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VENEZUELA OF TODAY ITS PEOPLE, THEIR CHARACTERISTICS AND THEIR GOVERNMENT. How the Country Is Liable to Be Affected as a Result of the Im broglio Wltli Germany and Ens land. When war news is scarce and peace seems hovering over this wrangling world of ours, somebody starts a fight In Venezuela. The Venezuelan seems always spoiling for a fight. Hardly had President Castro suc ceeded in putting down the rebellion against the government when the ships of England and Germany appeared on the coast to demand settlement of long standing accounts. And so it goes. The Venezuelan is never at peace. To Iiis credit, however, the size and strength of an opponent never appear to enter into the Venezuelan's calculations when he unslings his rifle. The republic of Venezuela is situated on the northeast corner of the conti nent of South America. It was origi nally one of the free states founded by Simon Bolivar In Spanish New Grana da. The present form of government was founded about seventy years ago, but changes and reconstructions were passed in 1804 and in 18S1. It was in tended to establish a government simi lar to that of the United States, but it more nearly resembles that of the Swiss confederation. The national legislature of the Unit ed States of Venezuela, which com prises eight states, consists of two houses, one of senators and another of deputies, endowed with the most am ple power in all affairs related both to politics and administration. To form the senate each state designates by means of its respective legislature three senators and an equal number of substitutes to fill the vacancies that may occur, and to form flie other house each state returns by popular election one deputy for each 35,000 in habitants and another for any number exceeding 15,000. In the same manner an equal number of substitutes are re turned to replace principals in case of need. Both senators and deputies are elected for a term of four years. The last census, taken in 1901, shows a population of 2,4-14,Sit!, of whom about 45,000 are foreigners. The popu lation of the capital, Caracas, is given as 72,420; Valencia, 38,054; Maracaibo, 34,284; Barquisimeto, 31,470; Cindad de Cura, 12,198; Barcelona, 12,785; Cindad Bolivar. 11,080, and Guanare, 10,880 M mm. VENEZUELAN FAMILY AND HOME. La Guayra, practically the only port of the .country, has a population of less than 1.0,000. It was at this point that the English and German allies landed and where tlie custom house is located. It was In the harbor of I,a Guayra that the ships were captured. Harbors there are practically none on the Venezuelan coast, and ships lie in open roadstead except at La Guayra, which has been improved by a break water. lint, after all. La <Juayra is only a port of call, a starting point for the capital, and of late years modern enter prise has made swift and easy what was a most uncomfortable journey be fore the railroad was built. For Caracas, the capital, lies 3.000 feet above the level of the sea, and the distance by zigzag road is twenty-seven miles around, less than seven as the crow flies. It is a most wonderful piece of engineering. During construction the line for miles could only be reached by what is called undercutting, workmen being suspended by ropes over preci pices 1.000 feet down, where now the train, apparently risking quite as much, creeps safely along the scratch they have left upon the mountain side. The state religion of the republic is Roman Catholic, but other religions are tolerated. "When the last census was taken, there were 3,575 Protestants and 411 Jews in the republic and 5.0U0 in habitants "without profession." The rest were Roman Catholics. There are about 33.000 coffee plantations in the country, covering from 180.000 to 200, 000 acres, and the exports from these plantations to the United States amounted last year to 301.713 bags. There are also about 11,000 sugar plan tations in the republic. About one-fifth of the population is engaged in agri culture. There are German. Dutch. English and Spanish merchants in nearly all the important towns, but the country has never been attractive to Americans, and, aside from the corporation repre sentatives sent there to negotiate for concessions and the people who went tu Venezuela to do business for the con cessionnaires. few Americans have be come residents of the republic. The vast interior of this great land, comprising over 500.000 square miles, is almost unexplored. A story is told ef a certain inland river for whose pur chase .1 large sum was offered by Eng land and a larger demanded by Vene zuela. Surveyors wer»' sent out at great expense to ascertain the course of the stream. Thev came hack and reported "there was no such liver in existence." The bargain had to be suspended while a new map was drawn. Amid the mountain ranges, upon mighty "lla nos," vast plains like our western prai ries, there still reside remnants of the ancient Caribs, whose ancestors cap tured the islands where Columbus found the race when he came. They re tain their language and their customs, living by the chase and by predatory warfare upon their neighbors. Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, is the pride of the people. There the first steps toward Soutli American inde IS am. ; $ m -m LAKE DWELLERS OF MA1ÎACA1BO. pendence were taken. It was the birth place of the liberator Simon Holivar, and, with its forty bridges, ten public squares, broad streets, railways and modern buildings, it is as interesting as it was when Baron von Humboldt vis ited the place. Another important town is Maraeai bo, noted for its coffee, great quantities of which are exported. Valencia is the most important of the inland cities. The United States exports to Vene zuela include flour, petroleum, machin ery, glassware, oils and paints and general merchandise. American mer chants have not succeeded in taking much of the dry goods trade from the Germans, whose wares have become popular in all parts of the republic. The recent internecine troubles of the country, on top of which was added the imbroglio with two powerful Eu ropean nations, can but have a most depressing effect on the prosperity of Venezuela. German. British and Amer ican merchants, and these comprise the bulk of those doing business with the republic, will hardly care to embark or continue in any such hazardous oecu pation as trading in thai country. In other words, the commerce of that re public is practically dead so far as its foreign aspects are concerned. MAXIM'S DISTINCTION. Whnt I.crii Kalisliurj Said of < lie Xoted hivt'iaacr. Sir Hiram Maxim, who is coining to this country to spend two years, dur ing which time ho will endeavor to per fect his living machine, despite his for eign title is a product of the pine clad hills of Maine. Some years ago Sir Hiram expatriat ed himself because the American gov ernment; would not encourage him in his inventions. lie began work on the famous automatic gun which bears his name in 187.'!, but not until ten years later did he make substantial progress, and soon after his gun was built. The British government was the first to or der a gun. It was of this weapon that Lord Salisbury once said to King Ed m m m m * % «s« 8 s IK un; A M MAXIM ward, "Sir Iiiram Maxim has prevent ed more men from dying of old age than any other nam who ever lived." Sir Hiram is now approaching his sixty-third year. Lady Maxim is also an American. She was Miss Ilaynes. the daughter of the late Charles llave.es of Boston. Xew n ;*i ;iîevt :>i !t For Vessels. S. A. liai.s -m. acting assistant sur geon of the United Slates marine hos pital s- rvice. has r c n;ly r. port, d th> results of his exp rimen:s in San I'ran ciseo in estimating the Ungtli of time required for the disinfi etion of vessels with 5 per cent sulphur dioxide. He conclude? that twelve hours' extr sure is sutlieient to kill all insects and ail germs except bacillus subtilis. Ilats survived in but one experiment. à BEAUTIFUL PEST. HOW A LITTLE PLANT BECAME THE SCOURGE Or TWO STATES. Uncle Snm'n Aid Invoked to Rid Florida Rivers of the "Water Hya einth—Wonderful Growth Impedes Navigation. That a pretty water plant bearing gemlike blossoms of white, pink and blue should become a pest that threat ens the inland commerce of two states and lias caused the expenditure of thousands of dollars seems at first thought incredible. Nevertheless it is true of the water hyacinth. The hyacinth that blooms in so lovely a manner and is a pretty household plant lias become In Florida waters a terrible scourge, a menace to the navi gation of the rivers and creeks and lias cost steamboat companies and lumber men a large amount of money in the vain endeavor to clear out the St. Johns and its tributaries. It has also invaded Louisiana and Texas, but Flor ida is the greatest sufferer. The hyacinth was introduced into Florida many years ago by a planter living near Palatka. on the St. Johns, fifty-seven miles above Jacksonville. It speedily flourished and was the own er's admiration and delight. Later the plants began spreading and soon cov ered the bayous in the St. Johns near his place, and later they spread to south Florida. Year by year the inva sion increased, and soon the rivers and creeks been me almost impassable for boats 1 y reason of the immense beds of hyacinths clogging up the waters. Sawmills, which abound along the St. ,Johns river and its tributaries, were compelled to cease operations. Because of the hyacinths choking the streams and bayous it" became impossible to float logs to the mills or to take the product away. Many wi re the schemes tried in the effort to get rid of the pest. They all failed. At length the general govern ment was appealed to and an appropri ation secured. In Louisiana the same trouble was experienced, and the gov ernment engineers, taking lessons from those at work there, have solved the problvm of hyacinth extinction. A large and powerful steam tug was purchased for the work. She has espe cially heavy boilers and engines to force Ii t through the matted plants. For several veers the St. Johns has been covered with floating beds of the M ST. JOHNS 1UVE1! CHOKED WITH WATKIt HYACINTHS. plant vary ing from a few acres in area 1 o a mile or two long and extending sometimes from shore to shore. In many places on the upper St. Johns, where the river Is narrow, the plants are so solidly [tacked that people can cross the river mi them. The roots ex tend from four to ten feet, and an ordi nary steamer cannot force its way through them. The tug is expected to clear this away and has started work in Black creek, a large stream a few miles from Jacksonville. Along with the tug as a tender will be a large barge, on which are two big tanks with a capacity of 5,000 gallons each, with a large boiler attached, the latter being necessary in preparing the chemical compound that is used. The capacity of the three tanks on the tug is 3,500 gallons each. A huge spraying pump is set in the engine room of the tug. This pump forces the chemical solution through pipes to the bow of the boat, where large sprayers will dis tribute it broadcast over the beds of hyacinths. One sprayer is fastened at the bow. and the other two extend out ward from the sides on long booms, thus enabling the workmen to give a wide distribution to the spray. By steaming along steadily into the bed of plants it is expected that the bout will be enabl d to cover some thing like 1 1 h 1.0! il I square yards daily. It will be seen from this on what a large scale the war against, the hya cinth is to be waged. It is expected that the boat will be al work all win ter and next spring and that then no ticeable results of the success of the work will be observed. It is the same plan practically that proved successful in the bayot.s of Louisiana. The chem ical solution thrown on the plant goes down to tile roots and kills every one. Every seed is killed also. In two hours or so after being sprayed the plants shrivel up and in a short time after ward disintegrate so completely that no fear is f< ll of the plants drifting to ward other localit ies. The work will be continued for sev eral years probably before the hya cinths are en tin ly < radicated. Iiis Marke«. "Some eastern man says we are to have twenty-nine snowstorms this win ter." "I 11 bet you examine his business card you will find snow shove Is on it." —Cleveland Plain Healer BIG MAN IN COAL. 1. Thontu, the New Iof the Lehigh Valley Rnllrciatl. One of the most prominent figures before the public during the progress of the anthracite coal strike lias been Eben B. Thomas, who has just been elected president of the Lehigh Valley Railroad company and the Lehigh Val ley Coal company. He is also chairman of the board of directors of the Erie railroad is well as chairman of the Lehigh Valley directors, but will doubt less resign the former position and de vote all his energies to the service of the latter road. Mr. Thomas is a product of the west and is generally regarded as an un commonly well equipped railroad man, his experience in this calling covering a period of over thirty years. Ile had made his mark In business, however, before lie entered the railroad service. A native of Cleveland, he went to work at the age of fifteen for the American II IÜ0 V, I * Iii« i Si» EBEN B. THOMAS. Telegraph company. At the outset lie. developed ability and push, and when still a young man he was engaged in commercial and manufacturing opera tions of importance. lie first became connected with rail roads in a large way when lie was ap pointed in 1870 receiver of the Lake Shore and Tuscarawas railroad. Since then lie lias been connected with sev eral roads. In February, 1SSS, he was elected sec ond vice president of the New York, Lake Erie and Western and in 1800 was made first vice president, lie was elected president of the Eric in No vember. 1804, and was made one of its receivers in 1805. When the company was reorganized, under the name of the Erie Uailruad company, Mr. Thomas was made chairman of the board of di rectors, which position he has since tilled. Unpretentious and quiet in demeanor, Mr. Thomas is an effective force in the railroad and coal business in this coun try. Iiis methods are straightforward, and the tendency of his mind is pro gressive. His strong point is finance, and it was for that quality that he was elevated to the chairmanship of the board of directors on the reorgani zation of the Erie road. In the field of finance he has also been very success ful in enterprises not connected with railroads. Mr. Thomas possesses independent means and is able to gratify an appre ciative taste for literature and art. His library contains a line collection of books. Mr. Thomas' principal diversion may be said to be horses. He loves horses and always has some good ones in his stables, which he exercises freely and with much enjoyment. Being of a so cial disposition, Mr. Thomas is noted among his friends as a most hospitable entertainer. His magnificent residence in New York lias been the scene of many elaborate functions. AN AMERICAN SONG BIRD. How Mine. MlHan Illanvell Iter Musical Cureer. The engagement of Mine. Lillian Blau volt to sing next season with the Covent Garden (London) Opera compa ny will probably result in removing the American singer entirely from the con cert stage. Mme. Blauvelt is a Brooklyn girl and has already won success in grand op w MME. I.U.I.1AN Bli.lWELT era. She began her musical career child violinist, but gave that up to tivat- her vocal gifts. She was at tinte solo soprano in Plymouth cht; Brooklyn. as a or. I 1 The Haunted Cabin Of the Ajax Mine Away up in the Big Hole basin, at the head of Miner creek, Montana, a stream which pushes itself through a deep gorge in tb* main range of the Rocky mountains, is found a little cab in which is saiil to be haunted. It is situated just at the head of a waterfall, and the rush of waters as they rounded their way down the mountain side was the only sound which broke the still ness for many years. Within the last few years the Ajax mine, which is situated near the head of the lake, lias been worked to a con siderable extent, and quite a large force of miners lias been employed in its de velopment. The lonely cabin is situ ated along the trail which led from the Ajax bunkhouse to the mine. It is on a picturesque spot, with great, tall fir trees rising above it and making a gloomy and forbidding background, es pecially in the darkness of the night, when spirits are said to walk abroad. The miners say it is haunted, and the discovery was only made a few months ago, when the mine was running three shifts, and these were changed about midnight. It was about midnight one night last July when it was first discov ered that supernatural beings haunted the place. Two of the most reliable miners at work on the mine came down the hill to the bunkhouse and, after awakening their relief, told them that some one was working in Dutch Gus' cabin; that they had seen a light and thought they could distinguish some one moving around in the cabin. These men who took the relief saw nothing as they went to their work and chaffed their fellow miners the following day to a considerable extent about their nightmare. That night these two scoffers while going to their work also saw a light in the old cabin, and they, being curious, started to investigate. They crawled up to the cabin and, looking through the chinking of the walls, saw a strange looking man sitting by the empty fireplace, muttering to himself. The light which Hooded the little cab in had a pliorphorotis hue, and the men who watched the form had their eyes riveted on the fireplace. They could not, in spite of their own will, take their gaze from t lie form huddled over the fireplace. Finally after what seem ed an age the form by the fireplace straightened up and started as if to m ##2 5S5 5rg V m m m > AN' ODD FKiUltU SAT ON A BOX. leave the cabin. Then they could see that iL was a man, old and bent, and his neck appeared to lie drawn out to twice its natural length. One of these men who watched had long been a res ident of the basin, and he took just one look at the odd looking figure; then he screened Iiis eyes and screamed in ter ror, ''.My God, it is Hutch (!us!" As the words left his mouth the light went out and the vision disappeared. The only sound that could be heard was the frightened scramble made by the inen as they stumbled over the rocks and fallen timber in the effort to get back to the bunkhouse. Once there, they told their story, and since that time not a man has had the hardihood to visit Hutch (Jus' cabin after nightfall. The light has been seen in the cabin several times since then, but not a man has had the courage to investigate the matter. No one i i : : s cared since then to meet the "spin !• of 11 ;<• Ajax mi"e." Hutch (Jus tins an eccentric cliar;." ter who prospected the greater pari of his life in I he mountains. lie found some claims on Miner creek and worked on Ihein to a considerable ex tent. Three years ago lies winter lie had a cabin mute who was known by the I i le of "1 lea f Smith." ( >':<> day j the men had a row. (Ins was lying in | bed, and he d.d not li'.:e the way hi:- j companion went about getting break fast, and they quarreled. <'tie word ! brought on another, and Dutch (.'te finally reached for his gun. which vas! just over Iiis head. Smith made fo; ! the door, and as he went out of tin ! door he threw his hand back, poin.eii j h's pistol toward the .bed and pulled j the trigger. The bullet ioiiud a m.irk in the old man's body, and he fell bach ! on the bed mortally hurt. Now it is said that the spirit of! Dutch <!us has returned to earth to' ! haunt the place where he died. But j 1 ! be that as it may, the miners of the j Ajax mine are all firm believers in i I spooks ever since that night in July. j Daring Exploit of an Escaping Convict Convicts take long.chances to secure their freedom from the confining bar». They often display great ingenuity In their attempts to escape. The perform ance of an Italian prisoner in Turin was novel and perhaps deserved better success. He was n long sentence man, but his con duet had been so good that he was permitted the privilege of do ing work about the prison. He was a clever painter and was employed in painting the gov ernor's house. Work i ngone day on the roof, he used his paint brush to such good purpose that he turned hia con vict garb into a suit of blue over alls. Then he seized his chance, and, slipping through a trap door into a gar ret, lie marched boldly down tlift stairs and out of the front door. Luckily for his warder, who had been chatting with one of the maids and so neglecting Iiis duty, the man could not resist the temp tation of entering a neighboring wine shop and was there recognized and re captured. Climbing sixty feet up a perpendicu lar wall by the aid of a water pipe is a feat which strongly reminds one of the redoubtable Jean Valjean of Victor Hu go's story. The prisoner who not long ago performed this gymnastic exploit tit Pentonvillo, England, seems to have had no idea of escape. Indeed he was to be discharged next day. He merely wished to do what no one else had done —spend a day and a night on the roof of the prison. He got his desire and was nearly frozen into the bargain, for the night turned out a very cold one, with a sharp frost before morning. Tm Strange Devil Dance Of the Bjddhists The strange rite of devil dancing, which is practiced in Africa, India, IndoChina, Tibet and Mongolia, can now, since the victory of the foreigners over the Boxers, be witness«' in Peking by white nun. It is a dance of young monks disguised as devils to attract the people and to give them an insight into the beings of the next world and the power of the priesthood to exorcise them. The "Lantasary of Eternal Peace," in which the dance is given, is situated in the northwest of the Tartar City in Peking, and about 1:500 Mongolian and Tibetan lamas oliieiate there under the control of a living Buddha. A pro cession makes its appearance, headed by four pri sis disguised as white dev ils with masks, while others wear stag and sheep heads. They are followed by lamas with cymbals, tomtoms and long trumpets borne by two men and accompanied by acolytes with whips to beat back the crowd. The devils take the floor to the ac companiment of discordant music. For awhile they have their own way, m, m m m 01» m. * I W... | j ! ! ! j j ! j i A DEVIL DANCE IN PEKING. and the four caper and pirouette round, now on one leg. now on another, this being varied by the grotesque antics of the stags and sheep. An explosion of crackers heralds the arrival oil the se ne of the living Buddha, hidden from the vulgar gaze in a sedan chair and carried by eight »Monks. With a wail of anguish the devils disappear, pill to flight by the holy one, and the rejoicing begins, lamas clad in red and yellow whirling round in a frenzy of delight, incense is burned, and, to crown the delirious scene, the trumpets and horns blare shrilly in the triumph of good over evil. *