The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, December 07, 1892, Image 6
EE?. TAIIMS SIMON.
Cora (Mi?iig, ite Snljaet o? His
Bis?
Tex*: Job 5:26.?As the Shock of Corn
Cometh In In His Season.
This is the time of the year for hu-king
corn. If you have recently been in the
fields of Pennsylvania, or New Jersey, or
New York, or ?ew England, or iu any of
the country districts, you know that the
corn is ait cut. The sharp knife struck
thrown, the stai ks and left them all along
the" fields until a man came with a bundle
of straw and twisted a few of these wisps
of straw into a band, and then gathering
up as much of the corn as he could com
pass with his arms, he bound it with this
wisp of straw, and then stood it in the
field in what is called a shock. There are
now at least 2,000.000,000bushels of corn
either standing in the shock, or having
been already husked. The farmers gather,
one day on one farm and then another
day on another farm, and they put on
their rough husking apron, and they take
the husking peg, which is a piece of iron
with a leathern loop fastened to the hand,
and with it unsheath the corn from the
husk and toss it into the golden heap.
Then the wagons come along and take it
to the corn-crib;
About corn as an important cereal, of
corn^asSa metaphor the 3; Me is con
stancy speaking. You kn>w about the
people in famine coming to buy corn of
Joseph, and the foxes on fire running
into the "standing corn," and about the
oxen treading cut the corn, and about
the seven thin ears of corn that in Pha
jraoh's dream devoured the seven good
?ars, and the "parched corn" handed to
beautiful Ruth by the harvesters of Beth
flehem, and Abigail's five measures of
"parched com" with which she hoped
to appease the enemies of her drunken
Jhusband, and David's description of the
valleys "covered over with corn," and
:"the handful of corn in the earth," and
;'*the full corn in the ear," and Christ's
^Sabbath morning walk through cornfields,
and'the disciples "plucking ears of corn,"
And so I am not surprised to find cora
li asking time referred to in my text: "As
a shock of corn cometa in in his season."
How vividly to all those of us who
fwere born in the country comes the re
jmembrance of husking time. We waited
if or it as for a gala day of the year. It was
'called* frolic. The trees having for the
mostpart shed their foliage, the farmere
wad?a through the fallen leaves and
came through the keen morning air to
the gleeful company. The frost which
ihad silvered everything during the night
Jbegan to melt off the top of the corn
shocks. While the fanners were waiting
|for others, they stood blowing their
breath through their fingers, or thrashing
I their arms around their body to keep up
?warmth of circulation. Roaring mirth
[greeted the late farmer as he crawled
iover the fence. Joke and repartee and
rustic salution abounded. All ready,
jnow! The men take hold of the shock of
jcora and hurl it prostrate, while the
moles and mice which have secreted
themselves there for warmth, attempt
escape. The withe of straw is unwound
from the corn shock and the stalks heavy
with the wealth of grain are rolled into
two bandies, between which the busker
sits down. The husking peg is thrust in
until it strikes the corn, and then the
fingers rip off the sheathing of the ear, and
there is a erack as the root of the corn
is snapped oil from the husk, and the
grain, disimprisoned, is hurled up into
the sunlight. The air is so tonic, the
work is so very exhilarating, the com
pany is so blithe, that some laugh, and
seme shout, and some sing, and some
banter, and some tease a neighbor for a
romanfic ride along the edge of the
woods a an eventide, in a carriage that
holds but two, and some prophesy as to
the number of bushels to the field, and
others go into competition as to which
shall ri?a the most corn shocks before
sundown. After a while the dinner horn
sounds from?the farmhouse, and the table
is surrounded by a group of jolly and
hungry mea. f From all the pantries and
cellars and the perches of fowl on the
place the richest daint:e3 come, and there
is carnival and neighborhood reunion,
and a scene which fills our memory,
part with smiles but more with tears, as
we remember that the farm belongs now
to other owners, and other hands gather
in the held, and raanv of those who min
gled in that merry husking scene have
themselves been reaped, "like as a shock
of corn cometh in in his season."
There is a difference of opinion as to
whether the orientals knew anything
about the corn as it stands in our fields;
but recent discoveries have found out
that the Hebrew knew all about Indian
maias? for there have been grains of corn
picked up out of the ancient crypt3 and
ext?aed >from hiding places where they
were put down many centuries ago?, and
they have been planted ia our time and
hiwWiiie up just such Indian maize as
we raise in New York and Ohio; so I am
right when I say that my text may refer
to a shock of corn just as you and I
bound just as you and I threw it, just
as you an I husked it. There may come
some practical and useful and comforting
lessons to all our souls, while we think
of coming in at last "like a shock of corn
coming in in his season."
It is high time that the kin? of terrors
was thrown out of the Christian vocabu
lary. A vast multitude of people talk of
death as though it were the disaster of
disasters instead of being to a good man
the blessing of blessings. It is moving
out of a cold vestibule into a warm tem
ple. It is migrating into groves of redo
lence and perpetual fruitage. It is a
change frm bleak March to roseate June.
Jt is anhange of manacles for garlands.
It is a transmuting of the iron handcuffs
of earthly incarc?ratioi into the di imond
ed wristlets of a bridal party ; or to use the
suggestion of my text, it is only husking
time. It is the tearing off of the rough
sheath of the body that the bright and
the beautiful soul may go free. Coming
in "like a shock of corn cometh in in his
sea=on." Christ broke up a funeral pro
cession at the gate of Nain by making a
a resurrection day for a young man and
his mother. And I would that I could
break up your sadnesses and halt the long
funeral procession of tne world's grief by
some el/eering and cheerful view of the
last transition.
We all know that husking time was a
time of frost. Frost on the fence. Frost
on the stubble. Frost on the ground.
Frosc on the bare branches of th? trees.
Frost in th^ air. Frost on the hands of
the buskers. You remember we used to
hide bstween the corn-stacks to keep off
the .wind, but still you remember how
shivering was the body and how painful
was the cheek, and how benumbed were
the hand.*. But after a while the sun
was high up and all the fros's went out
of the air, and hilarities awakened the
echoes, and joy fromjone corn-shock went
up, "Aha, sha!'' and was answered from
another corn-shock, "Aha, aha?" So we
all realize that the death of our friend is
the'nipping of many expectations, the
freezing, the chilling, the frosting of
many of our hopes. It is far from being
& south wiod. It comes out of the frigid
north, and when they go away from us we
stand benumb'd in body and benumbed
in mind and benumbed in soul. We stand
.among our dead neighbors, our dead
families, and we say, "Will we ever get
overii?" Yes, we will get over it amid
the fhoutings of heavenly reunion, and
we will look back to al! these distresses
of bereavef&ent only as the temporary dis
tresses of husking time. "Weeping may
endure, for a nij?ht, but Joy cometh in the j
morsing." "Light ana but for ft mo- I
m?nt,'' *&id the apostle as he cisppei hU ?
ir-, : ; _
bands, "light, and but for a moment."
The chill of the frosts followed by the
gladness that cometh in "like a shock
of co rn cometh in in his sea son."
Of course the husking time made rough work
with the ear of corn. The husking peg had to
be thrust in and the hard thumb of the husk*
ier had to come down on the swathing of the
ear, and then there was a pull and there was a
ruthless tearing, and then a complete snapping
pff before the corn was free, and if the husk
could have spoken it would have said, "Why do
yon lacerate me? Why do you wrench me?"
?h! my friends that is the way God has ar
ranged that the ear and the husk shall part,
and that is the way he has arranged that the
hody and the soul should separate. Ton can
afford to have yovrr physical dis'ressfs when
you know that they arj only forwarding the
soul's liberation. Every rheumatic pain is onlv
a plunge of the hu king peg. Every neuralgic
twinge is only a twist by >he husker. There is
gold in you that must c?me out. Some way the
shackle "must be broken. Some way the ship
must be launched for heavenly voyage. You
must let the heavenly husbandmin husk off the
mortality from the immortality. There ought
to be great consolation in this for all who have
chronic ailments, eince the Lord is gradually
and more mildly taking away from you that
which hinders your soul's lib?ration, doing
gradually for yon what for many of us in robust
health perhaps he will do in one fell blow at
the last. At the close of every illness, at the
close of every paroxysm you ought to say,
"Thank God, that is all past now; thank God.
I will never have to suffer that again; thank
God, I am so much nearer the hour of libera
tion.v You will never suffer the same pain
twice. You may have a new pain in an old
pbce, but never the same pain twice. The
pain does its work and then it dies. Just so
many plunges of the crowbar to free the quarry
stone for the building. Just so many strokes
of the chisel to compiete the statue. Just so
many pangs to separate the soul from the body.
You who have chronic ailments and disorders,
are only paying in installments that which Bomh
of us wili have to pay in one payment when we
pay the debt of nature, Thank God, there
fore, ye who have chronic disorders that you
have so mnch less suffering at the last. Thank
God that you will have so much less to feel in
the way of pain at the hands of the heavenly
husbandman when "the shock of corn cometh
in in his season "
Perhaps now this may be an answer to a ques
tion which I asked one Sabbath morning, but
did not answer: Why is it that so many really
good people have so dreadfully to suffer? You
often find a good man with enough pains and
aches and diseases you would think, to dipcip.
line a whole colony, while you will find a man
who is perfectly useless ening about with easy
digestion and steadv nerve.? sr d shining health,
and his exit from the world is comparatively
painless. How do you explain that? Well, I
noticed in the husking time that the husking
peg was thrust into the corn and then there
must be a stout pull before the swathing was
taken off the ear and the full, round, health y,
luxuriant corn was developed; while on the
other hand there was corn that hardly seemed
worth husking. We threw that into aplace all by
itself, and we called it "nubbins." Some of it
was mildewed, and some of it was mice nibbled,
and some of it was great promise and no ful
fillment. All cobs and no com. Nubbins!
After thegoo 1 corn had been driven up to the
barn we came around with the corn-basket and
we picked np those nubbins. They were m orth
saving bat not worth much. So all around us
there are people who amount to compara
tively nothing. They develop into no
kind of nsefulne s. They are nibbled on one
side by the world, and nibbled on the other side
by the devil and mddewed all over. Gre it
promise and no fulfillment. All cobs an I no
corn. Nubbins! They are worth saving. I
suppose many of them will get to heaven, bus
they are noi 'worthy to be. mentioned in the
same day with those who went through gr?at
tribulation in!o the kiugdom of our God.
Who would not rather ha ve the pains of this
life, the misfortunes of this life?who had not
rather be to:n, aud wounded, and lacerated,
and wrenched, and husked, and at last go in
amid the very best grain of the granary, than
tobe pronounced not worth husking at all?
Nubbins! In other words, I want to say to yoa
people who have distress of body, and distress
in business, and distress of all sorts, the Lord
has not any grudge against you. It is not de
rogatory, it is complimentary. "Whom the
Lord loveth he chastenefch," and it is proof pis
itive that there is something valuable in you,
or the Lord would not have husked you.
You remember a'so, that in the time of husk
ing it was a neighborhood reunion. By the
great fireplace in the winter, the fires roaring
cround the glorified back-logs on an old fash
ioned hearth, of which the modern stoves and
registers are only degenerate descendants, the
faomers used to gather and spend the evening,
and there wonld be much sociality ; but it was
not anything like the jo.* of huskiug time, for
then all the farm?ra came, and they came from
beyond the m,vadov, and they came from be
yond the br.-ok, and they came from ?vgions
two and thiee miles around. Good spirits
reigned supreme a?-.d th*re were great hant*
shakings, and there was carnival, and there
was a recital of the brightest experiences in all
their lives and there was a neighborhood re
union, the memory of which mikes all the
nerves of my bod* <remb!e with emotion as the
strings of a harp when the fingers of the ayer
have swept the chords. Too hnsk^ig time was
the time of neighborhood reunion<, and s">
heaven will be j:i t that. There they come up!
They s ept in the old villa e churchyard.
Theie they come up! They reclined amid the
fountains and the sculpture and the parterres
of a city cem teiy. There they come up! They
weut down when the ship foundered off Cape
Hatteras. Thev come np from all sides?from
the potter's fi Id aud ont of the solid masonry
of Westminster Abbe ! They come up! They
come up! All th-rhiudi anees"to their better n\
rnre bn-ked off. All their spiritual despond
encies hnske I t.ff All their hindrances to nsc
fulness kusked off. The grain, the golden
grain, the God-fashioned grain, visib'e and
c>nspic:ton-?. So-re of them on e?rih were such
d sagr cable Christitns yon could hardly stand
it in their presene ?. >w in heaven thy a*e
so radiant you hardly know tb^m The fact is.
all thei?- imperfections h v.* been husked off.
They did not m?*an ?>n earth to be disagreeable.
They meant w;-;i motigli, but th^y told you
how sick you 1? diced, and they told you ho-.v
many hard things tb-y had heard abon- you.
and they told vor. h ?w often they had to st md
u?? for Tou in - -me ba?les until you w.shed a'
mosi they had ? een slain in som"? of die battles.
Good, ploys, consecrated well-meaning di a
greeables. Now, iu he ven all their offendve
ness. h:?s been hnsied off. Each one is happy
as he cau be. Every ne he meets is as hap*
Ey as he can be. Heaven, one great neigh
n>hood reunion. Ail kingi and Q-teeni, all
songsters, all m.Ilion ?rea, all ?-auqueters. GoJ
the Father, wi; h his children all around him
No "goodby"in the air. No grave cat in all the
hills. Eiver of crystal rolling over bed of pearl
under arch of Chrysoprase,into seas of glass
mingied with fire. * Stand at the gate of the
grauary and see the grain come in; out of the
?roste into the sanshin*. out of the darkness
into th; light, ont of the tearing and the
rippling and the twisting and the wrenching
and the lacerating and' the husking time of
earth into the w.dop-n door of the kings
granary, *?Itke as a shock of corn cometh in
in his sea-on."
Yes, heaven i? a pi cat socub'e. with joy like
the joy of the busking time. No one there
f eiing so biz h-i declines to speak to some one
that is not so large. Archangel willing to listen
to sraalies: che? :i!>. No bolting of the door
of caste at one heavenly mansion to ko:-p out
the citizen of a smailer mansion. No clique in
one corner whispering about a clique in another
comer. David taking none of the airs of a
giant killer. Joshua making no one halt until
he passes because he made tlie t>un and moon
hair. Paul making no assumption over the
most ordinary preacner o: rignteousness.
Naaman. captala of the Syrian host, no more
honored than the captive maid who to'd him
whe:e he could get a go.nl doe or. O, my soul,
what a country ! The humblest man a king.
The poorest woman a qa en. The meanest
house a palace, the shortest lifetime eternity.
And what is more s* range al*>ni it all is w
may all get there. *'Not I," says some one,
standing back under the galleries. Yes, you.
"Not I " sav s some one who has not been in
church in fifteenyear* before. Yes, you. '"Not
I," fays some one who has been for fifty years
filling up his lift- with all kinds of wickedness.
Yes, 3 ou- There are monopolies on tartb, mo
nopolistic railroads, and monopolistic telegraph
companies, and monopolistic grain dealers, but
no monopol es in rel'gion. Ail who want to be
saved may be saved "without money and with
out price." Salvation by the Lord Jesus Christ
for ali (he people. Of course, use common
ense in this matter. You cann?t ( xp ct to get
to Charleston by taking the ship for Portland,
and you canuoi get to heaven by going in an
opposite direction. "Believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ and thou ehalt be saved. Through that
one gate of pardon and peace all the race may
go in.
"But." gays some one, "do you really think I
would hi a' home in that supernal societv if I
should reach it.-'' I think you would. know
you would. J remember that in the husking
time there was great equality of feeling among
the neighbors. There at one com shock a
farmer would be at work who owned two hun
dred acres of ground. I he man whom ho was
talking with at the next corn shock owned but
thirty acres of ground, and perhaps eli that
covo? cd with a mortgage. That e\\ ning, at the
ck se of the husking day. one man drove home
a roan spau so Irisky, so full of life, ?hat thev
got their feet over the traces. The other man
walked Lome. Great difference iu education,
great difference in worldly meaus ; but I no
ticed at the hulking time "they all seemed to
enjoy each other's society. They did not ask I
anv man how much property he owned or what j
his education had b en. They all seemed to be j
happy together in those go;)d times. And so it
will be iu heaven. Our Father will gather bis !
children around him, and the neighbors will |
come in, an i the past will be rehear.-ed. !
And fonie o:ie will tell of victory, and we
will all celebrate it. And fome one will teil
of a great rugale, a"d we will all praise
the grace thai fetched him oui of it. And
omo one will sty. ''Here is my old father that
X put away with heartbreak; Just look at him,
h? it S3 ygpg m any of oaf Ajid. some one
r
wi?Tsav, "Here is my Jarl?ng child tliaf bur
ied in Greenwood, and all the after years of
my life were shadowed with desolation?just
look at her! She doesn't teem as if she had
been sick a minute." Great sociality. Great
neighborhood kindness. Go in and dine.
What though John Milton sit down on one
side and John Howard sit down on the other
side. No embarrassment. What thongh Char
lotte Elizabeth ait down on one side and Hah
nah Moore sit down on the other? No embar
rassment. A monarch yourself, why be
embarrassed among monarchs? A songster
yourself, why be embarrassed among glori
ous songsters'? Go in and dine.
All the shocks of corn coming in in their
leason? Ob, yes, in their season. Not one of
you having died too soon, or having died too
late, or having died at haphazard. Planted at
just the right time. Plowed at just the right
time. Cut down at just the right time. Ilnsk
edat just the right time. Garnered at just
the right lime. Coming in in yonr season.
Oh, I wished that ihe two billion buehels of
corn now in the fields or on their way to the
seaboard might be a type of the prand yield
of honor and glory and immortality, when all
the shocks come in.
I do not know how you are constituted, but I
am so constituted that there is nothing that so
awakens reminiscences in me as the odors of a
cornfield wh< I cross it at this time of year
after the corn has been cut and it stands in
shocks. And fo I have thought it might be
practically useful for us today to crois the
cornfield,'and I have thought perhaps there
might be some reminiscence roused in our
oui that might be salutary and might be sav
ing. In Sweden, a prima donna, while hex
house in ihe c ty was being prepared, took a
house in the country for temporary residence,
and she brought out her great array of jewels
to show a friend who wished to eee them. One
night, after displaying these j-wels, and leav
ing them on the table, and all her friends had
gone, and the servants had gone?one summer
n:ght?she sat thinking and looking into a
mirror just in front of her chair, when she saw
in that mirror the face of a. robber looking in
at the window behind her and gazing at those
jewels. She was in great fright, but sat still,
and hardly knowing why she did so, she began
to sing an old nursery song, her fears making
the pathos of the song more telling. Suddenly
she noticed, while looking at the mirror, that
the robber'd Lc : had gone from the window,
and it did not come hack. A few days after
the prima donna received a letter from the
robber saying: ' I heard that the jewels were
to be out that night, and I came to take them
at whatever hazard; but when I heard you 6ing
that nursery song with which my mother so
often sang mo to sleep. I could not stand and
Ithd, and I hava lesdved upon a new ~**d
honest life." Oh, my friend*, there are jewels
m peril richer than hose which lay upon that
table that night. They arc the j weis of the
immortal souL Would God that some song
rolling up out of the deser^d nursery of your
childhood, or some song rolling up out of the
cornfield*, the song of the busker twenty or
forty years ago. might turn all our feet out ol
the paths of sin into the paths of righteous
ness Would God that those memories wafted
in on odor or song might start u-; this moment
with swift feet toward that blessed place where
so many of our loved ones have already pre
ce d d us, {,as a shock of corn cometh in in.hi?
season."_"_
AN AGREEMENT PROBABLE.
The Ultimate Sueeess of the Monetary
Conference Assured*
? cablegram of Tuesday from Brussels
says: The committees appointed by the
international monetary conference to
consider the proposals of Mr. Alfred de
Rothschilds, will also consider the plans
suggested by 51. Levi and Professor
Adolphus Soeller. Professor S.;elber's
pl?:n is to establish one gramme of fine
gold as the interrational unit of value
and to stop the minting of coins contain
ing less than 5.80G5 grammes of pure
gold. The circulation of coin of foreign
countries of less than new standard
will be prohibited by the countries sign
ing an agreement, and gold coiu of infe
rior value will be withdrawn within five
years. Private inviduals will be allowed
to coin gold upon the payment of an
agreed seigniorage. Gold certifie lUs
may be issued against sold held iu re
serve. Professor Soelber's plan also in
cludes the coinage of silver in the pro
portion of twenty value units of that
metal to one of gold, but private indi
viduals will not be allowed the free
coinage of silver. Of the comm'ttee five
are avowed bimetal lists, six monometal
lism and one is doubtful. It will sit
twice e-ch day. It is the general expect
ation that Mr. dc Rothschild's proposals
will be accepted by the committee and
refer? ed to the conference and govern
ments with the modifications suggested
by the schemes of Mr. Levi and Professor
Soelber. One of the modications will un
doubtedly be that all gold coins below
the value of twenty francs be with
drawn from circulation and replaced by
silver notes. The adhesion of the Ger
man delegates is considered certain, as
Herr de Cleben, formerly president of the
reichstag, approved the main lines of
Professor Soelber's proposal. The French
representatives will also accept the plan,
which was communicated by M. Tirard,
French ex-minister of finance, and was
favorably received by the French dele
gates before it was submitted to the con
lerence.
With the prospects of an early agree
ment, nobody now talks of the failure of
the conference, which at first was the
only prediction. It is reported that the
conference wiil likely conclude next
week.
The American delegates are disposed
to support Mr, Rothschild's proposals on
the principle that half a loaf is better
than no bread.
PENSION FIGURES.
Secretary Noble Furnishes Estimates
fer ihe Next Fiscal Year.
A Wushington dispatch of Mor.day
says: Treasury officials view with some
surprise the estimates sent up by Secre
tary ?soble for pensions. They are, in
their opinion, too small, but as it is
their duty to put them in the "book of
estimates." in they go. Secretary No
ble's figures in round numbers are $165,
000,000 for pensions for the fiscal year
ending June 30, 1894, and $10,500.000
as a deficiency for the fiscal vcar 1S93,
which, with the appropriation of $147,
000,000, brings up the pension money
for the fiscal year of 1893', $157,500,000.
The treasury department is now pay
ing out pension money at the rate of
$13,500,000 a month. This makes the
present rate $162,000,000 a year; but
this rate is increasing each month and
unless the pension office stops work al
together and does not allnw any new
cases or increases, the rate it is estimated
must increase to at leas' $14,000 000 be
fore this present fi-cai year is end
ed. When the fiscd year 18i?:J !>4
is reached, for which Secretary Noble
says $100.000,000 will be sufficient, the
pension rat--, tt is believed by the t>e>t
posted fhVinls in the tre?sury depart
ment, will be $15,000,000 a month, or
$180,000.000 a year, which will have a
deficiency of $14,000,000 for the second
session of the fifty-third congress to pro
vide. _
OUR LIFE SAVING SERVICE.
General Superintendent imball Makes
His Annual Report.
General SuperintendentKimball, of the
life saving service, states in his annual
report that the number of disasters to
vessels within the field of operation of
the service during the year was 837.
There were on board of these vessels
2,570 persons, of whom 2,500 were saved
and seventy lost. The number of ship
wrecked persons who received succor at
the station was 747. Estimated value of
the vessels and cargoes involved iu the
disasters was $8,234.520. Of this
am unt $7,111,005 was saved. The
number of vessels totally lost was fifty.
California's Vote.
A special of Tu sday from Sau Fraucis
co says: The official vote of all counties
iu California, with the exception of Siu
Francisco, give Harrison a plurality of
14*2. Re'urnsircm ail but nine pre
oincts in the city reduces Harrison's plu
raiity in the state to 810, It is possible
tbat when the official vote has bcren com
pleted upon individual electora the elec
toral vote may be divided between Har
rison and Clevelaad.
SARDINE FISHING.
An Extensive Industry on the
Coast of Brittany.
How the Fish Are Caught and
Prepared for Export.
F. S. Dellenbaugh, in a paper upon
Finist?re, read before the American
Geographical Society, describes the
sardine industry as it is practiced off
Pontaven on the coast of Brittany.
At times, he says, there arc as many
as 12?0 boats collected at this point,
where the sardine, while on its north
ward journey, attains , its most desir
able size for taking and packing-.
The boats are about thirty feet long,
entirely open, except for a short deck
at the stern, and carrying two masts
that can readily be taken down. The
net, about twenty feet long and six or
eight feet broad, is weighted on one
long edge and buoyed with cork floats
on the other, so that when it is in the
water behind the boat it assumes
an upright position like a wall,
and in this position is
towed through the water by
one end as the boat moves slowly
along. The captain mounts the little
deck; at the stern with a bucket of
bait called rong, the eggs of codfish,
under one arm, and his practiced eye
ranges the water. "When he discovers
the proximity of the fish he scatters a
little of the rong ou one side of the
net aud they rise in a scltool to take it.
This is the critical moment. He
throws a quantity on the opppositc
6ide. and the fish, making a dart for
it, are entangled iu the meshc3. When
the sardines are numerous the boat
does not halt to take the net on board*
by means of a certain pull the meshes
are tightened and, with a buoy to
mark i-, it is cast off and left till a
full calch is made. Another net is
put out and the operation is repeated
till all the nets are used.
Then comes the picking up and ex
traction of the fish, the latter work
being performed with great care, be
cause handling(the fish injures them.
The net is caught up at the ends aud
eeasawed till all the fish drop into the
bottom of the boat, where they re
main until the arrival in port. There
the fish are counted by the two hun
dreds into coarse baskets and dipped
in the water beside the boat to free
them from loose scales and other mat
ter. Thence they are carried to the
factories and thrown upon long, low
tables, on each side of which is a
row of women and girls, who, with a
short knife prepare them for the salt
vacs,where they remain for two hours.
After that they are placed in coarse
baskets and given a bath of sea water
under a pump. Then they are put to
dry in the open air on wire racks
When the fish begin to shrivel the
racks are taken to the oil room, where
four or five tanks of olive oil are con
stantly boiling. Each rack is plunged
for a moment or two into the hot oil
and then set aside to drip, after which
the fish are selected and carefully laid
in tin boxes of various sizes.
When the box is full it is passed
along to the oil tap, where the space
remaining is filled with oil, The box
is now ready for sealing and parses
along to the solderer. After the sol
dering a hole is punched in the cover
to Jet out the imprisoned air aud im
mediately closed with solde.. Next
the cans are placed in a huge iron
crate and lowered into tanks of boil
ing water. If there is still air in the
can it will explode or bulge out, and
the trouble can be corrected before
the final packing iu wooden boxes for
export to all parts of the world.
A Fight Between Giraffes.
There is a deal of human nature in
a giraffe?in his native state. The old
fellows insist on ruling the herd as
long as possible, and never give it up
till the younger ones whip them out,
and as the weak ones are whipped out
in the start, the result is that each boss
giraffe is a polygnmisi on a large scale.
This leads to savage lights, and as the
hunters penetrate into South Africa
they occasionally witness these duels.
A hunter gives this accounf of such a
combat between an old and a young
giraffe, witnessed from an adjacent
thicket:
"Presently the belligerents came
within a few yards of each other.
Then commenced a scene that baffles
all description. Some people might
call it ludicrous ; it was far more, it
was side splitting, and but for my de
sire to see the end 1 must have given
way to convulsions of laughter. Al
though the giraffe possesses a certain
beauty when at rest, it loses its grace
when in motion, and the greater its
speed the more ungainly does it ap
pear.
But when two mature bulls begin to
wa'tz and dance violently around each
other, each endeavoring outdo the
Other in agility, at tin? same lime
mumbling their jaws and emitting
fearfully discordant roars, it is cer
tainly one of the most, absurd sights
human eye ever looked upon. 1 have
often seen a ciane dance?a function
common euough north of the Vaal
River. It is more than funny?it is
ridiculous?but cannot for an instant
be compared to the aulles of these
two mam moi h lu nie-;.
' They began rearing as if to bear
ea<-li other down, their mouths ail the
iinie open i<> grip i' opportunity oc
curred. At length the violent exercise
began t<> teil u on the older beast.
Wo iliade some mis ako in a parry, and
?1k? younger seized vvi ii his teeth the
foot <<j' ?he ve?eian, wboin return laid
Iioid <?f iii- opponents ear. For sum ?
moiiKMts there was paust?. )i wa
ve: brief, :*i!<! risen tin striigg- ? wa
renewed. Vv i h m ??i^s.u?ic effort ihr
vounger gir:.ft-i threw the old hero
uiKUi ills hutjuches, Ho looked yery
much as if lie bad played Iiis last
card, but there was pluck in his aged
heart yet, though the battle was not
for him; years iold against him, and
victory lay with the youngster, who
celebrated it by trying to drag the
the vanquished after him. This oper
ation must have been painful, for the
shrieks that the defeated warrior ut
tered were heartrending. After a
linai worry the hero of the hour
walked off, and, willingly followed
by all. took lite lead.
I
After such a defeat the old fellow
usually becomes a "solitary," and
lives and dies alone.? [London
Graphic.
Novel Measuring of Water Depths.
Frederick J. Smith of Trinity Col
lege, Oxford, explains a curious way
of finding the depths of a piece of
water at a distance.
''About two years ago," he says, "I
wished to know from time to time iho
rate at which a river was rising after
a fall of rain. The river was a con
siderable distance from the spot where
its height was to be known. By means
of the combinai ion of two organ pipes
and a telephonic circuit described in
(he following lines I have been able to
make the required measurements with
in rather close limits. At the river
station an organ pipe was fixed verti
cally m au inverted position, eo that
the water in the river acted as a stop
per to 3 pipe, and the rise and fall
of the water determined the note it
gave when blown by a small bellows
driven by a very small vrater wheel.
"A microphone was attached to tlie
upper end of the organ pipe ; this was
in circuit with a wire leading to a
town .station at some disLance; at the
town etation there was an exactly
similar organ pipe, which could be
lowered into a vessel full of water
while it was sounding. By means of
the telephone the note given by the
pipe at the river was clearly heard at
the town station ; then the orgau pipe
at this station was lowered or raised
by hand until it gave the same note.
The length of the organ pipes under
water at the two stations were then
equal, so that the height of the water
in the distant river was known.
"The determination cau be made in
less than a miuute by any one who
can recognize the agreement of two
similar notes. The arrangement wheu
first tested was so placed that the
height of water at two places near
together might be easily compared. 1
found that a lad with an average ear
for musical sounds was able to get the
two heights to agree within one-eighth
of an inch of each other, while a per
son with an educated ear adjusted the
instrument immediately to almost ex
act agreement. The total height to
be measured was seventeen inches.
' A difference of temperature at the
two stations would make a small dif
ference in the observed heights. For
iustance, taking a note caused by 250
vibrations per second, a difference of
10 degrees C. between the temperature
of the two stations (one not likely to
occur) would make a difference of
about 0.02 feet in the height, a quant
ity of no moment in such a class of
measurements. The organ pipes were
of square section and made of metal
to resist the action of the water."?
[Nature.
The Birthplace of Old Glory.
The house in which was made the
first American flag, with its unlucky
number of etripes aud stars that f? r
the first tim?, in history belied an old
proverb, still stands on Arch street.
The building is moreover noted as the
scene of one of the first meetings be
tween French Envoy Genet and Mise
Clinton,daughter of one of New York's
most noted governors, who in time
became Mme. Genet. Genet, himself,
standing at an upper story window of
the Arch etreet building, saw a youiig
lady go by on horseback, and it was
evident that she had considerable to
learn on the subject or equine man
agement. The Frcuchmon hurriedly
descended to the street, and approach
ing Miss Clinton's uncontrollable ani
mal was just in time to catch the fair
equestrienne in his arms as she was
failing. With the magnanimity of
his race, Genet insisted upon bearing
the burden thus imposed upon his j
arms until the young lady had been
deposited by him upon a sofa in the !
Arch street house aud revived by a j
whiff of smelling salts. Tuo episode
terminated in the Genet-Clinton wed
ding that long agitated society in those
colonial days.? [Philadelphia Pres.?.
rabVEye" Pills.
It is not generally known that up to
recent years a medicine was prepared
from the common crawfish, in the
stomach of this creature there are al
most always found small calcareous
concretions, from the 6ize of a pin's
head to the size of a pea. The little
stony bull is composed of carbonite
and phosphate of lime, and was
formerly powdered and used in doses
of three or four grains to correct acid
i itv of the stomach. Prepared chalk
-
j has now taken the place of the
! ?'crab'fc-cyes," as these concretions
I wore called, but occasionally persons
i arc found who consider them more
efficacious than the loss repulsive sub
stitute.
Cherokee Strip Xol a Strip.
I have just crossed the Cherokee
! Strip, and was surprised to find it
j took the train over three hours to
j cross if, says a St. Louis Globe-Dem
i ocrat man. The general impression
j as to the strip is that it is a narrow
j'teck of laud only a few miles across, j
j tescrved as a highway or oui let for J
' the Chcrokecs. A> a matter of fact, !
the snip i? eighty miles across and is
? larger in area than sum:; of the >tates
j o? the / . Tue entire eighty miies
is covered wbh ilic best quality ol
I blue grass, and it is doubtful who'Iicr
j ev<\o in the bo?t part? o? Tex is il U to
I ho ujj ?eutccl.
PRAIRIE CHICKENS.
Like the Buffalo, They Are Fast
Disappearing. , .
Almost Exterminated by Hunt
ers on Western Plains.
The exhilarating sport of hunting
the prairie chicken on the plains of the
West, according to C. M. Ilargerin in
the New York Advertiser, will soon
be as extinct as that of shooting buf
falo. The quick whir-r-r of the bird
is heard less and less frequently, and
the hunters encounter a far greater
wariness than of old. Only a few
years ago. and the sportsman was in
clover when he reached the prairies of
Kansas. Special cars, with hunters
aboard, stopped iu the midst of the
level plains, and when the men came
back it was with shoulders heavily
laden with the toothsome aud attrac
tive game.
But the heartless and indiscriminate
slaughter, in season aud out of season,
to which the different varieties of
grouse and quail have been subjected
during the past decade lws almost
ruined the sport on the plains of
Xansae, Nebraska, Iowa and other sec
tions of the West. To be sure there
is yet game, but it has so decreased in
quautity that the present season sees
not one-tenth the amount that existed
a few years since.
There is little sport more enticing
than the shooting of prairie chickens
?or pinnated grouse. Nothing can
be compared to it except the hunting
of the wild tarkey. Wliile turkey is
sought in the timber of the bottom
lands, the prairie chicken lives boldly
out on the plain and trusts to his
keenness of vision and rapid flight to
protect himself. To creop upo?i a
flock of the fowls at home is a sight
to be remembered, The rich, plump
bodies of the hens shading from dark
grayish brown on the breast and
wings to a light gray neck and dark
head, aud the larger build of the
males, with the distinguishing long
black feathers on the neck, reaching
down like the ends of a yoke, make a
delicious contrast for the lover of a
rifle with the green of the prairie
sod.
They are large enough to make a
good legitimate prey; they are excel
lent eating?rich, tender, gamey. But
their outposts hear you, and a quick,
clucking warning is given. Iu an in
stant every head drops, the bodies
crouch close to the ground and ap
parently disappear. Unices you are a
practical hunter you will declare that
half a second has sufficed for some of
the birds to sink into the earth. But
they are all there. This one behind a
little grass dumb; that in a tiuy hol
low made by some pony's foot;
another spreading its wings as it squats
at the base of a weed stalk. To the
amateur eye it is remarkable if, without
considerable search, more than two or
three can be detected, so closely do
the colora of the birds blend with the
shadows and tints of the sod.
The professional knows that they
are all there, and the bunch is speedily
flushed, [n an instant they rise about
you as if suddenly created from dust.
One was less than a yard from your
feet, yet you did not see it. Their
flight is a peculiar one. tiising to a
height of from twenty to fifty feet,
they take a horizontal course, churn
ing the air rapidly with the stumpy
wings until momentum is acquired,
then sailing with outstretched pinions
for many rods. A prairie chicken is
never awkward or ridiculous except
when in the air. On taking flight the
birds do not, like quail, go as a flock,
but radiate in every direction, so that
he is a good gunner, indeed, who
makes both barrels count.
The prairie chicken is non-migra
tory, and, like quail, turkey and rab
bits, might be preserved for all time
if afforded a reasonable amount of
protection. Grouse and quail can
etand a comparatively close settlement
of the country, al least one as close as
most parte of the West will admit of,
and with the proper enforcement of
rigidly drafted game laws, as well as
a manly forbearance on the part of the
sportsmen themselves, would preserve
the now unequal ratio between the in
crease and slaughter. As it is now
there is practically no proiection, and
from June to December the markets
of Western cities show forbidden
game. It is not alone grouse, but
quail, wild turkey and other varieties
6uftcr. Poachers go with dogs out of
season and bring in loads of the pretty
game, and it finds its way mysterious
ly into the stalls of the cities.
Mustn't Meddle With Mexican Railroad.
An American traveling in Mexico
cannot fail to be impressed by the
splendidly mounted and equipped
bands of cavalry guards that dash up
to the railroad depots and stations
whenever a ail train arrives. These
are the famous Llura les, the flower of
the Mexican army, to who General
Porfirio Dia/., i lis President, has
trusted the railroads and border
customs as a special favor. Aud rijjht
proud and jea'ous arc they of the
trust. Their vocation is to guard the
customs on the borders and to protect
the railways and trains from robbers
aud wreckers: and to well have they
done their duty that no money could
tempt the most foolhardy bandit to
intet fere wirb the railroads.
They are a c?a^s of mon eminently
adapted to their calling, combining
something of the cowboy of the plains,
something of ?w trooper inured to :
harships, and good deal of the dash
and splendor of ornamental soldiers.
They ride lik'j dem ?ns <>n fiery horses,
light like tiger- and coolly smoke ^
cigarettes in the face of death. All
that is l'hoir h;t-iiics> and ihey fairly
When, they had train robbers to
hunt, it is asserted on authority from
the City of Mexico, they never turned
and fled. Nor did they ever let the
robbers slip through their fingers.
A band of three or more is ever
ready when the train stops. Should
the conductor or engineer report any
interference with the train these sol
diers are away at once in quest of the
offenders. Quite often they ride on
trains as a guard, so that traveling is
done in safety south of the Rio
Grande.
Mexico is exceedingly strict in
dealing with bandits who meddle with
the railroads. The penalty has been
told. But so strict is this law it
seems harsh, or, in fact, arbitrary.
Even the most insignificant act that
! would injure a railway bed assures
! the same punishment. To remove a
single spike, to chip iff' a spliuter
from a tie is punishable by the fusil
lade of Rurales bullets as much as a
desperate attempt at wrecking a train
is; for email as they seem it is still a
matter for engineers, not laymen, to
determine whether such acts would
not derail a fast-running train.
Wells, Fargo & Co.'s people will
say that their money is safer it'ider
this regime than in the better settled
and more populous Pacific States.?
[San Francisco Examiner.
The Most Ancient Idol.
In the temple of Mecca, wherein is
a square stone edifice, which, by tra
dition, is said to have beeu built by
Abraham and his son Ishmael. It is
this part of the temple, known as
Caaba, which is principally rever
enced by the Mohammedans, and to
which they direct their prayers. The
edifice is indisputably extremely an
cient, and its original use and the
name of its builder are lost in a cloud
of traditions. The Mohammedans
?.flirm that it is almost coeval with the
world, and that Adam set it up after
Iiis expulsion from Paradise. After
Adams death his son Seth built a
house of the same form, which, being
destroyed by the flood, was rebuilt by
Abraham and Ishmael after the same
model. In the corner next the door
on the east side is the "black stoue,"
the most celebrated idol amongst the
Mohammedans. Tiiis stone is set in
silver, and, according to the Mos- j
lems, was one of the precious stones
of Paradise which fell down to the
earth with Adam, and being taken up
again, or otherwise preserved at the
deluge, was brought back by the
angel Gabriel to Abraham when he
was building the Caaba. It was at
fust whiter than milk, but became
black by the sins of mankind, or
rather by the touches and kisses of so
many people, the surface only being
black, the interior still remaining
white. This stone has been the object
of idolatrous worship from the most
remote times to the present day. The
outside of the Caab is covered with
rich damask, changed every year,
which is provided by the Turkish
rulers. The covering for the Caaba
recently sent by the sultan to Mecca
was valued at fifteen thousand pounds,
aud that sent by the kh?dive of Egypt
eleven thousand six hundred pounds.
Pilgrims who have performed the holy
journey to the C i?ba and kissed its
ancient idol never om?t to add the
proud titile of Hadj to their name.?
[Yaukce Blade.
X Queer Tribute.
Iu many instances, particularly in
olden times, large and powerful na
tions have demanded tribute from
smaller and weaker states. This de
mand was generally complied with by
the petty ruler, who fancied that such
a step would render his throne secure.
When a tribute-paying king thought
he conld whip the other ho generally
stopped making any payment, and
then there was a fight about it. As a
rule, the tribute consisted of so much
gold or some rich product of the
country.
A queer tribute, however, was
exacted by King Edgar the Peacable,
who ruled over a part of Brillan
about nine hundred years ago. Then
were several petty Kings scattered
here and there, and a much larger
number of fierce wolves ran wild. So
in 961 King Edgar commanded that
all who paid him tribute should pay
him in wolves* heads, and from Wales
he demanded three hundred annually.
As there were plenty of wolves this
tribute was easily paid at first, and
j people in those days did not regard
i the selection of wolve's heads as at all
queer, for the payment of tribute wTas
merely an acknowledgment of the
other nation's strength. So the
wolves' head tribute was regularly
paid, until wolves began to get pretty
well thinned out, and parts of Eng
land were entirely divested of the
animals, which, perhaps, was just
what the King wauled. ? [Harpers
Young People
?. ?
An Unknown River of Brazil.
The Upper Orinoco of Brazil has
never been thoroughly explored. Bar
on Von Humboldt, as long ago as
1808, made a journey along its course,
aud contributed the first accurate
j knowledge the world had of that por
tion of the continent. Jn 1848 he
was followed by another German,
Dr. Schornburgk, who has written the
most valuable and extended treatise
that exists. There are but few towns
along the river, and the torests arc in
habited by a race of wild but not sav
age Indians, who gather rubber, co
[canuts, ion qua beans, vanilla beans
and other products of the forests aud
catch the turtles from whose livers
j tue pate de fois gras ut' ?he epicures
I is made. ?f D-troit Free l\*cs$.
I Pari? Un ivei s ily is the largest in
f .he world, having 9215 student*.
I Vienna University romes ' with
I 0229 student*, and Deiijn U?(iversi'.y
j i? third.
INDIGESTION.
Most Common of All Ailments
Which Affect Mankind,
Cause, Prevention and Proper
Method of Treatment,
Of nil the ailments of misery jn?
ordinary and daily existence, there i*
one, says Dr. Frank H. Ingram in the
New York World, which carries the
honors. This is indigestion. There
is, perhaps, a mass of people suffer
ing from an improper nourishment
and a faulty distribution of food
which outranks the victims of cholera
iu all the epidemics which history hax
recorded.
Indigestion may be due to the
character of the food, to imperfect
mastication, to impoverished or irrita
ble co di! io of tiie stomach, to a
"bad liver," or to faulty intestinal ac
tion. It may be acute or chronic the
latter outweighing the former iu the
number of cases occurring. The first
may be simply due to an overloaded
stomach or to some slight indecretion
in the way of eating and drinking;"
the second is an acquired condition,
; a result of repeated disregard of
! foods or a weakened digestive tract.
Acute indigestion correte itself in a
short time. It is characterized by a
sense of weight iu the stomach and oc
casionally by a a ? in the
region of the stomaclu It usually
manifests itself after a heart meal or
in the morning upon arising. A cup
of hot coffee, without cream or sugar,
will often dispel it, or a dose of salts
or effervescing magnesia before break
fast may be equally good. A mustard
plaster over the stomach may not be
ignored if the pain be acute.
Chronic ind gestion is a different
affair altogether, combini :g the fea
tures of the acute form with mental
depression, physical debility, constipa
tion and many other things not in con- -
sonance with a healthy system. It is
gradual in its development and pro
tracted iu its retirement. It is above
all things a misery. Those who are
numbered among its victims are the
ones who are ever seeking advice and
who walk about with furrowed fore
heads and *< long faces."
A little prudence iu eating, care in
personal attire and a few eimple aud
homely remedies may do much to
make life comparatively comfortable
aud to pave the way for au ultimate
cure. Of these the first is of greatest
importance, and a short rule encom
passes the entire field.
Do not eat rich or highly seasoned
foods nor anything which is known
to give you discomfort, and do not
drink the spirituous liquors or strong
tea or coffee. Keep your dig2stive
tract clear and go to bed when you*arc
tired. Many a person who has suf
fered the torments of indigestion for
years has been cured by rest.
In the matter of clothing, the stom
ach and bowel s should ever be
warmly covered, and the head, feet
and hands kept at au even leuiper
I ature.
Of the remedies ever at hand, the
best is a draught of hot water taken
abcut half an hour before eating.
This tends to clear the stomach and to
put the glauds in healthy action. Iu
addition to this, a pinch of baking soda
may be of benefit if the ailment is
particularly distressing. Above all
things, however, the food must be
thoroughly masticated.
The Mexican Army,
The Revista Militar Mexican pub
lishes an interesting account of the
composition of the Mexican Army.
The army consists at present or three
classes?the Standing Army, the Re
serve of the Standing Arm and the
; General Reserve, haviug a total nom
I inal strength 160,000 men?viz., in
fantry, 130,000; vavalry, 26,000, and
artillery, 4000. The standing army,
distributed over eleven military dis
tricts, numbers 40,000 men of all
arms, 26,000 of whom belong to the
infantry, S,000 to the cavalry, and the
rest to the artillery, cngiuccrs aud
subsidiary branches of the service.
The infantry is armed with the Rem
ington rifle.
The field artillery is very inade
quately armed with some forty 3 15
inch Bange guns and a number of old
bronze guns; but steps are to be taken
as soon as possible to sup
ply deficiencies with guns which are
to be manufactured at the New
National Gun Foundry. The in
fantry are also to receive a fresh
armament as soon as arrangements
can be made to manufacture a new
rifle, the invention of a Mexican engi
neer officer. The horses ridden by
the cava lay arc small, but exceedingly
hardy. Mules arc mostly employed
for draft purposes.
All the establishments connected
with the army have a military organ
ization and only soldiers are employed
in the works. The President of the
Republic is the titular commauder-in
chicf of the army, but as a rule he de
pu'cs his authority to the Minister ot
War. The army is mostly recruited
from full-blooded Iudiaus, who are
very brave and easily amenable to dis
cipline. As soldi irs they are excellent
marchers and are second to no other
troops in the world on this score and
iu frugality aud contentment. Wheu
on guard or off duty their appearance
is not taking; they appear too i ido
l?n- and sicepy looking, but on parade
they have an excellent appearance and
:t is difficult to let.iize that they are
the same men as were loafing about
apparently halt asleep a few minutes
previous:}'.
Peach *tone- arc used for fuel in
California. Th-y gjvc more heat in
proportion weight than c?al. The
stones aro collected at tho fruit can*
iieries aud $uU2 at $15 per tou,