Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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I t*.c.:e >vl::e sea serpents. AFTER LONG MONTHS. William H. Ballou Talks about Thera in an I nte restint Mr.nacr. In the latter part of the Mesozoic age there was a great Inland ocean, spread ing over a large part of the present continent. The lands then above water were covered with a flora peculiar to the times and were inhabited by some of the animals which later distinguish ed the Cenozoic age. In the seas were reptiles, fishes, and turtles of gigantic proportions, armed for offense or de fense. There were also oysterlike bi valves, with enormous sheiis. three or four feet In diameter, the meat of which would have fed many people. In time this great ocean, swarming with vigorous life, disappeared. Moun tain ranges and plains gradually arose, casting forth the waters and leaving the monsters to die and bleach in Ter tiary suns. As the waters remaining divided into smaller tracts, they gradu ally lost their saline stability. The stronger monsters gorged on the weak er tribes, until they, too, stranded on rising sand bars, or lost vitality and perished as the waters freshened. In Imagination, wa can picture the strong est, bereft of their food supply at last, and floundering In the shallow pools until all remaining mired or starved. It would be Interesting to know how much of the great Cretaceous ocean forms a part, If any, of the vast oceans of to-day If any part so survived, what became of the saurlans carried forth into new ocean areas? Were they beaten on Jagged rocks by power ful currents and destroyed, or did some of them escape only to perish in after ages? Water, as a rule, seeks its level; sometimes it is evaporated. If the Cretaceous ocean merely drained off into other areas before rising lands, it is perhapr not unreasonable to suppose that the descendants of some of the saurlans might have survived in the Atlantic or Pacific as they had existed in the Mesozoic age. We can, there fore, only assume that the Cretaceous seas evaporated or gradually freshened until all the life they could contain be came oxtiuct. » Evil Rings of Feather* Witch wreaths have been steadily losing prestige since old colonial days, when witches were burned and old la dies of taciturn nature were supposed to take midnight rides upon long, ra kish-looking broomsticks. The Uni versity of Pennsylvania, however, re cently received a veritable witch wreath of the old sort. It was present- ed to the university by Dr. George B. Kline of Pittsburg. The curiosity consists of a matted ring of chicken feathers, and is about three Inches in diameter. It is common belief among ignorant residents of parts of Pennsylvania jUlit merl wreaths form in pillows subjected to evil Influence*, and that a person sleep ing on ruch a pillow will surely die. The superstitious put blbles under their pillows to prevent the evil cir- ;le from forming. The wreath present- «d to the university was found in the pillow of a resident of Pittsburg, who died while using the pillow. • n Honor of Vu^co da Gama. The four huiidmlth anniversary of V«sca da Gama's discovery of the rt.iiie to the Must ladles by way of the Cape of Good Hope Is to be celebrated, under the auspices of the Portuguese Government, in Lisbon, from May 17 to 110. A naval review will l>e a feature of tin.* celebration. RELIEF FROM PAIN. After long months we meet again Ariteiig the nodding daffodils. The nglit lies low along the plain, And over all the purple hills; The merry thrush sings out the day With bursts of May-time madrigals, And from the freshly budding spray, Through opening leaves, the chiff-chaff 1 calls. How different all when last we met In dim fields dashed with autumn rain, And watched the lust late swallow set His wings toward the South again! Long time we strove, with voices low, And alien lips, light words to speak; And was it rain that trembled so From those long lashes down your cheek? We parted, as the mists drew down, The gray mists, gathering fold on fold, And, through the dusk, the little town Glimmered far off, with sparks of gold. We watched the lamps wake, one by one, Gold stars beneath the starless sky, And hand touched hand, and all was done Twixt hearts too full to say good-by. And now Spring stands with sunny smile, Over the dead months cold and gray; I think we’ve dreamed a weary while And wakened to the perfect day. With winter’s snow and autumn’s rain The days of lonely life are o’er; Forget the isirting and the pain Since our two hearts have met once more. atole ago, boss; 'bow -hey. now. He tch and horse- ffwpect artunity fen if he little to fiDUOceut I persisted rising af- »f the sit* St dreum- I assure ay ability i hare ouly pted him. him!” ex- A TENDERFOOT’S . HORSE TRADE. | HE starlit gloom of a glorious mid summer ulght was settling over the prairie us George Sanders Jog ged slowly and painfully along, still a dozen miles or so from his next stopping place. His horse was an excellent one, but very tired from its long Journey. George was a tenderfoot. His health falling under too close application to business in the East, he had taken his doctor’s advice to pass a year or more out of doors by accepting an Invitation from an old friend to Join him on his cattle ranch In the northern part of Texas. He was now on hia journey thither, aud a full two hundred miles from his destination. A bronzed Individual, bu ed. constituted himself Apologizing for the lutru said: “Stranger, there xvaa a from K1 tier’s ranch several:' that ar same boss being a vaT and it's our painful dooty he come under your tt boys?” The crowd grunted assent George was fully alarmed had read much about Judge his summary dealing thieves, and he knew thai was not always given an to establish his Innocence, imssessed it. It mattered vi the prisoner whether he w or guilty so long as the coi in thinking him guilty. “Gentlemen,” said Georgi ter a brief formal dlscusgloi nation, “1 am well aware t| stances are against me, 1 you of my iunocense and to prove It If given time. to find Mr. Horton '' A roar of laughter Inte “Suppose wo telegraph claimed one. “Or have him come C. gested another. “We never do things In sumed the spokesman, 4 hurry In this ease, morrow afternoon to git ready, and the trial will b< place at that time. The boss’ll be put In evidence agin you, nn<$ if you can prove that you came houostly by him you’ll be discharged; If ydu can’t why »> A gesture told the rest. The morrow came, aud the court room—at other times thf l«ir-room— was tilled with as motley a gathering as ever confronted a prisoner. The spokes man of the i>m*eding day occupied the iHMich. A jury was impanelled, and George was offered counsel, but decllu- ed the service of the laxft, tobacco- stained cattleman who wa* assigned to the case. The trial proceeded. George was slca at heart at the utter hopelessness of .ds case. The landlord testified that the prisoner had r^ldeu the stolen horse did you come by the black FRAGS ON A MAN-OF-WAR D.,” sug- affrii irry, re- we won’t IT! glfe ye till to- your ca*e held In this As he rode along his attention was ! itdo the village, and Gekrge repeated prestod by the clatter of hoofs and a bis talc of the stranger and the ex- arreste few moments after a single horseman came within view. He reined his steed up sharply when within a dozen yards of our friend, and greeted him with an affable nod ami smile. Through the dim light George beheld a stalwart individual In the pictur- eaquo garb of the frontier. He also ob served that he liestrode a magnificent animal, which evidently had been driven very hard, as it was flecked heavily -frith foam. ' Good evening, stranger,”'said th* hieh way, if Ut of Pennsylvania and New Jersey plainsman, pleasantly. “W1 t the witch wreathj U apuinatru-. I am UAf i«®J*irtou4” . Pi Of evif -rkw i^nfrirflErTa# The nknT^endfr- change of mounts. It wna further elic ited that the missing horse was valued at a thousand dollars, that he was tak en from Killer’s place four days before, that Killer’s was fifty miles northwest of Burrit’s, aud that thore had been no previous clew to the identity of the thief. “Got anything to say afor® T sentence you to be hung?" askedftbe court, at the conclusion of the testimony, “If the Women Evorywhoro Express their ' Gratitude to Mrs. Pinkham. fir*. T. A, WALDEN, Gibson, Go., write*! 44 Dk.vu Mas. Pinkham: Before tak ing your medicine, life was a burden to me. I never saw a well day. At my monthly period I suffered untold misery, a: .I a great deal of the time I was troubled with a severe pain iu my aide. Before finishing the first bottle of yo.’.r Vegetable Compound I could tell it was doing me ■ ood, I continued ita use, al iO used the Liver Pills and Sanative Wash, and have been greatly helped. I would like to have you use my letter for the benefit of others.” rw». FLORENCE A. WOLFE, 513 Hulberry St., Laacasttr, Ohio, write*: 44 1)i:ar Mas. Pinkham:—For two years I was troubled with what the local physicians told me was infiamma- tion of the womb. Every month I suf fered terribly. I had tain n enough medicine from the doctors to cure any one, but obtained relief fe- a short time only. At last I concluded to write to you in regard to my case, and can say that by following your advice I am now pefectly well.” firs. W. R. BATES, n&nafleld, La., write*: 44 Before writing to you I suffered dreadfully from pninful menstrua tion, leucorrhoea and sore feeling in the lower part of the bowels. Now un friends want to know what makes me look so well. I do not hesitate one min ute in telling them what has brought about this great change. I cannot praise Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound enough. It is the greatest remedy of the age.” o/nw ET ll 8 IWHWA (TEETHING IjEK**) 'm not .1 pAtcfnt MeiUcind but a UtrUimatt remedy tint many difctiajfuUhed Poy»taiAn« who havo u«e<l and aeon its go d result 1 rvoomuitMid, and why will you deiaT rivla* it wh»n it will * H v* the IL’e of yom teething babe? irrTHiNA act* promptly in Aiding iMBo-tion. Reuulat ng the Howeisand re«prf»C baby to health and *tr»ngth, and making teething eoay. M re. VVInslow'»8oothiiu; Syrup foeehtldren ♦e thing, soften* the gums, reducing Inttama' Wun.NPare paln.cure* wind colic, aou. * bottle 1 ant •zt'ecly o«r*d of hemorrhage of lunaa by Pleo'* Cure :?» Consomption.—Lotisa LurOAMAN. Bethany. *!<< January 8. 1IM. Georg® at once. He answered freely as to bis purpose, destination, pyrt so on, casually remarking tlujt his horse wa* alKHit whipped, and that he feared its strength would not hold out to the end. “To Weldon’s ranch!” exclaimed the stranger. “Then inebbe yer the relation he sjHike about? I’m from Weldon’s— b’long tlmr—and am kinder looking up lout stock. IJueer, ain’t it, how folks’ll meet sometimes? Yes, Hank spoke about your coming not ruore'n a week ago.” George was overjoyed to meet with one who knew his old friend. The two cantered along side by side for some miles, and became quite unreserved in their interchange of confidences “Here’s a boss,” sold the stranger, In the course of the conversation, “that haiu't got his ekal on the plains. Hi one of Hank's best stock, as will gal lop night and day without feed or water If he't got ter. Now, I’ll do by you Jest as Hank would want me to if he was here. I ain’t in no hurry, being jes-t Jogging along looking for Weldon's brand, while you’ve got nigh two hun dred miles afore ye, and not much of boss to make It on. My proi>osltiou is that you can take this boss back to Weldon’s and I'll take yourn. I can trade him into something afore another day in over.' He spoke so disinterestedly, and his horse was so obviously a sui>erlor one, that George accepted the offer without hesitation. They dismounted, discuss ed the points of the horses as critically a* the darkness permitted, exchanged saddle and bridle, remounted and con tinued ou. After cantering along for several miles the stranger—he gave his name as William Horton—bade George a pleasant adieu and turned to the south. The darkness swallowed bin: and he was seen no more. George was a good Judge of horse flesh, and found that his acquisition was a superb one. He was strong, fleet and spirited—three qualities that, uni tod with soundness of limb and klndli ness of temper, make the perfect aid mal. He was still thinking over the generosity of the stranger when he reached Rurrit’s Station, and was soon comfortably settled in the ouly public house In the place. While he was dispatching the fare placed before him he heard sounds of an animated discussion from the direc tion of the barn. His window being open to admit the languorous southern breezes, he found no difficulty in hear ing all that was said. “I tell you he tallies to a dot!” cried a stridently Insistent voice. 4 Txx>k at the boss, and then read the description. Coal black; weight ten hundred; long mane and tall: white left fore foot; scar on right haunch—It’s him to a dot! Two hundred dollars reward for the hoes and Judge Lynch for the thief!” George did not grasp fully the sig nificance of what he had heard, and yet he understood it well enough to make him thoroughly uneasy. He was stlfl eating when the door opened and near ly a dozen men filed solemnly in. show by &e honestly purt bound honest pos- utiless it be “One thing,” replied taker of the stolen hoi Ing w lipe mt go with the horse? The floor there is mine, ns I Its contents. Now, if I c by the saddle, is not this to assume that I came inti session of the horse alsoi shown that I did not?” George’s logic made an Evident favor able impression on the spectators, if not on the court. What the prisoner says Is true,” said he; “hut it is also true that you can’t try a man for two crimes to once. This court’ll try fust for boss stealing, and after sentence for that has been exe cuted we’ll hear evidence for saddle stealing.” A look of fierce disgust swept over George’s face. “Am I to umlertsnnd, then, that If I’m hanged for the alleged theft of the horse, and It be proven subsequently that I did not steal the saddle, no ad ditional punishment will he Inflicted?” he demanded. "That’s the verdict of this court. We don't punish no man for what he ain’t guilty of.” At this time the door opened and n stranger entered the room. George was too deeply engri>ssed In his own bitter reflections to look up. The new comer was tall, straight, muscular, em browned by sun and wind, and was clad iu soiled buckskin from crown to sole. “Hello!” he observed pleasantly. "Something going on?” "Trial—boss stealing,” explained a bystauder, laconicslly. George raised his head at the sound of the stranger's voice, and to his blank amazement recognized tho Impudent scoundrel who had gotten him into his present plight. Springing to his feet, he almost shouted in his excitement: “There stands the man who traded me the horse! There Is the person who foisted his spoil on me! He will not deny It!” “W-a-1, I’ll l>e dinged if It ain’t Wei don’s relation!” exclaimed the stranger. "How d’ye like the black?” "I call all to witness that he admits It! How do I like the black? You con fess, then, that you gave me a black stallion with white left fore foot and scar on right hip?” The stranger seemed puzzled by the Interrogatory fusillade. “I did,” he replied at length; “that Is to say, I let you bike him to ride to the ranch. He’s Hank Weldon’s thorough bred and wuth a clean thousand." “And I am under conviction for the stealing of the accursed brute! After that man’s statement I have a right to demand Instant release from custody!” cried the prisoner, turning to the court. “Well, now—let’s go—a leetle slow, drawled the court, with t knowing wink In the direction of the jury. 4 Tve seed mebba cuter tricks In my time than this. Stranger, wlv-fs your name?" “My name is Bill Horton—nster be WlHyum—and I’m from the cattle ranch of Henry Weldon,” was the re ply, frankly and fairly given. beard- j “How man. j boss?” etc., he j “He belongs to Weldon, and I’ve been riding him about for nigh on to three weeks looking for lost stock.” “Did you know that he tallies to a dot with a boss as was stole from Kitler’s ranch four nights back, and that there’s a big reward offered for the Kltler boss?” asked the court. “If he does Hank Weldon will give big money for the Kltler horse,” calm ly replied the stranger, “Tallies to a dot and was stole,” re peated the court. The stranger’s aspect underwent a change. If I ain’t too bold I’d like to ask if there Is anybody here as insincrates that I’m guilty of boss stealing?” he inquired, carelessly dropping his hands on two huge pistols protruding from his belt. No one spoke. The bucksklnned one flashed his eyes keenly from face to face, finally resting Inquiringly on that of the court. As nobody seems like's if he wanted to snspect a gentleman without no evi dence agin him, suppose you adjourn the court for a day or so till you can look further into this mysterious sar- cumstance and find out about It? I pro pose that we all adjourn and take a drink." The court agreed readily enough, and under the mellowing Influence of the landlord's decoctions the best of feel ing soon gained ascendency. The stranger was well supplied with money, for a cow puncher, and spent It freely. “Now I’ll tell you what we’U do so as to clear the green ’un there and take suspicion olFn everybody consumed,” remarked the stranger, when all were more or less—few less—under the spell of the bottle. “Send a man over to Kitler’s to git the exact markings dt his boss as wa* stole. You’ll find that ther’s a difference atween the two bosses, that Is, the Kltlor boss and the black In the bam. The sick man there can stay here till t'other gits back.” The suggestion met with approval, and a courier was immediately dis patched to the despoiled ranch. George was not particularly well pleased at the turn of affairs, however. There was high carnival at Burrltt’s that night, and few went to bed sober. Horton was one of the last to leave. One after another the denizens of Bur rltt’s reeled through the door until the landlord, George and the cowboy were all that remained. It was some time after midnight when Horton gave our friend a farewell shake of the hand and also departed, seemingly In a state of maudlin inebriety. The male populace of Burrit’s was hardly astir the next morning when sounds of cursing and lamentation were heard., It bugapthe hostler hur- the hotel and Kfice in the • * ■ - r.. “Both gone? Yon Carnal fool, what yer chattering about?” demanded that l>ersonage, excitedly. 'V * 4 , “That big black as was stole and Horton’s bay Is both gone,” repeated the boat ter. “Then find ’em! What the tamal air yon gibbering about? Find Horton, the boss, everybody! He’ll rage like a wolf when he diskivers that his boss Is gone. It don't make no great odds about the sick man's black, but that bay of Horton’s Is got to be got!” The «ick man was easily found, but not so Horton, that courteous and lib eral philanthropist who went about the country exchanging superior stock for common, and threw his money over the bar as If It were so much worthless pa per. To tell the truth, tho landlord was glad that the big frontiersman could not be found. He did not rejoice at the prospect of having to face him with in telligence of his loss. He was assuring Sanders that there was little doubt of the ultimate recovery of his animal, when again the hostler came running from the barn, this time waving a bit of paper aloft. . What’s all the excitement about?" asked the judge, entering at that mo ment. Two bosses gone,” replied the land lord. “Huh! Hang two men, or one man twice—don’t make much difference which. Let’s set' that paper.” He took the bit of newspaper from the hostler. Along the margin was scrawled the following lines: "Gentlemen—Sorry to leeve ye but It Is necessary. I dropt in Just to eay that the estern chap is Innercent aud being a good-hearted sort of greenhorn it wud be a shame to hang him for what 1 done. I got the bay boss honest enuff and as 1 don't spose heel want the black as has caused him so much trubblc 111 take that too. Good-by. “BILL HORTON.” “The pesky scoundrel!* exclaimed the landlord. “The villainous thief!” snorted the Judge, in the same key. “Too cute for Burrit’s!” shouted George, savagely Jubilant at the un looked-for denouement. “Stranger." continued the judge, turn ing to Sanders, "I said yesterday that you was the greenest greeny that ever blowed this way. I want to apologize for that slandering statement. About fifteen year back I blowed this way.”— Waverly Magazine. FIGHTING GOES ON UNTIL A NA- TIONAL EMBLEM COMES DOWN. What It Meant. The difference between ancient and modern slang was amusingly illus trated at the Chautauqua Assembly, when the teacher of English literature asked, “What is the meaning of the Shakapeareen phrase, ‘Go to? 4 ” and a member of the class replied, “Oh. that is only the sixteenth century way of saying, ‘Come offr ” But few inventions that were expect ed to revolutionize the world ever did It Yarn About » Cabin Boy Who Made the Kneuay Strike HU Color#—Soldier* and Sailors Lo»e Heart When Their Na tion** itinblem Disappear*. A story is told of a cabin boy on board a man-of-war who, by his action in palling down the enemy’s Hag dur ing a battle, gained a victory for his commander. The story illustrates the value of the national flag in a naval action, and how much depends upon the sailors seeing it flying from the masthead above them. It was just at the beginning of a battle between two ships that the cabin boy, who had never been in a fight, asked one of the sailors how long it would take the enemy to surrender, and what his own ship would have to do to beat the other. “Do you see that?” asked the sail or, pointing to the flag which was fly ing from the masthead of the other ship. “As long as that is flying the other fellows will fight, but when it comes down they will stop and their ship will surrender.” The cabin boy was too small to figbt, but he made up his mind to get the flag for hi? Captain. During the bat tle, when the ships were lashed to gether, he crawled on board the ene my’s vessel, and while the sailors were busy fighting climbed the rope ladder which ran up the mast, and, pulling the flag from its place, wrapped it around his body and carried it back to his own ship. The sailors were fight ing bravely, until one, looking up and seeing that the flag was gone, cried out to his companions that the Captain had pulled down the flag, and there was no use fighting longer. The men threw down their arms, and the mis take was not discovered until it was too late, for the cabin boy’s comrades had seized the ship. The flag of his country is what every sailor and soldier throughout the world fights for during a battle; when the flag is gone they lose heart and give up easily. Some of the bravest deeds have been in defence of the flag, and to get it back again when the enemy have captured it. When a ship goes into battle the national flag is ran np to the mtesthead, the highest point on the vessel, where it flies un til the engagement is over. Some times, when the other ship is the stronger, or its sailors fight better, and the Captain sees that he is beaten, he pulls down his flag to show the enemy that he has had enough am’ wants to surrender. This act is callei “striking the colors.” It is a usua thing to ran up a white flag in the place of the one which has been haulec down, but often the simple act o striking the colors is enough to en< a |>attle. So long t as the Captain of a sbip sees any flag except a white one flying from the enemy’s vessel be will continue to fire upon it, for it is a sign that the sailors have not given up and are ready to fight longer. Sometimes, daring a naval battle, the ropes which hold the flag are shot away, but in such cases there are al ways some brave sailors who will climb the mast and put another in its place. During the Kevolutionary War, when the ship commanded by Paul Jones was fighting an English vessel, the American flag was shot away and fell overboard into the water. One of the sailors, who saw it fall, jumped after it, and although he was wounded swam with it back to the ship, when it was fastened to the top of the mast again. When the flag went overboard the Englishmen began to cheer, for they thought that Paul Jones had surrendered, but when they saw it flying from the masthead once more they changed their minds aud finally surrendered themselves. The action of the wounded sailor in jump ing into the water to rescue ths flag made his companions fight all the harder. Every one who has read American history knows about the battle of Lake Erie, and of how Commodore Perry carried the flag from his sinking ship and hoisted it upon another. When the English Captain saw Perry going iu a rowboat from the sinking ship with the flag thrown over his shoulder, he ordered his sailors to sink the boat so that the Hag couldn’t be hoisted at the masthead of another American vessel. He knew that if the American sailors saw that their flag was lost they would lose heart and surrender, and as he expected, when they saw the flag flying again they worked the harder and finally beat all his ships. A ship going into action carries several flags; the national colors, which are hoisted in the most promin ent place; the union jack, the pen nant, which is a long, narrow streamer flying from the masthead, and a set of signal flags, which are used to send messages from one ship to another. When a squadron of vessels under an Admiral goes into a fight the flagship flies, besides the other flags men tioned, one which denotes the rank of that officer. In the old days, when war vessels were made of wood and had three masts, most of the flags were hoisted to the top of these masts. Nowadays, however, many of our fighting ships have only one mast, and several flags may be hoisted upon that, bat the Stars and Stripes are always at the top. Sometimes a flag is hoisted at the end of the yardarm, usually in the case of signal flags. When the squadron is waiting for the enemy’s ships and they are sighted, the signal “prepare for action” la run up on the flagship. Daring the war of 1812 an English Captain made himself a great deal of trouble through fear that some of the sailors on board his ship might pull down his flag before he had beaten the enemy. Jnst before the battle he ordered a sailor to climb to the top of the mast and nail the flag there. The American ship proved the better, a* ( before long the Englishman wanted t surrender, but when he wished to pa> down his flag he couldn’t. The saiL ors were busy fighting, so the Captaia himself bad to climb the mast and tear down the British ensign. There have been instances when th' commander of a ship nailed his flag to the mast and left it flying there until the vessel sank. The last obieel which appeared above tho water wu the colors, and eveh the victoriom enemy cheered the sinking flag.—Ne» York Sun. WISE WORDS. The darkest hour is only an hour. Doing wrong never rights a wrong. Merry chickens let others do tki fighting. The ability to do good quarrels with l;he will. A truthful child is mother’s crow* of comfort. When you have nothing to do, never go after help. Knowledge puffs up. Wisdom leU the wind out. All men are fools, but only the wis* stop being so. Truthful boys are the timber that great men are made of. On the bosom of the mother resti the future of the world. Praying is always easy, when wa kneel on praying ground. Minutes are the mosaics of time, the ages are those of eternity. Trying to love is an absurdity; love is spontaneous combustion. Adversity gives the great man chance to show how great he is. Measure your plaus by a line that will reach across the next world. The best thing to do with your troubles is to introduce them to your blessings. Cannibalism in Auatralla. While the authoress (of “Flower- Huuter in Queensland”) saw nothing but charm in the beauty of the tropi cal forests—except as regarded the snakes and the stinging insects, asi the chance of meeting a casual croco dile—she found, alas, no good thing among the Australian natives. It i strange to think that they are canni bals still, even close to our towns, one place where Mrs. Bowan stayei the natives had killed and eaten Chinaman only a few days before her visit At another place “they to me,” she says, ‘‘that on that ven afternoon high revelry had been go ing on in the native camp as the;r feasted on the roasted remains of old woman, who had been allowe<, against their usual custon, to die natural death the day before.” Nor are these savages pleasant neighbors. A settler at whose house Mrs. Rowia stayed °* r ^ 1 ^ n t| only house for many miles in that part of Queensland—can still arm a hundred men, if necessary, and guns and pistols hang on the walls, ready | loaded in case of sudden attack. This gentleman gave the authoress some Spanish dollars, cemented together with coral, which had been recovered from the wreck of a warship, which, early in this century, ran ashore ou a; reef near the coast, and whose crew; were killed and eaten by the natives, j Of such tragic memories Mrs. Rowan' heard even more in New Zealand, where “almost every hill is the site of an old pah; every mountain, head land, rock and island has some his tory of its own—some grim tale of savage barbarity or pathetic story of love aud courage.”—London News. Kipling Anecdote Wrecked. Kipling has described the travels of a plausible lie that has been properly launched and the difficulty of overtak ing it with a denial. Now a bit of fic tion that has been going the rounds for several years as it Kipling anecdote has just beeu vigorously denied by his father. According to this story, Mr. Kip ling, senior, and his son went on a sailing voyage together when Rudyard Kipling was a boy. The father was lying sick in his cabin when an officer appeared and said: “Mr. Kipling, your son has climbed out on the foreyard, and if he lets go i he will be drowned, and we cannot | save him.” “Oh, is that all?” said Mr. Kipling. “Don’t worry. He won’t let go.” Ms. Kipling, senior, is quoted by an ! English paper as saying: “The only time that I made a voy- age with Rudyard was when he was • twelve years old, aud that was between Dover and Calais, going to the Paris Exhibition. I am never sick at sea, and on our steamship T don’t think that there was a foreyard or a bow sprit or whatever you call it. I am sorry to spoil this little story, but the incident never occurred.”—New York Sun. A French Way to Cure Balclnes*. A French surgeon announces • novel enre for balduess, which, how ever, is only within the reach of the wealthy. The first thing is to find some poor starving wretch with a tine bead of hair of the color which the patient desires. The former having consented to part with his hair for a stipulated sum, the doctor scalps the pair delicately and applies the hairy scalp of the subject to the bald client, and vice versa. With luck the graft is said to be a success.—New York San. A Bodyguard of Females. The bodyguard of all European sov ereigns consists of men chosen for thefr fine physique aud great strength. The King of Siam, however, does not trust the guardianship of his person to men, but has a bodyguard of female warriors, 400 strong, chosen from among the handsomest, doughtiest and most robust woman of the kingdom. ’ - ■... 'is ri, u v, : - BLteR . * - . " - T \