tlESSAGE TO 00M PAUL
THE ROUTE OF THE AMERICAN
MESSENCER BOY.
Scene t the Departure of James
Francis 8mith From Philadel
phia To Pretoria.
Philadelphia, Pa. (Special.) Three
tuurt he of the way across the Atlantic,
si the good ship St. Louis, James
Fraocrs Smith. 16 years old. is speeding
tnr the Transvaal capital with a mvs
of sympathy from school
boys of this city. New York anil Boston,
for President Paul Kruger. The dis
jr itches to the dailies have told the pur
Iwrae of this voyage, but have not de
ncribed the remarkably scene attend
ing the dispatching of this American
laJ on a voyage of nearly 2.'.tx miles
tU bis unique mission. The scene was
la the Academy of Music on the night
X April 11.
At exactly 10:33 o'clock a Philadelphia
schoolboy stepped up to a call box on
rhe stage and pulled the lever. For
three minutes more than 5,'X) person
listened silently to It buzz. Then a
air opened, and an American Ii.triet
Tt-tetrraph boy. in full uniform, stepped
imo view, walked briskly up the little
la2c!er reaching to the stage, and stood
thvre awaiting orders.
The first boy stepped forward with a
fc'arlt box looking like a corners, to
bkh was attached a large strap
Throwing the loop of the strap over
the shoulder of the messenger hay un
til the box rested comfortably at hip
side, he said:
"You will take this as rapidly as you
can to Paul Kruger, president of the
Transvaal Republic, at Pretoria, South
Africa. It contains the testimonial cf
the schoolboys of Philadelphia to Pres
ident Kruger and the struggling South
Africans. It is signed by over 2. WW
names, and it speaks for itself."
It was from the hands of Herbert
"Willi!) of the Central High school, pres
ident of the boys' Boer committee, that
aersenge'r Boy Smith received his in
sstimrctions. Those who heard his words
re not only as many of those whose
rotnes are on the message as could
rro.wd the Academy of Music, but men
cT national renown in civic and state
affairs, chief citizens of Philadelphia,
rid mothers and sisters, who had given
"heir encouragement to one of the most
significant movements in Ameriian
tiistory.
Bourke Cockran, America's most elo
qvent orator, sat by the side of Web
rter Uavi?, who resigned his office as
ziswstant secretary of the Inter'or. un
r3er President McKinley. so that he
might be free to do what he had vainly
wiated for his superiors in the national
smvernment to do speak a word cf
OCqe ana encouragement ... mr r-uu-aflinjr
republicans of South Africa. A
S ami's length away was Edwin Mark
gam, America's poet of freedom, whose
wotte has been lifted for the downtrod
den so that lis tones rung from sea to
-Res. Beside him was P. Loutr We-s-;T3,
a Boer himself, who had com'
ffrom the Orange Free State to tell the
Americans of the Justice ff his people
s-aure. -Around and with these men sat
ftwrs t local prominence orators,
lawyers. Judges and citizens but ail
sat silent as the schoolboy gave his or
al era to the messenger boy.
.Nearly all these men had spoken dur.
Snsr the evening, had said brave words
tr this brave movement, but they !
were quiet now, when the event had
greacb.ed Its supreme culmination. The
arrest audience that Jammed tveiy nook
kd4 corner was still too, but when the
3aat word had been uttered and the
aneaaege was gone, there was such a
hisnderouB burst of applause nn
sheering that the huge electric lights
above, blazing out the meaning -of It
mil -MKT Liberty Triumph," seemed
So B&aite from the force of the tumult.
After receiving his Instructions the
messenger boy touched bis hat. tripped
down the steps again and disappeared
through the door from which he had
inner The whole transaction occupied
IIto minutes. Not long afterwards
American District Telegraph boy No.
iSSt wa in a Pennsylvania railroad
tmka speeding for New York, the first
stage of his long Journey. The message
10 Kruger was on Its way.
This boy will traverse the greater
j.art ol the continent of Europe and
rill touch the borders of the Orient.
He will cross strange continents and
natoate foreign seas, but he will not
stun ontil he has placed In the hands
mf "Own Paul." in his official residence
st Pretoria, the words of cheer, sym
.atoy and courage from the llberty-
VTlng youth of America.
Last Wednesday the messenger sail
d from New Tork for Southampton.
frwn Southampton he will go to Havre
mncr, and thence to Paris. leaving
rfae French capital on April 17 he will
reced to The Hague, returning to
4 'arts three days later.
The departure from Paris will be
symd on April 22 for Marseilles, and
a the 25th he is due to begin his
voyage down the Mediterranean sea, In
Itself a distance of more than 1.500
Dim. He will next pass through the
Sues canal, leaving Port Bald April 30
atrial thence down the Red Sea. Aden
will be reached on May , and stops
will be mads at Diego ftuarea. In Mad
agascar Mosamblque and Belra, Africa
If (til goea well he will reach Lnrenxo
Marques May it. and will then begin
fJw last stage of his journey to rre
ttlTBB.
Aftr Placing the massage In Kru
Iter's hands he will receive whatever
answer the Boer presmeni may care
-- an then return to Philadelphia
f1ta be reaches this city again ht will
UftVtlcd I3.5H
i
n.- r,jo, r i liui-mii containing the his
torv of the li.e s' movement In b-ha
of the H is. in the shape of a hand
somely bound s tuvetiir fiom the North
A inei icur.
Young Smith is a bright, handsome
boy, with big blue ces and curly
blonde hair Ht- Is red the traditional
messenger boy by any means. There
is activity and alertness in his eery
move. There Is no doubt that he wi'J
fulfill his mission.
THE MKSK.NiiHH BOY.
On the roster of the American Dis
trict Telegraph company the boy who
is to inert i.icm Paul is known as "N .
K.14." but there is an individuality
about this boy who has bet-n chosen to
cany the rm-ssatre to Kruger from h
schHIboys of Philadelphia that d-fles
labels and numbers. H:jj nam- is J.ime
Francis Smith, and he Is reptesentatlt
of the best type of American boyhood.
He will be 16 years old nest Sept.-mitr,
he Is straight and lithe as an Indian,
is about five feet hinh. and weighs l'i'J
pounds. He has the b aling of a We-i
Point cadt t. and the manners as wdi.
In waiting for orders he stands at at
. I
Untion rigid, erect, ees fron
aril
without the vii!ile movement of a mus
cle. When spoken to he answers quick
ly, directly and without a superfluous
word. At the same time his big. gray
blue eyes l,.k unblinkingly into your?,
feat less, firm and honest.
They are really remarkable eyes In
their luminous brightness, their wide
open candor, quick intelligence and
frank honesty. There is nothing appeal
ing about them, and that Is what saves
hem from being fe:r,inlne in their b.-au.
ty. The some thing applies to the larg".
full-llpped mouth. Its til mness sumps
It as masculine, although the lips are
cherry red. and when they part they
disclose a set of large, strong, w ;!!;
teeth. His complexion is white and
velvety and his broad, firm forehead Is
crowned with a mop of gold-re 1 cu:'.v
hair.
He nas born In Brooklyn September
.1. lvl. He attend., d the public schools
of the City of Churches for five years.
and acquired a very good education
for a boy of his age. Eight months ago
he was obliged to leave school and do
his share towards the support of a
large family. He secured a position as
an American District messenger boy.
Although Mr. W. V. Rayons, the gen
eral superintendent of the American
Prtstrlct Telegraph company in New
York, declares that any messenger in
the service would carry a message to
President Krueer as a matter of course
and would start without a moment's
hesitation," "No. 1S:4" Is the happy se
lection from nearly 2.000 boys. When
Mr. Rayons was asked to "ring up a
boy" he sent orders to the district man
agers to have the pick of their boys re
port at his office. About forty boys re
sponded, and these were quickly weeded
out until on!y three remained. They
were kept under observation for a cou
ple of days, and finally the selection Mi f
n young rnlih. He was detailed to , i
r..-(at dntv under Mr. P-avons. and had i
no Idea of the Important mission in
tended for hint.
THB BOER WOMEN,
Aid and Encourage Their Husbands
In Peace and War.
From Paul Kruger downward the
Boer men are more or less under the j
Influence of their wives. It has alwajs
been so with the putch. In every po
litical crisis In South Africa the women
have had their say and have made
their voices heard.
Of the courage and determination of
the Boer women many notable In
stances are recorded. In the year
when Lord Charles Somerset was Gov
ernor of Cape Town, there was con-
sideiable disaffection among the bur
ghers owing to the action taken by the
government In arresting some ,of the
farmers charged with 111 treating their
Hottentot slaves. One farmer, named
Jan Bezuldnhout, refused to surrender
to the troops sent to apprehend him.
This stubborn Dutchman, with his wife
and his little son, held his house gal
lantly against the troops the wife
fighting as bravely as her husband til!
a bullet pierced the good man's brain.
then she sullenly surrendered.
When the Matabele. after m ass acre -
lng one party of emigrants who had
trekked from the Cape In 1X3, attack
ed the little band under Hendrlk Pot-
gleter in laager, the molheis, wives,
and daughters did signal service In the
defense, for they kept loading the spare
muskets and handing them to the men
so that the latter were able to keep up
a continuous and deadly fire which
mowed down the Matabele In scores
till even those fierce and fearless war
riors would face the awful hail of bul
lets no more and fled, leaving the
ground strewn with their corpses.
Again, after Dlngaan. the great Zulu
chlef.had treacherously massacred Pie
ter Relief and his sixty-six companions
who had come on a friendly visit to his
capital, many of the Boers were for re
treating from Natal and abandoning
all idea of settling there, but the wo
men cried shame upon them, and de
clared that they would not bedge from
the country until the Innocent blood
shed by the Zulus had been avenged.
The men could not stand sgalnst the
flood of feminine Indignation, so they
elected to stay; and, after several des
perate fights, at last broke the power of
Dingaan.
A party of them, armed with rlfl'-s,
are said to have fired upon a patrol of
Lancers from a farmhouse a few days
ago. When the women of a country are
animated by such a spirit they are a
force to be reckoned with. London Il
lustrated News. ' ' .'
When a man tells a woman a Joke h
usually has to follow It up with an ex.
testimonial he also 'arnes a liok
ptUoa.
CRONJE'S LAST FIGHT.
STORY OF THE BATTLE AS TOLD
BY A BRITON.
The Brave Boer Soldiers Cooked
As Well As Fought In Their
Trenchts.
L ndon. lal Many stories of
Cronjc's laft b&Mle and surrend -r have
teen told, but the following from a
lliltish prisoner in Cronjes camp d
set Ibes the scene;! cf the most pi'tur-e.-.jiie
im id.-nt of the war from i i
view point. The story is toi l by Tro.ct.
r Hassock of Kltchf tier's Ib-r?--.
sock w as captured beforo the t;.-n of
February IS. and detained i:i the ISoel
Uugei'. He says:
1 was sent on Saturday evening. Feb
ruary IT, by Lieutenant Pu.-hanan to
work my way uy the Modder ti.ei a!"ti;
whi. h we had be-ii scoutip. I was to
look for the r-st of the troop, from
whom we had bc-n scjarated. I su'l-
I,, f .,,.1 r,o-u..'f irt tli. n ill,, .if U
'" ' -
party cf I'.oers, who were lying iip.Men
anujiigft the bui-hes. and tried to :e
tlie. A volley was fired at me. My
horse was killed, and. ka!!lng upon m,
we rolled t.igerher into the river. Luek-
iiy, at that spot it was very deep. 1'he
Boers came down and cstiicated me,
then took my bandolier and equipment,
and made me a prisnner. We th-n went
to the drift and waded across to the
north side, where their laager was.
I w as taken before Command int
Cionje. who linked me our stehgth and
movements. On my reply that 1 wa
only a trooptr and did not know, he
(...!;. -n, never mind. If you don't want
to tell me. 1 .'hall not try to makt
oU.' A guard was placed ever me. and
we stayed the mght in the .aarfer, I
should say theie wtie about i '
Dutihmen all told, and foity worn-n
and children. A guat many amor.g
them ttele Irishmen, a few Scotchmen,
In short, alio. .st tvery nation was
moi i or less numerously represent, d.
All that night they were busy en
trenching themselves. employing a
great dial of native labor to help them
Next mottling the English atta.k be
ga.n. The shelling was so he ivy thul
about Pi o'clock the laag -r cou.d not
be lived In, so my guard and I wete
tent across the dr. ft and lino th.
trenclies.
The Boers did not in the hast mind
our attack and laughed amongst th-.-m-ieives
as they saw the men advaiie
Ing. They allowed them to come up to
about fr'JU yards from the trenches, and
then opened a tremendous tire from
their rifles. It did not seem to be aitrc i
at any particular man, Wt mote at a
certain fixed distance. At that the;.
filed as fust as they couiJ.
The range was obtained by
a f-w
ej shots, who fired, wati'r.-'d th.
t cuused by the strike of tire bullet
and then g ive oul the range, "ur men
came up to w.ihin j ams am in. i,
letired. They fired volley at the long-i
u. stances, but all their lire s eined to
me to be shell. I do not think that
more than thirty Boers were ki'.od
and wounded that day. Our (British)
wound d were well treated by Ihe
jluth, but a lot of th'-m were Kit
lying outside the trenches owing to the
refusal of the Boer request for an arm
istice.
Ail the week the F.ngiish shells fell
constantly. The naval guns damaged
us very little, for we could hear the re
port and whistle of the coming shells.
and had time to get under cover. IS.
early an error, for the velocity
of naval shells exceeds that of sound.)
The howitzers were different, the shell
and report being almost simultaneous
owing to their firing from a shorter
range. (An error.) On Thursday a how
itzer lyddite shell dropped upon a
Maxtm-Nordenfeldt (Viekers-Maxim)
and wrecked It. killing eight men. They
were all burled on the spot where they
fell. This was the course followed all
through the week. Any men killed were
at once buried where they lay.
The shelling on Monday night de
stroyed several wagons, two of which
were on either side of CronJe's own.
No one could have been braver than
he was. He stood upon the wagon stp
field-glass In hand, and did not seem
to care in the least how thlrkly the
shells and bullets fell. Many of the
Free Ftalers. however, were quite the
reverse, and were In a great state of
terror when the boinban'ment began
The ammunition wagons blew up and
t'-veral of the provision wagens were
burned.
The shrapnel killed the majority of
the horses and cattle, which had no
shelter but the banks of the river. Be
yond that the fire did little real dam
sge. The trencnes wi-e junr io.....
proof, being constructed something like
a bottle narrow at the top and open
ing out below, say, 2 feet at top to 4
feet and 5 feet at the bottom.
They were not In one long line, but
In a succession of pits, from feet to
U feet long, and about 4 feet 6 Inches
In depth. Many of the trenches were
long underground tunnels, ' with but
small square opening on the shaft at
either end. The extracted soil fit"
heaped In front, leveled off to about on
foot high. No one lived in the laager
after Saturday night all, even the wo
nen and children. wr In the trenches
CrnnJe and the commandants had fre
fluent discussions as to what was to be
done. CronJe himself was In favor of
the whole gradually dribbling away In
small bodies. Commandant d Beers,
wlth"2"0 men on the best horses, did
get off Thursday night, February 3Z
The crest reliance' was on General )
fc-rt and 7.000 expected from Lady
smith, and another IW upposJ to be
coivdng dori thu Moildcr. W hen Sun
lay. Kebrusry 2' came and there mas
r:o news of r Inf .n ernents coming
Ciorje as-e'iible ,i l the comniandants
and burghers aod they discussed the
situation. Crohj - himself tried to ure
t'.o-m to try and cut themseivts out,
but they would have none f It. and it
was finally iUided that unless lu'.p
can e on tin- i -Ilnttlng day thi y wouM
surrender. X" h-U did conn-, and so
Cror.Je si;rrendeicd on Tucisday, Fcbru
aiy 27, at daybreak.
Throughout I was well treated. What
rations they got I had, and I was al
lowed to go alc ut with my guard pre!
ty much who
I wishid. Their men
and commandants talked fre ly to me.
They discui-s-d the war. and any other
subj'- t I liked to talk of. Their crii -f
anxi.-ty was as to whether Lord Bob-
erts would march on lilocmfonteln or '
on Kimberley. 1 have myself no doubt
that, could they have kept their laager
out of flu. they w ou'd never have sur
r mieted. The loss of the provision wa
gons w.t what caused them to give in.
They h.id only f ur days' food left.
Their ammunition was still plentiful.
After the explosion of the ammunition
wagons by shell fire on February i:t.
all th remaining cartridge were dis
tributed throughout the trenches, and
on the south fide every trench was rtlll
full cf unused ammunition. The ma
loritv seemed to mind the surrender
but llttl". The Free Slaters seemed
particularly s! k ft the war. and the
Trans vaalers were but little more keen.
The effect of the shed fire was very
different t . what I expected, fshrripncl
and lyddito alike did little harm to the
men In the trenches. The majority of
men and horses killed were killed by
yhiapiK-I. while the lyddite fired the
wagons. A lyddite shell burst within
thirty yards of me. but beyond cover
ing me with a yellow powder did no
har rnwhatever. No one minded this
lyd. lite at all. but all got under cover
when shrapnel was firing. Cooking was
done in the trenches. Ijich man had
i box with him taken from the wagons.
These wre sunk Into the ground near
the trenches. No one went to the
laager by day. Kverything w as fetched
by night, wl.cn it was safe to leave ths
trenches.
IN AN OPEN BOAT.
Forty-thsoe Days Spent By a Crew
On the Pacific.
Heading Mark Twain's story In the
Century of the wicck of the Hornet.
Lieutenant Lyman Boot, commander
of the .Second division, naval battalion,
became deeply Interested In the experi
ences of the survivors, and noticed
that one of them was Prof. Henry Fer
guson of Trinity college. Lieutenant
P.oot induied Prof. Ferguson to con
sent to speak to the naval division
aoout his experiences.
Prof, Fi-Tgu.-on's talk took the place
of the regular diill. Prof. Ferguson
3r,d his brother interrupted their sta
les while in college to lake u tilp on
he Hornet, a i llpper-biiill men haul
hit., fiom New York to Han Francisco.
hey tailed around the Hoin, ami while
in the Pacific ocean near the equator
the ship caught fire where the stores
were kept. The ship was burned to
the waters edge, and the crew and
the two pasie-ngers escaped In three
boats.
Prof. Ferguson and his bi other weie
in the captain's boat, which contained
ourtecn men. The three boats kept to
gether for some lime, and then it was
believed If they separated there would
be better chance of securing help. They
started out with rations for ten days.
They were sparing with the rations
and the water, and toward the close
each man had about a gill of water a
day. Prof. Ferguson gave a thrilling
description of the sufferings of the
men from hunger and thirst.
He. said the sufferings of the men at
night while they tried to sleep were
terrible. Once he dreamed that he was
home and was telling his folks about
the wreck. The home scene appeared
clear to him, and there was everything
that he wanted to eat on the table. He
was having a fine time, and as he came
to the point where he was rescued he
woke up and was not long in realizing
the desperate position which he wan in.
The rations gradually grew less, and
the last four days the men had abso
lutely nothing In the way of food.
Some chewed upon their bootlegs and
others filled their mouths with bullets.
Prof. Ferguson said he found that bul
lets were excellent to keep the mouth
moist. When the men were nearly
dead and some were partly crazd. a
double rainbow was seen In the sky,
and this cheered the men. Hoon after
ward it wa expected that the boat
would be dashed to pieces upon coral
reefs. The men were so exhausted that
they did not care murh what became of
them. They were prepared to die, and
were surprised to see two big Kanu
kas swimming in the surf. The men
were muscular giants and handsome to
look upon. The Kanakas Insisted upon
shaking hands with all In the boat, but
they were finally made to understand
that the men were famishing and If
taken ashore they would shake hands
afterward.
With several strong strokes the Ka
nakas took the boat to a p.ace of safe
iv and the men were given nourish-
ment. Prof. Ferguson's brother died
from the effects of Ihe exposuie. The
two other boatloads were lost. The
ship was forty-three days at sea and
sailed shout 4,000 miles. It was off the
coast of Hawaii that the men were
saved. Small sails had been rigged on
the boat, and the speaker said that he
believed the crew sailed more miles
titan any shipwrecked crew ever did
before or since. Hartford Courant.
When some men get up In Ihe worla
everybody appears small to them and
they appear small to everybody.
PRIESTS WERE HEROES
TWO PRIETS WHO WERE LOYAL
TO THE SOUTH.
Joy Over Their Return From the
Army and Sorrow When At
Last They Died.
New Orleans, La. Spi-elal.) The
ieath of Itev. Father Sniulders in Ht.
Louis removes another of the coiifeiier-
aie army chaplains who entered the
service in this city and remained in It
ltji the close of the war.
rjf the si:; Ucde'rnptorists stationed at
New Orleans when the civil war N-gaii
a volunteeted to their superiors at
ince to go out as chaplains of Louisiana
regiments. Two of this number were
'.hoseti, Father Kmulders and Father
?heeran. Both followed their regiments
as chaplains, Father Hmulders enlist
ing with the lOighth Louisiana volun
teers. Both remained In the confeder
ate army for four years, and were with
General Lee when he laid down his
arms at Appamattox court house. Then
they returned, footsore and weary, to
the mission house In New Orleans,
stronger than ever in their devotion to
the South, to duty and to God.
It Is told In the annals of the order
how drlng the trying period of the war
the mission house, in Constance, neat
Josephine street, was ever a refuge
where the poor, the miserable and the
afilicted cold go for help arid comfort.
The faithful fathers were ever ready to
hare their last crusts of bread with tha
stricken people, and many were the
boxes that found their way to Father
kmulders and Father Sheerau for tha
Louisana soldiers.
It is told, too, how one evening when
Ihe news had already come for some
irne that General Lee had surrendered,
low the fathers were seated around
their su.erior talking of the changing
;lde of events In the South, and tears
were In the eyes of all; how a kmck
:ame at the door and Ihe aged sacris
tan, Brother I.is, opened it, and at
5nce his cry rang through the house:
"Father Hmulders! Father Sheeran!
Our boys have come home at last!"
And such a home-coming as the old
sacristan goes on to relate In that pa
thetic diary that was never Intended for
the outside world:
"We looked Into the faces of our
two fathers: oh. how changed, how pale
and sad; they sat down as we gathered
round them and Ihe tears flowed down
Ihelr cheeks; as they told the story that
we already knew, 'All Is. lost; General
Lee has surrendered: our regiment Is
scattered; we made our way home as
best we could on foot.' Their cloth'-s
were failed and torn and they looked
more like Ixggars than members of a
great and noble order of religion; their
dhoes were torn off their feet, and their
feet were blistered with walking, their
hands torn from briars. We got them
a warm supj r, but they could not eat
for the choking tar. and we all sat
till far Into Ihe night, forgetful of
rules, as we listened to their story of
hardships ton great for words to tell,
and how our brave confederate boys
bore themsdve? like true heroes In the
hour of defeat and crushing sorrow, as
they had done In the hours r.f triumph
and victory. Indeed, Father Smulder
aa'd the.', they were greateY heroes In
(rial than they had ever been on vic
torious battlefields. And so said Fatner
Sheeran."
And the old sacristan goes on to re
prised at Father Smulders and Father
cord a few days after: "We are alt rur
Sheeran. We thought that perhaps the
for years of freedom from the strict
rules of a religious life would have
somewhat changed their characters,
and they would not be ready to yield
that quick. Implicit obedience, that en
tire giving up of their own will, so nec
sssary In a religious life; but no; they
are the admiration of the order. They
arose the next morning &nd went
about their duties Just as though there
had been no Intermlttance, Instead of
a long respite of four years from obe
Jienec to superiors. I saw Father Shee
ran sweeping the kitchen and later he
was busy at his desk teaching In fit.
Alphonsus' School. And so with Father
Smulders. The community Is In ad
miration. The war did them no harm.
Army life has done them no harm.
They are the most obedient and hum
ble men In the house."
NOTE9 OF THE DAY.
Some of the Knglish clergy In the dlo.
tese of Natal and Pretoria have been
reduced to the humblest poverty, ow
ing to lack of funds from Kngland and
Ihe multitude of war appeals for money
for other purposes.
Microbes of typhoid, cholera, diph
theria and other diseases of slmllai
nature sourvlve the temperature of li
quid air and come out lively and chip
per after twenty hours' freeilng, ac
cording to a paper recently read before
the floyal society of London,
Los Angeles has the reputation of be
ing almost tropical, but it Is not a
warm city either In summer or winter.
The temperature is seldom above 71
t any season, and thai Is about equal
to CD In New York. May and June seem
:o be the coldest months In the yvar.
In the laundry of an insane nsylum
at 'Pontine, Mich., eleUrlc Irons In
dead of gas Irons have proved to be
peculiarly adapted for Insane asylum
patients. There Is no chance of Ihelr
ettlng snytlhng on fire with the Irons.
In the south r.f Italy the first artistic
wigs were made for the Oapltiens, whr,
lived In Apulia, and were known for
the luxuries of their toilet. These p"o.
pie were, they say, the firat who painter)
their faces; tills they did with th Jlcei
ef straw berries.
NEW YORK'S RATS.
Ceaseless Warfare Waaed With Fer
j rets and 1 raps.
The rat census of the i.'y will never
, be taken, but If It could be oblaine l
Just now the population of black, brown
I and tawny rodents wou'd be foun-l
1 large. There has been an unusual In
of rats Into the warehouses and
stores along the river Ironts this year,
and about evuy fenet in the city Is In
dally dernind. Theie are more than a,
scoie of ferret rat catcher who maka
U a business to clean buildings of rats,
und this Is best accomplished in win"
ter, when the cold weather drives the
rodents Into the houses and stores. It
Is riot always possible for the ferrets t
capture them in warm weather. Tor
along the river front every rat hl.
lends, ultimately to the water, and if
hard picked by a ferret the rats will
plunge Into the river and swim for
the next nearest dock or floating raft.
The fi t rets will Hot follow their prey
into the water, and In this way they
aio frequently billed. In the winter
months, especially on cold days, tha
rats cuddle up in the warm buildings,
and they can hardly be induced tt
take a plunge into the Ice-cold river.
The ferrets const quently make rich
hauls In winter, and the 'slaughter of
a single ferret will some days amount
to a round dozen or more.
Another cause of the death rata
among the city tats in winter is the
unusually high tides which prevail at
times. The water backs up from tbn
sea and swells the river so high that
thousands of rats are drowned. The
water floods the wharves and ware
house basements before the rats can
escape, arid they soon expire In tha
cold water. In water of a moderate
temperature the rodents can awlm
about for a long time, but the low
temperature of the river water chill
thein through and soon rolr thera of all
power to fight for existence.
It Is estimated by rat catchers that
there are several million rats in the
city and probably half as many mice.
The rats predominate along the. river
fronla and in the large stores and
warehopes. Their numbers are con
stantly added to by the ordinary meana
of multiplication and by the whole
regiments from the ships that corn
Into port. Every vessel brings with It
a large complement of rats, and when
the ship toches dock there Is an ex
change of courtesies between the ship
rats and dock rats.
.Some come ashore to slay and re
main with us. and otheis of the wharf
rats decide to take a voyage In tha
ships In the place of the deserters. In
this way rats have been carried to ev
ery port of the globe, and their epreod)
over the world has bieti by this meth
od. Originally the blown und black
rats had certain limited and well de
fined locations In northern Europe and
in the tropical (ountrles. but today
they are umnlpn-s-nt. and wherever
the ships of civilized nations touch you
will Ithd the modern ruts of F.urope
and Ameilca. The worst ships for
bringing rats to this port are the wood
en vessels) from the tropical ports.
They sometimes come Into the city so
heavily laden with rats that the sailor
dure not go down Into the dark ho.d
of the ship until port Is touched. Then
the animals swarm off the ship In com
panics of a score at a time. Thousand
of rat are added to our clfy popula
tion In this way every year, and th
number we lose by leaving on ships Is
Binall In comparison. For some reason
the rats seem to like New York, except
In winter, and they are so well fed that
they seem to spread the news to oth
era. New York Times.
LATE INVENTIONS.
Soma Late Inventions That Ara of
General Interest.
For preserving timber from decay an
Australian has patented a new treat
ment, consisting of Immersing the tim
ber In a solution of arsenous acid and
an alkali until thoroughly Impregnat
ed, after which a coating of sulphate
of copper Is applied.
Clothes are automatically cleaned la
a new wash boiler, which has a faloe
bottom Into which the water falls from
the main boiler, with a series of tubes)
extending vertically to the top of tha
boiler, through which the water is driv
en by the Increased heat and steam In
the false bottonm.
Ieavea can be rapidly and cleanly
picked up from lawns by an Oholo wo
man's Invention, which has a large hop
per mounted on wheels, with fan blades
set In the mouth of the hopper close
tj the ground, to be rapidly revolved
by gearlnz Inside the wheels, thus fan
ning the leaves into the hopper.
In Germany a man has patented a
reading or writing desk which will be
found convenient for use when stand
ing, having a flat tablet formed of sev
eral sections hinged together, with
braces and straps to hold the tablet In
a convenient position for use, the whole
folding In small compass to be carried)
in the pocket.
In a new boat-driving gear a short
propeller shaft Is set In the rear ot
the boat, Intermeshlng Into a large gear
wheel, mounted on a horizontal shaft
with pivoted levers connected to tha
shaft by cranks to rotate the propeller
and drive the boat.
An adjustable spring for baby car
riages has been patented by a Carta
dlan, which ran be Increased In stiff
ness as the baby grows, having a du
plex hlnga Joining the outer ends of
the springs, running from the frame
and the body of the carriage, with
menus for adjusting the movement of
the hinge, . ,
Atchison Globe: Keven doctor hava
been unable, to find out , what all a
certain Atchison man, but they suspect
hi wife' apple dumplings.
