Evening Star Newspaper, December 4, 1893, Page 20

CURIOUS TELEGRAMS Yellow Envelopes Which Cause Alarm and Anxiety. nm FROM RELAY, SOUNDER AND KEY. Some Very Funny Mixtures of Grief and Bad English. A NEW CABLE RECORDER HOSE PEOPLE who are in the habit of receiving from one to a dozen telegrams daily cannot conceive the amount of terror which an innocent telegraphic message can excite In a pri- vate family, unused easy-going blue-coat- rough yellow envel- opes. To these peo- ple the receipt of a telegram generaliy means two things—death or birth, sener- ally the former, and under the circum- stances the palpitation of the heart is easily accounted for. They never think of telegraphing about sickness, unless very critical. The mails are used to tell when a contemplated visit will be inaugurated and the hundred and one reasons why the busi- ness man should use the telegraph are unknown to them. a large number of private telegrams do relate to the three great events in the human pilgrimage—birth, marriage and | death. Of the three death puts more money into the treasury of the telegraph compan- fes than the other two combined. The old saying that “bad news travels quickly” has one more verification in the hundreds of death messages sent by wire every day. It is a standing jest in telegraph offices that more people die on Sunday than any other day in the week, for in the absence of the usual volume of telegrams relating | to strictly business affairs those announc- ing deaths and funeral arrangements stand out with unusual prominence and their frequency becomes apparent. When the Boys Overcharge. Among the messenger boys cf the tricky class it is known that the best time to} overcharge for the delivery of a message is at a period when the intelligence of death is conveyed. Especially when it is in the case of a dear relative or close friend is this true. The effects of the shock and the excitement that follows prevents nine persons out of ten looking at the envelope or messege to ascertain if it has already been paid for. If the boys run against a} Person who is well-informed on points of this kind they will innocently say ‘Oh, I've made a mistake. I thought it was message number ‘4," and the messenger will forcib! criticise his sense of com- Prehension in the matter of “sizing” up the wrong man. Jt may seem sacrilegious to say that many of the “death telegrams” sent over the wires have a grotesque side. yet it is so. The hard-worked operators who handle them cannot avoid seeing it all in the rush and many a smile goes around the tele- graph office over the uncouth way in which sincere afMfiction has been announced. II- Uteracy accounts for many of these grue- somely amusing announcements. The men- tal agitation accompanying the loss of rela- tives or friends accounts for more, but there is undoubtedly a certain percentage which are ridiculous in a ghastly fashion, because of actual hard-heartedness on the Part of the sender. To the latter class, in all probability. belones the telezram sent by a daughter to announce with cheerful levity that “Mamma kicked at 11-20 last nicht. Will try and mak. burtal Monday.” But such instances are. of course. rare. Abbreviations are dangerous articles of commerce at all times. but particularly so fm the ease of telegrams re periods and commas, with their helpful explanatory. functions. are usually dropned ort in the transmission. One individnal fated to realize this. and. probably from 2 mistaken to economize, telecranhed to rela- tives: “Jane diel yesterday. Frn at 2 o'clock Sunde.” It took some time ta Tealize that “fon was 7 contraction for “funeral and thet no hilarious disrespect ‘was intended to the deceased. A Telegrapher's Talk. Talking about cur'ous telegrams and odd eceurrences in a telegraph office to an Evening Star renorter recently an employe of the Postal Telezraph Company said: “The curious and humorous things that come under our notice In the course of a week’s business would, if proverly told. fM a page of The Star. One of the most persistent humorous things is the matter of confining a message within the regula- tion number of ten word: People will come into our office who from appearances are undorbtediy well-to-do who will work for half an hour over a messace simply to Seve a few cents. It is not the saving T object to so much as the wav ther butcher DP A message simply to make this saving. A majority of them will start in and write whet they have fo say regardless of the smatler words and at its conclusion go over it and pick out what th consider Useless words. The message as originally written would have cost about %5 cents. while the reenlar rate for ten words fc % cents. The Si-cent rate aces not hother them a whit, bet mention 35 cents and thev almost get a fit and immediately set to} work to kill the se for the savine of 10 cents. “Another class. and a class we really take an Interest In. fs the poor neople who come inte an office with something of awe and fully expecting to snend a dol- Jar on a messace. Thev ranerally ask ns te write the messace for them and In nine eases ont of ton It is the mournfnl one of death. We will nit down what they tell us and then read it over to them. The mice Is never erowled at We thon on- deaver to save thom a little money by crossing ont worla here and thera, n mat. ter an exnert can do quite deftly, ana T have yet ta come acerca a person af thie Find whe has mot thanked us most cor- Malle for our effort. To endawwor to do the same thine for the othe= clase wonld he token saan affrent and as our reward Tob the company of 2 considerable revenue. Rotting Down. “The newsnaner men are the ones that have the abbreviations and short sentences down fine. One not accuainted with their style could hardly make head or tail of their messages. The special correspondent, pushed for time, will telegraph his paper about some startling occurrence and in- quire how many words tu send in so few mse of their message words that the brevity almost chilis the operator who has the sending to do. In the times when tolls were a portant item in the « paper this “boiling was carried to the extrem: fine art, requir- ing an item written before the compositor could put it in cold type. Now the tolls have been reduced to such an ex- is done few cents. and the t out of our almost the equal of the “In the mat have considerable troubl. of the common stumt ing with the lettered is i message recently handied by simply: ‘Our little boy phantom.’ And in the matter of punctua- tion the following i is recalled “Georse is tyir iz nswe both the above cases the operator could ily have straichtened out things, but it i @ standing rule with us to never alter message in the slizh cite cases by the hun we have come t enough to s: where 2 mes result and the compan erable mone: a re Show People's 1 “Another class that sages is the show pcople . what they say we let them co as they lay only making sure other end of the writing corre seum doy a shock when he re from New Y érel fat w Bis sicep =r Ventivn, until it sat receive eu n- i ihe @ashea upon lia ih. to the sight of the| ed messenger and his | As a matter of fact, | dispatch alluded to 300 advertising bills picturing a fat lady that was expected to appear with him in the future. That mess- age went all around our office before going out to see if any of the boys could locaw a mistake and we finally concluded the sender knew what he was about. Many people blame us for not plac- ing punctuation marks in a message to make it read sensibly, but for the same reason I have before stated, we change notoing and send it on iis journey as it comes to us. “The most interesting messages that pass over our wires, that is interesting to the operators, are the ones that are exchanged by the owners of racing horses and the race track followers. A large majority of these messages, of course, are in cipher and the interest is increased by the fact that the sender and receiver of the message are generally known to the operators. Now and then a straight message will flash over the wire as to the status of a coming race, but it is a nine to one chance that the op- erators will be afraid to think of it, believ- ing It to be a ‘blind’ sent out to catch the telegraphic fraternity, many of whom, I am sorry to say, Invest considerable of their money in pocls or straight tickets, Tricks in Racing Tips. “It takes the novice to bite at these sup- posed traps and what disgusts the telegra- pher is the fact that the very chances they let slip are the ones they should have grasped. The following story was told me |as an actual fact and will aptly illustrate this point. It seems that a young man went into an uptown office recently to use the telephone. While he held the telephone receiver glued to his ear waiting for the connection to be made the wires in some Way became crossed. The young man moved around in his chair nervously, excitedly fumbled in his pockets and finally fished out a pencil, with which be wrote furiously for a few minutes on the margin of a news- paper. He had evidently forgotten the ob- ject of his visit, but was finally called to his senses by the wire straightening out and the man he wanted answering his call. After he had transacted his business he asked the young clerk what the charges were. He replied fifteen cents, but the young man in great excitement handed him a dol- lar bill and told him to keep the change. When he got outside the office he ran against an old time operator with whom he as on intimate terms and pulling him to one side, in a hoarse whisper, said: “I just heard a message go over the tele- phone wire from one of the big bookmak- ers over at Jackson City to a well-known betting man down on %h street, telling him to play one hundred straight and one hun- dred for place on ‘Can't ‘Tell’ tomorrow. ‘There's a cinch for you. Let us form a lit- Ue pool of our own and take in a portion of the pot.” “The old operator laughed in his face and told him that was an old trick and that they were after his money. The young man was obdurate and insisted on playing ‘Can't Tell’ even after his friend had gone into he details of how such traps are laid. He told him the telegraph wires were used weekly for just such a purpose and that the telephone wires were evidently being re- sorted to now. But ft was no use. The young man collected a party of his friends and a combination of five was formed, each one putting up $10. The directions of the message that passed over the telephone wire were followed to the letter and the combination cashed checks to the amount of $1,750 or $350 apiece. “The story was told me by the old time operator and such a mournful expression I have never before seen on a man’s face. ““To think,” sald he, ‘that 1 have been caught over and over again by apparently just such a game and here comes along a reener that hardly knows the difference between a pool ticket and a five dollar bill that falls into the good thing which zoes through without me. I have seen. that young man three times since he won his pool and each time have I slipped into a neighboring doorway as I am ashamed to face him." “Had that message passed over the tele- graph wires I can imagine the operators winking to each other knowingly and pass- ing it by as an old trick. Then comes the real trick and they bite like hungry fish. Complex Cablegrams. “To round out the chapter mention should be made of cablegrams. Washington stands about fifth on the list of cities that receive the largest pumber of cables. New York, of course, heads the list, but I doubt if that city receives 2s many complex cables as we do. This is accounted for through the complicated cipher system now in use by the federal government. Take the cable that came in the other day from Brazil, there were several words in its context that could not be made out even by the experts 2p at the State Department. The operators in the local offices have a holy horror for cables addressed to the State Department. ‘The address, of course, comes first and the operator knows that a roast is in store for him and a concentration of all his faculties follows so that he may turn out a correct message as far as he is concerned. “It is popularly supposed that cablegrams are received by means of flashes of light, but that system has been almost abandoned for some time. The recording system in- vented by Sir William Thomson of London, has been In use for a long time. There was mueh even in this to improve. Its meth- od of working wes to record on a paper ribbon the movements of a glass siphon from which ink flowed through an opening no larger than a human hair, leaving marks on each side of the center of the ribbon, as it was actuated by the impulses which flowed through the electric coils between which it swung. This recorder was a vast step onward, but tho improvements made in it by Charles Cuttriss, one of our ex- perts in the New York office, have virtuaily made a new machine, in which nothing re- mains of the Thomson pattern except the marking sivhon. Mr. Cuttriss has su ceeded in devising # machine which con- tains more vitues than the old @rrange- ment, with none of its weaknesses. The siphon of his machine is vibrated by mag- +tism. ‘The coil is pivoted in jewels, and its motion is so controlied as to do entirely away with ail the difficulties which form- beset the recording machines from t writes with a speed of from 250 to ” worls a minute, and readily responds to a rapid automatic sender, furnishing a perfectly reliable record of the message sent. Its magnetic vibration renders it ali solutely independent of climatic influence: which when static electricity was use: like in the old Tromson recorder, rendered it so unreliable In addition to the recorder, Mr. Cuttriss has devised a new automat transmitter to work in accord with the r } | corder. Of course, you understand, t 1 this hinery located in our New York and London offices and that we, down here at V ton, receive the cables in the good old-fashioned e way as of yore. | “This about concludes the list of curiou messages, levices and humorous thing connected with a telegraph office. Of cow there are many little facidents that come and go that would look and read good in prizt, but they are quickly forgotten and when wanted refuse to come to time in our think chambers. The under, seamy side of life is shown to the telegraph operator al- most as freely as to the physician, though less voluntaril: tee THROBBING HEAD. THE BABY'S The Doctor, to His Credit, Did Not Laugh at the Mother's Fea From the Louisville Courier-Journal. . There was a commotion in a household on 4th avenue the other day. The brand- |new baby, the only irfantile specimen in | the Nuwed home, was in the arms of tts doting mother, who was looking for some |new pertion cf its pink anatomy to kiss and admire. Suddenly there was a scream, followed by @ hysterical half an hour, while | the servants were sent in breathless search | for the family doctor. When the grave old | physician eniered the room the poor woman | was walking to and fro like one distracted, | pausing now and then to grasp her crowing child to her, then replacing it in its cradle to resume her nervous tread, weeping and | wringing her hands. |_,"Oh, doctor! My poor baby! Save him |if you can! But I know you can't. Oh, my poor child!" For five minutes or more this continued in spite of the physician's efforts to learn wl was the matter. He examined the | child, saw nothing that apparentiy ailed it, ‘and at last, with patience almost gone, sisted on an explanation. Composing her- If a little, the frightened mother finally ook at its poor little head, doctor. | ‘Yo the undying honor of rhat docto: did not laugh. All he said was: “My le woman, pray that that beating will . Should it ever stop, your baby wiil be dead.”” +00) A Completed Stanza, e little rift nd-by, will ma ing, ithin the inte, » the music mute, silence ail—" “after the Bail.” With one exception, viz: telegraphing | . Tight on top. See that soft spot, it is beating. It hasn't stopped for than an hour. I know something | iful is the matter, but you musn’t | it from me. Tell me the worst at THE EVENING STAR: WASHINGTON, D. C. MONDAY. DECEMBER 4. 1893. PARTS OF THE PAPER WOMEN READ Straws That Seem to Show They Pre- fer the “Ad: to the News Columns. From the New York Sun. Half a dozen women, of whom a reporter Was one, were dining together the other evering. “Have you seen Irving hostess asked the reporter. “No, I thini I'll go on Saturday night. “He plays Louis XI on Saturday night,” exclaimed the five other women in chorus. “How do you know?” asked the reporter, with a sudden inspiration. “Mary, bring the morning paper,” said the hostess to the maid behind her chair, while the others regarded the reporter with ill- concealed astonishment. “Tell me,” asked the latter. “do you wo- men in your hours of ease peruse the col- umns of the daily papers? Now, honestly, do you?” “Of course, we do!” in chorus. “Perhaps, then, you can tell me the exact status of the Hawaiian question at present, and the latest developments in Brazil and how the Lehigh strike is progressing.” There was a perceptible gasp and each woman looked anxiously at her neighbor. ‘Then the newspaper woman took pity. “What I do want to know.” she went on, “is whether you women read the advertise- ments.” The five countenances brightened. Then as if they had suddenly decided that it wasn’t the proper thing to be “up" on ad- vertisements while they gave little heed to the news the five assumed a careless air us they replied: “Oh, yes, sometimes.” “How about the advertisement of a bar- gain sale? Does that catch vour eye?” Five self-conscious smiles betoken assent. “And you seem pretty thoroughly inform- ed about amusements. How often do you read that column?” “Well, I'll tell you how often I read it,” said the poverty-stricken little church- mouse of the party. “I read it as regularly as the day comes round. Not that I can af- ford to go to the theater often. I don’t get there once a month, and when I do go I sit up in the 50-cent heaven. But I am thor- oughly posted on the people and the plays that have been in the city for the last two years, and that is next door to going to see them. “Ig you want to know whether women read the: advertisements in the papers,’ she continued, “let me assure you irom tne iutiness of my knowledge that they uo. e . ad few things; a few Some of them read a house sits a typical old maid. kvery smgle morn- ing ie euee up from breakfast, picks up the paper, and says: ‘Now, I'm going to look over the ‘paper. but 4 won't keep it from the rest of you very long. I'm just going to read the deaths.’ Why under the sun she reads the deaths is more than I can imag- ine, for everybody that belonged to her was dead long ago. Another woman at the same table, Who has an excellent situation, which, 1 think, nothing could induce her to change, always locks over the ‘Wants.’ 1 do, too!” said a pretty school teacher across the table. “Why?” asked the reporter. ; “Weil,” with a blush, “I suppose it’s be- cause 1 got my wn place througn that col- Becket?” the umn, A friend of mine saw the advertisement went to the school to make inquiries, and here 1 am! Then, too. the ‘Wants’ always interest me. And, for that matter, one good thing turned up for me through that medium, perhaps a better one may come the same way. “Weil,” put in the church mouse, “I own up to reading the ‘Personals’ in every pa- per I come ross. I'm always hoping I may see a line: ‘Information wanted of a ‘h mouse, who is one of the heirs to the estate,’ ete. There's another woman at our house who reads everything in the paper; at least she reads all the advertise- ments. She knows what ships are to satl and what ones are due; just what plays are at the theater and how long they will stay; she knows which store has a cloak sale and which one a linen le and where shoes are advertised the cheapest. Perhaps we don’t read advertisements at our house so much as we would if she wasn’t there. for we can ask her what's on sale and Where to get it and she can always tell us. “Tl tell you how it is with me about reading advertisements.” said the hostess with a judicial air. “I do read them,that is I Keep watch of them. When I see mention of something 1 need, I go to the store, and if it is satisfactory I buv it. “But why do you n to read the ad- thing, or at least, most things in stock all the time?” “But if they are advertised. that mgans that they are to be sold at special rates for that day or week only. It may be a very trifling reduction. but that makes no difference. Plenty of women have absolute- ly no common sense about the matter. I remember a couple of years ago there was a drop in the price of sugar, and a big gro- cery tirm advertised to sell sugar at 2 cents a pound less than its usual retail price. But, mind you, not more than two pounds were to be sold to any one person. Well, my dear, women came from far and near; from Jersey and Brooklyn. Naturally they could save only four cents on their limited going they spent five or six times that amount, besides buying other things they had not thought of.” “But,” said the engaged girl. who hadn't taken ‘any part in the discussion, “there is common sense in reading the advertise- ments; you must admit that. You find out the novelties, and when the regular old ‘tand-by materials are advertised at a bar- ain you know it. Ob, yes: I own up to |reading the bargain advertisements, and, |what's more, I believe every mother's daughter of us does it!” “I know,” said the church mouse. “there are dozens of times when I wish I hed read the advertisements even more care- fully. You may be sure I don’t want to gO to the museums on pay davs. three times I have been glance at the paper would have told me better. And I'm always turning up at places fter they are closed and going to hear something that has been postponed, so that T have taken a vow to become as well post- ed as the animated calendar at our board- ing house.”* caught when a Every Person Who Rides ‘Takes One Chance in 1,491,910 of Being hilled. 24 Miles From Chicago Daily Tribune. If a man takes a ride of the average length, which is almost twenty-four miles, in a railway train in this country, what is | his chance of getting killed? According to the interesting report of the interstate com- merce commission just out it is one chance in 1,491,910. If a young man of twenty, just jilted by his sweetheart, should determine to commit suicide without sin by getting accidentally killed in a railwsy accident, he might do it. Certamly he might do it. If he were to get on a train as a passenger and ride, ride, ride at the rate of thirty-five and one-half miles an hour, day and night, every hour lof every day, and every day in the year, if he had average luck he would eventuaily get surcease from the gnawing pain at his heart somewhere in the course of passing over 2 82 s, for according to these official ‘figures one passenge> is killed for every %,o!2,282 miles that a passenger is carried. According to the same he would be ‘injured in some way eight and three-quarter | times, or eight times and a bad scare. It is a little better than one chance in three that he would come to an untimely grave in con- sequence of a collision, but if he preferred to have the train run off the track to kill him he would have only one chance in nine to be satistied. His possible journey would have taken him around the world and past the place where she went to housekeeping with the other fellow 1,121 times, and would ‘hae cost him, at the rate of three cents a mile and $2.50 a night for a sleeping berth, $1,087,16.48. In this state of mind he wouldn't |eare how his shoes looked, and the porter {needn't disturb his grief for a daily quarter. And when, after all his journeying to his | death, and glowering out of the window at | every unsympathetic rock that might have allen before the engine, and cursing every \ vagrant browsing cow that might have tres- {passed on the track and didn't, he finds at length “the golden key that opens the pal- ace of eternity,” it is a bigger chance than there are figures for that he will not be ready to go. For the scenery of this world becomes interesting after a while, even to one smitten with disappointment and angry with all creation, There are many pretty acquaintances to be picked up in the course of « long journey, also, and time is a great healer of iove ess, eVen though a slow on He would » in his issth year by the time his desperate purpose was achieved, and he would have more sense than he started with. He would have had leisure to refle time to time on how his false sweetheart's false teetii became her now, how her rheumatism was, whether gray tacles ch d her much, and { } tehiidven of he vertisements; you know thev have every-/ purchase of two pounds, and in coming or | But two or/ cd with those great grand- | SETTING TYPE BY WIRE. An Electric Invention by Which Type is Set in Distant Places. From the New Orleans Picayune. Donald Murray, a newspaper man of Sydney, New South Wales, employed on the Sydney Morning Herald, has invented and patented, in this and other countries, a de- vice which bids fair to revolutionize meth- ods of newsyapers all the world over. By this invention an opevator in New York, with a key-board before him, like that of an ordinary typewriter, can not only produce typewritten copy in New Orleans, but, it is claimed, can operate a typesetting machine here and deliver his matter thus in lead ready for the forms. Not only that, but the same operator, by using a number of telegraph lines, can set up the Same copy simultaneously in a dozen different places. In this operation only ordinary telegraphic currents are used, such as are capable of being relayed, and are subject to all conditions of ordinary tele- graphy. The work can be done with the same speed as an ordinary typewriter is operated, and dispenses with all clockwork mechanism, synchronously moving type wheels and other cumbrous devices. 1t is said to be capable of manipulating some eighty different characters. The invention consists of two very simple elements. One is a transmitter and trans- mits a certain combination of five short positive and negative currents. The other is an interpreter, by the passage through which of a certain combination of positive and negative currents a lever is released, and makes electrical contact, thus energiz- ing a particular electro-magnet, which oper- ates a type key. A given combination of currents only unlocks a certain correspond- ing key. The transmitter consists of thir- ty-two elements, arranged, like the keys of a typewriter, together with shift key ar- rangements, similar to those on the type- writer, and the interpreter is equipped to correspond. The Scientific American gives the follow- ing description of the mechanism and use of tke invention: The transmitter has a series of Keys, each consisting of a rod operating a peculiarly constzucted pole changer, and comprises a commutator hav- ing on the side parallel rows of stationary contacts connected.in parallel with the line, and having a portion of the connection crossed, the commutator having its top sur- face inclined, and its lower surface inclined at right angles to the inclination of the top surface, a key sliding adjacent to the com- mutator, and a contact block having a spring connection with the key carrying contacts adapted to connect with a surface of electricity, the contact block being ar- ranged to move downward on one side of the commutator, and to slide inward and move upward, so as to make contact with the contacts of the commutator. The interpreter comprises a series of electro-magnets adapted to connect with a line through mechanism for printing a character or operating a key of the key- board machine, each quadrant having a series of teeth in a different combination from the teeth of any other quadrant in the series. Swinging detents adapted to be actuated by the magnet engage the teeth of the quadrants, and electrically and au- tomatically rotated shafts adapted to be set in motion by the closing of the circuit in which the quadrants are arranged to carry mechanism to return the quadrants to locked position. One of the transmitter keys operates the space key of the type- weiter, and three other transmitter keys operate the shift key mehanism, shifting the capital, lower case or figures. Wher the paper carriage of the type- writer comes to the end of a line, it may be returned by the attendant at the receiv- ing station or by an automatic mechanism provided for this purpose. The galvanome- ter on the main line at each station ind!- cates when a current is passing. When the instruments are not in.use the bells are put in circuit, and, when the interpre- ters are left tn circuit, the opecator at either station can send a message to the other station, where it will be recorded on the typewriter, without an attendant being Present, the process being automatic, and it being only necessary to provide a sutii- cient amount of paper in the typewriters to receive the message. ses — FROM THE CYCLE. INJURY The Double-Up Position Can Do Much Harm, From the Westminster Gazette. A visit to Sir Benjamin Schardson’s house in Manchester Square at once shows the interest taken in cycling by its owner. Just inside the hall stands a well-used tri- with the trace of a recent ride still and inside the waiting room a “home trainer,” or stationary machine for the practice of cycling, occupies a corner. On the subject raised by the speaker Sir Ben- jamin was quite willing to speak. “I quite agree with the speaker,” he said. “Sut, unfortunately, I have said so much on this subject that people think I am prejudiced against cycling, though, as a matter of fact, | am myself very fond of it as an exercise. There is no doubt that a great deal of harm is at present being done by injudicious cycling. The attitude that nearly all cyclists adopt, to a greater or less degree—bending themselves forward ove: the handies of their machines—is un- doubtedly most unhealthy. And, though I cannot explain the reason tor taxin, up Such an a.utude, 1 know that 1 nave to keep a careful watch over myself to main- tain an erect position. she Gouueu-up position does more harm than people imagine. Of course, everybody knows that it is ugly. The spinal curves | strength and beauty, and thyse are de- stroyed. ‘The top of ‘the anterfor curve is brought forward—and I am not sure that the posterior curve as well is not affected— [until the spine becomes almost an are. | The chest bone is then affected by the un- | natural pressure placed upon it. The circu- | lation is impaired, and, no doubt, the lungs | are interfered with, too. In fact, there is [hardly any possible evil effects which it | does not produce.” What can be done to improve matters, Sir Benjamin?” ““Something may be done, but at present I cannot say what. Riders of the old-fash- foned' high machines were better off in this respect than the riders of today, and they generally sat much more erect. I think the ‘safety’ bicycle, with its longer reach, has something to answer for.” “Would altering the position of the han- dles—bringing them higher up and further back—prove effectual?” “It might. But it would be unpopular. Any change in the construction of machines which either necessitates an alteration in the manufacturers’ ‘plant’ or impairs the FISHING FOR OCTOPUS. How They Are Caught With Flies Out On Paget Sound. novelty in the gentle art of angling,as prac- ticed in Puget sound. Although this hor- rid cuttlefish in such high latitudes does not attain the monstrous size it reaches in trop- ical or even semi-tropical waters, the aver- age weight of those along the shores of Washington state is great enough to make the sport both exciting and dangerous. Well named the “devilfish this hideous marine animal, when hauled upon the deck of the fishing sloop, pr of relatively insignificant proportions—say twenty pounds—an appearance the reverse of confidence inspiring. It is easy enough to catch them, and after you get the hang of the thing, safe enough to handle them with tackle. The boat, with only sail enough to keep steerage way, is guided over spots where the octopus lies in wait under shelving rocks for his prey. As with the sponge fisherman in southern waters, a headless barrel, half submerged in an up- right position, is lashed to the bottom of the boat, and a boatman, thrusting his head into this barrel, scans the bottom closely with practiced eye, undistracted by the reflected glare from the surface of the surrounding water. With this simple de- vice, says the New York Recorder, it is possible to see distinctly objects at a con- siderable depth. At a signal from the man on the lookout the boat is brought up into the wind and held stationary while preparations are speedily made to hook his octopusship, which has been sighted lying on the bot- tom, hideous and still, save for a reaching, swaying movement of one or more of its arms or feelers. A long sounding line is swinging over the side, a piece of stout white canvas is made fast at the end for a lure, and the fun begins, Directed by the man in the barrel, the canvas “fly’’ is lowered to within a few feet of the lurking devilfish, and kept con- stantly in motion by a series of sharp jerks, care being taken not to let it come within reach of the fish while he retains his position on the bottom, else it would be impossible to tear it loose from its anchor- age, such Is the immense strength exerted by the suction disks, with which its eight arms or legs are plentifully supplied. The men-at the rope are warned by the watcher of the signs of increasing interest manifested by the octopus, and when at jast it makes a spring for the tantalizing jure and closes its beaklike jaws upon the piece of rag, strong arms heave in the line and the squirming organism, looking all arms and tentacles, is hoisted to the end of the outrigged boom. * it is an operation requiring tact, prompt- ness and skill, for the creature must not come in contact with the hull of the boat, to waich it would attach itself like an un- wieldily barnacie until such time as it suit- ed its pleasure to let go, a period altogether Fly fishing for the octopus is a pleasing | | sented, even when run through a pulley at the end of a boom | i] QUEER STORIES TOLD BY INDIANS. |How Tobacco First Came 1 Use— The Hunter Who Melted the Snow. “Take a cigar,” said the ethnologist to The Star reporter, pushing over the box, “and | smoke a few puffs, while I tell you how to- | baceo was first obtained by man, accord- | ing to the traditions of the Menominee In- | dians. “One day the god-hero Manabozo was on a journey, when he perceived a delightful edor. It seemed to come from a crevice in | the cliffs high up on a mountain side. On | Soing closer, he found a cavern which was eccupied by a giant. In fact, was the tenant of the mountain, and from | the mouth of the cave a passage led down into the very center of the hill, where there was a large chamber. Aroand the cham- | ber were stacjed great, quantities of bags | filled with curious dried leaves. From the leaves proceeded the delicious fragrance. “These leaves were tobacco. Once a year. the giant explained, ail of the spirits | came to the mountain for the purpose of smoking this exquisite weed. But it was | Not possible to give any of it away. Never-| | theless, Manabozo watched for an oppor- | tunity, and, snatching up one of the bags, | fled, closely pursued by the giant. The | thief leaped from peak to peak, but the | slant followed so fast as finally to overtake him, So Manabozo turned upon him, and, upbraiding him for his stinginess, trans- formed him into a grasshopper. “That is the reascn why the grasshopper is always chewing tobacco. Manabozo took | the bag-full of leaves and distributed them among his friends, the ancestors of the Indians of today. Since then they have had the use and enjoyment of the plant. “The tradition among the Menominee as to their first meeting with the whit ing. At that time they lived on the shore of Lake Michigan, and one | day, while looking out upon the Water, they saw some huge and wonderful boats. All at once there was a terrific explosion as of thunder, which startled them greatly. From the boats light-skinned men alighted. | They had hair on their faces and carried heavy sticks ornamented with shining metal. They approached the Indians, who supposed that the leader was a great spirit. The strangers appeared friendly, and of- fered a vessel containing a liquid. ‘The warrors were afraid to drink of the liquid; but four of the oldest and most use- less members of the tribe were selected to make the experiment. If they died, it would not matter much. They partook of the stuff, and soon began to act strangely, | laughing a great deal, walking about as if d and finally becoming unconscious. Then the Indians said to one another: “Now | they are dead; see what we escaped by not drinking! But soon the four old men re- covered and declared that they had enjoy- ed themselves very much. “So the chief of the strangers gave to them some flour and a gun, showing them | how to use both. Then he brought out some kettles and explained how to boil water in them. But the kettles were too large and heavy to carry about, so the Indians asked for small ones as big as a fist, as they would | grow to be large ones by and by. They got | what they asked for, but, singular to relate, the cups never grew to be kettles, “The Menominee folk lore embraces many curious stories. One of these tells of a hunt- | er whose feet were frozen one day by Kon, the giant | + are the most perfect in nature, both for | indefinite for the comtort of either skipper the snow. To get revenge, he took a quanti- or crew. ty of snow and buried ft in a deep hole. Once dangling at the boom end, however, | covering the hole wth sticks and leaves in it is virtualiy secured, for surrender its hold | order to keep the snow a prisoner till sum- on the drag it will not. ‘Tne octopus hoigs mer. When summer came he removed the fast to ali it gets with a pertinacity waich | leaves and sticks and permitted the sun to shames even the trusts and monopolies, shine upon the snow. Thus the snow, being which have been likened to it. Now, how- unable to run away, melied and was pun- ever, the animai’s own tenacity is turned | ished. But Kon on his side was determined against it, and this very quality made to to get satisfaction, though he had to walt assist in landing its possessor at the tinal | until the next winter. stage. Boat hooks and poles are thrust to-| ‘It was a very cold night, ani the hunter ward it, and when it has fastened its unre- | was looking out at the door of ais wigwam, laxing grip upon these it is swung inboard, when he saw a stranger approaching. The hurled upon Une deck, and dispatclfed with latter had a very large head and an im- an ax. |mense white beard. He entered on being No description can give an idea of the hid- | invited, but it seemed strange that he would eousness of this creature. ‘o grasp it im “not go near the fire. This puzzied the host, its fullest detail one must watch it at such and he kept poking the fire, observing at a time as this, as it sprawis about the deck | the same time that perspiration brake out | betore receiving the coup de grace, its eight, | on the guest's forehead and trickled down sometimes ten, arms sprouting about its through his beard. Soon the strancer’s head head, each equipped on (he under side with and body began to diminish in size, because rows of cup-like, suctorial disks, which by he was thawing. So the hunter kept up the muscular action produces a vacuum, giving fire until he had entirely melted Kon. the the fish its wonderful adhesive power, snow; for it was he who had eome to destroy writhing hither and thither like a coil of the hunter and his fam But man ts| serpents. Then its eyes! Ugh! The awful- more powerful than the snow, and thus ness of those eyes; great, rolling, saucer- | Kon perished. like protuberances that tix you with a tierce | “A tradition states thet the Menominee sture that senus the cold shivers down your | were at one time much distress-t by a back, especially when you notice the cruel | water monster, or giant fish,which frequent- mouth, With curved, beak-lile claws, for ly caught fishermen, dragging them into the all the world like a parrot’s many times | lake and there devouring them. So Mana- magnified. When the ax sinks into the | bozo, the god hero, built a smal! raft pnd grisly body and the twining arms become floated out upon the lake, singing all the still you feel as the blue water sailor feels | while: ‘O, monster, come and eat te: you when he dispatches a shark—that you have will fin Then the giant fish § On reaching the the hero found himself in of the cuitle family,io appreciate which it company with the bear, the de the por- is only necessary to have seen one of the cupine, the raven, the ‘squirrel, and many | monsters of the southern seas. There are other jiving animals. But Manabozo thruct | well-authenticated instances of specimens his knife into the heart of the fich, which | weighing 500 pounds and measuring fifteen was afterward thrown up on shore, so that | feet from head to tail and fifty feet in he was able to make bis escape by cutting spread of tentacles. While such gigantic his way out. - specimens are never seen outside of the | “in the direction of the place where the tropics, this fish grows to no mean dimen- north wind dwells. the Menomines sar, live sions along the western and southern giants of an amiable and peaceful race. coasts of Florida, and meny stories of They are great ¢unters and fishermen, and | strange adventures with the octopus are | whenever they are ont with thelr torches told by the fishermen and sponge hunters to spear fish, it is known by a bright lisht of that region. That even the smaller ones in the sky. ‘This leht is called by the white are ugly customers to fool with this inel- | man the aurora borealis. dent will show. soa ie A shell gatherer, while at work on the ae west coast, came upon a young octopus PIGMY RULERS OF EUROPE. crawling among the rocks. It was quite small, measuring not more than three feet from tip to tip of its extended tentacles, while its boc s not larger than a man’s fist. Tt looked like a very big spider as it wobbled along on its arms, trying to reaca the surt irom the part where it had been lett by the receding tide, and the shell hun- ter thought he wouid try to capture ft. Running up he planted his foot firmly on | the end of one of the creature's “feelers,” Most of Them Are Undersized and De- fective In Stature. From the New Orleans Times-Democrat. Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria, | who has just passed through this country on his way back from China and Japan to Europe, present an unusually good example | of European royalty, as far as physique but with apparent ease the octopus pulled | is concerned, writes the Marquis de Fonte- it free and continued its march toward the | noy. When I say unusually, 1 mean that sea. The man repea ’- | there are few of his cla: wéll set up as 1 times with no better success, he, the major portion of the personages of | blood royal being undersized and defective in stature, especially those of southern £ rope. Thus, King Humbert of Italy ts frail |and short, while his son and heir, the Prince of Naples, is even less than five feet advantage of s moment when the crea- could 0} paratively little resist- ance, it being in the act of reaching out to 2y hold of a rock on the other side of an intermining fissure, he seized one of the ‘les, and, givin powerfwl jerk, tore fish loc from the rock. Up to this time the efforts of the octopus | in height and is slight in proportion. ‘The had all been directed to escaping. Now, | King of Portugal and his brother are both Spee ‘urning | Stumpy and while the late K’ upon its pursuer it latd hold of him by the Alfoaso re the cr membe arm, wrapping its tentacles about his body | of his fami pting Don Carles, in be- as Well, and tried to fasten its be: edible degree, He jaws in’ his face, cogniz nt of the characte: Here wv a predicament. The bh rane and sou { to improve it hunted with a vengeance. Try as he would | bY every means in his power, inciudine the man could not shake off the creature, | Padding, high heels, &c.. but all without which clung to him with a clammy, vise- | Vail. Don Antonio, the 1 of Princess | like grip, but by a liberal use of 2) store | Eulaile, is not a Spaniard, but a Frenchman club he saved himself from being bitten, | bY birth, his father, the late Duc de Mont- speed of the machine will meet with a great deal of opposition. I think a desire for in- creased speed is mainly respensible for the introduction of this attitude. Men find that by bending themselves down they both offer less resistance to the wind and get more power over their work, and they will not bother about the remote consequences, Long-distance riding, too, has done a gre: deal of harm. In fact, the cyclists of the present generation are feeling the effects of their riding much more than earlier riders did, and even they suffered severely enough. There were Cortis and Keith-Falconer, two magnificent riders, who both died of heart disease. I knew many first-class speed cyclists years ago who told me that they felt no ill effects, but they are nearly ail dead now, and not at advanced ages.”” “Then do you consider cycling, 2s a sport, unhealthy?" iot_more so, when indulged in moder- ately, than other sport. Of course, rowing affects the breath, walking and pedestrian- ism affects the nerves, the use of dumb bells and other stationary exercises affect the muscles. And, in the same wa: cycling affects the circulation, I have known a man’s pulse to go up to 223 during a race, and you can imagine from that the work the heart must be called upon to do. And, besides, there is the sudden running down after the system has been strained up to this pitch. It might be compared to releas- ing the spring of a watch and letting it run down suddenly when it is fully wound. The effect on the system is most injurious. Hill- climbing, too {s a very severe strain. Se eral inventions have been tried for storing up energy while going down hill which could be used to assist the rider at the next ascent, and I think it would be a very great benefit if some such idea could be worked out and made to answer.” -se*4--—__ Why Banks Do Not Fail in Chin: From Chamber's Journal. Bank notes were issued by China as early jas the ninth century, when the art of printing was unknown in Europe. These notes have generally been redeemed, be- cause in China when a bank fatls all the /¢clerks and managers have their heads |chopped off and thrown in a heap along | With the books of the firm. And so it has happened in these good old barbarous times that for the past 300 years not a. sin; Chinese bank has suspended payment. Now China is coming under the sway of civilization we have no doubt it financial troubles as (its more civilized Lanking brethren, » having been until his cries for assistance brought friends | Pe! son of King Louis to the scene, who killed the fish with a | Philippe of France. All the members of the knife. | British royal family are extremely short, ieee ces | specially the queen, who is not much talier ee Ss | than a ten-year-old girl, and is becoming, | with increasing years, almost as broad as she ts long. The only two princes of Great Britain who are of the average British stature are the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Cumberland. The members of the Dutch royal family are, like those of England, abbreviated in stature, and 50, too, is the present genera- tion of the Hohenzolierns, with solita ex- Demonstrated on an Imaginary Line Drawn in the Pacific Ocean. From the Chicago Herald. A question which has been often asked, but rarely answered satisfactorily, is how | far one would have to go around the earth, they are of such ma the same may be said of the czar certain of the Russian grand dukes whore blood has been maintained in a healthy condition by the frequent marriaces with women of the humblest class of society. the Empress Catharine having been little hetter | than a mere camp follower. Alexander IF is close upon six feet three in heirht This, at any rate, is the measurement re corded against that wonderful column in the Danish cathedral of F ae, ing place of the ancient kings of Denm Against this column a number of have been measured and their h corded. Conspicuous among them { the Great, who measured six feet ter one other of the sovereigns was talle: that was King Christian 1 of Dea who, according to this authori a trifle over seven feet. The Christian of Denmark measu: six feet, while his grandso of Greece, who visited this of years ago, stands ings. The tallest of 1 of Europe is assurediy the good-n unconventional and somewhat uriinte! al Crown Princess of Denmark, a dau of the late King of Sweden, whose h the same as that of her father-in-ls Christian, a gigantic stature for } Her children show a tendency to follow her in this respect, and her sons co: ably in height with that of the the sons of King Oscar, eve: is exceedingly tall. to the east and an hour gained every fifteen | degrees one goes to the west. To put the question in another way, sup- | pose it is one minute past midnight in Paris | cn the morning of October 1, what day is | it at the same moment at the antipodes of | Paris? Is it October 1 or September 30? ‘Apparently one can prove that it is either of these days by making an instantaneous journey half way around the earth, either to the east or to the west. Going east, at the moment the Paris clocks point to a minute past midnight, it is approximately 1 o'clock in the morning of October 1 at Vienna, 2 o'clock of the o'clock at Astra- | hara, 7 o'clock at Saigon, 9 o'clock at Yokohoma, 11 o'clock at Pine Island and noon at Fortune Island— the first of October at every point. On the other hand, going westward one | finds that it is 10 o'clock in the evening of September 30 at the Azores Islands, 8 o'clock in the evening at uenos Ayres, 7 o'clock at New York, 6 o'clock at New Orleans, 2:15 at the City of Mexico, 1 o'clock in the afternoon near the Aleutian Islands and | noon at the Fortune Islands, the date being | September 20 in each case. ‘Thus one has demonstrated that it is noon | of October 1 and noon of September 30 at the same place and at the same time. This would certainly be embarrassing to the good people of Fortune Island, and in order to avoid such complications ‘and re- lieve well-meaning islanders in the Pacific «i of just resent King S close . Prince G ountry from mixing up their Saturdays and Sun- oe days in hopeless fashion an arbitrary line| Hamilton Pope died V separating today from yesterday or tomor- | his ho’ in Louis is y Ss been agceed upom by the navigators ease, aft of civilized nations, bade Was se : y ception of Prince Albert, the reg : moving east and itiecad and supposing no ene gg eRe at of time lost in transition, before one would | Anaks of modern royalty, the princes of reach the point where today changes into | the reigning house of Swelen, Perhape it 4 | yesterday or tomorrow. Evidently there | due to the Preneau peasant blood in their must be such a point somewhere, for an | veins, derived from their ancestor, the hour fs lost every fifteen degrees one goes | father of Field Mars! Bernadotte, that | 4 ficent physique, and | ° RAILROADS. Leave Washingt For Chica; ‘on from siation eorver of New Jer Bey Beyy~ nnd © street. =O al Northwest, Vi express traius 11:30 a.m., 8:15 pam ee Limited ‘or Cincinnati, St. Lats and polis, led Limited 2:30 p.m. cxpues tit tae se For Pittsiurg and Cleveland, express daily’ 11:3 and Staunton, 11:30 a.m. rand Way Stations 15:30 p.m. Oates! Bride, Roanoke, Knoxville, New Orleans 11:10 p.m. ‘ars through, 111:20 a.m. and 15:36 p.m. paints, * ¥ vsiurz and way points, q 12385, 1435, ADELPHIA. For Philadelphia, New York, Boston and the st, daily 00 (10:00 a. Raffet Parlor Cers on att day trains. For Atlantic City, 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 moon. vs, boon, “Except Sundey. ‘Dally. Sanday only. xpress trains. XE: Pagsoge called for and checked from hotels and Union Transfer Co. on orders left at residences 1 f and 1g % RR. CAMPBELL. et Pia On CULRe Gen. Manager. Gen. Pass. Agt. CHESAPEAKE AND OHIO RAILWAY. srraschteale fo effect November 19, 1898, jeave daily from Ui and Py. oth oa han Union station (@B. rough the grandest scenery in America with the handsomest ‘and most compe name tral oor west from Washington. M. DAILY hington to Cincinnati, Louis without change. Dining car apolis and St. So from Washing Indianayolin 4 om. Arrives Cincinnati, 7:55 a.m. ‘30 a.m., and Chicago, 6:45 p.m.z F. FP. V. Lam~ vuled train with dining car and sleepers for Cincinnati, Loatsville, without change; arriv iz Lexington, 6:10 ‘Louise tl : Indianapolis, 11:20 p.m.; Chicago, 7:30 ani St. Louis, 7:45 a.m., connecting is for all points, AM. DAILY—Tor Old Point Comfort and Orly rail line, 2:00 P.M. DAILY —Express for Gordonsville, Chariottesy ile, Waynesboro’, Staunton and princt- yal Virginia points; daily, except Sunday, for Rich- mond. Pallman locations and tickeis at "s of- fices, 513 and 1421 Pennsylvania avenues . H.W. FULLER, 20 General Passenger Agent. RICHMOND AND DANVILLE RAILROAD. SAMUEL SPENCER, F.W. HUIDI REUBEN FOSTER, RECEIVI Schedule in effect Noveuber 1%, 1893. All trains arrive and leave at Pennsylvania Pas- sevger Station, Washington, D. C. 8:00 a.m. daily.—Local for Danville and tnter- mediante stations, and through conches for Front Royal and Strasburg daisy, except Sunday, and counects at Lynchburg with Norfolk and Western Stations westward dally. 11:01 a.m., Richmond and Danville fast mail.— Daily for Lynchburg. Danville and for principal points ‘south on Richmond and Danville system, ling Anniston and Birmingbam, also Opelika, mbus, Moutgomery, Mobile and New Orleans. Pullman ‘Sleeper York and Washington to Atlanta, uniting at Greensboro’ with sleeper for Augusta. —Dally for Charlottesville and inter- P. fe stations. P Detly. WASHINGTON AND SOUTH- WESTERN VESTIBULED LIMITED, ‘composed en- tirely of Pullman Sleepers and Dining Cars, and rum to Atlanta, Montgomery and New Orleans, Buffet Sleeper through New York ot vo New Orleans, via Montgomery, ~~ York to Auguste. Also New .Y—The famous ON WASEINGTO! ve Washi AND OHIO DIVIS- ton at 9:20 a.m., 4:35 pm. daily 6:3 p.m.. except Sunday, for and intermediate stations. Returning, ar- rive Washington 8:30 a.m., 2:45 p.m. dally from and 6:53 a.m. daily, except Sunday, idon only. s from the south arrive Washington p.m, and 8:39 p.m.: Manassas Di- m. daily. except Sunday, and 8:40 m Charlottesville. Tickets, Sleeping Car reservations and information furnished at offices, S11 and 1300 Pennsylvania and at Passenger Station, Pennsylvania Rail- road, Washington, D.C. W. I. GREFN, Gea. Man. W. A. TURK, Gen. Pas se Act. | T+ & Brown, General Agent Passenzer Dept. 120 PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD. STATION CORNER OF 6TH AND B STREETS, IN EFFECT DECEMBER 3, 1893, 11:03 A.M. FAST LINE.—Por Piitsvurg, Parler Cars to Pittsbarg. 1105 A.M. PENNSYLVANIA LIMITED.—Putiman Drawing and State Soom, Sleeping, Dining, Smok- inz and Observation Cars Harrisburg to Chicazo, cn Intianspolis aud Cleveland. Buffet Parlor Cat to Harrisburg. 3:15 P.M. CHICAGO AND ST. LOUIS EXPRESS, Pallman Buffet Parlor Car to Harrisburg. Sleep ing and Dining Cars, Marrisbarg to St. Louis, ; 1 Chicago. (N” EXPRESS.—Pallman Car to St. Louis and Sleeping apd Dining iarrisbore Cincinnati. 10:40 P.M. PACIFIC EXPRESS.—Pollman Sleep- ing Car to Tittsbarg and Buffet Sleeping Car Har- risburg to Cutcas: So A.M. A. c Kai mt Cars 19.40 paw. f Butuio dai we POR PHILADELPHIA. XEW YORK AND mE. < TONAL LIMITED,” all Par Car from Baltimore, for pia week days. ining Car) and 11:00 A.M., 12:15, 4:00 PLM. lor Cars, w York “CON wh : hiladelpia only, Fast FE: 750 . week days. Eapress, 2:01 and 5:40 P.M. ston, without change, 7:50 A.M. week days P.M. 2:20, 3:15 . 7210, 10:00, 44:00 Limited), 4:20, 5:40, md W-RS PLM. k Line, 7:20 A.M. and 4:36 P.M. mday 0, 9209 and 11:50 AM. and 4:20 cept Sunday. Sendays, 9:00 A.M. hmend and the Seath, 4:00 and 10: AM. Azily. For Richmond only, 7:30 P.M. tion for Quantico, 7:43 A.M. daily and week dav R wes 25, 5:00, On Son- 09, TAS. 9:45, 10:45 A. M., 1:00, 2:48, and 10205 Pat andria for Washington, 6:05, 7:05, 8:00, VAT, 11:34 AM... 1:00, 2:08. 2:00, 6:12, 7:09, 7:20, 9:15, 10-52 and 11:08 10-15 and 11:17 AM, VS and 10:52 PLM. PM. of baggage to destination from hotels and resi- when eesti J. %. Woon, EVOST, General Passenger Agent. ai Manager. POTOMAC WASUINGTOX 5 ‘ % r creek, Va, Returaing TUPSDA\ (See schedal ene WEDNESDAYS Reach and ar m 10 ©. W. RIDLEY, General Manager. ving (See rchedale. yste “A p\v PALACE, STEAM River View and, Thuredas x ndrie. . RANDATIS DAILY LINE, DAILY : nl 4 re NORPOLK, VAL The new and powe eaters. Monroe at 6:20 Kk at 7:30 am., tions are made for ell poluts Leave Fortress Washington at . 1951 and 1421 Peum at