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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 13, 1895)
12 THE STnS"D.A.r OB.x02sTA3T. PORTIYA'NTJ JjOSTJAHY 33, 1895. fflm&mc& Ty5Sv:xG M,T-it ictje t x i mr l : A LAUGH IX CHURCH. She sat on the sliding cushion. The dear wee woman of four; Her feet in their shiny slippers Huns dangling over the floor. Bhe meant to be good; she had promised; And bo. with her big brown eyes. Ebe stared at the meeting-house windows. And counted the crawling flies. Bhe looked far up at the preacher; But she thought of the honey bees JJronlng away In the blossoms That whitened the cherry trees. She thought of the broken basket. Where curled In a dusky heap. Three sleek, round puppies, with frlngy earst Lay snuggled and fast asleep. Euch soft, warm bodies to cuddle. Such queer little hearts to beat, Euch swift, round tongues to kiss. Such sprawling, cushiony feet! Ehe could feel in her clasping fingers The touch of the satiny skin. And a cold, wet nose exploring The dimples under her chin. Then a sudden ripple of laughter Ran over the ported lips. So quick that she could not catch It With her rosy finger-tips. The people whispered: "Bless the child!" As each one waked from a nap; But the dear wee woman hid her face For shame In her mother's lap. London Arousing Journal. firate Blackbeard. 'A. Story of BnricO. Treasure, by How ard Iyle. (Copyright, 1893. by Howard Pyle.) There are two pirates, each of whom are very famous In this country Captain "William Kidd, of whose adventures and the treasure burled upon Gardener's Island has already been told and Cap tain "Blackbeard." Perhaps Captain Kidd is the most fa mous of the two, but nevertheless nearly very one knows of Bluebeard, and there is hardly a strip of sandy beach between New Jersay and Florida that is not re puted to hold somewhere hidden in its bosom the buried treasure that he left behind him, and which has never yet been recovered. Nowhere in all the history of piracy is there such a terrible, strange, dreadful figure as that of Captain Edward Teach, or Blackbeard. Listen how the old his torian of the pirates describes him. "Our hero, Captain Teach." says he, "assumed the cognomen of Blackbeard, from that large quantity of hair, which, like a frightful meteor, covered his whole face and frightened America more than any comet that had appeared for a long time. "This beard was black, which he suf fered to grow to an extravagant length; as to the breadth, it came up to his eyes. He was accustomed to twist with ribbons into small tails, after the manner of our Ramidies Wigs, and to turn them about his cars. In time of action he wore a sling over his shoulder with three brace of pistols hanging in the hol sters like bandaliers. He stuck lighted matches under his hat, which, appearing on each side of his face and eyes, looked naturally fierce and wild, made him al together such a figure that imagination cannot form an idea of a fury from the pit to look more frightful." Perhaps not one of those old pirates, un less it was Captain Kidd, was so closely Identified with our early colonial history as Blackbeard. All of his depredations were committed along our coasts, where his terrible figure would be seen, now swooping down rpon some peaceful mer chant coaster, now running ashore to de vastate some plantation or settlement; now appearing in some seaport town to barter or trade with the merchants or planters with the goods that he had just taken from some sloop or schooner off the shore. It would be Impossible here to recount all of his bold and desperate adventures along our American seaboard. That which shall be told is how he ter rorized and robbed the town of Charles ton, in South Carolina. How he and Gov ernor Eden, of North Carolina, shared the spoils of the French bark laden with Its then precious freightage of sugar, BLACKBEARD ABAXDOXS XIXETEEX how he fought his last fight, and how be left behind him a hidden treasure that has never yet been unearthed. Captain Edward Teach began his pirate life about the year 1716, sailing from the Island of Providence, in the West Indies, vith a Captain Hornigold (another nota ble pirate), to the main of America, tak ing in the course of a month among other prizes a large French and richly freighted Gulneaman bound to Martinique. This large and powerful ship Captain ITeach took for his man-of-war, rechrist enlng it "The Queen Anne's Revenge," a name that was to become notable along the Atlantic coast In the two or three years that followed it. It is not proposed here to tell of the ad ventures that happened to him in all of that time; of how he captured vessel after vessel; of how he fought a famous bat tle with the man-of-war Scarborough, beating oft the king's ship after an en gagement that lasted for several hours. It Is only needful to say that he joined with him a number of other pirate crafts then sailing under Major Stede Bonnet, and with this fleet fairly swept the seas, sailing away northward until he finally 7n "YOUTH'S DEPARTMENT CQITCO sy u suddenly appeared off the bar of Charles ton, S. C. It was a bright, warm day in the early spring time. That morning the good ship the Royal Princess, Captain Robert Clark commander, had set sail from Charleston harbor for England with a number of passengers of consideration aboard of her. Late in the afternoon a little boat came rowing tip to Charleston with the news that the pirates had captured the Royal Princess just off the bay, and. "Bras hold ing her as a prize. Blackbeard had come. For a whole week the pirates lay off the town. The Royal Princess was only the first of their captives; Every Incom ing and outgoing craft was stopped until a score of vessels lay Tiding at anchor off the bar under the guns of the pirate fleet, and the town was completely block aded. Every prize was overhauled and everything of value taken from It. The passengers themselves were held for ran som, and all their money, and even their watches and their jewelry, were taken from them. At last the town itself was visited. One day a boatload of pirates with one of their prisoners landed at the quay, where a little crowd had gathered, watching them low erlngly. It is thus that the old historian of those times tells of it: "Being in want of medicine," says he, "Blackbeard resolved to demand a chest from the govdrnment of the province. Ac cordingly, Richards, the captain of the Revenge sloop, with two or three more pirates, were sent up along with Mr. Marks, one of the prisoners whom they had taken in Clark's ship, to make their demands, which they did in a very inso- BLACKBEARD. lent manner, threatening that if the town did not immediately send the chest of medicine and let the pirate ambassadors return without offering any violence to their persons they would murder all the prisoners and send their heads up to the governor and set the ships they had taken on fire. "Whilst Jr. Marks was malting appli cation to the council, Richards and the rest of the pirates walked the streets pub licly in the sight of the people, who were fired with the utmost indignation, but durst not so much as think of arresting them. And so they were forced to let the villains pass with impunity. "The government was not long in delib erating upon the message, though it was the greatest affront that could be put upon them, yet for the saving of so many peo ple's lives (among them Mr. Samuel Wragg, one of the council.) they complied with the necessity and sent aboard a chest valued at between 300 and 400, and the pirates went back to their ships." How much Blackbeard took from the vessels he stopped on the bar in front of Charleston harbor; how great was the money paid for the redemption of the pris oners, no one can telL Altogether the booty which he gained must have been very great indeed. Adding what was here taken to what he already had, he must have amassed a con siderable fortune by this time. This for- OF HIS CREW OX A DESERT ISLAXD. tune he determined to secure as much as possible to himself. Accordingly, he man aged in a very clever way to run all of his vessels aground off Topsail inlet excepting one. To that one a small sloop he had transferred all of his treasure and a crew of 40 men, and with it he sailed away for the North Carolina sounds. But even 40 were, in Blackbeard's opin ion, too many to share what had been gained in their piracies. Accordingly, he marooned 19 of them on a little sandy island. about a league from the mainland, "where," says the historian, "there was neither bird, beast, fish or herb for their sustenance." And only 23 were left to share the treasure. At that time piracy had become so ram pant that King George Issued a proclama tion pardoning all freebooters who would surrender by a certain date, hoping thus to correct the evil. Blackbeard and the 23 pirates who now were with him were al most the first to take advantage of this pardon. After having shared the treasure among themselves, they went up into Pamlico sound and there surrendered to Governor Eden at Bath-Town. There Blackbeard bought a plantation. married a girl of IS years old (his 11th V ' "BANDONgDj I wife, it Is said), and striking up a friend ship with the governor, the colonial sec retary and other dignitaries of the prov ince, led for awhile a merry, jolly life of it, playing cards and spending his money like a lord. So for awhile he continued his life ashore. Then, suddenly and ap parently without reason, his restless de sire for adventure broke out afresh. He called together his men, who had nearly all settled in the neighborhood of Bath Town, manned the sloop that he had brought with him, and with it and an other sailed away out into the ocean through Ocracoke. He was gone for six or seven weeks and then he returned, bringing in a large French barque freighted with a precious cargo of sugar, which was then worth considerably upward of a shilling a pound. No one ever heard the history of the French vessel how it was taken, what had happened after it was taken it must have been a dark and bloody story. Black beard said he found the barque adrift with neither captain nor crew, and that he had brought it into port as a derelict. He made Governor Eden a present of CO hogsheads of the sugar, and Mr. Knight, the colonial secretary! a Sift of 20 hogs heads. The rest was divided among the pirates. Then Governor Eden promptly ordered the now empty vessel to be towed out Into the sound and burned. There it was con sumed, hissing, to the water's edge and sunk and with it the last fragment that might have led to detection was blotted out forever. It was a very profitable ad venture. And now comes the fierce and bloody ending of Blackboard's story. Governor Spottswood. of Virginia, was already beginning to take active steps to stamp out Blackbeard's nest of pirates down at Bath-Town, even though it was not in his jurisdiction and was in the juris diction of another governor. The story that presently reached his ears concerning the loss of the French barque determined him to act without losing any time. He fitted out two slcops under command of Mr. Robert Maynard, first lieutenant of the Pearl man-of-war, which was then lying at the mouth of the James river. Lieutenant Maynard sailed down to Ocra coke Inlet, Into the sound and there met Blackbeard. Then followed a fight such as one may read about now and then in pirate books, but rarely in a true history such as this. Blackbeard opened the battle by firing two broadsides into the lieutenant's sloop, under the smoke of which he and the king's men drifted closer together and finally grappled. As soon as they were near enough the pirates began to throw aboard the sloop grenades made of case bottles filled with small shot and pieces of iron. These grenades burst as soon as they had struck the deck, throwing their contents together with bits of broken glass in all directions. Under the smoke and confusion Blackbeard and his men boarded the sloop and then followed one of the most desperate hand-to-hand con flicts in all pirate history. It is thus that Captain Johnson, one of the chroniclers of those events, describes the conflict; "Blackbeard and the lieutenant." says he, "fired the first pistol at each other, by which the pirate received a wound, then they engaged with swords until the lieu tenant's unluckily broke, who thereupon stepping back to cock a pistol, Blackbeard with his cutlass was striking at the in stant, when one of Maynard's men gave him a terrible wound in the neck and throat by which the lieutenant came off with a small cut on his fingers. "They were now closely and warmly en gaged, the lieutenant and 12 men against Blackbeard and 14, until the sea was tinc tured with blood around the vessel. Though Blackbeard received a shot from the pistol that Lieutenant Maynard dis charged, yet he stood his ground and fought with great fury until he received 20 cuts and five more shots. At length, as he was cocking a pistol, having fired sev eral before, he fell down dead." With this the battle was over. Lieu tenant Maynard cut off the dead pirate's head, nailed it at the bowsprit of his sloop and then sailed back in triumph to Vir ginia, So ended Blackbeard, the pirate, fighting to the last. But what bevame of his treasure? Some where he had hidden it in the marshes or bluffs of Currituck sound or in the forests of the Tar river. There it somewhere re poses to this day all that had been earned through blood and crime and wickedness buried in the ground and lost lorever. "The night before Blackbeard was killed," says one of his historians, "one of the men asked him in case anything hap pened to him in the coming engagement whether his wife, knew where he had burled his money? He answered that no body but himself and the devil knew where it was, and that the longest liver should take all!" No one has ever yet found it. MR. THIMBLEFINGER. THE CHILDREN'S SECOXD VISIT. (Copyright, 1805, by Joel Chandler Harris.) This is the story which Mr. Thimble finger told the children of "The Magic Ring": "The little girl I am going to tell you about was named Eolen. Some said it was a beautiful name, but her step mother and her stepmother's daughter said it was very ugly. Anyhow, that was her name, and whether it was ugly or whether it was beautiful, she had to make the best of it. "Well, Eolen went home when the old man gave her the vial of water from the well at the end of the world. She hid the vial beneath her apron until she reached her own room, and then she placed it at the very bottom of her little trunk a trunk that had belonged to her mother, who was dead. "Nothing happened for a long time. Whenever Friday fell on the 13th of a month Eolen would rub a drop of the sparkling water on her forehead, and she grew to be the loveliest young lady that ever was seen. Her stepsister was not bad looking, but compared with Eolen, she was ugly. The contrast between them was so great that people could not help noticing it and making remarks about it. Some of these remarks came to the ears of her stepmother. "Now, a stepmother can be just as nice end as good as anybody, but this partic ular stepmother cared for nothing except her own child, and she soon came to hate Eolen for being so beautiful. She had never treated the child kindly, but now she began to treat her cruelly. Eolen never told her father, but somehow he seemed to know what -was going on, and he treat ed her more affectionately each day as her stepmother grew more cruel. "This lasted for some time, but finally Eolen's father fell ill and died, and then, although she had many admirers, she was left without a friend she could confide in or rely on. To make matters worse her stepmother produced a will in which her husband had left everything to her and nothing to Eolen. The poor girl didn't know what to do. She knew that her father had made no such will, but how could she prove it? She happened to think of the vial of sparkling waters. She found it and turned it upsided own. "On the instant, there was a loud knock at the street door. Eolen would have gone to open It, but her stepmother was there before her. She peeped from be hind the curtain in the hallway, and saw a tall, richly-dressed stranger standing on the steps. "I wish to see a young lady who lives here. She is the daughter of an old friend," said the stranger. "The stepmother smiled very sweetly. 'Come in. I will call her. "But instead of calling Eolen. she called her own daughter. The girl went, but not with a good grace. She had been petted and spoiled, and was very saucy and im polite. The stranger smiled when he saw her. " 'What was my mother doing when you saw her sitting by the Well at the End of the World?" he asked. " 'Do you take me for a crazy person?' replied the girl, " 'By no means, said the stranger. Tou are not the young lady I came to see.' "The stepmother then called Eolen and stood in the room frowning to see what was going to happen. Eolen came as soon as she was called, and the stranger seemed to be much struck by her beauty and modesty. He took her by the hand and led her to a chair. " 'What was my mother doing when you saw her sitting by the Well at the End of the World?' he asked. " 'She was combing her hair," replied Eolen. " 'That is true,' remarked the stranger. 'Yes, she was combing her hair. Then he turned to the stepmother and said: 'May I see this young lady alone for a little while? I have a message for her from an old friend. " 'Certainly!' the stepmother answered. I hope her friend is well-to-do, for her father has died without leaving her so much as a farthing. Having said this, the stepmother flounced from the room. " 'I came at your summons,' said the stranger; 'you turned the vial of spark ling water upside down and now I am here to do your bidding. "Then Eolen told him of the death of her father, and how he had left all of his property to her stepmother. The stranger listened attentively, and while he listened played with a heavy gold ring that he wore on his third finger. When Eolen was through with her story he took this ring from his finger and handed it to her. " 'Look through that,' he said, 'and tell me what you see.' "Eolen held the ring to one' of her eyes and peered through the golden circle. She was so surprised that she came near drop ping the ring. She had held it up toward the stranger, but instead of seeing him through the ring she seemed to be look ing Into a room In which some person was moving about. As she continued to look the scene appeared to be a familiar one. The room was the one her stepmother occupied the room in which her father had died. She saw her stepmother take from her father's private drawer a fold ed paper and hide it behind the mantel. Then the scene vanished, and through the ring she saw the stranger smiling at her. " 'What you have seen happened some time ago.' He took the ring and replaced it on his finger. 'Tour stepmother is now coming this way. She has been trying to hear what we are saying. When she comes in, do you get your father's real will from behind the mantel and bring it to me. "Sure enough the stepmother came into the room silently and suddenly. She pre tended to be much surprised to find any one there. " 'You must excuse me,' she said to the stranger. 'I imagined I heard you take your leave some time ago.' " 'You are excused," replied the stranger. 'I have been thinking what could be done for your stepdaughter, that must be quite a burden to you.' "The stepmother took this for an invi tation to tell what she knew about Eo thel, and you may be sure she didn't waste any praise on the young lady. But right in the midst of it all Eolen, who had gone out, returned and' handed the stranger the folded paper that had been hidden behind the mantel. The step mother recognized it and turned pale. " 'This, said the stranger, opening the paper, and reading it at a glance, 'is your father's will. I see he has left you half the property.' " 'That is the will my husband forgot to destroy,' cried the stepmother. 'I have the real will.' " 'May I see it?' asked the stranger. "The stepmother ran to fetch it, but when the stranger had opened it, not a line nor a word of 'writing could be found on it. - ' " I see you are fond of a joke, said the stranger, but the stepmother had fallen into a chair and sat with her face hid in her hands. 'I am fond of a joke myself,' continued the stranger, 'and I think I can match yours.' "With that the stranger took the real will, tore it in small pieces, and threw it into the fireplace. " 'What have you done?' cried Eolen. " 'The most difficult thing in the world, replied the stranger. 'I have made this lady happy. "And sure enough the stepmother was smiling and thanking him. " 'I thought you were my enemy, she said; 'but now I see you are my friend indeed. How can I repay you? " 'By treating this young lady here as your daughter,' he replied. 'Have no fear,' he said, turning to Eolen. 'No harm can befall you. What I have done is for the best.' "But before he went away he gave Eolen the gold ring, and told her to wear it for the sake of his mother, who sat by the Well at the End of the World. She thanked him for his kindness and promised she would keep the ring and treasure it as long as she lived. "But there was one trouble with this magic ring. It was too large for any of Eolen's fingers. She had the whitest and most beautiful hands ever seen, but the ring would fit none of her fingers. Around her neck she wore a necklace of coral beads, and on this necklace she hung the ring. "For many days Eolen's stepmother was kind to her almost too kind; but the woman was afraid her stepdaughter would Inform the judges of her effort to steal and hide her husband's will. The judges were very severe in those days, and in that country, and if the woman had been brought before them and such a crime proven on her she would have been sent to the rack." "What is a rack?" asked Sweetest Su- "Hit's de place where dey scrunch folks ve'y vitals out'n 'em," said Drusilla sol emly. "That's about right, I reckon," assent ed Mr. Thimblefinger. "Well, the step mother was as kind to Eolen as she knew how to be, but the kindness didn't last long. She hated her stepdaughter worse than ever. She was afraid of her, but she didn't hate her any the less on that ac count. "Eolen had a habit of taking off her coral necklace and placing it under her pillow. One night, when she was fast asleep, her stepmother crept into the room and slipped the ring from the necklace. She had no idea it was a magic ring. She said to herself that It would look better on her daughter's finger than it did on Eolen's coral necklace, so she took the ring and slipped it on the finger of her sleeping daughter, and then stepped back a little to admire the big golden circle on the coarse, red hand. "Almost Immediately the daughter be gan to toss and tumble in her sleep. She threw her arms wildly about and tried to talk. The mother, becoming alarmed. tried to wake her, but it was some time before the girl could be roused from her troubled sleep. " 'Oh!' ehe cried, when she awoke, 'what is the matter with me? I dreamed some one "was cutting my finger off. What was it? Oh, it hurts me still!' "She held up the finger on which her mother had placed the ring and tried to tear off the golden band. 'It burns it burns!" she cried. -Take it off. "Her mother tried to take the ring off, but it was some time before she suc ceeded. Her daughter struggled and cried so that it was a hard matter to remove the ring, which seemed to be as hot as fire. A red blister was left on the girls finger, and she seemed to be in great pain. " "What have I done?" the mother cried, seeing her daughter's condition. The two made so much noise that Eolen awoke and went to the door to find out what the "go awty you hussy!' screamed the stepmother when she saw Eolen at the door. 'Go away! you are a witch! " "Why, what have I done? Eolen asked. " Tou are the cause of all this trou ble. For amusement I placed your gold ring on my dear daughter's finger and now see her condition!' " 'Why, then, did you take my ring? If you had left it where I placed it, you would have had none of this trouble,' Eolen spoke with so much dignity that her stepmother was surprised into silence, though she could talk faster and louder than a flutter milL But finally she found her voice. " 'Go away! You are a witch!" she said to Eolen. "But Eolen went boldly into the room. 'Give me my ring! she exclaimed. You shall wrong me no further. Give me my ring! I wiU have it!' "This roused the stepmother's temper. She searched on the floor until she found the ring. Then she opened a window and flung it as far as she could send it. " 'Now, let's see you get it! she cried. With that she seized Eolen by the arm and pushed her from the room, saying: 'Go away, you witch! "Now, then," said Mr. Thlmbleflnger, after pausing to take breath, "what was the poor girl to do? He looked at Sweetest Susan as if expecting her to answer the question. "I'm sure I don't know," replied Sweet est Susan. "Shake up de bottle," exclaimed Dru sllla. "Exactly so," said Mr. Thlmbleflnger. (To be continued.) A MEDAL OF HONOR. How a, Boy Gained It By Oliver O. Howard, Mnj.-Gen. V. S. A., Retired. Bedloe's island is situated westward across the channel from Governor's island. This channel is a roadway in New York harbor, through which four-fifths of the large steamers pass and repass on their way to and from the ocean. Bedloe's island has a few acres of land, not more than 20 or 30 in all. On its eastern front stands the great statue of Liberty, which France, in noble gener osity, presented to our country. On the western front of the island is a small marine station, where there are a few inhabitants and a hospital, directly or He stepped to the front of the parade and re ceived his medal of honor. Indirectly connected with the lighthouse department. For, as every New Yorker can testify, the Goddess of Liberty, who consti tutes the principal part of the statue, holds a torch terminated by a brilliant light in her elevated right hand. By some contrivances, bright electric lights are thrown upon the pedestal of the statue in such a way as to produce marked ef fects that were not intended. At night the whole structure gives the appearance of a queen, crowned and ornamented with extended skirts of dazzling brightness. It is, of course, the duty of the light house department to keep these lights burning during the night. On the north side of the little island, until recently, there has been a small gar rison of troops. This garrison did not generally exceed 50 men. The last detail sent there by the government was a company of the Sixth Infantry, TJ. S. army, commanded by Captain A. M. Wetherill. At the time of which I am writing Cap tain Wetherill had with him two or three lieutenants, among whom was Lieutenant Frank D. Webster. The special duty of this command was to guard the statue against any or all persons who might be disposed to deface or otherwise injure it, and to preserve order, as a special police might do among the inhabitants, and nu merous visitors who are constantly com ing and going. Toward sunset on the 18th of January, 1893, the several officers and many of the men belonging to this garrison, which is designated in army orders as Fort Word, were skating on the ice which, in an un usual freeze-up, had formed so as to cover the whole stretch of deep water from Bed loe's island to the New Jersey shore. As twilight was approaching, the of ficers, excepting Lieutenant Webster, and the men who were on the ice, took off their skates and went back to the island. MmsJfflmT mmif THE TOUXG LIEUTEXAXT WISELY THREW HIS OVERCOAT TO THE EXG1XEER. For just then they heard the first call for retreat, the final roll-call of the day. Webster lingered, probably to look after Max Wetherill (a boy of about 14 years, the son of Captain Wetherill), who con tinued skating. Scattered about on the Ice were three or four children belong ing to the lighthouse employes. Farther from the island, toward what are known as "the national docks." could be seen the figures of a man and woman walking on the ice. The man was going toward the woman, having accomplished the ob ject, a very natural one, that he had in venturing out upon the ice, that is to say, to be able to tell his friends that he had walked on ice all the way from Bedloe's Island to the national docks. This worthy citizen, an engineer in the lighthouse department at Beloe's Island, Mr. Charles Miller, had been but a short time married, and the woman seen upon the ice was his good wife. How could they tetter celebrate the termination of their honeymoon than by taking a charming, al most miraculous evening walk upon the water? But, however praiseworthy and precious the original purpose, the imme diate consequences were not propitious. For, as on his returning steps, his ven turesome wife drew near to meet him. he was filled with alarm and horror to oehold her sinking through the treacherous ice. He instantly flew to her assistance, for he thought only of her extreme peril. I But. as scon as his feet touched the plate 1 of ice, already cracking in spangle, he also broke through, and like his wife, sank to his chin. Now. chilled by the plunge, both of them were throwing forward their arms, and by their desperate struggles causing the edges of the broken ice to crumble before them. The tide current was at this time swift and incisive, and every spring of Mr. Mil ler made to throw himself upon the sur face, crushed out and drove away cakes newly severed from the mass. All that they really effected for their own relief was done by keeping their heads above the black waters and calling loudly for help. Webster and Max Wetherill, when this double catastrophe was taking place, were some 300 yards off, still skating. The lad Max, probably hearing the alarming cries, was the first to catch sight of this imperiled couple, but dimly seen in the evening haze. He shouted to the lieutenant, and both started, swiftly skating to the rescue, Webster, being stronger and an expert, ar rived first at the place of disaster. Know ing the danger of approaching too closely the edge of the cracking ice, the young lieutenant wisely threw his overcoat to the engineer, cheering and encouraging him by his voice. He thought rightly that before it became wet through and heavy the sufferers could spread it before them on the Ice, lean upon it, and so gain time. While they were trying to obey his or ders and heed his suggestions, he ventured a little nearer, and there, lying prone upon his face, stretched out his hands to the now frightened and shivering woman, she being the nearest to him. Max meanwhile had come up quite too close for safety, and was eager to do something toward the rescue. "What can I do?" he cried. "Catch my feet, and hold them secure ly," answered the lieutenant. This the boy did, but the water in creasing above the ice, showed it to be still sinking, and the rescuers themselves were already in imminent danger. Just at that time several soldiers belonging to Captain Wetherill's company, having heard Max's shrill outcry, had run toward them with all their might, and -were now approaching the scene. Among the soldiers were Leroy S. Hotch kiss and Dennis Ginney, who were thoughtful enough to bring ropes, and Charles F. Rodensteln, who had the good sense to provide himself with a board. Hotchkiss at once bravely exchanged places with the lieutenant, while the lat ter extended the board as near the woman as possible. Hotchkiss now grasped both her hands, for she was too paralyzed to make further effort and drew her upon the board, a line with clasped hands hav ing been formed to give them necessary assistance to the firmer ice. Thus Mrs. Miller was saved. While this effort was succeeding, Dennis Ginney had thrown a rope, after the man ner of the Mexican lariat, over the head of Mr. Miller, who had by this time be come so benumbed that he could not use his hands enough to hold It. He, however, to prevent its choking him, seized the rope with his teeth, and by this means was slowly drawn out of the water. It has taken some time to relate these incidents of rescue, but all the work was speedily accomplished, yet none too soon, for the whole field of ice was fast becom ing too weak to hold up so large a party. There was great joy at the island as soon as all the rescuers and the rescued were safe upon the dry land. Lieutenant Webster and all the men were inclined to make Max Wetherill the veritable hero of the occasion. At the next annual encampment of Captain Wetherill's company, "A," of the Sixth infantry, at Fort Niagara, not far from Buffalo, N. Y., as department com mander, I had the privilege and honor of presenting government medals to each of the above-named rescuers. There was a large assembly and a formal parade of the garrison, and one may imagine the pride and pleasure which Captain and Mrs.. Wetherill experienced when the name of Alexander Macomb Wetherill, lor that, was Max's full name, was called. When he, covered with blushes, stepped out to the front of the parade and re ceived his medal of honor, a spontaneous shout of applause greeted him. His father, now that the young man is approaching the requisite age, has sought for the lad an appointment to a cadetship at the military academy. We are glad, indeed, to notice and re cord such noble acts of heroism put forth in the saving of human life; and, indeed, it is better to save than to destroy. TRAINED BEES. In the education of animals It is more remarkable to see the smaller ones trained to exercises that seem absurdly out of place by the patient care of the human brain that devotes itself to this educa tional process. Mice, canary birds, and fleas! They have all been upon the boards. The Idea of teaching the vivacious flea to perform certain specific antics! How was it instilled Into its small per ceptible faculties that in obedience to cer tain signals from the master, man, it should do things which would never en ter into the mind of the simple, natural flea! Among the smaller animals there is ,- m -,- . -. - -, none that seems so intelligent, so prac tical ana soDer-mmaea as "ine nine Dusy bee." He will mount in the air, and fly in a straight line for his hive. It has passed into a proverb, and when a man wishes to say that he has gone by the shortest line from one point to another (and that, as mathematics teach, Is the straight line) he says he "made a bee line" for the place. So in the structure of their cells they apply by instinct the form and proportions which reason proves to be most effective and economical of space. They are fine subjects and obey implicitly their queen and they take good care of the drones as long as they are useful to the well-being of the commu nity, and kill them as soon as they cease to be so. It would appear therefore a very simple thing to teach bees tricks and introduce them to professional life as performers on the amusement stage. Yet, probably very few have ever seen trained bees. In 1S31, however, a man named Wildeman, of Plymouth, did train a troop and exhibited them for the recreation of the curious public. He got swarms of bees so well trained that he could make them enact maneuvers with as much precision and unity as troops of soldiers go through field tactics. The man used to exhibit the bees in a large hall outside of which was a garden. When the bees got through working as trick performers they could have a good time playing 1 amounsr the flowers. Wildeman would ap pear before the audience with the bee' swarming ,all over him. They were an hi3 face, on his hands, crawling over his clothes, and his pockets were full of them. It looked as if he were a great flower full of material of which honey could be made, from the assiduous attention which these busy little bees paid him. Whether they had been despoiled of their stings or not, is not said. But he must have felt uncomfortable if he knew that many scores of bees, were they so minded; could have stung him at will. Such a quantity of bee-stings as that could easily settle a man and leave him stung to death. Any body who has ever been unlucky enough to receive the sting of even one healthy, vigorous bee will not And it difficult to believe this. The hives of the bees were in a certala part of the large hall quite removed from the stagewhere Wildman stood with them, thickly clustered on him. All at once he would give a whistle and presto! The bees started off and flew straight to their hives! When they had got well settled there he would whistle again, and back they flew and settled on his face and hands and clothes once more. This was done with the greatest promptness and regularity. It must have been with some solicitude that the spectators asslssted at this performance. But it is due to the bees, and perhaps to Wildeman. to say, that no one was ever stung by them. Virgil, the great Latin poet, who wrote four poems on different agricultural themes, devotes one of these Georgics, as they are called, entirely to b'ees. But he nowhere says they can be taught to do the things which this man of Plymouth trained them to perform. Virgil's bee3 know a great deal, but they learned it from nature. JOHN JAMES. A HAWAIIAN CHRISTMAS- Impressions of a Portland Man at the Holiday Season ia Honolulu. HONOLULU, Dec. 31. There wa3 no1 gingle of sleighbells, for no snow lay upon the ground; no cold rains or winds to chill the marrow of one's bones; no thick fogs to blur the vision, but, instead, a balmy and beautiful evening beneath bright southern stars; and one anions them shone out like the star of Bethle hem on that great night, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-four years ago; for it was now Christmas eve on the island of Oahu. The little, narrow streets of Honolulu were thronged with a mighty crowd. First came the native population, then the Chinese and Japanese in large numbers; next the Americans. English and Portuguese, and so on, until the mid dle of the main street was the only place where a current seemed to flow on that particular street. Sidewalks and windows were blockaded and stores crowded. Most were making purchases for Christmas; others making merry with horns and masked faces, and some were lookers-on, as it were, only. Ten o'clock found the little street pretty well relieved of the great surging block of humanity that had so short a time before occupied it. Eleven o'clock, and Honolulu was one grand city of nocturnal music, for it was then that serenaders were out in all parts of the city, from small groups of native chil dren up to brass bands. One party would no more than be gone, it would seem, be fore another would take Its place, and so on throughout the night. Many of the ratlve aire were strangely fascinating. The morning broke clear and beautiful and with it came the sound of firecrack ers and bombs, while flags of different nations floated in the gentle breeze. The stars and stripes seemed to outnumber the others, for this is truly an American town, and many still retain their patriotic Amer ican feeling. It truly seemed like a Fourth of July instead of Christmas, and particularly so when rockets went up from different parts of the city in the evening. Throughout the day many wan dered to Thomas Park, where the gov ernment band was playing, and to the beach to indulge in surf bathing, among whom was the writer, who took his an nual. . j- The annexation fever is taking a'strong er hold on the people here, and a petition to President Dole has been presented, asking him to send a special commission to Washington to ask annexation, and if Columbia does not extend her hand to her little sister of the sea. Aloha Hawaii, after so much pleading, it will be indeed strange. Joaquin Miller, the poet of the Sierras, is here, it is said, to write a history of the islands, and now it may be expected that out of many an old crater of an extinct volcano will come many weird and ro mantic legends. The singing shells of the mountains, the barking or sonorous sands of Kauai, will cease for a time, to listen, as it were, to the new songs of the poet, while Pele, the goddess of the internal ele ments of the isles, and the shadow of Kamehameha I will creep forth in won derment to strange tales of the long ago. It seems as though the native, like "Lo" the poor Indian of America, cannot stand civilization, for the census cf 1832 gave 130,313, while the last only gave 34,436. The race is fast becoming mixed with the blood of other nations, and particularly that of Asia, as there are so many Chi nese and Japanese in the country. With this new blood and the monthly round-up of the lepers, a new and hardier race of people may perhaps spring from the old branch, yet it is hardly possible. Allud ing to the lepers, I will state that the board of health is constantly on the look out, and every month gathers up from the several islands all who are thus af flicted, an average of about 20. who are then sent to an isolated section on the island of Molokai, where they receive all the care possible and the enjoyment of schools and churches. They are not for gotten on Christmas, and receive many good things to cheer them in their lonely life. The leper settlement numbers 1126 lepers and 150 attendants. It is located on a grassy plain facing the sea, where may be seen passing the "white wings of com merce" and stately steamers on their way to the Orient via Honolulu, and from whose decks the little white-dotted village must present a beautiful appearance, though producing a lonely, sad, awe-inspiring effect. No lepers are ever allowed to leave the place, but overseers, physi cians and nurses can obtain permission to go and come when desired. Foreigners, it is claimed, seldom take the leprosy, and the white population here do not look upon it with so much dread as do those in the United States. , R. B. CURRY. An Eccentric Character. An eccentric character was Aaron Ran dall, of St. Albans, Me., who died last week at the age of 85. He was a doctor both of man and beast, and a man of many good deeds as well as peculiarities. Several years ago he had his coffin made, ready to be used at his death, and paid for It In gold. He also made arrange ments about his burial, selected his bear ers, also a man to dig his grave, and bury him, and left in the hands of a friend silver dollars to pay the bearers $1 each. ?3 to the one that dug his grave, J2 to the man that hauled his body to the cemetery, and also to pay the man who took charge of his burial. He left a spe cial request that no prayers nor preach ing be allowed over his remains. He was buried in the suit of clothes that he was twice married in, and that he had had for 53 years, only wearing them three times in all twice at his weddings and once to the funeral of his son-in-law. He was a democrat. He had his coffin made of pine that grew on a democrat's land, and that was sawed at a mill owned by a democrat. The coffin was made by a democrat, and he selected democrats to do all that was done to bury him. Lone-Lost Manuscripts. No success has attended the search made throughout the last six months in the square miles of vaults which extend In every direction under the Kremlin at Mos cow for the long-lost collection of book3 and of ancient MSS. formed by Czar Ivan the Terrible. It is probable, therefore, that this library, which enjoyed world-wide fame in the middle ages, has either been - 1 destroyed by. Are or scattered.