THE COLUMBIAN. BLOOMSBUfc
"V,
Superstitions
About Sal
By F. C. EVANS.
If you hapten to pplll any salt there
Is going to be a quarrel. At least to
say superstitious folk, who straight
way throw some of the spilt salt over
the left shoulder to break the spell.
Up In Bucks County, Pennsylvania, it
Is also necessary to crawl under the
J 1
table and come out the opposite side,
while in New England you murt throw
the spilt particles ii.to the fire to thor
oughly neutralize the bad luck.
liishop Hall of Exeter, wrote, in
1627, that when salt fell to.vartb a
superstitious guest at dinner, he was
want to exhibit signs of mental agita
tlon. and refused to he comforted un
til one of the waiters had poured wine
a his lap. As salt is believed to re
move wine stains from the table cloth,
perhaps this person may have thought
that the rule worked both ways and
wine removed Bait stains from his
tuck.
The Germans have a laying, "Who
sver spills salt arouses enmity," and
in some places the overturning of a
salt cellar Is thought to be the direct
act of the Devil, the peace-disturbed.
The superstltutlous Parisian Is of the
same opinion and tosses a little of the
spilled salt behind him in order. If
nosslble, to hit the Invisible and In
;rferlng fiend In the eye.
The ancient Romans exclaimed,
"May the gods avert tYi omen!"
Then salt was spilled at table, and
tmong the Greeks the ovr-iurnlng of
the. salt cellar was one j the most
imlnous events that t ..aid occur in a
.louse.
This would indicate that supersti
tions regarding the spilling of salt
ire far older than the commonly be
leved 'explanation of the nation;
hich Is, -that It is due to tho fact
hat in Leonardo da Vinci's picture of
e Last Supper, .Judas Iscariot is rop
esented as just having spilt the salt,
oine observers, moreover, have fail
d to make out any Knit collar at all
i the original C'er.acolo on the re
ictory wall at Milan, though It is
learly delineated In tho well known
ngraving Raffaello Morghen. If
eonardo did Insert this detail, he
lost likely did It to take ndvantr-.so
f the popular belief and Indieute the
.1 luck shortly to befall the false
postle.
Salt Is extremely d'u-ta.-teful to evil
pirits In the opinion of IUchalmus,
bbot of Schonthal in Franconia in
.je twelfth century, and a great many
eople seem to agree with him to
jla day. Hlchalmus was very much
ormented by devils, whom ho ob
arved In operation everywhere. IIu
ven considered flea-bites to be of in-
l1) I. ' . I I
.V rfVCV';. A ill
sr N -. - 1 t
' rnal origin and prescribed the sign
.' the cross for their alevlatlon. 'When
j was at dinner and the fiend had
allclously taken awny hi appetite,
. simply taeted a littlo salt and his
petite returned lit once. The worthy
hot wrote a boo'.: p.bout his pxperl
ices, which Is very ciueer r-udlQ.
In the pronvlnco of Quebec, French
tnadlans sometimes scatto salt
out tho doors o their ttablcs tn
event those nilKchk-i . nt IUlIu imps
tiled lutlns from entering and teas
g the horses by sticking hurra In
elr inanes i-mt lai;. (1. pltro it) hi.s
:ok on the i:i'.Mto;r.3 of Sicily tolls
4 that In that island, a horso enter
g a ne'A' stall boMevod to be lia
e to molent.niion liy fairies. A lit
a saft is tUcief( re Bpr!n!;led on hla
ick in order to Iirlnr, tljelr contrl
v..nce to naught. In fact Bait bar
aiitt
turn
l I. .it, k
mm
: ,, 81
Van'cui Signs and Cuntoms
of SpilHns Sa.lt Appear
as Magical Agents Many
Pa!nting3 of "The Lost
Supper" Show the Salt
Cellar Overturned Prov
erbs of Many Countries
Founded on Superstitions.
long been known as a wondroitsly
powerful agent In magic. Perhaps
that Is why children are advised to
put some on a bird's tall In order to
catch It The Germans of Lancaster
County believe that a boy may be
cured of homesickness by placing salt
In the hems of his trousers and mak
ing him look up the chimney.
In India the natives rub salt and
wine on scorpl.m bites, believing that
this application will banish the de
mons of pains.
In Ravaria and the Ukraine, In or
der to ascertain whether a child has
been the victim of enchantment, the
mother licks Its forehead; and If she
can distinguish a valine flavor, she is
convinced that her offspring has been
under the Influence of the evil eye.
Hut saft does not apcar In folk
lrre only as a niaclcal agent. T.elng
one of the principal savors of food it
Is often mentioned In proverbs. In
the Spanish province of Andalusia
the word "salt" is synonymous with
gracefulness and charm 1T manner
and you cannot address your sweet
heart more flatteringly than to call
her "the salt-box of my love." The
phrase, "May you be well salted," is
uli'o current In Spain as an expres
sion of affectionate regard. "Cum
granis sails" suggests the use of the
ever sweetening grain of common
sense while listening to some exag
gerated story.
Marco Polo tells us that in Thibet
pieces of salt were used as currency,
as is the case In the Soudan at the
present day.
The esteem with which salt is greet
ed. Is not unanimous, however. About
the year 1830 there appeared in Eng
land a volume by a certain Dr. How
ard with the following title: "Salt,
the forbidden fruit or food; and the
chief cause of diseases of body and
mind of man and animals, as taught
by the ancient Epotlnn priests and
wise men and by scriptures, In ac
cordance with tho author's experience
of many years."
A Bij Scunb Farm.
The largest squab farm in the coun
try has 17,500 pairs of parent birds.
This gives 17.", 000 squabs a year,
which are sold at about 30 cents
apiece, or $52,500 In all. Then there is
ai. -income from old breeders weeded
out and sold for pigeon shoots at 35
cent3 a pair. The b'g 'hoot In Flori
da a couple of months ago cleared all
the Philadelphia squab farms of old
birds. The pigeons breed for five
years, and by that time make tough
targets for the expert trap shooter.
The squab business Is expanding
wonderfully. One farm Is planned to
breed 100,000 pairs. The railroads
now carry grain in carload lots to the
farms. Squabs mean a saving of
game, as they go now instead of game
birds at nine banquets out of ten.
There is all the possibility In them
for a tidy littlo trust. One of these
days when your squab jumps sudden
ly In price, you will know that the
Squab Trust Is In being.
Paying Pecan Trees.
A stranger coming to Tallahassee Is
surprised at the great number of
pecan trees found in the yards, gar
dens and on the streets. They are
everywhere, and thousands upon thou
sands spring up every season, where
the nuts are washed by the rain or
dropped by the birds which feast upon
them. If theso trees had been budded
with merchantable varieties when
young they would now be producing
thousands of bushels of the finest
nuts annually, but of even these in
ferior varieties Tallahassee sells hun
dreds of dollars worth each year.
Tallahassee llulletln.
Wireless Typewriter.
A typewriter operated by wireless
telegraphy Is the, wonderful produc
tion of a Danish inventor's Ingenuity.
The apparatus Is described with Il
lustration In Popular Mechanics. Uy
working tho keyboard of a sending
typewriter, a little pin corresponding
w!;h that particular key cornea In con
tact with a travelog metal hand, and
fo starts an electric! wavo from the
antennae of the wireless apparatus.
This wave is caught by the antennae
at tho (!!s'S",rf r'nMoiT, Is communi
cated to tho receiving machine, and
is recorded by it ov. pa; er us a letter
of the alphabet.
PRFTTY RIRI 17
I I I la I I I Will tmt III
f r
KILLED BY DRir
Poor Helen Chambers Took I er
First Glass of Liquor on
New Year's Eve
SEVEN KCKTKS Cr DISSIPATION
One of the Most Pathetic Stories that
Has Ever Corr.e to the Notice of
Hospital Authorities Tells of Fats
as Warning to Others.
Kansas City, Mo. Helen Cham
bers, a pretty girl, seventeen years
old, is dead in a hospital here, a vic
tim of a taste for liquor and a career
of dissipation that lasted only seven
months. She came to Kansas City In
April, and her story Is one of the
most pathetic that has ever come to
the notice of the hospital authorities.
Before she died she told how she had
taken her first drink last New Year's
eve.
Her home was in Aurora, 111., near
Chicago, where her family Is highly
respected. The unfortunate, who sev
en months ago was a simple country
girl, about to be graduated from high
school, virtually lived on absinthe and
morphine for two weeks before being
taken to the Iiokj ilal. A message to
her mother, still living in Aurora, re
ceived no response, and the girl, v.ith
her life slowly ebb'ns out, tlot d re.,t-le-s-ly
through weary and tortuous
minutes until the end came. Ho;!ns
i!i:;t her fate miht be a warning to
other girls, she loid Iter story:
"On New Year's eve I wont to Chi
enco with another girl. We met two
boys and went to a cafe where the
New Year's celebration was just
storting. I did not know what It wai
like, but I found out. Everything was
In order, but I noticed that the girls
seemed to drink as much as the men.
"Every one drank freely and soon
It seemed as though every one was
Intoxicated. I took my first drink be
cause every one seemed to be drinking
and to be happy as well. The min
utes passed quickly and my brain
grew numb. I do not know exactly
how I got out of the cafe or the
events leading up to It. But when I
awoke the next morning I felt dis
graced. "I then decided to run away from
home; I decided it would be best. I
came to Kansas City about April 1.
I fell in with bad associates, but final
ly married. I went to Dallas, Tex.,
with my husband. There we quarelled
and he returned to Kansas City with
out me, but I soon followed. We made
up here, but quarrelled again and
separated and then I started anew
and the rest you know. I slept in a
cheap rooming house last Sunday
night. Monday I came here, hoping
that there might be some relief, but
It seems all up with me."
JUSTICE BLIND AND HALT.
Six Candidates, Ail Physically Dis
abled, Ask for Votc3.
Hamilton, Ohio Each of the six
candidates for Justice cf the Feace in
Hamilton township is physically dis
abled. Pen ire Willippi Murphy, present in
cu:1 ben-., is blind; -S-j'tlre William
V.rtc; is a c-ripph; and so is Squire
1 1 ;::ry Ii n r:, i e .- ; John T. Riley, a loco
wo or at-.'.xia vL-tir-i, cannot walk;,
i.Vvry fonor h?-j t'.ie fame ailment
tm 1 'i!'.'::i Alien is blind. They ars
ail Ce'uo iv.t'J.
Murphy i errorms his duties as well
r.s it nan v. ltii unimpaired sight. The
oilicrr five say they cr.n do as well.
Cyii pathetic voters will have a hari
time deciding which ought to be fav
ored. IN THE PUBLIC EYE
MRS. WILLIAM THAW.
(Devoted mother of Harry K. Thaw,
Slayer of Stanford White.)
WINS GAME; SNAKE BITE KILLS.
Outfielder Caught Long Fly in Swamp
Bitten by a Serpent.
Monroe, La. James Fhelps, out
llelder of the Kayvilie ball team, s
dead of a snake bite. Phelps had
just made a phenomenal catch of a
long fly which holpeJ save tho game
for his team, but iu chating p.rter the
ball he backed into a bog. Ho felt a
sharp pain, und learned he had been
bitten by a wator snake.
His leg swelled so rap'dly that he
flnlHhort the lust Inning with difficulty.
Death ensued twenty-four hours Jator.
A player bitten In tho same manner
on the same ground.j a few years ago
died Boon afterword.
mm
i:0:l FCH USUI. t:!;d
Vz-Y'-:- V.':r Ccie-al'a GratiiT- !3
Ciirirtor.rfcr.t cf (jis'.i, V. "r
.in.; favy Uuirt'irn3.
WasH: :rl!i:i. I. C l-'ir.U Uo'i'.
Vly.-ii.oa Cranl, III., corps of or,;-
Iieers, I'tiited StattiJ army, graliUso ,
of President (Irant, the famous war
general, has been appointed :-uperin-tcncent
of the state, war and navy
buildings at Washington.
.'apt. John II. Toole, corps of eiici
noers. held the office of superintend
ent for nhout four years. He succeed
ed Hear Admiral George W. Dalrd of
the navy.
Capt. Poole made many reforms
and Improvements In what Is known
as "the biggest office building Iu tho
i Mm
i'M
mmmm
FIT
Lieut. V. S. Grant III.
world," and reduced expenses consid
erably. Hp is relieved from tills duty
to enable1 him to take a two- car
course of instruction at the School
of the LItj ut Fort Leavenworth. Kan.
Ollicers of the army corps of engi
neers tire eligible to detail to the
siiperlntendency since the naval corps
of engineers was merged into the line
of the navy several years ago.
Lieut. Grant, the new superintend
ent, since his graduation near the
head of his class at West Point, in
June, 1D03, has served a tour of duty
at the engineer school at Washington
barrncks, and also as one of tho mili
tary aids of President Itoosvelt. For
several months past he has been sta
tioned at Boston on duty in connec
tion with the river and harbor works
and fortifications In that vicinity.
Last year he married Miss Edith Root,
daughter of Senator Root, of New
York.
TRAIN GETS MELANCHOLY COW.
Gretchen, Resentful of Being Offered
for Sale, Goes to Her Death.
Great Notch, N. J. Richard jaco
bus, farmer living near here hard by
the Erie Railroad, decided three days
ago that he could do very well with
out Gretchen, a brindle milch cow
that had been In the family several
years. A wagon road runs by Jaco
bus' front yard, and so he decided
that as good a way as any to get
Gretchen on the market was to tie
her In the yard under a tree on which
was this sign:
"Fresh Cow for Sale."
Jacobus meant no reflection upon
the matronly dignity of Gretchen, who
Is, or was, of a Teutonic and melan
choly temperament, nut now Jacobus
believes that either Gretchen thought
she was being labeled flighty and
smnrt-alecky, or that she grieved be
causo she was not wanted any longer
In the family, or that she was shocked
Into the deep pit of melancholy by
the unaccustomed notoriety to which
rlie was being subjected.
Thi morninrt, r.s a heavy Erie
freight train pturted down the steep
grade in front of Jacobus' house, tho
brii die cow broke her rope, walked
giaxely out through the gate, and wan
run down and killed by the train.
POTS OF GOLD IN HIS CELLAR.
O.r.e Containing $3,E00 and Another
With 09,003 Unearthed.
I.t:r;'.mle, Wyo. Two pots of gold
fo'.iiid In the cellar of William Tay
lor, of Hock River, Wyo., have caused
log.il complications. Taylor hired
Reuben Stockwell and J. W. White io
pti'anjo his ceilar two weeks r.go.
While digging the men uncovered a
pot containing $3,500 in gold. They di
vided the money nnd began painting
tho town red. While drunk they re
vealed the secret and Taylor, claim
ing his father had burled the gold, had
them arrested. They were put under
heavy bond and a dozen of the richest
men in the county bailed them out.
Now they have begun suit against
Taylor for recovery of the money.
Taylor dug up nnother pot contain
ing $9,000 In gold and will keep on
digging.
THRIVED ON POISON.
Prof. Lantz's Rats Seem to Be Yearn
ing for More "Infallible Remedies."
Washington, I"). C When Prof.
David E. Lnntz of tho Biological Sur
vey went home for tho night he left
In a cage containing twenty-four rats
kept for just such1 experiments u
quantity of rat poison which the mak
ers declared to be infallible. The pois
on was advertised to ldil tho huskiest
of ruts and mummify the carcasses so
that there would never be bad odor.
Next morning Pro. Lnntz took a
look at his poison si;i;ad. Not a rat
was dc-r.d, and all seer, ed to be look
ing for more food. The name rata
have been on this sort of duty slnco
lar.t May and have consumed all sorts
of patent rat poison. Prof. Lanta has
cxf-eiin.ented a good deal with rats
and hopes some day to find a microbe
whifh will cause an extennlnr.tiug
es'.C.uif le K'.noiiK them.
UNLUCKY FREIGHT.
Railroads OSHcerl to Pay Out Millions
Every Year for Da-nages. ,
I: Is said thai the amount paid out
by the roads of the Vnlted Htates tn
l'.1?? for freight claims was $24,000,
000. These claims originate from vari
ous causes, such as defective cars.care
le . employees and' incorrect classi
fication, hut one agent says that on
his read Improper handling is respon
sible for nbout 22 per cent or money
paid out for freight claims.
"Another feature contributingfrvcry
largely to the timo.ints we pay out
for lo's r.t.d dnmnge." said the claim
agent, "Is defective cars. Our rules
say that each aSent must Inspect tho
cars. Now the term Inspection cov
ers a multitude of features. It does
not mean that tho running gear of
the car only 13 to be inspected but It
means that we want to satisfy our
selves that the body of the car and
the roof of the car are tight euough
to carry the load without damnge by
water.
"I have in my mind a certain ngent
at a Hour loading station whom I
found ou top of a box car, and iu re
sponse to my inquiry as to what he
was doing up there he advised me he
was examining the roof -and I want
to say that ngent has been promoted
because he was the proper link In the
chain. 1 have in mind a claim pre
sented for damage to flour by water
where the agent declared positively
that the Inspection had been properly
made, but the d"fects in that roor ap
parent at the terminal point indicated
old breaks nnd that the car was not
fit for flour loading. Tills he may have
considered a small matter, but it (fust
Iho company f 2.75."
Foreign "Coppers."
London patrolmen curry no clubs.
Attached to the middle of the belt
behind Is a dark lantern. The cuffs
or their coats have vertical stripes,
blue and white, signifying rank and
distinguished service. During tho
frequent showers nnd rains they wear
littlo waterproof capes. Their silent
regulation of street tralllc by hand sig
nals Is a realization of perfection.
In Paris the ordinary patrolmen
wear blue caps and coats and in sum
mer white duck trousers. They car
ry short swords, rather as an emblem
of authority, but In extreme danger
use the flat side as a club.
In a downpour of rain the Taris
policeman hangs his cap on a hook In
the back of his belt and draws over
his head the hood of a short blue cape
of heavy cloth.
This hooded cape Is called a capo
chon. and tn its longer form, reaching
to the knees, is used by civilians as
well In cold or rainy weather. Accord
ingly at such times the streets of
Paris seem to be alive with cowled
monks.
Recently the London plan for con
trolling vehicles has come Into vogue
successfully on the Paris boulevards.
The policemen detailed for such duty
wear white glovefc and signal with
white clubs.
German policemen wear helmets
and have a distinctly martial air.
Travel Magazine.
Filtered Water Kills Gold Fish.
"The goldfish business la booming
in this section," said a Tioga pet deal
er tho other day. "Sales have doubled
In the last month. When the rush first
started I wondered what tho reason
was, so I asked some purchasers. All
of them said that their lish had mys
teriously died. I couldn't figure out
how it was that so many fish died all
over the samo neighborhood at the
same time.
"Finally I hit upon an explanation,
which I have since verified. It is this:
Goldfish cannot live in tho new filtered
water as well as In tho rav river wa
ter. When the pure water was turned
on the fish simply starved to death.
The life was not In the water. Fish
food purchased In stores Is generally
given Irregularly, and thus tho great
number of deaths in filtered water
neighborhoods." Philadelphia Re
cord. He Almost Remembered It.
Donald had returned from a visit
to tho couutry, and was full of remin
iscences of persons and things that
had Interested him. "I met a boy,
mama," he said, "that had the queer
est name I ever heard. He said bis
folks found it iu the Old TestamenL
It was It was-let me see yes, it
was Father William.' or William Fath
er; I've forgotten Just now which. But
It was one or the other."
"But, Donald," said his mother,
"there Is no such name as Father
William or William Father In the Old
Testament."
"Are you sure, mama?"
"I certaluly am, dear. I have read
it through several times. William Is
a comparatively modern name. It
isn't anywhere In the Bible."
"Well, but oh, I remember now!"
exclaimed Donald. "It was Blldad!"
Not Much Public Land Left.
Of the public land, some 375,000,
000 acres, or one-sixth of the original
territory, remain but nearly every
acre is too arid for settlement on the
original plan; Of Etato land the
a'iiount Is limited, save swamp and
overflow tracts that can hardly be set
tled by Individual effort
Over 75,000,000 acres of wet lands
might be reclaimed to form homes for
10,000,000 people, while 40,000,000 or
50.000,000 r.crea of arid lands might
bo irrigated to sustain as many more,
but this cannot be done by Individual
or family pioneering, and must be
done, if at all, either nt collective cost
In tho public interest or by corporate
enterprise for personal Interest No
longer Is Uncle Sam "rich euough to
give us all a farm;" his princely pos
session of a century past Is already
given. American Review of Revlewii.
Pennsylvania's Greatest Organization
Interesting Ono Fourlh tho State's Popu.
lation.
An organization that lias for is
constituency one-fourth the joiu.
lation of a great state like th.it of
I'ennsylvaniii is surely not one v
be lightly thought of or poorly rai.
cd in its scope of influence.
The Pennsylvania State Sabbath
School Association is unquestiona
bly the greatest organization, reliV.
ious or otnerwise, within the bord
ers of our commonwealth. It is a
federation of all the Protestant
Kvangclical Sunday schools of the
State. It has a live and co-operating
auxiliary organization in every
county (67) in the State. The
counties in turn are subdivided into
district associations and through
the district organizations the last
school in the State is reached and
benefitted.
In one great organization, there
fore, there over seven hundred (700)
auxiliary bodies representing uf.
144 units or Sunday schools with a
total membership of 1,674,157, or
about one-fourth of the inhabitants
of the State.
To care for the work of this great
organization calls for the services
of i6S,S25 men and women whu
voluntarily give unstinting- of
their time and means to advance
the work. Such a display oi gen
erosity cannot be excelled any
where. This great organization and its
various auxiliary associations holj
over 2,000 conventions or meetings
during the year. Add to this thy
regular weekly sessions of each one
of the 1 1,144 Sunday schools iu the
State and we have nearly 580,000
meetings held annually in the in
terest of promoting Bible study aud
character building.
Surely such an influence steadily
and systematically exercised iu the
interest of a better manhood and a
better womanhood for our com
monwealth should be given high
place iu the consideration of thiuk
ing men and women.
The representatives of this great
organization meet annually iu con
vention for the improvement and
extension of tbeir work. This year
the convention will be held in Har
risburg, October 13, 14 and 15.
The Pennsylvania State Sabbath
School Association maintains an of
fice with headquarters in the city
of Philadelphia. It employs a force
of ten people who are Sunday school
specialists. They give their entire
time to the work attending conven
tions, institutes, schools of meth
ods and visiting local schools. The
work is interdenominational in
character and has the hearty sup
port and endorsement of all Prot
estaut Kvangelical bodies. The
reason for the existence of this in
terdenominational co-operative ac
tivity can be expressed by one
word Improvement..
A local committee in Ilarrisburg
with Bishop James II. Darlington
as its Chairman ami James V.
Barker as its General Secretary is
now busily engaged in making
plans for entertaining Pennsylva
nia's greatest gathering of religious
workers, the Forty-Fifth Auinul
Convention of the Pennsylvania
State Sabbath School Association.
A Latter-day Academic Ad.
An unique departure in the line
of university advertising reached
our desk a few days since. We
were struck with its unusual char
acter. It is an eight page pamphlet
sent out by a well known university
and is entitled "The Student as an
Investor, Reprinted with permis
sion from the Evening Post, New
York, Saturday, August 7, 1909".
Most literature of this sort gen
erally dwells upon the superiority
of the faculty, the attractive courses
oflered, and like matter, but as the
following extracts will show, this
is a bit out of the ordinary.
"Free tickets for plays or eon
certs it says, that are a little above
the heads of the public and need
some "papering," are constantly
being sent to city, universities, and
may be bad for the asking. If these
do not coincide with a man's tastes,
there is always the gallery of the
gods, and a man can hear the opera
and get fifty cents to boot if he will
carry a spear as a "supe."
For the benefit of him who has
never been abror.d or who wishes
to refresh his memories, there are
whole sections ot Kurope that have
been imported en bloc. He can see
a real .Italian festa, or go to the
mariouette theatre where the l est
seat is ten cents, or to a Russian
church service. He can dine inex
pensively in France, Germany,
Greece, Hungary, Syria-or Bohe
mia. The advertised Bohemia, by
the way, is but a dreary and taw
dry region, but for the man who
knows where to look there are real
Bohemian oases in plenty".
. .
A fine new line of Wedding in
vitations just received at this office.