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THE SCIEiCE OF WAR
Camille Flammarion Applies
Common Sense to the
Crime of Nations.
FORTY MILLION KILLED
In Every Century, or Forty-Sii for
Every flour of the Day.
THE ACTUAL QUANTITY OP BLOOD.
X Enjrcestlon That the World'! Battle
15 With Men of TYood.
FAOIS ON FIXAXOHS AND POPULATION
pnurrxy ros Tn sikfitoh.1
Can human folly, recorded from some
special point of view, be considered a sub
ject for scientific observation? "We do not
hesitate to answer in tbe affirmative, al
though up to the present time it has never
been classified, and although it forms a
whole too vast and too complex to belong
to any special genius or determined cate
gory. Its magnitude and universality have
doubtless hitherto kept it outside of posi
tive studies, properly o called. Even now
we do not pretend to treat the immense sub
ject in its lull extent, but simply wish to
examine one of its most interesting and
serious phases, and one most worthy of
attention: namely, the military system cf
the 1,400,000,000 human beings who at this
moment people the strange little planet
which, since the beginning of the world,
has been wandering between Man and
Venus.
Humanity is continually at war against
Itself without ever having taken time to
reflect and ask the reason why. It opens
its veins for the simple pleasure of seeing
its noble blood flow, blood that is always
young and continually renewed.
Eignrt's on Inexcusable Slaughter.
How many men are destroyed by war in
a century? Official reports and documents
preserved in the best accredited historical
treatises enable us easily to caiclte the
number of soldiers who have been killed or
have died during modern wars. Thus, for
example, we know that during the unac
countable Franco-German war of 1870-71,
230,000 victims were slain on the two sides;
that during the useless Crimean war of
1834-55, 765,000 were slain; that during the
short Italian war of 1859, 63,000 men fell on
the field of battle or died in hospitals; that
the game ot chess between Prussia and
Austria in 18CG deprived 46,000 individuals
of life: that in the United States the strife
between the North and South caused the
death of 450,000 men in 18G0-64; we know
also that the wars ot the first empire poured
out the blood of 5,000,000 Europeans, and
moreover that France has taken up arms 20
times since 1815. On adding the number of
victims ot war during the last century a
total of 19,840,900 is reached simply in the
civilized countries of Europe and in the
United States.
Commencing with the Trojan war, the
case has been the same in all ages of his
tory. Certain remarkable battles, fought
hand to hand with knife or club, have had
the memorable honor of leaving as many as
200.000 men dead on the field; as examples
ol this we cite the defeat of the Cumbrians
and the Teutons by Marius, and the last
exploits of Attila. " The crusades in partic
ular merit honorable mention, as much for
their mildness as for their usefulness.
Xortj- Millions Killed Every Century.
"Without losing ourselves in details,let us
be content to prove that an average of 18 to
20 million men are killed every century in
Europe by the enlightened institution of
war. If these men, averging 30 years of
age, should join hands they would forma
line 4,500 leagues long, crossing all Europe
and Asia; the European epidemic of war
gradually attacks them like an electric
storm, killing an'd stretching them on the
ground; every century a similar iine springs
Iron) the earth to fall in the same way.
The nations of the extreme Orient (the
Chinese and their neighbors) form a second
human consolidation, and shed about the
same quantity of blood. "We call to mind
their glorious heroes, Gengis Khan and
Tamerlane, who marked their routes with
pyramids of severed heads. Barbarous na
tions also are engaged in perpetual com
bats, seldom killinc lewer than 4,000,000 to
5,000,000 rational beings in the same space
ot time.
The total number destroyed by humanity
every century in its incessant political, re
ligious or international uars is at least 40.
000,000. General statistics prove at the same time
that, 6ince the Trojan war 3,000 years ago,
that is, siuce the beginning ot history, not a
single ear has elapsed in which some war
has not killed its proportionate number.
"What am I saying? Since the Trojan warl
There ere Hattlca in Ileavnn.
If one may believe Christian tradition,
had not the angels already fought in
heaven? And is it not on thedefeat of the
rebellious angels that the existence of the
devil, the temptation of Eve, the fall of
Adam, original sin and the coming of the
Itedecmer, that is, the very foundations of
Christianity, are firmly established?
During the 30 centuries which have
elapsed since the beginning of Asiatic and
European history since the time of Sesoi
tris and David, of Xerxes and Cyrus a loss
of 40,000,000 a century makes the total
number destroyed by war to be 1,200,
000,000, a number very nearly representing
the total population of the globe at the
present day.
Thus, in the last 3,000 years, in the wars
of tLe I'haroahs, in tbe Mongolian and Chi
nee invasions, and the conquests of Alex
ander, etc., etc, as many human beings as
now inhabit the globe have been slain hon
orably and officially, very often while sing
ing canticles to their gods or drawing
strains ol joyful musio from their instru
ments. Twelve hundred millions! "What is this
number?
It is day and the sun sheds its light and
ncai upon me world. The country is green,
the cities full ot life and the villages sur
rounded with laboiers. Millions of men are
living, acting and producing.
A I'Iclnro of Destruction.
Science is developing its splendors for the
contemplation ot intelligence; history and
romance picture the diUereut groups that
people the world; industry transforms the
lace of nature, mountains are lowered, val
leys elevated, teas rtcede, the equator and
the poles join hands; steam annihilates
time, rules'ihe seas and furrows continents;
electricity causes Kurope aud America to
palpitate uitn a common life; the hurband
leads his hridc to receive his grandmother's
benediction, the child plavs in the sue; life
uulolds its joyous and divine radiance on
tbe surface oi the globe.
But behold the tun gone to rest; behold
black night and melancholy silence.
Funereal 'Death descends lroin somber
heights, holding iu his hand a scythe of
steel. He passes like a bird of night whose
flight makes one shudder, extends his baud
to the tour cardinal points, traverses shad
owy space and disappears iu the depths;
this gesture lias arrested humanity in its
course; tins jas-age ot the nccrophorc has
sent all human beings to their last sleep; to
morrow morning noneol us will waken; the
sun will shine upon a land ot the dead. Not
suddenly arrested like so many machines
whose propelling poer is in a moment ex
tinguished. Streets are deserted, dwellines
filled with the dead; cities and Tillages are
but so many cemeteries.
A Olrwtery of Mankind.
After several days the wind blowing oyer
this universal sepiilcher oarries with it only
the nauseating odor of millions of decom
posing bodies; from deserted buildings to
the mute shores of long rivers, from great
pest-stricken cities to the immeasurable
plains, giant Silence, seated on the ruins of
the globe, sleeps iu the midst of this vast
field of the dead, in the midst of this pros
trated army of 1,200,000,000 corpses.
This immense cemetery of all mankind,
seen at one view, is the real measure of the
victims destroyed by war from the histori
cal beginning of nations down to the year
of grace in which wo live.
Human folly is so great that, instead of
leading tranquil, industrious, intellectual
aud happy lives, men continually commit
suicide by opening their veins and pouring
out their best blood in frantic convulsions.
"Watch humanity in actual life, choosingits
strongest children, nourishing, educating
and caring for them till they reach the full
ness of man's estate, then methodically
placing them in line. As there are but 3(5.
52.1 days in a century and 40,000,000 indi
viduals must be killed during that time,
the knife is not laid aside a single instant:
11,000 men are killed every day, almost one
a minute. 45 every liourl And there is no
time to lose, for if by chance a single day is
omitted 2,200 condemned men await their
turn on the morrow.
Behold how men employ themselvesl
That we mar fully appreciate this high de
gree of intelligence, let us make a few com
parisons. The Blood That Flows.
The sword of Mars is ceaselessly drawing
blood from human veins. Eighteen million
cubic meters have already been shed. In
summer at Paris the Seine delivers to the
two parts.of the bridge Pont-Neuf aboutlOO
cubic meters of water every second, moving
with a force of 3,500 horse-power. Every
hour 3GO,000 cubic meters of water pass
under the arches of the bridge, or 8,640,000
cubic meters in a day.
Now let us stand on the parapet of Pont
Neuf and watch this rapid, heavy and deep
flow. Imagine the river to be human blood
instead of water, for if the blood shed in
all wars was put altogether into the basin
between the quays it would form such a
river, and we would have to remain stand
ing on the parapet above the redand boiling
billows 48, no, 50 hours, to see it all flow
awav.
5"hese floods of blood would turn gigantic
mills and put in motion turbines capable of
throwing immense jets to the most distant
water conduits, and of sprinkling the who'e
city. Steamboats would pass up and down
the river as they do to-day; barques would
rock on the purple surges, whose penetrat
ing odor would enter the royal buildings
like nauseating fumes from the infernal
regions of Dante. This quantity of blood
weighs 18,900,000,000 kilograms. It is au
unfailing stream, which every hour since
history began has unceasingly poured 680
litres of blood to dye the royal purple worn
by the occupants of imperial thrones.
A Comprehension of the Figaros.
If the 1,200 million skelefons of these
tragic sports should rise and climb one upon
another, the ladder thus formed would
reach the moon, then coil about that body,
and, continuing onward, would mount into
infinite space lour times as far again; that
is, 500,700 leagues in height The corpses,
if thrown into the channel at Calais, would
form the famous bridge so long planned be
tween France and England and separate the
ocean from the North Sea by a weir. If
only the heads of the men slaughtered in
war were taken and placed side by side, a
band would be formed reaching six times
around the world.
"What more can be added to these incom
parable pictures which arc less hideous than
reality? Simply one remark that every
month the Governments of Europe alone.
for their good pleasure, kill more men than
the number of stars seen in the heavens
with the naked eye on a clear night
That the grounds for declaring war are
worthless is proved by their insignificance.
Since the Trojan war, made to reclaim an
unfaithful wile, down to that of 1870, made1
under the pretext of preventing the Hohen
zollerns trom sitting on the Spanish throne,
or those of the English in the Indies or in
Egypt, or those of Servia and the eternal
Oriental question, there has never been any
good reason for training troops of men, fill
ing them with rage and making them devour
each other like wolves.
Half a century afterward the result of all
these convulsions is shown only by a change
ot color on geographical maps.
One or the Arguments for TVar.
Sometimes war is supposed to be a fatal,
natural and necessary evil, "like epi
demics," says someone else, "to prevent the
human race from multiplying too rapidly."
The earth could easily support ten times
more people than it now does, and. the de
structions of war only affect in a relatively
feeble proportion the whole human popula
tion, which is perpetuated, as is well
known, at the regular rate of one birth a
second. On the contrary, there are not
enough hands on the earth, and each family
would be much richer if humauity had
twice as many in its service. In fact, the
condition of permanent armed peace, the
European military system, is the principal
cause of the present barrenness and ruin of
countries.
There are 70 inhabitants to a square kilo
meter in France, each man having his share
of the sun and able to earn his own living;
but in other regions with as many natural
advantages as France, like North'America,
with the same climate and soil, there are
only four inhabitants to the square kilo
meter! Also the earth becomes less and
less cultivated.
War is not only an unnecessary scourge,
but is more injuriousthan all others, lor it
never comes alone; sickuess, ruin and fam
ine always follow in its path. But, that
we may be fully enlightened about the ex
tent ot human "folly, no picture is more in
structive than that of national budgets and
of the manner in which national resources
are spent.
Cots S7.000 to Kill n Ulan.
A great amount of money is necessary in
order to kill iu proper manner, for each
man slain costs about $7,000. The continu
ally increasing and multiplying taxes of all
nations are never sufficient to pay for the
butchery of human troops. Erery year
Europe spends more than $1,200,000,000 in
shedding her children's blood, and in France
alone we spend 5400,000 every day. The
war in America did not cost less than
516,000,000,000. Since the Crimean War
doun to that of 1870-71 the civilized nations
of Europe and America spent in destroying
one another 510.000.000,000 of the ordinary
budget and more than 511,000,000.000 raised
cxprcsslv for the purpose, making a total ot
521,000,000,000. The wars of the Ian 100
years have cost the sum ot 5140,000,000,000,
without counting the sorrow, the loss of
men and other deplorable results.
For a part only of this fabulous sum all
the children might have been brought up
and educated gratuitously; all lines of rail
ways might have been built; provision
might have been made for the attempts to
realize aerial navigation; customs, "town
dues and all obstacles to lrecdom of trade
might have been suppressed; all destitution
might have been removed except that
caused by idleness and infirmity; we might
perhaps already be able to communicate
w ith the inhabitants of other worlds! "We
might have been able but what are we say
ing? "We might be happy, and we do not
wish to be.
llotli Crime and ro'ly Ttule.
If the sou of a family should conduct him
self as do the governments of the most civi
lized nations of Europe, he would be de
clared an outlaw and condemned to the gal
leys or scaffold, as the Judge might deter
mine; certainly no manwouid think him in
possession of his reasoning powers.
Does crime or lolly rule? The two are
united and divide the world between them.
For a long time the resources gained by
labor have been insufficient Again and
agatn it is necessary to borrow money and
to discount the future. To-day the public
debt ot Europe and America has risen to
519,600,000,000 It is increasing, and will
keep on increasing until all nations become
a bankrupt The entire public debt of jdl
THE
the different nations actually reaches
the sum of 926,000,000,000 and this Immense
amount humanity owes to itselfl No astro
nomical problem Is so great as this and no
observatory can be compared to the Chamber
ot Deputies,
For whom and for what purposes are all
these debts, these sacrifices and imposti of
every kind, and this constantly growing
public embarrassment? They are to crip
pie agriculture, to render the earth barren,
to cause universal famine and to work out
the inexorable mutual destruction of nations.
A Thought for Decoration Day.
Better still! Our intelligent humanity
has up to the present time had gratitude
only toward its spoilers, honor for Its ex
ecutioners, laurels lor assassins and statues
for those who crush others under the iron
heel of oppression.
What shall we conclude from this ex
amination? May we seriously hope that
tho day will come when humanity shall
recognize its folly, when nations shall at
tain the ago of reason, and infamous war
cease to sully onr planet, because men have
become more enlightened concerning the
true conditions of happiness? No, we may
not Men are so made; they need masters
and executioners; they need misfortunes.
For many long years still ninety-nine men
out of every hundred will feel the neces
sity of killing each other; and the hun
dredth man, who think them tools, will
himself be considered a Utopian.
Can all the armies ot the world be abol
ished? Do you dream of such a thing? It
is impossible.
A friend of mine, and a mechanic, has
kindly calculated the cost of makintr wooden
soldiers of natural size and good condition.
As, after all, the victims of to-day are only
an affair of number, money and stratagem,
he has decided that all the armies could
easily be reproduced for six billion francs,
or 51,200.000,000, a year (soldiers in fir,
under officers in oak, officers in rosewood,
captains in mahogany, colonels in cedar and
generals in ivory) and that thev could be
drilled by steam power, the artillery being
included in the calculation.
Battles Fought TCIth Wooden Msn.
The leaders of the two nations at war and
their staff officers would conduct the strategy
at their risk and peril. The victory would
belong, as heretoforej vto him who by his
skill should succeed in checkmating his ad
versary and in destroying the greatest num
ber of combatants. This improvement on
ordinary armies would have the advantage
of leaving the husbandman to his field, the
workman in his factory and the student to
studies, and would promote public pros
perity and general happiness.
This may ansuer as advice to future min
isters of war when men," having finally
reached the age of reason, shall refuse to
fight But for long centuries still, minis
tersand generals can rest upon their laurels.
The children of our good planet will not
soon attain the age of reason. And then,
what can they do? They must busy them
selves with something.
Besides, when one belongs to a race every
nation of which deems it an honor to pos
sess a "ministry of war" at its head, with
out even perceiving the infamy of such a
title, he would, perhaps, seem rather inno
cent if he tried to talk sensibly.
Oh, brothers iu the system of Sirius or
Capella! If you can distinguish us from so
great a distance, how you must laugh at
our national and international policy.
Camille Flammaeiost.
IBAKOE'8 GBEAT MATEBIALISI,
A Portrait or the Man Who Has Won
World-Wide, Fame With His Pen.
Monsieur Ren an Is administrator of the
College de France, where he was long only
professor; it is the crowning of a career the
most simple, worthy and disinterested, con
secrated entirely to science, the sole and
unique passion of his life. But now that
age and glory cover him, when he might
have the right of repose, not for
a moment does he dream of it
Urnctt Kenan.
Benan was born at Treguicr February 27,
1823. After the lather's death the family
was reduced to complete destitution; the
eldest brother of Benan then 19 started
for Paris; the sister, Henriette aged 17
would certainly have embraced a religious
life had she not had this little brother, to
whom she was devoted, to whom she de
voted her whole life, and who, she felt, had
need of ber. Ecnan was then 7. It was
lor him and her mother that the young girl
courageously undertook to give lessons in
the neighboring towns.
During this time, Benan having com
menced his education at Tregnier under the
excellent priests who directed a sort of
small seminary, had awakened notice Tby his
quickness and intelligence. He was rec
ommended to M. Dupanloup, who, desirous
of acquiring a good pupil, offered him a
scholarship in the little Seminary of St
Nicholas du Chardonnet
Thclile of Eenau is open to all; he com
municates direct with the public, gives
himself up to it entirely too much per
haps. It is known that, appointed to the
College de France, at the end of a lesson
which had provoked tumultuous and con
trary manifestations, he refused to give in
his resignation and was revoked. M. Jules
Simon in 1870 gave him the chair which
since that time he has not ceased to occupy.
In 1878 he was appointed at the Academic
Francaise; since 1S56 he has formed part of
the "Academic des Inscriptions et belles
lettres." Bounat has just terminated a
portrait of the master. It will be admired
in the salon.
DOK'I MIX Y0TB DEIHK8.
Quantities of L'auor Taken Separately
A fTect Ons Less Than Mixtures.
Tearson's "Weeklr.J
The first stage of drunkenness is disor
ganization of the stomach, and this is pro
duced much more quickly by subjecting it
to the irritation of two or three stimulants
at the same time than by continuing to
drink the same for a much longer period.
I Again, the stomach of a person accustomed
to taking alcohol usually becomes inured to
whatever may be his favorite and most fre
quent drink, and mtich more of this would
be required to make him drunk than of any
other. But if a totally strange mixture of
more or less laminar intoxicants be sud
denly swallowed the shock to the stomach is
so great that it will in some cases produce
not only intoxication, but rapid insensi
bility, and cveu death if the dose is strong
enough. Some forms of alcohol are singu
larly antagonistic and therefore produce
this collapse ot the stomach, and hence of
the whole system, much more quickly than
others.
Perhaps the most fatal is a mixture of
equal parts of whisky and strong stout, a
draught of which has been known to -kill a
man more quickly than an overdose of
laudanum would have done,
PITTSBURG DISPATCH.
BRIGANDS OF TO-DAY.
Berber Pirates Who Captured Two
Ships No Longer Ago Than Hay.
HDLEY HASSAN'S GREATEST WOE.
The Yelled Touaregs of the Ethan
Plunder tho Caravans.
Who
BLACK FLAG OUTLAWS DT TOlfKIN
IWmiTTTX TOK THE DISrATCH.1
During the first week in May the ship
San Antonio and the bark Goleta, both
Spanish, were captured by pirates off the
north coast of Morocoo, almost within sight
of Europe. The cargoes were carried off to
the mountain retreats of the robbers. Cap
tain Albania, of the Goleta, was taken in
land, held for a ransom, and daily beaten
and nearly starved tor a week, until his
poor relatives in Spain managed to scrape
together 5500, which his captors accepted,
though they had demanded $5,000 as the
price of his release. Spain has demanded an
indemnity from the Sultan of Morocco. Poor
Muley Hassan is still turning his customs
duties into the Spanish treasury as indem
nity for the war of 18(30, which was precipi
tated, in part, by the crimes of these same
outlaws, whose occasional attacks upon
commerce are now the only vestige of the
palmy days of piracy along the Barbary
coast
Among the Bift mountains, stretching
along the Mediterranean live these wild
Berber bands. They defy the Sultan. Tfiey
recently killed a governor whom Mnley
Hassan undertook to place over them. ""We
have no ruler except our guns," was. the
word they sent to Muley Hassan five years
ago. The Moorish armies have never been
able to get possession of these mountain
areas, which, almost overlooking Europe,
are to-day among the least known and most
inaccessible parts of Africa.
Three White Men Have Vltlted Them.
No white man has set foot in that region,
except in disguise. In 1883 DeFoucauld,
Toutjregi in the Sahara.
disguised as a Hebrew, made the
wonderfnl journey in which he passed un
suspected among these mountaineers, col
lecting about all the information of the
country we now possess. Dr. Leiz in 1879,
disguised as a Mohammedan merchant, also
traveled unscathed throujfh a corner of this
region, crossing one mountain pass; and
"Walter B. Harris, in 1888, wearing the dress
of a middle class Moor, and with" his legs
and arms stained brown, visited Sheshouan,
one of the largest towns of the fanatical
Berbers. He was compelled to play the
part of a deaf mute, for his knowledge of
Arabic was so imperfect that his speech
would have betrayed him. He used a trusty
Arab boy as a means of communication.
These Berbers reside in walled towns that
are often perched high on the mountain sides.
One month they are tilling the soil of the
fertile valleys and thenext they may be off
on a foray against their peace-loving neigh
bors. Six instances of piracy have been re
ported within the past 15 month", and each
time the Sultan o' Morocco has been called
upon to pay heavy damages. There is no
telling -when the lawless spirit of these
mountain brigands will be broken, unless
Morocco, some day, falls into the hands of
a European power.
The Tonaregs of the Desert.
Among the ethnological curiosities at the
last World's Fair in Paris, were a number
of Touaregs from the Sahara desert They
had been taken prisoners in a fight with
Algerian troops, and had been kept in con
finement in Algeria for a year before they
were removed to Paris." So little was
known of these terrible bandits of the Sa
hara, that when the news came that some of
them were actually prisoners, the French
Government dispatched two scientific men
to Algiers with instructions to get from the
captives all that could be learned of the
history of their great tribe, and of their
customs, arts and language. The two
scholars spent most of their time for three
months in the Algiers prison, and the in
formation they obtained has been published.
To-day, the French are building a large
military post at El Golea, an oasis in the
northern part of the desert, and it is their
expectation and policy, using El Golea as a
base ot operations, to so lar subdue the
Touaregs as to insure the safety of caravan
traffic across the Sahara. This step will be
an essential preliminary to carrying out the
Extcut'ng a Pirata.
From n Instantaneous Photograph.
project of connecting France's Mediter
ranean and Soudanese possessions by a
railroad across the Sahara.
The Touaregs are the most formidable
band of professional brigands in the wnrlri.
f They occupy the entire central part of the
tsanara, irom irnaaames on tne north to
Timbuctoo on the south. The great tribe
of Touaregs number at least 400,000 souls.
Grnxt Crimes of the Bandits.
It was these fanatical nomads who mur
dered Miss Tinne, the handsome young
heiress of Holland, whose devotion to the
cause of discovery led to her tragical fate in
the desert The Touaregs murdered the en
tire Flatters expedition. They killed a half
dozen Catholic " priests who were toiling
across the desert to found missions in the
Soudan. Lieutenant Palat, and a little
later Camillo Douls, both of whom were
undertaking the hazardous journey to Tim
buctoo, met death by violence in the Tou
areg country. But their hand is turned no
I more against the whites than against every
fir ?Sr)V
SUNDAY, JUNE 5.
traveler in the land who has plunder worth
seizing.
The Central Sahara is a land where vio
lence is supreme, where treachery Is the
only law. Not one of the murderers of
white travelers has been punished. Ernest
Mercier aud Mr. Le Chatelier have graphi
cally described the reign of terror in this
great region. Many thousands o( Arabs or
Arab-Berbers, who live by camel raising,
spend their lives in the Touareg country or
around its borders. They guard their herds
with arms, in their hands, but verytolten
the guards are killed by a sudden descent
of Touaregs, and the herds are driven away
to enrich the bandit camps. Only those
Arab tribes are.safe that pay heavy black
mail to be let alone.
Bow the Traders Meet an Attack.
Trading caravans are always on the look
out for black specks on the horizon that
may indicate tne approach of the desert
A BUck Flag in Tonkin.
pirates. As soon as a suspected group ap
pears in the distance the camels are col
lected and made to lio down, the goods are
piled up behind them, and inside this
double rampart the traders open fire when
the enemy comes within range. More than
half the time the Touaregs win the day, and
the booty that falls to them they regard as
an ample recompense for the losses they
pustain. Few white men have seen the
Touaregs and lived to describe them.
On May 18, a dispatch from Tonkin said
that the French had been further success
ful in their operations against the pirates,
who have been keeping a third of that
country in a turmoil for over two years
past This is a long existing evil that
assumed its most formidable phases only
after France, four years ago, ended the buc
caneering exploits of about 500 outlawed
Chinese who, inhabiting the little islands
oft the coast, known as "the Pirate islands,
had been a terror to the coast towns, and
had almost paralyzed the junk trade.
Stealing Women for China.
Not long after the 80 miles of Pirate Isl
ands were swept clean of outlaws trouble be
gan to breed among the mountains of north
east Tonkin. Chinese outlaws crossed the
border in larger numbers than ever before,
and built strongholds among the mountains.
They found it Tory easy Ho make a living
by plundering native villages', and carrying
all sorts of valuables, including lood sup
plies, off to their stockaded camps. But a
still more profitable business .was stealing
Tonkinese women and faking them to China
to adorn the harems or the kitchens of the
wealthy. Dr. Hocquard has described this
odious traffic At first it was not easy to
dispose of these poor slaves, but the pirates
asked so small a price that the traffic gradu
ally grew. To-day the Tonkinese women,
gentle, submissive and laborious, bring a
good price in China; and the pirates and
Chinese middlemen who take the human
freight to China have become very bold in
carrying on the traffic. The outlaw bands,
surprising a village, drag on ail the desira
ble women to their strongholds. There they
are turned over to so-called merchants, who
carry them over the border into China. The
laws of China prohibit slavery, but this
difficulty is easily surmounted. Tne code
permits the rich to become the guardians of
the children of the poor by paying an agreed
sum to the parents. The slave dealers pose
as the poor fathers.
Snap Shot of an Execution.
The French have been exerting every en
ergy to put an end to the crimes of these
land pirates, and in particular to stop the
capture and sale of women. The French
loss has at times beeu heavy, and hundreds
of the pirates have been killed. The
French have executed all the pirates who
have fallen- into their hands, and one of
these pictures, made from an instantaneous
photograph, shows an executioner and his
victim the moment before the fatal blow
was struck. The present indications, hap
pily, point to their speedy suppression.
Another class of Chinese bandits whom
the French lmve reduced to submission are
the famous Black Flags, deserters lrom the
Chinese army who, nearly a quarter of a
century ago, took part in the Taiping re
bellion, and attacked the posts open to
Europeans. Defeated by the Chinese army.
about 4,000 of the Black Flag rebels crossed
the frontier into Tonkin and terrorized the
country along the Song Koi river, where
they lived by brigandage, and by imposing
a heavy tax upon the river commerce. Most
of the Black Flags are now compelled to
earn their living by honest and peaceable
methods.
For years England has been waging war
upon the Dacoits, who live by plunder, and
who have kept Upper Burmah terror
stricken, and are at last getting the upper
hand. Cyrus C. Adams.
A WIDOW'S SHREWD DEAL.
Sne and Ber Daughters Jve Aboard Steam
ehlpsYlsltlnc; All Parts of the World.
Neir Orleans Delta.
A New York widow has gotten ahead of
the Inman steamship line in a way that
the company must despise She owned a
narrow strip of land which the company
wished, and of course she asked an out
rageous price for it A compromise was
finally reached. She offered to deed the
land if tbe company would in return agree
to give to her and her two daughters, as
long as she lived, free passage upon the
steamers of the line.
As she was an elderly lady the company
agreed to it This was in 1889. Ever since
then the lady and her daughters have lived
aboard the company's steamers, aud as they
run vessels to nearly all of the principal
parts of the world she travels wherever she
-wishes. Hereafter the company will
doubtless keep in mind the advice of Tony
"Weller.
Somn Astonishing Kjc-Layers.
St. Louis Republic
Some silkworms lay from 1,000 to 2,000
eggs, tne wasp 3,000, the ant trom 3,000 to
5,000. The number of eggs laid by the
queen bee has long been in dispute. Bur
meister says from 5,000 to C.000, but Spence
and Kirby both go him several better, each
declaring that the queen of average fertility
will lay not less than 40,000 and probably as
high as 50,000 in one season. Termes
'latalis, the white ant, is possessed of the
most extraordinary egg-laying propensities
ot any known creature; she often produces
86,400 eggs in a single day! From the time
when the white ant begins to lay until the
egg-laying season is over usually reckoned
by entomologists as an exact lnnar month
she produces 2,500,000 eggs! In point of
fecundity the white ant exceeds all other
creaturea
y
1892.
IF DREAMS CAME TRUE
Most People Would Be Eating Mince
Pie to Produce Indigestion.
SCIENCE TACKLING THE SUBJECT.
Hlitory If Full of Forewarning! That Are
Easily Explained.
W0BS OF A BUTLER COUNT! M0THEE
fWKlTTXX TOK TH DISPATCH. 1
Dreams are a mystery. "Whence came
they? Have they significance, or are they
as some would have us think "children of
night, born of indigestion simply?" "Wise
Benjamin Franklin wrote: "If we can sleep
without dreaming then painful dreams are
avoided. But, if while asleep we can have
pleasant dreams, then it is so much added to
the pleasures ot life."
ThisVould be all -very well if the system
of superstition, upon which they are founded
and interpreted, did not provide that
"dreams go by contraries." Thus to dream
of death, say the wiseacres, gives token of a
wedding. To dream of a marriage is, on
the other hand, a sure sign of death. So it
would not add much to the pleasure of life
to dream of beautiful and joyous things
when asleep, while holding the belief that
misfortune and events full of sorrow were
thns presaged.
In all ages of the world's history there
has existed the belief that dreams were the
forerunners of notable and portentous
events. By their powers of guessing, or
divining the meaning of these, the seers
and prophets of old gained fame and reputa
tion, as do the fortune tellers of to-day.
Ancient philosophers were greatly con
cerned and interested in the subject, and
some of the wisest of men were as eager and
ardent in consulting the oracles, as to their
dreams, as were the most ignorant and
superstitious.
The Pagans Looked Up to Zens.
The Pagans thought dreams were inspired
by Zeus, who was reverenced and feared as
the greatest god of Greece. He held in
charge all matters of prophecy, and dis
pensed good or evil to the people as he saw
fit If a girl was to be an "old maid" in
thoe daj-B a fate almost perhaps as dire as
death she dreamed ot weddings and lovers
in galore and the choicest gifts of happi
ness; but if she was destined to marry and
go to housekeeping then her visions in the
dead hours of the night were of coffins,
graves and funerals.
One old lady in the wilds of Butler
county had six of the homeliest daughters
that were ever seen. She had the strongest
desire for some of them to get married. No
match-making mother in society was ever
more determined to have eligible husbands
for her daughters than was this anxious old
mother. But not one ot them ever had a
beau. The Fates, as appeared, were "agin
it" The good old woman grieved over this
matter greatly, and lamented with tears in
her eves as she related her dreams as to
weddings and bridal robes and "infairs,"
which as interpreted meant they would
never get a man, but that some of them
would find rest in the narrow tomb. The
same direful fate was to be read in every
cup of tea and coffee she drank. Not a
ring denoting marriage wps ever to be
found, or else, if perchance a ring ever did
appear, it was aln ays at the bottom of the
cup, which by oracular wisdom means that
a marriage would never take place. The
girls were good girls, even if not attractive
in form or face, and would have made ex-,
cellent wives. They accepted the matter
philosophically as arranged by heaven, yet
they never failed to consult the tea grounds
and' to tell their dreams with hope.
The World Is Full or Sach.
How many people there arc in the world
that put faith in such nonsense is impossible
to know, but while only the ignorant and
superstitious are thought to give heed to
them, these old notions are coming even
more into notice, it would appear, than
ever, since the Societies of Psychical Re
search are taking up the study of this sub
ject Are dreams of any use? Do they
answer any purpose in practical life? Are
they inspired ot heaven, or produce-I simply
by indigestion? Are they sent as warnings?
Do tney presage coming events;
Cicero took great interest in dreams. As
Plutarch puts it, he seemed to have some
reason for his faith. It appears that upon
one occasion he had a dreatn in which he
called the sons of some ot the Senators up
to tbe Capitol because the great god Jupiter
was to select from them a future sovereign
for Borne. The boys passed in review
before the god until Octavius came up,
when Jupiter stretched out his arm and
pointed him out as the luture ruler of
Borne the Caesar Augustus, who after
ward defeated Pompey and Marc Antony,
and ended the civil wars of the Boman
Empire. This dream was so vivid, and im
pressed Cicero so strongly, that the next
day he saw the boy ou the Campus Martius
and recognized him as the hero of his dream.
On making inquiry concerning him, he dis
covered that he was the son ot Octavius and
his wife, who was a sister of Julius Cxsar,
and that Csesar, having no son of his own,
adopted him as his heir. Cicero, with his
dream in view, treated the boy with dis
tinguished consideration, and found in him
afterward a most powerful friend.
"Warnings That Came to Caesar.
Then there is the old story of the omens
and dreams that presaged the death ot
Caesar, though it may be noted that his
wife's historic dream did not accord with
the rule that "dreams go by contraries,"
but as interpreted meant that, as he had
grown so great, he was to be murdered.
Calpurina strongly urged him, as Plutarch
tells us, not to go out that day, or it he
would not regard her dream to seek to know
by some other method of divination some
information as to bis fate on that momentous
day, when tbe soothsayer told him to be
w are of a great danger that awaited him on
the Ides of March. These warnings had
some effect upon Caesar, and be decided to
i stay at home, but a false friend, who was
possiDiy in tne conspiracy, persuaded mm
that it would be absurd and undignified to
have it announced to the Senate that he
proposed to stay at home until his wile had
better dreams, or until some less unlucky
day. Is it to be believed that these were
special messages from the gods to save the
lite ot Caesar? Or is it not more likely that
the soothsayer perhaps had hints of the
conspiracy that the alleged bad dream of
Calpurnia was a coincidence, or that it was
tbe result of the anxious waking thoughts
that threats of assossiuation had fixed upon
her mind?
The ancients held that if there were gods
they must take an interest in men. and would
show thedi signs of their protecting care.
This gave the seern aud prophets as good a
chance to deceive the people as that of the
spiritual mediums of to-day, who pretend to
see and know so much, and yet can tell
nothing that is useful or valuable.
W lut's tbe ITse of Knowing?
Suppose, as they sr.y, that ghosts do re
turn to earth, that they do give warnings of
death, that tney do act as laniuy banshees,
"white ladies" and "black friars," and
thus furnish the news that some misfortune
is to happen, what good does it do? Of
what avail was it for the "white lady" of the
Hohenzollerns to walk about in the darken
ing shades to give token of the Emperor
Frederick's coming death? Everybody
knew he would die without such manifesta
tion, as he had an incurable disease. Lord
Byron, they say, saw his family ghost the
night belore his marria;e, but the intangible
thing or whatever it was had no effect in
preventing misfortune, since, he proceeded
to ruthlessly wreck every hope of happiness
in the marriage for himself, "' elouded the
life of his wite with uni;:-Ve sorrow.
President Lincoln, it Is said, had premoni
tions and dreams before his death, but hoir
touch they had to do with it is not clear.
That he had little faith in them is shown by
the fact that he refused to have a body
guard, or to take measures to protect him
self against the threats of assassins.
The fact of the matter is that signs and
omens and dreams are but little thought of
unless somethidg really happens, or some
portentous diviuation can be supported by
them to suit the superstitious notions con
cerning their effect. "Do you believe in
dreams? "Why, yes and no. "When they
come true, then I believe in them; when
they come false, I don't believe in them,"
expresses the sentiment of many people
upon the subject. Drgams mayoccasionally
come true, but the testimony generally
comes after the fact presaged has been an
nounced. How Children' Get Superstition.
"We Jive in the midst of mysteries, and
the intelligence of these latter days has not,
as yet, much weakened the power ot some
ot the old superstitions. The ignorance of
women is largely responsible for impressing
the minds of children withabclief iu omens,
in ghosts, in dreams, in luck and evil por
tents lounded on tho simplest things. The
ill luck set down to tho number 13 survives
to ths day among even some of the most
intelligent people. Objection is made to 13
at table by some who know almost there is
nothing in it, but are afraid to risk it
Some people there are with intelligence'
beyond the common who have yet had the
ill luck of,Frlday so impressed upon them
in childhood that they will not start upon a
journey on that day, or begin any undertak
ing whatever. Not that they believe much
in it, but it fs just as well notto run the
chances. Dreams of evil portent make some
people wretched with thoughts ot coming
ill, when 0 times out of 10 nothing unusual
happens whatever. Tea grounds may give
token of a marriage, or a death, or a letter
with bad news, or a journey. Any of these
things are likely to happen and the tea have
nothing to do with it. But though the tea
grounds' sign is proved a. liar the most of the
time, silly women am ever to be found gaz
ing into their tea cups to find out what the
future has in store.
A Family Leaning to Dreams.
According to accounts it runs in some
families to have dreams that come true.
Goethe tells how his grandfather was often
informed of events that were to happen in
the. future byway of dreams. Ambitious
of civic honors, he dreamed of soon receiv
ing promotion to the Board of Aldermen.
So sure was he it would oome true that he
gave orders for the refreshments of the
guests who would appear to congratulate
him. Other such testimony is given.
Goethe himself, it is said, saw his own
ghost
Still, while it may be admitted that
dreams do occasionally come true, it ap
pears to be so seldom' that very little confi
dence can be put in them until the proof is
positive. .Many torles are told and exam
ples given of wonderful dreamings and pre
monitory warnings which skeptics receive
as delusions and doctors pronounce the re
sults of mince pie, lobster salad and pork
chops at bed time.
Dreams and omens would 'be very useful
sometimes if they could be gotten ud to
suit aud coming events should prove them
true. For instance, if Mr. Blaine could
consult a soothsayer who could tell him
whetherhe would be elected next Novem
ber, and whether he would live through a
Presidental term, it would be money in his
pocket Or if Mrs. Blaine could dream out
the problem of how the cat was going to
jump it would be very useful information.
If Mrs. Cleveland could dream of a calf it
would mean that Grover would be sure of
success and she herself assured of luck in
her ambition.
Science Is Prying Into It.
As much interest is being taken in this
subject by men of science, and the societies
for the study of the mysterious with a view
to psychical discoveries, it is likely we
shall soon obtain some satisfactory knowl
edge upon the subject One man has al
ready discovered how to produce optical
ghosts and phantasmal illusions. The
doctors are also discovering by practical ex
periments some of the predisposing causes
of dreams, so it is likely that some light
maybe obtained upon the subject
.Bacon, in nis day, .tnongnt "something
might be made ol it" "With the added
wisdom ot to-day, it would seem even more
probable. Some real tangible ghosts are
wanted that haye some common sense about
them, and we need to find out "what art is
required to sort and understand dreams," if
it be true, as Montaigue says: "They are
the true interpreters of our inclinations,"
or perhaps nothing more than a fantastic
exercise of imagination.
Bessie Bramble.
MABCHESrS POWEE AS A TEACHES.
Mme. XUmes Says She Is the Most Mojjnetlo
Vfomin She Ever Sa.w.
Mme. Emma Eames (Mrs. Julian Story),
whose voice was molded in the Marches!
school in Paris, says: "Marchesi? "Why,
she is the most magnetic woman I ever
met I She can make you believe that black
is white, and she has had such experience,
she is so versatile, she knows you at a
glance 1 "We have had a quarrel and have
not spoken for two years, but I shall never
regret, nor can I ever forget the years spent
under her able tuition. Marchesi is a won
derful woman."
"Why Is it that one instinctively connects
an idea of the unusual and of the powerful
with something very large, with great stat
ure, bold outline and striking presence?
Nine times in ten you find all
power, magnetism, peculiar charm, con-
centrated in a small, graceful woman with
out the slightest approach to the bold or
self-assertive. Marchesi is 50, of medium
height, not more than 5 feet 4, and of still
noticeably fine proportions, and with dark,
expressive, bright eyes. The occe dark
hair of the small, shapely head is silvered
over a full forehead one ot those intelli
gent brows which read character "like a
book." Tho lower part of the face indicates
tbe decisive, determined nature of the
woman, although the sensitive lips quiver
and tremble with feeling, or in listening to
music. Marchesi never takes pupils of the
sterner sex. She says, laughing, "Teach
men? "Why, all the senors would be marry
ing off my sopranos, and I should not have
a contralto lett after admitting the bari
tones!" A Summer Substitute for Beer.
Boston Globe.
Bice water is in most households wasted.
This should not be, for when rice is boiled
in water the nourishing part is left in the
liquid. "When, a nourishing food is re
quired it is best to cook the rice, so that,
when tender, it soaks up the liquor in
which it has been cooked. Water iu which
rice has been boiled makes an excellent
drink in hot weather; it should be sweet
ened and flavored by being boiled with a
few strips of lemon peel. It this is allowed
to get cold and then iced it is really a deli
clous beverage.
Jlfme. JIaiMlde ilarchtii.
.
19
EUROPE WAITS FOE US;
America Bows the Seed In Hectrldtr
and It Eeaps the Harvest.
MOTORS TOR THE STIAM BOATS.
Neir ippUance of tha Current la Strut
Cars to OLriate Braiea.
THE UTILIZATION OP WATEK P0WB1
rWKITTKr TOU TOT DISPATC&l
An eminent English electrical engineer,
now on a visit to this country, spoke re
cently in high praise of American origi
nality in electrical work. He also stated
that Europeans wait for us to develop anew7
industry, but when they do, introduce ifc
they do it so thoroughly that we are left far
in the rear. An instance of this is found ia
electric lighting. A few years ago Londoa
had very few electric lights compared with
American cities. Now it far exceeds any of
our large cities, not only in the number of
lights, but more especially in the thorough,
careful, well designed and permanent con
struction of the plants. The same solidity
and excellence of construction obtains ia
Berlin and Paris. "While in America t
were trying to make ourselves think that
underground lines were not practicable, in. .
Europe they were introducing nothing els
but such wires.
Much of this is due to the fact that we
have been doing pioneer work, and many of
the older installations partook necessarily
of the temporary character of experimental
plants. But the standard of construction ia
rapidly rising, as good work is cheaper ia
the end. It is pointed out, however, by a
leading electrical journal that while we may
well take a lesson from abroad in the build
ing of our plants, there exists still one great
drawback in tbe want of proper municipal
participation in our large cities, without
which we can never expect to have such,
general and complete systems as abroad.
A municipal control in which "boodle" and
"franchises" play an important part mnst
necessarily be unsatisfactory and expensive.
The way in which the progress of the
storage battery in this country has been re
tarded by litigation is also alluded to and
thus commented on: -".Mora money has
been expended in the legal controversy
than in developing and exploiting the
several storage systems. Despite this fact,
the companies now engaged in the contro
versy are in practically the same relative
positions that they occupied several years
ago. It certainly does not look well to see
the electrical companies of Europe install
ing storage battery plants wherever electric
lighting plants are found, while in America
the plants ot any consequence do not ex
ceed a dozen in number."
The Transition of Electrical Theories.
To the question, "What is electricity?"
which is often asked, no absolute an d satis
factory answer has yet been found. Thia
was suggestively shown by a remark mads
recently by the Vice President of the Amer
ican Institute of Electrical Engineers at
the annual convention of that representa
tive body. The speaker claimed that the
present theories of electricity should be re-1
garded merely as stepping stones to more
comprehensive and satisfactory ones. He
contended that modern theories of electrical
phenomena, if adopted as an absolute frame
work of all our knowledge of these sub
jects, may in a few years become prison
bars that will preventthe mind from mak
ing a tree and unprejudiced investigation
ot new theories and new phenomena and
giving due weight and significance in the
general science of electricity to the results '
obtained by the most recent experimenters.
An Interesting Plant.
Not only are steps being taken to harness
Niagara, but many less pretentious streams
of water are being utilized. In the little
town of Bristol, N. II., electricity domi
nates everything in the field of light and
power. The entire town, containing 500 or
600 houses, two hotels, many stores and
over a dozen factories, is profusely lighted
with incandescent lamps supplied by the
power from the Pemieewasset riveri which
tumbles in a series of cascades through the
picturesque settlement. The power is so
cheap as to be used with great economy of
labor and expense in the factories, and such
is tbe luxurious tendency of electrical ap
plications that many of the householders
are proposing to banish the heat and dirt of
their kitchens by adopting electrical cook
ing apparatus.
Elrctrlc Locomotive, for Steam Bosds.
There are siens that one of the most start
ling revolutions of the century is approach
ing. Steps are being taken in the North
west toward the laying of an experimental
track on which many points bearing on the
substitution of electric locomotives for
steam locomotives on trunk lines will bo
determined, and electrical engineers
throughout the country are on the qui vivo
for the next developments. The three 80
ton electric locomotives to be used in the
Belt Line Tunnel, Baltimore, will push a
freight train of 1,'JOO tons, including loco
motive, through the tunnel, up an 8-10 of 1
per cent grade, for a distance of 6,000 feet,
at the rate ot 15 miles an hour, or a 500-toa
passenger train, including locomotive, at
the rate of SO miles an hour.
Tesla's Glow In England.
Tcfla's experiments with high frequency
currents before tbe Boyal Institution have
laid such hold on the imagination of the
English, who, as Tesla say3 iu a recent let
ter to a friend in New York, "are the most
enthusiastic people in tbe world in scientifio
matters," that crowds flock daily to the
Crystal Pr-lace to see the high pressure
demonstrations given at tbe electrical ex
hibition. Many people find it hard to be
lieve, without actually seeing it, that a tube
carried in tbe hand, without any wire con
nection whatever, will fill a room with
beautiful light and high pressure discharges
with their dazzling and exquisite effects of
coloi and light, and the illumination of
wireless vacuum tubes promises to be indis
pensable at any afternoon party.
Iilshthousrs and Xlshtshlps.
A plan is now being tested in England
for the securing of communication with.
lighthouses and lightships without tbe cable
actually going on board. Iu the first tests,
which were fairly successful, a twin cable
was led out from the shore to within a
quarter of a mile of the lighthouse or ship.
The cores were then forked out and ended
in large earth plates about a quarter of a
mile apart, one on either side of the place
to be telegraphed to. Two earth plates
were put overboard, one from either end of
tbe lightships, or on either side of the light
house. More signals sent along the twin
cable from the shore could be distinctly
heard in a telephone on board the lightship.
Stopping Electric locomotives.
Although it has hitherto been possible to
stop an electric car quickly, the reversal of
the current which the action necessitated,
resulted in a considerable waste and a ten
dency to burn out the motors. A new
method of accomplishing the stoppage has
been devised. The new motors ot a car are
so connected that the electromotive force of
each under the rotation imparted by the
forward movement of the car opposes that
of the other, andtends to produce a current
in such a direction as to increase its own
field magnetism and cut down that of the
other. The car will thus be checked or
brought to a sudden stop if running rapidly,
and if on a heavy grade will creep slowly
down without taking current from the sup
ply wire and without having the brake. mU .