STEAMING UP THE AMAZON.
ALLIGATORS ATE UP HIS BABIES BEFORE BIS EYES.
The Greatest River of the World Described by
Frank Carpenter.
I am on an ocean steamer 800 miles
from the Atlantic In the heart of
South America. I am Just now within
a hair mile of Its south bank. The
shores aro lined with cacao orchards,
and by the aid of my Elass I can seo
the golden fruit from which our choco
late comes shining out of the green
leaves. Back of Jhe orchards aro the
lofty trees of tho mighty Amazon for
ests, and close to tho shoro aro the
Bray thatched huts of tho people. The
opposlto bank Is wooded, but It Is s"o
far away that It forms only a lino of
80ft wavy bluo which fades Into tho
lighter bluo of tho sky.
I entered tho Amazon by Its lower
mouth south of the Island of Marajo.
1 sailed about that Island, which it
Bolf Is as big as soma of our states,
to the narrows, and then wound In and
out through a series of wonderful
chnnnels Into the main stream. Slnco
then I have been steaming slowly up
against the current. I have passed
Obydo3, and I am now going on to the
point, 1,000 miles from the Atlantic,
where tho Rio Negro Hows Into tho
Amazon. To-morrow I shall go by the
mouth of tho Maderla, and I have al
ready crossed the mouths of tributaries
as largo as sonic of tho groat rivers of
the world.
Tho Amazon receives Into Itself more
than 100 rivers. It has 1,100 brancho3,
nnd it Is unquestionably tho greatest
water system of tho globe. It has
eight rivers, each of which has a nav
Ignblo length of more than 1,000
miles.
In coming hero I passed the Tocan
tina, up which you can steam for days
Into tho wilds of Brazil. I am on a
great ocean steamer, which, when we
stop at Manaos, n few days from now,
will be further inland from tho ocean
than Chicago. Thoro arc steamers from
Manaos which will take you 1,350 miles
Turther on to Iqultos, Peru, so that you
can go by steam upon this river 2,350
miles westward from tho sea,
Manaos Is on tho Rio Negro. It has
steamers going up that river 470 miles.
I could lcavo tho Amazon before I get
to Manaos and go on a steamboat far
up tho Madeira. There aro, Indeed,
more thnn 5,000 miles of steam navi
gation on tho Amazon and Its greater
branches, and tho whole system is es
timated as having something like 50,
000 mlle3 of navigable waterways.
Tho people of tho Amazon rely en
tirely upon boats for getting about.
Every hut wo have passed has had two
or three boats tied to Its wliarf. Somo
wero dugout canoes, others were flat
boats, and at one or two large houses
we saw steam launches. Somo of tho
rowboats aro painted in bright colors,
and not a few havo canopies or covers
over them, under which tho owners can
crawl to keep out of tho sun.
As wo passed tho huts tho people
usually ran out of them and dragged
the boats up on tho banks. Sometimes
they Jumped into their boats and
rowed them out from the land to pro
vent tho waves made by tho steamer
from overturning them and filling
them with water.
There aro no roads in theso Amazon
forests. Tho only paths aro those
which go from ono rubber tree to an
other. These aro too rough and wind
ing for tho peoplo to use In the way of
A SUPPLY BOAT
travel, and they lead to no particular
place. Tho only roads are me lurcum.
The people go visiting in boats. Thoy
carry their cacao and rubber to market
In boats, relying' entirely upon this
method of getting from ono placo to
.another.
Wo made qulto n stop at Obydos com
ing up tho river. The Amazon here Is
narrowed to n channel a little more
than a mile wide. Through this
trough tho Immense body of tho Ama
zon sweeps with great force. Tho river
Is about 210 feet deep, and It goes so
fast thnt In stopping we could not rely
upon tho ship's anchor, but also had a
cable tied from tho boat to the bank.
As soon as this wns done mon In ca
noes camo out to tho steamer, and
upon ono of theso I went ashore.
Tho town is a little collection of one
Btory houses, cut out of tho woods. It
wns ns hot as Tophet and dreary to
nn extreme. It relics upon tho rub
ber trade of tho river and Its cacao
plantations. It has a factory In which
rhocolata is raado. and tho pe.ddlers
brought tins of chocolate on board to
sell.
Tho otchards here are very poorly
cared for. The most of them aro old,
and, although there Is plenty of ground
for new trees, very few aro planted.
Still the business pays well. Tho trees
bogln to yield fruit three years after
they are set out, and It Is said they
will contlnuo to bear for fifty years.
Two crops a year aro gathered, and
tho only cultivation necessary la to
keep down tho weeds.
The chocolate of tho Amazon Is very
A RESIDENCE
flno, tho French preferring it to all
others. About 5,000 tons aro raised, It
Is said, annually, and tho yearly ox
ports from Para alono often amount to
more than 7,000,000 pounds. Frank G.
Cnrpentcr.
STRAY ITEMS.
Mr. nnd Mrs. Thomas O. Gilbert, of
Salem, who wero married fifty years
ago, have been fortunate beyond most
peoplo. Six children wero born to
them. They also havo ton grand
children and ono great-grandchild, nnd
every one of their descendants Is still
allvo and well. Not a break has oc
curred In tho family from the day of
tho marrlago fifty years ago. Boston
Herald.
Fuddy "That was an odd predica
ment that Ben Thayer and rtddle
Mooro found themselves In." Duddy
"They aro deaf mutes, nren't they?"
Fuddy "Yes. They clasped each
other's hands at tho critical moment,
you know, so that ho couldn't ask her
to marry him, and sho was unablo to
reply if he had." Boston Transcript.
Tho note paper used at the peace
conference at Tho Hague was provided
by tho manager of tho hotel which
serves as headquarters and is decorated
with a fierce design of cannon, rides,
bombs, swords and bayonets. A spider
weaves his web across tho bayonets,
tho swords lie broken In two, tho can
non Is spiked and a dove bearing an
olive branch in Its beak sits calmly
upon tho muzzle.
ON THE AMAZON.
The Connecticut lei?lalaturo has
passed a law protecting the trailing
arbutus, said to be the first law ovor
passed In any state of tho union for
tho protection of a wild flower. Tho
law In question Is said to bo largely
duo to a newspaper article calling at
tention to tho need of such a law,
A Missouri traveling man, during a
recent trip In Washington county,
Arkansas, noticed tho following In
scription on a tombstone In a local
cemetery: "Alfred W. Caughman, born
Izard county, Arkansas, Jan. 23, 1820.
Died March 23, 1875. Ho was a man
who In his early day killed over 100
deer. Ho did truthfully say ho was
born and raised a frontiersman's son.
but ho had to give up his life and his
gun."
Out In Chicago the other day a Judgo
Interrupted tho unintelligible testi
mony of a witness In court by saying:
"Tnko that stuff out of your mouth.
How do you expect mo to hear what
you are saying when your mouth U
filled with a wad of gum? This prac
tice of gum chewing on tho witness
stand must stop. If you talk as plain
ly as you can, the Jury will have trou
ble enough hearing you, without your
making It worse by rolling that great
wad under your tongue."
Wall paper doc3 not hang, and yet tho
person whoso business It Is to paste It
up Is called a paper-hangeK Tho
reason Is simple. Long before tho In
troduction of wall papera.Arras, a town
In France, was famous for Its tapes
tries called "Arras." Theso wero used
as wall coverings, and tho men who
were employed to put them up wero
called "hanger3." When paper suc
ceeded tapestry as a mural decoration
tho name "hangers" stuck to the mon,
though Instead of being tapestry hang-
ON THE AMAZON.
crs, they were
Chicago News.
now paper-hangers.
Tho bubonic plnguo 13 spreading at
Alexandria nnd Cairo, nnd continues
to mennce Europe. It has been pro
nounccd n disease thnt owes Its exist
ence and Its propagation in a great
measure to filth.' European govern
monts nro becoming Imbued with a
most praiseworthy fever In bohnlf of
cleanliness, nnd it Is this probably that
has led the kaiser, In his capacity ns
commandcr-ln-chlef of the German ar
my, to Issuo orders for tho Inaugura
tion of n regular dally tooth brush
drill. Tooth brushes, It Is true, aro
Included In tho kit of every soldier,
but It has been found thnt tho latter
has been accustomed to uso his tooth
brush for every purpose excopt tho
keeping of his teeth clean, the result
being that bad teeth nro tho rule
rather than tho exception In tho Ger
man army, ono regiment of 5,000 men
having but 104 men with sound teeth,
while over 9,000 decnyed teeth havo
been found In a battalion of 1,000 men.
Thnt is why tho rank nnd filo of tho
entlro German army will henceforth
proceed to brush their teeth as a part
of tho dally drill under tho Immedlnto
supervision of tho commanding offi
cers. St. Louis Globo-Democrat.
BLONDINED DOG.
Mntclii'il Ills Ouncr'H Contiuno Without
Injuring tho Ciiulne.
New Orleans Times-Democrat
"During tho occupation of Paris at thb
closo of tho Franco-Prussian war,"
said a veterinary surgeon of this city,
"tho Frenchmen used to catch tho
small, whlto poodles belonging to Ger
man olllcers nnd dip tholr hindquarters
In bluo dyo and their forequarters In
red, transforming them into animated
copies of tho French flag, greatly to
tho wrath and disgust of tholr owners.
Tho only other Instanco of dyed dogs of
whloh I havo any personal knowlodgo
camo under my observation a fow
weeks ago, when n lady brought mo a
pet spanlol to treat for nn ulcerated
paw. Tho little creature was a sort of
tawny yellow, qulto different from any
spaniel I had ever seen, but whon I
enmo to oxnmlno him closely I found
thnt ho had been 'blondlncd,' evidently
by peroxide of hydrogen. His nntural
color wns Btcel gray, and tho fur of tho
roots showed It unmistakably. Tho
lady was an actress, who was passing
through hero on her way to New York,
and when sho called for her pet I in
cidentally referred to tho dyeing. Sho
laughed, and admitted at onco that sho
had colored tho fur to match a favorite
costume, adding that sho had been as
sured by a doctor that tho process waH
entirely harmless. As far ns I could
soe, tho dog's health was not affected.
Ho certainly looked very odd, nnd I
must admit, rather pretty. Whon tho
blondlno begins to wear off, however,
ho will bo a holy terror."
l'lo tin thu I'liire if Honor.
Tho peoplo of Bulgaria aro cordial
to strangers. In visiting a Bulgarian
home you nro expected to tako off your
shoes and put on your hat. At tho
dining table the entlro family sits
cross-legged upon tho ground around
a table not more than a foot In height.
Meats, vegetables and other edibles aro
cooked together and so served. Thero
aro no potatoes In Bulgaria. Plo Is
given tho greatest distinction at the
dining tnblo and It Is considered 111
mnnnered for ono to accept a cut when
It Is offered tho first time. After twe
or threo entreaties you may theti nc
copt a portion.
Tho lovo of a woman pnssoth all un
derstanding, not only In Its depth, but
In tho peculiarity of Us object,
San Antonio, Tex., Juno 1. Tho two
children of Paul It. Naojelo wero de
voured by nllgntora undor tho eyes of
their helpless parents oa Saturday
night.
Naegele and his family encamped on
the bank of a bayou or lngoon running
out from tho shore cf Espontos Lake,
In Dlmltt county.
This lake, though far Inland, Is nllvo
with alligators. At certain times of
the day they cover tho banks so thlk
ly thnt one can hardly see tho mud.
Their horrible hissing fills tho nlr, and
tho odor of musk which arises from
them Is so strong that one can smell It
three miles.
Nnegelo had been warned not to
camp too near tho lake, but ho did not
understand tho danger nnd Ignored the
warning.
During the night he was aroused by
tho restlessness of his horses, who
wero strnlnlng nt tho ropes In such a
way that they threatened nt every mo
ment to break loose. Ho went out to
see what was tho matter, and, think
ing somo wild nnlmnl might be worry
ing thorn, ho took nn nx. As ho enmo
near the horses ho stepped on whnt
seemed to bo a long log of wood. It
squirmed bencnth him, and In another
mjnuto the Jnws of a gigantic nlllgator
snapped at him. Ho struck at It with
all his might with his ax nnd hit It
between tho eyes, stunning It for n
time.
At this moment ho heard a shriek
from his wife. Leaving tho nlllgator
ho had encountered, ho ran to her as
sistance. When he reached her ho
found thnt another enormous nlllgator
had seized their eldest child, a girl of
four years, and was moving away with
Us victim In its Jaws.
The woman, who wns unarmed, was
THE DREADFUL FATE
tearing nt tho eyes of the alligator
with her bare flnzera, showing tho
frantic courage of a mother threatened
with tho loss of her child. Tho reptllo
moved away without paying nttontlon
to her struggles. Naegele attacked
this alligator with his ax, as ho had
dono the other, but thi.i time he did not
have tho snmo success. His first blow
fell on tho enormously thick scales on
tho back of tho animal, which re
mained absolutely uninjured. Nacgc!o
redoubled his blows, and the alligator
knocked him down with n swish of Its
tall and momentarily s'unncd him.
THEY nATTLED IN VAIN TO SAVE THEIR LITTLE ONES.
At tho samo time n second horror
was taking place. When tho alligator
seized tho 4-yoar-old girl tho mother
dropped tho baby she had In hur nrms
to rescue tho child who was being car
ried away. No sooner had she dono
this than another alligator seized tho
baby thnt she had left on the ground.
While her husband was struggling
with Ills alligator she attacked tho ono
which had seized the baby. Tho rep
tllo bit at tho mother. It did not suc
ceed In getting n good hold of her, but
mndo a terrible wound In her left log
as sho sprang back to avoid being de
voured. By this, tlmo Naegele was loft
stunned upon tho ground, whllo his
wife was lying helpless nnd bleeding
profusely. Tho reptiles moved quickly
nway with tholr child victims and dls
nppenred In the foul waters of tho
lake.
Old Inhabitants of tho locality say
that tho alligators had Just awakened
from tholr winter torpor nnd found n
groat lnck of their customary food, In
cluding Ilsh, wntor birds nnd other
smnll animals. Thoy wero ravenously
hungry, and nny living thing was suro
OF THE LITTLE BOY WHO PLAYED "HOOKEY."
HI l 1 W
to attract a hordo of them. Alligators
aro very much afraid of noise, nnd as
long as a man or an animal make a
good deal of nolso thero Is no danger.
The alligator likes to crawl down oa a
silent and helpless victim and dovour
It without n struggle. They aro tho
greatest cowards In the world.
Whllo Nncgolo was arranging hia
camp with his prattling children and
tramping horses tho alligators were
kopt away by tho nolso, nnd lurked
calmly beneath tho water, but as soon
as tho camp was plunged In darkness
and slumber tho rnvonous roptllos, nt-
tractcd by tho scent of warm-blooded
creatures, moved down upon tho llttlo
camp, and oagorly snatched tho first
victims they could find. Tho nolso
mndo after tho presence was discov
ered soon drove them nway, but thu
horrlblo tragedy wns completed.
l'ummut' Old riitghlt.
Washington corrospondenco Chicago
Record: The Hnrtford, Atlmlrul Farra
gut's old flagship, linn been completely
lebullt nt n cost of $350,000, nnd Is now
to nil intents nnd purposes n new ves
sel, nlthough tho old oxterlor lines nnd
tho Interior nrrnngomont havo been
precisely preserved. Not moro thnn 10
por cent of tho old mntorlal was re
tained, but It was tho desiro of tho
construction bureau to mako n ship
that would look exactly llko tho ono
In which Admiral Farragut fought tho
battlo of Mobile. Although tho In
terior Is Just as It used to bo, mnny
modern Improvements nnd conveni
ences for tho comfort of tho oltlccra
nnd sailors havo been lntroduced.most
of which wero not discovered nt tho
tlmo Fnrrngut was In tho navy.
I
