THE BOWIE KNIFE.
It* lßTtkllea .ad first Vse—A l>.tp.r
mtr Coatwt
A feud had existed for years between
two parties of the parish of Rapides,
Miss., on Red River. The principals
were Ih\ Maddox, Mnjor Wright and
the Blanchards cn the one part, the Cur
rcys, the Wellses and Bowies on the
other. A challenge had passed between
Dr. Maddox and Samuel Wells.a meet
ing was arranged to take place near
Na'chez, Miss., in September, 1887. It
was agreed that no persons should be
present but the combatants, their
seconds and surgeons. The place of
meeting was a large sand bar, im
mediately below the upper bluff, near
Natchez. The sand bar at low water is of
oonsiderablc width, bordered above and
below with forest growth; on the oppo
site side of this bar were stationed the
friends of each party; one of these par
tics was something nearer the combat
ants than the other. Colonel Crane was
the second of Maddox. Between him
and James Bowie and General Currey
there had long existed a deadly feud,
and some months before this affair
General Currey shot Colonel Crane with
a shotgun, on Bayou Rapides, disabling
one of his arms.
The parties to the duel approached the
spot selected for the combat from dif
ferent directions. The preliminaries
were soon arranged. The combatants
took their positions and exchanged two
shots without effect, and the difficulty
was amicably adjusted.
Bowie was just in the edge of the
woods with Generals Wells and Currey,
armed with pistols, Bowie carrying a
huge knife. As the dueling party
started to leave the grounds Bowie and
party started to meet them. The friends
of Maidox and Crane on the opposite
side of the sand-bar seeing this, and
being furthest from the party,started in
a run to meet them as soon as they
should reach the retiring coml-atants.
General Currey was the f rat on the
ground, closely followed by Bowie.
Currey immediately adv.need upon
Colonel Crane and remarked: " Colo
nel Crane, this is a good time to
settle our difficulty," and commenced
drawing his pistol. Bowie did the
same. Crane was armed with a brace
of dueling pistols, and standing awaited
the attack of Currey. At this moment
Currey was seized by his brother and
begged to desist. Bowie and Crane
fired at eacß other, it was said without
effect. There were those who said
Bowie was wounded. This latter state*
ment I think most probable, for Bowie
stopped, felt of his hip and then draw
ing his knife limped toward Crane, who
was watching General Curran. Re
leased from the hold of his brother
Currey was advancing. At this moment
Crane leaped across a small ravine cut
through the sand by the rain-water
flowing Irom the acclivities above and,
resting his pistol upon his crippled arm,
fired at Currey, wounding him fatally.
He fell.
Crne was cow disarmed and Bowie
advanced cautiously upon him. Club
bing his pistol he struck Bowia over
the head, as he avoided his knife
adroitly, and felled him to the ground.
Crane retreated a step, as his friend
Major Wright approached. Bowie, in
the meantime, had risen, and was
sustaining himself by holding on to a
snag which the river when at tbx>d had
left sticking firmly in the sand. Mnjoi
Wright advanced upon him, and with
a long, slender spear, drawn from a
walking cane which he carried.attacked
Bowie, who made a pass to parry the
spear with his knife, in which he failed.
Thespear was of cold iron, and striking
the breast-bone, bent and went round
upon the rib. Bowie at this moment
seized Wright and fell, pulling Wright
down with and on top of him and
holding him strongly to Ids person.
Wright wes a slender, and by no mra s
a strong man. and WHS powerless in the
bands of Bowie, whocoolly said ohim:
" Now, mnjor, you die!" and plunging
the knife into his heart killed him in
stantly.
This knife was made by Resin P.
Bowie out of a blacksmith's rasp, or
isrge file, and wns the original of the
fnmous Bowie knife. When James
Bowie received it from bis brother he
was told by him that it was "strong
and of admirable temper. It is more
trustworthy in the hands of a strong
man than a pistol, for it will not snap.
Crane and Wright are both your
enemies; they are from Maryland, the
birthplace of our ancestors, and are as
brave as you are, but not so cool. They
are both inferior in sir. ngtb to your
self, and therefore not your equal in a
close fight. They are both dangerous,
but Wright the most so. Keep this
knife always with you. It will be your
friend in a last resort and may save
your life." After this conflict Resin P.
Bowie carried this knife to Philadel
phia, where it was fashioned by a cut
ler into the form of a model made by
him, and I presume the knife is yet in
possession of some member of the
family.
There was no reconciliation between
Crane and Bowie after the conflict,
though Crare aided personally in carry
ing Bowie from the ground, and Bowie
thanked him and said: "Colonel Crane
I do not think under tfio circumstances
you ought to have shot me." A though
immediately upon the attack of Currey
upon Crane the fight between their
friends became general, in which there
were several wounded, but Wright and
Currey were the only persons killed.
Mi the men ongmged in this terrible af
fair were men of wealth and high social
position, and the two parties included
almost every man of fortune ip the ex
tensive and wealthy parish of Rapi es.
All are gone save Maddox an i Wells,
both very old and stiil residing in the
samo parish.— l'kilatlclphia Timt
Population of the Earth,
Two eminent German scholars, Di.
Bchm and Herr Wagner, havo published
an estimate of the population of our
globe. To obtain an absolutely correct
estimnto is n matter of difficulty, na but
few nations ever have a census taken.
Until 18&3 the only modern nations
whose populations had been systemati
cally counted were the United States,
Great Britain, Prussia, France, Norway,
Sweden, Denmark and Greece. Since
1H53 many other countries have had
censuses taken,do that at present we can
ascertain, witli considerable exactness,
the number of inhabitants in each of the
leading countries of Europe and
America.
In estimating the population of Asia,
Africa and Oceanica. Messrs. Behm and
Wagner havo been aided by the whole
literature of travel, as well as by certain
known laws respecting the proportion of
inhabitants to the square mile, as regu
lated by climate, civilization and cir
cumstances .
Some of their conclusions arc of much
interest. They estimate the population
of the great divisions of the globe thus:
Europe. 315.930,000; Asia. 834,707,000;
Africa, 905,670,000; America, 05,445,000;
Australia and Polynesia, 4,031.000;
Polar Regions, 82,000; Total, 1,455,493,-
500 Increase since their last estimate,
one year and nine months ago, 16,778,-
800.
A few ot their estimates of particular
countries may interest our readers. Tho
Dominion of Canada, they think, has
now a population of 3,830,470, about one
inhabitant to a square mile. Tho popu
lation of the United States, leaving out
300 fOO Indians, they conjectured from
partial returns of the census of 1880 to
be about 48,500,000, which is short of tho
actual number by 1,500,000; Mexico,
9,485.000; Greenland, 10,000.
In Europe they assign to the German
empire of Frederic William, 43,443,300;
the Austrian empire, 38,000,000; Gn at
Britain and Ireland, 34,517,000; France,
30,905,788; Spain, 10,095,860; Italy. 88,.
309.680; Sweden, 4,531,863; Norway,
1,818,853; Switzerland, 3,793,964; Rus
sian empire, 67,959,000; Turkish empire,
35,180.000.
In Asia the empire of China presents
to us the inconceivable population of
434.636 500. The British empire of
India foilows with a total of 340,398,600.
Japan is thought to have a population
of 34.338,504.
Fourteen hundred and fifty millions
is a good many people to inhabit a com
paratively insignificant ball of matter
whirling through space; but the earth
is not half peopled. The island of Aus
tralia, eight thousand miles in circum
ference. contains about 3,000,000 of
peopie, which is one inhabitant to every
square mile nnd a half of innd.
I'ay ®r Circus Performers.
A correspondent of the Boston Ilcrald,
in reporting a talk with a circus mana
ger in New Tork writes j
" In the memorandum book I found
that the highest salary paid to any per
former was 9450 a week, and the lowest
S3O. Thire were only two names in
the entire list credited with getting the
smaller amount. The biggest sum will
be received by Mmn. Dockrill. 'We
advertise,' said the manager, ' that we
day her 91,000 a week. I'll tell you why.
In addition to the 9450, which is set
down there, we pay all h"r traveling
and hotel expenses, and place at her
disposal a carriage in which she rides
from hotel to train and from circus to
hotel. Beside this, we pny all the ex
pense of keeping and transporting her six
horses, and we employ a man to look
after them. So ttiat she really does cost
us I 100 every day of her life; and 91.000
a week is not muih of an exaggeration
after all. Chang gets 9300 a week, and
Tom Thumb 9335. Mmc. Cordova, the
rider, receives 9300 for her services.
The largest number of the performers
seem to run, in point of salary, from $45
to 975 per wees apiece. The laborers
with the show get from 995 to SSO A
month and their board, and the bosses
of the various departments each receive
something like 9900 a month.' It will
be seen from these figures that circus
people are not so badly paid after all,
and that the stories of their starvation
salaries must, therefore, be campaign
lies, gotten up with the intention of in
timidating small boys who are bent
upoh running awav from home."
The Prsgres* ml t'rematlsn.
At Zurich, Switzerland, where the
Siemens crematory furnace has been
introduced, there is a distinct itipnls
tion that the ashes of the dead must re
main in separate ami at the crematory
for twenty years. At the end of that
time the nearest of kin to tho deceased
may take the urn to his dwc.iing and it
this is not done the ashes are interred.
Before a body is burned every precau
tion is taken by the authorities to ascer
tain that no crime has been oonimitted.
Other furnaces of the same type are in
use at Bresiau, I Dresden and Gotha. In
deed, throughout Germany the preju
dice against disposing of the dead by
burning is rapidly disappearing. The
furnace named will consume a body In
an bonr and a half without causing any
odor or sound. It costs about 96.000
Th# weight of tbs ashes varies from
thrse and a quarter to seven pounds.
Criminals in Germany have increased
from 34,889 in 1875, to 640,649 in 1880.
TIMELY TOPIC*.
postoffloe in the world which
continues to be respected by pilferers is
the letter-box in the Magellan utralte—
a niinplo cask chained to the rock. A
passing vessel sends a boat, takes what
letters there may be and deposits its
own. The postoffloe is under the pro
tection of the navies oi the civilized
world, and, although it has been estab
lished for many years, it has never been
robbed.
A San Francisco woman partially lost
the power of speech through a stroke of
paralysis. Taking advantage of her
incoherent utterances and grotesque
visage, her hußhand sent her to un
asylum as a lunatic, and took possession
of her property. She was kept In dur
ance several months before the truth
was discovered. A jury awarded her
SI,OOO dam ages.
After a careful personal examination
of the forest portions of Pennsylvania,
Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee,
Professor Thomas Melhan concludes
that there is much more timber in the
country than people generally believe,
though at present in localities not con
venient, as a general thine, to a mar
ket at paying prices. He also notes the
rapidity of growth of the trees of the
regions examined as contrasted with
the slow growth in Europe, and main
tained that with proper care and cul
ture good paying timber can bo grown
in from fifteen to twenty years.
The British consul of Shanghai, Mr.
Davenport, eayß there is little doubt
that the dreadful famine which has for
the last three years scourged the north
of China may be attributed in great
measure to the spread of poppy cultiva
tion. A very large proportion of the
available ground in that region has been
sown to this plant, which is found to
be more remunerative than any kind of
grain. Consequently, the granaries
were left unfilled and no provisions made
for a year of drought. The consul says
that unless the growth of opium can be
chocked by the government the evil will
increase, and of course another year of
drought will cause a more terrible fam
ine than the last.
Tb Norwegian poet, Bjornstjern
lljor a son. has written a pleasant letter
from Boston to the Vienna Few Frne
Irene. General Grant was in Boston
at ihe time, and the poet has words of
ofty ndmiratian for the independent
and decent manners of the crowd, com
posed of the rich and poor, that sur
rounded the state house and even
thronged the halls during the reception
in Grant's honor. The same republican
qualities impressed him at a political
meeting. The intelligence and maniy
dignity of the audience electrified him
so that " he never in his life feit strong
cr or so filied with the joy of Ufc." He
was surprised to find'society so abund
antly sprinkled with men notaolc for
learning and ability. It seemed wonder
ful to him that "so many of the educa
ted men should have a super-spiritual
trait, and possess an ideal, even senti
mental enthusiasm. It was the last thing
I expected to find in America."
A widow, wtio had withdrawn $5,000
from the safe investment of a farm
mortgage, wrote to Kufus Hatch, the
well-known New York financier, with
whom she was not acquainted, for ad
vice as to the most judicious specula
tion in which she could engage. Her
letter showed an eagerness lor rapid
gains, considerable knowledge of the
gossip oi the stock market, and an ex
pectation that the ietter addcased out
side the usnal business channels would
gain her an advantago. Hatch replied,
hardly after the manner of Wall street
brokers, counseling her to reinvest her
$5 ,000 in additional mortgages in Jeffer
son county choose and butter farms.
" By doing this you have the dowir ol
your two little girls always under your
own eyes." If, however, she will insist
upon calling in the broker, let his in
struction be to invest in governments.
"Your profits will be small, but you
will be sure of what you have "
George L. Angell, of Boston, Las
spoken before a congressional committee
upor the subject of poisonously adulter
ated articles. Among the subjects
discussed by Mr Angell were drugs,
poisonous articles of clothing, and wall
paper. He offered evidence to show
that from one-third to one-half of all the
wall papers now sold. In a great variety
of colors, contain arsenic to a degree
that renders their use dangerous. He
pronounced against the use of glucose
and oleomargarine products, and gave
numerous illustrations of the danger
Incurred in using canned fruits, meats
and vegetables when put up in tin. In
conclusion, Mr. Angeil urged the im
portance of providing a committee or
commission to thoroughly investigate
the subject. Subsequently tbc commit
tee adopted Mr. Beale's bill " to prevent
the adulteration of articles of food and
drink," and instructed Mr. Reals, on
behalf of the committee. to ask a sus
pension of the rules at the first oppor
tunity, for the purpoee of putting the
bill upon its passage in the House.
Much capital and energy have been
devoted to establishing the silk manu
facture in the United States, and with
considerable success. There has always
been one drawback, however, in com
peting with European, Japanese or Chi
nese products, says the New York
Graphic, " and that was the great dis
parity in the oost of the labor required
in reeling the threads off the coooona.
We oaa raise the silk worm here without
any extraordinary cost, but the delicate
[ operations to which the natural thread
has to be subjected subsequently can be
performed in Prance for less than one
third what they cost here and in Asia
for less than one-tenth. There is only
ono way to overcome this drawback
and this is by means of machinery. To
invent machinery delk-ate enough for
the performance of the work foemod
well tigh impossible at first, hut per
sistence, it is now reported, has had its
reward at last, and an electric machine
is soon to he nut into operation which
will place the American silk industry
ahead of that of all other countries."
Betrayed by His Child's Love.
The arrest ol B. Doyle Bryant, a se w
ing machine agent, who was taken into
custody at the Erie railroad depot, in
Jersey City, on a charge of embezzle
ment, was accomplished in a singular
manner. Bryant was for veais mapager
of the Singer sewing machine company's
branch office in Albany. He had the
implicit confidence ol the company. He
had a family, and was reputed to he ol
sober and steady habits. Some time
ago he became acquainted with Allwxny,
"sporting" men, and under their in
fluence soon fell into ba<l habits. In n
short time he had cmbrlzlcd $3,000 of
the company's lunds. and, being unable
to replace it, he fled to New York with
out giving any hint ol his destination,
even to his wile. His prolonged absence
excited suspicion, and the company
ordered an investigation ol the books,
which resulted in the discovery oi his
defalcation. Detcctivo Dwyer, of Al-
Iwvny, was intrusted with the case.
Keeling assured that Bryant would
sooner or later communicate with his
wife, ho watched her continually. At
the end of several weeks Mrs.
Bryant came to this city with her
two daughters, and remained here
lin lodging for a week, ail the
time closely watched by the detective.
One evening she and her two children
went to Jersey City by the Pavonia
! ferry. The detective was a passenger
on the same l>oat. Mrs. Bryant took her
children to the waiting room ol the Erie
< mi,road depot and sat down. A few
minutes later a man walked into th
waiting room and commenced to pace
up and down. As he turned Mrs,
Bryant's youngist child saw his lace, and
[instantly exclaimed: "Oh, mamma,
i there's papa!'' "Hush, child! For
God's sake, hush!" exclaimed the dis
tressed mother, at the same time trying
Ito restrain the little girl, who was en
deavoring to break away. Her efforts
wen- fruitless. The child broke from
her grasp, and, running over to the man,
joylu.ly exclaimed: " I'apa! papa!
here's mamma!" The man pretended not
to recognize the little girl, but she was
persistent. Detective Dwyer stepped up,
ami putting his hand on the man's
sliouider, sa'd: "I want you. Bryan'.."
Bryant acknowledged his identity, and
t lie was taken to a station house
The Other Fellew's Sin.
How easy it is to sec the sins ol other
people. Even a child can do that. A
Boston Kundsy-chooi superintendent
tells of an experience of his in support
| of this truth. One Sunday he found in
his school a class of urcLins recently
i gathered in from the street, without a
teacher for the day; so he took them in
hand. He came right down to first
principles, and talked about sin and
salvation. One of his pointed questions
was, " Is there any sinner in this class?'
Instantly the answer came from one of
the brightest of the boys, who pointed
to another boy at the end of the scat,
and said, "Yes, that feilcr down
: there.'* That boy was more outspoken
than he would have Ix-en if he had been
, iongr in the school; but his mode of
judging was much that of those long
under Christian training. There is no
I sorrow like our sorrow; and no sin
like—" that feller's down there."—
Numioy-.SrAool Tims*
She llnd Such Pretty WxJs Willi iier.
" She iiad such pretty ways with her."
That was the re.ison an uonest, hard
wot king man gave for marrying a girl
lof whom he knew little else, but who
was really a professional bigamist,
traveling about the country and marry
ing husband after husband as a matter
of speculation.
It is the "pretty ways " ol woman
which has ruined many a man of every
age, including the great- st oi generals
statesmen and philosophers.
If the " pretty ways " come from the
heart it is nil right. If they aro the
result of cold, selfi-h, calculating art
woe is to him who falls their victim.
Nothing is truer than that women are
both better and worse than men. A mnn
could hardly be so bad as a woman is
when she puts on the prettiest ways of
her sex for mischief.
Hrowth ef Trees.
As the results ol observations and
from the testimony of reliable men the
following is about the average growth
In twelve years of the leading desirable
varieties when planted in belts or groves
and cultivated. White maple, one foot
in diameter and thirty feet high; ash,
leaf maple or box elder, one foot in di
ameter and twenty feet high; white
willow, one and a half lect in < iameter
and forty feet high; yellow willow, one
and a hall feet in diameter and thirty
five feet high; Lombardy poplar, ten
inches in diameter and forty bet high;
blue and white nab, ten inches 'in di
ameter and twenty-live feet high; blank
walnut and butternut, tea Inches in di
ameter and twenty Inst high.
A Jiother'* lafleeaee.
Mr. Wendell Phillip* related the fol
lowing in a recent address in Bo*ton:
" In a railway car once, a man about
sixty years old, came to sit beside me.
He had heard me lectnre the evening
before on temperance. 'I am master ol
a ship,' said he, ' sailing out of New
York, and have just returned from my
fiftieth voyage across the Atlantic.
A bout thirty years ago I was a lot;
shipped, while dead drunk, as one of a
crew, and was carried on l>oard like a
log. When I came to, the captain sent
for roe. lie naked me: 'Do you re
member your mother?' I told him she
died before I could remember anything.
"Well, "said he, " I am a Vermont man.
When I wsa young I was crazy to go to
sea. At last my mother consented I
should seek my fortune in New York.'
He told how she stood on
one side the garden gate and
h stood on the other, when
with his bundle on his arm, he was
ready to walk to the next town. She
said to him: "My boy, I don't know
anything about towns, and I never saw
the sea, but they tell me those great
towns are sinks of wickedness, and
make thousands of drunkards. Now,
promise me you'll never drink a drop of
liquor." He said: " I laid my hand in
hers and promised, as 1 looked into her
eyes for the last time. She died soon
after. I've been on every sea, seen the
worst kinds of life and men—they
laughed at me as a milksop, and wanted
to know if 1 was a coward. Hut when
they offered me liquor I saw my mother
across the gate, and 1 never drank a
drop. It has been my sheet-anehor; I
owe nil to that. Would you like to take
that pledge?" said he. My companion
took it, and.hc added : 'lt has saved me.
j I have a fine ship, wife and children at
j home, and I have helped others.' How
: far that little candle threw its beams!
j That earnest mother saved two men to
virtue and usefulness—how many more
■ He who sees ail can alone tell."
Thrilling Scene In a Lion's Cage,
An undcr-keeper in a menagerie was
recently attacked by a lion in Birming
• ham, England. He entered the cage in
j order to clean it. To separate the ani-
I ma s from that part of the cage that was
1 to be Cleaned a wooden panel was used.
| It reached from the top to the floor ol
; the cage, and was about two inches in
thickness. The undcr-keeper, Harris
by name, does not appear to have abso
! lUteiy closed the panel as he entered.
1 The largest lion—a powerful animal
named "Wallace" —sprang toward Har
ris, the sliding panel gave way from the
pressure, and the man stc od un protect d
j in front of the lion, who with its mouth
seised the poor fellow by the shouidcr.
Harris, who had a broom in his hand,
j piuckiiy defended himself for a few mo
ments by striking the lion with the
| handle of the broom. Hut the lion,
I clutching him with one of its paws,
dashed him to the ground and began
gnawing at his body, from which the
blood was freely flowing. The lion
tamer, Alicamousa, who was at the op
posite side of the hail, hearing the ram
motion. ran to the cage. With the ut
most courage and coolness he entered
the den.and twice tired his pistol, which
was loaded with biank cartridge. All
j the time Harris was still beneath the
j lion, who was tearing his flesh. The
nistol-nring had no tiivt whatever on
1 the animal; and seeing this the lion
j tamer, wLo had with him a loaded
whip. Itegan striking the animal with
the butt-end of it on the head. He
dealt the lion four or five blows, and the
at, hitting the animal with terrific
j force between the eyes, appeared to stun
[ it. The lion loosed Harris, who was in
stantly dragged out of the cage. He
was bleeding profusely, but was not
S quite unconscious.
Ward* af Wisdom,
Fortune doe* not change men; it un
masks them-
Jealo tsy is the homage that inferior
ity pay* to merit.
He who know* hi* incapacity knows
something.
Commend a fool for his wit, or a
knave for hi* honesty, and they will re
ceive you into their bosom.
The moat delicate, the most sensible
of all pleasure, consist* of promoting
the pleasure of other*.
Human nature is so constituted that
all see and judge better in the affairs of
other* than in their own.
It is with youth as with plants; from
the first fruits they bear we learn what
may be expected in future.
A head properly constituted can ac
commodate itself to whatever pillows
the vicissitudes of fortune may place
under it. ___
Preserved Peuiaes.
The great drawback In the past in the
way of an extenaed export trade oi
potatoes from this country has lain in
the fact that in ocean voyages the vege
table is susceptible to sweat and rot,
and on arrival the 1 oases from this cause
are often found to counterbalance the
profit made on the intact part of the
cargo. This inconvenience seems to be
overcome by the resent Invention of a
machine for pressing and preserving
potatoes in such a manner that they
may bo dried and kept for a number of
years in any climate.
No man can accurate , y prophesy the
events of ths tutors, but hsosn make a
pretty good guess at one of ton when be
seed a cat and a bulldog starring to go.
around the corner of a bouse op
posite direction*.
>i i "
LlinllK (• Uti.
One reason given by a German in Bm
Francisco (or committing suicide vm,
"My youth hi over." This u at tha
age of forty-fire, a period of life when
one should realise the fullest and ripest
development of maturity. The German
was but one of many who m*lr" them
selves old by thinking themselves old.
These discouraged and hopeless views
of life exf rt an enfeebling influence oil
the body. Youth is not all that ofttime
callow and unfledged period from
twenty to thirty. A man then may be
out learning to live. Fifty years to-day
finds more men than every in every way
better fitted to enjoy life than at twenty
five. The race is gradually progressing
in this respect, and it is safe to predict
that the man of ISgll at seventy may be
a much younger man at that age than he
of threescore to day. Bodily and mental
deeay may be arrested. It Is not ail of
life to eat or to drink, but as well in
wbat a man thinks, how much his sym
pathies and interest may cover and how
far his spiritual eye may see. The fuller
the man of ail these various sides and
shndee of life the more of life is there La
him, and the longer the better, the
healthier will he live.— Neva York
drapKin;
A Funeral Among Ike Ants,
There are ants which bury their dead
—fact which was discovered by acci
dent. A iady had been obliged to kiJl
some ants, the bodies of which lay
about on the ground. Presently a single
ant found its dead companions and ex
amined the m and then went off. It soon
returned with a number of others and
proceeded to the dead bodies. Four ants
went to each corpse, two lifting it up
and the other two following, the main
body, some 100 in number, following
behind. The four bearers took their
office in turns, one pair relieving the
other when they were tired. They went
Hlraiglit to a sandy hillock, and there
the bearers put down their burdens and
the others immediately began to dig
holes. A d< ad ant was then piaoed in
each grave and the soil filled in. The
most curious part of the proceedings
was that sr me six or seven ants refused
to aseist in the grave digging, upon
which the rest set on them, killed them,
dug one large hole and tumbled them
unceremoniously into it.
An Intelligent Canine.
Baroness Hurdelt-Coutts is usually ac
companied by a beautiful oolley dog,
which is a gift from Mr. Henry Irving,
and which has a little history. The
actor was one day driving over the
Hracmar mo r when he lost his Skye
terrier, which had been trotting along
behind his trap. He got down 10 look
for It, directing the driver to goon with
the trap. On the moor he met a shep
herd wilk a col ley, and the man, when
told ot the an'or's low, offered to find
the terrier. At a word from him the
colley dnxud off. and after an absence of
ten minutes returned. " Where is heP'
a ked the shepherd, and the dog, lifting
one paw, pointed in the direction of the
road. "He has gone after the trap,**
the shepherd said, and Mr. Irving mar
veling, and. in truth, incredulous, re
turned to the read, and coming up with
the trap, found his little tavorite await
ing his arrival, lie bought the oolley
at the moderate price of fifteen guineas,
and on his return to town presented it
( to the baroness.
An llxart itr production.
The short-hand reporters of Sydney,
1 X. S. W ~ having been found fault with
I for their method of rerorting the
I speeches in the legislative council, re
taliated by giving the speech of one of
their adversaries exactly as delivered, as
•follows: "The reporters—ought not
to—the reporters ought not to be the
ones to judge of what is important—
not tossy what should be left out—but
• the member can only judge of what
is important—. As I—as my speeches
I —as the reports—as what I say is re
ported sometimes, no one—nobody caa
understand from the reports—what it
is—what I mean. So—it strikes me—
it has struck me certain matters—
things that appear of importance-are
1 sometime* left out —omitted. The re
porters—the papers—points are re
ported—l mean wbat tbe paper thinks
of interest—is reported." This was
taking a very cruel revenge, but Lbea
| even a reporter is human.
Made Bald by Fright.
Terror, it seems, caa take off the hair,
ns well a* torn it. The (iamtU tUs
Hvptlaum gave aa account lately of a
singular case of alopecia.
A girl, aged seventh ea, who bad al
ways enjoyed good health, had one day
a narrow escape from being crushed by
a floor giving way beneath her. She
was very much frightened, sad tbe
same night began to complain of bead
ache and chills. Tbe next morning sb#
felt restless, and had itching of the
sanlp.
During tbe few following days she
steadily Improved, with the exception
of tbe itching. One day, in combing her
hair, she noticed that it came oat la
great quantities.
Three days late- she was perfectly
bald. Her general health was good, bat
hr bead continued bald, and was still
so when seen two years later by the re
porter.
Tb financial dish we In Gknaany is
eery great. Selling prices and land
routs are falling frightfully low. The
result Is that debtor*, a mortgage can
not pay the interest of thstr debts and
are dispossessed end their properttss
sold at half tbe valne they had some
time ago.