Democratic Sentinel, Volume 18, Number 46, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 November 1894 — Page 5

TRAIN ROBBERS.

The Government Will Soon Rid the Land of These Pasta. What Depew Bay« About It—Why Traia Bobbins la Quite Different from What It Waa In Old . Boad Agent'Daya.

tcopraiGtrr, 1894-1

up an express has actually become aa organized industry, and he who can point a way out of the difficulty thus presented will he a public benefactor in the loftiest signification of the term. It is an error to imagine that dime novel tactics are in vogue among these century end knights of the road. However exciting the actual process of spoliation may seem, the enterprise itself is always planned and executed in the coolest and most business like manner. The recent half dozen robberies in different parts of the country were in course of preparation at least six weeks before the consummation. Nor do the robbers organize themselves into a brigand band after the fashion of the interesting gentry intowhose hands Oil Blas was so hapless as to fall. On the contrary train robbers scatter in all directions after the accomplishment of a successful hold-up, and as the ter-ror-stricken inhabitants of the regions in which they operate dare not acknowledge any acquaintance with them ■detection has in every case proven very difficult. Not infrequently the robbers have put up good-sized sums on the principle of throwing a spear to catch a herring, and when it is remembered that treasure laden trains are continually flying up and down and across the wilds of our continent, the magnitude of the field of operations becomes manifest.

Now, how is this new danger to be dealt with? That is what puzzles many of the officials. It has 'been suggested that the government man the well stored trains with troops, ready to shoot down'anyone who presents himself suspiciously in the vicinity of the tracks. But this expedient has its drawback. If the train men are enough, armed and equipped as they usually are, who can be sure that troops will be? Moreover even the United States affords no guarantee against the adoption of a stratagem whereby the mere brute force of guns and brawn can be outwitted. Another suggestion is to equip the treasure cars with electrical devices similar to those now in general use among banks, whereby safes and vaults are rendered practically impregnable. The records of the patent office are filled with evidences of efforts to solve the problem, but the inventions so protected are not as yet in general use. Again it is suggested that there is no adequate settling of responsibility for train robberies. There is no practicable method now of holding anyone responsible except in cases bf government funds. In the olden times, when stages out west were the tnarked prizes of picturesque highwayinen, the companies exhausted all their bfflcial ingenuity in efforts to outwit toad agents, but to no purpose. Finally, the plan of discharging the stage driver was hit upon. No matter who was to blame for the holding up of a stage the driver of the vehicle was invariably provided with a successor in cases of robbery. From the adoption of that method, verv few highway spoliations were recorded. In the same way, it is pointed out that government treasure is very rarely the spoil of the train robber. Yet the government of the United States is perpetually sending heavy shipments of gold across the continent. A really historic shipment was that of twenty million dollars in gold which the treasury department sent clear across the country from San Francisco to New York. The bullion traversed the wildest regions and of course the usual precautions against spoliation were adopted. The money came unmolested to its destination. Of course, armed men, with orders to shoot, were continually on the cars. The' safes were of the strongest and most dangerous kind—to train robbers. And above all, the officials of the secret service were held personally responsible for the safe arrival of that train.

But the great objection to precautions of this kind, with reference to the railroads themselves, is the opposition of certain members of congress. ■lt is asserted that since the government must do so much for the railroads it ought to assume control over them altogether. And there are certain magnates among the railroad men themselves who do not particularly relish the idea of government protection for their treasure. Wherever such protection is afforded, it is immediately followed by legislation on the part of congress which, according to railroad men, is prejudicial to railroad interests. It follows, therefore, that government protection has not met with the favor one might have expected. “Train robbers!” exclaimed Chauncey M. Depew, when the subject was brought to the attention of that genial and brilliantly resourceful railroader, “oh, they trouble us very little. lam speaking, you must understand, from the point of View of the New York Central railroad. That corporation, as all the world knows, has the most superb railroad equipment ever devised by the ingenuity of man. Its cars are marvels of mechanical genius and its operations are so well contrived with a view to the safety of its passengers and freight that risk and danger are practically eliminated from its vocabulary Nevertheless eternal vigilance is the price of this condition as of liberty, and we are always ready to welcome any good idea in this train robbing natter. I think the capacity of the inen who run the trains has much to do with it. The engineers, conductors and brakemen on the New York Central railroad are among the most intelligent people in this country. No train robbers living could get the best of them. At the same time it is necessary to cooperate with their intelligence, so to speak, by adopting all reasonable precautions, and that we do. It is in the west, where wild districts have to be traversed, that the dangerous robber is encountered.” “How is it to be dealt with?” “By making train robbery as dangerous as leaping from a precipice. Armed men, should be on every train that runs through a threatening region, and the first intimation of dan-

ger should be the signal for a deadly volley. Public sentiment is always back of anyone who defends property, and a few hot arguments from a Winchester will send train robbers where they ean do very little further mischief. Another desirable thing is the adoption of campaign methods by the government similar to those now employed in ferreting out counterfeiters. We have in this country the best detective skill in the world. The records of the police departments show this. Before very long the train robbing gen- , try could be run to ths^e^rth. precisely i as the moonshiners and shovers of the j queer are so cleverly hunted down, i Train robbing is practically a new : phenomenon, for although we have had ; robbers of this class among us since i trains first began to travel, they have i notoperated so daringly and sj’stematii cally as at present. But a determined I effort, accompanied by thorough study of so perfect a system as that of the New York Central railroad, will soon rid us of the evil.” ‘•What of mechanical contrivances and the various patent devices for outwitting the robbers?” “They are very well in their way, but no mechanical contrivance can ever be an effective substitute for human ingenuity. The time will soon come when these robberies will be things of the past, always assuming that the public mind is properly aroused to a perception of the evil. There is no telling where this matter may stop, if not adequately dealt with now and nipped in the bud, as it were.” And the great Depew turned to his pilefl up desk and went cheerily about his business. It is notewar thy in this connection, that the pay trains of the great railroads, which at times are heavily freighted with money and go from station to station at stated and well known intervals, are rarely attacked. There have been some exciting episodes, however, when the cars have been attacked, but not often have the would-be robbers made away with the precious freight they were after. The Pennsylvania railroad has taken the most elaborate precautions against any attempt at a hold up, and he must be a bold robber indeed who would make an attempt of the sort. Not long ago one robber was killed in the Keystone state and several others were ■sent to prison for long terms.

LL sorts of problems come up for solution by railway officials. Some of them are kept on the unsolved list a long while. Train robberies are among the latter. Holding

The difficulty with the roads in tne far west is that they arc as a rule too poor, or affect to be, to deal with the matter at all adequately. Many of them are in receivers’ hands and in some cases they cannot command the best railroad talent, and, therefore, the very men who could devise a plan of campaign a gainst robbery are in the service of eastern roads. Moreover, the stockholders and even the directors, in some cases, are eastern men, not on the spot, and therefore not able to deal with the matter from personal knowledge. It is important to note, however, that the United States government is planning what promises to be a most effective crusade against train robbing. Chief Ilazen, of the secret service, hat set about gathering, through his subordinates, a full set of reports upon the whereabouts and haunts of al! train robbers, or those suspected o 1 being implicated in these expeditions. A very careful watch will be maintained upon movements of a suspicioui ‘character and, by a thorough systematizing of the campaign, holding up a train will become even more risky than counterfeiting, smuggling or moonshining.

A Poor Opinion of Horse Sense.

The mental peculiarities of the horse, writes Professor Shaler in Scribner, are much less characteristic than its physical. It is, indeed, the common opinion, among those who do not know the animal well, that it is endowed w’ith much sagacity, but no experienced and careful observer is likely to maintain thie opinion. All such students find the intelligence of the horse to be very limited. Although some part of this mental defect in the horse, causing its actions to be w'idely con. trusted with those of the dog, may be due to a lack of deliberate training and to breeding with reference to intellectual accomplishment, we see by comparing the creature with the elephant, which practically hasnevei been bred in captivity, that the equine mind is, from the point o/ view of rationality, very feeble.

At a recent meeting,of the Board of Electrical Control in New York, a new device for evading the law as tc overhead wires was reported by the Secretory. It appears that during the last few weeks wires have been strung across Broadway and some other down town streets without permission of the Board, and it was only with difficulty that they were discovered. The offenders had secured fine wires, in some cases covered with green silk, so that they were almost invisible against the sky. Six specimens were shown tc the Board. Although the owners oi the wires could not be found in all cases, some of the wires were traced to offices. Commissioner Storm was empowered to consult the DistrictAttorney as to the means of punishing the offenders.—[Atlanta Constitution.

In a Texas sawmill recently one of she inserted tooth saws began shedding Its teeth. The saw was not stopped to nvestigate matters, but the men simply Stood upon one side and let it shed, i’resently one of them was knocked iown, with a severe cut in the neck, de went to a drug store and had the wound dressed and kept on with his work. A week or so after he had some iifficulty in swallowing, and a doctor >o whom he 1 applied said he thought there was some hard substance in his aeck Upon looking further and lancing he discovered one of the saw teeth, it was about the size of a silver dollar md weighed as much, buta little thing ike that does not matter in Texas. Mexican Humming Birds' 'Egg*. Immediately after being hatched it is possible to place four living Mexican humming birds in an ordinary thimble. At maturity a dozen of them may be put in a teacup. The eggs are about twice the size of pinheads. Queer Transfer Companies. Transfer companies in England are ready to pay for all the baggage they smash. A double diamond heart set with pearls, with one pearl drooping from it, makes a most dainty brooch.

Stealing Electricity.

A Saw Tooth in His Throat.

A FOUR HUNDRED

OF LADIES WHO ARE DEVOTED TO PHYSICAL CULTURE. A Glimpse at the Well-Appointed Club-rooms, at the Girls Who are Training and at the Distinguished People Who Look On and Approve of the New “ Fad.” The well-built man, woman, boy or girl is acknowledged by every intelligent person of to-day as on the increase. Why ? Simply because the development of the body is now

THE BERKELEY INSTITUTE.

recognized as one of the most important branches of education. The aim of every school is to have a department of physical training where the students can secure for themselves the best health, strength and endurance possible, and the importance of such physical development is thoroughly appreciated now as an essential part of complete school discipline. The Berkeley Ladies’ Athletic Club, of 23 West 44th street, New York City, is a striking illustration of the

advancement thkt the study of physical culture and Uthletja-nports have made upon the ygjjrfg ladhw of this city. It is a new departure in the physical training of women, and the completeness of the appointments of the building and the great variety and perfection in its apparatus present an establishment equal to that of the best athletic club building for men. The parlor, decorated in old gold and blue, is on the ground floor. Here also are the offices of the director and secretary. Three bowling alleys are in the front basement; these measure the regulation width and length. A plunge bath is in the rear. This is lined with white and blue tiles, the walls and ceilings being decorated in the same manner. A series of dressing rooms, needle baths and a large swimming bath complete the floor. Private bathrooms, with separate dressing alcoves, lockers and needle tub baths, occupy two floors; then comes the gymnasium, the favorite hall in the club building. It is 100 by 50 feet, provided with a noiseless running track, with a gallery nine feet above the floor. Up a short flight of stairs, opening adjacent to the running track, is a smaller gymnasium used for individual work. The appliances used for instruction consist principally in sets of light chest-weights, rowing weights,lndian clubs, dumbbells and French barbells. The apparatus is attached to the walls or suspended from trusses, leaving space clear for classwork and marching exercises. The beauty of the apparatus is in its nickel platings and noiseless workings. In the use of foils our ladies are becoming experts, and only by attending some of the private parties that rent the bowling alleys for evening games can one thoroughly appreciate the skill with which the dia-mond-ringed fingers of our city belles play the game. Classes began Oct. 1, and as the ladies return from the country they make their appearance at the club. The membership is limited to 400 (but not to “ the ” Four Hundred), and a candidate for admission must be at least 16 years old, the admission fee being sls and the annual dues S4O. The management of the club is intrusted to a board of ten governors. On the second and last Friday of every month friends are admitted by card, and from a balcony built purposely for their accommodation they can watch the exercises in the gymnasium. ‘‘Do I notice any improvement?” said one of the members in repeating a question put to her, “I should think I do! It is simply wonderful. I have an appetite that is greatly alarming my mother, it is so ravenous. I feel so cheerful after a day spent here that grandmother calls me giddy. I sleep like a top and awake so refreshed every morning. My lungs are strong—listen!” and she halloed at the top of her voice for example, “Look at my arm—and just wait six months—l’ll have it twice as hard. lam straight, too, and don’t feel half so awkward as I did a year ago, when I first came.” ‘ ‘However exaggerated these effects may appear to those who pay no attention to the subject of athletic sports and physical culture,” said a ’onker-nn who was an able doctor.

‘‘one cannot help thinking or being convinced that if the same plane which are now pursued with the view of fitting individuals for the demoralizing exhibition of brute force were more generally adopted as a means oi improving the health and vigor of the constitution, the people would be in a great measure emancipated from physical suffering, and the full possession of active powers would be prolonged far beyond what is now esteemed the bounds of human life.”

STRENGTH OF THE SWAN.

A Blow of It* Wing Sufficient to Break a Man’s Log. We all know the tradition about the power of a swan’s wing—that its blow would break a man’s leg. 1 questioned a man who has much to do with swans about the credibility of the tale, and he told me that he, for one, was ready to believe it, and thought that any other man who had received such a blow from a swan’s wing as he had suffered would be likely to believe it also. He was summoned from his cottage by the news that one of the cygnets was in trouble. A boy had been amusing himself with the elegant sport of giving the cygnets meat attached to a long string. When the cygnet had swallowed the meat well done the boy would pull it up again by means of the string. It was great fun for the boy, and the cygnet was unable to express its feelings intelligibly. On the occasion in question, however, the lump of meat stuck. It would not come out, and the boy, fearing consequences, had let slip the string and bolted. The cygnet did its best with the string by swallowing several yards of it, but began to choke before it got to the end. At this juncture my friend wae summoned to its aid, and simultaneously, as it appeared, the stately parent of the cygnet, that was swimming on the pond close by, perceived

IN THE WOMAN’S GYMNASIUM.

that something was amiss with its offspring. It swam to the bank and commenced making its way to the young one’s assistance. But the swan's method of progression on land is as awkward and slow as on the water it is graceful and swift. The swan herd was the first to reach the cygnet, and, soon seeing the trouble, had calculated to remove it before the parent came up with him. But his calculations had underrated the length of the string or the pedestrian speed of the swan. Just as he had succeeded in extricating the lump of meat from the gullet of the distressed youngster the old bird caught him a blow with its wing on that part of the person which is most exposed to attack when a man is stooping and the onset is made from behind. He was knocked over on his face, and, continuing the impetus received from the swan by scuttling over the grass on his hands and knees, was able to escape from the bird’s fury, which was soon transferred to solicitude for its little one. But the blow had been sufficiently powerful to make the sitting posture uninviting for several days and to incline him to give credence to any legend about the strength of a swan’s wing.

It appears from a statement in a Russian newspaper that General Wahl, the Governor of St. Petersburg, has devised a new method of shaming the tipplers of the Muscovite capital into sobriety. In order to encourage the spread of temperance the General has issued a peremptory order that the names and addresses of all people, whatever may be their rank or sex, found in the streets in a disorderly or intoxicated condition, shall be printed on large posters and publicly displayed atcertain points of the city and also published in the Official Gazette. General Wahl’s procedure is only a modification of a system put in force some fifty years since by one of his predecessors in office. Drunk and disorderly cases, whether they belonged to the upper or the lower classes, were compelled, under the supervision of the gendarmes armed with stout canes, to sweep the streets for a certain number of hours every morning, and the moujiks, whether male or female, were subsequently taken to the police station and regaled with a copious dose of birch. There is a curious engraving representing those involuntary scavengers at work in a book entitled “Les Mysteres de la Russie,” by M. Fredic Locroix.— [Londqn Standard. Vegetable Drossy. Some recent experiments atCornell University, Ithaca, have aroused much interest on account of the development of what appears to be a form of plant dropsy. Tomatoes grown in the warm, moist air of the forcing-houses had leaves that were swollen and semi-transparent. The swelling continued until the veins of the leaves burst and considerable liquid flowed out. This was caused by too much water at the roots ( and an over-supply in the air. The leaves were not able to give off the water supplied from the roots and stalks, and the congested condition of tlie leaves and subsequent bursting of the veins was a true type of a dropsical condition.—[New York Ledger.

To Shame Drunkards.

FOR THE FAIR SEX.

INTERESTING notesand matters OF MOMENT. To Announce the Baby's Birth. The Newest Jewel. The Fairest Socialist. Timo to Spare. Beauties Bus* or Scarce. Etc., Etc. TO ANNOUNCE THE BABY’S BIRTH. To announce the birth of a baby, the visiting card of the mother should be sent to relatives and friends, with a tiny card of the infant attached by narrow white ribbon to upper lefthand corner. In the past the name of the child was engraved upon the card, but later form dictates simply “A Little Son,” or “Daughter,” with the date of birth added. This leaves the name with opportunity of change until the christening.—[St. Louis Star-Sayings. THE NEWEST JEWEL. The reign of the buckle has but just begun, and jewelers, quick to seize this appropriate object for the goldsmith’s art, are displaying most fascinating ones for the neck in antique scroll designs set with precious stones. Some dainty things are studded solidly with seed pearls, and all are more modest in size than the Rhinestone and paste buckles which were sprung upon us last spring, and which clasped half the throat. —[Demorest’s Magazine. THE FAIREST SOCIALIST. . Mrs. Beatrice Potter Webb, who is said to have inspired William Black to write “Sunrise,” and to have suggested the “Princess Cussamassima” to Henry James, is probably the richest and most beautiful woman in the socialist, ranks. She comes of a wealthy and intellectual family, and was educated by Herbert Spencer, but instead of devoting herself to society she joined the socialists, tried work in different shops, and wrote such vigorous articles on “sweating” that Parliament took up the matter. She afterward married Sidney Webb. They are now trying to live in the East End lodgings on about $1,500 a year. These “fads” of the London literary folks are very changeable, however.— [Chicago Journal.

TIME TO SPARE. One watch is no longer sufficient for the woman of to-day. She requires at least three. The watch for a shopping tour has the appearance of an enamelled ball, which opens. The ball is suspended from an enamelled pin or brooch to match. For traveling the watch is very inconspicuous. The face, besides the case, is usually dark. These cases are also of enamel in black, dark blue, wine color or bronze. Generally the hands are gold, but a traveling watch seen recently had turquoise hands against a black face. The case was black, the watch very small, and it hung from a black bar studded with tiny turquoises. The watch to be worn at home is the most beautiful and artistic of all. It is resplendent with jewels, and has a case bright enough to be in harmony with them. Flower watches are much the vogue.—[New York Journal.

BEAUTIES BUSY, OR SCARCE. A Chicago dealer in paper patterns recently advertised for “A little beauty to work in a store window.” He wanted her to wear attractive costumes, and exhibit paper dress patterns to those who stopped to look at her. The advertiser was very much discouraged with the result. He says that there were a number of women to answer the ad., but not one of them was a beauty, big or little. He says that the woman he wants must have a pretty face and a neat, trim figure. He does not care about the complexion, ns he can dress her to correspond; but he cannot find a single one that will do. He thinks it strange that of all the unemployed women of Chicago there is not a pretty one to be had, and he is sad at the appearance of the women who apply, thinking themselves beautiful. Sallow complexions, angular figures, vulgar manners —these are not what he wants. A Chicago paper publishes all this without seeming to see what a serious reflection it is on the Chicago standard of beauty.—[New Orleans Picayune.

FASHION NOTES. Bags of lizard are lined with kid or chamois. Silk blouses open In the back for young ladies. Black square cut quills are suitable for colored hats. Useful petticoats are of light weight black moreen. Dress skirts are made to fit smoothly at the top and are very full at the bottom. A butterfly of diamonds, studded on the wings with rubies, emeralds and sapphires, is admirably effective. An owl for the hair or to wear as a brooch is beautifully modeled in diamonds, with eyes of yellow agates. Bangle bracelets are still worn, as they show the beauty of a row of well matched stones with splendid effect. Black is introduced into most novelty cloth goods. Threads of black runs through dark red cheviots or those of blue and green. Opera cloaks are again made long, to cover the entire gown, and some have two circular ruffles that fall over the shoulders from a yoke. A pretty arrangement for low dresses is a collar of tulle just gathered; and the fullness divided at intervals by four diamond bars. Many of the new full sleeves ate shirred through the exact center of the huge puff, from the top of the shoulder to the turn of the arm of the elbow., Several new models show round waists, bias cut, with deep yoke, shirred back and front.' At the waist line the material is laid in tiny plaits over a close fitting, boned lining. * The materials in the shops are in great variety. Novelty goods,

crepons, serges, tweeds, cheviots, etc., are in endless patterns. Plaids are seen in velvets and velveteens, as well as in cloth. A popular sleeve is accordionplaited at the armhole, and again at the elbow, with a deep Cromwellian cuff turned back at the elbow above the close coat portion, the cuff covered with a rich beaded galloon. A stylish bodice is of small checks in lavender and white velveteen. This is tight fitting, with a collar of lavender velvet and a girdle of the same. The front of the bodice is trimmed with iridescent passementerie. The winter jackets shown in the shops are cut long with very full backs and fitted closely to the figure with coat collars and large revers. The materials are cheviot, covert cloth, diagonals, kersey cloth and chinchilla beaver. Short cloth skirts, reaching barely to the-ankle and worn over cloth knickerbockers, and gaiters are now generally adopted by the fair sex for golf or shooting—at which latter pursuit milady has become an expert during the last decade. The names of many of the fashionable tints mentioned together sound delight fully autumnal. Chrysoprase green, reddish amethyst, tangerine, topaz and maize, leaf brown, wood color, cerise, current and royal mauve are only a few of the fascinating colors to be found on the “palette” of Dame Fashion this season. The stiff, high collars, particularly when worn by short-necked women, are being accused of producing nervous headache. They press at the back directly upon the sensitive base of the brain, and compress, often to the point of injury, the veins and arteries of the heck, frequently causing a congestion that ends in headache. Skirts are generally of the Godot pattern, left plain or trimmed lengthwise with jet, ribbon or velvet cords. Notice is attracted to the new leg-of-mutton sleeves, which are wrinkled from elbow to wrist, like long suede gloves. A great deal of velvet, In the form of panels, bretellos, suspenders, crush collar and belt, butterfly bows, etc., Is used on the new models. One of the new sleeves on dress toilets—the “Florentine” model—is tight from the wrist to several inches above the elbow. The upper part is a very deep, full puff, banded at the lower edge. This puff Is often made of two contrasting fabrics, In, for instance, velvet and satin, and the long forearm portions of a third material, this being very frequently small-patterned brocade.

Star Route Frauds.

The celebrated “star route” frauds are probably the most conspicuous in the list of frauds against the Government. These frauds were worked under plea es expediting the service of the Post Office Department over what are known as “star routes”— routes covered by special contract with carriers, which are indicated In the Post Office Department list with an asterisk. If a contract was mode to deliver mail once a week at a point 110 miles from a railroad within fifty hours from leaving the railroad, for SI,OOO a year, the patrons of the office (including the friends and employes of the contractors) would petition for a delivery twice a week. By collusion with officials of the Post Office Department, the service would be expedited as requested, and the contractors would receive double the sum agreed upon originally for the work. Then petitions would be presented for quickening the service—that is, shortening the time of transportation. This would mean another adtion to the compensation, often quadrupling it. In about four months after July 1, 1878, the cost of the Western star route service increased #bout $1,500,000 a year. Then came public scandal, congressional investigation and indictments. Since the investigation of the star route frauds the Post Office Department has stopped “expediting” the star service. If a contractordeclinei to deliver the mall at a better rate of speed, the contract is cancelled and a new contract is let to the lowest bidder.—[Washington Star.

A New Matarial.

Wood-stone, or xylolith, is a manufactured material that is believed to have very many uses. It is made of calcined magnesite and fine sawdust, and treated with chemicals. When first mixed, and before the paste has had time to set, it is made into sheet* and put under a pressure of one thousand pounds to the square inch. It is saturated with linseed oil and dried, thus making it more impervious to moisture. It is used as a building material, and bears a pressure of three hundred pounds to the square inch, It is made in sheets from one-quarter of an inch to an inch and a half in thickness. As a flooring material it is very highlv spoken of.

Fish in a Dry-Dock.

Hundreds of German silver carp were discovered in the bottom of the League Island Navy Yard’s dry-dock last week after the floating out of the ship Richmond. Over a thousand pounds of these fish were given away by the officers in charge, and at least a thousand pounds were left without takers. Some time ago a breeding pool was established within the Navy Yard grounds, and since then the fish have multiplied with astonishing rapidity. The Delaware River front, between League Island and Port Richmond, especially in the vicinity of the sugar refineries, is alive with the fish, which are caught in trans and nets by the bushel. They retail alive at cents per pound.—[Phllu. delphia Record. THE FATUOUS BURGLAR. “I know,” said Mrs. Bobbin, ‘‘that there is a burglar in the house I” ‘‘How do you know?” “I heard a rasping noise in the kitchen just now.” “Well, we’ll let him alone. Maybe he’s working out his own destruc tion. It sounds to me as if he were cutting himself a slice of that pie.” —[Washington Star.

CHIEF OF ARMY SCOUTS.

Frank Guard was Reared by the Sioux and Shot Sitting Bull. Frank Guard, chief of scouts in the United States army, is esteemed by the people of Wyoming as more than a rival of Buffalo Bill. Guard comes of mixed French and Kanaka parentage. His parents were slain bv the Sioux in crossing the plains, and the lad fell into the hands of the savages. He was a manly youngster, and he so pleased Sitting Bull that the chief adopted him and brought him up. The youth in due time went through the tortures of the Sun Dance, was declared a brave, aad became in all thing, save raze, a savage of the plains Knowing the hopelessness of the Indian outbreak that brought about the Custer massacre. Guard determined to desert to the whites. He was detected and pursued. The Indians shot his horse us Guard swam a river, and lodged four bullets in the fugitive’s body. Believing that he was slain, they ceased the pursuit, but Guard reached the shore, and, wounded as he was, continued his journey to Crook’s camp. On the way he read afar the Indian signal fires announcing the massacre of Custer and his men. He brought the news to Crook's camp, and the latter asked whether Guard could lead to the scene of the battle. Guard said he could if Crook would have his wounds dressed and let him have a good horse. The bullets were extracted, and Guard, mounted on Crook's favorite horse, rode away. He reached the battlefield to find Custer and his men lying stiff in their blood. As Guard, his Indian blanket about him and his hand to his forehead, Indian fashion, sat watching the scene, an Indian approached and asked who he was. He replied Sitting Bull’s brother. The Indian asked half a dozen other questions, and finally asked Guard how it was that he rode u grain-fed horse. Guard replied that he stole It from a white man. Finally the Indian demanded his name. Guard, seeing that the Indian was unarmed, unblanketed his face and looked hltn In the eyes. “Ugh, Frank!” said the Indian, starting back and turning to run. Guard permitted him to get within ten feet of the shelter of u tree and then shot him dead. From that time to this Guard has been true to the whites. Sitting Bull once offered 1,000 ponies for his scalp, and Guard always knew should he ever fall into the hands of the savages, death in its crudest guise would be his fate. Ho escaped from the savages after hearing them debate ns to the most unpleasant method of death for the prisoner. Upon one occasion Guard, then out as a scout, became convinced that he and the command, under a Lieutenant, must certainly fall Into the hands of the Orows unless the troop* slew their horses and crept away in the darkness. The officer was unwilling to slay the horses, but Guard said that he meant to escape at once. This convinced the officer, and all the horses save one were killed. That one was left by a fire to attract the savages, and the men crept for miles and escaped. On that night Guard, with tears in his eyes, killed the horse that Crook gave him. According to tradition, that is the only time that any man ever saw Guard cry. Guard was the man who finally killed Sitting Bull, when the old savage refused to give up his arms. Sitting Bull made ready to shoot as. Guard, his foster son, approached, but Guard, with characteristic quickness, shot him dead. When there Is. a dangerous duty to be done up about Fort McKinney, Guard is the man iodo it. He went after a noted desperado with a warrant not long since, and was met with a bullet from a Winchester. Guard dismounted in leisurely fashion, took alm, and sent a bullet through the desperado’*forehead. Guard is now forty-four years and if his apprehensions are wellfounded he is likely to have a chance for further distinction. He believes that the Government has not had tho last of its Indian ware, and that another uprising at Pine Ridge is inevitable. That would be accompanied by uprisings at other agenciesand a good deal of trouble. Guard has been constantly warning his superiors on this head.—[Now York Hun.

Early Usd of Sugar.

The sugar cane and its uses have been known in India, its native home, from time immemorial It is, perhaps the earliest source from which sugar was produced, and ail other modes of manufacture have been borrowed from ana based on it. The early classical writers knew sugar vaguely as “honey of canes.” Tothe Greco-Roman world the sugar cane was the reed which the swarthy Indians delighted to chew, and from which they extracted a mysterious sweetmeat. It was the Arabs—those great carriers between the East and the West —who introduced the cane in the Middle Ages into Egypt, Sicily and the south of Spain, where it flourished abundantly until West Indian slavery drove it out of the field for a time and sent the trade in sugar to Jamaica and Cuba. Naturally you can afford to undersell your neighbors when you decline to pay any wages to you,r laborers. Egyptian sugar was carried to London in Plantagenet times by the Venetian fleet, waere it was exchanged for wool, the staple product of mediaeval England. Early in the sixteenth century the cane was taken from Sicily to Madeira and the Canaries, Thence it found its waj’ to Brazil and Mexico, to Jamaica and Hayti. Cane sugar waswell known in Italy about the second century, and has been common in England since the Tudor period. The spacious days of great Elizabeth had sugar for their sack; and ginger was hot in the mouth, too, as we all well remember.—[New York. Ledger. . WOE FOR COMING GENERATIONS. ■ Tommy—What you cryin’ about, crybaby? Jimmy—Aw! You’d cry, too, if your tmrits was made outer yer sister’s old bicycle bloomers!—[Cincinnati Tribune.