T5he BondnQcn.
By HALL
CHAPTER I. (Continued.)
Once again the seamen railed at their
guide, as well as at the whole race of
in landers, but Adam was all for lenity
towards the priest and hope for them
selves. "My faithful companions," he said,
"be not dismayed by any of these dis
asters, but let us put our whole trust
in God. If it be our fortune to end our
duyi in this desolate land, we are as
near heaven here as at home. Yet let
us use all honest efforts to save our
natural lives, and we are not yet so
far past hope of doing so but that I
see a fair way by which we may effect
it."
With that they set out again alone,
and within an hour they had fallen on
the second mischance of their journey,
for failing to find the pass that would
have led tbem across country through
Thingvellir, they kept close by the sea
line In the direction of the Smoky
Feint
Now these misadventures, first with
the mother and ch'ld, next with the
Sheriffs, and then with the guides,,
though they kept back Adam and bis
company from that quick deliverance
which they would have found in meet-
lng with the messengers of Michael
Sunlocks or with Michael Sunlocka
himself, yet brought them in the end
in the way of the only persons who are
important to this story. For pursuing
their mistaken way by the line of sea
they came upon the place called Krisu
vik. It was a grim wlldnerness of aw
ful things, not cold and dead and dumb
like the rest of that haggard land, but
hot and alive with inhuman Are and
clamorous with devilish noises. A wide
ashen plain within a circle of hills
whereon llttlo snow could rest for
the furnace that raged beneath the
surface; shooting with shrill whistles
ila tihafts of hot steam from a hundred
fumeroles; bubbling up in a thousand
jets of boiling water; hissing from a
score of green cauldrons; grumbling
low with mournful sounds underneath
liko the voice of subterranean wind,
and sending up a noxious stench
through heavy whorls of vapor that
rooled In a fetid atmosphere overhead.
Oh, it wan a fearsome place, like noth
ing on God's earth, but a mouldering
wreck of human body, vast and shape
less, and pierced deep with foulest ul
cers; a lener spot on earth's face; a
seething vat full of broth of hell's own
brewing. And all around was the
pe?ceful snow, and beyond the lines
of the southern hills was the tranquil
sea. and within the northern mountains
was a quiet lake of water u green as
the grass of spring.
Coming upon the ' ghastly place,
printed deep with Satan's own features
on the fare of it, Adam thought that
surely no human footstep was ever
meant by God to echo among bodeful
noises, But there he found two wood
en sheds busy with troops of men com
ing and going about them, and a third
horse of the same kind in an early
attge of building. Then asking ques
fiona as well as he was able he learned
that the boiling pits were the Sulphur
Miles that the new Governor, the
President of the Republic, had lately
turned to account as a penal settlo
mnnt, that the two completed uheds
wte the workshops and sleeping places
of the prisoners, and that tho unfln
lhhed house was Intended for their
liobpltal.
And bo It chanced that while with
l.ls poor broken company Adam rested
on his horse, to look on at this sight
w!th eyes of wonder and fear, a gang
of four prisoners passed on to their
work In charge of as many warders,
and one of the four men was Red Ja
scn. His long red hair was gone, his
face wait thin and pale instead of full
H'td tawny, and his eyes, once so bright,
were heavy and slow. He walked in
file, and about his neck was a collar
of iron, with a bow coming over his
head and ending on the forehead in
a bell that rang he went along. The
w'.ld vitality of his strong figure
seemed lost, he bent forward as he
walked, and look steadfastly on the
ground.
Yet, changed as he was, Adam knew
him at a glance, and between surprise
ami terror, called on him by his name.
But Jason heard nothing, and strode
on Ilka a man who had suddenly be
come deaf and blind under the shock
of some evil day.
"Jason! Jason!" Adam cried again,
and ho dropped from the saddle to run
towards him. Hut the warders raised
their hands to warn the old man off,
and Jafton went on between them,
without ever lifting his eyes or making
sign or signal,
"Sow, God save us! what can this
nxan?" cried Adam; and though with
the lame help of his "old Manx" he
questioned as well as he wan able the
men who wero at work at the building
of the bowpltal, nothing could he learn
but one thing, and that was the strange
and wondrous chance that his own eyes
revealed to him; namely, that the last
fact be saw as he was leaving Mann,
01; that bail night when be stole away
fiom Orenba while she slept, was the
first face he had seen to know It since
lie aet foot on Iceland.
Nor was this surprise the only one
that law waiting for him In that gaunt
place, Pushing on towards Reykjavik,
tho quicker for his sight of Red Jason,
and with many troubled thoughts of
Michael Sunlocks, Adam came with his
o:npany to the foot of the mountain
that baa to be crossed before the lava
plain Is reached which leads to the
cupltal. And there the pass was
blocked to them for half-an-hour of
predous time by a long train of men
slid ponies coming down the bridle
jotu. They were Danes, to the num
ber of Aft) at least, mounted on as
r.uny horses, and with a score of tired
Kitbcs driven on ahead of them. What
their work and mission was In that
gum waste Adam could not learn until
he saw fiat the foremost of the troop
bad drawn up at one of the two wood
en sheds, and then be gathered from
many signs that they were there as
warden to take charge if. the ecttle
inrnt In pi see of the Icelandic officers
who had hitherto beld possession of It
Little time he bad, however, to learn
l riddle ot these traoft doings, or
k
Continuse
Story.
CAINE.
get knowledge of the double rupture of
state of affairs that had caused them
for presently old Chaise came hurry
ing back to him from some- distance
ahead, ;wilh a scared face and stam
mering tongue, and one nervous hand
pointing upwards to where the last of
the men and horses were coming down
tho bridle path.
"Lord-a-massy, who's this," cried
Chaise; and following the direction of
his hand Adam saw what the old fel
low pointed at. and the sight seemed
to freeze the blood at his heart.
It was Michael Sunlocks riding be
tween two of the Danish warders as
their prisoner, silent, fettered and
bound.
Then Adam felt as if he had some
where fallen Into a long sleep, and
was now awakening to a new life in
a new world, where the people were
the same as In the old one, but every
thing about them was strange and ter
rible. Hut he recovered from his ter
ror as Michael Sunlocks came on, and
he called to him, and Sunlocks heard
him, and turned towards him with a
look of Joy and pain in one quick
glance of a moment.
"My son! My boy!" erlad Adam.
"Father! Father!" cried Michael
Sunlocks.
But in an Instant the warders had
closed about Sunlocks, and hurried
him on In the midst of them, while
thlr loud shouts drowned all other
voices.
And when the troops hal passed him
Adam sat a moment silent on his
little beast, and then he turned to his
company and said:
"My good friends and faithful com
panions, my journey is at an end, and
you must go on without me. I came
to this land of Iceland only to find one
who Is my son indeed, though not
flesh of my flesh, thinking to rest my
old arm on hlu young shoulder. I
have found him now, but he is In
trouble, from some cause that I have
yet to learn, arjd It is my old shoul
der that his young arm must rest
upon. And this that you have wit
nessed Is not the meeting that I look
ed for, and built my hopes on, and
buoyed up my falling spirits with,
through all the trouble of our many
weary days. Hut God's will be done!
So go your ways and leave me where
His wisdom has brought me, and may
His mercy fetch you in safety to your
native country, and to the good souls I
waiting for you there.
liut the rough fellows protested that
come what might, leave him they nev
er would, and old Chaise without
more ado began to make ready to
I itch their tent on the thin patch
of grass where they stood.
And that evening, while Adam wan
dered over the valley, trying to get
tetter knowledge of the strange
cents which ho had read as if by
flashes of lightning, and hearing In
I roken echoes of the rise and fall of
the republic, of the rise and fall of
Michael Sunlocks, of the fal land re
turn of Jorgen Jorgensen, a more
wondrous chance than any that had
yet befallen him was last coming his
way.
For late that night, when he sat in
Ms grief, with his companions busied
iibout him, comforting him with what
tender offices and soft words their
courageous minds could think of, a
oung Icelander came to the gap of
the tent and asked, In broken Eng
lish, if they would give a night's shel
ter to a lady who could find no other
lodging, and was alone save for him
self, who had been her guide from
Reykjavik.
At that word Adam's own troubles
were gone from him in an instant,
and, though his people would have de
murred, he railed on the Icelander to
fetch the lady In, and presently she
came, and then altogether htood dumb
founded, for the lady was Greeba
herself.
It would be hard to tell how at
first every other feeling was lost in
cne of surprise at the strange meet
ing of father and daughter, how sur
prise gave place ia ,Vy, and joy to
pain, as bit by bit the history of
their several adventures was unfolded
each to the other. And while Greeba
heard of the mischances that had over
taken old Adam, he, on his part,
heard of the death of her mother and
her brothers' Ill-usage, of the message
that came from Michael Sunlocks and
I-er flight from home, of how she came
to Iceland and was married, and of
how Sunlocks went In pursuit of him
self, and, returning to tho capital, was
betrayed Into the hands of his ene
mies. All the long story of plot and
passion he heard In the wild tangle
of her hot and broken words, save
only that part of It which concerned
her quarrel with her husband; but
when he mentioned Red Jason, say
li.g that ho had seen him, he heard
that sad passage of her story also,
told with fear and many bitter tears.
Adam comforted Greeba with what
words of cheer he could command, In
on hour when his own heart was dark
pnd hopelesB, and then amid the tur
moil of so many emotions, the night
being worn to midnight, they com
posed themselves to sleep.
Next morning, rising anxious and
unrcsted, Adam saw the Icelandic
warders, who bad been supplanted In
their employment by the Danes, start
away from tho settlement for their
homes, and after them went a group
of the Danish prisoners as free men,
who had been Imprisoned by the re
public as spies of the government of
Denmark. I)y this time Adam had de
elded on his course,
"Greeba." ho said, "this Imprison
ment of Michael Sunlock Is unjust,
tnd I see a wny to put an end to It.
No governor shall sentence him with
out Judge or Jury. But 1 will go on to
Reykjavik and appeal to this Jorgen
Jorgensen. It he will not hear me, I
will appeel to his master, the king of
Denmark, If Denmark will not listen,
I will appeal to England, for Michael
Sunlocks Is a Urltlsh subject, and may
claim the rights of an Englishman.
And If England turns a deaf ear to
me, I will address my prayer to Ood,
who has never yet failed to fight the
wronged, or bumble the arrogance of
the mIsVy- Thank heaven, that dm
. 'urought me here. I thought I waa
coming to end my days In peace by
bis side who would shelter my poor
I foolish gray head, that had forgotten
, to protect itself. Cut strange are the
ways of Providence. God has had His
own purposes in bringing me here
thus blindfolded, and, thanks to His
mercy, 1 am not yet so old but I may
yet do something. So co;ne, my girl,
come, make ready, and we will go on
our great errand together."
But Greeba had her own ends from
tho first in following Michael Sun
locks to tho place of his imprisonment
und she answered and said:
"No, father, no. You may go on
to Reykjavik, and do all this if you
can, but my place Is here, at my hus
band's side. He lost faith in my af
fection, and said I had married him
for the glory that his place would
bring me; but he shall see what a
woman can go through for the sake
of the man she loves. I have my own
plan of life In this place, and the pow
er to carry It out. Therefore do not
tear to leave me, but go, and God
prosper you!"
"Let it be so," said Adam, and with
that, after some words of explanation
with the brave fellows who had fol
lowed him from the hour when, as
ship-broken men, they set out on foot
from the eastern fiord, he started on
his journey afresh, leaving tho tent
and the last of their ship's victuals
behind with Greeba, for Reykjavik
was no more than a day's ride from
Krisuvik.
(To be continued.
Monument to Panteur.
The model for the monument to Pas
teur, which is to be erected in his na
tive town, represents besides a statue
of Pasteur a figure personifying sci
ence, who is holding a wreath of laurel
toward Pasteur and a woman holding
two small children, who are supposed
to have been saved from death by Pas
teur's discoveries. M. Anton Charles,
the sculptor, is making progress with
it, and it ia said to be very effective.
HIUIorm of Knltjectts,.
Exclusive of Egypt, the area ef
King Edward's empire is ll,773,OOt
square miles, or much over one-fourth
of the land surface of the globe. The
wealth of the United Kingdom alone,
apart from that of India, Australia,
Canada and other possessions, is about
$60,000,000,000, or second only to that
of the United States. The population
of the empire aggregates some 400,000,
000, being comparable with that of tho
empire of China.
Gift Hotue for Rale.
Senator Chauncey M. Depew has de
cided to sell the house at Nineteenth
and N streets, Washington, which he
purchased several months ago, as a
wedding gift for his niece, Miss Pauld
ing, whose engagement to Lieut. John
Edle was suddenly broken off. The
price asked by Senator Depew is $26,
000. The purchase ir1ee was $18,000.
He has expended $4,000 In alterations
and improvements on the house.
Glaagow Propone Municipal Saloon,
Not content with providing its own
gas, electricity, water and street car
service, the city of Glasgow proposea
to dispense its own liquor, and the mu
nicipal saloon Is talked about. A com
mittee appointed to consider the ques
tion has reported in favor of an ex
periment, and parliament is to he ask
ed for the necessary power.
HnlMlng DenlgneU bj Woman.
There will be only one building at
the Pan-American exposition in Buf
falo designed in its entirety by a wo
man, and that one is the structure
which will represent the states of New
England. The woman whose brillian
cy as an architect has gained for her
this honor is Miss Josephine Wright
Chapman of Boston.
ChaDnK DUhea.
The chafing dish is among the most
ancient adjuncts to the culinary de
partment of all nations. It was In
great demand at the grand feasts given
by the wealthy citizens In ancient
Rome. Some of these dishes have re
cently been found among the ruins of
Pompeii. They are of exquisite work
manship. Toronto' Memorial to Victoria.
The citizens ot Toronto, Ont., have
decided to place an organ in Massey
hall as a memorial to the late Queen
Victoria. Committees have been ap
pointed to canvass the city for tho
necessary fundB. It Is estimated that
the instruments and tho accompanying
tablets will cost $30,000.
Cleveland's Mayor a Krntucklan.
Tom L. Johnson, mayor elect of
Cleveland, Is a Kentuckian by birth
and retains strong reverence for tho
south and Its traditions. So deeply
grounded Is this feeling that when his
daughter was to make her social debut
the family went to Louisville, whero
Miss Johnson was Introduced to. so
ciety. In OeJ of Tire,
So many fires have recently occurred
In one of tho residence districts of Buf
falo that a man living In the part of
town referred to sent out invitations a
few days ago, worded thus: "Com to
us on Tuesday for dinner and whist.
In case of Are meet at th'i Lenox, at
7:30 sharp." New York Tribune.
Caar llaa Twantf -SeTra Physician
The czar of Russia has twenty-seven
physicians, and they are all select!
from the medical cclcbretles of Russia.
There 1st?, first physlclan-ln-chlef; then
come ten honorary surgeons, two oc
ulists, a chiropodist and honorary chir
opodist, two court physicians and three
specialists (or the ccarioa,
SPREAD OF DISEASE HY ANIMALS.
The subject of the relationship be
tween the diseases to which man Is
liable and those from which animals
suffer is very Interesting and impor
tant, and will well repay the study now
being given to it by physicians and
veterinary surgeons. These diseases
may be divided into three classes
those equally affecting both man and
animals, those special to man, but
which may also be caught by animals,
and those belonging to animals, but
which may attack man if he comes in
close Contact with the sick animal.
Of those equally affecting both man
and animals the best known is tuber
culosis. Some physicians insist that
the tuberculosis of cows is not the
same as that of human beings, but
most are of the opinion that the differ
ences between the two diseases are
only such as might be expected to exist
In view of the vital differences be
tween the two classes of beings.
Another disease common to men and
some animals Is smallpox. In this case
there seems to be more difference be
tween the disease in man smallpox,
and that in animals cowpox and
horsepox. Yet that the two affections
are closely related is shown by the
protection against smallpox that is af
forded us by Inoculation with cowpox,
or vaccination.
Diphtheria and scarlet fever are
shared with us byvarious animals, and
it has been asserted by certain English
physicians that these diseases may be
conveyed to children in the milk from
sick cows. However this may be, there
is little doubt that cats, rabbits and
perhaps other domestic animals, can
acquire diphtheria from sick children,
and can in turn transmit it to healthy
children.
The plague Is a disease common to
man, monkeys and rodents, and Is so
equally shared by them that no one
knows whether It was primarily a hu
man disease or a rat pest.
Among the diseases belonging espe
cially to animals, but which may also
be contracted by men, are hydrophobia,
anthrax or malignant pustule, glan
ders and foot-and-mouth disease.
Some of the parasitic skin diseases
are also transmissible from men to ani
mals, and the reverse. A very common
example of this is ringworm, which is
not infrequently introduced among the
children of a family by the cat.
THE FLY SETTLED THE QUESTION.
At a recent meeting of the Entomo
logical Society in London the presi
dent, Mr. G. H.Verrall.told an amusing
story to prove that a knowledge of In
sects may even be useful in settling
questions In literary history. Commen
tators on the works of Robert Louis
Stevenson were trying in vain to dis
cover whether the notes made by him
In a certain book were written before
or after he took up his residence In
Samoa. It happened that a fly had
been squeezed between the pages, and
when Mr. Verrall saw it, he instantly
recognized it as belonging to a specle3
peculiar to the Polynesian Islands.
That settled the question.
CON TKAHT BETWEEN THE POLES.
Mr. Arctowskl, the geologist of the
Antarctic expedition In the steamer
Belglca.calls attention to the difference
in the distribution of Ice around the
two poles of the earth. The floating
Ice of the north, he says, comes from
true glaciers which are pushed down
through valleys until they reach the
water, but the glacial caps themselves
do not meet the sea. At the south, on
the contrary, perpetual snow Is en
countered at the 65th degree of lati
tude, and it is probable that the float
ing ice of the antarctic originates from
a layer covering the whole polar
crown.
THE STURDY PINE TREK.
The New England pine, which Em
erson so loved, appears, according to
the recent investigations of Prof. G.
E. Stone, to be holding Its own in. tho
forests of central Massachusetts, while
some of its old compeers, like the
hemlock, tho beech and the canoe birch
have decreased, other species taking
A STURDY PINE.
their place. "The pine," says Professor
Stone, "can adapt Itself to a great va-
rloty of conditions."
MTRTKRY OF THE CORONA.
One of the things to be studied by
the astronomers who go to Sumatra
to observe the eclipse of the sun visible
'15
CIEHCE'
RESS
there on May 17th, will be the ques
tion whether the corona emits any per
ceptible heat. During fhe eclipse ob
served in our Southern states last year
it was found that the light of the
corona appeared to be "cold light," for
even so delicately sensitive an instru
ment as the bolometer failed to detect
any heat in it. The luminosity seemed
to resemble that of a vacuum tube
through which electric discharges are
passing.
VICTIMS OF SNAKES IN INDIA.
During the year 1899 no less than
24,021 human beings were killed jy
the bites of venomous snakes in In
dia. The number was- larger than in
several preceding years because, it is
thought, of the floods, which drove the
snakes to the high lands where the
homesteads are situated. Wild beasts
during the same year destroyed 2,966
human lives, tigers being responsible
for 899 of the victims, wolves for 338,
leopards for 327, while the remaining
1,402 were killed by 'bears, elephants,
hyenas, jackals, crocodiles and other
animals. The destruction of cattle
amounted to 89,238 killed iv wild
HEAD OP THE COBRA,
beasts, and 9,449 by snakes. These
statistics are from the government re
port of India.
PREVENTION AND CIRE FOR IJAI.D-
NE.S&
Nowhere Is the comparative superi
ority of the ounce of prevention more
strikingly shown than in the case of
baldness, if the hair receives proper
care from childhood; but in the ereat
majority of cases it Is impossible to
coax back a satisfactory growth of hair
on a shining pate. The life of a hair
is estimated to be from two to four
five years, at the end of which time it
falls out and, if the scalp is healthy
is replaced In time by a new one,which
grows out from the old hair follicle.
As long as this process of growth keeps
pace with the falling out of the hair,
there is no danger of baldness, no mat
ter how plentifully the hairs are shed;
but if the loss exceeds the new growth,
as It does when the scalp is unhealthy,
thinness of the hair and eventual bald
ness are sure to follow. We have seen,
in a former article, that the hat is
mainly responsible for the unenviable
distinction of the male sex as the bald
one. The hat may cause baldness di
rectly, by diminishing the blood-supply
and consequently the nourishment
of the hair, or it may produce it in
directly, by causing an unhealthy con
dition of the scalp, leading to dan
druff. This affection, known scientifi
cally as seborrhea, is thought to be
due to the presence of a special mi
crobe, which finds a favorable soil for
its growth in the poorly nourished,
overheated and poorly ventilated scalp.
The prevention of baldness calls first
for a reform in the matter of head
gear. Stiff hats the derby, the straw
or the silk hat should be laid aside,
and soft felt hats or caps worn. Then
the scalp must be kept absolutely clean.
Many people seem to be afraid to wash
the hair, or to brush it vigorously,
but this fear Is unfounded. The head
should be shampooed at least once a
week, with soap of the best quality,
which should be not strong and alka
line, but neutral. If this makes the
hair too dry, a little olive oil can then
be rubbed into the scalp. If dandruff
still persists, in spite of frequent wash
ing, it will be well to get advice from
a physician as to the occasional use of
an appropriate lotion in addition to
the regular shampooing. Thorough
brushing of the hair morning and night
will help to keep the scalp In good
condition, and massage with the finger
tips, moving the scalp In all directions
over the skull, will promote its health
and that of the hair growing Id It.
AFRICA'S FROLICSOME DWARFS.
Sir Harry Johnson, who recently vis
ited the dwarf people of the Congo
forest, studying their habits and pho
tographing them and their dwellings,
says that notwithstanding their ape
like and hideously ugly appearance,
they are usually of a winning and
cheerful disposition, and their dancing
is frolicsome, gay and full of pretty
movements, but markedly different
from the motions of the negroes.
Their Intelligence Is, as a rule, well
developed.
Ill Dealt In Palm.
According to a man who Is said to
be the biggest dealer in palms In New
York, above 6,000,000 of them were
distributed throughout the country for
church use on the Sunday previous to
Easter day.
The farce that "Ood rules In the
councils of nations" Is considered a
fake by the candidates who were de
feated at the polls.
OUR GIANT FATHERS.
HOW TALL WERE MEN
ANCIENT TIMES ?
OF
One Authority Figure Out That Adam
W a Alan 123 Feet In Heletit, Eve
118 Feet Proof of Mali' Decline In
Stature.
At various times within the last cen
tury assertions have been made that
Adam and the antediluvian people
were of extraordinary height, bnt the
assertions have always been laughed
down by scoffers who never think for
themselves. In 1718 Henrion, a mem
ber of the French Academy cf Sciences,
published a pamphlet In which he as
serted that these personages of the Bi
ble were of the following height:
Adam, 123 feet 9 inches; Eve, 118 feet
9 inches; Noah, 27 feet, Abram, 20'
feet, and Moses, 13 feet. I, too, said a
scientific student of the Bible, In speak'
ing of this matter recently, am con
firmed in the belief that the prehis
toric races were gigantic, bflt figure
out their statures, by a process of rea
soning different from that promulgated
by Henrion. According- to the Old
Testament "there were giants on earth
in those days whose daughters were
married to the sons of God, and whose
sons became mighty men. Also, tho
sons of Anak, in whose eight men
were said to be but grasshoppers.
(Grasshoppers of that period were as
large as the twentieth century dog.)
The Emmlns and Zamzummains were
giant nations. Og, the king of Bash
an, remained of the remnant of giants;
Goliath, of Gath, was a giant." Ac
cording to Genesis, Noah lived 950
years and then died. The average life
of man today is about 70 years. It is
a well defined rule in nature that ani
mals, bipeds and quadrupeds live about
three and one-half times the number
of years required for individual matu
rity. Thus man in this century ma
tures in twenty years and dies at the
age of 70 years. Dividing the age of
Noah by three and one-half we find
that he matured in about 270 years.
The average man of today at maturity
measures about 5 feet and weighs 125
pounds. Five feet in twenty years is
equivalent to 3 Inches in one year.
Applying the same rule to Noah's ma
turing years, we find that at his ma
turity he was 67 feet tall and weighed
1,375 pounds. It stands to reason that
if Noah was so great in body, Adam
must have been equally as large. The
mere fact that Adam was never born
evidences that he was a gigantic man.
Everything created during the forma
tion ages was according to a very
large standard. The trees were sky
scrapers, the animals Immense and all
other things in proportion. Why should
Adam have been a freak in this array
of colossal nature? Civilization and
multiplication of the races diminish
the lives of individuals as well as te
statures. Why? Possibly because our
civilization is an unnatural perversion
of the life contemplated by our Crea
tor for us, and as free agents we are
gradually destroying the race as a pen
alty for our wrong interpretation of
our mission. The power to multiply
having been given us, death is a natu
ral consequence, but death by natural
decay. Instead of death by disease,
crime, war, pestilence, results of civ
ilization, was contemplated. Hence our
civilization and all other civilizations
are more or less responsible for the
inevitable extinction of the race. A
curious mathematical coincidence lay
in the above proof of man's decline In
stature and age. Thus the stature of
man in a few more than 6,000 years,
according to Hale's chronology being
the acre of the human nrp and nennrrt-
ing to my deductions, has decreased
from 65 to 5 feet, at which rate of de
crease the world will be depopulated
in 461 years, or the year 2362. The age
of man has likewise decreased from
900 to 70 years in the same time, at
which rate the race will become ex
tinct in about 461 years, or the year
2362. As you observe, both deductions
reach the same conclusion. There may
be an element of truth In- this theory,
at least it 13 worth probing. The
great trouble with us today Is that we
are too easily satisfied;, we lack the
ability and energy to "figure out" or
"search for evidences of' truth," and
instead, accept all kinds of theories
and dogmas as they are presented to
us, surrounded mostly by a halo of
fanaticism, impossible and absurd.
"Crazy" Crocker' California Dream.
When the late Charlie Crocker of
Central Pacific railway fame crossed
the plains In the '40s by ox team over
the old emigrant trail from Council
Bluffs to San Francisco, he predicted
that, within a comparatively few years,
a steam railroad would bo "running
across the continent, following sub
stantially the same course traveled by
him. His prediction was considered
so absurd by his associates that he was
nicknamed "Crazy Crocker." Mr.
Crocker had tho satisfaction of not
only seeing his prediction come true,
but of being one of the leading spirits
in the construction of the first trans
continental railroad. Since Mr. Crock
er's dream was realized and the first
transcontinental line was completed,
five other dlstlnot and separate lines
have been built to the Pacific coast.
National Magazine,
More Rnppllee for "oath Afrlea,
It does not appear that the Ena-llsn
are ready to withdraw from South
Africa. British agents are In thla
country asking bids on 20,000 bags of
reeding oats, 20,000 bags of seed oaU,
20,000 hales of alfalfa hay and 10,000
of bran. It is understood that
these supplies are tor the troop la
South Africa.
