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THE SUNDAY OBEGONIAN, POETLAND, JULY 13, 1902.
20
SPORTS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
A BRAND-NEW out-of-doors game,
that can be played -with materials
Improvised from the natural ob
jects surrounding the players. Is "pards."
Each player selects a "pard." If girls
and boys play together, each boy selects
a girl for his "pard." If a boy or a girl
Is left over, he or she Is called a '"lonely."
The game can be played also by parties
consisting entirely of boys or of girls.
The first requisite in pards Is the buffer.
This may be a good-sired rock, one with
rather a flat top generally being preferred
or tho buffer may be a boy's hat, a. hard
felt like a derby, or a stiff straw hat. A
soft hat will not answer. The buffer Is
placed on an open space on the ground,
and Is surrounded by a ring of posts.
These may consist of 32 little sticks
driven in the earth, as shown in Fig. 1.
Every fourth stick is longer than are the
others, and is called a station. The sticks
bhould be about an inch or more apart.
One stick must be considerably longer
than any of the others, and, if possible,
it should bear a leaf on it. This stick is
called the starting point.
Pebbles may be used instead of sticks.
In this case a space of four or five Inches
left between pvcry fourth and fifth pebble
makes a station, and the starting point
is indicated by a stone considerably larger
than the others.
Each bo must select 'a leaf or flower of
the same kind and as nearly like that
of his pard as possible, for a marker.
If the girl has an oak leaf, so must he;
if she chooses a violet, he rust also have
a violet. '
The lonelles, however, must content
themselves with dry sticks for "markers.
The only other articles required in pards
are three throw sticks. These are made
easily by cutting the branch of some tree
or plant into two pieces of equal length
(about three or four Inches is a good size)
splitting them, selecting three of as nearly
the same width and thickness as possible
end cutting a notch In the rounded side of
one of these. See figure 2.
The order in which the pards -play may
be determined by counting out or by any1
of the usual ways used by young folks
in regulatins such matters.
The girl pard of the couple who have
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secured the first play begins by taking the
three throw sticks, holding them much as
she would a pen or a pencil, shown in
figure 2. above the buffer, and throwing
them down upon it, so that the ends of
the throw sticks strike the buffer as near
ly as possible together, and at the same J
time, and tho sticks themselves bounding
off fall Inside the circle of posts.
The place In which they fall determines
how many posts away from the starting
point the player's -marker may be laid.
If, in the beginning of the game, for in
stance, the sticks fall in such a way as
to count five, the player moves his or her
marker to the fifth post (stick or pebble)
from the starting point.
The players of one side move their
markers from left to right; the players
of the other sldo move theirs in the op
posite direction.
If one player, by a lucky throw, can
place his or her marker at a post al
ready occupied by ' another player's
marker, this latter is "put out" or sent
back to the starting -point to begin tho
game over again. Pards, however, can
not put each other out; on the con
trary, if one can place his or her mark-
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(131
LUCK AND PLUCK
llTT OW did you succeed?" asked Mrs.
A Barston, in a tone of anxious in
quiry, as her son Wilfred entered tho
room.
"Just my luck!" exclaimed Wilfred,
dropping into a chair with a discontented
growl. "Mr. Clay had hired a boy about
an hour before I applied."
"That's too bad," sighted Mrs. Barston,
as she applied herself again to the coat
she was mending. "Somehow I counted
on your getting the place, and it would
have been such a help. Mr. Clay gave
his last office boy $4 a week, and as the
hours are only from 9 to 3, you would
have time to do all tho chores."
"Can't help it," said Wlfred, with an in
different toss of the head.
"No, I suppose not." -Tnen, with a
sudden thought, she asked: "'What time
did you apply?"
"Ten o'clock."
"But you left home at 8, so as to see
Mr. Clay among the first applicants."
"I know I did; but I met Ralph Doris,
and he wanted to show me the canoe he
was making. Two other fellows were
there and we got talking, so that It was
a quarter to '10 before I remembered
about Mr. Clay." '
Mrs. Barston was silent for a moment
and then she said, reproachfully:
"I think you would have got the place
if you had applied sooner. You should
not have delayed"
"There! there It goes again!" inter
rupted Wilfred, angrily. "Of course, it's
my fault! You always say that!"
"Well, Whose fault was it?" she asked,
mildly.
"Nobody's," he replied, violently. 'It's
OUTDOOR GAME OF PARDS r AN
VACATION GAME FOR BOYS AND
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HOW TO HOLD THB STICKS THE THROW STICKS AND MARK
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WILFRED'S UNCLE FROM OREGON GIVES
FORTUNE AND ENDEAVOR
t
Just my luck! I'm always having bad
luck. I don't suppose I'll ever have any
thing else." x
Mrs. Barston sighed again. She was a
widow and Wilfred was her only child,
and It was all she could do to keep the
wolf from the door.
Wilfred was 15 years old, and might
have been a great help to his mother if
it had not been for his bad luck, as lie
called It. He always was a long time
getting a situation, but quick to lose it;
so that he worked only about three
months out of 12. On this occasion he
was particularly provoked (at his luck),
because Mr. Clay, the real estate agent,
was a splendid man to work for, the
pay was good and the duties very pleas
ant. Mrs. Barston made no further remarks,
however, and after dinner Wilfred
strolled down to the town, and with his
usual bad luck, stepped Into a large hole
in the sfflewalk, although there was a
sign, "Danger," right In front of it In
consequence, he severely sprained his an
kle, and had to be carried home.
This was a crushing blow to Mrs. Bars
ton, but with her grief came Joy. A
brother, whom she had not seen for
years, made his appearance. He was a
bachelor, in comfortable circumstances,
and willingly gave his sister such finan
cial assistance that her trouble In that
direction was allayed. But Wilfred was
still a source of anxiety.
"He tries to get along," she said, with
a mother's natural tendency to hide her
son's defects, "but he Is so unlucky. Now,
if some one would only give him a hand!"
"When a boy walks Into a hole with
his eyes open, in broad daylight," said
Mr. Lancaster, dryly, "he certainly needs
assistance of some kind. I will give
Wilfred a hand, when he is able to walk."
This happened very soon, and .Wilfred
INSTRUCTIVE AND AMUSING
GIRLS
er at the "post occupied by the other,
the player who does so is entitled to
another throw.
A lonely -cannot be sent back to the
starting point, but when put out, must
go back to the. post occupied last by the
marker of the player who put him or
her out.
Any player who can play his or her
marker to the 20th post, or half way
around the circle, can go at once the
rest of the way and place the lucky
marker at the starting point, to begin
another round or end the game, as the
case may be, four times around the circle
being generally considered a game. But
if a player is so unfortunate as to land
tho marker at the starting point, ho or
she loses 20 posts and has to go half way
back around the circle to place his or her
marker.
The winning flowers or leaves are worn
as badges by the winning pards.
It Is well to add that the game may
bo played without "putting back." This
makes a shorter but. In the opinion of the
writer, a less interesting game.
Parda may also he played without part
ners, every player for himself, though In
such a case the name given to the game
is something of a misnomer not, how
ever, to be avoided if only two play the
game.
An Interesting variation of pards can
be played at homo by using checkers as
posts, and a tee-totum instead of throw
sticks. The tee-totum Is made by stick
ing a match through the center of a reg
ular six-sided piece of thick cardboard.
Numbers are written on tho edge of the
6idea. and the number to which the mark
er Is to bo moved is determined by the
side upon which tho tee-totum rests when
It has done spinning.
SOME GOOD ADVICE jT jT
was delighted when his uncle announced
that he was going to take him. and his
mother to Oregon to live on a farm of
which he was the owner.
"I will be glad to get away from this
place," said Wilfred, emphatically. "I
have no luck here at all."
"I hope," said Mr. Lancaster, gravely,
"that you do not expect to have good
luck in Oregon?"
"Why, certainly!" exclaimed Wilfred.
"Why not?"
"Because there is ntf good luck in the
state.'
"Impossible! Why, I have read of
thousands of men who havo made for
tunes there." -
"No doubt, you have," responded his
uncle, with a smile. "I myself have ac
quired considerable property In the state,
but I know of no one who has got rich,
except by. skill and labor. In all my
travels and I have been twice around
tho world I never met luck of any kind,
good or bad."
"Then how do you account for my bad
luck?" asked Wilfred, wonderlngly.
"I can explain that easily enough,"
answered Mr. Lancaster. "You failed to
get the situation from Mr. Clay because
you loitered on the way, and you sprained
your ankle because you were careless in
not looking where you walked. I have
no doubt that your back luck in all
other cases could be likewise . traced tb
idleness, carelessness or lack of thought
fulness." Wilfred flushed to his temples, and was
at first inclined to be angry at these
plain-spoken words.
"You should not talk that way," he
said, confusedly.
"Yes, I should," replied his uncle,
sternly.' "You are neither weak nor Ig
norant, and it is a shame that you do
not work, Instead of whining about your
luck. There is no such thlngL Nature
never Interferes in human affairs, and
everybody gets Just what they deserve.
I have had many misfortunes in my life
time, but never any bad luck, and I would
be loath to admit that my good fortune
resulted from good luck, instead of .-endeavor.
Now, my boy, I am going to
take you to a new country, where drones
are at a--d(scountr and beggars are not
tolerated. You must use every ounce of
brain and muscle you possess to makej
and keep money, .and you must entirely
discard luck of any kind. For luck
substitute 'pluck.' and I will guarantee
your success. But, if you will not throw
away your belief In luck, I must leave
you at home. Do you want to go?"
"Yes," replied Wilfred, promptly.
"And I am to hear no more of luck?"
"I will never speak of It again."
"Good! said Mr. Lancaster, clasping
khls nephew's hand. "We wilt start for
Oregon next week, and try what pluck
will accomplish.''-!. H. Smith, in Gold
en Days. '
DUEL WITH POTATOES.
How a. Preacher Outwitted a South
ern Flre-Eatcr.
DUELLIST," llkenany another man
who takes himself too seriously.
can sometime be more powerfully influ
enced by ridicule than by anything else.
A story current in Kentucky tells how
''Bill" Bowman, who was a noted circuit
preacher and ' a muscular Christian, CO
years ago, once used this cffectlvo weap
on with 'good results.
At one of his meetings a local desperado
created a disturbance, and on "being pub
licly rebuked by Bowman, serit him a
challenge to fight. Bowman, as,tho chal
lenged party, had the choice of weapons.
He selected a half -bushel of Irish po
tatoes as big as his fist for each man,
and stipulated that his opponent must
stand 15 paces distant, and that only one
potato at a time should be taken from, the
measure.
Tho desperado W2S furious at being thus
Insulted, and made an indignant protest,
but Bowman reminded him that the chal
lenged man had a rlghj. to choose hi3 own
weapons, and threatened to denounce the
desperado as a coward If fle failed to come
to time. As there was no way out of the
btx but to fight, the desperado consented.
The fight took place on the outskirts of
the town. Everybody was present to see
the fun. The seconds arranged the two
men In position, by the side of each being
a half-bushel measure filled with pota
toes as hard as bricks.
Bowman threw the first potato. It struck
his opponent and flew Into a hundred
pieces. A yell of delight went up from the
crowd. That disconcerted the desperado,
and his potato flew wide of the mark. .
Bowman watched his chance. Every
time the desperado stooped for a potato,
another potato took him In,, the side. The
dxth potato struck him In the short ribs,
knocking the wind completely out; of him
and doubling him up on tho grass.
The people were almost crazy with
laughter, but Bowman looked as sober as
If he had just finished preaching a funeral
sermon. The desperado was taken home
and put to bed. and there he stayed for
more than a week before he- recovered
from the effects of his potato duel. It was
a long time before another duel took place
in that- region.
CAVE-DWELLERS IX CHIXA.
A Lararc Xumlicr on the Hill" Slopes
Along- the Yellorr River.
THE fact escaped attention until re
cently that there are many cave
dwellers along the Hoang or Yellow
River. It happens that they aro found
on that part of the river where tho bridge
on the railroad which is to connect Pekln
with Hankow on tho Yangtse is to bo
bul!t; and Mr. August Slosse. a Belgian
engineer, who lived among them for six
months while making studies for the rail
road In that region, has been telling some
facts about the troglodytes.
Along the bank of tho river the people
llvo in clay huts, but higher up, among
the hills, only a short distance from the
stream, they make for themselves perma
nent habitations dug In the hillsides.
There are many villages of these caves,
not only the habitations,' but also the tem
ples, the shops and the storehouses for
grain being nothing more than these dark
artificial caves.
Many of tho caves are nearly as spa
clous as the smaller New York flats. They
are about 9 feet high, 10 or 12 feet In
width and havjo a deptn of 50 to CO feet.
They are dark and gloomy abodes, hut
the people who live in them think they
are much preferable to the clay huts In
which their neighbors Jive on tho river
bank. No adornment of the interior Is at
tempted, excepting In the temples, whose
walls are whitewashed and covered with
rude paintings In lively colors, that, un
der the bright light which is constantly
burning, gives these sacred rooms quite
a gaudy appearance
Tne only particular advantage the un
derground rooms seem to havo la that they
are cool in Summer and warm. In Winter.
TheInhabitants are gentle and even tim
id, and Mr. Slosse said that being unac
customed to seeing whites, they almost
invariably disappeared Into their caves
when they saw any of his party approach
ing. It was curious to see them at a dis
tance working In their little fields above
or below their dwellings, only to find not
a soul in sight upon nearer approach.
They would all mysteriously sink Into the
ground and apparently there were no hu
man beings for a mile around, though un
doubtedly there weVe thousands of the
trogloMytes in their burrows listening at
their doors for the footfalls of the intrud
ing strangers.
GAMES OF TAG.
Some Lively Pastimes In Favor
Among Children. In Switzerland.
SWISS children make believe that the
pursuer in the. game of chase or tag
Is invested with an imaginary evil spirit,
whose power Is subject to certain charms.
For instance. If they touch cold Iron, a
gatelatch, a horseshoe or an Iron nail, the
power of the demon Is broken. Sometimes
they make gold or silver their charm.
They play cross-chase, In which tho run
ner who darts across the patch between
the pursued and the pursuer becomes the
object of the catcher, and the former one
goes free. Again, if the runner squats he
is free, or he may squat three times, and
after that the charm is lost.
The chaser often disguises himself, and
unless the captive can guces who he Is the
captive Is banished from the game. They
also play turn-cap the chaser wearing
his cap with the lining outside.
Another Swiss game Is called pot of
gold. One of the swiftest runners takes a
stick and pretends to dig for a pot ot
gold. He works away for a few minutes,
then cries out, "I've found It." and runs
away with it at the top of his speed.
He has the advantage of a few paces at
the start, for while he is digging the other
players are grouped behind him at least
one rod distant The player who catches
him gets the pot of gold, and. becomes in
turn subject to robbers.
This keeps every player on the chase
continually.
Must Have Been an Angrier.
A teacher had been drilling a class in
natural history. "Now, boys," said he,
"who can give me a specimen of the ani
mal kingdom?"
A little hand went up quick as flash.
Tho teacher smiled, and asked him to
name.it.
"A leetle vorra," said he.
"Yes' said the teacher, "but give me
another one."
"Anoder leetle vorm," said Ole Oleson,
triumphantly.
QUEER THINGS DONE BY UNCLE SAM
HE HAS THE FINEST AND MOST ENTRANCING OF TOYS. AND PLAYS
THE FUNNIEST AND MOST AMUSING GAMES.
NE thing that very few persons
know is that the United States
Government has the most tempt
ing tops and plays the most delightful
games every day as apart of the seri
ous and immense work of carrying on
tho government of tho greatest of na
tions. This Is not because the men who are
at the head of affairs want to play, but
because they have found that one can
learn a great deal from play. Play, when
done properly, as everything should be
done in this world. Is, study, and the child
or man who plays right has gained much
useful experience without knowing It at
the time.
So there Is one man on old and grave
and wise and very famous professor
who may be seen often in his office In
Washington standing on desks and chairs
launching little paper birds and funny
contrivances through the air and watch
ing them soar and settle with Just the
same Interest and delight with which
boys and girls would "watch them. If
folk who do not know who he Is wero
to behold him, they might well be excused
for Imagining that the old gentleman Is
growing childish. But probably there are
few persons in Jhe whole country today
who know better what they are about
than does he. For he Is one of the fore
m'ost scientists of the great Smithsonian
Institution, and som6 day it is expected
that he will teach-the world how to build
a flying machine that really will fly.
Often, after he has -played gpod and
hard with the little paper toys, he disap
pears. Then the other scientists know
that he is down in a lonely part of tho
Potomac River, experimenting with big
flying machines that have been built ac
cording to ldea3 gained by him from his
toys.
And while this fine old. professor is fly
ing his playthings the chances are that
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HOW TO MAKE A HAMMOCK, OUT OF A. CLOTHESLINE AXD SOME BARREL STAVES.
There are times again and aaln in camp and In the out-of-doors dens that boys lov to have, when a place to "roost" while
readlnc or a place to "snooze" through a day ot drfcallng rain is In great demand. Generally Just when ono moat -wants it tho
forest branches and twigs aro too wet to uso for a bed, and, beside, it Is too much trouble.
Now here Is a vesy to make a really practical hammock that win justf "fill the bill." Get several barrels, break them up
and remove all the nails from the staves. Bore a threb-quarter-lnch hole In each end of each stave with a heated poker. Then
lace thin rope (clothesline is good) throush the holes. This can be accomplished easily by noting the -method ot lacing in figure
AB. Th9 stay-blocks C and D should be 12 Inches long. Tho hammock can be made entirely comfortable by placing upon it
several couch pillows and covering them with & shawl.
not far away other wise men are playing
with tho most delightful of little toy
gardens. There ar,o patches just big
enough for little children to weed and
hoo with their tiny Implements. These
patches aro watered with lovely small
graduated watering pots; and with beau
tiful scales little pinches of fertilizer and
other plant foods are measured out for
each.
Big men sit over them, and watch them
and peer Into them, and fondle the little
leaves, one by ono. Just as children would
do. But eery few weeks one of the
players sits down at his desk and writes
and soon afterward the Government Is
sues a pamphlet that tells farmers all over
the world just how they can handle their
farms of thousands and thousands of
acres' to make them yield more and bet
ter crops.
All over the country are other men em
ployed by tho Government who go out ev
ery day with butterfly nets to catch but
terflies and grasshoppers and countless
other Insects. Some go out at night with
lanterns and honey pots and sit down in
the shelter of shrubbery, waiting till the
great blundering night moths shall be at
tracted by the keen scent of the honey,
which they love. Often the moths drink
honey until they are actually drunk, when
THE MYSTERIOUS TUMBLER
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A.A. TMlM
Paver
MYSTERIOUS
THE boy who can perform a clever
feat In magic, or make a neat experi
ment In physics, Is always considered an
acquisition to a company, and is popular
accordingly. Besides, the performance of
the feat, or the making of the experiment.
Is sure to give the boy himself a good
deal of pleasure.
Here Is a little experiment that Is mys
terious eonugh to those that witness it
to seem like magic, and yet it simply Is
an illustration of a well-known principle
of natural philosophy. All you need to
make the experiment Is a marble-top
table, such as may be found In any par
lor or sitting-room, a glass tumbler and
a piece of candle.
You first put under the two legs at ono
end of the table thin wedges ot wood or
paper, to give the table a very slight In
cline in the direction of the other end. If
you wish to 'make the feat all tho more
mysterious, you should put the wedges
under the legs when the. company is not
looking.
Now take a plain glass tumbler and
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they can be picked up by the bare hand
without even needing a net
That is not bad play, either. Xct that
kind of playing has saved the people of
the United States millions of dollars, for
the Insect hunters find out so much about
the insects that destroy vegetables and
fruit and shade trees that wg,know now.
just when to look out for their arrival
and just how to destroy them before they
become big enough to eat our growing
things.
Last year men in the Agricultural De
partment at Washington played at a most
absorbing game that- surely would have
pleased every boy and girl in the land.
They planted seeds of .ma-ny kinds in tiny
pots, one seed In each pot, and then day
after day they photographed the pots.
Thus they made many hundreds of pic
tures that, when they were all put to
gether, showed Just how the plants grew.
And these pictured were put into one of
thoso great kinetoscope machines that
throw large moving pictures on- screens,
so now everybody can see a plant grow
from a seed to a mighty shrub. Only, in
stead of having to watch it for months
fVind years, wo can all see It w!,thin a few
minutes, for toe mactiino throws the pic
tures on tho screen just as fast as one
may wish.
This already has taught farmers and
florists many wonderful things about
plants that never had been suspected be
fore, although so many hundreds of thou
sands of sharp-eyed persons have watched
plants grow for so many centuries.
A few years ago tho United States Gov- -
ernment imported the beautiful and valu
able datetpalm, hoping to make It grow In
the sandy and dry parts of Arizona and
Now Mexico, andVother spots of the United
States where other domestic plants do not
thrive. The date palms did fairly well,
but'not well enough to please the Depart
ment of Agriculture, so It rent one of lt3
men away out to Africa, and across tire
trackless Desert of Sahara, to find the
oases and see how palms grow there.
He discovered many curious things.
Among other facts that he found was that
tho Sahara really Is not a sandy desert at
all. It is a desert, suro enough, but only
because It has no water. Its soil, Instead
of being sand. Is actually tho finest kind
of loam, and he says that by lying Idle, as
it ha3 done for so many thousands of
years, it has grown very rich Indeed. And
If ever the French or tho English carry
out the old plan of leading water into it,
the great Desert of Sahara will become
one of the world's most fertile places.
Ho also found a gorgeous evergreen
morning glory twining all over the houses
of the Arabs. And then he found the beau
tiful oases, and when he returned It was
with many camels, all laden with fine date
palms. And these are growing finely now
in our country. That was a real Arabian
nights play trip that has been worth lots
and lots of money to the country.
Some charming toys are those that ev
erybody may see In the weather observing
stations of the Government. There aro
busy little windmills, turning like any
thlrg, and funny little round disks on
arms that dance all the time, and queer
spiral glass tubes that movo lead pencils
over charts. A weather observatory would
be the very place of all that any child
would select. If It could have Its way,
for a playroom. Thero are so many funny
;e
WEfettS of
R Woco".
TTOIDLER.
moisten the rim carefully, so that the
water will stick to It, or at least enough
of it to make a thin coating of moisture
Place the tumbler, rim down, on the end
of the table where the wedges are, and It
will not move, for the Incline, if you have
not mado the wedges too thick, will not
be great enough to- make the tumbler
move by gravity.
But you are going to mako the tumbler
move of Itself, so that It will seom to do
so by some magical power. To do this
light the piece of candle and hold It near
the tumbler for a few moments. The heat
from tire candle will cause the air In the
tumbler to expand, and this expansion
will have the effect of raising the tumbler
Just a little from the smooth marble. The
air cannot escape, however, because the
water around tho rim of the tumbler
keeps It In.
Then the tumbler will begin to move
slowly along the marble top, for the slight
elevation that the expanded air 1ms given
It makes it now rest on a thin layer of
moisture, and It glides down the Incline
by the force of gravity.
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Instruments, and scores on scores of
queer-colored flags, and little guady-col-ored
lanterns, that one's heart quite fills
with a desire to play with them.
Yet even while one Is looking at them
turn and dance, those tempting toys may
be telling of a terrible storm that Is kill
ing folk and blowing houses down far
away. The little flags and lanterns, when
hoisted, may seem anything but merry
toys -to the sailor1 offshore who sees them
through his glass, or to the lonely voyager
over open country roads. For some of
them spell hurricane, and others talk of
hall and rain, and others talk of deadly
cyclones and warn all humankind to s'tay
snug in shelter.
There was a learned old man In Woods'
Hole in Massachusetts the otner day, who
had great fun with starfish in little sau
cers and bright flashing glass tanks.
Wood3 Hole is the place where the United
States Government studies fish. This man
went out and caught a lot ot the beauti
ful, gaudy things that are called starfish,
because they look so much like stars.
Children who have seen them and played
with them and admired them will find it
hard to believe that they are really first
cousins to the terrible and loathsome dev
ilfish and octopus, as they are.
This man played lots of enjoyable games
with the stars. He put'some of them into
shallow vessels and found that they had
queer habits. For instance, a starfish
would try to crawl over the sjdo of the
dish, but as soon as he found that ha
would have to lift his arms- out of tho
water to do It he would slide right back.
But If he could get just enough water to
keep his arms covered, he would crawl
away rapidly, quite regardless of the fact
that all the rest of his body was sticking
out high and dry.
The man also got many egg3 of the star
and put them into tiny trays full of salt
water and hatched them out. Gloriously
beautiful little things thoy, were, purple
and crimson and scarlet and yellow, each
one as tiny as a plnhead, yet each one a
perfect five-armed star. And as soon as
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each was hatched It would hurtle right to
the bottom and "set" on a piece of green
weed, where it shone like a flashing gem.
Now this was truly pleasant play. But
It was profitable, too. For the starfish Is
a terrible enemy of the oyster and clam.
He will seize the luckless shellfish with his
arms and fold his stomach entirely around
tho mollusk. Then he will lie still, Just
keeping up a steady pull with his arms
until the poor oj'ster or clam is entirely
tired out and opens it shell, when the
starfish swallows It at once. Small won
der Is It that the shellfish cannot keep its
shell closed when the starfish tackles It.
A man In Woods' Hole let a little star no
bigger than a dollar tackle his fingers,
and he found it could pull much harder
than even he could withstand with all
the strength of his arm.
Well, the starfish used to eat so many
oysters and clam3 that tho fishermen of
Connecticut alone lost moro than 5100,000.
Tho playing of the man In Woods' Hole
has taught tho Government new ways of
fighting the stars, and it is now sending
the information to all the fishermen and
shellfish planters.
J. W. 1L
KILLING OFF ALLIGATORS.
BlBT Fellows Hunted for Their Hides,
Little Ones for Carlos.
THERE Is every indication that the al-
ligator will soon be exterminated.
Trade demand for the reptiles' skin in-
creases yearly, and the warfare that is he
ing waged by hunters in Florida and Mex
ico bids fair to continuo until the last
saurian Is turned Into leather.
The manner of hunting tho alligator is
very much the same in all sections. If
the hunter goes forth at night he wears
a lantern strapped to his head.
The light dazzles the quarry so that tho
hunter can approach within five or six
feet of them. They are then shot In the
eye or under the foreleg.
Tho weapon is either a sawed-off shot
gun, a short-barreled rifle or a heavy re
volver. In extremely dry weather the
reptles make their way to the praries or
dry swamps in search of -nater holes,
which they find by Instinct from a long
distance.
Around these water holes they burrow
caves, called "alligator holes."
The hunter is equipped with a long pole,,
upon tho end of which there is an iron
hook. He thrusts this Into i the cave and
drags the game to tho surface.
In some swamp sections where it Is dif
ficult to approach the prey a harpoon gun
Is used.
An arrow secured by a chain Is fired
into the reptile, and it is thus held secure,
whether the shot proves fatal or not.
The largest specimens klllled seldom ex
ceed 15 feet In length. Most of the men
who hunt the alligator are swamp Indians,
although there aro a great many white
men who follow the business in Summer
and trap for coon, otter and mink skins In
the Winter.
The skins bring the hunter ?1 each, but
this price is insignificant, for the reason
that it costs three or four times- as much
to get the leather in shape for the market.
In addition to the wholesale slaughter
of large alligators for commercial pur
poses, a feature of recent development is
the preparation of young ones for the
Summer trade.
Dealers pay $15 per hundred for the
little reptiles while they are from five to
ten inches In length. They are pickled la
a preserving solution, stiffened by the in
sertion of wires Into their bodies, stuffed
with sawdust and varnished. They are
mounted on pin cushions, jewelry trays,
paper weights, etc.
One firm in Florida sells every Winter
thousands of these to tourists, and as
many more thousands every Summer at
Northern resorts.
In addition to being preyed upon by the
curio hunter, the young alligator Is also
beset by birds of prey and large fish. It is
even devoured in great numbers by the
males of its own species, so that alto
gether its existence Is extremely precar
ious. Didn't Supply Her Need.
A little friend of mine had been put to
bed. After a little while her mother heard
her-xrying. She went to the stairs and
called to her not to cry nor worry, but to
be good, for God was .with her.
"Yes." said the little one. "huf Tlort
i doesn't scwatch my back!" "