frJtF DAILY HERALD: PLATTSMUuTII, NKIittASKA, TIIURSDAV, AUGUST 9, 1888 .ifOE C03IES SPEECH? THE NAVAL ACADEMY. CRUSOE SETTLEMENTS. BILLIONS IN A CART. tJASfc RECORDED IN THE EARLY EXPERIENCE OF A ROMANTIC' LIFE ON A LITTLE SOUTH PACIFIC ISLAND. HOW CUSTOMS RECEIPTS ARE TAKEN TO THE SUB-TREASURY. A BOSTON NEWSPAPER. "PLEBE" AT ANNAPOLIS. Kerr Laa the Stato of the BantUe. lfuag A Parallel Case In Q Nevada The Children of Freak, A Eoston newspaper recently published an account of two brothers living in that city, who, it declare. have grown to man's state without ever Ijeing able to speak tho English language, although born in the United States of American juirents, and having heard English fi)Mken continuously. Their vocal organs liaMteen examiued by tho best kjkv rinliit-t and found to lio jierfectly normal. These brothers, it is ns.-rted, stM-ak a lan guage of their own, which they erfectly understand, but which, thus far, has tiecu unintelligible to evcryldy else. Sonio words of th luiiguage were given by the journal referred to, and a philologist would trace a resemblance, if nothing more, to Sanscrit. Vut tho case referred to in not without its parallel. The writer of this article saw, on more than one occasion, two children, a brother and sister, living at a little stage station in the state of Nevada, who had in vented a language of their own, which they constantly used in talking with each other. The girl was J or 10 years of age, aud the loy a year or two younger. There could le no deception ami no mistake about the mat ter. The children would play together and chatter in thi strange speech of their own devising, and it was erfecily apparent that it was not such meaningless gibberish as children often use in play, but a genuine language. It resembled no language with which the writer had any acquaintance. There could o detected no resemblance to any modern languuge, no similarity to root forms or stems which may be said, roughly, to be common to all spoken languages; nor was there any likeness to either Latin or Greek, and, consequently, none to tho cog- r.atfl language which is called Sanscrit. children wore, not at all shy al-out talk ing in the presence of strangers, but they could not be mado to understand what trans lation from' English into their language meant. They understood English, and could and did speak it when sjtoken to; but they either could not or would not give theequi va lentsof English words in their own languuge. Tho nioticr of the children said she could not in any way ncountfor this strange linguistic freak. Siie said that tho first time she beard then), and indeed for many times afterward, (he paid no attention, as she supposed they ;ero "only jabbering nonsense," as sho ex pressed it, and so she was entirely unable to i.ay whether the language was evolutionary or whether the children spko it just as well the first time as the last. They certainly spoke enough of it when tho writer heard them to understand them without anv difli- , culty, although it seemed to the writer from the cursory olservations he could make that the vocabulary was a very limited one; but that would have been equally the case with children of that age had they been sjieaking English. There has ueen a story in vogue for many years, although it U imiossibla to verify it and it is-prolmbly apocryphal, that for the purpose of determining whether thc-ro was a vrimal lancruajre, and if so what it was, two infants were at one time confined in the Cas tile and were never allowed to hear a word of any language spoken, it being supposed that naturo would supply them with the means of communicating with each other as thev grew old enough to talk, and that the controversy as to a primal language would le conclusively determined The story says. however, that up to 11 years of age the chil dren never uttered an articulate sound. They communicated with each other in a fashion, but it was entirely by signs, and not by any thing ltsemLhng a tpoken language of any kind. The story goes on to say that they were then released from their confinement and placed among people where they heard French spoken all around them, and that they soon learned to speak the language which thev heard, but never gave any signs of knowing any other tongue. The story may be true, or it may not. If it is, it would tend very strongly to show tlint our speech is the result of imitation, aid UiLt iLo faculty of articulate speech depends on the ability to repeat what is gathered from the speech or others, luis view receives confirmation from the observation of deaf and dumb jieople, who are, as a ule, dumb Iwcause they are deaf. They possess the vocal organs fully developed, but they can not speak lecause they are not able to iml tate either the sound of language or the mechanical vocal efforts of speaking persons, and this, not because of innate inability, but because of the lack of a medium of intercom munication. And vet u-e observation of tho cases in Massachusetts and Nevada to which we have referred shows that there must be exceptions to what would seem to to a general rule. Th-jse children in Nevada knew ui more of the accepted theories of philology than they did of the differential calculus. They did not know the flrst thing about the develop ment theory; they never heard of the rules of linguistic structure; and yet they con structed for themselves a language which was, for all practical purposes, just ns much a language as Hebrew or Greek or German or English. It meant something to them; each could understand the other; each could fcav what Le or she wanted to say, and that constitutes a language. The Boston case is somewhat different, if It is told correctly. In that case there would seem to be some structural deficiency in the brain some distorted convolution pr some thing of the sort for, generally speaking, a man who can speak one language can speak every other, at least after a fashion: but these brothers, it is asserted, cannot speak English, although they can understand it to a certain extent. These cases, strange r.s they may be, do not militate in any degree against the generally received doctrines of philology. They are freaks of nature, nothing more, and are, if we stop to consider, no more strange than pther cases with which ve ore familiar. San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago's Underground Railway. Chieagolias organized an underground rail way company with a capital stock of $27,000. Jts general plan is tobuilJ and equip twenty- seven miles of road covering the several di visions of the city, the underground roadway to be from 1CH to I2i feet below the surface. The proposition is that the rood shall not only be used for passenger traffic tetween the city and the suburbs, but also for frieght business to the relief ot the present railroad centers and the better accommodation of the business public. At the great central depot, for instance, it is proposed to Luild an im mense subterranean yard for the banoliug of friegbt cars, aud this will be connected with the several depots by tunnels and tracks. Tie loaded cars can thus be taken into the tunnel at any of the termini, the grade tve same as the ground surface, and t be brought to tre city, switched " - -' x Co. Two Brother Who Speak Hazing Said to Be Abolished Bat "Jumping" and "Running" Are Still Practiced by the Claumen A Cadet's Trials and Tribulations. This is an attempt to detail the early oxpe nencoofan Annapolis "plebe. " Naval ofll t-era wuu write magazine articles all agree that hazing has been abolished It has, in namo only. One never hears of hazing now; but no one who has ever been a "pie bo" can truthfully deny that "jumping" and "run ning" have not yet fallen into a decrepit old age. ijec us nrss imagine me "plena" who ar rives in September ot the Naval academy lie Is a green looking chap. Men from all quarters of the country come tumbling into town, in all sorts of clothing, and with all sorts of airs. The new man is immediately seut on board the Santce, His first struggle is with bis hammock. Ho doesn't sleep in the hammock the first night. Most of his time is spent in learning how to get into it, snl arter he gets in, how to stay in. The next morning, at bugle call, the cadet tumbles out and gets down in soma shape to inspection. This is a fearful ordeab There he stands, with thumbs turned out and toes turned in. trying to look a veteran, when the inspector hurries along, glares at him, and iointing at his cap, shouts, "Haul a little on the starboard lift" The cadet opens his mouth, and says, "Eh-h," and then opens his eyes and says, "How,' and finally learns that his cap has not been set squarely on his head He has been "spotted." As he grows older he learns that there are many things for which a man may be spotted. "Cap not properly squared." "Trousers not brushed." "Shoestrings hanging." "Button off blouse." "Not properly shaved." It is marvelous what little things catch tho eagle eye of the inspector. Somehow the cadet manages to get to breakfast, and flops in the first seat. Per haps grace has leen usually said at home to slow and measured tones. Anyway he waits a moment, aud soon finds that everybody has made a dive at the food and that there is none left for him. Then some moro comes on, and he dives, too. The scene that follows is indescribable. But it is not always so. 'When the upper class men return from their cruise no man dares reach half an inch over his side of the table for food, or he will be terribly jumped And, by the way, the jumping soon begins lor our plebe. As ho wanders down for a breakfast a crowd of about fifteen men ap proach him, their caps cocked at an angle of forty-five degrees over their left eyes, and they demand: "What's your name?" in fierce tones. "Where do you come from?" "Al Iwny, N. Y." "Eh, what state?" "New York." "Any more like you there?" "Ye-s-s." 'Great guns." . "Yes-s." "Say, sir." VYes-s-sir." "Stand on your head" And the poor plebe gets on and off his head till he is dizzy. Then all fifteen men demand at once: "Who's the 'saves' man here?" "Who's the handsomest?" "Who's the wooden man?" And whichever way he answers the plebe offends fourteen of the fifteen and stands the consequences. Then one man orders him to do something, and another orders him not to. "If you don't I'll jump you," says one. "If you do I'll ruq you," shouts the other. The plebe obeys the first and is "jumped" by the second, aud then to his utter disgust the first man says: "Guess I'll jump you anyway just for the fun of it." And again he stands on his head. Perhaps the plebe has now flagrantly vio lated some of the rights of tho upper claa; men, and if so li$ is made to "eat soap or fight." If he fights and get? whipped he eats soap. If he fights and wins he eats a double dose. So it does no particular good to fight. By Oct. 1 the cadet leaves the San too and goes to quarters. There his first experience is at bugle call. He flies out of bed, jumps into his clothes and goes down four steps at a time to formation, and one can imagine what a task he has in getting his proper place among the three hundred cadets present He finally gets among his green companions, and a sorry looking lot they make. That night he gets another dose of hazing. The upper class men give it to him between t:S0, when supper is qver, and ?:3Cj when in flection conies. o is made to read page after page of French, though he never read French in his life; he speaks the orations of his school days. He stands on his head A small button is put in a basin of water aud he fishes it out with his nose. He eats cavdla The funny man of tho patty ures fun at him, and if he smiles he is sat ' upon. All through the performance he must keep a straight face, and, indeed, by the time he is oi$ of it his straight face seems to Lave grown there for good Then taps come, his tormentors hurry away, and the officer of the day comes around to inspect his room. The pflieer taps at the door, and the cadet shouts a hearty "Come in." Imagine tho look he receives for his pains; for the rule is for the officer to push ojen the door, take a hasty glance and shout: "Good night" The cadet answers: "Good night, sir," and the inspection is over. Im mediately that it is, his tormentors are back again; and they arrive in flocks. He is or dered to eat four dry soda crackers at a time. perhaps, and when he has done is told to cock his feet on tho table and sit there till told to move. While there a high class man comes in and shouts: "Get up." Ha has re ceived instructions and will not move, "Get up." Not a move. And finally he is shouted up and keeps getting up and sitting down in obedience to orders until he can hardly move. Hazing is now quito harmless, and the vic tims themselves find it a laughing matter more laughable, to tell the truth, however, after it is all over. Annapolis Cor. New York Tribune. - Courtesy in Business Rewarded. The other day a gentleman entered one of tho largest stores of this city in pursuit of an article the price of which he knew would scarcely exceed the cost of postage on an ounce letter. The fact of it; insignificance and that it was rarely called for made it hard to find One clerk after another was enlisted in the search, till finally they were joined by the proprietor before success crowned th&i; efforts. Somewhat mortified at the amount of trouble be had caused, the customer began to apologize, when he was silenced by the proprietor with: "My friend, it was no trou ble; it was business. e have experienced fully as much pleasure in finding that for yoa a3 you have in receiving it if you. in-' sist upon calling this, trouble, please remem ber that we like to be troubled" That merchant made an investment by hi courtesy. He hud up treasure where moth and rust doth not corrupt, and it wasnt UuiH op in heaven, cither. He secured the patron age or man, thou eh ha did not know it, who sometimes make purchase that are worth the whila. WlLout intendinr it, he t w r 1 r-" C: 'v Story of a Runaway KnglUh Sailor An other Little Colony In the Kermaxleo Group C cutaways on a Coral Reef nt cairn Islanders. About four months ago, as the English lark Queen's Island was passing Pnlmerston Island, in the Southern Pacific, the captain was surprised to see a boat containing eight persons put off from the shore. It wns gen erally supposed that this little coral island, one of the loast important of the Horvey group, ana about three hundred miles from its nearest neighbor, was uninhabited Capt I ..eid, however, had accidently approached near enough to this little speck in the ocean to discover another of those romantic island settlements which are now aud then unex pectedly found in tho broad expanse of the great Pacific. The bronzed and rather scantily clad white man who clambered up tho sldo-of the bark said he was William Marston, the chief of the littlo island, where ho had lived for twenty-five years. When ho was a young man be deserted from the British bark Rifle man in Tahiti and mado his way in a small sailboat nearly l.OOJ miles west to the Iler vey group. Ho took a native wife and jour neyed on to Palmerston Islaud, where he built him a cabin and started a cocoanut plantation. A few natives joined him, and now his little world contains thirty-three human beings, of whom fifteen are his own children. English is the only language spoken in this little community, whose island home is no; so large as somo Dakota farms. Here the subjects of the runaway English sailor live on tho happiest terms, Kettina along very well without the news and gossip of the world, while eniovinrr. nevertheless. many of the good things of civilization brought to them by small tradinz vessels, to whom they sell the copra prepared from thair eocoanuts, Within the past few -ears several islands have been discovered in tho Pacific which, it was found, had long been known by small traders, who in tho interests of monopoly carefully kept their information to them selves. After the Sydney newspapers an nounced the discovery of a fine new island not far from New Guinea a sn captain in port predated & very good map of the island which ho had made several years before. He had probably hoped to hand down the secret to his heirs as tin exclusive trading privilege. In this way it has hnpiicned that Marston's little colony ha3 flourished ip;known save to one or two tr-auu-s, whose interests have kept tnem quiet Hundreds of tho littlo islands of the Pacific are uninhabited, and are very rarely seen by vessels. no Knows but among them may bo modern Robinson Crusoes, waiting ra- tiently for a sail, and living in. a fair, degree of comfort upon ihe bounties of which na ture is so lavish in those regions? We have recently told the story of Mr. Bell and his little family, who are monarch of an they survey in the KJerinadec group, GOO miles from their nearest neighbors. Tho passen gers and crew of tho bark Henry James, who were rescued in Hay last from a coral reef in Polynesia, know what it is to be cast aways in the Pacific, hundreds of miles froia inhabited islands. If they hud not fortu nately saved their small boat they might have been, prisoners for many mouths on tho little island Five men in tho boat carried the news of their disaster 1,800 miles to Sa moa, aud in less than two months deliver ance came. 1 bey needed clothing, but were not otherwise in serious want, for fish and cocoanuts had amply supplements! thei slen der food supplier wivh which' they bad reached their' place of refuge. Among the jubilee presents received by Queen Victoria were somo hats and other manufactures, mo6 skillfully mado of straw, tho humble tribute of tho moat unique and famous of Pneillo colonies. In 1890 the Pit cairn islanders may celebrate the centennial ft the landing of their mutinous fathers on the little rock where Lady Belcher, their ii. toriau, says they have bsc-woo ;such com munity as bus been tho dieaih of1 poets and tho aspiration of ' philosophers." It is not often the world hears from these hapiv' peaceful islanders now numbering 113 Souls, who have perpetuated the remarkable ooVoby founded ninety weight years ago by Epglish , - - i , . v tjyn nuu men to contemplate their tdyllft fJcfstenco, cut oft- as they are fron the busy world, lilling the fer tile valleys of their little home only and a quarter square miles in Uuit, possessing a schoolhone it cnurcii, but no jail ; intelli gent, neat 'and clean, with plenty of book and fruit and flowers, a simple hearted, de vout people, and uiiy Christian com munity in, the world that has no strong drink, tobacco, or money. A traveler on an English bark which touched at PiUiairn in February last says ho saw umong the islanders men who in stature would bo a credit to tho Royal Guards, and women who were fair to see, though their garments were not rich and fashionable; women who are skilled in the arts of house wifery, in the making of fancy baskets and shell work, and some, too, who can play ex cellently on the little church organ. Born to this life of isolation, tho P-iteaii n Islander bears with wonder and delight, but without envy, of tho world beyond his sea girt home. When, years ago, Pitcairn became too crowded, considering its slonder resoursts, and tho peopla were removed by Great Britain to Norfolk, that island, small as it is, bewildered them by its vastness. Having only footpaths in Pitcairn, they thought the wagon roads of Norfolk unsightly, and the echoes aroused by their voices in the stone quarter where convicts had once lived im sailors; uut it is refreshing now and then to pressed them as a most disagreeable novelty. A minority decided that they could not be happy among these strange surroundinrs and they returned to Pitcairn to live and. die. New "York Sun, Experimenting with the Besrsars. A Paris philanthropist, who was ttruck by the alarming and painful increase of men dicity in tho metropolis, recently made a pe culiar, although, perhaps, not a novel experi ment. He went around to several generoua merchants, manufacturers and tradespeople, and succeeded in inducing them to take into their employment All the "Vagroin men" tha.t he should send to them with letters of recommendation. Then he summoned to gether an army of the "unemployed," made a speech to them on the advantage of labor, the advisability of economy aud the dangers of absinthe and petit bleu, nnd finally di rected them to call for the letters of recom mendation, which were to procure for them immediate and remunerative employment at the minimum rate of four francs per diem. Out of 727 of his ragged audience, more than half disappeared wis if by magio from the scene, and bavr- ,tver bothered the philan thropist since. "Of the remainder, some took the letters, but never presented them; others worked half a day and clamored for their wages tx that brief period, while at the end of three days only eighteen men, who were r1 r-1 I I'rora S500.000 to S 1,000,000 Carried Inn Modest Old Hand Cart A Simple :Sy. tern Daily Cash A New Plan of I'ay lug Custom. A heavy wheeled hand cart, with a thick set littlo guiding wheel in front and pushed by two men from behind, clattered down tho steps of tho William street entrance to the custom house at 3:4. the other afteruevn. It was instantly followed by four broad shouldered laboring men, a smooth faced old man of clerical appearance and a stern looking man with a heavy brownish mus tache, who quickly grouped themselves on both sides of it and in front of it and be hind The little group, with tho cart rum bling in the centefe pushed rapidly to Wall 6treet to the uorth side and then went at a quick pace up the street to Nassu, then around to Pino 6treet and was swallowed up in the rear entrance to the sub treasury building. All along the journey from the custom house to the sub-treasury people stopped and gazed curiously at tho group as it hurried along and tried to get a glimpse of tho cart It was not a very hand some vehicle. The box was literally a box iron bound and tightly locked with a heavy brass padlock, but those ivho understood the matter knew that it might contain anywhere from $500,000 to $1,000,000 or more, and that this money represented Undo Sam's daily tolls on merchandise imixirted from abroad, UUU llltib it vus Oil IIS ffjty to IX MVr the treasury, uuuhcr contribution to swell the great surplus which now lies idle there. THE E.VVT OF TIUKVES. For over twenty years, at alout tho same hour on six days in every week, tho cart has made tho samo journey surrounded by its escort IJov,' many thieves have cast en vious eyes at it, how many speculators on the verge of ruin, how many dishonest bank employes with the impending crisis of dis covery hanging close over them, have thought that to only have for but a few weeks or u few days the contents of that ugly iron bound box would be roscue from ruin, flight or suicide, anybody can imagine. Doubtless many a gang of knaves have wasted many a long hour trying to devise some daring scheme to waylay its guardians. smash tho heavy box and make off with its contents. But from all this nothing has ever come. For nearly a quarter of a cen tury the old cart has trundled over its route and not au unlawful hand has been raised against it. Collector Iieddeu in his time did receive, it i3 trua, a written warning that a plot had been hatched to attack the treas ure cart It was the work of some practical joker, most likely. A Uttlo extra precaution was exercised f&i- a time, but the ulot levtioped The most daring robber vnuld uot fall to see the madness cf such an at tempt Ihe cart hs carried its millions with never the loss of sq much as ft cent Familiar as is the sight of tho littlo ?h1h'c1 and its guard its u.ppoaranco ne,Ver fails tc Iartially step the hurrvinc AVall street throng for a moment Those who know what it means cast a reverent ej-e on it as it passes. Strangers who understand nothing of it Crttch sight of tho big letters "U. S." painted on each end of the cart, and the hur led seriousness of those who surround it nnd know that it is no light matter that is in hand The system by which the money is thus transfen-ed is perfectly simple. In the cashier's office at the custom house are keot e i i . , . 1 iuur uoxes, iron tiounq ana n;nae ol thick oak board. They are two feet in length by one foot in breadth, and about a foot in depth. At each eud is a massive iron handle that in itself weighs nearly two of the fifteen pounds at which each box tips the beam. When the day's work is completed tho money is counted and placed in these boxes. It is then delivered to tho custody of United States Detective T. J. Murtha. Four labor ers then come, and each, one shoulders a box and carries t Ip, tho giound floor. Here the boxes ova placed in the strong box. on the cart, which Murtha locks. At the sub-treas ury we money i. again counteil, and it agrees with the custom house oounfc Receipt is given. 7AILY AVERAGa OF CASn. "Tho daily average of cash we carry," said the good natured detective, "is about $300, 000, though of course there are many days when we carry over a million. When we hay a good deal of coin the load is a verv heavy one, and this, with the weight of the cart and the boxes, makes it no easy thing to push. We always havo two men pushing and four around it, besides myself and the messenger. I am the only one who is armed Wo go up the north side of Wall street be cause there are more people there and always some of Inspector Byrne's detectives about I have only been here about two ears, but I suppose we have carried not far from 350, 000,000 in that time. What wealth that old cart has had in its bowels! It makes a mar. dizzy to think of . it. The surplus in the treasury would be as a little chicken feed in your pocket compared to it I never feel the least fear of an attack. How could they get away with anything? The .treet is filled with people. They would have to disable me first There would be pistol shots before that Then they would have to smash in the box on the cart, and then they would have to lug away the dead weight of one or more of those inner boxes. There would be 500 people and a dozen po licemen and detectives about before they got that far. The system is absolutely safe so far as that is concerned, unless a small army of desperate men sweep down upon us." Notwithstanding the S3'stc-m inaugurated of paying customs dues through the medium of bank deposits in the sub-treasury and certified bank checks drawn thereon, the old cart stiU goes over its regular route.- But the days of its glory are numbered Already fully half the dues are paid by the check sys tem, and as it3 advantages become better understood by banks and importers it will supersede the old system. So the historical cart, like many another Wall street celeb rity, will drift penniless into some obscure corner and its past glories will be forgotten. New York World Height of Meteorological Stations. Of the present very limited number of high stations for making meteorological observa tions there are only two in Europe which ex ceed 3,000 meters in height, being about 10,000 and 11,000 feet respectively. Among those in this country Pike's peak, which has au altitude of 14,100 feet, exceeding thus, by more than o,00 feet, any in Europe. These great heights are much more accessible on this continent than in Europe, there being five in America where 11,000 feet or more is reached by railroads built for facilitating mining work; the highest of these in North America is Mount Lincoln, in Colorado, the mining works on which are 14,297 feet above the sea. Public Opinion. lake Other Weapons. Gen. Wolaeley says that the bicycle is a mil ttry instrument of ereut promise. And, in r r" .r n The Plattsmouth Herald Is on joying a DAILYAND WEEKLY EDITIONS. Ifeair Will be one during iiiitional interest stronjrly aritntel President will take Cass County who would like to learn of Political, Commercial and Social Transactions of this year and would keep apace the times should -I-'OK Daily Now while we have the subject before the people we will venture to speak ot our I Which is first-class in all respects and from which our job printers are iuniing out much satisfactory work. PLATTSMOUTH, Bodmin both, its 1888 which the subjects of ami importance will le and the election of u idaee. Ihe i iconic of with eitiiei: Tlllv or Weekly Herald. no M isuu NEBRASKA.