AT THE FORKS 0 THE ROAt. Dor's ol' Trouble at de forks er de road Dun no which road tor take; Don't you he'p "em fer ter tote his load Trouble la all he make! Don't you mln' w'en he whistle a long Dat w'en he whettin' IiIb knife! how 'lm de road but show '1m wrong, An' . A rA lla .-' . ft 'Atlanta. Constitution ! WITH A LOAD t ...OF... SPRING LAMBS. By C. A. Stephens. One of my youthful neighbors, Charles Coburn by name, who migrat ed from Maine to Callforsia a few years ego, writes me most interesting letters occasionally, telling me how he Is faring out there and what life is like In the Golden State. One of these long letters tame only a week ago, and among other things, describes a somewhat startling adven ture which befell him while on the way to the railway station with a load of lambs. Young Coburn's new place, as I shall have to explain, is up among the Sier ras, at no great distance off the stage road which leads from Berendo and Raymond over to the famous Yosemlte valley. At the old Coburn farm In Maine the boys were trained to dairy lng, sheep-raising and fruit-growing, and Charley wished to follow these lines of farming in California. He therefore settled in one of the elevated mountain valleys, where sheep can be pastured end apple-trees thrive. For climatic reasons It Is only In these Sierra districts of California that apples grow well. Here they flourish, and Charley was able last season to market 4000 bushel boxes of winter fmlt from his young orchards. With the thrift of a true son of the old Pine Tree state, too, he Is putting his sav ings Into sugar-pine timber lands up In the mountains, which bid fair to yield large profits in the not distant future. But my present story is of his ad venture on July lBt with a crate of spring lambs, while he was driving down from his mountain farm to the railroad. , There were 23 fat lambs in the large crate on the double' wagon, and the distance which he had to drive wias a little more than 30 miles, over three mountain ridges, much of the way be ing through pine growth. He had made an early start, and ex pected to get down to the railroad-station by nightfall. One of his horses was taken Bick on the road, however, when only ten miles out. He had to unhitch, and, for a time expected to lose the animal,. It lay writhing about In great distress for several hours. At last he rode the oth er horse to the ranch and store of a settler eight miles away for a bottle of "colic cure." Altogether the day was far advanced before he was able to proceed on his way, so far that, owing to the weak ned condition of his horse, he was at first minded to drive back home; tut as the night was warm and not very dark, he decided to go on. The lambs, In fact, were required in Los Angeles en the 3d. He therefore drove on rather slow ly, hoping to make the outward trip during the night. Meanwhile the lambs, huddled in the hot crate, were getting hungry and thirsty. As yet, no really humane meth od of transporting such animals Is available in cases like this. Ere long, las the horses descended through the dark pine growth Into the valley of a little creek, the lambs all began bleat ing plaintively. Otherwise the night seemed abso lutely still. Through the dense black houghs of the treetops a few stars Bhone dimly; but not a breath of breeze stirred the sultry air, and the bleating of the lambs woke strange cadences off in the silent depths of the woods. It touched the young farmer's heart; nuu no duuu no tucjr leauueu vilv uieen and had crossed, he stopped and be gan watering all the, lambs from a bucket, dipping up one bucketful af ter another, passing it in to them at the door in the rear end of the crate. He was thus engaged when a crash In the brushwood close at hand, fol lowed by a loud, harsh screech, broke Ihe stillness. Well he knew what it was! but one ienizen of the forest ever gives vent to that blood-curdling screech the mountain lion, or panther; and that he had one of these ugly brutes to deal with there alone in the night was far from adding to the pleasure of that be lated trip! There was little time for considering the matter, however. Both horses started violently and sprang forward. Without stopping even to Bhut the crate door, Coburn Jumped to get hold of the reins, crying, "Whoa, Jim! Whoa, Topey!" He heard a splash in the creek be fcind him, but leaped forward beside the wagon, and with a quick bound, regained the driver's place, only to find that the reins had been pulled 03 the dashboard -under the horses' feet. They were now running. It was ascending ground here, and the road turned sharply to the left. Still calling out reassuringly to the horses,. he attempted to get the reins by swinging forward on the wagon tnntvtia flnrt rpnrhlrff them flt thA nart. due: but lust then tne nlgn horEe trol r. them. Jerked her, own head round. and plunging aside out of the roai, brought the wagon up with a heavy shock against stumps and stones. Coburn was thrown headlong be tween the horses, but falling partly on the wagon tongue, he recovered him self, spraaj off in advance of the team, end got the frightened animals by the bits. They reared, snorting, and Bwung the n-agon out Into the road again, -for they heard, or scented, the panther stealing up behind. Coburu was dragged along for some distance, and had all he could do to prevent the horses from getting clear away. In the midst of the scuffle and clat ter, he had heard a savage growl and Jumped to the top of the crate. He could see it there indistinctly, in the dim starlight, balancing Itself, trying to tear oft the crate slabs, to get at the lambB. The horses now went near ly frantic, pushed violently back, then sprang on again, and going off the road on the other side, stuck the pole back of a tree in such a way as to bring the tree between them. With his arms round the tree, Coburn now got hold of the bits of each horse and held them there, and after some mo-. ments catching hla breath he pulled the reins through the bits and tied the heads of both horses close to the tree trunk. They could not now get away; in fact, they held each other there hard and fast. Meanwhile a frightful racket, accom panied by a loud bleating of the lambs, was going on In the crate behind. When the horses bumped off the road the last time, the lion had fallen or Jumped off the crate. It was not now In sight, and Coburn stepped cautlons ly back beside the nigh horse, to see where the brute had gone and what it was doing. By the sounds, the lion was evidently in among the lambs; and Coburn's first thought was that It had torn the top of the crate off. In the wagon box, under the driver's seat forward, was his coat and also his belt, in which he was accustomed to carry a revolver when out on the road at night. The day had been so hot that, while doctoring his horse, he had taken the belt oft and put it In the box with his coat. The revolver was what he was now trying to secure. Creeping low beside the horse, he reached up to the box, and raising the lid, got hold of the, belt and pistol. From the noise in the crate he was sure the panther was In it, killing a lamb; and he slipped quickly along by the wheels, to the rear end of the crate, determined to risk a shot at close range if he could see the animal. Now, however, he discerned that the crate door' was open and that the lion had sprung in there. But the lambs ap peared to be all huddled at the front end, and it instantly occurred to him to clap the door to and fasten it; for he saw now that the top of the crate was still intact. While he was securing the floor, however, he nearly ran over two small creatures close to the wagon-wheels. They sprang away, but stood, snarl ing, a few steps off, looking In ths dim light to be no larger than house cats. He at once surmised that these were, cubs, and that it was an old fe male had attacked him. He was not afraid of these little fellows; but when he clapped. the crate door to, the old one suddenly dashed back at it with a lamb in her mouth, snarling frightfully. He fired at her head as well as he could see and then pandemonium reigned inside the crate! The alarmed lambs rushed to and fro, bleating loudly, and the lion ap peared to be going heels over head among them! Coburn meanwhile was holding the crate door, trying to get another shot. Some moments passed before matters quieted enough for him to do so. The awful Snarls and growls of the en trapped beast guided him as to its whereabouts, however, and at last making out Its darker form among the lambs, he fired again several times, In fact. None of these first shots appeared to do the brute any harm, and after every flash lamb and lion went all over the inside of the crate again. It is not easy to shoot with anything like accuracy in the night, even at close range. He emptied his revolver, then recharged it, before a shot really dis abled the Hon and brought it to the floor or tne crate. .Even men it thrashed about, making hideous out cries, until, reaching in between the slats, Coburn had fired several other shots into Its body. Satisfied at last that the beast was done for, he got his lantern from the box, lighted it, and opened the crate. The Interior presented a sorry spec tacle. The lion had killed two lambs, and shots from the revolver had wounded another which had to be killed later. He pulled the body of the lion out of the crate into the road behind the cart. It was a lean, bony beast, and would have weighed, Coburn thinks, as much as 150 pounds. As he flung the carcass oft the highway, the cubs be gan snarling near by. He could make out their fiery eyes in the brushwood, and at last knocked one over with a shot by lantern-light. The other ran off to a greater distance; but for an hour or two before he was in condi tion to go on he heard the little beast yawllng fearfully off in the under brush. At last be made a fresh start. and eventually reached the railroad with bis crate of lambs. He buried the carcass of the lion and her cub beside the road on his way home the next day. The cub was about a quarter grown, and Coburn conjectured that it may have been t'o months old. The othir one was still lingering about, but had' become so r ihst he could not get near it. Youth's Companion. Glasgow's Great Success in Running Her Own Street Car Lines HE private company predicted failure, said the city would go bankrupt. So they refused to sell the council their cars, be cause they expected the system to come back to them in a short time. The first thing the city did was to reduce the hours and increase the wages of the employes. Then free' uniforms were added, along with five days' holiday each year on pay. This Increased consideration for the employes now costs ths EE department something like $500,000 a year. The council did not stop here. Hauls were lengthened and fares cut down 33 percent To day one may ride a half-mile fop a cent; two and one-third miles for two cents, and three and a half miles for three cents. For fares are arranged on ths zone system. You pay for what you get. The main thing Is, what does the average rider pay? In 1905 it was 1.89 cents, while the average fare charged per mile was nine-tent.. , of a cent. Of the 195,000,000 passengers carried, 30 percent paid but one cent, CO percent but two ceuts, and only 10 percent ol the total number carried paid more than the latter sum. All fares in excess of two cents might be abolished and the earnings would hardly show It. And the cost to the city for carrying the average passenger (not Including Interest chargos) was just under one cent In 1905. An examination of the earnings and expenses shows that the Glasgow tramway could pay all operat ing expenses, could maintain the system, could pay local taxes the same as a private company, and still carry passengers at a universal fare of one cent It could do this and maka money. On the basis of last year's earnings it would make about $75,000 even if there was no Increase in traffic. For the operating expenses and maintenance charge in 1905 were $1,884,150. If the 195,767,519 passengers carried had paid one cent each, the earnings would have been $1,957,675. From Scribner's. - Improvements in Pekin More Real Advance in China in the Last Two Years Than in Previous Millennium. f?u fnunh Fmttlclln Ctrl oaf. t4 COMPETENT authority AX the fast two years China has made more real advancement f than In the previous millennium. That bis judgment Is J sound is apparent to those who enjoy the vantage point of a residence in Pekin. It has long been predicted that changes would be surprising in their speed, but the most sanguine had not hoped for what is taking place. In passing through Pekin, the Btreets seem to be the PTTTTTtTTi most striking phenomenon. Three years ago there seemed little hope that the black mud, and the disgusting sights and stenches would ever give place to anything better. The board that had been appointed to re pair the streets was considered to have an Augean task and was the butt of many facetious remarks. Now the broad thoroughfares are fast being convert ed into handsome avenues. The central portion, a strip of about seven yards in width. Is being well macadamized with the aid of steam rollers. This Is flanked on each Bide by shallow drains paved strip of five yards In good repair, width, cheaply cemented with pounded been straightened, necessitating the tion of which is In keeping with the rest. Long-forgotten sewers have been reopened, and places of conveniences erected, the use of which Is made compul sory, Innumerable unsightly Bheds which have occupied' halt the roadway are being removed, forever, it is hoped, and the squatters have sought other fields in which to ply their trades. The new roadways are guarded by uniformed police In their sentry boxes, and kept in order by numerous laborers. Fine telephone poles, strung with countless copper wires, replace the topsy-turvy line of the last few years. The telephone is no longer a curiosity, but is fast becoming a necessity to progressive business men. From The Century. i rrvwhw ID he re wv-wsC3 Bo Wild Animals Die? Ey Dr. Theodore Zell. k a HERE do wild animals W l arter aeain ino question is simpie cuuueu mi uj swered In some cases, but extremely difficult in other cases. II n lnHnA nnrnl... nf nn ni.a h& Dntmotd fl TO If 11 1 Of 1 hV fit hPT 1U t l H i fc u uuiuifbi vi vao-a v w ............. -f animals or by man and eaten. They find their graves in the maw of their enemy, who In turn may find his grave in the stomach of some other more powerful creature. Of all living creatures man is the most bloodthirsty, and more an imals fall victims to his greed, cruelty or appetite than to the murderous instincts of carnivorous or other animals. It has been asserted that man is compelled to kill to prevent an excessive increase in the number of animals which would threaten his very existence. The mission of the carnivorous animals seems to be a similar one. In Rus sia 180,000 head of cattle and other large animals and 560,000 smaller animals are killed by wolves every year, not counting the poultry which becomes their prey. Some have made the assertion that certain animals, when they feel the approach of death, retire to some hiding place, a cave, hollow tree, or some crevice in the rocks, and there await the end. That may be true and Is decid edly probable, but does not explain the fact that only in rare cases are the re mains of dead animals found in such places. It has often been commented upon that even in the districts where monkeys are abundant dead monkeys are scarcely ever found. Ancient writers like Pliny speak with remarkable eru dition of the age which certain domestic and wild animals reach, but their writings throw no light upon the question as to what becomes of the animals after death. The number of carcasses and skeletons which are actually found is fr too small to give a satisfactory evplanatlon of the puzzling question which Is still witlng for its Oedipus Chicago Tribune. . I LooKing jtneaa By Paul Jllwyn Platz. f MPLOYES In the entry department of a wholesale cloth ing house were on the anxious seat because it was known that a promotion was close at hand. During all their dis cussions, however, one young man was too busy to talk as he was working upon the sales-book which was In a tangle and a month behind the orders. To bring it up to date was a task that made all of the young men in the entry depart- ' ment avoid it, as it involved much detailed work. One day, E while they were discussing who would be the lucky one, the young man closed the book with a cry of Joy and exclaimed: "It's up to date!" "It's work wasted!" was the comment of the others. The next day the head of the firm came into the entry-room with a troub led look. "We're in a great fix. I wish the sales-book was up to date!" "It Is," responded tbe young man who had been working upon it. "You do not understand me correctly," said the head of the firm. "I mean the big order book." "The book Is up to date," and the young man reached over and pick ed up the sales-book, opening It on his desk. When the promotion was announced, the young man who worked in his spare moments was the lucky manl y J By Frederic C Howe. J on things Chinese states that during of brickwork, a row of trees, an un then a curbed sidewalk of varying lime and earth. The building line has rebuilding of many shops, the rehabilita die and what becomes of them "If I'd Had Eyes to See. Last nljTht, though mother tueked me up And kissed me for good-night, I could not go 'to sleep because It was so very light. The moon looked through the window pane, And made the whole room white. I thought about my new tin pall. And Holly's broken head. And then I heard the sweetest song, And lay quite Btlll In bed, And listened, for the sweetest songs Are angels', mother said. Was It an angel? Could It beT ' 1 peeped out Just to see, And all I saw was one brown bird Upon the white rose tree. It was an angel, mother thinks. If I'd had eyes to see! Home Herald. There's Many ..a Slip. This phrase originated with a poor slave. It was prophecied ct a king, and the prophecy was fulfilled. When Ancaeus was king of Samoa, In the Grecian Archipelago, he planted an extensive vineyard, and oppressed his slaves so heavily in its cultivation that one of the bolder ones prophesied that he would never live to taste any of the wine. The king laughed and had the slave beaten. Then, at last, when the wine was made, he sent for the slave to witness him drink the first glass of it In order to show him that the proph' ecy was false. When the servant ap' peared, the king, raising the glass of liquor, said, "What do you think of your prophecy now?" "There's many a slip, 'twlxt cup and lip," was the answer. The words were scarcely uttered when Ancaeus was Informed that a wild boar had broken Into the vineyard and was ruining it. Dropping the wine untested, the king hastened to the scene to drive out the boar, but he was killed In the encoun ter, and the slave'B prophecy was ful filled. Home Herald. Charlie's Fairies. "Charlie has a perfect . genius for making the best of things," mamma once said. And Charlie certainly had. When Effle lost her little brass thim ble and cried over it, it was five-year- old Charlie who comforted her by say lng, "Now, Effle can get a pretty new thimble; a silver one like mamma's." When Ralph upset the dish of pre serves and spoiled a tablecloth and centerpiece, Charlie said cheerfully, "Sarah will have to wash the flngs more harder now. Mamma said she didn't get the tableclof white a bit last time." And when he cut his own hand so badly that It had to be sewed with two stitches and bandaged, Charlie simply remarked in a tone of satisfaction, "Now, Effle'U have to help me dress, and pap'll have to cut up my steak ev-ry day." For Charlie still had trou ble with his buttons and bis knife and fork. Once, while they were all playing in the orchard, Effle and Ralph and a lot of bigger cousins who took delight in doing things Charlie couldn't do, the latter felt his smallness particu larly keenly. Jack was swinging by his legs from the limb of an apple tree, while Ralph ran out like a monkey on the highest limbs, and Charlie, perched In a lower crotch of the tree, was look ing on in wondering awe. "Say, Charlie," called Ralph, "bet you couldn't do that!" Charlie craned his neck to see this astonishing feat of Ralph's, leaned too far, lost his balance and fell. Down he came onto the ground, very flat, very suddenly and very hard. He sat quite still for a moment, dazed and bseathless, then realizing that he was still sound, he made the best of things, as usual, calling cut triumphantly to Ralph, "I bet you couldn't do dat!" Washington Star. Danger Slgnais. Claudia had been hoping for the day when she could go to school, says the Sunday School Times. It seemed to her a very long time in coming, but at last tbe wished-for morning arrived, and the tiny girl, in her pretty white dress and pink jump er, with a pink ribbon on her hair, started for the schoolhouse with n neighbor. Claudia came home at noon quite alone. "And how" did you like It?" mamma asked. "Oh, It was beautiful!" Claudia an swered. "Were the teacher and the children pleasant?" "Yes, mamma, they were all very nice! But oh, mamma!" and her lip began to trembler "I'm 'fraid I can't go any more; there's so much danger!" "Danger? What do you mean, dear?" . "I saw a boy who said I ought not to go to school, there's so much dan ger, it's up the street and down the street, and everywhere!" Mamma was very much puzzled. Claudia could not tell what the danger was that threatened her; but she per sisted it was everywhere. "Well, never mind," mamma said, Anally. "I will go with you this af ternoon, and we will find out" After luncheon they started, Claud la holding fast to mamma's hand. As they turned the corner, the little girl pointed ahead. "There, mamma," she said, "there's the danger!" Mamma 'stared, and then laughed, for down the street the road-roller was ai wcrk, and there was a sign of warning "DANGER" in big let ters! "And it's up the other way, too!" Claudia cried. Mamma looked and, sure enough, there was another sign of "DAN GER;" the road was being torn up. Then mamma explained to Claudia that the "danger" was not to little girls, but to people driving horses. It meant that they must not come too near, or the horses might be frighten ed and run away. After that Claudia went to school alone and she was never troubled by any "danger" sifcns again. . A Bear Story. Phillls and her new little Teddy Bear were perfectly happy, and while one couldn't help feeling sorry for the poor deserted dolls, no one could blame Phyllis for loving that cunning, soft, bright-eyed little white bear. Really, all the grown ups in the fam ily got to loving him, too. Phyllis never said she loved Teddy more than Marie and Florence and Big Aggie and 111. u... -.1. - - iuo vmcio, uui eiiw uiu buy mm Bne she did love to snuggle him up "he was so much company." Now Phyllis was only 7, you mu6t know, but she belonged to a mission ary society, and Bho talked anrl tuougni a great deal about the mis sionary who was the children's "very own," and who Jived in a far-away country where she was teaching the boys and girls to know and love Jesus. A wonderful thing was to happen! A box was going to be sent to this mis sionary a box full of lovely gifts for those other boys and girls In the far away country, and all the children, Phyllis among them, were to give the things that were to go In the box. Such excitement you never heard of! All the mothers and aunties, and even fathers and big brothers, began to talk about that box, and even ask if they mightn't put something In, too. But one day Phyllis came home from her missionary meeting looking very sober. She went straight upstairs and got Teddy (for of course she couldn't hawe taken hlra to the missionary so ciety) and then sat down In her little red chair and thought and thought By and by the secret came out. The lovely young leader of the children's society had been telling the children how God loved those other children In the far away country, and how he had given hiB only and much-loved Son, Jesus, for them, Just as much as for us. And she wondered If any of her children in the missionary society loved thoso other boys and girls In the faraway country enough to send In the box something they loved very much perhaps the toy or plaything' they loved the very best. Do you wonder that Phyllis looked sober, and she hugged Teddy so tight that night that he was actually in dan ger of smothering. In some way the dolls found it out. How, I am sure I don't know, but that very night when they knew that Phyllis had made up her mind to send Teddy In the box, they held a regular jollification in the nursery. They took r hold of hands and danced all over th room, to begin with. Even the doll that didn't move in the high societ Joined in. Captain Kidd strutted abor with his sword in his belt and h cocked hat on, and told some of hi most exciting yarns. Tommy Tuckw not only sang for his supper, but hi sang a great many other things. mJ ne nuu uu a yened aream umi rem s gown, and she pirouetted about on her. toes in the most Frenchy style imag inable. Some one helped Big Aggie out of the corner of the closet, and shd sat in a comfortable chair, and just' beamed, while Baby Florence and the1 Rubber Doll, not being able to move1 about much, looked as pleasant as could be. They were so glad that "hor rid little bear" was going abroad in the missionary box! But Teddy didn't go after all. The very day that Phyllis was to carry hlra to the church where the box was being packed, Uncle Bob, who lived at Phyl lis's home, said that he never could 1 stand It for that little white bear to go away. He said if Phyllis would let I him keep Teddy on this side of the water that he would give her enough , money to buy two bears just like him, and they could go in the box. N Phyllis thought a long time about it, I and at last she decided to make the bargain with Uncle Bob. Two bears would make two children Instead of 1 one, happy, In that far away country.! Uncle Bob asked Phyllis If she would look after Teddy for him while hff was at the office all day. And then oft course he couldn't be disturbed atl mam wnen ne was so urea, Dy a Dear ; growling, pnyuiB said sne wouia Keep unu.-uieL. Phyllis' gave a grand party In Ted dy's honor, soon after the box with the two new white bears and ever so many r other nice things in it, had been sent to the faraway country, and all thJ dolls were invited. And the dolls wer I so delighted, and so excited gettlnd ready for the party that all the dismal flew away In a great hurry, and ev-i ery body was as happy and contented as could be. And I, one of Phyllis's dolls myselq happen to know JjHtt Teddy and ar the dolls have been the best of friends j ever since. Children's Missionary Friend. I
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers