Rensselaer Republican, Volume 16, Number 2, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 September 1883 — Page 2

THE WESTERN SCHOOEMA'AM. BTBUOEffI J. HAUU Wot. raw vet overbold. , Wtt’iHier'hair like thre»<l» of gleaming gold, With eves of azure blue; With little hands, «*“• Just tanned a healthful brown— She. la the daisy of the place, I The flower of all the town. . With kindly words, with friendship warm, In aprons white snd clean. The children swarm about her form Like bees about their queen Bv love she moves and sways their hearts; They think her wondrous wise, ‘ And all her gracious sets and arts Seem perfect in their eyes. No smiles to them seem half so sweet. No frowns so hard to bear, . No looks of pity so complete. As those her features wear; No voice more dear than hers to hear, In poetry or prise; No praise more pleasant to the ear Than that which she bestows. The village boys, when she goes by, ’ Can scarcely speak or stir; She is the object of each eye They fairly worship her. Like some sweet fairy-sprite she §eems. A breath might blow away. The spirit of their midnight dreams. Their idol all the day. She draws them to the village-church Far more than sermon strong. With anxious eyes the choir they search; They look at her and long And, when with splendid voice she sings, Thev lose their heads in love; Their feverish fancies float on wings Beyond the clouds above. The grave old fathers of the town Gaze with admiring eyes, ““ When like an angel she comes down, They cannot hide their sighs. The buxom wives, with glances sour. Soon lead them from the place; For tney are jealous of Ijer power, /-. ; And envious of. her face. 1 Her soul is likes sparklinabrook ■ ■ That babbies on its wa'v Through sunny fields, through shady nook, Bv banks with blossoms gay. All day, at school, with patient grace She rules the noisy crowd; Then homeward walks with happy face And soul without a cloudin simple hat of plaited straw. In tasteful muslin gown. Her handsome face and foi m I saw _z_ While p-sting through the town. I watched her, while siie sweetly smiled, When children were dismissed; I wishedl were onee more a A cherub to be kissed!

THE CHARGE OF THE HOUNDS.

A terrible bit of news was carried Jrom mouth to mouth through the region that is now Alabama at the beginning of September, 1813. The country was at that time in the midst of the second war with Great Britain, and for a long time British agents had been trying to persuade the Creeks—-a powerful nation of half-civilized but very warlike Indians who lived in Alabama—to join in the war and destroy the white settlements in the Southwest. For some time the Creeks hesitated, and it was uncertain what they would do. But during the summer of 1813 they, broke out into hostility, and on tlie BOtli of August, their great leader, Weatherford, or the Bed Eagle, as they called him, stormed Fort Mims, the strongest fort in the Southwest. He _took the fort by surprise, with 1,000 ; warriors behind him r and after five hours of terrible fighting destroyed it, killing about 500 men, women and children. This was news that r startled the settlers in the region where the Alabama and Tombigbee rivers come together. It was certain, after such a massacre as that, that the Indians meant to destroy the settlements, and kill all the white people without mercy. In order to protect themselves and their families the settlers built rude forts by setting timbers endwise in the ground, and the people hurried to these places for safety.—Leaving their homes to be burned, their crops to be destroyed, and their cattle to be killed <>r carried off by the Indians, the settlers hastily got together what food they could and took their families into the nearest forts. One of the smallest of these stockade forts was called Sinquefield. It stood in what is now Clarke county, Ala., and as that region was very thinly settled, there were not enough men to make a strong force for the defense of the fort. But the brave farmersand hunters thought they could hold the place, and so they took their families there as quickly as they could. Two families, numbering seventeen persons, found it was not easy to go to Sinquefield on the 2d of September, and so, as they were pretty sure that there were -no Indians in their neighborhood, they made-up JtJwir minds to stay °ne more night at a house a fewmiles from the fort. That night they were attacked, and all but five of them were killed. Those who got away carried the news of what had happened to the fort 7 and a party was sent out to bring in the bodies. The next day all the people in Fort Sinquefield went out to bury their dead friends in a valley at some distance from the fort,and,strange as it seems, they took no arms with them. Believing there were no Indians near the place, they left the gates of the fortress open, and went out in a body without guns. As a matter of fact there was a large body of Indians not only very near them, but actually looking at them all the time. The celebrated Prophet Francis was in command, and in his sly way he had crept as near the fort as possible to look for a good chance to attack it. Making his men lie dowm and crawl like snakes, he had reached a point only a few hundred yards from the stockade without alarming the people, and now, while they stood around the graves of their friends without arms to defend themselves with, a host of their savage enemies lay looking at them from the grass and bushes on the hill. As soon as be saw the right moment had come, Francis sprang up with a savage war-cry, and at the head of his Warriors made a dash at the gates. He had seen that the men outside were unarmed, and his plan was to get to the gates before .they could reach tiiem. and thus get all the people of the’place at his mercy in ojien field and without arms to fight with. The fort people were quick to see what his purpose was, and the men hurried forward with all their might, hoping to reach the fort before the savages could get there. By running at the top of their speed they did this, and closed the gates in time to keep the.lndians out. But-to their horror they then saw that their wives and children were shut out too. Unable «P run so fast as the men had done, the women and children had fallen behind

and now the Indians were between them and the gates! Seeing that he had missed the chance of getting possession of the fort, Francisturned upon the women and children With savage delight in the thought of butchering these helpless creatures iu the sight of their husbands, fathers and brothers. It was a moment of terrors There was not half enough white men in the fort to master so large a force of Indians, and if there had beefi it was easy to see that by the time they could get their rifles and go to the rescue it would be too late. ' 4 At that moment the hero of this bit of history came upon the Scene. This was a young man by the name of Isaac Haden, He was a notable huntsman, who kept a famous pack of hounds—tierce brutes, thoroughly trained to run down and seize any live thing their master chose to chase. The young man had been out in search of stray cattle, and just, at the .moment when matters were at their worst, he rode up to the fort, followed by his sixty'ddgsi Isaac Haden had a cool head and a very daring spirit. He was in the habit of taking in a situation at a glance, deciding quickly what was to be done, and then doing it at any risk that might be necessary. As soon as Jie saw how the women and children were placed he cried out to his dogs, and at the head of the bellowing pack, charged upon the flank of the Indians. The dogs did--their work with a sp’rit equal to their master's. For each to seize a red warrior and drag him to the earth was the work of a moment, and the whole body of savage; was soon in confusion. Tor a time they had all they could do to defend tlflmiselves against the un-looked-for as-ault of the tierce animals and before they could Leat off the dogs the men of the fort came out and' joined the attack, so that the women and children had time to make their way inside the gates;—only one of them, a Mrs. Phillips having been killed. The men of course had to follow the women closely, as they were much too weak in numbers to risk a battle outside. If they had done so the Indians , would have overcome them quickly, and the fort and everybody in it would have been at their mercy, so they hurried into the fort as soon as the women were safe. . But the hero who had saved the people by. his quickness and courage was left outside; and not only so, but the savages were between him and the fort. He had charged entirely through the war party, and was now beyond their line, alone, and with no chance of help from any quarter. His hope of saving himself was very small indeed; but he had saved all those helpless women and little children, and he was a brave enough fellow to die willingly for such a purpose as that if he must. But brave men do not.gixmnp -easily,and young Haden did not mean to die without a last effort to save himself. Blowing a long blast upon his hunt-ing-horn to call his remaining dogs around him, he drew his pistols one in each hand—and plunged spurs into his horse’s, flanks. In spite of the numbers against him, lie broke through the mass of savages, but the gallant horse that bore him fell dead as he cleared the Indian ranks. Haden had fired both his pistols, and had no time to load them again. He was practically unarmed now, and the distance he still had to go before reaching the gates was considerable. _ His chance of escape seemed smaller than ever, but he quickly sprang from the saddle, and ran with all his might, hotly pursued, and under a terrific fire from tho rifles of the savages. The gate was held a little way open for him to pass, and when he entered the fort his nearest pursuers were so close at his heels that there was barely time for the men to shut the gate in their faces. Strangely enough, the brave young fellow was not hurt in any way. Five"bullets had passed through his clothes, but his skin was not broken. — Harper's Young People.

A Wedding Fee.

Bev. Dr. Samuel E. Appleton, of Philadelphia, tells the following story at his own expense F A young couple called on him one day and asked him to marry them. He saw no objections,and in a few moments they were man and w-ife; Thedelighted and happy groom then walked reluctantlytoward thy minister gud asked. “Doctor, how much is your fee?” “I have no fix ed price, but 'gen er ally receive slo.’-' was the answer. The bright smile of the Jersey groom seemed to leave him then; but, bracing himself, he said: “You see. doctor, lam a little short at present, but would like very much to pay you. I am a bird fancier, and amrimpoTtiifg a lot of educated parrots from London, Now, instead of paying you hi cash, suppose I present you with one of these birds or their arrival ?’’ “I should be glad to have parrot,” admitted the doctor. ” “Well, it's agreed then. I'll send you one in a few days; but have you a cage to put the bird in?” ' “No, I have not. How much does a cage cost?” "Oh, you can get a good one for $2.50,” was the reply. Without any further remarks Dr. Appleton handed the “benedict” the required amount, and he departed. The doctor has never since heard or seen anything of the groom, bride, par rot, cage or the $2.50.

An Iron Town.

Ishpeming, Mich., is an iron town. Its population is said to be 5,000, though one wonders where. they can all stay. There is' iron everywhere. It is shoe deep in the dust of the streets. It sparkles on the sidewalk like-frost on unspotted smm'." It is~ln~Tliediii\ It isin the kitchen, and you feel thte grit of it in your dinner. It is on people’s faces—the women have red hair, -and the men are bald, of course. Iron is king, and it might not be out of the way to remhrk that iron is God. Babies are named by the ores. Here is “Specular” Jones and “Magnetic?” ' Brown, “Kidney" Mortimer and “Hematite” Smith.— Cor. Transcript. The he are about thirty thousand Christian Indians in the United States, one-half of whom are Baptists.

THE PONY EXPRESS.

How the Mails Were Carried Across the - Continent Before the Bailroads Were Built. I From the San Francisco Al'ta.J > A. B. Miller, the prime mover, the man who prepared the way and kept, it Tni -running order Trdm tlie Missouri the Pacific, is now a resident of this jcity, and his hair is only streaked with gray, so fast do things change in the West. In an early day the firm of Russell, Majors, Waddell & Co., were among the largest contractors in the United States, their business sometimes amounting t 056,000,000 annually. Mr. Miller was tlie “C 0 the youngest meniber of the Wriff, wndMnrTwgFeaF measure the. life of it. Mails were very irregular, the stage lines taking a weekly, which was sometimes lost, in fact was extremely fortunate to get through. This was conducted at a tremendons ■ Cost. ■ There was grea t rivalry between the stage and ocean lines, the latter strugglin'; for contracts for taking the mails tronr New York by steamer to the Isthmus, across this, and again by steamer up the Western coast. The mail which went overland went.by the Northern route through New Mexico and Arizona. The contracting firm above mentioned had controTxrf-the central route, by K eArney, Julesburg, Fort Laramie and Salt Lake. insisted that this route was impraeticable.andthe ideaof adaily mail over it was pooh-poohed most vigorously. Mr. Miller persuaded his more conservative partners that such a mail could be carried. From this ideagrew the pony express, the fame of which Was soon world wide. He was given two months, February and March, 1861, to equip the line with stock and stations, which he did at a cost of SBO,OOO. It was thought that the line would support itself, so the proprietors expected nos to be out more than the original investment. It cOnld hardly be said that it did pay, but it demonstrated what could be done, and encouraged the railroad and the. wire to follow in its wakfi. Previous to this time there had been limited express lines of this kind, but nothing on so gigantic a scale. Mr. Miller had been over the route enough to know what had been done. He said that Salt Lake could be reached from St. Joe in ten days, and the coast in five days more.

On April 3 the , ponies were started from’ each end of the line. By this time the confidence of Miller had proved- infectious * and Bussell was just as confident. The New York steamer company was confident, too, but not in the same way. So a bet was made. It was a pretty good-sized bet, being for $50,000 a side. The race began and was watched with breathless interest. Station after station was passed. The pony from the ocean and the pony froin flie~vallev panted toward each other, with the hundreds of miles between them melting away. At each station there was another horse saddled and rider ready spurred. —The —mail-bagwas tossed from one to the other, a-d on sped, like the wind, the fresh horse and rider. One boy on the ■ first trip was lost in a canon of snow. For four precious hours he wandered, Then he started on with desperate vigor. Another was lost in the Platte. The horse he rode was drowned. The rider swam out with his mail and footed it to the next station. Here his relief was in waiting, and the flight was taken up again. Would the riders and the horses, with their daring and energy, win? Would the accident and the strangeness of the trial make them lose? No one could tell. The days passed. The ponies neared each other. They passed. The riders gave a wild hurrah. On and on; whip and spur. Ten days are gone, and the ponies have kept up to the mark. Fifteen. At 4 o'clock the westward-bound must be in Sacramento. The noon has passed, and the minutes are being counted. Half-past 3. Will the brave rider be on hand? As yet there is no sign. With only thirty minutes to spare Bussell wants to double his bet. Then a speck of dust is seen. It grows to a cloud. •The rider waves his hat. The people shout. The pony express has crossed the great American desert. Victory ! There is still twenty minutes

grace. This_speed was always kept up just as if therewere $50,000 at -stake daily. It was the same for months. When the complications of the war turned everything upside dbwn, the riders went to do battle, the stations were abandoned, contracts went to other hands, and grass grew over the trail. But soon the stage used it and the telegraph line was not fax- behind,while those who have rushed across the plains by steam know what followed these innovations. The charges for carrying letters were $5 per oiihce or fraction thereof, This was afterward reduced to half that amount, and then a sort of paper known as -“pony express” was invented, its best point being that it weighed almost nothing. The contents of an eightpage paper could be written upon it and sent for $2.50. The income of the concern while running averaged SSOO. per day. Some very valuable documents were carried, and in every case arrived in good order. Englandwits at that time’having a lib tie argument with China. Reports from the English squadron in Chinese waters to the Home Government were carried by this route, it being the quickest and safest. One of these official papers weighed so much that the charges upon it were $135.

A Curious Monkey Story.

' A brave, active, intelligent terrier belonging to a lady one day discovered a monkey belonging to an it inerant orgnu-grittder-seated upon a bank withm-the grounds, and at once made a dash toward him. The monkey, who was attired in a jacket and hat, awaited the onset with such undisturbed tranquillity that the dog halted within a few feet of him to reconnoitre. Both animals took a long; 1 steady Stare at .each other, but the dog evidently was recovering from his surprise, and about to make a spring for the intruder. At this critical juncture, the monkey, who had remained perfectly <luiet hitherto, raised his paw and gracefully saluted by lifting his hat. Efae effect was magical; the dog’s

! head and tail dropped, and he sneaked oft and entered the house, refusing to ' leave it till he was satisfied that his ' polite but mysterious guest had cte- ' parted; His whole demeanor showed I plainly that he felt the monkey was i something “uncanny,” and riot to be i meddled with

A Lion Story.

. “Y<su see‘that corn moving;” i “Of course I do.” ! “Well, that is the tail of the lion | beating the corn. ” , 1 i We. wisely halted to learn the enemy’s intentions, when, with incomprehensible stupidity, one of the Arabs shouldered his rifle and shot it off in thp direction of the lion. Even if that rifle hud been a Pevismes or a Lepage, un- : less the Arab had hit the lion between the eyes, the only result was the wounding and exciting of the lion. The consequences had not long to be waited for. The lion instantly began bounding forward in fearful strides, and our courage being equal toTlie' occasion, we climbed up the nearest tree as quickly as we could, considering discretion.’.the-, better part of valor. . But the lion had seen us, and he approached like a steam enginie. As late would have it, he looked round ami chose the tree' on which I sat with two Zouaves, roaring tremendously; and wildly beating the air with his tail. He then wenUi few steps back, never for tlie moment losing sight of us, and with a .sudden bound jumped at the tree add tore a big bit of bark and “woodont and shook us in the branches Tikes grapes. A second time he tried Hie same experiment with-a-rage-grandr to beho'd; but, after a third time, failing to break the trunk, which, fortunately, was a very solid one, or to make us fall down, he began, first, in a large circe, then gradually in narrower ones, to pace round the tree, his tail always in the air ready to strike. Hp never for a moment turned his eye away from the inhabitants of tlie leafy roof. I confess here. that I did not feel comfortable, and if any one tells you lie met a lion and he was"perfectly calm and composed, take his narration ciiiii gi ano salis..----- -.

We felt a curious sensation with this monster so near and seemingly so determined to wait any length of time, for he looked up with the clearest possible expression, as much as to sAy: “You just come down, you cowards, and let us have a fair fight; we will soon see who will get the best of it.” Ami he continued slowly walking around the tree, watching us as if to espy every movement of ours. A t last he marched so slowly and so near, always holding up hipproud, majestic head, that I said to my comrades: “We have six good shots. The next time he comes within my range I shall surely take aim atid iniss him, do not be rash, wait your chance—one ofTisTnnstkiHjrim;”When he neared me I took aim slowly and cautiously, knowing the danger if I failed. One second more—-I pressed the, trigger,._the ball went straight in at the corner of his eye, and he fell. Now the question was, Was he dead, or did he, as they often do, pretend and lie motionless? t The jilood, however, flowed freely, and he seemed not to have any life, when one of the Zouaves said: “ Si, monsieur, me donne cent francs (£4), je descends et je lui donne son reste. ” I said: “I will give you the amount with pleasure, *but I do not wish you to risk your life for a paltry sum, because if he is not quite dead you are dead the monlent you come near him. ” Well, the man thought he would risk it, being of opinion the beiist was dead. He descended, his rifle under his arm, his finger on the trigger, but as he, with the : utmost caution, neared the lion r a violent, spasmodic stroke with the tail macle us fear that it was all over with the mam At this critical moment he let the whole charge in at the lion’s ear, and, fortunately, killed it. Then, of course, we all came down, and now the Arabs began insulting him: “You robber, you thief, you stole my sheep, you murdered my lamb,” -etc. I don’t know whether the lion despised calumny, but he replied nothing, which seems the most practicable means of silencing gossiping tongues, and, after cutting his head off, which was bornein triumph into the village, this exciting event was over. 'fenlple Bar.

Keep Your Cellars Clean.

i -&Tlidsfi; -iwlib ‘Kvei; rii- .ehatgm-tire care of the household should frequently think of their celluts, ami. though they may not be often exposed to the eyes of strangers, take care that they are always kept in a cleanly condition, free from amqoyances and nuisances of all kinds. A tidily-kept cellar lias much to do with the health of a family, especially in the spring of the year, or 1 wherever “heaters” arc introduced into i Imuses. No vegetables, except pota- ! toes, should be stored in the cellar. Especially should cabbages, beets, cel-ery-and turnips be excluded. All these are offensive in and injurious to health, while at the same time they tire all preserved in a much 1 superior manner out of doors. A cellar should be thoroughly whitewas'.ied once a year and swept and put in order twice a month. The air in a properlykept cellar will not become impure when the Weather becomes sufficiently'cold to render necessary the closing-up of the windows; while, on the other hand, the air of a cellar so closed up, wlp'ch is- untidily kept and filled with vegetables, some of them in a decayed state, may well be imagined. All cellars* however, shoiild have the outside doors thrown open for an hour or two at midday upon clear days, when the ' tempCrat ire is above the freezing point. 1 —Germanto>’-n Telegraph.

Papa Shaving.

A litt’e 3-ve„r-old, whose father did : not use a razor, wa< recently. while on' | a visjt to an aunt, greatly interested in ■ seeing her um-le shave. him intently for a few minutes, she ■ said, “Uncle, what'do you do that for? Papa don’t wash his fade with a little broom, and wipe it with a knife.”Tont/ds Companion. - " Th® Swiss railroad companies now cover a portion of their carriages with •a phosphorescent preparation, which makes them yiaible at night. *z••• . . • »

LONGEVITY.

THe Causes Which Are Productive of Eong -f Else. /■ ■ We extract the following interesting remarks on longevity from Pinnock’s ’’Guide to Knowledge “Notwithstanding all that has been written on this subject, it may fairly be affirmed that nothing has yet been done toward making the slightest approach to a real rationale of thecauses which are productive of years. Shallow empirics, in evil abundance, have laid down their infallible rules for the preservation of health, and for the promulgation of life to an extreme old age, and, having saved their nostrums or their books and pocketed the money of their dupes, have afforded the best evidence of their utter ignorance upon the subject, by failing in their own especial persons to reach even the average number of years of the human existence. What most strongly and strikingly shows the folly of laying down systematic rules for the promulgation of life to an old age is this, that among the persons who are recorded to have attained to the greatest term of years, have been people of all the varieties of rank, employment and circumstances. If wfe insist upon invariable temperance as an iiidispensible requirement towards the attainment of fulness of years, we are at once met by the fact that Thomas Parr, who lived above a century and a -half, had been, iu early life, anything but an abstemious or even temperate man, and that Lew Cornaro. who died at 1 Off-years of age, had reached the half of those years before he ceased to be guilty of such gross gluttony and irregularly, that his physicians anticipated his almost instant decease. But this objection we shall show to.be rather specious than solid. “If we insist upon comfort—regularity and nourishing though plain diettruth plucks us by the slebve and reminds us that Parr and Jenkins, whose nge._was 170 years save -one,--depended for their support upon the charity which they had to encounter all weathers to solicit, and which was not always accorded to their solicitations. Has climate any specific and infallible influence in the matter? In extreme cases it undoubtedly has. Sierra Leone has no nonagenarians even to speak of, and the coast of Devonshire and the sweet vales of Montpelier are undoubtedly’ possessed of both the air and the the soil which are to the_.lniman...frame; than the marshes of Missolinghi or the simoom-swept deserts of the East. But if anyone feels inclined to go beyond this, and to say in this or in that place the specific climate is to be found in which man will infallibly inhale the principle of long life, let him only just cast his eye over the diversity of climates in which the long livers there namedhaveexisted:

Name. Age. Place. Albuna Hare 1.'.0,.. .Ethiopia. Titus Fulbaiius..... - .7.... W.... Jjenonia. Abraham Paiba .142... AfeuafCarolina. Dumitur Radulv. Mo.. Transylvania. James Sand 140.... Staffordshire. Wife of ditto 120... .Staffordshire. Henry Jenkins 169... .Yorkshire. Thomas Pair. 152... .Shropshire. Francis Bou.s; . .... . . . . 121.,..France. A. G01d5mith............. 142.... France. ... Margaret Patten..... .1:18.... Scotland. William Ellis ...... . .130... .Liverpool, ehrrstfanr Drakenberg... ,146... .Norway. Richard IJoyd '. 133.... Wales. James Hayley 112. Cheshire. John Wilson. 116....5uff01k. Lewis Cornaro W 0.... Venice. Jane Reeve ;• 113... .Essex. Marquis of Winche <ter.. .116.... Hampshire. Agnes Milburne 116... .London. Perhaps we cannot more agreeably conclude this brief notice of the subject than by quoting from a clever contemporary the reply of an Italian, who, being asked in his 116th year the means by which he attained to so advanced an age, replied with the ready versification for which the Italians are so remarkable : Con inantiar brocoli Porfar a i pedi zoccoli; In tetto cancllo Pocbi pensieoi in cervello. Signifying, if our free translation may oe pardoned: When hungry of the best I eat, And dry and warm I keep my feet; 1 scree n my head from sun ami rain. And let few caresj>erple.x my brain.,

Jere Black’s Boyhood.

He was one day riding along the country-road toward a neighbor’s house with a companion a year br mbre older than himself. He had just returned from the winter’s school at Somerset, and wa«4n the eomiug-faU-tp-realize his heart s desire—to be sent away to an institution where there were greater opportunities for learning the higher branches of an English education than about home. -I am going away to school for two years,” said young Black te his companion, as they rode along. The boy looked at him in astonishment, for he had always held, the speaker to be a prodigy, and was wont to say, when the country lads asked information about anything: “Ask Jerry Blacky he knows everything.” “Why. ain’t you learnt through yet?” he inquired, when he recovered from his astonishment that Black was going to waste more time over books. “Why.no; I’ve hardly begun,” was the reply. The boy cast a sort of half-pitying glance at Black and said: “Jerry, if you don’t stop this ; book-nonsense soon, you’ll be a lawyer yet.”—Biograp/iical Sketch. , , •

China’s Strides in Civilization.

J. W. Bookwaiter, candidate for Governor of Ohio in IHBI, has made an extensive tour around the world, covering a period of fourteen months. He traveled over 6,000 miles in India, from the Himalayas to Ceylon, and visited all the principal islands of the Indian archipelago, including Sumatra and Borneo, -lie unvoted a good deal of tnne-to Chi—na and Japan, and said he was surprised to find what a people the Chinese are. Ilesaw everywhere evidences of the strides they are making in shipbuilding and naval matters. They-now control fully half the carrying trade of their coast, and are absorbing the banking trade and other interests hitherto handled solely by<oreigners. Already the cry iA being raised, “the English must go.” and it will be agitated as thoroughly in China as the anti-Chi-nese movement in California. Russia is determined th obtain control of the

Amour river, and eventually grab C<>rea, and is beginning to colonize the region traversed by the Amour with that'end in view; but the Chinese, dfr offset that, have also begun to colonizfq and, as the five provinces in the vieinifV* of Pekin alone have 125,000,000 inhabitants, 2,000,000 a year can easily bo spared for that purpose. As a result, 1 the, Chinese will undoubtedly absorb the country.— Cincinnati Enquirer.

The Egg Machine.

The hen is literally an egg machine, her chief purpose being the production of eggs. Like any other kind of machine, she must have the raw material, with which to manufacture her products, and unless her wants in that respect are fully supplied she frill be valuable only according io the degree with which she is used. She has also a. limit to her capacity and should n «t bo expected to perform service beyond her ability, but should, however, be kept in constant running order sb long as she is 1 needed by her owner. The material upon which she should work must vary according to the requirements of the manufactured article, and, as her instinct teaches her how to select, all that is necessary is to place within her reach that which she desires, and everything' will be well. To produce an egg the hen must havea certain kind of food for the yelk or fat portion, known as carbonaceous, and. for the white she needs foorhjdch in nitrogen, from which she makes albumen. For the shell she needs lime, while many other substances eiiter jn t o the composition which it is unnecessary . to. detail, the omission of any of them being de trim en tai to good work on her ■part. Thus, while we may feed a lien liberally, apparently, by omitting that which is needecL-to complete the process, she may remain idle for want of a. single substance, though fully supplied with everything else. She often gives indications of her wants, for the “softshelled eggs,” .occasionally noticed, admonish the breeder that lime in some shape is heeded. The change of color in their comb and wattles, the drooping of the wings and the anxious, nervous ' appearance are all signs that something .. is radically wrong, for when the productive organs are not healthy the vigor of the fowl is likewise affected by such derangements. . ... - How important is it, then, to endeavor to keep different kinds of raw material" within reach of the hen in order to realize from her all that she can do as an egg machine. She is specially adapted for that purpose, and her health is better when she is in good laying condition than at any other time. Every machine jsooner or later wears out, and in order to keep them in working order--they are oiled and carefully watched, but the hen attends to her own details if supplied with material, as she- is a living factory for; egg production. If she wears out she supplies her place with her descendants, and is ever ready to act well her part if her owner will do likewise. — Farm, Field and Fireside.

Where it Never Rains, but Fours.

While the lack of water in Arizona is one of the most serious annoyances to the railroad, the presence of too much water is one of the railroad’s gravest dangers. This is easily explained, paradoxical as it may seem. The sudden and furious storms which change dry gulches into torrents and surge against the railroad dump with tremendous force present one of the most curious. and difficult problems in the maintenance of the railroad. You look out upon a stretch of sand glistening in the sun. Here and there are fissures and channels baked and dyy. It is the picture of a dusty, parched waste. Not a drop of water is to be seen. Suddenly the sky is covered with black clouds. The rain descends like myriads of swift-ly-advancing lances. The landscape before and behind is hidden by gray sheets of water pouring from the skies. Against the car windows the raindrops rush Avith the violence of bullets. There' is a savage intensity in the storm which is fairly appalling. The train slackens its-speed as though beaten back by tho onslaught of the storm god. Water enters at the cracks of the. doors, and you look anxiously at the windows, expecting them to give way before the rush of the tempest. You hear nothing save the rain rattling like file firing and the roar of. the atorm. Presently a lullciimefr find you are enabled to look out. Where is your parched desert? Along the sides of the track-leap angry rivers, turbid and foaming, tearing at the embankment like -wild beasts seeking release from their prison walls and rushing at length madly through the culverts, lashing right and left with terrible force. The dry fissures in the soil are filled with eddying torrents, the sandy beds of sunken riyers are covered'with a mighty tide, and on the low plains lie floods of sullen water, whose wrath is spen t. —Their the sun comes out. Soon the torrents run more feebly, and in a short time the desert is parched and bare as before. — Cor. Boston. Herald.

A Stamp on a Newspaper.

“Do you wish that sent to the dead letter office ?” said a clerk at a stamp window in the postoffice pleasantly, as he noticed a gentleman affixing a stamp to a newspaper. “I can’t say that I do,” was the reply. “Why?” “Because you are evidently unaware that a sealed package is not carried by the United States mails for 1 cent.” “This is not a sealed package.” “Excuse me, sir, but it is. The stamp is partly on the wrapper and partly on the newspaper, and tjjie Postoffice Department has very properly decided that that makes it a sealed package. Packages of that kind may get through to their destination occasionallv, but it is in violation of the ini e. It is very convenient 1 to fasten a newspaperin "its wrapper in that way, but it should not be done." — Sun. - j . A fashion item says: “Trains are still ruched.” Trains are still derailed and telescoped occasionally, too,— Norristou-n Herald. Kino Solomon’s lodge of Masons of Charlestown, Mass., is the oldest Masonic body in this country.