Freeland Tribune
Established 1888.
PUBLISHED EVERY
MONDAY AND THURSDAY,
BY THO
fRIBUNE PRINTING COMPANY. Limited
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The supreme corn*l of Kentucky de
cided in a case bra ight by a black
listed ewployo aguiust a railroad
company, that "whoever wrongfully
prevents a man from pursuing his oc
cupation inflicts an actionable injury."
A forcible illustration of Great
Britain's supremacy in the oceau car
rying trade is shown in the commer
cial sta istics of China for 1897. In
that year, of all the ships entering the
Qineteen treaty ports of the empire
were English, while only 2140
the German flag and 174 chat of
France.
Another practical joker has come
grief. At lied Bank, X. J., the other i
day a man tried to scare a friend by
playing ghost, and was dangerously I
shot. He was more fortunate than .
the western practical joker, who played
highwayman to scare a friend and was
killed. Joking has certaiu limitations '
which devotees of the merry art of
jesting will do well to study.
The "Worcester Gazette observes:
"It is a proof of the rapid progress of
events the last twelve mouths to re
flect with what incredultv a prophecy
would have been received in February
1398, that in a year's time American
regulars and volunteers would be en
gaged in hostilities with the Philippine j
Islanders. Hardly one mau in a hun
dred knew what the Philippine Islands
were, and it is to be doubted if one
in a thousand knew anything about
them,"
Tho l-econt meeting of the Quebec •
fruit-growers in Montreal attracted
some little attention to the present
situation of that very important
branch of thn farming industry.
"While tho farms in sections caj able of
peach-rai-ing bring the highest prices
in the whole Dominion, no: infre
quently the sale price of a single crop
will sullice to repay the purchase
money. Excellent returns were also
made in former years by such farmers
as grew strawbenies, raspberries and
the like, and the natural result has
been what is called "overproduction."
The result has been that farms once
considered worth nine or ton thousand |
dollars because of their special cay ac
itv for fruit-growing have sold in the
last few years for six and seven thou
sand or oven les3, and there is now a
decided tendency to abandon fruit
growing, or, at the very least, to
abate the interest formerly showu.
Extremely interesting are some of
the facts about the present status of
public schools in Massachusetts, as set
forth in the C2d annual report of the
state board of education. There has
been an increase of about 17,000 in
attendance and of 300 in teaching
force. It is shown that 111 towns ap
point tlieir teachers under tho tenure
of office act to serve practically during
good behavior. A new law has been
enacted, requiring eight, months of
school, but only 47 towns will have to '
change because of the law. The cost
for each child in the state between
five and fifteen, including text-books, !
supervision and sundries is $21.04;
for each child in the average member
ship of the schools $25.22. Last year's
increase in tho number of teachers who
have attended normal schools was 426;
in the numbor of normal graduates,
322, It cost the state for transporta
tion of pupils last year $123,032.41 —
an amount very gladly paid, because of
the increased efficiency of the consoli
dated system.
Air Wf Copfttttite.
A man with a penchant for compu
tation has calculated that when we are
at rest we consume 500 cubic inches of
air a minute. If we walk at the rate
of one mile an licur we use 800, two
miles 1,000, three miles 1,600. four
miles, 2,300. If we start out and run
six miles an hour we consume 3,000
cubic Inches of air during every min
ute of the time.
Tin DMwvfii the lint.
Tired Treadwell —Wot do you tink of
die scheme to make Dewey a full ad
miral? Sloppy Slmpklns—Say, dcre'j
a man wot not'n ain't to good tar. If
I had me way I'd even have dem fur
nish him wit what he'll need to git
over it next morning'.
EBB-TIDE.
A sodden reach of wide and wind-swept lea.
A sky of shattered steel that palls the sight.
And one long shaft of sun that seems to write
Tast letters slowly on a slate of sen;
The dreary wall of gulls that skim the crest
Of sullen breakers sliding In to land,
A world crown empty, full of vague unrest,
And shadow-shapes that stride across the sand.
The grny bench widens. Foot by foot appear .
Strange forms of wreckage creeping lrom the wares.
Like gho9ts that steal In silence from their graves
To watch beside the death-bed of the year;
Poor shattered shapes of ships that once stood out
Full-freighted to the far horizon's sweep j
To muslo or the cheery sailor-shout
Of men who sought the wonders of the deep!
Poor shattered ships! Their gallant cruising o'er,
Thoir cargoes coral-crusted leagues below.
They rise, unnamed, unnumbered, from theslo^.
Recession of the ebb along the shore.
The tickle tide that bore them bravely then
Betrays their shame and nakedness to be
Mate witness to the littleness of men
Who battle with the sovereignty of sea.
For me, as well, alone upon the dune,
There sinks a tide that strips tie beaches bare,
And leaves bet grim unsightly wreckage where
The brooding skies make mockery of noon.
Ah. dear, that hopes, like tides, should ebb away,
Unmasking on the naked shore of love
Flotsam and jetsam of a happier day,
Dreams wrecked, and all tho emptiness thereof!
—Guy Wetmore Carryl, In Harper's Magazine,
WALTER'S FjGHT JTFINDIANS.
By SIDFORD F. HAM?.
1 t T tlio time X was
jf\ \ foreman for Mason
// \\ & Jevous, wool
l, \ \ growers—so said
the old managing
f l/T, k \ director of a
-'Xsiilt \ famous ranch com
pauy—young Wal
ter ®l' l9 ° u came
Ifi?W I SL )f"J West for his first
\ visit. Ho was a
pale boy of fifteen,
nephew to the
senior partner, and
\ ' sent from his home
" ft in the East, under,
the doctor's orders, to live in the open
air for a couple of years.
There were no comforts or con
veniences übout sheep-camps in those
days. A bunk-house and kitchen,
with all tho furniture home-made ex
cept the cooking apparatus; some
rough shelter for the sheep and a
stable for the horses were generally
the only buildings, and these were
apt to be set down in some hollow of
the bare, brown plain, to bake like
ovens under the summer sun and
to shake in the cold blasts of January.
Mason & Jevous had a lot of such
camps, but the home ranch, on tho
Deep Arroyo, was a more pretentious
place. There my men and I hnd a
five-roomed house, about pasture
enough for two cows, and a small
garden, "under ditch," for the grow
ing of potatoes and such luxuries.
We thought the place a wonder of
comfort,but the sudden chaugo from a
good city home to a sheep-camp, with
its extremely early hours, its very
plain fare and still plainer cooking,
was rather trying to Walter; but he
never made the least bit of complaint,
not he. die fell into tlie ranks at
once, and although he was not re
quired to work, he sot about learning
the details of sheep-raising by doing
everything with hts own hands.
Before a year was over tho outdoor
life had turned his muscles into steel
and burned his face to a brick red;
still, he was only a boy, and could not
be expected to compete with tho
seasoned men iu an ordinary day's
work. And yet, for all that, he would
come in brisk and smiling at the end
of a long day's lamb-herding, when
some of the older hands were used up.
This puzzled tho men, for they had
been generally inclined to laugh at the
boy as a "tenderfoot," Tho explana
tion really was that Walter never lost
his temper in dealing with tho pro
voking, scampering, silly lambs. Now
few things are more exhausting than
a total loss of temper—especially
when it is lost for fifteen hours a day
and that is the usual misfortune of
lamb-herders.
Walter spent most of his leisuro
time upon a superannuated cow-pony,
shooting at coyotes with a rille, but it
was months before he hit one. The
coyote, although he alwavs turns
"broadside on" and gives the marks
man the best chance ho can, is a bad
target; his thick fur makes him look
much larger than lie really is. Walter
fired away cartridges by the box iu
vain.
But his failures only inspired him
to try again, until at length he became
an uncommonly good shot.
The men, to whom coyotes were
familiar, uninteresting things, used to
laugh at Walter's persistent hunting.
They dubbed him "Woolly Walter:
The Dread Death-Dealer of tho Deep
Arroyo," and were always anxious to
know when he intended to go off and
kill a few Indians.
"Don't be afraid of Indians," the
boy would say, bantering tho men in
his turn. "If any of them ever come
prowling round wliilo I'm here I'll
stand them off." The promise was
inado iu fun, but he kept it in earn
est.
During tho boy's second summer,
after shearing time, my daughter,
Sally, came out from town, where she
was at school, to pay mo a mouth's
visit. When tho day came for her re
turn, nobody could be spared to drive
her to the railroad hut Walter. I had
intended to go, but John Ilansford, n
wool-dealer, had sent word that he
was coming that dny.
Walter was much pleased to take
my place, for he and Sully wore groat
friends, and with only one road to
follow, there was no fear of missing
the way. So, very soon after sunrise,
the girl and hoy sot out on their forty
mile drive to cateh a train which was
to leave Plattville at five that even
ing.
About two hours after they had left,
and a good deal earlier than I expected
him, John Hansford rod© up, and
without waiting to shake bauds or to
get off his horse, said:
"Martin, you had better call your
herders into cauip mighty quick.
They say, down at Truebury's, that a
small band of bad Indians is knocking
about tho country somewhere north
.of here. They've killed a Mexican
j herder and burnt his cabin, and now
they've crossed the railroad coming
this way."
I lost no time. "Dick Taylor!" I
shouted, and out ran the cook, the
only other man on the place at that
time of day.
"Saddle up—hurry," I said, "thero
are Indians betwixt here and the rail
road. We must gallop to overtake '
Sally and Walter." i
With his puper cap on his head and ■
his hands coverod with dough, Dick
rushed with mo to the stable; out 1
came the horses; on wont the saddles,
and in less than live minutes wo three,
all well armed, were galloping north- 1
ward. i
Meanwhile Walter and Sally had
traveled some fifteen miles. They
were joggiug along, laughing and
chattering and watching the shiftiug :
j mirages which are always to be seen
iat that time of year, when my girl 1
cried out:
j "Oh, look! There's a funny one!
Then Walter saw what appeared to be
the legs of five horses trotting along a
foot from the ground.
Presently the scene changed, tho
i horses'legs vanished, and the young
j sters saw the heads and shoulders of
j live men, large and undefined, sailing
i through the air. Sally told me after
| ward that this frightened her. 1
| Suddenly tho mirage cleared, and
j the girl and boy saw, about two miles
to the northwest, live horsemen, one
I behind the other. They were riding j 1
as if to intercept the wagon, and there '
was something very unusual in their j
appearance. Walter pulled up and
took out his field-glass.
"I don't like the look 3 of them,"
said he. "They aren't cowboys;
they've no hats, and I think no saddles.
I'm afraid they're Indians."
"l'urn back," said Sally, "and then
we shall know if they're trying to cut
us olf."
"That's sensible," said Walter, and
turned, at once.
The riders immediately broko into
a hard gallop, and headed straight for
the wagou. Walter urged his horse
to a trot, and then tho desperate race
began.
Fifteen miles of level plain lay be
tween the team aud the homo ranch.
I'lould the horses hold out? At first
V alter tried trotting, but tho gallop
ing Indians gained so much in the
; first mile that he lashed his team into
I a run.
I But what chance, in that race for life,
, had two steady old ranch-horses hitched
to a heavy road wagou? Though they
j began with two miles' start, the light-
I footed ludir.n ponies came up so fast
j that my girl, as she turned her head
: to watch them, could soon distinguish
• the forms. They grew from dark
\ patches to definite figures of men on
• running beasts. Sallycould make out
i the heads, anus, aud dying hair of the
I Indians, the heads of tho ponies and
. their moving legs.
"They're gaining fast, Walter," she
cried.
! Walter didn't look at her then. Her
j voice hud been jolted cut of her by the
bumpiug wagon, and bethought it was
i all of a tremble. He just stood up in
j bouncing, rattliug wagou aud stared
: round the sky-line.
; Hi! lm.l some hope that he might seo
other l-idcrs, aud if he did ho would
j head for them; though that wasn't tho
; principal thing in his mind. But
I there was not a living figure clear
| against the Idue or dim against the
i plain—nothing but the bare, burnt
j prairie and tbe gray strenk of road.
"It's all right, Sally,"cried the boy,
; not looking down at her, for he feared
she would go into hysterics, as he hnd
once seen an Eastern girl do. "It's
all right, Sally; we'll beat them yet."
At that my girl laughed.
"I guess," she said, "you're not
such a tender foot as they call you."
She told me that he stared down at
her iD surprise for a moment, and then
changed his tnne and took her right
into his confidence.
"I'm looking for a good place to
fight," he said. "We can't get away
from them by running. But we must
koep on until we see some cover within
rench."
"Cover!" snid Sally. "We'll bo
bettor off in the ODCU if it comes to
shooting. They'll crawl up to yon
through the cover—that is, if it's more
than just a bush or two," for you see,
Sally hadn't been born on the plains
without learning a good deal about
Indian-fighting.
"Well, that's a fact," Walter cried
out. "But— Hello! whnt's thnt?" and
Sally stood up and clutched hold of
him, and they both stared while the
old horses raced onward.
"It's u%ter—it's no mirage," said
Walter. - .StSjus®
"Yes, it's real water," said Sally,
"There's a hollow there and the
thunder-storm's filled it.
"Ill 18 ' b 0 , pretty shallow," said
Walter, an idea jumping into his
bead.
He didn't asl: Sally's opiuion this
time, but, man fashion, he took his
chances. ..v.**--""-'" ■
"Sit down and hold on tight, Sally,"
was all he said. .--v
With thgt he turned out of tho road,
whipped the horses into their best
gnllop and drove straight for the water,
whiou was a shallow pond about three
hundred yards wide and four or five
times as long. "
Maybe it was the sight of tho water
that encouraged the ranch-horses;
anywny, they kept the pnee so well
that the Indians were still more than
half a mile behind when the horses
splashed into the pond and were
brought to a walk. Walter drove
them straight forward until water be
gan coming into the wagon-box.
Then he turned the wagon broadside
to the Indians.
Sally anil tlie boy were now about
a tbiril of the way across the pond,
and they had entered it about midway
between its ends. This suited Wal
ter's plan exactly; ho set tho brake
hard so that his horses couldn't move
the wagon against his will, hung his
cartridge-belt about his neck, jumped
into the water, helped Sally down be
side him, pulled her little trunk over
so that it concealed and protected
her, and then took his rifle and stood
ready.
If you will think, you will soe that
he had a pretty good fortifioation.
The wagou-box was between him and
tho Indians; the enemy couldjneither
ride fast nor run on foot fast out to
where tho boy and girl stood more
than waist-deep; they were half under
water, and their heads and chests were
well defended by tho wagon-box aud
the truuk; there were only live In
dians and these could not get near
enough to shoot without offering a far
bettor mark themselves.
The plain afforded no cover for the
redskins—nothing but somo scattered
bunohes of grass and a soapweed here
aud there. Sally understood the sit
uation at a glance.
"Well, you've got an Indiau-fight
er's head on you, Walter," she said,
approvingly.
"I gnoss we've got them where we
want them," said Walter, for a boy
that could knock over a coyote Ave
times in seven couldn't expect to miss
Indians.
"I think so," says Sally. "They
can't get within shooting distance at
either end ot this pond; they can't
coma in where we did without your
hitting them, and if they wade across
out of range and try to take us at the
hack, all we've got to do is to cross
to the other side of the wagon, and
then they'ro in more danger than they
were before."
"I think it's all right," said Walter.
On came the Indians, almost up to
the edge of the pool. Walter was in
tending to disable the foremost one
the moment his pony's hoofs splashed,
when the whole live suddenly swerved
to the right. Then, as if with one
motion, every Indian vanished behind
the body of his pony, apparently
leaving nothing for Walter to shoot at
except the soles of five left feet. But
the boy was not unnerved by this
manosuvre. He fired, and down went
the foremost-poiiy.
The instant the rider was on his
feet Walter covered him with his
Winchester; but Walter was not
anxious to shoot any Indians, for he
knew that ho could defend Sally with
out doing so, as he now saw something
moving on the plain—something of
which the Indians were not one bit
aware.
"Look toward tho west," said Wal
ter to Sally.
"I see," said Sully, and her eyes
brightened. "Guess what I wns
afraid of, Walter. I wns afraid tho
Indians would just wnit aud watch us
till we would have to leave this cold
water. Now they'll hnvo no time to
wait uutil we're frozen out."
Meantimo the second Indian had
oome up, taken the unhorsed man be
hind him, and galloped out of range
with the others. Wulter let them go un
harmed. For tho aspect of affairs had
changed—a good deal more, too, than
the Indians knew.
The redskins held a brief consulta
tion at a snfe distance; then one rode
off toward one end of thepool, and an
other toward the other end, while the
remaining three began crawling from
bunch to bunch of grass toward the
wagon. This did not look BO danger
ous to the besieged us the Indians
probnbly supposed.
"That's all very fine," said Walter,
when ho noted this manoeuvre, "but
they haven't got half enough time to
get us surrounded. However, I'll
have to attend to the crawling ones.
Holly, will you just keep your eye on
the two on horsebaok, aud tell me to
look when they stop."
So Sally walked out a few yards,
stooping as sho waded, so that the
wnter was over her shoulders, uutil
the wagon and horses no longer inter
cepted her view. There she crouched,
with just her head out, and watched
the proceedings, and grew exultant
and confident as she saw what the In
dians didn't even suspect.
While sho was keeping her lookout,
Walter was making the crawling In
dians very uncomfortable by drop
ping bullets close to them. He wasn't
trying to hit them; his hope was to
keep them crawling or lying, so that
they would not rise and see whnt was
coming. There they lay very flat, and
moving with extreme caution until
Sally cried out: "Walter, they've
turned backl No, they're galloping
away! They know, uowl"
"Oh, seo them run!" cried Walter,
as at that moment the three crawling
Indians sprang to their feet, made a
dash for their ponies, and rode ofl
helter-skelter.
They had jeason. Three angry,
•yell-armed white men were within
half a hjJle of them, agd rijing on like
mad. We had arrived in time.
".Oh, father," sjiid Sally to me, as ]
lifted her up out of the water and
kissed her, "Oh, father, I'm so glad
you came in time! Walter would
have had to shoot thoße Indians, and
I don't believe I should have felt
happy again if he had. "—Youth's
Companion.
HARDWOOD SAWDUSTS.
Tho Fine Dnsts Used For Various Special
Purposes—Flue Sawdusts Exported.
The fine sawdust of hard woods,
that which is produced in sawing
veneers, is used for a variety of
special purposes; fine mahogany saw
dust, for instance, being extensively
used in cleaning furs. There are
sold fifteen or twenty different varie
ties of fine sawdust from as many dif
ferent kinds of hard woods, theso be
ing gathered from the various mills.
While fine mahogany is tho sawdust
most largely used in cleaning furs,
various other kinds are also employed
for that purpose. The use of box
wood sawdust for cleaning jewelry is
traditional. Boxwood sawdust is also
used in polishing silver. Some saw
dusts are used in marqnetry work.
Some are used in making pressed
mouldings and ornaments. Sandal
wood sawdust is used in scent bags.
Tho production of coarse sawdust
of various hard woods, such as oak
and maple, is greater than tho de
mand for them; such sawdusts may
bo burned ill the mills where they nre
produced. Coarse mahogany sawdust
may be sold for commonplace uses, or
employed as fuel where it is made;
but for the fine sawdusts of all the
hard woods there is moro or less de
mand; for many of them there is a
ready market. The most costly of
tine hardwood sawdust is boxwood,
of which the supply is less than the
demand.
Fine hardwood sawdusts are shipped
from this city to various parts of the
United States; they are exported in
considerable quantities to Cauadu and
some are sent to England.—Sun.
Slcep-AValUer' Frenlca.
A well-known physician gives an ac
count of an Irish gontleman who swam
more than two miles down a river, got
ashore and was subsequently discov
ered sleeping by the roadside, alto
gether unconscious of the extraordin
ary feat ho had accomplished.
Professor Fishuoll, of Bale, writes
of a youug student of Wurtemburg
who used to piny hide-and-seek while
fast asleep. His fellow students knew
of his propensity and when he began
walking threw bolsters after him,
which he always eluded, jumping over
bedsteads and other obstnelos in his
way.
A man was once discovered at 1
o'clock in the morning in a neighbor's
garden engaged in prayer, evidently
under the impression that lie wns in
church, but otherwise in a deep sleep.
A young girl given to sleep-walking
was in the habit of imitating the vio
lin with her lips, giving the prelim
inary tuning aud scraping and flourish
ing with the utmost fidelity. It puzzled
her physician a great deal until he
learned that when an infant the girl
lived in a room adjoining a fiddler,
who often performed upon his instru
ment within her hearing.—London
Tit-Bits.
Guest Room Toothpowder.
Passenger Traffic Manager McCor
mick, cf the Big Four, tells of a friend
of his who was visiting some relatives.
He was given the spare room aud slept
well. In the morning, desiring to
clenn his teeth, he looked through his
valise for his tooth brush and box of
tooth powder. He found the brush,
but had come away from home with
out tho powder. Looking about ho
discovered a small jar on the mantel.
He opened it aud saw it contained a
grayish powder. "Here is some tooth
powder," said he, and wetting his
tooth brush ho dipped it into the
powder and gave his teeth a good
scrubbing. When ho went down
stairs to breakfast he said to his
hostess:
"You must excuse me for taking
the liberty, but as I came away from
home without my tooth powder I used
some of that you hnve in the little jar
on the mantel in my room."
"Why, Charley," said the hostess,
"that isn't tooth powder in that jar;
it's Aunt Ann's ashes."—Cincinnati
Inquirer.
Torpedo Routs.
The average distance of discovery of
a torpedo boat by the searchlight from
a battleship has been calculated to be
781 yards, and tho greatest distnnco
2000 yards. Thus, takeu the distauoe
at which the torpedo can be fired
with effect at 500 yards, it will be gen
erally found that a torpedo boat will
have to cross about 300 yards under
fire from the Bhip she is attacking,
and it will tnko the little craft about
half a minute to do this.
A Foreign Writer'# Uurden.
"I find your politioal terms very
puzzling," remarked the foreigner
who was trying to gather material for
a book on American institutions.
"For example, to rotate means to
move in a circle. A ring also means
a circle. Now lam told that when a
ring controls your offices they don't
rotate any more."—Chicago Tribune.
SMUGGLED FOE DEWEY.
UNWRITTEN HISTORY ABOUT OUR
SQUADRON AT MANILA.
The Smuggling Steamer Znflro—She Car
ried Green Groceries as Well as Dis
patches—(low Captain McLean Cared
For Dewey's Men—Falsified Manifests.
Professor S. A Knapp, the confi
dential agent of the Department of
Agriculture, who has ju3t returned to
tile United States after a tour of Jap
au, China and the Philippine Islands,
was nccompauied on the homeward
trip by Captain Walter MoLean, ohief
o1 Admiral Dewey's war staff at Ma
nila. In the §au Francisco Chron
icle Professor KDapphas given some
unwritten history of the doings of the
historic) Asiatic squadron, learned by
personal observation while in the Or
ient and by association with gaptain
MoLean on the way over. Its hero
is Captain McLean, whom the pro
fessor styles the hero of post-battle
days, and it weaves itself largely
about the goings uud comings of the
little merchant vessel Zafiro, which
succeeded the cutter Mr.Cnlloch as the
carrier of dispatches from Manila to
Hong Kong. Dispatches are not the
only things the Zatiro carried, and
that is the reason Professor -Knapp
finds a hero in Captniu McLean. She
carried green gtoceries and coal.
"The faot of the matter is," said
the professor, "McLean turned smug
gler when be got hold of the Zaliro,
nnd went cruising in Chinese waters.
He smuggled more tons of frosh things
to eat into Manila Bay than you have
hairs on your head. He became the
most proficient falsifier of manifests
the East over saw. Ask him, and
he'll tell you the same thing. Did
Dewey know nbout it? Didn't he
know about everything that was going
on?
"McLean's chance came when he
was made commander of the Zafiro.
The day this happened Admiral
Dewey called McLean up on the quar
ter-deok of the flagship, where there
was a lot of dyspeptic looking ollicers
and men standing around, and said:
" 'McLean, you will take these dis
patches dowu to Hong Ivong on tho Za
liro and cable them to Washington.'
" 'Yes, sir,' answered McLean.
" 'Aud remember,' continued the
admiral, in a solemn voice, 'that this
is a time of strife; that Great Britain
has issued a neutrality proclamation;
aud that there is such a thing as con
traband of war. Do not allow any
contraband article aboard your ves
sel.'
"McLean looked around on the
hungry men of the tleet, and then he
looked into the eye of Admiral Dewey.
He thinks he saw a Bolt of faint quiv
er of the eve, for he touched his cap
smartly, winked at the other officers,
anil retired. When tho Zatiro got to
Hong Kong, McLean called Captain
Whitten up to tho deck and said;
" 'Captain Whitten, I am going
ashore with Colonel Smith. I won't
he hack until the last minute before
sailing. Eemember that this is a
time of strife; that Great Britain has
issued a neutrality proclamation; aud
that there is such a thing as contra
band of war.'
" 'Yes, sir,'answered Captain Whit
ten, saluting.
" 'And 1 say. Whitten,' continued
McLean, lowering liis voice 'if wo get
caught at it there'll he tho devil to
pay.'
" 'Yes, sir.'
" 'So that if any little packages
come aboard, be quick about it.'
"Well, McLean and Colonel Smith
hadu't any more than got out of sight
thau Captain Whitten weighed anchor
and sailed around the comer. He
hadu't been there very long before
the little packages began to arrive. It
didn't take very long to stow them
away, and pretty soon the Zafiro
dropped anchor in the harbor again.
McLean and Colonol Smith came
aboard.
" 'Sir,' said Captain Whitten toMc-
Lenn, 'those little packages '
" 'Don't bother me, sir,' thundered
McLean, in a rage, 'I am in a great
hurry to get back to Admiral Dewey
with important cablegrams.'
"So they sailed away. When they
rescued Manila McLean called Cap
tain Whitten up and said:
" 'Sir, I must hasten to the flag
ship and report to the admiral. When
I return I shall inspect your cargo.
If I And anything contraband in it, I
shall order you into irons.'
"Well, McLean didn't get back un
til the next morning, and when he
went over tho cargo he found nothing
contraband. In the meantime, every
officer and man in the squadron had
had a square meal. That was the
first of many trips.
"McLean's greatest feat was in re
storing peace between tho American
and German Governments as repre
sented by their Admirals at Manila.
On one of his trips to Hong Koug he
told Rounsevelle Wildman, tho
American Cousul, to notify the other
Consuls that if they had any little
presents or tokens of friendship they
wanted to send to their folks in
Manila, he would take them there on
board the Zafiro. Tho result of the
invitation waft that tho German Cou
sul sent a little present aboard for the
German Admiral. It consisted of
thirty-one sacks of potatoes.
"When MoLean got back to Manila
he found the feeling between the two
fleets wns running very high and
bitter, and he was in a great quandary
over what to do with the German Ad
miral's potatoes. He felt that if he
delivered them Admiral Dewey would
be angry, bnt that if he did not Dewey
would be angrier still, because of his
(McLean's) violation of his promise.
He was afraid to speak to the Admiral
about it, so he finally concluded to
consult tho Flag Lieutenant.
" 'lt strikes me,' said the Flag
Lieutenant, 'that you'll be blamed if
rou do. and you'll be blamed if you
don't. Between the two evile, I ad
vise yon to see the old man.'
"So McLean went to see the Ad
miral. He found him on the quarter
deck of the Olympia, and told him tk
story.
" 'Ypujlg man,' replied Admiral
Dewey, 'when you camo here to dis
turb me I was just reflecting on the
vjist responsibilities that rest on my
I shoulders. I look at the lights of
yonder beautiful city, and I shudder
to think of the countless precious lives
that would be lost were I to turn mv
guns on its walls. How terrible '
" 'But, sir,' interrupted McLean,
'whnt am I to do with those thirty-one
saoks of spuds?'
'• 'Confound your spuds!' roared
Dewey.
" 'Yes, sir; of course, sir,' stam
mered McLoan, preparing to retreat.
" 'But, say, McLean,' called the
Admiral, lowering his voice to a
whisper, 'do you suppose those Dutch
are as hungry for something fresh to
eat as we are?'
"That night MoLean delivered the
thirty-one sacks of potatoes to the
German Admiral. The next day the
German Admiral sent a note of thanks
to Admiral Dewey, and thus hostilities
were averted."
PRANKS OF NAVAL CADETS.
An Amusing Encounter lietween Captain
Clark and Captain Cook.
When the famous Captain Mahau
was a lieutenant and one of the offices
of the Naval Academy at Annapolis,
it became his duty one evening to
award several demerits to Cadet
Clark, now or recently captain of the
battleship Oregon. The circumstances
were such that Clark felt that he had
some reason for grievance against his
roommate, now Captain Cook of the
cruiser Brooklyn, who had escaped
his demerits by being found in bed,
where both should have been at the
time. So Clark bided his time to pay
Cook off, and soon the opportunity
came.
Two days in the week was known
at the academy as pie-days, because
pies of all varieties and in great ahun
danco then glorified the dinner-table,
although there were never enough to
satisfy the cadets.
One day at dinner Clark saw Cook,
after giving a stealthy look around
the table, pull a sweet-potato pie to
ward him, and slide it deftly oft* the
cloth into the recesses of his jacket.
With another look around at the faces
of his companions, who seemed to be
all satisfactorily engrossed with their
plates, he carefully buttoned his jacket
over the prize, which required tender
handling, and went on eating his din
ner.
As they marched out of the mess
hall, Clark, in the rank behind Cook,
leaned forward and whispered, "Say,
how about finishing that wrestling
match we were having the other day?"
Cook shook his head in emphatic
negation, but as the ranks broke up
in the outer hall, Clark, disregarding
his friend's frantic winks, frowns and
attempts to back away, grasped und
girt him with both arms.
"Here! Stop! Wait! Hold on,
confound you, hold on!" implored the
victim, wriggling iu the grasp of his
tormentor, who did hold on harder
than ever.
Then a soft yellow substance came
creeping over tho top of Cook's col
lar, oozed from tho breast of his
jacket, and into a fringe at the bot
tom. With a wrench, lie shook him
self free from Clark's arms, tore open
his jacket, and exposed the mashed
and crumbled remuins of the sweet
potato pie.
"You inspired idiot!" said he, more
in sorrow than in angor. "See what
you've done! Why, I was going to
givo you half of it!"— Youth's Com
panion.
REFLECTIONS OF A BACHELOR.
Pride goeth before a woman's call.
A woman must love somebody, if it
is only the skeleton iu the closet.
The most kissable girls are the kind
that are good at pretending they
hate it.
There is some excuse for the babies
to talk that way; they don't know any
better.
The man who won't play second
fiddle as often as not can't play any
fiddle at all.
Next to his wife, aman's viewsabout
other women are the best test of her
taste.
Probably if the women weren't al
lowed to cry at weddings they would
laugh at funerals.
If a man knew that his best friend
did the things that he does he would
cut his acquaintance,
Thero are two women in every man's
life; the one he married and the one
he thinks he might have.
When a girl is in love she can never
quite believe that any married people
can possibly know just how she feels.
Women are all right as long as they
have plenty of clothes and their own
way; a man is all right as long as he
has plenty to eat.
The truest love a woman gives a man
is the same kind which she gives to a
ohild. aud to give him this she must
see weakness in him.
The proportion of men who tell their
wives all about their business is about
as great as the proportion of women
qjho don't toll their husbands all about
their home trials.—New York Press.
England's Meat Supply.
The extent of the foreign trade in
refrigerating beef is shown by the fact
that Great Britain imported iu 1898
this meat to the amount of $29,000,-
000. Probably it all came from Amer
ica and Australia. The trade has
amounted to more than $25,000,000
yearly since 1896. The dependence
of Great Britain on other nations for
her food supply is shown as the valu
ation of food imports of all kinds in
1898.