Rensselaer Republican, Volume 26, Number 28, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 March 1894 — Page 6

TOPICS OF THESE TIMES.

Toon CAT*I POOR fNH)«I There are terrible time* ahead for eat* and do#*. Were they endowed with intelligence and reasoning power*, a* man)' will contend they are, there surely would be a general exodus of these dumb companion* of nan's domestic Jlfe. Progressive science continues to reach out after the unattainable, ever seeking to throttle death in bis last combat with the fragile human frame, and ever seeking victims for its cruel experiments to test the value of Its alleged discoveries. Recently orre Dr, Moore, of New York, gave to the world a positive antidote for morphine poisoning in permaganate of potash, and gave the reason for tiefaith that was in hirn by a conclusive test on hts own person before a number of eminent M. D's. The whole performance was a conclusive demonstration that permaganate of potash, in the proper quantity, if administered within one hour after the •wallowing of a fatal dose of morphine by a human subject, would as suredly save the person’s life. Since that eventful day thfi numberof eat* and dogs that have journeyed hence into that happy land where clinics are unknown would keep a sausage feclory supplied with material for an Bogs of allweigbfe and cats of every shade and grade of vocal power have vanished hence as helpless sacridees upon the bloody altar of scientific investigation. Great results have been achieved. It has been shown that a 14 pound dog j under the influence of morphine j went to sleep. The same dose administered to a cat of undetermined weight caused fits of an aggravated character. Then the permaganate | of potash was administered to the dog several times by an injection. It woke hirn up and he got mad about it. The cat. was already-Jo~ marl because of the morphine that the effect of the permaganate upon its anatomy was not tested. A <lO pound dog enjoyed at} excellent nap on the ; strength of the stated dose of mor- ) plilne, and hwslumbers were not at all disturbed by several potash injections. Trifles were not troubling that dog at that time, aY»d in due course he awoke none the worse for the experience. What has all this to do with permaganate of potash as an antidote for morpliiuu in the djytapn system? Nothing. Who said it had? At present we arc discussing eats and dogs. The results of all the experiments seem to prove that if eats and dogs are determined to commit suicide by morphine there is no scientific antidote to prevent it. but a larger dose will be required than for a human subject.

WASTED ENERGY.

—No hi s toryof Indiana wHI ever be complete that does not contain an account of the numerous valuable inHl Hites on tier beautiful streams and rivers -an apparently unlimited source of wealth that Nature had bestowed with lavish hand upon the Canaan fair that in virgin beauty lay before the hardy Ifoosier pioneers, The swift and rippling streams for ages had served as highways for the red man’s light canoe, and all their darkling pools and whirling eddies had but served as spawning grounds for countless bass and luscious salmon that unharmed from year to year disported in the amber depths or leaping showed their silver scales in sunshine bright and sank again beneath the circling waves that followed to the moss grown bank a silent witness to their acrobatic skill. The white man came, and with him change. The peaceful streams were harnessed to the iron beams, their pristine beauty marred and soiled —their charm in many places gone beyond the power of even Nature to restore. The mills grind ori. A generation passes, and in countless cases they are given over to decay and ruin and desolation. Water power is no longer profitable and where Once the burn of Industry was heard the livelong day there now the waters sing a requiem to the blasted hopes of those who fondly saw a fortune In the running stream that ceaselessly passed by, Uo swift has been this trarrSf/'/creation scene that the writer reat least three valuable water yrw«r% that were established within thirty years, served their brief day tA ftUJnU) decay and are *PHkty intveoesof desolation, mute wlfawi**#- to turn** frailty and weakthe all-pz/werful genii, turn token- pl*m, grater mills (U/m Keen ereetoif a*vl the stream* noi <ft,H water dm rn f^anato-darw<vr*ld aspwrt- awpe-wed .<**#* the streams rthndition-, though dHttHfft>«!* conf.i.niev $/y M? if#* s*v indefinlne p$rML: Jut# mart the finiWritf* AUUUi m* frnWv gr I/'." ''ja vwtvw vw sir L: V;

electrical transmission of power, am water powers would become a source of profit. Niagara has been harnessed to dynamos at fabulous expense and Buffalo is to be supplied Iwith power at a nominal charge. Chicago is already contemplating a similar disposition of the enormous Wstxr^wer "that w \ 11 soon be at b<• r disposal at the lower end of the main drainage channel now being construtted. This is estimated at 60, fJO6 horse power, or 1 double that at Minneapolis. All signs indicate a revival of the use of water {sewer, it being no longer necessary to have the mills and factories at the lower end of a mltijrace in dangerous prox Unity to. high water, and owners of this class of property have every reason to hope for an early appreciation In the vahieof their holdings.

A BOUT SILVER.

From the weekly market letter of Messrs. Clapp & Co., bankers and brokers of New York, we clip the following interesting information concerning the white metal that forms the basis for so much of our ‘ ‘cussing’' and currency: Tfje mines of the United States yielded 138.491,521 Worth of silver in 1893 or about 1 440th part of the value of the entire production of the United States for the same year, and about 1 4140th part, of the total clearings reported for the United States in the same year. The production about equalled 'ls.B.per cent, of the wtton value, 6.5 per cent, of the corn, 1.88 per cent, of the coal, about the same a:; the copper, 4.26 per cent, of the cattle and vows, 4.7 per cent, of the dairy product, 12.8 per cent, of the hogs, about equalled tobacco, w;e less than half-that of wool, 17.84 per cent, that of wheat, was about 10. per cent, more than gold, was less than lime, stone or petroleum, fish or seeds, considerably less than onethird that of the average value of the potato crop and about 1.0 per cent, of the average value of the oat crop each year for the past six years, and the aggrega’e value of the manufactured product each year according to the census officials is 220 times as great as the silver product of 1803. The generally accepted valuation of Mexican silver producer] in 1803 wits about 42 millions. Mexican and other authorities call it 45, or more, millions; it may not equal ours. Australasia's production in 1803 was 28.2 per Cent, as much as ours, and for three years averaged! about 21.4 per cent.

A BAPTIST HERETIC.

President Harper, of the Uni verity of Chicago, in a recent lecture on the “Deluge”, at that institution, made some very re markable - assertions for an orthodox Baptist, as he is supposed to be from the distinguished position he occupies. The prophets under the old dispensation, Mr. Harper said, did not predict future manner generally supposed, by direct inspiration from Cod, but based their prophecies on the condition of the human race at that period, and upon events transpiring In their day and to their knowledge, following these incipient causes to an ultimate logical result by their own reasoning powers. Dr. Harrier denied that the story of “the sons of Cod and thedaughtersof men” was true, either scientifically or historically, and pronounced the recorded events leading up to the flood as myths that cannot be accepted, characterizing them as superstitions ruinous to religion—degrading, monstrous and baneful in their Influence. The story, Mr. Harper says, teaches the awful consequences of sin and gives a fitting introduction to the deluge, but it is simply a story and nothing more. There are many good people of all denominations who will regard such utterances as the rankest heresy, no matter from whom emanating, dngcrsoll himself could hardly express sentiments more directly antagonistic, to the generally accepted theory of the Christian belief in the divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures. . ‘

BUNSBY AHOY!

From the weekly market letter of a firm of NeW York brokers we clip the following high-flown'senti* merits: “Invisible power TiUt "forniß to the visible, for use. Debts to the unseen are paid by decay, flumati and other machinery never much outlasts its useful purpose. To load either with burdens of poverty or taxation is to curtail national benefactions. The full life of either is never offered but once. Nature sometimes extends her loans if appreciated. Even machines will work longer if. well used/’ This may be classed with an opinion once delivered by the celebrated Jack Bunsby, the “bearing of which Jepcnds Upon the application //a V' _

Tfie Hev. Charles Edwards, of ¥rta<mrs i '-h. 1., an obscure Hantist published a book hi- wbi/b b*t rank anarchy. A f*tl appear* on the title page.

BESIEGED BY WOLVES.

$ ..y..n - W**hinfvm Po*t. ; v r There resides in Washington a lady whp years ago was the benwne of a night among wolves in a Rock/ mountain State where she had accompanied her husband, with three small children, in a mining venture. She Vas Tiardly twenty-five years old, and though in excellent physical condition did not weigh much more than 100 pounds. She was all pluck, a fact she was not aware of until she was told. Affluently reared, and knowing nothing about “roughing it,” she fell at once into a life the reverse of this. Her fiusbahd having located on what appeared and in time proved—to be a productive mining section, she determined to go and share life with him.

It was miles and miles away from habitation an'J civilization —far upon the mountains. It was a huge task to reach the spot, and when she did winter was coming on. To make her and the small children as comfortable as possible, the husband and had erected a log hiit of two or three rooms, inserted on one side of the mountain, and in every respect as good and complete as such houses are ever made to be. Though when he began it the house was only on the outskirts of the mining camp, yet changes that were made left it between four and five ! miles away. It was thought better to occupy it for the winter, which would shortly set in, than build another, »|n this log hut the little wife and the young children were made comfortable in all the ways possible under the circumstances. Nearly everything that was attainable to this end was procured, and the husband was away from his family not longer than three days at a time. One day while he was thus 9 absent a furious snowstorm—a regular blizzard of the mountains—came up as night approached, For several days snow had been falling, and it al rearly lay on the ground at an unusual depth. On the day in question it came down in a short time to an unparalleled depth, and the wind blew with extraordinary fury. This was the state of things when the day closed. Of firewood the house was well supplied, and of food, there was plenty, if the siege did not last too long. _• There was only one small window to the house, and the door was strong and capable of being barricaded on the inside.

The little woman, as the* blizzard began to howl and lhc snow threatened to bury the hut, took a survey and. rather brought herself to comprehend the situation of herself and her family, cut off as they were for a time at least from human aid. She comprehended it might be days before any one eould come to her, though she felt sure her husband would do all He could. She was not greatly alarmed yet, but soon was, by the shricking and other manifestations that told her that wolves in considerable numbers were around and on the house. Built as it was so that the, roof on one side was almost even with the surface of the ground, it was not difficult, but a perfectly natural thing for the animals, under the circumstances, to swarm upon the roof, attracted as they were by the light that came from the chimney. They swarmed around the house; also, attracted by the light that shone -through chinks and crevices; where the batten ing between the iogs was not complete arid on the roof and around the house on all sides the wolves howled and shrieked fiercely, made savage by the intensity of the eoid, the fierceness of the blasts and the blinding snow. Before going into the mining district this little woman was not wholly unused to firearms. After she went there she had practiced with them so as to render her fairly equal to the emergency. Of these arms there were in the cabin two rifles and two pistols, all of the most effectual description. She early collected all these, loaded the rifles and pistols and with something like engineering skill a military rnan would summon, prepared to defend herself and her three small children, whp were too young to understand the dangers with which they were menaced. On the roof the wolves snarled and scratched in their endeavors to find an opening. On one side of the hut was a spot where the battening was torn off and through which the light from the inside shown as it did from no other place. Around this spot or crack the wolves congregated and howled in great numbers. Occasionally one would insert his nose through the opening. The heroic little woman had scarcely the strength to handle a rifle to use it effectually. She placed one >so that the muzzle would point directly to the opening, and stationed herself so as to pull the trigger at the right' moment. Watching her opportunity she slugged away. The report was responded to on the outside by howls and shrieks fiercer thau ever, and then for some time there was silence, followed by attacks on the roof and In different quarters, especially at the door, against which the animals.threw themßolvos as with human instinct. The fire on the great hearth was kept blazing. The little woman rose equal to the occasion and not for a moment lost her head. Hours thus passed. The children were put to bed after a hasty repast, the cooking of which seemed to cause the wolves to he more fierce. Ac If bj* concert the

assault on the opening where ti» shot bad been fired was renewed and one animal inserted through it a paw. so it was not difficult for the woman to chop it off on the inside by, the expert use of an ax. A shrink fiercer than anv before told her how well she had used the instrument. Then foLowed other nos-s through the hole, which fared no better than those that at first tried It, followed as before bv bowls'and shrieks that told the shot which our heroine let fly hail done the intended work. As time went on the number of wolves seemed to increase and every time they. made an attack it was with greater fierceness and determination than before. Those that swarmed on the root were more numerous than before, and the little woman hardly stopped to think what would be her fate and that of her children in ease the maddened animals effected an entrance.

All night this went on. Toward morning there was an abatement of the storm and of the wolves, but the cold grew in intensity. The latter, however, gave her no alarm as things were. The dawn of morning began to show through the cracks, and with this carne faint sounds of human voices—howls in the distance. One peculiar shout or call she recognized as from her husband. She responded with a shout of triumph, and repeated it a dozen times, but it went not beyond the cabin barricades. But what triumph; what relief? Again and again the shouts were repeated in the distance, responded to every lime by the wife, who knew a relief party, led by her husband, was near. The wolves retired —those to whom the shots of the defender rendered such a thing possible. As the morning advanced the relief party was heard nearing the house. The wife stirred the fire and sent the blaze nearly out of the chimney top. She believed that it would be interpreted as meaning she heard the shouts and that all was well inside. And so they did; for it was not long before the beleagured hut was surrounded by friends. She removed the fastenings that held the door, which she threw open at the instant her husband was about to enter. “I leave you. my friends, to imagine the rest. It was my first and last, night among wolves,” she said, in telling her story.

DOGS IN ALASKA.

Without Them the Eskimo Would Scarcely Kind an Existence, Youth's Companion. “Without dogs the larger portion of the great Eskimo family peopling the barren northern coast of America would find it impossible to exist in its chosen home.” So writes Mr. E, W. Nelson in his “Mammals of Northern Alaska.” They are used in the winter for hunting, sledge drawing and the like, but in summer are mostly* left to shift for thernsel vcs. They receive much hard usage as well as do much hard work, but are described, nevertheless, as a rolicking set, full of play, fond of human society and quarrelsome as schoolboys. Mr. Nelson credits them with a vein of humor and declares that their varying characteristics can be read in their faces. They are worth from $2 to sls apiece, according to age, size arid intelligence. For sledge drawing they are harnessed in teams of either seven or nine—three or four pairs and a leader. Their load is from 350 to 700 pounds and the course is mainly through unbroken snow or over rough ice. With a team of seven doges and a load of more than 300 pounds Mr. Nelson made a journey of more than 1,200 miles in about two months. The lust sixty miles were made over a bad road in a continuous pull of twenty-one hours. They are much affected by the moon. During full moon half the night is spent by them howling in chorus.

“During the entire winter at St. Michael’s,” says Mr Nelson, “we were invariably given a chorus every moonlight light, and the dogs of two neighboring villages joined in the serenade.” He speaks of its “wild, weird harmony,” and seems to have found it agreeable rather than otherwise. The influence of the moon is also very apparent when the dogs are traveling. They brighten up as the moon fi.se,s and pricking up their ears start off as if they had forgotten their fatigue. The fur traders take advantage of this fact and sometimes lie over during the day and travel at night. The dogs endure an astonishing degree of cold. Mr. Nelson saw a female with two newly born puppies lying upon the snow near a hut, with no sign of shelter, when the thermometer ranged from 30 to 35 degrees below zero.

In the City of Churches.

New york Tribune. A little Brooklyn girl astonished her mother the other day by her proficiency in philological pursuits. “Mamma,” said she, “there are three kinds of ‘by’s,’ aren't there?” “What do vou mean, my dear?” responded the mother in surprise. “Well," sweetly l,isned the little one, “there’s one ‘by’ when you go by some one on the side-walk, and there’s another when you go to the store to buy something, and then there's by gosh!” The mother was pot long'in reaching the conclusion that her daughter needed a little careful Instruction in the minor morals.

THE FAIR SEX.

Mrs. Jernsba Black, who died a ibort time ago, in Oak wood. 111-, it the age of 99, was the mother of .wenty-eight children, eighteen of vhom survive her. Mme. Navarro ("Mary Anderson) s staying at Nice this winter. She s ill with a nervous affection and :-an neither visit nor receive calls. Mrs. Humphry Ward’s new novel, “Marcella,” will be published late text month. It has been delayed by ihe author’s illness.

FOR JOURNEYING.

Girl babies are so little thought of by the Chinese that they are seldom named; They are merely numbered, in the order of their appearance, as No. 1, No. 2, Np. 3, etc. Acccording to an English pap-r Mme. Marie Roze puts galoshes on her King Charles spaniel when shs takes him out for a walk. His boots have gutta-percha soles and soft kid tops, fastened with tiny buttons, and the long-haired beauty picks his way along a rnuddy road with them on as -Jaintily as the softest-headed dandy jn Rotten Row,

A FELIX PLUSH COAT.

The Venus of Milo is representcc by a young lady in a London theater. She wears black gloves almost to the 3 louldcrs; and as she is in white, against a dark background, she appears, to be, like the famous statue without arms. ~

A brief Cessation from labor wa? indulged in by a bride in Portland Oregon. Her occupation is scrubwoman in the City Hall. She requested an hour’s leave of absence from duty. Having obtained it, she went off, was married, and returned to her work in forty-five minutes.

MERELY A SUGGESTION.

An industrious woman in Saco, Me., has a toper for a husband, and also a cat which she loves. The husband, like most topers, needed money f>r liquor, and stole, the cat, and would not bring it back until his wife gave him SSO. Now if somebody would steal the husband, she would be perfectly happy.

The first woman to bo ordained as a preacher in the Congregational Church in Massachusetts is Mrs. Amelia A. Frost, who was received into holy orders at Littleton. Up to within a comparatively recent time Paul’s injunction against the prominence of women in the Churen was rarely disobeyed, but the success in the pulpit of late years of Miss Kollock in Chicago, Mrs. Patterson in Boston, and Mrs. Stetson in New York has shown that woman is peculiarly fitted to be a religioui teacher.,, .

OUR PLEASURE CLUB.

“Here is the loveliest house coat thai J bought for Tom, and he doesn’t seem to care for it the least bit.” ‘T can tell you how to make him ralue it above everything.” “Oh, how?” “Tell bim that you've given it iway to some poor manat the door-” “I read so often about ham actors. What part do they take?” “That of catching eggs, etc., when the audience throws them.” Clara —Going in for charity again, are you? What is it this time? Dora—We are going to distribute cheap copies of Beethoven’s symphonies union g the poor. Music is such an aid to digestion, you know. Friend —So you think English will become the universal language? Ph ilosopher— Unquestionably. There are al really in it 250,000 words, mostly from other languages, and it won’t take loDg to add the rest. Said Ato B—“I CU R Disposed to B A J.” Said B—“ Your wit, my longeared friend, Shows signs of sad D K.”

WASTED—FEMALE HELP.

Mr. Wickwire —Prize fighting is not half the brutal thing that people think it is, if Corbett is right. He says the chief strain on the fighter is in avoiding the blows of his antagonist. Mrs: Wickwire —Is that so? I supposed that the hardest part of the work was the preliminary ingTramp —Sir, a single moment. Genial Mae —Well, my good man? Tramp—l will he frank with you. I am tired of life 1 and have determined to drink myself to death. I have exhausted my means and I Implore you to furnish the funds to complete my destruction. Genial Man (after a cgireful survey)—My good man, I regret to say that I have not $10,00(1 to spare

TRAGEDY. When Mary Hannah's Urbwf wa« done The,nef«horH all came In to see. Am! gazed and “my'd" and ‘•olid" and “ah’d” Till Hhe waa proud an proud could he. The day was mild arid the atm shone bright, So. yielding to the neighbors' talk, She thought to put the garment on And go out for a little walk. The stunning gown was donned, and then She cried for haffa day or more- - The sleeves, alas, were made so w-iue She couldn't get them through the door. —lndianapolis Journal. A WINDFALL. Ruck.

Hopeless Higgins (in great surprise)—Where did you git them funny lookin’ clothes,*Fad? Footworn Fadden —A young feller down the street there give ’em to me —he says he's jest finished his eourse at Yale College. Miss Ballet —Is this one of the machines that tells your age when you drop a nickel in the slot?” “ Yes, sometimes.” Miss Ballet —Is it out of order now? “No, but it only registers up to sixty.” ‘

No Respect For Age.

Philadelphia Call 1 Glancing down the bill of fare tho other day, a gentleman who was seated in a down-town restaurant had his eye caught by the offer of roast mutton, and he decided to order it. “We have none, sir,” said the waiter when he received the order. “Then you may bring me some spring lamb,” was the order. The diner waited until after he had tasted what was brought to him, and calling the waiter over to him, inquired: , “Yoiing man, have you any re- ' spect for age?” “Yes, sir,” was the meek response. “Then never again call anything out of its name. This is mutton, not lamb."

Advices from Hawaii say that exQueen Lil is in that picturesque and bizarre financial condition known as “on her uppers.”