Semi-weekly Express, Terre Haute, Vigo County, 2 September 1897 — Page 3

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THE AFRICAN BABOON

DAMAGE HE DOES TO SETTLERS WHO CALL HIM ADONIS.

Extraordinary Intelligence Attributed to

the Beast—Poison Useless, as It Is De­

tected—How the Monkeys Amuse Themselves.

The South African colonists have got rid of their lions and elephants, but tbey have not yet been able to get the better of the baboons. A baboon, although somewhat like a dog, has all the miscbievousness of a man. He Is the ugliest animal in all creation. The Boers oall him Adonis and never designate bim tinder the official name that has been given to him by science.

Now this creature i« the curse of Cape Colony. He commits depredations for the love of the thing. Any imprudent tomcat that ventures too far away from home is sure to be captured and strangled for fun by a baboon. Nearly all the Angoras, the ohoioest and most oostly animals imported by the colonists, have been destroyed by these huge monkeys. Even the dogs share the same fate. The bravest and most pugnacious of the English canine breeds are unable to oojse with adversaries armed with just as powerful jawe, and with the immense advantage of having four hands instead of four paws. With a dexterity that conspicuously exhibits his surgical aptitudes, the baboon bleeds his enemy In the throat, and in less than a miwute the duel ends in the death of the dog.

When the shepherd is away and the dog has been disposed of, the flock is left without defense. Although the baboon generally feeds upon lizards and beetles, he does not despise a few moutthfuls of mutton, wbioh he devours peated on the baok of bis living viotim. Unfortunate ore the goats and sheep that are attacked by these cynocephali! When Adonis finds bis appetite latfy satisfied, he enjoys at a little distance the contortions of his victim. He frequently attacks cows, but never attempts te get into close quarters with a bull. The ostrich, thanks to its extraordlnaryspeed, can eaeHy get away from the baboon, but it is very much afraid of him and immediately ruos off on hearing his bark. It is noteworthy that nature has given to the baboon not only tbe head of a dog, but also tbe voice of a dog. All birds that are not remarkable for their intelligence have an insurmountable dread of tbe oynooephalus.

One- of the principal amusements of these big monkeys is to gambol around the wire fences that protect the tame ostriches just to terrify them. Tbe panic among tbem is so great that they often break their legs is tbeir wild rushes. This is 8:$astime wbioh tbe monkeys seem to enjoy hugely. It Is known that a broken legfor an ostrich means a death sentence.

A baboon runs away from a man, but be bas no fear of a woman. After all there Is no good ground for the mortal terror which Adonis inspires among some of tbe negro women of South Africa. As a matter of fact, the fear of the cynocephali is often merely a pretext among the young Zulu and Basufco belles to get the escorts of their choice to accompany them to the wells. The baboon is a very bad fellow and an intolerable neighbor, but ho should not be slandered.

The Adonises travel in packs of about 60 or 60. They always keep out of gunshot range and watch for a chance to do misohief in the absence of shepherds or guards. To get rid of the ugly marauders the colonists some time ago established poisoning clubs, which were subsidized by the British authorities. All the old poisons and the new discoveries of chemistry ware tried, but they proved worthless. A hungry panther or jaokal might easily enough swallow a few grains of arsenic or a strychnine pill placed in apiece of raw meat, but a baboon is never deceived by so simple a method. He is a delicate and refined fellow, accustomed generally to live upon eggs, fruits, lizards and different kinds of insects. He becomes carnivorous at rare intervals only, and apparently, in some degree at least, for tbe pleasure of torturing the unfortunate domestic animals that may fall into his clutches. His infallible instinct teaches bim to disfcrnst men, even when they are offering, presents. With a marvelous scent that .mighi well do honor to a professional expert he detects tbe presence of a mineral or vegetable poison In the quarter of mutton that he finds by chance he travels along,,, Moreover he is thoroughly aware of fhe fact that wise apes in permanent contact with barbarians from Europe should never swallow pills. hese, animals are possessed of almost human intelligence. It is impossible to get near them in tb&day time, and at night during their bouss of repose they are always surrounded by a cordon of sentinels whose vigilance is absolute. At the slightest indication of the approach of an enemy one of the sentinels yells out: "Yah bou! Yahbou!" And in an instant the whole troop disappears. It is unfortunate that, in his dictionary of the language of monkeys, Mr. Garner does not give us the exact derivation of "Yah hou!"

It is also noteworthy that the baboon3 never attempt to fly if the man who comes to trouble their repose is not armed with a gun. Although they exhibit extraordinary power of measuring by instinot the average range of a rifle and cautiously keep out of the way, they exhibit no fear whatever of cold steel. If they find themselves confronted by a settler with no means of defense except a hunter's knife, they send a shower of stcrnea at him, and the lord of creation is obliged to.retreat before a battalion of cynooephali that hurl projectiles at him while keeping at a distance, beoause a man, even when he is beaten, nev•r entrrrry foses bis prestige among tin baboons.—Paris Figaro.

WHAT GAVE HIM AWAY.

4 Tag on His Coat lapel Branded Bin a Deceiver.

He is the pink of neatness and propriety. He is violently in love with the sweetest girl in town, and, tapdd to the misery of these absorbing circranstances, he is at present decidedly poor. The latter conditiok is of recent dat6, however, and it was only last week that be donned the first ready made suit which had ever graced— or, as he considered, disgraced—his wardrobe. H« called his mother and sisters Into the room after getting into it and turned nervously before tbein. "Does it fit decently?" he queried in an igony of donbt. "Wby-y-y, what's the matter? Oh, yea, a tag. I suppose all this •ort of clothing Is tagged, isn't it?"

Never before, surely, were garments lagged as were those, however. There was ft tag on the hem of each troaser leg, one Upon the left ooattail and another on bis rest front, and still anosher on the sleeve. Even when he bade them goodby, after waiting impatiently while all the visible bits of cardboard were cut away, they yalled him back to remove still another. The result was tbat he finally reached the house of bis inamorata in anything but a peaceful frame of mind.

She, too, was nervous, and tbey departed for the theater in haste. He noticed, just soon as be slipped out of his topcoat, tbat her eyes sought his figure constantly and interestedly, but his inward uncertainty about tbat suit made him glower to that she said nothing, and the performance was half over before be gathered courage to speak of the subject himself. "How de you like my new clothes?" be «aked at last, with what calmness he could muster, and tbe girl blushed nervously. "They're quite pretty, I think," sbo Mid* with an apologetio smile, "but"— "I Aoa't tawg

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well or not," be interrupted, desperate with the fear tbat she had divined tbe secret of tbeir origin, "for I tried a new tailor, and, although he gave me several fittings, and—wJiat's tbe matter?" he broke oft to exclaim wildly as be saw tbe light of a dawning laughter in her eyes. "What is it, dearest?" "Nothing," she responded solemnly, although the laughter beneath her pretty lashes grew stronger momentarily, "only —only—there's a price tag on your ooat lapel 3"

And 60 there was, a snail but distinct legend, reading, "Size, 84 style, 7 price, 513.50."—Chicago Times-Herald.

UNINVITED GUESTS.

A Kind of Bee That Hakes Its Home With the Bumblebee.

In St. Nioholas there is an article on "Some Common Bees and How Tbey Live," by A. Hyatt Verrill. Mr. Verrill says:

Unlike the honeybees, tbe bumblebee queens, to tbeir credit be it said, are not of a jealous disposition, but live peacefully together in one nest until in tbe autumn tbe family breaks up, tbe old queens, workers and drones perishing, while the young queens, forsaken and alone, crawl away to some proteoted place wherein to pass the winter and reappear in the spring and found another colony.

If you should examine a bumblebee's nest, you would probably find among our busy, hard workirfg friends a number of individuals who never labor for tbeir living, and, although tbey come and go with perfect freedom, never bring pollen or honey, nor aid in making wax. These are the "guest bees" or inquilines, a species which depend on their host the bumblebee to furnish thorn board and rooms rent free.

The inquilines, like tbe European ouckoo or the Amerioan cow bunting among birds, lay their eggs by stealth in tbe bumblebees' nests. Tbe young when hatahed are oared for by tbeir foster parents, and wben full grown are treated with as muoh consideration as though they were guests of honor. Why tbe bumblebees should permit tbeir uninvited visitors to remain with tbem is a mystery, for, although some species closely resemble their hosts in size and color., others are quite different. It oan hardly be supposed, therefore, tbat they are mistaken for right-ful-members of the colony. On this acoount many naturalists have .thought tbat tbey perform some important service in return for their "hospitable reception, but of what this duty, if any, consists has never been discovered.

MODERN WHALE HUNTING".

The Huge BEammald Now Pursued With. Dxploaire JUuicea Fired Prom Cannon.

The weapons with which a well armed modern whaling vessel is equipped are probably tbe most savage and deadly known to warfare. Tbe enormous strength of the average whale makes the oontest with a small boat, even under the most favorable conditions, very unequal.

Captain A. E. Folger of New York, otherwise known as "Wbale Oil Guss," who bas spent SO years on whaling vessels, bas nccuftiolated a very curious colleotdon of these deadly weapons. The ^ost barbarous is a bomb lance. In whalisg the main object of the hunter is to securely fasten a harpoon la tbe wbale's flesh. The old style of fisbing consisted in merely throwing a barbed harpoon At a wbale with sufficient force to fasteoj it in its body. It often happened tbat this orude instrument was torn out of the flesh and the whale was lost.

The bomb lanoe consists of a long, thin cartridge, at the end of which is fixed a very sharp steel lance. Tbe bomb lanoe is fired with great aocuracy and force from a gun especially constructed for the purpose*. The bomb is provided with a fuse, whioh is set on fire automatically wben it is discharged and burns for three seconds before exploding the bomb itself. This gives the bomb time to strike tbo whale and become imbedded in its flesh before it explodes. These bombs are filled with a pound of powder, so that tbe result of the explosion is very likely to be fatal.

The bomb barpoon is oonstrtioted on the same general plan, except tbat the barpoon is much heavier and the bomb muoh larger. Tbis interesting weapon is fired from a gun weighing 250 pounds or-more, the harpoon itself weighing about 40 pounds. A rope is attached to the end of the barpoon, the other end of wbioh is, of course, held in the boat. It is oustomary, Captain Eolger says, to open firo on a whale with the light musketry, a bomb lanoe or so, and then immediately to follow with a broadside of bomb harpoons.— New York World.

INVESTIGATING THE BABY.

Mamma Appeared Just In the Kick of Time to Save Trouble.

A baby oart, which was occupied by a child about 2 years old, broke loose from its moorings in front of a dry goods store on Monroe avenue-recently and went sailing along for about 40 feet and brought up against a dry goods box. Some boys came along and observed the situation of the cart, and they stopped to size up the occupant. "Pull up his hair and see if be bas got any grit," suggested one.

His hair was pulled. Tears came to his eyes, but he did not yell. "Let him bite yer finger," suggested another. "I'll dare any boy in the crowd to put bis finger in the little feller's mouth."

The challenge was accepted. A dirty finger was inserted, and the baby snaked at it in a melancholy way and seemed to be thinking of the long ago. "Give him a marble and see if he'll swallow it," piped a little kid.

A great, big, dirty marhle was fished out of a boy's pooket and put into the baby's mouth. He bit at it and rolled it around and finally spat It out. "Try him with terbacker and see if be knows bow to obaw," advasod a freckle faced boy.

Tbe only one in the crowd who had arrived at the dignity of "chawing" bit off a piece of plug and was about to offer it when tbe mother came running down the street and broke into the crowd and bestowed a kiok or a cuff upon each one before they could get away. "You yonng villains!" she shouted as tbey baited in the middle of the street. "Who's a villyun?" demanded the biggest boy. "You are!" "Humph I Do you tb4nk never saw a kid before? He never oost more'n 8 oents at the outside, and you are doin $10 worth of hollerin! Let's stand around, boys, and give bim tbe whoopin ooff!"— Exchange.

His Conclusion.

some years ago when the NeIson-3E*age-Hopkinson-Smitb combination was touring the country a friend asked Mr. Page how be accounted for its success. "Oh," it's Smith," said Mr. Page. "He's made a hit and no mistake." Later tbe same friend asked tbe same question of Mr. Smith. "Well," replied Mr. Smith, "I must say that I seem to have struck tbe popular note." Still later tbis friend waa in bis turn aeked by another man bow he accounted for tbe success of tbe combination. "Well," said the friend, "I asked Page, and he said it was Smith, and I asked Smith, and ha said it was Smith, so I think it must be Page."—New York Sun.

"Hit an better," said Uncle £ben, "t& beer safrdtt changes 'is xnrnd dan ter be one dat*lidaj'1rbaJ ne xaind tor change in de fus' pl^aa."—Washington Star.

I've been told

TERRE HAUTE EXPRESS. THURSDAY MORNING. SEPTEMBER 2.1897.

S O a a Vj-F .1- .A

Ain't no use o' tellin me a thing shoot nnanoo. I've waited long fur riches an at last I've got -a chance. You'll have to hold up till I git the harvestin all done. I may then have time to listen to you "bout sixteen to one. •. I've even clean forgotten several things the!

About your money bein no account onless it's, gold. I've laid down jes' one principle from which I won't retreatThere ain't no politics as reggle-ates the growth of wheat,

Of course I'm'much oblige fur all them statesmen tried, to do To lend a helpra hand and pull the down trod farmer through, But on this here occasion I am blest if I kin see How anybody figures 'cep' the ole plow hoss an Hie. There ain't no legislation as'll run the sun an rain. There ain't no tariff as'll keep the weevil from the grain. Whut- I have long snspicioned I regard as proved completeThere ain't no politics as reggle-ates the growth of wheat. —Washington Star.

FUN FOR .THE THIN OFFICE BOY.

A Boll of Confederate Bills, Two Crooks

and a

Seqse) by the Police.

Not aH the loungers that loaf on the City Hall park benches are mere tramps. There is an occasional crook among tbem with an eye open for business. This was discovered by the thin office boy one day last week. Tbe tbin office boy had recently oome in possession of several hundred dollars in imitation Confederate money got oat by a firm for advertising purposes. This he rolled up, securing it with a rubber band, and shoved it into his lower waistcoat pocket, letting the top of the roll protrude alluringly. To all appearances the thin office boy was a gentleman of means and leisure out for a stroll in City Hall park.

This idea probably struck two men lounging on a bench, for tbey arose and followed the possessor of the bills. One was a short, dark man, the other a tall, blond man. Neither of them could have entered the dude's challenge competition for the best dressed man in New York. Now the thin office boy is known on Pari row as a "dead fly kid," and it took him a! very small portion of a moment to make up his mind that the men were following him on the trail of the roll of bills. This amused him. His own roll was deep in his trousers pocket. So he determined to give the men a chance. A crowd of boys playing craps at the corner of Broadway* and Mail street, just at the end of the postoffiee, attracted His attention, and he( stopped to watch them. The two men. stoppod also and began skylarking, all the time drawing nearer. When they were quite near, the thin office boy started on, and as he did so the small man ran into bim, knocking him beavily over against the big man, who lost no time in transferring the wad of bills to Ms own pocket. "Can't you look where you're going?" asked the thin office boy indignantly, but nob too indignantly, for he didn't want to pet into a fight.

Instead of replying tbe tall man fled with great rapidity toward Park row, while his companion slouched around the corner. Thereupon the thin office boy leaned up against the postoffiee and contorted himself with mirth until he grew breathless and blue in the face and fell upon tbe ground and rolled, to the alarm of a crowd who gathered about and expressed the opinion that he had cholera, hydrophobia, fits, sunstroke, lockjaw, paralysis, apoplexy, epilepsy and other ills. But a dear old lady came forward, put a bottle of smelling salts under his nose, and said consolingly: "Never mind, poor boy, the ambulance will be here soon.''

The strength of the smelling salts affected the sufferer like a brick applied with force to the back of the neck, and he arose, realizing that it was time to go. But when he returned to the office he was still weak from excess of mirth. Next day the police reports stated that a poorly dressed man had fallen in a fit in a Park row saloon just as he was about to pay for a drink.

The thin office boy thinks that it was his robber.—New York Sun.

Considerate Patients.

Amusing if apocryphal stories are told of the extreme care for the feelings of their physicians displayed by some patients. One such tender hearted man, seeing his physician coming along the street, slipped into a doorway to avoid him. "Why did you do that?" inquired his companion. "Well," said the man, whose health had been poor until within a year, "it's so long now since I've been sick that I'm really ashamed to see him."

An instance of still greater delicacy is recorded of a man whose case had been pronounced hopeless by his physician, but who afterward regained perfect health. He met the dootoron the street some time aft' er his recovery, and the latter had difficult ty in making his former patient stop to speak with him. "What's the matter?" inquired the physician bluntly. "Why," returned the other, "you said I was dying, and I'm ashamed to have you see me alive and well!"

Such tenderness as this merits the approval with which a quack is said to have commended a conscientious swallower of his medicines. "Ah, my dear air," he said, with strong emotion, "you deserve to be ill!"—Youth's Companion.

Birdie's Peril.

The screams of a woman with her head and shoulders thrust out of the fourth story window of a lodging house on Kearny street attracted the attention of passersby. The woman was squealing at the top of her voice, and for a Moment it was the firm belief of the people that some brute was trying to throw her out of tbe window. Closer observation revealed tbe fact that while banging the canary bird out in the sun tbe bottom bad dropped out of the cage and the bird was fiutteringaroand the top of the prison frightened half to death. "Oh, he'll fall. He'll fall. My poor little bird!" screamed the woman. Then with great presence of mind sbe turned tbe cago bottom side up so tbat her pet would not be mangled on the cruel stone pavements beneath. The bird sailed away over the tops of the buildings, followed by a most heartrending and earsplitting screech.

The poor woman was comforted, however, by the knowledge that birdie did not toll.—San Francisco Post.

Ia There an KtherT

Tho great physicists of the day being at one regarding tbe existence of this all pervading ether, it would be a manifest presumption for any one standing without the pale to challenge 60 firmly rooted a belief, and Indeed, in any event, there seems little ground on which to base such a challenge. Yet it may not be altogether amiss to reflect that the physicist of today is no more oertain of bis ether than was bis predecessor of the eighteenth oentury of tbe existence ef oertain alleged substances wbioh be oalled.pblogtetoB, caloric,' corpuscles of Mgfct and magnetic and eleo-' trio fh»3ds.

It would be but tbe repetition of history should it chance that before the close ol another century tbe ether should have taken its plaoe along with these discarded creations of tbe soiensiflo imagination of earlier generations. Tbe philosopher of today feels very sure tbat an ether exists, but when he says there is "no doubt" of its existence he speaks incautiously and steps beyond the bounds of demonstration. Ho doe^aotvkBow that ^ction. cannot take

place at a distance b&does not know that empty space itself may sot perform tbe functions whioh he aeeribes to bis space filling ether.—Henry Smith Williams, M. D., in Harper's Magazine.

THE "TOUGH KID'S" MATCH

ItSfb Found Him In Somebody's Bar line

ft

Who Was Walking JFifth Avenue.

Reggy bad a long line of gentle ancestors behind him, and it was just as natural for bim to look the nobleman as it was for the other boy to look "de tough kid of the Fo'rt' ward," which was the insignia on Swipaey's escutobeon. 'Tbe "tough kid" was sittiztg in tbe gutter wben Boggy came down the steps in a suit fresh and well fitting, with linen Immaculate, as becomes a gentleman, and his round, boyish face dignified and earnest with Ms stamp of birth. Tbe gutter boy's gaze was full of scorn, and bis heart swelled with a consciousness of injustice somewhere that he could not define. As Reggy reached the sidewalk the other's feelings fbund vent in a howl of derision. "Oatch on to de dude!" jeered Swipsey, following him down the avenue. Reginald was putting on bis gloves and took no notice. "Aw! I got a suit just like dat home in me trunk. Say, I'd like to punch yer face. See?"

Reginald looked annoyed %nd crossed the street, the other close behind. "Too pretty ter-fight, ain't yer?"

Reggy stopped, a warm flush mounting to his yellow hair. "I can't stand this," be said in apology to his ancestors and began slowly drawing off his gloves. Swipsey waited patiently while tbe preparations were in progress. He was a gentleman, too, after the code of bis Fo'rt' ward set and scorned to take an unfair advantage of bis antagonist.

With coolness and deliberation Reggy took off bis coat, folded it and bung it across the railing, smoothed his gloves and placed tbem carefully upon the coat, his hat, too, and without condescending to speak a word be stepped up to Swipsey, and the fight began.

It was all over in one round. There was no referee, but it wasn't necessary. Swipsey knew when be bad enough.

Probably those well shaped and well kept hands never inspired such respect as they di& on that occasion. Still with an unruffled composure he replaoed his hat and his coat, took his gloves in his band and continued his dignified passage down tbe avenue.

Swipsey looked after bim with dazed eyes and then thoughtfully moved off in the other direction.—New York Herald.

ONE CROSS EXAMINER.

He Wasn't a Gentleman and He Didn't Come From Virginia.

In Kentuoky an unfortunate merchant saw bankruptcy confronting him, and to save a portion of his property he invoked tHe name of his wife and tbe assistance of a friend. Tbe creditors instituted proceedings to recover certain property, and in the course of tbe proceedings this friend, a native of Virginia, was put upon the stand. All wiant well until the witness was subjected to a rigid cross examination by a lawyer, himself a native of Virginia. The witness went blundering along at such a rate that his lawyer felt it necessary to interfere and tell him that he was not required to answer questions which would criminate himself.

After the close of the case, wbioh" resulted disastrously for ear accommodating friend from Virginia, be expressed great indignation at tbe humiliation to whioh he bad been subjected. "I was novc:1 ia my life treated with so little courtesy," he said. "The opposing counsel did not ict at all like a gentleman, sir. I expected entirely different treatment, especially as I learned tbat he was from Virginia, and he knew that I was from that-state. No, sir, in the old days no Virginia gentleman, sir, would cause another Virginia gentleman the slightest embarrassment because of so paltry a matter, nor would he seek by set interrogatories to make him contradiot himself. No, sir, it is unpardonable, sir, and all for the purpose of increasing the dividends of a few Yankee clients whom he never saw. I am convinced, sir, that your lawyer never came from Virginia at all, sir. He must have come from West Virginia."—Louisville Post.

The Lunette Souchard.

There has been introduced of late for use by tbe French army, it is reported, what is known as the lunette Souchard—tbat is, a powerful binocular glass for determining the exact distance of an object from the observer. When the glass is in focus there are interposed by a movement of the fingers between the eye and the object two prisms of Iceland spar then there are brought into the,field of vision two images, tbe one being the real object tbe other a smoky facsimile in line with and at the rear of it, the second image being more elevated as the distance is greater. Tho object which serves for the adjustment of the glass is either a soldier of ordinary stature or one on horsebaok. If the head of tbe real image reaches to the shoulder of the facsimile he is distant just 300 meters, 39 5-8 inches to the meter if to the waist of the image 600 meters if to the knees 1,000 meters if the feet of the image apparently rest on the head of the soldier the distance is exactly 1,400 meters if there is a space between the feet of the one and the head of the other tho distance can only be approximately determined.

Sash Weights.

The ingenuity of man in converting the useless odds and ends of industry into articles of convenience and utility is shown to advantage in the ordinary window sash weights. Without these a housekeeper's life would be a burden, but few have any idea of the materials of which the weight is composed. The one quality on which its Utility is based is weight, and almost every metal that cannot be used in any other fashion finds its way into the sash weight. Tin cans that are too far gone to bo,pressed out for further preserving uses, old harness buckles, zinc bathtub linings, railroad spikes, rusty telegraph wires, broken nails, shattered screens and a hundred other remnants spurned by tho mass of people combine there to serve an important public use.—Philadelphia Record.

A Unique Sign.

In the line of novelties of advertising there is one Chicago dmggist whose departure would be bard to discount. This gentleman, whose plaoe of business is in Hyde park district announces tbat be bad a choice line of blue blooded Angora oats. His business cards bear a picture of an aristocratic looking tabby in one corner, and after tbe address are tbe words, "Drug Stem and Cattery."—Amerioan Druggist.

BXorphine Habit In Amoy.

It appears that morphia is being imported largely into Amoy, and that the habit of injecting it is much on the increase. Habitual opium smokers taking to morphine injections are enable to abstain from the opium pipe, but are by no means cured of opium smoking, as a cessation of tbe injection habit leads inevitably to an increased indulgence in smoking.—London News.

South America has the greatest unbroken extent of level surface of any country in tbe world. The llanos of the Orinooo are so flat tbat tbe motion of the rivers can scarcely be detected over an area of 300,000 square miles.

Faith is found beside the most refined life, the freest government, the profoundegt philosophy, the noblest poetry, the pur est humanity.—T. T. Munger,

PACKET RATS OF OLD.

THE SAILORS THAT MAHNED THE BLACKBALL CLIPPERS. If Xoo|FA

Onwi

Kept In Hand by Tougher

Officers How the Iaadama Were

Bobbed wl Be*te n—Punishment That

Was Sometimes Inflicted.

Sir

"Tbey were beautiful ships, tbe old Blackball packets long, trim clippers, that tone through the western ocean under a cloud at canvas that was kept spread as long a» it would stay to tbe yards. Many a one bad never a dry decker its crew a dry stitch of olotbtag in a dozen passages running. Tbey were finely fitted up in tbe cabins and cad a great part of the overseas passenger carrying up to the end of tbe war, but tbey were tougb orows and hard officers tbat sailed tbem—the toughest and hardest, I reckon, in tbe world."

Old Barney Rook&ffe, tbe sbipkeeper at an Fast river wharf, was talking. He was a deep sea sailor formanyv years. "There was tbe regular packet sailor, who would ship otn no other craft," be weirt on to sqy, "packet rats, we called tbem. Wben one of-tbem was fixed out in his regulation tog&—a red Havre shirt, black trousers, a glazed cap and neat calfskin boots—he was known as a 'Bucko' sailor, and put on great airs. Tbey went in gangB' tbat shipped together for tbe trip across the Atlantic. They fought the officers wibere tbey dared and robbed and maltreated tbeir feliosy sailors. A green Dutchman on bis first Blaokball packet trip was their special mark, and he was lucky if, besides boring bis chest looted bnd tbe very hoots stolen from his feet, be were not brutally beaten. Tbe regular packet saikti- c»rried no chest or bag, only the clothes on bis back. He came aboard drunk, was driven* cursed and smashed through the passage by the officers and made a pierhead leap from the ship before she was fairly moored-at tbe wharf on the other side of tbe water. Pickpockets, burglars, oriminals ol every sort, whose industries ooaapelied tbem to make sundry obanges of residence, shipped in tbe packets so as to got fsom ofie side of tbe ooean to tbe other. Such a mas, if a good seaman, might get through tbe trip all right, but if not he fared bard at tbe hangs of tbe officers. "It needed masterful, determined officers to keep suoh men under, and tbe packet officers wero of tbat kind. Tbey were fighters always ready, and tbeir orders were sharp and stem, witb a curse, and perhaps a snatch-block or'belaying pin coming dose behind them if the men were slow to move or to uaadenstand. A Blackball' ship often came into port with fewer men than she started with, and many an officer found it necessary regularly to leave the ship before she oame to anohor and stay in biding until sbe sailod again to avoid the warrants of arrest against him on aooount of bis treatment of tbe crew. After a Blackball ship bad cleared away it usually happened tbat a Whitehall boat put out from some pier and set on board two or three men who, clapping on round, straight vlsored officers' hats, went to getting tbe crew into working order at short notice. "I was not the kind of packet sailor I have been telling you.about, but I sailed a number of trips in tbe Blackball ships during tbe civil war. Sailors were scarce, and tbe pay o£ $80 to-f 100 in gold for a trip was too tempting to miss. Being a good sailor and temperate, I got on well with tbe offioers, and! managed to pull through without trouble with tbe men, but I saw some rough sights and doings. The thing tbat impressed me most was what I saw one Christmas day, with the ship lying out at anchor ready to sail at turn of tide. It was bitterly oold. The crew bad come aboard in aH stages of drunkenness, from fighting to dead drunk, and the uproar about tbe foreoastle was -like wbat I have beard told of sheoL "Among tbe crew was a very deoent looking old man, warmly olad, and wearing, I remember, a red comforter round his neok. I dont know whether ho had been drinking or not or whether he accidentally fell or wns pushed down the hatohway, but he fell some 10 or 12 feat down into the forehold. A gang of the packet rats followed bim down to where he lay, beat and kioked him until he was insensible, nnd robbed bim of everything tbey fanoied about him. "When the 6bip-was got under way and tbe crew were mustered am id drips to be ohosen off into wotohes, the old man stood among tbe rest, looking in mighty bad shape after tbe treatment be bad undergone. Asa rule little notice would have been taken of tbe matter and no inquiries made, but it chanced tbat the oaptain and he were both Freemasons, and-tbe old maTi gave tbe captain a Masonic sign, and that got bim notice. Tbe captain's eyes blaaed ns be beard tbe old man's story, and ha told bim to point out the men who bad beaten and robbed him. He identified six or seven—one of them was wearing his red comforter—and tbey were ordered to stand out apart from tbe rest of tbe crew. "Tbey were compelled to deliver up to the old man everything that be said wsa his, then tbe mate and second mate, th=J boatswain and carpenter put on steal knuckles and walked into tbem. The fe'tlows were knooked down and hammered and then pulled up to be knocked down again, the steel knuckles, wherever tbey landed, cutting like knives, until tbe deck looked like a slaughter pen. It was a cruel punishment, but none can say tbat iv wasn't deserved. 'New and then a packet officer would be killed by the crew. What these officers hated worst was to And a landlubber shipped as an able seaman, and they used to make the trip a miserable one to bim. Some of tbeir punishments were quee? ones, suoh as setting a man to dip water from one bucket to another with a teaspoon or fitting canvas svings to bim and making him pass the watoh aloft on ». yardarm, orowing like a cook at every two bells."—New York Sun.

'2TBITH HTTHH-Ca?IT0l*

I Kansas linstic Takes a Wash In (ShutA Style.

"Where is the governor?" timidly inquired a venerable looking man as he walked into tho Executive office at Topeka on a recent Saturday afternoon and, with bis bat in his band, approached tbe desk occupied by Major A. P. Shreve. "The governor has gone home to spend Sunday," replied the major, sea roe! looking up from tbe writing which he was doing. "That's too bad!" remarked the visitor, walking uneasily about tbe office.

Tbe strange visitor did not make bis wishes known, but continued staring vacantly at tbe pictures on tbe wall.

Finally tbe visitor approached Major Sbreve's desk and said: You know the governor, don't you?" "Well, I guess I do," answered Majcr Shreve. "He's a great fellow."

Yes, a very olever man," rejoined the major. "Know about tbo favor he offered me?" asked tbe visiter. "No, I den't," was the answer,

Tbe old man then oocupied ten minutes in a baiting, disconnected announcement of tbe fact tbat wben tbe governor recently visttad his sectien of tbe state, the conversation turning upon bathtub*, the old man had been promised a bath in tbe governor's-offkje. "Well, well)" exclaimed Major Sbreva. "We've-get tha bathtubs." "Is that possible?" "111 show 'em to you," said Shreve. fie opeaa^ Sbe door leading to the bath-

roam and told bis visiter to go in and ga to work. Tbe old fellow tiptoed in on the tiled floor, looked around in a dazed sort of way for some time, asked how to lock and unlock tbe doer and Anally announced bis readiness td tackle the job.

Major Shreve retired and for half an hour listened so sounds resembling the roar of Niagara emerging from the room.

At tbe end of that time tbo old mad again made bis appearance, having completed what be himself said was "tbe first bath I have had for years. That's mighty fine in there, ain't it?" he said. "Well, I do declare, I never thought there was really a bathtub in the office, but it's a greal thing, ain't it?"

As Major Shreve resumed his work th old man, with his obeebs aglow, ambled out of tbe office and said: "Give my regards to tbe governor, and tell bim that I oame and got the bath promised me."—Topeka State Journal.

WANTS EES RELATIVES.

An Abducted Girl In France Offers

a

ward to Find Them.

Willard Sprague, a lawyer of Brooklyn, bas received a letter from a young woman ill1 France, whose name Is Rochefort, offering 1,000 fran6s if be finds some of ber relatives in Williamsburg, N. Y. Tha woman says that she is tbe daughter of Charles Rochefort and was abducted from Brooklyn in 1886 by ber uncle, Pierre Rochefort. "According to the letter this woman has sent me," said Mr. Sprague tbe other night, "she has been left a good deal of property by the man who abducted her. As near as I can get to the story Pierre and Charles Rochefort were brothers and lived in France. Pierre was a shipbuilder and broker, and many years ago was engaged to a handsome woman. Pierre's brother Charles, the letter says, eloped with tbis woman and brought her to America. They settled somewhere in South Third street, Williamsburg, where the young woman'who bas written me this letter was born. Eleven years ago Pierre Rochefort oame to this ooontry and abducted bis nicce. He took her to France, and as she grew up he led her to believe tbat she was his daughter. Shortly before bis death, tbe date of which is not stated in the letter, he told bis niece who she was. His will left her a good deal of bis property, and from the nature of the letter I have received froni her she is very anxious to find some trace of her relatives. "—New York Sun.

SLAPPED A PRINCE'S FACE.

A Man Doesn't Like Being I*aghed at Even by Royalty. js

It is not given to every one to enjoy th«

l\

distinction of slapping a prince's face. A tf person who arrived at Colombo about the!J time the king of Siam was leaving fcr ICu^a rope is in that position.

According to The Times of Ceylon, the king and his immediate attendants had left the remainder of the suit and the fou*^ young sons of tbe king waited for th« launoh whioh was to take tbem to the ves--, sel.

The princes were standing close to the water's edge, looking very smart in their eton jackets and large white collars, when a boat containing several passengers from one of the steamers in tbe harbor came'up.

One of the occupants of the bpat in getting to the jetty was clumsy «nough to fall into tbe water. There were a good many natives standing by, and tbey all began laughing at the occurrence. Itr rather riles an Englishman to be laughed at by a crowd of gaping natives, and this particular Englishman gave vent to his feelings and slacked the face of .the-firsts person he encountered when he had scratn-" bled on to the jetty.

The youthful princes bad been laughing with the rest of the people when, the man fell into tbe water, but it was unfortunate that the irate passenger should have first oome across one of tbeir royal highnesses' when he landed, because it was on one of their smiling faces that the blow descended.

Without being in the least aware that he had hit any one out of tbe ordinary tbo passenger was passing on to get ashore. There is no knowing how the matter would bave ended if Major Knollys, who had charge of the polioe, bad not induced fcho wrongdoer to make an apology. As soon as the prince understood the nature of the mistake he treated tbe affair, with all possible good humor. .. v' 1

An Austrian Deputy Serves Beer*

One of the favorite butts of satirists an4 cartoonists in tho Austrian press just now is Reichsrath Deputy Karl Mittermayer^ the Anti-Semitic representative of one of the parliamentary divisions of Vienna. Herr Mittermayer began publio life as a waiter, acted for some time as a billiard marker .and afterward became bead waiter in a small suburban cafe. He then joined the Anti-Semitic party, and, becoming one of tbeir prominent agitators, was run as a candidate last March and elected to the reichsrath.

The olosing of tbe Austrian parliament having deprived him of bis daily salary of $4.16 as a deputy, he bas been compelled to become a waiter again. Visitors to a small, badly lighted beer tavern in the center of Vienna may find tbe representative of 50,000 electors wearing a shabby dress suit, serving out liquor and collecting money for it. He receives a salary of $12.50 a month, and for the rest is dependent on the customers' tips, wbioh in this tavern are exceedingly small. With tho reopening of parliament Herr Mittermayer hopes to play a prominent part in the anti-Semetic movement.—New York Post.

It is estimated that there are 345,868 foreigners in tbe city of Buenos Ayres, and tbat tbe total'number of foreigners in tbe republic is about 1,000,000.

Tbe total value of gold in tbe world at tbe present tune is about $8,000,000,000.

Mark Antony Is said to bave squandered $785,000,000.

Cascarets Candy Cathartic, tho mos* wonderful medical discovery of the age, pleasant and refreshing to the taste, act gently and positively on kidneys, liver and bowels, cleansing the entire system, dispel colds, cure headache, fever, habitual constipation and biliousness. Please buy and try a box of C. C. C. today 15, 25, 50 cents. Sold and guaranteed by all druggists.

What Rualtin Might Have Been.

In some reminiscences of Mr. Buskin contributor to Tbe Young Man describes a visit he-paid to Brantwood a few years ago. "If I had followed tbe true bent of my mind," said Mr. Kuskin to his visitor, "I should bave been a civil engineer. I should have found more pleasure in planning bridges and sea breakwaters than in praising modern painters." And with sigh —adds the writer, whether in earnest or in fun I oould not say, for it was a most difficult matter at times to tell whether be was serious—be said, 'Whether literaturo and art have been helped by me I know act, but this I do know—tbat England has hist in me a second Telford."—Westminster Gazette.

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