taaa;5 jMcatg-gTB gpf i ' i r ja fSrZ fr THE FALLOFSUMTER An Eje-Witness Describes the First and Bloodless Battle of the War of the Bebellion. CHARLESTON ALL EXCITEMENT. When the First Gun Soared People Boshed From Their Houses Half Dressed to Sea the Fight BEAUEEGAED SOON GREW POPULAR. Eew tie Fine Wines Flowed When Gallant Major Anderson Tcck Hit Men Away. . iwrittex foe the DisrxTcn.I Thirty-one years ago next Tuesday the first gun sounded the prelude to the great war drama, the curtain of which fell four years afterward on the dead bodies of nearly a million of the actors and a loss of billions of dollars. The echo of the last stroke of 4 from the historic chimes of St Michael's had scarce ly died away, when a croup of soldiers gath ered around a mortar in Fort Johnson, Charleston harbor, and waited, watch in hand, for the moment when the signal should sound the tocsin of civil war and the death knell of 80 years of peace. A half hour later, obedient to the orders from Gen eral Beauregard, followed a flash of light, the thunder of a gun and an 11-inch shell traced its pathway toward Fort Sumter with a long, thin line cf fire. Another quick ly succeeded, and the chorus of battle began. The first of thee shells was fired by Captain George S. James, the second by Lieutenant Hampton Gibbes. Among the officers in the mortar battery were Colonel James H. Chestnut, ex-Uulted States Senator, Cap tain Stephen D. Lee, subsequently a Lieu tenant General, and Colonel Alexander K. Chisolm. These officers were the aides of General Beauregard, by whom his final note to Major Anderson had been conveyed to the fort. People Rnshed Oat BU-Dressed. No pen, tongue or canvas can accurately portray the scenes of that April morning in the city of Charleston, when its in habitants were startled from their slumbers Major Anderson. by the first guns. Lights flashed, as if by magic, from the windows of every house, and in the twinkling of an eye an aritatod mass of people were rushing toward the water fronts of the city. Grave citizens, usually distinguished by their dignity, hurried along the streets, dressing while they ran and madly shouting hur rahs. There were men "without coats, v. omen without hats and children in their nightgowns, all hastening to the same point ol view. The fashionable promenade, known as "The Battery." presented a conglomera tion of persons in dishabille, who, at any other tinie, would not have thought of tiolaling the social conventionalities of attire. And there, with plea faces and eye sharpened by the strange fascination of the scene, the multitude remained hour after hour, peering into the darkness and watching the progress of the fight by the flashing of the guns. In a few minutes all the batteries that environed Fort Sumter had opened fire, or, to use the words of General Ripley, then commanding on one of the islands, "rung their breakfast bell for Major Anderson," but it was two hours before the latter re sponded to the call. Hardly, however, had objects of the low coast become well defined among the bhadows of the morning, wheh, as if wrath ful from enforced delay, there suddenly poured from the parapet" and casemates of Fort Sumter a storm of iron nail. The mur mur instantly ran through the city, "Fort Sumter has opened fire." The battle now raced with fury, and the fiery messengers from both sides followed each other with spiteful haste. Iteaurpcard tYas Soon Popular. Short, sharp spurts of flame told of burst ing shells in an J around the beleaguered iortress over which floated the only flag of the Stars and Stripes to be found oh the soil of South Carolina, while splashes of spray or clouds of crumbled brick marked the iiglvfoice of round shot striking its face. Fori SwmXtr. Dispatches were received hourly by Beau regard, the commander in chief, and com municated t6 the people by bulletins. At first the proud Carolinians were inclined to rebel at the authority of a strange com mander, but there was something in the well-defined phvsiognornv, the dark eye, firm lip and massie chin of the great Creole that told of hidden power and inspired confidence, and it was not long before the hero of Contreras and Churoboso was en throned in the hearts of the people. A curious blending of humanity was to be observed among those who manned the Con federate fortifications. In their shirt sleeves, with heads bare and features smoke begrimed, working heavy guns, were the penilcmeu whom you met only a few days before at the Charleston Club, elegant types 1 wealth and leisure. Here ws a cle'rgy man and some of his deacons, there a bank president and clerks, and yonder a group of planters who could give you more points on the asc and quality of fine wine than on military tactics. Many of these gentlemen never had heard a shotted gun before that djv, and ret, with ft mixture of chivalry m d recklessness, would spring to the cres't of the earthworks after each fire to watch the cfiect of their aim and then cheer for Mnjrr Anderson as his answering missiles came shrieking back. The aggregated i calth of the companies might have been counted bv'niillioiiK. and the old historic names of the. State. Kutledge, Kavenel, Pincknev, Lawrens, Hnger, Rhett, Calhoun, Middleton, Manigault, Hampton. Pretton and others, answered to the roll call "here! .r.me "f the fnmoM Private". Colonel Thomas Sumtei1. the grandson' of 'the jatnecock of the Kevolutidn," after fjJjL. ' 4 whom the fort was named in 1833, was a private in the Palmetto Guards; ex-Governor John L. Manning, grandson of one of the conspicuous heroes of Eutaw, was also a private. The venerable Edmund Buffiu, of Virginia, 74 veari of age, was a prirate, and having traveled all the way from Virginia for the purpose, was allowed to fire the first hot against Fort Sumter from what is known as the iron battery. Fires were kept blazing in Charleston harbor during the night for the purpose of detecting the launches of the distant fleet, if on attempt khould be made to relieve the garrison. The second day was ushered In clear and bright, and the air was laden with the per fume of early spring flowers. The flags of both the combatants were flying with stately defiance, and as the first sunbeams touched their folds, the thundering 'in tonations of the heavy artillery told the listening-multitude of the renewed strife. The garrison of Fort Sumter were on their lost rations. Their breakfast that morning consisted of pork and rice, the last of the nee being served at that meal. After this meager breakfast, the first relief under Captain Abner Doubleday and Lieutenant G. W. Snyder, opened the return fire. This was about 7 o'clock. From Fort Moultrie General Eipley was throwing hot shot, and about 8 a tall, steadily ascending column of smoke was observable on the southern por tion of Sumter. First it was thin and pale, General Beauregard. but every moment it grew darker until, shooting out from the base of the black pil lar, great yellow tongues of flame could be seen lapping the tops of the barracks and officers' quarters. The War Vessels Wouldn't Move. The first impression was that Major An derson was signaling the flset, consisting of eight war vessels and 1,380 men, whiohhad been sent to the rescue, but had remained idly at anchor and made no sign of help. At 10 o'clock the fire reached a magazine of shells and grenades and a terrific explosion ensued that caused monv a heart to stand Kiill. f nr thi men in that beleaeuered and burning fort had many friends in Charles- I iun who were waiuiiu nv" .......-... . terest "When the explosion occurred a young girl who was present with a party of her schoolmates was seen to throw her arms wildly in the air and exclaim, -'Oh, God, my brother!" She was the sister of Lieu tenant Jell C Davis, one of Major Ander son's officers, who afterward became a Union General. During all this tiring period, while the fort was in flames and the air like a blast from a crater, Major Anderson continued to send occasional shotsto the different batteries, around him as if determined to show to the world that he "died game." At every flash from the muzzles of his guns the Confederates would send up cheer on cheer for the gallant defender of the fort. Three times the flag was lowered as a sig nal of distress to the Federal fleet in the offing, but no response lollowed, and it was left to Beauregard to tender the merciful assistance for which a call had been made. Captain Stephen D. Lee, Colonel W. Porcer Miles and Roger A. Pryor were dispatched upon this errand. Gallantly Replaced the FIae At 1 o'clock a shot from Sullivan's Island severed the flagstaff and brought down the Stars and Stripes. They were replaced, however, in about 15 minutes by Private Hart, of .New York, under circumstances of great daring. At the reappearance of the flag the boat with the aides of Beauregard who had been sent to offer assistance turned back, but immediately ex-Senator Wigfall, of Texas, a voluntary aide of Beauregard, accompanied by Private Gourdin, of the Palmetto Guard, pushed oil Irom Morris Island in a small boat, and, showing & white handkerchief on the point of his sword, proceeded to Fort Sumter. Being conducted to Major Anderson he compli mented that officer on his gallant defence, and stated that to continue the conflict under the circumstances would be to un necessarily risk the lives of the men under his command without commensurate results. Colonel Wigfall said that the troops would cease firing as soon as the flag was lowered, and he ofiered the terms of surrender already submitted by Beauregard. "Then," s'aid Major Anderson, "I must surrender; I have no other resource; we are all In flames, and my men will shortly suf focate." Accordingly, at 1:05 o'clock on the 13th of April the Stars and Stripes were lowered, firing ceased, and Fort Sumter virtually passed into the possession of the Southern Confederacy. The appearance of the fort at the time defies description. At every turn the eye rested upon ruin. Fort Moultrie also bore evidence of the careful attention jiaid to it by the Federal artillerists. It was here that Captain John Mitchell, Jr., son of the Irish patriot, first distinguished himself as an officer. Strange to say,, notwithstanding, all this exchange of iron compliments, not a single life was lost A Great Day In Charleston. The evacuation of Fort Sumter took place about noon on Sunday, April 14, and the garrison took its departure on the steamship Isabel. Dressed in full uniform and Wear ing their side arms, they marched out to the tune of "Yankee Doodle." Major Ander son looked careworn and despondent. He was a fine specimen of an American officer and gentleman, and no one more keenly than General Beauregard, his associate in arms, sympathized with the gallant soldier in the bitter mortification of the hour. Major Anderson, in common with all the other officers of the fort, had been the re cipient of. Charleston's choicest hospitality. The flag had been saluted by the discharge of 55 guns. A gentleman standing near Major Anderson asked if 34. the" usual number, was not sufficient. "No," replied the ofd soldier, bursting into tears, "it should be 100, and that is not enough." As the steamer moved ofi cheer after cheer rent the ain Every available site along the coast and in the city was occupied, and eveiy conteivable species of water cratt bad its full complement of guests. .The strictest churchmen forgot their afternoon services and watched and shouted with the noisiest of worldlings, while old men and maidens, yoilng men and children hurrahed until they were hoarse People stopped and shook hands that day who had never be fore exc! nnged civilities, and fine wines Were drunk at clubs and dinners that lor more than a century had been in sacred keeping for no other purpose than to fitly celebrate a great epoch. So ended the first and only bloodless battle of the great Civil War. Mks. F. G. de Fontaine. The Secret of Felt. a single hair of wool be examined If through a microscope it will be seen to con sist of a central stock, with apparently a large nunibe of branches starting from it in every direction. It is this peculiarity of wool which renders it so valuable in mak ing felt. When a mass of wool is mixed to gether and pressed with the hands the fibers intertwine and the projecting branches interlock in such a way that with & little pressure tlio whole will condense Into a s6lld mass; THE . OUR BOYS AND HOW MARBLES ARE HADE. Alt the Pretty UttU Globes Come From Germany Peasants Grind Them bj Foot Power Secret of Colored Glass Some of Beat Agate. CWSITTI2T FOB TBX SISrATCH.i HAT becomes of all the marbles? There are 1,000,000,000 marbles brought irom Germany and sold to the boys and girls of this country every year. That would give every child of the marble- playing age about 50 marbles a year, and yet in spite of this a marble two seasons old is not common, and one that dates back four years is old enough to pass as an antique, and is kept by its owner "for luck," like Continental dimes, Peter Barlow knives and relics of by-gone days. No one can tell you what becomes of the marbles, but I can tell you how marbles are made. They are all made in Germany, and nmrble grinding, molding, glazing and painting form one of the chief industries in a large part of the Thuringen Woods. The work is largely done by the peasant wood landers in their homes. The commonest of all marbles are the "brownies." About 600,000,000 of them are imported every year. They are not mode from clay, as most boys suppose, but from a peculiar sort of sandstone which is found in these Ger man woods. Throughout the district there are large numbers of quarries and mills. These are owned by the marble capitalists. The stone is cut into small squares by ma chinery. These are then distributed by be miller to the workmen, who take them by the cartload to their homes. II ow Brownies are Ground. The process of grinding is primitive In the extreme. Each workman has a machine as large as a sewing machine. A treadle which is worked by the toot furnishes the power. The machine consists of two disks, one of which rests on top of the other like pancakes on a plate. The lower disk is made of iron and is grooved with U-shaped furrows, which start at the center and go out to the edge as the spokes of a wheel ex tend from the hub to the rim. These fur rows are wider at the rim than at the cen ter. In the center there is a round hole precisely the size of the marble which is to be made from the square piece of stone. Tiiese grooves are filled with the small squares of stone. Then 'the upper disk, which is made of wood, is pressed hard down upon the lower and the treadle be gins to work. At each pressure of the foot Twisting the Colored Hope. the wooden disk revolves. With each revo lution the edges of the stones wear oft until the squares become round, atd at length the finished marble drops through the hole into the box below. The stones are kept wet during the grinding by a flow of water Into the projecting edge of the iron disk. There are different disks for different sized mar bles. China marbles are molded from clay in factories where they are baked and glazed just as china Is molded, baked and glazed In the New Jersey factories. These factories, however, are small affairs for the most part, and the work is done by hand and foot power. The clay is molded in a foot-power firess which looks -very much like a grihd ng machine and has two wooden disks which come together but do not revolve. Eich disk is filled with semi-round holes like that In one-half of a bullet mold. When the disks come together the halves of the holes fit tightly, forming a perfectly round mold. The clav is fitted Into the holes of the lower disk. Then the upper one is drawn down, and when the pressure Is removed the marbles are found lying in the cdps on the lower disk ready forthe baking. The pressure is so great that the Clay which does not find room in the molds is squeezed ont at the sides, where it may be scraped together and used over again. They Are Tainted by Hand. After the marbles are dried, baked and glazed thev are sent to the peasant painters. Painting, like marble grinding,' is done at the homes of the workmen. The painter's machine is a foot-power contrivance which looks like a turner's lathe set on end. In the end is a small cup into which the marble fits. When the treadle ia pressed this cup revolves. The painter dips his fine brdsh in paint and holds it to the marble. One revolution paints a blue equator on the little globe. Another brush and a second revolution paints a red tropic of Capricorn. Other intermediate latitudinal lines are traced both north and south of the equator. Then the marble is turned half way around and the process is repeated. When It Is finished the lines run at right ancles in the Style familiar to all boys. Then theraarblei are sent back to the factory to be glazed for a second time, after which they are ready for the market Imitation agates are painted by hand and are dried in the open ait. The point ia daubed on without much method. Glass "alleys" are made entirely In fac tories. The transparent gloss it drawn out and pulled into a strand many feet lohg by two workmen, very much as molasses candy Is pulled. The longer the strand Is pulled the thinner it becomes. When it if ah inch and a half or two Inches thick It is allowed to cool and it is then broken into pieces about two feet in length. On the sides of this strands of red, blue, yellow and green glass, as thick as a wheat straw, are fastened and the whole is then returned to the fur naces to be heated over again. Whea It Is sufficiently hot to be twisted, the strand Is taken out. The colored and the transparent glass now adhere together. The Colored Glats Marble. The workmen take the strand jn tongs by each end and begin twisting and stretching it until It Is of the thickness of the marble. One man twists to the right and the other to the left This Is continued Until the small strands form a vari-colored rope in the center of the big transparent strand, like a twisted piece ot wire run through the center of a twig ot eider. The glass is then heated for the third time, add when it reaches the melting point It is dropped into a series ot molds, like those used for bullets, just as a bit of melting sealing wax might be dropped into a hole. As the colored strands form the center of the transparent strand, so in the finished marble they make a Cbne-shab6d axil fun ning from side to side as a pin Is ruh through a pea. Some glass marbles contain small china figures. In making these the molds are half )r i. i ill PITTSBURG DISPATCH filled with transparent glass. Then the figure is dropped into it and after that the molds are filled np witb the transparent glass. ' Seal agates are made from agate which is found in Oberstein, near the Rhine, They are ground round at lapidaries grind precious stones. In spite of the fact that The Grinding Disk. they are made from pieces of stone which are not suitable for the manufacture of jewelry, thev are very expensive. They cost Irom 15 to 25 cents each. Once In a while a perfect agate is found in a lot Such a marble generally commands a fancy price, which varies from 50 cents to ?5. Benjamin Noethbop. CHEVIO I AND SEEGE. Some Facts That Will Enable Bayers to Get Their Monrj's Worth. fWBTrTES FOB THB DISPATCH. Serge and cheviot are the staple woolens In use for hard wear the year round. Cheviot is strictly a Scotch production, though made also in England and France. Among the hills which give it its name leggings are made of it by the men, and petticoats by the women, to wear out in the wet weather. Serge is peculiarly a French product, though made to some extent also in England. A, Eerge Weave; B, Cheviot Weave. The two fabrics are sold from the same counter and salesmen do not always dis tinguish tbem to customers, yet they have points of difference which shoppers would do well to nnderstand. Berge i woven always of twisted threads, and always has a twilL Cheviot may have a twill or not Cheviot woven with a twill resembles serge, but the characteristic weave of cheviot is not a twllL It is woven more loosely, with more freedom than serge, and with a variety of pattern, with threads of varying firmness, and is a softer and more beautiful fabric. Cheviot may have many colors mingled in the weave knots protruding here and there giving a broken surface of color, or more degnite fig ures.tand it is these that constitute a large part of the novelty cloths offered at the be ginning ol each season. But serge is expected to be of one-sized threads and of a solid color. Occasionally a cheap serge imitates a novelty fabric, but In general the only variety a good serge of fers is in the size otits twill, which depends on the fineness of the thread and the close ness of the weave. On these, and the twist, depends also whether the surface Is rough Or Smooth. English serge has a larger twill than French. A storm serge is one that is very fine and has been well shrunk. Some beautiful storm serges nowin the market have a half visible plaid or check of another color run ning through them. American made fabrics that bear the names of cheviot and serge differ in quality from the Imported ones. Our wool is not as goon as the fine Saxony wool Irom which JVeto Spring Cheviots. the European goods are made, and our man ufacturers cannot import the European wool because there is a heavy duty upon It Since the duty was enforced our fabrics have im proved to some extent, but they are still in ferior, and most women preter to buy the foreign cloth at the larger price. An Amer ican serge at f 1 a yard may seem to the careless observer as a French" one at ?1 50, hut fabric experts will tell you that in it yon have less value for your money, and this is the practical verdict indicated by the sales.' Every all-wool fabric will shrink, and shrink in proportion as it is Iposely woven. When possible, If to be worn in all weathers, it should be sponged before being made up. Sponging can be ordered done at the store where the cloth is bought. The merchant will deliver it 24 hours later, and will charge tor it 5 cents a yard extra. Cheviots cannot always be sponged. Serge is on this account, as well as from its weave, the more useful of the two for all rough wear. . Merchants have many N names for fancy cheviots, which is confusing to the buyer. For example, one of the novelties ot this Spring is called "chevron.'' It has zigzag lines in the weave, after the form of a chevron, and the name refers to this aud not to the fabric, which is a chevibt The rough surface wool gown holds a dis tinctive place 111 the wardrobe, and is the Ideal gown tor the busy hours of day. ' Ada Bache-Coke. Potsbh in the Honey. There are certain plants which produce flowers which make not only poisonous, honey, but also poisonous wax. .Cases often occur of persons beingmade 111 after eating honey, andtthe cause is sometimes attrib uted to InilicfAttloni but more ireanentlirthn reason Isodnd in-the honey itieft, the bees I having Ida upon poisonous flowers. C s SUNDAY APRIL 0. GIRLS. A COLLECTION OF INSECTS. Kntomolojlst Riley, of the V. S. Depart ment or Acriculture," Tells How' to Be Cin A Call for Young But; Huntera The Cabinet and Speakers.. CWniTTXN TOR TUX PISrATCR Insects, as a class, are more numerous in species and individuals than all other ani mals combined. There is hardly a plant which grows that does not support many different kinds. Some of our orchard trees, the apple or pear, for instance, are Infested by an almost countless host A French author has written a charming -book called "The Population of an Old Pear Tree," and the entire volume Is made up of stories about the insects which lived on this one old tree. In addition to the hundreds of thousands of kinds which live on plants, there are yet morei which live In other ways. The ma jority, perhaps, of these feed upon other in sects and thus act as a check upon the mul tiplication of injurious species, which rig. i would otherwise put a stop to agriculture. Others are pests of the household, the storehouse and the granary; still others live in the water and feed upon small fishes and minute water animals, while yet others are parasitic upon higher animals and do much damage to our sheep, cattle and horses. Each a Study In Itself. Some insects are so small as to be scarcely visible to the naked eye; others reach to a considerable size. Many, from their bril liant colors, are among the most beautiful creatures of nature. Each kind of insect has its own habits. Many live in commu nities and possess Instincts so highly devel oped that they seem almost to be rational beings. Not a single one of the hundreds of thousands of different kinds can be studied throughout Its successive stages of life without exciting the most vivid in terest Every boy, and especially every farmer's sou, should be to a certain practical extent an entomologist Miss Ormerod. the (Treat English authority on destructive insects, no doubt would say that girls, too, should be educated to recognize and destroy the foes ot vegetation. They say that "an old dog cannot learn new tricks," but there is hope in the rising generation. I believe they will make more money from the same land than their fathers did, and that they will do it by profiting by the experience of their elders and by their superior education, and especially by their practiced powers of observation. Collecting the Little Beings. Every farmer's son should make col lection of insects. So should every family that has grass plat1 garden, shrubbery or Fig SL. fruit trees. Every village Improvement society should encourage the forming of these small collections; every local grange and alliance should help, and at every county fair premiums shonld be offereM for the best collections, together with the best essays on the habits of Injurious, and also beneficial, insects of that particular section. It is With the idea of helping on such movements and such studies that this series of short articles is prepared. A collection of insects should be begun in the proper way. It is true that the larger kinds such as butterflies and the great beetles, can be transfixed with ordinary pins and stuck into cigar boxes without any especial care, but they will not show to good advantage and will soon be ruined by the little red ahts or by certain other little in sects which are particularly fond of eating dead and dry specimens. There are three very necessary things to provide before be ginning to colleot. These ore the boxes or cabinets, proper Insect pint and spreading boards. A Collection for Display. Different collectors prefer different kinds of boxes, but we may take it for granted that the young collector wishes at first a display collection. For this purpose a gloss covered tray is the best The most conven ient dimensions are eighteen Inches square and three inches deep. The cover to the tray should fit on by means of a tongue and groove, and the material of which the boxes are made should be aboutthree-elghths of an inch thick. We show In Fig. 1 a good display tray, which any carpenter, or in fact any ingeni ous boy himself, should be able to make cheaply. The maker sheuld be careful to dove-tali fall joints sd as to render the boxes as tigln as possible. The best boxes are. lined with sheet cork, in which to insert pins, but the best boxes are expensive. A fair substitute may be found in firmly glu ing email' bottle corks at the proper inter vals on the bottom of the box. Such trays can be piled one Upon the other, or a cabinet can be constructed to contain them, or they can be hung updh the wall. If hung up, a dark cloth curtain should be attached to each, as otherwise the Specimens would soon become sadly faded by the light If one cannot afford these rather elaborate glass-covered boxes, a tight pasteboard box will answer for some time.. These can be made to order in any paper box factory. Thev should be made of heavy nakteboard. the cover should fit very tightly, all joints should be carefully pasted over with paper. I have seen such boxes, 10 by 12 by 2W inches, with solid cover, which were made tp order in New York City for 25 cents, and . which were strong enough and large enough to answer fairly well tor a tempor ary collection. Plrts to Transfix Them. It is almost useless to try to make a col lection with common pins. They are too short and too stout and altogether too clurdsy. -There better be, therefore, some littlfe outlay of money in buyine the real in sect pins. These may be bought from any dealer in natural history supplies. Almost every large place has Its dealer. They edst 15 cents per 100 or $1 per 1,000. Kos, 2, 3 and 4 are the best, to buv, and the beginner might send at first for 200 of these three sizes assorted. Any man with a rod oi land will find It profitable to have bis children thus- spend 30 cents. These pins are long and Slender, yet strong, elastic and sharp, and are just suited for their purpose. The next thipg to get ready, before be ginning the collection, is the spreading board. This is absolutely necessary if you are going to collect butterflies and Moths: The Idea of this spreading board can bk readily seen from Fig. 2. It is made of two pieces of thfd, smooth pine wood, -joined together by braces, with a Crack Between them sufficiently wide to admit the body of the insect whose wings are to be Spread, a pleceof sheet cork or corn pith being fastened beneath the opening to hold the pins. It is well to have three oi four of Ihiii spreading boards with the Brinks varying in Width; Seme for ' big-bodied 18M. moths and others for slender butterflies and small moths. And now if you are prepared with these three essentials, you are ready to care for your insects after you have caught them, and in the next article I shall sav something about collecting. C V. Eiley. IBVXBTIOH 0? AS A1P HABIX. Bow Seqaoyah Tried to Prove the Indian Equal to the White Han. Perhaps one of the most wonderful achievements of modern times is that of "the Indian Cadmus," Sequoyah, the inventor of the Cherokee alphabet and written lan guage. As the first alphabet and so the fountain of all language is supposed to have originated with Cadmus 'the Phoenician, so the first Indian alphabet and the source of written language and literature among the red men of America is traced with absolute certainty to this famous Cherokee Sequoyah. Although scarcely half a century has elapsed since his death, a mist of uncer tainty already surrounds his birth and life. But somewhere very near the beginning of this century this remarkable personage was born in the Cherokee Nation and educated in its oustoms. In fact he never knew any other than the Cherokee language, which, until he began to record it, was like the other Indian dialects purely oral. Sequoyah's grandfather is said to have been a white maD, but there was no evidence of it in the personal appearance of the grandson. The story goes that at a council of Chero kee chiefs in their town of Sannto, an old reservation east of the Mississippi, there was a debate on thexoniparative strength and future of the red and white men. The strongest argument advanced in favor of the white man was his ability to use the "talk ing leaf" and so send messages to a distance. Sequoyah listened silently and then burst out as if by an inspiration: "You are all-fools! The thing is easy! I can do it myself." Thereupon he is said to have picked up a flat stone and'with. a charred twig from the council fire to have made certain marks upon it, eacb of which, he told his fellows, represented a certain word; he also told them that to-morrow or a month irom then he could and would tell them those words without hesitation as soon as he saw the characters on the stone. From this beginning Sequoyah conceived and perfected the Cherokee alphabet, util izing the cries of wild beasts, ,the call of the mocking bird, the shrill exclamations of children, the softest tones of the squaws and the notes of the rotund organ of the adult brave for his vocal sounds. When he thought he had gathered all the different sounds, he attached to each a pictorial sign or image birds and beasts and inanimate objects alike furnishing him these signs. And so the Cherokee alphabet was fin ished, the vocal sonnds were reduced to writing, and in an incredibly short time the entire Cherokee nation learned and used it There are 85 characters in Sequoyah's al phabet, and by appropriation from the Cherokee Legislature a newspaper called the Advocate is now printed and circulated in that language. THE BLACK SWAIXOWEB. A Speciei of Fish That Can Swallow Eight Times Its Own Bulk. What a terrible, horrible animal a tiger would be were it able alone meal to swallow from 8 to 12 times its own bulk! It seems impossible that there can be any creatures able to do this, and yet, far down in the depths of the Southern seas, there lives a fish known as the Black Swal lower, chiasmodon niger, which can swallow whole a fish 8 to 12 times larger than itself. Happily for the other inhabitants of the sea the chiasmodon niger Is rare, there being but three known specimens in the museums of the world. In appearance the chiasmodon niger is a slender, elongated fish of uniform thickness, from eight inches to a fodt in length. The skin is without scales, the head somewhat cone-shaped, narrowing forward. Its fins end in spines, thus preventing it With Bs Stomach Loaded. from becoming a dainty morsel for other fishes. The mouth is that of a monster; it is very deeply cleft,, extending behind 'the eyes, and armed with many long, sharp pointed and movable teeth. Such is its ap pearance with an empty stomach. Going about in search of food it espies an other fish many times larger than itself. It darts upon this fish from behind, seizes the tail and gradually climbs oyer the struggling victim with its jaws, using first one and then the other. As the cap tive is taken in, the stomach and integu ments stretch out, until at last the entire fish is passed through the mouth into the stomach. Then the distended belly appears as a great bag, projecting out far backward and far forward. Over this horrible bag, and resting on it, the swallower seems to lie; the lower fins appear dislocated and lie far away from their usual position. The walls of the stomach and belly have been so stretched that they are transparent, and the species of the fish within can be discerned. Sometimes three times at least such rapacity is more than the captor it self can stand. At lensth the fish within the stomach begins to decompose and gas is created. The chiasmodon is forced over Upon Its back, when the Imprisoned gas, as In a balloon, takes it Upward' from the depths to the surface of the sea. Thus have the three specimens been found floating on the surface, thousands of fathoms above their true jaunts. In each instance the fish in the stomach has been about twice as long as the swallower, and from six to 12 times bulkier. THE SCIENimC B00MEEANG. Professor Ungtey 'Has Made Eome That Beat the Australian. Incidentally to his investigations respect ing flying machines, Secretary Langley, of the Smithsonian Institute, has been making Some most interesting experiments with boomerangs. He recently had made to order a number of ideal boomerangs, based as to shape npon mathematical principles. Ordinary boomerangs, such as are employed by the natives of Australia, would not serve. There are 60 of them in the National Museum, manufactured for actual use in the land of the kangaroo, but not one in the lot will do what the typical boomerang is ad vertised to do namely, return to the thrower. These boomerangs of Prof. Lang ley's do return. One of his assistants, Prof. Otis T. Mason, the famous anthropologist, has attained such expertness through prac ticing with them that, although a small m'&h, he can throw them 100 yards, and they will come back to his feet every time. How did the "black fellows" of Austra lia) lowest of savSges In the scale of hu manity, discover such a principle as that of the boomerang? Doubtless by accident They have found the weapon useful for kill ing ducks and other water fowl on the marshes, where missiles tntoivn were not easily recovered. If the game was struck, the Stick fell with it, and the hunter could wade in and recover both. Otherwise the boomerang came' back arid was reJdy for an other sH6t. . W hat to DO for a Barn. When the flesh gets a bad burn many of the pain-killers are good, but in my ex perience I have ntver found anything like the white of a raw egg, says an old-timer ih the St. Louis GldbfJOemoeraU U an ezg is broken over a burned spot the white sluts 6uttntalx and qtiiokly Soothes away the paht - BESIEGED BY WARREES. A- STORY OF BOTANICAL ADVENTURE WRITTEN FOB THE DISPATCH BY FORREST CRISSLY. Prof. Boch had one consuming ambition, and that was to see his son Karl win lame as a botanist and chemist This idea entered into every step of Karl's training, almost from his cradle. As the professor was him self no mean authority in these branches of science, it was no wonder that Karl, who came early to share bis father's ambition for him, mado strides far beyond his year As soon as he was old enough, Karl spent his vacations in company with his father in scientific expeditions to various countries. The most important of these journeys was to Central America, in the interests of German capitalists, who were bent on dis covering a cheaper mode of manufacturing quinine than that then known to science. At Central America is the home of the cin chona tree, from the bark of which this drug is manufactured, it was deemed advis able to dispatch Prof. Boch to this distant tropical region. Naturally Karl, as well as his father, hailed the opportunity to combine business, study and pleasure with great delight, and made speady and elaborate preparations for the voyage. They arrived safely at their destination, British Honduras, and entered eagerly upon their investigation. In the course of time it was determined that they should push their way a considerable distance into the forests of the interior. After much trouble they managed to secure a competent guide who spoke both broken German and English, and set out to penetrate the dense tropical forests. They were at great pains to provide themselves -JK3 c -y f t?'JUSz- The Chinehona or Quinine Tree. with everything in the nature of pouches and scientific conveniences for the proper storing of their specimens, but paid little or no attention to the "sporting" end of their outfit, leaving that to the guide. Luckily the scientists were each in the habit of carrying a revolver. The guide-was armed with only an old carbine. Not until they were well into the recesses of the great wood and the distant cry of some wild denizen reached the Professor's ears, did it occur to him that perhaps they had been careless in the provision ol fire arms aud ammunition. "What is that?" he asked, as the indis tinct crv of the animal was repeated. "Kuguar," was the guide's reply. "Are we likely to be troubled with beasts of prey?" fyan't tell." "What animal are you most afraid of?" again questioned the Professor, as they trudsed along, picking their way through the thick tangle of luxuriant vines. "Warrees," was the native's reply. "Warrees?" mused Karl, trying to iden tify the name with some tropical animal of which he had heard. As his father asked no further questions, but confined his inves tigations to takine an invoice of the ammu nition in his cartridge box, Karl concluded he was as lenorant of the nature of the beast as himself, but did not care to confess it Karl followed his father's example and drew from his pocket a well-nigh empty box of cartridges. It contained just four rounds 28 cartridges. As they approached a partial opening in the forest, beyond which towered a guard of magnificent trees, the guide pointed to them: "Bed cinchona." The alert botanist instantly noted that the trees were of slightly different type than those which they had seen within the bounds nf semi-civilization. In his eagerness to reach them and sink his hatchet into their bark Karl outstripped his father and the guide, tnd was soon hidden in the labyrinth of vines and short vegetation with which the partial clearing was interspersed, the professor smiling approval at his son's zeal. Suddenlv the euide stopped and minutely scanned a patch of bare ground which bore the marks of having been worn and tram pled by the hoofs ot a herd of small animals. An American farmer boy from the Central States would have declared It looked pre cisely like a hog-wallow. The guide was greatly agitated. He ex claimed, "Warrees! Warrees! Climb "What are warrees?" asked the profes- "Little wild hog. Big peccary.. Go to trees," added the guide, who evidently en tertained some wholesome and shameless fear of the invisible small brutes. Calling Karl, they made their way toward the nearest timber. Meanwhile Karl had pushed his passage through the tangled underwood to within a lew rods or the Cinohona trees. There was only one more stretch of the low shubbery to be waded through. He decided it would be easier to walk around than stumble through. Just as he was passing the end of this covert he The Flower, Leaf and Fruit. heard a sharp bark or grunt, then a score or lnoie, followed by a confused scramble In the thicket. The cloud of dust which at first rose about the undergrowth concealed the makers of the disturbance, and Karl, drawing his re volver, stopped and waited for the dust to clear away. In a moment more he was able to dis cern a great herd of small hogs, crowded together, their little alert eyes regarding him with stupid confusion. It flashed through his mind that these must be the peccaries of which he had read in books of travel and adventurer Perhaps they were the "warrees'' of which the guide had spoken! He decided that at any rate It would be discreet to climb the nearest tree. He broke into a vigorous run and made for the timber. The peccaries, for such they were, 9fvdsl9f&iillfcssssWSJuPw Fn w ' ' Vi l nnn-jtssr I rBssnwSWl.tM. wjJrVBrw SC-iK-' 21 promptly accepting his retreat as a chal lenge to pursuit answered with a multitude of grunts, then took to the chase. . Karl heard their barks and the roar oi their tread behind him. Even in the con fusion of his flight he felt thanklnl that bis athletie training had not been neglected. Well he might, for as he reached the first tree the barking horde was close upon his heels. Witbva desperate leap he threw his arms and legs about the trunk and proceeded to "shin" up, just escaping the snapping jaws of the foremost peccaries, who missed bury ing their tusks in his feet by only a lew inches. The eliek of their clashing jaws materi ally increased the speed at which he worked his way up the cinchona. What ever might be the result of their "cheap quinine investigations," he then and there concluded it was the most useful tree ho had yet encountered. No sooner did he succeed in reaching a safe perch than he iell to checking up the number of peccaries with the number of his cartridges. He found there were twice as. many brutish faces upturning at him their small twinkling eyes and wiggling snouts -as there were cartridges in his box. Then the thought of hU father and the guide flashed into his mind. They must have some ammunition. Perhaps there were shots enough between them all to slay the pack of nasty little brntes. "Father!" he shouted, "the peccarie3 have treed me! Come as close as you dare, then climb a. tree! But keep up'in the timber. It you hear me, answer with a whistle!" A whistle promptly signaled him that he had been heard. "Be sure to get within a good pistol range, and where yon can see them, for I have only about half as many cartridges as there are peccaries," Karl directed. In a few moments he caught sight of his father and the guide cautiously picking their way among the timber toward the be sieged tree. Karl remembered that the accounts of the peccaries described them as ntterly devoid of the instinct of fear, tenacious to the last degree in pursuit of any creature which had once excited their attack. In order to insure against their attention being drawn from him to his approaching rescuers, he dropped bis necktie down among them. The instant it struck the ground a dozen rushed upon it, tumbling over one another In mad rage. When they separated, he torn a bundle of blank leaves from his note hook and let them down among the drove. These met the same fate as the necktie. "AH right!" called his father, from the branches of a neighboring tree. "Now begin, shobt till you've used up your ammunition, but make every shot count, for I've less than half a box," con tinued the Professor. Fortunately the beasts were huddled close together, and Karl an excellent shot 'Bang! Bang! Bang!" went his revol ver at regnlar intervals, as fast as he could take careful aim. Each shot resulted in one less besieger, and Karl voted it excel lent sport But after a time his success elated him and occasionally he failed to make his aim fatal. "I'm through. It's your turn now," he called to his father. The Professor was not so good a marks man as Karl, or else he did not have as good a point of vantage at any rate, when . The Peccaries ve HaTreed Me. he, too, bad exhausted his ammunition there was still a round dozen of the dangerous brutes holding the fort and showing no signs of raising the siege. The guide then trained his carbine upon them. It.dld deadly work as long as the shells held out; but a mismove on the part of the nervous gunner sent his cartridge Case rattling down among the enemy after, he had reduced their number to a half dozen. There was but one alternative. They must simultaneously descend upon the reso lute remainder and make a nand-to-tusk fight, the Professor and Karl using their hatchets and the guide clubbing with his carbine. The guide wa reluctant perhaps be cause he was much more intimately ac quainted with "the nature of- the beast" But a vigorous round of threats finally induced him to descend, and when within a few feet of the ground they all three dropped. The entire battalion of warrees instantly charged upon Karl. As he was unable to bury his hatchet simultaneously in the six heads the 'tusks of some two or three of them were tearing into the flesh of his legs before his father and the guide could reach the center of the attack to strike. Karl tumbled, fell, and but for a lucky stroke of the professor's hatchet, the last warree would have put an ignominious end to the scientific ambitions of the young botanist. The father hastily dressed Karl's wounds and they beat as headlong a retreat toward civilization as the lad's condition would permit, and yon may be sure they took good care to keep close to the line of climbable trees. THE IHSTIKCT OF PLANT! Discrimination Each Shows to Produce It t Own Individuality. It has always been to me one of the most amazing things that every plant should draw only its own colors and forms from the great laboratory of nature, never making a mistake, but each plant taking from its sur roundings just those qualities that will pro duce its own especial characteristics, writes Mrs. Celia Thaxter. For instance (if left to themselves), the California poppies will take yellow of many resplendent shades for their color; the peacock will always be scarlet-crimson with a black spot rimmed with white in every petal; the com poppy will be clear scarlet; the opium white, and so on. By what power do they know how to se lect each Its own color and shape, and be each only its own self and no other, when earth and air hold all the colors that the good God has invented to make glorious his world of beauty? The suble knowledge of plants instinct, perhaps, would be the proper word is most astonishing. If you dig a hole in the ground and pnt into it a rose bush, and fill up one Side of the hole with rich earth and the other side with poor soil, every root of that rose bush will leave the poor half to inhabit the rich and nourishing portion. That is a matter of cdurse, but the instinct of the ros is something to think about, nevertheless. WzfTW ,f $ 4 i i i A 1 -J3 . -uzu2- -''--limitlMfoM'' VtetA a.ltkt'kiA LtssC-feiv-f&uiti 'SL trf i?4&t. . rffir. st l.!fo'5ffiw?ja &- jgl gggtysyr- iyjSfiJitBaiitsEisgWHgjiMiitEtiEg'Mwwgiwf
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers