A EElf AKKABLE HILL.
In Which Host Everything la Hade and the
Gospel 1 3 Preached.
On the old country road leading
from Taunton to New Bedford, about
three miles from Taunton green, at the
bead of a large pond stands a building
Whose history is so peculiar and whose
uses are so many that it can properly
be classed among the wonders of the
old colony. It was erected about fifty
years ago by Josiah King for a fork
works. A few years afterward it was
sold to William Fierce, who now owns
it. In appearance it is no more pe
culiar than the ordinary run of coun
try saw-mills. Its age rests lightly
upon it, and, barring accidents, it is
likely to remain a landmark for at
least fifty years to come. Its history,
told by one who lives near it, is as
follows:
"On the lower floor of the building
are three rooms. In one is a grist
mill, in another machinery for sawing
and splitting wood nnd cider making,
and the third is used for a church and
for holding various kinds of entertain
ments. Grain is brought there from
miles around and ground into meal
for 'fodder and cake-making. On any
day during the late fall you will see
half a dozen old farmers gathered
about discussing things in general,
and waiting for their little grist to be
ground. Meal made from corn of their
own raising is thought far superior to
any that can be bought at the store.
- I asked an old man one day why he
did not use bolted meal. Tve used
meal of my own and father's raisin'
for over sixty year' an' its good
enough f me. I don't b'live ins' many
new-fangled notions just gut ip t' git
money out uv us por formers.' Of
course he must have his clumsy joke
on the end-. "I c'n bolt my own
meal fast enuf when 'ts made into
cakes.'
"In the early fall the old mill is kept
running night and day making cider.
Hundreds of cart-loads of apples are
ground up and the juice squeezed out.
An upright barrel with one head out
stands always full of the fermented
fuice, and a cup near by invites every
one to help himself. One day a small
boy wandered in. He could not reach
over the top of the barrel to the cider,
bo he made 'an inclined plane of a
board and crawled up on it. He reached
down to dip a cupful of the coveted li
quid. The board tipped up and the
young man went in head first. Lucki
ly someone heard the splash and rush
ed into the room just in time to save
the youth from a cidery grave. This
boy has now grown up to oe an active
temperance worker. Cider-drinking
parties are often held here, and the
person who drinks the most is voted
the champion. I once saw a young
man drink ten glasses in rapid succes
sion. When this part of the mill is not
in use for cider-making wood is sawed
and split here, and the same old farm
ers who bring their own corn to have
it ground to save money will bring a
load of wood and have it reduced to
the proper size for stove-burning.
Years ago this part of the mill was
used for sawing box-boards and shin-
f;Ies, and more recently as a furniture
aclory.
"In all the years the old mill
has been there has been but
one accident. One day the mill
was sawing shingles, when a
young man with a scarf about his
neck came in. He got too near the
shafting, and it caught him by the
scarf and began to throw him around
and around. Before the mill could
be stopped his boots and stockings
were torn from his feet in shreds, and
four of his ribs and an arm were
broken.
"The room used as a church is such
as the old puritans worshiped in. Ex
sept in midsummer and midwinter
meetings are held here regularly Sun
days, and on week-day evenings fairs,
festivals, and 'sewing circles often
make merry ia this room. Not infre
quently in winter a dance draws the
young people to the old mill.
"I distinctly remember one evenino
prayer and praise meeting that I a"
tended here. The minister was an
old man and very near-sighted. In
the course of the evening he began to
cough, and not being able to control
it he asked for someone to fetch him a
glass of water. It was early in the
fall, in cider-making time, and in the
second room beyond stood the full
barrel and a glass near it. A young
scapegrace quickly responed to the re
quest of the minister, but instead of
bringing water he tilled the glass with
cider, and with a sober face took it up
to the preacher. The audience dis
covered the trick and reached for
handkerchiefs, The unsuspecting old
gentleman raised the glass' to his lips,
and, without stopping to taste or
smell, swallowed the whole of it.
Such a look of horror as came over
his face when he realized the trick I
will not attempt to describe. The au
dience smiled and tittered, but the
minister immediately regained his
composure, and said "not a word.
"One of the most pathetic scenes I
ever witnessed was the funeral of a
little child in the church-room of the
old mill. The parents were poor,
hard-working people, and the dead
baby was the only one (iod had given
them. It was a beautiful little girl, as
fair as though its parents had been of
royal blood instead of being too poor
to provide a coffin for the little thing.
Kind neighbors had bought a little
white casket and made a little white
robe of some cheap cloth and trimmed
it with blue ribbons. They put flow
ers about the room in the old mill in
rude vases and cups, and gathered
reverently about the mourning par
ents, while the minister said a few
kind words and prayed to God that
the father and mother be given
strength to bear their great grief."
Surely, like the mills of the gods,
this mill grinds all. Taunton Mass.)
Cor. Boston Otobe.
The microscoie reveals that there
ate more than our thousand muscles
in a caterpillar, and that the eye of the
drone contains one thousand mirrors.
There are spiders as mall as a grain
of sand, and theyspin a thread so fine
that it would require four hundred of
them to equal the size of a single hair.
State of Ireland American Tourists.
It is pleasing to notice that Ante ri
can public opinion has not been terri
fied Dy the rumors circulated by inter
ested persons in reference to the un
settled state of Ireland. Such un
founded reports, says The Belfast News
Letter have done much to intimidate
tourists from visiting this country,
but the fact that these idle stories
have not completely accomplished
their object has just received a graohic
illustration in Belfast, A very large
number of American tourists have
recently visited Ireland, taking in this
town in their tour. An instance show
ing how thoroughly ineffectual mali
cious reports have been is afforded by
the fact that a party of thirteen
American ladies, unaccompanied by
what would perhaps be considered the
reassuring escort of gentlemen, arriv
ed after a tour through the country,
at the Queen's hotel, Belfast. They
leit Boston Dy tne uunara liner jep
halonia. Another large party of ladies
and gentlemen tourists arrived at
Queenstown on the 6th inst. by the
Cunard steamer Aurania. They spent
the interval of twelve days in visit
ing Cork, the Lakes of Killarney,
Dublin, Enniskillen, Londonderry,
Belfast, and other places of interest.
It is an acknowledged fact that Ire
land presents features of attraction to
tourists such as few countries possess,
but false public opinion has intimida
ted many visitors who were only too
desirous of becoming acquainted with
this island. That such influences are
dying a natural death is being demon
strated daily. In addition to the facts
above quoted, it may be mentioned
that on Saturday last the Cunard
steamer Etruria landed at Queenstown
nearly one hundred saloon passengers,
and the steamers of other translantic
lines are furnishing their quota also.
The supposition that tourists might
not travel from Cape Clear to Main
Head without molestation or dread
strikes anyone who knows Ireland as
a complete absurdity, and that false
rumors have been dissipated in the
minds of American travelers is now
amply proven. The party of ladies
who have been staying at the Queen's
hotel left for Glasgow last night by
AT.-, D P, ,-. - Ml '
LUC 1U.B59J.S. JJU1U 9 aLCitLUCL UUL
The Dromedary, also, on Thursday
evening conveyed a large party of
Americans to the same destination.
These facts possess a special interest,
as emphasizing a returning confidence
on the part of foreigners in Irish hos
pitality and the general state of the
country.
Caught It All Alone.
On the boat coming down from the
Flats the other evening was a young
man and a black bass. They were a
pair. That is, the young man had in
some way accumulated the fish, which
was dead. He was such a guileless
looking young man that several parties
thought to guy him and his catch. The
fish was hanging to a peg, and with it
a pair of small ballances which enable
a fisherman to weigh his victims, pro
viding they don't go over twenty
pounds.
'Catch it all alone?" asked one.
No reply.
"Pull very hard?" asked a second.
No reply.
"Were you much over three days
about it?" queried a third, and so it
went on for ten minutes, while the
fisherman had nothing to say. At
length one of the crowd remarked:
"That bass will weigh all of half a
pound."
"I doubt it." replied another.
"Say, fisherman, what are the fig
ures?" "Two pounds," was the solemn an
swer.
"Get out!"
The man pulled a $10 bill from his
vest, and laid it on his knee and said:
"If he don't the monev is vours.
Put up!"
After some hesitation a shake purse
of $10 was raised, the fish hung to the
scales, and he showed an ounce over.
The crowd kicked on the scales, and
the fish was weighed in the steamer's
pantry. The figures held good, but
he was weighed again when the boat
landed, and the money had to be pass
ed over.
"How did you do it?" asked a
policeman when the crowd had dis
persed. Simply poured seventeen ounces
of birdshot down his throat," was the
reply; and he let the fish's head drop
and the shot pattered out on the wharf
like a young nail-storm. Detroit Free
Presi. "
Watermelons Won't Go.
"There is as handsome a lot of water
melons as ever reached New York,"
said a Washington market dealer,
"and yet people shun them as if they
were afraid they would go off. Where
I sold a thousand last season I do not
sell one hundred."
"How do you account for it?"
"That's an easy one. Why, cholera,
cholera, cholera! The health board
have scared the fruit consumers to
death, and, in place of breakfasting
on a good ripe watermelon or dish of
other fruit, they are dieting on oat
meal, crackers, rice, or hominy. Noth
ing green not a shade of that color
upon the table. Now, watermelons
are notoriously wholesome."
"How do the prices compaie with
last season?"
"There is a handsome melon for 25
cents. Fifty and 60 cents was a com
mon price a year ago."
"Many melons coming?"
"Yes;" but they will not pay ex
penses. We won't have the cholera,
bul we have got the scare, and the
melon business is laid out." New
York Sun.
All the Insurance He Wanted. ,
"Young man," said a minister to' a
passenger who had just finished curs
ing the peanut boy for waking him
up, "does it ever occur to you that we
know not what a day may" bring forth
that we are here to-day and gone to
morrow?"
"1 should say so; I'm a Cincinnati
drummer."
"Do you know," went on the minis
ter solemnly, "that in the midst of life
we are in de "
"You're too late, old man," said
the Cincinnatian briskly; "I've got
$10,000 in the Occident and Orient,
and that's all the insurance can car
ry." New York Times.
PASSING EVENTS.
The wine product for 1885 is esti
mated at 15,000,000 gallons.
The old Cincinnati postoffice is to be
rebuilt at Eden park for an art school.
A Danbury, Conn., man swallowed
a live frog several days ago for two
bottles of beer.
A proposition has been made to erect
a monument to Gen. Grant in Buffalo,
N. Y., by popular subscription.
The last blow to the roller-skating
rink has been given by a Philadelphia
physician, who says that roller-skating
enlarges the feet.
The Japanese have adopted the bi
cycle, and it has become popular there,
but the Chinese seem wholly incapable
of comprehending it.
It is now claimed that birds as near
ly as possible imitate the nests in which
they were reared, and bring to the
work a sort of rudimentary education.
Prof. L. E. Richards, the Yale pedes
trian, has walked nineteen hundred
miles thus far this year for pleasure.
Last year he made twenty-one hun
dred. The Pennsylvania Railroad company
is soon to open at Allegheny, for the
use of its employes, a library, reading
room, bath-rooms, and an assembly
hall.
Fifteen thousand people at the open
ing of the Chautauqua school, which
indicates that as a popular summer re
sort the school is fast taking the place
oi me camp meeting.
In a recent issue of a well-known
French journal appeared the follow
ing advertisement: "Wanted, a dis
tinguished and healthy looking man to
be 'cured patient' in a doctor's waiting-room.
Address, etc."
As two men were fishing in a mill
pond at Valatie, Columbia county,
New York, the other day, they saw a
crocodile about six feet long crawl
into the water. It was put into the
pond six years ago, when small.
The tribal government of the Chero
kees is democratic in form, with an
elective chief magistrate and an up
per and lower house of representa
tives. The judiciary is also elective,
and criminals are punished after the
manner of the whites.
The dry weather in Texas affects
Tlie Lulinq Wasp in this manner:
"The foam-covered coursers of the
air are constantly in sight, but the
sound of their tramping comes not,
nor do we feel the welcome spray from
the raingod's fountain."
A horse was thrown down in New
York a few days ago by the iron shoe
of one foot coming in contact with
the cover of a manhole for the elec
tric wires, which was affected by leak
age, while the other foot touched the
iron rail of the Bleecker street horse
railroad.
In a communication to the Academ
ie des Sciences, M. Duclaux states the
presence oi micro-organisms in tne
earth is essential to the germination
of seed. His experiments were made
with plants whose seeds grow on the
surface as well as those which devel
op in the ground.
In Tenejapa, Oaxaca, Mexico, the
Indian residents are more sanguinary
than the Chinese in the administra
tion of justice. They surrounded the
houses of seven well-known robbers.
and burned them alive in their houses.
When the militia arrived they only
found a heap of ashes.
Tracing-paper may be made by im
mersing best tissue paper in a bath
composed of turpentine and bleached
beeswax. A piece of beeswax an inch
in diameter dissolved in half a pint of
turpentine is said to give good results.
The paper should be allowed to dry
for two or thiee days before using it.
Within a few days 180 omnibuses
have been sold at auction in New York.
The hundred sold at the Madison
square stables went as low as an aver
age of $30, and one brought only $15.
At a later sale eighty Fifth avenue
stages brought an average of $60
each. At these prices they were
cheap fpr the use ot camping-out par
ties or traveling photographers.
Take a slip of paper and place
thereon, in figures, your age in years,
dropping months, weeks, and days.
Multiply the sum by two; then add to
the result obtained the figures 3.768;
add two, and then devide by two.
Subtract from the result obtained the
the number of your years on earth,
and see if you do not obtain figures
you will not be likely to forget.
For its private work the Bank of
Devil's Lake, Dakota, has adopted a
rather peculiar but very suggestive
vignette. The base is a sheaf of wheat,
on which rests a silver dollar, over
the back of which Satan is climbing,
holding in one hand the scales of jus
tice and in the other a lance. At his
left is a map of the lake, which forms
the place for writing the amount ot
draft or check, on which are the
words, "Give the devil his duei"
A few days ago a Watervliet, N.Y.,
farmer was induced by a stranger to
act as agent for a wire fence,' signing
what he was told was an agent's cer
tificate. Soon after two men visited
him and showed him a paper, the one
he had signed. It was a contract to
purchase $5,000 worth of wire. He in
vited the men Into his barn, where he
snatched the paper from the hands of
the one that held it and drove both
from the premises with a pitchfork.
It is said that three or four thickness
es of common wire mosquito-netting,
painted or unpainted, and laid upon
one another, are utterly impervious to
lightning. No substance, whether
liquid or solid, however combustible,
inflamable, or explosive, that is pro
tected by a covering of this material,
can possibly suffer in anywise from
lightning or from any accidental spark
or jet of flame from without.
As a torpedo was being lowered into
an oil well near Richburg, N. Y., Sat
urday, the oil suddenly rose in the
well, and throwing the tor
pedo against the bull-wheel, it was ex
ploded, completely demolishing the
derrick, boiler, and engine-houses.
The men saved their lives by running
and throwing themselves on the ground
as soon as they heard the oil rushing.
All the dishes in a house near by were
broken by the shock, and the house
was badly wrecked.
Life of Birds Contrasted with That of
Man.
From Belffravla.
The house itself stood four miles or
more from any other human habita
tion, and the master of the house lived
in a cage, from which he looked out
over the wide-stretching heath, and
doubtless had his own opinions about
the solitary situation and the shame
ful procession of life that was only
illustrated to the dwellers in the house
by the change of seasons and the fact
that the heather, by which all were
surrounded, was in blossom or dressed
in the dark purple hue that tells the
initiated that autumn is past and win
ter is coming over the land.
But whatever opinions the master of
the house held on that or any other
subject, he had no intention of telling
them even to his protectress and slave,
the mistress. Sufficient for him were
the sweet food, the fresh groundsel,
the feathery grasses and clear water
and the adoration he received unflinch
ingly, replying thereto occasionally
with a short, sharp word or exclama
tion that was at once written down by
his worshipers and pondered over, to
try and discern the 'hidden meaning,
the profound philosophy, that doubt
less were concealed in the mystic syl
lables; and many an event in the life
of the tiny household was decided by
the parrot, unconsciously swinging in
his cage and scolding beneath his
breath the 101 small birds that con
gregated near him, hoping to pick up
a few crumbs that fell from his over
flowing table. If the bird had inher
ited the soul of one of the siblys he
could not have 'nspired profounder
respect. He was never left alone for
more than two hours at a stretch, and
then onlv with profuse apologies; and
should the riire necessity of business
call hi-? wor.-hipers fuither afield he
would be care lully ensconsed in a
large red flannel bag that covered him
and his cage ( ompletely over, and en
abled him lo lake a long journey se
cure from draughts and from alarm at
the constant succession of sights, that
might have been harmful to one who
so seldom le t his quiet dwelling place,
and lor whom life was regulated with
the precision of some cho.ee and per
fectly balanced piece of machinery.
A Three-Minute Geyser.
Portland Orcgonlan.
Hoaxing travelers has always been
a favorite amusement with some peo
ple who have been connected with our
transportation lines. There was
George Knaggs. President of the Celilo
Lying Club, who has invented more
ingenious stories than can be remem
bered, but who has now turned a re
spectable and honorable citizen of
The Dalles. How many have looked
with delight on the immense orchards
(of oak grubs) he has pointed to them
along the hills of Wasco County.
But there has arisen' a greater than
Knaggs, one who can lie in half a
dozen languages. Lately coming up
from Astoria, the passengers heard a
loud, roaring noise on the south side of
the river, and looking in the direction
of the sound, saw a large column of
water rise to a great height in the air.
An excited lady, who inquired the
meaning of this phenomenon, was
told by the polyglot liar above men
tioned that there was a geyser over
there in the woods. "But," said the
lady, "I was along here a year ago
and I heard no mention of geysers."
"Oh," was the replv. "It has onlv
lately broken cut. It spouts every
three nrnutes after great roaring. If
you will watch you will soon see it
again." Sure enough in a moment a
loud and prolonged roar was heard,
and then a huge column of water
flashed in the sun far above the inter
vening trees. The lady was convinced
and was also delighted to have seen
this wonder of nature. As the Orego
nian does not wish the Iowa editors to
be deceived by this romancer, it will
"give away the snap." Capt. Ankeny
has a long timber slide down the side
of the mountain on the Prairie chan
nel. It is lined with railroad iron, and
the logs in descending it make a great
noise, and when the logs strike the
water they punch out a column the
full size of the log, just as the p th is
punched out of an elder, and shove it
up in tlie air to a great height. As
the logs follow each other down the
chute at short intervals the appear
ance of a spouting geyser is presented
to travelers along the main channel of
the river.
A Sagacious Dog.
"I believe that half the yarns that
run through the papers with regard to
the sagacity of dogs and cats are
fudged up," said a merchant in hear
ing of a reporter to another who was
leaning over the counter."
-Do vou? Well, I don't. You've
seen my dog Betsey, I guess?"
"Yes, what of her?"
"I have had her about nine years,
and in that time have changed resi
dences about the same number of times.
1 he last time the dog was forgotten in
the confusion, and it was two or three
days before we found her. Yesterday
we started to move again. Directly
after the wagon backed up to the pave
ment, and the men commenced mov
ing the furniture, the dog, who is
usually very sedate in her manners,
cut up the most extraordinary antics
imaginable. Finally she made a break
for her kennel and, "one by one, she
lugged out a litter of three puppies
and dropped them near the wagon,
and not until she and her family were
given a place on the driver's seat,
would she allow anything to be touch
ed, and then with a short bark or two,
which I expect mant "guess you catch
me being left behind this time,' she
coiled up and went to sleep.'-
A lady who has been abroad was de
scribing some of the sights of the trip
to friends. "But what pleased me as
much as any hing," she continued,
"was the wonderful clock at Straus
burg." "Oh, how I should love to
see it," gushed a pretty young woman
in pink; "I am so interested in such
things. And did you see the celebrat
ed watch on the Rhine, too?"
"Now, children," said a schoolmis
tress, '-I want you to be so quiet that
you can hear a pin drop." All be
came still in a moment, and a little
urch n cried: "Now, then let her
drop."-
AURIFEROUS GRAYEL.
Ririi Deposit In Various Parts or
Arizona.
dining and Scientific Journal.
Perhaps the most extensive un
worked beds of auriferous gravel on
the Pacific coast, between British Col
umbia and Mexico, are in Yavapai
county, Arizona territory. Th's great
county occupies the center of the nor
thern" half of Arizona and covers an
area of th rty thousand square miles,
all included within the elevated
plateau in which the greater portion of
the territory lies. This high table
land is traversed by a number of short,
broken mountain ranges, trending usu
ally northwest and southeast. All of
these in the southern part of the coun
ty are rich in minerals, principally
gold silver, and copper. The general
slope of the mountains from base of
foothills to summits is very gradual,
although in places the h'gh ridges of
some of the ranges rise quite abruptly
from the base hills, and the formation
has been favorable for the deposition
of vast gravel teds, as in the middle
Sierra count'es of Cal fornia.
Placer mining has been carried on
in Yavapai for more than twenty
years, but a comparatively small
amount of ground has been worked,
owing to the scarcity of water, al
though this country is more highly fa
vored in that respect than others in
the territory. During the rainy sea
son the mines most convenient to the
water supily were worked so long as
the latter lasted, and in many cases
yielded enormously. It is not known
that the average richness of the un
corked placers is fabulously great,
and probably they are not more so
than were those of the El Dorado of
the Golden state, but there are cer
tainly large areas that would prove
veritable bonanzas were it poss'ble to
plac e them under a sufficient water
supply. The same old experience of other
surface diggings has been repeated
here. As soon as it became impossi
ble to work the mines so as to make
them yield to the very best advantage
due to the expense of conducting
water to them or to a scarcity of the
same they were forsaken. Many of
these same mines to-day Will pay, and
some of them are paying good wages
to those engaged in working them.
The time has come here for the miner
to be satisfied with reasonable wages.
There has been very little enterprise
shown in developing the placer mining
industry, an important part of the
wealth of this section. By construct
ing dams in suitable places and con
serving the water in natural basins in
the mountains where there is an over
abundance, the period of working the
placers might be extended every year
to at least two or three times the
length of the rainy season (which in
Arizona occurs during the summer),
and in the more favored localities dur
ing the twelve months. No lare
works of this kind, common in other
Carts of the west, have been attempted
eiv. An outlay of many thousands
of dollars would be naturally involved,
but several local tics might be named
where such would prove a paying in
vestment. A few words relative to what has
been done in earlier days will be of
interest, and a br ef resume of such,
mainly condensed from the accounts
of a few of the principal d'stricts, as
recorded in the "Resources of Arizona,'
publ shed under the authority of the
terr.torial leg slature, will be given.
One of the oldest districts is that of
Lynx Creek, six miles east of Prescott.
The creek giving the name to the dis
trict has been one of the richest gold
producing streams in the territory.and
it is estimated that over $1,000,000 has
been taken from the gravel beds
through wh'ch it passes. They are
still worked where water is obtainable
in suific ent quantity. Of this district
more will be t-aid later. The oldest
district in Yavapai, in the northwes
tern part of the county, is famons as
the scene of the discovery of R ch hill.
In a depression on the summit of the
mountain, about six thousand feet
above tidewater, the coarse gold was
found lying on the bare bed rock.
Pieces of the pure metal worth several
hundred dollars were picked up, and
over $500,000 was taken from about
an acre of ground. Butcher knives
were used, to dig the gold out of the
seams in the rock, and it was not an
uncommon thing to find from $1,00J
to $5,000 under a small boulder. How
the gold was deposited in such a place
is a mystery which has not yet been
solved. The gulches and ravines run
ning down from the mountain con
tained considerable treasure, and are
worked by Mexicans up to the present
time. It is estimated that Weaver
has produced over $1,000,000 in placer
gold. The Mexicans who st 11 remain
there dry-wash the gravel, by which
process a large percentage of the gold
is lost, and were it not that it is very
coarse they could not make it pay. As
it is, they do very well, and during the
short time that water is to be had to
enable them to use the rocker or pan,
often obtain such results as were
heard of when placer-mining was in
its glory in California. Others in that
district pack the gravel to water on
donkeys a distance of five or six miles
and "pan it out," and make wages.
Unfortunately there are no lare
streams near the richest part of the
Weaver district, and mining is carried
on in the face of every disadvantage,
and necessarily on a limited scale.
Hassayampa district has also turned
out a large amount of treasure, but
less than the two above mentioned.
These are the most notable placer d s
tricts. but there are others of less im
portance on smaller streams. Yava
pai county has turned out more gold
than all the other counties in the terri
tory; but in the yield of bullion of all
kinds the small county of Cochise, in
the southeastern corner of Arizona,
takes the lead.
The only hydraulic m'ne in Yavapai
county is in the Lvnx Creek district,
the property of F. M. Murphy & Bro.
The gravel carries a large amount of
gold, and the lack of a sufficient sup
ply of water is all that prevents it from
being one of the most valuable mining
properties in the territory. On th:s
account it is worked onlv a short time
each year, during the rainy season, but
for that br.ef period it pays well, the
average yield of gold be.ng 40 cents
per cubic yard. The water is supplied
through a fourteen-inch pipe reduced
to six inches at the end. By con
structing a reservoir and storing the
water, the greater part of which runs
to waste, the mine could be worked
several months each year and made to
turn out a large sum annually. The
cost of making such a reservoir would
be considerable, but the increased y ield
from the mine in consequence of the
extended period during which it could
be made to pay would soon reimburse
the owners for all outlay. The bed of
gravel which is expected to yield at
the rate named 40 cents per cubic
yard is a large one, and it is calcula
ted that, if worked a3 long as practi
cable each season, with the aid of a
reservoir for the storage of water, it
would last for more than a quarter of
a century. The possibilities of the
surface mining regions of Yavapai are
great, but a large amount of money
must first be expended for the con
struct:on of water reservoirs and con
ducting to the mines.
What Becomes of the Dead 1
Sir Lyon Ilavfalrin Good Words.
If we follow the process of decay
which takes place in the grave, it will
be found that living organisms take
part in the decay of the buried body,
just as they do when beef or mutton
is consumed by a man. In absolutely
pure air flesh does not decay, and is in
fact preserved for an indefinite t'me.
But air is seldom absolutely pure, for
in it is an infiuite number of floating
micro-organisms, either as spores or
fully developed. On the tops of
mountains these organ:sms, which are
named bacilli, bacteria, or miero-cocc',
are sparsely found. In the air of the
country they are common, in that of
towns they abound, over sewers or
above church yards they positively
swarm. What are they? Are they
plants or animals? This is a question
that sc ence has not yet decided.
Chern sts are inclined to consider them
animals of a very low type, because
animals are chiefly engaged in per
forming analytical functions, that is,
building up complex organic matter
out of simple materials, lor example,
molding organisms out of carbonic
acid, water and ammon:a. Now, the
great function of these micro-organisms
which play such an important
part in the economy of the world is to
convert potent al energy into actual
energy, or, to put it more simply, to
convert passive affinities into active
affinities. In organized matter there
is for a time the repose of the chemi
cal attractions of those four elements
carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and
oxygen, wh'ch constitute the ereat
bulk of the body. The micro-organisms
are engaged in the resolution of
the dead body into those active forms
of chemical energy carbonic acid,
water and ammonia. When these in
numerable l.ttle beings have free play
they are the greatest benefactors to the
human race, for they are the most
powerful of all scavengers, and they
purify air. water and so 1 so as to ren
der tbeni lit for the Lying. But if you
oppose their free action by restricting
their access by shutting out the free
circulation of air necessary to their
life functions they become intensely
malignant in their character, the true
vampires f the dead, for they fly
about planting themselves in the blood
of the living and producing our well
known epidemic diseases zymotic or
"filth" diseases. In the fluids of pa
tients sutlering from such diseases
these micro-organ:sms swarm. Man
kind has only recently recognized how
much we owe to the micro-organisms.
Wine and beer are produced by their
agency; by them vinegar is formed; by
them we get those vast beds of salt
petre oi niter, which is one of the
forms into which they convert decay
ing matter. Our ancestors used to live
with rushes on the floors. When the
rushes became filthy new ones were
put on the top, and frequently accu
mulated to considerable thickness.
Then the dreaded "petremen" of the
King came and insisted on digging up
the clay floor which had become sat
urated with saltpeter formed by these
busy micro-cocci, in order to save the
inhabitants from pestilence produced
by their filthy habits. These little or
ganisms, whether they be plants or
animals, are infinite benefactors to the
human race or terrible scorges, accord
ing as man is obedient to the wise laws
of the Creator.
Collecting Postage-Stamps.
London Provisioned
To judge from a recent price-list,
the mania for collecting postage
stamps would seem as great as ever.
A well known dealer, whose catalogue
is before us, offers the nine penny blue
Natal of 1859 for 20, the half peso
rose of Peru for a similar amount, the
15 centime of Keunion for 30, an un
used Mauritus envelope, issued at one
shilling, for jt'35, and the plate of
twelve distinct varieties of old Mauri
tus for a trifle of 25. For some of
the first issues of the South American
republcs prices are asked which
would, we should imagine, amply re
pa v a search in the countries they
came from and serve to replenish the
empty coffers of state of such a needy
country as Bolivia, the early stamps of
which are almost as ext:nct as the
dodo. Some English stamps are also
very rare, notably the black "V. R."
of which onlv a few examples are
known to be in existence, and the high
values of more re ent issue. Among
this latter the five-pound stamp is most
highly prized. Whoever saw so ex
pens.ve a label or had occasion to em
ploy such high-priced postage? If,
however, you presented yourself at St.
Martin s-le-lirand and tendered a firs
pound note in payment you would be
immediately served with the article in
question. Try the experiment and
place the stamp in the album of, say
your eldest boy.
Mother: "I am afraid Mr. Crisscross
is not serious in his attentions."
Daughter: "He is awfully bashful,
you know. But he is offering himself
piecemeal. Last night he wanted me
to take his arm. '
A garden at an expense of $15,000 is
to be laid out in the Place des Estats
Unis, where the reduced statue of
"Liberty Enlightening the world," the
gift of Americans to the city of Paris,
is erected.