The Darlington herald. (Darlington, S.C.) 1890-1895, July 29, 1891, Image 1
THE DARLINGTON HERALD.
VOL. I
DARLINGTON, S? C M WEDNESDAY,
JULY 29, 1891.
NO. 47.
CHURCHES.
Presbyterian Church.—Rev. J. G.
Law, Pastor; Preaching every Sabbath
at Hi a. m. and 8 p. m. Sabbath
School at 10 a. m., Prayer Meeting every
Wednesday afterno on at 3 o'clock.
Methodist Church. - Rev. J. A. Rice.
Paator; Preaching every Sunday at Hi
a. m. and 8 p. m., Sabbath School at S
p. m., Prayer Meeting every Thursday
at 8 p. m.
Baptist Church.—Rev. G. B. Moore,
Paster; Preaching every Sunday at 11 j
a. m and 8:30 p. m., Prayer Meeting
every Tuesday at 8 p. m.
Episcopal Chapel.—Rev. W. A.
Guerry, Rector; H. T. Thompson, Lay
Reader. Preaching 3rd Sunday at 8:30
p. m., Lay Reading every Sunday morn
ing at 11 o'clock, Sabbath School every
Sunday afternoon at 5 o’clock.
Macedonia Baptist Church.— Rev
I. P. Breckington, Pastor; Preaching
every Sunday at 11 a. m. and 8:30 p. m.
Sabbath School at 3:30 p.m., Prayer
Meeting every Tuesdav evening at 8:30
o’clock.
COUNTY OFFICERS.
Sheriff.—W. P. Cole.
Clerk of Court.—W. A. Parto.t
Treasurer.—J. E. Bass.
Auditor.—W. H. Lawrence.
• Probate Judge.—T. H. Spain.
Coroner.—R. G. Parnell.
School Commissioner.—W. £1. Evans.
County Commissioners.—C. B.King,
W. W. McKinzie, A. A. Gandy.
^professional €arbs.
w.
F. DARGAN,
ATTORNEY AT LAW.
Darlington, C. H., S. C.
Office over Blackwell Brothers' store.
E.
KEITH DARGAN,
ATTORNEY AT : LAW,
Darlington, S. C.
N
ETTLES & NETTLES,
ATTORNEY'S AT LAW
Darlington, C. H., S. C.
Will practice in all State and Federal
Courts. Careful attention will bj given
io all business entrusted to us.
P
BISHOP PARROTT,
fiTENOGRAPIIER AND T Y P E-WRITER.
LEGAL AND OTHER COPYING SOLICITED.
Teitimony leported in short-hand,
and type written transcript of same fur
nished at reasonable rates.
Good spelling, correct punctuation
and neat work guaranteed.
Office with Nettles & Nettles.
0 P DARGAN,
ATTORNEY AT LAW
AND TRIAL - JUSTICE,
Darlington, S. C.
Practice* in the United States Court
and in the 4th and 5th circuits. Prompt
attention to all business entrusted to me.
Office, Ward's Lane, next to the Dar
lington Herald office.
DARLINGTON MARBLE WORKS.
DARLINGTON MARBLE WORKS.
DARLINGTON MARBLE YVORKS.
—ALL KINDS OF—
MARBLE MONUMENTS,
MARBLE MONUMENTS,
Tablets and Grave Stones furnished a
Short Notice, and as Cheap as
can be Purchased Else
where.
HF" Designs and Prices Furnished on
Application.
KW~ All Work Delivered Free'on Line
of C. & D. R. R.
DARLINGTON MARBLE WORKS,
DARLINGTON MARBLE WORKS,
DARLINGTON, S. C.
FIRE! FIRE!
I Represent Twelve of the most
Reliable Fire Insmance Compa
nies in the World—Among
them, the Liverpool and Lon
don and Globe, of England, the
Largest Fire Campany in the
World; and the iEtna, o( Hart-
lord, the Largest of all Ameti-
ean Fire Companiea.
Prompt Attention to Business and
Satisfaction Guaranteed.
F. E. NORMENT
DARLINGTON, S. C.
Office between Edwards, Norment &
Mid Joy & Sanders',
A MYSTERY.'
Our baby boy ona day
Folded his violet ayaa,
And from his waxen clay
His white soul flew away
To far off Paradise.
His little hands so fair.
We crossed upon his brsast
And standing by him there
We gave him to the care
Of one who doeth best.
And when to final sleep
We laid him soft and low,
We could not help but heap
Upon him lilies deep
And roses pure as snow.
And then, with courage great,
His mother faced the years;
But oft, when it was late,
Among his toys she sate
And fondled them with tears.
But now another child.
With wondrous violet eyes,
Rests on her bosom mild.
And smiles as he had smiled
To-day in Paradise.
And something seems to say
To her, so sad before;
“The soul that flew away
Is back again to-day,
Sweet mother, weep no morel”
—George Horton, in Chicago Herald.
Cleaning Out Pirates.
During the year 1868 no less than
three trading vessels fitted out at Singa
pore for traffic in the Java Sea mysteri
ously disappeared, and no trace of them
could be discovered. Two more were
added to the list early in 1869,and about
July 1 it was whispered around that a
nest of pirates had been discovered on
an island off the north coast of Java.
If the news was true the chieftain of the
gang must be a bold fellow indeed, and
needed looking after at once.
The merchants at Singapore were talk
ing of fitting out a ship to investigate
when H. M. cruiser The Shark arrived.
She was one of the old-fashioned tea-
gun brigs once so numerous, and at that
time was engaged in a survey of the
south coast of Borneo, or about to be.
As I was oae of her crew I can relate
what happened during the next two
weeks first-handed.
It seemed that the story of the pirate
was accepted as a fact, for we over
hauled our armament, took in a lot of
ammunition and strengthened our crew
by fourteen men before sailing. These
men were drafted out of a crew belong
ing lo a man-of-war which had been
wrecked on the Malay coast, and ail
were old hands. The captain got his
bearings from some source unknown to
us, and when wc left Singapore the brig
was headed to tiie cast. We jogged
along down the coast of Sumatra for a
week without finding any unusual inci
dent, and though wc spoke a score of
crafts none of them had any information
about the pirate. The crew had begun
to ridicule the idea when something oc
curred to open our eyes very wide.
One morning, about an hour after day
light, wc came up with a Dutch trader,
which was taking care of herself. All
her sails had been cut away, lopes were
flying iu every direction and she was so
low in the water that we wondered whv
she didn't go down. When a boat
pulled off to her it was to find the cap
tain mortally wounded and his wife and
two sailors stiff and dead and horribly
mutilated on the deck beside him. We
got him off, but had no time to give the
Undies burial before the little craft went
down. The captain was a.man about
forty years of age, and though hardly
alive when wc found him he rallied
enough to tell his story.
The trader had been trafficking along
the Java coast and had finally complete 1
his cargo and headed for Singapore,
.lust at sunset on the previous evening he
had been overhauled by a native craft
carrying about forty men. He was then
about ton miles off the coast and about
five miles south of an island known as
“Queen’s Bower.” He had no suspicion
whatever of the natives, and the first
thing he knew they boarded his craft
and began to cut and slash. When they
had finished the crew they began to
plunder and strip the vesstl, and were
with her until midnight. Before leaving
they bored her full of holes, and we had
reached her just in time to rescue the
captain. The first craft was joined by
two others later on, and the three car
ried at least a hundred desperate fellows.
The captain heard and understood enough
to satisfy him that they were an organ
ized gang of pirates and that they were
also well equipped for their bloody busi
ness.
'jibe island mentioned was not over
twenty miles away, and as tho Java Sea
was and is a great highway, it did not
seem possible that men would take such
a risk as those pirates had. The trader
said that no less than three friendly
sails were insight when he was attacked,
but all too far away to signal, even if he
had been warned in time to do some
thing. Owing to the shoals surround
ing the island our craft could not ap
proach near enough to use her guns and
shell the fellows out, and we wore not
strong enough to laud from our boats
nud deal with them. The sight of aa
armed vessel nosing around would put
pirates ou tneir guard, and so It was re
solved to play tlicm a Yankee trick. We
ran into a buy on the coast and set to
work.
You are probably aware of tha fact
that an English man-of-war, no matter
! how large or how small, is a pattern of
neatness and regulation, nud the oqt of
her sails will alone establish her iden
tity while her hull is yet below the
water line. We had, therefore, to un
do and overhaul a great deal. We put
everything in seeming confusion aloft,
disguised her hull as much as possible,
and when wo left tho bay Tho Shark
had the look of a merchantman which
had been through a typhoon and was
too short-handed to make repairs. Tho
Dutch captain died on the diy alter we
found him, and his last words were a
prayer that we might fall in with and
punish the pirates.
It was just at daylight that we ap
peared off the north coast of the island
and anchored on a bank about three
miles from the beach. Men were sen!
aloft as if engaged in repairs, a boat was
got down as if to work on the hull, and
the bulk of the crew remained in hiding
below. No doubt the fellows ashore had
a lookout in some trees, and provided
with a good glass he could see every-
thing going on aboard. It was hardly
sunrise when a small native craft with
four men in her came out to within pistol-
shot of us to make an investigation. Our
captain hailed them and they replied
with gestures of signify that they would
return to the shore for help. They
evidently took us for what we pretended
to be, and we were piped to breakfast
feeling that our ruse would succeed.
About eight o’clock, with the wind
breezing up lively, three native sail-craft
put out for us. A man aloft with a glass
reported that each craft was crowded
with natives, and it was now our plan to
weigh anchor and make a little sail and
pretend to be standing away from them
as if alarmed. The object was to draw
them as far away from shore as possible,
and we had added a mile or more to the
distance when the foremost boat came
witnin hail. Sho hadn't a gun of any
sort in sight, but she had forty-eight
desperate-looking villains in plain view,
and every one of them had a cutlass and
pistol. While her captain was hailing
us iu a language do one could understand,
she was slowly edging along down upon
our starboard quarter. At the same time
a second craft was drawing ahead on the
port side, and the third kept in our
wake.
Only seven or eight men were in sight
on our decks, and the natives seemed to
have no suspicions of a trick. The
breeze was a little bit too strong for their
tnanceuvring at first, but after we were
about six miles off shore the two sudden
ly closed in to board us. Our captain
had been closely watching them and
Waiting for this move, and of a sudden
the drum beat to quarters and our decks
were alive with men. 1 was captain of
No. 3 gun crew and had the honor of
firing the first shot. It was a solid ball,
and it struck the craft on her port bow
and went clean through her and dropped
into the sea beyond. This opened tho
fight; the natives instantly realized that
they had caught a Tartar, and they saw ,
too, that their only means of escape lay,
in capturing the ship. Therefore, in
stead of running away, as we had looked
for, each craft bore down on us to board.
They were handled as easily as an Indian
manoeuvres a canoe, and it wasn’t five
minutes after the first gun was tired ere
they were on our quarters like wolves
seeking to hamstring n deer. I fired
another solid shot and then loaded with
grape, and this last charge was fired
right into a mass of natives waiting to'
clamber up the side. The gun next to
me fired a solid shot, which tore through
her bottom, and two minutes later she
foundered right along aide of us. The
second craft got near enough to grapple,
but the irons were thrown off, nud two
guns played solid shot into her hull un
til she went down stern foremost, leav-
iug thirty men struggling in the wave*
The third craft had forged ahead,
sailing five feet to our one, and would
have boarded us at the bows but for tho
sudden destruction of the others. Their
fate frightened her off, but she had
scarcely laid her head for the island than
it was brought mound as if the crew
had made some desperate resolve. Now
(secured a curious thing. She had about
thirty men on board, and she came down
on us with every one of them shouting
and screaming and tried to lay us aboard.
We could have sunk her with one gun
even, or we could have picked off the
whole crew with our muskets before they
had crossed the rail. Word wai passed
to give her a full broadside at the word,
and when the smoke cleared away she
was not to bo seen. There were over
twenty of the pirates hanging to the
wreckage around us, however, aud a boat
was lowered to pick them up. You can
judge of their desperation when I tell
you that every one of them fought like
a tiger against being picked up, and that
we got only five out of the lot. Tho
others we had to kill as they floated
about with the sharks snapping at them.
Two of the five leaped out of the boat
after being pulled in and were seen no
more, and the others gave us so much
trouble that the captain swung them up
to the yard-arm. Thus uot one single
man of the hundred or more who came
out to attack us escaped with his life. I
was in one of the two boats afterwards
sent ashore to see what sort of a lair the
pirates had made for themselves. Tho
only human beings ashore were an old
native woman, a one-armed Japanese, and
a white boy about fourteen years of age.
This boy was off an English trader, cap-
tured (he year before, and had been held
prisoners ever since. He said they were
107 men in the gang, and we found
enough plunder on the island to load our
ship. They had captured about a dozen
different vessels, large and small, and in
every case had plundered and sunk them.
They did not always kill all the crew.
Soon after the bov was captured they
brought in an American sailor oil a
spice trader. The boy knew him only
by the name of William, but remembered
that his home was in Boston. It turned
out that they had spared his life to make
use of him as a blacksmith, but when
they found that he had no Knowledge of
that work he was put to death. By
order of the chief he was hung in chains
on a tree about a quarter of a mile away,
and was eleven days in dying. The boy
went with us and showed us his bones
still hanging.
The one-armed man and the old wo
man, assisted by the boy, were the
cooks for the gang. They at first seemed
very much alarmed, and protested their
innocence of any complicity in the crimes
of the pirates, but when they came to
understand that all the villains had met
their fate, and that we had come ashore
to clear the island of its last bale of
plunder, they suddenly ran into a rude
store-house, blocked up the doorway
with boxes, and and opened fire on us
with pistols. We had two men wounded
before we could dislodge them, and they
were then hanged to the same limb and
their bodies left to the birds. What
plunder we could not bring off we burned
on the island, and before leaving we set
tho forest on fire in a dozen places, and
the flames did not die out until tho
whole length and breadth had been
swept clean of vegetation.—New York
World.
Acquitted After Nineieen Years.
Touched by the frost of seventy years,
old Jacob Staup, of Uniontown, Penn.,
finds himself at last out from under the
shadow of a crime which has haunted
him for nineieen years. He was only
the other day acquitted, after standing
trial for the third time, on a charge ol
murder. Twice he had been convicted,
and the singular feature of the case is
that the first of these trials occurred nine
teen and ihe second eighteen years ago.
After the second trial he escaped from
jail, and up to last March, when he was
finally apprehended, he remained a fugi
tive trom justice.
An old neighbor of 8taup in Fayette
County was the victim of the murder.
There had been a feud between the fami
lies, and this fact helped to convict
Staup. Since the twice condemned mat
escaped, eighteen years ago, however, his
sou has died, and a deathbed confession
of the latter, in which he admitted him
self to have been the murderer, was oue
of the features of the third trial, which
has led to the old man's acquittal.
The case is one probably without paral
lel. Had Staup had been taken to the
scaffold on his first condemnation and
the eon's lips remained sealed he would
have died an innocent man and the law
would have committed unwitting mur
der. Thit fortunate escape from be
hind the bars and the successful main
tenauce of liberty through long years,
has enabled the old man at last to stand
free and untrammeled. P erhaps, yes,
even probably, his years on earth will not
be many more, but at least they will not
go out under the sorrow and digrace ol
a terrible accusation and condemnation.
—New York World.
Floating Prairies of Louisiana.
A curious phenomenon is to bo wit
nessed at the Ames crevasse, says a New
Orleans letter, and, indeed, is one of the
causes of the great damage it has done.
Under any circumstances the water from
this crevasse would overflow the rich
country lying between it and the Gulf ol
Mexico, causing damage to the amount ol
several million dollars, but, to the sur
prise of many, not content with running
down stream and overflowing the country
below, it has taken to running apparently
up stream. Some curiosity was felt ovci
this phenomenon, and the case on exam-
inatiou shows it to be duo to the prairies
tremplanets—the floating or trembling
prairies of southern Louisiana. All along
the gulf coast the large border of land
flaats on the surface of the water. The
laud is made by fallen timber and grasses.
It gradually accumulates dirt, and be
comes in the course of time sufficiently
firm to support brushes and even trees,
but the soil is only three inches or less
thick, and below it is the water, upon
which it floats on account of its light
ness. Occasionally pieces of trembling
prairie are detached and become floating
islands. There are quite a number of
these in Salvador, these lauds, flouting
from side to side, being frequently car
ried at a rapid rate by the wind breeze,
trees acting as sails to catch the wind,—
Commercial Advertiser.
A new and singular custom that is
glowing up in New York City is that
of hiring private dining- rooms in swell
restaurants by rich corporations and by
coteries and cliques. In one Broadway
restaurant a private room is leased by the
year by a great news company, the next
one is used by n noted firm of criminal
lawyers, a third is hired by several
judges, and so on. These groups thus
•ecure privacy, their own particular
waiters and a place to take their favorite
friends, customers and client* *t
luncheon time.
TIIE GERMAN COURT.
PLEASURE’S GAY ROUND IN EM-
PEROR WILLIAM’S H£>ME
—
Ranting the Favorite Diversion ot
the Emperor—The Ceremony of Be
stowing Decorations — Presenta
tions to Emperor and Empress.
The season devoted to amusement is
lather short in the German metropolis,'
says a writer in the San Francisco
Chronicle. Official court festivities be
gin January 18th and last till Lent.
After the beginning of Lent private par
ties with dancing are tolerated, but it is
more fashionable to have dinners, routs
or musicales, and such mild pleasures.
After “Mi-laremc” all paities cease, and
only theatres and concerts are visited till
Easter week brings utter retirement to
all those belonging to society.
I shall try to give _a short glimpse of
the events of the past winter season,
which was the first under the reign of
William II. without mourning. After
the New Y’ear ceremonies the Imperial
court lived in retirement, because of the
confiucmeut and convalescence of tho
Empress. Thus the Emperor found
leisure for hunting, which is his favorite
pleasure. The best sport was found at
Konigswustcrhauseu, a small place in the
midst of large pine forests, where wild
boars abound. Here the Emperor hunted
for two days, staying the night at a
small hunting lodge where his fore
fathers used to remain during hunting
time.
The boars are driven together by hun
dreds of drivers, under the guidance of
the imperial gamekeepers, and the Em
peror and his guests stand at appointed
places, and when the animals rush past
have the best opportunity to shoot. In
seven days 328 animals were killed, some
of great size and astonishing weight.
Tho Emperor shoots very well with a gun
or rifle, aud has been known to kill 300
head of game in one day.
On such hunting expeditions the Em
peror always wears forest uniform, dark
gray cloth, with green fastenings and
silver cords, together with a felt hat.
This uniform is only nhowed by imperial
permission, aud is permitted, for in
stance, to royal relations or personal
friends of the Emperor who are good
sportsmen. Ail the game that has been
killed is laid out in rows and the Em
peror and his guests look them over,
aud a bugle sounds the halloo. At the
little castle dinner is served to the hun
gry party, and usually some hours after
the company returns by train to Berlin.
On the 18th of January the Veders-
t'est, or “Decoration Festival,” was cele
brated, together with the anniversary of
the Prussian Coronation day and the
proclamation of the new German empire
in 1871. This festival is for all those
who received decorations during the
past year and of those about to receive
orders on this day. The cavaliers of the
Vedcr of the Black Eagle arc always
present, as well as the cavaliers of the
Yeder of Johanuister, receiving their
gorgeous uniforms, which belong to the
Voders, and the grand cloaks of red vel
vet or black silk, which make them look
very picturesque. The Emperor wears a
red cloak, which is most becoming to
him. But there arc also some present
iu plain clothes among the many glitter
ing uniforms, for decorations are given
to men of merit of all classes,aud worthy
laborers, with the “AUgemeine Ehren-
reichen,” a gold medal, stand near pri
vate soldiers, also decorated for acts of
courage. A good many ladies aie also
among the decorated ones. Charity and
work in the cense of the poor are re
warded by the Guiseucross, or Vcrdieus-
eross, worn on the left shoulder, a more
becoming ornament than fine diamonds
or jewels, iu the sight of God and man.
When all the guests, who numbered 1250
this year, were assembled, the Emperor
repaired with them to Castle chapel,
where divine service was celebrated, fol
lowed by a dinner in the gorgeous halls
of the Castle, nud at the end of it the
Emperor proposes to the health of “all
those that have been decorated,” thus
closing the grand entertainment.
The christening of tho sixth son of the
Imperial Majesties on the 26th of Janu
ary, was the next court festival. The
baby, born on the 17th of December, re
ceived the name of Joachim, aud after
the christening in one of the imperial
rooms, the Empress was thumbed. The
invited company, specially the royal god
fathers and godmothers from other
courts, assembled for a state dinner in
the great White Hall. The following
day, the 27th of January, was the birth
day of the Emperor, now 32 years old.
It was celebrated in great style by official
congratulations and much public cheer
ing whenever the Emperor appeared.
On this day, in a small, cozy dining
room, only royalty assembled, and the
whole dinner was served on silver, all
the plates beautifully engraved with tho
Prussian arms. The table ornaments and
candelabra were of gold, the cut crystal
of exquisite workmanship, and the white
damask linen of the finest texture. The
hangings of the room were dark red
with gold fringes; the furniture of
chiseled oak. The lackeys weie in
stockings, witli gorgeous liveries and
powdered heads. One of them was sta
tioned behind each chair. The service
was as noiseless and quick as uossible;
tnso o diaub, waraiawc; .'•>«hmaer
tUan an hour.
Court balls, soirees and dinners fol
lowed quickly one upon the other.
At the levee newcomers arc introduced
to the Fmperor and Empress. The ladies
appear in court trains of the length of
three meters, carried over the left arm
and only let down at the time of the in
troduction, when the introduced lady
makes her three deep curtsies before their
Majesties, standing on the throne. Those
already introduced only walk past the
throne with the court reverence, and
2000 persons are often in these proces
sions.
The balls are given in the White Hall
and arc the occasion for merry dancing
and much amusement to the younger
nembers of society. The arrangement
>f all these festival) is made by the Hop
narscballe and the staff of Kammcrherrn
n their very beautiful uniforms, models
>f court discipline. Even the smallest
letails are managed to perfection. The
Miquette aud order are faultless. The
invited guests all belong to the nobility,
iither of birth and family or mind. Many
aoblemen with their wives and daughters
come every winter to Berlin to attend at
court, and many more are in Parliament
tnd also attend. Here are also to be
icen men of science, ot literary tame,
and remarkable artists. The officers of
the guard regiments of Berlin and Pots
dam are always present, and turnish the
partners for the many pretty girls who
arc renowned for their chams. The
ladies’ toilets are rich and elegant and
very tasteful, though usually made at
Berlin, Frankfort or Vienna.
Mow Cannibals Do Their Cooking.
“Y'ou don't hear much about them,
hut there are cannibals in Australia to-
day,” said Dr. F. D. Clum to a Kansas
City Tima reporter. “Strange? Well,
not so very when you take into consid
eration the character of the country.
The blacks or aborigines still wear breech
clouts, and when yet a short distance
from civilization you will find that the
majority of them wear no appirel ol any
description. The Australian black
bears about the same relation to that
country that the American savage does
to this.
“When you get away from the cities
into the brush you will find plenty of
them who would kill you, and there U
nothing ihey would relish better than to
make a barbecue out of you, provided
that there was no danger of being caught.
Collectively they have the greatest fear
of the white man, for they know th it he
punishes severely. They prefer to roast
their victims. A stew they consider
very good, but, as a rule, they lack the
utensils and means of making broth.
When a plump white stranger is cap
tured and killed the body is carefully
prepared. It is then bound to a stout
green pole, which is supported at either
end about two and a half feet from the
earth by forked sticks.
“Between the sticks a fire is built,and
when the proper number of coals are
made, the green pole, with its choice
morsel, is put atop, and it is there per
mitted to simmer aud roast until done U
a turn, the man caters occasionally stick
ing their knives into the body to test th*
degree of doueness. Cannibalism on the
island, however, is gradually dying out.
The blacks are of a very low order ol
'intelligence. The Maoris in New Zea
land are a much more enlighteue I peo
ple.”
A Tnief Exposed by a Lobster.
Au ordinary lobster acting as a de
tective is an anomaly iu natural or any
other history. Paris (writes a corre
spondent) boasts of a crustacean which
has accomplished the feat of assisting
justice to bring home the full magnitude
of her guilt to a female thief, whose
specialty consisted in making predatory
excursions round grocers’ shops in ordei
to annex articles hanging up or displayed
for sale outside these establishments.
French grocers, it must be added, fre
qucntly sell shell fish as well as coffee,
sugar and spice, and one of these trades
men, living in the Rue Viclle du Tern
pie, had a nice assortment of marine
edibles outside his place of business the
other day.
A tolerably well dressed woman was
observed by a shop assistant taking some
small ai tides from the exterior collec
tion of goods, and was speedily given in
charge to the police. At the station the
prisoner was being interrogated by an
inspector when suddenly the muscles ol
her face contracted; she clenched her
teeth aud hands, and exhibited all the
symptoms of a person in agony. The
woman went on in this way for some
time, to the stupefaction of the police
official, when she at last shook her dress
violently, and out dropped a large, live
lobster.
The delinquent confessed that she had
stolen the crustacean from the grocer,
had tied it up under her mantle, and at
tached it t* her girdle. At the critical
moment of her interrogation the lobster
had worked its claws loose, and began
to apply them vigorously to the waist ol
its captor, whose bodice was badly torn.
The woman was sent at once to the de
pot, the preternaturally acute crustacean
beim; relumed to its lawful owner.
Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt, of New
York City, 1* said to have paid #12,000
for her new team of carriage horses.
They were bought in Pari* and are deuii-
range Percherons, half bloode, aud are
betuUMy matahtd' ...
SANTA FE.
IT IS THE OLDEST TOWN IN THE
UNITED STATES.
It Contains the Oldest House and tho
Oldest Church In America,and
Perhaps the Oldest Palace
In the World.
Santa Fc, New Mexico, says a St.
Louis Hepuhlic correspondent, the city of
the holy faith of St. Francis, is the trade
centre and until recently the military,
headquarters of the Southwest. It is the
oldest civil and religious Government ou
American soil. When Cabeza de Baca
penetrated the valley of the Rio Grande
in 1538 he found Santa Fe a flourishing
Pueblo village. The history of its first
European settlements was lost with most
of the early records of the Territory by the
destruction of all the archives in 1680,
hut the earliest mention shows it then
to have been the capital aud the centre
of commerce, authority and influence.
Iu 1804 came the first venturesome
American trader—the forerunner of the
great line of merchants who have made
traffic over the “Santa Fe” world wide
in its celebrity.
In the city of Santa Fe, previous to
1538, dwelt a race dissimilar to any now
existing. They were neither Aztec nor
Indian, nor yet were they Mound Build
ers. Houses built by these people are
standing as a conclusive evidence that
they built not for one generation, but for
ceuturies. Their manners and customs
were like those races who occupied the
mountainous regions of Northern and
Western Mexico. Resembling the Indian
in physical appearance, yet they lived
and constructed houses after the manner
of *he earliest Aztec civilization.
In the southeastern part of the ancient
village of Santa Fe just across the Santa
Fe River, stand two monuments of pre
historic architecture, the oldest house
and the oldest church in America. Their
exact age is unknown. They stand as
enduring monuments to a race of people
extinct, not of any intention or wanton
neglect on their part, but for the con
tinued wars waged by savage Spanish
explorers and still more savage bands of
hostile Indians.
After driving the last inhabitant from
the village, the conquering Spaniards set
up a government of their own, and in
1550, alter the close of the conquest,
built many houses that are to-day stand
ing in various sections of the city. Ou
the south side of the Plaza Juan de
Otermin, the first Spanish Governor
built his palace, the only one ever erected
in America. For many generations tho
palace was occupied by the Spanish Gov
ernors aud Captain-Generals until forced
or driven out by the Indians in 1680
after besieging the city for nine days.
Remaining iu the hands of the Indians
lor many years, it was finally retaken by
the Mexicans. The palace was again
occupied by the Mexican Governor and
had been continually until taken by tho
American forces in 1846 and 1848. Thus
wo have in the Executive Mausiou of
New Mexico perhaps the oldest palace in
the world. As it stands to-day, com
plete and perfect in all its appointments-,
with proper care a thousand years may
glide swiftly by, and in its grandeur,
outshining the ruins of Balbec or of
Tyre, the American people will rejoice iu
the antiquities they possess, founded
centuries before the birth of the grandest
republic that ever governed a people.
On account of its antiquity and of its
position as the most northern outpost of
Spanish-American civilization, Santa Fe
claims our attention to-day. It is of
another civilization, and one feels as in a
foreign land. The historic old churches
of San Miguel aud Guadaloupe were
erected by the Franciscan Fathers, who
accompanied tho Spaniards into the
country as missionaries, the first about
1350, the second some fifty or seventy-
five years later. Iu 1680 the Indians re
belled against the Spaniards and drove
them from the country. They at once
burned down the chapels and other pub
lic buildings aud residences; collected
the church saints on the piazza and
burned them; forbid the use of a word
of the Spanish language aud swore their
iutention to wash away the baptism of
the Catholic priests, aud allowed those
who hud been married by them to put
away their wives and take others. They
utterly destroyed everything pertaining
to the Spaniards. Twelve years later the
Spaniards returned and again itduced the
Indians to submission. The men were
sent to the forests aud the churches were
soou rebuilt.
Until within a few years all the houses
of Santa Fe were made ot mud pressed
and sun-baked iu fmin resembling our
unburnt brick, though far less symmetri
cal.
Adobe is the name applied by natives
to this class of building material, aud a
house built of this always lias an ap-
pea ancc of great antiquity and also of
impending dissolution. To conviuee one
of the great age of ci riliz I’ioa found here
he has but to glance at the native built
houses with their accompanying out-door
hake-ovens. No one but a Pueblo Indian
could have devised anything so deter
minedly ugly, and sometimes one is
tempted to believe that the old Aztec
deities must have assisted in their con
struction, just to show how hideous a
place man could build and still call it
home.
These houses hqve do eatruacei on the
grouna ana me terraces are reacnea Oy
ladders. Some of the houses were made
before the first Spanish Conquest, as can
be seen by the rafters, which were hewn
by stone implements. Only less curious
than the relics of the ino-.nd-builders and
more valuable because more available,
these ancient pueblos possess a wonderful
interest for the student and a weird
attraction for the tourist despite their
peculiar style of architecture.
CURIOUS FACTS.
It costs $33 to patent a carpet design.
It is said that the slot machine is over
ISO years old.
i
The ordinary watch gives 116,144,-
000 ticks during the year.
At Eddy, New Mexico, a stratum of
salt has been struck which is forty feet
thick.
The name Nebraska was first applied
to the river. Iu the Indian language it
means shallow water.
An Atchison (Kan.) girl who is about
to bo married has announced that she
will pay the expenses of the wedding
tour.
There arc 325,000 acres of olive trees
in Greece. They come into full bearing
when twenty years old. Tne best grape
crop is that of the currant grape.
Buddha is worshiped in Paris in vari
ous private temples, the devotees being
chiefly Japanese, but many of them are
Frenchmeu aud a few Englishmen.
At North Adams. Mass., the other day
a couple who were united iu marriage in
church before the regular service went
at once into the choir and assisted in the
singing.
The number of lives lost by accident
and disease iu the coustruction of the
Panama Canal is conjectural. Many
writers agree that it is something like
20,000.
A jeweler has iuseuted a devise for
use iu sleeping cars that promises to be
come popular. It is a ladder composed
of tubes of leather, that provide easy
access to upper berths.
Alaska was discovered by Vitus Behr
ing as late as 1711, and became and re
mained Russian territory by right of
discovery until it passed to the United
States by purchase in 1807.
Oceania or Oceanica comprises all the
islands and archipelagos in the Pacific
Ocean, and is often divided into four
great divisions named Malaysia, Micone-
sia, Australasia aud Polynesia.
Henry Wagner, an old German gar
dener, was digging in bis garden at Du
buque, Iowa, when he turned up the
rust-incrusted blade of an ancient sword.
Near the hilt could be made out a scroll
inclosing the date 1589. The sword it
thought to be a relic of the early French
explorers who first visited the valley of
the Mississippi.
The state bed of the last King of Po
land was made of Smyrna gold braid,
embroidered iu turquoises, with verses
I i o:n the Koran, its supports were of
silver gilt, beautifully chased and pro
fusely set with enameled and jeweled
medallions. It had been taken from the
Turkish camp before Vienna, and the
standard of Mahomet had stood under it.
Plans for the irrigation, both in upper
and lower Egypt, during the periods of
low water in the Nile, include the build
ing of a high barrage across the river
at the first cataract. Great opposition
has been excited against this proposition,
as it involves the submersion of the
beautiful island of Philte aud its mag
nificent monuments for several months
each year.
Midgets and Giants at a Wedding.
A wedding of aa extraordinary char
acter took place at the Registrar’s office
at South Shields recently, the bridal pait
being a little lady miss, who is only
thirty-two inches in height, and Profes
sor Hcdlcy, solo euphonium player, whe
is six feet one iuch in height. The gen
tlcman who gave the lady away was M.
Hubert, a man without arms, who signed
the marriage certificate as a witness witb
a pen between his teeth, and the brides
maids were Nma, an American giantess,
who is forty-four stone in weight, aud
Setonella, the “Fire Queen.” The best
man was Captain Dallas, who is seven
feet ten inches in height, and General
Metclenc, who is t wenty-nine aud one-
half inches in height, formed one of the
party, all of whom are connected with a
menagerie and circus which is traveling
through the country. — Pall Mall Gazette.
A Ouecr Waterspaut.
A queer sight was witnessed at Craw
ford, Ua., a few days ago by a large
number of citizeus. It was something
in the clouds that looked like a water
spout. It appeared iu a southern diree-
tiou, aud seemed about as large as a Hour
barrel iu size and extended from the
earth to the clouds above. It looked ex
actly like a stream of water pouring out
of the clouds. Wo have been told that
the thing reached the ground near An
tioch and that the stream was not water
but dust aud trash that was drawn up
towards the clouds. Nothing of the
kind was ever seen about here before.—
Atlanta Constitution.
A boy of ten and a girl of t • e’vo In
one of the public schools at Portland,
Me., are sub ject* of a good deal of curi
osity, hh both arc bald as billiard ball*,