MADAGASCAR'S WAR.
FHANCK SENDS AST EXPEDITION
TO PL'MSII THE NATIVES.
Queen Ranavalona't Grievance The
Island and Its People Pro
ductions of the Country
American Interests There.
FRANCE has sent a strong mili
tary expedition to Madagascar
to hnmble the pride of the
, dusky Queen Ranavalona. She
U (urions at the treatment she claims
to have received at the hsnds of the
French, and re
fused to recognize
their authority.
On the other
hand, the repre
sentatives of the
French Govern
ment on the isl
and claim that
the Queen is not
on speaking terms
with truth and
that she is being
used as a tool by
influential Eng
lish traders to
disrupt the rela
tions with France.
The Queen is but
V,' thirty-six years of
mental or physical
adaoascar's qleev. attractions. She
is, however, inordinately vain, and
her favors are shown in proportion to
the amount of flattery her subjects can
beguile hor with. She is married to
her Frime Minister, the famous Bo
inelaieriooune, who has served as
Minister since 1804. This man is, so
eay the French, at the bottom of all
this trouble. He is described as a con
summate diplomatist a little old man
whom neither time nor hard work has
bent. His movements are agile and
his eye gleams with penetrating intel
ligence. Ho makes all possible efforts
to avoid strangers and when he has to
meet any foreign diplomats he easily
baffles them with hi shrewdness, so
that it is impose ible for them to make
anything out of him.
ihe Hova army is almost benoath
contempt, being composed of a lot of
underfed, sickly beings, wretchedly
armed and worse drilled. The polioe
system in the island is a most unique
feature. At 10 o'clock every evening
a cannon is fired, after whioh signal
no natives are allowed in the streets.
Foreigners on their travels and accom
panied by servants are, however, ex
empt from this order. As soon as the
people are driven from the streets the
polioe pair off in coteries of three or
more and begin their real work, which
is stealing. They do not hesitate to
break in any building and oarry off
what plunder they happen to find.
This ia taken to the station and divi
ded, the police captain always getting
TYPES OF THE
bis share of tho spoils whether accom
panying any expedition or not. This
is a statement which has been verified
more than once by recent visitors to
Madagascar.
The police claim that this is the
only way by which they can exist, as
their psy, whenever they get any, is
totally insufficient to keep them alive.
A Bhort time ago an armed servant of
the Frenou Minister was mobbed by a
crowd in Tananarive in broad day
light, and the authorities have since
refused to punish the culprits or to
give any other satisfaction.
The historical right of France to a
protectorate over Madagascar is
claimed by two centuries and a half
of suocossive treaties. Iu 1810, when
the Freuch ceded the Island of Mauri-
tins to England,
they were careful
to retain the Ialund
of Reunion, which
is opposite Mada
gascar, in order to
assert the right of
the Government of
France to interfere
in the affairs o
that great inland,
which stands very
much in the same
relation to Africa Madagascar's kixo.
that Great Britain does to Europe and
Japan does to Asia.
The oity of Tamatave, whioh is now
oooupiod by the French, is built on a
long, narrow peninsula of sand, hav
iug nn eastern direction, with very
deep bays on either side, that on the
north forming the harbor in whioh
ships of tbe largest size can find a se
cure anchorage. On the peninsula
are the houses of the British, French,
Amcrioan, Gerinun and Italian resi
dents, with thoir consulates. The
street in whioh they reside is known
as Royal street. The rest of the city
is largely made up of little houses and
stalls covered with thatch, huddled
together iu utter disregard of all sani
tary precautious ami in a way to give
ver facility for the whole plaoe being
-consumed by fire. 'Close to the bu
var st amis the chupel of the Loudon
Missionary Society and the church of
. the Bubop of the Church of England.
fit
mP
At the northeast of these bnildings is
the Hova fort, now oooapied by the
French.
The history of Madagascar fct the
last fifty years has been very largely
bound up with the work of the Prot
estant missionaries of the Congrega
tionalist body in England, It was
nnder the reign of good King named
Radama, at the commencement of
this century, that Frotestant Christi
anity wss introduced into the island.
But in 1828 Radama died and was suc
ceeded by his widow, Ranavalona. This
cruel Queen persecuted the Christians
GATE OF A FORTIFIED VILLAGE IV MADAGASCAR.
for nearly a quarter of a century, and
the persecution did not cease until
the death of the Queen in 1802. The
Christians are now estimated to num
ber one-fourth of the entire popula
tion. The monarchy of Madagascar is
elective, and on April 1, 18G3, the
choice of the Hova Government fell
upon a cousin of the cruel Queen, who
assumed the name of Ranavalona IL
The new reign began with the inaugu
ration of a liberal constitution, and
Christianity was recognized as the na
tional creed. The idols of the people
were destroyed.
The trade and commerce of Mada
gascar are open to the whole world,
and in one year the importations of
cotton sheetings consisted of 8000
HOVA ARMY.
bales of a value of 8300,000. These
ootton sheetings are for the most part
of Amerioan manufacture.
It is a great mistake to suppose that
the Malagasy are a people basking in
a bnrning heat, with only a few shreds
of muslin upon them for the sake of
decency. Wen tbe cold east wind of
the dry season is blowing many of
them find even stout American sheet
ings too thin for comfort. Printed
calicoes sell in all parts of Madagas
car, but it is not easy to hit tbe native
taste in patterns. The Malasgasy is
rcluctunt to be guided by the fashions
of Europe.
The whole foreign trade of Madagas
car, both import aud export, does not
fall far short of 87,000,000 annually,
and the wants of the oountry are daily
increasing. Among the articles of ex
port are crocodile skins, india-rubber,
wax and coffee.
Mr. Waller, the lata American Con
sul of Tamatave, obtained a monopoly
of the india-rubber trade, and conse
quently the United States is much in
terested in the trade carried on be
tween New York and the port of Mad
agascar. Doubtless the circumstance
that the American cruiser Castine has
been ordered to proceed to the east
coast of Afrioa has something to do
with the interest which is felt in the
trade carried on between Madagascar
and this country.
Tbe cultivation of the silkworm is
an occupation particularly suitable to
the women and children of Madagas
car. . And very beautiful silk is manu
factured on the islaud. This branch
of trade is capable of very great de
velopment, as silk cocoons oan be pro
duced to meet almost any demand.
The productions of tbe country are
such as may well exoite the cupidity
of a foreign conqueror. Silver and
copper exist in certain portions of tbe
island, and specimens of gold sand
have been brought from the central
provinces. The interior distriots
abound with iron, and iron ore is so
abundant in the mountain of Atnbo
himaugivo that it is called by the na
tives the "iron mountain."
The valleys ot the islaud are exceed
ingly fertile. They are clothed with
a rich and luxuriant verdur and
abound with rice, the staple food of
the natives. The rivers of Madagas
car are numerous and many of them
are of considerable width. The
gloomy and nnbrokon solitude of
some parts of the sublime mountain
scenery of Madagascar is enlivened by
cataracts of various size, form and
elevation. Mineral waters have also
been found and the natives tell won
derful storios of the cures effected at
the medicinal springs. The hot
springs near the small and charming
village ct Ambohizanahary, "the vil
lage of God," have a great reputation.
Herds of horned cattle constitute
the prinoipal wealth of the nobility,
and tbe grazing grounds in the coun
try are extensive. There is no reason
why, under effloijnt management,
Madagascar should not compete with
New Zealand in the meat markets of
Europe. The sheep of the country
appear to be aboriginal, and their flesh
is considered to be sotnowhat inferior
to the mutton of Europe.
Until the reign of the "good King
Radama," about sixty years ago,
horses were unknown in the country,
but the King introduced them and
established breeding paddocks with
considerable success. The crocodile
is regarded by the Malagasy with su
perstitious reverence and is called the
"King of the Waters."
Great Decrease Iu the Corn Crop.
The Manufacturers' Record has com
piled from the report ot the Agricul
tural Department, just issued, statis
tics showing the production of corn
by States for 1894, whioh fully oon
firm tbe statements that hove been
made regarding the great destruction
of the corn crop in Nebraska and sev
eral other Western States. Tho yield
of corn in Nebraska for 1891 was only
13,000,000 bushels against 157,000,000
bushels for 1893; South Dakota, 1,
500,000 bushels against 29,500,000;
Kansas, 41,000,000 bushels, a falling
off of nearly 100,000,000 bushols,
while in Iowa the deorease was from
250,000,000 bushels to 81,000,000
bushels. Tbe total crop of these four
States was only- 130,000,000 bushels
against 609,000,000 bushels, showing
a deoline of 43O.0C0.OOO bushels. In
the South tbe crop was unusually
large, the aggregate yield having been
483,200,000 bushels.
A SHUT TOWER OX FIRE.
it
A 225 feet high shot tower on
Beekuiau street, New York, long a
landmark in. the metropolis, caught
fire in an upper floor one afternoon
reoently. Thousands of people gazed
at tbe strange'' -sight ' of the big
tower, 225 feet above the ground,
spouting forth tongues of flames. The
burning tower was seen for miles.
Electric Light on a Homo's Blinder.
In Berlin the use of glow lamps at
tached to vohlcloe and the horses draw
ing them is now so common as to ex
cite no remark. An adaptation ol the
glow lamp for the latter purpose is
shown in the cut herewith. The lamp
is inclosed in a silvered reflector, and
is fed from a small battery of accumu
lators carried cn tbe vehicle.
Russian Thistle a Ml schlof-. Maker.
Tbe power for mischief of the Rus
sian thistle is instanced by A. J.
Lovejoy, of Roscoe, who reports an
experiment made by a friend of his
in Gettysburg, South Dakota. While
driving one day one of tbe thistles
came tumbling along in his path.
Tbe happy thought came to him of
ticketing the thistle with a request to
the person finding it to let him know
where it traveled to. He did so and
turned it loose again. In a few days
word came from the thistle sixty miles
away. It had distributed its seeds the
entire distance. Chicago Herald.
This country chews about 230,000,
000 pounds of tobacoo a year, and tho
internal revenue therefrom is nearly
814,000,000.
Accommodated.
Reginald "Ah, my good man, will
you give me a light?"
"Why, cert I come on up." Life,
S Wf-mi trr-:JtS I
toil U.? t'
It was visible from nearly all the
high offioe buildings and tho crowds
crossing Brooklyn Bridge had a
fine view of the sight. After the
fire had spent itself upon the oil aud
woodwork of tbe three upper floors
it burned itself out slowly and was
prevented fromooming down the tower
by the efforts of tbe fire department.
-u
COL LAWLER'S CIRCULAR.
A ROYAL RECEPTION.
The Commander-in-Chief Telia How
Louisville will Care for the Q. A. R.
Commander-in-Chief Thomas O. Lawlor.ol
the. Orand Army of the Republics has Issued
circular to Orand Army men which Is o
s-rwclal Interest to Louisville and her citizen.
In vie ot ber present relations with that
great organization. Not tbe least Interesting
portion ol tbe circular Is that pertaining to
the recent visit ot bis Council ol Administra
tion to tbat city to look over the ground. Ho
says:
The reception was ol the most cordlnl
character, nu I without a doubt lbs loyal
welcome ol Kentucky to the comrades of tbs
tlrand Army ul the Kepublla and tbnlr fami
lies will be a royal one the citizens of Louis
ville, comrades ol the Grand Army ol tbe Re
public and member, ol Confederate associa
tions vlelmt with each other to tbls end. Ha
men explains ibnt all ol the details of the en
campment were completed, and lua thorough
ly satisfactory mnniier to the committee. The
dates arranged w- re. Heptetnber 11, 1J nnd 13
the kridJ parade tnkiug place on the Hist
day nnd the business sessions ol tbe encamp
ment the two lollottiug.
He tells how the m inmlttee met with the
various citizens' committees nnd coutrnets
wore drawn aud presented t tbe proper lo
cal committee for the governing ol tbe hotels
and boarding-bouses, also contracts with
railroad companies, to o. tain the signatures
ol tbe Interested parties. He said there Is no
doubt but what all will be laltblully adhered
lo as axreed upon.
He called the attention ol tbs department
commanders to the resolution, passed at tbe
twenty-seventh national encampment regard
iug tbe observance ot Washlug on's birthday
and holding of proper services ft tbls time.
In many departments Iu 1894 these services
were held wltb great success, p.eaa ire and
prollt, aud he feels tbat be sboul 1 i gain call
sttention to these resolutions so tbat lb ) com
rades may take sued steps as will lead to a
proper observance of tbe day.
Iu one part of the circular ha speaks nf the
Southern national cemeteries nnd tbe observ
ance of Memorial Day. He calls upon tbe
Northern members ol tbe U. A. It. to aid tue
Southern members as fnr as possible In such
observance. I)epartmont oomtnandcrs are
asked to advocate such assistance and seail
sums for contributions to tbe Adjutant Gen
eral. In a special clreulnr ha calls attention to
tbe Adjutuut Geueral'e report, which showed
that wulle the U, A. It. bad I no reined In mem
bership (In round numbers) 40,000, tbe loss
was HO, 000, leaving the membership In good
itandlug on June 30, 1803, 31)0,000, also tbat
there were 43,000 members remaining on the
suspeuded list, nearly 33,000 being suspended
during the year and nearly 17.0U0 reported
delinquent, also that 403 posts were lost dur
ing tbe year.
Tbe Commander-in Chief calls upon his
alds-de-camp to assist their various depart
ments toward tbe restoration ol suspended
aud dropped members to tbe active roll, and
ells attention to (acta tbat at tbe twenty
eighth national encampment an amendment
to tbe rules aud regulations was adopted
whereby a comrade may be reinstated In tho
post from wblcb he wna dropped by making
a wrmeu statement to mat eneci, tne pay.
ment of one year's dues, and receiving a mn.
jorlty vote of those present at any regular
meeting.
He thinks that If an effort Is mads by the
alds-de-camp the membership can be brought
hack to tne maximum nunioer, II not In
creased, as there Is a very large army out.
side ol the order who served In tbe army and
nary, baring honorable discbarges, who
suomu be memuers oi tne u. a. it.
APPOHATOX PAttX,
Encampment No. CO ot the Union Veternn
Legion, ol (Washington, D. C), unanimously
adoped a resolution extending fellowship to
It. K. Lee oatnp of Confederate Veterans ol
Klchmund, a., and other confederate organi
sations, asking their assistance to secure nn
appropriation from congress for a natlonnl
park at Appomattox. The resolutions request
itepresentatlves ruckles, nnueler, urosrenoi
and Dowers and Henators Gordon. Ilawley
and Palmer to propare an appropriation
measure.
IISCOLX 8 OENTLKNKSS
A Southern Democratic paper originates
tbe following tribute! "YVben Lincoln's
speech at Gettysburg Is engrared on the tub-
let to be erected on tbe battlefield not a word
of it will jar upon the Confederate who reads,
(or Its salrlt Is tbat of tbe peace-loving states
man, whose prayer Is tbat the Nation may be
preservea wun honor, ii is a test oi Lin
coln's greatness tbat be wrote tbat speech ol
gentle humanity, but Indexible devotion to
country, wben tbe bitterness of the war was
at Its oeigut."
A good story Is told ot General Butterwortb
ol Ohio. When Introducing the General at a
Delaware political rally during tbe recent
campaign the Chairman oapped a long string
ol compliments by saying: "The geotlemau
commends blmeell to your attention because
he Is tbe father ol Frunk Butterwortb, tbe
great American tullhack." The applause at
once became deafening, and the General
discovered tbat bis son was more famous than
himself.
In a Cyclone.
In describing a cycloue In tho West,
not long ago, a writer stated that the
wind actually stripped tho feathers
from a rooster. Of course, many people
set the teller of the story down as a
Munchausen, and argued that a wind
that could do so much would have
blown a fowl half way across the At
lautlo. But scientific ivsenrch suxtalus
the story. Toruudoes which havo vis
ited this country aud parts of Europe,
it has been found afterward, on Inves
tlgatlou, hare doue some very mysteri
ous things. Not only havo birds been
stripped of their feathers, but pooplo
have bad their clothing torn from them,
These effects eould not possibly bo as
cribed to the wiud, for tho force uoccg.
sary to do such work would havo been
sufficient to carry tho objects away
bodily. In tho tornadoes which pre
vailed In France last summer numerous
occurrences of this character were ob
served. Trees were found rent In a
manner which could not possibly hare
resulted from the wind. Oaks wore
spilt down tho center for a lopgtb of
twenty to twenty-live feet; poplars and
beeches, for lengths of six to twolro
foot, woro shivered luto sticks of uni
form thickness. For example, a beech
treo sixteen inches in diameter was
split into more than five hundred sticks
a third of au Inch thick, two-thirds of
an Inch broad, and an Inch and a hnlf
long. Firs and other resinous trees had
their stums cut clean through, leaving
almost oveu surfaces. These phenom
ena, and others of a kindred nature, can
bo ascribed ouly to electricity.
The Church Collection.
The church collection was once taken
In a bag at the end of a polo, wltb a boll
attachea to ajoujjjj lUftfiktW . . ...
(Jl'AIST AND CCRI0C8.
Ban Francisco ia the leading what-
lug port ot the world.
There are 00,297 boys and 02,05(1
girls in the common schools of Ber
lin.
San Francisco Is the distributing
point for nearly 100,000,000 pounds
sugar.
One grain of gold after leaving the
gold-beater's hands will cover fifty
sis square inches.
A French explorer recently found an
Assyrinn loaf of bread supposed to
have been baked 500 B. C.
Mrs. Cramer, of Neehak, Wis.,
now eighty-two years of age, has read
tho Bible through 258 times.
A colored Bnptist clorgyman of Vir
ginia. Dr. Bitigor, says be cau im
merse 104 persons iu sixty minutes.
Tho 101st half-yearly meeting of
the share holders of tho North Brit
ish Railway wus receutly held iu Ed
inburgh. A New York man pleaded as excuse
from jury duty that he had been
kicken out of his home by his wife. He
was excused.
A house lu Calhoun county, Oa.,
has been struck by lightning thirteen
times, and the inmates are now get
ting used to it.
Tbe blanket of violets that almost
bid from view tho casket of a promin
ent New York banker who t'.io.l a few
days since cost 8000.
Bleeping apartments should never
bo nnduly hcatad. Whenever possi.
bio children should be nooustoinad to
sleep with a slightly opened window.
The Bamonns will erect nn obelisk
over the grave of Robert Louis Ste
venson, which from its great height on
the Vaea Mountain will be a conspicu
ous landmark from the sen.
Some of sculptures found at Nine
veh and executed it is said about 2, 000
B. C, are of wonderfully delicate
workmanship and excite tho admira
tion of the sculptors of to-duy.
Tho axes found at Troy were cvt
dently used for military purposes
Borne are shapod liko our hatchets
and othors have a distinct resemblance
to a common mattock or pickax.
A cutler displays a combination
knifo and fork for the use of persons
only having one arm. It is a small
knife, the blade shorter, but wider
than usual. The blado ia turned up
at the etui aud here are throe prongs.
Owiug to their small sizo the Yoko
hama (Japan) policemen sometimes
have a pretty hard time of it arresting
drunken sailors big, brawny English
men, Danes or Swedes in the Y'lishi
war a, or Tendurloin, Precinct But
they are plucky little follows and stick
to their prisoners manfully,
Partridgos aud quail will generally
when accidentally caught by a high
wind, closo thoir wings and drop
to the ground in a slanting
direction, ouly using their wings to
check tho flight when near the enrth.
They frequently fail to check them
selves in time, or tbe force of tbe
wind is greater than they calculated,
and they are dashed with tremendous
force to tbe earth aud are wouudud or
killed.
Cloth From Wood Fibre.
What are kuown as the Mesterlich
prooesses for making chemical wood
fibre are claimed to bo applicable to
tbe production of cloth, based upon
the fuct that, ou the resinous sub
stances pertaining to wood being ex
tracted therefrom, all that causes de
cay is thus gotten rid of, tho remain
ing fibre being liko a piece of cotton
in whiteness and ilutlluesa. Appara
tus is now being perfected for weav
ing and spinning aucb tilro in the
same manner htibhtautially, as cotton
or wool. For some time past a factory
bus been in operation at Port Huron,
making underclothing from wood fi
bre, and which are suitl to equal in a!)
respects those made of wool. In ad
dition to these, there hare for a long
time been sent to tuurket hats, blank
ets, pails, waahtubs, trunks, basins,
pitchers, and other articles, almost in
numberuble. An interesting state
ment is that tho most important meth
ods iu vogue Iir tbe productions ol
wood pulp or wood fibre have origi
nated in Germany, aud next to these,
American ingenuity has accomplished
the most wonderful results. Papei
World.
A Sure Thing.
A wild feur soized upon her. "lit
Las gono forever!" she shrieked.
Bhe had secretly entertained the
expectation that the man she had
spumed would come book until she
looded over tho hat rack aud found he
bud taken away n much batter um
brella than he brought, V '
'Forever," tbe moaned. Detroit
Tribune. . ,