sR EE
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Bellefonte, Pa., Nov. 16, 1800.
LET US SMILE.
The thing that goes the farthest toward making
life worth while,
‘That costs the least and does the most, is just a
pleasant smile.
Phe smile that bubbles from a heart that loves its
tellow-men
Will drive away the clonds of gloom and coax the
san again, Z
It’s full of worth, and goodness, too, with manly
kindness blent— e
I¥'s worth a million dollars, and it doesn’t costa
cent. .
There is no room for sadness when we see a
cherry smile;
Tt always has the same good luck—it's never out
of style—
It nerves us on to try again when failure makes
us blue;
The dimples of encouragement are good for me
and you,
It pays a higher interest, for it ix merely lent—
It's worth a million dollars, and it doesn't cost a
cent.
A smile comes very easy—you can wrinkle up
with cheer
A hundred times before you can squeeze out a
soggy tear.
It ripples out, moreover, to the heartstrings that
will tug,
And always leaves an echo that is very likea
hug.
80, smile away. Folks understand what by a
smile is meant, "
It's worth a million dollars, and it doesn’t cost a
cent.
Jos. Wink in Baltimore American,
A WAYSIDE FAMILY.
The boy who was driving saw them first,
and turned aside a foot or so, that being
all the leeway there was on the rough
mountain road. They sat on the edge of
the steep, the man with his head in his
bands, the woman with a fierce light in
her eyes, the baby wailing at the dry
breast.
**Mornin’,”’ said the boy, and I followed
his example, for itis a custom to speak
to everyone in these unfrequented regions.
The man did not stir, and the woman
only looked a little fiercer and turned away
her head. A minute later the boy stopped
the horses to allow. them to rest and cool a
moment. I glanced back and saw that the
wayside family had arisen and were plod-
ding our way. I scanned them curiously
and as they approached, too curiously,
perhaps;-for-the man stopped short. “Yes,
I'm a tramp. What of it?’ he said de-
fiantly.
His rough candor was a challenge.
“Nothing at all,”’ I aswered briefly, ‘‘only
I wonldn’t make my wife a tramp, too.”’
I regretted my speech in a moment. He
etood looking sullenly down. Then he
raised his eyes. ‘‘Maybe you'd desert her,”
he sneered.
“I don’t think I'd do that either,”’ I an-
swered, tamely. ‘‘Most people find a bap-
py medinm somewhere between the two
courses.”’
‘‘He wasn’t a tramp a week ago. He
was a miner.”” It wasa bitter voice this
time, and it belonged to the woman.
I was almost afraid of her as I looked at
her, though sertainly she seemed too weak,
physically, to harm a healthy school boy.
I climbed out of the buggy. ‘‘Get up
here. Tramping isn’t good for women and
babies. How far are you going on this
road ?”’
“‘God only knows, ’’ said the man.
‘“Well, you’re going past Talbot’s farm,
anyway. We'll stop there for dinner, and
you shall be my guests. I'll tramp it with
you that far and tHe woman and baby can
ride.”
The man thrust his face closer to mine,
and then dropped back a few paces with-
ont removing his gaze. ‘‘Yon’re the first
man with a white heart that I’ve met in a
year,” he said laboredly,
‘‘He’s been minin',”’ explained the wom-
man in a monotonous voice, as if that cov-
ered everything.
The buggy continued its devious, wad-
dling course, and the man and I followed
afoot. The road was rough as a flight of
stairs and fully as steep, in places, so that
conversation was not to be followed asa
fine art. Furthermore I have forgotten
some of the finer details of what passed
that day, and I failed to ask some questions
which I should not omit if I met him to-
day. The first thing I said to him was,
“Why did you quit mining and go to
tramping? It must be a fearful thing to
have a family without a home. Surely yon
had a full stomach and a warm place to
sleep in at least.”
**I.8’pose hell furnishes that much,’’ he
answered bluntly; ‘‘but Inever heard of
anyone advising a man to stay in it, less’'n
the devil himself.”
I subdued my lips, which wanted to
smile, because my eyes were unable to de-
termine whether he was conscious of any-
thing humorous in his words.
‘‘Bat why did you leave ?”’
*“’Cause I owned a barrel of flour.”
Surely he was jesting, after all. ‘I see
you’re a humorist,’ [ said.
“Am I ” >
‘But I don’t quite see the joke.’
‘You can’t see what ain’t there.”
‘Then you were serious ?’’
“Serious? Does a man dry up the milk
of his wife’s breasts and let bis baby starve
unless he's serious ?”’’
‘‘Tell we about it,’’ I said, gently.
He waved his arm in a sweeping south-
erly direction. ‘‘Know avything about
that country down there 2"
“The richest coal land God ever made,
I’ve'been told.”
He laughed shortly, ‘and it was not a
pleasant laugh. “God made it did he?
Well, the devil has crowded him out of it
since then, that’s all.” ;
‘‘Who are the owners?" Sh
‘Owners? Ob, they don’tcount! At
least, all they count is the dimes they get
from their royalties. Ten cents on every
ton that comes ont of the field. They lease
the land to the operators, you know,
and they sit in Philadelphia and
draw their incomes. They're the
fellows who found out there was coal
in through here and whosharped the crack-
ers ont of their lands. Paid ’em fifty cents
an acre. The crackers don’t known any-
thing except to dig sand and to skin
skunks. = They could do that all right, but
those Eastern fellows knew enough to skin
the skunk-skinners,”’ ;
*‘Evidently the owners have a pretty
good thing. How about the operators? Do
they make money ?”’
*‘Oh, no! ' They run the mines purely
for the good of the people,’’ was the sarcas-
tic answer. ‘‘“The .miners are the only
ones wii make money. The miner gets
sixty cents for mining a truck of coal, and
out of that he has to hire his own helper,
buy his own blasting powder, often lay his
own rails for the trucks and sometimes fur-
nish the supports for the mine.” =
EE ITT.
“Sixty cents a truck! How much does
a truck hold ?”’
“H’m. Lots of miners wish they knew.
They’re supposed to hold two tons, but I
notice the operators refuse to weigh. When
new trucks are to be built, they simply
make ‘em a little bigger, and now I reckon
they hold nearly four tons.” :
“‘Why, that’s only fifteen to twenty cents
a ton for mining! I pay a man more tha
that to put coal into my cellar,” I cried.
“Qh, well, your man hasn’t the advan-
tage of buying powder and hiring a belp-
er ? was the dry answer.
“Here, let me understand this thing.
How much can the miner make under these
conditions ?”’
“As much as they’ll let him. If a min-
er gets to drawing money on pay day, they
lay him off.”
“But he must draw some money,” I
cried. ‘‘or he couldn’s live.’
*‘You forget those charitable iustitutions
called the commissaries. They feed him.
They sell him fourteen cent coffee at twen-
ty five cents per pound and other things in
proportion. If you and I bad gone into
the commissary last week for a pound of
beefsteak, yon would have paid fifteen
cents for yours, and I would have bad the
other half of the cut for thirty cents. In
fact, they could have charged me any price
they pleased on the books and I couldn’t
kick.”’
‘“The operators own the commissaries ?”’
“Of course. You don’t suppose even a
fool of a miner would let anyone but
his employer gouge him like that, do
ou ?"’
“Why don’t they deal at other stores?’
He looked at me pityingly. ‘‘True
enough. Why don’t they? And why
don’t they live in other houses than the
miserable shacks these operators rent them.
Ugly, ugly, God, how ugly! Cheap
one or two room cabins, with misery iv
every board of them.”
‘‘Aud do none of the miners make any
money, real money, I mean, which they
can save and get out of such conditions.”
“Some do. Every operator has to have
a few reasonably smart miners. They
mustn’t be too smart, but just smart
enough to suit. These fellows make mon-
e Rd
“But the rest had better not try, eh ? Is
that what you mean ?"’
**Well, that’s the way some of ’em feel.
I know lots of miners who quit work when
they get a couple of dollars ahead till they
eat and drink it up. ‘What’s the use?’
they say. ‘We won’t haveany niore in the
end if we slave day and night.’ ”’
‘No, he doesn,t have to, but he does.
Good God, man, life isn’t a dead level.
You can’t harness even a brute of a miner
in a track between a dirty streak of coal
and a dirtier home and expect him to nev-
er break the traces, I’m not claiming any-
thing for the miner. He's had enough,
but I notice that most every one looks for
some excitement and amusement once in a
while, and the miner takes what he can
get. If he does try to live a little bit like
a man—well, you see me. I’m a tramp.’
I was dumb, and after a while he went
on, speaking as if to himself. ‘*¥es, I'm
a tramp, and my wife's a tramp and my
baby’s a tramp before it can walk.’’ Then
he turned to me again. ‘‘And why?
’Cause I tried to beat the sacred commis-
sary. I had a barrel of flour shipped to
me direct from the mills in Columbus.
I got it intomy kitchen, I was fool enough
to think that I had found a way to
‘help myself and all of us fellows. I
talked to the miner who lived in the
other half of the shack. ‘What do
you pay for flour?’ Isaid. ‘Two and a
half cents a pound,’ he said. ‘I know a
way to get it for two,’ said I, and I told
him. From that time I was kept busy di-
viding my flour with my neighbors. I
suggested that some one else get a box of
coffee, another a barrel of sugar and so on.
One night there was a cave-in. They said
it was my fault, and that was enough. One
excuse is as good as another when you
want to fire a man. I had two barrels
of flour in the depot. They're there
et.”’
‘You left them ?”’
“I bad to. I had just money enough to
pay the freight. My boss wouldn’t pay
my wages, forhe said I was liable for the
cave-in. Ipaid the freight and it busted
me. Then I wanted the flour shipped to
Blackfields, twenty miles away. I knew I
could sell it if I could get it to town, and
no miner dared to buy it. The railroad
company refused to ship unless I prepaid
it. What's more they demanded a higher
rate for the twenty miles than I had paid
clear from Columbus.”
‘Bug they couldn’t do that.”’
_“Counldn’t they ? They did. The rail-
road aud the operators stick together. Yet
the railroad charges sixty-five cents per ton
for that very haul, and the same road will
take it to the seaboard for a few cents more.
Coal retails at Blackfields at $2.55. You
can buy the same coal from the colliers off
the coast for less than that. Funny isn’t
is?”
“There’s Talbot's farm,’ I said point-
ing. ‘Now, I havea plan. A couple of
miles beyond I pass the station. You give
me an order on the railroad company for
your flour. I'll get a guaranteed rate from
the agent here and remit the amount of
freight. They’ll have to ship it. It will
help you to stay here a week or two, giv-
ing your wife and baby a rest, and letting
you look for work. What do you say ?”’
‘‘What do I say?’ repeated the man,
brokenly. ; ti
‘But look here. It would be tough on
Talbot, and pretty warm for me later on,if
—if anything wrong should happen, you
know.” .. Gis A tbeil
For answer the man pointed ahead to his
wife who was alighting from the buggy,
bearing the baby cautiously. . ;
‘Hello, Talbot !"’ Icried as we came up.
‘Haye you got foar dinners and some milk
for the baby ?’’ ik rade vt oh
“Guess we got all that,”’ grinned Tal-
bot. When we were at dinner, I asked :
**Talbot, where do you get your flour 'way
up in this God-forsaken country 2”?
_**Haul it from the station, or from the
mill, which is farther.” : Gia
“Well, look here. My friend hereisa
capitalist in flour. Some of it is coming
to the station, and he and his wife want to
stay here a week or so till it comes. Then
you can buy it from him, and he'll settle
with you. I’ll guarantee the transaction,
¥ Jou have any close-fisted ‘fears about
6.
“Ding it all! You never eat a meal of
vittles with me, but what you twit me
about bein’ close fisted,”” growled Tal-
‘‘Well, I should think I would, the way
you treat your wife,”’ I retorted. ‘‘Here
you allow her to set up a spread like this,
and only let hex charge a quarter for it.
Why don’t you open your soul and let her
make whai it’s worth 2’’
Then Talbot grinned again and so did
his wife. :
*x :
The next time I passed Talbot's there
id a plump and happy baby rolling on she
oor.
‘He likes farmin’ better’n minin’,’’ said
a voice near by.
I turned and looked at the woman. The
fierce light bad all gone from her eyes.—
By J. Edward Vance Cooke in Ameriean
Volunteer. Pon
Indians in Art Handicapped.
than | They Have the Creative Genius. as Well as the Ap-
preciation of Nature—Kavajo Basket Makers.
There is an artistic element in the
North American Indian which is seldom
given recognifion. This ie not simply a
love for the picturesque in dress and an
appreciation of the beauties in nature,
which are his marks of characteristics, but
an ar$ element which is creative.
It is shown in its broadest sense in hie
birch-covered wigwams and his graceful
canoe, whose beauty of line and curve has
never been equaled in any boat which the
white man has made.
In its more restricted and individual
sense this art instinct is exhibited in the
blankets of the Navajos, the reed mats of
the northern tribes, the bead and quill
work and the basquetry. To be sure, this
is not uniformly artistic, any more than
the work of our artists is all up to the
standard which the critics set, but enough
good specimens have been made to prove
the presence of the true artistic instinct in
the maker. In each vessel or basket made
the inviduality of the worker is impressed,
as in the case with all handicrafts, and the
Indians had no patterns to use as guides,
worker is his own designer as well. The
blankets of the Navajo Indians are too well
known to need description. ~The rich,
mellow colors, obtained by their own veg-
etable dyes, have never been successfully
imitated in any mineral dyes of modern
manufacture. The best weavers draw
their design first in the sand, and estimate
its length to produce uniformity in the
weaving. The art of making these blank-
ets was first learned from the Pueblos of
Mexico, whose work the Navajos soon ex-
celled. Some of the designs in which the
blankets are woven are Perisan in effect,
and the field Columbian museum has a
specimen of elaborate pattern and rich
color which shows an unusual degree of
artistic merit.
BEADWORK OF THE CHIPPEWAS.
Many pieces of bead work are woven in
patterns distinctly Oriental in effect. One
of the moss artistic specimens of this handi-
craft is to be seen upon the walls of Miss
Colby’s cottage at Leech Lake. Miss Col-
by is the lace teacher at the old Leech lake
agency, and the work which is displayed
in her home was done by the Chippewa
Indians. The piece of beadwork mention-
ed is like a piece of Oriental sruff in all
but texture.
The Moki Pueblos of Arizona excel in
basket making. Baskets are used in con-
nection with almost every event of Indian
life. They contain the gift which is offer-
ed at ceremonies, and their shapes are
symbolic of the emotion which prompts
the gift. The Moki woman helieves the
design which she creates to be possessed of
a soul, and it is therefore patterned with
the most exact care. Many of the baskets
made by this tribe are therefore of beauti-
ful design and coloring.
The most artistic weaving and shaping
of baskets is done by the Mendocino In-
dians of California. These Indians are an
offspring of the Apaches. Their baskets are
inbricated or overlapped. and graceful and
artistic.
While it may perhaps be justly claimed
that the handicrafts of the Indians have
degenerated during the recent years, their
ability to do fine work is not a thing of the
past. This has been amply proven by the
lace work which the Indian women of our
northern reservations are now engaged up-
on, which work was awarded first prize at
the Paris exposition, in competition with
the laces of the peasant classes of the Old
World, where lace making has been car-
ried on for hundreds of years. The Indian
women who do this work show a native
taste for it, and an interest not merely
in the somewhat mechanical plaiting of the
threads, but in the artistic quality of the
design produced.
INDUSTRIAL TRAINING FOR INDIANS,
Miss Estelle Reel, United States super-
intendent of Indian schools, is doing all
possible to forward the policy of making
industrial - training the leading feature in
the education of the Indian youth. Farm-
ing and the industrial trades are to be
more closely correlated with literary work
as new courses of study are formulated.
May we not hope that as time goes on the
industrial arts and applied arts may also
be incorporated in their course of study for
such as show an aptitude for these branches?
Blue Wing, one of the best educated
squaws of the Winnebago tribe, declares
farming to be contrary to the Indian na-
ture, and states her belief that the Indians
would make better mechanics and artists
than farmers. !
During the early summer a party of
whites visited the Chippewas of Northern
Minnesota. The Indian children fled
away like wild partridges antil the artist
of the par‘y seated herself upon some rocks
to paint. One by one the children gather:
ed nearer and nearer, impelled first by
curiosity, but held as though fascinated
when a glimpse of the work was obtained.
And they stayed in a soli? group about
her until the boat whistle called her away.
Recognizing this unmistakable arf in-
stinct in the Indians of almost every tribe,
one can only speculate upon the interesting
outgrowth which would result from the
training of the Indians in modern arts and
handicrafts, and hope that this attractive
field may be opened to them.
bi
Ulcerated Tooth Kills.
Result of Neglect of a Standard Oil Director
Ambrose M. McGregor, one of the multi-
millionaires of New York, rarely heard of
by the general publie, died recently at his
country home in Mamaroneck, from a
tumor resulting from an ulcerated tooth.
He was one of the directors and one of the
stockholders in the Standard Oil company,
aud was reported to be worth $50,000,-
Mr. McGregor complained of an ulcer-
ated tooth for the first time about a year
ago. Like many men, he had a dread of
the dentist’s chair and suffered tortures
rather than have the tooth attended to.
Eventually an operation became necessary.
It was performed by Dr. Blake, of Cleve-
land, 0. :
There was some relief for a time, but
recently a tumor on the gum developed
from the ulceration. Mr, McGregor took
his bed and a heroic operation was perform-
ed by the specialists in New York. The
millionaire never rallied after the opera-
on. soy ; :
| The Pose of Ease.
“A thoroughbred gentleman puts on his
clothes and then forgets them.”
“That's what I try to do; but my tailor
won’t let me.”’ /
no models on which to cast the clay; each |
Awfal Pekin Siege.
Mary Pierce, Mrs. Conger's Niece, Writes of the
Trials. While Shot and Shell Whistled About, the
Women Bravely Worked.
Much has been written about the brave
defense of the foreign legations at Pekin, in
which unuombered thoansands of yellow
devils were held at bay by a mere handful
of Yankee marines and troops of other na-
tions. .
But there is one side of the story never
adequately told, aside more interesting
than the part taken by men trained to be
brave and paid and disciplined to fight. It
is the side which represents the part taken
by the women of the legations, delicate
women, trained not to peril, but to safety,
schooled in the arte and sciences and the
ways of the world polite, who by reason of
their inborn courage, hore a gallant
share in the fight, aud inspired the men
behind the guns to do all that brave men
can do. ;
Letters from Mrs. Conger, the wife of our
Minister, and from Miss Mary Pierce, his
talented niece, have béen received here.
They give most graphic pictures of the
events which took place while the besieged
foreigners were holding off the Chinese and
waiting for the relief expedition so long
coming from Tien Tsin. And while they
do not say very much about their own part
in the stirring drama, there is here and
there a touch which unconsciously gives a
clew to that side of the story.
MISS PIERCE'S STORY.
“While all the firing is going on we are
busy trying to drown the noise of it with
sewing machines,’’ writes Miss Pierce, after
telling of the horrible “Fourth of July”
going on day and night, during which the
Chinese explode millions of firecrackers
and thousands of giant crackers, as if they
expected to frighten the defenders with the
noise. **In this house we have made thou-
sauds of sandbags, not exaggerating, for
fortifications. . I have even helped to fill
them. Everybody was put to work. Aunt
Sarah (Mrs. Conger) has used all her silk
draperies, table linens, new and old bed-
ding, towelling and every piece of new
goods that we had for sandbags.
“A great deal of new goods was found in
Chinese houses roundabout.
“The greatest find in these houses wae
the immense amount of grain, rice and
coal.
“There are 1.800 Chinese Christians we
have to protect, besides there being 460
foreigners and about 260 soldiers. All
these people have to be fed much and you
can imagine how much ic would take to do
that. I don’t know how long we shall hold
out.
“We bave only a few stores. We have
rice three meals a day, with horse meat
and once in a while mutton. Sometimes
we have canned fruit for dinner, and also
for dinner we have soup (horse or bean).
Baked beaus take the place of meat some-
times. Vegetables and macaroni are Iuxu-
ries sometimes; also butter, tinned milk
and syrap. Of course fresh milk and veg-
etables are impossiblities.
“‘We are eating the ponies that every-
body has petted and ridden. I suppose
ours will be eaten one of these days. Our
| mule is doing good work ‘grinding a mill
that is making flour for M. Camot, the
French hotel proprietor, who makes and
supplies the people with bread. It isa kind
of whole wheat bread.
MADE HOSPITAL MATERIALS.
“We are also making hospital things—
two dozen sheets, six dozen handkerchiefs,
one dozen night shirts and seven hospital
slips, besides several hand bags. i
‘Men are being killed and wounded all
the time, and there is a constant demand
for things for the hospital. Every man
who is taken away weakens our strength,
and we cannot afford to lose them. An
English officer and a fine young customs
student were killed to day.
“What a Fourth of July we have had !"”
she adds. “The Chinese are furnishing us
with fireworks. I am not in great need of
such things, although like every one else I
have lost a few pounds.”
The women had other things to occupy
their minds. There was nursing to do—
lots of it—for the poor: Christian Chinese
who had come to the legation for protec-
tion were suffering from the want of food.
The dogs killed and fed to the Chinese in-
fants did not appear to agree with them.
Typhoid fever was prevalent and a whole
catalogue of infant diseases.
writes Miss Pierce, in August, ‘‘and near-
ly everybody looks and feels the need of a
change of food and climate. So many chil-
dren are sick, five have just died, and the
hospital is filling up with patients with
ing than those who have been wounded.
The men have been killing dogs today to
feed the Chinese, for the Chinese babies are
dying for want of food. It’s bad enough
for the grown people to eat a food made of
a little millet, mixed with green leaves,
black bean flour and earth. The looks of
the stuff fairly makes us sick, but I sup-
pose if we had nothing else we could eat
it.
“Everybody’s stores have been ordered
to be turned into the general supply. We
have enough to keep us alive awhile, but
we have to divide with our hungry neigh-
bors. We have two rooms. Six of us wom-
en sleep on.the floor in one,and the amah
sleeps in a little wash room off from it.
The men sleep in the other room, where
during the day we live. The beds are
rolled np and we have a sitting room.
’ “The Chinese were a constant puzzle.
They were utterly dishonest, never respect-
ing a flag of truce, and shooting when they
promised not to shoot, Bunt they were
childishly afraid of the relieving army, and
when it drew near sought to propitiate the
defenders by sending them delicacies which
were much needed and’ gratefully re-
ceived.” ; ne
Colorado Women Voted.
_ It is estimated that 85,000 women voted
in Colorado for presidential electors. They
were courteously received at the polls.
' There were clubs of Democratic and Re-
publican women, and through the cam-
paign they made speeches, house-to-house.
canvasses and generally worked along the
same lines that men do. In many cases
women took opposite sides from their
husbands. Bhd sd i
‘Besides the 85,000 ballots cast by wom-
en in Colorado it is estimated that 31,000
in Wyoming. This represents about 40
per cent. of the total vote.
. The women of Utah are among the most
enthusiastic of the voters, hut at the same
time this election again demonstrated what
bas been proved in the past—that women
will not vote for women for office.
Cause and Effect.
The Friend—You’ve caught a fresh cold,
haven’t you? Te
The Vietim—Ugh ! Baybe I have, butit
hakes be feel bighty stale, I tell you. =
Woman Tells the Thrilling Story of !
fever, who require a great deal more nurs-
“The weather has been hot several days’ |-
yard a well
generally be found hitched to an.
in the wall—this being the animal which
the master either rides or harnesses to his
cart. When a visitor is expected after ac-
cepting an invitation, if the hostess
Sargery Without Ether.
The Latest Method of Relieving the Pain of a Se-
rious Operation. No Loss of Consciousness. - In-
Jjections into the Spinal Canal Dulls the Sensibil-
1ty and the Knife is Plied Without a linge of
- Discomyort.
Ether and chloroform for surgical op-
erations promiseto he superseded to a large
extént in the near future by simpler mesh-
ods. Instead of the dread with which per-
sons approach the operating table, partly
on account of the fear of not awakening
from the ether, the biggest surgical op-
erations will be performed with the patient
able to converse with those about him,
and yet unconscious of the cut of the knife.
For many years past small operations
have been performed by injecting solutions
at the diseased point, bus in large surgical
procedures ether or chloroform have been
required. Apart from the struggles which
usually accompany ether and similar sub-
stances, and the after sickness, these meth-
ods of total anesthesia are not devoid of
danger to life, : .
The new method, which is a marked
triumph of medical science, deprives the
tissues of the body of their sensibility dur-
ing surgical procedures by means of injec-
tions of a solution of coeaine into the space
surrounding the spinal cord. The largest
operations, such as upon the abdomen for
tumors. extensive excisions of hones and
joints of the lower limbs, and even the
amputation of any portion of the leg, may
be done without the patient feeling the
slightest pain, and still permit him to pre-
serve his reasoning faculties. A few days
since a man was operated upon for hernia,
at the Jefferson hospital, after ‘‘spinal
anesthesia,” as the new method is called,
and during its progress—which lasted for
over half an hour—he not only felt no pain,
but conversed freely with the surgeons
present.
The new method, while first suggested
by an American, has been brought to its
stage of perfection by the painstaking la-
bors of Prof. Tuffier, of Paris. World-
wide notoriety has followed the operations
of this surgeon, which were performed last
summer during the progress of the Medical
Congress in Paris. It was asurprise to the
surgeons who witnessed the work of this
surgeon to be able to converse with the
patient during the progress of major op-
erations, the patient all the while evincing
not the slightest indication of pain aud
even being unable to tell where the knife
was being applied.
In carrying out this method of ‘‘spinal
anesthesia,’’ the patient is placed in a sit-
ting position. After thorongh and careful
antiseptic precautions have been taken he
is instructed to bend forward, and the
needle of a small syringe is inserted
through the skin and muscles of the back
until its point enters into the space sur-
rounding the spinal cord. A few drops of
the spinal fluid escapes, and then the re-
quired quantity of cocaine solution is slow-
ly injected. The needle is then quickly
withdrawn and the site of the puncture
covered with a steril cloth. In from four
to 20 minutes, if the puncture has been
successful, the patient has lost all sensi-
bility to pain in portions of the hody bhe-
low the site of the puncture.
The effect of the injection upon the
spinal and other nerves affected by the so-
lution has heenshown in a large number of
cases to be devoid of danger. Experiments
upon the lower animals prove that either
at time of injection or many months after-
ward the nerve structures are unaffected,
regaining their normal activity in every
respect.
The method has heen employed by
surgeons both in this country and in Eu-
rope in many hundreds of cases, with the
greatest possible success, since probably
more than a thousand spinal cocainiza-
tions have heen made for surgical purposes
throughout the world. with no serious ac-
cident reported as a result of the operative
procedure itself, it is obvious that the
operation is, in normal condition of the
spine, and in the hands of a careful op-
erator, practically free from danger. The
last number of the Philadelphia Medical
Journal devotes considerable space to the
details of the method, giving the experi-
ences of the surgeons in some of the larg-
est operations performed upon the human
subject.
Drug Taking Habit.
Responsible for Many of the llls that Flesh is
Heir to. '
Besides the abuses of drugs in rheuma-
tism and its sad results, another serious
abuse of the same kind was discussed at
the session of the international medical
congress in Paris. This is the present
fashien of taking laxative medicine in large
quantities and in almost infinite variety.
Several distinguished specialists from Ger-
many attributed to this habit, which is
common in nearly the whole world, the
origin of several intestinal affections prac-
tically nmknown before our generation and |
‘which are spreading. One of these, ‘a
mucco-membraneous affection of the in-
testines, is a most puzzling pathological
condition. A number of physicians at-
‘tributed the preseut prevalence of consti-
pation, which is primarily responsible for
the new fashions in laxatives, to an in-
sufficiency of fat in the modern dietary.
* The frying pan has gone out of fashion,
to the benefit of digestion, but ways and
meas of supplying the fats that used to be
consumed with the fried material have not
been forthcoming. The present generation
is distinotly an eater of sweets, not of fats,
but while the former supply the heat that
would not be obtained from the fats, they
do not supply certain lubricant qualities
which are so important for the proper per-
formance of the intestinal functions. The
uge of the milk fats—that is, butter and
cream as well as milk itself—was recom-
mended, as this form of fat is somewhat
delectable. The use of vegetable oils,
| olive oil and the like, in larger quantities
than at;present was also recommended. It
| was pointed out that the Southern nations
have learned to take their quantum of fats
in this way despite their warmer climate,
| which makes fat generally less acceptable
as food. It was reported from several
sources that in many painful conditions of
the stomach olive oil gave great relief.
Making Visits in China.
The Ceremonials That are Practiced on Such Occa-
sions.
‘All Chinese houses are hidden from
walls, while on each side of the entrance
are the stables and the apartments set
apart for the gate-keeper and other ser-
vants. In China the mule takes the place
of the horse, and near the door of the court
groomed, well-fed mule will
her daughter-in-law. are not in waiting to
receive the guests there are sure to be half
| a dozen women servants, while the family
| and pork products,
iron ring |
will be in waiting in the court beyond.
They will be dressed in their finest ap-
parel, rieh silks magnificently embroider-
ed, with the hair elaborately dressed and
adorned with jewels and bearing rich sil-
ver and gilt fans, also:much decked with
jewels. On entering the guest addresses
the mother-in-law first and afterward the
other ladies; the visitor, if a woman, be-
ing welcomed in tlie Chinese fashion—by
placing one closed hand upon the other
and moving it up and down. If the chil-
dren have heen brought out for inspection
—as8 i8 very generally the case—they will
be drawn up in line and will greet the
visitor with a pretty and graceful courtsey.
As a rule, Chinese children will be found
extremely pleasing and attractive—their
quaint and fascinating little dresses, jack-
ets, and trousers, which suit their dark
skins and bright eyes so admirably, lend-
ing much to the general happy effect. A
Chinese household is a community in
which the mother rules with a rod of iron.
Each son must bring his wife to his moth-
er’s house on his ‘marriage, and he must
there remain with his growing family. Un-
til she is fortunate enough to give birth to
a son, the position of the daughter-in-law
is very much like that of an upper servant,
her life being frequently one of the great-
est misery. The best rooms of the houses
face the south, and these are occupied by
the mother-in-law, ‘she having usually a
suite of apartments, with reception, din-
ing, and bed rooms, which are separated
by handsomely carved screens. The floor-
ing is of brick or stone, and uncovered,
this being the case even in the Emperor's
palaces. What is more, it 18 seldom clean.
and is made the respository for all sorts of
rubbish, being carefully swept, however,
when a visitor is expected.
In the reception room of a well-to-do
Chinese house a handsome table is usually
found placed against the wall opposite the
door, with a chair on each side, while
around are cabivets filled with bronze and
porcelain. In the bed room a k'aug, or
even-bed, occupies more than half the
space, and on this bed the Chinese woman
spends more than half her existence, sew-
ing, eating, and gossiping thereon; and at
each end of this bedstead are carved ward-
robes. The dining room is separated from
the reception room by a solid wall, and
not by screens, as in the other apartments,
while it must be reached by going out of
doors, although it is under the same roof.
The furniture consists of a high, square
table, with two or more polished and none
too comfortable looking chairs, side tables
for the serving of the many dishes which
go to form the meal, and upon the wall
inscriptions in Chinese characters, with
other decorations.
On the threshold the hostess steps on
one side and entreats her guest to enter,
which the latter, to be polite, must stren-
uously refuse, requesting her hostess to
precede her. This little bit of Chinese
etiquette can be prolonged for some time,
when, of course, the guest enters first, as
was originally intended. She is then con-
ducted to the place of honer, this being
the chair at the right of the table, which
she must at first refuse, repeating the pre-
vious meaningless performance, ending by
occupying the place. Pipes are then
brought in, but, if the visitor is a foreigner,
and does not smoke, the hostess foregoes
her accustomed puff. Presently tea is
brought in, clear as amber, flavored with
flowers, and served without sugar or
cream.
With it are served delicate small cakes,
not unlike sponge cakes, and delicious
sweetmeats, candied fruits, red fruit mar-
malade pressed into small squares, and
walnuts browned in hot oil and dipped in
syrup. What is considered vulgar in Eng-
land is considered polite in China, for dur-
ing the meal the guest must smack her
lips to show the meal is appreciated. Very
few are educated, the great majority being
able to neither write nor read. Probably,
first of all, the guest will be asked her age,
for the Chinse ask the most pointed and
personal questions. The older she is the
more admirable will she appear in the eyes
of her hostess, for youth in China does not
gain much respect. The hostess will then
want to know if her parents are living,
how many brothers and sisters she. has,
and from these inquiries will pass on to
dress, any peculiarities in the visitor's
toilet being carefully noted, and the
jewelry, lace and ribbons are religiously
examined and adnyired, all that the visitor
possesses be extravagantly praised, and the
belongings of the hostess correspondingly
depreciated. At the close of the visit the
latter will insist upon accompanying her
visitor to the outer court, which, of course,
she must be implored not to do, but which
she does in the end all the same, finally
shaking hands Chinese fashion, after which
the visitor enters her cart and drives away.
S————
Meat Prices Raised.
An Increase of One Cent a Pound in Chicago—A
Small Panic.
‘+A flat increase of one cent a pound was
put upon beef, pork and mutton Friday,
by Chicago packers. In one year the ad-
ditional cent will yield to the Chicago
packers, basing the estimate upon last
vear’s business, the following sums:
Dressed beef, $15,000,000; dressed pork
$20,000,000; mutton,
$4,000,000. Total addition to incomes,
! ,000,000. bE
‘‘Retailers of meats were thrown into a
panic by the unexpected rise in price.
Many who had carcasses ‘on their coolers
declined to buy until they could figure
‘out, what they would need at the new rate.
In the adjustment of prices to the con-
samers, choice cuts of beef have gone up
‘as much as five cents, pork tenderloin
jomped to the same extent and mutton
chops went up three cents. The advance
by the packers is more than 10 per cent on
the price of meat the day before election.
The advance by the retailer to the con-
sumer will average 25 per cent, for the
‘waste in a carcass doubles the increased
cost of the salable poraon.,. © |
. “The packers claiin they have been sell-
ling dressed meats at i Iuss fur several years.
In six months the price of meat stuffs has
gone up $2.50 per 100 pounds. There has
been no ing advance in the
price of cattle, hogs and sheep. Represent-
atives of the packers in charge of the
dressed meat department say the advance
was justified by the condition of the trade
and its’ imposition on the heels of the
election is but a good example of what
prosperity means to the consumer.
S————————————————————
voted in Utah, 11,800 in Idaho and 8,300 | passers-by in ‘the street by high, blank |
Santa Fe Forest.
Probably one of the largest tracts of for-
est now remaining in the United States is
the long leaf pine district in southeastern
Texas. The Gulf, Beaumont and Kansas
City Railway, teeusly quired by the
Santa Fe Road, runs through the heart of
this great tract and an immense traffic is
derived from the various mills along the
line. The territory tributary to the Santa
Fe sysiem east of the Rocky Mountains
and north of Texas is comparatively barren
'of forests and the demand for the Texas
lumber is large and on the increase.