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AMERICA'S DISCOVERY. ACCOUNTS OF PRE-COLUMBIAN VOY AGES AND SHORT STAYS. leeland's Ancient Lore Records an Expe dition Which Took Place in 986-Epe riences Which Lead to the Belief That America Was the Place Visited. The ancient lore of the Icelandic sagas furnishes proof of the early colonization of the American continent in the Tenth century by the Scandinavians. The sagas and eongs upon which ancient Scandi navian history is founded, and those con taining the history of America by the Northimen, were originally intrusted to the memory, and these verbal traditions formed historical narratives. In the early part of the Twelfth cen tury, when the Icelanders had become familiar with the Latin chirography. they were committed to writing. Manu scripts found in Iceland during the year 1650 make record of an expedition to Greenland led in 986 by Eric Red, of Ice land. His son Lief, who accompanied him, enlisted a crew of thirty-five men. and set sail from Greenland on another voyage of exploration. In due time they came to a well wooded land to the south west of Greenland, where day and night seemed more equal than in Greeldand and Iceland. GIVING THE LAND A NAME. After a short sojourn in this newly found country. Lief, in company with his followers, returned to Greenland. and the fame acquired by this expedition enc ge his brother 'ihorwald to em bark in the same vessel in 1002 for the recently discovered territory, to which was given the name of Wincland (Vine land). Thorwald and his crew, having safely reached their destination, spent the winter in the booths which Lief had erected. In the spring he explored the western coast and found the land not only attractive, but rich in vines and forest. No evidencesof human habitation were visibl, nor did he find the lairs of ani ma' Afterwards sailing eastward they came to a-cape upon whose sandy beach they landed. Having crossed this pro jection. to their surprise they saw three boats made of skins, partialiy buried in the sand, beneath which nine men lay hidden, eight of whom were caught and killed, one managing to escape. Later these Northenen were attacked by the Equimau- whom the eight so re en~tly killed 'probably belonged. Thor eald, fatally wounded in the encounter, was buried on the promontory where he fell. His crew returned to Greenland with a itch cargo of timber. THE SECOND EXPEDITION. The sagas make mention of another expedition, undertaken by Thorfin Karls fue, who enlisted as his associates sixty men and five women. Sailing from Ice land in a southerly direction, they ar rived atthe place where Lief had built his huts. After landing the cows and a bull to graze, which they had brought with them, Karlsfue ordered his men to fell trees and prepare timber for the ship's cargo; and while th'us engaged they saw E erging from the woods many Skraelings. Happening toappear where the bull was feeding, and being rather of a ferocious spirit, he bellowed loudly, andmade an attack upon them, which led them immediately to retreat. After securing re-enforcements they returned, and although they were not able t' make themselves understood to the Northmen, by means of signs, how ever, they were enabled to barter furs for such other commodities as the North men. were willing to sell. When' the na taes had withdrawn, Karisfue caused atrngwooden feneetobe placed around isbooths, which proved to be a wise precaution, as a short time after wards the Skraelings returned, when a fierce fight ensued, in which many of the Esenimanx fell. The Northmen soon be coming weary of their abode in so strange a country, and exposed to the frequent attacks of the natives, in the spring re turned to Greeand.n TETHEORY OF IEISH COLONISTS. The -hrI 'e~dtion was undertaken -in'fO1ibyFreyw'' aadauzghter of Eric Red, in company with 200 Icelandic tradea, but as no further exploration of this country was entered upon no new ficts were obtained. The theory of the population of Amer ica by Irish COlonists has been founded on the mention of a saga writer who observes that Wineland miust have been "Flvittramannaland," or the Great Ire land. It is not improbable that asimilarity in-the sound of the language of the people caused the name of a smaller body of land in the eastern hemisphere to be given to a part of the country by its first discoverers. Be this as it may it is cer tain that the theory has never been au thenticated. Thus we became acquainted with the Icelandic history of certain portions of the western hemnisphere, as given by the '8of the Icelanders. e discovery by Christopher Colum bus of W~est Indies in 1492 was perhaps themesulkt a trip made by him tc Ice land in 1477, atw whicoh time the discovery of unknown lands' to the south west of Greenland and Iceland was made known to him by the sgsof the people of Ice land.-Gen. C. V. Darling in Home Journal.________ Concerning Hydrophobia. Our knowledge concerning. the condi tionis under which the poison which crei~ fiydrophobia acts has been some what advanced by the recent experi ments of Mt. Galtier. of Paris. According -' to the experiments the dried virus has its poisonous properties Csavyed in from four to six days. On the other hand, earlier experiments of the same savant show that an animial which has died of rabies mayv retainthe poison in that part of the brain called the medulla obiongaa for six or seven weeks. It is evident that this fact may be of importance in cases where persons have been bitten by animals supposed tobe rabid. If the body of the creature has been buried it may be possible to exhume it after many days and make expriments which will serve to show whether danger from the wound is to be apprehended. In this way un founded anxieties may be allayed.-Fop uliar Science News. Electrio Fire Indicators. Electric heat indicators, consisting of -thermometers incased and protected by iron tubes, provided with platinum wires, and connected with a system of electric bells and indicators on deck, are the latest invention for preventing spon ta~neous combustion among ship car-goes. Should any undue heat anse in any part of the cargo, the mercury in the ther mometers will rise, make contact with the platinum wire, and give an instan taneous alarm on deck, indicating at Sthe same time the exact spot where the heat exists.-New York Telegram. With a shortage in one of her tresas ries, there is no longer any reason why Dakota should not beoome a full-fiedged State. The report that Lord Sackville would suoneed Sir Win. White as British em bauador at Constantinople is officially contradicted. THE LATEST AEo!TT THE CABnET is Blainie for Secretary of State, Aliison for Secretary of the Treasury, Alger for Secre tary of War, and Wanamaker for Post master General. There is not a single sur prise in this "slate." Most any man can set a clock, but it re qyfres gnninuta net a har. FACTS FOR THE FARMERS. Meeting of the Board ofAgriculture-A Pre mium Offered for the Largest Yield of Corn Per Aere-The Monthly Report Die eoatinued. (Columbia Record, January 31.) The Board of Agriculture held a meeting in this city yesterday afternoon and ad journed too late for the proceedings to be given in THE RECORD yesterday. The following resolution was unani mously adopted: "We, the board, would express our ap preciation of the services of Governor Ba good as our presiding officer for the last year. His long experience in public office joined to his ability, eminently fit-him for the discharge of the duties of the position which he has fillkd so acceptably to us and the people of the State." General Hago d was re-elected President a-d Mr. L. A Ransom Secretary. Dr. J. M. McBryde, Director of the Ex periment stations reported that proper titles ,f the Spartanburg station have been exe c:uted to the State. A committee was ap pointed to consider the whole matter of the non-payment of the cost of the land by the people of Spartanburg and report at the next quarterly meeting, at which time the board will take action as to the contiuuance of the experimce-tt sta i n in that county, th'- promises made noti. aving been ful filled. It was decided to comtinue the Farmers' [nstitutes during this year in each county that desires it. she Commissioner was authorized to appoint patrois to auppres< illegal tising n the E tisto River and the rivers in Ge-rcetovn c' unty. The "Amercat, Agricultur:iist " baving ffert-d a premium i-f $50 for :e ounges i-hl of coin per acre pro,.;ur--d anyw here in the United St-tes, the board dIecided to supp:eutent this by a like premium, shouhi It be taken by a South Car.lia planter in any case the board will give $100 t, the farmer in this State who sec-urea the larg est yield. The Commissioner was authorized to have the partition wall, set;'ratiug the grounu floor of Agricultural Hall into two balls, removed so as to m'tke a large hall for the permanent museum of the Depart ment. The Commissioner was also authorized to sell the old carp breeding pond in this city at the foot of Sumter street. Several applications have been made for this prop erty. General rights phosphate licenses were granted to E. C. Williams, Jr., and H. B. Jennings. It was ordered that the annual appropria tion of $2,500 for the tate Agricultural and Mechanical Society, out of the funds of the Superintendent of Agriculture, be paid. The publication of the monthly reports was ordered discontinued, and the Com missioner was authorized to distribute spe cial bulletins at various times. The Commissioner was authorized to establish river observation stations at what ever places he thinks proper. They will supplement the United Sta'es stations. A daily record of the depth of the water, the state of the weather, direction of the wind and amount of rainlall since the last ob servation, will be kept. During sudden rises these reports will be transmitted by telegraph. WRAPPED IN FLAMES. A Poor Little Negro Girl's Awful Fate-A Horrifying Spectacle in Market Street. There occurred in Market street yester day afternoon one of the most horrible in cidents that has ever been witnessed in this city. The time was about half-past 4 o'cock; the. scene South Market street. a few doors east of Meeting street. There were comparatively few people in the street, and these consisted principally of the drivers of express wagons and porters of the produce stores in the neighborhood. Suddenly an awful shriek was heard, and in another moment a little negro girl about 8 years of age dashed out of an alley open ing in the street and made her way across the street to the market. The child was enveloped in flames from head to foot Before she had reached the- middle of the roadway she fell. Tnree colored men - Joseph Jcnkins, James Wilkins and - Johnson-rushed up to her, and in a few moments had stripped the burning cloth ing, and, horrib-e toxelate, a good deal of the skin, from the child. She was then taken up and the writhing, tortured body was carried back to the pae from whence the burning child had come. It is the old, old story: a mother work ing out, leaving her children at home, an accident, and then what in this case wil: prove ts tbe a terrible death. The child was thme daughter of Charlott-~ Richards. a colored w oman, apparently not over 30 years of age. The mother rented the outhouse on the premises, No. 103 Market street. She had gone out, leavit'g nr three children in the re:m, a fire on, the hearth. The poor girl h .d fiidkn asleep near the tireplace aod her clothingt bad caught fire. When she awoke, her scanty dress was in fl:tres, aud, frighteued nearly to death, she h. t arted out of the room, through the r >W alley and into the street. When the men who had picked her up carried her back inio the. kitchen itn the rear of the premises the child was burnt al most t-) a crisp. A half dt-zen women, white and colored, went promptly to her and did what they could to relieve the ex ereaing pasins of the wretched creat ure. Of c(-arse a crowil speedily gathered. .aog themi two or three poiicemen, but obody seemed to be disp.,sed to go in earch of a doctor, and n- one except the wImen attemptedl to do anythiz. for the relief of the sufferer- At keth Lieut Mllenhuer, of the police force. co.m -u;. ad ascertaining the state of affairs,mnuted his horrse and rode (.ff to the Station to summons an ambulance. Finally the Hospital ambulance arrived and the victim was conveyed to the City Hospital, where, of course, she will re ceive the best attention. It is hardly pro bable, however, that inhe can survive the burns. The child's skua was pealed from almost every part of her body.-News and Courier, Jan. 30. Shot by Her Young Daughter. News ceached here yesterday of the ac cidental shooting of Mrs. Mills on a farm in Trappe district, about six miles from Salisbury. Mrs. Mills was sitting in her library doing some fancy work when her ten-year-old daughter entered the room, and taking a stmall pistol from the cabinet pointed it at her mother and said: "L 'ok out mamma, I will shoot you." The mot h er looked up just - as the child pulled the trigger- The pistol, which was supposed not to be loaded went off, and the ball en tered the left breast of Mrs. Mills just about the ntipple. The patient may re cvr-Salisbury Special to the Baltimore Sun. Senator Berry has been re-elected to the Senate by the Arkansas Legislature. The mail steamer Sam sank opposite Appalachicola Monday. No lives were l. Overloading and rough weather caused the disaster. Contracts have been signed in Pensa cola lately, under which 5000 tons of Alabama coal will leave that port each ftuonth for the West India islands. The contract for the granite wharf at Charleston, S. C., awarded to D). A. J. Sullivan, has been revoked and a new contract made with the Southern Con strution and Quarry company to perform the wo.r at $107,800. WATERMELON FARMING. How the Crop Compares in Labor and Profit with Cotton in Barnwe11. (Bamberg Special to Charleston world.) There is much preperation going on in this neighborhood for the planting of a large watermelon crop. There will be a larger acreage planted here this year than was planted last year. The induce ments for planting are safer than hereto fore. Buyers are offering $65 dollars per carload for melons weighing from eighteen pounds upward, payable with an accepted draft now, so that, indeed, all the risk to the planter now is the season. Formerly he had to risk making the melons, and if he should succeed in making them, he ran a big risk of being unable to sell them at fair prices. He was completely at the mercy of the buyer, but now he has his accepted draft, which, by its terms, becomes convertible into ca h upon th- delivery of his melons at his nearest depot, regardless of the stock en hand or the conditon of the market. But even with these favorable induce ments, the farmer prefers to take his own risk and make no sale until his crops are ready for market, when certain circum stances might make a cir (.f melons which now are worth sixty -i: dollars, worth c'ouble the amount when matured and ready for shipment Melon growing is modent tely, profit able in comparison with other crops of this climate. It is estimated that it requires an average of three acres of ordinary land to orriduce rie c:rr of melous. It would require about th.- sane aereage of the q aantrty of land to produce one bale of cttten. It requiree 400 pounds of solu ble goano per acre on the melon crop, and about 300 pounds on the cotton crop, but :t does not requare more than half the labor to cultivate an acre of melous that au acre of cotton demands. It costs about $10 'o gat"ier and load a car of meio::s, ai it costs the sime to gather tnd ,in ule of cotton. The car of melons w:ien loaded is worth sixty-five dollars cash in July and August. The bale of cotton is worth forty or forty-five dollars cash in September to Decemier. By the above comparison it would seem that melon planting now was slight ly more profitable than cotton raising, but it should be mentioned that the -ame land will not produce marketable melons oftener than every third or fourth year, while cotton will succeed itself on the same land with fair results for a number of years, and, on the other hand, it should be borne in mind that the farmer has much time to devote to the prepara tion and improvement of his lands, and to other employments and to other crops. The greatest difficulty in the way of melon farming is tne hauling, which cannot be dove if the farm is situated at any great distance from the depot. It would seem more profitable than other crops if the land be situated two miles or Less from the depot; over that distance the hauling is too expensive to make melon growing at all profitable. D. F. H. MISS FULLER'S STARTLING GOWNS. They Astonish Washington Society, but She Doesn't Mind It a Bit. WAsHnoroN, January 30.-The "Ful ler girls," as the Chief Justice's daugh ters are termed, are in demand as assist ants at receptions. Their originality has taken hold of officialsociety, particularly originality of toilet. Miss Mary Fuller, who sails for Europe next week to con tinue the study of music, is original to the verge of eccenitrioity- Sbhei a v ious brunette, and clever. Her gowns are aslonishing creation, and are all of the erreme Empire fashion. It is said she will buy the materialin the morning, make the gown in the afternoon, and wear it in the evening. Whenever she appears in evening or afternoon toilet she presents the striking and, it be con fessed, startting figure of woman out growing her clothes. Her gown is very rcant and clinging in the skirts, and the waist is quite up utnder the arms. Above the arms it is vi ry low necked, so there is scarcely any waist av all. At Mrs. Carlisle's Wednesday after noon reception she was one of several assistant,. She weald have delighted an artist who wished to paint-well, a beauty of the Jor-epine period. Though not~ strictly beant:-ful. the effect was that of a picture of the "First Empire" age. The visitors were not artists, however, and they simply gazed at the ecc-entric aanghter of the CLief Justice as a cnri osiy. Mis-s Fulter's seif-poscsion was supreme. She sat under the full blaze of gaslight with graceful unconsciousness of being stared at. The really beautiful dark eyes showed no annoyance, the bright color in the chesas tid not change, nd altogether the y-:ungi womaa was apparently well satisfied to be the "star" apon which all were gazing. How Woun-d Men Behave. In a la-te~r to the Chicago Leader General Fianz Sigel writer: '"If a soldier is wounded his behavior depends on the man.r in which he is wounded and whether he is o.f q giet or excitable '-mper. Flesh wouin receved in as tio are in nmany esses not feit at all, until the blood comies and thie man g' exausted. Wlien a bone is struck the shok is great and accompanied by acute pain. I have seeni poor feilows c-truck in the brea-t by Minie balls remaining in action for minutes, then sinking on their knees or f:.:iiug on their faces. Not all such sevi woundls are mortal. Bergt. Tore, of the Twelfth Missouri, received a bal which went right through both temple, and he lived bor year< aiter ward; a soldier who was shot through his left lung lived for a whole year. General Shields was shot through his breastin Mexico and reached an advanced age. The worst hits are of course those by canister and round shot, and are mostly moia They take off arms or legs, or the head of a man, as was the case with the captain of a 'Southern bat tery in the battle of Pea Ridge. Splinters of shells are less dangerous, but when thrown into groups and columns may disable many men. A single shell from a Paixhan gun sent from Port Duncan, Maryland Heights, in my presence, to Bolivar againe a group of Southern horsemen killed General Lewis and wounded or killed 19 of his companions. I have hura wounded soidiers groaning under great pain, but I never heard them crying out or using profane lan guage. When halting on horse-boack on the right of the Twenty-fourth Massa ehusetts in the bittle of New Market, the regiment was under fire at close range for about 40 minutes, losing 200 men in killed and wounded, but not a loud cry was heard from those who were wound Proceedings have been instituted against the Berlin Kieuz Zaitung f or high treason, for printing an article de sribing as dangerous to the monarchial feeling of old Prussian patriots, the pub lication of the indictment against Prof. Geffken, with the object of appealing to public feeling. Parliamentary circles are much excited over this action of the oenment. OUT OF THE BEATEN TRACK. Some Curious Facts, Unusual Happenings and Queer Opinions. Out of 198 members of the Illinois Legislature 128 were born outside the State. Near Eckert, Ind., Saturday, while three boys were hunting, they dug into an old log after a rabbit and discovered a pot of gold coin. With the treasure counted out, $4,000 was found. A farmer of Mercer county, Mo., had four daughters, two of whom eloped with two brothers last week. The old man pursued them with a shotgun, killed both of the brothers and fatally wounded one of his daughters. He was subsequently lynched. Another victim of the March blizzard of 1SSS is reported from Laconia, N. H. Lewis E. Burrell, a farmer of that town, froze his feet badly in the blizzard, and and suflered so much that at ist his mind unbalanced, and he committed suicide. J. L. Babcock, of Ann Arbor, Mich., who is to-receive $500,000 from his uncle's estate provided he marries in five years after the latter's death, has re ceived so many letters from lovelorn maidens that he proposes to select his wife by means of a competitive examina tion held by a committee. On Friday last the grand jury of Petersburg, Va., returned an indictment against S. J. Barham, of Southamnton county. for felony in stealing a horse be longing to his brother. The horse was recovered in Petersburg after it had been sold and the owner was not aware of the name of the party who brought the horse to Petersburg until he confronted him in the police station. A Mutton. ills., dispatch to the New York bun says: This has been a great winter for snakes in this latitude. The largest haul so far reported was in Union township, eight miles east of Mason, where men dug out 123 rattlers, some of them five feet in length, and about sixty black snakes and other reptiles. Pansies are yet blooming in the door yards. There was a curious affair near Crad dockville, Va., on Friday. A young man, Andrew Ashmead, imagined that he was a woman and made aesperatc love to John Kellam, who humored the delusion for his own amusement and engaged himself to marry Ashmead. Friday evening they quarrelled over the color of the wedding dress to be worn and Kellam undertook to frighten Ashmead by flourishing a revolver. Thereupon Ashmead drew a revolver too, and shoot ing began in dead earnest. 1Both men were badly wounded. OUT IN THE COLD WORLD. A Widow and Three Children Sleep Four Nights in the Open Air. S-. Louis, Jan 30.-Mrs. Anna Raas, a widow with three small children, slept last week for four nights on the ground in the rear of a tumble down tenement which she had formerly occupied. The rent was only $r, and, failing to pay this, she was evict ed last Tuesday. Her possessions consisted of a stove. some bed clothing and kitchen utensils. These were tossed out in the back yard. She placed-her children under the clothes and went about the streets applying for work. Repeated refusals rendered her almost insane, and all she could do was to beg a morsel of food for the children. They slept in the open air from Tuesday until Saturday night. Saturday night the temperature tell to ten above zero and at 3 o'clock in the morning a policeman tum bicd on the family huddled up in the bed clothes w'h tJoanow beatinir down upon them. They were takexn me~r or 1y Lta police and a fund is being raised for them. The Scotch-lrish Race. There will assemble at Columbia, Tenn., on the 8th of May.sext, acongress of the Scotch-Irish race. Every State in the Union, Canada at d the Union King dom will ;be represented by prominent represenatives of this race, who will participate in the exercises of the con gress. The object of the cong ress is to revive the memories and compile the history of the race, showing its impress upon American civilization. It will be devoid of religious or politicalsignificantce. Dis tinguished speakers and orators will read. historical papers and deliver orations commemorating the deeds of the~cotch Irish. Tlhe information thus gathered will be complied into a history and perpetuated to prosperity. Thp opening address wil be delivered by Col Mc~iure, of Phila dephia. D)r John Hall and other emi net divines and scholars have accepted invitations to speak. The feature of especial interest in connection with the congress will be the reunion of ex-Con federate and Federal soldliers. How Amerieans Rush Through Life. One has only to~ contemplate the men and their movements about one of the lrer hotels to undersiaud just how fast toe Ame ican people are really hying. Te commercial men, especially, aite living on the lightning plan, and the rest of us are not very far behiud. The man who travels extensively today rarely receives any communication except by telegraph. He figures his day's wo.rk by the minutei and half intutes and estimates just what every second is worth to him. Even the hotel reaisters are illustrations of the eon onv of rime. The man irom (Chicago, wries ir "'Chi.," Phila- e:phia is "Pal.," lvelnd "Clev ," Harrisburg "H'burg," Cincinnati "Cin:," and so on through the entire list of Ameiican cities with the ex eption of the raan from Boston, and he nvriabiy writes it "Bstn M-es." He cant afford to sacrifice so great a distinc Some Figures by a Reporter. One of the problems with which a report e- on at morning newspaper has to deal is the prbability of finmig at home the men whom he is ~assigned to interview after 8 o'clock in the evening. Long experience teaches him that the vocation, age and so cial position of the person sought will ena ble him to estimate the chance very accu rately. Assuming 100i to represent the certainty of finding his man, the probabili ties -ill run about as follows: Clergymen. on Monday and Saturday nights; 86; other nights. 40. Old lawyers, -75; young law ers, unmarried, 25. Capitalists and ban kers, 75. Politicians, between campaigns, 30; politicians, during csmpaigns, 5. Clerks living at home, 20; clerks, boarding. 10. Physicians, 50. Merchants, 60. Mechanics 70. Young women, unmarried, 50; mar ried women in society, 60; married women without special aspirations, S0. Old pen p' past 70 years, 95 After 10 o'clock at ~ight the cbauces of finding mniddle-ag.-d peipe at home are double the 8 o'clock chances, while the younger ones on the average usually come strolling in about 11 o'clocc.-Buffalo) Express. According to Henri Labouchere, there are over a million girls in England, who are not likely to get marriedc. In order to remedy this state of things he suggests that girls should be allowed to propose; in fact riat courting and proposing shoulid hence forth be a business appertaining to both A facetious old lady, describing the ram bling sermons of her minister, said, "If the text had the smallpox his sermons woul nee atch it." GROWTH OF ALASKA. Extracts from the Annual Report of Governor A. P. Swineford. The Governor of Alaska, A. P. Swineford, in his annual report to the Secretary of the Interior, states that the white population has greatly in creased and he estimates that there are 35,000 natives. The total popula tion is 49,850 and of this number there are 6,500 whites, 1,900 Creoles and 2, 950 Aleuts. In regard to the settle ment of the public lands the Govern or states that all settlers in Alaska upon public lands are more squatters who are awaiting legislation from Con gress which will enable them to secure titles. All the salmon factories in the Territory, seventeen in number, are located on the public lands. He asks favorable consideration by the depart ment of the bill pending befere Con gress providing for the organization of the Territory. The Governor says that as far as he knows there are no practical farmers or gardeners in the Territory. The only obstacle in the way of agriculture. in the oninion of the Governor, is that the lands are not available for settlement. He says that the climate is favorable and the soil rich. He sees no reason why Alaska may not ultimately rival Montana and Wyoming as a cattle country. The stamp mine on Douglass Island, which the report states is tihe largest in the world, has nu estiiated output of $150,000 in gold per month. Other gold mines are beinc developed in the same, and the report notes the sale of four claims for $1,500,000. Promising silver discoveries have been made. The Governor thinks that there is enough coal in the Territory to supply the whole of the United States for centuries. There are fourteen pub lic schools in Alaska, which last year were placed- under the charge of the Territorial board. The Govern or recommends that the general agent be made more amenable to the authori ty of the board of which he is a mem ber and secretary. Last year, the re port states, the general agent was ab sent for six months from the Territory without leave. In addition to the public schools, there are eight Protest ant,two Catholic and seventeen Greco Russian mission schools. The Govern or reiterates the charges made in the annual report relative to the violation of law and the ill treatment of the na tives by the agents of the Alaska Com mercial Company. He credits the com pany with adhering faithfully to its contracts with the Government as to the number of seals to be killed on the seal islands and the treatment of the natives, but elsewhere in the Territory, he says, where the company rule is supreme", "the people are little better than serfs of that powerful company." -V.'sinoton .. FLEXIBLE STONE. A Whole Mountain of the Queer Substance in North Carolina. (From the Washington sta-.) There lay this morning on the desk of Mr. Samual Hodgkins, acting chief clerk of the War Department, astone wrapped in brown paper. It weighs about a pound and was perhaol.S-Rinhea in length, 2j in width and onetird o1 an meni iaask.. 'ie texture of the stone was fine and present cd no evidence of stratincetion, and was smooth ever the entire surface: A knife blade made no impression on the partic les. There was no doubt as to its being a genuine stone, but it is nevertheless possessed of the flrxibiity of apiece of India rubber. When taken in the hand and shaken in the direction of its flat surface it would bend back and forth with a dull, muffled sound. The move ment was more of a laxity in the adhe sion apparently than an elasticity. When held horizontally by one end the other would drop and remain in that position. With the two ends supported on rests, the free centre could be pressed half an inch below the middle line. With one end held firmly on the desk the other end could be 'beuit over an inch. The movement was not counned to the one direction-in the plane of the flat stur faes-but the entire stone seemed to be contracted on the principle of a niver sal joint, with a movement in all direc tions under pressure.. It came from a m'ountain in North Carolina, and bears the name of "flexible sand stone." The entire mountain is composed of this material, and pieces cut at random exhibit the same flexible properties. Dismayed the Dra~mmer. A Boston cigar drummer, whose resi dence is in Taunton, tells a story on him ef with great glee. He was in Hartford, Conn, one evening, and after lounging about the hotel in disconsolate lonehiness for an hoar or two he asked the clerk if there was anything going on in town he clerk suggested taking in a masque ade ball that was -.a progress. The armmer thought the idea was a good one. but he hadn't any cosiume. The clerk suggested that he should borrow the colored porter's overalls and jumper, black his face and bands and go. 'The suggestion was promptly aeted upon, and for an hour the bogus elored man talked Afrian-Enghsh and had a high old' time among the masked belles. Finally the signal to unmask was given, and when the maske came off a great wave of dark ness swept over the hail. Every blessed man, woman and child in the place was a full-blooded negro! The drnmmer cast one panic-stricken look at the crowd, and then made for the door. When he reached the hotel he resumed his old time personality and set up the wine. Poetry and the Public. In his recent lecture on the influence of poetry Mr. Will Carleton intimated with accuracy that most of the newspaper poems so-called, were trash, but that a good deal of real poetry was found in the prose of he day and even in newspaper reports. Tose who read the best of the latter care fully and appreciatively must have ob served that during the last few years there has been a distinct gain in the style, grace of expression and phrasing. A record oif fact ruay frequently find favor in a reader's eye because of the sparkle of the narration. In these days of hard pbysical and mentil toil very few people read anything which boldly claims to be poetry. But they are ever ready to appreciate the poetry of llfe which hides behind the fact and which proves that the "still sad music of humani ty" is flowing on unbrokenly as ever. Buffalo Express. At a recent session of the Parnell com mission the reading of the speeches produced in evidence was con tinued. It is reported that witness Thomas O'Conner, who charged Timothy Harrington, M. P., with employing him as a moonlighter, is on his death bed, and has signed a confession in which he withaws~r Mi asation A HERMIT FISHERMAN. He Lived on 6S a Year and Flas Accumu lated a Goodly Fortune. "Zeb, the hermit fisherman," lives in a filthy hovel drvn near the ocean in the town of Stonington. He wears the old time fisherman costume of blue overalls, jacket and skull cap to match. IIc, too, was disappointed in love, and took to fishing in solit-.ide for a livelihood. He next courted the Bible, and can repeat it from Genesis through to Revelations by heart. With a capital of $0, which he invested in a dory, he has amassed a fortune estimated at $50,000. For five years he' lived in a shanty, expending but $8 a year for food. His clothes he wore to shreds. and his fuci he picked up on the bechi. During that time he saved S423, with which he bought his present hrme. here for thirty out of thirty-five vcars it cost hi:a ht1 8 nnu:dly for the necesiti,'s of life, while i:is earnings he invested in real estate. The pro'erty purcthased by him lies logti.e .:ater tr":, and at that time was at til rucrev of the sea, which cast its huge waves far inshore during a gale. Z, immedviiately began the laborious work of building a breaketer. orrather Tlii: he d.i.. ; e and t:...: site1. It is of stone. .:ly 5"J feet in !-":tl ;md five feet in hdit The work : one l hand, the big stones bein-; .ar'd in a hinaie made wieelbar rowv and: consu::ning a y-r's time'. Aiter thu, job haid been completed Zeb began the "rection of his first tenement house. With a pickax. a spade and a wieelbarrnw he excavated for the cellar, using the dirt to eill in the hole back of the se awl. lie walled up the cellar .i- ' tt".:wi i tein secured carpenters to buih a hous:e. This cost him S O. il e ip::. 'ing and papering 'hei .id limseif. A m:;.1 :r this onie was cc:mpleted he beg.an: wor;k upon a second. ie conltined Ii:: labor, ant now has ten houses, :iide tr; side, all built the same way. iach of thcse house:: brings him a monthly rental of $7, a:d they are all occupied. But he has not neglected his fishing during this time. lie has made from ;:u) to $IUJ, and sonetimes $500 a year. This montev he turned into property or iacel in the savings bank. It is sup poee'd hr many townsfolk that he also has considerabe hid in his sleeping room, the armaments of which consist of a three pronged pitchfork, a hatchet and a stove poker. The past tire years have been more expensive to him than any previous ones. His fortune has accumu lated to cuch an extent that his expendi tures now average $125 a year, which includes insurance, taxes, food and fuel. -Norwieh (Conn.) Cor. Boston Globe. A Palace of Salt. The people of Salt Lake City are con teupilating the erection of a great "Salt Palace." it would be a structure that would Inv in the shade all the ice and torn pala1es ever constructed. The main part of thestructurecould be of the finest steci:uens of roc: salt to be found in the quarries. hiseled. carved and artistically arranged; while the interior fittings should be of crystallized work from the lake on a grand scale. Such a palace should be nermanent if properly pro tected from the winter rains: it could be made of the most unique and striking style of architecture; it could be made ore of the wonders of the world. When lighted by electricity the structure would have all the sparkle and diamond glitter of the great ice palaces, and with the difference in the salt palace's favor, the heat wouli not melt or dim its glories in the least.-Virginia (Nev.) Enterprise. A Girl Who Works. A reporter has a window that com mands a view of a sewing room over a gentleman's furnishing store. Every mornin;, when the rcporter gets up lie sees a bhen r arirl sew' o-vah~e work room wmi dow. vrten wv hen tne coa..i home at night she is still there and still sewing. Sh~e is making eyelets in shirt fronts. It is nice an d delicate work, though she does it with the persistency of a machine. She takes thirty stitches every minute. That is IS00 every hour, or lt8,000 every day. In a week she takes 108,00'0 stitches. Her hand moves a yard for every stitch. In a week she measures off precisely six miles and a quarter of space with that band. The pay for this prodigious amount of effec tive labor is $1 a day, and she is con sidered a high priced, skilled work woman. -Philadelphia Press. A New Danger. The introduction of leprosy into the United S~tates must be stopped and the teriible dise'ase stamped out at once, or it will be the most urmanageable of all epidemics that ever visited our land. There is no longer any question of its iben't ertiuniuc-cable. The lepers have invaded Br-itish Columbia. and had such free access to thle indians that the whole race of red men is infected. Thle antag onismu to Chinese immigration wvill be more widespread than ever, and will be based on something besides race preju dice. It would be far better to stop qurantiniing against yellow fever an smallpox, for wilek the Latter kill more quickly, lemrosy devours its victims with a living death. When will our authori ties ge.t well ar-oused to appreciate the dageur that is coming upon us?-St. Louis G lobe-Democrat. Ternyson's L~ttle Joke. On one occasion it came to Mr. Tenny so's knowiledge that two men were hid lneg behir2 trees on either side of the dive, prs-ncably to have a leok at hir. whe he wnt ouit for his us;ual walk. Lor Ten.avson, at once seecing a rdance of some fu'n, ceibd in his gardenuer, an oldI man. He told him of the two men. and mad hIim put en his velvet coat ae wide awa k. hat. Then thec old mar sled fort:h rnd made his wayn to the dive, dow which lie walked as though in dten meditation. L-e had not gone veyv far- en hlle heard a muan's voice conng fr-ou behind, with a strong Yan e t wazn. nay: "Now I've seer. Lord Te.n..,-cn; 1 guess I'll go h~ome to. Amur~ika."--Londton litar. An Explanation. There was company at dinner and Bobbey's mother was somewvhat surprised when~ Bobby refused pie. "Why, Bobby." remarked crne of the guests, "aren't you fond of pie':" "Yes, mearm. I'm as fon dof it as anyv little boy, but my sister made that pie.5' -New York Sun. A Wise Father. "Who is your family doctor, Bobby?" "Dr. Green." "Why, I thought you had Dr. Broswn." "So we did unitil Dr. Green began courting sister Sally. Pop gets even with Greenv for coal and gas by hav-in' him keen the rest of us healthy for nuthin'." ---arprs Bazsar. The best way to avoid a will contest is to give away all during one's lifetime. It is a bad plan for men who owe money .ver to make publhc exhibition of extrava gance. All things come around to him who waits, including a bald head, false teeth ear trumpets, and heaps of miscellaneous troubles. The manufacturers of perforated chair ests have combined. It need occasion no surprise if the people sit down on this com bination. People confident of their own social po sition never resort to rudeness, or adopt the "cold haughty stare" to convey an idea AN OLD ORGANIZATION. Brief History of the Foundation of the Socle.ty of the, Cincinnati. A short time before the disbanding of the Continental army, in 1783, an association called the Society of the Cincinnati was formed among the offi cers of the troops stationed at New burg, N. Y. General Knox was the one who first suggested the society, the object of which was to be the promo tion of friendship among the officers of the army and the assistance of such of its members as might need help. Washington was chosen the first presi dent of the society, and remained pres ident-general until hisideath. General Knox was the first secretary-general. Subsequently State societies were formed, auxiliary to the general soci ety. In order that the society should not pass away with the generation that formed it, its constitution pro vided that the eldest masculine descendant of an original mem ber should be entitled to wear the order and enjoy the privileges of the society, if accounted worthy of these by the other members. There was so much popular prejudice excited by what was considered to be " the germ of an hereditary aristocracy," that the right of succession was thus made sub ject to the vote of the society on the worthy character of the eldest male descendant. A number of French of ficers were made honorary life mem bers of the society. Washington was re-elected tri-ennially to the office of president general as long as he lived. He was succeeded by Hamilton and the Pinckneys, and the society was in all its vigor in 1824-5, when Lafayette, then the only surviving Major-General of the revolution, visited this country. The Connecticut society was dissolved in 1804. At near the same time the societies of New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Delaware and Georgia were discontinued. Robert Burnet, of New York, who died in 1854, was the last survivor of the original members of the association. The general Society of the Cincinnati is still in existence, and also State branches in Massachusetts, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and South Carolina. The State societies have an nual meetings; the general society meets tri-ennially..The order, or badge. worn by members, consists of a golden eagle, suspended by a ribbon of blue and white. On the breast of the eagle is a medalion, on which is a repre sentation of Cincinnatus at his plow, receiving the Roman Senators, who offer him the office of chief magistrate of Rome. The order worn by the pres ident general is adorned with jewels. and was presented to General Wash ington by the French officers. The President General of the Society of the Cincinnati in 1880 was Hamilton Fish, then Secretary of State, son of Colonel Nicholas Fish, one of the original members, who still, we think, fills this office.-Chicago Inter-Ocean. WITTY AND WISE. Observations of a Woman Who Has Stud ledHuman Nature. Money will buy almost any thing. from a postage-stamp to a peerage or Why not reverse the ancient order of things? Let trouble go to protest and borrow happiness once in a way. It is not always an easy matter to succeed gracefully; but it requires a. much finer equilibrium to fail success fully. Every thing becomes an old story. It is doubtful whether five people on earth would be happy in an unchange able Heaven. It is easy to be noble among the no ble. The difficult thing is to keep the nobility of one's nature unperverted among the petty and ignoble. Personal dissatisfaction may be the cause of our being so critical with others, and- of our bitter disappoint ment when we learn that none are ex empt from defects. It is a pusillanimous desire which would prevent earth from returning to earth. Nature lends us a cloak for the convenience of a day's journey. When it is done with, 1o you! we take the cloak and seal it apart,.and lock it away in lavender and musk. Then let her get it how she can. Children were formerly required to honor their parents, and to support them in old age; but we of the new heraldry seem to expect that parents will accumulate sufficient property and reputation to last two or three generations. There is a sensation upon glancing over one's first printed article which is no more susceptible of reproduction than are the summer days of childhood or a mother's first joy. That which approaches it most nearly is, perhaps, the emotion felt when one for the first time holds in his hand a twenty-dollar check payable to himself. The whole world is poor in comparison.-Kathi tie Grosjcan, in Judge. An Old-Fashioned Gun. A curious Thibetan musket or match-I lock has found its way from Sikkim, where it was picked up after a battle, to Calcutta. it is described in the In dian papers as of primitive design, al though comparatively new. It is a smooth-bore muzzle-loader, mounted on a long, narrow stock. The barrel is fitted with a double-pronged rest, the points of which are sharply shodr so that the rest itself may either be placed firmly in the ground or used, if necessary. as a bayonet. The contriv ance is ingenious, and the weapon is not altogether to be despised. At tached to it is a belt, on which are strung .iix hollow wooden plugs for powder charges and a small horn for priming powder.-Phildepi Ledger. The third game m the Tchigorin Steinitz chess contest has been played. It occupied nine hours and fifty minutes. Tchigorin, the Russian champion, began the game with the Runy Lopez gambit, and after his eighty third move Steinitz, who used the black, resigned. Senator Allison has returned to Wash ington from his visit to General Harrison at Indianapolis. As to the result of his onference with the President-elect the senator decline to say anything for publi ation. It will be only a few years before all the space for interment in England's most istorical abbey, Westminster, will be fi1l.l