THE RED CLOUD CHIEF, ERIDAI, AUGUST 13 1897. 3 : i $$" .'$, -;.- vva- MEREDITH NUGENT IN While In Paris a few years ago I was surprised to see In one of Uip mu seums there an egg of such gigantic proportions that I could haidly believe It to bo a real egg until the descriptive card, lying at Its base, cured me of rriy skepticism. "That." I exclaimed to my friend, "must be the egg of the roc," for so large wae It that I could not think of It aB belonging to any bird other than that of the fabled ciant In the tales of the "Arabian Nights." There was no fable about this, egs, however; its history was well known, and there It lay before us, under the protection of n strong glasi case, one of tho prized treasures of the most renowned museum of the world, "Uut what an enormous egg!" "Look at the size of It!" my friend kept on remark ing. "Why, It Is a very mammoth among eggs!" Perhapa some of my leaders may think we were unduly elated over our find, but let mo tell them that this great esse measured three feet a yard In circumference! Realize If you can for a moment an egg so large that It mpasuies a yard around. Not less startling was the In formation that It held more than two gallons! night quarts of egg! In ii any wonder we were surprised? he contents of a common hen's egg fill nbont one-third of an oidlnary tea cup; compare this to an egg the con tents of which are something more than eight quarts; why It would require a large-sized wash bowl to break such an egg In and not lose any of it. In ca pacity It equaled one hundred nnd fif ty hens' eggs! or seventeen of those of the cassowary a bird almost as large as an ostrich or six eggs of the great ostrich Itself! If, again, we com pare it with the egg of our Jeweled humming bird, for Instance. It would take two thousand of these tiny eggs to equal In bulk the giant I saw in Paris. With such an egg one could give a breakfast on Easter morn to seventy five persons and to each serve enough of the feast equaling two hens' eggs' Why, a native of Madagascar tho country In which these eggs were dis covered could have entertained n whole band of savnges after such a find, nor were such finds rare, indeed; to the contrary, they were apparently quite plentiful. It was not, however, the contents alone of those eggs which caused the HUNTING natives to prize them so highly, but the shell itbolf, which was very thick, furnished them with strong vessels useful for a number of domestic pur poses. They served ndmirabiy for carrying wnter; in fact, the first knowl edge of these eggs gained by the civil ized world was when some natives of Madagascar came to Mauritius to buy rum, and brought with tbcm these huge empty shells to hold the liquor. It fortunntely happened that some French officers passing by spied these ttrange vessels, nnd gladly gave the owners of them nil tho rum they wished and means to carry it, in ex change for their egg shell curios. The jrrlval of these eggs in Paris created n genuine sensation. Many people wero now ready to believe that the egg of tho roc had actually been found, und that tho fabled bird was a fable no longer. They cited the fact that tho famous Venetian traveler, Marco Polo, had located the roc upon this very is land of Madagascar and Insisted upon It that further Investigation would lead to tho finding of eggs equaling In slzo tho Imaginative ones they had read of in tho flowery dayB of their youth. It certainly was a curious colncldnnco that such enormous egg3 should have been found In the Identical country whero tho giant bird of the Arabian Tales was supposed to have had Its home. After taking a long look nt this mu seum specimen, wo began to wonilor whnt could havo been tho slzo of tho bird that laid It, this prove:', too much for our Imagination, nnd wo- eagerly sought rof'ige In tho opinions as ex pressed by tho Frtnch naturallsts.who, nt tho tlmo of tho first discovery, had uch an exalted Idea as to tho creature's t r-rwii ri- ni ii--"7 .iVBVf J I ly-vtitJzy V -- 1N I. ) OOQo" f- NEW YORK LEDGER- bulk that they named It Aeplornls Maxlmus, which means "the bird as big i's a mountain," As large as these birds undoubtedly were, they were far from attaining the gigantic proportions of a bird which used to Inhabit New Zealand not so very long ago, and which still exists there today, If any reliance Is to be plaord upon statements made by the natives. This bird was known us the Mon, nnd had the distinction of being the large3t bird that ever exbted. It was taller thati the tallest elepluiut, and proudly carried Its head as high as tho towering giraffe. It measured IS teet In height and was possessed of herculean strength. Its thigh bones were larger than those of a horse, and none of tho beasts of the field could succcfsfully coin- with it. By tho side of this giant the ostrich Is a small bird. Like so many of the great mon sters, however, that inhabited the earth In ages past, the moas were sluggish nnd stupid anlmals.aud their great bulk availed them nothing against the ccaFeless warfare made upon them by the siriall, puny, but extremely active snvnges. They were eagerly hunted by the Mnorl. In spite of the fact that the latter were exceedingly ufrald of them. The natives know only too wall from the tragic ending of many of their tribe that a kick from one of those birds meant lustaut deatli to (he most powerful of the braves. Hefore tho hunt began, and In the light of the rur ly dawn, the savages were wont to en gage In their weird Incantation, Im ploring the spirits to whom they at tributed the power of sending good or evil to assist them In their perilous enterprise?. They supplicated the morning mists rising from between the hills to bring them success. They In voked the god of silence to keep free from fright and aprehenslou the giant birds they wished to capture, and con cluded their barbaric rites, which, for the greater part, consisted of the most unearthly shrieking, with a wild dance, indicative of approaching triumph. The real work of the day began by forming the natives Into two bunds, one body of men to steal cautiously along until they reached the scrub, which lined the well worn moa path, and there care fully conceal themselves, the others to make their way as best they could to the edge of a neighboring lake, from THE MOA. where they wero to start tho birds. All thase movements had to bo mado without so much as the cracking of a twig, for tho slightest noise before tho proper time arrived would so alarm the game as to make all hopes of suc cess futile, for that hunt, ut least. The natives whoso duty It was to drive tho birds, after having spread themselves over quite a largo extent of territory, would! at a prearranged signal, set up a most frightful shouting. So great was tho din they made that tho torri 11 ed mons would run as fast as they could straight into the ambush special ly prepared for them. Notice of their approach was given to tho men in hid ing by tho noise which the unwieldy birds made crashing through tho bushes; nearer and nearer they camo with the forco of a whirlwind, until suddenly, amid a cloud of dust and accompanied with deafening roar, a great feathered giant loomed high up In tho air, and was Instantly spoared by the agllo but half-frightened native. Ah tho terrorized bird madly dashed by this ambushed band It was attacked with all the fury the savages could muster, so that when tho end of tho gauntlet was reached tho giant was bleeding from a score of wounds. Now tho snvages ran In hot pursuit of their prey, for the battle was not over by I any means, but the tell tale blood I tracks sufficed to Inform them that I tho day would eventually bo theirs. I It became simply a que3t!on of keeping up tho chaso until they closed with tho exhausted bird, when, amid tho tri umphant shouts of a combined attack, tho giant was finally dispatched by his tiny ndvrsaries Groat wes the Joy on tho monster's death, nan thanksgiving In rude splen dor was offered up to tho flreat Spirit, who had thus enabled them to conquer. Whr.t imagination can picture the In describable weird scenes ns the dusky nnd tattooed savnges gathered about tho lurid light of their midnight Urea to feast ou the flesh of the moa, or to partnko of the giant eggs? New York Ledger. MACHINES FOR BREATHING. Hut few sightseers at the national capital And the patent ofllco the mo3t Interesting point to visit, yet there is probably no public building in Wash ington about which have centered so 'many high hopes, so much ambition, keon research and hard study. Tho patent office, indeed. Is a sort of Mec ca for the Inventive genius of the I'nltt-il StuUM. At the time Will 's written tiC2,i;s patents are here recorded, and an c.v amluation of the models of them, pre served lu the cases, would occupy the student for at least a year. Among the oddest of recent patented devices ate two "breathing machines," one by c man lu Buffalo, and the other by a Brooklyn physician. A machine for breathing may at first thought appear to be superfluous, and even ildlculous. yet both of these con trivances are of benign Intent. They are designed to preserve life, or to tcuscitnte suspended animation, as In cases of drowning, choking, or a sud den fatiuie of the heart's action. Phyulclnnn, ns In well known, often attempt to product- artificial respira tion by extending the unforunatc per son on the ground or on the door, and alternately raising or lowering tho aims. At best this method Is unprom IMr.g, and It Is to render such nitlflclal lesplratlon moie effectual that the two Inventions above-mentioned have been sought. The Brooklyn doctor's devlca con sists of an alr-tlght chamber, or box, lu which the sufferer from suspended respiration can be placed, all save bis nostrils and mouth, which are open to the external air. By means of an air pump, contacted with the chamber and worked rapidly by a rotary shaft and crank, the air is by turns exhausted and admitted, thus causing, by pneu matic pressure, the lungs to be alter nately dilated with air and compressed at the ordlnnry Intervuls of breathing. The Buffalo Inventor seeks to ac complish the same ends by means of a bellows and tube accurately applied over tho nostrils and mouth of the person. Alternate Inspiration and ex haustion of air in the lungs are thus brought about. The air-tubo before entering tho nostrils passes through a small heating apparatus. This raises the nlr to the temperature which It would reach naturally In the alr-pas-bjges of a healthy person. Tower of the l'rn. Wendell Phillips once, when he was Interrupted by an unfriendly audience, stooped down and began talking In a low voice ta the men nt the reporters' table. Seme of tho auditors becoming curious called "Louder!" whereupon Phillips straightened himself up and exclaimed: "Go right on, gentlemen, with your noise. Through these pen cils," pointing to the reporters, "J speak to 10,000,000 people." IIIn I'lillnro. Tourtlst (In Oklahoma) Did young Mr. Eastman, who came out here about a year ago to grow up with tho coun try, ever attain Ms ambition? Alkali Ike Wal, no; wo planted him all right but he never sprouted. ow Nhofkln, Cholly Yaas, old chap, death actuuT. ly stared mo In tho face. Algy How venvy wude! THE TENDER PASSION. He I love you better than my life. She Considering tho llfo you lead, 1 cannot say that I am surprised. In dlannpolls Journal. Mr. Spratts If there ore microbes In kisses, whnt dlsenso do they produce? Miss Kllluff Palpitation of tho heart. ljAlladclphla Press. Bello Why did you reject him last evening when ho was willing to wait till to-day for hlu answer? Blanche Bccauso I saw he meant to Btay until he got it. Spare Moments. She Did you havo nny troublo In getting pnpa to listen to you? Ho Not a bit. I began by telling him I know of a plan whereby ho could savo money. Cincinnati Enquirer. "Cruel and unnatural!" moaned Trlckly. "Her own father has broken our engagement." "Forbidden your marriage?" "No, but didn't you see by the papers that ho had failed?" Detroit Free Press. Madgo I think Jack Is going to pro. poso to mo soon, mamma. Her Moth erWhy do you say that? Made Ho took mo out to look nt some fan dem wheels last evening. Phlladol phla North American. Amelia Swear not b tho moon, the inconstant moon. Augustus Then what shall I owear by? Amelia Swear by that which you hold Invalu able; something that you ennnot llvo without. Augustus Then Amelia, I love you! I swear It by my bicycle TId Bits. He They say that wpddlng rings are going out of fashion. She Oh, I don't care. If you wish to dlspcnso with tho ring, denr, it will mako no differ ence to mo. But why didn't you give mo some warning of what you were about to say? This is so sudden. Then ho thought of homo nnd mother, but It wao too late. Cleveland Lead HOUSE IS ACCUHSEI). TV. BELL MANSION IN SAN FRANCISCO. IT is ivn:itnviNi:i with maxv or -i hi: si.ni'cs tisaciiuhi:. Wii to lt I'ort ill Hint sriiiitur liiirmi I'lrM llroiiulit Siinili A. Hill -he KIIIIiik of Mllllnliulrn Mill mill mlge Terry tterullt-il. mm' HE House of Mys- .... " 111 ufy ' "li'iud i.t " ,,, 111 lnRt' Tlu' ol11 ,UJ1 x-v Mil niiitmlnu oti llie ''$A went side of Octinlu I V J street, between Sutter and Hush, Sun Fraud' eo, l ilwmt ffi i-liit mi ',n,T''v.V Us secrets. For a VV VuJc quaiter of a cm- llir) llllb "I" liuwr'' jr Its tenants have been mixed up In almost every herniation that has stirred the Pacific coast. It bus always bun the House of Mystery. Just now It Is iiiled by an old negro woman, who sometimes exercises ty mnnlcnl pnwr over the widow of the man who owned It and his ihlldien. Tills woman whs once u slave, the storj goes. She Is now on her death bed, and possibly that fact giws courage to the eldest son of the dead man to bring suit against his niothe that the darkness of that houehold may be dissipated uud the old hug he forced to loosen her grip upon the di vided family and Its fortune. Kveij bc.'dy in the west knows this tiegto wo man, who has trailed through the couits like a black shadow In ene after case Involving the richest fam ilies on the Pacific coast. Mamm Pleasant Is the uame they all know her by. How sho came to California is lost in the mazes of the tangled stories that arc told of euily days on the coast. It Is enough to date her back to the time when Senator William Sharon was In the flush of his fortune, squandering millions in his evil pleas ures. It was boom time on the cjast The Comstocks hnd yielded up their half a billion dollnis' worth of bullion, and it was his share of this that en abled old Sharon, tho most vicious probably of a circle of rich men, tho like of which had not existed bIiicc the ancient regime, to defy every law and conventionality. James G. Fair was another of this ilk. Thomas Bell, who owned the House of Mystery, was an other. Sharon had started Mammy Pleasant as the housekeeper of a magnificent bachelors' boarding house. The men who frequented this pluce could pay fortunes for discretion, und though Mammy Pleasant has been twenty times upon the witness stnnd only In u single case bai she betrayed what went en In this house. Had she gono in for blackmailing the old woman could have drained the richest pockets In California, but there was a strain of loyalty in her mixed blood thnt held her true. She could afford it. It was in this house that the saddest and most drnmatlc romance cf the west began. Senator Sharon brought to the house a Leaiitlful, delicate, refined young south ern woman, who was then known as Sarah Altlien Hill. Long afterward this girl claimed Sharon as her hus band produced the contract of mar riage that tho California courts, de cided was written by him. It was In this hcusc nccording to the testimony, tl at the contract waB drawn up, and Mammy Pleasant was a witness to It. There was consternation when Sarah Althea Hill proclaimed hot self William Scroll's wife and sued him In the courts for divorce. Ho was a milllou nlie twenty times over. She had noth ing with which to oppose tills fortune until Mummy Pleasnnt threw all her wicked savings into the i-calo against the millionaire. That trial stands out SARAH A. HILL. even among the thousands of strange and sensational cases that tho Califor nia courts havo had to deal with, Mora than onco during its bitter prugriss wero tho hnnds of tho attorneys the Hading practionecrs nt tho bar swung nround with pistolB. The nlr was murky with threat and bribery. lie fore it wns done lawyers whose stand ing nt tho bar had never been ques tioned wero driven from tho courts. Morn than ono witness found himself in tho penitentiary for perjury, and mnny others who ought to lmvo gone there escaped. Tho lawyers ceased to be mere hired fighters and the enmitlet among them engenderd In this case endure ntil this day. There is a well authenticated story of n blank check which passed from hand to hand and finally came to tho Judgo who tried the case. Ho could havo filled It out for n million and ho was a poor man. Ik spurned tho bribe nrd decided the case against tho millionaire. This Judge v as young nble brilliant nnd nrnbltlom. The enmity of Shnron has followed him ever since. All California appluud ed lilm, but his public career stopped right there. So tho Bell mansion cime into California politics. There Is much JSH more of this fhnrni tttry, and it has to do with the patnc on Octnvla street. Among the woman's lawyers wt ex Supr'me Judge l)ald S. Terry, a man of strength and hi art nnd brains; a M.utlurner and a fighter, a duellist who bad klllul .1 Fnlttd States bcihi toi on the field of honor; a violent man and a brave one. lie married the plain till, and nltir that the man who spoke a word npnlnst lit t fame had to reckon, not with the dl-ardtd compnnlon of a tlre-d, rich man, but with David S. Terry. Shnron claimed n residence In Nevada, where hi had not lived for years, and got th lase Into the United States courts, and there, before It wns done, Supreme Justice of the Fnlted States Omit SU'phui J. Field decided flatly agalnn tlu Judgment of the Cali fornia (ourt and proclaimed the wo man no wife. All tie bltti'iiHSH that had come out lu the state trial appeared lu the na tional court. To.-ry, tleice nnd des perate, charged the highest officer In the land with being the bribed und per jured servant of a millionaire. There weie scenes uppi (inching a riot lu this oidlnurlly the Most sedate ourt In the land. Once Terry, bowle knife In hand, was uverpoweru! by oilier rs as he sought to savo his wife from the con sequences of cue of her outbursts. For this, husband und wife, he an ex-Su-pieme Justice of California, were sent to jrtlhtin. They s rved their terms. Some time after they were released they we Judge Field at n inllroad eat ing station. Judge Terry shipped the f.ice of the Supieme Justice of the Fnlted States. Ills hand had hardly touched Field's face when a shot rung out nnd Tetry fell dying at Ills wife's ft et. David Nngle, desperado und gun lighter. Imported from the frontier for the purpose, secretly commissioned Deputy Unite il States Marshal, was the 10 as Field's body guard. Ills was the bullet that killed Judge Terry and the Fnlted Suites court took Nngle awn" '-Jin the state courts thnt would FRED BELL. have prosecuted him ns a murderer and Justified his dcid. For a while tho Sharon-Terry-Field ravelling must be dropped, for it leads far from the Bell house, and In cidents more Immediate to It press for attention, but the thread comes buck to the storied mansion before It ends In the most pathetic incident of nil. One morning in October, 18U2, Thomas Bell was found lying at the foot of the great staircase, Somehow he had fallen over the baluster rail at the head of the btulrs. He died without telling how It hnppcncd. It seemed Impossible that it should Irave been an nccldent, yet Bell was reputed to bo worth twelve millions, nnd obody could understand why he might have thrown himself over the railing to the marble lloor. There wero dark whispers of a still more terrible explanation, but nobody knew and nobody dared voice an ac cusation. Mammy Pleasant had long been lJell'a housekeeper. Though lie had a wife and grown children they never seemed to have a voice in the govern ment of tho home. It was Mammy Pleasant, shrewd, spotlessly nproned, suspicious und watchful, who guarded the great glass doors. No visitor ever passed that portal without first coming under hor Inspection. Her word wub law. Her ostensible master or mistress rn!y;ht bo In plilu sight nt a window, but thin Impcturahlc old damo would tell the visitor nobody was at home. If the visitor was a stranger nnd asked for any member of the family ho hnd fust to tell Mammy Pleasant his busi ness there before his card even went lu. But if there wns anything to hide nobody knew It. To this dny nobody has told why this city mansion was guarded like a beleaguered castle. Mammy Pleasnnt will nover tell. Sho lr more thnn SO years old now, and re ported on her death bed, but she still holds the reins over thnt household. Four yearn had pasfed since the mys teiious denth of the millionaire, '1 homns Bell. Much hnd happened in the interim, but this story cannot bo tolel In nntunl sequence. Four years after old Thomas Dell so strangely fell to his death, his oldest se,n, Fred Bell, went over the tame hnl iifcter rail u tho third story and fell to the hall be'.ow, where his futher was ltlllnd. Fred Bell did not die, but luoken limbs nnd bruised Jolntu kept him n cripple for eight months. He fin ally recovered, but he never explnlnoi' the accident. There wns a btory of n midnight hunt for burglars, during which tho young man stumbled over tho railing, lut the Bells never told nny details. 'I he fall is ns much a mystery ni tho 1 either 0110 four years before, thougr Fred Bell Is not naturally a close n.cutlied young fellow. Nobody knew tl ut there was strife In tho big house until the other day, when Fred Hell filed a petition In the Superior Court prnylug for tho removal of his rncthci us tho guardian of tho person.! and es tates of her children. He nsked to ho appointed In her Btend, and charged his raqther with "drunkenness nnd in decency." Ilo had much to any about the domination of tho old ncgrcAs Ibj the household. But to go back to the case of Sarah Allliea Hill Terry. When her husband was shot dead, oho re turned to their home In Fresno, nnd lived alone In a pretty cottage her hus band hnd furnished for her. Judge Terry was n inun of culture nnd taste, nnd had wealth enough to glvo hid wife almost anything sho wished. lint tho widow began to do eccentric tlilnpi, nnd one day she wub missed from Fresno. They broke Into the cottage nnd found a wreck. Mrs, Terry had been mud there alone for nobody knew how long. He" haiidcome dresses, lnrc nnd ribbons were twisted around the chandeliers, pictures wero torn down and brlc-n-brnc and household Hllvcr bung nlmle.ssly in grotesque places. The walls worn covered with craxy writings, zigzags, splrnlH. The woman had disappeared. She turned up In Kan Francisco und wandered In the streeltt with a bunch of wire In her hnml, through which she thought sho wax tcleplonlng to her dead husband, A geod mnny people begun to get wor ried. Mrs. Terry hnd wrongs enough, Heaven knows. Supposo she should start In to square them, ns crazy folks sometimes do, with pistol or knife. The police were nsked to restrain her, but she had disappeared. Tho prem took up the senrch. But tho dcmonteil woman hnd vanished off tho face of the earth apparently. Two weeks passed nnd then a clever young reporter called at tho Boll house. At first Mammy Pleasnnt denied all knowledge of Mrs. Terry's wherea bouts, but at last she confessed. For fourteen dayB Him hud watched over the poor raving muninc. Somehow tibc found the Hell house, and Mammy Pleasnnt took her In nnd kept her fiom the lnw, which sought to put tier In an I limine asylum. There1 Is plenty to he said to Mammy' Pleasaut's discredit, hut her euro for this wrecked woman stnnds out white und elenr. Mummy was true to her from first to Inst, and sho nursed her in the Bell bouse as tenderly as a mother would her child, nnd to this dny, when the onee beautiful, accomplished wo man Is a hopeless lunatic In one of the stuto insane asylums, forgotten by everybody else, Mammy Plcnsant still, keeps track of her. A young law pnrtner of Judgo Terry was Porter Ashe, the turfman, him self a figure lu a sensational marriage nnd a more sensntlonnl divorce. When the widow went crnzy Porter Asho wa made the guardian of her estate. Mam my Pleasant was his friend and he knew the Inside of the Bell house. After n tlmo "Tom" Williams, & young millionaire, who hnd bcon a close friend of Judge Terry's, charge that the estate had been wasted. An investigation followed, nnil little enough of the estate was found. Noth ing wrong could be discovered ia Ashe's accounts, but he wlthdrow from the administratorship and Williams became Mrn. Terry's guardian. Anhe and Williams have been fierce enemies ever Blnce. They wero both race horse men, and in a sense rivals, nnd tho bit terness between them has often led San Francisco to expect n tragic ending to their misery. There arc other storied' connected with tho old plnco, tales of extraordinary orgies thnt mado tho big bouse Infamous twenty yearn ago. Mammy Pleasant knows thorn all, but Mammy Pleasnnt docs not tell. Tim King of J'orjtoni. Daniel D, Noblo, who was at ono time tho leader of tho most notnblo and at the same tlmo most dangerous band of forgers and bank burglars In tho world, wan arrested last week in New York. Thousands upon thousands of spurious f notes wore mado by Noblo and his gang und they cut n wldo swath through Germnny, Belgium and Swit zerland in 1880. In 18GG ho was the leading spirit In tho Lord bond rob bery, which netted hfcn, "Frank" Knapp, James Griffin nnd "Llttlo",Pet tinglll ulmost 11,700,000. Ho was Im- "DAN" NOBLE. plicated In tho robbery of Leonard Jeromo In 18C7. Mr. Jerome's loss was well nigh $100,000. Noblo served six teen years In Mllbank prison nnd was serving a term of five years In Auburn prison when he esenped. Ho will preb ably have to finish that sentence now. Murtlrrcr CrtiiRtit 1 14 n Lumber Cuiop. Scrnnton pollco ware notified tho oth er day of tho capture of Georgo Van Horn, who murdered Mrs. Josephine Westcott in Scrnnton Inst August, ut a lumbering camp in Illinois, known as Wadena. Van Horn had boarded with Mm. Westcott and wns in iovo with hor but sho repulsed him nnd finally or dered him away. Ho secured entrance to the cellar by an outside door, and when sho camo down to got edibles for supper sprang upon her and cut her throat with u razor. Ktplcilou of it 1'owiler Home, Tho drying houso of tho St. Clair powder mill nt Wetherell Junction caught fire and blow up a few days ngo. Tho fire started outsldo the build ing. No ono was Injured. The origin of tin fire Is unknown. H ( i: l m J. SSSSISl!IISI!gg!?gi!w"g ' trrrw; Ecaatt53MfcyMW