Evening Star Newspaper, January 25, 1890, Page 10

10 =e TROPICAL SAUNTERINGS. SKETCHES FROM SUNNY ASPINWALL. —— An Inside View of Affairs on the b Isthmus of Panama. aeoeee From Tux Stan's Traveling Commissioner. Aspiswat. Novembe This noted town is one of the many to whose attractions distance lends enchantment. Viewed from shipboard, one sees nothing but a fore- Bround of immense sheds belouging to the Isthmian railway. backed by towering cocoa trees and feathery palms, and in the distance a dim waste of tropical vegetation. harbor which Columbus is supposed to have discovered on his third vorage and hence the ancient name. Cristoval Colon, which is Span- fish for the same. it was not very much of a discovery dangerous coral reefs is extremely shallow and subject to ail the storms that blow, By the way, thre ¢ isthmus ix only : here 1s auama rmark in d while at P t extreme levels of the it i searcely 1 foot, vp to THE 1 «i serious matter, els being bya gang of barefooted ne- round and around a big wooden the cable bar on the other side difference t tides is 27 fee or rd is a slow Drought there groes, rnuning wheel, whose revolutions short bh. The wharf is reef, and all its pi covered with copper to resist the the “ship worm.” here known as el teredg ‘This industrious little creature ix precisely hike an animated auger. with a boring head; wheth: he is born in the wood or enters it in infan nobody knows: but certain it is that he goes Fight on i the days of his life. closely foliow grain and Guless he uuters a has the ri of way. 1 teredo ean work better, or, rather, worse, below salt water than above it and seems to b news for steamers ‘Throuzh bh man lives a: in ships who: ond- Ors. nis of hu- been le 8 riddled. ~ has not been Brunel r the The ship worm Without its uses. howev borrowed his idea for ty ‘Thames. As the teredo’ With a series of disks that rapidly wood Brunel constructed a gig “worm,” with windows in its head . who removed & thus made way for the ward, And now most om the same Drin- window he pl earth before lim machine to be p tunneling mac ciple. Passi df Hes are made + OVER THEZCORAL REEF, through the long wharf with its chaos of bales | and boxes. you find yourself suddenly over ye mud (if at this time in the yea Besieged by « crowd of darkies with rick carriages and pit horse to “show yo aud, ; the vehicle th hk wees. hike the dex i scleeted likely to fall in ebais wn ings least by di festerin: proceed Jeiuu about the pr At first he will probab) demand not less than $5 per hour, but when he « t you are not so verdant a perhapsappearance may indicate he will come dow th sreeetul celerity te 31, which is the recognized tariff. A BRIGHT # But before setting out to “do” the town let usstop a moment at the of the Pacifie nd interview ¢ lent. who has resided many nd is still very much deadlines” of the elim- Mail S. N. comy Dow, the superinte Years on the isth aiive. reports on . J. M ate tothe contrary notwithstanding. About the ion is the com- pans’s ce, wherein may be fruits aud strang celebr Flower of the Hoiy Spirit), known to botany as peristera élata,a member of the orchid family. Its lossom resembles a tulip and in- ure of a dove, at bent so that the ¥ touches the breast. The body of the is tipped ion of tropical ug them the with drooping wings and bh bill w the dove is white as uel yet superst re this flower and wor- ¥ #0 much of religious 4 native, however rest of his poases- > & person whom he a true € The sable n will cut you generous be m sions, never p ements one does notknow to be jodian of the company's g bat never au Esperita yse & great, rusty ment of the native Serving Class, whic and heavy asa Roman sword « answers all uses from that of a tooth pick to bewing paths im the pr: meval forest. LOCATION OF COLON. As all the world is aware Colon, or Aspin- wall, occupies the small island of Manzanillo, whose northeastern side 1s washed by Lemon or Navy bay. The island is only three miles Jong by a mile wide and lies about midws tween Porte Bello and Chagres—the form town femous in the days of the buccaneers as the grand emporium of Am rade and the “ts Istter, at the month of the river of the same name. as the place of disembarkation before mwall. Both are now nearly bed beyond description, the lairs of leprosy and fevers. Tatil leasec nbian government ny. in 1834-35, butaseries of Khe railroad man- agers forthwith constructed an isthmus, cov- hecting it to the main land in the region of Fox river, established their headquarters on the mors and western shores, after having filled mp a considerable portion of the mud flats. and subleased the rest of the island to capitaists for build purposes. A mush- Yoom tewn at once sprang up, but being con- structed with total disregard for ali sauita Fegulations disease of Rave ita mc a ’ opening nal work in Isd put millions of dol- Jars into circulation and gave a proportionate impetus to trade. IN ADVERSITY. the turning point fn the bist be town. On the 16th of March in t was invested by Prestan, anda few lestroved by fire. As soon as t gration was suppressed and order jored | Prestan being executed in August of the same year) rebuilding was rap- idly carried For the most part the location of t hfures is as of old; bat an i Bb» improvement has been wrought, esp: etuily tm the Western and northern portions of the city, where edd streets and pave- ments of plank or concrete occupy the swampy highways that before reeked with human cess and decaying vegetable and animal matter. One long street. with w len houses facing the sea, comprises nearly the whole of it: and yet it is divided into “quar: imost as distinct from ove another as though they were separate est the wharf, where the gate. is called Aspin- W. Aspinwall of New directors. and is de- au in its character. THE FRENCH QUARTER, ‘The same long street. merging into a beauti- fal aveune of palms, leads to the French quar- ter. which is universally known as Colon. This end of the little island was built up « Frenchmen, who own and ocenp) it, Amo: its handsome residen which are all of wood. mostly painted brown—the two largest and handsomest are those that were built tor M. de Lesseps and his son. Hoth are now empty and Will probably remain so for some time to come. It is said that a bill of £50,000 apiece was ren- dered and paid for these bouxes. though €10.- 000 cach probably exceeded their actual cost. Near them is the colossal bronze statue of Christopher Co.ambus (whom the French call Christophe Colombe) with a beautiful Indian evide hins—a gift to the town enie. ‘There is a very large and ‘ell-appointed hospital here (as alro another in the Americau quarter) and most of the offices and buildings of the canal company. THE BLACK POPULATION. irely by This is the | ter all, for the water among these | exhaled | large proportion of them are blacks from Ja. mates sea tan Domingo tall, powerfally built men and women, with the thickest lips, fattest noses dnd wooliest wool that ever grew on human craniums, The r people swarm and breed like flies bears no comparison, I hope, to any other under the sun. THE STREET ts CROWDED WITH NEGRESSES, bold, flaunting, saucy creatures, many of them in bedraggled dresses of white lace or embroid- ery. or gorgeous in the cast-off finery of former mistresses, their kinky locks half covered with bright handkerchiefs, coquettishly knotted into a double-bow sort of turban set far back on the head, so as Lot to interfere with the ex- aggerated “bang,” like a miniature brash heap, which every one of them affects. There are turbans of old rose and royal purple, helio- trope, pink, pale bine, sulphur, erimson, &c,; there are dusky jes,” ragged. dirty and re- | pulsive beyond degree, and othera not more attractive, than whom Solomon in all his glory was never so arrayed, in latest Parisian styles, with maguificent silk shawls knotted around | their shoulders and diamonds glittering on | fists that look like well-smoked hams. | There was a time when this large element of the population became extremely. dan- gerous. and that was immediately after e collapse of the canal scheme, when thou- ds of negroes were suddenly thrown out of | employment and famine stared them in the tace. Those from the English islands. however, | were cared for by the government, being sup- | plied with rations every day, and finally money was furnished to pay the passage home of all those who wished to go. In spite of their poverty the happy-go-lucky children of Ham seem perfectly contented, singing, laughing | and duncing the careless hours away, with no | thought for the morrow. | TRE ROOFS OF ASPINWALL | are mostly tiled, the upper half of each house | projecting fer out over the sidewalk, with awn- ing-shaded verandas above. A large share of the home life goes on in these verandas. Some contain bird cages, flowers blooming in boxes, children romping, women sewing and maids pursuing their household vocations in full view of the street. Other verandas are piled with tubs, pots und refuse of all sorts, In some of them washings are going on and the clothes flapping in the breeze; or ironing is in progress, and shirts aud chennses spread eut to air—all these making a queer study of the main street of Aspinwall, PRINCIPAL BUILDINGS. There is a conseje municipal or town hall, a big iron markethouse. a calaboose, a tolerable theater and an amateur dramatic company. Eleetric lights iilum many private resi- Well as the streets and public build- arches (or rather a ina flourish- es church organi: ing condition), viz., Roman C Methodist and Jewish. A_p: Istionus is published three times a week, in the three |. most spoken in this modern Babel. There are secret societies without number—Masons, Odd Fellows, Anci of Foresters, Knights of Pythias, halt « do or more hotels, and the shops, saloons, restaurants, are all turned out of doors daring the day on account of | the excessive heat. On the pavements, outside the eating and drinking places, are little round | tables surrounded by chairs. and I noticed with amusement that on each table is appropriately painted a flight of swallows. ggars, of course. abound, and disease, deformity, ud filth im every form. Leprosy is not un- common, The doctor of our party, who went | to the post oiliee to purchikse stumps, declares | that he was obliged to receive them direct from | the scaly hand of a . | A CHARME One must not miss a drive all around the | sland via the Passes Coral or “Coral Prome- as the beach road iscalled. Part of this | Paseo lies close upon the tropical forest, whose | exuberant vegetation springs out of the dense ad pestilential swamp which surrounds Aspin- wa.l on three sides. ‘Then there are occasional . none BIRDS THAT ARE GOOD AND BAD. How Their Stomachs are Giving Evi- dence For and Against Themselves. THE DIVISION OF ORNITHOLOGY IS EXAMINING THEIR DIGESTIVE ORGANS BY THOUSANDS—THE HAWK AND OWL UNJUSTLY MALIGNED—A VER- DICT AGAINST THE cRow. When a representative of Tae Star visited | the Agricultural department the other day he tearned that the collecting of stomachs on a | large scale is at present engaging a consider- able’ part of the attention of the division of ornithology and mammalogy. Birds’ stomachs are the ones wanted, and the magnitude of the deal in these may be surmised when it is ment- ioned that not less than 10,000 stomachs of feath- | ered creatures have been gathered within tne last | few months. They come—this myridof stom- achs—from all parts of the country. in botties | and jars, with alcohol to keep them. Most of them are sent in by bird collectors who are in correspondence with the department, but many are contributed by the traveling agents of the division and even by small farmers’ boys, who are paid so much apiece for the birds. THE STOMACH OBSERVED. The process of bringing a stomach under scientific observation is very simple indeed. When the bird is secured it is deprived of that important digestive organ, and the latter, with its contents. is placed in a bottle of aleohol, a tag having first been attached to it by means of astrong thread sewn through the outer coat- ing or with a fine wire. On the tag in each case is written the name of the bird, the local- ity in which it was killed, and the date of the slaying. The bottle is then forwarded to the ornithological division, where it is in due course examined. This is quite a complicated per- formance. First, the stomach is ent open and its contents separated into three portions— animal, vegetable, and mineral, The mineral comes in with the pebbles that are found in the stomachs of birds, By investigating the vege- table and animal parts it is discovered what that particular bird feeds upon, Of course, the microscope is used, In the instance of a car- nivorous bird like the hawk mice and such smali-fry are apt to be discovered. If the crea- tures eaten are found digested the teeth are very likely to remain and they do just as well for purposes of identification, for the teeth of an animal are its most distinguishing charuc- teristic. Show a zoological expert a tooth aud | he will tell you very quickly not only the spe- | cies of the beast to which 1t once belonged, but also the variety. Each kind of mouse, for in- stance, has a tooth ofa stracture peculiar to itself. It happens fortunately that the tooth of a mammal is, owing to 1ts protection by the en- amel, the most enduring portion of the body; in fact, it is practically indestructible. ‘THE BIRD AND THE FARMER. The object of this stomachic investigation is to discover something definite as to the eco- nomic relations of the birds and the tarmers, In other words, it is desired to know what birds are enemies of the agriculturist and what ones his frienda—how much harm is done to the crops by each feathered suspect and how much good. Special attention has been given to hawks, owls and crows, owing to the excep- tional conspicuousness of those birds in this particular relation, Owls and hawks are gen- erally regarded by tarmers as adversaries to be destroyed relentlessly. And yet the investiga tions of the Agricultural department have proved that these birds are the best possible friends to the tillers of the soil, Very few species feed on pouitry; nearly all confine them- selves to mice and insects which themselves de- vour the grain. Among these latter are some of the largest varieties of hawks and owls, And yet bounties for the killing of these valu- able creatures are now paid in several states. In Pennsylvauia within eighteen months €90,- 000 was expended for the scalps of owls and hawes at fifty cents each, plus twenty cents as afeeto a notary taking the affidavit, This long stretches of ocean, with a beautiful shell- strewn beach; glimpses of the hulls that form the dividing ridge between the two oceans, and swamps that show a series of small islands be- tween Manzanillo and the main land. ENTRANCE TO THE CANAL. Of course we must see the entrance to the celebrated canal, upon which work was com- menced just nine yeara ago, We find it on the main land, behind the island on which Aspin- wail is situated; but the latter has been so built out in this direction that if the great ditch were ever completed Colon would be its eastern terminus, in the same way that Suez is the Red sea tefminuus of that canal. There are acres and acres of Warehouses aud workshops and cottages tor the laborers and residences for the officers, y deserted, all made of wood; unlike those of the railway company, whose great buildings are mostly cunstructed of brick and iron, the better to resist the ravages of the tropical insects and the rapid disintegration of woud in this damp climate. WHOLESALE ROBBERY, ‘The most astonishing stories are rife con- | cerning the methods of robbery practiced by the canal company's officials, Everybody etole—except, perhaps, the father of the whole scheme, M. Ferdinand de Lesseps, who is now in his eighty-fifth year. But he must have | been bind ds a bat—culpably blind—not to {have had more intimate knowledge of the | methods of his managers in squandering the | peopic’s money. His son, M. Herbert de Les- | | seps, is suid to have gotten away with ut least | $20,000,000, Coutracts were let by the diree- j tor: three times the necessary cost and the margin divided between themselves and the | contractors. Inspectors of the company, in their daily statements of the quantity of earth | removed. reported double and treble the | amount actually excavated, and received pay therefor; while the same cargo of supplies would be receipted and paid for several times over. The great town of Paris was buiit from the proceeds of canal bonds, which were given toM. Eifelon a contract for excavating—a | work which he never performed. Think of it! The proceeds of three hundred | and firty millions of dollars in bonds, the hard- | ear: savings of the thrifty poor of France, sunk im this great, useless mud bole. never haif j completed, and which is rapidly caving in at | the sides and filling up the cuts already made. the confidence of the French peop.e has re- ceived too rude a shock to be ever restored; but even if a new company could be formed tomor- row. with unlimited capital at command, it is doubiful if they could take the gigantic failure as it stands today and bring it to a successful completion before the American canal acroes Mearagua will be finished. IN THE WET SEASo: During the six months wet season the rain- fall hereabouts averages ten fect; and in a single shower six inches of water frequently falls; the Chagres river having the uncontrol- lable range of ce Of from two feet to forty feet. All atong the line of the abandoned cut- tugs are hundreds of mighty dredges and en- | gmes, mostly of American make; thousands of amount represents THE DESTRUCTION OF 128,571 BIRDS. Granting that 5,000 chickens were killed in Pennsylvania by hawks and owls during those eightecn months, worth 25 cents apiece—a lib- eral estimate, considering that chickens thus taken are usually baby ones—it will be seen that the state expended 290,000 to save $1,375. But this is only the beginning of the loss, Every owl and hawk destroys, say, 1,000 mice or the equivalent in insects per annum, ‘This means that each bird is worth €20 a year to the farmers, reckoning the damage done by each mouse in that time at two cents, For the year and a half each owl or hawk is worth $30 therefore, Figure it up aud you will find that this signifies a total loss of 33,947,000. In other words, for every dollar saved $2,105 was thrown away. Necessarily, it will take many years to repair the damage. Meanwhile, one of nature's means for keepiug down the numbers of mice and insects having been destroyed, these foes of agriculture have been rapidly and even alarmingly increasing and will continue to do so until the balance is restored. Happily, the bounty law in the Keystone state has been. repealed, owing to the efforts of the division of ornithology. MORE THAN 1,000 sToMACHS OF HAWKS have already been examined. All sorts of things are found in them—mice, grasshoppers, small birds, spiders, shell fish and snails. The results are put down, as is also done with other birds investigated, in tabulated form, On one side is put down the evidence in favor of the creature, and on the other side the evidence against it, When the work on that kind of bird is finished a balance is struck, and itis deter- mined thereupon with considerable accuracy by what percentage it is beneficial or otner- wise. Work on the hawk has been practically completed, and its percentage 1s found to be per cent good and 10 per cent bad—a pretty good certificate of character for that much- abu-ed highflyer. The same remarks may be repeated with reference to the owl. 2 most emphatically the tarmers’.best friends, THOSE WICKED CRows, Alae, that it should be necessary to couple this vindication of the hawk and owl with con- demuation of the crow. All that has been said against that wicked bird scarce covers ita in- iquity, What does it not do that is bad? It is, in truth, the most disreputable of feathered characters, Only recently—and this fact hi never been published—something new and dreadful has been discovered against it, The division of ornithology has found that it is the great distributer of poison ivy, as well as of the poison tree, to approach which is likely to resuit in severe illness, ‘The crow is very fond of the seeds of these noxious vegetables and after passing through the bird's dig 8ys- tem they germinate. This fact has been as- certained through the finding of these seeds in great numbers in the crows’ stomachs and by planting the seeds, which did not fail to come up vigorously. In addition to this in- iquity the crow not only devours the grain but destroys the young of robins and other in- sectivorous birds. The only thing to be said cranes and cars and a large amount of railway rolling stock—rusting and siuking deeper and deeper into the mud. Such of the dredg cars, &e., a3 are not buried in the gra Washed down upon them by the recent rains, are just now being dressed in brand new coate of red and black paint—making ready for the French commissioners, who are expected here soon to inspect the work and report to the government as to the advisability of forming @ hew company to complete the project. THE DEATH RaTE on this narrow neck of iand during the last ten | years—especially among those employed along the canal—has been simply appalling; far worse, in fact, as those who have survived | declare, than the world was permitted to hear ot. The company’s hospitals, containing a | thousand beds, were constantly filled; and it must be remembered that only those who were able to travel after they became ill were sent ere—not a fraction of the number who per- ished miserably by the wayside. Of the fifty- six sisters of charity sent from France for serv- ice in these hospitals twenty-three died. number of doctors needed in active employ was thirty, and mortality amoug them averaged in five years, The teuure of life of the doctor at Culebre or “Snake Cat” was most un- certain, and four times in one year death chose there a shining mark. Even at San Pueblo the place of the resident physician was made va- cant by death five times in as maby years, During the early days of the contract northern physicians were very unpopular, but later it was discovered that the. --Yankee Raw-bones” was harder to kill than French aad 3} ib medicos, and impossible to sare im the of their daty. | A VAST GRAVE YARD. | In sober truth, the whole isthmus is one vast for besides the consecrated “God's acres,” are trenches filled to the brim with moldering bones, and thousands of isolated graves scattered all over the tropic wilderness. | Rnd ob. the pity of it! Most of the victioe were young meu. hundreds fresn from college, full ‘The American quarter has its bronze statue, | 0! high hopes and eager ambitions—but with too. though not quite +0 pretentious as that of | Rp mutes Of Rading om the first page of youth's the French—one of Aspinwall, who gave his | huntreds of hommes the meee ae pling Hers ‘Bame to this end of the town. Such a hetero- | for the brightest and best, who sleep in this ogee coliection of natioualities as swarm | beautiful wilderness; the pride of many # Fe never was seen betore—expecially since | mother’s heart occupies an unmarked grave, tile high tide of prosperity Las passed, leaving | which none but Gud remembers, here vege- a aritt woodof human degradation. There | tation riots, and serpents giile aod strange ‘fare fully 6v,0W peopic on the tiny island, and a | dowers blossom. Fass B. Warp, in the crow's favor is that he gobbles cut- worms and eats carrion. Work on the crow has not yet been brought to a conclusion, but the verdict will undoubtedly be very much against ‘im. ‘Lhe division has also tae some attention to investigating the woodpecker; but that has not gone tar enough to make it possible to state any conclusion. The assertion may be ventured, however, that the woodpecker is beneficial, particularly to the forests. It preys, You see, upou the grubs that injure trees, ay be you have seen a woodpecker pecking at the bark of a tree where a grub is at work, giving @ tap or two and then listening to hear the borer at its lubors; then pecking a little more, listening again, and making a hole deeper until the coveted delicacy is reached. BULLETINS FOR FARMERS. The results of its investigation regarding the value of birds to agriculture or their injurious- ness will be published in the shape of bulle- tins by the Department of Agriculture, and went free, without postage, as public docu- ments toall persons, more particularly farmers, who care to ask fur them. They will be pre- pared in fine style, with colored plates repre- | senting the birds discussed. The bulletin on hawks and owls is already nearly done and will soon be distributed. There will also be bulle- tins issued on mammals which have economic relations with the farmer. For instance, hun- dreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of dam- age is dove yearly in California by gophers aud ground squirrels. These animals are so great a pest on the Pacific coast that many people are employed as professional pois- oners and trappers to remove the pests atso much an acre. So far as such beasts are concerned, the division of ornithology and mommacey bes ebiefly in view the notion of disseminating knowledge as to the manner in which they may be destroyed. The best thing disco for the purpose is bisulphide of carbon. A scrap of raw cotton with it and stuck into a gopher hole in the shape of a plug will kill all the underground tants Within a range of hundreds of feet by its fumes. This remedy has been wied dogs, whic! very successfully upon RELATIONS OF VEGETABLES AND ANIMALS. ‘The most important work, however, in which the division of ornithology is at present en- gaged cofcerns the determination of certain areas inhabited by certain species of birds and mammals, There is a very curious relation, it has been found, between the vegetable and an- imal kingiome. one feature of which may be explained in this wise: Once determine the limit of an area inhabited by a particular kind of mamnial or feathered creature and it follows that any tegetable product grown at any point within the boundary of the area successful:y will grow well alsoin any other spot within those botindaries. For example, if a definite region is occupied by black squirrels andat the southwest corner of that region cabbages pros- oe it follows of necessity that they will also urish in the northeast corner of the same re- plone well as in any other part of it. There is just that curious relation between animal and vegetablé life found on this funny old earth of which we are life tenants. So the Department of Agriculture has been try- ing to find out definitely the limits of occ pancy by ailsorts of beasts and birds through- out the United States. The work is very near completion, aud maps ona large acale will soon be distributed among the agricuiturists of the country who care to ask for them, showing in different tints the various faunal areas, neces- sarily coincident with floral areas, Thus the farmer will be able to put his finger on bis holding and . DETERMINE WHAT HE OUGHT TO PLANT. Suppose he finds himself in the midst of a large yellow splotch, he has government in- structions which let him know that the proper thing is to write to any one of the experiment stations—each state has one of its own—within that yellow splotch, und ask what is the desira- ble thing for him to cultivate. Incidental; he mentions the sort of soil he is tackling. Im: mediately the experiment station will inform him precisely as to what thing he may cultivate successfully, and thus he will be saved all the expense of trying things on his own hook, with fuilure always likely. The experiment station will even be able to tell the agriculturist what kind of stock or poultry to propagate. A curi- ous thing has been learned, incidentally to the department's investigations—namely, that the areas of plant growths are determined not by the average temperature of the year, as has hitherto been supposed, but by the temper: ture during the period of reproduction. ‘Th period covers the growth and ripening of plants, the nesting time of birds and the breeding sea- son of mammals, In the far north it is very short, of course, while in the far south it lasts most of the year. So it was found impossibie to say ina general way that the temperature during certain months determines the floral and faunal areas, both being determined by the same influences, and thus the problem was greatly complicated, But ithas been solved and it will be most certainly of great profit to the tillers of the earth to be able to tell them a what they can grow successfuily be- fore they start in to plow their acres for the first time. ——— HISTORY OF THE GRIP, How the Epidemic First Appeared and Its Journeys Since. The first official history of the epidemic of influenza in Europe is contained in the Lritish Medical Journal of the issue of January 4. The sketch of the progress of the great epidemic is founded on the most reliable published infor- mation available, The first cases recognized in Europe were observed in St, Petersburg about October 15, and by November 12 1t had spread over nearly the whole of European Russia. The number of cases in St, Petersburg alone, according to Dr. Butz’s estimate, was 650,000, or nearly three-fourths of the total estimated population. It is not known whether the disease traveled from Siberia to St, Petersburg or vice versa, The epidemic was first noticed in Tomsl important commercial town of Centrai Sib ria—separated by nearly 2,000 miles from St. Petersburg;—about October 15, or at the very time when ‘the epidemic was beginning to de- velop with rapidity in St. Petersburg. It ap- peared in the Caucasus about November 11, and ‘was at its height at Merv, 500 miles to the east, toward the end of December, when the epi- demic was decreasing in St. Petersburg and Berlin, The influenza broke ont in Berlin toward the end of November and spread very rapidly. Prof. Leyden estimated that a third of the in- habitants of the city were suffering from it, It began to decline by December 23, Mean- while it had spread rapidly in central and southern Germany and was on December 18 reseut in nearly every important town from lamburg in the north to Munich in the south, It was severely felt m Frankfort, and in Mainz the tramway service was partially suspended owing to the large number of men on the sick list, It was present in Dresden on December 23; Prague, cember 27; Vienna, December 12; Belgrade, December 16, and at Bucharest and Sophia, December 24. Extending west- ward it appeared in Brussels, December 12, and in Autwerp, December 16, spreading 80 extensively in these cities during the following two weeks that it was neccessary to close the schools and seriously affected the gurrisons. It had already appeared in Amsterdam and other Dutch cities. In Copenhagen the epidemic ap- peared early in December, and the number of cases notified in the week ending December 21 was over 6,000. IT REACHES PARIS, Cases were observed in Paris as early as No- vember 17, assuming epidemic proportions about November 26, when a large number of persons employed in the Magazius da Louvre were attacked. The number of cases in this shop rapidly increased until it reached 670 on December 10. The epide: id not prevail to any serious extent in the French provincial towns, but so large a number of cases occurred at Monte Carlo as seriously to interfere with the engrossing occupatior: of gambling. The dis- eave first appeared south of the Pyrennes on December 12 at Malaga, On December 14 there were a few cases in Madrid, one of the earliest reported being that of the boy king. It spread rapidly, and by December 29 most of the Span- ish provinces had become affected. It ap- peared in Lisbon and Oporto about the begin- ning of the fourth week m December. In Italy the first cases were reported from Rome on December It provailed extonsively in Verona, Milan, Spezia and other towns. Its presence in tome was denied and it 1s doubted whether any true cases have occurred, In England the epidemic, up to January 4. had not attained serious proportions and its pres- enge Was questioned, but it was conceded that an epidemic of intluenza prevailed in the west of London and in the western suburbs for ten days prior, thereto. It had, however, not spread with the rapidity observed in St. Peters- barg, Berlin, Vienna and Pat There was no distinct epidemic of the disease in East Lon- don. Influenza prevailed very extensively umong the horses in England. Mr, Browardel stated during the discussion at the academy of medicine in Paris that the grip i» always characterized by the precursory symp- toms of headache, nausea, prostrations, symp- toms which are not present in Lie cerreatd ca- tarrh, which has been described as the grip, According to M. Rochard the present epidemic isthe same as that which appeared in 1837, Dengue fever, of which he had observed several cases in Senegal, is quite a different affection, and is confined to tropical couniries, In Pari there were many instances where the grip tacked the same person two or three times, Dr. Pitain beheves it to be an infectious disease. The daily mortality was 100 a day more than for the same time the previous year, which brought up the daily death rate to 300, In Vienna in some cases the influenza was the cause of the development of catarrhal pneumo- nia with a fatal issue. ‘The number of applica- tions for admission to the hospitals on account of influenza was exceedingly great. A well-known physician of the West End of London wrote: “lum convinced that it is a most dangerous disease to trifle with, owing to relapses, which, so far as I have seen, have oc- curred on the eighth day. Ithink the public should be warned to go to bed directly they have the shivering and lumbar pains.” Salvini’s Economical Ways. From the Chicago Tribune. Siguor Salvini, the Italian tragedian the Columbia this week, is a man of the plainest habits, despite his wealth and position. In his contract with Mr. Palmer it is provided that the signor shall have furnished him a valet and a secretary, yet the greatman will have neither. He spends much time in his dressing room, ar- -riving generally about 5 o'clock, and the people in the company say it is no unusual sight to see the hercuiean old in sit for two hours Re atey Be pair of tights or bespectacled =e fierce Othello beards of bair and gauze 0 “All is Not Lost.’” From the San Francisco Chronicle. The modern child isan analyst. The small kid was playing with the scissors and his kindly old grandmother chided him: “You mus'n’t play with the scissors, dear. I knew a little boy just like you who was play- ing with a pair of scissors just like that pair, and he pat them in his eye and put his eye out, and he could see anything ever = ™ ‘was the matter with his other eye?” Written for Tax EVExtxo Stan. ATTRACTIVE HOMES. How to Furnish Rooms Comfortably and Pftectively. , A CHARMING LITTLE NOOK IN AN ENGLISH HOME— INDIA SILK SACHETS IN PLACE OF BUREAU SCARPS—A MODEL SEWING ROOM—REVIVAL OF JAPANESE FURNISHINGS. A description of a charming little room in a London home has lately been given me by a friend who had enjoyed seeing the unique little apartment, A3 sowe of the prettiest features originated with the young mistress of the house they may give ideas to some other young home makers if I can accurately de- scribe them. The room in question is in what would be our second story and is at the head of a winding stairway. with the back drawing room opening into it by a rather wide arch- way, It is a tiny apartment, but is arranged with so much taste as to impress any one with ite individuality and charm. The archway takes nearly the whole of one side of the room, At right angles with that side is window and = across the next corner a mantel and fireplace. From this fireplace is a plain wall and corner, and on the fourth side anarrow dvorway opens into the hallat the head of the stai So much for the room proper. The walls are papered in a light buff and serve as a background to a few smail pictures, The one window is simply curtained in white muslin. The archway is hung with portieres on the drawing room side. The floor is covered with light matting. These are the ordinary features of the room. The mantel is high, ranning up nearly to the ceiling. and Moorish in character, having an arched appear- ance over the shelf. An airy openwork effect prevails, and many little odd hooks and pro- jections make resting places for booke and knick-knacks, This whole structure, as well as the wood work of the room, is painted a robin's-egg blue, touched up with pink and gold, giving A MOST DELICATE COLORING EVERYWHERE. At the opening of the archway a pair of low gates, of a fretwork corresponding to the finish of the mantel, are swung so that they are uushed open or shutat will. These are painted jue also and give a decidédiy odd and pretty effect. A wicker settee painted white and ap- holstered in soft, dull pink, stands at an angle with the fireplace, while diagonally across irom it is another sofa, This latter is a corner affair, only large enough to hold one person on each side its right angle, as it fits into the corner, This has a moderately high back of spindles and hus the seat cushion of pink like the other sofa. Several loose pillows aiso are carelessly strewn over it. A small tea table of bamboo, in Japanese design, is at one side of the sofa conveniently near. This table has shelves that let down to accommodate cups and sancers, and isan ornamental as well as useful little affair. In one corner, rather back of the wicker sofa, stands an easel with a painting on it, while an ottoman completes the number of articles in the room. It is the oddity of the mantel and little gates with the bright light coloring that at once attract notice, while the coziness aud comfort combined make lounging there very agreeable, SACHETS FOR TABLES AND CHEFFONIERS. To change from London to America and to gome of the new ideas here: Instead of putting white embrodered scarfs ou dressing tables or cheffoniers, a fancy that is prevailing now is to have sachets just to cover the tops of these pieces of furniture. India silk or stamped Japanese crepe are both used to good advantage in making these dainty coverings, ch seem to be growing in favor, A douvie er of cotton batting is used for interlining, which is first split and then lightly laid to- getheragain, Over this the silkis putand tacked atintervals with rows of narrow ribbon. Suchet powder is sprinkled over the cotton before putting on the silk cover. White batiste 1a a good covering for the under side of the sachet, while the colored top can be brought over the edge and hemmed down with long stitches, ‘This makes an easy flnish to the sacnet, With white or light furniture a colored cover 1s much more striking than the white linen, which is especially suited to the darker woods. THE ADVANTAGES OF PLUSH. Plush just reaching to the edge of the top, not hanging in scart style, is smetimes used also and makes a haudsome fimsb. Itserves to show to good advantage the cut glass and sil- ver ornaments that may find places upon it and is much better than white for the purpose, White linen, however, will always keep its pluce as the best material for wear on the bu- reaus in everyday use. When embroidered suitably there is almost endless wear in these linen spreads and they cau be always fresh, which can be said of no other materia! TOILET ARTICLES IN SILVER, Nearly every week adds something new to the list of toilet accessories to be procured in silver. Among the very latest of such arti- cles are curling tongs of nickel, with silver handies, There is a complete set of these in- struments—of torture, shall we call them? Besides the tongs there is a spirit lamp to match, and these ail ure displayed on a silver tray With raised designs for oruament, JAPANESE FURNISHINGS. Arevival of the fondness for Japanese fur- nishings and effects seems to be impending. For a year or two all the former popularity of Japanese articles—of the ordinary kind, that is—has been on the wane. Now, however, we hear of rooms being dccorated in that style with as much of that effect as possible. A pretty sewing room that I know of has mat- ting and cotton rugs on the floor, with bead and bamboo portieres. The window curtains have a narrow dark blue border all around. ‘The center is white, covered with vines and flowers, the latter in different tones of piuk. Still another sewing room is described as beg fitted up entirely with rattan furniture, With this avery dainty effect cau ve made, especi- cially if ribbons are used a good deal. sows and ends on the chairs and ribbons run through tables and toot stools make a room that is very pretty—too pretty, indeed, to be given up to the prosaic aud disorderly occupation of dress- making, for instance, A MODEL SEWING Room. Asewing room much more suited to the use for which it is intended has been sensibly but plamly furnished. A large table stands iu the center of the room upon which to cut out gar- ments, A folding tabie is out of the way when not wanted and yet always ready jn Case of need. Of course the sewing muchine is one of the principal objects in the room, while torm for skirt draping is equaliy in denand. A small trunk, chintz covered, makes a seat when necessary, While at all times it holds dress- making supplies ready for use. One corner is curtained off for a closet, where rows of hooks are waiting for unfinixhed garments to be hun; upon them. Low sewing chairs, buth with an without rockers, are scattered about, and a three-leaved screen is there to be put before the window when fitting is going on. With an- other small table in which is a drawer for but- tons and sewing silks, every want seems sup- plied, while comfort is far from lacking. wee One Way to Evade a Process of Law. From the Cuicago Tribune. A woman who has rooms in a flat building in Chicago kept possession of them ina novel way. She ran short of money and couldn't pay her rent, The landlord dunued her and finally swore outa writ of ejectment, She heard of it and made preparations accordingly. The writ was given to a constable to serve. He went to the rooms and rapped on the door, ‘There wus no answer, and he rapped again, Then he tried the door. It was unlocked aud he walked in. The woman was standing before the mirror in dishabille. ‘ beg your pardon, madam,” he said. he exclaimed, with several exclama- tion points. ‘Do you dare intrude? Leave at once or [shall cali for help.” . He left. He tried twice afterward to serve the writ and was bluffed out of 1t in the same way both times. ‘Then he gave it up as a bad job, and shortly afterward she paid. Why He Could Not Play. From the Cork Examiner, A County Cork clergyman of the established church, who had quite a reputation as a musi- cian, was fond of describing the three wives whom he had married as *the world,” “the flesh” and “the devil.” He was a favorite per- former on a w.nd instrument of his own inven- tion, and_went to London to play before George IV. When he atiempted to elec- trify the king it was ali in dumb show, for ae tas a note — he sound. Shing at last drew out a pair of stockings wi his third wife had carefully packed in the in- strument, at the same time exe! 2M Mary, Mary, you little know the you have done me.” Theking,tickled by the novelty of the incident, roared with laughter. af- terward listensd with to a solo and highly complimented reverend gentleman upon his success, ———~200—— Mine eyes have seen the cdming of the woeful Itis going through the country on a kind of a flying tis seizing ad tne pebple jast above the up- per And it still goes sneezing oo cntergo Tribune, . WALKING AS AN ART. Pecullar Movements of Our Athletes to Acquire Speed. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE FAIR AND UN- FAIR METHODS—DECEPTIVE POINTS EXPLAINED —HoW SOME ATHLETES WALK—REOORDS THAT SAVE BEEN MADE. From the New York Sun, Of all exercises in sports engaged in by man walking is the one that comes to him most nat- urally. In hot climates walking is not popular, and residents there think it a great hardship to be obliged to walk any considerable distance. In India the rajahs and mahatmas, sitting on their comfortable divans smoking, with their attendants fanning them, looked with sarprise ‘on the English officers engaging in tennis and athietic sports. They expressed great wouder that the officers did not make their subordi- do that sort of thing. But even the English, after a short stay in India. are willing to take things more easily. The reason of this is that the hot climate does not make one feel like ex- ercising, and the indolent, luxurious habits of the inhabitants ure said by many writers to have been caused mostly by the climate, IN ENGLAND, the home of outdoor sports, walking has been universally indulged in as a pleasure anda healthful exercise, ever since the time when wars and fighting en- gaged all the athletic powers of a man. In Swifverland and oth mountainons countries walking has been en- gaged in per force. Mountain climbing is one of the finest exercise in the world. It develops the muscles of the lez to # great extent and gives hardihood and endur- ance to the system. The Swiss are noted for their endurance and for their tinely developed limbs, It was formerly remark- ed of Englishmen, before RFMNasium . xcccwes Was so Universal in Eng- land, that, though weil developed —be- low the waist, the upper portion of the body was neglected and inferior, On the contrary, in this country some twenty ye a ew iy developed bat much jacking in th easily accounted for English sports with th exception of rowing tended to develop the lower portion of the | frame, while in this country all men were 80 eager in pursuit of fickle fortune tht, no time being allowed for ficid sports, gymnastics were substituted by those who had any regard for their physical welfar regular con- tests on the track we of road walking and moun' iy rformed, Clubs 1 England, for the purpose of walkin, so-called Alpine clubs. for the purpose of in in nd many e been started here agin mountain climb- ing. Sume of these clubs include ladies, and it is notable t! in England women think little of 9 brisk walk of 10 miles. About 1876 walking took a great start in both this country a Six-day contests were institiited and the public went wild over the sport. and, although this particular form of contest seems in recent years to have Jost interest s hat, walking races of shorter distances are still very popular. To one not ac- customed to witn x athletic contests the styles of traveling hibited by trained ath- lets in a walking race seem very grotesque and unnatural, and in fact it 18 an unnatural gait and must be acquired to attain speed. The are a few, to be sure, who do acquire a some what natural style, but as a rule iking con- tests seem ludicrous to the uninitiated, Men who are fond of walking for pleasure often imagine that they ve attained gr: and not having a knowledge of what trained athletes do they think that because they can walk faster thea their friends they can make a name for themselves in the arena, The action of the modern walker being essentially an acquired one no such speed as has been attained can be accomplished in the ordinary mode that is natural to human beings. Any one who can travel five miles an honr on foot thinks he is waiking pretty fast. Yo en athlete this would literaily be sauntering, for unless he could do near! en miles he would feel that he had better keep out of competition, Eight miles has been traveled within the hour by a professional, and an amateur has taken but two minutes cight and 4 balf seconds above the hour to cover the same distance, THE MODERN WALKER in locomotion uses almost every muscle of his body. The action of the arms and shoulders is 80 great as to bring about a profuse perspira- tion in temperate weather. The leg motion is hard to judge, for, although it is quite well un- derstood what it should be, still only a very ex- pert eye is capable of judging a walking race where the tendency is to lift, as unfair walking iscalled, The prominent points in a fair guit is that one foot must be on the ground betore the other leaves the ground, and also that the knee shall be bent only on the leg that is being put forward. After the stride is made and the foot ison the ground the knee must be kept pertectly straight until itis off the ground again. The action in making a stride is almost entirely from the hips and one foot is placed directly in front of the’ other, in order to lose no ground. One reason why walk- ing is so hard to judge is that there is such a variety of gaits and peculiarities of walkers that, even though they may be travel- ing ina perfectly fair way, they appear to be litting, Walkers have also been seen who are not walking fairly, but who impressed the majority that their gait was fair simply by hay- ing some little peculiarity which looks well. As an incident of how opinions differ in this Kine itmay be mentioned that Frank P. Murray, who in his time was the best amateur walker in this country, was de- nounced as’ walking un- fairly by Englishmen when he was over there in 1884. and yet he was cousidered here to have one of the fairest gaits When C. W. Y. Clarke who won the English amateur championship 7- mile walk in 1987 and 1888 was in this country in 1887 he was disquali- fied in the American championship $-milewalk for what was considered to be a most unfair-f style. and yet on the other side he was thought toghave a good one. Within the past year, thongh, he has had trouble with the judges over there in regard to his gait and has not walked much, A jadge of walking at athletic games is not an enviable position. It is impossible for hun to keep his eyes on all the men at once, and | muny of the contestants run when they think they are walking, and others purposely lift when they think the judge is not observing them. Tracks that have a high inner curb are always looked on with much gratification by walkers who do not wish to be judged strictly, If the track is six or nine inches below the inner field it can be imagined that a judge of | walking would have quite a task to decide whether a gait was fair or not, for unless he is on the track he cannot see whether one foot is on the ground before the other leaves it. The knee action can be judged easily, and some judges say they can tell by the knee whether a man is lifting or not, even though the knee action may be fair, A PAIR STYLE. The first picture in this story illystrates the champion professional walker of ‘ica, John Meagher, who is universally considered to have one of the fairest styles possible. It will be noticed that the instantaneous photograph caught him in the act of completing a stride, and the soggad mentioned above in regard to the straight knee of the leg on the ground is well exemplified by his position. The knee of j brought forward is bent, but that | ‘most professional walkers several 7 he. He has a verv free hip motion, and this is what enabies him to reach out so well. Murray was considered in this country to have a very fine style, yet when he made his record for walking one mile. which is the best im the world for an amateur, Bob Rogers, who nad been bronght to this country as trainer for the New York athletic pi bi ing revionsly been in a mat ston for twenty yeere with the Low Eng.) athletic club, the oldest athletic organ- ization in the world, expressed dissatisfaction at Marray’s gait, Murray was scratch man iv a handicap walk on the old Mott Haven grounds of the N.Y.A.C., and op the last lap, whex it was seen that he would make enal time, Bob Kogers openiv said that Murray's style was only a stiff-legged run and that on the other side it never would be called a walk, Very few, at the time the performance was made, questioned the fairness of it, for Murray had such a repntation for walking fairly, The following year he went to England, and Bob Rogers’ prediction came true, for Murray was not graciousiy received, and his method of locomotion was criticised #0 severely that he made a very poor show. (As A DIRECTLY ORPosrre style shown in the fifst illustration, that dis- played in the second picture could hardly be improved on, The latter shows a walker who is skipping, Both feet are about an inch off the ground, and no better detector of unfair walking can be found than instantaneous pho- tography, by which this illustration was pro- cured. The bending and straightening of the knees are just the reverse to that shown in the first picture, and there can be no doubt con prning the unfairness of the style. It is a well-known fact that when a walker crows tired | in @ race the tendency to lift shows iteclf. The } walker would not skip simply to gain speed, ut to ease the muscles, As a semple of what peculiar attitudes expert | walkers sometimos assume at different periods in making a stride the third picture may be used. The athlete looks very tired in this pic- ture, but at the time the photograph was taken he was not much fatigued. The picture shows that his left foot is on the ground with straight } knee, and he is in the act of bringing hw right foot forward, and it happens to be widway in the stride or just passing the other leg. His left bip is much elevated and his left shoulder very much drooped, One might think that if he made one more stride he would fall ina Leap on the track. ‘The picture is an excellant * | illustration of one of the hundreds of peculiar attitudes indulged in by speed walkers, which make the ‘spectators sometimes laugh them- selves hoarse, It would hardly be supposed that anything could be gained by droopme the left shoulder so much as this picture shows, but the walker was probably unconscious of the drooping, and the fact of ite being there shows that it was indispensable at the time to his style of gait. ‘The last pictare shows the same athlete in the act of completing @ stride with bix left foot, The right knee is even more then stra and on account of the formation of the bor | iseurved backward, The athlot | tation of having a very fair style, but many a time it has caused merriment among the spec- tutors, Still he has the satisfaction of very sel- dom receiving @ caution while racing. It might be supposed that length of limb would have much to do with speed in walking, for on account of both feet having to be on the ground at the same time noshortness of limocan | be compensated for by extra power in bound- ing or springing, as in running. Jt stands to reason that an athlete with a limb 36 inches im Jength can take a longer stride than one with a 82-inch one. In running Jength of limb has long been known to be of no special advantage, and it would seem that walking is about the same way, as will be shown by s few statistics, The pres- ent American amateur champion one-mile walk- er is W.R. Burckhardt of the Pastime athletic club. He stands under Sfeet 5 inches in height when on the track, For years back short men have won this race, E. D. Lange of the Manhattan athietic club won it in 1886 and 1587. He is about 5 feet 6 inches tall. In 1885 G. D. Baird was the winver. He was 5 feet 5 inches tall, The two previous years £. P. Murray was the victor. He was 5 feet 8 inches tall. The three-mile walk shows about the same results, for Baird, Murray and Lange figure again as winners during the past half dozen years, except the last one, when C. L. Nicoll of the Manhattan athletic club was the victor. Nicoll is very different in build from the other four mentioned champions. for he is 6 feet tall in bis low-hecled walking shoes. In England the physiques are about the same, Carga ge eg predominate in numbers over the tail ones in walking races, although in the professional ranks over there there have been several excellent performers who were tall. SIGNIFICANT STATISTICS. These statistics cannot fail to be significant and they tend to prove that endurance has much more to do with a successful walker than mere so-called speed, where the effort as im running a short sprint is merely a muscular one. ‘There is no toshow miusular power in walking as there is in rnnning or jumping, aud the fact of its being such hard work in pro- portion to the amount of ground covered shows that there must be some restriction on the mus- cles, and that the effort is being used in a need- less way, so far as getting over the ground quickly is concerned. It is known to be easier for av average athlete to run a mile in six min- utes than to walk one in cight minutes, Any athlete unaccustomed to walking would have a terrible time in covering a mile im the heel-and- toe style in eight minutes, yet if he endeavored to use a style which came easiest to him to cover the distance in the same time, a run of a jog trot would be no exertion at all, These pants have often made people think that speod walking w: artificial and useless guit, it being nothing more than a test of endurance, and not ever being used by any one to cover @ long distance quickly. It is ased as a means of getting exercise in open air, but on these occasions speed is not thought of. Ifa man walks 30 miles throughout the country he generally does it to get fresh air, but it is sate to say that most men having to travel a dis- tance of three or four quickly, there being no ——— at hand, would take a slow run, for a heel-and-toe gait at any kind of speed would exhaust them before their journey would be half over. Tubercle Infection, From the Hospital. Dr. Cornet of Berlin ba lately insisted om the fact, observed by others, that the breath of tuberculous persons does not contain any bacilli, but that they are confined to the sputa, and that their vitality not being destroyed by desiccation infection takes place only when from spxta allowed to dry on the floor or in perpen Dr. ——— re! « —_ ing ulustration from its danger. In a large tablishment in Paris, where twenty. clerks dust raised by the process. “Yessem,” from the “And you have seen class, the pew of a dog?” “Yessem.