FOR PURE WATERS
AND BETTER HEALTH
Health Commissioner Dixon's Great
Task K to Reclaim the Waters
ol the State From
Pollution.
THE DISPOSAL OF SEWAGE
lamt»ry Engineering Division of the
Department of Health Is Teaching
Municipalities Efficient and
Economical Methods of
Drainage.
A lamentable and tremendous
amount ol needless suffering sickness,
evpense and death annually result
tioni the wantou pollution of the
cream- of Pennsylvania among those
individuals dependent upon these
wurto of supply for drinking water.
Hundreds of communities hang iu the
Uaiaui* and at any time may have an
epidemic of typhoid fever stalking
through their midst and decimating
their numbers Hundreds of the young
and best lues of the commonwealth
aie annually sacrificed to the unsani
tary imivuin of sewage disposal. Pol-
SOB material of human origin from
public and private institutions, sewers
and privies are emptied into streams
ai paints but short distances above wa
*er aoiks intakes, and iu a few- hours
the:eafter a « delivered through the
• ater pipes oi p. 1 l»t 1 • systems to many
iunocent and unsuspecting individuals,
who rest secure in the belief that the
pistil a itaorities. having in charge
the furnishing of drinking water, and
• a: o i.>:!•!• :oi the purity of
tbe *a?er th'is supplied, are faithfully
iertoiming their obligations.
Publu and private corporations,
howevex • vi n when earnestly inclined,
ate ofteu limited in their powers to
p. event sewage contamination of the
source* o; water supply.
After y> ar- of affliction, and at a
terrifl<- co-,! :n human life, it has finally
:awn-d poti the people that a higher
authority than the municipality must
l il'ple » the problem and afford a
xciuedy 1; therefore, of interest ;
,u every «ic.zen of the commonwealth
lu acow attotii t'.ie work that Health
• ommlsifiont r Dixon is doing to pre
**rve the purity of the waters of the i
fate in fulfillment of the duty laid
ipou him iv the ait of April 22,
iso;
l'lie enorn: ty of the task Is com
jirebende.i when one realizes tho fact
thai almost wiihoiit an exception
*•»«!> city borough and municipality
n IVnii-' vauia having a sewer sys
tem dis' ba ,e« Its tilth into the most
ul enieii nearby stream, regardless
ut conseq 'aces to the user of that,
atreain at some point below.
Further. where there are no sew
fit pnv.es are almost universally lo
< ated on or near the banks 01' natural
water courses, which thus serve as
opeu sewers. By no known mathe- j
maths is !t poMfble to coapirte the 1
extent of evil, the misery, expense.l
poverty, lifelong suffering and death j
wtih h this custom entails; but It is a
tact that a laige amount ol it all would
b« driven from the state if sanitary j
methods of sewage disposal were
adopted
It la the privilege, as well as the
d4ly. of tne Stat. Health Commission
ci to bting about ju.-t this result. No
»hott sighted vacillating and radical 1
poli'V cmM be laccmful iu such a :
great undertaking It will necessarily
b« the work of years to undo the cus- j
turns of generations and establish uni
veiaal healt.ii.il conditions. Its sue-!
1 e*s> iu a measure depends upon the
enlightenment and co-operation of the '
people The stupidity and skepticism '
of a pn-ot' upied and selfish |>opulace !
!s a barrier to quick results. Where
ihe publi< cons< ien« e Is quickened,
voluntary retorms will be inaugurated
and Iteueflts will be at once secured. !
In other < as 1 s the law will have to be
Invoked and enforced.
The Chief Engineer of the Depart
ment. F Herbert Snow, and his assis
tants are now traversing every part of
the S'ate. making examinations of
■ewetage systems and water supplies,'
and -olle<tiiig data with respect to the 1 1
quality of all of the waters in Penn- j
aylvauia More than this is being done,
•our.es of pollution and menaces which
tan be abated at once are reported to
the commissioner, and in many cases j
a request on hi* part to the owner
of the premises is sufficient to cause j
a removal < the nuisance. The unm-
Uer of letters of encouragement and ■
• o-opetation In this kind of reform
received by the commissioner splendid- j
ly ii! -1 rat*"- 'he w of the cit
izens (if the state to do what is right. ]
In a few ia-es owners wilfully refuse ,
to do awav with the lauseg of disease.
In whl. h event they are being brought j
Into ■ ourt or forced to comply with the (
law 1
Another ]>.. riant feature of the 1
ounisMonei - work is appealing to I
the muni' Ipalities namely, the utiliz
ing free ost to them of the services
of The mj ■ Bg fefMtMßl in con- '
•ultation and advice respecting the in- ]
*<allatlon of new vvatet works and sew- 1
er system aid the extensions of exist- '
ing system- 'I his engineering service 1
ioev not interfere with the work of j
the engineer in private pia<tt<e, but
11j 1 r'. Is* - •* 'l':.. -i;ite department
give* ftee of nit the very l>est engi- \
neering advice pio< arable. which has
already res ul t< d in saving to munici
palities Ui_e -urns of money by ob
viating 'os»u mistakes In carrying
«.'it the £. r.eral advice and suggestions
of the Mate department the nmni< ipal
ltie« n. >*-t employ theji own engineers,
but tw-fnre plan- are finally adopted
they pa-' for approval to the health
oummissionei Dt Dixon confidently
asserts thai through his engineering
division tie will save to the munici
palities in the state hundreds of thou- I
kanda of dollar and at the same time
work with 'he kml authorities In car- .
ryiug out ha al Improvements.
%11 l-!|tl 1 n tib. ,
lu tiieuMrr of out f;itl»er Gone to (
Join his appendix, his ton-Ms his olfae-
tory nerve, his kidney, his eardrum ,
and a leg prematurely removed l»y a
t.os|ittnl whii era veil the evpe I
rlen«>- WwstMiy's Magazine
If tun reMilvc to <tn right you will J
■uOti do Wi«ei) bllt lesolve only tf> do
widely and you \IU never do r'.g'j* !
ituskiii . '
1 1
Iv mwwtiww (
j! BY THE
I! "MONKEY"
| DRILL B ,
Michael James < [
1 ' Copyright. laf»>, by liuby Dougla-s |
"But there Isn't room for all seven of
us In the wagon box," said Clement
when Hex Burgess had Invited the par
ty to "pile lu."
"Oh, ti or in ley can ride on the front
*«-at with the driver," lturgess had re
plied lightly enough, though Gormley
felt the undercurrent of malice lu his
voice, "up near the horses. Thee© gal
laut cavalrymen like to be about
horses, you know."
A January thaw had left the clay
roads liquid, but a hard freeze follow
ing had reduced them to smooth Iron,
and the rumble of the wagon on the
hard surface echoed far through the
breathless, glittering cold of the tnoon
llsrht.
li was the night of the Grangers'
party at .Merritield town hall, five miles
from Slocum, and a week before Bur
gess had Invited a half dozen young
people of Slocum to attend, riding over
in his sleigh. The thaw had necessi
tated the change from sleigh to wagou.
"I wish I hadn't come, 1 wish I
hadn't come," beat Incessantly in
! Gormley's brain to the steady clop-clop
of the horses' feet. "I had no business
to do it. Burgess is a boor. He never
forgets bis money nor remembers his
manners. What got Into me, I won
der"'" aud much more of the same sort
of self deception, for Gormley knew
perfectly why he was braving the nip
plug cold aud Burgess' thrusts. Noth
: lug but suddeu death could have kept
him away. Sylvia Ornish was there.
But the joy of being near her was
dashed by the thought that Burgess
was nearer still beside her. In fact.
' To secure that coveted place their host
had boldly ordered his rival to the
! front seat.
Any man with red blood lu his veins
could scarcely blame Burgess for his
maneuvering. The girl was a bewitch
ing little figure, muffled lu furs, a co
quettish red tam o'-shanter setting off
her piquant face and mischievous eyes.
Burgess had never seen her look pret
tier, and he glowed with satisfaction at
his neat disposal, for the drive at lesst,
of his rival.
Meanwhile the sweet tempered Gorm
ley. by nature almost too submissive,
was near to being roused. He was
lashing himself tu bitterness of spirit.
It liad always been so. Fate had mado
him the football of Kex Burgess, even
In schooldays. Burgess was big aud
brave aud handsome, while he was
slight aud pale faced. The boys had
nicknamed < iorniley "'Molly" because
| he had once fainted at the sight of
blood. Burgess' father was the wealth
iest man in Slocum, and every cent of
the money would oue day belong to
Hex, for he was the only child.
Hegardless of the merry chatter and
the snatches ol' song from the others,
Gormley plunged deeper Into his niel
ancholy reflections. He, puny clerk lu
a dry goods store, to aspire to Sylvia
Gerrish's love against one so favored
of gods and men as Burgess!
His cheeks burned, too. when he
thought of the other's contemptuous
reference to "cavalrymen." Frankly, |
he admitted. It was ridiculous that he,
"Molly" Gormley, should have martial
aspirations. Vet when the state mili
tary board had offered Slocum the
equipment for a troop of cavalry for
the national guard Gormley had been
unanimously chosen captain. And he
was the man for the place. He could |
ride. It had always )>eeu the sport In 1
which lie excelled. He knew the"mon- '
key" drill of the United States cavalry
as he knew the alphabet.
They talk of Cossacks aud Bedouin '■
Arabs and Indians aud the way these (
savages handle a horse, but the man
who follows the yellow guidon Is a lit
tie the best horseman of them all. Aud
Captain "Molly" Gormley, Troop A,
First cavalry, stale troops, rode like a
regular whether In the saddle, bare
backed over the hurdles or standing,
each foot planted firmly on the back of
a galloping horse. Besides the first
qualification of a cavalryman he had
the other requisite for an officer, the
gift of command, aud eveu West Point
cau't touch that. So despite the fact
that his body quailed at the sight of
blood Gormley's spirit sang with the
notes of the bugle when Troop A, two
long straight lines of men and horrJes
moving fieautifullv In unison, passed
In review at camp.
The thought of his creation—he had
made Troop A the pride of the national
guard In the two years it had been or
ganized—gradually lightened the glooui
which had overspread (Jormley's spir
its. He reflected with considerable com
fort that Burgess could not ride well.
Ihe big fellow did not understand
horses and feared them. The bully In
him crept out. too. on horseback. lie
thought it merely discipline to Jerk the
head of his mount cruelly aud without
reason Burgess was not a member of
Troop A Maybe this fling at "cavalry
men" had been due to envy.
Even the possibility that Burgess en
vied him w: 1 s balm to Gormley's sore
heart. And if he could only plan It so
ns to sit by Sylvia on the homeward
Journey now his cup of Joy would be
full. It was a mighty hound from the
depths of despair almost to the pinna
cle of Miss in one short half hour, but
Gormley was young, and youth has
hope for a heritage.
Insensibly the young man was at
tracted by the beauty of the night.
The burnished utooii glistened on mil
lions of tin) floating frost crystals tlu
til they sparkleil like diamond dust.
To the westward the black roadway
unrolled I "fore them like a velvet
ribbon Bt iver . reek crossed beneAih
It 1 hundred yards away. From the
lowland bordering the creek the road
hi l 1. mi graded to a height of fifty
feet an<l the e:i;haukuieut WHS uar
steep and dangerous. A railing
mi ci h side hedged in the roadway.
Tonight n.'iiitig was visible below
tli I 1 ling \ mi-t. white and soft
:t- >• .11 wool rose from the swampy
low gr nil.l and roiled in noiseless bil
low - t • the height of the road. The
1 • 1 ■ of tin clattering wagon and
it- o • '.pan s into this heaving white !
silence seemed almost uncanny. It !
was is a ..1 which might rise and
engulf tliem.
The other-; were similarly Impressed, I
it would tin for the talk was some
what quieter The team after three
miles of brisk movement was getting
warmed up and danced spiritedly. The 1
driver tick a fresh grip of the reins,
for careful work was needed, especial
ly at night in crossing Beaver creek
flats H,. puiieil strongly to bring the |
horses to it walk, then lunged* back |
ward suddenly The right rein had
broken near his hand.
' What followed for the first paralyzed
moment was like a scene from a horrid
dream to Gormley There was a con
fusion of sho.its and shrieks from the
wagon box behind. The horses were
crowded to the left of the road by the
pull of the one souiffl rein, to which
the driver still clung stupidly. They
plunged Into the railing; It cracked,
then gave way beneath their weight.
The nigh horse was partially off the
road, scrambling desperately with Its
hind foot on the treacherous side of the
embankment. A*id still the relentless
relu, dragging at the frenzied animals'
bits, Impelled I hem over the edge of
the road.
In a tiash Gormley saw the only
course that would save them, the girl
he loved and the others. There was
no time to get down and reach the
bits, lie might save himself by jump
lug. but Sylvia, wedged In the box,
would be rolling over and over to pit
eons disfigurement or death. "Drop
It!" he shouted fiercely at the driver,
and the latter instinctively loosened
his grasp on the line.
Gormley scrambled over the foot
board and onto the tongue of the
wagon. He threw himself astride the
off horse A well directed lunge with
j his right hand secured the broken relu,
and the same movement wrenched the .
j animal's head sharply to the right
Leaning far out, he seized the other
i struggling animal by the bits with ills
i left hand and pulled with all his
! strength. The hoofs of the frantic 1
horse striii \ tire from the embank
1 inent edge. lor an instant the whole
| outfit trembled toward destruction, but
the pull to the right never slackened,
; the ni_h horse secured a foothold at
last, and the danger was over.
"How did you ever think so quick-j
ivV" ; -Ueil t: 1' 1 Parker when the ex
cite e.it hid died down a little and
the r.' :t w.. ''ciag mended.
•it wasn't thought at all; just in- j
i sfinct." replied Gormley. "Yon see,
j the trick of riding one horse bareback j
and guiding another is part of the cav
alry •tnoiikc;.' drill 1 learned It years
ago wli.'ii I was a l»oy."
Burgess holds i 1 •inent in bitter hat- |
red sine • that night, for it was Clement i
who Insisted on changing seats with j
Gormley. and that brought Gormley i
Into a place beside Miss Gerrish. The
engagement was announced ne\t day,
all as a result of the ride home after :
the dance.
The betrothal kiss, given when the
waning moon was smothered by a i
cloud, was doubly sweet to Gormley, j
for Burgess was scarce a vanl aw.av. I
Tin" Art of Miinaie.
The slab upon which the mosaic is
made Is generally of travertine or ti
burtiue stones connected together by-
Iron clamps. Fpon the surface of this
a mastic or cementing paste Is gradu
ally spread as the progress of the work 1
requires it. which forms the adhesive j
ground or bed upon which the mosaic :
Is laid. The mastic is composed of fine
lime front burnt marble and finely
powdered travertine stone mixed to the
consistence of a paste with linseed oil. |
Into this paste are fixed the "smalts"
of which the mosaic picture Is formed.
They are a mixed species of opaque j
vitrified glass, partaking of the nature
of stone and glass and composed of a
variety of minerals and materials, col
ored for the most part with different
metallic oxides. Of these 110 fewer
than I,7'MJ different shades are In use.
They are manufactured in Home in the
form of long, slender roils, like wires
of various degrees of thickness, and are
cut Into pieces of the requisite sizes,
from the smallest pin point to an inch.
When the picture is completely finished
und the cement thoroughly dried it is
highly polished. Chambers' Journal
Had >'<» Terror*.
A young minister settled over a small
country parish was Instructed by Ids
parishioners to procure a piano for
1 their use. He did so. telling the dealer
j to charge the bill for rental to the sec
' retary of the parish. When the bill
uuiountcd to the society being uu-
I
: able to pay It as well as the swlary of
| the pastor, the music dealer dunned
I the minister for the money, telling him
thut he assumed the responsibility.
The latter replied that he never assum
ed the responsibility of another, hav
ing all he could do to pay his own bills,
whereupon the dealer threatened to
sue him.
A short time after our friend receiv
ed a letter from 11 New York collection
agency, to which as well as several fol
lowing he paid no attention, until the
following short but definite letter
came:
Dear Sir—Unless you remit ut oncn we
shall publish >ou uil over the country as
a delinquent debtor.
To which he replied:
Gentlemen Fver since I entered tha
ministry 1 h iv> been struggling for the
title of P. l> Co ahead
OUR LANGUAGE UNIFORM, j
While (>real Hrllaln, For Inntanve,
M«> Vlnuj Different I.an KUitKea.
It lias been observed that the lan
guage spoken in the United States Is
remarkably uniform. True, there are :
many dialects, but Great Britain, less j
In area than any oue of half a dozen of
our states, contains such very differ
ent languages ns English, Welsh and
the Gaelic of the Scottish highlands, to
say nothing of the provincial dialects
of Cornwall and Yorkshire aud the
unique speech of the I,ondon cockney,
while In this country, with its vast ex
panse of territory, its settlement by j
Spanish. French, Dutch and Swedish
colonists ami Its millions of immigrants
drawn from nearly every country, large
and small, all over the world, there Is j
far greater uniformity of speech than
lu any other land of equal area and ;
population.
The causes can be readily seen. The
public schools have made us a nation |
of readers, and the press has supplied
books and papers without limit. Press
associations have done llieir part to
ward giving a uniform and fairly good
tone to the newspaper language of the
day. The telegraph, the telephone and j
cheap postage have brought distant \
parts of the country into quick and I
easy communication, and so have aid-|
ed in teaching a common language, j
The railroad has penetrated every cor ■
ner of the laud and made us a nation j
of travelers Countless human shut-I
ties thus are thrown daily across the
land in every direction, carrying with
them the threads of thought and speed)
and doing their part to make one pat j
tern of the w hole. No doubt our maps,
I which stiil present so many different I
kimN of names, will iu time lose the |
( strangeness aud the "foreign air" that !
i are so noticeable now. 11. M. Kingcry ;
iu St. Nicholas.
lie -.ftioe sure.
A story C t'dd of tic Sud 11 rail
j way vv hi.ii -h . s pa tii nl I 1
| To an official there came ih *
from 1111 i».i.;ying station S u
master h,, di-d Shall I bit h
The reply was ~-eiit "V>-s; bar) s[.
1 tlon ma ier 111:t pl.a en ! i in
Is really dead before )..n <h> so.** In j
due time back came the u>**BHage: I
"Have i.:.. .e,! station 11 n ter x ! n't*
sure he v . . t I b\ hii 1 ag him t •
on the lea ! v ifh a li !i 'a! • " There
was perf.- t nsjiiiarice that there l ad
been ICJ I lei .1 i hurl:. I
}v\uvm wmt \% tuwMmwmi
I That Ten Acre!
j Lot |
I\y 'Donald Allen
S ' »p> i'ii<iit. l. l.v K Whitehead 2
0 luutmvtMM*#
Jeil Wheeler, aged forty and a bacho
lur. was us well liked us any person
fit the village of I'liiil He was neigh
borly, kind hearted and always willing
l<> do for others.
Jeil's good qualities were ill a way
his enemies. He was lazy, and, added
to hi-- laziness, he had a uiauiu for
trading. lie would trade horses, dogs,
guns, watches, overcoat or anything
els:-, and it so happened that the other
' fellow always not the best of the har-
I gain.
He had been left quite a little for
i tune by his grandmother, but in the
i course of tlve years he had sold at a
loss or traded with sharpers until all
that was left to him was a ten acre lot
lying just outside the village limits.
It was a ; line a meadow as could bo
found in the county, and Jed was hang
ing onto that until some lightning rod
I man should come along and trade him
a farm on top the Rocky mountains
i when he fell in love.
JI in Thomas, the carpenter, had died
three years before and left a level
headed, economical widow behind him. |
She was an old schoolmate of Jed's,
1 and h" had seen her almost every day
for I weni v five years, and until the
spirit <> i" love Ihi I i'i led up he had sim
ply regarded her a< he looked upon all
l other women.
He wa> sitting <>n the grocery steps
; one day whittling when his knife slip
| peil and cut his linger. The Widow
; Thomas was iu>t entering the store for
: half a dozen egirs when the accident \
occurred, and she pulled out her hand j
| kerchief and bound up the bleeding j
tinker. It was only a trille, but some
how it touched the heart of the old
! bachelor, and three days later he called
ion the widow.
"Martha," lie began. "I've got tired
I of sloshing around alone and am going
| to tret married."
"For the land's sake!" she exclaimed.
"That is. If the woman 1 want will !
: have me."
"Who is it V"
"Vou."
"Now, Jed. don't come around here
- with any of your nonsense." she said. ,
; "You are a u«.«•«! natured man. but you
I are lazy. You think you've got brains, j
' but everybody beats you. It would j
drive me crazy to have such a hus- i
baud."
"1 coiil I and would reform. If I had !
any one to peck at ine I'd goto work." '
"1 haven't time to be poking up a j
i husband It's hard to teach old dogs
| new tricks. Thank ye for the honor,
: Jed, but I -~s we won't do any mar- !
I ryinj;."
Jed was crushed for three days, dur
ing which time i windmill man came
along and oflVred to trade him T>.ooo
acres of d< i t land in Arizona for his
meadow and explained that he could
raise lo.i i i rattlci-nakes to the acre on
the sandy soil and sell the oil for is" a
gallon to iri. • ise the feet of bubies
with.
Ii .led had been in his normal coudi- j
tion lie would ha . e elosed with the of- i
for at once, but as he was in the throes j
of hopeless love he astonished the ,
town liv turning the windmill man ]
down. * Two days later he went back •
to the widow and said:
"Martha, 1 had a dream about Jim I
last night. I dreamed that I met hlni
in front ol the blacksmith shop and ;
that we shook Lauds and he said he '■
. hoped I'd marry you."
"Oh. you've come about that, have
you:" she asked.
"I have. I'm a miserable uiau."
"Have you tried catnip tea':"
"Catnip t>. ': Hn-at heavens! What
ails me is love, ami if the Mississippi j
river was composed of catnip tea it J
l couldn't cure nie Martha, if you won't 1
j promise to have me 1 can't live a week ■
longer."
••Nonsense. I'm busy with my Iron j
; lug, and you run
Jed was now so broken up that ev
erybody began to notice and comment
! ou it, but when questioned he simply
' shook his head arid intimated that he
: was not long foi this sinful world. lit'
got up • iierg.v enough, however, tc
] contract to out a thousand ties for
a suburban cleetrie line. and. hoping
! this might work in his favor, he paid
' another visit to the widow and told
' her of it.
"Now that you see I am going to
work, can't you say yes?" lie asked In
I conclusion.
"Jed, what do you come bothering
| for':" she asked.
"Because I love you."
"Don't be silly. I'm making minct
[lies today and haven't time to argue."
Jed went away, determined to throw
himself into the mill pond, but when he
reached the bank he met a stranger
who had been poking around the vil
lage for a couple of days without tell
! lug any one his business. He intro
duced himse.T and said that he thought |
some of establishing an orphan asylum
if he could tind a site to suit. In this
i way he brought the talk around to
| Jed's meadow. The value of the land
j as it lay w:> Slim an acre, though Jed
| had never had a cash oiler for it.
The stranger didn't exhibit too great
interest in the matter. lie said he'd
j think the matter over and perhaps
| make an offer. He had no mountains
i in Idaho and no lakes m Europe to
trade, but would be prepared to pay
cash A day later, while still saunter
! lug around, lie met Jed and said that
he could have Sl.otni for the land as
soon as the deed was made out. Ihe
lovelorn bachelor had started for the
otlice of the village lawyer to have the
deed made out when he met the Wld
; ow Thomas. She noticed his exelte-
I ment and asked the cause, and when
I he had told her she said:
"Look here, Jed, don't you take too I
I much stock in the orphan business." I
"How do you mean':"
"You're an orphan yourself, and you
don't want to let any other orphan get
the better of you Can you get a horse
and buggy anywhere for an hour?"
"Of course."
"Then let's drive out to your land
and see what kind of a place It would
make for the poor orphans."
On the way out Jed recurred to the
old subject, saying that ho was on his
way to drown himself when he met
the stranger.
"Come, now," interrupted the widow,
"this is straight business and you keep
quiet."
When the meadow, which lay along
the highway, was reached the widow
Insisted on walking across It from
north to south. The ground looked as
level us a floor, but near the center was
a sort of sjnK hole. In rainy weather
"siderable water stood there, but the I
earth was now dry.
"I'm!" said the widow as she halto"!
and sniffed.
"Do you mean that smell V"
"Yes. Ever notice It before?"
"Once or twice. Smells as if some
body had been breaking rotten eggs
around here."
"•let a pole and thrust it into the
ground as far as you tan."
"Here's one right hero, and some
body's been poking What do you
make of It, Martha':"
"Jed, you've asked me to marry you,"
she said in reply.
"1 have. Inn you don't seem to cart;
whether you drive me to a suicide's
grave or not."
"I don't know but I'd be willing to
take chances."
"As how V"
"If you'll deed me this land today
I'll promise to marry you within a
month. I shan't answer any questions.
It's yes or no right off."
"Then it's yes. by thunder!" exclaim
ed Je! as he reached the roadside
fence.
The deed was made out before sun
down and sent away to the county seat
to be recorded. Next day the man
who was looking for an asylum site
called upon the Widow Thomas. He
hail scarcely mentioned the poor or
phans when she laughed and said:
"Don't let your philanthropy cause
you to lose a good thing. The ground
up there is full of natural gas, and
you know it. It's only twenty miles
to pipe it to Chicago. If it's under the
meadow, then it's under hundreds of
acres around here. Go ahead and
make any test you will and then come
back with your offer."
A week later he was willing to hand
over $10,0(10 iu cash, and when Jed
Wheeler had Seen the money counted
out and the deed passed he exclaimed:
"By thunder, Martha, but that was
the only piece of land I had, and when
a piano feller comes along and wants
to trade me a goose farm for the rais
ing of speckled geese, what am I go
ing to say to him?"
"Kefer him to your wife," she an
swered as she kissed him for the first
time.
\ Tranrdj In Klce.
Here is a story of Scotch sailorineu
told by the Dundee Advertiser: "The
ship's crew had been made up in a
hurry, and when they had passed the
bar ai d were beginning to feel a trifle
hungry it was discovered that they
had no cook. So the old man asked
Geordie to try his hand at the job, and
(Jeordie scratched his head and rubbed
his chiii an i -aid he would do Ills best.
Next morning he consulted Jack about
breakfast. Oh.' said Jack, 'rice will
do!' 'Will it d'ye think?' said Geordie.
Woo. about how much shall I cook?'
•Let's -ee.' replied Jack 'There's four
teen of us with the old man. I should
say a bucketful would be plenty.' 'I
doot but it will,' said Geordie and went
off to Ihe :ailey He git a Imcketful of
rice and put it In a large pot, and
when it began to boil It likewise began
to swell. So he baled out a portion in
to another pot, and that also did like
wise Then he baled out of both pots
into other pots until all his pots were
full. Still it swelled, and Geordie be
came alarmed So he put ou all the
lids and lashed them tightly down.
Then lie went forth and locked the
door and - oml against the bulwarks
watching its m the skipper came
along and made inquiries regarding
breakfast Whi-t. man!' replied Geor
die softiy. I'm cooking rice, and I
don't know the ininit It will burst the
door.'"
Origin of *'lV«tlier 1 n ill" lup."
"A feather in his cap." signifying
honor and ilistineiion, arose from a
custom which was common among the
Syrians and perpetuated to this day
among the various semieivilized people
of adding a new ieather to the head
gear for every enemy slain. in the
days of chi. ilrv '.lie embryo knight re
ceived his .... jue in a featherless con
uition. a id tii- i won his plumes as he
had won In*- spurs, in a manuscript
writic i ' li.eha d Hansard in 1588
and ■ irefiili.v pr< :v ed in the British
museum i- ine 11:11 ued an ancient Hun
garian custom, that of allowing 110
man to vve.M a !'» ither in his cap who
had not killed a Turk The Hungar
ians had a law. which was in vogue
as late as 1011' which allowed warriors
to add a teaUi -r to their headdress col
lection "every time the claimant could
prove that '. e had succored a starving
Hungarian bad killed an ablebodled
Turk or otliT Moslem." These old cus
toms are ii 'W obsolete, but It is lnter-
esting to know that there were once
such laws upon the statute books of
nations thought to be civilized.
Social Opinion.
Social opinion Is like a sharp knife.
There are foolish people who regard It
only with lerr.v and dare not touch or
meddle with it: Micro are more foolish
people who. in rashness or defiance,
seize it by the blade and get cut and
mangled for their pains, and there are
wise people who grasp It discreetly
and boldly by the handle and use It to
carve out 111 -ir own purposes.—Mrs.
Jameson.
KILLTHE COUCH
AND CURE THE LUNCS
~ w,th Dr. King's
New Discovery
_ /tONSUIVIPTION Price
FOR I OUGHS and 50c & SI.OO
Free Trial.
Surest and Quickest Cure for all
THROAT and LUNG TROUB
LES, or MONEY liACK.
SOMETHING IEI!
A. Reliable
TO SHOP
Tor all kind of Tin Roofing,
Spoutlne and General
Jot* Woik.
Stoves. Heaters, Ranees,
Furnaces, etc-
PRICKS TIIK LOWEST!
QIiJLITf THE BEST!
JOHN HIXSOJN
NO- 11# E. FRONT BT,
WONDERFUL MIRAGES.
Tlionv Seen In the Winter Twilights
Northern \lu*ku.
'lhe most v. al »rful mirages ever be
held by mortal eyes are those that are
seen in the twilight winter days In
northern Alaska. these remarkable
ghastly pictures of things, both Imag
inary and real are mirrored 011 the
surface of the waste plains Instead of
iil> <ii the . ion.!.- or l.i the atmosphere.
Mimic lakes and water courses fringed
with are to be seen pictured
a-- real as life on the surface of the
snov. while grassy mounds, stumps,
lie log*. etc., which have an actual
exi en l ' * line place on the earth's sur
!a .tie OL. .ill. d ag.liil.St mountains Of
sLiov. ia ail kinds of fantastic shapes.
Some of ill*, objects are distorted
•li d u: igiiilii.M into the .shapes of huge,
,1 .iy animals and reptiles of onor
n. - pro, <»riions. Yhe fogs and mists
• drive!* -ee.iss these wastes by the
v. u.l.s. an.l as the objects referred to
lo >m 1 pi ! the flying vapors they ap
i . r 1..•• I.vi ig creatures and seem to
be .-.nail; moving rapidly across the
pi 1 in.
M other limes they appear high In
the air. out this Is a characteristic of
the northern mirages that are seen
near ashore. When the vapors
ii.nl lnlsi> are drlren out to sea the
Imit _es mirrored in them appear to be
'un ,!tig through the waters at a terrific
rate *1 m : •I. dashing the spray high
in lhe air. while huge breakers roll
over tii ... and onward toward tbo
mountainous islands beyond and
against which they all appear to be
dashing Monstrous serpents, appar
ently several hundred feet long, some
times with riders on their backs, men
on horseback thirty to fifty feet In
height, animals and birds of all kinds
of horrible shapes and colors seem to
h" 1 past, racing and chasing
each other until they are lost In the
twilight fogs or dashed to pieces upon
the rocky Islands mentioned above and
which are twenty miles out to sea.
THE RED SQUIRREL.
lie Store* Very I.lt lie Food Fop
in Winter.
lit Maine in fact, all over New Eng
land red squirrels do not put by great
hoards of any kind for winter use.
When a Maine red squirrel has filled
Itself wiili acorns and beechnuts It
will hide a few here and there —under
leaves, in hollow logs, iu cracks of
rifted trees and among stone heaps.
An average red squirrel, haviug the
run of an oak grove In the fall of the
year, may in the course of two weeks
tilde away from two lo four quarts of
acorns, though they will be In perhaps
twenty different piaces, and In no in
stance which we have noted has anj
nut been shelled.
The squlriel which piaus a hoard of
nuts and makes deliberate preparations
for winter is the little chipmunk, or
striped squirrel, which seeks winter
quarters soon after heavy frosts und
which remains In hiding all winter.
The chipmunks often hide as many as
two quarts of shelled beechnuts in one
place. Their storehouses are, as a rule,
under the ground, in sloping and sandy
soil, the burrows having been dug with
true en"inet-ring skill, so that no fresh
et can drown them out.
It is believed that most observing
woodsmen will say that the red squir
rels*.! this vicinity seldom make large
• •ache of pro\ isions for winter con
sumption and never shell the stored
nuts In fact, the red species have no
need to pay much heed to such matters,
tts they are abroad and active In the
coldest days of winter as much as they
lire In midsummer, so precautions for
food are not demanded. As the red
squirrels subsist for a good part of the
year upon the cones of pines and
spruces, which hang to the limbs, they
•to not care how deep or hard the snow
may be. feeling secure In finding all
the food they want among the tree
tops. —Bangor News.
Her Awful IlluiKler.
Tess—Ob. that's your new hat, eh?
Jess Yes. and such a bargain: only
$lB. What do you think: 1 dropped
Into let Miss G rum ley see it Just now,
uinl she pretended siie wasn I interest
ed. Didn't even ask how much I paid
for it. Tess No, dear si"" didn't have
to. You've forgot• m 1 * oft '• at
tag marked !? Ipv 1,1 ' lelphia IV "s
! The Home Paper j
i
I of Danville.
i
i
i
!
Of course you read
|II HI is. I,
THE FIEOPLE'S [
Popular
1 APER.
Everybody Reads It. j
_ I
I
! :!
Published Every Morniuv; Except
Sunday
i
No. ii E. Mjf! ng St.
i
I
Subscription 6 con . . r Week.
BLACK GOVERNORS.
t Curtou* l*i«?ee of Old Tiui<- » ouacct-
Icul History.
A book little known even to collect
ors of Americana is a volume entitled
"Hartford In tin- Olilen Time; Its First
Thirty Years," hy Scaeva, which was
edited by \V. M. 15. Hartley and pub- 1
lished at Hartford in 1553. There Is a
chapter in tliis book entitled "The
liUi. l. (io . mors of Connecticut," the
very title of which will excite the sur
prise oi most intelligent people eveu In i
Connecticut, who have never heard of
auj black governors in tiie Nutmeg
Stale except tin* governors of an oppo
site political faith, who were, of course,
politically black. The title, however, is
explained and justified by a littlo ex
planation Before the Revolution and
down to a period as late as 1820 It was
the custom for the negroes living In
tile stale to bold ail election Oil the Sat
urday succeeding the regular election
day, choosing one of their number as j
governor. Sometimes, however, no |
election « a- held, the retiring governor
assigning his office to another. The
' man chosen in either ease was usually
i"of imposing presence, strength, firm
ness and volubility, quick to decide,
ready to command and quick to flog."
He appointed a staff of military ami
judicial officers, who executed his or
ders in all matters pertaining to col
ored people, especially questions per
taining to morals, manners and cere
monies.
The fact that he had no legal status
in the province or state did not at all
trouble him or his subjects, and ho ap
pears to have exercised a very real
power, nearly always oil the side of
morality and justice. The justices of
the peace appointed by these black
governors were, as a rule, extremely
severe In punishing people of their
own color who transgressed the law.
So generally was this recognized by
the whites hi colonial times that when
a slave committed some offense it was
the custom to turn him over to the
black Justice for punishment. Such a
'culprit always fared much worse than
if he hail been tried by the regular
courts.
Among the more notable colored men
who held the office of governor were:
Quaw, a negro belonging to Colonel
George Wyllys; I'eleg Xott, who be
longed to i 'olonel Jeremiah Wads
worth; Boston, belonging to Mr. Nich
olas; John Anderson and Cuff, who
held the office for ten years. After the
abolition of slavery in Connecticut the
custom fell into disuse.
Milt
Hie Same DM In Oilier I'IUI-PD, but It
< ciiia I si* No Microbe*!.
It is an error to think that the clieui
leal composition of the air differs es
sentially wherever the sample may be
taken. The relation of oxygen to nitro
gen and other constituents is the same
whether it Is on the heights of the Alps
or at the surface of the sea. The fa
\orable effects, therefore, of a change
of air are i;*>t to be explained by any
difference In the proportions of its
gaseous constituents. The important
difference is the bacteriological one.
The air of high altitudes contains no
microbes and Is. In fact, sterile, while
near the ground and some hundred
feet about it microbes are abundant.
< In the air of towns and crowded places
not only does the microbe impurity in
crease, but other Impurities, such as
the products of combustion of coal, ac
crue also.
Several Investigators have found
traces of hydrogen and certain hydro
carbons In the air, especially In pine,
oak and birch forests. It Is to these
bodies, doubtless consisting of traces
of essential oils, that the curative ef
fects of certain health resorts are trac
ed. Thus the locality of a fir forest Is
I said to give relief In diseases of the
[ respiratory tracts. But these traces of
! essential oils and aromatic product
j must be counted, strictly speaking, as
| Impurities, since they are apparently
not necessary constituents of the air.
Recent analysis has shown that these
I bodies tend to disappear In the air as
a higher altitude Is reached until they
disappear altogether. It would seem,
therefore, that microbes, hydrocarbons
and entitles other than oxygen and
nitrogen, and perhaps also argon, are
only incidental to the neighborhood of
human Industry, animal life and damp
vegetation.—Chicago Chronicle.
Wo waul to: Jo ali
Ms «112 Prmlii
np
i, |j
i II!
ii's km.
IIA Pit.
li's Matt.
i i
A well ]>rl- i •
tasty, Bill 01
W/ ter Head, IV.*' -
A/A Ticket, Cn d >
Program, Si v
TSj ment or Card
(y) an advertisemcii
for you 1 business
satisfaction to you
New Tfje,
New Presses, ~
Best Pater, M.
Men fort A '
Promptness
\ll vou can ask
A lrial will make
you our customer.
We respect full'* asl
that trial.
I 111 II WI
WI
No. ii H. Mrihoniiiff St.. .X-ES,
.X-ES,