HUNTING THE SEA OTTER
ARE CAPTURED WHEN THEY CO
FOR A HOLIDAY.
Pacific Shooting Towers—Heed ns T.onlcont
Stations Front Which the Eapor Klfle
tnan sights Ills I'rcv Five Hundred
Dollars Darned ity One Shot.
The most beautiful stretch of ocean
ibeach to bo found anywhere on the
Pacific coast of the United States is
the wide expanse of spotless and glit
tering sand which lies between Gray's
Harbor and the Quinniault River.
There may be seen an unbroken area
of twenty miles in length, and at low
tide from three to five miles in width,
which would make a moonlight play
ing ground for the houris.
There are many tower-like structures
at regular distances of perhaps a mile
each which excite the curiosity of the
people on tiie many coast line steam
ers plying between Snu Pranciseo and
northern ports. These are the towers
or shooting boxes of sea otter hunters.
They are built of tall, slender poles,
generally four in number, sunk to a
great depth and fixed securely in the
sand and surrounded by a small box
covered with a roof to protect its oc
cupants from the burning sun. Cleats
securely fastened to the poles from
bottom to top afford the hunter means
of ingress and egress.
The hot sun which blazes fiercely on
this wide expanse of white sand dur
ing the months of July and August
heats it almost to a burning point, and
the waters of the incoming tide, roll
ing and curling over this hot sand, be
come dcliciously warm. This is the
playing ground of the sea otter, the
place where tliey come to spend their
holidays.
They leave their homes In the far
off rocky islands, where there are no
sand beaches, and tho green waters
are cold and deep, and come here like
people to a watering place, to spend
the summer months in rolling and
tumbling about in this warm water in
a perfect ecstaey of delight. Tbey
leap and play about in the foaming
breakers and polish their beautiful
skills by hugging the sandy bottom
anil allowing the ocean swells to drive
and throw them about as they will.
Although sea otters have the timid
ity which is natural to all wild ani
mals, they are better able to protect
themselves than any of the other ani
mals which have their homes in the
sea. The swiftness of their move
ments makes it possible for them
easily (o catch any kind of small fish,
and thus they can appease their hun
ger with the daintiest food.
No shark can catch them; they could
be twenty feet away while Mr. Shark
was turning 011 his back, and if the
shark were directly beneath them
tlicy could throw themselves five feet
in the air like a kaleidoscopic ball
while the ugly monster was snapping
■llls jaws. The hunter is in ills box,
the tide is coming in. and with a pow
erful field glass to assist his practiced
eye, lie eagerly scans each coming roll
er. He has been here every day for a
week, and his rifie has lain untouched
by his side. To-day something may
happen.
f*"All nt once lie starts and mutters a
little ejaculation; lie sees something.
He will soon know what it is for the
swells are coming swiftly and the dis
tance between himself and the object
lie lins seen will be quickly lessened.
Yes, there It Is again; there Is no mis
take. It Is an otter, not more than
■COO yards away. The hunter lays
down his glass, and there Is SSOO or
IJOOO worth of beautiful, shining fur
plainly visible to the naked eye.
The man in the tower picks up his
Sharp's rille, Inserts a 120-grain cart
ridge in the chamber, and there is a
•wicked, wistful gleam in the keen eye
of the hunter as he raises his weapon
for tiie first shot. There is a flash, a
l'ccoll and a report, which is scarcely
distinguishable in the roaring of the
breakers 10 the man who holds the
gun. Ammunition Is no object, and.
with lightning rapidity be loads and
fires Ills piece. That otter will not be
more than ten feet away from where
he was when the hunter pulled the
trigger when he gets there, and that
hunter can lilt a bounding deer at 300
yards twice out of five shots. The ot
ter is enjoying himself In the danger
ous company of murderous bullets,
which are doing their best to fiml him.
Another huge breaker brings him
within 200 yards of the blazing rifle.
A quick recoil of the heavy gun turns
the hunter half round; there is an un
natural splash which tells the man
.something has happened. He strains
his eyes; no need of his glass to see
there is blood in the water, and this
tells him that there is a big hole some
v m;o in that SSOO.
No need to shoot again; no otter
•could bleed like that and not be washed
ashore. The hunter lays down his
heated gun; there will be no more ot
ters in sight to-day. He sees his game
almost opposite Ills tower; it is drift
ing helplessly toward the shore. That
skin Is his, and its possession means
that he will have everything he wants
for another year If he does not fire a
eingle shot.
The fierce gleam of desire has left
his dirty face and has been replaced
by one of possession. He is wild with
joy. llow be wishes that he could
get down from that tower and be at
the spot where the otter will be thrown
up upon the sand, but he must wait
until the tide falls a little. One of his
half-breed hoys, who Is ten or eleven
years old, is moping lazily along the
beach; his quick eye detects some
thing. Like u frightened wolf he
leap 3 over the sand and is soon beside
the dead otter.
Willi a yell of delight he files toward
the shanty on the b'uEf to tell his
mother and the half dozen or so of
- other' little half-breeds what has hap
pened, and they all come trooping
down the beach as fast as their legs
can carry them.
The tide Js going out now and the
blood of the otter stains the sand
which has lured blm to destruction,
and the ebbing ripples tenderly caress
for the last time the pretty animal
which has been their playmate all its
life, and the sea will moan for the
free-born thing which lias always had
a homo in its bosom.
Some way or another the news
spreads quickly and other hunters and
crowds of Slwashes come trooping to
ward the dead otter from all direc
tions.—Morning Oregonian.
THE LUCK OF FIRST-BORN.
But Youutjer Brothers Make m Good
Showing.
The law is by no means alone In fa
voring the first born of a family and
comparatively neglecting later comers,
for a careful examination of the bio
graphies of our most eminent men
will prove that quite a preponderating
number of tiiem owe their fame large
ly to the fact that they made their en
try into the world in advance of their
brothers and sisters.
To such an extent does this appear
to be the case that, if a dozen names
of distinguished men are taken at ran
dom, it would be quite safe to assert
that four of them (or possibly five)
nro first sons; of the remainder three
are second sons, while younger sons,
Tanging from number three down
ward, must be content with dividing
the small amount of celebrity among
them.
Occasionally a very late comer ac
quires fame, but the odds are all
against him. Thus, Benjamin Frank
lin, the great natural philosopher and
politician, had no fewer than thirteen
brothers and sisters in front of him.
Sir Illehard Arkwrlght, the famous in
ventor, was the thirteenth child of his
parents, and Sir Joshua Reynolds was
number seven in his family.
But by far the majority of the
world's distinctions are shared be
tween first and second sons, the
lion's share going to the first born.
Fame In the world of letters lias
gone in quite undue proportions to the
oldest born. If we may take Dante,
Goethe, Shakespeare and Milton ns
the four greatest names in the history
of the world s literature we shall find
that all four, with the exception of
Shakespeare—the greatest, it is true,
of them all—were eldest sons.
This privilege of the first born is
claimed for Shelley and Byron and
Heine, and In- modern times, to men
tion names without regard to relative
merit, by Ruskin, Max Muller, Lccky,
Professor Jebb, Sir Lewis Morris,
Frederick Harrison, Sir John Lubbock,
Sir George Trevelyan, Mr. rinero and
others far too numerous to mention.
Confucius and Mohammed, Talley
rnud, Rossini, Charlemagne, Luther
and Raphael were all eldest sons; as
also nro such eminent statesmen of
to-day as Mr. A. .T. Balfour, Mr. Cham
berlain, Mr. Brodriek, I,ords Rosebery
and Goschen and Mr. John Morley.
Among great soldiers we have Lord
Wolseley and Lord Kitchener; among
lawyers Sir Francis Jeune and Sir
Edward Clarke; in the church, the late
Bishop of London, and on the stage
Sir Henry Irving.
Of famous second sons the list is
distinguished if comparatively short,
for we fiud such giants of the past ns
Michael Angelo und Beethoven; the
Pope, Garibaldi and Pascal; Wallace
and Sheridan; John Wesley and Mon
taigne. Of famous statesmen of our
own time We have Sir William Hai
court and Mr. Asquitb, as well as
Lord Salisbury, to mention only three
names.
The list of second sons contains a
great soldier in Sir Redvers Bulier, an
eminent judge in Lord Alverstone,
still better known as Sir Richard
Webster; a clever actor in Mr. Beer
bohiu Tree; an artist in Mr. Phil May,
and men of letters in Grant Allen and
Sir Edwin Arnold.
Nor are the third sons by any means
to be despised in point of quality, al
though the uuruher is relatively very
small.
They include the greatest soldier of
modern times, the Duke of Welliug
ton; the greatest author of any time,
Shakespeare, and the most fa
mous fiction writer of the last cen
tury, Sir Walter Scott.
Voltaire was a third son, and so
were C. J. Fox, the famous statesmen
and orator, Lord Lytton and Sir Rob
ert Walpole, while Lord Halsbury lias
proved that a third son can fill with
distinction the highest place in the
law, and the late Sir Walter Bosant
that he can win laurels In the field of
letters.—Tit-Bits.
How to Fell a Chimney.
A tall chimney sometimes becomes
useless, aud it is desirable to take it
down. To erect scaffolding and take
it down by removing the bricks or
stones one by one is a long and la
borious task. A man in Manchester,
England, pursues a simpler aud more
expeditious plan, by which he fells a
chimney even L.lO feet In height in a
very short time. He removes the
bricks or stones of about two-thirds
of tho base of the chimney up to a
height of five or six feet. Then he
underpins this part with wood. When
the work is properly done, the chim
ney leans slightly towards the side
where the underpinning is inserted,
and when a crack appears in the ma
sonry on the opposite side, he applies
fire to tho underpinning, and when
that gets fairly to going down comes
the chimney. It has been found tlmt
in nearly every case, the chimney
partly telescopes as it falls, owing,
doubtless, to the shock produced by
dropping into tho void left by the
burnt timbers. This ingenious un
builder has felled 100 tail chimneys
without accident
One Cent For Profit,
A flustered young •woman, out of
breath as though from walking fast,
rushed up the steps of the mint and
asked to be directed to tlio bureau of
Information. "There isn't any," re
plied the uniformed messenger, a very
fat man. "Perhaps I can tell you
what you want to know." "Perhaps
you can," said the young woman,
producing a copy of a frivolous week
ly paper. "I want to know if this is
true." She pointed to a paragraph
which read: "Among the curiosities
of collecting is the fact that 1001 cents
now bring about §lO in the coin
market." The fat messenger adjusted
bis glasses and scrutinized the para
graph. While he was thus engaged
the young woman explained that she
had four 1001 cents, and wanted to
know what made them so valuable,
and where she could realize on them.
Thou the fat messenger grew purple
In the face from suppressed laughter,
which finally exploded, and seemed
In momentary danger of having an
apoplectic fit He called the attention
of the other messengers to the para
graph, and then followed combined
roars of merriment. In the meantime
the young woman with the four 1001
cents wondered if she had strayed by
mistake into a Innatie asylum. Finally
the fat messenger regained his breath
sufficiently to gasp: "It's a Joke.
Don't you see?—l'll give you §lO for
1001 pennies, and I'll be a cent ahead
of the game. See?" A great light
seemed to drawn In the mind of the
young woman. "I dare say it's very
funny," she said, "but I don't think
such things ought to be printed." And
she made her exit sorrowfully.—Phil
adelphia Record.
Acid In Vnluablo Mail.
It has come to lie generally believed
that dishonest postollice employes se
lect letters containing hills by smell
ing them through the envelopes. A
New York druggist who has n great
many transactions with customers out
of town tells the Times this is true
from his own experience.
His confidence In the malls as a safe
way to send money was established a
few years ago when he sent more than
§2OO In bills to his wife, who was trav
eling. The precious envelope missed
her at one place and was forwarded
and reforwarded before it finally
reached her hands. By that time the
envelope was torn and the money was
sticking out In plain sight—in fact,
held in the envelope only by a rubber
hand which some country postmaster
had slipped around the whole parcel.
Nevertheless, the druggist afterward
met with several §1 and §2 losses un
til a year or two ago, when he con
ceived the idea of putting a single
drop of diluted carbolic acid into every
envelope in which he inclosed a bill.
Since then he hasn't met with a single
loss.
"They can't smell the money In
those envelopes," he says, "and be-
Bides, maybe they think there Is some
thing unwholesome about them. Any
way, they always let them go through.
It is safer on the whole than register
lug, I think."
Three Trails of a Hoy.
There are three thiugs that a child
may do with the world that surrounds
him. He may appropriate it; he may
run away from It; he may fight it.
These three types of action sum up
the efforts of a man's life, from the
cradle to the grave. They spring from
three emotions, the most fundamen
tal and the most difficult to control.
These are sympathty, fear and anger.
What a child sympathizes with, what
he fears, what he gets mad at—this
will determine very largely what he
shall become. The training of these
emotions should, therefore, bo the
primary aim of every parent and
teacher. This fact has not boon gen
erally recognized. And because it lias
not, the world Is l'uil of men and
women who sympathize unwisely, fear
unwisely, light unwisely and live mis
erably.— Hetroit Free Press.
To Stop Rooster Crovrlntf.
A Brockton (Mass.) man has Invent
ed an appliance to keep roosters from
crowing In the early morning and Is
said to work like a charm. It Is called
the Brockton "Antl-crower." The de
vice is fastened to the bill of the roos
ter at niglit by a simple clasp, which
docs not Interfere in any wuy with
respiration. When the chanticleer
rises before dawn, throws back bis
head and attempts to wake himself
aud everybody else by uttering a
clarion note, the device restrains his
ambitious plans and not until his own
er sees fit to remove the clasp will
his vocal organs give utterance to his
feelings. The inventor hopes to raise
a race of non-crowing fowl by means
of thia device.
Women Hermits in Russia.
Among the villagers on the Volga
In the Province of Samara a curious
sect of women has made Us appear
ance. It was originated by an elderly
peasant woman in Sor.uova, called
the "Blessed Mother." These women
have fled from the villages around
Into a remote district, where they
live singly in holes dug out of the
face of the bill. They lead a life of
tasting and prayer, and believe them
selves called from the world, which
they think is shortly about to perish
in a general conflagration. The
"Blessed Mother" has "ten wise vir
gins" ao a sort of bodyguard, and the
sect believes that these eleven women
ere possessed of miraculous pjwero.—
London Clobc.
JllSt.
II Is only n jti3t fate, nflct- all ;f en
Intellectual girl is fallen in love with
by a toan who kisses her on the fore
head.—New York Hcrulu.
elSlii
Sample lllaliwnyn lSullt.
¥AItTIN DODGK, Dir< ctor
of Public Road Inquiries
Office, writes as follows in
Municipal Journal and En-
gineer:
The reflex influence of tlie bicycle
and the automobile has finally created
a public sentiment that is crystalliz
ing into betterment of the public
highway's to an extent that Is most
gratifying to the good roads enthusi
ast. Many States which have failed
to make any appropriation for the im
provement of roads in the past year
yielded to the public demand and
made for them liberal appropria
tions. The good example of Massa
chusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey,
New York and other States is bearing
fruit. In the aggregate, including the
small appropriation made by the Gov
ernment, millions of dollars have
been set aside for tho betterment of
tho country roads during this year.
Canada is by no means a laggard,
but rather well in the lead, when all
things are considered, for she has ap
propriated $1,000,000 to be expended
upon tlie improvement of the high
ways during the season.
The good roads train which has
been touring the South during tho last
three months, was made up at Chi
cago through the co-operation of tlie
National Association of Good Roads,
tlie Illinois Central Railroad and sev
eral manufacturers of road-making
machinery. Tlie train started from
Chicago on April 20, equipped with
eight carloads of the best and most
important roadmnking machinery, ex
pert operators, roadmakers and en
gineers, arriving in New Orleans on
April 22.
The following week an object les
son road, about two miles in length,
was built in the suburbs of New Or
leans, over a low plain, formerly sub
ject to overflow. It was desirable to
raise the roadbed higher than usual
to get above tlie action of the water,
which softens the surface of the road
so rapidly; therefore, earth handling
machinery was used to advantage.
The New Era grader, propelled by
twelve animals, was first put upon
the work, and earth was transferred
from the sides to the centre, at the
rate of four cubic yards per minute.
IVitliin the short space of two days
the undisturbed earth was trans
formed into a smoothly finished road
way, over which automobiles could
pass with perfect ease.
During the week a State convention
assembled for two days in pursuance
of a proclamation issued by the Gov
ernor of Louisiana. Every parish of
the State was well represented, there
being about one thousand delegates
In attendance. As a result of this
convention a permanent State organ
ization was formed, which will oper
ate in co-operation with the national
association, to carry on the work al
ready so well begun.
On the first of May the train left
New Orleans for Natchez, Miss.,
where It remained a week building
another object lesson road and hold
ing a district convention for two days,
at the close of which a permanent or
ganization was formed for carrying
on the work in that vicinity, and for
the purpose of co-operating with the
State association, afterward formed
at Jaekson, Miss., aud the national as
sociation, formed last November at
Chicago. We had here the hearty
co-operation of tho city and the county
authorities, the object lesson road be
ing built partly within and partly
without tlio city of Natchez.
Our next stand was at Greenville,
Miss., where we arrived on May 10.
This is in tlie midst of the famous
Y'azoo Delta. Tho soil is an alluvial
deposit, subject to overflow and in
undation. A portion of this soil is
known as "buckshot land," and is ex
ceedingly difficult to handle and more
difficult to retain in tlie form of a
smooth roadbed. It was doubted
whether the earth-handling machinery
so successful in other soils, would be
able to handle this peculiar buckshot
formation, but our efforts were
crowned with success, and we left
them an object lesson of great value,
iu the form of smooth, well rounded
roadbeds, raised well above the water
level. We also had a very successful
two-day convention, which termin
ated with the organization of a per
manent association for tlio improve
ment of highways.
I left the train temporarily at this
point, and tlie next stand was made
at Granada and another at McCouib
City, and from McComb they went to
Cambridge, after which the great con
vention was held at Jackson, Miss.,
where an object lesson road was built,
as at each of tlie other places. The
Slate convention Was probably the
largest and most successful of any
road convention ever assembled In
America and resulted Iu a permaueut
organization for the entire Slate.
From Jackson, Miss., tlie train went
to Jackson, Tenu., where a similar
program was carried out. The next
great stand was at Loul3villo, Ky„
where I again joined tlie train on
June 27. The Governor of Kentucky
had issued his proclamation for tlie
State convention to bo held here at
tliis time, and continue two days. This
was well attended by eminent men
from all parts of tlie State, and was
one of the beet conventions ever held
in the interest of good roads. Governor
Beckham was present and delivered
I nn address full of encouragement for
the cause and urging the people to in
dustrial activity. A fine object lesson
road was produced here just outside
the city limits, and a permanent or
ganization formed for the purpose of
carrying on the work in connection
with the national association.
The train went from Louisville to
Hopklnsvllle and repeated there sub
stantially the same work that had
been done in the other places. Owons
boro, Ivy., was reached July 14, and
a most enthusiastic convention was
held on the fair grounds in that city.
From here we crossed the Ohio River
into Southern Illinois, and made a
final stand at Effingham. It was ex
pected that the train would move
from here to Mattoon, but owing to
a disastrous fire in that city, the en
gagement was cancelled, and the
great tour of the good roads train
was closed.
HOW A STEAMSHIP WENT DOWN.
Graphic Description of the Plunge of th.
Kincora.
This account of the recent collision
between the steamships Oceanic aud
Kincora was written by a passenger
on tlie Oceanic:
"I was reading in my hunk last
niglit and the foghorn began to blow,
and at about 12.30 I felt a shock, as
If a great wave had struck our vessel
and we liad gone through it. Some
thing fell on the deck (I am three
decks down,) and after a time I be
came conscious of an excitement up
above. Up I went. Then I saw our
vessel had struck another steamer
about one-third from its stern, and the
two were lying apparently fixed, with
the steamer's hows pointing at an an
gle with our vessel toward our stern.
It was u very misty night, and above
the junction of tlio two ships there
was a light which radiated through
the mist without giving much illumin
ation.
"By degrees I became aware that
the steamer was lying with its nose
up and its stein above the water. The
bows rose higher and higher, the
masts were seen at an increasingly
extraordinary angle with the deck of
our steamer. The masthead light of
tlie steamer came down and down,
when a contrary motion seized tlie
steamer, and she slipped down, stern
foremost, with appalling speed, and,
when half Immersed, and apparently
upright, fell over on lier deck aud
disappeared without a sound.
"It was as if she covered her face
and fell forward on the death that
threatened her—but tlie speed with
which she went down, and her last
motion before disappearing, were very
striking. The contrast between our
lighted decks (for before the end eyery
!': "t ]..■• d ' ?en turned on) and her hull,
dam . black except where lier
masthead light flickered, and where
some light came out ol' the engine
room, made a great picture.
"Our boats were out at once, but
no one came up after tlie steamer
went down. I was on deck at 1.10
and by 1.17 tlie tragedy was finished."
WORDS OF WISDOM.
Calamity is man's true touchstone.—
Beaumont.
Education is the chief defense of na
tions.—Burke.
In belief lies tlie secret of all valua
ble exertion.—Bulwer.
He who foresees calamities suffers
them twice over.—Porteus.
,Tho best teachers of humanity are
the lives of great men—Fowler.
Books are lighthouses erected in tho
great sea of time.—E. P. Whipple.
Benevolence is allied to few vices;
selfishness to fewer virtues.—Home.
The luxury of doing good surpasses
every other personal enjoyment.—Gay.
He who would he a great soul in fu
ture must lie a great soul now. —Em-
erson.
Have something to say; say it, and
stop when you're done.—Tryou Ed
wards.
There are few wild beasts more to
be dreaded than a talking man hav
ing nothing to say.—Swift.
Never does a man portray his own
character more vividly than in his
manner of portraying another.—Rich
ter.
"As the duty of every day requires."
That Is a simple rule. Let it be pon
dered well. Resolve when you awake
that it shall bo to some faithful pur
pose, and that your renovated powers
should be obedient to Him who has re
newed them. Let not the opportunity
that is so fleeting and yet so full pass
neglected away.—Frothiugham.
Rutland's Taciturn Judge*
Sir F. Bacon, ill a well-known pass
age, says that "an overspeaking judge
is no well-tuned cymbal." It is obvi
ous that Sir F. Bacon has at least one
disciple lit tlie courts to-day. In twen
ty-two reported cases in which one of
his Majesty's Judges took part, lie
gave a judgment in one case occupy
ing some nine lines of print. Ills
judgments in the remaining twenty
one eases were as follows. In one
case, "I am of the same opinion, for
the same reasons;" in yet one other,
"I entirely agree;" in four, "I con
cur;" iu five, "1 am of the same opin
ion," and in ten, "I agree." To adapt
Mr. I'uff's celebrated observation,
"When they do agree on the bench,
tlielr unanimity is wonderful."—Lon
don Law Journal.
Arizona's High Honor.
Arizona has a heavy lino of news
papers, considering its population. It
has a paper for each 2000 people
more, according to tlie percentage of
population, than any other State or
Territory in the United States.
THE PRESIDENT ABROAD.
The Idea That Ho i'annftt Visit rcreljr*
Soil a More Superßtitlon.
There is a popular superstition that
the President of the United States U
Inhibited from leaving this country
during his term of office, but it is su
perstition only. The article of the
Constitution "which relates to the Pres
ident contains no provision of the sort,
and therefore the President is quite
free to do precisely as he chooses in
this matter.
The reason why no President has
ever visited foreign countries until af
ter his retirement has probably been
due to the fact that in the early years
of the republic, before the invention
of the telegraph and before the laying
of the Atlantic cable, and also before
the development of steamships of
great speed, absence from the country
would have meant so protracted sev
erance of communication between the
executive and the subordinate officers
of the Government as to constitute
what would have been practically au
"inability to discharge the powers and
duties" of his office. When it required
a month to make the voyage to Europe
and when letters and orders could be
transmitted only by sailing packets,
or, afterward by steamship, It would,
of course, have been impossible for
the President to visit England with
out practically abdicating his office
and installing the Vice-President in
his place. But now, when the time re
quired to pass from New York to
Queenstown is hut little more than
five days, and when immediately upon
his landing he would be in telegraphic
communication every moment with
his Cabinet, there exists no satisfac
tory reason why he should not feel
entirely free to perform a striking act
in International courtesy.
It is not, indeed, true, that no Presi
dent lias ever gone beyond the boun
daries of his country. President Ar
thur, during his term of office, went to
Florida by sea, and although he did so
on a vessel of the navy, and was there
fore technically still upon American
soil he was, as a matter of fact, shut
off from communication with the ad
ministrative departments for several
days; and President Cleveland also on
one occasion, while shooting in the
Adirondaeks, crossed the Canadian
border, and for several hours was,
without knowing it, actually upon
British territory.
If, indeed, the President of the Uni
ted States were now to visit Egypt he
need never be so remote from Wash
ington in point of facility of commu
nication as was President Monroe
when, during the era of good feeling,
he loft the seat of Government and
traveled by canal and coast and car
riage to the city of Boston.—The Book
man.
Bruins Saved by Machines.
A macnine which does the work of
six clerks without making their m.is
takes has been introduced into several
Chicago banks. It weighs, counts ami
sorts gold coins, delicately separating
the worn ones—which lose four cents
in value for every grain rubbed off—
from the pieces of standard weight.
Adding and change-making machines
have already been long in use in banks
and commercial houses. Cash-regis
ters are familiar savers of time and
figuring. In many markets there bre
patent scales which indicate weights
and calculate prices at the same time.
It is worthy of notice that what
these pieces of mechanism relieve is
not the hand but the brain of man.
They serve to spare the arduous exer
cise of certain mental faculties, just
as books of ready reference make
enormous strains on the memory un
necessary.
As inventions multiply which lighten
men's brains of a mass of clogging de
tail more room is left for other things
in the human mind and a greater free
dom of mental processes is afforded.
Those brain-saving devices, then,
must be ranked high among the instru
ments of progress, overcoming handi
caps for the intellects that must go
racing oil.—New York World.
Needed a Shave.
A man who has been on a lecture
tour through the South tells this story
011 himself: He was late in arriving
in one of the cities in which lie was
booked, and had but half an hour to
reach the liall where lie was to give
his entertainment He needed a shave
almost as much as he did his dinner,
hut he decided to cut out the latter.
The former ho was obliged to have.
Going to his room, he rang for a bar
ber. A bright-looking boy came in
and announced that he was the bar
ber. Mr. Bingham sat down oil a
chair and told him to go ahead. "I
beg your pardon, sir, but would you
mind lying down on the couchV"
"Why?" asked the astonished lecturer.
"Well, sir, you see, I am generally
sent to shave the corpses and I can
shave a man better when lie is lying
down."—New Orleans Times-Demo
crat.
Preserving Fruits.
The Agricultural Department of Vic
toria has recently made experiments
with reference to the preservation of
fresh fruits. Pears aud peaches packed
in the ordinary boxes for shipment
were subjected to the vapors of hy
drocyanic gas. The fruits were then
taken out of the boxes and separately
wrapped in tissue paper. Some of
them were again treated with the gas,
aud the whole lot was placed in a dry
room at a temperature of forty de
grees Fahrenheit, and kept there for
seven weeks. While the fruits were
taken out they were in an excellent
state of preservation, especially those
that had been treated with the gas a
second time. Not only the pears, hut
the peaches, felt hard to the touch, re
tained their fresh appearance and
showed no decayed spots, as the germs
hud all been killed by the gau.