Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, March 05, 1902, Image 3

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    THE FILIPINO'S CUNNING
PATIENT SKILL AND REAL ART IN
NATIVE KNIVES.
Character Itevenled by the National JlTti
scniii'B Collection or Curiosities The
lleudsmnn's lltade To Fit the "Talu
bonjj's" Curve a Scabbard is lteslKned.
Filipino ingenuity and cliaractor are
revealed at the National Museum at
Washington iu a new collection of
hunting and fishing implements, head
gear, musical instruments and weap
ons of warfare.
The natives of the rhilippinc group
have developed to a very high degree
the use of rattan, bamboo, vegetable
fibre and palm leaves in the manufac
ture of dozens of miscellaneous artl
r.. cles. Ilattan is pleated and woven
* Into hats, arrow quivers, scabbards for
sjwords and knives, and umbrellas.
Aamboo is fashioned into telescope
i Tsliing rods, water and wine bottles,
.0. covers for the swords of executioners
jnd blowpipes. Palm leaves are shaped
into a score of designs—into dippers,
water-proof hats, torches and other ar
. . tides. The native has apparently
> mnd in the vegetable growths of his
dwelling place material to supply ail
his detpands except the need for iron.
Possibly the most prominent feature
\>f the collection Is a group of half a
dozen "talabongs," or headsman's
jxes. They are huge knives, three
feet long or more, curved like a scimi
tar reversed. In order the bettor to
itrike the unfortunate victim's neck
this curve is irregular—wide at the two
ends and acute in the middle. It Is
.impossible, of course, to slide such an
eccentric curve into a scabbard, but
|'.te Philippine headsmen have over
come that difficulty easily. Two pieces
if bamboo, shaped like the scimitar
and flat on the side nearest the blade,
have been joined together along one
edge with a fiber which is a little elas-
T tie. Separating these two slabs of
wood the swordsman can slip his blade
Into It from one side and from the end.
The fiber at the outside joint holds ihe
bamboo closely to the knife, open only
at one end.
Among the army officers this need
for a knife fitted to a man's neck has
not been allowed to interfere with a
sense of design. Their swords, or
"campalongs," are a regular, graceful
arc of a circle. One such sword, ap
parently made from a thick saw
brought to the islands by a trading
ship, is chased and inlaid with silver
and has a mahogany handle. The
workman who engraved the blade evi
dently worked long to carve the handle
into a shape singularly like that of the
swords used among the Saracen tribes.
At the curve in the hilt Spanish coins
have been sunk until flush with the
surface. The handle is decorated with
a fringe of hair dyed red or tnaroou.
Another knife is little and curved
back toward the wrist when held In
V. the closed fi6t. This is intended for a
\ swift blow at the stomach, and then,
when the enemy has doubled over, to
complete the attack with a stab in the
back. Many of the knives ore decor
ated with horn or silver handles, and
Dne terminates in an ivory tusk. Near
ly all of these short knives are curved
into the form of a kris, and look like
highly ornamented bread knives.
An umbrella in the collection is a
work of art, but it is suspected of Chi
nese origin. Palm leaves have been
cut and trimmed until they fitted to
gether for an outer covering, as smooth
and firm as heavy paper. This was
then applied to a frame of split bam
boo iu the fashion of the ordinary Chi
nese or Japanese parasol. Inside the
frame has been decorated with rattan
split into slender strands and woven
about the umbrella ribs. The whole
was then given a tone of deep red and
the outside varnished to innke it Imper
vious to water. Everything used iu the
construction of the umbrella is vegeta
? pie, even the fastenings at the ends of
I the ribs and the little rivets used In
the frame.
The Filipino blowpipe will disappoint
those whose ideas of such weapons
have been obtained from the geogra
phies of fifteen years ago or more. It
is not ten feet long or two inches in
diameter. On the contrary, it is a
most inoffensive Instrument, about
three-quarters of an inch thick and
only a yard long. It is merely an en
larged putty blower, of the sort pos
sessed by the American boy. The ma
terial use in Its manufacture is a sec
tion of bamboo, with the openings
carefully rounded. For darts the na
tive shapes little arrows of spilt bam
boo, and winds about the barb end a
little ball of cotton to fill the tube and
offer the greatest possible resistance
to the air.
Nothing could more fully meet the
. o i,i atlas idea of South Sea Islanders
than the bamboo wine bottle which
rests alongside the blowpipe. It Is
about a foot long, four or fiver inches
in diameter and would hold p'os6ibly
half a gallon. Holes have been bored
in the fibre at the end, and a strip of
rattan fastened into them for a sling
strap. The last Item of Its equipment
Is a round wooden cork, which is fast
ened to the "bottle" by rattan.
The musical Instruments are
equipped with vegetable strings. One
of them is much like the guitar of the
Tyrol, but more slender and weighted
down with long, highly carved keys.
The other Is somewhat like an Indian
pipe—a queer bowl at one end of a
long, hollow tube, with strings from
the top of the bowl to the further end
of the tube. The musician in the Phil
ippines evidently gives his extra time
to carving his instrument, as both gui
tar and fiddle are covered with little
decorations cut with a knife.
The last feature of the collection is
"n harmless looking cane lliat rattles
when picked ttf ye 1 - oue might hunt
for au hour without discovering how
u opened. Inside is 8 steel blaop,
long enough for a duel. Another cane
opens at the end and lets out a sort of
a spear. Bnt the greatest surprise is
ths cane with a screw cap at the fer
rule. When finally that cap has been
worked off and the cane has been
shaken, the wood grows longer and
longer, until the spectator holds in his
hand a light, tapering, beautifully
joined fishing rod.
To Run Bird Ilestaurants.
. Kenosha, Wis., women have gone
Into a scheme for making their town a
regular "Bird City." They have formed
a club, which nearly every villager has
joined, for having bird restaurants
in their front or hack gardens. Each
member of tlie club has agreed to erect
a tall pole with a shelf on top large
enough to bold a saucer of water and
a tray of food, which will contain
seeds, lettuce, cuttleboue and any oilier
dainties birds crave.
Once the bird restaurants become
popular wltli Kenosha's birds, the
women believe the feathered ones
will impart the glad tidings to their
neighbors in other suburbs, and Ken
osha in a little while will have a mon
opoly of the sougsters of the North
shore. *
Some of the women will even go
further than to establish bird eating
houses. Moss and other nesting ma
terial will be placed in the trees, where
it will be of easy access, aud the
women reason that, with all this home
building material at hand, the birds
will look no further for a cozy spot In
which to settle and begin housekeep
ing.
Increase of Cheap Telephones In Chit-ago.
It Is only n year ago that the nickel
in-the-slot telephone was introduced In
Chicago. Now the demand for this
class of instruments is enormous, as
they fill a place hitherto unprovided
for iu the telephone service of that
city. Two classes of nickel-in-the-slot
machines are used—oue on a two-party
and the other ten-parly line service.
The rate at which these instruments
are put in is limited only by the rapid
ity with which they can be turned out
from the factory, aud the necessary
wires run and provisions made on the
exchange switchboard; in fact, the
company is overwhelmed with new
business and is even going to the ex
tent of letting out different portions
of its work of placing instruments,
running wires and building pole lines
to various contractors. The number
of five-eent telephones put in since
tills service was started about a year
ago is in the neighborhood of 7000,
wbicli means an enormous additional
load on the company's exchanges.
Tho Knisei's Family.
Ernperor William is the fortunate
father of six bright boys, and eacli
of those boys lias a sister, as the old
conundrum puts it. Her name is Vic
toria Louise, and she was born Sep
tember 13, 1803. We saw her at the
Zoological Gardens, in charge of a
governess and an aid-de-camp, laugh
ing at the capers of the monkeys and
feeding the lions and tigers, just like
hundreds of other children who go to
the park every day. Mingling in the
throng, no one noticed her, although
people entering at oue of the gates
might have observed that some mem
ber of the royal family was there, lie
cause ot a carriage bearing tlie Em
peror's private crest, with a coaelimau
and footman In ills private livery. By
those signs the imperial family may
always be distinguished in the parks,
boulevards and streets. The coachman
and footman wear black, trimmed wltli
silver braid, and a wide hatband of
silver marked with black eagles.—Chi
cago llecord-Horald.
American Fog*.
The recurrence of a foggy season
directs attention again to a serious
municipal problem. It causes us to
wouder whether the heaviness cf tlie
atmosphere of Philadelphia is due
most to the dampness or to the soot
and gas which are emitted from every
fltte and chimney pot, and are unable
to ascend during these periods of me
teorological depression. It is a well
known fact that a Loudon "particular"
is little more than the smoke of the
great metropolis, which for the time
being refuses to rise and overwhelms
man aud beast. The heavy atmosphere
of Pittsburg, Cincinnati and Cleveland
bangs over those cities like a pall, and
when dampness accompanies the ha
bitual condition of smoklucss the evil
is aggravated, becoming at times in
tolerable to people who have ever
known a clearer and happier clime.—
Philadelphia Times.
Migration of Insects.
Not long ago a ship from one of the
tropical countries was followed by a
flock of butterflies, which persistently
circled around tlie rigging of tlie ves
sel until the shore had faded in the
distance. Then the insects lighted on
the masts and decks. A few disap
peared In the night and were destroyed
in the water or reached Ihe shore in
safety. Some of the others crawled
away in tho cabins and bold of the
ship. After a trip of thirty days the
vessel l'pached New York, and from
their hiding place In the ship a few of
these butterflies emerged and flew
ashore. Thus au entirely new species
of butterfly was introduced into tlie
country.
Tb" giris of Smith College at North
arnpton, Mass.. arc Indignant at a new
set of rules, one of which forbids any
one of thorn taking a carriage ride
v, itil any students of Amherst College
unless engaged to be married io lilm.
I T'/Cre must always bo two girls, but
there may also be two men, provided
I tboy are ail iu the same vehicle. An
I nonncements of many engagements are
I expected.—Philadelphia Times.
1
A New Solution.
THE world may become Indebt
ed to Russia fora new method
of overland transportation.
The device In question !c that
of Prince Kliilkoff, the Czar's Minister
of Ways and Communication, and la
so simple that one is inclined to won
der that it was not thought of before.
The plan contemplates the employment
of automobiles of from three to six
horse power for hauling ordinary carts
over tramways made of hoards, sheet
iron, cement or any material that may
be found readily at hand. Stone, Iron
and wooden tramways have been used
for transportation from time Immemo
rial ; traction road engines are not new,
nor can the idea of drawing farmers'
or carters' wagons In trains from farm
to factory to the nearby market towns
or railway centres be regarded as a
novelty. The traction engines hith
erto thought of In this connection,
however, are comparatively slow, ex
pensive and so heavy that a consider
able portion of the power generated
by them would be required to haul
their own weight. Moreover, a pre
requisite for their successful employ
ment is a hard, smooth and costly road.
Prince Khilkoff's Initial experiments
were conducted in the park surround
ing his home. Ordinary sleepers were
laid down, and upon these two linos
of planks were nailed, instead of rails,
at a distance apnrt corresponding to
that of the automobile wheels. Wood
en combings were placed on the outer
sides of the planks as guards, to pre
vent the machine from leaving tlie
track. With an ordinary three and
one-half horse power carriage a cart
laden with bricks, and weighing with
its contents nearly two tons, was
easily hauled over tlie wooden tram
way a£ a speed of twelve versts an
hour. The estimated cost of a tram
way constructed like tlie foregoing Is
less tliau -'OOO rubles per verst, while
tlie cheapest macadamized road would
cost five times as much. The first prac
tical experiment of flip new system Is
to he made between Tsarkoe-Selo and
the new water works, wliieh are being
built a few versts from that city. Tlie
line will be laid over swampy ground,
where nil ordinary road could not lie
liuilt. Various substances will be tried
for tlie new automobile rnlls, such as
iron, cement and different kinds of
wood.
In the event of tlie success of tills
experiment, of which there Is 110 rea
sonable doubt, the system Is to he ex
tended throughout tlie empire as n sup
plementary means of transportation
between points not reached by rail
ways. Another consideration moving
the Russian Minister to extend the sys
tem is the impracticability of ordinary
Russian roads for carriages and carts
in the spring nnd autumn, when the
wheels are apt to sink hub deep into
mire. The considerations are as valid
In tlie greater part of this country as
they are in Russia, and it Is quite pos
sible that the general ndoption of
Prince Khilkoff's plan would be the
solution of the haulage problem in tlie
rural districts of the United States.
An automobile enn lie bought at a price
but little exceeding that of a team of
horses, and costs incomparably less to
keep. The cheapness of tlie timber
tramway would lay tlie road tax bogy,
which fills farmers with apprehension
whenever improved roadways are
mentioned. TIIO point which would
count most heavily in favor of the
tramway principle is lis adaptability
fro all locations. On any sort of soil
the sleepers and board rails could he
laid with equal celerity and ease. No
clay would he too soft, nor sand too
deep for it; tlie road could bo made to
follow the rubble stone bank of dry
river, and It would not be necessary to
make long detours around marsh
lands. On grounds of economy nnd
general utility, tlie plan appeals to one
so strongly that It would be surprising
if some of the freeholders or supervis
ors of our progressive rural communi
ties should not give it an early trial.—
New Method of ltoud Untitling;.
A novel system of road construction
has been successfully resorted to 111
Monmouth, 111. The ground was pre
pared for it by grading and being al
lowed to remain so for two mouths.
It was treated to an occasional scrap
ing,so that it would pack evenly, lin
ing thus rendered hard and even for
the laying of a surface of brick, the
chief constructive feature. The first
tiling was tlie setting of a curbing,
made of two by six inch planks seven
l'eet apart, held by oak stakes eighteen
inches long and put down every four
feat Inside of this was a flve-incli
bed of sand, all evened up, and a single
course of Xo. 1 paving brick then put
down, a-fine roadbed being thus ob
tained. Outside the curb two feet of
crushed rock were laid, graded up to
make an easy approach, this plan In
suring away of eleven feet In width,
und, as the earth on each side was
graded and worked, there was alto
gether a width of some forty feet, af
fording tracks on each side for use ill
dry weather. Such a brick road costs
about ninety cents u running foot.
The Industrial Discoverer.
It is not the boy who is surrounded
by the best implements and tools that
ingenuity can manufacture, but an Eli
Whitney making a cotton gin 111 a cel
lar in the South with the simplest
tools, or a Cunard whittling the model
of a ship with a jackknifo, that makes
great industrial discoveries.—Success.
Old Joe, tlie Night Watchmen.
■(From the Pall Mall Gazette, London.)
How often on returning home late on •
dreary winter'e night has our sympathy
gone out to the poor old night watchman
as he sat huddled up over his cage fire,
overlooking the excavations which our
City Council in their wisdom, or otherwise,
allow the different water companies to
make so frequently in our congested
streets. In all weathers, and under all cli
matic conditions, the poor old night watch
man is obliged to keep watch over the
companies' property, and to see that the
red lights are kept burning. What a life,
to be sure; what privations and hardships;
they have aches and pains, which nothing
but St. Jacobs Oil can alleviate.
"Old Joe" is in the employ of the Lam
beth Water Works, and i 9 well and favour
bly known. He has been a night watch
man for many years, in the course of
which he has undergone many expe
riences. What with wet and cold, he con
tracted rheumatism and sciatica, which fair
ly doubled him up, and it began to look a
serious matter for old Joe whether he
would much longer be able to perform his
duties, on which his good wife and himself
depended for a livelihood, but as it hap
pened a passer-by, who had for some
nights noticed Old Joe's painful condition,
presented him with a bottle of St. Jacobs
Oil, and told him to use it. Old Joe
followed the advice given; ho crawled
home the next morning and bade his wife
rub his aching back with the St. Jacobs
Oil "a gentleman gave him," and undoubt
edly bis wife did rub, for when Old Joe
went on duty at night he met his friend
and benefactor, to whom ho remarked:
"Them oils you gave me, Guv'nor, did
give me a doing; they wua liko pins and
needles for a time, but look at me now,"
and Old Joe began to run and jump about
like a young colt. All pain, stiffness and
soreness had gone; he had been telling
everybody he met what St. Jacobs Oil
had done for him. Old Joe says now he
has but one ambition in life, and that is
to always to be able to keep a bottle of
St. Jacobs Oil by him, for he says there is
nothi g like it in the world.
St. Jacobs Oil serves the rich and the
poor, high and low, the same way. It has
conquered pain for fifty years, and it will
do the same to the end of time. It has no
equal, consequently no competitor; it has
many cheap imitations, but simple facts
like the above tell an honest tale with
which nothing on earth can compote.
Denmark leads tne world in per capita
interest in agriculture. Each inhabitant
has on an average a capital of $385 invest
ed in farming.
Brooklyn, N.Y., Jan. 20th,—For many years
Garfield Tea, The Herb Cure, has been earn
ing a reputation that is rare—it is universally
praised ! This roinedy presents unusual at
tractions to those In search of health; it is
mado of herbs that cure in Nature's way—by
removing the cause of disease ;It is pure; it
cleanses the system, purifies the bloou and es
tablishes a perfect action of the digestive
organs; it is equally good for young and old.
It is estimated that of the whole popu
lation of the globe about 90,000 die every
day.
Many School ChtMron Are Sickly.
Mother Gray's Sweet Powders for Children,
Used by Mother Gray, a nurse in Children's
Homo, Now York, break up Colds in 24 hours,
euro Fovorishness, Hc&daeho, Stemaoh
Troubles, Teething Disorders and Destroy
Worms. At all druggists', 25c. Hample mailed
free. Address Allen K. Olmsted, Le Roy, N.Y.
The practice of punishing pupils by do
ducting credits for scholarship has been
forbidden in the San Francisco schools.
FlTSpermanontlv cured.No fits or nervous
ness after first day s use of Dr. Kline's Groat
Norvcßestoror.©2trlal bottle and treatise free
Dr. R. H. KLINE, Ltd., 1)31 Aroh fit. Pliilo.,Pa.
Sir Thomas Lipton save there aro "no
girls like American girls.
if ' 111
1 g: The Distinctive Value
|||p i of Syrup of Figs is due to its pleasant form and perfect freedom from every
| objectionable quality or substance and to the fact that it acts gently and truly
pH j as a laxative, without in any way disturbing the natural functions. The
|pi | requisite knowledge of what a laxative should be and of the best means for its
gj-S j production enable the California Fig Syrup Co. to supply the general demand
■rag j for a laxative, simple and wholesome in its nature and truly beneficial in its
\ effects; a laxative which acts pleasantly and leaves the internal organs in a
naturally healthy condition and whicli does not weaken them.
\ To assist nature, when nature needs assistance, it is all important that the
medicinal agents used should be of the best quality and of known value and Syrup
of Figs possesses this great advantage over all other remedies, that it does not
weaken the organs on which it acts and therefore it promotes a healthful con
dition of the bowels and assists one in forming regular habits. Among its many
IHI j excellent qualities may be mentioned its perfect safety, in all cases requiring a
Hp I laxative, even for the babe, or its mother, the maiden, or the wife, the invalid,
gp I or the robust man.
Syrup of Figs is well known to be a combination of the laxative principles
g|p j of plants, which act most beneficially, with pleasant aromatic liquids and the
||p \ juice of figs, agreeable and refreshing to the taste and acceptable to the system,
|p j when its gentle cleansing is desired. The quality of Syrup of Figs is due not
pp \ only to the excellence of the combination, but also to the original method of
lUP | manufacture which ensures perfect purity and uniformity of product and it is
P||| \ therefore all important, in buying, in order to get its beneficial effects, to note
j the full name of the Company—California Fig Syrup Co. —printed on the front
|ji|j of every package.
= San. Francisco. Ca. >||jfi|jl|
' | Louisville, Ky. New York. N. Y. /imi|!!lll| ]|l!!j J
Bpfj | FOR SALE ny A'.L LEADING DRUGGISTS. PRICE FIFTY CENTS EER BOTTLE. vfrai''' 1 !filillR-'i ''
[§ffyfana^ri'-;.iroiyii.iM ! mm'sianpa^^
WHEN RUSSIANS EAT.
No Fixed Meal Time—Many Peculiar
ities at Table.
The Russian has no fixed meal time.
He eats when he Is hungry, which is
often. He has about six square
meals a day. He has at least a doz
en lunches, a little bit of salt fish
or some caviare, or a piece of bread
and cheese, washed down with a nip
of fiery vodki. He never passes a
station without a class of tea —marvel-
ous tea, with a thin slice of lemon
floating In it. You got a fondness for
Russian tea, and forswear bemllked
decoctions forever. The table man
ners of the Russian—such, as you see
in hotels and buffets —are not pleas
ing. He sprawls with outstretched
elbow on the table, and gets his
mouth down to his food rather than
raise the food to hi 3 mouth. He
makes objectionable noises in his
thToat. He has a finger bowl, and
rinses his mouth as the rest of us
do when cleaning our teeth in our
bathrooms. Then he squirts the wa
ter back into the bowl.
Thackeray's House.
The house which Thackeray built
for himself in Kensington has recent
ly been sold by the son of the auc
tioneer who sold it for the first time
37 years years ago. When the great
novelist decided to build, many people
thought he was putting too great a
strain on his pen, but events have
shown that the speculation was a
sound one, for last week this house
went for $75,000. It is a red brick
mansion, screened from the-road, and
the lease has 41 years to run.
. Fifty Conts a Year-Z/.?s Than a 'Penny a Number. j
THE SOUTH'S LITERARY WEEKLY
Published at Atlanta, Ga— Circulation C*ver 50,000.
SUNNY SOUTH Is the Great Literary WoeKy of the
South. It Is devntod to Litratr.r?, Rcmanco, Fact end Fiction*
and gives the host of all that Is current In Its field. Among Its contributors the most
noted southern writers appear—Joel Chandlor Harris, Harry Stlliwell Edwards and
others of growing famo. serial stories from Anthony Hopo, Maurice Thompson,
Sidney R. Crockett, Mrs. George Corbettand Arthur W. Marchmont have appear
ed, and others aro In waiting from the pen of authors of national note. A short
Story contest brought out nearly fivo hundred splendid short
stories* aH worthy a place in C/>e SUNNY SOUTH'S readable col
umns. Othsr contests are contemplated that will successfully exploit tho ripening
field of talent that only neods such fostering to illustrato the wealth that Is shy to
assort Itself.
TZha SUNNY SOUTH toems with tho life of the great south. The gen
ial sunshine warms everything Into activity, and the season Is never cold enough
to chock the hand of Industry. The paper comes fragrant with the breath of the
magnolia and pine, and glvos out the vory air of the orange, pa:m and bay. The
boauty and pathos, tho romance and mystery of tho land where the corn
stores up the golden sunshine and the cotton whitens in tho moonlight, will be
glvon in tho woM-flliod columns of this fascinating weekly.
The subscription price Is Only Fifty Cents a year, alike to all persons,
agents, newspapers, postmasters and evory one olso. Clubs of fivo, accompanied
by tho full $2.50, entitle tho club ralsor to the papor one year gratis.
dTond on & Postal Card the names of six of your neighbors who
would approcinto the opportunity to road a copy of The sunny South, and one
samplo will be mailed free. You can got your club of five out of those vory pooplo.
ZJha SUNNY SOUTH enters over 30,000 American homes now; and
during 1902 Is suro to be wolcomcd in fully as many more homos, as the great
weekly feast of good things, tho Southern Literary Wockly, whoso columns for
1902 will be tho most roadablo of all tho papers that como to you.
Jlrtdrcss JZll Communications to
&f>e SUNNY SOUTH, Atlanta, Ga.
Mrs. TVinslow's Soothing Syrup for ehlldre*
teething, soften the gums, reduces Inflamma
tion, allays pain, cures wlnicollo. 25c a bottle.
No large comet has appeared within our
environment since that of 1682.
Piso's Cure Is the best modioino wo over nsod
for all affections of throat and lungs.—\& r x.
O. ENDSLEY, Yanburen, Ind., Fob. 10, 1000.
The hide of the hippopotamus in some
parts is fully two inches thick.
Hair Splits
t'"~ -..WdMwril
" I havo used Ayer's Hair Vigor
for thirty years. It is elegant for
a hair dressing and for keeping the
hair from splitting at the ends."—
J. A. Gruenenfelder, Grantfork, I!l.
Hair-splitting splits
friendships. If the hair
splitting is done on your
own head, it loses friends
for you, for every hair of
your head is a friend.
Ayer's Hair Vigor in
advance will prevent the
splitting. If the splitting
has begun, it will stop it.
? SI.OO a bottle. All drunists.
Sit your druggist cannot supply you,
send us ono dollar and wc will express
you a bottle. Bo sure and give the uame
of your nearest express offlco. Address, H
J. C. AYEIt CO., Lowell, Mass. £