I The Pigeon-Post at $ By Adrlen De w ?i Fro nee, during the slrgo of Tnrls, I nt a time whvn the Oorinnn I n nnl eg wpre mit-roumllng the cnpl tnl nnd cutting off the I'nrlslnn populntlon from nil coiutminkittlon with tlio outside world, Monslvtir Zlnmpont, the then roliiintor-Gen-crnl. conceived the Idea of lutrnstlng to pigeons the transmission of news, thus giving the Inlintiltnnts ft knowl edge of whnt wns going on In the prov inces. In tills way those members of tho Government who hnd remained In Tnrls were put in touch with their colleagues of the National Defense ,who were at Tours. In order to at tain this subject ft certain number of , pigeons were conveyed by balloon from Paris to Tours, whence they were set I Tree, bearing messages photographic ally reduced to microscopic dimen sions on very light collodion films. In Ithose days the despatch was rolled np ind Inclosed in a quill attached to the ail of the pigeon. By these means over 150,000 official nnd, nt the lowest, 1,000,000 private messages entered Terls. The great French shipping company known as tho Compagule Trnnsntlan tlqne deserves the credit of making the first attempts to establish what way truly bo styled the seapost. On March 20, 1808, the steamship La Champagne took aboard, for the first time, eighty pigeons. Three .batches of birds were Bet free nt a short dlstanco from the seaboard, and this In most stormy weather. The cider birds safely reached their cote, while the younger ones, unable to with stand a pelting rain-fall, dropped Into the sea In sight of those aboard. On the following day, and tinder like unfavorablo weather conditions, Ln Cbnmpngnc, having covered 300 tulles, rescued the crew of the doomed Bothnia. Seven pigeons were sent HIS 8TM1? OF BAMBOO, COXTAIKINO THE 1JB8SAOB, 18 FASTENED BOUND THE riOEON'S LEO. forth, each bearing a similar despatch. They took their flight at noon, and it :was calculated that they should either reach land or some ship's mast. One of the birds dropped on the deck of the jOhattorton, In the Bay of Biscay; the Chatter ton cabled to Paris and to New iYork the loss of the Bothnia. A sec ond bird was picked up by a freight steamer, which thereupon shaped Its course for the locality of the disaster, came across the derelict, and towed It Into an Irish port. A week later a third I'lgcon, wounded, and minus Its despntc, reached Its cote. The four others wre never heard of again. The pigeons employed by the Com Iagnle Trausatlnntlque are selected mwit!S VtTERAN CARRIER jTr-s.vrAM 0L0' Lili 'fl It Jl DRAGOON SCOUT HE CAKItlliH ON HIS BACK A SUPrLY OF riGEON MESSENGEU8. . with the most rlglrous care. The bend must be big aud round; the bill rela tively short aud surmounted with o fleshy, heart-shaped excrescence; the yat ahlue brightly; the breast must Sea and in War. f Jassaud, of Paris. g bunch out; the logs be short; nnd the wings must meet on a narrow nud powerful tall. In addition to being endowed with an extraordinary Instinct for shaping course, n gooa carrier pigeon must possess great rapidity of night and tremendous staying power. The first named quality the homing Instinct which Is Innate Is not susceptible of any improvement. The two others may be Beenred by means of progres no ami regular training. A pigeon's education beg'.us when It Is but three or rour months old. It Is conveyed n mile distant from Its coto nnd then set iree. 1 ne experiment Is renewed dally ine instance ou each occnslon being Imperceptibly Increased. The bird's education cannot be considered com plete. however, until It has attained tne age of three years. On land the pigeon la able to cover long distances, such as those between Ilouen and Brussels or New York nnd Chicago. Its ratio of flight, under nor iniii nimospneric conditions, Is never less than 31.138.10 miles an hour, aud never exceeds 4!).853fl0 miles on long distance. The pigeons are brought aboard the Trnnsatlantlquo steamers In wicker cages having a drinking trough. As soon as the French coast Is out of sight passengers desirous of sending a dispatch are notified to prepare It, In pursuance of this object the pagseu- ger Is handed a sninll rectangular card on which he is to write as legibly as possible what he wishes to commnnl cate, plus the nnme nnd address of the recelver:the card Is then handed to tho clerk intrusted with the transmission of the message. Tho clerk puts the different messages Into ft grotip.photo graphs them on a plaque to which ad heres a film, reducing the wrltlnir In the course of the operation to such a THIS PIGEON 18 WEABIXO THE CHIXESB WHISTLE WHICH TJIOTECTS IT AGAINST THE ENEMY'S TRAINED HAWKS. degree that It cannot be deciphered except with the aid of a magnifying glass. The proof Is developed, the film detached and cnrefully rolled, and then placed In a small bamboo tube. hermetically sealed, nnd weighing hardly one nnd one-half gramme. To this tube Is attached a light kid band, provided with an automatic button such as Is sometimes used to fasten gloves. As soon as the tubes ore ready tho pigeons are taken out of the baskets containing them. These birds are ex tremoly delicate the slightest crush ing Injures them nud renders thi m un tit to do what Is expected of them. The clerk nttnehes each tube to the leg of a pigeon by buttoning the kid band above described. A pigeon Is able to carry a weight of fifteen grammes without Its detracting from the rap idity of Its flight. The loosings take place In the morn ing, or, If the skies are too overcast, at latest before 2 p, m. Immediately upon being loosened th pigeons clrc'e a few times about tho ship, after which they head straight for France, in tho direction of Iteunes. On nrrlval at tne nomc station the tubes are taken off, the films extracted from them, and the photographic dispatches enlarged to their original size. Tho proofs thus obtained are pasted on a glazed card ornamented with a pretty allegorical design. It has oftcu been asked what consti tutes tho marvellous faculty of shaping Its course by the carrier pigeon. Neither sea nor mountains nor forests Interfere with this faculty. The bird steeu its courre as If guided by a com pass. As t'. e pigeon flies at nn nltl tnde of not more thnn loo yards to ISO yards It Is not aided by Its vision, for In that case, given the rotundity of the world. It would have to soar to nn altitude of 7070 yards. Now, accord ing to aeronauts who have experi mented in tho matter, the bird nt that altitude quickly drops to a much lower one. Are they then guided by mng ntelc currents? Are they endowed with a sixth sense? The matter re mains a mystery. It Is Impossible for the pigeon car fled away by a steamship to note the course followed by means of one of his five senses, since, during his Jour ney by rail from Hennes to Havre, as well as durliut the olio by sen, he has been nltogcther cut off from tne outer world. Aud yet tho bird possesses so accurate a knowledge of the road It has traveled that It makes for Its cote without the slightest hesitancy nnd nt a very normnl rapidity of flight. Tho carrier pigeon was of necessity f 1 ' I His i TWO OF THE riG EON-CAGE WAGONS All MY. to be made use of for nnttonnl defense. During a campaign the success of op erations depends at most times ou the rapidity with which the commander- lu-ehlef Is In formed of the enemy's movements. To this end use Is made of cavalry patrols and of the field tele graph and telephone. But to insure tho safe nrrlval of Information none of these means Is so reliable as the carrier plgcou. Scouts nro llnblo to be made prisoners or killed, telegraph or telephone wires may work faultily or be destroyed. These mishaps are avoided by the use of the carrier pig- con. In war time the role of cavalrr con sists more especially In seeing nnd In reporting what It has. seen. It Is of ten an easy matter to see, but to report oftentimes attended by difficulties. Herein lies the value of the carrier pigeon. Troops on the march are ac companied by portable cotes. They cousist of huge wire cages provided with lateral shutters; tho cage la trans ported on a two-horse four-wheeled Wngon. When It Is found expedient to reconnoitre the position of the ene my or surprise Its movements a few pigeons are takeu out of the portable coto and placed In n wicker cage In shape like an Infantry soldier's haver sack; this cage Is strapped on the back of a dragoon. Dragoons nro preferred for this service, for they do not carry A CASE FOR A CABBIER-riOEOV . any carbine slung about them, so that the cage Is more easily attached to their back. Tho dragoons gallop off in the direction ordered, and before coming In touch with tho enemy they commit to a very thin sheet of paper tho result of their observations. The sheet Is thou Inserted in a tube, and a little while after loosing the plgcou tho officer at headquarters Is In a posi tion to read the dispatch. In order to fight the carrier pigeons, to stop, them In their flight aud Inter cept ta Information borne by them, the ficrmnus have trained hawks to hunt down theso winged messengers. The undertaking was at first attended with difficulties, for. Independently of tho :iec essity of establishing on a largo scale a rystem of falconry, tho same inrpalch might be Intrusted to several pigeons, and hence it would be suffi cient for a single one to escape from the talons of the hlrda of prey to reu der useless all efforts made to capture the dispatch. Moreover, tho pigeons are protected from the assault of the hiwk by means of a little Aeolian or Chinese whistle affixed to Its tail. This whistle sounds ns the bird files through the air. and frightens away tho timid hawk. In Germany much Importance Is at tached to the use of carrier plgeous In time of war, and In the German Army preaten care Is devoted tJ the training of the birds, the officers nnd men being given Instruction In the nrt of haudllug them. In France tho scouts nro provided with a pigeon nploee. which they carry. In a llttlo Iron case fastened to tho walstbelt. The holder has a hinged lid. which Is opened when the bird Is to be released, and the head piece cau be unfastened whea the bird Is fed. In France carrier pigeons nre like horses llnblo to be requisitioned In time of war. Every year owners of carrier pigeons nre compelled to state at the Mayor's olflce tho number of i birds they ewnf vrhtlo foreigner lire no longer permitted to breed carrier pigeons In the country. There are at present in Tails some 700 owners of carrier pigeons, posses sing 14.000 pigeons, 7.100 of which nre subjected to a regular course of train. Ing. The total number of carrier pig. eons In France Is 000,000. The price of a pigeon varies accord ing to its pedigree, nge and degree of training. Pome few years ngo, nt a sale In England, seventy pigeons fetched $3441). One of the birds, a cross between the Antwerp nnd Bins sels breed, brought $1!43. The Wide World Magazine. THE AUSTRALIAN FLAC. i A Seleotlnn Mnlo From the Thlrtj Thoa. mm DMimi Submitted. The Judges appointed by the Govern- ment of the Australian Commonwealth have made their selection from the thirty thousand designs submitted In the recent competition open to Aus tralian artists nud others. The flag USED IN THE FRENCH decided upon has the Uulon Jack In the top left hand corner, with a six pointed star Immediately beneath it, emblematic' of the six federated States, while the other half of the flag Is devoted to depicting the Southern Cross. The Government nud official color Is to be blue, whllo the mercan tile marine of the new commonwealth will fly the flag with a red ground. The approved design was submitted by several competitors. New York Trl buue. Happy Conn or Ilowlder. One of tho greatest curiosities In the neighborhood of New York Is now tc be seen at thu foot of the Palisades. Between two frnmo houses built there Is a giant bowlder twenty-flve feet wide, which fell from a great height, at the top of the Palisades, and sweep lug down tho front of the cliffs, up rooted big trees, tore up tons of loose stone nnd 'cut a wide swath tho en tire distance. Finally, after zigzag ging from one side to tho other, It rolled lu between two frame houses and stopped there. The people were asleep In the houses when the rock stiirted. They had bare ly time to make their escape when It made Its appearance nt their front door. They are now thanking their lucky stars that tho enormous stone did not hit ono of the buildings. New York Herald. Aerallt Ilnrnl Ilrn. It Is reported from Kioff that a largo aerolite fell In tho village of Wlslenkl. a tew miles from Kleff, the noise of Its fall being heard for a distance of fifteen miles. According to a Warsaw dispatch (Oc. tobor 18) In the Loudon Express, tho nc-rollte crashed through a barn, set ting It ou tire, aud within half nn hour fourteen peasants' houses woro in flames, A boy. three years old, was burned to a cinder lu one of tho dwellings. rt in'-- THE BAD BOY'S BRAVERY. I ain't sfrnld of llckln's And I uln't strati! to rttif Awnv from sohool soinutlmes When no on snys 1 may i I nln't nfrnlit to jump On win thnt's runr.lng fast, I ain't of rnlil of hnraes, And I lirt you thnt I ilnut Throw pohblmi nt tho groenry boy . Whn ho goes ilrl vln' past I Rlu't nftnlil nf gramlmn And I nln't nfndil of pa 1 ain't afrnl.l of nothing A body evnr saw. And oni'H I shot a pistol Alii m-nrly hit the mark But I wlh folks lli'niln't tvnr Oo to bed up whiire It's dnrk. -Chicago lleoord-Herald, HUMOROUa ' "Does the course of their true 1ov run smooth?" "Oh, yes; there are banks on both sides." "I thought he threatened to commit suicide." "He did try It, but the pis. tol missed Are." "Ah! and bo did be." Mrs. Muggins Mrs. Talkalot be lieves everything she hears. Mrs. Bugglns Yes, nnd a lot she doesn't hear. Hook Henpockke says he was married In leap year. Nye Poor Henpeckke! He never could learn to say no. Nell Mrs. Newlywed says she has perfect confidence In her husband." Belle Yes; she even gives him her letters to mall. Hoax There goes a fellow who be lieves In taking things as they come, Joax A philosopher, eh? Hoax- No; a photgrapher. The air sh'p ehuoklei!, as tnnnlmate things sometimes do. "I may be a failure," It remarked, "but I can truth fully say there are no flies on me." "Before a man marries a girl," says the Manayunk Philosopher, "he talks about her great strength of character. After they nre married he calls It stubborness." "Good morning!" said the would-be contributor; "how would you like to have an essay on 'Our Dally Bread?'" "Thanks," roplled the editor; "we per. rer nutter. Good-day." "Benny Blnobiimpcr. how do we know that the moon Is 240,000 miles distant from tho earth?" Benny (alarmed at the teacher's manner) re plied: "Y-y-you said so yourself, sir." Nell Why did she break off the engagement? Belle JiiBt because of a remark he made to her. He said: "Let us enjoy life while we may, for we shall probably be a long time mar ried." "Some any he Is generous, and some says he's not." "Perhaps both are right." "Well, for my part, I never knew him to keep his promises." "That's JtiR It. Ho'H give a promise, and then magnanimously forget his generosity." "You are not singing that beautiful song, 'I Want to Bo an Angel,' with the rest of us," said the teacher. The llttlo one shook her head. "What's the use of telling a story about It?" she demanded. "I'm having enough trou ble learning to play the piano without bothering with a harp." LOSS OF NAVAL VESSELS. America Una llnan Kiiprrlnlly t'nrnrtn natt In This I'nrrlciitnr. Twenty-five ships In twenty-five years means the loss of one ship a year. The British navy, which Is about five times tho size of the United States navy, and which Iiub been more often during the past twenty-flve years ten times the size of our navy, has, during that period, lost two vessels, and this Is probably as heavy a loss as has been suffered by any of the large na vies of the' world. What makes the matter more serious Ib that these mis haps appear to be Increasing. It will not do to say, as one Con gressman did, that the navy has been recently operating In unknown seas. No seas on tho globe ought to be un known to an American naval officer who Is old enough and sufficiently ex perienced to command a ship. Such a plea would be laughed at by any naval officer In Europe, and. It id safe to say, by any American naval officer for tho latter Is fully the equal In every particular to the former. It Is probably the fault of the system, and not chargeable to Individual Incompe tence. . ,. It Is, nevertheless, a matter which should be carefully Investigated by Congress. If It be the fault of a sys tem, Congress can take It for granted that the system will never be altered in any other way than by legislation. No department of the government is so securely In the clutches of red tape as the navy, nor service so completely bound hand and foot by foolish and mischievous tradition. Baltimore American. Bnnflagna nnd ltid Tnpi. During the South African war Rud- yard Kipling discovered at Cape Town a hospital without bandages and in desperate need of them. This, too, was in a city where bandages were for sale In many shops. He told an acquaintance that he was going to meet that want, and the gen tleman at once offered to pay for all the bandages that Mr. Kipling would buy and take to the hospital. A cart was quickly loaded, and then the author was Informed that under army rules the hospital authorities could not receive supplies from a pri vate Individual. "Well." said he. "I will dump the packages on the pavement before the door, and then tell them to come out and clear up the litter. Perhaps they can get them into the building In that way without tearing any red tape." - He drove off with the bandages, and the supplies were somehow smuggled into me noapitau nqutu Compan immmmmmnimmnwiimniiiimmmmmniiiimK THE JEFFERSON SUPPLY COMPANY B B B B Being the largest distributor of General Merchandise in this vicinity, is always in rosition to Rive the best quality of poods, ts aim is not to sell you cheap poods but when quality is considered the price will al ways be found right. Its departments ore all well filled, and. among the specialties handled may be men tioned L. Adler Bros., Rochester, N. Y., Clothing, than which there is none better made; W. L. Douglass Shoe Co., Brockton, Mass., Shoes; Curtice Bros. Co., Rochester, N. Y., Canned Goods; and I'illsbury's Plour. This is a fair representation of the class of goods it is selling to its customers. iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiimmiiuiiiuiiumummimiiimiuiu F U K N I T U K ful patterns in J. R. HILLIS, Reynoldsvllle, Pa. BUFFALO, 60CHE5TEH J PITTSBDRGH RT. CONDENSED TIME TABLE IN EFFECT HOV. 8, 1001. ' NORTH HOt'KD. KACTRttM TIMS. 4 8 8 14 2 Uavo a. M. a. u. r. . p. h. p. h. MJJf M io .,000 Until ... 10 12 II 23 rnilitsville. 6 fi II 67 Wtwt Moagrove 1 8 2n Eeho 1 8 8'.i Iwytnn 1 A f,!i 1 j 4 I'uiixHiitnwnry nr a. M. VI tm r. m. 7 8') 120 l'uiixntitnwney Iv.t 6 Ulutl4."i 7 8'J 1 'ii Wit Run 6 8n I to 7 4 ) l 3S ('. ft M. Junction, ft l ! I :i H v, imlinla 6 ui i t Mi1 ii s i. it o.'i Kail Crock tw u til. 3 47 p.m. 2 13 Ilnckuyvillo.... 6 ifii 1 In 3 0., 2 vh ItlilKway 7 Oil 1 i! 4;l a Of, .loliiiMinlmig 7 11 1 lil 4 Hi 8 Ml Mt.Jewett 8 0o' in ft oo 4 14 Nowlnn 8 21 3 0(1 6 2D Bradford Ar. Bo.r 8 suj 6 00 ft 00 A;JI. P. M. I P. M. A. H. hiitlnln Ar. 11 Ml 6 !lV) I 7 Ift Itucbuatcr t 7 60, "845 AlTlT. A. M. P. M. P. M. P. M. A. M. Aililltlonsl train levc Rutlcr for Itinxsutaw ncy 7:80 A. at. dolly, except Mmiduya. WltJTH UOtlND. TAUTER TIMS. 1.1 I.CUYO. V. A.M. r. M. t7 4o Iliic hosier. P. M. 8 HO lllltlulu ..Lv it IP. M nrniUiinl 1'. M. A. M. 12 45 'i'f.j 2 21 2 7 S 11 8 25 8 W t 7 4.V 12 10 ruMvum Mt. Jiwelt 8 21" 12 Mi 6 M 8 4.' 0 T, V K.V 10 80, 10 40: 11 0" 12 M 7 12 Jiihiiaoiiburg 142 8 HO 8 l.'i miiKwuy llrnrkwayvlllo... 1 In 2 80 8 f: Vnlln Creek a.m. 8 47 9 OV U 9 22 Iiii llola t 0 40 2 H C. & hi. Juuctkm o 4; 7 l.'l 11 0' Dlir Run 11 81 11 4i A.M. 4.-. 4 01 4 IK 4 20 4 60 l'uuxMiitawiiey ar 7 2M 8 M s a.) 10 (0 1'titixi.uiawuey iv 7 ao; 1'. M, imviuii Echo Went Mo'Krovo.. CraivsrlUe. Untler Allegheny I HtUburg 8 ll 8 2.' 8 4i 9 0J ft 40 15 7 30 A.. 0 47 6 81 8 45 11 00 Arrle Additional train liAv.a lhmuii.ivii.iv r... itni. lor 4:36 p. h. daily, except Kuiiduya. CI.EAIlFIl.Xn DIVISION. 70 r. x. P. M. 1 25 Arrive. Leave. Hoyiiolilfvllle ..... FiilW Creek , i: M. !t2 W 1 Oil 12 45 t 8 5.: 8 20 2 41 8 S) 8 32 4 17 4 a; 4 45 P. . . I ml i. in 8 II 7 1)1 12 2;....C. AM. Jiuietiun. 7 0 7 1 II 4 ... Ciirw'e!ivil!i. 7 4H 7 In 11 8 ClrarllM, Ml:t. St. ... .Clmill'd, N. Y. C...., 8 OiJ 8 Hi t 7 jo til so: p. M. I A.M. 'Leave . Arrive rnlly. f IMily except Sunday. Tralma Bii'l Cttrosnllil vnl!!,'ii,.il wtih h.,,,1. anme duy conctua. and reclining cliair cut, a.i cate cum daily c-xoept uiiiluy. . A , imu , unman phtii'ib neiwceil Iliitmioaud I'itttuurg, and Kochuttcr and Pitta burg. EDWARD C. LAI'EY, tjeuerAl l,HM..iiirir Acvnnt ( Form N. P. I.) ilocbctur, fi. Y. EVERY WOMAN Sometimes need a reliable mouLuiy regulating medicine. DR. PEAL'S PENNYROYAL PILLS. A r prompt, aafe and oartaln la result. The ngi Jae (lr. tWa) oenr dtiayoouit, 4.M per boa. f t wis by B. AIM. Itokak Bnldlors In the Italian army, are each allowed bait a tallon ot wine very week. 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 J TIiIb is the time of the year when we Bell the most furniture. We have bought extensively anil can give yon the benefit of the very lowest prices. Let ua bIiow you some of our beauti Chamber Suits, 914.00 to 850.00. Side Boards, 812.00 to 845.00. Couches, 85.00 to 840.00. Mattresses, 82.50 to 822.00. Ingrane Carpets, 20c to 70c per yd. Brussels, COc to 81.50. Want You Clothing to Fit 7 Then you ought to goto J. C. Froehlich, Mer chant Tailor. My line of samples are well worth anyone's time to call and inspect. Re- mem uer all work is k guaranteed. Cleaning, Repairing and Altering a specialty. J. G. FROEHLICH. Near Centennial Hall. .r.y Daintiest Styles in Footwear . . SHOES BUILT ON HONOR . . . Our footwear for ladies mirrors the latest dic tates of Dame Fashion. What is proper and pop ular in Oxfords and High Shoes,' in dainty styles and worthful leathersjis here. Up-to-date shoes for gentlemen. Also handle first-class working shoes. Our Prices, like our styles, Are All Right. Johnston & Nolan, NOLAN BLOCK. WHEN IN DOUUT. TRY" am W stood the tMtofvaui. tod bav cured thousand mi CMefl of Nervou Dittatetvsock M Ubiitty, Diu.ns. blceple ai aiid V aricoc)!. Atrophy. Thoy clear th brain, ttrenf.h th circulatioa. feak ligMM i penwt, ana impart a Miuy v4go toiha hoto beln. At I drama and loates ar c becked TftlHr llTln wWJr. UnU uunu AVUftMQlUt .r- crorer!v cured, thcii tvmt ttoa Qltea vorrlet them Info Insanity, Coaauap bo or DaatK. Malted aaalad. Price i pat Wa boaaa, wita Iroaxladlogal guarantea tocuraav , tafuud tba aonty, foeo. ftw fraa book. For tale by fa. Alex Stole. aV" Izi a a baef-T" V.