THE COLUMBIAN, BLOOMSBURft, PA. a rvaara arscS the 5 -Snake- .j V.f H. Mlirlrios. All round ths circle of ths hills C-o dair.ling iky pressed down un- onclixl to ths touch of the parched i-rocli. Dstwsoo ths hills tha i1 : li-ow bsslo ksy baked and breath- . Ovsr It the tense air qulwred v i hoat. Within, no bird fluttered water purled nor green plant ; Mei its head. Only the desert ,i . .Idron, sagebrush and grease-wood long-splned cactus, gray but novor dying, lived- on there lu the drought, sterile and forbidding as the land which gavo thoui birth. Everywhere wu alienee upon the place, everywhere waa Immobility, save where the mac lay and whore beside Mm the bound annke whirr ed and writhed and rattlod In the Impotent fury of fear. The man lay stretched on the hot earth stark naked, his fnce turned to the sky. A buckekln thong paused across hta throat and waa drawn taut between two roots of rare brush. The nooso which held hla ankles was secured about a clump of urease-wood and both arms, thonged at the wTlsts, stretched wide na In crucifixion. Heavy bands of buck skin spanned his body eo that to the prisoner there were but two possible nigvements. Ho could turn his head from sl to side, facing on the o:io hand the snake, on the other I'mi miniature forest of rage-brush; a'.vl he could clench and unclench hla pinioned hands. In tli I a Inst froodom tho final In genuity of savage captors had found expression. With the left hand tight clinched, the snake's wild stroke fell Just short of lta aim. Should sleep or Insensibility relax the fingers tho reptile's head might overlap them. Since early morning, through the Increasing heat of tho day, the man had lain tbero, grim and Bllent as th gray Mils round him, save when r.-w and then he raised his hoarse voice In defiant shouts. The snake, oa the other hand, struggled and fought unceasingly against tho cord "which held him, striking Impartially at It, at the Just removed fingers or at the wooden stake to which tho lord was tied, grovelling his body In ' o sandy earth, writhing and tug with protruding tongue, and all Voile translating in whirr and i the blind fear of his captivity. jometlmes ths man turned his .u.id to watch; once or twice when snake's movements flagged he lightly stirred his fingers In tho aa.nd, the ruse each time rewarded by the swift spring and fruitless stroke. But mostly he lay still, all Ids mind bent on endurance. The man had been placed there to die. He knew it and the know ledge tinged his thoughts with a Grange curiosity. There were three ways in which death might reach him; through the snake, through sunstroke or by the weary route of thirst and hunger. The second and quickest of these ways the light mountain air, vibrantly hot though it might be, rendered improbable. For the snake is waa a part of the man's torment that at any minute he might stretch forth his hand and by the movement invite an end brief indeed, but horrible to the mind, doubly horrible to the strained im agination. There waa one other chance. An unexpected rainstorm, a heavy nlpht dew In that barren place, would ro stretch the slender buckskin thon which Ue'ld the rattler that unaided he might reach and strike his vlo tlm. This waa the elements of un certainty in the grim problem. This it ves that sent tho man's eyes soerchins the bare horizon with a look half dread, half longing. On one of these weary journey's ot ElKht a tiny speck or crack tbnve the western hills attracted him a steady pinpoint of the duzzlltig blue. Ho shut bis eyes a moment in order to look again the more Intently, and when he opened thorn, lo! the dark points were two. Ho watched them unconiprehndlngIy, as slowly und steadily high In air they moved from west to east. When at last in mid heaven the sun's sheer strength boat down his gate, he was the lonelier for loss of this one sign of move ment. The sense of heat had by now grown into anguish. Tho man's ex posed body drew and quivered be neath the sun's rays as though each Inch of it wur endowned with a separate life. Unseen inseots brush ed and fluttered upon tt, leaving be . neath their light pressure a trail like fire on the blistered surface. The snake lay prone, exhausted almost beyond str4Mg. The man( noting it, smiles sjatairly und scraped his fingers noisily in the loose earth. As the snake whirled to front the chal lenge, he curled his hand close with a taunt for lta futile effort He was thM fcgrossed when sud denly across hkt face swept a sens of delirious enotawit. He turned his bead, close abov him almost within touch of a frs hand a great 'bird, carrion la every toovement, hovered on steady outspread wings. Its shad ow fell across his face; its eyes, beadlike and glistening and greedy, looked, straight rose his emu. Tr sm kHrtMt thy sr4 thus, man and bird. Then with a cry the nan flung himself aglnst his bomls, struggling aud straining at them for asoftpo from this new horror. On his body, dry till now, sweat poured forth la stream. Blood ' gushed from hla nostrils. With shrieks, with th, with stumbling words of pray er, he fought against the fate which held him. Not onoo but many times ths trugglo waa repented. When at U t, exhausted, his convulsed body fell back to quiet, the bird was gone. Shudderlngly the man raised hta syee. Par ap, half lost In blue, but rwady, tireless, It hung above him. Turning his blanched cheek to tho sand, ho fell Into a tort of sloop. All through tho waning day hb slept, through tho approHrti of night and the swift desert change from heat to cold. When he awoke the first pale amethyst of dawn was In the Sky. Tho snake was slooplng, not as snakes are wont to sleep lu freodom, head tucked to tail and sclnuous fold lipping on fold, but with his swollen body back-thrown and stiffened agulnst the stake which hold him, caught mid-struggle by Insensibility. . The man turned hla head to face hltn. "Hey, rattler!" ho called cheerily, and scraped some grains of sand to word the recumbent body. But when he saw the start and nhudder with which tho croature woke, the anguish of returning con sciousness, suddenly he was sorry for his act. Whan the snako, writhing round, struck at Its cord quivering from head to tail, ho would have giv en nn hour of his own rout to have reotorcd tho sleep which he had broken. The sun rose presently. Aguin the weary panorama of tha day unrolled before the eyoa of the two victims. The snako was quiet, weakened by his long struggle. Tho man, strengthened by Bleep, restored by tho night's cold, held himself strong ly in hand. Watching the indifference of the reptile, tho man feared loss. Fixing his eyes upon it, he could hold hard to sunlty and to endurance, though around hlra perched and hovered tho culture ministers of doath. But as the morning passed a new anxiety camo upon him. Suppose the snake should die first. It seem ed to weaken with every hour and the man trembled. Ho spoke to it soothingly at tlnios and had, or be lieved he had, the power of quieting Its paroxysms. In his fevered mind ho searched haltingly for some know ledge of Its needs. Would it live longer for the taking of his life? And if by stretching out his hand he could delay its end, what then of the lengthening of IU pain? Before his dimming eyes the snaks loomed, bow a refuge, now a menace. A dosen times he half relaxed his hand, only to draw it close again. Once, when the snake fell in its spring, seemingly dead, he thrust the Augers wide with a cry of utter deprivation. When it moved again he drew them in. Instinctive love of life still upon him. He closed his eyes after this and for a long time lay still, only rolling his head from side to sldo that tho vultures might not light upon his body. At last, when the sun lay low on the horizon, he ceased the movement and again looked about him. Over head a cloud of birds. Beared by the sudden quiet, hung high In air; tho sagebrush all around ruttled 'with pungent dryness and to the west the sky burned hard and bright as bur nished copper. For a long time he waited. Then with a sobbing breath, he flung round, straining his body against the coads which held him. The snake, too, had moved. The thong that bound it was drawn taut, and painfully it had thrust its swol len head across the fingers. It lay thus, outstretched, not striking, Its glazing eyes on the man's face. And while they lay so suddenly there came to pass the Impossible, the one uncounted chance. From far across the desolate sagebrush desert j soundod the barking of a dog. I It camo nearer and with It tho creak and grinding of heavy wheels. ! The man strove to cry out. and, fall j lng, gnawed dosperntely at his baked j Hps and tongue. When the feeblo j trickle of blood which paid his efforts I had moistened his dry throat, he raised his voice In shrill and terrible . cries. Above him at the sound the i etartlud birds swirled to the weBt. ' The snake, too weak to spring, had yet dragged himself to a coll, his flat head raised In air. Between his cries the man eould hear the abrupt stopping of the wag on, the confused exclamation of men's voioes. Next Instant the dog's moist breath whiffled on his forehead and ' a man's face bent to his own. There was a sudden tightening of the buck skin thongs as a knife passed be neath them, its cool blade searing like firs on th blistered flesh. Hands dragged him from his place. A man on either side, he waa held erect. Through a moss of pain, and weak ness, he could hear the com me at of his rescuers. M Alive, all right!" "He'll dls on our hands." "Carry him to ths wagon!" Hands beneath his ihouUlws, they bent to the task of lifting him. ttie suffers sent out a groping hand' in protest. Be swallowed hard, Struggling to speak. llto naked foot thrust close perilously close to the faaged heed of the snake. 'Turn him loose, too," he mended. MOST lXCKK!i:iTJ? MOiHOHTT. American Multi-Milllonalre Xarrted a vlo-intess and Made no Fuss. America Is the wonderland of the jworlu. She has produced among bt r things, many remarkable men. Jlut up to now her history bol.is no record of anything so rare the un ostentatious, modest, retiring, ullont multi-millionaire, John F. net., of Philadelphia, who married a real Onnuan Countess ten years iiro be cause he was ln love with her, and who didn't mention It till the other day, becauso he did not like pub licity. Through the recording of a deed of transfer, by which n large Phlla delphla brewery goes to one of thu eons of Mr. lietz, it became known that he was married. I'pon belim cornered by an Inquisitive reporter he admitted that the marriage had taken plnce ten years ago, and that the present Rfrs Hetz was a countess, ibe only explanation of his secrecy, according to the Philadelphia In quirer, is that he Is "habitually retl !ent concerning all things." Mr. betz met the Countess Anne Helena at a card party In Berlin. Ho was sixty, slightly deaf, lonely, enormously rich, "and a wldowlesa man." She was twenty-three, beau tiful and alone 1 the world. They married, came to America to Mve, told the rest of the Hctat family, nn 1 aid nothing to tho public. Mrs. Betz la described ns a home-lovlnrt woman, who has no social Inclinations that lead her beyond thn home circle. After a while Miss Frances Betz, and then Johnnn, ap peared ln the home of tho reticent lletzes, and In due time Frances he came of school ngo and wns sent to Temple College, but no one suspected that she was the daughter of the multl-mllllonaire and the counters "We simply wish to be let alone," sale. Mrs. Betz sweetly, when the se cret of the marrlajre hemmc no long er a secret. ""We are content to live qulfi v." "Modesty, even when It amounts to eccentricity, is a beautiful thing to behold. Tho average American millionaire la a bird much moro closely resembling the peacock than tho dove, and the American who mar ries a title usually grows blatant. It le satisfying to our national pride offon and grievously wounded by the shafts of derision sped by our cousins across the sea to know that we have one multi-millionaire who was as modest as If he had owed money, and who did not seize a meg aphone to blow it when he had male a distinguished match. The only fly ln our ointment Is tho fact that Mr. Betz is merely a German-American, and perhaps it is because the German in him predominated that he Is so radically different from other grossly rich Americans. Louisville Courier-Journal. "Pencil" of n Wnr Story. Humor Is not associated with the bloody days of Kentucky ln revolu tionary times. But a bit ot fun ot the grewsome kind Is recited by Lynn Tew Sprague, In "Outing" ln an article entitled, "General Isa.ic Shelby, First Governor of Kentucky." The incident follows: . "A patriot soldier named Culbert .son, who vas acting aa scout to Shelby's command, while gathering Information before tho action, came suddenly upon a British dragoon who wa3 eating a peach. "Both were startled by the meet ing and the Britisher swallowed tho fruit, stone and all, and reached for his gun. A shooting match ensued. The dragoon perished by the duel and was hastily buried by the scout ln a shallow hole. "Visiting the grave next year, Cul burtson found a peach 'tree growing from it, and he boasted of living, to enjoy fruit rooted In British soil, nnd fertlUzed by his adversary. Tho story we may add Is Culbertson's very own." Smokeless Coal. A London Inventor claims to have discovered a process for producing smokeless coal, apparently by distilla tion of coal at a low temperature This, after filtration, Is said to de posit a very brilliant substance, the heating properties of which are far greater than those of the original coal and which Is absolutely free from smoke and dirt. The Inventor claims that efforts to overcome tho smoke plague have hitherto been un successful becauso they have been made lc the wrong direction, and that by the extracting of the smoke producing material ln coal before be ing burned he has been successful In producing a smokeless coal. Sir W. B. Richmond, president of the So ciety for the Prevention of Smoke, hoa bought up this invention. Shower Ilnth Apparatus. Among recent Inventions is a sim ple shower-bath attachment It is an Improvement cer the hose and noszle contrivance recently intro duced, vhich is attached to the water fixture, the nozzle being arranged In one hand and the spray directed on the body with the other hand. With the attachment shown here It is not necessary to hold the nozzle in the hand. Instead the spray is di rected so as to strike a person ln the bath tub, ant any water passing be yond the body Btrfkes the walls of the tub. The hands are thus not en cumbered and are free to use for whatever purpose desired.. A Chica go man la the inventor. It requires a pound of candles to produce as much light as 1,000 cubio feet of gas. A tL WOMAN CHARIOT. Rare and Va.uabis Rello of Great and HwrfiW People. Strolling Mirougu ,ue Filth avenue wing In tne Metropolitan Museum, In Central l'aik, Now York, one comes upon a ci:arlot of bronze In a groat glass box. Tats U a Kiand prize in the lottery cf tiio excfcvtktur, Just bucIi a prize r.s tiid louvru or tho British Museum would like to draw, since neither In tiiuir marvelous collucllous, nor at Berlin, nor lu the many muse ums of Italy, is its equal to bo found. Twenty-live, perhaps thirty, centuries has this specimen of a long forgotten fathton In war Iain beneath tho soil of UmhrU, the wooden parts under tho bronze rottln;; blowiy away, tho weight of the earth above gradually crushing In tho shell, and only the protective layer of oxidation on tho surface of tho bronze preventing a total disintegration of car body, wheels and pole. Near It l:o two curv ing uheets of metal, all that remains of the wooden yoko with bronzn cover Inn plates, and In a dish a Hhmimerlng: mass of Ivory Hakes hints of a rail that graced tho curving front. In such n car, so small, yet so lav ishly embellished with hammered and deftly fitted bronze reliefs, may Iars 1'orsena, of Cluslum, have celebrated many a triumph which the narrow pride of Honian historians has sup pressed. Witn tho exception of a fragmentary bronze car at Pen:?ia, this Is tho only uxarrple known of tho war chariots of tao mysterious people who civilized ar.d pave kinss to Borne. Last of Old Gunhouses. The recent vote of the governor and council of Malno authorizing the ad jutant general to sell tho old gun house at ICast Machias brings to mind that this Is the last of 60 such houses that the state once owned. Tho old structure lias been K)Ir.g to decay for some years, and not Ions ago the revolutionary field pieces winch It sheltered were taken to Au gusta and given a plae on the terraco at the rear of the capitol. Since then the rain and ami the winds liave done their work so persistently that there isn't must lert of the old building. A mun, who withes to buy it, eti mates that It Is worth from $12 to $15, nnd ho has written to Adjt. Cen. Farnham to see a there is any ol Jjc tlon to his standing his cow In ona corner of tho building, provided a purchaso cannot bo effected. Chinese Salvationists. They have a new light turned on the domestic servant question In 3an Francisco. It is tha Salvatiou Array and many of the "Chiuaboys" there have become members and put thoir reMglous principles Into thoir ho'o work. The Salvation Army Is work ing in many nationalities In many countries, and Is doing good wark among tlie Chinese in Chinatown, San Francisco. Hold-Fast Horse Blanket. An organization of Europe devoted to the cause of humanity has recently offered quite a respectable prize to bo awarded to the school teacher who ac complishes tho most In tho direction of Instilling Into the scholars In her or his care the idea of compassion for the dumb animals. How the award shall be made has not yet been decid ed (fa, but it will be exceedingly In teresting to know how the various claims shall be Judged. If this were not limited to school teachci-3 a promising candidate . for those houors would in all probability be the old lady In a Western town who was severely Injured by bing knocked down by an animal which had been frightened by the woman's praiseworthy efforts to replace on Its back tho blanket which had fallen par tially to the ground. It Is quite a common thing to see a horse standing on a cold day with Its blanket under its feet and the individual who stops to rearrange the article Is a humani tarian of lesser degree than the one who Invents a blanket which cannot be shed in this manner by the animal which it Is designod to protect. The blanket shown In the accom panying cut was designed for this purpose and looks as if It might ac complish Its mission, as it Is securely tautened at each end. The blanket is buttoned around the neck of the ani mal ln the usual manner and by means of two strips of webbing It la secured to eacu of the horse's hind legs. This cannot Interfere with the movements of the animal and canno work down or be blown from his back. Dog Suits London Style. Here i a photograph of a lucky dog owned by an English peeress. Booted and clothed as shown ln the picture, the animal appears ln Hyde Park when his aristocratic mistress is out for a "constitutional."' A maid accom panies the pair and manipulates the handkerchief whenever hla dogshjp sneezes or sniffles. ' " N e ' Slippy AYcgctabte flreparationrbr As similating thcFoodandRcfu!a ling ihc Stomachs and Bowls of rromolcs Digcslion.Chccrlur ncssandncst.Contains neliluT Opium .Morplune nor lincraL TSOT I All C OTIC . fimJtm Seed' Alx.Smtut Xnur.tw ihmrmmt - hiry Sftl - ttSnlnymt norm A period Romcdy forConslip.1 Tion, Sour Stomach, Diarrhoea Worms .Convulsions ,Fc venstv ncss nnd Loss OF SLEEP. FacSimito Signature cf NEW YOT1K. tifi'iimnfvfi SWiiitS White Flour and Yellow. Nothing has bothered tho miliars and the health faddists more t'.i.ui the demand among Americans for white flour. The whiter the Hour tho bi-;i:r it soils, and of late years Hour that had the slightest tinge of yellow has been practicably unsalable. Now, yel low flour is the natural color of flour, and In order to obtain tho puro white ness so much ln demand the Hour has to be submitted to a bleaching pro cess, which the health faddists declare much impairs tho nutritlvo qualities. This is not denied by the millers, who, however, are only lnterestod in giving the public what it wants. An Englishman named Alsop has now come forward with a new process for bleaching flour, which, It Is alleg ed. Instead of Impairing the nutritlvo qualities 'of the flour. Increases them. This process consists of submitting the flour to the action of air which has been subjected to the nctlon of an arc or flaming discharge of electricity. Analyses made in some of the State Agricultural Departments show that ordinary untreated flour contains fifty four one-thousandths of Its own bulk of nitrogenous matter, while treated flour contains seventy-five one-thousandths. Beginning ot the Piano. It was a harpsichord maker, Crls toforl, in the employ of the Duke of Tuscany, who in 1711 made the first successful piano. As curator of Fer dinand de iUcu... lie had a splendid collection of Belgian, French and Hal ian Instruments to look alter, and this uudoublodly ulded iimi, though tho model was so crudo that tho inventor could never uuve dreamed a monu ment would ever be erected lu in; memory. From this feeble beginning comes a long list of names of men who Helped perfect the piano, lint factories alone could never have achieved without royalty to encourage and virtuosi to play. Frederick the Great ordered five pianos for hls palace, where tne can be seen at 'the present day. War.e Antoinette was a patron of the an, and Clementl in England and Mozart in Germany introduced tho Instrument so it became a part of Ufa. It was in I'leysei s concert room that Cnopln played, und our later Anns have brought out a long list of artists, Jo eeffy, ruderewskt, nnd ethers. A Shoplifter's Shoe. After knocking and dropping part ot a stock of rings on tho floor, a Chi cago thief relied on a piece of he&3 wax placed on tho instep of hor slip per to pick up and concoal tho most valued ring. HAGAZIHE READERS C0K8BT MAGAZINE beiutiiully illutt!, good tloria CT rrt wd article hout CUraii tad 5U til tU Fm Wk Pr CAKIRA CRAFT devoted Mch month to th u- littie nptoductioo oi the but $1,00 woik oi amttmu ud profewioaal a j,,, photographon. " S0AD OF A THOUSAND W0HDXKS S book of 73 pagaa, containing 120 colored pUtograpkt oi ftrt Ire picturetqu ipaai is California ' J sad OMgoo. To .. . $3.35 All for . . . . Si.o AMum si srcWn te SUNSET HiOAZm ruedB-u. I f: S EXACT COPY OF VFAPPER. j 11 IJ was saw " ill For Infants and Children. The Kind You Have Always Bought Bears the Signature of In Use For Over Thirty Years VMS OtNTMin MIIMH, NEW TO OITV. The Only Survivor Of the Hayes Arctic Kxredition, Mr. S. J, McCormkk, niw U. S. Deputy Mineral Surveyor, Bliss Station, Idaho, says: "For years I have suffered from severe pains in the hip joint and backbone, "depriv ing nie of all power. The cause was Stone in theMadder aud Grav el in the Kidneys. After using Dr. David Kennedy's Favorite Remedy of Rondout, M. Y., I was complete ly cured." The optimist when he has a toothache is thankful he isn't a hippopotamus, Makk a note vow to get Ely's Cream Halm if you are troubled with nasu' catarrh, liny fever or cold tu the head. It U purify lug and soothing to the sensitive membrane thnt lines the air-passages. It is made to overcome the disease, not to fool the putiort by a short, deceptive relit f There is no co caine nor mercury in it. Do not lie talked Into taking a substitute lor Kly's Cream Halm All druguUts sell It. Price oue. Mailed bv Ely Bros., 56 Warreu street, Xew York. Some people tsll the truth with about as much graca us they take ado?oof medicine. Whose Say-so is Best? With nearly all medicines put up for sale through druggists, one hits to take the maker's say-so alone as to their curative value. Of ( uin-e, such testi mony is not that of a disinterested party and aecurdiugly is not to he given the same credit as if written from dis interested nmtives. Dr. Pierce's inedi elnes, however, form a striking excep tion to the rule. Their claims to the eoiilidenee of Invalids does not rest solely upon their makers' sny-so or praise. 1'lieir ingredients are mutters of public knowledge, beitig printed on each separate bottle wrapper. Thus in valid sutlerers are taken into Dr. l'ieree's full confidence. (Scores or lead ing medical men have written enough to till volumes in praise of the curative value of the several ingredients enter ing into these well-known medicines. Amongst tlicse writers we lludsiich medical lights as Prof. FinU v Elling wood, M. D., of Pt niit t Medical Col lege, Chicago; Prof. Hale, of tho same city; Prof. John M. Scudder. M. 1)., lute of Cincinnati. Ohio; Dr. (J rover Cue, of New York; Dr. iJurtliolow, of Jefferson Medicul College, of Pa. and scores ol others etiually eminent. Dr. Pierce's i-uvorite Prescription cures the worst eases of female weak ness, prolupsus, anteversion and retro version nnd corrects irregularities, cur es painful periods, dries up disagreeable and weakening druins, sometimes known us pelvio catarrh and a multi tude of other diseases lieculiur to wom en. Silk iKOUutry i.i The nnrlent city of Lyons, V. : ' city ln France with a p:;;.:'. . : Ouu.Ci.u, vl-s 'Villi Mi!:::! ui 'ii.:;.-.:. lu the world's fclik Indui-uy. ;; : er than lo uOO ('top!:;- inor.. nnd children are employ od u f'lftoiies. A RcliabliRamody CATARRH mm LIJ i .Ittfii! Bdim II quickly absorbed. ' I Civet Rcliot at Onus. , It cleanses, soothes, &XSi' I heals and iirotecU gsK&kax i uuwunou mem- brans resulting from Catarrh aud drives away aOold in thellead quickly, ltostorea tha Soobos of Taste aud Hmull. Full siz 60 cts. at Druggists or by muil. Lifiuid 1 Cream Balm (or use ln atomizers 75 ots. Say Brothers, 08 Warren Btreut, New York. .AN AW