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CUTS MD SLUSHES,
Rudyard Kipling Whets Up His
Pen and Goes After Ameri
can Institutions.
REALITIES OF POLITICS,
Greatness Thrnst Upon Men by tho
Influence of the Saloon.
HIS COMPLIMENTS TO OUR GIRLS.
An Ethnological Discourse Upon the Negro
and Ills Fntnre.
SPREADEAGLEISM AT A BIG BANQUET
IWItlTTEN TOR THE DUIM.TCB.1
LETTER NO. S.
I have been watching machinery in repose
after "-"ling about machinery in action.
Ad excellent gentle
man. who bears a name
honored in the maga
zine, writes, much as
Disraeli orated.tfP'the
sublime inatinctsof an
ancient people," the
certainty with which
they can be trusted to
manage their own af
fairs in their own way,
and the speed with
whinJi thev ftrn mak-
jtt?. f ins for all sorts of de-
''I). J sirable roals. This he
called a statement or
purview of American
politics.
I went almost directly afterward to a sa
loon where gentlemen interested in ward
politics nightly congregate. They were not
pretty persons. Some of them were bloated,
and they all swore cheerfully till the heavy
cold watch chains on their fat stomachs
rose and fell again; but they talked over
their liquor as men who had power and un
questioned access to places of
trust and profit The magazine
writer discussed theories of govern
ment; these men the practice. Tney
had been there. They knew all about it.
Tney banged their fists on the table and
spake of political "pulls" the vending of
votes and m form. Theirs-was not the talk
of village babblers reconstructing the affairs
of ttie nation, but of strong, coarse, lustlul
men fighting :or spoil and thoroughly un
derstanding the best methods ot reaching it.
Grimy ltcalties of Politics.
1 listened loug and intently to speech I
could not understand, or but in spot. It
was the speech of business, however. I had
sense enough to know that, and to do my
laughing outside the door. Then I began
to understand why mv pleasant and well
educated hosts in San Francisco spoke with
a bitter scorn of such duties of citizenship
as voting and taking an interest in the dis
tribution of offices. Scores of men have told
me without false pride that they would as
soon concern themselves with the public
afUirs of the city or State as rake muck
with a steam shovel.
It may be that their lofty disdain covers
selfishness, but I sbould be very sorry ha
bitually to meet the fat gentlemen with
shiny top hats and plump cigars in whose
society I have been spending the evening.
Bead about politics as the cultured writer
of the magazines regards 'A and then, and
not till then, pay your respects to the gentle
men who run the grimy reility. I'm sick
of interviewing night editors who lean their
chair against the wall and in response to my
demand for the record of a piominent citi
zen answer: "Well, you see, he began by
keeping a saloou," etc
The American Maidens.
I prefer to believe that my inlormants are
treating me as in the old sinful days in
India I was used to treat the wandering
globe-trotter. They declare that they speak
the truth, and the news of dog politics
lately vouchsa'ed to me in groggeries in
clines me to believe, but I won't. The peo
ple are much too nice to slaugander as reck
lessly as I hive been doing. Beside, I am
liopelcsslv in love with about eight Amer
ican maidens all perfecttully delightful
till the next one comes into the room.
O-Toyo was a darling, but she lacked several
things conversation for one.
Ycu cannot lic on giggles. She shall re-'
mam unmarried at Nagasaki, while I roast,
a battered tcart before the shrine of a big
Kentucky blonde, who had lor a nurse when
she was little a negro "mammy." By con
sequence slie has welded on Cali ornjau
beauty, Paris dresses, Eastern culture,
Europe trips and wild Western originalitr,
the queer dreamy superstitions of the
quarters, and the result is soul shattering.
A Variety of Stellar Attractions.
Ana she is but one ol many stars. Item,
a maiden who believes in education and
possesses it, with a few hundred thousand
dollars to boot and a taste for slumming.
Item, the leader of a sort of informal salon
where girls congregate, read papeis and
dariuglydiscnss mctaplisical problems and
candy a sloe-eyed, black-browed, imperi
ous u-aiden she Item, a very small maideo,
absolutely without reverence, who can in
one 6wift sentence trample upon and leave
gasping half a dozen young men. Item, a
millionairess, burdened with her money,
lonely, caustic, with a tongue keen as a
Eword, yearning for a sphere, but chained
up to the rock of her vast possessions.
Item, a typewriter maiden earning her own
bread in this big city, because she doesn't
think a girl ought to be a burden on her
parents, who quotes Tbeoi'hile Gautier and
moves through the world manfully, much
respected lorall her 20 inexperienced sum
mers. Item, a woman from cloudlaud who
bus no history in the pastor future, but is
discreetly ot the present and strives for the
confjdeiiies of male humanity on the
grounds of "sympathy" (methinks this is
not altogether a new type). Item, a girl in
a" "dive," blessed with a Greek head and
eyes, that seem to,speak all that is best and
sweetest in the world. But woe is met She
has no ideas in this world or the next be
yond the consumption of beer (a commis
sion on each bottle) and protests that she
sings the songs allotted to her nightly with
out more than the vaguest notion of their
meaning.
Comparisons Tory Odious.
Sweet and comely are the maidens of
Devonshire; delicate andof gracious seem
ing those who live in the pleasant places of
London; fascinating for all their demureuess
the damsels 01 France, clinging closely to
their mothers and with large eyes wondering
at the wicked world; excellent in her own
place and to those who understand her is the
Anglo-Indian "spin" in her second season;
but the girls of America are above and be
yond them all. They are clever, they can
talk vea, it is said that they think. " Cer
tainly they have an appearance of so doing
which is dehghtlully deceptive.
They are original, and regard you between
the brows with unabashed eyes ai a lister
might look at her brother. They are in
structed, too, in the folly and vanity ol the
male mind, for they have associated with
the boys from babyhood, and can discern
ingly minister to both rices or pleasantly
snub the possessor. They possess, moreover,
a life among themselves, independent ot
any masculine associations. They have so
cieties and clubs and unlimited tea fights,
where all the guests are girls. They are
self-possessed, without parting with any ten
derness that is their sex-right; tbej under?
,lT?i
rrn ft?
stand; they can take care of themselves;
they are superbly independent.
Quoting the Girls.
Wden you ask them what makes them so
charmirlg, they say: "It is because we are
better educated than your girls, and and
we are more sensible in regard to men. "We
have good times all round, but we aren't
taught to regard everr man as a possible
husband. Nor is he expected to marry the
first girl he calls on regularly."
Yes, thev have good times, their freedom
Is large and they do not abuse it. They can
go driving with young men and receive
visits from voung 'men to an extent that
would make an English mother wink with
horror, and neither driver nor drivee have a
thought beyond the enjoyment of a good
time. As " certain, also, of their own poets
have said.:
Han Is Bro and woman is tow.
Ana the devil he comes and begins to blow.
In America the tow is soaked in a solution
that makes it fireproof, in absolute liberty
and large knowledge; consequently accidents
do not exceed the regular percentage ar
ranged by the devil for each class and climate
under the skies. But the freedom ot the
young girl has its drawbacks. She is I say
it with all reluctance irreverent, from her
$40 bonnet to the buckles in her $18 shoes.
She talks flippantly to her parents and men
old enough to be her grandiather. She has
a prescriptive right to the society of the man
who arrives.
Kipling's Annoying Experiences.
The parents admit it. This is sometimes
embarrassing, especially when you call on a
man and his wi'e for the sake of informa
tion the one being a merchant of varied
knowledge, the other a woman of the world.
In five minutes your host has vanished. In
another five his wife has fallowed him, and
yon are left alone with a very charming
maiden, doubtless, but certainly not the
person you came to see. She chatters and
you griu, but you leave with the very strong
impression of a wasted morning.
This has been my experience once or twice.
I have even said as pointedly as I dared to a
man, "I came to see you." "You'd better
see me in my office.tlien. The honse belongs
to my omen folk to mv daughter, that is to
say." lie spoke tho truth. The American of
wealth is owned by bis family. They exploit
him for bullion. The women get the ha'pence,
the kicks are all Ms own. Xiothinc is too good
for an American's daughter (1 speak here uf
the nionejed clashes). The girls take every
gift as a roattertif course, and yet they develop
greatly when a catastrophe arrives and the
man of many millions goes up or goes down,
and his daughters take to stenography or type
writing. One Point to Commend.
I have beard many tales of heroism from the
lips of girls who counted tho principals among
their friends. The crash came, Mamie or Hat
tie or Sadie gave up their maid, their carriages
and candy, and with a No. 2 Remington and a
stout heart set about earning their daily bread.
"And did I drop her from the list of m f ricndsT
No. sir," said a scarlet-lipped vision In white
lace: that might happen to us any day."
It may bo this sense of posslblo disaster in
the air that makes San Franciscan society go
with so captivating a rush and whirl. Reclc
lesnesc is in the air. I can't explain where it
cranes from, but there it I'. The roaring winds
nit the Pacific make you drunk to begin with.
The aggressive luxury on all sides helps out the
intoxication, and vou spin forever "down the
ringing groovas of change" (there is no small
chinge, by ths way. west of the Rockies) as
long as money lasts. They inako greatly and
they spend lavishly; not only the rich, bat the
artisans, who pay nearly 3 fur a tult of clothes
and for other luxuries In proportion.
Compliments to the Young Men.
The young men rejoice in the dajs of their
youth. They gamble, yacht, race, enjoy prize
tights and cock tights, the one openlv, the other
in secret; they establish luxurious clubs; they
break themselves over horse-flesh and other
things and they are Instant in a quarrel. At
0 they are experienced in business, embark In
vast enterprises, take partners as experienced
as themselves and go to pieces with as much
splendor as their neighbors. i
Remember that the men who stocked Cali
fornia m the fifties were physically and. as far
as regards certain touzh virtues, the pick of
the earth. The Inapt and the ueaKly alcden
route or went under in the days uf construc
tion. To this nucleus were added all the races
of tho Continent French, Italian, German
ami, of course, the Hebrew. The result yoa
shall see in large-boned, deep-chested, delicate
handed women and long, elastic, well-built
boys. It needs no little golden badge swinging
from the watch chain to mark the native son of
tho golden West, the country bred of Califor
nia. Him I love becanso he is devoid of fear,
carries himsp.lt like a man, and has a heart as
big as his books.
Can Afford to Enjoy Life.
I fancy, too, he knows how to enjoy the
blessings of life that his province so abundant
ly bestows upon him. At least, I heardalittlo
rat of a creature with hock bottle shoulders
explaining that a man from Chicago could pull
the eye teeth of a Californian in business.
Well, If I lived in fairyland, where cherries
were as big as plums, plums as big as apples,
and strawberries of no account, where the
procession of the fruits of the seasons was like
a pageant in a Drury Lane pantomine and tho
dry air was wine, 1 should let business slide
once in a way and kick up my heels with my
fcllons.
The tale of the resources ot California veg
etable and mineral is a fairy tale. You can
read it in books. You would never believ me.
All manner ot nonrishin: food from sea fish to
beef may be bought at the lowest prices, and
the people aro consequently well developed and
ot a bleu stomach. They demand 10 shillings
fortinkcrinira jatnnud lock of a trunk; tbey
receive 16 shillings a day for working as car-pentcr-.:
they spend many sixpences on very
bad cigars, wlnrti the poorest of them smoke,
and they go mad over a prize fight. When they
disagree they do so fatally with firearms in
their hands and on the public streets.
Plenty of Shooting Irons.
I was just clear of -Mission street when the
trouble began between two gentlemen, one of
whom perforated the other. When a policeman,
whose name I do not recollect, "fatally shot Ed
Hcaroey" for attempting to escape arrest I was
in the next street. For these things I am thank
ful. It is enough to travel with a policeman in
a tramcarsnd while he arranges his coat tails
as be sits down to catch sight of a loaded re
viver. It is enough to know that 50 per cent
ot the men in the public saloons carry pistols
about them
Tho Chinaman waylays hisiadversarv and
methodically chops nini to pieces with his
hatcher. Then the press roars about the brutal
ferocity of the pagan. The Italian reconstructs
his friend with a long knife. The press com
plains of the waywardness of the alien. The
Irishman and the native uf Califcrnia in their
hours of discontent use the revolver, not ouce,
but six times. The press records the fact and
a-ks in the next column whether the world can
Darallel the progress of San Francisco. The
American who loves his country will tell you
that this sort ut thing is confined to the lower
classes. Just at present an ex-jndee, who was
sent to lall by another judge (upon my word,
I cannot tell whether these titles mean any
thing), is breathing red hot vengeance against
his enemy The papers have interviewed both
parties and confidently expect a fatal Issue.
The Negro Waiters.
Now, let me draw breath and curse the negro
waiter, and through him the negro in service
generally, he has been made a Citizen with a
vote, consequently both political parties play
with him. Bnt that is neither here nor there.
He will commit in one meal every Detise that a
senllion fresh from the plow tail is capable of.
and he will continue to repeat those faults. He
is as complete a heavy-footed, uncomprehend
ing, bungle-fisted fool as any memsahib in the
East ever took into her establishment. But be
is according to law a free and Independent citi
zenconsequently above reproof or criticism.
He and he alone in this insane cltv will wait
at table (the Chinaman doe-n't count). He is
untrained, inapt, but he will fill the place and
draw the pay. Now the Creator and his father's
fate made him intellectually Inferior to the
Oriental.- He insists on pretending that he
serves tables by accident as a aort of amuse
ment. Hs wishes you to understand this little
fact. Yon wish to eat your meals, and If possi
ble to have them propeily served. He Is a big,
black, vain baby and a man rolled Into one. A
colored gentleman Mho insisted nn getting me
pie when 1 wanteu something else demanded in
lormation about India. I gave him some facts
about wages "Oh." said he, cheerfully, "that
wouldn't keep me in cigars for a month." Then
he lawned on me for a 10-cent piece. Later
he took it upon himself to pity the natives ol
India.
Ethnology of the Walter.
"Heathen," be railed them, this woolly one,
whose race has been the butt ot every comedy
on the native stage since the beginning. And I
turned and saw by the bead upon bis shoulders
that he was a Yoruba man, if there be any
truth in ethnological castes. He did his think
ing In En giltc, but he was a Yoruba negro, and
the race type had remained the same through
out his generations. And the room was full of
other rares some that looked exactly like
Gallas (but the trade was never recruited from
that side of Atrica). some duplicates of Cam
eroon heads and some Kroomen, It ever Kroo
men wore evening dress.
The American does not consider little mat
ters of descent, though by this time he onght to
know all about "damnable heredity." Asa
general rule he keeps himself very far from the
negro, and says things about him that are not
pretty. There are 6,000,000 negroes, more or
less, in the States, ard they are increasing.
The American once having made them citizens
cannot nnraake them. He says, in bis news
papers, they ougnt to be elevated by education.
He is trying this, but it is like to be a long job
because black blood is much more adhesive
than wblto and throws back with annoying per
sistence. When Negroes Get Religions.
When tho negro gets religion he returns di
rectly as a hiving bee to the first Instincts of
his people. Just now a wave ot religion Is
sweeping over some of the Southern States.
TJJ to the present two Messiahs and a Daniel
have appeared, and several human .sacrifices
have been offered up to these incarnations. The
Daniel managed to get three young men. who
he insisted were Sbadracb. Meshcch and Abed
uego, to walk into a blast furnace, guaranteeing
non-combustion. They did not return.
I have seen nothlnz ot this kind, but I have
attended a negro church they pray or are
caused to pray by themselves in this country.
The congregation were moved by the spirit to
groans and tears, and one of them danced up
the aisle to the mourners' bench. The motive
may have been genuine. Tho movements of
the shaken body were those of a Zanzibar stick
dance, such as you see at Aden on the coal
boats, and even as I watched the people the
links that bound them to the white man
snapped one by one. and I saw before me the
hubshi (woolly hair) praying to a God he did
not understand. Those neatl-dressed folk on
the benches, the gray-headea elder by the win
dow, were savages neither more nor loss.
America's Greatest Problem.
What will the American do with the negroT
The South will not consort with him. In some
States miscegenation is a penal offense. The
North Is every year less and less in need of his
services. And he will not disappear. He will
continue as a problem. His friends will nrgo
that he is as good as the white man. His ene
mieswell, you can guess what his enemies
will do from a little incident that followed on a
recent appointment by toe President.
He made a negro an assistant in a postoffice,
where think of ill ho had to work at the
next desk to a white girl, the daughter of a
Colonel, one of the first families, by gad, sir
Southern chivalry and alL tho weaiy, weary
rest of it. The Southern chivalry howled and
and hanged or burned someone in effigy. Per
haps it was the President and perhaps it was
the negro lmt the principle remains the same.
Tbey said it was an insult. It is not good to be
a necro in tho laud of the free and the home of
the brave.
Speeches to a Samoan Hero.
But this has nothing to do with San Fran
cisco and her merry maidens; her strong, swag
gering men and her wealth of gold apd pride.
They boro me to a banquet in honor of a brave
Lieutenant Carlln, of the Vandalla who
stack by his ship in the great cyclone at Apia
and comported himself as an officer should.
On that occasion 'twas at the Bohemian Club
I heard oratory with the roundest of o's, and
devoured a dinner the memory of which will
descend with me into the hungry crave. There
were about 40 speeches delivered, and not one
of them was average or ordinary.
It was my first introduction to the American
eagle, screaming for all it was worth. The
Lieutenant's heroism served as a peg from
which the silver tongued ones turned them
selves loose and kicked. They ransacked the
clouds of sunset, the thunderbolts of heaven,
the deeps of hell and the splendor of the resur
rection for tropes and metaphors, and burled
the result at the head of the guest of the even
inc. Never since the morning stars sang to
gether for joy. 1 learned, had an amazed crea
tion witnessed such superhuman bravery as
that displayed by the American navy in the
Samoa cjclone. Till earth rotted in the phos
phorescent star and stripe slime of a decayed
universe that godlike gallantry would not be
forgotten.
A Niagara of Blatlierumskite.
I grieve that I cannot give the exaci words.
My attempt at reproducing their spirit ispalo
and inadequate. I sat bewildered on a corus
cating Niagara of blatlierumskite. It was mag
nificent It was stupendous and I was con
scious ot a wicked desire to hide myself in my
napkin and grin. Then, according to rule, tbey
produced their dead, and across the snowy
tablecloths dragged the corpse of every man
slain in the Civil War and hurled defiance at
"our natural enemy" (England, so please you),
"with her chain of fortresses across the world."
Thereafter they glorified their nation afresh
from the beginning, in case any detail should
have been overlooked, and tbac made me un
comfortable for their sakes. How in the world
can a white man, a sahib of our blood, stand up
and plaster praise on his own country? He ran
think so highly as he likes, but this open
mouthed vehemence of adoration struck mo
almost as indelicate. My hosts talked for
rather lnoj-e than three hours, and at the end
seemed ready for three hours more. Bat when
the Lieutenant such a big, brave, gentle giant
rose to his feet he delivered what seemed to
me as the speech ot the evening. 1 remember
nearly the whole of ir, and it ran something in
this way: Gentlemen It's verv pood of vou to
give me this dinner and to ten me alt these1!
pretty things, but what I want and what we
ought to get at once is a navy more shins
lots of 'em .' Then we howled the top of
the roof off, and I for one fell in love with Car
ina on the spot. Wallah! He was a man.
Poor England Always Suffers.
The prince among merchants bade me take
no heed to the warlike sentiments of some of
the old Generals. "The skyrockets are thrown
in for effect," quoth he, '"and, whenever we get
on our hind legs we aln ays express a desire to
chaw up England. It's a sort of family affair."
And, indeed, when you come to think of it,
there is no other country for the American
public speaker to trample upon.
France has Germany, wo have Russia: for
Italy Austria is provided, and the humblest
Patban possesses an ancestral enemv. Only
America stands out of the racket, and there
fore, to be in fashion, makes a sandbag ot the
mother country and bangs her when occasion
requires. "The chain ot fortresses" man, a fas
cinating talker, explained to me after tho affair
that he was compelled to blow off steam.
Everybody expectedit. When we had chanted
"The Star, Spangled Banner" not more than
eight times we adjourned. America is a very
great country, but it is not jet heaven, with
electric lights and plush fittings, as the speakers
professed to believe. My listening mind went
back to the politicians in the saloon, who
wasted no time in talking about freedom, but
quietly made arrangements to impuse their
will on the citizens "The Judge is a great
man, but give thy presents to the clerk," as the
proverb saitb.
The American Typewriter.
And what more remains to tell? I cannot
write connectedly, because I am in lovewiih
all those girls aforesaid, and some others who
do not appear in the invoice. The typewriter
is an institution of which the comic papers
make much capital, but she is vastly conven
ient, bbe and a companion rent a room in a
business quarter, and aided by a typewriting
machine, copy MSS at the rate of six annas a
page. Only a woman can operate a typewrit
ing machine, because she has served appren
ticeship to the sewfbg machine. She can earn
as much as $100 a month, and proresses to re
gard this form of bread winning as her natural
destiny. But oh, how she hates it in her heart
of hearts !
When I had gotten over the surprise of doing
business with and trying togiveorderstoayonng
woman of cold, clerkly aspect intrenched be
hind gold rimmed spectacles I made inquiries
roncerning the pleasures of this independence.
They liked it indeed they did. 'Xwas the
natural tate of almost all girls the recognized
custom in America and I was a barbarian not
to see it in that light.
Well, and after? ' said I. "What happens?"
"We work for our bread."
"And then what do you expect?"
"1 hen we shall work for our bread."
"Till you die?"
"Ye-es unless "
Driven to Confession.
"Unless what? This is your business, you
know. A man works until he dies.'
"So shall we" this without enthusiasm"!
suppose."
Said the partner in the firm audaciously
"Sometimes we marry our employers at least,
that's what the newspapers say." The hand
banged on half a dozen of the keys of the ma
chine at once. "Yes, I don't care. I bate it I
hate it 1 hate it and J ou needn't look sol"'
The senior partner was regarding the rebel
with grave-eyed reproach.
"1 thought you did," said I. "I don't suppose
American girls are much different from En
glish ones in instinct."
"Isn't itTbeophile Gautier who says1 that
the only differences between conntry and
country lie in the slang and the unitorm of the
police?"
Now. in the name of all the gods at once,
what is one to say to a young lady (w bo in Eng
land would be a person) who earns her own
bread, and very naturally hates tho employ.and
slings out of the way quotations at your head?
That une falls in love with her goes without
sayinir, but that is not enough.
A mission should be established.
Rudyaud Kipling.
An Editor's Experience.
Mr. E. C. Hinkle, editor of the Beacon.
Winfield, Iowa, has this to say regarding
what we believe to be the best and most re
liable medicine known lor throat and lung
diseaseit
"Chamberlain's Cough Bemedy has done
a great good in this locality. I was myself
afflicted with a lingering run of la grippe,
which was most seriously affecting my
lungs, but one 50-cent bottle of this remedy
broke it up completely and brongnt me out
all right" tvsu
Ftjekitcrk upholstered an&repaired.
Hauoh & Keen an, 83-34 Water street,
80
THE HTTSBUKG- DISPATCH. ' SUNDAY, JANUARY - IS,
DEATH OF BRADD0CK.
Proof That tho General Was Mur
dered by One of Bis Own Men
IN REVENGE FOE A BRUTAL CRIME.
Facts of Pittsburg's Indian History Not
Generally Known.
I
TALE 0P A YEKT OLD COLORED WOMAN
rWBITTXN TOR TBI DISPATCH.!
The conflict with the Indians upon the
Western frontier, apparently drawing to a
close, recall the time when Pittsburg filled
the most prominent place before the world
as the scene of Indian warfare. Notwith
standing the intervening years there is much
that is new about these early days, only
now coming to light. There are scores of
old men living in Pittsburg to-day who can
recall the Indian visits to the city in the
early part of the century, and there are
thousands of younger men who remember
the cornplanter Indian raftsmen who, until
within the past 15 or 20 years, were regular
spring visitors down the Allegheny to the
city.
From archives not accessible to every
Pittsburger I have been able to gather facts
regarding one or two great events that con
tradict the comaionly accepted statements
to be found in written history.
Braddock Was Murdered.
The central event around which all early
history of Pittsburg clusters was General
Braddock's defeat Ponular history gives
it that Braddock was killed by Indians in
the great struggle of July 9, 1755. The fact,
susceptible of conclusive proof, is that he
was murdered by one of his own soldiers.
William Butler, of Philadelphia, who
was engaged in the Braddock expedition,
had, at the age of 104 years, this to say con
cerning the death ot the General: "Brad
dock was killed by a man named Facett,
brother of one whom Braddock hadjust
killed in a passion; this man who killed
Braddock was in the ranks as a non-commissioned
officer; the former was a brave major
or captain, and by birth an Irishman. The
soldier shot Braddock in the back, as he
wore a coat of mail in front, which turned
balls fired in front. He lived two or three
diys after be was wounded. The only
words he ever uttered after his fall were :
"Is it possible all is over?"
Testimony of a Negro.
In addition to the recital of William But
ler, Billy Brown, an old colored man, who
was body servant to Colonel Brown, of the
Irish regiment, and who was present at that
memorable fight, confirmed the truth of
Braddock being shot by one of his men, be
cause he had killed his brother. He also
said that General Braddock's character was
ohstinats and prolane.
"Whej AVashington came up to him in
the fight," he is quoted as saying, "fell on
his knees and beseeched Braddock to allow
him to Use 300 of his men in tree-fighting,
the General cursed him and said: 'I've a
mind to run you through the body," and
shonted: 'We'll sup to-day in Fort Du
quesne, or else in hell."
Further evidence of Braddock's assassina
tion is found in the Millerstown Gazette, of
1830, in which mention is made of Butler's
presence in that city, visiting an aged
solJier who had also been in Braddock's de
feat. The paper says both these two old
soldiers concurred in saying that Braddock
was shot by Facett.
Evidence From the Newspapers. .
A correspondent of the Christian Advocate
a minister, writing from Millerstown.Pa.,
in 1833 says: "The old man died at the
age of 104 years in 1828, who killed Brad
dock." At'the same time, the correspon
dent confirms the other fact, of the man's
brother being killed by Braddock. He
(Facett) lived at Laurel hill.
. The Newburyport, Mass., -Herald, of 1842,
declares its acquaintance with Daniel
Adams, an old soldier of that place, aged
82, who confirms the shooting of General
Braddock by one of his own followers. This
old veteran stated that the principal officers
had previously advised a retreat, which the
General pertinaciously refused, to consent
to; that after nearly all the principal officers
bad been shot down he was approached by
a Captain to renew the advice, whom he
forthwith shot down. Upon 'seeing this, a
brother of the Captain immediately shot
Braddock.
Where Braddock's Bones Lie.
For the last 100 year, at intervals, senss
sational stories ot the finding of the alleged
rcmains'of the unlortunate Braddock with
his coat of mail, and all the military accou
ferments of a- General have come up, but
they were all without a grain of truth. The
various spots between Braddock's Field
and the top of the Allegheny mountains,
that have been pointed out as the resting
place of the murdered General of the Indian
fight of 1755, are ouly located by guess
work. Tbey do not coincide with the ac
counts of the men who helped close that
final act of darkest history.
The undisturbed grave of General Brad
dock, according to records now on file in the
oldest library of Philadelphia, is about
seven miles east of fTJniontown, Favette
county, and close to the northern side of the
National road. Since that day of burial no
one has ever found time or inclination to
give the remains a more distinguished sep
ulther. The Hannastown Massacre.
The massacre of Hannastown, Westmore
land county, which stood about three miles
from Greensburg, was anotherludian episode
that filled the early settlers around the primi
tive metropolis of Western Pennsylvania
with a fear such as is being experienced in
South Dakota to-day. History is repeating
itself and though the trained infantry and
cavalry gives protection now that settler of
100 years ago had not, Indian outbreaks are
robbed of none of their horror.
The 13th day of July, 1782, was a memor
able day for 'Hannastown. While nearly
all of the men were in the harvest field, un
conscious of impending danger, an alarm ol
Indians caused them to flee and take safety
in the block bouse. Between 300 and 400
redskins swept down on the town, burnt the
dwellings and took the unfortunate inhabit
ants, or as many of them as they found, cap
tives. A Sad Wedding Party.
There was a wedding party in progress at
a house near Millerstown, two miles distant.
The savages took the entire party prisoners,
treating the bride and groom with the ut
most indignities. These merrymakers were
carried captive to Canada. On the march a
father was carrying a sick child on his
back, when the little safferer cried out with
pain. In an instant a tomahawk was buried
in his,head,and when the father remonstrated
the same fate was meted out to him. A
woman prisoner, -w-ho-was a witness of the
terrible affair, screamed out with horrOT,
and as a warning to the rest she was brained
on the spot.
The Colonel Boquet who figured so promi
nently in the early history of Pittsburg was
notorious in another way. He was a mer
cenary, a Swiss who had enlisted in the
service of England tor money and not Tor
glory, and on bis retreat from the disastrous
field of Braddock's de eat, threatened to
quarter his troops on the citizens oi Phila
delphia. At that time they were afflicted
with virulent smallpox, and tearful that the
threat would be executed the citizens of the
Quaker City, in some cases, gave up their
houses to the troops. The name of Boquet
has never been a subject of veneration in
Philadelphia.
A Very Old Woman.
A. yery curious story of early Pittsburg is
that of the colored woman who is said to
have? been the oldest person of modern times
of which we have any record. There may
be persons living yet who remember Joice
Hetb. TJp to the time of this woman's
death the celebrated Thomas Parr, of Lon
don, was the oldest or whom there is any
record. He died In 1635, at the age of 152.
Pittsburg then came on the. scene about 1830
with this colored woman aged 161. At this
time then appeared in the Eastern news
papers announcements to this effect: .
Joice Hetb, a negro slave. Is exhibited alive
at Pittsburg, aged 101 years. She retains a
vivid recollection of the scenes of her youth,
and i to bo brought on to Philadelphia and
New York. It is said that she once belonged to
General Washington's father, and wasfcurse to
the General.
The records fail to, say whether she ever
starred in the Eastern cities; the impression
is that she failed to keep her engagement.
There always existed a doubt as to the claim
of the woman, and it is said that a post
mortem showed that she was but a little
over 100. Kid. Dableio.
THE CHAMPION HOTEL BEAT.
How He Won a Salt of Clothes and Eighty
Five Dollars on HI GalL
Chattanooga 'I lines.I
The lellow had no baggage when he regis
tered first at the Markham House last week,
but bad a very glib .tongue and told such a
plausible story that he was permitted to
register and given a room. He was well
dressed and a very pleasant spoken fellowj,
and bis bar bill soon assumed startling pro
portions. The hotel people became alarmed,
and alter he had been there several days a
party stopping there told them he was a
beat. The clerk fixed up a scheme, and
that evening he got into the fellow's room
on some pretext after be had retired and
calmly gathering up the fellow's coat, vest
and pants told him they could be redeemed
at the office for the amount of his bill.
The fellow's nerve did not desert him ven
in this extremity. He borrowed a mackin
tosh coat from the clerk, which reached to
his heels, which he put on over his under
clothing, in order to go after some money,
and walked to the Kimball House, where
be boldly registered and was shown to a
room, leaving word that when his baggage
arrived it was to be kept nntil he got np in
the morning.
At about 8 o'clock in the morning he
came jumping down stairs, making a great
noise, with a tale of robberv, in which he
had lost his clothes and $85 in cash. The
hotel managem-ut, without stopping to in
vestigate the fellow, got him anew suit of
clothes and paid him $85, rather than have
such notoriety attached to the honse. The
fellow then walked back to the Markham
House, paid his bill, obtained his clothes
and jumped out of town.
HOW SNAKES GET HEALS.
They Strike the Fishes, Poison Them and
Then Swallow Them.
Nature's Kealm.
Having repeatedly been interested in
watching how water snakes feed, I was care
ful in noting hqw one particular snake
maneuvered to get a meal in Crum brook,
one of the trout streams preserved by the
Quaspeake Club, of Eockland oounty, rf.
Y., of which I am warden.
The snake darted from under the bank
and seized a chnb about three inches long,
half of its body being in the mouth of the
snake. I struck the reptile smartly with
my cane, when it darted away, and the fish
wriggled off slowly for a few feet and then
lost all power of motion, although it did not
seem to be even slightly bruised. Upon
taking it ont of the water I observed a
thick slime or mucus covering the
whole body, which I scraped off. and re
turned the fish to the water. At first it
was very active, swimming around lively,
but in a few moments seemed once more to
lose the power of motion. I again took it
out of the water, and found the coating of
slime thicker upon its body than before. I
scraped it off again, with the same result,
but finally the fish turned on its side dead,
and in about five minutes, spent in perfect
quietude on my part, the snake came from
under a submerged stump, seized the fish
and disappeared. This incident led me to
believe that the snake poisoned th: fish by
coating it with the thick secretion I found
upon its body.
JOCKO AND THE PENNIES.
A Wise Monkey Who Stole From the Milk
Pitchers to Bay Bananas.
New York Sun. I
Early one morning Jocko fonnd a pitcher
standing at the head oi the stairs with some
pennies in it. They were for the milkman.
Jocko took the pennies and ran down stairs.
When he returned from his visit to his
Italian friend that afternoon he had two
bananas instead ot one.
Jocko f iund that if he got up a little
earlier he could get a great many pennies
from the pitchers on the second and third
floors, too. For a long time nobody sus
pected him, although Mr. Hoffman often
wondered at the liberality of the banana
vender. The milkman would ring the bell
and demand payment for his milk, and the
tenants would swear that they had left it in
their pitchers. Jocko happened to over
sleep one day, and when he went up stairs
there was no' pitcher on the second or third
floors.
MisKauffmann's pitcher was in its place,
but Instead of pennies it contained milk.
Jocko put his paw into the milk and
splashed it around. He was watching the
white liquid trickle down his brown arms
when the door.opened and Miss Kauffmann
appeared. Jocko slid down the balustrade
on his tail, while the pitcher turned over
and fell down a step or two, and the milk
trickled down stairs.
The Wonderful Aluminum.
Atlanta Journal.
The biggest rocking chair made of alu
minum could be listed by a little child. The
largest wagon body made of it could be put
in place by a 10-year-old boy. It can be
hammered into thin sheets, and a sheet the
size of an opera house curtain conld almost
be borne along on the wings of a sephyr.
P0BTBAITS IN HINIATTJBE.
Specimens of the Work Found on the Papy
rus Bolls of Egypt.
St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
The fashion of painting single portraits'
"in little," or miniatures, undoubtedly took
its origin in the grand art of the illuminator
an art which was practiced by all nations,
both Eastern and WeUern, from the rubri
catiou of capitals and headings, and occa
sionally true miniatures found on the papy
rus rolls ol ancient Egypt, as farbacc as the
eighteenth dynasty, down to the magnifi
cent missal in theBoneu Library, completed
Nicholas Riliiard.
From a Miniature by Himself.
iu the vear A. D. 1682. Every colieetiou af
fords abundant evidence of the introduction
ol individual portraits among the gorgeous
surrounding of the general l laminated
work. The Flemish iliuminator.eapeciully,
carried the. drawing and coloring of the
heads to a degree of perfection which came
very near that attained by the greatest mas
ters who subsequently practiced the nrt of
miniature painting, as the term is under
stood in these later days. Tie first En
glishman who devoted himself entirely to it,
with distinguished success, was Nicholas
HillUrd, 1647-1619. He began when 13
years old. The most interesting specimens
of his work are Dortraits of Elizabeth and
the Due d'Alencon on the respective covers
of a prayer book-intended as s present from
the Queen to the Duke.
1891 -
A NOISELESS PIANO.
Science Comes to the Rescue of the
Maiden Who Most Flay.
COMFORT IN RUBBER IN A SHOE.
A Paris Merchant Has Lots of Fun Catching-
Bold Burglars.
SIMPLE CUBE FOR MOSQUITO BITES
IFBXFJkBSD rOBTHX DISPO.TCII.1
The piano has long been a means of in
flicting the most exquisite torture on those
who were unwillingly compelled to listen to
its strains as evoked by the miscellaneous
periormer. There has lately, however, ap
peared a tendency on the part of inventors
to attempt to mitigate this form of human
misery, and the latest variation of a recent
idea of covering the instrument with plush
is to bring out a "library" piano covered
with leather, a material which would at the
same time lend itself to ornamental effects
and considerably reduce the volume of
sound.
Another dev'o which will doubtless be
hailed with gratitude by fathers of families,
schoolmasters, schoolmistresses and their
neighbors has just been patented. This in
vention is called "the pianophone," and is
designed to meet the wants of students of
keyboard instruments, by allowing them to
practice scales and exercises without inter
fering with the convenience of involuntary
listeners, while still able themselves to hear
the results of their performance. It consists
of a 5 7-12 octave keyboard with Keys of the
same size and description a the ordinary
pianoforte, a simple but effective striking
action, and the substitution, of metallic
plates for the ordinary strings. These being
accurately turned to the ordinary scale,
yield sufficient sound to make the playing
on the instrument distinctly audible to the
play er.and even (as in the case of the "silent
violin") a source of pleasure to him. while
it is inaudible at' auy distance such, for
instance, as an adjoining room. One great
advantage is that the instrument never gets
out of tune, and is.easily moved from one
place to another.
Catching Burglars for Sport
The fact that the electric light has in
flicted a severe blow at the occupation of the
"midnight marauder" is now a familiar one,
and a recent expression of opinion on the
subject of protecting houses against the
depredations of housebreakers has called
special attention to the means which are
now available for that purpose. The task
of the cracksman is becoming a weary and a
comparatively profitless one, and it is easy
to believe that the lament which is occasion
ally wafted from his lips into the columns
of the daily paper, that "there is now noth
ing iu it," is uttered with the utmost sincer
ity. At one time it was a very easy matter
for a burglar to sawrthroueh a bar or cut a
pane of glass, but with the elec
trical appliaDces now being used in many
houses, and which are so easily adjusted and
so reliable in operation, it is only a question
of time when all houses will be provided
with them. The slightest movement of door
or window alter the alarm has been set will
form a connection and start a gong in a
distant part of the house. The alarm is thus
given to the inmates, while the man, uncon
scious of the fact, is basely occupied in
looking after the family silver. The same
connection that alarms the sleeper may con
vey the alarm to the nearest police station,
so that by the time the burglar gets through
with his engrossing work be may find a
couple of policemen outside patiently wait
ing his pleasure. Not long ago an enthusi
astic merchant in Paris was so delighted
with the working of this form of burglar
alarm thaf he became enamored of thief
catching as a sport. He cleverly .spread
stories of the hoards of jewelry and Valuable
bric-a-brac that were to be found in certain
rooms of his house, and the bait was an
irresistible one for the master cracksman of
the city. The merchant bagged his game
very neatly several times, but at last the
story crept out, and his unique sporting
career came to a sudden end. Screen doors
as well as windows can be provided with the
alarm fittings so that the least attempt to
make a bole will close the circuit, and let
the inmates of the house know of the advent
of their uninvited visitor.
Bnbber In Shoe Soles.
A waiter to a technical paper discourses
enthusiastically on the luxury of an elastic
seam, a simple device which he had by
chance adopted for reducing the jar ot walk
ing upon the muscles and nerves. He says:
"It is just a little thing, an eighth ot an
inch or less of pure rubber let in at the ball
of the foot, between sole and upper, detract
ing'nothing from the fit of as shapely shoes
as are sold, but making all the difference of
ease and springy step, and taking the strain
off so many tortured muscles. Housekeep
ers, clerks, car drivers and floorwalkers
kdon what it is to feel that every step
drives -the heel into a socket of sore flesn
abont the ankle, and that again sends the
bone of the upper legs against the hip socket
with a jar that tells painfully on the quiver
ing flesh of the front and back muscles of
the trunk. I am not writing automatically
so much as telling how walking feels on nn
elastic floors and pavements, though of in
laid woods, marble or Miuton tiles. A
great deal of suffering goes on in cur
thoroughfares in mute endurance. Another
device, somewhat on the same lines as the
elastic seam, is the 'rubber safety heel,'
which consists of a block of pare flexible
rubber let into the heel ot the shoe so as to
save the wear of leather, slipping and jar of
the spine. Dr. Bowdttch is quoted as say
ing that halt the 'spine diseases he meets
with are caused or aggravated by hard, high
heels, and that the value of the rubber heel
in reducing the concussion, which is so in
jurious to the human frame, is inestimable."
Recording Earth Tremors.
The utility of the microphone for observa
tion of earth tremors and noises was soon
recognized, and Italy has for some time held
a foremost place among the nations which
have taken advantage of the special adapta
bility of this instrument. It is now lonnd
that photography possesses admirable capa
bilities in the way of supplementing the
work of the microphone in making these
delicate records. SignorBaratta,findingsouie
defects iu a method of mechanical registra
tion ol the motions of a seismo-microphone,
had recourse to the following device: A
telephone wire is connected with a subter
ranean microphone. Before the telephone
diaphragm, and connected with its center
with a fine aluminum wire, is a short slip of
tbe same metal, fixed below, and having
a curved piece at tbe top, which rests against
a small mirror, movable about a horizontal
axis. This mirror reflects the light from a
lamp and lens to photographic paper ou a
rotated drum. The light is momentarily
shut off every quarter of an hour by a shut
ter arrangement, worked electro-magnelic-ally
by the clock-work which moves the
drum.
Watch Making 'in Switzerland.
Great anxiety is felt in Switzerland con
cerning the decadence ol tbe watch-making
industry, which, next to the textile industry,
is the niainit3y or the inhabitants of the
country. The profits are dwindling down,
as the United States and England are every
year becoming more powerful rivals in this
field. The demand, too, for Swiss watches
Is falling off considerably in certain coun
tries, notably in this country and in France.
The Stitch In Time.
In recent newspaper articles on the neces
sity of early organization and needful im
provements in the national army and navy,
the address of Sir Charles Dilke before the
Biyal Statistical Society, of England, has
been frequently referred to. Among other
cogent remarks made brthe speaker was one
to tbe effect that the 'total failure of the
French in 1870 to obtain even a momentary
success with an army of splendid courage
and perfect training 'drew the moral that
whatever the peace expenditure, war cannot
be commenced with a tairchanceof winning
bv a nation which waits until war to make
her organization. perfect.
-. Reafforestation of Bennded lands.
The agitation which has been going ou in
this country with reference to the preserva
tion and restoration of forest lands has been
the means of drawing attention to a paper
on the subject recently read in France by
M. L. Gonin, an engineer, who has been en
gaged in the work in that country. The
fertile plains traversed by the Ehone, the
Garonne, and their affluents, are frequently
laid waste by the overflow ol their waters.
The magnitude ol inundations has been due
principally to the increasing development
of the torrents, especially those of the
Alpine. departments, caused by the destruc
tion of the mountain forests and grass lands,
and the disappearance of the vegetation by
which the soil was protected. This, like a
sponge, retained the rainfall, moderated the
flow of the waters, reduced tbe floods, and
acted as a protection against erosion of the
soil.
As a remedy the torrents were to be ar
rested at their source; the materials removed
by the waters were to be retained in the
valleys or defiles; tbe formation of ridges
and furrows, and the generation of new tor
rents in the bared places of the hills bad to
be opposed; vegetation had to be revived
and protected from the sheep which find
pasture in the mountains. To carry out
these objects, two kinds of work were neces
sary: (1) The correction and regulation of
the torrents by establishing a system of
dams. (2) The replanting of the' ground
with wood and grass.
The dams are of masonry. For the smaller
dams, owing to the want of stone, wood in
tbe form of wattle fences and fascines is em
ployed. According to one mode of con
struction two rows ,ol stakes in larch and
willow are planted across the bed of the tor
rent, with willow branches interlaced, form
ing the body of tbe structure. The stakes
are bound together by a longitudinal tim
ber laid horizontally a little below the level
of the crown. Behind tbe dam, for Its pro
tection, a body of earth and small stones is
placed. It is planted with slips of trees, by
the growth of which the consolidation of the
work is promoted. In the valley of the
Barcelonettc $553,000 has " already been
spent in this work, the results of which are
said to be most satisfactory.
Photographic Developing Frame.
A new developing frame has been designed
to aid photographers in the field. It con
sists of two parts, tbe frame and changing
bag. The frame is .constructed of wood,
lined with vulcanite or other substance,
having two colored glasses, one fixed and
the other movable, and fastened by four
springs. There is a slot through the top of
the irame through which to pass the plates;
this is made light and waterproof by a
spring lid of metal, vulcanite, etc Partly
in and projecting from the slot is a metal
case to place the mouth of the changing bag
over and pass the plate. The chemicals are
passed in through an 'aperture, which is
made lightproof by a shield. The changing
bag is made of mackintosh, or lightproof
material, funnel-shaped, with an open top
through which to insert the slide containing
tbe exposed plate; it has an elasti: hand
hole, and the mouth is partly protected by
a metal case and fits over the slot in the
frame. It is claimed that this apparatus
will be of especial service when it is desired
to develop a picture on the spot, instead of
waiting the operator's return to his house or
studio.
Machine for Telegraph Post Arms.
An ingenious machine is used in Eng
land for preparing telegraph post arms.
These arms are usually made from the best
selected English oak. and vary in length
from two feet to four feet. Tbey are. in the
first case planed on the four sides by means
of a special planing machine, and then
sawed to the exact length required by means
of a double cross-cut sawing machine made
specially for the purpose. Tbe arms are
then passed on to the shaping machine,
which rapidlv and effectively does its work.
The machine is quite self-contained and has
the driving shaft placed overhead and sup
ported upon standards fixed to tbe main
bed. The arrangements for dealing with
the various lengths of arms have been care
fully worked out. At the official test of tbe
machine the wooden arms were finished at
tbe rate of three per minute.
Skin of Toads and Salamanders.
A recent microscopical study, by Herr
Scbultz, of the skin of toads And sala
manders, has yielded some interesting re
sults. There are two kinds of glands,
mucous and poison glands. The former are
numerous over the whole body, while the
latter are on the body and limbs, and there
are groups in tbe ear region behind tbe eye,
and in tbe salamander at tbe angle, of the
jaw. The poison glands are, of course, pro
tective, and the corrosive juice is discharged
differently in toads and salamanders, ou
stimulating electrically; in the latter it is
spurted out in a fine jet, sometimes1 more
than a foot in length. Whereas in the toad,
after long action of the current, it exudes
sparingly in drops. There is no reason for
supposing that the mucous glands become
poisonous.
Eemedy for Mosquito Bites.
A German chemist, alter a somewhat
learned dissertation on the various kinds of
mosquitoes and their respective character
istics and virulence, condescends to give a
useful piece of practical information. He
says that of tbe various remedies recom
mended for mosquito bites, sucb as ammonia,
oil of cloves, chloroform, carbolized glycer
ine, etc., none are better than ordinary
soap. He is an ardent naturalist, and ou
his frequent excursionsin the country he in
variably carries a small piece of soap, with
which, in case of a bite, he makes a lather
all over the affected part and allows it to dry
on. He almost invariably finds that tbe re
lief is instantaneous and that all pain soon
ceases. Should it continue, however, as
sometimes happens, it is paly necessary to
repeat the operation.
Chemical Fire Alarm.
A new fire alarm now in use in Sweden
consists of a small copper cartridge closed
by an india rubber button and filled with a
fire composition. The fuse contains a mixt
ure of potassium chlorate and sugar, and on
it is placed a parnffine capsule containing a
few drops of sulphuric acid. When tbe
temperature of the room rises above the
melting point of paraffine tbe sulphuric acid
is liberated and ignites the chlorate mixture,
which in its turn sets fire to the Bengal
light. A fusible metal disk- placed in con
tact with the mixture will also be melted,
and thus make electrical connection with a
call bell so as to sound the alarm at a dis
tance. TIRED OF TIPPING.
French Waiters Find the System a Fraud
and Ask lor Wages.
A item of good news comes to the Ameri
can traveler through the Paris correspon
dence of the Boston Journal. It is the
statement that the French waiters have been
holding a conference, with the object Of
abolishing the tipping system, which, as1
every traveler knows, prevails to such an
outrageous extent in Paris. The enstom
has been for the waiters In restaurants in
that city not only not to receive any pay
from the proprietors, but to share with
them the fees receired from patrons.
This practice tbe attendants desire to tap
press, and compel the proprietors to pay
them fixed salaries instead. In this crusade
against an aggravated custom the Paris
waiters will have the sympathy of the pub
lic, that has long desired to see some reform
made ln,thi direction. '
.
BOLTS FROM IM SET.
What Lightning Is and How to Pro
tect Buildings From It.
ELECTRICITY IN THE CLOUDS
Is Generated by Friction Between ths
' Tapor and ths Air.
TEG MOST SCIEKT1FIC F0EH OF 0D
rwiuTTijr ron Tni dism.tch".1
If we rub a hard piece of rubber briskly
with a dry silk handkerchief, electricity will
be generated ou both the silk and the hard
rubber. These objects are then said to have
a different potential from that of the earth
it may be greater or it may be less. This
difference of potential means a difference of
pressure, and the tendency is to neutralise
or become of the same pressure. For ei.
ample, a stone ou the top of a cliff has a
difference of potential or pressure from
stone at tbe bottom of the cliff. The ten
dency of the stone Is to reach the bottom.
The cliff, with respect to the stone, would
corresnond to the insulator, with respect to
electricity.
A reservoir of water has s potential or
pressure fargreater than that of the ocean,
and so the water in tbe reservoir tends to
fall and seek its own level. The dam, hold
ing the water back, again corresponds to aa
electric insulator holding the electricity
back. If the dam is too weak and gives
away, there will be a rush of water. Air is
an electric dam or insulator. If two objects
having a difference of electrical potential be
tween them are brought near together, there
will be a tendency toward equilibrium of
potential. If the difference oi- potential is
great enough to break down or through the
air the electric dam a discbarge will
take place, indicated by a spark and a snap.
The Beginning of Lightning.
Tnpor, rising from the earth, generates
electricity by friction, jost as electricity was
generated by rubbing hard rubber with a
silk handkerchief. Tbe vapor, as it rise',
is blown about among the- trees and hills
and the friction between- the two generates
the electricity. Each drop ol vapor is a
sphere with its own electric charge on tbe
surface; and as these drops join and form
larger ones, the electric charge on each new
drop accnmulates on the surface. Thus the
vapor accumulates all thetime together with
the electric charge till finally we have the
black thundercloud.
Two such clouds formed over different
portions of the earth's surface are almost
sure to have a difference ot potential exist
ing between them, and if they are blown
toward each other a discharge will take
place from the cloud of higher potential to
that of the lower. A huge-sparKis seen and
we call it lightning. A great snap is heard
and we call it thunder. When the light
ning is hidden behind tbe clouds we call it
shut lightning. Tbe same effect can be pro
duced if a bright electric spark is made be
hind a screen in a dark room.
Striking the Earth.
If the cloud has a higher potential than
that of the earth a discharge will take place
from the cloud to the earth and similarly
if the earth has a higher potential than the
cloud, a discnarge will take place from the
earth to tbe cloud. In every case, of course,
the difference ot potential must he sufficient
to break down, or, in other words, pass
through the insulation, which in this case it
tbe air. Observations show that
tbe distance through which the dis
charge takes place is anywhere from.
a few yards to several miles, according to
circumstances. When we compare ths
length of tbe lightning spark with that of
the longest spark that can be generated by
our most powerlul electric machines, it will
be easy to understand what an enormous
amount of energy is accumulated in-the
clouds in the shape of electricity.
The zigzag path of the lightning, although
imperfectly understood, is, no doubt, partly
due to different resistances offered to tha
discharge by different portions of the atmos
phere electricity always taking the shortest
and easiest path. The rolling sound heard
after the first sharp report is suuposed to ba
due to the echo between clouds or between
the clouds and the earth. Ko doubt tha
reader has noticed how that after a loud clap
of thunder large drops of rain are very apt to
fall. This is due to the concussion of the air
small drops, which were before supported in
the cloud, are thus forced together and then,
being too heavy for their support, they fall.
The same reasoning explains the shower that
is almost sure to follow a battle, when there
is a great deal of cannonading.
Ughtnlng Xoves a Point.
I have stated that lightning takes tha
shortest and easiest path. The nearest point
is therefore in the shortest path, henca
trees, church steeples and bouse tops are apt
to be struck. It has also been lound that
the lightning discharge will take place to or
from a point morereadiIy than to or from a
flat surface. It is for these two reasons,
thereiore, that lightning rod;, as we see
them to-day, form a protection ior buildings
against damage irom lightning discharges.
The rdles, however, for the construction and
erection of lightning rods are not olten un
derstood, or, ii so, they are iu many cases
grossly neglected.
The following are the most important
points that should be observed: The space
covered by anyone lightning rod should not
be greater thau the cone, whose height is tha
height of the rod and whose base has a di
ameter of twice this distance. Points on tha"
lightning rod, as above'noticeJ, are aa ad
vantage. These sbould, however, not be too
sharp, otherwise, having" little mass of
metal, they would reidily (use at the first
discharge. Three slightly blunted points
are better than one sharp one. It is well to
make those points ot platinnm, or, if made
of copper, they should be plojed to prevent
oxidation.
Glass Insulators ?fot Good.
The rod itself sbould bt firmly connected
to the building with metal supports. A.
great mistake is often made here in the usa
of glass insulators. As the lightning must
reach tbe ground, the rod should have tha
best possible ground connection, and as a
bouse with a good foundation is practically
a part of tbe ground, it oliows that good
metal supports are an advantage. Q course,
wooden nouses without foundation should
not be thus connected. All joints should ba
well soldered.
The best material tor a lightning .rod is
copper. Its weight should be abont seven
ounces per foot. If iron is used tha
weight should be about two and one-half
pounds per loot. Iron rods sbould be painted
to protect them from rust. The form of tha
rod is not important. Copper tape, how
ever, has the advantage ot easy erection
withont joints which are always bad; but
with tape there is a great temptation to mala
sharp bends in tbe rod to conform closely
with the outlines of the building. This is a
mistake, for recent observations show that '
sharp bends offer great resistance to the pas-,
sage of the lightning discharge. Thedis-'
tance between auy two. points around a bend
sbould not be anygre iter than twice the dis
tance between them in a straight line. Tha ,
rod sbould never be connected in any way
with thegas pipes of the house, as poor
points are apt to cause a 'park, which would
ignite the gas and perhaps cvuso an explo
sion. It is well to connect to iron water
pipes. '
The lower end of the lightning rodf
should be connected with damp earth or i
sand, sufficiently far below the surface to ?
insure permanent dampness. If there is a
spring near at hand, so much the better; Kj
not, ail rain water should ba drained into
the earth connection.
Tbe latter, to make the best connectloa -with
tbe earth, should have great surfaeef
benre it is well to use a number of corral ,
gated sheets, all well soldered to the lower ,
end of the lightning rod. ' '
Scibe FjLCTJU.
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Jos.FleminefeHan.413MarKetst. ' ,
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