1 aMEKE@ffiK POLIK L©KE 1
OciENTISTS FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY SOON TO O
U MEET AND SET FORTH THE RESULT OF THEIR STUDIEJJ "JFS *
| —Copyright. i8<)8.
To search out and put on record the
beliefs, superstitions and myths of the
fast dying or already dead old races
of America, to gather up and preserve
the legends, traditions and some accur
ate knowledge of their curious customs
and ideas is the work of an organiza
tion that is little heard of, but yet is
strong among scientists, and has its
members in every corner of this "outi
try—the American Folk Lore society.
Attention is now being directed to
these workers in a strange and inter
esting field, for the tenth annual meet
"AFTER AWHILE THE BOY WHO LAY IN THE BOTTOM OP THE BASKET
SCRATCHED A HOLE, THROUGH WHICH HE ESCAPED."—Traditions of
the Tillamook Indians.
ing or convention of the society is close
lit hand, the dates set being December
28 and 2!», and the place chosen Fayer
weather hall (the Physics building),
Columbia university. New York city.
Very nearly 200 folk lorists arc expect
ed at this conference, to listen to pa
pers on the negro and the Indian, the
French and Spanish settlers, the races
of Central and South America; a mul
titude of odd facts dug in some cases
from old documents; in others taken,
its in the cases of certain negro settle
PROF. O. T MASON. DR. D. G. BRINTON.
tnents and Indian tribes, direct from |
the lips of patriarchs and others whose \
memories are long-, and who are still j
aloof from civilization.
Thus the conference will hear, on |
these days, and anions' other papers !
already arranged, I'rof. Charles L. Ed
wards, of the Cincinnati unive-sity, on !
negro folk lore; Dr. L. Ferrand of Co
lombia, on the folk lore of British Co
lumbia, and A. L. Krocher, of Colum- I
"WELL, DE WITCII SOT DOWN ON TIFE PINB. M
hi a. on "Animal Tales of the Esqui
maux." The other papers that are to
be read will extend the breadth of the
study of the meeting to all corners of
the continent.
For.in whatever pertains to folk lore,
the society is eclectic and liberal Its
pfeiitest work since its founding in
18*8 has been. It is true, upon the negro
«xd the Indian, but that has been only
because here lay the greatest wealth
of superstitions, record of customs and
mythology. There were living repre
sentatives of these races at hand, ready
to be questioned. The work, however,
only begins here. Step by step the
folk lore society is digging into a far
distant past. Its 11 volumes of its
journal (quarterly) and the six books
it has published in addition to these,
show that a new literature is already
well started.
Serious scientific men and women
make up the backbone of this society—
professors of universities, curators and
assistant curators of museums—and
joined with these are some hundreds
of observant, thoughtful people, who
are no scientific experts, but have a
Jove for these researches, and can
sometimes add a word or a thought,
contribute an idea or a finishing touch
to the papers read and the discussions
waged. The lists are open to all, and if
anything, there are more women than
men members, many of those from the
south being useful in thcnegro work.
| From almost nothing- has the society
| grown in its course of ten years until
j now it numbers a famous delegation of
| American scientists, particularly of
i anthropologists. This is so marked
! that the meeting of the Anthropolog
| ical society, to he held in Columbia uni
! versity the same week, will have very
many of the same prominent members,
j and the two conventions will not be un
-1 like.
The man and the woman who are
severely practical may wonder, per
haps. at all this work, and question the
advisability of tins great use of print
ers' ink. To those not interested in
ethnology it may seem a good deal like
child play to gatltvr up these quaint
stories unil the scattered hints of cus
toms. To this argument the folk lore
scientists bring forward this answer:
CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 189s.
"Tlie field being 1 one which no other
agency now fully covers, there is
thrown upon the society an important
task which cannot be postponed. The
collection of American oral traditions
should be regarded as a national duty.
To gather materials for history which
are indispensable to anthropological
record, and which, unless recorded, will
in a few years have irretrievably per
ished. appears even more important
than the collation of historical records
already safely lodged in libraries."
The society's head and forefront is
William Wells Newell, of Cambridge,
Mass.. an author whose immediate work
of recent years has been medieval lit
erature, he. having recently issued a
volume 011 "Arthurian Romance, King
Arthur and the Table Round." The
projector of it, the editor of its journal,
end long its secretary, Mr. Newell has
kept on pushing the society through all
these years, reaching cut constantly
for new members and ever striving to
make folk lore better cared ftrr and un
derstood among people of education
ar.d refinement.
Scientists to whom this peculiar field
has appealed have cooperated with
him, and the result is shown in the
quaint papers in the journal. A recent
number of this contained the follow
ing features, the mentioning of which
will be of much interest: Ninth An
nual Meeting of the American Folk
Lore Society, The Collection of Mary
land Folk Lore, Work and Methods of
the llampton Folk Lore Society, Negro
Hymn from Georgia, Traditions of the
Tillamook Indians, The Legend of the
Holy Grail, lion-owing- Trouble, Negro
Song from North Carolina, Record of
American Folk Lore, The Sixth Vol
ume of the Memoirs of the American
Folk I/ore Society, Folk Ix>re Scrap
book. Notes ni.d Queries. Ixical Meet
ings and other notices, Bibliographical
Notes.
As an instance of the material the
society is collecting, here is a Balti
more, Md., folk lore story (in part):
"Georgia, did a witch ever get after
yon ?"
"Nor'm. but my mother, she knew a
woman that was inighty bothered by
a witch. Ev'y night, soon as de women
went to bed and turn over on her back,
dat witch would come and jump oil
her and ride her hard, so she couldn't
move. So one night she fix for dat
witch. She put pins in de seat- ofj a
chair, and when de witch come, she sat
right down on de pins. Witches have
to sot down befo' dey can get out de
skin; dey can't ride you long as dey is
in dey skin. Well, de witch sot down
on the pins, and she stuck fas'. She
couldn't g'it up out er de chair, and she
beg de woman to let her go, and she
promise, ef she oid, she wouldn' come
back no mo'. Den de woman let her go!"
Six volumes mark the progress of the
society outside of the Journal. These
are "Folk-Tales of Angola" (Africa), by
lieli Chatelain; "Louisiana Folk-Tales,"
by Alice Fortier; "Bahama Songs and
Stories," by Charles L. Edwards; "Cur
ient Superstitions, Collected from the
Oral Tradition of English-speaking
1-oik," by Fanny D. Bergen, with an in
troduction by William Wells Newell;
"Nanako Legends," by Washington
Matthews; "Traditions of the Thomp
son River Indians of liritish Columbia,"
by James Teit, with introduction by
Franz Boas.
And here, there and every where does
the research go. The society has sev
eral local branches, notably one in Bos
ton, one in Baltimore, one in Cincin
nati. That in Baltimore is diligently
sending negro*folk-lore. There is to be
a special range of folk-lore studies in
♦iie direction of music, Henry E. Kreh
biel. of New York, having collected
much in this way.
Dr. Henry Wood, of Johns Hopkins
university, is the society's president.
Charles* L. Edwards is the first vice
president. Miss Alice C. Fletcher tbf
second vice president, William Wells
Newell permanent secretary and John
1L Hinton, of New York, J.retasurer.
OF A PERSONAL NATURE.
The duke of Cambridge is the only
member of the royal family who em
ploys a woman cook.
A young man named Shivers has been
arrested at Chillioothe. Mo., for stealing
a stove.
Though otic of the youngest general
oflicers in the confederate army Gen.
Wheeler was the oldest in the national
service against Spain.
Gen. Wood, military governor of San
tiago, before the war broke out was an
obscure army surgeon with a salary of
$2,400 and no prospects.
Uev. Frederick C. Brown, now on the
lowa, which is making the voyage to
Manila, is said to be the youngest chap
lain in the navy. lPisage is 25.
■Senator Fairbanks, of Indiana, is said
to be one of the greatest readers in the
senate. All new books, especially his
tory and fiction, are at once purchased
by him.
Harrison M. Seal, of Whitcomb, near
BrookvilJe, Ind., probably holds the vot
ing record for that state. lie voted for
Jackson in 1828 and for each democratic
presidential candidate since then.
Paul Du Ohaillu. who is visiting ir.
Boston, said the other daj': "I don't
know why I'm always called the
'African traveler.' I spent three times
asi many years in exploring the 'land of
the midnight sun.' "
Balzac's birthday, the 20th of next
May. is his centenary, am' it is to be cel
ebrated both at Paris'and Tours. It is
said that his long-forgotten play, "Mar
atre," will be performed at the Paris
Odeon.
OATMEAL FOR BREAKFAST.
The Greek traders seem to have had
some knowledge of oats, as they termed
them bromos.
II is not kno\,vn what country first
cultivated the wild oat grass to a con
dition usable for human food, nor is
any reference made to this grain in the
Old Testament.
Oatmeal in the olden times wasan ex
tremely coarse food, as the only means
of separating husk from groat was
bruising sundried oats between stones
by hand and afterward winnowing in a
strong breeze.
The phenomenal growth of the oat
meal industry in our country is second
to none, when it is noted that as early
as 1865 the milling of oats was a most
limited affair. The larger proportion
of oatmeal sold here came from Canada
and (ireat Britain and it is an amusing
fact that the retail druggists carried
packages of Scotch oatmeal in stock to
meet the requirements of physicians,
who would prescribe gruel for their
patients made from it.
If our advice wasasked regardingthe
consumption of cereals we would give
it emphatically, never eat oatmeal
every morning, but alternate it with
other cereals such as corn, wheat and
rye, which are manufactured in such
variety of form that you have no ne«d
of duplicating your breakfast food but
once in two weeks. It has been defi
nitely shown that the continuous use
of oatmeal by the Scotch people has
caused more cases of dyspepsia than
any other known food.
CONCERNING PERFUMES.
Bartholin says:"The odor of the
rosemary indicates the. coast of Spain
more than ten leagues'out to sea."
Cinnamon is an aromatic bark of
odorous fragrance. It is* a native of
Ceylon and India. The Egyptians and
Romans' held it in high esteem.
The Bedouins use civet to.anoint their
bodies, a substance, of the consistency
of honey, strong and offensive in itself,
but agreeable when a very small pro
portion is mixed with other ingredients.
Lavender is. an English production
and is cultivated about Hertford, Sur
rey and several other districts. Its
name, "lavandula," from "lavare," to
wash, indicates its use. which was per
forming the baths of wealthy people.
Some perfumes have a stronger scent
than others, some give out their fra
grance at special times. Certain
flowers need the warmth of the sun.
some the soft rain and others the cool
r.ight air before they venture to throw
•it their redolence into the atmos
»here.
PHOTOGRAPHIC NOTES.
Amateur photographers in Russia are
obliged to secure licenses.
The kite empress, of Austria was an
enthusiastic amateur photographer,
and.in the course of her wanderings in
European countries made over 1,000
studies of the various types of beauty
that came in her way.
A photographic film 9% miles in
length is somewhat of a novelty, even
in this age of big things. Threeof these
articles of the size stated are now in
progress of construction for use in a
cinematograph. The cost of these films
is about £2OO a mile. Photographic
films can, therefore, now be had per
yard, per acre, or per mile.
One of the latest and most novel, as
well as dtaring, feats of the amateur
photographer is to take portraits in
profile, and then, trim and mount the
same so that the head is completely
cut away, leaving only the line of pro
file. In this the familiar lines, which
serve to reproduce what is commonly
knownas the likeness, are all preserved.
ODD LITTLE FACTS.
A woman's brain declines in weight
after the age of 30.
Many thousands of persons in Chi
cago wear wooden shoes.
Paper quilts are extensively used
abroad by the poorer cla-sses.
In very clear water sunlight pene
trates to a depth of over 1-.500 feet.
Small nostrils are said by physiolo
gists to indicate small and weuk lungs.
Fieas will never touch an epileptic,
and will instantly leave a dead ordvina
person.
PAINT AND PAINTING.
fainting damp wood imprisons the
moisture and induces dry rot.
From a sanitary point of view pointed
walls are best; the worst is a papered
wall.
Two ounces of dragon's blood dis
solved in one quart of turpentine, gives
a good mahogany stairi.
As a filler and putty, some painters
use plaster of l'aris, mixed with week
glue, to tli-j consistency of putty.
Putty can be kept soft by covering
with water, or, still better, with lin
seed oil. Any good putty will harden on
exposure.
When mixing tints in the light, it
must be remembered Hint the color will
not appear quite the same in a partly
darkened room.
All light tints are more or less af
fected by the application of clear var
nish over them. It is better to mix a
little of the color in the varnish.
If your brush was not cleaned at the
proper time, and has become hard, put
it in linseed oil and heat the oil until
the dried paint is loosened.
Dry burnt umber mixed in vinegar
makes a good walnut stain, as does also
one pound of dry Venetian red mixed in
one quart of turpentine and one pint of
asphalt.
To test the durability of colors in
paint, apply a coat to strips of thick pa
per and nail them on the wall, exposed
to the strongest possible light. Over
one-half of the sample or samples of
color, fasten heavy paper, cxcludinga.ll
light. After a few weel*s remove this
covering and note the difference in the
exposed and unexposed portions. —The
Master Painter.
SERVE THE RICH AND GREAT.
The salary of Queen Victoria'si chief
butler, who looks after the wine, is
£ 500 a yea r.
The washing of the clothes flor the
English royal household costs' more
than £.'!,<)<>(> per annum.
Mrs. Oliver 11. P. Belmont prefers
men servants of herculean proportions.
Her new footman is about seven feet
high and otherwise in proportion.
[Forty servants is the average num
ber employed by the Astors, Yander
bilts and other multimillionaires, with
an average pay roll of SI,O(XJa month.
The Rockefeller servants are on duty
certain hours, with certain hours for
themselves, and they remain indefi
nitely, none ever leaving of his own
accord. Very many marry, and their
children, too, remain as part of the
family below stairs.
There are 1,500 people upon the Ger
man emperor's list of employes, includ
ing 850 women servants, who are en
gaged in looking after the 22 royal
palaces and castles that belong to the
crown. Their wages are small. The
women receive not more than sl2 a
month, and the man servants from sls
to $25 a month.
Tlie court of Pope Leo XIII. com
prises l.Oflfl persons. There are 20
valets, 120 prelates, 170 privy chamber
lains, fi chamberlains, 300 extra hon
orary chamberlains, 130 supernumerary
chamberlain a, 30 offieersi of the noble
guard, CO guardsmen. 14 officers of the
Swiss guard and police guard, 7 hon
orary chaplains, 20 private secretaries.
10 stewards and masters of the horse
and 60 doorkeepers.
BEFORE THE FOOTLIGHTS.
London has> 45 theaters.
Emma Karnes takes great care of her
voice, and say® she, "lives by the ther
mometer as most people do by the
clock."
"There is only one thing I enjoy
more than singing," sakl Jean De
lieszke the other day. "That one thing
is bicycling '*
Frank Hunter Potter, a nephew of
)he Episcopal bishop of New York, is a
grand opera tenor, whose stage name
is Sig-. Filipe.
Sara Dernhardt in 1872 earned S4O a
month. During the last five years her
average earnings have been SIOO,OOO a
year.
The sinking of certain masses has
been forbidden in the Roman Catholic
ch.tirelies of Cincinnati because they
too closely resemble operatic music.
The manager of a London music hall
announces that anyone who purchases
a ticket for the performance may have
his or her teeth extracted for nothing.
The climax in a new English melo
drama is a marriag-e ceremony per
formed in a church by a burglar, who.
being- interrupted in stealing the silver
communion utensils, puts on the rec
tor's robe and reads l the service.
GATHERED FROM ABROAD.
Kissing a woman's lips is a gross in
sult in Finland.
The Slngalese, after extracting- the
honey from the bee, chew up the insect
itself.
The Chinese tael is a coin which has
never existed. It is simply a unit used
for convenience.
Fashionable Japanese young ladies
when they desire to look attractive,
gild tlwir lips.
A Swiss village is to be constructed at
Paris for the exposition, at a cost of
$600,000.
The revenue of Denmark is 40,000.000
crowns, one-half of which sum is ab
sorbed by military expenditures.
Waiter g-irls in some of the large
Munich cafes receive no wages, because
they get as much as three or four dol
lars a day in fees.
FSinee 1879 more than 3,000 houses
have been detenarited and closed in
Dublin on acaount of their unsanitary
condition.
When a dog barks at night in Japan
the owner is arrested and sentenced to
work fir a year for the neighbors
whose slumbers may have been dis
turbed.
POESIES OF THE POETS.
lie Xul Vnin Heeinixe of S|tain.
We were tempted to be bumptious when the
sinking of the Maine
Was followed by the drubbing we admin
istered to Spain,
But 'twill pay us to remember It was arro
gance and pride
Which led Spain to the sins for which her
soldiers bled and died.
It may be that republics, like old mon
archies effete.
May get the big-head badly, toppling off
their props and feet.
We love our flag of freedom, with its bril
liant proiivlse-stars,
The many grand achievements frescoed In
its battle scars,
The grand domain it represents, its men
who fear no foe,
But ride Wie ear of progress with resistless
vim and go;
And yet 'tis well to fit the car with air
brakes and the like,
Control Is of importance from a warship to
a bike.
So let us mix humility with all our loud
hurrahs.
Content with common sense to love our
country and its cause.
To look for inspiration and true wisdom to
the skies.
Remembering that God is great and In Him
vict'ry lies;
So while we crow a little for the victory
o'er Spain,
Mix love with all your loyalty—all braggart
brays are vain-
Bombastic pride Is but the sugar coating
over pain.
The greatest are the humblest high in
Heaven and here on earth.
Solf-praise Is but a bubble and a text for
honest mirth;
We want to feel responsible for greatness
and its use.
With penalties awaiting its perversion or
abuse.
So do not stop to cackle or to waste the
precious time,
March on in modest might toward our des
tiny sublime,
For gratitude Is virtue, but mere boastful
ness a crime.
I. EDGAR JONES.
I,et Me Relieve.
When boughs are shaken of bloom, and
dead leaves drifting, too,
I would recall their first perfume and the J
sunlight sifting through;
When fields lie barren without, and bitter
frosts are come,
Bid me not hear the winds of Doubt, that
with the darkness roam.
When hours grow dim and gray, and the
song of the year is sung.
Leave me the thrill of the dawning day,
in a heart that Is young, is young!
Though Hope be a blossom whirled, and
Time doth pillage and win.
Let me hearken the pulse of the World, and
learn of Truth therein.
Ay, though my dreams shall pale, while
night but an ember lures,
Let me believe, though Its light shall fall,
that Love, that Love endures!
—Virginia W. Cloud, in Bookman.
Spill ll '* *20,000.000.
What'll we do with this money of ours—
Money we scarcely expected?
No one will hint that we've wasted the
hours
Nor the country's finances neglected.
Shall we devote it to powder and shot.
And talk about fierceness and slaughter,
Buying ships to be added, no doubt, to our
lot
Of scrap-Iron under salt water?
Shall we simulate pride, and still sneer »t
the rules
By which the world makes Its progres
sion?
Or shall we hire teachers and open up
schools,
And try to be In the procession?
—Washington Star.
Palmistry.
She takes my hand with the soft diffidence
That seems a part of girlhood and pro
claims
The timorous amateur: then glibly names
Each line thereon, but holds me in sus
pense
A sweet long while before she can com
mence
The oracle's deliv'ry. Like twin flames
Her cheeks burn up when finally she
frames
The promise of long life and affluence.
If through some gypsy strain she reckons
dear
Her reputation as a prophetess,
Then by her pleasant art may she dlvlno
That it is thrice secured if she will clear
My way to all felicity with "yes"
In answer to a small request of mltu -
—Edward W. Barnard, In Judge.
A ToneliiiiK Tale.
The playwright with his manuscript
Went sadly oxl his way,
Threescore and more of ma.nagers
Refused his play that day;
Then from a corner dark there sprang
A robber bold and masked.
And of the author, with a gun.
His life or money asked.
"I've nothing but this play, I swear!"
Replied the trembling scribe:
"All say it is not worth the string
With which the cover's tied!"
The robber snatched the manuscript
And fled without delay.
"Thank God! At last!" the playwright
cried,
"A man who'll take my play!"
—Boston Transcript.
A Lullaby.
Sof' an' low, sof an' low.
An' sweetly es de rlvab's flow.
We heahs de music cross de sea
Whah spreads <le lan' of Is-ter-Be,
An' sweet an' low, an' sof an' low,
De baby's teensy footfalls go;
But bimeby he's gwine be at peace
Whah roses spring an' lilies blow.
t
De music comes f'om hahps of gol",
Tetched by de lingers nevah ole.
An' Gawd leans down, leans down to heah
De strains dat's floatin' to His eah.
An' sweet an' low, an' sof' an' low,
De baby's teensy footfalls go;
But bimeby he's gwine be at peace
Whah roses spring an' lilies blow.
—Will T. Hale, In Chicago Times-Herald
Homely Ail flee.
Try to spread de gladness.
'Tain' no use to show
Other people's badness.
Folks Is folks, you know.
Jes' be kind an' lovin'
To'ds yoh fellow man;
Dinner's in de oven,
An' de gravy's in de pan.
Don't you stop to listen
To a scan'lous tone,
'Ca'se you might be missin'
Bus'ness of yoh own.
Don't cloud hours dat's sunny
Wif "She say 3, says she."
P.oast de turkey, honey.
An' let de neighbors be.
—Washington Star.
1.1 fe.
Whence and whither?
From the night,
We come hither
To the light.
Love and worry,
Joy and pain.
Toll and hurry—
Night again.
—J A. Edgerton, In Chicago In
ter Ocean.