I THIRD PART. An Imaginative Sketch of the Monongahela Valley, in Prehistoric Times. CAMP AT M'KEE'S ROCKS. A Sail Up the Ohio Among Fierce Monsters of Ages Gone, FORESTS WHERE THIS CITI SOW IS The Mammal Found in the Swamps Alone Emithfield Street. PIERCE BATTLE ENDED SEAR THE POINT MORNING IN THE TILLAGE. tWBITTEX FOB THE DISPATCH.: ill a was thousands of years ago I That placid stream 'which is now known as the Ohio was a wide swiftly mov ing current stretching from hillside to hillside. A short distance below the presentcityof Pittsburg.the great river was joined by a smaller and much calmer stream flow An Earlg Ptttsburger. ing irom the south. On tbe lower banc of the latter and right in the shadow of a hill, probably 150 feet in height, was a clearing in which a large and populous village of primitive be ings had been located. It is the hour of sunrise and the tired children of men are still slumbering. As the great red-golden orb leaps above the eastern hills, it throws a warm bright glare down the valley, and lights up the rude wooden habitations, which are of a strange and peculiar construction. Here and there along the shore are posts from which hang long lines of fishing nets, and in the vicin ity are scattered fishing spears, stone-axes, pieces of pottery, quaintly woven baskets and many other objects ot rude, but service able workmanship. In the eddy caused by the sharply rounded curve of the shore are floating a little fleet of canoes of a very rough pattern; mere logs, in fact, that have been hollowed out by axe or fire. Hardly has the sun risen wholly to view when the villagers begin to issue from their dwellings, and in a short time the scene is lull of life. Both men and women are clothed in the skins of beasts, bi'tJs and reptiles, and in some cases even the bark of trees has been utilized. The women busy themselves in the preparation of the morning meal, which is soon dispatched, and the men make ready for the nay's hunting orfishing expedition in search ot food for the community. At this juncture a wild shout is heard from the oense woods on the other side of the stream. Immediately all attention is given that point, and shortly two men, evidentlv of the same race, apDear, and, boarding a canoe, which they find close at hand are in a tew moments in the midst ot a group of villagers, to whom they proceed to relate the details of some strange and startling adventure in which they have been participants. A WliD ADVENTURE AHEAD. That they are the bearers of interesting tidings is apparent lroii the manner in which their information is receive-!. Every Jew moments the crowd breaks in upon the storT th ln outs and wild gesticula tions of delight. Suddenly the enclosing circle of men is thrust aside arid a man ot commanding presence makes bis appearance mm yam' W0x. Jiotctng Up the Ohio. In the center. He addresses the new comers in a tone of authority and they repeat their story, while the villagers stand about eyeing the man who is evidently chief of the tribe with eager curiosity. Great, shaggy, wolf-like dogs seem to share in the general exhilaration. They gallop back and forth along the crowded avenues, or about the dwellings of their masters, waiting their coming with the weapons which thev well know means a hunt or expedition of some kind out of the ordinary. In this case the excitement mani fested by the people and the care that is being taken in the preparations indicate that the matter in hand is one of unusual importance. On the river bank a number of men have unloosed from their moorings several large "dug-outs" that seem capable of holding at least a score of men each, and these are quickly filled ready lor departure. No movement is made, however, until the chief tain arrives. In a few moments he comes stalking down to the shore and boarding the largest canoe tbe party pushes off to the sound of exultant shouts of men and the deep barking ot the dogs, of which each boat oontains a number. UP THE PBEHISTOBIO OHIO. The fleet makes its way directly across the stream; float down to the month and then begins a toilsome journey up the great Ohio. They keep close in and assist them selves materially by means of the reeds which grow thickly along the banks, but their progress is nevertheless very slow. As they ascend the river the scent of In KILLINGAMASTODQN vV m W( UVJr. ' Jj'' -! j MeT...-. ff. if 7 i T numerable wild blossoms is wafted from the forest, for this is the age of flowers. Oc casionally huge turtles, six and eight feet cross, are observed dropping irom the sunny banks into the water at the approach of the boats, and once a number of animals, resembling in shape and size the ass of the present day, having a head something like that of a dog, and a long thick tail, almost as long as the body, were seen for a moment before they plunged into the river and swam swiftly in'the direction of the other bank. This is the Anoplotberium communes. HUGE PLTING KEPTH.ES. Enormous birds, with wings like bats, stretching out 30 feet from tip to tip, hover in the air above the river, utterinc discord ant sounds as they hunt for prey. These the hunters watch "very closely,as the gican tio flying reptile, named by science of the present the Pterosaur, was known to brave the prowess of men when the humor seized it. Many other birds, some of them fully as large as the ostrich, swam about, but usually at a distance from the boats. The sun is high in the heavens when they reach a point where the stream divides. During all this time the two men who had incited the expedition kept up a continuous run of conversation in the boat of the chief, and are now pointing excitedly in the di rection of the point of land separating the two rivers. This was heavily wooded and flat for a short distance back say a half a mile and then rose up into lofty hills. It was prehistoric Pittsburg. The hills opposite, some portions of which are rough, rugzed crags without a sign of verdure, are shimmering in what seems to be a green flame ot reflected heat. No fog or mist of any kind is overhead to moderate the temperature, but away down in the southwest a heavy line of clouds is slowly rearing up behind an advanced guard of fluffy white pillows of cumuli. This is the rising storm that came every day, as certain as that day came in that age. And such storms as they were, too. Noth ing that could be compared to them is known . -j DEATH OP THE PEEHISTOEIO CHIEFTAIN. in after times; and yet these men wh are stretched luzily upon the sward do not appear to give it the slightest attention. They well know that it is to be looked for regularly, and have become inured to it as they would be to any other condition of the weather. In a short time, however, the chief gives the word of command and in a twinkling the great dogs are unleashed and the whole party enters the forest. This was indeed a forest that might well have inspired the ob server with awe. Here were the willows, maples, poplars, hickory, beech and syca more known to "us, mingled with palm and cypress that we do not know. But most wonderful of all was the luxuriance of the various growths; a condition which was no doubt caused by the great heat of the earth's surface at that time and the tremen dous rains that fell upon it. The brilliance of the foliage and flowers, and the heavy aroma which they exhaled was overpower ing to both the sense of sight and smell, while the hearing was greeted by number less crawling and creeping sounds as the various kinds of animal life crept away through the matted growth at the approach '1 the invaders. ,STBANGE LITE OF THE TOKEST. Veil for the latter that a hunting path ii id 'ten cut through, for progress would li i cpn slow Indeed, and there were also iiiri ii'ants to touch which meant to be poii . I. Gigantio spiders hung from the overii.i .'ing branches; their devilish eyes flashing as they were cut to earth by the spears of tho forest men. The scales of great, bright-lined lizards scintillated in the half light as they fled away. Birds of brightest plumage, insects that seemed to be jets of flame, and many other living things met the eye; in fact, the woods fairly swarmed with life. The ground is soft and soggy now. and they have not gone far be fore they find themselves on the edge of a swamp over which Fifth avenue now runs. Parting the interlacing branches a sight meets their eyes that would make the stout est heart beat with fear. Knee-deep in water is a huge animal, the like of which modern men have never seen. Its great head is thrown back in the attitude of listening. It is the wondrous mastodon of prehis toric ages. . So enormous is this mountain of flesh that it is remarkable that these people with their rude weapons have the hardihood to attack it, and yet this was their very purpose here. They scatter in all directions, and soon can be seen advancing toward the animal over fallen trees, logs, etc. In the mean time, the mastodon made no attempt to escape, for it was a dumb animal at most, and did not realize Us danger. As the first man reaches a position close enough he drives an arrow deep Into tbe great creat ure's flank. Instantly it wheels about, uttering ear-piercing shrieks and roars. Another and another arrow, together with innumerable spears, are launched at it, while it jumps and stamps about tearing up the trees by the roots or drawing in great draughts of water and throwing itin air. THE MAMMOTH IN PLIGHT. Suddenly an arrow driven deeper than any heretofore, touohei vulnerable spot, BUJ UCiVWVlUiy. WUUMK f HaiBvv DfJWKg and the splendid animai, maaacnea Pjpain, HE PITTSBURG DISPATCH. rushes directly at the path by which its tormentors had reached it, and goes lumber ing along that passage with men and dogs after it in lull cry. For some distance the mastodon gains on its pursuers, but the last deadly wound begins to tell, and, although it continues on, the hunters gradually oyer haul it. At one place it plunges blindly against a tree, one of its tremendous tusks breaking in the contact and falling to earth. On, on it goes. The cries of the men and dogs grow more exultant as they perceive tbe lagging footsteps. At last it reaches tbe edge of the forest an instant more and it is breast deep in water it faces about it can go no further. Out from the depths ot the forest come the hunters. They ranje them selves along the shore, debating how to at tack the great mammal befoie them. The sight now presented is a thrilling one. The sky has clouded over. A heavy booming, ominons roar fills the air. Awful lightnings ate flashing in the black mantle of cloud that is rushing up the valley. One of the great storms of the Miocenio age is upon them. DEATH OP THE CHIEF. Then the chief leaps to the edge of the water facing the mastodon. He poises his big lance in air for a moment as it taking his aim and calculating the distance, and then hurls it from him with all the force at his command. But an instint it fs in air and then it is buried deep iu the eye of the monster. Giving forth one awful cry of agony it plunges toward the Bhore and before the chieftain can recover from his effort in cast ing his lance, he is in the grasp of the great trunk. High into the air he is uplifted and whirled round and round as if on the outer edge of a tremendous wheel, while his awe stricken followers recoil from the terrible sight with loud cries of horror. Then In a moment the body is dashed to earth, a piece ot lifeless, quivering clay, and the dying animal again makes a wild rush far out into the water and sinks out of sight to rise no more. KAGE OP THE ELEMENTS. At the same instant the storm breaks and the rain pours down in an almost im penetrable sheet. 'With loud lamentations the men tenderly lift the remains of their dead chieftain and retire to the shelter ot the forest. The last act! Night has fallen. The storm is at last ended, but away off to the eastward the glare of lightning and the distant rumble ot thunder shows the direction the tempest has taken. On the hill which to the people of modern Pittsburg to-day is known as McKee's Bocks, isa mound of earth, with a flat surface about three feet above the surrounding level. On this has been raised n heap of logs, on top of wh the body of the dead chief of the tribe has been laid. At his side lie his weapons of war and the chase, bandy to his grasp when he awakes from his sleep of .FUneral Pyre at McKee's Hocks. death; also the tusk of the mastodon that had been broken off in the chase -through the forest. This was to Indicate that he had a companion in his journey to the Great Beyond. PEACE TO HIS ASIIES. Around this funeral pyre the entire tribe gathers, and to the sad, doleful chant of the death song the torch is applied, and in a short time the body of their beloved leader is reduced to ashes. "When this has been completed the lamentations cease, and the ceremony is concluded with a solemn feast. These were the scenes this wondrous val ley of tbe Monongahela has witnessed in long past ages. Long, long afterward, while digging at the foundations of one of the piers that were to support the great Point bridge, several enormous teeth of the mastodon were up turned, one of which weighed more than nine pound., and they wondered how they came there. At McKee's Bocks there are to day remains of a historic village. Among them nave been found charred nut oi hn rtn VlAnn inrllAnlini vnnnv a fnnffval VIWA 1 uwu vwuv, uutWWUiUiH - pjV in ageaone w. tt. JtvAvraiAXfj Sf PITTSBURG, SUNDAY, ORIGIN 0FHAMLET. Shakespeare Was Indebted to Saxo Grammalicus for the Tale. AN EARLT NORSEMAN TRADITION. Though Hot Bo Kellned as the Drama It is Yery Interesting. THE OLD DANISH WRITER'S TERSION IWMTTUt TCB TM DISPATCH. I The true legend of Hamlet H ouried in the obscurity of old Saxo Grammaticus' Latin. Among the earliest of Danish tra ditions, it forms pait of the national chron icles collected by that indetatigabl his torian. Dating baok to the days of the gods Odin and Thor, the tale itself is the most probably one of the numerous semi-myths born of the times, and dignified later on with historical chaiacteristics of doubtful value. Nor does tbat melancholy, subtle minded, gentleman-like creation or the Shakespearian drama, much resemble the original hero as portrayed by the Dane. The Hamlet of the latter is the true off spring of his times bold unscrupulous, coarse and vengeful, compassing by his wits that which he could not by force, and glory ing in each treacherously secured success, after the manner of all true Norse in the primitive days of thu year one; whereas, the Hamlet of Shakespeare, was, as is well known, largely drawn from the modified version given by the French writer, Belle forest, and its still more modified copy, styled "The Hystorie of Hamblet," printed iu 1608. IT POIN3S A MOEAL. In the former, the inceptive idea of the ghost and the incident of Ophelia, are first introduced, and the tale itself made to serve a distinctly moral pnrpose, illustrative of the axiom that murder will out. One or two old plays there were, also, preceding Shakespeare's time, of all of which he probably made use in molding his own particular drama. Hut not to enter upon these later aspects of the subject, the origi nal story runs as follows : In the days of Buric, King of Denmark, son ot Hodor, who killed Baldwin, the son of Odin, there reigned two brothers as joint Viceroys over the province of Jutland. One of these, Horwendil by name, slew the King of Norway in single combat, and presented King Burio with so large a share of the Norwegian plunder that that grateful monarch forthwith bestowed upon him the hand of the royal Princess Gerutha in mar riage. Of this mariiage Hamlet was the result. Fengo, the other Viceroy, instead of rejoicing in his brother's good fortune, rises up in jealous wrath, slays him out of pure euvy, and then incontinently marries the widow. Whether Gerutha was herself party to the bloody deed or not i nowhere stated; but subsequent events show her at least reconciled to the change, a state of affairs justifying other dramatic liberties with her character. ACCOUNTED POE TO EUBIO. Buric, naturally enough, demands an ex planation for conduct so extraordinary on the part of his Viceroy, whereupon tbe of fending Fengo adroitly makes out a case of wife abuse on the part of the deceased, and justifies his murder on that score. In the year one,asnow,Princes often found it politic not to discredit each other's word too much; and so, for reasons political, it suited King Buric to declare himself perfectly satisfied. engo, therefore, goes on his wicked way re dicing. r " r " r -5S1 - " But there was the boy Hamlet. He knew his father had beenmurdered all the world knew it, for that matter, and It needed no uneasy ghost to tell the tale and Hamlet knew, also, who tbe murderer was. Ham let, therefore, if he had the chance, might take it into his head to avenge the deed. So argued tbe guilty conscience ot Fengo. He orders strict watch to be kept upon the do ings of his promising young step-son and nephew. Kill him outright, be dared not, because of the mighty Burio and the rough sort of justice that occasionally prevailed, even in the year one. Early conscious of this espionage, the young Prince set his wits, naturally keen, to work out a counter plot of his own. HAMLET VS TOEICK'S HOLE. To disarm Fengo's suspicions that was the first thing. For this he feigned the fool, and that Hamlet and Yorick were originally one and tbe same, there can be no manner of doubt. Hamlet's jokes and buffooneries were the daily subject of court mirth and comment, and Hamlet's eccentrio conduct was regarded as proof positive of an addled brain. But Fengo also has wits of his own; Hamlet's fooleries are occasionally pointed by too much sense; the royal fratricide be gins to donbt not only his nephew's madness, but his purpose as well. 'Snares are set to force an expression of the young man's real sentiments and character supposing, indeed, the ostensible and ap parent to be merely assumed. But, warned by his foster brother Horatio, in afterdays the cunning princelet evades them all. Then is arranged the interview with Gerutha, an obliging conrtier concealing himself beneath the straw on the floor of the royal apartment carpets and tapestry alike being unknown luxuries in the year one as proposed listener to the revelations naturally expected in a private interview between the Prince and his mother. THE END OP POLONIOTJS. "But the sharp eyes of Hamlet at once see something suspicious in that particular pile of straw in the corner, and true to his character of fool, he immediately jumps upon it and dances thereon, crowing like a cock in the meanwhile, much to the discom fort of the complaisant spy beneath. Some thing moves, ot course, and Hamlet's sword is run through that something in a thrice. Vale, PoloniousI The dutiful sou of bis father then proceeds to read his mother a lecture, "marked," says our translator, "by a ruffianly coarseness which could not be ex ceeded, and of which Shakespeare gives not the slightest hint." This done, he boils down the limbs of the murdered man, and throws them to the pigs, a deed of which he openly boasts. Fengo, now thoronghly alarmed, concocts the plan of sending him to his death in England. A couple of noble sycophants Bosencrantz and Guildenstern, if you like are detailed as bearers of a wooden billet, the fashionable stationary of those days, engraved with a message to His British Majesty asking that he would, as a neigh borly act of courtesy, kindly dispatch tbe young man Hamlet, as a person dangerous alike to tate and crown. THE TABLES TURNED. At is preserved in the modern play, that cunning prince abstracts the billet en route, and substitutes another requesting that his two traveling companions be instantly put to death and that the King of Britain also obligingly bestow the hand of his roval daughter upon Hamlet in marriage. En gland, contra the popularized tale, is safely reached by all concerned, and the fateful billet delivered by the unsuspecting Danes, Pending the execution tbe British King gives a great feast in honor of his guest. Hamlet now droni the role of fool and under takes that of man wise above his fellows. At this particular banquet he obstinately reluses to eat or drink. His royal host naturally seeks explanation for conduct so eccentric, not to sav discourteous. Messengers are dispatched for the why and tbe wherefore, and Hamlet coolly tells them that tbe bread was stained with blood; that tbe water tasted of iron, and that tbe meat smelt like a human corpse. Aa a gratuitous piece of Information, he moreover Terred taut uotflngjud the eies o MrfJbnjinesBv" . NOVEMBER- 9, 1890. and that Her Boyal Majesty betrayed Bigns of slavish origin. If the British monarch was angry, he was also curious, before pro nouncing'judgment, he investigates. AN O'EE TBUE TALE. He found that the bread was the product of wheat grown on a bloody battlefield: that rusty swords were in the well from whence the water was drawn; that the meat was the flesh of hogs that had tasted human flesh; that he himself, much to his own surprise, was tbe son of a serf, and that his royal spouse was almost equally unfortunate as to origin. Hamlet's reputation is made. De lighted with the wit and wisdom of hh guest, the King forthwith bestows upon him the band ot his daughter in marriage, and strings up the unfortunate companions de voyage on the same day. A year's sojourn in England determines Hamlet to revisit Jutland. He arrives in time to break in on the celebration of his own funeral rites; for, by his own contriving, the news of his supposed death has got abroad. For this Hamlet had a purpose, re vealed later on. The funeral least is, of course, turned into one congratulatory. Hamlet joins the festivities, makes his com panions dead drunk, fastens them down to the floor where they lay, and then coolly sets the palace afire. He" then hastens to the apartment of Fengo, rouses that guilty Eersonage from his sleep, and then for the our long deierred of his venzeance is come slays him iu the most approved dramatic style. TBOUBLE PEOM BBITAIN. This done, Hamlet, by a clever speech, turns the popular feeling in his favor and reigns in his uncle's stead. Matters being thus adjusted in Denmark, Hamlet sets out on his return to Britain. Bnt here trouble awaits him. Tbe British monarch has secretly sworn to avenge the death of Fengo. Bnt how Keep his oath? To slay his own royal son-in-law was a difficult, not to say a rather delicate matter.- The King resorts to stratagem. There reigned in Scotland at this time a maiden Queen named Herman truda, a fierce, bold virgin, tho reseated offers matrimonial by chopping off the heads of her suitors. To her Hamlet was sent as envoy extraordinary to solicit her hand in marriage for the British King, lately a widower, in the hope that she would make the usual end of him as proxy to proposals of marriage. Then would Fengo be avenged. But the astute monarch bad again counted without his host. Hamlet indeed goes to Scotland and interviews the lady in ques tion. She, struck by his martial bearing, hints that did he woo her tor himself he might save his own neck and gain her hand in the bargain. SO HE SAVED HIS NECK. Now, Hermantrudawas as fair as she was fierce; the too susceptible Dane jumps at her proposal, and, forgetful of ties in the south, marries ber forthwith with the great est good will and moral obliquity. With unsurpassed, and, one raicht say, unsur passable "cheek," he then returns to Britain accompanied by his new-made wife. And with unsurpassed, and unsurpassable inag naniity, wife No.l meets him en route, pre pared to forgive not only her recreant lord and husband, but wife No. 2 as well. She hints, however, that her lather is not quite so well disposed, and, in fact, a war ensues, in which the British King is slain. Hamlet then returns to Jutland in com pany with his two wives; finds that his maternal grandfather is dead, and that his successor, Wigleth, in full possession of his own particular province. In the conflict that follows Hamlet is slain, and Herman truda straightway becomes the wife of the conquering "Wigletb, a position to which she is said to have treacherously aspired and as treacherously achieved. i Mabk F. Gbistvold. TALMAGE'S FIBST CIGAB. The Great Preacher's Description of. 'What Happens to IJearJy Every Boy. The time bad come in our boyhood which we thougbt demanded of us a capacity to smoke, writes Dr. Talmage in the Ladies' Some Journal. By some rare good fortnne which put in our hands 3 cents, we found access to a tobacco store. As tbe lid of the long, narrow, fragrant box opened, and for the first time we owned a cigar, our feelings of elation, manliness, superiority and an ticipation can scarcely be imagined, save by those who have had the same sensation. The cigar did not burn well; it required an amount of suction that tasked our de termination to the utmost You see that our worldly means had limited us to a qual ity that cost only 3 cents. But we had been taught that nothing great was accomplished without effort, and so we puffed away. In deed, we had heard our older brothers in their Latin lessons say, omnia vincet labor; which translated means, if yon want to make anything go, you must scratch for it. With these sentiments we passed down the village street and out toward our coun try home. Our head did not feel exactly right, and tbe street began to rock from side to side, so that it was uncertain to us which side of the street we were on. So we crossed over, but found ourself on the same side that we were on before we crossed over. Indeed, we imagined that we were on both sides at the same time, and several fast teams driving ' 'be tween. We met another boy who asked us why we looked so pale, and we told him we did not look pale, but that be was pale him self. We sat down under tbe bridge and began to reflect on the prospect of early decease, and on the uncertainty of all earth ly expectations. We had determined to smoke tbe cigar all np and thus get tbe worth of our money, but were obliged td throw three-fourths of it away, yet knew just where we threw it in case we felt better the next day. Getting home, the old people were fright ened, and demanded that we state what kept us so late, and what was the matter with us. Not feeling that we were called to go into particulars, and not wishing to increase our parents' apprehension that we were going to turn out badly, we summed up the case with the statement that we felt miserable at the pit of the stomach. We had mustard plas ters administered, and careful watching for some hours, when we fell asleep and forgot our disappointment and humiliation in being obliged to throw away three-fourths of our first cigar. HOISE IN THE CITIES. A Good Chance For Some Politician Who Is Out of a Job. We believe that the defect in our civiliza tion which will appear most striking to the social historian of future generations, re marks the London Truth, is our tolerance of noise in our great cities. The Salvation Army band, tbe Italian organ-grinder, the newsboy, who bawls his chief piece of intel ligence within halt a yard of the helpless passer-by; the gangs of roughs who are per--mitted, without interference from the police, to shout and yell as they perambulate the streets when decent people are in bed. All these are nmsances, which a small amount ot care might repress, and the re pression of which, while it would increase the comfort of vast numbers, would leave every important liberty of the citizen un curtained. Is there no politician ont of work who will undertaice to enter upon a crusade against noise? To find London a Babel of discords, and to leave it a city in which the possessor of sensitive ears need no longer re gret having been born, would be an achieve ment which would both deserve and earn immortality. lie's Had Enough. Detroit Pree Press. Bussell Sage is quoted as saying: "I never lent a dollar which was returned to me unless legally secured. I never backed a note I didn't have to pay, and I never recommended a man for a situation who didn't turn ont to be as mean as he could. I now let other men run the philanthropy , . - - MINES OF SOLOMON. Mashonaland's Prehistoric Remains Tell a Wonderful Story. FURNACES FOR PRECIOUS GOLD. Evidences That it Was the Land of Ophir of the Phcenicious. HAGQAED'S DREAMS HAT COME TRUE What a strangely potent magic there is to the children of a modern civilization in all that concerns'those more ancient ones which g) have had their day and ceased to be ages before our own was An African Ci yplooram. heard ' sa7s tne Pall Mall Budget. As a vein of romance it is inexhaustible. In "Salammho," in the "Last Days of Pompeii," in Mr. Eider Hag gard's subterranean creations, it is the same old spell which arrests the fancy. Belies of the power and pride of immemorial peoples whom the earth knows no more have an equal charm for the antiqnarian and the man in the street. To this, we suspect, almost equally with more substantial attractions, is due the gen eral interest in the work of the British South Africa Company. Mashonaland is a vast and rich possession; the Matabele are a fierce and interesting race of savages, and the name of gold is now as ever a talisman Ornamental Courses in a Zimbaye Wall. to conjure with. But what an added luster the expedition gains when the scene of its labors is identified with the Land of Ophir and the object of its search with the real King Solomon's Minesl And whether that particular identification ot the remains which strew this barbarous country be well founded or not, there the remains are ancient, massive, mysterious, contrasting in startling fashion with the primitive barba rians who dwell about them and with the jungly wildness of surrounding nature. mauch's stoeies conpiemed. Bach stone in them is, as it were, a mute challenge, a petrified inquiry; and the curi osity aroused in 1S71 by the descriptions of the German traveler, Maucb, whom the learned world has half suspected of romanc ing, will receive a keen stimulus from the accounts in which the pioneers of the Char tered Company now confirm and amplify his observations. Can we ever read the rid dle of these stony sphinxes ot Mashonaland of which the public man now, for the first time, form a clear idea? So far, the only clew we have is that of which our special correspondent lately wrote as tollows: "Who were they, these soldier-workmen of a vanished civilization, and at whose bid ding did they force their way into this bar barous place to dig for gold? . . . The country is dotted with strange broken relics of their work. The furnaces which they built to smelt the oret the strong round. keepsTvEich tbey raised againsftha alarms of some besetting- foe, the great stones In which they scored an undecipherable char acters the eecord op theib labors, perhaps the clew to their prize these things remain and move the awe of the Matabele and his Masbona vassal. . . . 'And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, 420 talents, and brought it to King Solomon.' Now the weight of gold that came to King Solomon in one year was 66S talents of gold." The mysterious folk who have Imprinted on Mashonaland the traces of an ancient quest for gold were none other, so the learned have conjectured, than those quick, adven turous Phoenicians who, in the days when the Bed Sea was the Mediterranean of an cient commerce, and the Mediterranean its Atlantic, brought 'gold of Ophir, fine gold,' and 'great plenty of almug trees and pre cious stones' to the Oriental monarch whose XZ3ZIL I -J 1 A Wall on the Zundi River. magnificence is still a proverb upon modern lips. To-day, then, the Englishman is in land of Ophir. . . . opening afresh the treasure house of antiquity, equipped with resources of which the deft Phoenician never dreamed. MAY "VINDICATE HAGGABD. It may be that be will come upon such relics among the abandoned workings as will throw a new light upon the story of his predecessors, and re-write a page of the world's history. It may be even that he will stumble into chambers of subterranean wealth such as Mr. Haggard has imagined, secured with labyrinths like those of the Pyramids, with sliding stones, and all the appropriate witchcraft of an age when human life and human labor were of no ac count. At least, before many years are out, we may expect to see the image of Queen Vic toria stamped onthe gold with which King Solomon overlaid his ivory tbrone and wreathed the cedar pillars of his Temple. COTJHTEBFEniHG STAMPS, It Is a Itcgnlar Business In Germany and the Collectors Softer. St. Loots Globe-Democrat. Stamps are not counterfeited for the pur pose of being used to transmit letters through the mails, but to be sold to collectors. Ger many is the headquarters for this business, as in that country at least a score of men make their living by manufacturing and selling spurious stamps. Some are sold as uuuted stamps, but probably the majority are cancelled, the inexperienced believing that the cancellation marks are infallible indications of genuineness. The rarer stamps are not often counter feited, as those who buy them generally pos sess enongh knowledge to detect anything but the best executed imitation. The coun terfeits are usually printed from cheap wood cuts, and are used to make up packages to be sold to boys. Anion? collectors them are certain men who have a high reputation as detectors of counterfeits, jtnd anyone who one wno I ticitv of I of them I .-V ootainsararo aiaujp or-the authenticlt which be is douot(ul sends it to one I for examination r"i I ni7l ttJ VAf , . nail I i ra w , '&'UJs;Jtft!m ; Trrrj rZc- t sr Mrpjzx& -. j" A NOVEL DEALING WITH LIFE IN LONDON AND EGYPT, tWEITTET FOB TIIE DISPATCHl BY RUDTARD KIPLING, Being the First Serial Story From the Fen of the Gifted Jcounff Author of "Soldiers Three," and Many Other Fopular Sketches of Army Experiences in India. CHAPTER I. IN childhood's tender teaks. Bo we settled it all when the storm was done, As comfy as comfy conld be; And I was to wait In tbo barn, my dears. Because I was only three. And Teddy wonld ran to tbe rainbow's foot. Because he was Ave and a man; And that's how it all began, my dears. And that's how it all began. Big Bam Stories. "What do yon think she'd do if she caught us? We oughtn't to have it, you know," said Maisie. "Beat me, and lock yon up in your bed room," Dick answered, without hesitation. "Have you got the cartridges?" "Yes; they're in my pocket, but they are joggling horribly. Do pin-fire cartridges go off of their own accord?" "Don't know. Take tbe revolver, if yon are afraid, and let me carry them." "I'm not afraid." Maisie strode forward swiftly, a hand in her pocket and her chin in the air. Dick followed with a small pin fire revolver. " The children had discovered that their lives would be unendurable without pistol practice. After much forethought and self denial, Dick had saved 7 shillings and G pence, the price of a badly-constructed Bel gian revolver. Maisie conld only con tribute half a crown to the syndicate for the THE ARAB ATTACK ON purchase of 100 cartridges. "You can save better than I can, Dick," she explained; "I like nice things to eat, and it doesn't matter to you. Besides, boys ought to do these things." Dick grumbled a little at the arrange ment, but went out and made the purchases, which the children were then on their way to test. Bevolvers did not lie in the scheme of their daily life as decreed for them by the guardian who was incorrectly supposed to stand in the place of a mother to these two orphans. Dick had been under her care for six years, during which time she had made her profit of the allowances sup posed to be expended on his clothes, and, partly through thoughtlessness, partly through a natural desire to pain she was a widow of some years anxions to marry again had made his days burdensome on his young shoulders. Where he had looked for love, she gave him first aversion and then hate. Where he, growing older, had sought a little sympathy, she gave him ridicule. The many hours that she could spare from the ordering of her small house she devoted to what sbe called the home training of Dick Heldar. Her religion, manufactured in tbe main by her own intelligence and an ardent stndy of the Scriptures, was an aid to her in this matter. At such times as she herself was not personally displeased with Dick, she left him to understand that he had a heavy account to settle with his Creator; wherefore Dick learned to loathe his God as intensely as he loathed Mrs. Jennett; and this is not a wholesome frame of mind for the young. Since sbe chose to regard him as a hopeless liar, when dread of pain drove him to his first untruth, he naturally devel oped into a liar, but an economical and self contained one, never throwing away the least unnecessary fib, and never hesitating at the blackest, if it were only plausible, that might make his life a little easier. Tbe treatment taught him at least the power of living alone a power that was of service to him when be went to a pnblic school and the boys laughed at bis clothes, which were poor in quality and much mended. In the holidays he returned to the teachings of Mrs. Jennett, and, that the chain of disci pline might not be weakened by association with the world, was generally beaten, on one countor another, before he had been 12 hours under her roof. The autumn of one year brought him a companion in bondage, a long-haired, gray- eyea little atom, as sell-contained as him self, who moved about the house silently and for the first few weeks spoke only to the goat that was her chiefest friend on earth and lived in the back garden. Mrs. Jennett objected to the goat on the grounds that he was un-Christian which he certainly was. "Then," said the atom, choosing her words very deliberately, "I shall write to my lawyer-peoples and tell them that you are a very bad woman. Amomma is mine, mine, miner Mrs. Jennett made a movement to tbe hall, where certain nmbrellas and canes stood in a rack. The atom understood as clearly as Dick what this meant "I have been beaten before," she said, still in the same passionless voice; "I have been beaten worse than you can ever beat me. If you beat me I shall write to my lawyer-peoples and tell them that you do not give me enough to eat. I am not afraid of you." Mrs. Jennett did not go into the hall, and tbe (too, after a pause to assure herself that danger oi war was past, went out to weep bitterly on Amomma's neck. Dick learned to know ber as Maisie, and at first mistrusted her profoundly, for he feared that she might interfere with the small liberty of action left to him. She did not, however, and she volunteered no friend liness until Diek had taken the first steps. Long before the holidays were over tbe stress of punishment shared In enmmnn drove the children, together, If-it-wera nlj.J PAGES 17 TO 24. tIXjfeP r to play into each other's hands as thev pre pared lies lor Mrs. Jennett's use. When Dick returned to school Maisie whispered, "Now I shall be all alone to take care of myself; but," and she nodded her head bravely, "I can do iu You promised to send Amomma a grass collar. Send it soon." A week later she asked for that col lar by return of post and was not pleased when she learned that it took time to make. AVben at last Dick forwarded the gift she forgot to thank him for it. Many holidays had come and gone sines that day, and Dick had grown into a lanky hobbledehoy more than ever conscious of his bad'clothes Not for a moment had Mrs. Jennett relaxed her tender care of him, but the average canings of a public school Dick fell under punishment aoout three times a month filled bim with contempt for her powers. "She doesn't hurt," he ex plained to Maisie, who urged him to re bellion, "and she is kinder to you after she has whacked me." Dick shambled through, the days unkept in body and savage in sonl, as tbe smaller boys of the school learned to know, for when the spirit moved him he would hit them, cunningly and with science. The same smrit made him more than once try to tease Maisie, but the girl refused to be made unhappy. "We are both miserable as it is," said she. "What is the use of trying to make things worse? Let's find things to do, and forget things." The pistol was the outcome of that search. It could only be used on tbe muddiest fore shore of the beach, far away from bathing- THE nOLLO"W SQCABE. machines and pier-heads, below the grassy slopes of Fort Keeling. The tide ran out nearly two miles on that coast, and tho many-colored mud-banks, touched by tha sun, sent up a lamentable smell of dead weed. It was late in the afternoon when Dick and Maisie arrived on their ground, Amomma trotting paticntlv behind. "Mf I" said Maisie, snifiing the air. "I wonder what makes the sea so smelly. I don't like it." "You never like anything that isn't made just for you," said Dick, bluntly. "Giva me the cartridges, and I'll try first shot. . How far does one of these little revolvers carry?" "Oh, half a mile," said Maisie, promptly. "At least it makes an awiul noise. Be careful with the cartridges; I don't like those jagged stick-up things on the rim. Dick, do be careful." "All right. I know how to load. I'll fire at the breakwater out there." He fired, and Amomma ran away bleat ing. The bullet threw up a spurt of mud to the right of the weed-wreathed piles. "Throws high and to the right. You try, Maisie. Mind, it's loaded all round." Maisie took the pistol and stepped deli cately to tbe verge ot the mud, her hand firmly closed on tbe butt, her left eye and month screwed up. Dick sat down on a tuft of bank and laughed. Amomma re turned very cautiously. He was accustomed to strange experiences in his afternoon walks, and, finding the cartridge-box nn gnarded, made investigations with his nose. Maisie fired, but could not see where the bullet went. "I think it hit the post," she said, shad- , ing hef eyes and looking ont across the sail less sea. "I know it has gone out to the Marizion Bell Buoy," said Dick, with a chuckle. "Fire low" and to tbe left; then perhaps you'll get it. Oh, look at Amomma! he'j rating the cartridges!" Maisie turned the revolver in her hand just in time to see Amomma scampering away irom the pebbles Dick threwafter him. Nothing is sacred to a billy-goat. Being well-fed and the adored of his mistress, Amomma had naturally swallowed two loaded pin-fire cartridges. Maisie hurried ' up to assure herself that Dick had not mis counted the tale. "Yes, he's eaten two." "Horrid little beast! Then they'll joggle about inside him and blow up, and serve him right, Oh, Dick! have I killed you?" Bevolvers are trickv things for young hands to deal with. Maisie could not ex plain how it had happened, but a veil of reeking smoke separated her from Dick, and she was quite certain that tbe pistol had gone off in his face. Then she heard him sputter, and dropped on her knees beside him. crying, "Dick, you aren't hurt, are you? I didn't mean it." "Of course you didn't," said Dick, emerg ing from the smoke and wiping his cheek. "Bat yon nearly blinded me. That powder stuff stings awfully." A neat little splash ot gray lead on a stone showed where the bullet had gone. Maisie began to whimper. "Don't," said Dick, jumping to his feet and shaking himself. To not a bit hurt." "No, but I might have killed yon," pro- testediUaisie, tbe corners ot her month drooping. "What should I have done then?" "Gone home and told Mrs. Jennett." Dick grinned at the thought; then, soften ing, "Please don't worry about it. Besidet, we are wasting time. We've got to get back to tea. I'll take tbe revolver a bit." Maisie wonld have wept on tbe least en couragement, but Dick' indifference, albeit his band was shading as he picSea up the pistol, restrained her. She lay panting on tne ueach while uick methodically bom barded the breakwater. "Got it at last!" he exclaimed, as a lock of weed flaw from the wood. "Let me try," said Maisie. imperionjlv. TmaU right now."' They fired iatsm''
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers