THE RE-ENFORCEMENT. An Incident in the Siege of the Alamo. BY £DQAU MAYIIEW BACON. Travis, "with his little company of Americans was holding the fortress against the army of Santa Anna, led by Castrillon and Cos. A devoted Dand of young men, in spired by romantic courage, cut their way through the Mexican lines and gained the Alamo, only to die with its defenders. When the overwhelming force of the Mexi cans finally overcame the little garrison only six of the Americans were alive to surrender, but they were afterward killed on Santa Anna's orders. See! what gallant horsemen ride ± rora the poplar's dappled shade. In a swift, unswerving rank; Fleet as Hows the crested tide, Sun on belt and naked blade, Empty scabbard at each flank? ' Now, Castrillon, hold your plaoe Lest that wave's relentless flow Sweep you from the trembling plain, Perjured Cos, what hope of grace? Ye who keep the Alamo Wonder and rejoice again. Crash! Brave steed and rider fall In that hot, accursed hafl. Kinging drops the nerveless sword: Crumbling bends the advancing wall. De.ith is guarding with his llail Santa Anna's Mexic horde. Cheer! They close their ragged line. Cheer! Red spur to spur they ride; Cheer! They meet the battle's brunt And their keen blades brightly shine, As with long unstaying stride, Keep they still a steady front. Like a froth the wind has torn, Half to right and half to left, Falls the Mexican array; As a vessel, tempest-borne, Dashing through the crimson cleft The invaders held their way. IB.LiKin.r^t.'Jim.gawnniMM—wMMMwnrmyUF." P'.Twra srpi I A PERVERSION OF I justice:. fi D Y EDWARD DOEBON, BraDßEECTEß*r2T]jcrTaKiKE^nrßiau* 1 * 2 ****:w^r-r-"23 irrr.iei'.iTßa^am ID H >,iwrzs& THE man -wis in a reminiscent mood. He was touched with gray, and his eventful life was filled with strange happenings that afforded many an interesting tale to those he honored with his reflec tions and confidences. We were seated in the sitting-room waiting for the call to dinner. The occasion was a family reunion, or, at least, a gathering of as many relatives as could be present. All the family news had been told and discussed, and a silence prevailed. It was then that the man of reminiscences rplatod one of his many unusual experiences. "I do not believe uiueli in justice," he began, cynically. "At least I have never seen It throughout my life. The law is on the side of the biggest pocket book, and the poor, often Ignorant, mail who has the misfortune to have any thing to do with either lawyers or the law pretty generally becomes the worse off for tho connection. How ever, a caso of the perversion of jus tice, in which I was mixed up, lias Just occurred to me. "Tho time was about twenty years ago, tho placp was the village near New Y'ork where I had my farm. A heavy fall of snow had covered tho roads, making them in some localities Impassable. Wo had finished our week's work and were preparing for Sunday. Oliris Johnson, an illiterate German, who could not speak English, my farmhand, was told to go to the village, about a milo and a half away, for some supplies. He received two dollars from mo and set forth 011 his errand. It was about half-past nine when 110 left tho house. "He trudged along the middle of the road, ivhero travel had packed the snotv so that walking was not very difficult. lie carried au old cane, a keepsake from his father. When some distance down the road lie hoard sleigh bells behind him, and side-stepped into deep snow for the vehicle to pass with out turning aside. As the sleigh drew near Chris, the driver swerved the horse toward him, and beforo ho was aware of danger, the fellow in tho front snatched the cane from my man's hand, grabbed him by the lapels of his overcoat, and belabored him about the head. He was stunned as a result of the nssaylt, and his assailants went through his pockets, tnking the two dollars and a few cents which were therein. They also took his hat and cane, and drove off, leaving him lying In the snow. Chris, however, got a good look at the wielder of the weap on. But if did not stand him in very good service, whoa it should have been of the greatest assistance in send ing tile fellows to jail. "My man soon recovered conscious ness sufficiently to grope Ills way home. lie stumbled into tho house with Hood streaming down his face, and with lumps on Ills head almost as big as one's list. It was with some difficulty that I got him to relate just what had befallen him. He told mn that the sleigh had large runners, and that tho horse was white. That was a good clew, as I had noticed such n fuWcle, containing throe men bent on having a hilarious time, traveling about tbc vicinity for the past throe days. Moreover, I had recognized these men, nnd my suspicion was directed against them. But my man was positive that there were only two men engaged in the assault upon him. "Securing n revolver apiece, we went over the trail made by the runners of the sleigh. They left a very wide track which we had no difficulty in following. We saw where the men turned in, where the horse stopped, where the scuffle occurred, where one got out and went through my man's clothes, where they threw his body, nnd where they continued their jour ney. Wo then returned home, when I cleansed Chris's wounds and dressed his head, cautioning liliu to remain as silent as the Sphinx about the assault. I promised to do what I could for him on the morrow. "Early on Sunday morning, a clear, crisp day, I began the search for In criminating clews. The trail was as On the fort deep silence fell Over Travis's hero band. No eye sought a neighbor's face; Chained, as Ixy n potent spell, Panting stoou they, steel in hand, For a leaf-fall's tardy space. Then rang out the plaudits deep As upon the hither side, Like a sunburst after rain, From that fearful furrow leap Horse and horseman, stride to stride, Coining down across the plain. Those who smiled, unmoved, at fate, Dauntless in the face of death, Men of iron—ran amain, Shouting, to the fortress gate: Laughing, sobbing, in a breatu, When at length the troop drew rein. From his post the leader came, Met them with untidubled face, "It was nobly done and great." Then he added, smiling grave, "111 the prize for such a race, Help from San Filipe comes late." "Life or death, what odds?" they cricu. "We have ridden fast to-day (Ask Almonte how we came) Just to fight at Travis' sid<^ There is nothing more to savf Room to die is all we claim." —Youth's Companion. fresh as though it had been just made. While half way to the village I met an old acquaintance, who facetiously com mented upon my being out so early. I told hint the story of the assault, which brought from him the remark that he, too, had noticed the trail left by the wide runners of the sleigh. We com pared notes and reached the conclusion that the two assailants were no less than the son ol' a nearby village hotel proprietor and the son of a local hos telry keeper. They were on a pro tracted, vicious skylark, and, it seemed, stopped at doing nothing that would supply them the wherewithal to keep it up. My friend, who was In n sleigh, agreed to join me In a hunt for evi dence against them. So, taking a seat by his side, the horse's head was turned toward the village. "The first place wo visited was n resort we knew the men frequented. We were well known to the proprietor. My friend remarked in a casual way that the two men, mentioning them by name, appeared to bo having a groat time lately. The fellow replied affirmatively, and volunteered the in formation that they had dropped In on him last night and carried on, some what. After an exchange of pleasant ries, which would leave no other Im pression than that we had only an ordinary interest in the actions of tho men who had become our quarry, we left the place and proceeded to another resort some distance off, which wo know to he, more or loss, their head quarters. Entering, tho usual friendly greetings wore exchanged with the proprietor and the others there. Abid ing the opportunity, I got mine host, with whom ' I was well acquainted, aside, and I laughingly remarked that that was a groat game, to mention names, Wilson and Clark, had played last night. lie started quickly, then smiled and slgnlflcautly said, 'So you were in it, too, eh?' I replied, 'Yes,' but I did not Inform him just how I was In it. I then said that tho stolen cane was a highly prized keepsake from the victim's father, and gave my hearer tho depression that I would like to return it to the owner, who, I had found, was a farm-hand. 'Say,' 1 snhl, in a confidential tone, 'what did Clark do with tho poor fellow's hat and cane?' The man hesitated a moment, then lie replied, 'Clark broke tlip stick In pieces and burned it with the lint lu that stove yonder. I saw him do It just before lie and Wilson left here last night.' Cautioning the man to secrecy, my friend and I soon started for home, and on tho way thltlicr we decided on a plan of ac "We told Chris the result of our sleuthing trip, and persuaded him to accompany 11s to the 'Squire and swear, out a warrant charging Wilson and Clark with highway robbery and with assault with Intent to kill, hoping that, by making the charge as strong as possible, wo would secure the punish ment ol' the accused men. We did not forget that their friends were all-pow erful 'roundabouts. They were ar rested 011 tho following day, and at a hearing the 'Squire set a date when the trial was to ho held. In the mean time we made out a perfect case against tho men, and were confident that we could convict them. Alas, our faith in human nature and Justice was to ho rudely shaken! "At last the day of the trial. My man was sure that ho could identify the person who assaulted him. My friend and I were Interested in the ease only to get justir for Chris, whose confidence In us was almost clilld-llke. We made the mistake of not hiring a lawyer to look after the Interests of Chris. The accused were represented by well-known local law yers, their friends packed the court room, and even the 'Squire was a close friend of tho prisoners' families. Before tho case was called, and while the accused men were within our sight, t got my man, unobserved by any one, to Identify tlie man who dealt him the injuries. He made a perfect iden -1 tlficatlon, and my belief that the prls -1 oners would bo convicted was strongtli- enetl. The case was called, the pre liminaries were gone through, and then Clirls was requested to Identify the man who assaulted him. I watched him nervously, ub I saw that the man ho wnnted had seated himself in a chair and had burled his head behlud a paper. In fact, he was the least conspicuous person In the room. Chris glanced around and a look of disap pointment overcome his features. Again he surveyed all present, and to my in tense astonishmentpolntod ton man who somewhat resembled the accused, and said, 'There ho is!' Clark then dropped "the paper from his face. Chris threw his hands up excitedly and exclaimed, 'My Got, I haf made mistake! It is he!' "Then the 'Squire took a hand in the proceedings. 'That won't do,' he said to Chris. 'You have upon your oath identified this man (pointing to the innocent stranger) as your assnil nnt. Now we shall see whether you have made a true identification.' At this point my friend and myself, as being witnesses in the case, were or dered from the court-room. Not know ing the law then, and thinking that a trap had been set for my man, we refused to go. Whereupon the 'Squire gave orders to the constable that if we remained in the room during the hear ing ho was to arrest us for contempt of court. We decided to retire, but fully expected to be called as wit nesses. We left Chris, who could not understand English, to face a hostile crowd alone. An interpreter was pro vided, but he twisted the replies in the favor of the prisoners. The rulings of the 'Squire, too, were such that the evidence of my man was declared in competent. "Woll, we had watted outside for an hour when Chris appeared with a very dejected countenance. 'Well,' I said to him, 'ls it our turn now?" He shrugged his shoulders. 'lt's over. Made me sign paper know nothing who robbed me. Gave nie $2.70, but my cane gone for ever!' Wo realized what tlioy had done. Chris had signed a deposition absolving the prisoners of any complicity in the highway rob bery, and ho had received a paltry sum of money to compensate him for (lie amount taken frbm him. The 'Squire,' whose duty it was to adminis ter the law Justly, had compounded a felony. A wilful perversion of Justice had resulted, but I don't know but what our ignorance of the law was partly responsible therefor. The evi dence should have been presented for the consideration of the Grand Jury, who, had it been sufficient, should have Indicted the two men accused. The 'Squire really had no Jurisdiction over the case. "My man, however, thought that my friend and I were In league with the others, and all that we did was for the purpose of clearing the men of the grave charges of highway robbery and assnult with Intent to kill. Our desire was to befriend Chris. He never had the same faith In me, and very shortly left my service. Wilson be came a prosperous hostelry proprietor nearby. As for Clark, two months later ho was appointed a constable by the 'Squire. A number of burglaries 'which aroused tlio neighborhood were proved to the satisfaction of a few citizehs to havo been committed by Clark during his rounds in the per formance of his duty. They knew, however, that his trial and conviction wore Impossible; as his friends were all-powerful, and that persecution would be the reward for any action they might take with that object In view. Not long ago Clark, who had remained constable, died a respected citizen, and at his funeral he was eulo gized as a faithful public olllcer. But my faith In human justice received a mighty jar." An Eiigle Drowned by Its I'rey, A colony of American eagles has made its home along the shores of Chautauqua Lake for many years. A story is told of one of these birds which Is verified by Sir. and Mrs. Charles Dykeman, who reside y Appetite For Pnuatural Tidbits. Possibly the dog world might afford a better specimen of a living skeleton titan one in the kennel next to the door of a boarding place for animals, but It would take a day's Journey to find him. "What' makes liim so thin?" was asked of the attendant. "He won't eat," was the reply. "That is, he won't eat hospital food. He's been spoiled. Lots of dogs and cats that are brought here have been spoiled. Their owners think it a sign of high breeding to cultivate an appe tite for a peculiar and n'n unnatural diet. They train animals to cat all kinds of food that they would never touch of their own volition. This ema ciated fellow has been taught to like fruit. lie is particularly fond of pears, but in case he can't get them, peaches, apples and bananas are a fairly satis factory substitute. Unfortunately his present ailment makes a fruit diet ex tremely dangerous, and since he is de prived of his favorite food, lie is liter ally starving himself to death. The attendant passed on to a neigh boring cage and poked his finger sport ively into the side of a large gray cat that "meowed" plaintively in response to his cheery "Hello, there Caesar." The cat had such a healthy, wholesome appearance that the visitor inquired what meat he was fed upon. "Humph!" said the attendant. "You've missed it there. He doesn't feed upon ment. He's a vegetarian. He likes onions bet ter than anything else, unless It's mel ons. A good many cats like melons, and most of them are also partial to raw asparagus. The fact is, yeu might run through a list of all the dishes that find a place on an up-to-date menu and you find that some of our patients have acquired a taste for them. This epi curean appetite may denote aristo cratic tendencies on the part of my boarders, but I don't approve of it. Most of these acquired tastes are a perversion of natural animal appetite, and it is likely to prove harmful in the end. The trick Is pretty expen sive for us fellows that run cat-and dog boarding houses, and I'd like to put a stop to it." Itleßseiißcr Coy*' Queer Jobs. "Jaggers's" famous trip to the United States at the behest of Richard Hard ing Davis is recalled by the mission of another London messenger boy, who Just has been sent off post haste to carry a bottlo of medicine to Aix-les- Bains. Probably the urchin wasn't especially surprised by the novelty of his errand, for he and his kind have so many quaint commissions that they must by this time have grown accus tomed to them. It was not so long ago that an Eng lish banker sent a messenger boy over to Paris to pay a bill. Another "Jog gers," as they are called now, was hurried out to buy toys for a foreign potentate, while still another had to send election results to a German Cabinet Minister. The Duke of Saxe- Coburg hired a messenger boy to field his tennis balls. Other boys have taken Indian noblemen to the theatres, and helped ladies of title at fashionable bazaars. When a boy gets a call he can neyer tell whether he is summoned merely to take a puppy out for a walk, or to embark for San Francisco. Oc casionally lie has to wheel a baby car riage containing a much-protesting in fant or go to a railway Junction to feed a-pet cat which is on a Journey and see that it makes Us proper "connec tion." Boys have to act as guides to foreign ers, take children to board-school, aliaperon women and wait at tables. There are cases on record where tliey have had to nurse sick people, lead the blind and even take charge of lunatics.—London Correspondence New York Press. New Use For Electricity* The workmen in the great electric power houses have a use for electricity to which the attention of physicians might be called. This use was exem plified in a striking way the other night in one of the uptown houses. One of the workmen hobbled in on a crutch. The foot tjnit he did not walk on was wrapped In a white towel. "I got a needle in her," he explained. He went over to one of the big dyna mos, sat down on the floor of concrete, bared his wounded foot and then ex tended it to the current. "I ran this needle in this morning," he said, as he §at waiting. "It disap peared somewhere or other. I couldn't find it; the doctor couldn't find it; I thought I'd let the current see if it could find it, the snme as the other fellows do when they get needles lost inside 'em." The man waited. Five minutes, ten minutes passed. Suddenly his foot twitched and lie gave a grunt of pain. The lost needle, drawn forth by the power of the current, protruded a half inch from his instep. lie readily drew it out the rest of the way with his fingers.—Philadelphia Record. Mormon-Grown Cotton In Utah. "Nobody looks on Utah as a cotton raising State, and yet there is a Mor mon settlement in our State that has engaged In its production for at least a quarter of a century," said G. C. Townes, of Salt Lake City. "The scene of this industry is in the extreme south western part of Utah, and not only do these Mormons produce the raw mate rial, but they have for years been con verting it into thread aud cloth. Their factory is the quaintest thing in the shape of n mill I ever saw. It was built at a time when material was scarce, and In its construction there is not a single nail. Wooden pegs alone were utilized, but so cleverly was the work done that the building is stand ing to-day in as solid condition as the day it was btdlt"—Chicago Journal, Smallpox and Jenner. By C. E. A. Wlnslow. MALLPOX lias been so held In check by vaccination that Its horror Sis forgotten, and the number of thoughtless and misguided persons who are to-day unvnccinated threatens a serious menace to the public health. Twb hundred years ago every one had smallpox, ® rst or as children have measles to-day, those who escaped in •iviivi' | one epidemic being almost certain to sicken in the next. From palace to hovel none were safe but those who had gone throngl! the disease and recovered. , It has been made evident by calculations from the Bills of Mortality of the City of London, renowned for medical science, that at the beginning of the eighteenth century about one-fourteenth of the inhabitants died of smallpox, and during the last thirty years of that century, when the practice in smallpox was highly improved, the mortality of this disease had augmented to one tenth. Medical skill and sanitary science were of no avail, until a village doctor, Edward .Tenner, suggested the practice of vaccination, which seemed at the middle of the last century to be "the greatest physical good ever yet given by science to the world." It hnd long been observed among the dairy folk of Glouces tershire that a mild eruptive disease of cattle, known as cowpox, could be com municated to human beings, nud that those thus affected were protected from subsequent attacks of smallpox. Jenner conceived the idea of applying this preventive inoculation with the cowpox on n lnrger scale; he tested its efficacy by careful experiments, and finally succeeded in convincing scientific men and the intelligent public that the dread disease could at last be con quered. All over the civilized world the new prophylactic was eagerly adopted, and everywhere it was followed by an abrupt decline in the smallnox deatl* rate.-—Atlantic Monthly. JS? < The Good Old Times— No Complex Life Then ly J. T. Trowbridge. H O my parents set up their simple housekeeping, and passed, I have no doubt, their happiest days—days as happy, very likely, as any their children or numerous grandchildren or great jj ~n . J grandchildren have enjoyed, in the stress of a more complex H " H civilization. She sang at her work; his axe resounded in the B 9 forest. He made a clearing, and planted corn and beans and i 9 potatoes among the stumps. Tliolr first child was horn in H fl t l lnt j nit Ti,