4
WHERE DO SEALS
GO IN WINTER?
*----------------------------------------------------------
Ancient Mystery Remains Un
solved to This Day, Says
a Writer.
HERDS ARE NOW SMALLER
Formerly the Annual Kill Was 100,000,
but the Law Now Bars Wholesale
Slaughter—Killing Done
by Natives.
indiscriminate killing and leased the
islands of St. Paul and St. George to
the Alaska Commercial company, giv
ing the company the right to kill 100,
000 seals a year for 20 years. .The
islands were later leased by the gov
ernment to another commercial com
pany and the killing was cut so that it
could not exceed 60,000 seals a year.
In 1891 this figure was still further re
duced to 15,000 a year, and since that
time it has varied form 15.000 to 21,000
annually. In 1913 the United States
assumed entire control of the sealing
Industry and It has conducted it since
that time.
“In 1919 about 30,000 seals were ta
ken for commercial use. There are now
approximately 400,000 seals In Alaska
and the government has taken strict
measures to prevent this number from
being depleted. No one not authorized
by the government Is allowed on the
two principal seal islands except nt
the time of the killing, when the Aleuts
or natives are permitted to go there to
attend to the actual killing of the ani
mals and the salting of their skins.
The seals selected are driven slowly in
shore for a mile or more, every care
being taken not to alarm the rest of
the herd. The process is similar to
that of ambushing a company of sol
diers, cutting them off completely from
the rest of the regiment and disposing
of them before they are missed from
the lines.
Clubbed to Death.
“When the natives have arrived at
the salting houses, near which they
have driven the seals, they kill them
by clubbing them on the head. After
skinning them, the skins are heavily
salted on the flesh side and put in piles
Washington—With the growing pop
ularity of fur coats the Interest In
their origin is also developing, and
many an owner of a handsome sealskin
coat muses Idly over Its history before
reaching her and the phases of its pro
duction. But very few are aware of a
real mystery attached to the garment
which Is so Important to the smart
woman’s wardrobe—for there is indeed
a mystery surrounding the seal and in
all the years these animals have been
put to commercial use and have been
under such close observation no one
has ever been able to discover where
they go in winter. No one yet has
been able to make a record of their
hiding place, according to Gas Logic,
which gives something of the history
of the seal.
“In Alaska, the seals begin to appear
on the Islands of St. Paul and St
George about the end of April or the
first of May," reads the article, “and
toward the latter part of August or in
the first weeks of September, they dis
appear as strangely and mysteriously
as they came. This is one of Nature’s
secrets which she has kept most suc
cessfully hid from scientists as well
as the prying eyes of the merely curi
ous and Inquisitive.
Seals Desert Islands.
“Even in the days, years ago, when
the seals numbered five millions or
more, apparently some signal unknown
to man would be given and the uext
day the fog-wreathed rocks would be
bare, the seals having deserted the Inventor Perfects Model After
islands. With their slipping off Into
Exhaustive Study of Wild
Bering Sea, all trace of them was lost
Goose and the Eagle.
until their return the following spring.
Then some morning they would sud
denly reappear, disporting themselves
In the water or on the shore.
“When the United States bought
Alaska from Russia In 1867, outsiders
without any rights or privileges were Ninety-Six Mlles an Hour With Eight
In the habit of going there to kill as
Revolutions a Minute Claimed for
many seals as possible. In order to
New Machine—No Vacuum Re
prevent what might prove the extinc
quired and Is Nonrigld.
tion of the sealing industry the United
States government In 1870 stopped this
Norfolk, Va.—An airplane with
wings that flap like a bird has been
patented by Thomas J. Bird, formerly
of Johnson City, Tenn., now a resident
Rebecca Was Late,
of Hampton, Va. It can get up from
the water ns well as It can from land.
Pastor Was Merciless
It Is different from the rigid winged
airplane, which receives Its impetus
Washington, N. C.—A certain
from a rapidly revolving propeller. In
young and devout church wom
several tests the machine has proven
an of this city, whose name s
that it can fly, and It Is claimed by
Rebecca, never misses divine
the inventor and government experts
services, but often Is late.
that it will probably prove a much
Last Sunday she arrived just
better flyer than the present-day air-
as the pastor was reading from
plane.
the Scriptures the story of Re
Mr. Bird says his machine In the
becca at the well. As the late-
“take off” and flight through the air
' coiner tripped up the aisle the
does not create or require a vacuum,
minister read :
as does the present-day airplane. Mr.
“And behold, Rebecca came
Bird, who is a marine engineer, sev
forth.”
eral years ago took a course in avia-
Broad smiles played over the
ation at San Diego, Cal., and became
faces of the worshipers. Blushes
a regular licensed aviator. His Idea
flooded the face of Rebecca.
was to do away with the present pro
Courageously she went on.
quickening her steps.
peller and construct a machine with
moveable wings or planes that would
“And she made haste," con-
flap like any winged creature of the
tinued the clergyman.
Snickers from the youngsters,
air.
broader smiles from the grown-
Studies Bird Flight.
ups and half-suppressed giggles
To attain this end.he made ex-
from the half-growns were the
haustive studies of and observed the
response.
tights of wild fowls, especially the
By that time Miss Rebecca
wild goose and the eagle. His obser
had reached her pew.
She
vations of the sustained flight of the
stumbled In and sank down as
wild goose convinced him that that
if she hoped the cushions would
fowl is one of the swiftest of all
swallow her.
winged creatures.
“Let the damsel abide with
lie then built a machine that he
us," said the minister, closing
flew successfully at Santa Monica,
his book and ending the reading,
Cal.
much to the relief of Rebecca.
The motive power necessary for
the propulsion of the mechanism of
of six, being arranged in three pairs,
the fleshy side of each skin against
the fleshy side of another skir. Later
they are rolled in packages of four and
put into casks, then shipped to San
Francisco, whence they are reshipped
by rail to the Eastern fur centers.
“Seals weighing less than six pounds
may not be killed, according to law.
Experts say that the best skins come
from those mammals between the ages
of two and four years. For the first
time this year some of the older seals
—those from six to eight years—are to
be killed as an experiment. The fur
of these ‘Wigs,’ as the older ones are
called, is courser and not as long and
soft as that of the ‘pups’ or young
sters. It takes from two to four skins
for a coat, depending upon its size and
style. Though it is not possible to set
an exact price on the value of a seal
skin, it Is now about $70. Innumerable
imitations of sealskins are sold, the
best known being ’Hudson seal.’ which
Is dressed and dyed muskrat. Then
there are numbers of near-seal varie
ties, which have such names as French.
Siberian or Baltic seal, etc. All of the
near-seal furs are simply dressed and
dyed rabbit.”
Twins Born Twenty Miles
j
Apart Within Six Hours :
Although they were born 20
miles apart and in different
counties, Reuben and Ruth
Walden are twins.
The stork visited the home of
Mrs. Nancy Walden, wife of a
farmer of Hill Top, Colo., and
left a lusty boy. The attend
ing physician placed Mrs. Wal
den in a motorcar and drove her
to a Denver hospital, 20 miles
distant, where a daughter was
born to Mrs. Walden six hours
later. «
Children of Panama Send Stone for Roosevelt Grave
%.
Y,
1
Car*
(} t & {
- (*
The school children of the canal zone have picked out and sent to this country a boulder, to be placed by the
grave of Col. Theodore Roosevelt. The illustration shows, at the right, Helen and Harriet Hertz, twins, selecting the
stone, and, left, the presentation of the boulder to Mrs. Roosevelt.
KOREANS SLAIN
BY JAP TROOPS
2
Missionaries Tell of the Atrocities
Perpetrated in Chientao Dis
trict of China.
©
MANY VILLAGES DESTROYED
NEW PLANE HAS
WINGS LIKE
BIRD «------------------------------------------
—---------
U. S. EXPERTS APPROVE
“Baby Congressman” Gets Pointers
this flying machine is a gasoline en
gine or engines. The most essential
mechanism is, first, the universal
joint bearing boxes, which connect
the wings of the flying machine to
the body, and wherewith the wings
are caused to swing, flapping like
those of a bird In the air; and, sec
ond, the wing guiding disk that
causes the wings to move downward
and upward In an oblong circular
movement similar to that of an oars
man rowing a boat. This eliminates
all jerking motion in the wing.
It is tho constant alm of mechani
cal engineers In the construction of
gasoline engines in operation to hold
down the speed revolutions to keep
the heat produced by gas combustion
and friction at a temperature that
will prevent distortion of the engines,
For the type of airplane now in
use the propellers must revolve very
rapidly, and consequently, the en
gines are speeded up very near the
danger point, as where a speed of
ninety-six miles an hour is main
tained continuously for many hours,
which speed is that of the wild goose
with Its wings and by muscular
energy alone. In Mr. Bird's flying
machine, with wings likened to those
of a wild goose, to attain this speed
the wings will be propelled eight
revolutions per minute, whereas the
propeller airplane will require 1,400
per minute.
The wings or planes in this inven
tion are formed from overlapping
slats, and are so constructed as to
automatically close on the downward
and forward thrust of the wings and
open as the wings rise or recover,
thereby permitting the air or water,
as the case may be, to pass through
without retarding the movement of
the wings.
The Inventor claims that no dif-
Acuity will be experienced In develop
ing an engine revolution of 100 to 200
per minute, and a speed of 175 to 200
miles per hour.
The aviation department of the
United States government has signi-
fled its encouragement of the device
by offering aid in the building of a |
machine this coming summer at Its
chief construction base at Cleve-
land, O.
TEETH PROVE DOCTOR FALSE
He Blamed Them for Neuritis, So Pa
tient Calmly Removes
the Set.
Winsted, Conn.—Charles S. Warner,
a commercial salesman, loves a joke
and likes to tell one.
Getting no relief from a doctor’s
treatment for neuritis he said he vis
ited another doctor and received a
thorough examination, after which the
second doctor told him his aliment re
sulted from poor teeth and that he
could not expect any relief until the
teeth had been taken out.
Mr. Warner protested, but when the
doctor Insisted, he yielded and re
moved his false teeth and handed them
to the surprised physician.
Mato Gold and Silver Fowls.
London.—Experiments In the depart
ment of genetics, at Cambridge, of
mating domestic fowls, one sex of gold
HARRIS & EWING
and the other of silver-marked plum
age. brought Interesting results.
When a silver hen was mated with a
“Uncle Joe" Cannon, the oldest member of the house of representatives
In point of service, was snapped recently while visiting with Representative golden cock, all the sons were silver
Clarence J. McLeod, the newly elected “baby congressman” from Michigan. and all the daughters were gold. A
“Uncle Joe" was battling on the floor of the house long before McLeod was silver cock transmitted the silver fac
born. McLeod was twenty-five years old last July 3.
tor both to sons and daughters.
- -
(
;
4
Charge Deliberate Intention of Wiping
Out All Young Christians—Not
Punished for Religion, Say
Japs, but for Banditry and
Rebellion.
Tokyo.—Details of alleged massa
cres of Koreans by Japanese troops,
the burning of Korean villages and the
destruction .of native crops are given
In statements received from Canadian
missionaries in the Chientao district
of China, supplementing previous re
ports on this subject heretofore re
ceived.
One of the missionaries, Dr. S. H.
Martin of Newfoundland, physician, at
tached to the Canadian Presbyterian
mission at Yongjung, who visited the
village of Norabawle on October 31,
two days after the Japanese went
through that district, states:
“The facts recorded below apply to
the whole district of Kando or Chien-
tao, in the southern part of the prov
inces of Kirin, China. Japan, under the
strongest protest from China, has sent
over 15,000 men Into this part of China
with the seeming Intention of wiping
out of existence, if possible, the whole
Christian community, especially all
young men.
Charges Wholesale Murder.
“Village after village is dally being
methodically burned and the young
men shot, so that at present we have
a ring of villages surrounding this city
that have suffered from fire or whole
sale murder or both. The facts below
are absolutely accurate:
“At daybreak a complete cordon of
Japanese infantry surrounded the main
Christian village of Norabawle and,
starting from the top of the valley, set
fire to the immense stacks of un
threshed millet, barley and straw and
then ordered the occupants of the
houses outside. In each case as the
father or son stepped forth he was
shot on sight, and as he fell on his
face, perhaps only half dead, great
piles of burning straw were thrown on
top of him.
“I was shown the blood marks on
the ground caused by the bayonet
thrusts inflicted on the men as they
strove to rise from the flames, in spite
of the fact that they had been shot
three times at close range. The bod
ies were soon charred beyond recog
nition. The mothers, wives and even
the children were forced spectators
of this treatment of all the grown
males of the village. Houses were
fired and soon the whole country was
full of smoke, which was plainly visi
ble from this town. The Japanese
soldiers then spread out and burned
the houses of Christian believers In
other villages all the way down the
valley to the main road. Then they
returned home to celebrate the em-
peror’s birthday.
Photographs of Murders.
“As we approached the nearby vil-
Inges we found only women and chil
dren and some white-haired men. The
women with young babies on their
backs were walking up and down
walling. I photographed ruins of 19
buildings, among which were old men
tearing their hair and crying, while
mothers and daughters were recover
ing bodies or unburned treasures from
the burning ruins. So many women
were crying and I was so angry at
what I had seen that I could not bold
my camera steady enough to take a
time exposure.
“We have names and accurate re
ports of 32 villages where murder and
Are have been used. One village has
had as many as 145 Inhabitants killed.
Houses have been burned with wom
en and children In them. At Sonun-
tung 14 were stood up in front of a
large grave, then shot and their bod
ies destroyed with burning wood and
oil. This is typical.”
Rev. W. H. Foote, Canadian Pres
byterian missionary at Youngjung,
names several villages in which the
homes, schools or churches of Chris
tian natives were burned and says
that in one of them 25 people were
shot and the bodies burned. Those
cases, he declares, are “absolutely
authentic,” the premises having been
inspected by four missionaries and a
customs official.
Eighty Shot at Un Tong Ja.
Quoting Koreans as his authority,
he says that 23 persons were shot
and seven burned to death In their
own houses at Cheng San ; that 80
were shot at Un Tong Ja, and that
these were all Christian villages.
“The soldiers and commanding of
ficer who go to these places," assert
ed Mr. Foote, “as a general thing
have no conversation whatever with
the people, but do their diabolical
deeds and pass on. Kue Sei Tong is
the only place where any reason was
given to the people for the action.
“A Korean accompanied the soldiers
and told the people that the officer
said he had evidence that the owner
of the house had collected money for
Korean patriotic purposes. If only
the offenders suffered, even the Kore
ans would not seriously object ; but
it is because the perfectly innocent
and helpless are done to death with
out even an opportunity to say a
word in their own behalf that the in
justice and hardship appear.”
Describing the action of the Japan
ese soldiers at Kan Chang, Rev. Mr.
Foote said that the young men of tnat
village were “herded in front of a
Korean house and, without even a
form of examination, shot down, 25 in
all. Then the bodies were heaped to
gether in two piles and covered with
wood and burned. • When the fuel was
being placed on them some of the
wounded still were able to rise, but
were bayoneted to the ground and met
their fate in the flames.
Were Hard-Working People.
“I know these people well,” Mr.
Foote continued.
“They live In an
out-of-the-way glen.
The land was
not fertile and firewood was scarce.
They Were a quiet, hard-working peo
ple, who struggled hard to make a liv
ing. Their church and school, their
Bible and hymn books, their Sunday
worship, and, above all, their Savior,
were their joy. They were not pa
triotic soldiers, and disapproved of
the church taking part in politics.”
Miss Emma M. Palethorpe of On
tario, a member of the Canadian Pres
byterian mission at Yongjung, tells
in her statement of the execution of
five men from the village of Suchilgo,
who, she says, were led by the Jap
anese soldiers to the top of a hill
about three miles from Yongjung and
there put to death.
‘Tn the top of the hill,” she de
clares, “there Is quite a large hollow
not visible from the road or village.
The victims were made to sit at the
bottom of this, where they were
slashed at with swords. It is reported
by an eye-witness that two swords
were broken and then the awful work
was finished with bayonets. Then the
loose earth was pushed down from the
sides of the hollow to cover the mu
tilated bodies.”
In answering Inquiries at the Jap
anese war office, Lieutenant Colonel
Hata told a press correspondent
that the number of Japanese troops
employed In the Chlenta affair was
5,000, not 15,000.
Villages had been
burned, he said, but only in cases
where the majority of the Inhabitants
were known to be in league with the
outlaws.
Referring to the charge that an or
ganized attempt was made “to wipe
out the whole Christian community,”
Colonel Hata said that it was possible
that a majority of those who had been
executed were Christians, but they
were not punished for their religion
but for banditry and rebellion.
No
charge was made against the mission
aries.
Colonel Hata, while admitting that
harsh measures had been adopted, said
bad conditions had existed in that dis
trict for a long time owing to the
unchecked activities of Chinese ban-
dits, Korean outlaws and Russian Bol-
sheviki. He said he was confident
that the Japanese soldiers had not
been guilty of the barbarity with
which they had been charged.
Sultana Orders Dazzling Gown.
Paris.—Like a glittering golden
beetle, holding itself gracefully to the
lines of the figure and ending in a
dazzling court train, an evening gown
of remarkable design has just been
made for Sultana Menelik of Egypt
by Captain Molyneux, the English
dress designer in Paris.
The dress, which is cut very low,
front and back, hangs from the shoul
ders by gold cord and is made of
shimmering sequins. The materials
cost $2,500.
Statues of Suffrage Pioneers
$0*** ■ it
Bar. 7
s ——a. •
— ra
Memorial statues on tne tree suffrage pioneers, Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth
Cady Stanton and Susan B, Anthony, which the National Woman's party will
present to the national capitol on the opening day of the Woman's patry con
vention. February 15, Susan B. Anthony's 101st anniversary. They were
photographed in one of the early stages of development from the block of
marble In the studio of Adelaide Johnson In Carrara, Italy. A portrait of
Mrs. Johnson la inserted.