SERPENT ENTERED THE EDEN OF PITCAIRN ISLAND
i
Double Murder Done In the Home of
the Mutineers’ Descendants—First
Serious Crime in no Years.
For the first time In all its romantic
history, Pitcairn island has been the
scene of a murder. For nearly 110
years the mutineers of the Bounty
and their descendants lived on Pit
cairn an Ideal existence. Then a
young man named Christian, a de
scendant of the leader of the muti
neers, killed a young woman and her
little child and threw their liodlea In
to one of the ocean caves. He want
ed to get rid of the woman and child
In order that he might marry another
young woman on whom he had cast
his eyes. The rulers of the island
had decided that If he married any one
It must he the young woman of whose
child he was the father; that, In fact,
he was to all Intents and purposes tho
girl's husband. One evening Christian
met the young woman and her child
In the forest and killed them. He was
suspected of the crime and accused,
whereupon he confessed.
Jt was the first capital crime ever
committed on the island, and the Is
landers were much excited over It.
The British government was asked to
send to the place some one with Judl- j
elal authority to try tho murderer, j
From officers of the British man of
war ltoyallst Information has been re
ceived of the trial, by u special com
missioner sent out for the purpose.
Though the settlement of Pitcairn
Island was the result of a crime, the
descendants of the original settlers
have lived in an ideal state of tran
quility and brotherly love. The peo
ple were religious, and such lures of
the evil one aa intoxicating liquors
and tobacco were not allowed to be
brought to the island. For over a
hundred years Pitcairn Islund lay
sleeping in the warn ^waters of the
Houth Pacific, and Its people feared
God, kept the Commandments and
were happy.
The crime which was responsible
for the settlement of Pitcairn Island
was the mutiny of the crew of the
British warship Bounty In 1789. That
mutiny we« led by Fletcher Christian,
master’s of the ship. The first
murderer of Pitcairn Island was Har
ry A. Christian, a descendant of Flet
cher Christian When, under the lead
of Fletcher Christian, the crew of the
I
THE PITCAIRN ISLAND MUR
DERER.
isounty seized me snip, tuev put the
captain, Bligfc, mul certaiu others who
had refused to join them into an opeu
boat and set them adrift. The captain
and his party, after a severe and haz
ardous experience, reached Tltnoor is
land, In the South Pacific, where they
were picked up by a passing ship and
taken hack to Kngluud. The muti
neers. after setting the captain adrift,
sailed for Pitcairn Island.
Pitcairn Is only two miles long and
shout a mile aud a half wide. It lies
In the South Pacific, between Austra
lia and the coast of South America,
out of the path of commerce. Though
cxp'-dltiun* were seut out by the Brit
ish government to find the mutineer*
of the Bounty, all trace of them was
lost until one day, many years after,
when a sailing ship happened to find
tierwlf In the Vicinity of Pitcairn Is
land, and sent a U»at ashore for wat
er and fruit A curious undated civ
IBae«| moiiiiuulty was found there, liv
ing under lh» rule of a venerable pa
trlarch, John Adams, the last survivor
of the mutineers of the Bounty,
Adams had taught the natives to read
and write, and begged that mission- j
nrleg be sent out to aid him In his
work. From being wild and reckless
mutineers, the sailors of ihe Bounty,
before they died, became religious en
thusiasts, and when they died they left
a God-fearing community in their
children and grandchildren.
For 110 years crime was practically
unknown on Pitcairn Island. Then
Harry A. Christian murdered a young
for sails in order that "All hands
might douse the fires and go aloft,”
when there appeared any possibility of
their existence being discovered. They
did not descend to the village again
until not only the coast, but the of
fing, was well clear. But men and
times are changed now on Pitcairn,
and a visiting ship is warmly wel
comed.
The Parliament House of the Island
Is interesting, because In it is some
timber taken from the Bounty. This
building has for windows two rows of
portholes, which give it the appear
ance of a stranded ship. The house
in which the president lives is the
best one on the island, and is called
the white house. Some of the natives
of Pitcairn have visited tho United
States, and sailing vessels from San
Francisco touch there more frequently
than any other ships,
ilipanriiK llrewnrlp* Thrive.
Japan has developed the beer brew
PARLIAMENT HOUSE, PITCAIRN ISLE.
woman and her year and a half old
child. It was the first serious crime
that had over been committed on the
Island. Christian met the woman and
child walking In the hush one Sunday
evening and killed them in cold blood.
After dark he returned to the scene of
his crime to drag the bodies down the
steep face of a cliff to the rocks below,
where he threw them through a "blow
hole” Into a cove where the pounding
surges of the Pacific soon tore them to
pieces. The murderer, when accused,
confessed his crime, and It is believed
that his object was to be free to marry
another young woman of the Island
with whom he hud fallen in love, and
for permission to marry whom he had
applied unsuccessfully to the ‘‘parlia
ment” of the Island.
This Island parliament Is an execu
tive committee of seven members,pre
sided over by a president. The par
liaaient and the president are elected
by popular vote, the women voting as
well as the men. All the Inhabitants
of the island are descendants of the
mutineers of the Bounty and of native
women they found there, except one
family, and that is a family the head
of which Is named Coffin and of course
must have sprung from Nantucket,
There are 141 souls on the island, and
the families are five in number. They
are the Christians, the Youngs.the Mc
Coys, the Buffets and the Coffins. The
president of the island is named Mc
Coy. Tba queen of England is the
“over-lord" of the island, and in the
Island church is an organ which she
sent out to her “loving subjects of Pit
cairn Island, and in appreciation of,
their domestic virtues,” according to 1
the silver plate on the organ. But Eng
land seldom interferes with anything
concerning the government of Pit
cairn.
When Christian had confessed his
crime, however. President McCoy call
ed a meeting of hla “parliament,” and
as there was no precedent by which to
be guided, it was decided to imprison j
the young man and appeal to England
to send out and try him. So the man
of war Royalist was sent to Suva In
the Fiji Islands to get the British
"Judicial commissioner for the western
Pacific." The commissioner went to
Pitcairn In the Royalist, and Christian
was tried before him and convicted,
though he repudiated his confession
and pleaded not guilty. lie was taken
to Suva “for final satisfaction of the j
demands of Justice."
One peculiar thing about the Pit
cairn Islanders is that they all speak
English with a decided “down east"
twang, and use many expressions
which are seldom heard In old Eng- i
land and are common in New Eng- ]
land. They are light colored, with
blue or brown eyes The only harbor
In the Island, and that Is not a good
one, Is Bounty bay, a slight Indentation
in the shore, where the mutineers
i burned the Bounty when they finally
decided to stay on the Island. Rising
up back of the little settlement is a
peak called the Goat House, aud near
tta top Is a cave where the mutineers
used to bid* when they saw a sail ap
proaching the i»!und. In the first few
years following their erlnie Christian
used to spend a certain part of each
day on the mountain on the lookout
Iuk industry to such an extent within
her borders that the Japanese brewers
are in a position to compete success*
fully with the importers, in fact, it is
announced in Munich, whence most of
the Bavarian beers for Japanese con
sumption were shipped, that the beer
trade with the land of the Mikado is
about at an end. Added to the effect of
the home competition the new tariff
law of Japan, which goes into effect on
January 2 next, will practically shut
out the Gorman trade. The new tariff
places a tax of 40 per cent ad valorem
on imported beers.
Hour* Are “IVrsonnl RfTerta.
A Swiss anthropologist recently re
turned from a trip through Patagonia.
He had with him many cases contain
ing skeletons and skulls that he had
collected. The Swiss customs officers
opened the cases, and, after long con
sultation, appraised the contents as
“common bones," charging the scien
tist a stiff duty. The explorer got an
gry and declared It a profanation to ap
praise human boneB that way. To
his surprise the customs officials were
Impressed by his remarks, and retired
for another consultation, classing them
as “worn personal effects of foreign
residents.”
IltiNlnmn nnd I'kAnims
“John, what would you give the sew
ing circle for refreshments?” “Ice
cream, lobster salad, lemonade anu
milk.” "Good gracious! Why?” "Be
cause I'm a doctor.’’—Judge,
Clreat Opportunllleu.
Great opportunities come to all, but
many do not know they have met
them. The only preparation to take
advantage of them Is simple fidelity
to what each day brings.
BEST OF LONDON TIT-BITS.
Hostess: "I suppose there is no use
in asking you to stay to dinner."
Caller: “Well, no, not In that way."
Cholly—"Yaas, sevewal, yeaws ago
I fell deeply in love with a girl, but
she wejected me—made a wegular
Idiot of me.” Dolly—"And yon never
got over It?"
Clymer (at the races)—"How much
<1 Id you make on that last race?"
Styner (angrily)—“None of your bus
iness!" Clymer—"I'm awfully sorry
you lost, old man!"
She—"Ma says she knows that when
we are married we won't live so like
rats and dogs as she and pa do." He
—"No, Indeed! Your ma Is right."
She—"Ye*; she says she Is sure you’ll
he easier to manage than pa la."
He—"My dear madam, we have
both passed the age of romance, but I
offer you my heart aud with It my
hand." She "My dear air. I agree
with you that »» have both passed
the romantic age. 1 beg therefore to
Inquire what amount of cheque that
hand la able to draw?"
Hallway manager—"Here, illobbn,
this new time table won't do at all!"
Illobba- ' I thought It very explicit,
air.” Manager—"That'■ juat what's
the matter. The Drat thing you know
the public will tie able to uuderataut
a time table a» well aa we See If
you ran't complicate It a bit "
IRH'N Mf UAV. PITCAIRN IdU.SU
SHARK LIKES WHALE.
THAT IS WHEN THE LATTER
IS A DEAD ONE.
Htory of a llanquet of Thl. Nature lu
the Mouth fcea. — The H«a Wolves
Come lu Vast Mwarm* to Carluke
Thereof.
The presence of any large quantity
of easily obtainable food Is always suf
ficient to secure the undivided atten
tion of the shark tribe. When "cut
ting In" whales at sea I have often
been amazed at the Incredible number
of these creatures that gather lu a
short space of time, attracted by some
mysterious means, heaven only knows
from what remote distance. It has
often occurred to us when whaling in
the neighborhood of New Zealand to
get a sperm whale alongside without a
sign of a shark below or a bird above.
Within an hour from the time of our
securing the vast mass of flesh to the
ship the whole area within at least an
acre has been alive with a seething
multitude of sharks, while from every
quarter come drifting silently an in
calculable host of sea birds, converting
’the blue surface of the sea into the
semblance of a plain of new-fallen
snow. The body of a whale before an
Incision Is made In the blubber pre
sents a smooth, rounded surface, al
most as hard as India rubber, with ap
parently no spot where any daring
eater could find toothhold. But, ob
livious to all else save the Internal an
guish or desire, the ravenous sea
wolves silently writhed In the density
of their hordes for a place at the
bounteous feast. Occasionally one
pre-eminent among his fellows for en
terprise would actually set his lower
Jaw against the black roominess of the
mighty carcass and with a steady,
sinuous thrust of his lithe tail, gouge
out therefrom a mass of a hundred
weight or so. If he managed to get
away with it the space presented a
curious corrugated hollow where the
serrated, triangular teeth had worried
their way through the tenacious sub
stance, telling plainly what vigorous
force must have been behind them.
But it was seldom that we permitted
such premature toll to he taken from
our spoils. The harpooners and the
officers from their lofty position on the
cutting stage slew scores upon scores
by simply dropping their keen-edged
blubber spades upon the soft crowns
of the struggling fish, the only place
where a shark is vulnerable to instant
death. The weapon sinks into the
creature’s brain, he gives a convulsive
writhe or two, releases his hold and
slowly sinks, followed in his descent
by a knot of his immediate neighbors,
all anxious to provide him with
prompt sepulture within their own
yearning maws.
BRAVE PHILADELPHIA BELL.
Season'* Debutante Who Can Fight as
Well as Dance,
Miss Minnie Fell is one of the most
exclusive debutantes of the austerely
exclusive set of prim Philadelphia
this season. She is a cousin of the
Drexel brothers, and connected by
family ties with almost everyone of
note in the metropolis of Pennsylvania.
Hut Miss Fell is not only a society
girl, but an athlete as well, and if she
makes as good a run for the honors
of belledom as she made last week
in the athletic world she ough to be
a leader by the time the Lenten bells
ring. All her friends around town are
congratulating her on her courage and
presence of mind when she recently
captured a burglar in broad daylight
on Broad street. She and Miss Paulino
Biddle had just left the box office of
a theater, where they had been pur
chasing tickets, when a burly negro
grabbed Miss Fell's pocket book and
was ofT with a rush. But Miss Fell
was a “rusher” too. She pursued him
down Broad street to Sansom and
around the corners, until at Twelfth
and Walnut she overhauled him, and,
grabbing his coattails, hung on and
screamed until a policeman came to
her assistance. Owing to her desire
not to have the affair made public she
did not appear against the footpad,
who only got ninety days In conse
quence; but such an escapade as that
was bound to come nut. and now all
the town Is talking about it.
A Flag of I'ret-iou* Nome*.
A New York Jeweler lias combined
patriotism with a very Hue advertise
ment by making a copy of the Stars
aud Stripes, which Is probably the
most expensive flag in the whole world.
It I* quite small, only 7 inches by 4
Inches, but is worth at least 117,500.
It !• entirely composed ot precious ,
stones. It has thirteen stripes and
forty-two stars. The white stripes arc |
of small diamonds, sno of which go to
make them up. The red strips* are
rubles, the same In number and skse
as the diamonds. For the blue Held
there are about too sapphires, with
forty-two large diamonds for stars
This unique Hag Is displayed la the
jsw><|a a Window on Broadway, and
attracts a constant crowd
l't|WI mu Huin*.
Hath r«t»a« U14.I** ut pnpar are now
■ittulvtvutl, alid U*li W’«> la Imimi
lag ipilta a tad. Tha kind «*f malarial
u*<4 raarmtda* Molting papal. |l
nuu.bl> drlaa lha l««l>. and a* lha pa
liar *a a bad h«a* »*>wdu«i«r lha mm h
ilraadnd cu!4 afi*r tha bath >*»» l«a
• >**d<d \\h«la aulla are lua la <4 thl*
paper a«nt im-lw Hag nuaitaga fur tha
baa.I and f*ei one adtnMaga of lha
fad ta lha rkaapatma of ml a gai
man!, mahina |l panathla fur lha puor
aat paraua to o*a uaa
! RENTS ITS ELECTRIC MOTORS.
————_ *
Hciiuiiirratlve K«pertinent Conducted by
City of Bradford, England.
One obstacle to the more rapid adop
tion of electric power, especially In
the case of small users everywhere, is
undoubtedly the want of capital to
purchase the necessary motor; but
where the power to purchase exists the
buyer ofteu has little or no experience
with electrical matters to guide him In
his purchase, and If his means are lim
ited he will naturally be tempted to
venture on a cheap line with probably
unsatisfactory results. A solution of
these difficulties, which has been ap
plied with excellent results at Brad
ford, England, Is the purchase of good,
reliable motors, and offering them for
hire by the owners of the electricity
supply undertakings, who, in this In
stance, are the municipality Itself. Ac
cording to figures prepared by Alfred
H. (lihbings, the city electrical engin
eer of Bradford, they have found there
that a rental charge of 10 per cent
upon the Initial cost of each motor was
amply suffleent to yield acceptable re
turns, ths charge being made up of 3
per cent for interest, 3 per cent for
sinking fund, and 4 per cent for de
preciation and contingent expenses.
The Bradford corporation Inaugu
rated their scheme of hlrlug In which,
by the way,arc lamps ulso are Included
on similar terms in November, 1890,
and up to October of this year had sup
plied ninety-eight motors to consum
ers. The increase in electricity sup
plied for motive power in 1898, with
only two months of the hire system in
force, over that supplied In 1895, was
a little over 19,000 Board of Trade
units; in 1897 the increased sale over
1896 was 52,000 units, and for 1898
the increase over 1897 will probably
be nearly 83,000 units, representing a
more than 50 per eeut increase. These
figures show very strikingly to what
extent the facilities offered by the
Bradford corporation are appreciated.
Hitherto the supply has been con
fined to small power uses, such as for
cranes, hoists, fans, pumping and sim
ilar purposes. More recently, how
ever, applications for motor service
have come from a largo spinning and
weaving firm, several foundries where
blowers are to be driven, a sawmill re
quiring about twenty horse-power, and
an engineering shop requiring about
fifty horse-power, all of which indi
cates growing and gratifying confi
dence In electric power.
SPORTSMEN’S FINDS.
Kabhtt ( ham- Which l.cud* to I’nvipeft
«hI (iood Fortune.
We have all heard of the good young
man who, because he was good, one
day found a purse containing $4,000,
000 In gold and who was thus enabled
to marry the daughter of the rich
candy woman, whom he had long
adored, says Forest and Stream.
Somewhat in this line are a couple of
shooting stories which appear in the
daily press this week and which show
how good a thing it is to be a true
sportsman. In one case a hunter was
chasing a rabbit, which took refuge
in a hole in a stone wall. The hunter
reached his hand into the hole, after
the rabbit, hut drew forth instead of
the game a long-lost marriage certifi
cate, which had by reason of its air*
sence caused for some years a distinct
family disturbance, in another case
a poor but honest sportsman was out
squirrel hunting. He shot and wound
ed a squirrel and in return for his
kindness the squirrel ran into a hol
low tree. Reaching down into the
hollow, the sportsman pulled out a box
full of gold coin of ancient date but
of much intrinsic value. There are
many of us who have hunted for many
years and have never found either a
marriage certificate or a box of gold,
but we should not be discouraged; If
we are good we shall perhaps some
day be rewarded by some such dis
covery.
Olid Oath. In Court.
In Austria a Christian witness is
sworn before a crucifix, between two
lighted candles, and, holding up his
right hand, says: "I swear by (lod,
the Almighty, and Ail Wise, that I
will speak the pure and full truth,
und nothing but the truth, in answer
to anything I may be asked by the
court.” Probably the most curious
European oath Is administered in Nor
way. The witness raises his thumb,
his forefinger and his middle finger.
These signify the Trinity, while the
larger of the uplifted fingers Is sup
posed to represent the soul of the wit
ness and the smaller to Indicate hit
hotly.
»:ngllah on lho I oallnont.
A eorreapondent note* the growth
of the of Kng Halt on the continent.
Wherever he went he wa* able to con*
vera« with elate*men nnd dlploinattaU
In hi* native tongue He found that
a* a rule the governing c larvae* in Ku
rope would underttiaud and apeak Kng
llah In the KttMlan royal family ea
pectally KnglUh W the familiar lan
guage of eunverMtlon The ctar, for
Inatan*. Invariably apeaka Kngltsh to
the r*a ma and hi* little daughter*.
%% hi ll l>g»fgNi«p4
Halt Itffe 'What, ttouthnrd'a coun
try place »«ld for ten thousand! Why,
he a offered twenty (or II in t year."
Name that eva before bo had the
ground* improve,| by a New York
Inttd-v ape gardener."- I*uck
I >4 Aairar.
’ Mere, ahutited the hnllUt, >uu
cant gun here Th«*e me private
grounds Hut I thought thte van
the open wemii far game,** protested
the apoMamau I'htiedeiphla NurUl
American
The late Senator Morrill, since hia
first year in Washington, always gave
a reception on hia birthday, April 14.
; Though he probably took up less apace
j In the Congressional Record than any
! eolleage, he always made a speech
early in the session, sent a copy bound .
In Russia leather to every senator and '
a paper-bound copy to every voter In
\ Vermont.
Ix>rd Salisbury says that when a lad
he used to commit to memory the
! orations of Cloero and that he can bUU
! recite the more famous ones without
a mistake.
That Pimple
On Your Face la There to Warn
You of Impure Blood.
Painful consequences may follow a neglect
of this warning. Take Hood’s Sarsaparilla
and It will purify your blood, cur# all
humors and eruptions, and make you foci
better In every way. It will warm, nour
ish, strengthen and Invigorate your whole
body and prevent serious Illness.
Hood's Sarsaparilla
Is America's Greatest Medicine. Price $1.
Hood’s PlllB cur# all Liver Ills. S cents.
Cultivate the Held of life clear up
to the comers.
- ■
The National Capital.
The eyes of the world are now cen
tered on Washington. The best line
between Chicago and the national
capital Is the Monon Route, C. H. &
D. Ry., B. & O. S. W. and B. & O.
Through sleepers leave Chicago dally
at 2:45 a. m. (ready in Dearborn sta
tion at 9:30 p. m.), arriving at Cin
cinnati at 11:20 a. m.. Washington
at 6:47 a. m. and Baltimore 7:50 u. m.
This Is the most comfortable and con
venient train for the east running out
of Chicago.
I>on’t judge a woman’s hank balanc
es by the crest on her stationery.
Health for Ten Cents,
rtasenrets mnke bowels and kidneys ad
naturally. destroy microbes, cure headache,
billiousuesH aud cunstiput ion. All druggists.
Don’t forget that satan Is always
polite to his new acquaintances.
1
THE EXCELLENCE OF SYRUP OF FIGS
is due not only to the originality and
simplicity of the combination, but also
to the care and skill with which it is
manufactured by scientific processes
known to the California Fio Syrup
Co. only, and we wish to impress upon
all the importance of purchasing the
true and original remedy. As the
genuine Syrup of Figs is manufactured
by the California Fio Sybup Co.
only, a knowledge of that fact will
assist one in avoiding the worthless
imitations manufactured by other par
ties. The high standing of the Cali
fornia Fig Syrup Co. with the medi
cal profession, and the satisfaction
which the genuine Syrup of Figs has
given to millions of families, makes
. the name of the Company a guaranty
of the excellence of its remedy. It is
far in advance of all other laxatives,
as it acts on the kidneys, liver and
bowels without irritating or weaken
ing them, and it does not gripe nor
nauseate. In order to get its beneficial
effects, please remember the name of
the Company —
CALIFORNIA FIG SYRUP CO.
SAN rUANCISCO. Cal.
LOUISVILLE. Kj. NEW YORK. N. V.
FOR 14 CENTS
We wish to gain thie year KXMW)
S' new customers. aud tnmoe offer
** 1 Pkg. 13 Day Radish, lOo
lPbg. Marly Ripe Cabbage, lOo
} M kariTeat lied beet, lOo
I " Long Lightu'a Cucumber lOo
1M Hal/er's Best Lettuce, li»o
" California Fig Toruato, fioo
*• Farly limner Onion, i«»o
•• Brilliant Flower Beodt,l&$
tt erth $ l.OO, for 1 t r< nta, ITTo
Above 10 pkg*. worth $1.00, we will
mail you free, together with our
Sreet Plant and heed Catalogue
pun receipt of thie notlro A I lc (
t..stage. \\ w invite your trade am! j
« • try Mmlawr’a J
••wdeyonw ill never get along with- ]
- out tl.eiu. Onion e>eed CNr. and t
pup aa lb, Point wee nt Nl.ttO I
^ ii Itbf. Catalog alone Ac. V- ••
JOH« A. N4I/.K* %r*U l« , I 4 I Win.
WHEAT
WHEAT
WHEAT
' t,*4» alt*»l, what (tint wtt«M
fait * *• a t.f »*»•*« U ahal ait aa>4
a la. «M**» •!'*'*»ii-a wt Wititia t'aa
•»>*. |Tiif patii. ittata a* i« tt>«i»a tail.
l»r»* , aft . tu §aaaatataa4a«t
at Imtli'aral.atl l >• fait mat liilafMM trt*
I la a a, Unit «• t« * V *t.«Hf|l tat
I Nat lath Ufa Wall.liu* 0 a*a ,S«V