Decatur Democrat, Volume 49, Number 41, Decatur, Adams County, 14 December 1905 — Page 8

Route One. Charles Cook is visiting relatives jn Fort Wayne. Geo. Backman and wife spent Wednesday with relatives south of Decatur. Alias Elma Sherry returned to the city last evening., after being in Fort Wayne over Sunday. Sam Teeter and family, of Berne, spent, Friday aad Jaturday in the city, the guests of Mr. Levi Baker and family. Miss Mayme Dorwin returned to the city last evening from Fort Wayne where she spent Sunday, the guest of Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Braden. The revival meting at Mt. Pleasant closed Wednesday evening. The meeting was a grand success and many were added to the church. Candidates are numerous, several having been in this vicinity the past week. State Line Simon Treaster was at Decatur on business Saturday. Revival services still in progress at Calvary with a good attendance. Charles Samples of near Bobo, spent Sunday with Fred Geier and family. FranklStandifora of’Wren, was a cal ily Sunday. Fred Hindenlang, who has been •working at St. Marys, returned home Saturday. John Finkhouse of near Daisy, •was transacting business at Deca tur Saturday. Ernest Swigart of near Dixon is visiting for a few days with Lase Gaunt and family. Dayton Gause and family of near Willshire, spent Sunday, with Mrs. Fred Hindenlang. Wm. Teeple and family of near Willshire, spent Sunday with Isaac Smith and family. Mr. George Wood and family attended the funeral of Miss Bessie Pomeroy at Wren Sunday. Albert Sohell ’and Cora, attended the funeral{of Miss Bessie Pomeroy at Wren Sunday. Rev. Wm. *is visiting with friends and relatives in this vicinity and assisting Rev. Heist at the Calvary church revival. “ Sam Sibret of St. Marys, who has been visiting with friends and relatives in this community for a few days, returned to his home Friday.

Pleasant Mills ” Jess R Dp is miving’to Decatur thisjweek. *»*♦ Samuel Steele is spanding the week at Fort Wayne. “ There will be a Christmas enter tainment at the Baptist church. Charles Winans is engaged in business at Springfield, wish him success. Alva Carter, who had the misfortune ta hava his left legbroken last week, is improving slowly. Mrs. Lae Custer is’fspcnding a few days in Decatnr this week with her sister, Mrs. Charlee Peterson. Mr. and Mrs. Thrailkil have went to housekeeping. They now occupy the Hern property in the east part of town. The revival at the M. E. church is still in progress. Qnite a num bor. have professed their sins and probably will unite with the church. Mr. and Mrs. Christ Fortney reinovei last week from their farm south of town to their residence here where they will! spend the winter. 11 The Ladies’Aid Society met at the home of Mr . and Mrs. W. A Comer Wednesday of last week. Dinner was served to about twentysix, including Rev. Sweeney’s wife and child. Tne year of 1905 is fast drawing to a close, and it can be said that it is a record breaker in the history cf Pleasant Mills. In a financial and business way it far excels other years. And the progress made this year has been a rapil one in building up the town, as nine new dwellings have been erected and a number of other buildings remodeled and ptinted, whion adds greatly to the appearance of our pleasant little burg. Linn Grove. Elmer Augsberger has resigned his position in the Tremp meat market. John and David Runyon, Jr., and Harry Adler are at. Portland, employed on ths interurban railr .al

The interurban surveying corps reached this place Saturday evening and again resumed their labor Monday morning. F. D. Hoffman arid wife of this place, and M. F. French and wife and Eli Bierie and wife of East Nottingham township, attended the George Ashbaucher funeral at Bluffton on Tuesday. Eoonomy is the theme of corporations and governments in constructions, when a contract is awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. Were such economic means applied to the letting of the rural route service, the government would not have need of 'reporting such enormous deficits of the postal revenues.

A surveying crew were at work Monday north of town for the purpose of dredging the Wabash river from a point near Geneva to within one and a half miles of this place. We advise those who desire continued ownership of their lands to give a petition for that collossal, expensive and uncalled for enterprise a. cold reception.

The teachers of Hartford and French townhips jointly held a very interesting institute at the Linn Grove high school building last Saturday. All the schools were represented eave one of Hartford. The program was interspersed with music by the local orchestra, vocal . music and a sumptuous dinner, all : of which was handled with much ability. , LINCOLN’S FOREFATHERS. i A Strain of Tragedy Runs Through Their History. ] Abraham Lincoln's forefathers wore < pioneers—men who left their homes to ] open up the wilderness and make the t way plain for others to follow them. { For 170 years, ever since the first j American Lincoln came from England t to Massachusetts, in 1638, they had r been moving slowly westward as new f settlements were made in the forest. { They faced solitude, privation and all ( the dangers and hardships that 1 eset { men who take up their homes where r only beasts and wild men have had ] homes before, but they continued to press steadily forward, though they t lost fortune and sometimes even life ( itself in their westward progress. Baek in Pennsylvania and New Jer -ey some of the Lincolns had been men of wealth and influence. In Kentucky, where the future president was born on Feb. 12. 1801), his parents lived in f deep poverty. Their home was a small log cabin of the rudest kind, and noth- 1 ing seemed more unlikely than that their child, coming into the world in such humble surroundings, was des- * tined to be the greatest man of his ‘ time. True to his race, he also was to : be a pioneer, not. 'indeed, like his ancestors, a leader into new woods and ' unexplored fields, but a pioneer of a 1 nobler and grander sort, directing the 1 thoughts of men ever toward the right and leading the American people ' through difficulties and dangers and a mighty war to peace and freedom. The story of this wonderful man be- 1 gins and ends with a tragedy, for bls grandfather, also named Abraham, was ! killed by a shot from an Indian's rifle t while peaceably at work with his three sons on the edge of their frontier clearing. Eighty-one years later the presi- i dent himself met death by an assassin's bullet. The murderer of one was a savage of the forest; the murderer of the other that far more cruel thing, a savage of civilization. —St. Nicholas. FLATTERING RULERS. Their Weak Points Pan Unnoticed. Xapoleon’w Marksiuannhip. Rulers have always been flattered, from Canute's time downward, It being. it would seem, an unwritten law that a monarch’s weak points should pass unrecognized. Napoleon 111. once said, in consoling a friend who chanced to be shooting with him for his poor marksmanship: “You need not fret about it. The emperor (by which he meant his uncle, the great Napoleon I.) was even a worse shot than you arc. The only time they put a gun in his hand he killed a poor hound anil went away thinking he had killed a stag. “In those days the stag, whenever brought to bay, was loft for the emperor to kill. One day. however, the emperor was not to be found, and the master of the staghounds finished the animal with his knife. Just then the emperor came in sight. “They hurriedly got the dead stag on Its legs, propping it up with branches, etc., and handed the emperor the ‘carabine of honor,’ as it was called. The emperor fired, and of course the stag tumbled over, but at the same time there was a piteous whine from one of the bounds, which had been shot through the head. “The emperor wheeled around, unconscious of the mischief be had done, saying to one of the aids-de-camp. •After all, I am not as bad a shot as they pretend!' ” finnan .nnurr. “That fellow Spinks has excellent judgment.” “What makes you think so?” “Why—er lie's always asking my opinion about things."—Louisville Cou-rier-Journal. Alaska's canned salmon output Is estimated thi» v«ar at $10,000,000. WirtfilT'...

HE AVERTED A PANIC A REMARKABLE case of bravery AND PRESENCE OF MIND. • Matsuki. the Juggler, Held an Audienee Spellbound While the Theater Attaches Were FlHhtiuß a Uad Fire Behind the Scenes. Satsuma Matsuki, a Japanese juggler and acrobat, was filling an engagement at Burlington. His marked ability as a magician caused the opera house to be crowded every evening. One feat in particular interested his audience. Lying prone upon bis back, he would toss a long, light table backward and forward in all conceivable positions to the time of lively music, his tiny feet keeping the table perfee'ly balanced. It was Saturday evening. Satsuma Matsuki had been performing for an hour. He had astonished his audience with a score of wonderful achievements, but as yet he had not performed with the table resting on his feet. Matsuki passed into one of the dressing rooms to change his costume. Scarcely had he closed the door when he beard a sound that made his heart stand still for a moment—a crackling and a hissing—and the next instant a long tongue of flame leaped from ’he stairway, enveloping a window. Oth- ' ers in the rear of the stage discovered the flames at the same instant, and t 1 fierce battle was begun between the attaches of the theater and the raging fire. For one brief instant Matsuki stood irresolute. The fire was confined within the dressing room cf the right wing, and as yet no one in the audience had an inkling of the grave danger that threatened the house. Those fighting the flames knew that a terrible panic would ensue the moment that the spectators realized the danger. Matsuki understood the situation, too, and in that moment of hesitation he saw the part that he must act. Matsuki was before his audience. He had placed the rugs hastily in positiou that he iniglit rest easily. A nv> meat later and the orchestra commenced playing. Matsuki had balanced the table and was gracefully dancing it back and forth, keeping perfect time with his dainty feet. Shortly the measure of the music was quickened, and he was obliged to move more quickly. At one time the table would be at an angle of forty-five degrees and again at ninety degrees and the next moment perfectly perpendicular. The long table seemed fairly alive. Meanwhile those fighting the fire had worked bravely, and success was crowning their efforts. They heard the music of the orchestra, and they knew that Matsuki was doing his part to bold the attention of the people. A few moments more and all danger of a stampede would be past. “Fire!” Some one had seen a puff > of smoke issue from the right wing of the stage. "Ye ar, flire!” And Matsuki sent the table nearly to the ceiling, turning a complete somersault in its flight. The audience shouted with delight.

For twenty minutes Matsuki had been in constant activity. The veins stood out upon his arms and temples like whipcords. “Fire!” Another had noticed a puff of smoke. “Ye-ar. flire!” .And again was the table hurled aloft aud caught again with the same dexterity. The conductor of the orchestra knew not what it all meant. At first he thought that Matsuki had gone mad. Never before had he dared so much. If he was mad. surely no one could deny his astonishing skill. A moment later the stage manager walked across the stage and whispered something to Matsuki, at the same time placing the table on the floor. Matsuki was unable to rise. Attendants lifted the brave fellow and carried him behind the scenes. Very shortly the manager returned, and when he spoke his voice was sadly broken. “Ladies and gentlemen,” said he, passing his hand across his forehead, “I have no doubt that you have greatly enjoyed Satsuma Matsuki s performance this evening. He lias well merited your generous applause, more, perhaps. than you imagine. I have to inform you that Satsuma Matsuki alone has stood between you and death for the past twenty minutes or more. The danger is past now. and you are liberty to leave this building, but permit me to say before you depart that our friend Matsuki has lost his entire magician's outfit, which cost him over a thousand dollars. Fire has completely destroyed bis property. I leave it with you to do what is right, and those who desire to show their gratitude for what Matsuki has done this evening can meet me here on the platform,” There was no hesitation. A long line of men and women was quickly formed, and for an hour tie manager received the contributions of those who wished to show their gratitude. When the amount was counted, pledges and all, something over $1,500 was found.— Forward. She Thougbl of Him. She—Oh, Mr. Borem. how do you do? I was talking to Mrs. Nexdore just now, aid I couldn't help thinking of you He—And was she discussing me? She—Not exactly. She was commenting on the weather and just asked me if I could imagine anything more tiret some and disagreeable.—Philadelphia Ledger. . The steamship Korea, which arrived at San Francisco from the orient recently, brought the most valuable conaignment of raw silk ever landed in this country. It was worth $2,450,000. i It was dispatched east in ha ;te the ' same night, 3.500 bales of It.

.CONCEIT OF THE SOMALI. He I He Is About the Most Perfeet Mun In the World. Perhaps the most remarkable characteristic of the natives of Somaliland is their unbounded, preposterous conceit. Englishmen who know their language have been appalled by it. M heu watering his camel or his horse the Somali encourages the animal to drink by chanting to it in a monotone. It is at such moments of extemporary effusion that the man shines in all his glory. The subject matter may be the experiences of the day's march, the virtues of the animal beside him, the charms of his latest wife or his own prowess in some bloodless tribal raid. By great good fortune the following literal translation of one of these chants or songs came into my possession, and I insert it without any comment: “Will you see a man? Then behold me! I am a Somali, as perfect in size and form as Adam was after God had breathed into him his immortal soul. Look how beautiful my curly hair is and how majestic I look when wrapped from head to foot in my snow white or jungle colored tobe. although there be sometimes only one pie (a small piece of money) tied to it. My house is the desert, and I am born a free man. free as the wind! I know neither king nor master. I am as Adam was—my own master and king. In the jungle I tend my camels and sheep. My only labor is to watch them feed. In my kerrier my wife, my dear slave, does all the manual work, while tending my offspring, and woe to her if she forgets to prepare my evening meal. The jedal (whip) shall then have its turn to make her remember for next day. In such a state is any man happier than I?"—Golden Penny. PROPERTIES OF GLYCERIN. Decomposes if Heated Intensely and Crystallir.es if Frozen. One of the great advantages of glyc- j erin in its chemical employment is the ' fact that it neither freezes nor evap- , orates under any ordinary temperature. , No perceptible loss by evaporation has ! been detected at a temperature less ' than 200 degrees F.. but if heated intensely it decomposes with a smell that few persons find themselves able to endure. It burns with a pale flame, similar to that from alcohol, if heated to about 300 degrees and then ignited. Its nonevaporative qualities make the compound of much use as a vehicle for holding pigments and colors, as in stamping and typewriter ribbons, carbon papers and the like. If the pure glycerin be exposed for a long time to a freezing temperature it crystallizes with the appearance of , sugar candy, but these crystals being once melted it is almost an impossi- ■ bility to get them again into the congealed state. If a little water be added to the glycerin no crystallization will take place, though under a sufficient degree of cold the water will separate and form crystals, amid which the glycerin will remain in its natural state of fluidity. If suddenly subjected to intense cold pure glycerin will form a gummy mass which cannot be entirely hardened or crystallized. Altogether it is quite a peculiar substance. REFLOATING A SHIP. Ingenious Expedient Deviled to Save the Steamer Flavian. An ingenious expedient was devised some years ago to refloat the steamer Flavian, which struck on a ledge near Cape Race. She was fixed in an awkward position for tugs to work at her, and half her hull was submerged. It was in the late fall, and proper salvage outfits could neither be obtained from abroad in time nor used advantageously. so a series of boles were cut in her sides below the ’tween decks and huge pitch pine logs paased through these apertures. Meanwhile two cofferdams sixty feet long bytwelve wide and as many deep bad been built at St. John's and, being carefully calked, were towed to the scene and allowed to sink by opening a valve, being then placed beneath the | logs which passed through the ship and | protruded on each side. The water in them was next pumped out, and as they rose they caught the logs and fairly lifted the ship off the rocks, she being towed to St. John's with them upbearing her tiil permanent repairs could be made, which involved patching her bottom for half her length.—Technical World. Enrlient Theater. What was probably one of the earliest theaters built was the theater of Dionysus, which was begun five centuries before Christ. The seating capacity of this remarkable building is said to have been 30.000. nearly four times that of our largest amusement palace. The theater of Dionysus was erected when Greek art and literature were in their prime. Here were presented to appreciative spectators the wonderful works of -Eschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. English Law of Arrests. No arrests may be made in England on a Sunday except for treason, felony or a breach of the peace, and freedom from arrest at any time on civil proc i ess Is a privilege enjoyed by members I of the royal family and their servants, I bishops, peers and peeresses and members of parliament during the sitting of parliament and forty days before and after each session. Nearly 10,000 Spanish Immigrants entered Cuba during the first three months of the present year. The Cuban consuls tn Spain are Instructed to act as immigration agents and to set ' forth the opportunities for independence and wealth in the island republic.

MAKING BILLIARD BALLS, few Men Capable of Learning ThU ” PecullaaAfrade. Few men are competent to turn a billiard ball, and tie business is exacting more skill than ever before in the history of ivory turning, for the reason that never before in the history of the lathe was it so easy for an unskilled workman to cat up his salary in a wasteful maimer of cutting and turning. A first class billiard ball must be two and three-eighths inches in diameter, absolutely round to the five thousandths part of an inch, free from “barky” outside and sand cracks, or live ivory, white and clear. In order to make a selection of a tusk s possi-bilities-always to get three balls of this regulation size and clearness from a tusk weighing from 75 to 150 pounds, allowing for tire hollow portions and avoiding the enamel and sand cracks—here is the art of the competent ivory turner, for which he is greatly underpaid and underappreciated. The making of a billiard bah involves head work and handwork. There is no automatic lathe combination >liat ever will turn out a perfect billiard ball however it may produce the pool ball in its irregularity of form. But before the trained hand can make ready to turn out the perfect sphere of the billiard ball the trained eye and judgment of the turner will have been taxed to their best effort. In the first place the man will need to recognize the quality of ivory. lie must know whether it be of the best quality, as well as of the most economical form in the tusk. And when he has made his purchase of the best possible material, a single dratty window in his shop when the mercury is 10 degrees above zero may ruin his ivory stock in five minutes. Zanzibar and the general west coast of Africa produce the best elephant ivory, while the Siberian ivory from the dead mastodon is the least valuable, yet requiring good judgment to distinguish it in many cases. I his “dead" ivory from Siberia is less valuable in a ball than is the composition of celluloid and bone dust. The tusk cf the African elephant will run from I seventy-five pounds to 150 pounds. But no two tusks, even of the same weight, present like possibilities in ball making. One tusk may be blunt and short, while the other is thin and running to a sharp point. In a general way, however, a tusk that weighs 150 pounds will be about five feet six inches long. Its general structure is that of the cow's horn, running from a shell at the base, gradually thickening until the hollow disappears, a little short of half the tusk's length. From this ending of the hollow the tusk tapers sharply until, if it makes three billiard balls of standard size and best quality, it is all that may be expected of it for that purpose. This means that a little less than eight inches of the tusk's length is available. How to dispose of the remainder of it to the best advantage, leaving only a few ounces to loss, is the chief business of the ivory worker. Cutting a tusk for the three ball blocks is a job in itself. In the first place, the length of the hollow cannot be certain; also the outside of the tusk almost certainly will have sand cracks in the enamel, and whether they bo deep or shallow will be of much consequence. But. allowing for these minute cracks, which must be turned out to the last shadow from the best ball, together with the last microscopic trace of the enamel, the first block for the ball is cut as close as possible to the point of the tusk. After this first block is cut to the last limit of economy the others may be cut comparatively easily.—Chicago Tribune. A Popular Story. People who find it tiresome to rend a book more than once will scarcely credit the story which is told of one of the Scilly isles. The entire library of this little island consisted, a century or more ago, of a single copy of the “History of Dr. Faustus.” As most of the inhabitants were able to read, provided words were not too difficult. the conjurer’s story had been handed from house to house, until from 1 perpetual thumbing very little of his enchantments or his catastrophe was left legible. When this alarming state of things became evident, a meeting of the principal inhabitants was called to discuss what could be done to remedy it, for the people must have something to read. A proposal was made and carried that as soon as the season permitted any intercourse with Cornwall a supply of books should be ordered. The question arose what these books should be, but at last it was settled amicably that an order should be transmitted to Penzance for another copy of the “History of Dr. Faustus.” and then the meeting joyously broke up. Cooking Snails. Escargots are at their best when taken in the vineyards at the end of March and the beginning of April. They live on the shoots of the vines and during the winter bury themselves in the ground, during which time they are purged of all gross humors before they return to enjoy themselves in the fields in the spring. Cooking these snails is not an easy matter. They are drawn from the shell, which is then carefully scrubbed and washed. Their heads are cut off. and they are well soaked in sa!t and water, then returned to the shell, which is stopped with parsley butter and laid to simmer in a hot dish ovei the fire. Though there may be two opinions about the flavor of the escargot, there is no doubt that both in taste and substance it is an edible unlike any other known The Wiltshire peo pie. especially tne population of Swinton. eat the large garden snails as a common dainty. They are sold in the market like periwinkles. Snailing along the banks and hedgerows Is a popular amusement in winter.

HOW BIRDS SOAR. The Kite a Master at the ! Souring. Art Ml "In the summer of»1872 I was vi.ol Ing on the Wurm Snrings reservat I In eastern Oregon* says a w u | “The residences of the governmentJ, I ployees were in a deep valley betiv I table lands through which the w-q.'l courses hud cut deep canyons. I cm 7| ed up on one of these tables, the Ju I of which wus in most places periJ | diculur for ten, twenty und more t ( J I and as I stood there in a strong breeze! blowing against the face of the q, I u small hawk came gliding along eight I or ten feet above the edge and t'ollu W I ing the course of the edge, aud he kent I on until he was little more than a i-.,a I away from me. He seemed to be ■nai- I ing no effort except a little balancing I and turning in order to steer himself I The explanation seemed to me very simple. Just there at the edge there I was a strong, sharply ascending Pllr . rent which Enabled him to use wind and gravity against each other. “In the autumn of that year I went to Fuchau. China, and there I found the city frequented by a species of large bird which we call a kite, it seems to be half hawk, half buzzard In Its build and habits. Its flight is heavy and awkward, its wings bein’ too big for its pectoral muscles, and their tips are not pointed like a hawk's but broad and square across. But it : Is a master of the art of soaring. There are in Fuchau two hills which lie square across the path of the afternoon sea breeze. Here toward the close of a breezy autumn afternoon a dozen or a score of these kites will resort and have a genuine coasting game. “These hillsides are quite steep, and of course there results a strong, sharp upward current at the fop. The kites come to the top and, starting from the eddy in the lee of the top. glide out Into the uprushing current, wings balancing up and down and head aud tail turning and twisting till they are in the heart of the upward current, and then they turn broadside to it and are borne upward and backward seventyfive or a hundred feet. Then they <!>•- scend again into the eddy and again steer themselves out into the uprushing current. Throughout it all there is very little flapping of the wings.”—(’hieagc News. ERRORS IN ILLUSTRATION. How Easily They Are Made In Hurry of Preparation. “Perfection of detail," said the car toonist, "is very rare in the making ot pictures, whether they be painted on canvas by t'ae great masters or drawn in line by men who illustrate the daily newspapers. It is the general effect that tells. There are few newspaper pictures—and I don't except my ownin which you can't pick some flaw from the standpoint of realism. “In the hurried effort of the newspaper artist, who counts the minutes by the clock, there may be some excuse for this, but when we see- a man carving a turkey left handed on the cover of a magazine we must agree that the artist has either been care.ess or else has employed a left handed model to pose for him, aud the latter solution is scarcely probable. “A fisherman landing a tr tit on a light rod with never a finger on the reel is quite a common mistake among magazine illustrations, and in the matter of costumes of various periods the illustrators are woefully lacking in information.

“To illustrate bow apt we are to make mistakes,” continued the cartoonist. “several years ago I drew a figure representing Cuba, emaciated, starving, a thing of skin and bones. The figure was half naked, and I tried > bring out all the horrible details-tlie shrunken limbs, the gaunt face, the ribs protruding through the skin ami. above all. the hollow cavity where th., stomach should have been. A triem of mine, a doctor, took me to t-i ■“ about it. ‘Persons who are starving to death.' he said, 'may be abnormally emaciated in every other part of nobody except the stomach. The abdomen in the advanced stages is expau. ed. giving the victim a grotesque appearance.’ To substantiate this ment lie showed me some pliotog.a.’bi taken in India during a famine. was forced to admit that be was right. —Philadelphia Record. Women in Venice. In Venice, says the Ladies' Realm, the women of the lower i as.'-i-' ■ tributes to tlie:;‘ beauty iP.in strangers as a. matter of com'-''- ■ J' considered not only proper. I ll to compliment a passing m 1 , ' ll charm of her beautiful eyes - plcxion. If one treads on th.a pretty woman, one has onl;. ■ “Pardon, beautiful g'rl." to , most dazzling smile and bow in ■■ • for the awkward.tiess. At cases H quented by the people it is the <U' om for waiters to say when placing ;■ chair for one of the women. 1,1 Beat, beautiful blond.' or, Bit I 1 lovely brunette," as the case may aA Woman Soldier. Women disguised as men have nt I '' l served as soldiers. The f dlowing > , scription is on a tombstone in the -Uo lish town of Brighton: “In memory o Phoebe Hassel; born 1713. died - ■ aged IOS years. She served for ma. years as a private soldier in m- ■ ■ parts of Europe, and at the batt > Fontenoy, fighting bravely, f-’-' ceived a bayonet wound in t n arm” Although not yet perfected, the ND jornrna telephone bids fair extend the field of usefulness o long distance telephone by rende audible vibrations too faint to a. > the disk of the ordinary receiver even the microphone Instruments.

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