FREEL'AND TRIBUNE. PUBLISHED KVBHY ' MONDAY AND THURSDAY. THOS. A. BUCKLEY, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR. OFFICE: MAIN STREET. ABOVE CENTRE. SUBSCRIPTION BATES. One Tear .. jl so Si* Mentha ~,., 75 Four Months 50 Two Months Subscribers are requested to observe tho date following tiie name on the labels of their papers. By referring to tliis they can tell at a glance how they stand on the books In this office. For instance: G rover Cleveland 28June% means that Grover Is paid up to June 28, IfflG. Keep the llguros in advance of the prcaent date. Report promptly to this office when your paper is not received. All arrearages must bo paid when paper is discontinued, or collection will be made in the manner provided by law. IT IS related as singular that fat men seldom commit crime. Itdoesn't seem so singular when you reflect that it is dilllcult for a fat man to stoop to anything low. TUB Peruvians aro said to have sacked the observatory erected by Harvard College on Mount Aroquipa. Why not send the Harvard football team down there and wipe Peru off the map. TIIE now rifle which has been adopted in the United States army weighs only eight pounds, and will kill a man at a distance of two miles. With tho use of smokeless powder, it is said, a man would be killed before lie heard or knew of the report. The bullet is to be of nickel or steel. VERY much of the wrong-doing of the world arises from ignorance and thoughtlessness. Temptations are strong, desires are ardent, inclina tions are imperious, and the weak and undisciplined judgment is easily led to concede that there is no great harm in yielding. Gradually this yielding comes to he a habit, and the character is formed, or rather wreck ed, by self-indulgence where it might have been saved, elevated, and strengthened by more knowledge and a wiser training. SOME ono makes tho suggestion that the north pole would have been reached long ago if explorers were not. so anxious to get hack home in order to (ill engagements on tho lec ture platform. PEOPLE do not generally recognize ' the abounding and permanent happi- j ness that it is possible to enjoy from witnessing and sympathizing in that of others. Not that such enjoyment is unknown—far from it. it glad- j dens the heart of every true father > and mother; it is the soul of friend- | ship, the essence, of philanthropy, ! tiie atmosphere in which real benev- : olence exists. But it is rarely looked I for; it is always incidental; it takes j us by surprise if we pause long enough to consider it at all. THE greatest length of the United States from cast to west is on the parallel of forty-live degree north latitude, that is to say, from Kast- | port, Me., en tho Atlantic coast, to a point on the Pacific exactly fifty-two and a half miles due west of Salem, j fire. On the above parallel it is ex actly 2,768 miles long. Its greatest • width, from north to south, is on the ' ninety-seventh degree fof longitude, which extends through the United j States in an almost direct line from J Pembina, N. It, to Point Isabel, Tex. The greatest width is 1,6114 j miles. A CHICAGO man, whose interest in j the subject was aroused by the fact | that his firm had been swindled out [ af several thousands of dollars by forged bills of lading, has originated ! a hill that he believes will protect shippers. A hill of lading with the name of a well-known firm attached to it is as negotiable as a check, and j shippers have been swindled out ot j thousands and thousands of dollars j by sharpers extort with the pen. ' Only recently a Kansas City firm was 1 neatly victimized out of $l,;i00 in j this manner. A bill of lading should | have every safeguard thrown around it that a check or draft lias. If the Chicago man's invention is all that I Is claimed for it, the railroads should I adopt it at once. A NEW YOKK photographer has begun suit against a Chicago publi cation for damages growing out of alleged infringement of copyright. The law under which the action is brought prescribes damages of $1 for each copy of the publication contain- j Ing the "pirated" article, and as the publication attacked circulates some '270,060 copies, the hapless publisher sees ruin staring him iu tho face. It is entirely obvious that this law is a faulty one, throwing open the way to gross injustice. It has more than once been employed for purposes of extortion. Innocent and unknown violations of it frequently occur, and indeed cannot bo avoided in the pub lication of newspapers. There should ] he organized effort, made by the press j of the country to persuade tiie next I Congress to repeal or radically amend 1 this Federal statute. UNDER MIDNIGHT SUN NORWAY'S SEABOARD AND ITS MANY ATTRACTIONS. ' Customs and Resources of a Far Distant Country AVlilcli Has I.lttlo Iteshlos Its People and Its Sconery—Gr-~tl Future and Glorious Past. An Iron Coast. Tho elimato of all Western Europe, so far a - the influenco of the sea ox ; tends inland, is so tempered by the balmy waters of the Gulf Stream dur | ing both winter and summer that tho 1 opulatlon do not teem to bo in special need of going elsewhoro to escat o either the heat or tho cold. In Eng land, when the summer tempo rat uro rises above eighty degree j , the heat i? considered o; pressivo: in winter when tho t lermomotor sinks below twenty degrees the cold is regarded las exceptional. But liko the in | habitants of other regions favor, d in ; tho matter of climate, tho people take l advantage of tho first warm wavo or A SCENE ON TIIE COAST. tho advent of frost to rush off to localities where the climate conditions aro more favorable to comtort. In winter the 1 iviora, Italy, Greoee and North Africa are crowded with refugees from the cold of Russia, Ger u a iv, Franco and Great Britain, while in summer, travel turns again to the north, and thus the ebb and Howot the human tide continues as regularly as the migration of the birds Tho nearness of the Norway coast to Great Britain, and tho convenience with which it may no reached from any part of Western Europe, have, during recent years, made it, an ex ceedingly popular resort, among tour ists. Steamship linos havo been es tablished along tho coast to carry the touri-ts from place to placo liko magic, hoto's have sprung up at every point whore tho least attraction is of fered t > the tourists: dealers in natur .l curiosities, in photographs, books of do script'ons, and the thousand and ono articles of which iho traveling public stands constantly in need, do a thriv ing business, and all Norway is ren dered richer by tho summer travel. It has need of something to enrich its population, for, with tho exception jf Switzerland, there are few countries un the globe that havo fewer resources 3f wealth than tho narrow strip of coast, which .-corns to havo been cre ated merely for tho purpose of making Sweden an inland country. But Norway is by no means so sn ail as it looks. Over 1,00.) m lcß from north to south, nearly ,'IOO miles from cast to west it is double the size <>f Missouri, containing more than l.':o,o(Jd square niilosof terri tory. In the caso of a country which is one-fourth straight up and down, a fourth more too stoop to climb, an 1 most of tho remaining half too rocky to cultivate, superlic al area counts for little, tor, as was once said in the caso 3f tho bla kjac < land of a Western Stuto, the moro of it a man owns, the poorer lu- is. Ti at this is almost liter ally true in the case of Norway may tho more easily be seen when it is re mombcred that a European govern ment. liko every other, must havo money, and, however poor the land may ho. its owner must pay his taxes, and plenty of them, too. it nil if lie rail not prevail on any ono to buy the land, he must keep on \ aving indefinitely. If he cannot get his money out of tho and, th.t i- hi-misfortune. Tho Gov ernment of Norway is just as hard hearted in such matters as anv State >r municipal government in the United States, and just as prompt at enforcing collections. In on 3 way or another the govern mont of Norway manages to squeeze out of the people tlL'.i o i.o, o every vcar in taxes, and. as may bo naturally "sun- , nosed in a country so poor, tho inhab itants are kept busy in tho effort to make a living and pay their taxes. But they manage to do l oth, though it must bo confessed that, to people who j live outside of Norway, their efforts in tho former direction do not scorn to bo ON THE LOOKOUT FOII A WIIALE. a brilliant success. But no ono ought to starve with oats and barley, with eggs and butter and fowls and milk and reindeer meat in comparative abundance, and so tho hardy Nor wegians live, though it cannot bo - aid that thoy get fat. Tho contrary, however, may soon be tho case, for thousands of tourists now crowd the ast towns of Norway, and tho hotel-keepers and other classo tliat live pn tho traveling public aro rapidly learning how that publlic may iio I'eooed out of its last dollar, and arc acquiring a dexterity that will soon placo them, in t';o traveling mind, on a plane, of respect similar to that occu pied by the innkeepers of Switzerland, Franco, and the t urist part of the Rhine. If magnificence of scenery were any justification for robbery by hotel-keepers, waiters, hack driv ors, and others <f that persuasion, tho consciences of the Norwegian? ought never to givo them a moment's disquietude. f( r in no part of the world, save the north coast of Lake Superior, is there a grander spectacle than in almost any inlet on tho Norway soa lino. Some one has said all Norway is but one grand mountain after another, and to this statement any ono who eails along the coast is forced to give in his adhesion. It may also bo re marked that the seaboard is really only ono inlot after another, for so numer ous aro the islands along the coast that it is possible in places to sail for many miles in the narrow passages between islands and the main land and rarely catch moro than a glimpse of the sea without. Tho islands aro worthy of tho name, lingo masses of rock rise from the sea, often .\<!o ) or 4,000 feet in porpondic- I ular height; their summits havo never been trodden bv the foot of man. No uttompt is over made to ascend them, for the difficult and dangerous task would bo utterly fruitless of re sult. From somo of the Alpine | peaks the prospect, lor variety and beauty, is unsurpassed. For a hun dred miles there is an alternation of mountain and valley, while far away in tho dim southern distance stretch tho sunny plains of Italy, dotted with tho domes and steeplos of cities, specked with tho white marble vll as !of the nobility and gentry. A score of citios, every one famous in story and i song, are visible at a single glance, ■ while the beauty of tho natural feat j uros of sconery, tho sconory that cre j ated a fur or of enthusiasm when point j od out by Hannibal to his dusky war riors from beyond the sea. and later drove Napoloon's soldiors wild, amply repays tho fatigue and labor of the as ! cent. No such compensation awaits | him who climbs a peak in Norway, for | after the ascent, it it can bo made at | all. ho sees to tho north and soutn an I endless succession of gigantic peaks simil ir to the ono on which ho stands, to tho east aro apparently boundless table lands, broken by an occasional peak, while to tho west is tho tea that has moro than once boon covered with tho sails of tho Norsemen, whose dread famo a thousand \oars ago spread s > far and wide that oven in the south of France tho monks to their daily prayers added tho petition: A furor J Norman orutu Libera uos, O Domino. So nobody tries to aicond the peaks, and, indeed, not a few aro inaccessi ble, having not oven a landing place for tho smallest boat. Rising perpen dicularly from tho water, their bases have been tunnel a by tho busy waves boating against them for thousands of years: the billows rush into the cav erns with a sound like a boom of thun der, rush out again liko a pent up llood. an 1 with a force that no boat could withstand, so that, sometimes for miles, no spot (an bo found whlro even the nimblest sailor could loap in William Toll fashion from the boat to tho shore. But tho mighty cliffs and cone shaped rocks that rear their heads among the clouds are not left in solitude, oven though their tops havo never been trodden by the foot ot man. Milliors of wild fowl of ovory kind havo their nests among the crags, and lly to and fro in midair, suspended far above tho range of the sportsman's -hot. Ordinarily, almost unseon, save for ono sailing out or lazily returning, - ■ i •' A COUNTIIY CHUUCII. fish laden, to its nest, no idea can bo formed of their numoors. The discharge of a gun brings them out by thousands: iho air is darkonou with their numbers: tho car is offended by their noisy remonstrancos against the invasion of their solitude.- - . When winter approaches, thoy gather and leavo for the south in vast llocks. Kvory peasant in Central and Western Europe is familiar with tho sight and sound of these aerial armies passing far above bis head, and has learned by I heir movements to judge of the near approach of cold or warm weather. They aro true tourists. All day long, with noisy clamor, thoy travel: at night, well aware of the danger, they descend in ] orfect stillness, feed anil rest. A passer-by might walk within fifty fcot of a thousand of them and not hoar a single sound. They aro not bothorod with waiting for trains or making connections, or paying hotels or tipping the lazy waiters who do moro waiting in the kitchen than at tho table. For thousands of mi.os thoy travel, and tho birds that spend tho summer among tiie barren rocks of Norway pass tho winter among tho wild t-ieo marshes of Contral Africa. Tho Norwegians they have left bo hind would ho glad to go with thorn, for Norway is not over cheerful even when summer is at its height, and the sun wheels round tho horizon instead of sinking bolow, but in wintor tho desolation becomoi tonfold moro up parent, and tho limited resources of tho inhabitants aro taxed to the ut most to get through tho season. More than ono Arctic explorer has given a graphic picture of the horrors of a winter in the frozen north; but to the Norsemen every winter is an Arctic wintor, and tho inconveniences and suffering of which the explorers com plain so bitterly are by him borne as a matter of coui so. To him a tempera ture of 40 to 50 degrees below zero doos not seom excessively cold, for ho is prepared for it. Well protected without by a dress of fur from lioad to toot, well provided within with an abundant supply of fish and oily food, his system defies tho cold, and without injury ho endures a temperature that would speedily prove fatal to the in habitants of a warmer zone. Whether it is that only the strong can live in such a climate, or whether tho climate makes all who livo in it strong, is a question that only those versod in such matters can answer: but certain it is that no country in tho world produces better examples of tho liuinun animal than the Scandinavian peninsula. Tall, well formed, robust, Iho men of Norway and Sweden are capable of enduring almost anv amount of labor and hardship. Tho soldiers of tho Swedish and Norwegian armies average tho tallest in Eutvpo, and al though dur ng tho last few centuries they have not had tho opportunity to Keep up tho reputation they won when the viking ships were known and dreaded on every coast from tho month f tho Rhino to the mou'h of tho Ti ber, tho.v are still prepared to givo a good account of thomsolve* should tl o political necessities of their country ever agtin demand their services in war. Their homo life is as simple as could b. imagined, for there are only two leading lines of industry in Norway— farming and lishing-and very often both are practiced by tho same indi vidual--, wno, during tho short spring and summer, do tho heavy work of agriculture, leaving tho lighter tasks to thoir wi.es av.d childron, while in the winter they dovoto their timo al most o\clusi\oiv to tho fisheries. The V 05313 V ANOEN, AN AVEUAOK NORWEGIAN VILLAGE. latter pay much better than fanning, for tho ivorway sumirer is so short that (inly the quicko.st growing and hardiest grains, such as oats or barley, havo a chance to matu oat all. hut oat cako and barley bread are good enough for the man who has never known anything bottor. and the Nor way peasunt has few dainties, while his stylo of living is on a par with his plainness of diet. His house is never I lxurious, but one thing must be said in its favor, it is always comfortable, oven in the coldest weather. It is of ten shared by his goats and reindeer, and as cooking, eating and sleeping are all done in the same room, tho at mosphere is often of overpowering thickness; but to a Norwegian oxygen does not appear to bo a necessity; ho lives and thrives in air that can al most ho cut into layers. Ordinarily rogardless of personal ap pearaneo, tlioro is one occasion when ovory inhabitant of Norway must look line, and that ic on tho wedding day. Even then, however, tho distinction betweon the rich and tho poor is very trilling, for in evory church in the kingdom tlioro aro kept a set of wed iing rogalia and a silver gilt crown, und by paying a small sura tho poorest brido can, for a clay, look as gorgeous as a quoon. Many of those wedding 3rowns aro (50) or 700 years old, and were worn by Nor.-o b idos at a timo when tho memorio-i of tho viking in vasions wero still frosh along tho Gor man Ocean, and thcro is thorofore an Ddor of sanctity about those articlos of porsonal adornment which renders thoir presence almost as necessary at x wedding as that of tho preacher. In the rural districts of this peculiar country thoro still linger tho tradi tions and legends which aro found among tho common people of evory country in Europe; nor, any more than tho Grocks or Italians. havo thov for gotten their glorious past. There is a great future boforo Norway and Swo don. and tho evidence of a, new na tional life is soon everywhere: in tho cities, whoro modern structures aro taking tho place of tho old-fashioncd dwellings and olticos; in tho country, where mon and women dross better, far o better and look better than did their fathors and mothers. Tho timo may never come whon tho viking will again carry terror to Franco and En gland, but the dav is near at hand whon the Scandinavian powers will exert far more influence in the affairs of Europe than they havo over done beforo, and this bt* >adening of their power will bo duo in*nj small degiee to tho improvement in tho condition jf their | eoplc. HUNTING THE COON. Plenty of Ituro Old Sport Trailing the Frisky Animal. 1 can lind more sport in a good old fashioned coon hunt than in any othor kind of hunting you may name, and I know many an old boy like mo who Ihinks just tho same, says an old hunter. Tho one thing needful in a coon hunt is a go::d dog. Tho trail of the coon is tho coldest of any known ganio animal. A dog with tho lines* kind of an so, an intelligence boyond the ordinary, and training for his work, is noeossarv to follow this trail successfully. Besides its difficult trail, Iho coon has many tricks to eonfuso boih huntor and dog. It will fre quently run up a tree a few feet and jump from it in another direction as far as possible, and thoneo tako a devi ous course. This ruse nover fails to throw the bo tof dogs off, and by the timo the trail is f uud again, if it is found at all, tho coon has put miles be tween him and danger. \V hen a coon is brought to treo, the (rained dog announces tho fact in an entiroly different voice from tho cry ho utters when on tho trail, home dogs do not cry at all while on tho rhaso. reserving their voitos until such tmo as tho game is trcod. A gun is an entirely unnecessary part of a coon-hunter's O4uinmont. Whon the hunters como up to tho treo, tho most agile of the party shins up and shakos the coon out, This is not always an easy thing to do, and noxt to tho fight that is expected to follow botwoon the c: on and tho dogs, when tho former drops to tho ground, is tho most ex< it ing opisodo of tho hunt. Somo coon hunters carry guns, but only on moon lit nights, when the leavoi havo fal on from the trees Tho oxeitin.r moment for thoso hunters is when thov discover the coon crouching on a limb, and brought into distinct outlino letween them and tho moon. A coon is always on the alert, even when trood, and many a cunning old fellow I have known to leap from high up in a tree, alight in the thick of huntersand dogs, and makes his escape by tho I o dnoss of his maneuver. DUDLEY (at the door) —"Is Miss i'litterly engaged?" Servant— "Ol don't rightly know, sor, yit: but tliot other young man lias been sDarkin her for a full hour!" TUG CORMORANT AT WORK * T3F BIRDS TRAINED BY THE CHINESE TO CATCH FI3H. They Know Tlieir Master's Signals— Caressed WhenThcy Get Fish and Beaten if They Fail. four years in China," I said Electrical Engiueer I Charles Dean, "and while I (t saw more curious and sur prising things there than I could tell about if I talked a month, nothing amused me so much as the lishing cormorants nt their work. The first time I saw cormorant fishing I was walking along the River Min. By and by I came to a bamboo float or raft, moored to the pier of a bridge. A Chinaman was squatting on the raft, and some birds I took at first to be ducks were grouped at one end of it. They were all faced toward the squat ting Chinaman, who was gazing stead ily at them, his hands on his knees. "Suddenly the Chinaman extended his right hand, palm upward, toward one of the birds, which I had by this time discovered were not ducks. This particular bird came briskly toward the Chinaman and climbed upon his open palm. The man stroked its feathers fondly, rubbed his cheek along its neck and talked to it in Chinese, evidently in terms of endear ment. The bird seemed delighted with this treatment. It laid its head on tho Chinaman's arm, stroked his face with his queer-looking bill and returned all his caresses. This mu tual fondling continued for perhaps a minute. Then the Chinaman moved with the bird to the further side of the float and placed it ou the edge. Then for the first timo I realized what was going on. Here was a Chi neso fishermau and his invaluable aids, the cormorants. "When this cormorant was placed on tho edge of the float it dipped its bill into tho water, snapped it loudly, looked lip and down the side of tho raft, turned its head, fixed its glitter ing black eyes an instant on its master, and then slid from the float down into the water, without leaving as much as a ripple where it disappeared. The Chinaman sat down and awaited the re appearance of his bird without any ap parent concern or impatience. The other birds remained standing at their end of tho raft, almost motionless, and ever with their shining eyes lized on tho fisherman. The cormorant that had dived into the water romained under for nearly half a minute. Then it cauie up with u pop that throw it al most clear of the water. The tail and half the body of a fish protruded from its bill. Tho bird twam straight for tho raft, climbed upon it, jumped upon its master's knee, and held its head .up for hira to remove tho fish. With one hand tho Chinaman drew the fish from the cormorant's mouth and with tho other stroked its neck and plumage, and with his mouth close to its head murmured what wero un doubtedly words of approval to the bird. Tho cormorant shook out its feathers and in various ways showed its delight. "After a few minutes the Chinaman again placed the bird oil the edge of the float, and one more it glided noise lessly into the stream. The other birds maintained their stolidity, to all appearance utterly unconscious of everything except the preaenco of their master. The busy coinorant re appeared in ashort time, having again made a successful dive. Another caressing scene between it and the Chinaman followed, and a third time tho bird returned to the water. It now seemed to be thoroughly warmed up to its work, and went at it with an avidity that showed plainly the great pleasure tho bird took in the chase. The third dive kept tho comorant un der water longer than tho others, and when it came up it had 110 fish. The change in its actions was striking. It swam frantically about in tho water, twisting and turning, and manifesting the greatest distress; but, turn which ever way it might, it kept its glitter ing eyes fixed on its master, and, it seemed to me, with au appealing ex pression in them. "Tho bird made no move to ap proach the raft, and when tho China man raised his hand and pointed downward with his forefinger, the eager bird dived again, and so quickly that it was out of sight like a Hash. It was benoath the surface not longer than ten seconds. This time it came up with a large lisii in its mouth and swam boldly toward the raft. Depos iting its prize at its master's feet, the bird showed plainly by its actions as the Chinaman stroked its feathers that it knew that it had redeemed itself and held its master's favor. And 1 soou learned that it was pleasanter for a cormorant to gain its master's favor than his di6pleasuro. "When the Chinaman had placed the third fish in his basket he took the cormorant and stood it in tho centre of the raft. This meant, as I saw by tho bird's actiou, that tho cor morant had done satisfactory work and was entitled to a rest. The bird strutted proudly, but by no means gracefully, to the end of tho raft, op posite where its companions stood, and took its place there. When this was done a great change ca;ne over the rest of the cormorants. Each one straightened itself up to its full height, arched its neok, snook out its feathers, and quivered with expect ancy. Tho Cuinamau squatted in front of them as ho was equat ing when 1 first saw him, eyed them quizzically for a moment, and then held out his haud to the largest of the group. This one climbed upon his haud. Instantly the others became listless aud indifferent again. The Chinamau caressed the bird as he had the first one, but it did not show -any reciprocating affection. It seemed sullen, obstinate and out of sorts. And its subsequent actions proved tbat it was. Its master placed it on the edge of the raft. It didn't look at him like the other one, but plumped into the water instantly with a splash and disappeared. It was hardly be neath the water, though, before it canio up, and without a flsh. It swam about like the first cormorant, but showed no sign of distress or disap pointment over its failure to make a catch, aud it is doubtful indeed if the bird made any attempt to capture a fish. It kept its eyes on its master, though, aud when he angrily gave it the signal to dive again it wont down instantly. The cormorant had evi dently made up its miud to be con trary, for it came up again, after a stay as brief as the first dive, without a fish. "Now tho Chinaman rose. Ho shouted somethiug to tho bird and made an emphatic sigual by jerking his thumb back over his shoulder. Tho cormorant swam tantalizingly slowly to the raft. When it got there tho Chinaman seizod it by tho neck and dragged it out of the water. Ho cuffed it soveral times on the head and threw it violently down on the bam boos. I thought the poor bird's lilo was surely crushed out, but it wasu't. The disgraced cormorant roso coolly to its feet and limped sul'enly away to whero tho first cormorant stood, strong and proud in it's master's love aud approval. Tho first cormorant manifested unmistakable delight at tho discomfiture of its companion, but the birds at tho other end of the raft paid no attention to what had been going on. Thoy saw nothing but the movements of their master. "Aftor another contemplative* Bquat on the raft before the still unused cormorants, the Chinaman extended both hands and took a bird on each. His caresses were fondly returned by each of these cormorants, and early in their work I discovered that thoy were rivals and competitors in fishing, and that they plainly felt the import ance of the result of their competition in the estimation of their master. When they were placed side by side on the edge of the raft they eyed each other jealously, and when the signal was given both cut the water and dis appeared together. In a very short time one of them camo to the surface. It had a fish. Looking hurriedly around on all sides to see if its rival had made its appearance the bird hastened toward the iaft. It was within a yard of it when up popped the other bird between the first oue and the raft. This cormorant also had a fish iu its mouth. But, in spite of its advantage, it did not beat the rival bird to the float. The two reached the goal together, and it was practically declared a draw game by the Chinaman, for ho treated them both alike. "On the second trial the two birds came to the surface almost together, after a very long stay. One had no fish. When the unsuccessful one saw its rival moving toward the raft with a fish in its mouth it became wild with rago. It thrashed about in the water, seized tho other cormorant's fish and attempted to take it away, but at a shout and signal froni the master it quickly relinquished its hold. Its competitor swam to tho raft and proudly deposited its catch at the Chinaman's feet and received his caresses, while the other swam fran tically about, waiting for a signal to dive again. This the Chinaman did not give until tho successful bird was ready. Both went down together, and this time the result was reversed. The unsuccessful cormorant of the previous trial was now the successful one, aud the other was under tho ban. "In this way the Chinaman contiu ued lishing with his birds for hours, and wheu he ceased he had his basket, which would hold half a bushel, heaped with fish from eight iuchos to a foot in length. They looked like herring. As long as 1 was in China, although I made many warm friends among the cormorant iishermen, I was never able to find out from thom how they taught these queer birds to Jish. The Chinamen seemed to hold the method a sacred secret."—Now i'ork Sun. A Great Inland Oyster Bad. "One of the greatest natural curi osities iu the world is the Texas oys ter bed," said E. C. Sonter. "This bed extends across the entire State, from south to north, and has lain long enough fo become stratified. The shells are soft when first taken out, but harden upon exposure to the at mosphere. At Henriette, in the Pau handlo, a number of beautiful build ings have been constructed of this material. At Weatherford and SAD Antonio shell roads have been made. The oysters embraced Beveral species long since extinct, and while geolo gists agree that Texas must at oue time havo been at the bottom of tho Gulf of Mexico, they are at a loss to account for the presence of this oyster bank, there being none found east or west of the straits." —Cincinnati En quirer. Prehistoric Man. Several interesting discoveries re garding prehistoric man have been an nounced. The remains recently found in Switzerland show the existence, in tho neolithic age, of a race of pyg mies in Europe. Herr Mascka has unearthed within a few days, in Mo ravia, many remains of mammoths, and with them the skeletons of n whele human family almost gigantic in size. The discovery seems to set tle the disputed point whether mvu was coexistent with the mammoth. In Guatemala an oxplorer reported the discovery in an ancient mound of many small jars, each containing the remains of u little fiuger from the humun hand. It is supposed to have been tho custom of mourners in some prehistoric race to make this sacrifice —Literarv Digest. HUMOR OF THE WEEK STORIES TOLD BY FUNNY MEN OF THE PRESS. Many Odd, Curious, and Laughable Thanes of Human Nature Graphically Portrayed by Eminent Word Artists of Our Own Day —A Iludget of Fun. Sprinkles of Spice. Is it proper to speak of those horses which race by electric light as nightmares?— Albany Argus. Mr. Oldiioie —l am a self-made man, sir. I began life as u barefoot boy. Kennard lndeed. Well, I wasn't born with shoes on, either.— Truth. Coroner —You swear positively you were not to blame for the man's death? Dr. Tyro (haughtily)— Ce rtainly, sir; tbey did not call me soon enough.—Buffalo Courier. Guest —Walter, bring two boiled eggs. Waiter—B ess, couldn't you take dem aigs peached? Hit's been found mo' satisfactory all roun' to open dem aigs in the kitchen.— Judge. Little Girl —Do you ever dream of being in heaven? Little Boy—No, not exactly; but I dreamed once that I was right in the middle of a big apple dumpling.—New York Tele gram. "All the world's a stage," quoted one misanthrope. "Yes," replied an other. "An' it's the same old story. A lot of fellers that's cut out for supers is try in' ter star."—Washing ton Star. Gent —"How came you to put your hand in my pocket?" Pickpocket— "Beg your parden. I am so absent minded. I had once a pair of pants just like those you are wearing?"— Beilage. One little giil in tho slums—"Wot ycr say she died of?" The other one —"Eating a tuppenny ice on the top of 'ot puddin'." The lirst-mentionod —"Lor! what a jolly death."-London Tit Bits. Chappie (who has not be3n across) —"My deah boy, youah boots aw in a howwiblc condition." Chollie (who has) —"My deah fellow, that mud is fwom the stweets of deah old Luu non."—lndianapolis Journal. "How's all the folks up your way?" "Well, mother ain't so peart now, Molly's got the measles, John's stove up with rheumatism, an' Dirk's down with snake bite. When air you a-comin' to see us?"— Atlanta Consti tution. JonN: "Sallie, ef I was to ask you if you'd marry me, do you think you'd say yes?" Sallie: "I—cr—guess so." John: "Wa-al, ef I ever git over this 'ere darn bashfulness I'll ask you some o' these times."—Leslie's Illus trated. MRS. GABII—"Yes, my daughter appears to have married very happi ly. Her husband has not wealth, it must be admitted, but he has fam ily." Mrs. Gadd—"Yes, I heard bo was a widower with six children."— Harlem Life. "PAPA," said Willie, "aren't you 'stravagant?" "In what way, my boy?" "You spend SIOO sending mo to school for a year. Fifty dollars would buy toys enough to keep mo going for two years."—Harper's Young People. "I NEVER knew what it was to livo before, dearest," said Algernon, as he kissed the tips of his fiancee's lingers and then her lips. "And yet you seem only to be living from hand to mouth," replied "Dearest."—Youk ers Statesman. "ALLOW me, mademoiselle, to pre sent this to you." "No, no, Ido not wish to accept a present " "It is a volume of my poems." "Ah, that is different. I could not have per mitted you to give me anything of value."—lloston Journal. LUCY (single)—DO you think It is wicked to smoke, dear? Fanny (mar ried) —No, dear; I'm sure it isn't. Lucy—Why are you so sure? Fanny —Pecause my husband doesn'tsmoke, and if it was wicked I'm sure he would do it.—Half Holiday. "WITH what are you goiug to sur prise your husband on his recovery from his long illness?" "With my new hat." —London Million. MRS. WIQOLESTEIN: "Do you know, Jack, I think I would like to learn to play poker? It ipust be a fascinat ing game." Mr. Wigglestein; "Great heavens, Ethel, don't think of it for a moment. We can't both afford to play."—Sotncrvillc Journal. "AND what kind of a chin has she?" she asked, as he paused iu the mid dle of an attempt at description of her features. "A movable one," said he, after a moment's sober thought And then he heaved a deep and pen sive sigh.—Somorville Journal. IIOJACK: "My wife on'y writes to me once a week while she is away." Tomdiek: "Mino writes regularly three times a week." llojack: "She must be very fond of you." Tom dick: "She is: and then 1 only send her money enough to last her two days at a time."—Harper's Bazar. YOUNOLOVE (to his fiancee) —But, love, you surely don't mean to blame me for giving a farewell stag party to my bachelor friends? The Adored One—No, I shouldn't object to a stag party. But, from all I hear, lam forced to conclude that it became a stagger party before it was over.— Two MKNAGKRIES recently arrived in Bologna, one of which was under the management of Sig. B , and the other that of his wife, traveling re spectively on their own account. Here they decided to join their forces, and tire fact was announced on the bills as follows: "Owing to the arrival of my wife iny collection of living animals is considerably aug mented, —B. "—Conversazione.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers