-i"
RED CLOUD CHIEF
A. C. HOSMER, Proprietor.
pT'Ti cT.orp.
NEBRASKA,
THE SNAKE IN THE GRASS.
A foe to all boaor, mil virtue, and poci,
lathis serpent of most multitudinous brood;
Not only in coverts of dark does It lark.
ISutwe see ia our midst Its most venomous
work.
In the whitest or souls it leave its foul slime.
And its victims are many the man in his prime,
Tke. beautiful maiden, the wife and the child,
Thc bride whote young life has been all uade
flled vJIave cause to be wary, for nothing, alas!
Hiis so venomed a fang as -the snake ia the
Brass."
I mind me this moment of some I bare seen.
Circumspect as to conduct, and honest of mien.
Hut I know of the poison that lie oat of sight,
Ann know of tbe wrong taey will make of the
r.rht;
So, in crossir.Rllfe's highway. I watch for the foe
"VVlio is walling to lay all my fondest hopes low;
I watch for the enemy, wary and wise,
As the serpent in Eden, who comes in disguise;
And I wish that ail others could avoid as they
pass.
This worst of all reptiles, "the snake la the
grass."
lldtn. A. SfanttlU, in Good lIovBtlctping.
REMINISCENCES
Or An Old Trapper in tho
Fifty Yoara Ago.
'West
S. K. Tfartl Iteeounts Ills Karly aad Eveat-
ful Experiences In the Forests aad
on the I'lalna Flglitlng Indians
anil Trapping Ilraver.
Fifty years ago, -when Kansas City
consisted of a warehouse and there
was not a single private resilience of
civilized man between the Missouri
river and San Francisco, S. E. Ward
landed from a steamer at Independ
ence. Then ho was a penniless youth
of eighteen years, directly from the pa
ternal home in Virginia, filled with
eager desire to gain a fortune in tho
jar West. Now at sixty-eight years,
Mr. Ward i almost twice a millionaire
and one of the most respected citizens
of Western Missouri. He is one of tho
few pioneers that are left to speak of
the struggles and triumphs of early
Western life.
It required but a few minutes, says
' a correspondent ol the St. Louis Globe
Jknwrat, to become acquainted and to
broach the object of the visit. Knock
ing the lushes from a large pipe against
tho edge of a marble mantelpiece,
after filling the bowl and lighting it,
Mr. Ward sank into an easy chair.
"Yes, I have had some experiences
that do not fall to the ordinary lot of
man. Thrown by circumstances into a
new country in my earlier life, I have
traveled thousands of miles alone
through the mountains and across the
prairies, anil often spent weeks without
meeting a single human being. Ex
posed to snow, sleet, and rain, with no
shelter but a buffalo robe, and at times
with starvation staring mo in the face,
the chances seemed slight, indeed, of
.vccoiiiing out alive. During my ex
perience in the West I met Fremont in
liis expeditions through the mountains,
saw Brigham Young on tho Platte
riveY-as he was on his way to found a
Mor'ion empire; pnssed through the
tormy period or the Mexican War, the
California gold excitement, tho civil
w:ir. iMid witnessed tho opening of the
Pacific railroad and tho mighty inllux
of population on tho plains of the great
The first seven years of my life on
the frontier were passed largely in
intercourse with Indian tribes, extend
ing from the Red river on the south, to
the fepper waters ol the Columbia and
Yellowstone on tho north. Hunting,
trapping and trading were the only
occupations open to white men west of
the M issouri river in those days. In
little bands of from two to twelve the
hunters and trappers roamed through
out this vast region with little fear of
the red skin. The Indians had not
contracted the vices of civilization,
ad were a different race of people
from what they are to-day. The cruel
tics Ave read of as practiced by them in
later years were unknown. I never
knew of :i prisoner being burned at the
stake, and ordinarily the hunter felt as
Kile in an Indian country as in his own
settlement. The Indians were armed
with bows and arrows, nut more than
one out of fifty being tho possessor of a
gun. When an Indian did own a gun it
was usually a light shot gun, that
proved ineffective at any great distance.
"An experienced frontiersman con
eidcrcd himself proof against any num
ber of Indians. By means of the sign
language we were able to talk with
the Indians upon all subjects, and as
they were great talkers and inveterate
storv-tellers. mnnv is the hour 1 have
pused. seated by the cam p-fi re. hear-
mg their adventures or the legends of
their nations. I have often wondered
why the sign language, as recognized
and perfected by the Indians, was not
adopted among civilized people instead
of the deaf and dumb nlphalieL Tho
ludian's methods of communicating' his
ideas is much more expressive and
natural. The Cheyennes and Arapa
hoes were esjeciaHy noted for their
skill in sign language.'
By the way of illustration Mr. Ward
gave many examples of the ability of
signs to express thoughts upon every
imaginable subject. The signs were
all given with the hands, each move
ment representing an entire phrase or
sentence.
Were the Indians good hunters?"
In some respects superior to the
whites. They knew nothing of trap
fsf.iir beaver until taught by the whites.
lit tBev could give valuable points on
TV - 1 .. 1 ... .1... !..
oaggmg lite iwc t;.iuie uii me piatns.
j Forty or fifty years ago the plains wore
swarming with buffalo. I have often
seen droves so large lhat no eye could
compass them. Their numbers were
countless. The Indian hunter riding
bareback would guide his horse head
long into the midst of the herd, sing
ling out the fattest, and in an instant
sending the deadly arrow clean through
his victim. In a single days hunt they
sometimes killed from 3,000 to 4,000
juffalo. The dead bodies would lie
scattered over the prairie for miles. It
required the greatest diligence to save
thtskins and dry the meat for us ia
rimer. They made wholesale slaugh-
ar of antelope by forming a "surround.'
This re.. uirjd tho presence of several
hundred Indians to make it a complete ;
access. Early in the morning the
men and boys would form a circle miles
in diameter, riding round and round,
making the circle mailer at every
revolution and growing closer together.
All the game within the ranks was
gradually collected into a body, which
was driven into an inclosure formed by
weeds piled high up at the sides, be
hind which were women and old men.
As the game passed this reserve force
these bobbed up and set up unearthly
shrieks and yells that caused the
frightened animals to plunge forward
over a precipice to which the inclosure
conducted. The slaughter was terri
ble. Indians stationed below gave
the quietus to such of the game as
made the descent with but slight in
jury. At the close of the day a great
feast was held, and nobody enjoys a
feast more than an Indian.1'
"Was marriage a success among the
aborigines?"
"I never heard it hinted that it was
otherwise. The Indian had the priv
ilege of taking as many wives as be
was able to support, and if he married
the oldest sister in a family, all the re
maining sisters were considered his
property as they became of age. Un
der favorable circumstances, in some
tribes, a warrior took a new wife every
two or three years. A separate lodge
was provided for each wife, as the
women would fall out and scratch each
other if kept together. The children
were fairly idolized among the more
advanced tribes. Tho parents seemed
to live for their children, more par
ticularly when the children were boys.
An Indian's wealth was known by the
number of his horses. There were
both rich and poor Indians, but the
latter were never allowed to want
when there was any thing to bo bad.
After a great hunt the poor man was
granted tho privilege of taking tho
first carcasses nearest the camp. Some
Indians kept their lodges nicely
painted and bej-ond criticism as to
cleanliness. The lodges were renewed
every year, as the frequent moving
and exposure to weather made tho
skins leaky. The Indians' range ex
tended anywhere that game and food
for their animals could bo found. It
was a rare occurrence for them to re
main a month in a single vicinity.
The monotony of huntiug and moving
was varied by occasional forays upon
an unfriendly tribe, Btenling their
horses and carrying off scalps and
prisoners."
"What was done with tho prisoners?"
Unless they wero children they
were put to death. The children were
usually adopted and treated with the
greatest kindness. The older prison
ers, both men and women, were dis
patched with little ceremony. Tho
killing was usually deferred for sevoral
days after tho prisoners were brought
into camp. 1 shall never forget a
young Pawnee Indian who was killed
beforo my eyes by a party of Coman
che. Ho was taken into tho open air,
his hands was tied to his legs, and he
was shot through the heart. He
uttered not a word or groan. After
the killing a warrior stepped forward
and raised tho dead Pawneo's scalp;
then the war dance was held. I after
wards saw a Crow Indian dispatched
even more oxjeditiously. I called on
the captive hi the lodge where ho was
confined, and wo talked together by
signs. Ho said ho knew ho must die,
but felt perfectly resigned to his fate.
as he would inflict tho same penalty on
his enemies if ho had tho chance.
While wo were talking a warrior ap
peared at the door and made a motion.
The Crow stepped forward and was
shot within a few feet or the spot ho
had occupied a moment before. After
tho scalping and war dance he was
tied up in a standing position, with his
hands stretched as far apart over his
head as possible, making a ghastly
spectacle, and left as a terrible warn
ing to all the enemies of his execu
tioners." Turning to a more cheerful subject,
Mr. Ward continued:
The winter of 1838 and 1839 is
vividly impressed upon my mind, be
ing my first experience as a trapper.
After a journey of six hundred miles
from Independence I arrived at Fort
Bent, and early in tho fall the different
hunting and trapping parties started
out for a long sojourn in tho mountains.
I was fortunate in being ono of a party
of twelve of which Kit Carson was a
member. We made our headquarters
in Brown's Hole, on tho Colorado
river, where it enters the mountains
from the oast. Trapping proved hard
work, but I never enjoyed life more,
and wo knew no such thing as sickness.
I Our clothes were made by our own
J hands of buckskin
I. vsm iuim n;u
nothing but meat. It was cooked on a
stick or on the coals, as we had no
kettles. Antelope, deer, elk, bear,
beaver and, in case of necessity, even
tho wolf, furnished a variety that was
always acceptable. At night we
gathered round a roaring fire, in com
fortable quarters, to listen to tho stories
which such men as Kit Carson could
tell."
How were the beaver trapped?"
"Each man was provided with a
horse, and was expected to look after
six traps, sometimes having a bait
twenty miles long, which it was neces
sary to traverse every day. The traps
weighed three or four pounds, and
were like those used in catching musk
rats, nowadays. The traps wero placed
under the water in the crossings of the
streams. In order to attract the beaver
a powerful odor was used, such as the
oil of roses, bergamot, or thecastoreum
of the beaver itself. The bait was
placed on a stick, which was set in the
bank and connected with the trap by a
rope. In its effort to reach the stick
the beaver stepped into the trap, and
while struggling to free itself was
usually drowned. The traps were
provided with floats, so as to be easily
located the next day. The bearer
never goes abroad except at night, and
it was necessary to observe the utmost
precaution in order not to arouse his
suspicions, as his power of scent are
beyond those of any other animaL We
were obliged to wade to the spot,
where the trap was to be set. being
careful that the hand should not come
iato contact with any part Of the ap
paratus exposed above water. Many
successful hunters were failures in
their efforts to catch beaver. The
game often escaped after being snared
by gnawing off one of its legs. At the
close of three months a successful
trapper was often able to show a pack
of one hundred and twenty beaver
kins, weighing about one hundred
pounds. As he made two trapping
expeditions during the year, ia the
spring and fall, he would show two
hundred pounds, worth six dollars a
pound, as his year's work. In addi
tion to this the musk stones of the
beaver were worth as much as the
skins, so that some men made 93.000 a
year as trappers. It was a poor trap
per that didn't earn half as much."
"They must have become rich?"
"But few of them ever saved any
money. The traders from the States
charged enormously for supplies, and
Western men were inveterate gamblers.
Sugar was 1.50 a pound, coffee the
same, tobacco cost five dollars a pound,
and a common shirt could not be
bought for les than five dollar. With
flour at one dollar a pound and
luxuries in proportion, it was a ques
tion of but a few days at the rendez
vous before the labor of months was
used up. The traders were often
called upon to fit out the men upon
credit after a prosperous season."
Speaking of tho sagacity of the
beaver. Mr. Ward told of a tame
beaver at Bent's fort, on the Arkansas
river. This animal was caught when
young and become perfectly docile,
being a great favorite of the families
at the fort and of the trappers when
they returned from their trips to the
mountains. The little fellow coult
never bo cured of his instinct to build
dams. He actually undertook to dam
the Arkansas river, and worked for
months all night long, returning to the
fort every morning as the sun rose.
Ho cut down quite a number of large
trees, but life proved too short for the
completion of his plans. While around
the fort he was constantly turning
over every kind of vessel that con
tained water and collecting sticks lq
head it off as it flowed away. One
night by oversight tho beaver was
locked up in the warehouse. During
tho night in nosing about he discovered
a ten-gallon tank of molasses that had
leen left uncovered. That discovery
proved poor Jack's doom. The next
day ho as found gasping for life, hav
ing been caught in the sticky mass as
the tank was upturned. He never re
covered from the shock, and was ten
derly buried in the presence of a large
circle of his former friends.
THE CAMPHOR TREE.
Stupendous Laurels That Attala a llelwal
of Three Hundred Feet.
One of tho most useful and magnifi
cent productions of the vegetable king
dom that enriches China, and more
particularly the provinces of Kiang-si
and Canton, is the camphor tree. This
stupendous laurel, which often adorns
tho banks of tho rivers, was in several
places found by Lord Amherst's em
bassy above fifty feet high, with its
stem twenty feet in circumference.
Tho Chinese themselves affirm that it
sometimes attains the height of more
than throe hundred feet, and a circum
ference greater than tho extended arms
of twenty men could embrace. Cam
phor is obtained from the branches by
steeping them, while fresh cut, in
water, for two or three days, and then
boiling them till the gum, in tho form
of a white jelly, adheres to a stick
which is used in constantly stirring
the branches. Tho fluid is then poured
into a glazed vessel, where it concretes
in a few hours. To purify it the Chi
nese take a quantity of tine-powdered
earth, which they lay at the bottom ol
a copper basin; over this they place s
layer of camphor, and then a layer ol
earth, and soon until the vessel ii
nearly filled, the last or topmost layer
being of earth. They cover the last
layer with tho leaves of a plant called
po ho. which seems to bo a species ol
mentha (mint). They now invert a
second basin over the first, and make
it air-tight by luting. The whole is
then submitted to the action of a regu
lated fire for a certain length of time,
and then left to eool gradually. On
separating the vessels the camphor is
found to have subli.ned. and to have
adhered to the upptr basin. Repeti
tions of the same process complete its
refinement. Besides yielding this val
uable ingredient, the camphor tree is
one of the principal timber trees of
China, and is used not only in build
ing, but in most articles of furniture.
The wood is dry and of a light color,
and although light and easy to work,
is durable and not likely to be injured
by insects. liaUoiis Monthly
A Really Terrible Penalty.
Tho Austin Colored Invincibles drill
in their hall once a week. Captain
Skldmore, who has been recently
elected, is determined that discipline
shall bo maintained. After drill was
over, he made a brief speech to tho In
vincibles about the necessity of their
attending drill regularly. Ho said:
1 wants de members ob dis com
mand to understand, onct for all, dat
we meets reg'lar ebery Friday eboning
at eight o'clock. In dis hcah hall, and
de member what fails ter put in an ap
pearance will be "
"Shot to deff ?" interrupted Corporal
Jim Webster.
"Drapped from the ranks for a de
serter?" asked Lieutenant Sam John
sing. "Wusser den dat," continued the
Captain, amid a solemn silence that
was almost painful; "de member what
fails to appear will be looked upon as
habin' been absent from de drilll"
Texas Sifting.
A Husband's Generosity.
"To-morrow, Maria, will be yotn
birthday, and I want to give you som
appropriate present. What shall it
be?"
"Whatever your kind heart aaj
suggest, John."
(Next day.) "Maria, you knew hew
your poor back has suffered from pull
ing off my boots ia the evening. It
will sot suffer any more, say leva.
See! 1 have brought you a nice
bootjack which I will use hereafter
Chicmg Tnmma.
SCOFFING AT MARRIAGE.
A. feasible Article esTiSwe r tx Hralc
Qaeatlwa ml tfce Iar.
The unseemly discussion which a
a certain class of newspapers have
been making a conspicuous feature ia
their columns of late of the question,
"Is marriage a failure?" i simply a
fresh breaking out of the old and aau
scous social malady of "free love." It is
amazing that any editor who has either
any regard for the reputability of bis
journal or any respect for the welfare
of society should countenance the dis
cussion of so grave a theme in the
reckless and flippant style and manner
in which it Is treated by the class of
hallow and inconclRtic writers who.
in their anxiety to air their Immoral
sophistications, delight to exhibit their
contempt for those things and institu
tions which reasonable and good men
deem too sacred to be assailable.
The man or woman who seriously
asks the question "Is marriage a fail
ure?" is obviously disqualified, by a
lack of cither virtuous or proper ex
perience, or of intelligent or thought
ful conviction, from answering or even
discussing the question at all. the very
aakinir of it being almost proof posi
tive that the one asking it is of the
affirmative way of thinking, and that
he or she is of that way of thinking '.
because of experiences, observations i
or theories that are at leant superficial. J
but more probably the resultants of
the individual follv or viciousnes of a j
depraved nature. A married life that
has proved a failure because tho parties
to the contract have had neither sense i
enough, mutual forbearance enough
nor morality enough to be faithful to
its obligations is not a just sample of
the marital institution, is not n fair
illustration of modern domesticity,
is not an exponent of tho aver
ago family condition of civilized
society. It is exceptional and
aonormal. A true man and a true
woman, entering into tho relatious of
man and wife with rational delibera
tion, with genuine nffection, and with
high and pure motives, do not find
marriage a failure. They know what
they are about before they enter Into
the intimate and sacred partnership.
It is on their part not a matter of im
pulse of emotion, of money, nor of
passion, but of mutual and reciprocal
affection, guided and consummated by
the dictates of reason and of a thought
ful anticipation of all tho possibilities
and all tho contingencies that are in
volved in the solemn compact. Such
matches are mado in heaven, are heav
enly in their lifelong continuance, and
extend beyond this life into heaven
itelf.
Marriage is a failure only when tho
man or the woman is a failure in his
manhood or in her womanhood. It is
never a failure when the man and tho
woman are true to themselves and to
each other. It is never a failure where
the feeling and the motive and tho
purpose are right. It is never a fail
ure where true love and honor are tho
links of unity. It is never a failure
where good sense and good principle
lead to and control the relationship.
It is very rarely a failure, in any event,
where children are its fruitage and tho
family altar is the center of its daily
sanctillcation.
Those who sneer and mock at mar
riage are not Clod's people; they are
not of those who are the best develop
ment of modern civilization; they are
not illustrations either of social mor
ality or of sound sense. They are tho
froth and scum that float and bubble
upon tho surface of social life. They
are jieople of unbridled passions, son
sual and selfish instructs or shallow
minds. They are not tho many, but
the wild and reckless few. As a rule,
marriage Is not a failure but quito the
reverse. When it proves a failure, it
is an exception to the rule, just as
idiots, cranks, lunatics and moral leiv-
ers are exceptional developments of
human evolution. Chicago Journal.
A New Fire Quickener.
The servant girl who pours keroseno
oil on the fire, seems to have disap
peared pretty completely. Perhaps she
has been to a considerable extent ex
terminated. At any rate we don't
often read of cases of explosion and con
flagration, though the vigilant house
keeper, if she happens into tho kitchen
may still detect an odor which tells her
that the girl must have poured oil on
the kindling either before or after it
was ignited. But the Listener has a
case which may explain why kerosene
accidents are not so frequent. The
servant girl has discovered a new fire
quickener. It was in Boston, and not
long ago, that tho mistress of a house,
not much given to going into the
kitchen, entered one day, unexpectedly,
just in time to catch her kitchen maid
in the act of emptying a spoonful of
granulated white sugar into the tire.
Sugar is exceedingly inflammable, and
its application made the fire flash up in
excellent shape. TTio head of the
house had noticed that he was called
upon to pay for a great many barrels of
sugar, and his w:fo had wondered at
the family's enormous consumption of
that article, but she did not wonder
any more, especially as the girl, under
pressure, confessed that she had regu
larly been using the sugar to quicken
the fire. "Sure, mum." she said, "we
must have the fire, an the xal burns
that slow that me heart is broke waitia'
on it." Boston Transcript.
m e m
Two Pictures from Life.
Women have resources: they must
have them. They can spend hours
alone and enjoy themselves. I wonder
how? Do they dream? Women never
seem to lose their fancy, and there
seems no age at which they can not
call their sentiments to their aid. But
women hare interests in the world that
men. no matter how good, never have.
"My little boy is quite sick," the
father says to his friend as he meets
him, "and 1 am quite alarmed about
kirn."
The mother says but little, but she is
by the bedside holding on to that little
life with all her might. No thought is
hers but to bring her darling back te
health; her soul is all in the sick little
one. aasi her eyes are tearless with the
effort te save him. The father feels.
Tset the mother suffers. .
PRIVATE HOSPITALS.
Latest Freak for Wealth Fat lent
aad StkesUk SUsOeretlew.
The latest profes-lonal fad in thl cily
Is the private hopital idea, which
threatens to become a craze- Almost
every eminent surgeon ha one or
more private house turned Into hospi
tals for the reception and treatment of
patients who can afford to pay exten
sive price. These hou. which are
usually elegant dwelling house
situated on Fifth. Mad boa or Isling
ton avenue, are furniahwl in the mt
luxurious style. The doctor has hit
offlce in the library. The parlor l
made into an elegant reception room.
The chamber and all other available
room are fitted for patient of wealth
Oae room i eel apart for the use of the
doctor's assistant, usually young medi
cal graduate who are glad to give
their time for their living and the ex
perience obtained. The most import
ant part of the establishment is the
patient, who must of couro have
plenty of money, and may b male or
female. The coinplalntn of both m:x
are treated though not usually in the
same house And these surgical re
treat offer the inducement of ;-rfect
privacy to all their patron, which
is one secret of their success. As
may bo surmised from what ha- been
said, many of the patient are jeople
of means who do not wish their frb-nd
to know of their Hlnc-.. and who have
strong reasons for secrecy.
Tho first private hospital started In
this city was that of a wefl-known
gynecologist and obstetrican. In this es
tablishment the disease of women are
exclusively treated, and tho cot to
each patient is about $1,000 a month.
There are oftea thirty or forty In
mates, seldom les than ten or fifteen.
So it will be seen this first vtnture wtu
a success. If all tho private hospital
for the treatment of women were of
the same order, it would le a matter
for public congratulation, but of the
hundreds that have lecn opened by
many doctors of doubtful school of
characters the majority are not above
suspicion. Some of these private af
fairs are really the laboratories of
human vivisectionists. More than ono
famous surgeon who ha a hospital at
his command sendn tho best of tho ho
pital's cases to his own establinhment,
where he can experiment undeterred
by the sujiervlsion of human lay-trustees
and other hospital officers.
A certain surgeon desired to obtain
a largo number of case of abdominal
section, a few years ago. and resolved
to perform laparotomy whenever he
could obtain a patient on whom thtro
was the smallest excuse for this, the
most difficult and deadly of all oper
ations. Ho was one of the surgeon-in-chief
of ono of our largest hospital,
and proceeded to oenitu on tho insti
tution's charity patients on the slight
est provocation. Before long the num
ber of deaths from abdominal section
in the hospital engaged the attention
of the trustees, and the surgeon wiu
summoned privately, of course be
fore the board. After a long hearing
they faiUnl to agree a- to whether or
not he had abused hU jxwers; but they
agreed to forbid him in future to per
form a capital operation without all
tho surgeons of the hospital concurred
and were present- He had not yet
obtained the scientific data that
he desired, so resorted to tho
private hospital idea. He purchase!
a largo house on Thirty-fourth
street and fitted it up for u private hos
pital. Here he could, untrammeled.
2ut up his victims and obtain his sci
entific data. Here he sent all patient
whom ho could feel justified in operat
ing on. Here he has slain his hundreds,
and will slay his thousands before be
Sets done; then he will publish a book
on abdominal surgery that will make
him famous. As he is a wealthy man
and can spend any amount of money to
attain his ends, and works strictly
within the letter of tho law. nothing
can stop him ia his death-dealing ca
reer. This is but ono intance. There are
many others. It is in these laborato
ries of science that most of the surgi
cal sensation that apjear In the public
press originate.
There is one advantage gained by
them, however: that Is they are tho
best possible schools for the advance
ment of surgical science. "Talk about
cutting up dogs and cat! Why, we
cut up men the worthiest animal for
vivisection!" Such were the words,
perhaps over enthusiastic, which the
writer heard one of thee students
of anatomy utter. -V. Y. Cor. St. louis
Globe-Democrat.
MATERIAL OF BOOKS,
ja Writ tea ob It ricks. TsMm of Steae.
Ivor aact the Hark of Tree.
If we of this stirring generation wcr
suddenly jolted backward to the time
when the art of writing consisted in
painting with different kinds of ink, or
when events were recorded by plant
ing trees or throwing stone into a pile.
we should begin to appreciate our cur
rent privileges. Visitors at the British
Museum are often entertained by -the
examination of specimen of the earli
est modes of writing on bricks, tables
of stone, ivory, the bark of tree and
the leaves of trees. In the Sloanian
library is a nabob's letter on a piece of
bark, about two yards lone and richly
ornamented with gold. There are aLo
several copies of the Bible written on
palm leave. The ancients appear to
have written on any leave they could
find adapted to the purpose. Hence
the name leaf of a book, referring to
m tree, was derived. The Babylonians
made their contracts of business on
tiles or broken pot. The treaties be
tween tho Romans. Spartans and the
Jews were written on brass. The
speech of Claudius, engraved on a
plate of brense. is preserved in the
town ball of Lyoas, in France. There
are wooden manuscripts, which must
have existed prior to 1425. lathe shep
herd state people wrote with boras and
awls;tahen they iaveated an iron bod
kin. After that the stylus came into
use. made sharp at one esd to write
with, aad bloat aad broad at the other
fer effacing and correcting. But the
s feuM these sharp itraseate
as vicious person uses!
fer daggers. A sehoohisster was
killed e OMSxxasioa with them ia the
haasis of hiaewm scholars. Mfrim
OIL USED AS FUEL.
TroaMeoie aol Me a 0af
Tla a Cl Cee.
An editorial la a recast Luo of a
CiacioaaU paprr urjv the aaaufao
isrer of Cincinnati to oosider th
question of uing crud pctroJcua a
fucL Investigation shos that Cia
cincatl I behind taanr other cStlrs la
the use of tho liquid fuel which !
found in such abasdaco in Ohio aad
within such easy accc of thai city
Cleveland siiauf.;turers u the
Lima oil extna:ely as fuel, aad ar
even experimenting with poaj rult
in the direction of coovcrun it lato a
gas for fuel purpose. Chicago U
uing 1U.C barrel a day of tho new
fuL Krea the town of liars 13 toa.
Ohio, has made raore projrree In this
dlrruoa than Cincinnati A gentle
man just returned from Hamilton ys
the number of oil car he a on tho
ldiag led him to make some Investi
gations. He found a large flour mill
which U running thrty lthor power
boilers ith Lima oil a fuel. Theoo
boiler required ninn ton of coal for a
twenty-four hourV run. at two dollar
a ton. making r ighloen dollar a day.
Tho same Uiiler arj run with ,
twenty-eight barrel of oil. cotlng fifty
o-nis a barrwi at Hamilton, a totl of i
fourten dollar. Two stoker and coal
xhoveler were dUened ith, making j
a avmg of three dollar a day for labor
The saving in hove!. wheelbarrow . '
grate bar, etc.. for thi etAbllhmcnt ,
Is etirua!od by the proprietor at two
dollar a d.ty. making the total daily ;
exjx'nso of oil fourteen dollar. agaml j
tuctit -three- dul!ar for coal. The oil j
is uid to furnish ot-lhird inure or j
than the coal, nttn lea wear ami tear
on the boilers. At other lactone la
Hamilton. Imtlers are run with ga
made from Lima oil. ,
Nearly every town of any con
quence in Ohio ue more or le Lima
oil a fuel. In Harri-burgh, Pa., a
firm that ha a contract with the (!or
eminent for furnishing steel for steel
clad ship u-e gas from Lima oil for
melting tejl billet. Thl firm state
that thev are able to melt a ton of steel
billets from ga made from throo gal
lons of oil, and regard It a oue of the
rao-t imjHirtunt discoveries of the ae
for the manufacture of steel. There
are fifty of the. ga plants now In
operation, and one being erctd at
Johustown. Pa. Bivdnes men who are
watching the progress of liquid fuel
believe that within a yar K-O.liOO bar
rel a day will be used for thl pur
pose. The Lima Oil Company Is rompoed
of Ohio oil producers, and Is entirely
outside of the Standard Oil Company,
ha lv0 car of It own. and every ono
of the number i kept busy tiny and
night. This company has made con
tracts to furnish oil in Hamilton. Ohio,
for two years at fifty cent a barrel.
The amount of thl oil that I llng
produced In Ohio I much greater than
the public generally upjn".
The total output of the wn!W l not
under l.uOO.OOO barrel- a month When
the actual gunge- show n Je produc
tion it Is when the largo wells are shut
in and not allowed to yield up their
full capacity. The Standard Oil Com
pany pays the producer fifteen cent" a
barrel for the oil at the wells, mid tho
fact that they have now 9.W0.O0O
barrel in tanks in the region 1 evi
dence that they believe in It future.
Tho tank In which the oil i stored arc
taken down and removed from th
Pennsylvania fields where o much
tankage Is no longer needisd. The oil
i now loing used for fuel purjoe in
twelve State and Territories and It I.
not unlikely to ultimately tnke the
place of coal fir manufacturing pur
pose, except in the vicinity of coal
mines. St. .out Globe-rkmtrat.
PRAISE YOUR WIFE.
A Wntnaa Tells If nsbonde How Tke Ca
Make ThtstwItN Agreeable.
Praise your wife, man! For pity'
sake give her a little encouragement
it won't hurt her. She ha made your
home comfortable, your hearth bright,
your fowl agreeable. For pity's ..k.
tell her you thank her. If nothing more.
She doesn't expect it. It will make her
eyes open wider than they have for thee
last ten year. But it will do her good,
for all that and you. too. There are
many women to-day thirsting for a
word of praise tho language of en
couragement. Through summer heat
and winter' toil they have drudged un
complainingly, and so accustomed have
their father, brother and huband be
come to their labor that they look for
and upon them a they do to the dally
rising of the sun and It dally going
down. You know that if the floor Is
clean, labor ha bn performed to make
it so. You know that If you can take
from your drawer a clean hirt when
ever you want it. somebody's finger
have toiled. Everv thinr that pIcaac
the eye and the sen- ha been pro
duced by work, thought, care and ef
forts bodily and mental- 51 any men
appreciate these thing, and foci grati
tude for the numberle attention
bestowed upon them in tckncs xxA.
health. Whv don't they rome out with
a hearty "why. how plea-ant you aak
things look, wife. or "I am obliged la
vou for taking so much pain?" They
thank the tailor for a good Si; they
than'epic man in the hore-ear who
give them a eat: thy thank the lady
who moves along In the coicert-room;
in short they thank every body asd
every thing out-of-door, aad convs
home, tip their chair back and their
heels up. pull out the aewpaper. scold
IftheSreha got down. or. ifeTery
thing is just right, shut their mouth
with a smack of aatisfactlon. but never
say "I thank you." I tell you what.
men. young and old. If you did but
how an ordinary civility toward yojr
wives; if you gave one hundred asd
sixteenth part of the compliments you
almost choked thera with bs-re they
were married; if you would stop the
badinage about whom you.are going to
have when number ose t dad (such
things wires may lacga ax. bat they
ink deep sometimes;) ii you woold
eease to speak of their faalt. however
bsAteriagly. before others fewer
wossse would seek fer other mnretm ef
hasplssss Praise your wife. thee, isr
all her geoa aws'tries mmi ys ssay
a . -. m m m .
MISCELLANEOUS.
An exjrisiftt rrcswsUy s.4 t
Scotland prut lhat 1& Vrtale caa
walk a B.ie la fwr har.
It Is saU that a tr U ta4tsc U l
Kasfch Valley. Nevada. aki. -ures
fifty-eight !n la rirctiatfvri?
even fort tram taogrvaJ
A South Caroitria aaa tlsipt4
to pawa a feorw. a&d tu Mtrrisi
when "hi unci" told hi a that he
didn't like ocurilU tit could waiTt
away
A 51 Jchlxaa - ladlffttnc a weJL
Struck a vela id wals?r which he
thought x3tifc! ratswral property,
aad was Uu4 to led thai he h4
tapped a Hwer
The five great eoaUseata! powers
of Karop now have 12.CCX ma -dcr
arm. ntl to ssenliaa liw aaval
armament, ahacsvt doable la site ihw
whole o ti-hliag fore of the acrid
twenty yrr 4o.
The otlsea of llon 11 that
he the oldest poplr ta Krar. bU
Jul how old It l no osp know, ft U
VSi feet hih. forty-five frrt la ctrcuta
ferroco at the Nasn. and iwaty-lhr
feet In circumfr-reacs fifteoa trl frvsa
the bae
A Brooklyn man Intend U start a
goal farm, which ho think. -Ill hriag
him l 3 prr dAV, Ho HI to It
with eeoty-rtv gxat. and a tho or
dinary gvl will fc'le Ihrc plat !
milk a day. he calculate u.a ntety
quart per day at Iwelie t fifteen coat
a quart.
The finest private collection of
almanac in America l d to b
ow ned by one of the yUv of lh
Supreme Court of the Tailed Ulo.
The rarest almanae In Ihe tUfctry.
protably, l one published by WiHtara
Bradford In ltek It l la the collec
tion of the Historical Scletr f Penn
sylvania, and I valued at iWX
At tho grrl steel work. In Cleve
land. O. a large electro-magnet U
used, usjwnded from a crane, to pick
up Iron or steel bars and billet. It
will take up K"0 pounds, and a sin
the electric current l turned oS after
moving the had. will drop it In tt
projer place, thus doing the work of a
gang of men.
- Kentucky I a famous for It wide
spread and cHUcaI knowledge of th
Bible a for It sensatl? apprentices
Of red -eye.. The newpaper down
there are many of them dally em
tneutariev Here Is a sample para
graph from the ScotUvllle fritittl'
Milk make mol ieple bilious, and
honey ghe raot people the ooltc
Thereroro a land flowing with milk
and honey 1 not a desirable us one
dripping lth tree molae and Sour
batter-cake.'
'Hie firi attempt to record a public
peeeh by rne,iit of the phonograph
was mad" at a political rally In Ne
York recently. A funnel oven fel
long va placed In front of the plat
form, c ne cling with the transmitter
of the pb lograph. After the meet
Ins; the instrument tested, and the
ejerlmer.t found to have leen entirely
successful, tho speaker voice being
heard a distinctly a In the original
addre, together with -iunds of the
applause and music.
TRAVELING IN TURKEY.
Sights Aloes Ik Mallrext'ls al la IMly
reentry lllaaea.
Th KurojMrarf railways are now nprn
to Vienna and thl city I blessed with
a dally mall Tho route from Vioan
to Constantinople by ralll an Interest
ing one. since it gives the traveler a
view of the village life of the Turk,
which ha hitherto been Iteyoad tho
reach of thoe who have ntlhc time or
the endurance for caravan travel. But
the lamentation of the traveler who
come by the new railway over the pri
vation of the route are painful. A man
sallies forth gleefullv from Vienna la
the mldt of luxury to take a ran U
Constantinople. He ! told that b
can reach hi destination In forty
seven hour, and makes up hi mind
that ho can endure any thing la th
way of privation for that time, la
twenty-four hours he I convince! that
he will die of starvation before he ha
arrived at the end of his journey. A
dirty and raggeJ popular offer him
water at every station for a good prices
At some stations men propv? to hiss
to buy blU of terribly blck bread a
cube of lamt llvrr fried at a pnay
a handful, the vendor's homy Cl being
measure But the traditional railway
restaurant, with It formal splendor of
glaawware and lt decorative, fool prep
aration. Is totally lacking If In out
place he can find a retauraaL Its high
est achievment In the way of a dinnf
Is a dish of gren pepper stowed and s
cup of bbvck coffev On arriving at
any tatlon where the unusual number
of official implies laportane. the)
tourist will feel hop reviving with La
him. Bet on akfng for tb restaurant
he l um lobe, answered. "Tberw l no
returant; there l only a change of
car, and an examination of pporta
and of bacgage.- Anjlan.'M?pXc tdU
tf.r.
m e
In the Drt-Good Sloe.
A ldy and her little daughter wer
hopping. Th child at on a coanter
ti! aad watched tho people epedsg
aad going. Presently she w a L4y
elegantly drrwil. who stepped at their
counter and handed a waterproof aa4
umbrella to thj young girl Ik. charg.
Take care of lhe thing ctil I
call for them. be said is aato
cratle tone. Then she sled away.
The bright eye of lb child fovlowee
her. The little face wore a look ef
distrre.
"Why. raarsr-.a.- b whUpL
h didn't even any pi-e.
Sooner than she expect! to. tie !
eetor&ed.
I will take ssy thing." eiL
There was mkm Uttl &xj U
lag thes.
"I hoe yes haea't lost er
fAtxi Ihes.' she said U i
tosv to the yxag fL
Xo. Here they were. Mail
ceeiy aat without a wore wi
This -M.rwtfce.tie9 ehlie f
7jsj feee seeae eee te that ef She
girl eierk she sweetly; 1ktsj
SSJsV 'mWmftUWHt snTttta
a
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