feTS*?
THE SPANISH OF TO-DAY.
v:•
They Are Picturesque, But Woe
fully Poor and Cruel.
Hospitality Is a Compai ntively Un
known Virtne—lleartlossness of
Yonng aaH- Old Tow«rd
the Dead.
[Special Madrid Letter.)
There is a charm about sunny Spain
that the traveler finds nowhere else in
the old world. Each village and town,
every hoary ruffc tells of some striking
event in history. From the Pyrenees
to Gibraltar the land is dotted with bat
tie fields. Here the hosts were led by
the valiant Cid against the Moor, while
there the Spaniard gallantly fought
A
SPANISH DANCING GIRL.
against Napoleon's veterans. Spain is
at hf low ebb to-day, but she has had
a glorious past and may inscribe 011
her banner the motto "Resurgam"
shall rise again). To the student of his
tory, literature or the fine arts Spaiu
and her people will ever be full of ab
sorbing interest and the man who trav
els with an observant eye and a ready
note-book will find Spain a treasury of
good things.
It is famous for beautiful women—
such as Velasquez, Murillo and Sebas
tian Gomez-loved to paint 200 years
ago. (The trouble with too many Span
ish ladies of to-day is that they do their
own painting.) Beauty is the birth
right of the dusky-eyed Castilian and
Andalusian, and the country and cities
are full of charmers. From the lofty
duchess who smiled on Sancho Panza
and the dancing girl of Seville (the typo
so well expressed by operatic writers)
down to the girl who makes cigarettes
foi a living and the bull-fighter's "favor
its'1 all Spanish women are beautiful
once in their lives.
Sxanish politeness is remarkable.
Admire anything the Spaniard has he
immediately begs your acceptance of
it, though he would be very much sur
prised if you took him at his word.
There is an old story about an American
wlic was the guest of a Spanish hidalgo
who was praising the stud of horses
owned by the don. "Senor, they are all
yours," said the polite nobleman,
whereupon our friend wanted to
"hitch up a team and take them with
hin and he would send for the balance."
What the polite Spaniard did in this
emergency is not told, but the probabil
ity is that a good excuse was given for
not allowing a hoof to leave. Another
of these politeness stories is to the ef
fect that a young English lady riding in
the country was overtaken by a violent
storm and took refuge in a cottage.
The hovel was full of smoke and
through the fog the lady perceived the
heads of half a dozen children with
eyes staring at la bella Inglese.
"Your children?" asked the visitor by
way of starting the conversation.
"Senora, they are all yours!'' was the
peasant's polite but startling reply. As
a matter of fact this Spanish courtesy
is merely veneer, so to speak. True po
lietness comes from kindness, you un
derstand the artificial variety is a sham,
resembling true courtesy as a paper
rose resembles the real queen of flow
ers. There are exceptions, to be sure,
but the Spaniard is not hospitable. One
SPANISH POLICEMAN.
of his national proverbs says: "The
pleasantest day of a'visit is that on
Which the visitor departs."
That there is in the Spanish character
,au inherent cruelty cannot be denied.
The best evidence thereof is furnished
by that degrading national sport, the
bull fight. Thousands of men and wom
en will spend hours in watching the tor
tures inflicted on the bulls by the pro
fessional torturers, and stich crowds
are not composed of the low-born and
"tough" elements only (as are the
crowds at the prize fights and dog fights
in America), but always include the
aristocracy and even royalty. Act the
last scene of the fight when the tor
reador and matador, at the shouts
tli* multitude: "Fuego! fuego!" apply
darts which blaze with fire when driven
Intf. the neck or sides of the poor beast
the audience testifies its supreme happi
ness at his sufferings. Cultured, con
vent-raised women look on smilingly
and reflect in their gleaming white
teeth and flashing dark eyes the tor
ments of the bull. Only in Spain can
such things be seen!
The language of the country is known
as Castilian, and is considered a simple
one and easily acquired. But this is
true merely as "regards its elements,
and as much as is usually acquired by
globe-trotters and sailbrs, for the Span
ish of tne court and university is a pol
ished language, full of verbal and idi
omatic subtleties and pitfalls for the
young beginner. As the language of
Mexico and the South American repubr
lies it will well repay study byv our
young readers.
The Spaniards are poor and proud. No
other courtly has so many titled peo-
pie there are 82 dukes, 720 men bear
the title of marquis, there are 550
counts and a countless number of bar
ons, viscounts a?id dons. And all their
sons and daughters have titles, too.
In the rural districts and country
towns and villages of Spain the Anglo
Saxon traveler is disagreeably im
pressed with the heartiessness of the
people towards the dead. The ceme
teries are shamefullyheglected, and it
is not an uncommon sight to see a
corpse slung across a mule's back and
in this unceremonious fashion carried
to the grave the street loungers make
scoffing remarks as such a procession
passes them, even though from super
stitious motives they doff their hats to
the dead. Indeed, life is considered very
cheaply, and manslaughter is more
common than in any other country in
the world. At the "bodega," or wine
saloon, a brawl between friends will in
a few minutes lead to a stabbing af
fray. As the victim falls on the street
everybody runs from him, leaving him
perhaps to bleed to death until the
"guardia civile" (policeman) arrives
at the scene. No citizen will offer help
or approach a dead or dying man for
fear of being arrested as an accessory
to the crime. At the cry of "fire" in a
town everyone is supposed to assist the
police in extinguishing the flames, out
as a rule the alarm drives every moth
er's son to a hiding place. It is not
to be supposed that the Spaniard is
naturally a coward, but rather that
Centuries of misrule and oppression
(the fruit of feudal despotism of church
and state) have imbued in him a dread
of being "mixed up" in the toils of the
law. History tells of Spanis'h courage
manifested in many a campaign, and
the old hidalgo spirit which pioneered
the new world had for centuries been a
dominant force in Europe' and the far
east.
Times are very hard just n»w in
Spain and taxation is sapping the vitals
of commercial and industrial life. For
tunately the climate is mild so that the
struggling masses are not liable to the
suffering from excessive cold which
presses so hard on the poor and needy
in other northern cliines. Ttien, again,
the average Spaniard will fatten on a
diet upon which an American would
starve. A couple of pan-cakes fried in
olive oil, a few olives, and a glass of
wine constitute "a square meal." Meat
of all kinds, especially kid's flesh, is
u&ed, generally boiled or stewed to
rags, with garlic as an all-permeating
influence. Large chestnuts boiled are
used as a vegetable and are said to be
very nutritious. We often use the term
'*r-
1
*3 uLt-C7-jV
GROUP OF SPANISH PEASANTS.
"Spanish onions" as indicative of the
largest size of that useful and odorous
vegetable and, of course, it plays a most
important part in the cuisine of the
hidalgos and the dons. In the coast
cities the people are more progressive
and fare better than they do in inland
places, no doubt because they are
brought more in contact with the
progressive people of other nations. At
the present day Spain is the least
progressive nation in Europe, has the
lowest educational status and in all
that makes for civilization and progress
is only superior to Turkey.
What effect the costly wars in Cuba
and the Philippine islands will have
on this already heavily taxed nation
may be imagined, but it is not un
likely that the result will be a revolu
tion which will mean the abolition of
the monarchy and the establishment of
a republic. As it is, members of the
nobility are willing to accept any em
ployment. As an illustration of this
note the following: Some time ago the
office of public executioner became va
cant by death and thereupon the min
istry of justice at Madrid received an
avalanche of applications from all sorts
and conditions of men, including three
marquises, one field marshal, an ex
attorney-general and eight other no
bles! Think of the proud Spanish
aristocrat devoting himself to garrott
ing condemned criminals as a means of
earning his livelihood!
There is, of course, a brighter future
for Spain, and it will come when mod
ern methods, modern euueation and a
progressive government prevail and
when the national church loses the
tyrannical hold it now has on all classes
of society. Naturally Spain has many
advantages and the soil is* capable of
the highest cultivation. As it is at pres
ent ,however, the cultivation of the
grape, olive, orange and lemon is be
ing neglected and many farms are deso
late because the young peasants have
been forced into the army to die of
yellow fever in Cuba, or be shot to
death, to preserve to the Spanish crown
the "Uem of the Antilles."
JAMES IRVING CRABBE.
Due Unto Other*.
IS
Socratoots—What infernal din
that?
Spats—The girl next door is playing
the piano she got yesterday—a fine,
square instrument.
Socratoots—Well, judging from the
sound, it ain't used square.—Pitts
burgh News.
Well Acquainted.
Mrs. Gndd—Your husband appears to
be very busy to-day, Mrs. Gdbb.
Mrs. Gabb—Does he? Well, if he is
very busy at anything, you may just be
sure it's at something of no earthly
use to anybody but himself.—N.
Weekly.
i.
Tit for Tat.
•You
don't know much about the
city, do you?" asked the city cousin in
his superior way, as he was showing
his country cousin around.
"No more'n you do about the farm,"
was the prompt reply.—Chicago Post.
Couldn't Support Him.
Miss Calcium—They say Dottie Foot
lights is going to marry young Cad
leigh.
Miss Wings—What—on her salary?
How imprudent!—Up-to-Date.
At the Play.
She (who has read the synopsis)—It's
too bad that all the principal charac
ters get killed in^the last act, isn't it?
He—Yes. That ought to happen in
the first act.—Cleveland Leader.'
VV
pABIN JOHN'S BRIDGE.
How the Famous StruQture Got
Its Peculiar Name.
Story of a Mysterious Stranger Wlio
Settled Went ward of George
town, O. C., More Than a
Century. Afro. J-.v^
[Special Washington Letter.]
Did you ever hear of Cabin John'js
Bridge? It is a wonderful place, and
a wonderful bridge.
That is a singular name, isn't it?
The name has a history as well as the
bridge, and we may as well begin at
the beginning, and tell how the place re
ceived its name.
More than 100 years ago, before
George Washington became president,
and long before the city of Washing
ton was ever contemplated, there came
to the city of Georgetown a stranger,
whose name the people never knew.
In those days Georgetown was a pros
perous city, located west of Rock creek,
in what is now the District of Colum
bia. Big sailing vessels from all parts
of the world used to come up the Po
tomac river and discharge their cargoes
oa the Georgetown wharves, and re
ceive other cargoes there. George
town was at the head of navigation of
«the Potomac, for just above it are the
Little falls and the Great falls, which
render the river unnavigable.
The sailing vessels were mostly de
voted to carrying freight, but they also
carried limited numbers of passengers.
One morning a vessel came from Liver
pool, after having been on the ocean
over three months. She had five pas
sengers, and one of them was a mystery
to all on .board just as he afterwards
became a mystery to the people of
Georgetown and vicinity. He had
money, and bought the best horses he
could find for sale in Georgetown. He
also purchased saddle bags, and then
purchased two muskets, a lot of am
ir, unition, and as much bread as his
saddle bags could hold. Then, mount
ing his horse, he drove off into the
woods to the westward of Georgetown
and disappeared in the forest. Nobody
knew where he was going, and he an
swered no questions.
The country was full of Indians in
those days, and yet they were not hos
tile. Two months passed away, and
the mysterious stranger rode into town,
purchased a supply of bread, bacon,
eggs and ham, and again drove off into
the woods. One of the storekeepers
asked him his name, and he replied:
"My name is John." Then the store
keeper asked him where he lived, and
he answered: "In my cabin, ten miles
west of here." He would answer no
other inquiries, but bestrode his horse
and entered the forest.
The man was about 40 years of age.
and he lived in the woods for near
ly 30 years but long before that time
the country had begun to develop, and
he had many visitors from Georgetown
good business, for people will eat and
drink on such excursions. Unfortu
nately, of late years, it has become a
and points in Maryland., He had gone
out into the wilderness all alone, had
felled trees and built a cabin. He had
cemented the seams between the logs
with lime plaster made by himself. He
was a veritable Robinson Crusoe. He
made lime by burning the rocks, and
he got. his sand from the river banks,
lie had a "snug and comfortable cabin,
and lived there until his death, in the
early part of this century. Nobody ever
Knew any other name for him than
"John," for he would give no other
name.
People began to refer to his place as
"John's cabin .but one day he told
some callers, who stopped there while
CABIN JOHN'S BRIDGE.
they were out hunting, that his name
was "Cabin John." Of course it was
simply his conceit to give the people
a fuller name than "John," and they
always afterward referred to him as
"Cabin John." His place was located
near the river, at the mouth of a great
gorge with towering hills surrounding
it. There is until this day no better lo
cation on the upper Potomac for fish
ing and hunting. In those days the
man was opulent in all that was needed
for game food. Whether he had a
fortune concealed about his place or
not nobody knew, and nobody ever
tried to find out. He always had
money when he came to town to buy
supplies. He was on good terms with
the Indians, and he did not fear ma
rauders,*Sjbecause he surrounded' him
self withV dogs, who loved him and
watched hi& place by night and by day.
Well, whwer he was, he died without
revealing his Identity, and he is remem
bered as "Cabin John," and so he will
live in local history. Time passed on,
and long after he was gone there grew
up here a city, the capital of a republic.
Modern improvements came with popu
lation, and it became necessary to build
a reservoir and aqueduct to supply the
city with water.. More than ten miles
west of Georgetown the civil engineers
went to build a reservoir and the wa
ter supply was taken from the Potomac,
near the Great falls. In order to bring*
the water to the city it became neces
sary to build a great bridge acros& the
immense gorges referred to above, and
the bridge was called "Cabin John
bridge," because it spanned and to-day
spans the great ravine, at whose mouth
the stranger built his cabin and made
his home.
That is the history of the origin of
the name of the bridge which is the
largest single-arch span in the world.
Its diameter is 220 feet, counting it a*
the segment of a circled It is a marvel
of engineering skill. Poor old Cabin
John never dreamed thai he would
leave his fictitious nameto all future
generations, else he might have given
i.
4
-J
his real name, unless lie had ample rea
sons for carrying that, name to the
grave with him. They/say that he used
to spend a great £eal time in.'coon
hunting, and that during his latter
years he wore no other clothing than
the skin and furs of-domestic animals.
He often came to Georgetown to buy
thread, as well as provisions, and
clothed himself in the gjtrb of the
woodsmen of a century^dgo. .There is
nothing of record or in tradition to in»
dicate that be ever dicj an unkind act
to a fellow-man. He is said to havebeen
quite a good musician, and played upon
a guitar, often entertaining kis hunts
men visitors with song and story.
When he died his dogs disappeared and
if they found other masters nobody
ever connected them with their mys
terious master.
There is a prosperous restaurant
close to the bridge, and thousands of
people go there on pleasure bent. Fop
many years it was a pleasure drive
then the bicycles came and young peo
ple wheeled there, and now the electrie
cars cariy numberless pleasure seekers
to the bridge. The restaurant does a
IN THE GARB OF A WOODMAN.
popular Sunday resort, where people
can go and indulge their alcoholic ap
petites. There is a photographer there
Who makes pictures of people beneath:
and about the bridge, and he has a lot
of data concerning the bridge which
people receive and read with great in
terest. He has a pamphlet of history in
which occurs the following statement:
In the year 1825 the following lines were
found under a dilapidated grain bin In an
old mill located on tbe banks of the Cabin
John:
"John of the Cabin"—a curious wight
Sprang out of tbe river one dark storms
night
He built a warm hut in a lonely retreat.
And lived many years upon fishes and
meat.
When the last lone raccoon on the creek h«
had slain,
It is said he jumped into the river again.
As no name to the creek by the ancients
was given,
It was called "Cabin John" after John went
to Heaven.
When the bridge was built there was
also a conduit built from the great
reservoir to Georgetown, and thence
into Washington. Over the conduit
there was constructed a splendid road
way, and this is still known as the Con
duit road. Along this highway there
ha& recently been built an excellent
trolley electric line, and many thou
sands of passengers visit the bridge
and restaurant in thismanner where
as they used to go in buggies, or on
bicycles. These latter ancient modes
o* ^cojj.yeya.^ee are1still used by hunr
drcds Of people.
The pamphlet furnished by the pho
tographer, giving the. history of the
bridge, contains the following:
This structure Is the stone bridge built
by the United States. government ovei
what is called Cabin John creek. The
Cabin John is a stream of-respectable vol
ume, which rises at Rockville, Md., flows
through a most picturesque and befttitiful
section of the country and pours its limpid
waters into the Potomac river a ten hun
dred feet below the point at whic,"i the
former stream is spanned by the great
bridge bearing its name—a bridge at na
tional renown.
DIMENSIONS OF BRIDGE.
Length of bridge 450 feet.
Height
Width ..... 20
Length of span 220
Diameter of water main 9 3.
The bridge alone cost (237,000.
The entire conduit system cost $2,905,500.
Capacity of water main, 75,000,000 gallons
of water daily.
When the bridge was begun in 1853
Franklin Pierce was president, and Jef
ferson Davis secretary of war. There
was a tablet in the keystone of the
arch containing the names of the presi
dent aud secretary of war, and also
names of Jrtaj. Meigs and of Capts. Hut
ton and Chanler, engineer officers.
When the civil''war began Capt. Hut
ton went with the confederacy, and so
did Capt. Chanler. A daughter of the
latter officer, Amelie Rives Chanler, be
came celebrated or notorious a few
years ago, as an authoress of exceed
ingly erotic literature.
When President Lincoln's adminis
tration began he made Simon Cameron,
of Pennsylvania, secretary of war.
Jefferson Davis was then president of
the confederate states. Simon Came
ron ordered that his name be cut out of
the keystone tablet. That order was
obeyed and the engineer in charge of
the work also obliterated the names
of the other officers, including Maj.
Meigs, who was supposed to sympa
thize with the rebellion, although he
did no# participate in it as all of the
others did.
Under that order the original tablet
was so changed that it now appears as
follows:
WASHINGTON AQUEDUCT.
Begun A'. D. 1853. President of the U. S.,
Franklin Pierce. Secretary of War,
Building A. D. 1861.
President of the U. S., Abraham Lincoln.
Secretary of War, Simon Cameron.
And now, after all these years,
"John" the hermit, the mysterious
man with the guns, dogs, raccoons, fish
and guitar, is perpetuated in enduring
stone, in the greatest single-span
bridge of the world, but we know not
his name. His cabin is obliterated, but
his assumed name of "Cabin John"
still lives.
SMITH D. FRY.
What He Thonght. .f.
"Capital, you know, is universally
timid."
"How queer! 1 thought it was the
man without the money who was shy."
Typographical Journal.
A Good CfcaneeT"
Fenner—I felt justified in lriwring
her.
Dyer—Why?
Fenner—She had such a cold that
she couldn't scream.—Up-to-Date.
Reason to Ask.
-Do I look like a barber,
Harold-
mother?
Mother—No why?
Harold—'Cause all the people call
me a young 8haver.—-I*.Y. lodtul
*k€ 5-% f-
MINNESOTA 8TATE NEWS
The First Crematory.
'he-first Ore^atory.jn the northwest
will be 9ompleted soon at Forest ceme
tery, in St Paul, It is being erected
by the Crematory association, at a cost
of about f8,000, in response to a grow
ing demand for means to care for the
bodies of the dead by incineration.
As soon:
as the building is completed
•nd all the appliances put in' place,
there will be a cremation, a body hay
ing been placed in the vault of the
cemetery some time ago with this ex
press understanding, and several
others which now lie buried beneath
the green sward will probably be dis
interred and reduced to ashes by this
modern method. Robert Robinson, of
Chicago, who is the (Contractor in
eharge, and also the inventor of this
particular apparatus, Will be on hand
for the purpose of conducting the first
few cremations.
4
Ordered OfC
The men employed by Halverson,
Richardson- & Co., of Minneapolis,'in
constructing the new logging road bt
Red Lake, had a little experience with
the Indians which will" not soon be for
gotteq. They were qaanping at the
mouth of Mud river on^the reservation,
when a band of Indians swooped down
upon them and took all their tools,
tents, etc., away from them, and left
orders for them to at once leave the
reservation. Thift they did, and all
their belongings were restored to them
on the condition that they will hot go
back upon the reservation. The men
ere now at Work constructing the road
off of the reservation.
A Variety.
The variety of religious instruction
that can be obtained on the streets of
Minneapolis of an evening is enough
to suit the most varied taste. For in-'
stance, .one Saturday evening four
Mormon elders were holding forth on
Fourth street, just off Nicollet avenue
on another corner, across Nicollet, was
the Booth-Tucker Salvation army a
block away, on Third street, was the
Ballington Booth corps, and on an
other street was another gospel meet
ing.
Not Guilty.
Land Office Inspector A. P. Swine
ford, after thoroughly investigating the
charges filed against the land office at
Marshall, says they were without foun
dation. The parties making the
charges were attorneys who had lost
several important cases which were
tried before the register and receiver,
and the charges were to the effect that
there was collusion between resident
attorneys and the officials. The
charges have since been retracted.
A Robber Caught.
Carl Herman Larson, alias "White
Face," alias "Chicago Stiff," of Chica
go, robbed Oliver Cornell, of Minne
apolis, of 851 at Hector. He left town,
going north, but was followed by a
posse, armed with guns and clubs, and
captured in a corn field a mile from
town. He showed fight and had to be
clubbed in order to be brought to town.
Prison Born.
Mrs. Nellie Frayer, convicted of mur
dering the Maxwell child at Moorbead,
and received at the state prison on
March 10, 1897, to serve a life sentence,
became the mother of a little girl on
Sept.,21, .her child being the jfirst ever
born in prison. ..
News 10 Uriar.
The Foley-Bean company will put in
a big, dam on Rum river, near Milaca,
provided they can secure fiowage rights
on Mille Lacs lake.
The following fourth-class postoffices
have been made money order offices:
Bigelow, Nobles county Garvin, Lyon
county Ware, Marshall county.
The jury in the Merritt vs. Harris
case found in favor of the Merritts,
which means that stock valued at about
$40,000 which was in issue, belongs tc
the Merritts and was given to Harris
& Son as collateral for the payment of
their legal services, and not as ad
ditional compensation.
Fifty men have been put to work in
the St. Cloud quarries, getting out
stone for the state capitol.
The libel suit of Samuel Treby
against the Little Falls Transcript was
decided in favor of the newspaper.
While a kinetoscope entertainment
was in progress at Bellview the appar
atus*
exploded, causing a panic. In
the scramble to get out of the build
ing, several people were injured.
Three men held up a cattle train on
the Great Northern road near Smith
Lalte" and relieved a number of stock
men of their money.
Box car No. 4, tbe second one manu
factured for the St. P. M. & M. Co., is
still in service and was at Crookston
recently.
H. Ruika's general store at Thomp
son was broken into and 8140 worth of
-goods taken. There is no clue, but it
is supposed to be Duluth burglars.
John R. Thompson has been ap
pointed postmaster at East Grand
Forks.
An attempt to fill a lighted gasoline
stove resulted in an explosion and the
death of Mrs. Sarah Eatner in Minne
apolis. Mrs. J. Silverman and her
baby were burned.
The firemen's hall and lodge room of
the Select Knights of America, at Lit
tle Falls, were destroyed by fire.
Mrs. Wenzel Mikesh hanged herself
at the St. Paul city hospital, where she
had been a patient since Aug. 12.
William Axel, of the town of Swan
ville, has been bound over on a charge
of assault in the second degree, pre
ferred by a young lady named Lizzie
Muller. Axel wanted the girl to marry
him, and upon her refusal, it is
charged, drew a knife and threatened
to kill her.
Firemen on all three tug lines at Du
luth are on a strike, demanding an in
crease in wages from 837.50 to 845 per
month.
Men are already going into the woods
for the T. B. Walker cut, under Berg
ley's contracts. It is expected that
35,000,000 to 40,000,000 feet will be cut
this winter.
George Green, near Sauk Center, was
handling a shot gun, when in some un
known mannar it was accidentally dis
charged, the consents striking his 5
year-old brother Harry in the forehead,
tearing the skull completely off. He
died in a few minutes.
The Northern Lumber company,
whose head camps are situated just
west of Mountain Iron, expects to cut'
and land at Cloquet 80,000,000 feet of
logs next winter. To do so, it will
have to employ 200 men all winter.'
Judge Willis has ordered that nnder
certain conditions the Allemania bank
of St, Paul may yeopen Oct 18.
-a"
,75 A battue with bats.
Pennsylvania JLaborev Layi Out fifty
Three of Them In Darllgbt.'
Jacob Bricker, of Ra-uchtown, had
quite a unique as well bs thrilling ex
rpcrienee 'the other day, whiph he is
at a loss to account for,' and h^s no
desire to again repeat. Mr. Bricker is
a laborer, and on the day in question,
feeling somewhat indisposed, did not
go to work. He was lounging in his
house, when he heard a peculiar noise
in the third story, or attic. Supposing
at first that the noise was created by
mice and rates frolicking about, he
paid little attention to it, but the con?
tinued and' increasing discordant
screeching, combined with the swish of
wings and an everlasting pit-pat, lis if
made by birds flying against some
thing, aroused Bricker sufficiently to
iu&titute an investigation. Alone he
went to the attic and was at once non
plused and astounded to see the small
room literally black with bats, flying
helter-skelter and attacking every in
animate object in sight.
When Brieker flrst saw the bats he
he had no thought of self-protection,
but imagined that they would frighten
at his approach and leave. Hardly had
he gotten fairly into the room until the,
bats, in perfect swarms, flew at him.
Their shafp claws and stiff wings as
they flew in his face and alighted on his
hands made many painful abrasions,
and it was with difficulty the man was
enabled to secure a short stick, luckily
lying near, with which to defend him
self.
Striking right and left, Bricker went
for the mouse-like birds, and with every
stroke a dull thud on the floor told of
one less bat. But the birds were in
for fight, and the more killed the more
it appeared came at the man. Just
how long the struggle continued Brick
er has no idea of reckoning. It could
not have been more than five minutes,
but to him it seemed like an hour or
more. Finally, when the swarm of bats
began to grow manifestly smaller un
der the sure stroke of Bricker's club,
they began to scatter, and with one
parting screech took a hasty leave.
Covered with blood on face and hands
and suffering no, little pain, Bricker
took a survey of the room and for the
first time realized the execution he had
been able to do.
The floor was covered with dead and
disabled bats, the latter still screeching,
flopping about and endeavoring to get
away. These were dispatched as soon
as possible and without any mercy, and
tlien the man made a count of the dead
birds. He found 53 in all, and he is
positive that fully twice that many es
caped. The bats entered the attic
through an open window, but where
they all came from is a mystery.
There are a number of caves in the
immediate vicinity, but they have most
ly been explored and very few bats
were seen. And then the time of their
visit being made in daytime is another
strange occurrence, as bats habitually
ily at night, or after twilight begins to
fall.—Philadelphia Times.
TO ADDRESS A LADY.
Ways That Are Artmianible and Ways
That Are Bad.
The word "miss" is an abomination,
unless followed- by the name of the
young lady, and when used at all is
merely an exhibition of groveling ob
sequiousness on the .part of the person
speaking. It is a pity that the English
language does not have an admissible
word corresponding to the French
"mademoiselle" or the German "frau
lein," for nobody will pretend to say
that "miss" has, from usage of the cor
rectly speaking class, attained the dis
tinction. The nearest approach to a
good word for use in addressing a
woman is "madam," which is so incor
rectly supposed to be applicable only to
such women as have entered the mat
rimonial state. The argument fhat it
would be absurd to address a girl of 12
or 14 years of age as "madam" may be
answered by the assertion that it is not
necessary to give a child of that tender
age a title at any time. The expression
in letter-writing: "My dear madam," or
"Dear madam," is merely a matter of
form, and there is really very much less
reason to suppose that she is "dear"
than to assume that she is entitled to
"madam." We do not contend that
"madam" is the very best word that
could be invented for the general char
acterization of women, but it is un
doubtedly the only word in the lan
.guage that will tide over the confusion
created by the carelessness of word
makers. Another perplexing question
has been raised by a controversy over
the respective merits of "lady" and
"madam." In Boston the fiat has gone
forth that hereafter street car con
ductors shall give the preference to
"madam," and this is heartily to be
commended. The word "lady" is quite
as abominable as the word "miss" as a
form of address, and no well-informed
woman hears the remark: "Here's
your change, lady," or "fare, lady,"
without the shuddering conviction that
she is figuring in a cheap melodrama or
is the heroine of a servant girl's ro
mance in a story paper. It is not to be
supposed that the word "lady" as a
form of address will be immediately
eradicated after so many years of suf
ferance and perversion, but we ^should
like to note the issuance of a-general
order in the department stQres looking
to its abolition. As for sales ladies
and cash ladies and washer ladies, we
must deal gently jwith them, for they
have few Comforts in life and are en
titled to our utmost consideration and
good humor.—Chicago Post.
A Fanou Do* Killed.
The Celebrated N ewfoundjand dog,
Sultan, which for his'acts of devotion to
man and for his courage,was, on the
9th of May, 1891, solemnly rewarded by
the Society for thd Prelection of Ani
mals with a collar of honor, lately fell a
victim to his fidelity to his master. Among
the feats performed by Sultan are the
arrest of a robber, the capture of a
murdierer, the saving of a child 13 years
old, who was drowning in the Marne,
and the saving of the life of a man who
had thrown himself into the Seine from
the Pont Neuf He first belonged to
the publisher M. Didier, who, however,
gave him to Mme. Foucher de Careil.
She kept him at.her residence near Cor
beil, where Sultan was the terror of
tramps and malefactors, one of whom,
it is probable, killed him, for he was re
cently found lying dead by a hedge,
poisoned by a piece of meat.—Paris
Cor. London' Telegraph
Its Exact Standing:.
"Mary, go into the Sitting-room and
tell me how the thermometer stands."
"It stands on the mantelpiece, just
•gin the wall, sir!"—-Tijf^Riis. ..
BALL OF FIRE HAUNTS A GRAVE.)
The Dead £faa Flayed Garda for a
WomanVWon and Wait Murdered.
A lonely grave on the edge of a bar- -sm
ren old orchard a half mile south of
Broadhead, Ky., contains the remain*
of the first man murdered in Rockcastle
county. The grave is situated on the ,5
summit of a steep cliff about 30 feet in
height, which borders a seldom traveled
pasiway known as the Negro Creek
road. A more lonely spot with more
dreary surroundings is hard to imag
ine. The grave refemed to is marked
by a sandstone rock three feet in height
by three feet in width, and bears the
following inscription in rudely carved
characters:
1773.
DAVID EVERHART
Was Born in October.
Murdered Sept. 22,1810.
There is a tragic story connected
with the death of Everhart that was
well known to The generation that has
all but passed away, and in thistaanner
has been handed down to the present
time.
Everhart came to Kentucky from
North Carolina with a party of adven
turers, and for a time they dwelt in
Rockcastle county, whither they had
been attracted by the fabulous stories
of Swift's silver mine, said to have been
located in that section of the state.
Tradition speaks of Everhart as a wild,
dissipated man who was wholly with
out fear, and as a gambler who would
stake his life upon the turn of a card.
Everhart and his companions erected
near where the railroad water tank now
stands at Broadhead a rude log shanty,
remnants of which are yet to be seen.
From there they would daily sally forth
to prospect for silver. One of the
party, a man by the name of Wise, had
with him his daugter Mary, who,is said
to havebeen a girl of rare beauty.
Everhart and Cyrus Thomas were
suitors for the girl's favors, but her
fickleness kept each of them in uncer
tainty, and in this way.
a fierce enmity
was engendered between these two
men. Finally they agreed to play a
game'of cards for tthe possession of the
girl, the loser not only to renounce any
claim he might have upon her, but was
to take his departure from the country
This arrangement was agreed to by
all parties, and the momentous game
was played in the log shanty after the
day's work was done, the girl herself
being a witness to it. An exciting game
it was, too, both men keeping well to
gether until the final deal, when Ever
hart turned a winning trump, which
gave him the game and the girl.
This angered Thomas, and he sprang
upon Everhart, stabbing him with a
glittering knife. At this juncture the
lights were extinguished and no one, of
course, knows exactly what happened,
but passers by the shanty next morn
ing discovered Everhart's body, covered
with wounds, lying upon the threshold.
His companions had disappeared and
were never heard of again.
The dead' man was buried in the lone
ly sprft spoken of above, and some years
afterward his relatives in North Caro
lina caused the rude stone to be erect
ed which marks the grave to-day. One
remarkable feature in connection with
the last resting place of the unfortu
nate man is that the grave has never
sunk afoot in all the years since it was
first filled. This is no surprise to the
superstitious mountaineers, however,
who aver that a murdered man's grave
never sinks.
The vicinity of the lone grave is said
to be haunted, and many are the grue
some stories current of the unnatural
occurrences that, transpire there. No
one will be willingly caught in the lo
cality after nightfall, the best men in
the county concurring in the opinion
that the place is frequented by visitors
from "the other side." The favorite
story in this line tells of a ball of fire
which burns steadily and brightly at
the head of the grave every night. No
one has ever had the courage to ap
proach the spot near enough to solve
the mystery. It is also told that a
shadowy man, bearing a coffin upon
his shoulders, emerges once a year from
the old orchard and travels hastily
across an open space, disappearing
near the' forsaken grave.—Louisville
Courier-Journal.
The Head Waitress.
The head waitress is beginning to
rival the proverbial theological student
in the dining-rooms of New England
hotels. She occasionally appears in
New Jersey. In, a noted 'hostelry in the
Berkshire hills the long dining-room
acknowledges the benignant smile of
the head waitress. Clothed entirely in
black, with only a line of white at
throat and wrists, her costume is dif
ferentiated from the uniform of her
troop of assistants. All the other wait
resses are in white duck or pique, stiffly
starched (no flimsy organdies or Vic
torian lawns being used). Against the
long wall of the dining-room is a row of
well-separated higih
stools. There is one
by each table, and1 on this the waitress
is-perched when not attending to her
table. It looks odd at first to see them
perched up high when not on duty, but
(hotel"gneists are not always punctual
at coming to meals, and the arrange
ment is thoroughly humane. The height
of the seat and its position prevent
what would appear as a breach of eti
quette did the-waitress take one of the
table chairs. The fashion-introduced is
a sensible innovation. Philadelphia
Record.
In Donbt.
A near-sighted girl happened to pass
a furnishing store and glance at the
show/ Window. She checked a scream
and said to her companion:
"Oh,'please come here and relieve my
suspense."
ijow?"
*%ell me what 1 am looking at—boa
constrictors or bicycle stockings!"—
Philadelphia Times.
A Seeond Edition.
He had married a young widow and
was in the first flush of his happiness.
"Darling," he murmured, "will you
ever forget your honeymoon
"Which?" she queried, absent-mind
edly.—Pick-Me-Up.
A Smrareatlon.
Mother—What would potfr mamma
do without her boy if he went away?
Her Boy—Yon could whip Fido when
you were cross and just pretend it was
me, couldn't you
?—-N. Y. World.,
/—The e&rth probably receives about
one two^thonsandth-millionth part of.
the total i-ediatipn of the sun's rays.
5/-
1
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