THE COLUMBIAN.
Published Evkbt Fkedxt,
AT
ST. HELENS, COLUMBIA CO., OR.,
BY
. O. AD AUS, Editor and Proprietor
Advertising Ratbs :
On square (10 lines) first insertion. . f2 00
Each subsequent insertion.. ... 1 00
THE COLUMBIAN.
V
Published Evkry Friday,
AT
ST. HELENS, COLUMBIA CO., OR,
BY
X. G. ADAMS, Editor and Proprietor.
A
A
Subscription Rates:
One year, in advance f 2 00
Six months, " 1 00
Tkrse months, " 50
VOL. IV.
ST. HELENS, COLUMBIA COUNTY, OREGON, JUNE 27, 1884.
NO. 47.
I
' I :
' i '
: ! '
I
POET AND STAR.
Owen Meredith. j
A poet loved a star,
And so it v LLsiere 1 nightly.
"Being so fair, why ai t thou, love, so far?
Or why so coldly shine, who shinest so
hrijrhtiy?
O beauty, woo'd and unpossessed,
O might I to this beathig breast
But clasp thee once, and then die blest!"
That star her poet's love,
So mildly warm, made human,
-And leaving for his sake her heaven above
His star stooped earthward, and became a
woman.
"Thou who hast wooi, and hast possessed
My lover, answer, which was best
The star's beam, or tue woman's breast!"
"I miss from heaven," the man replied, . I
"A light that drew my spirit to it." I
And to the man tbe woman sighed,
"I miss from earth a poetl" 1
WHAT FOUR CITIES DRINK. '
The Water In Cincinnati, Xw York.
Boston and Chicago.
Cincinnati Times-Star.
"I have been nearly all over the 'ountry,"
remarked a gentleman this week, and I must
say that I think, as a rule, Ciucinnati has the
best water of any city on the continent. Of
course, when tbe Ohio is high and the water
is muddy I make an exception, but that is
something extraordinary. The water has a
tone, a sweetness, although there is not what
mi;ht be called a distinctive flavor. Then
its color! Why, it is like champagne! I find
after haviug been in Cincinnati for two or
three weeks that I grow attached to the
water and it is very bard to change."
"What kind of water has New York?7
"They may talk about Crotou water all
they please, but it is insipid and unsatisfy
ing. There is a lack of body about it, and
it tastes to me like water does that has been
allowed to stand for a long time in the sun."
"And Boston T
"The worst water in America. It looks
like very, very weak cider vinegar, and I
understand that its pale yellow color is im
parted by decaying vegetable matter. Why
it was so bai several years ago that big
casks of fresh spring water used to be hauled
about tbe streets, and this was sold at 2 cents
a glass. I have understood that people never
pretend to drink water in Boston."
"How is Chicago?"
"Well, they have lake water, as do the
other cities on the lakes, and, while it is
good, pure water, yet there is a certain
hardness about it. In that respect Montreal
water is the worst. It is strongly impreg
nated with sulphur and very often makes
those unaccustomed to it ilL I remember
that when I first went to Montreal I was
quite sick and my physician informed me
that that was the usual experience of visitors.
St. Louis has very bad water, as it comes
from the Missouri river, which is a chocolate-colored
stream, and the water ha" a per
cwptible taste; Out west on the Pacific slope
there are many places that have water which
is filled with lime, which is not only un
healthy, but harsh and disagreeable. Cin
cinnati, I think, and I speak from experience,
has tbe most satisfactory and sweetest water
in America." I
. . ,
New York World.
It is quite cheering to get definite informa
tion about Cceur u'Alene. As the first out
come of settled civilization a newspaper
called The Nugget has been started at Eagle
City, which The Nugget calls the "metropo
lis" of Cceur d'Alene. This metropolis, ac
cording to the same authority, beautifully
located, peopled with men of energy and en
terprise (there is no mention of money), and
offering superior inducements to capital,
"has burst into a city in a day."
Immediate results of this sudden explosion
were a jeweler's shop, j tin shop, hardware
shop, market, theatre, dance-house "and," as
The Nugget vaguely yet cautiously phrases
it, "the like," all of which have hastily been
thrown up. Houses and tents appear where
only yesterday were snowdrifts or tama
racks. "A city full of people has arisen from
the snow as if by enchantment." But a saw
mill is badly wanted. The dashing Nugget
thinks it is well to know these facts
that only two routes exist by which freight
can be conveyed to Eagle City, in one of
which all goods are carried by pack-trains
(that is on the backs of men, mules or horses)
and on the other by sleds and toboggans, and
from reports of the depth of the snow the
sledding ought to be good till next August.
Freights are from 20 to 30 cents per pound,
which would be reasonable for gold carried
out, but it is rather costly for coffee or coal
carried in. Flour is quoted by The Nugget
at $60 a barrel; potatoes, 25 cents a pound;
bacon and ham, 50 cents a pound; corned
beef, the same; liquors, kind aud quality not
stated, $3 per gallon; stoves from 140 to $150,;
shovels, axes and picks from $2 to $5 each, and
clothing and other necessaries in proportion.
There must ha gold there to permit the pay
ment of such prices, or the prospective miner
must carry money there. Undjr news from
the mining camps is tbe following significant
note: "The leading saloons take in from $250
to $4"0 a day each." Very little i3 said of the
production of tbe mines. Intending emigrants
please take notice.
A Fair Offer.
Detroit Free Press.
A few days ago a farmer drove up to the
door of a Springwells saloon and called out to
several men standing around that a neighbor
of his living about four miles away bad
fallen into the family well and probably
killed hinnelf. j
"Well, what of it V asked one of the men.
"Why, I want two or three of you to ride
out with me and help get the body out"
"For how much?"
"You don't pretend to want pay for such
an action as that I" grasped the farmer, but
they said they did, and he entered the saloon
to see if the owner was not more tender
hearted.
"I tells you how it vhaa " began the
saloonist, but he was interrupted with:
"Don't tell me that you won't lend a hand
in such a case as this!" j
"I can't go, my f rend, but I tells you how
it vhas. I let you drink beer untU you doan'
care J-cents for all der farmers und all der
wells in America, und den I hire a poy for
2 shillings to drive you home. Dot vhas der
pest I can do to-day."
Acetate of Soda Car-Heaters.
f Chicago Tribune.
A new method" of warming street-cars has
been on trial fr several weeks on the De
Kalb avenue line in Bro idyn. About
seventy cars have been fitted up with the ap
pliance, which is a very simple one and does
not encroach on the seating-room for passen
gers. Two pipes run under the seats on each
side, charged with a composition of acetate
of soda, which at each trip is heated by a jet
of steam sent through from a stationary
boiler at tbe stable. The compound being
heated is dissolved into liquid, and upon
cooling throws out into the car the beat
stored in it. The heat is pleasant and moist,
and, without beiug intensa enough to be dis
agreeable, is sufficiently strong for passengers
to enjoy with ordinary out-of-door wraps,
the temperature by actual record being
maintained at 40 degrees higher than that
outside the car. Thus, if tbe thermometer is
down to 20 degrees above zero, the average
temperature of the cars is kept at 60 above.
A LUNCH WITH FREMCNT.
A De.ixhtful Interview with the
Family of the "Pathfinder" lira.
Fremont Appearance.
rCrofTut's Ntw York Letter.
I had the pleasure the other day oJ
taking a mid-day lunch with Gen. John
C. Fremont, and Mi s. Fremont, at then
plea ait home at New Brighton, ft taten
Island. Twenty -eight ye.irs ago I made
f ie acquaintance, during that n.e uora
bl campaign when the young "path
li der" was surrounded by the ent'iusi-
;io youth of America, and this I had
owed more recently since their settle
t in New York.
he residence of the Fremonts is 8
lest white ho.;se, perched high on
inside of the broad road that winds
tu.ough trees along the New Brighton
beach, and its front windows command
a wide rt-ach of the New York bay and
the estuary of fie Kill von Kali. It
mst be an agreeable and comfortable
hott-e to live in ; it is certainly a de
lightful house to visit in. The genera
and Mrs. Fremont are not seen in New
York society as often as they were, even
in those entertainments for charity's
sake where thov used to take so much
pleasure; probably they find the society
of their chi.dreu and romping grand
children ple.isanter.
There are two sons and a daughter in
the house of Fremont. The eldest son,
John Charles, or "Jack," as he is famil
iarly called at home, lives with his
handsome wife and two sturdy boys up
the Hudson. He is in the navy, and
his duties are connected with the ar-'
rival and departure of ships in this
harbor. His y.mnger brother, Frank,
is a lieutenant in the army, stationed up
in Montana territory, whither he has
taken the young wife he recently
captured in New York, a daughter
of John D. Townseud, the law
yer. Both of the boys closely
resemble their father. "When Frauk
went wesf," said Mrs. Fremont,
"I (suggested that he stop and call on
Gen. Sibley, in Minnesota, who ha
never seii him. He did it; called in
citizen' dre3-, and said: 'Gen. Sibley,
who am I?' 'You're a Fremont,' said
the general; 'there's no mistaking you.
How is your father?" The sons are bo'li
tall, black-haired, black-eyed ami
"bearded like a pard," and they both,
like their sister, show strains of Gallic
blood the influence of. their grand
father, the poor, scholarly French
gentleman, who came to Virginia at the
beginning of the century and found
their grandmother in her te?ns.
Mrs. Fremont that "Jessie Benton,"
the mention of whose name in the nota
ble campaign of 1856, always evokes a
cheer holds her own remarkably well.
It doesn't seem possible that she could
have made her famons runaway match
nearly forty-three years ago. She was a
handsome blonde when she ran away
from the headquarters of "Old Bullion"
in "Washington and joined the fortunes
of the young explorer; uqw her hair is
as white as snow, but she shows few
indications of aging and talks as brill
iantly as ever.
And how much she looks like her
father, the eminent statesman of
Missouri. Her face is very much like
his and even her gestures and manner
when animated by conversation remind
me much of him as I saw him in Wash
ington after he had left the senate.
She possesses the lineaments of her
father, somewhat softened, as she in
herits his studious .and logical mind
and his commanding spirit.
Kealin-r Wax for letters.
fNew York Sun.
"Sealing wax," a stationer said, "is
quietlv resuming its place for the seal
ing of letters. The use of gum in the
place of sealing wax was a seductive
appeal to the laziness of persons, who
eagerly adopted that method because it
was quick and handy. It is mucli easier
to run your tongue along the flap of an
envelope and press the surface together
than it is to heat the wax and close the
letter effectually.
"But it has now come to be slowly
appreciated that a letter easily sealed is
nearly as easily opened. It only re
quires a little dampness to open any
letter sealed with gum, and it may be
done so skillfully that it baffles de'ec
tion. It is about as much protection
now to put a letter in a gum-sealed en
velope as to put the contents on a postal
card. Sealing wax is a protection
against the prying curiosity of persons
not dishonest enough to steal your let
ter, out, and out, yet willing to possets
themselves of your secrets by peering
into your letters after steaming open a
gum-sealed rla;.
"A pretty feature of the use of seal
ing wax is the opportunity to use seals.
Seal rings are plenty enough, and if
you have not a seal ring, you may use
a coin, or a bangle, or any rough sur
face, the break of which might be an
indication that the letter had been
tampered with. The express companies
will not receive a valuable package for
transmission unless it is carefully
sealed; Seal your letters by all means
with sealing wax if you wish to keep
their contents free from inspection."
Crippled the Engine.
The Brunswick (Ga.) Herald says
that some malicious fellow whom the
law ought to put where he can do no
harm, put five bars of soap in the water
tank on the Brunswick & Waycross
road, near Waycross, on Christmas day.
The night express train, that came
along next, filled up with the soapy
water, and soapy water will not make
steam. So the engine was laid up on
the track without steam or the power
to make it until another engine could
be sent out to pull the former tra'n and
engine onward. This i3 a Christmas
prank that is neither funny nor smart,
but as dangerous as it was malicio.is
Let it not be repeated.
M ild Ho.
Hogs sent to the market from Cali
fornia havo to be trapped in the woods
in about the same manner as bears. On
most of the ranches, it is said, the swim
are as wild as deer through the woods,
and if cornered they will place them
selves on the defensive and fight like
tigers.
M. J. Savage : However much room
there may always be "at the top," only
a few caa ever get there. Society is a
pyramid, broadest at the base. .
Russian Jews In Dakota.
Cor. St. Paul Pioneer Press.
In company with one of the young
Jewish farmers of the Cremie'ix col
ony, your correspondent left Mitchell
at daybreak for a visit to the Hebrew
farming colony, situated about twenty
two miles southwest of Mitchell. A
commendable characteristic of these
people is their patient persever
ance. They have come to a
strange land, where they are unac
quainted with the customs and language
of the people. They work hard, are
practical, and look at facts as they find
them. They are saving, and not a dol
lar is .wasted, nor is a cent spent for
drink, and very few incur debts, and
then only in case of urgent necessity.
Some of the colonists are getting a
good start in stock, but a number by
hard work have not as yet been able to
lay by enough to buy the muoh-needed
ox-teams. Their numbers will be
largely increased the coming summer
by relations and friends who will come
from Russia.
The colonists have a private school at
the residence of Mr. Rosenthal, taught
by Miss Burnes, a highly educated lady.
She is paid by subscription, and the
school is well attended by the Russian
children, who are all learning to speak
English fluently. They are, as a peo
ple, fond of music, reading and society.
Even the lowliet have a good educa
tion, and the brawniest has a knowledge
of music. In the long winter evenings,
and on days when it is too cold to work,
they collect together and pass away the
time with music and dancing, and con
sulting together on matters of practical
business. Parties are frequently held,
to which their American neighbors are
always invited and welcomed.
There are now a number of Hebrew
Russian farming colonies in the Uni'ed
States, but they are all new as yet. The
most numerous is that of New Odessa,
Ore., founded under the advice of
Michael Heilprin, Dr. Julius Goldman,
Edward Lauterbach, and Judge
Isaacs, all of New York city. They
claim that the time will soon be here
when Hebrew farmers will be no
novelty in the United States. The
colony, young as it is, and notwith
standing the fact that nearly all its
members have co mmenced without a
dollar, embarrassed by all the incon
venience of pioneer life, is self-sustaining.
'
Very Merious Case.
Philadelphia Call.
A New York dude was suddenly
taken violently ill and a physi cian was
hastily summoned.
After looking at his tongue and feel
ing of his pulse, the usual formula, the
doctor remarked :
"He has evidently been overloading
his stomach. My dear sir," he con
tinued, ronsing the patient, "can yon
tell- me what you ate to-day for din
ner?" "Nothing, doctah, but a glass of
watah and part of a toothpick," re
plied the sick dude, wearily.
"H'm," mused the physician, "that is
strange. His faintness certainly comes
from a disordered stomach." Then he
suddenly said : "Bring me his cane."
The cane was brought him, and after
a careful examination he laid it aside,
with the remark :
"It is as I thought. A 10-cent cane,
and he has sucked the varnish off the
head. Give him three drops of milk
every four hours, and be careful not to
exceed the dose. Ill call again to
morrow." Marriage ax a Reward of Merit.
Paris Figaro.
A party of fifty women left Bordeaux
for New Caledonia a short time ago
under peculiar circumstances. They
were women sentenced to long terms of
imprisonment for grave offenses, who
have elected to go to the French penal
colony, where they will find husbands
in the convicts of the first class that
is, those convicts who have by their
good behavior entitled themselves to a
government grant of land and obtained
permission to marry. The women were
selected from various prisons, and are
described as young and good looking.
On their arrival out they will be housed
in a religious establishment managed
by a community: of Sisters, where
bachelor convicts of the privileged
class will be permitted to visit them,
and, as often as a marriage is arranged,
the Colonial government will provide
the bride with a trousseau and set the
couple up in housekeeping in a small
way.
Xeeded in Medical Education.
Chicago Current.
What is needed in the medical educa
tion of this countay is rigid' preliminary
examination of applicants for admission
to medical colleges in all important
branches taught in literary and scien
tific colleges ; greater thoroughness in
the medical course, and a very decided
extension of the course to three or four
fall years, and a searching examination
before certification. This would cut
down the number of students and break
up some medical schools which are con
ducted to make money, but it would be
far better for the medical profession.
Prayer Unanswered.
ISfc. Louis Republican.
A colored man entered the African
Bethel church, and, kneeling down
with the converts, indulged in an out
burst of profanity. He said he was
anxious to see what effect the prayers
of the revivalists would have upon him.
Thereupon every member of the church
began to pray at" the top of his lungs.
The place was a pandemonium of en
treaties and exhortations, but above
everything else arose the stentorian
blasphemy of the sinner. After two
hours the revivalists gave it up, and the
sinner walked away.
Oh, Cruel Mrs. Marker!
London Truth.
ATVa ATq pVott Vicia mvon nai'n f oil
right thinking persons in Paris by ap-
: -. e i
jjouiitiy in a uiu3) ui nuira vol vet
4" MTVI nAsl oil W HT1 1 tllA Wlni.il rtf
robin red breasts; and, to complete
this barbaric toilet, her shoes of red
velvet were entirely covered with the
bU1,U "U . - w VJ A -3
made in the princesse shape, with a
watteau back and a comet train of
portentous length, and the corsage is
flagrantly decollete, and is bordered
with red feathers, with which all the
train is edged.
HE KNEW ABOUT IT.
rhe "Xasker" Business and Why
Seward Bought the Plaee.
Burdette in Brooklyn Eagle.
"Wha's all's talk 'bout that Texas fellah
and this Lasker business!" asked one of our
best young men as he stood with his friends
inhaling the maddening fumes of the destroy
ing cigarette. A long silence followed,
which was at length broken by the best
young man who makes a living by sucking
the head of a cane. After pondering the
question fully for a long time, be said :
"What Lasker y' talkin' 'boutr
Tbe first best young man was evidently an
noyed by the question. He looked sadly at
hiy toothpick shoes, hoping for some inspira
tion from them, but none came. He sighed
heavily, cast an appealing glance toward the
well-informed best young man, who. re
mained silent, however, and the first speaker
replied:
"Same Lasker fellah that got into trouble
with Texas fellah Doubil tree was Texas fel
lah's name, b'lieve. Some kind of er ah
trouble, b'lieve."
Tbe eyes of all the best young men are now
turned toward the well-informed best young
man. He was always looked up to in politi
cal discussions because he once drew a salary
in the custom house for doing something or
other he had forgotten what it was he did
in tbe custom house, but be did it several
years. . In answer to the glances bent upon
him in mute but intelligent inquiry, the well
informed best young man said:
"Aw yaas; I know. I said at the time
ther'd be trouble. Said when Secretary
Seward "
" Who's he secretary of)" asked the best
young man whose mother takes in washing.
"Dash if I know," said the w U-informed
best young man, after a painful silence;
"some club or othah I've just forgotten
what. Well, I said when Secretary Seward
bought Alasker of the Proosians said then
Bismarck make trouble 'bout it some day; 'n
so be has."
"Wh'd he buy it forr asked the best
young man who generously allows his sister,
who teaches school, nearly one-half of her
salary.
"Don' know," said the well-informed best
young man. "Spect wanted to build on it."
And the best young men wandered on to a
place that sold scented cigarettes.
Keely's Motor Kellpsed.
Inter Ocean.
The Philadelphia Times claims to make
known tbe eclipser of Keely in a young man
of that city who has perfected a mysterious
motor and subjected it to definite tests. The
inventor is James Rodney Barlow, who, after
much study and the gaining secretly of some
knowledge of the Keely motor, set about
making a machine that should conform to
the principle of Keely's motor, with such
modifications as should make it practical in
stead of theoretic.
According to the paper mentioned, whose
reporter is alleged to have, been one of the
experimenting party, a trial was made on
the night of March 15 that was satisfactory
beyond all expectation. A hand-car was
run over the West Jersey railroad between
Camden and Gloucester, at first moderately,
and then at the rate of speed equal to seventy
five miles an hour. There were four people
on the car the inventor, a friend who sup
plied him the money for his work, the re
porter, and an employe of the road. The
success was such that Mr. Barlow was wild
with enthusiasm, and will at once proceed to
make a machine capable of real work.
The internal structure of his apparatus ia
at present bis secret. The appearance of the
invention is thus described: Two cylindrical
steel vessels, five inches in diameter by eigh
teen in length, placed longitudinally one inch
apart; above these, placed at right angles,
another similar vessel, three inches in
diameter by nine in length ; from the head
of each of the lower cylinders projected a
steel tube half an inch in diameter, converg
ing four inches above, where there was a
small hand lever; by the side was a vertical
cylinder, with a rod and plunger, connected
with the upper cylinder of the motor by a
steel tube. That is all there was to it, and
all that will be known until Mr. Barlow gets
his right legally secured. Mr. Keely seems
to have tinkered, promised, and postponed
long enough to retire with the consciousness
that he has played Franklin for a contem
porary Morse.
t. i
Artificial Flowers to Let.
Boston Globe.
"Bless you, florists are bad enough, but
they have not stooped so low as to hire out
flowers for funerals. I never heard of such
a thing."
The reporter hied him to the largest artifi
cial flower and foliage concern in the city.
"A great many poor people," said a mem
ber of the firm, "order potted flowers and
tropical plant of us for funerals. We
charge 10 per cent, for their use, and in
plenty of instances the flowers might better
have been bought out and out. Take our
foliage bouquets, composed of dracaenas,
begonias, coleus, geranium and ivy they
come cheap and it is poor economy to hire
them. But people of small means like tbe
immediate saving, and the 'long run' is not
taken into account. For funerals that take
place in church we sell large quantities of
chrysanthemums, roses, tiger and calla lilies,
hyacinths, etc. Natural flowers are some
times represented on the same altar, and it is
impossible to tell which is which. The imi
tation of common flowers has been reduced
to a fine art. One can hardly believe how
rapidly artificial plants have sprung into
favor, even among the rich. They are used
in ball-rooms, theatres, restaurant windows,
stores, and most everywhere. We have
some well-known varieties so adroitly made
that they would deceive the most learned
botanist at a little distance."
An Inaccessible Editor.
Edinburgh ' Letter to Philadelphia Press.
The newspapers of Scotland are far behind
us in enterprise and news; their forte is
heavv leaders and long speeches. The offices
are conducted in a manner which is novel to
an American. Having occasion to visit the
office of The Scotsman, I was met by a
female dragon, who guarded the approach
to the sanctum. Her brilliancy startled me
from my usual composure. I have not been
accustomel to see in newspaper offices women
at all, but more especially one wearing dia
monds in her ears and pearls around her neck,
with an eye glass tipped gracefully on hw
nose, ou of which the eye-glasses, not the
nose she viewed me suspiciously. In a voice
not sweet but strong she demanded my busi
ness. "I want to see the editor," I answered.
"The editor is never seen," was the rej ly.
"Never seen I" I exclaimed.
"Never seen except by those who know
him," was the answer.
"What's his name" I asked.
"His name is never given to people who
don't know it," she said.
"How can I communicate with himl"
"By letter," replied the fair Cerberus. Such
was my experience in the office of The Edin
burgh Scotsman.
A Health Hint.
Don't call a very large, strong, sinewy man
a prevaricator If you are sure he is a pre
varicator, hire another man to carry the
news to him.
Benzine for Benevolent Societies.
I j St Paul Pioneer Press. i
'"It will explain to you how I am a
necessary adjunct to such a society.
Nothing can be done for the heathen
without money, something which the
society is in need of. Almost every one
hates to go begging for money, no mat
ter what the object. Here is where I
come in. I present myself to the
society and agree for a certain commis
sioncow, if I tell you how much, you
won't give it away ? well, it's 25 per
cent to raise all the money they de
sire,! and no trouble to its members
whatever. The society agrees, and I
go to work. I first consult my list of
?hilanthropists,' as I call them, which
keep in this little memorandum book.
Here, just look at these names ; on the
first page." I looked and read :
Mr. . A good-natured duffer,
pious, has great love for missionary
work. Various sums.
Mr. . Only good for orphan
homes. Gives $100 usually.
Mrs. . Cries over the sufferings
of ! "forlorn and poverty-stricken
widows." Fifty dollars or more. Lots
of "taffy" necessary.
Miss . Good for $25 or so on any
particularly "sad case."
Mr. . Opens his heart for the
heathen, and purse as well.
Mrs. . "Fair, fat and 40." Her
hobby is the alleviation of the sufferings
of the poor. Fifty dollars or so.
Miss . Donates $10 for anything
that gets her name in the papers.
"This list, as you see," the gentleman
continued as I 'returned it to him, "is
quite long, and was compiled by me
after hard work and long experience.
By it I know just the person to strike
for any given scheme.
The 1 lazue of White Ants.
A letter from St. Helena states that
nearly all the storehouses and impor
tant public buildings in Jamestown
(the principal village) are built of iron
and slate, as within the last thirty
years the island has been subjected to
the plague of white ants. These insatia
ble little monsters, who are three or
four times as large as the ordinary
black ant, are able to destroy speedily
any kind of woodwork. They can
honeycomb a big log till it may be
crushed by the pressure of a hand.
And yet they do their work from the
inside, leaving a thin veneer on : the
surface, so that their presence
is often entirely unsuspected. Large
buildings have been brought to ruin by
these minute pests ; and it is no uncom
mon thing to see a chair or sofa sud
denly collapse, and to find that the
ants have eaten everything but the
varnish. They demolish any kind of
wood but teakr and through this they
bore, with the precision and smoothness
of an anger, paths to lea hard material.
The ravages of these pests in St. Helena
supposed to - have been originally
brought there from one of the East
Indan islands have cost hundreds of
thousands of dollars, and, though large
rewards have been offered for the dis
covery of means to exterminate them,
no remedy has yet been found.
Using the Anku" on an Elephant.
Barras' Hunting in India.
The native Hindoo, from want of
thought, keeps up a constant drumming
on the beast's head with the goad, or
"ankus ;" I therefore hoped not to use
it at all. Such an improvement all at
once, however, proved more than the
elephantine mind could grasp. He be
gan really to enjoy himself, going his
own way more than mine, till at last he
marched straight into an immense forest
tree of the banyan species, and com
menced to browse. He seized the
boughs above his head, and tugging
violently at the.n, brought them down
on my devoted skull. This was too
much. I raised the ankus and brought
it down on his head with a blow that
brought blood through the skin. This
had the desired effect, and he at once
bundled off by the road he knew I
wanted to go. He merely took with
him a branch about the size of a small
apple tree to discuss as he went along.
From this moment we were friends, and
I do not think I ever had to use the
hook again so as to bring blood.
The lotus or the Orient. '
Pioneer Press.
The famed lotus of the Orient is al
ways described as being blue in color.
From the wife of an ex-consul, who
spent fifty years of her life in India,
and employed much time in botanizing
and painting specimens. I learned that
the lotus is not only blue, but yellow,
orange, purple, and, indeed, decidedly
variable in color. Our northern variety,
which is clearly native, can claim to be
a genuine lotus.
The Arlsaaa Hay Market.
Western Exchange.
Every morning about 9 o'clock a hay
train arrives at Quijotoa, Arizona, con
sisting of from twenty to thirty Indian
squaws with a regular mule load of
straw on their heads. They go into the
public square and sit by their bundles
until some ona comes to buy. They
then lay in a stock of tobacco and
whisky, with which the bucks will re
gale themselves the next day while the
wives are gathering another load of
nickel hay.
Senator's Autograph.
Chicago Times.
Few are, perhaps, aware, whose at
tention has not been specially called to
it, how large a business is done in auto
graphs in Washington. The pages of
the United States senate consider the
collection of those of senators one of
their perquisites, and frequently receive,
it is said, as much as $10 for carrying an
autograph book through the chamber
while the senate is in session.
They Mhall Lie Bown Together.
There is a museum in the "Winder
building in Washington of war troph
ies, in which is to be 6een one of John
Brown's pikes tenderly intertwined
with the carbine found on Jeff Davis
when he was captured.
A patent medicine manufacturer ad
vertises for bald men who are willing
to have advertisements painted on the
tops of their heads "for a high pecuni
ary recompense."
Servian : When you are guest to the
wolf, see that you have a hound with
you.
THE HASHEESH SMOKERS.
A Couple or Places In New York De
voted to the Kastera Irus.
New York Sun.
"l here is not mucli Hasheesh im
ported regularly, not more than $5,000
, worth a year, but ten times the quan
tity is consumed, a custom house
uroKer asserted. " Where does it go
to 1 can t say of my own knowledge.
but there is always a large demand for
it. 1 have passed it through the cus
toms for doctors, actors, society men,
and even ladies. In point of nation
ality I think the eastern races use it
more largely. That is, they formerly
did. Nowadays it is pretty even all
around."
"I've been selling hasheesh for more
than ten years now," a Bowery drug
gist said. When I began I sold about
two pots a month ; I now sell a nun'
dred. I have all sorts of customers,
Chinamen, Malays, French, Italians
and Americans. Germans seldom call
for it. One of my best customers is a
well-known actress; she usually buys
two l ots a month. What does it look
bike? Here's some common stuff,"
displaying a small china jar which con
tained a heavy blackish brown paste.
"This is worth $1 a pot. This is first
class," showing a pot of greenish-brown
rtsin, with a slight half-pleasant odor,
and of about the consistency of opium.
"This is worth $3 a pot, and it is five
times as strong as the other.
"How is hasheesh used ?"
"The same as opium. Some smoke
it, others eat it in pills, while others
dissolve it in strong wine and drink it
like a punch. The use of it in liquid
form is, however, very rare. Orientals
prefer smoking it, while the western
users of the drug take it solid. Hasheesh
is gathered from the Indian hemp, and
it contains almost always a very small
percentage of cannabin, the alkaloid of
the plant. I don't believe that canna
bin i the sole essential principal of
hasheesh. It acts similarly, but it has
unpleasant consequences, which hash
eesh never has. It is used a good
deal by some as a substitute. Here is
a prescription which I have filled a
dozen times ia the past three months.
The chief ingredient is cannabis, and
the purchaser is in reality no patient,
but a confirmed hasheesh eater, what's
called hx the east a haschaschin. She
is a lady living in the neighborhood."
"Are there any hasheesh houses
here.1'
"Only two that I know of one in
Lexington avenue, kept by an Ameri
can, and one in Fell street, kept by a
Chinaman. Both do a good business,
and they enjoy the advantage of being
safe from the police, which the opium
joints do not."
The reporter experiencedno difficulty
in entering both places referred to by
the druggist. At the Lexington
avenue house a colored waiter answered
the bell and ushered the caller into a
small but neat reception-room. The
proprietor, a tall, slender and emaciated
man, was the manager of an opium d n
some years ago. He led the way to
the second story, where the windows
were thoroughly closed and the day
light excluded. Six small colored lamps
diffused a faint light through a thick
smoke that filled the two rooms. The
carpets, walls, and furniture were sub
due!, but warm and pleasant in color.
Engravings and simple but pretty chro
mos, a few articles of bric-a-brac, and a
bust or two gave the interior a cosy and
attractive appearance. A dozen large
easy chairs and fifteen low and roomy
lounges were the chief articles of furni
ture, easily accommodating the twenty
haschaschins present. Of these, six
were women ; all were well dressed and
seemingly of good.social position. Half
were asleep, or dozing, a few were be
ginning to come under the influence,
while the rest were beginning the dissi
pation. The proprietor asked in what
style the reporter would take the drug,
and, on being appealed to, recommended
the nargile.
This turned out to be a simple modi
fication of the Turkish article. A hand
some gla-s vase filled with water, a
long light tube with an amber mouth
piece, and a brazier a metallic cup of
the size and shape of an egg were
furnished. In the interior of the brazier
were two brass grates, and from the
bottom ran a tube down into the water
of the ase. A piece of hasheesh as
largo as an acorn was placed on the
upper grate, and on it was laid a small
mass of glowing charcoal. The brazier
was then closed with a perforated cap,
and the reporter invited to begin. The
first inhalation filled the upper part of
the nargile with a thick blue vapor;
the second filled the mouth and lungs
with a cool, uroinatio smoke that in
flavor seemed half way between opium
and Latakia tobacco. The smoke
lasted about six minutes. The only
sensation it produced was about the
same as that an old smoker experiences
with a Beina Victoria a feeling of
mild satisfaction and content. There
were none of the grotesque or beautiful
visions that De Musset and Gautier
have described. A second pipe pro-,
duced a headache, and the scribe pro
fes ed himself more than satisfied.
The Tell street place is a vivid con
trast to the luxurious establishment in
Lexington avenue. The room is in the
third story of a tumble-down tenement.
Low ceiling, dirty floor and walls, win
dows covered and plastered over with
paper and rags, greasy bunks and grimy
Chinese couches, a foul atmosphere,
and all the other indications of Chinese
vice and squalor were there. The room,
not larger than 20x25, contained thirty
one inmates. Seven were Mongols, eight
women who had lost all womanhood
vears before, and the rest a variegated
assortment of loafers, tramps and
drunkards. A s the reporter entered a
haschaschin was receiving from the pro
prietor his ration of the drug. It was
the cheap kind shown by the drnggist,
and was as large as a hickory nut.
Itogus Hotter ftent.
Chicago Herald.
Oleomargarine is preferred to butter
by yachtsman who cruise in southern
waters, because it keeps sweet and
fresh, while butter gets rancid.
Mot. L. Saley: There are not the
chances of money-making in staid old
Boston that there are in rushing Chi
cago ; one reason being that Boston is
like an old man's frame settled.
Thirteen millions from Ounpswder.
Philadelphia Record.
Mr. Lammot Dupont, who was killed
by the explosion at Thompson's Point;
is said to have been worth $13, 000,000.
He had a controlling interest in the man
ufacture of nearly all the high explosives
that were made in the United States
and Canada east of the Bocky moun
tains. Ten million pounds of these
materials were consumed in the country
in 1882, the Bepauno company's works
at Thompsons Foint producing one-
third of this amount. He is credited
with having organized a combination of
all - the makers of high explosives.
When negotiating with the Panama
Canal company for the powder to be
used in that work he guaranteed to sup
ply twelve tons of Atlas powder daily
if that amount were needed.
Cle cf tho most darinar achusvemen Un
recorded in the history of the present '
l V - A I .
century is one oi woicu ue was iu tuu-
tral figure. During the Crimean war
tbe Itussian covernment ran out ox
powder, and the explosive was required
to continue the defense ox KeDastopoi.
A cargo was purchased from the Du
ponts in this country and was placed in
in a steamship lying on Dammore.
The British had frigates posted in wait
ing outside the Chesapeake. Alter
seven feints the watchers were eluded
and a chase began across the Atlantic,
through Gibraltar, and up the Medi
terranean sea. With remarkably good
fortune the vessel passed through the
Bosporus and into the Black
sea unchecked; but wnen near
ing the place of contention the
Lnglish war-ships hailed the stranger.
loung Dupont was at the helm himself.
and insisted that the vessel proceed, not
heeding the signals from the war-ships.
Two broadsides were poured into the
vessel, but she was able to steam ahead
and steer through the rocks, and was
beached inside the Russian lines. This
daring adventurer saved the cargo for
which tbe Russian government paid the
sum of $3,000,000.
Throughout the civil war the family
rendered distinguished services to the
government, and at the very beginning
of the rebellion Mr. Lammot Dupont
was placed in a position by which,
through his energy and genius, the
country was supplied with the means of
defense for the ensuing conflict.
Stones In the Mondan.
American HeLrew.
The Soudan is none other than the
Cush of the Bible, which the Septnagint
and tbe Vulgate render Ethiopia. When
Moses had arrived at man's estate Egypt
was invaded by an Ethiopian army,
which successfully laid waste the coun
try as far as Memphis. In their de
spair the Egyptians prayed to their,
oracles for aid, and the advice they re
ceived was that they - should offer
the leadership of their armies to
Moses, the Hebrew." This they did.
The great difficulty of the campaign
was to traverse the roads which led to
the Ethiopian camp, in consequence of
their being infested with dangerous ser
pents. The wily Israelite provided his
advance guard with a number of ibes in
baskets and instructed the soldiers to
let the birds loose on the serpents. By
this ingenious expedient the roads were
speedily cleared and Moses was enabled
to surprise the Ethiopians and defeat
them with great slaughter.
Carrvincr the war into JUeroe itseix.
Moses then laid siege to the capital,.
Saba. The obstinate resistance onered
by the defenders prolonged the siege
for some time, but eventually the city
was delivered up by Thar bis, the.
daughter of the Ethiopian king, who
had watched Moses from a distance,
and from admiring his valor had fallen
in love with him. The story ends
happily wit!, the marriage of Moses and
Tharbis.
Signs ot the Vendetta.
Paris Figaro.
The vendetta still survives in Naples,
bat it is curious that warning of it is
never given in words. The language
of signs, which every Neapolitan of the
lower classes knows, is generally used,
and the gesture most commonly em
ployed is made by pressing the thumb
and forefinger together in such a way
as to leave a small narrow space be-
trrxrv vIaivi wTki9 id am vtwsa 4
ify the hole the challenger hopes to
make in his adversary's body. In Na
ples, too, men still bite their thumbs,
as they did in the days of Sampson and
Gregory; and this in not an expression
of contempt, but a declaration of war.
Turned the Xaush.
Nashville American.
There was an amusing occurrence on
the corner of Cherry and Church streets
which was witnessed by passers by. A
printer, nicnamed "Little Breeches,"
from his diminutive size, met a colored
man. of Jack Falstaff order. The
former began laughing at the latter,
when the huge proportioned colored
individual, Baid: "Look-a-heah, white
man, don't you make fan ob de work
ob de Almighty. He done finished me,
but He stopped on you before He was
half done."
Washington Not an Angler.
Philadelphia Call
Jones What an enthusiastic old
angler George Washington, v-as !
Smith Washington 1 Why he wai
not a fisherman.
Jones Indeed he was a great lover
of Ihe sport. He wrote a book about it.
Smith Are you not thinking ox
Izaak Walton ?
Jones Izaak Walton! Why that's a
act; so I was. It was not Washington,
of course. He was not an angler.
Smith No, indeed : Washington
could not tell a lie.
On a Oeath-Hpree.
Cor. N. O. Times-Democrat
I saw a young man to-day who had
$2,000 to spend, and only three months
for the job. How was that ? Why, he
has consumption, and tho doctors as
sure him that ho will die about the 1st
of next July. He is a rounder, and has
figured up liis finances so as to exactly
eave enough to bury lum. Ihe rest he
will spend in riotous pleasures. I read
of such a case, and didn't believe it ;
but this one is a fact, and isn t it horri
ble to think of a death-spreo ?
t
George William Curtis is reported
to have said that there is no important
iterary project afoot either in Europe
or Amenca.