A DETHRONED KING.
Passing Away of the Buffalo,
Onre Monarch of the Plains.
Immense Herds Extinguished
/ For Their Hides.
Up to 1869 tho Indians usually
killed the buffalo by thousands. Dur
ing many generations they slaughtered
them only for the meat and skins
-which they themselves could use.
Then there came a time when there
was a market for the hides and
tongues,and countless other thousands
wore slaughtered fuv this purpose. As
late as 1874 one could buy a beuutiful
fur robe overcoat,well made and lined
with fianncl at tlie retail clothing
stores in St. Paul, Minnesota, for $lO.
There was a market, too, for tho
choicer portions of tho flesh, but this
only cut a small figure iu the dreadful
total, so that finally tho trade in robes
constituted the only incentive for
slaughter. The Union Pacific llail
road was completed in 1860, other
railroads began to reach out their iron
arms across the Kansas ami Nebraska
plains, and from that hour the fate of
the buffuio was sealed.
For several years to come ho could
be hunted,shot from horseback,driven
into enclosures and slaughtered,or per
haps forced over precipices after tho
manner described in old geographies
and school-books. Tho animals seem
to have divided into two great herds
towards the close of their career, for
wo hear of"the greot Southern herd"
and"the great Northern herd." Tho
Southern herd was the first to go.
Buffalo Bill and his kind with English
"sportsmen" and American army offi
cers, vied with each other iu the wan
ton i-laughter. During three short
years 1872-3.4—the number so killed
has been estimated in millions. It
matters not how accurate this estimate
is, or whether the number so slain
was one million or ten millions, the
fact remains that at the end of 1872
the great Southern herd was extinct.
In the North tho conditions were
more favorable, but the relentless
hunter was hot upon the trail of the
diminishing herds. In 1876 Fort Ben
ton alone sent eighty thousand hides
to market. In 1883 two car-loads of
hides were shipped from Dickinson,
North Dakota. In 1881 Fort Benton
sent none at all. Iu 1879 a little Land
of the animals were known to be graz
ing near Fort Totten, on Devil Lake,
North Dakota, and it is believed that
these animals furnished the two car
loads of robes which came eastward
to St. Paul from Dickinson in 1883.
This was the last year of tho buffalo—
-1883. A herd, numbering perhaps
eighty thousand, crossed the Yellow
stone liiver in that year, and went
north towards the British line.
"They never came back," is the
pitiful refrain which one hears from
the Indians along tho border from
Wienipcg in Manitoba to St. Mury's
Lakes iu Alberta. No, they never
came back, and last summer and fail,
while riding with the officers of tho
Canadian mounted police through' Al
berta, they told ine the story of this
last year of the buffalo, but it was
never told twice alike by any two
men, for a strange mystery 6eems to
hang over tho closing scene of the
great crime which annihilated the
mighty herds [Harper's Magazine.
The Wnlrns.
As the walrus lay upon the ico, their
immense bulk and massive forms
could bo better appreciated. Lieuten
ant Schwatka described the walrus as
"huge seals, with upper canine-tecth
prolonged into tusks." Tlieso tusks
are usually from one to two feet iu
length, and I have seen some that
were two and a half and even three
feet long. When t'ull-grown, the tusk
weighs about tivo pounds. Their
length does not seem to be dependent
upon either the age or size of tho aui*
mal, as often a young, small walrus
will have long tusks. The average
weight of the animal is about a ton,
and ours weighed between 1200 and
1500 pounds. One was ten, tho other
thirteen feet long. They attain, how
ever, a length of from fifteen to eigh
teen feet, and half as much around
tho fore flippers. Tho flippers are
some two feet long, and capable,
when extended, of covering a consid
erable area, and of forcing the animal
rapidly through tho water. Walrus
also use these flippers to protect
wounded comrades or to carry thoir
offspring. Tho inside of these paws
is covered by a horny skin that serves
to protect their palms in scrambling
around over the rough ice. The wal
rus-flippers, when properly cooked,
are considered a great delicacy by the
Eskimos. The flavor of the flipper is
very similar to that of the coarser
clams. Thi meat did not del
icate as that of the seal or narwhal.
The flesh of the walrus is protected by
a thick blanket of fat—the blubber,
which enable it to resist tho icy water
of the arctic sea*. This fat yields
nearly a barrel of oil. Tho hide aud
tusks also are valuable. The hide is
used by the Eskimos to make soles for
their boots, or kamiks, and it is also
cut into strips for their harpoon-lines.
It is from ono to one and a half inches
thick.
The formidable tusks are used as
weapons of oflensc and defense, aud
also, it is stated, to gather their food,
the clams. [St. Nicholas.
Peter, The "Mint Bird."
If you have a silver dollar of 1836,
1838 or 1839, or one of tho first nickel
cents coined in 1856, you will find
upon it the true portrait of an Ameri
can eagle that was for many years
a familiar sight in the streets of
Philadelphia. "Alter," ono of the
finest eagles ever captured alive, was
the pet of the Philadelphia mint, and
was generally known as tho "mint
bird." Not only did ho have free
access to every part of the iniut, going
without hindrauco into tho treasure
vaults where even the Treasurer of the
United States would not go alone, but
he used his own pleasure ingoing
about the city, flying over tho houses,
sometimes perching upon lump-posts
in the streets. Everybody knew him
and admired him, and even the street
boys treated him with respect. The
government provided his daily fare,
and he was as much a part of the
mint establishment as tho superintend
ent or the chief coiner, lie was so
kindly treated that he had no fear of
anybody or anything, and he might
be in tho mint yet if lie had not sat
down to rest upon one of the great
fiy-wheolg. The wheol started without
warning, and Peter was caught iu the
machinery. One of his wings was
brokcu and he died a few days later.
Tho superintendent had his body
beautifully mounted, with the wings
spread to their fullest extent; and to
this day Peter stands in a glass case
in mini's cabinet, where you may see
him whenever you go there. An ex
act portrait of him as he stands in tho
case was put upon tho coins named.
The Mysteries of Suicide.
A Connecticut man took poison and
proceeded to make written notes of
his sensations, lie was saved from
death in the nick of time. Ilis me
thodical manner of preparing for
death aud his devotion to science prove
that he is a man of übility who had no
right to sacrifice a Ufa witli which he
might do good. It is possible to im
agine conditions under which a logi
cal mind could discover some justifL
cation for suicide. But it is not the
people whom disease has reduced to
the verge of abject helplessness, men
tal aud physical, that as a rule take
their own lives. The vigorous,
healthy people, whose ambitions are
lofty and whose energies are great
seem most susceptible to the tempta
tion of self-destruction. Tho iuten.
sity of an energetic nature makes the
step from disappointment to despair
the more easily takeu. Theorists sro
interesting when they argue that peo
ple who are ready to leave tho world
should be allowed to do so, but as a
matter of fact the laws which inter
fere with attempts in this direction as
a rule reach people whose spirits re
cuperate almost as rapidly as they
droop and who live to wonder how
they conld ever have contemplated
such a step. [Washington Star.
Columbus Was Pious.
That Christophor Columbus was
pious is shown by tho name San Sal
vador, which he gavo to Uio land he
first sighted iu the New World, but
the names Trinidad and St. Kltts
prove hiin imaginative as well. Ho
gavo Trinidad its name because its
three conspicuous mountain peaks
suggested to him the mystery of the
Holy Trinity, and S'. Kitts or Christo
pher ho called so. not impiously in
honor of himself, but because a great
mountain on the island, bearing upon
its shoulder a mound of lava, sug*
gested to his pious imagination that
loveliest of the Christian legends em
balmed hi tho etymology of his own
name, Christopher, " tho Christ
bearer." —("New York Sun.
He Was Sorry.
Housekeeper—This is the 20th time
today that I've had to come to the
door to te'l peddlers that I did not
want any thing.
Peddler—Very sorry, muml
Housekeeper—lt's some comfort to
know that you are sorry, anyhow.
Peddler —Yes mum, I'm verry sorry
you don't want any thing,mum. —[New
York Weekly.
QUAINT AND CURIOUS.
Blue is the mourning color in China-
The first college was Harvard, in
1638.
The United States have 48,000,000
sheep.
Umbrellas were Imported from India
in 1772.
Chinese botanists can grow oaks in
thimbles.
Nails were first made in Rhode
Island in 1777.
Last year our railroads carried 600,-
000,000 people.
An oak tree nearly five centuries
old was recently felled near Castleton,
lud.
De La Reyniere's "Almanach des
Gourmands" is the most famous cook
book.
The royal crown of Great Britain
weighs thirty-nine ounces and is
valued at §1,200,000.
Berlin, Germany, has the widest
train roof on the continent—that at
Anhalt station, which is 198 feet five
inches.
The Fijians believes that the souls
of all people of marriageable age who
die unmarried can never enter iuto
heaven.
An agency for the 6ale of exclusive
recipes for soups, sauces aud entrees
has been opened iu Paris by a "re
tired chef."
Hash must have been an invention
of the old Romans, for it is related
that they mixed all sorts of meats and
"pounded them iuto a pulp."
Black patches shaped like stars,
crescents, horseshoes, and even like
coaches aud horses, were worn by the
ladies of tho court of Queon Anne.
The Mariposa (Cal.) Big Tree grove
lias 427 big trees. Tho largest is 34
feet in diameter. Through a tunnel
or hole cut in oue a four-horse stage is
driven daily.
The ancient Romans made the
kitchen ouo of tho chief rooms of tho
house. It was paved with tiles, whilo
the walls were hung with pictures and
otherwise decorated.
Oregon, it is said, purposes sending
to the World's Fair a horse that over
tops all others, aud "can pick the tall
est persimmon." 110 is twenty hands
and two inches high.
Life insurance dates from almost
the year 1650, and was the invention
of the Chevalier de More, a Flemish
nobleman and the Abbe Blaise Pascal,
the famous Jesuit priest.
The largest sequoia tree in circum
ference is in Tulare couuty,California,
given by Uuited States surveyors at
109 feet. The tallest is the "Keystone,"
in Calaverus, being 365 feet high.
An English walnut treo at Vallecito,
Calaveras couuty, Cal., measures nine
feet in circumference, and is probably
the largest iu tho state. It produces
annually a large crop of superior
nuts.
It's a Nap You Need.
A room without a couch of some
sort is only half furnished. Life is
full of ups and downs, and all that
6aves the sanity of tiie mentally jaded
and physically exhausted fortune
fighter is the periodical good cry and
momentary loss of consciousness on
tho upstairs lounge or the old sofa in
the sitting room. There are times
when so many of the things that dis
tract us cottld be straightened out and
the way made clear if only one had a
long comfortable couch on whose soft
bosom he can throw himself,boots and
brains, stretch his weary frame, un
mindful of tidies and tapostrv, close
his tired eves, relax tho tension of hia
muscles aud give his harassed mind a
chance.
Ten miuates of this narcotic when
the head throbs, tho soul yearns for
endless, dreamless, eternal rest, would
make the vision clear, nerves steady,
the heart light and the Btar of hope
shine again. There is no doubt that
the longing to die is mistaken for the
need of a nap. Instead of the im
mortality of the soul, business men
aud working womoii want regular and
systematic doses of dozing —and after
a mossy bank in the shade of an old
oak that succeeding seasons have con.
verted into a tenement of song birds,
there is nothing that can approach a
big sofa, or a low, long couch placed
in tli9 corner, where tired nature can
turn her face to the wall and sleep
and dozo away the gloom. [Hall's
Journal.
Not Hopeless.
Teacher—This is tho fltth time
you've been late to school this week.
Boy—Yee'm.
"llow do you expect to keep busi
ness appointments when you grow
up ?"
"My legs'li be longer then."
FOR THE HOUSE WFE.
WASHING THE DISHFES.
The order iu which dishes aie
washed is generally as follows: Glass,
silver, china, cooking utentfla. But
there lias lately been a question raised
in relation to this order, and house
keepers are preferring to wash the
cooking utensils first, as thus, tht
lighter washing coming last, tho hands
are left in much plcasantor condition.
[Now York World.
MENDING TABLE LINEN.
A housewife whose table linen al
ways does her good service mends it
with flax embroidery cotton of a num
ber to correspond with the quality of
the cloth. Under the ragged edges of
the tear she bastes a piece of stifl pa
per and makes a network of flue
stitches back and forth over its edges,
carrying the stitches about an inch be
yond the edges of tho cut. Thin places
and breaks in linen may bo run with
tho flax or embroidery floss, and tow
els should bo mended in tho same way.
[New York Recorder.
COOKING IN HIGH LATITUDES.
Housewives who think they struggle
with many difficulties in cooking
should bo thankful that they are not
dwellers in some of the high places of
the West. There, according to the
testimony of cooks, many recipes, and
those for rich cukes iu particular, are
a failure. A woman living in one of
the Western forts, at an altitude of
6500 feet above tho level of the sea,
found out by inquiring of tho best
cooks in the garrison that moro flour
and eggs, aud less butter and sugar,
must bo used in cake baking than in
lower latitudes. The largest quantity
of butter that coulit be used success
fully in a large loaf of cake was one
half cup. Thoso who have lived in
some parts of Colorado at an eleva
tion of 9000 feet or more have also
noticed the effect of tho altitude on
cooking, and found it necessary to re
vise their recipes. [New York Post.
RECIPE 3.
Oatmeal Pone.—After oatmeal has
been boiled put two pints in a buttered
pan, season with salt and half a cup
of sweet milk to moisten it. Bake
for half an hour, in a steady oven.
Servo while hot.
Estella Pudding.—Five well beaten
eggs, two and a half teaspoonfuls of
sugar, two tablospooufuls of butter,
oue tablcspoonful of baking powder,
one cup of chopped raisins, flour to
stitlen. Bake two hours.
Boiled Parsnips.—Wash the par
snips. and lightly scrape them, boil
thein till they are soft, which can be
ascertained by putting a skewer in
them. Small parsnips are served
whole, and largo ones are cut in
halves.
Prune and Rice Pudding.—Wash
thoroughly and souk over night one
half pound of prunes in one quart oi
water. In the morning, to the prunes
and tho water in which they have been
soakiug, add one-half cupful of rice,
one-third cupful of sugar and a half
teaspoonful of salt. Cook in double
boiler ono hour, then turn into but
tered dish, sprinkle with sugar and
brown iu the oven for half an hour.
Servo with cream or sauce.
Crumpets.—Warm oue pint of new
milk and one ounce of butter ins
saucepan; wlion the butter melts tak<
it from the fire, let it cool a little and
mix with it a beaten egg, a pinch oi
■alt and flour enough to make it into
a batter; lastly put with it a quartet
of a pint of fresh yeast. Cover it and
let it stand in a warm place for a
quarter of an hour. Bake the crum.
pets slightly on an iron plate made
for the purpose and well greased.
Cliar Tomato Soup.—lnto a souj
kettle put a cup of. canned tomatoes,
a quarter of a pound of ham, a slice
of onion and a quart of water. C«vei
closely and boil twenty minutes, then
strain. Add a heaping tablespoonfuj
of butter, a level tablespoonful of
sugar; salt and pepper to the taste.
Bring to boiling point again and
thicken with two tablespoons of corn
starch—moistened. Just before taking
it up stir in about a fourth of a tea
spoon of soda. Serve with crackors oi
small squares of toast.
A "Dark Breakfast."
Governor Russell's little son Eustie
surprised his mother one morning a
ahort time ago by exclaming: "Mam
ma, 1 want a dark breakfast."
Mrs. Russell was at a loss to kuow
what he meant and demanded an ex
planation.
"Well," replied tho young hopeful,
"last night you told Mary to give me
a light supper, and I didn't like it.
Now, mamma, please do let me havo
a dark breakfaat." —[Boaton Globe.
SCIENTIFIC SCRAPS.
The European locomotives have no
headlights.
Lieutenant Peary says that he saw
buttei flies and bumblebees in the north
of Greenland.
The electric light promotes the for.
matiou of chlorophyll in all kinds of
plants, both wood and herbaceous.
A hypodermic syringe that can be
thoroughly sterilized after use is a re
sent invention of two English physi
cians.
At a meeting of the Ornithological
Society in Berlin Dr. Reichenow com
municated some particulars of the find
ing of remarkable remains of gigantic
birds in the Argentine Republic
double tho height of the ostrich.
The wind blows because the air Is
colder and therefore heavier in oue
region than in another; the cold,
heavy air flows along the surface of
the earth, creepiug under the warm
er, lighter air; tho flowing air is
wind.
Tho Chinese make what is called
"chi-wa-lii, 1 ' or grass cloth, from the
fibre of the common nettle. It is said
to make a splendid cloth for tents,
awnings, etc. When made into belt
ing for machinery it is said to have
twice the strength of leather.
A novel lathe is the invention of a
New York man. It is automatic in
its action, as it self-centres, self-dogs
and self-releases the stick to be turned.
Almost any shape can be made on the
machine, round, square, oval, octa
gonal or any number of sides.
Professor Bailey found that many
plants which are injured by the direct
rays of light are actually benefited
when the light is passed through
clear glass globes or through a glass
roof. The light has the effect of ac
celerating growth without changing
its normal periodicity.
A singular practico has been found
by Doctor Wibo in certain villages of
Belgium. "Vaccination" is performed
with a needle charged by insertion
into pustules found on pigeons in sum
mer, these pustules being supposed by
the peasants to be those of smallpox,
but being really due to mosquito bites.
The scars can hardly bo distinguished
from those of true vaccination.
A French cavalry officer has in
vented what he dubs a "hippomctcr,"
for measuring the distance covered by
a horse. It is very much like an
ordinary podometcr, and its strapped
to the horse in front of the saddle.
Like the pedometer, it works by tho
stepping of the animal. It is expected
to be specially adapted to the require
ments of hunters, traveler*, and mili
tary men.
Imperial Telephone Etiqnette.
Em penal William 11. has his own
imperial way of using tho telephone.
Despite mistakes caused by the em
peror's refusal to name himself at the
opening of his conversation, as other
people do, ho invariably introduces
his telephoned orders merely with tiie
words: "I command that," and so
forth. As soon as a chief of depart
ment hears these words he motions
that his sub-ordinates must at once
leavo tho room. Tho significance of
this arrangement is supposed to be
that the chief is having something like
an audience with his Majesty and that
it would be presumptuous for a per
son not summoned to hoar tho im
perial voice to occupy the room into
which its tones arc conveyed. At the
end of the conversation the Emperor
walks away without sayiug "good
by," and the chief with whom he has
conversed must listen for five or six
minutes afterward to make suro that
tho imperial orders have been com
pleted. Ttieu he calls back his assist,
ants and the usual etiquette is re.
sumed. —[New York Suu.
Electricity as a Purifier.
Electricity is coming prominontly
to the front for nse in purification
processes. It has been successfully
introduced in France and Eugland for
purifying sewage, and if worked with
a refuse destructor, in which the heat
can bo used for generating tho cur*
rent, it is thought it will be found not
only more satisfactory but more eco
nomical than existing methods.
Iu Germany an electrolytic process
for purifying mercury for use in very
accurate work is coming iuto general
use. A new mothod of bleaching
starch by electricity is also reported,
by which, it is said, second aud lower
qualities of the product can be treated
electrolytically so that they can com
pare favorably with tho first quality.
Methods of manufacturing ozone by
electrical action are also well known.
The subtle fluid is destined to play an
important part in tho sanitary engi
neering of the future. —[New York
World.
Just to Be Good.
Just to be good
This is enough—enougb!
O, we who find sin's billows wild MI4
rough,
Do we not feel how more than any gold
Would be the blameless life we led of old
While yet our lips knew but a mother'#'
kiss?
Ah ! though we miss
All else but this,
To be good is enough.
It is enough—
Knough—just to be good I
To lift our hearts where they are under
stood ;
To let the thirst for wordly power and
place
Go unappeased; to smile back in God's
face
With the glad lips our mother used to kiss-
Ah! though we miss
All else but thia,
To be good is enough!
HUMOROUS.
Vricd and found wanting—The
'leggar.
Mrs. Pie—What will you do if I
give you a good breakfast? Happy
Titc—Eat it, mum.
Madge—Do you prefer blond men?
Beatrice—No; I prefer old gold —
very old and plenty of gold!
"I guess that must be a watch-dog,"
remarked Tommy, "for his tail be
gins to tick when you speak to him."
A Kansas cyclone is spoken of
which was so terrilic in its fury tlwt
it blew all the keyholes out of the
doors.
A man feels proud when he is work
ing his way up to the top, but he feels
different if his necktie undertakes to
do the same thing.
Clara—And so you have at last
brought Harry Goodcatch to your feci?
Maude—Yes; but I'm afraid It's for
the last time. I accepted him.
Miss Laker—lsn't it too bad there
are so many failures in life? Wis
well—Can't say as it is. I've beeu
assignee in thrco and they paid ine so
well I wouldn't mind tackling more.
Oh, parlor critic, it is not
The strictly proper thing
To say the encores all belong
To the girl who will not sing.
"The Czar must have a pretty nice
time after all, said Mr. Meekins.
"What makes you think so?" asked
his wife. "His wifo takes chances
ongoing to Siberia if she blows him
ap."
Aunie—Why did you refuse Mr.
Specie? .1 am sure the presents and
flowers ho has sent you show him to
be in love with you. Belle —I wa»
afraid he had spent all of his money
on mo already.
A stump orator wanted the wlnge
of a bird to fly to every village and
hamlet in the broad laud; but ho col
lapsed when a man in the crowd sang
out: "You'd get shot for a goose be
fore you flew a mile.
"Did you write James Skidmore'B
name op his note?'' said the judge to »•
prisoner accused of forgery. "l'd>
like to know, judge," said the cuiprit,
"if Jim Skidmore has a copyright oi»
the letters as happens to form hia
name?"
A restaurant keeper and dentist ln>
New York, who aro next door neigh
bors, have fallen ont; and it is rather*
rough on the former that the latter
should have a glaring announcement
in his window to the effect: "Teeth
sharpened to tackle tough steaks."
Do Ants Talk.
I once saw a drove of the smal*
black ants moving, perhaps to better
quarters. The distance was some 150-
yards. Most all which came from the
old homo carried some of the house
hold goods. Some had eggs, some
had what might have answered for
their bacon or meat; some had one
thing and somo had another. 1 sac
*nd watched them closely for over an.
hour. I noticed that every time two
met in tho way they would hold their
heads together as if greeting each
other, and BO matter how often tho
meeting took place this same thing
occurred, as though a short chat were
accessary,
To prove more about it, I killed one
yho was on his way. Others being
jye-witnesses to the murder, went,
frith speed, and with every ant they
net this talking took place as before.
But instead of a pleasant greeting, it
was tad news they had to communi
cate. I know it was sad news, for
every ant that these parties met hastily
turned back and fled on another
course, as much as to say, "for tho
king's sako and for your safety do
not go there, for I have seen a mon
ster, just behind, that is able to de
stroy us all at one blow. I saw him
kill one of our family. Ido not
know how many more arc killed." So
the news spread, and it was true.
llow was tho news communicated if
not by speech?—[Magazine of Nal.
oral History.