The man, r.!n glTcs nwny A million
iflollnrR has ceased to be a wonder In
the I'nlted Plates.
Russia wahls universal peace occa
sionally, nml is nnx-ious to plvlllzo
Aula, Rut It la never so absorbed In
It philanthropy ltd to prow careless
la IniHlncpn matter.
An odorless onion hns born evolved
by some sensible gardener. Ills nnmo
should have n full page In the history
of the world ns a genuine bruefnetor
of the human race.
The huge department store Is mnrTl
plying In I'mnee, ns well ns on this
side of the Atlantic. In Bordeaux, for
instance, there nre half-a-doacn such
tores nnd others nre being built.
Tho career of the successful busl
ness man Is now divided Into two
t lierlods; the first when be takes pride
In tho dally Increase of bis fortune by
profits, nnd the second when he takes
still greater pride In the dally deficit
by gifts.
The Massachusetts Institute of Tech
nology has held examinations In Lon
don for the cntrauce of pupils to the
Boston lust It ut ion. The Londou En
gineer says: "It would seem that
American competition Is not to be con
fined to commerce In the future."
The little building in which Nathan
Hale taught school at New London,
Conn., has bren purchased by the
State organization of Sons of the
American Revolution, moved to n new
site nnd turned over to the Daughters
of the American Revolution, who will
net as custodians.
Three yenrs ago a few women's shirt
waists were ordered In America by flu
enterprising English firm, on account
of their superior cut. Last year nearly
nil the ready-made shirt waists sold In
England were made in the United
States, one house alone importing
51ST),000 worth of them.
One of the latest apt'.lcatlons of
wireless telegraphy i" the trausfer of
the outlines of a picture from a trans
mitting instrument to a receiver. It
Is some time since a method was dis
covered of sending pictures by wire;
now they can be sent over short dis
tances without n wire. In recent ex
periments n picture was transmitted
through n brick wall eight Inches
thick.
The invention of the mariner's com
)ss by Flnvlo Gloja is to be celebrat
ed this summer at Amnlfi, Italy. Gloja
came from Positnno in the hills bnck
of Ainalfl. There have not been want
ing those who counted that the Inven
' tlon, like most others, was gradual,
nnd that the tendency of the magnet
ised needle to point north was kuown
long before Gloja's time, it even hav
ing been familiar to the Chinese.
General Wolseley's declaration in
the House of Lords that the United
States Army was the most efficient
In tho world for its size Is unquestion
ably true. Wolseley added that Eng
land must cither pay her soldiers bet
ter wages or resort to conscription if
she Intended to raise the general char
acter of her army. Voluntary enlist
ment will not fill the ranks of a big
standing army unless it offers at least
equal pay with the peaceful industries.
John D. Rockefeller has given $200,
000 to found "The Rockefeller Institu
tion for Medical Research." The gift
Is not for an endownment fund, but for
Immediate expenditure. Mr. Rocke
feller has for some time been con
sulting with eminent medical men as
to the need of such an institution, and
he has bad the best of advice. Facili
ties for original investigation are to
be provided, especially in such prob
lems In medicine and hygiene as nave
a practical bearing on the prevention
nnd treatment of disease. Work will
be begun In tho fall under the guidance
cf experienced investigators.
The telephone bus a lurger use for
the farmer than establishing a meuns
of communication between his build
ings. The establishment of farmers'
co-operative exchanges in various
parts of the country furnishes a bint
of the extent to' which the telephone Is
to be utilized to promote the Interests
of husbandry. In Montgomery Coun
ty, Ind., forty townships are connected
and over COOO telephones ore in use.
The ultimate effect of the establish
ment of 'these exchnnges in farming
communities is to put the rural fami
ly. In' contact with the city and the
world at large, and thus eularge its
Industrial and social horlson, inducing
greater contentment with farm life.
The Ability to "ring up" the city may
be tAe solution of the problem of bow
to keep boys oa the farm.
j A ramous
Bt Jon WlLMAMSOX PAT.MKn, M. D.
Among tho most conspicuous and
notable of the rangers and Indian
lighters who "blazed their way" along
a 100 trails between the Rio Orando
on. I tho Pnliirnitn 70 Venn SCO Were
Rezln and James Bowie to whom,
Jointly, belongs tho questionable hon
on of tho Invention of the bowie
knife. These energetic and intrepid
lads wer the sons of Renin Bowlo,
who had migrated from Maryland to
Georgia, where the boys were born
In Burke county. There were three
other brothers David, John, and
Stephen. In 1802 the family removed
to Catahoula parish. Louisiana. On
the 10th of September, 1827, James
Bowie wns engaged on a bar of tho
Mississippi in one of tho bloodiest
nffiays recorded In the fighting an
nals of tho southwest. In which two
men were killed nnd Bowie wounded.
Soon after this affair James with his
brotlwr Renin, made his way into
Texas, where a career as dramatic as
It waa characteristically American
awaited them at first among the hos
tile tribes, and later In desultory en
counters with predatory bands of Mex
icans. in 1831. on the 2d of November,
James and Rezln Bowlo with seven
comrades and two boys as servants
set out from San Antonio In search of
the old Silver-mines of the San Saba
mission. They made their way with
out notable adventure until the morn
ing of the l'.Uh, when they were over
hauled by friendly Comnnchcs. who
warned them that they were followed
by a war party of 124 Twowokanas
and Wacos. as well as by 40 Ca'ddos,
making In all 164 well-armed braves,
who had sworn to take the scalps of
the white men then and there. The
Comnnctie chief Invited the Texans
to Join his party, and offered to make
a stand with them, although he had
but 16 men. badly armed and short
of ammunition. But knowing that tho
"hostiles lay between." and being
bent on reaching the old fort on the
Saba before night, tho Texans de
clined the generous offer and pushed
boldly on. But they scon came upon
) rocky roads, their horses' feet were
worn, and they were compelled to
encamp for the night in a small grove
of live-oaks cf the girth of a man's
body. To the north of these, and near
by, was a thicket of young trees about
10 feet high; and on tho west, 40
yards away, ran a stream of water.
On every side was open prairie, inter
spersed with rocks and broken land,
and here and there a clump of trees.
Here, having prepared for defense
by cutting a road Inside the thicket
and clearing out the prickly pears,
they hobbled their horses and posted
sentries. That night they were not
molested; In the morning, as they
were preparing to start for the fort,
they discovered Indians on their trial,
with a footman 50 yards In advanceof
the party with, his face to the ground,
tracking. AH hands eflw to arms;
those who were already in the saddle
dismounted, and the saddle and pack
horses were tethered to the trees. The
hostiles gave the war-whoop, halted,
and began stripping for action. Some
mounted bucks reconnoltered the
ground, nnd among these were a few
Caddos, known "by the cut of their
hair," who until that day had been
counted among the friendly tribes.
In consideration of the dispropor
tion of numbers 164 to 11 It was
agreed that Rezln Bowie should go
out to parley with them, to avoid, if
possible, a fight so unequal and so
desperate. He took David Buchanan
with blm, walked to within 40 yards
of tho enemy's line, and invited them
to send out their chief to talk with
hlm. He addressed them in their own
tongue, but they replied with a "How
do! How do!" followed by a dozen
shots, one of which broke Buchanan's
leg. Bowie responded with the con
tents of a double-barreled gun and a
pistol, took Buchanan on His back,
and started for the camp. The Indians
opened fire- again. Buchanan was hit
twice, but not mortally, and Bowie's
hunting-shirt was pierced by several
shots. Seeing that they failed to
bring him down, eight of the Indians
on foot pursued him with tomahawks,
and were close upon him whoa his
own own party charged thorn with
rifles . and killed four, putting the
others to flight. "We then returned
to our position." wrote Rezln Bowie,
"and all was still for Ave minutes."
Then from a hill red with Indians,
and so near that the voice of a mount
ed chief urging his men to the charge
could be beard plainly, came yells
and a vicious volley. "Who is load
ed?" cried -James Bowie. "I am,"
said Cephas Hamm. "Then shoot that
chief!" And Hamm. firing, broke the
Indian's leg and killed his pony.
The chief went hopping round the
horse, his body covered with his
shield; four of the Texans who bad
reloaded fired and the man tell. Six
or eight of his tribe advanced to. bear
away the body, and several of these
were killed by the Texans. The
whole body of Indians then retreated
behind tho hill with the exception
of a few who dodged from tree to
tree, but of gunshot.
Presently, however, they covered
the hill again, bringing up their bow
men, for the first time in the tight
There was rapid shooting on both
sides; another chief advanced on
horseback, and James Bowie brought
him down, i
Meanwhile a score of Caddos who
had succeeded In getting under the
bank of the creek In the rear of the
Indian right. J
Texan party opened fire at 40 yards,
and shot Matthew Doyle through the
breast Thomas McCaslIn ran for
ward to avengo him, and wns shot
through the body. Tho firing became
general from all quarters. The Tcw
ans, finding their position In the troaa
too much exposed, retreated to the
thicket, where they dislodged the rifle,
men under cover of the creek, who
were In point blank range, by shoot
ing them through the head as often
as they showed above the bank.
In the thicket, where they were
well screened, they had clear views
of the hostiles on the prairie. "We
baffled their shots." wrote James Bow
le, "by moving six or eight feet the
moment we had fired, for their only
mark was the smoke of our guns.
They would put 20 balls within the
space of a poeket-hnndkerchlef in the
spot where they saw that smoke."
In this fashion the fight was kept
up for two hours, and James Correll
was slrot through the arm. Seeing
that the Texans were not to be dis
lodged from the thicket, the savages
resorted to fire for the double pur
pose of routing the llttlo party and
of carrying away their own Jead and
wounded under cover of the smoke,
for the rllles of the rangers hnd
brought down half a dozen" at every
round. They set fire to the dry prai
rie grass to thei windward of the
thicket; the flames flared high and
burned all the grass ns far as the
creek; but there they bore away to
tho right and to tho left, leaving a
clear space of five acres around the
eamn. Under cover of tho smoke the
hostiles carried away their dead;
while the Texans scraped away the
dry grass and leaves from their
wounded comrades, and piled rocks
and bushes to make a flimsy breast
work. The Indians re-occupled the trees
and rocks In the prairie and renewed
their firing. Suddenly the wind shift
ed to the north and blew har.l. The
red men were quick to see the ad
vantage and seize the chance. One
of their braves crawled down the
creek and set fire to the high grass.
Robert Armstrong killed him too
late. Down came the flames, 10 feet
high, straight for the camp! The
phonts and yells of the Indians rent
the air, and they fired 20 shots In a
minute.
Behind the screen of smoke the
Texans held a council of war. If the
Indiana should charge them under
cover of the fire they could deliver
but one effectual round. Even then
the sparkB were flying so thickly that
no man could open his powder-horn
but at the risk of being blown up.
Bowie's men determined if the In
dians charged "to deliver that one
round, stand back to back, draw our
knives, and fight as long as one was
left alive." On the other hand, should
the Indians not charge, and should the
Texans still stand their ground, they
might be burned alive, In that case
each man would take care of himself
as well as he could until tho fire
reached the ring of cleared ground
around the wounded men and the bag
gage; then they would smother It
with buffalo-robes, bearskins, deer
skins, and blankets. And this they
did, the hostiles not charging.
By this time dhe fire had left so
little of the thicket that the small
group of fighters took refuge In the
ring they had made around the wound
ed and the baggage, and begun rais
ing their breastwork higher with loose
rocks and with earth that they dug
with their knives. The Indiana had
succeeded In removing their killed
and wounded under cover of the
smoke. Night was approaching, and
they had been fighting Blnce sunrise.
The Indians, seeing that the Texans
were still alive and dangerous, drew
off nnd encamped for the night w'tb
their dead and wounded. By 10 o'clock
the BowUm has raised their clumsy
rampart breast high; the men filled
their vessels and skins with water,
and waited for the attack which they
supposed the morning would bring.
All night they heard the red men wall
lug over their dead; and at daylight
they Bhot a mortally wounded chief,
as tho customs of the tribes pre
scribed. A little later they retlrod
with their dead and wounded to a
mountain about a mile away.' where
a cave served them foV shelter and
for tomb. At 8 o'clock two of the
Texans ventured out from the llttlo
fort, and made their way to the en
campment where the Indians had
lain the night bofcre, and there they
counted 48 bloody spots on the grass
where their braves had fallen before
Texan rifles. "Finding ourselves much
cut up," wrote the Bowies, "having
one man killed and three wounded,
five horses killed and three wounded,
we resumed the strengthening of our
little fort, and worked until 1 p. m.,
when 13 Indians appeared, but re
tired again as soon as they discovered
that we were still there, well fortified
and ready for action." The Texans
held their ground eight days, anj then
retraced their march to San Antonio,
where they arrived safely with their
wounded and their horses In 12 days.
Nine men and two boys and killed 82
Indians and routed a fighting force of
164.
' It was proper to the ghastly "fitness
of things" thai, the man who directed
this wonderful fight, and was the
heart and eye and arm behind every
rifle and every knife, should go to
meet his djath with Crockett and Tra
vis In the Alamo, When, on March
3, Travis drew a line with his sword
across the adobe floor, and called on
all those of that desperate Utile gar
rison who would stay with him to the
death to eome over that line to him,
Crockett sprang across merrily, wav
ing his rap, and every man of "those
about to die" followed him, saluting:
"Te morlturl salutamus!" James
Bowie, fast bound In raging fever,
tossing and muttering on his rot "In
the llttlo north room of the Alnmo."
heard the call, and cried for two of
his comrades to lift the cot and carry
him over that lino. It was done, and
then they bore him back again to tho
llttlo room to dlo.
It Is Madame Candelarla. the Mexi
can woman who nursed him there,
and who atone of all that Spartan
band survived, who tells the story.
"It is not true," she says, "that Col
onel Bowie was "brained with an ax.'
Ho .lied In wild delirium In the height
of the awful carnage, several hours
before the Mexican horde burst Into
the Alamo: , . . They broke in the
door where I watched with Colonel
Bowie. I erled out, In Spanish, that
I was a Mexican woman, and that I
had nursed a man who had Just riled.
One knocked me down, and another
stabbed m In the cheek with a bay
onet. Here Is the scar! . . . Colonel
Bowie's cold body was dragged from
tho cot dragged down the stairs by
the howling mob of soldiers, and
thrown upon a hD of bleeding
dead." The New Voice.
QUAINT AND CURIOUS.
For the first time for 1000 years
an ordination service In St David's
Cathedral. Cardiff, Wales, has Just
been conducted In Welsh.
The most curious cemetery Is sit
uated at Luxor, on the Nile. Here
repose tho mummified bodies of mil
lions of sacred cats. Their remains
uro side by side with the bodies of
kings and emperors In mausoleums.
Some years ago there was produced
In the English court of probate a
plank on which were scratched tlte
testamentary dlsnosltlons of a ship
wrecked naval ofllcer. The board,
with Its rough carving, was held to
be a will duly executed.
In 1015, at Novgorod, at that time
the capital of Russia, It was the law
that any one plucking a hair from any
Individual's beard should be four
times more severely ' punished than
though he cut off his finger. In this
connection all men were compelled
to grow beards. The supposition was
that the beard was the main source
of manly strength.
An Indian dentist, who at his grad
uation is paid to have raptured all the
prizes offered by a Boston college of
dental surgery, extracts all teeth with
a gentle pull of thumb and finger, a
method which has been practiced by
the Chinese for 80 centuries. He be
lieves tli at. once the simple move
ments of thumb and finger, by which
the most firmly-rooted tooth may be
drawn, shall be learned, forceps will
be considered a barbarism.
The Quakers have the distinction
of having built the first meeting-house
In Boston. It was in Brattle street
and dates back to 1692. This was dis
used In 1708, and the society moved
to Congress street. The Quakers
suffered every species of cruelty es
tablishing their faith in Boston;
scourging and Imprisonment were the
mild forms of prevention at first em
ployed. Banishment and the loss of
an ear was subsequently substituted.
All have heard of white elephants,
but few know that there are also in
existence white rhinoceroses, consti
tuting a distinct species. These are
almost extinct and probably not
more than a dozen or so are left. Tho
Revue Sclentiflque says, of a small
herd of these animals In Natal, that
fortunately they are protected by law
and, forunately also, the party that
met the animals Included the govern
or of the colony, otherwise the spe
cies might have been now more near
ly extinct than ever before, for
hunters are not scrupulous in such
matters.
rurisn Law About I' reel Carry I nr.
They have curious laws in Vienna,
and enforce them too. Recently Marie
Freidl and Felix Kopstoln, aged 16 and
13 years respectively, were walking
along a street in the Austrian capital,
when they came across an old woman
staggering along under the weight of
a heavy package. Moved by pity they
offered to carry It for the old woman,
a proposition to which she readily ac
ceded. The kind-hearted children bad
not gone far before they were ar
rested by a policeman for carrying
parcels without a license. The chil
dren were taken to a police station,
where the ofllcer in charge lectured
them upon the enormity of their of
fence. They were kept under arrest
for six hours and then roleased with
a warning.
It seems that there is a corps of
"Messengers" in Vienna, to which a
municipal statute grants the exclusive
right of "carrying" Inside the city. The
boy and girl had violated the law by
carrying the old woman's burden, and
under such an Interpretation of the
Btatute a man who carries a package
for a woman with whom he is walk
ing may be "run In" by the first po
liceman who sees blm. New York
Press.
It Is proposed to Illuminate the To
Semite falls, 2000 In height, by use of
20 are lights In connection with means
for producing colpr effects. Some of
the roads are also to be lighted with
elcL-lclty.
PEARLS OF THOUGHT.
Pelf-Inspection Is the best cure for
felf-erterm.
Wilte It on your heart that every
day Is the beet day In the year.
To suffer la tho lot cf all those who
press forward, ahead of the world.
If one treat an enemy as a friend
be may make a friend of the enemy.
No mntfer what his rank or por
tion may be, the lover of hooks le
tho richest and happiest of the chil
dren of men.
A perfect human life that Is. a
life In which nil the bodily and men
tal powers of mat ore fully devel
oped and exercised Is the highest
good for the individual.
Time drawefh wrinkles In a fair
face, but addetli fresh colors to s
fast friend which neither heat nor
eold. nor misery, nor place, nor des
tiny can niter or diminish.
What a rnrlous path fats often
seems to mako her mortal feet, lead
ing them exactly whither they have
resolved not to go, and shutting up
flgalnHt those ways which seemed so
clear and plain.
Experience of life makes us sure
of ono thing, which we do not try to
explain that the sweetest happiness
we ever know comes not from love,
but from sacrifice, from the efforts to
make othero happy.
With a quickened eyesight go on
discovering much good on the worse
side, remembering that the same pro
ess should proportionately magnify
nnd demonstrate to yon the much
more good on the better side.
There are few. if any. In wJliom we
cannot find something to estppm If
we search for It; but we often nllow
their wrong doing to form so thick a
cloud over thtlr wholo nature that
all the bright spots are hidden from
our view. If we had move of that
charity which belleveth all things
and hopeth all things, we should be
quicker to detect the good. Blower to
mark the evil, anxious to bring out
and develop the former, nnd gln-1 to
cast the mantis of silence over the
latter.
CANDID MEN.
They Sponk Their MlmW In nil Einhnr
rH.Hlitff Wily li cil.lntinllv.
"Men are dreadfully brusque some
times," sighed Belinda. "The other
night my brother and I went to the
house of n friend to a' reception. It
was a hot night an 1 tho house wns
crowded and there wasn't anything to
do but to stnnd around and talk to the
people one could reach, while the peo
pie one really wanted to talk with
could only be seen at a dlstonco and
over a sea of Intervening heads. In
addition the croquettes were cold nnd
the Ice cream warm, so when we fi
nally got away both my brother and
I said. 'Thank Heaven' quite rever
ently, and went to a hotel, and had
supper.
"The next Jay all of my friends
whom I met asked 'Didn't you have a
lovely time at the Blanks last night?'
and I Invariably replied 'Delightful.'
Then we went on our separate ways.
When they asked my brother the
same question he answered with a
frankness that appalled and em
barrassed me, 'No, I did not. I had
the stupidest time of my life; and.
say, they'd better get another chef
the next time they entertain, for the
supper was awful.
"Here," said Belinda. "I trace a
strong point of difference between
men and women. The average girl has
too much prldo to let It bo known
that she has gone to an entertainment
and has still failed to be entertained.
I saw one pretty guldelena looking
creature sit alone one night at a
dance for nine straight dances, then
I had compassion on her and sent
my escort an J a couple of other men
to ask her for the remaining two
steps and waltzes. She danced four
times In all, yet the next time she
saw me Bhe said she'd had a real de
lirious time at that ball, a delightful,
rjever-lb-be-forgotten time, and, she
added modestly, that she haj been
quite a belle. A man under tho same
circumstances, though they had been
of his own ranking, asked If he hnd
enjoyed himself, would have replied
emphatically and vulcarly. 'No. I
didn't I hnd a fierce time.'
"Why, I know of one lord of crea
tion who told some friends that hts
honeymoon had been very tiresome,
and of another who in bidding his
host good-bye after a yachting trip
remarked that he had a) pleasant time
all things considered, but that all
water Journeys wore more or loss of
bores. Imagine a woman doing any
thing so tactless. Why. If It had been
a girl Instead of a man In the lat
ter case, though she had been seasick
for the entire two weeks, though th
salt water and air had ruined her
prettiest, gowns, taken the curl out
of her hair and the rose from her
complexion, she would have stag
gered off the yacht declaring faintly
that she'd had the time of her life,
and that she'd like to go again to
morrow. That's the feminine Idea of
true politeness."
Illumination KilrHnri1lniir.T.
- "They say Joe Dobbs is dreadfully j
penurious."
"Penurious? He tells me that he
reads his evening paper now by a
bottleful of lightning bugs." Chicago
Record-Herald.
As It Reamed ta Him.
"Papa, what does the phrase 'In
due time' mean?" Benny Bloobumper
asked.
"First of tbe month, I guess," re
plied Mr, Bloobumper. Detroit Free
Press.
0UK 11 EM EN ASIATICS.
SUCH THE VERDICT OF SMITHSO
NIAN INSTITUTION SCIENTISTS.
ClnTrnmnt kxpmlltlnn la the I'arlflr
Slope Netilee a Long IHnnnti-il Quontlon
Mmlii Trace of 1 want? Aboriginal
Nailont Scattered ter the , olden State.
"Unquestionably of Asiatic origin"
is the verdict as to the California
Indians rendered by a special com
mission sent to that part of the coun
try by the Smithsonian Institution.
Prof. W. H. Holmes, anthropologist-In-chlcf
of the National Museum,
voices tho opinion, which practically
settles a long disputed question, In n
bulletin that Is about to be published.
Ho says that the aborigines now found
In the Golden state came long ago
from the far north, from Bchrlng 8ea
and beyond, having crossed over from
Asia by way of tho "frigid arch" whlcu
affords a land passage Interrupts I
only by a narrow water barrier a few
miles In breadth.
Prof. Oils T. Mason, of tho Smith
sonian Institution, calls attention to
the fact tha the shortest line between
the Straits of Malacca and the conti
nent of North America is a great clr
clo passing northward along the eaRt
const of Asia, across Behrlng Strlat,
and southwnrd to the Columbia River,
In Oregon. This was tho route fol
lowed by the first comers to America.
Not only was it the shortest, but it
may be BRld that food grew In pro
fUBlon all along It by the wayside.
Early man was obliged to travel In
those tracks which were marked out
by nature and provisioned for his
Journeys. Water furnlBhcd the great
est quantity and variety of food for
the least effort, and the. same element
afforded easiest transporatlon.
Travel was mainly In boats, of
course. It Is easy to imagine a com
pany of the remots ancestors of Cali
fornia Indians setting out, thousands
of years ago, from the Indian Ocean
in an open boat for a voyage of 10,000
miles to the Columblarlver. Theroute
was nearly all the way by sea an In
side passage through landlocked seas
and sounds It led through the Indo
Malnyan archipelago, the South China
en,! Malay seas, and East China and
Yellow seas, the Japanese and Tartar)-
seas, the Okhotsk sea. and Beh
rlng sea and Its bays, the Alaskan sea
nnd inlets, the TllngcilrHalJa sen,
Vancouver sea and the Columbia ba
sin. All of these marine enclosures
swarmed with animal life suitable for
human food. The East China and
Japan Betas furnished Inexhaustible!
supplies of flR.h. water fowl, crabs,
oysters, etc. In Behrlng sea there
was no limit to subsistence. No soon
er was a latitude approached whjre
tho rigors of the climate deman.led
extra clothing and fuel for the body
than marine mammals and land mam
mals were superabundant. These
early travelers would naturally avoid
the de-p ocean, which is a desert to
the voyager, offering no food supply.
In the shallows the landmarks were
their lighthouses and the Inlets were
their harbors Innumerable.
In California at the present time,
says Prof. Holmes, are found rem
nants of 20- distinct nations, speaking
as many languages. These varied
ethnic elements, embraced within a
region only 800 miles In length by 300
miles in width, seem to have been
attracted one after another to the
lowland and coastal valleys by the
bait of an unfailing food supply. So
formidable are tire barriers of moun
tain ranges on the east and so for
bidding the deserts on the south that
few communities once settled there
would ever take the trouble to seek
homes elsewhere. It would appear
that the peoples were caught like fish
es In a trap the way In was easy,
but the way out wns hard.
.The Indians, or rather their remote
ancestors, came from ABla by way of
Behrlng Strait, because that was the
easiest as well as the shortest route.
On an ordinary map It does not look
the shortest, but It is such, neverthe
less, and that this is true may easily
be ascerained by a brief examination
of any geographical globe. It Is con
sidered reasonably certain by many
scientists that the earliest beings
properly called human dwelt not far
from the Straits of Malacca, and that
from there their descendants spread
over the world.
One can conceive of a stream of
canoes flowing for many centuries
from the Indian Ocean and peopling
America steadily from Asia by way of
Its eastern shores and seas. For
3000 years or more this continent
was receiving In this way continuously
a population. A great highway was
opened through which the stream of
boats kept floating. In every favor
able place along the route colonies
were dropped, and the nations thus
started assumed proprietorship over
parts of the highway. At length they
shut off the stream of migration by
declaring that it should no longer
pass through their premises, and the
flow of immigration to America being
thus cut off. the ancestors of the
present copper colored aborigines
were left to obtain, through centuries,
traits of their own.
Though the present aborigines of
California represent so many distinct
nations as proved by their languages,
which are as far apart from one an
other as English Is from Chinese, the
character of the food supply and
other local conditions applying to all
have made all of them a good deal
alike in respect to habits and cus
toms. Generally speaking, the cul
ture of the tribes of the Oolden State
may bo said, as Prof. Holmes re
marks, to revolve about the oak tree.
They are eaters of acorns, which end
lees forests of oak furnish In unlimi
ted r,.;.ir:tltlry. Tlfy havo almo
earthenware, few ot them nnders
anything of the potters' art, but
the most wonderful basket makfrs
, U 1.1 it. , i ., II.
displaying remarkably varied phases
of form, technique end embellishment
Prof. Holmes examined several of
their milling places, and describes one
of them (a typical example) as a
mass of granite rock, with many coni
cal holes, some shallow and some
derp. All about were stones for
grinding and pounding, adapted In
shape to the hollows, In which ncorns
were put for the purpose of reducing
them to meal. This place of Industry
was covereJ with a rude sht-lter of
poles and brush to protect the women,
who are obliged to spend much of
their time at such work, frcra sun
and rain.
The acorn cracking outfit ordinarily
consists of a round stone with a shal
low pit on tho upper surface, and
another stone for striking, the nut
being set on end to receive t!:e blow.
In the absence of such contrlvane
the teeth are used for breaking the
shells. The kernals, after beln? dried,
are pounded In a hole, the resulting
meal being winnowed In "a flat bas
ket A basin Is then formal In the
tand, and in this the meal Is put,
the water being poured npon It re
peatedly and allowed to drain away
until all of the tannin Is filtered out
It Is th tannin than renders the
acorn unfit for food In Its ordinary
condition, hut, after going through
the process describe,!, tho flour,
scooped out of the sand basin with the
he
s
hands, Is sweet and wholesome. T
Indians, who call It oyota, vnsti
prefer It to our wheat flour.
Mortars carved out of stone arq
sometimes employed for rrlndlng thn
acorns, with the help rf a pestle
Prof. Holmes found two ancient ones
of a globular shape, in th? possession!
of an old miner named Jfhn Cannon
They were so highly valued by Mrs
Cannon as receptacles for watering thrJ
chickens that one of them was se
cured only with the greatest difficulty
They had been dlscoven d orlglnall.v
In a mine, together with a number o
skeletons, burled six feet deep In gol
bearing gravel.
Near a place called Murphys t
expedition vlnlted a cave carved
of tho limestone by water, which
entered by an opening descending
mos vertically and expanding bel
Skulls and other portions of hu
skeletons had been found there,
Pro. Holmes secured from the Inter
of the cavern parts of the remal
of a huge animal, which, being taken
to Washington, proved to have be
longed to a giant sloth, one of those
huge mammals, long ago extinct,
which were plentiful ove the greater
part of this continent dr ing the ter
tiary epoch. New York Herald.
HISTORIC RELICS.
CharactcrUrlc In Men's Clothe. Paling
Hack to Feudal Times.
The general lack of plcturesqueness
about the present day male attire is
frequently lamented, yet how many
people are aware that the average
man carries on his coat at least two
historical relics, one of which dates
back to feudal times?
This relic of tho times of William
the Conqueror consists of the two but
tons worn at the back of a morning
or frock coat The buttons are, of
course, useless for any practical pur
pose; and Inasmuch as they are cer
tainly not decorative, you may natur
ally ask what they aro there for.
t Sartorial historians now tell us that
these two buttons como down to us
from the sword bearing age, when
they were placed at tho back of the
ccit for the purpose of supporting a
svord belt, which, together with the
sword, has long since been discarded,
save by military men, tho sole remain
in evidence of its existence being the
two buttons. Thus to this day they
remain on our coats as mute witnesses
of the days that are gone.
The other historical relic which
still survives in our modern coats la
the nick in the lapel.
Though you have been wearing
coats and waistcoats ever since chlld-
never thought to inquire whether or
not there is any reason why tailors
should continue to make this nick.
It is now recalled by sartorial ex
perts that when Napoleon first felt the
sway of boundless ambition he tried
to implicate General Moreau in Piche
greu's conspiracy.
As you will doubtless remember,
Moreau had been the man of destiny's
rival, and was an exceedingly popular
soldier, but In the circumstances, wltl
le petit caporal In power, it was no
safe to publicly express sympathj
with Moreau. So it came about tha
his admirers and supporters secret.;
agreed to nick their coat lapels t
show their fellowship, the outlines o
the coat after the cut had been mad
forming the letter M.
It would be Interesting to learn ;
men carry any other marks aboi
their dress which have historic or!
ins or associations. ;
Our dress, after all, has been evolvi
from that of those who have lived t
fore us. London Express. I
A llu.Man Mlllennlnm.
No newspaper has appeared at Be
gl (in Finland) for some time pa ,
owing to the official censor being aw
on a holiday, If all these Russl
censors were given a holiday what
lovely time the empire of the cf
would have. VoBslsche Zeltung, B
lin.
4
Three hundred and twenty
miles in a day la the record for a fl
ing ship, 660 for a steamer.
I
1