A GEORGIA CABIN.
i made a little fnoney
In cotton and In corn.
And spent It on a journey
From the state where I was born.
But Georgia, oh, my Georgia!
Beneath this starry dome
So place can hold a candle
To the cotton-flelds of home
I ate from silver dishes,
f j\ But smelt the pleasant steam
*s"9 Of Johnny-tfakes and spare-ribs
* n every omt ' s ' dream;
So I didn't wait for packing,
• But took a brush and comb
And started back one morning
jf For the cotton-flelds of home.
I j| I hear the banjo strumming
Tj t. The mocking-bird is singing
The purple dusk is fragrant
In the cotton-flelds of home.
The melon patch before It,
L. But I've had enough of travel;
j mptS I'll live and die in Georgia f^jj
And the cotton-flelds of home. filEr
—Minna Irving in Leslie's Weekly.
II
= The Making of a Maun. =
A few afternoons ago a tall, sinewy,
fine looking man of 35 or so stepped
with his wife, a singularly handsome
woman, Into a blue and red automo
bile in front of a great city hotel. The
man had an air of distinction. A
wealthy Michigan lumberman, burled
deep in a leather chair at one of the
hotel windows, nodded smilingly in the
direction of the fine looking man, who
had just stopped into the auto along
side his lovely wife.
"Nifty looking boy to've been a cook
in a lumber camp, eh?" said the lum
berman.
"Which, of course, he never was,"
said the Michigander's companion.
"Don't you believe that he wasn't,"
said the lumberman. "I come pretty
near knowing, for I was the foreman
of his outfit, and we had a great talk
and laugh over the whole business at
dinner in this hotel yesterday. I'm
rather proud of the boy, and I feel
a sort of proprietary interest in him
yet.
"But 1 didn't Know anything about
him, much less who he was, when he
braced me for a cook' 3 job in Alpena,
Mich., twelve years ago last fall. I
was a foreman then, and engaged in
hiring a gang to take into the Michi
gan woods for the winter's work. I'd
pretty well filled the crew up, but was
still shy a cook for the outfit—lumber
camp cooks are hard to get. It was
pretty near time to take the gang
Into the camp, and I was becoming
worried about my inability to snag a
cook, when one day a young fellow
with a dissipated look about him
steered in my direction and tackled
me for the cook's billet. He was
somewhat roughly dressed, but for all
that he didn't strike mo as being any
thing like a lumber camp cook. He
had a pretty good edge on when ho
applied for the job, but that didn't
bother me any—lumbermen generally
keep their jags a-going pretty comfort
ably until they make camp for the sea
son's work, and once in camp there is,
of course, no liquor for any of them.
I asked this young fellow if he had
ever cooked in a lumber camp before,
and he said no. Then I inquired what
made him think he could dish up the
grub for a wood gathering outfit, and
he told me that he had picked up the
knack of cooking in the course of a
number of big game hunting trips in
the Far West. I wasn't, however, tak
ing his plain word for it that he'd suit
as a cook, and so I led him to the
boarding house where I had my gang
sheltered and put him in the kitchen
to try him out. Despite the palpable
bun that he had on—which he kept
polished up by means of frequent
draughts from a big flask that he had
along with him—he made good. 1
muld see at once from the way he
A young fellow with a dissipated look
tackled me for a cook's billet.
rassled the pots and skillets and
tackled the job of getting that board
ing house dinner that ho was onto the
curves of the cook's billet, so I took
him on at $55 a month.
"Two days later we struck for the
camp, away up near Lake Superior. It
The palaces are splendid
Along Fifth avenue;
The castles up the Hudson
Are very fine to view;
But fairer are the acres,
All white as ocean foam,
When snowy bolls are bursting
In the cotton-flelds at home.
took us four days to make the big
bunk house headquarters, and during
that time my ceok had a pretty tough
fight with the katzenjammer. He
iooked as if he had been on a long
spree, and as all booze was forbidden
from the beginning of the run to camp,
and his supply had run out, with no
way of replenishing it, there was no
He looked like the real merchandise
other plan for him but to sober up.
It was plain that the Job wasn't any
easy one for him, either, but he was
game, not putting up any groan or
grumble, but Just taking his medicine
like a man. I never saw a man pick
up so fast as that young fellow did
during the first month of his employ
ment as a lumber camp cook. His
skin cleared up, his eye brightened,
and he took on flesh.
"He turned out to be the best all
around cook that I ever saw in a lum
ber camp, and I had been going into
the woods then for a dozen years.
After about a month or so he began
to mingle up with the indoor sports
of the men after supper, and he won
the bunch completely by the fine abil
ity he displayed as a boxer and
wrestler—and when I got him he look
ed so run down that I doubted if he
could stand the gaff. There was a
fiddle in the camp that had been left
there from the provious winter, and
the things that cook could do to the
instrument were sure a heap. The
cook nursed the victims of the inevi
table accidents of lumber camps, and
he showed a surprising amount of sur
gical and medical skill. I had my eye
on that young fellow, and I didn't
want him to get away from me. So,
when April came around and the drive
was over, and we broko camp, I herd
ed him up in a corner all by himself
and says I to him:
" 'Jack, you're In too fine trim right
now, after the long let-up from the
red eye, to tako and stuff your hide
with it again, now that you're loose.
All of the boys'll get b'illng, of course,
as soon as we hit the first rum shack,
and I may go up against a few balls
myself, but we're all tough birds, and
we know how to handle it and get
away with it. You'd better pass It up
yourself or it'll land you. Take your
dough and go on home to your people
and have a decent, civilized visit with
'em. And I want you to turn up in
Alpejia again next fall and I'll take
you into camp at S7O a month. How
about it?'
"The cook smiled and said he'd see
about it. As the trip to the boat that
was to carry us down to Detroit
progressed I was glad to see that my
words of advice had aparently stuck
with the cook. He didn't take a drink,
although all the rest of the boys were,
of course, splfllcatod and rioting dur
ing the whole trip.
"I was puzzled, as the vessel drew
nigh to Detroit, to see the captain of
the boat hand my cook a fine-looking
and bulgy grip. But I was not asking
any questions. Half an hour after get
ting the grip the coo.k emerged from
the captain's room wearing about as
swagger ail outfit of togs as ever you'll
see off of a fashion plate. He looked
like the real merchandise, but the
thing was still a-plenty mysterious to
me.
"The boat tied up at her pier in De
troit, and then my employer, one of
the richest lumbermen in Michigan,
rushed up the gangway, and the first
thing I knew he had my cook in his
arms and was patting him on his
shoulders for all he was worth.
" 'By the Lord, son, now you look
like the man you ought to be!" the old
man was saying to my cook, and then
the cat was out of thfe bag. My cook
was my employer's scapegrace son,
of whom I had often heard. The
boy had been in hot water, owing
to his addiction to the old stuff, ever
since his early youth. He had been
banished from Heidelberg, where he
was getting his education, for alco
holic pranks, and upon his return to
Michigan he had embarked on a series
of colossal toots that had almost
driven his family to distraction. He
had been offered the alternative of go
ing into the woods for a winter of so
bering up and hard work or of being
cast off altogether by his dad, and ho
had the good sense of taking the so
bering up end of it. The ecarop was
just the thing he needed to thoroughly
work the liquor out of his system and
build him up, and he has never taken
a drink from the time I saw him go
through his fight with that 'after feel
ing' on our way to the camp. His dad
was so grateful for what he foolishly
imagined I had done for the boy that
he made me general superintendent of
all his lumber interests. The young
man you saw entering the automobile
a few moments ago with as pretty a
wife as Michigan has produced took
charge of the great business when his
father died a few years ago. All of
which is why I am of the opinion that
six months in a northern lumber camp
is better for inebriates than all of the
'jag cures' that were ever invented."—
Washington Star.
TROWELS OF THE BRICKLAYER.
Modern Changes In Them—Different
Styles Used.
"The bricklayer's trowel," said a
dealer in such things, "might have
seemed long ago to have reached its
final perfected shape, never to change
again; but, as a matter of fact, it has
been In the past dozen years altered
considerably in its proportions, the
better to adapt it to modern condi
tions.
"The old stylo trowel was used for
laying bricks with mortar, but now
bricks are laid more commonly with
cement, wlch is used in a far more
nearly fluid Btate than was mortar,
and the old style trowel wouldn't take
up enough of it. So masons were con
tinually calling for a wider trowel, and
in answer to this demand the trowel
has gradually been widened until now
it is an inch or more wider than it
formerly was. It is also made now
adays a little shorter than formerly.
"And of trowels in general there are
now more styles than there formerly
were, due to the greater complication
of modern construction, and the great
er need of trowels for special uses.
"While the bricklayer's trowel,
shorter and wider, as I have described
it to you, is now the standard here
abouts, bricklayers throughout the
country do not everywhere use the
same kind. Thus, while we use here a
trowel of a certain form and dimen
sions, they use in California a trowel
with a bigger and thinner blade than
that of ours; there they don't cut and
trim bricks with the edge of the
trowel, but use a chisel that is made
for the purpose. But, then, men in
different parts of the country have
different methods in bricklaying prac
tice, as well as different tools.
"A Western mason, for instance,
will spread bis mortar or cement along
and lay three or four bricks at once,
while a Boston mason lays bricks sing
ly. I don't know that one method is
any faster than the other."
Wonderful Hospital Work.
Some remarkable figures have just
been given out by the secretary of the
London hospital to convey an idea of
the immense work done by that insti
tution. It is stated that last year
"500,000 pills were taken by people
who came to the hospital for treat
ment, and that over three tons of
cough lozenges were used by them. ID
dressi-ng injuries, ninety-two miles of
lint, 476 miles of bandages, six tons
of cotton wool and nine miles of plus'
ter were used. Every day half a ton
of ice and 400 syphons of soda water
were made way with. The eggs con
sumed, if placed end to end, would
form a chain six and one-half miles
long. The year's milk bill was over
515,000, and the meat bill over $25,-
000. The hospital goes so far as to
estimate that if last year's patients
could bo stood side by sido they would
make a line sixty-6lx and a half miles
long.
Animals and Poisons.
Certain substances which are dead
ly in their effects upon men can be
taken by the brute creation with im
punity. Horses can take large doses
of antimony, dogs of mercury, goats
of tobacco, mice of hemlock and rab
bits of belladonna, without injury. On
the other hand, clogs and cats are
much more susceptible to the influ
ence of chloroform than man, and are
much eooner killed by it If this in
valuable anaesthetic had been first
tried upon animals we should prob
ably have never enjoyed its blessings,
as it would have been found to be SD
fatal that its discoverers would have
been afraid to test Its effects upon
human beings. It is evident, then,
that an experiment upon an animal
can never be the means of any cer
tain deductions so far as man is con
corned.—Family Doctor.
A LAND OF LITTLE LAIN.
DEATH VALLEY THE LONELIEST
REGION IN THE WORLD.
The Palpable Sense of Mystery in the
Desert Air Breeds Fables Chiefly of
Lost Treasure—Hills That Have the
Lotus Charm.
Properly equipped, it is possible to
go safely across that ghastly sink
(Death valley—the Armagosa desert
in eastern California), yet every year
it takes its toll of death, and yet men
find there sun-dried mummies, of
whom no trace or recollection is pre
served. To underestimate one's thirst
to pass a given landmark to the right
or left, to find a dry string where one
looked for running water —there is no
help for any of these things.
Along springs and sunken water
courses one is surprised to find such
water-loving plants as grow widely in
moist ground, but the true desert
breeds its own kind, each in its particu
lar habitat. The angle of the slope,
the frontage of a hill, the structure of
the soil determines the plant. South
looking hills are nearly bare, and the
tree-line higher here by a thousand
feet. Canyons running cast and west
will have one wall naked and one
clothed. Around dry lakes ad marshes
the herbage preserves a set and order
ly arrangement. Most species have
well defined areas of growth, the best
index the voiceless land can give the
traveler of his whereabouts.
Nothing the desert produces ex
presses it better than the unhappy
growth of the tree yuccas. Tormented,
thin forests of it stalk drearily in the
high mesas, particularly in that tri
angular slit that fans out eastward
from the meeting of the Sierras and
coastwise bills where the first swings
across the southern end of the San
Joaquin valley. The yucca bustles with
bayonet-pointed leaves, dull green,
growing shaggy with age, tipped with
panicles of fotid greenish bloom. After
death, which is slow, the ghostly, hol
low network of its woody skeleton,
with hardly power to rot, makes the
moonlight fearful. Before tha yucca
has come to full flower the Indians
roast its buds for their own deloctation.
Other yuccas, cacti, low herbs, a thous
and sorts, one finds Journeying east
from the coastwise hills. There is
neither poverty of soil nor species to
account for the sparseness of desert
growth, but simply that each plant re
quires more room. So much earth must
must bo pre-empted to extract so
much moisture. The real struggle for
existence, the real brain of the plant,
is underground; above there is room
for a rounded, perfect growth. In
Death valley, reputed the very core of
desolation, are nearly two hundred
identified species. Above the tree-line,
which is also the snow line, mapped
out abruptly by the sun, one finds
spreading growth of pinon, juniper
branched nearly to the ground, lilac,
sage, and white pine.
There is no special preponderance of
self-fertilized or wind'fertilized plants,
but overyweber the demand for and
evidence of insect life. Now where
there are seeds and insects there will
be birds and small mammals, and
where those are, will come the slinking
sharp-toothed kind that prey on them.
Go as far as you dare in the heart of
a lonely land, you can not go so far
that life and death are not before you.
Painted lizards slip in and out of rock
crevices, and pant on the white, hot
sandn Birds, humming-birds * even,
nest in the cactus scrub; woodpeckers
befriend the demoniac yuccas; out of
the stark, treeless waste rings the mu
sic of the night-singing mocking-bird. If
It be summer and the sun well down,
there will be a burrowing owl to call.
Strange, furry, tricksy things dart
across the open places, or sit motion
less in the conning towers of the creo
sote.
The poet may have "named all the
birds without a gun," but nof the fairy
footed, ground-inhabiting, furtive,
small folk of the rainless regions. They
are too many and too swift; how many
you would not believe without seeing
the footprint tracings in the sand. They
are nearly all night workers, finding
the days too hot and white. In mid-des
ert, where there are no cattle, there
are no birds of carrion, but if you go
far in that direction the chances are
that, you will find yourself shadowed
by their tilted wings. Nothing so large
as a man can move unspied upon that
country, and they know woll how the
land deals with strangers. There are
hints to be hod here of the way in
which a land forces new habits on its
dwellers
If one is inclined to wonder at first
how so many dwellers came to be in
the loneliest land that ever came out
of God'B hands, what they do there,
and why stay, one does not wonder so
much after having lived there. None
other than this lone brown land lays
such a hold on the affections. The rain
bow hills, the tender, bluish mists, the
luminous radiance of the spring, have
the lotus charm. They trick the Bense
of time, so that onco inhabiting there
you always mean to go away without
quite realizing that you have not done
it. Men who have lived there, miners
and cattlemen, will tell you this, not
so fluently, but emphatically, cursing
the land and going back to it. For one
thing there is the divlnest, cleanest air
to be breathed anywhere in God's
world. Some day the world will under
stand that, and the little oases on the
windy tops of hills will harbor for heal
ing its ailing, house-weary broods.
There Is promise there of great wealth
in ores and earths, which is no wealth
by reason of being so far removed
from water and workable conditions,
but men are bewitched by it and tompt
ed to try the lmpdlßible.
The palpable sense of mystery In the
desert air breeds fables, chiefly of lost
treasure. Somewhere within its stark
borders, if one believes report, is a hill
strewn with nuggets; one seamed with
virgin Silver; an old clayey water-bed
where Indians scooped up earth to
make cooking pots and shaped them
reeking with grains of pure gold. Old
miners drifting about the desert edges,
weathered into the semblance of the
tawny hills, will tell you tales like
these convincingly. After a little so
journ in that land you will believe
them on their own account. It is a
question whether it is not better to
be bitten by the little horned snake of
the desert that goes sidewise and
strikes without coiling, than by the
tradition of a lost mine.
For all the toll the desert takes of a
man it gives compensation, deep
breaths, deep sleep, and the commun
ion of the stars. It comes upon one with
new force in the pauses of the night
that the Chaldeans were a desert-bred
people. It is hard to escape the sense
of mastery as the stars move in the
wide, clear heavens to risings and
settings unobscured. They look large
and near and palpitant; as if they
moved on some stately service not
needful to declare. Wheeling to.their
stations in the sky they make the poor
world-fret of no account. Of no ac
count you who lie out thero watching
nor the lean coyote that stands off in
the scrub from you and howls and
howls.—Mary Austin, in the Atlantic
Monthly.
CUSTOMS OF THE ESKIMOS.
Sleep Naked During the Arctic Winter
and Eat Raw Meat.
The arrival in the world! of the
youthful Eskimo is not greeted by the
orthodox cradle and swadling clothes.
Practically, till he can shift for him
self, he lives absolutely naked inside
his mother's sealskin blouse, skin to
skin keeping him warm. This arrange
ment allows the mother to do about
her work almost immediately, and she
can also travel and hunt without a
perambulator, and without having to
leave any one home to "mind" the
baby. The mother's dress is almost
exactly like the father's except that
it has a long sort of tail reaching
nearly to the ground embryo, no
doubt, of the modern "train," says Les
lie's Weekly.
Spared the miseries of soap and wa
ter, and early weaned to the readily
swallowed diet of blubber and raw
seal meat, .the infant rapidly develops
that Invaluable layer of suboutaneous
fat, which, while it enhances the "jol
ly" appearance of the lads and the
shapeliness of the maidens, assists ma
terially in economy of clothing. Thus
in their frigid clime, once In their
skin tent, the whole family will divest
themselves of every stitch of clothing,
unembarrassed by the fact that so
many families share the tent with
them. Sociability is early developed,
when one's next-door neighbor on each
side 1b only separated by an imaginary
line between the deerskin you sleep OD
and the one he does. The winter deer
skin serves as bed and bedding at night
and as parlor furniture in the day.
Community of goods is almost imper
ative, under this arrangement. Thus,
when one kills a seal all are fed, and
likewise, when he doesn't all go hun
gry together.
QUAINT AND CURIOUS.
Chinese girls are being employed .
San Francisco as telephone operators
for the accomodation of Chinese mer
chants.
The famine bread upon which 70,000
persons in northern Sweden are now
subsisting Is made from ground pine
bark and Iceland moss. t
The widespread impression that
most of the "roast beef of old England"
is supplied from the shambles of Chica
go may find a rude shock in fresh Eng
lish statistics, which show that 7-10s
of the beef consumed in England is
produced on its farms.
The remains of no fewer than 69
species of flowering plants from mum
my wrappings in Egypt have been
identified. The flowers have been won
derfully preserved, even the delicate
violet color of the larkspur, the scarlet
of the poppy, and the chlorophyll in
the leaves remaining.
The date of the Deluge is given va
riously by various chronologers. Ac
cording to Usher it occured in B. C.
2348. But 14 other authorities place the
cataclysm as follows: One in the thirty
second century, five in the thirty-first
century, one in the twenty-ninth cent
ury, one in the twenty-sixth century,
four in the twenty-third century and
two in the twenty-second century B. C.
The Chinese are fond of eggs about
100 years old, and old eggs are worth
about as much in China as old wine is
in other countries. They have away of
burying the eggs, and it takes about
30 days to render a pickled egg fit to
eat. Some of the old eggs have become
black as ink and one of the favorite
Chinese dishes for "invalids is made up
of eggs which are preserved in jars of
rod clay and salt water.
The halls of houses were stone cold,
even in Boston and New York City, in
the forties, and, of course, in the coun
try towns. Families In winter for
economy's sake lived chiefly in one
room or had a fire in the living-room
in the morning, and in the afternoon
lighted one in the parlor stove also.
Here and there some rich man had a
wood-burning furnace, and occasionally
some one had a hall stove; but little
heat from these was diffused over tlfe
whole house.
Fame doesn't always consist of be
ing talked about.
To Keep Silver Bright. T '
Silver in daily use may be kept very
bright if allowed to soak in strong
borax water for four or five hours oc
casionally. The water should be per
fectly boiling wihen it is poured over
the plate. This simple hint will save
much elbow grease and also plate
powder if carefully followed.
For Scouring Knives).
For scouring knives and similiar
work an exeperienced housewife recom
mends the use of an old chalk erases,
such as they have in schools. A piece
of Brussels carpet is neatly put on the
bottom and tacked in the groove
around the eraser. This appliance will
last a long time, protect the fingers and
prove of good service.
Diet for Convalescents.
When a light diet is prescribed for
convalescents those in charge do not al
ways feel absolutely certain what foods
come under the heading of this rather
vague term. A careful doctor lays down
the following articles oi food as be
longing to this class: Clams, chickens
and mutton broth, boiled fillets of chick
en, lamb chops; tenderloin steak, deli
cately cooked game, soft cooked eggs,
dry and milk toast, cereal in small
portions, eggnogg, kumyss, milk punch,
cocoa, custards, fresh fruit, gelatine
jellies and sponge cake.
Rattan Window Seats.
Low rattan seats, without backs, are
very pretty for the own private room
of a young girl. These are placed in
front of the window, and when filled
with gay colored pillows form a very/
pretty and comfortable window seat.y
Theee seats come in all lengths, so that
In choosing one it is easy to fit it to the
window, and they may he had in the
natural oolor or stained to harmonize
with the woodwork of the room. A
loose cushion, just the size of the seat,
adds very much to the comfort of it,
and when the pillows are piled high
every girl friend will be envious of her
chum's window seat.
A Device To Clean Bottles.
A new device that is warranted to
thoroughly clean bottles, those that
have contained wine or beer included,
consists of a rod which by means of a
hinge is divided into three parts of un
equal length. The longest part corres
ponds to the length of an ordinary liot
tle and the two other parts correspond
respectively to the diameter of a bat
tle at the bottom and to the
the neck. The three parts are covered
with rubber and as they are hinged
they can be moved in any direction.
The method of cleansing is to partly
fill the bottle with ■ water and thrust
the rod into it As soon as the device
reaches the bottom of the bottle the
lower port erpreads out and thus reach
es any sediment or other dirt that may
have gathered there. The middle part
of the rod also spreads out so as to
cover the rest of the bottle and a few
turns of the apparatus serves to cleanse
the bottle and the dirt is poured off
with the water.
Recipes.
Baked Hash —Put two cupfuls of
chopped uncooked potatoes in a stew
pan with one pint of water; cook slow
ly for flVe minutes; then add the moat
and enough water to make the mix
ture moist; stew 10 minutes; remoKsf'
from the fire; add two eggs, baateJn
one teaspoon of salt and a little pep
per; turn into a buttered baking dish
and bake 20 minutes in a quick oven.
Prune Pudding—Beat well two eggs,
add to them one pint of milk and flour
enough to make a thick batter; wash
10 prunes, flour them—after drying
them; stir them into the batter and
beat in two level teaspoonfuls of bak
ing powder; turn into a buttered
mould; steam two and one-half hours;
serve with butter and sugar sauce.
Orange Cream—Soak two tablespoon
fuls of gelatine in one-fourth cup of
cold water; add one-fourth cup of boil
ing water; stir over the fire until dis
solved; add the yolks of four eggs;
Btir over the fire two minutes, then
add one cup of orange juice (three or
anges), juioe of one lemon and three
fourthe cup of sugar; let cool; wflyn
thickening add the whites of the eggs
beaten stiff. V
Tenderloin of Beef—Trim and
a fillet of beef weighing from three to
six pounds; put in the dripping pan
with a little suet; put in a very hot
oven for the first eight minutes; then
reduce the heat or put the meat in a
cooler part of oven; at the end of 10
minutee sprinkle with salt; roast for
half an hour; it will take no longer to
roast a fillet weighing six pounds than
for three pounds; the fillet Is no thick
er to each pound added; the weight
lies in the length; serve with a rich
brown mushroom sauce.
Sweet Potato Pie—Wash two medium
sized potatoes and boil them 15 min
utes; lift them from the water; when
cold peel and grate them; beat the
yolks of throe eggs; add one tablespoon
of creamed butter, half a cupful of sugV'"'
ar, one cup of milk, one and one-halt
teaspoonfuls of cinnamon; pour this
gradually over the grated sweet potato
and mix well; line a deep pie dish or
plate; prick the bottom with a fork in
several places and brush over with
white of egg; turn In the mixture and
bake half an hour in a moderate oven