Rensselaer Journal, Volume 11, Number 10, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 August 1901 — Page 2

MICE. SILENCE AND GLOOM. ("Mice, Silence and Gloom” is Dr. Edward Judson’s descriptive summaly of the •oeqpanta of most churches during all but a few hours each week). We dabbed together, wo raised the Three hours of worship: one hundred and , money, fifty built a temple to God. The church is a bolted room, We hired a preacher with doctrine sunny— Thar we, in worldly affairs so thrifty. For we have outgrown the rod. Give over to mice and gloom. And three hours weekly (in pleasant We’re not contented with two per cent, weather) As a worldly measure of gain, We use the family pew; We sometimes wonder: Is God content. We chafe a little at even this tether. Or is it the.gift of Cain? And that must certainly do. —Church Economist,

TOM CORNWILER’S TUMBLE

¥ BELIEVE that boy has climbed I every tree in the township, I leastwise, the worst ones," said * Mrs. Cornwiler. , “Deary me! I should be afraid he’d break his neck,” said Mrs. Millwalte. “I don’t see where he got it," said Mrs. Cornwiler, boldly. “He got it from you, that’s plain,” •aid Mr. Cornwiler, boldly. “From me! Why, just climbing a fence makes me almost dizzy!’* “Your father was a sailor,” said Cornwiler, “and his father was topman in the navy under old Commodore Preble. Tom’s inherited their climb from you.” “I suppose a sixteen-year-old boy Is more trouble than a fourteen-year girl,” said Mrs. Millwalte. “My Clara’s a comfort.” “Whenever Tom's wanted—” began Mrs. Cornwiler. “A good strong boy Is wanted pretty often in a new country,” Interrupted her husband. “Sometimes It gets tiresome to him.” “Whenever Tom’s wanted.” persisted Mrs. Cornwiler, “he generally has to be found in a tree-top. It wears out his clothes dreadfully.” “That is a bother,” said Mrs. Millwaite. “Now Clara wears her dresses longer than any other schoolgirl of her age.”

While this discussion was going on indoors, Tom was going off outdoors. Mrs, Mlllwaite's visit gave him a chance to go fishing. He put a hook and line in his pocket, intending to cut a fish-pole on the way, and trusting to find fat, white bait-grubs in old logs. He owned a sharp, one-hand hatchet, which he thrust under his buckskin belt. A quarter of a mile from the river he came to a familiar tree-stub. It had been a forest giant, but some storm had broken off Its top, leaving its great trunk thirty feet high. Forest fires had consumed the fallen top, and deeply charred the huge trunk. Tom struck It with his hatchet-head. To his surprise It sounded hollow— a mere shell. He was Immediately curious to know If it was hollow all the way up, and the only way to ascertain was to climb it. A more uninviting stub to climb could not be found. It was very grimy, and too smooth and large to be clasped by either arms or legs; but Tom sought a thicket and cut the longest tough withe he could find. He wrapped this about the stub, and fastened its two ends securely to his belt with strips of strong bark, making a hoop somewhat larger than the tree. Leaning well back, he walked bis moecasined toes right up, raising Mie hoop by quick jerks. ' The tree was hollow. Tom sat on Che edge with his feet dangling outaide, as steady of nerve as If upon the ground. When his curiosity was satisfied he slipped off the loop to retie it more to suit him. An incautious movement broke a bit of the edge, and ’ disturbed his balance. He made a violent move to recover himself. More edge crumbled inward, and down he went inside, head and heels together, like a shut jack-knife. One hand held to the hoop, pulling It after him. Head, back, hips and legs scraped down the long tube, carrying fragments of rotten wood and a dusty cloud. I Tom struck on a deep, soft pile of debris, Into which his doubled-up body plunged breast and knee-deep. The concussion shocked him breathless and set his npsebleeding copiously, and the •dust and blood hindered the recovery of his breath. Although he was not quite unconscious, it was long before he stirred. The back of his head had been severely raked, and rotten wood was ground into all his lacerations. When, at last, he began to try to move, he found himself wedged in. Vainly he wriggled; he could hardly atir, and could neither lift himself nor get his legs down. His hips, back, and all the muscles of his legs ached and pricked intolerably from strain

-and checked circulation. i He could not resist crying; but being a lad of good courage, endurance and resource, he soon began a systematic effort for release, packing the loose debris down as firmly as he could with his hands, at the same time pressing It away all around with his body. This exertion caused greater ache, but be persisted resolutely. By and by he got his hatchet out of his belt, and ■truck it, after a dozen efforts, so firmly into the wooden wall that he could hang his weight to it with one hand, trhile he worked the debris under him With the other. He gradually enlarged his space .sufficiently to allow the bending of his knees. After that he was not long in getting his body up and feet down, so as to sit cramped on one hip, with both feet nearly level. Exertion, pain, and the pressure of returning circulation made bis pulse throb and his head swim, and he lapsed intoseml-unconsclousness. How long this lasted he.knew not, but when be began to struggle again he wns In black darkness. ▲ few stars shone

By L. T. Bates.

calmly down his wooden well, but he could work only by feeling about with his hands. He felt exhausted, hungry and weak, but he kept on working till he managed to stand erect Then, after feebly kicking and pushing debris to fill up the hole where he had been, be curled himself as comfortable as he could, and slept a blessed though troubled sleep. He dreamed that he heard a rifleshot and that Ban was barking excitedly and his father hallooing. But his sleep was so profound that a dream could not rouse him. After a long time he stretched out His sore heels hit one wall, his sore head the other. This time the pain roused him to a renewed sense of his situation. He sat up, stiff, lame all over, weak, gnawed by hunger and thirst, but still undismayed’ and resourceful. A little thought and a trial convinced him that, weak and sore as he was, it would be a vain waste of strength to try to climb up the difficult inside of bls prison.

“There's always more than one way to skin a cat,” he reflected. “I’ve got to get out of this somehow; that’s all there is to It” He ran a thumb over the edge of his hatchet. “Pretty sharp yet Too light to chop easy, and no room to swing it but it’ll cut a hole, give it time.” Scraping awify the rotten wood, he selected a place where the wUll seemed thin, and began hacking. Progress was slow. At first his stiff muscles and sore body hurt acutely, but this pain wore away as he went on. The wood, charred outside and very dry, was hard and tough. Although it was a sunny day, and his eyes had adjusted their vision to the dimness of his pit, he could hardly see where to strike. He dared not pry out large slivers, for if edge or handle of his hatchet should break, he might never get out. His awkward poslfion and the one-hand work tired him rapidly; and he suffered occasional cramps. During one of his frequent rests he heard Ban barking loudly outside. “Good dog! I’m coming!" he shouted.

The dog bayed frantically, leaped against the tree, scratched, whined, tore the wood with his teeth, and began digging furiously between two great roots, evidently intending to tunnel under to his young master. When Tom did not appear for supper, Mrs. Cornwiler began to fret, but not much, for he was often late. After supper, with no Tom to do |he chores, Mr. Cornwiler grumbled, but did them himself, saying: “Come, now, wife, the boy probably has a good excuse. He’s pretty regular, considering.” By bedtime Mrs. Cornwiler was ahxious. “I’m sure he’s lying hurt somewhere in the woods, fallen from a tree; or maybe he's got lost.” , “Pshaw, now, Edith! Tom couldn’t lose himself anywhere in this county the darkest night that ever was; and he doesn’t know how to fall from a tree. He’ll be home all right pretty soon. Likely he’s hindered by something he thinks important” At ten o’clock Mrs. Cornwiler was insistent and Cornwiler less confident. He proposed to take the dog and search. “Maybe he’s at one of the neighbors. He’d stay, of course, if he could be of any use. Anyhow, Ban’ll track him. Blow the horn if he comes home while

I’m gone.” Ban, being told to “Go find Tom!” set off joyfully, wagging his tail. He led Cornwiler straight to the charred stub, and barked, leaping against it., Cornwiler looked the stub all over. There were no signs of Tom. He called, and fired his rifle. There was no reply. He supposed the stub solid, but thumped it Unfortunately the blow struck where the shell was thick, and where Tom had packed the debris hardest inside. It sounded solid. Mr. Cornwiler thought that Ban had foolishly tracked a squirrel up it, or perhaps a coon had been there and gone. He dragged the dog away, ordering him again to “Find Tom!’* Ban instantly ran back to the stub, and whined and scratched, but Mr. Cornwiler pulled him away. Ban then -led into a thicket and here were signs—a slender pole cut and trimmed, a bitternut sapling peeled of two strips of bark. Tom had been there. The sapling was slender for a fish-pole, but Mr. Cornwiler thought that must be it The strips of bark meant strings, but what Tom wanted of strings he could not conjecture. Having concluded it meant fishing, he uurried to the river, his anxiety considerably increased. Tom was a strong, cool swimmer and knew every foot of the river. There were few deep places, and no really dangerous places. Mr. Cornwiler searched a long time, ' but found no trace of Tom, and Ban i seemed puzzled and not much Interi ested. After midnight Cornwiler be- ! gan a terribly anxious Inquiry, rousing

neighbor after neighbor. No one bad any tidings. Mr. Millwalte dressed, took his rifle, and accompanied Cornwiler. Mrs. Millwalte, notwithstanding her depreciation of Tom, went to cheer and comfort his mother all she could. / Millwalte suggested going first to the charred stub. “You know Tom's been there,” he said, “and it’s the right point to start from.” As soon as they arrived, Ban began whining and scratching about the stub. Cornwiler sternly ordered him off, and the poor dog, probably supposing it was all right, reluctantly obeyed. Both rne'n believed the stub solid, and that Tom had merely come and gone. The news of the lost boy spread, and by sunrise a dozen men and boys were scouring the woods. After getting breakfast and doing the housework, Clara Millwalte, who had been thinking, concluded that Tom must, after all, be at or near the charred stub. “A dog never mistakes in such matters; men do,” the sensible girl reasoned. She would go and take a look for herself. “If Tom is there he’ll be hungry and thirsty,” she thought, so she put a generous breakfast and a bottle of new milk in a bark basket Ban went home with Cornwiler and Millwalte, wffio wished to see if Tom had taken his fish-line. They found it gone, and their delusion as to the river was confirmed. Thinking Ban of no service, Cornwiler left him at the house, aud the dog immediately returned to the stub and resumed his barking. Clara heard him, and hurried to reach the spot and judge for herself of the dog’s behavior. She arrived just as Tom drove a long sliver through, and put out his fingers for Ban to lick.

In a few moments more he had the aperture sufficiently enlarged for Clara to pass in the bottle and slices of food. Tom drank first—a long, thirsty pull. Then how he did eat! with the appetite of a starved wolf and the gratitude of a generous-minded boy. Clara bade him give her the hatchet, and while he ate she hacked with the skill and strength of a pioneer girl. As the wall was now pierced they could chop the edges qf the shell and make faster progress. In half an hour Tom was able to squeeze through. What an object he was! Bloody, grimy, and covered with rotten wood from head to heels! Even bis hair was plastered with gore and dust. Clara gathered leaves and helped him clean It off as well as he could, but it wpuid require Severe scrub baths, and a week’s healing to make him presentable. While they walked home she rallied him about his appearance, suggesting that half the township, especially the ladies, would be on hand to meet him. But Tom said he guessed that as long as she had seen him in this condition, he could stand being looked at by the other ladies. As for Ban, he was so absorbed that evening with the unusually large bone given him that he quite failed to hear Mr. Cornwiler’s compliment. “I allow,” said Mr. Cornwiler, “that when it comes to woodcraft, I haven't got half the sense of that dog.”— Youth’s Companion.

Where Economy Fails.

Men like economy in their domestic arrangements, but if there is one wonk an most of them fear and despise it is the wretch who has all sorts of recipes for making cheap dishes out of scraps. She comes fluttering into thq domestic dovecotes early in the day., “My dear Mrs. B„ such a recipe—the cheapest, most dee-li-cious dish imaginable. Any housekeeper can make this salad. An old gum shoe or remnant of machiutosh dressed with oil, vinegar aud paprika, or cream and lemon juice. I am confident your husband will go wild over it.” She is; right. He does. He goes so wild that after the doctor had gone home in the night and he is resting easy he asks who gave the recipe for that, salad and vows to shoot her on sight if ever he gets out again. If the men of the neighborhood had their way they would put a large dose of poison in the stocking of this fiend who teaches wives how to make palatable dishes out of gum, broken umbrellas, furniture polish and soiled awnings.— Louisville (Ky.) Times.

Hat Tips.

The hat of the modern American is a more or less direct descendant from the ancient helmet. The shape of a derby could have been evolved from nothing else, and it has little save tradition to recommend it It is not beautiful or comfortable, as compared with the cowboy’s soft felt hat or the cap .of the European peasant It does not keep the ears warm, nor Stay on with any degree of success; and it goes out of fashion every season, reappearing later in a slightly different form. Its sole recommendation is the tradition that it is the proper headgear for a civilized and enlightened man; and when it is cocked on one side on the head of a rowdy it does not make him look either civilized or cultured.— Washington Times.

Hungry Bears Destroy a Railroad.

A logger named Johnson, who ha* a logging camp somewhere near Deep Biver, away down the Columbia, was in town looking for engines and wire cables to pull the logs cut out to the tramway. He has been using horses for this work, but says he will have to use engines hereafter, as the bears tear up his skid roads. The grease used in the skids has attracted the bears, which not only lick the skids clean of grease, but dig them out and ruin the road in search of the grease which has been absorbed by the earth. He says the bears pursue their mischievous labors chiefly In the'night, and he cannot stay up nights to shoot them.—Morning Oregonian.

SUBMARINE FIGHTERS FOR OUR NAVY.

Washington dispatch: Ths United Staten Navy Department, like that of Franco and Great Britain, is expert* mentlng with submarine boats. A few weeks ago Simon Lake submitted to the Navy Department carefully worked out plans for submarine boats of three orders; a small kind that could be carried by a battleship and need as a picket boat, a larger type for coast defense work and a still larger order for cruising purposes, having a radius of action of thousands of miles. The result of Mr. Lake’s interview with the board of construction will be the building of a boat of the coast defense type to be tried in competition with the submarine boats now building for this government; and if this boat accomplish nothing more than Mr. Lake has already realized in his Argonaut, built two years ago, it will be a much more effective military instrument than the present boats of the Holland design, whose subaqueous work is substantially limited to a series of plunges of no Inconsiderable uncertainty. The Argonaut was designed to travel along on the bottom, the boat resting upon three massive wheels of cast iron, the single one at the stern acting as a rudder. It made numerous descents on Its way down the Chesapeake and traveled over all kinds of bottom, some of which was so soft that the divers would sink nearly up to -their waists when leaving the boat Other bottoms were found to consist of hard sand, on which the wheels made no impression. It was run up hill and down dale and across dredged channels, and at all times it was found that it could be readily maintained so nearly buoyant that these gradual ascents and descents made no perceptible difference in the power required to propel it. It was found .that it would mount over any obstacle over which it could get its bow, for the boat’s pressure upon the bottom could be regulated to the matter either of one pound or twice as many tons as the occasion and currents might require. • The feature about the boat that made the greatest appeal to the popular mind was the diving chamber, it was in there, air-locked off from the rest of the craft, that the air pressure was gradually Increased until it equaled the pressure of the water without Then Mr. Lake would unfasten the big iron door in the floor and let it drop outward, while the water would rise nearly to the flooring and then subside quietly to a level with the manhole rim. Out below the diver would pass, the

Two Pacific Cables.

By a vote of 150 to 44 the British House of Commons has adopted a resolution authorizing the expenditure of 110,000,000 on the British Pacific cable. With the amounts pledged by the colonies this insures the success of the enterprise. Meanwhile we are still discussing the question whether the American Pacific cable, if we ever get It, shall belong to the government of the United States or shall be paid for by the government and presented to a corporation. Probably we shall still

1 Car ? ° ne ° f th * “ neßt vehlclea of ll * kind yet MH- Unlike most motor cars It if [ the n ® at " e,s ■’ n<l essence of its appearance, and, though substantially built. It Is comparatl ely light. It is a sort of motor phaeton, having seating accommodation for half a dozen persons one beslda the driver on the front seat, a couple on the middle seat, and a box for two footmen at the back Thl?“s not hr any means the first motor car the King has had made tor him; for, like the King of the Belgians h e m i » takes a keen Interest in horeelea. carriages, and has had two built for him previously Thte lates? 7 however, will mark something of a new departure, for during the coming season the Kin. ular rides in it In Hyde Park.—London Dally Express. intends to take reg-

bottom, if the water were clear, plainly In sight, while big-eyed, inquisitive fish would look up into the brightly lighted chamber. It was all so much like Jules Verne’s famous story, and yet It was true. The bpat which Mr; Lake Is now contracting to build will have all of the desirable features of his earlier boat bettered, and with some additional ones of a decidedly unique order. For obvious reasons Mr. Lake won’t let the public know the details of most of these, but he gives them thus, for the first time, a general knowledge of the craft which promises to revolutionize the history of submarines for naval work. Mr. take has conceived a scheme by which his boats, when in a sdml-sub-merged condition similar to that ehown In the left hand corner of the •ketch, are rendered Invisible. Mr. Lake gives assurance of the absolute

Judge Wilson and Captain Parker, both ex-offleers of the navy, have been engaged to look after the interests of Rear Admiral Schley in the coming inquiry into the merits of the charges

practicability of this, although it is not free for publication. It is only necessary for any one who has been out to sea at all to recall the difficulty of “picking up,” that is, catching sight of, a good big can buoy, the position of which is known, to conceive of the task of sighting the armored hood of one of Mr. Lake’s boats even without its disguising feature. It would be a hard job to catch a fair glimpse of the boat with all Its deckhouse out of water; and that is the condition in which it would be able to do a large share of advance scout work. For scout work it is intended to have stations well off the coast to which the boats could repair, and by making connection with telegraphic cables sunk there communicate at once to the

be wrangling over that question when tbe British get their cable laid, and shall be sending our official messages over their line while the dispute goes on. Our cable project was launched long before the British one. It seemed in a fair way to success at a time when we did not own a foot of territory on the route. Since then we have acquired Hawaii and’the Philippines, and what was before a desirable convenience has become a necessity. Yet we have allowed Great Britain to go before us in providing that necessity, and our government’s orders

A King’s Motor Carriage.

Counsel for Schley.

JUDGE WILSON.

■bore. It is not generally known, but it ia possible to keep within soundings of 150 feet, the maximum diving depth of,the boat, off our coast at distances of from fifteen to seventy-five miles. With an advance guard of pickets like these, it would be possible to establish the most effective of blockades with the minimum of expense and effort. To connect with the cable the boat by dose bearings would locate the spot, lower Ke two anchors, and slowly draw Itself down to the Junction box. The diver would then go out, complete the circuit, and communication could at once be held with the shore. By rising to the surface Just so the armored sighting-hood were clear, the boat could observe every movement of the enemy until well up, directing the station ashore as to the speed and compass bearing of the approaching foe, and then. If discovered, sink comletely out of sight in three seconds. Should

CAPT. PARKER.

made by Sampson, Maclay and others to the effect that Schley was guilty of cowardice when the fleet under his Immediate command sank that of Cervera.

It wish to attack, all It need do would be to loose the sealed end of the cable, raise Its anchors, and have at the enemy. If the approaching foe be light craft or torpedo boats, this coast defense submarine could effectively use its two one-pounder guns on them, and that while presenting only tne target of its tower. At night, against such small craft, it would be better for it to do that than to waste its torpedoes;' and the boat is so designed that should this part if its hullbe damaged, it can be completely cut off from the body of the boat, while navigation could be carried on from below. Algeria has four sones in which petroleum occurs. One of them is 125 miles long.

to its own officials will be subject to her convenience. Fortunately there Is room in the Pacific for two cables. The construction of the British line will not in the least diminish the necessity for an American one. Hawaii will still remain isolated until we link her to the contnent Secretary Gage is complaining now that he does not know what to do with the surplus. Congress can relieve him of a little of his embarrassment at its next session by making an appropriation for a government Pacific cable.—San Francisco Examiner. •

RATES ARE REASONABLE.

A Impremlnn Corraeted FaaAmerican Exposition Railroad Varna and Hotel Bates Law as Cais ka Bxnaatad. Buffalo, N. T„ July 30.—A Joint meeting of railway passenger agents, hotel and newspaper men was held this afternoon with the view of adopting some means for correcting so far as possible the impression that appears to prevail at distant points that railway rates to the Pan-American Exposition are high and that hotel rates in Buffalo are excessive. The conference revealed the fact that Buffalo can accommodate two hundred thousand visitors in its private houses and ho tels at rates ranging from fifty cents to two dollars per night, and that no one need pay more than one dollar for a first-class lodging in a private house. It was also shown that the railroad rate is lower than for any former exposition for a five, ten or fifteen day ticket, according to distance, being at the rate of one fare plus one dollar for the round trip, from all parts of the country. The Niagara Falls cheap, one-day special excursions of former years, when trains were overcrowded and everyone subjected to great discomfort, are remembered only so far as the low rate is concerned, and this is quoted as showing what might be done. The passenger agents assert that the present half rates are as low as can reasonably be expected. An extension of the present limit has been looked for, as it gives too short a time for anyone td see the big exposition, but it has not yet been modified. Other points which the representatives of the publishers* association will lay stress upon are that the Exposition is com- , pleted in all details and f that both Buffalo and the Exposition are well policed and as free from dangerous characters as any city in the country. A Joint committee was appointed to deal with questions affecting the Exposition and the proper welcome and care of guests. The Exposition has had in operation for some time a free bureau of information for the convpnience of intending visitors.

An Unexcelled Tourist Resort.

The Highlands of Ontario are now so favorably known by the summer traveler and those looking for a place to spend the hot summer months that some of the districts are becoming so popular that the hotel accommodation . has to be added to each year. Thour sands of people annually go up into the Muskoka Lakes District, and no one is ever disappointed at the beauties that are there and the healthgiving propensities of the pure air. The altitude of Muskoka—l,ooo feet above sea level—endows it with all the advantages obtainable among the mountains, while as a matter of course it lacks nothing in so far as lakes and islands are concerned. In fact it possesses a variety of attractions, any one of which would be more than sufficient to make it dear to the hearts of its summer habitues. Standing high above the plane of humidity, the immense expanse of country is, favored by cooling breezes from the broad bosom of the Georgian Bay, whose waters wash its western limits. The district is located about 100 miles north of the city of Toronto, and can be reached from Buffalo in less than seven hours and from Toronto in three hours, and the farthest points on the lakes are reached at a reasonable hour the same day. Perfect immunity from Hay Fever is assured. Handsomely illustrated descriptive publications of the several districts comprising the “Highlands of Ontario,** are issued by the Grand Trunk Railway System and can be had free on application to J. H. Burgis, C. P. A T. A., Chicago.

Their Descent Traced from Adam.

Popular interest in Albert Judson Fisher’s unique love story, ”A Daughter of Adam,” in The Ladies* Home Journal has been increased tenfold since it became known that the genealogical part of tne story is not fie- ■ tion, but fact. Not only is the marvelous line of descent, traced through 121 generations from Adaip and Eve, absolutely genuine, but also the family names of the characters are the names of real people, for the line is actually that of Mr. and Mrs. John Smith Sargent, of Chicago, and Mrs. Sargent was formerly Miss Frances Moore, of Warren, Rhode Island. Even stranger still is that fact that, as shown in the story, Mr. ana Mrs. Sar- * gent had the same ancestor eight generations back.

Born in Home City.

Statistics show that of the population of Paris only 26 per cent are na- , tives, whereas the figures for the other capitals of Europe are as follows: St Petersburg, 40 per cent; fieri id, 41 per cent; Viennh, 45 per cent, and London, 65 per cent.

Are You Ulins Allan’s Foot-Easot?

It is the only cure for Swollen, Smarting, Burning, Sweating Feet, Corns and Bunions. Ask for Allen’s Foot-Ease, a powder to be shaken into the shoes. At all Druggists and Shoe Stores, 25c. Sample sent FREE. Address Allen S. Olmsted, Leßoy, N. Y. t

Plerpont Morgan a Mathamatician.

J. Pierpont Morgan was for several years a student at the University of Gottingen, and there won distinction 41 and a notable prize for excellence as a mathematician. If a lead wire will sustain a weight of twenty-eight pounds a copper wire of the same thickness will uphold 302 pounds and one of iron 343 pounda.