The Dalles daily chronicle. (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, September 30, 1891, Image 4

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    CHINESE ORCHESTRAS.
I i
REMARKABLE INSTRUMENTS OF EAR
SPLITTING BANDS.
Description of Some of the Queer Look
ing Inventions from Which Chinees
Musicians Extract Delectable Melody.
Prices of the Musical Devices.
The ordinary Mongolian orchestra,
-such aa is to be found usually dis
pensing tunes for the delectation of the
Olestial ears at the Chinese theaters in
this city, is composed of ten pieces, and
each player has his peculiar instrument,
on which he is an adept. He also per
forms upon it with an apparent stoical
indifference as to the scores of his fellow
musicians.
Thoroughly to equip au orchestra
with proper instruments entails a cost
of $69.50, which amount any nervous
householder who has ever had the mis
fortune to reside, within earshot of one
at practice would be willing to advance
twice over in order to have it moved on.
After purchasing the instruments play
ers are needed, and their services vary
in price, according to ability, expertness
and reputation. The Mongolian musi
cian values his ability at from $1 to $2
per night, but if he lias climbed the lad
der of fame he will demand from $5 to
$20 per .night.
The drum, in the estimation of the
Chinese musician, is the most important
, instrument, which opinion is shared like
wise by the juvenile American. A
Chinese drum costs twelve dollars, and
has much the same appearance as a keg
constructed of light wood, covered with
cowhide. This instrument is beaten
with a pair of heavy wooden sticks, and
produces a booming sound, which grows
extremely monotonous when it is con
tinued for several hours.
THE CHINESE GONG.
The alarm, or taps, is a Chinese musi
cal device of peculiar construction. It
consists of a framework of wood, upon
which is set a conical top of hard wood
covered with calfskin. Projecting from
the top of the frame is a - hollow square
the size of a cigar box, covered with
rawhide. Sounds are produced by strik
ing the top, which emits bass notea, and
the projecting hide covered square with
drumsticks. This tuneful instrument
costs $3.50.
The cymbals of the Chinese are of
hammered ' brass, similar in design to
those used by American bands, and costs
eighteen dollars.
Brass gongs shaped much like a taiu
horine are used by Mongolian musicians
in the makeup of their orchestra. A
first class gong can be bought for fifteen
dollars. (
A gong of concave form and of very
light weight, that gives forth a tingling
sound, is another orchestral instrument.
It costs $2.50. Mongolian fiddles are of
peculiar construction and emit sounds
wliich, from a musical point of view, are
as inharmonious as the instrument is un
couth in appearance. Divested of its
strings a Chinese fiddle has the same ap
pearance as a mallet, with the handle
long and flattened to about an inch in
width and an eighth of an inch in thick
ness. In the lower part of the handle are in
serted two keys, one above the other.
To each of the keys are attached two
strings of horsehair or catgut; the other
ends are firmly wound about the mallet
head. What varied and discordant
sounds are produced when the Chinese
fiddler runs his bow across the stringst
And lesidea the Chinese have the temer- :
ity to ask $7.30 for such a device.
THE BANJO, FLUTE, ETC,
' The banjo of the heathen may be very
.appropriately likened to a small sized
frying pan with a very long handle. The
drum is covered with snnkeskin drawn
tight. Three keys and four strings com
plete the instrument, which is sold for
five dollars.
The bass banjo is the size of a large
sized snare drum and about half the
depth. Four keys and the same number
of strings are used. The sum of $3.50
will buy one for ordinary use.
A Chinese flute is purchasable at
seventy-five cents, if of ordinary make
and without ornamentation. It has ten
finger holes and gives vent to shrill and
Hscordant notes, which delight Chinese
oars but grate upon those of the Cau
casian. In some cases Chinese orrht-wr.rxa rvm-
tain several flutists, who, when together,
appear to vie with each other in the
amittiug of the most dismal and shrill
femes that ever lacerated human nerves.
The clarinet is to the Mongolian what
the cornet is to us. Its evident use is to
add variety to the clamors of the drums
and cymbals and the discordant sounds
of flute and fiddle. It is a sort of medi
ator between all those revolutionary in
struments, and has a tendency to veneer
tiie discord, which apparently is the ba
sis of all Chinese music. ' - ,
The Mongolian ear has become inured
1o such strains, and to the child of the
Flowery Kingdom it speaks of home,
tragedy, love and revenge. So long as
lie does not take summary vengeance
mpon his musically inclined fellow coun
trymen let him enjoy to the full the ag
onies of sound which Mongolian orches
tras produce. --San Francisco Chronicle.
Ken Hair the Fasblon.
Tbe one thing absolutely de rigueur is
red hair. Blonds and brunettes seem
to have been wiped off the face of the
earth so far as Paris is concerned, and
there is hardly one woman in a hundred
wbo cannot boast of locks the shade that
Titian loved. A wonderful preparation
is to be had which works the transforma
Son. It is pat on at night ahd the he.!
bandaged in many folds of cloth.- ' 1
In the morning comes the harrowing
moment. The swathings are removed,
Imt Bach are the peculiar properties of
the conrpoand that "ho one can tell be
forehand whether the hair will turn out
the desired hue or purple or green. If it
is red the color stays for a month or two,
and if it is green nobody knows "what
hnppeno, for the wretched victim retires
"to the country, not to be sees ajain far
1e,'YeW.-Mlietlor-
Experiments in Growing Sponges.
It was rumored in the sponge trade on
Saturday that a ' company had been
formed with $100,000 capital to under
take experiments at sponge growing on
the ocean shore of Long Island, opposite
the Shinnecock hills. The story caused
considerable amusement among practical
men in the business.
"It will be a waste of time and money,"
one of them said, "to try to grow sponge
in northern waters. Sponges will not
grow in a cold climate. We have a grade
of sponges known in the trade as Long
Island grass sponges. They are of a
cheap quality, and do not come from our
Long Island across the river. They are
from the south."
Several attempts have been made to
grow sponges in this section during the
past ten years. "A firm in Cedar street
were interested in a sponge raising
scheme down at Patchogue five years
ago," a dealer said. "They started in,
if my memory serves me right, by mak
ing an artificial bottom of coral, prac
tically the same substance on which the
sponge grows in the - Mediterranean.
Then a vessel load of sponges was sunk
on the coral bed. " After a time several
sponge fishers of wide experience were
sent out to the bed to gather the first
crop. They found the seed sponges
rotted and there was not the slightest
evidence of a new crop. Another effort
to grow sponges was subsequently made
down the New Jersey shore, and, like
the Long Island experiments, nothing
came of it." New York Sun.
Hundreds at a Dof'a Funeral.
For a number of years Colonel J. B.
Dodge, of Warsaw, has been the owner
of a most beautiful and intelligent shep
herd dog. He was very friendly with
children. Two years ago Frank, while
interviewing another dog on the railroad
track, was run over by a passing train,
crushing one of his hind legs and cutting
off his beautiful tail. Thursday Frank,
who had become quite decrepit and deaf,
wandered down to the railroad again
and was struck by a train and killed in
stantly. The news flew like wildfire among the
boys, and they concluded to give him a
funeral such as no dog ever had in this
part of the country. Selecting a suitable
location, the grave was dug and a re
spectable coffin was made, and Frank
was placed in it in one of his favored
trick attitudes that of playing dead.
The coffin was then closed and the grave
filled up in the presence of fifty ladies and
gentlemen, who were attracted by the
novelty, and at least 200 boys. The
whole proceeding was conducted with
the utmost decorum. Cor. Indianapolis
SentinenL
A Millionaire Bay a Hat.
Isidor Wormser was acknowledged the
other day to be the greatest economist of
Wall street. A peddler's wagon was an
chored in New street, fifteen feet from the
Stock exchange and close to Delmonico's.
He peddled straw hats. Many looked at
the hats, and yet few purchased until
Mr. Wormser ambled along. He wanted
a straw hat. He tried several.
- He has a colossal head, and only one
hat fitted, and that was a misfit until
Mr. Wormser manipulated it... He first
swelled the circumference by jamming
his knee into it, and even then it was a
little tight. As a last resource, at his
suggestion, the peddler ripped out the
lining. .
"How much?" he asked of the peddler.
Thirty-five cents," replied the itener
ant .merchant, 'and Mr. Wormser paid
the price without a murmur. New York
Sun. :
r
Aa Krror Healed Their PlsTeiswees.
Even the" "intelligent compositor"
sometimes proves to be the instrument
of great good. For example, on Satur
day an indignant husband wrote and
gave to a Brooklyn newspaper m adver
tisement in which he gave notice that he
would not be responsible for any debts
contracted by his wife. He wished it to
be inserted twice, and somewhere in the
copy of the advertisement he wrote tho
words "for two days." These the "in
telligent compositor" interpreted so that
when the notice appeared it read as fol
lows: "For two days after date I will
not be responsible for any debts con
tracted by my wife." The separated
couple both saw the absurdity of tho
thing and concluded to take the compos
itor's view of the case. They are now
among the happiest persons in Brooklyn.
Newark (N. J.) Advertiser.
A Hard Record to Beat.
Marketmaster Hibbe, of Dubuque, la.,
who fell and broke his leg recently, has
an extended record for broken bones. At
three years of .age he fell from a wagon
and had three ribs broken; at five he fell
down a flight of stairs and broke his
right arm; at nine he was thrown by a
schoolmate and had his left arm broken;
at twelve he fell and broke two fingers;
at nineteen he was blown from a steeple
by the wind and alighting : on a pile of
sand had his back strained; last spring,
at about thirty years of age, he fell off
the roof of the Dubuque high . school
building, breaking his thigh and jaw
and dislocating his shoulder and ankle.
He says he is .still good for fifteen or
twenty more falls if they must come his
way. Dubuque Letter..
Ineeet Plegnee. -
Cold weather evidently fails to affect
the vitality of insect eggs. In spite of
the exceptional rigor of the last winter
all northern Prussia and Silesia, is suffer
ing from the ravages of a beetle known
as the Mai-kafer ."May bug"), and the
south coasts of the' Mediterranean have
been visited by portentous locust swarms.
In Sicily the public schools of sever!
villages have been closed to .enlist the
youngsters in the warfare against the
common enemy, and in Algiers a dis
trict of twenty square miles has been
covered with a locust stratum of three
to five inches! Philadelphia Times. , .
. Nathaniel Leavitt, a farmer of St.
George, Me., put away in a canvas parse
money to pay a mortgage due last month.
Upon going after the parse he found
that mo had .totally Jmlissjed rotw
aa '" -s f .'"",-". -- , . - ,-.
HER GIFT IS PATIENCE
BELLA, THE WOMAN IN CHARGE OF
A LADIES' WAITING ROOM.
Her Post is In the Grand Central Sta
tion, and She Sees Hundreds of Busy,
Frantic, Bushing. Women Every .Bay.
Despite All the Haste She Is Calm.-
The presiding genius of the ladies'
waiting room at the New York Central
station at Forty-second street is named
Bella. It is to be presumed she has also
a family name, but no one knows what
it is. In fact no one cares. For thirteen
years she has been the friend and assist
ant of almost every child and woman
living between New York and Pough
keepsie who travels on the railroad. She
is a tall, slight woman, with a pleasant
manner and kindly face, though how she
can remain so placid, answering so calm
ly the thousand and one questions' ad
dressed her in rapid succession, is a puz
zle. ,
In the first place, most of the out of
town shoppers have all their purchases
sent to the waiting room, to be called
for at train time. . These , bundles are
put away in a big closet, piled from floor
to ceiling with packages containing
every conceivable thing, from spring
bonnets to cream puffs. From 3 to 5 is
the time to watch reunions between the
women and their belongings. Shopping
is over and every one is hurrying home.
Half a dozen tired women and girls will
charge into the waiting room at once,
hastily inquire, -"Where are my things,
Bella?" and begin to arrange their bangs.
By the time the hasty toilet is finished
their dust coats and parcels are on the
big table, and the umbrella and over
shoes are on a chair in the corner. ;-
Every parcel has had the knots seen
to, lest they fall open in the train, and
soft or carelessly wrapped articles have
an additional heavy paper about them.
These are all banded over with a pleas
ant smile and just the slightest possible
forward motion of one hand for the ten
cent fee, which is dropped into a capa
cious bag in the closet.
SOME PECULIAR CHARGES.
Ladies coming in for a day's shopping
usually stop in a moment to get rid of
heavy veils and dust coats or to wipe
the pinders from their faces. Lots' of
them keep their own combs and towels
here, and repair damages as calmly as.
if at home. Bella gives them a little
critical glance, and perhaps makes a
suggestion. - Then off theygo, leaving
things scattered about soap, comb and
train gloves all of which will be found
in their own particular corners when
wanted.
There is one lady from Yonkers who
is deaf and afflicted with an unquiet
spirit. She would not trust her comb
out of her sight for worlds; her soap she
dries and puts back in her pocket. I saw
her the other afternoon run back four
times to see if a parcel left in Bella's
care had been safely marked and hidden.
Another .kind of crank never knows
when the train goes, neither will believe
when Bella tells her, but always insists
on that ' long suffering woman hunting
up a time table and proving her state
ment. In striking contrast is the good na
tured, easy going woman, who saunters
in, asks "When does the next train go,
Bella?" and. calmly reads a novel till the
bell rings. This is the woman, who
leaves her small girl here while she pays
calls. The small girls enjoys being left,
and tells wonderful stories of her adven
tures all the way home.
I sat for an hour in the room one day
and saw a canary and two children left
or called for, , a school girl thankfully
recover a lost exercise book, four men
plunge in under the impression that it
was the entrance to the elevated rail
road. Cyrus Field hammer fiercely On
the door and inquire if the feminine por
tion of his family had gone on, a marvel
ous number of hairpins replaced ahd an
almost endless stream of bundles handed
in by errand boys.
"HER LADIES."
A nice old lady with curls gravely
consulted everybody in the room about
the weather and finally decided not to
visit some country friends till the next
day, as it looked like rain, and went
home, leaving her satchel behind so, as
not to have the bother of carrying it
back again. After her came a couple of
girls who had evidently never been there
before, for one set the other to keep a
8 harp eye on her bundles while she made
a voyage to the ticket office, and then
performed a like kindly office while her
friend visited the news stand. Then
they had their shawl straps tightened
and kept Bella busy for quite five min
utes attending to their wants, and de
parted without thinking it necessary to
fee the patient attendant. As she re
marked pathetically. "All that travels
ain't ladies."
Bearing this latter fact in mind, Bella
stands guard over half the basins and
toilet arrangements generally, reserving
them for "her ladies," as she calls the
regular travelers. The ordinary public
people she does not include in her
flock may not venture to remove the
stains of travel in these holy bowls, nor
arrange their bangs at that special glass.
A complaint was made not very long
ago by some one not of the elect at this
exclnsiveness, but Bella appeared before
the authorities and defended her cause
so well that . she won triumphantly, and
to this day the regular travelers have
their own little privileges that are cheap
at the cost of a daily : dime and pleasant
greeting. New York Recorder. . '" - .
One of Colonel Iager-soll's Stories.
They tell a story of Mrs. Jones, of Chi
cago, who visited Rome and while there
was shown some of the great marble
masterpieces of the world, among others
the Apollo Belvidere. They pointed it out
to her as being the most perfect form of
man that had ever been conceived by the
brain of an artist, and the old woman
walked all around it, looked at it from ev
ery point of view, and she says: , ' ' " '
Thafa the Apollo Belvidere. ia kr "
Yea." .;. ... ; - v.- '
- 'Well, give qm Jonas." Beiooe, lode
paadesrt. ...
.... .. .... ..r- .. a
ODDS AND- ENDS.
Men sometimes try to build with un tem
pered mortar, but God never does.
The output of gold and silver in Aus
tralia in 1800 amounted to about $26,000,000.
The cheeks are pierced by some Eskimos,
who wear little stud buttons in the holes.
- When impudence dons the mask of rep
artee it is time for the company to'dis perse
for the night.
. , The peach was. originally a very poison
ous fruit, but by cultivation the poison
has diappeared.
The manufacture of false teeth for horses
is a new industry just opened in Paris with
a capital of 2,000,000 francs.
When you go out for an all day tramp
don't eat up all your lunch at 10 o'clock.
You will feel starved by 2 if you do so.
. Max OHell's next lecturing tour will be
through Australia, and he will be accom
panied by his wife, Mme. Paul Blouet.
At Lowell, Ark., lightning struck and
killed a two-year-old baby at play in the
mother's arms. The mother was not hurt.
Dates are quite another article when cut
in two, the stones removed and the fruit
soaked in boiling milk with some shreds of
lemon peeL
The sturgeon is toothless and draws in
its food by suction, but the shark has hun
dreds of teeth set in rows that sometimes
number ten. -,
: It is no good asking-a favor of any one
with whom you are on such terms of in
timacy that he can refuse it without em
barrassment. '
A collector of Bombay has among his
curiosities a Chinese god marked "Heathen
Idol," and next to it is a gold piece marked
"Christian Idol."
A Maine farmer who believes in a strict
observance of the Sabbath went out and
killed a lamb which persisted in bleating
on a recent Sunday afternoon.
. A Book Agent's Suit.
Charles W. Dumont, the general agent
for the Encyclopaedia Britannica, com
menced suit against Joseph M. Haw-'
thorne, the West side attorney, to re
cover $5,000 damages for an alleged il
legal restraint of liberty. It seems that
Mr. Dumont sold a set of the Encyclo
paedia to an attorney who has desk room
in Mr. Hawthorne's office. The pay
ments not being made Mr. Dumont went
after the books, but was informed by
Mr. Hawthorne that the attorney 6wed
him, and he intended to keep the books
to secure himself. When Mr. Dumont
undertook to leave the room the door was
locked. Mr. Dumont thereupon fired
the books through an open transom and
squeezed himself through after them.
Hence the suit St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Don't persist in repeating "Phew! how
hot it is!" Everybody, including your
self, is aware of the fact, and you should
avoid trite utterances which are inevita
bly boresome, besides being indications
of a narrow range of intellect.
STIPATION.
Altric-ts linlf the American people yet' there' is
only one- preparation of 8arsparilla that acts oil
the bowels and reaches this important trouble,
and that in Joy's Vegetable .SansnpariUa. Jt. re
lieves if in 24 hours, and an occasional dose
prevents return. "Ve refer by permission to C. E.
Elkington, 125 'Locust A venno, San Francisco;
J. II. Brown, Pctalnma; H. S. Winn, Geary Court,
Ban 'Franciacoj and hundreds of others who have
used it in constipation. One letter is a sample of
hundreds. Elkiugton, writes: "I have been for
years subject to bilious headaches and constipa
tion. Have been to bad for year back have
had to take a physic every other night or else I
wonld have a headache. : After taking one bottle
of J. V. 8. , I am In splendid shape. It has done
wonderful things for me. People similarly
troubled should try it and be convinced."
S Vegetable
Sarsaparilla
Host niuui-nt. m.i' rilti-tlv.' largest bottle.
Sam price, H.O. stx ir Uili.
For Sale by SNIPES & KINERSUY.
THE DALLES, OREGON.
A Revelation.
Tew people know that tbs
bright bluish green color of
the ordinary teas exposed in
the windows la not the nat
ural color. Unpleasant as the
fact may be, it la nevertheless
artificial; J mineral ' coloring
; ' matter being - used for this
purpose. The effect Is two
fold. . It not only makes the '
tea a bright, shiny green, but also permits the
ase of " off-color " and worthless teas, which,
"once under the green cloak, are readily'
worked off as a good quality of tea. .
' An eminent authority writes on this sub
ject: "The manipulation of poor teas, to give
them a"flner appearance, is carried on exten
sively. ' Green teas, being in this country
especially popular, are produced to meet the
demand by coloring caeayer black ki-.irts by
glaalng or feeing with Prussian bine, tumeric,
gypsum, and Indigo. This method it mo gen
eral that very HUU genuine nneolored green tea
i offered for Kile." " ;' .' '"
It was the knowledge' of this condition of
affairs that prompted the placing of Beech's
Tea before the public. It is absolutely pare
and without color. Did yon ever see any
genuine nncolored ' Japan' tea? -'Ask ' your
grocer to open a package of Beech's, and yua
will see it, and probably for the very first
time. ; It wUl be found in color to be Just be
tween the atUaelal green tea that youbare '
been aeenstomed to and the black teas.
It draws a delighrfa.1 canary color, and is se
fragrant that it will be a revelation to tea
drinkem. Its pwrtty. taakea It also mow
economical than the artificial teas, for leas
of it is required per ewp. Soldonly ia powae
packages bearing this trade-mark:
asaolaavait.bewBt sot
aaarrsa
' Tsoalle 33-u.-tXc3i',
CON
SBBMorex
TDb Dalles
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 Objeets
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 the
Leading
City of
The paper, both daily and weekly, will
be independent in politics, and in its
criticism of political matters, as in its
handling of local affairs, it will be
JUST, FAIR AND IMPARTIAL
We will enedavor to give all the lo
cal news, and we ask that your criticism
of our obiect and course, be formed from
the contents of the paper, and not from
rash assertions of outside parties.
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 !
TRETM E MfSi
DtEjCWisrt KaVS:iKB Bkaik Tbs at
me nt, a guaranteed specific for Hysteria, Dizzi
ness, Convulsions, rite, Nervous Neuralgia,
Headache, Nervous Prostration eansed 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 Power
in either sex, Involuntary-Losses and Spermat
orrhoea caused by over exertion of the brain, self
abuse or over indulgence. Each box contains
one month's treatment. $1-00 a box, or six boxes
for $5.00, sent by mail prepaid on receipt of price.
WK AtABANTII SIX BOXES '
To cure any case.- With each order received by
us for six boxes, accompanied by $5.00, we will
send the purchaser our written guarantee to re
fund the money if the treatment does not effec'
a cure. Guarantees issued only by
i; BLAKBXST A HOTJOHTON, '
' Prescription Drngglsts,
175 Second St. . .. - The TJallea. Or.
Phil Willig,
124 UKION 8T THE DALLES, OR.
. Keeps on haad a fall line of
MEN'S AND YOUTH'S
Ready - Made Gothing.
Pants and Suits
MADE TO ORDER
" On Reasonable Terms.
C3 .sd sska any Qoods betas
CqionlGle
Eastern Oregon.
S. B.
Cleveland, Wash.,
June 19th, 1891.)
S. B. Medicine Co..
Gentlemen Your kind favor received ,
and in reply would say that I am more
than pleased with the term a offered me
on the last shipment of your medicines.
There is nothing like them ever intro
duced in this country, especially for La
grippe and kindred complaints. I have
Viftrl nr mmnlninlA an -far. Anri t.'arTrr
is ready with a word of praise for their
virtues.' Yours, etc., '
M. F. Hacklet.
The Dales
FACTORY NO. 105.
fTCl. APC ofthe Best BraheW
VXX x.XVO manufactured, and
orders from all parts of the country filled
nn triA nlirT-f oaf ytstf Im,
The reputation of THE DALLES Cl-
-1 .i
Gioap
Faetopy
r
UAtt nas Decome firmly estaDiisnea, .
the demand for the home manufactured
article is increasing every day.
A. .ULRICH & SON.