r=R™i
j SWORD OF HONOR. |
Of all the presentation swords
which the United States Government
has given in times past to its heroes
pf the army and navy, none equals in
prtistic beauty and skillful design the
pword of honor soon to be given Rear
Admiral George Dewey.
The cost of the sword will not be far
from SIO,OOO, whioh was appropriated
by Congress last May to defray the
expense, also, of manufacturing a set
of bronze medals for the officers and
men of the Asiatio Squadron.
With the exception of the steel
blade and the body metal of the scab
bard the sword will be made entirely
pf pure gold, of twenty-two carats
fine; the grip will be covered with fine
fcharkskin bound with gold wire and
inlaid with gold stars. Above the
sharkskin the handle termiuates in a
Richly carved and enameled gold
dollar and knot. A narrow band of
pak leaves unites the sharkskin to the
collar. Then come the arms of the
Admiral's native State, Vermont, with
tho motto, "Freedom and Unity,"
REAR ADMIRAL DEWEY'S SWORD OF HONOR.
(.Showing both Bides of the blade, together with the scabbard and belt.)
tnd above this, and spreading toward
the top, is the great 89«uof the United
ptates, with the blue field of the
Shield in enamel; the oluald in the
»rms of Vermont is a 133 cnr.meled.
The collar is surmounted with a
closely woven wreath of oak leaves,
the standard decoration for rank, and
the intervening spaces between the
deooration are studded with stars.
On the pommel is carved the name
of the cruiser Olympia, and the
eodiacal sign for the month of De
cember, when Dewey was born.
The guard is composed of a conven
tional eagle, terminating in a claw
clasping the top, the outspread wings
forming the guard proper. The ex
pression of the eagle is one of cool de
termination, and, vh'.le firm, still
bearing a message of reace in the
laurel wreath held in the beak. The
wreath serves as E. protection, cover
ing the point of ths beak, and at the
same time preservss the proper out
lines of the guard.
. The scabbard will be of thin steel,
damacened in gold, with sprays of
rose marinue, signifying fidelity, con
stancy and remembrance. The sprays
are interlaced in the form of a series
of cartouches, with a star in the cen
tre of each, while dolphins fill the
outer spaces. Sprays of oak leaves
and acorns secure the rings and trap
pings of the scabbord;above these, on
the front of the scabbord, is a raised
monogram in brilliants entwining the
letters "G. D.," and immediately un
der them are the letters "U. S. N.,"
surrounded by the sprays of rose
marinus. The ferrule, or lower end
of the scabbard, terminates in en
twined gold dolphins.
The sword blade is damascened
with the inscription:
: Tho Gift of the Nation to Bear :
: Admiral Georgo Dowey, U. S. :
: N., In Memory of tlio Victory :
:at Manila Bay, May 1, 1898. :
The letters are of an ornamental
character, and sufficiently large to be
dignified. The Phoenician galley,
representing the first craft of the
world's navies, supplies the rest of
the ornament on this side of tha
blade. On the other side of the
blade is shown the flight of the eagles
of victory, bearing festoons of laurel
to the four quarters of the earth.
Three women are members of the
Board of Aldermen at Lincoln, Neb.
FARM WAGON BY TROLLEY.
A Special Track to Carry It When Ball!
Are Reached.
A great many different schemes hav<
been proposed, and some of tliem have
been tried, for lessening the work oj
carting farm produce into town. Thi
traction engine is used for that pur
pose to a considerable extent in Eng
land, although in America very littl*
hauling is done therewith. Then
again there 'has been a good dbal oi
talk of laying broad, guttered rails on
the common highway for the wheels
of the ordinary wagon to run in.
In some parts of the United Statef
there are trolley lines reaching througb
the rural regions and carrying nol
only passengers, but also mail and ex
press matter.
A Toledo man, named Bonner, has
devised a special truck which is de
signed to run on a street railway and
to carry a farm or express wagon. In
asmuch as the ordinary vehicle would
not fit the truck, Mr. Bonner thinks
it better to have his own wagon as
well as his railway truck. He has ob>
tained a franchise from the city ol
Toledo for running his wagons through
the streets.
After the city service is fairly started
Mr. Bonner will endeavor to secure
rural patronage. Of course, it will be
necessary for such farmers as wish t(
take advantage of his plan to have thf
right sort of wagons and to haul then:
by horse power near enough to town
to reach the trolley tracks. But it
Ohio there are numerous trolley roads
extending from one town to anothei
and attaining a length of ten, fifteen
and even twenty-five miles. If a
farmer only lives along one of these
routes he will not need to haul his
wagous more than a few rods. Indeed,
if he has a switch and sidetrack and
loads his wagons while they stand on
the latter he will have an easy tash
NOVEL TROLLEY WAGON'.
before him. The rapid development
of trolley lines through the rural dis
tricts nowadays makes Mr. Bonner's
idea an interesting one. There is nc
telling how far it is likely to become
serviceable to American farmers.
What Dusty Hltotles Did.
' "At the first call he went to the
front."
Letter Carriers in In<Ua.
Each letter carrier in India has o
run of six miles, and at the end of il
is relieved by another carrier, who al
cnce begins his run. Thus the mail
is conveyed over unpopulous sections
in comparatively quick time. —Cleve-
land Leader.
racking au Alligator For Transportation.
He was sent packed like this on the
way from Panama to London.
GOOD ROADS FOE CUBA.
THE ISLAND IS A NATURAL PARADISE
FOR WHEELMEN.
The Ploturefique Beauty of the Scenery
Is Sure to Attract the Attention of the
American Cyclist—The Militant Apostle
of Better Highways Is General Stone.
It might seem a trifle premature to
consider Cuba as a favorite resort for
wheelmen. Tbe island is not now
blessed with many roads available for
anything more thau mule trains, but
the militant apostle of good roads,
General Roy Stone, has shown in
Porto Bico what a little Yankee ener
gy can do for the improvement of
highways and, of course, the same
can bo done in Cuba, and doubtless
will be done now that the island has
ceased to be a colony of Spain. For
one thing, the picturesque beauty of;
the island, enhanced by the charm of'
its semi-tropical verdure, is sure to
attract the attention of American,
wheelmen, and when wheelmen get
their eye on a country it is certain'
that the coudition of its roads will
speedily improve. In tbe case of
Cuba, however, wheelmen will find,
that their task will be not so much'
the improvement as the creation of"
roads, for practically no roads worthy)
of the name exist, and even the streets
of the cities and towns are in a
wretched condition. Were the pa-'
tient native mule endowed with speech
like his kinsman of tbe Balaam story,
be would undoubtedly cry out against;
what passes for a street in a typical]
Spanish town. It will sound a little!
strange to read of century runs being!
made in Cuba, but tbe thing may hap-' ;
pen, and that, too, before many years.
In the winter, with the improved
sanitary conditions that will soon ob-,
tain in the Cuban cities, the island;
will become a favorite resort for a'
multitude of Americans. The beau
tiful Isle of Pines will probably be
come one of the most popular places,
in the West Indies. Even in the
midst of their fierce fighting our sailer:
and soldier boys were struck by the'
charm of the country around Santia-|
go. Scattered about in the sugar dis-|
tricts of Cuba are splendid sugar plan-!
tations owned by Cubans and Amer-i
cans, whose owners, under a decent'
and stable government, would soonj
open up the country by good roads]
aud other improvements. Then there ;
is the centre of the island, as yet
practically unemployed and unknown,
but said to contain great forests of :
valuable woods. It will not be long:
before this terra incognita will be
opened up under the stimulus of:
American enterprise. Towns will:
arise, railroads will bo constructed,
and then about that time along will
come the wheelmen, not long after
which we shall hear of this, that and
tbe other bicycle path or path run-,
ning, it may be, through a grove of]
palm trees, while the air is laden with'
a tropical fragrance and the stillness
of the forest is punctuated with the
notes of strange birds. If the adven*.
turous American wheelman fails to
take advantage of this new and de-|
liglittul experience, we have very
much misjudged hiin.
General Roy Stone has already
spent sonic time in Cuba, but his
duty there has been simply to advise
in the building of temporary military
roads for the use of the army. But
it may well be that these temporary
roads will become the nuclei of per
manent roads, just as the points near
Santiago at which engagements with
Spanish troops have taken place may
become interesting towns and villages
with American names in the new Cuba
which is to be. Indeed, it is inevita
ble that this American invasion of the
island is going to make many changes
in its geography aud topography.
While tbe more important places will,
of course, retain their names, Anieri
cuu industry and commerce will create,
new centres of life and trade and de-;
velop to their fullest extent the splen
did opportunities for growth and
progress that have beeu so shame-'
fully neglected by Spain. But to re
vert to our first thought, Cuba is n
natural paradise for the wheelman,
and when he finds it out he is going
to see that good roads are built.—
New York Tribune.
Captain Sigabee's Lost Dinner.
Somebody aboard the auxiliary
cruiser St. Paul got a fine dinner that]
wasn't intended for him, and Captain;
Sigsbee was the loser, says the Phila
delphia Record. While the St. Paul'
was making the run from Montauk;
Point to New York, the captain's 1
cook prepared for him a fine pair of
mallard ducks, of which Captain Sigs-i
bee is especially fond. Orders hadi
been giveu to the cook to be par-j
ticularly careful in the roasting of the!
birds, and he brought them forth from
tbe oven nicely browned. The cap-j
tain, upon the, bridge, had had bis
mouth set for them all morning, and'
occasionally fancied he could smell
tbeui cooking. Just a few minute..
3efore dinner time, while the cook's
back was turned, somebody whisked
those two luscious birds out of the
galley, and disappeared with them.
The St. Paul is a big ship, and the
thief had ample opportunity to hide
himseif while he got on the outside
of the roast duck. At any rate, he
was never caught, nor was there any
clew to identity. Captain Sigsbee was
obliged to content himself with a can
of sardines.
False Report.
"I was very sorry to hear that you
had failed, Jones," said his next-door
neighbor.
"It was a slander, sir. I did not
fail. It was my plans that failed, sir.
Had they succeeded I could have paid
every dollar I owe and had a hand
some fortune left."—Detroit Free
Press.
I HAWAII'S DEVELOPMENT.!
£ Our New Territory by Ma Means a $
Jfc Wlldernen Sheltering Savages. *
People are beginning to ask prac
tical questions about the nation's new
domain in the Hawaiian Islands.
There is a widespread inquiry as to
opportunties presented in tbe islands
for fortune-getting. Many of these
inquiries betray tbe supposition that
Hawaii is nearly an untrod wilderness,
given over to half-naked savages in
-A--"** v
HAWAIIAN COUNTRY RESIDENCE.
an aboriginal state of simplicity and
heathenism. There is much pictur
esque material in the native life and
customs, whioh invites the descrip
tive writer to turn aside and dwell
upon it. It thus receives undue
promiuence. As a matter of fact, the
native element is a constantly dwind
ling influence, not only by reason of
the decrease in numbers of the race,
but also of the increasing ratio of the
foreign population and commercial
and industrial improvements. With
a total population in all the islands of
much less than 100,000, it is easily
seen that a small chauge in the
absolute numbers may work vast
changes in proportions. Thus, the
introduction in tho last few years of
•nly a few thousand Japanese laborers
has awakened
grave fears of
anew pre
hotolulUo C.HOLOM. dom i n ating
ui»i CssX«au. influence i n
«H o oJi£>ir * he affa l ira ° f
/ V the islands.
"""'"LANDS IX » llt tUe little
—— brown men
have thus far proved themselves as
quiet, contented aud law-abiding as
bad the Chinese, who comprised the
largest part of the male population
after the growth of the sugar industry
> ad invited the use of their 'abor.
But it is surprising how little effect
all of these alien elements have in
changing the prevailing Anglo-Saxon
character of tbe little country's insti
tutions. All matters, industrial, com
mercial, social and political, centre in
Honolulu. And Honolulu is a New
England town transplanted into the
tropics and embowered in palms in
stead of elms. The selection of the
site of Honolulu was not merely for
tuitous. The deep bay, with the en
trance locked by.a caral reef, opening
away from the prevailing trade winds,
makes it the one secure harbor in the
group, as it did wbeu the New England
whalers first made it their rendezvous
for their annual expeditions. Even
Pearl River Harbor itself, which is
counted so valuable as a naval coaling
station for the United States, offers its
promise to the skilled eye of tbe en
gineer rather thau to the heart of a
mariner seeking refuge from imme
diate storm. Honolulu alone boasts
of finished wharves, to which seagoing
craft can come and unload and load
their cargoes. The so-called "esplan
ade" in Honolulu presents a scene of
bustle and activity at any time, with a
fair showing of sailing vessels tied up
to its wharves. The shipping and
commission houses are the most power
ful element in the business of the isl
ands. The majority of them are Amer
ican, but there are some strong British
and German houses as well. Many of
the plantations are owned and financed
by such Honolulu houses, who may be
also in the import business and own
the bottoms in which they import dry
goods, lumber and supplies of all kinds
and export sugar. There are vessels
thus owned whioh come out from Bos
ton or from Liverpool and goon to
China and India as traders. The
PINEAPPLE PATCH IN HAWAII.
young men of the islands consider
themselves fortunate to secure busi
ne' positions with these powerful
Ix lulu bouses, and the young Amer-
Englishmen and Germaus who
have this connection make up an im
portant element in the life of the town.
One of the influential figures in the
business life of tbe islands is Ah Fon*,
the well-known Chinese merchant. Ah
Fong's principal business connections
are in China, and be does a large im
port trade from tbere.
Small groceries and bakesbops in
Honolulu are largely in tbe bands of
Chinamen, and their little provision
stores are dotted all over tbe island.
They are also the purveyors of fruits
aud vegetables for the Honolulu house
holders. The oountry about Honolulu
is much taken up with their immacu
lately kept gardens. A pocket hand
kerchief would more than cover any
neglected or unfruitful portion of these
gardens. They labor in them minutely
and assiduously, crowned with broad,
pagoda-like hats, carrying huge cans
of water on a yoke stick across tbeii
shoulders down the furrows and sprink
ling the vegetables on either aide. In
marketing his produoe the Chinaman
seeks no middleman, but jokes him
self with his shoulder stick, with a
basket on each end loaded with vege
tables, and with a qnick, swinging trol
goes from house to house and deliver*
his produce to the cook-house. Fresh
vegetables are cheap and always abun
dant, and owiug to the equable cli
mate one crop ripens after the other
all the year around. The same is true
of most of the fruits. It is no unusual
sight to find fruit blossoms, ripe fruit
and the intermediate stages all to
gether on one tree. The Chinese are
the household servants, almost with
out exception, and are highly prized,
and also highly priced.
Living, on the whole, is rather deal
,in Honolulu, and there is large de
pendence on canned goods, both for
meats and for fruits aud vegetables,
such as are not successfully produced
in the islands. The Honolulu fish
market is one of the sights of the
A NATIVE HAWAIIAN WITCH DOCTOR.
town. The dealers are mostly native
fishermen, and one may see here
nearly all the uncouth monsters of the
sea—the dying splendors of the
and the demoniac squid,
which is a favorite article of diet with
the natives. Fresh fish of choicent
flavor can always be had from these
native dealers, who form mullet ponds
by building sea walls of stones, and
have some skill in cultivating the fish,
An ioo factory affords ample supply
for refrigerating purposes and for
oooling drinks, the need for whioh is
by no means pressing, as the tempera
ture is rarely oppressive and is tem
pered during the larger part of the
year by the northeast trade winds.
The demands upon the time and ener
gies of business men are not exoessive.
Life flows easily and equably in the
littln community. Many residents of
Honolulu own oottages on the sea
beach at Waikiki, only a few miles
from Honolulu. The surf comes in
over the reef and breaks on a
shelving, .ndy beach. A noble grove
of cocoa-nut palms fringes the heaoh
and shades the cottages. Here the
well-to-do residents of Honolulu rusti
cate ; and there is no lovelier spot the
world around.
The combined area of the Philip
pines, the Hawaiian Islands, Cuba
and Porto Rico, is 247,743 aquare
miles, or a little less thea tMt oJ
Texas.
Dnring the first seven months in
1898 the gold produoed in Victoria,
Queensland and West Australia
amounted to 1,567,401 ounces.
SCIENTIFIC SCRAPS.
The sea covers nearly three-fourths
of the earth's surface.
Air presses on*the body of every
man with a weight of 30,000 pounds.
The waters of the Grand Falls of
Labrador have excavated a chasm
thirty miles long.
The molecule of ozone differs from
that of oxygen in being composed of a
triad of oxygen atoms instead of
merely two.
The natives of some tropical coun
tries chew the fibres of green cocoa
nuts as a remedy for fever. They
contain much tannic acid, and are
reputed as effective as quinine.
It is well known that ants are fond
of the sugary excretions of the aphids,
or plant-lice, and that they watch over
the herds of these insects, and, when
the latter are in danger, carry them
away to a place of safety.
A German biologist has calculated
that the humau brain contains 300,-
cells, 5,000,000 of which
die and are succeeded by new ones
every day. At this rate we get an
entirely new brain every sixty days.
Strangi- Behavior of Snakno.
A curious incident has happened in
Milike village, which is at a distance
of about four miles from Arrah, In
dia. A boy named Umed Sahai,
nephew of Ajadha Pande, was picking
mango fruits in his garden when a
monkey, which was sitting on the
branch of a mango tree just over the
boy's head, began to beat him by
throwing mangoes at the boy, who
looked round, but not finding any one
began to cry. The monkey came
down and placed two mango fruits at
the boy's feet and bowed down his
head. When people came around the
monkey it ran away.
In Burhvitta village in April last a
son was born to one Sonaton. The
mother one day left the room for a
short time, and, on returning, saw
three snakes there. One was holding
its hood over the baby, while the
other two were lying down, one oa
each side of the baby. At her sight
the snakes left the room. The father
of the baby, however, struck one with
a lathie, severing the tail off; yet, the
same three made their appearance a
little while after, and were seen as be
fore. The spectacle is being repeated
from day today for these three
months. The snakes, however, leave
the room at the approach of any hu
man being. No harm has hitherto
been done to the baby, which is splen
did in appearance.—Amrita Bazar
Patrika.
How to Prevent a Cougli.
A physician who is connected with
an institution in which there are many
childreu says: "There is nothing
more irritable to a cough than cough
ing. For Some I have been so fully
assured of this that I determined for
one minute at least to lessen the num
ber of coughs heard in a certain ward
in a hospital of the institution. By
the promise of rewards and pun
ishments I succeeded in inducing
them uiiuply to hold their breath when
tempted to cough,and in a little while
I was myself surprised to see how
some of the childreu entirely recovered
from the disease.
"Constant coughing is precisely like
scratching a wound on the outside of
the body; so long as it is done the
wound will not heal. Let a person
when tempted to cough draw a long
breath and hold it until it warms and
soothes every air cell, and some benefit
will soon be received from this proc
ess. The nitfogen which is thus re
fined acts as an anodyneto the mucous
membrane, allaying the desire to
cough and giving the throat and lungs
a chance to heal. At the same time a
suitable medicine will aid nature in
her efforts to recuperate."—New York
Examiner.
"White Men in the Tropica.
White men do not colonize well in
the tropics, and those who do become
in the second generation like unto the
natives in easy-going ways, and the
third generation is as indolent as one
could expect. In Jamaica, which has
been an English colony for centuries,
there are, all told, officials and sol
diers and colonists, only 14,600 Euro
peans. The total population is 633,000.
In British Guiana, where the pojmla
tion is 280,000, there are but 2533
Europeans. In Tonquin and Cochin
China, annexed by France, there are
fully ten million people, and outside
of the French civil and military
officers and troops not over forty
French planters! The hot regions
continue to be the home of the brown
and black races, and one famous stu
dent of ethnology, an Englishman,
predicts that these races will some day
dominate in the world' .flairs. In
British India the » ..te people are
but a minute fra -t/ * of the popula
tion, and we do not believe that there
will ever be a largrf American popula
tion, that is, of white Americans, in
Cuba or Porto Rico should those is
lands come under the stars and stripes.
Mexican Herald.
Hi* Substitute for a Bathtub.
"Anyway," said a man who is not
always where all the conveniences for
bathing are to be found, "as between
washing my face and combing my
hair I should comb my h&ir. I don't
know why this is.but I know that the
straightening out of the hair and the
incidental scratching of the seal]) with
the teeth of the comb wake me up and
straighten me out more than washing
does, and so, one might . say, I carry
a bathtub with me in the shape of a
pocketcomb."—New York Sun.
/ood in the Ladrone Inlands.
The chief food products of the Lad
rones are bread fruit and cocoanuts,
which grow spontaneously in every
part of the islands. One cocoanut
treo will feed a man.