St. Joseph County Independent, Volume 22, Number 1, Walkerton, St. Joseph County, 25 July 1896 — Page 2

<Z>rrn rv >Wr/ #\ H f /’, i^^Slitll n n n n ■ n IT

CHAPTER V. Among the many grand houses—or “palatial millions," as the fashionable house agents in their ornate catalogues love to style them—which have the advantage of overlooking Hyde Park, that of Sir Richard Mortmain was by no means the least splendid or spacious. Sir Richard was alone. A handsome man enough, so far as form and features went, with no reference to expression, tall, slender and of goodly presence. He was neither old nor young thirty-three, perhaps with a pale, resolute fact*, that was almost waxen in its pallor, hair as black a> the raven's wing, very dark eyes, and very white teeth. But perhaps the most prominent feature, if it may Im l so called, of the baronet’s face, was the long black mustache, carefully trimmed and tr imed, the arrangement of which i often caused the lord of Mortmain to be mistaken by strangers for a foreigner. His was, indeed, si countenance rather j Italian tian English, eminently aristo ; cratic wiihal, but one that would well have s ided with the character and the I deeds of some subtle contemporary of j Borgia and Machiavelli one of those white-handed patricians who plotted and lied and stabbed and poisoned smilingly. Sir Ri-hard Mortmain could not afford to live at Mortmain Park, the majestic I old manor it which Queen Bess herself had i i her time lieen n guest. But he had a hunting box hard by Market Harborcugh. and a tiny villa near Newmarket, and kept up the London mansion pretty well. Wages may have been in arrear sometimes, and bills unpaid, but there were liveried servitors and carriages i: -I horses and bachelor dinner parties, for nil that, while ever and anon there would set in a halcyon i>eriod, a sort of hua i rial flood tide, when ready money would Abound. “A person. Sir Richard, wishes very much, if you please, to see yon for a minute. From abroad. 1 l>elieve," -i d tire discreet butler, who had entered quly. “The man is very pertinacious, and won’t go away." “Tell him to write, then," returned the ! baronet, arching his eyebrows, "or call I the police. One can’t afford in London to be opeu to all comers, as you ought to know." Binns the butler cmighe 1 a p do.: ■ .e ally under bis employer's rebuke. "I shotrttl not have th" ght of such a thing. Sir Richard," he sat 1. mildly, "only that the party insisted that his name was well known—name of Crouch, phase, Sir , Richard, ami “I do remember such a nunc. Show him in,” said the bimuet. with a frown. Tiie visitor was promptly inducted into 1 the room. A broad, short miui. r.uglily J dre-s-d. in spite of the ac* 4 >f th.- wrath er. in a coarse pexauxL sm a as North S a pilots wear, end with heavy boots b ami :ired if Khat was certainly not the mud us London streets a man with a shaggy red Iward that fell upon his breast, wVh a hemk. of unkempt red hair, and with little restless eyes, like those of a Wil l hour at bay. S.;- Richard Mortmain, leaning against the corner of the massive marble chim-fcey-pieee, might have pos.s! for an ideal portrait of aristocratic dis lain as he languidly turned his handsome white face toward the importunate visitor. "You—wished to speak to me—Mr. ” he said slowly. ‘•Crouch, Rufus Crouch," coolly returned the newcomer, as, uninvited, he selected an easy chair. "No new name to you. Sir R., now is it? But we may ns well make ourselves comfortable before we begin our chat, mayn’t we'.'" And as he spoke he threw himself ba k in the softly padded chair, and set down his battered hat among the gewgaws on the pretty little table within reach. "We were piF once; thi k ns thieves, ns the saying is. hey. Sir R?" The sane of Sir Richard Mortmain, ns with haughty surprise he looked down upon this extraordinary visitor, would have made the fortune of the painter who should have succeeded in transferring it , to the canvas. The sleepy eyes were open m>w, and there was tire in their re gard, while the penciled brows < -ntraete 1 frowningly, and the well-cut lips tighten- ' ed beneath the shade of the black mustache. So might Caesar Borgia have looked at a vulgar tool of his who presunu 1 to be insolent. "Well, l'r each, bi.lv again, 1- Whv. ’ I thought you fairly settle.!, under an other name perhaps, in A .-iralia." .-aid the baron.i--nmi g a t me of g--nu;m> good nature, and playing his part verv . well. " 'Tain't all of us. Sir 1t.," replied the man. pro? .kingly, “that have the luck to be baronets, or to have the dirty acres entailed upon us, is it now. Sir II.? 1 know. »md you know, how one chap may get hanged fog peeping over the hedge, and another may steal the hors ■ without a question asked; hey. Sir II.?" The words were offensive, and the manner in which they were uttered was more offensive st ill. Sir Richard Mortmain w:* a proud man, apt to resent a liberty on the part of his social inferiors; but he merely laughed now.

“Always the same sort of chap, Rufus, eh?” he said, half playfully—“a crabapple, as we said in the West-country—-as when you carried my second gun in the battues at Mortmain. Huw did Australia use you?” “Much as Australia—and England, too. ! for that matter—uses them that haven’t been born with a silver spoon in their mouths, Sir R.,” rejoined the fellow, with great asperity. “If I got gold, I spent gold; and a dog's life, as a digger, I had of it. Not but what I learned a thing or two as to the lie of the gold and prospecting.” And here the man looked thoughtful, and there was a dash of vanity in his tone. “Kes,” he added, after a pause—“yes,

the stuff's nigh everywhere, even here in England, otffy you trample over it, and are blind to it. But the days are done now for your indeiwndent digger t'other side of the world. No more nuggeting; no more cradle rocking. It's a master's country now, not a poor man’s, in Topsy- > turvy land.” ’ “And the bush?” asked the baronet, ' lightly. ( “What dp you mean by the bush?” growled Rufus, scowling at him ns fiercely- as n tiger cat about to spring. “Nothing, nothing; don't lose your temI per.” rejoined Sir Richard, cqimldy. “And now. Crouch, what can I do for you? One thing I warn you of ready money is as scarce with me as knives on a birch nt Christmas, so that I can be of little use in that way; but "You may spare your trouble and your smooth words. Sir R.," said Rufus, very ■ gruxy, but earnestly. “Just now it is For- i i tune herself, though you may'not think it i to look at me, that knock* at your door, tor. Sir Richard Mortmain, Baronet, I ! come here ns the messenger of g >Mcu tidings." CHAPTER VI. “Golden tiding*. Mr. Crou -h," said Sir Richard, mildly, “would of them* Ives insure a welcome anywhere. Well. Rufus, let me hear yuor good news, in what Austral.an gold mine, now languishing : for lack of capital, ought I to take share*. ' with the certainty of three hundred per cent annual pr >tin? or what buri 1 frea* ure, in some stony gully Dneath th- con steUittion of the Southern Cross, <»u )»■ had for the expenditure of a few hundreds?” I dhln t come here to rw made game of, nor yet mocked. 1 know v«»ur l.am r iug w.y ..f old. No; I'm no tout for a joint stock concern in a bad way, nor am I <>m> of the drivelers who s.i under alwml horse loads of the yellow dust and f!ik> *, stowed anny in far off pin,-,.. ~f th., p. ,» s * as soUMt do. T. my think ■g. th<- d I cmin’ry Is the richest. 1 m ver «tw n rush ora placer to equal »< me of the smig quiet ways of n. w. m iking of wh< a there are so many tn England.” He seemed to pa for •.i 11. i|S Richard blandly remarked; “I quit* agr* ■ with you, i roitch. Ihe h p.tr ket is perhaps th— safest. You I arms! a good do,-il, Inm « ire, whib v m oceup.. 1 the honorable, if humble, position of co-., tid-nt;-!! Clerk the bite Mr B,« mv. Lauver B •wm.i;;. u- we g ■VA i 1 him in Sonv-raotshirn bef,tr<- v ir w < thy employer had the , ian I physic#! strengih n his )i si. ■• i y i the p irali tn' str 'x- and l« “t'ut SU iv with his c.iah >v." mu r jeeti-d Rufus, glaring st his enh-rtnim'r. I “that s .about what your civil chat conic* to. S r R Mortmain. Bir-'t V I ! bolted. A<d not >n v did I carm w• h ;me the ready cola mid note* little i enough. 1 pram:*.- y m. mil which n •d pike snow in th- sun that ih, mi*< rly ■ old hunks kept by him. ' nt everv vam ihl • paper thnt his big safe ent .lined. - ■■ -f । them dating fmm In for,, the time that I i first wn* Indentured to him ns his articled ; clerk. 1 ma de i c’ an sweep Settlepnenrs. wills, mortgage Is all were , fish that camo to my net just Is f >rc my j start for Topsy turvy land. 1 landed in Australia with pn vmu* htth- nmn-y. but , with a heavy heap of parchments, I can tell you. Str R " “I am at a loss ‘o con;,-, ture in what i manner their c/on', , o U |d p n f i feet me. Old Mr. Rnwm.nn ha I eeas.-d to I be my father’s country solicitor full two ! year* before your hasty journey : • the i antipoles, and I am pretty stir that the Mortmain deed ' \ ; 1 red tn lurking plae. s in another -fficv.” “N >w. Sr R -i; | the •x g I i gj^'r. grimly, “yon mint take m,- f r a w chum, ice 1. ns w <ay in \ ~-ralii. If you think I would h:oe burdened myself with such rubA-di a* tha’ N .:i>.l ha 1 when otlu»rs slept. I've sat up matty’s the night In my tent, poring, by the tlicker- ! lug light of a stump of candle, over the j papers and pnrehm nt- I had w ! th me. M st of th -m « t :ir to b.> cut into tailors' measur- - bu. n:, were Iwtter worth, an I one in part i.ar. \ m ain’t marrit"!. S r R.," abruptly and as if a sudden thought had struck him. de ’ manded the man, and there wa> something ■ of dismay in his tone. "I thank you for the kind |. rat m ' which, I am s ire, promy, y.mr ituittiry." rejoined Sir Richard, gravely. “No. I have not rhe happiness to be married.” “That's right," emphatically oxcl.vmed •ho returned adventurer. “For in that ecc s it lA> -’1 have To Z, further i afield in ><• arch of a partner, ind that v,:>uld hate l>eon a pity, wouldn't it. since < yon and I understand each nth r, don't we? Well, Sir It., since you are single still, you're my man. if tea please. And i you ought l.e much oldiged to me. too, I for it is one word for me and two for yourself -what with the tine fortune, ami j what w ith the charming young w'fe.” i It was a genuine look of surprise which i ' came into Sir Richard Mortmain's fnce. i and for a moment he seemed in doubt as

to whether he were not conversing with a lunatic. lie shrugged up his shoulders as a Frenchman would have done. “Excuse my astonishment, Crouch,” he said, incredulously; "I never contemplated yon until this instant in the somewhat novel character of a matchmaker.” "I can get you out of debt. Sir R„ indeed I can,” said the rough visitor, earnestly. “I can set you free from duns, and make your life easy to you—for your life, I at least." ; "1 should be satisfied with that,” said Sir Richard. “What I want you to do is to come to the point." “I’m coming to it, Sir R.,” was the man's sullen answer. “Now, you must know. I get ray bread as a jet hunter on the Yorkshire coast. A nice business it is! Why, only last week 1 was all but drowned, buried alive, along with others of the gang, in a quicksand. I'd not have been here to-day, Sir R., but for a young jackanapes.” “You were very much obliged to the «

j jackanapes, no doubt," said the baronet, I showing his white teeth. "I hate the curly-headed, dandy chnp, with his gentleman airs, as I hate poison!" growled Rufus; "but that's neither here nor there. I only spoke to say what a calling it Is for a man who has seen better days. Well, Sir R., our captain, as we jet hunters cal! him, has a house in Beckdale, and that part of the coast la»ing rich in jet, and as well known to old Obadiah as his farmyard is to any farmer, has come to be in n sense our headquarters. Now you see I am open with you, Sir R. in Woodburn parish, ay, and in Woodburn Parsonage, lives th< young lady whom 1 should like to see -is Lady Mortmain.” "indeed! May 1 ask her name?” manded Sir Richard. । “Iler name, Sir R„” returned the man, grudgingly, but with emphasis, “is Violet ' —Violet by name, I should say, and by nature, for she is a timid, pretty young Indy, nineteen years of age, and knows nothing of the world's ways, and just as little of the fact that she's a great heiress.” “L’pon my word,” said the baronet, coolly, "you have traced n very charming portrait of rural loveliness and simplicity. And what is the amount of the fortu^ w hich she has unconsciously the t><>wbr»t j bestow?" ( “The fortune,” replied Rufus slowly, ’ and fixing his smut I, keen eyes upoß itle white, impassive face of his aristocratic host, "was at the first seventy thousand pounds. It must be n g.wdiah bit more by this, rolling up ns it has been for years. Think, Sir R,, what such a heap of ready cnsh would lie to you.” There came a flash into Sir Richard's sleepy, dark eyes, and his whole countenance seemed to brighten. “Sure of the sum total, (Touch?” he asked, eagerly. The fellow nodded. "Now for her surname, tb< n?” inquired the baronet “though if it were Snceks or Suiggs I coul l ■ •ndone it, if only there's no mistake ns to the money.” “No, S.r R ," interrupted the ex-gold I digger, gruffly. “And there's just as lit- I tie mistake ns to the young lady that owns It. M*s \ dot M>'«bray "is her name, and fr->m all I bear the M owbrays - are a* g .*»l <soi. n’’:. M rtm i in s. so far ns i«-1 g« « Th * j etßg girl |, 3 q orphan. Sb- has - small im me, and hex j guardian. • v»ugh <»bl ibiy !*«. hchw, arranged for her to reside with Ins own J nice, our par »n * wife. Mrs I^ngton. I 5 ■ ' ~.K. sod ki . m • >f th.- ; s-im ihe is ent-:;..’ to than I d» (t will freese or thaw next ("hristmas.” "How do yon k •« f it. Ruf os’" asked the bir met. “Some n ill. c!,. ; . v f-.rme ! i part of your on b rsug j ar former j cniplotcr*?** “Xot ft ujH. with 1 wink “Wills may b- rro-bd. and odi- | n4‘b !, b'H ’L 4 . > of thing This .» a tr.,.- .p. • R a!«> p ;v; ! ,i3:e <> ■< ■»■ «. x.r j; Mortmain. Borom \n I. I b |, mol- t - - ..re by fm-M *■ ' lifui !;> -’v ■ t - .'4 ’« exTsetod । ft’mi II H- cru t !y ? not j brought th>' i ihiabh document with him, ’ m.»r woak! he give any further Informa- j i »s to Rs * until a j h> I been strwk m l hU i«wompeaae ; • > 'e w. I ’» - that I t. -for fftwo«• ■■ ,h; V .o. What I^4* ' sired to k ‘“W •- - - " - tb.i-r M R.ebsr t w>»uM “come into it" heart a-»d »mil, i ■ taka immediate steps to bring th. • heww I to n successful emem*. . n . M ■ I wn» ready enough to lend h « a -I, but ho J demurred to taking what he vailed "a i "I don't gsk ?”i 11 m vr,. S K said the former eo-ifidcntul ch k f Lawyer !'. a man a* Ins - . "« : «- it.'r j tj.c. Tc.y barr u r-l ■ .at - !.•'* little ha-.d s we.g'at. !w■ .i. '. / I My interest and y urs go in the same gtoore, a: 1 w hat I ndi .m< ' w;i to Y> rk•hire and judge for y«>urse|f.“ “Perhaps it w iul l - t- -- * re- ‘ ;r: ■ d th 1 >- c• ' ben first i. -j »p. k. >f S ■ ; Ir- 4 e-ti-d a dreary d pla. - •! mj t vthvr's to those p-ui* that I th, n't - . i * • - I was a boy, and never thought t . - • again Hd st.m. they call ;t. The h.m^ his been shut up ! r ? > it" but it he; mg* to me, after all, and it 1 ■ *. 1 n-m-mber. just about the upi«‘r end of B-ck laic and four miles from the * a. 1 might go down there. If th- prire >f y ir. Is? ready worth winning." “Y-m r li I .i i' - r g in y-mr life. Sir R . ■ ly c •?. than f- ->wmg up the ir dden cb-w shut I have put into your hau ls," -i: I Rufus (’r t -i, rising from hi< - it. "<>ur next talk, with your leave, ha ! 1- " r m Yorkshire. Meanwhile. your humble servant." AuJ v .th no more formal leave taking, the ill axort- ! conf< l; rates parted. tTo be continued.) (Jcese, Pigs and Pinin'*. A gentleman living In eastern Georgia ownml a pair of gec<e and some half grown pigs, both of which r«-sortcd to a small plum thicket on the hillside, t<> pick up the fallen fruit. A s-mall branch of one of the trvea was broken ami bent down to the ground, ami the geese had somehow discovered that by catchiug the c^itl of the branch in their bills and shA*"'the 11--.- by Hit-ins of it, they .Or’llld bring down tlie plums. The pigs, seeing what was goog on, soon found it for their interest towtlow the goose to the plum thicket. The geese would shake the tree, and the sound of a grateful shower of fruit would be hoard: but before they could eat the plums the pigs would havo ’ greedily gathered up most of them, tireatly exasperated, and with good , reason, one of the geese would seize a pig by the ear, while the other marehM . on the other side of him, screaming ' ami scolding. In this way, beating poor 1 piggy with their wings at every step, i they would escort him to the top of the | hill and there let him go. j | Then they would return to shake the tree again, with a similar result. This j scone, says a Youth's Companion corI • respondent, I have witnessed daily s j during the plum season. e i Lord Edward Cecil, who is to take 1 ! service in the Egyptian army for the ‘ I operations in the Soudan, is Lord Salist । bury's fourth son. He is over G feet s : 3 inches tall and has an enthusiastic e 1 love of military duties. g i - Cash in bank is a good thing to have, e but treasures laid up above is better.

• KILLED ON THE FARM. [ V A STARTLING RECORO OF TER- ( RIBLE CASUALTIES. ■ Danger* Attending; Life on a Farm i Seem Greater titan Those tSurround* r Ing Work on the Kailroad or In a Powder Mill. 1 J Die in the Hayfield. Fatalities, mhbapa and odd incidents havo always seemed to attend unduly the gathering of the bay crop, says n western New York correspondent of the NewYork Sun, but they seem to have been unusually numerous in their occurrence thia season. Following is the record of the hayfield in this respect for but little more than a week in Chautauqua und adjacent counties alone: RnsseL \\ aterhouse, agi^l 77, a leading farmer of Arkwright, i.'hnutauqua County, was helping his son Thoma* in the hayfield. They were loading liny. The eWer tVat.-rnoiiHo stoo^ on the ton of the I^UUg ribtit luk the hwy ih bin son pitch wi It up. A thunder storm w«« coining up, ana thia was the last load to be hnuled ' in. Suddenly n terrific clap of thunder broke so sharp and near that it frightened the horses. They sprang forward, jerking the wagon so that Farmer Waterhouse was thrown from the load to the ground, i i He struck on his head. His neck was broken am! he diisl instantly. 1 < Farmer Thomas Reynolds no^le I help ' one day Inst week to gather a field of hay ' ; before it was damaged by a coming storm, on his farm at Sullivan, Pa. Some t mon were engaged on another part of his ; farm in n job of sawing with n portable 1 sawmill. He sent his son to request the i J men to suspend their work nt the mill t I and hasten down to help with the hay. 1 One of the operators nt the mill. Fred t j Holcomb, ng,*l 21. i n hh hurry to respond j,, j to the call, stumbled find fell in front of i

' ' 11 ■ y...w hi uiHisw ii—|— x if lilt i wane > I’J" IN*. IN 1 111 RI iN> \ r KAM AISIU.

««« 8.-f t < i ' * f-.-t r l»y»* k-r» ■ mid a,4 him be n»* I cot to pp-.',-, by the «i» h»n-l. no arm. and I th legu !-■ £ #»>vrt«xl from h » | Tn. n , a--, > •’- j Bruab farm ,- »r J’ --m •’ •>!?’’ -’"bn M. V,’.- ■- ■ (• r ou , load Os hay Wbi* pttrhf rk iu U» ham! It* •ottie uay bo f-ll th-- f.:.-•*, n .is h «>; ■ >h ■;. mi h i Ix4} JI lived but a -t time H-P-rc the nm. of tl u . ea« mpy r, ach-d !’ - . vt • r ( the lori b«* wa< m <iug hay in hi, orchard w.t h a m.’,» - ■ II- 12 y«»nr-old • .-a w,« t > ir 1 • I' .rmer Brush enlled t»» htm to •'onic and hobl up the low hang fag boujtb of a tree ,** he eoul*l dr»v«* no dor it. I ' L.y !-M it tip. but Mood *o v’ >♦** that bs the mt- b ■ pa««»--l hint the knive* an that ■■ I ->f the • '•ter bar cnA h.m. -V g - d 1 th m, feet at the nt kh- H. H- i three hour, Inter. };->■; R: : g' f V. «a« w atehing her 1 brother, John, run a mowing machine in a ficM near the house. John stoped the h ,h. -.•... I b-m I fr m the mv’ u .. . I ••: I Ethel to hand him the wrecch. whb’h lay n« ar The little i girl R*«t the wrench, and stopjwd up near the machine, getting b-Awe-eii the cutting t f«»rk«. a-.d m-a-1.-d it ’ 1-r brother. As he wan reaching for it the horses started. The qulkly shifting knives caught the child and cut ff t th her legs near the knees At Bedford. I’ t . on Thurs lay. Joseph Bell, ng- I 73, w.;s nt work in his hay field. Levi Shay ivm driving by and stopp -J t i -alk ■ ■ Farmer B 11. who walked over to the fence. "Might ■ ■-•r let y ur hay rot down in the field.” Mid Sh y “It w -n't bring $3 a ton the w y this country is l»‘ing run." "Three d-dlnrs a t ml" ex claimed Farmer 8011, ex-it-lly. "Why,' that would 1 drive us to the poorhor so.” "Certainly it w >nld, and it will,” declared S- y. Farmer B-ll sh^l with a disturb-'1 look on his fa-'e a moment, staggered forward and fell h< t'y t! - gr--nuA. > • >y. ...pr—ing It " ।a I fra 1 1 f -a effo. :, of the heat, jiunpe 1 fr--:n hi- wac->n c> help him, lint the farmer was dead. Awiu! Work of Yellow Jackets. Goorgo King, a hireil man on the farm of William Smith, his father-in-law, near Alton, was ri-ling a mowing machine one day last week, when one of the horses stepped in a yellow jacket's nest. In- , stantly the irri’able occupants of the nest came out in a swarm anud stung the horses, which, frenzied with the pain of the poisonous stingers, ran away. King was thrown from his seat on the mower, and although he fortunately fell out of the way of the knives, he struck a spot where a patch of elder brush had been cut. at the edge of the field, leaving stiff, sharp butts standing. When other men working in the field hurrietl to his aid they found him impaled on the stubbles, one having been forced through the fleshy part of his left thigh ami one through his right shoulder. One ear was torn from his i head, his lower jaw was broken, and his body badly laceratixl by the jagged older stubble. The full extent of King's injuries was not known nor could he lx? ex'tricated from his awful situation for ten minutes after the arrival of the men. A horde of yellow jackets which followed him as he was thrown from the machine. - were stinging him fiercely on every bit । of flesh exposed, and had to be fought away and killed before the men could rescue the unfortunate King, who was unconscious and uttering heart-rending i cries of agony. His rescuers were terri-

nm fa . rm ho " se ' His thought that “ h " The trended horses, crazed bv the krmip of young chestnut trees. There m " ehin<? was ‘ fn *»«h«‘d to I . Along the edge of the field oppoX f^n ni "« thrown P a^d < ret t below It runs Cutler creek The horses f r ee (l frotn thc m straight for that side of the field nnd plunged down the steep bank into the crock. Ihe water is wide and deep n f thnt spot, and, handicapped by their harness and being hitched together, both hors, s were drowned. It is probable that they would have had to be killed nt any rnf. for they had ls>on blinded by the stinging of the yellow jackets, and their bodies wore swollen to an immense size by the poison. VICTIMS OF THE SEA. Ihlrtjr Thousand People Drowned by the Tidal Wave in Japan. thirty thousand souls hurried to eternity; thirty thousand lives Idotted out in five minutes; probably the same number of emaciated sufferers stalking hungryeyed about the ruins of their former homes that, briefly, is the story of the great wnve that swept tip from the sen and engulfed rhe eoast of the island of , ezo, Japan, Following is the summary of the results of the disaster: Iwate 23,413 deaths, 1.241 wounded, । 5,1)30 houses swept away or destroyed. Miyngi 2,.>.>7 deaths. 505 wounded, ( tJMH houses swept away or destroyed. Aomori 340 deaths. 243 woumled, 4SI houses swept away or destroyed. iota's 25.41 G deaths, I,!*!>2 wounded, 0.202 houses swept nwny or destroyed. <>f various towns and villages that । w.-re visited by the calamity Kamaishi and Taro suffered most. In the Jorme^ 4.71 M) out of people were drowned, '

w h - ;n the Litter 2,out of 3,7 17 were kdlod I' w as shortly b. f.oc H n)1 st,,. ' : t of M r-biv, Juu- 15, that dwellers U-vr ’he roast h-nrd a strange sound thnt ■ fr. m t u- s. i, swelling on the ■ i •• • g • lie 4r mb'd tsunami - i wave) w;is n .• altogether new to ■ ’ i ... w o w. :<• so . ...n t-> become • « But ;! - a-serted that the ;■ ; ** •• e\.-. • । ugly slow to realiz*! ■on :.s.' . .f the dang.-r thnt threat- j • • I th-m. "Isunnmi!" cried a terror-, str. k> i nsberman. nnd " Fs’inami!" pass- i ■■ i t! • • ■ ' nag Ail swiftly from man to n in iti’d tli" silent fishing humic's rang w• . t ... .ry Ra 1 with terror thnt lent p> • 1 ' > their hying feet, the dwellers f ■ - k their frir.l, thntch.sl hut.*, an I [ : :'‘i ! for the bluffs topping the sleeping > me of he first to flee gained places of- if- - .-.. >a'.v the phosphorescent waters el tmor and toss i;mt» rs and human beings almost at their b'et, and heard them sullenly r-trent with their ghastly burden. (Mhe-s caught by the son nnd beaten most re- IP- ■ b-' r s which it bore on its

H- ' SHIZUKAW AFTER THE WAVE PASSED OVER IT.

cr* st were yet left behind when it withdrew. But by far the most were swallowed up and their poor bodies are now only being thrown back on land. I'he 1 wn of Kamaisni, situated a few miles from the iron mines of that name, was almost willed out. only a few houses s-auding mi high ground behind tin- town •: ng'l’iir.d Jnthhtiiwn t. 7"i» persons. ou r of a total population of <1.557, lost their lives; s<*< were injures!; 1,080 out of 1,213 houses were destroyed. Taro was a village of 2,500 population. Three hundred persons escaped from the catastrophe. At this point the wave appears to have been most destructive; some of the survivors declare it to have been eighty feet high, and the marks left on the rising grounds show it to have been z -- » RIINS IN ODACHT. of such a height that it is a marvel any human beings survive. The loss of life would have been greater, but for the fact that over a hundred of the Taro fishermen were at sea and know naught of the disaster till they returned. Owing to the destruction of the telegraph lines along the coast it was not till late next morning that news of the catastrophe began to spread, and for three days it was all but Impossible to afford official aid to the survivors.

Meanwhile the weather had grown warmer. Decomposition of the bodies nnd set in and it began to be a dreadful experience to venture in the vicinity of those s]M>ts where formerly there had been human habitations. But, worse than the awful scenes to which one could never bernhXi^" 810111011 ’ in I >aßß '“K near the of s v a 0 " 84 *" H 8 the ’Stacie of groups f swolhm once-human forms rocking to I?- ‘ 8< ‘ a “ lmost within reach of siniibi'r '’ ^-“eh itself other an.l \ a ," fu ob ieets were rolhsl over >h ov.-r ni r w b} . „ neh WRVe as It reached the strand. There can be h7or of T h anOn ° f th ’ 8 f "Kbtful calamtlmt h ive t ilI*'Zl 1 *'ZI tO for K° t,eu scenes its wik ' i 1111,1 l,r e yet coming in ditH< u't \ ./ : ' 8 been rounu extremely ' caiin/ -' ure laborers to assist injoe d?. r !“” and interring tii ie.l thnf' r’ " grav, ' st f "urs are enter- ' '•" * that disease Will be bred by the presence of „„ many decaying b.xlies. t would be idle to discuss the causes <>r this extraordinary visitation. It may nave origina t<sl in some tremendous volcnrii.' outburst fur away in the Pacific ocean, or it may have been caused by a displacement of the ocean bed on the hithet edge of the 1 nscarora Deep, which w-as discovered by Admiral Belknap in tie lusenrora. and stretches a mighty iibvss, five nnd one-third miles deep, off I.I" Japan coast. Sea waves have invaded : Japan before, but never with such disastrous results. It is well within the memory of those still alive that in 1854 the i harbor of Shimoda was visited by three huge waves, which destroyed many lives and much shipping, leaving the Russian frigate Diana a total wreck. Moreover, - in 18H2. a small wave which fortunately i wrought little destruction, was experieiuisl in parts of the very regions that । have row been devastated. Ihe Emperor and Empress promptly gave 11.IMHi yen, to be devoted to the relief of the sufferers, and foreigners and Japanese are subscribing to funds started for a similar purpose. FULL BINS FOR FARMERS. (ountry’s Corn Crop Promises to Equal that of Last Year. Information regarding the growing • orn < has been received at the Department of Agriculture in Washington. 1 . re is every indication now that the crop of th,, country will equal the enorm. crop of last year, which was 2,151.l.’.P.utiO bushels. That was the largest er-p tin* I mt-1 States his produced for ni: -y years. the crop of 1S!)4 had only ; :i 1.212, 1 ic*),<Mit) bushels, and it was Lm a :nile more in 1893 and 1892. In Is9l it r.achel beyond 2,000,000,000 bushels. I’iic extent of the corn crop of the Fnit- ■ ! S'.res th s year is about 1,000,000 a. res h's--, than it was last year. Then it is S2,(s)O,i>iM> a<rcs. In 18'.H it was ian y 7<i.o*M>.(HHi. Flie average acreage in the principal corn Suites is reported is follows for the two years: ISSM). 1895. oKm 109 104 Mbhig.ti 10i’> I<M I ........103 104 l tlnola 103 105 1 .wn 97 100 Missouri 99 107 Kansas io.'. 117 B'vbr.iska 102 107 Tox.is S 3 112 't'onn■ ■ ..... .... 04 107 Rent u-ky . .97 102 The official method of the Government for . 'um iiiicatmg the state of growing crops to i tie public is to take a basis of lihi as a reasonable standard of cxcel|cr -e. Averages i:i evs-s are exception.Ty : ■l, and averages below I«M> be- - one !• -s enco . aging the lower they go. With this expinnation the statements of th.- otli -ials of the Agricultural Department become plain to those outside the Board of Trade. The rei>orts received justify the following estimates of the av»rage condition of the crop in the leading ■orn Snit-s, which are given alongside the averages for July, 1895: 189 G. 1595. Ohio 106 91 Mhhigan 106 91 Indiana 11l 95 Illinois 98 92 lowa 94 105 Kentucky 97 96 Missouri 81 109 Kansas 102 104 Nebraska 103 95 Texas 93 118 • Tennessee 90 98

For the entire country the present average is 92.4, against 99.3 in July, 1895. The condition of the entire crop of winter wheat throughout the L'nited States is 75.(>. against (55.8 in July, 1895, distributed as follows: 1896. 1595. New York 70 78 renusylvnnia 70 88 , Kentucky 64 85 j Ohio 50 60 Michigan 73 69 j Indiana 66 52 I Illinois 80 50 Missouri 75 <lB Kansas 75 42 California 100 82 Oregon 95 95 Washington 100 93 The reports received by the department in a general way on all crops are encour- ■ aging. This ought to l*e a prosperous j year for farmers in most sections of the country, unless some great calamity befalls the harvest. Generally poor condition of fruit throughout the country is announced in the agricultural report. Apples declined in condition from 71 to G4.G during June. The peach crop promises to be of medium proportions. During the past month a fall of 12.9 points has taken place, leaving the general average now 51.8. Mrs. Louise Foltz, wife of Richard D. Foltz, committed suicide at Newcastle, Pa., by taking laudanum. Mr. Foltz then made a desperate attempt to kill himself, but was prevented. Mrs. Foltz was a sister of James J. Davidson, Republican candidate for Congress. Her brother married a daughter of Senator Quay. A rumor is current in railroad circles that Collis P. Huntington and the Southern Pacific people have a hand in the new government of the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company.