Evening Star Newspaper, October 25, 1890, Page 10

TO EARTH'S CENTER. Yellowstone Park and Its Countless Wonders. THE LAND OF GEYSERS. Sulphur, Silica and Limestone. es Saf Correspondence of Tae EvEN:ve Sran. MamMora Hor Spatvos, August, 1890, HEN JULES VERNE once wished to give bis readers e glimpse of the wonders of the ceuter of the earth ; he was compelled to send je@ them in imagination to ~N& Iceland to grope perilously % | inthe recesses of extinct volcanoes. Nowadays wo Bie changed all that. We go to Yellowstone Park, - and the contents of the mye World's interior are brought to the surface and exhibited for our convenient inspection on mountein heights, more than a mile above the which underground processes are on the surface, at heights greater than the summitof Mt. Washington. There are displayed here not only reminders of heat dispatched from the center of the earth, but also ens of the chemica! products of wature’s underground paint factory. The most brilliant colors imaginable are depomted by the boiling waters. Not merely things of beauty are sent from below. in the geysers there is a suggestion of the tremendous power of the forces that lurk under the earth's crust. A cleft in the surface of the rock aud earth, a thousand feet deep and more than twenty miles long, into which a river falls, displays ong its the vivid colors which indicate the work of agencies from vastly greater depths. ‘Then there are mountains of evidence in volcanic rock of « time, geologically recent, when the earth belched through such vent holes as those of the geysers fire and meited lava in- stead of hot water and steam. Little patches of the earth’s crust are turned inside out. Ramblings and roarings of the underground world sffright the ear. and frequent meseen- gers from it leap into the and startle the eye. Uncle Sam has not been able to climb the north pole in advance of the universe, but he can boast of getting closer and more con- venient views of the wonders of the center of the earth than any national competitor. I made my journey, then, to the world’s inte- ior, not by the Verne route—down a volcano shaft—but by the Northern Pacific railroad to Cimnabar, Mont., and thence by stage to MAMMoTa HOT SPRINGS, the first attraction of Yellowstone Park. Looking from the hotel porch our group of Pecently arrived tourists saw, not far distant, a white terraced hill emitting steam from many points. In frontof it and nearer to us was a st plateau also displaying terraces and little clouds of steam, and from its surface a Cene-shaped mound projected. Woe soon found es. > LIBERTY CAP. bys scramble of inspection that the steam marks the site of springs: that the white hill and its terraces and the plateau are calcareous deposits of the hot water, and that the curious mound, known as Liberty Cap, is composed of overlapping layers of the sediment, and was built up many years ago to the height of fifty-two feet by the overflow of water from the orifice at its top. The springs, of which there are more than fifty now active, are Seattered over about 170 acres of ground. They are constantly shifting and issuing in new laces, and names change with each change of | earn Cleopstra spring and terrace, for instance, the themes of the glowing descrip- tions of ‘the guide book, for which we made diligent search as in duty bound, are found to be things of the past, dead and gone to dec like Cleopatra herself. A li overtake the active and attractive springs of today. Minute description of the present springs, with their present names and condi- tions, is thus discouraged. The most notable feature of the eprings is the limestone deposit of the water, and the deposits are remarkable for their vast amount, for the curious and beautiful shapes which they assume, and for the vivid colors which vary the dazzling white and gray of the limestone. ‘There are here three square miles of calcareous deposit simi- lar to the material of which St. Peter's and the a buildings of Kome are constructed. he deposits, as a rule, appear as terraces, the spring issuing at the top of the formation, and the water flowing into limestone busius, and overflowing into another series of basins at a lower level, aud so on to the foot of the ter- race. The stalactite formations at the edge i = MINERVA TERRACE. ef the basins often extend in crystal many- tin.ed columns down to the level of the next series of ins and constitute the terrace front. They are very beautiful when recently andwet. The ancient dry formation is apt to crack and crumble. The appearance of terraces bas been aptly compared to that of = cataract plunging over natural shelves, whieh, ae it falls, is turned to stone. The imant color of the deposit is grayish white, but other colors appear in profusicn end show to advantage against the limestone background. The basins are often pink-tinted end about their borders and around the are all tints of brown, red and yellow. rf liar vegetation supplies shades of green and the water itse/f is a transparent light blue. THE BUGABOO OF THE PARK. “a- Asyou tiptoe through ti Beighborhood of the springs you find yourself under the inspection of « figure in uniform, a fepresentative of the might aud majesty of the United States army. He is there primarily and theoretically to keep you from breaking and stealing the “formation,” inst which you are warned at every step by “Keep off the grass” placards. Incidentally be serves (for a consideration) as guide. ‘The first shock of discovery that you @ military keeper soon passes, aud in & little while you pay no more » attention to a soldier than to » uew spring. Familiarity breeds at least lack of interest and lack of fear. Soldiers pop up everywhe ebdout the sights of the park. They are omnipresent reminders that Uncle Sam through Bis military arm is in active control of things. By law the Secretary of Interior has exclusive of the 3.575 square miles of the park, which have deen reserved from settlement by — and is —_ to make regulations for the protection of the natural curiosities and wonders contained in it. But Congress several ago cut off the appropriation for a super- tendent and assistants to care for the park, ‘and the work of carrying out the regulatious of the Secretary has been added to the diversified @uties of the army. In the absence of fighting to be done the government offers its men of ‘a wide Fange of ‘employment, from black- officer's boots to municipal government District, and including the position of [ape and guide in the Yellowstone, There thea aantien Oe and oo management , just as there is in the <= ‘er Disiiet — Columbia. Its government a military reservation Bominally ander civil control, a tort of “dou- bie-faced gentleman,” like ot water in the i THE EVENING STAR: make the round trip of the park. The seate in the stage or surrey in which you leave the hotel in the moruing will probably be retained by you through the rest of your journey. Consequently it is a matter of great importance become a member of an agreeable party, if yourown party is not sufficiently large to fill one of the vehicles. So ali through the even- y hing in the balance your fe low passengers and being weighed by them in turn. The opinionated and qesrrelsome in- dividual, the traveled “hog.” the invalid, the incorrigible punster, the party with spoiled and whining children are all noted, and avoided. At this time, too, we received the appalling information that we would come in contact with a Raymond excursion, and we took our first lesson in regard to the nuisances of the park. We learned that these are dust, mosquitoes, rain, bad water and—worst of all, ranking with the plagne of Egyptian locusts or American grasshoppers—Raymond excursions. Yes, the inoffensive-looking excursionist, who travels where the manager listeth and who knows not whence he cometh or whither he goeth, jammed in the park hotels and stages and apparently deserving sympathy instead of reproach, is in the Yellowstone an unmitigated nuisance.’ The hotels, except thoso at the Hot Springs and the Canon, are small, rattletrap eiaire When one of these large excursions, with quarters engaged in advance, goes sweep- ing through the Yellowstone it is not only wrotchedly housed itself, but it absolute!y ren- ders the park uninhabitable for the smali pri- vate parties and individual travelers. iy per- mitting them to enter, with ils hotel accommo- dations in their present condition, the park association is discouraging all other travel and is killing the goose that lays the golden egg. One of these parties overtook us 0: our second dayg in the park, dicted, and wo were engaged ing it, with inconvenience to ourselves during our whole trip. Until the association has been compelled to erect suitable hotels at all the necessary points the Northern Pacific ticket offices and stations, at least at the ends of the line where book tickets for the ronad trip ofthe park aro sold, ought tobe placarded with words of warning whenever an excursion | oh Ba about to enter the Yellowstone. I’ro- ibitory placards directing you uot to tread upon the formation and not to break or injure the formation, and not to leave your camp fires burning, and not to do this, that and tle other thing stare you in the face at every turn. To the list should be added one after this {ashion: Keep out of tho park'! : Excursionists in possession! Next morning we started for the geysers, I was in a two-seated vehicle carrying three per- sous besides tne driver. We came last in the procession of vehicles, a position which we re- tained and which we utilized to enable us to linger at points of interest without delaying our fellow travelers, ‘Lhe day was one of stage riding, with sufficient sideshows to make the trip an interesting one. Glimpses of the top of the mountains, which constitute the rocky wall of the park. the yellow ciitts of Golden Gate, the black and (in places) glistening walis of voleanic glass that make up Obsidian clii!, little cataracts like Rustic falls, the beaver dams and houses of Beaver lake, the springs and second-rate geysers of.the Norris basin, which lie near the road, contribated to the in- terest of the day's sight-seeing. The most notable sell of the day was the guide book's wonderful roadway of obsid:an, “the only piece of ginss road in the worid.” Visions of tread- iug upon 8 New Jerusalem style of pavement were dispelled by a sight of the road, which on the surface is unmistakable dirt, with no visible points of superiority over any other road. What lies beneath the surface as the foundation of the road, whether volcanic glas:, gold ore or gravel, deponents say not andcare not, The Journey Was aiso enlivened by tue “irreprossibie conthict” between the drivers and certain tour- ists. Hostilities on the of the latter con- sisted in firing countless “fool questions” at the drivers, in delaying the vehicies at each suppesed point of interest and in writing de- nunciatory letters to the newspapers atter the trip. The drivers goteven by occasionally starting their horses with unusual prozpt- ness if a geyser appeared to be about to play, and by way of further retaliation they have named @ geyser “Lug .ouris,,” whicn does nothing but growl and sputter. Late in the afternoon we ived at Lower Geyser busin. We stopped there to spend the night, mainly, it appeared, because the hotel had been built there. There seemed to be no other reason for tarrying at this port instead of pushing on to Fountain or Exceisior geyser, where thero was something tosee. We invited rheumatism and strained our eyes standing on and gazing from the damp Lanks of the Firehole river ut alleged beavers, which, it appears, are accustomed to come out into the river to feed just when it gets too dark to sce them. Then, having exhausted the sights, we went to bed. ON TO THE GEYsERs. The next day was geyser day. The pro- gram presented @ series of wonderful sights from early in the morning until late at night. The first geyser which we saw was the Fount- ain, and because it was the first we were much impressed by its eruption. [ts water column when it is spouting is fountain-like and plea: ing in shape, but it does not play to any gre: height. Near it are the paint pots, an exhibit of the results when the hot water of the park forces its way to the surface through earth in- stead of rock, A a forty by sixty feet, like that of a spring, is filled with a throbbing mass of mud, It is like the most agitated and threatening of quicksands, Mud waves of various shupes surge up and fall back with a plop-plop, plunkety-plunk accompaniment. At ono point in the basin the mud rim 1s broken, aud numerous mud cones, a foot or two in height, have been formed. The mudat this point is red, pink and gray, and from this fact the name paint pots is derived. Somo of the cones belong to miniature mud geysers, which play to the height of several feet. EXCELSIOR GEYSER, Soon we were in sight of the Excelsior geyser, THE LARGEST IN THR WORLD. Its crater is avast pit, 400 feet long by 250 feet broad. It is constantly filled within eight- een or twenty feet of the surface with water, boiling as in @ devil's caidron and hiding nearly all of the opening with steam. In its full eruption am immense volume of water rises from a hundred to three hundred feet in the air, carrying with it masses of the rocky formation, and falling doubles the apparent volume of the Firehole river, which flows close athaud. Iu walking to the overhanging edge of its crater the crust sounds hoilow to t tread, a grumbling and threatening murmur is beard, sulphurous odors sutle and steam blinds the. observer. ‘The piace i terrifying, and if one found himseif im it alone on the occa- sion of his first visit he would be apt to take to bis heels, Sustained by the presence of fellow sight-seers and unconscious of the danger I worked to the vory edge of the crater. As the steam blew away momentarily from the other side of the crater I saw that the overhangin edge was a mere crust,undermined by the boil- ady to fall inte the caldron at ing water, going, but went away at once, Exceisior is aptly termed “lell's Half Acre. The geyser evidently broke through the earth's crust suddenly and violently. It has no cone, and in this respect it resembles the great gey- ser of Iceland, from which the nai meaning gusher or Tager, is derived, which when it was thought to bo the only one in existence was visi by scientific men from all parts of the world, The absence of a cone is viewed as an indica- tion of tender youth in geysers. Excelsior is therefore considered as the giant infant among the great geysers of the Yellowstone, and those in the upper basin of the park, with their re- markabie cones, rank as the oldest in the world. Hell's Half Acre displays t! atiful as well as terrible. Not far from the crater of the geyser, and likely before many years to become Part of the geyser's basin through the rapid undermining and tumbling in of the separating formation, are Turquois spring and Prismatic lake, the latter being the largest and most beautiful spring in the park. The siliceous de- posit from the geyser's waters and connected springs does uot form so rapidly or so profusely ‘as the calcareous deposit of the mammoth hot 5 el water of Prismatic lake is blue or ing to its depth. About the bor: rings, but resembles it when formed, and is terized by the same beautiful color. The , accord. WASHINGTON, Pee SE RN Oe ean ee D. C., SATURDAY. Ye - “OCTOBER 25, 1890-SIXTEEN PAGES. the upper basin, and toour stopping the hotel, Hers within the space “ol miles is THE MOST WONDERFUL GEYSER EXUIBIT | in the world. There are here more great gey- sers, that is, geysers spouting over 100 feet in height than are elsewhere collected. The heat which displays itself is that of the earth’s center, increased by that which is pro- duced by mechanical action in the rocks of the region and that which belongs especially to tho voleanic rocks in which the springs are located. ‘The geysers ure pronounced by the scientists to be volcanoes in the last stage of develop- ment—water volcanoes, so to speak, ‘The evi- dences of the close connection between vol noes and geysers are overwhelming. ‘The former usually grow into the latter, but the re- verse process has takeu place and it is recorded that not many years ago the great geyser of Iceland for a considerable period erupted hot smoke and asbes instead of water. The volcano which spouts lava is so dangerous to life while in eruption that its wonders are compuratively inaccessible. The water volcano, though dis- playing a terrible power, can be safely studied while in aetion. For a mile along the Firehole river andon both sides of it rise a succession of mounds of Reyserite, dotted with boiling springs and tho craters of geysers, all steaming vigorously, and the letter at intervals crapting. Enc one of the twenty-six notable upper geysers has a peculiar and dis- ive crater, or a characteristic notse or “nce in action, which gives it a name. equently the formations about tho craters tinted with delicate colors, and they as @ Various shapes from the cone and cylinder to the turreted castle, Inn few eas reyser has no crater deposit at all. Som sers work quietly, with ouly a # lace at a few ¥ ng sound, Others roar and shake thi There is anit variety in the diferent forms of ¢ er exhibit. CRATER OF CASTLE GEYSER, The patriarch of the collection is the Castle, which has been depositing geyserite for so many centuries that it has built for itself a castle - shaped structnre with a base 100 feet in dinmeter. This deposit is very hard, as one of onr party, who climbed to the orifice of the cone and, | down a ailiea tobogzan feolingly testify. There is litte tha in the printed statements concern tervals of eruptic t of co ing footing, slipped m2 in these geysers, “ity of water thrown ont, the heic t the coln i the length of the oxtutit vary gr ent eruptions of tho same geys ful anda tew of the minor geysers observe a satisfactory regularity in their intervals of dis piay and their eruptions are by mary visitors to the park. Old ful, which throws a fine ec of between 100 and 200 feet into the air at in vals of about an hour stands e hotel, and furnishes as good an opp Y windy of gey world. But the visitors in the ume of water w intervals if they are lucky enough to get sight of these rarer eruptions, After dinner had walked from the hotel past Old Faithful, seross the Firehoie and wore leianrely inspecting the cones craters and spriugs of “geyser Lill.” a g mass of deposit covering over tweuty ac where many of the principal geysers are col- lected. Suddenly we sxw on the other side of the river and some distance from usa column of water rising high in the air, Then followed & breathless race to the place of the erupt It was the Giant geyser, which is credited wi spouting higher than aay other in the app basin, in full action, a spectacle of compar: tively rare occurrence. We passed a dozen craters and springs in our rush toward the Giant. and one of the geysers —the Oblous— actuaily in eruption: but we were not to be di- verted from the more imposing spectacie. From river the Giant's cone, which is shaped like an immense tree stump de- cayed and broken away at ono site, a column of water spui with a mingled hissing and roaring in the air, and, falling back, poured over the terrace of deposit which serves asa pi for the crater, and swelled and heated the Firehole river. Clouds of steam sent out by hot Water rose above the geyser's coiuin, until to one looking from the foot of th er it seemed to mingle with the clouds ani fill the sky. Poruons of the column appeared to re- ceive in turn special impetus and shot outin jets into the sunlight and fell ia a vrijuant spray of sparkling, scaid.ng drops. ‘Lhe erup- tion lasted for about an hour. On the side of the great platform of geyser deposit which was farthest from the river the spectators were collected. The number increased as the eruption pro- greased. Every fow minutes there would be fresh arrivals in a state of high excitement, It was on this occasion that 1 first faily appreci- ated the omuipresence of the camera and the kodak, Every other man, woman and child seemed to be taking a view or series of views of the eruption, Here a vezeran with a tripod was philosophically fixing the scene from the best point of view. liere # youngster, breath- legs with running and excitement, was dancing sround the geyser, or as far art as he could get, and snapping a kodak at short inter- vals, Nobody but thc photographer who de- velops his films will know exactly how many views he piaced upon the sa:ne film, or how many snaps were made with the cap shutting out the view altogether. Kodak fiends revel in the park, They Gather about the site of an expected eruption and train tueir Weapons upon it and lie in wait for it just as the festive potato bug places himself in position to grapple the plant as it issues from the ground. The most modest and retiring geyser is not permitted to spout un- seen and unsnapped. But the principal beauty of the park, the coloring of geyserite and lime- stone, cannot be photographed, the blinding glare of the sun reflected from the deposit plays havoc with view taking, and tho great geysers wet the kodak with steam and laugh to scorn the attempt to reproduce their m: jentic but vague and constantly changing outlines, But what cares the kodakist? Everywhere he goes merrily snapping, too often careless and Unappreciative of the wonders and beauties of the park except as they furnish targets for his shooting. When others are feasting their eyes on the grand and attractive he rushes about in absorbing search for a snap-shot point of view, nd his thoughts instead of being moved with wonder and admiration run evermore in this roove: Remove cap, snap. pull string, turn ce. snap, pull string, turn key, snap, pull string, turn key nd so on to infinity. ‘The guide bo is not more misleading in its confident assurantes concerning the intervals and duration and height of eruption of the greater number of the geysers than it is in its information concerning those which are active, It gives vivid descriptions of a number which have GONE OUT OF BUSINESS | for a longtime and possibly permanently. There is the Bee Hive, for instance, which is described as one of the most beautiful in the upper basin, and is, of course, one of the first objects of search for the eager tourist. Many doses of soap thrown into its crater to bring on ® quick eruption have, after performing their urpose of temporarily stimulation, disabled the geyser permanently to all appearances. For @ long time it has not played at all, resisting ail the bilandishments of soap, and it is now of no use to anybody unless a shaft can be sunk into it in order that it may be worked as a aoep mine. There are geysers in the basin whic! are in the habit of putting on all the symptoms of an intention to erupt, and then of subsiding, to the disappointment and indignation of the expectant spectator, The tourist is hereby warned especially against the (so-called) Splen- did geyser, around which w. momentarily who rs tood od an ‘The ex an eruption. ie were'to leave the upper basin thet ‘ly dragged their drivers in an agony of disappointment with their eyes fixed upon the point where every minute Splendid was expected to rise into the air. Lut he boiled and gurgled and sputtered and surzed up for half an hour afterward and then failed to erupt after all. principal photograph of this geyser is entitled “Waiting for Splendid to Erapt,” and we can now ap- Preciate the appropriateness of the selection of this view by the park photographer. In the evening we enjoyed a delightful drive to some of the more remote of the springs and geyscrs of the upper basin, We saw a highly orna- mented and gigantic geyserite punch bowl and Specimen lake, so called, the overflowinzs of 8 wonderful spring called Black Sand basin. This water, heavily charged with deposits, bas spread over acres of ground not only the &ray of the geyserite. but the most brilliant coloring in yeliows and reds and in delicate pink, saffron and green. ‘the deposit has formed about the roots of trees, around which the hot water has washed. and has been taken up into their trunks, and the treey stand about the edge of the formation white and dead, or uprooted, fallen and twisted, they look like the skeletons of some of Dore’s monsters. In driving over the edge of the formation it seemed as if the vehicles were passing through suow and slush, The snow effect was height- ened when later the moon came out, ani the whiteness of craters and mounds of geyserite everywhere readily suggested a winter sleigh ride. There was something ghostly and shastiy in the desolation and peculiar whiteness of the scene, Rider Haggard could make this the scene of a wierd and imag- i training story, entitled, let us The Land of ‘the White Death.” ¢ carried us to the Biscuit basin, where tie deposit takes the shape of masses of liard- baked olive-g: biscuit, und where, with bus things, we saw a spring in which at mtervals of a minute a large, silvery bubbic rose to the surfac nown depths, a very mild eruption viewing the spriug asa Returning to the hotel we walked to woods not far distant and watched the operation of teeding a email black bear, which two of the hotel men have induced to come from his den in the forest at night to sup on the fresh ineat which they provide. ‘The park is something of a game preserve, as hun in itis forbidden, ‘There are more than a ive of the tou Jourishex in the water and elope, panther anc s. Lhe spectacie of OLD FAITHFUL. Old Faithful moonlight-—and a wonderfui ght it was—and the boiling of some eggs ax ‘sin one of the hot springs completed program. Ya greater varicty of the terrible, the al, the wonderful and the curious was hero crowded into so small a space the upper geyser basin of the Yellow- . Here we have something really uncanny fying. We are fairly in touch with the tor of ‘the carth at | TLW.N. see. NOODLES ATTENDS A FUNERAL. Untuckily Itis the Wrong One and Con- siderable Annoyance Arises. {Rg DON'T THINK I ever had a more sur- if Prising experience,” said Noodles at the iP Plotypus Club last night, “than befel me # ‘lay before yesterday, when it was my musiortune to attend the wrong funeral. You'll remember I told you fellows something of a small legacy Iwas to receive from a rather distant retative—an ancient maiden cousin in Philadelphia whom I had never seen, On ac- count of it I felt it my duty to go on to attend the burial with an appropriate weeper on my hat. “Services were to be held at the church, and I got there from the train, which was belated, after the ceremony had begun, No one took any notice of me, however, and I saw no one present that [knew. When the closed casket had been put on the hearse I got into one of the carriages provided for the mourners who wished to foliow it to the grave yard. My only companion in the vehicle, as it rumbled slowly along over the cobble stones toward Laurel Hill, was a ruddy-faced old gentleman with a wart on his nose and a fringe of white whiskers all around his courtenan: “Relative of the corpse?’ he said, interroga- tively, pointing with his thumb over bis shoul- der in the direction of the hears “ ‘Somewhat remotely,’ I replied. “Queer old duck, the defunct,’ added the old gentleman, evidently desiring to conversi “Indeed! I responded, rather astonished; for the remark struck mo as irreverent, and, though I had often heard young ladies called ducks, I had never known the term applied to an aged spinster. However, [ said something to the effect that I had heard the trouble was liver complaint. ‘Hats,’ exclaimed the old gentleman, some- what vulyarly, I thought, ‘Call it whisky and you will strike it nearer.’ ‘You don't tell me so!” I replied, quite shocked, ‘Dissipation was the last thing I should have imagined’— +: Dissipation is a mild word for it, my dear sir,’ said the old gentleman, giving me a pol in the stomach with the gold head of his cai for the sake of emphasis. ‘Such continuous bumming as was indulged in by the defunct was enough to wreck the strongest constitu- tion.’ “ ‘Tcannot express to you my amazement at such information,’ I rejoined, ‘Such a model o?austere virtue as Ihave always heard my relative to be! It is really too painful.” ‘Haw, haw!’ guffawed the old gentleman, again, somewhat vulgarly, poking me once more in the stomach with the head of his stick. ‘Austere virtue is too good! I shall certainly die of this, Ho, ho, ho! “He did iook as if he were in imminent danger of an attack of apoplexy; but finally he calmed down and got the tears wiped out of his eyes, remarking with a final snort and sni ger that tears were appropriate at a funeral As for myself 1 was too disturbed and aston- ished by what I had just learned to care to pursue the conversation further. When the gravein the cemetery was reached I dismounted with the rest of the mourners and stood by, hat in hand, while the coffin was opened for a last look at'the deceased, You can imagine my amazement when I saw that my late maiden relative had large black whiskers, “The situation dawned upon me at once—I was attending the wrong funeral, “So taken by surprise was I that I actually staggered back a step or two and one or two people grabbed me, saying: ‘Poor fellow! He's overcomes with grief. Lookout or he'll faint,’ “Nevertheless, L recovered myself aud, with- out offering any explanation, awaited the con- clusion of the prayer and the final interment. Thad the carriage to myself on the way back, the old gentleman with’ the wart on his nose having doubtless ‘por some frieuds in an- other vehicle, and it did not take me long to discover tue cause of my mistake. A glance at the funeral notice showed me that I had struck the right church, but that I had got the time for the services an hour wrong. My funeral was at 12 o'clock, whereas the ceremony I had hit upon began at 11 and was for somebody else, Unfortunately I have already learned of certain strictures that have been made upon my ill-breeding in neglecting to attend the burial of the kind and good oid lady in Phila- delpiia and [ expect to have some difficulty in explaining the matter away.” sccuSemmatan poe Sad End of a Romance. From the Graphic, “May I kiss you?” twas in the orchard. She answered him not Picking @ leaf from a pear tree near by she handed it to him, He thought he read her answer—Leave.” Turning, he went his way. She gazed at him in astonishment, for she meant her answer to be: ‘You have leaf.” And 0 it all ended. ————+e+_____ Sir William Petty’s Prediction. From the London Echo, One of the most striking instances we kno’ of the wisdom of our ancestors is she predic- tion of Sir William Petty, 200 years ago, thatin the nineteenth century London would contain 4,000,000 inhabitants, And yet there were no scientific statistics in Sir William Petty’s day. Infact there had been scarcely anything in that line since the compilation of Norman William's “Doomsday Book.” Excluding the London district from the metropolis wis = . u beau! Petty's prophec; nderfully exact mens = ed the posh nine ence, the metr PI ‘will ite few months, 000,000. We shall know When and how is this monstrous growth to from the spot by | stop? FRIENDSHIPS OF OLD. When Gen. Belknap and Others Were Youag Men. SOME PLEASANT THOUGHTS. Recalling Old Friends and Their Doings—Pret, Mewitt and His Glee Clab— Ducls Among Well-Known Young Washingtonians. —— Written for Tar Evestxo Stam HE death of Gen. Belknap severs an- other of the few remaining links which \PAbind us to the past. My memory of \fihim goes back tothe days when he was @ student in the law office of Hugh Caperton, esquire, in Georgetown, He wns then a young man of about nineteen or twenty years of age, After he had been admitted to Practice at the bar he went to Iowa, and our next meeting was at Charleston, 8. C., at the democratic convention in 1960, where he was deiegate from lowa, He was an ardont advo- Stephen A. Douglas, and with that wing of tho democratic party subsequently acted with the republicans after tho year 1861. He told me he was reported as » “copperhead” until the war broke out, when at a meeting held at Keokuk he proposed a test oath of al- legiance to the Union which staggered those who had assailed his political views. The next [saw of Gen. Belknap was at a dinner given bim by his old friend. Hugh Caperton, esquire, after he had been appointed Secretary of War. He was groatly changed im appearance from youth that Thad’ known while a student aad us the young and ardent Douglas democrat Thad met ‘at Charleston. The same geniai uature, however, remained unimpaired by his oMicial elevation, and that sur ndiy nature. whieh, amid all’ the roubles and sufferings he endured, endeared hima to the many friends who sustained him. I spent many hours with the general talking of those drys of old and the few friends who remained, and on Thursday night, the 9th instant, we had talked about an article he proposed’ pre- paring for Tue Srau’s reminiscences of the nouses between 17th street and Georgetowa. ie knew almost every occupant irom the time when, as a boy, ho was with his father, who was stationed here for some years, aud le con!d recall them most vividly, with many incidents which would have made a most im- teresting article. When we separated on that night I was to sce him the next night, Friday. I called at his office, but ho was not in, and again on Saturday night 1 cailed, at the time he wasat Dr. Hills’. On Monday I had just reached the building in which he had b ofiices when I met Dr. Hills, who told me of tur death, When I last saw him we made an engage- ment to call on Gen. Pike, whom he remem- bered in the ante-bellum days, and who was an old friend of his father’s, We were aleo going over to Georgetown College, and in the renewal of those memories he seemed to find relief from the pains and sufferings he en- dured. While yet a student with Mr. Caperton he told me of a dinner to which be was invited, given by Gen, Robt. Ouid to Judge Henry Saint George Tucker, the father of Beverly Tucker, who was also present with Col. George ©, Washington and William Hunter, the assist- ant secretary of stato, and others, Col, Wash- ington in personal’ appearance was almost a fac simile of Gon. Washington, as painted by Stuert—in size and contour and face the re- seniblance was remarkable. GEN. BELKNAP RETURNED TO WASHINGTON as major general with his command to partici- pate in the review of Sherman’s army and the Army of the Potomac and was stationed near Washington for some time previons to the dis- bandment of command, While here he paid a visit to “his old preceptor,” as he called jim, Hugh Caperton. He called with his staff, arrayed in all ‘‘the.pomp and circumstance of war,” todo him honor, but found bim con- fined to hisroom by severe illness, The meet- ing, he told me, was a most affecting one. They embraced like father and son and Mr. Caper- ton asked, ‘Where is Bob?” meaning Gen. Ould. Gen. Belknap told him he had seen him only a short time before in the Libby prison at Richmond and that he would soon be released, The delay in obtaining the release of the pris- oners captured at the close of the war caused Mis, Ould to come to Washington, when Gen, Belknap saw her at the St, Vin- cent Orphan Asylum, where she was visiting her aunt, the superior, and obtained for her the release she was seeking of her hus- band. In the same room with Gen. Ould at the prison was the Hon. Mr. Hatch of Missouri, now amember of Congress, the general told me. Gen. Belknap reminded me of a dinner at Mr. Caperton’s, where as a young man he first saw Gen. Pike, Mr. Kingman and others, Thad aseat next to Alexander Dimitry. Mr. Waldemar Bodisco had sent to our host some caviare he had just received from Russia. It was on the table and my neighbor, Dimitry,eat- ing it with great gusto, pronounced it the best he had ever tasted, and insisted I should try it, in his imperious way. I declined, as I had never tasted it, but he persisted and I yielded and took @ portion. It was my first and last taste of caviare! Aftcra little brandy to take the taste away I turned on Dimitry and we at- tracted the attention and amusement of the table, and poor Belknap reminded me of the surprise Dimitry and ‘Waldi” Bodisco ex- pressed at my not liking caviare. I understood after that one taste what had puzzled me in Shakespeare, ‘‘Caviare to the general.” It was an acquired taste even in his day. HIS TROUBLES. When Gen. Belknap’s trouble came I sought some information from Mr. Heister Clymer in relation to it, who was on the committee of in- vestigation, I think chairman, who told me Belknap was innocent of any knowledge of t: sale until informed of it, I think, by Mr. Cly- mer himself. Mr, Clymer spoke of him in the most affectionate manner, and tears filled his eycs as he expressed the deepest sympathy for him. They had been, he told me, classmates at Princeton College, from which they graduated, and he said: ‘He 1s the victim, but will take the blame toshield others.” The trial was one which attracted universal attention, and he bore u; under it with marvelous fortitude, sustained, doubtless, by the desire to save those dear to him. He has left us, but the memory of him will long remain with those who knew him and to whom he had become endeared by his many manly virtues and the heroic endurance of his trials and bis sufferings . . ANOTHER OLD FRIEND. The th of Prof. John H. Hewitt recalls most vividly the personality of an old friend. He resided here and taught music for several years, and during the canvass of 1844 between Mr. Clay and Mr. Polk he was very earnest and ‘active in the support of Mr. Clay. He was at that time the poet laureate of tho whig party, when the potency of song was invoked to ai in the election of our idol, Mr. Cl ganized aglve club and was its leader—wrote its them for the orchestra, of which he was the director, and in which one of the Eckloffs played first violin and Dr. Mc- Clerry, 1 think, tortured the violoncello. The voices were very well trained indeed by Mr. Hewitt and our fame extended beyond the wig- wam which resounded to our enthusiastio whig melodies. These songs were published in book form, and called for brevity ‘The Yellow Kiver,” and our meetings being called to order by Mr. Joseph H. Bradley, th club, he would announc: now sing that soul-inspiring melody of ‘Rally, Whigs,’” with which we opened our meet and the audience were requested to join in the chorus, “Yellow Kiver, page, &c.,” and at each intermission of the speeches the Glee Club, with Prof. Hewitt, baton in hand, would rise and pour out our souls in songs in praise of our candidate. A groat meeting was held at Winchester, last- three days, and we were invited, and about a hundred Gigli nt from here by canal to “Harper's Ferry,” an experience rivaling the “Middle in palatal discomforts, which, rather than tempt on our return, of us took to the via Baltimore. Hewitt was one of us who preferred that line of travel It was at this great gathering of whigs I first met the Hon. Reverdy Johnson, with many distinguished visitors to the convention, was with us on our returu, aud on reaching Baltimore a reception awaited us and @ mass meeting was organized in Monument Square, where the dist ed orators held forth—and we, for many of the Glee Club had deserted the canal tr on—under Prof. Hewitt, enlivened the meeti! with our music, I had not seen Mr. itt for but the announcement of his the ch of the literary celebrities of that dar. He won| the prize for a poem from Eagar A. Pos, who | Was his competitor in that hterary contest, and | among the judges to decide ou the merits of the plans submitted was George I’. Morris, Wm Cullen Bryant and others of Like matured jedsment I had supposed Mr. “Hewitt had jong since passed away. for inthe days when his songs were so familiar he was a man of | mature age and one who had already obtained | Fecognition in the world of music and litera- Thardly recalls single individual who | ith us then, The orators whose voic made the “‘wigwam” ring with their praises of Henry Clay, and those whose melody aided in | i are silent in death. | ‘y has rolledaway 4nd what are now the necessities of life bad then no ex- istence. BEGINNING OF WONDERS. z year, 1845, that Prof. Morse had so far perfected his tele- graph between here and Baltimore as to give us the first evidence of its capability. Prof, y was engaged in what has since grown ach magnitude, the weather report, and was adv when needed by heavy cannonading. Sam Colt was here at that time, and had been for some years, exhibiting his revolver to unbeliev- ¢ officers, end suffering in poverty glect of his great inventions. The Mexican war, however. proved it to bo all he had claimed for it, and from want he rose to wealth and distinction, The like good fortuae awatted Prof. Morse, While suffer from the tardy action of Congress he fou friend in the Hon. Amos Kendall. I remem- ber if Prof. Espy prognosticated storms, but while he was writing on the subject we had here the first cycione on record. A friend, who reminds me of it, says al atmospher: ances which nowad. rs were stillaess in th it came visit do those The same ness and heat, and from the Potomac, up the can until it met an impediment in the old “Maral market, now Center market. De Bacourt, from whose libelous book 1 quoted last week, Sof it in a letter under date August 14, “41: ‘Aman from the state of Ohio has written to the mayor of Washington that this city is threat- ened by aterridle earthquake, which will be preceded by a very remarkable event. At the Very time the mayor was reading the letter a waterspont destroyed the greater part of the mblic market and injured several horses. his was thought to be the precursor indicated by the writer of the letter, and last night all the negro population and many of the whites Went some distance from Wash SAD AND PAINFUL INCID . Tho year of which I was speaking and which was recalled tome by the death of Prof. John H. Hewitt, was one full of sad and painful in- cidents which transpired here. The calamity on the steamer Princeton, by which two me bers of Mr. Tyler's cabinet met their death, was followed by the hanging of Midshipman Spencer, the son of the secretary of the Treasury, by Capt. Slidell Mckenzie, a brother of the late John Slidell of Louisiana, He changed his name to inherit a fortune, The whole country sympathized with the affected father, who resigned his cabinet position and returned to his home—New York. McKenzie was tried by court-martial but acquitted, Proceeding which did not mitigate the uni versal condemnation which drove him into retiracy, and where in afew years he died. A letter of James Fennimore Cooper's would make interesting reading even at this late day, forty- #ix years after the terrible event which calieé it forth. ‘These two events created the most intense ex- citement throughout the whole country, but here, about the same time, the duel between Julian May and Joseph Cochrane, which re- sulted in the death of the latter, thrilled the city with the most painful sensations. The news of the duel fell upon our citizens, shock- ing them beyond any preceding event of like character. ‘Ihese two young men, barely of age, were known to almost everybody. Julian May was born here and his family had ob- tained a standing in the community second to none. Dr. Frederick May, his father, eminent in his professional caree universally re- spected. His brothers held positions of honor in the army, where Col. Charles May's heroism is a matter of history, and in the navy William May was recognized as an able officer In the learned professions of law and medicine the names of Dr. John F. May and Henry May take rank among the highest. Joseph Coch- rane, the brother of the late John T. Cochrane, for yearschief clerk of the War Department, and of Dr. Richard Cochrane, was, I think, not more than twenty years of age. A foolish uarrel, which occurred in the evening, led to the duel, which was fought at darlight next morning. Dr. Thomas Miller, who accom- ey them to the field, with Dr. Cornelius le, tried in vain to bring about a reconcilia- tion, having gone to the field ® mutual friend, hoping to prevent the duel. In a lonz card published by Dr. Miller, who wes severely censured by the public, he says he made every effort to bring about a settlement, and that Mr. May, who had chailenged Cochrane, had with- drawn the challenge, to allow an explanation, but in vain, Cochrane insisted upon the duel proceeding, and then, as Dr. Miller says, he re- mained to render any professional aid that might become necessary. At the first fire Coch- rane fell mortally wounded. Julian May became an exile—t — a lieutenant in the Mounted Rifles, when organized, but I think he never returned to Washington. I met him years afterward at the Astor House in New preci ton to sleep.” York, terribly changed and, as he told me, very unhappy. A PROPHETIC DREAM. Adream I had the night before this duel may interest the readers of Tuz Sranas a re- markable one. I had been with May and Coch- rane in the atternoon and evening of the day preceding the sad event, but left them to re- turn to the Intelligencer office, as I did nightly, and from there wenthome, At that time Dr. Tobias Watkins was on the staff of editorial writers for the National Intelligencer and was one of the earliest to arrive in the morning. This nightI dreamed the doctor and myseif were traveling somewhere on horseback and arrived at a house on the roadside to sleep. We were accommodated and shown into a sleeping apartment on the right-hand side, The house was a double one as we entered. It was a large room, with two beds in diagonal corners of the room. I took the bed in the rear and Dr. Watkins the one in front near the window. A pistol shot, I dreamed, awakened me, and I saw Dr. Watkins had been shot in the head just avove the eye. The dream was so vivid and distressing I could not sleep again. Teaching, the office at my usual hour (Dr, Wat- kins generally preceded me) and not finding the doctor there I told my dream to Maj, Dou- oho and expressed a fear that my dream was rophetic of some misfortune to the doctor, Putin a fow minutes the doctor entered and I repeated my dream and told of my distress. A fow minutes after and while talking of it a friend rapped on my win- dow, and going to him he told me of the duel and that Cochrane was yet alive, and requested me to go out as soon as I could, calling at Dr. Ritchie's in Georgetown and get certain instru- ments, the written names of which he handed me. ‘Terribly socked as I was, 1 told Maj. Donoho and Dr, Watkins the sad news, and hiring a horse I started for the place as di- rected—‘‘the first house on the right-hand side after crossing the Chain bridge.” I obtained the instruments from Dr. Kitchie’s and crossed the Chain bridge, and before me was the house of my dream, as familiar as if I had known it for ears. 1 was shown into theroom on the right- Cor can cod Geers Ge prem: oF ‘my dream. The two beds in diagonal corners and poor Joe Cochrane in the bed next the window, and the wound exactly as I had seen it in my dream. The place where the duc! was fought was equally familiar, though I had never seen either house or grove until that morning, I leave to those versed in the knowledge which will tend to unravel this strange dream, and only tell it asa prefix, I may say, to that un- fortunate event which sent one of those youths—for they were hardly more—to his grave and the other into an exile which, he told me, was made wretched by the memory of that fatal morning. Julian May was one of the bandsomest men I ever saw and Joseph Cooh- rane was almost his equal. Two more splendid specimens of young manhood I have never seen, ANOTHER DUEL, which, at the time, some years before the one Thave told of, was fought between two midship- men, Sherborne and Key. Sherborne was the son of Col. John H. Sherborne, who held some government position at that time, somewhere about 1838-9. Key was the son of Francis 8. Key, the author of the “Star Spangled Banner” a ener] Philip Barton Key. Key was killed, and I think Sherborne died years as commander in the navy. That was the first duel I had cognizance of. An old friend, Dr. Tom Mattingly, was present as surgeon. The seconds 1 cannot recall. Washington, much more of a vi et that time than when De Bacourt wrote his libels against her, Was shaken to its center wf such an event, Who is now the custodian of “the code,” since QBES Fegée F ing his theory of producing rain | | hus prinet many chall mbere of Congress, b has been fought to a fatal end. Stanly and Wise, Clingman and Yancy, Grow and Branch, Inge and Stanly, Breckin- ridge and Cutting. Col. John A Magra- der was rogarded as one couversan’ bh the code and its requirements and he was cali: d by some one to obtain advice bow he should act and what he should do. He found G Magrader and enid a certain man had kicked him and spit in his face and committed other assauite upon him, and he called to ask what he should do, With that irresistible lisp the General said: ‘Does he still live”" “Ob, yes, said the kicked. “He's down at the hotel.” “Well,” said Magruder, “under such circum stances I have no advice to give.” Joux F. Corne, The Reward of Enterprise. From Life. PRESENTS FOR BACHELORS. The List of Trinkets a Woman May Bestow a Long One. From the New York Sun. Girls who have been the recipients of numerous attentions from their men friends are no longer called upon to suffer the uncer- tainties that formerly beset them when the time comes to testify appreciation with small souvenirs presented at Christmas or on birth- days. It used to be a serious matter to think of suitable gifts fora man. If one happened to achieve popularity with the fair sex his ingenuity was severely taxed to know what dispesition to make of the scores of shav- ing sets, slippers, mouchoir cases and pen wipers thet threatened to deluge him. Some years ago, after the death of a famous physi- cian, his wife, in looking over his effects counted thirty odd embroidered smoking caps sent by his feminine admirers, togetaer with unlimited useless neediework her busband had never even removed from their original wrap- pings. With much tact the lady gave theenture jot toa fancy charity bazaar going om ip the town at the time. ut men have changed and their necessities are tenfold more complex than of old. For in- stance, the bachelors, thuse who live in t ments, are grateful for almost any little trifle that adds to the luxury of their menage. Nearly all of them do a bit of perfunctory housekeeping aud give afternoon teas in their chambers during the season. In the glass cor- ner cupbourds fitted imto the wall they are, therefore, happy to add dainty end decorated rang to their carefully selected stock of china, Silk tea cozies, embroidered doylies, divan piliows and prettily outlined tray cloths are among the inexpensive pres ents a young womaw may give with propriety. If the friendship is of long standing or the obligations on her side are many and —s piece of silver may be warranted. Then selection of gifts is vastly extended. She may choose # fat repousse cream jug, a hammered silver sugar bowl, an ungraved dish for bon- bons or tea leaves, or again from the miscella- neous counter where silver inkstands, loving cups, picture frames and candlesticks are sold, a choice bit of Doulton or a cus crystal flower bowl is admissible under the cir- circumstances named, but the lady should always make sure that her offering 1s sugges- tive of the daintiness of of its feminine donor, Costliness is nok prohibited in change of gifts, but etiquette that dictates in such matters is quite as stringent as to the style of presents men and women give each other, It is not a bad idea for those women who have been entertained on yachts to bear in mind the keen appreciation with which the captain receives pretty trifles intended to add to the interior beauty of his boat’ An embroidered deck cushion, a gay afghan, a silk and lace shade to — the cabin lamps, are all useful und acceptable. Lut possibly the newest and most fiatteringly individual of tricke # belle can bestow is the pocket or toilet table glove mender. It is a round, heavy silver ring, two inches and # half in diameter, having the man's full name aud the date of its presentation engraved on its polished surface. Two dozen or more of vari-colored sewing silks are then |i over the ring and piaited ina gay braid. Next ® pair of tiny scissors are t from the silver bar by lengths of narrow blue rib- bon. A big bow of very much wider ribbon, of the same shade, has oue loop fash- ioned into @ miniature button bag, the other furnished with a pocket for the silver thimbie, Heuhing sould be more complots, and Sever No co more com| d will the bachelor biess bis woman friend so fervently as when, in a tearing hurry, the little mender bobs up to supply bis impatient peeds, Sumner and Longfellow. From the Boston Post. A very interesting photograph of Sumner, of which I have seen but few impressions, repre- sents him and Longfellow together in familiar intercourse. As is well known, they were i F E | : E i ie & t te iy t !