374
THE WEST SHORE.
tion by rail with a vast Btretch of mineral and grazing
txnuiUy which, has heretofore been largely dependent
upon San FranciHco and tbo East New markets are
thus opened to ub, and the imxrtancfl of Portland ns a
railroad centre and diHtribuling point becomes more
plainly evident There was no bucIi flourish of trumpots
as accompnnied the driving of the last Hpike on the
Northern Pacific, but it in questionable if this quiet
event does not mean vastly more to our future prosperity.
The effort of certain wealthy cattle men to secure a
leaso of nearly all the best portion of the Crow Reserva
tion for a stock range is calling out much opposition
from the people of Eastern Montana, Several public
meetings have been held, and Delegate Maginnis is
alrondy in Washington in tlio interests of jjhis constituents
working against tlio scheme. These lands should be
thrown open to the occupation of the people, and not e
permitted to fall into the grasp of a few cattle kings.
TllE leading Bheep men of Montana are SieniB &
Armington, a wealthy St Paul firm. They recently pur
chased threo largo bands, aggregating thirteon thousand,
and expect to add to these by othor liberal purchases.
Tho firm's headquarters nre at Fort Ponton, and the
ranges along Pelt Creek. Hhoep interests are rapidly
coming to tho front in that prosperous Territory and
taking rank with mining and cattlo. Northern Montana
is the seat of this industry.
A CAHF.FUL estimate placos tho number of beef cattlo
iu Idaho at DOO.fKK).
JUDGING OP DISTANCE.
IT is very difficult to judge of distances at sea. Refrac
tion always changes tho apparent place of an objoct,
bo that wo seem to soe tho buu after it has gone below
tho horizon. A more striking but less froquent phenom
enon of refraction is that known as mirage. Refraction
also affect tho color of an object The media through
which light passes has more or less elTect upon the ray.
In a fog objects nre dimly seen, tho effect resembling
tnat duo to distance; heneo objects look larger, for the
eyo judges of the aizo of nu object by multiplying the
Hixo of tho imago or impression received by the square of
the distance, while the latter is estimated from the indis
tinctness of the object In tho fog tho apparent distance
is increased, but the oyo int. rprets it as due to tho oppo
site Muse, On looking at tlio photograph of a tree, a
church, n iiii.mimcnt or a pyramid, it is not iKsiblo to
form n correct Men of its size unless a man or animal is
seen in the same viow with which to compare it In
Nature, especially on land, tho intervening objects that
M up U it give tho data on which to calculate the dis
tanco. Where none intervene, as in looking from iwak
to oak, the eyo mint depend on distinctness, and where
the air is very clear ami transpnn,.t, as in Colorado dis
tniKV. Boom less thai, Uwy nre. If the object is seen
through transparent but colored media, the form remain,,
true, but,the colore are chang.nL At sea, on a clear day
distances may b.e calculated approximately by the propor
nun ol uu uujock wuiou appears aoove tne horizon line
The horizon is about ten miles distant when Eeen from
uie tiecK 01 an ocean steamer, consequently another
steamer which is "hull down" will be distant from the
observer some twenty miles. With care distances can be
thus quite accurately calculated.
m m
CANDLE SUPERSTITIONS.
SO far as number is concerned, the most numerous
class of superstitions is composed of those which
cluster round the family'candles. The 'origin of these
probably dates far back in antiquity, when the world m
full of superstitious fancies about light in general imd
candle light in particular. When we come down to the
early days of the Christian Church, however, we find
that not a few of the'ordinances of religion were accom.
panied by ceremonies borrowed from paganism, in which
lighted candles played an important part Candles were
lighted at birth to keep off evil spirits, at marringe to
prevent the evil eye from affecting the happy pair, and at
death to drive away the demons who were thought to be
always on the lookout for the soul of the dying mnn.
Naturally then, as candles played so important a part in
the ceremonies of religion, men became accustomed to
regard them with something of a superstitious eye, and to
hwk to them for signs and wonders which were not to be
elsewhere found. So a peculiar appearance in the can
dle, for which no reason could be given, was always ro
gnrded ns something indjeative of some remarkable tiling
about to hnppen. A collection of tallow round the wick
is still known as a winding sheet, and is believed to fore
tell the death of one of the family, while a bright Bpark
is a sign of the future reception of a letter by the person
opposite whom the spnrk is situated, and the waving of
the flame without any apparent cause is supposed to
demonstrate the presence of a spirit in the room. In
addition to these fanciful notions, there are some others
which are foundod on natural facts too well known to
admit of dispute, such as the refusal of the candle to
light roadily.'which indicates a state of atmosphere favor
able to a coming storm.
m m
ANCIENT WOOD ENGRAVING.
rPIIE art of wood working is the oldest means whereby
J. man gratified his vanity or his eye, and the one
which, even among savages, still maintains its excellence.
The New Zonlandor's club and the ancient Aztec's god,
the Hydah Indian's pipes and the paddles of the Poly
nesian canoe mnn, are marvels of carving, executed with
the rudest tools. In the Kaffir country of Central Afrit
are entire villages composed of wmxlen houses, elabo
rately carved on post and pillar. Until the fear of fire
led to the use of iron and stone as building material, such
towns were common in Europe. Beams, brackets, door
heads and gable ends were effectively hewn with gro
tesque images of domons, heraldic devices, and those
fair, saintly faces which still look- down on us with
glance so benign.