OK*)*****
I NATURE SMILES IN SANTO DOMINGO. |
Has All the Charms of Both Tropic M
and Temperate Zones. 5
S GOLD AND OTHER MINERALS IN PROFUSION ||
Whatever the Island of Santo
Domingo may lack, it i.» not from any
remissness on the part of Mother
Nature, for it was originally riohly
endowed. Everything that grows
within the tropics may find a home
somewhere between coast line and
mountain tops, and in the elevated
regions may be produced almost every
variety ofiruitand vegetaole peculiar
to the temperate zones. As for
minerals, the most precious of all,
gold, in flakes, particles, sands and
nuggets, has been found in abundance.
It was the gold of Hispaniola, as
Columbia called the island, that first
attracted him thither, and from the
native caoiques on the north coast he
obtained the preoious metal first
taken to Spain, some of which may
yet be seen in Burgos and Granada.
As his sailors were filling their
water casks at the mouth of the
river Yaqui they were delighted with
the sight of golden sands, and from
this circumstance Columbus called
it Rio del Oro, or the river of gold.
The founding of the prer.ent capital,
Santo Domingo, was owing to the dis
covery of gold on a tribatary of the
* river on which it is situated, from
which resulted the rich mines of San
Cristobal, first brought to light in a
romantic manner in 1496. Here was
dug up in 1502 that nugget said to be
the largest ever found in the new
•world, of suoh dimensions that the
lucky miners, in the first excess of
their joy, had a pig roasted and served
upon it as a table. They let it goto
the King of Spain, some time after
ward, bat sent a message to the effect
that they had done what no royal
personage had ever done; dined off a
table of solid gold. This great nug
get was lost when the fleet that sailed
with Bobadilla went down, and still
STREET SCENE IN SANTO DOMINGO.
lies at the bottom of the sea off the
east end of the island.
It is not known that much has been
done in recent times to exploit the
minoral riches of the island; in fact,
the interior mountains have never
been satisfactorily examined. In
their shelter yet exist nooks and
caves, secluded valleys and dells,
■which have never been visited except
by tho Indians of early times and the
"Cimaroons" or runaway negroes of
slavery days. Humboldt declared
that what the Spaniards obtained was
merely tho surface washings of the
placers and the hilltops, and what
they got from the beds of rivers. The
golden secret has not been revealed,
as yet, and will not be divnlged un
til some more progressive Government
than that at present ruling in Santo
Domingo shall undertake the explora
tion ot the great oentral raugo of
mountains.
But it is not in mineral wealth alone
that Santo Domingo offers tempta
tions to the explorer. This island,
which of late has been known to
political adventurers as "Leelee's"
Island ("Leelee" being a contraction
of Ulysses, former President Heu
reaux's Christian name) is rich in
every possibility. Within its area
of some eighteen thousand square
miles, Santo Domingo has every range
of climate and soil, oapable of produc
ing everything necessary to the sup
port of man. Nature, as has been
observed, did everything needful for
' this beautiful island, but during the
four centuries of man's domination its
rich gifts and generous provisions
have been perverted and even prostj<-
tuted to the basest ends.
When Sir Francis Drake went to
Santo Domingo intent upon sacking
the city, he found it hardly worth the
plucking. So it happens that while
rich in historical associations, both
°> 1
i 1 WMwiitfffliffiiWi i
11 wWi I n
GOVERNMENT BUILDING AND CATHEDRAL IN THE CAPITAL OF SANTO
DOMINGO.
island and city are poor even to the
verge of poverty. In the interior of
the island, where the banana and
sugar cane grow wild, and the ground
is oovered with rank growths of valua
ble plants and trees, I have been fol
lowed for miles by bogging children
suDßJicatioK a morsel of food.
And yet, any good sort of people
might make a second Eden of this beau
tiful island. Notwithstanding its
tropical situation, exposed to torrid
heats and torrential rains, Santo Do
mingo is a very healthy island, A
white man can live there, if he exer
cise due caution, with almost perfect
immunity from diseases such as en
demic and yellow fevers. MaDy ac-
SANTo V*
BAN TO DOMINGO AND ITd GEOGRAPHICAL RELATION TO CUBA AND TORTO
RICO.
quaintancea of mine resident there
have informed me that they were never
sick a day unless they exposed them
selves unnecessarily.
Far more precious than gold are the
historical memories of this island.
Here, on its north coast, Columbus
founded the first city in America, Isa
bella, erected the first church, built
the first forts and initiated the move
ment by which the indigenous inhabi
tants were exterminated. In the capi
tal city we may see the ruins of a
chapel erected in his time, a fortress
built by Don Diego, his son, and the
remains of the first conventual struc
ture, as well as of the first American
university. In the cathedral lie his
own remains (notwitstanding Havana's
claim to the contrary) and those of
his brother and grandson, while relics
!of such well-knmvn adventurers as
[ Fernando Cortez.JLas Casas and Velas
quez, the subjugator of Cnba, are on
every hand.
There is yet another possession of
the island which neither the rapacity
of the Spaniards nor the misdoings of
their degenerate successors can take
away or spoil. This is its great na
tural basin and glorious harbor, Sa
maua Bay. As a naval necessity Sa
mana is no longer desirable, but as a
factor in our commercial development
it would be invaluable. However this
may be, there it lies, on 3 of the most
magnificent bays and natural harbors
in the world, Almost unused, and at
all events not sufficiently utilized. It
is not quite so solitary'as when Colum
bus discovered it, in 1493, and thence
took his point- of departure for Spain,
on his return voyage; but it still ex
ists in isolation, the deep channels
OLD CITY WALL, SAN'TO DOMIXGO.
that would suffice* for the largest
steamships only giving passage to few
craft beside small sailing vessels.
From the grand promontory of
Balandra Head, which guards the en
trance to Samana Bay, there sweeps a
terraced shore liue, with a constant
succession of palm-bordered beaches,
forest-crowned bluffs and crescent
shaped coves of white and glistening
sand, back of which run fertile val
leys, cultivated to the tops of the hills.
The channel takes us close to the
beautiful beaches and almost within
hail of the fishers' cabins on the shore,
giving glorious contrasts between the
deep blue water, the silver sands and
the varied vegetation of the hills.
A few natives cultivate the lands ad-
jacent to the beach, and their hats of
palm leaves occupy a bluff above the
water. The beaoh of pure white Band
by cocoa palms in ranks
ana groups, and an islet off shore
breaks the force of the incoming
waves.
The real b arbor of the great bay of
Arrows lies five or six miles within
tbe gulf, and, together with the town
adjacent, is known as Santa Barbara.
A series of small cays lies opposite
town and harbor, between the isleta
and the main, being a perfeot cul-de
sac, with deep water close to shore.
Steep, cultivated hills rise directly
from the shore, with offshoots offering
choice sites for dwellings; the lateral
valleys are fertile and filled with every
tropical product, the beaches are
smooth and fringed with palms, the
bay within the reefs delightful 'for
bathing, boating and fishing.
The Samana peninsula is about
forty miles in length, and consists of
a range of hills thrust right out into
the ocean to the north of the bay.
These hills, swept by cool breezes,
covered with tropical vegetation, and
with their feet on either side plunged
into the sea, offer desirable sites for
farms and winter settlements.
America* .4 YoungeHt College President.
John Henry MacCracken, who has
just been elected President of West
minster College at Fulton, Mo., is the
youngest collego' President in the
United States, and probably in the
world.
Mr. MacCracken has not quite com
pleted his twenty-fourth year. He
first entered school in New York City
in 1886, having been previously taught
at home.
JOHN HF.NKY M'CRACKEN.
(Frestdent of Westmiugter College la -ils
tweuty-fourth year.)
The years 1834 to 1896 he spent in
graduate study, the first year in
New York University and the second
in the University of Halle, Germany.
In this latter university he had excep
tional advantages in being a member
of the family of one of the professors of
philosophy, with whom he spent part
of the summer in the mountains on
tbe border of Silesia. After complet
ing two semesters in Germany be be
came instructor in philosophy in New
York University College, and was ad
vanced the present year to tbe posi
tion of assistant professor of philoo
"Pky.
Wanted to Be Polite.
No one made any remark upon the
temerity of the ladies who invited
Ambrose Bierct% to deliver a lecture
before the members of their club.
Bierce was so takeu aback by the un
expectedness of the request that, to
his own surprise, he found himself
weakly accenting the bid, and then
humbly consulting his callers con
cerning the topic upon which they
might desire him to speak.
The president, a dignified and very
conservative lady, in reply to a novel
suggestion of the lecturer-elect, re
marked somewhat loftily that they
were not a club of new women.
"I am convinced of that," an
swered Mr. Bierce in a bland and
deferential tone which almost, if not
quite, concealed his cynicism. "Shall
I say you are a club of old women?"
News-Letter.
Suited Him Exactly.
Bilkins looked up from his desk ae
he heard some one enter his office.
Two ladies, members of his church,
stood before him. "We aro out on
another begging expedition," tUej
chorused.
Bilkins frowned.
"What is it this time?" he inqnirad,
snappishly. "I just paid out S'2 yes
terday on foreign missions and a dol
lar the day before on repairs for the
church. I suppose you are collectiug
on a uew carpet now."
"No, no; we are trying to raise
enough this time to send the minister
away on a vacation."
The frown on Bilkins's countenance
vanished, giving way to a broad smile
of satisfaction. "Oh, well," ho ex
claimed in joyous tones, "put me
down for 810." —Ohio State Journal.
The ••Dolly Barber" Tree Blown Down.
In the recent storm the "Dolly
Barber" tree, a famous laudmark on
the "New Cut" road, Washington,was
carried away. It is said to have re
ceived its name from a famous belle.
It appears as a boundary point in a
title deed of 1780. When Jefferson
was President he rambled to the street
on which the "Dolly Barber" tree was
located, and probably rested often be
neath its shade. The owner at that
time, an Englishman named Foxhall,
was bis friend.
A Wooden Chnrcta 700 Year* Old.
Here ia the oldest wooden church in
the world, erected at Borgnnd, Nor
way, more than 700 years ago, when
Christianity was first introduced in
that neighborhood. It is still as sound
OLDEST WOODEN BEIiIQIQtTS EDIFICE.
as ever, but is used by the congrega
tion only during the warm months of
the year. As the ancient edifice is
not supplied with heating apparatus or
glass-protected windows, the people
refuse to patronize it in winter.
Seen from the outside, the church
seems to be all roofs. Over the low
colonnades, partly open, partly closed,
that surround the church on all sides,
rise two rows of roofs covering Ihe
side naves. Above them are the roofs
of the centre naves, crowned by tower
ing rafters and timber work. The
roofs are covered with moss-grown
shingles and dragon heads and other
emblems of Norsemen lore protrude
on all sides.
The interior construction shows
even more plainly than the outside
that the builders of this edifice were
advanced architects, for they discard
ed the primitive blockhouse principle
for that of posts set upright aud joined
by woodwork. The church proper is
divided into a "high church" and a
choir, which is smaller than the tirst,
and terminates in an oval altar niche.
Both "high churcti" and choir have a
centre and two side naves, separated
by rows of pillars. The middle naves
are elevated after the manner of the
Roman Basilica. There are three en- ,
trances under fine arches, master- ,
pieces of wood carved with axes.
The church is always steeped in !
mystic gloom, for there are no win- i
dows, only a series of small, round !
holes cut into the upper side walls
where they join the roof. There aro
no window frames nor shutters, and
the holes in the walls are never closed,
summer or winter. The altar and the
pulpit are of the simplost description,
unadorned by paint or picture. There ;
is a bench at the side of the altar for 1
the burgomaster and the alderman of
Borgnnd; the rest of the congregation
has to stand or kneel on the bare floor, j
A Moral Tribe.
In the whole wide world there is j
not a class of people to be found who
inflict severer punishment upon them- I
selves that the Caribs of Central ,
America. Their religion, which is
ono of the most peculiar kind, de
mands self-punishment for sins inten
tionally or unintentionally committed.
The punishment takes the form of
starvation and close confinement.
If the sin be in the form of a lie, no
matter whether it is calculated to in
jure another or not, the sinner goes
without either food or drink for three
days, at the end of which it is believed
that the offender has paid the penalty
for his or her siu.
Blaspheming and using bad lan
guage is punishable by absolute star
vation for two days. Assault, drunk- j
euness and other serious sins call for
four days' starvation for one week, !
three days' starvation for the second 1
week, two days' starvation for the !
third week and one day's starvation I
in the fourth week.
All sins are punished with starva
tion. For that reason crime is very
low among the Caribs, who are omong
the best behaved and truthful people
in the world. —Pearson's Weekly.
The New Ctarowlti.
In case of the death of the present
Czar of Bnssia he will be succeeded !
(Brother to tbe Czar, and helr-presumptlva
to tbe Throne.) I
by his' brother, the Grand Duke
Michael. He was born in 1878 and
is the youngest son of the Dowager
Empress.
The Bepnblie of Venezuela contains 1
506,150 square miles. It is larger I
than any country in Europe except
Russia.
[FOR FARM AND GARDEN.]
Potatoes Inquire Careful Irrigation.
Bun the water through between the
rows of potatoes as quickly as possi
ble and see that there is a free open
ing at the lower eud so that the water
will not back up and stand. After
once irrigating, the land should never
be allowed to become very dry. Wa
tering is usually discontinued after
the first of September. In some parts
of Colorado the potato crop is not ir
rigated until after the young tubers
are set*
Feeding Clover to Fowls.
The very common advice to feed
clover to hens as an aid to egg pro
duction needs a caution attached to it.
If hens have grain with the clover
they will not probably eat too much
of the lighter food for their good.
But exclusive reliance on cut clover
as winter feed for a day or two may
so clog the gizzard with light indigest
ible food, that when grain is given it
only makes the matter worse by fur
nishing more heating material to fer
ment in the crop. Wherever much
grain is given to fowls they become
too fat to lay, audit is sacli hens that
are most likely to be crop bround.
Skimmilk Excellent Human Food.
Skiinmilk contains nearly all of the
food value of the original milk, with
the exception of the fat, und even this
may be present to the extent of from
one-tenth to 1 per cent. It contains
from 3.5 to 4 per cent of protein,
about 5 per cent of milk sugar and .8
per cent of ash or mineral matter.
Its chief value is as a muscle making
food and hence it is of great value to
growing children or laboring people.
Its economy as an article of diet can
best be shown by comparing it with
other foods. Twent • -five cents will
purchase f> 1-2 times as much total nu
trients and five times as much protein
in skiinmilk at two cents per quart as
in sirloin steak at twenty-two cents,
or four times as much nutrients and
8 1-2 times as much protein as mutton
shoulder at fifteen cents per pound.
Or three quarts of skimmilk, worth
from six to eight cents at retail, will
! hold more total nutrients aud more
I protein than a pound of round steak.
| At the present prices the only com
| moil food materials that will furnish
I more protein for a given sum yf
| money than skimmilk are beans,
! wheat flour, oat meal, coru meal and
salt codfish.
Tli« Krer-B oi mln; Ko*e*.
Ever-blooiuing roses may be raised
from seed, aud will flower the first
j season. The prettiest way to arrange
I ever-blooming roses is to plant them
j in a circular bed ou the lawn or in the
j garden. One could hardly have a hed
| of any other flowers wliicUwould give
j half the delight aud satisfaction
( through the summer and fall. The
bod should be made mellow and rich.
I In the North the plants would have
,to be house ! for the winter. Keep a
good lookout for weeds.
Home people make the mistake of
looking for all the excellent qualities
in one rose. Lovers of roses whocau
ritt'ord to buy them will be able to have
all the common kinds by exchanging
with iheir friends. The blush rose,
the moss rose, the .Tune pink rose, the
cabbaje, the damask, the l'eisiau yel
! low, the white aud the sweet briar
rose make a cllection not to be de
spised. These are all hardy. Late
iu the fall give them a good mulch of
manure, aud iu the spring add soot to
more manure and spade it in. All tho
j dead wood should be cut out aud the
! tops of the plants pruned slightly.
| Eternal vigilance is the price of
i rose*. The rose chafer, little green
' worms aud aphis, may be speedily
i disposed of by using an emulsion of
kerosene aud sour milk. Apply it
thoroughly to the bushes on the under
as well as the upper side of the leaves.
To make the emulsion, take one part
of keroseue to two parts of slightly
sour milk, and mix them together
until they from a jelly-like snbstauce.
Add to one part of this jelly twelve
parts of water, and apply with a
! sprayer or'sprinkler.
As for the tiny spiders that infest
roses, drown them. Water is the one
remedy for them. Bose slugs can be
destroyed with powerful hellebore,
sprinkled on when the bushes are wet
with dew.
Deliorning the Calf.
Horns are an unmitigated nuisance
in a herd of cattle. In every herd
there is one "boss" if not more; and
it requires feed to provide the energy
to tight ami the activity to elude the
fighter. Hornless cattle can be kept
iu smaller enclosures, will destroy
less fodder, will utilize what they eat
to better advantage and can be shipped
at less expense. Horns are expensive
from whatever standpoint they are
riewe 1. But there need not be a con
stant dehorning of grown animals.
The growth of the horn can readily
be prevented.
When tho calf is born there are no
indications of horns. But their de
velopment begins at once, aud iu a
very short time the button cau be felt
Cut away the hair about this nub or
button; wipe the hairless part with a
s) ouge dipped in water and ammonia,
and then dip the eud of a stick of
causiic po'ash i.i water, acd then rub
it oa the button until the skiu begins
to start. Tho application should be
i made when the calf s from one to
thret weeks old. In the majority of
I cases that will ! o the eud of ho n
growth on that calf. The entire stick
of potash, except the end tnat is ap
plied to the buttou should be wrapped
i with paper to prevent burning tae
! bauds.
| Mature animals should not be de-
Iho ned in fir time. It has been done.
and the application of tar baa pre
vented bad results, but it is inadvis
able. We do not advise a novice t«
undertake tlie operation. Better em
ploy n veterinary surgeon to at least de
horn a few of the herd, until the
owner becomes somewhat familial
with the process. Clippers are tin
best dehorning apparatus. They re
move the horn at a single stroke. In
cur experience and observation de
horning does not cause much suffer
ing.—The Agricultural Epitomist.
Keep 011 Hand.
The one all-important mixture thai
every tree-owner should have on hand
is kerosene emulsion. This is mad«
by dissolving half a pound of hard
soap in hot watar; then add two gal
lons of kerosene, and churn with a
pump for ten minutes; then add about
three gallons of hot water, and you
will have the emulsion in good condi
tion for storage. When you wish to
apply this mixture, dilute it with five
or ten parts for trees, and for ros«
bushes the solution should be very
much weaker; otherwise you wiH
damage the foliage of your bushes
and the flowers as well. It is far bet
ter to experiment with a weaker solu
tion; and if insects and slugs are uot
destroyed, apply the second day a
stronger folution. For scale insects
you may make the solution very much
stronger, and rub it stoutly into your
trees. Bear in mind always that pure
kerosene is as deadly to vegetation as
to animal life, and must be applied
with common-sense and caution. It
is unwise to be without s stock of this
emulsion on hand the whole year
through.
The experience of horticulturists
during 181)8 ought to have taught them
the necessity of also having on hand
Bordeaux mixture. Duriug July and *
August of the year a fungus develop
uieut took place, which ruined millions
of barrels of apples, as well as se
riously injured the peat; crop. This
could have been met and checked by
a prompt application of the Bordeaux.
I think it as well for us at all times to
apply Bordeaux in the spring. It is
made by a mixture of copper sulphate
and quicklime. Dissolve six pounds
of the sulphate in four gallons of
water, slack the lime in an equal
amount of water. Then mix the two
and increase the water (o forty gal
lons. Keep your barre', as well as
the keroseud emulsion, and all other
materials, in a separate room in your
barn, where they can be locked up
tight. Bear in mind that all rot
moulds and mildews' are of the fungus
order and demand the same applca
tiou. The .solution can do no harm
where it does no good. Remember
that a successful orchardist is oue whe
is already furnished with spraying
materials, pumps, etc., and is not
compelled to hunt up a neighbor to
borrow materials. All fungoid attacks
are very sudden, and will not allow of
any delay in the application of reme
dies.—E. I'. Powell in New York Tri
bune.
Transferring Isee* from Box llfve«.
There are at least three ways of
transferring bees from box hives into
movable frame hives. The old method
is to pry open the old hive with cold
chisel and hammer and cut out the
combs and fit them into the frames of
the movable frame hive and fasten
them in with sticks and strings. After
trying this method on several colonies
I must pronounce it messy, sticky and
unsatisfactory. A much better way is
to drive them out by the following
plan: Take the hive which is to bo
transferred under a tree in the shade
or alongside of a building and turn it
bottom up, place on top of it an empty
box of the same size, blow in a little
smoke at the bottom occasionally and
drum 011 the old hive with a couple of
sticks for ten or fifteen minutes.
Nearly all the bees and the queeu will
go up into the empty box above. In
the meantime place the hive in which
you wish to put the bees on the stand
where the old hive stood, so as the
field bees which will be coming in all
the time have a place to go. Of course
they will be rushing in and out, not
knowing what to make of it. Take
the box of bees and dump them in
front of tbe new hive and they will
soon run in and make themselves at
home. Stand the old hive in a new
location and drum out again in twenty
one days. Put these bees in a new
hive or add them to the old colony as
you prefer. If one desires two hives
from the one, it is best to let the old
box hive cast a swarm first, then drum
in twenty-one days, and tbe oue drum
ming will be all that is necessary.
Still another way, which is better
and less work than either of tbe obove
methods if oue wishes to keep the
whole force together and get the most
honey, is to take a movable frame hive
full of combs a week or two before
swarming time and place under the
box hive, closiug the entrance of the
upper hive and compelling the bees
to £Q through the new cue. When
honey begins ta come in rapidly the
bees will crowd the queen into the lower
story, always putting the honoy above
the brood. When the queen is laying
nicely in the lower story, put a queen
exclude:* between tbe two hives and
soon all the brood will be hatched out
above and tbe combs will be tided
with honey. It can be taken off, the
combs cut out, tbe honey extracted,
the old combs melted into beeswax
and tbe old hive cat up into kindling
wood. 1 am trying some this way
now and find it the most satisfactory
method of all, getting morehouey and
wax and keeping down tbe increase.
—F. G. Hennau in Orange Jiuld Far
mer.
An Imlinn Storfkeepw.
Sleeping Bear, a full-blooded Gro«
Ventre Indian, successfully conducts
a general store at Great Falls, Mon.
He will not give his own people cred
it, bat extends it to a limited number
of whi'ea.