THE OMAHA SUNDAY IlKK: MAUCH fl. 1010.
... .
EXPLORING A LONG DEAD CITY
Colonel Kozloff'i Two Years in Cen
tral Mongolia.
TARTAR TOWN OFFERS MUCH NEW
Made Vmr Discoveries on the Site
of Cham-Choto Whole Library
of Knrlr Bnddhlst III
tralnrr. ST. PKTKItSBl'R'-l. Feb. ti" Explora
tion attracts tlie Ruslan mlnl rather from
It historical than It geographical hear
ing. The exploring bent of the rflav ha
turned always t where tt mlifht expect
to unearth somu human storr of the past.
RuMalan traveller have made the vsst
ancient plain of North China, of Mon
golia and the first nurseries of human so
ciety In rlshlmalayan Tranfcaucasia their
special field of search. Probably the most
fruitful of all their organised Journeys was
crowned last night by a reception here at
th Imperial Ueographlcal society to Col
onel Peter Kasnutch Kosloff, lemier of an
expedition that passed two year In central
Mongolia In the region near I.ako Kokunor
and ha brought hack a marvellous col
lection of records, worked metala, sacred
relic snd Implements of daily life from
the burled city of Chara-Choto (the Black
1'ortressj. tha capital of a powerful Mon
golian nation overthrown centuries ago by
tha Chinese.
It Is the fourth expedition to Mongolia
equipped by Kusslan czars In the last forty
eears. Colonel Kaxloff'a first effort dates
back twenty-flv years ago, when he went
'on the last Journey of the Immortal Prjs
vallsky. Tha party which has now had
such succexs consisted, beside Koiloff, of
the Moscow geologist Tchernoff, the topog
rapher Captain Napalkln, and ten soldiers
four Moscow grenadiers and six Trans
lialkal cossacks. The ciar puld tha ex
penses. The exposition left Moscow In Novem
ber, 1907, traveling by the Kursk railroad
over the Itusslan plains and the Ural moun
tains, through the steppes and forests of
'Siberia to tha Hlvcr Angara and Its
father," Lak,o Baikal,, and thence to Ver-che-Udlnsk,
wbore Kosloff and Tchernoff
'went on by troika tha Uussla three-horse
sleigh to Kyacbta on tho Russo-Chlnese
frontier. They had a most hospitable re
ception from the Russian settlers there dur
ing the three waeka that It took them to
prepare for a two year sojourn In the bar
ren, sandy deserts of central Asia. On De
cember 28. 1907, the long camel caravan
of the expedition passed outside the cxar's
dominions.
At first they found themselves on Mon
golian prairie, but were not long- In com
ing upon a hilly country rich In plant and
animal Ufa. Behind Urga, the Mongolian
'Lhasaa, the physiognomy of the land
underwent a sharp change; It lost Its hilly
character and lt covoring of vegetation;
'its population was more scarce, especially
outh of the hills, which are tha eastern
continuation of the Gobi-Altai range. They
'had reached the real Gobi desert, where
the only rare eminences were sand hillocks
and boulders. These gradually declined
and left a sea of blown sand whose drift
wa southerly. For Islands It had mounds
sometimes 100 feet high.
After enduring terrlfio sandstorm the
expedition reached the River Edalngol,
which draw It waters from the mow of
'the Nan-Bchan mountains an flows .north
ward for 300 mile, parting Into the two
lake Suehonor and Chaschunnor. On Its
(lower bank Mongolian Torgouts have been
nettled for 460 year and have reared dense
forests. Kosloff halted hi caravan and
opened relation with tha chief. Belleh,
fwho dwelt at the monastery. Present were
exchanged and the Turnout leader showed
friendliness to the explorer. Belleh gave
Kosloff permission to make excavations
on the site of the dead city of Chara-Choto
and to make the Journey over hi terri
tory from Alasehan to Kukunor.
lie gave the Russians a Torgout guide
named Bata. Very soon they came on
trace of an earlier land culture millstones,
the courses of water canals, and pieces of
clay and porcelain vessels. There were
grave memorial of a many as five stones
plastered together with mud. Three miles
from Chara-Choto Koxloff came on an old
river bed with tree branches lylnK In 1L
Ut the northwest corner of the city was
the ohlef suburgan, or earth mound mauso
leum. Inside the sand walls. At the Mouth
west corner was a dome crowned building
In the stylo of a mosque.
A Kosloff advanced Into the Chinese
Mongolian waste he found marked differ
ences In the character of the peoples. In
the north the nomads were proud of their
traditional daring, their rich clothing, their
i handsome, sturdy, well-saddled horses and
their horsemanship above all of their his
toric past. Their recognized spiritual heir-
arch, the Bogdo-Uegen (again born), was
upheld by the hereditary princess of Urga
and the lands around. In central Mongoliu
the people fall away from this stan.iard,
end toward the south become more and
more Chinese. They cease to adhere to
the national life of their race kindred.
yet however poor the culture of the Mon
golians may seem to Europeans they re
tain their own writings, their printed laws
and interest lit religious questions and the
study of Tibetan sciences.
In March, luOs, Koxloff's caravan halted
at Lake Bochonor, in the middle of the
Mongolian desert. Their approach to It
waa signalled by the sight on a fine spring
evening of a flock of birds flying over the
. lake side. Beyond Its high banks on the
further side lay the one time ousls of
Boro-Obo, where are the remains of the
ruined city of Krgs-Chara-Baruck. Next
day they came on flights of herons, swans
and gull, gazelles and wild asses crossed
the track- of the caravan. Among the
edge by the lake a group of armed Tor
gout tribesmen were guarding a herd of
horses. After four days' rest on the south
of Lake Bochonor the caravan set out
aaaln fur its main purpose.
Kosloff and his companions entered the
city by the west gate. It la built lit a
quadrangle a quarter of a mile wide, in
tersected by dirt covered streets, where
were the wreckage of mud hjuHts, of tombs
and of brick foundatior.ed luiued temples.
Water was not to be found and during the
excavation It had to be brought from a
distance. The absolute height of Chart
Choio was established at X.7U) fett and It
geographical position at 41 degrees 4A min
utes, 40 seconds, northern latitude and 101
degrees, minutes. 14 U seconds, eastern
longitude from Greenwich.
The excavations gave ihh find in boks,
manuscripts, metal and paper money,
women's dress, household ute.tslls and trad
ing ware and objects of Buddhist art.
Ten cases, each a pod t.hirty-elght
pounds), heavily filled w.th anil U. leg, were
Collected. The news of the actual dtuovery
of the fabulous ruined city and of the rich
finds, along with some specimens and
manuscripts, was sent at oti.t o r'l- l'.-tn-burg
to enable the experts to determine in
approximate date when CharlChoto flour
ish! d. "
The torgout of today say that their an
cestors when they first en ins to the coun
try found the ruins in the same state that
they are now. It was a loan of Chinese
type, lis high niud walla facing the four
ftwUii t Ui compass, built on an Island-
like terrace, which the river Edslngol once
flowed round on Its north and -uth sides,
but It now hs diverted It course Into the
salt basin Chadan-Chotu. There Is a sub
tub town outside the esstern gate con
nected with the fortified town by earth
bastions reaching to the gate.
Kosloff gathered from the Mongolians
that Chara-Choto or Chara-Balsrhen. the
Black City or Fortress, hsd Its lnt ruler,
the rtatyr (Russian Bogatyr or hero)
Chara-PJun-Psum. who had an uncon
querable army with which he sought to
win the Chinese throne. But the Chinese
army defeated him and shut him up in
Chara-Choto. Tho besieged Mongolians dug
wells 800 feet deep without finding water.
Their chief then put his treasures, eighty
wagnnloads of from twenty to thirty
poods. Into these dry wells. He killed his
two wives and his son and daughter to
save them from shsme. Then he forced a
breach In the walls, but was with hi un
conquerable army annihilated by the Chi
nese, who entered and destroyed the csp
tured city. But nobody has since found his
hidden treasures. The latBst searchers had
come only on two huge snake.
The Hussion Orientalists, 8. F. Olden
burg. A. I. Ivanoff and W. L. Kotwltch
have declared that Chara-Choto wii the
residence capital of the Tangout empire,
81-Hya. which existed from the eleventh
to the thirteenth century. They pronuonced
Koxloff's discoveries most valusble and
the Geographical society wrote, asking his
to visit Chara-Choto again on his return
Journey. He did so. and on May 22, 1.K,
began a month's excavations, helped by
Mongolian laborers, whom Belth supplied
and who furnished the expedition daily
with drinking water.
The Russians opened a tomb that stood
a quarter mile from the west wall of the
city on the back of a dry riverbed and In
It they found an entire library of books,
manuscript and Buddlsh sacred picture
on linen, thin (ilk and parchment, besides
statuettes In metal and wood and cuts and
models of tombs. This suburgan wa thirty
feet high, sM. on a pedestal with a vertical
middle section and a conical, but much
damaged roof. Inside this tomb, which was
about eighteen feet wide, were set around
an upright haso circular paling twenty life
size, earth figures, their faces looking in
ward, as Larnti read their holy books at
religious service. Among the figures lay
a great number of books and manuscripts
in the 81-Sya language.
After' storing all these priceless archae
ological material the Koxloff expedlUon
started on the home Journey and reached
Rt. Petersburg at the end of lost year. Its
entire collection will be handed over to
the Aslatlo and Ethnographic museum of
the Academy of Sciences.
TRYING TO SAVE THE SALMON
Oregon Wakes I'p ssd Benin He
plenlshlnsr Streams BsTaged
by Canneries.
There is a glimmer of hope ahead for th
American people deprived of meat by high
prices. If no relief should be afforded In
the matter of steaks and chops by the nu
merous official Investigation now under
way. not to mention the effect of strike
and boycott, solace may be found in the
salmon. This noble fish, all ready to serve
when turned out of It native can and
requiring only a drop of lemon Juloe to
develop It Intimate flavor, l wen ana
favorably known by the common people.
At It best It I a poem of the Pacific,
an ode of Oregon, and an anthem or
Alaska. Year of ruthlee waste have di
minished 1U number; It used to be aa
plentiful aa the buffalo, and waa slaugh
tered in' the same ruthlee manner, but to
day state and federal authorities are con
serving the fish, encouraging by cienUflo
method It propagation, and they expect
that In a few year It will become a large,
reliable part of the national food supply.
The state of Oregon ha lately estab
lished a large central hatchery with a ca
pacity of (0,000,000 egga, and has cut down
the open season for catching salmon by forty-seven
day. Including a month in spring
and a twenty-four hour closed period from
Saturday night to Sunday night during
the open season. The latter restriction,
operative In liX, did not decrease the total
yield for the catch on the Columbia
River, but had the beneficial result desired,
which waa to allow more of the parent
fish to reach the hatcheries and spawning
grounds on the headwater.
Owing to the new laws, says H. C. Mc
Allister, master fish warden of the state,
the number of eggs obtained at the hatch
ery on the McKenxle river, nearly three
hundred miles from the mouth of the Co
lumbia, amounted to 1,615,500, as against
3,983,900, taken In 1908, "proving conclusively
that with fishing stopped and all classes
of gear out of the Columbia for .a long
enough period each year a sufficient quan
tity of fish will get by and the river be
made to produce, by artificial propagation,
the same amount of salmon It did In Us
palmiest days."
It was fouttd that the first hatcheries
established in Oregon were giving poor re
sults on account of the pollution of streams
by power plants. Irrigation ditches ana
sawmills. These appurtenance of civili
sation encroached on hutchery site and
caused the death of a majority of the
young fry liberated. The last legislature
therefore appropriated $12,000 to eatabllsh
a large central hatchery at some point
on the Columbia river so far below all
power plants, ditches and sawmills that
the fry would have a chance to live and
euUr the great ocean for their mysterious
quadrennial development Tanner creek
near Bonneville, was selected a the site,
A hatchery 55 by 230 feet, equipped with
318 ltf-foot hatching troughs with an egg
rapacity almost equal to the population of
the United State, was built. At the for
mal opening last November there were
fi.000,000 chinook salmon eggs and fry be
ing cared for. all having been transferred
from the hatcheries of the McKenxle,
Clackamas, Salmon, Wallowa and Little
White Salmon rivers. Nursery ponds
for holding and feeding 10.000.000 young fish
are connected with the central establish
ment. Besides the numerous state hatch
eries tlure is a United States government
plant on Rogue river. In the present year
experimental work will be done on the
Alsea. Nehalem and Nestucca river.
The salmon Industry In Oregon is ex
ceeded only by the state's output of tim
ber and wheat. The amount Invested In
canneries and other outfit Is 1,000,000; la
bor gets $.1,500,000, and the annual revenue
from the sale of salmon readies 11,000.000.
New York Tribune.
Pointed Paragraphs.
a mince pi may look Innocent.
Even
The other
fellow's cloud seldom looks
dark to us.
Pawning a
check suit is one way to
cash checks.
Would a towel trust
be able to wipe
out all competition.
Never Judue a man's Importance by the
self-conceit he has on tsp.
And some girls are known by the com
pany they refuse to keep.
Any excuse would be all rlht If you
could m.ike people believe it.
When a man hasn't any reputation left
he can afford to run for office.
if s man won't listen to reason It's a
sign that he doesn't agrs with you.
A thought on cannot expres without
profanity would be Just s well suppreswd.
There Is something wrong witli the wo
man who prides herself on her lack of
orlile.
if Judges were mind reader a lot more
lawyer would be fined for contempt of
court.
Bteer the average man up against a soda
fountain and ha ll complain that hs isn't
bainst treated right Chicago Zsewe.
Omaha Woman
HEN Halley's comet appear In
the heven It will be a!mot In
the light of n familiar visitor
to Mr. Mary Svaclna who In
her loist year Is enloylng life
at her home, 1417 South Four
w
teenth street.
Mrs. Bvsclna wa ras! her twenty-fourth
year and married back In th old Bohemian
home near Zuhorany when the comet wcpt
within the view of csrthly folk before. In
those long, long ago d.iys, the humble Bo
hemian folk knew little of the knnwlerlgo
that the savant had stored tip In their
universities. The conft wss to them a
message of various omens, probably the
wrath of God.
Zuhorany was termrstrlcken and the peo
ple fled to the churches to pray to the
saints that they be spared. There could be
no other meaning to them than that the
world was to be destroyed when the star
fell In showers and the mighty, mysterious
body of light appeared In the Old World
sky.
Many of theiold folk of Omaha can re
call the tale to them by their grandfath
ers of the year that the star fell, but
Mrs. Svaclna, In her remarkably well pre
served age, stands alone as one that can
recall the visit of the comet as a matter
of personal observation. 6he saw the
comet, not as a child, but a person of ma
turity. She. however, wa not a sharer In
tho terror that struck the heart of the
people. For ha aha not been a church
goer and communicant for well near a
century. Back In In those days as now
she had trust and faith. When the comet
had passed with Its train of stars, Bo
hemia and all the world beside had es
caped from harm. Then, Indeed, they wero
sure their prayers hsd been answered, and
there were many who believed who had
never believed before.
Mrs. Svaclna cares not about comets and
the matters about which the world of to
day la concerned. She spends her days In
her home turning over the pages of her
Bible from Bohemia, which she has read
so very many times over that she has no
count of It. Martin Svaclna, her husband,
died here thirty-five year ago. She has
been alone since, refusing to give up her
home to go to live with her children, who
are themselves gray-heads now. Wltii
her own hands she cares for her home and
takes pride In her housekeeping. Why
not? She has been at it longer than most
women.
In Mrs. Svaclna one sees that much
marked feminine desire to have one's own
way. And ahe has her way, too. She I
tho mistress of her home. She finds her
way about the Bohemian settlement in
which she lives with all the ease of any
other resident. She call at the home of
friends and visit her children, rather pre
ferlng, however, to welcome them to her
own home.
There I a remarkable degree of liveliness
about Mrs. Svaclna, despite her extreme
age. From her appearance one would not
believe her to be more than 75 year old.
Her step 1 firm and her voice clear. She
EAST SIDE DEVIL CHASERS
Cabalistic Charms Sought
for All
Kinds of His.
ODD SURVIVAL OF SUPERSTITION
Ailment Ascribed to Evil Ere and
Cored by "Holy Word" -Some
Wonder Worker Work fer
Fees, Some (or Living;.
NEW TORK. March 5. "Over an the
East Side hundreds of old men have earned
reputation by their skill as soothsayers,
devil chasers and wonder worker and are
employed to break the spell cast upon
children and otherwise undo the mischief
the devil 1 held responsible for," said a
man who lives on the East Side. "Almost
every block in the ghetto has a man who
Is known to the women In that block as
possessing aupernutural powers.
"When a child gets sick all of a sudden
and the women cannot assign a proper rea
son for the sickness the man is called in
or the child is brought to him. He mutters
something In an unintelligible language for
a few minutes, rubs the child's forehead
with his hands, shakes his fist in the air
as if menacing someone and then Informs
the good woman that her child must get
well, for he has frightened the devil away.
"Some of these wonder workers take
money for tneir work and charge as much
as a doctor would. Others do it for charity
and for the honor that there is in the pro
fession. "There are thousands of women on the
East Side who are regular visitors to these
wonder workers, not only when they are
sick, but also when they have any worry
on their mind. Sometimes It Is advice, but
most often a charm that they receive for
the quarter or half dollar which they pay
out.
"The wonder workers have all the more
Influence since, unlike the devil chasers of
other nationalities, they are almost ex
clusively men and are not mediums, mlud-
readers or foitune tellers. Whether they
are always sincere about it or not, they
convey tho Impression that they are fight
ing the devil not with black art of any
kind, but with the 'holy word.' "
Sent to. a Bo teller,
A search for some of these wonder work
ers was not without interesting incidents.
Upon the advice of one who is thoroughly
familiar with tha East Sido ways, tha re
porter approached an old woman who was
selling candles on Hester street and asked
her if (the could not recommend him a man
who could cure a child suffering from an
evil eye.
'Go to the middle of the block," the
woman said, pointing toward Ludlow street.
"There is an old butcher there. He is an
expert at fighting the evil one. Tonight
yet your child will begin to get better, I
assure you.
In the butcher shop was a young man of
2',. When aked where the old butcher
was ha surmised what the old man was
wanted for and hantened to inform the
visitor that he too could fight the evil
one. The visitor Insist) d on seeing the old
man and he was told to go to the rear of
the shop.
There In a room, which was partly a
living room and partly a storage room,
the man wa found. 11 was about 70
and sal near a window reading. When
Informed what wa wanted of him he ex
plaint d that he could not go to see the
child Just then, but that If the visitor had
some object which the child wore h could
fight the evil one at a distance.
A handkerchief was handed to him, the
name of the child and of the mothrr told,
and tha old man proceeded to th struggle
with th Invisible enemy. There was not
much to be seen except tha feverish clutch
ing of the handkerchief. An occasional
hiss escaped his lips. On or twice he
stamped his fett as if he were having It
out with some on. Finally he handed th
handkerchief back laying that lb child
Saw Halley's Comet
. -Vf' " " 'A
' ' "i ' , . v" ' "- '
i. '
, K - i
' ' v
f ' : " w . V -
M ItS. MART
wears her spectacles to read, but at other
time look at on with a clear eye. Diet
la not a matter of much concern to Mrs.
Svaclna. She makes rye bread and beer
a part of most every meal and relishes It,
too.
Mrs. Svaclna reared eleven children of
whom five are yet living. Peter, the baby
of the family, 56 years old, run a grocery
store on South Thirteenth (treet and Ja
cob, 63 years old, a retired grocery man,
lives a few squares away. Martin, the
eldest son of the family, la 76 year old.
He i living at Seattle, Wash.
would now get well in a short time,
he had done hi work thoroughly and the
Influence of the evil eye had been shattered.
Asked whether he charged for Ids serv
ices, the man said no, but pointed to a tin
box fastened to the wall and suggested that
the visitor give something for charity.
Till One Meant Bnsiness.
Another of the wonder workers visited
waa professional in every respect. His wife,
a plump woman, Interrogated the visitor In
a manner which showed that she had been
accustomed to handle people. She wanted
to know whether It wa a love affair that
the visitor came to seek help In, or whether
It wa sickness. Sickness, she said, was
the thing the man was especially skilful in.
But, of course, he could help in all sorts
of difficulties, business as well as love
troubles, and where husband and wife were
separated, no matter how far apart, he
could always use a charm or a prayer
which would turn the husband s mind back
t0 his home, to his wife and children once
more.
There were nearly a dozen women wait
ing in the room. They all drank in every
word which the fat woman was saying.
Hope seemed to rise In the eyes of even
the most dejected of the women as they
listened. About half of the women cotne
there because of illness.
One woman, holding an emaciated baby
In her arms, explained that doctors could
not help htm and she was advised to try
tills man. Just then a man entered. H
received preference over all others and was
admitted into the private office of the
wonder worker. The women evidently
knew the man and his mission, for thuy
soon began to guess that he would soon be
reunited with hi wife.
A gjrl of 18 sat there with a swollen arm.
She explained that "the man" could cure
her arm much quicker than a doctor, for it
was clearly a case of an evil eye; other
wise why should a healthy arm become
swollen all of a sudden?
After a long wait the visitor finally
gained admittance to the devil chaser,
He waa a man of 55, with a silk skull cap
on his head and a flowing beard. He
explained that he was really modest about
bis work but that people liiKikted that he
could do wonders If he wanted to. Well,
he was not sure he would care to actu
ally perform miracles, but he certainly
could cure people of all sorts of ailments,
shoit of surgical operations. H used
cabalistic prescriptions which he mads
them wear In th form of charm.
His charges? They were not exorbitant.
In fact he did not take money from the
poor at all. Still he made a very nice
living from his practice and had four
daughters married and gave every on of
them a good big dowry.
How long had he been in this business?
About fifteen year. At first he was a
scribe. Yen, he used to write parchment
copies of the Bible for use In synagogues.
Then people learned of hlB gifts and brgun
to com to him to ask all kinds uf cures.
Ho effected cures at first merely as a
favor to his friends. Soon he began to
find that he had' no time to work at his
trade. His house was always crowded,
so lie gave up working and became a
healer of the sick and a peacemaker.
People came to him not only from New
York, but from other cities.
HI methods? Oil, they came from ea
baltlstlc books. These books contained
a cure for all sorts of ailments and were
Infallible. With this ha pointed out some
of the books and the symbols In them.
An East side physician was asked wheth
er it was true that doctor J sent patients
to this man. ' replied:
"I should pot be surprised. We have in
New York people from some of tha re-
mottst corners of Kurope. They have
with them many of the medlasvul super
stitions. You give them a prescription,
but they know beforehand that It won't
help them because at home whtn they
had such a sickness they were cured by
words of th wonder worker.
"You see these people In reality sr
pining for some superstitious man to come
and chave the devil out of them. Well,
would not yeu send them to such a devil
chastr U you knw where b wa?
on Its Last Visit
SVACINA.
Life was not always so pleasant for Mrs.
Svaclna as it is now. In her childhood
the government of Bohemia was oppressive
to the Cxechs, the strain which Mrs. Sva
clna represents. For three days out of
each week, she, with all the rest of the
folk of her village, worked for the gov
ernment. It wa a toll of labor, a tax
ation In wage. She escaped It all by com
ing to America. The Czechs started a
movement for a revolution and Independ
ence, but the power of the Germanlo in
fluence was too much. They stayed at
home and lost.
BIG HARVEST FOR TRAPPERS
Louisiana Profiting; from a Whim of
Fashion.
LARGE INCOMES FOR POOR MEN
Million of Moskrats Killed to Sap
ply tb Demand for For Mink
nd Otter Skin Also
Obtained.
NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 26.-The Lousiana
trapping season will be over on March 1
and oontrary to expectaatlons the fur crop
of the state will be a good one and will
leave probably a million and a half In the
hands of the trappers.
Half a dosen times In the last dosen
years It has looked as though they would
have to work for a living instead of fol
lowing the free and easy existence they
lead In their huts and pirogue along the
great sea marsh of Louisiana or the rivers,
bayous and lakes which empty into tho
gulf. They are unfortunately extermina
tors. Starting with the alligators, they killed
the entire saurian tribe in Louisiana, con
verting them Into hand bag and satchels,
until there were no alligators to kill. Then
when fashion changed, they Bet in to kill
the terns, egrets and other seablrds for
their feathors. In two years they exter
minated several speoles of these, birds and
would have annihilated ail of them had not
the Audubon society Intervened and se
cured the protection of the birds by state
and federal statutes.
When it looked like hrd work with the
hoe and the spade for the trappers, fur
came Into fashion, and the arctic region
not being able to supply the demand, sub
stitutes were sought for everywhere. To
the surprise of everybody It was discov
ered that Louisiana was a great fur pro
ducer. It contributed last year and will
probably contribute this year more furs
than anv other state except the wilder
states of the far west, for It turned in for
1909 In a season of thro months some
thing like 10,0(10,000 pelts.
Profits for the Trapper.
The business ha assumed Immense pro
portions. A number of doalera sprang up
In New Orleans, and the trapper found the
competition so great and prices so high
that from their point of view they rolled
in wealth. Think of a trapper, living in a
hut a negro would disown, who probably
never made $300 a year before In his life,
receiving 13,000 or $(i,0W for nmskrats and
minks.
The profit came mainly because of the
great advance In prices. In the alluvial
parishes of Louisiana muskrats and minks
have been accounted among the greatest
pests of the state, costing it millions of
dollars annually. Burrowing as they do
In the ground and building living places
In the levee with tunnels to the river and
the dry land they are th frequent causes
of crevices In the levee and overflows.
Thtse burrowing rodents with the king
fisher and the crawfish are regarded with
reason as th most dangcrou enemies of
the levee system. In some places, as at
Bougere In Concordia parish their numbers
are so grest and the banks so riddled by
their holes that levee construction there
has been Impossible. At times bounties
have been offered for their heads, and at
a recent session of the Louisiana legislature
alligators were placed under the protection
of the game law on the ground that 'hey
defended the levees, owning to the large
number of muskrats they ate a statement
which has never been sufficiently estab
lished. Advance In Price of Pelt.
The alligator protection is no longer
necessary, as the fur of the muskrst has
become so valuable as to make the trap
ping of the animal profitable. Two years
ago the skin was worth only I cents; laat
year it ran up to SO cent and occasionally
2i cent. This year It is 30 cents and
rising. Mink skins have advanced to i
and I-W each, otter skins from 113 to $30
and even coons are worth M cents.
Th possum I almost valulsa sacspt
s food, the skins bringing only 10 cent.
As for the muskiats, although repotted
to be eaten by other states, even the
negroe reject them In Louisiana becauso
of their musky odor, although the flesh la
aid to be weet and tender and easily
ubstltuted for rabbit.
With the advance In price there was a
rush for the muskrats. One million are
said to have been killed In Plaquemlne
parish Just below New Orleans, end toma
six million or more In the state. A clever
boy could eanlly make his V a day at trap
ping and at a sesson when theia I no
other work to do, no other crop to raise.
Along the Mississippi river, along th
gulf coast, particularly In Vermillion and
Cameron parishes, the trappers were active
last year. Perhaps they were a little too
active, for they killed off more than tb
year's crop of rats, and It was reported
that the supply would be less this season
than last. The big gulf hurrlcan of Sep
tember M, 1909, helped to cut down the
army of muskrats. The storm drove them
up from the gulf coast to dryer land, the
floods In the streams drowned out Immense
colonies of them and there waa a strons
conviction tliat this year's yield would bs
reduced.
Perhaps It hss been reduced, but not
much. The animal multiply rapidly, th
price of pelts has Increased and the trap
per with better knowledge of the muskrst
and his peculiarities is able to trsp them
mor easily than formerly. They have Im
proved their methods. Instead of pirogues
many of them have gasolene launches,
which carry them from one set of traps to
another, enabling them to harvest tho crop
mor rapidly.
Hard Season, Big; Ontpat.
It ha bean rather a hard Ufa this winter
because there have been many sevsre
storm. And th trapper, on the gulf
ooast at lead, lead a very hard and ex
posed life, their hut being built on the
n.arsh of palmetto bushes. Several cases
of freeslng to death In the swamp have
been reported and other lives have been
lost In the storms.
The pelts are brought to Ne w Orleans
weekly and Judging from those that have
arrived so far, the indication are that
the fur crop of Ioulslana will, In spite
of the activity of the truppers last seuson
and the big September storm, prove larger
than that of 1900 and several times
larger than that of any previous year.
None the less It la evident that the fur
crop of Louisiana Is certain to decline
unless some way can be found of pro
tecting the fur bearing animals, particu
larly the muskrats. The area of swamp
and marsh In which these animals thrive
Is rapidly decreaalng as the drainage
work li extended, so that by the natural
course of improvement the number of
fur bearing animals will decrease. When
In addition to this they ar hunted so
strenuously by the trappers, their early
extermination is inevitable.
In Plaquemlne parish It 1 proposed
that the Stat Game commission shall
place come protection around them, that
Is, establish a closed season for them, but
uch a regulation Is Inconceivable. The
rats' are a public pest, dangerous to
the levee, and It 1 not to be thought of
that the safety of the alluvial lands from
overflow will be endangered in order to
put money into the pocket of the trap
per. In St. John parish It I propoed
to cultivate the mink, to have mink farms
and raise the animal for its fur. The
experiment will be made, but of course
on a email scale, and It la impossible with
the muskrat, which contribute the bulk
of the Louisiana pelts.
Andnbon Society Aid.
Moreover, the Audubon society, while pro
tecting the birds, ha declared war on th
mukrat and coon, which destroy mil
lion of bird' egg annually, and tho
olety ha invited the oo-operatlon of tho
trapper to get rid of thee pest. The o
oiety own nineteen island off the Louis
iana coast, donated by the tat and fed
eral government, on which it ha el
apart bird reservation and on which it 1
trying to ralo bird. In this it would
be eminently successful but for th thou
sands of coons and muskrat which swim
from the mainland to th islands during
the laving and hatching season and de
stroy thousand of eggs and young birds.
The Louisiana furs are bo widely dis
tributed that they do not yet figure con
spicuously In tha market supplies. Com
paratively few go to New York or Boston;
some are shipped to Canada and Chicago,
and help to well the supply of Canadian
fur for which Americans compete. Others
go abroad to London, Paris and Berlin.
If they are ever worn in Louisiana It 1 a
Imported fur and certainly under another
name than muskrat.
It seem odd, though, that a state re
garded as sub-tropical hould be helping
to supply the market with what 1 re
garded a a product of tho Arctic region.
MAKING THE CITY blauiii-ul
Slate Urged to Set Examples for the
Individuals to
Follow.
In America we have been so careful of
the individual that the community has
been allowed to suffer, and the conserva
tive and Jealou care of private Interests
ha petn carried to euoh a point that the
most necessary improvement are delayed
or entirely defeated.
However, we do not despair of our fu
ture. The love of beauty Is growing rap
idly, and while it was once thought to be
the prerogative of the rich, it Is now un
derstood to be the right of every cWlsen.
The elevation of thought snd mind that
comes with association and a belief In
beauty 1 apt to be disregarded in this
materlalurtic age. Art for the people must
be better than art by the people. I be
lieve that It t incumbent upon the stale
10 take the lead and provide examples
for the individual to follow.
The time has come when the street sys
tem of our overcrowded cltle crle aloud
for readjustment. The demand for new
park and mall open quares to provide
breathing space for th poor and play,
ground for the children ha met with a
general acceptance. Well-planned dhools
arranged so that unllght will cheer and
purify every room and corridor ar now
being erected, and nothing atUfie us
that falls short of the new standard.
Beautiful Interior harmoniously colored,
with mural paintings In the assembly
rooms, teaching the lessons of history and
art, are willingly provided for our public
schools. But the pressing need of light
and air In our sheets has not yet been
recognised. The streets rhat the pupils
traverse, or th very street, upon which
the schoolhousos ar built, ar neglected.
They may be disorderly, crowded dark,
and dismal; we are not Interested. This
Inconsistency seems inexcusable.
Probler W ,an only be olved
by a consistently prepared plan for the
entire city, by scheme for the gen.ra!
arrangement of strseU and thoroughfares
devised by men who do not believe that a
bridge may be Independent of It ap
proaches, that a park need no boule
vards to reach It. or Lhat street can ac
commodate an unlimited amount of traf-
tte- . .
nuch a plan. Intelligently conceived,
would determine the position of great
publlo building In relation to the rest of
th oity. fix th width of the main thor
oughfares, and make thorn double or tri
ple, 1 necessary, possibly with streets
above and below tU surfac. IUrpr
Wkly.
DETECTIVE OF OLD JAPAN
Folk Lore Story that Goei Back to
Feudal Sayi.
PRACTICAL USE FOR THE IDEA
Mayor of Vedo, Who Sentenced kind
Imprisonment Uot Evidence
that Led lo the Arrest of
Highway Bobbers.
Somebody said recently that th detective
tory I a old as Ihe pyramid and that
some of the "Arabian Night" forecasted
"The Murder In the Hue Morgue" and "A
Study In Scarlet" by a thousand yasrs and
more; but no better proof of th catholic
ity of the detective story can be found thim
that offered by feudal Japan, which pro
duced the tale of the arrest of the stone
god J I ro.
In tills folk story of ancient Ycdo the
heio detwtlvo moves with all th seeming
Indirection of t.ccoq and Sherlock Holme
his man els to perform. O-oka. was he,
mayor of Yedo under the elphth ahoguti
and ho!dr of th high Jtisilce and tho low
over all the merchants of Tokugawa'f cap
ital. This O-oka received a salary of lO.tvrt
koku of rice and Mnie. Y. Ozakl. who :n
the wife of the presort mayor of Tokh
(old Tedo renamed) and who Is lh rhrcn
tcler of the craft of O-oka in the Jap'i
Mtgailne, ay that the old cl'', "Htnsd
hi salary ten time over, f, the
story;
"Od flay a ervant employed bv the'
rroprletor of a big tore near Japan bridge
In Yedo was sent with a heavy pack nf
valuable cotton goods on his bck to a
dyer In Honjo district. When the store's
messenger reached Yokopawa street hi
was ready to seek rest. What mors safe
Invitation could have offered than the little
grove of trees set about tho stone status
of the god JIo, the patron stint of trav
eler and defenselee women and children?
Th somnolent porier awoke from a imp
to find that his employer' cotton had dis
appeared. In great distress he went tt
the storekeeper and confessed that h had
slept and that a robber had made off with
the goods during his slumber. Tha hiastrr
would not believe his story, saying that It
would have been Impossible for a robb"r
to make off with so large a bundle It
bread daylight; unless th porter should
pay for the lost goods he would havp to
go to prison, said thu master. In despair
the 'porter took counsel of Mayor O-oka.
You are certainly to blame for havln.t
fallen asleep." reproved the mayor, "but
Jlxo Is equally to blame, for he is a god
bound to protect every one who truts
In him and In this Instance he has be
trayed you. Even though Jlso Is a Buddha
I cannot pardon him for his neglect of
duty. I will have him arrested and brought
before me for trial."
O-oka gave immediate orders to his
court officers to go and arrest the Jlso ot
Yokogawa street and bring him before the
mayor's seat for trial. Three of the
officers departed on their mission. They
first bound the arms of the ston god
with coils of rope; then they tried to lift
him from hi firm pedestral Into a cart. A
great crowd assembled before the Jlso,
attracted by the unusual behavior of the
court officer. When they wer told that
JIo had to go before the mayor for trial,
the cltlsens of Yokagawa street and the
neighborhood of Honjo marvelled.
The task of unseating the god wa too
much for tha three court officer and
they sought aid of those standing about.
They promised that In return for assist
ance they would admit all volunteer
worker Into the court room to witness tho
extraordinary trial. Hundreds were spurred
by curiosity to lend a hand and when tho
stone god went through th street, strap! ei
to a cart Ilka any offender the crowd grew.
It fulled the great hall of justice when
Jlxo wa lifted In and proped up before th
platform upon which vat the mayor. O-oka
addressed the-god In stern word.
"You are a negligent fool, O, Jlro!" ho
exclaimed in a voice loud enough for all
to hear. "You are supposed to protect every
one who believe In you and who renders
tribute, yet this trusting porter here mado
a prayer to you, then fell asleep at your
vory feet and he waa robbed while he
lept. You ttand accused of being an ac
complice In this robbery. Have you any
thing to say for yourself before I pass sen
tence?"
Mayor O-oka watted for a few moment
aa if expecting tho ston lips of Jlzo to
opn In reply, but when no answer waa
made by the god he pasaed sentence Im
mediately. "Since you do not defend yourself I con
sider that you ar guilty," said hi honor.
"Therefore I will imprison you."
At this remarkable spectacle of a mayor
passing sentence upon a stone god there
waa a titter of laughter. O-oka thundered
In a voice of bam:
"Who are all these people standing about
here?" he Inquired of his court officers.
Are they accomplices of Jlzo or only
plain thieves? They think this court Is a
penny show and they laugh at the court's
order. Shut all the gate at once."
The scared attendant hastened to shut
the gates of the court room. Then Mayor
O-olia adjudged every man in th great
crowd in contempt of court and fined
each of them one tau (a kimono length)
of cotton cloth. The hundreds thus sud
denly found In contempt were happy that j
their punishment had been so light at least,
and under bonds thuy hurried to thulr
homes tq, bring back the cloth fine. Be
fore the day wan done 700 piece of cotton
cloth had been presented before the may
or' court, the nam of each culprit being
set down upon the one tan of cotton cloth
which he presented.
Boforu he would allow the "00 to go, how
ever, O-oka retired with th porttr who
had been robbed to an inner chamber and
he asked the porter to look over the 700
pieces of cotton cloth and see if h oould
Identify any of them having been one In '
tho pack ha hod carried. Since every
manufacturer of cotton cloth In Tedo al
ways marked the selvsg of each strip with
a llttla rea Liauemuia mauiy wie yui iw ,
searched the edges of the many strip of
cloth for a stamp similar to that bom
by the cloth which he had been robbeu
He found that two of the piece of cloth
brought to pay th mayor' fin bore tho
stamp of his plundered pack. Instantly
Msyor O-oka gave orders for th arrest of
the two men who had brought this cloth;
they confessed to the robboiy and all of the
cloth they had taken from the slotplug
porter' pack wa restored to him.
All th other piece of cloth taken In
toll by the mayor were restored to. their
owner and all but th two guilty one of
the crowd which had attended the trial
of Jlso wer released. Then JUo, th (tun
god, wa put on a cait, wreathed with th
evergreen pin and th bamboo, symbols ,
of long life and prosperity, and be wa
carried back to his pedestal In Yokogawa
street at the head of a triumphal procss-
alun. JUo had' vindk.ated himself sn
Mayor O-oka. the wis, sat even th mor
firmly In hi (eat of power.
Her Scheme. '
Mr. Newwed There can be no dosnettlo
happiness unless there are mutual con
cessions.
Mrs. Henperque Nonsense. My huvbsnd
and I gt along all right, and 1 maks him
uak all th coacsssiuoe.
