galwsstoum JUmocvat PUBLISHED' ever FRIDAY MORNING, No. l.'tS FRANKLIN STREET, JOHNSTOWN, CAMBRIA CO., PA. THUMB—•I.ao par year, payable In advance; uutslde the county, tttteen cents additional for nostne. If not paid within three months W2 will he charged. A ■paper can be discontinued at any time by paying arrearages, and not otherwise. The failure to direct a discontinuance at the expiration of the period subscribed for, will be considered a new engagement. .Veto Subawtp tions must lie accompanied by the CASH. L. D. WOODRUFF, Editor aud Publisher. FRIDAY. AUGUST 571889. FLOODS AND Till END OF THE WORLD Everything even remotely associated with flood calauiiti. possesses more or less interest at this ime, aud will con tinue to do so for in ...Mis to come. But just how the destruction of the world in 1890 by tire should hove any connection with Johnstown's flood is uot verv ap parent—such, however, seems to he the facj in the minds of some people. At Bellcfonte, and surrounding neigh borhood, in Center county, there is an organization or society that see in the Johnstown flood one of the sure signs of the total collapse of these "mundane ahores " in the year of our Lord 1890; and are living and shaping their affairs ac cordingly. The number of this new so ciety is placed at one to two thousand ; most of nil whom belong to some one of the various Christian churches, and all take the Bible an the foundation for " the ■ ' faith that is in them." Their leader, a Mr. C. D. Miller, a wealthy farmer, in an interview one day last week, said : " 1 believe the world will come to an end in l~t)0, and there are hun dreds of others—more than a thou and throughout this country that believe the same thing. * * Our belief has sprung solely from the teachings of the Bible, and every day it is made plainer and more convincing by the events occurring art nnd us. We anticipated all the startling dis asters that iiave lately occurred, though, of course, we did no! know at what time or place they would occur. But all the recent floods, etc., have till been predes tinated, and are sure signs of the ap proaching etui." Well may it he asked, wtiat next? Though not more familiar with the teach ings of the Bible than the law allows, we have always been puzzled to know where (lie numerous belie vets who have from time to time predicted the end of the world have found anything on which to pin their faith. It seems, however, that ages before the Millcrite craze, when large numbers prepared for the end of the world, by putting on white robes on tiie day fixed for the event, multitudes were made to believe in the silly predictions >f Second Adveutists and world-destruction tionists. History slmws that ever si:i- <■ the days of the Apostles numerous tiim s have been fixed for the great catastrophe when the heavens should be rolled to gether as a scroll, mountains rock to and fro, the earth quake from center to cir cumference, and the firmament and earth burned up with tire. But notwithstand ing the several hundreds of miss-hits, the cranks s'ill abound, aud are likely to abound, until the end of time. Just what particular hearing the Johns town flood lias upon the question of the tinnl destruction of the world by lire, it is rather hard to discover. But the lat itudinarian mode of interpreting and up plying Scriptures Is equal to more things and events than are dreamed of in our philosophy. Wc of little faith in such predictions are left, however, with the comfortiiu' thought that, despite the tend ency to wind up sublinary things so soon, the old world still wags along in its cus tomary way, without showing any vis ible signs tf dissolution. I'OOK TANNER. Getting into iiot water is about the size of Pension Tauner's trouble. It was first hot, then hotter and now hottest. The hot was the result of newspaper criti cisms ; the hotter was the attitude of tin; Interior Department toward the Pension Bureau: and the hottest grows out of the formal charges being investigated by a Committee consisting of Dr. George Ew ing and 11. L. Pruce, of Board of Pension Appeals, and Judge Frank L. Campbell, of the Interior Department. This Committee are instructed to thor oughly investigate all reratings made by •the Pension Bureau within the past year, tfr ascertain whether any have been made in violation of the law. Up to Mouday ■tin Committee found a colored gentleman in the wood pile, in the form of the rerat ig process by which a 3lr. Smith, chie of the certificate division, who as a pen sion beneficiary is now drawing §3O in stead of §2O per month ; which discovery leads to the conviction that other officials within the bureau are faring similarly. Here is a veritable marc's nest that may 'hring out the true inwardness of Mr, Tan oer's way of conducting his bureau. But to troubles is likely to take in a much wider scope, as 3lr. Roosevelt, one if the Civil Service Commissioners is very much dissatisfied witli Tanner's policy of admin i Jtering the affairs of his office. We have only to say, that where there s so much smoke, there is certainly some fire. " TEACH the citizen that his home is his castle, and that his sovereignty rests be neath his hat," says Ilenry W. Grady, the silver tounged southern orator. CI. Alt A BARTOW. A Short History of the Noble I>ee<ls of the Little Woman. •' Relief in war. famine, pestilence and other national calamities." Such, says the New York Preaa, is the motto of the American Red Cross- Association, whose president is Mis 9 Clara llarton, who hast ened to Johnstown among the first to af ford personal relief to the afflicted Valley of the Conemaugh. The story of Clara llarton and the Red Cross is familiar in outline to all. It was she who. on the morning after the capitu lation of Strasburg, in the Franco-Prus sian war, entered :he conquered city aud —her sole password the scarlet cross on her sleeve—began that noble ministration to the sick, the wounded and the afflicted which has made her name famous. From Strasburg Clara Barton hastened to Paris to continue her ministrations amid the horrors of the Commune. Clara Barton next appeared upon the scene in the midst of the Mississippi floods of 1884. The terrors of that time are readily recalled, when thousands upon thousands of once thriving inhabitants were left without homes, food or money, and there was no means for them to pur chase even the seed for the spring sowing. Then it was tiial the blunder of Red .. ros appeared upon a steamer loaded with food and sustenance and money for the seed time. i lie ininisitrutions of Clara Barton in our own great war are well known. Her philanthropic spirit ultimately found vent in the Order of t lie Red Cross. The or ganization is nr. association of relief so cieties in various countries. Its prime aim is ministration to wounded soldiers. The idea of the order is said to ha v.- been conceive 1 by Henri Dunant, a Swiss gentleman, who at Solferino was im pressed with the swift and sudden suffering borne in upon the wounded soldiers and with the need of more rapid and effective relief. M. Duiiunt presented his thought to the .Society ot Public Utility, which corresponds to the Society of Social - ci enco in this country, an lon October id, 1804. a convention was held at Geneva, composed of delegates from various countries—our own Minister to Switzer land. Mr. Fogg taking an active part and resolutions were adopted providing that the ambulance and military hospitals in battle should be held as neutral, and relief service likewise, even after the Held had been carried and occupied. Twelve nations at once agreed t > the adoption of this international measure, and all civilized nations now recognize h. Miss Barton is a native of Mas-- achuscttes. In early life she was a teacher, and she founded sevi ral free schools in New Jersey. In IS-'i? she became a clerk in the Government's service t Washing ton. Resigning at the mtbrcak of the war, she entered the hospital service, and her tender ministrations are still told of by those who suffered on the field of hat tie and were prisoners at Libby prison, Andersouvillc a I elsewhere. CongrftMiunal Ait! lot*.Johnstown. Pittsburgh lost. While we have utiue hut Ihe best wishes for Johnstown, we fenr its citi zens tire likely to tie the victims of hopes if they expected the general Gov ernment to make appropriations to widen and dredge the streams about their un fortunate town, so as to prevent an an nual overflow, and insure the rebuilding of certain parts ot the town, and adjacent boroughs, not likely otherwise to he re built. We don't think the general Gov ernment has ever undertaken any work of this kind. The first question asked in Congress will be why does not. the great State of Pennsylvania, nut of the immensity of its wealth and resources, at tend to this matter ami give the needed relief. It is solely one of local and State concern. True, there have been abuses in river and iiarbor appropriations, but the principle bus always been kept in view, that the money was for National or inter-State purposes, and to be applied an navigable streams. Harry White raised the laughter of the whole countiy when lie proposed au appropriation to make the Kiskiminetas a navigable water course. If the aid which it is said will be solicited from congress is a necessity, theu it is the duty of the State, in the exercise of its general police powers, which Governor Beaver invokes in clearing away the debris, to provide the needful monev. Everyone wishes well to the people of Johnstown, but it is not wise to raise false expectations and nopes on such an im portant matter. Congress will make no appropriations for the purposos indicated iu the dispatches from that place. The precedent would be one that very few Seneators and Representatives, unmoved by local or Slate interests, would eare to sanction. Patents runted Patents granted to citizens of Pennsyl vania during the past week, and reported for this paper by C. A. Snow & Co., pat ent lawyers, opposite United States Pat ent Office, Washington, D. C,: J. Con trol], Heading, staple former, etc.; J. G. Downie, Beaver Falls, steam engine; William 11. Downing, Goodell, gas gov ernor or regulator ; C. F. Hill, Ilazelton, lightning protector; T. W. Irwin, Alle gheny, shaping sheet metal; J. Jenkins, Harrisburg, ore separator; John 31. Klein, Altoona, lathe carrier; G. F. 31c- Coomb, Allegheny, broom sewing; W. McKlnney, Schuylkill Falls, electric me ter ; A. J. Miller, Sweden, canceling and registering device ; J, W. llamsey, Beaver Falls, hydrant; D. Rawson, Pittsburgh, wire worker; D. Savage, Bloomsburg, washing machine; J. Watts, McKccs Rocks, handling coke j F. Wilson, Easton, water heater. BWJFT ON THE WING. The Fast eat Railroad Train Slow Com* pared With the WI11 Duck. "The gadwalo but there; It isn't likely at all that you know what a gad wale Is," said an observant wild fowl hunter. "The gad wale is a duek. it U a wild duck that doesn't get east ,e: r often, but is a familiar fowl !" v • west. I was just about to remark tr.a the gadwale is a bird that can tin el nearly a 100 miles whilo the fn-test rail road train is going fifty, and yet it is slow on the wing compared with a canvass back duck, the bruudbill, or even the wild goose. "I have held my watcli on about every kind of wild fowl there is, und know to a dot just how much space uny of tnem can get over in an hour. The canvass back can distance the whole wild fowl family, if it lays itself out to do it. If he has business somewhere, and has to get there, he can put two miles behind him every minute, and do it easy. "The mallard duck is lazy. He seldom cares to cover more than a mile a min ute, but ho can if he wants to. His or dinary, every-day style of getting along over the country takes him from place to place at about a 45-mile an hour rate. The black duek can fly nuek-and-neek with the mallard, and neithor one can give the other odds. If tho pin-tail wid geon and wood duck should start in to race either a mallard or a black duck it would be safo to bet on eitlior one. But !f a redhead duck should enter tho race you cau give big odds on him, for ho can spin off his ninoty miles an hour as easy as you can wnlk around tho block, and can do it all day. He would bo left far behind, though, by the bltto-winged or the green-winged teal. Those two fowl can fly side by side for 100 miles and close the raco in a dead heat in an hour, and appear to make uo hard task of it. The broadbfll duck is tho only fowl that llies that can push the canvassback on the wing. Let a hroadbiil and a canvassback each do bis best for an hour, and the broadbill will only come out about ten miles behind. One hundred and ton miles an hour cau be done by tho broadbill, and ho conse quently makes a mark for a shotgun tluit a pretty good gunner wouldn't be apt to hit once in a lifetime. "The wild goose is an astonisher on the ily. It has a big heavy body to carry, anil to see it waddling on the ground you wouldn't suppose it could get away from you very fast on the win But it manages to glide from one feed ing place to another with a suddenuo;,- tha>. is aggravating to tho best of wins shots. To see a flock of 'honkers' mov ing along, so high up that they seem to be sweeping the cobwebs off of the sky. you probably wouldn't dare to bet that they were traveling at the rate of ninety miles an hour, but that is just what I hey are doing, uny hour in the day. The wild goose never fools any time away. His gait is alwuys a business one."—N. Y Sun. Noted Suicided in History, The following aro some ot the more noted suicides of which mention is made in history. These do not savor much oi insanity, but rather of stoic philosophy. Cato stabbed himself rather than live under the despotic reign of Ciesar. I'hemistocles poisoned himself ratliei than lead the Persians against his coun trymen; Zeno, when 1)8, hanged him.-el! because he had put his linger out of joint, and Haunibul' and llithridutes poisoned themselvos to escape being uiken prisoners. When we search Scrip ture wo find that Saul, rather than fail Into the hands of the Philistines, com manded his an..or bearer to hold his sword that he might plunge upon it: Samson, for tho sake of being r ngod upon his enemies, pulled do .vn the house in which they were revelling and -d with them," and Judas Iscariot., afti selling the Saviour for thirty pieces <<l silver, was overcome by remorse "and wont and hanged himself." MWHiiig Aeronaut Iloj;nn. Discussion continues among the friernh of Mr. Hogan, tho aeronaut, who rode t IK Campbell uir-ship to cloud-land and per haps to death, t Koine, amo n g them Invent o: Campbe 1, belt the daring bo. loonist alive, tln-u theory being that when his bull collapsed in t!> Atlantic oeoai; near New York Hogan was re cued by tho crew gan and the pub lic do not seem tc share this belief and the belief it general that this daring man has mad( ids last ascension. A Clever Chine e Trick. Sergeant Whitman arrested a high binder (he other night, and while search ing him found a clever device which ex plains the phenomenal luck that wih Mongolian lias been enjoying at poke; of late. The arrangement consists of t. sleel clip, which is fastened inside of out sleeve. Two cords reach up tho sleeve, across the breast and down the otliei sleevo to the hand, where one is fastened to tho thumb and the other to ono of the lingers. By a pull of one cord the clip reaches out and takes in a card, which Is at one* drawn up tho sleeve. Pulling tho othei cord causes tho card to be shot out int( the hand of the player with lighting rapidity, and without any part of tin mechanism being exposed. Tho fellow who hud the machine fought strenuousl, against giving it up. ban Francisc'c Chronicle. 'The Snake Gate Him a Chance. While Mike James, a boy 14 years ol age, was going through tho woods neai cTarksvllle, Ga., with iiis father, out day, Ho snld : "Father, if a snake was tc bite me, you just ought to ;soe how quickly I would bandage my leg with tint rubber strap." The boy spoke positivelj and no sooner wore the words out of his mouth than Ho exclaimed : "I am snuk< bitten." His father, turning round, saw his sor drawing the bandage tightly around his leg just above the bite. .Tho old mnr killed tho suuko and found it to bo ur adder of the most deadly kind. Tho ad ministration of internal romedies at on<-i commenced. First, one plug, then ar old-timo twist of home made, went dowi like food; then ono pint of corn whiskev. All this made him very sick, and he vomited freely. He is rapidly recover ing.—Atlanta Constitution. A Sparrow Routs an Alligator. An alligator and an English sparrow were seen to engage in a battle neai Darien, Ga., the other day. The 'gatoi provoked the tight by snapping at the bird, which in turn flew furiously at its ugly antagonist, aiming with precision at the saurian's eyes. The gator finally gave up the contest and sought safety from the sparrow's attacks by hiding it sell under water.—Savannah News. ANTARCTIC KNOWLEDGE* VARIOUS EXPEDITIONS IN TUB SOUTH POLES* DISCRETION. What Balleny and Olnvllle Haw on (tielr Trip*, and what Wilkaa Thought He Saw—Sir Jaiuri Ron' Great Achievements and Discoveries Which are Unsurpassed. The golden age of Antarctic discovery arrived when Captain, afterwards Sir James, Boss was dispatched from Eng land in 1840 to fix tho position of tho south magnetic polo, and any other posi tion he could discover on the way there. Before Boss could reach the scone of his labors, other explorers, English, French and American, were busy forestalling him. Of these the ilrst was tho English man, Bulleny, who, sailing in Enderby's ship tho Eliza Scott, discovered in 183! i the islands which bear his name, and which lie almost under tho Antarctic circle, and almost duo south from Now Zealand. Balleny could not land on tho islands, but lie made sure of their exist ence, and afterward, sailing far to the westward, he saw many more signs of land, and suspected the existence of much which ho could not certainly vouch for. What Balleny thought ho saw was probably much what the French expedi tion under Dumont d'Urvillo actuully did see in the following year, several long linos of boats, which might bo joined to one another, und might even run on to join Enderby land in tho west, and if so might certainly bo purts of the Antarctic continent that d'Urvillo was anxious to And. Not less anxious was Wilkes, the leader of tho United States exploring ex pedition, who, only a month after the Frenchman, arrived within a degree or two of the Antartic circle, to the south of Now Zealand, and after seeing laud where Bulleny hud certainly seen it before, and, unfortunately where no one lias soon it since. For some days, in deed, Wilkes doubted whether what he beheld wore mountains or clouds, objects which his crew watched eagerly, to sec if with the setting of the sun they would change their color. But after running westward along the edge of tho park for a few days,' lie made sure that he now saw land, and somewhat Inconsequeutly assumed it for certain that what ho had seen before was land also. Tho discovery of an Antartic conti nent was announced as a certainty; u very large land, with n barrier before it, and a range of mountains upon it, was laid down on the map; and a copy of the map was handed by the rash but gener ous explorer to Boss, who left Tasmania in the autumn of the same year to look for the magnetic pole, with the two ships Erebus and Terror, which afterward bore Sir John Franklin to his fate at the Other end of the world. Boss had so little doubt that tho Antartic continent was discovered already, that lie seems to have been almost disappointed when ids way to the magnetic polo was burred by an unknown land. Yet this laud, whicu lay south of the seventieth parallel, and eastward of Ballony's islands, was tho mpst southerly hitherto seen in the world, and on it rose mountains thou sands of feet high, plain and mountain alike robed in stainless snow, exceptou the cliffs by the shore, where the black rock came out. Englcs Have u Royal iiatllo. Alexander Shaw, farmer. Old town, Strather'ck, was going Ills usual rounds to look after ills sheep. While going past a small cluuip of birch wood among very long heather, he fancied lie heard a a peculiar flutter among tho bushes, says tho "Bod and Gun." lie took little notice, but tho noise being repeated, he went to see what, was udo. He found two golden eagles lighting, firmly tlxed in each other with beak and talons. On his approaching one of the birds noticed the intrusion and let go his hold. The other held his opponont fast in his talons. Mr. Shau then got up quite clow and got hold of one of them. He put his foot on the other one's neck. Ho searched his pockets and found a little bit ot string, just enough to tie one of the eagles. While lie was tying the one lie kept he let-the other one off. The bird was not able to take iliglit for consider able time after being set at liberty, being much dono out with the fight-. The oilier one, which Mr. Shaw took homo, doc.-, not seem to be any the worse. What seems most strange is 1 hat the eagles are seldom or never seen s > low down the country. The belief is that they must have been lighting for a long time In the skies, the one having been pursuing the other until they fixed in each other and dropped. Complimenting a Royal Author. A Jioslqii ituly, knowing that the trans lation of Dante had just then appeared, and having heard that the aged monarch (the King ol Saxony) was proud of- his lib rary ability, had a good opportunity of alluding to His chief d'oouvro, which she immediately seized, says the Boston "1'oBt." The king addressed her in turn, saying, "You aro from America, I be lieve. I think I have seen you in tho Grosso Garten. Why have you not boen presented before?" "I am from America, sire," she replied, "whero we have no kings. I havo waited for the proper time to be introduced to your majesty, and now may I bo per mitted, as an American, to say that I feel it less an honor to bo presented to the King of Saxony than to 'Philistrutes,' the translator of Dante, whom I trust I may bo allowed to congratulate on the suc cessful achievement of tho work." Tho king had published the translation under the HIKWO sobriquet. Ho was much pleased with the compliment thus bestowed, laughed with delight and said the lady hud boen prompt in examining the new publication. Hallway* in lnlia. From the railway data for the decade 1878-88 the fact is deduciblo that for the last ten years each fresh year has seen in India the opening of an additional 1,000 milos of line. In the last year of the period tho number of milos open was 11,377, and of miles under construc tion, a.47(1; so that before the presout year is out the total mileage open for iruflic in India ought to reach nearly 17,000 miles. Forty years ago India could not boast of one. Tho total cost of tho English ludiun system up to 1888 came to nearly 50 per cent of tho receipts and the receipts aggregated in ton years nearly ono thousand millions of rupees. —London Enquirer. C*re<nhoim and Window Plants. Those who remove 'their window plants to tho open air as soon as the weather will allow, make a mistake, as most window plants are at that time in full bloom. Indeed, if tho plants can be cared for. it will be better to leave them in tho greenhouse as well us the window all summer, taking proper care for shad ing and watering. THE CHEROKEE ALPHABET. Invention of the "Talking Leaf" by m Hairbreitd Georgia Indian. One of the most remarkable achieve ments of the uncultivated human mind was the invention of a syllable alphabet for the use of his peoplo by Sequoh, alias George Guess, a halfbreed Cherokee In dian. Sequoh was born in Georgia, probably about tho year 1770, though some authorities fix his birth seven years earlier. Ho never knew his father, grew up a perfect savage and distinguished himself in war and the chase, until a swelling knee rendered him incapable of active pursuits and confined him to his cabin. He knew no language except Cherokee, and, of course, was wholly illiterate, says tho Louisville "Courlor Journal." Sequoh's attention seems to have been first attracted to literary matters by a circumstance which occurred while a warrior. His tribe captured a letter from the whites and made repeated efforts to decipher it, but, of course, were not suc cessful. Some discussion arose about the "talking leaf," as tho Indians called any specimen of writing, and the ques tion was whether it was an invention of man or the gift of God. All the Indians, except Sequoh, maintained the latter po sition, while he espoused the former. He was, however, unable to convince them that ho was right. They believed that the "talking loaf' was a gift from tho Great Spirit to the white man alone and cited as proof a legend that had long been current in their tribe. According to this legend the Great, Spirit created We-Ha-Ye, the Indian, and gave him a book. Afterward ho made Y'o-We-Nn-Go, the white mun, and pre sented him with a bow and arrow. Tho elder brother was not prompt in devoting himself to the book, but seems rather to have treated it as books are treated by dull schoolboys of all races, and so neg ligently did ho keep it that his younger brother found moans of stealing it from him. The Indian was then compelled to content himself with the bow and arrow and to gain his living by the chase. From this time the Cherokeos argued tnat. the Indian had forever forfoited tho use of letters. This reasoning did not convince Se quoah. He denounced liis fellow Chero kees as fools, and stoutly maintained that he himself could write, and tried to prove it by scrawling characters upon a rock. His claims were treated with de rision. Nothing daunted he set to work to invent characters for all the sounds in the Cherokee Innguuge. At the begin ning he made the mistake of attempting to invent a character for each word, and it is no small tribute to his perseverance that ho Invented and recorded over o.UUtt characters. Itgradually became evident to'him that this system would not work, owing to tho great number of characters required, and upon much reflection lie hit upon tho idea of dividing words into syllables and inventing a character for each syllable. In the prosecution of this work Se quoah found himself embarrassed by the want of an accurate ear. To remedy this he engaged his daughter in the work and from her derived very valuable a— sistimce. lie mailed himself of many iugonious methods to make complote his collection of t ho sounds of tho language. He went to hear speeches by members of his tribe,' and whenever a sound oc curred for which ho bad no character he at once supplied the deficiency. An English spelling book having fallen accidentally into his hands he used the English letters as far as they would go, to denote the Cherokee syllables. The other characters ho invented himself. About the year 1821, or, as others say, 182G, he had his system complete. His characters numbered eighty-six. Having completed his alphabet his next task was to get it adopted by his tribe. This was a work of much difliculty. He sent his daughter out of hearing, wrote down a pas-age and road it to the braves, then called the girl hack ami had her read it to them again. They wondered, but doubted still. Then ho persuaded the tribe to select some of the brightest of their hoys to learn the new art, and to this they at last agreed. When tho time for examination arrived the pupils passed tho ordeal in triumph, and the Cherokces were at histconviucod that the "talking leaf" is not the exclu sive property of the white man. Kequoah then became the principal of tho Indian schools and was held in great honor un til his death, which occurred in Mexico in August, 1843. This alphabet was cast into a font of type and is still in use. When wo consider that the art of writing lias usually been attributed to the gods, as being something beyond the reach of Unite intelligence, we cannot but admit that tho life work of the Sequoah was q most extraordinary one". It is true ho had the first suggestion Jt'ora his knowledge that the "talking lear existed among tho whites, but his methods were his own, and lie wrought <mt tiio great problem without other as sistance than that obtained from his daughter. While His invention had long been anticipated his work must stand as a monument of the capability of tho hu man intellect when united with unbend ing resolution and tireless perseverance. The l v -OI Dollar. "There is something curious about tho American silver dollar and half c!< liar of 1804," said a numismatist to a Philuilol phia "Press" reporter. "There were about 20,000 of tho dollars coined, but not one of them over got into circulation. Two of them are in well known coin col lections today, however, aud they are tho most valuable of all American coins. Why tho dollar of 1804 was never seen in circulation after having left tho mint is ono of tho unsolved government myster ies. "It is asserted on good authority thut tho two 1804 dollars now in existence, while having been mode from tho origi nal die, were in reality not coined for many years after that year, when tlie.y were surreptitiously struck, and, it is supposed, issued to a person high in authority, from whom they subsequently pusscd into the collections reforred to. "The half dollar of 1804 is surrounded by a mystery equally profound. There were over 150,000 of these coined, but not ono of these were over known to ho iii circulation. On tho other hand, but 700 quarter dollars were coined in thut year, and specimens of these aro in every collection and numismatist's shop." Rat. UMllclnu. Food. A correspondent of the Griflin "News" writes: Joe Mitchell, of Blanton's mill, eats all tho rats he con catch says that "they are much nicer than squirrel or rabbit." I was passing by tho mill Fri day afternoon and a largo rat, as large as a squirrel, ran out from Stonewall's engine house. Joe, on seening tho rat, guvo chase and soon killed it. Having noticed the unusual intorest manifested in .atching the rat, I asked Joe what lie was going to do with it. Ho said, "F.at it, by gosh." Sure enough, he soon had it skinned, cleaned and salted, and look ing in all appearances liko a squirrel. Smacking his lips over the joy{yl pms pects of a rat supper, Joe went his way, looking for more rats. IMPORTATION OF HAIK. MANY TONS ANNUALLY OA TOKRf.B AND SOLD. The Market* of the World where Women Stand and Sell their Trmuie*—What the Price* Are and Alo the Weight of Eacli Head of Ilulr—Telling the Country ot the Original Owner. There aro some curious and interesting facts about tho human hair as an article of traffic. It will undoubtedly astonisn most poople to learn to what extent the trade Is carried on—to be told, for in stance, that London imports annually netween seven and eight tons. Tho sup ply does not depend on chance clippings, or upon the barbers' scissors, but there is a regular hair harvest, which can con lidcutly be lookod forward to by dealer at a particular time. As there are differ ent markets for black tea and green tea. so there is a light-haired market distinct from tho dark-haired. Like clothes, the demand for a certain color of hair is reg ulated according to style, which, without exception, runs in conformity with com plexion. It has been noticed by scientists anil doctors that dark hair is more common in the Eastern and middle states than in . lie west, and it is the prevailing color in our southern slates, especially in Louis iana and J! i -sissippi, in which the From •dement is conspicuous, It is the si. . in Cuba, which is peopled by the Spain iii -ome of tho northern states, who, •swedes, Germans, Norwegians and iris .IIV numerous, fair or light hair prevail •. . icorresponds witli the more exquisi; -oeptible ami emotional disposition al in connection therewith. . .1 • civilized world uses actually over i, d,UU.) pounds yearly, and the quest.!' ■ naturally arises, Where does it alien. . . o-a? To answer this question, un i c o to learn tho minute particulars o; 1,0 cuormous traffic in tho beautd' ■ looks, a New York "Star'" reporter vi.-- i *'d the parlors of a well-known metn - ,'oliian hair di aler hi Now York city. "You will bo surprised, and it will doubtless astonish many people," he said, "to loaru the dimensions of the hail lado as it is now carried on. Now York merchants annually import from four to ve tons, while London excels ours in its ,purtation by some three tons. As in mr business, there is a hair harvest and a certain time to look forward to to. good crop. This may seem strange, hut it is really a fact. We have our own market for the different shades of hair us Willi any other commodity. The light ea ris essentially a German product It is collected by the agents of a Dutch eom i'luv, who visit Now Y'ork and other .wimricun cities annually forordors. Cn • ; fifty years ngo light hair was esteemed mvii ull others. One peculiar golden bit was so suprenioly prized that the .1.-ulers only produced it lor favorite cus tomers, to whom it was sold for 8 shil lings uu ounoe. "i'ure blacl; hair, which now is all the ,-o among fashionable people, is im ported chiefly from Brittany and the south of France, whore it is yearly eol -1 —ted by the agents of a few wholesale l'arlsian houses, of whom wo buy. '1 he average crop of black hair harvested by ihese llrms amounts yearly to upward of • 'OO pounds in weight. The price paid for ouch head of hair ranges from J to '■ l'ranes, according to its weight and br.auly; the former seldom rises abore a pound and seldom falls below twelve ounces. Tho itinerant dealers are always provided witb an extensive assortment of ribbons, silks, laoos and oh"ap jewelry •>t all kinds, with which they make their purchases as frequently as with money. They at'ow'. all the fairs and merrymak ings within their circuit, and the singu larity and novelty of their operations aro apt to strike travelers more than anything else which rnoets their notice "'While in Europe recently, I attended ono of these fairs simply for the novelt of the thing. I was indeed struck b\ what I saw. There were four purchas ers of the commodity present and the girls actually brought the article tq this impromptu market as they, would pea - or cabbages. They have particularly line liair and frequently in great abundance I should have thought at the time that female vanity would have effectually prevented such a traffic among them be ing carriod on to any great extent. But tiiore seemed no difficulty iu lluding pos sessors of beautiful heads of hair per f-'ctly willing to sell, 1 saw several git , beared, ouq after anchor, likj §lte°i*" and many- more standing readj- for with their 'caps' iu ttefr hand.-, ■nid their long hull- combed out and banging down to their waists. Some o! the operators were men, some wornon. By the side of the dealers were placed n long basket into which every successive crop of hair, tied up into a wisp by Itself, was thrown. As far as porsonal beaut is coucorned the girls do not lose mm in their hair, for it has boen a custom in Brittany for years to wear a close ca, which entirely prevents any part of the ohevelnre from being seon, and of course us totally conceals tho want of it. '■Dark brown hair was tho fashion once. It is all imported here froi.: France. It is tho opinion of those who have the best right to offer one on such a subject that the color of the hair of the Euglish people has deeponed in tint within the last half century, and thai this chango is owing to the more fre quent intermarriages since the Nap., iconic wars with nations nearer to the sunny south. Whether dark or light however, tho hair purchased by tin dealer is so closely scrutinized that 1 can discriminate between the German ami tho French article by the smell alone. He even claims the power of distinguish ing accurately between the English, tin- Welsh, the Irish and the American com modities. "The French deulors are said to be able to detect the difference between the hair 'raised' in two districts in Central France, not many miles apart, by token so slight as to bailie the most learned of our naturalists and physiologists. I simply cito theso little incidonts so you can see for yourself what the hair busi ness has got to be. The hair obtain <•: by tho different agents is transmitted to tho wholesale houses. Hero it is run through various processes, dressed end sorted, when it is shipped to this city. Paper Pencil*. One of the difficulties which have stood in the way of the substitution of paper pulp for wood in tho manufacture of pen - oils has been the toughness of the paper covering, and its consequent resistance to the action of a knife. By a new pro cess the molecular cohesion of tho paper, it is claimed, Is modified in such a man ner that it can bo cut as readily as cedar wood. After tho completion of the pro cess the pencils are gradually dried at Increasing temperatures during a period of six days, and they are then plunged Into a vessel of molten parafflno wax, which has tho effect of modifying tho texture of tho paper pulp in the manner deecribed.—Exchange.
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