Conservative * 11 fw
earth , " save in poetic fancy. It is al
ways victorious. When an individual
of duo intelligence comes in contact
with facts , ho believes" the facts. Be
lief is an involuntary act. It depends ,
first , on the ability to understand ,
secondly , on the manner of contact.
Love is involuntary. It depends on
the ability of one to appreciate the
qualities of another , and on the at
tractive qualities of the other. Hence ,
it is irrational to command one to be
lieve or to love. When I tell you the
paper on which I am writing , is white ,
you believe it , not because you desire to
believe , but because you are convinced
that I have spoken correctly. If you
were commanded to disbelieve , on pain
of eternal punishment , you might assent
that it is not white , but your mind
would remain true to your understand
ing. When I tell you that nuggets
grow just beneath the surface of the
earth that are more valuable than those
dug from the deepest mine , I speak the
truth , but it is clouded in metaphor.
When it is fully understood , it makes
an impression on the mind. If yon go
away without understanding , the im
pression is false. Facts are not so pre
sented in nature. By much argument
and clouding of reality , men are led
into the error that gold is worth more
than potatoes , notwithstanding all
know tnat millions of lives are pre
served every year by the latter. The
value of the former is almost entirely
fictitious. The value of the latter is
wholly intrinsic. Diamonds are fit
only for scratching glass ; yet two
nations , professedly Christian , - practically
cally pagan , are trying to throttle each
other on account of gold and diamonds.
"Gold ( and diamonds ) , many hunted ,
sweat and bled for , gold ( and
diamonds ) ! "
Nature , true to herself , has placed
the valuable gifts near the surface. A
fundamental truth is never hidden in a
maze. The reason men do not readily
apprehend is because they look for it in
the dark corners. Steam-power was
first discovered in the boilibg of a
kettle. Gravitation manifested itself
in the falling of an apple. Electricity
was decoyed by a kite. Some time ago
railway companies offered a reward for
the invention of a car-coupler that
would avoid danger to the operator.
The one accepted is an iron rod bent
like a man's arm while drawing or re
placing a coupling-pin. It is the same
in mechanism as in natural phenomena ,
truth , like grandpa's spectacles , is in
plain view.
The person who pursups falsehood is
like a child trying to catch a shadow or
reflected light. As he approaches , it is
seen in another direction. When he
lays his hand on it , it is gone. Ho has
nothing but the excitement of the
chase.
A superabundance of bounty , or of
truth , is , for the time , a useless accumu
lation. If it be imperishable bounty or
fundamental fact , it may be stored for
future use. However , second-hand goods
are not considered very valuable. It is
best to apply knowledge as soon as ob
tained. Higher research may be utterly
useless except in regard to fundamental
ideas.
Men are sometimes honored for doing
that which would better be left undone.
Solomon built a temple for the purpose
of keeping his people united , by attract
ing them to meet once a year. In doing
so , he destroyed the beautiful timber
that made the land humid and fruitful.
He wrote many beautiful truths , but his
life was a continuous falsehood. The
beautiful temple is numbered with the
things that were. The land is a desert
His people are sojourners in foreign
countries. JOSEPH MAKINSON.
Holdrege , Neb. , Febr. , 1902.
LEWIS AND CLARKE.
"Thursday , 28th , (1805) ( ) . The day is
clear and pleasant. Sixteen men were
sent out to examine the country for
trees suitable for boats , and were suc
cessful in finding them. Two of the
N. W. traders arrived ; they had like
wise a root which is used for the cure
of persons bitten by mad-dogs , snakes
and other venomous animals ; it is
found on high grounds and on the
sides of hills , and the mode of using
it is to scarify the wound , and to ap
ply to it an inch or more of the
pounded root , which is to be renewed
twice a day ; the patient must not ,
however , chew or swallow any of the
root , as an inward application might
be rather injurious than beneficial.
"Mr. Gravelines , with two French
men and two Indians , arrive from the
Ricaras with letters from Mr. Anthony
Tabeau. This last gentleman informs
us that the Rioaras express their in
teution of following our advice and
will remain at peace with the Man
dans and Minnetarees , who they are
desirous of visiting ; they also wish to
know whether these nations would
permit the Ricaras to settle near
them , and form a league against their
common enemies , the Sioux. On men
tioning this to the Maudans , they
agreed to it , observing that they al
ways desired to cultivate friendship
with the Rioaras , and that the
Almahaways and Miuuotarees have
the same friendly views.
1' Mr. Graveline states that the band
of Tetous whom we had seen was well
disposed to us , owing to the influence
of their chief , the Black Buffalo ; but
that the throe upper bauds of Totous ,
with the Sisatoons and the Yauktous
of the north , mean soon to attack the
Indians in this quarter , with a resolu
tion to put to death every white man
they encounter. Moreover , that Mr.
Cameron , of St. 'Peter's , had armed
the Sioux against the Ohippoways ,
who have lately put to death throe of
liis men. The men who had stolen
three of our horses wo found to bo all
Sioux , who , after committing the out
rage , said that they had hesi
tated about killing our men who
were with the horses , but that in
future they would put to death any of
us they could , as wo were bad medi
cines and deserved to bo killed. The
Ricaras wore displeased with their
conduct , and refused to give them
anything to eat , which is deemed rho
greatest act of hostility , short of
actual violence. "
SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY.
A long and "vigorous breath at fre
quent intervals is the preventive for
sea sickness that Prof. Heinz , of Erlin-
gen , regards as .infallible as simple.
The explanation is that the extra
oxygen added to the blood lessons the
sensitiveness of the lobe of the brain
that produces sea sickness by reacting
on the stomach.
In his ton years of experiment at
Paris and Lille. Dr. Calmette has
made his autiveuomous serum an
effective remedy for snake bites when
injected within four or five hours ;
and it is now supplied to such coun
tries as India , Australia and tropical
South America where the victims
number tens of thousands yearly.
The preparation of this antidote re
quires the venom of many serpents.
Cobras and others are kept alive in a
special hot-house , and once a fort
night the doctor and an assistant ex
tract the venom from each by holding
its head in the hands and compressing
the poison glands. The snake , which
seldom eats in captivity , is then forc
ibly fed by pouring two or three raw
eggs through a glass funnel into the
stomach. The poison , dried for keeping ,
is used in solution for innooulating
horses and dogs , and at the end of six
teen months a horse is made capable
of receiving safely a dose that would
kill 200 unvacoiuated horses. From
each horse may then bo taken every
two or three weeks from six to eight
quarts of blood , containing two or
three quarts of active serum. The
serum is bottled in single doses
about a third of an ounce.
Lampblack seems to have formed
the basis of ancient ink. The con
tents of two bronze cylinders from
Roman ruins in Franco have boon
found by M. Loidie to consist of lamp
black containing traces of copper , tin ,
iron and chalk , and this was undoubt
edly ink. It must have been much
like the Indian ink of today.
