rafim &mBsm&BBBEam "nr? f P' TO Jf-iy.- p 'Tflij THE PITTSBURG DISPATCH, SUNDAY, PEBRTJABT 1. 1891 15 BgBJMawBasa PLUISJtf GLASS And Columns of Glittering Diamonds That Rose Before Kipling in Yellowstone Park. STEAMIKG BATHS FOR GOBLIKS, Cauldrons That Spewed Up Dore-Llke Hud, Sheets of Sapphire and Beryl and Pools of Crystal. THIS AIE THAT HAKES ONE DEUKK. EitUig Ectircnei laid Clrals cf Eunet u Sjiriti Bit h Pictures. rWBITTEN TOR THE SISrXTCB.J Letter No. 4. Once upon a time there was a carter who brought his team and a friend into the Yellowstone Tark without due thought Presently they came upon a few of the natural beauties of the place and that carter turned his team into his friend's team, howl ins, "Get out o' this, Jim. All hell's alight under our noses." And they called the place hell's half acre to this day to witness if the carter lied. We, too, the old lady from Chicago, her husband, Tom and the good little mares, came to hell's half acre, which is about 60 acres in extent, and when Tom said: "Would you like to drive over it?" we said: "Certainly not, and if you do we shall re port you to the park authorities." There was a plain, blistered and peeled and abominable, and it was given over to the sportisgs and spoutings of devils who threw mud and steam and dirt at each other with whoops and ha'loos and bellowing curses. The places smelt of the refuse of the pit, and that odor mixed with the clean, wholesome aroma of the pines in our nostrils throughout the day. Laid Oat like Ollendorff This Yellowstone Park is laid out like Ollendorf, in exercises of progressive diffi culty. Hell's half acre was a prelude to 10 or 12 miles of geyser formation. We passed hot streams boiling in the lorcst; saw whiffs of steam beyond these and yet other whiffs breaking through the misty greeu hills in the far distance; we trampled on sulphur in crystals, and sniffed things much worse than any sulphur which is known to the upper world; and so, journeying bewildered with the novelty, cime upon a really park-like place where Tom suggested we should get out and play with the geysers on foot. Imagine mighty green fields spattered with lime beds; all the flowers of the sum mer growing up to the very edge of the line. That was our first glimpse of the geyser basin. The buggy was pulled up to a rough, broken, blistered cone of spelter stuff between 10 and 20 feet high. There was trouble in that place moaning, splashing gurgling and the clank of machinery. A spurt ot boiling water jumped into the air and a wash of water followed. Looking: It in the Slouth. I removed swiftiy. The old lady from Chicago shrieked. "What a wicked waste," said her husband. I think they call it the Biverside Geyser. Its spout was torn and ragged like the mouth of a gun when a shell has burst there. It grumbred madly for a moment or two and then was still. I crept over the steaming line it was the burning marl on which Satan lay and looked fear fully down its mouth. You should never look a gilt geyser in the mouth. I beheld a horrible, slippery, slimy funnel with water rising and falling ten feet at a time. Then the water rose to lip level with a rush, and An infernal bubbling troubled this Devil's Bethesda before the sullen heave of the crct of a wave lapped over the edge and made me run. Mark the nature of the human soul. I had begun with awe, not to say terror, for this was my first experience of such things. I stepped back from the flanks of the Biver Eide Geyser, saying: "Pooh! Is that all it can do?" Yet Tor aught I knew the whole thing might have blown up at a minute's notice; she, he or it being an arrangement of uncertain temper. The Vision That Opened. We drifted on tip that miraculous valley. On either side of us were hills from 1,000 or 1,500 feet high, wooded lrora crest to heel. As tar as the eye could range forward were columns of steam in the sir, misshapen lumps of lime, mist-like pre adamste monsters, still pools of tnrquoise bine, stretches ot blue corn flowers, a river that coiled on ittel, 20 times, pointed bould ers of strange colors and ridges of glaring, staring white. The old lady from Chicago poked with her parasol at the pools as though they had been alive. On one particularly innocent looking little puddle she turned her back lor a moment and there rose be hind her a 20-foot column of water and steam. Then she squealed and protested that "she never thought it would ha done it," and the old man chawtd his tobacco stcidily and mourned for steam power wasted. I embraced the whitening stump of a middle-sized pine that h.id crown all too close to a hoi pool's lip, and the wbole thing turned over under my hand as a tree would do in a nightmare. From right and left came the trumpetingsof 1-phants at play. If the long-haired mam moth of the science primers (he that was etched by primitive man) hid broken out iroui the undergrowth I should not have been in the least surprised. Wonders of Nature's Chemistry. Perfectly natural, too, was it that I should step into a pool ot old dried blood rimmed with the nodding cornflowers; that the blood should change to ink even as I trod; and that ink and blood should be washed away in a squirt of boiling sulphur ous water spat out trom the lee of the bank ot fluwers. This sounds mad, doesn't it? A moon-fjeed trooper of German extraction never was park so carefully patroled came up to inform us that as yet we had not seen any of the real geysers; that they were ail a mile or so up the valley and tastefully scattered roundthe hotel in which we would rest for the night America is a lree country, but the citizens look down on the soldier. I had to enter tain that trooper. The old lady from Chi cago would have none of him; so we loafed along together, now across half rotten pine logs sunk in the swampy ground, anon over the ringing geyser lormation, then pounding through river sand or brushing knee deep through long grass. We rounded and limped over a low spur of hill and came out upon a field of aching snowy lime, rolled in sheets, twisted into knots, riven with rents and diamonds and stars, stretching for more tbdu half a mile in every direction. The Bath of the Goblins. On this place of despair lay most of the big, bid gevsers, who know when there i trouble in Kakatoa,who tell the pines when there is a cj clone on the Atlantic seaboard, and who are exhibited to visitors under pretty and fjnciful names. The first mound that I encountered belonged to a goblin who was splashing in his tub. I heard him kick, pull a shower bath on his shoulders, gasp, crack his joints and rub himself down with a towel; tl.en he let the water out of the bath, as a thoughtful man should, and it all sank down out oi sight till another goblin arrived. Yet they called this place the lioness and the cubs. It lies not very far from the lion which is a sullen, roaring beast, and they say that . when it is very active the nther geysers precisely follow suit. After Krakatoa all the geysers went mad together, mouting, spurting and bellowing till men feared that they would rip up the whole field. Mysterious sympathies exist among them, and when the giantess speaks (of her more anon) they hold their peace. She is a ' woman. I was ratching a solitary nr!n. within the line of the woods, catching at a I pine branch overhead, when far across the fields and not more than a quarter of a mile from the hotel there stood up A Plume of Spun Glass, incandescent and superb, against the sty. "That," said the trooper, "is Old Faithful. He goes off every 65 minutes to the minute, plays for five minutes and sends up a column of water 150 feet high. By the time you have looked at -all the other geysers he will be ready to play." So we looked and we wondered at the Bee hive, whose mouth is built up exactly like a hive; at the Turban (which is not in the least like a turban) and at many, many other geysers, hot holes JindsFrinG5- Some of them rumbled, some hissed, some went off spasmodically, and others lay dead still in sheets of sapphire and beryl. Would you believe that even these terrible creatures would have to be guarded by the troopers to prevent the irreverent American from chipping the cones to pieces, or, worse still, making the geyser sick? If you take or soft soap a small barrel lul and drop it down a geyser s mouth, that geyser will presently be forced to lay all before you and for days afterward will be of an irritated and in constant stomach. When they told me the tale I was filled with sympathy. Now I wish that I hid stolen soap and tried the ex periment on some lonely little beast far away in the woods. It sounds so probable and so human. The Giantess in Tronble. Yet he would be a bold man who would administer emetics to the Giantess. She is flat-lipped, having no moutb; she looks like a pool, 50 leet long and 30 wide, and there is no ornamentation about her. At irregu lar intervals she speaks' and sends up a col umn of water over 200 feet high to begin with, then she is angry for a day and a half sometimes for two days. Owing to her pe culiarity of going mad in the night, not many of the people have seen the Giantess at her finest; but the clamor of her unrest, men say, shakes tbe wooden hotel and echoes like thunder among the hills. When I saw her trouble was brewing. The pool bubbled furiously, and at five-minute intervals sank a foot or two, then rose, washed over the rim, and huge steam bub bles broke on tbe top. Just before an erup tion the water entirely disappeared from view. Nota bene Whenever you see the water lie down in a geyser mouth get away as fast as you can. I saw a tiny little geyser suck in its baby breath in this way, and in stinct made me retire while it hooted after me. Leaving tie Gia-ntess' to swear and spit and thrash about, we went over to Old Faithful, who, by- reason of his faithfulness, has benches close to him whence you may comfortably watch. At the appointed hour we heard the water flying up and down the mouth with tbe bob ol a wave in a cave. A Column of Diamonds. Then came the preliminary gouts, then a roar and a rush, and that glitering column of diamonds rose, quivered a moment, and stood still for a minute. Then it broke, and tbe rest was a contused snarl ot water not 30 feet high. All the young ladies not more than 20 in tbe tourist band remarked that it was "elegant," and betook themselves to writing their names in the bottoms ot shal low pools that sowed the ground. Nature fixes the insult indeliblv, and the after years shall learn that "Hattie," "Sadie," "Mamie," "Sophie" and so forth have taken out tbeir hairpins and scrawled in the face of Old Faithlul. The congregation returned to the hotel to put down their impressions in diaries and notebooks, which they wrote up ostentatious ly in the verandas. It was a sweltering hot day, albeit we stood somewhat higher than tbe level of Simla, and I left that raw pine creaking caravansary for the cool shade of a clump of pines between whose trunks glimmered tents. A batch ot United States troopers came down the road and flung themselves across the country into their rough lines. The Melican cavalryman can ride, though he keeps his accoutrements pig fashion and his horse cow fashion. Soldiers and Cowboys. I was free of that camp in five minutes free to play with the heavy, lumpy carbines, have the saddles stripped, and punch the horses knowingly in the ribs. One of the men had been in the fight with "Wrap-TJp-His-Tail," and he told me bow that great chief, his horse's tail tied in red calico.swag gered in front of the United States cavalry, challenging all to single combat. But he was slam, and a few of his tribe with him. "There's no use in an Indian, anyway," concluded my friend. A couple of cowboys real cowboys jingled through the camp amid a shower of mild chaff. Tney were on their way to Cook City, I fancy, and I know that they never washed. But they were picturesque 'ruffians, exceedingly with long spurs, hooked stirrups, slouch hats, fur weather cloth over their knees and pistol butts just easy to hand. "Tne cowboy's goin' under before long," said my irieud. "Soon as the country's settled up he'll have to go. But he's mighty useful now. What would we do without the cowboy?" "As hon?" said I, and the camp laughed. "He has the money. We have the still. He comes in winter to play poker at the military posts. We play poker a few. When he's lost his money we make him driuk and let him go. Sometimes we get the wrong man." Caught the Wrong Cowboy. And he told me a tale of an innocent cow boy who turned up, cleaned out, at an army post, and played poker for 36 hours. But it was the post that was cleaned out when that long-haired Caucasian removed himself, heavy with everybody's pay aud declining the proffered liquor. "ifoaw," said the historian, "I don't play with no cowboy unless he's a little bit drunk first." Ere I departed I gathered from more than one man that significant fact that up to 100 yards he ielt absolutely secure behind his revolver. "In England, I understand," quoth the limber youth from the South "in England a man aren't allowed to play with no firearms. He's got to be taught all that when he enlists. I didn't want much teach ing how to shoot straight 'lore I served Uncle Sam. And that's just where it is. But you was talking about your Horse Guards now?" I explained briefly some peculiarities of equipment connected with our crackest crack cavalrv. I grieve to sav the camp roared. "Take 'em over swampy gronnd. Let 'em run around a bit an' wort the starch out of 'em, and then, Almighty, if we wouldn't plug 'em at ease I'd eat their horses." Cavalry Behind the Trees. "But suppose they engaged in the open7" said I. "Engaged in hadesl Not if there was a tree trunk within 20 miles. They couldn't encage in the ooen." Gentlemen, the officers, have vou ever seriously considered the existence'on earth, subsequent to the year 1864, of cavalrv, who, by preference, would fight in timber"? The evident sincerity of the men made me think hard as I moved over to the hotel and joined a party of exploration, which, div ine into tbe woods, unearthed a pit-pool of burningest water iringed with jet black sand, all the ground near by being pure white. But miracles pall when they arrive at the rate ot 20 a day. A flaming dragon fly flew over the pool, reeled and dropped on the water, dying without a quiver of his gorgeous wings and the pool said nothing whatever, but sent its thin steam wreaths up to the burn ing sky. I prefer pools that talk. A Henry James Maiden. There was a maiden a very little maiden who had just stepped out of one of James's novels. She owued a delightful mother and an equally delightful lather, a heavv-eyed, slow-voiced man of finance. The parents thought that their daughter wanted change. She lived in New Hampshire. According ly, she had dragged them up to Alaska and to the Yosemite Tallev, and was now re turning leisurely via tne Yellowstone just in time for the tail end cf the summer seas on at Saratoga. We had met once or twice before in tbe park, and I had been amazed and amused at ber critical commendation of tbe wonders thit she saw. From that very resolute little month I received a lecture on American lit erature, the nature aud inwardness of Wash ington society, the precise value of Cable's works as compared with Uncle Bemus Har ris, and a few other things that had nothing whatever to do with geysers, but were alto gether pleasant. Now, an English maiden who had stumbled on a dust-grimed, lime washed, sun-peeled, collarless wanderer come from and going to goodness knows where, would, her mother inciting her and her father brandishing his umbrella, have regarded him as a dissolute adventurer a person to be disregarded.- American Versus English Manners. Not sorbose delightful people from New Hampshire. They were good enough to treat nim it sounds almost incredible as a human being, possibly respectable, probably not in immediate need of financial assist ance. Papa talked pleasantly and to tbe point. The little maiden strove valiantly with the accent of her birth and that ot her reading, and mamma smiled beniguly in tbe background. Balance this with a story of a voung English idiot I met mooning about inside his high collar, attended by a valet. He condescended to tell me that "you can't be too careful who you talk to in these parts." And stalked on fearing, I suppose, every minute for his social chastity. That man was a barbarian (I took occasion to tell him so), for he comported himself after the manner of the head hunters and hunted of Assem who are at perpetual feud one with another. You will nnderstand that thee foolish stories are introduced in order to cover tbe fact that this pen cannot describe the glories of tbe Upper Geyser basin. Spouting Dorc-Llke Mad. Next morning Tom drove us on, prom ising new wonders. He pulled np after a few miles at a clump of brushwood where an army was drowning. I could hear the sick gasps and thumps of the men going under, but when I broke through the brushwood the hosts had fled and there were only pools of pink, black and white lime thick as turbid honey. They shot up a pat ol mud every minute or two, choking in the effort. It was a'n uncanny sight Do you wonder in the old days the Indians were careful to avoid the Yellowstone? Geysers are per missible, but Dore-like mud is terrifying. The old lady from Chicago took a piece of it,and in half an hour it dried into limedust and blew away between her fingers. All maya illusion vou seel Then we clinked through sulphur in cubes aud crystals. There was a watertall of boil ing water, and then a road across a level park hotly contested by the beavers. Every winter they build a dam and flood tbe low lying land; every summer that dam is torn np by the Government, and for half a mile you must plow axle deep in water, the wil lows brushing in to the buggy and little water ways branching off right and left. The road is the main stream just like the Bolau line in flood. If you turn up a byway, there is no more of you. And the beavers work the buggy into next year's dam. Chance Cavalry Escort. Then came soft, turfy forest that deadened the wheels, and two troopers on detachment duty stole noiselessly bebind us. One was the Wrap-up-his-Tail man, and they talked merrily while the half broken horses bucked about among the trees. Aud so a cavalry escort was with us for a mile, till we got to a mighty hill all strewn with moss agates, and everybody had to jump out and pant in that thin air. But how intoxicating it wasl The old lady from Chicago ducked like an emancipated hen as she scuttled about the road, cramming pieces of rockin her reticule. She sent me SO yards down to the hillside to pick up a piece of broken bottle which she insisted was moss agate. "I've some o' that at home, an' they shine. Yes, you go get it, young man." At last we pulled up disheveled at "Larry's" for lunch and an hour's rest. Only "Larry" could have managed that school least tent on the lonely hillside. Need I say that he was an Irishman? His supplies were at their lowest ebb. A seven foot giant from Arkansas on the back hovel announced that the beer was following the beef, but Larry enveloped us all in the golden glamour of his voluble speech ere we had descended, and tbe tent with the rude trestle tible became a palace, the rough fare delicacies ot Delmonico, and we the abashed recipients of Larry's imperial bounty. Larry's Kemarkablo Gift. It was only later that I discovered I had paid 8 shillings for tinned beef, biscuits and beer, but, ou the other hand, Larrv had said: "Will I go out an' kill a buffalo?" Aud I felt that lor me, and for me alone, would he have done-it. Everybody else felt that, too. Good luck go with Larry I "An' now you'll go an' wash your pocket handkerchiels in that beautilul hot spring round the corner," said he. "There's soap an' a washboard ready, an' 'tis not every day that ye can get hot water for nothing." And he waved us large handedly to the open downs, while he put the tent to rights. There was no sense of fatigue on the body or distance in the air. Hill and dale rode ou the eyeball! I could have clutched the far off snowy peaks by putting out my hand. Never was such maddening air. Why we should have washed pocket hand kerchiefs Larry alone knows. It appeared to be a sort of religious rite. In a little valley overhung with gayly painted rocks ran a stream of velvet brown and pink water. It was not hotter than the hand could bear aud it colored the boulders in its course. Washing the Handkerchiefs. .There was the maiden from New Hamp shire, the old lady from Chicago, papa, mamma, the woman who chewed gum and all the rest of them gravely bending over a washboard and soap. Mysterious virtues lay in that queer stream. It turned the linen white as snow in five minutes. Then we lay on the grass and laughed with sheer bliss of being alive. This have I known once in Japan, once on the banks of the Columbia, what time the salmon came in and "California" bowled, and once again in the Yellowstone by the light of the eyes of the maiden from New Hampshire. Four little pools lay at my elbow, one was of black water (tepid), one clear water (cold), one clear water (hot), one red water (boil ing). My newly washed handkerchief cov ered them all and we two marveled as chil dren marvel. "This evening we shall do the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone?" said the maiden. "Together?" said I; and she said "Yes." Alt that I can say is that without warn ing or preparation I looked into a gulf 1,700 feet deep, with eagles and fish hawts cir cling far below. And the sides of that gulf were one wild welter of color crimson, emerald, cobalt, ochre, amber, honey splashed with port wine, snow white, ver milion, lemon and silver cray in wide washes. The sides did not fall sheer, but were graven by time and water and air into monstrous heads of kings, dead chiefs, men and women of the old time. So far below that no sound of its strife could reach us, tbe Yellowstone river ran a finger wide strip' of jade green. 1 Nothing Compares With, It. The sunlight took those wondrous walls and gave fresh hues to those that nature bad already laid there. Ouce I saw the dawn break over a lake in Bajputana and the sun set over the Oodey Sagar amid a circle of Holman Hunt Hills. This time I was watching both performances going on below me, upside down you understand, and tbe colors were all real. The canon was burning like Troy town; but it would burn forever, and, tbauk goodness, neither pen nor brush could ever portray its splendors adequately. The academy would reject the picture for a chroino-lithograph. Evening crept through the pines that shadowed us, but the full glory of tbe day flamed in that canyon as we went out very cautiously to a jutting piece of rock blood red or pink it was that overhung tbe deep est deeps of all. Now I know what it is to sit enthroned amid the clouds of sunset as the spirits sit in Blake's pictures. Giddi ness took away all sensation of touch or form, but tbe sense of blinding color re mained. When I reached the main land again I had sworn that I had been floating. The maid from New Hampshire said no word for a very long time. Then she quoted poetrv, which was perhaps the best thing she could have done. Eudtabd Kipling. THE LATEST GAMES. Recreations for the Home Circle Brought Out Recently. CHASING THE INDIANS OUT WEST, Military Maneuvers and Migration on a Fainted Hoard. SOME THAT AKE WON 0NLT BT LUCK iwniTTEjr roa the disfatch.1 F the many games recently offered for sale there are a few 'hat give promise of urolonged life aud success. Some en thusiasts even predict that one or two of them will oust such ancient favorites as checkers from the position they have occu pied hitherto. One of these is known as kings and queens. It is plaved somewhat alter the fashion of checkers and, without being so complicated or serious a pastime as chess, presents many features of interest not possessed by checkers. The game is played upon a board contain ing 80 squares, grouped in the form of a diamond with the points cut off. At one end of the board is a really well-drawn picture in colors, representing a king of traditional appearance surrounded by men- For Kings and Queens. at-arms and viewing, with facial consterna tion, the approach of tbe queen's forces. Tbe picture at the other end of the board shows a graciousand slenderqueenTeceiving tbe homage of courtiers, while, in the distance, her artillery is starting in the direction of the king's palace. How It Is Flayed. The pictures are typical of the game it self. A set of six black knights and fourteen pawns of the same hue form the king's army, Theaueen has a similar force ar rayed in white, and the object of the two players is to occupy the opponent's head quarters, comprising the two squares at each extremity o! the board. The players move as at checkers, but the rules allow many moves that are inadmissible in the older game. From the outset the tnights have power exceeding that ofthe kings ot the checker boark. A knight may move to any square adjoining that occupied by him. He captures his opponents by jumping over them as in checkers, and mav jump, ad well as move, either-forward, backward, diagon ally or sidewise. The pawn possesses limited powers. He can only move and jump lorward, either straight ahead nr diagonally. Of course, jumps are only permissible when another piece is next to the knight or iu front of the pawn, with a vacant space beyond it.' Any one of, these pieces can jump over another one provided this condition is complied For Migration. with. Friendly pieces are not affected by the jumps, however. Some of the combina tions that arise are remarkable in the op portunity that they present for a reversal of fortunes, and a single piece can sometimes travel all over the board iu one series of jumps. A Somewhat Similar Game. Another new and first-class game, re sembling kings and queens in its object but played on a novel form of board and with much smaller pieces, fs that of Migration. Its most distinctive feature lies in the fact that no pieces are removed from the board, but tbe object of each player is to first occu py his opponent's quarters. The board comprises an outer circle, which is the bat tle ground, and an inner circle. The latter is divided into four triangles, each of which is a headquarters, and contains 16 squares, each occupied by one man or piece. The pieces move one by one and a space at a time out of their triangle and around the circle to their adversary's quarters. Jumps may be made over any piece ad joiniug, so long as the square next to it, in a direct line with the juniper, is vacant. Successive jumps may he made sideways, diagonally and back again, it desired, the only limitation being the principle that a space cannot be skipped and that there must be a vacancy beyond the jumped piece into which to land. Either four or two players can compete. The chief skill lies in so scat- For Wild West. teriug one's own pieces along the route as to afford an opportunity for those in tlj rear to advance by successive jumps over each other and at the same time blocking one's opponent and preventing his taking advan tage of the opportunity afforded by these open jumps.' A Faro Game of Chance. An excellent game, differing altogether from those heretofore described, and one that is peculiarly appropriate and interest- ling at the present time is the Wild West. Unlitce the preceding games, it is purely a game of chance. From one to fonr players compete. The Implements are a large board, several figures ot mounted Indians, four, figures of scouts on foot but armed with rifles, which, by the way, they keep to their shoulders in a way tbat would Indicate their existence to a perpetual '"hold-up," and one or more dials with a double set of numbers running around the circle and a stationary pointer. The board la gayly decorated with pictures OQEa k ffr w representing various forts, ranches, noted scouts, etc. A broad trail winds about the board, in and out among the various pictures. It starts from "Fort "Kearney," in one cor ner of the board, and ends in the "Black Hills," the entrance to which is defended by the Indian figures. The scouts are dis tributed among the players, and start from Fort Kesrney, advancing along the trail so many squares at a. time, according to the Tiddledy-Winks Tennis. number shown upon the dial, which is spun around once for every player. About every sixth square on the trail is marked with some direction, and the latter must be obeyed by any scout whose number lands him ou that spot Buffalo BUI on the Trail. . For instance, one of the first commands is, "Join Buffalo Bill." The counterfeit presentment of the scout referred to is away ahead on the trail, and the lucky player is' immediately transported there. At his next spin of the dist he continues on the trail from his advanced post. Further along the trail, however, tbe directions encount ered send the player back, instead of for ward, and one who was within rifle range of the Black Hills may, by an unlucky spin, be sent back to 'Bescue'lost girl," "Becon noiter Indian village" or perform some other duty that throws him behind all his competitors. Upon reaching the' Black Hills the luck scout receives an Indian, pony and all, and is translated to Fort Kearney, only to start again ou the trail in quest of more Indians. The game is won by the player who bags the greater number ot Indians, and prizes are oiten awarded. Tbe intense interest and the keen excitement that this game some times gives rise to among a party of adult players is remartable. Children go half wild over it at critical moments, when, for instance, tbe leader spins a number tbat takes him to the command, "Assist in de fense of Lone Tree ranch" the ranch being In the rear of all the rest. The latest Craze. Tiddledy Winks is one ot the most fun provoking games of a class differing alto gether from the board games, all of which, by tbe way, bear a relationship, more or less remote, to chess and checkers. It is too well known to need description. A capital Improvement, however, is tiddledy winks tennis, in which a felt cloth accurately marked out as a miniature lawn tennis court is used, and a net in the center takes tbe place of the original cup. The small counters are "served" over the net by means of the large one, and the method of scoring is that employed in lawn tennis. Beginners usually give their opponents the 'first few games by a succession of "faults," but prac tice soon begets skill at this curious pas time. A Detroit man recently patented a game called Mihtaire. Two opposing armies meet on a circular board. The officers and men are represented by circular pegs. The general of each army commands six regi ments, each comprising a colonel and five men. The accompanying diagram shows the position of one army on the lower half. The Hoard for Louita. The upper half illustrates some of tbe pos sible moves. The initials indicate the rank of the men and the army to which they be long; for instance, G. B. stands for general of the blues, S. E. for soldier of the reds, etc. Itnles for Slilitaire. At the outset the general is placed at figure 1, a colonel at each figure 2, and the privates occupy the remaining dotted sta tions. Soldiers can move one space only back aud torth ou the oblique lines, but must keep off the radial lines. They may take an opponent only ou the circular lines, and jumps are governed by the same rules as in checkers. Colonels have the privilege of soldiers and, in addition, may move 'any number of consecutive unoccupied positions along a circular or radial line, passing from one to the other and taking as many of the enemy as may be found on their line of march with one or more vacant spaces be tween them. When a general reaches the extent of the move permitted a colonel, he has the additional privilege of moving off the line to any other open position that may offer bim safety or an advantage for his next move. Prisoners may be exchanged at the rate of five privates for one colonel. When an army is reduced to less than five men it is declared vanquished. The following is the explanation of the movements illustrated on the upppr half of the diagram: G. B. at figure 1 on the onter circle may jump to tbe right, over S. R,, and land at figure 2 on lain. AV7 The Milllaire Board. tbe same circle, thence on radial line to ilgures 3 and 4, tbence to tbe left on second circle to figure 5, tbence on radial line to figure 6, taking as prisoners all tbe men in red be passes over in that move. He may now move to figure. 7 for safety and advantage, or to figure 8 for safety only. A Colonel may jnrap in the same manner as far as figure 6, where bo will have to remain, be not being entitled to tbe second move for safety. . S. E., on the fifth circle near figure 2, may Jump to the left, taking S. B. and C. B., and resting at figure 9. He cannot continne and take IS. B. at figure 10, because a soldier cannot pass an unoccupied position. Neither can 23. B. at figure 11 take S. K. at figure 12, because a soldier cannot move or jump on a radial lino. Another. Game of Chance. Louisa is the rather inappropriate name of a verv good game of chauce played with a board in the sbapaof a cross. Tne men four to each player are moved around the outside edge of the four arms until they ac complish the circuit, wheu-Jhey proceed up the center aisle .f squareSta the castle in the middle. The player whose men all reach the castle first wins the came. The moves depend udou throws of dice. Games requiring special packs of cards are very popular with some folks. Geo graphical cards, "authors," political (which is played on the map of the United States), and progressive logomachy, are favorites in this class. The last named is not new, but it has attained immense success. Ol course there are hundreds of other excellent indoor games, but those referred to in this article are representative ot all the newest and the best, and afford ample choioe for those who like to while away an occasional evening in testing, their skill and strategic power. Heebebt W. Bubdetx. 1 1 ttfj ' SK A CRIB IN THE WALL Through Which Frailty's Nameless Waif's Pass to Protection. UNIQUE ASYLUM' IN AREQUIPA. A Noble Charity Which Doubtless Prevents Many a Dark Crime. HOW THE OUTCASTS AKE CARED P0E ItCOItRESFONDEUCE Or TBE DISPATCH.! Akequipa, Peru, Jan. 2. In the center of this old city, nearly opposite the ruins of what was once the Woman's Hospital.which was shaken down by the great earthquake of 20 years ago, is a very ancient-looking structure, straggling over an entire square, whose closed doors and small, heavily barred windows give no bint of what may be going on within. My attention was first attracted by its appearance of antiquity, the utter silence that broods over the locality, and the numbers of black-gowned priests and blue-gowned Sisters of Charity who are constantly gliding in and out its worm eaten portal. One day, having extended my walk to the farther side of the enormous building where it faces an unfrequented thoroughfare, I observed something which aroused my curiosity to the highest pitch merely a kind of wooden cage or turn-stile set in the walls, shaped lise a circular box with two compartments, which chanced to be slowly revolving as I passed. What could it be another "mystery of the Monkery," or a relic of Inquisition days? While I looked, the box slowly turned again and presented its blank side to the street, so like the sur rounding walls, that one might pass a thousand times and never notice it. Couldn't Besist Investigation. But a little groove remained, into which the fingers might be fitted; and of course the spirit of Mother Eye impelled .me to try it. Fulled one away, it refuted to move; pulled the other, the cage swung around with a rheumatic creak and turned its empty compartment to tbe view. Journalistic enterprise demanded a solution of the riddle, and forthwith I became a walking interro gation point until the bottom facts were attained. The ancient edifice which is now nearly 300 years old and for more than two cen turies served as a convent for the nuns ot Santa Catarina is one of the several found ling institutions which have long flourished in Peru; and the swinging box, like those we read of iu France and Italy, is set every night with its hollow side outward, for the reception of any infants that may be placed in it by unknown hands a perpetually open door for the shelter of those unwelcome waifs who are immeasurably worse than orphaned. The mother, or her emissary stealing along that deserted street in the darkness, has only to put the new-born citi zen into the box, give it the slightest im petus, aud around it turns, affording imme diate protection to the tiny occupant, while no eye inside the building can see who placed it there. A Sister of Charity is stationed on the inner side of the wall, whose sole business it is to watch for new arrivals at all hours of the night, to receive aud care for them. Inside the Institution. In due time we obtained permission to visit this unique asylum, whicb, like all benevolent institutions of South America, is conducted under the direct auspices of the Church of Borne. Led by the matron, we went first to inspect the mysterious hole iu the wall. Close to its inner opening stands the little iron bedstead with a cross at the foot of it and a picture of tbe Mother of Sorrows at its head where rests the good sister whose nightly business it is to watch tbe revolving cradle and to take out new comers. She informed me tbat the number of additions to the household by this means averaged about three a week, aud that so far during the current year (eight months of it were then gone), ouly 72 had been received. She said that the majority of these chil dren whose birthdays nobody celebrates, evi dently belong to the poorest classes and ar rive naked or wrapped in rags; others are dressed in the daintiest raiment that love and wealth and the instinct of maternal tenderness can suggest; that with the latter is usually found a generous sum ot money for the child's maintenance, and not infre quently a tear-blotted letter beseeching especial care for the forsaken baby and promising to pay well for its future support. What suggestions of tragedy are here of human frailty aud divine compassionl Money From Unknown Donors. This box is an inexhaustible source of revenue for the asylum, and nearly every night it is secretly revolved by outside hands (presumably by those who have unacknowl edged children witbiuj, and purses put in labeled lor the support of the infant received ou such and such a date. No questions are ever asked, and no efforts made to trace the parentage oi the waifs. On certain days of the week the institution is open to visitors, and tbe children may be adopted by whoever desires them; thus giving the unknown parents an opportunity of secretly seeing their cast-aways, and ot eventually repossess ing themselves of them without fear of dis covery unless, as sometimes happens, nature is too powerful to be overcome by guile and unfortunate babies develop a marked re semblance to tbe authors of their being. The outer walls of the quaint old building are four feet thick and ramble around three inner courtyards, each of which has its cen tral fountain and tangle of flowers and passion vines, and clump of olive or fig trees shading tbe shrine of a Christ, a Virgin or a saint. These courts are surrounded by long lines of queerly carved pillars, now streaked with mold and crumbling under "the insidious tooth of time." A Picture of the Matron. Traversing their moss-grown pavenfents, we found the path obstructed by several donkeys that had been driven to'the inner doors with supplies of fuel, milk and vege tables; and the blue-gowned matron her round, benevolent face shining like a full blown neonv in the sun, with rosarv. cru cifix and bunch of keys jingling at her side, and the flaps of her wide, white bonnet standing out lite sails failing to budge the animals by the usual "st-th-thl underlie!" put her strong, fat shonlder to each one's rump and quietly pushed it out of the way. Such immaculate cleanliness prevails everywhere that one might eat off from every inch of flooring, whether of wood, tile, or adobe; and such absolute silence reigned that we found it difficult to believe there were actually a great number of chil dren quartered under tbe roof. No muddy little footprints, nor marks ot careless fingers, nor shouts of childish glee pro claimed their existence. A glimpse of the perfect discipline needed in such a crowded institution is anywhere enough to give one a heartache, with the knowledge that the rescued waifs, though comfortably fed and clothed, must become hardly more than automatons rising and retiring, eating, sleeping, playing, and praying by inexor able rule, led by the nod and beck of their teachers. The Mother's Instinct aliasing. The good sisterhood, by the way, being all maiden ladies, are scarcely the natural guardians of childhood, having voluntarily foregone the development of the maternal in stinct and being compelled by their vows to sternly repress the most tender sentimeuts of the heart. Worthy women though they undoubtedly are, I" searched every counle-1 nance iu vain for one trace of that unde finable yet ttnmistable sweetness of expres sion indicative of completed womanhood, that comes only to the faces of those who have loved. In this asylum the children are carefully trained in the tenets of the Church and edu cated to a moderate extent in the lore of books, while each is taught some useful trade, which he or she may practice for future support. Thus, wh'ile the boya learn saddlery, shoemaking, poncho weaving, cabinet work, etc., the girls manufacture ar tificial flowers, fancy boxes, lacs and em broidery, and are trained for domestic ser vice. If not adopted, and if self-supporting, they may remain here permanently, should they choose to do so; or at the age of 18 they may go forth to shift for themselves. Orphans of Middle Age. There are a number of "orphans" here, both male and female, reared in tbe institu tion and are now hearing middle age, who prefer to work hard all their days for the general good rather than leave the shelter of tbe only home they have ever known. The young men earn considerable sums at their various occupations, and the girls take in fine sewing., embroidery and laundry work. They have also a model bakery in the bouse, and the very best bread that is sold in the city comes irom these ovens. At present there are 426 children in the asylum. The smallest o these able to be out of the nursery, (a class of 47 between the ages of 2 and 6 years), were put their best paces for our edification, with little songs and parrot-like dialogues, each setting forth their religious faith add the goodness of their protectors. All were neatly though poorly clad the girls in blue gingham gowns, the boys with jeau jackets and trousers, both sexes wearing aprons exactly alike, of the same coarse blue cloth that the Sisters wear foi dresses, with woolen hose knit by the larger girls and pegged shoes made by the boys. Bach little apron had a square pocket patcb'ed on in front, into which was thrust a calico handkerchief, but the usual lamentable neglect peculiar to childhood's use of the latter article pre vailed. , The Comb and Kosory. At the head of eacbjlittle cot in the long, clean dormitory hung a calico bag, marked with the owner's number, containing a comb and a rosary, and woe to tbe luckless youngster who forgets the use of eitherl The most amusing part of our entertainment was furnished by the large boys' band. We came down tbe old stone stairs of tbe old dormitory at the tap of the drum, aud saw ranged under tbe fig trees a group of lads from 12 to 14 years old, who rendered some really creditable music, upon what at first sight looked to be first-clasii instruments. Closer inspection, however, disclosed that the horns and cornets were nothing but pasteboard and twisted paper, the bass drum made of a skin stretched over a half barrel, held in place by the original hoop; and the snare made from a lard can, which still showed the New York brand painted on its side. One young genius had a section cane cut into a flute; another bad a common coarse comb with a bit of paper over it for a mouthpiece, and the rest tooted away upon finetooth combs. Outcasts of AB Classes. Among the crowd of little faces it is notice able that none of them are purely Indian, though so large a percentage of Peru's pop ulation are Indians. Many are unmistak able arlscocrats in features and bearing and not a few have tbe fair hair and blue eyes of Anglo-Saxon blood. On the following Sunday we were invited to go with the children to a beautiful estate in tbe outskirts of the city which bad been willed to the institution by a deceased Frenchman. We marched three miles through dusty lanes bordered by cactus and wild nasturtions, beside the blue-gowned sisterhood and troop of castaways, simply for tbe pleasure of seeing the latter enjoy au hour or two of freedom and sunshine. There is a house on the estate, a beautiful flower garden, an orchard, swings, arbors, fields green with barley and alfalfa, and meadows where sheep were browsing; and it did one's soul good to see the forsaken creatures happy as so many butterflies, the elder children taking care of tbe little ones, and the good Sisters sitting by, each busy with her knit ting work. Fannie B. Wabd. FEATHERED COSMOPOLITANS. Xiong Island a Resort for Birds From Many Distant Climes. Confirmation is constantly being obtained to the statement of John Akhurst, of this city, that Long Island is a locality where the birds of many climes do congregate, says the Brooklyn Standard-Union. Arctic birds at certain seasons of the year are found here and those of milder regions than ours are frequently encountered. During the pres ent winter a large number of suow owls have been shot on Xong Island. These are Arctic birds. While gunning on the South Beach, opposite Babylon, recently, George Saxton shot one. The crew of tbe Zachs Inlet Life Saving Station have killed 14, and 20 of the same species of bird have been taken in the vicinity of Sag Harbor. The snow owl is found In tbe Northern regions of America, Europe and Asia. It hunts in the day time and at morning and evening twilight. Being of rapid and pow erful flight, it strikes ducks, growse, pigeons, etc., on the wing like a falcon, and seizes hares, squirrels and rats from the ground, and fish from the shallow. From its color it is seen with difficulty, amid the rocks and snow of its favorite haunts. Some of the wise men down on the island say that the catching of so many snow owls indicates a very severe winter, but tbe predictions will hardly hold good. Ornithologists tell us that snow owls are sometimes found in winter as far south as Georgia, and it is not probable that their appearance on Long Island has anything to do with the present or future condition of tbe weather. These birds make very at tractive ornaments after being mounted by a taxidermist, and tbe Nimrods of tbe island consider themselves fortunate when they succeed in bagging one. THE BED JACKET MEDAL. Peculiar Belio of Interest in These Days of Indian Troubles. Mrs. Elizabeth Townsend Meagher, widow of General Thomas Francis Meagher, has presented the Bed Jacket medal to the State of ftew York, arranging that the Bed Jacket Club, of Canandaigua, K. T., shall be its custodian. It was given by Wash ington to the eloquent chief in 1792 when Bed Jacket had come to see the Great White Father ss ambassador for the six nations whose hunting grounds were in the western part of New Tors: and thereabouts. The Father of His Country was much impressed by the bear ing of the chieftain, and also wished to reward him for the services he had ren dered In bringing the six nations to a peaceful frame of mind. So tbe big silver medal was made, and presented with due formalities. The medal is of pure silver, oval in shape and about five inches long. It bears upon its face an engraving representing George Washington presenting the pipe of peace to Bed Jacket. The chief wears the medal (and not much of anything else). On the reverse side is tbe old-fashioned eagle, whose fearfnl and wonderful shape is hap pily not so familiar as it used to be. GEORGE WASHINGTON , frKESIDEMT. SELLING BY METER. Advantages of the System of Retail- ins Electric Currents. FIRES STARTED BY THE WIRES. Shearing Sheep, Threshin? and Banning Farms by Electricity. INSULATING MATEKIAL FEOfl SILK rrazFABxn tob ihi dispatch, j In the earlier days of electric lighting it was the common practice to sell current at a "flat rate." Arc lamps for street lighting are so sold down to the present time except that the vague phrase that they should be of so many candle power is stipulated in city contracts. Tbe requirement that such lamps shall be ot 1,200 or 2,000 c. p. is, in fact, purely conventional, and is not in tended to represent tbe actual value oi the lamp. Electric light men themselves would much prefer to have tbe lamps rated In terms of the energy or current that they consume, so that tbe contracts they make may be based ou conditions to which both the parties attich the same definite mean ing. Iu incandescent lighting this reform is already being carried our, and tbe exacti tude is far beyond that attained in gas light ing, in which the state of the meter and tha yellow dimness of tbe flame are all that the consumer can bear witness to. It is still customary to call incandescent lamps as 10 candle power, 16, 32, 50 and so forth, but it is becoming a practice to rate them accord ing to the "watts" they use up at their best efficiency. Thus they represent at once a definite consumption of energy, which must give a corresponding value of light. It is also becoming the practice to sell current by meter, with the effect tbat the central station is rnn with closer economy, while the cus tomer pays for exactly what he has bought. Current for electric motors is also being sold in the same manner, it being found that very often a little one-horse power motor has been hitched up to a five horse power job in some shop or factory whose proprietor thought there was no limit to its ability or endurance. These motors, in turn, as well as dynamos, are now rated also at their watt capacity, or, to state it in another way, in the number of amperes of current they will produce at a certain pres sure or voftage. This practice has already become so prevalent in England that it is the rule without exception, and some of the largest American electrical manufac turers have begun to classify their machines on tbe same intelligent basis. This resort to definite figures and an exact scale has led to an enormous demand for measuring instruments and meters, and a great deal of ingenuity is bestowed just now on their in vention and perfection. Installlns Theater Lighting Plants. A London electrical journal, in comment- ing on the recent destruction in this country of theaters by fire which was supposed to ba caused by electricity, enjoins greater cars being taken in the installation of electria lighting plants iu theaters. A theater and its accessories should be looked npon in the light ot a powder magazine or dangerous coal mine, and similar precautions to those which are adopted for these should be fol lowed in such places of publio entertain ment. The crossing of wires, which ought to be easily cuarded against, has of late be come a matter of too frequent occurrence. To whatever cause, however, the recent fires may be due, electric lighting, though by far tbe safest means ot artificial illumination in existence, becomes, when carelessly con ducted, a very dangerous element and will be the cause of more fires unless the most stringent supervision is exercised by tha contractor over his men and by the tech nical adviser over tbe contractor. Such a course as this, besides having a directly sal-, utary effect in the reduction of the number, of fires in theaters and other buildings, will, it is to be hoped, also result in correcting the tendency, which has become very marked, to blame electricity for almost every fire that occurs. A characteristic instance of this readiness to seize ou the electric wire as a scapegoat occurred some months ago iu Brooklyn, when the Talmage tabernacle was destroyed by fire. It was conclusively proved by tbs officials ot the fire department that the fire) was caused bv the electric wires, and this verdict was accepted by the publio for soma days after whicb, ou examining tbe debris, the switchboard was found to be the only thing mat was not touched oy tne nre. Insulating; Electric Wires. In an interesting article on the invention of tbe electric motor by Davenport, a Ver mont village blacksmith, 0 years ago, Mr. F. L. Pope, who has been investigating the subject historically, states that in order to insulate his wire tbe poor inventor was actually driven to the necessity of tearing; up into strips his wife's much prized wed ding dress. One can imagine the tears with which the brave woman took it from her clothes press and gavu it to him. This in cident has recalled an amusing episode of the old telegraphic days when James D. Beid, now United States Consul at Dun' fermline, but tben a pioneer with Mr. Morse, started out iu charge of a gang and coated tbe wires between Philadelphia and Balti more with tar. No hotel proprietor would give him or bis tar bucket any hospitality. That was in 1816. At another time tbe use of waxed cloth at tbe point where the wires met tbe suspension pins was tried. The only result was thai the bees of all the country round made a dead set at the wjxed rags, and in a short time were revelling in a beeswax boom that seemed without end. Their millennium came to an untimely close with the October frosts, and waxed rag insulation of that kind pasted into history. Threshing by Electric Ught. Not the least important effect of the gen eral introduction of the electric light has been its influences in modifying the condi tions of various industries. Another of tha innumerable exemplifications of this which are constantly being recorded is tbe fact tbat a great deal of threshing which farmers heretofore carried on In the long summer days is now continued through tha night by means of the electric light. This arrangement is particularly advantageous to the proprietor of threshing machinery, which can be hired out, as tbe machine can thus in a single season earn half as much more hire. Where the farmer's staff is limited to a cer tain number of laborers, and more are not available, it is no small convenience if they can be made free for the accomplishment of other duties by a more rapid completion of the threshing. The economy of fuel is -also a matter of moment, as the consumption is considerably reduced by keeping tha boiler constantly hot, and thus obviating the necessity of getting up steam afresh , every morning. Shearing Sheep By Electricity. The suggestion which was made soma short time ago tbat electricity should ba utilized for the shearing of sheep bas been promptly taken advantage of by the Aus tralian sheep farcers. A very effective in stallation has just been made on the Banks puka estate for actuating Wolseley sheep shearing machines by motors. Ten of these machines are now electrically worked there, and it is calculated that the extra valne or the clip of 13,000 sheep has. nearly recouped In one season the whole cost of patting np the machines. In the Baukapnka plant, a turbine drives the dynamo, and an overhead wire conducts the current to the motor which drives tbe shafting in the wools bed. Spe cial arrangements are made to keep tbs speed of tbe shafting constant, though tha work being done continually varies. 1 i & m i i ' . , ' . ,,--. v a 4 i .&. 2& jLarjPfc'jir t-. nggxiftw
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers