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About The Oregon scout. (Union, Union County, Or.) 188?-1918 | View Entire Issue (March 12, 1891)
PERPETUAL YOUTH. lUrat& then? Is a fount In flower I.nnd Vo Leon round It where Old Ape nwny Throws weary mind mid heart, and fresh as day gpriugs from the dark and joint Aurora'shand: Xhht tnliv, lranfonned by koiiio bkllled trouverc'n wand Trom the old myth in a (ireok poet's lay, Ttesls on no truth. Chance bodies as Tlmo mny, Soul do not change, though heavy lw his lmiid. Who of n need this fount? Whnt soul Is old! Our mere, musks ago, mid xtilluo grow uioro young, For In our winter ire tnlk most of spring; Anil ns wo near, slow tottering, Uod's safe fold, Youth's loved ones wither nearer though among Tlio seeming dead, youth's rours more clear they rIiir. JInurico Francis n;aii In Tho Centui7. A 1ANTIIKK JIUiXT. There Is still an occasional panther seen, "hut more frequently heard without bclntj seen, prowling about the lumber camps of the Susquehanna basin, and making its presence apparent by raids on sheep and even rattle anion:; the sparsely buttled lann localities of Sullivan and adjacent -counties. Tho advance of civilization has not been bo rapid among these dense pine aind hemlock wildernesses to have alone -caused the panther to abandon its haunts in those forests, for there are still Innc ccsslblo jungles tmtl wild, rocky retreats, well loved by this boldest and fiercest of the great cat family, where it might liido itself with almost, If not quite ns much security as It did in earlier years; but civilization was aided by a hand of invet erate and cunning woodsmen who passed their lives almost solely in carrying on an offensive warfare against the panther, fol lowing it even to Its remotest and most ilaogoriitis haunts, and engaging it there Jfearlossly, and with tactics which they liad reduced to nn exact science. It was tho perpetual and unrelenting crusade of this baud of woodsmen that gradually re flticeil tho once numerous race of panthers J n these woods to a condition of almost -absolute extinction, so that today, with 'conditions favorable not only to Its exlsl 'tince, but to its increase, it is only at rare Intervals that the blood curdling cry of this once monarch of the, woods is heard iimong Its old haunts, and, rarer still, that the dreaded possessor of tho voice is :seen. Capt. llrown was probably tho most 'famous ot the old time panther slayers. Jle, was an early settler at. the Forks of the, loyalsoek creek, near what is now the mountain village of Forksvllle, Sitlll--vau county, where lie put up a cabin and sjnmt his time in hunting. He was the panther scourge of a wide region, and his eabin was the llrst placu that was visited liy the scl tiers thereabouts when a panther 3)iid bereft some one of them of a much treasured sheep or cow, tho visit being to beg Capt. Hrown to como and rid their particular locality of tho innniiid Ing beast. Among the hundreds of tales I daring and persistence manifested by the great pioneer hunter one is recounted with especial pride by descendants of his. Among the llrst to seek the then un "knoun and unbroken region about, the forks of the LuynNnck was a settler named Samuel lingers. One morning Jtogers appeared in great trepidation at Oipt. Hrown's cabin, Just as that hunter was riggh'.g himself up for a day's tramp among tho panther haunts, lingers said that a big panther had "broken into Ills sheepfold the night he tore and had carried oil' his most highly prized ram. lingers was a good panther .hunter himself, but he implored llrown to accompany him In the chase. It was one of Hrown's eccentricities that he '.never limited in company with anybody, nnd ho refused to go with lingers. Hut lie said: "Now, you go home, lingers, and keep cool 1 won't l'ii with you after that big panther, but I'll go out myself and kill it .for you, and hope I'll have a chance to 4tet It's mate, too." That was satisfactory to Hogers, and U;ipt. Hrown took his .un and went at once to the woods on the Hats at the forks of the creek. It was lale In tho fall, and there was a light snow on the ground. At the edge if the creek ho Htruek tho fresh track of 41 panther in the snow. From the un usual nlze of tho footprints and drops of "blood here and there along tho trail, the "blood having come from some animal the pnntlu.'r had secured and was carrying aiway, llrown knew ho had located the ulg sheep stonier that had been in Settlor jUogors' fold. It is tho habit of panthers, like all of the oat family, to bury what Is left, from feast, to be exhumed and eaten on omo liiture occasion. Hrowu knew that by following the trail, If he did it over take, tho panther Itself, lie would come to thn wpot where it had buried the remains of tho sheep, and that by waiting near tliut spot he would be sure to get a nhot not only at the one panther, hut more than likely at Its mate, which tho former would fetch along to to join in devouring tho mutton. The 3iniiler followed the trail for t long dis tance, and dually, on the edgenif a dense .lanivl thicket, found where tho panther had burled the sheep. Heforo preparing liimsolf to hide for the coming of his game .he Instinctively glanced up among the lops of the tall trees bordering the Kwainp, and discovered the panther, his lingo length stretched along a limb near tho top of one of tho trees, and Ids eyes Used on tho hunter below. Hrowu raised hi rllle to lire, but tho agilo animal sprang to another live top, and no swift "were his movements that he escaped front 1 tho sight of the hunter, who could only I follow the hue of the great beast's retreat I ly the Hwn)lng of tho tree tops as tho panther leaped from one to another. Tho I co u 1X5 the panther took was toward j Doubling Hun, and Hrowu made his way i iw rapidly us ho could through tho Inter- Telling thicket, and when he reached tho i xua ho found thai tho panther had como , down from the trees, and had taken n I -course through the snow toward 1-owls lake, now tho mountain summer resort of Jingle's Mere. The tireless hunter followed tho trail through tho dense forest, and it led hlin wtralght- to tho hike, a distance of live miles, and around the southern shoro for two miles more, when Hrown discovered lib game drinking from tho lake. Tho present Bite of the Eagle's Merobtouinbont landing is pointed out as the Hot where thts great juinthel'ht(Knlalid received Capt. Jlrown's llrst bullet. Tho shot did not disable tho panther, and it sprang Into tho laurels and ugiiiu d I sap lira red, leaving tlichoejiof Its yells reverberating iiIkiiiI tho rocky shores of tlm lake. Tho course of tho pant her lay toward tho outlet of tho lake, ami Capt. Hrown followed tlirouuli tho dense growth of laurels. "When lie anno to tho outlet ho discovered tho panther half burled in tho soft mud at ! the edge ui the water, it was treating 'the wound It had received, as Is the in jttlnctof wild animals of its kind. Tho hunter did not wait for the panther to nJoy the benefit ot the healing mud, but sent another bullet after his first. Again the tenacious beast sprang Into the thicket, but Capt. Hrown V quick eye saw that his last shot had been an effective one, and he still followed the trail, now marked by blood. From tho direction the wounded animal took the skilled woodsman knew that It was making for the rocky recesses fur. her down the course of the outlet, at a spot now famous as the Rainbow falls. There the creek Hows through a deep ravine, and the races of the rocks are cut and seamed by fissures and deep ravines. Tho hunter, now sure of his trophy, followed more leisurely than he had, and when he came to the head or top of the falls, where a perpendicular rock towers nearly fifty feet above the stream, at its baso being a roomy but dark cavern, ho saw the enormous body of the panther stretched on the ground at the mouth of the cave. Hrown clambered along tho rocks which hugged the water so closely that passage was difllcult anil dangerous, and at last readied the Hat rock which covers a space of several feet between the cave and the water's (dge. The ways of panthers were well known to the hunter, as he had learned them by rougli experi ence; but he was so certain that tills great beast that lay stretched at the mouth of Its den had died in its effort to reach that retreat that he laid down his gun, and taking his knife from Its sheath advanced nprn tho prostrate beast to claim tho mag nlllcent skin as his reward for tho long chase, lie readied the side of the panther, and was about to bend down and com mence Htrlpping it of Its skin, when the great beast sprang to its feet as quick as lightning, and with a yell that almost deafened the surprised hunter, threw itself iinon him. The force of the shock threw Hrown several feet away, off of the rock. It was not only a blow that the panther gave him, hut as the infuriated animal struck it buried its long claws In the hunter's thick buckskin shirt and ripped It from him from neck to waist. Hrowu still retained his knife in his grasp and struggled to quickly regain his feet. He rose to his knees, and as ho did so the crouching pan ther leaped toward him. Quick as a Hash tlio wary hunter threw himself on his back on the ground. Hut for that the panther, Hying through the air with won derful velocity, would have struck him and carried him along in the flight. As it was, tho panther passed over hiiiii Kapldly as the panther's leap carried it through tho air, Hrown's eyo and hand were quicker still. Tho hunter's keen, long hlailed knife, thrust upward as the huge body of tho panther was passing over him as he lay, was plunged almost to the hilt in the animal. Tliu thrust was between the fore legs, but tho knife was not withdrawn, and Its keen edge, buried in the panther's flesh, passed the entire length of the great animal's body, and tho panther fell dead and disemboweled ilftcen feet beyond the spot where Hrown lay covered with blood that had poured upon him from the frightful wounds of his now vanquished foe. The hunter Jumped to his feet, and was eyeing with grim satisfaction the com pleteness, of his work, when a cry, of which he at once knew t lie signillcance, echoed among the rocks. Ho sprang to where his gnu lay, and, seizing it, looked in the direction of the cry. There, crouch ing on the summit of Cavern Hock, her eyes glaring and her long tail swaying In that deliberate, snake like movement that denotes the fury of the cat and its kind, was the male of the great panther that had Just met his death. The mate plainly comprehended the situation, and did not tarry in her cllorts for vengeance. With a frightful yell she launched herself from tho rocky peak In a furious leap for tho hunter, who stood near the water's edge. His bullet met the vengeful panther In midair and passed through her heart. The Impetus of her leap carried her to the spot where she had intended to fall upon the hunter and bury her fangs in his throat, but she fell dead at tho water's edge, where her enemy had tit owl. Hrown skinned the two panthers and started back for his cabin. Tho course he took led him to the spot where the big panther had burled Samuel liodgers' sheep that morning. As lie iieared it lie heard the growling and snarling made by panthers Willie devouring their food. Ho approached cautiously, and peeied through tho bushes. A male and female panther were busily engaged in making a meal oil t ho sheep. Hrown shot one of the pan thers dead as It ate. Its mate sprang Into the very tree in which tho-hunter had (lis. covered the big one earlier in tho day. It paused on a brunch and looked hack at its dead male. As it gazed Hrown re loaded his rllle. The panther in the tree presented a favorable mark. Hrown fired, and the panther fell from limb to limb, clutching at each in Us death struggles, and at last tumbled to the ground and, died. New York Sun. How It (lot Out. When the nominations of Hobertson and Hurt to succeed Arthur and Cornell as collector of customs and naval ollleerat the port of Now York were pending in tho senate there was a great deal of excite ment, and every newspaper correspondent In Washington was anxious to get tho exact vote by which the nominations were rejected. A certain correspondent, mak ing up an "aye and no list" of his own by guess work, took It to the room of a very distinguished senator, and, laying it before him, asked how nearly correct it was. Tho senator looked over tho list and said: "You have made a great many mis takes. I took the vote on a tally sheet myself, which I have somewhere here in my pocket, but of course I cannot glvo it to you." Taking the slip from ids pocket ho com pared tho two carefully. Thou he put the bogus list in his pocket and, as If by mis take, handed tho correspondent his own correct one. The next morning at least ouo paper published an accurate roll call, showing how each senator voted; and tho senator, of course, was not to bo blamed for letting the information jt out, Chicago Times. An ltiilei'pi'UIni; l'ediller. There Is another genius In the peddling lino among down town olllces: This smooth faced peddler will one day olTor a lino of toilet soaps ind perfumery, The following day he olTers publications and stationery. At another tlmo ho may bo seen with an assortment of rat traps, whisk brooms and miscellaneous hard ware. Clothing Is another lino of tradu in this man's list. New York Tribune. A I.lkely Tollim' fill.-. 'Ht.w'H Jim Hullanl gettln' our in quired a p.'usxonger, poking his head out of a car window as the train stopped at a small btatlou In Nebraska. "Jim wan n likely feller, an. 1 told him when ho Ktarted west that ho was hound to rise, lie was always way up Imok east." "Same here, btninger," replied u oltl ma, "Jim was hanged lust week for stcalln' ho." l'hillp 11. Wflch In The Lpocu. , THE CATTLE INDUSTRY. PAST AND PRESENT METHODS OF THE IRREPRESSIBLE COWBOY. "Trxun Run" imhI "UoiiiiiI Up" Sttvr IlrliiK Kiijildly N:irro-il lluviii Into IIitniH Itcf'iilli-ctlons oT Hie (inoil Old Time l,ii . of a Hunt Winter. The progress and success of the cattle industry in the west has been marvelous For many years the business was con i ducted almost, entirely by Individuals, i and so v Idened and prospered that in a j few years tliu cattle kings were almost I as numerous and opulent us the famous "bonanza kings." They had a personal I supervision over their range and stock, and as the circle of their dominion I broadened the "round up" and the line I riders found here and there fields of J all the game animals wnlch in former times swarmed over the country. Indian tradition told them that away back in the forties a certain winter had left no living creature for spring to make giad with her balmy air and green grass. So the Idea was born to them that It would be well to take in partners while the business was yet in its glory. So friends in the east were written to concerning tho profits and small costs of cattle raising. Individuals purchased half, third or fourth interests in the ranges or herds, as tho case might be, and then came about the formation of syndicates and companies. For several years the increase was simply immense, and tho trail from Texas became one con tinuous stream of animal life, emptying itself upon tlio plains of Wyoming, Montana and Dakota. i Tho profits were large. F.ach succes sive "beef round up" brought to the east ern market thousands of head of cattle, comparing favorably with the "pampered corn fed" stock of Nebraska and Illinois. Newspaper writers set forth the business in the most glowing colors; magazines gave facts and ligures with elaborate care; money flowed In from the great commer cial centers; new companies were formed every day, and tlio festive cowboy grew apace and flourished his six shooter with impunity, while his employers sat by their warm fires in ease. Did not the cowboys look after their interests on the stormy rangef So they must not bo curbed, even it they did sometimes make tilings lively In theso little western towns. In those days the owners of small herds had no rights these reckless fellows were bound to respect. A regularly recorded brand was the only thing that insured anything like safety to the Hocks. Indeed, it was no unusual thing to see during the spring round up a half dozen men, mounted on bronchos, rido up ton farmer's gate, open it and gallop pell moll across the pasture mid "round up" his whole herd of tame cows. If there was any doubt in their minds about the brand on a creature the lassoes were taken lro'ii their places on the saddle, there were a few dextrous flings of the rope In tho air and then the animal was si retched upon the ground. Maybe it, was the children's pet heifer, but for fear of hurting her the hot iron in the timid hand had pressed too lightly, and and ,'iere was no mark on the hide. So she was a "maverick," and regardless of threats and persuasions, she was driven away to starve to death the next winter on a bare range. Hut the day of retribution was coming. The spring of 1S8(J opened up clear and bright, with but little rain to call forth tint grass from the whole earth. During the whole .summer there was a terrible drought, and the hot winds swept over the parched plains, shriveling up and kill ing all sorts of vegetation. Tho grass was as dry and brown in June as If tho frosts of autumn had already come and locked up a goodly supply of nourishment in the dead looking blades for hungry cat tle during tlu long winter mouths. Hut tho old frontier men knew that there were too many cattle on the range, and that, even if the grass was good enough to keep them during tlio summer and fall, a great many must die in the cold storms ot winter, in September ami October there was a larger drive from the south than ever before. Cold weather set In early in November, and continued until fiOO.OOl) cattle had perished from starva tion. In every little gulch might have been seen cattle staggering from weak ness as they vainly tried to nibble tho short grass to prolong their tortured ex istence a few hours longer. Hut at last they lay down in tho snow, and soon the stupor came on which took their value from the cattlemen's pockets. Now, however, the order of things has changed, and it is the man of small herds who has the advantage. It is acknowl edged by men who ought to know that in tlio future the only way to raise cattle successfully will bo to feed and shelter llieni well lu winter, and either close herd or past mo them during tho warm seasons. The ranges are fast becoming settled by iiidusfilous men, and (lie land which a few years since formed part of valuable ranges now produces good crops of wheat, oats and corn. In regard to this, a cattle man well known throughout the west said to your correspondent a few days since: "The day of tho 'round up' is practically over; from this time on we will either have to watch our eattlo or lose 'out." Another prominent member of the stock association said: "Yes, it will not he many years before large herds will bo a thing of the past, line or two years will put uu cud to the round up. and the business will bo In the hands of local men." On being told that your correspondent had questioned ouo man about the loss last winter, he laughed and voluntarily said; "Well, I don't know that 1 blame any ono Interested in the matter for not wanting to talk about it, but there is no use In trying to keep it secret any longer. Seventy-live Hr cent, of all tho eattlo Is somewhere near It, though HO may be nearer. Ouo linn uiado a drive of !2(,000 In the fall, and in the sprini found a scarce l,r00; another ot 5. OUO uuni boml but oOU after the 'round up,' Tlio greatest loss was in cows that had been, or were, sucking calves. The calf 'round up' was very small, because the cows wore nearly all dead. No, it wouldn't do any good to provide a little shelter for them. It a creature once gets into an old shuck during a storm it will stay there until tho elements are at jvace or it starves to death. Anyway, cattle are strange annuals. Where a horse will paw away two feot of snow, and when chilly, take a little run by way of exercise, a cow will get discouraged and stay in tho place without food or water until she dliw. Sun Dance (Wy. T.) Cor. Chicago Times. ITtllUIni; ik Wiitrh Doer, An inhabitant ot China, Mc, has boon utilizing his valuable Newfoundland watch dog by carding and sniunlug his ileoeo. It made four skeins of jet black yarn, weighing two ikiuikU nnd a quar ter, ami spun as easily and well as sheep's wool. Hoaton Hudget. THE BLOOMER" COSTUME. . Kirn. Itloonier pprfnrrn Hint Mip I Not tlm Inventor of It tin l!ltory. "I have tried often to correct that Im pression," said Mrs. D. C. Ulooiner rc- i cently to a reporter.1 "I did not invent 1 the 'Hlooincr' costume, nor was I the llrst ! one to wear It. I am quite willing that tho correction should be made, for I do not wish to be remembered only as the woman who invented a new stylo of dress. "I did not even name It. Mrs. Eliza beth Miller, a daughter of Gerritt Smith, was the first lady who wore it. She came dressed in one of those costumes from ! l'cterboro, N. ., to Seneca Falls, where ! I was living, and where Mrs. Elizabeth ; Cady Stanton lived. Where Mrs. -Miller I got the idea I do not know, but she is en titled to what credit there is for putting the dress Into circulation, as It were, and It should be named for her if for anybody, i It's hardly fair to Mrs. Miller to take tlio credit from her. A few days after Mrs. Miller's appearance in short skirt and I trousers, Mrs. Stanton had a similar cos I tunio made, and she wore it. Then I adopted the style. Mrs. Stanton did not I wear hers a great while possibly not ! more than two years; but I wore mine as long as the public talked about it and me. , I did not name the dress. The press did j that. I wore the costume for six years i for two years in Council Hind's and, if I ! had not retired to private life might ho j wearing it yet. It is a very comfortable and sensible dress. "Some time, possibly a month, before Mrs. Miller made her appearance in Seneca Falls in the costume, a writer, whose Identity I never did discover, advo cated in the columns of one of the papers of Seneca Falls a reform in woman's dress. 1 wnseilitinga paper there at that time and took up the suggestion in a Hip pant way, and treated the subject rather playfully and facetiously. The unknown writer of tho other paper answered me, and I answered again. So when Mrs. Miller canto in the short skirt and trousers, and after Mrs. Stanton and myself hail adopted the garb, the papers of the coun try round about tried to make fun of us, and called us 'Hlootnerites' and 'Hlooni ers.' and soon. Hence the name, I sup pose. Lucy Stone wore the dress for a while, but gave it, up because she thought it attracted attention away from the sub jects temperance and woman's rights upon which she was lecturing. I wore my costume and lectured in It in all my tour of the cities of tlio north and west, and I was tho llrst to make such a lectur ing tour in those cities. I was the first woman who wore tliu costume in public in Chicago. "Of course, wherever I went the dress attracted a great deal of attention. It was a curiosity, and a great many people came to tho lectures as much to see it as to hear what a woman had to say. Women lecturers were quite a curiosity, too, in those days. 1 used to notice that after I had lluishcd my talk, whether on women's rights or on temperance, a great many people, women especially, would remain and come upon the platform, os tensibly to see me, but really to inspeut tlio dress." Mrs. Hloomer showed the reporter n cut representing herself in her younger days, attired in one of her noted costumes. A short skirt reaching to the knees, baggy. very baggy trousers gathered and frilled at the ankle; a straight brimmed sailor hat, set well back upon the head, made up the attire from a masculine point of view. Female observation might have disclosed that the skirt, and waist were of one piece, and that the sleeves of the waist were full and slashed, and gathered and frilled at the wrists. Closescriitiny and a reversal of the picture might possibly have led to the discoxery that a bustle was not part of the attire. This point, however, can be left to those ladies who have been accustomed to calistlienic exercises and surf bathing. Omaha Herald. Sale of I'ltteiit MtMllrines. Proprietary medicines spring up by the dozen every day, but you seldom hear of any outside those manufactured in your own section of the country. Every prepar ation is born under a lucky or unlucky star, ns they seem to succeed or perish regardless of tho energy or money pos sessed by tho men who are interested in pushing their sale. None succeed without advertising, although millions have been spent in pulling medicines that never sold tlio original stock shipped to wholesale druggists. It is a game of chance where you cannot estimate the risk. Kesults cut very little figure with the salesmen, for if the stutr will sell it will go oir their hands with scarcely an effort, because their best customers are the chronic in valids, who are thicker than flies around a molasses cake. Nevertheless, I would prefer to take a new medicine out on the road than handle any of the old ones which have been ad vertised from theclilfs of the I'aci ic coast to tlio rocky banks of Labrador. Ameri cans nro oxperinientullvo, and will buy a new nostrum without any recommenda tion, for the simple reason that they have heard nothing against it. St. Louis leads the country m sales of quinine, malarial specific and bilious antidotes, and some of the local manufacturers will clear millions from two articles that originated here within tlio last two years, but which aro already beginning to elicit notice. George Haskell. Results nf OwtrtriilnliiKt There is ono aspect of the Sullivan Mitchell light, which is so far devoid of brutality as to be of public interest; tills is, that a man seemingly in superb physi cal condition may, in reality, be so far overtrained, as it is termed, as to have been deprived of his staying powers. Nature supplies to us certain quantities of adlposo tissue, which may seem to tlio critical eyo of one who looks only at the outside to be an incumbrance, which should be reduced by careful training; hut it may turn out that in thus bringing the human organism down to a mass of bone and muscle the trainer will deprive tho body of the food that it needs to make good the waste of physical energy. A man thus prepared may be well tltted for n spurt, but entirely unable to keep up under long continued physical exertion. Huston Herald. Children' t?liilcr:uririiti. For undergarments, tho best houses show a little woolen knitted petti coat, which lms a waist like a corset cover, and this buttons closely around tho body, and is being knitted very elastic and warm. Those w ho do not care for the petticoat can llnd little knitted chemise, which aro long and double thickness oxer the stomach and alMlomen, and every child hould wear those at all seasons ot the year. Elastic suspenders for the stookiuir whould aUo he worn in stead of fastening them by any other means. Shoes for small children have no heels, though they have what they call spring heels, which do no injury to the Under bouos and muscles. Olive Ilnrpor. STUXG BY A SCOKPiON. HOW THE DEADLY INSECT MAKES ITS WAY NORTHWARD. A cnrrl IliirUry In a Now York I'rult Store Tliu Old DrncKlnt's ItcniiMly Hie "Mule Killer's" llricrl jit Ion or t lie. scor pion I'liiully. A reporter was hurrying down Barclay street a few days ago, eonsciotu that he had but a few minutes in which to catch the Hoboken ferryboat, when he suddenly stopped at a dark opening, which led into a still darker basement. Hunches of ba nanas hung to the lintel and were fes tooned up the jambs of the doorway, while bursting crates of golden oranges were piled on the downward leading steps. It was an agonizing yell, which seemed to hint of mii.derand sudden ue.Hh, as ft burst from the recesses of this dingy look ing cavern that had arrested his steps, lie had not long to wait for an explana Hon. L'p the steps, at the risk of overturn ing the piled up boxes of fruit which ob structed the passage, bounded a coal black negro, whose eyes were bulging out of his head with mingled fright and pain, ami ns he ran he vigorouslj shook one of his immense hands, which the reporter could see was growing every instant still larger. "Fo' de lawd," he blubbered, "1'se a dead niggali, suah. 1'se stung by a rat tler, I is." To a dabbler in natural his tory tho opportunity was not to be missed, even at the expense of losing half a dozen Hoboken ferry boats, and Uie reporter followed the negro as he bolted into a drugstore nearby. He found the man exhibiting Ids wounded paw to nn un sympathetic druggist, who seemed, how ever, to know exactly what to do under the circumstances, while the patient kept up a running commentary of ejaculations bearing on the agony he was suffering. "Hit's a ter'ble bite, suah. Hit aches me 'way up to dat ar' shoulder. Haider's bite's poison, aint's it, salif" "That's no rattler." snorted the druggist. "Came out of a bunch of bananas, you say? Well, 1 guess it was a scorpion." "No sail, hit came from among deni or'nge boxes." "Then it must have been a spider or a mule killer," said the druggist. Hy this time he had prepared a doe which he gave the terrilled darkey to swallow, and then, with a strong smelling lotion, he bathed the alllictcd member. At this point the reporter took a hand in the conversation. "Is tlmt whisky you gave li I nt to drink?" he asked. "No, young man." said the old drug gist. "It's ammonia, and worth a quart of iw'iiskv in the case of a spider or scor pion bile." "Then a mule killer is a scorpion?" "No, sir, it, is not a scorpion." "Ah, then" witli brilliant ratiocina tion "it's a spider." "Wrong again," said the druggist. "It isn't a spider."' "Then what on earth is it?" "It's just between the two," said the druggist, and the darky having subsided into a condition of mute despair, varied by an occasional moan of lingering agony, and the store being otherwise deserted, the druggist, became quite conversational. He was an old man witli dean shaven face, straggling gray hair ami keen eyes, which peered at one over the tops of his old fashioned spectacles. This was by no means the llrst ca-e of a poisonous bile lie had treated, he said, since ho had settled in the neighborhood. All around him were tho establishments of dealers in all sorts of tropical fruits, and hidden in bunches of bananas, under heaps of coco'i nuts or in crates of fruit, were often to be found scorpions and spiders of all sorts and sizes. Occasionally the men handling the fruit get bitten, but more often the insects are in a semi-torpid state and are killed before they get a chance to do any damage. "Many years ago," continued the drug gist, "I was a member of a surveying party, for, among other professions I have followed, Is that of a surveyor, and found myself helping to lay out one of the tirst railroads ever run through Florida. We were at work during the cold season, when one evening, after a hard day's work, I rode into camp on my mule, and, picking up a blanket which was lying across a log, I buckled it around my beast's body to prevent it catching cold. Hardly had I done so when the mule be gan to indulge in a gymnastic perform iince which would have put even an army limle to the blush. I paid no attention at llrst beyond passing a few objugatory re marks, but finally, as he kept up his kicking and plunging. I determined to take oil' the blanket ami see if a branch of thorny inunora might not have got en tangled in it and account for his restless ness. Instead of a thorn I found a brown creature about three indies long hanging on for dear life to the mule's back. One of tho men who know the country rather better than I said it was a mule killer, and sure enough, inside of two hours Mr. Mulo was as dead as the proverbial her rinf . As we sat round the camp lire that night many were the stories told of the havoc wrought by this insignificant look ing pest. Not only mules but valuable horses have fallen victims by tho score to tills insect, which is variously known as the scrunciier, devil's bull driver and whip scorpion." Tho scientille description of the scor pion family states that they have an elongated body, which, like that of all members of that family, is divided into segments, the last six of which, in the case of the scorpion, are of equal size. The tail is flexible and ends in a sting. Tho chelieorn, or fangs, are short, and end in a pineer like appendage, while the palpi, or jaw appendages, are long and also end in a forceps. Respiration is ef fected by means of two pairs of pulmo nary sacks, which communicate with tlio air through four openings. A curious thing to bo noticed about the whip scorpion is that the poisonous fangs above referred to take the plt.ee of the harmless feelers or aiitenniu of beetles, butterflies, moths and most of tho Crus tacea, such as lobsters and shrimps. A cognato change is remarked in spiders, lu whom tho anteuiim are replaced by poison ous jaws. The anterior pair of the legs of the whip scorpion are also peculiar. They are much thinner than the others, and the feet are many jointed, so ns to Imj capable of being used as llcxihlc organs of touch, so that this ugly looking boast has turned his feelers into mLsoiious jaws and his legs into feelers The whip consists of tli thin, vicious looking tall, which can bo lashed around like a rawhide lu the hands of an angry man. Now York Mall and Express. Messrs. Fremy and Verneuil, of Paris, chemists, have informed the Academy of Sciences that they have succeeded in pro ducing real rubles by artificial means. The tests show that this is a faot. The biggest yet made is the sizo ot a big pin head, but size is a matter that can bo reg ulated. Now York Sun. Traps for HonK Ascnt. "You seldom see nn advertisement for h book agent in these days," remarked a veteran canvasser, "but that doesn't sig nify that the much abused man is no longer seen abroad in the land. There is n certain stigma attached to the business, and a man Is deterred from becoming a book agent for the same reason that prompts a woman to do anything rather than go out to service. The houses thnt deal in subscription books nro well awaro of this feeling, and unscrupulous publish ers resort to the most ingenious plans to word their advertisements so ns to con ceal the real nature of their business. If thev made a direct call for book agents thev would receive very few applicants, but" bv couching their advertisements in ambiguous and alluring language they nre sure to get the pick of the unemployed men and women. Their main object Is to get the people to call, for it is then easy enough to induce the most likely to try their luck bv holding out flattering prom ises. The scheme most usually employed is to advertise for collectors at a fixed sal ary. When a man calls and proves satis factory he is told that he can have tho job as sooii as it is ready, being made to be lieve tlmt he Is to have a new route as soon as the canvassers have drummed up enough subscribers. "In the meantime tho man is advised to do a little canvassing himself. He will bo able to make living wages and familiarize himself with the business. Tlio man Is, of course, a little disappointed, but at last consents to become a book agent for the time being in anticipation of getting a place as collector at a fixed salary. An iron bound contract Is then drawn up. for the sake of formality, ho is told, by which he agrees to sell the book on commission. He is then required to de posit $10 ns security for the dummy copy he is to carry with him. Time passes, and the route on which ho was to serve as collector is as far from completed as ever. He has found that canvassing is hard work and doesn't pay his board. Ho gets discouraged, turns in his dummy copy nnd demands the return of the deposit he paid on it. The firm refuses to return tho money, and point to the clause in tho agreement that refers to breach of con tract. The firm has the law on its side, nnd the man has no redress. Tho cost of nianiifac'airiiig these dummy copies is not one-tenth of the security de manded, and many firms pay their run ning expenses with the money received as deposits." New York Evening Sun. In Havana's l'aihi Houses. The cafes of Havana are ns bright ana winsome as those of Paris, but aro more attractive at all seasons of the year, for the cliniato allows of a greater openness to the street. This is taken advantage of in all little ways of decoration and ar rangement that stand for invitation and welcome. Some of them aro very grand affairs, but all possess an atmosphcro of snugness and daintiness that is delicious. Indeed, it must be set down to tho credit of nil these people that tho delicate rcllno nients of life are inherent. Courtesy," po liteness, consideration, or at least the sur face use of it, are universal. They nro an artistic people in the environment of little things, though themselves unconscious of that national characteristic; and both facts are delightful to one who tarries with them. These cafes nnd fondas (or eating houses, for the latter nre equally resorted to) are the resting places of the gay city. Their number nnd patronage nro remark able. They are all wide open to tho street the year round. One fancies they are almost n part of it, as frequently more than one-half tho cafe is underneath long, wide, huge pillared porticos. Hero chat tering crowds by day and brilliant crowds by night, under the flare of lamps iiu:rcat century old metal frames, never weaso cigarette smoking, gin nnd wine drinking, although all liquors, however frequently ordered, are used in sparing quantities. And between the shrill cry of the dulceros, or confection peddlers, the hoarse impor tunities of the lottery ticket mobs, the ever minor music of tlio wandering street minstrels and the niarvdously gay but never brutal nnd more than half Oriental city life, the "dick, click, click" of the universal and never silent dominoes upon the marble tables como to you ns an undertone staccato of myriads of nusccn castanets. Edgar L. AVakenian's Letter. Orl-in or I lie Itllzzanl. Where is its cradle, its home? Tho Arctic regions. The, papers talk nbout a blizzard having started from Manitoba, but that is not its home it starting point. Manitoba is only its has way house. Why do blizzards como by way ot Manitoba, and make themselves most felt upon the west side of tlio Mississippi river? 'Why do we never hear of blizzaris in Canada, New England and tho middle states? Hecause the Laurentian rango of moun tains stretches westward from Iibrador nlong the southern lino of Hritish Amer ica 15,000 miles, skirting tho north shore of Lake Superior, and tapering out in northeastern Minnesota, furnishing a pro tecting wall of solid rock -1,000 fcethih against blizzards for all tho region south of it. Geologists tell us that this range is formed of the oldest silurian or sedimen tary rock to he found upon tlio globe, and that it extends ."0,000 feet below tho surface. From northeastern Minnesota to tho Hocky mountains is nn open, treeless plateau a great doorway 1,000 miles wide through which the ice king rushen. From that line southward is, in the main, tho same treeless prairie all the way to tho Gulf of Mexico, forming west of the Mississippi river the royal toboggan slide. U,000 miles long, upon which his ice crowned majesty, the blizzard, sweeps in all his jeweled robes to swoon In the arms of tho tropical sun. Tho Texas norther is only the frayed fringes ot tho blizzard king's mantle as ho wliirls past. C. M. Cady in New York Suu. Tlio Sewers of l'urli. The idea of keeping tho sowers clean had not thoroughly penetrated tho minds of the engineers early in tho century, and in none of the smaller ones was it possible to stand erect. Many were built too near the surface, and it was sometimes neces sary to climb a laddor to got into them. In every case thc were of solid masonry. Until quite lately the Paris sowers were built entirely of cut stone or partly of cut fatouo and jmrtly of a soft, excessively jtorotis stone culled inoullere. It is in tended in future to build entirely ot mmi liure. Tho manner ot using it is this: A great trench Is dug, in which a wooden' frame is placed, the size and shape of tho desired sewer. The moullero is placed about this frame and a concrete mado of the bos. cement Is applied in such a mau nor as to 1111 solidly all the cavities ot the stone nnd make a durable wall impervious to moisture. The frame is removed and tho trench filled up ns soon ns thoconcreto is sufficiently hardened. Paris Cor. Sau Francisco Chronicle.