Evening Star Newspaper, November 22, 1890, Page 10

ae THE EVENING i STAR: WASHINGTON. TRYING FOR A GOAL. PROGRESS OF FOOTBALL Formerly the Game Was Confined to Intercollegiate Contests. NOW IT’S A POPULAR SPORT. Hew It Should Be Played—Strict Team Werk Brings the Greatest Success— Some Classic Individual Plays—in- creasing Interest in the District. _o— OT so very long ago it was thought that the gameof foot ball would never be a popular American sport outside of the colleges and the larger schools of the country. But now that there are teams in many of the larger cities, and games between local clubs are played almost every day, this idea has been abandoned. Foot ball asa falland winter sport is gaining in popu- larity every day and games are now watched critically and with appreciation by people who & few years ago did not know the difference between s touch-down and a quarter-back. An old college foot ball player when he graduates and goes home does not like the idea of laying the inflated rubber aside for all time, and, if he possibly can, he starts to work to organize a local team. So it comes to pass that in many of the ama- tenr teams scattered around the country are to be seen the faces of men who in their time have mn for intercollegiate honors. To the uninitiated the game seems rash and dan- gerous, interesting enough to watch, but any- thing but sport to play. This is evidently a miistake, forthe true foot ball player never loses his love f@ the game. FASCINATING TO WATCH THE GAME. ‘There is something fascinating in watching two well-trained teams at work on the field, rushing and struggling, pushing and running, every nerve strained, every man on his guard, everything apparently in the greatest disorder, and yetall obedient to the sharp and hasty orders of the field captain, and every man striving with the same end in view, to rush the ball beyond the opponents’ goal line or to send it on a long and graceful kick between the dis- tant goal posts. All may seem chaos and dis- order, pel yet beneath it all order must reign supreme or defeat willsurely follow. In no game does the result Upon the training and ) the two teams. In base ball individual play- ing may make the best appearance, but in foot bail a crack player who knows it ail and fails to work for “team play,” preferring to rely upon his own judgment rather than to obey the orders of the captain, is a detriment to the team and some other man will probably be called upon to fillhis place. Sharp and steady team work 1s what scores the points in the lon| run. A game of foot bali may well be likene: toa battle, and the eulogists of the game hold that nothing teaches the beauties of discipline and good generaiship balf so weil. Courage, fleetness of foot, endurance, clear-headedness, fertility of resource in emergencies and the ability to grasp the possibilities of the sitna- tion in the twinkling of aneye are all reqai- Sites of @ good foot ball player. SOME BRILLIANT INDIVIDUAL PLAYS. Occasionally the tide of victory is turned by the brilliant work of a single player. Ask any old college man who loves the history and tra- ditions of this manly sport about “Lamar's If he did not see it he knows what it ind no one who saw it will ever forget it, It was within five minutes of the close of the second haif of the Yale-Princeton game five years ago at New Haven. The score was 5-0 im favor of Yale. Princeton men were hopeless. The ball was near their goal, La- mar, their fleetest half-back, received the ball from the quarter. Dashing through the line, around one man, pushing another aside and all the time forging ahead he succeeded in pass- ing every man of Yale’seleven and with a clear field ahead of him, eleven Yale men after him and ten Princeton men after them, he ran on and on, while the immense crowd of spectators went mad with hope and fear; on until he touched the ball to the ground behind the goal posts. The goal from touch-down that followed and made tue score 6 to 5 was 20 close to the end ofthe game thatthe bali could not be placed in play again before time was called. And Princeton won the championship, 4 FAIR CATCH. Ask that same authority about Bull's kicks and he will tell you bow two years later those two teams that played on the Polo Ground in New York were so closely matched that with all their rush line work and tine team play neither one could force the ball behind the other's line, Backward and forward flowed the tide of Dattle, yet neither side could make » point. Had any other man been filling Buil’s place on the Yale team they might played till dark- Bess puta stop to the game. playing and he w: and repute. ice was the bali passed back to him and twice he sent it sailing over Prince- ton’s foal: two goals trom the field, score 10-0 And Yale won the championship that year. + TEAM DISCIPLINE THE MAIN RELIANCE. Those two plays have become classics, Their story is handed down from generation to eration of college students. And yet neither ing, although they were not much wiser after than before a game. Combinations of numbers are also sometimes used and prove very puzzling. There is one advantage that foot ball has over other outdoor sporta. why and the wherefore of the game are easily understood, #0 that the average person can be interested, en though he never saw a game before. He quickly sees that the object of each team is to rush the ball over the line at the opposite end of the field. It it once gets there it is touched to the ground for a “‘touch-down.” This i play that depends upon the strength and skill of the rush line and the agility and fleetness of the backs. A touch-down is made when a player on one side touches the ball to the ground be- hind the line of the opponents’ goal posts, not necessarily directly behind the goal posts, but anywhere between the boundary hines on either side of the field. A touch-down counts four and entitles the team making it to a place kick for goal. The ball is brought out into the field di- rectly in line with the point where the touch-down was made and there held for a kick. Here isseen the advantage of making the touch-down as near the posts as ible, as it gives a better chance for a goal, E ‘he two teams line up the one team behind its goal line and the other behind the ball, ready to follow it the moment it is kicked, One of the players lies on the ground and holds the WELL TACKLED, ball lightly, just above the ground,until he has it at the proper angle and the kicker is ready, as seen in the picture at the head. Down goes the ball, a kick follows and it goos sailing off over the goal or elso it docan't. If it does the score of four for the touch-down is increased by two. Ifthe kick wasasuccess the ball is taken out to the center of the field to be put in play, otherwise play is started at the 25-yard line. If one of the backs is a particularly good kicker the ball is sometimes passed to him when all the circumstances are considered favorable, to allow him to try for a ‘drop kick” for goal, or a goal from the field, as it is called. This counts five. To kick a goal from the field ise pretty difficult matter and is not often attempted except in emergen- cies or exceptional cases, Most teams ps on work id touch-downs and place kicks win most of the games. A team when closely pressed, with the bail in its possession, but behind itv own goal line, may compromise, as it were, by making a sacrifice play or “safety.” This counts two for the other side, but allows the bali to be brought out into the field to be put in play. With every point counting at least two, and scores are run up. ‘Thus ascore of twenty-four may mean only four differeut plays and a score of fifty or sixty to nonght in foot ball does not necessarily indicate anything like as one-sided @ game as nie to nougiit would in base ball. itis hardly to be expected, of course, that local teams and teams from athletic clubs can ever put up a very satisfactory game against the great colleges, where so much time and attention are given to the game, where a hun- dred men may be trying for places on the team and a most thorough and systematic course of training is followed. A college team plays every day either with some other college or club or with asecond eleven. which always furnishes sub- stitutes when needed on the Varsity. Lut, taking all things ito consideration, the progress that many outside teams have made is realiy sur- prising, and proves that the day is past when foot ball was merely an intercollegiate sport, INTEREST IN THE GAME HERE, Nowhere, perhaps, has the interest taken in foot ball grown as rapidly as it has here in Washington. Last fall, only a little more than ® year ago, teams from Jo! Hopkins and Lebigh universities played a match game in this city, and that was one of the first, if not the first, game of much general interest that was played here. Now there are a number of teams, and good ones, too, that play with each other and against teams from other cities, both at home and abroad. Of these there are three that are more imporant than the rest—ths Colum- bia Athletic Club eleven, the Kendalls and the Georgetown College team. Besides thexe there are the Emersons and the Columbian University teams, aud the students at the High School have been busy of late trying to or- ganize three class elevens and from these to Pick a school eleven. Itisto be hoped they will be successful in their efforts, for in the years gone by the High School has played a very creditable game, THE KENDALLS’ ELEVEN. In point of age the team from the National Deaf-mute College at Kendall Green is proba- bly the one that can claim precedence. The Kendall Athletic Association and its prede- cessor, the Kendall Foot Bail Club. have had an organized team since the fall of 1877. Prior to that time the students at Kendall Green had played the Rugby game among themselves and THE PRESENT The Kendall team this fail is composed rushers; Brown and Messrs, Hubbard and Odom, end Round and Stewart, tacklers; Drought, guards; @vi- vine, center; jagner, Ryan, full-back; substi- tutes, Whildin, Cusick,% Hastermann and Rives. Mr. Martin M. Taylor, the captain, is from New York state, amem- ber of the junior class and has played on the team for three years, mainly in the line. He is the heaviest man on the team, and al- though he weighs pounds is as quick and fig ghee bis He has all the qualif- cations of a foot ball player and makes an excellent captain. He is carr. M. M. TAYLOR. the champion runner at all distances and the best all-round athlete of the college, the only man who approaches him being Leitner, a much smaller man and the captain of the last year’ ‘Taylor's weak points arise from a lack of har work and systematic, intelligent coaching, With these it is thought he might develop into one of the crack players of the country, but these he 1s never likely to get while in the col- lege. ‘The Kendails only play for fun and ex- ercise and the members of the team have no desire to go through a regular course of train- ing. There are not many men, less than fifty, from which a team can be picked, and overything has to be made easy enough for the laziest man, for fear he might become dissatisfied and cripple the team by leaving it. Whon auy men are dis+ abled on tho Kendalls it is difficult to fill their places. The team is a light one, and lighter still when substitutes take the place of the regular men, ‘Shese drawbacks make it impos: sible for them to make a very good stand against such teams as the Columbias, with sev- eral hundred men to choose from. They prac- tice four days in the week on their grounds at Kendall Green. This is one of the very best foot bail fields in this part of the country. It is full sized, well drained, smooth and with a good carpet of grasa covering it everywhe It is well laid out, so that neither team bothered with ¢he sun in their eyes when the game is played in the afternoun. THE CRACK COLUMBIA TEAM. The crack team of the District is the one from the Columbia Athletic Club, A year ago there could scarcely be said to have been such @ team, but now it is a team to be proud of. It is certainly the most popular eleven in the Dis- trict and the one in which the greatest interest is taken, not only on account of its merits, but also because of the size and social standin: of the organization it represents, This fail it has played in a number of match games, in only three of which scores ha’ Q A PUNT. been made against it, while the strong game it played against the champion team from Princeton a few weeks ago was 4 surprise to the members of the C.A.C. as well as to the wearers of the orange and black. ‘To keep Princeton down to a score of 60 isa per- formance that would do credit to an older and more experienced eleven. While the Colum- bins asateam may be said to be new at the game a good many of the men are old college players or have been on other teams, and under the leadership of Capt. Wells they have steadied down into a first-rate eleven who are Pretty sure to give a good account of themselves, This is the first year that the Columbias have had ateam. Last year there were a few unim- portant games, but the majority of the old men now on the team played then on the Duponts or the Georgetowns, The Duponts, a last year's team, have disappeared along with the Orients, the former team having been largely absorbed into the Columbias, The Columbias have a beautiful foot ball field on Analostan Island, althongh the base ball diamond that has been cut outof the turf makes rather hard falling for a man, especially if there area half dozen more piling on top. Lately, however, most of the games and practice have been at Capitol Park. On odd days the team practises passing, running and tackling in the yard at the side of the club house, GAMES COLUMBIA HAS Wor, The first game the Columbuas played this fall was with St. John’s Academy at Annapolis and was won by the Washington boys by a score of 20-0, The other games that have been played so far this fall with the scores, Columbias score being gi’ first. are as follows: Huverford College, 20-0; Princeton, 0-60; St. John’s, 10-0, one-half only being played; Dickinson Cole lege, val Cudets, Lehigh. 6-60. A game with Lafayette that promises to be very interesting is wcheduled for today; Lafay- ette, November 29, and the cadets on Christ- mas day. PERSONNEL OF THE TEAM. L. 8. Well the captain of the team, is an experienced foot ball man, and in addition to being a first-rate player himself he knows how to handle a team both before aud during agame, He bas ahead that is not easily lost in the excitement of a scrimmage and his feet can carry him over the field at a pretty rapid pace when he is after the ball. Capt. Wells is an old Lafayette man and played for four years there. He plays right tackle on tho Columbias. He is sure, safe and makes a strong point of falling on the ball. The cer ter rush is J. S. Ranier, jr. He is man, a good bucker and Aggressive gam plays right guard, is a the He is a first- rate tackler, as is also James 8. Wade, one of the strong men of the team. Wade plays left guard, Lee Harban, the left tacki 8 Bowdoin man, but has had no experience ‘except what he got last year, He is a good runner and has layed half-back in two games this fall, D. W ‘Taylor, the left end, is in the bureau of construction iu the navy and is one of the finest mathematicians in the department, He isa graduate of Annapolis and afterward took honors at Woolwich, England. GEORGETOWN COLLEGE Bors, Foot ball at Georgetown University is so pop- ular that assoon as the fall term opens the interest in base ball sinks to almost nothing by comparison. Though generations of the stu- dents have played foot ball it is ouly within the boy) few years that they have played according the present code of rules. Georgetown can Doast of five separate elevens, though the first team, or "Varsity, is the one that represents the ge. Almost every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday this team is on the lookout for fresh laurels, either at home or on the grounds of some other club, and it often gets them, too, The faculty Permits Sunday games, butonly for practice, and not with other teams. Last season George- town won the Distriet championship by defeat- ing the Duponts in the Thanksgiving day game by the score of 2-0, a safety touch-down being pay) br — ecpe Correigatealey had ate menin the picked team that pl agains Princeton here last fall. Although they have lost a good many of their Sy heed the team this year is an excep- tionally good one, and Capt. O'Donnell, who has firm hold on th spirit of tho game, petting his men into the est possible shape, They ‘have improved steadily, and intend to > Hii give the Columbias a y bard tussle for the champions! Me Oo} ZU we tsen have already So distinguished them- selves. Fleming is a good all-round player, 5 while Daly is said to be a whole rush line in one man. ‘The team right end; right rush; is made up as follows: W. Cleary, E. Smith, right tackler; E. Dyer, ard: P, O'Connell, captain, center . Daly, left guard; M. Denver, left ;J. Murphy, lett end; J. McCoy, quarter- . Dyer and J. Henchey, half-backs, and 8 Fleming, full-| Jas. Magule is’ the managor. ‘The team is a heavy one, as the men run up & total of nearly ton. They train carefully, anda special table is set apart for their use in the college refectory, with a dict suited to ath- letes and strong mon, The Georgetown Col- lege faculty encourages athletics as well as other forms of rational amusement among the students, and does all it can to assist them at all times in sport as well as in study. Foot ball is not allowed to interfere with books or lectures, but each in turn receives its due share of atten- tion, The foot ball team receives a great deal of its inspiration from Father Harlin, one of the faculty, who is devoted to the interests of the college boys, A rigid diseiplinarian, but kind to a degree, he has spurred the foot ball team on, and it is largely due to his labors efforts that athletics have taken such a standing at Georgetown University. ——— WHENCE FISHES’ COLORS COME. Why They Are the Most Decorative of Animals in This World. ; Q covered with » thin, SS silvery coating, which derives its brilliant metallic luster from the presence of many crystals composed of lime and a substance known as ‘guanin.’ This coat- ing is easily rubbed off and in one sort of Eu- ropean carp, called the ‘bleak,’ the crystals aro so numerous that a metallic pigment is derived from them, known in the arts as ‘argentine,” which is used to impart luster to the glass globules sold under the name of ‘Roman pearls,’ When the silvery coating is absent the scales of a fish are lusterless and transparent, as in the case of the smelt, the abdominal cavity of which, however, has a brilliant silvery tining composed of the same substance. “Every one knows from observation that the fishes of the world are most gorgeons of ull animals in point of coloring, The colors they exhibit are often due to a simple arrangement of pigment cells, but the brilliant and change- able hues which constitute the greatest beauty of these creatures are derived from two causes xery wide apart, An illustration of one of these may be observed in the scales of the her- ring. shad or mackerel, being a true iridesceuce similar to thatseen inthe pearl and due to the refraction of the rays of light as they glance off the surfaces of the thin plates of which the scales are composed. More im- portantly. however, the coloration is dependent ‘on the arrangement of the pigment celis that lie in the lower layers of the outer skin of the fish, nd igh HERE are lots of fanny things to be told about fish scales,” said a natu- ralist the other day to @ writer for Tax Star. “The surface of the scales ordinarily is “Ina fish, when the black pigment which predominates, the color is somber, as in tho aduit tautog. A slight admixture ‘of yellow gives the bronze-like hue of the eel, and a lit- tle more of the same, if you (ape results in the brighter green of the black bass and the blue fish, Red pigments intermixed with black © the dingy brown of the carp and some of the catfishes. When the yellow and red out- number the black cells there result the tawny colors of the snnfishes, the cusks and of some varieties of the cod. Red pigment cella in the strata of the outer skin alone cause the briiliant scarlet of the red snapper and the h, and when these are interspersed with black, the dveper colors of the mangrove spupper and the ruddy variety of the sea raven result, Whenthe pigment cells gather into separate groups according to color, bands, stripes. spots and sbadings, infinite ‘in tieir variety are found. “In fish. as in other animals, albinoes occur. Very curious are the albino haddocks occa- sionally taken on our cousts, ‘The same phe- nomenon is also observed in flounders, carp andeels. In the depths of the sea, where light is scanty, many fishes appear to remain perma- nently albinoes, “Fishes very commonly change their colors to harmonize with the bottoms on whic live, for the sake of conceaiment, Thi complished by the special secretion of the proper pigments. On certain ledges along the cadet he was a great foot ball good name behind him, though Another just like ' it her Clarence Byrnes, right ersity of incidentally had succeeded in breaking a tutor’s nose aud a sophomore’s collar bone. ‘These ac- cidents, however, were not sufficiently serious to place the game ona very secure founda- tion. the fall of 1877 the first one of those two men could have done what he did had he not been playing with a well-trained and disciplined team and bad the assistance of every one of his brother pl t the time of his need. It was by the cap’ order that the ball was passed to Lamar, and he knew he had to run with it, It was at the word from the Yale captain that the ball was passed to Bull for a kick. Running had been tried and it was evi- dent that the tactics must be changed. The Tush lines were too evenly matched. They must try fora goal from the field In each case a signal was given and every man on the team knew what play was to be tried and what hus duty would be, In foot ball the system of signaling to the Tien iss carious one, To the outsider the cap- passed to halt sean for it steady a — a there” might call for any particular rober t attempt to pash through line with it, while “Look out, now piay bard,” would mean some- thing quite different. If these are ‘understood at ouce and obeyed confusion and and by it A few years the naval cadets aserics of usgtionl forme for their pn aia match gi was ‘played, the opposing team being one from the undergraduates of Colum- bian University. Fifteen men played on a sido aud the game wasaroval scrambie, The sce: of the battle was the old grounds of the college at Mount Pleasant, and the gume ended up by a the majority of the two teams, in full c! after the ball, falling promiscuously int large areaway vear the college entrance, ‘Tho score of that @ seems to have been lost under the veil of time, but the game itself was probably the first match game ever played in the District. The following season the team fited y the coaching of Mr. J.J. Chickering, an old Amherst piayer, and that year and for several years after regu- lar games were played between the Kendalls anda picked eleven made upof college men home for the holidays, and including such men as the Harlans of Princeton, Noble of Harvard, Chickering of Amberst, Angell and Denison of the University of Vermont and » number of bog ‘ale and other colleges, Nd far pone tp Beng = Angell asa player of great and endurance, He waa a teacher at the High School and or- ganized a team there. Under his train: supervision foot bail became very popular. AN INTERFERENOR BY THE FACULTY. naval cadets and Johns Hopkins put teams in the Seid and tho Keudalle tackled th varying success, Their efforts to Michigan man, but did not play much while in New England shore the rock are covered with dense growths of scarlet and crimson eed, aud the fishes which frequent their neigibor- hood become tinted agro yf It has been d, by the way, that the pink of the sal- due to the absorption of the coloring matter of the crustaceans they feed upon. Probably the brilliant coloration of many kinds of fishes is designed by nature to attract the opposite’ sex, as the beauty of a peacock’s tail is intonded for the same pur- Fear or other emotions will often change 16 colors of fishes rapidly, “It is in Soete! seas that tke most bril- liantly colored and beautifnl fishes of the world are to be found. Warmth and light favorable to brilliancy and variety of hues al. ways, The fishesof the polar regions and those living at considerable depths are usual somber, and when you get down to the ‘abysses of the ocean they are all black.” 08 AVest That ame Through Fire, ‘From the Hartford Post. George Harb, a New York drummer, was in id watch and chain were condition, bry one-dollar bills were pocket and s lodge pin. How the vest escaped burning isa mystery. Death of Col. Beverly Kennan. — THE GOLDFISH SEASON. ” |The Fish Commission Distributing Them Everywhere Gratis. —_——~—_ FUNNY FACTS ABOUT THEM. How They Have Been Bred in Japan and China for Centuries—All Their Bright Colors artificial—art ef Keeps ing an Aquarium—Freaks im Goldfish, —_—__ OLD FISH are ripa. The annual crop for this coun- try is now being distributed by the fish commission, Special cars are being dis- Patched north, south and west, with cargoes in cans, to railway centers all over the United States, whence for whom they are intended, in small lots, Any one who out paying for them by merely sonding ina request. In this way the ponds and aquaria in all parts of the country are being rapidly stocked with these orna- mental carp. Associations of persons inter- ested largely in the stocking of waters are often given thousands at a time, This timo of year is chosen for the distribu- tion because the young gold fish hatched last Spring are now grown to about a finger length, Which is the most suitable size for aquaria. They are propagated inthe carp ponds near the monument, where you may see whole schools of all sizes swimming about like nata- tory rainbows any fine day, some of them whopping big fellows a foot or more in length and weighing several pounds, The stock is drawn upon by requisition whenever the com- mission wants any of the beauties to give away. No individual is allowed to have more than eight, and the ordinary number is six. WHERE THEY CAME FROM. All the goid fish in this country orfginally came from Japan and China, where the busi- ness of breeding them has been carried on for noone knows how many hundreds of years, You will be surprised to learn, perhaps, that their brilliant colors are obtain: d altogether by artifice. Nature unassisted never produced ® gold fish—that is to say, the paint was lack- 8. The creature at tho beginning is of a somber, yellowish bronze hue, Take s pair, breed from them, and once in « while will occur @ freak that will exhibit more or less color. Mate twosuch freaks and you obtain progeny with more decided tints. Out of this last generation take a pair that show the most color, proceeding continuously in this way, and eventunily, with sufficient care aud patience, you will produce a golden fish, This is precisely the way in which the in- genious orientals produced gold fish. Now and then a white freak would be found, which was simply an albino, and this they crossed with the golden, #0 as to make a brindled white and gold, suchas one very commonly sees, Fun- nily enough, by the way, this sort of carp, in the process of turning to golden, becomes black first. But the breeders of the enst have ac- complished all soris of things with gold fish beyond this. ‘They have caused them to de- velop astonishingly exaggerated fins, and tails twice as big as their bodies. Most remarkable of all, they have obtained strains of gold fish, specimens of which are on view in aquaria at the commission’s building, with two separate tails, each of huge size, and two pairs of anal fins, Anatomically speaking this is precisely as if @ man or any other mammal were to be so bred as to be provided with four legs and four arms, and persous expert in biological science are much interested in discussing the question whether an cight-legged beast is not a possi- bility of future development. What might man notachieve if he were a quadruped and had two pairs of arms besides, Such an extra equipment of limbs would be in his way presumably, if one is to judge from observation of the gold fish referred to, They are reudered very beautiful by their great spread of delicately shaded fins, but they seem to find them cumbersome and have to keep continuaily wrig; along to prevent their great tails from weighing them down at the rear end and causing them to assume a perpen- diculur attitude. Oneof the freaks in the com- mirsion’s aquaria is white, with fins of an ex- quisite light yellow, and its body is so traus- parent that you can see its red blood andthe very food inside its stomach. SHAPE OF THE BODY, People who have not learned about such Matters are not aware that an important point in a properly bred gold fish is the shape of its | body. The ordinary ones that you see are rather long and slim, but the really beautiiul form is sort and thick and this can only be obtained, like big fins, by judicious propaga- tion, It is probable that comparatively few o} the readers of this article have ever beheld what n expert would consider a handsome h, A few good ones tind their way into sciers’ shops now and then and sell for from $2 to $5 each, according to the develop- ment of their fius, But they should be stout and stumpy also. Any one who cares to foliow the ru.es can breed and improve goid fish in a tub in his back yard. Left to breed by them- selves they will retrograde, lose their fins and their colors and finally become yellowish bronze carp again, HOW TO KEEP GOLD FISH, Now, as to the rules for keeping gold fish, or any other sort of fish, in a tub or any kind of aquarium. They are exceedingly simple, and | yet few persons have the slightest notion of | them. Place your receptacie—supposing that it 1s of giass—close to a window where the sun will shine brightly upon it for several hours during the day. Cover the bottom with stones and sand, in which set such plazts as grow in ponds, Fill up with water, which, if your tank 1s x good big one and there are not too many fish kept in it, will not need to be changed oftener than once in six months, for you will thus have established what is called ‘a “bal- anced aquarium.” The plants will grow and give out the necessary oxygen to the water, while the fish willin breathing supply carbonic IMPROVED GOLD FIan. acid for the vegetation, Besides animalenle will multiply on the plants, affording food to the fish, which may be supple- mented with a little scraped meat or brexd crumbs, If the fish are observed to swim along with their mouths at the eurface of the water means that their supply of oxygen is exhausted and fresh water should be given them at once, But avoid the mistake that kills more fish in aquaria than any other one cause. Do not empty out water that has arrived by lon; standing at the temperature of the room an transfer the fish to water at = temperature thirty degrees lower, fresh from the cold tap, that is apt to give them pneumonia and they die, Fill up the receptacle each day with enough water to take the place of what has evaporated. If a tub is used ai fish will breed of themselves under such con- ditions; it is only necessary to make selection of those individuals, from generation to gencr- ation, which are the best, The ¢ when spawned, should be removed to nother’ vessel for hatching and rearing, because the old fish are apt to eat the spawn, The newly hatched oung will feed upon the plant animaiculm, lowever, you must go to th scoop with a little dip net cheesec! the minute crustaceans thet swim on tom. These the little goig fish will and hearty upon until, when their are raw beof and crumbe, Pro great fun, but it takes care and course, a pond is better for the tub, but every one has not a pond handy. eration is impossible—but only a few mortals hsve had the honor and pleasure of having their respective identities confounded with those of gods. There is nothing really difficult in the impersonation of that gentle- man who is known to the flippant as “Old Scratch,” but it is no easy thing to move along in your regular everyday manner and be hailed as the long-looked-for Messiah. Such an experience bas only becn vouchsafed toa few people in all this world's history, and there is perhaps but one of these alive to tell the interesting story. Theremay be two, but the name and post office address of the much-advertised Indian Messiah is at pres- ent unknown, The distinguished individual referred to is Mr. Hinton Rowan Helper, author of that gigantic scheme known as the Pan-American railway. and his experience, never before pub- lished, was certainly. remarkable, Record of the affair was unearthed by a Stan reporter, the story being told in a document forwarded President Harrison by Me. Helper in support of his claim to distinction in connection with the railway project, The narrative, in Mr, Helper's own words, is as follows: One of the never-to-be-forgotten and truly bewildering adventures of m: first journey across the continent of South America from Montevideo on the Atlantic to Caliao on the Pacific, in 1871-72, occurred in central Bolivia, within a few hours after my entrance among one of the many subtribes of Quichua Indians in that Andean zepenie, where a dearly cherished but ridiculously absurd tradition is current that the aucient rule of the Incas (which was Very properly destroyed by the Spaniards nearly four centuries ago, and which should, if one may speak the truth right out, have been speedily followed by the total extermination of the vile and worthless aborigines them- selves) is soon to be re-established in per- petuity among ail the autochthonous inbabit- “nts of Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Chili, 4 SUPERSTITIOUS TRADITION. To its half-witted and eulpably credulons listeners that superstitious tradition affirms that e new and sudden and decisive revolution is to be effected in a single between the rising and the setting of the sun throughout the whole west const of South America; that every conquest thus far achieved by the Spaniards, there and thereabouts. is at ance to be as ay, nullified and obliterated as if nothing of the kind had ever occurred, and, furthermore, that this mighty change for the better, as they say, is to be brought about solely through the irresistible wisdom and prowess of @ heavenly and most adorable being in the form white man with snow-white hair yes, though not of Spanish blood, Through the particular section of Bolivia of which] am nows; @ French- preceded me; but as both of them’ were comparatively young and short, with dark hair and hazel eyes, neither was so fortunate, or rather un- fortunate, as to be mistaken for a Messiah, Not so with reference to the materialistic and Unsuspecting projector of the Pan-Ameri- can railwa,, whose stature, hair, eyes, and seeming age (though he was then in fact only in his forty-first year, but because of his cotton-resembiing hair easily mistaken for a Sexagenarian) answered well, in every outward Sppearance at least, to all the requirements of the copper-colored and counterfeit prophecy, THE IMPULSIVE DIVINITY STUDENT. One of their most hopeful and gushing stu- dents of divinity, who was evidently aftlicted with a hvely and egotistical ambition to be- come the first beholder and proclaimer of the — savior, wus @ barefooted and bare- legged fellow of about twenty-two years of age. whose sacerdotal vestments consisted of ouly three articies—a coarse hat plaited of barley straw, a chintz shirt checked in ae and white squares and a pair of ue denim overalls that reached less than three inches below the knees; all of which seemed to have been worn ral mouths without having ever been subjected to any process of washing or cleaning. MISTAKEN FOR THE MESSIAH, He it was, this Quichua candidate for holy orders, who, also mountedon mule back, but without a saddie and using only a rope bridle, met mo in the public path; for roads in that rough region are as yet unknown, Every- body who travels there at all travels on mule back, the entire surface of both theeastern and western cordilierras being so precipitous and so destitute of safe and easy footing that horses worry and chafe and fret themseives to death, while vehicies, of whatever fashion or kind, are almost as much out of place and useless as they would be in midecean, Quickly and abruptly stopping right in front of me, causing my own mule to fae the afore- wmenuioued sprig of Quicha saintliness stared me fu-l in the face with distended eyes and with profoundly amazed and reverential micn, Then, hastily dismounting, he fell on lis knees before me, threw up both of his hands toward beaven, uttered several brief and spasmodic exclamations in his own vernacular—whieh I could not comprehend— nervously arose, remounted his beast, and with the greatest possible speed, dashed back toward lity nativo village, eix miles away, where he excitedly announced to his people—as iguo- rant und degraded and good for nothing as himself—that their long-promised redeemer, whom he had but just mot two leagues distant, was coming and that they should all join him at once m org out to greet and adore th gracious god who would so soon, in accordance with the declarations of their inspired proph- ets, remove from them the Spanish yoke and restore toall the Quichuas, as likewise to ail the inferior tribes afiuated with them, the mild aud beneiicent government of the Incas, FOLLOWING THE LEADER, Never did « flock of silly sheep more unh tatingly and unanimously follow the lead of a bell-wether in overleaping @ fence than that whole town—containing many hundreds of in- habitants—followed on foot and in a frenzy of religious rhapsody and expectancy that muic-bestraddling pietist, that awe- struck fanatic, who, riding at their head, again met me on the outskirt of the village, Where men, women and child with hands and voices upraised, eame like a mighty thro: of overjoyed and impetuous devotees ont sprawled themselves, some fiat on their stomachs aud others on their knees, before me; most foolishly and reprehensibly worship- ing me as their messiab! 10 AN AWKWARD SITUATION. This very general and demonstrative and wholly unprovoked and unexpected ascription to myself asa personage possessed of divine attributes, though it was nothing but. piece of the wretched folly and tomfoolery of an as- sembly of less than semi-civilized Ini placed me in an indescribably awkward an eS Frankly may sieve xo vs edge + ve not t perfect Fescrered. from’ "the potclias gy of that strange and thri experience, though scores of earthquakes and numerous other life im} vious and sub- and af £ ONE WAY TO ROB THE MALLS An Inspector Tells of a Post Omce Thief’s Ingenious Plan. From the C. .cinnati Times Star “We get some pretty tough casos,” anid Ee old post oftice inspector yesterday. been my fortune to run dow whicb I was set to work.” “What was the most difficult case you ever handled?” asked the reporter. “It happened while 1 was stationed at Utica, X.Y., about seven years ago,” replied the in- spector. “Many letters containing valuablee had been missed, and by dint of hard work we managed to trace the job down to one clerk, « shaved-faced young feilow of about twenty-two yearn, He was a clerk who distributed the letters into the boxes of the carriers, “As I said, we managed to get this far on the “but it bas every case on gase and then I set my trap, I had s decoy letter containing a $20 gold piece m from ® country town in Conne: nent stove dealer in Utica. d to reach the carrier promptly and I felt we had Our man solid at inet. “I waited for him until the dinner honr and as he was leaving the office accosted him. He came with me and look as closely as I might I failed to detect any signs of unossiness in his He oo tures, they wore perf immobile. walked with me into the office of the post ter and submitted to a thorough searcii, t trace of the ‘etter or 20 gold piece was fou: on his person. “To say I was dumfounded is drawing it mildly. lie appeared to be very indignant But whether I was right or wrong at the time, the petty robberies came to a sudden stop. No more complaints were heard for a month, Then they began again. This time 1 was bound I wouid not fail, so 1 sot a watch on my man “One day when I was abont to give up the ease in despair, I noticed the fellow tearing up an envelope and droy it to the floor, When he had gone I picked up thescraps of &@ hard job managed to picce ir i when l saw that the envelope had been addressed to himerlt, I was about to walk away when @ thought struck me. “Teame down the next morning before the young clerk came to work, and stationed my- self bebind a lezter rack,’ free from observa- tion, but in such a position that I could see the fellow's every action. Inaw him take sov= eral stamped and addressed envelopes bis pocket and walk over to the #tamy and cancel the stamps. During the cours the morning I saw the fellow slip four ke inside of as many envelopes an velopes, ‘Thon i knew rect. I went to the cai ter to the man's home letters addressed to the feliow himself. ***Have you carried many letters like this?’ I asked him. ‘I carry four llow into my office and mined to have the mail of all clerks delivered at the office to lighten the duties of the carricrs. I then told him on had four jetters for him and handed him the missives 1 had received from the postma: The fel son th ~ w turned p: of fainting when I as the lotters in my presence. “With trembiing hands he did so and inside the envelopes, addressed to himself, 1 found four vaivabie letters addressed to a big whole- sale house. He broke down and confessed that e had been stealing for about six monte and that during that period he had abstracted nearly €1,500 from business letter, He had *pent the money in gambling.” - ss and wason the verge i him to open and read About This Time His Patience Gave Out From the New York Tribune. A rosy-cheeked young Irishman came saun- tering down the street. He was dressed in his best and was evidently out for a holiday. Just before he reached the corner he met three rory-cheeked girl, They, too, were dress: their best and were evidently bent on enjo themeelves, “Hello, Jim!” gether. “1fello, girls!” replied the you: dually, “Tum glad to see you, you, Sarah? lou're looking better, And he shook hands wa said the three girls, all to- ly all rc After they had conversed for some minutes about the affuirsof sundry aunts and cousins Maggie, with asly wink at ber female com- panions, remarked: “An’ wercn’t we just goin’ into the saloon on Won't you come the corner to have cream? with us, Jim?” ~Weil, I don’t mind,” natured ton ¥ check: the thous e had inve “cream, y flavers to their taste. All went well un Magsie took # sip of the water that was served with the cre: ‘8 warm,” eaid she, and then, rwink a d go nice with m, iJim, “Waiter, bring soda.” He had piainly made up his min that now he was m the toils he wou falter. When they had about half finishe: “cream,” but had not yet made much road ou the soda, ¥ two girls again, and g Kiggie that she was unable to remarked: bring us ca had now begun to glow with an 1 ruddiness, but his mau- ner remained us cheerfui as ever. mination not to falter still rem: At last they had finished. J ned m paid t and they emerged from the store. Jim had romised togo with them to take part ina jousewarming at the home of some relative, and the prospect of approaching fan rathor cheered him up and made him {cel somewhat repaid for the expense to which he had been put. But his good hamor and his stoicism bo’ Teceived w fatal blow at last when Maggie coyly gy remarked: “There's a horse car that runs right past the door. I'm awfully tired waikin’.” s,” said Maggie, “I am.” “Then, Maggie” eaid he, “you kin run.” anaes Magnetized Watches, From the Epoch. A gentleman having told me the other day that riding on a 4th avenue elvciric car had ruined his watch, I called at Tiffany & Co.’¢ in order to get an explanation of it. Oue of the gentlemen who preside at the watch counter seid tome: “Ihave never heard of a watch being spoiled from riding in « surface electric car, but I have heard of watches being affected from riding in cars that are run by overhead electric wires. Three of my friends were on their way from a funeral in one of these cars in East New York. One of them pulled out his wateh and exclaimed: ‘Why, my watch has stopped!’ Another ove then looked at his watch and exclaimed: ‘Why, #0 has mine.’ and the third one discovered that his watch was an bour anda half slow, Watches that become magnetized can be demagunetized for a doliar or two, On the average we get for repair one magnetize : When you go near a dynamo, even within ten or fiftee feet of your watch becomes magnetized, When slightly magnetized the watch goes slow; when it gets a big dose of mw ony a stops altogether. Nou-magnetic wate: es have thus far proved ® failure, for they don't keep As the Funeral Goes By, oa -