The Sunday Oregonian., May 11, 1913, SECTION SIX, Page 6, Image 74

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to the list of foreign reading and these
are going rapidly. The only demand
for history is from tne scnooia.
n Is considerable call for In
structive reading, relative to the cul
ture of flowers, for the Portland Floral
Society has offered an aggregate sum
of $1000 to be divided In prizes for the
most artiste and beautiful homes, made
th-!S by the use 01 .uowers. iuo con
tent in causing keen interest, as is
Serious
Hdveldken
shown by the way flower culttrre books
are going. Also boons that oner gooo
suggestions concerning the growth and
care of vegetables are asked for.
urn
Dog Express Brings
Letters From North
Foh
T O
Philosoblui and
Public's Heart,
PORTLAND'S reading public baa
con In for philosophy, the drum
arid science.
Plction is neglected for the hear?
works of such thinkers ss Bergson and
Goddard.
A review of the records at the public
library discloses the fact that our ro
mancers, for the moment, have been
thrust In the background. The public
mind seems to hare taken a trend to
ward, deeper things than light Action,
for the greatest demand Is for Berg
aon'e books entitled '"Creative Evolu
tion." The title might signify this
-work to be on the same parallel with
Darwin, but such Is not the case. Dar
win was a materialist, while Bergson
Is a philosopher, who goes farther back
into the formation of life than did
ever his Illustrious predecessor. Where
Darwin stated facts as be saw them.
Bergson portrays their practicability.
Strange, isn't it. that the majority of
readers shonld prefer a book of this na
ture. Just at the time when the bacilli
of Spring fever and baseball are most
abundant?
Perhaps we have a pretty sound,
thinking public, after all.
Immediately following Bergson comes
the drama, both English and Ameri
can, with no especial author as a fa
vorite. Various treatises on this sub
ject are being studied, mostly by wom
en. In order that they may listen with
keener intelligence to Doctor Burton,
the famous lecturer, when he arrives
here In June. The dramatists who are
really in heaviest demand are Plnero.
Masefleld. Shaw and Bennet, although
the Hat. of playwrights Doctor Burton
Intends discoursing upon contains the
names of Fitch, Thomas. Mackaye. Phil
lips and Sheldon, who heretofore have
not been placed in the same class as
their older and more famous contem
poraries. Also there are two plays,
namely. "Riders of the Sea" and "In
tbe Shadow of the Glen." written by
James Syr ire. being called for strictly
on their own merits, regardless of the
Influence Doctor Burton's coming may
have.
Next in line of demand is Goddard's
scientific treatise of eugenics, entitled
The Kalllkak Family." while fourth
on the list is a book on religion, deal
ing with the times of Christ, written
by Mr. White and entitled "Call of
the Carpenter." A close second to "Call
of the Carpenter" comes various. books
of an Instructive character pertaining
to folk dancing.
And we now arrive at the Action
booth. John Fox with his "Heart of
the Hills" is In the lead, while Mary
Johnston's "Cease Firing" follows close
ly. 'The Return of Peter Krimm," a
novelized drama by David Belasco, Is
third on the list. Then we have a
vivid, realistic narrative called "Judg
ment House." from the pen of Gilbert
Parker. "Marriage." an II. G. Wells
story that has received conalBerable
advertising and some gentle criticism
since Its appearance, is last of a list
cf Ave stories whose demand amounts
to anvthlnK at all.
Poetry is on the decline, as usual.
ONE of tbe least known parts of
the world, in Southern Tunisia,
waa visited recently by Dr.
Frank Edward Johnson, a scientist
and explorer ef high reputation. He
found there a number of mountains,
mostly sharp peaks, which are Inhab
ited by ant people.
That Is to say. these mountalna are
ao boneycombed with cavea dug out
of their sides aa to reaemble gigantic
anthills. In the aKvea dwell thousands
of human beings. They and their an
cestors have lived thus, apparently,
for 'many thousands of years. ' And
on the summit of each mountain la a
strong fort, built of a primitive aort
of concrete, for defensive purposes.
Such a human ant bin la the town
ot Douirat. It has a population of
1000 or more, but there are no houses.
Caves. In tiers above tiers, afford
dwelling accommodations to the In
habitants, and In that Intensely hot
nd dry climate, they are a rather
-.omfortable atyle ofN domicile, being
rooL The rocky formation of the
-nountaln is quite soft, so aa to be
aslly excavated. Som cf the caverns
tre used for storage purposes, and
others are connected by tunnels, with
tubterranean stables for horses and
ther domestic animals.
It should be understood that all of
X L I J oil ill. u uii., " " ar J
STRANGE MUMAANTOTNDINOLD TOUA.
Science Have Replaced LifiViV Fiction
So Library Review
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there being no call for any works ex
cept' those of Kipling. Milton, Long
fellow, Goethe, the stars of yesterday;
we haven't the time for them now. so
engrossed have we become in aavancea
philosophy and science.
the region here described is aeserr.
with here and there an oasjs.. wnere
there haDoen te be springs. For water
supply the chief reliance Is upon semi
occasional rains, every possible drop
being caught and conducted by trougns
Into cisterns for storage. The people
are partial nomads, traveling long dis
tances with their goats and sheep in
search of pasture. The caves they oc
cupy average about SO feet in. depth,
S feet In width, and 7 feet in height
the only light tomlng from the door
way. One realizes, then, that auch a hill aa
that of Douirat, pierced aa it ia with
a multitude ef caverns and cenneetng
tunnels, bears no inadequate likeness to
an anthill enormously magnified. On its
summit la an ancient citadel, or fort
ress, which baa doubtless withstood
many a siege, though at the present
time It is in ruina. The reason for
Its ruinous condition Is simply that
the French (to whose territory in
Northern Africa Tunisia belongs) have
by f oroe of arms, and likewise by
gentle methods, pacified the- country,
where formerly there waa continual
These human anthills, undoubtedly,
were originally occupied for the sake of
their natural strength and defensibil
ity against enemies. Assault trpon
armed men hiding in raves end tun
nels in the bowels of a mountain Is not
easily practicable from a- military
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Reveals
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There Is nothing doing In Ane arts,
and in biography the one book called
for at all is Albert Bigelow Paine's
"Mark Twain." This is a -very Inter
esting account of the life and charac
teristics of the pastmaster of laugh-
standpoint. But the situation Is such
that the defenders, if overcome, had
always the last resort of retreating to
the fortress on the summit, which waa
incidentally a huge storehouse, where
in large quantities of food supplies
provided against Just such an emer
gency. Accordingly, in this strange part of
the world the traveler discovers, scat
tered over tbe landscape, mountains
which have been inhabited and forti
fied by the ant people ever since the
days of the Pharaohs, and probably for
a much longer period. One of the most
interesting of them Is the top of a
great, sugarloaf-shaped hill, with the
point cut off. It Is called Ghourmessa,
and occupies a situation so wild and
difficult of access as to be well-nigh
Impregnable. Another is Chinini,
where in front of many of the caves
are courtyards and small buildings of
masonry. Odd though It may appear,
this town has a great reputation for
cookery, and one of Its most famous
"chefs" was summoned to Rome a few
years ago and made "chief pastry cook
to Pope Leo XXII.
Quite as interesting as these honey
combed mountain peaks are certain
towns of the same region, but in the
.plains beneath, which may be said to
consist of .habitations built In Imttatlon
of caves. When constructed singly
they have the form of half -cylinders,
with the convex aide UP. but common 17
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uind
in the Reading
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4t
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ter, and it worth anybody's time to
read It. Ex-Ambassador Bryce's "Soutn
America" alone holds up the dignity of
the travel section of the library. It is
meeting with considerable popularity.
Several Yiddish books have been added
thev are superposed
to
height
of
four or five stories. Many or these
curious structures are storehouses,
while others are for domioillary pur
poses. There are no etalrs inside or
outside, but the inhabitants go up or
down the fronts with ease, ascending or
descending- bv the help of projecting
stones, which have been worn smooth
by centuries of use.
Sallust, the Roman historian, who
wrote about 60 B. C, In giving an ac
count of his travels in Northern Africa,
spoke of coming to a strange country
where ."the people dwell in curious
abodes resembling overturned boats."
Evidently it waa to these very folk to
their ancestors, that is to say that he
referred. The houses In question are
composed of cement and pebbles. There
is nothing like them to be Been any
where else in the world, and It is not
unreasonable to Imagine that their an
cient occupants were the original in
ventors of concrete for building con
struction. Dr. Johnson says that there are per
haps 20,000 of these people In the plain
of Southern Tunisia. One of theft
towns, which he visited, Is called Mede
nlne. Another, known as Metameur,
is of the same general description, and
its women are famous for their beauty.
Like the mountain villages, each of
these centers of population has a com-
rbtned storehouse and fort fer purposes
of defense.
The people, whether ot the mountains
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HEN you receive a
letter from
the Far North do you ever pause
to think what the delivery or tnai
letter means? We who live within
the sound of the clanging street-car,
the flashing locomotive,, and the post
man's whistle, usually regard the re
ceipt of such a little parcel as a prosaic
thing. But in Its very essence mere is
a story that abounds with the romance.
adventure, and daring 01 tne aesoiate
North. '
In Alaska you will And few railroad
tracks, but in the far-away places In
the wilds there are men men who
have mothers and wives, and friends in
the midst of civilization. And when
these men write letters home, or for
purposes of business, ana wnen there
are no railroads, or the railroads are
blocked by the elements, some means
of carrying mail or freight to thelarg
r cities, where It may be hurriea on
wand, must be found. The stories of
the mall carriers of the frozen 'coun
tries are unexcelled in their element
of stoical courage.
In the accoropa,iy'ng illustration Is
shown an unusual method of transpor
tation some times necessary in Alaska.
The miniature handcar with Its sacks
of mail, ita draw of eight dogs, and
its engineer, who walks, is called the
"T.ittle Creek Express." This curious
train runs to Nome. It Is a vivid pic
ture of the difficulties that the rail
roader in Alaska must face.
Violent rains and great thaws sweep
B.war the ballast and leave the track
undulating and unstable. Perhaps the
washout occurs miles from any point
at which section, men can be sum
moned.
Though traffic may not be great, the
deliverv of mail and supplies cannot
be indefinitely delayed. And when the
railroader In Alaska faces a problem
like that, he turns back to the old
method dogs, and what little freight
there is can be hurried to its destina
tion.
Manners Make the
Man
A pleasing manner Is an important
f- essential to success in any business,
a o-entlfl. courteous manner will win
recognition anywhere. So much de
pends upon first impressions, and these
are favorable or unfavorable according
to whether a man Is polite and cour
teous or brusque and nervous In bear.
We cannot always Judge a man by
what he says or does, but. the way in
which- he says or does a certain thing
will prove the best index- to his char
acter.
A nleasant. courteous bearing will
help a man to success in business where
a boorish, impatient manner will turn
away customers. Tne Drusque man
may be as well meaning as his more
affable rival, but people have not the
time nor inclination to And out what Is
beneath the rude exterior; they prefer
to patronise the man who makes it
plain that it is a pleasure to serve;
that the world is a mighty pleasant
place, and that he is glad to be alive.
If you are not the possessor of a
pleasant manner, start In to acquire it
You will find It an Immense help in
making a success of anything you un
dertake. Power of Mnslc.
(Puck.)
The enthusiast That Is the "Spring
Song." Can't you feel it?
The Philistine You bet! You can
almost see the boys knocking flies
and booting grounders on some little
Southern lav-town diamond, can't you?
or of the plains, are an Arab race.
known as Berbers, in rormer aays u
tribes were continually at war, each
village being at daggers drawn even
with Its nearest neighbors. But most
dreaded of all were the robber Teua
regs, ravagers of the desert, who,
swooping down on their racing camels
when least expected, were accustomed
to carry off food supplies and portable
property, together with the good-looking
young women, and to murder every
body else. Including children.
This sort of thing Is not. permitted
any longer, however, thanks to the in
terference of tbe French, ho, as one
means of pacifying the country, have
established a great semi-weekly mar
ket on a convenient and Inviting oasis,
to which the people come from great
distances te buy and to sell. It Is to
day the principal meeting place of the
Troglodwtes, or cave dwellers, ef all
Southern Tunisia, and there the mem
bers of tribes which have been for
many centuries at swords' points make
friendship with one another. It ia- a
practical application of the principle
that hostility nearly always arises from
lack of acquaintance.
Necessarily the natives most exposed
to attack by Touaregs were those who
inhabited certain subterranean villages,
wherein pits, or holes in the ground,
took; the place of monntain caves or
boat-shaped, houses, .One 6uh place.
w1
Potash l?
,m HERE'S no use talking, Abe."
1 Morris Perlmutter declared to
his partner, Abe PotaBh, as they
sat in the sample-room of their spa
clous cloak and suit establishment, "we
got a, system of bookkeeping that
would disgrace a peanut-stand. Here's
a statement from the Hamsuckett Mills,
and It shows a debit balance of $1150
what we owe them. Miss Cohne's fig
ures is $1142. .
"That's in our favor already," Abe
replied. "The Hamsuckett people must
be wrong, Mawruss."
"No, they ain't, Abe," Morris said;
"It's Miss Cohen's mistake."
"Mistake!" Abe exclaimed. "When it's
in our favor, Mawruss, it ain't no -mistake!"
.
"It's- a mistake, anyhow, no matter
In whose favor it is." said Morris.
"Miss Cohen's footing was wrong. She
gets carlesser every day."
"I'm surprised to hear you that you
should talk that way, Mawruss," Abe
rejoined. "Miss Cohen's been with us
for five years, and we ain't lost nothing
by her neither. You know as well as I
do, Mawruss, her uncle. Max Cohen, is
a good customer of ours. Only last
week he bought of us a big bill of
goods, Mawruss."
"Just the same, Abe," Morris went
on, "if we get a bright young man in
there, instead of Miss Cohen, It would
be a big improvement. We ought to
get some one in there what can man
age a double entry, and can run a card,
index for our credits."
Abe puffed vigorously at his cigar.
"I suppose, Mawruss, if we got a
card-index and we sell a crook a bill
of goods." he commented, "and the
crook busts up on us, Mawruss, that
card-Index. Is going to stop him from
sUcking us what? Well, Mawruss, if
you want to put in a young feller and
fire Miss Cohen, go ahead I'm satis
fied." As if to clinch the matter before his
partner could retract this somewhat
grudging consent, Morris Perlmutter
stalked out of the sample-room and
made resolutely for the glass-inclosed
office, where M,iss Cohen was busy
writing in a ledger. She looked up as
he Ventered, and surveyed him calmly
with her large black eyes.
"Oh, -Mr. Perlmutter!" she said when
he came within ear-shot, 'JJncle Max
was round to the house last night,
and he wants you should duplicate
them forty twenty-twos in his last or
der and ship at once."
Morris stopped short. This was some,
thing he had not foreseen, and all his
well-formulated plans for the firing of
Miss Cohen were shattered at once.
"Oh!" he said lamely. "Thank you.
Miss Cohen; I'll make a memorandum
of it."
He went over to the commercial
agency book and scanned three or four
pages with an unseeing eye. Then h
repaired to the sample-room, where Abe
sat finishing his cigar.
"Well Mawruss," said Abe, his face
wreathed in a malicious grin, "you
made a quick Job of it."
Morris scowled.
"I ain't spoken to her yet," he grunt
ed. "I sot a little gumption, Abe a
called Matmata,. Is 30 miles south ef
Gabos. a French garrison town on the
African side of the Mediterranean. It
has a population of 5000, and there Is
not a house in sight, all of the dwell
ings being underground.
Resort is had to this methed of dom
iciliary construction not for defense,
but to escape the' tropical sun and to
obtain shelter from sandstorms. The
average pit is described by Dr. Johnson
as 30 feet deep and 15 feet in diameter.
It forms a circular courtyard open to
the sky and surrounded by caves which
are dug out of the Bides for living
rooms and storehouses. Quarters are
similarly provided for sheep, goats and
donkeys. The every-day work of the
household is done in the courtyard, in
the middle of which is a, cistern for
water. That part of the world is almost
rainless, but when It does rain it comes
down in torrents, and every drop Is
preserved.
Each such dwelling Is entered from
without by a turmel, slanting down toi
the courtyard the opening of the tun
nel being at a ltttle distance. Fur-
htiiture. such as tables and boas, are
usually cut out of the soft rocK a
simple and inexpensive way of provid
ing It. The walls of the rooms are
whitewashed. There are matresses
stuffed with wool, and rugs and blan
kets of native manufacture.
Etiquette, says Dr. Johnson, forbids
little consideration and common sense.
I don't throw out my dirty water until
I get in clean."
Abe puffed slowly before replying.
"I seen some people, Mawruss," he
said, "what sometimes throws out per
fectly clean water, and gets some dirty
water in exchange, Mawruss." He threw
away the stump of his cigar. "Some
times, Mawruss," he concluded solemn
ly, "they gets a good, big souse, Maw
russ, where they least expects It."
II.
Iko Feinsllver, city salesman for the
Hamsuckett Mills Goldner & Plot
kins, proprietors was obviously his.
own' ideal of a well-dressed man. His
shirts and waistcoats represented a
taste as original as It was not sub
dued; but it was In the selection of
his neckties that he really excelled.
Abe and Morris fairly blinked as they
surveyed his latest acquisition In cra
vats when he entered the door of their
store that afternoon, smiling a pleas
ant greeting at his prospective custom
ers. He presented so brilliant a ploture
that Miss Coheh was drawn from her
desk In the glass-Inclosed office toward
the trio in the sample-room as Inevi
tably as the moth to. the candle flame.
She took up some cutting slips from
a table, by way of excuse for her In
trusion, but the blush and Bmlle with
which she acknowledged Ike's rather
perfunctory nod betrayed her. Abe was
fingering the Hamsuckett swatches, but
Miss Cohen's embarrassment did not
escape Morris Perlmutter. He marked
It with an Inward start, and Immediate
ly conceived a brilliant idea.
"Ike" he said, when Abe had com
pleted the. giving of a small order and
had left them alone together, "a young
feller like you ought to get married."
Ike was non-committal.
"Sure, MawruSB," he replied. "Every
young feller ought to get married."
"I'm glad you look at It so sensible,
Ike," Morris went on. "Getting married
right, Ike, has been- the making of
many a young feller. Where d'ye sup
pose Goldner & Plotkin would be to
day if they hadn't got married rlghtt
They'd be selling goods for somebody
else, Ike. But Goldner, he married
Bella Frazinsky. with a couple of
thousand dollars maybe; and Plotkin.
he goes to work and gets Garfunkel'a
sister she was pretty old, Ike; but if
she ain't got a fine complexion, Ike, she
got a couple of thousand dollars, toOi
ain't it? Well, Plotkin with his two
thousand and Goldner with his two
thousand, they start in together as new
beginners. They gets the selling
agency for the Hamsuckett people, and
then they makes big money and buys
them out. Today Goldner & Plotkin
is rich men, and all because they got
married right!"
Feinsllver listened with parted lips,
"And now, Ike," Morris continued,
the good seed sown, "we talked enough,
ain't it? Come' on to the office. I want
to show you some little mistakes In
the Hamsuckett statement. ''
He conducted Ike to the glass-Inclosed
office, where Miss Cohen bent
low over her ledger. The blush with
(Concluded OD Page 7.)
a man to approach any other man's
hole near enough to look down and
see his women. Usually the head of
the household has several wives (the
number depending upon his means),
and there are always a few fierce dogs
on hand. When a man wants a wife,
he buys her from her parents with a
certain number of goats and lambs and
stated quantities of olive oil, barley and
wheat. The price of a bride is defi
nitely fixed by custom; but a woman
who is blind in one eye or otherwise
defective comes cheaper. The groom
is expected to give to his prospective
father-in-law a new fez and a pair
of yellow leather slippers. He receives
with the girl a dowry of about $3
half down, and the other half payable
at the end of a year.
Such pit villages are much more de
fensible against an enemy than might
be supposed. There are similar subter
ranean towns In Asia Minor and his
tory records an assault upon one of
them. In comparatively recent times, by
an Egyptian army. The Inhabitants
sought refuge In the underground
rooms, rolling huge stones against the
entrances, so that the Invaders were
unable to force their way in. When
the latter lowered buckets Into the.
cisterns to get water, the ropes were
cut. The upshot of the affair was
that the foe were compelled to with
draw, death from thirst being the al
ternative. RENE BACHE.
I