flpain ought to be coiini(torti1 pretty rooil authority now on submarine bout. ' Many of t lie tragedies of wnr n1n before tlin tribulation nud despairing experiences of the peaceful Klondike gold seekers. The London Htulist, n paper of tlio highest authority on lltiniii'lnl subjects, forecasts t ho American liuw in fn tine n one of utiboiindod prosperity, Tlmt I'.dgar Allnn Poo I'nn bonst In ltussln many more admirers and friends linn ha cnn claim in America, In tlio curious statement of M. Constantino Dultnont, n Kussiuu writer. It ix dinted tlmt tlio merchandise carried by mil in the I'nited Htutes Is double the onion nt of Imid carriage of nil the olhor nations of tlio enrth comliined. Thin moans that the 70, 000,0(10 people of the United Htntcs transport twice ns nineh merchandise as the remniniug 1,400,000,000 of ' lnnnkiiid. New York in far nhend of nil the other states in the ninoiint of money in saving hanks, it n hanks holding on the first day of thin year $7 18, 17(1, 889. Massachusetts follows, with 45.1,220,257, and then comes Couneo tieut, with $U!,4l),rr.O, and Cnlifor niii, with 8127.02H.2Hl. The figures of savings deposits of nil tlio New England states speaks volume for Yankee industry, economy nnd thrift. Thus, the minute state of IUiodo Is- Innd has 8l!H,0H:l,(illH; Maine, 57,47(1,- H'.IO; New Hampshire, $111,403,050, and Vermont, .IL',(I00,(I27. The record of the torpodohont Porter is remarkable. Although not intendod for sea service, she wns kept at sea for three months nnd wenthored the storms with the boat of them. Al tuougb not inteiKleil for long range fighting, sho took pin t in the bom bardment of Han ttunn da Porto Rico. But if her record mnrks tlio utmost of achievement of torpedobont efficiency It also mnrks the limitations of thin arm of the service. On noither side has the torpedobont done any harm to the enemy, nnd a single, well-directed shot at the Porter would have din posed of her as effectively as the Hpanish torpedobont destroyers wore disposed of off Huutingo, before they could get w ithin double their torpedo range of our ships. Ho fur Houthern manufacturers of cotton have been mainly con lined to the coarser yarns and ruder fabrics, but in this they have made astonish iugly rnpid progress. To take the ex- aniplo of a single stato, North Caro lina had in 18H0 eighty cotton mills; iu 1897 it had 1010. In the first named year it had 4071 looms, with '190, 433 spindles; in tlio bitter, 24.517 looms and 1,011,1)85 spindles. Home of tho other cotton-growing states nre not far behind, nnd with abundant wator-powor, cheap coal and extreme ly choup labor the development of the business there is certain to continue and to display results as sin prising ns the last decade has shown. By and by the mills there will bo able to do finer work, and some time who knowa ? they may coutrol the mar kets of the world with their home grown and home-woven fabrics, thinks the New York Tribuue. One result of the wnr with Spain will be to enhance the value of Amer ican citizenship iu the eyes of the world, predicts the Now York Mail and Express. Hereafter the American flag and the American citizen will be respected abroad as they have never been bofore. Among all but the best educated and most traveled classei we have always had the repu tation of being a nation of shopkeep ers,' shrewd, boastful, vulgar, but of little account outside of commercial transactions. They know better now. The extraordinary, almost miraculous, successes of our navy riveted the eyes of the world in admiration or in fear. The rapidity with which we have evolved an army of a quarter million of mon from state of nnprepared nesa has also impressed the nations, while the brave, fierce fighting of our raw levies before Santiago has been officially reported to every great pow er qf Europe in words of unstinted praise. With the news of the terri ble effectiveness of our army and navy have gone also the reports of the ease with which a great government loan has been placed in sums less than $5000, with five times the amount of the desired loan offered, bnt not accepted. More than all, the nations Lave been impressed with our magnanimity and the generous treat ment of our prisoners. The Ameri can citizen will hereafter, when trav eling abroad, be treated with a degree of courtesy and respeot that he baa sever known before. THE ROUGH RIDERS. From whnrs Inn chaparral uplift O'er Tntan sen of grass) Prom Arlsonn pamuicil Hit, Anil IJnlorsiln pnsst From Huston elm and elnssln shade, Ami (lotlinin iimsuit" nml ball, We've gathered, hy one motive' swayed Hough Itlilcrs are we all, Wn k "ii Hi" way of man nml henst We've faced tlin prairie Heal Ii, Wn'vn walclui I tlic liiirmnls at their fonst, We've Ml Hi" Norther's hrcetht We know 111" realms ol belles ami beaux Ami Kn-hl'in's guv commaml -Our view lies from lichiiniilco's Clear In the llln llrnmle. r 4 I MY ESCAPE. AN ADVENTURE IN THE PHILIPPINES. As "Scniaim Hiintii," or Holy Week, lind arrived, with the prospect of sev eral holidays in succession, the Anglo American residents of Manila had de serted the city. They went out to liva in the surrounding country, partly for pleasure nml partly liecnilse no ve hicle would be allowed iu the streets during two (lays of the week, so that anyone remaining in town would be virtually a prisoner in bin house or nt the club. Homo of the migrants had gone up the Pnsig river to the lake at its source nml some to explore tho won derful enves in the great southern vol rnniu range; but I, with half a dozen others, had clinrtereil a big stenni liuinch, loaded her with n capping outfit nml native servants and steamed across the buy mid up the coast. Wo woro going to tlin wild north country of Luzon iu search of deer mid wild l'itf- Wo lauded w ith our paraphernalia on the heacli nt our destination; or dered the launch to return on the fol lowing Monday nnd began to shift for ourselves in a country as wild as it wns when Magellan nml Billion cruised among the islands. It swarmed with little Negritos, or aboriginal natives whom tlio Hpniiish conquerors have vainly tried for threo centuries to sub due and civilize. Theso Negritos Mnnder about tho vast forests in small bands, sleeping one night under a few proppod-np boughs nnd the next, perhaps, among the limestone rocks and caves of the shore. Their language consists of a few bird-like chirps mid whistles. Their weapons are bows and arrows and queer swords or knives, which they cmi wield with terrible effect. lhey are cowardly and treneheroiis to the Inst degree. We hnd been es pecially wnrnod against wandering singly iu the jungle, for a solitary huutor would lie apt to tl it 1 himself suddenly bristling with arrows, shot from behind evory tree nnd rock around hiin. "This," said tho grave old half-breod huntsman, who li ml given us tho e particulars, "would be excessively disagreeable for your graces" nnd our graces agreed with the opinion. Wo accordingly took exceeding good care to keep together during the first two or threo days, but ns no signs of blacks appeared wo became loss careful nml occasionally made in dividual expeditions along the shore or into the forest iu quest of jungle fowl or other small gau e. Now a species of huge lizard the iguana inhabits the rocks of the islands, and I was very anxious to se cure a specimen. Ho one nftoruoou I started oil' with a rifle to stroll aloni tho shore toward u mass of jagged rocks where the bench ended. There n great bin IV rose gradually from the woods, terminating :n n mighty spin high in the nir and far out at sen. I soon discovered that I was uccom- pnniel by Peto.a small fox toi riur, w ho belonged to one of the men and hud beeu brought with us for some un known reason, for so far ho had beeu nothing better than a general nuisance. However, as Pete and IVere orood friends, he trotted along beside me until we nrrivod at tho rocks. I had little hope of finding nn icuntin there and was wondering whether it was worth while to go nuy farther xvheu Pete gave a yelp null dashed forward. Iu a m fmimt more I saw a big iguana flashing iu aud out among the rocks like lightning, with Pete scrambling aud dipping in pursuit. As it wan hopeless to try a shot while the lizard wns dodgiua about I run after Pete, shouting to him. Hut Fete, a perverse, brute at all times. having now an exciting and unique ad venture in prospect, scrambled obsti- nately on, until he and the imiaim both disappeared iu tho low hushes and grass that covered the base of the cliff. Having fought inv wnv through these, with wrath iu my heart against the dog.I emerged beyond and saw tho great lizard gliding up the side of the bluff on a zigzag path probably made by the blank men. Pete, a very bad seooud, was pluckily toiliug after the lame, I fired a despairing shot and missed. bnt the bullet must have "gipped" pretty close to Tete'a bead. He atopped probably glad of an excuse to do ao looked liaolc inquiringly aud then obligingly waited for me to come np, while the iguana vanished aloft, I felt angry enough to have wrung the dog's neck, bnt restrained myself and after administering a en ft or two told him emphatically to go home. lie only went back a lew stena.then at down defiantly nnd eooked one ear t roe in a derisive and exasperating manner. When I went on again he came gaily trotting after, ready to dun pust me should more iguanas heave in sight. Then I threw a stick t him, which he promptly chased. iptured and brought back to -mo. Finally I made a leash of mv neck. tie aud handkerohief and thus re. trained his ardor while I climbed np Hut how, Unchecked, the entile whtn In hnnilloiitf. wllil slnmpxiln t An. I llenuty's (.tinner mar unfurl III vnlii. We give no hoeil. We've changed lite ranch nml elty charm Vnr Culiaii thatch ami palm. The birring roll of hostile arms Our I'li'iin Is nml nlin. In strangely dinorlng cilmn nml plneo Our names nml pallia appear, 1'or many n enlleiiu knows our faee, Ami in ii n v a tiramli'il steer. Hut, In! one IiIimiiI you tl nal us, when There sound ('iiliinilile's call. We sprlnir to iiimwer It, like men Hough IMlers nre we nil. i-:t win 1 1. Hitiiin, in t'ui'k. 1 tlin rough nnd steep palli. I was de termined to get the igiinuh if possible, We wound our way among big rucks nnd pa of bushes nml at lust reached the top, n few yards from the gre.it spur. Here tho bluff wns some twelve yards across. As it sloped gradually buck' toward tho mainland it grew wiiler mid wns covered only with stiff, dry grass, till its base wn. lost in the forest. The Iguana had innde good use of his time mid was not in sight, so 1 silt, down mi the summit to cool off and relieved my feelings by Inventing npproi into phrases nnd applying them to Pete. Then I glanced 'around at tho view, which wns superb, with the sun selling in indescribable glory over the calm (.Ihlnn sen. In the glow I could see n steamer, which I knew must bethe mail steamer from Hongkong, probably bringing inn letters end Knstor reui'onibrnuees from friends in fnr-nwny America. Hinldiiiily the dog jumped i p nml snid "Woof!" 1 muzzled him with one '.iiiiiiI mid renehed for the lille with the other, with visions of ig minis bo fore me, but none appeared. Pete wriggled himself loose and "woofod" again, cocking his esrs toward the for est at the base of the blnrT. I turned my head and listened. Now f could faintly bonr the thump ing roll of galloping horses, mingled with the crashing of breaking bush. As 1 stood up nud stared a pony ap peared, bursting out of tho iuiiL'lo. followed by another aud still another. Almofit before I realized what they were.fiill 211 of them h id come tenriuir out of tho woods and were charging up tlio slope toward mo. In the forest wander hordes of theso native ponies, discarded ns old or use less by their owners, who, as a rule, are too indolent to dispose of them otherwise. We had encountered til m while hunting, but I had never scon so many together and wns won dering what could have caused such a stampede when, just ns the Inst one appeal ed, I saw a small, black, monkey like creature dash out after him, fol lowed by a score of others, driving the terrilled animals up the hill with shrill whistles nud nhrioks, "Negritos!" I thought, remainder ing w h.it we had boon told about their someliiues driving a crowd of these wandering ponies over some precipice to be killed on tho rocks below mid thus afford their pursuers an niict'ior fonst of liorso-flesli for many days. TliH was ovideutly whut the black uen were doing now. 1 saw tlmt tho ponies would quickly arrive nt the top nnd curry mo over with them if something was not done promptly; so I noiod Pete by the scruff of his neck nud run for the bend of the side path by which I had come up; but I was just too Into; the fren zied mob of scarecrows was almost upon mo before I could get there. In desperation I waved the rifle aloft with one baud and poor Pete with the other, mingling a wild shout with Pete's expostulating yells. Ho strange an apparition, combined with the sounds fro n the dog.hud the effect of causing many of tho drove of ponies to swerve past mo, and I heard them go slidinga id crashing down tho other side of the bluff, while others turned sharply and rau down the puth. One of these, however, lost his footing iu turning so suddenly and fell head long. He rolled over so quickly that I had no time to get out of tho way, and he struck mo s piarely on the ankles. Pote flow one way nnd the riHe another as I pitched forward on top ofthe kicking brute. We fell just at the bend of the puth, blocking the way for the lust three or four ponies, who halted trembling and snorting. As I scrambled up I caught a glimpse of the Negritos, who hud stopped nt the sight of me and were gnziug iu amazement, calling to each other with short, sharp whistles. Their great heads, covered with masses of frizzly hair, out of all proportion to their dwarfed, naked bodies, gave them a most uncanny aspect, like a crowd of gnomes, I felt as if I were the hero of some fairy tale in the power of gold ins, and for an instant I experienced the same horrid, creeping seusation that one feels at the first shudder of an earthquake. Every moment 1 expected a cloud of arrows to eome whizzing about me, and I remember wondering whether they wonld be barbed or smooth; but the fierce little black men seemed too astonished to do anything but stnud like statues and whistle. Yet it was certain that they would aoon let fly their deadly arrows. By some iustinot I grasped the pony's short, rough mane as be struggled to his feet and fol lowed alongside the animal as he headed clown the path, keeping bis shoulders and forelegs between my self and the blacks. Pete had picked himself up aud was close nt my heels. As we disappeared a perfect storm of whistles pierced the air. ' The poniea behind, frightened afresh, came erowding against ' my protector, who j lashed out viciously and storied to run down the nirruw path. Hnnluii there wns dnng r of being crowdei over tho edge, 1 swung on bis back. holding tight to his mnuu, nud let him take his own course, Fortunately for me the liltlo beast. although abnormal y bony nnd mangy in appearance, Imil retained liis eye sight nml tho wonderful sure footed liess that nil Philippine ponies pos sess. He wns inl leutly accustomed to a rider, for lie picked his way down the lough luissnge nt a sliding sort of irot, closely Pillowed by the otluir ponies nud I'cle, who must, have been inning a precarious time of it among equine legs nml hoofs. Fur nhend I could henr tho bitter tug nf tho ponies that had gone down first, w hile over nil else wero tho weird squeaks nud I'iniim of the snvnues. 'l hey must have been in close pursuit, but tillable either to pass the rear ponies or to get n shot nt mo on no count of the windings of the path. I cioiiclied low nud held on with nil inv might, expecting nt every step to feel the blow id some barbarous missile. Ilefore I realized where we were I found the pony clashing through the bustles nt the base, nud wn came on the rocks where I hnd first sighted the Iguaus. I ho rocks proved too lunch for my gallant but ancient steed, for when hair-way across lie slipped and pitched me off. I rose, uninjured, just in timo to grasp bis mane nfresh and run along beside him. The lending ponies wero well nhend, and ns they went pounding and thun dering by the camp I snw the fellows who were lying about on the bench jump up mid get out of tlio way. Wild wns their ninazement to sen me tearing along the beach with ten-foot strides, hanging on to the inane of a bony and terrilled horse, followed by several more "cuballos" nqually spec tral in appearance. The villainous fox-terrier scudded along in rear of tho procession, telling everybody whnt jolly fun ho hnd been having. I let go the pony ami tumbled into the crowd, answering their frantic de mands for nu explanation by pointing to the bluff and gasping "Negritos!" The boys jumped for their guns, but there wns no need of warlike prepara tion, for tho savages hnd stopped just outside of the bushes on seeing the group. After gazing a moment they turned and disappeared one by one, while the Inst of the ponies plunged into the woods nt the other end of the beach and was lost to sight. All that night we heard the little black men signaling to each other around the cump, but snw them no more. The next day we climbed the bluff in a body mid found my rifle safe and sound. On the way back, by great good luck, I shot an iguana four feet long, which I hnd atuttod in Manila nud af terward sent home by a Sailing vessel. Its delivery, some four months Inter, by a horrified expressman nt my fam ily's home iu a penceful Jlostou sub urb created n scene of consternation fully justilled by its appearance. Charles II. Howard, iu Youth's Com panion. GUAINT AND CURIOUS- A petrified oak has lately been dug up iu Cheshire, l.ng. It is snid to be at least 10,000 yours old. Previous to the setting up of a clock nt Hampton Court, Kugluud, in 1541), no Kuglish clock went accurately. It is a very common sight, in tho streotn of Paris, France, to soe baby ciirringos which ure propelled by elec tricity. A curious fact has been noted by Arctic travelers. Hnow, whun at a very low temperature, ubsorbs moisture nud dries garments. It is a strange fact that injuries to the tongue, whether of man or animal, heal more quickly than those of any other part of the syitem. Large numbers of tliutlock gnus six feet long nre ni-ulo iu Birmingham, Eng., at $1.50 each, and many of these weapons find a ready market iu Dark est Africa. There are several varieties of fish tlyit cannot swim. In every instance they are deep-sea dwellers, and crawl about the rocks, using their tails and fins as logs. Hkates made of hardened glass, in various colors, nre now made in Eng land. It in said that they make it easier to get over rough places than in the ense with steel skates. The oldest piece of wrought iron in existence is believed to be a roughly fashioned sickle blade found in Egypt. It is now in the British Museum, and it is believed to be nearly 400J years old. According to a New Yorker who recently returned from Koine a prom inent Ituliau newspaper gravely an nounced that Oenerul George Wash ington would take command of the American nrmy in Cuba, Thin bamboo tubei are fastened to carrier pigeons in China, to protect them from birds of prey. When the bird is in motion, the actiou of the air through the tubes causes a whist ling sonnd, which alarms predaoeons birds, and keeps them at a respectful distance. A Water Noiiitir, Recently the largest whaleback ves sel ever constructed was launched at West Superior, Wis. It is iiO feet long and is one of the largest freight corriersin the world. The "whale back" is a comparatively new type of boat, built expressly to t ide easily in rough seas. The main part or steel hnll of the vessel is shaped like a fat cigar, aud with a concave upper por tion over which the waves may dash without causing iuconvenience. As result the whaleback steamer can plow through heavy seas that would seri ously interfere with the progress of ao ordinary vessel. JUFLEDSTEKL M0UTAIIS. THE ARMY'S NEW ORDINANCE TESTED BEFORE SANTIAGO. They Are l.lllle 'nniinrrl Willi Snvsl !nn, llnva Aeiuinry of firm Nml Are lieslrui'llvn In t;ni. I'lnyeil nn Impor tant I'arl In Fiirrlns Tumi In Surrender, There Is no more Important piece of ordnance used in our war operations than the littlo rilled mortars that threw explosives, shells, nnd heavy Stool projectiles with destructive effect agniust the Hpniiish iiitrmichiiients and ritln pits between tlin American linos nud Hntitingo. The field mortars nre believed by the nrmy men in Washington to bnve played 'nil Impor tant part in compelling tlin surrender of the Hpniiish troops and to lmve assisted In the capture of strategic; points which otherwise might not have been taken without severe loss to the invading soldiers. These liltln morbus have not been generally adopted in armies, except In this country, nud never hnd nu actual trial ngninst tlin enemy until the recent fight between Hhsftcr's mou nnd those of (leneral Tornl. They nre light, can be readily transported with nn advancing body of men, nro quick of flre.nud nro almost as accurate as the rilled Held piece. Although tiio shot llred by them describes a tra jectory Hint takes it soaring hundreds of feet up iu the sir, thn necurncy of fire is so great that an explodiug shell cnn bo dropped two miles away with in a space no larger than a good-sized ballroom. Wlinn compare. 1 with tho old smooth-bore muzzle loaders of the civil war period, which shot fur but with no certainty ns to where the shell would fall, the new inortnrs like those at Hnutiago are ns great nn improve ment ns the modern small arm is over the old Hpringlleld. With the modern mortar provided with a rilled chamber and brnech londiii' apparatus the ordnance ex perts claim that they can plump a shot into any ordinary sized rille pit and knock the top off any house at which it is aimed within the radius of its action. Although the projectile goes high in the air nml then takes a plung ing cotirsn.tho range cnn be accurately reached by reducing or increasing the powder charge. The explosion of n 7-inch shell in a rille pit should kill or severely injure every man iu it, and if one fell behind nu ititrntichmniit whore men were assembled thickly it would have the power to wipe out practically half a company. iuortnrs, howitzers nnd Held guns were the heavy ordnance used by the army in front of Huutingo, but for shelling a city no piece wns believed by the officers to be better adapted for effective work than the mortars. Two kinds are used in thearmv.the heuvier being tho 7-inch and the other the , 8.l-inch. The heavy mortar has a weight of 1715 pounds nml a total length of only 58 inches, the length of the bore being seven calibres. A projectile weighing 1 20 pounds is used 1 for tho important work of clearing ! riflo pits, nnd cnn be sent ncciimto'v 1 to a distance of considerably more j than three miles, and dropped within a space 100 by 12 feel three tiiuo out of five. To send this shell through ! tho air only five and one-hnlf pounds of powder is required, which develops j mi initial volouity for tho projectile of . about (i50 feet a second. The pressure exerted is 18,000 pounds to thosquaro I incu, which seems lugli for so small a charge, and the range of the mortar is placed at 4'! 10 yards, or nearly three miles. The fighting range which will be gonerally employed, however, Is not expected to exceed two miles. In the operations before Hnntino it wns less, although when (leneral Hhafter determined to bombard the city if Tornl failed tr comply to his demand for surrendor, the mortar batteries were not less than two miles from tho centre of the town and wero to be fired at that distance. Inside i the 7-inch mortar shell is 12 l-'J pounds of powder whose explosion j throws hundreds of small piecei of I the shell in every direction. A fuse I ignites the powder as the shell strikes ! the ground, nnd if the explosion is j instant the destruction in its imme diate vicinity should be terrific. Should the shell, however, hit soft earth and bury itself before exploding its effectiveness is practically lost. The experience in firing mortnrs at V'antingo showed that this occurred frequently. These mortars are adapted to fire the projectiles of the 7-inch howitzer an well as the shells. Besides the ordinary shell the mortar is intended to fire as well a steel hbell of 150 pounds weight and approximately of five calibre length, charged with htgh explosive for great destructive effect. This piece supplies the heaviest calibre that the army regards as necessary for field purposes and is intended for just such purposes as those to which it was put at Hantiago. The 8.6-inch mortar is fired from a solidly constructed platform weighing 200 pounds. The platform is held iu position by stakes, the recoil being taken np and kept within limits by ropes made fast to an anchor stake. The range of this mortar varies from 8:mI yards to 3300, and its fire is just as acenrate as that of the larger piece. Twelve ounces of powder explodes the shell, and the amount required to propel it varies from five ounces for the smallest distance to fifteen ounces for the greatest obtainable range. Experiments with this piece show that almost every shot can be landed with in the space of an ordinary room. They are to the army in creating havoo to the intreuchments what the big 12 and 16 inch coast defence mortars are to fleet of approaching war vessels. Alaskan babies when they ery held under water until they stou. re WOMEN'S WOES. Hnnlsnlp at Hums firwnter Than Th nt the front. "Are there any greater hardship man niose emuirmi by our brave boy nt me iroiiir asKeii me speaker. "Well, I don't know," replied th demure little woman in the backoff tho hnll, rising. "Wore yon ever iu! a house whore four boys between ten nun sixteen enugnt the martial spirit, mounted guard night times a day andi iiiiimi! ii n point to charge on the cook at least twice? Did yon ever note the enthusiasm with which fonr boys cnn enter Into the spirit of military . orations and patrol the front of the house, Insisting upon the countersign when callers arrive?" "Mndnm," broke in tho aponker, "I assure yon I " "Hid you ever come dome from s shopping four," she persisted, "and find tho daby In the guardhouse, veil ing itself hoarse, while four boys held a council of war to decide whether it should lie shot or hanged?" , "As I wns about to say, madam " "Did you ever return from a short cull nt a neighbor's to find the front door ban tended and gimlet holes pored in thn haul wood pnnols iu order that the approach of the enemy might bn easily detected?" "Madam, I concede" "Did you ever have your front porch mined nnd the mine exploded just ns yon woro welcoming a maiden sunt who Is expected to leave you quite a littlo money, even though it is well known that she has an antipathy to children nnd never has quite for given you for having so ninny?" nere cnu no no quostion " "Did you ever have a now sheet torn np to make hospital bandages and three yards of colored sillt cut up into signal flags? Did you ever have a flower garden ruined because it wan (loomed necessary to throw up fortifica tions where the flowers happened to be? Did you ever have a whole new clothesliiie cut np into short pieces that could be used to securely bind prisoners of war? Did yon ever linve your barn carried by assault, one of your dorses so frightened that it wns four days before it was safe to drive dim aud your coachman t Honed tin and thrown downs flight of stairs be cause he foolishly attempted to check the invading force? Did you ever "Madam," droke in th speaker nt last,"I never did. If I had, I wotlld't have spoken as I did. I now pub licly concede that the sufferings in the. field really amount to nothing com pared w ith w hat thin war has drought upon some of those who have to re main home." (irasslmppvr Kills a Tiirtlo. One of the soldiers stationed at Tampa sent to Dr. Alfred E. Wads worth of Hrooklynn letter in which he des ribed a buttle he witnessed be tween a grasshopper and a large snap ping turtle. The tight resulted in the death of tho turtle, which hnd nwakened the anger of the grasshop per by killing its mate. The fight occurred oij the bank of a ii iiii.ii inn mMiiCM unit enst n fishing liiid. While watching tho line he saw two grasshoppers jump from a tree and land on the bank. Bight beside them was a big turtle, which immediately snapped one of the hoppers. Instantly iho survivor jumped upon the turtle's back. The turtle withdrew its head within its shell, and the grasshopper perched itself on the edge .of the covering, just nt tho point wheie th head of tho turtle had disappeared. There it waited patiently. It was some time before tho turtle protruded its head. Then it did so very s'owly and cautiously, looking about apparently for the other grass hopper. The insect was ou the watch, . and when the sleepy eyes of the tur tle were exposed it apparently spat into one of thorn. The reptile with drew its head instantly. The grass hopper remained where it was. The head of the turtlo was not long hidden. In a few minutes the turtle protruded it to look for its foo. The giHsshopper mnde a forward movement and tried to reach the other eye of the turtle- It failed, however, nnd nariowsj 'enped being enuglit by the snnu erT" Tho la'.ter Hindu every effort to get nt it, but, quick ns were the movements, of the turtle's head, those of its small enemy were qnicker, nnd the grass hopper managed to keep out of danger. Finally it managed to spit in the other r. eye of the reptile. Then the turtle, blinded, gave np the fight. The irraJts hopper waited aroun 1 for half an hour. and than hopped off. The soldier picked np the turtle and wa! surprised to find that it was dead. He says in his letter that it must have beeu . poisoned by the na'.iva the grasshopper in.ectel into its eyes. New York Hun. An I nlncky Jest. There was a little group discussing the glorious news of Sampson's vic tory in an uptown saloon recently, when a man walked in slowly aiid stood within earshot of the patriotic expressions. Finally he said iu a rather mournful tone of voice: "Well boys, yon may talk as yon please, bnt I would give my right arm to see the Hpanish fing floating over New Or leans." There was a mad rush for the new comer, aud for some seconds the air was fnll of swinging arms. As the strauger ruefully regained his feet aud pulled his battered remains together he attempted a smile that faded into a, ghastly grin as he whined out: "You fellxiws are to.j quick. That's just my little joke. I am blind." New Or- ' leuus Times-Democrat. - English military anthorities say thak new boots will wear better if kept about six months before using. It kept over a year they become loss du-rabU.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers