Narragansett herald., August 15, 1896, Image 6

About Narragansett herald. (Narragansett Pier, R.I.) 1877-1???

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The “War Woman's” Guests.
. Naney Hart was standing in the
doorway of her rude log ecabin one
morning in the epring of 1779. She
bad been gazing earnestly up the road.
but as her glance turned and fell upon
the place below where War Woman’s
creek joined Broad river, she smiled
grimly, for she knew the stream had
been named in her honor and that
along the border of South Carolina
and Georgia she was known as the
*“War Woman.” Not that she was
the only brave woman, for the neigh
borhood had been named by the
tories ““The Hornet’s Nest,” so active
were the patriots there, but Nancy
was the most fearless of them all. The
feeling was bitter and many "of her
neighbors, &oth whigs and tories, had
forfeited their lives for their convie
tions,
Nancy this morning had frequently
gone to the door, for reports of bands
of tories sent out from Augusta had
been current and her husband and
three of the neighbors were now
hiding in the swamp below the house,
but she knew she could warn him of
danger by the conch shell concealed
in the stump pear the spring. One
blast meant that Britishers were near,
two that he was wanted at the cabin,
and three that he was to make his
escape to another swamp. As she
could see no signs of danger, she
turned again to her work. She did
not know that five tories were then
riding rapidly along the upper road,
and that the *““War Woman’s” house
was their destination; nor was she
aware that the day was to be the most
exciting in her life.
Soon, however, she was again stand
ing in the doorway, holding her rude
rolling pin in her hands, This time
she was startled at the sound of ap
proaching horsemen,and in a moment
the five tories appeared. She stood
and watched them as they let down
the bars and rode up in front of the
door. She had recognized them at
once and knew that she had to deal
with the most brutal men in all that
xegion. :
“ ““We want to know,"” said the leader
roughiy, ‘““‘whether you hid that rebel,
Jo.hi Symmer, from the king’s men
. the other day?”
«w *“I don’t know that it concerns you,
~zbut I did.” Naney was calm, but her
_ @yes were snapping. “‘Assoon as I
saw the boy and knew the traitors
\_were chasing him I let down the bars
‘and he rode straight through the
bouse and Lid in the swamp, Then I
- ~put up the bars and came into the
~ “house and shut the doors. Pretty
soon up came the tories and called to
me. I clapped a shawl on my head
and opening the door, asked what
they wanted to distrub a poor, sick
-woman for. They told me they had
tracked the man to my house, and
wanted to know whether I had seen
any one on horseback or not. I pre
tended to think far a bit, and then
told them Isawamwn on a sorrel
horse turn out of the path into the
woods about two hundred yards back.
*That’s our man,” said the fools, and
they started off in a hurry. If they'd
stopped to look at the ground they’d
have seen his tracks this side of the
bars, but that’s the way with such
high-headed traitors.”
“You'll be sorry for that some day,”
said the leader angrily, “Buat give
us someting to eat.”
| *I never feed traitors or king's
en.”
+ “Bat you'll feed us,” said the lead
er, enrsged, and leaping from his
horse. Nauey was calm but her grasp
of her rolling pin tightened. She did
not move as the man approached and
he stopped for a parley. He bad
heard of the War Woman before.
““We've had nothing to eat since yes
terday. You'll give us something;
I know yon will.”
*“You've already stolen everything
we had,” replied Nauey. We Laven't
a grunter left.”
’ghero’. a gobbler, at any rate,” re
plied the tory, as he lifted his gun
and fired. The turkey fell over and
with one or two convulsive kicks was
dead.
‘““Now you clean and cook him for
us,” he added, as he threw the dead
bird at her feet.
Nancy was thoronghly angry now,
and a bright red spot appeared on
each cheek. Shehesitated a moment,
and was about to refuse, but a new
thought came, and without a word she
took the gobbler and began to clean
it.
“Sukey,” she said to her little girl,
twelve years old, ‘I want some water.
You go down to the spring and get me
some. Blow onece at the conch,” she
alded iu a low voice. Sakey nodded
her head understandingly, and soon
returned. Sie replied to the ques
tion in her mother’s eyes by a vigor
ous nod, aud the “War Woman" soon
had the turkey ready for her visitors,
Sbe arrunged the table end prepared
to wait upou the men herself.
“Haren’t you anything to drink?”
asked the leader, sooa after the din
ner begau
SToRY
“Yes,” replied Nancyr, s she has
tened to bring a jug from the cellar.
“This war woman isn’t so bad,”
said one of the men while she was
gone, *“I have seen lots of worse
whigs than she.” Perhaps if he could
have noted the expression on her face
when she left the room he might not
have been quite so complacent, for
Nancy bhad forgotten neither her name
por nature, DBat the feast was on,
and Nancy and Sukey were kept busy
by the tories, who soon became hilari
ous. Sukey could not understand it.
What had wrought the change in her
mother? She never had seen her so
quiet before when tories were about.
“I want some water,” said one of
the men thickly. *“‘Gimme some
water.”
¢“I shall have to send for it,” re
plied Naney. There was a gleam in
her eyes now. The very moment for
which she had been planning had
come, “‘Sukey, you take the bucket
and go down to the spring. Blow.
twice,” she whispered in her little
daughter’s ear, as she left the room.*
“Blow twice,” thought Sukey, on
her way to the spring. ‘“Why, that
means to call pap in. I wonder what
marm can want of him, with those
king’s men in the house. He'll get
into trouble.”
But Sukey had been trained to obey
and before she returned, two clear
calls from the conchshell had sounded
over the swamp. The thirsty men
eagerly drank of the water and then
resumed their feasting, for turkey was
not to be had every day.
“Pass round the jug, old woman,”
called one of the men. Nancy Hart
was not an old woman, but she did
not heed the insult. Sukey was more
and more troubled, and was quite cer
tain that her father would not ap
prove. What was it her mother was
doing‘uow? Gently she was pulling
several pieces of pine ‘‘chinking”’from
between the logs of which the eabin
was built. She could look through
into the yard now. Her mother must
be crazy.
But Nancy had a method in her
madness, The tories had leaned their
guns against the wall when they sat
down. Nanecy was near them now,
and, without attracting the attention
of the men, she slipped one of the
guns through the hole she had made
in the wall, and listeded to hear it fall
outside. A second-gun followed, and
now only three remained. The “War
Woman” v&ns not idle,
Again she hastened to wait upon the
men and urged the use of the jug.
Satisfied that their attention was with
drawn, she grasped the third gun and
made ready to have it follow its com
paunions,
‘“‘Here, womaun, what ara you do
ing?” said one of the men suddenly
noticing the action of the *““War
Woman.”
“Two of our guns are gone already,”
said another, and all five men were
standing now.
““Kill the vixen,” said the leader, as
he started toward Nancy.
““You stay right where you are,”
said the “War Woman” in a low voice.
“I’ll shoot the first man that takes a
step toward me or the guns.”
The tories knew her now for the
“War Woman.” It was a scene for a
painter. The five men were standing
about the table and watching the fear
less woman who stood with her back
to the wall, with the gun at her
shoulder. The startled Sukey had
withdrawn to a corner, and breath
less, was watching them all. But not
oue of the men dared to move. They
were convinced that the first to start
wounld face the “War Woman’s"’ shot.
But such an attitnde could not long
be endured. Even now Nancy was
beginning to tremble. Would help
never comc? Soon she knew she
would fall—and then? Her heart
trembled and her cheek grew pale at
the thought.
But what was that? Close be
side her she felt, rather than saw,
the muzzle of a gun pushed through
the opening she had made. Another
and another followed, and then there
came & report that almost deafened
her. Through the smoke she saw
three of the toriesfall,and the others,
in their endeavors to escape, run into
the arms of the “War Woman’s” hus
band and his companions.
““Merey! Merey!” begged the men.
‘“You shall have the merecy you
have shawn others,” was Hart's reply ;
and what that “‘mercy’’ was might
have been seen a half hour later when
two lifeless bodies were hanging from
a tree by the roadside, swinging in the
wind, and with great staring eyes
that, looking out, saw nothing in all
the forest.
What times they must have been!
No maun’s life was safe, and in their
dusperation, sometimes the patriots
were as releutless as their foes. But
*Naney Hart, the “War Woman” was
not without merey, and the stories of
ber tenderness were as many as of her
daring. —Atlanta Constitation,
Left in Darkness,
“Do you really and traly love me?”
be inqunired.
“Yes, ves,” she cooed, as she snug
gled into his arms. “You are the
light of my life,” :
Just then bLer father appeared
There was a seufile apd her light was
put out.—New York World,
More than 4,000 persons have visit
ed Carlyle’s home at Chelsea, Eng
land, durinz the past vear.
House Covered with Mother-off Pearl.
odd habitations are to be found all
over California. Sometimes there is
a good reason for their being odd,
but often it is the result of some
crank ideas. Oa the beach near
Cypress Point, in Monterey county,
there is ome that cannot come under
the first head and hardly under the
last.
The residence belonged to a Chi
nese fisherman, and is part matuaral
and part the work of his own hands.
The nataral portion of the house is a
small cave in one of the many rocks
that stick up allover the beach. The
the other part is a sort of wooden
shed, which has been built in front
of the opening. The lumber used is
of the toughest kind,but the aesthetic
Chinaman overcame this objection by
covering the whole outside with
abalone shells, the hollow side being
tarned out.
The Chinaman ' evidently did that
many yvears ago, when the shells were
plentiful and had scarcely any market
value. Every shell used has been
destroyed, as one or more nails have
been driven through them according
to their size. Some of the shells are
magnificent in color and mormous
in size. There is one at least fifteen
inches in diameter, and a duplicate in
good condition could not be bought
in San Francisco for any price.
Most of the larger shells, if they were
not punctured with nail holes, would
readily sell for from $3 to 85 apiece.
But that size cannot be had in the
market now, and would be difficult to
find on the rocks on any part of the
coasf,
The general effect of the house,
when the sun strikes it at the pro
per angle, is dazzling. The polished,
pearly surfaces sparkle with astounding
brilliancy and flash with all the colors
of the rainbow. It is a pleasing and
surprising sight. and the only pity
is that so many beautiful shells were
destroyed to produce it.—San Fran
cisco Call.
The Man Who Shaved Himself,
When the famous archaologist came
into the club the other afternoon his
erudite countenance was ornamented
at several points with sticking-plaster,
and there was a general inquiry among
his friends as to what was the matter.
‘‘Razor,” said the professor, briefly.
“‘Good gracious! Where did you
get shaved?”’ asked one of the younger
members, sympathetically.
““It's a strange thing,” said the man
of learning. *“‘l was shaved this morn
ing by a man who really is, I suppose,
a little above the ordinary barber. 1
know of my own knowledge that he
took a double First Class at Oxforq,
that he studied in Heidelberg after
ward, and spent several years in other
foreign educational centres. I know,
also of my own kuowledge, that he
had contributed secientific articles to
our best magazines,and has numbered
among his intimate friends men of the
highest social and scientific standing
in Earope and America. And yet,”
soliloquized the savant, ‘‘he can’t
shave a man decently.”
“By Jove!” exclaimed the young
member, in astonishment. “‘What is
a barber for, with all those accom
plishments?”’
““Oh, he isn’t a barber!” said the
bovkworm, yawning. ‘““You see, 1
shaved myself this morning.”
Curing a Snake’s Blindness.
One of the most poisonous snakes at
the London Zoo, a king cobra,recent
ly became nearly blind. When it shed
its skin it threw off every part except
the transparent plate which covers the
eye. After each change of skin this
plate remained uncast, and the succes
sive layers became opaqne, and pro
jected over the eye in a horny boss.
The keeper used the snake habit of
creeping through an aperture which it
can find in the wall of its cage to rid
itself of the growth over the eye. He
drew back the iron shutter that sepa
rates one compartment from the other,
leaving a narrow space open. The
cobra soon discovered this, and
pushed its nose into the erack. This
was slightly widened, and the snake
sqneezed through, rubbing off one of
the scales as it did so. It was then
induced to go back by the way it had
come: and after this had been repeat
ed onece or twice it cleared the scale
from the other eye. Since then it has
cast its skin completely and its eyes
are apparently none the worse for its
temporary blindness. Snakes natu
raliy drag themselves through rough
grass and holes to get rid of the old
skin which clings to them.—Londen
Publie Opiunion.
A Scarecrow for Mosquitoes,
Johua Habberton states with the sol
emnity of firm counviction that mos
quitoes are extremely frightened by
dragon flies and will not come within
yards of them. He says that one or
two dried dragon flies suspended from
fine silk nnder the roof of an open
porch infested by mosquitoes will scare
all of the little pests away, and they
will not come back while the dragon
flies are there. This, he says, he has
tried with surprising results, Itisa
well-known fact that dragon flies are
predatory and voracious iunsects, and
that they snbsist largely upon gnats,
wilges and mosquitves, and it is but
natural that the mosquito, which is a
wise insect, should regard the *‘spin
dle,” *‘darning needle,” or dragon
fly as the small bird regards the hawk,
—Newark Sunday Call.
The Account Settled.
“Our agreement was that you were
to have half if we won the suit,” de
clared the client. -
‘“Exactly,” responded the lawyer,
“‘but you only got half what you sued
for and that is just my share.”"—De
troit Free Press, .
NEW FACES MADE.
Facial Deformities Are Now Re
duced to a Minimum,
Operations for Correcting Some
Common Defects.
Whether or not a man is born into
the world with a homely face, or
whether accident causes a facial de
fermity, there is in these days mno
reason for his going through life with
out having almost any defect reme
died. Perhapsone may not be changed
from a Caliban to an Adonis, but at
least science and the inventive genius
of man bave provided the means of
reducing deformities to & minimum.
What seem to be almost miracles
are now performed in the operations
of plastic and dental surgery. If a
man is not satisfied with his nose, if it
be too much of a Roman to suit his
face, he can have it transformed into
a delicate Grecian, Should the eyes
be afilicted with a horrible squint, or
be almond-shaped or otherwise unnat
ural, they can be corrected with a sim
plicity of operation that almost causes
a smile when the method of treatment
becomes known. Let it be what it
may, & misshapen limb or a hideous
face, the result of either a freak of
nature or an accident, the means of
straightening the one and of beautify
ing the other are at hand.
As regards the face, the hare lip is
tbe most common defect. This
trouble is due to the failure of union
between the margins of the maxillary
and the front nasal bone, It not only
causes a total disfigurement of the
face, but it makes speaking an un
pleasant matter, both for the speaker
and the hearer. The defeet is ordi
narily seen in the upper lip, and is of
ten double, the lip on both sides of
the centre being painfully drawn up.
Bad as it looks and inconvenient as it
is, the remedy is as simple as can be
imagined,
It merely consists of a triangular
incision made under the nostril. A
silk ligature is then put through the
incision and drawn downward. This
inverts the flap and brings together
the opposing surfaces, which may at
once be secured with sutures. A slight
projection is left on the border of the
lip but it soon disappears.
The operation for the double hare
lip is practically the same, entailing a
little more work for the knife. The
hare-lip deformity is seldom found on
tbe lower lip, and when itis it ex
tends down on the chin, practieally
dividing it. This, however, can be
remedied as easily as the other.
Next to the hare lip in the line of
frequency comes the absence or the
deformity of the nose as a congenital
defect. In the making of the nasal
organ plastic surgery has achieved
wonders. The bow in a Roman nose,
for instance, can be effectually re
duced.
This operation is performed en
tirely from the inside. The instru
ment is introduced into the nostril
and the bone is cut away, great care
being taken not to fracture the skin.
The surplus cuticle readily contracts,
and, accommodating itself to the re
duced space it is required to cover,
the bridge of the nose is left entirely
smooth on the surface, while astraight
and comely organ has been produced.
The same operation ¢an be per
formed on a pug or turned-up nose.
This work is also done from the inside.
Enough of the cartilage on the tip is
taken away to reduce the excessive
protuberance, and the same result as
in the case of the bow is attained.
But the making of a new nose to
take the placa of the missing one is a
different matter. It is easy to form
these organs in any shape o size de
sired out of celluloid alfxminum, or
even pasteboard, and have them fas
tened by adhesion or held on by spee
tacles; but they are not good noses.
The owner cannot blow them, and if
some one shonld, in & moment of ex
cessive hilarity, tweak one it would be
likely to come. off.
Surgeons,however, now make noses
that perform all the funections of the
natural organs. After the solid por
tion is completed, it is, of course,
necessary to have it covered with cati
cle. This is done in various ways.
The most ordinary mauner is to cut a
triangle of skin from the forehead,
and bring it down over the false
bridge. The edges are inserted in
slits made on each side, where, in the
course of time, being alive ard retain
ing vitality from the natural circula
tion of the blood, the piece grows
fast, and a perfect nose is the result.
This is called the Indian method of
treatment, but, although it leavas a
scar on the forehead, it is not eo pain
ful as the Italian method. In this
latter, the skin is grafted from the
arm, but in order to preserve the cir
culation, that member is bent up with
the forearm on the top of the head,
and securely bouud there, and kept
in that position until the parts have
grown together. This operation is
very painful, and is not frequently
used.
Yeterinary Instruction,
In a recent number of the Horse
men, the veterinary instruction of the
State Agricultdral Colleges was dis
cussed as follows:
“The establishment of the agricul
taral colleges dates back only a few
vears at the most, and each succeed
ing sensoa sees improvement of great
er or less importance made. The
mest prominent defeet now visible is
the lack of proper instruction in vet
erinary science at most of them. In
connection with every state universi
ty, and more particularly in connee
tion with the agricultural department
thereof, there should be a school of
veterinary medicine, in which the
short-course student may gain, during
his two terms, some knowledge of the
treatment of the more common dis
eases of live stock, and in which the
man who desires to become a practic
ing veterinary surgeon may tako a
full course of three or four years, re
ceiving his diploma at the conclusion
thereof.
No great amount of reasoning is
necessary to show that among the
farmers and breeders of this country
there exists a lamentable ignorance of
the simplest rudiments of veterinary
medicine, and to properly care for
live stock of any kind a man must
possess some knowledge of what to do
for the animals in time of sickness as
well as in health, Itis not possible in
two short terms to imbibe knowledge
enough of so vast a subject to consti
tute the student a full-fledged veterin
ary practitioner, but he should have
the advantage of competent instruct
ors in order that the information he
receives may be of the soundest char
acter.
So long as a state undertakes to
supply the means of educating the
children of its citizens it should es
tablish its educational facilities on the
broadest possible basis, Qualified
veterinary surgeons, men competent
in their profession, are a blessing to
any community, for their skill anaual
ly saves much wealth to the residents
of the locality where they reside.
Every state takes pride in its live
stock, and it should provide a school
in which its citizens may be trained
to properly protect the health of its
animals,
In every agricultural college, there
fore, there shquld be a veterinary de
partment, wherein students may ac
quire the knowledge necessary to fit
them to become skillful veterinary
practitioners, and the instructors in
that department may be called on to
devote a portion of their time to giv
ing instruction to the short-course
students in agriculture who do not de
sire to become veterinarians,
The Chesapeake Mill,
The famous old Chesapeake was
taken to England during the early
part of the century. In 1820 her
timber was sold to a miller by the
name of John Prior, who pulled
down his old mill and erected on the
spot a new one from the timbers of
the Chesapeake. The deck beams
were thirty-two feet long and eighteen
inches sqaare, of sound Virginia oak.
These were used without alteration,
just as they were taken from the
vessel. Many of the timbers still
bear the scars of battle received by
the Chesapeake in her celebrated eu
counter with the Shannon. *“The
transformation of a sanguinary war
ship into a peaceful and life-preserv
ing flour mill,” says the Washington
Post, ‘““more than falfills the serip
tural prdophecy of the sword beaten
into a plowshare and the spear into a
pruning hook.” In speaking of the
mill a celebrated American eclergy
man who recently visited the spot
makes the following observation:
‘“Nothing shiplike or of the sea was
discernible from without the mill
A handsome young Englishman of
eight and twenty years of age was
coming forth to join his ericket club,
and this proved to be the owner of
the ‘Chcsapea!ie mill.”” A large cigar
box, coustructed from the polished
pine of the old ship and bearing the
inscription ‘Chesapeake’ in small
brass nails, stood upon the table. .
The beams were marked in many
places with grapeshot. The mill was
merrilly going, but as I stood in the
midst of this peaceful scenes I remem
bered that beyond all reasonable
doubt on one of these planks Law
rence fell in the reeking angnish of
his mortal wpunds; on another, if not
the same, Watt’'s head was carried
away by a shot, while near by the
youang and brave Ludlow poured out
his life's blood. Thus I stood ponder
ing and still the busy hum went on,
wheat passing beneath the stones,
flour pouring forth and the merry :
millers passed around their kindly
smile and blithesome jests.”
Origin of County Lines,
Every state in this counntry, except
Louisiana, which is still divided into
parishes, bhLas counties, even Rhode
Island, which would be' lost in the
corner of a Texas couunty, having five,
and Delaware, which is not much big
ger, possessing three of these minor
political sub-divisions. It cannot be
doubted that the conaty system is the
expressson of the love of our people
for local self-government, the right
to manage their neighborhood affairs
in their own way. The system itself,
however, was borrowed from England,
where the county lines often follow
those of ancient Saxon kingdoms.
The same curious circumstance may
also b 2 noted in Germany, France and
Italy, where the provincial and de
partmental Dboundaries frequently
mark the limits of principalities,
dukedoms and kingdoms that many
years ago lost their undividuality by
being merged into the larger state,
St. Louis Republic.
Stone and Steel.
An experiment, with a view to as
certaining the relative resistance,
under pressure, of the hardest steel
and the hardest stone, was recently
made at Vienna. Small cubes of co
randam and of the finest steel were
subjected to the test. The corundum
broke under the weight of six toms,
but the steel resisted -up to forty-twc
tons. The steel split up with a noise
like the report of a gun, breaking intc
a powder, and sending sparks in every
direction, which bored their way intc
the machine like shot.
In 18090 the amount of wages paid
out in manufactures alone was about
£2,300,000,000, affecting rearly 5,
000,000 working: people,
THE WOLF BOY.
A Strange Being Captured in an
Indian Jungle.
Can Neither Speak Nor Hear,
but Is Susceptible to Training.
While in Japan, 4 friend who spent
several years in India spoke to me of
the wolf-boy wwho was canght some
years ago in one of the northwest
provinces of the country, and urged
me, on my arrival in Agra, to call at
the Secundra Orphanage, near the
city, and see this human curiosity.
As this strange creature has never,
as far as I am aware, been mentioned
by tourists and as I have secured re
liable information about him from
Dr. 8. C. Valentime, principal of
the Agra Medical Missionary Train
ing Institute, I desire to give these
facts to your readers: In the spring
of 1867 a number of natives, in search
of game in the unfrequented jungles of
Bulandshahr, situated in Northwestern
India, surprised and followed a wolf
to a hillock, out of which rose a roek,
and on this rock, apparently sunning
itself, sat a dark, curious-looking ob
ject, which, to their great astonish
ment, turned out to be a human be
ing, who, on seeing the hunters,
sprang from the rock, and, running
on all fours, entered a cave with the
pursued wolf. The frightened natives
returned at once to Bulandshahr,and,
having relatedwhat they saw to the
magistrate of that place, they were
advised to kindle a fire at the mouth
of the cave and smoke the thing from
itsden, This was done. The strange
creature rushed out, and, after a
struggle, during which several of the
natives were bitten, it was overpow
ered and captured.
Here in the wild jungles, running
on all fours, covered with filth and
vermin, his face partially hidden by
long, matted hair, and having no
companion but the wolf, was a boy,
who at the time when he was found
could not have been more than seven
or eight years of age. A few weeks
after he was caught, the wolf-boy was
sent by the magistrate to the Secun
dra Orphanage, and as he entered the
institution on Saturday he was named
Sanichar. For a long time after
he came to the orphanage it was
impossible to get him to act
as a human being He persisted in
eating his food from the ground, pick
ing up vegetables with his lips and
gnawing flesh from bones with his
teeth, like a carnivorous animal, and
the clothes with which he was sup
plied he tore into shreds and cast
them away as incumbrances. By de
grees he grew more docile, and,
although he has never spoken a word,
Lhe graduaally conformed somewhat to
his surroundings, but he insisted upon
eating with his fingers. It is thought
that he is now about 36 or 37 years
old, although he looks much older.
His head is small, his brow uncom
mouly low and coutracted, while his
eyes are of a grayish color, restless
aund squinting. He has a small, thin,
wrinkled face, on which are two large
cicatrices, marks, doubtless, of severe
bites that were reccived by him. Oa
other parts of his body are found
scars and other sigus of rough treat
ment to which he was subjected no
doubt while living in the cave with
his wild companions. When he stands
erect he is five feet and two inches in
height ; in walkiug he lifts his feet as if
he were wading through wet grass, and
when he moves along all the muscles
of his body secem to be undergoing a
series of jerks, while his arms are
thrown about in such a man
ner as to convey the impression that
they must greatly assist him in his
progress. His head is continually in
motion, turning from side to side with
great rapidity, while his eyes, which
at times have a hungry appearance,
glare as if he expected an attack from
some unseen enemy. When viewed
from behind as he walks or when he
stands in front of you, his head hang
ing on one side, flashing his sharp
eyes aud beating his stomach to show
that he is hungry, while he utters in
articulate souuds, he presents a stPange
appearance indeed. He has evident
ly been totally deaf and dumb since
his capture, and although all attempts’
to teach Lim to speak have failed, by
signs those who care for him can get
him to sit stand or run. |
If poor Sanichar, the wolf-boy, had
received the same care that was be
stowed upon the. afilicted Laura
Bridgeman, it is possible that his fac
ulties might have been sufficiently de
veloped to enable him to impart at
least something concerning the first
years of his life, which must now al
ways remain an unsolved mystery,
Baltimore Sun.
Shipping Home Dead Chinamen,
The bones of every Chinaman who
dies in this country are sent back to
the Celestial Empire for interment.
They are shipped in large boxes from
San Francisco under the desigration
of ““fishbone” at the rate of £2O a ton.
This fishbone fiction is in order to
evade the rule of the steamship com
panies, which charge full passenger
rates far the transportation of dead
bodies.
Neariy every. Chinaman who comes
here is under the care of the S:x Com
panies. They sign a contract guaran
teeing to return the bones of the dead
for burial with those of their =ances
tors. On every steamer leaving San
Francisco there are invalid-d Chinese
steerage passengers who hope to live
until they reach their native coun
try.
"An agreement exists between the
Six Companies and the steamship
managers which forbids the burial of
thes¢ Chinamen should they die at sea,
and the Six Companies furnish coffins
of the peculiar Chinese pattern for
use in such emergencies,
When a Chinaman dies at sea the
body is embalmed, placed in a sealed
coflin and lowered into the hold. The
expense is paid by the other Chinese
passengers and the stewards of the
ship all of whom belong to that race.
When the ship reaches Hongkong
the coffins are delivered to the Tung
Wah Hospital, which gives them to
their surviving friends in China.
Every Chinaman among us is supposed
to be registered at the Tung Wah
Hospital and with the Six Companies
at San Francisco.
The Dwarf Child of Aged Parents,
At the home of the United Charities
Organization in Wilkesbarre is a
human cuariosity in the shape of a
three-year-old baby boy, who is per
fectly formed, apparently possessing
all his faculties, yet weighs but ten
and one-half pounds, not much more
than the average newly-born infant.
The little fellow enjoys the romantic
name of Jesse James Long, and was
born in Union township. His parents
were hard-working people, and eked
out an existence on a farm in an iso
lated section of the township until
forced to give up workon accouat of
old age. Five children were born to
them, four of whom were of normal
size.,
At the time of Jesse’s birth his
mother was seventy-one years of age
and his father seventy-nine, Both
were feeble, infirm and almost help
less, People came from far and near
to see the little tot, and for a time
nothing was discussed among the
farmers and their families but the
lilliputian baby in the Long house
hold. When the child reached the
age of two years the father died, and
his mother followed six months later.
There beiug no one to care for the in
fant, it was removed to this city. The
little fellow now stands twenty-two
inches in height. He is unable to
walk, but creeps on the floor. He fits
conveniently in an ordinary doll car
riage. His head is not much larger
than an ordinary base ball, and a
quarter of a dollar would cover one
hand. —Philadelphia Times,
The Spider That Catches Birds.
W. J. Rainbow, an Australian natu
ralist gives a description of the large
bird-entrapping spiders of his coun
trr. Representatives of this genus
abouund in tropical and subtropical
regions. Their webs are composed
of two kinds of silk: one yellow, ex
ceedingly viscid, and elastic; the
other white, dry, and somewhat brit
tle. The latter is used for the frame
work of the web, the guvs and radii,
and the former for the concentrie
rings. These snares are at varrying
heights, sometimes within reach, again
ten to twelve feet from the ground,
but always in a position exposed to
the rays of thesun. The diameter is
also variable, from three feet upward.
One seen by Graff: in the Fiji Islands
constructs a web thirty feet in diame
ter. These snares are strong enough
to entrap small birds, In theauthor’s
opinion the web is not set for such
game, and the spider does not feed on
her oraithological vietim. In the
cases whereshe has beenobserved with
her fangs in the bodyof the ensnared
bird it is probable that it is for the
purpose of hastening the death of the
bird in order to prevent its injuring
the web in its struggles to escape,
Spiders of the genus Nephila are
easily tamed. Although exceedingly
voracious, they ecan exist for many
days without food or water,—Ameri
can Naturalist,
Novel Cure for Drunkenness,
Police Justice Morrison of Rockfort
1111., has hit upon a novel schema for
dealing with drunkards. When such
an inveterate appears before the Illi
nois justice he looks him over and
Says:
“If I let yougo will you promise
upon your honor to report at police
headquarters three times a day to
show that you are keeping sober?”
The prisoner will promise to do any
thing rather than go to juil. He ap
pears at police headquarters morning,
noon and night, where an officer with
a powerful nose for whisk§y smells his
breath. If he is sober he is allowed
to go his way, but if he shows traces
of intoxication he is sent to jail. If
he fails to report it is taken as a sign
that he has lapsel, and he is searched
for throughout the city. When found
he is landed in jail and made to serve
out a ten days’ sentence. The plan is
working like a charm.—New York
World.
Peacock’s Feathers Unlucky.
Uunluckiness seems to be confined
to the bringing of the tail feathers of
Juno’s bird into a house. I am not
aware that this idea is held outside
this countay, and, if it is confined to
Eugland, many various causes may
have led to the belief, which possibly
arose in comparatively modern times
—not earlier than the Crusades.
Nothing is more probable than that
several Crusaders brought home the
gorgeous feathers as curiosities, a
strange sight, and so likely to make a
deep impression. Nothing is easier
to eonceive than that some misfor
tuce, death from disease, loss of
wealth, or other *‘bad luck” may have
bhappened to more than one possessor
of the beautiful feathers, and that
they would on that account soon be
credited with beinz the cause. A be
lief of this kind once started is of
rapid growth, and very long lived,
Under Another Head.
Old Olivier (at the library) —Where
will I find tbat great anthropological
work called ‘““Man the Raler of the
World?”
Bluestocking Librarian (scornfully)
—Under the head of ““fiction,” sir,—
Truth,
DERVISH VALOR.
Reckless Courage of the Mahdist'
Followers in the Soudan.
Standing Steadily for Hours
Against Fearful Odds.
Of all the numerous British officers
who have taken part in former cam
paigns against the Mahdists, all allow
that the Dervishes have lost nothing
of their old valor. They heed death
as little as ever. I saw them stand
undismayed in the open and fight with
dogged determination in the face of
our deadly volley fire; they fought on
i with rifle and spear and knife when
i charged by the cavalay ; each wounded
Dervish, as he lay bleeding to death
on the ground, was a dangerous and
treacherous foe until he had breathed
his last; they even did what some
authorities have denied that any
troops, however brave, wouid ever do
—they stood in groups firing steadily
into our ranks whiie our Maxim guns
poured their streams of bullets on
them, mowing them dowa like grass,
I doubt whether any other men in
the world would have stood, as these
men stood, for nearly two hours
against such fearful odds as were op
posed to them.
Bat, if one may judge from this
fight,the Dervishes have changed their
old tactics; they have to a great ex
tent abandoned the reckless rush of
spearmen whichyused to disiinguish
Sudanese warfare, and rely mofe Yo
rifle fire, in which their practice has
cousiderably improved. If trained
aud disciplined (but it is very <oubt
ful whether that savage beast of prey
the Baggara ever counld be tamed),
these men wounld make wmagnificent
infantry. They display now as much
amazing coolness when acting on the
defensive as they did wild elan
in their furions charges of form-
er campaigns. Daring one part of
the fight I was with the men of
the Niuth Sudanese Battalion who
were clearing the hills to the east of
Ferkeb, and I saw a handfa! of twen
ty-five of the enemy’s riflemen stand
firm and fire into us until we were
twenty yards from them, when they
in vain sought safety in flight. The
majority of these riflemen were hlacks
of the same stock as the men of our
Sudanese battalions; it is therefore
possible to form some Idea of bow the
latter will fight if canght in a *‘tight
coruner.” The Khalifa’s black rifle
men, or Jehadia, for the most part
fight unwillingly in the cause & the
tyraut who Las ruined their country
aud wju'd gladly desert to us; bat
once in the thick of a fight theyv for
get all this, their blood is up, aud they
set to as if imbued with fanatical
frenzy.
In my last letter I recorded an in
cident I witnessed—that of one of our
Sudanese soldiers rushine from the
ranis to embracz a prisouer wiao had
inst been taken and whom he recogz
nized as a relation. Similar strange
'mectings occurred over the whole
field. _A man of the Ninth Dattalion
found his father Jdead awmounz the
enemy. Again, when the men of the
Tenth Battalion were attacking the
enemy’s riverside position, thev were
set to clear a hut held by a number of
desperate men, who firel on
them from the loogh sles with
considerable eff-et. At last nearly
all the defenders were killed and the
few survivors surrendered and came
out, among thiem a big black who, no
doubt, up to that moment had been
doing his best to kill as many of our
men as possible; but assoocn as he ap
peared a soldier lauzhingly rau for
ward and put his arwms around his
neck ; then several others, recogniz
ing in him an old frignd whom they
bad not seen for years, welcomed him,
their faces beaming with pleasure,and
there was a geueral embraciug all
round. No fewer than 100 of the
black prisoners whom we took during
the fight of the 7th have already been
enlisted in the Sadanese battalions,
London Times.
California’s Largest Tree,
What is perhaps the largest tree in
Califoruia is a live oak near Mouterey.
Its branches cover an area large
enough to afford shelier to 5,000 per
sons and have a dense foliage. The
leaves never wrinkle and never fall off.
It is called the Justice Field Tree.
Sand has blown around the trunk and
covered it as high as the first brauches,
many of which are as large as an or
dinary tree.
In a letter written sixty years ago a
young relative of Justice Field, who
was a midshipman in the United States
Navy, visited the spot and described
the tree. A few years ago Justice
Field visited it for the first time, and
since then it has borne his name.
There was formerly a bay near the
tree, which afforded a safe harbor,
and it is possible that Sir Francis
Drake saw the tree centuries ago, for
it must have been alive then.
A Man Attacked by Cranes,
Allen Newman of Decker, Ind., was
attacked by.a flock of cranes. They
were probably sandhill cranes. New
man was hunting when he wounded
one of the birds. Thinking to cap
ture it alive he went to it, whereupon
the bird started for him, screaming
loudly and fighting fast. The screams
recalled the rest of the flock, which
had taken to their wings at the shot,
and they surrounded Newman and
went for him with bills and wings,
Newman grabbed his gun and using
it as a club managed to kill several of
the birds and put the rest to flight,
The sandhill crane is a stubborn
fighter, and their fights among
themselves are often long and result
in severe injuries. :
There are fortv-one lawyers in Con
necticut over scventy years of age,