iw&viw! niiir 'J.-. .W W4 Hniifc;i,'tiOiWvViVnt , i.nl a. . if-r 2 a. MMWM:tJl - . . THE BED CLOUD CHIEF, FRIDAY, JUNE 25 1807. !Tft)l1'W--- "i Pv pi' l A WONDERFUL (HRL. ST. LOUIS TOT STARTLES THE CITY WITH HER WHISTLING. Fourteen-Year Olil Mary laughlln Sur prise and Delights an Aadlcnce She If Religiously Inclined nml Will Mot On on the Since. T. LOUIS hns a whistler In little 14-yenr-old Mnry Hood Laughlln, who promises to equal, If not rival, world famous Mrs. Shaw. This little girl Is the grand daughter of the Rev. and Mrs. William Johmson, and makes her home with them at 2729 Chestnut street, says the Post Dispatch. Her father and mother went to China as missionaries, and It was there that little Mary was born. Her mother died when she was quite young, and her father brought her hero to be raised by Mrs. Johnson. He then re turned to his missionary labors among the Heathen Chinee. When threo years old, Mary showed a marked tal ent for music, and It was at this age her grandmother first noticed her fol lowing the notes played on a violin by a member of the family. She would pucker up her baby mouth and whistle like a young mocking bird learning Ub first lesson. The family did not ad hero to the old adage about "a whistl ing woman," but encouraged tho llttlo whistler. She has nover received any training or instructions, picking up the tunes whlBtlcd by tho boys on tho streets and popular songs. Mary Is now a plump, healthy-looking girl with gray eyes and brown hair. Up to the age of 10 she was very frail. Her fam ily attribute her Improvement to the lung expansion resulting from her whistling. She has a tasto for piano music and accompanies herself when whistling. Sho also has a sweet voice and sings well for one so young. She Is now able to whistle most difficult music and carries her high notes with a volume and clearness equal to tho best male whistlers. They are as clear and musical as those of a mocking bird. Sho does not whistle in that matter-of-fact drawling tone common to girls who attempt to whistle like their big brothers, but every note is distinctly heard just as it Is written In the piece of music she Is whistling. She has never whistled beforo any but audiences at Sunday-school enter tainments and a few friends until last Thursday night. On this occasion sho took a prominent part in the program at Mary Institute with her Bchool com- MARY LAUGHLIN. panions, Repeated encores brought her back before the audience with a more difficult piece eachjlmo for the enjoyment of tho audience. Such range In whistling as little Mary has is seldom heard in men. She Is a pupil of Mary Institute and is quite a favorite among her teachers and classmates. She responds smilingly to a request for an exhibition of her s whistling and never falls to startle her hearers with her marvelous gift. Mary Is a modest little miss and has not yet reached the age where most girls become stage-struck the moment they think they have, a good volco or talent of any kind. Her family are church people of standing and would never hear to such a suggestion as her avail ing herself of her whistling to make i fortune behind the footlights. A In Day of Old. "I can undoubtedly clear you, my dear fellow," said the lawyer, "but It will require a considerable sum of money to perfect your defense." "I have only a small amount with me," replied the scion of a wealthy family, who had wandered, away from home and tho path of integrity, "but my father will honor my draft for any sum within reason." "Then," returned tho disciple of Coke, Littleton et al., promptly, "draw and defend yourself." New York World. Old Ilooki In California. Moro rare and interesting books, It is said, can be round on tho shelres of 7 the old book stores In San Francisco cept New York. This is accounted for by tho fact that many families who went to California In '49 have been forced through reverses of fortune to dispose of persona property, books among tho rest. The Widow of a Mormon. Iff - RCIlOneri iuu iuuh. uimu, vruait) lU. y the matter? Utah Congressman: One L.W- . ,,, .nnaHtiiinta has lust died. He was a soldier in the Civil War and all of his twelve widows want pensions. A QUEER ANIMAL. The Australian Dark Bill CarrlM a Btlug In One Brg. Australia certainly holds tho palm for queer and uncouth nnlmals, says the Literary Digest. Chief among theso Is the duckbill or ornlthorhyn chus, which Sidney Smith described as "a kind of mole nnd webbed feet and tho bill of a duck, which agitated Sir Joseph Banks nnd rendered him miserable from his utter Inability to decldo whether It wns a bird or a benst." It was only recently thut It was proved beyond a doubt that this curious animal lays eggs like a bird, though this had long been reported by travelers. Now comes tho nowB that It has a sting on Its hind leg, capablo of killing by its poisonous effects. We quote from the Lancet: "For a long time It was considered to bo quite harmless and destitute of any weapon of offense, although tho hind legs of the males were armed with a powerful spur, apparently connected with a gland. Then the opinion was ndvaaccd that this might be a weapon allied to the poisonous armory of snakes, scorpions and bees, all of which possess n sort of hypodermic poison syringe. Though one set of observers asserted that this wbb tho case, an other set denied, and so Dr. Stuart de termined, It possible, to solve this ques tion. He received two Independent ac counts, which coincided perfectly, nnd, from them he concludes that at certain seasons, at nil events, the secretion Is virulently poisonous. This modo of at tack 1b not by scratching, but by lat eral Inward movements of the hind legs. Two cases aro reported in dogs. One dog was 'stung' threo times, the symptoms much resembling thoso of bee or hornet poison. The dog was evi dently In great pain and very drowsy, but there were no tremors, convulsions or staggering. It is worthy of note that a certain immunity seems obtainable, for tho dog Buffered less on the second occasion and still less on the third. Two cases of men being wounded are reported, in both of which the animals wero irritated, one by being shot and handled, the other by being handled only; tho symptoms wero the same aa In the dog. No deaths are reported Id human beings, but four in dogs." SCHEMING FOR WIVES. How 100 Women Were Lured to Ore gon by Skillful Strategy. There are plenty of women In Oregon now," observed a promlpent Oregon politician who Is In Washington to see that the state is not forgotten In tho manner of patronage, says the Wash ington Star, "but It 1b within the mem ory of many cl us when women wero very scarce there. We gave It out that wo wanted them for school, teachers and the like, and encouraged them to come out tliftre, but tho truth was the men wanted them for wives. "I remember once we sent a young man to Massachusetts, where ho was well acquainted, with orders to collect 100 young women and to escort them back to Oregon. We guaranteed every one of them a year's employment The active man in tho matter was a line looking young man, who afterward served two torros In congress from our state. Ho spent two months In select ing tho party and started west with them. "On the trip out he courted ono of tho school teachers on his own book and actually got her consent to a mar riage on the arrival of the train nt Portland. The boys howled consider ably about It, claiming that he had treated them unfairly in having first choice, but there was a lot of fine, mar riageable material left. Some of those women are today tho leading ladles of tho Boclety of the state. More than throo-fourths of the hundred woro mar ried inside of three years and 'many In less than one year. A few of the lot, however, are teaching school there to day, not that they did not have any offers, but because they would not ac cept any of the fellows who offered themselves. "Now that Senator Mitchell has about given up his contest to return as sen ator ho will likely be succeeded by a gentleman who married one of the par ty of school-teachers to which I refer. He will bring his wife here with him and your Washington folks can see for themselves the kind of ladles we had out there for school-teachers. They can't bo surpassed, even If equaled, anywhere. I may be an Interested per son, though, for It happens that my wife was one of the party." Reading a Library to Write One Norek The amount of labor that goes to the making of a good historical novel Is rather deterrent to the writer of Ac tion who Is used to turning out regu larly two novels a year. It Is so much cosier to make over again, with a little Imagination, the characters and Inci dents that one has picked up In tho ordinary course of llfo and travel. Thackeray somewhere tells of tho tre mendous amount of reading that went Into the caldron before "Esmond" was brewed. And a little while ago an aged librarian related his surprise at the research the great novelist carried on, month after month, In his accumu lation of historical details. A whole chapter could be written In the time devoted to verifying a detail of cos tume or the turn of an antique phraso. Moreover, tho historical novelist real izes that he Is taking this tremendous amount of pains for a very few peo ple; that hardly one In a thousand of bis readers cares for more than the skill with 'which he tells the story. But that cne Is the man who will tell tho next generation, with authority, that the book is worth preserving. Ladles' Home Journal. OUR MIGHTY RIVER. ITS MAD CAREER HAS MADE MANY CHANOES. The Mississippi Easily the Most Unruly Stream lu the World Efforts of tho (loTernment to Krep It Within It Bounds. Hi: Mississippi is probably Uio most rcmurkablo river In tho world, The Nile, which it re sembles moro near ly than any other stream, is noted for the regularity with which it overflows Its banks nnd re cedes ngaln to Its former course. This yearly action of the Nilo In flooding the adjacent coun try and leaving it covered, when It withdrew, with a surface of rich, fer tile mud, made a deep Impression upon tho ancient Egyptians and they wor shiped the river as a great god. The Mississippi nctB In tho same way, with tho exception that It Is ns Irregular and uncertain as the Nile Is regular and certain. It. Is also, In conjunction with tho Missouri, tho longest stream In tho world, having n total length of 4,200 miles. While the Nile has been rolling along for agoa In the samo channel, the Mis sissippi has been roaming all over Its valley, twisting hither and thither, building up banks nnd then cutting through them nnd suddenly abandon ing tho old channel for a new one. It Is doing tho samo thing todny, and for tho last thirty years tho government and its ablest engineers havo been studying tho difficult problem of how to mako tho Mississippi river stay whore it is and keep within Its bank. Tho cause of tho trouble lies In the largo amount of silt, a fine earthy sedi ment, or slime, which tho Mississippi la constantly carrying down nnd emptying Into the sea. The vast length of the Mississippi and Its tribu taries, measuring 9,000 miles of navi gable waters aad draining an area of 1,244,000 squaro miles, must account in a largo part for tho great quantity of this matter, but oven when these facts are considered tho estimate must still ''h'St 1 , ' 'A LEVEE ON THE appear enormous. It is Btated by ex perts who have made long and careful observations that tho matter thus car ried down by tho Mississippi in a single year amounts to a solid mass ono mile square and 163 feet deep. This sedi ment Is being constantly deposited along the shores and upon tho bars aptt islands that abound in this re markable stream. Most of It, however, Is carried down to the gulf, where It Is added to that already there, forming the delta. This process has been go ing on for auch a long time that the delta, which at some former age was located in the vlnclnlty of the Red river, has been moved Into the Quit oi Mexico a distance of 300 miles or, more. All the country on both side of the river for tkl's 300 miles has been built A In this way. The land upon which' the city of New Orleans la situ ated, is part of this territory which the river has made. Along the lower course of tht Mis sissippi the natural banks of tho river aro in many cases In the nature of levees, having been added to by tho stream until they aro higher than the surrounding country. The strange phenomenon of having to walk "up'' to the shoro of the river, Instend of "down," 1b frequently met with In this part of the country. But the very nature of the soil with which the bars, Islands and banks of the Mississippi havo been built make them oi very uncertain length of life. Being com posed In the first place of so much water and being deposited In or near the river, it is very soluble. Tho water enters Into it easily, undormlnes and eats It away until suddenly the bank, Island or bar gives way and In a few moments the course of tho river under goes a great change. It Is this uncertain habit the river has of suddenly shifting its course or changing its appearance that adds an clement of danger to llfo In Its vicinity and makes It so difficult to navigate. Sometimes a steamboat In coming up the stream will pass directly over the pot where stood an Island when It passed down a few days before. Or perhaps It will And a new Island or bar where the water was formerly clear, A S " """-x. or have to sail over what was bofort a farm or plantation, and leave tho previous course some distance to one Bide. This hns frequently led to dis putes and law sulta between farmers whoso InndR hid been seized by the river and thoso on the other side who suddenly found largo tracts of rich, fer tllo soil added to their domains To this habit tho river linn of deposit ing sediment along Its banks must also bo ascribed the numerous twlBtlngn nnd turnings In (lie channel which follow ono another so closely. A pmnll bar oi other obstruction starting out from the shore catches the silt ns It comes down nnd soon bulldr. up a curving bank that turns tho com so of the strenm. Still tho water keeps adding more matter to It nnd extending It further and further around until tho river In flowing In an opposite direction to that It ought to fallow. Sometimes It almost describes a complete circle before it Ib turned again lu tho right direction. The wholo course of tho Mississippi, from the mouth of tho Missouri down, is n series of large, graceful bends, one after another. Tho distance from St. Ixutls to tho sea ns tho river makes tho Jour ney Is 1,300 miles, but lu n Btralght line It Is not quite 700 miles. Thus, because of tho obstructions which tho river Is constantly carrying down and placing In Its own pnth, It Is obliged to travel nearly twice as far as Is neces sary between these two points. Look on any large mnp of the Mis sissippi valley south of Mnson nnd Dixon's line, you will sec on either sldo of tho rlcr, and quite distinct from it, n lnrgo number of small, cir cular lakes. Some of these havo mere ly n Blight bend, whllo others hnvo tho Bhnpo of horscshoeB. These crescent shaped lakes Indicate the fart that ut sometime lu tho past they formed pait of the courso of the Mississippi, But finding that It wns going in tho wrong direction, tho river must hnvo broken a new path through Its soft bnnks and left the curve to ono side. Resides these "cut-offs," ns they are callod, a great number of peculiar mounds, such as form tho bnnks of the stream, are scattered through tho territory ad jacent to the river, showing that the Mississippi must have passed over a good part of the valley nt different times in tho past whllo on Its way to the sea. This fact explains tho remnrkable fertility of tho land near tho lower MISSISSIPPI RIVER. Mississippi. A great part of it has been built entirely of this rich river de posit, as tho delta Is being built at PsieBont, while the rest has been thick ly coated with It during tho various times that It formed a part of tho river bed. This part of the valley Is ac knowledged to bo the most productive land in the world. It is composed largely or mineral substances, but con tains also considerable vegetable mat ter, making It the richest fertilizer known. It grows wheat, corn, cotton, sugar, rlco and all manner of vegetables In wonderful profusion and In a very short time. One acre produocs seventy bUBbels of wheat In a single xrop, whereas thirty buahols is con sidered good In other places. No ono can find any fault with tho conduct of tho Mississippi In former times, for it has made the country thtough which it flows worthy of Its tltlfi,."Tho Garden of the World." But now things are different. Tho land hns all been occupied, tho people are engaged In tilling the soil and they wnnt tho river to leavo them alone. They would like It to forego the wan dering habits of its youth and settle down into one certain course. Dut this the liver Is loath to do. Many schemes havo been suggested for compelling it to stay where it is, but the levee and Jetty system seemB to be the only feasible- one, 1 The first levee was built as long ago an 1717. In that year Do la Tour, n Ficnch engineer, constructed one about a mile long for tho protection of the infant city of New Orleans. From that small beginning they havo been gradu ally added to until now they extend up the cnBt bank almost to Memphis, and up the west bank to a point opposite the mouth ot the Ohio. But althougn they aro being strengthened each year, they are still far from perfect. They havo to stand an enormous pressure, especially In flood time, and as the only earth available for their con struction Is the soft soil that Is found In the vicinity of the rlvor, they are easily acted upon by the wator. Tho clearing away of obstructions In the rivers all over tho northern part ot the touatry and the destruction of thr forests are supposed to contribute largely to tho nevcrlty of the floods ol Into yenrs. Tho spring rnlns that formerly took mouths to reach the main river arc now precipitated al most at once upon tho lower Mississip pi, causing grent destruction of life nnd property. If all this extra water could bo carried off ns fast as It nr ilcs, thcro would be no danger, but owing to tho tortuous nature of the channel and tho obstructions of tho deltn, IIiIr Is Impossible. In 1875 congress authorized Capt. Hndb to begin tho ronHtrurtlon of Jet tics In the branches of tho delta. When tl-u river reaches tho delta It divides and flows Into the sen through flvo dif ferent outlets, called passes. In these paseB dipt. Ends built long wnlls of masonry, confining tho stream to a nnrrow channel. This hnd tho effect of quickening the current, which Rcoured out tho bottom of tho chnnncl, deepening It and carrying off all ob structions. Extensive dredging opera tions wero nlso begun for clearing tho passes nnd allowing tho water to reach the gulf moro quickly. Theso arc tho plans upon which tho work of confining tho Mississippi to Its present channel Is being carried on. Hut It will probably be somo ttmo be fore tho levees and Jetties aro of suffi cient strength nnd extent to removo nil dnugcr of floods Whether tho current can bo quickened enough to enrry of! all tho sediment nnd thus removo the pomlblllty of shifting bars nnd chang ing the chnnnol Is a doubtful question LITERATURE. The Diseases of Modern and the Health or Clnsslo Htylea. Modern literature hns been moro or Iosb sontlmentnl slnco Potrnrch, n mor bidly subjective strain has existed In It bUico Rousseau, whllo of late a qual ity Is beginning to appear which wo cannot better describe tbnn as neurotic, Bays tho Atlantic. Wo simply say, to paraphrase an utterance of Chamfort's, that tho success of somo contemporary books Is duo to tho correspondence that exlBtB between tho Btato of tho author's nerves and tho stato of tho nerves of tho public. Spiritual despondency, which, under tho namo of acedia, was accounted ono of tho seven deadly sins during tho middle nges, has como In theso later dnys to be one of tho main resources of literature. Llfo Itself has recently been defined by one of tho lights of tho French deliquescent school ns "an .epileptic lit between two nothings." It Is no small resource to be ablo to escapo from theso miasmatic exhala tions of contemporary literature Into the bracing atmosphere of the classics, for of him who has caught the pro founder teachings of Greek literature wo may say, In tho words of the "lml tatlon," that he Is released from a mul titude of opinions. Wo may apply to authors llko Sophocles and Plato, and to thoso who havo penetrated thelri deeper meaning the langungo the Budd hists used to describe their poffect sage langungo which will at onco re mind tho scholar of tho beginning of the second book of Lucretius: "When tho lenrned man has driven away van ity by enrnestness, ho, the wiso, climb ing tho terraced heights of wisdom, toojts down upon tho fools. Serena ho looks upon tho tolling crowd, ns one that stands on a mountain looks down on them that stand upon tho plain." An Inquiry. Inventor This is a new gas meter. While the gas Is burning the meter ac quires such a momentum that it keepw going after the gaa has been turned off. Qas Official I understand. But In what respect doeB It differ from tho meters now In use? Information Jnd Advice. Jones I think you are carrying too heavy an account In your bank:. I've heard some unfavorable rumors as to Its solvency. Smith Nonsense! I am a director of tho bank. Jones I know. That's why I thought I'd give you a tip. RAM'S HORNS. avasaassBB Make a call too short, rather than be yawned out. Whoever knows God well wants to know Him better. Somo would rather face a cannon than tholr own evils. Prayer Is always easy, when we kneel on praying ground. Our prayers for guidance will not bo heard, unless we are willing to bo led. The man who knows how to llvo well, will not havo to learn how to die well. Tho devil has to fight hard for all he gets In every home where Christ Is king. In the robin redbreast speaks the samo Christ who came to "seek and save." Nature is God; botany and geology aro man's; so religion is divine; theol ogy human. Tho prohibition that gives society tho children who never Baw a drunk ard can't be Buch a failure. Tho Creator expends so" much force In sunsets and apple blossoms that tbero must bo some great use in mere beauty. It you want to know the spring, open your heart; so, also, it you would know ChrlBt, Knowledge bloats; love develops. God never made tho world for an apothecary shop or a chomlcal labora tory, but for a temple: tho final word of nature Is spiritual. Ram's Horn. A Kansas City barber has put up a blackboard on which ho dally bulletins tho fresh local and general sows brought In by customers and caught over the telephone. TORTURE IN THE EAST HOW CONVICTS ARE EXECUTED IN PERSIA. There Is No Stay, nnd After Sentane) Has Iteen Pronounced, tho Culmloai tloil Quickly follows Horrible Cratlfc In the Land of the Nliali. EW explorers ana travelers hnvo giv en accounts of the various kinds ot cnpltnl punishment suffered by crimin als In Bcml-bar-barous countries. For horrlblo anA unbridled cruelty ln,t modes ot put ting criminals to death tho chief dishonor should be awarded to tho land of the lion and tho nun Persia. In Bagdad In July, 1888, tho writer was ordered to pro ceed to Teheran, tho capital of Per sia, on business connected with a for eign embassy at that city. He re counts what ho Baw In Persia In the following: Crossing tho 8hat-el-Arab river, we loft tho land of the Turk and wero on Persian soil, At Shiraz, a small town, I saw for tho first time n Persian exe cution. For attacking a foreigner's commercial agent with a sword, Ya ccob Khan, a Persian date merchant, suffered death. Tho culprit had been taken to Teheran, loaded with chains, hnd thoro been tried for his offense and was Roijt back to Shiraz to be ex ecuted. At 'about 3 o'clock in the af ternoon we saw somo burly Arabs carrying a huge cauldron toward tht BOILING A VICTIM. town square, In the center ot v.hlca was an Iron grating, raised about two feet. On this tho cauldron was de posited and the Arabs proceeded to chain It securely to large stakes. A tow minutes more and the culprlt.-bent with tho weight of chains, moved Into Bight between two monster Nubian eunuchs, who wero carrying bundles ot brush and wood, others bearing buckets of oil. Tho procession ended with tho Cadi, or Judgo of Shiraz, and a tow guards and soldiers. On the ar rival of tho Cndl at the center of tho square tho guards at onco seized tho prisoner and, after tying his feet, lift ed and put him In tho cauldron. Ills hands wero then chained to two rings, on tho edge pf the huge kettlo and tho coolies began to move forward Those of tham who were carrying oil emptied It Into the cauldron, tho oth ers piled the wood and brush under and around the big vessel. The Cadi then took a lighted torch and pushed: It In to the heap ot fuel under the caul dron and the flames began to dance, to the Intense enjoyment of the assem bled crowd. In halt an hour the oil became so hot that the yells of the man were agonising. Ten minutes lat er the victim's cries becaa to crow fainter and fainter, till at last they ceased. The man was dead. It Is a far cry from Persia ' to Nepaul, India. Nevertheless wc will take a look at an execution In the country of the Goor kas. We were on a hunting expedition and after two days' shooting we ar rived at a small town called Gunga Hat The place was u a great state of excitement over a trial ot a man for the crime of assaclt. After a trial the accused was convicted and sentenced to die the death of the "Hatl ka pao," or elepbant'a foot. One hour aftor the trial tho condemned was led out for execution. A Very fine elephant was brought up an-t the wretched culprit was attached by each leg to each hind leg of the elephant by a length of about 12 feet of chain. The elephant was then sent at a Jog trot for about a quarter ot a mile, with the wretch of a vic tims dragging at his heels. Tho beast was then stopped nnd the condemned mai, more dead than alive, and groan ing with agony, was released from his chains. Then began the refinement of cruelty. Tho culprit was revived with copious draughts of milk and arrack, a BUbstltuto for whisky, and was brought back on a Btretcher to the starting point. After he had rovlved sufficiently to be able to speak, his vic tim, ot about 12 years ot age, was brought forward and Identified the assailant. Then the last act began. A large, flat, circular stone was rolled forward and the condemned man, with his arms and legs tied, was laid at full length on his back on the ground, with his head on the stone. The elephant then came up with mahout, or keep er, on hlB back, and at the word ot command placed one of his enormous forefeet on the condemned man's face. One Instant and the mighty brute thiew the whole of his weight on to the foot, and all that was left of the wretched, victim's bead was an wa recognizable pulp. ' p a is i it if ml n ii r . '' Sr A w A.. JHvk 1 "a. tbx iX . 2i 7o m h"" tri'"t