Captured Hippopotami JVotv in
Central Park Zoo, JVeto yorK.
“Caliuh” the Giant Hippopotamus of the Central Park Menagerie, New York City.
While few menageries or zoological
gardens include hippopotami among
the members of the animal world
which they contain, the general public
is nevertheless quite familiar with the
appearance and characteristics of the
great ungulates. They have been de
scribed in word and picture by in
numerable naturalists, historians,
and writers, even of the earliest times.
We find unmistakable reference to
them in the records of the ancient
Egyptians, and to-day there is little
doubt that the behemoth of the Bible
was identical with the hippopotamus.
The Central Park Zoo of New York
City, is particularly fortunate in the
possession of three splendid speci
mens, a pair of older animals and a
young one. The pair, Caliph and Miss
Murphy, are well known, not only to
those directly interested in these mat
ters, but also to the reading public, for
the huge brutes have been described
and pictured in various publications.
Caliph, the great male which is the
subject of the accompanying interest
ing engravings, has been in the Cen
tral Park Zoo since 1889, while his
mate. Miss Murphy, has been included
in the collection for a somewhat short
er period.® These two have proven re
markably prolific, and have presented
an admiring public with eight healthy
offsprings, and these, with the excep
tion of the young one at present in the
Park, have been sold to other menag
eries. This is not an exceptional case,
for strangely enough these curious
beasts thrive well in captivity, and
breed not infrequently. Wrere it not
for the difficulty formerly experienced
in securing original pairs, they would
to-day be far more common in zoo
logical parks. Needless to say, it is
very difficult to capture the hippipo
tamus in a wild state and transport
the animal uninjured to civilization.
“Caliph” Musing.
though if this be accomplished success
fully, he takes kindly to captivity, and
often lives contentedly for many years.
In fact, a single specimen existed in
the Zoological Park in London for over
twenty-eight years.
Hippopotami in captivity do not re
quire the excessive care and attention
which are usually necessary for the
well-being of tropical animals. One
factor which is of considerable advan
tage in this respect is the fact that
the animals lack the restlessness and
nervousness so commonly found in
wild creatures. Though terrible fight
ers if aroused they are even-tempered
and fairly intelligent, and learn to
obey the word of command of their
keepers. They appear to appreciate
kindness and seldom if ever required
punishment.
Hippopotami are purely herbivorous,
and in the wild state feed upon grasses
various water plants, rice, millet,
maize, and similar growths. This diet
is approximated as nearly as possible
in captivity. They are fed every day.
usually early in the afternoon, on
fresh grass or hay, various vegetables,
and bread. They have very healthy
appetites, and one can imagine the
quantity of food that a “hippo” can
consume, when one considers that the
stomach of a large specimen will mea
sure as much as eleven feet in length.
The hippopotamus is heir to few
troubles. Natural attrition keeps his
teeth, which grow throughout his life
time, within proper bounds. As he not
only spends most of his waking hours
in the water, but often sleeps there
also the frequent immersions keep
his thick skin in a healthy condition.
The water must have a temperature of
not less than fifty-five degrees, and
must be maintained at this point the
year around. With the exception of
the usual attention regarding the
cleanliness of the habitation, other
necessary care includes merely the
preparation of his food and the regu
lation of the temperature.
Very likely you have not heard of
Chula, Mo. This is not strange, be
cause Chula has but recently been
placed upon the maps of a state whose
citizens insist upon being “shown”
and who refuse to give proper culti
vation to their credulity.
It is not exactly correct to say that
Chula has been placed upon the maps,
for on one bright red-letter day in its
lexicon it was thrown upon the maps
in a bright red splotch by a country
editor. This editor came to the city
the other day as the guest of the St.
Paul railroad. He occupied an en
tire drawing-room car, ate rich food
and drank sparkling wines and re
ceived adulations from the colored
porter all the way fronr Chula and
back again at the expense of a “soul
less corporation.”
The man who compelled the map
makers to take notice of Chula en
joys the not uncommon name of
Smith E. H. Smith.
Smith's great opportunity came
when the St. Paul put the Southwest
Limited train into service between
Chicago and Kansas City. The train
passes through Chula on its eastward
and westward flights, and there were
things about it that made a great im
pression upon Smith’s imagination.
He watched the flight of the South
west Limited as it tore great holes
In the atmosphere of Chula, and then
wrote this about the train:
“The new train on the Chicago, Mil
waukee and St. Paul railway passed
through Chula for the first time Sun
day night, about three hours after
dark. There was no hesitation at
Chula town, at least none perceptible.
There are no high places in Chula
town, hence we question whether she
ever touched the track. She just rip
ped a great fiery hole in the darkness
and left the atmosphere heated steam
hot for a second, then whistled for
Niantic or Chicago, we are not cer
tain which. If ‘Central’ had not been
closed, we would have telephoned to
Chicago to see if she hadn’t run clean
through the Union station. She is sure
’nut a ‘hurry-up train.’ Chicago is
only about three miles up the track
now. She is a gleam of summer sun
light, vestibuled and electric lighted
from the cowcatcher clear back a
hundred yards behind the last coach.
She is knee deep with velvet carpets,
and her cushions are as soft as a
girl's cheek. She is lighted to a daz
zle and heated to a frazzle. She was
built to beat the world and her gorg
eous splendor makes us chuckle to
think we have a pass on her. She
goes so fast that the six porters look
like one big far, nigger. She is called
‘The Southwest Limited.’ She stops,
going both ways, at Chillicothe, and
you can get on her there, but you’ll
have to hurry.”
In the gratitude of his heart the
general passenger agent wrote the
poet-editor that, whenever he desired
to come to Chicago he would be more
than pleased to cause the Southwest
Limited to pause long enough at Chula
to take him on and again to let him
off. The offer was accepted by wire,
as Editor Smith does not believe in
toying with fortune nor flirting with
opportunity. Then he wrote a piece
for his paper, as everything that hap
pens, if anything does happen, in
Chula is news, and told the citizens
that he was going to Chicago on the
limited and as the guest of the gen
eral passenger agent and of the road
As might be expected, the entire
business of Chula was suspended the
following day and every man, woman
and child not bedridden was down to
the depot bright and early. The Chula
band in full uniform was there play
ing suggestive pieces about conquer
ing heroes, and Chula’s mayor revised
his last Fourth of July “oration” to
fit the occasion. It was a gala day
for Chula, and the editor had to tell
them with becoming modesty how he
had achieved greatness.
About the time he reached the
spread-eagle stage of his gddress
there was a long, mournful wail pitch
ed in a minor key which sounded like
the expiring war whoop of an Apache
Indian. It was the Southwest Limit
ed hailing Chula, Mo. Editor Smith
grasped his new $2.75 suit case firmly
by both straps and waited, all a-trem
ble with excitement The band be
gan a furious fanfaring and the citi
zens of Chula held their breaths.
There were two more long wails, fol
lowed by two short ones, as the lim
ited’s mogul swept down upon Chula’s
only grade crossing, a cloud of blind
ing dust, an answering “toot” to the
tower man as he dropped the sema
phore indicating a clear track and a
faint moan was borne upon a passing
breeze to Smith and to Chula's popula
tion as the mogul whistled for "Nian
tic or Chicago, which?”
Smith, standing disconsolate with
grip in hand, and with Chula’s popula
tion gazing seemingly with a million
eyes clear through him, didn’t care
much which it was. Without so much
as a look at his fellows the Chula
News’ editor turned and hastened to
his sanctum, where he sent a telegram
which read: “When it comes to four
flushes there are others.”
Needless to say that it was all a
mistake. The general passenger agent
apologized by wire, the limited did
not forget to hesitate at Chula the
following day. And thus was Chula,
Mo., placed upon the map.—Chicago
Record-Herald.
Guilty of Espionage.
A Russian woman, named Zanaida
Smolianmoff, who had moved in the
highest circles in the German capital,
i has been sentenced at Leipsic to nine
months’ imprisonment for espionage.
“House Moss.”
One day mother said to her: "Bet
sy, you are getting very careless
about your work lately.”
“Huccum?” said Betsy, bridling.
“Well, for one thing, about sweep
ing. Now look at the nursery; you Just
give it a lick and a promise, and the
work is not half done.”
“What, me Mis’ Thompson? I dun
swep’ dat room ebery day dls week!
I sho did. Mis’ Thompson.”
“Now, Betsy, said mother, in her
most conciliatory tone, "you know you
have been careless—just look at the
dirt under that bed.”
“Dirt,” said Betsy, quickly. Then
stooping down and looking under the
bed she broke into a broad smile.
"Lor’, Mis’ Thompson, dat ain’t no
dirt, honey chile, dat’s jus’ house
moss!”—National Magazine.
_____
Equally an Indication.
The young woman at the church
f social had declared her ability to read
the characters of persons by examin
ing lead pencils they had sharpened.
To put this claim to the test the
young men went Into another room
and sent out their pencils, one at a
time, for her inspection.»
She had made a number of surpris
ingly successful guesses, when one
lead pencil was brought to her that
had been neatly pointed in a pencil
shari>ener.
“That's easy," she said. • “He’s a
man of secretive and suspicious dis
position and a good deal of a shirk
when it comes to working."
Which also proved to be a center
shot.
Simplon Tunnel Near Completion.
Masonry of the Simplon tunnel be»
tween Italy and Switzerland and bal
lasting of the line are to be completely
terminated by the end of the present
year and it is hoped that the opening
will take place on April 1, so aa to
coincide with the opening of the Milan
International exhibition.
Carry Autos In Navy.
Motoring is now so popular in the
British navy that some officers carry
their cars afloat with them. The
Autocar says Lord Chaoles Bereeford
is one of them.
Boycott in Bengal.
A commercial traveler for a large
London firm recently wrote concern
ing the boycott in Bengal: “Business
is still at a standstill, and for the
present I see no hopeful signs of the
boycott breaking down. Merchants
say they are doing less and less every
week.”
Civil War Governors.
There are four governors that
served during the civil war still liv
ing. William Sprague, whose home
is near Narragansett Pier, R. I.; Fred
erick Holbrook, of Brattleboro, Vt.;
Samuel J. Crawford of Kansas, and
John J. Pettus, of Missouri.
Served on Nelson’s Flagship.
Capt. Stubbs, secretary of Liver
pool Orphan Institution, is one of the
few living persons who served on
Nelson’s flagship Victory.
Refuse to 8ell Irving Birthplace.
Sir Henry Irving’s birthplaoe at
Keinton, Mandevllle, which was put
up at auction in London, was with
' drawn at $3.(100.
Saplentla Lunae.
The wisdom of the world said unto me:
“Go forth and run, the race is to the
brave;
Perchance some honor tarrleth for thee!’’
“As tariieth," I said, “for sure, the
grave."
For I had pondered on a rune of
roses.
Which to her votaries the moon dis
closes.
The wisdom of the world said: “There
are bays;
Go forth and run, for victory is good;
After the stress of the laborious days."
“Yet," said I. “shall I be the worm’s
sweet food," *
As I went musing on a rune of roses.
Which in her hour, the pale, sof:
moon discloses.
Then said my voices: “Wherefore strive
or run,
On dusty highways ever, a vain race?
The long night cometh, starless, void of
sun,
What light shall servo thee like her
golden face?"
For 1 had pondered on a rune of roses.
And knew some secrets which the
moon discloses.
—Ernest Dowson.
A Lesson in Foraging.
The following incident is taken from
the diary of a late veteran of the
civil war, and who served under com
mand of Gen. Sherman in the Army
of the Tennessee:
“The army was in light marching
order, the general commanding limit
ing himself to a ‘biled’ shirt and an
extra pair of socks. We had marched
nearly fifty miles that day, and were
sore, tired and hungry when we halt
ed for the night. Our brigade was
commanded by Col. L-, a brave
soldier and able officer, but who was
a great stickler for regulations, eti
quette of the corps, etc. After camp
was pitched it was learned that Gen.
Ewing, the division commander, had
forgotten to issue the usual orders for
foraging. In the absence of such or
ders, Col. L- refused to let his
men go out and ‘borrow’ supplies
from the neighboring farmers.
"After waiting impatiently for near
ly half an hour, Col. L- sent a
lieutenant off to Gen. Ewing’s bivouac
to ask for the necessary orders. It
so happened that Gen. Sherman had
decided to make his headquarters with
Gen. Ewing that night, and was seat
ed in the tent writing dispatches, with
the lid of an old cracker box for a
desk and spittering candle held in his
left hand, when the lieutenant entered
and delivered his message to Gen. Ew
ing. He was interrupted by Gen. Sher
man.
“’What’s that, young man? Where
are you from?’
“ ‘Col. L-’s brigade, sir,’ replied
the lieutenant.
‘“What? Col. L-’s? Col. John
L-’s. And do you mean to say he
doesn’t know how to forage? That’s
mighty strange. And you go right
back, young man, and tell him I said
so. A man that’s been in the army
so long as he has and doesn’t know
how to forage,’ and Gen. Sherman
shrugged his shoulders disgustedly.
“Next day, as the column was trudg
ing along. Gen. Sherman rode by our
brigade and shouted a cheery “good
morning.’ Col. L-, who was still
smarting under the rebuke from the
general sent by the lieutenant, salut
ed gravely.
“ ‘I say, L-,’ said Gen. Sherman
reigning in his horse. ‘That was a
funny message you sent me last
night.’
“ ‘I did not have the honor of send
ing you any message,’ said the Col
onel somewhat stiffly. ‘The division
commander failed to issue foraging or
ders, and I was obliged to address
him on the subject.’
“ ‘Oh, that was it,’ chuckled the
general. ‘Well, it’s all right now. I
hope the boys got enough to eat.’
“ ‘Yes, General. We know how to
forage.’
• several aays later lien. snerman
sent for Col. L-to give him some
instructions, which he delivered in a
somewhat harsh manner. The colonel
saluted and was about to retire when
Sherman halted him.
" ‘I must ask your pardon, colonel,
for speaking so abruptly, but the fact
Is we were on the march before day
break this morning and all I’ve had to
eat since then was a little cold bacon
and hard tack. Back on the road
this afternoon I bought a ham ana ex
pected to have a nice supper, but
some of those confounded boys have
stolen it Just think of that and for
get my rudeness, won't you?”
As the colonel walked back to his
brigade he passed our regiment, and
was continuing with a cheery ‘good
night, boys,' when he stopped and be
gan to sniff. Something good was
cooking. Instantly a dozen inv itations
were hurled at him to sit down and
have something to eat.
“ ‘No, thank you boys; but’—snif
fing again—‘where did you get that
ham?’
“'Drew it from the commissary,
sir.'
“The colonel repressed a smile and
said sternly:
“ ‘Well, I'll let it racs this time, but
it you ever ‘draw” another ham that
way I’ll have you drummed out of
the regiment.’
“ ‘Why. colonel,’ drawled one of the
boys, ‘you see we have just learned
how to forage.”’
Pennsylvania Men Honored.
Shimmering in the sunshine of a
oeautiful semi-tropical day, the hand
some historic shaft erected on Or
chard Knob to perpetuate the gallan
try of the noble 109th Regiment of
Pennsylvania Volunteers was dedica
ted by Gov. Pennvpacker and staff
amidst a vast assemblage on Dec. 9.
The Gubernatorial party and the
members of the Pennsylvania Chicka
mauga and Chattanooga battlefield
rommlssion, who directed the build
ing of the monument, left the Read
House for Orchard Knob shortly be
fore 2 o’clock under the escort of four
troops of the Twelfth U. S. Cavalry
and the regimental band.
The survivors of the regiment and
many other Union veterans greeted
the Governor upon his arrival at the
hallowed spot, where forty-two years
ago the Invincible Grant had his head
quarters in the battle of Missionary
Ridge. The dedicatory exercises were
opened with prayer by Rev. Timothy
P. O’Keefe, chaplain of the Twelfth
U. S. Cavalry regiment. Col. Fred I*
Gimber, one of the survivors of the
109th presided.
The formal presentation of the mon
ument to the State was made by Capt.
George W. Skinner, treasurer of the
State Commission.
Gov. Pennj-packer accepted it in the
name of the State, and in a brief
speech paid glowing tributes to the
men of the 109th.
Among other things the Governor
said:
“It is the custom in other countries
to give praise to the individual. On
the plains of Egypt is a pyramid to
commemorate some long forgotten
leader. I saw in Paris a picture ol
the battle of Sedan. .Their Idea of it
was a little smoke In the background
and a large likeness of Von Moltke.
In Hyde park, London, is a large
bronze statue with all the minions oi
the earth represented about it. It is
to commemorate a man who was only
the husband of a queen. Here we do
otherwise; here you find a monuhnent
to do honor to the sergeant, the corpo^
ral, and the private.”
He then transferred it to Gen. E. A.
Carman, U. S. A., chairman of the
national commission, who in receiving
it for the government said:
"The 109th Pennsylvania infantry
was a fighting regiment belonging to
a fighting corps that never lost a col
or or gun, but which captured many
colors and many guns. It fought at
Wauhatchie on the night of Oct. 28,
1863, repelled a furious midnight at
tack and opened the ‘cracker line’ to
its besieged comrades in Chatta
nooga.”
Brig. Gen. J. P. S. Gobin followed
and said:
“The battle of Wauhatchie was the
first engagement in which the men of
the Cumberland and Tennessee receiv
ed any practical knowledge as to the
fighting qualities of the Army of the
Potomac. It is a well-known fact that
the misfortunes of that army previous
ly and the failures to reap benefits of
the various battles engaged in had
an unfavorable effect upon many of
the men of the Western armies. The
night battle of Wauhatchie, continu
ing for three hours against superior
forces, was a revelation to the men of
the West, and finally relations of the
strongest character were established
among these three armies.”
Adds to the Lore's Prayer.
The following beautiful composition
was captured during the civil war in
Charleston, S. C., by a brother of
Mrs. S. B. Helmer of Kendalville, Ind.
It is printed on heavy satin and Is
quite a literary curiosity:
Thou to the mercy
seat our souls doth
gather
To do our duty unto
thee .OUR FATHER.
To whom all praise,
all honor should be
given.
For thou art the
Great God .who art in heaven.
Thou by thy wisdom
rul’st the world's
whole fame
Forever, therefore.hallowed be thy name.
Let never more de
lay* divide us from
Thy glorious grace,
but let .thy kingdom com*.
Let tby •commands,
opposed by none
But thy good pleas
ure, and .thy will be done
And let our prompt
ness to obey be
even
The very same.on earth as It Is In
Then for our souls. heaven.
O Lord, we also
pray
Thou wouldst be
pleased to .Give us this day
The food of life
wherwith our souls
are fed.
Sufficient raiment
and .our daily bread
With every needful
thing do thou re
lieve us
And of thy mercy,
pity .and forgive ut
All our misdeeds for
him whom thou
didst please
To make an offering
for .our trespasses
And for as much, O
Lord, as we be
lieve
That thou wilt par
don us .as we forgive those
Let that love teach
wherewith thou
dost acquaint us,
To pardon all.who trespass against
And though some- us.
times thou flndst
we have forgot
This love to thee, yet
help .and lead us not
Through soul or
body's want to des
peration.
Nor let earth’s gain
drive us .into temptation.
Let not the soul of
any true believer
Fall in the time of
trial .but deliver
Yea, save them from
the malice of the
devil,
And both in life and
death keep .us from evil.
This we pray, Lord,
for that of thee
from whom
This may be bad.for thine is the king
This world is of thy dom,
work; its wondrous
story
To thee belongs.the power and the
And all thy wondrous glory
works have ended
never,
But will remain for
ever and .forever.
Thus we poor crea
tures would confess
again,
Ard thus say eter
nally .A-M-E-N.
Increasing Cost of Pensions.
In spite of the thinning ranks of the
veterans, the cost of pensions is in
creasing. The treasury department re
ports there is a deficit of $3,050,000 in
the pension appropriation for the cur
rent fiscal year, and that next year
it will be necessary to ask for more
money. This is mainly due to the
action of special order No. 78, gener
ally known as the “age order,” mak
ing the fact that a veteran is sixty
two years old prime facie proof of dis
ability and entitling him to a pension
on application. The pension appro
priation for the current year was
$137,000,000, and the next congress
will be asked for $140,000,000, besides
enough to make good this year’s de
ficit.
Scriptural Promises Fulfilled.
“Cast thy bread upon the waters, for
thou shalt find it after many days."
This passage of scripture was veri
fied when a woman of Townsend, Vt.,
received a present from a lady nearly
80 years old of a handsome patch
work quilt she had made and $5 in
cash in remembrance of a little deed
of kindness done nineteen years ago.
WITH THE MOVEK/f WHALE*RS
Thirteen American whalers of the >
San Francisco fleet, operating in 3eau- I
fort sea, to the north of Alaska, are
frozen fast in the ice floes there,”
writes P. T. McGrath to the Daily
News from Newfoundland. “This
fact is occasioning no little comment
among those who Know what this sim
ple statement means. For when, in
the past, whaling vessels have been
engirt there and held for the winter,
grewsome tragedies have resulted.
Once a herd of reindeer had to be
driven from Alaska to the whaling
rendezvous by American government
officials, the animals being then
slaughtered to keep the crews alive.
Another time a number of crews win
tered ashore with the natives, and the
contact with dirt and squalor gener
ated a plague from which white men
and brown men alike perished whole
sale. Tragedies equally appalling be- -
fell the Atlantic whaling fleets which
usually wintered in Hudson bay and
which almost invariably met some
such misfortune until now that inland
sea is almost deserted. Scarcely a
whaling vessel is found there to-day,
where once were mighty fleets. The
American whalers resorting to Hud
son bay have been reduced to a hand
ful, and the British whalers have
abandoned it for the Greenland seas
again.
“There are, however, three or four
whaling stations along the shore of
Hudson bay. In these a number of
natives are employed for the purpose
of killing whales. There are one or
two white men at each ‘factory,’ act
ing as overseers to the natives! who
are employed to kill whales, when
whales are to be found. The Eski
mos are admirably suited to this work.
They have become as expert as the
average white man and handle the
white man’s weapons and manage his
boats as skilfully as he does himself.
These stations are cheaply run. Only
the smallest pay has to be given to
the natives. A single whale a year
makes the station a paying venture.
A supply ship visits the station once
each summer, receiving the products
and landing food and other necessi
ties.
“Scotch whalers now fish chiefly
off the Greenland coast. Their ef
forts this year promise to be more
successful than for many seasons past.
The Eclipse has been reported home
ward bound with seven ‘fish,’ yielding
five and one-half tons of bone. The
Morning is reported with three; the
Balena with four, the Windward with
two. the Diana, with two and the Sco
tia with one. The principal article of
commerce obtained from these arctic
whalers is the famous ’whalebone,’
the flexible substance in their lower
jaws which serves them for teeth,
and this is at present worth about
J12.000 a ton or $6 a pound. It can
thus be easily seen what a splendid
result has been achieved by the
Eclipse for her season's fishing.”
F/JVD/JVG THE REAL WORLD
Maurice Maeterlinck, the Belgian
philosopher, writes in Harper’s Maga
zine on the limitations of the senses
and the wonders of the universe that
lie beyond their ken. “What keeps
and will long still keep us from enjoy
ing the treasures of the universe is
the hereditary resignation with which .
we tarry in the gloomy prison of our
senses,” he says. “Our imagination,
as we lead it to-day, accommodates
itself too readily to that captivity. It
is true that it is the slave of those
senses which alone feed it. But it
does not cultivate enough within it- ;
self the intuitions and presentiments
which tell it that it is absurdly cap
tive, and. that it must seek outlets
even beyond the most resplendent
and most infinite circles which it pic
tures to itself. It is important that
our imagination should say to itself
more and more seriously that the
real world begins thousands of mil- ;
lions of leagues beyond its most am
bitious and daring dreams. Never
was it entitled—nay, bound to be
more madly foolhardy than now.
“All that it succeeds in building and
multiplying in the most enormous !
space and time that it is capable of j
conceiving, is nothing compared with
that which is. Already the smallest
revelations of science in our humble
daily life teach it that, even in that
modest environment, it can not cope
with reality, that it is constantly be
ing overwhelmed, disconcerted, daz
zled by all the unexpected that lies
hidden in a stone, a salt, a glass of
water, a plant, an insect. It is al
ready something to be convinced of
this, for that places us in a state of
mind that watches every occasion to
break through the magic circle of our
blindness; it persuades us also that
we must hope to find no decisive
truths within this circle, that they all
lie hidden beyond.
“Let us say to ourselves that,
among the possibilities which the
universe still hides from us, one of
the most palpable, the least ambitious
and the least disconcerting, is cer
tainly the possibility of a means of
enjoying an existence much more spa
cious, lofty, perfect, durable and se
cure than that which is offered to us
by our actual consciousness. Admit
ting this possibility—and there are
few as probable—the problem of our
immortality is, in principle, solved.”
JJV THE JVITHATE COVflT'Ry
In his “Commercial Traveler in
South America” Frank Wiborg writes:
“We stopped at a number of the ni
trate towns, Pisagua, Iquique, Auto
fagasta, and I visited some of the
mills or officials in order to see some
thing of the industry. Deposits of the
crude nitrate of soda, called here
‘caliche,’ are found in the pampa or
rolling plateau beyond the first range
of foothills. In some places this pla
teau is but ten miles from the coast,
in others as far as fifty miles. The
pampa is an utterly barren desert. On
the surface there is nothing to tempt
the heart of man, but a few feet down
lies the nitrate stratum. This pre
sents much the appearance of rock
salt and varies in color, according to
the purity of the deposits, from a whit
ish tint to a dark gray. The upper
earth is blown away with dynamite
and then the caliche is dug out with
pick and shovel, loaded on iron carts
and carried up to the mills.
“Here the caliche is first broken
into small pieces by heavy crushers
and then put into large boiling vats.
Inside these vats are coils of steam
pipes, by means of which the temper
ature can be regulated accurately.
Sea water Is poured in and the caliche
is boiled for a certain time. The
liquid solution that results is drawn off
into settling vats, which are exposed
to the open air and the sun. Evapora
tion is rapid and the pure nitrate of
soda soon begins crystallizing and- set
tling to the bottom. After this has
gone on for some time the remaining
liquid is drawn off and the crust of
nitrate is scraped from the sides and
bottom of the vat and thoroughly
dried in the sun. Then it is graded
according to quality and packed for
shipment in 100-pound sacks.
“Most of the nitrates exported is
used as a fertilizer, but a part goes
to the manufacture of powder and
high explosives. The nitrate towns
are even barer and drier and less in
viting than most of the other bare,
dry towns of the coast. To some of
them fresh water is brought in pipes
from a distance of more than 100 miles.
Before the day of these pipes it used
to be sold in the streets by the gallon.
That water even now, though not
scarce, yet is not plentiful, is per
haps some excuse for- the awful dust
that blows everywhere.’’
OVETt THE GHASTLY HIGHWAY
The scatteriqg overland migration—
to Oregon and California—beginning
so early as 1846, became a never-par
alleled tide by the spring of 1849,
when the gold rush was really on, says
Charles F. Lammis in McClure’s. In
all the chronicles of mankind there
is nothing else like this translation of
humanity across an unconquered wil
derness.
In its pathless distances, its inevi
table hardships, and its frequent sav
age perils, reckoned with the char
acter of the men, women and children
concerned, it stands alone. The era
was one of national hard times, and
not only the professional failure, bu<
ministers, doctors, lawyers, merchants
and farmers, with their families,
caught the new yellow fever and be
took themselves to a journey fifty
times as long and hard as the aver
age of them had ever taken before.
Powder, lead, foodstuffs, household
goods, wives, sisters, mothers and ba
bies rode on the Osnaberg sheeted
prairie schooners, or whatsoever
wheeled conveyance the emigrant
could scare up, from ancient top bug
gies to new Conestogas; while the |
men rode their horses or mules or
trudged beside the caravans. A his
toric party of five Frenchmen pushed
a handwagon from the Missouri to
the coast, and one man trundled his
possessions in a wheelbarrow. At Its
best it was an itinerary untranslata
ble to the present generation; at ita
worst, with Indian massacres, thirsts,
snows, “tender-footedness” and dis
ease, it was one of the ghastliest high
ways in history. The worst chapter
of cannibalism In our national record
was that of the Donner party, snowed
in from November to March, 1849-50,
in the Sierra Nevada. In the 50’s the
Asiatic cholera crawled in upon the
plains, and like a gray wolf followed
the wagon trains from the “river” to
the Rockies. In the height of the mi
gration, from 4,000 to 5,000 immi
grants died of this pestilence, and if
there was a half-mile where the In
dians had failed to punctuate with a
grave, the cholera took care to remedy
the omission. The 2,000-mile trip was
a matter of four months when easy,
and of six with bad luck. Children
were born and people died, worried
greenhorns quarreled and killed one
another—and the train straggled on.
COOLIES I ft SOX/TH AF'RICA
Writes an observer in South Africa:
“The Chinese are everywhere. You
see them in the streets of the towns,
on the platforms of the railway sta
tions, or about the Rand. There are
now nearly 50,000 of them scattered
up and down a slice of country about
forty miles in length. Some are
working In mines which are practical
ly in Johannesburg itself. Yesterday
morning I was walking down Commis
sioner street, when I came across thir
ty of them at work digging out the
foundations of a new hotel. They
were prisoners serving terms of hard
labor, and were leased out to the con
tractor at one shilling a head a day.
And they were employed in the very
center of Johannesburg. Out at
fCnight’s I saw a huge camp where
1,400 ipore Chinese prisoners are at
work making a deviation of the rail
way line from Germiston to Boksburg.
“These sweepings of the Chinese
prisons who are now overrunning a
British colony, are not content with
mere robbery. They do that as a mat
ter of course. What those in isolated
farms and lonely stores dread is the
cry of ‘Tsa, tsa!’—'Kill, kill!’—from
the yellow fiends who roam over the
veldt. People in the country dare
scarcely go to bed at night. They
gather at'each other’s houses for pro
tection and companionship.
“What wonder is it that terror
reigns on the veldt, or that the coun
try people are now all armed, and
shoot first, when they see a Chinaman
at night?” The same writer adds that
these circumstances are hidden care
fully from the outside world. The
white men of South Africa—with the
exception of the mine owners_he
says, are satisfied that the introduc
tion of coolie labor was a mistake.
