'HE FASHODA AFFAIR. |
ents Leading Up to the Crisis Between Great M
Britain and France. <*>
in the
'' r \ I VM Fashoda inoident,
' II 'which brought
I II Great Britain and
■ H France to the
R very verge of war,
r ~jEE'({ ( 1 J3 II is a question
1 H w hich * s purely
|| | II territorial. The
II J II " tol 7 Sudanese
I ill K) history leading up
lI.V |3 r to the culmination
1 at Fashoda is a
jllj long one, but
much of it is
necessary to a
clear understanding of the situation at
present.
In the Egyptian Sudan, south of
Khartum and north of Equatoria, lies
the Bahr-el-Ghazal, which is[the terri
tory in dispute. This land was form
erly a province of Egypt. In area it
is about live times the size of Eng
land. It is covered with forests and
mountains, and possesses fine valleys
which are subject to inundations. The
great river, or Bahr-el-Ghazal, flows
through it, with numerous tribu
taries, which form a labyrinth of
streams.
Fashoda is situated to the north of
this labyrinth, on the Nile proper, and
commands aocess to all the streams
that feed the Gliazal. It is the capi
tal of the Shillik country, and was an
nexed to Egypt half a century ago.
Sir Samuel Baker, in 1869, conquered
the country as far south as Uganda,
and General ("Chinese") Gordon ap
'Wffin
"41: |
MAJOR J. B. SIAKCIIAND.
pointed a governor of the Bahr-el-
Ghazal.
When the Egyptians were expelled
from the country the French were
given a route across the African con
tinent connecting their Congo colony
in the west with the French posses
sions in the east. The idea of taking
this part of the Sudan grew with the
French Government steadily, and took
form and substance when in 1894 it
negotiated a treaty with Germany con
cerning the Cameroons and Lako
Tchad. Britain's treaty with the
Congo Free State, negotiated by Lord
Kimberley a few years ago, was abro
gated, and the French were given a
free band in the Bahr-el-Ghazal. In
1894 the French Chamber voted $400,-
000 for"the formation of a column to
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G o% P \ X Q
[Map showing how if France bad held Fashoda she would have had a belt of empire
aoross Africa from the Senegal River to the Blue Nile, and would have defeated
Great Britain's "Cape to Cairo" project.]
protect French interests in the Upper
Übanghi." An expedition was organ
ized, and Colonel Monteil placed at its
head. M. Liotard was appointed Gov
ernment Commissioner in the Upper
Übanghi province.
In January, 189(5, Captain Marchand
proceeded up the Übanghi to aid
Liotard. He passed through much
daDger and hardship and met Liotard
with his forces at Meshraer-Bek
within easy distance of Fashoda.
The rest is soon told. From ar
riving at Fashoda to claiming French
domination was a small step, and it
was taken. Once lodged there, the
country was apparently in the posses
sion of the French.
When the British forces of General
Kitchener arrived they found Mar
ohand and his expedition encamped
there. The cable reported cordial
meetings between the rival forces, bat
the news, previously sent, of Mar
chand's arrival at Fashoda created in
tense excitement in London and Paris.
The reports received in London were
further to the effect that only the
Egyptian flag was raised by Kitchener,
and that the British union jack did
not figure in the assumption of con
trol. It was also reported that no in
dignity was shown the French flag,
which Marchand kept unfurled during
FASHODA, AS SEEN FROM THE BLUE NILE.
the proceedings, and whose claim of
prior occupation involved the dispute
between the two Governments.
Great Britain stands united in this
matter and the people are warmly
backing up Lord Salisbury's determ
ination to hold Fashoda at all haz
ards. The words of Sir Michael
Hicks-Beach, uttered in a recent
speech defines the English attitude.
"I hope, trust and bolieve the
question is capable of a friendly solu
tion, but this country has put her foot
down. If, unhappily, another view
should be taken by France the Queen's
ministers know what their duty de
mands."
Not less positive are the words of
Lord Eoseberry, who, unlike the con
servative Sir Michael, is a former Lib
eral Premier. He disposes of the
subject by denying to Mr. Marchaud
the right to represent the Government
of France, suggesting to France that
the easiest way out of the difficulty is
to repudiate Marchand altogether. In
all events, there was but one opinion
in England, and France must back
down or make for war, and Great
Britain was ready for either result.
Th 6 London Saturday Beview says:
The facts on which the Fashoda dis
pute is based are very much deeper
than is generally supposed. At first
sight it would appear as if the Freuch
were grasping at a shadow and disre
garding the substance in pertinacious
ly laying claim to an apparently bar
ren and unproductive spot while neg
lecting the fertile district of Bahr-el-
Ghazal. But this is by no means the
case. Fashoda is a point of incalcul
able importance to France, and it is
correspondingly important that we
should frustrate her designs in that
direction.
It is her cherished project to make
a railway from east to west of Africa,
in order to divide the continent and
thus prevent the joining of the two
British spheres (north aud south) by
direct communication. With this ob-
ject in view she has obtained, from
Menelek concessions to build a railway
right across Abyssinia, the line being
already in construction. It is essential
to the scheme that this line should be
carried through to Fashoda.
But it is equally essential that we
should retain Fashoda, both for the
prevention of the plan—which would
be a severe blow to British interests—
and for the establishment of that Cape
to Cairo communication which will
give us supremacy in Africa. The
issuer; at stake are so vital to both
countries that a conflict between them
is more seriously threatened than most
people are disposed to think.
The Fashoda incident, under these
circumstances, becomes specially in
teresting, because it is probably th<
final episode in the long straggle be
tween England and Franoe for the
trade belonging to the great river val
leys of the world. Fashoda belong!
historically to the great straggle with
France whioh began ander William of
Orange and was erroneously supposed
to end with the battle of Waterloo. For
one hundred and twenty-six years,
from 1689 to 1815 the British were en
gaged in seven great wars. These
wars either began as wars with France
or soon became so. There is, there
fore, some reason, apart from the folly
of kings, whioh forces the English
continually to be in confliot with the
French. These wars were caused by
the instinct of self-preservation—the
strongest instinct of humanity. They
were mercantile wars, and the funda
mental reason for each of them was
that the English were afraid that the
French would take from them the col
onies they had, and so close their mar
kets; and they also saw a good chance
of enlarging their own markets, first
at the expense of the French, and lat
terly by maintaing the "open door."
The historic meeting of Kitchener and
Marchand at Fashoda is possibly the
last occasion on which the French and
English will meet for the division of a
continent. The result will be the same
on the Nile as it was in India when
Clive met Dupleix; in Canada when
Wolfe met Montcalm; in Australia
when Governor Fhilip was enabled to
lay the foundations of a great English
nation in consequence of the wreck of
the French expedition under La
Perotise; at Trafalgar when Nelson
met Villeneuve, and gave to the British
eighty years' start in the race for trade
and empire; and lastlv, in Cairo when
Lord Cromer, in the teeth of fifteen
years of almost intolerable provoca
tion from successive French residents,
founded an Egyptian empire, over
which our flag will lloat as long as it
floats over the Tower of London.
The meeting of the Sirdar and Mar
chand has done credit to both. Lord
MEETING OF GENERAL KITCHENER AND
MAJOR MARCHAND AT FASIIODA.
Kitchener acted wisely and with tact,
while Major Marchand behaved like a
gentleman of France. Nothing would
have been easier than for Kitchener,
by the tyrannous use of overwhelming
force, to have hurried England into
her twenty-fifth war with France by
wounding the susceptibilities of the
brave soldier explorer. Kitchener's
language to Marchand was prescribed
for him by Lord Salisbury. Annoy
ance to England was the sole motive
of the Marchand expedition. To send
an armed party of Frenchmen abso
lutely without a base to occupy Egyp
tian territory and defy the joint power
of England, Egypt and India—for In<-
dian forces could land at Suakim with
in ten days from the date of an order
from London—is so wild a scheme
that it can end in nothing but futility.
When the Fashoda incident is settled,
the French power of annoyance in
Egypt will probably be considerably
curtailed before the coming winter ia
over. The Frenoh, aided by the Rus
sians, who have no interests in Egypt,
block the way by opposing grants be
ing allowed for the Egyptian War De
partment by the Caisse de la Dette.
In January next the existing interna
tional arrangements will be modified.
In English Government circles it is
maintained that everything has passed
off at Fashoda exactly as was antici
pated, and that the French flag at
Fashoda meant no more than the dis
play of a British union-jack from the
window of an English shop in Paris.
Close observers will note that Eng
land at the present juncture is special
ly polite to France, and the latter
would be well advised to remember
Mr. Kipling's hint—
"But oh! beware of my country
when my country grows polite."
A Girl'* CurlouD Suicide.
A young Texas girl ate the heads of
212 parlor matches in an attempt, to
commit suioide. When she repented
she swallowed a lot of lard and bacon
as an antidote. The combination was
fatal in a few minutes.
Few Carriage Road* In tlia Pyrenees.
There are quite 100 roads of one
kind and another over the Pyrenees
between France and Spain, but only
three of these aro passable for car
riages.
A MODEL SCHOOL HOUSE.
Indiana Ru Juat Erected One on a
Strictly Hygienic I*l an.
The model country school house in
Indiana has recently been completed.
It was dedioated by Professor Sau
ford Bell, President of the Indiana
Association of Child Study, who is
INDIANA'S MODEL SCHOOL HOUSE.
now Assistant Professor of Psychology
in the Indiana State University at
Bloomington. This building is beau
tifully situated in a grove of oak and
hickory in the northwest corner of
Center township, Porter County.
Trustee E. M. Burns, of Valapraiso,
lupervised the erection of this school.
It is built on a strictly hygienic plan
and furnished with all conveniences
and improvements, nearly SSOOO hav
ing been invested in the enterprise.
Stone, brick and metal .constitute the
main materials in the structure, which
is thirty-eight by fifty feet. The
building is divided into recitation
room, library room, organ room, oloak
room, stairway hall, an upper apart
ment and a basement. The basement
has a seven-foot ceiling. Itfuruishes
ample accommodation for the furnace
and fuel. The recitation room is
thirty-four by thirty-six feet and has
a seating capacity of sixty-four, in
single seats of the latest manufacture
and varying in size to meet the re
quirements of the children. All the
rooms in the first story are fifteen feet
high and beautifully ceiled with
metallic panel ceiling. The class
room is well lighted, having ten win-
Sows two and a half by twelve feet.
One stairway leads from the hallway
to the upper apartment and another
leads from the main room into the
basement. An arch opens from the
hall into the cloak room. The main
entrance has double swinging oak and
plate glass doors, and the entrance
from the main room to the cloak room
is also fitted in this way. Rooms are
heated from a hot-air furnace. Roof
and towers are covered with metallic
shingles. In front of the building is
a large stone platform, six by twenty
four feet, surrounded by a heavy iron
railing, which extends to the base of
the steps. The playground is large
and well arranged. The school build
ing is of much interest to educators
from various places.
Put'* l'uzzle.
In a jovial company each one asked
a question. If it was answered he
paid a forfeit, or if.he could not ans
wer it himself he paid a forfeit. Au
Irishman's question was: "How does
the little ground squirrel dig his hole
without showing any earth about the
sntrance?"
When they had all given it up Pat
said; "Sure, do you see, he begins at
the other end of the hole."
One of the company exclaimed:
"But how does he get there?"
"Ah," said Pat, "that's your ques
tion—can you answer it yourself?"—
Chicago Times-Herald.
Gerinany'i Proiy Emperor.
The Kaiser selected aged King Al
bert of Saxony to look after the affairs
of the German empire while William
himself is unable to do so by telegraph
or should emergency arise during his
extensive trip to the Holy Laud. Just
before he left Berlin the Kaiser held
conferences with many of the petty
rulers of the empire. He agreed to
many precautionary measures, but re
fused to give up his dangerous trip.
King Albert was chosen as temporary
regent because of the absence of.
Prinoe Henry of Prussia, the Kaiser's
youuger brother.
King Albert was born in IS2B, eldest
son of the late King John, whom he
succeeded in 1873. He is a Field
Marshall of the German army, and
has unquestionably shown a degree of
military talent worthy to be compared
with those of the famous Prussian
Generals in the field more than twenty
KINO ALBERT OF SAXONY.
years ago. Entering the army fifty
four years ago, he bore high com
mand in the Danish, Austrian and
Frenoh wars, taking part in the bat
tles of Gravelotte and Sedah *nd in
the siege of Paris.
pit F&RH AND GARDEN^
Dentroylng Ants' Nest*.
If the ant hills are not very large
the ants may be destroyed by pouring
boiling water over them, or better
itill boiling tobacco tea, but the most
ififective remedy is bisulphide of car
bon poured into holes, six inches
ieep and two feet apart, filling in im
mediately after the liquid has been
poured in.
Catme of Sherp Scab.
Common Pheep scab is caused by 'a
jpecies of parasitic mites which are
'arger than that "kind which cause
icab on horses, cattle and other ani
lials, and is a distinct variety. This
parasite inhabits the regions of the
jody which are most thickly covered
vith wool; that is, the back,the sides,
he rnmp_and the shoulders. It is
he most serious in its effects upon the
•beep of any of the parasitic mites,
md it is the cause of*" the true body
icab. It is generally believed by
iheep-raisers that there is but one
;ind of sheep seal),but there are three
ither forms, likewise caused by para
litic mites. One of these is the sar
loptic scab, which is limited almoet
mtirely to the head. The second is
'.he symbiotic scab, which affects the
iinbs and udder, while lastly is the
■are affection of the eyelid scab.
I'hose forms of the disease appear to
>e rare and of a mild nature compared
irith the common body scab.
FcMllilg Apple* to Cow*.
We do not wonder that there is
itrong prejudice against allowing
sows, and especially milch cows, to
iat apples. For the most part it is
veil grounded. While it is possible
o give a milking cow r» few dry apples
lithout drying up her milk percep
ibly, that is not the kind of apples
the usually gets. If the cow is in au
■rchard where apples are falliug, she
uus every time sbe hears one drop
md eats it greedily, however wormy,
our, green and bitter it may be. All
ipples have some malic acid in them,
iven including those that we call
'sweet." This malic acid, together
nth the tauniu that is fouud in the
,pple peel, and especially iu green,
unall apples, contracts the cow's
itomach. If she eats much of such
ruit, it gives her the colic just as
mrely as it does the small boy. The
IOW'S stoiuuclr was not made to digest
uch stuff,and so sure as it is put into
ler stomach there is riot and rebellion.
2verv one knows that giving vinegar
o cows, and rubbing her udder with
inegar will dry her off. We believe
hat allowing cows toeat many apples,
iven if they are ripe, has a bad effect
in their milk production.—American
Cultivator.
Clipping Willi;*.
Many hesitate to clip the wing on
.ccount of an almost certain distigure
neut that is likely to be the result,
112 care is taken iu cutting, the wings
an be clipped iu such a manner that
he mutilated feathers cannot be de
ected unless the fowl is caught. I
lave a flock of Leghorns which I re
:ently clipped; it would take a very
.cute observer to note that the wings
;ad been tampered with iu the least.
The task is by no means difficult;
,ny one can do it by using a little
iare. If the operator is a right-handed
•ersou, take the fowl iu the left hand
ind hold close to the body partly by
he hand and forearm. ; Spread out
he left wing with the thumb and fore
inger of the arm that is holding the
lowl. With the right baud take a
iharp pair of shears and cut the flight
eatliers, or the ones on the outer side;
:ut until you come to the naturai div
sion between the flight feathers and
he secondaries. The section that
ihonld be cut is technically known as
•lie "primaries." If the primaries are :
mt as close to the flesh as possible
ind the operator is careful not to cut J
>ver too far and get into the second
iries, the effect will not be noticed i
vhen the fowl is in its natural posi
ion. Except in extreme cases this j
vill prove just as effective iu restraiu
ng high flyers as though the wing had
teen practically cut eutirely away.
iVheu this is not sufficient, which is
leldom the case, more clipping will be
lecessarv. —C. P. Reynolds in Orange
fudd Farmer.
Variety of Feed for Hog*.
I know very well that pigs cannot
je eutirely fed ou corn with profit j
until they are finished, unless they
iave grass. The past winter I did i
%ot remember it until I had relearned j
,t at some expense. Jainiary 15 I
iveighed a bunch of July and Septem- :
ber shoats that had been full-fed on '
;orn from the time they begau to eat. I
the first week I fed 7 bushels of oats
ind '29 bushels corn, which produced
112 1-2 pounds of pork for each bushel
:ed. The second week 2 bushel oats
md 18 bushels corn produced 8 4-17
pounds for each bushel fed. The third
iveek 8 28-29 pounds, the fourth and
dfth weeks 6 7-8 pounds. No oats
ivere fed the fourth and flfth weeks.
I sold part of the hogs and turned
ithers out ou a pasture range, as they
were not doing well. They had all
;he corn they would eat, but always
seemed to want sonietning they could
not get. Their stomachs were worn
out and were in a tine shape for dis
sase. I weighed 18 of the thriftiest,
principally barrows. The first week
they ate 2 bushels oats and 9 1-2
bushels corn, several buckets full of
salt and ashes and two or three bushels
Df partly decayed apples. I had
noticed theui chase the hens for their
iroppings. Taking the hint I wheeled
Dut from the henhouse severul bushels
which they ate ravenously. This pro
duced 16 8-11 pouuds of pork for each '
bushel of grain fci. !
This gain was BO *ge I thought ]
might have weighed .e hogs at an
unfair time. Then .t week I mad*
the circumstances of tveighing like th<
previous week. The shoats showed a
gain of 12 1-2 pounds for each bushel
of grain fed. Quite a quantity o!
ashes, appies and droppings wer«
given. After the hogs had eaten a
part of they would return at once tc
corn. There are certain elements in
these feeds that aid digestion. The
hogs I turned on pasture range and
gave a limited amount of corn have
made a great improvement. —J. B
Martin in American Agriculturist.
Making tl«e K™t or Corn Stnlk*.
Corn-cutting time never comai
around without making the writei
smile at the ideas which prevailed
among farmers when and where he was
a boy. The first of corn cutting was
always "topping" it, so as to seaure
fresh and green the top part of the
stalks with the tassel. This partbeinp
fine and small, it was supposed could
be eaten better than the larger stalKs
below the ear. Then, ns all the val
uable part of the stalk was supposed
to be gathered, the ears were left tc
ripen on the loug butts,and after they
were husked stock was turned into
pick out what they could. As by that
time frosts had cut the leaves and
ruptured the stalks, they were then
of little more value than dry woody
fibi?, as most of their juices had dried
out. Naturally enough, with only tlit
upper third of the corn stalk saved as
being worth keeping, corn stalks as
food for stock were little thought of,
and not considered nearly as good as
hay.
All this suddenly changed when
farmers began the cut corn from the
field for soiling cows. Though they
broke oft' the ears of corn so as to not
make the food too rich, the cow al
ways seized the corn stalk, not by its
butt and still less by its tip. She
would grasp the stalk with her tongue
just where the ear was broken oft',
draw it into her mouth and double it
up.then chewing vigorously both ways
until the taste did not suit her, when
she would bite oft'a part of butts and
the tassel, and let tlieni drop out of
her mouth on the ground or in the
manger. If the stalk was not turned
to woody fibre at the butt, very little
of the lower part of it would be thrown
out. The tassel and some part of the
stalk below it would, however, always
be left uneaten, thus expressing the
cow's practical judgment that this was
the least valuable and least palatable
part of the stock.
Iu eating corn stalks the cow knows
what is best for her. It behooves men
to learn from her if they would feed
her sensibly. Just at the time flint
corn begins to glaze, and most of its
substance is in the milky stage, the
stalk is sweet and full of juices down
to the root. But immediately aftoi
this the lower part of the stalk hard
ens. Thai cuts oft' most of the sap
from the root, and the sooner after
this the corn is cut the better the
stalks will be. Experiments have
shown, too, that if corn cutting is de
layed after this there is very little, if
any, gain in the weight of grain. The
juices in the stalk and the carbon
elaborated from the leaves continue to
fill out the grain on the ear, perhaps
not as well as they would before the
corn was cut, but enormously better
than thay could if the leaves or stalkf
had been frostbitten.
The safest rule, therefore, is to cut
corn any time after the surface has
glazed, and especially if there seems
danger that frost will scorch and brown
the leaves, thus at once stopping theit
further use in helping to deposit starch
in the grain. When corn has been
frostbitten before cutting the leaves
have their sap vessels ruptured, and
this poisons the sap, often causing the
stalks to turn sour. Stalks thus in
jured cannot be kept in any way, ex
cept by cutting them and packing so
closely iu the silo that they will be ex
posed only to the fumes of carbonic
acid gas generated by their own de
composition. This is the principle of
the silo, and therefore there is a slight
ly sour taste to even the best-kept si
lage, and a very decidedly sour taste
to that which is put up badly.-—Amer
ican Cultivator.
Farm and Garden Noted.
Sunlight aud pure air are potent
elements in promoting health am'
vigor iu horses as well as other stock.
Any system oi tillage that will most
completely utilize the rainfall for crop
production will insure the best yields.
The horses used for plowing anil
getting out the corn and other work
011 the farm will be as well oft'withou'
shoes as with them. Try it.
Every yoar introduce new blood
into your yards, for if you do not you
will, with the best strains, find a de
crease of eggs-iu a few years withpooi
hatches.
To get best results with hens or
with chickens, they must have con
stant attention, a variety of food,
but not too much, aud must be fed at
regular times.
Soils containing much sand are more
easily cultivated than others and art
called light, lied color in some clays
is due to iron compounds, but the
brown aud black colors are due to de
casing vegetation or humus.
Bemember to inspect the watei
privilege of the tl ck most carefully
if wooden troughs are used see tha'
they are sound and whole. Have them
scalded aud purified with lime watet
one j a week, adding a few drops of re
fined carbolic acid.
The successful feeder will study tin
wants of his cows just as much as the
successful caterer studies the tastes oi
his customers. He will give them
their food iu as palatable a condition
as possible, though not necessarily iu
what may be termed a fancy style,
which would be impracticable.