FREELAND TRIBUNE.
PUBLJSBED EVERY
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4 riIOS. A. BUCKLEY,
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Grover Cleveland 28June05
uieans that Grover Is paid up to June 28, 1886,
Keep the figures in advance of the present date.
Report promptly to this office when your paper
is not received. All arrearages must bo paid
when paper is discontinued, or collection wilJ
he made in the manner provided by law.
THE King of Siarn—Chulalonkorn
—lias so far recovered from his re
tent illness as to be able to sit up
and read (he obituary sketches the
English and American newspapers
published of him, but it is not stated
what his opinions are concerning the
pictures that accompany them.
"Fori! Tf's are necessary to make a
satisfactory hotel," said a traveler of
experience. "Good beds, good beef,
goid bread, and good butter." To
which may be added a little bill.
TWELVE THOUSAND DOLLARS in pa
per money, deposited in a chimney
by an Ohio farmer, was completely
destroyed recently. If a'l this morey
was in greenbacks, treasury notes or
silver certificates Uncle Samuel has
cleared $12,000. If it was national
bank notes the banks have cleared
that much. The advantages of paper
money to those who issue it cannot
lie denied.
SURGERY'S discovery of away to
obliterate facial blemishes has given
the European detective forces a great
deal of difficulty in locating well
known criminals. By those opera
tions the whole character of the
facial expression is sometimes changed
by a few deft jabs of a lancet. The
wound licals in a very short time,
and in most cases can never be no
ticed. The criminal fraternity are
not slow to take hold of til is knowl
edge, and, in consequence, the de
scriptions in the possession of the de
tectives cannot always be de
pended upon.
THE greatest length of the United
States from cast to west is on tho
parallel of forty-tlve degree north
latitude, that is to say, from East
port, Me., on the Atlantic coast, to a
point on the Pacific exactly fifty-two
and a half miles due west of Salem,
Ore. On the above parallel it is ex
actly 2,TUS miles long. Its greatest
width, from north to south, is on tho
ninety-seventh degree of longitude,
which extends through the United
States in an almost direct line from
Pembina, N. I)., to Point Isabel,
Tex. The greatest width is 1,611J
miles.
A MAN steals a horse, sells it.to an
innocent party, who buys it in good
faith. The owner comes, takes away
his horse, and the man who lias
bought It is a loser to the extent of
tho purchase price. A knave pro
cures a farmer's signature to a paper
purporting to be an agency contract
for tho sale of some machine. By
teailng off a part of it, the remainder
with the signature becomes a promis
sory note. Pascal No. 1 sells it to
Pascal No. 2 and the latter sues to
recover. The courts decide that tho
farmer must pay the "innocent"
holder of the fraud-tainted paper, is
there anything out of joint in theso
eases?
TIIE growth and prosperity of the
Y. M. C. A, (it would he useless to
give its full title, for it has become
renowned and beloved under its in
itials) are one of the cheering sign?
of the times. Though associate I in
the minds of the people with all that
is youthful, it is an organization ol
fifty years' growth, and is the parent
cf a numerous and beneficent off
spring. The Epworth League, the
liaptist Young People's Association,
and last, but not least, the Christian
Endeavor Society, and the Christian
Association for Good Government are
movements originating directly or in
directly from the Y. M. C. A. It is
not possible to overestimate the ef
feet of tlio Y. M. C. A. anfl its off
spring upon the social and political
life of the country. It has educated
a race of men desirous for reform ol
civic and political conditions, and
ready to move toward them. The
Christianity of to-day is not content
with preaching and praying. It
preaches and prays as fervently as
ever, but It wotks also. It makes it
self a part of the life cf the world. It
not only protests against wickedness
In high places, but strives to de
throne it. It discerns that a part ol
the work of moral reformation is the
abolition of conditions that lure to
and facilitate vicious indulgence.
The general awakening to the need
of purer forms of civic government b
in no small measure a work of the
Y. M. C. A.
I ANTE-BELLUM TIMES.
I
' PLANTATION LIFE DURING THE
DAYS OF SLAVERY.
Carole** of flit* Slave Contrast
ed with the ItcHpoiiMihllitleH of the Freecl-
I man Labors and Amusements iu the
field and at tho Quarters.
Story of Slave Life.
HE idea is general-
L prevalo .t that
**£' tho ojnditionof the
I 7M slaves in the South
J | A before tho war was
r hfa'' ( 110 °* an d
v '' I hopeless misery.
! ' They woro sup-
I )vj posed to bo oom
\S polled to labor un
"**•' ? dor a cruel task
master for many hours overy day, and
thero wero persons who imagined that
they woro chains such as graced the
limbs of lofractory work-house con
vi -is or unusual y tough members of
tiio chain gang. The popularity of
"I'ncle Tom's Cabin," with its vivid
pictures of tho miseries of s'avo life,
wa\ io pt nsiblo for not a few of those
mistakes, while a legion of imitations
of 1 his roaTly strong hook, copying its
dramatic and ?onsational leatures
withoqt emulating tho interost ng
character < f its narrative, mu t lo
credited with most of the remaining
mistakes which, cvon at tho prorcnt
day, are cur ent in many neighbor
hoods as to tho co: ditionof tho former
IN THE DlllVHit's ABSENCE.
Kouthorn s'uvcs. Many of those mis
takes, eays a correspondent of tho St.
Louis (ilobo-Lomocrat, wore even
grotc (,uo in their absurdity. In some
Now Kngland neighborhoods it was
-upposod that .southern planters
hitched negroes to plows hkobeasts of
burden and ecmj oiled them to do the
work of o on, n r was this idea com
pletely ( i.-sipntod b. 'i Southern man
explaining its fallacy by showing that
not less than six able-bodied slaves j
would bo need t > draw onn plow, that ,
six slaves would c st from $8,0U() to 1
while a m do, which would do I
tho work much more etliciontly, could
1)0 had for less than SIOO. Tho notion
that all masters were heartless, that
all ovorioors wo o necessarily brutal. I
that all slaves wore treated with cru
elty. and, like caged birds, we-o con
stantly pining for liborty, became
familiar to tho Northorn mind, and,
indeed, tho ptevalonco of these mis
takes and the indignation felt on this
acei unt had no little to do with bring
ing on the war.
It is true that thoro wore trasters n
tho South who treated their slavos
cruelty. It is tr o that there wore
brutal overseers, who scmoliio* In
flicted needless cruelty upon the hap
less creatures over whom they wore
placed i:i authority. It is truo that
helpless no.root Wore sometimes
frightfully maltreated: that lamiioi
were separated and their various u on*
bora sold t'> ililTorent purchasers, to be
taken t > different Quarters of tho coun
try. All these things wore abuses of
the system in idontal to it, probably
inseparable from it. J Jut it is not true
that cruelty was tho ruio, that tne
slaves were starved and uselessly boat
on, for sue i a policy would have been
n direct contravention of the owners
interest, and while Southern planter
did not as a rule < omult their own in
teresta a-i much as they should have
done, they woro sufficiently aware of
tho value of their own j r pcrty not tu
i IN air it by usolo s CIM city.
Among tho mast- rs of tho South
there wore many men who di I what
they could to ameliorate the condition
of their slaves, who rocogni/.od the
fact that tho peculiar institution was
among thorn, not by their own wish or
act, and that it should be nan aged In
such a manner as to entail th • least
1 ossiblo suffering upon its unhappy
victims. I'ndor the oaroof such ma -
ters it was poss bio for tho slaves to
lead a quiet and not uuhapjy life, and
oven, under exceptionally favorable
circumstances, to acquire a little prop
crt v. lnstancos woro occasionally soon
of slaves being allowol to purchase
them elves whoio tho laws of the
stato l ormittod it though onco in a
whilo a curious mi use was mado of
the purchasing power, us in the caso
of tho old Kentucky slave who, bj
TIIK DItIVEIU
working overtime, aociuired enough to
bu\ a half intciest in himself from hi
master —of eourso w th the luttor'g
► consent. Half of his time was this his
own, and h's master naturally expect
od that, having gone so far. he would
continue his efforts, and finally manu
mit himself. To the surpri o of the
gentleman, however.tho half-lil erated
slave spent his own allotment of time
in loafing about the village, and after
u few mouths of this sort of exercise
j lie dispos d of his own interest in him
j self toa neighbor of h s master's, a
! £0 ltlemnn <>f the vicinity. Whcnaiked
how ho came t.i do this he replied
; that ho had no confidence in negro
property, i.nyhow. if not entirely
apocryphal, this illustration feems to
' dhow that the negroes of tho Southern
'States accepted their lot and were as
happy in it as it was possible for them
to DO undor the circumstances, i ifo on
tho big plantations \\\ s, it is true,
mostly work. During tho buy season,
which of coui'Eo depended upon tho
crop, tho hours were long and tho
| work severe, but at any other time tho
slaves wcro not a-i a rule overworked,
nor indeed during even tho busy sea
son was their labor much more arduous
than that of tho construction ganj.s
now employed in building a railroad.
In tho field work, whether hoeing or
! picking cotton, cultivating tho corn or
sugar cane, both men and women took
u hand, the latter frequent y doing
quite as much as tho former.
Tho (ntiro p antation was undor
tho supervision of the overseor, who
was usually a white man. Tho
owner rare y troubled himself abut
tho details of tho plantatlc n work,
leaving all those matters to his
ovc r.oer, who was supposed to
j ( arry on all the bu ino s pertaining to
the plantation, t > keep the books, to
| preset vo an a count of tho expenses
, and tho income, and, in short, to bo
the business agent and account keeper
rf tho plantation. He, and not the
master, • amo in direct contact with
tho slaves and to him they looked for
tholr orders. If the overseer was
honest and ca- able tho plantation busi
ness frequently prosperel: if ho was
| tho c ntrary, tho plantation soon ran
| down, and not a few plantation owners
went through the unpleasant oxpcrl
: J! co of every year being compelled to
ell otY a piece of land or a few 6luvos
to tnake b th ends meet.
While the overseor was tho princi
pal o ocuti\o oil cer of tho plantation,
ho frOjUcntly, however, -dologutod u
I portion of his authority to a subordi
! Nato known as a "driver." The plan
tation driver was commonly an old and
J trusted negronian, who, bymanyyoars
lot' faithful service, had acquired a
! claim to his master s consideration.
; He was olten a preacher, and thus had
ac uired over his fell ws an ascondon
cy which ca isod him to bo rospceted
us in every wav their suporior. (lis
official position in plantation etiquette
I was no\t to that of tho overseer, and
i ho was oven occasionally intrusted
with tho power of inllicting corporal
! punishment on tho negroes placed in
( iiis charge, an authority he was rarely
| -low to exercise, for it was a notorious
fact that tho driver was always harder
on the plantation hands than was tho
overseer
The plantation was alwavs fitted out
with a hell, which hung in a frame at
i the top ifa post and was rung as a sig
' nal for tho beginning and end of tho
! hours of wor {• ma 1 slave-owners
contented themselves with a horn,
I which answered tho same purposo, and
j the sound of tho dinner horn has thus
j been perpetuated in tfouthorn litem-
I tuio and in nogr.) imagery, but tho
i bill wa; tho accoptod fcaturo, and a
plantation without a boll was consid
| orod to be somowhat below the avor
uge. At tho of tho boll the ne
groos proceeded to tho fields, walking
TUB IN ANTATION HUM,
i In a straggling line, exchanging gibes.
I repartee and comical remarks on sub
| ccts of momentary interest. Their
i labor among tho cotton aiul tho corn
plants was enlivened by all sorts of
\ jokes and running tiro of witticisms,
i which, however, were cheeked as tho
over.-cor or tho driver tamo within
hearing. Kcstmg spell woro fro juont;
ii doed. woro it not for tho prosonco fo
tome one in authority, tho resting
spells would have occupied tho most
of tho day, for as not ono of tho 'a*
bo rocs was working for ii is own ben
efit, ho seldom catcd how little ho
did, and for a do in juoi cy always
had a ready if not a sufficient excu o.
Whie tho mon and womon woro em
ployed in tho fields tho little nogroos,
or pickaninnies as they were called,
were lo f t in charge of some old
"mammy," an ancient colorod woman
no longer able to do plantation work.
She took cure of tho babies, watched
tho pickaninnies, to mako suro they
g t into no mischief, and gave the
| youngsters their rations. Theso were
of the simplest description, "pot liq
uor" being tho basis of the sub.-tan
tills and molasses <f the dainties.
Dot liquor was tho water in which
ham beef and ether meats were boilod.
H was, in fact, a thin soup, but when
thickened with meal or vegetables and
roboiled, it made a reasoi ably nutri
tious diet and so highly was it re
garded on tho Southern plantations
that to "raiso littlo negroes without
jot liquor" was regarded a* a prac
tical impossibility, lot liquor and
hominy, "pone bread" an I fat bacon,
with molasses, constituted tho staple
rations of tho slaves tho year round,
except of those favored few who wero
employed around tho master's house,
who served his tablo and ate and
drank, with some few exceptions, what
tho family did. Tho working day over,
its conclusion being announced by tho
boll, tho slaves returned from the field
as they went,, only with far more of
noisy mer. imont. for there was always
u sense of relief at the conclusion of a
i day's toil
fcvoning at the quart ra was the
merriest part of the day. Among so
many slave* there -were always some
of musical tendencies who could play
the guitar or banjo, and sodances were
frequent, while com hu kings were
Quito as much of a frolic. The no
grces' "quarters" consisted of a row or
rows of cabins, generally of logs.front
ing a street not tar from tho owner's
house, and to tho rear. Hero, after
supper was onded, the slaves woro loft
to them-elves, and found what amuse
ment they could until tho boll rang for
bedtime. Thou all were supposed to
retire, and anv who failed to bo in
place whon tho overseer or driver
made tho final round for the
night were subject to severe pun
ishment. Tho slaves wore not per
mittod to loavo tho plantation with
out a written pass or permit from their
owner or overseer, and in town tho fire
boll was generally rung at if o clock as
a signal lor thorn to go homo. After
tho ringing of tho boll tho n'qht
-watchmen or patrol of tho town
started on thoir rounds, whon every
slave found on tho Ftreot was stopped
and questioned, and if found without a
pass was a rested and locked up. The
ringing of tho tiro l 01l was, therefore,
u signal for a general scampering, and
in every direction belated darkies
could be hoard pounding tho sidewalks
with their generous feet in an effort
to reach homo be f ore the night watch
started out. This well - undo-stood
feature of Southern lifo it was that
gave rise to the once popular song,
"nun, Mggor, ltun, tho i'atrol Will
Catch You. '
The divorsion-> of tho plantation
wore very simple. In tho toison 'pos
sum and 'coon hunts woro in order, t'.iq
slaves who joined in tho sports often
being accompanied by members of tho
owner's family, who wont for tho more
plo isure of hunting something. With
the slave-, however, the expedition
was strictly a business enterprise, for
then, ai over sineo, the fat 'possum
was esteemed a most t' othsome dainty,
and lucky indeed was he who managed
to focuro one of tho?e rauch-covetod
animals for his own exelu ive eating.
The preparation lor tho table win a
matter of much interest and 110 little
care. Af or the 'pos-um had been
made re dy for the rousting, a largo
pumpkin was split in two and tho seeds
taken cut of one half, which was de
post cd loforo tho fire and filled with
peolo 1 sweet potatoes. Tho 'possum
was then hung up by h's tail l.efoio a
r. aring firo, directly above tho pump
kin, and slowly twirling around, ho
was equally r asto 1 on ovory sido,
while his fat, forced out by tho heat,
d ippod on tho sweet. 1 otatoes and
pumpkin, j otatoes and 'pos 11m were
all cooked ready f< r consumption at tho
same time, and a feat was thui pro
vided which, according to darky esti
mate, was fit for the gods.
The life of tho slave, with its inter
vals of rcvaxation, was not, in tho
main, an unhappy one. There was a
completo lack of responsibility. Tho
nld-timo nogr > slave lived only for tho
day. The morrow troubled him not.
He was sure of a living, for he know
his master could not afford to let him
starve, ilo was not allowed to learn
anything. All books to him woro
sealed. But knowing nothing of them
ho never missed tho information they
contained. His greatest satis r actioh
wa< to havo a good master, and whon
he had anv ambitions, tho highest
was t) run away and go North, where
he would to ireo. It wat often grati-
I od, too, for if anv one will take tho
time to look over tho tiles of any news
paper published in tho border States
to ore tho war. 110 will find that or.oof
Its most conspicuous foaturos was tho
pict iro of a running negro with a bundle
slung on a stick over his shoulder,
and a do-cription of the slave supposed
to have run away. But instances tiro
also not lacking of slaves accompany
ing their masters during long ourncvi
through tho North and remaining as
dovot <1 on free 11s on slave soil.
The slave an 1 the frecdman are two.
fs ontially different persons. Sineo
the emancipation the Southern c.olored
people have su-tainod a ohango so rad
ical that it can not bo considered but
u- a change of character. They have
lo.-t much of tho careless happiness of
slavery, but have gained in a knowl
edge of tho rospen ibilitv of freedom.
The change U immeasurable, and even
the most radical advocate of tho old
system would not now venture on a re
turn to slavery and tho over: cor, or to
affirm that the freedman P not infi
nitely tuporior in ovory respect to tho
slave.
Do White Savages Exist?
The Mongul tribes, which inhabit
the Tundras, or frozen swamps of
No thern Siberia, and who inenthno
graphy are known as the Satnoyedes,
would be the first to suggest them
selves as an answer to the question,
in complex! 11 they are white
lighter even than many of the inhabi
tants of Spain, Italy, or the (Jrecian
Archipelago—yet they are savages of
a type so low in the scale of human
ity that they might almost be. de
scribed as the northern counterpart
of the Fuegans in the South. They
live mostly on raw flesh and fish, and
their institutions are oven more
primitive than those of the savages
of Central Africa. Far re
moved from thciu, however,
are the Ma orunas of the mountain
region of Eastern Peru. They inhabit
the district between the I cayali and
Yavari rivers. These arc described
by Mark ham as the most ferocious of
all the tribes of Central South
America. Their skins are white and
fair. I nlike most savages they have
thick beards, and are described as
"tall and very war like, going quite
naked, armed with clubs, spears, and
blow-guns." A peculiar interest at
taches to them in consequence of the
belief that they are tho descendants
of Spanish marauders, who arc sup
posed to have lost themselves in tho
wilds of Peru in the time of Plzarro,
A. I>. 1527, and to have mingled with
sa age tribes and so reverted to sav
rnro.rv
What Ho Wanted.
One evening, at a symphony re
hearsal of the Mciningen orchestra,
Bulow stopped the orchestra and ex
claimed: "Kettle-drums forte!" The
drummer, who thought he had done
pretty well already, redoubled his
efforts; but again Bulow stopped and
shouted: "Kettle drums forte!" Once
more the drummer put on extra
steam; and, when Bulow stopped
again, he exclaimed: "Really, Herr
Kapellmeister, if I beat any harder 1
shall break the drum-heads!" "Who
asked you to do that?" retorted Bu
low. quietly; "you play fortissimo,
and what I want is forte only,"
THE MERRY SIDE OF LIFE.
STORIES THAT ARE TOED BY THE
FUNNY MEN OF THE PRESS.
A Romance of Pronouns—Shop—More
Lymphatic Thau That —Final—
The New Woman, Ktc., Etc.
Tt was evening, it was moonlight, it was lato
and it was fair.
I was courting, I was happy, I was brave,
for she was there.
She was pretty, sho was blushing sho was
willing to ho wod—
llo arrived and ho objected. Ho was papa,
so I fled.
I returned. 110 was repentant. She was
coaxing her mamma.
Ho relented, and I thanked hlni and forgave
him—dear papa !
Thcu he blessed us. I was happy, while sho
blushed a rosy rod,
110 was willing. Sue was willing. I was ,
Willing. Wo wore wed.
Alex 11. Laidlaw, Jr., in Vogue.
FINAL.
Morrison Essex —"lf yon came to
our town once, you wouldn't ever live
anywhere else."
William Ann—What'd tho matter
—malaria ?"—Puck.
FRACTICE VS. PREACHING.
Hoggs—"Van Pelt is getting quito j
a reputation as a political reformer." |
Foggs—"How's that?"
Hoggs—"One year ho forgets to
register, and can't vote, and tho next
he thinks to register, but forgets to
vote." —Puck.
SHOP.
"Whnt did the physician say?"
asked the solicitous wife.
"He said that my blood is too slug
gish," replied tho sick editor. "I'm
not sufficiently active. I've got to do
something to boom my circulation."
-Washington Star.
THE NEW WOMAN.
"I feel very anxious about my
daughter, doctor."
"What are her symptoms?"
"She isn't abio to endure anything.
This moruiug sho was all worn out
after a little run of fifteen miles on
her wheel."—Chicago Inter-Ocean.
THE CHANGED VIEW.
"I always thought she was the most
commonplace of girls."
"At any rate sho has done a most
romantic thing."
"What, pray?"
"Married a young man of her own
age who is neither a coachman nor a
prince."—Judge.
MORE LYMPHATIC THAN THAT.
Radbourn (to friend who has just
returned from Europe)—"l see you
are carrying your arm in a sling. An
affair of honor? Something that
could not bo taken?"
Chesney—"No. It did take. I
was vaccinated on tho steamer."—
New York Herald.
NOT HASTY.
A very email boy was trying to lead
a big St. Bernard up the avenue.
"What are you going to do with
that dog?" asked a kindly gentleman.
"I can't make up my mind," was
the answer; "not tell I find out whut
the dog thinks o' doiu* weth me." •
Washington Star.
ON THE RUN,
She —"That last battle of yours must
have been a terrific one, major."
The Major—"lt was indeed (proud
ly). I wish I might have had my
photograph of myself taken on the
field."
She—"But they didn't take instan
taneous pictures then."—Detroit Free
Press.
SYMPATHY.
"I know that it is customary to re
gard the tramp ns an idle, worthless
fellow,"said the thoughtful man. "But,
honestly now, don't you feel sorry for
him?"
"I should say 1 did," replied his
companion. "Why, he has to say
thank you when my wife gives him
some of her biscuit.'' —Washington
Star.
nER ROMANCE ENDED.
"Yep, I gave him up," signed tho
vouug woman.
"Did lie prove unworthy of your
nflection?" inquired her sympathetic
young friend.
| "Ho—he became a spelling reform
er," rejoined the other, with a shud
der, "and sigued his name Morj.' It
took all the poetry and romance out
of the name. It was more than 1 could
endure."—Chicago Tribune. *
A SURE SIGN.
Hotel Manager —"I see you have
given our best suito of rooms to a man
named Jones. Are you sure he can
pay tho price?"
Hotel Clerk—"Yes sir, he is im
mensely wealthy."
Hotel Manager—"How do you
know?"
Hotel Clerk—"Oh, he is very old
and very ugly and his wife is very
young and very pretty."—Truth.
TIIE TRUE AND THE FALSE.
"Then you are another's," he
hissed.
Sho sat as one benumbed.
"Confess!" ho thundered. "You
uro another's."
She shivered.
"Partially," she faltered. "This
hair—"
Sho pressed her hand to her brow.
"—and the upper teeth I wear are
borrowed. Tho rest is yours. I
swear it."—Detroit Tribune.
TIMELY HELP.
Sho heard his passionate protesta
tion of love.
"No,"" sho declared; "I cannot
change my mind."
A sardonic smile 6tolo about his
lips.
"In that connection— M
He was suddenly calm.
" —I would like to call your atten
tion to our system of developing the
intellect; complete iu fifteen lessons;
no teacher required."—Puck.
A MATRIMONIAL COMPROMISE.
"You and your wife always seem to
get on admirably together. How do
you manage it?"
"Wo came to an understanding
early in our married life and have
kept things up ever since on the basis
we established them."
"Tell mo all about it."
"Well, when wo first went to house
keeping my wife wanted linen sheets
and I wanted cotton ones, and—"
"Well?"
"Well, wo compromised by having
linen sheets."—European Edition of
the Herald.
A FEW DECADES HENCE.
Mrs. Newcra (entering kitchen hur
riodly about 3 p. m. registratiou day)
"Alfred, dear, I am sorry to disturb
you, but if wo don't register overy
vote we've got in tho ward they are
going to lick us, sure! Takeoff your
aprcn and come along. There's a car
riage at the door."
Mr. Newera —"Ethelherti, I'vo
tried to bo a good husband to you.
I'vo never refused to do anything rea
sonable you have required of me. I
have taken care of tho house and kept
the children out of mischief while
you've boon at the club or hobnobbing
with candidates downtown, ami I've
never complained, but I'm right in
the middle of the fruit canning season,
and if you think I'm going to leave
this porcelain kettle full of peaches all
roady to put in the jars and lot the
six gallons of apple butter in this
wash boiler burn aud go to waste just
for tho sake of going out to register
you don't know me,madam —that's all.
Now you get out of my way and g >
about your business, or I'll throw a
dipper of hot water on you."—Cin
cinnati Tribftue.
The Oldest Wooden Building.
Japan possesses what is undoubtedly
tho oldest wooden structure in tho
world. It contains tho art treasures
of the Mikado, and is situated at Nara,
which was for some years tho imperial
residence. The building is oblong in
shape and is built of triangular logs of
wood. It rests ou piles. Tho wood
used is of native growth and shows
extraordinary lastiug power, consider
ing the trying climate which it has
had to endure for over 1200 years. A
peculiar feature about tho logs of
which tho building is constructed is
that in the parts most exposed to the
weather the logs are thinner by several
inches than iu those in a more shel
tered position, the wood having grad
, uolly worn away.
The treasures which the storehouse
contains are of great antiquity and
have only been seen by Europeans
during the last threo years. They
consist of rare and beautiful fabrics
of Persian, Indian, Chinese and Turk
ish manufacture, and ancient articles
of "vertu" from all parts of the world.
Among the objects of interest is the
earliest known specimen of Japaneso
printing. Even to-day many of the
words are easily decipherable. The
treasures have remained undisturbed
in the same building for 1203 years,
and despite the troublous times
through which it has been in exis
tence it has never been injured or dis
turbed. Many of the treasures are
still packed up in the storehouse cham
ber underground, where they have
lain for hundreds of years, and when
they are brought to view some now
light may bo thrown upon the early
history of tho country. They may,
and probably will, disclose much
valuable information about the other
Asiatic countries, because the collec
tion is culled from all parts of Asia,
and it is to treasures such as these
that we are indebted for most of our
knowledge of tho early uatious of tho
|t.
Odd Properties of Nilro.Bonziir.
At a chemical factory ot Mulhouse,
in Alsace, an accident occurred the
other day which would be too grue
some to relate had it not some scien
tific interest. An explosion of nitro
benzine took placo in a building in
which a workmau was kuowu to have
been. A fire ensued, and when it had
been got under control it was found
that three feet of boiling liquid was
oil the floor. When it had cooled
a search was made for tho mau's re
mains, but 110 trace whatever was
found of them. It was thou thought
ho might after all have left tho placo
before tho explosion. To put tho mat
ter to the test carcasses of animals
were put into the liquid, and it was
found they disappeared in about two
hours. Twenty-four hours had elapsed
between tho explosion and tho llrst
search.—London Daily News.
Same lVonders oi Seed Vital:(3*.
In the gardens adjoining the build
ings of the Loudon Horticultural So
ciety are threo raspberry ca ies which
havo a most wonderful history. They
were grown from seeds found in tho
stomach of a man who had been buried
at a depth of thirty feet iu one of the
! many "barrows," or old-time burial
j mourns, in north Britain. From data
J furnished by the coius found with tho
skeleton it is believed that the berries
which furnished these seeds were eaten
not less than 1703 and probably 2000
years ago.
The Gardeners' Chronicle for 1818,
page 700, gives an account of several
varieties of seeds which were found in
a Roman tomb, where Ihey had lain
from 1500 to 2000 years, un<f which
burst into life und vigorous growth as
soon as they were transferred to the
warm, damp soil. —St. Louis Republic.
WONDERS OF ALUMINUM.
NUMEROUS U3ES TO WHICH THI3
TOUGH META L MAT BE PUT.
It 6 Cheapness Will Work a Revolu
tion in Mechanical Construction
—Process of Production a Secret.
sr ~K~ RTICLES made of alumi
/ \ num, the bronze with which
every clay bank abounds,
£ can hardly be classed as
novelties any longer," eaid a Maiden
lane denier in goods made of that metal.
"The novelty now consist in the ap
plication. Aluminum ten years ago
was only produced after au expensive
and tedious scientific process. It was
worth as much if not more than silver
and the product was so small tlmt it
had no commercial standing, and was
only made up into paper weights or
fancy little trifles. To-day aluminum
is a thoroughly established article of
trade. Its cost iu the bar or iugot is
only one-twelfth of what it was twelve
years ago, and the price will continue
to steadily decline until it is as cheap
as tinned iron, which it will ultimate
ly supplant for a hundred uses. Every
jewelry and novelty store to-day car
ries in stock an endless variety of
articles for toilet, table and personal
use which were formerly made of sil
ver, or silver plate, but which are now
made of aluminum. The prices are
much lower than those which they
supplant. .Manufacturers buy the
aluminum in bar, ingot or rolled
sheet. The metal comes from Pitts
burg, one canocrn near that city turn
ing'out about ninety per ceut. of tho
output in tho United States.
The process by which cheap alum
inum is produced at its present price
is a jealously-guarded secret. .Experi
mental plants are iu operation all over
the country, and the secret must sooner
or later become common property.
Then tho aluminum ago will dawn.
House furnishing stores are already
displaying all manner of cooking uten
sils mado of the light, tough and non
tarnishing metal, and cuspidors made
of it'are quite popular. It is also be
ing used extensively for bath tub lin
ings and for outdoor signs in place of
zinc or brass. Wire and tubing of all
dimensions are on tho market.
A gentleman representing tho prin
cipal aluminum reduction works of
the country stated yesterday that tho
coming year will witness-a further re
duction in the cost of tho product of
at least fifty per cent. The building
of ships of heavy burden of aluminum
is among the probabilities. In the
clay banks of the country the practi
cal scientist sees the house building
lumber of the future.
In 1880 aluminum cost sl7 per
pound ; in 1880 it had declined to SB.
Then tho electrolytic method of re
ducing the ore was invented, and in
1889 tho ruling price was sl. Then
it began to replace brass, German sil
ver and nickel. The price had fallen
in 1891 to $1.50 a pound, and with
this year dates tho introduction of
'aluminum as a commercial staple. In
1893 tho new metal was as cheap as
copper. The prevailing price is to
day from titty-three to sixty-three
cents per pound, iu 100-pound lots,
according to quality, aud tifty to fifty
eight cents in tou lots.
All tho steel-workers of the country
use large quantities of the new metal
as an alloy. The use of aluminum
was the secret of the wonderful flexi
bility and strength of the Damascus
blade. Tho German Government has
done much to encourage its use. Pon
toon bridges have been constructed
of it. Aluminum shoo pegs are aloue
used in the making of shoes for the
army. It has been "faun 1 especially
valuable iu the fitting of torpedo
boats. A rowboat weighing 14'
pounds has a carrying capacity of a
boat weighing 803 pouuls in other
metal. Bicycle frames are made of
it. Lamps made from it do not ex
ude oil. Food cooked in aluminum
vessels cannot scorch.
Cornets and flutes made from puro
aluminum are as sweet in tone as if
made of silver. Many kinds of surgi
cal instruments are made of it. The
metal is three and a half times lighter
than copper. Spun into fine thread
it will enter into the manufacture oc
draperies. Already "silk bows" have
been shown as proof of tho possibili
ties in this line.—New York World.
How Peflsln is Prepared.
Pepsin, which in various forms is
so largely used as a remedy for indi
gestion and stomach trouble, is ob
tained from the membrane that lines
the stomach of various animals, that
of the hog being most largaly used.
Tho fresh stomachs arc deprived of
their fat and divested of their outer
coating, cut open, gently washed with
cold wate- and macerated for several
days in a pickle. This pickle is com
posed of water thirty parts aud hydro
chloric acid one part, and requires
frequent stirring. The liquid is next
strained aud Altered clear through
coarse paper or allowed to stand
twenty-four hours aud then poured off.
Common suet is then added aud thor
oughly mixed with the liquid. Tho
pepsin rises to the top, and after
standing is skimmed off. After this it
is drained iu a strainer, then submit
ted to strong pressure to force out all
that is possible of the f-aliue solution.
Next it is carefully dried in warm air
without other heat. The resultant
constitutes the crude pepsin, which is
used Tor making purified pepsin, etq.
Purified pepsin before drying iu water
accidulated with pepsin before drying
in water accidulated with hydrochloric
acid, then adding just sufficient saltt )
separate it from its solution. It is
next washed gently with cold water
and drained, pressed aud dried rapid
ly on glass with gentle heat.—New
York Telegram.
The honey deman.l is growing and
prices are stiffening considerably,