INSECTS THAT EAT CURIOS
How the Officers of the Smithsonian In
iititistlon Combat Foe A.
Bags are a source of much anxiety and
annoyance to the curators of birds and
mammals at the Smithsonian institution
and in the National museum. If given
a chance they would gobble up the dead
' and staffed creatures, not even sparing
the bones and the beaks. Accordingly,
those in charge have to be perpetually
on the alert to combat these small but
not contemptible foes.
If a stuffed "specimen" is thoroughly
poisoned with arsenic when it is pre
pared there is little or no danger that it
will ever be attacked, but the collections
in charge of Secretary Langley are gath
ered together from all parts of the world
and very many of the contributions are
not properly protected in this respect.
This is true particularly of those which
come from the tropics, where peppers
and pungeut spices are considered suffi
cient for purposes of preservation.
So they are for awhile, and then, the
spices having lost their strength, the
enemy begins to get in its work. Not
only does this happen with stuffed birds
and beasts, but the skeletons that reach
the institution with the flesh roughly
chopped off them and folded up in the
smallest tossible compass for transporta
tion are frequently so poorly protected
by poisoning that maggots get at theui
and eat the ligaments which join the
bones so as to seriously injure their -usefulness
Three kinds of insects threaten the
stuffed collections. One is the familiar
moth, which eats the feathers or hair
down to the skin and leaves unsightly
bald patches. Another is the "dermes
tes." or common "lard beetle," which
attacks and eats holes in the fatty skins.
But worse than either of these is the
"anthrinns" a beetle about the size of a
No. S shot, and so small therefore that it
does not render itself evident and is not
readily found when sought for.
It is very fond of anything horny, and,
getting a chance at a bird, it will begin
by eating off the covering of the bill, de
nuding the legs afterward and chewing
up the shafts of the bigger feathers. If
it has an opportunity, it will regularly
honeycomb the horns of animals fres
coed for museum purposes.
Of course it is understood that these
three bugs do all the' damage in the lar
va stage of their being that is, while
they are yet worms. Another sort of in
sect gets into empty eggs and eats up the
lining membranes, where careless col
lectors have left them inside, as they
should not do, but it cannot injure the
shells and does no. harm, except to make
a litter. ,
The best remedy, or preventive, known
is bisulphide of carbon; but it has so
horrible a smell that Curator Ridgway
will not use it for keeping the birds un
der his charge. Ho prefers to employ the
next best thing, which is naphtholine, a
product of coal tar. A handful of crys
tals of it will kill a case full of insects.
It has the disadvantage of irritating the
breathing passages, producing a chronic,
catarrh. Curator of Mammals True pre
fers the offensive bisulphide of carbon.
A great many things besides beasts
and birds at the National museum have
to be protected from insects; for exam
ple, the costumes of all nations and other
dry goods of every kind, which afford an
agreeable diet for devouring bugs. It is
no small task to protect these perishable
articles from the attacks of many legged
scavengers with stomachs for anything
short of metal and no respect for the
most sacred of curios. Washington Star.
,. ' t fieadaclio.
We are often asked for a cure for head
ache. - A certain wise physician classes
headaches among the ailments which
have baffled his profession. At a medi
cal meeting a member said: "Did any of
yon ever cure a headache? I never did."
Several doctors having mentioned their
treatment, he replied: "Oh, you only re
lieved it. 1 can do that. But have yon
ever cured it?"
No one could answer yes. The shu;-'
contain nostrums enough, but did any
one ever find himself more than tem
porarily relieve. I by them?
Nature, unaided, sometimes effects a
permanent cure by the changes which
the system undergoes in the process of
time. Persons who have been subject to
headache are often more or less fully re
lieved after about the age of fifty. This
is perhaps a result of the shrinkage of
the brain and the hardening of the
tissues, which begins at about that period
Changes in one's condition or habits, or
in climate, may sometimes effect a cure
by removing the disturbing cause.
Youth's Companion.
Tlinmb Illiics.
"And do they wear them on their
thumbs?"
"Yes. miss, and they are right pretty,
too."
A jeweler's clerk was displaying his
new stock of thumb rings.
"May I try one on?" '. 1
Certainly." he replied, and stooped
low over the pink tipped fingers, slipping
on a tiny circlet of pearls.
"It doesn't look so bad, after all," said
she. "You see the band is so narrow
and the pearls so small that the effect is
not awkward, as 1 expected it would be.
Til take that one." -
The advent of this unique little orna
ment is greeted with rather more favor
than was at first expected by the jewel
ers. New York Letter.
A Narrow Escape from the Gallows.
James Johnston, who murdered his
wife and four children at Ballarat, and
was condemned to death, , was respited
by telegram ten minutes before the time
of execution on the ground of insanity.
Two doctors obtained access to him at
midnight and gave a certificate of lu
nacy, which was telegraphed to the gov
ernor at 3 o'clock in the morning by the
medical board examining. London Tit
Bits. . - . .. -
Silly Gossip.
Maud Is it true that you are in love
with Mc Bullion? ' ' ;
Clara Mercy no.". -Tin only engaged
to him. New York! Weekly , ;' . i. v i '-
MABRIED BY SQUIKES.
JUSTICES WHO TIE THE KNOT FOR
LOVING COUPLES.
Funny Stories Gathered in Justices' Of
fices Tonus People Prefer a Civil Mar
riage Because It Is Free from Formal
ity and Is Less Expensive.
Hundreds of couples are each year
united by the justices of the peace of St.
Louis. It is almost surprising to what
extent people seek this form of civil mar
riage. The two hearts that are made to
heat as one by a suave justice are by no
means always those of giddy young
elopers, as the general public believes.
"What is the reasqn that so many peo
ple prefer a court marriage to a religious
one?" was asked Squire Frank Spaulding.
"I think that in the majority of cases
it is because it is so free from formality.
There is no time lost in making the
couple man and wife. The form pre
scribed by the statute does not take more
than half a minute to go through with.
Nearly all the people united by the
magistrates are poor and unable and
unwilling to go to the expense of buying
an extensive wedding outfit. They need
the money to provide for their own im
mediate wants. Then a great number
of people are bashful and do not like to
stand up in front of a crowd and be mar
ried. They can go before a magistrate
and be united in the presence of only
two or three persons."
"Do they always have money for the
fee?'
"In nearly every case. When they
haven't 1 always make it my duty to
marry them anyway."
"What do they usually give to the
magistrate?'
"Oh, it varies. The law prescribes a
fee. but people give different prices.
Csually it is five dollars. About a year
ago a woman brought a young fellow in
here. They had a license, and he was
half scared to death, while she was calm
and businesslike. He didn't say a word
while she explained to me what was
wanted. 1 made them man and wife.
She then reached down into a pocket in
her dress, pulled out a roll of bills "and
handed me five dollars. She then gave
her husband a five dollar note, saying.
"Goon out and treat the squire.' I've
always wondered what kind of a life
that poor man's leading now, for it was
evident that his wife was the head of the
family.
DIDN'T WANT TO BE MARRIED.
When I was with Squire Taft at
Eleventh and Franklin avenne, we used
to have a great many ludicrous inci
dents.. We had so many marriages there
that the place got to be known as the
'marriage corner.' One day an intelligent
looking young couple came in. They had
heard that the place was where they
should go to get marriage licenses. They
didn't know anything about that part of
the programme. The clerk directed
them to the recorder's office. They went
and secured the license, and probably
thinking it was necessary to go through
some additional formality came back to
our office. Squire Taft was busy trying
a case, and at once got down off the
bench.. He knew nothing of the preced
ing visit, and at once proceeded to go
through the ceremony.
"As soon as he pronounced them man
and wife the young girl threw up her
hands and fell iuto a chair in dismay.
Great God! what will my mother say?
This is a Protestant marriage!' she cried.
She was a devout Catholic, and thought
she was only going through part of the
forms to secure a license. Although they
were married as tight as the law could
do it, they were married that night by a
Catholic priest."
"Do you have many runaway couples,
call upon you?" was asked.
'Not as many as the public generally
imagine. They are generally from out
of the city, and are tired and weary with
the journey and excitement when they
arrive. Several years ago a couple went
into Squire Taft's office. He was out,
and they sat down on a bench to rest
They had made a long journey, and the
first thing the groom did was to go to
sleep. The little girl at last gave in
too. ..She leaned her head upon his
breast, and both re in the deepest
kind of slumber when the squire came
in. No one liked to wake them, but
finally we made enough noise to arouse
them.
"A minute later they had been pro
nounced man and wife. The groom
laughed merrily over his falling' asleep,
and at the conclusion of the ceremony
said, '1 don't know which refreshed me
the most, going to sleep or getting mar
ried.' . -
FUNNY INCIDENTS.
The funniest incident 1 know of was
the groom that forgot his bride's first
name. It wasn't long before we had
that fixed, however, and they went on
their way rejoicing."
"Have yon ever followed up the after
lives of couples you have married?"
'No: but about half of them follow
me up. The genera impression of the
poorer classes is that a man who can
marry themVan also unmarry them. I
should say that fully five out of every
ten couples 1 marry come around again
and want a divorce. Then in a great
many cases when the couple have a
quarrel the husband tears uy the mar
riage certificate and tells his svife they
are no longer wedded. The wife gener
ally comes around to see me and 1 give
her a new one. ...
"1 remember a couple 1 married a
short time ago. They went off on a bridal
trip to Illinois, and had a quarrel about
two days after the marriage. The hus
band left, vowing he was coming back
and get' the marriage certificate, and by
tearing it up break off the marriage.
The wife telegraphed to me not to give
him the certificate. They made up later,
and are now living happily together,
. "Squire Taft used to make 'kiss the
bride part of the ceremony. One day a
young fellow and a woman of about
sixty came in, and when, after the cere
mony, the squire said. "Kiss the bride,
she revolted. 'I'm too old for that." she
said.- The squire insisted that it was
part of the ceremony and she was not
married unless it was done', so she finally
yielded." Sk Louis RepubiioV '
. A CHILD IN THE LIONS' CAGE.
Awful Ordeal of a Lion Keeper In the
Kmplo)uf the Khedive of Egypt.
"When Ismail Pasha, the extravagant
khedive of Egypt, reigned over that. his
torical land," said an acquaintance of
the notorious ruler,' ".he had in his gar
den a large cage of African lions. Noble
.brutes they were, and until the event of
which I speak I never tired of looking
at them One day. while walking with
his highness in the garden, the keeper,
accompanied by a pretty little girl, en
tered, carrying a basket of meat for the
lions. ' .
"The khedive and 1 walked toward the
cage to watch the beasts eat. - They
were hungry, and pounced npon their
food with a ravenous fury that chilled
me. Standing close by the cage, with
her bands resting on the bars, was the
little child, her long golden hairat
times blown by the breeze inside the in
closure. "'Why do yon permit your daughter
to go so near the flons? the khedive asked
of the keeper.
' 'Oh,' replied the keeper, -they are so
accustomed to her they would pot harm
her.' '
" 'Then open the door and put her in
side,' said the khedive.
"My blood froze at the command, for
, command it was. 1 tried to speak, but
could not. I was unable even to move.
U-The keeper, with the submissiveness of
those who know their lives will pay for
feit if they disobey their ruler, made
with his eyes an appeal for mercy. But,
seeing none in the khedive's face, he
kissed the little one tenderly,, lifted her
up, opened the door, placed her- inside
and. as the door swung to, he turned his
face away and groaned. The little one,
though she did not stir.' seemed not
afraid.
"The lions appeared surprised, and as
the largest and fiercest rose and walked
toward her I thought I should choke.
Happily the father did not see the beast.
"The khedive alone was unmoved, and
stood gazing at the scene calmly and
with the curious smile 1 had so often
seen play upon his features when watch
ing the dance of a ballet. The lion went
up to the child, smelled of her, looked at
her for fully half - a minute, then lay
down at her feet and beat the floor with
his tail. Another lion approached. The
first one gave an ominous growl and the
second lion went - back. The others
crouched low, and each second I ex
pected them to spring, but they did not.
This continued, I think, about five min
utes, the big lion never taking his eyes
from the girl and ceaslessly lashing the
floor.
"The khedive by this time was evi
dently satisfied, and turned to the keep
er and commanded him to thrust a live
lamb into the cage through another
door. With a celerity I have never seen
equaled, the keeper caught a straying
lamb and obeyed. As he did so, every
lion sprang upon the lamb. j
" 'Take out the child," the khedive j
commanded, and scarce had the words!
es-cajMid him ere the keeper, who hd al-i
r-ady run to that end of the cage, jerked !
open the dor, snatched the little one
out aiidt-lasiied her in his arms. The '
khedive laughed tossed the keeper a
coin, and, taking my arm, walked on." I
Chicago Post. . 'I
Halters in London. .
There are 14,000 bakers in London, of
whom 5,000 aro foreigners, mostly Ger
mans. Foremen bakers get from five
dollars to eight dollars a week, second
hands from four dollars to five dollars a
week, third hands from two dollars to
three dollars a weak. The hours of labor
range from twelve to fifteen hours a day
and on Saturdays from twenty to twen-ty-threa
hours. JUostf the small bakers
.LiMMW-thwr own foi-emen.
The majority of the bakehouses are
miserable underground cellars, overrun
with roaches, mice and othr;r vermin.
Th; cellars are so ill ventilated and so
unhealthy that the linkers are subject to
a number of special diseases, all of
which may be communicated to the con
sumers of the bread they make, for they
are mostly diseases of the skin, and the
bakers in these dens, as a rule, work
stark naked from their waists up, and
there is generally no accommodation of
any kind for - washing except in the
kneading tubs New York Recorder..
The Prescience of Fame.
The prescience of fame is very infre-'
quent. The village gazes in wonder at !
the return of the famous man who was j
born on the farm under the hill, and
whose latent greatness nobody suspect
ed ; while the youth who printed verses
in the corner of the county paper, and
drew the fascinated glances of palpita
ting maidens in the meeting house, and
se:-:ued to the farmers to havo associated
himself at once with Shakespeare and
Tnpper and the great literary or "littery
folks." never emerges from the poet's de
partment in the paper in which uncon
sciously and forever he has been cor
nered. It would be a grim . Puritan jest
if that department had been named from
the corner of the famous dead in- West
minster abbey. George William Cur
tis in Harper's.
A Soft Answer.
Francois is an excellent servant, and
always sits up for his master. One night
Viscount de B , Francois master,'
came home from his club at 3 o'clock in
the morning. He . found his faithful
valet in the bedroom, reclining fast
asleep on the sofa near the fire" Instead
of waking him, he quietly undressed and
got into bed. Ten - minutes afterward
Francois awoke and exclaimed: "Past 3
o'clock and the beast hasn't come in yetF
The viscount raised his '-head; and said,
in a very gentle voice: "you may go to
bed, Francois; the beast has got back to
its lair." L'Univers.
A professor of Yale hasxonfessed to a
superstition. It consists of putting on
and taking off his clothes in a regular
way. The right shoe, the right leg of
his trousers, the right . sleeve to shirt ..'or
coat, are always put on first, because of
a' foolish idea that somehow or other
mishaps would follow favoring the left
Shoes, sleeves and legs in such a way. ' '
She Is Turning to "fione. '
; Mrs. Mollie Hughes, a highly respected
widow lady, living near Camerville, Ida.,
is afflicted with a unique and most dis
tressing disease. Little by lit tie the flesh
of her entire body is turning to solid bone,
or in other words she is becoming ossified.
The disease was first noticed in 1886 when
Mrs. Hughes was Miss Duychink, of Can
yon Rapids. At that time only a single fin
ger was affected. Within a month after
the time when Miss Duychink first no
ticed the numbness and stiffness of the fin
ger it had been accidentally broken off
while she was asleep.
The incident gave the girl no pain, there
being neither blood, nerves or flesh left in
the diseased member, but it excited the
alarm of the family, who called in a physi
cian. The broken stump of the finger was
amputated back to where the living flesh
set on, and everything was thought to be
all right. Soon the flesh, muscles, arteries,
veins and nerves on her hands, fingers and
arms became as hard and feelingless as the
finger had been before it was broken off.
Next the awful malady extended to the
elbows, the forearms becoming as white
aid clear as alabaster. Within the year
the toes and the end of the nose and ear
tips showed a like color and rigidness. The
process of ossification has now been going
on nearly Ave years, and the attending
physicians says that it is only a matter of
time when the entire body of the poor vic
tim will be a solid bone. It is a rare dis
ease, and the pathology of it is little under
stood. St. Louis Republic.
r Parafflne. from Peat.
" A new industry that is flourishing in
Brazil is the distillation of parafflne from
a peculiar kind of peat, which is found in
great beds. This peat is rich in parafflne,
and the distilled product is used in the
manufacture of candles. Some of the beds
have been worked to great depth, but there
is no evidence of the exhaustion of the sup
ply. New York Journal.
An Agnsta (Me.) druggist owns a cat
which can tell the difference between a one
dollar bill and a five dollar bill, and drinks
her milk through a straw. ,
Memorial Day has been observed with in
creased inipressiveness ever since 1868, and
the day is a lejral holiday in most of the
northern states east of the Mississippi
river.
The biggest day's receipts iu the history
of the Brooklyn bridge was taken on April
SO, 1889, the day of the centennial anniver
sary celebration. They amounted to
S5.018.80.
Luther Holt, of East Exeter, Me.,
while walking in the woods near his
home lay down to rest in the shade of
the "roots of a large overturned tree.
Workmen, not knowing of his presence,
chopped the trunk from the roots, which
when released flew back into place, im
prisoning Holt beneath them. He was
dead before he could be released.
The May musical festival at Lincoln,
Neb., was by the unanimous request of
the Oratorio society conducted by Mrs.
V. M. Raymond. For the past five years
she has trained all the choruses.
""T'"s
J. V. S. Is the only Sarsaparill.i tliar old or
Iceblo people should tafce, as thr mim -r:: jx.tn-h
which is in every otherSarsaj.arilla tim. -..-ehnow
of, is under certain conditions Lnown to bo
emaciating. J. V. S. on the eontraiy is purely
vegetable and stimulates' digestion ami creates
new blood, tho very thing for old, delicate or
broken down people. It builds them up and
prolongs their lives, A case In point:
Mri Bclden an estimable and elderly lady ol
610 Mokou St, S. F. was lor months declining so
rapidly us to seriously alarm her family. It got
so bad that she va3 finally afnictcd with fainting
spells. She writes: " While in that dangerous
condition I saw Bono cf the testimonials con
cerning J.y. S. and sent for a bottle. That marked
tho turning point. I regained my lost flesh and
strength and have not felt so well in years."
That was two years ago and Sirs. Bclden Is well
and hearty to-day, and still taking J. V. S.
If you are old or feeble and want to be hnilt up.
Ask for
Vegetable
&l Sarsaparilla
-.itis; i:io:ern. most effective, largest bottle,
r:u:-.e price, J1.00, six for Si 00.
For Sale by SNIPES & KINERSLY.
THE DALLES, OREGON'.
A Necessity.
The consumption
of tea largely In
creases every year In
England, Russia, and
tho principal Euro
; pean tea-drinking
yitil? does not crow in
' America. And not
alone that, bnt then. ,
Bands of EnronMm
"""-Srla 1 who leaTO Europe
1 VFA ardent lovers of tea,
upon arriving in the
TTn1t-jri KtAtA .a1n.
ally discontinue Its use, and finally. cease It
altogether.
This state of things is due to the fact that
the Americans think so much of business
and so little of their palates that they permit
China and Japan to ship them their cheapest
and most worthless . teas. Between the
wealthy classes of China and Japan and the
exacting and cultivated tea-drinkers of
Europe, the finer teas find a ready market
The balance of the crop comes to America.
Is there any wonder, then, that our taste for
tea doea not appreciate? .
In view of these facts, la there not an im
mediate demand for the importation of
. brand of tea that la guaranteed to be un-.
colored, nnmanlpulated, and of absolute
purity? We think there Is, and present
Beech's Tea. Its purity is guaranteed In
every respect.- It has, therefore, more in
herent strength than the cheap teas you have
been drinking, fully one third less being re-
quired for an Illusion. This you will dig--cover
the first time you make It. Likewise,
the flavor Is delightful, being the natural fla
vor of an unadulterated article. It Is a revela
tion to tea-drinkers. Sold only in packages
bearing this mark: '
BEELm TEA
TureAsWdhobd:
Price 60c per poand, , For sale at
Loslio ISoa.-fclor'si,
THE DALLES, OREGON.
H Y, H
mrv- re
VC W -711
AV PX&l J I
Tie Dalles
air
is here and has come to stay. It hopes
to win its way to public favor by ener
gy, industry and merit; and to this end
we ask that you give it a fair trial, and
if satisfied with its course a generous
support.
The Daily
four pages of six columns each, will be
issued every evening, except Sunday,
and will be delivered in the city, or sent
by mail for the moderate sum of fiftj
cents a month.
Its Objects
will be to advertise the resources of the
city, and adjacent country, to assist in
developing our industries, in extending
and opening up new channels for our
trade, in securing an open river, and in
helping THE DALLES to take her prop
er position as tne
Leading City of
The paper, both dailv and weeklv. will
be independent in
wiuwdiu ui juxitiutii matters, . as m its
handling of local affairs, it will be
JUST. FAIR AND IMPARTIAL
We will enedavor
cal news, and we ask
the contents of the paper, and not from
rash assertions of mi t.si'H nn -pi -
THE WEEKLY,
sent to any address for $1.50 per year.
It will contain from four to six eight
column pages, and we shall endeavor
to make it the equal of the best. Ask
your Postmaster for a copy, or address.
THE CHRONICLE PUB. CO.
Office, N. W. Cor. Washington and Second Sts.
Health is Wealth !
Dr. E. c. West's Nbbvb anb Brain Treat
kent, a gunranteed specific for Hysteria, Dizzi
ness, Convulsions, Fits, Nervous Neuralgia,
Headache, Nervous Prostration caused by the use
of alcohol or tobacco, Wakefulness, Mental De
pression, Softening of the Brain, resulting in in
sanity and leading to misery, decay and death,
Premature Old Age, Barrenness, Loss of Powci
in either sex, Involuntary Losses and Spermat
orrhoea caused by over exertion of the brain, self
abuse or over Indulgence. Each box contain.
one month's treatment. $1.00 a. box, or six boxe
for $ 5.00, sent by mail prepaid on receipt of price.
WE GlIABAMKK SIX BOXES
To cure any case. With each order received bv
us for six boxes, accompanied by 15.00, we wil
send the purchaser our written guarantee to re
fund the money if the treatment does not effect
a care. Guarantees issued only by
BLAKELET & HOUGHTON,
Prescription Druggists,
175 Second St. " The Dalles, Or.
Phil Willig,
124 UNION ST., THE DAIXES, OR.
Keeps on hand a foil line of
MEN'S AND YOUTH'S
Ready - Made Clothing.
Piitits and Suits
MADE TO-ORDER
- ' . ? ! On Reasonable Terms:
Call and see my Goods before
. v Darchasing elsewhere.
Eastern Oregon.
politics, and in its
to give all the lo
that your criticism
A NEW
Undertaking Establishment !
$ a
PRINZ & NITSCH-KE.
DEALERS IN
Furniture and Carpets.
We have added to, our business a
complete Undertaking Establishment,
and as we are in no way connected with
the Undertakers' Trust our prices will
be low accordingly. ' k
Remember our place on Second street,
next to Moody's bank.
. $500 Reward!
We will pay the above reward fornj caseoi
Liver Complaint, Dyspepsia, Sick Headache, In
digestion, Constipation or Costiveness we caunot
cure with West's vegetable Liver Pills, when the
directions are strictly compiled with. They are
purely vegetable, and never fail to give satisfac
tion. Sugar Coated. Lart-e boxes containing SO
Pills, a-, cents. Beware of counterfeits and iml
tatioui,. The genuine manufactured only by
THE JOHN C. WFST COMPANY, CHlGAGO.i
ILLINOIS. , i
BLAKKLIY & HOUGHTON. J
Prescription Drngglsts, '
175 Second St. The Dalles, Ot.
Steam Ferry.
t) n : Ptllltf Q 8 now running a steam
1. V. JuMHlO Ferry between Hood
River and White Salmon. Charges
reasonable. R. O. Evans, Prop.
vivv tm