12
THE STnS"D.A.r OB.x02sTA3T. PORTIYA'NTJ JjOSTJAHY 33, 1895.
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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.