Lit'iL urno ne anemptea mo ieai, mey ?
would.
Taken Clear In.
An actress of considerable prominence
in Paris was admired by a married gentlemad
named B. They visited in company
tbo establishment of a prominent
jeweler, and were shown a magniiicent
set of diamonds worth $3,000. B. intimated
that $2,000 wore the highest
figures ho could use on this occasion.
He did not say that ho intended to present
them to the actress, but she, at
least, thought so, and was, moreover,
fond of diamonds. The actress having
taken counsel with herself, visited the
jeweler privately. " B. will give but
82,000 for the diamonds," she said,
" and if he can get them at that price
will probably present them to me.
You aHk $3,000. Be it so. Here are the
extra $1,000 from my own purse. When
he comes again to morrow offer him the
jewels for $2,000. Keep our little game
shady. Farewell." On the morrow B.
went to the jeweler's again and bought
the diamonds for $2,000. The aetress
awaited anxiously the coming present in
which t-he had so liberally invested. ,
She is still waiting. B. saw that ho bad '
a bargain iu diamonds?bo bad bad ,
really once intended to present them to
this queen of the stage; but bo saw
financial storms, disaster, shipwreck on .
Bvery side. Ho saiu to himself: "These i
diamonds arc a good investment; they
will cortainly at any time bring the
money I have given for them;" so bo ,
changed bis mind and gave them to bis
own wifo. " What's hers is mine, and .
what's mine is my own," said ho. And
tho nctross' $1,000 ? A pang shoots
through her breast as she thinks of it.
She has even been obliged to see those
eery jewels on the brow of Madame B. .
How Much Shall We Eat I \
Sir James Clark thought that one of I
tho most fruitful sources of consump- 1
tion was excessive eating. He says : ^
" By a too stimulating diet the stomach
becomes disordered, the secretions impaired,
ilie circulation unbalanced, the
skin dry and haish; and often, as a con- t
joqueneo, tuberculous disease results." ;
Dr. Johnson ^ffers the following on i
tins point: " Whenever ft meal is fol- ]
lowed by an inaptitude for mental or t
sorporeal exertion, wo have transgressed {
the rules of health, and are laying the t
foundation for disease." t
What an immenso gain it would prove ,
to us all if the dessert could be abol- t
ished ! Ninety-nino peoplo in a linn- j
lred get enough, and most of them j
too much, before reuchiug it. f
" Sire, one word," said a soldier one c
lay to Frederick the Great, when presenting
to him a request for the brevi t
?f lieutenant. " If you say two," an- \
iwered the king, "I will have yon c
iianged." * Sign," replied the sohlier. c
The king stared, whistled, and signed, a
Presents from India.
A London correspondent, writing of
the many curious animals presented to
the Princo of Wales during his trip
through India, and brought home by
him in the Serapis, says that though a
considerable number of the animals have
Found a temporary home at the Zoological
Gardens, London, where they are being
inspected by the public, a number
of them have been forwarded to the
royal residence in Norfolk. The gem of
the collection is the elegantly formed
gazelle, which rejoices in the name of
Latin Rookh. She is very tame, and
Sits about the house of Mr. Jackson with
is much freedom as if sho were a member
of the family. The collection has
iuat received an interesting addition, a
3ow of the buffalo species having had a
jalf. Both mother and offspring appeared
to bo doing well. In a paddock
beyond the gas works are three Brahmin
?ows grazing contentedly. Originally
ihoy had with them a bull of the same
breed, but unfortunately he died on the
passage. They have the well known
bump on the top of the shoulders, and
ire scarcely more than half the size of an
ordinary English cow. They possess
sleek coats of a white gray, with long,
;hin, white tails tipped with a tuft of
black cnrly hair. They are by no means
in a bad condition, considering the long
sea voyage they have had. They are
rery tame, although they manifest a
playful disposition to ran at anybody
tvho goes near them. At the Royal
Mews is a pair of beautiful hill ponies
from Nepaul. They are not more than
fourteen hands high, and are brown,
vith dark manes. One of them, which
;ho Prince of Wales rode on some of his
lunting expeditions, has an enormons
uaue. as well as a verv heaw forelock
[n the adjoining box are two animals,
arger end of stouter bnild, one of tbem
jeautifully marked. In another is a
jair of diminutive ponies, scarcely more
ihan three feet high, and with short and
frizzed manes. In the deer shed are
,wo wild boars, and two hog deer. Near
;he head keeper's house, and in a shed
yy itself, is the line Samur buck which
same over in the Jumna; and in an adoing
shed is another of the peculiar
ooking little animals of the deer species
sailed the hog deer. It is not higher
;hnn an ordinary pig, whilst its gait and
nenners somewhat resemble the animal
lftcr which it is named. There are four
oraco of dogs, singular looking creatures,
some of them being hairless, and
af a dark lead color.
The Temple at Jerusalem.
It is probably no exaggeration to say
ihat more has been written regarding
lie temple of Jerusalem than in respect
p any other building in the known
vorld,and,unfortunately, it maybe addsd,
more that is wild and utterly untenible.
This last peculiarity arises from
teveral causes. First, because all the
jarlier restorers were entirely ignorant
)f the ground on which the temple
itood, and of the local circumstances
hat governed its construction ; it was
lot, indeed, till the spot was surveyed
ay the lato Mr. Catherwood in 1833, and
lis plan published on a sufficient scale
u 1862, that restorers had such a map
if the ground as would enable them to
idjust their measurements to the locality
vith anything like certainty. Though
ihat plan was wonderfully perfect conudering
the circumstances under which
t was mado, it has since been supercedid
by that mado under the direction of
ZJapt. (now Mujor) Wilson, R. E.,*in
1861-5, which leaves nothing to be denred
in this respect. It can be depend3d
npon almost to inches, and has been
3n graved on a scale sufficiently large for
ill topographical, if not quite for architectural,
purposes. A second cause of
;ho wildness of the restorations hitherto
iltempted is that the temple at Jerusaera
was quite unique, Not only had
the Jews only this one temple, but, so
far as wo know, it was entirely of thoir
iwn invention and utterly unlike the
temples of the Egyptians or Greeks. It
nay have had affinities with those of tho
ivmyiouians or Assyrians; but, notwithstanding
all that has been done of late
fears, we know so very little of what the
;enip!os of Mesopotamia were, that these
inrdly help us even at this day, and the
assumption that this might be so was of
10 use whatever to earlier restorers.
Saving thus no analogies to guide them,
ind as it is literally and absolutely true
.hat not one stone remains on another
)f tho temple, properly so called, it is
lot to bo wondered at that early restorirs
failed to realize the truth and inlnlged
in fancies which were utterly untenable.
In nine rases out of ten their
jbject was to produce a building which
vould bo worthy Solomon in all his
<lory rather than a reproduction of the
irery moderate building described in the
Bible.?Contemporary Jieriew.
Talking at Table.
This is one of the best digesters;
here is no tonic known equal to it, as
t is of the kiud calculated to promote
lilarity aud good feeling generally.
Most parents are prone to prohibit their
hildren from laughing and talking at
he tablo; it in nn physiological; it is a
sruelty. Joyousnesa promotes the cirsulation
of tlio blood, enlivens it, invigorates
it, sends it tingling to the reuotest
part of the system, carrying with
t animation, vigor and life. The louder
he littlo ones laugh the better; the
aster they talk the better, for then they
at less in a given time, consequently
hew their food m?-re thoroughly.
In tlio present century two sultans
re re murdered after being deposed; and
>f tlio ten Hultaun of the seventeenth
entury Fix lost their throne by violence,
ind three of them woro strangled.
The Old Fashioned Way*
The rattle of the lawn mower is heard
in the land, bnt a oitisen of Detroit, aooording
to the Free Frew, when a hardware
man asked him if ho didn't want a
mower, replied :
" No, sir, I don't. There's nothing
like a good sharp scythe to cut grass.
You can sell your new fangled notions to
such as want them."
Ho went home with a scythe one forenoon
. The grkss was in fine condition
and he never felt better in his life. He
throw off his coat, whistled like the
farmor who surveys the dewy meadow
and then went in. The grass fell in
showers for about a minute and then
waited while the scythe cut the penstock
hose in two. The wife and son
camo out and denied leaving the hose
there, and after some hard words the
mowor cut a new swath. It wasn't a
very long one, owing to the fact that the
po.ut of the scythe entered a cherry
tree. Some boys leaned over the fenoe t
and asked who cut the favorite cherry
tree, but there was no reply. After pulling
and tugging for awhile the scythe
was extracted, and the man crossed to
the other side of tho yard and cut a
Bwfttti along ttie fence. Tbere were only
eighty-four pickets in the fence. That's
the reason the scythe didn't ohip into
any more. It was a beautiful swath,
howover, and it enoouraged the mower
to renewed exertions, It wasn't long
before he turned np three bottles, four
oyster cans, a ooil of wire, five or six
olotheapins and a lot of rag carpet.
When he strnok an old stove oover he
leaned against the honse to sharpen np.
The second pass he made he sharpened
np his thumb. The third pass passed
the scythe over into the back yard,
where it cut three lines ont of the clothes
reel and nearly stabbed the hired girl in
the heeL
" Nevertheless," explained the citizen,
as he stood at his gate with his
thnmb rolled np in the largest part of *
an old shirt, " I claim that a scythe has
many advantages over a lot of cog
wheels and handles. I have ridden np
and down on the street cars so long that
I am a little ont of practice."
Specific Gravity.
When Archimedes was asked if he
oonld find ont whether the jewelers
had, in making the crown, kept back
some of the gold, and supplied its
weight with some other metal, the philosopher
was pnt to thinking and experimenting;
and one day he. exclaimed,
with excited energy : "Eureka ! Enreka
!" (" I have fonnd it I I have found
it !")
What had he found ? He had discovered
that any solid body, pat into a
vessel of water, displaces its own bulk
of water; and therefo:e, if the sides of
the vessel are high enough to prevent it
running over, the water will rise to a
oertain height. He now got one ball of
gold and another of silver, eaoh weighing
exactly the same as the crown. Of course
the balls were not the same sine,
because silver is lighter than gold, anu
so it takes more of it to make the same
weight. He first put the gold into a
basin of water, and marked on the side
of the vessel the height to which the
water rose. Next, taking out the gold,
he put in the silver ball, whioh, though
it weighed the same, yet, being larger,
made the water rise higher; and this
height he also marked. Lastly, he took
out the silver ball and put in the crown.
Now, i: the crown bad been pure gold,
the water would have risen only, up to
the mark of the gold ball; but it rose
higher, and stood between the gold and
silver mark, showing that silver had
been mixed with it, making it more
bulky. This was the first attempt to
measure the specific gravity of different
substanoes.
An Ingenious Pieee of Work.
The Colorado State building on the
Centennial grounds is in tbe form of a
Greek cross, in the center and under the
cupola of which is suspended a bell ingeniously
constructed qut of grains in
the stalk, grasses, and broomoorn brush,
while the tongue consists of a bellshaped
gourd suspended at the end of
an elongated olub gourd of over six feet
by abont two inohes in diameter. The
bell is eight feet nine inches across the
bottom, and eight feet six inches high,
and is in the same proportion, and beam
the same inscription, as the old Revo
lntionary relio in Independence Hall:
" Proolaim LUgerty throughout all the
lend to all the inhabitants thereof (Lev.,
xiv. 10).
Reporters.
Dr. Bartol, of Boston, a gentleman of
somewhat radical views, has been
preaching a sermon on reporters and reporting,
and favors the process. "The
reporter," sai l the dootor, "is a photographer.
Bnt the snn may slnr or distort
; and who of us ever thought his
own picture handsome enough, or his
idea fitly represented ? But these invisible
observers and listeners have no
Enrsonal favor, or personal or sectarian
ias. There is no bribe to take or ax
to grind. They pass up the' exaot record,
nothing added or left out. They
are but our proxies and servants; for in
all our action and speech we are reporting
ourselves, and, however we wish, are
no more able to question tho register
than a man to deny his own signature.**
Dr. Marcy, the physician to the late
Alexander T. Stewart, has received from
Mrs. Biewart, as an appreciation ol Dla
services, the exqnisite picture by Ool
known as ? Spring," or " The Swing."
It cost $6,000, and Mr. Stewart had refused
twice that sum for it. It was one
of the gems of his gallery.