The Advance., February 22, 1894, Image 1

About The Advance. (Jamesburg, N.J.) 1888-19??

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THE ADVANCE.
“JUST AS THE TWIG IS BENT THE TREE’S INCLINED.”
VOLUME 6.
JAMESBURG, NEW-JERSEY, FEBRUARY 22, 1894.
NUMBER
52.
ALL WILL BF. WELL.
All will be well. I heard this blest assurance
Flung o’er the borders of the unseen spheres.
It gave me faith and courage and endurance
To walk serenely on and meet the years.
Like the sweet voice of some consoling spirit,
Down through the silence of the night it fell.
My soul’s fine ear was rightly turned to hear it:
“ All will be well.”
All will be well. Why should we ever doubt it?
There was no blunder in creation’s plan.
When God’s vast mind conceived and went about it,
He was not aided or controlled by man.
The stars that move in such immortal beauty
Through their appointed pathways seem to tell
Our questioning souls, if we but do our duty,
“ All will be well.”
All will be well. Let not our hearts be troubled
By passing clouds or shadows that may fall.
We must pass bravely on with faith redoubled:
The glorious end will justify it all.
I will believe that voice from heaven’s portal
Clear as the utterance of a silver bell—
It spoke to me a truth that is immortal :
“ All will be well.”
—Ella Wheeled Wilcox.
CRYOLITE MINING.
Every year in the month of April there can
be seen, going out from ports along the Atlantic
coast, a fleet of vessels bound for a point in the
lee of Cape Desolation on the southeast coast of
Greenland.
They are staunch ships, with the best of can
vas and the strongest of masts, and hulls built
solid at the bows and armored there with steel
plates.
The voyage which lies before them is an
arduous one. Masses of field ice, hundreds of
miles in extent, must be pushed through, and
when there are gales from the south and heavy
fogs the battle is a terrible one.
Sometimes a ship will come back after having
vainly tried to force a passage through this icy
barrier, its crew worn out and half starved ; and
then again a ship sails away to the far North
and is never again heard of.
These voyages are made to carry back to
Philadelphia the product of the cryolite mine
in Greenland—the only mine of the kind in the
world. •
Cryolite is a mineral which few people ever
hear of, but it has many uses. From it there
are made alum, sal-soda and bicarbonate of soda ;
and it is also used in the production of alumin
ium, the mineral being really the floride of
sodium and aluminium.
It was discovered in rather a strange way. In
1803, a German prospector, named Gleseck6,
went to Greenland, landing at Cape Farewell.
He lived with the Eskimos, and traveled up the
coast with them as far as the Arsuki fiord.
A native who lived there told him that a few
miles away there was a curious stone, which his
people called the “ ice-that-never melts.”
Glesecke went to the place, and found at the
water 8 edge a cropping of soft white rock, that
when wet looked exactly like wet, snow-mixed
ice. He could form no idea as to what it was,
but carried away samples with him.
He returned home on a Danish ship, which
was boarded on the way by a British cruiser.
The cargo was seized, and Glesecke lost his
samples.
English chemists analyzed the stone, and
called it cryolite, which means ice-stone, and
they never seem to have thought that it could
be put to practical use.
In 1860, however, a Danish vessel brought
some specimens of the stone to Copenhagen.
They were analyzed by Professor J. Thomson,
and experiments made by him demonstrated the
fact that many useful substances could be ob
tained from cryolite.
A company was formed to work the mine,
and men and materials were sent to Greenland,
so that the stone could be dug out and shipped
to Copenhagen.
The settlement of Ivigut was then formed, and
work was begun. Wooden houses were built to
live in, with double doors, double floors, double
windows, and fitted up with the best coal-burn
ing stoves. The coal, which was brought from
Denmark, was stored in huge bins close by, and
places to hold other supplies sufficient for three
years were built and filled.
The cryolite deposit was found to be covered
over with gray granite. When this was re
moved, there was disclosed a mass of therminer
al, pure white, two hundred feet wide and six
hundred feet long, This was found to be the top
of the pocket that plunged down into the moun
tain which rose there.
The working of the deposit did not pay, and
in 1864 the Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing
Company contracted to take two-thirds of all
which the mine could produce. Since then, the
owners of the mine have reaped a good return
from their investment, besides paying a royalty
to the Danish government.
The deposit is worked just as the stone quar
ry is There has now been dug out an open hole,
four hundred and fifty feet long by one hundred
feet wide and one hundred feet deep.
In summer the miners blast up the bottom and
cut down the sides of the hole ; the blocks of
stone are broken up, and the carbonate of iron
with which the mineral is mixed is separated
from it. The whole is then hauled up an incline
railroad operated by steam, the refuse being
used in making and extending the dock at which
the ships are loaded.
The community consists of 130 men and three
women in summer, and sixty men in winter.
The three women are the wife of the superjn
tendent, her maid, and Maria, a jolly old ji<ski
mo, who is employed as a servant.
The steamer Fox, which made the search for
Sir John Franklin, and threw the first light on
the fate of his expedition, makes two and some
times three trips each summer from Copenhagen
to the camp with supplies. The ships which go
from American ports often take vegetables and
canned goods.
The men have an abundance of cured meats,
bread and coffee to live on ; ducks swarm about
the fiord ; the mountains are the home of ptarmi
gan and rabbitp, and the finest trout and salmon
are to be had for the taking.
There are other interesting features near the
mine—a lofty mountain, a great glacier, and the
ruins of the home of the European people who
settled there nine centuries ago. If it were not
for the miss93 of field ice which have to be en
countered, a summer voyage tolvigut would be
one full of novelty and adventure.—Howard
Young._
LOST INDIAN WAMPUMS.
In reading the early history of our country we
hear a great deal of wampum, which is gener
ally referred to as an Indian currency, consist
ing of cylindrical white, blue or black beads,
made from certain parts of sea shells. The
shores of Long Island abounded in these shells,
and the Narragansett Indians were always well
supplied with wampum. The settlers at Ply
mouth learned its use and value from the Dutch,
at Manhattan, and found it profitable in trade
with the Eastern Indians, for the shells of which
it was made were not common north of Cape
Cod.
The early settlers of New England and New
York did not, however, fully understand what
wampum really meant to the Indians. The latter
valued it, not because it represented money, but
because it had a varied ceremonial significance.
Belts and strings were used for many purposes
for which civilized people use writing—to make
treaties, to declare war, to confirm peace, and to
convey information of various kinds, when sent
by messengers from tribe to tribe. Researches
among the descendants of the Iroquois have
shown that this race assisted and preserved oral
tradition by the use of picture-writing, and the
Peruvians by their wampum, just as the Aztecs
did by their quipus.
Each of the articles of which a belt was com
posed had a special meaning, and the entire belt
could be as connectedly read by the instructed
savage as we can read the printed page of book
or newspaper.
The quipus of the Peruvians were bunches of
knotted cord, the knots of which had a special
meaning to those who were charged with the
preservation of traditions. The knots were, so
to speak, mnemonic devices—aids to memory
and to the handing down of traditions from one
generation to the other.
So with the wampum belts, or strings. The
nature and order of the events to be remembered
and recited were indicated by the airangement
of the various articles on the belt. This latter
was made of shells, quills, pieces of bone and of
carved wood, stones, etc., attached by rawhide
thongs to stout pieces of rawhide. Each shell,
stone or other article meant something, and in
every tribe a certain number of men were taught
each year to interpret the symbols.
It mattered not that generations passed away,
that the story which the wampum told grew in
length and incident. Every detail was remem
bered, and translated from the symbol with
fidelity and accuracy.
The descendants of the Iroquois have a num
ber of curious wampums, which tell the story of
early wars among the tribes and with the whites.
Of course, these events have been recorded by
white settlers, and therefore the wampums in
question have not much historical value.
But it is stated, in the expedition of Sullivan
among the Iroquois villages of 1799, there was a
wampum destroyed which carried the history
of the Iroquois confederacy back to forty years
before the discovery of America.
The lost wampum was imperfectly duplicated
afterward, and fragments of it were read by the
great Chief Cornplanter. This secondary wam
pum has also disappeared. If those pre-Colum
bian records could be recovered and read, they
would have an almost priceless historical value.
— W. B. Holden.
THE WISE KEN OE GOTHAM
As King John was passing through the vil
lage of Gotham, on his way to Nottingham, he
proposed to make a short cut across the mea
dows. The villagers, thinking that whatever
road a king took thenceforward became a pub
lic road, objected, much to John’s annoyance.
Shortly after ward he sent some messengers
from his court to learn the cause of the vil
lagers’ rudeness. Hearing of the coming of the
king’s servants, the villagers hit upon the fol
lowing plan of turning aside the monarch’s
wrath :
When the messengers arrived, they found
some of the inhabitants engaged in ’trying to
drown an eel in a pond; others were busy rol
ling cheeses down a hill, so that they might run
to Nottingham for sale, while a third set were
employed in placing a hedge round a bush on
which’a cuckoo had perched, in order that they
might enjoy perpetual spring.
The king’s servants thought they had come
among a village of fools, and, having reported
what they had seen, John formed the same opin
ion, and troubled himself no more about
what he considered their incivility to him. Hence
people have talked about the “ wise men,” or
“ the fools,” of Gotham.
There was much wisdom in their folly, howev
er. There is to-day, so it is said, a bush growing
on the site of the one whereon the cuckoo perch
ed. _ _
Knowledge is the hill which few can hope to
climb ; duty is the path that all may tread.
The discreet man will not forget when ladies
are absent that gentlemen may be present.
AS YOU GO THROUGH LIFE.
Don't look for the flaws as you go through life,
And even when you find them
It is wise and kino to be somewhat blind,
And look for the virtue behind them.
For the cloudiest night has a hint of the light
Somewhere in its shadows hiding;
It is better by far to look for a star
Than the spots on the sun abiding.
The current of life runs ever away
To the bosom of God’s great ocean.
Don’t set your force ’gainst the river’s course,
And think to alter its motion.
Don’t waste a curse on the universe—
Remember it lived before you.
Don’t butt at the storm with your puny form,
But bend, and let it go o’er you.
The world will never adjust itself
To suit your whims to the letter.
Some things must go wrong your whole life long,
And the sooner you know it the better.
It is folly to fight with the Infinite,
And go under at last in the wrestle.
The wiser man shapes into God’s great plan
As the water shapes into a vessel.
HOW TO BE BALDHEADED.
A medical authority claims that baldness is a
product and sign of culture. If baldness is a
sign cf culture, something devoutedly to be
wished, we shall perform a public service in
showing how this condition can be quickly
reached.
“ We losein the course of time,” said Voltaire,
“ our teeth, our hair and our ideas.” That may
be tiue as far as the teeth and ideas are concern
ed, but we cannot always depend upon losing
our hair.
Persons who long for the proofs of culture must
resort at once to the methods of art. The first
good rule is to keep the head warm. In summer,
if you wish to become bald, do not wear a straw
hat. On the contrary, let your headgear be a
felt or cloth hat, a derby or a stovepipe. In
winter always wear a fur cap. While in the
house, at all times of the year, do not fail to
wear a fez or an oil cap.
Women whose light hats do not wear off the
hair rapidly enough may accomplish that end
by using heavy switches of false hair, which
will work even more rapidly than a fur cap, as
the hair will fall out by the hundreds when the
roll is heavy enough. The beloved nightcap, so
dear to our grandmothers, is to be highly
recommended also. The helmet of the officer
and policeman is also a splendid invention.
What is the effect of these head coverings ?
They make the head perspire.
Moisture is the deadly enemy to hair. On the
temples and the back of the head near the neck,
usually untouched by hats and caps, it is seldom
that one sees baldness. A bald ring often marks
the position of the hat or cap. Our young
dandies who curry their heads every morning
with two brushes and in the course of the day
comb their hair whenever they see a mirror are
on the right path to baldness. That is also true
of women who allow their hair to be combed by
unpracticed servants.
A “COLD IN THE HEAD.”
It is probable that not more than one in ten
supposed colds have any connection with the
closing of the pores. Most, if not all, of the
irritation in the nasal passages, the inflammation
of the mucous surfaces, not only of the nasal
passages, but of the throat, &c., with the sores
about the nose and on the lips, usually regarded
as “ cold sores,” have their origin in a deranged
state of the stomach, the inner surface of this
organ having a similar appearance. As a result
of improper dietetic habits—taking food very
difficult of digestion, too much of ordinary
food, or at improper times, and eating so rapid
ly that it is not half masticated—some have a
continuous “head cold,” and are unable to
breathe with the mouth closed, thus inducing
additional disease. The appropriate treatment
of such supposed colds, &c., is the adoption of
simple habits, careful dieting, making the grains
and fruits more than usually prominent, eating
flesh very sparingly, if at all, and no pork.
These supposed colds have led many persons to
take undue care of the head, in contrast with
the feet, which demand a great deal more atten
tion as the means of warding off such dreaded
evils. Another doctor says there is no doubt
that many colds come through the feet. Thin
soled shoes, or thick soles, standing on ice or
snow, or cold wood, until the sole attains the
same degree of cold as that on which it rests;
then cold feet, cold legs, cold abdomen, cold
lungs, cold in the throat, and in the head.—
Hall's Journal of Health.
NICKEL AS A METAL.
Nickel was first obtained as a metal in Ger
many about 1757, but the ore was previously
known to miners, who called it Old Nick’s cop
per, for the reason that, though it looked like cop
per ore, no copper could be obtained from it.
Nickel when pure is silvery white. It is found
in many parts of the world, but the principal
mines are in Russia, Sweden, Germany, Austria,
England and Scotland and in the states of Penn
sylvania and Connecticut in America.
WHERE FROST NEVER VISITS.
What is supposed to be the only frostless belt
in the United States lies between the city of Los
Angeles and the Pacific ocean. It traverses the
foothills of the Cahuenga range and has an
elevation of between 200 and 400 feet. In breadth
it is perhaps three miles. Strange to say, only
the midway region of the Cahuenga range is
free from frost, the lower part of the valley being
occasionally visited.
Said the whale to Jonah, “ Come in and see
me.” “ Don’t care if I do,” said Jonah, “but I
can only stay about four days.”
WAR-WORN SICILY.
The insurrection in Sicily, which has caused
so much alarm in Italy, is not something that is
new to the island. Belgium has been called the
cock-pit of Northern Europe, but Sicily has
been the most remarkable of all international
arenas. Ancient geographers called it Trinac
ria, meaning “ Triangle Land,” which was a
very appropriate name.
One of its main capes stretches out toward
Greece, another toward Northern Africa, and
the third toward the mainland of Italy, thus, as
as it were, inviting invaders from as "many dif
ferent points of the compass.
Three thousand years ago, and long before
the foundation of Rome, Sicily was the scene of
fierce struggles between the aborigines and peo
ple whose home was somewhere on the other
side of the Straits of Messina.
Seven centuries before the Christian era
great cities were built in Sicily ; but a series of
civil wars covered the island with ruin, and sea
port after seaport fell into the hands of the Car
thaginians. Eventually the island became a
Roman province, but in the year A. D. 440, it
was conquered by the Vandals ; they in turn
being expelled bv the Ostrogoths.
Saracens and Normans, Spaniards and French
have fought for the dominion of the island, and
in the era of the first French empire Sicily
proved a fatal apple of discord. England
claimed the island ; France insisted that it was
a part of the kingdom of Naples, and the war
that ensued only ended in Waterloo.
The present agrarian insurrection may spread
across the Straits of Messina, or even to the
gates of Rome, and possibly fulfill the predic
tion of an Italian deputy, who recently warned
his countrymen that the revolt was only the be
ginning of the end for the dynasty of Victor
Emmanuel.
“LEARN TO LABOR AND TO WAIT.”
Does all your toil, howe'er you moil,
Seem useless effort, neighbor?
Still work and wait, and soon or late,
Success shall crown your labor.
Do you behold the glittering gold
Swell coffers of another?
Some day your till with wealth shall fill—
Just plod ahead, my brother.
Oh, ne’er despair, but do and dare.
All vain repinings banish;
The things to-day that block your way
May on the moirow vanish.
Life’s empty cup shall yet fill up
With good, let faith be stronger;
Who well doth strive ere long must thrive—
Press on a little longer.
The darkest night e’er ends in light—
No road runs on forever;
Then heed my rhyme and “ bide your time,”
Heaven smiles on true endeavor.
__ _—Rev. P. B. Strong.
BUILDING A PRAIRIE CHURCH.
As far west as Hitchcock County, Nebraska,
churches are few and far between, except in
towns, and country congregations worship with
in the small school houses, which at the best
furnish meagre accommodations.
The long felt want of a meeting place other
than the old sod school house was accentuated
at one such place by a slight misunderstanding
with another denomination holding prior claim.
It was on the last day of the old year and public
spirit grew with the remarks :
“ If we only had a church !”
“I wish we had a church.”
“ We must have a church.”
“ Let us build a church.”
The crops had failed, times were hard, and
money scarce, but a temporary loan was offered
if a subscription paper warranted its payment.
On New Year’s Day a committee started out to
see what could be done, and at night the subscrip
tion list footed §70, and a church was assured.
A frame building was out of the question, but
on Wednesday a score of willing workers were
plowing and piling sod. It was a formidable
undertaking for mid-winter, but the brave home
steaders are accustomed to encountering diffi
culties and surmounting obstacles, and in two
days the walls had risen to the desired height.
Unlucky Friday brought a storm and work was
suspended until Tuesday.
But Friday night again beheld a good sub
stantial church building completed and furnish
ed, ready for occupancy. It is 16 by 32 feet,
with doors and six windows, and has cost, be
sides gratis labor, §100. Part of that sum has
already been paid and the balance guaranteed
by solid subscription.
The erection of a church in six days’ time is
one of the achievements of “ dried out, burned
up, blown away” southwest Nebraska, and con
sidering circumstances is certainly unprece
dented.”—Nebraska State Journal.
WAYS OP LYING.
A writer says that there are thousands of ways
of telling a lie. A man’s whole life may bee
falsehood, and yet never with his lips may he
falsify once. There is a way of uttering false
hood’by look, by manner, as well as by lips.
There are persons who are guilty of dishonesty
of speech and then afterward say May be,”
softly, and call it a “white lie,” when no lie
has that color. The whitest lie ever told wTas
black as perdition. There are those so given to
dishonesty of speech that they do not know
when they are lying. With some it is an ac
quired sin* and with others it is a natural infirm
ity. There are those whom you will recognize
as born liars. Their whole life from cradle to
|. grave, is filled with vice of speech. Misrepre
sentation and prevarication are as natural to
them as the infantile disease, and are a sort of
moral crops of spiritual scarlatina.
A drink of liquor is sometimes stronger than
Samson—A man can’t hold it down.