PUTIFUL ATHLETES.
.?
Ik Twelve Hundred Little Folks at
Their Daily Exercise.
A TALK WITH PROP. GEO. BROSIUS.
Difference in Training Prescribed for
Girls and Boys.
JOLLI GAMES FOB MISSES OF 811
ICOBEXSrOXDEXCX OF TUX DISPATCH.l
NEWYOBK, Jan
uary 18. There was
a hnm of childish
voices and the multi
tudinous patter of
tiny feet as I entered
the great building of
the Central Turn
Terein, on East Sixty-seventh
street, yes
terday afternoon. In
a hieh ceilinged
room, where a mass
of apparatus hung
overhead and upon
the walls, there was
a group of children at work, or at plajr,
rather, for a juvenile came was in progress.
The children formed a pretty picture. It
was the girls' hour, and there were blonde
tots of half a dozen summers, and dark
haired, dancing-eyed wee witches of 7 or 8.
All were dressed in a neat uniform of blue
flannel, consisting of a sailor blouse,
trimmed with broad white braid, with skirts
coming just below the knee, black stockings
and little black slippers. Some bad their
hair tied and others had the short tresses
neatly plaited.
The game was called "Comm'it," Three
circles were formed, each with about 20
children. All sat down and at a signal
from the teacher, Herman Seibert. the game
began. A chubby-faced sprite rose from
JPlaying at Comm 'il
each of the rings and began running around
outside the circle, suddenly pausing to
touch one of the sitters, who rote and chased
her until caught, when the first girl took
her place in the circle and the other con
tinued the game. This was kept up for
about 20 minutes, when the feminine
midgets were ranged bv the teacher in rows
and put through a mild calisthenic exercise.
"These are our baby classes," said Prof.
George Brosius, the chief instructor of ath
letics at the TurnhalL "I have about 1,200
pupils in all, and they are graded according
to age and height. Eight hundred are
children under 14. The boys and girls are
taught separately. I have 12 classes for
boys, with pupils all the way from 6 to 14 or
15 vears old. and eight classes of girls, the
younger children being tausht during the
day and the others in the evening."
A GLIMPSE OF THE BOYS.
We passed into the gymnasium again,
where th little girls had been replaced bra
Email army of sturdy loofcinc boys, whose
ages ranged between 8 and 12. They were
uniformed in white flannel shirts, blue knee
breech.-s, black stockings and slippers.
Each boy wore a belt of red cloth. At the
signal from the professor, who stood on a
dais at the end of the hall, the boys formed
into four classes. The military drill began
and the four companies went through the
tactical exercises with the precision of vet
erans. Then came the "buck horse" exer
cise, in four motions, the pnnils leaping in
turn.
"One!" called out the instructor, and a
lad sprang on the padded horse on hands
and knees. "Two!" The bov rose to his
Jeet. "Threel" he leaps to the floor.
"Pour!" He ran to the rear of the line to
make way for the second jumper. And so
it went until the entire class had leaned sev
eral times over the horse. This was lollowed
by straight jumping on the matted floor,
the "vaulting horse," which was cleared r-y
a single jump from a springboard, and a
mild exercise with Indian clubs.
"5Tou see," explained the professor, "we
have to keep them interested in order to
give them the full benefit of the exercise
without tiring them."
"Do you make any distinction in the
training of boys and girls, professor?"
"Certainly we do. In girls' classes the
highest object aimed at is gracefulness and
freedom ot motion. This, of course, includes
The Vaulting Bone.
all that is necessary to the development of
the body, the main difference being that in
their case we do not endeavor, as in that of
the boys, to develop strength and muscle so
much. We use no dumbbells or Indian
clubs for the very young. Besides, in train
ing girls we adopt a milder course than with
boys. When a young girl comes to us we
begin by putting her through the simple
drill I have mentioned. When she is pro
ficient in it she is advanced to more compli
cated exercises. From the simplest order of
calisthenics she goes on to games and exer
cises that call for a greater amountof energy
and attention. At first, with the very young
girls especially, we are careful not to tire or
exhaust the pupils. If they are exercised
an hour, they have three or four rests dur
ing that time, beginning, say, with calis
thenics for 15 or 20 minutes, then alO-min-utes'
rest, then resume with very light ap
paratus, arranged specially so as to save
time. The last part ot the programme
wonld probably be a game. We have a
regular course laid out for the whole year
in advance. There are dozens of games
suited to gymnasium purposes and we take
our choice.
SUPPLENESS AND OBACE.
"Girls of 7 or 8 get a more advanced exer
cise. They are then beginning to have an
idea of what is wanted of them, and they
join in the work Intelligently The exer
cises are now calculated not only to develop
,, the body, but to give it suppleness and
eracefnl motion. Th or tanrlit mn
I steps with the feet, inch as are used in the I
jtmBF
vi-vrw
r yi
3 fcx
k V-w- ---- , i&sitt- J , 'M.ililsiWL xJ- " r'VlVr'yi'r rmMkj- .Wk3aaa&l -J& ..v.Mim .
waltz, schottische, polka and other dances.
These are meant to give the body perfect
freedom and a graceful carriage. Then there
are skipping, hopping and hundreds of
other pleasant little exercises that give poise
and agility, and in which the arms, and in
deed all the limbs, are freely employed,
rising and falling in the different motions.
Bnt great care is taken to avoid violence.
tf7 r
The Circle String.
for I consider it the bane of athletics.
Especially would it be hurtful in the train
ing of girls.
"When they are still further advanced
(you see all the system is progressive) the
girls begin to get combined movements in
which the whole class participates, and
which require great skill and close atten
tion. The arm and chest movement, too, is
now freely used. One of the favorite exer
cises is the 'circle swing,' and the girls are
exceedingly fond of it; indeed, they love all
the exercises. A circular iron plate is hung
from the ceiling, and from it eight cords,
each with a pair of handles, hang downward
to a point about 2 feet from the floor. One
of the handles is a little higher than the
other, so that the pupil can throw her arm
through the lower one and grasp the other
with her fingers. Eight pupils take hold of
these 16 handles, and they move all to
gether, swinging in a circle. They also
practice walking on the 'balancing board,'
which is about 6 or 8 inches high, 2 inches
broad and about 2 feet apart. They stand
upon it, take hands and walk along, going
through various combined movements. This
gives them suppleness, poise and agility."
THE METHODS PUESUED.
"Do you use hone of the usual gymnasium
apparatus for the girls of this ace?"
"Oh, yes; we use climbing ladders and
swinging rings, but only for the more ad
vanced. One thing that we never omit is
the simple exercise for "the feet upon the
floor, and the movements of the body that
will teach grace rather than strength."
"How do the girls compare with the boys
as far as intelligence and aptness are con
cerned, profe'sw?"
"Well, I think it only fair to them to say
that they are my best pupils. Thev take a
greater pride in what thev accomplish than
the boys do, are naturally more graceful
and therefore much of the work comes easier
to them. It wonld be difficult to imagine
anything more graceful than the motions of
the pupils in my young ladies' class, where
the ages are from 16 upward. "Well built,
strong and healthy, they are just the best
sort of material for a class of advanced ex
ercises. All efforts are directed toward the
development of grace and freedom of phy
sical action, for these are what are most de
sirable in every young woman. I use light
The Young Clubtwinger.
Indian clubs two-pounders and swinging
rings, besides other simple apparatus. Ko
dumbbells are used. At first only one club
is employed by the pupil for a few simple
motions, and then, when she has mastered
these, both clubs are nsed for combined
movements; that is, step positions in which
the whole class joins. In order not to tire
them too much with the clubs they change
to step positions, and between every new
exercise take abont SO seconds' rest."
TO DEVELOP MUSCLE.
While Prof. Brosius talked the boys kept
steadily at the exercises. "These are ex
ercises," he explained, "that call for more
strength. As the boys advance they use all
the apparatus, bnt we don't force them
ahead. They must be older and stronger
before they get the pyramid exercise, or any
thing that will try their strength seriously.
We always give them sufficient rests be
tween the exercises. I do not use the health
lift here; I don't believe in it, for young
pnpils, at all events.
"Much harm is done by urging violent
motions on the part of pnpils. It is against
all the principles of modern scientific ath
letics and is ruinous to the pnpil. I know
ofa Government training school not far
from New York, where the cadets are per
mitted to use eight and ten-pound dumb
bells, which must result in serious injury
sooner or later. I had a scholar who studied
with me for 12 or 14 years and who could
Sut up a 100-pound dumbbell 30 times with
is right hand. He went t5 the Turners'
competition at Frankfort and competed for a
prize. The first premium was awarded to a
German athlete named Miller, who after
ward came here and competed at the
St. Ltouis festival, where he got the sixth
prize, while the American whom he de
feated abroad got the first prize. There cer
tainly was something singular about the
foreicna wards, and it only served to con
vince me that American Turners are
superior to any in Europe if thev can get
a fair show. The American athlete was
Herman Koehler, my former pupil, now 1n
strnctor in fencing, swimming and athletics
at West Point
IK THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
"I have been an athlete since 1861, when
I left the army to assume the charge of the
first Turnhall in Milwaukee," continued
Prof. Brosius, strokinc his military-looking
mustache and goatee. "There are now 300,
000 Turners in the country. While in
Milwaukee I was for ten years superintend
ent of physical instruction in the public
schools, and there I was impressed with the
great desirability of introducing phys
ical training generally in the schools
throughout the country. Thousands
of children are crippled, cramped
and permanently deformed by the careless
ness of their teachers. If the Government
would establish an institute for the educa
tion of teachers to be assigned to the various
public schools, we would reap the benefit in
a generation of happier, healthier and more
robust children."
Ebb Clatios.
m Jilk
7321
111
THE'
AGE OF THE BRIDE.
Washington Ladies Are Opposed to
Early Marriages.
TWENTY-FIVE THE POPULAR TEAR
Mrs. Harrison Sajs a Girl Bhonldn't Con
Eider Position.
MRS. UENEKAL LOGAN SATS L0TE IS ALL
ICOBEESFONDENCE OF THE DISPATCH.
Washington, January 18.
im
HAT should be
the age of the mod
ern bride?
This question
forms the subject
L.s of my interviews
with the leading ladies of Washington this
week. Of the 200 mothers of daughters
whom I saw at President Harrison's last
evening White House reception, 85 per cent
were married before they were 20. The
sweet, bright girls whom they chaperoned,
ranged in age from 20 to 28. Their
mothers married at 17, but they
are in no hurry to settle at 24 and 25. The
prettiest and most popular girls at the
Capital, Miss Mattie Mitchell, the two Miss
Manrys, Admiral Porter's daughter Ellen,
Miss Katy Beach and a score of others have
been out from three to five seasons. The
popularity of early marriages is dying away,
and the wives of onr statesmen now de
cidedly disapprove ol their girls being mated
when they are still in their teens. Of the
baker's dozen of mesdames -whom I quote,
only Mrs. General Logan and Mrs. Senator
Mitchell have anything to say in favor of
old-time marriages. But I will let the la
dies speak for themselves.
Mrs. Benjamin Harrison has decided views
on most subjects, and she had evidently
given this question some thoaght. She is
very fond of young girls, nnd her advice to
them is worth taking. Said she:
"Instead of making 22 the proper age to
marry I should make it 25. As a rnle a
woman is married two-thirds of her life and
she can easily lend two or three out of those
years to what ought to be a happy period
with every girl, the years between school
days and marriage.
"Physically and mentally a woman is at
her best at 25 and that is the time phe should
marry."
"Bnt your marriage took place at a much
younger age, did it not?" I asked.
"Xe-es; I did marry a little younger," she
acknowledged, laughing. "I was 20. but in
those day; a girl's education was finished at
16 or 17, and there was so little for her to do
as compared with the present."
"Should agirl choose for herself?" said L
"Yes, as a rule," replied Mrs. President
Harrison, "bnt not when a girl is very
young. Marriage cannot concern any but
the parties to it and they should decide, al
though I must confess that they sometimes
make poor work ot it."
The first lady of the land has this to say
about marriages for position:
"Love and respect, but never position,
should decide a woman's choice of a hus
band." MBS. JOHN WANAMAKEB.
"Never before 20 and rarely before 23"
was the reply of the Postmaster General's
wife to the marriage question. "A girl
should travel, meet many men indifferently,
and when she does decide that she loves any
one man she should put that love to at least
a year's test. When girls leave school they
are susceptible to kindness from anyone they
meet, and tbey should never mistake that
feeling for love."
This is the reply of the mother of the girl
who is confessedly the daintiest of the de
butantes, and whom half the society men of
Washington already admire. Yet she was a
wife at the age at which the daughter is a
debutante.
Mrs. Attorney General Miller will have
any number of bright girls under her wing
this season and this is what she has to say:
"A girl is not at her best physically until
shejis25,and therefore should not marry much
before that age, as the housekeeping duties
require her best energies. Women who
marry before 20 often find themselves broken
down at 30, just when they should be enjoy
ing life the most. For health alone an early
marriage is inadvisable."
In answer to the question whether a girl
should ever marry for position Mrs. Miller
put the case in a nutshell when she said:
"Ko, for she has to sit opposite her husband
at meals three times a day and position
doesn't count in everyday intercourse."
WHAT A CABINET DAUGHTER THINKS.
"What is position anyway?" spoke up
Miss Florence, the pretty daughter of the
Attorney General's house. "I spent a week
at the White House a short time ago, and
when I saw how much more the public had
of the President than Mrs. Harrison did, I
thought that I should never marry for it.
"What is it, anyway?" she made a sugges
tive gesture of catching a handful of air
and letting it dissipate, "after you grasp for
it you do not want it."
"There are times, however, Florence,
when a girl should marry for a home," said
the mother. "Not just to have a roof over
her head, bnt for the care a good man will
always give to his wife. She should not
marry for love alone, for matrimony re
quires a more solid foundation than caprici
ous love."
"Can a girl afford to marry a poor man?"
I asked.
"Of course she can," replied Mrs. Miller,
"tf he is frugal, of good habits and of some
business ability."
"I tell all the girls I know," said Mrs.
Justice Field, who, although she has no
daughters of her own, always has half a
dozen girls in her drawing room, "to fall in
love correctly if they fall in love at all. I
do not think a girl should follow her first
fancy. She may think she loves at 18, but
is wise to wait until she is 22, and then, as a
rnle, she does not marry the one whom she
elected at first. Washington girls either
marry very young or quite old. say at 28,
but they generally marry well."
"Should the position of the lover affeet
her choice?"
"A girl who has been properly bred," re
plied Mrs. Field, "will always give a
thought to the position in life of the man
MEBBB&k
P7 Tx
ii
PrTTSBUKG - DISPATCH,
she marries. While love should decide her
choice it is her right to weigh in her own
mind whether her future husband could
give her anything like the home her father
has given her."
MBS. SENATOR M'MHUJf.
Mrs. Senator McMillan, of Michigan,
will have a halt a dozen million-dollar
beauties under her care this winter, but she,
too, is against the "dear girls" and their
little love affairs. She said: "I consider
the two or three years after a girl leaves
school the happiest of her life, and if she
can live it independent of any engagement
she will be able to make a much better
choice at the end of that time. Suppose a
girl's fancy is caught the first year she is
out, her whole position in society is
changed. She passes among her friends as
the 'engaged girl,' and must almost be
a recluse. It is much better for her to be a
free lance and meet any number of men
agreeably without a thought that they
might possibly want to marry her. Circum
stance and place have much to do with these
affairs of love, and the mother who wishes
to keep her daughter a while should see that
she meets many men, especially if she
notices that she is slightly taken by any one.
I cannot conceive how a eirl can marry
against the wishes of her friends, nor can I
see how she can marry anyone repellent to
herself, no matter how much her friends
esteem him."
"Suppose a girl falls in love with one
whom her parents knew to be unworthy?"
"If agirl under 20 is obstinate and de
termines to marry against reason I think the
strongestmeasuresshould be taken to prevent
her. Parents have a right to look alter the
future of their daughters if the girls them
selves have not the judgment to do it."
FEWEB DIVORCES.
I next called upon Mrs. Senator Spooner
and asked her as to the age of the modern
bride. She said: "There would be fewer
divorces if all women married at 25, but
more seriously the average girl's constitu
tion is not hardy until she is 24 or 25. Also
a woman should have a chance to prove her
self and to show an ability to take care of
herself before she marries. A man honors a
woman who gives up a career to be a wife."
"Should every woman marry?" I asked.
"Yes," replied Mrs. Spooner, "if she con
sults her own happiness, lor there is little
that a woman cannot do after she marries
that she might have done had she remained
a spinster."
Mrs. Spooner raised her hands with a
pretty tragic gesture and rolled her eyes in
serio-comic fashion as I put the question of
what a girl should marry for.
"Loe, and love alonef" she said. "I
cannot conceive, considering the peculiarly
delicate relations of husband and wife, how
any woman can marry for augbt but love.
The only possible exception might be where
a eirl, like Thekla, has 'lived and loved,'
and is quite sure that she can never love
again. Then admiration, boundless esteem
and a fair degree of friendship might exense
a girl for marrying for a home. Strange to
say, many such marriages have resulted
better than those begun with extravagant
love."
Mrs. Sp6oner concluded by a characteri
zation of ideals that would have made Swin
burne or Oscar Wilde faint and fall.
"Marry a first lovel Faugh! A girl
should never marry her ideal. To use a
Pennsylvania expression there's no 'fillin' '
to an ideal man. When I think of the half
grown boys I admired when I was 16
faugh!"
WIFE INFEBIOB TO HUSBAND.
"I do not believe in early marriages,"
said Mrs. Senator Cockrell emphatically,
"and I even think there are some happy
ones when a girl of 20 marries a man of 40,
as witness the marriage of President Cleve
land and Miss Folsom. I know when I
was young I looked with high disdain upon
men of my own age and thought if I could
find a man as noble and good as my father I
should many him, no matter if he was as
old."
"But how about early marriaees?" said L
"The case is againBt them;" said Mrs.
Cockrell, "if one studies Washington society
for a year. You cannot live here even that
length of time without seeing hundreds of
prominent men whose wives are markedly
inferior to them." -
"What is the reason?"
"In nine cases out of ten yon will find that
they were boy and girl matches. The girl
has too soon assumed the responsibilities of
wife and mother, and has often become
querulous, petty and indifferent to improve
ment, while her husband has advanced every
moment until there is hardly a common
point upon which they can meet. It is the
most pitiful thing in the world, and I ven
ture to say the next generation will rarely
see it, for girls are every decade marrying
later."
In reply to the query whether girlsshould
ever marry out of their own rank in life,
Mrs. Cockrell expressed wholesome disdain.
"Their own rank? faugh! there is no such
thing in this country. While I do not
think a girl should marry her father's
coachman I think that she bbould take any
poor man who asks her if she loves him.
Two-thirds of our public men were poor
once."
A VABIETT OP OPINIONS.
"Barely before 25 and often not until 20,"
was Mrs. Senator Cullbm's decision on the
question of age. "I have seen many a case
where people married from admiration and
esteem at 30 and are much happier than
those that married from capricious love
at 20."
Girls mature at an earlier age in our
Southern States, and the opinion ofa noted
Southern woman is worthy of consideration.
I called upon the wife ot Senator Walthall.
of Mississippi, and asked her to give her
views. She said: "Agirl should marry any
time that she falls in love after she is 18,
but she mnst be sure that it is love, not lik
ing. I cannot say that I have noticed that
girls marry later now than they once did.
When I was in Mississippi last year I found
that two of my daughter's friends had mar
ried before they were 17. Indeed one of
them was only 14, and when I saw her she
had two pretty babies and was seemingly as
happy as if she had waited until she was
twice as old."
"Should a girl choose for herself?" I
asked.
"Marriage is a girl's own affair, and she
should pick her husband, although she
should pay heed to the advice of older peo
ple." "A thorough education is within the
reach of every girl at this day," said Mrs.
Burrows, "and consequently they should
not marry as young as they did 15 or 20
years ago. There is so much more in life for
a woman now than there was then, and as
long as marriage takes from 20 to 30 years
of their lives, they should give at least five
years to promiscuous studying after they
leave school. The next generation will be
the better for the increased intelligence of
the mothers. No, 25 is none too old."
LOVE IS ALL, SATS UBS. LOGAN.
"It is a matter of mating, not of years,"
said Mrs. General Logan, "when a girl
meets the man she loves, whether she be.18,
20 or 25, she should marry him. Love can
not be regulated by years. I speak from
the standpoint of 25 years ago. There may
be more in lite for a girl now than marriage,
but the girl who waits will find one day
that it is the only true life for a woman.
But we can hardly blame girls now for put
ting it off until they are 25, for they have
no such opportunities as we had."
"What do you mean by 'opportunities,'
Mrs. Logan?" I asked.
In her smile there was half of sorrow, half
of humor, as she said: "The men to-day are
not like those ot the past."
Miss Grundy, Jb.
This Grip Always Popular.
Chicago Times.)
Maude I was mortified almost to death
last night
Clara Howso?
Maude I was riding home on the cable
car with Charley. We're engaged, you
know, and and
Clara Well?
Maude Well, just as wo passed Twenty
second street I felt Cbarley'a arm steal
round me, and just then a red-nosed man
behind us coughed terribly and told the
driver that "the grip" seemed to be Tery
popular this warm weather.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 19,
EXTINCT OIL TOWNS.
Famous' Pithole Has Fared Better
Than Some Other Places. '
STRANGE R0MAHCB OF BULLION.
Deceptive Field Where Phillips
Sank 100 Dry IIole3.
Bros,
EISE AND PALL OP A DOZEN CITIES
t SPECIAL COnitESFONDEJTCI 07 THX DISPATCH.
Oil City, January 18. Pithole has been
repeatedly written up as an oil town that (
has entirely disappeared from the face of
the earth. The foreign correspondent who
finds so much romance in Pithole is evi
dently not .aware that there are at least a
dozen oil towns that have even more com
pletely disappeared than Pithole. These
lost oil cities have never been written up,
and it may be well to do this while some
trace of their strange histories is still left.
Bullion, in Venango county, was once a
place of abont 5,000 people and now there is
not a building left to mark where it stood.
Greece City, Modoc and Argyle, in the But
ler county district, were stirring towns a few
years ago and are aow obliterated. Babylon
was one of the towns in the upper
oil districts not far from Pithole,
but has gone and left no trace behind. This
town was once known as the very "tough
est" of all the oil towns. Pithole, Petro
leum Center, Rouseville and Parker all had
reputations in this line, but Babylon, not
withstanding its biblical name, is said to
have had no rival.
Pithole made some attempt at maintain
ing law and order, and this, as much as any
thing, accounts for the existence of Babylon.
The toughs moved over there and started a
little town of their own. Ben Hogan was
king of the place; it was there Ben got into
the most serions scrape of his life by the fa
tal shooting of a man named Dwyer. Ben
had plenty of money, and managed to be
acquitted on the ground of self-defense.
The shooting and trial which
followed soon created a great deal of excite
ment and comment throughout the oil
country. It was at Bahylon where Ben
had his fie hi, with Holliday, formerly of
Rochester, defeating him in seven rounds.
The sports and business men of Pithole at
tended this prize fight on horseback, and it
was the presence of the better element that
prevented a bloody row, as a notorious char
acter named "Stonehouse Jack" was on
hand with a small army ot followers with
the avowed pnrpose of "doing up" Hogan.
Babylon was a halfway place between Pit
hole and the Tidioute oil field. There is not
now a single slab left to mark where the
small but wicked place stood. There are a
few bnildlngs left at Pithole, but there is
not one at Babylon.
A LOST CITY IN VENANOO.
Bullion was only second to Pithole in the
rush and tumult of the place, and of 6,000
popnlation not one remains. It was located
a mile or two from the Allegheny river back
from Scrubgrass station. It was the
"Big Injun" well that started half the
population of oildom in the direction of
Bullion. The well was owned by Lee &
Co., and was struck in July, 1877, and start
ed off at a 3,000-barrel rate. This was a
phenomenally large well at that time. A
few other wells came in rapidly, and in a
month the production of the pool was np to
8,000 or 10,000 barrels a day, and wells go
inc down everywhere. Phillip Bros., the
present well-known producers, T. W. Phil
lips being of the firm, struck their celebrat
ed "No. 10" half a mile south of develop
ments sending everyooay scampering in
that direction. It flowed 2,000 barrels a
dav for a time. This well, while a bonanza
in "itself, was the means of wrecking the
firm of Phillips Bros., as it was on the
strength of this strike that they afterward
drilled 100 dry holes in an attempt to
find an outlet for the pool. The
firm failed for several hundred thousand
dollars, and the senior member of the firm
died. T. W. Phillips, the surviving mem
ber, went to work without a dollar and has
since paid off every penny of the indebted
ness, and nas a nig loriune Desiaes. -run-lips
Bros, had 20,000 acres of land leased "to
the front" at Bntlion, and this 2,000-barrel
well indicated that much, if not all of it,
was good territory. Theyi:ould not make
up their minds to the contrary until they
had drilled 100 dry holes and spent $500,000.
They had been offered $400,000 for this
worthless territory, bnt declined to accept it
Oil at that time was worth $2 a barrel, and
for a short period sold as high as $3. Loca
tions for a single well sold as high as $1,000
and half the oil. Even at these prices the
operators made money.
LUCK BAN IN STBEAES.
On the other band an Oil City company
paid $10,000 cash bonus and one-quarter the
oil from a 100-acre lease and never got a
barrel of oil ont of it, Phillips Bros. "Ko.
10" was a splendid well, and the profits
from it helped them to swing their big
operations hunting for the outlet to the
South. The well is still producing between
two and three barrels a day. As late as last
summer a well was drilled on a line with
"No. 10" and "No. 7," on the same farm,
which started off at a 100-barrel rate. Up
to that time "No. 10" had been making
about ten barrels a day. Over 1,000 wells
were drilled in Jhe Bullion pool, and all but
about 40 have been abandoned.
The town that was suddenly built up was
known both as Bullion and Summit City.
It had banks, hotels, theaters, dancehouses,
boarding houses and all the facilities of a
city. Ben Hogan also flourished here and
built the best theater in the place. There is
a portion of a big hotel building left stand
ing at Bullion and that is all. This wreck
is being carried away piecemeal, and soon
the last vestege of a once famons oil town
will have disappeared. This hotel was
moved here from Titusville. The site of
the town is under cultivation, and the last
time it was visited by the writer a prom
ising field of corn was growing on what had
been the busiest part ot the place. The few
people who work the wells that are still pro
ducing in the field live across the ravine in
a little cluster of houses called "Berringer,"
after the owner of the old farm.
BUTLER'S OBLITERATED OIL TOWNS.
It is likely that anyone but a native of
Concord township would have much diffi
culty in finding even the spot where Greece
City stood. Modoc, on the same belt, has
also disappeared. Areyle, between Petro
lia and Martlnsburg, has gone to keep them
company. During the early excitement in
Butler county these were stirring and prom
inent towns. They were as conspicuous in
the history of Butler development as any
other town in the county. Hither one of
them had more activity than the old town of
Butler itself, though the county seat has
since redeemed itself in a very handsome
FAMOUS PITHOLE AS IT IS TO-DAY.
-. - "- Jt
1890.
fashion. The latter is now one of the few
places that combines the activity of the oil
town with the solidity of an old commercial
center.
Greece City ranked after Petrolia and
Parker as a redhot oil town. A gusher
struck on the Jamison farm, August 24,
1872, gave Greece City its first enterprise.
Soon after this strike buildings began to be
erected, and it was not long until the dace
had 1,200 inhabitants. It had three good
banks and other business houses in propor
tion. The Morrison well, at this place, was
a phenomenal gusher, and yielded upward
of $100,000 worth of oil. Greece City was a
town of wonderful life and activity, and re
membering these features of the place, it
seems almost incredible that it shonld have
ceased to exist.
A spouting foubth sandeb.
Modoe was located about three miles
north of Greece City, also in Concord town
ship. The country immediately surround
ing it was most uninviting, and had no at
tractions for anyone but the enterprising
oil man. An experimental well was drilled
hereby Joseph Bushnell, Warden & Bost
wick and William Vandergrilt To the
surprise of everybody the well came in
larger than any that had been struck south
of Oil creek. The strike was one of the
spouting "fourth sanders" that were better
known afterward, and created a tremendous
excitement all over the oil country. This
was the Troutman well, which has a good
record among the big wells of the country.
It flowed over 1,000 barrels a day for some
weeks. The Starr and Sutton farms in the
immediate vicinity, also came in with sev
eral good strikes, and Modoc City built up
with amazing rapidity. It also had its own
banks and other institutions which go to
make up the prosperous town. The Trout
man, Starr and Sutton homesteads were the
only habitations there prior to the big oil
strike, bnt it was not long afterward until
one of Butler county's busiest towns had
sprung into existence. Modoc is now num
bered with the departed, not a plank or post
being left to show where it stood.
Besides these towns of importance there
were a number of crossroads and "corners"
that were bnsy little hamlets, and are now
nowhere to be found. Clarion county had
two or three of them, as had also Butler and
Yenango. Oleopolas was at one time an im-'
portant point on the Allegheny liver above
Oil City, and it, too, has entirely disap
peared. WHAT IS. LEFT OF PITHOLE.
The romance of Pithole is too well-known
by newspaper readers to require any fur
ther elaboration. Everybody knows that it
was once the third largest city in Pennsyl
vania in the matter of postal business trans
acted, but it is not correct to say that it
has completely disappeared. Your corre
spondent turned his camera on the spot
where Pithole stood, and it will be seen
there are still a few old structures left. This
is the only picture known to have been
taken of Pit hole since the decline of the
famous town, The other side ot the hill
shows still fewer houses, and one of these is
a new one built recently. The oil derrick
shown in the photograph is a recent growth,
having been built during the so-called "re
vival of Pithole" a year ago. The "re
vival" was the hnnt for a little oil that was
found in the second sand, but which was
found in much larger quantities in other
places. B. W. CBISWELL.
SPECULATING IN CEMETERIES.
Prosperity of Some 8r. TjohIs Stockholders
Starts it New Scheme.
St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
Yon wouldn't think of going to a live
man and asking him to invest in a cemetery
speculation, would you? But if the live
man didn't jump at the offer he wonld
make a great mistake. Bellefontaine Cem
etery has been a very profitable thing, so
profitable in fact that the success of the
stockholders has excited emulation, and a
new cemetery will probably be opened to
those of the city who want to nse it.
The idea is to' get all the ground necessary
out West, within 14 miles of the city and
near one of the railroads. Trains will be
used to carry out the caskets and the neople.
and carriages and hearses will be done away
with, except the conveyance to the depot and
back to homes. Prices of lots in a new ceme
tery would be low, and it would be patron
ized by the newer class of residents not at
tached to the older ones by sentimental feel
ings. Sentiment, by the way, has much to do
with the prices of lots in a cemetery. In
Bellefontaine, for instance, there is one part
where lots are in such request that the prices
have been pnt up. It is the southwestern
part of the cemetery. I don't know what the
cemetery officials call it, but it is known to
the undertakers generally as the fashionable
part of the cemetery, because of the wealth
and position of the people who own lots
there.
LATEBT IH BOOK CAATASSIKG.
A Troupe of Fifty Ladles With Chaperon and
Manaser.
New York Star".
The latest thing in book canvassing is for
a manager and a chaperon to take a com
pany of lady canvassers and travel all over
the country with them. There mav be a
dozen or CO ladies in a company. On the
evening of their arrival in a city the whole
company hold a council of war. The plan
of campaign is laid out, each canvasser is
given certain firms, for no private houses
are visited, and the canvasser is even
told just what to say and how
to 'say it. No canvasser is allowed to
talk about anything except business. The
strictest rules prevail. Breakfast comes at
6 o'clock, after which the canvassers scatter
to their work. A number of spotters are
employed, who watch them, noting how
long they remain in each store or office. If
more than the allotted time is used, there is
a strict reckoning. At 9 o'clock in the
evening every canvasser must retire for the
night, and any violation of these rules means
expulsion from the company. The hotel
bills and traveling expenses are paid by the
manager, who deducts them from tne
amount due the canvassers. One of these
companies is at present in this city on their
way irom Boston to the West.
WAYS OP THE W1KDI CITL
A Flood of Light Let In Through Newspaper
Queries.
The following questions with the answers
recently appeared in the Chicago Leader:
3.0 shonld beer be served at combination
card parties audmusicales T
Mes. Bzcheboht.
Answer The usual form in to have the keg
In one corner of the room, so that gaests can
help themselves; but a better plan Is to place
the keg in charge of the batter and have the
beer banded around In tall, thin glasses. This
we judge, from some pictures we bave seen, is
the latest style In New York.
How is It possible to dance In one of tbese
now-fanzleu swallow tall coats without having
the pistol bntt show np at every Jump T
John K.
Answer If yon wonld dance gently and
grace! ally, as becomes a member of Chicago
society, you wonld have bo such complaint to
make.
OUR PUBLIC E0ADS.
Examples for Emulation in Eoman
and English History.
MOUNTAIN HIGHWAYS OP PERU.
Artery That Pint Connected Pittsburg
and Philadelphia.
CONDITION OP THE CITI'S BTBEETS
IwarrxiH von nns dispatch. !
Onr remote ancestors of 3,000 years ago
probably had roads or trails over which
their vast herds passed from pasture land
to new pastures or to water; but If they had
any other kind we don't know much about
them. Nothing that can be dignified by
the title oi road is to be fonnd until we come
to 313 B. C, when the Eomans built the
world-renowned and still existent Appian
Way from Borne southwardly to Brun
dnsium. It was called the Queen of Boads.
This most celebrated road was built, like
the Pyramids, to remain a monument for
ever. It cost enormously judging from the
natural engineering obstacles of rocks to
cnt, valleys to fill, bridges to build and
swamps to cross. Its foundation was well
made in several strata, each one being
heavily cemented with lime, while the
surface was paved with hexagonal blocks of
basaltic lava, which were joined with ad
mirable precision, making a grand floor.
This road comes down to us out of the dark
ness of history as one of the many fine pieces
of engineering done by those old Bomans as
is evidenced by many monnments to their
skill still extant.
One principal reason for Bome's greatness
was that "All roads led to Borne," and as
fast as new countries were conquered roads
were immediately constructed to meet the
old roads to Borne as a military necessity,
which enabled the generals to march their
armies at great speed over good roads from
country to country. Good roads were con
sidered of vital importance to the mainten
ance of the Empire. As beasts of burden
and soldiers were the principal travelers
over them in those days, they were generally
laid ont in as straight a line as possible un
less some great natural obstruction was met
with. A level road was not so desirable as
a direct one. The roads which the Bomans
built were nearly all as durable as the Ap
pian Way, for they lasted over 2,000 years
with little care or repair wasted on them.
However, roads which they built while oc
cupying England have become decayed,
probably on account of the great moisture ot
the climate, in addition to neglect Their
plan of construction was nearly uniform for
all of their roads. They were trom eight to
15 feet wide and had raised footwalks along
each side where possible, and blocks of
stone at certain intervals, to enable travelers
to mount their animals.
DANGEB FBOM HIOHWAYMEW.
In early times, when there was little in
tercommunication between towns, let alone
large cities, pnblic roads were very unsafe
reads to travel. In England in 1283, a law
was passed requiring tne trees and under
brush to be cut down nnd removed and rocks
cleared away for 200 feet on each side of the
road to prevent ambushing by footpads and
highwaymen. As tbese paths were more
and more used, and as wheeled vehicles
came into use, and people became more
sociable or adventurous in searching for
trade, these roads became continnons, and
were called the King's Highways, because
they were public roads, and had become so
by long usage and permission of the owners
of the lands so used. The roads or highways
in Great Britain were, until within SO years,
in a most deplorable condition, being mere
quagmires in soft weather. It was for many
years considered the duty of the abutting
propertyholder to keep'the roads along his
property in good repair. If he did not the
traveler had the right to open the fence and
go through the fields around some very bad
place in the road, and thus destroy croba
bly far more than it would have cost to re
pair the road. That was not justice, how
ever, to require a man to keep the roads in
good repair for people in whom he had no
interest, besides giving the land for the road.
The common way In England now is to
make the parish keep the roads in repair;
and if it doesn't, any person caa bring an
action against the parish and have a rate
assessed upon it which will put the roads in
good condition. Several parishes are nut
into one district and uniformity of manage
ment is enforced.
Abases of the highway are promptly pun
ished. Biding or leading horses or donkeys
or tethering cattle on the pathways or side
walks, building fires or depositing materials
on them are all severely punishable. After
the public has for years nsed a highway the
law supposes that the owner of the property
gave the right years before through some
lost grant. If any gate or obstruction is
placed on the highway, or a honse is built
over the line, any traveler has the right to
remove the obstruction with as little damage
in the operation as possible. The public
hae the absolute right to the whole of the
road between the lines, and no person or
body of persons has any right to convert
any part of the highway to any other pur
pose for their own selfish uses or profits, no
matter how useful that purpose may be.
STBEET CAB3 AND TELEGBAPH POLES.
Some years ago in Enzland some local au
thorities in city and county gave a street
car company permission to lay their track
on certain streets, which was asserted to be
a public benefit, bnt as it was givng a mo
nopoly to some people, and was an obstruc
tion to others, it was held to be a nuisance,
and all parties were indicted. It was also
held as a nuisance for a telegraph company
to plant their poles in the strip of ground or
sidewalk along a publi c road. Althongh it
was a benefit for the world at large to have
the electric wires strung, yet it was decided
that they practically obstructed the public
in their free use of every part of the high
way, and they were decided to be a nui
sance. Nothing but an act of Parliament
can legalize the use ofa public highway for
any other purpose than that of a road for the
passage of the people.
It is held in common law that the land in
or under the road belongs to the abutting
owner. If a mine should be discovered run
ning under a road the abutting owner is en
titled to all under his share, but he must
preserve forthe pnblic uselthe uninterrupted
right of passage on the surface in bis min
ing operations. He is entitled to the trees
and grass which grow on the road along his
front. Any company oenipng a road to lay
pipes is indictable for depriving the pnblic
of their right of way, bnt they can be held
by the abutting property-holder for damages,
as he owns all o f the land under the road.
OPPOSITION TO TOLL EOADS.
Turnpikes have been known since before
George III. They were always violently
opposed by the travelers, as they had to pay
toll so often. The toll which they paid, how
ever, when honestly used, made good or
I passable roads for "them, especially when
aid under the plans of Telford or Macadam,
two eminent Scotch engineers, whose names
will go down to posterity as long as roads
are built.
When Pizarro conquered Peru he fonnd
mountain roads radiating in all directions
from Cuzco, connecting all of that great
elevated region, and passing over and under
the Andes Mountains. The principal road
commenced in Quito, and went through
Cuzjo, which is elevated over 11,000 feet
above the sea, to Chili, nearly 2,000 miles,
one of the most stupendous works in exist
ence. Galleries were cut for miles through
granite; precipices were scaled by stair
cases cut out of the solid rock; rivers and
streams and ravines were crossed by swing
ing bridges of plaited widows at frightful
heights, and valleys were bridged with
admirable stone work which exists to this
day. This great road was paved with
heavy flagstones and was 20 feet wide
wherever possible. Every five miles was a
moon jhbm wnero messengers or isbmh
18
were kept who carried packages and met
sages 300 miles a day. The route of tbii
wonderful road is through the wildest and
highest mountain region in the world.
napoleon's soad bzfobm.
When Napoleon Bonaparte became First
Consul for life in 1800, his military instinct
directed his attention to the condition oi the
public roads, which in the previous tea
years of turmoil and bloodshed throughout
France had gotten into a fearful condition,
so that no wheeled vehicle could pass ovey
them in bad weather. It was almost im
possible to move either artillery or cavalry.
He found that tolls had been misapplied
and the roads allowed to sink almost ont of
sight, but with his usnal vigor he setthingl
right, for during peace he was preparing for
war, and all or the roads, especially from
Paris to the borders of the Bepublic, wera
at once put into repair and paid for out of
the public fnnds. The great road over the)
Simnlon was commenced in that year, 1800,
by his engineers, and was not long in being
completed over the Alps into Italy, so that
he could march 60,000 men and material
into Upper Italy or Austria in short order
over a severe mountain range on a road of
remarkably easy grades and as smooth as a
floor, and as well attended and repaired aa
a road in a private park. Not a rain fall
but a cautonier encased in oilcloth is ont on
every section of it, with his hoe and long
handled shovel, to direct every little rivelet
or great torrent into its proper channeL
SYSTEMS OF ETJBOPE.
All the roads throughout France, Italy
and Great Britain are as level as it is possi
ble for them to be and are kept in admira
ble order. Short country roads were mostly
built on the Macadam system, for without
making any excavation the most of them
had broken stone thrown on them continu
ously for years until a good foundation was!
necessarily found at last, and now with an,
occasional top dressing they remain admira
ble roads. But the great thoroughfares or
avenues which lead from the heart to tha
snrface or frontiers of England, Ireland,
France or Italv are roads built by eifgineera
and are the pride and the protection of thoso
nations. Toll gates were established for the
purpose of using the tolls for the repairs of
the roads, bnt great irritation was caused by
them. Ireland was studded with toll gates,
but with her usnal discontent she harped at
them until in 1858 they disappeared. Scot
land followed suit, and in 1883 they disap
peared, and a general land-tax in both conn
tries is levied for the repair ot roads. En
gland is annually winding up her turnpike
and tolls systems, and very soon tolls will
have disappeared there also.
BOOST. FOB BEFOBlt AT HOME.
In our own country our roads are a stand,
ing disgrace. The country roads are, espe
cially in Pennsylvania, simply quagmires,
and in this city of Pittsburg the unpaved
streets are not as good as the country roads.
The old road between Philadelphia and
Pittsburg previous to 1820 was a continuous
bog almost throughout the year. The forest
was almost continnons, and it was conse
quently damp, and as there were few peopla
along the road very few attempts to repair it
were made, and as a consequence when tha
road got too bad in oue place the route was.
chanzed to another.
But about 1823 many turnpike companies
organized throughout the State, mostly with
Philadelphia capital, and the great high
ways between those those two cities was
Macadamized, and became the principal
avenue of the State.
Pittsburg was at that time the principal
entrepot for all of the great West and South
west, and as the productions of that vast
region would rapidly accumulate in large
qnantities, great strings ot "mountain,
schooners," or Conestoga wagons, with from
four to eight horses each, would carry it to
Philadelphia or Baltimore. Those large
wagons earned from two to three tons each,
for which was charged SI CO to ft per 100
pounds, according to the state of the roadi.
the speed and the value of the goods, as well
as the scarcity of transportation. These
wagons could be seen on the streets of both
cities in long white lines awaiting their turn
to load or unload, and their creaking and
groaning, and the jingle of the bells on 'he
horses, together with the cracking of tha
teamsters' whips made music in the lonely
country roads or along the silent mountain
sides.
BA1LBOADS HOSTILE TO I3IPB0TESIEirft,
There are several turnpikes in Pennsyl
vania in fairly good condition, but the ma
jority of our roads are a disgrace to a civil
ized people. New England and New York
State have much better roads than we have.
It may be that their laws are better enforced,
or that their laws are better than ours, but
certain it is that their roads are in passable
condition most of the year, while ours are
not. If the condition of London streets in
1736 forbade the use of carriages in bad
weather, they were in no worse condition
than Pittsburg streets are now 150 years
afterward in a more enlightened age.
Bailroads are hostile to good roads or
canals, or any other means of transporta
tion, as a detriment to their own business.
Every good public road, or system of roads
detracts from the business of neighboring
railroads. It is a benefit to any country to
have good railroads, bnt not at the cost of
her public roadz. The people of the East
are waking up to this fact, and turnpike
charters are coming into demand, while all
roads leading ont of cities or country towns
are being pnt into good condition. Good
turnouts and fine riding horses are conse
quently the rage, which is good for tha
country and tor the health of the people.
Good roads are a blessing to any people,
BxraiBALO.
Why He Couldn't Walt.
Mnnsey's Weekly.
Paterfamilias No, John, I have no de
jection to having yon for a son-in-law, bnt Z
think a young man shonld not marry before,
he is 21. John Yes, I am only 18, but re
member, sir, Miss Julia is 27, and I could
never think of marrying a woman of 30,
How Human Nature Shoirs Up.
SomerrUle Journal.
When you meet a man and ask him
how he feels, if he doesn't stop to think, hs
always says "first rate." If he stops to
think a minute, he will always begin to un
fold some tale of woe.
Catarrh
IS a blood disease. Until tne poison IJ
expelled from the system, there can
be no cure for this loathsome and
dangerous malady. Therefore, the only
effective treatment is a thorough course)
of Ayer's Sarsaparilla the best of all
elood purifiers. The sooner yon begia
the better ; delay is dangerous.
" I was troubled with catarrh for ovei
two years. I tried various remedies,
and was treated by a number of physi
cians, but received, no benefit until I
began to take Ayer's Sarsaparilla. A.
few bottles of this medicine cured me of
tnis troublesome complaint and com
pletely restored my health." Jesse It
Boggs, Holman's Mills, N. C.
"When Ayer's Sarsaparilla was reo
ommended to me for catarrh, I was in
clined to doubt its efficacy. Having
tried so many remedies, with little ben
efit, I had no faith that anything would
cure me. I became emaciated from loss
of appetite and impaired digestion. X
had nearly lost the sense of smell, and
my system was badly deranged. I-was
about discouraged, when a friend urged
me to try Ayer's Sarsaparilla, and re
ferred me to persons whom it had cured
of catarrh. After taking half a dozes
bcttles of this medicine, I am convinced
that the only sure way ot treating this
obstinate disease is through the blood.'
Charles H. Moloney, 113 Elver sC
Lowell, Mass. .
Ayer's Sarsaparilla..
rsxrABXDXx
Dr. J. C Ayer & Co, Lowell, MaMti
,Prfol;rixtotlfts, . Worthy a pssvj
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