University of South Carolina Libraries
% " \ HOW WE PUNISHED 1 THE SIOUX. I By BUFFALO BILL. 9 "The only way to fight an Indian Is to be more of an Indian than he Is." This was my answer to Gen. N. A. Dudley when he asked my advice about his great Sioux campaign of 1H74. You shall seo how successfully we followed that advice. Gen. Dudley was In command at Kort McPherson, Nebraska. It was It. the early spring of 1874. The Sioux were on the warpath and had h< <>n murdering the ranchmen, burning small settlements, and otherwise discouraging pioneers front coinlnn \\ est. 1'he Hloux were clever In choosln ; tn r time, for the spring flood i wire out, and this made pursuit almost Impossible. We located them on the opposite side of the Platte Kiver from us. The usually shallow stream was a roaring torrent. '1 lie fords were Impassable. The bridges were swept away. No horse could swim the river. Yet there wu wore, helpless on one bank, while the tS'oux were plundering at will on the other. That was the situation. Knowing tho country and Indian customs,. 1 was pretty sure where tho Sioux had their camp. It was on a fresh water lake about thirty mllei from the Platte. If we could str'k" and smash that camp they would go pelting hack to their agency on tho Jump. But how to get to it. Ordinarily, a bridge spanned a bianch of tho stream In almost a straight line from the place. But when we got to the place we founo It gone. 1 scouted alons shore. About ten miles down stream 1 found r crazy footbridge that hac Jield In spite of the freshet. It had held because the waters foun 1 outlet beyond each end of It. The br'dgu was made of boards nailed across fallen tree trunks. RlRky footing for man. Never Intended for horsj. Yet our only other chance was tf ride for more than fifty miles south to a place where a stronger bridgi had once Btood. If that were stll. t hPTO wn mi r? h *? 1 - ? ? v !! ?, ii i ci una. ll WOH1G nu-an at host a ride of a hundred miles before we eonid conn to s point on the other hank opposite to ^ here 1 now stood. Then Jnrty miles more to the Indian ctffnp. Dong beTore that time the Siou* would have been warned of our coming and got safely away. So, in despnir, 1 put my horse ai the crazy footbridge. It wabbled and heaved, and the waters swerved up to its highest boards. A nasty onngerous trip it was but I made it Tnen 1 recrossed and reported tr Gen. Dudley. 1 tolt' him 1 belioved he could get his troopers across if the men went single llle and slowly, and if eat I" horse were ridden with lo??. e rein. A prairie horse. If his rider doesn't try to guide him. has an instinct lot picking the safe spots. At midnight we started across. I went Hrst. The men gave the'r norses free rein and the surefooted beasts picked their way along that perilous, swaying, flood-swept foot pnth as daintliy as minuet cancers One hy one the 300 riders, drencher and muddy, reached the ?nr bank Only one horse bad fallen olT. Hit rider had tried to guide him. H reached tne shore by swimming and went bark to the tort. We rode all night. As we nearer the Indian ramp I went ahead nga n Dudley forbade his men to spenk oi even to strike a match. Dismounting 1 crawled forwari and came upon thj whole vil ag? fast asleep. Back 1 went with 1113 renort hut ??-. ?i<u?? .... ..w w.iv DV/IUKI s laillt' U I at dawn a few Indians had awaken eo. Their dogs scented ua am barked. Ill nn instant the Sioux weron their feet and scattering over til* plain. 'I he speed with which Indian can get up and scatter would amuz a flock of quail. We charged, sweep Ing through the village and after ih fugitives. Hefore the bugles sounded the re call we hid killed thirty-two of ?ht escaping savages. Then we ha tec to eat and to rest our horses. Tnk lng up the pursuit again we caugh up with the main band Just before dawn. Hofore they could scatter w? put fourteen more Sioux families in to mourning. Hack rushed the remainder tt their agoncy. They had had enough of fighting to last them a long tune And the lesson we had given then by "out-lndlanlng" them had morefToet, 1 think, thnn the fcrty-llv? braves we (lowjed. Our Real Army. No nation ever did or ever can maintain at all times a standing army sufficiently great to defend itself against all other powers The strength and the dependence of every government Is In her citizen soldiers, and Is In exact proportion to their bravery and effectiveness. The "State Militia" or "National Quae*" In our own country?the Auxiliary Keaerve in Kngland. the l,nndwehr and the Landsturm In Oermany? stand behind and form the great military reserve of ths regu ar armies of these nations.?A-'my and Navy Life. The estimated coat of a bridge over tike Strait# of Dover Is 134,000,000^ PUNISHMENTS FOR PERJURERS. Thrown Prom Cliffs, Branded with Irons, Tongues Torn Out, Etc. Perjury, besides being one of tbe oldest offenses in the catalogue of i crime, has always been very severely punished. With the advance of civ- j I llization, however, fiendish punish- { ments have been replaced with more 1 Knmono If o 111 -i*' ?? ? M.MUV, 11 ovin oo?cio jirnnuics. In the days of the Roman empire . i any one who committed perjury wm thrown from a precipice, whilst the Greeks branded their false swearers. It la Interesting to note that when the latter embraced the Christian religion the punishment was altered to that of having the togue cut out. a sort of punishment wh.ch was considered to Qt the crime in the early centuries. i In the middle ages some conn- 1 tries adopted the system of giving i the perjurer the punishment for the i crime he falsely accused another of. < Thus if he swore a neighbor had i committed murder, and the charge was disproved, the perjurer would be i sentenced to death, and the other penalties of the penal code were ex- < acted for the particular crime alleged. The two greatest perjurers in the history of the world were Titus Oates and Arthur Orton, the Tlchborne claimant. Oatee, who had been dismissed from the ship ho was serving on. turned lecturer, and. finding that it did not pay, conceived i the notion of inventing a popish plot against the king, and reaping the rewards that were always on offer against traitors of the Roman religion in England. , The story wns believed for a time | and eighteen Catholics of rank were | arrested and executed. Meanwhile ( the court conferred a lavish sum of j money on Oates, who quickly hecame the terror of everybody, for j he had merely to point the finger of , suspicion at any one, to have that | persort arrested. However, he fell Into disfavor. was himself arrested, tried for per- , jury and sentenced to imprisonment for life. Refore entering the dun- , geon he was put in th^ pillory and , ifterwards public whipped all the w?) from Newgate to Tyburn I This extraordinary man. however, had not reached the end of Us career, for the accession of WI1- j liam of Orange, once more brought the Roman Catholic religion into disfavor. and the perjurer was not only released but a pension of $15 a week for life was conferred upon him. The Tichborne case, is. of course, the beet known in the history of English law, but some of its marvelous features have not been emphasized. How an uneduc.?teu man could have hoodwinked a nether to swear that he was her son. convince a firm of astute lawyers of the same fact, and, in short, obtain a following of millions of persons, passes human knowledge. Fourteen 7ears' penal servitude was a heavy price to pay for his temporary success.?Tit-Bits. The Marvels of Indian Magic. A former French Chief Justice in CLandermagaore. Jacolliot. gives an account of several curious performances that were displayed for his benfit by a yogi named Bovblnda-Swami on the terrace of his own house. Being by no means credulous. Jacolliot took every precaution to prevent deception. Fine sand was strewn on the ground in >rder to make as e\ei a surface as possible. Jacolliot was asked to stat himelf at a table upon which ware a pencil and paper. The fakir carefully laid a piece of wood upon the sand, and announced that whatever figures Jacolliot might draw on the paper the piece of wood would transcribe them precisely upon the sand. The yogi stretched out his hand, and the wooden piece im mediately copied upon the sand the most complicated and twisted figures that Jacolliot drew. When the Frenchman stopped writing the piece of wood also came to a standstill. The fakir stooo at a distance against a wall, while Jacolliot laid the paper and pencil in such a way that the Indian could not possibly see what he *as inscribing.?Harper's Weekly. Chamois Maker is a Magician. Most everybody uses chamoir. and and everybody imagines it conies from the graceful goats of the Swiss alps. But St doesn't. It really halls trom the cavernous depths of tanneries of Peabody. in New England. Peabody tanners make beautiful leathers of sheep pelts. The chamois maker is a magician of the leather trade. To his doors he draws sheep skins from the grent ranches of Montana, or their possible future rivals on th3 plains of Siberia, the pampas of Argentine, or the ^elds of A iiftirn lln 1 1 1 | aupu nuu. ?i o i / o iiiur hi ill u lllilB* qnera.llng an brave Swiss chamois, has a wonderful career. Ten Tons of Diamonds. Prodigious diamonds are not so uncommon as Is generally supposed, says Sir William Crookes In the North American Review. Diamonds weighing over an ounce (151.5 carats) are not Infrequent at Kimherly. I have seen In one parcel of s'ones eight perfect ounce cystala and one inestimable stone weighing two ounces. The largest known diamond, "the 'Culllnan.,, was found in the new Premier mine. It weigna no less than 3,0 25 -arats. Not Really Ambitious. The average man takes up so much time talking about his ambition that he has aot tlin to realize pL?Atchlneon Qlobe. | ?v THE HAPPY FARMER. Many People Thin! He Has Nothing To I)o but Enjoy Life. A certain class of newspaper men assert thnt a farmer is the most independent man on earth, and that he has nothing to do but enjoy life. That when winter comes and the hllzzard'e on the wing he toasts his feet in the o.en and reads .Le local newspaper and the only thins, that disturbs him Is a banquet of mince piee and other luxuries. It is a mistake. The industrious farmer begins work long hnfnro ?.? " wvtv.v VIIC ouu IU111AS VI \iy. With his aould shrouded in gloom he proceeds to build a lire and soften his boots with a sledge hammer. ! He then takes a lantern and shovels his way to the barn and feedt the h. gs. It is then time to feed the newly arrived ?nlf, which seems to delight in butting a pall of milk over the tiller of the soil an.i he only needs to he stamped to pass for a package of oleomargarine. fie crawls through a barb wire fence and digs the hay out of the mow, feeds the cows. cleans the the Btable, gathers up the frozen chicks. chases a stray pig worth 25 cents, for four miles and does not catch it. ("octors a sick horse, freezes his flnge-s, gets kicked by a one-eyed mule, and v. hen the gloaming comes and quietness broods over all the earth he has a single half hour to meditate and wonder how he will pr.y his taxes.?Antwerp, N. Y., Gazette. Heaven and Kansas Mixed. Mabel, aged 4, had Just feturned srith her mother from a visit to triendB in Kansas. She was enthuastic over her trip, it being the first :lme she had ever been away from lotne. Upon being asked a question at Sunday School the following Sunday die was unable to answer and hung ler head. "Why, Mabel." said the teacher, 'where did your brother go when he lied?" Mabel looked up quickly. Her yes brightened. "He went to Kanias." she said. "Oh, no." sa.d the teacher. "Didn't he go to heaven?" Mabel looked away in disgust. "Oh, yes," she said; "1 always get heaven and Kansas mixed." Presence of Mind. When Mr. Daniels wvni down to the c'ub he left Mrs. Daniels with a friend whoso abilities as a scandal monger and misch'ef maker are preeminent. When he returned he Just poked his head into the drawing room and said, with p sigh of relief. "That old cat gone, I suppose?" r or juhi an in.sx.ani mere was a ( ieadful silence, for as he uttered the last word he eneountcie.1 the stony glare of the lady who had been Ir his mind. Then Mrs. Daniels spoke quite calmly: "The old cat?" she Bald "Oh, yes, dear! I sent It to the cat's home this morning!"?Tit-Bits. Ills Falling. "What an exasperating old miss Rew Igious Is In the matter of borrowing money!" "Why, 1 thought he was well ixed. t didn't suppose he ever had occasion to horrow any." Groat Scott! He doesn't. What I mean is that it is exasperating to get turned down every time you try to borrow from him."?Chicago Tribune. THE ENDLESS CHAIN. Messenger?What's best after eatin', Napoleon? Napoleon?Cigaroot. Messenger?What's the best after cigaroot? Napolean?-Eatin*. In Chicago. Mrs. Dearooru:?"What is that hammer hanging outside of your bureau?" Mrs. Wabash:?"Oh, haven't you ever seen that before?" "No. I don't believe I have." "Why. I cut a notch in the handle every time I get a divorce."?Yonkers Statesman. Comforting. Ella?I'm to he married to-mor row and I'm terribly nervous. Siella?I suppose there always la a chance of a man getting away ?.p to the last minute.?Brooklyt Life. Times Have ChnngNl. "Was Croesus a very rich man, pa?" "For his time he was, but to-day be wouldn't be considered worth indicting."?Judge. Laborers in an Ohio town picked ip an empty nitroglycerine can and isad it to heat water. Tea, you L ueaaed right. It did. CLUBS SHOW WEAPONS Designed to drain Victim and Cut Him Into Mince Meat. Clubs were the weapons of primitive and savage man. Aucieut specimens from Mexico are beavy sticas grooved along the side for the Insertion of blade* of obsiuian?that is, volcanic glass. The ciioux City is a flat piece of wood, curving and widen lug away from the grip and terminating in a spherical head, which in modern times carries a long spike, while the blades of several butcher knives are commonly Inserted along the margin. The national museum ot the United States possesses a .great variety of these shocking weapons, designed, as the frontiersmen say, to "knock down the white man and then to bruin him and cut him into mluce meat." The Kiugbinill lsiauders and ulucr i'olyuesiaus make dreadiul slashing weapons by securiug rows or iharks' teeth along a halt ot wood. These weapons vary from a few Inches to sixteen feet in length; and it has been said that in all the range of weapons devisea by mankind there a nothing more blood-curdling to behold. They show how the sword may have been evolved from the club, even by tribes unacquainted with the use of metals. African weapons, again, are exceedingly complicated, owiug to the acquaintance of the uatlves with iron. The standard club is converted into a sort of tomahawk by the addition 01 blades, or into a primitive spear by the auuiuou 01 a spud. The plain clubs in the African area are used chiefly for throwing. The small knobbed clubs, or "kerrles," such as are found among the Ivallirs and other African tribes, are generally used as missiles. Whereas the club proper was -oon brought to perfection among savage tribes, and was long ago abandoned as a weapon of civilized warfare, the missile?typified by the thrown clubs, or "kerries"?is still being improved upon in boomerangs, bows and arrows, crossbows and firearms. ? Chicago News. Squirrel Beat the Lightning. The chipmunk does climb trees, and that not rarely. His usual cry may be represented as cheep, cheep. Ills cheek pouches are very distensible. 1 have often removed as many as ten or fifteen beechnuts lrom them. Just how large a single thing he may be able to tuck into them 1 cannot ?ay. The red squirrel is a lively, destructive ami pestiferous wretch. There is no other animal of his inches so full ot the devil. Old Tom Weaver used to tell a story that well illustrates the iinplshness of the reu squirrel. One day he was out in the edge of the clearing when he heard red squirrel chattering. screaming and whistling for all he was worth. Weaver soon located him in the tip top of a tall cottonwood tree, lie was in high glee, twist ing and turning and audaciously de (ying '.he whole world. A thunderstorm was approaching, and soon out of a dark cloud a bolt of lightning made directly for the tree top where sat the squirrel. The red Imp evidently saw it coming and he darted down .lie tree, with the lightuing after him. It was nip and tuck is 10 which would get down first. When within three or four feet of the ground the squirrel gave a spring and landed some distance from the foot of the tree. The lightning went straight into the ground. "Chitter-r-r," said the squirrel. "You don't catch me that time."?A. vV. Adsto, in the New York Sun. The Poker Only. An old Scottish lady was being closely cross-examined in court re gurding a case ot assault, in which her husband was alleged to have playeQ a conspicuous part. "And now, my good woman, tell the court what sort of weapon it was your husband struck you with." "Who said h-> used a weapon?" snapped the old irdy. "You said so yourself when you gave your husband in charge," ans *\<-icu me ubiuiiisutiu lawyer. "1 said nae sic ining, for the thing tnai our John struck me on the heid wi* was naething mair nor less th n the poker." Afte: the laughter had subsided the lawyer tried to show her that it was not always well to call a spade a spade. "Weel, weel," answered the old lady, "ye may ca' a ipade what ye lik \ but I'll mainteen cae my deein' day that oor John struck me wi' the poker, an' wl* naethleg else." The old lady gained her >oint~ Strategy. "1 thought your bank wasn't going to give any vacation ihis year?" "It didn't intend to," replied the as sistant cashier, brown from a long outing, "but 1 pu' on an anxious look and puttered over my books so long Ibey insisted on my taking a rest." "So they could expert your accounts?" "Sure. And they found them In loch elecant shane that when 1 itruck for a raise they had to give it."?Philadelphia Ledger. Carrier Pigeon Service. 8everal of the smaller Islands ol New Zealand are without telegraphic communication with the mainland. A substitute has been found in carriei pigeons. To send a message by a pigeon costs twenty-five cents. More Than Microscopes. The human heart concerns us more titan poring into microscopes, and it *rger than can be measured by ch< pompous figures of the astronomer.? Stnsrsoa. "OURS HOT HIT Maraly a Chang of Words Wtll Solve Earth's Problems. "It Is mine!" "1 tell you, you are mistaken; It la mine!" Divorce court. Which is a terse way of putting tha sad history of luauv >1 marriavH Uia. agreement. over the things mine and Untie ana tlie domestic misery that follows. The way to settle ^uch a disagreement is for both parlies to say, "it <s ours!" Because of tbe struggle for utino and thine tbe records of history ais ml led in blood, nations have fallen, barriers of hatred have been ratsed, brother has lought brother. Envy, dissension and dtvision have come be cause men have contended lor that which is not theirs, but "ours." Organized bullishness in our uay has manifested itseif in the great corporation spiders that have spread their webs far and wide, controlling the avenues of approach, watching tor victims with their many-faceted eyes, gathering to themselves what is not theirs, but "ours." The world Is "ours." Sky and earth ours. Sunshine and shade outb. Flowers and birds ours. Fruits and fertile fields?ours. And the Master of us 4.11 taught us to pray, "Our Father." Eadies and gentlemen: Everywhere is Utvuoi tuis uuciu.it ol ours .11 the family, city, state, nation, world. The solution of all earth's problems Is wrapped up in the one saying "Everything i? ours." Models of British Ships. Parafllne wax models of all proposed British battleships are used by the Admiralty for tests before the keels of the ships are laid down, the miniatures oeing tested in a great tank. The models are from twelve to twenty-four feet long, the tank being four hundred feet long and twenty feet wide. The models are made of wax because it is a material which does uot absorb water or chauge its weight, so that alterations can he easily made, and the material can be uk-1 ted up <u>d used again. The American naval authorities also have models of their hulls constructed, but these are much more elaborate than the British, being formed of white pine and tittea with rudders, false kels, propeller shafts and all et cuter as. A Gunpowder Magazine. Alore than a quarter of a century has passed since Ned Kelly, the "ironclad bushrangei of Australia," to quote the title of a popular penny dreadful, was hanged in the Melbourne Jail. The northeastern district of Victoria, which lie once terrorized. uud which a humorist of the period called "Kellifornia," is now largely opened up and occupied by farmers, according to "The Indianapolis News." One of them received a shock the other day. lie was burning off some of the uense brush en his land, when suddenly there was a tremendous -xplosiot., and a giant gum tree, nearly three hundred feet high, was scattered into space. The Kelly gang had hollowed out a portion ot the trunk and usee it as one of their secret receptacles for the storage of gunpowder. Human Life Sacrificed. In ancient times the great engineering works were costly in human lives. The making of the Red Sea canal is said to have Involved the loss of 110 man one nunurea anil twenty thousand Egyptians. Buckle's cxami nation made liim believe the number to have been somewhat exaggerated, but he gives it as still a guide to the enormous waste of human life in those days. The men who kept two thousand slaves engaged for three years bringing a singl stone from Eleplian tine to the Pyramids did not care a great deal so long as in the twenty years in which one of the pyramids was building there were forthcoming the 360,000 men required for the work. The Finest Wood. French walnut is the finest wood that comes to this country. It comes from Persia, but is prepared in France. Its price has been as high as $8 a pound ana as low as $2 a pound. It is used principally for veneering, for only the very wealthy could afford to have chairs and la bles of solid French walnut. Ma 1 hogany, wonde-ful as it is, rarely brings such high prices. From $2 to $3 a pound is a very good price for it Ebony, if it is in a particularly largo ! piece, so that it will cut well, will raft on hrino tw n r?r*n?>/l ?? * K a wn.v.M i'i inf, f>' c* i'wiuiu ill luo r* uuu market. Lighthouse Moved. ; The feat of moving a lighthouse without taking 't apart or dismantling it in any way has recently been accomplished at Ashtabula. The range i light, weighing sixty live tons, .and I standing sixty five fee' high, was i placed on a lighter and towed along the river, a distance of 7C.0 feet, and then successfully placed on a new site. It was raised by ths use of f Jacks and moved on rollers to and s from the lighter. Guy ropes held it k in position while moving. l Old Custom Survives. In olden times, when a knight entered a company of ladies, he removed his helmet, to indicate that he conJ sidered hirasel* among friends, and ? that there was no need to protect > himself. This practice has survived - in the custom of raising th i hat when saluting a lady. 1 WHICH B THE HEWIEBT Does a Pound ol Lead or a Poumf of Feathers Weigh More? The favorite question with the school committee men of olden time was. we are told?"Which Is the heavier, u pouuu of feathers or a pound of lead?' The lirst rash answer used almost always to be, "A pound oi lead. Then, of course, Iroiu the older pupils would come the reply, "Both alike." If this question were asked to day, the old-time querist might receive a decided surprise, lor tne pound of a * feathers could earily be proved to be * the heavier. A simple experiment is all the evidence needed. With any accurate scales weigh out a pound of lead, using oruinary shot tor convenience, l'our the shot Into one ol Lhc pans of a bulance. For the lea t tie lb a light muslin bag will bo tteuued, anil tare uiubt be taken that leaders and bag together do uot weigh more than a pound. When the bag ot features is put iuto the other pan of the balance, the beam will, alter a few oscillations, come to rest exactly level. So iar the verdict "Both alike" seems to be proved. But place the balance 011 the receiver of an air pump, with lead aud feathers tindlsturbed. Cover the whole with the glass oell jar, and exhaust the air. Slowly the feathers sink, and the lead kicks the beam. The pound of feathers is heavier than the pound of ICild 1 he truth is llml what we called a pound was uot such iu fact; for the atmosphere buoys up everything within it 111 proportion to the bulk of the object, and the feathers being of a greater hulk thau the lead are supported by the uir to a considerably greater extent than the lead. Removed from the supporting medium, their true weight is made evident. Charles Headc propounded a similar Question in one of his novels. A Jewish trader is made to ask. "Which is the heavier, a pound of feathers or a pound of gold?" After awhile he explains to the satisfaction of his audience ot aimers that the feathers are the heavier. Cold, he explains, is weighed by troy weight, while feathers are weighed by avoirdupois; aud as the twelve ounces 111 a pound troy contain only live tbcusand seven hundred i.ud sixty grains, wnile the avoirdupois pound contains uearly seven thousand grains, the pound of feathers is, of course, twuive hundred and lorty gralus heavier than the pound of enld Nicavaguan Customs. Among the uianx old customs of Nicaragua, those relating to the dead are the weirdest to the stranger. Soma of these have been handed down by tradition from the Indians, others were brought over by the Conquerors - and the two are so blended that it is dillicult to tell which predominates. As soon as the medico pronounces one's illness fatal word is sent to the village padre, who prepares to administer the last sacraments of the church to tho dying persou. Placing the consecrated wafer in the custodia?a vessel of solid gold or silver, often resplendent with rare jewels?a procession is formed and marches through the street. A small boy ringing a bel' rushes ahead to announce the aproach of the sacred presence, and after him follows a band of music, often a single violin, playing a dirge, li it be possible to secure any soldiers, they surround lite padre, who, dressed in brilliaut vestments, is generally carried in a chair, over which four men hold a purple canopy. As the little cortega moves down tne silent streets, every one bares his nead and kneels, making the sign of the cross until th? last soldier has passed. Woe to the sacrilegious stranger who falls to show tins mark ol respect, and many have been the instances where foreigners /ere pulied from their horses and even stotiea fo? neglecting to follow this tin. -uonored custom. Degraded Indians. The last uiau . the Santa Barbara Island was deported in 18f>3. Our knowledge of these extinct Indians off the California coast is derived from the accounts ol the early voyagers, from the missionaries who subsequently settled on the islands, and from the remains n. /heir refuse heaps and the skulls and skeletons whicu have from time to time been collected. Some of the islands probably at one ii..1 niid population approach ing one thousand each, but In 1823 only about nine hundred were left on Santa Barbara and Bit neighboring islets; and by i875 ail had disappeared. Although they manufactured a certain number of domestic utensils, these Santa Barbara Indians are described by the missionaries as the most degraded of all human beings, with a morality lower than that of animals. insects, especially firasshoppers, formed a portion of their food, also probably the larger varieties of earthworms. The Smallest Book. What is said to be the smallest book ever printed has just been published at Padua. Italy, by Salmin Brothers. It is ten by six millimetres In size, and consists of eighty pages, each page con'aining nine lines ninety-five to c ne-hundred that despite their diminutive size, are pepfectly visible. The book reproduces a hitherto unpublished letter, Galilei'r to Christina of Lorena (1615). Stair Climbing Strength. It takes eight times the strength to go upstairs that is required for the same distance on the level. '