WAS BLOWN UP BY MINE llfcisstaa Torpedo Transport Destroyed By Accident. jMNETY-FIVE LIVES WERE LOST. Cruisers Fran Vladivostok Slok Japanese Steaaer Aaoiher Merchant Vessel Escapes la pr Seliurt ol Maiampho Deemed lapcrliflt Financial Situation U Very Critical . 8t. Petersburg, t I'y Cablc An olli clal retKirt has been received from Yioe- toy AlcxiefT saving thst the Russian tor Jpeilo transport Yenisei bus been blown lip as tho result of accidentally striking mine at Port Arthur. Tho Yenisei sunk mid Cnptaln Slopan Off, 8 Officer nnd fll men were lof. ! An imperial ukase ban been issued. Tt Commands that all the troops In the mili tary establishment in tho Siberian mili tary districts be placed in readiness for war; that nil the divisions in the Kur Eastern viocroyalty be brougt to war Strength, nnd that the arinv nnd navy reserves iu the Siberian anil Knan dis tricts be called out for active service. Tbe authorities are empowered to Ic quisitiun the necessary horses. Ia response to tiie appeal of the Dow Iter ('farina several grand duchesses nnd numerous other noble. In lies have organicd eomniittees in St.. l'ctcr hurt?. The OMicial Messenger iluily prim- pages cjj t3gr u If I Kir-.. w a nana liar Street jrvai uj 'j Hill i(t litLi i.-tta I et loyal iiddicsscs from Zcnistvcs nr.d muulcipaiitics and to.veiiimcnt and pri sjratn riirporutioiis. The Cnr tnkes paina to personally thank the sende rs addresses in each case. The situation iu liiian. iul ( iii l's is slightly iinprnvcd, but is s'.i.l critical. RUSSIANS SINK STFAVER. line ( rv Vkc'e Sqjadroo Fires oo To Smt'.l p One h sco pes. Waabingtoii ; Special 1.- The .Inpance legation received the following dispatch from Toklo: Two smnll Japanese men bant 'hips Seoeho Maru und Nakoiioura Maru. while on their way to Oturu n port on the weHtern coast Yco Island, from Bakatc, a port on the northern coast of the main island of Japan wcte tired en uu Krbruury II by lour Russian n.ea ef wor off the const ( f Aciiii ii prcficture. nnd ti e latter n as sunk, while the f -mer had a narrow siur-. "The Iussian mr n d w ar are still seen off I tie western coast of Yeo l-.li.rni They are supposed to be the hrst i lass cruis"r which have been shut up at Vladivostok and tried some time ago to join tiio main squadron at I'ort Arthur." M KT ARIHIK BtLlfcVhD DOOMED. Tbr JjriDsh Expccl Us Fall Wilbin Several Days. Itfnicii CHy ( 'abie .- Tiie Kriiish tiov cniii'.ent lias infoi n.ation Hhii h leuds it to tn '.ieve that Japan is likely to tie in )Mki smou of I'ort Arthur u week from in. In the best informed Japanese l itclo. liere it is privately thonghl that the war will he over by July. Those ISiitish ofticials who are cogoiz'unt rl the xtiiiiirdiiiarjr ihoroiigl.nt'i with which .lupan prepanii for the war are im lined lo sliare the Japan) e view regi.rdii.g the duration of the ktrugglc. China Will Ds N.-uiraL Washington, ( Spe. ial). Minister Con fer cabled the State Department from I'ckin that the Chinese Government would immediately issue a priclaiuation ii neuiraiiiy. Having rcctivru irom tnc Russian Minister, the dec laration of war. If thi proclamation Is observed it will of tturs4- prevent tbe threatened Invasion of . Manchuria by the Boxers. China also iuiisI prevent tho use of her soil by either liiiMiiau or Japanese troops. Schoolgirl K lis Herself. Chiengo, (SpeeiaD-riorence Well hut. a pretty girl of 13 years, killed her lf Uvause her step-father, George II. Wis, interfered in a love affair which she was carrying on wi'h a schoolboy. Iti fore inking a druugbt of carbolic acid fclio r le on the buck of her photograph: Diss t hl.iiiut II. M " Mis Wcllmcr - was in her junior year at the High ts.li.!, end was processing well in her niiiiju-s Li n. her su-p father aniil, be diK-ovirr.l that she waa Infatuated with a Uy. Ifir look the girl from the school u hi pt l.i-r alrnoit constantly at home, beir he ! .e.iuently advUcd her to give up iii inn. i lis she iruniiseti. I jr- Nk sj Baron Uayashi said; "Whatever may be the eventual result of the war, Russia, tn allowing us to oc cupy and fortify Masampho, has created for herself another Dardanelles. With the fortification of Mesampho tho in tegrity of Japan is assured forever" "No fleet ran now pas thero against Japan's wishes. Kven if wo were beaten we will not give tin Masampbo." It, Is understood that the Japanese troops tro advancing rapidly toward tho Yulu Hlvcr. There, it is expected, they will meet nnd engage the Kusslnn forces. The Japanese declare that the numbers of the Russian troops are greatly exag gerated. The plan of the Japanese appear to be to tako the road which leads almost straight to Mukden.. They profess to have no doubt that they will bo iiblc to drive back the Russian forces toward II irbin. Huron IlnvAshl noints out that the Mukden road, though nominally tinder Russian military control, will bo subject to constant runls from Chinese bands, who will swoop down from the hills. Trot-ceding diagonally, the Japanese in tend to rut the lino of communication between I'ort Arthur and the mainland of Mam burin not only preventing rein forcements from reaching the Port Arthur garrison, but inflicting damage on the .Mincliiirian railroad. I Referring in the House of Lords to tho Russian charges on the subiort, of Tcl- llui-Wii, Foreign Minister I.ansdowne ! declared the report that dent Britain had given Wei Mai-Wei as n base for the Map Showing' Full Extent of the Baltimore Fire. rfi lUiga-.' omTTbTo ED teJ Hi Street ts PATTERSON if- WHARF 3 Hughe's Quay rri 1 . .Street 1 Cst A w-; 1 1 I rran? 1 1 mmm A 1 t rt. . . Ililii'bU'Ji . J 1 Street aaczoaDsnD I I I I I II II II Ji.pnr.ese operations agaicst Tort Arthur was i ntire'.v unfounded, nnd, so far as he could con jerture, it was u "mis chievf.iis fnbriiatirn," I MPEROR PROCLAIMS WAR. Declares Russia Disregarded Solemn Pledges to Powers. Toyko. Jaan, f Iiy entile). The exist ence of a stale ol war with Russia was formally announced by an imperial proc lamation. The following is the text: "We, by the grate ol heuverj Emperor of Japan, seated on tbe throne occupied by the same dynasty since time imme morial, hereby make proclamation to all our loyal and brave subjects, as follows; "We hereby declare war against Hussia and we command our army and navy to carry on hostilities against her, in c bedt ence to their duty, with all their strength, and we also comn.and ail our competent authorities to make every effort, in purmi nnce of their duties, to attain the naMonal aim with nil the mean within tbe limitb of the law f nations. "We have already ilee med it essential in international relations, and bat e mane it our constant aim. to promote the pacific progress of our empire, in civilization, to strcngthrn our friendly ties with other states, and to establish a stale of tilings w hich w ould maintain enduring peacr in I lie far Fast, and assure the future secur ity of our dominion without injury to the rights or inleiests of other powers. Our competent authorities have also per formed I heir duties in obedience to oi.r will, so that cur relations with all the iiOMers had been steadily crowinc in jcoidiaiity. It n as thus ir'titely against our expectations that we have unhappily con e to opeu hostilitii s against Russia. "Tbe integrity of Koria is a matter of the gravest com ern to this empire, not 'iily because of our traditional relations ! with that country, but because the sepa- I rate existence of Korea is essential to tbe May Not Imprest American Lloors. Seattle Wash., (Special The Iyo Maru, f the Nippon Yusen Kaisha's Seattle Line, sailed from Yokohama for Seattle. The Aki Maru is scheduled to follow her February i'i. There has been a persistent rumor afloat to the effect that the Japanese government would im- l-iim im- .iipu i iiM-n naisim irra io serve as transports. Tbe fact that ot.e of them Is now en route to Seattle is in terpreted by local officMsol the company to indicate that the American line of the company will not be disturb! d. Mcacy (er Qscea Lib Washington, (Special). Tho Seriate listened to the reading by Mr Carmuck of a sp"eeh prepared bv Mr. Morgan in opposition to the President's policy with rt-ferenco to an isthmian canal, and also (onsidcrcd tbe bill appropriating '-'00, SiO tn ex U k i d I.iliuokulaui Of Haw aii. Speeches Iu supmrt of the bill wen made by Mr. Blackburn and Mr. Mitchell, and In opositltn by Mr. Snoouer and Mr. 1'latl. of Connecticut. Mr, Hpuouer .'lnoved to recommit the measure, hut the vote on this motion failed to develop a quorum, and the Senate wat thus forced to aduru. safety of our realm. Nevertheless, Rus- i sia, in disregard of her solemn treaty pledges to l lima and her repeated assur ances to other powers, is still in occupa tion of Manchuria; has consolidated and strengthened her hold on those provinces, and is bent upon their final annexation. And since the absorption of Manchuria by Russia would render it, Impossible to maintain the integrity of China, and would, in addition, compel the abandon ment of all hope of peace in the far Fast, tro were determined in those circum stances to settle the question by negotia tions and to secure I hereby permanent peace. With that nhjerf n view, our competent authorities by our order made proposals to Russia, and frequent confer ences were held during, the last six months. "Russia, however, never met such pro posals in a spirit of conciliation, but by wanton delays put off a settlement of the serious finest ions, and by ostensibly ad vocating peace on one hand, while on the other extending her naval and military preparations, sought, to accomplish her selfish designs. We cannot in the least admit that Russia had from the first any serious or genuine desire for peace. Hie re jected the proposals of our government. The safety of Korea was in danger and theinterestsof ourempire were menaced. The guarantees for the future which we failed to secure by peeceful negn'iations can now only be obtained by an uppcal to arms." "It is our earnest wish that by the loy ally and valor of our faithful subjects peace may soon be permanently restored and the glory of our mpiro preserved." Skinner's ' ' PROCLAMATION OP NELTRALIT Y. President Roosevelt Doclares Friendship ol baited Slates for Both Nations. Washington D. C. ( SpcrinlV-Presi dent Itoosevelt issued the proclamation declaring Hie neutrality ol tins govtrn ti.int in the Russo-Japanese War. It says Whereas, a state of war unhappily ex ists between Japan on the ore side and Russia on the other side: Aud whereas, the United States are on terms of friendship and amity with both tbe conti nding powers, and with tho per sons inhabiting their several dominions; And whereas, there are eitirens of the I'nited States residing within the terri tories or dominions of each of the bellig erents ar.d carrying on commerce, trade er other business or pursuits therein, pro tected by the faith of treaties; And whereas, theie arc subjects of each of the beiigcrenls resiling within the territory or jurisdiction of the I'nited Mutes, and carrying on commerce, trade or otln r business or pursuits therein; And whereas, the laws of the I'nited States without interfering w ith the free expression of c pinion and sympathy or with the pen manufacture or sale of arms or munitions of war. nevertheless impose upon all persons who may be within their territory and jurisdiction the duty of an impartial n uttality during tie exister.ee ol the contest: And w hereas, it is the duty of a neutral government not to permit or suftcr the making of its wt.tcrs subservient to the pin poses of war. Now. therefore. I. Theodore Rooseve'.t, 1'iesident of the I'uitcd Mates i f Ami ricn in order to preserve the neutrality of the I'nited Stalls and of their citizens and of persons within their territory and juris diction, and to enforce their laws, and in outer that all persons, tiling warned of the general tenor of the laws anil trealir-s of the I'nited States in '.his bet.aif. and Had Dynamite In Trunk. Liverpool. (By Cable, The customs J'lliclals found e ighteen pounds of dyna mite and 3. MOO detonators in the posses sion of an Austrian emigrant on board tbe White Htar Line steamer Majestic, which left New York "February 3. Tbe Aus trian's trunk bail a false bottom, in which the dynamite was concealed. The man. who 'gave tho name of Ivan Sjnbeanoic, and who ostensibly was bound for Carlsbad, was arrested (. r, 1 remanded until February 20. Collier Nero la Smashed. San Francisco, (Spec lal). The mail steamer San Jose, just arrived from South American ports, brought the information that the I'nited States navy collier Nero had been rammed by the gunboat Con cord in t bo harbor ol J unama. 1 be in juries sustained by the collier was so serious that she hud to be beached. The Com oid was not injured. will Take Cuhsa Loan. Havana, KpeclsJ). Kpever st Co. of New York have contracted to take the ay0Oi),0t)0 Cuban loau. Tho price to be paid for the bonds is w hich is ' per cent abov thn minimum. jni'atisna. TPT sra aall.,-..ji,fVyJ , I j iv n -J?i-12K CITY DOCK of the law of nations, may thus be pre vented from an unintentional violation of the same, do hereby declare and proclaim that by tho net. passed on the 20th day of April, A. P., 1" IN, commonly known as tho "neutrality law," the acts are for bidden to bo done, under severe penalties within the territory and jurisdiction of tho I'nitcd States. The regulations of the neutrality laws are given. SENATE AND PANAMA TREATY. Executive Session Results In Decision to Erd Long Dlicuifloo. Washington, SpccinlV I'.ehind closed doors the Senate reached an agreement to vote on the Panama canal treaty Feb ruary 23. After tho executive session Senator Culloin, who bas charge of the treaty, conferred with the leaders on the demo cratic side, with the result that when the doors were closed an agreement was speedily made looking to the termination of the long contest. Tho correspondence which the Presi dent sent to the Senate in executive session was referred to the committee on foreign relations, and that committee will exam ine the documents and decide what por tion shall be printed as an executive document. When this correspondence was received objection to its reference was made by Senator Culloni on the ground that it was of such a confidential nature that, it should not be printed in any form. Discussions have disclosed the fact that some parts of the corres- Lombard ODD MMMf M I I ,n f DDF pnndence should be prepared In form for use by the senators and it is expected that this matter w ill he so arrangiied. The Senate was in executive session more than four hours, and after the agree ment to vote on the. treaty had boon reached nearly the entire time was de voted tn general discussion of the en croachments of the Senate and tho Presi dent on each other's prerogative under the constitution. MRS. LOREiSZ ACQUITTED. Court Directed Jury Tbsl Evidence Waa Not Sulliclenl to Convict Washington (Special). In the postal trial after the recess Justice Pritchard directed the jury lo find a verdict of not guilty in tho case of Mrs. I.orenz, Buying that there was not sufficient evidence lo hold her. The Government, after pre senting its rebuttal testimony, rested, and Mr. Kiilmer moved that tiie jury be directed to return a verdict of not guilty as to Mrs. Luren. Mr. Conrad said that at this stage of the case he would oppose Ihe motion, but he added: "I think von might trust, that much to us." He said he was going to ileul in his argument with the utmost fairness as tn which of the defendants in his opinion should be dealt leuiently with and which should ho dealt rigor ously with. District Attorney Bench also opposed the motion, whereupon Justice Prilhaid Vaiil lie would consider the matter and announce his decision after the recess. Safe Blowers Get $15,060. Woodstock. Ont., (Special). Burglars blew open ttie sale of the Molsons Bank, at Aylmer. and stole f l.l.OOO. They also blew (ipen the safe of the piivnte bank of James Munro, at Kmbro. securing a large sum of money. The thieves were fright ened away from two oilier banks. Seeator Manna's Fig hi for Life. Washington (Special.) Senator Han na is battling fur life, and despite the desperate e-ondition in which he Is from typhoid fever. Drs. Rixev, Oblrr and ('alter say that he still has a chance, how great a chance they will not say. Sunday was a gloomy one at the Sen ator's home in this city, and those who had been by bis bedside throughout the night continued as constantly through out the day, as there was no telling at what minute tho patient might become worse and tils den tn ensue. . (409,00 f ire atTcpcka. Topeka, Kans., (Special). Fire dc st roved the Park hurst i Davis Mercan tile Company's building and stock at First anil Kansas avenue, the Sells building adjoining, eiccupicd by the Mc Cormick Hun-ester Company and W. 1 Schick as a storeroom tor mattresses, and some smaller property. Total loss is es limated at iMOO.'H'O. The principal loss waa sustained by tbe Parkhumt-Dnvia Ooioi'Kiiv aud is estimated at ti-Vl,tMi0. with i'.'"), (KKl insurance. During the progress of the fire several thousand cartridge stored on tbe third Uoor of the Parkhurst Davis building exploded. land half a dozen spectators were hurt. 0 BALTIMORE'S BIG FIRE Monumental City Recovering From feels ot Conflagration. Ef- TOTAL LOSS PUT AT $125,000,000- Confidence and Hope Has Been Reafored to high Degree Ey the Knowledge That All the Cash and securities la th Vaults of the Destroyed Financial Institutions Are Safe and Sound. ' ' Rnltituoro, Md., I'Speclnl). - Paltimorc hat experienced one of tt(c greatest cal amities that ever befell a city In this country. Hundreds of its handsomest buildings are in ruins, its business sec tion iilmost totally destroyed, and thous ands of people are throw n out of employ ment. The fire started on Sunday morning at 10:30 n. m., and raged with unceasing vigor until Tuesday morning, when ths city fire department aided by detach ments from New York. Philadelphia. Washington, Wilmington nnd othet cities, succeeded in getting it under con trril. PF.Iltt. POINT SAFEt V TASSKD. The City's banks are now open and are paying out money. Business houses are receiving orders and are confident of tilling them. Streets in the ruined ter ritory are being cleared by thousands o: workmen and altogether great step! have been taken toward recovery frorr the effects of the oonflnganition. Confidence and hope has been restored to a high degree by the knowledge tha' all the cash and securities in the vault! of the destroyed financial institution! are safe and sound nnd can be put to us Immediately. Federal troops have replaced the Stati militia and guard the wealth which it being taken from former depositoriei Into temporary quarters where affairf are now being conducted. Kxeitement and worry have giver away to zeal and enthusiasm for th work of making a new Baltimore. SOME lNsfHASl'E PAID. Tbe Insurance companies are also co operating with the bank people in theil efforts to relieve the financial situatirn Tbe largest companies and Nome of thi smaller ones, ton, have decided to im medially pay .VI per cent, of the amouul of tbe claim presented to them when the loss was total, or nearly so, leaving the remainder to be paid after Ihe insur" ance has been filially adjusted. This wil! enable many business meu to resunx business at temporary quarters wh( have not the means to start to go nlicac with their arrangements. A few suiul claims have been paid by some com paujes .M-r' w There was nn enthusiastic meeting o citizens, too, for the purpose of eonsid erlng the general situation. E. Claj Timaniis, president of City Council wai chairman. The sense of the meeting was this und this practically tells thi prevailing spirit of the people. en( winds up tbe story of the day "InsteaC of despairing, we'll hustle. Instead ol giving up our business, even in this timi of stress, we'll reach out. for more. We'l stick by one another, and show tin world w hat Baltimore men are made of.' a."i,6'.'H,000 IN TIIS VAULTS. A fairly accurate estimate of the vast w ealth buried in the vaults of the w reck ed hanks and trust companies may h had from the following conciliation ol figures taken from the last report of the I'nited States Comptroller of the Cur rency: I'nited States bonds, 4,570.0t0, other securities, Hl,0S8,0OO, totul, 85, O2H.O0O. All of this great amount Is safe. There is supposed to be even more securities in the district than those named. As it is, the currency kept there must be added to these figures. PITS loss at 1 21. 000, 000. One of the expert insurance adjusters here says: "The aggregate of loss mentined by each company has undoubtedly been un derestimated." I am convinced that the total actual loss will be 125.000,000, of which Ihe insurance companies will lose probably f 75,000,000. " WEEKLY REVIEW OF TRADE. War, Fire and Cotton Were Adverse Factcrs Situation Bacouranlof. R. O. Dunn & Co's wef kly review of trade says; War, fire and cotton were the adverse factors of the wi;ek. vet thee ountrv stood the shocks remarkably well and there are numerous encouraging symptoms. lo a large degree tin; outbreak ot hos tilities in tbe Orient nnd the collapse of the cotton boom bad been discounted, and the disastrous loss of the conflagra tion was offset very largely by the stim ulus it will give to many Industries, not ably structural steel. In restoring Bal timore there will he great activity in Ihe building trades, while large stocks of goods must be replaced and orders filled by . jobbers and manufacturers else where. Tbe labor situation throughout I lie country is almost devoid of friction. More or li-ss t raffle; e-ongcslion result! from the weather, and this factor ac counts for the; small loss of 1.7 per cent. In railway earnings during .Isnuary. Actual business Is still restricted in the iron ana steel ministry, nut mere it more e-onftdence in the future, and Ihe extensive starting of plants by the lead ing producer suggests that" foreign mar kets will Ire entered more aggressively than ever before. Structural steel pros pects have greatly improved because of the Baltimore tire, as it is certain thst an enormous tonnage will he rcquireilMn re store Ihe ruined buildings. As to pig Iron, no Improvement is seen. Minor metals have developed irregularity, hut hard coal is in good demand. Failures this week in the t'nlted States, are S'.'H. against 241 last week. Wi tho preceding week and SIM) the correspond ing week last year. Failures in Canada number 25, against 2)1 last week, 2H tho preceding week and SO last year. All Powers Msy FlfjV. Chicago, 111. (Special.) "It Is ex tremely probable that the United States and each of the great powers- will do actual fighting before this war is over. The I'nited States has taken a strong and courageous position." Dr. Tovo kichi. formerly a secretary In the foreign department of the Japanese government, made the above prediction. Dr. Iyrnagu has just completed a series of lectures in Chicago under the auspices of tho Uni versity of Chicugo. Sporting Ercviiies. The season of the Connecticut St.itc League opens on April "S. Tho course for next year' ftiv.nnvi bllo race for tl.c Dennett trophy wil. be over n Gcrnuu ccnrse fioui Sanl burs to I-lutlu'i'S- Clock golf I" iK-comir.p popular In th South. "D;n!s'' have lie-.n !:ili' out i St. Angnstiii.r Pal'.u P..i!i, Cr:uoi:d Ntiasau nud Miami- tt u anuii-.-d that Yai? will s'Vi a crew iigntn iiext'Mny lo vor' tho An l.auui.s Naval Cade: crew on I J? !$: i-r i. lb dale is wi f.sc.i. rHE BUCCANEERS IN PANAMA MASONRY RELICS OF DRAKE AND MORGAN rhe Trip From Panama to Porto Bello -Columbus' Search For a Strait Connecting the Two Oceans The Old Highway Across the Isthmus. :-: :: :-: !- NAM A. There are mo-' incuts when one e-an sectn PI to comprehend, dimly, the 1 interest of the Isthmus. Some oul'liuli.cu vuseline on the reil-'ouu Mies, some Amcr Picon for the fever, ti little iul lino for miliaria, and it brisk pony ride town tbe Savannah road, or a ctiyuco ;rip tip the Cbiigrcs. or n tossing, heart biikinix press through lincnsy sous iu rt rnsoiliie biiiiiclt to Porto Hello that iiscimitiiig "Month of the Treasure of he World.'' ns Sir Henry Morgan nllcd It little adventures like these let one's fancy Koine. The lstbniu" Is ben not merely n suiiill republic, by Jonah's gourd, as h horse-breeder would say, out of n hribn-bii'ight revo lution; It is tho seem; of acts thnt minds have delectably dwelt upon, when young, during tw enty goiu ra lions. Here nn; the jungles, here tiro ih! seas, iiml here lire tbe masonry ettleiiiciits which Balboa cut through, the; plnti'-llccts sailed, that rizarro idiilt, and that Drake nnd Morgan 'al lied. These were the seas in which sir Francis Drake in two small pin uiccs bad ravaged plate fleets of Spain when "convoyed by three nnned gul Icons.'' Bells rar.tf when we readied Porto Hello; small dugout cayucos put out from shore. When wo entered one all stundiug. like pictures of Columbus Jlsoover'.iiK America, the gunwales sank below water amidships. It took more than mere water and lucre wetness to affect us now. Drawn up on the shore were most of the villai;.'is, and the American Consul, Uorirlgurz, who, 1 think, never has seen North America .Ike ninny ii neither American Consul ilown by the ciinntor. But he trades with New York, scuds ivory uuts to be made into buttons, etc., and bas the sense of hospitality highly developed I wanted to go first to the Royal Treasure House, which was the Mecca lis it nu anachronism to use the phrase':) of the brethren of tbe coast. Hero it was solid masonry. Tropical vines, which need only sun, rain and sir to grow, had branched from its mortar, had separated the careful lay ing and cementing. The roof was off; there were openings which showed where the door had been. "Look at those arches," said the con tractor, who bad come along; "they have no keystones'." Of course they hadn't; ancient peoples had fidvancod ways of accomplishing ends. Consider the Pyramids; consider San Ixircnzo fort, up the Chagres Hlvcr, in Panama. Xo one knows how they did it without steam derricks bigger than we nrc acquainted with. It's a fine old pile, this skeleton of a treasure house. "I mean to restore it as u custom house," remarked the contractor, pulliug a red blossoming plant from u crevice. "All I'll have to do is to supply doors and a roof." We debouched upon n cobblestone street, a long street, connecting vvifh I tingle at both ends, with whitewashed lulf-stui-co. half-wood, und occasionally coral-stone houses along It. Wild wig wuggings attracted lis to the American Consul's Sr. Itodriguci's homo, spu rious, pretty (for those parts!, showing wealth lu its decoration interesting cbroinos from an early American period, grasse-H in vases, mirrors with the nauiu of his dead wife enihlassoucd at the bottom. Thero is no irony in this description I urn simply speak ing lite-rally; it should bo read like wise. Sr. Uutlriguez gave us more than tiny stretch of tho meaning of hospi tality in Amerlcu, north or south, west i or east, comprises; und Lo gave it out of bis heart; bo waa what you honestly '.ook for when a Spanish-blooded person says, lu conventional fashion, "My house is yours." He showed us his family Hihle, with tbe names and dates of bis offspring written down. "Thir ty -two children," he said, proutlly, and we read tbelr names. Against some of them was the record. "Died ." Tbe mother, too, waa dead. Under guidance of tbe principal citi zens we went to the two old churches -old beyond anything known of In Christian America. One was in ruins one is still worshiped in. The lutter Indeed, was the e-burcb which rang Its hells when it saw men with Amer ican raincoats coining ashore, thinking they were priests iu cassocks. The; t hief citizens of the place for 4U0 years were buried under the flags of the Uoor. "I knew It," said I, thinking of Mayor De Leon's calmness during our voyage; "here are De I.eous to beat the band." They ranged, under our feet, back to Itjtto, twenty years before the Mayflower at riymoulh, .New Ens laud. Along here Columbus passed looking for "a strait connecting tbe Atlantic with another great ocean." ludians at Honduras had told hlui of one, or o he understood them. What they really .apprised him of was that only a narrow neck of laud here separated the two oceans; but his mind was fixed upon navigation, and he searc'ied for a water passage, and stopped a lew miles beyond Polio Bello at Nouibre de D4os, from which point, some twelve years later, younjf Vasco Xunes del ttulhoa, noble but poor, euergctic, en gaging, and a wonder with tho sword, made a march inland to that "peak in Darlcn" from which he discovered the Pacific? Ocean, and fell down and prayed in emotion. Of supreme mo ments in the civilization of the world few arc greater than this. Francisco PiKarro was with . Pnllma em this march, according to old Peter Martyr; and l"s men with oiquebuses. cross bow, swords, pikes and Itloodhouiids (the latter to track Indians. Halboa'a own hound, which be called-Leonlca, kept always at Ida heels, emu to the l ine peak lu Darien. and. was allowed rations like nuy soldier, and ' au cjual m m sharo of tho booty," which profited his muster much. .Twelve days It took those mull-clad warriors, preceded by maroons cuttlns the way. tn reach the peak. Some died, "froru tho most pestilential cli mate In the world:" and there were skirmishes with the Indians, the same tribes who are now supposed to bo allies of tho United States. In spite of the fact that one great chief, Instin iiulna, has gone to Cnthngcnn to tin entertained by Colombian ollicers. On September 25, ITiKI. Pal lion saw the se-u beyond, tbe sen that really reached to the East of Marco Polo, and he sent Plznrro ahead with scouts, following himself, wading waist deep Into tho surf to draw his sword and take pos session for Castile and 1-ct.i. Very near the same spot at Aela. a settle ment be founded. Halboa was put to death for treason. Ilis treason wns that long before Ik? had started- be had usnrpi'd the governor's place, and Spain did not hear of bis marvciens discoveries till a new' governor with orders to execute Halboa had been srnt to the Isthmus nnd bad fulfilled tho mission, rir.arro went on down thn Pacific to tho conquest of Peru; and the gold of the Incas presently camo dtrcair.ing back and over seas to Spain. At Porto Hello nnd at Nombre de Dios are tbe two split ends of the only path, except the tlfly-year-old Panama P.nil road, which even to this day exists across this Junction of two continents, The road, though paved with strtne, is thick with bush now. Two yrr flso a mine owner bad forty macbetM men go ahead of him and clear n trail, and then by menus of many re lays of mules he made tbe journey to Panama iu Iwenty hours. Drake heard of this road in 1570. Ho heard of the gold, sil-ver and pearls flint camo over it for Spain. At that time tho port of departure Was Nombre dc Dios, just abovo here, und for that port Drake left Plyinouih. England, with (wo ships and seventy-three men. and, It is believed, the sanction of Queen Elizabeth. Leaving bis ships out of Bight, ho used bis piiuinccs in scoutiiiR, ' nud found the plnte-fleet in the harbor, wltn Derescortor throe armed galienns. wailing for the cargo. One night lir rushed (he (own, old John Oxenboin, who was afterwards banged in Limn us a pirate, his lieutenant. The Spamsh fled. Silver was abundant; but Dnikn wanted gold nnd pearls. The Spanish returned, for tin church bell ringer was Ktlll faithfully pealing the alarm, and they look courage. Drake was wounded in the leg, and his men cat lied him away lii-rctrent. For three years ho wailed his chance on tbe Isle of Pines, taking, meantime, with his pinnaces, several old ships, cutting out a treasure ship from her escort at Curthagena; and then got word of n rich train coming down the Panama road. Yellow fever bad killed off n'l but forly-eight or bis men; his surgeon hod died. too. "of his own medicines." Tbe fortifications of Porto BpIIo are beautiful. In the style which Vauban brought to a climns iu the days of Iotiis la Soldi of France, they haw the rampart, the esplanade, the glacis, und the rest in lovely linp and sym metry. Every point commands some other point; and underneath thero Is the dungeon, with one square opening, of historical romance. We found the wulls, of course, scribbled with the dreads and wishes nnd farewells of in numerable prisoners. Itamparts scarce, ly reached to the walstliue of a mun; and the sentry boxes, decorative little round-topped towers placed for archi tectural no lcs. than for military effwt, were hnrdly big enough for a man to turn around in. Red flowers, lone and slim, like a folded inoruing glory, grew in the rlflp slits. Small orchids thrived under the dislocated iron (.tuns so old that none of tbe marks tolling, the date of manufacture e-an bo dociph cred. Pcopln who fancy that ancient ruins are only to be encountered in tho Old World should see these of Spanish America. They are European in char acter, with a story that seems almost Asiatic in age. ' At the other end of the town's waterfront stands the walls of the e'asth which Morpan sacked and raped of its gold and pearls making the priests and nuns of thp place go ahead to put up sealing ladders nnd take tbe brunt of the arquebuses. New York Evening Post. It VTatn r H Ii Fault. A well-known Brooklyn politician owns a dizsy old frame building in one of tho Jewish epiarters of Manhattan. Not long ago bla tenant, a small cloth ing merchant, summoned him hastily by tele-phone, telling him thnt the plueo was on tire. When tbe owner reached the ground he found that the fire de partment bad cxtiuguishce? the flames before they had done much of any damage. Somewhat annoyed at hav ing been called from important busi ness for so trivial a matter, be said rather sharply to his tenant: It's a pity lli whole building didn't burn." "Veil." said (be tenant, with a elr precntlng gesture, "you e-au't pis me me. It vasn't my fault. I didn't sen in do alarm." '' . ' Tian Kai Mtantr tlian Mas Are women meaniy in giving then men? It cannot rightly be urged that they are. Women, after all, in buying or in giving, are commonly making use of, money that others have earrictl. Tbey hasve been trustees lor other peo, ple'a money for 'Jttoo years, and long use baa made them careful of tbelr trust. Of course, the petty meannessea of a ceiluln kind of women have af forded Infinite opportunities for men's .testa and contempt, but those petty meajijief.es are nothing in comparison with the great meannesses of really sordij aicu.-J'be Spectator.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers