Bilili VB
The Ponca Indians on the rcserva
:lon near White Kaglo, Ok., have just
ately held their annual sun dnuce. a
rermony that always attracts more or
ess of a crowd of curiosity seekers
Two hundred members of the tribe. In
cluding a number of squaws, took part
In it and nearly 1.000 of the tribesmen
shed the light of thir countentnees
jpon a weird scene. Besides there were
goodly nuaibor of whites present,
while neighboring tribes of Osages,
Raws and Pawnees helped to swell the
motley crowd of spectators.
White Eagle, head chief of the Pon
ras. was master of ceremonies. He is
a magnificent specimen of his race,
standing over six feet high, erect as
the center-pole in his tent and with a
face betokening much intelligence and
force of character. The dignity he dis
played throughout was worthy of a
Roman emperor, and not only did he
Inspire his own ieople with awe. but
he called forth the admiration of all
the visitors.
The scene was both unique and pic
turesque. The white tepees of the In
dians stood in a large circle on the
prairie some distance east of the gov
ernment agency buildings. To the
northward flowed the Arkansas river,
whose course is marked by an avenue
af rugged bluffs clothed in verdure.
On the summits of same of these bluffs
Ores had been kindled and the smoke
rose from tneni In blue circles and
ing the semblance of a genuine Indian
summer. I-arge herds of cattle were
grazing on the plain, and the twinkling
of their bells, mellowed by distance,
came faintly to the ears of the listen
ers. In front of the tepees the braves
sat stolidly smoking their pipes, while
within the squaws were busy preparing
viands for the approaching feast that
ends the ceremony.
A TInie-lloiiored Obserrance.
For three days and nights the sun
dance continues. Once a powerful tribe
on the frontier, the Poncas hold to the
traditions of their fathers with, un
usual tenacity. The sun dance, being
the principal festival of the year, is
especially esteemed, and its observ
ance has become, through long contin
uance. Imperative. Time and environ
ment, it is true, have modified some
of its characteristic features, but in
the main it is precisely as it has been
for a century or more. The custom
came to tne poncas rrom tne ioux
long ago. but even at this day in es
sential details it is the same as the
sun dance of the Sioux. The Poncas
say that the dance is an invocation to
spread itself over the landscape, giv- j the Great Spirit through the power and
majesty or the sun for an abundance of
food in the coming year and for preser
vation from disease and evil spirits.
It also expresses gratitude for what
ever good fortune has come in the past.
The literal significance of its customs
and of the decorations and equipments
of dancers is difficult to learn. Even
the most capable students of the sun
dance have told little else than how it
was performed, advancing into perplex
ing uncertainties when they attempted
to tell why this or that thing was
done. However, the motives that
prompt its observance are not far re
moved from those that influence the
whites in their observance of a day
of national thanksgiving.
A Pale-lured Gnest.
For the observance of the sun dance
a level plain is selected. A circle Is
made of the tents of the Indians and
within this the ceremonies take place.
On the recent occasion the entrance
to this circle was from the east, to
ward the rising sun. the tepees facing
toward the center. First the custom
ary council of the head men was held
to decide upon. the program. Only the
head chief and his band chiefs have the
right to sit in the council of their own
volition and the honor of an invitation,
seldom conferred, is greatly coveted by
Indians whose status is simply mem
bership In the tribe. Unless invitea
the latter are not even permitted to
approach the council tepee.
AN ODD TALE OF THE SEA.
if JLat&ton Is "Booming e
Lawton. Ok., is a town which gre--
!n a night, and which is still growing.
It was a flat, hopeless stretch of prairie
one day. the next it was a village of
tents. It sprang into b?ing with the
babble of men's voicea and in response
to their restless greed. Two months
ago It was the last corner left of the
Indians hunting ground, a poor patch,
but theirs nevertheless. Then it was
converted into a number on a lottery
ticket; then it became a camp of land
seekers; now It is a county seat. Will
it one day be the capital of the stat:
of Oklahoma? Who can tell?
The bunch grass wa3 scraggy and
brown about it; the sun was hot; there
was dust and dreariness everywhere.
The trains ran through it from the At
lantic to the Pacific coasts and travel
ers closed their eyes as they passed,
wishing themselves well rid of such
hopeless solitude. If anyone had
prophesied that the place would be a
hustling town within a month, who
would have believed it? Who would
or could have chosen such a place for
a town site? It was so pitifully dis
couraging. Yet there stands a town,
almost a city, with a first-class post
office, a county building, and what not
of public establishments. With two
miles of business streets, with 300
stores and offices, with 86 saloons,
what a prospect has Lawton before
her!
People who have witnessed such
growths before in the building of the
west shake their heads dubiously over
Lawton, It may disappear, even as It
came, they insist; such thing3 have
been known. The town may be alive
to-day; it may be dead tomorrow;
each day which passes is but so much
unraveled from the tangle of its des
tiny. Merchants are satisfied that they
have been prosperous for the day; they
dare not anticipate the future, so un
certain is it. What the town stum
bles upon must be accepted whether
it i3 for better or worse.
Lawton town site was bathing In the
sunset when prosperity struck it.
When the sun rose again Lawton was
a town. Where the clatter of crickets
had re-echoed the clay before, the
shouts of men were to be heard.
Homes were of white canvas, streets
were weed grown, but the town of
Lawton lived. A great army had set
tled down upon the prairie and a new
chapter In the development of the west
was begun. With all the carelessness
of an excited, hurrying people the
Lawtonites began to lay out their
town. Stakes had already been set
here and there by government survey
ors, who had planned and named Law
ton. The name was for the brave
man who had fought and died in the
Philippines, and, patterning after him,
the town had been courageous of un
dertaking and prompt of action. It
has sprung into a city, sturdy and full
of promise. No time to pave its
streets nor to house Itself with brick
and wood, yet Lawton has a school
house, a first class post office, churches
and many another of the institutions
which follow the American people.
Grand avenue is the longest and fin
est of the thoroughfares, paved with
bunch grass and lighted with tallow
candles. It is lined on each side with
shacks and tents, each of which bears
an elaborate sign to indicate its use
fulness. There is "The Owl Drug
Store." "Mother's Grocery Store," "The
Bon Ton. Gent's Furnishings," and so
cn down the street. The wit and In
genuity of the citizens of Lawton have
not been spared. Struts are named
"Goo Goo street," "Bluffers' avenue.'
LiUCKy iNumoer Douievara. ana so
forth. The town is up to date in ev
erything. Busy Scenes in Lawton.
BoUing: Copper Klvet Wears Thronfffc
Bottom of Vessel. t
Some years ago a vessel loaded with
guano worth several thousand dollars
caught fire in the south Pacific and
was abandoned by the captain and
crew, who came ashcre In the small
boats and repor'ed the disaster. One
of the consignees thought the cargo
could be saved, a3 he knew that guano
would not burn, and It was his Idea
that the hulk of the ship might be
found floating somewhere at sea. He
chartered a small Enslish tramp ves
eel that happened to be at Callao.
i eru. and started out to search for
the derelict. After cruising for two or
three weeks, he found her. the wood
work burned to the water's edge, but
the hulk sound as a dollar and the
cargo all right. They started to tow
ner to Callao. but the day before
reaching that harbor the tramp vesse
they had chartered began to fill rap
idly and the pumps could scarcely
keep her afloat. They narrowly es
caped sinking with all on board. .The
leak was a mystery. They managed
to get her to Callao only by the
greatest exertion. When the ship went
into the dock and was examined it
was found that one of the plates about
the center had worn through. Fur
ther investigation demonstrated that
the damage had been done by a little
copper rivet, which had been accident
ally left in the bottom and had rolled
back and forth over the same spot so
often and so long that the iron plate
had been worn thin and the pressure
of the water had broken through
Chicago News.
A DREAM OF TREASURE.
Small Hoy's Dream Locates .Money Which
Is Really There.
Dreams are often unaccountable, and
perhaps what I am about to relate may
interest your readers. When quite
young-ti W33 only 7 years old then I
lived with my parents at a villa in
Trieste, Austria. For weeks and weeks
I had the same dream, although not
nightly namely, that In the night
time I found myself at the bottom of
the garden in my nightgown, scratch-
ng at a little heap of earth, and found
copper, silver, and gold coins, and sud
denly looking up, I found before me.
and watching me. the sister of the
landlord of the villa, an old, haggard
woman. Hating dreamed this so often.
naturally related it to my mother.
who repeated it to her friends. These
friends, who were of a superstitious
nature, tried to induce my father to
buy the plot of ground in question, but
e would not listen to such absurdity,
as he was an unbeliever in spiritual
ism. Well, some years later the land
lord had occasion to build a lodge at
the bottom of the garden, and while
digging for the foundation a large
sum of money in copper, silver and
gold coins wa3 discovered. How is It
that a mere boy of 7, without any
knowledge or the place or of the his
tory of the owners of the said grounds,
should have such a dream, which turn
ed out true? Spectator.
I Current Topics J
Cost of the Steel Stride.
President Shaffer's public statement
f the terms upon which the steel
itrike has been settled eontains noth-
ng of importance that was not knoWn
jefore, but his attack upon the Amerl
:an Federation of Labor and the Unit
id Mine Workers adds another signifi
cant Item to the losses of the Amal
gamated Association throughout the
strike. Mr. Shaffer indulges in bitter
sensure of Mr. Gompers and Mr. Mit
chell because they did not call out
their followers, irrespective of con
tracts, as he had done. His words
scarcely can fail to complete the alien
ation of the two large organizations
thus attacked. The strike also has
shattered the Amalgamated Associa
tion itself, perhaps beyond repair, be
sides making non-union mills of many
which were nominally union before.
During the two and a half months of
the strike the workmen lost about
$10,000,000 in wages. The losses of the
company can be recouped to a consid
erable extent, but lost time and wages
are never found again. The average
number of men idle during the strike
was something over 50,000. At one
time the number was nearly 100,000.
News and Views sayihos and pons;
Descendant of Hamilton'
Lieutenant Louis Hamilton of the
Fourteenth United States Infantry,
who commanded the special guard of
honor at the Buffalo city "hall and on
the train which took President Mc
Klnley's body to Washington, is a
Sijc Fingered Man,
In the current number of the Amer
ican Naturalist Professor H. L. Osborn
gives the tracings of the hands and
feet of a student at Hamline Univer
sity. Each foot is provided with a su
pernumerary toe. While one hand Is
normal, the other Is provided with an
extra finger. The case is that of a
great
ton.
LOUIS HAMILTON,
grandson of Alexander Ilamil-
THE SHOCKED BUF.G'.AR.
BUSY SCENES IN THE TOWN OF LAWTON.
Visitor From TurKey-
All Nourl Bey, late consul general of
Turkey in Rotterdam, who is now in
London with his wife, the Princess
Halrie Ben-Ayad. Is one of the prom
inent leaders of the Turkish legitimist
party. This party
claims and works
for the relnstall
ment on the throne
of Turkey of Mu
rad V, who was
said to have be
come Insane some
time after his ac
cession, and was,
therefore, tempor
arily put aside, his
brother. Abdul Ha
mid, 'being install
ed as vice sultan under certain condi
tions which he then agreed to. One
of these conditions, it Is alleged, was
to restore his power to his brother
Murad, the rightful ruler of Turkey,
as soon as the latter should be able
to resume the reign. All Nourl Bey
has several times been in trouble with
lils Imperial enemy and has often made
acquaintance with Abdul Hamid's po
litical prisons, although he always
managed to escape. Lately, however.
Ail Nourl Bey has been condemned by
order of Abdul Hamld to 101 years
Imprisonment. All Nourl Bey hopes
there will soon be an end of the pres
ent reign in Turkey. Abdul Hamid is
ill, very ill. The reaccesslon of Murad
V will give Turkey a liberal govern--ment
and be looked upon as the be
ginning of a new
era for Turkey
that of progress,
justice and free
dom. His wife,
Halrie Hanem. Is
the daughter of the
late Mahmoud Pa
sha Ben-Ayad of
Tunis, a personage
well known in
French society in
Paris during the
reign of Napoleon
III, who honored him with his friend
ship. The family of Ben-Ayid is one
oT the oldest and noblest families In
Tunis. The princess is the first Turk-
ish woman who has ever set foot in
Europe with the mission of making
known the strange social condition of
her countrywomen, to engage In a
campaign against the existing state of
affairs in Turkey and to expose its ut
ter rottenness and corruption by de
livering series of lectures.
I. Zangwill has written the follow
ing letter as to the derivation of the
word "ghetto:" "I don't think any
quite convincing etymology of 'ghetto'
has been adduced, although the most
likely connection is with the 'ghetto'
or Iron foundry, in the quarter of
Venice to which the Hebrews were as
signed in 1516. As this was the first
compulsory Hebrew quarter in Italy,
the others were called by the same
name.
- Apparently the proverb about clos
ing the stable door after the horse has
been stolen is fully appreciated by the
mayor of Buenos Ayres, South Amer
ica, He has issued an order that no
city 1 employe who handles public
money can attend the races.
Indignant to I'lud Iolir m in Warming
Himself at M dn ght.
Once upon a time a Burglar looked
up from his work at the Office Safe
into which he was Drilling and De
tected a Policeman in the act of
Watching him from Behind the Stove.
"Well," said the Burglar, dropping his
drill and speaking wih Manly Indig
nation. "I may not be Everything that
a Gentleman should be. As I m no
Hypocrite, I Frankly Admit that I'm
a Crook and Steal for a Living. But
there's One Thing I can say for myself
I'm no Sneak. Come on with your
handcuffs. Cop Gibboney, and run me
in. I'm a Burglar all right, but, thank
heaven, I'm no Spy and Informer.
And when the Mayor hears of this per
haps it won't be Me that'll find him
self in Trouble." The Burglar's an
ticipation was Justified. The mayor
caused him to be Discharged with
Apologies, and issued a statement to
the public Deprecating any action on
the part of his Police Force that might
Wound the Sensibilities of the KJgh
Spirited Criminal Classes. Moral: It
is better that ninety-nine guilty men
should escape than that anybody
should employ the only means by
which they can b; caught. Philadel
phia North American.
22
TRACINGS OF HANDS AND FEET,
young man 25 years of age. His par
ents, grandparents, and all of his rela
tives so far as known were perfectly
formed. Cases of this sort are not un
common, and are known as poldactyl-ism.
The Bishop Appeal.
The late Bishop Williams of Con
necticut was a truly pious man, but
was sometimes placed in a position
where he envied the privileges of those
not of the cloth. At a recent conclave
at the General Theological Seminary
they told this tale of the good bishop's
wit: Ono summer day the bishop went
out fishing with a friend, and, as the
day was warm, they swung a bottle
of rare Burgundy over the side of a
row boat. When luncheon time came
the bishop essayed to pull the wine
aboard, already tasting in anticipation
the cool, delicious beverage. Through
some mishap the string slipped from
bis fingers, and the bottle sank to the
bottom of the river. Bishop Williams
sat up with a sigh, and said, with his
eyes sparkling: "You say it, Jones;
your'e a layman." Boston Journal.
Central American Germans.
German business houses in Gaute
mala, Nicaragua and Costa Rica con
trol almost the entire foreign trade of
the five republics with England and
California, besides the entire traffic be
tween Germany and Central America.
The shipping along the Central Ameri
can coasts is also to a. large extent in
German hands. These conditions are
causing an immense loss of trade to
Great Britain. With the taking of the
commerce from Great Britain has
arisen in England a hatred of things
German until the nations that were
at one time allies are now not far re
moved from the point of war.
Premonition of "Death,
In his autobiography. "A Sailor's
Log," Rear Admiral Robley D. Evans
relates a strange incident of premoni
tion which a fellow sailor had the
night before the attack on Fort Fish
er, in January, 1865. He says: "We
had on board the Powhatan a fine
young seaman named Flannigan who
came from Philadelphia. On the night
of Jan. 14 he came to my room with
a small box in his hand and said to
me: "'Mr. Evr.ns. will you be kind
enough to take charge of this little box
for me it has some little trinkets in
it and give it to my sister in Phila
delphia?' I asked him why he did not
deliver it himself, to which he replied
'I am going ashore with you tomor
row and I will be killed.' I told him
how many bullets it required to kill
a man in action and in other ways
tried to shake his convictions, but it
was no use he stuck to it. He showed
no nervousness over it, but seemed to
regard it as a matter of course. I took
the box, and, after making a proper
memorandum, put it away among my
things. On the afternoon of the next
day, when we were charging the fort,
and just as we came under fire, at
about 800 yards, I saw Flannigan reel
out to one side and drop, the first man
hit, with a bullet through his heart.
I stepped quickly to his side and asked
if he was badiy hurt. The only reply
was a smile as he looked up into my
face and rolled over dead. The box
was delivered as he requested, and I
afterward assisted in getting a pen
sion for his sister."
Anarchism and Atheism.
Anarchists are always atheists.
Their fundamental proposition that
there is no rightful government begins
with the assertion that there is no
God. If there is no God there is no
moral government of the world, and
in the general chaos it Is every man
for himself. If anarchy has any logic,
anything beside its brutal hatreds,
that is it.
When that typical anarchist, the un
savory Johann Most, was in Chicago,
in a meeting of anarchists, speaking
freely in German, he declared that the
first thing they as anarchists had to
do was to "destroy every altar, to ex
tinguish every religion, to tear God
down from the heavens." What right,
he said, would any man have to gov
ern other men unless God gave him
hat right? "Down with God." In
this Most was only a rabid echo of
Karl Marx. The assassin of Presi
dent McKinley, like Emma Goldman,
has been blatant in protesting his ath
eism, declaring that there is no God.
that he has "no use for God."
It is a remarkable fact, and one that
will not soon be forgotten, that just
when the assassin imagined he was
doing something to usher in the new
social condition, in which there would
be neither God nor government of any
sort, there came from the he "t of the
president such an acknowledgment of
God as had the effect to waken in the
hearts of all the people such a sense
of the relation of God to human af
fairs as had never before in our his
tory found more Impressive utterance.
A Shaggy "Bird.
A fctrane bird to be found in Cen
tral Africa is called by the natives
TO oman as Dill Poster.
Miss Cora Guthrie Kimball is the
only woman in the United States, and
THE WEE-TOO-TOO-HOO.
Wee-Too-Too-Hco, from its cry. In
stead of having feathers the bird Is
shaggy. It is about the size of a swan
and it has a long and slender biil, of
which it makes a remarkable use In
supporting itself when it rests. The
bird lies qui"t during the day in holes
in the ground or at the root of trees
and coms out In the twilight. It
feeds on wornu, grubs, and also hinan
berries. Jt makes a peculiar snuffling
noise when hunting or feeding. It
lives in pairs, and the female lays
twice a year a larg egg, which is de
positeu in a hole at the foot of a tree.
Moistens Stamps.
Most envelope and stamp moisteners
are complicated or bulky affairs which
are unhandy for use when it is de
sired to dampen a single envelope, but
the device in the illustration seems to
surmount these objections. It Is the
invention of W. E. Kentrick of Ver
mont, who states that the implement is
adapted for use with mucilage as well
as with water. The rear portion of the
moistener is a reservoir for the stor
age of the water, which feeds through
a tube to the bottom of the compart
ment containing the sponge. The feed
is regulated by a valve located be
tween the reservoir and the sponge,
and the parts may be easily separated
Affected Them Differently
Recently the German Crown Prince
called the Kaiser's attention to the fact
that the teachers in certain colleges
gave their pupils some extraordinary
subjects on which to write essays.
Whatever the subjects were, It is
known that the Kaiser was displeased,
while his heir could see only the comic
side of the matter. It leaked out that
teacher in a college for girls of 12
to 13 years of age gave the following
is a subject for an essay: "What Was
the Idea of the Egyptian King Amasis
about God, and What do We Chris
clans Think About It?" This incident
explains both the Crown Prince's hi
larity and the Emperor's annoyance.
Berlin Correspondence London Telegraph.
She So you've been across? He
Yes, for the first time. She Ah!
when you realized that, you were on
the broad bosom of the ocean did you
not feel like shouting out with joy?
He I don't know about the joy, but
I assure you I could scarcely contain
myself. Philadelphia Press.
MRS. KIMBALL,
in the world, probably, to be at the
head of a bill posting company. Mis3
Kimball lives in Moultrie. Ga., and
there she carries on a very successful
business. Miss Kimball turned to bill
posting after several years spent in
kindergarten teaching. The entire loss
of her voice compelled her to aban
don her chosen field of work. Recov
ering her voice in a year or so, but
fearing a return of the affliction, Mi&s
Kimball decided to turn to something
in which she could use her arms inde
pendently of her tongue and earn a
comfortable livelihood.
. Greatest of Artists.
This is the title which the musician
depicted in the accompanying sketch
has selected for himself. No other ar
tist is capable of playing so many dif
ferent instruments at the same time.
For some years past he has been at
tracting attention on the continent
by his wonderful feats, and has of
fered to pay any person 300 who can
succeed in imitating him. So far nc
one has accepted his challenge. M
Malboech is capable of playing as
many as thirteen instruments th?
piano, cornet a piston, clarinet, violin
a chime of forty bells, the bass drum
symbals, triangles, two kettle drums
tabor and castanets. By means of hit
hands he plays either the piano or tht
clarinet and piano at the same time
but more generally the cornet a pistoc
and piano. The left hand, used foi
the latter instrument, actuates the
chimes also. The secondary instru
ments are played through the pressure
of the feet upon the pedals. These
multiple occupations do not prevent
him while playing the cornet from
HANDY IMPLEMENT FOR DESK
USE.
for refilling. To use the moistener it
is grasped by the thumb and finger, as
shown, the finger pressing the spring
tongue against the flap of the envel
ope to squezs- the water from the
sponge as tho envelope is drawn be
tween the two with the other hand.
Thoi-gl-. President Roosevelt Is the
youngest chief magistrate this country
has ever had he is not so youthful as
the heads of some other governments.
The President Is 43 years old, but Em
peror William will not be 42 until the
27th of this month. The czar of Rus
sia is only 31. Emperor Emmanuel II
of Italy will be 33 this coming Novem
ber. Wilhelmina of Holland was 21
years old last month and Alfonzo XIII
of Spain, the youngest of them all, was
only 15 May 17 last.
smoking his pipe. He correctly exe
cutes pieces that are often difficult
Margherita of Italy.
Dowager Queen Margherita of Italj
has the reputation of being the best
educated woman in the ranks' of Eu
ropean royalty. She reads and writes
English, French, German and Spanish
and has a wide acquaintance with th
Greek and Latin classics.
Richard Croker's visitors at his En
glish country place, Moat Hovse, give
a glowing account of his public ser
vices as a benefactor of Leicombe. Not
content with beautifying his own prop
erty, he Is improving the village by
widening and straightening the public
roads, by extending a picturesque wall
and by placing seats for villagers in
the meadows under the trees. He has
also licensed the village boys to bathe
in his new lake at certain hours and
has promised to provide a fountain
near one of the old mills. He has fur
nished employment for a large force
of workmen in improving his estate.
The first postmis
tress in Cuba is
Miss Ysabel De Los
Rios She is about
23 years old. a
daughter of Judge
De Los Rios, and
receives, it is said,
a salary of 51,200.
President Roosevelt, as a speaker,
varies a good deal in the matter of de
livery. Sometimes he speaks yery rap
Idly and this especially when deeply
moved. But generally he speaks very
slowly, choosing his words with great
care.
It has been deter- '
mined that the me- " ,
mortal of the late Senator Stephen M.
White of California shall be in the
form of a life-sized statue which will
be placed in the court house grounds
at Los Angeles.
One of the oldest British jour nails ti
In active service is John Holllngshead
who recently celebrated his seventy
fifth birthday anniversary. Mr. Hol
llngshead worked for Dickens anc
Thackeray when they respectively con
trolled Household Words and the Corn-
hill Magazine. He published a book
of reminiscences while managing thi
London Gaiety theater, which h
founded. He wrote so much of tt eacr
day and sent it to the printer, keeping
up that journalistic system until thi
work was completed.
A handsome memorial window in
memory of Lieutenant Commander T.
B. M. Mason has been received at the
President C. K. Adams of the Uni
versity of Wisconsin, who a little
more than a year ago went to Europe
for his health, writes that he is quite
well again and that he will be able
shortly to resume his work at the university.
Lord Roberts has a strange antipa
thy to cats. He cannot bear their
about him, and It is said that onci
while dining out he declared that then
was a cat in the room and nearlj
fainted. A search revealed the fad
that a Strang cat hai indeed got intc
tho place and was under the table.
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman is
one of the best classic scholars and
Annapolis naval academy and will be ( speakers in modern languages in the
placed in the chapel. house of commons. -
Richard Bell, who represents half
million railroad men in the Brltisi
parliament. Is the first railway guar
to enter the homes. He won great favoi
during the late strike on the North-
j eastern and the Taff Vale railway.
