Evening Star Newspaper, November 12, 1892, Page 9

_— ' THE EVENING STAR: WASHINGTON. a BS) AN: THE RUBBER HUNTERS ATypicai Rubber Ca of Brazil. p in the Heart AN EXTENSIVE INDUSTRY. flow Tt fe Carried On in South America—The Jeiian ore’ Wild Life-Murking Trees | and Collecting the Sap—Interesting Facts Adout the Trade. Srectal Correspondence of The Frentns Star. Maxson, Buaztt, October 5, 1992. EING IN ANY OF Amazonian towns, where everything reeks of India rubber—where it is the one engrossing industry of the people, the one topic of con- versation, the one thing constantly seen, smelled and tasted—you are ture to be seized by the spirit of dis:overy sooner or later and a burning desire to turn banter yourself and become a habitante, if for ever so brief a period, of a genuine rubber And nothing is easier at laudable ambition, espe- ken” with it at Manaos, a thous he mighty river, in the heart of the greatest rubber-producing section of the globe. OFF YoR A RUBBER CAMP. it was particularly easy, for our hant (as sre most of the ), who keeps reecbrd without ney up the Kio N amere and then point in the wik wa two days’ eof the regular mbarking at a lesire, which d and partially pre- party was made up, beaded by } his family, servants were sent rovisions, and mine host an: abead with ten ned from the distant camp to be junction of the riv To our was merely a pleasent little 2. sein ax New Yorkers are wont ake up the Hudson ; bat to us it was an | event of magnitn fe t with perils and | adventures en: to keep the average Yankee material for a lifetime. | Amazon river measures more | than the whole iy Hudson.” IN THE FoREST. And then suppose those Indian boatmen | should fail to be on hand at the appointed | navigable len nameless igarape, which fe hundreds of miles from anywhere, and so fence of the | rewsive— | pours the juice ES UP THE AMAZON. THE CAPITOL GHOSTS. Specters Haunt the Big Government Building at Washington. THE SPECTER OF GUITEAU. Some of Them Are Familiar to the Watch- men by Long Acquaintance—Phantoms of Gen. Logan and a Colored Servant—Mys- terious Footsteps and Voices—Stories Told by the Guards, j tho clutches of the “middleman,” while those soho do all th ud endure the risks next to nothing. The small is in debt to the wholesale tho wholesaler is even more Xow York, Beltimore or | fader, j dealer at Ps Somebody kes heavy profite out of every transaction, is not the poor Indian, upon whose cour- fendarance all depends, nor er trader, | THR ANNUAL EXPORTATION OF INDIA RUBBER | from Para is said to be upward of 20,000,000 | pounds, worth from $6,000,000 to $9,000,000. The rubber tree of Brazil (siphonia elastica, relative of the ficus elastica of the East Indies an the urceola elasti of Asia) really a giant species of milk weed. It begin: | to yield when about fifteen years old, and the | government has repeatedly suggested plans for | Cultivating it by planting large arene with trees | and conducting the business like that of coffee and sugar plantations. But Brazilians seem to be peculiarly devoid of the power to take “a long took ahead,” and #0 far nobody has been | found willing to wait fifteen years for the first returns on an investment. ON THE HUNT. Hereabouts the rubber hunters are called are stringuerios, as in Central America the, wn as yularoes. They usually go out in si parties, baving chosen one of their own num- | for the base of operations and proceed to con- struct a rude camp, which serves as a general | Fendezvous. Ther then wander off, singly and IN THE RUEBER swAxPs, in conplos, searching all day for the new trees and returning to headquarters at nightfall The “camp” consists of a central but, built upon stiltiike supports to cievate it above the malaria-haunted morass, in which rubber most abound, with palm-thatched roof proj ing ali around like that of a Swiss chi jet. There are neither windows nor door to this | rude home, nor any interior furnish hooks upon which hammocks may ge except be sus- Ordinarily “‘allout doors” serves well for a kitchen, and the men prefer to suspend their sleeping paraphernalia from the trees around the central fire, built for the triple purpose of frightening away prowling beasts, counteract- ing the effects of deadly dews and miasmas keeping off those troublesome __ pests, mosquitoes, gnats, xin-xins and garripotas. Ali around the little camp is boundiess forest, so dense that it is impossible to penetrate it the distance of a rod beyond the hut, except in those paths which the hunters have partially cleared with infinite toil. But I can assure | vou thata visitor feels no “call” to walk abroad in the spongy marshes where every step sinks him in above the ehoe tops and poisonous water snakes are known to lurk and jaguars prowl in search of prey. A DANGEROUS LIFE. As may be imagined, the hunter's life is little above that of the wild beasts whose prowlings make night hideous around him, and he is con y exposed to a thousand dangers, eeu and unseen. Not only do hungry pumas, wild boars and other powerful animals abound, but deadly reptiles no longer than your finger and tiny i secta whose sting is fatal. There are wee | the exact color of the leaves under which -y hide, and inaumerable creeping and crawi- ing things more dangerous than the dreaded rattler of our northern wilds, which at least gives some warning of his intention to strike while even more tobe feared than the mon- strous crocodiles of the lagoons and serpents of hugging prociivities are the fevers that float upon the noxious vapors of the tierra caliente. MARKING THE TREES. a number of fresh cuts around the trunk of each special property, pro tem. clay cups to catch the valu: ooze from the incision. Later in the day he | repeats the round. carrying a aueer sort of bucket made from a big gourd. which has a cover and handle of braided palm fiber, and into it he empties the collected con of all the little cups. When he gets back to camp he ‘om the calabash pail into the sets his little wuppose the be look cay it were } dor tie es what in the w We thought ch I of explorers, whose Ary zeal. or love | rado, | “t.who have perished is none to tell their ‘apt. Mayne Reid’s tree- he greedof gold miserably here story. We remei shvelling soned arrows monster which branches Bat in our that there was an al- h cf perilous ad- hairbreadth "seape Jinn their unprepossessing appearance, be the most docile, gentle and tract. probably ihe aerial savages ted with the asion, have anthor, THE RUBBER TRADE. wing facts, stated briefly as possible, f the information we have I from divers sources rela- trade. Like other industries of the world, it appears to be hath shall be given,” while the are very poorly paid for their vite it is customary for a wealthy « grant of land. of greater or less to hie political influence and persuasion, with the exelu- whering rubber thereon for a years. The entire river trade on the credit system. ERUDDE HUNTERS, who are mo . are fitted out by their employers much as American miners used tobe sapplied with “grub stake” in their search for previc forth « amntity enough provisiy © tomix months, s account at the highest market price, and in eturn he stipulates to sell to this «ame accom- iaodating dealer at some fixed sum per pound he rubber he may collect during bis trip, aving what he owes for the outfit. But he seidom gets the debt pail up, and according to the laws of Brazil as long as he owes « penny to whom he is indebied can claim him days aud all, in a bondage akin to They are engaged 3 rm of years, and the majority of hunters, race of their debts und propensity to all avatlabie cash in the form of chicha ly never reicaed from the contract. THE EXCu#ANGE, ‘The employers, in their turn, are bound to be fm debt to the small traders in the river towns, to whom they sell the rubber. They pay ab- surdly high prices for inferior goods and get Little for the product of the enterprise se com, Bared 10 the price of rabber when it gets out of ‘hk hunter before be sets to puncture } we encountered, | wpital on the scriptural plan of | wammoth shell of a torturuga, or Amazon | turtle. In that stage the yellowish white fluid resembles good rich Jersey cream more nearly an anything else to which I can compare it. Different ways of coagulating it into the article | known to commerce are practiced in various parts of the world, Here it is held on a wooden paddle over a fire of palm nuts which bas been built under a elay pot shaped like a buge jamp chimney. The dense white em issuing from the top of the pot hardens it into a leathery substance, and at the same time changes ita color from pale yellow to black. As fast as it hardens more sap is poured on, until the mass of rubber on the paddle is as heavy as a man can handle, when it is sliced off with a huge knife. IN CENTRAL AMERICA the fluid is coagulated with the sap of a wild vine somewhat resembling the grape, which overgrows all thos tangled forests and ncts the part of rennet to cheese curd or “mother pulgueto crude maguey juice, for after its addition the milk soon hardens into hard caki of India rubber, all ready for transportation. In other places it is solidified by evaporation of | the liquid part in the sun, and is then com- pletely dried in kettles suspended over a wood fire. Iu the great warehouses of Manaos and | Para you may see enormous masses of dried | } | | | CONTENTED AND COMFORTABLE. caoutchouc sap, resembling cheeses, awaiting shipment. By the way, the native word for India rubber (cnoutchouc) sounds much like a sneeze and is pronounced as if spelled kee- chook, with the accent strong on the first sylla- . The milky juice which now plays so im- portant a part — the world’s productions was first made use of by the Indians of Costa Rica and by thers made known to thetr & querors. y as 151: Spaniards in Mex- ico had learned to make it into shoes and. ako to use it for their cloaks in order to | render thera wa f; and no doubt that was the origin of the idea of its manufacture | into waterproof cloth and the modern mackin- | tosh, Faxsrz B Wann. —.—— Judge Putnam of the United States circnit court at Boston has ordered a rehearing in the indictment of Asa P. Potter, ox-predent of the Maverick National Bazi. @ suitable spot | pended when rains drive their owners inside. | The banter, as he goeshis daily rounds, makes | tree which he has previously marked as his own | ple sap that will | HE UNITED STATES Capitol is full of ghosts. At least three such ap- paritions are familiar to the watchmen and at- tendants who guard the great building and keep it in order. According to the testimony of some of them at twenty min- utes past 12 every night Gen. Logan comes out of*the room of the committeo on military and militia, of which he used to be chairman, beneath the Senate chamber. He opens the door slowly, and stepping out closes it silently behind him, proceeding thereupon with noiseless tread along the corridor westward. Nobody has ever yet ventured to follow him, so that it is impossible to tell whither he goes. The | negroes who come to clean the floors at 5 o'clock every morning are eo afraid of encoun- tering the specter that they turn on every elec- tric light in the baunted vicinity. far from the same locality, under the por- |tico of the Senate wing, the ghost of an elderly colored man scrubs every night b daybreak the sume marble floors which he used to clean regularly for His name was Osborne, her more than a twelve sounds of his brush and pail a f spectral water on the stones, it is said, istinetly heard on such occasions, while several of his surviving fellow-workmen swear that they have bebeld his shadowy figure en- gaged in the manner deseribed. ‘The phantom which has be tknown at the Capitol however, mentof the House ¢ Repres been seen by many of the wa lescribe the apparition -looking gentleman of pect, with long mustache and gontec. at the corridors in a melancholy way, with his hands clasped behind him, and promptly vanishes when approached. A GRUFSOME PLACE AT NIGHT, The watchmen of the Capitol, who are all men selected for intelligence aud experience, say that the brilding isa gruesome place to walk abont i t. structure is nified by ange voices seem to whisper everywhere, orridors that ruu around the dome place of echoes cailed the “crypt” ng across statuary hall in the ness, Where the marble figures ranged | the great apartment seem themselves | like ¥ specte | experiences a strange from the acoustie pe | hears footsteps st from the to. the ih. around tlu-ion, doubUess arising ies of the spot. He y following his own, as some one Way pursuing him with an inten- 0 leap upon b The footsteps seem to be going 4 little faster than his own, as if to overtake him. If he walks more rapidly, the | footate ikewise ac e man | though he may be, he cannot help fecling, as Coleridge enys “Like a man who, on a lonely road, doth walk in fear and dread, Because he kue frightful fiend doth close behind hin trea: Yet when he looks around there is nothing. A PRACTICAL JOKE. One night ten years ago a watchman who | had beeu newly employed on the force at the tol was passing through statuary hall alone in the darkness, when he heard a groan and saw a spectral figure, all in white, glide out from | beind one of the stutnes. He promptly drew his pistol and fired two shots at it. His aim isturbed by fright, whi was fort fe for his fellow officer of the guard, who had thought to piay a good joke by dressing himself up in a sheet and hiding. On acconnt of this occurrence the watchmen have not since then been permitted to carry their revolvers at | night, lest a mistake should give rise to fatal ‘The illusion of myeterious foot- ales the guards i end tim neces. f inced of the realit: these rounds as to purene them quietly in rubber shoes, without a light. ‘The footsteps have been cornered at the ends of corridors and elsewhere, but only to be heard presently in another direction and never to b j overtaken. The eats which race in troop | about the Capitol at night are doubtless re sponsible for many of tho ghost stories con- nected with the structure. THE GHOST OF G the assassin of Garfield. is | United States juil here, where he was executed. | Negroes confined there are extremely afraid of being put in the celi which he oceupied. One colored prisoner shut up ix this cell was seared into a tit. by another who roiled marbles into it opposite side of the corridor. specter attached to the same penal in- has, in the belief of the creduious, the disagreeabie feature of being without a head, It ix the apparition of ‘derer named Stone, who was the first indivi nged at the jail. He was a large man, very fat, and. bis head waa cut off by the rope as cleanly as if the job bad been done w an ax, A MARKED DWELLING, ‘There are no ghosts in the famous red briel |house on Lufayette Square which Mr. Bi occupies, but it is eni Something tragic scems to happen to every one who ventares to eccupy it, and people whis- pered dismal forebodings when the ex-Seere- tary of State became its tenant at the beginning | of the present administr Tn 1858, when the mansion was occupied by the Washington | Club, Barton Key was ehot by Gen, Sickles on | the fement in frout and was carried into the houre to die. On the evening of April 14, 1865, almost at the moment when President Lincoln | Was assasce Louis Thornton Powell, alias | Payne, entered the residence for the purpose of | killing Secretary Seward, who was contined to his bed at the time. With a knife and pistol he | horribly wounded Mr. Seward and four other persons, Since Mr. Blaine took the house he Lae lost two of his sous and a daughter, but he | has returned to it nevertheless, disdaining su- | perstition, EAC, wid to haunt the e that death hannts it, Gnosts IN THE ScRURUS. One of the lieutenants of the watch at the Capi tol tells.a story of a remarkable apparition | which he investigated about six years ago near Washington. A house in the suburbi what isolated, was reported to be haunted by two specters, which had a most extraordinary | method of showing themselves. The dwelling | in question was entirely surrounded by a picket fence, and many persons averred_ that on vai ous nights they had seen a pair of shected spooks walking around on top of the pickets. So seriously alarmed did the inmates become that they advertised their property for sale, but nobody would buy it on account of its spectral Feputation. The narrator quoted having no belief in ghosts determined to investigate the matter and lay in wait after dark near by. About an hour after midnight he saw a single phantom appear at the top of the fence and walk slowly around it. It was all in white and fooked sufficiently like a real ghost to frighten the watcher pretty badly. Nevertheless he lay low and waited to see what it would do. The spook made the circuit of the fence end finally disappeared, apparently vanishing through a side door of the dwelling. THE GHOST TRAP. On the next day he found himself somewhat recovered from his fears, and going to the haunted housein the afternoon he quietly sprink- Jed « quantity of white flour along the top rail of the fence. It was an idea of his own for a ghost trap. When night came he was aguin on band and in hiding as before. A little after mid- night he saw two phantoms on the fence. ‘They walked withdeliberate steps, one about six feet behind the other, and after’ making the cirouit they disappeared ‘through the side door. After waiting a few minutes to muster up his courage the watcher approached the fence and exam- ined that portion of the upper rail on which ho had sprinkled the flour. The layer of flour showed in the moonlight well-marked prints of small human feet, This proved that the «pec ters were live human beings, and £0 he was not afraid any more, He went to the house, roused up the people and told what he had seen, which paraited in’ tha discovery of the fact that two ae wwner were sonambu- iein'® Githoot kaocing capthing about it ie their waking moments, they were accustomed on the wateh, a percon | some- | to get up in the middle of the night and walk around the fence, sometimes both and sometimes ono of them alone. Toom was locked was not haunted i About two miles fré they resided was lonely house by tho side, which was deserted because it was to be haunted by the apparition of a who bad been murdered on the premises, dark night the narrator of the tale wassentby parent to fetch a doctor for a parishioner near by who was sick. On the way he was obliged to pass the haunted place. It did not occur to him to be afraid until, object not far from the road. It was a moving object and unaccountable enough to fill the boy's mind with dread. He would have turned back,but he knew that if he did so he would be beaten for disobedience and sent off again on the same errand. So he made up his mind that there was ni to be done but to make dash past with all the speed that the beast he bestrode was capableof. So he struck his heels into the animal, What waa his terror on arriving, almost op- posite the ghost to seo it suddenly rise into airand come toward him. Not only that, but itspread out into gigantic shape as it ap- proached, making a dreadful whirring noise. As the horse and terrified rider tied by the specter scattered itself in all directions with vociferous squawks. It was only # flock of white geese, WAR IN DAHOMEY,. British Accused of Furnishing the Natives With Ri Many accusations have been made that the German agents in Dahomey have furnished King Bebanzin with quick-fring rifles, but these have been denied by Germans, who assert that if King Behanzin had such weapons he had procured them from the British. These latter assertions have been borne out by a cap- ture that has just been made off the coast of Dahomey. The Brandon, a French dispatch boat, cruising off the Dahomeyan coast, sur- prised the British steamer John Holly with a cargo of Winchester rifles and ammunition, which were, beyond all doubt, intended for the Dabomeyan army. The vessel was seized and er cargo was confiscated. The matter will un- doubtedly be made the subject of diplomatic remonstrance. Gen. Dodds, commanding the French expedi- tion, has telegraphed the details of the fighting | that preceded the cuptare of Cana, On Novem- ber 4 the village of Dioxyue, in which the king has a large palace, was carried by aesault. The Dahornevans fought desperately. They were commanded by the king in person, and any show of cowardice was punithed by instant death, In this fignt the French lost tix killed and forty-five wounded. This loss was sus- tained chiefly through the French falling into un ambush Inid for them by the Eighteen Europeans were wounded by those in e ambuscade. Gen. Dodds commends in high terms the bravery and dash of his troops. On November 5 the French bivouacked under the walls of Cana. On the 6th, while prepar- ing to assault the town, they found that it had be uated and they took possession. A letter from Pi ‘0, describing the cam- paign in Dahomey, says that the snrprise of the French a: Dogla was due to treachery on the part of the black scouts, who were subsequently shot. A riot was narrowly averted by the cour- age of Col. Dodds and Capt. Roulant in ad- vancing to the front of the French lines amid a perfect storm of bullets from Dahomeyans ly- ing in ambush. In this dangerous pos coolly lighted a i | Capt. Roulant ig the men to re- newed effort ads promised to re- ward them for every black man captured, In the battle of Pognesa the French captured three Germans und ‘a Belgian, who were serv- ing as officers of the Dahomeyan troops. These priconers were afterward tried by court-martial and shot. ‘Tue Amazons are said to have performed pro- digious feats of valor under the influence of gin, ge NAUGHTY, BUT A KING. The Smal! Monarch of Spain is Imperious and Obstreperous, From the Youth’s Companion. If all the stories are true which are told about the little King of Spain he must be a very will- ful little boy, indeed, and quite determined to bave his own way in every thing. One cannot greatly blame the little ness, because the rules of his country are such that the word of the king is law, in many things, whether that same king be young or old, lit- | le or big. So little Alphonso must be pardoned | if he is a “spoiled” child, One day Alphonso and his governess were out driving, when suddenly the governess noticed that the little king was not acknowledg- ing the salutes of hia subjects. | ut you must acknowledge their salutes,” insisted ‘the governess, “because you are their king, and it is one of the customs for # king to bow to his subjects.” “I shall not bow to them!" exclaimed Al- phonto, loudly. “Then you cannot drive inthe carriage with “replied the governess, kindly, but firm he feared that Alphonso would offend his } may get out and walk the naughty little king. coachman, he erie “Halt, Carlo! foot.” * exclaimed Then, calling to the This lady wishes to go on ———_+e+____ Detroit's Requirements for Teachers, The question relating to the qualifications of applicants for positions as tencbers in the pub- lic schools was disposed of at a long and windy session of the board of education of Detroit ‘Thursday night. In place of the anti-Catholic only graduates of Detroit public Jd be employed as teachers, it was decided that teachers must either be graduates of the Detroit training school or they must have substituted two hundred days afier hav- | ing passed an examination which would entitle em toadmisaion in the training school, or they must give to the committee on teachers and schools satisfactory evidence of baving taught successfully elsewhere for three years, —_—_—_-e.___ The Souvenir Half Dollars. The coinage of the souvenir half dollars for the world’s Columbian exposition will be be- gun at the Philadelphia mint in about a fort- night. They will be made from pieces which have been stored in the United States treasury and which have now been received in Philadel- phia, The work will probably require about two months and will be completed toward the latter part of January, 1893. The pieces can be coined at the rate of ‘about eighty a minute from each press, eeveral of which may be used. The design, as’ presented to Director of the Mint Leech and the commission, has been aj proved, and contuins on the two sides a protile of Columbus and the Administration building of the world’s fair. » An Expensive Strike. As if by magic New Orleans resumed its | wonted appearance yesterday. ‘The settlement | of the strike saved New Orleans from incalcu- | Inble disaster. Twenty-five thousand men in fifty diferent trades went back to work ata signal. But the most ludicrous thing in this extraordinary demonstration of organized labor is that the car drivers, who were getting $50 month for twelve hours’ daily work before the strike, have gone back to work at €40 a month for sixteen hours duily. The car drivers struck out of sympathy, having no grievance of their own. @ merchants to arbitrate the b homage of wages, but thousands of the strikers found that their places were already filled. The atrike has cost over €1,000,000. Racing Term. | From Life. tives. | INDIAN STUDENTS. The Significance of Their Parading at the Columbus Celebration. IN THE SCHOOL ‘ROOM. Progress Made by “Blanket” Indians—Some ‘Little Aboriginal Essayists and Their Crude but Entertaining Compositions—Effect of Difference in Latitude. es HORTLY AFTER the Columbian parade of school children re- cently in New York it was the good fortune of ® Stan representative to mect in her own home 4 pleasant little woman the greater part Of whose life has been given up to phileh- thropic and missionary work. Her latest fad, if such a mission could be termed a fad, is the education of the Indian youth, and she has spent some seven years on the reservations and in the schools. “I was so pleased to see the representation of studeuts from Carlisle,” she said enthusiasti- cally. “Wouldn't Columbus have been sur- prised with the advancement made by the de- scendants of the savage people he met in the new world? It seems to me that among those 30,000 splendid school children those 200 Indian boys and girls taught the greatest object lesson. ‘The white boys are the descendants of a long line of civilized ancestor The Indian boys | and girls—was it not nice that the only women | in all those parades were daughters of the | aboriginal races? Without exception, I am | told, they were ‘blanket’ Indians when they | were taken to Carlisle; that is, they come from tribes who have not adopted what we term civilized garb. but still wear the bianket as a principal garment. If you could have forgot- ten the black hair and ‘swarthy skin of the In- dian children you never would have thoughtfor an instant that up to three years ago they never had spoken a word of Enlish or worn a white man's clothes. Now, would you?” | And Tur Stax representative bad to confess | that the small redekins were quite as civilized | in appearance and marched just ag well as their white friends, the public ‘school children of | New York city. A sharp contrast was drawn between the civilized and uncivilized Indians | by a few attired in war paint, blankets and war | bonnets, while just behind ‘them marched the | company of Indian bovs in their neat suits of | military blue, fine, manly fellows, with soldierly | bearing and’ the’ long. free step which seems born in an Indian. The girls wore « uniform | dress of blue flunnel,and their bright black ros, flashing white teeth and round, good- natured fnces won them friends and cheers on every side. IN THE SCHOOL Room. “And if you could just see those boys and | girls in the school room,” continued the little woman, “‘you would be astonished at their rapid | | progress in their studies, Language, as most | teachers know by experience, is usually a very dificult thing to touch. If’ this is true of children who have educated parents and ex- cellent home training eomething of the task of | teaching it to Shawnces and Seminoles -Kicka- | poo'sand Kiowas can be imagined. But they | do learn very fast considering everything. One | | of the things they take to naturally ix writing. | | Their penmanship soon becomes well nigh fault- lesz, Even the very little ones write well. They are generally good spellers, too, and some of them are quite artistic. I think this comes from the inbred custom of Indian tribes who did the famons picture writing. Would you | like to seo some of the aboriginal essays have?” | ABORIGINAL ESSAYS. Of course Tux Stan reporter would, so she bronght outa box full of “traps.” No other word would fit the curious collection of Indian dolis, diminutive bows and arrows, crayon heads of dogs, charcoal caricatures of pupil lead pencil sketches of reservation life, bead | pincushions, chamois skin pouches, moccasins, | | mittens, tintypes and photographs. It was a regular curiosity shop, and from the bottora of the box she fished 4 dog-eared portfolio of “essays.” ‘That was what she called them, and ‘Tur Stan reporte them. In fact “ that connection. “These were all done by my second-grade pupils,” explained the little woman as she lov- ingly turned over the written pages. “I was! teaching then in one of the large Indian schools | in the west. My boys and girls ranged in age from eeven to thirteen. Some of them were | half breeds and couid speak English quite wel ) Others were full-blooded Indians, many of them having come to me the year before in blankets and moccasins, unable to form one word in any but their own Indian dialect and utterly igno- raut of books, manners and everything else. was hard to keep the children interested. ‘Tho confinement made them stupid and I had always to be inventing wome new amusement. One afternoon after Thad been teaching them | several months I suggested that they’ write ‘essays. ‘They were delighted to try something | | new, 80 I explained to them what an essay wan and told them to choose their own subjects, I have every one of those first attempts. The range of subjects was not large, but the result of their labor was quite satisfactory to me, even | though they did fall down on their verbs and |lose sight of their pronouns and genders. It showed them to be original and that they dis- played the average intelligence in expression, even if the style was crude. ‘THE FIRST ONE FINISHED. “A emall Osage girl was the first one to finish | | her essay. She was only eight years old and fond of dolls, 80 her subject was Christmas— then near at hand—and dolls.” Miss Hope banded the “‘essay” over. It was written in a plain, neat hand, withouta mis- spelled word, Here it is verbatim: “On Christmas little girls gets dolls. Some girls has their dolls yet. Ilike to play with ithe dolls, I broke my doll, Etta has a big | doll. She lets the girls play with it.” A little cight-year-old half breed perpetrated the following biographical sketch: “My home at Indian territory. There are five children in one family, and, with my mother and father, there are seven of ua, My father keeps store and my grandmamma and grandfather they helps to get people well. My grandmamma’s name is Mre. Cedartree. I am eight years old and my grandmama is forty years old. Christmas is coming. George used tosay: ‘Hurrah, hurrah for Christmas! DIFFERENCE IN CAPABILITIES. “I found that there was as great a difference in the capabilities of Indian children, accord- ing to latitude, as in white children,” said Miss Hope, as she placed another essay in Tuz Stax reporter's hand. ‘The northern Indians, as a rule, have more trouble with English than. the southern tribes, so I was not astonished that my oldest pupil, an Oneida boy, stumbled a good made no effort to recbristen say" scemed a good word in | { | But ina flash he saw it thep—the dimple im her > ie D.C. SATURDAY, Sc 12, 1892—SIXTEEN PAGES. evolve tho following: - madly ange Chore inte anes ot it isa good day tomorrow the dog Sill biguiand fhe cal wil wrath and the door" wil ran fst good boys t jre me these Ono that never ts “the way but ox Hour. “An Osage boy chose home for his subject: “We bave a well at home. We have a dog athome. My father kill a buffalo once and eat him. We haves big horse. We hunt deer every week. Ihave a little sister at home and her name is Anuie.’ “This essay is by a nine-year-old Wyandotte boy who at the beginning of the term, two months before, could read but very little and could neither write nor print a word. Yon see he has written quite legibly. What white boy of the same age and same degree of ignorance could write this in two months’ schooling? “A dog will bite. A dog will eat, the dog runs after rabits. Adog bit me on the arm, it did not feal very nice. Some dogs will catch ice like cats A dog is nice.’ “This one was the production of an eight- year-old Caddo girl, bright and quick, but a great trial because of her ceaseless chatter and Testlessness, “‘T havea doll. Ilive ina house at home. I live with my father, he’s got 3 children, he had four but one died here. I like to play with dolls but my father is going away from us. I am going home with Mise Hope. “This essay was written by alittle brown- faced, black-eyed, restless Pawnee boy, who was one of my favorite pupils, though by his irre- pressible love of fun and mischict making he made me a great deal of trouble. He was uite original in his ideas: even his penman- ship was peculiar and unlike that of « child, but would have been a credit to an educated man. Dogs were his delight, s0“Dogs” was his text. COMPOSITION O DOGS. “ ‘Now I will tell you astoryabout adog. His name was John Robinson. He would shake hands with the boys and he would hunt rabbit and when he catch rabbit he run after him and when boys showed him the rabbit he ran after him John Robinson is » good dog, he shakes hands with ghe boys and he hunts rabbits and he always stay round the windows and the boys give him some meat and he go away and then he bunt rabbit and when he eatch htm he eat up.’ The punctuation, capit ion and spelling are exactly as iu the original, and the STAR re- porter had to acknowledge as the little woman folded away her treasures that her Indian kids averaged up very vith their white brothers, the children of the “Great Father. > Written for The Evening Star. The Dimple in Her Cheek. She sat by the heartustone, knitting; her gown was a nun-like gray, And the glossy bands of her chestnut hair were soberly smoothed away; With ulmbiy flying ‘ngers, and eyes demure and meek, ‘There was no sign of misculef—save the @imple in her cheek. He loved hez from a distance, but thought her cold and prim. Town of chestnut tresses, the fingers white | and siim, He loved, but his devotion he did not dare to speal Because he chanced to overlook the dimple in her cheek. Thee And so the years were passing; month after month they sped; And still they found him single, and she remained unwed. His love he bid securely, for fear of slight and ec Until he came and found his fate that frosty winter morn. Sue knitted on demurely; he stood beside the door; ‘The ball of yarn fell from her lap and rolled upon the floor. He hastened to restore it—up sprang the kitten feet, ‘To chase the ball, and soon the yarn was wound about his feet. He colored in confusion; her eyes of mirth were tall. She lily laughed. “You're caugnt,” she said, “within a web of wool.” ‘Then down the curling lashes dropped; her eyes agaln were meek, cheek. His heart grew bold within him; the tce was fairly broken, And in the twinkle of an eye the earnest words were spoken— “On, Giadys, dearest Gladys, now listen, pray, to me— A lifelong captive in your web—how blest the fate would be.” The pretty fingers trembled; the chestnut head bent low; Unchecked, the kitten rolled the ball and chased it to and fro. Although the faintly smiling lips nosylable would speak, His sult was woa—he saw it by the dimple in her cheek. —Harrie Warrssy. No. 2857 Arsenal street, St. Louis. wim we Flies: Cholera Bearers. The evidence against flies as propagators of disease is accumulating to a most disturbing extent (writes the London correspondent of the Manchester Guardian). Before the days of bacteriology no conclusive facta could be brought forward directly incriminating them as the carriers of infection, but just the opposite is now the case, and numerous unequivocal re- sults haye been arrived at snowing the import- ant part which these insects play in this con- nectiou. The most recent charge which has been formulated against them is that which was laid before the Hamburg Medical Society with respect to the conveyance of cholera infection. i were captured which had been in contact with infected cholera material and were in flasks containing nutrient gelatine, 4 PARTY WALL CASE. One That Will Be of Interest to Every Builder of a House. CREATED TO RECOVER MONET THAT WAS PAID | Chance to “meke bay while the san shines” ‘TO THE WRONG PERSON. “In the Supreme Court of the District of Co- Inmbia. At law—No. $2725, Halpin agt. Barr etal. In account, $181.89." This is simply an extract from the Iatest docket, under supervision of Clerk Young at the city hall. Divested of its legal phraseology the extract amounts to nothing more than Geclaration of suit on the part of Charlos C. Halpin to recover $181.89 from L. A. Barr and F. T. Sanner. That is the fate value of the action only, however, and it does not represent what the business world would cali an actual debt as far as the defendants are concerned. ‘Messrs. Barr and Sanner paid this particular obligation long ago, but Mr. Halpin claims that $181.89 of coin of the realm was paid to the wrong man. And thereby hangs a legal tale, which may not only revolutionize real estate deais in the District of Columbia, but create no end of law suits to recover, as well as make otherwise unencumbered properties subject to debts ranging from $80 up to €S00 or $1,000. always providing. though, that the Court in General Term will see Mr. Halpin’s side of the case in the same light as he does and decide for the plaintif”. The case hinges on a party wall and the par- ticular point involved is one that members of ‘the bar regard as among the most peculiar and knotty ever decided in the District courte. The big white tribunal at the head of 43¢ street has been the scene of legal rows innumerable, where neighbors quarreled because their re- pective dwellings had a common stone divid- ing line. Those suits were always for damages and failure to pay the pro rata one-half assens- ment, however, but “At Law No. $2725” stands alone in its peculiarities among the thousands of Judicial struggles which bave received their final quietus in the courts. THE CASE IN A NUTSHELL. Tn a nutshell Mr. Halpin is trying to estab- lish his right to receive payment for the half of a party wall he erected several years ago and since used by Messrs, Barr and Sanner,although Mr. Halpin sold his title to a property on 20ib street northwest—the location of the wall in estion—nearly a year prior to the time when the defendants placed the first girders against the barrier that was designed for common use both by the original builder and any subsequent dwelling constructor on adjoining property. The case is brought merely asa test, aside frou the comparatively small amount of money in- volved, and is on the General Term calendar for argument within the next fow weeks, hav- ing been certified to the higher body from the Circuit Court, without trial there, in order to establish a precedent in party wall cases of this character as soon as possibl Every builder and contractor in Wai is familiar with the building laws in force bere. But nine out of ten average citizens are proba- bly just the reverse. Building Inspector E twisle is a walking cyclopmdia of the edicts and regulations concocted at various times by Congress and the Comm: he takes but little time in enlightening an embryo con- tractor to the effect that if said individual de sires to put up a building on a certain iot ad- jacent to another vacant piece of real estate, then he has the legal right to erect a portion of his side wall across the boundary line and upon the neighbor's property, although this portion must not exceed one-half the thickness of the whole. So an embryo party wall springs into existence, and if at any time the owner of the still vacant lot adjoining desires to improve his holding with a dwelling be urn privileged to con- struct such build v making use of the side of the line, ‘ull fledged, but the ding inspector has «till a large say in the matter. One of Capt. Entwisle’s assistants is detailed to estimate how many square fect of the party wall have been used by the second builder and the probable cost of the commodity is assessed against the latter in favor of the first man, who was public spirited enough to beautify ‘some thoroughfare by means of a handsome new dwelling. The assessment is as on the second property as a judg- and the beneficiary has no difficulty in recovering the amount he may have expended on second half of the party Wall, although the first actual building opera- tions took place years before the final improve- ments next door. TUE MOOTED QUESTION OF THE CASE. Here is the mooted topic of the case, which will soon engage the attention of the General Term. The facts are clear at any rate, and the particular instance of 1y-wall obligations selected as a test will make the opinion of the court decisive in one direction or the other. In the fall of 1889 Mr. Halpin began the erec- tion of three-story brick and brown-stone welling on 20th street, just north of Senator Sawyer's residence. The structure was com- pleted within the next few montha, including a party wall, the usual half of which was ex- tended over on a vacant lot directly beyond. A year later the property. as improved, was pur- chased by Mr. Geo. ©. Henning, ‘p: mt of the Traders’ National Bank, and oc- cupied by him as a residence. A trifle more than a veur ago Messrs. Barr and Sanner began a dwelling on the lot next Mr. Henning’s prop- erty and made use of the party wall. The building inspector appraised the amount of the favor at $151.89, and this eum Nessra, Barr and Sanner, the present defendants, paid to Mr. Henning as the adjoining owner. The ground of Mr. Halpin’s action is that he, as original builder of the party wali, and not Mr. Henning, was entitled to receive the assessment from the later builders and owners, Unlike the legal trickery occasionally resorted to by contending lawyers to win a case, “At Law, No. $2725” is very much in the nature of amicable arrangement for the purpose of test- terpreting ng the methods commonly used in the building laws of the District. Consequently counsel on both sides have mutually submitted in private discussion all their arguments pro and con and, as outlined toa Stam man, the plain- tiff's attorney will base their claims before the General Term on question of easement. Had Mr. Halpin ret theowner of the then there could have been no question as to whom Messrs. Barr and Sanner were under obligations to furnish with $181.89 as their share of the involved expense, and in spite a deed in fee to Mr. the tiffs allegation is that his mght to compensation was never vitiated or nulled by the instrument which made Mr. Henning the new owner. The a for the defendants asserts in his brief that f¢ lowing the usual formula pursued in warranty deeds Mr. Halpin transferred to Mr. Ta'tix of the nine vessels numerous colonics ‘of comma bacilli were successfully cultivated—of course, from the infection conveyed by the flies. The possibility, therefore, of falling a victim to cholera in this way, even after every precaution had been taken, is by no means pleasant to contemplate. ——_—_+9. —__ APPEARANCES ARE DECEPTIVE. many times in his little story about his native state, Wisconsin.” It was as follows: “The story in North W. ‘The snow sometimes About three feet in bigh. Snow and Cool in winter and the summer is a hot. Isa many bears and deors all kinds of animals. ‘This fall I seo a dear and bear too.” A LITTLE CHEROKEEE ESAYICT. “A Uittle Cherokee is responsible for thie,” said Miss Hope, and she displayed a large sheet profusely illustrated with doge in various atti- tudes, “My home is lon; am sorry that niy bro! No.4. John Robinson will shake ou. Our lessonis about Prince at the lakes. itis e rainy day.” “The Jobn Robinson,” she e: ined, ‘‘who such rare accom} ents was o dog of the bob-tailed w-haired variety to whom all of the tached. This boy, always quite ep’ were devotedly at- nie iz to the , and, there! ‘wasentitled toreceive the party wall money from Messra. Darr and Sanner, ly as Mr. tan bat vetign of his Aeoecest hee ee chase monoy was paid in exchange. THE BUILDING Laws. “all rights, easements, &c.,” a8 well fore, Mr. Henning ab F 8 pees fe Pt it i 5 § s § i : ce ¢ ? 2 fs Hi i i H el wot) fh is | [ Fes Fe | i ck ir ii g i i se F i Ife ib i i i vt F Hi if i § Mai FH £ HH inf Hl | a: f i al 2, the shape of fees innumerable. actions would held good in that ‘when the outer portion of « party wail bas used within the inet three = Hy i2 inl i I tations will operate ‘than three years bave clapaed interest vested, and in the latter no ground for suit would exist, because the right man was it in - Srapid rate, and ont of nearly 500 party wall cases within the limited time on I teiale’s books an examination of the essamor Jocuments proves that quite ‘cont have experienced ‘change of ‘ownership since the nal_party wall builder coald legally according to Mr. Halpin's allegation, to be paid for his outlay: That would mean 300 new lawenite if all the claimants brought an action for recovery, and the already overburdened docketa would be im a worse muddle than ever. At the same time, |should the General Term decide for the plaintiffs suite innumerable would have to be instituted to secure titles which just now are regarded a sound and damage suite ed ifbitam would undoubtedly be the portion of the title insurance companies. The local revolutiontate and pesstmistically inclined may be quite will- ing to have a judemont of that kind but it is dollars to doughut> thet real estate | men and property owners by the thousand wamt nothing of the sort. ws THE PARIS KoMB } XPLOSION, Five Victims Boried With State Honors at Mont Parnasse. ‘The funeral services over the remains of the five victims of the bomb explosion at the police station in the Rue des Bon Enfants tock place today in the Church of Notre Damo. It wase state funeral, and M. Loubet, the premior, several other ministers and the members of the municipal government were present. The church was thronged. The coffins wore cov ered with @ large number of wreathe, Upon the conclusion of the ceremonies at the church the remains were conveyed to the Mont Par- emetery. The entire route was lined cctators, who manifested much eympa- When the cemetery was reached apd the coffins were placed in the earth the prime min- ister and the president of the municipal board delivered orations. M. Loubet said atrocious deed b They were simply | that the authors of the ged to no political party, Sualefostexe whove crimes bad no justification. He appealed to all honest men to assist in the discovery of the criminals, The state, he said in conclusion, 1 not forget the families of the vietima, The scene in the cemetery as the bodies were consigned to the graves was most disttes- | ing. The relatives of the dead men would mot be comforted, and their grief was heartrend- ing. hon Rabe, the man arrested on suspicion of being the person who cansed the explosion om ‘Tueadas last, was taken into custody be offered strong resistance. A search of his lodgings ‘scovered among his belongings drawings of [infernal machines, written formule of ex- | plosive compounds, ‘packages of chemicals, a= archist pamphlets, &e. It is believed, however, that Rabe was not directly connected with Tuesday's outrage, as he has, through bie em- ployer, proved an alibi. Habe is doteined im custody for the present. ‘The owner of the building in which the Car maux Mining Company has its offices is unable to dispossoss the company because it boldse lease, but he has prevailed upon Baron Reilla, the obnoxious president of the company, stay away from the offices until the alarm of the other tonants Las subsided, M. Lagasse, who was counsel for Ravachal, the anarchist, guillotined « few months says that Ravachol predicted that there bearenewal of dynamite outrages as soon as winter arrived, as it was too dangerous to manu- facture bombs in summer. The French anarchist rested in London on the charge explosion in the restaurant of M. Very, in Rue Magenta, Paris, in April last,wae in the Bow street extradition eourt A French detective testified to the errest France of another anarchist named Bricon of to the latter's making « confewnon, in which Soatermm arther said, hed spot where 141 dynamite cartridges bad been hidden. ‘These cartridges were taken by the police. The magistrateagain remanded Francois. who was ar the the Baried Alive in a Drain Trench. Edwin T. Butman, « resident of 38 Rates street, Lynn, Mass, sixty-three years old, was buried alive ina drain trench yesterday. He was excavating alone in his own yard and wae taken out dead after several hours’ eutomb- ment. The trench was twelve feet deep and was noticed, and in searching for him the trench ‘was found caved in. Help was summoned and men commenced digging, finding Mr. Batman's lifeless body under five feet of earth at 7:90 o'clock. |The porition indicated that he bad just struck a blow with a pick as he was over whelined. A large fire occurred in the peanut warehouse section of Norfolk last night. Besides two large warebouses with machinery and upward of 30,000 bags of peanuts, several smaller were burned. Estimated loss of the telegraph wires were int couple of hours in the busiest part and communication was not restored 1 o'clock. 5 & i | f ih is if i é i | i : i