Evening Star Newspaper, September 16, 1893, Page 12

a mi nf A SCENE O N THE ———— THE CANAL. BERM AND TOWPATH A Trip Up the Canal in a House Boat. A PLEASANT VACATION. Some Picturesque Scenes Along the Route. PROCURING SUPPLIES. AH—HOO—O—0-0 ! Yah-hoo-o-o-o!” yells ? antonio, the muleteer, the great gates slow- ly open, the mule straightens out the tow line and plods along, we are soon within the lock, the > gates close, the water commences to rush in, and we are rapidly being lifted to the height of the level beyond. While In the feck some mention of the personnel of our party may be proper. ‘There are four of us, not mentioning the | mmuleteer or the mule, but of these we will @peak later. Our party is purely a pleasure Party: we are in search of health and pleas- and are hoping to escape from the tariff and the silver question. First in our ig the superintendent of motive power @nd master of transportation, also brevet fmspector of lanterns and commissary; next Comes the commodore, who is also first as- e@tstant cook: the admiral, who is also head ecullion, and the chaplain, who is also chief ‘cok. Our boat is not a canal boat, although We are navigating the canal; it is a com- Our House Boat. Yortable houseboat with kitchen, pantry @nd living room, Pullman berths with wire tresses for sleeping on and which are ed up to the wall in daytime so that hey occupy the minimum of space, a con- (venient dark room for photographic pur- and a commodious ice chest for other Ferpoces tend to make our quarters com- ble and enjoyable. The view from the canal during the dis- fance from Georgetown to the Great Falls 4s so well known to all that a full descrip- Mion ts unnecessary. The trip is rendered Somewhat tiresome on account of the great Bumber of locks which occur between these Points, some of them so near together that Jou are led to believe that the only way enjoy the trip is to go on the tow-path {nd encourage the mule; but as all cannot Jeave the boat, it is left to those who remain (em board to wonder at the amount of labor which has been expended in the building of Bhis canal with its numerous locks. The Amphibious Mule. ‘There ts one portion of this distance which Mill always awaken pleasant memories, mnd that is the locality known as wide water or log-wall level. Here the mule as- @erted his independence, and forsaking the Beaten path, deliberately stepped into the | anal and swam to the other side, closely followed by our faithful Antonio, who did Rot wait to remove his clothing, but sprang {m after the mule, resolved to capture or @ink in the attempt. We shall never forget the astonished expression of the mule as he lambered up the berm side of the canal, ‘when he found that the width of the wide Waters had not been sufficient to separate from Antonio. Of course, the only thing ‘to Go under the circumstances was to re- (Verse the position between the parties. So the tow line was fastened to the bit ring f the bridie, and the muie was slowly towed (cross the canal. The muleteer abandoned wet suit for a dry one, and business | ‘Was again resumed on the tow-path side of Mhe canal. Picturesque Great Falta. The scenery about the Great Falls ts of Buch a character as to call for more than a Passing glance by all who find themselves 4m this locality. It is one of the most pic- uresque spots on the Potomac, and it ts to Be greatly regretted that the falls are not easier of access from the city, so that more Benefit might be derived by the many who Would so enjoy the beautiful scenery that Mature has been so lavish with in this io- eality. Our first stopping place for the night was made at Great Fails. We were warned by @he natives of the plenitude of mosquitoes fm this locality, and being warned proposed be prepared, so we purchased the last Piece of mosquito netting to be found at the falls, and having done so felt secure; but it Was an unnecessary precaution. The mos- quitoes scorned our society and never put in @n appearance until the last night of our two weeks’ trip, and by this time the mos- quito netting had been put so carefully away that it could not be found. Getting Sapplies. During our progress on the canal we found that we were obliged to replenish our pan- try by purchases made from the inhabt- tants. We found out by experience that the master of transportation was the best judge of chickens, so a new duty was imposed upon this official, and frequent visits were | made to the farm houses along the canal. At one farm house he was met by a female of uncertain age, somewhere among the certain fifties, who informed him that she could not seli any chickens until her ma cams home. Who can say after this that our girls assume their prerogative at an early ace. At one place a countryman stopped us and offered for sale chickens, roasting ears and egxs, at another place shy country maidens brought milk and eggs; our camera was brought into use and the little maids duly photograplied, the father, meanwhile, standing by and watching the operation. “Them's twins,” he remarked, in his la- ; conic manner, “What, both of them?” in- quired the chaplain, who is absent minded. “Oh, yes," replied the father, “both of them,” and now the chaplain pretends that he supposed that the maids were specimens of two separate editions of twins. Our second day's trip carried us a little above Pennifield’s lock, and a dreary rest- ing place we found at night. Our boat was tied up between an abandoned warehouse and two sunken rotting canal boats. The canal seemed dismal and dreary, a gloomy rain commenced falling, and when day- break came we found that solitude had so depressed the spirits of our vivacious mule that he had broken loose an departed. A deep gloom and losa of appetite attacked the whole party, and the master of trans- portation and the muleteer commenced looking for the trail. At last Antonio's clarion voice was heard. “He's a coming this-a-way,” and before long, through the Roe t A Familiar Figure. fog and drizzle of that miserable daybreak appeared the form of our mouse-colored mule, proudly leading a procession com- posed of three mules and a canal boat, the owner of which berated us in language far more emphatic than parliamentary for leaving our vicious mule at large upon the tow-path. The Boy Who Has Fits. This article would not be complete with- out some passing mention of the boy who has fits. To tell just where he can be | found would take away the pleasure of an- ticipation, but you will find him somewhere | between Georgetown and Monocacy basin, | and when you find him and listen to his j tale you will be astonished at his inge- ruity and will regret that so much talent | has heen perverted. This juventle phenome- | non came on board our boat on one occasion and first tried his insinuating ways upon the | commodore. who had met him before. and | therefore did not desire to renew the ac- |quantance; he then commenced to worm himself into the good graces of the admiral. | | ‘'m awful sorry I have fits,” sald the phe- | | namenon, “cause I can’t go to school. I | wish T had some money, so I could have my pictures taken,” drawled the incurable, with no answer from the admiral. “Do you know what is good for fits?" queried the youth. “Yes,” replied the admiral, “get off | this boat as soon as you can.” Nothing daunted the epileptic commenced upon the chaplain, who is one of the most patient of men, “I wish I could have my picture taken, ‘cause my poor father is dead.” “How long Lock Veeper and His Pets. has he been dead?" said the sympathetic chaplain. “About three years,” replied the phenomenon. “Well id the chaplain, “it he has been dead that long I don't see what interest he would take in your photograph.” “T wish I didn’t have fits so that I could go to schcol and work and earn money, and | then I could have my picture taken,” con- | tinued the youth. much encouraged by the kind voice of the chaplain. “Oh, you neean’t let the money worry you,” answered the chaplain; “you just pick out a conveni- ent spot and go ahead with your fit, and I will photograph you in good style. I have been looking for years for a chance of this kind, and I will only be too glad of this op- pertunit; Of course the boy did not accommodate the EVENING STAR: WASHINGTON, D C. SATURDAY. SEPTEMBER 16. 1893—SIXTEEN PAGES. chaplain. The boy is a professional beggar, long ago he passed the boundary that sep- arated the amateur from the professional, and nothing but some of the heroic treat- ment that is sometimes dealt out in our Police Court to persons of this stamp will ever cure him of his epilepsy. Huge Rocks Tower Above. Above Pennifields the scenery changes, the long stretches of canal, with the even arches of overhanging trees, are left be- hind, beautiful glimpses of the Potomac with its islands are seen, and often huge rocks rise on the berm side of the canal that afford fine outlooks upon the valley below; through the trees fine vistas of the Potomac, glistening in the low evening sun like burnished silver, afford sunset views which pen cannot describe or the camera retain with half their beauty. At Seneca we pass the stone quarries, which have not only furnished a great quantity of stone for the bullding and repairing of the canal, but have also furnished a large supply of building stone for use in this and other large cities. . Some good bass fishing {s reported about Seneca, but the reports were of former days before the long drought had lowered the water in the river. Only occasionally ‘ Meditation. were any reports given of present good fishing, and we therefore were obliged to supply our table with “brilers” instead of the gamey, large-mouthed black _ bas: which inhabit the Potomac in high water. Carp are plentiful in the canal at inany points above Great Falls and we often passed the solitary fisherman trying his luck for carp, but as carp at this season of the year are not palatable we did not consider them worth the trouble of catch- ing and consoled ourselves with the fic tion that we could catch them, but didn’t want to. Cheap Supplies, but wraphs, Our third night out we tied up at Ed- ward's Ferry, and a comfortable place we found it. Here supplies of a good quality can be obtained and at reasonable prices. Before this we had been paying city prices for country produce. So this radical change gladdened the heart of our com- missary. At this point Antonio fraternized with the boys of this small settlement. The dignity with which he clothed himself w: somewhat astonishing, when we remem- bered Antonio was still in knee pants. “We ain't on no fishin’ trip,” he informed one of the village youths. “We're making photographs.” “How much do you get tor “em?” inquired the village youngster. “We don’t make nothin’ less’n $10," replied An- tonio. “My!” said the astonished \illager, “they must be awful big uns.” “Oh, no," said Antonio, “not so very big, but they are awful good one: in fact Antonio had been instructed to inform the Inquirers that this was the lowest possible price in order chat we migh@ not be besieged with applicants for photographs. We were on a pleasure trip, and this was our only way to refuse to do work without giving offense. At Edward's Ferry and Goose creek, which is near by, several engag»men’ were fought during 1861 and 1862. At this place the Potomac is crossed by neans of an old-fashioned ferry boat, of the kind that has been in use in different parts of the country for the past fifty years or more. Dear Photo- Renutitul Scenery. From Edward's Ferry to Monocacy Basin, our next stopping place, our trip was high- ly enjoyable. The scenery, though pleasant, has one fault—there is too much of It to be thoroughly appreciated; the beautiful Po- tomac shows itself through the trees which shade the tow path in changing beauties of rocky shores and islands of emerald. The Gay was perfect. Antonio felt the inspira- tion, and whistied merrily as he trudged along. The mule caught a glimpse of pa tures green in. the direction of of4 Virginia and started down a by-path at a lively pace, the tow line parted company with the boat, all hands started in pursuit, and after a hard chase the mule was captured and securely tied, the tow line mended, and the boat again proceeded on her way. At Monocacy Basin, where we remained over night, a fine view of Sugar Loaf moun- tain can be obtained. A view of the Aque- duct bridge and the junction of the Monvc- acy and the Potomac is well worth the trouble of going to the railroad bridge for a point of view. An early start enabled,us to reach Har- per’s Ferry for our stopping place for the uith night. From the Point of Rocks to Harper's Ferry frequent glimpses of th railroad are seen. In some places the rail- road runs so near the canal that when the fast express trains rushed by we invaria- bly speculated as to what would become of us if the train should become derailed and take a plunge into the canal below. We breathed freer when the train had At an early hour of the evening we reach- ed Harper's Ferry and made our boat fast for the night just above lock 33. We had occupied nearly five days in traveling sixty miles—not rapid transit, but enjoyable. | Phe happy meal time, the story telling after supper, the placid commodore smoking his after-supper pipe—all furnish pictures tor | contemplation which cannot be effaced. | From our boat we can see the master of | transportation engaged in argument with the keeper of lock 33. On the other side the | perpendicular cliffs of Maryland Heights | rise above us, a mass of shadow. The moon is rising. On the wall of the cliff, by the light of the moon, we see the outlines of a rocky face. The lights over the river at Harper's Ferry are dimmed by the rising moon. Gn the level below a canal boatman toots, his horn for the opening of loci i. ‘We sit and gaze for a while at the heights above us, the river below, until conversa- tion lags, yawns become frequent and glad- ly we welcome healthful, restful sleep. —— Tale of Hard Luck. From the Chicago Tribune. Ruffen—“Old fellow, you look blue. Are you on the wrong side of the market?” ‘Tumbull—"Market nothing! I moved yes- terday, the truckmen broke $25 worth of the | furniture, I lost a $ bill, the gas company | held me up for double the usual deposit, and I've just been drawn on a jury. soe A Natural Query. From Truth. NEW CASH FOR OLD. Redeeming Worn-out and Destroyed Money at the Treasury. BILIS EATEN, BURNED AND BURIED How $260 in Good Notes Was Sent to the Laundry. $8,000 UNDER THE CARPET. Written for The Evening Star. WO HUNDRED and sixty dollars came into the re- demption division of the treasury the other day in aqueer shape. The sum in Ges muestion was hardly SSS more than a mass of paper pulp. To iden- tify the bills compos- ing it was almost im- possible. However, the experts accom- plished the task after @ great deal of trouble. To them it was nothing new. They called it a “wash case. Such cases occur, and are called to their at- tention at the rate of about one a week all the year around, You see, the way it happened was this. A man, who shall be nameless, went to bed @ few nights ago and took his wad of $260 in good bank notes with him. He put them in the breast pocket of his nightshirt, con- sidering that safer than beneath the pillow. Neat morning he forgot all about the money. He went off to business, And his wife sent the robe de nuit to the laundry, to- gether with other family washables. In the course of the day a thought of the cash flashed across the mind of the anonymous person aforesaid. He remarked, “Gos! and started for home. After pausing a moment to storm and Swear, he made a dash for the laundry. Of course nobody had seen anything of his $200. It was not to be expected. His night- shirt was already in the tub—a sort of re- volving wooden cylinder, full of water, soap and several dozen unassorted garments. That part of the machinery which con- trolled the action of this particular cylinder —one of many of the same kind—was stop- ped, and the robe de nuit was extracted. In the breast pocket was the wad; but such a wad! As has been sald, tt was a mere mass. of papier mache. Those of the bills which were in the best condition were split, the faces being separated from the backs. ‘The Money Was Returned. In this shape the money was received at the redemption division, with a letter ex- plaining the accident. Its condition was quite as bad as that of a roll sent in some time ago, which had been swallowed and partly digested by a goat. But it did not discourage the trained experts of the Treas- ury Department. They took the wad apart piece by piece and put the bills together again. All that they required was proof that the $260 was there, So much being ac- complished, the entire sum, in crisp, new notes, was sent to the loser by express, His delight may perhaps be tmagined. ‘There was a big fire in Chicago only the other day, and one man’s trousers were de- voured by the flames. Although they were the only pair he possessed, it would not have mattered much perhaps, if it had not been for the fact that the rear pocket of the garment contained a leather wallet full of bills. He forwarded the wallet with its contents to Washington in a cigar box. The notes were reduced almost to ashes, though they had retained their shape, like leaves | of a book which have been consumed by fire. But, while perfectly black, even the numbers ‘on them could be made out, and the loser will recover every cent. This was not a very bad case. Often an envelope containing only a few charred frag- ments will be all that 1s left of a sum of money burned. In such instances the most painstaking care is employed in scrutiniz- ing and putting together the pieces. Fre- quently a powerful magnifying glass is | called into requisition. The law used tore- quire that at least three-fifths of a note should be supped in order to secure its re- demption at full value. If less than that Was offered tt was paid for in proportion, ‘That ts to say, one-half of a $10 bill would | fetch %. But the regulations in this regard have been amended, and now full value is given for the smallest fragment of a piece of paper money, ff it Is sufficient to show the denomination. In such cases, however, an aifidavit is required certifying that the | whole of the rest of the bill has been totally | destroyed. But with bank notes It ts requi- site that the name of the bank shall be de- termined, A scrap with a part of the siz- nature of one of the bank's officers will suf- fice for this purpose. The Experts Are Women. It may be that the redemption dlviston gets cheated once in awhile. The experts are human and therefore fallible. But it | must be precious seldom that a swindle sets past them. They are responsible for every cent that goes through their hands, and {f any sum Is paid out without proper justification they are bound to make it| good. Incidentally, they must be clever de- tectors of counterfeits. It is easily tmag- ined that dishonest persons might partly de- stroy fclse paper money and send it in for redemption, trusting to its defacement to | conceal defects of engraving, &c. In fact, attempts of this sort have been made. The circumstance that the experts re& ferred to are of the gentler sex is a marked tribute to the cleverness and keen judg- ment of women. Through the hands of these ladies millions of dollars pass in the course of every year. But one case of dis- honesty in the office has ever occurred. That was the famous instance of the em- ploye who invented a scheme for making ten notes out of nine. This she would accom. plish by an ingenious system of patchwork. No such thing had ever been thought of be- fore, and for a considerable period she con- tinued to earn from $20 to $0 a day by the operation without being suspected. Per- haps she might have goue on with it indef- Initely if it had not been tat she could not resist the temptation to make a display of her wealth. With such an income she could well afford to keep a carriage, and she drove to the department and home again every day. She wore diamonds and fine dresses—in short, exhibited such gorgeous. ness that the envy of her fellow clerks was excited. Suspicion was aroused and an in vestigation resulted in her arrest. People try all sorts of plans for cheating the redemption division. Hung in a frame on the wall of the treasurer's room is a $500 bil composed of slices taken’ from nine different notes. This ptece of work was done by a bank clerk. It did not de- ceive for a moment, because the pieces used differed in their tints, thus rendering the composite nature of the document evident It was a boy employed to sweep’out a New York bank who sent in a lot of scraps of Paper money awhile ago. He said that they represented $20) which had been eaten by mice, but examination showed that. the amount was at least $1,000, if anything. But the fact was that the youth had picked up the scraps from the ‘sweepings about the desks of the tellers. They were mostly corners that had been accidentally torn oif from the bills. The applicant was asked to furnish an affidavit as to the loss, but he weakened at that. Attempts at Fraud. ‘The experts well know the differences in appearance which mark bills that have been torn, chewed, burned, washed and burfed. When a claim is not honest they can almost invariably tell off-hand. There is usually some symptom of fraud on the very face of the application. Something in the wording of the letter gives it away, or the amount of money forwarded does ‘not agree with the statement made. Now and then it happens that a person, finding that one affidavit is not acceptable, tries another, with a different account of the loss in- curred. But that does not do any good. False affidavits are rare, because the pen- alty for perjury is severe. Besides, they must always be accompanied by certificates of good character signed by individuals of known standing. People sometimes clatm that the pieces of a note, the middle part of which has been destroyed, represent sev- eral notes, but that does not pass. When the experts are satisfied that an applica- tion is of doubtful honesty they return the money remains with a refusal to redeem them. An instance in point occurred not very long ago. ‘Three thousand dollars “was forwarded to the department in a lump. ‘That is to say, a lot of paper scraps aly leged to represent that sum were sent in inclosed in a pasteboard box. With them came a letter from a man who stated that he had put the money under a carpet for safe keeping. It was thus hidden for three days, and during that time was chewed up by mice to the extent described. Not one of the pieces was more than half an inch across, and there seemed to be no_ bill larger than %. The stuff did not look Mouse-eaten. Its appearance was as if sev- eral small notes had been taken together and torn up with the fingers as fine as Possible. In all not more than $20 could identified. Accordingly, the consignment was returned to the owner. He was very indig- nant, and said that he was going to apply to Congress for reimbursement. That was the last heard of the matter. Work of the Parlor Stoves. This is the season when burned money Teaches the redemption division in large quantities. That is because the parlor stoves are being lighted, cold weather hav- ing begun. In those receptacles thousands of housewives all over the country deposit their hoarded cash, considering them more Secure than banks, especially at this pe- Tiod of financial depression. Also it 1s supposed that the heating apparatus in the family “settin’ room” is the last place in which a robber would be likely to look for cash. But, when chilly autumn days ar- rive a fire is wanted and the presence of the wad in the stove ts forgotten. It serves as fuel, or perhaps undergoes a gradual reduction to a crisp in the cven. Such things often happen for the reason that all the members of @ household have not been made acquainted with the place of concealment. At all events, che money {s reduced to a condition more or less ap- proaching cinders. As has already been Implied, the many other ways of destroying mon2y, but in effectiveness none of them approaches the parlor stove. As a rule it redaces the cash to a condition that is hopeless, even from the point of view of the experts at Washington. To them absolute ashes are often forwarded in packages of satious Kinds, such as pill boxes and 2 bles, but it goes without saying that they cannot make anything out of mater that sort. ‘There are about 100 ca: kind every fall. [t is an ill wind th nobody any good, and what ts lost in this way by people is so much ain for ncle Sam. Every dollar wiped out ts $1 in the pocket of his striped pantaloons, to speak figuratively. To him collisions on the rall are sources of great profit. Such acci- dents are almost invariably followed by fire, If there is an express car on one of the trains it is burned up and the contents of the portable express safe are inciner- ated. Safes of this kind are not fire-proof. This happens almost every day, and inci- dentally @ vast amount of paper cash 1s destroyed. In such cases the safes are sent unopen- ed to Washington. Here their contents are examined and the money they contain 1s identified and redeemed when practicable. | Usually a part of it at all events can be restored. The worst Instance of this sort on record was that of an express safe which went through fire and flame in a tunnel down in Kentucky. A_ jassenger train and a freight train loaded with tron and coal tried to pass each other there on the same track. The experiment was not successful und there was a wreck, which burned, with the help of the coal for fuel for thirty hours. In fact, the tunnel w for the time being transformed into a fur- nace. Nobody could get near enough to put it out, even if sufficient water had) been on hand; the iron from the freight train melted and flowed about in a molten condition. In the express car attached to the passenger train was a safe which con- tained $1,600 in paper money, besides a quantity ‘of jewelry. The latter was of some use afterward as bullion, but only $700 of the $1,600 in cash could be redeemed. It took some mighty clever work to get that much out of the ashes. Money That Has Been Burtea. tional currency fs still outstanding. | the amount is a good many millions, only a | few hundred dollars’ worth of it annually comes into the treasury for redemption. A good deal of it is held by collectors, but the bulk of it is in the hands of individuals who Preserve a few pieces of it for the sake of curiosity. It is exchangeable for lawful money any time at Uncle Sam's counters. The Continental Currency. ‘The same {s not true of the continental currency, which was never redeemable by the United States. By an act passed in August, 1790, it was receivable at the treas- ury in subscriptions to a loan, at the rate of $180 as an equivaient for $1 in specie. Even if genuine, it has no money value. The continental bills would have rapidly sunk by reason of the enormous quantity issued, even if they had not been weighted in any other manner, but not long after the appearance of the first issue the country was inundated with counterfeits, which hastened the depreciation. The counter- felting . was not confined to individuals. For the sake of embarrassing the young government the British authorities em- barked in the business. Gen. Howe abetted those who were engaged in making and Pushing these spurious issues into circula- tion, In the same paper which published British official documents and prociama- tong might be found advertisements like the following: “Persons going into the colonies may be supplied with any number of counterfeited Congress notes for the price of the paper per ream. They are so nearly and exactly executed that tuere is no risk in getting them off, it being almost impossible to dis- cover that they are not genuine. This has been proved by bills of a very large amount which have been successfully circulated.” WHAT THERE Is IN DUST. Starch Grains and Other Which Few People Think “Oh, this dreadful dust! There is no get- ting rid of it. It is the bother of my life.” So says the housewife. It never occurs to her to wonder what is this ever-accum lating dust of which she complains. Yet there are ever so many strange things to be told about it. Of all the materials of which dust is com- Posed” the most interesting is starch. In every pinch of dust there is more ur I of this ingredient in the shape of oval and spherical grains. The dust found in coffins with old Egyptian mummies contains starch grains just like those which fly about in the air today. A scientist with an inquiring mind once took the trouble to examine under a ‘nicro- Scope specinens of dust which had pene- trated the skulls of animals embalmed in the days of the Pharaohs. The samples re- vealed the same kind of grains of starch. Such grains are always in everybody's clothes and on the hands. Press your moistened finger upon a clean piece of glass, and on looking at the latter with a microscope you will discover several starch grains. Wash your hands a dozen times and every repetition of the experiment will produce the same result. Where does all this starch come from? ‘The answer is: From the food of mankind. Wheat, barley, rice; potatoes, etc. are largely composed of starch. Little grains Things A good deal of money ts sent into the | treasury that has been buried. That sort of | treatment does not hurt coin, but it ts very | bad for bills. The latter soon get rotten | under such circumstances. Sometimes they are so much decomposed that their remains | have to be handled with the utmost care and | delicacy, so ready are they to tumble. Dead bodies are quite frequently dug up for the purpose of securing cash that has been in- terred with them. A wad from the decom- posed body of a murdered man not long ago afforded to the treasury experts one of the | most unpleasant tasks in this line which | they have ever been called upon to attempt. Another one, almost equally disagreeable, | was furnished by a roll of notes taken from | the pocket of a woman who had been burned to death. People will insist on hiding money under floors. There it 1s quickiy found by mice and is soon converted into material for nests. Even the floor and walls of the cellar | serve the purposes of safe deposit, where damp corrupts. Small children who have passed the period of babyhood delight in tearing money when they get hold of it, and | even more childish victims of alcoholic stim- | ulation publicly exhibit their indifference to wealth by lighting their cigars with $ bills, These last repent afterward and frequently | seek to have the value restored to them by sending in the ashes. Ot course, the great bulk of the paper | shape such particles were of it are widely scattered by the winds, and being very light are held in suspension. For the reason above mentioned much | more starch is to be found in the dust of cities than in that of the countr: where population is comparatively sparse. Thus it may be sald that in every town a cloud of starch always hangs in the air. How- ever, the dust that blows through the streets, which settles upon furniture and makes work for the housewife, contains ever so many other things besides starch. Take a small pinch of it at random and ex- amine it at leisure. Perchance you will dis. cover among it a fiber of wood, a scale of human epidermis, a fragment of the hair of a dog. a piece of an insect’s claw, the shell of an animalcule and the spore of a plant awaiting a proper resting place, with the necessary dampness to reproduce its species, ‘These are all organic substances, animal or vegetable. Dust contains much. inor- sanic matter, particularly small particles of silica. On account of their size and for a long time mistaken for eggs of some kind, but this notion was finally exploded by making chemical analyses of the alleged eggs. The history of a single one of these f-agments would be most interesting to know. Ever so long ago perhaps it was part of a rock, ‘The waves wore it away from the parent stone and threw it into a heap of sand on the shore. After a while the wind caught it and flung it upon the upland. Rain took it from the ground and hu-ried money sent into the tr ry for redemp- tion is in fatrly good condition. ‘The total | amount of it averages $700,000 a day. The | spotled cash which requires the work of ex- | perts for its identification makes only a} small fraction of the whole. ‘The bills and notes for redemption are mostly received by express, a few are handed in to the treasury by indi- viduals. All the paper money that pa: ses through the treasury in the ordinary | course of business is carefully examined, and every bill that does not look quite as) good as new is rejected, in order that it may not go out into circulation again. Each package of notes sent in for redemption is recetpted for in a register kept for that | purpose. The parcels are then distributed to the counters, who are women. Processes of Redemptio: On receiving a package, the counter signs for it in the register book. She then care- | fully examines the content: see if they | include any counterfeits, After sorting the bills by denominations and issues, she puts them up in packages of 10), canceling them thereupon by punching four holes through them all. Next she makes entry of the amounts due to the owners, after allowing | for discrepancies, such as counterfeits, “shorts” and “overs.” Finally, each pac! age Is cut in halves with a big machine knife. One-half is delivered to the office of the Secretary of the Treasury and the other | half of the register of the treasury. In| both offices the halves are recounted, and, | if the counts agree, the amount represent =d | is credited to the account of the treasurer | of the United States. All of these halved bills must be destroy- ed. So the national bank notes are put into | @ receptacle with revolving knives at the Treasury building, where they are chopped up into fraxments so small as to be of no use to anybody. All of the other paper money 1s conveyed in a vehicle built of chilled steel to the bureau of engraving and printing, where it !s bolled In big vats with hot water and alkalies until it is reduced to an unrecognizable pulp. Subsidiary and Minor Coins. | ‘There fs a law which obliges the treasury to redeem In lawful money the subsidiary and minor coins, when offered in quantities not less than $20. This is the reason why there are at present lying in the vaults $10,000,000 or more worth of such lesser pieces of metal cash, which have lost so much of their value by abrasion that they are worth intrinsically about 3 per cent less than when they were minted, or nearly §30 on every $1,000. Most of them are haif-dollars, for the reason that 50-cent pieces are not In nearly so great demand as quarters and dimes, Minor coins so defaced as not to be readily identified, or punched or clipped, are | not redeemed. Pieces bent and twisted, or | otherwise imperfect, but showing no mate- rial loss of metal, are accepted and paid for. Not long ago’a woman came into the cash room of the treasury and handed eighty-nine huge old-fashioned copper pen- nies ‘through the window to Charles R. Smith, the acting receiving teller. She said | she wanted other money for them. Now, though the law does not oblige the govern. ment officers to redeem such coins in sums less than $20, they usually grant such favors as a matter of court Mr. Smith took the pennies and gave her what she asked for. Then she said that she had changed her mind and wanted her pennies back. When they were returned to her she d clared that one of them—a rare and vai uable penny of 1811 date—had disappeared. She made a big row, and carried the mat: ter to the treasurer. Though she got no satisfaction, she succeeded in making it very disagreeable for Mr. Smith. An e%ort is now being made in Congress to repeal the law compelling the redemption of minor and subsidiary coins, All sorts of quéer letters come to the treasury. The other day a woman wrote, asking if {t was true that three coins were missing from the department. She wanted to know what were their denominations and dates, and what reward was offered for their ‘recovery. She said: “I have an an- clent coin, and am in hopes it may be one | of those lost." Whence she xot this notion cannot be imagined. Not long ago a letter arrived from a little | girl in Naples. It was written in French, She said that “kind fate had thrown into her hands” a journal in which it was stated that the treasury in Washington seriously embarrassed by an accumulation of silver. Her own family was not embar- rassed in that way. She wrote without their knowledge, to ask for a loan of 600 francs, with a request that in case her pe- tition ‘was not compiled with her missive hould not be returned. You see, she was | mi [often as fifteen times. | has told the story of a rotifer which, ha it along to a river. The river carried it to the sea. From the sea water it was taken by an oyster to build the latter's shell, The mollusk was caught end eaten, and the shell, being thrown away, was trampled upon, powdered and dispersed by the breezes. Thus the particle whose story is here related was set afloat in the ai mos | phere, to fall at length upon your library table and to afford a subject for speculation beneath your microscope. As you walk down the street on one of these breezy autumn days a cloud of dus‘ is blown In y ce, almost stifling you. it fs a mixture consisting largely of sm fragments of sand. Bui, if you will take a pinch of it home and subject it to examina- tion, vou will find that it contains an ex- traordinary variety of other things, such as the broken fibers of plants, pollen, fine hairs, fibers of clothing and other fab-ics, particles of lime and soot, the pulverized excreta of various domestic animals, ashes and clusters of different kinds of ‘micro- organisms. When a ray of sunlight streams into a darkened room it reveals the finer dust particles which always fill the air, though ordinarily invisible to the eve. Dr. Prud- den, who has made a study of this subject, says that the particles in question consist mostly of fragments of vegetable and ani- mal fibers, such as cotton and wool, and of an enormous variety of micro-o-ganisms, singly or in masses, such as bacteria and the spores of mold plants, Such are the so many poetic ideas have been expressed, Not a few of them are germs capable of producing diseases of various sorts if they happen to find lodgment in the human system. The authozity above quoted says that with every twenty breaths a human being inhales from 11 to 376 germs, together with a varying amount of inorganic matter. In a town, of course, the micro-organisms are pure country air. Such foreign particles are mostly caught in the mouth, nose and upper throat or swallowed, while a certain number pass into the air tubes or lungs. But to drive out ail intrusive germs and particles nature has established a wonder- ful arrangement. The interior walls of the windpipe and bronchial tubes are lined with a sort of mosaic of tiny cells. Each of these cells stands on end and has a sort of beard of very small hairs at its extremity This beard serves as a broom, with whic the little cell is constantly sweeping night and day. So long as life stays in the body these thousands of sweepers go on sweeping all foreign material up toward the mouth. In fact, they usually keep at it for a long time after death has arrived, being the last portions of the body to give it up and die. Floating about the body with the blood are numerous cells which seem to go around on their own hook. In the lungs they are found in great numbers. When they come across any disease germ or other foreign particle, they eat it up or carry it away to some place where it cannot do any harm. Thus they serve the purpose of scavengers. Unfortunately, so many wicked germs are floating about’in the dust that occasionally they make their way into the system ofa healthy person and cause trouble. Most dreadful of all such micro-organisms is the bacillus of consumption, which breeds: in the human lungs and destroys them. Cholera has been exciting much dismay of late, but it 1s a complaint of trifling importance compared with consumption, In’ Europe 3,000 persons die every day of consumption, while in the United States the same dis. ease kills 100,000 people a year. If you want to get a notion of the prey: lence of germs in the alr, set a glass of fresh water on the mantelpiece and leave it there for three or four days. At the end of that time it will be covered with a sort of scum which looks like a layer of duet. This scum, when examined under a micro. Scope, will be found to be a mass of living organisms. In ordinary dust are many living micro- scopic animals, such as the rotifers. These little creatures may be dried for an in- definite period, but will come to life again when moistened. It is said that individual have been desiccated and revived again as A romantic writ ing seen something of life in a gutter at ancient Memph'!s, was blown as dust to Carthage, carried as dust to Rome, thence conveyed to Constantinople, was shaken from the Code of Justinian, ac- companied the crusaders to Jerusalem and was eventually bought back from the Holy Land by a modern excursionist to see more of life in a gutter in New York. FOR SLEEPLESSNESS anxious {t should not fall into the hands of her father or mother. Nobody knows how much of the old trac- Use Horsford’s Acid Phosphate, And you will exchange a night of restless tossing for one of ‘dreaumleas sleep. ‘Though | LET THE MOTHERS READ! Nature’ Remedy for Sickly, Ailing In- fants Is Lactated Food. “motes in the sunbeam,” respecting which | much thicker than in the comparatively | “Let me have the mothers on my side,snd I don't care what otners think,” said a great ob- server, speaking of his reputation. On nothing are the mowers of Washington #0 united as on the excellence of lactated food for | navies. The praise of physicians and mothers, and. stronger testimony yet, the thousands of homes ail over the land, radiaut with plump, hearty children, Who have been brought up on this purest and most nourshing of all infant diets, make lactated food one of the most famous products of modern care and diligence, In these days of late summer and ea cholera infantum and diarrhea bring even strong, healthy children in two or three days to the verge of the grave, the physicians order Jactated food, not only because it's the most nourishing, strength ening, readily digestible food for the baby, but also } because tt 18 absolutely pure. There is no secret whatever about it. Itis simply a food. Its the most perfect substitute there is for pure mother's milk. Its basis ls sugar of milk, and with it are combined the nutritive qualities of the three fall wuen | j Steat cereals, whe: | barley and oats, thoroughly cooked at high steam heat and amade a “prewdi- gested”, palatable, nuiritious food. Babies take tt with relish. It is retained im the stomach when other foods are rejected. It restores sickly, ailing, fretfal little ones to health and strengih. It has the qualities that uature tutended for the infant's diet. ‘The twin babies of Mrs. T. H. Hickens, of Atlan tic Higulands, N. J., whose pictures are given above, were brought up entirely upop lactated } 4000, winien has saved the lives of thousands of | httle ones whose mothers have been unable t% | | nurse them at the breast. At this season of the year an infant's stomach, when the little one Las been fed upon cow's milk of has been imperfectly nourished at the breast, of | has been fed upon some infertor food, w often weak and incapable of converting euch food into nuurisie ment sufficient to keep up its strength. Lactateo food should at once be given and the history of these cases, as told by physicians, where a change to lactated food is made,invariably shows a rapid re newal of fesh and @ return of sound digestion, health and happiness. Try lactated food. It is nature's remedy for the ills of childhood. It is the best possible food. TO MAKE SCHOOLBOYS SOLDIERS. A Plan to Raise an Army of Co: Defenders. From the New York Herald. A movement to enlist among the future | @efenders of the country the students of | the schools and colleges has been begun by | Lafayette Post, G. A. R., and the national | encampment, which is to mect in Indian- mtry’s the post’s plan in operation E. L. Zalinskt, captain of the fifth United States artillery; Floyd Clarkson and Joseph J. Little, a committee to consider the mat- ter, have prepared the resolutions and out- lined a plan. | “We look to the people for defense.” they | Say, “and to make them guickly effective | as soldiers they must have military train- ing. The military training obtained largely in other countries by universal service is | entirely out of the question with us. By | causing military instruction to be given during the years of attendance in the ‘hools nothing is taken from the product- ive energies of the country. On the con- trary, the physical training and exercises enhance the physical and mental vigor of the boys, teach them useful habits of order | and subordination, tend to give executive | ability and sends them into the active world better fitted to cope with its diflicuittes. | “The expense involved would be trifling. Suitable places for drilling in inclement Weather could be easily secured. In many Places the armories of the national guard | Organizations may be utilized, as “school drills usually take place in the day time, | when the national guard organizations are | not using them. ‘Lwo exercises per week of | from fifty-five minutes to one hour's dura- | tion each would not make an excessive de- mand upon the time of the pupils. How They Cam Be Instructed. “A single instructor has been able to thus effectively drill fifteen hundred Latin and High School boys of Boston. In many cases it could be possible to find members of the national guard who are willing to devote some of their time to this patriotic work. In time it may be possible to secure the services of officers and non-commissioned officers of the regular army.” The encampment is to be asked to pass these resolutions: “Reaolved, That the members of the Grand Army of the Republic cordially in- dorse the language of Comrade Benjamin Harrison, addressed to the National Asso- ciation of Teachers, that ‘the sirength and defense of our institutions, not oniy in | Peace but in war, is to be found in the | Young of the land, who have received from the lips of patriotic teachers the story of | the sacrifice which our fathers made to | establish our civil constitutions, and which their sons had repeated on hundreds of | battlefields. The organized army of the | United States, even if we inciude the mi- litia of the states, is of magnificent propor- tions when put in contrast with the armies |of the other great powers of the world. Our strength is not in these. It is in the great reserve to be found in the instructed young of our land, who come to our defense in time of peril.’ Necessary Legal Steps. “Resolved, That this twenty-seventh an- nual national encampment is of the opinion that the Grand Army of the Republic takes @ deep interest in all efforts to provide for the future defense of the country, and that | tt recommends an organized effort to im- press upon the various municipal and stete authorities the advisability of the adoption of a system by which scholars attending | public and private schools, as well as the high schools and colleges, shall receive in- struction In military matters, and to im- press upon the rising generations of the | country the fact that as American citizens it is their high duty to bring to the defense of their country in its need the education which they may have received in this par- ticular in their youthful days. “Resolved, That it is the recommenda- tion of thie national encampment that the department commanders give especial at- tention to the accomplishment of this ob- Ject through a staff officer, and that the posts in the various cities, towns and vil- lages, by committees, public meetings and other means, give their earnest co-opera tion and support in securing nece legislative, municipal and school board action, as well as to obtain, where quired, national aid by provision of arms, equipments and instructors. Had Lost 8100,000 at One Faro Sit From the San Francisco Chronicle. James P. Rynders, the faro kins, never made much of a talk among the sports about being a rich man. He wes one of those kind of people who do a whole jot of things and very little talking. Consequent- ly when he died in Oakland a few weeks ago not many of his friends knew wheth- er he had gone to his grave a rich or a poor man, But they said that old Jim would not ‘care, because he was alone in world, never having married. It has been years since Jim toyed with the “kitty” or bucked the He had forsaken many of his old friends, and located himself in a in East Oakland, where he spent his days in peace and happiness, It was of him that he had no worry on account of his gambling days, for he had lost more money at the gambling table t ever won. In fact, he made the greatest loss in the state, dropping $10),.%% sitting at faro. That loss is a history. But Jim Rynders did n. pen- niless. When he retired from the ring of chance he made a few legitimate xpecula- tions, and the reformed gambler nade an honest fortune. Recently W. D. Thomas, John lL. Rrrom- ley and James Larue flied in che Alameda superior court an inventory and ment of the Rynder estate. It si the decedent had $4,750 in cash, and mortgages in the east valued ai 31.02 also held a promissory note of an s for $2,262. The home place in East Oakland is valued at $4,500. Puglas Ranch, m Sar Mateo, consisting of 404 acres, 1s valued at 222. A niece of the deceased will inherit most of the property. apolis, will be asked to take steps to put | | the | n he had | $60,600. The total value of the estate is §74.- | CUPID'S EXPENSIVE WORK. Courtship, Marriage Honey moon Cost 835,000,000 Annaally in Brit Last year there were, according to the re- | turns of the registrar general, 226,022 war- riages in England and Wales, says London j Tia Bits. The returns from Scottand and | Ireland bring tt up to @ total of more tian | 2%5,0w for the united kingdom. Just con- sider the amount of money that must ie spent in connection with 275.000 marriages and the conclusions that follow have sug- gested a new strain of thought to a con- tributor. It means, in the first place, as many courtships. What is the usual length of # courtship? That depends—iike m:ny ther things. But, seeking a happy mediam, we may fairly take eighteen months as an average. Say one-half of our eweetheart- ing couples are so situated that letter writ- | ing becomes @ necessity. Say they cocre- spond with each other only once a fort- night, a calculation which must be far be jow the mark; put them on the moderate allowance of no more than two sheets of note paper, and we shall see the dainty col- lection of sweet nothings amounting in the mass to a postal revenue of 26,00, and a yearly stationer’s bill of $100,000. But there are very small items to think about. The Jeweler will come in for heavier share of the profits. There will be 275,00 wedding rings at a guinea apiece, and engagement Tings which we shall be well within the line in assessing at the same price. Then there are the presents which the lover wll naturally bestow upon the lady of his choice, ranging from the $000 bracelut of the duke to the shitling brooch of the cos- ter. If we put them down with the rings at a guinea in each case, and credit them to the jeweler again, we shall have an ac- count of nearly $000,000, ‘Then come the railway companies. They must surely reap a golden harvest out of courting. With the inevitable trips and the traveling of separated sweethearts to ree one another, we may safely strike an aver- age of $15 for each courtship, which will give us a round sum of $750,000. But ail these are only preliminaries. The greatest expenditure will come with the wedding da: ‘There is the trousseau (more or icss costly according to circumstances) for the | bride, and at least a new suit for the bride- groom. It can be done cheaply enough, goodness knows, when bridal dresser cre to be bought second-hand and top hat: obtainable” on the hire system.” But most folk like to “do” a wedding to the best of their ability, and in the upper and middle classes, at any rate, the tailor’s share of the profit is a large one. Taking only the | moderate sum of $25 in each case wiil cive Us a total of nearly $2,00,00. Then there are wedding cakes and marriage break- fasts. Reckon these expenses of social en- tertainment et only $10 a head, and we get another half @ million; 275,00 wedding fees, licenses and clergyman’ charges will amount to above $00,000, and as many hi crowns to pew owners will tot up to $1 | 08 more, while the livery stable man’s Ml, | allowing’ only one carriage to every wed- | ding, win make $900,0 more. Finishing | the honeymoon we shall find another t | abie sum to be added to the costs of m: mony. Here there will surely be diversity enouth; every stage between the favorites | of forcune who may flit luxuriantly through Europe for a year and the daily rer, Whose iden. of bliss is limited to a day off. If we accept $35 as a reasonable average of honeymoons we have a final sum i 0) to carry on our account. Thvs, | without speaking of furnishing and othar preparations for married life, and confining our calculations only to the expenses of courtship and the honeymoon, we shall he j within the mark in saying that the amical merriage census of t united kingdom | represents @ total expenditure of $35,08, 8, a consideration which puld certainiy tt | dicate that marriage is by no meats a bat | thing = HE DOUBLED THE COLLECTIONS. Cornered the te Bertch the A Shrewd Scotchman Small Cota Market Chur In a small town in t dinnds there 1s @ rich congregation which is not character | ized by lavish liberaiit 3 minister had vainly ple to contribute more rously to the funds of the church. ‘The Members would, indeca, give thing, Dut | it was nearly always the smallest sliver coim > the plate had rece te chu was not long in noticing this state of ana and a remedy Soon suggested itself to practical mind. “Til tell you what,” he said to one of the fals. “If you mak’ me treasurer Filen- to double the collections in three | offer was promptly accepted, says Tit- | Bits, and sure cnough the collections began to increase, until by the time he had stated they were meurly twice as much as for- | mer: iow have you managed {t, Mr. Bandy. pastor to him one day. returned the canny in confidence. The " gave threepenny bits. nl got the mor Sabbath carefully picked oot the sma’ 1 put them by. Noo, as there’sonly 4 limited number of threepenny pieces in a Uttle place Whe this, and ax I have maist of mat prevent under lock and ky 1k maun give saxpence From the Detrot | It was far away | the hours of the da | long time between ex Upon a large cake of icy was grouped ring sea, where E nd it is a a family of seals id the oldest girl, “may I go im? repited the parent, “my darling But keep your eye peelet, an¢é beyond the sixty-mile tmit o: | wa | Noticing the look of perplexity in the face | of the little one the old lady took the child upon her knee and explgiaed to her the latest news from Paris, and the wugust commission which lately sat there.