Evening Star Newspaper, June 11, 1892, Page 9

THE ROCKHOPPERS’ OONVENTION. } PENGUIN ROOKERIES. They Are Laid Out With Wonderful Regularity and Symmetry. HABITS OF THESE BIRDS } ‘Their Camps Cover From Five to Thirty Acres—How They Lay Their Eggs and Hatch Their Young—De Not Move for Man, ! but Wait to Get Knocked Over. URING THE LAST) year or twoa great deal | hae been said about | “rookeries,” seal“‘rook- | ful order which the fur | seal exhibits on thove| places, ‘The odd coup- | ling of s term used by Sf bird lovers to designate - the breeding or roost- é ing place of @ flock of Disekbirds,or“rooks”’in England with the breed ing haunts of a highly organized mammal has provoked noend of comment, but the same | meu who, growing up on the farm in the old| country and familiar with the shadows of a/ Tookery there, went to sea with Capt. Cook a} little over @ century ago and these men when | ‘they saw the seals swarming on desolate islands | 1) the antarctic called to mind nothing that resembled the tight so much as the flocking of | #* countless birds in to roost on a rookery at home: so this name became fastened to the seals wherever they hauled out m great numbers and to the immense cot tion of . which be saw ar, were first discovered by civilized man the fur seals and the penguins were near neighbors dur- ing the season of reproduction; they esme out from the water, in which they were alert and active, on to the land, on which they were con- strained and fairly helpless; but come out they must, and come out they did in multitudes that astonished the eyes of man when first laid on them. THEY CANNOT FLY. ‘The penguins (Spheniscomorphe) cannot fly from any danger on land nor can they run like the ostrich. They are stmply droll, grave wad- ders until they touch the water. Then off like a flash under water, for their useless are the finest fins, and they literally swim | like fishes with them. They are confined to the | southern hemisphere, and to the most lonesome | and desolate regions of that area, naturally, | since they are so helpless on land, which they | must visit regularly to reproduce their kind. | ‘Their plumage is harsh and oily and they do not look unlike our northern loon or diver (Co- | Iymbus )—at least, several of the thirteen species do which make up the pengnin family. They eccupy in the antarctic relatively the same — that our auks (Alcide) do in the arctic, at ther range up as high as the equator, thongh ‘the greater number are found below south latitude 28 ‘The most singular feature connected with this | family of birds is the odd coincidence of their abit with that of the fur seals. Like those ani- | mals they repair to the land in immense num- bers, where the isolation, the and the temperature is as the weals elect. re they spread themselves over the face of acres and acres of ground, reaching inland sometimes thousand yards from the sea beach. ‘These rockbopper rookeries ure designed | with great order and regularity—they are fre-| quently the resort of several different species, | but the ground is so laid off that the “town” or | “camp” of one kind is never confused with that | of the other. These “camps” are often extensive | enough to cover a space of twenty or thirty) acres; but a “town” that embraces four or five acres is a very lively one and about the usual thing. The penguins lay this grotnd out in several squares, with tolerably straight streets, the squares occupied bs the nesting birds and the streets by those which are coming and going | from the sea. Sailors delight in telling of the | perfect regularity of the lives of a penguin | town, and declare that a surveyor of our own | kind could not get it into greater regularity. MARCH LIKE SOLDIERS, | The marching and countermarching of the | Tockhoppers as they come and go from the! Tookery is said to resemble the maneuvers of | our soldiers on parade. The gravity. the rigid- | ity of the upright backs and necks, the stiffness of the usciess wing and the firmness of their footing make the resemblance quite euggestive. | Their erect attitude and binish black backs con: trust so strongly with their white bellies and | throats that one old English navigator declared | that they “resembled so many children at a dis- tance with white bibs.” The penguins come out on to these rookery ands for the sole purpose of moulting, lny- their eggs and hatching them: they lays single one, large acuminate or pear-shaped egg, and straddle it, making no nest or suggestion of one, but right on the bare ground the bird | Squats over it, sitting perfectly erect, without | leaving its charge for a moment day or night, Until the three weeks’ time of incubation closes: ff the mother does leave her egy it will be | stolen or appropriated by another penguin, and she will not be able to relocate her propert: 60 it appears that the male bird rogularly goes to and from the sea and brings his consort food, which keeps her in condition, since the sailors aay that sitting rockhopper is always \ These “towns,” “carpe” or rookeries of these birds have always proved to be of the greatest fascination to our sailors and whalers who have voyaged in the antarctic, and they have been of superlative interest to every nat- uralist who has bad the fortune to visit them. Those at the Falkland Islands have Deen the most accessible and have therefore a tracted the most attention, and long acconn are given bs the old Dutca, English, French WoT AFRAID oF MAN. ‘These odd “Manchots,” as the French called them, received those first white men just as they receive us today; received them without iving the least evidence of alarm and hardly ‘up at them as ther strode in after step- Ping ashore from their boats at the rookery margin. In someof the “camps” there would be ® perfect stillness on the part of thousands and | tens of thousands, which heightened the drear | desolation of the place; then, again, the jackass | would set up at night horrible bray- an infernal discord when arising from countless throats that was simply inde- seribable. When the sailors go ashore on one of these ookeries the birds give no outward evidence of F concern. They will not move, and stand pe. by while their companions are knocked with sticks till it comes to their turn for the club. The penguins hardly do more than turn a sidelong glance up and at the men. ‘The largest penguin is the Appenodes pata- ehonica, which is three fect from the crown of ita head to the tip of its abortive tail; -but the Other species are none of them over two feet uj and down the back. The bones are very hard, ctand heavy, with no apertures for the of air, but they contain, many of them, » thin, cily marrow. | Their sensations do | seem Yery acute, in spite of their brilliant red eyes, which glitter aid wink most knowingly at you. They sleep so soundly that 1840, is the largest ever recorded. This careful observer declared that these birds completely covered an area of not less thirty acres, possibly forty, and that the number of pen- ‘xuins collected together on it was beyon ability toeven guess at c: near approwch to the truth, for ‘dui whole of the day and the night 80,000 or 40.000 were continually landing and aa equal number going to the sea” (this is a characteristic feat ure of a fur seal rookery according to Elliott). “They are arranged, whén on shore, in as com- pact a manner and in as regular asa regiment of soldiers, and are classed with the test order, the young) birds beg one situation, the —— { birds in another, the sitting hens in a third | and the clean hens in a fourth, &c.,and so strictly do birds in a similar condition congre- te that should a bird that is moulting intrude fects among those which are clean it is fmme- diately ted from them. The females hatch the eggs by keeping them close between their thighs, and if approached — time of in- cubation move away, carrying eggs with them. At this time’ the male bird goes to con and collects food for the female, which be- comes very fat. After its young is hatched | 34), both parents go to sea and bring home food for ft the old birds ually getting very thin. They sit quite upright in thelr roosting places and walk in the erect position until they arrive atthe beach, when they throw themselves on their breasts in order to encounter the heavy sea met with at their landing place.” HOW THE FAME CAME. ‘The name of “rockhopper,” which the sailors have given these birds all over the world, arose from the odd sction of » penguin when it gets among loose rocks. It cannot walk then in its uliar alow waddle, but instead leaps or hops short jumps along, with outstretched wings ase ae Whe: among these ttle plameless used as fore logs, for it really cra on all fours, and moves then so quic! may be well mistaken for a quadru; One species, the vocalist of the ound “midldtedes of penguins ewerming found “mm tudes in some of the island among the ushes and tussocks ae — avi there for the moulting an: roaring their young. "These birds were very valiant in self-defense and ran open-mouthed by dozens at any one who invaded their terri- tory, little knowing how soon a stick would scatter them to the ground” (these were jacknss penguins, because all the other ay no attention to man when he comes amo others proved cooked. The manner in which they feed their young is curious and amusing. |The old bird gets ona little eminence makes a great noise (between quacking and braying), holding its head up in the air as if it were haranguing the r scThile the young one stands close to it, but a little lower. The old bird having con- tinued its clatter for about a minute, puts its | head down and opens its mouth widely, into | which the young one thrusts its head, and then appears to suck from the throat of its mother for » minute or two: after which the mother re- ts her clatter and again feeds the young one. This continues for about ten minutes," The captain also believes that the birds which are moulting are also fed by their mates, since he says that they are certainly unable to seek food in the water, being bare@f all covering during the two weeks of shedding. DARWIN'S EXPERIENCE. Darwin pleasantly relates his encounter with one of these birds on the Falkland Islands: “One day having placed myself between s pen- guin and the water,I was much 5 watching its habits.’ It was a brave bird and till reaching the sea it regularly fought and | drove me backward. Nothing less than heavy | blowswould have stopped it; every inch gained he | firmly kept, standing close before me erect and | determined. When thus o] he continually penguin (a demersa), family and Capt. Fits Roy, a roukecy at lotr Yeni’ to- | i] | | | i | this bird is commont: guin, from its habit whil ite head backward and 2 noise, very much like the braring of mal; but while at sea and undistur! is very deep and solema, and is often heard in the night time. In diving ite little limp are used as fine, but on land among rocks on “When at sea and fishing it comes to the | surface for the purpose of breathing with euch | a spring and dives again #0 instantaneously | ‘that I defy any one at sight to be sure that | it is not a fish leaping for = As long as beasts ae antarctic so long desolate islands of that region, but let s few foxes get a footing near one of ‘these rock- | hopper “camps” or “towns” or let it suddenly be | in the path of commerce, the end of the life of that colony will soon be recorded, for the bird is simply helpless to save iteelf from such ene- | mies by land and on the land it must go every Fear at stated intervals Since, however, the ‘antarctic solitudes are much more desolate and than are those of the arctic, it is safe to that the penguin tribe willbe undisturbed: flourish for sn indefinite fature. SG SO a ‘Written tor The Evening Star. “God Save Our Land!” ‘Words of the National Hymn performed United States Marine Band on Decoration by the | day at Arlington. ng were good eating, but the "0 be Sescyunah tng aene Lgrmy | Con “Not least interesting of the numerous mental | | the: | sponding with the usual points of instruction | tbe THE EVENING STAR: THE SPOILS OF OFFICE Not What They Were Before the Civil Service Law, POLITICIANS ARE DISTRESSED ‘Their Influence Gone and Their Patronage is Cut Down One-Half—Bribes Offered to the Civil Service Commission—Buying Places Under the Government. NLY ABOUT ONE- half of the spoils of office which were for- merly the prize in » contest for the presi- dency will be available for distribution in the the administration. Al- though of the 150,000 paid places in the gov- ernment employ only 84,000 come under the civil service law the aggregate salaries of this number amount to as much as those of all the rest put together. Thus the larger and more luscious plums are withdrawn from the politicians to an extent that is extremely distressing to them. Even at this season of approaching elections frequent sdvertisements appear in the Washington news- papers offering cosh in amounts from $75 up for unclassified situations in departments ‘st $50 or 860 8 month. These propositions, Often successful, are addressed to corrupt per- sons of petty authority or influence, who are to sell such small appointments secretly. This method isa survival of the old “patronage” system, under which people came to think employment by the government could always be got by paying money. Up to within a com- paratively recent period bi st proffered not ently to the civil servic commission by individuals who = this to be the best way to obtain the clerkahips they KOT SENSITIVE NOW. “I used to feel somewhat sensitive on that point,” said Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt yesterday, “‘but I ceased to mind such offers to bribe me when I found that every other officer of the government, from the President's pri- vate secretary down, was approached in the same way. My curiosity is aroused by these raons whove moral density is so extreme t they actually seem to be unaware of hav- ing committed any impropriety. We always deal with them very summarily, striking their names at once from the eligible register. In more ‘one instance where we were asked whether $50 would be any object, and notified fe offender that his name was struck off, we saying that the writer e received a plaintively indignant letter, proposition was anything out of the way, and no notion that his adding that from what he read in the news-| poners he had sup that all offices were got 7 such ‘means. * Which gives one an unhappy | impression,” added Mr. Roosevelt, ‘‘of the edu- | cating influence of # certain section of the An astonishingly large proportion of totally ignorant and illiterate persons apply for gov- ernment clerkships. Many of the examination papers look as if they were written by disciples of Josh Billings. The puzzle is why such peo- ple should imagine themselves fitted to fill posi- tions of the kind. In one case a man wrote in- dignantly that he had been barred ont ona “technicality,” one technicality against him being that he spelled “butter” with one ‘‘t” and “borrow” withoutany final ‘‘w.”” Another person, who took the formal notification of place and time for the examination as a per- sonal invitation, addressed himself as follows to the “Comischer of Sivel Sirves:’ WHY HE WAS NOT PRESENT. “My Dear Brother. lam very sory that I could not Meet you on the day you said but gentlemen, i am glad of the cause that Kept me way. Let me tell you Mrcomivcher, 1 hav Bin | mard 5 years, an tel The Other Day, Me an my Wife hav bin the onley mbers en ow famle. well Siron the Da before youre Exammena- shun, My Wite Had a kapple or tuins gout Think of it MrComisher, and of corse i cuddent gooffand leave Her end them. i Just stade home and we had a sellabration—an I Invited all my friends to diner I wish you had bin thare. iHopeI can be thare next time Mr. is Very Trly yores ete. froaka who write to us are many persons of both sexes who are convinced that the commission iscontrolled by politics,” said Mr. Roosevelt. “They commonly state, as a matter of informa- tion, that acertain Senator or Representative is going to have them put into office as soon as | they have passed the examinations, Sometimes they convey this news asa warning to us, im- plying that we had better look out and pass mall right or else we will suffer. In re- ut examinations, &c., we tell the applicant that political influence will not affect the result in his or her regard. ‘The candidate, if present in person, particularly if a woman, usually smiles, as if our statement was @ familiar but | fallacious formula. One western man_ replied | to the communication with a note of defiance, saying that his Congressman was going to put him in whether we liked it or not. Strange to | say, he did not get in. Another declared that, | if his mark for penmanship was not raised, he would have the commission investigated’ by Congress. In most such cases the applicants pase low down or fail and, after waitiag for ‘months and bothering the lives out of the poli- tician on whom = relied, but who is per- fectly helpless to aid them,’ they write to us, | imploring or threatening. ‘After « while that| ceases. INFLUENCE WON'T PULL THEM THROUGH, “Usually the candidates who are backed by ‘influence’ fail, because they rely wholly upon ull.’ But now and then it happens that # man having political support is a bright and capable fellow and secures @ position by passing in the examinations. Curiously enough, in such a case the successful person can never be convinced that he got the place by his own merit. As soon as he obtains it he writes to the litician on whom he relied and thanks him Jor the ‘appointment. The politician, innocent of instrumentality in the matter, who had no notion that the appointment was made, responds with a gracious letter, expressing his gladness that his exertions have been productive of serv- ice to his protege, and adding best wishes for his future success, &c. Then the new appointee tells all the unsuccessful candidates a his ac- quaintance how his backer hus e ‘pull’ with the Guardian of Liberty, to Thea, ‘We ralse our prayer fortune. hile, different Pacific ports. Chile and there became ested in a powerfal steamboat line. great deal of money very rapidly, fetired « millionaire. f H 5 id i F i 8 i Hi if they have been Kicked s yard or two over the ground before a! ‘Then when do Souse up they warch off with their’ usual ev ity if they go ut all away from you. S1259 OF THE ROOKERIES. The penguin rookeries are generally not larger ‘than three or five-acre lots ar any one place, but Mrs. —“Land sakes! I wonder what that boy will be up to next.” commission. They go to their backers with com- plaints, and for a fortnight afterward the com- mission is deluged with letters of protest on the tubject. It is impossible to convince many ap- Plicants that there is not some way of accom- plishing their ends unrighteously, if they could only find it. “One of the regular duties of the commis. sion,” continued Mr. Roosevelt, “is to deny over and over again certain time-worn allega- tions respecting irrelevant and ludicrous questions supposed to be asked in civil service examinations. For example, it is declared that candidates for situations as clerks and letter carriers are required to state the distance of the earth from Mars,the length of the Y: river and the military services Ward. These pure figments of imagination, in joke, are accepted seri- ously and have been solemnly repeate in the United States Senate. i commission have usually 0, fur than to produce a reiteration e charges, In my early days as a member of the board I found that the most effective plan to adopt in such cases was to offer to bet the author of the attack a sum of money, at odds of ten to one, ever been itemize and repeat them. STILL UNDER THE SPOILS SYSTEM. pny he Congressmen, event of a change of to WASHINGTON, because things. The remaining unfortunates linger Washi for months, until their money gives out, and finally borrow funds to get home with from their Congressmen, whose bitter enemies they will be ever after. Such is the beauty of the ‘patronage’ business, which is sure to be done away with altogether before many years have passed by the extension of the civil sery- ice law to all oocupants of civil places under the (orernment, of coursé with appropriate modi- | fioations. “The work of the commission has its painful side, owing to the great number of poor people, especially women, who apply for government employment and to whom it cannot be given. Nearly 700 women annually seek places as copy- iste in the departments, wi about thirty ure wanted oF ean, be appointed. Among them are poor wido rd-working and welb educated girls and old gentlewomen who bave lost their means. They come to us favor may be shown them, but that is necessaril imposible. For obvious reasons, those who ai for favor are usually persons who would make very incompetent public clerks, It is very hard make them understand that a government ofice ennnot bg turned into an seylum for help- lest people. Whereas these things cannot helped, the ‘patronage’ system was responsible for'a great deal of unnecesonry misery. I knew, for example, a widow with two helpless children tobe turned out of a department where she had served faithfully for fifteen years, simply be- canse a Senator wanted her place for a hench- man, the consequence being that she and her little ones came very near starving to death. OFFICE THROUGH ADVERTISING, “The method by which persons obtain gov- ernment employment through advertising offers of money in the newspapers is very simply ex- plained. Some unscrupulous individual in petty authority ine bureou sees the printed notice and communioa‘ee, with the applicant, very likely through third ving arranged for receiving the cash equivalent he goes to the appointing authority and suggests the discharge of some minor employe, repre- senting that he haga more capable man avail- able for the place.” Assent is to be given, a3 @ matter of course, the dol are trane- ferred and the purchaser of the position takes it nd the salary attached. Two years ago a per- | won offered $150 for such a position by adver- tisement ina Washington daily, and he got it. The facts in that case came out through bis trying tocheat inan examination before the commission for a situation in the classified service at higher pay. That plan, ae I have said, like the attempts at bribery addressed to us, ‘is purely @ survival of the old system of spoils. When the latter is done away with alto- gether such things will be unhesrd of.” paBbcnr isa 2 ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON. Romantic Story of Her Marriage tothe Fa- mous Novelist. From the Kansas City Times. An official high in the employ of the govern- | ment said to me the other day: “The story of | how Robert Louis Stevenson got his wife has | nevet been told in print, I believe. The story | sounds almost like a chapter from a novel, but | is, nevertheless, absolutely true in all its de- | tails, ° “In 1885 I, a young man, became intimately acquainted with Samuel ©. Osborne, who was then private secretary to Gov. Willard of Indi- ana. Osborne was a magnificent fellow in per- sonal appearance and magnetism. He was ver- satile, scholarly, witty, quick as tne lightning’s flash in repartee and a fine musician. That man could draw sweeter tones from a flute than any man I ever knew. Well, in 1858 Osborne mar- ried a black-eyed Miss Vandegrift; she was not beautiful, by any means, but rather attractive. At that time he was in the office of the reporter of the supreme court of Indians and was making good money. : “In 1861 Jas. B. Beach, reporter of the su- preme court, and Osborne, both of whom had saved up a f | Arizona. Sam had his wife and two children, a | boy anda girl, and he took them along. Ar- | rived in Arizona Beach and Osborne bought a | mine with their savings and in about a month | | were offered $100,000 in cash for their bonanza, | Beach wanted to hold on for a larger offer and | inside of six weeks they could not sell it for a dollar. Osborne headed for San Francisco and | reached the Golden Gate with 87 in his pocket. | He knew a good deal of law and was a good | stenographer, one of the fastest in the country | at that time. This accomplishment stood him | in hand, for he was soon making lots of money, | and sometimes he used to write to me he would get $1,000 for reporting a single case. As years went on the daughter and son grew up and were sent abroad to fiaish their education, The son went to England and the daughter to France. ‘The mother went to Europe aif spent a season or two with them. “The last time Mrs. Osborne went over was in 1883, and then she met Robert Louis Steven- | son—I believe it was in Paris, She at once wrote back to her husband and told of meeting the literary genius and told of an_afection, she | had formed for him. Osborne evidently thought this more than a merely platonic affection and, I guess, had good reason to think 0, for he wrote her that if she loved Stevenson to come | | | back to "Frisco and obtain a divorce. She did this, and ne soon as the divorce was granted the invitations for ber marri: to Robert Louis Stevenson were sent out. ‘The bride, was in town daring the divores proceedings. Ox | borne was invited to the wedding and be ac- cepted. Ho appeared on evenin, faultlessly and having on his arm a lady of rare y. The wedding over the new Mrs. | Stevenson introduced her new husband to | her former one, and Osborne in turn repre- seated the lady on his arm as Mrs. Samuel O. Osborne! He had been married quietly to her ‘a8 soon aa the divorce was granted. Osborne would make no outward sign, but the episode broke his heart. He went to Australia and Stevenson to Samoa. I have never heard from Osborne since. ‘The places and men that knew him know him no more, and I do not know whether he is living or dead.” Suiideaitet sy Undestrable Realism. From Good News, Mrs. De Flatt—““What’s the matter, pet?” Pet—"We don’t know wot to do wis our- selves.” “Why don't you play house?” “Cause Dick always wants to be janitor, an’ he’s too rough.” dressed Infant Prodigies. From the Somerville Journal. | Blank—"By Jove, I have; they never either of them aay anything bright enough to be worth re “4 ‘Blink Geottling down again}—“Oht” oe ee The Embarrassments of the Corner Saloon. From Lite. D. ©, SATURDAY, JUNE begging that |. thousand of dollars, started for |. _— 2 —— a ail Matters of Decided Interest to the ABOUT RIFLE PRACTICE. An Extract From a Circular That Will Be Found Instructive—Secretary Elkins’ Let- ter on the Departmental Battallon—En- wineers and Figures—A Good Scheme. F ANY MAN IN THE world has right to talk about rifle practice it is | Col. William Leverett | Chase, inspector general | of rifle practice for Mas- | sachusetts. There has recently. been issued | from his office a circular in which is to be found much interesting in- | formation and a great | deal of good, sound advice. It will take «| few days to digest this latter, and by the time that has been accomplished the readers of the National Guard column of Tax Stax will be | ready for the information. Here is an extract from the circular, and it will pay every officer and enlisted man in the brigade to read it slowly | and with the mental eye wide open: | “The efficiency of the volunteer force con- | sists in their ability to march, maneaver and fight. | “The weapon of the officer is his ‘living ma-| chine gun’—the fire of the men he control all lead up to getting men with the great- | est ease and rapidity where they are wanted for | sotion. Any officer who is content with only bringing men to this point falls short of his fuil | duty, for he stops in his military proficiency | exactly where his war preparation ought to | “Ortevery thing that shooting is de- “Everything that encou ooting is sirable. “It would be better to have all men qualified in the first class, but all ought to be | marksmen of the third class at least. | “It is not sound policy to enéouragea man to | shoot at long ranges until he is reasonably cer- | tain at short range. Fine shooting at long | range emphasizes what can be done with the | rifle thoughtfully mastered. It is keenly inter- esting and affords a field for those whose time | and skill prompt work there; it may be ueeful | in service, but its chief value is to develop com- | petent range finders in the ranks. It is at | shorter ranges where the weight of fire will tell. | Reliable shooting there is more important than extraordinary work at extreme ranges. | “The general efficiency of the militia as state troops will be raised more by persistent, faith- ful work at 200 yards than seeking to ‘merely | make such range a stepping stone to putting the most of the time and expending the greater part of the ammunition on the hij marksmanship, | “Whenever @ man proves his strength at the short range and is capable of exceptional skill at | the longer range, every proper facility should be given him to perfect himself, but this should not be done eo a8 to restrict the ammunition provided for the company who need the more vital work of short-range practice. | “Military shooting must be the work of men | who are good soldiers, and so rightly proficient with their arm. The mere crack shote,who put in the bare requirements to enable them to present themselves in competitions. and are un- | willing to help their moro struggling brethren forward in the path of shooting, ond wear, the cloth solely as a background for medals, have | their reward. OALLERY INSTRUCTION. | “Without proper preliminary work in the | armory it is useless to expect good results on | the range. This should be made the duty of some officer or non-commissioned officer with | an interest in thorough work, fitted by experi- ence or natural aptitude to be patient and ju- | dicious in instruction. Knowing the men, in- | dividual wants can be studied and defects over- | come before the man, after a senseless waste of ammunition, is discouraged with his wretched firing on the range. The only reason why any man can miss the target shot after #hot harks | back to culpable neglect in his instruction in the armory. FIELD WORK. “No man should be permitted to fire on the | range until he understands the elementary | Principles of shooting. The responsibility of | seeing that this real work is properly done is within the province of the inspector of rifle practice. “If @ recruit cannot see the target at 200 yards he ought to serve his state in some other ‘capacity than as a soldier.” QECRETARY ELKINS SUBMITS A FEW REMARKS. Gen. Ordway has always been fortunate in Posressing the esteem of the Secretary of War, | no matter what gentleman might be occupying that position. The intimacy resultant from | this personal and official affection was advan- | tageously apparent during the administration of Secretary Proctor, but there is promise of Felations quite as close and quite as pleasant | with Secretary Elkins. Those who want to| know where authority for such a state- ment may find it in the following letter, written by Secretary Elkins to Gen. Ordway: “My Dear Sir: Iam in receipt of an informal | note calling my attention to the circular issued | from headquarters,District of Columbia militia, November 20, 1888, regarding the proposed or- ganization of a battalion in the National Guard of the District, to consist of four companies to be composed exclusively of employes of the governmentand to be known as the ‘depart- ment battalion,’ one company of which was to consist of employes in the State, War and Navy partments, and asking an expression of 1m views with regard to the same. yi “As you may be aware, the subject of the National Guard organizations throughout the country bas been one of special interest to me, and already I have taken pains to direct that | every effort be made to bring the National Guard into closer relationship with the federal army. It wotld be most natural, therefore, that I should heartily sympathize with whatever effort might be made to encourage the District of Columbia authorities ¢o extend and improve their military organizations in this city. Prom what I have seen of them Lam convinced that their efficiency has already been raised td'a bigh standard, and to maintain that standard, while at the same near enlarging their num ers, sho rey as of great import- ance. Sofaras Iam concerned, I think the idea involved in the ‘department battalion’ is a Food one; and should be given encouragement. 't would be pleasing to me, therefore, to know that the War Department at leastshad farnished the full quote ‘expected of it, and I should like to see the company and best ized in the District. therefore, to say that I shall be pleased to see you at any time and to confer with you regarding the subject with the view of. stmu- lating the military spirit of the young men of my, nt, in order that they might enter more fully into sympathy with the proposed ps rt re ave as good material in e War as can be found anywhere endid. military organization, and Tare sure that the employes have but to be properly ed in order to inspire them with that make them strive to rival, if organization in the ENGINERRS AND PIGEONS. ‘The engineer corps held its monthly meeting on Monday evening. As so many of the corps are students the present number of college comméncements are interfer tendance at both Gordon, jr.,and R. P. members and enlisted. . with the at- drills, Alex, ton were elected ad- ex- It is under consideration by Gen. Ordway whether this method of ‘tohes can- uot be taken up as part of practice and study of the Corps, at least to that ex- tent that experts “homers” would be available in case of necessity. As @ pertinent fact it may be stated that at the time of the Ddattle of ‘Was no communica- could ha’ rered. the flea a ye COVE tense « eixt miles in as many minutes. igher classes of | P* 11, 1892—SIXTEEN PAGES. <== |THE NATIONAL GUARD @ONB To OMAEA. Company C, second battalion (National Fen- Dies), has started for Omaha snd expects to ar- rive fy that city tomorrow afternoon. This company has never into ithe Detter drill (cams. then. “thet winch wil made for Capt. Domer tion, but there i every reson for believing that the company will return home Jaden with laurels and caa It is Declared to Be an Unfailing Index to Feminine Character. From the Chicago Tribune. Quite a novel snd warm argument was had the other day between an especially successful hotel man and the manager of s dry goods house, both of this city. The subject, oddly enough, was—woman’s hair. “Tl back my word for any reasonable amount,” declared the hotel man, “that I can read @ woman as accurately by her hair as anybody else can by her eyes, nose, mouth, &e.” “You probably wouldn't omit taking the eyes, lips, nose, &c., in at the same giance necessary to see her hair?” observed the dry foods man, “I wouldn't ask to see. thote features at all,” replied the host. “They could be covered up. Have her head entirely concealed. All I'd want to see would be a good-sized strand of her hair— but I'd have to know it was grown to her bead before I'd put up my money.” “Then her manner of wearing it would not enter into or affect your decision?” “Necessarily—no, not in the least.” “Well, I'm not in a wagering mood today, though if I were I wouldnt mind taking you for fifty ora hundred that you'd get left nine | dese: times out of ten,” commented the man of dry goods; “but that shouldn't prevent you sharing ur theories with us.” “Excuse me—facts, not theories,” said the hotel man correctingly. And then he proceeded to say: “I start out in my reading of a woman by her hair with the quite generaliy known and accepted principle thot the finer the hair the gentler the birth, or the better, higher grade the family stock’ from which she came, snd, having thus determined whether she is of gentle or rude birth, I rely upon the amount of ¢are which her hair shows to have bad in order to obtain the key to her mode of life. A brilliant, glossy effect even in connection with the finest feminine hair is the result only of long and most careful attention, while in the case of coarse hair, indicating to less or greater extent rnde ‘birth, a degree of glossiness is utterly impossible. And now I will give you a principle or rule that you will probably laugh at, but it stands for » fact, nevertheless; it is that the closer the ends of the hair cling ‘together when unaffected by an artificial force the more intellectuality does the owner possess. When the ends, and particu- larly the body of the hair, show'a tendency to curl it is an infallible sign that the owner has inherent grace and poetic ease of body. The straighter and less vielding—though not neces- sarily harsh—the hair, the firmer and more jositive is the woman's nature. Treach- ery and jealousy hide beneath lusterless or dead black hair nine cases out of ten. Femi- nine bair that may appear of the finest tex- ture and be glossy almost to brilliancy when viowed ata little distance. but that on close examination is found to have a broken or split ap} something quite common in ladies’ ‘hhair—may be depended on to a certainty as in- dicating a badly unbalanced character, » woman with an excess of especially queer notions, and one who, while she may be nice enough to bow to on the street, should be avoided as an intimatefriend. The lighter colored the hair the more sensitive and ‘touchy’ the owner, except in rare cases, where her ladyship en- joys age health. Brown hair, whatever the shade, is always, I bave found in my business as a hotel’man, the most pleasant and satisfactory shade ‘of hair to have to do with across the hotel counter, and that's the place to find out a woman’s nature. What- ever the shade of brown it may be, you will find the fact almost infullible that such hair covers a perfect hotbed of common sense, good judgment and reason. And as for auburn hair, I wonld trast an auburn or red-haired woman for more days’ board without her having any than I would a woman with hair of any other color, brown locks not excepted, and T've probably had as many red-haired Indies for my guesta as any other hotel man in the country. Some red-haired women are mighty impulsive and aick-spoken occasionally, but Ihave always found them the possessors of two most appre- eiable traits. "they ‘are strictly honest and have common sense, while as a general rule they are among the brightest,'the gentlest of gentlewomen.” Sess Household Hints. From the Detroit Tribune. It will be found advantageous to select a good supply of pet mames at the threshold of mar- ried life. The following suggestions, based upon the inexorable logic of history, may be found of value: Tootsey—Most properly applied toa nun of forty-five with one eye, a large red nose and stiff black whiskers, Birdie—Not to be tolerated unless the bride weighs over 250 pounds and has false teeth. Girlie—Refers exclusively to the fourth or ‘the fifth-time bride of thirty-eight summers and ipward. Sweetness—A very choice epithet a] to almost anybody whom the cold wor regard as anyt! but sweet. Owniest Own—Finds great favor with hus- bands who have msrried a fortune. jicable would ———+e Conscientious About It. From the Chicago Tribu Elder Keepalong—“The dust is frightfal on this street.” ‘Deacon Ironside—"Yes, it is about as bad as it can be.” Elder Keepalong—‘And for al month each we can have it spri ‘Deacon Ironside—"S; unscriptural.” ’ Thus Science Moves On. From the New York Press. Patent Medicine Manufacturer—“Doctor, don’t you think you could discover » new dis- “Doctor—“Discover s new disease! earth should I do that for?” P. M. M.—“Because I have a new medicine which is the very thing for it.” oe Soh ies Didn't Want to Make Him Work. From Brooklyn Life. Ambitious Mamma—“Edith, I noticed last night that Mr. De Bich paid you considerable attention. I hope you showed him « proper amount of civility.” bout 50 cents o Never! It's What on ot Ingenuous Debutante—‘‘ = I did! I'm sure he rioes Riek: late eae er asking.” ‘Use Science and Be Happy. « ‘From Practical Electricity. Accitizen of Cambridge, Mass., protects his ears from cat concerts and his fruit and flow- ers from juvenile thieves by means of a strip of zine running along on the top of his garden fence and connected with the electric wires in his house. Neither the cats nor the boys are in- jured thereby, except from their own wild jumps when they touch the zine. Be See From Good News. Wite—“Deer me, it’sarainy Saturday, and Wife—“TI generally sent them in to play with the neighbors’ children, but all I knew have moved away.” Transcript. Lady Friend—‘So you are going to greduate next month, Mand? Dear me! what a time of I suppose you are it you must havel CURIOUS PEOPLE. They Dwell on the Slopes of a Won- derful Mountain. THIRTY DISTINCT STATES. A Total of Sixty Thoussnd Inhabitante— Each State Governed by a More or Less In- dependent Sultan—Striking and Pictu- Fesque Costumes of the Natives, HE people in Africa, who Gwell on the slopes of the wonderful mountain called Kilime-Njaro,fur- | nish the subject of an | interesting monograph about to be issued by the Smithsonian Insti- tutio This remarka- ble voleano is situated 175 miles from the east the equator, capped | With eternal snows and glaciers. For centuries | ite existence was only known through reports obtained from the natives, and not until 1849 | wasit seen bya white man—the missionary | Krapf. The tountry between itand the nearest seaport, Mombasa, which is the headquarters of the British East African Company, is a rt. The mountain has two cones, Kibo and Kima- | wenzi, the former containing a crater 6,000 feet | across and 600 feet deep, and the latter being a black dome of rotten inva. A ridge 15,000 feet | high joins the two Peake, ‘the attains an altitude of 20,000 feet. peaks are | eight miles apart. Many explorers have tried imvain to reach the summits, but success in this attempt was reserved for Dr. W. L. Ab- | bott, the writer quoted, who climbed with « companion to the loftiest points, although they nearly lost their lives mauy times owing to the rotten ice on Kibo, in which they sank fre- quently to their armpits, and to the precipices from wach slightest | of crumbling lava on Kimswenti, | great masses fell in avalanches at the ASCENDED 18.000 FEET. They ascended from the tropical climate of the surrounding plain through a series of zones, each having ite own ffore and fauna, until the arctic line of snow was reached at the height of 18,000 feet. The strip populated by human beings was well defined, extending along the slopes of the mountain for sixty miles, from 8.000 to 5.400 fect above ea level. On every hand were the extinct craters of smaller vol- canoes, one of them forming a lake called Chala, two miles wide, the lava walls of which | Tose perpendicularly 300 fect from the water's jedge. This sheet of water was inhabited by numerous crocodiles and certain extraordinary ies of fishes. The forests, from 9,000 to 10,000 feet, had a most cnrious appearance, the trunks and branches being completely covered with orchids, ferns and mosses. Some of the larger trees’ were regular botanical crowded with parasitic plants of amazing | variety. | } | | cmaaa xx. The populated strip along the side of this voleanie elevation is from two to five miles wide and is occupied by 60,000 natives. It is divided | into no less than thirty states, by amore or less independent sultan, who is ted from his neighbors bys patch of widernsss of a deep . The biggest state hhas 10,000 irhabitants, while those least in size have only from 100 to $00 subjecta. The people call themselvés the Wa Chaga. At the north exid of the sixty-mile zone is the nation of Useri, with a population of 6,000, governed by Mali- mis, a sultan, who is shy of strangers because he fears lest they bewitch him. Most amiable | of these petty monarchs is Miliari, ruler of Ma~ | rang, who has 600 warriors and is a great friend fo Europeans. West of Marang { Kilemms, hose king: Fumbe, hie, made himself so noto- avoid taxing his hospitality. THE MOST ENLIGHTENED POTENTATE. By far the most enlightened of these feudal potentates, however, is Mandara,King of Moshi, | who has sent ambassadors to the Emperor of | Germany. He has made a business of accumn- | lating European curiosities of every imaginable sort—toy steam engines, clocks, guns of ‘many tterns, stereoscopes, sewing machines, books, c. He keeps these treasures stored away, bringing them out i for his own amusement or to exhibit before the envious eves of visiting chiefs. Most powerful of all sultans is Cena, ruler of Kibosbo, who holds his_own ‘all the other chiefs allied | against him. He has constructed beneath his | stockade a remarkable system of underground ich bis wives and cat- ~ Ya Chaga are not well made | physically, but the women are very erect, owing to their habit of carrying loads on their ‘heads, Many of the young girls are pretty, and some of the Indies af Mendara’s barem ’ would be beauties in any country. The wives are obliged to wash themselves daily, and soap isin great demand. Every man has as many wives as he can get, 60 that there are no old maids. women outnumber the men ins ratio of five to three, partly owing to loss of life in wars. Wives are purchased for sheep MOST OURIOTS |“ coast and just south of | * igher of which | © | prod sheep and goats and a flock of fowls. A fire is continually burning and the emoke, heat and stench are frightful. The Wa Chaga are the best of agriculturists. Their aot Mitte fields of grain are prettily hedged ay weeded and watered. irrigation canal: being bronght down thousands of fe« he trom bigher levels of the mountmins, throng prim val foresta, across ridges and over gullies by artfully constructed aquedu utensils are made largely fr t pintes and dishes are locks of wood, as are and bee hi elongated barrels, hanging the branches of trees. Milk ar also the plenty, but have an unpleasant tw of thé univereal custon sels with another Ay anlnals. G and simple. : fortane to be due to wit a through the cultivated resi: a groves of lar injury. These are supp: Whenever th of spirits. ony the spirits are ani ° grove to another at Tocusts passed ove 4 and no damage was cribe their immanity from inj . ing caught several of the ta . 5 them medicine, | hem ge thereapon wo news of their ill-treatment to other of a RITORY CLAIMED BY orRM Any Kilima-Njaro is t Germany, but tt would & Ye dusky wultans to kr fects of Emperor Will Persuasion by force of a t convince prevent any ¢ ithin ¢ Vinitors from sev reapective flags at down subseq: pieces of buntir the te a great that they The chiefs are almost re for the pomession of a Cauca partly because he isn partly for the reason that market to the for te. isbeld in such high cxti traders, such ax have giv bad name in other parts of have asx yet penetrated to. th: predicted that Kilima-Njaro wall great sanitarium. Already a railway, destin. to open up the interior, is projected. > FALLE IN THE RANKS. Impressive Services Over the Kemalns of = Arm Yesterday afte cession of men and women i: carriages and a bearse in which wae bei veyed the body of the late Mrs. Ina M. and as the procession moved throng! Streets it attracted considerwble attend: a, was @ novel sight in this cit hearse walked six pallbearers, wore about his hata pie@h of white crepe with two short streamers, while the wu : in the line wore @ piece of the same material about their left arm. The Salvation Army flag, carried at the head of the line, explained who the people were, and one of the beat the hallelujah drum as the procession moved slowly along. noon there was a «h fal A won soldiers Upon arrival at the barracks the coi placed in front of the platform and th of the army, an American flag, were placed at the head of the casket. Maj. French, the commandis of the southern division, conducted ies, and he was assixted by numero: le and female. During the services pameayes of Scripture were read and short prayers offered. Several soldiers of the army who bad kuown the de- ceased spoke in the highest terms of her as @ Wife, mother and companic “A soldier bas fallen in the ranks,” said Maj. French, after telling of the good work of the ds |, “and right here there are two propo- sitions I have to make, The firet is, are you ready to die? and the second, you hud better resolve to prepare for eternity. Those who have made up their minds to prepare them- selves will please raise their might hands ‘This was followed by a general band raising, end after benediction the remains of the de- ceased were taken on the 4:30 train to Jaa- bam's, Md., for interment. —— A Runaway Accident. Yesterday afternoon the horw of J. L. Nally of Prince George's county, Md., ran away in the wagon from the buy market end down B street to 13th, where be broke from the wagom and knocked down John Schmidt of 118 Dwtrest northwest. He was badly brumed sud was treated at the Emergency Howpital. > MINISTER COOLIDGE PRESENTED. President Carnot’s Courtesy to the American Kepresentati President Carnot of France yesterday sent two carriages in charge of Count D. Ormencon, introducer of diplomatic corps, to the Motel Westminster to convey Mr. Jefferson Coolids the new American minister to France, and - the principal officals. ofthe American legation tothe of the Elysees. The carriages were © a detachment of cavalry ae a guard of b ‘Troops were drawn up in the court yard of the palace, and as the minister alighted from —— presented and drums were A Trolley Incident From the New York Mafl and Px; The trolley wire received some free af ing im Brooklyn yesterday. A wire touche horse and he died instauter, and the onl tion of = number of bystanders was twelve inches of intervening apace. ( use this convenient but per propulsion will be wise to sodes. They prejudice the trolley system. — Using the Poughkeepsie Bridge. General Manager Mellen of the New York ,and Now England railroad on which of ear blic against mya i pul for an exchange of trafic via the Poughkeepsie Th? | iridge Ghat will naka good the lows of Sacea> from the transfer of the Penusylvania buses ona The Biast Went Off Toe Soon. While Patrick Maher and « young son of Thomas O'Brien were Thursday engaged in tamping « blast in a coal mine at ha- lineville, Columbia county, Ohio, the drill struck © ball of sulphur, which ignited the ywder, and an explosion followed. Muher whs out and bruised ubout the face ad neck and sustained internal injures, which wfti His boy companioy’ was com by the falling coa! and seriously Maber has « wile A fatal. ried may recover. sis i ah it i ly li if i i I is