Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 41, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 October 1891 — Page 4

SOMEWHAT STRANGE.

ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENTS OF every-day LIFE. Queer Episodes and Thrilling Adventures Which Show that Truth Is Stranger than Fiction. A Demkrara correspondent of an English paper describes a desperate fight between n man and a jaguar, which recently took place on the Demerara River. The hero of the combat, a black named Lally Davidson, a farmer, was out with his dog, which roused the jaguar from his lair. The ferocious animal made tracks for the thick scrub, followed by Davidson and his dog. Being closely pressed, the jaguar climbed a tree, where Davidson shot it. wounding it in tho heart. Thi3 made the animal descend, and again he dived into the bush, pursued by Davidson. The beast concealed himself in some brambles, and as Davidson was again trying to take aim, tho jaguar leaped upon him, knocking him bodily into a drain full of water. Davidson now engaged in a desperate struggle with the fierce brute, and seizing the jaguar, now somewhat exhausted from . loss of blood, lie exerted all his strength and managed to bold bis head. under water until ho was slowly suffocated. But before this the jaguar had severely wounded the courageous man; his hand was badly bitten, the scalp on tho left side of his head was partly ripped off and his left eye was gouged out. Suffering as he was, Davidson slowly crawled home, and. while ho went into hospital sent his friends for tlm dead jaguar. Tho latter measured five feet eleven inches from head to tail. Davidson, on whose happy escape his friends warmly congratulated him, was slowly recovering when the last mail left Demerara. Missouri's husbandmen - have been keeping well up with the agricultural procession in this year of phenomenal productions, although tho state has not been making much noise about its achievements. Here are a few leaders: Mr. Magee of Glenwood sent to the office of the local newspaper a radish weighing over six pounds. VV. E. Floyd of Engle township handed in ten potatoes aggregating eleven pounds in weight. Mr. Snider carried into the Booneville Democrat office two peaches and a couple of apples which completely filled a bushel basket. The peaches were each as Targe as a quart cup, and the apples ■ weighed one and a half pounds euch. Joe Creech of Louisiana, Mo., exhibited a sample stalk of dorn which measured fourteen feet in length. The ears were seven feet six inches up the stem, and he thinks he will havo to gather his crop on horsoback. Elijah Young expects to got 4,800 bushels of fine apples from his orchard of 400 trees in YVnrrensburg, and Wm. Avis of Lost Creek cannot yet estimate his crop of cherries becauso one of his trees from which he has gathered one large crop this year has shed its old leaves, grown a new set, and is now in full bloom again. The Chicago Tribune tells a strange story of a mysterious affair, which is said to have occurred at Mendota, 111. A Mr. Ralph Shaffer erected a fino monument over the grave of his young wife who died last spring, but in deference, to his mother-in-law’s wishes, who had no love for her daughter's husband, placed no inscription on tho stone. The story goes that recently a distinct shadow of the late Mrs. Shaffer appeared on tho tombstone. It grow until the shadow became life size. Tho mother was wroth, and had tho monument makers rub the stone down with pumice, but they could not efface tho shadow. At first sight the shape has as much resemblance to a man’s form ns a woman’s, but by a continued gaze one seems to see a woman’s semi-profile, with bangs and with the hair done up at the back of the head. The neck and chin show plainly, as do also tho shoulders, and there is a scarf about the neck. Tho features are distinct, and bear a remarkable resemblance to the dead wife. Tho shadow is eight inches wide and fourteen inches high, and is in the middle of the stone. Near Point Burwell, Canada, lives an eccentric character by the name of John Harper, though he is best known by the nickname of “Long-Haired Johnny,” which he has gained by the extraordinary length of his hair and beard. These, he claims he has never allowed scissors or razor to approach for over thirty years, remarks the Washington Post, in fulfilment of a vow, though as to wlmt his vow was he is persistently silent. His hair trails several feet on the ground when loosened from the plaits in which ho braids and wears it about his head, and his beard touches earth when he stands erect. Both are kept in beautiful order and are a great matter of pride to him. Harper is an Englishman by birth and a man of superior intelligence and some education. He lives alone in a small one-story house and has not been known to leave it for nearly twenty years. He has no family, but draws a small income from some investment in England.

Charles C. Browiski, for twentyeight years an engineer in Sioux City, lowa, died the other day of inflammation of the bowels. Twenty-nine years ago while in the army he received a pistol wound in the left side of the mouth, and «ince then has suffered intense pain when lying on his right side or when stooping over. Before his death he requested that a post-mortem examination he held to ascertain the location of the bullet. This was done. It was traced from the mouth upward through the orb of the left eye and then down and back through the vital part of the brain where It was found encysted in n membranous fold in the posterior portion of the left lateral ventricle. The portions of the brain through which the ball passed are the most vitaL The physicians declare the ease unparalleled. Many cases are recorded where foreign substances lodged in the upper portion of the brain, but they know of none like this. The laws of soino of the Western States which confer upon resident aliens the pri vileges of State citizenship, are, as is well known, extremely lax. A ctory is told of a clerk of a county in Wisconsin named McCourt, who succeeded in obtaining several re-elections to the office notwithstanding violent opposition on the part of the more intelligent part of the population. 'Whenever the' time for election drew near, he would Mart out on a naturalizing tour in the lumber camps, taking along the countyseal and nn interpreter, and confer the I suffrage upon Norwegian settlers by the hundred. The oath which he invariably administered wus as follows: “Do you •riemuly swear that you will support the Constitution of the .United .States, and the State of Wisconsin, and rote for Refer McCourt for Clerk of the Court, so help you God?” The latter portion of

A New Yorker who is a member of the American Society of Psychical Research tells a curious story that would interest his society. W’hile in Mexico recently he dreamed that in dressing his pistol dropped from his pocket, fell butt downward to the floor, turned so that it leaned against his ankle and exploded, shattering his leg. The dream was so vivid that he awoke with a start and recalled the whole scene. He was soon asleep again, however, and by morning he had nearly forgotten his vision. When he came to dress he found himself standing as in his dream, and as lie drew on his trousers his heavy revolver fell from the hip pocket, struck butt downward upon the tiled floor, struck a sunken tile and, turning, leaned against his ankle with the muzzle pointing directly at his leg. He w'atched with a sort of fascination for the explosion, but it did not come, and bo lives unwounded to tell the tale. Tub palace which J. C. Flood, tho California millionaire, erected on “Nob Hill,” San Francisco, at a cost of $3,500,000, is entirely untenanted except by the old gardener who takes care of the grounds. Every piece of this big, dreary,* brown-stone pile, even including tho stones for the wall surrounding tho grounds, was brought around tho horn from ships frftni the east. Tho long flight of steps leading up to the portico, with its heavy pillars, shows no sign of wear. No feet tread it • except the feet of the children who play there until the gardener drives them away. Outside the house is desolate as a tomb; within it is stored with fino furniture and works of art, but It is never opened to tho public. A very large tree, one of the largest in California, the country of big trees, was discovered near Arlington, Snohomish county, a few days ago. It is a cedar, and measures sixty-eight feet in circumference. Around the knotty roots the tree measures ninety-nine feet. About seventy-five feet from tho ground it forks into four immense branches, and just below the forks is a big knot hole. Five men climbed into tho hole and explored the interior of the tree. It was found to be a mere shell, and about forty-five feet down it would afford standing room for forty men. The tree is still green, and a remarkable feature is said to be that it is barked on the inside and the outside alike. James P. Park, of Philadelphia, seems to be a man without a country. Ho lives on a little triangular bit of land that, through some oversight, has not been included in any of tho election divisions of tho city, and of course therefore lie has no voting status. “The only parallel known in this country,” says the Philadelphia Record, “was that of a whole township in the State of Ohio, which was entirely left out in an apportionment of election districts, and tho citizens who claimed the right to vote had no redress whntever and were unable to exercise the right of suffrage until they appealed to the courts.” The wonderful crops and the abundance of general products in the United States this your seem to bo a family blessing, bestowed without regard to where the individual may be located, from the Arctic circle to the Gulf, and covering half the world iu longitude. This is really noteworthy, considering the hard times afflicting the rest of the world with equal impartiality. 'The salmon product of Alaska is unusuully large, and will average fifteen per cent, over that of last year. Over 200,000 easeß of salmon will be shipped from Alaska this soason. A rancher from away back on tho ranges engaged u room at tho Occidental Hotel in Seattle a few days ago. The hotel is lighted with electricity, and the bell boy turned on the light in the odd rancher’s room. The farmer did not know how to extinguish the light, and after exhausting his ideas uncoiled the length of wire by which tho light hung and stuck tho lamp in the bureau drawer, smothering it under his clothing. Tho next day tho lamp was found stowed away there and still burning. A cow belonging to Sumucl Drensor, living on the outskirts of Austin, Minn., has given birth to a wonder. One-half pf tho body resembles a calf and tho other half a bear. The tail resembles the appendage of a deer and tho.head is inclined to be on tho human order. Tho eyes are fiery bluck and vicious looking, and one large horn about three inches long protrudes from the forehead. The freak has five legs, throe in front and two behind, and all con be used with the greatest euso. The most remarkable case of dropsy on record is that of I. Meredith, aged soventy-eight years, of Monticello, 111. He has been tapped for the dropsy 278 times, with an average weight of thirteen pounds of rvator removed each time, making 3,(i14 pounds which bus been removed from him. His case beats all past records, and is the most interesting case in tho history of the disease. He is now confined to his bod, and is gradually growing weaker and cannot live long. More than tbreo-quarters of a million people are directly employed by railroads in this country aside from the number whose livelihood depends upon collateral enterprises. Allowing the usual ratio of population and the vote —for very few persons who aro not voters find direct employment on railroads—and it appears that from five to six per cent, of the entire population of the country is dependent on the railroads as a means of livelihood. There are nearly 6,000 lighthouses laid down on tho world's charts. Over 800 are on tho United States watere and S9O ,000,000 has been spent on this ser j vice by the United States sineo the ! organization of the Government. What j is now needed are proper lights on the shores of semi-civilized and non-naviga-ting countries, and this must be done by joint uction of the commercial nations. For many years Robert Jamos, aged seventy, of Blue Lick, Clark county, Itid., has been blind and bad given up all hopes of ever regaining his sight. Several days ago his wife was taken dangerously ill and in his distress he prayed and wept incessantly. Suddenly his sight camo back to him and he now sees as well as he ever did. Marvin Smith, of Montville, Conn., who is 107 years old, remembers seeing the first steamboat, the Fulton, when she made a trip up the Thames iu 1817. He also draws a pension for service in the j 'var of 1812, and has voted at every ; Presidential election since 1808 except the last one. A valuable Sherman 'Mich.) horse that had died the other day was looked into. A half bushel of fine sand was found in the stomach. Feeding on short clover pasture ig supposed to be t|»e way iu which it accumulated the small sandbank.

A Turkish Bank Note.

'The bill is on imperial green paper, a oolor held sacred in Turkey, which the

Government alone is permitted to use. On the, top and sides are the folloAving Avords in Turkish: “To be paid to the bearer, without interest, twenty piastres.” At tho top of the note is the Sultan’s toghra, surrounding Avhich is a quotation from the Koran. Underneath are the words: “Twenty piastres, paper money, to be used in the place of gold at the Bank of Constantinople.” At the base of the note is the seal of the mine, and on the back tho seal of the Minister of tho Treasury. Tho toghra is considered sacred, and guarded by the three highest officials of the mint, whoso sole duty it is to watch it.—[New York Advertiser.

IN ICY REGIONS.

Preparations for a Winter Journey is Siberia. Our equipment for this long and difficult journey consisted of a strongly built pa\-oska, or seat less traveling-sleigh .with low runners, Avido outriggers, and a sort of carriage-top Avhich could be closed with a leather curtain in stormy Aveather; a very heavy sheepskin bag six feet wide and nine feet long in Avhich we could both lie side by side at full length; eight oi ten pilloAvs and cushions of various sizes to fill up chinks iu the mass of baggage and to break tho force of the jolting on rough roads; three overcoats apiece of soft shaggy sheepskin so graded in size und weight that avc could adapt ourselves to any temperature from the freezing point to eighty dogreos below; very long and lioaA-y felt boots known in Siberia as vallinki; fur caps, mittens, and a small quantity of provisions consisting chiefly of tea, sugar, bread, condensed rnillk, boiled ham, frozen soup in cakes, and a couple of roasted grouse. After having packed our heavy baggage as carefully as possible in the bottom of the pavoska, so as to make a comparatively smooth and level foundation, avo stuffed the interstices with pillows and cushions; covered the someAvhat lumpy surface to a depth of twelve or fourteen inches with straw; spread down overall our spare overcoats, blankets, and tho big sheepskin bag; stoAved away the bread, boiled lmm, and roast grouse in tho struAV, Avhere Ave could sit on them und thus protect thorn to some extent from the intense cold; and finally, filled the Avliole back of the pavoska with pillows. A temperature of forty degrees below zero will turn a boiled ham into a substance that is as useless for ediblo purposes as the famous “chunk of old rod sandstone” from Tablo Mountain. You can neither cut it, gnaAv it, nor break it in pieces with a sledge-hammer; and unless you lmvo facilities for tluiAving it out, and time enough to Avaste in that Ayay, you can no more get nourishment from it than you could get beef tea from a paleozoic fossil. Having learned this fact from sad expeience, Mr. Frost and 1 Avere accustomed to put articles of food that contained no moisture either under ns or into the sheepskin bag between us, Avhere they Avould not freeze so hard. At ten o'clock Friday morning all was in readiness for a start, and as soon as the driver came with the horses from the post-station Ave sang “Home, Siveet Home” us u prelude to tho next net, Avrnpped up the banjo carefully in a soft rug and put it behind our pilloAvs, took seats in the pa\oska Avith our feet and logs thrust down intothe capacious sheepakin bag, and rode away from the Hotel Deko amid a chorus of good-bys and shouts of “May God grant you a safe journey!” from the assembled crowd of servants and clerks. —[Century.

Remarkable Mummies.

J. \V. Morrow, a medical student, avlio returned to Kansas Gitv, Mo., recently from a Western pleasure trip, brought Avitli him tAVo specimens of natural mummification. He discovered them on Long Island, in the Columbia River, in Oregon. which had once been an Indian burying ground. In life one of the mummies was an old man, probably sixty years of age. He avus buried in a sitting posture, the knees druAvn up to his chin, the left arm thrust under the left leg and joined Avitli the right in an attitude of supplication. The mummy is perfect, Avith the exception of a spot on the back, Avhere contact Avitli the earth caused decay. Unlike the mummies of Egypt, in these the outlines of the body urc not preserved. The viscera is gone, and they look liko nothing so much ns human frames covered Avith ruAvhide. In the old man all the organs and members are perfect, however, even to the tongue, lips and eornou. Grayish black hair covers tho bead in spots. Not a tooth is missing, though they are all very much worn, as in old age. The moccasins on the feet are in ns good state of preservation as is the body. The other mummy is perfect except the head. It is that of a child about seven years old. When found it lay at full length iu the box, its feet encased in buckskin moccasinsuud bits of ribbon, Avell preserved, tied about its legs. A blanket covered the other. In some trespects the smaller mummy is the better specimen. 'The finger nails are perfect, as in life. Mr. Morrow cannot account for the phenomenon. Settlers in the vicinity declare that the burying ground. Avhich Avas that of the Columbia River tribe .had not been used for -forty years. The mummies are, therefore, at least tAvo-score years old, and may be a century. The soil of the island is sandy, and the atmosphere hot and dry. This might account for the condition of the bodies, were it not for the fact that mounds on all sides of tho one in Avhich they Avere found contained nothing but bones.— [N«av York Telegram.

An Island of Skeletons.

A party of explorers from Sail Francisco lias just returned from the Island of San Nicholas, which lies some seventv miles off the coast of California, opposite Monterey county, Avhitlier they went with a view of locating some lund claims. 'They report that they found tho island covered Avith the bones of human beings. For a distuncc of five miles the beach Avas literally covered with skeletons. They estimated that at least 5000 bodies must have been buried there. In the interior of the island they found a rude hut buried to the roof in sand. They concluded that it was not Avortli Avhilc to locate their claims on these bare roeks and human bones.—[Picayune.

This Town Has Lost Her River.

The town of Saratow, in the southeast of Russia, has lost a river—the Volga. The water of the river has for some time past J>een deserting the right arm of the stream, upon which Saratow is built, and flowing exclusively iu the left arm, which is about a mile and a quarter distant from the town. The former bed of the stream is now quite dry and is used as a road to convey passengers and goods which arrive by steamer f«* the town. — Tmuscrip*

CHILDREN’S COSTUMES.

GOWNS THAT ARE BECOMING TO LITTLE GIRLS. Tooth I* Always Beautiful and Its Dell, cacy, Its Harmony, and Its Coloring May Be Destroyed by an Unbecoming Gown, or Killed, as the Artists Term It, by Too Bright a Color. * What They Should Wear.

writer, but I’ve often suspected that ho had a large family of daughters, and hence preached against the abomination of tine clothes from tho standpoint of economy. Certain it is that Cornelia’s jewels, of which she was so proud, were both boy 9, and it is quite likely that had they been girls she would not have been so eager tp call them into the room and show them off, for they would have been sure to cry out in the same breath: “Oh, mamma, buy us some of these pretty gems!” This silly prejudice against girl babies took its rise in barbarous and semi-barbarous times when the chiefs longed for sons to take up their battles where they left them off. Girls couldn’t fight. Thank heaven for that; but they may look beautiful and carry sunshine into the hearts and homes of men. Corne.ia's two sons camo to bad end. Had they been daughters they might havo lived to delight their mother’s old age. A mother fortunato enough to possess a daughter should avoid two dangerous extremes in feminine adornment—she should neither dress her too old nor yet too young. Yonth is always beautiful, and Its delicacy, its harmony, and its coloring may easily be destroyed by an unbecoming gown, or killed, as the artists term it. by too bright a color. Princess or (or eiet gowns always look well on young glr.s, especially if they aro slender. et the gown be made of any woolei: material of becoming color, and tho upper corsage, plastron and epaulets oi pongee. Close the corsage at the back with hooks. You'may outline the plastron Avitli a bias border of tho woolen stuff. Tho skirt needs a little ornament of some kind, say several rows of narroAV ribbon or galloon. In my first illustration I present for your consideration a charming evening costume for a young miss—a dotted tulle

YOUNG GIRL’S EVENING COSTUME.

made up over a straAv-colored surah The skirt, plain in front, has fan pleats at the back, and is bordered with a deep flounce of gathered tulle. Tho corsage is made on ordinary lining and closes in the middle. The corselet is sewed on one side and hooked on the other. The basques are of the tulle. The ceinture and braces may be of si kor of velvet ribbon. The braces start from the shoulder. The sleeves have ribbon bracelets. It Avould be difficult to devise a lovelier costume for a girl of 14 to 16. It is the very perfection of good taste, and any attempt to increase its attractiveness must result in failure. A pretty afternoon toilet for a young miss maybe made up in woolen material of a turquoise blue with a square yoke ornamented Avith a steel galloon and framed with a narrow ruffle of crepe de chine of the same tone. The corsage closes at the back with steel buttons, and is set’ off by a broad ceinture or Swiss belt made on stiff material and whaleboned. On the left there is a bow of broad turquoise ribbon Avith long ends. In my first illustration you will find admirably pictured two costumes for young girls, the one on the right being in case au lait cashmere with spots of a somewhat darker tone, and intended for a miss of sxt.-en or thereabouts. The lining of the corsage closes in tl)e middle and the yoke and plastron have no seam. The yoke is ornamented with vertical bands of cornflower blue velvet. There is a turn down coliar and bouffant s eeves, eut straight, ending in cuffs or-

AUTUMN TOILET FOR YOUNG FOLKS.

namented wi:h encircling bands of iho velvet. The belt Is ornamented in the same way, and there is a rosette at the bacx to corneal the o enine. Too plastron and yoke are lined with silk and there a.e no darts except in the lining. The overskirt i# cut tooth wise, which paits are lined witli silk To make these teeth you baste the stuff on a band of silk, stitch out the teeth in outline and cut away the superfluous stuff: then

PEAKING of children, some philosopher has averred / that, no matter ' how much trouble they make, they alwaya pay their way. Manifestly, this writer hadn't a large family of daughters or he wouldn’t have made this romara. 1 1 don’t know how many children Fox, the founder of Quakerism, was blessed with, says our New York

deop border of torchon or Valencieunes lace, or of embroidery, and a pointed ceinture of the same. Over this is worn quite a lona loose jacket of heavier material, made with bouffant sleeves ending in deep embroidered cuffs, and hav ing a broad, square-eornere i lay-down collar of the lace or embroidery. Of course, the frock needs no sleeves. By exhibiting goo 1 tasto in selection of materials and mode of trimming, you may ach'eve a very pretty result. The long coat should reach the top of the lace floume. To keep the coat in place, fasten a string to the center seam at the wa st, puss it through the opening of the frock,-and tie it uuderneath the skirt Smock ng is still a popular mode of adding style to children's dresses, but it should not be oterdone. Instead of making use of th s effect on waist and sleeves both, merely content yourself with four or five rows at the threat, and resort to other modes of garniture to complete the sche ne of trimming. It is estimated that the British mines will be exhausted in less than 600 to 800 years. It is further calculated that, drawing upon only one of her fields, the Westphalia, Germany will not exhaust that before the end of the twenty-seventh century, hut that by the beginning of the yeai 3000 the big coal fleldsof Bavaria and Aachen and the Silesian districts will be entirely used up. A woman living in Portsmouth, Ohio, was recently attacked and severely injnred by an ] owl. It pounced upon her while she was ip the chicken yard and clawed her savagely about the arms and shoulders before it could be driven away. It Is astonishing how much you cat find out about human nature by charging 10 cents for admission

turn under the edges. The band of silk is fastened to the skirt by invisible stitches. The skirt is finished with a band 'of the cashmere, about twelve inches deep, and ornamented with three rows of the ribbon. The teeth must be caught here and there to this band. The skirt is gathered at the waist and has numerous pleats at the back. The costume on the left is intended for a little girl, and may be made up in any woolen stuff, gray, nutbrown, or turquoise blue, while the velvet used to set it off may be black or light brown. The dress is gathered at the neck Instead of a collar. The corsage closes at the back. The velvet revers are held in pla'-e by large buttons; cuffs in same style. The Velvet ceihture has« large bow at the back. It is a charming make-up for a little girl. While striving to help out anxious mothers by suggesting combinations and styles in dress, I must not fail to direct their attention to that art of beautifying the person which lies outside the sphere of the designer of modes and makers of gowns. I refer to the selection of proper corsets for young misses, so that the symmetry of the figure may be maintained or defects corrected while the body is supple and pliable; and to the care of the hair, the hands, Ihe feet, the skin, the teeth and, particularly, to the cultivation or grace of carriage, without which the most dainty costume is utterly void and without any effect. One often sees shapely little heads marred by too projecting ears. This is a defect which may easily be remedied if taken in time. Train up a child in the way she should go may with equai justice be applied to the physical as moral education. An intel igent mother will watch most jealously ever any marked point of beauty in a young

CREAM FELT FOR YOUNG MISS.

daughter—skin, eyes, hands or feet—foi as the child verges toward womanhood this point of beauty may become i ei sole stock-in-trade, so to speak, and it s a well-known fact that one well-defined and high y pronounced point of beauty will often make a young girl’s fortune. Difficult as it is to make a gown that will not rob a child of that delicious expression of youth, that softness and delicacy, that pastel look as distin gulshed from the sharp outlines of a pen-and-ink drawing, yet it is still more difficult to devise a bit of headgear that will accentuate and emphasize rather than injure or destroy tho sweetness of the little face, spiritualized by its masses of tangled curls or encircled by tawny, silken tresses, like a snow scene in a golden frame. I have- a couple of hints for you in this line. In my third illustration you will find a lovely little hat for a child—a cream felt, trimmed with a folded band of cream woolen stuff with bows back and front and large and small pink wings, makidga very dainty and delicate head covering, from underneath which the iossened tresses of a wee and winsome maiden curl with charming effect. We often observe a delightful expression of piquancy in a child’s face, and so attractive is it that we turn to take a second look at the mixture of mischief and demureness, of dignity and sauciness, and every man Da father and every woman a mother when gazing at such a piquant little face The greatest care should be taken not to set any ‘ort of headgear on that litt’e miss which might in anyway disturb this exquisito bit of nature's own harmony. Such a face has tho power to stay a mother’s first vacillation or set bounds to a father’s downward course; in fact, hold man and wife together when all other earthly power has failed My last illustration pictures with good effect a bit of head gear for such a face. It is a pearl gray felt, the crown being trimmed with a plaid velvet ribbon, gray and French blue, with a stylish bow on the side as represented I have noted a very pretty and or ginal costume for a child of 10 or 12 consisting of a little frock, princess style, its skirt hav ng a

PEARL-GRAY FELT.

SKIN-CLAD ESQUIMAUX

THE STRANGE PEOPLE OF THE ARCTIC REGIONS. Visit of an American Expedition to the People of Ittibln—Their Pecnliar Dress and Manners. A few hours after leaving the Peary expedition at McCormack Bay,"at the end of July, the Arctic steamer Kite, containing the members of the Heilprin expedition, experienced a terrific gale, and for nearly three days was at the mercy of wind and tide. A gale was a new experience for her. When it first struck her she was headed for Cape Parry, and lay between the mainland and Herbert and Northumberland islands. The wind camo up from the southeast, putting Herbert Island on the leo. All the officers declared that during their experience they had never beforo seen such a storm.. At first the sea was tolerably smooth, as the high land was two miles to windward, but after a few hours it worked up into a fury. Ihe Kite fpund herself for a long time unable to steam against the wind, and rapidly drifted toward Herbert Island, where destruction on the rocks awaited her. Most of the passengers were seasick. After several hours’ hard work and frantic consjunption of coal, the little vessel managed to hold her own and make a littm headway. Then a thick fog and a raiii storm came to complicate matters. Around in tho water were countless icebergs over which tho sea broke with A terrific roar. “Growlers” or ball-shapejl bergs sank into the waves with a flop apd then bobbed up fifteen feet above thp water. One of these interesting articles under the ship would have capsized her in a second. At any moment, too, there was danger of being hemmed in between bergs and crushed into jelly. Itjwas impossible to see more than a hundred yards ahead. It was a tough fight, but the Kite won. She managed to get into the bay on the north side of which lies the village of Ittiblu and there she lay tolerably safe, but it was necessary to steam against the wind continually. Great excitement prevailed at Ittiblu, the Esquimaux running up and down on the rocks waiting the event of the struggle. The destruction of the Kite meant a fortune .to them in the way of planking, yet, savage and untaught as they are, none aboard believed that they wished harm to the party.

On our upward' trip we had visited these natives of Ittiblu. We found them dressed in the skins of white bears, seals and reindeer, their caps being of birdskin sewed together, with the feathers inside. Very littlo difference could be seen between tho costumes of the men and women. The latter did not have the hair dressed in the turretted knots worn by the women in Danish Greenland, but lot it hang straight down. In both sexes it was long and and ragged. There was a difference, however, between their footgear uud that of the men. It was of skin, but prepared in some manner so that it was almost white and smooth, not unlike white kid gloves. By signs they expressed their willingness to trndo. Members of the party had supplied themselves with cheap jewelry, needles, knives and knickknacks at Godhavn and each inau had his pockets stuffed with common plug tobucco. On landing I sought to conciliate a man and woman who were pointing to their mouths by giving thorn half a plug apiece. They seized it and bit at it with every appearance of enthusiasm, out they soon spat it out and threw it away. It was found later that the use of tobacco was absolutely unknown to them and they seemed inarmed when a sailor lighted a pipe. Lying on the ground near the tents wore carved up seal and walrus carcasses and four beautiful walrus heads badly decomposed. The latter were purchased by the scientists for a knife or two or a few needles. Nothing soemed to have a fixed price. Mr. Ashhurst gave a dagger nine inches long and worth several dollars for a walrus tusk, while some one else was buying another tusk for three needles. Half a dozen good specimens of the horn of the narwhal, t#o of them so lately cut from the animals that they were covered with blood, wero obtained for knives, pieces of wood and seal skinners. A spear, a dog sled of bone and wood and one of the three tents wero also bought. The only things they would not part with wero their kayaks and their children. J offered one of the young mothers a sheath knife for her little boy, aged about two years. I extended the knife, pointed to the child, j then to the ship, and made a gesture indicating a long distance away. She understood what I meant, but gave strong signs of dissent and hugged the youngster to her breast.

All the mothers appeared very much attached to their offspring, comforting them or giving them toys when they cried. "1 hey had little bone images of bears, dogs and men to play with. I found also a remnant of a toy sledge. When the tent was sold the family from over whose head it was takeH seemed immensely tickled at the joke. The woman sat with her child on the pile of skins used for a bed as contentedly as if the loss of a home were of no importance. They didn't seem to want to part with the wood framework of the tent,and one woman got a long piece of it away, and all attempts to tint! it were fruitless. This tent, by the way, was taken for the ethnological exhibit of the Chicago World’s Fair. •So valuable did they consider the wood that as soon as they got any from members of the party it was carried and placed by the dogs. There were two teams of these tied up to keep them from the piles of blubber that lay around. Of the other articles given to them they took no care, leaving them about in their tents. It must have seemed to them that wood was of such great value that, to resist the temptation to steal it must be impossible. But they were tolerably honest; there were some things apparently belonging to absentee natives that they would not sell at all. Little in the way of furniture cumbered the tents. In the rear was a pile of skins, the standard coin, which served as the family bed. Near the entrance, which could be covered with a skin and a piece of bladder soaked in oil for a window, was a fireplace, a dish of seal oil used to heat the tent, to melt the ice and snow and to dry the clothing. A few bone receptacles stood by the fire, but it was not certain that they werb meant for anything but. melting purposes, as the people ate their blubber raw when the Kite party' were there. A child would seize a strip of blubber, stuff its mouth full of it and then cut off with a sharp knife ull that would not fit in the mouth. Two of the children came off with some of the men to the Kite when the latter were after their pay for the house and ■led. They were giren sugar, which

they tasted and spat out. Crackers and ship’s biscuit, however, they reveled in. When I showed them their faces in alooking glass they expressed great surprise and pleasure. Tho men showed a good deal of interest in the firearms and asked for a breechloading rifle; but some one gave them an empty flour barrel and they seemed quite as well satisfied. They were allowed tofire off some of the guns and they seemed to enjoy the experience. The oldest man in the settlement, who was not over thirty-five years and who was blind in one eye, showed un old-fashioned muzzle loading rifle and said in English “powder” and “captain,” evidently meaning that perhaps the skipper would give him gunpowder. It was a wonderful gun in its way. It was fitted with a nipple and a hammer fixed at the side of the gun instead of above it, and one of tho sight* that had dropped off was rcplacod by one made of bone. These natives had undoubtedly comat in contact with white men, as has been, stated, but probably not fora great many years, as their civilized implements were very worn and ancient. A small toolchest in one of the tents contained some steel articles, and they lmd knife blades of English make, the handles being of their own. One woman had a thimble, and they begged very hard for some more, but the party had only one. Distant from the tent settlement about a quarter of a mile was the winter quarters of these people—domedhuts of rock, the interiors of which are reached by crawling on the hands aiid knees through long, narrow passages; this arrangement being of course to keep out the cold. Dr. Kane, in his work, “Arctic Explorations,” says that the temperature of one of these huts can be kept at 90 degrees Fahrenheit with an ordinary small seal oil lamp when the temperature of the outside air is minus 40 degrees. So hot is it that it is impossible to wear fur clothing, and all hands peel off every stitch. At the baok of a hut is a sort of divan made of slabs of flat stone raised a foot above the level of the floor. This is the sleeping place, raised probably for the sake of the extra warmth and dryness. When winter sets in these huts are covered with snow, and they no doubt keep out the wind very effectively. These are not to be confounded with the temporary snow houses set up in the winter. Along the hillside back of the houses and tents was the Esquimau cemetery, a dreary enough resting place for these Eoor mortals. The bodies are laid on the arc rock and then covered over with stones sufficiently to keep tho wild animals from getting at them. It was in precisely the same manner that their seals and blubber are “ cached.” Both human bodies and blubber decompose slowly, the oder being almost imperceptible. It is lucky that there is very little that smells in these high latitudes, for around all the dwellings were piles of rotten animal substance—blubber, bones, offal and the offscourings of the kitchen. Tho Chioago Exposition management, through Professor Putnam, of Harvard, arranged with Peary Jto secure an Esquimau dwelling, six bodies and other relics, contributing SI,OOO to the expedition and promising unothor SI,OOO on delivery of the specimens.—[New York Herald.

Fan and the Monkey.

A gentlemau who held a judicial position in India tells this story: I was a magistrate in those days, and Fan, a favorite dog of mine,always went to court with me and sat on a chair by my side. I had a tame monkey, too, which Fan was very fond of. I used to couple them together, and they played about the grounds very happily. One day I expected some friends to luncheon. I was in court, and somehow or other I had left Fan at home that day. As I was rather late at my work my friends arrived before I came home, and seeing Fan they dressed the monkey up in his red jacket and blue trousers; and fastening his chain round tho dog’s neck, with a card tied round it, on which was written “Mulligatawny is getting cold,” told Fan to go to her master. Well, Fan set off, the monkey running by her side and trying in vain to hold her back, by hanging to the chain. I was busy writing down the evidence, and took no notice of Fan jumping up into her usual position upon tho chair, not even looking at her, but my attention was soon attracted by the monkey, who, in full uniform, seated himself on my table, and put one hand into the ink, while with the other he seized the pen I was writing with, to my consternation and to the amusement of the crowds of natives with which the court was thronged. I need not say I was obliged to adjourn the court after that, and go off to tiffin, which, you know, is the India term for lunch.—[New York Advertiser.

A Dugout Home in the Southwest.

Into the face of one of the low vertical earth walls of the broken land, the home-maker cuts a hole as a Yankee farmer digs a cellar for a hillside barn. Though rarely larger than ten by fourteen feet on the bottom, these collar-liko holes are sometimes twelve by .eighteen, with the depth of the hole as much as five or six feet, and sometimes eighteen byfifteen large, with the long way of the hole lying along the front of the natural earth wall. The digging completed, trees are cut to furnish logs for building up the front of the home, and for use as rafters placed a foot or so apart over the top. The limbs of the trees, with some long grass from a moist place, if any can be found, are used to make a rude thatch over the rafters, and then the sods, cut out. and carefully saved when the hole was dug, are placed on top of the thatch, while the earth from the hole is heaped on top of all into a gravo-shapo mound. A blanket is hung in the doorway, or the cotton from the wagon-hoops will serve, and there is the dugout. home as eosey as the home of a prame-dog or a woodchuck.

Dinner Table Tricks.

A good dinner table trick is to make an egg force its way into an ordinary wine carafe, such as is found on all well regulated dinner tables. The other accessories are some paper and a medium hard boiled egg with the shell taken off. Drop the paper lighted into a wine bottle and get the interior well heated. This expands the air within and forces part of it out. While the interior is still hot stand the egg up on end in the neck of the bottle and let it rest there. As the bottle cools off the egg will begin to force its way in, until it finally drops. Another trick, which works ,on the saino principle, is to make a banana ! peel itself, f® do this all that is wanted is a wine bottle, a ripe banana and a bit of paper wet with alcohol. Light the | paper and drop it into the bottle. When , the air in the bottle is well heated set the banana on end on top, nn‘d let it do the rest itself, as tho air on the inside cools off and contracts the outside pressure, pushing the banana down into the bottle until it has pulled itself out of it* skin.—[St. Loai* Post-Dispatch.