Rensselaer Republican, Volume 21, Number 46, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 July 1889 — WOMEN FOR WAR. [ARTICLE]

WOMEN FOR WAR.

Legitime Recruiting Women and Thereby Increasing His Army—Yellow Ftver. A correspondent at Port-au-Prince, under date of June 29, sends the following in regard to the Haytian affairs, which was received Thursday. Matters are going to an extreme in Hayti. for Legitime is arming women and placing them in the rankß. He is resorting to everything possible to strengthen his positien, which is far stronger than currently reported. Yellow fever is prevailing, though not to an alarming extent. It is even said that many of the supposed cases are not contagious. People, however, are dying in all aorta of out-of-the-way 'places, and daily rounds of men are sent out with carts to find ... the dead. The bodies gathered in the day are: all buried in the same hole, no semblance of a funeral service being given. Port-au-Prince presents just now a filthy appearance. The concentration of Legitime’s forces in the place is partly the cause of this. No attention appears to be paid to the dumping of garbage, the piles o 7 which in some parts of the streets emit a most sickening Btench. The ships in the offing get the full benefit of it when the land breezes begin to blow at night. About the guard-house old men may be seen hobbliDg at nearly all tirpes of the day. They come to encourage the sons and have it appear that the fathers of the lads do not lack lor patriotism. Legitime’s army is made up of troops ranging in ages all the way from fourteen to forty-five. All the available male population appears to be doing service, and in coDseqnence the home work is almost entirely neglected. Hippolyte, on the contrary, is leaving kt home as many of tho men as he can possible spare, and in this way assures the continuance of work on the farms and in the town. The women serving in the rankß of Legitime’s troops can be readily picked out by a close observer, as their faces do not possess the hardened features of the men. _ The women are known to the officers and to most of the troops, and are shown, considerable attenttion by their comrades. They dress in male attire, and appear to stand the hardships well. They are said to be all young girls, and many of them mistresses of toe soldiers. The "defeat of Hippolyte appears to be ont of the question. All of his troops are between the ages of 18 and 35, which leaves a most efficient lot of men at home to carry on the supplying of the army.

Snakes as Bedfellows. Here is a story told by Thomas W, Knox in his “Boy Travelers” volume. It tells about tho pleasant little habit ti»e snakes have away out in Australia. Fred’s room was separated from mine by a thin partition. When Mr. Watson letL us Fred remarked that he •as quite ready for a goodxlcopras he was very tired. As he spoke lie turned down the bedclothes, anil then shouted for me to come quick. “Here’s a big snake in my bed!” said jC. “Come and help me kill him.” Mr. Watson heard tho remark, and hastened back before J could get to • here the snake was. “Don’t harm 'that snake,” said he; “it’s a pet, and 'Belongs to my brother. It's nothing jbut a carpet-snake.” With that. Fred cooled down, butj he said-hc didn’t want any such pet in his .foed, even if it was nothing but a car-pet-snake. The serpent, which was .fully ten feet long, raised its head lazily and then put it down again, as if it was quite satisfied with the situation and did not wish to bo disturbed. Mr. Watson explained that the snake had no business there, and without morq ido he picked tho creature up by the oeck and dragged it off to a barret which he said was its proper place. ’After he had gone Fred and I put a board over the top of the barrel, to make sure that the reptile ilid not give jus a call during the night Poverty is said to make one acquainted with strange bedfellows, but poverty can’J Surpass Australian bush life, where a nan finds a snake la his bed quite toe 'often for comfort.