Shoveling Gold in a Siberian Mine
The above picture was made at the Troitzk mines which are the most im
portant and richest of the whole district Women are largely employed in
the mills and on the surface works It was curious to watch them hard at
work shoveling up the rich ore as it came from the shaft as though it were so
much coal or rubble writes a correspondent Wages are ridiculously low as
compared with what is paid in other mining camps I have visited 2 shillings
a day for miners and general laborers while women and boys get even less
Yet there is always an abundance of labor to be got at these rates The
Troitzk district is nothing more nor less than a huge gold producing industrial
center and presents a startling contrast to the dreary vista of endless forest
or steppes one has to traverse to reach it The ore is crushed by what is
known as Chilean mills No convicts are employed in these mines
M M UM-
INVESTORS PARTIAL TO AGRI
CULTURAL PROPERTY
Life Insurance Companies and Banks
Favorable to This Class of Se
curities Few Mortgages
Foreclosed
Chicago The attractiveness o
farm loans in the middle west is hav
ing a decided effect on Chicago capi
tal according to bankers and brokers
Considerable activity is manifesting
itself in this direction and many of
the leading life insurance companies
are acquiring first mortgages on farms
in Illinois Iowa Missouri Kansas
Oklahoma Nebraska Colorado Min
nesota the Dakotas and the country
adjacent
The present holdings of the insur
ance companies considerably exceed
200000000 in these securities Farm
mortgages in the country mentioned
net five five and one half and six per
conk They are limited as a rule to
ODD GIFT 10 BRIDE
FATHER GIVES WEIGHT IN SOAP
AS DOWRY
London A valuable wife in the
present state of the soap trade must
he the woman M Le Blanc a Parisian
lias just married The bride who was
the daughter of a hairdresser in a
large way of business not only re
ceived from her father a handsome dot
in money but her own weight in the
best toilet soap As she weighed close
to 140 pounds the couple will possess
sufficient soap to last them for some
years to come
When askeu by his prospective father-in-law
a flourishing West end to
bacconist to name the gift he would
Jike to receive on his wedding day
the young man suggested a few boxes
pf cigars as being of more use than
the usual presents presented on such
occasions Very well you shall have
jipy daughters weight in cigars said
tthe other He was as good as his
-words The bride weighed 128 pounds
Mile Mane Brie the niece
of a Marseilles confectioner re
ceived from her uncle on her
marriage three years ago an
eccentric gift in the form of her own
weight in chocolate Perhaps the
worthy patissier had in mind when
making the present the custom which
prevails in Peru There on the mar
riage morn the bride is actually
-weighed and after the ceremony the
bridegroom is presented by his wifes
relatives with her weight in sugar
A Yorkshire coal merchants pres
ent to his daughter on her marriage
ias to be regulated by her weight
for every pound of which she is to be
the recipient of a ton of the best coal
His intention which he communicated
to her on the day she became engaged
stirred her as she was a young wom
an of frugal mind to emulate the fat
women of the fairs so that during the
six months her engagement lasted her
value went up ten tons Doubtless
she would have made further inroads
into her fathers store had not that
worthy merchant hurriedly married
her off at a loss of only 172 tons
The father of a girl living in the
town of Koniggratz offered to present
anyone who should become her hus
band with her weight in silver cur
rency As she was well favored and
of a build -which although not excep
tionally stout promised an amount
ample to make a good start in busi
ness more than one claimant ap
peared The most eligible was at
length selected and the wedding duly
solemnized Then came the most im
portant function the weighing of the
bride who to her husbands delight
was found to weigh 155 pounds or 13
J500 kronen an equivalent to 2812
Ad skki i JZ AAstl icCSAfc
Mfc
HIIHt
FARM LAWS ATTRACTIVE
productive farms and are made on a
basis of 40 per cent of the land value
closely appraised and not including
the value of improvements Bankers
point to the remarkably few fore
closures of farm mortgages in this sec
tion The number scarcely exceeds
one tenth of one per cent
As compared with other invest
ments based on lands in cities the
bankers of the middle west favor the
well placed farm loans which they
declare contain every element of at
tractiveness A farm -loan is regard
ed as a quick asset whereas the con
trary was true not much more than
a decade ago
Many trust companies now include a
separate department for the purchase
and sale of farm loans Chicago has a
number of firms dealing in them and
it is estimated that close to 15000000
in such securities is held by Chicago
investors A large increase in this
class of investment is predicted
Statistics show that the value of
Missouri real estate for example is
P
V-
2000000000 while Kansas has real
property worth 1000000000 Okla
homa real estate Is estimated at 358
000000
Missouri has 204000000 invested
in live stock 32000000 in farm im
plements 92000000 in manufacturing
machinery and 310000000 in rail
roads
Oklahoma is a land of homes Out
of S7000 families in 1900 more than
G0O00 owned their homes The peo
ple are engaged chiefly in agriculture
The cash value of the farms is esti
mated at 233000000 The 190G corn
crop amounted to 125000000 bushels
representing 37500000 The cotton
crop has a value of 15000000 More
than 27000000 bushels of wheat was
harvested in 190G and 23000 tons of
broom corn cut Fruit of all kinds is
raised in abundance
Farm lands in Oklahoma range from
18 to 0r an acre or an average of
about 30
PREACHES BRAND NEW RELIGION
New Yorker Plans to Establish Com
rade Kingdom on Earth
New York John Augustus Wall
has promulgated the newest of new
l religions Mr Wall formerly lived in
Valley Stream L I His new religion
was launched at the Berkeley lyceum
amid the applause of 100 enthusiasts
To prove that his religion is really
brand new Mr Wall sent forth a cir
cular calling the meeting in which the
names of Jesus and Moses Moham
med and Washington Jefferson and
Lincoln Roosevelt and Emerson Ed
win Markham and Elbert Hubbard
Ella Wheeler Wilcox and Darwin
Huxley and Paine Ingcrsoll and
Bryan Hughes Hearst and Brisbane
are coupled The circular roads in
part
Do you believe In Moses lesus
Mohammed ct al as above stated
Are you an atheist infidel moralist
spiritualist Jew Christian or ethical
culturist
Are you living in a secluded fur
nished room a palace a tenement or
a brown stone residence
Are you married single young or
old rich or poor
Do you believe in the new thought
Christian Science or just the old way
that mother and father taught
Mr Wall explained to his audience
that the church is to be known as the
National church and that through it
he hopes to establish a comrade king
dom
A branch of the church will be es
tablished in every assembly district
Among things the new prophet hopes
to accomplish is the establishment of
department stores hotels bowling al
leys laundries insurance companies
and skating rinks in connection with
each branch
WWPfWfWWWlvffffWW
Harem of the Shah at Teheran
rx
i m m mi imiii in TOTfTTm wffMin
Infant Death Rate Reduced
Novel Scheme of an Englishman Les
sens Mortality
London Alderman Benjamin
Broadbent M D the retiring mayor
of Huddersfield England has just an
nounced the result of the two years
test of his novel scheme for the pre
vention of infant mortality in his na
tive part of the borough Longwood
On taking office as chief magis
trate two years ago Alderman Broad
bent offered five dollars to the parents
of each child born during the period
of his mayoralty that reached the age
of 12 months
Instructions to mothers some of
which were suggested by the princess
of Wales were sent out and the
mothers were visited by voluntary
women visitors who reported prog
ress
The Huddersfield rate of infantile
mortality had averaged 139 for ten
years and in Longwood itself the av
srage for ten years was 122
In Mayor Broadbents two years 112
babies received the promissory note
card for five dollars Of that number
107 had actually received the gift he
had offered Out of the five left four
had died and one had been removed
from the district and he did not know
whether the child still lived or not
If he counted only the four deaths
the figures were 35 per 1000 and if
he counted the missing baby as dead
the figures were 44 These figures
compared very strikingly with the
previous figures of 122 per 1000 for
Longwood and the average of 139 in
the whole town of Huddersfield
The experiment has reduced the
death rate to much less than half
His own estimate of the result was
that it was astounding For exactly
12 months from October 9 1905 to
October 9 190G not one of the babies
on his list died under the age of one
year The babies belonged to all
classes and there was no selection
some living in places hardly better
than slums
Very great general interest has
been taken in Alderman Broadbents
experiment and inquiries including
one from President Roosevelt have
been received from municipalities all
over the world
Blind Man Becomes an Inventor
Iowa Falls la Charles Abbott the
blind piano tuner of this city has
turned inventor and is exhibiting the
working model of a heat regulator for
a chicken incubator on which he has
applied for patent The regulator
gives the alarm when the heat In the
incubator becomes too high or too low
The regulator is set for 103 degrees
and when the heat varies a few de
grees above or below this mark the
regulator rises or falls and breaking
a circuit rings an electric bell until
the owner regulates the heat to the
proper temperature Mr Abbott has
been blind all his life
Eat Sand for Dyspepsia
West Chester Pa A number oi
people in this place who are suffering
with stomach trouble have taken tc
the sand cure and are taking il
every day The sand comes from
Mississippi and is packed in bags con
taining a couple of quarts It is taken
in doses of a spoonful and as often as
the patient has an attack of the
trouble When any animal has an at
tack of stomach trouble argues a pa
tient it goes at once to the ground
for some clay or sand for a cure and
why should not a man
i
GHOSTHAUNTSROAD
MERRYMAKERS DISTURBED
INCONSIDERATE SPIRIT
BY
Apparition Wandering on Highway Be
tween Butte and Rocker Mont
Believed to Be That of Recent
ly Executed Murderer
Miles Fullers ghost haunts the road
between Butte and Rocker and its
first appearance was made as a party
of merrymakers was on its way from
Crystal Springs to Butte says the An
aconda Standard The night was a
dreary one and clouds cut off tho lit
tle starlight that would otherwise
liave been in evidence The time was
just midnight that popular hour when
graves are supposed to yawn The
tally ho had just topped the little raise
below the Sunrise saloon when the
horses stopped snorted in terror for
their eyes had caught the gleam of
something white An instant later it
came out of the darkness and the
sight was so appalling that the pas
sengers actually fell out of the carry
all and fled shrieking toward Crystal
Springs The horses were petrified
with terror for a moment and then
fled panic stricken through the dark
ness the driver in his fright being
unable to control them The tally ho
was almost completely wrecked and
the driver and horses escaped serious
injury only by a miracle
As soon as the passengers arrived
at the springs they told of the fright
ful vision they had seen and the dan
ger in which the driver had been
placed Immediately a party was
formed to hunt up the driver and lay
the ghost The driver was found be
fore going far for he had swung the
horses towards the springs and he still
had control of them although the
wagon was wrecked The poor brutes
were actually wringing wet with
sweat of terror and were trembling
so their teeth rattled I have the
horses all safe said the driver Go
up there and see what has frightened
them and the rescuers hurried on
only to see a shadowy phosphorescent
object disappear over a hill towards
Rocker
One of the men who saw the ghost
is positive it is that of old Miles Ful
ler who was hanged in Butte a few
months ago Fuller used to be a resi
dent of that section of the country
and the people there say there is no
doubt that his spirit is now haunting
the road The sight was a terrible
one said one of the passengers
When the driver stopped his horses
fLnz f
I looked out and coming directly to
ward us were two people on horse
back One was a woman shrouded in
white and riding a white horse She
was leading a horse so black that he
only made a faint shadow against the
darkness and upon his back was a
figure bound in straps and with a
black cap tied over his head He sat
on that horse like a soldier We only
took one look and then we fled but
we searched our souls for screams to
tell how frightened we really were
and we were not content until we
got into the shelter of the hotel at the
springs
Many of the residents of Rocker
corroborate the truth of the ghost
story It may be that some one is
playing a practical joke but that is
not believed by the superstitious and
a number of schemes are being
planned whereby tue ghost will be
laid to rest again Why Fullers spirit
should be accompanied by a woman
is a mystery which his best friends
cannot solve as he was classed as a
woman hater during all of the year3
he lived in Montana
Rails Are Evener
The fact that within the past 20
years two thirds of the unevenness in
railroad tracks has been done away
with on certain lines was discussed
at a recent meeting of the American
Academy of Sciences
The improvement has been brought
about principally through new de
signs and methods of manufacture of
rails A track indicator car travel
ing 20 or 30 miles an hour sums up
the inequalities the ups and downs
in the rails for each mile traversed
Formerly the total inequality per
mile amounted to six or seven feet
even for tlje best roads nowit has
been reduced to only IS or 20 inches
and this remnant is said to be due to
dents in the rails
It has been pointed out that the
improvement which may be carried
farther brings with it heavier locomo
tives and cars longer trains and high
r speed
- I
ON THE WESTERN RAILROADS
Big Locomotives Smoothly Overcome
Some Remarkable Grades
That the cost of operation of one of
the big western limited trains is an
enormous item may be conjectured
from the fact that in tho -2309-mile
run from Lake Michigan to the Paciilc
coast these heavy trains must sur
mount an altitude of nearly 7200 feet
from a height of 586 feet above sea
level to Chicago the initial point This
climb may be realized when it is
learned that the Pennsylvania rail
road in crossing tho Alleghanies has
to ascend not more than 2000 feet
from an altitude of 700 feet at Pitts
burg and almost every one knows
what the grade is on the famous
Horseshoe curve When tho trans
continental train reaches Los Angeles
it has descended to a bare 26G feet
above the level of the Pacific Small
wonder it is then that the eye of the
connoisseur in mechanics gazes in ad
miration upon the monster locomo
tives of the latest Pacific type turned
out by the Baldwin shops for the
draught of these heavy trains across
the Rockies and the Sierras and
even the amateur in railroading can
see from the observation car as the
train speeds along that the roadbed
is perfect the grades and curves as
easy as they could possibly be made
the ballasting all that could possibly
be desired and the locomotion as even
as though the train were propelled
along a glassy surface smooth as a
tranquil pond
Yet the 2309 miles from Chicago
to Los Angeles are covered with an
average of about 35 miles to the hour
Of course this comparison suffers with
the 50 miles per hour maintained by
the lS hour trains of the Pennsylvania
and Lake Shore railroads between
New York and Chicago but it must
be remembered that these roads have
reached the utmost perfection in rail
road equipment Their right of way
for a long distance is occupied by
four tracks and none of it by less than
two that the distance on which the
speed is maintained is approximately
but 900 miles against the 2300 miles
of transcontinental roadway under
discussion and of the 2300 miles by
this route only 4SS of it is double
tracked
But they are learning fast how to
railroad in the west
EAGLE CHATTERS HIS TEETH
U S Consul Says Pan American Rail
way is Only a Dream
Our former consul to Para grows
almost hysterical when any one says
Pan American He coruscates puns
He even provides the American eagle
with teeth
The great Pan American railway
is a beautifully taking conception he
sarcastically exclaims in Colliers The
American eagle shivers in every pin
feather and his teeth chatter with de
light at the mere suggestion
But however glorious this may be
for the great American eagle when
the average American citizen proposes
to send his own private ten dollar
eagles a railroading especially a-pan-railroading
he wants to know how it
is going to pan out and where the
pan is going to dump after the
scoop is made and where the eagle
is going to light when he comes
down
Except on extensive plans the rule
of railroad building is to follow the
water courses where nature has al
reaay done all the necessary grad
ing
The Pan American railway dreamer
proposes to shove a railway more than
5000 miles lengthwise through moun
tains from Panama to Patagonia cut
ting at right angles every valley and
hill for thousands of miles through a
nearly uninhabited region the great
er part of the distance It is perfectly
safe to predict that no railroad will
be built along that route very soon
A continuous line of railway may
some time in the far distant future be
in operation from New York to Bue
nos Ayres but it will never be used
for carrying through freight between
those points As long as half an
ounce of coal can be made to move a
ton of cargo a mile on the open ocean
no born Yankee is going to send his
freight by rail to the Amazon valley
or to Rio or to Buenos Ayres
Doggone Little Timber
Ora Miller of Des Moines chief dis
patche of the Rock Island told the
following story recently While
making a trip over the Northern Pa
cific we stopped at a station in the
attractive valley of the Yellowstone
river Several of the passengers
sought the right of way for a oreatl
of fresh air and a limbering jaunt
alongside the train The mountains
could be seen in the distance a
rugged setting to the almost treeless
landscape Presently a member of
the party addressing a passing citizen
in the garb of a cowboy said What
is the name of this town my friend
Well pard I low its Big Tim
ber Montana
Big Timber repeated the in
quiring gentleman with some surprise
Id a thought theyd a called it Little
Timber and doggone little of it
Landslip on Siberian Railway
As the result of continued rain
storms the Trans Baikal railway has
been washed away and damaged at
several points while the railway run
ning around the southern end of Lake
Baikal has suffered very much from
great landslips between the stations of
Baikal and Slyuryanka
Two trains have been overwhelmed
by these landslips two soldiers were
killed several of them were injured
and many of the cars were wrecked
Scientific American
iimwi ninao
DISH LIKED BY ALL
MANY WAYS OF SERVING THE
POPULAR POTATO
Easy to Avoid Common Mistakes in
Preparation Three Recipes
That Are Used in Public
School Classes
More than half the ilia that
tend tho middle and latter part of Ilf
itro due more to erroneous habits of
diet than to the use of alcohol great
as 1 know the latter evil to be
Sir Henry Thompson
After the first potato lesaon says
Mrs Mary Williams instructor ir do
mestic science tho girls have learned
what mistakes are commonly made in
the cooking of this vegetable and how
to avoid such mistakes They will
not serve potatoes that are soggy
and waxy instead of mealy They
know that potatoes should be left un
covered to allow the steam to escape
instead of recondeuslng and soaking
into the starch
The practical work in the second
lesson on potatoes has to do with va
rious ways of serving this vegetable
Potatoes appear on the table so often
that this variety in serving is most
important The girls learn that with
little trouble and expense they can
prepare creamed potatoos equal to
those served in the finest hotots The
use of starch in thickening liquids for
sauces and gravies is explained when
making white sauce for the creamed
potatoes The important point iu
this is to keep the starch from lump
ing when it is used as a thickeuing
material There are three vays by
which the lumping may be avoided
First by mixing the starch with a lit
tle cold water before adding it to the
hot mixture second by rubbing the
starch with the butter or other far
before adding the liquid third b
mixing starch and sugar together
Before leaving the subject of pota
toes it will probably bo of value to
housekeepers who dearly love reci
pes to give some potato recipes
which are used in public school
classes
Creamed Potatoes Cut freshly boil
ed or cold boiled potatoes into one-half-inch
cubes put them into a sauce
pan nearly cover them with milk and
cook gently until nearly all the milk
is absorbed Add white sauce stir
for one minute sprinkle with finely
2ut parsley and serve
White Sauce for Vegetables But
ter two tablespoonfuls salt one half
teaspoonful flour two tablespoon
fuls pepper one eighth teaspoonful
milk one cupful Rub the but
ter and flour together with a spoon
In a small saucepan Add the milk
and stir steadily over a moderate heat
until the sauce boils Add salt and
pepper For richer white sauce US
part cream Cream sauce is white
sauce made with all cream instead of
milk Use one and one half teaspoon
fuls of flour to one cupful of creazi
Mashed Potatoes Mash potatoes
in the saucepan in which they were
cooked using a fork or a wire pota
to masher When free from lump
add one third cupful of scalded mi it
in which has been heated one tab
spoonful of butter one half tf a
spoonful of salt and one eighth t a
spoonful of white pepper Beat al
together until light and cream
Heap in a dish without smoothing
the top or it may be put into a
baking ulish the top brushed viTh
milk and browned in a hot oven
Riced Potato Press boiled pota
toes through a strainer or vegetab
press into a hot dish Serve pota
toes uncovered
Spinach on Toast
Is an excellent luncheon dish A
half peck of the vegetable is boiled
in salted water until tender Draic
and chop fine To this add thickened
milk Into a saucepan put a table
spoonful of butter to which whe
melted add an even tablespoonful of
flour Rub smooth Stir in slowly j
cupful of milk and let boil and thicker
before mixing with the spinach Serve
hot on squares of toast Brussels
sprouts may be served in the same
way and if thoroughly cooked are
both palatable and digestible
Nut Wafers
Butter the inside of a granite
pan then put into it a cupful of lighr
brown sugar a cupful of granulated
sugar and two thirds of a cupful of
sweet cream Cook until the mixture
forms a soft ball when tested in cold
water add a cupful of chopped nu
meats of any kind flavor with vanii
and stir until of a creamy consistenc
and commencing to harden Reheat
over hot water until melted stirring
constantly then drop in small pas
on buttered paper
Good Way to Broil Chicken
Anyone who has broiled chicken
knows how hard it is to cook ir
through without burning outside so
wish they would try this way Splr
and wash chicken and put in a shal
low pan with a little water in it and
place in hot oven for about half an
hour then put on broiler and brown
well on both sides take the water i
pan and make a butter gravy and pou -over
chicken serve hot
Steamed Eggs
Have a cup containing one halt
spoonful of butter setting in a dish
of boiling water Into the cup break
one egg beat slightly with a fork add
two tablespoons of milk mix thei
cover the dish tightly so that the
steam will not escape The egg win
puff up to the top of the cup a3 i
cooks and is soon thoroughly don
A delicate appetizing dish served Yritii
toast
V
-
