SERPENT ENTERED THE EDEN OFPITCftIRN ISLAND. Double Murder Done in the Home of the Mutineers' Descendants- First Serious Crime in 110 Years. For the first time in all its romantic history, Pitcairn Island has been the scene of a murder, says the New York Press. For nearly 110 years the mutineers of the Bounty and their de scendants lived on Pitcairn an ideal existence. Then a young man named Christian, a descendant of the leader of the mutineers, killed a young wom an and her little child and threw their bodies into one of the ocean caves. He wanted to get rid of the woman and child in order that he might marry another young woman on whom he had cast his eyes. The rulers of the island had decided that if he married any one it must be the young woman of whose child he was the father; that, in fact, he was to all intents and puroposes the girl's husband. One evening Christian met the young wom an and her child in the forest and killed them. He was suspected of the crime and accused, whereupon he con fessed. It was the first capital crime ever committed on the island, and the islanders were much excited over it. PARLIAMENT HOUSE, ON PITCAIRN ISLAND. [The windows are double rows of portholes, and the supporting timbers are the only relies of the Bounty.] The British Government was asked to send to the place some one with judicial authority to try the murderer. From officers of the British man-of war Royalist information has been received of the trial, by a special commissioner sent out for the pur pose. Though the settlement of Pitcairn Islaud was the result of a crime, the descendants of the original settlers have lived in an ideal state of tran quility aud brotherly love. The people were religious, and such lures of the evil one as intoxicating liquors and tobacco were not allowed to be brought to the island. For over a hundred years Pitcairn Island lay sleepiug in the warm waters of the South Pacific, aud its people feared THE PITCAIRN ISLAND MURDERER. God, kept the Commandments and were happy. The crime which was responsible for the settlement of Pitcairn Island was the mutiny of the crew of the British warship Bounty in 1789. That mutiny was led by Fletcher Christian, master's mate of the ship. The first' murderer of Pitcairn Island was Harry | A. Christian, a descendant of Fletcher Christian. When, under the lead of j Fletcher Christian, the crew of the j Bounty seized that ship, they put the ! captain, Bligh, and certain others j who had refused to join them, into an ! open boat and set them adrift. The j ■captain and his party, after a severe j and hazardous experience, reached ' Timor Islaud, in the South Pacific, i BOUNTY BAY, PITGAIRN ISLAND. where they were picked up by a pass ing ship and taken back to England. The mutineers, after setting the cap tain adrift, sailed for Fitcairn Island. Pitcairn is only two miles long and abont a mile and a half wide, it lies in the South Pacific, between Aus tralia and South America, out of the pa h of commerce. Though expedi tions were sent out by the British I Government to find the mutineers of the Bounty, all trace of them was lost I until one day, many years after, when a sailing ship happened to find herself in the vicinity of Pitcairn Island, and sent a boat ashore for water and fruit. A curious, isolated civilized commun ity was found there, living under the rule of a venerable patriarch, John Adams, the last survivor of the muti neers of the Bounty. Adams had taught the natives to read and write, and begged that missionaries be sent out to aid him in his work. From be ing wild and reckless mutineers, the sailors of the Bounty, bofore they died, became religious enthusiasts, and when they died they left a God fearing community in their children and grandchildren. For 110 years crime was practically unknow on Pitcairn Island. Then Harry A. Christian murdered a young woman and her vear-and-a-half-old child. It was the first serious crime that had ever bee committed on the island. Christian met the woman and child walking in the bush one Sunday evening, and killed them in cold blood. After dark he returned to the scene of his crime to drag the bodies down the steep face of a cliff to the rocks below, where he threw them through a "blow-hole" into a cove where the pounding surges of the Pa cific soon tore them to pieces. The murderer, when 'accused, confessed his crime, and it is believed that his object was to be free to marry another young woman of the island with whom he had fallen in love, and for permis sion marry whom he had applied un successfully to the "parliament" of the island. The island parliament is au execu tive committee of seven members, presided over by a president. The parliament and the president are elected by popular ,vote, the women voting as well as the men. All the in habitants of the island are desendants of the mutineers of the Bounty and of native women found there, except one I family, aud that is a family the head of which is named Coffin, and, of course must have sprung from Nan tucket. There are 141 souls on the islaud, aud the families are five in number. They are the Christians, the Youngs, the McCoys, the Buffets and the Collins. The president of the isl aud is named McCoy. The Queen of England is the "over-lord" of the isl and, and in the island church is an organ which she sent out to her "lov ing subjects of Pitcairn Island in ap preciation of their domestic virtues," according to the silver plate on the organ. But England seldom inter feres with anything concerning the Government of Pitcairn. When Christiau bad confessed his crime, however, President McCoy called a meeting of his "parliament," and, as there was no precedent by which to be guided, it was decided to imprison the young man and appeal to England to send out and try him. So the man-of-war Royalist was sent to Suva in the Fiji Islands to get the British "Judicial Commissioner for the Western Pacific." The commis sioner went to Pitcairn in the Royal ist and Christian was tried before him and convicted, though he repudiated his confession and pleaded not guilty. He was taken to Suva "for final satis faction of the demands of justice." One peculiar thing about the Pit cairn Islanders is that they all speak English with u decided "down East" twang, and use many expressions which are seldom heard in Old Eng land, but are common in New Eng land. They are a light-colored peo ple, with blue or brown eyes. The only harbor in the island, and that is not a good one, is Bounty Bay, a slight indentation in the shore, where the mutineers burned the Bounty when they finally decided to stay on the island. Rising up back of the little settlement is a peak called the Goat House, and near its top is ajcave where the mutineers used to hide when they saw a sail approaching the island. In the first few years follow ing their crime Christian used to spend a certain part of each day on the mountain on the lookout for sails, in order that "all bands might douse the fires and go aloft," when there ap peared any possibility of their exist ence being discovered. They did not descend to the village again until not only the coast, but the offing, was well clear. But men and times are changed now on Pitcairn, pnd a visiting ship is warmly welcomed. The Parliament House of the island is interesting, because in it is some timber taken from the Bounty. This building has for windows two rows of portholes, which give it the appear ance of a stranded ship. The house in which the president lives is the be9t one on the island, and is called the White House. Some of the natives of Pitcairn have visited the United States, and sailing vessels from San Francisco touch there more frequent ly than any other ships. The Women of Egypt. The woman of ancient Egypt was versed in every branch of literature and art. She not only reigned as queen and shared the public life with men, but she also held important posts in the priesthood. The woman of modern Egypt is seldom taught to read or write, and not many of them, even among the higher class, learn to say their prayers. The girl of the middle and upper classes is brought up in absolute idleness. She is taught nothing save respect to her parents. Disobedience, being accounted one of the seveu deadly sins, is an unknown quantity in an Egyptian household. She is sometimes taught her prayers and to recite a few chapters of the Koran by a sort of governess. Only very occasionally is a girl taught to read and write. She lias more often a teacher who instructs her in sewing and needlework. The girl of the poor leads an equally idle life, and, though schools are numerous, her ed ucation is confined to sewing and em broidery.—Detroit Free Press. Tlie Original "Rock of Ages." There are few photographs, out side of those relating to Bible lands, that will possess a greater fas cination for Christian readers every where than that which appears below. It is a photograph of that wonder ful rock in Burrington Coombe, Eng land, which afforded Bev. Augustus Montague Toplady the inspiration which found expression in the imper ishable hymn, "Rock of Ages." At one point there is a conspicuons crag of mountain limestone seventy or eighty feet in height, a prominent ob ject on the right hand to any one ap proaching from the Blagdon road. Right down the center of this mass of stone is a deep fissure, in the recesses of which grows many a fern, while OD "BOCK OF AGES," AT BURRINGTON COOMBE. [The rent cliff, in whose hollow Toplady found shelter from n thunder-storm, is in Somerset County, England.) the hillside around are trees, whose stunted growth and wind-worn ap pearance tell of the scanty soil and the exposed situation. In this fissure Toplady took refuge from a thunderstorm, and it was this "cleft" and this rock which suggested the central idea of this beautiful hymn. London's Rig Underground Lake. London has suddenly found itselt in possession of a cheap and inex haustible supply of pure water, the existence of which it had never sus pected. Walter Mosley the engineer of London county council, has in formed Jthat body that underneath London in an immense lake of pure cold water, in a chalk basin 2506 square miles in extent and 100 feet be low the surface of the ground. The annual rainfall that sinks below to the lake is at least 280,000 million gal lons. It is only necessary to sink a sufficient number of deep wells in or der to obtain all the water necessary. An artesian well has already been sunk to this lake at Chapham, near London, and is producing a daily yield of a million gallons. The Philippine Mouse Deer. In Bataan of the Philippine group is found aohevretain, or "mouse deer," a tiny little pigmy ascunniugas a fox, and which when snared feigns death until freed, when it leaps up like a lightning flash and takes to the forest, leaving the inexperienced trapper in great surprise. The Philippines also contain civets, wildcats, porcupines, lizards, snakes and alligators. The "ohacon," one variety of alligator, is prized by the natives as affording im munity against death by earthquake shock. A World's Fair Pickerel Caught. A twenty-two pound pickerel, at tached to which was an aluminum tag, fastened by a ring through his tail, was caught the other week at Delavan, Wis. On one side of the tag is stamped: "From the Fisheries Ex hibit, World's Columbian Exposition, 1893; age five years; weight fourteen pounds." THE DEWEY MEDAL. Will Be Presented to Each Officer and Man Who Fought Under the Admiral. By the courtesy of the sculptor, Daniel C. French, Harper's Weekly is able to publish the first authentic re production of his completed design foi the Dewey medal. The Tiffany com pany will cut the dies and strike thf medals in copper—l63s in all. Upon the obverse side is a life-like presentment of the head of Commo dore Dewey, with the following in scription: "The gift of the people ol the United States to the officers and men of the Asiatic Squadron under the command of Commodore George Dewey." Upon the reverse, sur rounded by the words: "In memory of the viotory of Manila Bay, May 1, 1898," is the figure of a young sailor, stripped to the waist, who sits upon a gun, with the flag across his knees, and one foot resting upon a swinging loop of rope. In this beautiful figure Mr. French has admirably embodied the genius of the episode in its high est and purest aspect —the spirit of the fleet, such as one's imagination may picture it to have been on that memoiable morning, and also the spirit of the country on whose behalf it was going into action. The chief characteristic of the face is youth— the beauty, confidence and pure in tention of youth. In the pose of th 6 figure are alertness, fearless upright ness and the unconscious grace and composure of assured strength. The very disposition of the flag is sugges tive. The moment represented is not K ASJAIIV -'r A After a photograph iu Harper's Weekly. Copyright, 1899, by Harper A Brothers. j the one of victory, but of preparedness j thereto. The Hag is not a menace to I the world, nor under the pretext of i its name is a policy of aggrandizement ! foreshadowed. It is safe in the ketp- | ing of Young America, and when the j cause is right it will be uplifted. Its placing in the circle secures an admirable balance between the varied I portions and the flat ones very enjoy- 1 able to the eye. The strong horizon tal bar formed by the caunon, low ; down in the space, lifts up the lithe figure of the youth, and gives it a dig- ; nity and sense of size very difficult to obtain in so small a compass. Again, the poise of that foot upon the rope observe how exquisitely sensitive it i is! —brings into the narrow space at the bottom an interest and distinction which make it contribute to the dec orotion of the whole. Lastly, the whole possesses that quality which is such a charm of low relief —"envel- oppe"—as the sculptors call it. At mosphere is, perhaps, our nearest English word; the pattern of the dec oration is not one merely of lifjet and dark, cut of several degrees of light and several degrees of dark, as if viewed through varying planes of at mosphere. The result is, though, not hard and gritty, but luminous, rich and velvety.—Harper's Weekly. Primitive Arithmetic. The native arithmetic of Murray Islands, Torres Strait, is described by the Bev. A. E. Hunt in the latest Journal of the Anthropological Insti tute. The only native numerals arfe netat (one) and neis (two). Higher numbers could be described either bj reduplication, as neis netat, literally, two-one for three; neis-i-neis, or two two for four, etc., or by reference to some part of the body. By the latter methed a total of thirty-one could be counted. The countiug com mencing at the little finger of the left hand, thence countiug the digits, wrist, elbow, armpit, shoulder, hollow above the clavicle, thorax, and thence in reverse order down the right arm, ending with little finger of right hand. This gives twenty-oue. The toes are then resorted to, and these give ten more. Beyond this number the term gaire (many) would be used. Eng lish numerals are now in general use in the islands. To Keep Air in Circulation. A new contrivance for keeping ail in circulation is used in the new Eng lish steamer Omrah. It takes the shape of butterfly-fans moved by elec tricity. This idea the company bor rowed from hotels in Colombo. When heat becomes oppressive in the saloon one touch of a button sets tho fans in noiseless motion, and to all appear ance they work so satisfactorily that old-fast ioned punkahs will be com pletely superseded. In France there are 1,130,241 foreigners, while in foreign countries there are but 51 112 000 Frenchmen. |FOR FARH AND GARDEN Coinpoot the Cow Mnnure. All cow rnaunre should be composted before it is applied to lund. It is so slow to ferment, especially if plowed under a deep furrow in the spring, that it can do little good the first sea son unless it has been partly fermented by pittting it in heaps. On the other hand, horse manure ferments too easily, and if piled in heaps will fire fang, which is really burning it,as the carbonaceous matters are turned to ashes in the process. Hence both kinds of manure are improved for use by putting them together in the com post heap. Each corrects the defects in the other. Shelter for Slieep. Sheep suffer if kept in close, under ground, nnventilated stables, which are pretty sure to be also damp and have foul air. Even iu warm weather •sheep will prefer to sleep on knolls, not merely to be able to watch against danger, but also to secure free circu lation of pure air. Ho long as the roof keeps out the rain, the open tex ture of the wool on the sheep's backs will keep cold out, however severe, provided it is not accompanied by wit. The sheep need this shelter from rain, 9ven when the weather is not so very cold, though the oil which nature pro vides protects the skin from being wet, unless the storm is so long con tinued that the sheep is chilled through. PotutneN for Frtttfninp: Hod*. Whenever potatoes are very cheap farmers are apt to try to get some thing out of tliem by feeding them to stock. Every year there is a certain j proportion of potatoes too small or too scabby to be marketable, and some of these are likely to be given to the fat tening hogs with the idea that their starch can be converted into fat. But only 20 per cent, of the potato is starch, the other 80 being uothingbnt water. Even when cooked the potato absorbs as much water as it loses, and !is much too bulky iu the small stom | ach of a hog to serve as its principal j feed. Beyond the small amount re- I quired to keep the bowels open, po i fcatoes are 110 advantage to the hog, | and for this a few beets which the hog ! will eat with greediness are greatly ! to be preferred. Uae of LHIICI Plaster. ! So far as our observation has ex ; tended the use of land plaster is not nearly as extensive among farmers uow as it was when we -were farm ing iu boyhood in a section where land had only recently been reclaimed from forest. It appears to be certain that on land newly cleared, gypsum or land plaster produces wonderful ef fects, especially on clover and other broad-leaved plants. But after some years of clover plastering it was found that something else was required, and sxperimont with phosphates which be gan about that time showed that this was 011 heavy land what was needed. On light sandy soii potash was more often the missing element. So the farmers who had sandy land either mixed ashes with gypsum or sowed the potash fertilizers alone, and had better results than they had from sow ing gypsum alone as they had hereto fore done. When phosphate was used It was usually given in the form of superphosphate, in which a large part of the lime is converted by sulphuric acid into g.vpsum, which is another aaine for sulphate of lime. It was not merely useless, but injurious, to add more gypsum to this, for the in efficiency of the phosphate as phos phate depended 011 the very small pro portion of phosphate which was left active because there was not lime enough for it to unite with. Yet we have seen farmers mix phosphate with gypsum or lime in its pure form, little realizing that they were thus lessen ing the availability of the phosphate. There are many places where land uewly cleared is brought under culti vation, and in ail such we advise a trial of gypsum or land plaster. It will prove there an effective fertilizer. —Cultivator. On the Kuyirß of Fertilizer*. The price of fertilizers is a subject upon which we receive more or less complaint every spring. These com plaints usually reach us in May or June, when it is too late to change the methods of purchase, and usually come from those who buy in small lots on credit. The successful farmers who are large consumers of fertilizers dou't And fault with the price. Why? Be cause they know enough to take ad vantage of the fierce competition in the fertilizer trade. Such fanners de cide iu midwinter what ki—l of fertil izers, mixtures or materials they want, they pool their orders, get bids from various manufacturers or dealers and place their contracts where they can get the most for their money. Usually such contracts are for spot cash on delivery, or if any credit is asked, gilt edge negotiable notes are offered that can be discounted at a low late at any bank in the vicinity. The fact is, where fertilizers «re thus purchased in a businesslike way, of reliable firms, the fanner is always satisfied, and invariably also buys the highest grade brands, mixtures or materials. It is true, however, that the great bulk of the trade is with farmers who don't place their orders until the last minute, theu buy in small lots and usually want long time. If the latter class would do as the busiuesslike farmers do, they would be equally pleased. And this is true, whether you buy the materials and make your own mixtures or buy the manufactur ers' brands. No industry has wit nessed more failures than the fertil izer trade, and tbe business is now conducted on so close a margin that only strong concerns which sell vast quantities a>e able to show a profit. Mushroom firms that pretend to be "the poor farmer's friend" and sell hiin inferior stuff on credit at what is really a fancy price, may make big profits for a year or two, but they are forced to quit or assume another name as soon as the farmers find them out. —New England Homestead. Catch Crop*. It is a very difficult matter to get some fanners to see the great inipor* tauceof having some crop always grow ing on the ground. They can't see the use of a catch crop. When a crop is taken from the land in summer or autumn they can't or won't be per suaded that the proper thing to do is to immediately start another to pre vent the soil from washing away, to gather up nitrogen from the soil and subsoil, and from the atmosphere, and hold it through the winter so that it can be made available for another sea son's crops. They s ;era to look upon the idea as absurd when it is suggested that a crop can be grown just for the sake of plowing it into help grow an other crop. When lands were new and the soil full of vegetable mould there was not the urgent necessity for using catch crops that there is now. But after lands have been cultivated or even pastured for a long time they become deficient in linmus, and are consequently unproductive. Much of the unprofitable lauds we find over the country are unprofitable, not so much because they are deficient in plant food, but more on account of the short sup ply of humus. The humus will not feed the plant, of course, but in its ac tion on the soil it will generate plant food sufficient to produce a paying crop. It is then as much our object to increase the supply of humus in the soil by using catch crops, an it is to conserve available plant food, and the farmer who neglects to get in some vegetation between his money crops is losing money. If there is nothing else to be done encourage the weeds to grow aud turn tlieiu under before they mature, dry up or blow away. Turn an old field over to briars for a few years and they will renovate aud loosen up the soil in a suprising man ner. You never cut down and plowed up a briar patch that you didn't find the soil loose and pliable with a good color on top. Anything is preferable to bare land. Nature abhors it, aud the farmer should do so too, and al ways calculate ahead and determine what can best be grown between crops to improve the soil.—Farmers' Guide. Kerosene Treatment for San Jone Scale. The kerosene treatment, consider ing its efficiency,simplicity and cheap ness, is the best. Since pure kero sene is highly injurious to plants, it must be applied in a diluted form to avoid this injury. Because kerosene aud water will not mis when poured together, this mixing is accomplished by means of a kerosene sprayer. The two liquids are mechanically mixed in the act of making the application to the trees. We have determined by numerous experiments that 25 per cent, of kerosene so diluted with water applied iu the dormant season, and 15 per cent, applie 1 in the grow ing season, will not injure the orchard trees and will be effective against the scafe. In the fall soon after the foliage is shed, say about November 1, spray the trees thoroughly with the 25 per cent, mixture (one part of oil aud three parts of water). The trees should be thoroughly wet, so that not a dry spot as large as a pin head will be left. At the same time the tree should not bo drenched and left drip ping, as there is always some dauger of injury to plants in the indiscrimin ate use of kerosene. The usual an nual pruning can be done at auy time during the winter after the first ap plication of the remedy, and at the same time care should be taken to re move all trash, as leaves and bird nests, that may be attached to the bark or lodged in the forks of limbs. Such trash affords protection for the scales. Iu spring, just before the buds begiu to swell, make a second application of the same 25 per cent, mixture. In case of a large orchard the work should begin early enough to finish before the fruit buds are ffllly opened. Iu making both appli cations, bright, dry days should be selected for the work to insure rapid evaporation of the oil. The finest pos sible spray should be produced. Our expeiiments, which cannot be given here, have shown that such a course of treatment, if properly pur sued, will pretty well clean an orchard of this dreaded pest. It must be un derstood, however, that some of the scales will almost certainly escape,and it may be necessary to apply the same remedy a year or two later. In fact, it is a continual fight. When one once gets it ou his premises, he has a per manent pest unless he should dig up and destroy his whole orchard, which, after all, is the best plan in a great many cases. But it can be controlled and fruit culture continued, and ener getic fruit growers who are in tho business to stay will control it iu spite of its perniciousness.—W. M. Scott, state entomologist of Georgia. Tlie War Color for Ship*. Our war with Spain threw much light on the question of the proper color to render warships invisible to the eueniy. The best tint was found to be a dull gray with a yellow shade. Ships thus colored bleud inconspicu ously with the horizon, and with all the rocks alongshore. How nature deals with a similar question is show by the black aud yellow stripes of the zebra and the tiger, which render those animals almost invisible amid their habitual niiirmiudiiiGra
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