SCENES IN BLOEMFONTEIN, 1 1 •: •: v™ OF ORANGE FREESTATE, j ~~f THE Orange Free State had no I quarrol with Great Britain. I The Transvaal's quarrol was £ not her quarrel. She was a free nnd independent State, living her own life and worshiping her own legislative and administrative gods. Her people, however, spoke the same tongue as the Transvaaler. A shadow of the Anglophobia that lurked on the north of the Vaal was also to be found north of the Orange, and Martinus Th. Steyn, the far-seeing and courage ous President of the Free State, firmly believed that if the Sonth African Republic -were wrested from Dutch control, either by armed force or by awe of Great Britain's prowess, the next victim of the slogan "British pre-eminence in South Africa" would be his own little Repubfic, the Orange Freo State. Furthermore, the two Republics were bound by a treaty made in 1597, after the Jameson raid, which provided that if eit l, " r State were attacked the other was . ome to its assistance with its full lit, \ing force, which at that time meant a com bined army of about 44,000 men— -27,000 Tranavaalers and 17,000 Free Staters. So the Orange Free State and the Transvaal joined hands. That tho Free Staters were not the first to suf fer by this racial coalition was due to ono of those mere accidents of war or caprices of fate that can never be anticipated. Ladysmitli and Colenso, Kimberley and Mafeking chanced to be the points where tho storm burst. The Free Staters, while descended from the same Dutch settlers in South Africa us the Transvaal burghers, form what might be termed another branch of tho Boer family. They settled in Natal after the exodus from the Cape, but as that became a British colony, they fell back and established them selves in the country lying between tho two great branches of the Orange River, kuown to the colonists as the Vaal and the Orange Rivers, and sepa rated from tbe coast by tho Dracben berg Mountains. Tho Orange River Free State, to give it its full name, forms a connecting liuk between Cape Colony, the Transvaal and Natal, and was for years called the Buffer State. It is a vast plateau, 3000 to 5000 feet above sea level. Its undulating plains slope from tho Maluti Mountains to the Vaal River. In the south they are PRESIDENT STEYN, OF THE ORANGE FREE STATE. dotted with rocky hills, which the Boers call "kopjes." In the northern part, however, one can travel hundreds of miles without seeing a break in the horizon. When the Natal Boers took possession of the country it was in habited by different tribes. All ex copt the powerful Basutos have dis persed. The Free State is divided into the following districts : Bloemfontein, Winbnrg.JSouthfield, Harrismith and Faurcsmith. The capital is Bloem fontoin (of which we give several il lustrations), situated on a tributary of tho Modder River and about 800 miles from Cape Town. The Orange Free State was annexed by Great Britain in the forties, and continued a colony of the empire until 1854, when it was granted independence. The in habitants then established a govern ment of their own and had progressed fcivtislactorily until their President, Mr. Stcyn, was led by President Kruger into an offensive and defen sive alliance against England. That the Boers have for months and even for years been anticipating some ->- -' — HOME OF PRESIDENT HTEYN AT BLOEMFONTEIN. fioai K'.rtigtflo with the British has bcon well demonstrated by the thor oughness of :Le preparations for war tvhiith the Government of the crafty Oom Paul has been making for some time past. The snmo might be said of the doughty Lurjrhers of the Oranare Free State, for Bloemfontein, tlie cap ital of the little republic, was careful ly fortified and garrisoned for many months before the actual outbreak of hostilities. The accompanying illus tration wiU give a very good idea of the Boer fort at Bloemfontein, a spot which, in view of recent events, has an especial interest to all followers of the present struggle between the Boer and the British. The Orange Free Slate is like and yet unlike the Transvaal. Its people, like those north of the Vaal Biver, are « o VIEW OF BLOEMFQNfIptN, THE CAPITAL OF ORANGE FREE STATE. simple, bucolic and sincere. An infu sion of Huguenot blood makes them a slightly more active and progressive people than the Trausvaalers. The republic has an area of about 50,000 sqrare miles. Its present population is estimated to be 93,000 whites and some 140,000 blacks of the Basuto end Barolong tribes. The capital, Bloem fontein, is a curious, old world look ing little city, wicti a railway leading THE BAADZAAL (PARLIAMENT) BUILD ING, BLOEMFONTEIN. from the south into the town and again starting nort ll .. Unlike Kimberley and Johannesbur 112, the visitor gets no im pression of mushroom growth from Bloemfontein, for the city is rich in statuary and public monuments and possesses a national museum and a well - stocked public library. The Bloemfontein raadzaal, or council chamber of the legislature, is a hand some edifice, desigued in the Greek style and costing almost a quarter of a million dollars. The buildings in the city are substantial and prepossess ing, for near by are great beds of free stone, admirable for building pur poses. The presidency, where Presi dent Steyn resides, is also a very pa latial building. The Orange Free State is not a for est country, for, like the Transvaal, it is very sparsely wooded. The only BOER FORT AT BLOEMFONTEIN. mountain ranges in the State are the Stall Mountains, which lie in the east ern portion of tho republic. Practi cally all of the plains are well adapted for pastoral purposes. On the Basu toland border there is a golden strip of land, thirty miles broad and 100 miles long, which is considered to be the best bit of grain producing soil in the world. Think of land that, withont irriga tion, and with scarcely any cultiva tion, will raise seventy to eighty bushels of grain to the acre! Wheat, oats, maize, barley and Kaffir corn can all be grown, while herds of cat tle, horses, Angora goats, ostriohes and sheep can live and flourish on the veldt. Tb«r« ar» thrpo kinds of raonlar Government schools. One is the town school, another the ward school and the third the paripatetic school. At Bloemfontein there is a very tine college, known as Grey College,where higher education is carried on. The vast majority of the Free Staters are members of the Reformed Dutch Church. In fact,this is the es tablished church of the State. Even the tiniest village has its devout con gregation, and the Government con tributes each year $40,000 for the support of its Dutch religious insti tutions. The climate of the Orange Free State is perhaps the most healthful in all South Africa. It is both drier and colder than that of the neighboring colonies, due to the fact that the veldt of the Free Staters is so high above the sea level. The constitution of the Orange Free State is founded upon that of the United States. This constitution was adopted on April 10,1854, and gave to everyono living in the country be fore the date of its aboption the right to voto for a president and members of the new legislature. The com mando law is unique. This law,which was put into successful operation at the opening of the campaign for the raising of Orange Free State troops regulates the calling out of burghers at all times of danger. Every male in habitant of the State between sixteen and sixty years of age is, under this law, subject to the call of the field cornet. The number thit were found available for the last call to arms is said to have been 23,000. A lthlnoceroA at Large. A rhinoceros that can dance is not, like a dancing bear, a familiar sight. Naturally such a rhinoceros created a sensation when, while being unloaded from a railroad car at Philadelphia, it escaped into the street. The beast was sent to the Zoolog ical Garden and arrived in good health and spirits. Twenty employes of the express company stood about to pre vent its getting away, but when the animal started thoy all fled down Sev enteenth street. The rhinoceros went to Market street, the men after it, theuce to Six teenth and back to Filbert. In the short journey it passed probably a hundred people, and put them all to flight. An Italian, grinding out a merry tune on his organ, got a shock that he will not soon forget. The beast h ,- s been with a circus and can duncf and do a cake- /alk. At Sixteenth ana Filbert stree.s it heard the sound of the music, and began to dance. The Italian did not know what brought the crowd, but he kept on turning his crank until suddenly there was a roar of laughter, and he turned to find the beast standing still, sol emnly looking at him. With a terri fio yell, he dropped the crank and ran. The animal was caught and put back into the cage with little difficulty. A Life un the Ocean Wave. A Liverpool steam packet company many years ago wanted to extend its premises, and resolved to buy a piece of land belonging to a maiden lady of uncertain age. The spinster sold her land at a very low price, and as a set of requested that a clause should be putin the agreement to tho effect that during her whole life she and a com panion should at any time travel free in the company's vessels. On the day after the agreement was signed, she sold her furnitnre, let her house, and went on board tho first outward bound vessel belonging to the com pany, without troubling herself about the destinatic i. For many years the lady lived on i ne ship or another, ac companied by some lady traveler, for whom she advertised, and whose pas sage money she pocketed. She was reckoned at her death to have made over ten thousand dollars by the trans action. A Squash That Lltted 5000 Pound*. An interesting agricultural experi ment is related in Success, from which this picture is taken. A harness or basket of strap iron was placed over the squash in such a manner that, in order to grow, it would be compelled to lift any weight that might be placed on it. Harnessed in this manner, on August 21 the squash lifted sixty pounds; August 31, 500 pounds; Sep tember 11, 110 ft; September 31, 2015; October 18, 3120, and October 31, 5000 pounds. Twelve pounds only is the weight of the new automatic machine gun under experiment in the United States Army. It fires 450 shots a minute, and can be carried bv one mau. MASON AND DIXON'S LINE. Relic* of tlie PamouH Boundary Between - Pennsylvania and Maryland. The bill introduced in the Maryland Assembly by Senator Moses, of Balti more, appropriating SSOOO with whicb to restore Mason and Dixon's Line, i; NORTH SIDE, BEARING ARMS OP THOMAS AND RICHARD PENN, AND SOITTH SIDK. BEARING ARMS OF LORD BALTIMORE. awakening much interest. The State of Pennsylvania has already voted u like amount for the purpose. Tho line between the property ol Lord Baltimore and the Penus aroused many disputes and much bad feeling in early times, and the King and his counselors in England could And no way of stopping the quarrels, which frequently ended in bloodshed. Final ly,in 1767, two famous English astrono mers, Charles Mason and Jeremit.h Dixon?made the survey and ran the line <niich established the boundary between Maryland. The work cost 8171,000, but it settled all trouble from that time to this. The line runs along the southern border of Franklia County, and for 132 miles every five miles is, or was, planted a stone bearing on the Penn sylvania side the arms of Thomas and Richard Penn carved thereon, and on the Maryland side the arms of Lord Baltimore. The intermediate miles were marked by stones, upon which ■were cut the letters "P" on the north side and"M" upon the southern side. A very few of these old milestones are now standing. The one shown in the cut is now at its old position at Highfield, along the Western Mary land Railroad. Most of them have been destroyed, aud even stolen. A farmer in Washington County, Mary land, has two of them in use as door steps at his house. * To Hnve Good Teeth. All persons, old and young, should have their teeth examined once every six months by a competent dentist. Decay will be present, and tarter forming, which nothing but a thor ough examination will reveal. Pro fessional service rendered in time means high-class work, less pain aud great economy. A tooth filled when decay is slight will not bo sensitive, the operation not long, and the filling lasting, because the operator has more and better structure to work on. He is enabled to make the walls of the cavity thicker and stronger, and with slight danger of exposing the nerve, the dread and fear of all when having teeth filled. Have your teeth attended to in time. Do not pro crastinate. Give the dentist good tooth-structure to work upon, aud he will render you excellent service. One person in a hundred has good teeth; ninety-nine persons in a hundred could have good teeth with the proper attention.—Woman's .Rome Com panion. A (>ufier Cliarcli. At Santa Clara, Cal., there is a Bap tist, church which wus built of lumber mado from a single giant oak tree. Under its branches the first Baptist service in that region was held, in 1853. When it was decided to build a church edifice it was thought best to use the site of the original meeting place. With appropriate coremonies the great tree, whoso shade covered an acre of ground, was consecrated for its new purpose. Workmen then cut A QUEER CHURCH. iff the tree twenty feet from the ground. This big stamp was partially uollow, and was allowed to stand for the crhurch tower. A tapering steeple was built on top of it. , The upper part of the tree trunk and its huge branohes were sawed up into lumber for the main body of the churoh. When the church stood com pleted a substantial building, thirty feet wide by seventy feet deep, 1200 feet of lumber remained unused. A more sturdy building could not be im agined. A Miss Better Than a Mile. One of the Btories that the late James Payn, the novelist, liked most to tell was about what he called an American duel, wherein two duellists, with one second, met within doors and drew lots to decide which should shcot himself. A was the unlucky mau, and without a wcrd he retired into the next apartment to carry out tho purpose of self-destruction. G and the seoond, both very muoh moved by the tragedy of the situa tion, remained in listening attitudes. At last the pistol was heard; they shuddered with emotion and remorse, when suddenly in rushed the supposoil ilead man, triumphantly exclaiming, "Bliased. bv heaven." I CHILDREN'S COLUMN. \\ Bedtime, Three little irlrln ..i., weary— Weary of books und play; Bud is the world and dreary— Slowly the time slips away, Six little feet are neblng. Bowed is each little head; Vet they tire up and shaking. When there is mention of bed. Bravely they laugh und chatter. Just for a minute or two. Then when they end their clatter Sleep comes quickly to woo, Slowly their eyes are closing. Down uguln drops each head— Three little maids are dozing. Though they're not ready for bed. That is their method over— Night after night thev protest, Claiming they're sleepy never, Never ill need of rest; Sodding and almost dreaming, Drowsily each little head still is forever scheming Merely to keep out of bed. A Child With a 000-l Memory. The other day a lady who lives on Morgau street took her five-year-old son to a photographer's to have his pictures taken. She was anxious to secure a good likeness at this parti cular sitting because she wished to distribute the pictures among some friends who were then her guests. The ch.ld's idea of the all'air, how ever, did not, apparently, harmonize with that of liin mother. For when the man with the camera began to adjust the lens and direct it toward little Edward that voting person set up what was unquestionably a howl. In vain did the mother call into use her utmost foreusic abilities. Ed ward did not want his picture taken. "Why, my child," she said, sooth ingly, "the gentleman won't hart you. Just smile and keep still a moment and it will be all over before you know it." "Yes, I know, ma—ma!" whim pered the youth, with the tears run ning down his cheeks, ''but that's what you told mo at the dentist's." St. Louis Post-Dispatch. How AniniKl* Heat Their Miturles. When a in: n is tired he stretches out his arms and legs aud yawns. Birds and animals, as far as possible, follow the example. Birds spread their feathers and also yawn or gape. Fowls often do tliis. Fish vawu,ihey opeu their mouths slowly till they are round, the bones of the head seem to loosen and the giils upen. Dogs are inveterate yawners and stretchers, but seldom sneeze unless they have a cold. Cats are always stretching their bodies, legs aud claws, as every one knows who has had a cat for a pet Horses stretch violently when and after indulging in a roll, but not, as a rule, on all fours. A stag when stretching sticks outhis head,stretches his fore'eet out and hollows his back and neck as though trying to creep uuder a bar. Most ruminant animals stretch when they rise up after lying down. Deer do it regularly, so do cows. This fact is so well known that if a cow arising from lying down does not stretch herself it is a sign that she is iIL I*u«sy Kline the Bell. A big back toi.»cat in a Sioux City (Iowa) place of business gave the girls in the telephone central office a deal of bother, much as children do, you know; for he likes to turn the tele phone crank to hear the bell jingle. Of course that "calls" the patient girl at the other end of the wire. The cat is always ready to sit on his hind legs, like a dog, or do a bit of gymnastic work on the back of a chair, for he is a very unusual cat. One day he was licking the sawdust from his sleek sides when his paw struck the crank of the telephone, which was beside him. He stopped and looked in quiringly at the crank, and then care fully, softly touched it again with his paw and seemed immensely please I with the jingle. Now he has to be scolded two or three times a day for experimenting with it. As soon as he pushes the crank central calls tip and wants to know "Number?" The cat's friends have to answer, "Kittie rang the 'phone." The phrase has thus become a byword with the operators. When there is a false alarm they say, "It was Kittie who rang." Extra Money for Men«enirer Boy*. There are pleasant features in the messenger lad's life that the public doesn't generally know. One of the mostpleasaut phases is the tip which often goes into the young fellow's pockets. Some of the downtown brokers have their favorite boys, and the lads iret from $5 to $lO a week in tips. The brokers prefer to have a messenger boy do certain errandß in stead of their own office boy, as the latter are too well known to the people the brokers try to do business with. The lads are often called upon to do strange things. One of them caused quite a sensation a year ago by walk ing alongside a wealthy woman,carry ing her prayer book to church. The lad didn't occupy the pew with the lady, but he waited outside the church, at 30 cents an hour, until she was ready to return home. Ladies who goto theatres without male escorts often get a messenger to acconipauy them, and sometimes take the lad into the theatre. Home of the lads tell you how tho ladies made tlioni eat out of their boubon boxes aud slipped a quarter or a half dollar into their bauds beside.—New l'oik Mail aud Express. Fox Tub". i'hey were delightful ac.d amusing M-eatnres, their ears ever alert, their bright e,yes always on the lookout, aud their sharp little noses snittinc the air •agerly. So precisely alike war# they, from tip of nose to tip of tail, that not even their owners could tell the one from the other. They took kindly to petting and fondling, but firmly though gently refused to learn any tricks whatsoever. Very soon they had the run of the whole house patter, patter went the little feeti scratch, scratch, rap, rap, if a doot were shut, and the two-bright eyed little rascals did not have to wait long lor admittance. The next step was to the lounge or bed, whera thej cuddled close among the soft pillows with great satisfaction. If ever dis lodged they protested vigorously with tooth ami claw, and a sharp little bark that said as plain as words, no, no, no. Alas, even bnby foxes cannot always stay babies. Box and Cox were with out doubt growing, aud their powers of mischief grew also. A breakfast of young chicken without ns much as "By your leave, Madam," was the climax of r. long succession of mis deeds. They were restored to their native peaks, where they could find i warm and sheltered burrow, and a? foxes eat field mice, grasshopt ers.ant) crickets, they were in no danger o) starving.—Our Animal Friends. A Strang© Foster Motlier. A cat and five kittens were fount) one morning comfortably ensconced in the hayloft of a stable at Blacken hurst. They were not wanted there, aud so the stabie man removed the family to a crib in a stall where a broody but persistent hen had been for many days sitting upon some china eggs. Before long sounds of a struggle were heard, and the cat left her young ones with a good deal of haste. Oa investigation the stable man found to his astonishment that the beu had driven out the cat and taken her place as loster mother ol the kittens, nor would she permit tha cat to return. She cooed to the kittens and did her best to nurse them; when they became restless she exercised maternal authority in keep ing them well within bounds. Some times, while attending to one side ol her nest, a kitten would stray from the others. But the foster-mothei was not to be evaded. She would at once leave her place and search till she found the truant, aud persuade it by pushing and other means to return to the nest. Of course, it was neces sartf Vat the cat should be allowed t; appiV 'h her offspring from time tc time, i order to feed them. The hen had thfej. to be forcibly removed and the door barred against her. Nc sooner was it opened than the hen vouUl drive out the cat and resume her place as the head of the house hold. At night she spread her wiugi over the little animals just as though tbfiy were chickens, and certainly they seemed to like the cozy war»utb of their featherd qi'ilt.—Everybody'? Magazine. Flnrllnir Out How to Hejj'n. Two boys had sat down together to work out some problems in algebra. One of them had been busy with his pencil a full minute when he noticed hia companion sitting with folded arms and knitted brows. "What is the matter?" he ex claimed. "Why don't you begin. '•l'm finding out how to begin," returned the other, quietly, and he went on thinking. The first speaker covered a page of foolscap with fig ures,found himself in a labyrinth from which there seemed no escape, aud lookiug hack over the statement of the problem, discovered a mistake la his first equation. Long before this, however, his companion had worked the problem through and leached the correct result. . He had not wasted time, because he had looked at all sides of the question before he began. A great many of our young folks overestimate the importance of haste. They carry too L>«aavy work in school in order that they may graduate a year enrlier. They skim through their library books that they may return them aud take out others. They settle important questions on the im pulse of the moment, because they have not learned that there is real economy iu taking time to see all Bides before making a decision. Now and then we meet people who toss up a penny to save themselves the trouble of making up their minds. But even this is hardly more foolish than it is to follow blindly the first impulse that comes into our heads. To act without stepping to think is the poorest economy in the world. Nobody wastes time so hopelessly Ks the person who decides without de liberation, who, because of this wrong beginuiug, follows the v/rong path, and finally is forced to retra -e his steps and start again. A little hard thinking before we begin to act would save us not only much precious time but many a heartache as well.—Chris tian Commonwealth. Their Ann* Too Short. The biggest telephone cohipany in Kansas City is short of operators, and the reason of this is that most of the girls who have applied for positions the pr.sent mouth have not been tail enough. Hereafter a girl who does not measuro 5 feet B inches iu height will not be employed. The company has It arned that short girls have short arms anil girls with short arms cannot do the work as well us those with long arms. The pres ent indention of the company is to get a sufficient number of long-armed girls and th-m endeavor to keep them. fiiTHtpr >":!poleoliB. "I don't Boe why so many people envy h character like Napoleon." '"lt's due to the nalive egotism of the human race. Everyman imagines ihat if lie hud been ill Napoleon's p!a; e he would havebeeu considerably smarter uud managed to keep away from St. Helena."—Washington Star.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers