G ffl Ml ffl IMM KMlfirn1. JUi i 4IKllM)tlr KtHimirr . '
I
B. F. SOHWEIEB,
TEE OOI8TITTJTI0I THE TJII0S AID TEE EJT0E0EKE5T OP TEE LAW8.
Editor and Proprietor.
VOL. XXXIV.
MIFFLIN1WN, JUNIATA COUNTY, PENNA.. WEDNESDAY. DECEMBER 8, 1880.
NO. 50.
j
f
FAREWELL, 0 SUMMER SCENES!
Farewell, O Summer scene, no mors
I walk these breezy, pine-c!ad hills ;
No more for me the euDaet'a glow
Or moonlight's calm the valley Alls.
Ah ! not ones only, tbengh your forma
Here fa.-led from my outward eye.
In boon of darkness shall ye come
To strengthen and to purify.
FarowelL 0 summer friends, with whom
1 dreamed the sunny hours through !
Yann-oue y u wore no social masks,
Cut gave the best yon bred and knew.
Meet, part, forget ! you pass and fade,
And leave my heart but half content ;
Mill must I hope some nobler end
loan Simply that we came and went.
i'arewtll. O Sammer bopos, though dear.
With willing beads I let you go !
breams cannot feed the hungry heart.
Nor unworked sod fair harvest grow.
Not ours be rest in stagnant pools.
Nor idhng "neath a summer's sun,
but strength to cnt deep channels out
Wherein an earnest life may run.
Lost in the Snow.
My life Las been full of strange advent
turts; for since I was a lad ef sixteen, till
1 reached the age if sixty-eight more
than half a ceutury I was in the employ
of the Hudson's Bay Fur Company. Some
times I acted as an Indian trader, but for
many years I followed trapping and pack
ing. I am now eighty-five, and still a hale
ai.d hearty old man. It U true that I can.
not stow a war so large a quantity of buf
falo beef as I once could; but even yet I
ota hold my own with younger men at
the trencher.
Sometimes, with a few choice comrades,
I would seek the trapping-grounds of the
Shayenne or Assiciboin Indians, and trade
with them for their peltries, which I would
sell again to the Company's agent at a con
siderable profit. At other times, while
drawing a yearly salary from the Hudson's
B.iy agent, I would be frequently sent in
charge of dog-trains to distant points, to
bring in the pelts from various caches
("hiding places'") where our trappers and
hunters had deposited them.
On one occasion I was ordered to go thus,
with a large train and two companions, from
a temporary post on the Mooso River, a
branch of the Bed River, westward, to one
of the northern branches of the Missouri.
Some of our men had, the winter before,
Diade a long cache of otter and bearer
skins on the backs of that stream, and early
ill the spring I was directed to bring them
Uu
, One of my companions, D'Arville, bad
been of the autumn party; he was therefore
sent with me as a guide. The otliT,
Falardeau had cot been long in the employ
of the Company, but was permitted to ac
company us, at his own request, being
desirous, as he said, to learn the country.
We reached the stream, and found the
cache all right; and. after stopping for a
few days, to rest our dogs and recruit them
on a good feed of buffalo meat, we started
again on our return to the trading-post.
We had traveled some three or four days,
when on reaching one of the northern
heads of the Shayenne, D'Arville the guide
remembered haviog been toid by one of his
comrades of a farmer trip, that, by taking
another route eastward from that stream,
we could shorten our distance to the Red
River; we struck out in that direction. The
route would take us through a treeless
prairie of many miles extent. None of us
bad ever attempted it before; but we would
bare had no difficulty in crossing 11 Ma
tun fcW-.r.dinw snow storm set in with such
inlon.-o end frrauent chances of the wind
that, af er struggling along for two days,
with no cessation of it, we became con
fused, and the guide confessed that he knew
not where we were. In short, we were
lost; and that under the most unpleasant
of all circumstances; upon a wide and un
known plain, oa which, even were it not
for the blinding storm, no land marks ex
isted to direct our steps.
On eneaniDin the first night on this des
olate track, we secured our dogs around us
,A wPre all so completely snowed in mat,
the return of day, it was with much la
bor that we could dig our way again to the
surface. The snow had fallen to me aepin
Af fi fret-
To proceed with our sledges was out of
.v- ,iPrtion. for the spring snow,
ally falling, was without a crust. Leaving,
.wfn. the sledges and packs behind us,
lust as we had detached the dogs from them
;ht nrevious. we whistled on
.:.v.r,.i .nimals. ana started onward, hop-
W soon as the storm should abate, to be
ble to continue our way towards the fort.
... snow continued to laii, mi
imrrfble without snow-shoes, how
we were to proceed. We therefore dug down
to the ground, and determined to encamp
.ni .1.. .nw should nave woiu
and the surface be bard enough to bear our
... i mir scanty supply Of
weight, '""6 -
T wf should hold out. Wew
..W beneath the snow drift again;
but our dogs, with the true instinct ol T then-
: t mrk out for ine ioru
7 ZLa for us to hare followed them,
,ner wouH hare conducted us safely on
. n-rht course
- m.,nPd four days without food,
.. rrriinn. Onthenightofthe
Si day. 1VCS W ta 0Hr
rru oy, r i- we threw our
blanket. and buffalc .robe we
SXTScl pairing of
"T- ta iirht of another day, we
. nneri in tne same J , -VraI''
rTrade D'Amlle, stiff and life-
W'rr." .nn cold bad done
".Twart hunter. During
wreed-nighthisbraresplHtyielded
uodJlea- r.,.Ui from his painful
assist him to regain hi. swol
sleep, and M1"0, in mako on6 la
!f,r detd companion to the wolves, for
lL to? wSo attempt to bury ft,w
As I was about to throw mrself br his
aide, to sleep my last earthly slumber, an
object glided swiftly past an opening in the
snow near hit face, and riin. i
the top, my eyes were gladdened by the
gut of a rabbit bounding away towards a
clump of willows, upon the margin of a
spring not far off.
This sight restored our hopes and flarainc
pulses; and with recovered energies we set
ourselves to work making traps for the an
imals whose tracks were found in great
numbers about the spring.
By the time this labor was completed.
we dug out a shelter in the snow, to await
the result on the return of daylight.
w nen tne moraine came, belore the lleht
had fairly penetrated our shelter, without
awakening me, my friend stole noiselessly
out to examine the trapc
I called his name; but received no renlr.
At last, as I penetrated a little thicket, where
naa planted one of my traps, I perceived
dark object stretched on the snow.
1 approached it nearer; it was the cold
and lifeless form of my poor comrade. He
must have been dead some hours. He had
reached the trap which had contained a rab
bit; for by the spot were scattered fragments
of the hairy coat cf the animal.
He had found the animal, and in the ea
gerness of starvation he had devoured it
alive; and the unusual stimulus of food act
ing upon his inflamed stomach, must have
thrown him into convulsions for the snow
about him, where he lay, indicated as much.
Alas! poor Falardeau.
Xow, indeed, despairing of help, and
throwing myself upon the ground, I awaited
with resignation the period which would
terminate my sufferings.
Exhausted and spiritless, I soon sank into
state of partial insensibility. I had become
unconscious of pain. My hunger was for
gotten; but I still retained a knowledge of
my hopeless condition, and the desolate
surroundings about me. As near as I could
udge, in my dying state, I had lain thus.
till the evening of the serenth day, when
my dull ear caught the sound of a peculiar
grating noise upon the snow.
The sound was not unfamiliar to me; and
as it became more and nore distinct, in its
nearer approach to me. it awoke a train of
memories; and arousing my sunken energies,
called me back again to hope.
Could it le that rehet was approaching
that some kindiy human aid was in fcttrch
of met
Still nearer came the creaking souud.likc
that of a sledge drawn over the frozen cru.tt
of the snow. Yes, yes, human aid wsj at
hand.
In a few moments more, the sound ceased.
and I heard a friendly voice aaluts me with
the salutation of "Good morning" and the
form of a tall Cheyenne hunter stood before
me.
It was but for a moment, however, that he
remained, for leaving me, he hastened to
make a fire from the dry twigs of I nc wil
lows, aud In a utile time returned with a
small cup of the weakest brotu of venison,
a quantity of which he had brought with him
on his sledge.
A.s I swallowed the minute portion, all my
pains r.'turned. It seemed as if my stom&cn
was n fire.
Rat the Indian continued to feed me with
light nutriment from time to time, till, af
ter a few hours, my hunger beoaoie so
fierce that I could have devoured his entire
store.
But at length, as my stomach became
gradually accustomed to the stimulus, he
increased the quantity of broth, till, after
twenty-four hours he ventured to allow me
portions of the solid meat.
It VTSS-lhus the faithful fellow watched
over and nursed nrf till the fourth day after
his arrival when, finding that I had. recov
ered strength sufficient to be removed, be
placed me on bis sledge, and after binding
me like a pack of peltries to the cross-pieci-s,
an J covering me with robes, he
threw the leathern strap over his breast,
and started eastward In the direction of the
fort.
Oa the way, the Indian informed me
that the dogs had returned and that he bad
been sent by the agent to hunt up the party,
if they still survived. He had b- en out
several days, scouring the plain in every
direction where we would be likely to have
passed. On reaching the willow thicket,
he found the body of poor Falardeau.
He also gave me the pleasant informa
tion that we were about twenty miles from
the post, which place we reached the same
night, the generous fellow dragging me all
the way, and halting frequently to relieve
my raging hunger
In a few days, after reaching comfortable
quarters, I entirely recovered ray health and
strength.
As soou as I left my cot, the first thing I
did was to reward the faithful Cheyenne,
by giving him my best rifle, and the amount
of all the pay due me. To this the agent
added a keg of rum, ammunition, and
blankets, sending the hunter to his lodge
with even a heavier load than be dragged
in from the plain.
own aad auawtes.
Whv Is one hour divided into sixty min
utes, and each minute again into sixty sec
onds? Why not divide our time aa we do
our money, br lens, counting ten, or fifty.
or one ! wndred minutes to an nourr i nis
question was asked by an intelligent boy a
few days since, and the answer given him
may both, interest and instruct other young
people. 1 he answer is mis: n e nave sixiy
divisions cn the dials of our clocks and
watches, because the old Greek astronomer,
Hipparcbus, who bred In tbe second cen
tury before Christ, accepted the Babylon
ian system of reckoning time, that system
being scxigesimaL The Babylonians were
acquainted with the decimal system; but
for common and practical purposes, they
wonted by toti and turi, the toeto rep
resenting sixty, and the taro sixty times
sixty, or thirty-six hundred. From Hip
parcbus, that mode of rockoclng found its
srar into the works of Ptolemy, about 160
1 D-, and thence was carried down the
atreem of science and civilization, ana
fnnnd the war to the dial plates ot our
clocks and watches.
Better go supperleas to bed than run
Is debt.
A Tlsit to Dumas.
The illustrious dramatic bade us wel
come with even effusive warmth, shook
hands with us most cordially, and declared
that his friend was very wrong not to have
apprised him of our coming beforehand,
so that be could have shown us through
the bouse himself. Had we seen every
part of it f the library t the drawing-room ?
the picture-gallery f If we chose to go all
over it again he would be most happy to
accompany us. But we disclaimed any
intention of occupying so much of his
time, so he declared be must take us over
his Swiss chalet. This picturesque struc
ture was bought by him at the Universal
Exposition, was put up in his garden, and
now serves as a place of deposit for a por
tion of his overwhelming wealth of artistic
treasures.
What a delightful half hour ensued!
Dumas talks as well as he writes, and
there is a straight-forwardness and frank
ness about him that is altogether captiva
ting. He is a tine-looking man, tall, and
of rigorous physique, with blue eyes, a
pale yet healthful-looking complexion,
and prematurely silvered hair and mus
tache, The chalet, to which he conducted
us was so crowded with pictures, busts,
and terracotta, and other curiosities and
works of art, that it would have taken a
whole day to inspect them alL He pointed
out to us a ghastly picture of a dead wo
man with her baby trying to draw nourish
ment from the lifeless breast, a study by
Delacroix for one of his groups in his
Atanacre of Scio. 'I hen he showed us a
veritable art curiosity in the shape of a
three-quarter figure of Luke painted by
Meissonier in 1838, to fill an order for a
publisher who was eettine ud an illustrated
edition of the New Testumuit. tiiin nir !
ture was sold by the artist for six hundred
francs.
When we returned to the house, M.
Dumas kindly brought down from his bed
room the gem of his whole collection and
displayed it to our admiring gaze. It is
the famous Artist at Work, by Alessonier,
painted in 1S53, when his talent was at its
apogee, a small sized picture of such mar
vellous execution of perfection, that ''the
sense ached at it." And yet it represents
merely a painter in a black, eighteen cen
tury costume, with his uii powdered hair
gathered into a club behind, seated before
his easel with hisback turned to the spec
tator. This picture, originally sold for
2,0H francs, was purchased some years
ago by SL Dumas for lti.ixxj, and within
the last few days he has refused GO.OIH)
francs ($12,0011), offered by a picture
dealer. Well, it is worth it. It is a Meis
sonier of first quality, and such a work as
the old man no louder has Use patience, or,
perhaps, the ability, to execute.
31. Dumas told me lie could never write
in Fans, as he was so exposed to interrup
tions. His just completed tliree-aci comedy
which he wrote in six days, was composed
at the country houe of a friend. lis pro
visional title is Tin Jritiea of Bagdad.
It is intended for the Coiucdie Francaise,
and Al'Ue. Croizette is to take the part of
the heroine, Lionnelle. He laughingly re
mi rked that he did not write for young
girls, and that his own daughters had never
seen any of his plays till M lie. Colette
profited by her marriage to go to sec the
Filt SuturcL He spoke rather bitterly
of tne fact that La Dame aux Vamelia
has been played fully 3, (AH J times in the
United Stales since it was first produce'!,
ami bad never brought him in one single
farthing. I agreed with him heartily, lor
the non-existence of any copyright laws in
our country, so far as the w ritmgs of for
eign authors are concerned, is a positive
thanie and scandal. He took from his
writing desk and showed us a model in
bronze ot a broad, powerful, fleshy hand
the hand of his illustrious father, and also
a model in the same material of an exqui
sitely female hand, thai of the weil known
water-color artist, Mile. Madeleine Ie-
maire. And so, charmed with our runt.
and still more so with our gracious and
courteous host, we took our departure.
Only a Cape aud a Sword.
When Bonaparte first paid court to Mad
ame de tieawiamais, neither fas ricn
enough to keep a carriage, and the young
hero, who was deeply in love, often gave
the charming widow his arm when she
went to visit her man of business, a no-J
tsrv named Ranriaw - ' I
Aiadame, who had great confidence in
this legal adviser, who was a friend as well,
went to see him immediately after her en
gagement to Bonaparte, who, as usual, ac
companied her but, from motives of deli
cacy did not cuter lue co'ary s cabinet, but
remained in an adjoining room, where sev.
era clerks were writing.
The door being imperfectly closed he
here beard nearly all that was said during
the interview, and especially the arguments
used by Raguideau to deter Madame de
Beauharnais from the marriage she ac
knowledged herself about to contract.
"Mark my words, madame, said the
notary, earnestly, "you are about to commit
a great folly of which you will bitterly re
pent. Why, this man you are about to es
po use has nothing in the world tin a cape
and a sword."
Said Josephine : "Bonaparte never spoke
to me of this, and I had not the lain tea:
suspicion that he bad overheard Ragi
deau's contemptous words. Can you.
B jurrinne, figure to yourself my astonish
ment when, eight years after.on the day of
his coronation, as soon as he was invested
with his imperial robes, he said :
"Let them go and seek Kaguideau;
have him come instantly. 1 have some
thing to say to him."
The notary was promptly brought, ana
stood much astonished before the Empe
ror, who, with his peculiar sardonic smile,
said to him : 'Eh, bien, monsieur ! have I
nothing in the world but a cape and
sword?'"
melting or h lenlng.
In the expression of affection the sense
of smell, there is reason to believe, is older
in use and dignity than that 01 taste or touch.
Of a Mongol lather a travellers writes: "He
smelted fram time to time the head of his
youngest son, a mark of paternal tender
ness usual among the Mongols instead of
embracing." In the Philippine islands, we
are told, 'the sense of smell is developed to
so great a degree that they are able, by
smelling of the pocket-handkerchiefs, to tell
to which persons they belong; and lovers
at parting exchange pieces of the linen they
may be wearing, and, curing ueir separa
tion, inhale the odor of the beloved being."
Among the Cittagong Hill people again it
is said "the manner of kiss.ng is peculiar.
Instead of pressing lip to lip they place the
nose and mouth upen the cheek and inhale
the breath strongly. Their form of 8iech
Is not "Give me a kiss," but "Smell me."
In the same way, according to another
traveller, "The Burmese do not kiss each
other in the Western fashion, but apply the
lip and nose to the cheek aud make a strong
inhalation." Moreover, the Earaoans fa
lute br "iuxtanosition of noses, accompa
nied not by a rnb, but by a hearty smell."
There Is scriptural precedent lor such cus
toms. When blind Isaac was In doubt
whether the son who came to him was Ja-
I cob or not, "he smelt the smell of his ral
snent, and blessed him."
Competitive Trial of Sheep Dogs.
At the international sheep show in Fhila
delphia, one of the most interesting fea
tures cf the exhibition was a trial of the
skill of sheep dogs in managing their fleecy
charge. The dogs were expected to take
live sheep from a pen, drive them around a
cours t about a quarter of a mile long, and
put them in another pen provided for the
purpose. The first attempt was made by
an .hrghah dog called "Lad," which, in
Sheltteld, England, is said to have carried
off the first prize from twenty-eight com
petitors.
Everything being in readiness, the bars
were taken down, and at a word from his
master "Lad" j .imped into the pen and
sent the sheep out in a hurry. They were
very wild, and the large crowd present
had a tendency to make them worse. They
at once started around the north side of the
course, followed by the dog aud his master,
but had not gone a third of the distance
when the ram at the lead made a break,
and went through the crowd on the out
side of the ring, cl.sely followed by the
ethers, with the dog at their heels. In a
short time the dog returned with four of
them, but the fifth was still missing. After
bringing them back, he went in search of
the absent one, which he soon found and
brought inside the enclosure. But instead
of going toward its companions this refac
tory ram started in the other direction, but
was not followed by the dog, who went
again after the stray four. After getting
these started, another broke away, but was
soon brought back, when all four again
started around the course, the intention of
the dog being evidently to pick up the stray
ram when he same up with him. When
the cog went to get the ram, it showed
light, and took refuge between two stone
slabs. The dog barked furiously, and in
vain attempted to dislodge the stubborn
animah The dog was about giving it up,
when his master, instructed him to go back
and fetch the ram with him. The dog
started with renewed courage, and charg
ed the infuriated ram. Instead of the ram
running away, it lowered its head and re
pelled the attack of the canine. After be
ing repeatedly butted, the dog caught the
rani by the ear, and by dint of sheer force,
led the animal to the pen. This trial con
sumed about twenty-five minutes. A
Scotch collie named "Oscar" did not have
so severe a tussle as "Lad," and accom
plished his task in twenty -one minutes.
Other dogs were also put on trial test, and
the awards were made later in the week.
All of the dogs are endowed with incredi
ble intelligence and sagacity.
Ths origin ot toe Plow.
The origin of the plow and wheeled car
nages was a subject of a paper lately read
by Mr. Taylor before the London Anthro
pological Institute. He believed that the
first agricultural implement was a pointed
stick, which at a later stage of development
was bent at the end into the form of a hoe
and had the point hardened in the fire.
After the lapse of ages a large implement
of the same shape came into use. It was
not employed like the hoe or "hack" but
drawn by men or oxen. Among cur own
Indians, in the traditional lore of Sweden,
in Egypt's picture of a remote past, there
are more or less district traces of the above
transition. Greet, Egyptian, Chinese sev
erally possessed the germ, so to speak, of
the modern plow, the spur was next slioa
with iron, the more efficiently to fulfil the
purpose of l he vomer or share. Virgil
lived at a time when the plow hai reached
rcrr high stage ot perfection. It was
then constructed with a wheel and an up
ward projecting handle, like the best form
of plow in use in Europe in the eighteenth
ceniury, and, it might well be added, uKe
the plows still employed near Mantua anil
enice at the present day. Lr. lay lor is
unwilling to concede that the plow was the
progenitor of the vehicle of to-day; he as
signs that honor to the sled, as is more
probably just. It would soon be found
that the introduction of rollers beneath the
sled would facilitate its tractian. But as
it was not necessary that every part of the
roller should rest on the ground, the diame
ter of the middle was reduced with obvi
ous advantage. Slowly in this way the
wheel solid throughout and rigidly attach
ed to the axle, came into existence. The
wheel and axle of Scythians revolved to-
.. -r . ,v, .,;., ,,,0
wheels fixed on axles which revolve in
bearincs like forks open below. From the
ludc harnessing of the yoke attached to the
horns or withers of oxen at first, the ad
vance to the present method was also grad
ual. But it is easy to follow this and the
other improrements in the plow and wheel
ed vehicles up to their existing condition
through the aid of recorded history.
"A rieaannt Uirl."
A traveler In Norway, last summer,
came to a village early one morning, and
was struck by the air of gloom which per
vaded the street. Unable to speak a word
of the language, he could not ask the cause
of this, and concluded that some sickness
or financial trouble had fallen upon the
community. As the day wore towards
noon, however, the houses were closed,
shop-windows were covered, ali trade and
business ceased. It was a death, thent
Presently he saw the people gathering for
the funeral. There were the village offi
cials, the noblemen from the neighboring
chateau, and apparently every man, wom
an and child in the village. It must be
some dignitary of the church who was
dean, or some county official. As he stood
watching the crowds passing down the lit
tle rocky street, he caught sight of the face
of a German known to him. He beckoned
to him.
"The town has lost some great magnate,
apparently" he said.
"Ah, no. It is only a young maiden
who is dead. No. She was not beautiful
nr rich. But oh, such a pleasant girL
monsieur! All the world seems darker
now that she is dead!"
It is a singular fact that, when we reach
middle life and look back, it is not the
beautiful, nor the brilliant, nor the famous
people whom we have known, that we re
member with the keenest regret; but some
simple, sincere, 4 pleasant" soul, whom we
treated as an every-day matter while she
was with us.
Go into a family, or a social circle, or
even into a ball-room, and the woman who
has the most friends there, as a rule, is
not the belle ner the wit, nor the heiress,
nor the bsaulv; but some homely, charm
ing little body,, whoso fine tact and warm
heart never allow her to say a wrong word
in a wrong place.
The "pleasant women" are the attrac
tion that everywhere holds society and
homes together. Any woman, however
poor or ugly, may be one of them; but she
must first be candid, honorable, unselfish
and loving. If she is these, the world will
be better and happier for every day of ber
life, and as in the case of this poor Nor
wegian, it will "seem darker when she is
dead."
Germany annually eoniume 7,300
600 tons of rye ; the staple food oi the
working classes being rye bread.
Tbo Effect of romta Vpoa Rainfall.
The effect of clearing land of its trees,
according to the opinion of many meteoro
logists, engineers, and other scientific stu
dents of the subject, is to diminish the av
erage rainfall of the country thus cleared,
to lessen the outflow of the rivers, and also
to cause such concentration of the amount
of rain and snow within short periods as to
increase the danger of floods to a marked
extent. This theory was formulated most
fully in 1873 by Sir Gustav We., chief en
gineer of the improvements in the Danube
River at Vienna, who supported his opinion
by very ample calculations as to the de
crease in the volume of water discharged
by the five principal rivers of Central Lu
rope. Since that time many opinions have
been expressed by experts, some affirming,
others denying, the correctness of Sir Gus
tav's theory; some have claimed that the
fact of such a decrease in the discharge of
the rivers cited has not been satisfactorily
established; while others, admitting that
the decrease has gone on, deny that this
fact is sufficient to prove the accuracy of
all, or even any of Sir. Oustav's conclu
sions. The latter has, therefore, recently
published a second treatise, in which he
says that for six years he has shunned nei
ther labor nor expense in obtaining as many
and as reliable technical hydraulic meas
urements and data of different streams as
possible; and he has come to the conciu
sion that his theory has been proven to be
correct.
Sir Ousts v gives voluminous tabular ex
hibits of observations taken on a number of
large rivers extending over periods of more
than 100 years in some casts, and in nearly
every case it is found that the river surfa-e
has been lowered to a marked degree. The
rivers cited are the Upper and Lower Rhine,
the Danube, the Elba, the istula, the
Oder, the Moselle, the Main, the Theiss,
the Tiber, the Fo, the Seine, the Glommun
(in Norway) and the Mississippi. In reply
to the objection that the lowering of a ri
ver's surface may be due to the deepening
ot its chanueL and not to the decrease in
the volume of water discharged, Sir Ous
tav admits that the channel beds are some
times raised and sometimes lowered; "but,"
he says, "if from the numerous gauge
readings submitted by me are eliminated
those which were taken on stretches of the
stream in which changes in the bed of the
river took place, we will still find some
rivers or stretches of stream which lie either
in a natural unchangeable bed, or which
have been improved from time immemori
al and are m permanent condition. The
most scrupulous expert must admit thii. on
such rivers and stretches we can justly as
sume that the decrease in their stages
i. ., the sinking of their surface, indicates
a decrease in their volume ot water, since
it would be impossible to explain the phe
nomenon in any other way.
Sir Uustav claims that the destruction
of forests, necessarily coincident with the
advance of civilized habitations into new
countries, not inly diminishes the aggre
gate amount of rainfall, but it increases the
tendency to floods. This is, of course,
equivalent to saying that the rainfall (which
word includes all atmospheric aqueous de
posit, such as rain, snow, hail, dew, etc.)
is concentrated into briefer spaces of time,
during the year, instead of being equally
d stributed; and as this concentration mu t
have a detrimenial influence upon agri
culture, the importance of the subject ex
tends beyond its effect upon rivers alone,
which is the only point of view taken by
Sir Gustav Wex. it therefore deserves
double attention in this country, where
droughts are so often such serious causes
of crop failures.
1 he observations of the Mississippi re
corded by Sir Gustav were made at Nat
chez, Miss., and extended over a period of
11 J years. They showed a mean annual
fall of seven-tenths of an inch in the sur
face'level of the water, while the highest
stages averaged nine hundredths of an
iucn higher each year, and the lowest
stages thirty-nine hundredths of an inch
lower each year.
A Femsle Monk.
Matrena Ivanovna, a Russian peasant
girl of two-and-twenty, has recently ac
quired considerable notoriety in her native
I laud through the fact that, under the mo
nastic designation of "Father Michael,"
she succtviicd iff passing several months in
1 sue su
curriug the least suspicion on the part of
her feilow-aionks than she was other than
she seemed to be. Forced by her father
to marry a peison whom she detested, she
disappeared from her home on the day suc
ceeding the wedding; her clothes and two
long plaits of her "black hair" wow found,
near the Wolchoff river, as well as a letter
in her handwriting, stating that rather than
live with her bus) tan d she bad resolved to
drown herself. Her relatives forbore any
further inquiry, and mourned for her as
one dead. She,however, dressed in man's
clothing, applied last March for admission
to the above-mentioned monastry, and was
duly received into the fraternity on proba
tion, taking the minor vows, and otl'.ctat
ing as coachman to the prior. There is no
knowing to what ecclesiastical dignities
she might not in time have arisen had not
unkind fortune decreed that a native of
ber own village should have been sent to
Staraja Ladoga by bis master for correc
tion at the hands of the brethren, his
offence being inveterate drunkenness.
Promptly recognized and denounced by
this indiscreet toper as Matrena Ivanovna,
a friend of his youth, "Father Michael"
was handed over to the police authorities
by the indignant monks, and is now await
ing trial for imposture uon a religious
community a crune liaely to be visited
with severe punishment in Russia.
Fight Between a Dos" and a Donkey.
A singular encounter between a dog and
a donkey was that which occurred in
Blackpool, England. A retired gentleman,
named Weddington, owned a fine young
donkey and a splendid mastiff. One sunny
day the donkey was grazing in a field,
when the dog rushed at it m a ferocious
manner and fastened on to its nose. The
donkey did not decline the challenge, for
it at once shook the dog off, bit it about
the head and shoulders, trampled on it,
and tossed it about. The dog "again seized
the donkey, and a crowd soon gathi red,
but all efforts to separate the combatants
were of no avail. The dog repeatedly fas
tened on the donkey's nosa. Blood flowed
profusely from both animals, and at the
end of half an hour the owner appeared
a pen the scene and fresh attempts were
made to part them, but without success.
Alter the fight had lasted half an hour, the
owner decided to have the dog shot, as it
had by that time fastened with a firm hold
on the donkey's nose. A gun was produced
and the services of a good shot obtained,
But so savage was the fight that it was
difficult to shoot one animal without kid
ing the other also. At last aim was taken,
and a bullet put into the dorg's head, and
it dropped to the ground. When the
smoke cleared away the dog was dead, but
the infuriated donkey had returned to the
charge kicking, biting and tramping on the
dead dog. It was with great difficulty Ue
I donkey was at last driren off.
Ths Golden Eacie.
This noble bird is spread over a large
portion of the world, being found in the
British islands, and in various parts oi i-u-
rope, Asia, Africa, and America. The col
or of this bird is a rich blackish-brown on
the greater part of the body, the head and
neck being covered with feathers of a rich
golden red, which have earned for the bird
its popular name. The legs aud sidis of
the thighs are grey-brown, an J the tail is a
deep gray, diversified with several regular
dark-brown bars. Ihe cere and the feet
are yellow. In its immature state the plu
mage of the golden eagle is differently ting
ed, the whole of the feathers being reddish
brown, the legs and sides of the thighs
nearly white, and the tail white for the first
three-quarters of its length. So different
an aspect does the immature bird present
that it has been often reckoned as a separate
species, and named accordingly. It is a
truly magnificent bird in point of size, for
an adult female measures about three feet
six inches in length, and the expanse of
her wings is nine feet. The male is less by
nearly six inches. In England the golden
eagle has long been extinct; but it is still
found in some plenty in the highlands of
Scotland and Ireland, where it is observed
to frequent certain favorite haunts, and to
breed regularly in the same spot for a long
series of years. Their nest is always made
upon some elevated spot, generally upon a
ledge of rock, and is most lnartisticaUy
constructed of sticks, which are thrown ap
parently at rand lm, and rudely arranged
for the purpose of containing the eggs ami
young. A neighboring ledge of rock is
generally reserved for a larder, where the
parent eagles store up the food which they
bring from the plains below. The contents
of this larder are generally of a most mis
cellaneous descript'on, consisting of hares,
partridges, and game of all kinds, Iambs,
rabbits, young pigs, fiali, and other similar
articles of food. An eagle's nest might
therefore be supposed to be an unpleasant
neighbor to the farmers, but it is said that
the birds respect the laws of hospitality,
and, provided that they are left unmolested,
will spare tne nocks of their immediate
neighbors and forage for food at a consid
erable distance, in hunting for their prey,
the eagle and his mate mutually assist ecch
other. It may here be mentioned that the
eagles are all monogamous, keeping them
selves to a single mate, and living together
in perfect harmony through their Uvea.
Should, however, one of them die or be
kl led, the survivor is not long left in a
state of widowhood, but ranishes from the
spot for a few days, and then returns with
a new mate. As Uie rabbits and bares are
generally tinder cover during the day, the
eagle is forced to drive them from their
place of concealmealinent, and manages
the matter in a very clever and sportsman
like manner. One of the eagles conceals
itself near the cover which is to be beaten,
and its companion then dashes among the
bushes, screaming and making such a dis
turbance that the terrified inmates rush
out in hopes of escape, and are immediately
pounced upon by the watchful confederate.
The prey is immediately taken to the nest,
and distributed tothe young, if there should
be any eaglets in the lofty cradle. It is a
rather remarkable fact, that whereas the
vultures feed their young by disgorging the
food which they have taken into their crops,
the eagles carry the prey to their nests and
there tear it to pieces, and feed the eaglets
with the morsels. When in pursuit of its
prey it is a most audacious bird, baviug
been seen to carry off a hare from before
the noses of the bounds. It is a keen fish
erman, catching and securing salmon and
various sea fish with singular skill. Some
times it has met with more than its match,
and has seized upon a fish that was too
heavy for its powers, thus falling a victim
to its sporting propensities. Mr. Lloyd men
tions several instances where eagles have
been drowned by pouncing upon large pike,
which carried their at aulan under water
and fairly drowned them. In mote than
one instance the feet of an eagle have beeu
seen firmly clinched in the pike's back, the
bird having decayed and fallen away.
Brazil Alligator.
Enormous numbers cf a'Jigators have, it
appears, been observed frisking along the
lower courses and in the marginal swamps
and lakes of the Amazon, and even as cork
trees, in the beneficent economy of nature,
grow up, and expand and develop a bulky
epMetaitS- eL-barkr 0T the. preordained
purpose ot stopping bottles, so, no U.rtlDV
are amiable reptiles accredited with a mis
sion of utility to the manufacturers of
porte-monnaies, card-cases, shooting -boots,
aud other articles fabricated of the now
fasbiosable alligator skin. A Brazilian
paper shrewdly draws the attention of
wtallhy and unoccupied Lnglishuien of
this remarkable increase in the ground
game of a charmingly salubrious, though
somewhat sultry district An industrial
enterprise i f great profit might, it is sug
gested, be combined with excellent sport,
and, as the idea is fast spreading England
that the land cannot much longer support
both the farmers and the rabbits, what
could be better than a migration of sports
men to the equatorial home of the noble
a h gator, whose bids is a natural target for
rifle practice, and, if not too much riddled
bv bullets, is in brisk commercial demand.
and rules high in the quotations of the
leather market There the alligator frisks
and frolics, there the stealthy turtle prowls,
and, despite his furtive habits, falls an
easy prey to the wilier and more intelligent
hunter. A daring agile Alderman, with a
brace of ritlea, good legs and lungs, a sal
amandarine constitution and no objection
to niosquitos, might stalk down six or eight
alligators before breakfast, and saunter
homewards with a middling-sized turtle
under each arm. Winter is coming, the
Nile is getting overdone by tourists, and
the midsummer of an infinitesimal latitude
never from the teeming mud and fragrant,
health-breathing slime of the stately Ama
zon. Let enterprising Englishmen, then,
accept this inviting hint of the Brazilian
journal, and join the next excursion to the
Amazonian swamps.
Houes and Streets of Gold.
Most of us remember hearing in the days
of our babyhood ef a certain marvelous
city in fairyland whose streets were paved
with gold and its nouses built 01 the same
precious metal. Day by day fairyland is
losing its marvels, by their realization as
commonplace facts of our own actual hum
drum hfe. The bouses and streets of gold
form no exception. The first have been
found at Leadville and the other at Las
Flacitas, in New Mexico. At the Colora
do mining center, a person of an inquiring
turn ot mind, struck by certain intimations
in the bricks of which his house was built,
a id a sample of them assayed, and found
that they panned out we fear to say how
many hundred dollars to the ton, but quite
Kraeh to make the erection of a new
building on the ruins of the old one much
better than an economy. At Las Placitas
the city architect has discovered that the
ledge of rock on which the village is built
contains a vein of gold 9,000 feet by 300
wide, and yielding from $2,500 to $5,000
to the ton. Corner lota in Las Placitas,
we mar sarim. will soon be quoted at
figures that will throw Fifth avenue into
the shade.
Ancient Romo.
The Romans were keen, business-like
men, who never pretended to be above
trade, even though they were of superior
rank or wealth. It did not cost much to
keep a man in the early centuries, Uie year
ly allowance for a slave being thirty-seven
dollars and a half, while a free laborer hv
ed for forty-four dollars a year. Corn was
the main stay, fifteen million bushels being
consumed annually, aud oil and honey
were used in large quantities. Among the
rich, epicures were more common and more
extravagant than in the modern world. For
tunes were spent on single banquets. Men
were absurdly lavish. And yet everything
was very cheap even in this extravagant
city. The market reports stiow that lamb
and fish were only six cents per pound, beef
four cents, fish two cents, a pair of quail
thirty cents, eggs six cents per dozen,
wheat sixteen cents per peck, four pounds
of large grapes two cents; chickens, per
pair, thirty cents; five to ten heads of let
tuce two cents. . The Romans were not
very fond of any meat save pork, and this
ibey consumed sparingly Beef was not
popular, being used mostly for sacrifices.
Game and fish were favorite articles, and
many choice imported fish brought large
prices. The common people could not
afford many luxuries, as wages were low.
The yearly pay o! a journeyman mechanic
was from ninety-five dollars to one hundred
and twenty-five dollars and board. Food
cost forty dollars and clothing fifteen dol
lars per year. From the account of Forbi
ger it seemed that goods were very low. A
pair of shoes cost thirty cents; one pair of
woman s gaiters, thirty cents; one felt hat,
one dollar; one tunic, sixteen dollars to
thirty-six dollars; one togs, twenty dol
lars to twenty -eight dollars. A man could
get a share for two cents. The Romans
spent large amounts on other luxuries be
side those of the table. The imports of
flowers, perfumes, ointments and dresses
from India in one year amounted to two
million two hundred thousand dollars. In
furniture they had their decorative art
crazes, the citrus wood tables being favor
ite articles for squandering money upon.
In Cicero s tune it was not unusual to spend
fifty Ihousand dollars for one of these tab
les, aud Seneca, the stoic, who prated of
the virtues of abstinence and the rice of
luxury, owned five hundred of them.
farming- In Busts,
The report comes from SL Petersburg
that native cereals are so scarce in Russia
that large quantities of American corn and
Chilian wheat are selling at the capital. Al
though eminently agricultural, only 271,
000,000 acres a small area comparatively
under cultivation. In the central
bell of the empire the soil, mostly black
mold, is extremely fertile, seldom requiring
manure. Ihe system oi tillage is mainly
the three-field system, as it is called, in
which one-third of the land is allowed to
lie fallow. In the south and south east the
fallow system peculiar to that country is
practiced. It consists of raising hree or
four consecutive crops from the same land,
anil then permitting it to stand idle for five
or six years. After that time the soil begins
to grow feather grass, regarded as a sign
of returning fertility. Husbandry has un
dergone great general changes since the
emancipation of the serfs, to whom a con
siderable portion of the hind has been trans
ferred in freehold. The landowners hav
ing lost their former right to the labor of
their serfs fiml it advantageous to decrease
their tilled lands, or lease parts of it to the
peasants, often in return for half the crop.
Agriculture suffers materially from wai.t
of proper means of communication, causim?
the grain to be very low in the locality
where it is raised. The chief cereals are 1
. . "
wheat, grown as far north as latitude eix
ty-two deg.t rye, barley and oats. Buck
wheat and mulet are produced in the south,
and from these and rye comes the staple
food of the inhabitants. Hemp snd flax
are also widely raised, and flaxseed Is used
for food by the lower orders during the
continually recurring fasts, embracing
mire than six months out of the twelve.
During the last forty years potatoes have
been extensively grown, the government
having done much to encouiage and aug
ment their growth after the famine of ISotf.
An area of 4o6,0J0,000 acres is covered
with woods, but timber is so liberally used
by the Russians hi building houses, heating,
fighting, making carts and household uten
sils aud in other ways, that the supply is
'sti&duy dinnniauing. In the north of the
czar s dominiduA irora ninety to mnety-nve
percent, of the territory ' covered with
forests, which are very scarce in the South.
W ood, the pnnciiai article of interior com
merce, is floated down the rivers from the
treelul to the treeless districts. The wheat
product of Russia is generally so large that
it annually exports large quantities. Of
the wheat exported into Britain in 1875
eighteen per cent, of it came from Russia
and forty-fire per cent from the United
States.
Boats A tries.
The discorery of diamonds in IS 60, the
adoption of ostrich tanning on an increased
scale at about the same period, and the
subsequent spread of Angora goat farming
have been special providences to South
Africa and have given a great impetus to
trade and settlement. Since about 1870
the recorded export of dismodds has been
at the rate or upward of $12,500,000 a
year, while it is estimated that twenty-five
per cent, of that amount finds its way
through the colonies and out of the coun
try in private hands. There Is still no de
crease in the amount of stones discovered !
and several new fields have been lately
opened up, among them being a valuable
field of which the Free State rejoices ;n
the possession.
Ostrich farming has developed Into a
large industry since it was first adopted,
about fifteen years ago. Tea years ago
the annual export of feathers amounted to
only about $500,000. while ths year's ex
port will amount to about $5,000, OoO.
Angora goat fanning is no doubt destined
to eclipse eren these; as the finest and
rarest breeds from Asia Minor hare been
found to thrive as well on the Karoo lands
of the Cape as in their own native plains
and hills. 'Ine hair produced is of the
most excellent quality and the Cape An
gora is rapidly establishing a high reputa
tion in the London markets. The wine
farms of the Cspe, once so celebrated for
the delicacy of their produce, are again re
ceiving attention and efforts are now made
to obtain from the English Government
such a revision of the wine duties as will
enable the colony to enter the home mar
ket in competition with France and Spain.
The principal exports of the Free State are
wool and skins. The Transvaal exports
but little as ytt except ivory and the skins
Of wi!d animals. The flourishing colony
of Natal now sends out increased quanti
ties of sugar, which it psoduces in excel
lent quality.
V iih the Increase of productive wealth
public works and railroails have kept good
pace. The first experiment in South Afri
can railways having been started about
I860, much progress has of late years been
made in this direction. There are now
three systems of railroads in the Cape
Colony, leading from the three principal
seaports towards the interior, intended to
concentrate at the diamond fields, taking
in branches through the Free State. Natal
has a line of seventy miles, from the chief
seaport of Durham to Maritzburg, the capi
tal, an extension to be made either into the
Transvaal or to the diamond fields. There
are now in the Cape Colony 1,000 miles of
railroad in operation, and the cxtentions of
the various lines, which should be com
pleted in the next five or ten years, will
add another 1,000.
In this branch of trade there is a good
opening for American enterprise in the ex
portation of passenger cars. The only cars
in use on these lines are the English, but
the American cars are much bettor suited
to the country and would soon become pop
ular. The lines are long, the stations a
considerable distance apart, and what,
with warmwealher and limited accommo
dations at the stations, the American cars
ould snpply such conveniences as would
be highly appreciated and which are not to
be had on English cars.
1 he climate of South Africa proves to
be one of the healthiest in Ue world, espe
cially for pulmonary diseases, and English
and European consumptives and other in
valids are now resorting thither in increas
ing numbers, owing to its having been so
highly recommended by some prominent
medical men sent out to report upon its
climatic conditions, Traders and travelers
have gradually extended their sphere of
operations in late years, until now there is
hardly a tribe or clan from North of the
Zambezi to the Cape who have not had
some acquaintance with the white man. A
trading expedition through Dawaraload la
now no novelty, and a hunt to the Zun
bezi is a boy's adventure from Kunberley
or Pretoria.
Invorors.
ArtfTEALiASS. Divorces have never been
sanctioned in Australia.
Jaws. In olden limes the Jews had a
discretionary power of divorcing their
wives.
Japans. If the wife be dissatisfied she
can obtain a divorce by paying a certaiu
sum.
Thibetans. Divorces are seldom al
lowed, unless with the consent of both
parties, neither of whom can afterward re
marry. Mooes. If the wife does not become the
mother of a boy she may be divorced with
the consent of the tnbe. and she can marry
again.
Abtmbixiass. No form of marriage is
necessary. The connection may be dis
solved and renewed as often as the parties
think proper.
Siberians. If the man be dissatisfied
with the most trifling acts of his wife, he
tears her cap or veil from her head, and
this constitutes a divorce.
Corxax. The husband can divorce his
wife at pleasure, and leave her the charge
of maintaining the children. If she proves
unfaithful he can put her to death.
SiamksS. The first wife may be di
vorced, not sold, as the others may be.
She then may claim the first, third and
fifth child, and the alternate children are
yielded to the husband.
Akctio Region. When a man desires a
divorce he leaves the house in anjer, and
does not return for several days. The
wife understands the hint, packs her clothes
and leaves.
DnrE ad TruKOMAS. Among these
people, if a wife asks her husband's per
niUsion to go out, and he says "Go," with
out adding "but come hack again," she Is
divorced. Though both parties desire it,
they cannot live together again without
being remarried.
t ....
tonus ibim u th? parties choose to
separate they break a piir ot chopsticks or
copper com in tne presence of witnesses,
ny which action the union is dissolved.
The hnsnand must restore to the wife the
property belonging to her pnor to her
marriage.
A ejucan Indians. Among some tribes
the pieces of sticks given to tue witnesses
of the marriage are broken as a sign of di
vorce. Usually new connections are formed
without the eld ones being dissolved. A
man never divorces his wife if she has
borne him son.
Taetaus. The husband may put away
his par ner and seen another when it
pleases him, aud the wife may do the same.
If she be ill-treated, she complains to the
magistrate, who, attended by the principal
people, accompanies her to the house, and
pronounces a formal divorce.
Chinsb. Divorcee are allowed in all
cases of criminality, mutual dislike, jeal
ousy, incompatibility of temper, or toj
niu& loquacity on the part of the wife.
The husband tunot sell his wife until she
leaves him, and becouifs S slave to him by
action of the law for desertion. ' A- son is
bound Vt divorce his wife if she displeases
his parents.
CiacAsiASs. Two kinds of divorce an
granted in Circassia one total, the other
provisional. When the first is allowed tho
parties can immediately marry again;
where the second exists the couple agree to
separate for a year, and if, at the expira
tion of that time, the husband does not
send for his wife, her relations may de
mand of him a total divorce.
Gbkoiass. A settlement was usually
given to a wife at marriage for support in
case of a divorce. The wife's portion was
then restored to ber, and the husband re
quired to pay monthly interest for its use
during the time he retained it from ber.
Usually the men could put their wives
away on slight occasions. Even the fear
of having too large a family sufficed. Di
vorces scarcely ever occur in modern
Greece.
Hindoos. Either party for a slight cause
may leave the other and marry. When to.h
desire it there is not the least trouble. If
a man calls his wife "mother," it Is con
sidered indelicate to live with her again.
Among one tnbe, the "Gores," if the wife
be unfaithful, the husband cannot obtain a
divorce unless he gives htr all the property
and children. A woman, on the contrary,
may levre when she pleases, and marry
another man, and convey to him the entire
property of her former husband.
Romans. In olden times a man might
divorce his wise if she were unfaithful, if
she counterfeited his private keys, or dtank
without his knowledge. They would di
vorce their wives when they pleased. Not
withstanding this, 621 years elapsed with
out one divorce. Afterward a law was
passed allowing cither sex to make the ap
plication. Divorces then became frequent
on the slightest pretexts. Seneca says that
some women no longer reckoned the year
by the consuls, but by te nutntr ef their
husbands. Su Jerojie spejks of a man
who had buried twenty wives, and a
woman who had buried twenty -two hus
bands. The Emperor Augustus endeav
ored to restrain the license by penalties.
A rtMarkall soiar protuberance was
lately observed by M. Thollou at the
Paris Ol erratory. The protuberance
rose rertically as a thin luminous jet,
moving at the nto ot about tweuty
mile3 per second, to a height eqnal to
one-four:h of the sun's diameter, or
about 215,000 miles. After rising, It
gradually decreased In brightness,
at the same time enhtrgiug to prodi
gious dimenaioca.
li
!
1
W
t
i
V
arn out, laid down to die.
J.
P
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