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THE OONSTITUTION-THE UNION-ANI)' THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE LAWS.
B, F. BOHWEIER,
Editor and Proprietor.
VOL. XLVI.
MIFFLINTOWIN. JUNIATA COUNTY. TJiNNA.. WEDNESDAY. NOVEMBER 2, 1S92.
NO. 46.
NO FRIENDLY LIGHTHOUSE.
UT BKZKKIAH BUTTER WORTH.
U tt-ference to Natlin! Island, the San Sal
vador of ('olumbir.
The fervid spl mlot a of the sky
Al'M'K tli wavH have rotiil.
And fiMni Nmlit asreiHis hr throne
on sl;intnm sleps of clit.
Th fWy uvm j;rw cill and rtark,
'lhf inoU'Wlnd I ls'H (rrf
Aim! far th l.luht Iiousp 1 1 It- IU star
0 ti t tie H;ih:tni;h Sea.
1i irnrlly lllit hone warned the tail.
Nit h c i l'lt i tinjc rl ;ir,
JSo pilot iioat from ( ariiil-ee
1 he lonely sliltH drvv near,
W Itrii (?. the l'rohet Mariner,
'. faith tl e iiitMtt ea tnul;
Knt'orilv Ilfper lit her star
I M il the height ol C.oU.
On silver wIhl" the petrels sleep.
'Heir twi Iciving loKcheil Hi l.ind;
Afar Muni lilt- tier eross of stats
As u li h a Jewel led hand.
Tli i'llot knows e.tcn coral bar,
A nd caliitlv we rpose;
(.oiuintius t.nly saw the Mar
o(ieiidl .'H'lltum-MS ruse.
Vet ntaiiner, maiifier,
f t lu- rai gasso Sea.
K-.ni hutidit d yeat.t have left the way
.i. clearer than to thee 1
'1 inner ltht shone clear and far
hen thou ttie new s.t tr d ;
Faith needed hut a hi.;!e siar
1 p. tii the hettlilsuf ii oil.
O nijiht rele-.tial eoohn - cnlni
A ul in.in.c t' tR'li of -oto!
V sink to rest and fold our arms
At'ove the rttrkeu d deep.
We m uo Hi I'llot, gray and wise,
I he ili'lilhoutf lamp tKI-tt lie;
.No fllell'lly he.M-nii ntet ' Mpy
Wlio-e k e first broke the sea.
on the Bahntn A-., Murc-t, 1c'jS.
NELLA, THE GIPSIES' GIRL.
Translated by I.iabel .SmiliHun from
tftr J-'ri ncfi ff I'ierre uo. J
Lp tlie steep road a dilapidated
covered wagon was slowly toiling,
drawn by a long stumbling horse. The
Utter was assisted by a large, thin dog.
which, iasteucd under the wagon,
walked witti its head down and it. -toutrue
lolling, but w tU its nails
clutching t lie ground, uud pulling it
with all its might.
The road ran past a wide expanse of
htath, ou which was seen a series of
round holes in the grans, showing that
no spot could bo inoro favorable for
snaring rabbits. The air was heavy,
the sky dtipoled with light, motionless
clouds, and in another hour ihe sun
would be netting.
At the little window of the van, with
its dirty green blinds, hung a bird cage
in which a jay, without a tail, was hop
ping about, and near it sat Antonio
Valeucie. the proprietor of the vehicle,
smoking his pipe comfortably uud gaz
ing at the landscape an he rode along.
He was a huge, muscular fellow whose
ostensible occupation was U.e i-xhili-tion
of juggling fcuts iu market places,
but as a geuerid rale he did nothing at
at all; at leant, nothing that he would
own to doing.
While he sat at his ease, with a broad
sash of scarlet flannel around his waist,
and his siiirt-s! eves rolled np to dis
play the tattooing on his branny arms.
Lis wife walked beside the w igou ou
the dusty road. She whs a little wo
man, hardly thirty years of ago, with a
dark face, which must have been very
pretty once; c ad iu rags, barefooted,
her hair dishevelled, with a sleeping
infant on one arm, she toiled along in
perfect silence. About a hundred
yards behind camo a girl, twelve years
oi age. Shd I ad a mop of tangled
bloude hair curling over her head and
almost iu her eyes; she was barefooted,
as light and agile as a wild goat, and
ever and anon she would leave the road
and scaling the side of the deep ditch,
would gather mushrooms and put them
into one of the baskets which hung
from her shoulders. The mushrooms
picked by Nella could be eaten with
ul much safety as if they had been se
lected by a learned professor of Natural
History. The girl was also an adept iu
the art of basket making, and her
graceful work genora!ly found a re.idy
Bale, the proceeds always being suffi
cient to keep the master, Autonia. in
brandy and tobacco.
"Stop!" cried the leader of the little
isravan suddenly, "here is a good
place to camp, under these oaks. Un
harness Isidi-re, and make a fire, while
I go and inspect the woods. They
look very promising, and I should like
to have a rabbit for dinner."
"Look ont for the keepers," said his
wife.
"I always have my eyes open," re
p'ieJ the eoloaMis, getting off the
.Hhrou, "1 know how to talk to keep
i rg if they iuterfere with me," and he
made a significant motion with bis
clenched fist.
He soon found that there was an
id'unilance of game in the woods,
llahbits were seen boldly nibbling at
tbe grars-bludea, but with ears erect
ready to dart back nnder the brnsh
uo.mI at the least alarm; a pheasant
strutted proudly across a clearing and
disappeared nnder the Tarze; two
'euedover the road ditch after col
lecting their tithes in a neighboring
I'cet-tield, and all this within a 1'ew
minutes. A large flock of wood-pigeons
alighted at the summit of a chump of
piue trees, after pruriently describing
several circles in the air by way of in
sp -cling the surroundings; tnrtle doves
w re cooing on all sides, especially
ob.'oKuig the ends of dead bonghs
Inch still caught the fast fading snn
l e iUiS, and the stillness of the forest
wus rudely broken by magpies, which
ere chattering harshly like a group
of qa irrelsome market women.
Antonio Valencia, the juggler and
I' rtcUr, was not aware that the land
tie was trespassing upon belonged to
ttie li.ran de Sainty, a former Colonel
f Cavalry, who devoted his days to
port, liv.ng indeed for nothing else.
He was known in the neighborhood as
"the old wild boar," for some secret
orrow carefully cooceaied but more
Jit'icnlt to heal than the wounds re
ceived in Algeria, the Crimea or Mex
ico, ih,i made him misanthropical and
ferocious. He was the possessor of
robust health in spite of his advanced
J'car-, ami every dav from sunrice to
sunset h ; was out of doors with his
iTUUnnler hl arm i.,ammrv nlirttit in
his woj,)8 ,,,) tid, ami along the j
lioriH of his lakes, or stopping at aj
peeper's c ttge or a farmhouse to par
t ke of some game of his own shooting.
oiuetiuies the (lav's exertions aud fa--i
ues were not M1ji;(.jPUt to satisfy his
restless moods, and ho would spend
lie night in the opeu air, wandering
alone ex ept for his doirs. whose corn-
Piny indeed, ho. generally preferred to 1
'h it of mn.
. -'lore than satisfied with his fours of
jii'pection, Antonio, the poacher, re
nirned to his camp, ella had made
Are of broom and pine-cones, placed
two p,eces of wood to serve as a crane
otter the fashion of the gipsies, and
wspended a little iron kettle just over
me names.
"nlesS the devil himself prevents,
8 LaU have something for dinner to
cirgw that wiU Uate better tin po
tatoes, carrots and turnips, " said th
master.
'You have seen something?" asked
his wife, and he answered slowly:
"Stews, fries and roasts! Thev are
running about just now, but Nella
knows how to stop them. 1 am so big
that 1 am sure to be seen, and the
keepers would kuow me a mile off. Do
you hear girl? As soon as it gets dark,
you are to creep nnder the brush
wood like a snake and set the snares.
Take some of your strongest brass
traps with yon, for the hares are neatly
as big as Tanibor."
"All rigU," said the girl in reply.
Then she got into the van and took
some poaching instruments ont of a
chest, which was furnished with a
double bottom for greater security.
The master, meanwhile, stretched
himself at full lent'th unon the soft
grass; his wife sat near him nursing
her child; Tambour, the dog, looked
at the aoupkettle with hnngry eyes,
and a straight, bluish column of smoke
rose from the burning cones in the still
evening air.
At this hour Colonol Sainty's brother
oflicrrs were enjoying themselves at
the club or on the boulevardes, while
he, the "old wild bear," whose great-
est desire Was to forffet his former
pleasures, roamed solitary and silent
niruiigu me woods, smoking a cigar
and thinking of nothing. Suddenly
he stopped and listened, for an uu
aceiiHtoinmed noise reached his ears.
He knew the woods and all their
sounds so well thut a mistake was im
posible; tome one was certainly hid
ing in tbe bushes near him. Swiftly.
but as noiselessly as a lied Indian, he
strode around a clump of brushwood
aud discovered the girl-poacher setting
a trap,
"What are yon doing here?" he
roared, and the child started up terri
fied at sight of the stern face with long
moustache. She would have fled but
his firm hand as on her shoulder,
and so she answered tremblingly:
"(lathering nuts uud mushrooms,
sir."
"'Ah, indeed! At this hour, and with
these tools?"' he said. "But tell me,
hsve your mushrooms rabbit's ears.
aud do you catch nuts in traps?
are you? What is vour name?'"
"My name is Nella, sir."
"Nella? That is no name!
what? Nella who? What is
Who '
Nella
your
other r.auie? Where do yon live?"
"I have no other name, Sir. I have
no father nor mother, but 1 came with
the je le in that wagon by the road."
"Ah, yon belong iu that state chariot
to you.' We shall see. Well, niv eirl.
you have been caught in tbe act of
practicing a profession which wdl lead
.you iu o jail do you know th:tt? Per-1
1 1 tl T IU IT Id 11 if ntitlrJir ii.ii. "
"Oh no, Sir!" exclaimed the child
. .0.01.
tearfully.
"Show me the way to yonr barracks
as fast as you cau. You need not be
afraid, I am not going to hurt yon."
Very unwillingly did Nella act as
guide for she know that her pay wonld
be a beatiug, and only too well aware
was he that the master had a heavy
hand. Ihe meetiu r between tbe baron
and the gipsy was not an amicable one;
indeed Antonio at first showed
his tist., declared that he cared not a
rap for the old man and his rabbits,
and signed to Tambour, who showed
his fangs. But suddenly a large revolv
er appeared iu tbe gentleman's hand
as lie exclaimed fiercely:
'You confounded blackguard, do
you think to frighten a Colonel of
dragoo is? Keep back your dog, or
else I will begin with him and continue
with you."
Antonio Valencia's face changed sud
denly and with the meekness of a lamb
he exclaimed that he hid no intention
of giving offence; Down, Tambour,
yon fool! Surely it was not his fault
if his mischievous child had slipped
away when he was not looking and tried
to poach on the gentleman's land!
Antonio did not know where she had
learned such ways, for be himself
wonld prefer to die of hunger rather
than touch so much as a squirrel that
did not belong to him. Indeed he
wonld sooner die of hunger, aud of
tbir.-t too!
"I shall see th'it yon receive a
medal," said the colonel dryly.
"Take that, you good-for-nothing!"
cried Antonio slapping the g'rl's face
sharply, "and I will give yon some
more pretty soon, to teach ou to mind
your father."
ion are not my father, aud you
sent me with the traps," she retorted,
and the baron interfered by forbidding
Antonio to strike her again.
"I shall attend to yonr case to-mor
row morning, he said as he turned
away, "and if you try to escape during
the night you will be arrested, you
may be sure of that. Remember, you
are not to hnrt that poor child."
Tbe next day the baron smt a mes
sage to the Mayor, and while waiting
the arrival of that personage, went out
for a stroll as usual. Great was his
surprise at finding Nella on the very
spot where be had nrst seen ner. rue
was standing np, however, leaning
against a tree-trnnk and teemed to be
reflecting sadly.
"ion here again i he said, an.l the
girl responded:
"les, but l am not poacuing mis
time. I came hero to see you.
What can I do for you, my child?
But look, there is blood on your dress
it is covered with drops of blood!
"Ha beat me acrain last night: he
dragged me by my Lair and kicked me.
Look, two of my te.-th are broken and
my lips are cut 1 am bluck and blue
all over."
I will attend to him, the black
guard!" cried Baron de Sainty in a
fnry, bnt the girl added nasmv:
"Den t do any thing, i Deg oi you.
I know how to" revenge myself and I
can do it, though I am little. My time
has come. I cried all night long bnt
now 1 shall not cry any more." ner
listener looked at her in silence. Her
pale face showed an unflinch
ing determination, her ink-black eyes
were glittering fiercely, and her whole
frame was quivering with rage.
To what race could she belong?
What wild, reckless blood was flowing
iu her veins?
"T will protect yon, my poor child,
said the baron, aud her voice softened
as she answered him:
"Yon are the only person who has
ever been kind to mo. I came here to
thank yon and to ask yon to accept a
present from mo." She took from
her pocket a sort of poulard and hand
ed it to him, saving, "my brother left
it tr, mn an.l I want to give it to yon.
It is all poor Nelli has to give, and it j
is very pretty. Keep it as a souvenir
of your kindness for yon will never see j
me again." . .
She turned away, throwiug him a
kiss as she went, and he looked after
her for a minute, then muttered with a
.-.,l.i.l air-
"What a strange creature! But 1
muet give this dagger back to her at
tbe first opportunity."
A noon as Kella was out ox fM
the lawn she began walking slowly and
seeking for something on the ground.
All about her the glittering dewdrops
were deoorating hedges and briars, and
shining like diamonds on the spiders'
webs. Three or fonr times the girl
stooped to pick a mushroom which she
examined carefully and put into her
pocket. Then she returned to the
camp, and lying down near tbe tire
beside Tambour, began stroking hu
rongh hair lovingly. Suddenly she eat
np and raised the lid of the kettle in
which the morning meal was cooking,
and for an instant she was hidden by
the cloud of stoam which arose.
Three hours later a party of police
officers rapped at the door of the gipsy
van, which remained tightly closed.
"If thev are asleen. I will manage to
wake them!" exclaimed one of the men
leaning from his horsa and milliner tha
door open roughly. He had hardly
entered when he started back in terror
saying,
j "They are dead, all dead!"
I It was true; Antonio Valencia, his
i wife, the baby, and the girl Nella were
corpses,
1 The antopsy, and the examination of
the remains of the meal found in the
iron kettle, proved that the family had
been killnii hv ntitinT nniftrinniifi mnsh-
room, and in the ixcket of the light-
haired girl two of these same mush
rooms were discovered.
The Baron de Sainty adopted Tam
bour, who is now ono of his most
valued watch-dogs, and in his study
hangs the dagger bequeathed to him
by the yonng Bohemian. It is a curi
ous and valuable weapon of the six-
teenth ceutnry, with a ribbed blade
and an ivory handle which bears the
inscription," Tiuulem bona cauna tri-
om)iatf.
HIGH-PJRICED ARMCHAIRS.
Forty thousand pounds was the cost
of the armchair presented by the city
of Augsburg to the Emperor Kudol
phus II. of Germany about the year
1575. The chair which is of steel,
took the artist about thirty years to
make. The large compartment at
the back of It represents Nebuchad
nezzar asleep; the statue about which
he dreamed is standing before him.
and just adjolng is a representation
I of the King on his throne and Daniel
j before fchiui explaining the dream.
The chair became the property of
I Count Tessln, ambassador from the
court of Sweden to the English CourU
Milsmvil-a Rr:imler nftcrw:iril Itniltrlit
j ,t a3 an antique for 1.800 guineas and
i 3,, it to tlie Earl of Radnor for COO
ineai An ,vory aruu.halr pre.
I '
cantlllt fi r.nsliiviw Vnsri liv the -itv
j of LU beck was sold in 182f to the
I Swedish chamberlain for 08, 000 fkr-
1ns, or upward of 4,800. S'niie time
ago a number of chairs formerly
owned by celebrated persons and col
lected as relics brought the following
prices: Shakspeant's, 120; (lay's,
.10; Theodore Hook's. H; Bulwcr
Lytton's, 13; Anne Boleyn's. 10
10s; Charles II. 's, 10; Mrs. Siddon's,
7; Pope's, 5 10s; Mrs. Browning's,
5; Thackeray's, 3 10s. Walter Sav
age Landor's, 3 10s; Lord Byron's,
2 10s; Sir Walter Raleigh's, 2. A
Birmingham Arm has recently made
a beautiful cut crystal chair for an
Indian rajah. H is composed of crys
tal columns and pieces with polished
facets, and is covered by a crystal
dome or canopy, which Is lighted by
three Incandescent electric lamps
It cost 300. Tit-Bits.
Madcap M.utle.
The little Princess Maude has alt
.if her father's liking for a good time,
says the Detroit Free Press. She de
lights in running and riding and
rowing a boat, all of which she cud
do very well. As yet her attention
to books Is the result of the desire on
her part to be obedient to her moth
er's wishes. She Is a healthy, rosy
cheeked, brown-eyed child, aud is
very fond of the companionship of
her father. Some one remarked to
the Prince on one occasion that he
was often seen with this daughter, to
which he replied: "Oh, yes, Maudf
and I are great chums."
The young Princess Victoaia, who
is the eldest daughter of the Princess
of Wales, Is very much like her moth
er, both in appearance and manner.
She shows her Scandinavian ancestry
In the rather remarkable combination
of black hair and blue eyes. She is a
very pretty girl and a very close stu
dent, having all of her mother's love
for books. The Queen Is said to be
fonder of the Princess Victoria thar
of any of her other grandchildren.
Court e7
A charming little anecdote of MY.
! Browning's courtesy is told In Temple
1 Bar. On one orraston Mr. Brown
ing's son had hired a room in a neigh
boring house lii which to exhibit his
pictures, and during the temporary
absence of the artist Mr. Browning
j was doing the honors to a roomful of
fashionable friends. He was stand-
I ing near the door when an unan
nounced visitor made her appearance.
Mr. Browning immediately shook
hands with her, when she exclaimed:
"Oh, I leg your pardon, but please,
sir, I'm the cook. Mr. Barret asked
me to come and see h'j pictures."
"And I am very glad to see you,'
said Mr. Browning, with' a Teady
courtesy. "Take my arm, and I wil'
show you around."
Ht Cholera. ' , .
Detmers, of the Ohio Uni
Columbus, Ohio, . .has dis-
II. J.
versity,
covered
the bacillus that -eauaea the
in hojis, and by a continued
cholera
series of experiments has demonstra
ted the possibility of preventing the
disease by inoculation. If the Profes
sor's experiments stand the test of
proof, even in a majority of cases, it
means a saving of many th u sands of
dollars to the pork producers of the
country
Pol non of Human Kina'atlon.
Prof. Brown-Sequard hits said that
In condensing the watery vapor com
ing from the human lungs, he ob
tained a poisonous liquid capable ol
producing almost immediate death.
The poison is an organic alkali, and
not a microbe or series of microbes.
Thk Canadians, who are comin.
over to the United States now in
larger numbers than ever in the past,
are taking a direct and practical way
to settle the annexation business.
Among the wealthy classes of Japan
It is considered undignified to ride a
horse going faster thjui walk.
rilE NICARAGUA CANAL
REPORT OF THE NATIONAL
CONVENTION COMMITTEE.
information a. to tha Feasibility of th.
Caual and It. Commercial and Othet
Advantage, to tbe Cnlted Stale. Will
Ciat Ou. Hundred Million Dollar.
Bore to Be Built.
The committee appointed by tli
National Nicaragua Canal Conven
tion at it meeting in St Louis,
to prepare an add res to the Amer
ican people giving information as
to the feasibility of the Nicaragua
canal and ltt commercial and other ad
vantages to the United Htates, has just
finished the preparation of such ad
dress. Tne committee is composed oi
John S. Jones, of Arkansas; ex-Con-
greesrnan Converge, of Ohio; R. V. M1K
eap, the prominent b;mker of Missis
sippi; Capt. J. F. Meny, of Manchester,
owa; 8. R. Hawkins, tbe railroad pres
ident, of Oeorgiu; Captain Ambrose
Snow, President of the New York Board
of Trade Mid Transportation; and ex
Governor John S. 1'illsbury, of Minne
sota. The address is supplementary to the
.esolutiona adop'ed by the St. Louis
convention, which pointed out the ad
vantages o.f ttie canal and urged its con
struction, ownership and control by the
American people rather than llie Eng
lish, French or any other nation. It
takes tho position that a canal, joining
the Atlantic and Pactfio Oceans, shou'd
be constructed for the most Important
(omiiiercial, strategic and patriotic rea
sons, and says that tbe subject of such
a canal is the most vital connected with
the welfare, growth and prosperity of
the Cnited States. It declares that the
only feasible route for such a canal is
BlltlS-r.V t YIKVT
KlIl.milD THROI'OH A LAGOON.
by way of Nicaragua, and points out
that the conventions of the two great
political parties have indorsed the
project.
It appears that all the engineers have
agreed in expressing a decided prefer
ence for the Nicaragua route, because,
among other reasons, only 'Jr'i miles of
the entire distance of 16 'J m les from
the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean through
Nicaragua will have to be excavated.
The other 14Jj miles consist of Liike
Nicaragua, the San Juan Kiver, and de
pressions in the surface of the earth.
Lake Nicaragua will constitute a harbor
sufficient to accommodate the navies
and commerce of the world. It is 110
m) long i'0 miles wide, and ia 2o0
feet at Its deepest points. Vessel en
tering the canal from the Atlantic Ocean
will sail on a level with the ocean for
l'Jj miles, at the end of which they will
be raised by three locks to the level ol
the lake. They will sail along the han
Juan River and the lake on the lako
level to a point within 3 miles of the
Paclflo Ocean. Here they will be low
ered by t&e locks to the level of th
Taclno Cos an.
Coiit of the Canal.
The committee says the cost, includ
lng ttie payment of interest during the
r regress of the work, will be less than
1OO,O0A)O, and the time required fot
the completion of the work is within five
years. The climate of Nicaragua is
hea thy, and out of liOO Northern men
employed in constructing a railroad
w?A vvalwimV ' oAvuriy
' IE? p-! VSS. r,
OtEAJr ROUTES AFFKCTEH BV THE CANAL.
through a swamp only two died during a
period of four months. Of 200 North
ern engineers and skilled mechanics
who have worked for the canal com
pany for three years not one has d ed
lrom a disease incident to the country.
By the Nicaragua canal the dtance
aved Is shown by this ta'de:
Mile, via
Mile, present Kiearoa'a
Between route. vl Canal.
. Y. t S.n Fran C&iie Horn. 1K.A60 4.i7
N. Y. Pairet Sound. Magellan. 1:1. v35 5,fi.:
N. Y. ife Hons Kong- .('ape C. H.. la.T'iO 10.6. 5
N. Y. A Melbourne ..Cape Horn. 13.761) .si
lpool San Fran... Cape Horn, l2ti T.r.--7
N. O. & San Fran Cape Horn. lt.(n.io 4,117
The wheat crop of the- Pa -iflc roast in
1891 was over l,80tl,0ntl tons and Si) per
cent, of the wheat was exported by sail
ing vessels and a large proportion of it
passed around the Horn. The Nica
ragua Canal by shortening the route to
Atlantic ports would not ouly save tbe
producer cost of freight, but tbe revenue
of the canal at $2 per ton toll would be
pearly $3,0(0,0(10 on wheat alone. It is
Shown that there are 50 ,0(iO,Otio thou
sand feet of merchantable timber in
W ashington and Oreg n to the value of
of which over $2 per thousand feet
would be added by cheap water trans
portation via the Nicaragua Canal. The
gross addition to the value wou'.d
amount to the enormous sum of $1.00".-
tMfiQt STBthiaLhyr estimate of ? j
i
additional. The fruit industry of Cali
fornia would quadruple in two years
Xrm the opening of the canal for busi
nesa, and fast refrigerator steamers
weuld deliver fruit from t'a'i ornm m
JS.w York in ten days, to Liverpool
la fourteen days, and to New Orleans
In eight days. The mountains of the
Facitio coast are rich In leal, copper,
silver and gold, while tbe plateaux and
va'lwys afford a ceieal belt with a soil
mere durable, and more favorable sea
oils lor seeding and iiai vesting thar.
any part of the world. an" the cuiuniii
tae thinks the completion of tie Nica
ragua Canal is on y needed to develop
that country to pioiucticrii of gigantic
proportions and double the population
of the Pacific coast in a fe years. The
rotton growing sections of the Gulf
States have undergone a depression, and
the committee believe tdat uothiug could
he of greater immediate eivantage than
tbe canal in relieving that depression,
and making a market for American cot
ton In Japan, China and Corea, where
alietdy the people are beginning tu
manufacture cotton goods by machinery.
Japan imported over 7,0OO.iM)0 pounds
of American cotton in 181, most of
which was shipped from New Orleans
to New York and then by rail to Van
couver and steamship to Japan.
At present the coal trade of South
America and the Pa -Iflc coast is mon
opolized by the English. The commit
tee th'nks that if the Nicaragua Canal
Were opened the Alabama and West Vir
ginia c al would have a decided advan
tage over English competitors, not to
mention the enormous amounts of coal
the canal company itself would use.
At the entrance of the Suez Canal last
year 1, 500,000 tous of coal was sold.
In competition with England for Pacific
Ocean trade the Nicaragua Canal would
give American commerce an advantage
of 2,700 miles, while beside the specific
beuelits, the committee thinks great
Or 1IIK IAtl.
general benefits will accrue to the en
tire Mississippi Valley, the lake ports,
and the Atlantic coast. Ship building
and the shipping interests in New En
gland will receive a new impetus. A
new ooastlng trade will spring up and
American tonnage on the high seas will
largely increase.
The committee says that great trans
atlantic powers are looking with
covetous eyes toward the Nicaragua
project and the foreign governments
would very cheerfully and eagerly em
brace an opportunity to take advantage
of the enterprise with unlimited capital
and prompt energy, but It conceives it
to be the patriotic and political privi
lege of the United States to complete
the canal. The commercial and naval
supremacy of the nation which mlgh se
cure control of the canal demands Im
peratively that its control should not
pass away from the people of the Unit
ed States. It is made plain that two fleets
wvuld be required to block an American
rieet in Nicaragua where one would be
necessary elsewhere. As a foothold
from which to attack or defend, to
threaten or protect all the coasts, isl
ands and adjacent seas, it Is a more
uoininaiidlng power than Gibraltar.
Would lteneHt the Cult l stale..
Among the beneficial results foreseen
are a more practical drawing together
of the remote parts of the vast domain
of the world and a firmer cohesion of
the widely separated sections of the
I niled States, added to a stronger feel
ing of neighborhood and community be
tween the Atlantic and Pacific sea
boards. The consummation of the work,
whose feasibility has already been dem
onstrated, is asserted to be of far greater
importance to the Western hemisphere
than the Suez Canal is to the Eastern.
It is said that no precedent cm be cited
upon which to predict the future of
American commerce when the gateway
of the Intero -eanlc Canal across Nicar
agua shall be open to it,
All surveys and examination of strati,
requiring removal have been completed.
The jetty has been constructed and the
harbor of Greytown has been restored so
that vessels of fourteen-feet draft have
an easy entrance. Extensive wharves,
lan ting places, and permanent bjlldinirs
have been constructed, temporary camps
erected, a telegraph line made, the canal
cleared of timber for twenty miles, r.nd
a railroad twelve miles in length con
el rue ted and equipped. The biggest
di ed .-ing pljnt in America, that formerly
used at Panama, has been purchased,
uid over a mile of the canal has been
lredged. The exclusive franchise for
he steam navigation of the San Juan
livor and Lake Nicaragua sod an ez
Uns.ve plant for the Navigation Com
pany have been ac juired. The govern
ment of Nicaiagua has acknowledged
that the comjany has complied with the
canal grant, w hich provided that $2,000,
000 must be exptnded the first year.
It is shown that the amount of money
spent to date on the enterprise is over
xi, 0011.000. The enterprise is indorsed by
the leading business men of the coun
try, and that it will be judiciously and
economically managed is assured by the
character of the board of directors,
who, by the charter of the coaq any,
are accountable to the Government of
the I'nited States. The Secretary of
the Interior has the power to make pub
i al! the details of the corporate man
agement, thus protecting the Investor
against the misuse of his money,
rile- Net Income.
The Suez Canal, it Is shown, saves
only :i,6i!0 miles around the Cape of
Good Hope, as against over 10.000 mi es
saved by the Ni.-arj.iuH Canal; and the
following tab.e shows the number of
ships 1 assing through, the net tonnage
and the gross receipts of the Suez Canal
tor six separate years:
No. Net Gross Hec'ta
Tear Ehlpa. Tonna?.. (Franca.)
I-';" t.. t t&feA 4.33.733
2.009.-..4 M.430.7.-.S
S.IT.'-1 8,.i-1.6J0
C,U7.il 60.067.26
C.frV.Uir 3.-3)
Ki'JJ.M SJ,4il..v
The tonnage tributary now to tbe
Nicaragua Canal, and which would
pass through after Its opening, is over
,000,( t0 tons a year. At S2 per ton,
;he chai ges made by tha Suez Canal,
ihis wojld b 512,00.1,000 in toils. The
cost of operation and maintenance is
placed at less than Jl. OKI, 000, and
li.iitin.iino tons wou'.d show a nt. inoonie
of $ll.ioo,0i'0 per annum. The com
mittee is conlident that, within live
years, the iiuoine will be over J20.000,
()0. 1 be committee says it is no longer a
auestiou whether the canal will be built
or not. The only question Is as to who
shall build it, anil who shall control it
when built? It says it has been In
formed that European syndicates have
a ready made overtures to the canal
company, but the committee believes
the United States cannot afford by care
lessness, hesitatiou r neglect to permit
an enterprise of such magnitude and of
such far reaching advantage to pass
under the control of any foreign com
pany. "It therefore behooves us," the
address concludes, "as a nation con
scious of the power we wield and of the
greater influence we may exert upon
the destinies of this continent, to per
form the duties without delay which we
deny other n itions th. prlvilere of as
suming, and to adopt now the best
means of securing the early eompleth n
of this work, whose advantage we are
STCAM DBEOOK AT WORK.
willing to share with the world, but
w hose control should never be alio, ed
to pass out of our hands."
Koad Method..
No man speaks with more authori
ty on any subject connected with
Western economies than Mr. liowe,
)t the Atchison (Kan.) Globe. For
nearly twenty years he has been ed
itor of this newspaper, he has watched
and aided in all the enterprises that
made Kansas what it Is, he knows
the conditions of other Slates, and
his opinions are valuable enough to
be sought for by such magazines as
the Forum, in which he says: "West
ern roads have undergone no im
provement in the last twenty years."
He is speaking, of course, of the
roads that still are worked under the
old system of calling out the hands
by road district supervisors, and not
of the gravel and macadamized roads
that have been built by the toll com
panies, or within the last few years
by taxation under free road laws.
This latter class of roads is confined
almost exclusively to Otiio and Indi
ana. Ad.v one who lias passed into mid
die ge and who in his youth has
done road work under the system of
calling out the hands meaning the
tax-payers by the supervisor, must,
if he bapjten to tevisit the scenes of
his early nianhood about road-making
time, be struck by the absence of im
proved methods. I'irt still is piled
on top of dirt, a shallow ditch is dug
along the sides of some of the places
that are so utterly vile as to have
earned the distinction of bad holes
among men used to roads that are
wholly bad in bad weather, in case
of a slough branches of trees are
cut and spread upon the swamp, and
dirt is piled on them, and then the
job Is done, the tax is worked out,
the supervisor has no power to call
on the road hands for another hour's
work, and he has no means with
w hich to hire other labor. The road
is just as bad as ever as soon as a
heavy rain has fallen on it, and as
soon as a few heavily laden wagons
have mashe 1 down the branches to
the old level of the swamp.
The farmers are not wholly u.
blame for this lack of improvement.
No improvement worth speaking of
can be made under the present sys
tem. A trilling road tax generally
paid In work, and expended under
the direction of a sujiervisor who is
not a practical road maker, and who
often works the hands mostly on that
part of the road that runs past his
own farm cannot produce good re
sults. Where dirt is the only available
material for road making, thorough
drainage is the first necessity. By
thorough drainage the construction
of an open ditch on each side of the
roadway is not meant. Where gravel
and stone abound, good drainage still
Is necessary to the construction of a
good road-bed. Irainage is the be
ginning of road making.
It is obvious that a greater outlay
of money than the present system
provides for is needed as a prelimi
nary to road constriction. Legisla
tion that enables county commission
ers to issue bonds, payable in twenty
years, upon application of a majority
of the land-owners benefited by im
provement of roads, has been passed
in some States, and it has been found
that after one progressive district
has essayed this voluntary taxat'on
others have followed in a succession
almost t'Mi rapid for the commission
ers. Land has increased In vaiue as
good roads have made ingress and
egress easy. Farmers have made
money by b-ing able to haul loads in
all kinds of weather. Villages have
develop.-!! into towns and the sricial
pleasures of farm life have been mul
tiplied. To watch the corn grow, or th bios
sorus set; to draw bard breath over the
ploughshare or spade; t think, to love,
to pray these are the things to mak
men happy.
Words, money, all things else, ar
comparatively easy to give awav, bu
vlipn a n in mnlf a a o-lft rf hi. fbnlv lit.
and practice, it is plain taat the truth
whatever it may be, has taken p sses
slon of him.
rarrots are only ten cent: apiece h
Central A merit.
1.4 4
1S5O...... '2,o
ISSS
1st 3.3t
1SU1 4,J
1
WONDERFULLY DELICATE
SCALES.
In the Assay Oftice on Wall street
they have scales th it are so sensitive to
weight that the smallest strand of hair
plucked from the eyebrow can be accu
rately weighed. Two white pieces of
paper of equal weight can be placed in
ihe scales, aud one's autograph written
in pencil on either piece will canse the
side wit 1 tbe autograph to go down a
little, and the needle, which indicates
the divisions of weight, even to the ten
milliouth part of a pound aud less, will
move from its perpendicular. These
tine little scales are trinmphs of mech
anism, and are closed in glass cases,
so tbe wind cannot reach them. The
g'ass cases have a sliding door, and as
soon as the weight is placed in the bal
ances the door slides down. By pres
sing a button the teams are raised a
little and th balances are clear and
ready for action.
Eipert A si-aver Warner has a luxuri
ant silken moustache, and consented to
sacrifice just one strand for the scales,
bnt in trying to pull it ont by the roots
it broke off near the end, leaving a
piece of hair not one-tenth of an inch
in length. Seizing it with a pair of
pinotrs Mr. Wilder dropped it into the
little weighing pan. Shutting the lit
tle glass door, the sensitive perpendic
ular needle swayed and indicated that
the hair, or moustache strand, weighed
one-half of a milligramme.
A milligramme is the thirty-one
thousandth part of an onnce, therefore
the moustache strand weighed the
sixty-two th msandtU part of an onnce
Troy, or nearlv one millionth part of a
pound. Mr. Wilder, having declared
the exact weight of Mr. Warner's
piece of moustache, told something
ahont the work of the sensitive little
balances. Whichever way the beam
falls, even if only a pin point, the per
pendicular needle sways from its
plumb, and, somewhat like a magnetic
needle, registers the division of
weight. One division is the fortieth
part of a milligramme, and a milli
gramme being the thirty-one thous
andth part of an onnce. It can be seen
that Mr. Warner's hirsute adornment
was rather heavy weight. It was too
small to be picked np by hand, and yet
it weighed the computable part of an
)unce Troy.
Before weighing any little trifle like
house-fly's wing, or a bair from a
baby's eyebrow ,the glass door is opened
and the weigher takes a small brush
and carefully dusts away any particle
that might, perchance, get on one end
of the balances and cause the perpen
dicular needle to oscillate. Then the
door is carefully closed, so th.t not
one .Eolian breath of air can sing witb
heavy tongue against any portion o!
the delicate scales. They generally
call them beams in the Assay Oilice.
One peculiar tact is that the scales, or
beams, when not at work, rest. Both
of the little weighing pans rest on
small blocks, and the crossbeam, by
clever mechaaism, is permitted to corns
down from its pivot, so to speak, and
repiose in neglige style. When the
button on the outside is pressed, the
beam a-cends and lifts the two little
pans from their rests. The indicator,
or needle, settles to zero, and the In
strument is ready. It is supposed thai
if these delicate little machines were
left ready for use they would wear
more aud not lie as sensitive to weight.
These scales are used in making as
says. Mr. Wilder said that in making
an asav the weight had to be absolutely
correct, or else th- result would foot
up wonderfully in the long run. If a
mistake in an assay, say, ot the weight
of Mr Warner's moustache strand,
i. lion Id be made, when the total result
on a sum of one hundred and twenty
five thousand dollars came out, there
would le a deficiency of over a Hun
dred dollars, that is why such fine
calculations in weightshave to be made.
Some signatures, he said, were heavy,
especially if written in ink. He re
quested the reporter to write his signa
tnre in ink, so it could be weighed.
Down went one of the little pans, and
the perpendicular needle showed that
the siguature of pine letters weighed
exactly two milligrammes, or the fif
teen thousand five bundreth part of an
ounce Troy. And yet the lettering was
not heavy. Yankee Blade.
FOR CURIOUS BOYS.
flOW TO HAVE FfN WITH filNPOWDER AND
A OLASS OF WATER.
Gunpowder, as is well known.is com
posed of potassie nitrate (saltpeter),
sulphur and charcoal. Of these ingre
dients tbe first is very soluble in water
and the others insoluble. The amateur
chemist can perform an interesting ex
periment by separating the soluble
salt. It is only necessary to place a
little gunpowder in a glass half filled
with water and allow it to stand for a
day or so in a warm place bucu as a
sunny window Bill.
The saltpeter will first dissolve in tb4
water, and then creeping np the sides,
of the glass will crystalize around tho
edge as shown in the illustration. The
creeping property of certain salts is a
very interesting and sometimes a very
annoying one to the chemist. Am
nionic chloride, or sal ammoniac, pos
sesses it in a high degree, and it may
often be observed i jcrusting tbe edges
of electric batteries, in which its solu
tion is used as an exciting agent. It
may be prevented by covering the
edges of the vessel containing it with
grease, wax or paraffin.
The residue left in the tumbler con
sists of sulphur and charcoal, but there
is no simple method of separating
them. The sulphur will diss lve in bi
sulphide of carbon, but we cannot re
oommend the use of this inflammable
and offensive liquid to the amateur in
ihemistry.
The first handkerchiefs on the
British Islands were made in Paisley,
Scotland, 1743; were made popular on
the continent by the Empress Jose
phine, who had bad teeth, and held her
handkerchief before her mouth when
ahe laughed.
KiSA'S LX BRIFJf.
A cat sees as well by night as by
4ay.
Canned rabbit is n New Zealand
expiort.
Germany raises 250, OX) canaries a
Tear.
Perfectly white cats. It they haTa
blue eyes, are nearly all deaf.
The mocking bird hates the color
red as much as tbe bull.
There ere 4909 Johnsons in Chicago
and only 4200 Smith-.
Cu;ur d'Alene are three French
"vord-, meaning "heait of au awl."
A company which insures c'othing,
fabrics, and furs again-1 moths has
been organized.
The rifle was Invented by Whit
wortb in 1 00; the repeating rifle &y
uarp, 1S4S.
The leaves of the life tree, which la
found only in Jama'ca, grow after
they have been severed from tbe
plant.
Horace wrote the first of b!a
"Odes," on which his fame was to rest
through all time, at tbe early age ot
twenty- three.
In Germany married men wear
wedding rings, a custom which many
writers have advocated in other coun
tries. In Corfu, sheets of paper pass for
money; one sheet buys one quart ol
rice, or twenty sheets a piece ot hemp
cloth.
The largest whale ever captured
was the prize of a New London (Conn.)
wha'er in 188i. It yielded 163 barrels
of oil.
Eight rationalities are said to be
rep-esented in a choir of sixteen little
girls at St. James's Mission, New York
;ity.
Xeatly worked darns and patches
have been discovered in the cLth used
in swathing some of tbe Egyptian
mummies.
Among the Zulus the mother-in-law
cannot face the sou-ln-Uw, but
must hide, or pretend to do so, when
ever ale sees him.
The first oil well was discovered in
Wayne County, KentucKy, in 1829,
thirty years before tbe discovery of ol)
'd Pennsylvania.
The extreme Western boundary of
the United States, the island of Altoo,
is as far west of San Francisco as tkat
city is west of Bangor.
Charles D. Poung of Denver, CoL,
has built a perfect miniature locoino
t.ve, which is but five feet long and
"velghs but 230 pounds.
A woman in Pai is recently commit
ted suicide by applying leeches all
over her body, dying from exhaustion
of the capillary system.
A shower of frogs came from the
clouds duiing a rain siorm in Mexico,
Mo. A farmer says that over 10.000
living frogs fell on his land.
So haht !s the spider's web that a
pound weight of it will reach around
tbe world, and then leave enough tu
reach from New York to San Fraucls-
The weeds on the monitor Monad
Dock, which vessel has been lyiug for
some time past at the Mare Island
(Cal.) dockyard, were found recently
o be from thrce to four inches lon.
It was at Freyburg Academy In
Maine, which recently celebrated its
centennial, that Daniel Webster began
.Le study of law.
An Industrious and economical wo
man in Atchison, Kan., collects bugs
from the machinery at tbe electric lut.t
station and feeds bar chickens witb
them.
Tbe Indian name Michigan means
"great lake'' the same name that tha
latter-day inhabitants apply to those
large Inland bodies of water, of whlcb
Michigan is one.
The Germans believe in doing
things decently and in order. In the
large cities berore they can start for
tbe scene of a fire the firemen must
Solute their commander.
An alligator at the Crystal Palace,
London, lived in perfect health upon
nothing for eighteen months. It
lately took a piece of very high mutton
vita relish.
Out of 50,000 guesses on a big cike
of soap on exhibition in Berlin only two
were correct. The cake was a soap
maker's advertisement, and it weighed
V122 pounds.
Japanese jugglers are deft smokers.
Several of them will sit before a cur
tain and from tbe tocacco smoke,
which Issues from their mouths, will
form a succession of readable letters.
The natives of Vera Cruz, Mexico,
do a large trade In fireflies, which th. y
catch by waving a burning coal at the
end of a stick. The Insects fly toward
'he light and are captured in nets.
If the dead of London were each
allowed a grave two by six feet, with a
very thin wall of earth between, each
year bar 80,000 corpses would nil
a cemetery of about twenty-three
acrts.
In the Oriental Department of the
British Museum, a tablet has been de
ciphered as containing an offer of mar
riage made by a Pharoah to a daughter
of tho King of Babylon, about 1530 B.
C.
Tornadoes originate in the tropics
and are chiefly found in five localities
the West Indie?, Bengal Bay and tbe
Chinese coast, north ot theequator, and
in the South Indian Ocean, o9 Mada
gascar, and, in the South Pacific, near
samoa.
When Jumbo, the mammoth ele
phant, was dissected, a pint and a half
of gold, silver, copper aud bronze coirs
were found in bis stomach. In the lot
there was coins of three kingdoms,
two republics, five dukedoms, two
principalities and one dependency.
It ia calculated that 1000 thrifty
coffee trees will yield a fair average of
200 pounds of coffee per annum.
The example set by the very pro
gressive Japanese government might
well be copied by many of the effete
monarchies of the old world. Two
thousand Japanese subjects, selected
from the middle class, arc to be sent
to the Wrorld's Columbian Exposition,
presumably to study the vast object
lesson there presented, all expenses
of which trip are to be borne by
the Japanese government. Contracts
with American railway companies to
convey these visitors across the conti
nent prove that the Japanese are
genuinely in earnest in this com
mendable undertaking The Czar of
all the Russias might make a note of
tola fact.
-IrlHHttHUrlal: