The times. [volume], March 14, 1897, PART 2, Page 19, Image 19

About The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901

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THU 3IOUKING TIMES,t MDA, MATJCH 14, 189T
Id
m
Queer Tales from
m
i94
'
Almost every daj newspaper Teaders
been paragraph telling how the government
takes caTe of old Comanche, Custei's
liorse. the only survivor of the Custer
massacre. The paragraph always tells
how"by spccialordci of themilitary authori
ties Comanche is provided whit a comfort
able stall, fitted up especially tor him, out
in Dakota. No one, to the Mcry goes, is
permitted to tide hint, and he Is not al
lowed to do any work whatever.
Then, as one writer put it a few days
ago. "Riddled with bullets and tcarred
by saber wounds, his Body speaks elo
quently of thep'iJilousdutj once performed
in Ms twenty-two years or service under
ttie government. He will go down to his
tory holding about as proud aitlacens that
accorded to the gallant black charger
-which once brought Gen. Sheridan to
the field, in time to save tiie battle, from
"Winchester, vwenty miles awaj."
-"Lawrence, Kansas To the Editor. I
mail you today a picture or Comanche us
he appeared in life. "We do not postess
any photograph or him as he appeared
in 1tis i-tall. He died rrom old age at
. Fort Kilcy, Kansas, Noveml-cr 7, 1&D1,
and was thirty-one years old. He be
longed to the Seventh Regiment of "United
States Cavalrv, and was cared for with
Up-to-Date Animal
great tenderness by the regiment. Upon
his death he was skinned and mounted by
Pror. Pyche, of this university, and placed
In our museum. F. H. SNOW,
"Chancellor University of Kansas."
The most traveled dog in the world, of
the dogs who travel of their own accord,
is Owney, whom everybody knows that
is connected with the transportation or
the United States mail. Loved by thou
sands, Owney has no home, because he
does not want any. He prefers a life on
the rail and a home in the post:'.! car to
the best home that any dog ever had that
remained stationary. He is a medium
sized Scotch terrier, and there are as
many tags and plates fastened to his collar
and telling of his travels as there are
label on a trunk which ,-tas made the
roun'is f the Continental hotels.
Once upon a time Owney was the prop
erty of a postal clerk, who ran intoAlbany,
N. Y. Occasionally the clerk would lend
the dog to a brother route agent, and thus
Owney commenced to travel. Tlis trips
grew more and more frequent, and finally
"he started off on a tour of his own. He
has continued the tour ever since. Owney
teems to bear a, charmed life, for in a dis
astrous railway accident, which took place
near Bradfordsville, ind., Owney and lw
clerks were the only ones who escaped
death. Owney lost an eye in this affair.
and since then that sunny disposition that
compassed him about in previous years has
iieenlnrgcly clouded. The postal employes,
however, cherish him fondly, and Owney
can travel from Dan to Bcersheba if he
wants to, and be sure of kindly treatment
every inch of the way.
Ancnonnouseagleornnmentsthehomeo?
Frank Powell, at Mcdibrd, Wis. It is a
savage looking bird, and its wings measure
7 Teet, 2 inches from tip to tip. What is
more, it has a history; for every time Mr.
Powell looks 1 he realizes that but for
the presence of mind of his wife his live-year-old
son would be dead somewhere
Just where no one knows. The story that
clings to this eagle reminds one of the
tales tiiat have come over seas about the
fierce lammergcycr of Switzerland. Not
long ago the children and teacher at Miss
Irene Abbott's school-house, near Medrord,
noticed what, even high in the air, was
seen to be a large bird. Xo one paid par
ticular attention to it, hut it remained
In the vicinity or the school-house all day.
In ttie afternoon, at the close of schcol,
Mr. rowell's little son, in company with
i-cveral other children, staited homewaid.
All of a sudden, one of the children noticed
the huge bird circling above them. They
-ran for lire to the Towel' Mill, owned by
thefatlier of the hero of this incident. . Just
as the children reached the mill the eagle
kjw that they were on the verge of escape
fioxn any attack he might make, and he
hwoopeddownlike a shot toward five-year-old
Frank Towell. Mrs. Fowcll happened
to be standing at the dcorof the mm, and
seizing the hatpin which fastened her hat
to her head, made a dash at the eagle Just
as he attacked the boy, and running it
through his neck, disabled him fo That he
not only gave up the fight but his life as
well. It was no easy task to encage m
conflict with a biid of this size, but Mrs.
Powell did it without a tremor. The hoy
was unhuit. The eagle, stuffed and
moimted, is but a memory of a r.auowly
averted tragedy.
Love of mutton has just proved deadly
to a bear at WUliamsport, Pa. Bruin caught
sight of a butcher's wagon belonging to
William Dclong, of Cammal. Ho followed
the wagon op, and .presently caught sight
of a leg of mutton hanging oa the inside.
The rear door of the wagon, which waB
covered, was open. Bruin calmly raised
himself Into the vehicle and set to work to
devour the mutton. Presently, however,
one of his great paws stock the lever that
closes the door, of the wagon, and in a
second he was a prisoner. Between the
, - .leMJ&L .T. v .. ffi'S" I iritr r il
J-i J-J
Nature's Book
seat of Hie driver of the wagon and the in
terior of the vehicle is heavy glass. Tito
bear sot to work to demolish this, and
partially succeeded, for he made, a hole
bigunough to stick 1ils head out. lie could
get no further, and Belong succeeded iu
driving four miles to Camntal. "When the
destination was reached the bear was shot.
He weighed 300 pounds.
There Is a dog at Paris, Tex, who can
tell the time of day and calls his master
ror breakfrist every morning. He belongs
to JI. C". Peterson, a workman of the
cotton-teed mill at Paris. It is Nick's
duty, besides waking his master in the
morning, to take his dinner to him every
day. Should Mrs. Peterson by any mis
chance overlook the matter, the dog is
sure to remind her in proper time, by bung
ing the pail to her and urging her to fill it.
At first it was supposed to be the dog's
tuition which enabled him to know the
hours, but he has many times been seen
watching the clock and once, when Mrs.
Peterson set the hands ahead to testthe
matter, Nick brought the dinner pall
promptlyjonthc stroke of twelve, although
in reality it was only eleven o clock.
Karl Holzliausen, a fainter of Kushville,
MRS w
Tales From Nature's Uooh
Kas., went out hunting near Lake Contrary
the other day. He left his l.oise for a time
to go after some game he fancied that he
had stirred up, and when he got back he
found an enormous eagle on the animal's
back, tearing it with its talons and striking
viciously with its beak, the horse menn
widle fighting back as best lie tould. The
eagle was rapidly getting the best of the
four-footed victim, when the fainter took
a hand himseir, and then a battle royal
ensued, in which the farmer's clothes
were badly torn and his face and hands
fearfully scratched by the vigorous at
tacks of the bird. The eagle kept up a
continuous fight on both horse and man.
Finally, the farmer succeeded iu shoot
ing the bird and took it l.cme with him.
The owl is noted for wisdom, as everyone
knows, hut as a fowl of prey for big game
he is certainly enacting a new role. The
engineer ofa BlgFour train says that while
near Grecnsburg, Ind., he saw what ap
peared to be a cow or a horse about to
cross the rails Almost directly in front of
the locomotive. Anticipating an accident,
he put on all brakes just as the engine
struck the object. As the jar was slight
and no damage done, he walked out on
the running, or footboard , and discovered
what then looked like an eagle lying on
the cowcatcher. He picked up the object,
carried it to the cab or his engine, but
cou!d not make out what it was, although
he was certain that ir was not an eagle.
Afterward the passengers of the train
pronounced the bird to be an owl; which
measured nearly five feet from tip to tip.
investigation proved that the owl, at the
time he was struck, was drugging along
the ground a lamb that weighed many
pounds.
Birds have all sorts of queer adventures,
but perhaps what is the oddest one of re
cent days is that which befell a sparrow at
Anderson, Ind. It flew into a knife and
bar manufactory and, getting too near a
small wheel, wassuckedin. The workmen
noticed it go into the wheel, but knowing
that the cylinder was revolving at a speed
of 130 revolutions a minute, took it for
granted that the bird had bect killed.
When the factory shut up at noon, the men
were astonished to hear a gentle chirp from
the wheel, and there was the sparrow
as Avell as ever. They found that the bird
had clung to the strengthening TOd on the
Inside or the wheel and was in a semi
dazed condition. They picked ltim up
and put him on a table, and from thence,
after collecting his wits, the little bird
flew away to freedom. The wheel in
which the bird rode made 31 ,000 revolu
tions while it. was upon it, and so the tiny
feathered creature traveled 73 and 8-10
miles in the embrace of a flywheel.
There is an old saying chat a duck can
rind more odd things to do than any other
Towl, and this was exemplified a while
ago at Litchfield, Conn. While skating
orf the city on a little pond W. G. Wall
bridge noticed a curious object Ip an ice
c-ike. Approaching it he found it to be
a species of wild duck, that is known as a
fishcrow. f rom the shape and color Of its
head and bill. The breast and underwing
surfaces were rture white. The attitude
of the bird in the ice was one of arrested
motion. The wings were outspread., the
feet thrust back, arid the hea'U stretched
forward as in flight.
When examined, after the ice hadmelted,
no wound of any kind was Xound on the
bod?; While in the ice only a portion
of the duck's back about two inches was
oatofthecakc, which was six inches thick,
clear and undisturbed, showing the bird
was frozen during the congealing of the
entire surface, and ,not in the air or fish
hole. It Is something of an honor to be a gov
ernor's clog, but there is a canine out in
Missouri who is entitled to fame from
not only that official standpoint, but by
reasons of his own making. Fritz (that
is the dog's name) belongs to Governor Ste
vens. The governor is a gcod deal of a
wonder in his Tvay himself, and the dog
patterns after him. Before becoming gov
ernor, Mr. Stevens was State treasurer,
and to this day Fritz is not reconciled to
the tact of his master changing from the
treasurer's to the governor's office. So
he -will .go each day to the former place,
climb into the treasurer's chair, and howl'
dismally because of the change.
Some days ago, .just before the .governor
was going to entertain a number of State
officers, four ''trusties" that is, convicts
from the penitentiary who -were on their
good behavior were utilized to arrange
the furnitura iu the parlors. Fiitz exhib
ited n marked antipatlty to the quarter,
.allowing particular dislike to one convict.
The following day it was found that $150
worth of silver plate was missing. Search
of the prisoners' cells at the penitentiary
revealed the fact that the convict whom
Fritz had disliked so thoroughly had stolen
the silver and secreted it iu his cell.
It is an accepted fact that cats arc
thieves. There is one out in Pennsylvania,
however, that is the .feline LliieT par ex
cellence. She steals anything that comes in
her way. Not long ago her o wner, while at
the dinner .table, heard a strange humping
on the stairs. When he investigated the
noise he discovered it to be caused by the
:at, who was coming down stairs holding
the chain of a gold wat it in her month,
and letting the watch drag from stair to
stair. It does not seem to he a desire to
appropriate things to cat 'which actuates
this queer cat, but simply the wish to steal
.something. She is an eccentric creature
and chooses queer resting places for Iter
kittens. She had three, and one day they
disitppeared. No one learned "where they
were until the following Sunday, when The
-cat's owner, on preparing to go to church,
found the little animals snugly ensconced
in the crown of his new silk hat.
The king of -all roosters liven at Marshul
vllli Ga. He Is a gigantic Plymouth Hock,
andUicrcisnoiloubtthul wheua Plymouth
Rock rooseter does grow Jo nnusual size,
lie is worth talking about This one is a
fighter, and has a particular antipathy to
children. Willie Price, the little son of
the owner of the feathered giant, with his
nister, was out in the yard plnyi'g. The
Plymouth Ttock (.trolled along, and then,
without a sound, sprang at the little girl
and sank his bill in the flot-h between the
loft eye and the nose full halfan inch. The
lachrymal gland was severed, and the
rooster beside made two deep holes in
the child's head and arm with his spurs.
Mr. Trice heard the streams of the chil
dren, and ran out Into the yard, when the
bird was put to fllgltu
'
Kvery cat to its own tastes, sajs the
world, and that's what the big Thomas of
Mrs. Y.'illiam Page, of Lumbeitville, N. J.,
declares. He docs not disdain rats, but
his particular fad consist of snai:es and
rabbits. Days when he feels well, he will
capture four copperhead snakes and rab
bits. Three or four times a day, he
will bring home n inbult or a make. The
.rabbit Tout thinks is good enough to take
into the house, but the snakes are left
at the end of the yard. The cat is known
to haw killed at least 200 snakes and 100
rabbits. MKS. SAGE UN VENTILATION.
The lULIlioiuiiro'.s Wife Con trusts
the Past With the Present.
"Thirty or forty years ago an orphan
girl, scarcely fourteen, was entered as a
pupil at a popular seminary. She fdtstrange
and lonely among the new faces and unac
customed surroundings, and the principal
noticed it. She had that child's bed moved,
into her own room, not an over-large apa rt
ment at best, and incommoded herself to
hold the little pupil's hand at night, when
She was homesick aud wakeful and lay
thinking of her dead mother. Tin; princi
pal of a la ttcr-dayschool wouldnevcrdream
of doing such a thing. In the first place,
she has been taught hygiene,,' and is sure
that to sleep in a room with another hu
man beingis unhealth Jul. Then, herprivacy
must be strictly preserved. Site likes to
have all the mlnutiasof hertoilet apparatus
to herself. She cannot be intruded upon.
It makes her too uncomfortable.
"I have my own ideas about this ventila
tion business and this isolation of people
during sleeping hours 1 had five uncles,
alf of whom lived to be ninety or nearly
ninety, and they were nil pretty healthy
throughout life. There was not one of
them whodidnotonly.slecp in a room with
out ventilation, as we now consider the
term, butevcryone ofthem used to goabout
religiously stuffing up every crack or
crevice by which the slightest liint or
night air could creep into the house. Look
attheanimals. They all gooff and burrow
in lairs at night and breathe the same air
over and over again. The turkeys and
chickens and nil birds sleep with their
heads tucked under their wings. I think
plenty of fresh air at night is preferable.
I advocate it, but I doubt if it is as abso
lutely essential to health as we are taught
to believe."
Origin of the Honeymoon.
The Neue Blatt informs us that the term
"honeymoon" was not suggested by -the
sweetness of that period of bliss, but origi
nated through a custom -of the Gentians of
old, which compelled the newly-wedded
to drink nothing but mead mad of honey
during the thirty days following the mar
riage. St. Louis Star.
Sent $5 for the Poor.
Isaac Keenan, a colored man under a
life sentence in the Baltimore pcaiten
tlary, sent $5 to the city marshal to be
used 1a aiding the distressed poor of the
city-
. .4
Floral ILtigmtU
A young jnnn majf 'gamble, may take
to drink, or undertake almost any ex
travagant pastime, but. the youth who is
really ambitious to 'part with his money
at the rapldest gait possible will find the
shortest road to bankruptcy through the
doors of the city florists. Moreover, the
jnau who makes nny pretense of hcing Jn
society tit all cannot wholly escape this
form of extravagance, even J f he be very
much inclined to do so.
Be may deny himself the smiles or
gratitude that beam from beauty's face
as a icward for costly blossoms sent,
lie may refrain from theaters and other
"open-sesames" for flowers. But there
are a few social functions over which lie
has no control, and or which he knows
not until the invitations fall like an ava
lanche tipon him. They pursue him as re
morselessly as rate, and he is hound to
respond In some maimer.
The social bugbear which falls most
heavily upon the bachelor of .swelldom is
the afternoon tea. "But," says the first
thought, "he never goes, so how can that
hurt hijnV" Second thought suggests the
propiiety of questioning the bachelor him
self. "A tea?" says the long-suffering one, in
a tone of helpless resentment. "Every in
vitation I receive costs me from $a to
$n if 1 don't go or an afternoon or misery
if I do Whenever a fellow accepts an iu
vitatinu to a tea it is an indication
either that he is desperately in love with
some girl wllp is .going to be there or
else that moneyiis scarce."
"Why should it cost him more to stay
away titan It (Iocs to go?"
"Because ir he doesn't go he must send
flowers. A fellow can't .send less than
two dozen roses to a lady that does him
the courtesy of invitint- him to her home,
and iT lie wants to do the handsome thing
he semis more. At the -very least that will
cost him ?3 and may easily exceed $T
The only other way for him to escape Is
to wait until Hie hour for the tea and send
his servant post haste with a note ex
plaining that he has been taken suddenly
ill and cannot comes, "although he had in
tended coming until the last moment."
Some young men have become so addict
ed to the flower hnbitlhat they jintl po
sies to every new girl they meet. One-sciou
of swelldom lias eigitt young women on
his. regular list. To e;fch of these he sends
a bunch of violets about onee a week. His
best girl gel three bunches, or ir he is
going to take her out he sends her five,
which site manages to distribute taste
fully down the front yf her fur cape. As
a handsome bunch ofjriolcts costs at least
a doHar this young man's violet bill is 510
a week it t the vcryjitfwe.st figure. If lie pa
tronizes a fashionable. florist his bill be
comes much larger, and young women are
as well posted about the relative standing
of florists as they, Hrohn the subject of
tuilliueiK and coufetlmcrs.
So fond arc young jRTbnjenof this delicate,
though coolly, attention, that they are
often willing to pays, ror it themselves.
Plorists have rcgularouiloiiiurs among wcr
meu, who come in audojrter the floivcror
their liking iu such" profusion as they can
afrord. leave a carJlid be Inclosed, and or
der the package hjcjtti to themselves at a
certain honi . ' '""
The hour for "sending is usually timed so
as to make the greatest impression. For
instance, a youngi'la'dy who expected a
number or her frluhM to call in the after
noon, ordered her a bunch pf vlotets, .left
a earth-inscribed with the' words, "From
a silent admirer," to be enclosed, ami or
dered the bunch sent at 4 oclock. Of
course, nil the girls crowded around her to
see the flowers and read the name on the
card, and their curious and envious glances,
together with the flowers, were considered
well worth the dollar spent by the wily
purchnscr.
Young men usually enclose their visiting
"card if they don-1 forget to bring it. If
they do, the florist supplies blank cards
upon which they may write as tender a
missive as their reelings dictate, or their
courage approves, and enclose it in an en
velope. Indeed, some of them show great
co'ifidi-nce in the 1 r hit ot the fioiisr, leav
ing to be enclosed with the blossoms great,
fat letters, which have every indication or
being most interesting reading. How
ever, this confidence i seldom misplaced,
for as a rule the florist is too busy filling
the order in compliance with the lover's
haste to have any lime to read love letters.
It is the custom with a certain
class of people to give betrothal
receptions in honor of a daugh
ter's engagement to lie married. On
such occasions, friends fairly deluge
the couple with flowers. The prospective
i;room is not expected to send any. His
turn will come on the 'day of the wedding,
when the bouquets for bride and brides
maids and the boutounicres for ushers are
supposed to come from him. One of the
prettiest floral donations for the be
trothal reception is the "engagement
basket." It is made entirely of moss',
stuck thick with pink roses. The handle
is wound with smilax, and tiny buds are
twined here and there.
Bridal bouquets are made of lilies of
the valley, since the destruction ot the
orange crop, accompanied as this disaster
was by a failure of the florist's hothouse
plants. It takes a great deal of love and
moneyio jutrchasc even the smallest bunch
of orange blossoms in these days. A
tiny spray for a bride's hair recently cost
$5 and it was merely a blossom or two
stuck in the coiffure.
The bouquet for the bridesmaid is
usually made of pink roses, with streamers
of lilies ot the valley hanging like ribbons
about the stems.
0M vWm
. Where the liucheloiris loney Goes.
RAINY SATURDAY RECIPES
The girl or boy who desires to be really
popular will do well to keep in'mind one or
two simple recipes lor candy making. A
n-ainy Saturday, which has spoiled plans
for all sorts of out-dcor fun, may thus be
made one of the Jolliest- ever spent. If
this same wise young person has saved up
aud made- him or herself .possessor of a
small oil stove, costing 75 cents, they
inay rival their elders with the most ex
pensive chafing dish ever seen. There
Js no. need to borrow even a saucepan from
the kitchen, when 5 cents will purchase a
entail one of really good tin. Don't for
get that careful chemists ask for not bet
ter cooking utensils than blight tin. Be
careful not to put them away damp or
In the least soiled, and they will last a
surprisingly long time.
lieie stm two or three excellent "rainy
Saturday" recipes. The lirst is butter
scotch always a favorite and very easy to
make. Put into your saucepan two cups
Of brown sugar, half a cup of molasses,
quarter or a cup or vinegar, half a cup
of butter; stir together, melt gradually,
and keep the best moderate, so that all
may boil gently without tear of burn
ing. At the end ot ten minutes drop a lit
tle of the mixture into cold water, and
if it baidens It is ready to he poured
put into shallow buttered tins to harden.
Peanut brittle This is more "easy to
make than one would believe until once
tried. .Shell the nuts, roll or chop them;
'to a pint of nuts add the same amount of
granulated sugar; stir or shake constantly
until the sugar Is melted; spread out as
thinly as possible ifpon hot buttered pans
or. plates, then put away to cool. It is
necessary to have the pans hot while
spreadingout, as the brittle cools so quickly
otherwise as to become unmanageable.
This is a great favorite.
Toasted marshmallows may be done to
a turn by making an ordinary, but always
bright and clean, tin plate very hot. Try
part or one first, and when the right shade
of brown begins to appear (this should be
.-Uonist at once) keep the same heat by
turning down the flame or removing to a
cooler puit of the stove, turn with n
broad-blatled knife. It is fun to toast
marshmallows on the end or long pins ir
one is the fortunate possessor of un open
fire.
To make marMimnllowsis a much easier
process than generally supposed. Froceed
thus: Dissolve half a pound of clean gum-
arable in a pint of water; strain into a
half a pound of confectioner's sugar, stir
untij, dissolved, and the mixture becomes
as thick as honey; now add the beaten
whites of four eggs, stir until it is no
longer at all thick. Take a little out in
U cup; dip a finger in, and if the mixture
does not stick all is right. Flavor with
vanilla to taste. Iever fail to dust the
tin with powdered starch before pouring
the mixture out to cool. When cool divide
into squares with a sharp knife dipped
in cold water or powdered with starch.
Grease a saucepan, then put in a cup
of brown or granulated sugar, a cup of
molasses and half a cup of milk; boil all
together gently for exactly fifteen minutes;
then add a teaspoon of butter and the
same ot flour; first rubbed to a cream.
Boil again; only for five minutes this time,
then add half a pound of unsweetened
chocolate, grated; boil another five min
utes; If then it does not look thick, cook
longer.
T
ERR! FIC STRUGGLE
Two
South American snakes bear about the
same proportion to North American ser
pents that a blacksnake bears to an
ungleworm.
It is true that there are some -small
and, 1 may add, extremely venomous Tep
tlles there, too. But the characteristic
snake is the boa, of which there are
found no less than eleven varieties. -
These huge reptiles range in length
Alligator in ihc Coils of a Boa Constrictor.
from twenty to thirty feet and arc thirty
inches in circumference a cartload ot
sinuous coils. According to the natives
the swallowing capacity of these reptiles
is almost unlimited.
Our guide appeared to he in constant
terror lest, while we were lying asleep
in our canvas canoe, we should be bolted
bodily, canoe and all, an experience much
worse than Jonah's and with a different
sequel.
Boas are not venomous and do not
depend upon their teeth to capture their
prey. Neither do they droop in a coil
from the branches, holding on by their
tails, while watching for a victim, as
we so often see them pictured. When
a boa attacks his prey he instantly ties
himself around it in loops, resembling
what sailors call "mathawalker," hiding
his head in the midst of the coils to
keep it out of danger.
Going into a swampy place one day
to look for game, as I parted the ines
my hand touched some cold object,
which made a shudder creep down my
back. I had laid my hand upon a coil
of the largest boa it was ever my fortune
to encounter. As nsual, its head could
not be located It always keeps that hidden
among its coils, out of harm's way but
it was doubtless watching me. Luckily
it happened to be cloyed on fish and in
disposed to .action. I finally succeeded in
shooting It, and the creature measured
twenty-nine feet rrom tip to tip.
One morning my companion came into
camp dragging a 20-footcr, which he had
found occupyingthesame bed with him. He
had made a "blind" in the tall grass and
rushes and had laid himself comfortably
down to wait for game, when suddenly he
became aware ot something moving under
him. He sprang to his feet and found that
he had been audaciously reposing on the
tail of this huge boa, which naturally re
sented being utilized as a bolster.
But there was cne spectacle which met
my eyes in that teeming tropical forest
that surpassed anything which I have
ever heard or read or. If I had stumbled,
upon a combat lietween the dragon and the
griffin of ancient fable it would hardly
have been more startling.
We were growing, tired of venison, and
as numero-.s teal and other wild ducks
were flying about a nearby lagoon I
decided to secure some to vary our diet.
I took my Winchester as well as my
shotgun, for one never knows when he
might be pounced upon by a Jaguar in
those wilds, and its hard skull is proof
against buckshot, except at perilously Bhort
range. Arriving near the water, I se
creted myself behind a clump ot banana
plants and waited the approach of the
fowl. I was Just raising my gun to shoot
when suddenly they whirled away out of
range, uttering their characteristic "peep
ing" cry. Then, looking out from my
hidingplnce T discovered the cause of their
strange actions.
About fifty yards away I saw an alli
gator about seven feet long lying in the
shallow water, looking as complacent
and indifferent as only an alligator can
look. Apparently keeping him company
was .a large boa, a single coll of which
was visible above the middle of the
alligator's back.
The next Instant the boa knotted Itself
4 several times around his vlcfhn In so firm
an embraco that it conld-not move a mus
cle. The saurian's jaws were thrown wide
open, and its legs and claws were spread
to their fullest extent as It lay helpless
in that terrible embrace. The boa slid
along his coils until he could pass his tail
under the alligator's throat, and, dipping
the end under a knotted coil which encir
clrcled the alllgator'sbofly; began to draw
his victim's head downward into the wa
ter. Evidently he knew that he had a
tongh customer to deal with and conclud
ed to supplement squeezing with drown
ing. Here was an opportunity to secure two
good specimens for mounting. But 1 was
obliged to wait fully halt an hour for the
head of the snake to appoar from Its
concealment among the coils, nnd during
this timcI made a hasty sketch of the com
batants. At last a tongue flashed out between
the folds; then the end of the nose came
into view, and the head was slowly and
cautiously pushed forward. As soon as
the eyes came in sight, though they were
still some inches under water, a heavy
BETWEEN
Monsters of the Forests
charge from my rifle was planted between
them
The monster at once relaxed the coils
and went tumbling and writhing about,
furiously lashing the water. I hastened
out of the reach of Its. struggles, giving
little thought to the alligator, which I
took for granted was quite dead. Imagine,
therefore, my surprise, to see him go
scuttling offion the surrace ot the water
a very unusual position for one of his kind.
Nor did he stop when he reached the oppo
site bank, but squirmed over it and on into
the forest, and the crackling and crashing
he made through the underbrush seemed to
indicate that lie proposed to vacate that
particular spot forever. I. G. KING.
A FAMOUS LEAP
The Scotchman TTbo Jumped. Over
a Party of 3Ionnted Dragoons.
"What is one ot the best athletic ex
ercises for a boy?"
This was a question put to the direc
tor ot a gymnasium, and the reply came,
without hesitation, "leaping," next to
leaping he placed running and walking.
In learning to leap, the most simple and
harmless mode is to jump on level ground
from one point to another, either taking
a run or not before the leap is attempted,
as one chooses.
The run, however, gives a certain im
petus to the body, and consequently en
bles a person to accomplish a far greater
distance than when attempted without
such assistance. It is of the first im
portance that the breath is drawn ia and
retained during the time of the greatest
effort, which gives the chest more capa
bility of supporting the rest of the mem
bers, forces the blood into the muscular
parts, and increases their strength.
The two great essentials for good and
safe leaping are lightness and firmness.
A very simple apparatus on which to
practice jumping a height may be con
structed by fixing two square poles about
four feet apartin the ground, drive wooden
pegs into the back ot each, with an inch
space between them, on which a light
wand maybe placed in such amanncrthat
it touched accidentally it will fly from the
leaper and not cause him to fall to the
ground. In leaping without a run the legs
and feet must be placed firmly together,
the toes at the mark, the knees bent well
up. the head held forward and the bands
thrown up above the shoulders. Tims pre
pared the body must be thrown forward
with a sudden jerk. Caution is necessary to
descend with a forward inclination, and on
thehallotthefoot.soastotouchtheground
lightly and thus deaden the shock by the
spring of the feet and leg3.
In taking a long leap, it is not necessary
to jump high but even this applies only
to a certain extent.as toolow a jump com
pletely frustrates the design. In leaping
with a run, the best distaneeis from IS to
25 paces.
The Hest Position for a Standing
Leap.
It is well to practice taking the spring
from both feet, as well as from either sep
artaely. The most extraordinary modern leap on
record wasthntofa Scotchman, wholeaped
over a party ot mounted cragoons, with
their swords drawn.
"Italy is but a geographical expression
and will never be anything else," said
Prince Mettcrnich, and just before he died
he saw what he considered Utopia on tha
verge of becoming a Teallty.
4 u li?u