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THE -PITTSBURG- DISPATCH. SUNDAY. FEBRUARY 7,' 189
' 17
FF FQRTHECR
m
aile Zola, the Great French Author,
Tells the Bovs and Girls His
Memories of the War.
JPIL AT THE COLLEGE OF All,
aile the GaiJj Uniformed Soldiers Gath
cre&'to Go to the Bloodj Fields
in the Far last
IIUTIFUL E1KLT MOEKIXG BCEXE8
sSe Catties ec ths riiTjrroandi In TTLich Great
Hcraa Eose aad TtU.
tWBrrTKr FOB TUB DISPATCH.
Chree times in my life I hare felt ttie
saage of war over France, and never shall
orget the particular sound made by her
ngs. First of ail comes a far off murmur,
raiding the approach of a great wind. The
iraur grows, the tumult bursts, every
irt beats, a dizzy enthusiasm, a
ed of killing and conquering takes
3d of the nation. Then, when the men
: gone and the noise has sunk, an anxious
iace reigns and every ear is on the
etca lor the first cry irom the army.
ill it be a err of triumph or of defeat? It
terrible moment. Contradictory newt
aes; every tiniest indication is seized,
:ry word is pondered and discussed until
: hour when the truth is known. And
at an hoar that is, of delirious joy or
rrible despair!
was 11 at the time of the Crimean war.
as a pupil in the College of Aix, shut up
h 200 or 300 other urchins in an old Ben-
ctine convent, whose long corridors and
t halls retained a great dreariness. But
two courts were cheerful, under the
esding blue immensity of that glorious
athorn sky. It is a tender memory that
eep of that college; in spite of the sufler-
s that I endured there.
lirnmrpd in an Ancient Town.
was 14 then; I was no longer a small
v, and yet I feel to-day how complete was
ignorance of the world in which we
re living. In that forgotten corner even
echo of great events hardly reached us.
e town, a sad, old, dead capital, slum
ped in the midst of its and landscape, and
college, close to the ramparts, in the de
ted quarter of the town, slumbered even
re deeply. I do not remember any po-
Xtofle Zola.
ical catastrophe ever passing its walls
lie I was cloistered there. The Crimean
ralece moTed a, and even of that it is
b?.ble that weeks elapsed before the
aer It reached us.
fthta I recall my memories of that ti
aile to think what war was to us, coun-
tc&oolboys. In the first place every
nj; was extremely vague. The theater of
straccle was so distant, so lost in a
anjre and savaie country, that we seemed
he looking oc at a itory come true, out
-he 'Arabian XigiitC" We did not
arly know vbere the lighting was; and I
not remember that we had at any time
nosity enough to cjusult the atlases in
r hands.
Kept In the Dark by Teacher.
Tt must be said that our teachers kept us
shuoltttc igoomice of modern life. They
jmsrlres read the papers and learned the
ws; bat they never opened their mouths
a about such things, and if we had
es. aned them thev would have dismissed
s:emly to our exercises and essays. We
ew nothing precise, except that France
&Bttfig in the .Last, lor reasons not
hir oar ken.
rtain points, however, Btood out clear.
rcpca'il the elartie jokes about the
ac v. We knew the names of two or
ip I.ovian generals, and we were not far
m rttributing to these generals the heads
child-ievouring monsters. Moreover, we
loof admit for one moment the possibility
it the French would be beaten. That
iJd have appeared to us contrary to the
isofcature. Then, there weregaps. As
j campaign was prolonged we would
get for months at a time that there was
T fiphtins, until some day some report
ne to aroue our attention again. I can
t wll whether we knew of the battles as
'v bappec-d or whether we felt the shock
lich the fail of Sevastopol gave to France,
ltaetethincs a'c confused. Tirgil ana
wer were realities which caused us more
icern than the cotemporary quarrels of
tie.
rjnjlnc War nt School.
I only remeaioer that for a time there
s a game greatly ia iavor in our play
ytnds. "We divided ourselves into two
aps. "We drew two lines on the ground
i proceeded to fight It was "prisoners
e" simplified. One camp represented
e Russian and one the French army.
rurally the Russians bught to have been
tz&zt-d, but the contrary sometimes oc
rred: tfce tury was cxtraordinarv and the
ii frightful. At the end of a "week the
'-,ntendent was obliged to forbid this
Uffbttul game, as two bovs had to be put
'he sick list with broken heads.
Among the most distinguished in these
ite-ts was a tall, fair lad, who always got
oen general. Louis, who belonged to an
Breton family that had come to live in
" South, assumed .victorious airs. I can
tim jet, with a handkerchief tied on his
Thesd by or of plume, a leather belt
-Jed roud him, leading on his soldiers
ih a wave of the hand as if it were the
at wave of a sw ord. He filled one with
.irauon; we even felt a sort of respect
Irtn. Strangely enough, he had a twin
ither, Jtilicn, who was much smaller,
.:! aod delkate, and who greatly disliked
;se violent games.
Mcmoii'S ol X.tttlo Twins.
When r-e divided into two camps he
uld go apart, sit down on a stone bench
f thenee -ralch us with his sad and rather
ghteeed eves. One dav Lonis, hustled
d atuoked by i whole band, fell under
-:r b iw s and Jul'en gave a cry, pallid,
aafc'in half fainting like a woman. Ihe
o brtheis adored each other and none of
wuld have dared to laugh at the little
e about ins i. ant of courage for fear of
big one.
The actuary of these twins is closely in-!ved-or
ae in the memory of that time,
wsrt&he spring I became a day-boarder
d bo kniger slept at the collegebut came
tke morning for the 7 o'clock lessons,
leifwo brothers, also, were day-boarders.
&?. ;IIK " J-.. . . , - . & 4 &Jfe.isTf..fc fc. .jr., .j - . i, .l i a
. v 8 ' i.TL - - .
A dfarfltaSJi 1 tMmBilM Mayg. iWaa j M eTTtafftf JfriMrM'frrt;rtMfftH!WMaiilffi'ifW'TtM . i(!fc.. - -ft-ftHflfifift
HOW
Sherman, German. -MIOj, Highlander. ' " , Blaine, Sombrero. Tummy, Sootier Schoolmaster.
Depeic, Scotch. Bismarck, Cabbie. Cleveland, English Arm. WOhelm, Tennis. McJGnley, Sportsman,
The three of us were inseparable. As we
lived in the same street we used to wait and
go in tn college together. Louis, who was
very precocious and dreamed of adventures,
educated us. We agreed to leave home at
six, so as to have a whole hour of freedom
in which we would be men. For us "to be
men" meant to smoke cigars, and to go and
have drinks at a shabby wine shop which
Louis had discovered in an out-of-the-way
street The cigars and the drinks made us
frightfully ill; but fhen what an emotion it
was to step into the wine shop casting
glanres.to right and left and in terror of be
ing observed.
Watching the Soldiers More.
These fine doings occurred at the close of
the winter. I remember there were morn
ings when rain fell in torrents. We waded
through and arrived drenched. Alter that
the mornings became mild and fair, and
then a mania took hold of us that of going
to see off the soldiers. Aix is on the road
to Marseilles. Regiments came into the
town by the road irom Avignon, slept one
night, and ntarted off on the morrow by the
road to Marseilles. At that time fresh
troops, especially cavalry and artillery,
were being sent to Crimea. Kot a week
elapsed without troops passing. A local
paper even announced these movements be
forehand for the benefit of the inhabitants
with whom the men lodged. Only we did
not read the paper, and we were much con
cerned to know overnight whether there
would be soldiers leaving in the morninc.
As the departure otcurred at 6 in the morn
ing we were obliged to get up very early
often to no purpose.
What a happy time it was 1 Louis and
Julicn would come and call me from the
middle of the street, where not a person
was yet to be seen. I hurried down. It
would be chilly,notwithstanding the spring
time and mildness of the days, and we
three would cross the empty town. When
a regiment was leaving, the soldiers would
be assembling on the cours, before a hotel
where the Colonel generally stayed.
Nor were we the only people to enjoy the
scene. Small proprietors appeared one by
one, early town folk and all that part of
the population, which rises betimes. Soon
there were crowds. The sun rose. The
gold and Bteel of the uniforms shone in the
clear morning light We thus beheld,
upon the cours of that peaceful and still,
drowsy town, dragoons, cavalry chasseurs,
lancers, and in fact all branches of light
and heavy cavalry.
Gloriei or the Calrsssler.
But our favorites, those who aroused our
keenest enthusiasm, were the cuirassiers.
They dazzled us as they sat square on their
stout horses with theglowing star of their
breastplates before them. Their helmets
took fire in the rising sun; their ranks were
like rows of suns whose rays shone on the
neighboring houses. When we knew that
there were cuirassiers going we got up at 4,
so eager were we to fill our eyes with their
glories.
At last, however, the Colonel wonld ap
pear. The colors which had passed the
night with him were displayed.. And all
at once, after two or three words of com--mand
cried aloud, the regiment gave way.
It went down the cours, and with the first
fall of the hoofs on the dry earth rose a
beat of drums which made our hearts leap
within us. We ran to keep at the head of
the column abreast of the band which was
greeting the town as it went at a double.
First, tliere came three shrill bugle notes
as a summons to the players, then the trum
pet call broke out and covered everything
with its sounds.
Oirror theWlMs or Crimea.
Outside the gates the "double was ended
in the open'where the last notes died awav.
Then there was a turn to the left along the
Marseilles road, a fine road planted with
elms hundreds of years old. The horses
went at foot pace, in rather open order on
the wide highway white with dust We
felt as if we were going, too. The town
was remote, coljege was forgotten, we ran
and ran, delighted with our outbreak. It
wts like setting out to war ourselves every
week.
Ab, these lovely morningsl It was G
o'clock, the inn, already high, lighted the
countrv with great sloping rays. A milder
warmth breathed through the little chill
breeze of morning. Groups of birds flew up
from the hedges. Far off the meadows were
bathed in pink mist, and amid the smiling
landscape these beautiful soldiers, the cui
rassiers shining like stars, passed with their
glowing breasts. It was a moving spectacle.
The horses slackened their pace yet more,
the men grew smaller with the rhythmic
swaying of their steeds. At first each
breastplate and each helmet was like a sun.
Then the suns dwindled and soon there was
only an army of stars on the march. Finally
thelast man disappeared and the road was
bare. Xothing was left of the beautiful
regiment that tad passed by, except a inein-
When the SoIdIer Came Home.
We were only children, but all the same
that spectacle made us grave. As the regi
ment slowly mounted the steep, we woifld
be taken by a great silence, our eyes fixed
upon the troop, in despair at the thought of
losing it; and when it had disappeared some
thing lighted in our throats and lor a mo
ment or two' we still watched the distaut
rock behind which it just vanished. Would
it ever come back? Would it, some day,
come down this hillside azain? These ques
tions, stirring sadly within us, made us sad.
Goodby, beautiful regiment .
Julicn, in particular, always came home
very tired. He only came so far in order
not to leae his brother. Thete e-cursions
knocked him up, and he had a mortal terror
oi me horses.
And after aVhile we had fallen back
deeper than ever into Homer and Virgil.
All at once we learned that the French had
couquered, which keemed to us quite nat
ural. Then regiments again began to pass,
but in the other direction. They no longer
interested us; still we did see two or three.
Thev did not seem to us so fine, diminished
as they were by half, and the rest is lost in
a mist Such was the Crimean War, in
France, for schoolboys hut up in a country
college. 13iin,E Zola.
i ww.w6v- auwawiJA. i
THEY WOULD LOOK IF THEY CHANGED THEIR HEADGEAR.
LEARNING SIMIAN WORDS.
How K. X. Garner Found Out the Sound for
Food Among the Khesu Monkeys
Record Can;ht In the Pfconosraph The
Varieties or Dialects.
rWRITTEN FOE THE DISrATCIT.1
A short time ago I made arrangements
with the Superintendent of the Zoological
Garden at Central Park, New York, to
make some experiments with the phono
graph and the monkeys contained in that
excellent collection of animals. Early in
the morning I retired to the monkey house,
and for the first time approached cage con
taining four brown Capuchin monkeys, two
white faced Sapajous or ringtails, one
Cudgo monkey and a small Spider monkey,
none of which I had ever seen or conversed
with before. On approaching the cage I
saluted them with the word which I have
translated from the Capuchin tongue to
mean "food," and also, as described in a
former article of mine as being used in a
much wider sense, possibly as a kind of
"Shibboleth," or peace making term used
among them.
On delivering this word to them, almost
immediately one of them responded to it
and came to the front of the cage, on repeat
ing it two or three times more the remain
ing three came to the front of the cage, and
on thrusting my fingers through the bars o
the cage they took hold of them and began
playing with them with great familiarity
and apparent pleasure.
Satisfied All the Witnesses.
They seemed to recognize the sound at
once and seemed to realize that it had been
delivered to them by myself. Whether
they regarded me as a great ape or monkey,
I am unable to say. Up to this time I had
shown them no food or drink or anything of
the kind, but soon thereafter I secured some
apples and carrots and gave them small bits
of it in response to their continual request,
using this particular sound until I had satis
fied th'ose present that they really under
derstood the word that I had used, and that
it was, properly translated, food. This was
not only gratifying to me. but doubly so in
view of the fact that I satisfied those pres
ent who had come to witness these experi
ments that I was correct in my solution of
this word.
Then placing my phonograph in order I
made a record of the sound and turned the
instrument then upon a cage containing one
small Ehesus monkey together with two or
three other varieties. I recorded a word of
the Ehesus monkey which I had believed to
correspond in meaning, though quite differ
ent in sense, to the Capuchin word for food.
Thjs Rhesus sound I recorded and then
turned the cylinder and repeated it to some
monkeys otthe same variety in another
cage. Then on presenting some small bits
ot apple and carrot I induced the monkeys
in the other cage to use the same sound,
which tbey continually did and appeared to
me to be asking for food. The cage con
tained some 18 or 20 monkeys, and I took a
very accurate record of them almost in
chorus. I was satisfied that I had discov
ered the sound in the Rhesus dialect which
meant food, though it was used in a some
what more restricted sense than the word
which I have described as meaning food,
and also with a wider meaning in the
Capuchin dialect
Tried on Same Fresh Monkeys.
On the same evening Ihere arrived in
Central Park a shipment of Rhesns mon
keys from abroad; they were brought there
irom .Europe, xney were seven in number.
At niT request they were placed entirely,
out of communication with any other mon
keys. Early on the following morning I
repaired to the room in which the monkeys
had been placed, xn company with me
were the superintendent of the Zoological
garden and two or three other gentlemen
who had been permitted to come to witness
the experiments. I requested them not to
offer the monkeys anything to eat or dis
play anything of the kind or by any means
to attempt to induce them to talk until I
conld -arrange my phonograph to deliver to
them the cvlinder which I had recorded on
the preceding day.
Having arranged my phonograph. I re
peated this record, that I had made in the
monkey house, and up to this time there
had not been a word spoken or a sound
omitted by any of the new arrivals. But
immediately upon the reproduction of the
record taken in thetnonkey house, they be
gan to respond, using the same sounds and
gave every evidence of understanding the
meaning of these sounds delivered through
the horn.
It is exceedingly difficult to represent
this sound by any formula. But as nearly
as I can express it letters it is approximated
by the letters nqu-u-w, being the long "u,"
equivalent to "'double o" in the word
"shoot" One ofjthe most difficult things
jn the study of the language of the Simian
is to find either verbal or literal expressions
thafwill adequately convey the idea of
either the meaning of the word or its sound.
Because in the Simian tongue one word
otten represents an entire Sentence, and this
one word is generally composed ot founds
which are not usually represented by al
phabetic characters.
Proof or the Discovery ofa Word.
I next proceeded to take a record of the
new arrivals. They were all of the same
species, being Rhesus monkeys. There
were three mothers and four babes.one of the
babes beinganorphan,the mother havingdied
in her passage across the ocean. Of these I
succeeded in getting two very excellent
records, one of the orphan babe and the
other of one in an adjoining compartment
He was exceeding talkative, very noisy,
but quite intelligent These monkeys do
not generally talk or make a noise, except
when they really desire to commanicate
some idea bv their sounds. I do nnt think-
that ther are given to habitually chatterine
in meaningless or lenieleM way, but my I
!
opinion is that their chattering is always
accompanied with definite ideas and a de
sire to convey them to others.
After having made records of these two
young monkeys, I carried the cylinders to
the monkey house, where I reproduced
them on the phonograph, in the presence of
the Rhesus monks confined there, and found
that they gave evidences of understanding.
And as I succeeded in getting the attention
of the new arrivals I feel thoroughly satis
fied that the new word which I have dis
covered in the Rhesus dialect is indeed the
word for food, as used among these
monkeys.
Better to Operate on One Monkey.
And I confidently feel that one more step
in the direction of "the mastery of the Sim
ian tongue has been taken. " I regard the
experiments as very conclusive. Where
one monkey is alone very much better re
sults can be reached, since in that event you
can attract his attention and keep it fixed
on what you are trying to do, whereas a
number of them occupying the same cage, or
even the same house, are in such close
proximity to one another that their chat
tering and continual talking attracts the at
tention of the monkey upon which you are
trying to operate, and thus in a measure de
feats your purpose.
I have made a good many observations
among the Spider monkeys, but they are
not very intelligent and possess only 3 very
limited number of sounds. Their vocal
powers are very inferior and their bounds
very ambiguous. They are well disposed
and docile, but their langunge is almost as
inferior to that of the brown Capuchin as
the brown Capuchin's appears to be below
the chimpanzee's, and as the chimpanzee's
appears to bo below the lowest order oi
human speech.
For the past month I have been making
rrcords in the Zoological Garden at Wash
ington at such times and 'with such subjects
as I could find.
"A little Follow Imposed TJpon. ,
In the collection in that garden is still to
be found old "Prince," the original gray
Macacus from which I made the first record
in the phonograph. I regard his language,
hoWever, as very far inferior to that of the
brown Capuchin, which, as I believed a
year ago, was superior to that of any other
monkey. In the garden here I also fonnd
some four or five Capuchins, some of them
very good spocimens, all except one being
quite young. The brightest one in the col
lection is is, little brown monkey whose
name is "Pedio;" he is exceedingly clever
and communicative.
On my first visit to him a month ago I
found him caged with several others. In
the same cage was a small Spider monkey
who was very fond of playing with Pedro.
And she had a habit of catching him by the
tail and dragging him on the floor. This,
Pedro seemed to dislike very heartily. Ho
complained very frequently and very loudly,
but to no purpose. The other monkeys
seemed to impose upon him, depriving him
of his food and all other liberties that a
bright little monkey ought to have had in a
free country like this.
Talks Rlsht Into the Horn.
And when I first visited the cage I took
his part against the other monkeys and we
soon became friends. He would catch hold
of my fingers through the meshes of the
cage apd chatter and show every mark of
appreciation. We soon became great
friends. A little later I had him placed in
a cage to himself where I have been able to
handle him with comparative case. I have
made a splendid phonographic record of his
speech. I got him to hold his mouth right
up to tue tuoe-ana taic quite loud.
Each succeeding experiment gives me
more and more assurance of the ultimate
success of my studies. The discovery of
the Rhosus word for food has accelerated
my efforts and intensified my hopes. And
while it has required many months of labor
to learn this one new word, I leel amply re
warded for my pains. I hope very soon to
be able to add one more word to the list
R. L. GA2NEB.
Technical Lancaao or the Poacher.
Among the elegant terms in the vocabul
ary of the semi-poacher are these, according
to a writer in Forest and Stream: "Sniggling"
is a method of catching eels by means of a
needle passed into a worm. "Trimmering"is
a set line with one or two hooks for fish of
of prey. "Leistering" is a form of spearing.
"Tickling," or in Scottland "guddling," is
the taking of trout from beneath a bank by
tickling the belly with the fingers and then
suddenly clasping the fish and throwing it
out "Bobbing" is catching eels with a
clot of worms threaded on worsted.
"Dibbling," "daping." "dopping," are
convertible expressions for the use of the
real iusect instead oi the .artificial in fly
fishing. "Lobbing" refers to the use of a
bunch of the ordinary garden worms on the
hook.
An Interruption.
Harper's Bazar.
lie kissed her once; ho kissed licr twice;
He was the happiest of men
I think ho would have kiased her thrice
If papa hadn't come just then.
ENGLISH AS SHE IS Sl'OIiE.
"rte
T
to pieces.'
.wi&v Vi.-aalfc&iivr
i
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icklecT
A LIFE OF CONSTANT FEAR.
The Czar Most Feel About a Most Ani
mals Do A Squirrel Gathering Nuts
The Conduct Si a Young Calf Peculi
arity or the Terrapin.
rWMTTEX FOB TUB DISPATCH.!
S I sat looking from
my window the other
morning upon a red
squirrel gathering
hickory nuts" from a
small hickory and
storing them up in his
den in the bank, I was
forcibly reminded of
the state of constant
fear and apprehension
in which the wild creatures live, and I tried
to pitcure to myself what life would be to
me, or to any of S, hedged about by so"
many dangers, real or imaginary.
The squirrel would shoot up the tree,
making only a brown streak from the bot
tom to the top, would seize his nut and rush
down again in the most precipitate manner.
Half-way to his den, which was not over
three rods distant, he would rush up the
trunk of another tree for a few yards to
make an observation. No danger being
near, he would dive into his den and reap
pear again in a twinkling. Returning for
another nut, he would mount the second
tree again for another observation. Satis
fied that the coast was clear, he would spin
along the top of the cround to the tree that
bore the nuts, shoot up it as before, seize
the fruit, and then back again to his re
treat His little Kerrei at Hich Tendon.
Neyer did he fail during the half 'hour or
more that I watched him to take an obser
vation on his way both to and from his nest
It was "snatch and run!" with him. Some
thing seemed to say to him all the time:
"Look out! look out!" "The cat!" "The
hawk!" "The owl!" "The boy with the
gun!"
It was a bleak December morning; the
first fine flakes ofa cold driving snowstorm
&
A Tragedy in Oie Snow.
were just beginning to sift down, and the
squirrel was eager to finish harvesting his
nuts in time. It was quite touching to see
how hurried and anxious and nervous he
he was. I felt like going out and lending
a hand. The nuts were small, poor pig
nuts, and I thought of all the gnawing he
would have to do to get all the scanty meat
they held. The red squirrel is not so provi
dent as the' chipmunk. He scorns to lay up
stores irregularly, by fits and starts; he
never has enough put up to carry him over
the winter; hence he is more or less active
all the season. Long before the December
snow the chipmunk has 'for days been mak
ing hourly trips to his den with full pockets
ofnutsorcorn or buckwheat till his bin
holds enough to carrvhim through to ApriL
He need not, and I believe does not, set
foot out of doors during the whole winter.
But the red squirrel trusts more to luck.
As alert and watchful as the red squirrel
is he is frequently caught by the cat My
Nig, as black as ebony, knows well the taste
of his flesh. I nave known hip to be caught
by the blacksnake and successfully swal
lowed. The snake, no doubt, lay in ambush
for him.
The Czar Knows tho Feeling.
Tltis fear, this ever present source of dan
ger of the wild creatures, we know little
about iTooably the only person in the civ
ilized countries who is no better off than the
animals in,this respect is the Czar of Russia.
He would not even dare gather nuts as
openly as my squirrel. A blackerand more
terrible cat than Nig would be lying in wait
for him and would make a meal of him. The
early settlers in this country must have ex
perienced something of this dread of appre
hension from the Indians. Many African
tribes now live in tho same state of constant
fear of the slave catchers or of other hostile
tribes. Our ancestors, back in prehistoric
times, or back of that in geologic times,
must have known lear as a constant feel
ing. Hence the prominence of fear in in
fants and children when compared with the
youth or the grown person. Babies are
nearly always afraid f strangers.
In the domestic animals also fear is much
more activo in the young than in the old.
Nearly every farm "boy has seen a calf but
a day or two old which its mother has se
creted in the woods or in a remote field,
charge upon him furiously with a wild
bleat, when first discovered. After this
first ebullition of fear it usually settles
down into the tome humdrum of its bovine
elders.
aoit of tht wild, creature Ther. ii only
ma
-JX
one among them whose wildness I cannot
understand, and that is the common water
turtle. Why is this creature so fearful?
What are its enemies? I know of nothing
that preys upon it Yet see how watchfnl
and suspicious these turtles are as they sun
themselves upon a log or a rock. Before
you are fairly in gunshot of them they slide
down into the water and are gone.
A Difference In Tattles.
The land turtle, or terrapin, on the other
hand, shows scarcely a trace uf tear. He
will indeed pause in his walk when you are
very near him, but he will not retreat into
his shell until you have poked him with
your foot or cane. He appears to have no
enemies; but the little spotted water turtle
is as shy as if he was the delicate tid-bit that
every creature was searching for. I did
once find one which a fox had dug out of the
mud in winter and carried a few rods and
dropped on the snow as ii he had found no
use for It
One can understand the fearlessness of the
skunk. Nearly every creature but tho farm
dog yields to "him the right of way. All
dread his terrible weapon. If you meet one
in your walk in the twilight fields, the
chances are that you -will turn out for him,
not he for you. He may even pursue you
just for the fun of seeing you run. He
comes waltzing toward you, apparently in
the most hilarious spirits.
The coon is probably the most courageous
creature among our familiar wild animals.
Who ever saw a coon show the white
feather"? He will face any odds with per
fect composure. I have seen a coon upon
the ground, beset by four men and two dogs
and never for a moment lose his presence of
mind, or show a sign of fear. We were try
ing to capture him alive, and after much
maneuvering succeeded. I seized him by
the tail while he was occupied with' the
dogs in his front and carried him to a barrel
which had been got ready. The raccoon ia
clear grit
The Fox Gets Ashamed.
The fox is a very wild and suspicious
creature, but curiously enough, when you
suddenly come face to face with him, when
he is held by a trap, or driven by the
hound, his expression is not that of fear,
but of shame and guilt He seems to di
minish in size and to be overwhelmed with
humiliation. Does he know himself to be
an old thief, and is that the reason of his
embarrassment? The fox has no enemies
but man, and when he is fairly outwitted,
he looks the shame he evidently feels.
In the heart of the rabbit fear constantly
abides. How her eyes protrude I She can
see back and front and on all sides equal to a
bird. The fox is after her, the owls are
after her, the gunners are after her, and she
has no defense but her speed. She always
keeps well to cover. The Northern hare
keeps in the thickest brush. If the hare or
rabbit crosses a broad open exposure it does
so hurriedly, like a mouse when it crosses
the road. The mouse is liable to be pounced
upon by a hawk, and the hare or rabbit by
the snowy owl, or else the great horned owt
A friend of mine was following one morn-
The Squirrel Went Zig-Zag.
ing a fresh rabbit track through an open
field. Suddenly the track came to an end,
as if the creature had tnken wings as it
had after an unpleasant fashion. There, on
either side of its lost foot imprint, were
several parellel lines in the snow, made by
the wings of the great owl that had swooped
down and carried it off. What a little
tragedy was seen written there upon tho
white even surface of the field!
Squirrels are Wiser Than Babbits,
The rabbit has not much wit i. once.
when a boy, saw one that had been recently
caught, liberated in an open field in the
presence ofa dog that was being held a few
yards away. But the poor thing lost all
presence of mind and was quickly caught by
the clumsy dog I saw the same experi
ment tried with a red squirrel with quite
opposite results. The boy who had cauzht
the squirrel in his wire trap had a very
bright and nimble dog about the size of a
fox that seemed to be very sure he could
catch a red squirrel under any circumstances
if only the trees were out of the way. So
the boy went to the middle ot an open held
with his caged squirrel, the dog, who
seemed to know what was up, dancing and
jumping about him. It was in midwinter;
the snow had a firm crust that held boy and
dog alike. The dog was drawn back a few
yards and the squirrel liberated. Then be
gan one of the most exciting races I have
witnessed for a long time. It was impos
sible for the lookers-on not to be convulsed
with laugher, though neither dog nor squir
rel seemed to regard the matter, as much of
a joke. The squirrel had all his wits about
him and kept them ready for instant use.
He did not show the slightest confusion.
He was no match for the dog in fair run
ning and he discovered this fact in less than
three seconds; he roust win, if at all, by
strategy. Not a straight course for the
nearest tree, but a zigzag course; yea, a
double or treble zigzag course. Every in
stant the dog was sure the squirrel was his
and every instant he was disappointed. It
was incredible and bewildering to him. The
squirrel dodged this way and that The
dog looked astonished and vexed. Then
the squirrel issued from between his hind
legs and made three jumps toward the
woods before he was discovered. Our sides
eched with laughter, cruel as it may seem.
The Squirrel Won the Race.
It was evident the squirrel would win.
The doz seemed to redouble his efforts. He
would overshoot the game, or shoot by it to
the right or left The squirrel was the
smaller craft and could out-tack him easily.
One more leap and the squirrel was up a
tree, and the dog was overwhelmed with
confusion and disgust. He could not be
lieve his senses. "Not catch a squirrel in
such a field as that? Go to, I will have
him yet!" and he bounds up the tree as high
as one's head, and then bites the bark ofit
in his anger and chagrin. The boy says his
do" has never bragged since about catching
rec? squirrels "if only the trees were out of
reach!"
When any of the winged creatures are en
gaged in a life and death race in that way,
or in any other race, the tactics of the squir
rel do not work; the pursuer never over
shoots nor shoots by his mark. The flight
of the two is timed as if they were parts ot
one whole. A hawk will pursue a sparrow
or a robin through a zig-zag course and not
lose a stroke or half a stroke bf the wing by
reason of any darting to the right or left.
The clew is held with fatal precision. No
matter how quickly nor how often the spar
row or the finch changes its oourse, its
enemy changes, simultaneously, as if every
move wa3 known to it from the first.
Have Birds a Sixth Sense?
The same thing maybe noticed among the
birds in their love chasings,- the pursuer
seems to know perfectly the mind of the
pursued. This concert of action among birds
is very curious. When they are on the
alert a flock of sparrows, or pigeons, or
cedar birds, or snow buntings, or black
birds, will all take flight as if there was but
.one bird, instca'd of a hundred. The same
impulse seizes every individual bird at the
same instant, as if they were sprung by
electricity.
Or when a flock of birds is in flight, it is
still one body, one will; it will rise, or cir
cle, or swoop, with a unity that is truly as
tonishing. A flock of snow buntings will
perform their aerial evolutions with a pre
cision that the best-trained soldiery cannot
equal. Have the birds an extra sense which
we-have not? A brood of young partridges'
in the woods will start up like an explosion,
everv brown partical and fragment hurled
inta'theair at the same instant Without1
word or signal, how is it done?? A -Ji
ii --.' Vi MUAA.UUJnJUUAflb-
r -.
BRAVE BEN BROUGHTON.
A True Story Written for The Dispatch
BY MARIA M'INTOSH COX.
AINSFORD'S has
existed since Revolu
tionary days. The
quiet dignity of good
ancestry gives charm
to its small society,
and the beach affords
ample opportunity for
all the joys of bath
ing, fishing, sailing,
and the long list of
other Beaside pleas
ures, without the an
noyances of publicity
and crowds.
These advantages
drew Mr. and Mrs. Broughton to the )ld
town, and they took for the summer a cot
taze on the very water's brink, where their
young people could revel in every salty de
light without the restraints or the exposure
of a fashionable resort The Broughton
family was a large one, and I dare say you
might like to know them all, but my story
has only to do with Ben, a boy of li, who
will never forget the summer Tie spent at
Rainsford's.
Ben was always an active fellow, very
welcome on the ball field, or wherever good
manly play of any sort was going on, but
he was neither very large for his age nor
naturally very strong. "His successes as an
athletic youngster came through his cour
age and endurance, his quiccness of percep
tion, and his perseverance. When his
straight, wiry little figure appeared on
either side of a contest it meant help worth
having and the opposing team knew it
Seaside pleasures he knew very little
about, and his first days at Rainsford's were
rather dull and he was not at all sure that
he should fancy this new life. But his
parents fostered his self-reliance by hiring
a flat-bottomed boat for theirjchildren, and
almost immediately letting him row about,
close in shore, on quiet aays, ana Dy en
couraging him to learn as rapidly as possi
ble to swim.
A dock ran out near the cottage and under
its lee thechildren bathed in safety and soon
felt at home in the buoyant salt water.
Some logs floated about, farther out or closer
In, as the tide carried tnem,ana tneyserveu
a3 supports to the tired young legs andarms
and gave them a sense of security. Mrs.
Broughton watched their fun from her win
dows and felt no fear, and Ben, and even
bis little sister, grew expert in this new
element
Gradually as the summer advanced other
boys came to swim in this safe spot, and on
any pleasant afternoon a group could be seen
perched upon the top of the wharf, resting
or making ready to dive. A few teie chil
dren of the town, as much at ease and as
fully posted in marine matters as if they had
been born with fins; but there were two
little fellows, neither of them very strong,
who were just commencing to swim and
were not very successful in learning.
These brothers were especially eager to
become expert swimmers Decause on their
success depended their ownership of a boat
like the Broughtons. "As soon as they
could take care of themselves," their father
had said they should have one. .remaps
they were timid, for they were nervous lads,
or perhaps their lungs were not strong, but
whatever the cause might be they made but
little headway. Daily they came to the
dock, and the elder boy made some advance
ment, but the younger could scarcely sop-
port bimselt in the water. .
Their progress had reached this stage,
when on one calm, hot August afternoon,
just as the tide reached the right point, and
the usual knot of boys in their bathing suits
were sitting at the end of the wharf, Ben
made ready to join them. To his surprise
his mother called him to go to the town on
an errand, which would keep hira so long
that the fan would all be over. Ben looked
wistfully out over the gently heaving water,
changing in the soft light from gold to blue,
and saw the passing boats break the lovely
surface into gleamingfoam, and watched the
swooping gulls rising and falling on their
strongj white wings, and everything seemed
free but himself. He was not given to many
words, so he drew a long sigh and started off
obediently if not cheerfully.
Just as'this small struggle was going on
in his mind the little brothers were making
ready for their daily attempt Anxious to
encourage the younger to lose his fears and
venture alone in the water, Tom Dunlap,
the older boy, had remained on the dock
and urged little Dick to trust himself to
the support of a plank and swim out to
where ne sat "Don t be atraid, Dick.
Swim out to me and I'll jump off and join
you."
Laboriously, small Diek tried to obey.but
before those few feet were passed he gave a
sudden cry of fright and slipped away from
the upholding wood.
In an instant Tom had leaped into the
water and reached his brother's side. "Take
hold of me. Dick; hold tight"
But alas! the trembling hands of the poor
child made only futile efforts to touch his
brother's shoulder; his short legs tried to
"strike out," and then he sank, and an
agony of fear paralyzed Tom's body and
mind.
Just at this moment Ben came whistling
down the road. The boys upon1 the dock
called to him with shrill voices:
"The Dunlap boys are drowning! The
Dunlap boys are drowning!"
Ready for their bath, stronger and older
than their struggling comrades, fully able
to swim and to act in concert in rescuing
them, called by conscience and manliness
and every possible incentive to plunge in
and do "their best, they stood tspon the
wharf and shouted and stared and pointed
downward, without mailing one ellort to
save.
Hardly crediting the true state of the
case, Ben paused tor half a minute, kcenlr
scanning the water bclore him, and to his
horror he saw a white indistinct object float
to tho surface and fall instantly out of sight,
and almost in the same breath, nearer in
shore, rose ont ofthe water the face and
head of Tom Dunlap! A meaningless stare
from his fixed eyes, a gasping flutter ofthe
mouth, and a feeble struggle to use. his
arms, and he too was gone.
With eager energy Ben flung off his coat
and stooped to untie his shoes, but a ter
rible fear seized him; the mere untying of a
shoestring look too loug. Where was that
faint, white glimmer which he knew he
could not tell how had been the face of
little Dick Dunlap? Waiting for no more,
in he plunged.
Whcn unseinsa courage nils a heart.
steadiness of mind is apt o keep it com
pany, and Ben thought fast and to good
.purpose: "Tom is heavier than I am, and
1 can't swim well; I shall neyer be able to
hold him."
. With all the force he possessed he made.
.for 'the nearest log, and pressing hla chest
against it, iraa on toward ins spot out
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which that awful head had risen, and thert
there, just at his hand, it ro3e again, but
this time it had not energy to lift itself
above the water. Lying in a most unnatural
Eosition, his throat strained backward and
Is head resting between the shoulders so
that the face appeared to turn straight and
fiat toward the heaven abovo it, the legs
hanging limp and stiff, straight down, and
the motionless arms fallen backward, in
useless stillness, Ben saw Tom Dunlap; and
with an agonized clutch he grasped the wel
web of his bathing suit and took an almost
hopeless inspiration of the soft air, not
knowing in this dread moment what must
next be done.
"Tom!" he yelled, "Tom, keep up; don's
give up, Tom! Tom, Tom. try to keep up!"
He nsed all the power of his young voice
and a faint shiver ran through the cold sub
merged body. A lightning like inspiration
darted through his mind; he gave the log
beside him a hard, downward push, depress
ing it some inches below the water, and
with all haste he knew not how suc
ceeded in bringing it in contact with the
drowning boy. Then still he knew not
how he pulled one motionless arm across it
and then the other, and saw with a wild
sense of exultation that he would float Torn
did not attempt to grasp or hold, but the log
was well under his armpits and he did not
slide back.
Then a strange dullness came over Ben
senses; his shoes, now water-soaked, fell
like lead; the first dawn of hope seemed to
be followed by exhaustion.
But help was coming from the shore. A.
brave young girl, putting to shame tha
cowardly boys upon the wharf, had suc
ceeded in p'ushing a boat into the water,
and she rowed toward Ben with all her
might When she came within an arm's
length of the tired boy he could not so
much as push poor Tom toward her, but
she conquered the resistance of his uncon
scious weight and pulled him into the boat
When once the heavier part of his body
was over the gunwale he fell suddenly for
ward and lay a helpless mass at her feet
She had not a thought, even, for Ben, but
pulled for the shore with all her strength.
Ben, keeping his clear, brave head, real
ized that the tide was fast coming in, and
ceasing to struggle, be floated on the sott,
upholding waves until tbey laid him gently
on the beach, as if theyhad brought him intel
ligently home. And then, though he could
no longer work, his tired body bad to obey
his self-forgetting heart The ovstermen
were rapidly coming, and he knew just where
to tell them to look for that pale object ha
had seen sink out of sight
Using every remaining energy, he mada
them understand, and staggering to his weak
feet, he stood.with water running in streams
from his drenched clothes, and guided to
where they must search.
Breathless, the crowd now gathered on
the beach stood in silent expectation. A
man, well fitted for his work, and bound to
succeed, dove far into the glowing water;
one, two, three minutes, passed be rose
with emptr arms. Undaunted, again ha
disappeared, and vet again he rose, bring
ing nothing with him. "Once more," ha
called out hopefully; this time four minutes
passed, and then fie brought with him a
little figure too pitiful to speak about
Already Tom was lying in a hospitable
house, with every tender, ministry helping
him to fight for life, and to the same open
door the strong arms of the oyste'rmaa car
ried the little brother. "He is gone," he
said as he laid him down.
L But Ben reaped the full harvest of his
heroic endeavor. Before their half-crazed
mother could reach them, Tom had shown
that life was surely coming back to him.
And alter long heur3 of friction and heat
and restoratives, a faint pulsation moved
little Dick's still heart, and he lived on.
In the Broughton'a cottage Ben was tha
center of a thankful and excited family, but
he was a very unconscious hero. He was
anxious to be rid of his shoes, out of which
the water gushed with every step, and eager
for dry clothes: but, like every man or boy
capable of such an act, thought very little
ot himself in connection with the result
He had done what God and his own heart
had shown him to be hia duty, and his
thoughts lingered with the" white faces of
his drowning playmates; he had little con
sideration to bestow on Ben Broughton and
his doings, but many a long daj hence he
will recall with thankfulness his share in
the rescue of the Dunlap boys.
BEAUTY LaTSST AID.
A Itnbber Brash That Is Said to Be Bet
ter Than Tons of Cosmetics.
rwErrrET roa rax dispatch.
HE latest thing fox
home treatment of
the skin by massage,
is a rubber brush,
called a "complex
ion brush." It is a
"Boston notion."
The brush itself ii
simply a piece ol
thick rubber, one of
its surfaces cut deep
into round tinr
teeth, while on the other is fastened two
rubber straps to admit the baud. The brush
is used both before and after the usual ab
lutions. The friction, even when most
vigorous, is gentle, agreeable, and brings a
peculiar sott pinknesi upon the skin.
ESS1
The Vest Cosmetic
Amcng the good effects of its use. soon
apparent is the restoration of the skin to
its natural texture in cases where the pores
have become enlarged. This state of the
skin often occurs because the bath does not
sufficiently soften and carry away the oily
waste which the blood has carried to the
pores for egress; tnen the oily exudations
vamnin an A Iirfl(n fl.nrl TnnTpnvmr hconm
..Mi.,l 4M.V. .. ... , ..- ..... .... w.......
cappea by impalpable dust, producing ths
odiousV'blaok-head." The pressure of thisr
hardened matter against tha dellC4to walls i;
oi tae spree eaiarra ana ji&h-weir? sua i
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