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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 1896)
} jJMJwfr c kliiiTaNJfWiflWNr / ! : : t.i.Ew .vrd&MdWiC ( .iralkiJSadiwVJ Vj A GHOST TRAIN. ' id 1 f HY W. L. ALDHN. " 1)0 you mean to tell me , " I asked the stfttlon-munttT , "that jou really bellete that a train ha n ghost , ' " ' lnal 5"osMy trains run over arfual railways at night ? " "If you were a railroad man , " replied ' foolishness of asking " the my friend , "you'd tee ing such ft question ! Do I believe In ghost trains ? You might as well askmo If I be- llevo In Pullman car * . Why , man ! every railroad man knows that ghost trains are llablo to bo met with almost any night. I don't say that they are cotnmon , but I do Bay that there aie lots of men who have- scon 'em , and Imvo got just as much , reason believing In 'em as they have for believing In any regular train. " "Havo you , yourself , ever Eton a ghost train ? " I asked. The station-mailer chewed his clnar for A moment In silence and then said : "beelng as It's you that asks me. I'll tell you some thing that I haven't told any man for more unless he happened to be than ten years , nn experienced railroad man. You see , I got tired of having people doubt my word , and Insinuate that I was a lunatic , or had been drinking too much whisky. You'll per haps think the same , but what I'm going to tell you Is a cold fact and there ain't a bit of lying or poetry , or political argufying or any of those sort of Imaginative things about It. "You know the road from hero to Tiberlu Center ? Ita pretty near a straight line , bu when I first came Into these parts the train used to run from hero to Tiberius Center b ; n mighty roundabout way. The line , n It was originally laid out , ran In a sort o sunl-clrclo , taking In half-a-do en sinal towns lying northwest of this place. Afle a whllo the company surveyed the n&w lln and bored the big tunnel through the IJIu Eagle mountain1. The old line wasn't en tlrsly abandoned until about two years ago but after the tunnel was finished there wa only ono passenger train each way dall ; on the old line , and a freight train thro times a week. . "I htd a brother who lived up at Manllus a town on the old line , about savenly mile from here. That Is to say , Manllus was hi postofflco address , but ho lived In a hous that was three miles from the elation , nni there wasn't any town of Manllus , except th station house , and a llttlo shanty that wa used as a postofflce. I was a kind of a general oral asalstant at this here station where \v are now , and there not being very much worl on hand , I got two days * leave and took tin train up to see my brother. It was Jus about a year after the new line had beei opened , and no the company meant to abandni the old line , they hadn't put any repairs 01 It worth speaking of , and It was about th roughest rood you over traveled over. "I was a llttlo scared myself , though , as i rule , I never trouble myself about rallroai accidents , knowing that they're bound ti | * . como , and you can't help yourself. Then Bj" had been a terrible bad accident on that von read Just before the expresses quit runnlni over It. A train with a Pullmin car full o passengers went oft the track Just as shi had struck the bridge over the Muskahooi river , and as the bridge was over sixty feel high , and the river was over twenty foei deep , nobody ever saw hide or hair of thai train , or of anybody connected with It , fran that day to this. ' "Well , I got up to ; my brother's along aboul 8 or mobbo half-past 8 o'clock In the oven- Inp. and found Mm gonn away , and the hous < locked up. I ha'mmerod on the doors am tried the windows till I had icttled that then wasn't any ono at home , and that I couldn'l break In , and then I meandered back to tlit station , calculating to para the night In tlu woodshed , and take- the train back to Jerlchc the naxt day. It had been snowing hard , ant tl-ero was near a foot of snow on a level , lei B alone the big drifts that were..hero end there I was pretty well fagged out when I got t < the station , which , of course , was shut m for night , nnd If It hadn't been that I hac a quart flark of whisky In my pocket I Bhouk have como near freezing to death. "I went Into the wood shed , and got rount behind the wood , where the wind couldn I reach me , and after cussln' my brother for i spell , on account of his having ; gone oft anc shut up the houes , I made my preparations for taking a nap. Just then I heard the rumble of a train. This naturally astonished me , knowing no I did exactly what trains wore running on that road , and that there wasn't any sort of a train duo at that sta tion for the next fifteen hours. However , the train kept coming nearer and nearer , nnO pretty soon I heard the grinding of the brakes , nnd understood that the train was coming to a stop. I dldn',1 lose any time In getting out of that wood shed , and going foi that train. I could see It standing close tc the water-butt , about fifty yards down the road , anil know , ot course , that the engineer was taking In water. When I reached her I saw that the train consisted only of a baggage car and a Pullman sleeper. I swung myself up on the rear platform of the sleeper , and pushed the doer open with a good deal of trouble , for the woodwork seemed to have swelled , and there wasn't anybody to help S mo from the Inside of the car. IV- "When I got Inside I looked around for the 1 passengers ) , but there wasn't a , slnglo one. Neither was there any sign of the nigger porter , wha ought to have been there to ask mo , for my ticket , nnd to pretend that I was making him a lot of trouble * by asking for n bed. You know the ways of nigger porters , and how they always make you feel that It y&u don't glvo thorn a pretty Ms tip , you are a good deal worse than a slave driver. The car was lit up after a fashion by a single ell lamp , and all the bertha looked as If the passengers had Just Jumped out ot them , and the porter hadn't been round to make up the beds. I couldn't think what had become of I PUSHED TUB DOOll OPEN AND LOOKED IN. the passengers , seeing as they couldn't have gene Into the baggage car , and It didn't Bceni probable that a whole car full could have distributed themselves at way stations , However , that wasn't any affair of mine. I opened both doors of the car to let a llttlo air blow through , for It wan very musty , and then I picked out a good berth , and calcu lated to tutu lu for the night. I soon found that tlioiK ) berths weren't fit for any Chris tian to sleep In , for the bsd clothes were as damp as If they had been left out In a rain etorm , Where the water had como from that had soaked them I couldn't Imagine , fur It hadn't rained any for aweek , and It stood to reason that the enow couldn't bivo drifted Into the oar , ( but up aa tight as it was. Then It puzzled me to Imagine- why the porter hldn't taken the wet clotbeu away , and what had become ot the nigger anyhow. The whole business was enough to throw a man oft hit ) balance , and I gave up thinking about It. I s-at down In the wash basin , which was the only dry ieat In the car , and , loaning up against the corner , tried to get a nap , "iJy tiili time the train bad left the Nation several mllM behind , and was runnlngyjtt a rate thu I knevV nould have been rl ky on any road , let alone as rough a road as ( he one wn were on. At.firpj I didn't mind this , the running of the ttaln not being my business , but pralty soon I found that 1 could not keep my seat without holding on with both hands. I've been in cars that nave-dono some pretty lall running , and over some mighty rough roads , but I never before or since knew a carte to Jump , and roll , and flmko herself gener ally as that car did , I began to think that the engineer was either drunk or crazy , and thit the pa ongers had got so scaled that they had all left the'lran. ! To tell the truth , I would have boon glad , to have left the twin inysjlf , but I never was fond of Jumping , jand If thertulu anymam who- says that ho likes to Jump from a train that is doing forty or fifty mllM arf'hrjnr , Vhy 1 Just don't bollcvo hlit ) . , , , . , "All of a sudden I thought of the bell cord , and I decided thatI would , pull It and etop the train , hon If any conductor appeared I would Jell him -who I was ; and Inform him It'H If ho didn't make his engineer run the train In n decent why" \vo\ild Uke good care that the dlvloioii superintendent nhould know- all about the thing. So I got hold of the bell , cord and gave It a fairish sort or pull not the very hardest sort of a pull , you under stand , but Just a modcralo-piill. The cord broke. In my hand as easy as If It had been a plcco of thread , and all chance of stopping the train that way disappeared. I looked at rear platform Into a snow bank. 13ut , all. the tame , I did come moot of the way from Manllus last night In a Pullman sleeper. ' " 'Then you must have como on what the boys call the ghost train , ' says Hank. " 'What train's that ? ' says I. " 'Why , It's the ghost of the train that went off the bridge on the Muskahoot river. The boys do say that every once In a while there Is a train made up ot a locomotive , a baggage car and a Pullman sleeper that comes down the road hustlln' , and goes off the Muskahoot brldgo Into the river. I never taw tnich train myself , but there's lots of folks living along this road that have seen It , and you'd have hard work to ccnvlnca 'cm that It Isn't the ghost ot the wrecked train. Ccmo to think of It , that there train was wrecked Just a year ago .list night , and It's probable that her ghost w < as > out for an airing , as you might say. ' "Well , when I came to think the thing over I came to the conclusion that Hank was right , and that the Pullman with the wet bedclothes and the rotten bell cord was noth ing moro or les > 3 than the ghost of a car. However , I didn't say much moro to Hank about It at the time , tor the less a man talks about seeing ghosts the better It Is for htm , If ho wants to be considered a reliable man. Hut as soon as I got back to Jericho I went to see the division superintendent and told him the whole story. " 'See here , ' ho said , when I had got through , 'I suppose I ought to report your but considering that you were not on duty last night , and that you're not a drinking man as a general thing , I sha'n't say Any thing about It. nut If youll ! take my ad vice you'll not tell that ridiculous story to anybody else. " " 'Then you think I was drunk and dreamed the whole thing , flo yon ? ' I nskcd. " 'I don't think , ro , ' says he , 'I'm sure of It. I've Just been over the division reports , and no such train as you describe has been seen at any station. Ucsldcs I know I-UCKILY I PELL INTO A SNOW DRIFT. the bell cord and sa'w that It was as rotten as a politician's ) conscience , so I just broke off a piece cf It , about two or three yards long , and put it In my pocket , Intending to show It to the division superintendent as a specimen of the way In which Pullman car conductors attended to their business. "All the time the train was rushing ahead at a speed that would have been counted worth noticing oven on the New York Cen tral. When she struck a curve and there wore lots of them she just left the track entirely , and swung round that curve with her wheels in the air. And when she did strike the track again you can bet that things shook. I don't mean that the train actually did leave the track , but that was the way it would have seemed to you If you had been aboard that car. I went to the forward door to see If there was any chance of getting Into or over the baggage car anc S3 reaching the engineer , but It would have taken a monkey In first-rate training to have climbed over that baggage car wlthou breaking his neck at the rate at which wo were running. I went back Into the slcepe again , and , holding on to a berth , tried to light up a cigar , but somehow the mate ! didn't seem to take much Interest In the thing. I felt confident that In a few minutes more the car would leave the track and go to everlasting smash , and I remember feeling thankful that I had gene over my accounts Just before leaving Jericho , and that nobod ; could fall to understand them. Just then thought of the brake. If I should go out on the platform and put the brake on , the en gineer would feel the drag on the car am would stop the train , unless he was stark mad. At any rate , the thing was worth trylnt ! . "I got out on the platform , hanging on for all I was worth to the hand rail , until I got hold of the brake wheel. It was as rusty as It It had been soaking in water for a week but I didn't mind that. I Jammed tha brake down good and hard , but the brake chain snapped almost no easy as the bcl cord , and there was an end of that plan for stopping the train. Of course , I knew tha a brake chain sometimes ? snaps , and you can'l prevent It , but It was curious that both the bell cord and the brake chain on that car should have been good for nothing. "Well , I got back. In the car again , and I took a middling good- drink of the whisky , and It sort of warmed up my courage. ] never was a drinking man , even In my young days , for I despise a drunkard , especially II ho Is a railroad man. Dut I hadn't had above six or seven drinks that day , and I knew that another moderate ono wouldn't do mo any harm. I was beginning to feel a llttlo bettor , when I remembered that I had never heard the whytle | of the locomotive since we had titartcd from Manllus station. That showed mo that the engineer wasn't either drunk or mad , for In cither case ho would Imvo blown his whistle about two-thirds of the tlmo ; there being nothing that a-crazy man or a drunken engineer finds as soothing as a steam whistle. I couldn't explain our flying around curves and over level crossings without sounding the whlvtlo , except on the .licory that the. engineer had dropped dead n his cab. Hut then there would have been the llreman. ripth of the men couldn't very well have died at the same minute , and if there was anythlDK the matter with the engineer , the fireman would naturally either iavo stopped the. train and tried to get help , or he would have run It very cautiously , that not being his usual business , and would have icon very particular about whistling at the proper places , Not hearing the whistle was , in the whole , .jnore astonishing to me than finding a Pullman car without a passenger , or without a nigger porter-and ; 'with the bed- clotliesi soako4 with water , and the bell-cord almost too rotten to bear Its own we-lght. "Thero wasn't u thing to be seen through the car windows , for they wore thick with dirt. So , wanting to get tome Idea ot the ocallty that wo had got to , I went out on hu rear platform again , and getting down on the lower stop , I leaned out to have a ook all around , Just then wo started around mother curve , and what , with my fingers jelng a llttlo numb , " and what with the swaying of the car , I lost my hold , and was shot off that train llko a mall bag that Is chucked on to our platform when the Pacific express goes booming by. "Luckily I fell Into a snow bank and wasn't seriously hurt. However , the shock stunned no for o while , and when I came to , and ound that I had jio bones broken , nnduhat ny skull was all right , I picked myself up and started to walk down the track till I should come to a house. After walking , as I should judge , about halt a mile , I came to Kast Kabtusvllle , where there Is a little tavern , and mighty glad I was to eee it. I knocked the landlord up and got a bed , and It watf noon the next day before I woke up. ; There wasn't any train to Jericho until after 3 o'clock , eo not having anything to do , I loskod up the landlord , and found he was an old acquaintance of mine , by the name of Hank Simmons. When I told him that I had come to FablusvJIlo by a night train , be tort of ( mailed , and I could see , he didn't be- Hove me , 'I don't ray- that ttfo train Mopped here,1 I laid , 'for the tut I saw ot It was a inllo or so up tha road , wltere I fell off the vhcre every Pullman car In the company's service Is Just at this Identical time , and It's impossible that a Pullman should have been on the Manllus branch last night. No tialn ot any kind went over that branch between 8 o'clock last night and 7 o'clock this morning. ' " 'Then I wish you'd explain how I trav eled from Manllus station to East Fahlus- vlllo last night between 0 and 12. I can prove by the conductor of the ; up .train , that he let mo off at Manllus after 8 o'clock last night , and I can prove by the landlord of the Fablusvllie tavern that I put up'at his house Just before 12 o'clock. A .man , whether he Is drunk or sober , can't travel seventy miles In three hours unless he does It on a railroad train. ' "Tho superintendent was a mighty smart man , but this conundrum of mine was more than ho could answer. So1 ho only smiled In an aggravating sort of way , and said : 'You'd better take my advice and keep quiet. You know how down the directors are on any man that drinks too much whisky. If you go about talking of this adventure ! of your's , the chances are you'll lose your place. ' "Just then I happened to think of the piece of bellcoru that I had taken from the car. I put my hand In my pocket , and there It was , sure enough. I held It up and said to the superintendent : "There's a piece of the rotten bcllcord that I told you about. Perhaps , you'll say I dreamed six feet of bell cord Into my pocket. ' "Tho superintendent took It. and I could see that ho was considerably staggered. 'You say that you got this out of the Pull man sleeper that , you dreamed about ? ' he asked. " 'That's Just exactly and precisely the Identical place where I got that cord afore said , ' says I , as solemn as If I was on my oath. " 'Well , ' says he , 'I take back what I said about your having been drunk. That there cord hasn't been In use In any car on this road for more than a year. The last car that had a cord like that was the ono that went into the Muskahoot river. That's a cotton cord , and wo don't use any thing but hemp nowadays. ' " 'Then you think that I was on a ghost train after all ? ' said I. " 'I think , ' says ho , 'that the less you nay about It the better that Is , If you care to follow my advice. If you keep on talking about It you'll have halt the trainmen on the division watching for ghosts and ne glecting their regular dutjcs. ' "Of course , I promised to do as the tmperlntondent said , and I never mentioned the ghost train until this particular superin tendent had skipped to Canada with over $100,000. Ho was a most amazing smart man , and If I had gone against his withes I wouldn't have staid In the company's service very long. However , when I did begin to tell the ptory nobody believed me , except now and then an old train hand who had teen ghcst tralnu hlmtclf and knew all about 'em. I've told you the story as straight as a die , and you can take It or leave It. Just as you choose. As Horace says , 'There's moro things In heaven and the other place than the philosopher ever dared to dream about,1 " IT IS JVO'l"IIKAVn.V , ' Wlirrc KiiviiilfM of Country Eililorx Will lie Wnrinl- ll.--c-lv , . , ] . The editor of a paper In tho.ivest.which Is pa , ? for , ' " corn uben tne subscribers ore ob god.to pay , gleefully tells of a country editor who had died of starvation and was jelng escorted to heaven by an angel who lad been sent out for that purpose. "May I look at the other place before 1 ascend to jternal hipplneis ? " "Easily , " siltl the ang l. So they went below and t'klrmlohed ' around , taking In the sights. The angel lost track of the editor , and went aroun'd hades to hunt ilm. He found him sitting by a furnace fanning himself and gazing wth | rapture upon the lot of people In the flro. There was a sign on the furnace which said- 'Delinquent Subscrlbsrs. " "Comer" said the ingel , "wo must bo going. " "You go on" sad ( the editor , "I'm not coming. This is heaven enough for me. " There may be something In this. Thoughtful people have often wondered how they could bo able to enjoy heaven when conscious that to many whom they dearly love , In splto of their wickedness , would bo suffering eternal pun- shment In another place , where the tears of the good could not put out the fires that were scorching thp wicked , and many affec tionate people have withed they could dare loubt the theory of endless damnation and remain respected In a hard-shelled commu- ilty simply on account of their friends. On he other hand. It Is feared many more cl- Ish people who are good , not for goodnefa' sake , are anticipating that their greatest de- Ights In heaven will be found when they ; an look over the pearl and golden battle- nents Into that horrid and eternal place and ee their enemies writhing and roasting , and ) o able to tell them ; "I told you ED ) " Dewltt'a Little Early Itltcru curs ludlge * . Ion and bad breath , THE RED MAN , AS A JUGGLER Remarkable Tricks Phformod by - Indian Mediaba Men. RESULTS CF EXPERT INVESTIGATION The AninrliiK I'l'iit * at Orleiitnl n < imilfil Itlhc > a.Mrnt Settler * of America Severnl In- cl.lcntu Cllvil. "Tho medlclno men ( of certain aboriginal tribes In this country are amazing- jugglers , " said lr. ) W. J. Hoffman , the government eth nologist , to a Washington correspondent ol the Philadelphia Times. "Somo of the feats of magic they perform are equal to any t > ! those eald to be executed by the yogis ol India. Judging from travelers' stories , the most remarkable thing done by those Oriental fakirs Is the making ot a plant to grow out ot the ground. Hut there are sorcerers among our Indians who arc able to duplicate this trick. A number of them will gather In. a circle closely , with their heads bowed to gether , so as to shut out the view from with out. Presently , after going through some monkey business , they separate , nnd lol there Is a century plant growing on the prairie where provlcusly nothing was to ho seen n plant apparently of a dozen years' growth and two or three feet hlge. How ls It done ? you ask. I haven't the slightest notion. "On one occasion Lewis Cass went to Mackinaw , Mich. , for the purpose of repre senting the government In a conference with the Indians there. After the official core- nnnles there was a blgmollclne | fcasti This latter performance was witnessed by Mr. Cass , who -took notice Incidentally of n woman looking ion a visitor llko himself. She was a full-blooded Chlppow-a , and In her hand she had an old and drled-up bag of snakeskln. She spoke English well , and , In respbnso to a question , she raid that the bag contained certain charms and articles cf magical value. Mr. Caps laughsd at her and she became very angry. She threw the bag upon the ground , and , being trans-formed Into n snake , It chased tha derisive statesman , who was obliged to take to his heels. A min ute later the serpent returned to the woman and became a bag .again. That Is the strry Mr. Cass told ; you may take It for what It U worth. "Christian missionaries have found the In dian magic a serious obstacle to tholr , , evan gelizing efforts. Sorcery Is Intimately asso ciated with the aboriginal worship ) and the savages , after astonishing the priests ? with their tricks , laugh at them , saying , ' .Your re ligion can't do Mich things. ' I happen to know of the case cf a Jesuit priest who some years ago went to worki among the Arapahoey and Cheyennes , west of the Mississippi. He gave up the business of saving tholr souls after a while and came away entirely dls > curaged. They did .things . which , he de clared , wera entirely beyond his understand ing. The medicine men would go out.on . the bare , sandy prairie , where there was not a yfirlg of vegetation , and , jitter some chanting and various perform-ancesi , grass would came up out of the ground quite a patch of it , green and growing. He himself saw It grow , and there could be ni doubt about lu "Tho bravest act I have ever known was perfornied by one of thesa Indian Jugglers. A favorite trick or his was one that has aften been performed by white magic'ans. ' It consisted In permitting'himself ta b3 shot at. the hocus-pocus being an arrangement by which the bullet fell out of tha barrel Into a cavity in the stock ot live wc-ipon before the ! atter was discharged. Meanwhile he had nn- stlipr bullet concealed in his mouth , which it the Instant of firing he pushed out yard with his tongue , " BO as tomake : U appear that he had caught the projectile between his , Leeth , Now , It happened that tills man had q ' rival ; wlib'-was'cngageuMiMthO'CinJurlpK busl- ness In a neighboring village. On an occa- , ilon when the trick was to be performed , the luggler announcing , as usual , that he was ready to be shot at by any one present , the rival stepped forward and said that he would lo the shooting. But he demanded permis. > - rfon to use his own gun. "Naturally the Juggler objected , but his irotest was overruled. It was decided tliat .ho rival magician might use his own weapon. This meant almost sure death to the per- ormcr , yet he did not blanch. To refuse the : eat wbuld have been permanent disgrace. There was one chance out ot a hundred , per- wps that the marksman might miss. He leclded to take that chance , and so permitted .he volunteer executioner to take deliberate ilm and flro at him from a distance of half a iozen paces. An Instant later he fell dead ; he bullet had passed thrcugh his brain. "In some tribes of Indians It used to be the rule that a sorcerer who failed three times nust pay the penalty of death. That regula- lon has been remarkably widespread among iavagea. I understand it to have been ac- Patagonia on this con- : epted as far south as Inent , and undoubtedly It survives to thlu lay In parts of Africa and elsewhere. Hut here was an Ingenious magician of my ac- qualntanco who saved himself from tills talc by a little device of his contriving. Beinf permitted to furnish the bullet by which hi wao to be shot , he made one In a mold Ir which a pleco of paper was inserted In sucl a nvanner that the ball was cast In two heni' ippheres. These ho put together , causlnf them to hold by rubbing the edges with hli knife-blade. In this way ai the same tlmt the deception was concealed , On being fired from the gun , the bullet flew In halves which , Lelng of such a shape , scattered and left the man untouched. By this means he escaped on several occasions the pen Hj which ought to befall the wizard who Is a failure. Finally , however , ho was found out and executed. "I once saw an Interesting trick performed InHdo of a ceremonial wigwam. There was a lot of dancing and mummery , In the midst of which a woman came forward and struck the ground In the middle of the lodge. Then a medicine man took- his turn and began scratching with a stick on the spot which the woman had struck. In a minute or two were exposed to view the leaves of a full- grown wild turnip. The vegetable was dug cp and thrown among the spectators , to show that there was no deception and to quell the appetite of the hungry public , Scratching eomo more with his stick , the magician produced several more turnips two or three dozen of them. It was really won derful. I should have been more aston ished , however , If , being an Initiated member of the secret society , I' bad not been present In the morning and Bean the woman bury tna turnips. "In the Mcnomonl tribe today there Is a Juggler of great reputation. One ot his best trlcko lu done with a bear's claw and a small disk-shaped mirror. Ho takes the mirror In ono hand and the bear's claw In the other , Thun , swaying his body fro-m sldo to side and keeping up a monotonous chanting , he bring" the claw neirertlo the mirror , until finally there Is contact between the two and the claw stands upon -Its point upright on the mirror. Presently ; : ) > y a sudden move ment , the glaba Is turned upuldo down , and the claw still remainstattactied to It by the point. U Is quite surprising , but a particle of'ordinary ' epruco gum does the whole busl. new. "The late Garrlck MaJlery cf the bureau of ethnology once told ino of something quite unacountablo which -witnessed at White Earth In I860. There -was present a famous medlclno man , who made a bet with the local government agent that -Ilie latter could nettle tlo him with ropes la such a manner that In SWEETNESS and POWER of TXWE , BEAUTr ot DE- "BAY STATE" GUITARS , MANDOLINS , § BANJOS , 3 ZITHERS , and FLUTES' are equalled bf no other Amert caDluitrumeuli. Lowritlniul ! * O of nily llrlctlr lilsli grade Initro- rintnu. . it AWJIUUI. Scad tot JOHNC.HAYNES CO. , ho would not be able to dltengaRo hlmscl oft-hand. The Rgnnt , nmlitcd by Mattery an other white men , tied the Imllnn up In th most el b rlte fashion anil put him Inslrt ot a conical wigwam In Uio nitdJIo ct ai open sp.ico. Nobody lpo \ \ & permitted t como near him. As quickly as they lind with drawn , trcnicndoun thumping sounds wer < heard from the hut , which mviyed from "Id to side as If It would bo torn to pieces. Twi or three minutes later the Indian called out telling them to go to a cortnln house severs hundred yards away , where they would flm their ropes. One of the whlto men aas sen to the house , and ho found the ropes , will all of thfr complicated knots untied. Tin tlelng committee opened the ulgnam then but found the wizard smoking a pipe , will his black magic stotio on his lap. Nclthei | > lpo nor stone had boon there previously The head priest of the wizard's society , hav Ing heard of this exhibition , sent word tha ho would bo killed It he repeated such i performance for gain. Evidently It wai deemed Improper that religious business 01 that sort should be thus prostituted. "Belonging to a tribe with which I hue acquaintance was a no-account Indian , RCIV orally despised by his fellow-redskins , win always carried nbout with him a medlclm bag made ot an old duck ukln. On one occa < t'lon so the story was told to me ho Joined a fishing'party. . While they were off on the expedition , several boat loads of hostile sav > ages appeared. They tried to escape , bill their foes could paddle faster , and appar ently they had no chance to get nway. The pursuers came on sa swiftly that the pursued wcro demoralized. One of the latter re marked to the no-account Indian : 'If yout duck skin Is any good , make medlclno wltli It now and make It quick. ' In response * the owner of the duck skin bag held It In the water , and at once the speed of the boat Increased so much 'tlmt the hunting party escaped. Seemingly , the spirit of the chick ops rated after the manner of a paddle-wheel and pushed the craft along. "I was much mystified on ono occasion by n trick I saw pc'formed In a big mc.llclnn lodge. ' In the courss of a long ceremonial an Indian took a bag about the size of a laige hanJIccrchlct and manipulated It In such a manner as to show that It contained nothing. Then he danced around the lodge slowly , holding the bag bctwcsn his lingers by "tho upper corners. Presently the heads of two snakes appeared from the mouth of the bag. and about a foot ot the length of oich snake became vUlble. lliit It chanced .hat the Jnsgler In his dancing passed by the open door ot the lodge , and then I un- IcrFtocd the fake. The light shining through he bag showed that It contained no snakes. What had appeared from the bag was merely : he Bluffed heads and bodies for a short ength of a couple of rattlers. They were mi.de to stick out by pulling taut the plcco of tape to which they were attached. "A good many of these Indian tricks I \as able to solve. Some of the most remark- iblo ones , which are perfectly well authen ticated. I never saw. I knew of a Juggler vho could take ripe red cherries out of his no-Jth at any season ot the year. One cred- tl ? witness assured mo that he knew the cherries were real , because he had eaten 1 em. I have made quite a business of ex- pof.ing such aboriginal magic , which does a gosd deal of harm In various ways. Incident ally antagonizing the Introduction of the Christian religion nnJ the progress of clvll- Mtlon among the savage tribes. I have done omewhat of the same sort of work that vas performed by Houdln , who was sent iy the French government to Algiers or the purpose of outjuggllng the Algerian ueglera. By doing w ho convinced the Al gerians that tholr Jugglers were not divinely nsplrad. One trick he performed \\ns the Irlng of bullets which made i-plashes of blood on the target. Tlie lead bullets osten sibly uMd dropped Into a civlty In the gun stock , pellets cf wax filled with a rel liquid using substituted. The effect ot this trick on ho Algerians was astonliftlng. I have pro duced an equal effect by turning water Into ilood. It was very elmplo. Put n few drops f chloride of Iron In ono glass , and a few Irops of sulpho-cyandig In another , permit- ing them to dry. Then pjt cloir water In both glasses. Tour the contents of one glass Into the other , and the resulting liquid Is blood red. Throw It avay , of course , before inybody can examine it critically. "Another trick of mlno was to set sugar in fire. My cilgar was real sugar mixfl with chloridas'of potath. I would get an Indian medleme"man tb idlp a stick Into water , to see If he c6uld set1 tha sugar on fire with wa'lfcj IVhen he-failed I took my turn ; but my st. f md Jieen dlppel previously Into sulphuric acid , ind I merely made a pretense of putting It nto the water. When the stick touched the sugar the chloride of potas-h was Ignited by .he sulphuric acid , and.a great blaze followed. Many such clmplo chemical experiments I lave performed for the purpose of astonlsh- ng the Indians , and they rate me as a first ilass magician. " A. G. Hartley of Magic , Pa. , writes : "I teel It a duty of mine to inform y3u and the nubile that Dewltt'a Witch Hazel salve cured ne of a very bad case of eczema. It also : ured my boy of a running sole on hi * IP ? " FORTY YEARS OP SUFFEUING FnO.1I IMI.ES. [ Icntnrkiililc Cure of I'uiiulnr Major Ilcnn of ColiiiuIiiiH , Ohio. People who suffer from that annoying and obstinate disease will be gratified to learn that science has discovered a safe , conven ient and simple cure for every form of piles , as the experience of the popular Major" Dean of Clumbus , Ohio , amply attests The major says : I would like to add my name to the thousands who have been cured by the Pyramid Pile Cure. I know from experience that It IB the only remedy 01 earth that will effectually cure plies ; plent ; ot remedies give relief for a tlmo , but as to ; a lasting euro I had tried all the salvos , lo tions , etc. , without success. Six boxes ol the Pyramid Pile Cure entirely removed aK traces of a case of piles of forty years stand- Ing.You You may rest assured that the Pyraml Pllo Cure has no stauncher advocate thai myself. I feel that It Is my duty to allow you to use my name In any way you may POO fll In order that other sufferers may thus bo directed to what I feel certain will bo speedy relief and cure. ' The Pyramid Pllo Cure gives Instant rellel and a permanent euro In all kinds of blind , bleeding , Itching plies. It ID absolutely free fro moplates , cocaine and Elmllar poisons po common In pile cures. The Pyramid Pile Cure Is sold by druggists at CO cents and $1.00. A bok on cause and cure of piles will bo sent free by addressing the Pyramid Co. , AlblonMlch. _ DOG TOR Searles & Searles SPECIALISTS IH Nervous , Chronic mid Private Oiscao. WE AT HEN BUXUALLV. 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