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READ HOUSE AQUEDUCT TUNNEL Work on It Bini Rapidly Pushed by Col. K:ller. EPLACING THE BAD WORKMAISHIP A Star Reporter Makes a Trip Through Some Sections. WORKIN0 UNDER DIFFICULTY Work c; the aqueduct tunnel is being pushed rapidly, 35) men working in eight hour shifts night and day. Prospects are that the project will be completed inside of a couple of years and within the estimated limit of cost of $463^,0. When the last lick Is struck a notable addition will be made to the city's water facilities, and the northern and eastern sections of Washington will re ceive an increased flow of Potomac water. Every Washingtonian remembers the famous "Lydecker tunnel," that great cav ern under the city, stretching from the res ervoir west of Georgetown to the Howard University reservoir. just south of the Sol diers' Home, a distance of four miles, and which was abandoned ten years ago, when it was discovered that faulty construction rendered it practically useless. For ten years the tunnel lay idle, filled with water and muck, the timbering of the shafts rotting and falling in. About two years ago Congress directed an examina tion of the tunnel by a board of experts to determine whether it would be feasible to complete the work and get some return from the large expenditures originally made. A board was appointed, consisting of Major William L. Marshall, Capt. James L. Lusk and Capt. D. D. Gaillard of the corps of enigineers. U. S. A., and A. Fetley and Desmond Fitz Gerald, civil engineers. They pumped the water from the tunnel, cleaned out the muck and made a thorough exami - nation, with the result that they concluded the tunnel could be utilized by the expendi ture of about $f63,014. Congress author ized the work to commence and to proceed under the direction of the chief of engineers of the army. Col. Miller's Work. Col. A. M. Miller. corp- of engineers, U. S. A., the officer in charev of the Washing ton aqueduct, was i!ace,i in charge of the project. Ilie undert- k the w rk with en thusiasm rand is .u its ily. He makes 2crsnal vsx t . the tunnel several times a week and !.,dily reports fron his assi i !'il# th - p ress of the operati(ns. ('.+,nel fller ch.e as his as sistant and activ dir-ctor Mr. R. C. Sme--I, a civil eng fr v.no has had wide experience in tuntwl and mine (nstruition. William Gain ard H iry Bolac were imade day ani night sum-rintendents and John Gre,-n and Tayl- Crnin. two young en gin.-rs of this it y. were put in charge of the instrument and surveying wo,rk. The labo,,ters en thet project are hired by the da:iy anil are diret tly ur. itr si:l,,rvision of the office. ni contratetmr. - r zub.m ntrac tors beincg permiitted toI ta k a hanil. The latb re'rs arorr.- :cipal ly ,! c le men. big staut, hio ky felws, who dc the ardluous and dar-geroucs w-r k 1it feet be'! w ground. ifolo.ne-il liille.r iiomrmened thi' job a year ago last July. The first thing tio be done was to pump out thne tunnel, which had filled again since the examination by the board. Trhey pumped out 27,thi..000 gallons of water in three weeks. 16i.SWiiW) ga.llons coming from the section under Roc-k treek. The 'reek had broken through the parti tion of earth and through fissures in the rock had poured into the tunnel. Most oi / 9, NEW LINING SHIOWIN4G CENTERING S this flow has been stopped, but up to a little -while ago they were still pumping 54000 gallons a day from the tunnel. Trhe next step was to repair the shafts, five In number, and put in hoisting appara tus. The repairing was very difficult and dangerous work. The shaft timnbe had ,bulgel Inward nearly a foot. and when the men were at work they never knew what zr.inute the whole mass would fall in. This task was accomplished with safety, how ever, and the engineer, set to work to clean Out the tunnel. An Awful Mes... They found an awful mess. Thsey took out about 40,000 tens of muck and stone and seventy-two cords of timber, which.had been used by the contractors as "backing" to the brick tunnel, instead of rubble ma sonry as stipulated. There were chambers back of the lining, thIrty feet high and Mbty AVD BUILDINGS AT ROCK CREE] tim.bers had been thrown. All this space will naw be filled with rubble masonry anti th! interstices grouted. When the tunnel was thoroughly cleaned the ongineers laid a railroad track its entire length, upon which they run small cars to carry brick, mortar and stone. Two acetylcne gas plants have been installed and a .hrce-inch g;.s main runs through the tunnel, supplying light at no!nts where the warkmen are engag,cL. Artificial ventila tioa is not ne?ded and the only thing nec essary in the way of maintenance is to keep the pumps going and prevent the water gaining headway. A considerable portion of the tunnel, !!A /V/ 4/ IRON LINING UNDE which had been blasted through the solid rck, was lined by the original contractors with a brick arch. The unfinished portions will now be lined with brick, and an invert or floor of the same material will be laid. It will be necessary in many places to trim the foundation of the present arch, where it rests on muck or soft rock, and bring the side walls down to solid rock connecting with the invert. The Greatest Work. The greatest labor, of course, will be on the backing. Holes have been cut in the roof of the arch at every few feet, leading into the open spaces back of the arch, ranging from small crevices to great cav erns. Rubble masonry will be hoisted through the holes and laid until a solid mass extends from the brick lining to the rock. It is estimated that 5/r10,000 brick will be required in the construction. Colonel Miller has found a superior quality of brick which is almost as good as vitrified brick, and it is being laid by expert masons. At a point directly beneath Rock creek the lining of the tunnel will be of iron, instead of brick, on account of the tre mendous pressure exerted there and the treacherous nature of the ground. An iron cylinder 40 feet long, of a size uniform with the brick tunnel, is being put into po sition. This will be lined with cement, and is expected to stand the required strain. A good sized stream of water, evidently from the creek, now pours through an aperture in the cyiinde'r, but this wvill be stopped by an Ingenious method when the time comes. A force pump of great power Iwill be attached to the aperture and a stream of grout will be pumped upward into the earth tuntil the leak stons. Grout is a mixture of sand and cement, of a flowing consistency. It will spread through the earth, and bcing of greater density than water will force the water back, the grout hardening as the water recedes. A Star reporter was taken through the ATO 9 HMLANAE AT WatI Chmpai avenue,I AE.cin EAST. 1vuedbe thoshereb wone of ten oa ciesyI care, nd insetemna Avtrto the tunnel sdea tequipuedryt banchi shft wihrest oeorgtown. aunt exiol althsapn avne, he ectionsd-a-p ver sed in the where mrka is beoided, and thu. fitted out the visitor steps into the cage and Is lowered down the shaft to the tunnel opening many feet below the surface. A rush of cold, damp air greets you as the tunnel is reached. One sees the roof. the side walls and then two feet away Is nothing but pitchy darkTiess, out of which comes the sound ot falling water as -it drips from the roof. Two chairs- on a hand car, which Is to be propelled by a couple of workmen, furnish the mean. of transporta K SHAFT. started, making a rumble like a freight train as the echoes ao rulling down the cavern, and the journey th:;ugh the tunnel is commenced. The first group cf wor'men reached are engaged In illing up onc 0' the caverns back o! the tunnel lig. By means of a step ladder you c!imo thrnugh the aperture in the roof of the arch and stand upright in the space betwren the arch and the rock roof. S;-*eral gas jets, made by a rubber tube connection with the gas main, furnish a briliant white light. The rubble ma senry is being laid from the rear of the cavern toward the manhole, and on one side the workmen have found a cleft in the R ROCK CREEK. rock, which Is so loiy that they have to lIe( on their stomach'A to work, crawling backward as they fill the hole. It is sti fling hot in these places, and the per-spira tion stand1s out (in t.he f4,reheads of the men as they ly their truwels and fit the rocks Into place. So-veral sections are passed where similar operations aro being conducted, the fore menostanding oin watch to see that the duty Is not shirked and that the spaces are solidly filled. When the hole Is closed the brick, are replace-d in the roof of the lin Ing and a framework set under them until the arch is set. Puttins In the Iron Cylinder. The Roc, o-rte!< --ection Is then reached, where the Iron cyllinder Is being put in, the cylinder being cast in sections, which are bOlte-d tcgether. Hlere the noise of the fall ing water is like a young Niagara, and the men fl,;unde r arown.] kn1-o deep, sometimes with litile F! r'eams pattering on their backs as they bendl over* to) their workc. Once again at Plunge Is, made into the black v,,id beyond the iittlo area of lighted space, and the car gws rumbiing along. Occasionally -a po,in1t of light Looms up In the darkntss ahead, and a laborer, with his mniner's famnp In his cal) and his face rimy with th smokle, stats against the wall to allow the car to k,s. The tunnel goes up gr:ole and down, and at one pAint makes a curve to the right for some un klng on hesn plT s n he p ewrspira teeme stohavu rn theifrliehas ofitheu mEnasf the C,yhelinrw an shft the opbakinhs reben condueted,n the foe aren sutaning on th tor seeo tha the solidly Tud hen nowther hoere, ansd the briekware prents a imnth,oo olea apeari iand ah fraeworket unrkn themstilr thfromchis seit.t etaohe agcm Retring io the haplan Cylinuershft the vock orsteep ion the cagen achedn whfry the itam hitdribing umlit in. the cylindfr te caloomy cterns bowhc torte bltsed tigeh fdrgi. A h noiseo therough fing wofe risiket oungh Niaara apnd ther worng houbrs iond khat bla--k oetimeng ith mud, and atr lyting on their acs Onhe aain cice pling madnt hue blnc thoidbeh the kness. Taeto ightedn' work, and ite aesa maneto rudlo along Occasinlyen' Asoc ihtio .omathe Btin mee confrneah, E. ahurch,rwr, with this churhs lofi thidemcatin nthis c ciy with alted se stauto agaith ton ferencts alwh meet toi fals. Thpes tunna mircular urin tohe igctio or "srovesn knowgateson.h geea onrignce, wrkme semed net hyern hiro Tis wtouti mucharegd e elmorantr et Thet ofrthlar imtpart saenu: ath backin danbn otenietee ndthe enr arwitnesse toe bithe nve lomen of th tunel. relgiou einoinateronre innth then andriorousas aAmerican eulean Itspmar ane.u gTh rand adaptabkingt westwach genrsom this fa1tomee anote n cm "Tedwning o the twentiethn avenst, the viifray A mght cl ths cgvend every femet rof ths greaty cahurchbl to theean b.leed lgthei (aymro fr against hog the tunnes will atasin.,gieon fee method of , 100 tes ago, wlld ti sicn mud and wotrk lnw beor the fcurch. then stlin ministry and pling aunid haul wurk,s and ittaes to mansummate ithees seta camnes scatiheearhe prati-a mre confeence Mrttue not Chre, wtha wc then tohure ofnithry denwomaton imuchis jyty are; ited har get toumbter co chrnces, wich meeat tsamy opmembera andrcuda urincheolciorn; o oripubonal tdons,gatera tondh geocal; cofernerih tional rand yearinChicagnso Tsctis; to rardedoas veinmomean oegt ad;t The crhanarges prt sttdens ndaylm forthe dawni n ifrhe naleeent whichre qinessed theirhghs and s developo nent teliu denoinaiom, integy,oen ence vigrou Aericancepufblic. mIntemr melus threorehan adaptabi plity, to- reah tre mass tesweire and oonly iey for 'Theadaningthe Mate twiethom.ur "Wesou sichrcy ehopeas ahr iant fbe th frngye Aoc rihyedl nor gin t tor memb te obtis gretyo.atd church. sea( Thce nthe arnmrnof warfare agains mously adopted the Rock River confer ence a"enA"At, roviding for equal min isterial andI& Tiepiesentation in- the gen eral confevenih ihere is no reason to. doubt tha LNP ction will be promptly ratified XTA eral conference when it assembles in in Mahy, 1900. When this is accom lab there can be no fur ther barrier tetheienerA conference seat isg all 'providenah 4elegates' immediately after the co5q$tt i change has been effected, provided e electoral conferences entitled to 190ea representation shall have duly el ted -such 'provisional dele gates. "The right of seaing these delegates be longs exclusllY tp. the general conference, and any CO Ove;y upon this question prior to the t of that august body of ministers and lay*in appears to us to be clearly unnecessary. "We, therefore. most earnestly and fra ternally urge -all the electoral conferences interested to elect' such number of dele gates as shall equalize their lay delegation with that of their ministerial. May we not also request all electoral conferences not entitled to additional delegates to memorial ize the general conference, asking that all 'provisionally elected delegates' be seated without unnecessary delay?" The district conference of Washington district, M. E. Church South. will convene at Hamilton, Loudoun county, Va., Sep tember 5. The opening sermon will be de livered at 8 p.m. by Rev. C. H. Buchanan, following which the formal organisation of the conference will take place. The fol lowing committees have been appointed: For license to preach and for recommenda tion to the annual conference-W. F. Locke, J. H. Light and C. H. Buchanan. For local deacons' and elders' orders-C Sydenstriker. W. S. Hammond and F. L. Day. Information has reached this city that the name of Rev. C. F. Thomas, rector of the Cathedral. Baltimore, who is well kr.own to and highly esteemed by the Cath olic clergy of Washingten, has been sent to Rome for appointment as bishop of Sa vannah, to succeed the late Rev. Dr. Thos. A. Becker. Since Father Thomas has been rector of the Cathedral, it is stated, he has displayed much executive ability, and it is believed his wide experience will aid him In his episcopal labors. As a preacher he is fearless, never hesitating to express his views at the proper time in unequivocal larguage. He is reserved in manner, but is highly regarded by all who know him. Father Thomas is a nati.ve of this arch diocese and was born in 1858. He was edu cated at St. Charles College, Howard coun ty, Md., and at St. Mary's Seminary, Bal timore. He has been rector of the Cathe dral for about six years. The early arrival in Washington of Rev. James Buchanan is looked for. Mr. Bu chanan is a Baptist minister Lof South Africa who was born not far from Wash ington. He left his native home sixteen years ago. For some time he labored as a sailor and finally landed at Cape Town. Two years ago he was ordained at Cape Town by Rev. R. A. Jackson and was sent as a missionary to Middle Drift, about 1,000 miles from the coast. Mr. Buchanan now has a congregation of about 300 members and Is building a brick chapel. He will return to South Africa in a month or two. The death a few days ago of William H. Wehn removed from mission work in this city and elsewhere a rather remarkable figure. It was affirmed by many that he was a religious fanatic, and that In his ef forts to follow in the footsteps of the Man of Galilee he at times departed from the sphere of worldly equilibrium and existed in a sphere of pseudo-spiritualistic tem perament. Whatever may be said in regard to his career, there is no doubt entertained that he accomplished much good. He built and maintained missions in many cities. That was his Idea of religion-to carry it as nearly as possible to the very door of the poor and the low and the squalid. To this end he devoted much of his time. Wehn was a carpenter, and this fact had much to do with his fervent consideration of his calling after his conversion to the Christian faith. Christmas day, in 181), his infant son died. Vehn was then convinced that he had led a wayward career. and he es poused the cause of Christianity. Believ ing himself thenceforth divinely commis sloned, he started on an evangelistic tour and preached in the streets of nearly every large city in America. To him the high and the lowly in worldly circumstances were equally perverse and sinful. He preached to the denizens of the slums and the scarlet ways a future state of destrue tion and torment ton horrible to describe. From the back alley he went to the street corners overshadowed by the palaces of the rich and the grand, and exhorted the residents in the same strain. Much regret has been expressed by the members of Grace Baptist Church, Capitol Hill, that Rev. A. F. Anderson has re signed the pastorate of that church. For five years Mr. Anderson labored there, dur ing which time he succeeded in having built a fine house of worship. His resigna tion was due solely to the fact that he de sires to further pursue studies at a theo logical seminary. A meeting will be held at Carroll Hall Monday evening next for the purpose of completing arrangements for the dedica tion of the iw Franciscan monastery at Brookland. The event will, it Is expected, be notable in the history of the Catholic Church In the District of Columbia. Car dinal Gibbons has consented to conduct the mass. which will begin at 10 </clock. The cardinal wili also have charge of the dedi catory exercises. A feature of the program will be a pro cession of the Knights of Columbus, in which all the members of the order in the District will participate. Other organiza tions have been invited to unite with the knights in the parade, and it is expected that many of them will be represented. The procession will form int Brookiand at 9 o'clock, and march to the monastery. The interior of St. Aloysius' Church is be ing repainted and renovated. There will be several important changes made before the church is thrown open to the congre gation. Each of the two sIde altars will be enlarged so as to make them small chapels, and two new altars will be placed therein. These are to be of white marble, presented by the memb ers of the Sodality of the Blessed Vir-gin and the League of the Sacred Heart. It wvill take about two months more to complete the improve ments, and in the meantime services are being held in the lower church. No Jurisdiction. From the Atlanta Constitution. A couple applied to a rural Justice of the peace for total divorce. The .fustice called the bailiff aside and asked In a whisper: "What's the law on that p'int?" "You can't do It," replIed the bailIff, "It don't come under yer jurisdiction." - "We're whili' to pay cash fer It," replied the husband, not understanding the nature of the consultation. "I've got the money in this here stockin'. The justice looked grave. Then, adjusting his spectacles and addressing the man, said: "You knowed 'ore you came here that 'twarn't fer me ter' separate husband an' wife, an' yet(you, not only take up the time 0' this here valua$,le court with yer talkin', but ackchulAy perpose ter bribe me with money! Now, how much has you got In that stockinj?" "'Bout six -dolrs an' a half. yer honor." "All right then. I fine you $5 fer bribery an' a dollar: an'o a half fer takin' up my time with a case what my jurisdiction is out of, an' may thie Lord have mercy on yer soul!" . Iasult to the Pug. From the Chilcago Post. "In this flat bpilding, madam," said the agent, "we do not allow children." "Quite right," replied -the fashionably dressed womnan approvingly. "Children are a nnisane "Or dogs," continued' the agent. "What!" exclaimed the woman Indig nantly. "Why, sir, ft's outrageous! It's shameful! I'll report yu to the Society for the Prevention of Cret to Animals; that's what FI'l do. Such shmeu and cruel discrimination as thAt il not go unrebuhed.' It's actuallymiinetive to putting por dear pugs Out of the: way. A Deinition. Fromt the Cisga News, "What is a- slothoscope and what is it used foi? ekftthe professor of the class in anatomy. thp a "The etethoaeope," answered teppla the pedal extwemity' of .the olass, "is a sort of miceroeoopey used Jby a doctor for -the purpose of looking into the 4eSut of. a gi ti.nt w.ith hsat.' UNKNOWN ISLANDS Some Valuable Bits of the West Indies Now Ours. VIEQUES IkLAND AND ITS CAPITAL The Other Islets Which Have For tunes in Phosphates. - MONA'S MAMMOTH CAVE Special Correspondence of The Evening Star. (Copyrighted, 1899. by Frank G. Carpenter.) ISABELLA SEGUNDA, Isle of Vieques, August %, PItl. I have spent the past week in gathering information about some of Uncle Sam's unknown islands. By our treaty with Spain we secured scores of islands in addition to Porto Rico. Some of these are points of rock built up by coral insects, forning lit tle moie than spots on the face of the sea. Others are of considerable value and, among them, those which I describe in this letter. I am writing now on Vieques, the island of crabs, which lies thirteen miles east of Porto Rico and not very far from St. Thomas. It is sixty-four miles from San Juan. and is connected with the main land by the little government steamer, the Slocum, which comes to it with supplies for the soldiers and the mail onpe every week. Through the kindness of the quartermaster at San Juan I was allowed a pass on the Slocum during its present voyage, and by it was landed in Isabella Segunda. Some Islands North of Porto Rico. We began to pass islands which belong to Uncle Sam as soon as we left San Juan. We sailed by several on our way out of the harbor, and then turned to the east and steamed for hours along the north coast of Porto Rico, just outside a reef of low coral islets upon which the blue waves dashed themselve-, casting up a line of white foam. Behind this snowy fringe we could -;"e the blue mountains Fising in a rolling line of beauty which was now and then lost in the clouds. We saw more clouds as we pro ceeded. They hung about the islands, wrap ping the mnuntains with their nebul,us humidity. This region is very moist, and clouds are one of the peculiar features of all Porto Rican scenery. They are full of rain wtich now and then dop,s down in a needle-like spray. and at times falls in sheets and streams. There are clouds everywhere. They hang so close t0 the mountains as to make you think that you could by climbing the hills turn on the spigots of the heavens and have shower baths to order. Our New Leper Island. We saw islands in front of us shortly after we left the capital, and after steam ing for several hours we passed Cane San Juan at the northeastern end of Porto Rico proper and had the Culebra Islands almost directly in front of us. The Cule bra Islands are quite large. Some contain hundreds of acres of rolling land rising (4t. STREET IN ISAI like mountains out of the sea. One of them is of especial interest just now, be tause it has been chosen as a home for the leper population of Porto Rtico. There are a number of levers scattered throughout the country, and Uncle Sam is doing all he can to gather them together and (solate them. The lepers are very se tretive, and It is difficult to find out just who they are. The poor herd together to such an extent that the danger of con tamination is great and so the government las chosen this island as the exclusive lome of the lepers. At present there are Sleven lepers in the hospital at San Juan, ad four more have been reported as liv ag in different parts of Porto Rico. As we passed the Culebra group I could. lee the island which has been chosen. It is tnown as "Louis Pena."' It rises about 400 ~eet above sea level, contains 4001 acres, is tovered with a dense growth of tropical vegetation. About one-half of it can be ultivated, and there are now cattle and [oats upon it. It will raise all kinds of regetables and the tropical fruits peculiar o Porte'Rico. There are plenty of fish in he waters about it. Its woods contain )arrots and also game birds much like our tmerican pheasants. There are also tur les and shell fish in the waters about the toast, and it is believed that the leper tolonies will be largely self supporting. r'he government expects to build a hos lital on the island. It will give the lepers louses and will supply them with seeds Lnd farming toots, and will stimulate them n every way to form a society of their )Wn. The government boats will visit the sland at regular Intervals with supplies for -the lepers, but otherwise tha colony will be completely Isolated from the rest f the world. Down the East Coast of Port. Rico. Balling by this island, our little steamer skirted the Island of Palominos, steaming southward towai-d Vieques. Afar off in front of the ship we could see Vieques, a tazy blue line of low mountains floating. ,.s it were, upon the sea apparently about twenty or thirty miles away. We did- not go direct. but first entered the harbor of the town of Fajardo, on the northeastern soast of Porto. Rico, and then madd our way south 'to the harbor of Humacao. We were.so close to the mainland that we sould see the sugar plantations which line the shores. They were great, squares of ight green shining out of the brown fields ibout themn. Back of the green rose the savy blue mountains of the Porto Rican backbone, with the peak El Yunque, tly uahest mountain of the islarnd, towering ibove them. At the port for Huama we tame to ancho~r in a- bay surrounded by socoanut trees. Here we landed a hogs iaed of-lee for some of :our army officIals, who are etationed about sig mile, bacle Erom the coast, ad -then turned and steemed' eastward'%ward Vieques;. I$S,E OPVIEQUIES cme from Porto Rico into the harbor of Isabella Segunda. This is on the north coast of the is;and. about midway betwen its two ends. Vieques consists of a moon tain ridge about twenly-one miles long and six miles wide. It is beautifully gret n. and tl.e low mountains ris.- and fall, forming a Toiling country. in which are some of the m,st fertile !a;nds of our West Indian pos sessions. The t.il is such that it will grow all kinds of vegetables and fruits. The Isldnd has a nu:nber of large sugar plama tiins, and it raises the best cattle of the West indies. The (hief harbor Is that of Isabella Se gunda. although there is a port on the south which gives a better landing place. The lairb(,r here is surrounded by h!is, an4l it is unsafe at the time of th- norther ly winds. As it was, our little steamer had to anchor far out from shore. '. I elimbed dlown a rope ladder into a b,at which carried me to the wharf. It was a ride of perhaps two miles, and the landing at the little pier which runs out into th% ocean was by no means easy. I'sabella Segiinda ne-ties among the hills right on the beach. At one side of it there Is a liiac-colored light house, and on the ON THE PHOSPH hill ba.,k of the town is a moss-grown fort, built by the Spaniards. which is now a barraciks for our soldiers. The town has about 1,40. pjopulation. It is made up of !sUIunre OneC-Story cottages with galvanized iron r,,ofs The houses are built a-4ong widle uni.aved streets, which cross one an other at right angles. The streets are shad ed beatitully 1-3y great trtes. Many of the homnes have pretty gard,-ns about themn. There are benchws on the sides of the front doors. and altogether everything looks thrifty and clean. In the eenter of the tewn there is a plaza, with a public cis tern for the p-or. Tho people if Vieques number. all told. about 6,4jo Th#-y are not like the Porto Ricans. The island during the seventeenth anmi vighteen,h venturies belonged to the English and Frenchi, and] aithough for the past D)o years It has been under Spanish rule it still has English and French among its people. It has many negroes, who speak Englih, m,-st of whom have come from the- i.,land of St. Thomas to labor on the planta,tions. The richest of the planters are French, and the French language is largely used throughout the Island. Cattle and Horae. Vi"ques has several large horse ranches. The animals at e allpwed to run out all the - .. 1 - .. hyeakound The gras is osgownd fot, bi-tues atte,S)nir which r is ow x a aorcito for or anldiCub. The whach Iahave see are4 msuch tlargeri thante up-of dinary ru ofstr cttges thwUited gSaies. Mat n o thetw-rod stees wIc rs wone weig eleven atrih twelehudepons. Thestesarshd pes oelfucatl av reatwe ths anyt us. th fhirly hood animay costins about .The doerus stoc ltgeteraemr eehngerpris nth'vandcnn theosete of tot io hyhe agon thea c ere isagaa ivth atheli s diern forfh Copnr. f h 1hnaty The peope to beqvey nuood, allroducdn ricanmil The islam.drngtesvetet In haveae cinuries asetongried o tand here,lbut ad toldher and antough for sahe rule islt hs owndish an fenchole amo ire epl, stase many hers woditeon Emnghe maet owners hae come sugar pters somed of whommeas igho on th plat0ton0 Tasheugriacyear. ofTher planters largel usaed scttrughover the sldnd. Thr 'a utlttie good tombe nV. qe, nessuwhaser,a large hoserances.at ThannPort ic aot eem to runout alhe At reen th olyAmrcas nh S.a 4Isan ofCas r hepsmatr aPi "~ 'i"" * adephannaedLacate; hesodirs an tesina erie en hoheigrp yer round. Thel gass the tgodh and n graiu n reirrorts rom sneoitht the IThare ae uie muc larer ofhProtetant inrerunes, attl amng them ante States. peeve r wlved huredkm pounds. Sth Caina. Hoc growero,r whor wentefrris inguthan Carosen of torSt Rio.a They then some imredH hsck, uarsd HerVe fors bfo gno uncyomear.. A fe 'wek agos e cows were' givet.h sl oferncoe Cam'sanew thend abth Inanry. richoil areMn crea. adte aad Mueade inquries a te Dead." of lnd hret ofuth aod there ihstnn forrsat. Thco In was aone bym a fehopla, wshan are wch aisfiabed with theirspodton.e, Angro ths laget oweris ae. th sugar pante, omies ofrwom Ponce as igh ast a mile0og and suarl a. yier Teir Youan tipon . are scatteedoerd ptre lolands. The is bu sml part goof timbeso y ie u motef teavingo tee Dcut n'sh chestate are fid toi beiehelet.here-i no sic ns es aeer ndh solch em icsbacs a tadian nma medn ncauster;- th soldier there are probably more than 100.000 toW Of valuable phosphates, They are of tW* kinds. "ne is a pure lime phosphate and the other a phosphate much like our South Carolina rock. They are earth PhosphateS which have been enriched by thd manum Df the millions of birds and bats which UVO in the caves. This Island is now owned by a Porto Ricat who had a concession from the 6panish government for working the phosphate, and this has, I am told, been confirmed by our government.. The property is said to bG valuable, Its owners claiming that the phoe phates. after paying all expenses of mining and shipment to llamburg, will net $7 a tom tnere, and that there is a demand for alt that can be exported. The Island of Mona. I saw something of the island of Mona; In going about the western end of Porto Rico to Pnuce. Our government transports land first at San Juan and thence steam around the eastern end of Virto Rico through the Mona passage. This is the name of a broad chamwl in the tean flow ing between Port(- Rico and Santo itomin go. it is one of the highways , f travel. but is not frequented as much as some of the otht r channels into the Caribbean sea. Mona Islaad lies Just west of the city of Ma3aguez. It is of volcanic origin, with coasts rising perpendicularly to, a great height above sea level. Some of its shores are bounded with white cliffs in which are numberless grottoes or caves. This is es pecially so along the east e(la- t. where, from a map recently published by the War Department. there are large caverns marked as "positively unknown." Other parts of Mona Island are good for grazing, anti a small part of it is wooded. Mona Island once contained large de ;>osits of phosphates, which were mined and sent to Hamburg. One of the men inter rsted in the industry was the same Port* Rican. who now owns half the phosphates 3f the Caja de Nlu, rtos. it may be that a re-exploration of Nlona Island will result in additional discoveries of fertilizers. Tho [sland can be easily reached by small boatS X ATE ISLANDS. rrom Mayaguez. although at present it is Inhabited only by a stray fisherman or so who come for a time and then go back to Porto Rico. Fortunes in Phosphates. This matter of phopn1hates is one that will pay careful investigation. I am told that nearly ali of the numerous small is ands about Port,, Rico have phosphatic leposits. The most of them have not been w-orked and many have not been prospect ,d. Every now and then I hear of some lew place containing phosphates. One of he most remarkable stories is concerning in island which lies eleven miles south )f Guayama, and some distance east of he Caja de 1luertos. This island has about t acres, which is underlaid with phos yhate rock. The rock lies in veins, like the )hos)hate rock of South Carolina. When Lnalyzed it shows 61 per cent of phosphate )f lime; 5 per cent of water and 5 per cent f clay. It is easily mined, but a small lock and a tunnel will have to be made )efore it can be gotten out to the ships. One of the army officials who is interest dI in this property tells me that the com 1any expects to ship the product to Ham )urg. This same man says that he knows if anothor place where there are 3,0,000 :ons of phosthate In sight, which, when in Jamburg, will sell for $17 a ton. I believe that there are also valuable fer ilizers on the mainland of Porto Rico. ;ome parts of it contain phosphates, and n my rides over the mountains I have >assed square miles of stone which seems o be almost pure lime. They have here tome kinds of limestone which are as solid is marble, and which can be polished like talian marble. The marble crops out in lifferent places all over the island. It is agged on top. but further down it lies in iolid blocks, and could be made into fine )uilding material. Another kind of lime tone is Very soft. All you need to do is o put it into an oven and fire it, and you lave excellent lime. There is a cement which might be of *aiue which is found in many parts of "orto Rico. It crops out much like lime tone, and when crushed it looks not un ike Portland cement. It has great ad iEsivi power, and in the houses where it tas been used for building it stands up in Idges after the bricks have worn away. [his is especially so in the pavements khich are cemented with it. I asked the ecretary of state of Porto Rico about it. -le tells me that it is fairly good, but not ts good as foreign cement. The Caveu of Porto Rico. Porto Rico is full of natural wonders. Jearly all of the islands which I have de cribed in this letter have caves whIch are vorth exploration. There are wonderful ayes In Porto Rico proper. On the north oast, about seven miles southeast of Are iho, there is a rock over three hundred eet high, which is almost perpendicular tbout one-third the way up from the hod om is a grotto, which has a number of averns and arches. It has stalactites and ther curiosities, which are said to equal efamous caves of Luray in Virgin. 'he entrance to these caves is about e eet high and nine feet in width; it is now overed with brambles. Another remarkable cave is not far from be center of the island, near Aguas Bue as. 1 have not visited this cave, but some oldiers who have been there describe it s one of the wonders of the world. It lay, indeed, be called "the mammoth ave" of the West Indies. You go through narrow passage about 300 feet long and fteen feet high, when you enter a series f large chambers which are fairly alive rith bats. It is necessary to use torches a dispel the darkness, and the bats fly in ryriads thIs way and that, now striking ou iri the face, and making a rushing oise that is terrifying in the darkness. Tow and then you come to a deep hole, in hich you can cast a stone and hear it trump, thump, thump, as it goes down. ard to unknowrn depths, These caverns go on and on, one opening Ito another, for a long distance, They lIrm, in fact, a natural catacomb, only a art of which. has ever been explered. Inough Is knoWn, however, to be sure that sey are one of the greatest of natural ronders and well worthy of a survey -by urr government Scientits,e FRtANK G. CARPENTERL He LSked Et. - re the Bestirs HerM Some tline ago a well-knows and la# Congregationrsna4miniter received asket of champagne from mn ta .rldly and wealtbg parishIones, A fw~ aya later. na mitter's little esa atled up inhsporb ess t me teacerE/ -asUa "Whbs. i ln ean?" " dmatnet wist md h salla boy, "but- had enia f ster, and it is awaf nie