The eagle., November 07, 1894, Page 14, Image 14

About The eagle. (Silver City, N.M.) 1894-1???

Image provided by: University of New Mexico

                
14
THE EAGLE: WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1894.
ANOTHER ORIENTAL WAR
Imminence of a Struggle Between
Holland and Lombok.
An Island In the Dutch East Indict That
II Contesting the Supremacy of
the Fatherland History
of the Trouble.
Besides the war between China and
Japan the orient is the scene of an
other war. The sovereigns who arc
contending1 for the mastery are the
fourteen-year-old Queen AVilhelmina of
Holland and Balincse Rajah, who
claims sovereignty over the island of
Lombok, Dutch East Indies.
The contest, writes Thomas Parke
Gordon in Golden Days, is not as un
equal a one as might at first be sup
posed; for the young queen's troops
have met with such serious reverses as
to cast a gloom over the whole king
dom. The queen's birthday was to have
been celebrated on a grand scale at
The Hague, August 31, but on account
of the losses sustained by her troops at
Lombok she gave orders to abandon
the usual festivities.
For over half a century the Dutch
have exercised sovereignty over Lom
bok, in trying to discipline whose ori
ental ruler their troops have met with
so disastrous a defeat; but this sov
ereignty lias been merely nominal, the.
real ruler being Balinese Uajah. The
latter a strict Brahmin has been for
some years trying to rid himself entirely
of the Dutch influence in his country's
affairs, and recently, with this end in
view, he tried to secure the support of
the British government.
That was about four months ago.
When he found that his efforts were
ineffectual he procured a small flotilla
of naval vessels, and made other war
like preparations.
The Dutch authorities protested
against such Droceedings, but the rajah
paid no attention to them War was
then declared and three battalions of
the colonial army were sent against
him, with artillery, and five men-of-war
to support them, to teach the ori
ental potentate a lesson. But the
Dutch, instead of teaching him a lesson
met with overwhelming defeat, as hat
been recorded in the cable di::patchc
which have been received at. this writ
ing. There had been bloody battle?
before in the East Indies, but nevei
have Europeans been so badly beaten
Lombok called Tantih Sasak by the
natives and Selaprang by the Bal'mese
is aj) island of the Sunda group, lying
cast of Java, with the island of .Bali
intervening. It has an area of about
2.01)8 square miles, which is watered by
numerous small streams, scarcely any
of which are navigable, and dotted over
with many mountain lakes. .
There are two mountain ranges, be
tween which is a well-watered plain,
wholly planted witli rieo, the hillsides
producing coffee and Indian eorn. The
scenery throughout the Island is beau
tiful forest-clad mountainsand thorny
jungles alternating with the rich allu
vial plains, which are cultivated like
gardens under an ancient and elaborate
system of irrigation.
To the naturalist, Lombok is of pe
culiar interest as the frontier island of
the Australian regions, with its cocka
toos and mound-builders and bee-eaters
and ground-thrushes. The popula
tion is about half a million.
There can be but little doubt as to
the outcome of the war. While the
rajah may be able to keep off the
Dutch for months and years, sooner or
later Wilhelmina's troops must be vic
torious. At best, the war can only cause her
the loss of that ojie island, although if
all the other Dutch colonies, encour
aged by the outcome of the war in
Lombok, should link hands and revolt,
their independence would probably re
sult. It is interesting to call attention to
the colonies of Ilolland. This little
European kingdom, with an area of
but 12,0-18 square miles and a popula
tion of 4,(V!),r7(S which is about the
area of Delaware and Maryland to
gether, and half a million less than the
population of the state of Pennsylvania
rules a colonial territory of 7(50,137
square miles, with a population of 33,
(K0,000. The colonial possessions fall natural
ly into, two groups the East Indian
possessions including Java, Madura,
líali, Lombok, Sumatra, the Molluccas,
Celebes, Timor, parts of Borneo, and
the western part of New Guinea and
the West Indies,- the chief of which are
Dutch Guinea and Curacoa. Holland
once had considerable territory on the
coast Of Guinea', but this was disposed
of by sales to Great Britain in 187a.
Queen Wilhelmina, whose lirthday
festivities were abandoned on account
of the Dutch reverses in the East In
dies, was born August '31, 1880, and
succeeded to the throne on the death
of her father, King William III., on
November 23, 1800.
She is now a fine, tall girl of four
teen. Her birthday festivities last
year, by her special desire, took the
form of school treats on a very large
scale. Next winter the young queen
is to figure on a new issue of coins and
stamps, with her hair done up in a
womanly fashion.
Sharp Traders.
The native Adirondacker is an odd
compound of honesty and extortion.
Ho likes fair dealing, but he esteems
the health-seeking, pleasuring or sport
ing sojourner his natural prey. He
charges the highest market rates to all
such, and seemingly believes them all
rich. "What have vou to sell?" asked
a visitor of a hawker mounted on a
ladn wagon. "Oh, things for the
poor folks about the country." "I'm
one of the poor folks camping on the
lake over yonder, and I'm tired of pay
ing double prices for everything. Can
you supply me with your wares?" The
hawker looked his man over thorough
ly, and, recognizing in him the genus
visitor, replied: "I hain't got nothing
you'd have, 'cept, perhaps, tea," and
without awaiting further parley he
drive on.
SOUTHERN SQUIRREL HUNTERS
Primitive Habits and Customs of Louisi
ana Nimro:ls.
"I have been among the squirrel hunt
ers," said a gentleman who had just re
turned from his vacation, according to
the New Orleans Times-Democrat. "The
squirrel hunters are a peculiar people
inhabiting the southwestern countiei
of Misuwippi and adjoining Louisiana
parii lies. They have been living thero
for generations and preserve the prim
itive customs and habits of their fore
fathers. "The squirrel hunter is doubtless a de
scendant of Kentucky settlers, for they
are all tall,- stately people, and great
lovers of the hunt. But there is now
little large game to be found, and so they
spend their time hunting the squirrel,
which is also scarce. The squirrel
hunters are farmers, but raise little ex
cept corn. The fine-hill region, where
they live, is not penetrated by rail
roads, and there are hundreds of such
people who have never seen a steam
engine. I saw a .great many of the
oldest squirrel hunters of the country,
and found them to be a very strange
looking people. They all wear long
hair, which often reaches down to
their belts. Their beards, too, are
long, often matted with their hair.
They wear homespun pantaloons and
homemade shoes. Their shirts are
oftentimes made from the skins of
squirrels, which they wear in the win
ter, while in summer they wear an
open blouse shirt, also of home make..
Their houses are made of pine logs, be
tween which mud is placed as a plas
tering. These houses are covered with
pine boards split from the woods.
There are never any inclosures about
their homes, their yards opening out
into the pine forest.
"These squirrel hunters, while they
have no churches, are a very religious
people, though a great deal of supersti
tion is connected with their worship.
Their churches are made of boughs of
pine, placed upon a scaffolding, to keep
out the sun. Now and then a country
revival is held in these arbor-houses,
but this is seldom."
FUN FOR YOUNG JAPS.
How the YouiiKHtcra Ensnare Dragon
Mies for Kites.
One of the greatest amusements for
the children of Japan is catching the
"dragon fly," said Dr. W. F. Taylor, of
Boston, who, according to the St. Louis
Globe-Democrat, has spent several
years in Japan. Japan is a land of
children, and thousands of them liter
ally put in several weeks every autumn
in capturing dragon flies and tying
kites to them for the fun of seeing
them fly. Soon after the turn of the
sun in the afternoon hundreds and
thousands of huge dragon flies busy
themselves flying here and there over
the rieo fields and gardens, catching
insects and gnats. The Japanese boys
carefully saturate the end of a bamboo
with tar and start out for the fun.
They must hold the bamboo up to at
tract the unsuspecting dragons to tako
a rest. In a moment the boy gives the
'".ml:o! a twi. l. nn'd puts the t..rc::.l
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