Evening Star Newspaper, June 28, 1890, Page 12

12 ll THE EVENING STAR: WASHINGTON, D.C., SATURDAY FUN FOR THE FOURTH. The Novelties of the Year in the Way of Pyrotechnics. WHY CRACKERS ARE DEAR. “Spreaders,” “Whistiers” and “Shew- ers"'—A Corner in Small Fireworks— ‘The Toy Pistol—How Firecrackers Are Made in China, —_— UDGING from what the wholesale dealers say the amount of fireworks to be sent up in smoke this year will be much larger than b} vious year. ers,” said the head of a firm engaged largely in handling Fourth-of- July fun in original pack- ages, “are purchasing | larger supplies than ever before, and they are | laying in their stock much earlier. From present indications there will be at least | 10,000 worth of explosives used here this Fourth. “All sorts of fireworks this year are higher Priced than usual. The Chinese goods have advanced at least 50 per cent, For example, firecrackers that were sold for $1 last year are now selling 50 cents higher, and I am not sure but that they will soon sell for $2.” WHY PRICES ARE HIGHER. “What is the cause of the increase?” asked the Srax reporter. “The principle reason.” he responded, “is the passage of the customs bill imposing a duty on the packing around the fireworks, and another reason is that there is a syndicate in New York that has purchased all available stock. They gathered in a large percentage of the fireworks and would no doubt have lost heavily had not Congress come to their rescue. ‘The Fourth-of-July stock of explosives is larger in the north than in any other section, for in that section the di is a holiday that is celebrated more than any other. In the south it is different. Very few explosives are sold south of here for the Fourth of July because there is not much celebrating with fireworks done. People in the south burn their fireworks during the Christmas holidays, and then there is a large demand for fireworks in that section. ‘There are not many novelties in the fireworks line this year.” he continued, “but there are plenty of the older pieces which are beantifal, and which look aa though they could hardly be improved upon.” NOVELTIES OF THE YEAR. “The whistling Jack’ is something new and is a surprising novelty. It first exhibits a fine illumination of carmine and emerald fires and is followed by an explosion of fiery meteors and dragons, whistling and screaming, and terminating wih a fusilading report. Then there is the whistling bomb that is manufac- tured in Petersburg, Va. It makes a noise like the whistle of a steam engine and then explodes with a report as loud as an ordinary bombshell. “Another new thing is the dynamite cracker that is manufactured in Chicago. It is said to contain dynamite, and for that reason our firm does not handle them. Probably one of the best novelties in the line of fireworks is the baby cracker. It is about an inch long and one thirty-second of an inch in diameter. Although so very small these crackers make nearly as much ioise aa the larger ones. They are handy for children to carry on picnic par- ties, there being seven hundred in a pack that would take but little room in a lunch basket. FIRECRACKERS AND TORPEDOES. “Firecrackers,” continued the dealer, “are sold im larger quantities than any other kind of fireworks. They are not dangerons, and the children like them because they make a noise. Avsother reason for liking them is that they can get more sport out of them for the amount of money invested than out of any other sort of explosive. The ‘devil chaser’ or serpent is an- other explosive for which there is a large de- mand ‘ihe demand for them is larger than for any ether American firework. “For snl! children the torpedo has no all equal. They are comparatively harmless and can be exploded auywhere without danger. It is said by the manufactarers that if thrown on the pavement and exploded in powder they will not set fire to the powder. THE TOY PISTOL. “We are not handling the deadly toy pistol about which so much is heard. The paper caps that are used on such pistols can, however, be snapped on pistols of the proper make without the least danger. The kind of Pistols that have done so much injury to youth and sacrificed so many lives are those that sell for a peuny apiece. ‘They are made cheaply, as they must be because there is nearly a penny’s worth of iron in them, and further than that all that can be said is that they are put to gether. The nipple on which the cap is placed is so constructed that when the trigger falls the cap is exploded about the center of the hand, The ‘ks have no means of escape except toenter the hand. With ® prope: ly constructed toy pistol it is differ- e cap is auinch or more from the hand and the sparks can only escape in the di- rection of the barrel The cost of these pis- tols is but a few pena. sand by buying them the risk of dang ve is avoided. “SPREADEPS” AND “SHOWERS.” In speaking of h~ various kinds of fireworks that are being so'4 this season the following were among those mentioned: The “electric Spreader candle ’ This is a large candle that charges a series of stars of a beautiful green color fifty to sixty feet into the air. The “silver showers” throws an entirely new style of stars, each star looking like a rocket. ie of the most amusing articles ever offered is the “‘dev'l among the tailors.” It is placed on the grouad to fire and opens with =—- IN THOUBLE. a illumination in colors, followed by a rich Stream of bruliant fire: it next sho fountain _- of reporting electric stars an termi- Bates with a burst of fiery dragons, which are thrown more than fifty feet in the air. There are the electrie voi- @anoes, colored and reporting bombshells, changeable star and other rockets, flowerets, Fevolving tulips, meteor and colored Roman candies, rosettes, radiators, pin wheels, de- tonating cannon salutes. peacock feathers, bat- feries. kc. Tuere are also about one hundred end fifty exhibition pieces and many picces of | fireworks intended to be displayed on the sur- | face of water. Among the Chinese goods mentioned are rattan bombs. red heads, tirecrackers of various kinds, punk or jos« sticky and Pharaoh's serpent | eggs. Chinese lanterns and i,‘aminating meteoric balloons will also be used .a the cele- bration of Independence day. JUNE THE BUSY THEE. “The latter part of June,” said another dealer | fm pyrotechnics, “is the busiest season for those who sell fireworks. The supply of fire- crackers this year is not as large as in previous Years and the prices are something like 50 per ‘cent higher.” “What is the cause of ths increased price?” queried the reporter. “Why, because of the limited supply,” was | bis answer. The firecrackers are all imported from China and they caunot be ordered aud de- livered in a week's time ‘Two vessels carrying mer- ft China early in the winter and were York three months ago, but they yet been heard from. Since that time other vessels have started for this country with firecrackers, but it will be later than the Fourth of July when tiey reach here. ‘Tlie news that two vessels bringing large | consignments have not arrived frightened | some of the merchants, who thought the sup- ply would not equal the demand, and thus they weased the prices. I don't think the de- mand is going to be greater than the supply, although there isa large demand for all sorte @f fireworks about this time. Many of the large cargoes of firecrackers for Amer chants le excited humanity and the water itself closely | strip of smoother water under the | Was gained or lost during the next half mile. | clear water and gradually pulied away from | precision, crossing the line and resting ou their — have a good stock of firecrackers on ” NO USE COMPETING WITH CHINA, “Why is it that America has to depend on China for our annual supply of firecrackers?” asked the reporter. “Because,” was his reply, “it would not nd to manufacture them in this country. y could be made here, it is true, for their con- struction is simple enough, but they wou!d cost so much that the boys could not afford to buy them. A box of _ firecrackers from China——say it contains from 2,500 to 3,000 crackers—with duty and all expenses, paid can be landed for something less than a dollar; probably about 85 cefts, In this country they could not be made for anything like so small an amount. The firecrackers are made in China, the work being done by hand. The work, which is done by whole families— men. women and children assisting—lasts the whole year sound and gives employment to thousands. When the work is done in that way one can readily imagine how American labor cannot compete with that of the Celestials, HOW FIRECRACKERS ARE MADE. “As I said before, the work of making fire- crackers is all done by hand. They are made of the cheapest Chinese paper and are con- structed in the simplest manner, The paper is wrapped around a small round stick several times and then it is cut and fastened with glue. One end of the paper tube thus made is filled with clay and then the tube is filled with pow- der and it takes but 8 very little bit of powder to fill it, The other end is also stopped with clay and a short fuse inserted, The firecrack- ers are then arranged in long strings and put up in packs,” —_—. ROACH’S SHIP YARD SOLD. An English Syndicate to Operate the Plant. It was learned yesterday that @ syndicate of English capitalists had bought John Roach's shipbuilding yards, which are located at Ches- ter, Pa., and that acompany has been incor- porated in England known as Roach’s Ship Building and Engineering Company (limited). The company has been capitalized at £600,000 sterling and the securities are divided up into preference shares to the amount of £300,000 and ordinary shares to the same amount. Be- sides this there is a debenture capital of £300,000 in six per cent bonds at £20 each, Charles D, Freeman & Co., bankers, at No. 7 Wall street, have fathered the project in this country and have issued a circular to their cli- ents and friends, in which it is shown that large profits can be made on this capital. At Free- man & Co.'s office yesterday afternoon it was said that the whole amount of stock and bonds had been taken on the other side except about £50,000 and that subscriptions for that amount would be received here. ‘The Americans who are to figure in the board of directors and who are to have the manage- ment of the company on this side are John B. Roach, president of the Delaware Kiver Iron Ship Building and Engine Works, which is one of the Roach companies; George E. Weed, president of the Morgan Iron Works; Hen Steers. president of the Eleventh Ward Ban! of New York city, and who is also a member of the United States naval advisory board, and Wm. Rowland, a capitalist of New York. ‘There are seven English directors. The bankers are the National Bank of Scotland, with headquarters in England. There isa resident firin of solicitors in London and Cary & Whitridge are to act as the counsel in this country, Jobn Roach, who figured so promi- nently in ship building and who is now dead, acquired control of the ship yards operated by him in 1871, and in the circular it is set forth that these yards cost, with the improvements which Mr. Reach made upon thea, ¥1,400,000, Joncerning the trouble between John liouch and tne United States government, growing out of the disputes between the Secretary of the Navy and Mr. Roach over some of his gov- ernment contracts, the circular has not much to say. It leaves out those years during which the disputes oecurred—i885 and 1886—and bases the computation of profit and business done in the years from 1872 to 1885 and from 1587 to February of this year, The entire property was appraised by E. B. Ellice-Clark, Francis S$. Bowles, who is the paval constructor of the United States govern- ment, George H. Scott, president of the New York Real Estate Exchange, and Samuel A. Dyer, president of the Chester National Bank. ‘They reported two valuations—one being €3,307,261, the other being $3,695,261. sensutemaadl sah YALE WON RACE, Three of the Defeated Men Swooned. THE Once again has Yale won, It was a hard pull at first, but when Yale finally bega& pulling in good shape the eight oars did the work and carried off all the honors. It was a great race, and it was nip and tuck from the start, until about three miles bad been covered. Five times in succession has Yale now defeated Harvard and the score now stands with nine victories in favor of the hardy Yale boys and six to the credit of old Harvard. The course Was a straight one from Gal throp Point, on the Lhamos at New London, and Yale came in three and one-half tengths ahead in 21 minutes and 29 seconds, while Har- vard followed, completing the Ferry to Win- four miles eleven seconds later. THOUSANDS OF SPECTATORS, Never has the Thames river been in better condition for racing during the whole season than it was this evening, whon great crowds began to gather along the shore. Almost along the entire course the banks were lined with resembled a checker board, so thickly was it crowded with craft of all kinds, All along the course from start to finish were scattered scores of large sail and steam yachts, large excursion steamers like the Rhode Island, City of Worces- ter, Elm City and others, and countless small yachts and open boats of every description crowded to their utmost capacity. On the west bank was the moving observation train of thirty-four cars, at the navy yard opposite the two-mile flag the large wharf and the man-of- war Yantic and the sloping banks at the finish were black with people. ONE DESPERATE STRUGGLE. There was just the suspicion of a breeze and the water rippled pleasantly when at 6:50 the Yale students leisurely paddled to the starting point. They had barely reached the line when their formidable rivals pushed out. Every- thing was done in a business-like way, and in less than a minute more the word bad been given and away went the light boats, Harvard had the best of it at the start and by the first few strokes led the Yale shell by a full length. Harvard kept this lead to the quarter, where Yale’s powerful and machine-like ' stroke changed matters very decidedly. Yale's boat began to move up, and by a magnificent exhi- bition of rowing the shells were again on even terms, half a length before reaching the half- mile flag. Some idea of this desperate struggle | may be had from the fact that the bow of Yale's boat gained on Harvard at the rate of one man for each four strokes. ‘This was kept up until Yale's shell was half a length in front, Yale held this advantage to the three-quarter, where Harvard succeeded im reducing it to one-quarter length. ‘These positions were maintained to the mile flag. Just after passin; the flag Harvard increased their stroke an again pushed their shell up even with Yale. Here another splendid exhibition of rowing was given by both crews. It was difficult to tell which crew was ahead, 6o evenly were they matched, but as they passed the mile-and-a-haif pont Harvard apparently had a slight advan- tage. Nearing the navy yard truck a | nd by another spurt again took the lead, passing the | two-mile flag with a lead of half a length. | Harvard tried hard to respond to Yale's spurt, | but its effect resulted in giving a sligt roll to | their boat, causing the coxswain to swerve a title. Harvard had evidently made their greatest effort, and, failing to hold their position, drop- | ped gradually behind until the end of the third aul crew: ere pulling thirty-six strokes and nothing At three and one-half miles Yale bogan to show their rivals, Yale finished strong, kevping up their long, steady swing with almost faultless oars without the least sizu of distress. As Yale crossed the finish line the crew stepped row- ing and waved their bands at their frantic classmates. In the Harvard boat Nos. 1, 3 and | § fell forward. evidently having used their last | pound of force. Dashing water in their faces, they soon recovered their wind and paddied slowly away. During the last two miles the race was pulled amidst a continuous tooting of whistles and booming of yachts’ cannon. ————00—_____ The Acorn’s Entertainrilent. The well-known Acorn Club of East Wash- ington entertained at their rooms in its usual pleasant manner last night a number of friends, among whom was ® party of Philadelphians, Banjo solos, song and funny sayings were en- gaged in during i of the the evening’: itertainment, Sifter which « fige collation was served in honor | may occasion, the 4 GHOSTS OF THE LIVING Phantasms of People Yet Alive and Their Spectral Ways. SPOOKS THAT WALK ABROAD. A Talk With Dr. Elliott Coucs About the Resultsof Psychic Science—What Ap- Paritions Look Like, How They Act and the Messages They Bring. ee HE old style of ghost has gone out of fashion. Nowadays psychical in- vestigators seem to be more keenly interested in finding out about the specters of living per- sons, Concerning this latter class of phantoms Dr. Elliott Coues, the wee eminent expert in such matters, was kind enough to give = STAR re- porter some points a day or two ago. “To begin with,” said he, “let us clearly define what we mean by a ‘phantasm of the living.’ There are two classes, quite distinct, of apparitions, both of living and of dead per- sons. One of these is wholly hallucinatory, Many persons in certain states of health have apparitions before their eyes which are due to acondition of the vitreous fluid of the eye ball. Others have a variety of ringing or buzzing sounds in the ears, which are due to an affection of the acoustic nerve. Now, it is but a step from these purely physical derangements of the eye und ear to have before one, as it were, the image of an idea as & representation, external to the body, of a thought, a wish, a hope, a fear. This may take a number of shapes. In some cases it as- sumes the appearance of a face or of a hand, in others of an entire body. In other cases again it assumes the character of a word, a sentence, or even a continued conversation, It is not necessary to such hallucinations that the persons who have them should be deceived in their nature, On the contrary, many persons who are most subject to hallucinations of this sort are aware of the fact, and their reason enables them to perceive the wholly hallucina- tory character of the apparitions, This is not delusion. It is an illusion of the venses. An illusion recognized as such, is not a delusion. A delusion is a misunderstood illusion. Ordinarily illu- sions are connected with some derangement of the nervous system. Not only persons and voices, but the figures of animals, inanimate objects, articles of furniture or anything that has a tangible existence,may thus be presented. ‘The percentage of persons to whom such pure hallucinations occur is, I think. considerably larger than is supposed, for they naturally shrink from mentioning such things for fear of ridicule, perhaps also having some supersti- tious fear of them in their own minds. Others may recognize them as dependent upon a poor state of health: then they pass into the cate- gory of medical symptoms and are, of course, not discussed in public. A REAL PHANTOM. “A real phantom of the living, to be nota mere hallucination, should present an appear- ance nearly, if not exactly, like that of the natural physical individual. I have soveral times in my life beheld such a phantom, which only differs, so far as I can see, from the reality in that it does not consist of such ma- terial particles as those composing our physical bodies, Nevertheless, not only the attitudes but the movements, actions and gestures of these figures are the same as would be those of a natural body. Moreover such actions are not necessarily automatic or unintelligent, but they frequently represent or convey the will or the wishes of the ghost in an intelligible man- ner. Ican mention a number of instances in which such an apparition of my own person- ality has presented itself to other persons in places where in fact my body was not at the time, There are various reasons why I should withhold names in those cases, yet a number of such instances have been published, duly attested with —_ the _necessary evidence, in papers of this country, of England and of Germany. I have unpub- lished cases of identical character, more num- erous than those which have thus far been given to the public. In most of these cases my phantom has presented only the churacter of visibility. In asmall percentage of the cases words such as I might have used had I been actually present have been spoken—say, rather, have been heard by the percipient, A CASE IN POINT. “I will select a typical illustration. Being in Chicago at a gathering of about forty friends at an ordinary evening entertainment, a per- son in Washington, at the time unaware of my whereabouts, received the impression of my personal presence, with a brief message stat- ing where I was at the time, under what cir- cumstances and giving the names of two or three of the persous then present, which names were unknown to the — percip- ient. Thie was a case of phantom of the living of the “veridical” (truth telling) category com- bining the characteristics of visibility and au- dibility. In the circle of my personal acquaint- ances I could enumerate perhaps a dozen whose experiences at intervals have paral- leled my own. in thousands of circulars re- cently distributed by the London Society for Paychical Research, enough carefully attested and fully authenticated instances of the kind have been gathered to make the material for two bulky octavo volumes.” The doctor paused for a moment and, going to a bookcase, rought to the table two volumes entitled “Phantasme of the Living,” each about the size of a volume of Bancroft’s history of the United States. ‘Obviously then,” he continued, ‘this is no personal peculiarity of mine, but'a dis- tinct. recognizable and I think’ important branch of scientific inquiry into some of the more obscure facts of human nature. The real character of such phantasms is as yet wholly in question. There may be said to be two schools of thought among psychical re- searchers, one of which is inclined to relogate the undisputed appearances in every in to the class of hallucinations; the other is in- clined to think that such figures have a sub- stantial existence and, let me add, a semi-mate- rial structure in no wise depending upon the mind or the senses of the one who perceives them. “You are puzzled to know what I mean by semi-material? Ask a physicist what he means by the luminiferous ether. He might reply that it is a semi-material substance by the vibrations or oscillations of which light is prop- agated at a measurable velocity by waves of measurable length and frequency. This mo- tion of luminiferous ether is the active force of what I would call A SEMI-MATERIAL SUBSTANCE, which, striking upon our eyes, produces in us the sensation which we call lignt. That is the phenomenon by which we see, yet which has never yet been itself seen. There are many technical namef fora substance or material which has not in fact the molecular constitution of ordinary matter. My own belicf is in the existence of an exceedingly thin. fine, tenuous substance; perhaps quite like what is called luminiferous ether, which is all- vading, filling space which otherwise appears to occupied by ordinary matter, aud conse- quently inter-penetrating every material particle of our own bodies. Some of the phenomena of animal mesmerism point to the conclusion that at times # stream or current of this finer substance may proceed from our bodies, say from eyes or finger tips. and appre- ciably affect the thoughts or feelings of another person without any ordinary means of commu- nication, That is what is now called ‘tele- pathy.’ Speh cases are toocommon torequire any argument—they simply are facts in nature, Now, if ata distance of six inches or six feet such acurrent is able to affect another organ- ism, I see no reason why the same should not occur at a distance of 12 feet or 12 yards or 12 miles, It is a question of difference not in | kind, but in degree or intensity or extent. And if this subtle current can affect one of the senses there is no apriori reason why it should not affect another. It must have some foria, otherwise it would not exis reason why it should not take more or less the form and featares of an individual, CONTROLLED BY FEW. “Such magnetic currents are in fact under the control of extremely few persons, Like other vital processes, this telepathic one goes on for the most part without our knowledge or con- sent and frequently very much against our wishes, The existence of the substance such es I have indicated and the recognized facts of animal magnetism are in my judgment the best clue to, if not the actual solution of, the problem of phantasms of the living. ‘I! ifference between a man and his dead body is simply the separation of this substance of which I speak from the grosser oe which compose his physical organism. separated completely, body is left dead handed over to ordi chemical laws of i But the com- posed of finer material does not that fate; it continue to be the vehicle and and there is no | | the memory and uni jlish it would be a ghos' point I am try- fag to make is that we have in us a ghost, which ordinarily is confined to the contour of our ph ly and which at rare intervals may incompletely separated therefrom. When thus incompletely separated it constitutes a Se eee en letely separated it ts the ‘ghost’ ‘and the man’s body is ST. PAUL AS AN AUTHORITY, “There was a theosophist or spiritualist who lived about the time of Christ, whom you may have heard of, named St. Paul, who had some- thing to say about ‘natural’ and ‘spiritual’ bodies. Ifany of our religious friends are shocked at my handling such a subject from the attitude ef the scientist I beg leave to turn about and present myself to you as a deeply religious person who finds in the word of God some corroboration of what he has ascertained from scientific inquiry. “There is anatural and a spiritpal body,’ says St. Paul. That spiritual body is whatlam talking about. Common people call it a ghost. en it is partly out of the living body it makes a phantasm; when it has departed forever from the body it leaves that body dead and probably takes to itself the soul or spirit of the individual. I know of no a priori reason why the spiritual part of a dead person should not exercise the functions of ili, memory, understanding and other es- sential attributes of consciousness, If so what is commonly calied ‘immortality’ would be thus far demonstrated. I helieve it to be true that after the scjaration of the ghost from the | physical body the former continues in con- | scious existence—for how long atime it would be folly for any one to pretend to decide. ‘The basis of such views as Phave of another life is mainly what I positively know to true regarding the nature, functions and at- tributes of the spiritual body within us. Iam inclined to go one step further and say that all real life is spiritual, and that here and now we are leading a life absolutely dependent upon spirit for its origin and continuance. In other words, we are here and now already in the spiritual world, as well as in contact with the material world, the instrument of which con- tact is our physical body. A man’s body may be defined us the apparatus of relation between his spiritual self and his matcrial environment. REAL AND UNREAL. “I have myself seen on more than one occa- sion phantasms of the living which appeared and acted precisely as the individuals might have looked and acted had those individuals been materially present. How, then, did I know that they were apparitions and not real persons? Partly from the mode of their ap- pearing and disappearing, under circumstances which—as for example, a locked door—ren- dered it impossible that a material body should present itself then and there, Such a phantasm appears something like a figure thrown upon a screen, which can be recognized for a few momeuts and then dis- appears. It has every appearance of solidarity, to the extent of hiding objects behind it asa natural body would; likewise it is capable of being viewed in more than a single aspect, on change of position by the percipient. I have never heard a phantasm speak, but I have ro- ceived an intelligible and valuable message from one, conveyed by attitudes and gestures. “The conscious voluntary projection of a phantom is in my judgment ‘an extremely rare occurrence. I have sometimes taken what I believed to be the proper steps to produce such an effect, and have subsequently been in- formed that my attempt was successful. In the vast majority of cases, how- ever, apparitions are spontaneous and involuntary, Being thus not subject to the will they are often not known at the time to have been produced by the person so project- ing. Asainatter of ‘fact they ordinarily re- suit from states of great mental perturbation, with the cause of which perturbation the in- dividual to whom the phantom appears is in some way connected, as, for ex- ample, intense solicitude for a friend or relative supposed to be in great danger. The most startling cascs are those which occur at or about, a little before or a little after, the death of the physical body of him or her who thus projects the phantasm. A majority of the best authenticated cases have occurred in connection with and at about the time of the death of the individual, AT THE TIME OF DEATH. “For example, let us say that A, shipwrecked in the Pacific ocean, is struggling for his life in the waves. B, his wife or mother, is in Washington, It is quite within the limits of natural possibility. and it has repeatedly oc- curred, that the visible apparition of the drown- ing person, drenched, sad, imploring, shall be thrown upon the mental screen of that relative thousands of miles away. ‘The percipient need not, and in fact generally does not, know of the danger, and the fact that it was’ a truth-telling phantomis only subse- AT SEA—STRICTLY VE-quently ascertained RIDICAL, when the news comes by telegraph or mail, Such things have very frequently occurred and are among the facts of ure, explain them as you ma ‘ou ask what would happen, supposing that upon the appearance of such a phantom as you have described—a phantom which actually concealed objects behind it—you attempted to walk through it, Well, it would probably present no obstacle to your movement, and the motion on your part would dissolve the apparition. “Nobody has ever got a phantasm in a box like a bug on a pen, or put it in a bot- tle for a pickled ‘specimen.’ Some of my Smithsonian friends would require that sort of evidence, but I am satisfied that it will never be forthcoming FAVORABLE CONDITIONS. “Phantasms of the living have, nevertheles: been known to appear at every hour of the day and night, In my judgment darkness and quiet are favorable to their production, and therefore the majority of cases of the sort have probably occurred during the night time. Such phantoms do sometimes come into contact with the pereipient to the extent occa- sionally of a touch as tangible as this." And the doctor bore down quite hard on Tux Stan writer's shoulder with onehand, “At other times the contact is still more forcible, to the extent of a blow leaving a bruise upon the body of the percipient, caus- ing swoouing, or even occasioning§ com- plete inscusibility and perhaps materially affecting the health of the — indi- vidual “ for many monthe — afterward. Such phantasms are often untruthful. ‘The apparition of « drowning person may present itself wholly through the fears or solicitude of an individual while the supposed drowning man is perfectly safe. Not infrequently phantoms of the lower animals, especially of domestic animals, as cats’ or dogs, have been seen. If you will define the soul as this astral body of what St. Paul called ‘spiritual body,’ there is _posi- tively no known fact in physical or psychical nature which should enabie you reasonubly and logically to deny the same to animals other than man. Every Indian has his horse heaven, and I have seen dogs that I thought had more soul and cleaner ones than some men,” Costly Courting in Philadelphia, From the Philadelpiuia Record. “I issued a warrant this afternoon for the arrest of aman on a very peculiar charge,” said an up-town police magistrate last even- ing, “and as there is no likelihood of his being captured I violate no ethics in telling you about it, “This man, who hes herctofore been looked upo: a hard-working, honest mechanic, is the father of two daughters, both of whom re- ceived young gentlemen callers at their home. During the winter these young men, when they started to go home one evening, found their overcoats inissing from the rack in the hall- way. The theft was reported to the police, who blamed it on sneak thieves. One of th young men had no less than three overcoats stoicn during the winter. and the other lost two, besides his hat. Five other young men, who had made informal calls, also missed their coats. The father of the girls was the most active in denouncing the thief when the thefts were discovered, i “Two weeks ago all of the coats were found at a down-towa pawnbroker’s office and the di scription of the man who pawned them tallic: exactly with that of the father of the girls Whether he got wind of the discovery I do not ‘ow, but for some reason he moved away very suddenly while the young men were deliberat- ing whether they shouid secure his arrest or not The young ladies are estimable in every way, aud for their sake I do not believe any special effort will be put forth to appre- hend their father. It is one of the strangest cases that every came before me.” -———— A Seven-Story Building Falls, At Knoxville, Tenn., an immense seven- story double front building on Reser- Voir street fell yesterday morning with a crash, No one was or i one was near to 5S. Payne, and Com! wl te and notions, mov in last had a stock of $200,000, which is ruins. If it does G week. buried in the Roping Steers for Prizes at a Texas Country Fair. HOW THE STEERS ARE MANAGED—TOVGH WoRK FOR MEN AND PONIES—A WOMAN'S GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF A WILD SCENE—A CONTEST OF LUCK AND SKILL. One of the most interesting things I saw while I was in Texas was a roping contest at the Concho country fair. The winner of the first prize—a beautifal cowboy saddle—was to be the contestant who should rope and tie down a steer in the short- est time. The second prize wasa corg-ous gold and silver trimmed sombrero, and was to be won by the contestant making the second best time, Each man has but one trial, so that if a horse stumbles in a prairie dog hole, or the rider misses upon his first throw, or fails to get a quick start after the steer at the outset, he is gone, and it is very LARGELY LUCK AFTER ALL, and the best man does not necessarily get the saddle—or yen the sombrero. They were a fine looking lot of fellows, nearly all of them. Business men, deputy sheriffs and marshals and some of our best looking and most popular young society men— for almost everybody has or has had cattle, and it is pretty nearly a part of young man’s col- jateral education to able to ride like a Cos- sack and rope a steer in good shape. It is the intention to run up as closo alongside or be- hind the steer as possible and, while going about his own gait, throw the rope over his horns; then, by following along with the = slack, it may begotten clear under him as he | runs; then, by taking a turn around the pom- mel, it is secured, the pony idenly stopped, braced with all his strength, and the steer is thrown clean heels over head, literally, By a dexterous jerk and good management @ steer may be thrown when the rope has canght but one horn, but it will usuatly shp off in such cases, If, when he has been roped and the rope made fast to the pommel, asteer suddenly bolts sideways, he is very apt to pull horse and rider over—especially if he be big and the pony little. When the steer has been thrown all right, the rider jumps off and runs to tie him, leaving the pony to hold him by keeping the line from the pommel to his horns taut. And this was. to me, the prettiest picture in the whole panorama—the sagacious litle pony, standing with his nose to the fallen ad- versary, straining at the line, and watching the sicer with bright, knowing eyes He realizes that he’s in a bad fix if that steer gets up, and he hasn't the least intention of letting him do so. In the first place all the wild and vicious steers that can be found on the ranges and ranches about are gathered up and brought, fighting, bellowing and protesting, to the fair grounds and put ina pen there. This pen had a eater one opening out of it by means of a couple of big bars and its further end also consisted of bars, When the announce- ment was made that the contest would now take place, a steer was run into this smaller pen. He, of course, dashed furiously to the end and finding it closed turned to rush back ashe came. Here he met a mounted man with a big whip or club, who fought him back while another finished putting up the bars. He plunges back and forth and is haled about with STICKS, CLUBS, YELLS AND WHOOPS until perfectly maddened, when the outer ba: are suddenly withdrawn and he leaps out into the opening. The contestant whose turn it is is stationed close to the one sido, and is after him like a shot, ‘The first eteer wes a big, lean, sorrel-colored one, with horns about four feet across at the points, and that ran like a deer, The cowboy was a tine, handsome, keen-looking fellow, and his pony one of the best cow ponies in the country—a little white fellow, bearing the favorite name of Possum, with big bright. steer, was made success- fuliy, and then came the moment of suspense, when the pony was straining every nerve to keep with the steer, while the riaer watched each turn to catca and throw him by an end- wise jerk, This he succeeded in doing, then leaped from the saddle to tie him down, leav- ing Possum to hold him, He had but touched the ground when the steer made a sudden con- vulsive effort and rose to his feet, But Pos- sum’s eye was on him, he instantly ran back- ward and jerkg@ him fiat. By this time the cowboy reached the steer, jumped on him and tied his feet and the business was completed. Now recommenced the yelling and whoop- ing, and a big white steer tears into the pen and is haif across the bars before be can be beaten back, He finally bursts through the bars before they can be taken down. This time it isthe deputy sheriff mounted on a little clay bank with silvery mane and_tail— Capiain Scott, and a captain he proves himself. He quickly overhauls the steer, the throw is made, the rope secured, and then the big brute bolt sideways like lightning, horse and rider going over in horrible confusion, Hurrah for the captain! He’s up and off! It’she andthe steer for it, And now there were screams and roars of laughter and shouts of admiration as the plusky little feliow ran and dodged and tacked and jerked the big ani- mal about until attendants could come up and ent the rope and drive him into the outer regions, Again amid the beating of tom-toms, howling of dervishes and brandishing of sticks and clubs a steer shoots forth, with glaring red eyes and rigid, horizontal tail. One of the “lean kine,” he and runs accordin’. It is only after some time and much hard running that he is roped; then with a rurious plunge he breaks the rope, or the girths or saddie pommel give way, and the steer rolls over about four- teen times one way and horse and rider the other. The fellow with the horns is up first, He stands unsteadily, with head swaying from side to side, eyes vacant, tail drooping. LITERALLY KNOCKED SILLY, Nobody's really hurt, but the poor little pony commands my sympathy, he looked so sheep- ish and shamed. Here comes the next candi- date for the rope. This time the roper is a handsome boy of twenty or twenty-one, whose father owns a big ranche of which the boy is 60, the fiery little pony fuirly flying over the ‘ground. ‘The steer is roped, thrown—not without a struggle—and has only to be tied to.complete the job. But the moment he feels fhe young fellow’s weight upon him he rises like a shot. Everybody is breathless—we hardly know whether to iaugh or be terrified, But the pony doesn’t debate. He promptly hauls the would-be “ridin’ hoss” down with a backward plunge and keeps dragging him a little as he struggles to rise, until his master has him safely tied—and all with such little snorts, such tossing of his pretty head and kicking out of the little slim heels, such sharp neighs and flirtings of his tail as are for all the worid like articulate speech. ‘This was the very cutest pony of all and when his master got on him, after tying down his steer, he went off fairly dancing and swell- ing with pride and high spirita. Tue next man man missed his throw. ‘The next roped his steer and attempted to throw him, but the animal was big, his pon light, and with a tremendous plunge ahead it jerked pony and rider forward so that the man fell heavily from the saddle, striking on the top and back of his head. The pony and steer med tobe all around and over him. He ruggied to his feet only to sink back again, We ull groaned with horror. Attendants gal- loped out as quickly as possible and brought him in, when he was found to have been only stunned by the fall and untouched by the scuf- fle afterward, WE BREATHED EASTER, and about this time the pony, to our astonish- ment and no doubt to the steer’s, succeeded in throwing the latter, and now, in our relief from the recent strain, we laughed and applauded to our hearts’ content, for the game litde fellow—- as though to make assurance doubly sure and leave no room for unpleasant accidents after ail his engineering and strategy—never let up dragging his struggling enemy until he was fely tied, all th jawing back” in the plainest kind of horse tuik, justas the lit:le black had done. After this there were one or two failures, one horse falling in a prairie-dog hole and one aan miss- ing the throw it had taken him long to get close enough to make, had fost been ‘completed 5 | nannies just mn ‘comple’ a ook cost of $50,000. Miclscse & ‘2 ° xf —— epee! mg os an bi ward looki ‘ver! bailed in clove on the heela buckskin-colored steer. men one to take the first bey wi ¢ while shaking his head and | 1890-SIXTEEN PAGES. In plainer En-| SOMETHING LIKE A BULL FIGHT, and stand still with suspense. Suche lay of man's mastery of powerful and fran- tie bountin 4 HOMERIC SPECTACLE, and one which appeals to the original savage, which we aro told sleeps in every nature. Apropos, an old lady who eat behind me and saw all there was tosee, who missed no detail and who “never whimpered” until it was all Over, then arose and said in a rasping, severe voice: “Well, such a performance to our boasted civilization—it better than a bull fight,” which sentiments, as she seen and presumably enjoyed all there was | in it, did her, to my thinking, credit and joreditwihoutheviag, Une berselt the poorer joyed it, without j abhorrence for it, Aice MacGoway. aeeriiceeanee eentaneedineary FIERCE GRIP OF THE PANTHER. How One of These Animals Killed a Young Black Sear in Central Park. From the New York Tribune, June 27. Ayoung black bear was killed yesterday morning in Central Park by a female panther. L. E. Chittenden of the law firmof L. E. & H. H. Chittenden, No. 137 Broadway, who was an eye-witness of the occurrence, gives the following interesting account of it: “I was walking with « frien: id past the lion house in Central Park this morning, when ‘Hughey,’ the attendant in charge, called out to ‘Phil’ and ‘Pat,’ two other old and experi- enced attendants, to come and assist him in capturing a young black bear, say a quarter | grown, which had escaped through the bars of its cage My fi self entered to witness the doors were closed and the three attend- ante rushed to the large cage over which young bruin was leisurely walking. They were not quick enough, Like a flash along, lithe, grayish, suake-like body shot up from the floor, apaw with extended claws came through the iron bars at the top of the cage and the hunt was | over, It was equally all over with the bear. | The mild-eyed female panther (felis concolor) had taken a paw in pol sourced and ended it. “Then followed an exhibition of ferocity of which no one wouid imagine this anima’ capa- ble. She pulled the bear through the bars, | seized his nape between her jaws, which closed with a force under which I could hear the crushing of the bear's bones. ‘Hughey’ rushed into the cage with an iron bar to part the two animals, It was a reckless and a use- less act, for the bear, I saw, was already dead, and ‘Hughey’ would soon have been in the same state if the panther had fas- tened upon him in her infuriated condition. He was pulled out by main force and the cat retreated to a corner, still grasping her prey. The bear hada leather collar upon its nee! Into this, from the top of the eage, an attend- ant hooked the end of a rod and drew the bear up to the roof. The jaws of the cat were stiil fast, and it now grasped the body of the bear with its extended claws, Hanging in this con- dition, two attendants beat the animal upon its head and body for two or three minutes before it would relax the iron grip of its jaws and sul- lerly retreat to a corner of the cage. The bear ead from the moment those jaws were fast. is exhibition throws some new light on the strength and temper of this fiercest of all the North Americen carnivores. The hunters call it cowardly, never inclined to attack mau if achance for escape is open. Its long snaky body and smail head do not indicate great muscular force. But many tales have come down from the early settlers of the slaughter by this animal of full-grown horses aud cattle, and often attacksupon mai. Fenimore Cooper's deserip- tions are well sustained by these stories, which, however, are usually regarded by naturaliste as legendary “The habit of all the cats to grasp their prey by the neck is well known. After the exbibi tion of this morning, after witnessing the fierce tenacity of the grip of this animai’s jaws, I think no one could doubt that that grip would be fatal to man or to any domesticanimal. The ordinary appearance of the felis concolor is gentle. This one seemed to be transformed. A fight between full-grown tigers is a rough and very noisy battle. Madame Concolor | wasted no strength of voice. She did not even | growl. But the embrace of the boa constrictor | was not closer than that of her four limbs, with those white hooked claws sunk in the bear's body, and the muscular force which heid the jaws in that fierce grip could not be overcome by any power which did not, through the sense of pain, cause their voluntary relaxation.” -eee- ATKINSON ON SOCIAL SCIENCE. He Gives a Short Lesson in Words Averaging 3 1-2 Letters Each. At the annual meeting of the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Dartmouth College the oration was delivered by Edward Atkinson, LL.D., of Bos- ton. His subject was, “The interdependence ofmen.” In one part of his oration he said: “If one wishes to bring the relations of men which are covered by this long word, ‘interde- pendence,’ fairly before his mind, it may be the best way to treat the subject in a few sen- tences in which the average number of letters per word shall not exceed four, As I am speak- ing to students who may be assumed to have excelled in literary work, I venture to bring before you this suggestion in regard to style. Write or dictate in your accustomed way; then revise your copy. strike out every long word and replace it with one or more short ones. The eifect is curious, “What is this conception of the interindepend- ence of men and of nations? Whatare the benefi- cent results which ensue from the elimination of ume and distance in the conduct of com- merce? 1 will try to put this lesson into very simple words. This man lives on a good bit of land, from which with little labor he can get a big crop. But he cannot put upon it the kind of sheep that will yield the sort of wooi that he needs to make his clothes of. The next man can dig ore out of the side ofa hill and can dump coal with the ore from the side of the next hill into @ furnace. He can make pig iron with little work at low cost, but he can’t raise wool or grow hay. The next man can cut wood; he can also put iron and wood into tools, and he can put up a mill to grind wheat or to weave wool in. Over the way that man lives ona bit of land where he can grow only a little wheat; where he can make no iron, but where he can clip wool of the right sort to be put into the best kind of cloth. Of course these en all swap, each with the other; each gets more of what he wants than if he tried to be ‘independent’ and to do all his own work. Modern science has shown men how to jay rails and to lay wires, so that it does not matter much if the next man is 100, 1,009 or 10,000 miles away. When these men swap they are ‘interdependent.’ What shall be said of the common sense of the men who try to stop them from swapping? “What kind of money do those men need? The best kind. No one gets money in order to keep it, unless he iss fool. He gets money in order to spend it, He wants the best money that he can get, in order to get the most out ofit. Whatshall be said of the men who try toforce him to take poor money in place of ‘ood money? This man wants fish, but he doesn’t want to catch the fish; he had rather make shoes. That man wants shoes and likes to fish, What shall be said of the common sense of the man who sets himself up as a wise man who says: ‘You bad better make your own shoes and be independent, And you had bet- ter catch your own fish and also be independ- ent. If you don’t we'll send a ship of war to ry? you from swapping fish for shoes." That is the kind of work that our members of Con- gress and Senators are now doing in Washing- ton; and they are trying to make peopie be- lieve that such is the way to be ‘independent, “I suomit this short lesson in social science as an example of a style which is not fine writing or of newspaper English. It is givem in 415 words, averaging J} letters each.’ a A Lion Loose. From the New York Sun. One night, when old Dan Rice was exhibiting his circus in an Ohio town it came on to rain about the time the performance was over apd hundreds of people stuck to the tent for shelter. Dan didn’t want to be mean, but the canvas must come down, and so he sent three of the men through the crowd to whisper: “Don’t get excited and make arush, but I must inform you that the Numidian lion has and five children, and in the ring and | For #y tebure wn. ee eH eer eos 3a on te tan Branch, 1630, 10:40 ati, tab acd ~egtiiepnegcria! For Kockville aud Way stations, 14 35 p.m. For Geithersbure and interasiate [wirta, 19.00 10:00, 111-00 am, t1-00, 13-00, Stor tp Hoe ite A sae For Joyd's aud intermediate stations, * Chureh tram leaves Washington ou Sopaay at 1S nm, tations ou Metropoliten Branca, For hi SO, 8:50 SO ae Fur Lagersiows, 110-40 am, and 15-20 p.m 00 p.m. Trains ariive from Chic gv daily 11:4) a m.and 4:10 pom Cimcumats aud St é am end 2:05 pm: from Pittsbu ° Pam. dat NEW as Cs 30 p.m. “Buifet Parlor Car ou ail Qsy trams. bieeping Car on the 10-30 pan op. 049-00 pom. Philadelphia,» 24:00, *6. For 92-50, . “as 30 pan, oa vf intermediate points between Balti: Feceteiphie, 75.00 end {7:20 am. brn ey ‘Trains leave New York for Washi 20-00 f2130"ams” S200" “Sta Sob panead eek nurton, *4:24 st ne Steg For Allaatic City, 4.05 avd 10 am, 12:00 noon, 10:30 ,.m. bi eer ren 12'noow, an unter ces, OLY and 1 c ae ences by Union Tx uPALy Ob orders left ab Ucket ut 1 Penu ave. and at depot. LL, Gen. Pass, Agent. r. pie F A ROUTE TO THE NOKTH, Nb ~OUTHWEST. DOUBLE FhACK DID BOCEAEKY BILL BAIL. LICE f EQUIPMENT, 4 Th effect May 11, 1500 TRAINS LFAVE WADHINGIGN, PKOM STATIC CORNEA OF CTH AND BST, bb AS FOLLOW “ of Puliinan Ve Fast Li 3:30 pom. daily Marist i Louis, Lous, Foust, r Preitic F abit abt the Went, ure, and Pittsburg MAC RAILROAD. teraud Niagara Palle for But. 10:00 p.m, asi with Uh socenter, 4 Kimara, at 10-508 im, daily. except Sun For Williaiue) ort anal, POR PHILADE: we For Brovkly Jersey City wi ing direct tran ferriage ace w York city For Atlantic City, 11:40 am. week days, 1 si iy For Buaitiwore, 6:35, 10200, 41-00 and 4:00, + 7:20, 8:10, 9.00, 11-40 am, 1 4:0, 5-0 OR. 10, & a, Am. and 4:30 p.m. daily, exc For Aunapolis, and 9:00 am. 22-05 and 4:80 D.m, duly, except Sunday. Sundays. 420 -m. WASHINGION SUUIHERN RAILWAY. IN LERLCT 11, 1590. ntico, 7-45 am. and 4:55 m. Sundays, are 90 and 10:57 am * i uw daily. Accoumodation, ‘Traius leave Alexw 5:00, 9:10, 1021. EI frre pm at the office, northeast com ith wt. sud Pennsylvania avenue, aid att on, Where orders cab be left f. Dugvae to de: tLauon trom bow Clas. b. PUGe Stations between “Alexandra ond ‘Ly ghe, AUanta, Eristol huvca tall je 11:24 Culpere Jottesville, Stations Chesupeake and Ouio’B Lynchburg, Kocky Mownt, Danville and Station tween Lyuchburg and Detvill Asheville, Charlotve, Birmingham, Mouteomery, » Calitoruia. ‘Pullman Sweper and Pullman Sleepers Atlauis to - Man Sieeyer Dar ville to Columbia and Aus Pade an Siecpers Washington to Cincinuali via Cand O, 3.40 p.m.--Daily, except Sunday, for Manasssa trasburi abd intermediate #tativne. 4:35 p.m.—Daily via Ly urs, Bristol aud Chat tenon. ven epers Wasiileton we Meiuphis, conmecdny then. tor all Arkenaas poll's 11:10 p.m.—Western Express duly for Manassas, Charivttesville, Staunton, Louisville, Cincunnath Paul tubule Ipredu Washimgten to Cincinuety, lee; jor Lowinvilbe. 200 p.m. putbern & Dauville, Kalen, Ashe: Augusta, Atlapta, ‘Moutwomery, New Orleans, esas end Calitorma Pullman V.stibule Car Wasiucgton to Dew Orieaus via Athnts ana Mouyomer: Sicever Wasaiugton to Birwinghet, Al aud Georgia Pacific Kuiway, and’ Pullman. Sle Washington to Asheville and ‘mot Springs, N.C. Salisbury. Also Washiucion 0 Augusta via Dailville end Charlotte. ai irains op Washington and Obio division leave Wash- ington 9:00 am. dany, 3x @aily except Sunday 4:45 p.m, daily: arrive will 11 Tess daily for Lynchburg, x . Chariotie, Columia, from the south via Charlotte, Dan- Heaud Lynchipane arrive in Washi m. ‘Tickets, sieepiug Car yeservation ad infor: furuisbed and varzave che-ked at office, 1:00 Penn SylVALIN uve, aud & paRseuKer steUon, Peyneyivaule FAilroad, 6th aud B sts. mylo JAb. L. TAYLOR, Gen. Pass Agen POTOMAC RIVER BOATS, Siesaes ARMUWSMITH FOR COAN, YOCOMICO, NOMINI AND (TRE OMAN, Touching at Colonial Beach, Sails at 4 p.m. from 7th st wharf and5 p.m. from Alexandria on MONDAYS and THURSDAYS. FOR COLONIAL BEACH AND CULTON'S ON SATURDAYS ot 4:30 nm. Howe sunday nighta, a NW. THOMPSON. jonday and Fricay. at 7 &.m., as tar as Nomsini, Cor Miuluan apd Leunardiown, Tuesanys, a bein, a dar as Nomini Currioman, Leouardiown, Coan, hiussie and Fare, iret class, © it clans, 00, Freight lower thaw call elepuoue 1500, ALYLAND aND VIRGINIA STEAM 2OAT Company's Stew er “LGERT.” Capt. John A. Ketchum, tor Baltimore and laudings On te Potomue river. Lvery Monday at 4 v'clocs puuk Apply ‘ Noxon AND OLD POINT, FARK, $150, op time S3 os chet pm ee Haviou Lelepaione Gail Va. Laue at Colousel Aeacb Saturdays, _ et WW DOKFOLK AND FORTRESS MUNKUE. Steamer GhO. LiLALY, from ot wheel ys and Fridays, at. ya, Wediesaay, INNLCLIOD Wild Bi LAMEKS. 5 BU.) ‘Muioruatic» anguire at Whart, ‘Lciepboue call 145°. aud Gen. Axe : YLOMAC TRANSPORTATION COMPANY. c perecet Sox thts