Evening Star Newspaper, July 18, 1891, Page 13

ON A STREET CAR. A Ride Over the Longest Tramway in the World. JALAPA THE BEAUTIFUL. A Mexican City and Some of Its Attractions— Its Reantiful Giris—Wonderful Mountain Flora Orchids by the Million—Fifty Miles ‘Through Santa Anna's Farm. Special Correspondence of The Evening Star. Vexa Caz, Mexico, July, 1891. RODE SEVENTY-TWO miles on street car. A mad, wild race over hill and valley down the Mexican moun- ° tains. A gallop through great forests and dense jungles. A ride through orange groves and A the re- gions where the coffee grows, through myriads of trees Yonted with orchids, out into groves of palms and on into the rank tropical vegeta- Mexican hot land. A ride with Italian who remind you of through « atrange people, whe nd who look as queer ‘rom the other side of the Such is a mazy iden of the trip I took ng in coming from Jalapa to from whence you take the rail- It was a ride over the in the world. It wasa * most pictur ue continent and it a th. will have passed ies of travel JALAPS. THE BEAUTIPCL. peteritay rm: Away np in the mountaims, within sight of the snow-topped vol he 9, Orizaba, aurrounded , lies one of the wealth- Leities of Mexico. This a. There ts no land more beautifully loested, 20 town on the continent ies right im the moun- by chest | load down the branches of the trees | to which they are married. Birds of the bright- est of plumage fly in snd out among them, and the mocking bird whistles at our car as the males go galloping by. The vegetation changes as you goon. Near Ji you find the forest trees of Ohio, and twenty miles further down the mountain you have jumped into the vege- tation of Florida and Louisiana. You soon get into the fields of pineapples. They are little low bushes like cabbages and they cover the ground, their red bodies shining out below the green leaves. Near them are ficlds of ger cane, and I am told that sugar will grow here from year to year without replanting for more than twenty rears. Insome parts of western Mexico there are said to be plants which have been cut year after year for forty years, and which still. thrast. out. new shoots trom the old stumps, which fairly babble with saccharine water. Phe cattle of this part of Mexico are fat, and these hills are dotted with cows, sheep and goats. These are generally watched by half-naked peons, and every now and taen you pass that village or « great hacienda. SANTA ANNA AND BIS FARM. We came ona dead gallop up to the station where Santa Anna made his headquarters on one of these baciendas. He was, you know, the great general of the Mexican army and dic- tator of the republic, and Gen. Scott defeated him at the battle of Cerro Gordo when he made his march up this road to the capital. Santa Anna owned hundreds of thousands of scres along this road. We rode for fifty miles, perhaps, through his plantations, which have fince been divided up and which are now owned by other pitios. His hacienda is a hollow square of long low buildings, with thatched “huts surrounding it, in ‘which live the poor Indians who were prac- tically his slaves. It was here that we made our first change of mules, and the car stopped for about five min- utes while four new animals were put in. Then the driver cracked his whip and away we went at the rate of twelve miles an hour. As we did soa freight car. to which was also four mules, was side-tracked on a switch to let us and behind us came the second-class train galloping away as fast as we were. Our driver seemed to rejoice in every fresh team, and he had no mercy on the s He wore the whitest of white duck-linen clothes and his pantaloons clas; legs after the Mexican style with as close a fit as those of the ballet girl He had a whip twenty feet long, and his sullen eyes looked out of a handsome {nce under a gorgeous yellow hat, whose brim was pulled down over his eyes. His whip crack sounded like pistol, and, up hill or down bill, he thrashed his mules, keeping them on # dead gallop all the time. | He seemed to delight in whipping the mules as we passed the peons on the road, and he was the admisntion of the dark-eyed Indian girls who looked at him with or two stories. They and they look as though 2 finished but a year or 0 ago. low, overhanging roofs of red Janda i the cate light # the brown, drab house, which go |. which borders JALAPA GTRES, street. The houses hav ered with iron bars, and out of these look the deautiful ¢: Julaps is farous, nd eyebrows, cream. Nota tew of them have roay and I caught many a b camer: ground with the « colors and the forme the cour’ bu he t yard, al tne wem to resent in- spection an ghed when I jointed thi found them inder and hetter look: the people of any other part of the } ublic. The Me ticans themselves have a proverb concerning them. They say is apart of heaven that Jal: let dowr i of the richest of regions of Mexico. It has about 14,090 people and it ist old-fashioned city of this old-fashion Its trade is r twelve years the h the seaport has ®, which rans fro it to Vera Cruz. railroad of Mexico the capital tw it It wae within a few weeks, and within a few weeks more the line from Jalaps to Vera Cruz will be completed ‘snd the tramway will be given up. hee thought that the grades were too steep to be mounted by steam, but moder nvention and engineering have proved the mistake. The iron horse within a month at the latest will super- gede the mules and the crack of the whip of the Mexican Jehu will be lost in the shriek of the Rarrow-gauge locometive. TRE LONG MORSE CAR RIDZ. ‘The cars leave Jalapa early in the morning. ‘They are first and se: ase, and the only difference between them is that the first-class twain bas better cushione sengers than the secc tains six seats, seats and leas pas- vd class. Each car con- mt fifteen feet long and The seats rnn right across «i of up and down, and the driver stands on the front plattorm with four lines in bis band, by © he guides four of | the " liveliest mules you will find in Mexico. He drives’ them at} & gallop all the time and we change every hour sad go on @ desi run up hill and down. | Let me give you a picture of our ride: We | id our fars atthe depot. It was a little over | nt as we took our seats in the car a light sll. We drove tir t through the narrow streets of Jalapa, whose doors and jows are filled with faces smiling « kind m On out into the country. The road wes that on which Cortez marched with bis troops, and it is the same road over which the Amerienn army came under Gen, Sectt when it eaptured Mexico City. Near Jalapa it is wide and rugged and paved with cobblestones. A thick vegetation grows ateach side of it and the ‘stone fe: which li it are as mows | Grown as those about Cork and Kill south Ireland. The fieidy back of ¢ fall of the signs of prosperity m@ asthatof England and it covers the | on every side for miles. There are many | of corn and this isin te nd 1 see | Toasting ears bursting forth such ax we have in | ugast. Here is a man plowing. and a cut in the Hald shows me that the rich, browr lonm i | from six to eight feet deep.and a Mexican looke | out from his big sombrer:. « the seat in front of me and tells me that thx land is worth as | much se surburban lots about Washington. | It is curious to note the stages of thesame crop | tm almost the same fiells. “Here is @ field of | corn in ear, and next to it you see another with the sprouts just shooting from the ground. This ground wilt produce two crops of corn year, and it never needs fertilization. Now pass = coffee tation. The glossy bushes | ste shaded tall, wide-leaved Sanana | plants, whose heads bend over, andj upon many of which there are brown blossoms or buds as big as an car corn. The coffee bushes are full of ripe red berries and the flora and the trees are wondes arney, in these are ‘The grass is as | tong | rail great eyes as we went by. The Indians of the hot lands are ditferent from those of the Mexi- can plateau. They wear fewer clothes, and in fact some of them wear nothing at all I saw many naked babies, and under one palm leaf roof half a dozen men slept with noth- ing but breech clouts on them and the sun crawled in through the slits in the roof and painted their skins @ varnished mahogany brown. Many of the women were bare armed and bare bosomed. They all had long black hair, which hung in braids down their backs, and some of them as they looked out of their tall thatebed huts were really beautiful. HOUSES OF FISHING FOLES, The Indians of Vera Cruzare said to be lazy and a greater part of this ride was taken through the state of Vera Cruz. The soil is so rich and fruit is so plenty that they can al- must live without working, and they do no more than they can possibly help. Their buts are made of canes of about the size of a ishing pole and I noted that they were very ingen- Jously constructed. Nails are dear in Mexico and these huts were all tied together. The poles are driven into the ground and they extend about five feet eupward, making a circular or square wall of poles factened to- gether by other poles, which run around them and to which they are tied. From the top of these walls a conical or flat ridge roof runs up- ward. These roofs are made of palm leaves and fishing poles, and the thatch of palm is tied to the poles. “The poles of the ground wall are not always very close together. and you can see the whole operations of the family geing on within them. Some of them have but one room and men, women and children, married and singl>, sieep and dress under the ‘samo piece of thatci. Many of the huts have no doors.and we caught some Unmentionable sights ax we wont by. The people sleep on the ground and they cook without stoves and the smoke finds its way out as best itcan. Many of the zirls are very pretty and the whele ride was a kaleidoscopic panorama of ever-changing hu- manity. VERA CRUZ GIRES. We took our dinner at Rinconado and ate with a dozen Mexican farmers, who wore their binck sombreros at the table. A pretty Mexi- can girl, with a mantilla around her head, sat opposite me and smoked a ci meal, and hungr: asly into the windows of the hacienda and ratched us eat. As we left the station we saw aboy plowing in the jungle and his wooden plow wns pulled by oxen, which were har- nessed to it by the horns. Everywhere, in |the fields and in the houses, we saw the signs of the great superstition of the Mexi- can peasants. Most of the corn and wheat fields kad crosses stuck up in them to keep the devil out of the crops, and many of these thatehed buts had crosses covered with flowers and paper stuek in their roofs or in the ground surrounding them. Aswe neared the foot of the mountains we found the vegetation again changed, and we passed by great trees, from the branches of which hung the bean from which the vanilla extra is made, and the cocoanuts hung from the ime. As we went on we found more naked children, and little babies of two and three toddied around looking at us with woudering innocent eyes. Some of these were very pretty, and the sun gilded their bronzed little bodies and their teeth shone as they smiled when we went by. I saw pretty “girls Imoking cigarettes as they dawdled. half dressed, out side of there buts under the sun, and the half- aked men who lounged round them were typ- al of the tropics whi the sir and nature fn- Vites to repose, and where the chief thing life is doice far niente. ‘THE OLD NATIONAL ROAD. We loft Jalapa at about seven in the morning and we reached the end of our journey about three in the afternoon. Allowing two hours for stops, we made the seventy-two miles in six hours, or an average of twelve miley an hour, by uo means a bad record for street cars and mules. During this ride we used twenty-eight males and we changed about every eight miles. ‘The ride back f.om Vera Cruz to Jalapa is said to take twice as long, and the trip will made in three hours by the new road. The railroad trip, however, will | not compare in historic interest or in natural scenery with this ride on the street cara. The fully beautiful, “Here ise Bucha Noches ‘tng | Journey is like one taken ina comfortable car. yh, crowned with great red re are trees filled with blos- toms which are of the same rize and shape as the calla lily, and below them are the long yel- low tendrils of the Mexican love plant, which have wrapped theruselves around the moss-cov- ‘ered fences and shine like sapphires uncer the rainand the sun. ‘The rain of the morning is now closing with a sunshower, and the dark coffee trees are covered with drops of diamonds ect into their emerald leaves. ORCHIDS BY THE MILLION. A few miles from Jalapa we go into s forest ‘and here we first see the Mexican orchid. They | Fiage, for the | k is smooth and the seats are | comfortable. ‘The old road over which it goos has been in existence for hundreds of years, jand it was over it that the Indian jearried their heavy pecks of merc! | before this street car line was built, and for hundred of years all tho mule trains i }and man trains which c@ried the im- | Porte received at Vera Cruz to Mexico | city had to pass over this road. The ros! is | now as as any road in the United States, aa! but only afew years A ested brigands and travelora were often reboot ant killed, of rather killed and robbed, upon it You may still see wooden crosses by the road- with heaps of stone about then, SOME NATIVE GEMS. Precious Stones That Are Found in the United States. HOMEMADE SPARKLERS. Nearly All the Gems Known to the World Exist in This Country—The Only Trouble le That They Are Not Big and Plentiful Enough to Pay for Mining, 7 FOR PRECIOUS STONES will never become a profitable indus- try in the United States,” says Mr, Kunz, the celebrated gem expert. Systematic search for such mineral treasures, ‘according to his averment, is carried on nowhere in thiscountry savein Maineand North Carolina. Elsewhere they turn up accidentally or while search is being made for other valuable sub- stances. Sapphires are often discovered in Montana gold sluices; the beryl from Connec- ticut is obtained in connection with mica min- ing; from the beds of streams and decompos- ing rocks of Wyoming moss agate is gathered, and on the beaches of the lakes chlorastrolite ‘nd other beautiful jewels attract the eye of the collector. Nearly all of the gems secured im such ways are either sold to tourists or are sent in small parcels to the big cities for sale. Nevertheless, it is true that nearly all of the known varieties of precious stones are pro- duced in this country. More than two centuries ago the turquoise mines of New Mexico were industriously worked by the Indians. There and elsewhere the untutored aborigines made arrow and spear ints of rock crystal, smoky quartz, azate, Jasper, obsidian aad opalized wood. Bome of the most beautiful of these implements of war- fare and the chaso are now used for ornaments by white people. A few gems of really great price have fo from time to time in various parte of the Union, although most news reports of such discoveries have been atistaken or. touch exaggerated. The “Blue Ridge sapphire.” or “Georgia marble, as it was called, found in 1883 ins mountain brook, was estimated to be worth £50,000 by two jewelers who examined it. Unfortunately it proved subsequently to be merely a piece of rolled blue bottle glass, of which fact its owner could be convinced only when he saw a plati- num wire coated with @ portion of it, melted Another wonder was @ nine-ounce emerai, plowed up near Gibsonville, N. C., which was shown bya magnifying glass to contain many small diamonds. Its value wae sup) to be enormous, so that its finder, believing that he possessed the largest gem of the kind in the world, carried it to New York, being afraid to intrust so great a fortune to an express com- pany. His prize proved to be agreenish quartz crystal with small liquid cavities in Five lars was about its worth. ‘The “Wetumpka ruby,” from Elmore county, Alabama, weighed six ounces and was appraised at @ vast sum. However, a small fragment sent to New York proved it to be only a gurnet. A quartz crystal picked up near Danbury, N. C., was believed at firat to be w genuine diamond, its valuo being estimated by local jewelers at £7,000. WHERE DIAMONDS ARE FOUND. Diamonds are found along the eastern slope of the Alleghanies from Virginia to Georgia and also in northern California and in southern. Oregon, but there are not enough of them of size to pay for mining. The most valuable stone of this description ever discovered in this country was the well-known “Dewey diamond” which was first seen glistening in a shovelful of earth dug by a laborer engaged in grading a street at Manchester, Va., in 1855, It weighed nearly 24 carats in the rough, but had a large flaw on one side. One of the most remarkable frauds ever conceived and executed was the famous Arizona diamond swindle of twenty years ago. About that time fubulous stories were circulated regarding the mineral richness of New Mexico and Arizona, and many companies were organ. ized to collect the diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds and other gems which were said 10 abound there. In 1870 it was represented in San Francisco that two men named Arnold and Slack had found diamonds and other precious stones in great quantities in Arizona. Among some of the objects shown in confirmation wero 18,000 carats of so-called rubies and a| large number of diamonds, one of 108 carats weight: |The gems were displayed to investors | in a scheme for exploiting the region and were | deporited in the Bank of California for safe- keeping. Heavy capitalists became deeply in- terested, and finally a party representing the investors and accompanied by experts of their own selection started out prospecting. Upon reaching the mountain to which they were guided every one picked up gems and enthn- winam arose to a pitch corresponding. In a week 1,000 carats of diamonds and 6,000 carate | of rubies were gathered. Luckily, Clarence King, director of the geological survey, there- upon made an expedition to the fields, the re- sult of which was an exposure of the affair. His investigutions proved that the whole busi- ness was a bumbug, that the mines had been “salted” beforehand, that the supposed rubies re ordinary garnets and that the 108-carat diamond was a e of Clee It was ascer- tained that the swindlers had purchased large uantities of rough diamonds of small value in ondon for the purpose of scattering them about. So well was the fraud planned that its promoters realized £750,000. At present 95 per cent of all the diamonds produced in the world are obtained from the Kimberley mines in South Africa. TURQUOISE IN LARGE QUANTITIES. Turquoise is found in large quantities in New Mexico, and also in Arizona, Nevada and Col- orado. It is quarried out of the rocks, through which it runs in blue veins, with now and then concretions called nuggets, which sometimes afford stones of value. Mouut Chalchihuitl, twenty miles from Santa Fe, is largely under- mined with ancient Indian workings for this mineral. In the so-called “Wondez Caves” re- cently discovered there, which were excavated by the natives of old, are to be seen many veins of turquoise two inches in thickness running through the gold-bearing quartz which forms the walis. The deposits are only worked in a desultory way at present by residents in that vicinity, chiefly Indians, who grind such speci- mens as they obtain into rude shapes and vell them at the rate of 25 cents for the contents of a mouth, woere they usually carry them. Skulls encrusted with turquoises arc sometimes found in that part of the country, such objects having been held sacred by the Mexicans of former days. The finest garnets in the United States are found in New Mexico, Arizona and southern Colorado, where they are often called rubies. Such of them as are discovered in New Mexico are picked up on the Navajo reservation, where the Indians collect them on ant hills ‘and nece the excavations made by scorpions. Both scor- pions and ants bring them to the surface, when they find the stones obstructing their under- ground galleries and chambers. Gems of this sort of exceptional size and beauty sometimes bring €50 cach, though they rarely exceed three carats in weight. In North Carolina gar- net crystals ure wometimes come across, which, though uot tine enough for gems, weigh au much as twenty pounds euch and may be cut into dishes or cups measuring from three to six inches across. Tons of them are crushed to make “emery” and the sand paper called Ri net paper.” At Huby mountain in Colorado is ® remarkable deposit of such great garnet erystals, which, being included in «soft matrix, usually come out perfect in their beautiful metrical shapes. At least five tons of them five been scld for use as paper weights and ornaments. EMERALDS OF VALUE. Emeralds of value have been numerously found in Alexander county, N.C. They are discovered in pockets in the rock and company is regularly organized at Stony Point for working the mines there. Some beautiful beryls—the emerald isa variety of beryl—have Leora’ ao Greig a of Haddam, Conn., an rgest beryls in the world are obtained at Grafton oad. Ac- worth, N.H. From the former locality cr; tal over six feet long was quarried, and another tons. These wonder- the pretty woman should have a hand of rock crystal. Near Lake in New York state great ‘quantities of and pers are imens, both natural cut, being mounted in jewelry and sold to tourists. Many are whiter than = | diamond and frequently as brilliant an A with a di water inclosed ‘wil sometimes sell for feuch r ing the rock until a , indicating a cavity, and within such cavities the crystals ate discovered, sometimesas many asa bushel. In one cavern years ago were found several tons of these juartz crystals, the sides of the cavity, thirty fectlongand six feet high, being completely cov- ered with them. The sale of such stones in that region amounts to fully $10,000 perannum. | At Hot Springs, Ark., clear rolled pebblesfrom the Washita river are sold in quantities, bein; more highly prized than the ordinary rocl crystals.” ‘The demand for thom. is so great that the inhabitants thereabouts have learned to produce them artificially by putting a num- ber of crystals in a box and keeping them re- volving for a few days by water power. PEARL FISHERIES. The most important marine pearl fishery in America is carried on in the Gulf of California, where the true pearl oysters are plentifully found. Recently the fisheries have been let by franchise from the Mi jon of them and sent anumber of fine pearls to the King of Spain. Divers gather the oysters and police system is maintained. to guard agai theft. After the bivalves have been opened and any precious contents removed the shells themselves are cleaned and sent to Liverpool, London and Hamburg, where they sell at from 10 to 20 cents pound. The pearls from this fishery at one time brought from 8150,000 to 300,000 a your, but the beds have been so overworked that their value has been much diminished. An enormo' Pearl, the pride of the Spanish regalia, weigh- ing 400 grains, was secured there, as’ well as hundreds of other beauties of grent value. Fresh-water pearls are found in many streams of this country in the shells of mussels called “unios.” More than $10,000 worth of them were sent to New York at one time within three months from Wisconsin, one specimen being sold for $500. Nearly two bushels of unio pearla were dug out of an auctent Indian mound in the Little Miami valley half a dozen years They were all so much decayed, however, as to be of no commercial value. It is believed that ordinarily pearls are formed by the de- posit of a secretion of the mollusk around a particle of sand ov other foreign body which as found lodgment within its shell, stances have been known where very small fishes have got into an oyster and have been enveloped in a beautiful nacreous covering, being thus transformed into pearls themselves. eee A SUIT OF CLOTHES FOR 81.35. Not Exactly Swell, but Brand-New, Nice Looking and Durable. CONGRESSMAN WAS SEEN THE OTHER day swelling along Pennsylvania avenua in what was evidently a new suit of clothes. In response to a jocular comment upon the un- usual dudesqueric of his carriage and apparel he grinned and said: “How much do you suppose I paid for this suit? One dollar and thirty-five cents was the price. Igotit for a trifle less because we statesmen have aright to expect a reduction. The dealer told me that when he let me have the pants for forty-nine cents he wasn't mak- ing a decent profit on them. Fifty-five cents was the regular retail price and the coat was seventy-five cents. I didn't get any reduction on that. Vest? Oh, Ididn’t got one. It was thirty cents more, and I don't set up fora swell, at this season, anyway. But ou can see for yourself that tho suit is. a very respectable one, such as @ man might wear in fall or spring and not be ashamed of his costume. It's none of these cheap, flimsy summer garments, but a good suit of clothes for any season. May be it isn't wool, but it looks like it. No, it isn't wood pulp. There's wear in it, too. ‘The man who | sold me the suit said that if it wore out in three months he'd give me another. “What I want to say ishow much excuse is there for anybody's being shabby wher. a goud suit of clothes can be bought for 31.357 Where's the mystery in the manufacture” Machine does it all.” It might almost be said that hum: hands don't touch these garments.from the raw material to the finished product. ‘Tbe cloth is cut out in patterns, a thousand at a time, with knives; the button holes are made by machin- ery and the buttons themselves are stamped upon the cloth instead of being sewed. It is like the pig that is put into one end of piece of mechaniem, with ite throat cut, and comes ont at the other in the shape of sausages and tooth brushes. “Furthermore—and mark me when I say it— the people who made this suit of clothes I wear got more for their labor than any workmen be- fore them ager received for tlie same sort of toil. The ey against machinezy, alleging that it robs the laborer with hands, bas been going on ever since the invention of the printing | ress. It begau long before But the fact is that workingmen and working women get | twice the wages they did thirty years ago. | Even of the sewing women this is trae, and the ‘Song of the Shirt’ ought to be #ung an octave higher than a generation back. Talk of prices before the war! Why, for everything that is le commodities, prices y wore then. "o let us appreciate the advantages of a mechanical civilization and enjoy the privilege of wearin clothes at #1.35 a suit. This iv an age wh even the tatterdemalions a can afford to be well dresses is only for want of ambi every beggar if they choose. It m nowadays that on P Street. Halt a dozen of the cunningest little children in Washington live on P street between 20th and 2ist. ‘The other day one of them, a youth of possibly five summers, was trying to slide face downward down the stone incline between two adjoining flights of front steps. After several unsatisfactory attempts he gave it up, remarking, with # sigh, to a small companion of this own uge: “I'm afraid, Teddy, my stummick isn’t peer . this interesting infant hasa sister a yeur younger than himself, who was playing with the others on the sidewalk one afternoon re- cently. About that time along came a big St. Bernard dog named Toby, that lives on the next block. Like ail St. Bernards, Toby ix fond of children, and, being seized with an affectionate impulse, he walked up to the littie girl and gave her a large and comprehensive lick across the face. She did not know whether to laugh or ery, but Teddy said: “Hit Margy! you've made a mash!” Teddy a of his own—an amiable setter that will endure any amount of pulling around by the tail such ‘as childhood in- nocently inflicts. Nevertheless, Rover and ‘Toby are not friendly, and it is pretty sight to see Teddy, when Toby stalks by, hold Rover # head between his two chubby hands, covering up his eyes so that Rover shall not see ‘Yoby or be tempted to interrupt by canine conflict the peace of P street. a ees A New Style of Bird Shot. From Forest and Stream. “Say, boys, did you ever hear the story thoy tell on W.?” 0. What is it?” “Well, two years ago three gunners were after ducks at G. It was late in the season, and ducks were flying so high that it was or other torture almost im) ible to get enough to keep the table supplied. One day W. p: abet that he would kill pn the follow: more ducks than M. and_S. together. He was promptly taken up. Now, W. had procured supply of buckshot cartridges, and after filling his belt with them he retired, trusting to luck and buckshot to win his bet. “As soon as M. and 8. were sure he was asleep they proceeded to. re- Move the shot from ell the aforessid shells, All them vp with bread, wad them, and re; them in the belt. “The next day W. took a stand in some tefl ly concealed. Soon ssmall flock of redheads came sailing along over W.'s head, away out of but that mate no difference to hitn, so he blazed ar with both barrels at the ‘ks in the sky.” while M. and 8. on the othe side rolled | eure the nec FUNNY FACTS ABOUT FEET. A Study Concerning the Tootsies of Infante— A Few Scientific Theories. S6],JOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE EVER taken notice of a baby's foot, except to admire its pinkness and prettiness?” said a “and yet to the anatomist it is a revelation. for example, the tootsies of child of ten months that has never walked nor stood alone. It has a power of. grasping to some extent and is used instinctively likes hand. The great toe has « certain t working, like a thumb, and the wrinkles of the sole resemble those of the palm. These markings almost en- tirely disappear after the pedal extremity has come to be employed for purposes of support and locomotion, “The hands and feet of « human being are strikingly like those of the chimpanzee in con- formation, while the guerilla’s resemblance to man in these respects iseven more remark- able. The higher apes have been classified as ota or ‘four-handed,’ because their ind feet are hand shaped; but this —_ nation is very improperly applied, because pe's posterior extremities are not really ban at all. ey merely look like hands at the first glance, whereas in fact they are but feet adapted for climbing. The big toes cannot be ‘opposed’ to the other toes as thumbs are to the fingers, but simply act pincerwise for the purpose of grasping. Now. funnily enough, the ‘infant's’ feet have this same power of grasping pincer-fashion, and the action i performed in precisely the same way. Advocates of evolutionary theories take this to signify that the human foot was originally util- ized for climbing treés also before the species was so highly developed asitis nw. Also they erect assert that the fact thut the art of walking is learned by the child with such difiiculty Proves that the race has only acquired it re cently. : “There are many scientists nowadays who contend that man is not structurally adapted to walking on two feet, and that this habit is responsible for the frequency of rupture in the male and of uterius complaints in the female. If this most interesting of animals went on all fours, they say, the atrong abdominal walis would properly uphold the internal organs. Also they find confirmation of their theories in the fact that the toot of the unborn infant is very like that of. the anthropoid apes, lacking development at the heel. POWER OF THE GREAT TOR. “However all this may be, there is no doubt of the fact that the power of the grent toe for grasping and other services may be preserved and developed after infancy if the foot is not couthad.)) Many ssrags ptoples/ mats com erable use of the foot for handy purposes. Aus- tralian natives employ the grasping power of their great toes in climbing trees, audit is their habit to pick up in the vame way spears and other objects trom the ground. Nubian horsemen hold the reins with their big toes and Chineso boatmen pull their oars by the same means. Persons born without hands often use their feet for nearly every object that hands ordinarily serve for, threading needles with their toes, using scissors, writing, &c. It isa interesting thing to examine the skeletons of a human foot and hand side by side, and to observe how the two structures are absolutely similar, save for certain modifications which adapt the foot for locomotion and the hand for manipulation. RQUIFPED FOR LOCOMOTION. “There seems to be no doubt that man, com- pared with other animals, is very poorly equipped for locomotion. ‘The horse walks on its toe nails, likewise the mountain gost and all other beasts that are swift. You can yourself discern the superiority of this method for race and rapidity by observing the ballet Sincer, who, by tho artifelal cultivation of certain muscles, is enabled to prance upon her toes aud without touching her heels to the ground. Did it ever occur to you to think how wretchedly inferior as a runner man is to nearly every other living creature? he instep is a feature peculiar anatomi- cally to man. rule want of development in this particular is characteristic of tow physi- cal development. Certain negro races luck it notably. In southern cities colored youths who enjoy the gift of fat feet do frequently, when the pavements have beer. watered in the evening, walk over them, their soles acting like the leather suckers utilized for purposes of amusement by small boys, and delight in the loud reports which follow tl “From the most interesting in cor tect. Torturing of the gun in the second year of infancy by turning the toes underneath and bandaging them tightly in that position. Among the rich it is consid- ered necessary that the big toe shall approach the heel as nearly as possible. Of course, the pain iv agonizing, and delicate children fre- quontly are killed by the process. But even th is preferable to being out of the fash- TOLD BY AN OLD MINER. How the Mexican Bandits Knew He Had Been Handling a Lot of Gold. From the Helena Journal “The good old days are gone,” sighed the forty-niner, “‘and they'll never come again. When youth's pulsc beats high with pleasure, when the sky ix clear and there aro no black and lowering clouds on the horizon, when, in short, a man feels that all ho has todo to ac- quire a controlling interest in the earth in to apply at the office and hand in his name, then— why, then life is worth living.” ‘What's the matter?” I inquired. *T've been thinking again. I tel you, my boy, it doesn’t pay an old man to think. If he can remember without thinking he’s all right, but when he gets to comparing the present with the past, he’s in a bad way, and he's sure to get downhearted.” “California?” “Yes. thelp it. I will be thinking of the days of '49, spite of all Teando. Here I am, getting on toward three score years and ten, and I've only got enough money to pro- ities of life. And who is thank- ful for that? Who is grateful for roast beef and potatoes when he bas an appetite for terrapin and champagne! And yet once I had more money than 1 could have spent during my whole life.” “How was that?” “In 1891 I was prospecting in California and struck itrich, My partner and I located a claim that had millions in it, apparently. We didn't have capital enough to work it and so we went up to Frisco to find a purchaser. We found him, too. His name was Moore and he was a well-known character on the ‘coast. He | had made a couple of millions working a mine he had bought for $500. Well, we convinced him we had a good thing and he gave us $200,000 in gold coin for it. I was afraid to deposit my share anywhere, so I loaded it in flour bags on a cart and drove down to San Jove. In the hills back of the town was a cave Thad discovered year before. It was so aitu- ated that it couldn't be discovored except by accident. “I buried the money in » corner of the cave and weut glecfully back to San Jose. As soon ts I got Into town « party ofalfexicnn bandits | ibveled at° the disturbers of tho rivera placid- captared me and informed me that if I didn't conduct them to my buried treasure I wasa dead man. Life was sweet to me at that time and I didn’t hesitate. ‘They dug up my $100, 000, gave me €200 to keep me from want and rode off to the southward. I never saw any of them again for ton years, when I met one of cr THE CZAR’S CAR I8 SHOTPROOF, And an Army Guards the Railway When He ‘Travels. ‘From the Philadelphia Telerraph. When the czar travels in Russia the precau- tions taken for his safety could not be greater if he were in an enemy's country. A battalion of infantry is detailed for every two miles of distance, and, allowing 500 men as the effective force of each battalion, every spot of ground on both sides of the track is covered by senti- nels within easy distance of each other. The czar is suddenly whirled off to the station, ac- companied by the chosen twelve of his body guard, without pomp or circumstance, swiftly and silently. The czaralwaystravels in a train of five carriages. His carriage is built in a pe- culiar The windows, while for light, are bh: se thata siti Legh ety nnd the outside, and the of the car are forti- Tenis! weodwors, but trong enough te renet woodwork, but strong enough to resist abtilet, There are two sentry boxes in the carriage, one at each end, and each looking out at an opposite side from the other. The irdsmen on duty in these apartments are ut in from any observation of the interior of the carriage, but at intervals of about two feet, the whole length of the saloon. are elec- trie buttons communicat with the chambers, as well as with two cari one containing the suite and the other, in the Tear. occupied by the guardsmen not on duty. So fag, therefore, as the train iteelf is con- | the czar could be no more secure in Bt. Petersb The train on to its destination without a halt, except onaccount of accident. At a dis- tence of not less than five miles ahead is a pioneer train, in which the imperial director of Fadlwars and the chief engineer of the particu- Jar rallway on which the czar is traveling a ways ride. As the pilot train whizzes by the reeerves along the line rush to arms and guard the sides of the railway, waiting until the im- Perial train has passed, so that the spectacle is resent of continuous lines of soldiery for hun- Ireds of miles. Arrived at the end of his jour- ney, the czar is escorted to the quarters in- | tended for the imperial family. ‘The streets arc guarded by special consta- bles in the attire of citizens. Every property owner has been called upon to supply one or more of thesg men at hisown expense to do duty when the sovereign makes a public ap- pearance. The constables average one in ten of the crowd that throngs the streets, and being in ordinary dress they can mingle with the peo- ple, note what ie said, and, perhaps, do sume- thing that will obtain them regular employ- ment among the secret police. With one-tenth the population engaged as spies upon the re- mainder, with troops enough concentrated to stand a formidable siege, and his faithful guardsmen dogging every step, the czar goes through the forms of a visit to the ancient cap- ital of Russia or whatever city he may choose jonor. +0. THE MAID AND HER GARTER. A Frank Conversation That Was Started by an Ordinary Mishap. From the Chicago Times. “Excuse me a moment,” said a very bright and pretty young womsn. the other afternoon, during @ stroll along Stato street with a re- Porter, and she vanished forthwith into the door of ladies’ hair-dressing establishment. She was out again in a moment, however, and natural curiosity prompted the inquiry: “Well, if you must ask, I went in to pull up my stocking. It came untastened.” “ual oceurrence?” oe “Not very frequent, but it will happen some- times, and it is a most embarrassing, not to say uncomfortable, plight for a girl to be in when you see, where she can go and be secure from the prying eyes of men. It's a wonder my acci- dent happened right where it did, for I should he could have repaired the damage, atid should have bated you and every man in sight most ly all the time. “It's all right to say one might step into stairway entrance or something. Some mar would come upon you as sure as you did. Why, Thad the awfulest time one day down in t Rockery building imaginable. I'd been up to an office full of men on some business, and just as I camo out into the hall my garter fastening 8 quarter of an hour looking for some secluded nook, butevery time I'd spy prospective place 8 door would open and some spying man pop out. “I was getting desperate when I saw a door slightly ajar, and, glancing in, noticed that the office was empty.” [stepped hurriedly closed the door. and, not thinking of ‘the dow, pulled the stocking taut and faste securely. look over my shoulder, and there,to ms horror, across the area were ‘three good-for-nothing, low-down, impudent clerks hanging out their Hindow and Inughing like so many” gibbering idiots. I could have killed them. “It's all right for you men,” continued the fair victim of the woes of her sex's attire. “If a button breaks or anything happens to your clothes you'vealways a saloon door handy into which you can dive for repairs and subsequent consolation.” 3 — A Faris ©, tired little mariner, ‘eo-ho! Yeo-ho! Unto the strand of Slumberland A-sailing we must go. ‘This is the time when children fare Away from home ‘So we'll seek the good ship Rockingchan Afar to roam. O yeo-ho! O, sleepy little vorager, Yev-ho! Yeo-hor ‘The pleasant Lreeze of drowsiness Beginning is to vlow; And now the isles of Nidnod are All safely past; And now over Dreamland’s harbor bar We steer at last, O yeo-hol —Portland Transcript, ———_—_+e-_—___ A Past Captain’s Eight. From the New London Day. Fora week or two after the boat races the | humorous incidents of the occasion came to | the surface. Here is one by Capt. Allen of the | Yale ‘varsity eight of 1890. A former captain of | a Yale crew, for fun and to while away the | time, started out to find an eight that could be } relied upon to look like the genuine thing. There is a cut about a rowing man, and more especially one who has been in the ‘varsity eights, taat cannot be imitated. So that the seeker after brawn and muscle found his work no light task, and when he had succeeded in finding material the prospective crew was found to be composed of past captains of Yale exclusively. So there could be no mistaking | cither of them for a captain of a “barge” in the wilds of Coventry or Phenix Centre. After borrowing clothes, so as to look as much like « Yale crew as possible, the past- captain crew shot up the river, the stroke call- ing each man in the boat by the name of the real Yale crew. When near the Huarvards’ juarters glasses were suddenly found to be a it ity, and in wondering tones those on the bank inquired of each other if that could possibly be the real ‘varsity eight. Bat the game was soon np, as the Harvards: form of the coxswain, the band in Los Angeles. We had a friendly conversation, in the course of which I asked him how he and his companions knew that I possessed the treasure? “**¥ou couldn't have seon me carry it to the cave,’ I said, ‘for if you had there would bave been no need of taking me prisoner.’ ““No," he repliod, ‘it was your hands.” Inference. * ‘ass say to “Come “Why do you think that?” “Becnase he know Dalaam was onto hina.” “Yes. Iwas in a saloon where you were tak- | From Judge. ingudriok andI saw your hands were tar- ———_—_ +e —___ A Postage Stamp Museum. From the London At Vienna on Monday « postage stamp mu- scum was opened to the public. The addrees, wo may observe, is Plankengasso No. 1, in the very heart of the city. The museum will be open to visitors daily and gratuitously. Inone room are shown Hi fire : FE i 1 f t Ha : B ‘What did you rush in there so suddenly | she is on the street. There are so few places, | n miserable company for you till I| slipped and there I was. Silk hose have a tendency to contractabout as great as a rubber | band. Well, I sauntered around that floor for When I had finshed I happened to | DRANK WITH JOHN SMITH, ~T. Lost the Cause a Promising Speaker. From the Kansas City Times. ‘one of the oddest and at the same time brightest characters in early Missouri was Col. John Smith, “‘T,” of Saline county. He ‘was a native of Saline county and a prosperous planter and slave owner in the fortios. He was ‘an eccentric genius, ready to shoot and then to shake hands after explanations. For his fear- Jessneus be was feared, but his generous dispo- sition made him many warm friends Col. Smith had all his letters addressed “John Smith, T.” Ip explanation of this sin- gular change or addition to his name he would stato that there were so many John Smiths in the country it was impossible to make tinction without some guiding mark. & fellow gets a letter from me,” he would add, “he will know at once I wrote And he did. John Smith, “T,” became \a noted character. a hen inquisitive youngster would ask him why be never in his later life made temperance speeches, whereas in his younger days lis fame asa cold water advocate was not bounded by county lines. Whenever this_ntorrogatory was propounded him Maj. Koilins would let the lashes of his left eye rest quietly upon his cheek and for ten minutes he would entertain the company with the story of the first time he men John $ “T,” and the im portant bearing which this event had upon his course as a temperance lecturer. Condensed the story r Maj. Rollins and the sheriff Gf Boone county had gone down to Jefferson City to attend to some b The} rent to the “Rising Sun Hotel, kept by This was the famous old hotel of the capital. It was rambling frame structute just opposite the old state house. In front was» gorgeous delineation of a rising sun in gold and curlycnes which gave the bos- telry its name. - Rollins and the sheriff registered and t down toenjoy before the evening contemplative view of the sign of the Rising Su A tall, fine-looking individual, dressed in the {fashion of the prosperous man of the world, jatrolled into the waiting room, glanced over the register and then saunte carclesaly | across to where Maj. Rollins and his friend were | feasting their aesthetic eye upon the gorgeous rising sun. “Maj. Rollins, I believ “T,” for he it was. Yes, sir.” ‘Maj. Jeems 8. Rollins?” “Yeu.” said Jobn Smith, “Make a speech occasionally?” “Oh, yen. ‘Temperance and ail the “Yeu, sir; Iam proud of my position on the question. Proud of it, sir. “My name is Smith—John Sm: ou mean? “Gordon keeps some mighty fine liquor at the bar. major. Better join me in a glass.” At this point host Gordon of the Rising Sun interrupted Major Rollins, who was white with anger and earnestly implored him to drink with the man, | “That's John Smith, T,” whispered the land- {lord. *-He will kill you sure. Please drink with him.” But Major Rollins was furious. He again re- fased the politely worded invitation to test the landlord's liquor. “Major Jeems 8. Rollins.” said Smith, “T,” drawing a pistol from his hip pocket Majoc Rollins used to say that while he lis | tened to these slowly drawled words as they |fell from the lips of John Smith, “1,” he actually felt a love for whisky rising in bis bosom. | _ “Why, certainly, Mr. Smath, I'll drink with you,” said the major “Won't you invite your fi asked Smith, flipping his piste | of the Boone county sheriff, who sat with x. ig mouth and staring eyes watching tho dra- | matic scene before him. | The sheriff was only too glad to accept the invitation. The three proceeded to the bar, | where Gordon's best was sampled. Major Rollins often said that this meeting } with John Smith, “1.” was the reason why be never delivered another temperance lecture. His Name Was William. | From the Detroit Free Press. “What is youy name, my little man?” lie when 1'm good an’ William when I get licked ” ‘How old are you?” ‘Ask maw.” ‘Where do you live?” “To home.” “You look like a bright boy?” j ell ye, mister, I'm ‘way ont o’ sight, an’ don't you forget it.” “Don't you think that #0 bright a boy as you | @re ought to be more mannerly?" nd to join us?” the direction | goin’ ‘to let no old duffer pump me on private matters. By-by.” And the precious child put his hands in his Pockets and wafted himself down the street, Whistling “Annie Rooney.” ‘The kind old gentiemun happened to be his uncle, just returning from long residence abroad, and when Willie got home that night his name was William, cor. lutely indispensable to our basi- ” said a fashionable dressmaker the other day as she noticed my glance of in- quity at a basketful of empty bottles that a scrvant was taking out. “Oh, dear, no, I never drink it, nor the girls either, with my permission, but we use a good tuuns bottlestul every day, nevertheless.” jow “Why, to wash silk in. It gives old silka luster and a new look, almost like goods fresh from the loom. Then, too, it gives it a little body’ which lasts for awhile, long enough for our purpose, anyway. Atleast bulf my trade is in making over dresses, and so much better does the silk look after going through the beer- ing that my business is increasing wonderfully. It wasn discovery of my own, and it has been worth a good many thowsund ‘dollars to me al- ———~<o-— Had an Object. From the New York World. One of the sitters on one of the benches at the entrance of the Bridge promenade was try- ing to reada ragged newspaper which be had picked up, when a policeman observed: “You'll spoil your eyes trying to read in this gloom.” “Yea, sir,” was the reply. “Perhaps you want to,” continned the officer, as the man kept on squinting. “T do, sir. I don't want to become quite blind, but I'd like to spoil ‘em enough eo that every nickel will as big as a quarter to me. —_—+e-____ A Sure Thing. From Street & Smith's Good News, ‘sure to win today’s race. The owner of Flect- foot says the same thing. So does the jockey. All the bookmakers: Loy 80, too.” Winkers—“By Jove! That's achance tomake es “Put it on some other horse.” SELTZER FOR ONE mith, | ‘Who—I sir—I drink with you? Why, what | “ay, looky here, I'm in it, I am, an’ Lain’t | Minkers—“All tho papers say Fleetfoot is | P OL: MR. AND MES. BOWSER How Bowser Didnt Put Up Some Sere: Deore From the New York World “Do you pase a carpenter shop on your way | down town?” asked Mrs. Bowser the other morn- ing as Mr. Bowser was ready to leave the house. | Way?" he cautiously asked in reply. | ought to have » screen door to the kitchen. There's where all the flies come in. We can use one of those doors we brought with us, but we'll have to have carpenter te | hang it.” will, eh? Ibeg to differ. I don't pro pose to pay no carpenter three or four dollars | for doing what Ican doin balf an bour. I'l fix it myself.” | _ “But don't you remember, Mr. Bowser— don't you remember that you" | Phat I what?” | “You tried to hang « screen door Insteummer in Detroit and you got #0 mad you nearly tore Ww. j | stand up there and rite never tried to hang a screen door, end in \ second I never got mad.” “But you—you'—— she stammered. “Nothing of the sort! I don't even remem- ber that we hada screen door. 1 never tried to hang one. Tnever got mad I never eves | saw a fly around our house in Detroit. © of climate seems to have bad a very queer fect om you “ you send up a carpenter?” “Not by a jugful! Tabane bave anything to do at the office this afternoon, and | _ He returned at noon, having «heavy | with him, and when Mre. Bowser esked the contents he cut the string and replied: | “Justa few tools. Come handy to tinker with. Every man onght to keep afew tools | and do his own repairing. I think I saved ws | at least €200 last year.” | “Well, T hope you won't fly mad over | Mork. | A screen door ie « very particular to al eof ie is! You've bung lots of ‘em, I pre me!” vl know that it takes « skilled workman.” “You'd better write a book and call it“ I Know About Screen Doors.’ I ought to fel | auful proud to think 1 have such « «mart wife! un right in, now, and begin chap- | ter of your book!” ee Mr. Bowser descended to the cellar, where be found four screen doors of different sizes. | selected one he thought would fit and carried jitup. It was six inches too bigh. The *as four inches too short. The third was | almost long enough to make two such doors as | be wanted. | He bad the fourth one, which was {almost a fit. im the back yard, when Mrs. "If yon bad fret: measured the open “If you moasu: then ‘measured rour doors you wouldn't had to lug up but this one.” ' i you don’t you can't saw straight. wnt]? Perhaps Lam blind!” ov wd od finished sawing off the strip and id the frame up to the opening it was plain that he had run bis aw at ak anche told you #0,” she quietly observed. i ‘Told me what?” be replied, as he turned on her. “Do you suppose I don't Know wher ia about? Do you imagine I wanted a straight | top on that ‘door? If vou know so much go ahead and tinish the job!" Mrs. Bowser went into the house, and Mr. Bowser held the frame up again to sce that ue | Would be oblized to tack on a atrip or leave an | opening for all the flies in New York state. He Was sawing @ piece off one of the other doors te a this strip when Mrs. Bowser appeared and said: ., You'll spoil that door, too, Mr. Bowser. don't you take a piece from this box? | You bad put a straight edge on the other and marked it you would have been ail right.” “Mrs. Bowser,’ he began, as he laid down his | ses, “am Ia purblind child five or six years old, who must be brought in when it rains, or | am I the man of the house, forty years of and generally supposed to have sense | not towit down under « pile driver to eat my linuer?” “Bat you'll wever make that door ft,” she e protested. ~If I don’t no other man on earth need try She went in again and he sawed off 4nd nailed i on the other door. Then be it up to find the frame halfan inch too long. Mrs. Bowser ‘eappeared and was 4 about t0 say something, but wed at oo that she went back without a word. — “Phe infernal old kitchen is either gr settling down!” he growled as be held the loor up. “I've got to saw a picce off the bot tom to'make « fit aud shel ‘either dt oe doce comes the shanty!" 1 up He sawed of \d got what be called it. “He smiled and checkiod’ ~ 4 and had the hinges out to ask: “What chtckled over his success or when Mrs Bowser came good is door there if you leave ail You can't find one!” ~Look bere~and here—and here! Mer. Bowser, even the bumble-bees of New York | would tiave no trouble in flying in there! And how are you putting that spring on?” Mr. Bowser laid down the baramer, the gimlet and the screw driver, and after wiping of bie ushed face be stood erect and pointed inte the kitchen. Mra. Bowser disap) without “word. Then he inspected and found cracks. “Confounded old doorway is out of plumb, and thats the matter!” he growled, as be set to work to uuhinge it. When he got the door off he racked it this way and that and tried it | again. More cracks than before. He took # down and sprang ou the top with all his might, and this time, as he beld it up, there wase crevice through which » sparrow could have flown. He started to lay it dat on the but fell forward, tumbled over sprawled on his back. ‘What's the matter?” asked Mrs. Bowser from | the back door. |, Mr. Bowser slowly arose, looked all around for the ax, and not secing it he jumped at the } tereen doors and kicked with Doth feet = they were reduced to strings and strips. | he went up to Mrs. Bowser, panting and | apiring and pale-faced, end bostecly rec x This is the last time—the very last! Next time you coax me into doing any such infernal puttering work around the bouse I'll go—ga, ne your” er you mind! ite all right!” it say” — From London Engineering. The old proverbial purity of taken to task byachemist at Mal clean snow on meiting was fairly gave on analysis: Total solids, 24 H i i | Mi! j i