®Jte Nantira.
(lEOKGE \V. MAGEE, Editor.
DUPUYEK,
MONTANA.
Ernest Brenner, the new president of
3witzerand, is only 44 years old, but ii.
me of the ablest international lawyers
n Europe. He is a native of the Can
:on of Basle.
According to advices from London
lapan has invited tenders for the es
:ablishment of an armor-plate factory
it Tokyo, which, it is thought, means
;hat in the future Japan intends to
:onstruct her own war vessels.
It conveys a- rather striking idea of
the growth of the country in popula
.ion to consider that the two states of
iowa and Minnesota contain together
more inhabitants than did the country
sver which Washington became presi
3ent in 1789.
Owing to the ever increasing num
ber of her warships in the Pacific Rus
sia has decided on extensive improve
ments at Vladivostok and Port Arthnr.
The cost of these figures in the budget
Tor 1901 amounts in round numbers to
;he comfortable sum of $1,000,000 for
Vladivostok and $1,500,000 for Port
Arthur.
Electricians have just talked across
the Mississippi at St. Paul by tele
phone without wires, and it is believ
2d that conversation can be carried on
in the same way at twelve miles dis
tance. May we not look forward to
the time when all the people of the
sarth will be for social purposes in a
single room?
At an experiment in St. Joseph, Mo.,
a cat was apparently killed by a shock
of electricity carefully administered.
Two hours after the heart had ceased
to beat the current was reversed and
••the second shock restored the heart
beats, faintly at first, but growing
stronger until the cat was finally re
leased as playful and frisky as ever.
Tunis, the famous black horse which
General Boulanger rode at the review
in 1886, has died. Before his death
the former minister of war consigned
the animal to the charge of his friend,
M. Louis Barbier, who sent it to the
Gironde to end its days in peace. It
has been decided to send the animal's
tail as a present to M. Henri Roche
fort.
The minister of war in Sweden has
prepared a bill establishing compul
sory military service and there is no
doubt that in due course it will be
passed by the Swedish parliament. Up
to the present time the Swedish army
has been recruited by voluntary enlist
ment, deficiencies being filled up by a
certain number of men being com
pelled to serve for a period of ninety
days.
Plans for a new botanical school,
which is to be erected by Henry Phipps
in Schenley Park, Pittsburg, have been
completed. This school will be the
only one in the United States devoted
exclusively to the study of botany and
is to be so located with reference to
the park conservatory that the plants
there can be made use of for purposes
of instruction. The institution is in
tended for the ben^t of the pupils of
the public schools, as well as for that
of private classes.
A group of mechanics who are now
returning from British India bring
with them the story of an American
expansion in which all can rejoice.
They have just completed the con
struction of a great steel bridge in
the Shan Hills of Burma, which is to
be part of a railroad built by the gov
ernment from Rangoon into China.
The steel was made by a Pennsylvania
concern, which secured the contract in
competition with the world. Three
great freighters conveyed the structur
al material across the seas, and forty
mechanics went out to do the skilled
work. Higher than the tallest offioa
buildings of Philadelphia and nearly
half a mile long, this bridge is a fitting
monument to the expension of Am
erican trade.
The representatives from Louisiana
will make an effort to induce congress
to provide for the translation and pub
lication of some sixty volumes of
manuscript now in the Ministry of
Colonies of France, which relate to the
early history of the Mississippi Valley.
The existence of the works was discov
ered by Prof. Alcee Fortier, president
pt the Louisiana Historical Society,
while making researches last summer!
The volumes contain correspondence of
the colonial governors, orders, procla
mations, census, grants of land, regis
try of marriages, births, and deaths,
accounts of the colony and various
data referring to the colony from 1678
to 1807. This literature undoubtedly
contains matter of great interest bear
ing on the early history of the Mis
sissippi valley, but it might very well
b« translated and published *t the ex
peoso Pf the states directly Interested.
m
«3
v
NEURASTHENIA.
Neurasthenia, or "nervous prostra
tion," has been called the "American
disease," because we in this country
are supposed to be possessed of a rest
less energy which wears upon the nerv
ous force and finally exhausts it.
Both neurasthenia and hysteria were
formerly, and are by many even yet,
regarded as trivial affections; and suf
ferers from them were unjustly looked
upon with something akin to contempt
as creatures of weak will power, who
might be well if they chose.
But neurasthenia is a very real dis
ease and sometimes a terrible one, al
though the doctors are as yet unable to
discover any palpable change in the
nervous system to account for the
symptoms. It seems to be, as its name
implies, a real nervous exhaustion;
there is no visible change in the nerv
ous system, but it is simply tired from
overuse and unable properly to per
form its delicate functions.
The symptoms of neurasthenia vary
greatly in character and in degree, yet
they are usually quite easily recogniz
able as being due to nervous exhaus
tion and not to actual organic disease
of any part of the nervous system.
The mind is tired; the patient is un
able to concentrate his thoughts on
his work, and often finds himself sit
ting doing nothing while matters re
quiring his immediate attention are ac
cumulating, and life has lost its
charm. The little sleep he gets is dis
turbed by dreams, and the morning
brings no refreshment.
Various weary sensations, pains,
chilly feelings, numbness, and so forth,
are complained of in different parts
of the body. Dizziness, ringing in the
ears, dimness of vision or floating
spots before the eyes, headache and
pain in the spine are common symp
toms. The heart is irritable, very
slight causes increasing the rapidity
of the pulse. The nuerasthenic is
often dyspeptic and usually has a poor
appetite.
The treatment is apt to be difficult,
for the reason that the patients are
hard to manage. The main thing is
rest, both mental and physical. Yet
the sufferer should not be wholly idle.
He should, if possible, leave home for
a time and stay in some quiet place
where there is enough going on to in
terest without exciting him.
Long hours of sleep, nourishing food
with plenty of cream and butter, mod
erate daily exercise in the open air,
and especially entire freedom from
worry, are the main points in the treat
ment of nervous exhaustion.
LIQUID IKSECT CATCHER.
The increased destruction of city
trees by insects during the past few
y ears ha s caused the inventor to design
a nu mber of devices to prevent the
P ests from crawling up the tree trunk
and depositing eggs in the branches a3
wel1 as eating the leaves. Hitherto
the £ ua rds have consisted of bands of
loos e fabric, cotton wadding, etc., be
ing generally treated with a chemical
and bound tightly on the tree trunk.
His invention, which we show here
with, however, is a radical departure
from former ideas, inasmuch as the
chemical is in a liquid form and is
contained in a circular pocket sur
rounding the tree, making it impos
sible for any Insect or worm to crawl
up the trunk of the tree without pass
ing through the liquid. The guard is
in two sections, which are damped to
gether around the tree, with a layer of
Z&2
FOR DESTROYING INSECTS,
packing beneath the guard and the
bark to form a tight joint. The cir
cular gutter is provided with two
separate circles of liquid to insure the
death of those insects which might
possibly survive a single bath in the
poisonous fluid.
ABOÜT WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY.
The Chief Inspector of French Tele
graphs, M. Willot, has communicated
» paper to the Electrical Congress in
which he states that it Is his belief
that ether w*y$ telegraphy will soon
become obsolete, JHe is a w?JJ-fcnown
I**
loan and inventor of telegraph
and telephonic devices. He has come
to the conclusion that it is the earth,
and not the air, through which signals
are transmitted, without the use of
wires, and that the curvature of the
earth and intervening hills do not in
tercept the signals, and this suggested
to him the question whether the mat
ter telegraphed left the masts at the
top or bottom. He believes that it left
at the bottom, as the signaling is not
affected by wind or fog and is im
proved by giving the masts good elec
trical communication with the earth.
According to his theory, communica
tion is kept up through geological bels,
in which the electricity of the earth has
the same tension, so that disturbance
on one point at the same electrical
level creates a swell in the lower level,
leaving the higher and lower strata
comparatively undisturbed. He pro
poses to tap these levels by means of
shafts and measure the electrical ten
sion with the electroscope. The French
Telegraph Department has appointed a
committee to sink the shafts to ascer
tain the distribution of electrical levels.
M.- Willot considers that .he can con
struct an apparatus which will meet
every case.
GEMS ARE INTERCHANGEABLE.
In the accompanying drawing is
shown a new method of mounting
precious stones and initial gems in a
single ring. The idea is to provide a
sing which may be worn on all oc
casions, with means for changing the
jewels at the caprice of the wearer, or
the jewels are made to correspond
RING WITH REMOVABLE SETTING.
with the costume to be worn on spe
cial occasions. It will be seen that the
enlarged surface of the ring is cut out
to form a well of circular shape into
which depression the setting proper
fits, being held in place by the screws
at the sides and center. The different
gems are provided with claw, flush or
_ _
bevel mountings, the rear portion in
each case conforming in shape to the
depression in the face of the ring.
When it is desired to change the stone
it is only the work of a moment to
loosen the screws and slip out the
mounting already in the' ring. Thus
the amount of gold necessary to mount
the different stones properly is re
duced to a minimum, which has ad
vantages both in the decreased space
occupied in the jewel box and from
the monetary standpoint.
COMPRESSED AIR MOTORS,
Compressed air motors, in Leu of
horse traction, are to be employed for
the propulsion of the vehicles belong
ing to the Compagnie Generale de3
Omnibus of Paris. The station for ac
commodating the necessary compress
ing plant will develop from 5,000 to
7,000 horse power, and the air will be
stored in the main receivers at a pres
sure of 1,400 pounds to the square
inch. From these receivers the com
pressed air will be conveyed to the
distributing stations in weldless steel
pipes from two inches to Jour inches
in diameter, laid along the roadway.
In order to reduce the possibility of
extensive leakage, through imperfect
joints, the pipes have Been manufact
ured in 64-foot lengths. Each car car
ries eight receivers with a total cap
acity of 8,827 cubic feet, which is esti
mated to be sufficient to enable the car
to run a journey of 7% miles without
re-charging, and they can be re
charged in three minutes. Before the
air passes into the motor cylinders it
is heated by means» of a small coke
fire. Fifty-two passengers form the I
complement of two cars, accommodated
upon two decks.
CENTRAL ASIA'S LARGEST RIVER.
Recent reports from Dr. Sven Hedin,
who is a 0 .un exploring Central Asia,
strengthen the impression which his
previous explorations have given of
the extraordinary character of that
part of the world. Salt lakes, dried
up lake-beds, abandoned habitations
and temples and interesting people,
hitherto almost unknown, are among
his discoveries. He also reports that
the Tarim river in Eastern Turkestan,
which he has surveyed for a long dis
tance, is the largest river in the in
terior of Asia. Over a part of Its
course the river Is simply g multitude
ot «mall intercbftlned lakes.
Rjussia's Tea Trade
Interrupted by the Chinese War
Not the least serious effect of. the
present trouble in China has been the
interruption to the tea trade. RuBsia
has for many years done a large trade
with the Chinese in this particular im
port. Two hundred and sixty years
ago, during the reign of Czar Michail
Feodarevitch, a Russian envoy, Pas
pili Starkoff, was sent to the khan
of Mongolia, Altyn khan, the "Golden
Khan," as he was called, on a friendly
mission, says a Moscow writer in the
Chicago Daily News.
Starkoff's mission returned in au
tumn, and the czar's curiosity was at
once aroused by the account he re
ceived of the new beverage "tachai,"
as it was called. He ordered it to be
prepared at once and was charmed
with its odor and flavor. But though
the new drink found favor at court the
people could not be persuaded to adopt
it. They believed that it would slowly
poison them, or, at least, deprive them
of their wits—no difficult matter, said
a wicked Swede when he heard the
story.
The Russian authorities, however,
were determined that . their subjects
should drink the new beverage and im
bibe less vodka, but even then a whole
century elapsed before the population
cf Russia was induced to use the
rtrange Chinese drink.
By degrees the peasants began to
fret interested in the "Chinese herb,"
until at last it became the most popu
lar beverage in the country. Vodka
(till holds, it is true, its ancient re'ga,
but it is no longer solitary in its grip
on the people. Tea fights hard, for the
throne of their affections and has done
piore to foster sobriety than almost
i'.ny other agency.
A hundred and fifty years ago Rus
I ia entered intp trade relations with
China. Among all the treaties made
the importation of tea was specially
mentioned. When the Russian envoys
Reached the Chinese court they were
politely requested to kneel before the
emperor, but the proud orthodox boy
r.rds refused to humiliate themselves
before any mere heathen.
ESCAPE
OF
A
LIONESS
Following is a story told of the es
cape of a lioness from a menagerie
at Chartres the other day, which
makes one think . that saich a gentle
creature should not be kept a captive
behind bolts a nd bars, but should be
allowed the same freedom of action
as the most respectable pug or pussy
cat. It was evening when the lioness
left the menagerie and for some hours
her absence was not noticed. Mean
while she met an old lady, who patted
CANNOT BUY IT,
Hindoo Divinity Saved from tho Moham
medans Is Above Price.
It is part of the Mohammedan creed
to smash the noses of all idois they
may come across. When they invaded
India they defaced in this way every
Hindoo god. A figure of Vishnu cut
in green jade was bulled in the bed of
the Ganges during this invasion and is
now preserved in a temple in Benares.
It is the only perfect image left otall
the old idols, and its sanctity is such
that the priests of Allahabad have of
fered for it its weight in gold, togeth
er with two magnificent rubies, for
merly the eyes of Buddha. But they
cannot buy it. An enterprising Aus
tralian millionaire hamed Leonard
took a trip to Peru recently. He saw
great flocks of the alpaca wandering
on the Andes. Being a woolgrower
himself, he was struck with their
splendid fleece. He resolved to buy
some and take them home. He found
that the Peruvian government abso
lutely prohibited their export. He
tried, by chartering a special ship, to
smuggle some off, but was unsuccess
ful. Then the idea occurred to him
of taking them out of the country
eastward. He bought a large flock, en
gaged trusty men and had the crea
tures driven over the passes, 18,000
feet above the sea level, and then clean
across the continent to Buenos Ayres.
Relics of Irish Lake Dwellers
An interesting relic of the lake
dwellers of Ireland has just been add
ed to the Science of Art Museum of
Dublin In the form of a crannog, or
elevated dwelling. It was discovered
in a bog-filled lake near Enniskillen,
and measures over 100 feet in diame
ter. On removing the peat the piles of
platform timber were laid bare. The
piling and cross -tim baring were ad
This dignified conduct was produc
tive of a most undignified retreat. The
boyards had to put their pride in their
capacious pockets, which seeitas to
have been made for holding that un-"
bounded element. They fled out of
Pekin and returned to the banks of
the Neva with doleful countenances
and empty wallets. It is needless to
say that all treaties were broken oft
between the tea-producers and the
drinkers of that beverage.
In 1826, however, the Russian czar
determined to attempt to patch up the
breach. To this end he sent his envoy
Golovin with a compact body of 500
Streltzis famed for their marksman
ship. Along with the envoy were also
1,400 officers and a large retinue of
servants.
The czar's program, with which he
intrusted his clever representative,
was rather ambitious. He desired him
to ratify a trade treaty with China; to
establish a permanent mission at Can
ton; to propose a permanent legation
at the court of Pekin; to establish a
trade with India by way of Thibet,
and to secure a free entrance for Rus
sian merchants into China.
Colovin succeeded in nearly all these
objects and after his mission was over,
tea became quite common once more
in Russia. Peter II. extended and am
plified this treaty and the Russian,
import of tea increased yearly.
When China again simmers down
to its usual peaceful pursuits, Russia
and China will do a bigger trade than
ever. When the Manchuria railway is
complete and Russian influence is
paramount in Manchuria and Mongo
lia; when the predatory robber bands
have been broken up and the men
dwell under their owç vine and flg
tree without fear, the volume of trade
between Russia and China, especially
in tea, will increase marvelously. Of
late, cheap Russian tea from the south
ern province has been sold at very rea
sonable prices with the Chinese article,
but neither of them is so good as the
Chinese tea.
her head, thinking her to be a dog.
This kindly treatment evidently won
the heart of the lioness, who meekly
followed her for some distance. Then
a hue and cry was raised, women and
children, panic-stricken, shut them
selves into houses and barricâded win
dows and doors, while a search was
made for the lost inmate of the me
nagerie, who was at last found in a
frightened condition in a carpenter's
yard, and doubtless was delighted to
be safely taken back again.
This little expedition cost him $13,500.
But the long march had so weakened
the alpacas that they all died on the
voyage.
On the top of the prince of Wales'
coronet is a small tuft of feathers. The
wife of a rich Manchester cotton spin
ner endeavored to get some similar.
She was told that there were none on
the market. "I don't mind spending
$500," she said. ^The plume seller
smiled. "They wiîî cost you the price
of a special expedition to New
Guinea," !he observed. Her husband
was enormously wealthy and she in
duced him to authorize this. Last June
the plume hunters returned. They hatl
been away nearly a year and spent
over $4,000. They reported that the
feriwah, the particular kind of bird of
paradise from which the plumes are
taken, is extinct.
Olilo at the Buffalo Fair.
The state of Ohio will be? represented
at the Pan-American exposition which
opens at Buffalo next May by a plain
Grecian Doric building, the plans for
which have met with the approval of
Gov. Nash. Tho building will be 84x
122 feet and will occupy a command
ing site on the exposition grounds. It
may be taken as a sample of what the
other states will do at the great com
ing all-American fair, which In inter
est will not fall far behind many at
the great world exhibitions.
mirably done, untrimmed birch trees
being principally used for cross laying,
while oak was used for the stouter
piles. A large quantity of broken pot
tery was found in it, besides an iron
ax of early form, a fragment of a
comb and some bronze harp pegs.
The contented blacksmith is nearly
always striking for iragesu