THE DEAD PAST.
Why cherish a dream that i ended?
Why look down to the vista of years,
But to sufTer u long-buried sorrow
To open the wound with new tears ?
It is over; forget it—as useless
(No matter how uuxious we be),
To try to go buck una recover
A pearl that is lost in the s a.
Why waste precious moments in thinking
Of scenes that were beautiful then?
Why linger o'er graves that hold treasures,
They ne'er will return lis again?
Why wish for our youth and its gladness,
When from sorrow and caro we were free?
When 'tis gone from our grasp, gone forever,
As a peurl that is lost in the seal
A MEMORABLE RUN.
BY WILLIAM M. GHAYDON.
4 'Gentlemen, 1 sent for you to-night
for a special purpose. We have in the
office a chest of money consigned to Gun
nison. It is to pay off men at several of
the miues, I believe, and instead of send
ing it with the regular express messen
ger I propose to put it on board the
freight which leaves here ut midnight.
I have special reasons for doing this—in
fact I am afraid to trust it on the regular
train—and I wish you would take charge
of the money. You will say nothing
about the matter, of course, but quietly
report for duty at eleven o'clock to
night."
In these words the superintendent of
the express company at Montrose, Colo
rado, assigned to Fred Harlan and my
self a run that was destined to be one of
the most memorable events of our lives.
We did not think so at the time. In
deed there was nothing very remarkable
about the circumstance, for there was
always a risk in sending large sums of
money over that road, and it was very
natural for the superintendent to
attempt a little ruse of this kind to
thwart any possible scheme of robbery i
that might be under way.
The midnight freight was made up at;
Montrose, and when Fred and I reached
the yards the money chest was already
stowed away in an empty car which for
obvious reasons was securely fastened up I
and marked "perishable."
I Shudder now to think how near that \
ear and all its contents came to perish- i
ing, too. |
At the last moment Fred discovered
that his dog Ponto had followed him .
unperceived. It would be dangerous to !
abandon the animal there with all the !
shifting that was going on, and as there j
was no time to take him back, Fred i
hastily thrust him into the car, and I
slipping in after him we closed the door
and fastened it on the inside. None of
the employes had seen us enter, and I
don't suppose any of them knew what
valuable freight that car held—with
the exception of the engineer and con
ductor.
In a few moments the train started.
Fred rigged up a couch against the end ;
of the car with a plank that was lying
on the floor, and I sat on the chest be- I
side him. Then we lit our pipes aud |
smoked aud chatted for an hour or more, 1
while the train rushed on aud on t
through the night, whistling shrilly at
intervals.
Fred had dropped off into a sort of a
doze aud I was just wondering whether
it was my duty to wake him or not,
when Ponto lifted his head and uttered a j
short, peculiar bark.
A moment later the cars began to rat- !
tie and bump violently and soon the
train came to an abrupt halt. We were 1
both on our feet Instantly. I seized my
rifle which was standing close by. There
was 110 reason that we could think of
for the stoppage of the train, but before
we could make up our minds what to do
it had started again.
It went oulyafew yards, however,and
then moved slowly back toward Mon
trose going faster and faster each mo
ment.
"My gracious!" cried Fred suddenly,
"our car is detached."
My companion was right. The car
with the money had been near the
center of the train when we started—now
it was speeding away by itself—where wc
had not the slightest idea. Our sense of
hearing, sharpened by long service at
railroading, told us all this.
Our first impulse was to make certain
that the fastenings of the door were se
cure, and by that time our speed had
perceptibly diminished. A moment later
wc came to a full stop.
"We've been run off on a siding,"
exclaimed Fred in an excited whisper,
but before I could reply Ponto barked
gruffly and we heard voices just outside
the car. Then a heavy blow was dealt
against one of the doors—with an axe
probably.
All doubt was gone now. We were in i
the hands of some desperate band of rob
bers, and the chance of saving either our '
lives or the money was very slim. We
resolved to make a fight for it though,
and carefully inspected our weapons.
Mine was the only rifle, but Fred had a j
revolver that he knew well how to use. j
Half a dozen more blows followed in !
quick succession, and then Fred placed
his mouth to a crack in the door and
shouted: /
"The first ono that breaks into this!
car is a dead man."
The blows ceased for a moment or
two. The desperadoes were evidently
surprised to learn that any person was
in the car. Then a gruff voice called
loudly:
"Open that door, youug feller, and
you shan't be harmed."
We made no reply to this modest re
quest, and after a few low muttered im
precations, the blows were repeated faster
and harder than ever.
"We must hold out, Ned," said Fred
sturdily. "The trainmen will come to
our assistance before long." The robbers
expected to get the car open in a hurry
and make off with the chest. Any de
lay will be fatal to their plans.
1* red was plainly right on this point,
for an attack was begun almost imme
diately on the opposite door, and the
blows were so loud and numerous that
we could not hear ourselves speak.
Ponto meanwhile kept up an incessant
and furious barking At last one of the
heavy oaken beams went to splinters,
and through the crevice we caught *,
glimpse of torches burning outside
Another blow made a hole as large as;
dinner plate, and quick as flash Fret
blazed away with his revolver, fou
times in succession.
The discharge was greeted with lioarst
yells of rage, and more than one cry oi
pain, for tbc robbers had been grouper
thickly around the door.
"Down, Ned, quick," shouted Fred
and as we both dropped into a corner r.
the car, a perfect fusillade of rifle an
revolver shots were fired.
The bullets spattered thickly over on
heads, but neither of us sustained th
slightest injury.
Then wc crept pa<t the broken door t<
the farther end of the car. The ligli
outside showed of course where the hoi
had been brokvi in, nud we trained ou
weapons on the spot, ready for the first [
man that would make his appearance. |
Meanwhile the other door was being !
slowly battered in, and soon a gaping i
hole was chopped through. We in
stantly tired at the spot, and not with '
out effect, to judge from the fierce yells i
that responded.
The situation was becoming more crit- j
ical, for two or three rifle barrels were j
thrust in from both sides of the car and
the bullets whistled uncomfortably close
to our heads. The rascals dared not ex- j
pose themselves sufficiently to take aim ■
and our return fire did them no damage.
Then a long arm reached in and at- j
tempted to snatch the bar which offered ■
the main obstacle to the breaking down
of the door. Before either Fred or I j
could fire, Ponto sprang forward and ,
seized the ruffian's hand in his sharp !
white teeth.
We heard a quick report, a yelp of]
pain, and then poor Ponto dropped back
on the floor to all appearances lifeless.
Enraged at the death of the dog, Fred
emptied his revolver at the hole, to what
purpose we could not tell.
After that hostilities ceased for a little
while, though the axes still tore away at
! the door and the gaping holes grew
larger and larger.
" I smell smoke," said Fred suddenly.
44 Do you ?"
"Yes," I replied, "I detect it
plainly," and as we looked at each other
in sudden alarm, we heard a sharp
crackling under foot, and red flashes of
light were visible through the flooring.
The miscreants had set fire to the end
of the car, with the intention of driving
us forward within range of their mur
derous weapons.
We lost hope t lieu and there. We
could take our choice—death by fire or
by bullet. There was no other alterna
tive.
The flames enveloped the end of the
car with amazing rapidity, until red
tongues were licking the inside timbers
and the boards were hot to the touch.
Our skin seemed to be blistering, and
the smoke poured round us in suffocating
whirls, but we still held our ground,
knowing that to advance meant certain
and speedy death.
Outside the axes were still going
rapidly, and through the smoke we saw
one of the doors tumble with a crash in
to the car. A moment later the second
one dropped.
The roubers could almost place their
hands upon the chest now, but still they
hesitated to enter.
Then a burst of flame came hissing
from the bottom of the car, and with a
loud cry Fred fell over.
Hardly conscious of what I was doing,
I grasped him by the shoulders and
dragged him foot by loot toward the
open door, yet expecting every moment
to be riddled with bullets.
I heard a wild yell from outside, and
then a rattling fusillade of rifle shots. I
thought I was shot and woudered vague
ly why I did not fall, and the next
thing I saw was a familiar face sur
mounted by a blue railroad cap peering
into the open doors.
4 'The money is safe," said the man to
some one behind him, "but I don't sec
either of the poor fellows. I'm afruid
they're done for."
I tried to cry out but the sound choked
iu my throat, and then I must have
fainted dead away.
******
I I came back to life in the caboose of
' the freight train. Fred was u few feet
! away, and we were both soon able to
listen to the strange story of the stolen
car.
The train had been stopped at both
ends by a gang of masked desperadoes,
three of whom took possession of the
! engine and gave orders to suit them
selves.
The traiu was broken in two, aud the
forward part, with our car attached, was
I run a few yards beyond the switch that
operated a two mile siding which ran
i back into a lonely spot among the
I mountains.
i Then the train was backed with
sufficient speed to send our car—which
| had meanwhile been uncoupled —far out
on the siding. The train was then
joined together and the engineer ordered
i to go ahead at full speed.
This commaud he obeyed to the letter
until he reached a small wayside station
| where plenty of volunteers were found
j to come back to the rescue—and their
arrival was well timed indeed.
Two of the robbers were dead, and
from one who was wounded information
was received that led to the enpture of
j many of the gang.
How they ever discovered that the
money was in the freight car was never
ascertained, though it was probably
through the treachery of some rail
road employees, for the robbers did not
1 hesitate in picking out the car that con-
I tained the booty.
I Fred and I were all right in a day or
two, and a week later we received a
substantial recognition of our bravery,
as the superintendent was pleased to call
it, that went far to make amends for
j our terrible experience.
| Ponto, I almost forgot to say, was
j rescued from the burning car. The bul
i let had glanced from liis skull, only
stunning him, and he was as lively as
ever the next day.—[The Argosy.
Portraits of the Great.
It is said that there arc altogether about
twelve hundred engraved portraits of
Shukspcre. Dickens must follow, for it
iis known that during his lifetime alone
j more than four hundred portraits (chiefiy
j unofficial) were done. Of Richelieu
i three hundred portraits are known to ex
| ist—different pictures, I mean—and
: about the same number of portraits of
Marie Antoinette have been gathered to
gether. How many must there be of
Queen Victoria, she who has been at
' the head of the British empire for more
i than fifty years? Why, the thought is
simply overwhelming. In the Royal
Academy there have been exhibited six-
I ty-two oil portraits of her majesty ;
| these constitute but a small fraction of
j the pictures made of her for magazines,
newspapers, books of beauty, gift books,
j albums, plates, etc. 1 have about one
hundred different prints of the queen.
1 covering every period in her life from
j infancy down to her fiftieth year; many
of them arc valuable only "as curious
I freaks, particularly the woodenish groups
j made of the royal family while the prince
consort was living and just before the
1 birth of Beatrice. As a girl, Victoria
I must have been very pretty; the portraits
| made of her at that period, represent her
as little short of beautiful. On the whole,
Landseer's group must be regarded as
\ the best of the pictures in which her
[ majesty appears.—[Chicago News.
' , Immense Steel Structure.
1 i The great steel bridge across the Co
3. umbia river at Vancouver, British Co
lumbia, will be a mammoth concern. It
• ! will be (1,000 feet from the Washington
I to the Oregon shore. It will be double
B j tracked, with a roadway on top for
r teams, and will be erected upon pneu
| matic piers. The pivoted pier, or draw
I pier, will support n draw which will
. give an opening of 200 feet space on
I either side for vessels to pass, and tho
span immediately south of the draw spun
: will be 875 feet. The whole structure
i is to be of steel, built ten feet above the
high water of 1870 and forty feet above
j low water.
On account of the sandy formation it
will be necessary to go down eighty feet
below low water to get a firm founda
| tion. There it rests on a foundation of
coarse gravel similar to that upon which
j the great bridges across the Missouri
river arc built. This gigantic structure
! will cost over $1,000,000 and employ
hundreds of men m its erection. It will
j be January 1, 1892, before the cars can
i pass over it. The company is pushing
! its bridge and also its road as fast as
mouey and its present perfected plans
| will permit. They have now between
| there and Kalama over two thousand
J men and one thousand five hundred
j teams at work.—[The Columbian.
ANCHOR DRAGGING.
Something of How the Business is
Done off Cape Cod.
There are ocean mines that abound in
riches. The waters for a mile or two
out in Vineyard Sound and so arouud
the Cape, are being constantly worked
as are the inexhaustible mines of the in
terior. Not since the Pirate Bellamy
emptied his ship load of gold coins upon
the bars of Wellfleet, in the fatal storm
which caused the shipwreck of his entire
fieet, has there been us much wealth
fished up from the waters as in the past
few seasons. The profitably and infre
quently mentioned industry is termed
anchor dragging by the seamen of Cape
Cod who engage in the business.
I was down on the Union wharf the
other day and saw among the small craft
at the wharf the little schooner Mary J
Emma, of Yarmouth, Capt. W. 11. Ilurst.
The schooner had a load of iron and I
learned that Capt. Hurst frequently en
gaged in the anchor dragging business.
He told me that anchor dragging was a
regular class of business with a certain
class of Cape seaman aud that it had to j
be learned as much as any other occupa- I
tion. Hundreds of other vessels of all
kinds arc coming and going in the sound
all the time and in the course of a year
many anchors are lost. The Cape seamen
keep a sharp lookout to hear of a vessel
that has lost her anchor aud some chain,
■ and learning the locality as near as pos- |
sible, start out to secure it.
It requires a deal of study and knowl
edge of the coast, and a closo observa- I
tion of the rules of navigation to be sue- I
cessful in the business. Generally two i
vessels go together on a cruise. They j
will sail close together, having grappling j
hooks draggiug on the bottom. When I
they feel the hook U snub up," they re
pass the spot and determine whether the >
object struck is a ledge or an anchor and
their experience quickly enables them to
tell. In this way they cruise in pairs
and when an anchor is found the crews
of the two vessels raise it to the deck of
one of them by means of tackles.
It is no easy task, and the job requires ;
considerable skill. Capt. Hurst informed |
me that this part of the work had been
made easier by him, and last season he
had a steam hoisting engine place aboar d
his other schooner, the Willfred W. Fu'-l
ler.
In the course of a season a number of
anchors are found, many ranging in size
from a small two-masted schooner's an
chor to a huge affair weighing 5,000 or
0,000 pounds. Sometimes the anchors
are sold to vessel skippers who have lostl
their own anchors, but generally they
are brought to this city or taken to Bos
ton and sold to junk dealers by the
pound. If a vessel succeeds in hooking
three or four good-sized anchors in a
season it pays.—[New Bedford (Mass )
Mercury.
Railroad Ties.
The wooden ties now in use upon the
tracks of the United States number 515,-
832,918. The average life of a wooden
tic in this country is six and a half years.
Every year, therefore, calls for 80,000,-
000 new ties. The interest m this sub
ject is well shown by the fact that 491
patents have been issued in this country
to inventors of substitutes for wooden
ties. One ingenious individual has pro-
tectcd an idea for glass ties. An
Englishman has taken out letters in his
j- own country, the United States, France,
Belgium and Spain for a tubular tie
, made of concrete or some other composi
' tion to be cast around a core of wire
. netting.
One proposition is to manufacture
rails, ties and other articles of trackage
from a composition of paper pulp, sili
cate of soda and barytes. The propor
tions are 500 parts pulp, 25 parts soda
and 10 parts barytes. Two inventors
working jointly have evolved the sug
gestion of terra cotta or earthenware
pyramids to support the rails. The
pyramids are to be connected by iron
metal ties. An earlier device is a con
crete tie with wooden blocks inserted
for the rails to be spiked upon.
The idea of a metal skeleton or frame
work tic, covered with concrete or arti
ficial stone, comes from France to be
patented. Concrete blocks, with cork
plates for the rails to rest upon, are sug
gested. Concrete chairs ami blocks and
composition of fibre coakcd with as
phaltuin and shaped by pressure were
among the earlier designs. But of the
41)1 patented substitutes for wood, all
but eleven are metal. —[Atlanta Consti
tution.
Crocodile Nests and Eggs.
Some habits of crocodiles have been
lately described by Mr. Voelt/.know.
Traveling in Wituland, be obtained in
January last seventy-nine new-laid eggs
of the animal, from a nest which was
five or six paces from the bank of Wago
gona, a tributary of the Ooi. The spot
had been cleared of plants in a circle of
about six paces diameter, apparently by
by the crocodile having wheeled around
several times. Here and there a few
branches had been laid, but there was no
nest-building proper. The so-culled
nest lay quite open to the sun (only a
couple of poor bushes at one part). The
eggs lay in four pits dug in the hard,
dry ground, about two feet obliquely
down. Including eggs broken in dig
ging out, the total seems to have been
eighty-five to ninety. According to the
natives the crocodile, having selected
and prepared a spot, makes a pit in it
that day and lays about twenty to twen
ty-live eggs in it, which it covers with
dirt. Next day it makes a second pit,
and so on. From the commencement it
remains in the nest, and it sleeps there
till the hatching of the young, which ap
pear in about two months, when the
lionvy rain period sets in. The egg
laying occurs only once in the year, about
the end of January or beginning of Feb
j ruary. The animal which M. Yoeltzkow
, disturbed, and saw drop into the water,
I seemed to be the crocodilus vulgaris, sc
I common in oust Africa.—[Christiau Ad
. vocatc.
THE JOKER'S BUDGET.
JESTS AND YARNS BY FUNNY
MEN OF THE PRESS.
Their Figures—An Impressive j
Warning—A Catastrophe —A Ma,
chiavelian Despot, Etc., Etc.
NEW FIGURES,
jack—l tell who what, Maud makes
quite a figure in society,
j Tom— Yes. When I see her at a ,
party with her dude admirers she re
minds me of a million.
Jack—??? v ir
Tom—She is one followed by half a
dozen nothings.—[Bazar.
AN IMPRESSIVE WARNING.
Teacher—Thomas, I saw you laugh
just now. What were you thinking
| about?
Tommy—l was just thinking about
j something.
Teacher —Y r ou have no business think
ing during school hours. Don't let it
occur again. —[Texas Sittings.
A CATASTROPHE.
Lord Runnymede—Aw—Miss Twum
bull, I fawncy now you wcject my suit
because you have no wank. That is
verwy inconsistent for an Amcricau, you
know. I fawncied an American girl
would fawncy herself my equal, and tell
everybody my birth was a mere accident,
you know.
Miss Trumbull —Oh no, Lord Runny
mede, I wouldn't disparage your birth in
the least. I don't think it was a mere
accident—it was a regular catastrophe.— ;
[Life.
A M ACT! I AVE LI AN DESPOT.
Hampton—Oh, yes; my wife always
does whatever I want her to.
Chalk ley—How is it that your wife
obeys her husband so implicitly and
mine doesn't ?
Hampton—Well, I always urge my
wife to do what I disapprove of.
A CHARMING GIRL.
He (just introduced) —Perfectly char
ming night. I have seldom seen the
stars look so bright, Are you fond of
astronomy?
Sho—N-o; I have never studied it.
He—You dote on botany, I presume?
She—l never studied that, either.
He—Do you like geology?
She—l don't know anything about it.
He—Ah! You are an enthusiast on
one or more of the arts, no doubt—
music, painting, sculpture, wood carv
, ing, or repousse work?
| She—l don't know a thing about any
'of them. I'm a perfect ignoramus.
He—Angelic creature! Will you be
my wife?—[Now York Weekly.
A SPOT ON THE SUN.
| "I say, old chap, you and I arc deuced
i good friends, and our friendship would
be most satisfying were it not for one
thing."
"And what may that be, you chronic
grumbler?"
"Why, we borrow from each other so
persistently that we can never raise a cent
between us."—[Puck.
TAKEN.
"In every house, Miss Powelson,"said
young Mr. llaybenslaw, with some hesi
tation, "there is a spare room. It is kept
for the use of some honored guest. In
every heart, too"—and he laid his hand
impulsively on his own—"thereisaspare
room "
"And we find one, too, in so many
! heads!" she murmured.
"Miss Powelson—lrene!" the young
j man exclaimed, choking down a large
| aud expansive lump of rising sighs, "in
my heart there is a spare room sacredly
set apart for you "
"Only one, Mr. llaybenslaw?" she
asked dreamily.
"Do not mock me, Irene Powelson ! It
shall be a whole suite, if you like. More
than that! You shall have the entire
premises if you'll only say so, and if that
isn't enough we'll tear down and build
bigger."
"This spare room—this suite of rooms,
Arthur," said the maiden, softly, "that
you are speaking of—how —how arc they
furnished?"
"In first-class modern style, Irene,"
replied the young man, with a business
like ring in his voice. "Uncle Bullion
died last week."
"Say no more, Arthur," whispered the
lovely girl, as sho pillowed her rich
blond head on the young man's heart and
listened to the wild thump! thump! that
: resounded through its spare chambers,
i "I'll take them!"—[Chicago Tribune.
A CAUTIOUS INVESTOR.
| "I can sec a profit on what I have
1 bought so far," said an investor who had
1 spent the afternoon driving about the
country with a real estate man, and who
had bought a number of tracts of good
] laud near a booming city; "but what
could a man raise on that?" They had
| pulled up in front of a piece of land so
! stony that it looked as though it would
take a month's work with dynamite to
clear it.
"Raise 011 it!" said the real estate
man. "Why, he can raise 011 the next
man that comes."—[New York Sun.
A PARADOX.
Sanso—baseball men are paradoxical
fellows.
Kodd—Why do you say so?
Sanso—When they are striking they
are in and when they strike they arc
out.
ANOTHER IIORRORL
A seedy old tramp at Cape May,
Turned in for a snooze in the hay,
Rut his nose, being bright,
Caused the hay to ignite,
And there was the Dickens to pay! I
A BULL'S REASON.
"John," said the broker's wife, "the
paper says the 'Stock Market Staggers.'
Wnat makes it stagger?"
"Because," returned John ruefully,
"nearly all the stocks have taken a drop
too much."— [New York Herald.
THE WHY OF IT.
"I like the novels of Bcsant and Rice;
they'll live. They're the kind that
stick."
I "Yes; like pitch."
"Like pitch?"
"Of course; because they're bi-tu
men." —[Judge.
WITHERING.
Sanso—l make it a point to learn
something from everybody I meet.
Kodd —Ah! You must be a recluse.
REVENGE IS SWEET.
Sanso—l say, old man, don't venture
on that ice. You will break it,
Stoutly—That will be but just. The
ice broke me last summer.
RATHER HARD ON HIM.
Mr. Fuller to Clarence (four years old)
I —Why, Clarence, how much you look
like your father.
Clarence (resignedly)— Yes, sir.
Everybody says that, but I don't think
1 I deserve it.
NOT FOOLTT.VTIDY.
"Rastus, does the alligator open hii
mouth up or down?"
"I dumio, boss; I ain't never waited to
see."
LIVING AND DYING.
Sanso—Old Brown lived long, but his
last years were spent in a poorhouse.
Hodd —Then he lived long and died
short, eh?
VERY LIKELY.
"Charley growls because his uncle is
so close." m
"He'd get pretty mad if his uncle
were to open his window and look about
for some fresh heir, just the same."
IIEII LAMP WAS BURNING.
"Why burn your lamp so late, my friend,
Into the dawning day?"
"Because," quoth the girl graduate,
"This dude won't go away."
A FINE LINE DRAWN.
Mrs. A.—Does your husband believe
in corporal punishment in the house
hold?
Mrs. B.—Only to a certain point,
lie's always whipping the children, but
he thinks the dust should be got out of
the carpet by moral suasion.—[Chicago
Post.
A MEAN VILLAGER.
Mrs. Doubleliouse—Jake, our darter
wants a cabinet organ.
Mr. Doubleliouse—Wall, I'll git her
one. I don't like those new neighbors
of ours fer a cent. —[Good News.
ALAS! YES.
Strive as wc may, \\c never can
Tell who are happy, who forlorn;
The cutest little shoe of tan
May hide a very painful corn.
—[Yenowine's News.
PROOF AGAINST TIME.
She—They have discovered some wood
in Egypt which is said to be 4,000 years
old. I wonder what kind it is?
He (imperturbably)—Chestnut, of
course. [Washington Star.
THE JUDGE'S ERROR.
Magistrate (surveying the prisoner)—
Ah! a plain drunk, 1 sec.
Prisoner (with dignity)—No, shir;
fancy drunk, shir. Had noshing but
champagne, shir.—[Judge.
Superstitions of Marriage.
! The Romans deemed it an ill omen to
meet certain animals while on the way
to have the wedding ceremony pro
i nounced. A hare, dog, cat, lizard or
! serpent were extremely unlucky animals
jto meet upon such occasions. A wolf,
toad, ox or horse were lucky. In Greece
I the groom is sprinkled with water on
leaving home to meet his future bride.
The bride must visit the oven in com
pany with her father and mother if she
would have a happy married life.
In France, during the Middle Ages, a
ling woven from straw, or one made
of horseshoe nails, was placed on the
bride' 9 finger at the conclusion of the
marriage rite. The couple also stood in
a ring live or six feet in diameter, made
of mistletoe or straw.
In China a girl who is partaking of
the last meal she is to eat in her father's
house previous to her marriage, sits at
the table with her father and brothers
i only; but she must not eat over one-half
i of the bowl of rice set before her, other
! wise her departure will be followed by
continued scarcity in the domicile she is
eaving.
In Scotland it was formerly particu
larly ominous to meet a funeral while on
the way to be joined in wedlock. The
bride or groom was certain to die soon,
as the sex of the person being taken to
the graveyard was male or female. The
Swedish bride seeks to catch a glimpse
of the groom before lie sees her, hoping
thereby to gain the future mastery. She
also places her foot before his while the
ceremony is being performed and sits
down first. While the words are being
said she stands near the groom, so that
in the future no one will come between
them.
In Brittany if the wife hopes to rule
she must take care that the ring, when
placed upon her finger, shall slip at once
to its place without stopping at the large
second joint.
In Russia the bride must not eat of the
wedding cake unless she wishes to lose
her husband's love. If a dog belonging
to the family of the bride should howl
on the day of the wedding or the day
previous to the event, he must be shot by
the father of the bride and no one else,
and, beside that, with a bullet made
from a silver rupee.—[St. Louis Repub
lic.
An Ancient Mine.
| An old copper mine, which was
I worked by the Dutch colonists about
two centuries ago, was rediscovered at
! Bloomfield, N. Y., a few days ago. The
mine is divided into three parts, or
I caves, the largest of which is 100 feet
j long and thirty feet wide. An iron
! shovel, a number of wedges, drills, ham
| mere and other tools used by miners
; were found in the caves. A quaint pipe,
which probably belonged to one of the
early miners, was picked up. There
were also found drinking horns and a
number of bones. It is not known
whether the bones are those of man or
beast.
A vein of copper was uncovered, and
a mining expert pronounces it a valu
able find. '1 he ore has been assayed,
and according to the report of the as
sayer it contains $7.50 worth of gold,
SB.IO worth of silver and sixty-two per
cent, of copper, worth $l2O a ton. The
vein has not been traced for any great
distance, but an expert who has ex
amined it says that it will develop
richly.
It is said that the Dutch while work
ing the mines were required by the Eng
lish to pay a royalty of forty cents on
the dollar, which was so exorbitant that
the work had to bo nbandoned. The
property was owned 200 years ago by the
Cadmus family. It afterward passed
into the possession of the Weild family,
who held it through several generations
until seven years ago, when the Glen
Ridge Quarry Company bought it.—
[Sun Francisco Chronicle.
Big Trees Found.
Special Agent Mozicr writes to the
general land office from Tacoma, Wash
ington, that a grove of giant red wood
trees, like those in the Yosemite Nation
al Park, Cal,. has been discovered in
Pierce county, Washington. The Sec
retary of the Interior has ordered an in
vestigation of the subject through the
agricultural division of the census bu
reau and Congress may be asked to set
aside the land on which the trees are
standing as a national park. Mr. Mozi
er says that the people of Tacoma will
probably have a Hag pole made of the
tallest trees to be sent to the world's
fair. Some of the trees are 400 feet long
and thirteen feet in diameter,—[Wash
j ington Star.
CROSSING THE ANDES.
TRAVEL ON THE HIGHEST
RAILROAD IN THE WORLD.
Far Above the Clouds —Panting for
Breath on High Altitudes—The
Sirroche and Its Remedies.
From Lake Titicaca to the sea, writes
Fannie B. Ward in the Washington'
Star, is a railway journey of 325 miles,
all in Peru, over the Andes and across a
desert. Starting at an elevation of
12,500 feet the road rises by gradual as
cent to the extraordinary altitude of
14,000 feet, the highest that wheels
turned by steam have ever attained.
This is at a point called Cruccro Alto,
about midway between Puuo and Are
quipa, and by the way some of the re
cent books on South America confound
Crucero Alto with the pass in Bolivia
known as Alto del Crucero. The latter
is more than 10,000 feet high and many
miles further iuland on another range of
the Andes not crossed by any railroud,
but by the solitary mule trail which we
traversed some months ago going from ;
La Paz to the Vuugas valley.
This Puno and Mollendo railway was
built for the Peruvian government about
fourteen years ago by Mr. Ilenry Meiggs,
and it cost more than $45,000,000 for the
325 miles, or the enormous average of
$135,000 per mile. But railroad build
ing in the. Andes is by no means what
the same thing might be iu the United
States. This is really a wonderful work,
and though it has few tunnels, no rail
way in the world can show GO much ex
cavation or such massive embankments.
Theie is another Peruvian railroad,
called the Oroya, also built by Meiggs,
leading from Lima up to the mines of
Cerro del Pasco and theuce projected to
the head waters of the Amazon, designed
to connect with that great fluvial high
way and thus make transit to the Atlan
tic shorter and cheaper than by the old
routes —which, at some points, will be
even higher than this one. This rail
way, in common witli all others in Peru,
is managed by au odd, but politic mix
ture of methods, notably, North Ameri
can, South American, Peruvian and
English.
A few miles from Crucero Alto is Vin
cocaya, the very loftiest village in all the |
world, unless it may be some of those in !
Central Asia, 14,360 feet above the sea. j
It is higher than the celebrated mines of
Cerro del Pasco, higher even than famous
Potosi; higher than either Quitto, Ecua
dor, or Lcadville, Col.; nearly twice as
high as the Alpine Hospice of Saint Ber
nard, aud if one were to put auother
Mount Washington on top of the present j
one its summit would still be almost 2,- j
000 feet lower down than Vincocaya! j
This Andean village Is purely a creation ,
of the railroad, and boasts of all the ad- j
juncts of a relay and repairing station, as j
well as of a so-called American inn, El I
Hotel Eniprcsn. Why "American" Ido !
not know, as the landlord and his wife
are rosy-checked, hardy-looking Ger
mans, and hardy indeed one needs to be
to live so near the stars. Prof. Orton,
of Vassar College, was obliged to pass a
night here, and accustomed as he was to
the mountain' air from his life in Quito,
wrote thnt he could not sleep at all, but
spent the time punting for breath.
Long before we arrive at Vincocaya,
coming from either end of the line,
nearly everybody is suffering from sir
roche in greater or less degree. Strange
to say, frequent passing over the sume
heights docs not exempt one from the
distressing complaint, aud the strongest
and healthiest seem to be more pros
trated by it than the sickly, with the
exception of one of our immediate party,
a consumptive young Chilian, traveling
to prolong his span of life, whose sunken
chest heaves painfully in the effort of
respiration and whose pale face has taken
on a ghastly grayish blue. Several pas
sengers are relieved by a copious flow of
blood from the nose, aud a jolly Eng
lishman from Arequipa, who weighs
nearly 300 pounds, aud says ho was
never ill in his iife except passing over
this road, has turned the color of a
boiled lobster, and 'gasping with suffo
cation hold his head with both bauds,
declaring thai it is about to burst.
I The remedies commonly made use of
are brandy and bromide of potassi, as
sisted by various smelling salts and the
odor of raw onions. The natives be
lieve so implicitly in the latter preven
tive that not oue of them will travel in
the higher altitudes without a generous
supply, which he cuts and sniffs at leis
! ure, though it be strong enough to draw
| tears from the eyes of a graven image.
1 When mules ami horses arc prostrated
, with sirroche the usual cure is to stuff
slices of raw onion up the creature's nos
trils. Many people cannot make this
journey at all, especially those of "full
habit," or who have any chronic heart
trouble. I have known more than one
person to set out bravely for Bolivia who
, was obliged to give it up before the
highest point on the road was reached.
If fresh from an ocean voyage, or after
| long residence near the level of the sea,
I the safer way would be to tarry awhile
j midway, say at Arequipa, which has au
! altitude a little less than 8,000 feet, in
order to accustom one's self by degrees
to the oxygenless air.
The traveler on this railway is con
stantly reminded of that celebrated
painting called "The Heart of the
Andes," and realizes that he lias found
the very spot. It is always bitterly cold
on the mountain tops, and when, at Vin
cocaya, we pick our way from the car to
the Hotel Empresa for luncheon, in a
driving storm of sleet and snow, we con
sole ourselves with the knowledge that
a few hours more will bring us down
into a region of perpetual summer time,
to the ever-blooming roses and soft,
warm sunshine of old Arequipa, the
Inca "Place of Rest." Far as the eye
can reach the soil of the higher altitudes
looks like a vast bog covered with
patches of snow aud short, coarse grass
growing iu bunches. As the storm in
creases to a raging blizzard, whitening
all the landscape in a few moments, the
domesticated llamas and alpacas run to
their corrals for protection, while guana
cos, vicunas and other wild creatures
huddle together to keep warm or skurry
away to sheltered gorges known only to
themselves. Undoubtedly those "four
sheep of the nudes" belong to the same
family, the alpaca being a cross between
the llama and the sheep, and the guana
cos between the vicuna nnd the llama.
Largest Farm in the World.
In the extreme southwest corner of
Louisiana, says Spare Moments, lies the
largest producing farm in the world.
Measuring one hundred miles north and
south, and twenty-five miles east and
west, it is owned and operated by asyu
j dicatc of Northern capitalists. The
j 1,500,000 acres of the tract were pur
j chased in 1883 from the State of Louis
i iana and from the United States Gov
ernment.
At that time it was avast grazing land
for the cattle of the few dealers of the
neighborhood, over 30,000 head of half
wild horses and cattle bciuer thereon.
Now this immense tract is divided into
convenient pasture stations, or ranches, I
existing every six miles. The fencing
alone cost in the neighborhood of $50,-
000. The laud is best adapted for rice,
sugar, corn and cotton. All cultivating,
ditching, etc., is done by steam power.
A tract, say half a mile wide, is taken,
and an engine is placed on each side.
The engines are portable, and operate
a cable attached to four ploughs, and
>under this arrangement thirty acres a
day are gone over with only the labor of
three men. Harrowing, planting and
other cultivation is done in a like man
ner. There is not a single draught horse f |
on the entire pbice.
Of course, horses are used for the
herders of c.ittle, of which there are 16,-
000 head. The Southern Pacitic Rail
way runs for thirty-six miles through the
farm. The compauy have three steam
boats operating on the waters of their
estates, of which there are 300 miles
navigable. They have also an icehouse,
a bank, a shipyard and a rice mill.
AGED INDIANS.
Remarkable Longevity of the Na
tives of Southern California.
The early inhabitants of Southern Cal
ifornia, according to the statement of
Mr. H. 11. Bancroft and other reports,
were found to be living in Spartan con
ditions as to temperance and training,
and in a highly moral condition, in con
sequence of which tlicy had uncommon
1 physical endurance and contempt for
I luxury. This training in abstinence and
hardship, with temperance in diet, com
bined with the climate to produce the
astonishing longevity to be found here.
Contrary to the customs of most other
tribes of Indians, their aged were the
care of the community. Dr. W. A.
Winder, of San Diego, is quoted as say
ing that in a visit to El Cajon Valley
some thirty years ago he was taken to
a house in which the aged persons were
cared for. Theie were half a dozen
who had reached an extreme age. Some
were unable to move, their bony frame
being seemingly anchylosed. They were
old, wrinkled, and blear-eyed; their
skin was hanging in leathery folds about
their withered liinbs; some had hair us
white as snow, and had seen some seven
score of years; others, still able to
crawl, but so aged as to be unable to
stand, went slowly about on their hands
and kpees, theii limbs being attenuated
and withered. The organs of special
sense had in many nearly lost all activi
ty some generations back. Some had
lost the use of their limbs for more than
a decade or a generation; but the organs
i of life and the "great sympathetic" still
; kept up their automatic functions, not
| recognizing the fact, and surprisingly
I indifferent to it, that the rest of the
! body had ceased to be of any use a gen
; eration or more iu the past. Dr. Pal
| mer has a photograph (which I have
i seen) of a squaw whom he estimates to
i be one hundred and twenty-six years
! old. When he visited her he saw her
I put six .< atemelons in a blanket, tie
I it lip, and carry it on her back for two
, miles. He is familiar with Indian cus
toms and history, and a careful cross
examination convinced him that her in
formation of old customs was not ob
tained by tradition. She was conver
sant with tribal habits she had seen
practised, such as the crematiou of tho
, I dead, which the mission fathers had
, compelled the Indians to relinquish.
. She had seen the ludiaLS punished by
the fathers with floggings for persisting
in the practice of cremation.
, At the mission of Sau Tomas, in
Lower California, is still living an In
• dian(a photograph of whom Dr. Remon
| ; diuo shows), bent and wrinkle, whose
■ age is computed at one hundred and
! | forty years. Although blind and naked,
I he is still active, and daily goes down
• i the beach and along the beds of the
1 creeks in search of drift-wood,makiugit
,' his daily task to gather and carry to
i! camp a fagot of wood.—[Harper's
: Magazine.
Babylon and Its Walls.
The city of Babylon was built in the
• fown of a square; it was surrounded by
a wall fifty-five miles long, and this wall
, was throughout its entire extent 350 feet
in height, or two thirds as high as the
Washington monument, and 87 feet
thick. It was constructed of burnt
j bricks, and half a dozen four-horse char
iots could be driven abreast along its top
, the entire circuit of the city. Outside
of this mighty wall was an encircling
[ ; ditch of corresponding width and depth,
f the clay dug from which was used to
1 build the wall. Also there was an inner
. i wall, not so thick as the outer one
I ! though in itself an impassable barrier
t 1 against any foe. Through the midst of
, the towu the river Euphrates flowed, its
} | banks on either side strengthened agaiust
. ! floods or the invasion of hostile troops
jby similar gigantic walls of brick. On
. i the west bank of the stream was the
| palace of the king, the terrace on which
, 1 it stood measuring eight miles in cireum
[ | ferenco. The palace of the old kings of
j Babylon was on the opposite side of the
. I river, its own terrace only four miles
round about, and the two were conuectcd
by a superb ornamental bridge.—[Wash
ington Star.
' Smallest Baby in the World.
Mr. and Mrs. Theobold M. Donaldson
, of Sandy Hook, Md., claims the small
k est baby in the couutry. At its birth it
Weighed scarcely a pound and now, at
• the age of four months, its weight is
1 only four pounds. An ordinary cigar
box is sufficiently large for the baby to
take a nap in. It is perfectly formed in
. every particular nnd the physicians
! state, will live, with proper care. Mr.
| and Mrs. Donaldson arc both healthy
{ and robust and have four other stout
, and healthy children. They feel very
proud of their little baby, which has j
r been the talk of the neighborhood for |
! miles around. Hundreds of persons
, have visited their home and admired
the little one. Some curiosity seekers
j huv-e been among the callers, and an
f agent of a Baltimore museum is trying to
) make arrangements with Mr. aud Mrs.
r Donaldson to place the little one on ex
; hibition.—[Washington Star.
The Cardiff Giant Humbug. j
One of the men who made a fortune
out of the Cardiff giant humbug nearly
twenty years ago died in New York rc
. eently. His name was George Hull.
He was formerly a tobacconist in Bing
-3 hamton, aud was the author of the
• fraud, which lie engaged au Italian
• stonecutter of Chicago to carry out. A
• large gypsum slab was obtained in lowa
" and cut into the form of a gigantic man.
3 The stone was artificially colored, to
" give the appearance of great age, and
" then buried in the vicinity of Cardiff,
where it was accidentally (of course) dis- 8
covered and exhumed, and exhibited W
' about the country as a prehistoric figure. ■
2 The imposition was so clever that many 8
f scientific men were deceived by it.— I
■ 1 Chicago Herald