Dakota County herald. (Dakota City, Neb.) 1891-1965, July 05, 1912, Image 3

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    1
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A Prisoner
by
REAL STORIES FROM THE LIFE
OF A MASTER ADVENT
By Captain George R Boyn
(Editor's Note Capt. George B. Boynton cited n
few months ago In Brooklyn, lie served, all told,
under eighteen Hags and his life has furnished
much material for fiction. This Is a story of some
of his adventuros told by himself for tho first
time.)
M 41a rA rtnva rrinn T ntna nn
Pk vorting with contraband through-
H out the West Indies and South
M America I ran into ono unplens-
M ant incident which left mo with
JK a largo moral or Immoral, ac
cording to tho point of view
obligation on my hands. During
a quiet spoil I had bought, at a
bargain, a llttlo schooner at St.
Thomas, loaded her with mahog
any at Santo Domingo and start
od for LlTorpool to boo what was going on in
that part of tho world. Wo wero caught in a
heavy gale and woro forced to run into Yar
mouth, Nova Scotia, whoro wo arrived in a
sinking condlton.
On tho falso charge that my papers wero
forged, tho agent for Lloyds', with whom tho
ship was Insured, seized tho vessol as I was
having nor repaired and had me arrested for
barratry. I was taken to Halifax, where I
was put to considerable inconvenience in se
curing ball.
I pleaded my own caso and, as soon as I
could get a hearing, was released, but In tho
meantlmo 'the agent for tho underwriters had
libeled my ship and sold her at auction, and
her now owners had sent her away to South
America.
My last real ndventuro had ended with tho
burial of tho Leckwlth, which Bank in tho Red
Sea, and I was hungry for somo new excite
ment tho very essence and solo enjoyment of
my life. While casting about for something to
Batisfy my appetite, the recolloctlon of tho
Yarmouth outrage came over me and I decided
to steal a ship and let the underwriters pay
for her, as partial compensation for the one
they had stolen from me.
After a survey of the available supply, I hit
on the Ferret, a Uandsomo and fairly fast lit
tle passenger steamer belonging to the High
land Railway Company, which was lying at
Gourock Bay on tho Clyde. They would not
let her out on a general chartor, which was
what I wanted, so 1 concluded to charter her
for a year for a cruise in the Medll'euu
nean, with the option of purchase for fourteen
thousand pounds at tho end of that time. All
of tho negotiations wero conducted and tho
deal closed by Joo Wilson, my trusted aido,
and I was careful to Impress him with tho ne.
cesslty for the lntiortlon of the optlon-of-pur-chaso
clause. I hall so much confidence In him
thnt I did not closely examine tho charter pa
pers and not until It was too late did I dis
cover that he had neglected tho one vital point.
My plan was to go back out East and dig
vip the guns Frank Norton und I hnd burled
on a llttlo Island when we left tho China Sea,
ind'perhaps resume tho unholy occupation of
preying on tho pirates between Singapore and
Hong Kongj I wanted tho optlon-of-purchaso
clauso Inserted in tho charter partly as a sop
to my conscience and partly, with the Idea
that If we wero, by any remote chance, appre
hended before wo reached tho China Soa I
tould announce that I had exercised my option
and was prepared to pay for tho ship.
With the delivery of the charter, in proper
form, as I supposed, I mado a great show of
fitting tho ship out for a yachting cruise, at
tho same time smuggling on board two small
tannon and a lot of rifles and ammunition.
Lorensen, my old captain, was seriously III,
io I took on ns satllnaaster a man named
Watklhs, He was well recommended, but It
later developed that h had a strain of negro
blood and a wolldeflnrti streak of yellow. Tom
Leigh, ono of my old men, was first officer,
and next to him was George Ross, another
now ono.
Wo coaled at Cardiff and cleared for Malaga.
We passed Gibraltar late In the afternoon, as
was intended, nnd signaled "All well" to tho
observer for Lloyds'. As soon as It was dark
wo headed over toward tho other shoro for
twelve or fifteen miles and then stood straight
out to sea again. As we mado tho second
change in our course we stove In a couple of
our boats and Onrew them overboard, along
with a lot of Ufe'Woservors. I wanted to make
It appear that tUe Feriet had foundered, and
We ran Into a heavy blow which dovetailed
beautifully into my scheme. At daylight wo
wero well clear of Gibraltar but within sight
of tho Moroccan coast. I called tho crew aft
And addressed them to this effect:
"Taking advantage of tho optlon-of-purchaso
dause In the charter I now declare myself tho
ftwner of this ship and will pay for her, as
utlpulated, at tho end of the period for which
she Is chartered. We aro going on a very dif
ferent trip from that for which you signed.
It will bo attended by some danger but, prob
ably, by profits which will more than compen
sate you for tho risk you run. Those of you
vho wish to go with mo will receive double
pay, a bonus of fifty dollars for signing now
papers, and a Bharo of tho profits from the
trip. Those who do not care to go may tako
a boat and go ashore."
Every man agreed to stay with mo. I there
upon rechrlstened tho ship tho India a namo
legitimately held by a vessel on the other sldo
of tho world, as was indicated by Lloyds'
register fired a gun and dipped tho flag and
declared her in commission. At tho samo timo
I rechrlstened myself, a ceremony to which I
was equally accustomed, and took tho namo
of James Stuart Henderson. I presented tho
Bhlp with a new log and certificate of registry
nnd other necessary papers from the counter-
-s--'r mM MsiRpfii
-Jgx :' ZK o) wBHHSI
III MI II III I ... I III! I I 111 I I "
ifflDusram,
AND
ma
TWO-IN-ONE HANDY HANDLE
H&Mes
Ckpi George 3. jdovrf-osz
felt blanks I
always carried,
and all of tho
men signed
tho now ar
ticles. Wo
then headed
for Santos,
Brazil, with
the idea of
keeping clear
of British wa
ters until the
loss of - tho
Ferret had bo
come an estab
lished fact.
On tho way
tho brass
plato on tho
main beam,
showing that
the e n g 1 n o s
wero ,built for
tho Ferret,
was removed
and tho now
namo took tho
placo of tho
old ono every
where about
tho ship. Tho
chart - room
and w h o e 1 -houso
woro
taken off the
bridge and rebuilt over tho wheel amfdshlps.
Some of tho upper works wero stripped away
and tho wholo appearance of tho vessel was
changed to such an extent that oven her build
ers would hardly havo recognized her.
At Santos I bought outright a cargo of
coffee and headed for Capo Town, South Af
rica, whero I consigned It to Wm. G. Anderson
& Son, with Instructions to sell It for cash,
and quickly.
I made Leigh sailing-master, and we cleared
light for Australia, with a short stop at tho
Mauritius for coal. We coaled again at Al
bany, West Australia. From there wo went
to Port Adelaide, South Australia, and then on
to Melbourne, where wo came to grief. Off
Fort Thlllp Head we signaled for a pilot and
a canny Scot came aboard. Ho seemed sus
picious of us from tho first and I noticed that
ho was studying tho ship closely as wo steamed
up to anchorage off Wllllamstown.
I landed at onco and 'went to tho Civil Serv
ice Club Hotel to recuperate from a bad caso
of malaria which I had contracted at the Mau
ritius. Whtli not alarmed by tho apparent
suspicion of the pilot I was Impressed by it
and gave strict orders to Leigh to allow no ono
to come aboard. Leigh's one weakness was
drink, and to guard against his becoming help
lessly Intoxicated I Instructed Wilson either to
remain on board or visit tho ship every day.
My fever grow worse after I went ashoro,
nnd "In two or three days tho doctor decided
that I should havo a nurse, as I was all alone.
Tho doctor was with mo when the nurse ar
rived, and ns the latter entered the door the
doctor made a quick movement ns though
something had startled him, looking In nmazo
ment from ono of us to tho other. I could not
Imagine what had happened until ho said:
"That man looks enough llko you to bo your
twin brother! I never havo seen such a re
semblance between two men!"
I surveyed the nurse more critically and
snwthat we did look strangely alike, oven
to the scarred faco. Tho nurse said his namo
was William Nourso and that ho had arrived
in Melbourne only two or three dnys before
from Tasmania, whero ho had worked In tho
Hobartstown hospital.
While I was recovering at the hotel, events
wero transpiring in connection with tho ship.
Wilson, It developed, soon relaxed his vigi
lance and gave himself up to pleasures ashoro,
but without coming near mo, whereupon old
Leigh blithely betook himself to his beloved
bottle. After a few days the shrewd Scotch
pilot paid tho ship a friendly visit, found Leigh
full threo sheets In tho wind, encouraged him
to proceed with his potations until ho fell
asleep and then went over the ship at his
leisure, taking measurements nnd making ob
servations. Naturally, his measurements corresponded
exactly with thoso of tho Ferret, which had
been reported as missing.
I was greatly surprised whon, lato ono aft
ernoon about ten days after our arrival at
Molbourno, J received word from Joe that the
ship had been recognized ns tho Ferret nnd
seized; that ho had taken to tho bush and
that I had bettor disappear as quickly and
quietly as posslblo If I wished to escapo arrest,
for tho officers were looking for both of us.
I told Nourso that a warrant wbb out for
my arrest on somo technical violation of tho
port regulations, and Unit, whll I hud no fear
of tho result of a trial, I did not feel strong
enough to go through with it, and thereforo
I Intended to leave nt onco, and secretly, and
stay away until tho troublo blew over. Ho
agreed to go with mo, and soon after dark
wo left tho hotel quietly by a rear entrance
which opened on an nlloy.
Wo engaged a carrlago and drovo to a sub
urb on tho railroad running to Sydney.
On tho long drive to Longwood I heenmo
convinced that my capture was certain, for
tho country was so thtnly settled that wo wero
sure to attract attention nnd bo easily fol
lowed, whllo It I btuck to tho railroad I was
sure to bo apprehended. In seeking somo now
way out of tho dilemma I conceived tho idea
Hangs Paint Ducket Up and Hold
the Brush Straight Useful for
, Other Purpose.
A llttlo wire handle devised by an
Ohio man will mako Ufo easier for
pnlntors. This handlo, designed prin
cipally for paint buckets, can bo used
on other buckets, too. It has n hook
at tho top by means of which tho
bucket can bo hung up within reach
of tho workman and n second down
wardly projecting hook can bo caught
In tho rim of tho pall, if necessary,
to shovo tho poll forwards In tho
centor of tho handlo Is n clip to hold
of having Nourso tnko my placo.
"What do you Bay, Nourso, to changing
places with mo and letting yourself bo arrest
ed, if it comes to that?"
"I had been thinking of thnt very thing,"
ho repllod. "I don't caro much w.hnt hap
pens to me, but I am not exactly hungry for
a long term In Pentrldgo. If this thine Is
no worso than you say It Is, though, I'll swap
places with you and see it through for two
hundred pounds."
I accepted his torms without argument.
As soon ns we reached Longwood wo ox
changed clothing, oven down to our under
wear, Bocka and shoes.
Wo hnd Just finished dinner and wero sitting
alono In tho hotol ofllce, rehearsing tho part
Nourso was to play, when a sergeant and two
ofllcers, who hnd got track of us at Seymour,
rodo up on horseback.
The orders of tho ofllcors called for tho ar
rest of only ono man, so I wns not Interfered
with. I did not return to Melbourne on tho
samo train with them tho next morning, but
went down by tho ono thnt followed It. Tho
first thing I hoard was that Joe, who had taken
tho train ahead of me, had been captured at
Albury, and was on his wny back, In charge
of an ofllcer, to Join Leigh and my counterfeit
presentment bohlnd tho bars.
I at onco engaged Purvis, tho best bairlsler
In Australia, to defend them, and later em
ployed Glllot & Snowden, another hlgh-clnsa
firm, to assist him.
Nourso was as gamo as a hornet nnd played
his part well.
Tho trial was held before Judgo Williams
and resulted In a conviction. I had expected
no other verdict, for, with tho optlon-of-pur-chnso
clauso missing from tho charter, It was
a clear caBo.
Nourso and Wilson wero sentenced to seven
years and Lolgh to threo and ono-hnlf yenrs
In Pentrldgo Prison. With tho tlmo deducted
for good behavior this moant flvo years and
threo months for Nourso nnd Joo and less than
threo yenrs for Leigh. When the ense as
sumed a moro serious aspect than I had be
lieved It would when I bnrgalned with Nourso
to tnko my placo I sent word to him that I
would pay him well If he would "play the
string out," and as soon as I left tho town I
deposited $5,000 which was to be paid to him
when ho was relensed. I spent some time nnd
considerable money In an effort to secure a
pnrdon for my compnnlons, but when I found
that was Imposblble I returned to England,
with a promlso to be back In Australia by tho
tlmo their terms expired.
With my return to London In the early eigh'
ties tho old luro of tho West Indies, with their
continuous riot of revolutions, camo over mo
so strongly that I could not lu1l out acalnst
It, nor did I try.
I was much interested in reportH which
reached mo, through contraband channels, that
a now revolution was shaping up In Costa Itlca
and that there was a prospect of troublo In
Hayti and ovon in Venezuela.
I took tho first ship for Halifax and went
from thoro to St. John, Now Brunswick, whoro
I bought tho fore-and-aft schoonor Goorgo V.
Itlchnrds. I took her to Bridgeport, Connecti
cut, whoro I loaded up with old Sharp's and
Remington rifles and a lot of ammunition nnd,
after burying them undor sixty tons of coal,
sailed for Venezuela to see what wus going
on in Guzman's absonco.
I found that General Alcantara was acting
aH dummy President, whllo Guzman was on
Joying himself In Europe, and I soon satisfied
myself, from remarks dropped by his friends
In rosponso to my guarded Inquiries, that ho
was ambitious to becomo tho ruler of Vene
zuela in fact as well as in name.
Tho movement to overthrow Guzman was,
in fact, taking doflnlto form, and I bold a part
of my arms to Alcantnra's friends.
Guzman had heard of what was going on
and, as I subsequently loarncd, ho returned
to Venezuela n few months later, before tho
QUALITIES OF FUSED SILICA
I ?t Matri o Bo Used for Any
Original Standard of Length
Light In Weight.
Fused silica Is tho latest material to
bo used for an original standard of
length. Such a standard must con
tinue nccurnto and Invariable for a
long period under nil conditions of tho
nlr, and tho mclnls tried copper al
loys, platinum, irldlo platinum, nickel
and Invar fall short of perfection.
Fused silica claims a raro combination
of good qualities. It Is light in weight,
cheap, and has small expansion; and
its disadvantages such as easy break
ago, lack of elasticity, and Blight
solubility In water are not importnnt.
Tho first meter of tho kind, ns describ
ed to tho London Royal socloty, is a
tubo of silica wih horizontal slabs of
tho samo material fuped into tho ends.
Tho slabs aro accurately ground, with
plane and pnrallel sides. The under
sides aro coated with nlatlnumt and
tho lines of tho standard are ruled
through this film with a diamond. Tho
nnnenllng of tho meter by slowly
heating to 450 degrees, maintaining at
this touipornturo for eight days, nnd
slowly cooling 14 days cnuso
shrlnkngo of about ono 50,000th of an
Inch. '
"CANADIUM" IS A NEW METAL
Handy Handle.
tho pnlnt brush, thus keeping tho
brush from tumbling nbout In tho
bucket or sinking over Its head when
tho bucket is full. Tho bracing effect
produced by using tho bottom hook
Is particularly handy, ns it Inclines tho
handlo so that it does not got in tho
way of tho workman ns ho dips his
bruBh Into tho pall.
revolt thnt wub being hatched hnd broken Its
sholl. Tho Government wbb promptly turned
over to him by Alcnntnra.
Tho Costa Means were, I found, In tho midst
of ono of their periodical but nlwnys qulto
futile efforts to doposo tholr President, General
Tcmasa Quardla. and I had no dlllleully In dis
posing of my arms and ammunition, which l
exchanged for a cargo of cofteo.
With tho cargo of coffee wo headed for Now
OrlennB, whoro I sold It.
While the cofteo was coming out Btoros wero
swiftly going in, and wo woro out of tho rlvor
again and on our wny to Haytl In record
breaking time. Though I hnd good cause to
remombor Santo Domingo I never had been In
tho "Blnck Republic," and, as I had heard thoro
was a probability of somo lively times thero,
I determined to visit It boforo I returned to
New York.
But tho crnnklnesB of tho Richards Inter
fered with my plans. When we wero about
one hundred miles west nf Kev Woaif.tho old
ship committed sulcldo by burning herself to
death. Tho flro started In tho hold amidships,
but we could not even Imagine what might
have cnused It. It was so unexpected that It
rmd n good stnrt boforo wo discovered It. We
fought It, of course, but we might ns well havo
tried to quench a volcano In eruption. Tho
strnngo craft had made up hor mind to go un
der, nnd thoro was nothing for us to do but
tnko to the whaloboat, which was largo enough
for nil of us, ns I had onlv a small cicw.
Aftor wo hud thoved off wo returned at con
sldeinblo risk to rescue a big black cat which
was on tho ship when 1 bought hor. Wo hnd
christened him "John Croix"
Our humanity wns well rewarded, for John
saved our Hvo3, or at least saved us from a
lot of Buffering. Eventunlly wo drifted among
tho Islands to tho westward of Key West and
wo bended for tho largest ono In sight. In tho
heavy sea that was running we mndo a bad
mess of the landing. Our boat was overturned
nnd stove In, tho bung camo out of tho wntor
cask and nil of our supplies nnd most of our
instruments were lost.
Early in tho morning the cat awnkoncd me
by rubbing against my faco. At first I
thought he was only depressed, llko tho rest
of us, nnd wanted compnny, but ho postered
around until I got up nnd followed him. Call
ing to mo over his shoulder, ho led tho wny
to a clump of mnngiovo liees, whose roots
overhung tho bank threo feet nbovo high tldo.
John trotted under the mass of wots and be
gan to purr loudly. 1 started to follow hint
and then backed out, but tho cat yowled so
loudly that I got down on nil fours again nnd
followed him. I crnwlcd along for ton or
twelve feet until I found John stnndlng over u
rivulet of fresh water about as hlg as my
finger.
I drnnk my fill from It nnd then nwnkencd
the others and told them of John's discovery.
They hailed him as our savior, and when ho
camo trotting into camp a couple of hours Intor
with an oyster In his mouth thoy woro ready
to beatify him.
Strengthened nnd encouraged, wo patched un
our boat and, when tho storm had blown Itself
out. put to sen ngnln, and oncounfered n llttlo
schooner from St, Johns, Fin., which took us
to Kov West, whero wo soon got a ship for
New York,
I returned to Melbourno In 1885, after nn
nbsonco of nbout four years, and went to Men
zios' Hotol, which wab not tho ono I had
stopped nt before whon I wns James Stuart
Henderson.
When Nourso nnd Wilson were released
from prison th former scurried across Bass
Strait. toe his old Tasmanlan homo with tho
money I hnd paid him for so successfully Im
personating mo. Ho considered thnt ho had
been well compensated and expected to Invest
his capital In somo small business, to which af
fluent position, undor ordlnnry conditions, ho
never could havo nsplrcd with any degree of
confidence.
STRONG WOOD FOR CARRIAGES
Discovered by Metallurgical Chemist
While Investigating Gold Mine
In British Columbia,
"Cnnadlum" 1b tho namo given a
now metal discovered by A. G. French,
metallurgical chemist of Nelson, B. O.,
whon Investigating a lnrgo gold mlno
In that province. Whllo examining a
deposit of platinum motnls, ho dis
covered, sometimes isolated and somo
timos In combination, another metal
which was qulto different from otber
mombers of tho group. It has since
been found In many other lgncotis
dikes in tho vicinity of Nelson.
Cnnndlum 1h a beautiful whlto metal
but llttlo softer than gold or sliver
nnd melting at a somewhat lower tem
perature. It is not tarnished by damp
ntmoBphcro nor blackened or nffectcd
by sulphurcted hydrogen, nlkallne sul
phides or tincture of iodine, which
blacken both Bllvcr nnd palladium.
When burntshod, it 13 much moro
brilliant than cither silver or palladium.
Hickory Is Most Important on Ac
count of Lightness Without Los
ing Any of Its Strength.
Tho most Importnnt kind of wood
which tho carrlago ranker used Is hick
ory. Tho lightness, without Iohs ot
strength, for which American mndo
vehicles nro fnmous, is largely duo
to tho uso of hickory. It hnB grent
strength and elasticity. Thero Is no
otber wood that equals It In thoso re
spocts, and all kinds have been used.
For ono thing, tho light wheols used
on somo kinds of pleasuro vohtclcs
would havo to be fitted with very thick
tires If hickory was not employed.
Ash and elm havo been tried In plnco
of hickory, but theso woods split too
easily to bo successful substitutes.
Many millions of feet of hickory nro
used every year in tho carriage nnd
wngon Industry. It Is fenred that its
rato of production may not keep pneo
with tho doinando of tho trndo, for
hickory sprlngoth not up in tho night,
Novcrtholoss, It does grow rnpldly
enough to hold out somo hopo that
with caroful supervision of tho forests
tlit) hickory troo may bo mado to ylold
a Bti 111 clout ciop.
JACK FOR LIFTING AN AUTC
Geared Ratchet Implement Embodlei
Several Interesting Features
Easy to Operate.
Tills geared ratchet automobile Jack
embodies several Interesting fenturett,
among which aro tho lifting arms
or antlers. Tho working mechanism
Is Blmplo and easy to operate. A pin
Ion meshes with tho large gear wheel,
tho motion boing Imparted from tho
gear-wheel shaft to a pinion engaging
a rack on tho tubo which uUdes up ana
down in tho frnmo. Tho tubo Is
FINDING LENGTH OF CIRCLE
Majority of Mechanics Much Prefer
to Deal With Fractions With
Divider Points.
Tho mechanic's handy method of
finding tho length of a clrclo is as fol
lows: Ho first divides tho dlamoter
into 21 parts, and, takes ono of theBO
parts and adds it to tho dlnmetor.
Then ho sets tho dividers to this
moasuro (1 1-21 dlnmotcrs) and tuk-
ft-. 21 tIVIilMt )
i
Auto Lifting Jack
thrcntud on tho Inside, and into It
screws llio arms, which aro called,
antlers hecauso of their pecullnr
shape, says tho Popular Mechanics.'
Tho antler form wns ndopted as ono
which would fit tho roar axlo of any
mako of automobile The short horns
nro for -lifting front nxles, hut tho
others may also bu used for this pur
pose 'Tho Jack is mounted on four rubber
tired castors, with both ball and roller
benrlngs.
Interesting Old Mill.
An Interesting old Long Island mill
has been in more or less constant op
erations by tidal power ever since the
closo of tho revolution. Originally
power was developed through two un
dershot wheols, whloh in course of
tlmo wero replaced by turbines, by
which nearly 40-bprso power Is do
veloped.
Pittsburgh's Smoke Nuisance
Over $500,000 worth of laundy of
tho mnlo residents of Pittsburgh is
destroyed every year by smoke, ac
cording to Prof. R. C. Bennor ot the
TJolversity of Pittsburgh, in an ad
dress before a bonrd of trade. And
that is not all. Professor Brenner
stated that from ho lungs of a man
who had lived fifty years here a quart
of soot had been taken. Ho exhibited
tfie B3ot, ifln In a cubic mllo of at
mosphere In Pittsburgh, tho profes
sor sold, thero was four and threo
quarter tons of soot. Tho Hfo of lace
curtains in other cities Is one-third
longer than in Pittsburgh; house
cleaning horo is necessary twice a
year and from 20 to 40 per cent, ot
the fog in tho city is soot. Professor
Bennor was talking on tho smoko
nuisance nnd explained tho wonderful
strides now being mado to abato tho
nulsanco by scientific firing and tho
use of condensers.
His Face Not His Fortune.
M. Durand do Bellofond doGournay,
who a few months ago startled tho
slmplo folk of Coutances by appear
ing In a brilliant uniform covered
with decorations nnd managed to
swindlo tho local tradespeople ot hun
dreds of pounds, cut a sorry figure
whon ho uppcarod for trial at the
ossizo court.
His only defense la that bo swin
dled becnuso ho wfshed to creato nn
impression on a woman with wh'om ho
wns In love. The Judgo replied:
"Don't talk to mo of making nn Im
pression on tho fair sex. You nro far
too ugly," aifd thon sentenced him to
bIx years' Imprisonment. Paris Cor
respondence London Dally Mall.
Boat Run by Soap,
A writer lrf Science tolls of an In
genious llttlft skiff about two Inches
long which ho constructed and pro
vided with a piece ot soap for the mo
tor. The boat was of wood paraf
fined to repol tho wator. Tho soap
formed tho sternboard of tho skiff.
Tho boat was placed on still water
in a bathtub and began to movo ns
soon as the water camo in Contact
with tho Boup. Aftor gathering head
way it reached a velocity of two inches
a second, Tho power was derived
from tho potentlnl energy ot the sur
face water film Bet froo by tho diminu
tion ot Burfaco tension, this reduction
being duo to solution of tho soap.
Scientific American.
Length of a Circle.
Jng threo stops with tho dividers ob
tains about tho exact circumference.
Tho majority of mechanics prefer to
dual with fractious with the divider
points rather than with figures, which
must always bo usod In this calcula
tion. Tho moaBurement obtained In
tblB way Is closo enough for most
kinds of work. Sclontlflc American.
INDUSTRIAL
ana .
MECHANICAL
ss
Turkestan Petroleum Fields.
Petroleum fields covering a vast
nroa of Turkestan, oxtendlng to tho
Chlnoso frontier and tho Pamirs,
havo recently boon surveyed by Prof.
HJnlmnr SJogron of Stockholm. Al
though tho now fields nro not oxpect
ed to revolutionize tho petroleum
mnrkot, thoy will holp to supply the
rapidly Increasing demnnd for petrol
oum In China, nnd to somo extent
thoy will probably benofit consumers
In othor parU of tho world.
Use Waste Products.
In Wilmington, Del., a uso is boing
found for tho wasto products of paper
mills which havo beou accumulating
for yenrs and havo boon thought J
valueless. Ono factory has dumped
over 100,000 tons of residuum from Its
boilers on tho neighboring flats, cov
ering ubout eight acres. This Is now
to be trentod by a process for extract
ing tho carbon tor tho market and the
rest will be converted Into fertilizer.
Sixty per cent, of the Brazil nut
to 0!!.
Glycorlno is a bL-product of th "fp
factory.
Both tho Chinese and Japanese
mnnufneturo alcoholic bovcrages from
rlco.
Tho British, empire supplies about
three-fifths of tho world's demands (or
gold.
Now Zcalanders consume more than
seven pounds ot tobacco per capita
per year.
Russia supplies Great Britain with
tho greater proportion of her poultry
and eggs.
Over 100,000 pedestrians and 20,000
vehicles pass over London brldgo la
ono day.
A fleet of 250 refrigerator ships is
ongnged in carrying fresh meat to tho
British islands.
Tho cod fish shipped out of New
foundland each year aro valued at flv
million dollars.
A llttlo glycerine, well distributed,
often will renew life In a much used
tpewrlter ribbon.
Shipping casualties ot all nationali
ties last year totaled 108 vessols, with,
a tonnngo of 114,231.
British beer consumption decreased
from 30,811,000 barrels In 1899 to 33,
019,000 barrels lust year.
In ono mon.h the yield of ptf.d In
Southern Rhodesia exceeded 40,003
ounces, valueu at $1,000,000,
Fish ia sometimes colored with an
lnorgnnlc dye, to give it the appear
unco of having been smoked
An English mlno horse which was
recently brought to tho surface had
not seen dn light for 21 years
Whiting and keroseno form an ex
cellent silver polish Ptiil also will
cleanse bathtubs and sl-a.b t.ulckly.
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