Evening Star Newspaper, December 12, 1891, Page 10

How 7 The Bear went along the A: 2 the arctie circle and bi 10 THE. EVENING STAR: WASHINGTON, D.C. SATURDAY, I H PS ALASKAN HOUSE, NTERIOR OF A RIC REINDEER FOR ALASKA Their Introduction to Keep the Na- tive Eskimo From Starving. THREATENED BY FAMINE. Bixteen Reindeer Already Landed at Una- laska—The Tame Species to Be Distributed All Over the Country—How They Are to Transform the Eskimo From Savages Into an Industrial People. Written for The Evening Star. AMINE, MORE NEAR at hand than Russia, calls for the appreben- sive sympathy of the people of the United States. Unless some- ing is done at once a ‘S- not inconsiderable frac- 3 xs tion of the population of SSS this country will perish = of starvation... Death \ for lack of food stares the Eskimo of north- west Alaska in the face, and thousands of them sre likely to perish from that cause during | the present wint ‘This Congress will, it is thought, make an appropriation of money for the immediate aid of the people of Uncle Sam's arctic province, Dut action of another kind will be required to sare the population from absolute extermina- tion within a decade. A bill iced at the last session, but not acted upon, will be urged through, providing a sum for the purc eand | importation into Alaska of reindeer from Sibe- ria. ¢ ALASKAN NATIVES. sixteen of these are now win- rbor, in charge . a tion by landii ka, wher iL ishan States dep’ er by the si in this dir of » Unite brought ov Ny YY WERE PRocrRED. i. bu hundreds should be : hat the y voyage arrived at condition. 6 HERDS. Wher this nucleus of a herd has been trans- ferred to the main land a few expert Chakchees THE METHOD OF RAIS: beasts fro have beon bi EER IS GOOD FoR, presents to the people of the esticate it the horse, the cow, together. To mse. furniture, exh is excellent ed with the contents of a favorite dish in Stberin, a.” ‘The intestines, cleaned and filled with the tallow, are eaten in the shape of eausages. The skin serves for clothes, bedding, tent covers, i *. ropes and fishing lines. and pounded into thread woven into ia seal oil and | ne various house- well as sleds and ms for war and the chase. A reindeer js only a cupful of milk at a milking. but fluid is so thick and rich that the quantity mentioned has to be diluted with a quart of water in order to render it palatable. First- Fate butter and cheese are made from the mili. The animal will dr: sled swiftly 150 miles a day over the snow and ice. | THE SIMERIAN DEER aEN. Jast across Bering strait, which is only forty | miles wide, in a region corresponding as to soil end climate with the northwest coast of Alaska, | thousands of Siberian natives are fed and | clothed by tens of thousands of reindeer. Fam- | ilies commonly own herds of from 1,000 to 10,000, These chukchees are known as “deer men.” They are nomadic in their habits and Foam about in search of food for themselves and their animais, accompanied by their herds. ‘They subsist mainly upon the products of this live stock, bartering the skins with the coast people for tobacco, seai oil, powder, shot, flour and walrus hides for boot soles. During the summer the beasts feed chictly on the young shoots of willow and birch trees, while in winter the; depend for sustenance mostly on moss and other lichens, which they often dig wu with their hoofs from beueath tue suow. O to the fact that their domestication tends to species smaller it is easy for the | owner to detect the wild reindeer whieh Ler times got into his herd. They are promptly | shot, lest they contaminate the Bree } ‘TRE ALASKA OF THE FUTURE. j ‘There is no doubt that if the tame reindeer ean be successfully introduced to and distrib- Bted in Alaska the Eskimo will become self- sustaining. At the samo time they will be lifted om savagery inte comparative cit The reindeer arctic who dor burned for fuel. Of the h hold implements are mal wea) GREAT TRACTS SUITADLE FOR RAISING REINDEER | seenre the beasts for draught purposes to sub- | trial schools o | doubt, and any one who cares to do so can con- | natives have difficulty im procuring enough of Being given a domestic animal to rear it is claimed that they will be transformed from into an industrial people. Instend ig his attention to sitting for hours together at the edgo of a hole in the ice, spear in hand and waiting for the bobbing up of a seal to preserve him and his family from starva- tion for the time being, the Alaskan native of the future will have plenty to eat, good clothes to wear and a swift vehicle to ride in. By and by he will accumulate property and marry a girl of white race. He willestablish a fish ca end his winters in San Francisco and ‘@ palace on Nob Hill. The experi- ment of compelling savages to take up agricul- ture has been tried in vain with the Indiana ‘They regard farming as women’s work. But there is no degradation from the sarage point | of view in taking care of domestic animals. At resent the only creature domesticated by the imo is the dog and all their energies are te~ quired to keep themselves alive. Money ap- Propriated by Congress to buy food for them \ NALASKAN UND ERGROUND HOUSE. literally to crawl through it in order to reach the two rooms at thoend. Theso two rooms, each from ten to twenty fect across, are the homes of two families, which thus have « com- a fs ihe of it. Itis both lamp and stove, being fil with whale or seal oil, ing, rer, is merely for tho purpose of taking the frost out of tae meat, whi fs eaten practically raw. For lighting purposes a wick of moss is used. ‘THEIR CLOTHING. The natives wear reindeer skins for clothing. They buy them from Siberian Chukehees, who come ovr to an international fair that is held ry summer on Fotzebue sound, just above ring strait on the Alaskan side. For the pelts seal oil and walrus oil is exchanged. There much dancing and feasting on ‘occa sions, as well as trading. the trading is done by bartering, nosort of mapoy being in ot culation. At this fair also ly wives are bought.” One ean purchase a very good article of wife for $10. Wives among the Eskimo people are usually bought, Sometimes the women are consulted. ‘LOOSE MARRIAGE TIES. Thore is no special ceremony connected with marriage among the Eskimo. In some tribes the husband joins the wife's relatives and is ox- be given every ar and its efforts eventually | will be to paup ize them. To stock Alaska with reindeer and thus add millions of pro:luctive acres to the wealth of the ould be an important achievement in but its accomplishment is especially urgent now. when it affords the only hope for ving the Eskime fromstarvation. Four bun- thoveand square miles in Alaska are ad- | mirably adapted to the raising and herding of these animals, useless for any other | purpose. This , much larger than the | wEngland and middle states combined. is red with moss and grass, seemingly in- d by nature for the grazing of reindeer. lers in that country are most anxious to for dogs. Some diificulty is likely to be ith on nccount of a weakness on the part for deer meat, but this will have to ‘ot over by training, supplemented by the judicious killing off of canine incorrigibles. THE BASE OF DISTRIBUTION. The project is to use the large island of St. Lawrence in the north part of Bering sea asa base for the distribution of reindeer. Just as in Dakota and Indian territory the Indian boys are taught how to raise stock, so in the indus- Alaska the Eskimo young men ed in the art of rearing tame aly one of the greatest er thought of. and eople of the i waa them- its being entirely able there seems to be no reasonable o3 of phi there is eve: tribute now. leer sustain 27,000 win that country the ears of all his reindeer. and to this mark he has an exclusive right, nobody else being allowed to use it. If such adevice were no ployed the herds mingling at pasture could not be separated. No one ban invent and assume a taark his own, and the orly way to get one is to buy that of an extinct herd. If unused marks are scarce the families owning them often ask high prices for them. SCARCITY WHERE FORMERLY THERE WAS PLENTY. Hitherto the Eskimo have depended for ‘The first three lied them with clothing, n sof life. Fifty exhausted other ‘acifie for whales, rsuing them into Bering sea and carrying war of extermination into the Arctic ocean. ngth the few eurviving whales have been driven to the neighborhood of the pole, and F ies has become well nigh extinet on Alaskan coast. Responding to a commer- cial demand for ivory the whalers turned their attention to the walrus and proceeded to wipe them out of existence likewise. Som times as many 2,000 of these val able beasts would be slaughtered on single cake of ice, merely for their tusks. Thus a walrus is hardly to be found today in Yhose waters where so short a time ago th animals were so numerous that their bello ings were beard above the rour of the wi aud the grinding of the ice floes. Seals and sea lious are now getting so scarce that the their skins to cover boats. They used to catch and care great quantities of fish in the streams, but their supply from this source has grea' diminished, owing to the establishment of great canneries, which send millions of cans of salmon out of the country annually and destroy vastly more by wasteful methods. Improved firearms have driven the wild caribou into the inaccessivie regions of the remote interior. coast of Alaska, and famine is progressing southward year by year on the shore of Bering sea. Where vill i i ji : | will afford temporary relief, but such aid must | pected to hunt and fish for them. If he fs lazy or refuses to give the furs he gets to his in-law he is likely to be bounced and some one more active and obedient is installed in his place as husband. Sometimes it happens that 4 girl has ten or twelve husbands in succession e finally settles down to permanent conjugal ‘Virtue is not remarkably de- veloped among the women, nor is sentiment in regard to chastity peculiarly keen. Men some- times exchange wives for a time and they tno & have been known to rent their spouses to white miners for a season. Polygamy prevails to a limited extent. Both sexes among the Eskimo are tattooed. Labrets are favorite ornaments. In a youth a cut is made in the lower lipand a sm: peeps orf introduced to keep it from closis Gradually it is enlarged and the adult is decor- ated with a labret of jade, ivory, bone or glass shaped likes silk bat in miniature, the rim being inside the mouth to hold it. Girls have their ears and sometimes their noses pierced tor chains or other such adornments. Along the arctic coast men cut off the hair on top of their heads so that they look like monks, the object being to avoid scaring the caribou by the flutter of their locks. INGENIOUS METHODS OF TRAPPING. Some of their traps for the beasts they cap- ture are remarkably ingenious. They fold up astrip of whalebone, doubling it half «dozen times, and tie it in that shape with sinew. Then they cover it with a bunk of fat, let it freeze and leave it on the ice. By and bys bear comes along and swallows it at © gulp. The fat and the sinew bindings are and the re- Jeased whalebone springs ontat length across the stomach of the animal, which soon dies of lockjaw. When it is dead'the trapper gets the skin. Aneven more effective lure Coaeeet to secure the pelts of wolves. A blide of keen-edged flint is fastened securely to a wooden stake, and the latter is driven into the ice, so that only the flint blade pro- jects above the surface. The biade is covered with a ehunk of fat, which freezes. After a while a wolf comes and sees the fcmpting mor- el. He is hungry and begius to lick it. Pres- edge cuts ton, He ently the shar; gue. and not knowing that it is his tastes the bl own is made wild by the flavor. More wolves come to share the feast. They also cut their tongues, taste blood and are maddened. Before long they leap at each other’s throats and tear one another to pieces, so that next morning the hunter finds the whole flock doad. It is « cl way of obtaining the pelts, and that is the rea- son why wolf skin rugs cost only €8 apiece. Although northern Alaska is so cold the whole southern coast, which extends for thousands of miles, has tem} owing to the proximity of the of the Pacific. Along this shore mense tracts which’ afford great agricultural and horticultural possibilitien,. The Department of Agriculture will probably before long establish an experiment station af Sitka for the of finding out what are best adapted to the learn how successfully the raising of cattle, hogs and poultry might be prosecuted there. \ for the Little Ones. HINTS TO SANTA CLAUS. ‘The Improvements in the Toys for Children— | Marvelous Dolls and Innumerable Acces- sorles—Games and Machines to Delight Boys’ Hearts—What to Buy. ‘Written for The Evening Star. “Merry, metry Christmas everywhere! Cheerily it ringeth thro’ the air; ‘OW THE CHRISTMAS OF 1891 IS AT hand the town is full of it, and one has no thought for anything else. A stroll through the shops, all docked in their Christmas finery, would make any one forget that he was old or lame, sick or sad; lost in admiration of tho Deautiful things, he would unconsciously hum Christmas carols and enter into the spirit of the time cheerily, merrily. It does seem as if every child, however poor or lonely, could have something, for even 1 cent will buy some tiny scrapof beauty. There is gratification for the most fastidious taste as well as the poorest purse. ‘THE FINEST DISPLAY. Never before has the display of toys been so rich and varied and never before so cheap. A survey of the doll depart- ment in the large shops makes one sigh, oh! to be a girl again! ‘There were no such dolls in our day; we were immeasurably ahead of the quaint, wooden jointed dolis of our grandmothors; but these dexr, beautiful, childlike dollies are far beyond our wildest 8. Ican remember feoling keenly the stiffness andangularity, the total lack of lifelikenessinmy cotton-bodied, china-headed doll’s figure. compared her most unfavorably with my bab; sister aad eae for a real true doll baby, a e round, dimple ossessod eal Uabiow cicadas DOLLS BY THE MILLION. Now 25 cents will purchase all “those endear- ing young charms” that we sighed for in vain, Even 15 cents will buy a pretty, rosy, flaxen-haired, blue (glass) eyed, jointed dolly ‘it took @ smali fortu: buy twenty years 0. “SPuere are dolls of all. sizes and all prices, golors and qualities; dolls dressed and un- dressed, and dolls with complete wardrobes in trunks: doile so tiny that they are put into wee bottles of dolls’ perfumery, and dolls as large as areal infant of six months. They range in price from 1 cont to $25. They are dumb or can talk, they have teeth, and can open and shut their eyes and turn thelr heads, and Possess other accomplishments such as crying and walking. But you can got an altogether satisfactory doll for the average child, about eighteen {nohes long and Teally pretty, betwoon 26 cents TOILET ACCESSORIES. There are no accessories to her toilet that you cannot have—clothes, hats, the prettiest shapes in straw and felt, untrimmed, to fit any head, from 1 to 50 cents each; gloves, dainty sets of furs, lovely little shoes and stockings for a mere nothing; hand glasses, combs, bruehes, and even flesh brushes, tooth brushes and nail brushes; parasols, fans, jewelry and all the rest of the feminine “fixings” for a small outlay of money. 2 ‘There aro just the most irresistible little real rubber waterproofs, in dark plaids, having eape and hood and real ‘buttons and ‘buttonholes, measuring about twelve to fifteen inches, for only 25 cents. re are bags and boxes of beautiful beads of all sizes, colors and kinds, ready for some little child mother to string, at 5 and 10 cents THERE ARE DOLL HOUSES, convenient and very stylish, that are enough to make any woman feel like putting away adult things and being a girl again. Two dollars will buy a charming house, two-story gad Attic, containing three rooms; the front is in; and each story swings open separate! ey es revealing the interior of fe roome A larger house can be bought for $4.50; thése are only two of many styles and prices. the way of furniture there are the most delightful things to make glad the heart of the little housekeeper. There are sets for parlor, bed room and dining room, from six to twelve pieces, ranging in price from 25 cents to $4. ‘MINIATURE FURNITURE. saw the dearestlittle chintz set for a parlor —4ofa, side chairs, arm chairs, table and cabi- net, with a brass-bound mirror—all in the daintiest style possible, for 45 cents in a neat box. Some are elegantly made of mahogany and plush or velvet, some are in imitation rattan and the rendering is very good indeed. The dining room furniture is very complete, having the most beautiful sideboards and tables. Bed room sets in ouk, cherry and rattan are there, and of course, as usual, one can buy any of the Pieces of a size to suit ‘the dollies’ needs sepa- rately. There are single sideboards that are very tasteful and fine, single chairs, tablesand beds. ‘Trunks for dollies’ clothes are in all sizes and degrees of perfection and range in price from 25 cents to $2.00. HER DOLLIE's ‘Then of course, even if dollie is made of wax ‘and cotton, she must havea bath room anda kitchen, as well as @ parlor and dining room, 80, looking about, we discover the cutest metal bath tubs suitable for a five-inch china dollie for five cents. We find them of all sizes, singly and set in portable tin bath rooms. ‘These are most interesting to the children, for, besides the tubs, the room contains a station- washstand with bowl, &., and over each tub is a small reservoir with a tiny spigot through which to turn the water into the tubs. What charming baths dollie can have, and how the children will revel in playing nurse to dol- Hie. ‘Those are 50 cents for the single tub and €1 for the double tub rooms. There are individual washstands of tin (enameled), having mirror, bowl, pitcher, soap dish and mug, for 25 cents. Single bowls and pitchers come at 8 and 10 cents—in white and gold—and lovely decorated toilet sets in boxes from 50 cents to $1. KITCHEN UTENSILS. ‘There is everything the most accomplished maid could demand in the way of kitchen fur- niture and utensils. Thore is wooden furni- ture mado in Germany, packed in neat wooden boxes, tables, stools, dresses, tubs, puils, churns, &c., from 29 cents to 95. cents per box. Complete sets of kitchen utensils in tin ean be bought fora trifle. ‘Ther: been a wonder- fal improvement in the stove line since last year—one can buy not only the old tin toy Stove and sham tin kitchen, fect tin kitchens with real metal stoves and just the most perfect little iron stoves—from 98 cents to $1.98—in which you can actually build a fire, and bwith He and stove lifter, lide and pots, frypans and kettles, all so complete as to fill even a woman's heart with sind py They are brought out this year in all sizes and itinds, iron and some enameled metal with the copper tops range from 98 cents to. the larger ones buving s beautiful array of cooking vessels of all kinds. that we have furnished the doll bi complete dollie must have a carriage in which to ke her ont They are here in $10, dazzling array—a simple wicker affair, small but nent for ae conte nad tans ranging uj through the larger, more eiaborately ay affairs to those of holstery and HE it ry 2 i i ¢ i F : ef é Ha Bra i Hl t | E t i i ri Some of the Many Attractive Things |’ but the most per- | 40 me tops, all intended for actual use. Those | ®241 inds of fancy toilet articles can be bought. fal Japanese lambs ruge for his fleecy and curly, sell for €3.50 and it skins are somewhat cheaper, but the new fleeces are better. FOR Baby's OWN USE. ‘There are bowls and pitchersof papier mache for baby’s own private use, bowls that have separate compartments for hot and cold water, and dainty wicker washstands fully furnished come for $10. All of these are non-breckable, very pretty. Beautiful articles in silvers rattles in silver and mother of pear! with bellt histles attached, pap spoons in the mos, jate designs, silver mugs and bowis, ads in various dainty shapes, and pins rings and necklaces without end; dainty powder boxes and puffs, hair brushes and combs fit for 8 princess, ivory rings and all the many dainty trifles that loving hands can make for the su- preme ruler of the home. FOR THE OLDER CHILDREN there are wooden express wagons from 49 cents up to $5, and strong sheet iron ones that last forever from $1.45 to 83. There are wheel- barrows at 25 cents, and veloaipedes and roller skates for larger amounts. Humming tops in rainbow hues, and tops that hum the different notes of a chord while spinning, in answer toa tap upon the wooden handle. ‘These cost from 10 cents to 50 cents. Building blocks in wood and stone, of all kinds, sizes and prices, FOR THE LITTLE WARRIOR BOLD. There are lead soldiers, both horse and foot, that for faithfulness to life and beauty of color would be hard to surpass. “They are a treat to behold; fine French soldiers from one to four inches in height, mounted on chargers full of fire and grace and painted in such’ charming colors. Twelve of these magnificent, large- sized horsemen, inalarge box, with cannon and ammunition train, for 98.78 represents the finest grade, and thence on down to a box contalning six fine little cavalrymen for 50 cents, and even down to one mounted cannon wagon, in a glass lidded box, for 10 cents. You can have few or many for your money, aud the quality is in proportion. IX FINE ARRAY, Decked ont in one of the beautiful soldier uniforms that hang in the shop windows, and given command of a small array of French or German lead troops, what lad from seven to eleven ‘years of ay happy?" Even the girls cast envio the giittering finery! They com card and consist of agun and sword, cap oF helmet, breast plate and epaulets to suit what- ever uniform or rank they Tepresent, all in the brightest reds, blues and gilts. He can have any rank in the line if he can pay for it, and they cost from 45 cents to €6.50 per suit. Then 4on't forget the drums; they are also modest or expensive as you choose. MECHANICAL Tors. Great changes are seen in tho iron and mechanical toy department. The toys are much more perfect and very much cheaper. Sixty-five to $5 cents will buy a very cleverly made hansom cab, horse and driver, a realistic street car and horses, a perfect fire engine, a z hook and ladder truck and forty others still | better at higher prices. There are dear little iron freight trains for 25 cents. In the mechanical toys, besides the usual varieties, there is one very taking new ono that is both simple and strong: it is the bicycle or horse race. A spring in the center is wound up and the two bicycles, side by side, attached to the center spring by rods, siart off around the ring ata gay pace, and ‘there is no way of knowing which will win; the interest felt is almost equal to a real race. This toy is not very expensive, somewhere in the neighbor- hood of a doliar, I believe. IN THE LIXE OF SKIN TOTS, as they are called, besides the lambs, goats and other animals that “speak” when you bend down their heads, there are single animals true to life in all sizes, presumably for pets. ‘There are the funniest goats, covered with long (cat) fur, mounted on rockers, whose every motion causes their ears and tail’ to wag. Bast of ail are the standard cart and horse toys. What boy could turn away cold from those cunning little Swiss and German horses, with real skin and hair, in perfect little harnesses, drawing a real dray loaded with bags and boxes? They are shown from 25 cents for a little horse and dump cart to #4. and move as they vary in size and quality. All are of good quality, however. There are tiny French music boxes that tinkle pretty little waltz tunes and popular songs. 'be average boy can use up one of them in a day playing organ grinder, and they cost from 9% centé up. Mouth organs, simple and elab- orate, are plentiful, and the boys love thom. Wooden stables, with horses aud wagon that can be drawn out and hitched up, come from 80 cents to $2.50. Grocery stores, buteher shops and dairies, all French toys of the same kind, from 25 cents to $5. There are little scales just like the real arti- cles in the grocer shops for 10 cents, 15 cents and 25 cents. Carved wooden anim: sets in boxes, also papier mache and plaster copies of the same, from 30 cents to many dollars, Little Swiss chicken farms and sheep folds, skillfully and prettily made, can be bought for 25 cents. They, too, are neatly boxed and con- sist of several Swiss houses, trees and either sheep or very ingeniously devised chickens. Then we must not forget the inimitabl toys of the Japanese stores, the lifelike animals and insects, the comical groups arranged by the skillful oriental fingers and the fascinating Jap- anese dolls. Goop PAINT Boxes. What girl or boy does not at some time have acrazo for a paint box, and why not indulge them? Drawing and painting teach observa- tion, and you can buy beauties in tin, that fold just like the professional box and hold eight or ten colors and brushes, for 35 cents, 55 cents and 75 cents. Better yet are tin boxes of French paints for 75 cents and $1.25, and the real working box for a student, filled with the Windsor and Newton moist colors, with a good selection of brushes, will cost from 6 to 810. In the same line are china paint sets, tapestry dye sets, portfolios, easels and stools, and even etching umbrellas make good gifts to an ap- preciative subject. 4 GOOD GIFT FOR AN INVALID GIRL CHILD, and I am sorry to say there are many such little ones, is a set of doll patterns to fither doll, some pieces of woolen, cotton, lace and silk folded into a neat little basket, with a small emery, a per of necdles, a tiny thimble and a pair ‘of Eetent blunt-pointed scissors and a spool of re The patterns can be bought at any pattern mney, and with a little oversight on the part of the parent while the little one learns their uso they will lend wings to many leaden houre. Even for a girl who can roam the fiolds and streets at will this isan acceptable gift, for most arrant “tom boy” hasa quiet mestic spell occasionally. ‘Another gift suitable for scrap book, a pair of bluat- a paste pot and brush. is ere is quite a de- cided change in scrap books. ‘They now come with the mucilage already upon tho leaves ready for moistening, in the sime ‘manner as of stam) These cost from 85 cents to $2, accordii to size. Any book store kee} imal figures, flowers and dolls and soldiers in bright and beautiful colors, ready to cut out ud paste in the book. “Then again, to such « child a paint box of the non-poisonous French colors with ®pook of outline pictures is ver acceptable. . If you havea little friend who hase French nurse or governess, or who is learning to read meaty beniset the lacey back orn at stores, not onl; exquisitely gotten up, but thoroughly Frenchy inevery way, All our standard stories are there told in th, and many more new to us, but familiar to French childra col gitie, Bie = ee : either standing frame or to hold a umber ata tine “rere sce pass books ted cord comes fabletsin leather, rapact sires. I have purposely avoided mentioning most expensive tova, They are for the few, and they can afford time to hunt for them. There I mention are for the notice of the many— for the father, mother, sister, brother, relative or friend who has left the choice of gifts until too late, and cannot think what to get for wee baby Tom or Elsie, and the crowded stores and scanty service do not give time or opportuni for deliberate examination and ie ese are but afew of the many toys invented for the pleasure of the little ones, and the only regret we feel as we visit the stores is that we cannot buy all. Karte Oscoop Hons. HER = rence Abner Withers’ Christmas, From Puck. On the 24th day of December, as Abner Withers, the senior partner in the firm of Withers & Co., picked up the mail that always awaited his arrival at the office, an unstamped letter on the top of the pile at once caught his eye. It had been marked, “Returned to writer for Prepayment of postage,” above the address, and the firm's business card in the upper left hand corner of the envelope showed where the post office people had obtained the information that enabled them to return the letter. “The boy has evidently been careless,” thonght Mr. Withers. “He has dropped that letter in the box without stamping it. I've no doubt it’s an important onc, too— what's this?” Mr. hers had taken the letter in his hand, k in his meditations had been 5 address it bore, which was sim- ply, Santa claus, esq. “Huh! some tomfoolery of the office boy's, I supp he continued.” “He is always wast- We are Affraid you have f¢ Live. you dident bring me or berti Any thing Last cristmas Like you use to. we dont want you to forget us this time. Pleas bring me A’pare of Skates and A big dram and A Saity and bertie wants A choo-choo car that will go wen you wind it up, And you might bring hia some pitcher books too, and A Set of bilding blocks. dont forget us dear Santa claus. Your frend, Sammy Withers. ‘As Abner read the letter he grew thoughtful The hard lines of his face relaxed. When he reached the signature a moisture had gathered in his eyes "oor Sammy and Bertie,” he murmured; Y own motlierless little ones! Bless their hearts! I have neglected them shamefully. To think they had to appeal to Santa Claus for Christmas presents when their own father is so able and willing to get them! Indeed, they shall have what they want, ‘safety,’ ‘choo- choo ears’ and all. As soon as the business of the morning was disposed of Mr. Withers went tothe toy store: and carefully filled the commissions which ha: been entrusted to Santa Claus by Sammy, and the work gave him greater pleasure than he had known in a iong time. He ordered the things to be delivered that night at 9. Air. Withers was unusually accessible to his | boys that night. He told them stories and he romped with them until Sammy cried, glee- fully: “Why, papa, this is just like the good old times we used to have.”* But Abner could not help smiling to himself at the uneasiness the children evidently felt. Once Eertiv even went so far as to ask Sammy inaloud whisper if he supposed Santa had their letter yet, and the father had to turn his back to bide a ‘langh as Sammy pinched the little fellow and whispered energetically: “Hush up, quick! Next thing papa’ll hear you. But the children wore sent to bed promptly at 8:30 and the packages arrived soon after. Abner received them himself and then noise- lessly entered the boys’ bed room and disposed about the chamber the articles he bad pur- chased. When Mr. Withers went to bed he said to himself: “I do hope I'll wake in time to hear them get their presente.” But there was no danger of his not hearing them, for their cries of delight at daybre: would have awakened Rip Van Winkle himself. He tiptoed to the door, however, and peeped through the key hole. Sammy was mounted on his bicycle and leaned against the wall for sup- port while he tried to put on his skates. “Ain't they just boss?” the boy exclaimed. “Ob-b-h! “ai dust boss?” squealed Bertie, watching his choo-choo cars careerin, over the Then his great blue eyes fill with satistaction as he murmured: “Santa Tiaus mus’ ‘a dot our letter, braver. Don't 00 s'pose he did?” “You bet he did!” And over Sammy's face spread alook of tender retrospect—a look as We sce on the chubby faces of Haphael’s cher- ubs—as he added ‘oa bet he got it! I put it rr purpose. in one of his own e Written for Tx Evexixe Stan. The Dream of Hope. Once upon a winter's night As I sat by firelight, Nodding, napping, sadly musing One And while gloomily I dozed As I dreamiiy reposed 'Fore the embers slowly falling, Suddenly I seemed to hear ‘Through the midnigai still and drear Some oue strangely, sofay calling. ‘Round I looked with startled stare,— No one, nothing anywhere, Save the darkness cold and palling; Bat irom out the dismal gloom Came a voice as from the tomb Faintly, sweetly, gently calling: ‘Came a voice that filled my som), ‘Thrilled my heart beyond control ‘With its melody alluring; | sion. With “Are you perfectly willing experiment upon you?” “You won't hurt me, professor, will you?” “Certainly not, my boy, 1 promise you, but your consent must be voluntary.” “Well, I have no objection, then,” and the boy, quite well known to many present, at the Professor's request rose from bis place in the went forward and ascended the piat- form. Many persons were looking on, for the cccasion was a private trial of the hypnotic Powers of a wandering “‘professor.” A committee of four, elected from their num- ber to see that no mischief was done and to be convinced as far as possible of the fairness and genuineness of the gy to let me try an pectation held the littie assemblage bushed as the Professor made a few passes over the lad's head and face, and it became quickly apparent | that he had completely lost his own volition. Laughter reigned for a time, fog the boy did many judicrous things at the fessor’s bid- dimg—such things as are less wonderful in the present day, having grown more common through frequent repetition and only regarded ase passing and amusing source of wonder- ment. Having now tested his subject thor- oughly and being satisfied with the strength of | bis “influence” the professor announced to his startled audience that he would force all the | blood in the right side of the boy's body to flow | into the left side, after which he would prove | that this monstrous boast was an accomplished fact. Tne lad was ordered to lie down, which he did unhesitatingly. Foliowing a scarcely perceptible movement or “pass” from the professor # magical band, a distinct line soon appeared which seemed to cut the head, face and heck of the unconscious boy into two distinct halves. The left side be- came suffused with color—a glowing, healthy red—while the right side bad ali the appear- ance of dead flesh and was most suggestively and unpleasantly like that of a corpse. chilly horror crept over everybody at this sur- Prising exhibition of hypnotic skill, while an Unavoidable fear that something ' dreadful might happen found veut in many exclame- tions from the excited lookers-on. ‘The professor said calmly and with reas- suring smile: *Ihere is no danger, and please to observe his easy and regular breathing, which is the surest proof. Have patience « moment and I will complete the experiment by Proving to you that there is no blood in bis Tight side (hen calling for a needle and white thread he placed a com between the boy's teeth, the better to hold his mouth open. With unfalzer- ing touch he pressed the sharp needle com- pletely through the cheek from the inside and drew it through with the thread following half way. Holding an end of the thread in cach hand he drew it back and forth several times through the check, inviting attention to the fact that the thread was not stained by blood. Truly it was perfectly white and clean, as all could testify aiter personal and strict examina- tion. ‘the needle and thread were also drawn through the fleshy part of the boy's Land with- out discoloring the thread or being foliowed by any drops of blood. ‘The professor had kept his word, albeit his audience were not ready toswear that they bed not been made the victims of an optical illu- another “pass” or two the line down the boy's face began to disappear. The obedient blood was visibly ebbing back, back into the right side, giving at once a perfectly natural tone and restoring a normal color. With another “pass” the boy moved restlessly and finaily sat up, opened his eyes and looked about him with a sleepy «mile. The audience thered about him breathlessly, the iad re- garding with wonder their curious and ques- tioning gaze. “Does your cheek burt?” said one. “No, but it tingles!” “And how is your hand?” “Why,” rubbing it, “it is asleep!” He then stood up and waiked about, seemingly uncon- scious that anything unusual had occ and looked at the professor with an air of ex- pectancy. He had realized nothing, not even any lapse of time, and fancied himself the victim of a joke, when the professor said Kindly: “Thai will do, my lad.” “Why, don’t you want me—won't I do?” he said, and his naive question provoked a burst of lsughter which he could not understand, but which embraced forgivencas for the pro- fessor's daring and successful experiment and restored to humor and contidence once more the indignant and perturbed individuals who had witnessed it. lad was happy, too, for did not every one present give him a pleasant smile and show a most unwonted in- terest in his well-being? ———_ces____ CRUSHING A MOKMON MOVEMENT. The Elder Went on His Way and Mer Jep- tha Marched Home. From the Detroit Free Press. A Mormon elder had been up among the North Carolina mountains spreading his doc- trines and among the poor and illiterate he had made converts. A day was set when these were to assembloat a certain hamlet and start on their westward journey. I met them at a bend in the road and drew aside to let them pass. Half mile further down they stopped to eat dinner from the baskets which had been prepared. I was watching the last one out of sight when a tall, gaunt woman, who must have been fully sixty years old, but was still ragged | and fall of determination, came up from the | other way, Her dress was of the plainest and her head was covered with ® sunbonnet, while she had on neither shoes nor stockings. She had a rifle on her shoulder and she came up 80 quictly that I was startled. to innit’ stranger,” shesaluted as she came ait “Good morning. “Hev them dun 4 this way?” red people with the Mormon elder?” “Yea lon “I think that elder ought to be driven out of Came a voice that sang of Joy, Peace and bliss without alloy— Perfect happiness inuring. Moved as by some mystic might Groped I throngh the darksome night ‘T'ward this voice my soul enthralling; But though seeming always near, Ever from the distance blear mg the magic music calling. ‘Out amid the howling blast, ‘Through the cheerless streets I pass'd Lured by wondrous strains impelling Me to follow and to hope ‘Thongh for ages I should grope ‘Through a grief beyond dispelling: "Mid the winter's chilling blignt, "Mid the horrors of a night ‘Whose existence seemed eternal Onward, onward without rest Fer unceasingly I press'd ‘With an energy infernal! ‘While the wails of sptrits sad And the yells of demons mad In the tempest wildly driving Seemed to pity and to moura And to ridicule and seorn, ‘My indomitabie striving. Following through valleys dark, Mountains bleak and forests stark— So fantastically drearful,— Groped my fascinated life O’er the earth in frenzied strife With its woes and terrors fearful, ‘Till amid the awfa! gloom Of this everlasting tomb Came I to the ocean palling, Where above its savage roar * Rose the voice as e’er beforo, Softly luring, gently calling. ‘Then amid o'erwhelming fears Came the voice in mocking jeers Like some horrivle deduction; . the music died away wing me in wild dismay On the brink of death's destruction. the country. Those poor, deluded nave 20 iden of what is in store for theme “That's what I've told’em. I've talked and 0 ‘tharken. My oldman “What! Has he left you behind?” “Sartin. He could'nt sell the ‘squat,’ but he shet of mostelse and left me back thar. "s got the Mormon religiun the powerfullest the Wounded. Asham fight among the Zuius is an impres- sive spectacle, says the Detroit Free Press. Tho dusky warriors are fine, musealar fellows, ath- letic and highly trained. The rank and file, untrammeled by ornaments and dress, move about with grace and freedom. The officers, chiefs and head mon wear coronets of ostrich feathers, which rustle freely with every move- mont of the body: circling their brows are rolls of tiger skin from which descend fringes of coarse hair, from the neck and shoulders to the knees their bodies are covered with the tails of monkeys and tigers and strips of various hides strung together in girdles; their wnisteare girt about with tufte of lions’ mane and cow hair Forming into live, their variegated shields are soclose and regular that they appear inter. locked, while above them bristle rows of gleaming axengai hoads. The foe is imaginary as even among their own tribes they are ro tosucha pitch of excitement that, had they any opponents, though only in mimic wartere, they would beso far carried away by their feclings that at close quarters — blood. * Would inevitably result. At the word of command they advance in procies order, first slowly, then at a quick march, en double, and with a shout of “Chiela'” (imaginary enemies) the battle be. comes fast and furions. Brandisbing thew Assegais, stabbing and lunging with strength and dexterity. each stroke accompanied by @ fierce grunt of satisfaction, stamping, gestic ulating and goashing theit tecth, they work oe intoa mad frenzy, im which their features are \\istorted and their are with @ fierce lust of biood. jetting Suddenly the command is given to retire, and, as victors shouting triamph, they march from the field. Then appears upon the scene & horde of wild-looking creatures, ranning and leaping from place to place, screaming de- monueally and franticaliy beating the earth with thick, heavy cluba These and they are engaged im the of killing the wounded. After « sham fight the night is spent in feasting and revelry ——_+ee —___— COLONIAL SHIKE OFFICERS, Laws of Olden Days That Seem Severe to Us Now The colonial shire oficers were much the same in function as those in England, but they had different names and there was a tendency to increase the number, says a writer in the Chautawjuan. Still there was nover such « multiplication of offices asin the town. The shoriff was the executive officer of the courte, but aseparate officer or officers usually r ceived the taxes. His service met with ob- stacles still familiar in the wost. Here are some Of the returns made to writs which had been given to Virginia sheriffs to serve: “Not executed by reason there is no road te lace where he lives.” “Not executed by reason of an ax.” Not executed was faster than ‘The first logis! gathered in Virginia panning the Hest set of colonial it proceeded to try an offender and to sentence bin ‘o stand fower da to the pillory * ry of those fower days should be publicly whipped.” The connty courts pomessed a similar com- bination of judicial, administrative and legisia- tive authority. The following was the judgment of a Virginia court: “nT t if Mister Holmes does not quit worry- ing Mister Jones and making him curse aud swear 80 he shall be sent to jail.” as Tobacco in History. From the Globe Democrat. At least once in history the “devil's weed,” as James of England calied tobacco, played un important part in a politicalmovement. When the revolution of 1848 came on the Austrien governmer® enjoyed a monopoly of the inane facture and sale of tobacco in those parts of Italy under its control. The liberals, resont- ing the tyranny of the Austrians and disliking to see so large @ revenue pouring into the Aus trian treasury from the sale of cigars nud smoking tobacco, left off smoking, « pacriotie metod of resenting the Austrian domination. The Austrian government thereupon «up- plied its troops with cigars, and the men of the garrisons went about the streets of Italien towns puffing smoke into the faces of the non- smoki ws The ineult was warmly me sented. ‘Ibe Milanese rose in rebellion and expelled the Austrians, Venice did the same, and thus was the revolution begun which ended in the loss to Austria of all the Italian posse sions. —-———ee2_ ____ Couldn't Scare the Old "Squire. From the Lewiston (Me. ) Journal There comes from the town of Baldwina story of gruff, square-edged old ‘Squire Thomp- fon, one of the first «vttlers of the neighboring town of Cornish, and father of the Inte Dr. Thompson, for many years a prominent physi- cian in that part of the state. It wasa local saying about Cornish that ‘Squire Thompson had never been scared. Many plote had been laid by practical jokers, but all had come to naught. Finally some’ Cornish wags made a last effort. One night Squire Thompson at- tended a busking at which the festivities were somewhat prolonged. It was midnight befure the ‘Squire started for home, his way being by by o path through the cemetery. The had been burying themselves in ‘digging hole across this path, and as the ‘Squire pro ceeded home he suddenly tumbled in. At the |qame instant asheeted figure appeared on the edge of the hoie and exclaimed in measured, sepulchral tonas: “What are you in my Krave for?” “What are you out of it for at this time of night?” retorted the doughty old "Squire ae be scrambled out and p on his way. onthe f <sonupeateiteratt Not Butlt That Way. From the Altoona Tribune, ‘There is one branch of modern education in which the women’s colleges are still sadly ée- ficieut—foot ball, § F REE a fi i it i Rh 3 < i i e E i G fF H tt i E .) ge iF tH ; ii { -