Evening Star Newspaper, February 23, 1895, Page 15

THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1895-TWENTY PAGES. 15 ON THE TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILWAY. THE PACIFIC COAST A Visit to the Great Naval Station in Russia. THE TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILROAD About Eastern Siberia and Its Rich Gold Mines. THE RUSSIAN FLEET (Copsrighted, 1895, by Frank G. Carpenter.) RIVATE LET- ters which I lave just received from the capital of Corea state that the Rus- sian surveyors are exploring the harbor of Gensan, on the east coast of Corea. This harbor is one of the finest on the Pac It if in about the middle of the east coast cf the Corean __ peninsula, half way between Fusan and Vladivostock. It Is open throughont the winter, and the Russians want it to use as a terminus for the Trans-Siberian railroad. Viadivostock, their present harbor, is on the southeastern edge of Siberia, and it Is frozen up for about five months of the year, so that no ships can land, and so that the Pacific is practically shut off from Siberia during the winter. I visited voth harbors last summer, and it was from Gensan that I safled to Viadivostock in order to investi- gate the condition of the frans-Siberian ratlroad. If the Russians should seize northeastern Corea, as is supposed to be ‘The Railroad Station at Viadivestock. their intention from the fact of the above survey, Gensan will be one of the most important ports of Asia. Its harbor Is large enough to float the navies of the world, and already there is a great trade connected with it. The gold mines in Corea lio not far off, and the country surround- ing It, though it is mountainous, has many well-cultivated valleys. It has now a pop- ulation of about a thousand Japanese and fifteen thousand ‘oreans. It has a mis- sionary station, and Russian, German and Danish exporting houses. It has a little Japanese hotel, where I stopped while I waited for the steamer, and it has one Jap- anese bank. This bank, however, has rot much faith in foreign letters of credit. It cost me three hundred thousand cash (or about one hundred dollars) to make my trip across the country, and I landed in Gensan with fifteen silver dollars In my pocket. I had a letter of credit with me, and I tried to get some money on it at the Jap- anese bank. They looked it over and jab- bered in Japanese, but at last gave it back to me and ‘old me they could give me noth- ing. I tried to get trusted by the Japa- nese steamship agency for my passage. They looked at the Ictter of credit and then looked at me, and told me it was no go. The fare was just fourteen dollars to Viadivostock, and by persuading my ho- tel keeper to wait until I came back I was able to buy a ticket and have one dollar left for incidentals. ‘fhe ship was the ‘Tokyo Maru, one of the greatest of the Japnese steamers, which runs from Kobe, Japan, to Siberia regularly. It was about two thousand tons, [ judge, and though the sailors were Japanese, the officers were glish. The accommodations were good, and after a voyage of two days we found ourselves in the great harbor of Viadivos- toe Viadivostock is the key to eastern Sibe- ria. It is the great Russian city of the east, and is one of the most strongly forti- fied towns on the globe. It is the chief Russian naval station on the Pacific, and it is now the terminus of the Siberian ratl- rly swarms with soldiers and officials. The military governor of eastern Siberia, including millions of square miles, lives here, and it has an admiral who gov- erns the shipping, and who ts independent of the governor. It has scores of police, and Working on the Trans-Siberian Rail- way. you can’t throw a stone without hitting a general. The town now contains about 20,000 people, In addition to a large garrison of soldiers. It grows like a green hay tree, and {t is a slice of European Russ out over the mountains of Siberia. houses are of brick, stone and wood, and it has many fine buildings. It has magnificent dry docks, and its new floating docks admit rgest vessels being laid up for re- s. An immense ocean steamer was un- der repair during my stay, and the harbor was filled with all kinds of shipping, in- cluding two Russian men-of-war and an a ling vessel from San Fran- had brought a cargo of © flour to Viadivostock, and the who was a bright young fellow . came on board to inquire his home by way of Japan. The Viadivostock Harbor. There is no more picturesque bay on the Pacific than that of Viadivostock. It would float the vies of the world, and you could put all the shipping that comes into Liver- pool in a year within it, and have room to It is known as the Gulf of Peter the and it a length of about fifty while its width at the entrance is than 100 miles. This gulf is divided into two large bays by a hilly peninsula, and the Russians call the straits which separate this peninsula from the islands in front of it the Eastern Bosphorus. Vladi- vostock {s on the peninsula, which they call the Golden Horn, and the city has quite as beautiful a location as Constantinople. I lived on the ship during the week that I spent in Viadivostock, as there are no sood hotels. We were anchored about two miles are. at, from the shore, and were in a harbor sur- | tries {mn mineral wealth on pread out in tne | Viadivostock burit | On all sides of us were | the hills were | of the . Trans-Siberian road there are rich rounded by hil and shape of a fan, with upon the handle. great fortifications, und crowned with what looked like immense factories or machine shops. They had many windows, and an army of men was continually marching about them. These are the barracks of the Russian soldiers, of whom there are §,v00 in this city alone. Two thousand of these belong to marines, and the other 6,000 are of the land forces. I saw otner barracks and soldiers in my trip over the Trans-Siberian railroad, and there are now, I am: told, about 30,000 sol- diers in eastern Siberia, or more than we have in our army. Russia on the Pacific. As soon as the ship came to anchor I took a boat and was rowed to the shore. We went through all kinds of shipping. There were great Russian steamers from Odessa, on the Black sea, which were filled with immigrants and stores. There were ships from Japan, in the passenger and carrying trade, and there were hundreds of Chinese junks, which had sails like bats’ wings, and which had brought vegetables and fruits from Chefoo and Shanghai for sale. There were Corean boats,with straight sails and wooden anchors, and there were dozens of Chinese sampans, which were sculled through the water by swarthy Tartars. It was in one of these that I rowed to the shore. At the landing I seemed to have gotten into a mixture of China and Russia. There were droschky men, who wore hats like inverted spittoons and who had long blue gowns, for all the world like the coachmen I saw in St. Petersburg three years ago. Their horses were Russian stal- lions, and their cabs were driven like mad through the streets. There were Chinamen by the hundred, who had come to Siberia to work for the summer, and there were dozens of Coreans, with packs on their backs, ready to take my baggage up to the city. I hired a droschky and took a ride through the streets. The roads were as muddy as those of the Black Swamp, and our two horses went on the gallop. We first drove through the main street of the city. This is about two mites long, and the town runs around the hills on the edge of the harbor. The houses are of two storles, with wide porches in front of them, and there are some substantial business blocks. ‘The biggest houses of the place outside of the barracks are those of the governor general, the police station and the new rail- road depot. A Call Upon the Police. My first call was, of course, upon the police. You can do nothing in Siberia without a passport, and I knew I would be in danger of arrest until I had had an interview with the chief of the police. I had letters of introduction to Mr. J. Bry- ner, a wealthy Swiss, who had married a Russian lady, and who has one of the big: gest houses in Siberia. He has large inter- ests in timber and mines, and he is one of the most influential men in the country. It was with him that I went to call upon the high military officer who governs all police matters of this port. The police sta- tion is a big, two-story, red brick build: ing, which looks for all the world like a county court house, and which is sur- rounded by soldiers and policemen. We took off our coats and our rubbers and combed our hair with our fingers before we went in to cail upon the officials. We went through room after room, filled with pompous soldiers, until we came into the presencse of a short, stocky man, with a head like a cannon ball, and with eyes as sharp as a shoemaker's awl. This was Col. F. Petroff, the chief of police, without Whose assistance you can do nothing in eastern Stheria. Every per- mit has to pass through him, and my pass- port, vised by the Russian minister in Corea, was laid before him, while Mr. Russian Church, Viadivostock. Bryner introduced me as a respectable American citizen and as his friend. Noth- ing was said about my being a newspaper correspondent, and the chief was told that I wanted a permit to go over the Trans- Siberian railroad. He received me very politely, and after some time, which I suppose was spent in looking up my record, Iwas told that my credentials were good, and that I would have a permit issued to me to pass over the road. ‘The chief of police told me that I could not start on my railroad journey before the next day, and I spent the meantim traveling about the city of Vladivostock. It is one of the queerest places I have ever visited. The hills are as steep as those of Kansas City, and the houses are built at all sorts of angles upon them. Back of the town I found three Asiatic settlements. One was a Japanese quarter, with buildings just like those you find in Japan. Another was made up of Chinese houses, and a third was a collection of dugouts and huts, which were occupied by the Coreans. The town proper looks more like officers’ quar- ters than a commercial settlement. It has one pretty Russian church, which was built, I think, when the present emperor made bis trip through Siberia several years ago, and dug the first spadeful of earth that was thrown up for the first Trans- Siberian ratiroad. I found one large Ger- man business house, known as Kunst & Albers, where I was able to get my letter of credit cashed, and was thus supplied with nlenty of money for the rest of my trip. This firm does business all over Siberia. It hes ships which go a thovsand railes northward to the mouth of the Amoor river, and which sail a long way up that mighty stream. It does a banking business and all kinds of exporting and importing, and it is a type of the big business houses of Siberia, of which there are perhaps a score. I met all sorts of people who had hal all kinds of adven- tures. My friend Bryner. for { come ont to Japan as a boy from Switzer: land. Fle had been in business in different parts of Chira. He had traveled all over Corea and Siberia, and he spoke fluently Chinese, Japanese, Russian, English, Ital- fan. French ard German. He was only forty years cld, but he had made a fortene in trade and mines. He told me of the wonderful ‘resources of Siberia. and said that the work! knew nothing ahout them. He referred to one gold mina of whieh he kr. x, two burdred shares of which sold not long ago for two thousand dollars. and which were now worth fifteen hundred dol- lars ner share. He has wonderful storles to tell about the coal. iron and timber re- sources of the country, and I will give some of his statements further on. With him T went to the Marine Club of Viad!- vosteck and met many of the officials. T found that the town has 2 hospital, a evm- pasium, good schools and a colleze. Tt has fairly 00d soclety, and the neovle who live in it seem to be well satisfied with their ecndition. Eastern Stheria. In connection with Mr. Bryner I made some inquiries into the resources of cast- ern eria, end the nossibilities of the great Trans-Siberian railroad. Few people have an idea of the enormous extent of the possessions of the Russians in Asia. They number all told more than six million square miles. or about twice the area of the whole United States. Siberia alone is twonty-five times as big as Germany. It contains forty-eight hundred thousand square miles, or nearly one and one-half times the area of the United States. It has a ponulation of less than one to the souare mile. and is one of the richest coun- the globe. Fastern Stheria alone is almost as big as the United States. and its resources are practically unexplored. All along the line gold mines, some of which produce nug- gets weighing a Cee of a pound, and the grains of gold there average as large as they do anywhere in the world. Mr, Bryner told me that the government of Russia insisted that all gold found in Siberia should be sold to it, and he told me that many men were making fortunes out of the gold mines. The mining is done in a curious way. The soil of all Siberia is frozen for more than half the year, and the gold-bearing rock is often in a per- petually frozen state. A hole is dug and a fire is built on top of it, and when the soil is melted it is cradled out or shaken out in iren barrels, which are made for the pur- pose. These iron barrels have sieves with- in them. They are made of boiler plate, and they are from ten to seventeen feet long. They are so arranged that they can be whirled about by machinery and steam, and they are lald upon an inclined plane and a sluice of water run through them. The water is introduced into the barrel by means of hose, and the inside fitting of the barrel is such that the sand is ground up and the small particles of gold are saved by means of mercury, There are vast gold mines along the Amoor river, and in some regions of eastern Siberia quartz mining is extensively done. Mr. Bryner says that the completion of the railread will lead to the exploration of a large part of unknown Siberia, and that the country may yet produce enough gold to raise silver to its old standing. The mines are not confined to the east, but they seem to exist throughout the whole country. They are found in the Ural mountains, and in the northern part of the country the gold has been frozen for ages, and it is said to be in the same condition as it was in the glacial period. Today there are something like forty thousand miners at work in Siberia, and the indus- try increases every year. Every one knows that western Siberia has great copper mines, and the iron mines of the Ural mountains preduce some of the best ore in the world. I am told that there olice Staticn, Vindivostock. are iron deposits of vast extent throughout eastern Siberia, and there is a great deal lying along the line of the new railroad. I rede through veins of coal in my trip over the line, the grades being cut right through the coal flelds. These are not far from Viadivostock, and there may yet be great manufactories in Siberia. The Island of Saghalien is said to be underiaid with coal, and there are vast coal mines near Tomsk, on the line of the railroad. There are, in fact, coal mines all over Siberia, and the silver and lead deposits are very large. There are ninety different mines of silver in one region alone, and there are lead mines in the eastern part of the country. There are four hundred different copper mines in another region, and {t is almost impossible to estimate the mineral wealth of Siberia. The western part of the coun- try has been producing silver for years, and the Altaf mountains are one of the richest mining regions of the world. Siberian Immigrants. Siberia is a very rich country agricultur- ally, and Russia is colonizing it as fast as she can. It has millions of acres as fat as the Red River valley, and it will eventu- ally be one of the great wheat-raising countries of the world. There were a hun. dred thousand Russian immigrants in 18 and the czar has now a special line of steamers, whose business it is to carry Russians from the Black sea and the Bal- tic around to Siberia. They take them in colonies and land them at Vladivostock, or at the ports of the Amoor river. ‘They are given great advantages as to lands, but the land is usually parceled out to the communities and the villagers own the land in commen, as they do in Russia. This, it seems to me, is a great mistake, No country can be developed to its full extent except by individual ambition and individual effort for individual gain. The chief trouble in Russia today is in its land system. If the land of the Russia empire were held by individuals instead of by vil- lages the country would be one of the richest on the globe. As it is, it is only half farmed. No one cares to work when he has land in common with his neighbe: and the most en the globe today are the Russian pe 8. Land in Siberia I found to be sold cheap. ‘The rates are less than those of our go ernment lan and if I remember correctly they are three rubles per fatine, or about a doliar aw acre in silver, or less than 6) cents an acre in gold. ‘The la of Siberia are h that individuals c: buy land if they wish it, but the pea: seem to like the village system best. stick to their old habits, and Siberia ig likely to be a second Russia. Siberia for the Russians. I was struck with one thing in my visit to Siberia, and that was that the Russians propose to hold the country for them- selves. They don’t intend to throw it open to the world, though they are giad to have citizens who will take an oath of allegiance to Russia and become Russian subjects. The laws of the country are now such that only Russian citizens can acquire property, develop mines or do business. One of the requirements of citizenship is that the ap- plicant must be able to speak Russian, and the people Go not propose to be overrun by a lot of foreign-speaking aliens as Ameri- ca is. The ines ar2 open to all the Rus- sians with the single proviso, as I said, that the government have the first chance at the output. It nas already established smelting houses ar as stations throughout the couniry, kes gold d silver at its market rates, taxing it a certain percentage, I belleve, for the czar. I was told that the gold mines of Siberia turned out last year forty-five million dol- ’ worth of gold, and that there is a single mine not far from V vostock which has produced ihree million dollars in a single yea ne ried mine owners in V T heard all sorts of bis: stor’ which was originally iisted at forty dollars a share, has stock which is now wortn forty thou- sand dollar: . and large tunes: have been ‘The timber resources 4 and after America is denu it is probable that the world will have to go to Siberia for its large timber. A Word About the Amoor. I was much surprised at the extent of eastern Siberia. I had an idea that the Amoor river ran into the sea not far from Viadivostock. It always looked to me so on the map. I told Mr. Bryner that I thought I would take a little run up the Amoor, atd he informed me that I was about four days’ ride by steamer from its mouth. He told me that the river was one of the finest in the world. It is nine miles wide at its mouth, and vessels drawing twelve fect of water can sail up it 60 miles, while vessels of light draft can go 2,009 miles into the interior on this stream. I met one young man, who was in business at the town of Nicholievsk, which is the chief city of the Amoor. It is a town of 3,500 people, and it does a big business with all northern Siberia. There are forty-seven ships which sail up and down the Amoor, and the Russian volunteer fleet, bringing immigrants, comes there many times every summer. This town, like Viadivostock, is to a large extert a military settlement, and the czar has his soldiers scattered all over Siberia. I was told that he had something like 75,0%) men in the eastern half of the country, and he is systematically making it a Russian empire by colonizing it as he does. Every year or so the boundary is moved a little further south, and there is yet a possibility that Russia will take more from China than she has done in the past. The great Trans-Siberian road, which is now being pushed at three different points along the line, will form a line of communi- cation by which Russia will be able to con- trol the Asiatic trade, and there is no teil- ing as to whether she will not control a great part of the territory of Asia as well. This road was begun at Viadivostock, and it is now being pushed to the west. In my next letter I will describe the queer ex- periences I had in traveling upon it. FRANK G. CARPENTER. —__-—-— His Dreadfal Langunge. From the Detroit Tribune. Wife—“The language you used when you came home last night was something dreadful.” Husband—But—" Wife—“Don’t try to deny it. I am as Positive as I am that I sit here that when I asked, ‘Who's there?’ you sald ‘me.’ ”” TALES OF THE ROAD Told at the Rail’ gid Tie Club by Veteran Engineers. RECEIVING A MYSTERIOUS WARNING o How a Woman's Missing Finger Frightened ant 1 ngineer. A SUPERNATURAL IMPULSE Writtes Exclusively fo: The Evening Star. HERE IS NOTHING like a snow blockade to start railroad men talking. They gener- ally begin with telling stories about former storms and then switch off and relate tales of every conceivable descrip- tion, the limit only being reached when the imagination 1s exhausted. Of course, with this class of men experiences of the most varied and vivid character are continually occur- ring, and it is not always that a rail- roader when once persuaded to talk will stray outside the boundaries of truth. "They seldom need to do it, as personal history will suffice. The recent great blizzard drove a band of tse hardy fellows into the railroad oll house down on Virginia avenue and immediately a session of the ‘Rail and Tie Club” was {naugurated. Everything mova- ble outside was tied up with snow and ice and the cutting wind almost made the big locomotive in front of the door con- gratulate itself that it possessed a warm interior. An old engineer that had served his ap- prenticeship on southern roads said: “J was running an engine on the Nash- ville and Chattanooga road at the time and we left the latter city at 1 o'clock in the morning, a little late. It was an awful night; the rain fell in torrents, while the wind moaned and whistled through the pines along the road. When we passed around the point of Lookout mountain and I saw the great overhanging rock and heard the oak trees snap as the boughs crashed into each other I felt more lonely than I ever did before or since. “If you were acquainted down in that region you would know that there are a good many small mountain streams cross- ing that road, and just on the other side of Christy's station is a long trestle over a hundred feet high. I always felt gla when we got over it, and that night I was so nervous that I could hardly hold the lever. Not a great distance beyond this dangerous trestle is a smaller one, under which a mountain stream runs. The Mysterious Warning. “Before we reached this trestle I became perfectly dpmb, paralyzed with fear. I re- versed the engine apd stopped it. It was an unconscious act, and why I did it I will never know. The conduetor came running through th? train with hi lantern. ‘Hello, George, what’@ the trouble?’ he asked. 7 “‘Darned if I know,’ I'shouted back. ‘I couldn’t help it, and that’s all there is to It.’ ‘Losing your nerve, Qld man, eh? he sald with a’ sarcasti¢ laugh. ‘Pull her wide open, and let's get out of this,’ and With a muttered oath he started ‘back to the cars. rasping hold ofthe lever, I tried to start my engine, but'my hand se¢med par- alyzed, and f couldn't make her move. “Back came the, conductor on the run. ‘You're a beaut,’ he shouted up at me in the ‘Why don’t you go ahead? We'll get back /on the time'of No. 27, and then there'll be the jingé’ to pay.’ ‘It’s no use, old man,’ I answered back; ‘there's danger just ahead, but I don’t knew what it is.’ “I couldn't see ten feet ahead of me in the pitch darkness and rain, but something told me there was danger, and I wouldn't try again to budge the train. “To say that that conductor wa¥ mad but faintly describes it; in fact he was about the maddest individual I ever saw; but I paid no attention te him, and, grabbing up a lantern, I walked out ahead of the train. I had not gone fifty yards before I found that the bridge was gone, knocke4 into the river by the high water and rubbish that came rushing down on its crest. I hurried back and told the conductor, and then a crowd of us went together to see the ex- tent of the damage. When the conductor saw the rushing waters, and realized how he had urged me on and the narrow escape the entire train had made, he sat down on a tree by the side of the road that had been Blown down by the storm and cried like a child. “We were tied up there until daylight the next morning, and it was noon before the waters had sufficiently fallen to permit us to throw a temporary bridge over the run. The waters down in that country rise to flood height and subside in a night. It is very seldom I teil this story, and it seems so ridiculous to any one not acquainted with our every-day life. No one has been able to explain it to me, and I can’t under- stand it myself. All I know is that I was powerless in the hands of some one, an un- seen power, stronger than I was.” A Weird Experience. “Experiences down in that country are bound to be exciting,” spoke up a bright- looking: man of middle age, whose face denoted great firmness and a more than al intelligence. “I worked down there for-five years, and I must say the scenery is enough to drive one to drink. It might suit a picture painter, but a railroad en- gineer has no use for it. I was finally —, [Ea ) driven out of the country through super- stition. “It was in 18%. I had just been pro- moted to a passenger run on the Tennes- road down in that state. It RS a im crossing the mountains, and eputation of never having met h mishap. jne night as we were passing over the ge, with its dismal shadows and abrupt ught I felt the engine strike nething. I had not seen anything, al- i my kead was out of the window at the time, and I was looking directly ahead. Something seft swept over my face, caus- ing a sensation so peculiar that for a mo- I could not tell whether its origin internal or external. he next instant I looked around to see if the fireman had noticed anything. He had just opened the firebox door to put in a shovel of coal someth I saw him pick up ng from the’ floof of the cab and it by the light of the fire. “ rusalem; it’s hair!’ shrieked the fireman, with chattering teeth, coming over to me and holding ft up before my eyes. ‘Woman's hair, too.” “It made my flesh eréep_and my_hair almost stand up straight. I shut off the engine immediaiely;) and by giving her plenty of air and sand ‘soon brought the train to a standstii# The conductor came forward on the run to inquire the cause of the halt. I called out that I had struck something, and he and the fireman going forward searched the engine and found a big splash of blood on one ef the driving wheels. This told the tale. The Missing Finger. “Then the crew and several of the pas- sengers went back over the track to see what could be found. Prétty soon I got a signal to back, angi after being slowed down and stopped the fireman came up into the cab. “foo bad, old fellow,’ he said, ‘it’s a woman, and very good looking. It’s not much cut up, but most of her fine brown hair has been cut off by a wheel.’ “It proved to be a corpse of a refined wo- man, and what she could have been doing alone on the railroad track in those deso- late mountains was a mystery to me. I never left my engine to see the remain: which were loaded into the baggage cal I was sufilciently worked up without see- ing any blood and white faces that night. My nerves would probabiy have gone down to normal in an hour or two, if the fireman had not told me that the index finger of the woman’s left hand kad been cut off, and that they were unable to find it. “This was a small thing to worry about when compared with the otherwise crushed and bleeding body, but it seemed to stick to my mind with great persistency. When we reached the first telegraph station I wired the agent at the station near where the accident occurred about the sad affair, and asked him to make a careful search for the missing finger. There was not a thing on the person of the dead woman that would give the slightest clew as to who she was and, of course, she was buried ae in that region without being identi- ed. ’ “The next night while passing the spot where the woman had been killed I almost lost my nerve, for I can tell you it makes no difference how reckless an engineer gets, none of us like to kill human beings, es- pecially women. Of course it was not a feeling of guilt, but simply of dread. The finger could not be found, and the publish- ed account of the terrible accident had just been copied in the papers all over the coun- try, but it seemed that the identity of the ill-fated woman had been lost forever. A Ghastly Appearance. “When the oid engine, which by the way was numbered ‘213,’ got in from her bloody trip, she was run into the shop for some extensive repairs and another engine was given me to do the work with. In about a month old ‘213’ came out in first- class condition, and I was so pleased with her that I forgot all about the spot of blood on the driving wheel. I had a gentle re- minder of it, however, the first trip I made with her over those dark mountains. “When we struck the curve where the woman had been killed I gave the engine a little more steam. It was down hill at that place, but I always opened the throt- tle 3 little in order to get a good start up the ext grade, half a mile ahead. This time I gave her a good deal, for I was pleased with the way old ‘213’ was moving herself. Just as I yanked her open I stuck my head out of the window so as to see the track better. The exhaust seemed to stop. I felt my engine check and die out as if some one had shut off her throttle. “JT pulled my head in quickly to see what had produced that strange action. I be- lieved the fireman had done something to her to tease me, but he gat dozing on his box the very picture of inmocence. I sus- pected him, however, but said nothing. “The next trip 1 made I shall never for- get, as it was the last one I ever made over that road. Having attributed the strange actions of old ‘213’ (notice the ‘13° in that number) two nights previous to the fireman I determined to watch him. He had worked up a good gauge of steam, and was dozing on his box. I pulled open the throttle. We were passing the fatal place. I leaned back against my cushion and fixed my eyes on the reclining figure on the op- posite side of the cab. “The next instant the cab filled with fiy- ing hair. I felt the engine check and die as dead as if the air had been turned on, My eyes dropped to the throttle, and in- stantly my blood seemed to turn to ice. There was a finger touching the throttle. It was the index finger of the left hand—a veman’s hand. Around it was a plain gold band and a ring of blood where it had been separated from the hand. Finally It Was Buried. “There was no mistaking that finger; it was there and it simply pressed the life out of the engine. The speed was so di- minished that the fireman, perceiving it with a start, jumped down and began giv- ing her coal. He did not discover the true cause of old No. 213's strange action, for just as he opened his eyes the phantom finger disappered. “Once was enough for me. As soon as I cculd get to the office of the superintendent 1 resigned under the plea that I was worn cut and needed rest. Then I came north. “I afterward learned through a letter from a friend down in that section that one day while a party of curious people were exploring a cave found near the track, scme one discovered a half decayed finger in a crevice in the rock. It was the index firger of the left hand, had the gold band around it, and was beyond doubt the miss- ing finger of the unknown corpse buried three months before. The ring was taken off and examined. It bore some initials, which afterward led to the identification of the woman. She had become slightly de- rented over the death of her lover and, raving money, had boarded the train in Louisville, and had been carried down into the mountains, where she was killed. She as exhumed and the finger buried with her. Since the finger is buried I don't be- lieve it would startle any one on that road, Lut the country is unhealthy for me, and I don’t believe I shall ever go back there to work. The country has a creepy feeling for me.” It was 11 o'clock when the weird story was concluded, and as several of the group made a break for home, The Star reporter, taking advantage of the companionship, did ewise. —_—.___ A Lofty Bicycle. Rather an odd spectacle was witnessed last Sunday merning by citizens along Pennsylvania avenue, many of whom ran out of shops and other buildings to gaze upon a freak in the way of a bicycle that was passing by. The bicycle was much like an ordinary safety wheel, except that the seat of the rider was high in the air—not less than ten feet above the ground. This was easi- ly reckoned, for the top of the hat of a man who ran alongside of the bicycle was two feet below the pedals of the machine. ‘The rider balanced himself carefully on bis tall perch, devoting his exclusive at- tention to maintaining an equilibrum. The question asked by everybody was the same —namely, what could such an extraordi- nary contrivance be intended for? Nobody could suggest an answer. The purpcse for which the second man ran by the side of the bicycle was soon made evident. When it came to a stop, the rider could not jump off Without as- sistance. It was necessary for one or mre persons to take hold of the machine while the cyclist descended. This he did by means of a lixit, but strong, steel lad- der which extended from the axle of the hind wheel of the bicycle to the seat. The bicycle was a very pretty piece of mechanism. People gathered about and admired it, but_nobedy offered to make a try at riding. Presently, however, the ex- pert climbed up the ladder again, the ma- ne being held for him as before, and sailed away down the avenue, accompa- nied by the running escort. ——se0— Force of Habit. From Tid-Bi “Does the razor hurt you?” No reply. “Is the draught too strong?” No reply. “Shail I shut the door No reply “Awful fire last night!” No repiy have ¥ y- tting very chilly now!” No reply. “That was a heavy thunderstorm night!” No reply. “Shampoo?” No reply. “Trim you No reply “Brilii: No reply “Bay rum? No reply. Then the barber, who was all alone in his shop, sat down greatly refreshed. He had been shaving himself. 008 A Mixed Prayer. Frem Harper's Magazine. At the advanced age of five Marjorie de- veloped an extraordinary liking for pray- ers. She had been taught not only “Now I lay moe,” but alse the Lord's Prayer, and then, at her request, a codicil had been added, praying that “papa and mamma and ail my relations” might be protected during the night. She said the prayers just before gcing to bed, in the moruing, and her mother often heard snatches of them as the little sirl went about her doll’s af- fairs daring the day. it was, no doubt, partly owing to this familiarity with her prayer, but largely to drowsiness, that one night the sleepy little girl electrified her listening motner by tily cutting short the Lord’s Prayer and enqgng up the ceremony with, “Deliver ‘rom evil, and—all my relations. Her father said she was a philosopher, but that she ought to have added rela- tions-in-law. u pretty close?” last hair up a little?” tine on the mustache?” eee. His Injurics. From the Chicago Inter-Ocean. “Frowsey was terribly hurt at the foot ball game.” “By a fall?” “No. Some one thought he had combed his hair.” WORTHY WOMEN’S WORDS. What Some Well-known Ladies Have to Say About Themselves and Their. Sex. . Henry Ward Beecher. Mrs. Henry Ward Beecher has endeared herself to nearly every family in America. Not altogether because she was the wife of a brilliant divine, but because of ber constant desire to aid people and help. them along in life. Speaking about the re- lationship between mother end daughter ber words have been outspoken and sincere. Here 18 a por- tion of what she sald: “There is no period in a mother’s life that brings more anxious care than when she sees her daugh- ters, who are blossoming into womsnhood, begin- ning to attract the attention of young men, and it | becomes evident to the mother at least that sim ple friendly relations are fast developing into something stronger and closer. A wise mother may not reveal her anxiety to her daughters, or tell them to what she sees this friendship tend- | ing, but influenced by the loving companionship and counsels which have constantly blessed them from earliest childhood the daughters cannot fail to have gathered some ideas of the pecuilar char- acteristics which should be plainly developed tn a lover. Even in the first days of womanhood a young girl cannot fail to understand that marriage with a man Lfcking certain qualities must be a misera- ble failere."” Mrs. George L. Brensing, 137 W. 127th street, New York, whose pleture appears above, sayst “I am the mother of twelve children and all are alive. I never had a day's sickness in my Ife until about ten years ago, when I was selzed sud- denly with an attack of Bright's disease of the Kidneys. Two doctors called it Bright's disease, and cach said I must die. Indeed, I was actually in the throes of death. At that time a friend, @ lady, came to see me and said I was surely dying. ‘Still she urged me to take a remedy of which I had beard much, but knew ttle. I followed ber suggestions, and I now solemnly declare and af- firm that although I was dying when I took this medicine it saved my life, and F believe that I owe my Ife entirely to Warner's Safe Cure. I also belleve that it will swe the life of any one who uses it for kidney troubles. I thank God for War- ner's Safe Cure, and I have sounded its praises far and near, az shall continue to do 0." Words such as the above, drawn from human experience and suffering, become messages of hope to womankind. Young women, mothers and those in advanced years are often called upon to suffer when {t is unnecessary that they should do so. ‘That they power to emn duty. UNCLE JIMS PERPLEXITY. Found His Room Lighted With* a Rottle Tied to the End of a String. From the New York Herald. Uncle Jim Hendricks, a Rockland county hermit, paid his first visit to the metropolis a few weeks ago as a witness in an impor- tant lawsuit. The parties who summoned him Icoked carefully after his welfare, and secured him rooms in one of the finest ho- tels.: Though for years a recluse, the ex- citement induced by Uncle Jim’s adventures was so great that he was persuaded to stop in at the village store on his way home and narrate them. Being asked what was the most wonderful thing he had seen, he said: “Waal, I don’t know "bout its bein’ the most wonggrful, but the curiosest thing I seen wuz a-darn thing they put in my room to light it. Yer see, them fellers thot they'd play a smart trick on yer uncle, and what d’yer think they give me to light my room with? “Haw! Haw! ’Twan't nuthin’ more'n a lectle glass bottle tied on to the end of a string. Wall, inside of that ‘ere little bottle wuz a couple of wires that looked ez though they were red hot, tho’ the bottle didn’t het up a bit. How the wires ever got het up so 1 give it up. They didn’t cool off all the evening, and when I cum to go to bed 1 jes says I'll pour some water out of that ere pitcher on ’em so I kin go to sleep. “But, b’gosh! Couldn't find no hole in that ere bottle nowhere. Says to m’self, ‘Guess I'll hev to smash the tarnal thing,” and woz a-lookin’ in the bed for a bed slat to do it with, when I says to myself, ‘Guess I know a trick wuth two er that. I'll jest show them fellers they can’t fool yer Uncle Jim.” “So I jest takes the dressin’ case and pushes it up under that ere thing and I takes that ere bottie and puts it inside one uy the drawers and shets the drawer up. ‘No files to speak uv on yer Uncle Jim,” says I. Then I goes to bed. When I opens the drawer in the mornin’ the darned thing hed burned out.” ——_—+e«-—___ The Bath Question. ym the Cincinnati Tribune. isn’t there any inducement on earth that would induce you to take a bath?” asked Mrs. Smaliwort. “I might later, mum,” replied Mr. Dis- mal Dawson, “br jist now me social doo- ties will not permit of it, mum. I got to -appear in the part of that there tough sheeny in a Trilby sworree nex’ week, an’ you remember how he stood on the bath question, mum.” - probably, in the history of medicine has there been a DISCOVERY Which has aroused the interest of the profession and general public alike equal te that created by THE Animal Extracts, recently intreducd by Dr. Wm. A. Hammond, Practically, a new epoch in the cked, aud. ular instituted sc tty, yet the new ec Never, Has obtained a permanent footing alike with the medical profession and the pubiic. Do know that with FIVE DROPS OF CAR- DIN! tract of the Hearty the pulse can be strengthened, and ite beat increased Id ty 20 times to the minute, when it is too slow, and lessencd in E DROPS OF the Brain) the band, trembling from constitutional Weakness and nervous cahaustion, tary be steadied, LINE (Extract of ss and Exhaustion even such organic dis- rd as Locomotor Ataxia the Spinal Cord) Spinat are at once relieved, es of the Spinal ¢ ‘ted on the way to recovery? . Rev. Wayland Johnson SAYS OF CEREBRINE: “I have heen using Cerebrine two weeks, with the most excelent results. I was in a state of nervous prostration that utterly unfitted me for any continued mental work. From the fret dose experienced a renewed Intellectual gra: and clearness and joy in mental worl not known for years. Under dinary stimulant I felt body ‘and inind, but the activity eccentric, while the effect of the give a sense of cool, tal ard physical energy.” § WAYLAD ‘SON, Pastor First Baptist Church. ‘The physiological effects produced by a single dose of CEREDRINE are acceleration of the pulse with a fecling of fullness and distention in. the head, exhilaration of spirits, incre: excretion, augumentation of the expulsive forc the bladder and peristaltic action of the intest! increese in muscular strength and enduraice, creased power of vision in elderly people, and in- creased appetite and digestife power, DOSE, 5 DROS. PRICE @ DR.) NOW ONE POLLAR. FOR SALE BY ALL DRUGGISTS. THE COLUMBIA CHEMICAL C0., WASHINGTON, D. C Send for book. Scott A BRIDE AND GROOM Need have no hesitancy in coming here for all the Furniture and Carpets necessary to complete housekeeping. We are home makers—first—last—and all the time. Those who can pay a Little money weekly og monthly Se CAN FURNISH | THEIR HOUSE ON CREDIT Without signing 2 note—without paying & penny of interest. We are willing to bold * eur prices up for comparison with those of any of the cash houses. Leave the ar ranging of payments to us—we're old hands at it. All Carpets made and laid free of cost— no charge for waste in matching figures. Plush or Haircloth Parlor Suites—chotee, $22.50. Solid Oak Bed Room Suite, $13. Splendid Brussels Carpet, 50e. per yard. Reliable Ingrain Carpet, 35c. per yards Made and laid free of cost. Solid Oak Extension Table, $3.50. 40-pound Hair Mattress, $7. . Woren-wire Springs, $1.75. Heating and Cooking Stoves—all singy standard makes, Yours for a promise to pay. GROGAN’S MAMMOTH GREDIT HOUSE, 819-821-823 7TH STREET NORTHWEST, Between H and I streets. GET THIN. Use Dr. Edison’s Famous Obesity Pilis and Bands and Obesity Fruit Salt. Our supporting and special Obcsity Bands will Call and examina, Twenty varieties. All geiuine Bands have our name stamped on them. lesers. Loring & Co.—Four bottles of Dr. Edie son's Obesity Pills reduced my weight thirty-seven m9-844 pounds. Your Obesity Band gives scpport and re- duces one’s weight, and the size of one’s abdomen very. Biss Mary Lee Morgan, Fenn. ave, ler, Sth avenue and rites my friend, Mrs, Atnetin Lewis’ Roosevelt, ‘Sth avenge, reduced ber weight G) pounds on your Obesity’ Fruit Salts, Then I used the Pills and lost over 37 pounds om the Pits alone. Our goods may be obtained from C. G. C. SIMMS, ww York ave. amd 141 MERTZS MODERN Miss Sarah Laying Rockefe t 1 st., New ¥ Cor. 11th and F Keep a full line of Obesity Ba: Sait in stock. Ladies will find a saleslady here theatment to them. sani on inociet ot aoe up; the Trait Salt, per bottle, or 3 boities Tor ., 42 West 224 st.. Department No, 22 Hamilton place, Department ‘Gray Hair A tling of the past when Nattans Crystal Dis- covery 1s used. Guarantecd to restore gray or faded hair to fis natural color In 3 to 10 dase— positively rot a dye. Stops the bair from falling cut, arrests dandraff and makes the nicest dressi for’ the hair one can use. No poison. No scdi- ment. No stains. Priee, $1. ‘Trial size, KGLR PHARMACY, SOLE AGENTS, 438. ‘ ". 3026-2 N. — and Hats It was a fortunate purchase— hats—$3 and $4 qualities. the lot from our manufacturer, and will price them je hats, that’s why. A chance to pag cr—we have the hat. JOSEPH AUERBACH, 623 Penna. Ave. 21-324 ot the Bests THE CONCORD RARNESS. LUTZ & BRG., 497 Penn. ave., adjoining National Hotel Horse Blankets and Lap Robes at low priceg oc1G-16d we Go together. Jot of new sprin, ~”