AI.IANT and venturesome were
VI the American soldiers In the
I Fnanlsh war. and valiant, too.
weie the Spaniard. It icjdred
Colonel Greene of the signal corps
to tell the story of a gallant Spanish flag
man, which Gen. A. W. Greely repeats In
his article In the Century Mag z ne on tho
United States Signal Corps in war-time.
At Kl Caney the Spaniards occupied the
graceful stone fort of Kl Viso. It was the
key to the situation on their left, an! they
built a telephone line from Santiago to the
fort, which they equipped as a signal sta
tion. On July 1st iho Amoilcin attack teifin at
C In the morning and our left, pushlr.g for
ward to cut off the enemy's line of com
munication", occupied the highroad to San
tiago ubout 8 o'clock. Keying the tele
graph wire that bound together El Caney
and Santiago, the American soldiers, obed
ient to mi.ltary Instincts, promptly cut It
Rut the beleaguered fort was no more cut
off from communication with Santiago than
was Corso at Altoona from Sherman at
Kenesaw mountain. In a few minutes a
Spanish flagman appeared on the command
ing summit of El Vlao and began signal
ing to Santiago.
Ills figure showed sharp and clear against
tho morning sky, within rifla-range of 5,000
keen-x.yed Americans who were pouring a
fire Into Kl Vis). At intervals the deep
notes of Capron's battery roared over tho
Shrill music of the bullets.
Indifferent to shot and shell, the Span
iard rhythmically waved his signal flag to
and fro until lie had pent his m-SMage. In
telling the story Coln?l Greene ade"cd:
"How long the flag waved or what It said
I do not know, but as no signal dig was
reported among the trophies nt Kl Caney,
I hope that he escaped. Here's to him If
alive! If not, peace to his manes!"
Jim II11I and Diamond Joe.
James J. Hill, .the railroad president, be
an his connection with the transportation
business through steamboatlng, but he soon
deserted It for railroading. The road which
lie has Blnce made bo widely known was at
that time considered the slowest In the
eountry. Mr. Hill listened good naturedly
to the fun that was naturally poked at his
road, and worked the harder to Improve it.
Meeting Mr. IM1 one day In tho street in
St. Paul, "Diamond Joe' Reynolds, of
tipper river steamboat fame, said:
"Jim, I'll match one of my steamboats
against one of your trains in a fair race
for 5500 a ride."
"Well, I don't know," hesitated Mr. Hill;
"some of your boats are pretty fast."
"Come, I'll race you upstream," urged
Reynolds.
"Oh, thunder!" returned Mr. Hill In a
disgusted tone; "if you're going to Btick
to the river then you might as well drop
the notion of a race. I thought you meant
you'd bring your boat out on the prairie
alongside the track and give me some
show." New York Tribune.
One Giatrltire Knongb.
Myron T. Herrlck, governor-elect of Ohio,
referring to the hard work of his recent
campaign, told this story about Senator
Ilanna: The senator had made Ave speeches
during the day and was pretty badly used
up when he returned to the private car in
which the spellbinders were traveling at
night. He accepted a proffered glass of
brandy, but before drinking it, said:
"Boys, I feel like a fellow who enlisted
In the early days of the civil war and was
Boon in a battle. Being wounded. ho was
left on tho field for dead, while the army,
defeated, beat a retreat.
"As the wounded man, sore, hungry and
bloody, but still ablo to wulk, stagg. rod
along In the wake of the army, lie talked
to himself as follows:
" 'I love my country. I love It n lot. I
am willing to fight for It. Tea. 1 urn will
ing to die for my country. Hut, by tli in
der, when this wnr Is over I will never
love another country!"
"When this campaign is over," concluded
the senator, "I'll never"
He was not allowed to finish the rcn
tcuce. New York Times.
Kinr'i Hall MarUa.
Truly is the mark of genius beyond hid
ing. The delightful nuthor-artlt. F. Hop
kinson Smith, has his title written clear In
many ways. He has the mark of genius
even to his dress. Mr. Smith Is remem
bered In the Franconla Notch of the White
mountains, not for his attainments in the
field of art, but as a lover of the rod mid
a "picture feller," but more especially
clearly for his trousers.
It happened recently that a follower of
Izaak Walton, returning from an afternoon
spent with the trout in a btook nrnr tho
Franconla range, was hailed with the hail
of nil anglers. "What luck?" from a
mender of wagons by tho roadside, bare cf
foot and picturesque. The talk from fish
and fishing fell to fishermen. 'To you
know Frank Smith?" inquired tho wagon
mender.' The fisherman admitted knowl
edge of many Smiths of high and low de
gree. but was not positive In his identlll
catlon of the specified Frank.
"Frank Hopkinson Smith, I mean," ex
plained the mender of wagons.
I'leasant reminiscence lighted up the face
of both men. "I," mused the wheelwright,
"used f know him well. Great fellrr,
Frank. Never knowed anybody quite liko
him. Used f see him pretty often 'mojt
every summer for fifteen year. Made pic
tures and fished. Never dressed like other
folks. When anybody got anything liko
Ms he Jes' lined out fer something different.
Wore the first short pants even seen on a
man up here, and the hull darned milt
looked as If It was made outen an ingrain
carpet with big riggers. Ain't ever seed
another suit like It, and don't expect to.
Mighty good feller and painted purty pic
tures. Hut them pants say! I can't fe:git
em! They was the gol-durndest pants I
ever sec!" Saturday Evening Post.
Mr. Riley's Wife.
A friend of James Whltcomb Riley tells
a story of an encounter the bachelor poet
once had with a woman reporter. The
energetic young woman, after strenuous
effort had finally caught Mr. Riley at the
telephone This Is the conversation that
followed:
"Is this Mr. Riley?"
"Yes. That is Miss ?"
"Miss Jones, of the Courier-Journal. I've
been trying all day to get an interview
with you, Mr. Riley."
"Ah, would It were now a view Instead
of an Interview," aald the poet, gallantly.
"Oh, thanks. How long will you remain
In Ioulsville, Mr. Riley?"
"Only a short time."
"Is your wife with you?"
"No, Ma'am, she Is not."
"Where is sho, may I ask?"
"You may ask, my dear Miss Jones but
I find It very difficult to answer. I am
In absolute Ignorance as to her where
abouts. For aught I know to the con
trary, she may right now be at the other
end of this telephone."
There wns much of laughter, and after
ward an effort to resume the Interview,
l'.ut In vain. Mr. Itlley had escaped.
Now York Times.
A !MIu In French,
W. It. Yeats, the Irish poet, talking to
reporters In Philadelphia, told them that
Amcrioi reminded lilin of France. The
compatison of the Quaker town to Paris
must have delighted tho Philadclphlans.
l'.ut perhaps Mr. Yeats mentioned tho like
ness only to trll a story, lie said that
the char nlr and gay sunlight made him
imagine himself In Paris, so that ho was
oftm under the Impulse to enter tho
American simps and ask tho price of
things In bad French.
"My French Is very bad," he explali ed.
"I have no doubt it Is as Iwid as tho
English of a Frenchman whom I met in
Parts once.
"I had told this Frenchman that a young
lady whom we both knew was ill. Ho be
came sympathetic.
" 'She Is ill?' ho said. 'Eot la too bad.
And what is zo mattress?'
"'What Is the mattress?" said I. 'Oh,
I see. You mean, 'What Is the matter?'
" 'Ah but," objected the Frenchman, 'is
cot not of ze feminine gend.iiro zat wo
speak?" "
A Southern Incident.
Congressman Carter Glass of Virginia
holds to the belief that party politics can
1k played with fairness, even In the house
of representatives. He was discussing tha
point with Judge Sims of Tennessee, who
agreed with him partially, but declared
that he Intended to vote with the demo
crats at all times. "And I'll tell you why,"
he added. "It's lieoause of my observa
tions. I remember that a few years ago
there came to this house a brilliant lawyer
from Georgia. Ha had large knowledge
of parliamentary practice and such ex
alted convictions of fair play in politics
that he was moved more than once to
vote against his party. That man from
Georgia," concluded Judge Sims In a con
fidential whisper, "Isn't here now."
Interviewing Svimlnr Hoar.
A young man from Florida came to
Washington to represent a newspaper In
his state. A few days after he arrived
Senator Hoar introduced a bill referring to
a lottery In Florida. The young reporter
hastened to see the senator, with visions of
a column Interview from him concerning
the bill and its effect, and all that. Tho
servant said that the senator would see
him.
"What is it?" asked Mr. Hoar, when the
young man had been shown In.
"I want to nak you about the bill you In
troduced today."
"What do you want to auk me about It?"
Inquired the senator.
"Why, I am from Florida and represent a
Florida paper, and I thought you might
give me an explanation?"
"Have you read the bill?" asked Mr.
Hoar.
"Yes, sir."
"Do you understand It?"
"I think so, sir."
"Well, If you do not, no explanation I
could make would help you to do so. Good
evening."
And that was another of those Interviews
never printed.
&
Trouble Knnnah,
Tho late Amos Cummlngs of New York
used to tell this story of his first assign
ment as a newspaper reporter. He was
sent out to write up an accident wfierc an,
Irish hodoarrler was injured In a fall from
a building. He arrived Just as two officer
were assisting the Injured man into tho
ambulance.
"What's hU name?" asked Cummlngs of
one of tho officers, at the same moment
pulling out Mi pad and pencil.
The Irishman heard him, and mistaking
him for the timekeeper on the Job, ex
claimed, with a hMik of disgust covering his
face:
"Isn't It trouble enough to fall three
Stories without being docked for the few
moments 1 lose goln' to th' hospital?"
Philadelphia. Ledger.
May No Wore.
A story is told of Count Schouvaloff, S
former R.issian ambassador to England. H
greatly mliulrd English women and was
heartily nnnoyed whi n he offended any onu
of them. While he was here ho learned
English, nnd having bean! one famous Eng
lish beauty say "Hlml up!" to another, ha
imagined it to bo a phrase of polite agree
ment, such as, "Say no more." J ti this
sense he himself uddressed it to an Illus
trious woman the next night at dinner, to
her consternation and bis own, when later
ho dlscuvt red his mistake.
fiettliiK Acquainted.
In the days when the late Sir Charles
C.avan Duffy was a lending figure In Vic
torian politics there sat In the Melbourne
Parliament a wculthy but not well In
formed butcher. The chief secretary of tho
duy was deprecating the attitude of tho
leader of the opposition, whose conduct
was, ho declared, worso than Nero's.
"Who was Nero?" interjected the knight
of the cleaver, with equal scorn and sin
cerity. "Who was Nero?" replied the delighted,
chief secretary. "The honorable gentleman
ought to know. Nero wus a celebrated
Itoinu.il butcher."
( hnngrii (lie Mood.
Generul Leonard Wood attended in his
boyhood a school In Middluborough, Mass.,
and In MliUlleborough they will speak of
the direct and original mind that the boy
had.
"I remember one day In school," said a
Middleborough man recently, "Wood was
called up In the grammar lesson. Tho
teacher said:
" 'I-eonard, give mo a sentence, and we'll
see If wc can change It to the Imperative
mood.'
" The horsa draws tho cart, said Leon
ard. " 'Very good. The horse draws the cart.
Now change tho sentence to a neat lm
peratlve.'
" 'Coc-up,' s:.Id young Wood." i
The t'onrt Fixed.
"I fear," said Senator Teller, "that tho
Colombian delegates who have come to sea
If something cannot be done to get Panama
back into their country fire like the Jus
tice ef the jace I tried a case before In
Colorado once. The suit was over an old
debt for supplies. The defense was thru tho
bill was paid. The Justice was a pompous
eld chap who knew no law. After wo
had finished the Justice said: The court
knows all about this case. The court has)
heard what the witnesses had to ssy nnd tho
talk of the lawyers. The court will not
decide the case Just now. The court will
take the case under advisement for three
days and the court will then decide the
caae In favor of the plaintiff.' "
)