Evening Star Newspaper, February 9, 1889, Page 7

HUNTING PRIMEVAL MAN. Prof. Cyrus Thomas Says American Archologists Are on the Wrong Scent. THEY HAVE, HE SATS, BEGUN AT THE WRONG END AND ARE CHASING A PHANTOM—PROF. THOMAS’ TALK TO THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETT—AUTHENTIC HisTORY. A paper that excited considerable attention was read before the Anthropological society last Tuesday evening by Prof. Cyrus Thomas. His theme was the methods of study in Ameri- ean archeology, and he made a vigorous pro- test against what he termed the European system. The point to which, he said, he wished chiefly to draw attention. was that in the study of American archeology, or, to put it more com- prehensively, of pre-historic America, the usual order of procedure in investigation in this branch must be reversed. Neither on the eastern continent nor in America has archmology been reduced to ao science or the study thereof placed ou a scientific basis, The arrangement by the antiquarians of Northern Europe of pre! time into the paleoiithic, neolithic, bronze and iron ages, he maintained, is wholly out of place and worse than useless in this country, whatever value may be placed on such a divi- sion in Eyrope. Those studying the antiquities of the classic and oriental lands bave taken his- tory as a basis from which to Sau back their lines of research. In other words, they com- menced with that which is known and and by means of investigation and feel their way back carefully step by into the dim realm of prehistoric times. ‘Then 7 isin fact but an extension ina backward direction of positive history, a gathering up of the lost stones of the historical edifice and placing them in position. Widely dif- ferent has been the method of the leading school of modern archaeologists in Northern and Western Europe, which some wish to see adopted in the study of PRE-HISTORIC AMERICA. They have entered the field as though they were in an old world having no connection with the present one. Primeval man, the fountain head, seems to be the great object of their search, while the broad stream by which they might direct their course with com- parative certainty from some well-known point seems to be almost wholly overlooked. Re- ferring to the people mentioned in “Gulliver's Travels,” or some other equally truthfal narra- tive of @ people accustomed to build their houses by commencing at the top and building downward, Prof. Thomas said this appears to a large extent to be the method adopted by the leading school of archwologists of the ent day. When it was ascertained that America was a new continent. the classic works and the at tomes of medieval times were ransacked for the purpose of finding a solution of the blem of the origin of the red man. Failing oo” this theories were advanced in copious abundance and with as many different shades as there are tints in the forest in gutumn. Yet. until recently, no one thought of studying the red man himself. Even at the present day the mame “Indian” is an indefinable term, a fact which the speaker believed Maj. Powell was the first to —_ call attention to. The speaker reviewed briefly American archrology and its treatment by those who have discussed overy the subject. Scarcely, he said, had the fact that America had its ancient monuments as well as the eastern continent been made known before theories as to their origin and their builders began to blossom forth in rich abundance. The Spaniards of DeSoto’s expedition were given the credit of their authorship until dis- covery added so greatly to their number that this idea became preposterous and was aban- doned. Then the happy thought was pre- | sented that this country was, in some far dis- tant age, inhabited by acultured race which after long occupancy was obliterated by in- coming savage hordes, leaving nothing to tell us the STORY OF THEIR EXISTENCE, their numbers, and their culture save these silent witnesses of their departed glory. As even their name had been blotted from exist- ence, one had to be coined by which they might be designated, and they have since then been known as the “Mound Builders.” Re- ferring to the theories and discoveries of va- rious writers. Prof. Thomas said it was some- ‘what strange that the few writers who dwelt long among the Indians usually attributed these ae hoe or ae to the Indians. ie urged the need of placing the study ona scientific basis; of leaving leolithic = 80 to em alone until we work back to him, and of studying historic man until we have traced him back as far asthe rays of history will guide our — It is, he said, a singular truth that most of the writers on American archmology, so far as it relates to the antiquities of our own — have been comparatively unacquainted ith the early history of our country, or have ignored it in arriving at their conclusions. ey have passed from the realm of history into that of the imagination. It is lamentably true that even at present the basis of history on which to build our ethnological and archs- ological structures is not fully prepared. Com- paratively few of the writers on American ar- chology seem tobe aware of the fact that history, inthe broad sense of all recorded data, has given us the origin of a very large portion of THESE ANCIENT WORKS. Starting from this sure foundation our first step is to ascertain to what extent these ancient works are attributable to the known aborignes of the country. The idea that all the prehis- toric monuments of the country from Maine to ‘Texas and from Dakota to Florida are attrib- utable to the people of a single great nation is pleasing to the imagination but is too prepos- terous to demand serious discussion. SNever- theless that innate craving in the human miud for comething great, wonderful, and astound- ing has led a Layt apmeeay the writers on this subject to adopt the idea. The careful study of tribal history, traditions. habits, and pecu- liarities is a necessary prerequisite to the solu- tion of our archwologie problems. The more carefully he studi tribal history, and its relation to the ancient works, the better satisfied, the speaker said, he became that local wmanency was a char- acteristic of the aboriginal tribes until disturbed by the introduction of the Ei element. ey were, with few e: ns (east of the Mississippi) limited, so far as their tribal homes were concerned, to their well- known historic seats. It is apparent, he main- tained. that the true pots gp of study, after having reached the general conclusion that the ancient monuments of the country are attribu- tabie to the Indians. if that be the conclusion, is to begin with the basis of tribal histories. | habits, customs, &c. From this basis we must feel our way back, making progress by means of elimination. Determining a characteristic | among the works attributable to one tribe or | stock, we thus, as the naturalist, separate | one group from the gate and lessen the field of study. When work is substantiall: accomplished, as the speaker believed it would be before many years, the data obtained can be allotted to respective authors, thatistosay to the dif- ferent tribes and people to whom they are at- tributable. Close study and careful investiga- tion, he said. would perhaps succeed in ging up, here and there, an extinct tribe. Un- til arc! logists have reached this stage of progress, by eliminating from the mass all that can be reasonably accounted for, the hunt for paleolithic or primeval man is A WASTE OF EFFORT. : He will sooner be found by the laborious process outlined than by the attempt to reach the desired goal by leaping across the great | drew a name, which, for THE EVENING STAR: ” Prot. over a freak and there is so much ition one of striving to work out reasonable conclusions from the m of —————+ee_______ SAINT VALENTINE. Something About the Patron of the Fourteenth of February. HE MAY NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CUSTOM OF SENDING VALENTINES, FOR THE PRACTICE 18 SAID TO HAVE HAD ITS ORIGIN IN AN OLD PAGAN FESTIVAL, Saint Valentine, according to some ecclesi- astical writers, was a bishop, while others assert that he was a presbyter, but they agree that he was beheaded at Rome in the year 270, during the reign of the Emperor Claudius, and was soon after canonized. A Star man, in looking up the history of this venerable saint, has‘ found that he was said to have been a man of eminent piety and “so famous for his love and charity that the custom of choosing Valentines on his festival took its rise from thence.” If the practice of exchanging valentines, or messages of affection, arose from the observance of the festival of this saint, the old tleman is re- sponsible for much blighted affection and many blasted hopes, he can comfort himself in the knowledge that many happy pairs have been mated through the medium of @ valentine, and have lived thereafter long and useful lives, But they are like the good who need no repentance, while those who have had their dispositions soured and their lives made @ barren waste by the failure of some one to send them a tender valentine, or by the receipt of one of those carricaturistie monstrosities known as a comic valentine, even though the sender intended only harmless fun, are the black sheep who need repentance but never re- pent. As the ponderosity of evil is greater than good, the old saint must feel that he is having a second edition of purgatory when he contemplates the vast amount of misery that had its origin on the 14th of February. IN JUSTICE TO ST. VALENTINE, however, who from all accounts was a very worthy man, it should be said that although his name has been given to the one day in the year when the postal revenues are greatly in- creased by the transmission of messages of love or evidences of hate, the custom probably took its rise from a practice prevalent in ancient Rome at the festival of the Lupercalia during the month of February, when, among other ceremonies, the names of young women were placed in @ box from which they were taken by young men as chance directed. This Louisiana lottery way of disposing of the sur- plus young women of Rome worked well in some cases and in some it did not turn out so well. The Augurs insisted that this method of procedure was directed by the gods, but the young men who drew women with shrewish or vixenish dispositions believed that the nether deities directed the selection. Whether the young men who drew the names from the box were chosen by lot or whether they were drafted for that oe young men are now conscripted for the army-.is not known, but it is reported that those who got bad bar- — used to anathematize the box, and that m this arose the expression which is used even in these times: “IN 4 BAD Box.” The early fathers of the church looked upon this method of marrying as a sort of free- love affair, and of course could not counte- nance it. They tried at first to extirpate this Pagan ceremony, but finding that impossible they proceeded to change its form. They ar- ranged it so that on the eve of the 14th of Feb- rnary the names of a select number of one sex should be put into some vessel by an equal number of the other sex, and then every one the time being, was severe or her aaa This, it will be seen, gave those preparing the names an opportunit; to select those particularly leasing ‘om hen, and as the coupling was but for a day, it could not | to any uncomfortable resulta, It was @ sort of mock betrothal and the pairs made by chance furnished great amusement to those _ withnessed al hepsi Rios dra’ was \ways supervised by the local ee the place where the festival was celebrated, and, as will readily be understood, every ticket was e grab-bag of a church fair. In- istorians insist that this was the origin of the church fair, although this trans- action was much more fair than many that have = ——— at — the fairs in recent days. @ young people who drew and who were drawn were greatly envied by their associates and high honors were paid to them. Frequently these valentinarin couples became genuinely attached to each other, and then they took the chances of married life. Some- times when a young man’s luck was him and he didn’t draw the name of the girl that he wanted, he would trade off the one he did get for the one wh6m he desired, and then all would be well. It is not impossible that the modern sorry of trading candidates on the day of ‘tion had its origin in the above practice. ANOTHER ALLEGED ORIGIN of Valentine's day is said to be that birds were supposed to select their mates on the 14th of February. Shakespeare gives a hint of this in “Midsummer Night's Dream,” when he says: “Saint Valentine is past; in these wood- birds but to couple how.” ‘The Poct Wallen gracefully refers to this tradit " “Now all nature seem’d in love, and the birds had drawn their valentines.” Whatever its origin the celebration of St. Valentine's day is very ancient, and the ob- servance has increased with the advance in intelligence and culture. In Shakespeare's time it was the custom to send presents of loves, garters and jewelry, and he e the sway oon os — on —_ hs feed mak- ing poor ie] er insanity tel affec- tion for Hamlet as follows: - this J that the in the mind always find extra ong em legge ity. Ophelia’s was her one absoroi passion grief at finding that the affesticn ofthe which she was | diverted, was the St. Valentine and his festival, dainty tribute has ever been paid than chasm of time and obscurity that lies between the now andthen. After outli following sonnet by Tom Hood: against bere resistance instead of the willingness THE WAYS OF NEW YORK. The Week’s Budget of Gossip From Our Largest Town. WEALTH WAITING ON THE WEATHER FOR 4 SKAT- ING CARNIVAL—REPUBLICANS COMING TO TRE INAUGURATION IN GREAT STYLE—TRE RECENT STRIKE—GOGSIP ABOUT YOUNG MRS. BLAINE, Correspondence of Tux EvExrxc Stan. New Yor, Feb. 8 Mr. William Rockefeller, the standard oil king. may hold his private winter carnivals be- fore Lent after all. Mr. Rockefeller and Mr. Rockefeller’s friends early in the winter gloried in anticipations of the biggest and most origi- nal social racket that winter ever suggested, and the only thing that has prevented the con- summation of the well-laid plans is that there hasn't as yet been any winter except in name. Mr. Rockefeller's large residence stands on 54th street, just around the corner from 5th avenue, and is isolated from the residences of his neigh- bors by-wide grounds on either side, equal in area to about a dozen city lots. Early in De- cember Mr. Rockefeller spent a lot of money in putting an oak floor over the whole area of these unoccupied lots and a high wooden en- closure all around them. The floor was made as level and as smooth as glass, and it was ar- ranged in such a way that it could be flooded water, forming, when solid, the finest skating pond imaginable. Here Mr. Rockefeller and his guests were to hold skating carnivals on winter nights beneath soft electric lights, and after having whetted their appe- tites toa keen edge by this exhilarating sport they were to adjourn to smoking hot suppers in the big mansion. Standard Oil money wiil do almost anything, as the public has ere now dis- covered, but when it comes to buying weather le to order this potent influenee has to capitulate. ‘The sudden fall in the thermome- ter the other day caused a corresponding rise in the drooping hopes of Rockefeller et al., and the water was turned on. It froze, too, just a little, and then a thaw came and it was warned off again. It may be that the cold weather we are promised this month will get to work on Mr. Rockefeller’s dry rink so as to ern the anticipations of the 5th avenue jlles and beaux. * Pet “When our delegation came home fromChicago after nominating Harrison,” said a city repub- lican politician to me the other night, “we came like a railroad funeral procession. None of us felt that we had much hope of electing our man, and we weren't even sociable and friendly toone another. Each man had hisown pocket flask of whisky, and never a one of us asked the other to joinin a drink. But when the democrats came back from St. Louis you couldn't get through the car for the impedi- ments in the way of iced champagne that blocked the aisles. Everybody was drinkin, with everybody else, and if any man had dare hint that Cleveland wouldn’t be elected he’d have been thrown out of the car window. Since the republicans elected their man the New York republican delegation has been clubbing itself because it didn’t have champagne and a sociable time returning from Chicago, and the boys have finally decided to make up for their doldrums of last summer by enthusing to the topmost point on the journey to Harrison's in- auguration next month. The special train that carries Barney Biglin, Jake Hess, Johnny O’Brien and the rest of the gang to Washing- ton wiil be loaded to the roof of the cars with extra dry, twenty-five cent cigars and gilt-edged grub to match. You bet there'll be no funereal still-drunks on private whisky flasks, as there was coming back from Chicago. No, sir!” My regular Sunday stroll the first day of this week took me along the bank of the Hudson, through Riverside park to General Grant's tomb. While I was looking for a spot to rest where the warm sun shone and the nipping wind was broken, a pair of bay horses attached to a brown brougham, trotted up smartly and stopped close by the sepuicher of the great soldier. Without waiting for the footman the coach door was opened, and two ladies jumped lightly to the pce. Both were handsome women and of the same style of dark beauty. The elder wore her wavy gray hair coiled loosel beneath a pretty brown bonnet, trimmed wit! some sort ofa golden feather arrangement, Her gown and gloves were brown, too, and she wore a shortish sealskin jacket. The younger lady had a bright, becoming color in her cheeks, and her dark eyes sparkled with animation. Her dress was black, hat ditto, with black plumes, and one side of her’ gown had on it what ladies call, I believe, a “4 1” of some kind of pretty fur. The two ladies walked unattended to tne dead general’s res! place, remained there a moment and then looked off through the trees over the broad a ane wind oo and pene- trating, ant e younger ly shivered per- coptibly and winced when the extra stay gusts came,at which evidences of susceptibility to nature’s elements the older lady smiled quietly, and throwing open her jacket, held up her head that old Boreas might have full play against her bare throat. ‘Come. mamma,” I heard the younger say, and reluctantly the pray-haired matron, her cheeks aglow with ealth, ae he herself to be led back to the carriage, which was soon carrying the couple northward toward Spuyten Duyvil ata spenk- ing ee The gray-haired lady who courted the blasts of the cold wind upon her bare throat was Mrs. Benjamin Harrison, wife of the President-elect. The younger lady was, I suppose, Mrs, McKee, her daughter, The defeat of the Striking car drivers and conductors in New York sounds the knell for the Knights of Labor in this city. It also putsevery employer in New York on his mettle in respect to methodsof dealing with striking employes, and when strikes occur in future in any of the big factories there is going to be a stern, umcom- arbitrate that has been the attitude of em- plorers for the past few years. By their has' and ill-advised action in calling a strike at this time, and for grievances which were not of sufficient importance to warrant any such ac- a horse-car men meh pend sever- est w against organiz ereabouts that it has ever been called = Soe to suffer. The strike has also demonstrated the absolute incompetency of that pet fad of labor men and politicians, the New York state board of arbitration, which was hailed as a new Alexan- der to wen! Ligne to ae con: eg over gresping and avaricious employers, is utterly useless has cost the taxpayers of the state nearly 000 during the past year for salaries, travel expenses, &c., and it is now laughed at far and wide for its Quixotic endeavors. as When I declared in these columns several months ago that Mrs. James G. Bidine, row with her husband, subsequent alleged ill- ness, and the newspaper publicity over the affair, were but shrewd factors in a scheme to nerly conclusions from the time nobody's side of the story ons Mrs, Blaine’s own had been published, it did look as if perhaps I had done the lady Events that time, hows hav that I was right. | Mrs’ Blaine has now signed g Feeg E i i unt ii ad iy . without much publicity. It isby no means & tobe tn fhe'y frm. acquaintance with commission pot bee. FS 3 fora arm of robs ih wine merchants. fashionable lr Halil vwner would much prefer to do without. A deed of trust in some cases no doubt comes within this list. Then there are tenants who continuously and from principle forget to pay their rent, and the tax collector, who was never known to forget his half yearly bills, The most helpless form of encumbrance is the idea that ill luck attaches to the property.” “Ts that very common?” asked the listener. “A great deal more so than you would sup- ose,” was the reply. ‘‘We used to hear a good leal about haunted houses, butin this age ghosts are not so numerous as they used to be, and it is very seldom that one takes ion of a house. Nowadays we are told that a cer- tain house is not lucky. Perhaps there has been a death in the family soon after it was oc- | cupied. Some people believe that a new house in itself is unlucky. Then there are cases where owners of houses have become impover- ished and have been obliged to give up their houses, This circumstance is apt to givea bad name toa house. There are a number of resi- dences in this city which have a whole list of ¢asualtics attached to them, and the gossi will harrow up your mind with a recital of mis- fortunes following one after the other which would lead one to suppose that the houses have | an active agency in the fate of those who have occupied them. “Perhaps the plumbing is defective,” was the matter-of-fact suggestion offered by Tax Star man. “Bad plumbing is answerable for a great many misfortunes,” was the response, “but it can hardly be held accountable for the loss of @ man’s fortune. Neither does it afford an age- quate explanation of accidents happening to members of the family, such as being thrown from a carriage or falling down si and breaking alimb. It does not account for the waning prosperity which seemed to.come upon one occupant after another. Houses with a history are common enough in this city, where 80 many people have lived who have been more or less identified with the affairs of the nation. But what seems to be remembered and identified with a house are the events of mis- fortune and of sorrow. So it happens that cer- tain houses come to be regarded as unfortu- nate.” “Does that interfere with the rent or sule of a house?” inquired the listener, “Not to any extent, I think,” he replied. “People don't like to acknowledge that they are superstitious, and if the house suits them they are apt to disregard the stories connected with it if they have heard them. It is more commonly the case that nothing is known about the past history of the house or the peo- le who have lived there. The neighbors now all about the house and they note the events in the lives of the new. oce its with absorbing interest. If there is a th or an accident or a disaster of any kind they are not surprised, and they will say to themselves, if not to others, that it was just what they ex- pected. It seems ridiculous to attribute the misfortune of life to a residence in any ticular house, but that is exactly what is done even in this advanced age of the world. There are instances which seem to afford a reasonable ground for entertaining such a superstition or belief in reg to the good or bad fortune of a house. Some houses eligibly located and well suited for domestic and social uses have been allowed to stand Yyacant and to fall into decay. It has seemed impossible to obtain tenants; a blight has fallen upon them, and finally they have been taken down and the ground put to other uses. Then there are cases where a change has taken place and the tide of ill-fortune has been arrested. New Vay le come in and they enjoy Prosperity, and the former reputation of the old house for misfortune has been reversed. These instances do not make such an impression igor the mind that the practice of associating ill-luck with houses is abandoned. There is hardly any- thing that is so generaily referred to in conver- sation as the connection between the events in lives of families and the houses which they oc- cupy. The superstition about Friday or thir- teen at a table is not more universal than the superstition about houses. It has only been within the last few years that the fact of sev- eral owners of houses, having lost their wives ashort time after taking possession of their new homes. was commen upon very gener- ally, Of course, people did not openly attrib- ute the deaths to the fact that the new houses had been erected, but it was evident that the connection between the two was very clear in their own minds,” ete oe Saturday Smiles. When a woman shows enough interest in a man to pick a piece of lint off his overcoat he can marry her if he only says s0.—Fort Valley Enterprise. A musical “journal says that Amerita needs anational air. Does, eh? What's the matter the blizzard?—The Wasp. Raised letters are for the blind. A raised jack-pot is a different thing and has nothing to do with the convenience of the blind,—New Or- leans Picayune, There is a Terre Hante girl so modest that she won't listen toa bear story.—Terre Haute At a hugging bee for the benefit of the church along the Dpper Hudson a few evenings since a man while blindfolded hugged his wife for several minutes without kno’ who he was hugging. When he did find out he wanted his 15 cents back.—Xi sigee tan partial raed ‘That is eclipse was or it is some- meg os ® par with the young New Orleans lawyer who was peer, Hae and asked a witness if certain articles in question were val- uable or invaluable.—New Pa ce ,Manikin—“I'm going in foh athletics, wee. Second Manikin—‘Don't say so, ol’ chappie.” i os ; doctah ordahs it.” Tawney I wilt roling .—“‘I fawney own cigarettes.” —America, ‘eed pd Wife—“Where are you going, John? It’s Fading & patent medicine simsuay— ote re a nt medicine “Tm ing tose » doctor if I live to fat io per’s Bazar. the last lunar ul # ‘Written for Tur Evexrme Stan something domestic circle of the Corean legation. The ladies of the officials. who arrived here about tion to exert the self-asserting feminine spirit of free institutions and petticoat administra- tion of household and social affairs. They de- cline to be governed by Corean ang pang no- tions of feminine relation to society and al- ready insist upon doing in America what Ameri- can women do. On the 15th of the present month the diplo- matic representative of Tai Chosin, Tai Kun Chu (great king of Great Choson), with his suite, will transfer his official residence to the larger building on Iowa circle secured for his occu yy. The presence of the Corean ladies and the peculiar institutions of their own coun- try rey ting the feminine status introduce some perp features into the domestic regimen and relations of the legation. Thus far the ladies have remained indoors, with the exception of a visit to Mrs. Allen, wife of the foreign secretary. with whom they dined, and an outing occasionally for an airing. There will be no change in the domestic reguiations— that is if the male members can 5, Aen cerning the seclusion of the oriental ladies un- til after the removal of the legation to its more commodious quarters. The subject of social intercourse by the ladies will then be consid- ered. It is proposed thet in the beginning the head of the legation will receive in an outer room, and an inner apartment will be desig- nated for the ladies, who will there appear in full oriental toilet to entertain callers of their own sex, serving tes and making themselves affable after the style of their own land. But in such matters it appears man proposes and woman disposes. The incipient woman's rights movement which has broken out in the household of the Corean cr ra orem has already impelled resort to every subterfuge and devico to keep peace for the present in the domestic circle, according to Corean traditions and cus- 8. WORKING THE SEWING-MACHINE. The most successful diversion played upon the rich olive-hued ladies has been their in- struction in the propulsion and manipulation of the sewing-machine. The two Pagal ori- entals are immensely happy under the tuition of an instructress, and already run up seams, baste, and handle the tucker with the skill of adepts. Another scheme to keep them amused is a proposition to take them to a photograph gallery to have their pictures taken. This is a pleasing prospect which has furnished another ilt-edged ruse for the preservation of connu- ial authority and order in the family circle of the Corean officials, The potential moral suasion, induced by the logic of Ameri- can institutions and environments, threatens peaceful revolution which may inaugurate a reform in the social economy of the Corean kingdom. This socialistic upheaval has been much stimulated by the visits of that charm- ing and pretty oriental matron, Madame Mutsu, the wife of the mikado’s minister. She has called to see the daughters of the neigh- boring kingdom and they have all been very happy together. THE COREAN WOMEN are very pretty, having a softolive complexion with jet-black eyes, raven hair of soft texture and in great profusion, a well-turned mouth with thin and rosy-hued lips. In stature they are petite and dress with great taste, and in rich fabrics, Calling at the legation by invita- tion tne Corean officials retired for a moment and then reappeared leading their silken-clad ladies by the tips of their fingers ito the room. Upon being presented they smiled WASHINGTON, D. C, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1889. yal contribut terrapin is larger the ferther north not always confined to the girls; | it S iesd, While the green turtle frequently one son in a numerous increases in size as it gets southward given to the governmentand furnishes the sup-| Terrapins live in salt marshes near the Coast, of eunuchs for the demand for | and are seldom found far from it. =a class of service about femmine estab- are along the sounds lishments of the rich. Whenever it becomes the finest favored from necessary to take the women of the hot&ehold | Chesapeake bay. The most out in the daytime they are carefully closed in fishery is at e island, their toig-hios and never expose but one eye. | the e: ion of ufart, also borne by 32 men. Sol warriors with tridents and helmets and the dolorous cadences of native instruments of music unite in maki t worthy of tar- = : 4 . who is twenty- nine years of age, is pi : ° and bright. He believes in adapting his king- dom to western ideas of civilization on the American plan as far as practicable. The best evidences of this was establishment of a legation at Washington, and the permission given to the officials to bring their wives with them, What accounts will these pretty-faced, tiny-handed, smali-footed and daintily-robed ladies of Chosen have to give their sisters when they get back to Seouland return to their nightly privileges between the curfew and the morning bells. DeB. R. K. —— ——.9e—__-__ THE DIAMOND-BACK TERRAPIN. | Something About the Preparation and | Service of this Toothsome Viand. THE DIFFERENT “STYLES” OF SERVING IT— WHERE IT COMES FROM—HOW IT LIVES AND | THE PROCESS OF GATHERING IT FOR MARKET— 4 POINT WORTH NOTING. There are hundreds of people who in daily | passing and glancing into the show-wlndows of j restaurants and dealers in fish and game observe | a lot of sleepy, sad-eyed, forlorn-looking affairs dragging themselves about over one another perfectly regardless of decorum. but who donot | imagine the intrinsic value of these uninviting | looking quadrupeds or the gastronomic possi- bilities they possess, A darkey from the | country was recently heard to exclaim to a | fellow-traveler, “jis look here at dis pile ob | mud turkles,” while an inland southerner, who | had not jostled a great deal against the world— taking in the inauguration for the first time, | for instance—would doubtless be astounded to | meet the familiar faces of so many gophers, such large ones, and so far away from home. But there are many, however. who do know, | either from experience or creditable informa- tion, that terrapins conduce to a deucedly delightful dish, while there are others—and | not a timid atktard squad either—whose deli- | eately discriminative palates recognize no dainty compounded from flesh so supremely toothsome as terrapin, and especially terrapin prepared in trae Washington style. For Washington has a “style.” The recently published menn for the com- ing, inaugaral supper includes, “terrapin in Philadelphia style,” cooked and but a few days since a Baltimore con- temporary reported 2 “‘terrapin-test din-| ner,” to be given by the board of trustees of agriculture for the Eastern Shore of Maryland. to decide the comparative merits of su mutton and Chesapeake diamond-back— terrapin to be cooked ‘‘Eastern-Shore style, which, from all accounts, seems to be merely a bob-tail off-shoot of the well-known “Mary- land style.” It may make a Washington gas- trometer’s heart fairly faint to hear of mutton associated in a contest with terrapin, but there are plenty of Marylanders whose ered is that | asheep, a fat, plump Southdown, with all its | drawbacks and wooly taste, contributes to the | production of the most palatable plate ever pleasantly. courtesied and extended a small and beautifully tapering hand in American fashion. Through the medium of Mr. ¥e Ha, chargé, asaconverter of American vocalization into jaw-twisting Corean, a very entertaining con- versational exchange of pleasantries and inter- rogatories followed, which indicated that the Corean ladies were very bright. ey ven- tured very freely into the use of “Thank you,” in reply to expressions of compliment. The Corean ladies exhibit a remarkable aptitude for acquiring the American tongue. At their present rate inafew months.they will be quite fluent. “They tuke hold of their new sur- roundings with every desire to improve in western ke and domestic arts. Their greatest is to learn to play on the piano. THE TOILET worn by them upon this occasion was a Nile green silk skirt, plain and full, faced with plum- colored silk, with short canary-colored bodice, folded away in the neck. A silk band encir- cled the waist well up toward the arms. A gold chain witha pendant was worn on the neck, The hair was braided low on the neck and held with silver pins. The ladies are very happy and have no desire whatever to go back to Their native land. AT HOME. Because the Coreans do not permit their women in their native land to mingle promis- cuously with the outer-world, after the western idea of polite society, it does not follow that they are kept prisoners or have no enjoyments of their own. At the intersection of the prin- cipal a of Seoul, the capital, in th: quarter of Chong-No, stands a kiosque of ori- ental architectural design, known as the Chong-ga or bell kiosque. Inside of this structure is suspended the Iukiung, or great bell, seven feet high and ten feet in diameter. At 9 o’clock every night the bellman, an officer of dignity in the king's household, by means of a wooden ram suspended by chains from the rafters overhead, tolls the curfew. The deep reverberations of Iukiung are followed by the weird sounds of the Cho, resembling a bag- ipe, and other instruments of native music by e royal bands stationed at the gates of the city. lights on the mountain simul- taneously signal throughout the kingdom the hour of retreat for men to their houses. The ites are closed and the streets are cleared for sole pleasure of the ladies of the city. From the curfew hour until 2 o’clock in the morning, the feminine members of the families of high degree have the exclusive right to the streets of the capital, and woe unto any stray man found trespassing upon this exclusive ivilege bestowed upon the ladies of Seoul, Corea women have no part in the social relationsof men. Every dwelling has its wo- man’s quarters, the ang pang being the inner- most a] ent or sanctum sanctorum, so to speak, of her domestic world, which is even more secluded than her boudoir. During these hours of feminine freedom men sleep or ing their favor- ies visit each iP» ene! the exercise of their vocal o1 western sisters. This exclusive enjoyment of the favorite diversion of femininity continues until 20’clock in the morning, when the deep s | : f 4 E; F i th : Ff i il i res! HH oon cle howe invented. VARIOUS STYLES OF COOKING TERRAPIN. The “Maryland style,” in outline, is to first place the terrapin alive in moderately hot | water. This enables the skin and claws to be | easily removed, when a second immersion | takes place. The under shell is then taken | away and the gall-bladder, liver, &c., ex-| the chafing dish or stewed until thoroughly cooked, when it is garnished with eggs, cream, butter, spices, &c., to suit the taste. When ready for the table it is dashed with fine wine, which gives it that peculiarly piquant flavor that goes right to the spot and charms the very soul of a bon vivant. The “Eastern Shore style” differs from its | foster parent the “Maryland style,” only in the alleged absence of wine, the proud and stiff- necked inhabitants of the Maryland coast hoid- | ing that a well brought up properly educated | terrapin, like good wine itself, needs no bush. | hence prod x of the Maryland trimmings | is dispensed with. ‘Sliders and snappers and muskrats,” these vain-glorious _piscotorial | feasters ‘would say, “when the purpose is to palm them off upon the pretentious and un- wary, are cooked with some sort of spirts to di ise the natural flavor of these wild, un- savory things, but wine cannot improve the subtile flavor of a properly prepared diamond- back terrapin from the Chesapeake kingdom by the The subsidiary basket of cham- pagne, however, rarely fails to appear further along, though that is regard mentary adjunct rather than a part or parcel of the scheme. The ‘Philadelphia style” is much the same as that of Maryland and its heir apparent, the Eastern Shore way, with the exception that the presence and use of terrapin eggs in the dressing is insisted upon as necessary to the consummation of elevated taste as well as to the refinement of the culinary art involved. But just how the genuine eggs are to be obtained when out of season or inconvenient for the hibernating terrapin to furnish them the rules and regulations of the style do not set forth, The chef de cuisine. probably, is supposed to procure them and no questions asked, and it is possibly a supposition only that he does, The ington style,” like the Keely motor is involved in mystery. but unlike the Keeley moter is a real, tangible thing, and he who once enjoys the insinuating influences of an exemplary Washington dish becomes a patron and devotee from that moment. It is not to be understood that terrapin cooked in “Washington style” is mysterious in its com sition; such a contingency does not appear. No host of “sliders” or “snappers” parade cents pisteer, Washington cooked terrapin or itfully through the after-midnight dreams it often entails. The “Washing ‘style” is of such a pronounced type that a noted New Yorker, as previously mentioned, d over Philadelphia. the greatest terrapin market in the United.States, and the whole of Maryland, with its mumerous ways and means, to get Mr. Harvey, of this city, to furnish a terrapin dinner in that metropolis, Chamberlain, Welcker, Faber—in fact, most of our noted caterers have each their special ways are extensively used. Uetil tracted. After this it is either turned over to | * amounted mands. In mere. t year J. caught during the pall BE February and March about 4,000. which he sold in Norfolk and Baltimore for 750. The news ~ and down the coast like wildfire. and every- body and his brothers rusbed into the business with a fervor that might have bankrupted broken >. the California fever, which broke out about the same time. had not the unreason- able animals shown signs of extermination, leaving the road. as with the other fever, strewn with numerous financial PR. The, Chesapeake prodaces the best probably because of @ peculiar adaptation the fc it affords for fattening and flavoring, or possibly on account of its being an inter- mediate section between the and coarser ones of northern waters, and the smaller and less desirable ones frequenting the southern beaches, PROCESSES OF GATHERING THEM. The plan of cultivating them from tho egg has been, and is being tried, but so far without any positive degree of success or signs of mise. It issaid that they grow about am inch a year—this being the case it requires six to eight years fora “count” to arrive at ma- turity, which, means a marketable size, Therefore it is necessary to rely upon the nat- ural increase for the supply, and a good deal of old-fashioned luck with a little skill for catching them. The great majority of those taken are undoubtedly cones napping. In the winter they hibernate by burying them- selves in the mud. The lynx-ered gatherers prowl sround looking for little mounds or slight depressions in the mud are sure indications of its wherea Being in a torpid state they are easily yanked out, and when they come to their sonses they have probably arrived at some other seaport—a clear case of abduction. Another way of catching them is b; process called bucking—but why so called it is hard to tell. This is done by means of a haul-seine, which is worked in creeks and marshes from bateaux or canves, The location of the ob- — party is ascertained by thumping loudly on the gunwale or side of the canoe. This unnsual noise appears to excite the curi- osity of the colony and they begin to pop their heads above water—the womenfolk. in all probability—to see what is going on, and thus g o the whole gang is discovered and the meshes set for their capture. A staff at one end of the seine is stuck in the mud forthwith and the net thrown out in the form of a circle, after which it is rapidly drawn into the center and hauled into the boat. The “torch-light” is another way, espe- cially resorted to by the colored eople. They visit the eand-banks and eches at night with large fire-brands and catch the terrapin as they come out to de- posit their eggs. There be coos trap for taking them. which consists of a cylinder of nettit.z somewhat li a New Jersey lobster-pot, having « funnel- shaped opening at each end. After being temptingly baited it is fastened-to a stake at the surface of the water, and the animals with- out fear or invitation walk right in and help themselves as freely and complacently as if at @ Washington reception—only they ‘are not allowed to depart so easily to come again another day. The most singular method of taking terra- in, however, hunting them with dogs. his, too, is a favorite way of the colored fra- ternity, and competes asa pastime with the old- timey coon hunt. The dogs are trained to track the terrapin from the weter-line to the places where they lay their eggs during the breeding season, or follow their trails through the marshes in summer, HOW THEY ARE CLASSIFIED. When taken, those worth keeping are di- vided into three classes, “counts,” “heifers” and “bulls.” The females attain a larger sizo than males and are much more highiy prized. The average length is about 7 inches and weight 5to 6 pounds. Terrapin having that length and weight are known as “counts.” he small cimens are separated into nlls,” the latter being very inferior and the price correspondingly lower. When these latter little gentlemen are very diminutive and promise nothing whatever they are often thrown b: into the sea, with the ad that such a display of humane kindness will induce them to grow up and present a bet- terand more marketable showing some other season. WHAT TERRAPIN PEED UPON. The larger portion of the supply is caught in summer and penned in “crawls” and fed until wanted for market. Just what the diemond- back feeds upon in his native element is not exactly known, but most provably upon such matter, both animal and vegetebie, as it is able to find. When penned preparatory to sending them to market they are fed upon crabs, oys- ters, and fish and such vegetation as they enn get within the limits of the po To give them a finer flavor, they are said to be fed upon celery for some days previous to being served. A POINT WELL WORTH NOTING. Tf, as it is said, the literary attainments of a nation are to be judged by the accomplishments of its cuisine, and if, as it is alleged. a terrapin can be made the most delectable of all delicious dishes, Philadelphia can cjaim to be the epitome of American culture, for more than one-half of the terrapin catch is sent to and sold in that city. Boston and the Bostonese, with their brown-bread, baked beans, Bunker Hill. and Jobn Sullivan must be folded up and laid away for future use and reference—in some other line. As a terrapin market, next to Philadelphia is Baltimore, and New York comes third. The demand in Washi- ngton is not great, comparatively, but in the preparation and service of diamond-back terrapin, it is a point well-worth noting that it stands permanently in the lead, and can teach even Philadelphia ‘a lesson or two worth learn- ing about how to dine and delight New Yorkers on terrapin and steamed oysters, ———+o- —_—____ THE COWBOY AS HE Is. Usually a Hard-Working, Honest Fel- low—How It Feels to Be “Held Up.” From the Indianapolis News. “The people who write about cowboys, Mr. Boland, as he sent a ring of smoke ceiling- ward till it was lost in the glare of electric lights, “asa rule know nothing about them, They are pictured as heroes, knaves or cowards as the fancy strikes the writer. The cowboy of the story paper and the cowboy of the west are very different. In the first place the aver- age cowboy is a hard-working, honeet fellow. of preparing and serving this tempting and toothsome viand, which ‘they keep’ to them selves—the mystery—and charge accordingly. The patron of the “Washington style” terra- pin, however, can take solid comfort in paying well for what he gets, with the fullest assur- ance he is getting what he pays for. OTHER WAYS OF COOKING TERRAPIN. i ‘ Tile | | elicacy of Saver highly pleasiag to the and of course fashion must be gratified ll I i tf ie t ' i £ i i [ it had | hee , Born in that country, he deals in cattle, and until rich enough to hire it done, he herds his own stock. Of course he will fight, but he is not the drunken, swaggering buily he is made out to be. The ‘bad’ cowbovs come from the states, where they were men; always ach- ing for a fight, blustering and blowing, but the worst cowards on earth. They are thieves, too, asa rule, but they will steal from only those weaker than themselves. The cowboy is accredited often with being a stage robber, but eee @ mistake.” ene - “Were you ever * ” by road agent “Just Goce, That was’ in on. 1 started across the country in a buck-board with a driver and two We did not have a regular coach. 5 ey notice. We were along country and joki horses i pped. itt Fit SH 38 ‘3 oli i i [ i] a i; Ls i i i