Evening Star Newspaper, August 3, 1895, Page 16

16 THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, AUGUST 3, 1895-TWENTY PAGES. PYNCHON’S GIANT “ALBATROSS.” SPEEDING THRO’ AIR Aerial Journeys Around the World and to the North Pole. MANY CURIOUS INVENTIONS Ships Propelled by Steam, Hot Air, Wings and Explosions. BOATS,BICYCLES AND BUGGIES U NCLE SAM ONLY the other day granted his 15ist patent fora flying machine. All of thesa have been is- sued since 18H. Those classed under “aerial navigation” are undoubtedly the Most -interesting “of the 550,000 patents on file in the patent of- fice. They express the views of men <7 from all parts of the world concerning this great scientific prob- lem. This class of patents is the only one including mecnanisms which are not act- ualities, and mest of which cannot yet be operated. A great fraction of the holders of American flying machine patents are foreigners who have never claimed resi- Gence in this country. Maxim, Lillienthal and the few other Europeans known to have made the beginnings of success in these lIInes are, however, conspicuously absent from this list, although holders of Patents in other countries. A considerable number of our patentees of aerial vehicles migh* be classed as men of very visionary tendencies, presenting highly ridiculous AWA WITT r{ NLU 5 Wulfi’s Bird Motor. suggestions, claimed as “valuable improve- ments.” A greater proportion, however, especially those of recent years, appear to be men whose dreams of the future are based upon logical and scientific reasoning. A representative of The Star a few days ®g0 was accorded the privilege of looking over all of the original drawings in this line kept in the official patent office files. He also had an interview with Dr. W. W. Townsend, examiner in charge of aerial Tavigation patents. Examiner Townsend Says that the flying machine enthusiast skculd no longer be placed in the mental category of the “crank,” since he now has befcre him a legitimate problem of me- chanical progress and inventive genius, in which early success is assured. The pat- ent office, he says, is not now granting as Many patents in this line as in former years. “Formerly,” said he, “patents were allowed for flying machines without any question as to their operativeness, none being thought operative. Now those with- cut some elevating means, such as a bal- Icon attachment. are objected to because — ya rivers and lakes. The car in which we are to travel is a commodiously furnished af- fair, carried by a long cigar-shaped bal- Icon, made of the thinnest sheet aluminum. In the engine room is to be a huge drum wrapped with several coils of the cable and revolved by a powerful storage battery with suflicient rapidity to drive us across the continent in a day. From the rear deck we can see the cable, on account of its elasticity, fall back upon its supports. We feel perfectly safe, for if it should break or the vessel should in any way come loose from its moorings we may be immediately lowered by expulsion of gas and an anchor may be dropped to the grcund, landing us safe and sound until the damage is repaired. Krom. San Francisco we are off again, this time bound for Texas, on an airship which looks like a giant fish with a fan- tail. Here again we have an aluminum ballobn body, but we are free in the air, and are buzzing high out of sight of land. Battey’s Explosive Motor. Two large aeroplanes, hinged one on either side of the balloon, run lengthwise with the vessel, like enormous see-saws. <A pilot wheel inside the cabin regulatés their in- clination, so as to take us up or down, as the case may be. But where are the pro- pellers? There are none. On the end of the hinged tail we carry a huge, concave fir- ing cup, pointed to the rear like a mortar. A rapid succession of explosions is taking place in this. A thousand little pellets of the strongest smokeless explosive are au- tomatically fed to this at the proper in- tervals and discharged by electricity. There is no danger, because we are fully protected by the concave guard of the cup. Now that we are in Texas, we will take a _trip on Walker's patent airship. Mr. Walker is a citizen of Texas, and his con- trivance is truly a curiosity. Beneath the huge conical parachute which covers it, making it appear like a tremendous hay- stack with the usual framework around it, we see two immense canvas cylinders, like water standpipes, rising vertically from the center of the lower deck, about fifty feet apart. Resting against these, about half way up on the outside, are two horizontal cylinders of the same material, running the whole length of the upper decks. In each of these cylinders ts a set of powerful propellers. As we rise from ‘the ground those in the vertical cylinders are put in motion, but after the desired altitude is reached those in the horizontal ones are used. Across the Ocenn Through Afr. Returning to New York over the sea- ccast, we embark in Pynchon’s monstrous airship, the “Albatross.” This has pro- Jecting balconies upon which we may sit and watch the tiny white sails on the blue carpet of ocean far below. We are also afforded a main promenade deck in front and a amaller one above It. Inside there are luxurious state rooms for passengers, a dining hall, with lighted galieries, while in the hold there is ample room for the steerage, the ship's machinery, and the stores. In the rear a large firing cup gives us our motive power, as the operator in the bow feeds it with explosive cartridges, car- ried through pneumatic tubes. A capacious buoyancy chamber over our heads, within the sloping roof, makes it possile for our craft to float on the air, as do also two broad aeroplanes at the sides, affording an awning for the windows and decks. In the forward end of the buoyancy chamber we have a large tank to be filled alternately with air or gas, according to the altitude. But now for a trip to the north pole. To accomplish this we must charter Black- man's air-tight flyer, which would be about "the height and thickness of the Washing- ton monument, if stood on end. It gradu- ally tapers to a point, like a long penhold- er. Our ample cabin and machine rooms appear to occupy but a small portion of the under space and the tall smokestack to the steam engine protrudes up through @ fire-proof, heat-repellant chimney, pro- tecting the balloon body. The side and af- ter screws may all be revolved simul- taneously, or each separately, according to the speed or direction desired. While shooting through the air to the pole we eae” Blackman’s Air-Tight Flyer. not operative, and therefore not ‘useful,’ according to the statutes.” Dr. Town- send, however, believes strongly in the ultimate success of airships prepelled by mechanical power alone. He thinks that Maxim 1s on the rapid road to success. Existing American patents, according to the examiner, will not prevent Maxim from taking a financial success of his airship, When perfected. But when he or any other inventor succeeds, Dr. Townsend says, our patent office will be overwhelmed with applications from all parts of the world. The first American fly4ig machine patent was granted In 1844 to Muzio Muzzi, an Italian. It was for a spherical balloon having movable side aeroplanes for chang- ing vertical to horizontal directions. The highly visionary inventors have been many, the most conspicuous doubtless being Quimby, who, in 1869, patented wings to be used after the style of Darius Green. An- other was Francis, who twenty years ago patented a tremendous ship, containing three balloons in the hull, three masts, full sails and side paddle wheels for pro- Still another was pulsion, Lamboley’s Lomax’s Cable Airship. giant mechanical bird, whose wings were to be waved by the operator inside the body. But strangest of all was the ap- Paratus of Wulff, a Frenchman, granted only a few years ago, for propelling bal- leons by birds harnessed to a horizontal wkeel, to be turned by a pilot according to the desired direction. The very modern patents of flying ma- chines show how easy ft Is, in the fertile | mirds of the inventors, to vacations in var! yess the clouds like ¢' proj and soaring like monster bir pel one’s self in an aerial b' spend summer darting above files, or flying s, or to pro- yele or row or glide safely along in an aerial whole trip, but flying high and dry over city, hamiet and river. The most modern invention of them all, Lomax’s cable airship, patented only the other day, promises that we will be able to travel from ‘w York to San Francisco, darting through s like a loom shuttle, wit it fear of contrary wind or tide to urse. The endless ly over lines of high e is to hang loose t while going through the bare ry, and to rest on hot d tree tops in the cities, while still more lofty supports will hold it above the water of take a romantic drift in an aerial | = car, fastened to the earth during the | \is a Kite, are higher up above the eartir than any other flying machine has yet gone, in- deed, far out of sight of earth or clouds. The external atmosphere is so scarce that to breathe it would mean instant death. But the rubber padded windows and doors are tightly closed, and the air compressed within the cabin has no means of es- cape. Returning to our starting point after our discovery of the pole, we are now floating acruss the Atlantic, high above its waves, on Nahl's curious flyer. Our craft is again a cigar-shaped balloon, having wings at the side, in a horizontal plane. Powerful electric motors in our cabin revolve pro- pellers, our direction being changed by a long metal pendulum, hanging beneath the center of the car. This may be shift- ed by the engineer to any angle, and since its long, rigid rod must always head straight down, the angle at which the whole vessel points is thus altered. We are completing a trip around the world, swiftly speeding homeward across the Pacific on Fest’s Columbus. High above our heads is a tall dome, supported on an aeroplane, from which our car is suspended. This dome, which is an air tank, has an adjustable bottom, which the engineer may open cr shut. A cable of endless wicks, interwoven of asbestos and wire, revolves through a tube leading from an oil reservoir in our cabin to the alr dome. The surface of the wicks is ex- posed while inside the dome, and, being constantly on fire, keeps the internal air at a high temperature. Thus we float higher and higher as the air in this gets hotter, and while our propellers shift us along. As we descend the adjustable bot- tom is lowered and the external air cools that within. Aerial Boats, Bicycles and Buggies. Having landed safely from ail of these journeys we will be content to hover nearer to mother earth. Let us float up a few hundred feet in one of Thayer's large ob- servatory kites and witness the inter-col- legiate rowing race. Two light flyers are in use, patented Ly Mr. Borgfeldt of Brook- lyn. These consist of slender, cigar-shaped balloons, each suspending a light boat shell, holding six oarsmen. A series of winged oats is arranged at either side, and that these may be actuated in one steady | stroke they are connected by horizontal bars. During the pull stroke the slats of each wing are closed, but on the return they open, allowing the air to pass through. And now for the bloomer girl. An aerial bicycle, jist such another as was pat- ented a few months ago, will gratify her lofty aspirations. A broad aeroplane stretched over her head serves as an awn- ing. Hinged over the forward end of this which may be turned at any arele, up or down, according to the alti- tude ‘to be traveled. The usual saddle and pedal wheel are below, In the center of the frame. This wheel revolves a large propeller in the rear, behind which Is a rud- cer to be shifted by turning the handle bar, in the usual way. And last, but not least. Here 1s the ideal aerial buggy. A small balloon is above the carriage body, the bellows-like buegy top protecting it from the misty clouds. Two may work a pair of pedals as they sit comfortably side by side upon the cushicned seat. This rotation waves large fan-like wings, on either side, open- ing them aS they make the effectual stroke and closing them as they return. A small- er fan serves as a rudder in front, and this may be manipulated by a handle with- in. And the greatest feature of this ro- mantic vehicle is that when its occupants are tired of traveling they may drift care- lessly along, wafted by each straying zerhyr, nearer to dreamland than ever. Se POWER OF FLIGHT IN BIRDS. The Graceful Swallow, the Swift Mov- ing Humming Bird and Others. From the Boston Transcript. How wonderful and beautiful is the power of flight, and yet from the smallest insect that is tossed about by the gentle summer breeze to the great golden eagle that is capable of carrying a young lamb to his eyrie all are masters of the art. A large portion of the living animal world has wings and can use them. When watching a swallow’'s infinite power upon the wing one feels like rephrasing the cry of Richard III, “My kingdom for a horse,” to “My kingdom for a pair of wings.” Perhaps among our most common birds the swallows are the most graceful and skillful of flight. Before a rain along our country roads the barn and white-bellied swaliows are always to be seen cutting the air in graceful curves, now skimming the roads, now rising abruptly to sail over the stone wall, and float out across some neigh- boring meadow. They love the sea also, and wing their way over its surface with marvelous skill. The chimney-swift surpasses in the power of endurance even the swallows. Uncanny birds they are, far more like bats. Their flight is not as graceful as the swallow’s, but in a way more erratic. They rest only in the chimneys or hollow trees, even gath- ering the twigs for the construction of their nests while on the wing. Their food also is taken when on flight—in fact, the chimney-swift's life is spent in the heav- ens. “Perpetual motion” must be_ their motto, for but a few moments out of each twenty-four hours are spent at rest in the chimney’s sooty depths. The opposite of the swallow’s and the swift’s flight, one might say, is that of the Kingbirds. Jerky, spasmodic, ungraceful, as it is in the extreme, and yet powerful; for tha kingbird among crows certainly deserves his name. As all true Tyran- nidae he is an expert fly catcher, and is very dextrous and often absurd in his pur- suit, tumbling over himself in his hurry to catch some dainty insect. The monotonous undulations of the gold- finch, each r@se and fall in the flight ac- the notes which reSemble give the bird an original if not a pleasing flight, and to me he brings to mind the two extremes of the season— in summer undulating over the sunny meadows and in winter over the snow- bound fields. ‘When a robin crosses the sky so one can really cee his flight, he is one of the few birds that look as if they really were going somewhere. Direct, even, and steady are the characteristics of the flight when really on the wing with some distant point in view. The erratic and wonderfully rapid flight of the humming bird is marvelous, and the human eye can only vaguely follow their winding course; such strength of wing for s> tiny a body seems almost in- credible. Their migration southward from New England’ extends to South America. The phoehe’s flight is very much like that of the kingbird’s, and his tumblings when in pursuit of insects are almost identical, but his long flights do not denote such power, nor, I think, such rapidity. The wonderful feats of the carrier pig- eons have become fz.meus, and the distance that they cover in a given time is hardly to be belleved. Each downbeat of their wings looks as if they were flying In a denser atmosphere than air, so much power is shown. The bats’ crazy movements in the even- ing twilight are absurd, full of plunges, turnings, twistings, rapid flappings and tumbles, and yet they seem to know where they are going, and most certainly do. The movements of a hawk or eagle in the upper air are graceful and magnificent. What must the sensation be of sailing about so easily in the heavens? Rising and falling, sailing and gliding—diving down with frightful speed, and yet the whole body is in perfect command. The osprey plunges into the sea and rises with a fish; how keen the eye that directs such swoops! — + e+ + __ BUILDING A MONSTER. Reconstructing 2 Fossil Ancestor of : the Whales. The National Museum has just finished the building-of a monster, whose like has not been seen in the world for at least half a million years. It is’ a zeuglodon—the first one ever mounted and restored. For a long time scientists have been puzzling and disputing over this species of animal, fossil remains of which are found in large quantities in Alabama and Mississippi. Specimens have actually been exhibited as the skeletons of veritable sea serpents. The creature was at first supposed to be a reptile, but now it is known to have been a giant cetacean. It was an ancestor of the modern whales, and a remarkable point about it was that it had legs. After it had been settled that the beast was # mammal, some scientific men as- serted that it belonged to the seal family. Whether it had legs or not was an open question. To settle the point, the National Museum sent an expert, Mr. Charles Schuchert, to Mississippi, with instructions to procure a complete skeleton of a zeuglo- don if obtainable, sparing neither pains nor money in the quest. He had no trouble in finding plenty of the bones, which in some localities may be dug out of the ground in quantities th spade and pickax. Unfor- tunately, they are nearly always in such Poor condition as to be valueless, being broken up by the action of frost mainly. When buried bones are permeated by moisture, a freeze shatters them. However, Mr. Schuchert succeeded in getting two fairly good skeletons, which, though lack- ing some of their parts, were better than any specimens discovered up to date. One of them had the bones of both fore legs. The authorities of the National Museum thought it would be a good idea to make a restoration of this fossil whale for the At- lanta exposition. This task they confided to the osteologist, Mr. Frederic A. Lucas. It was a labor of enormous difficulty, re- quiring the highest order of knowledge. All of the parts of the skeleton not being at hand, it was necessary to supply the miss- ing bones, and this had to be done with scientific accuracy and not by guesswork. Of course, some small latitude of imagina- tion was allowable. The original bones were too heavy, too fragile and too precious to be employed in the restoration, which is built of wood, wire cloth and papier mache. Mr. Lucas and his assistants have been engaged on the job for three months, and now the skeleton of the fossil cetacean is finished and ready to be packed up for transportation. Nobody would imagine that it was artificial, so natural do the “bones” look. It is a huge affair. If it were set up In an ordinary house, with the nose of the creature at the front door, the end of the tail would stick out of the gate of the back yard. It is fifty feet long. But that 1s not very big for a zeuglodon, individuals of whose kind attain a length of seventy feet or more. There are stories of modern sperm whales as long as that, but nobody ever put a tape line on a specimen that was over fifty feet. Zeuglodons in their time must have been exceedingly numerous, judging from the astonishing quantities of their remains that are dug up. The first specimen to attract scientific attention was found in Alabama by Dr. Harlan, in 1834. Along in the forties Judge Creagh was clearing a farm in the same state and came across so many of the bones that they were actually an obstacle to agriculture. To get rid of them, they were piled in heaps with brush and burned. The latest edition of Dana's “Geology” re- peats an old and quite erroneous statement to the effect that farmers in Alabama use the fossil bones of zeuglodons for building stone walls. Though not so numercus as this yarn would imply, they are frequently dup up in the fields, One re: completeness of the remains great size of the animals. When a skeleton sixty or seventy feet long has lain buried near the surface of the ground for hun- dreds of thousands of years, rain is pretty sure to cut gullies a it, and carry away sections of it. What happens to be left is exposed to the disintegrating action of water and frost —_=.—__ It Shut Him Up. From the Detroit Tribune. Houstholder—“Here, drop my coat and get out.” Burglar—“You shut up, or I'll wake your wife and give her this letter you forgot to pest.” LIFE IN TENTS Some Suggestidas to Those Who Camp Out in This Locality. WHAT 10 TARE AND WHAT TO LEAVE Pleasure and Economy Combined in a Summer Outing. A NOVEL EXPERIENCE Written Exclusively for The Evening Star. F ONE HAS A tent to start with the entire cost of camp- ing out, excepting the traveling ex- penses, need not be any more than it costs one to live at home. The first » thing to decide is where to go. If one wishes to camp along the Potomac the river boats will take him direct to many mping sites, and by gcirg to Baltimore he has his choice of tumerous places on the Chesapeake. The Virginia side of the Potomac is preferable to the Maryland side, although there are gocd spots for camping on the latter shcre. The eastern shore of the Chesa- peake Is more accessible and more popular than the other side, taking it all in all. The tent is naturally the most important and expensive feature of the camping out- fit, but if a good one is bought in the first place it will last for years if carefully used. One should avoid getting either too small or too large a tent, and should never get a tent of poor material. A wall tent is by far the best, kind, unless a person is going on a trip where he uses the tent for merely a night or so at a time. In that case an A tent is the thing. About 12 by 14 feet or larger is a convenient size. It is better to have two medium-sized tents than one very large one. Unless a person is sure that he wants his tent for only one season it pays to get @ good one. Twelve-ounce duck is a serv- Iceable weight. A good tent, including poles, stakes and guy ropes. costs between $12 and $20, according to its size und qual- ity. In addition to the tent it is desira- ble also to have a fly, especially if one expects to camp where there is no abun- ance of shade. This can be of most any size and will be found convenient in keep- ing off both sun and rain from a table or anything of that sort outside the tent. The fly is by no means a necessity, however, if cne is aiming to keep his expenses at a lew figure. About the Ontfit. The best rule to give regarding the camp- ing outfit is—take as few things as possi- ble. What one dbesitake, however, should be carefully seleoted,;and not merely hast- Ny brought together on the last day or so. The majority ofscampers who come home dissatisfied with their trip have either made the mistake of taking too few or else too many things. The first sugges- tion in regard to the outfit ts that each member of the party take a cot bed and a camp chair. The cost of a canvas cot is a dollar, and a gamp chair can be bought fur 30 cents. When camping fof only a short time, or where transportation is difficult, cots are not necessary, but they so add to the com- fort of the camp in most cases that they should be taken. They are cooler, more comfortable and'require less bedding than sleeping on the ‘ground. In the daytime they can be piled up together and got- ten out of the way. In addition to thie they prevent to a large extent the nightly visits of fleas, “jiggers” sand other inter- esting insects, with which many persons used to outdoor life have at least a passing acquaintance, but have no burning desire for a closer friendship. The only serious objection to cots is that they take up a good deal of room, and when used not so many persons can oc- cupy a tent. The principal trouble with cheap cots is that they sag badly after a person has slept in them a few times. This .can be remedied, however, by tack- ing on strips of bed ticking or some other strong material underneath, a foot or so apart. Camp chairs, too, will usually be found to pay for their transportation. Seap boxes are good, but there are times when their comfort rather pall on one. The question of a fire is an important one. Some people take gasoline stoves, but these must necessarily be Mmited to places where transportation is a simple matter, and where one can get gasoline. Some people take oll stoves, and these are gcod. if you have them. The writer will Not quarrel with those who want to take stoves with them, but neither could he ad- vise others to do so, never having found it either necessary or desirable in his own case. A Useful Stove. It 13 not, however, essential to go to the other extreme and cook on an open fire. An open fire spoils both the temper of the cooking dishes and the temper of the cook, and greatly limits the menu. A stove made of a plece of sheet Iron, about two by three feet, and a@ joint of stove pipe does very well. Have the sheet tron strengthen- ed with two or three pieces of iron riveted crosswise on one side to keep it from warp- ing. In most cases you can buy your stove pipe near your camping site and save the carrying of it. ‘To put up such a stove, dig a trench in the ground a foot deep or less, and, if pos- sible, on the slope of a Ilttle hillock. The plece of sheet fron will serve as a stove top. Bulid up the sides of the stove with stones and mud, if necessary, put in the stove pipe and you have your stove. You will haye to hunt up or take along a piece of sheet iron or something of that sort to put in front of the stove, leaving just enough room for air at the bottom. 'To serve as an oven, one can have a square-shaped pan about five inches in height, made out of sheet iron, which can be set on the back of the stove. It will be found that it bakes to a turn. A stove liko this can be got together for from 60 cents to $3. Instead of the oven describ- ed, a deep baking pan or a cover of some kind can be rigged up which answers. Teunks Are Useful. Campers are commonly advised to carry their belongings in oilskin or canvas bags. But in camping out in a place accessible by railroad or steamboat, medium-sized trunks are better, for the simple reason that they can be transported free as per- sonal baggage, whereas canvas bags have to go as freight. If:one takes part of this outfit in a convenient wooden box with handles, this Me a 0 as baggage, and the box can afterward be used as a cup- [see If it is propbsed to camp along the Potomac river,.one. should, If possible, ake an exploring trip first and, after look- ing over the ground, ‘he can then determine what he ought p carry with him and what he should wait to buy at or near the pro- posed camping site. If going some iistgnce. too far for some one to investigate forehand, a good deal of trouble can sometimes be saved by sending some membgr of the party a day ahead to see how tMings are. In camping along the Potomacgand Chesapeake it is best to select a place tolerably near a steamboat wharf; wiere there is invariably a store, at which oe can buy provisions. It is almost imperafive to be near a farm house at least, 29 there are few springs, and one wants to be sure of good water within easy reach. The experience of mos? people who have camped on the Potomac and Chesapeake prov that one ought to camp at some landing which is directly or almost directly on the river or bay front Jn so doing one avoids both the m quitoes. and the sea nettles. The stro eool breeze which one gets when in front of a wide s\ the mosquitoes back into the woods fu ther inland, at the same time keeping ¢ water sufficiently rough so that the nettles gather in the creeks, where of the water is calm. In th ugust especially the sea n s@ numerous in some of the cree amount almost to a pe ming a doubtful luxur; wise not to go far up the Arrangement of the Camp. So much for the site of the camp in gen- the month tles are as te , and make swim- So it is usually eks, eral. As to the matter of locating the tent, it should be pitched on a little knoll if possible, where the drainage is good. It is often well and sometimes imperative to ditch around the sides cf the tent to be sure of a dry floor. It ts needless to say that one ought to camp where there ts shade. The stove should be far enough from the tent, so as not to disturb the campers with its smoke. Food is best kept outside In a box, which can serve as cup- beard, pantry and general Jarder. This cupboard would better be raised from the ground, and should be constructed so that it can be fastened up securely. An oilcloth cover to this cupboard will make it water tight. The camping outfit should be carefully planned. If one expects to be near a store his problem is simple, so far as food goes. But there are some provisions which he can get better in town anyway, including a number of smal) articles that take up little room and some others, a better qual- ity of which can be purchased in the city. Among these articles are bacon, hardtack, coffee, soda, baking powder, cornmeal, rice cottolene, condensed milk, salt and pepper. canned meats (including corned beef, sal- mon, sardines, potted bam, &c.), canned fruits and jams, cereals, and whatever else seems desirable, ‘Take plenty of condensed milk. Milk is not so easy to get at the farm houses as might be supposed, end can’t be kept on hand much of the time during hot weather anyhow. One car sometimes buy bread at a store. If not, the farmers’ wives will often make it for you. In the way of dishes and cooking utensils, each member of the party should furnish himself with a tin plate, knife, fork, spoon and cup To be strictly orthodox you should take a tin cup, but as a matter of fact, an earthen ware cup is far better to use for anything but coffee. The camp as a whole should he provided also with extra knives, forks, spoons, both large and small, tin cups and plates, and with two frying pans, a kettle, saucers several stewing pans, several lard pails of different sizes, one large wooden pail, a coffee pot and some smail pans. Beddtug and Clothing. Each member of the party should have two pieces of bedding. If you care to sleep in blankets in summer weather, take two of those, but two quilts or light comfort- ers will be found more comfortable for most. It is not advisable to carry any more bedding than this, and it is merely in the way unless ore {s camping in the mountains or late in the fall. If you want a pillow, you can take along a pillow-case and fill It with dry grass. Don’t fill it with pine needles, as pine needles and “jiggers” are inseparable companions. Clothing is largely a personal matter. The thine to guard against is taking too much. Of course, camping is a splendid opportunity to wear out and throw away old clothes. The following list of articles will include various miscellanies which will be needed in most camps: Ax, nails, wire, can opener, padlock, crab net, bathing suits, maps, ¢>mpass, reading matter, matches, cord and rope, scissors, soap, eandles or lantern, pins, needles and thread, buttons, rubber coats, rubber blan- ket, towels, dish towels, stationery, etc. Candles have been suggested for the campers’ outfit. Some may prefer to take a lamp or lantern, especially if they take an oil stove. Candles, however, are good enough. One doesn’t want a light a great deal, and should make a practice of not having a light In the tent nights, except during wet weather, as it draws moths and the like, besides heating the tent up. An alcohol lamp is a fine thing to have along to heat up something when the weather does not allow of a fire outside. The camp medicine chest need not be ex- tensive nor very scientific. It would be well, perhaps, to include court plaster, witchhazel, vaseline and sweet spirits of nitre. The sweet spirits of nitre is good for the poison of poison ivy and various insect bites. Ammonia is Mkewise good for in- fect bites, and a valuable thing to have ebout the camp. It is also whispered about by sunts and grandmothers that dry pen- nyroyal scattered about the tent, or cam- phor balls put between the bed clothes, will prevent night attacks by fleas and other man eaters. The writer confesses to be a little skeptical on this last point, but gives it for what it is worth. There is no need of suffering from mos- quitces under any circumstances. It is a simple matter to buy a few yards of mos- quito netting. One end of the tent and half of the other may be covered. The re- maining half-end can be used as a door, over which a-piece of netting can be hung, so as to be pulled aside when passing through. : It is useless to give any detailed figures as to the cost of camping, as it varies so much in different cases. A party of four, however, possessing a tent to start with, can camp out for a stay of four weeks and keep their entire expenses, excepting for travel and transportation, between $10 and $15 apiece. ———— FREE TOBACCO IN A CHURCH. Inducements Offered by a London Clergyman for Attendance at Services From the Daily Telegraph. The following printed notice ts said to have been plentifully distributed in the Whitechapel neighborhood for a week past: “If you want a smoke (free), come next Sunday afternoon, at 3 o’clock, to Christ Church Hall. A free cup of tea if you like. ‘Tobacco gratis.” The hall in question is a square and commodious building, lofty, and —a not unimportant feature when consid- ered in connection with tobacco smoking— with ample ventilation in the roof. The walls are cheerfully painted and adorned with Scripture pictures and quotations, and chair seats are provided for the whole flpor space. At one end is a raised platform, with a table, behind which the chairman sits, and there are two instruments for musical accompaniment—a pianoforte and a harmonicon. Some time before 3 o’clock the congrega- tion began to muster pretty thickly, and it became apparent why the line on the invi- tatiqn, “tobacco gratis,” was so conspicu- ously displayed. The men were the poorest of the poor. Hanbury street is in the midst of registered common lodging houses, and unmistakably it is for the most needy of the lodgers that these “pleasant Sunday afternoon services” have attraction. A few were smoking when they came in, others carried a pipe in their mouths, but with the bowl inverted to denote its emptiness, while from many a ragged waistcoat pecket a protruding pipestem proclaimed the owner a candidate for the gratuitous distribution of the weed. They came trooping in to the number of 200 or more, of which two-score or so were women, who occupied side seats, and when it seemed that there would not be many more ar- rivals the gentleman who was to conduct the service, and who himself “blew a cloud” from a briar root, commenced to distribute tobazz0. It was done economic- ally. A quicker way would have been to hand to each smoxer a half-ounce packet, say, but the commonest “shag” costs 3s. 6d. a pound, and, it was stated, the fund for the purpose is at low ebb. The supply was contained In a bag, and each recipient was given enough to fill two pipes. Not that they had all come provided with pipes. A good many of the poor tatterdemalions, shcek-headed and with broken shoes, af- fected the more dandified luxury of a cigarette, and were prepared with a little beok of papers to make the same. By the time all were served, and plentiful wreaths of blue smoke were curling roofward, sev- eral ladies who were to assist in the service avere on the plaform, and the religious part of the proceedings began. First, there was a prayerful exhortation, and, though apparently it was attentively listened to, it was curious to see pipe bowls and tobacco smoke but half screened by the hand, while the eyes were reverently covered. Thon there was a hymn, in whicB the female portion of the congreg: tion joined, but not many of the men, it be- ing difficult, no doubt, to smoke and sing at one and the same time, though it must be said for them that they were as quiet and orderly as could be desired. But after that came what they evidently enjoyed more than all, and that was a hymn sung solo and with much sweetness by a lady who played as well. Probably they would not have ventured to appland it, but on the chairman (who still puffed en his briar) clapping his hands, they all followed suit with great vigor, their faces testif; to hcw much they were in earnest. 5 a chapter was read from the Bible, and, the chairman taking up the theme (it was the mi le of the six barley loaves and two small fishes), delivered a simple and excellent discourse on it that lasted half an hour. By that time the limited allowance presumably smoked out, and after 2 crowning hospitality of a cup of tea, with slices of bread and marmalaje for all who choose to partake of it, the proceedings came to an end, the congregation dispersing as decorously as apy that emerged from chureh or chapel that same Sunday after- noon. WILD BILL HICKOX BY ALFRED HENRY LEWIS. Written for The Evening Star. ILD BILL HICKOX WV was for a long time chief of scouts in my command.” It was a retired army officer who was talk- ing. He leaned hack in an arm chair at the Army and Navy Club- and became reminiscent, “Hickox got his nom de gucrre of Wild Bill at Independence, Mo., when he was about nineteea years old, This was some time late in the fifties, when Independence was the busy end of the Santa Fe trail. Hickox was a mule skinner, freighting to Sante Fe and back, and in some street fight which occurred in Independence, in which Hickox had no original interest, he conducted himself with such limitless valor and appeared so utterly reckless of results that he was ever afterward called ‘Wild Bill.’ “He was a natural born pistol shot and could shoot in the dark by ear. In fact, he could hit any object once he had lo- cated it, and he aimed a pistol by fashion of nervous instinct rather than by sight. He could hit a dime tossed in the air and shot with his left hand as well as he did with his right. He stood on Market Square on one occasion in Kansas City, just after the war, and with a pistol in each hand put twelve bullets in one of the O's in an ‘I. O. O. F.’ sign which was tacked to the third story of the building in the center of what was called Battle Row. He fired both pistols together and the twelve shots scunded like six. “The most remarkable exploit accredited to Hickox was after he had become Wild Bill and was keeper of a stage station somewhere out in Kansas on the Sante Fe trail. He had had trouble with a semi- outlaw by the name of Jake McCandias. McCandlas was one of the border fighters from Missouri and oecasionally raided through Kansas, while the border war was in progress, just before the sixties. He had it in for Wild Bill. “One day Wild Bill had gone over to visit the wife of a friend who had died. On his way he shot a wild turkey with his pistol and carried it along. While sitting talking with the lady, gut across the prairies he saw a band of men coming and knew them for the McCandlas gang b; ye cf the horses. His own horse, Diack Nell, was stcnding out in front of the heuse. Wild Bill realized that trouble was at hand. He directed the lady to go into a storm cellar, where she would be safe from stray bullets. A Hawkins rifle was hanging on the wall. ‘Is it loaded?’ asked Wild Bill of the widow. “She said it was. He took it down and then proceeded to load the empty chamber of his six-shooter, using a rough Plece of lead in Neu of a bullet. Then he barricaded the doors and windows. “Wild Bill Hickox is inside,’ Candlas, as he rode up. cuss’ horse, Black Nell.’ “There were eleven men In the McCandlas party. Their leader demanded that Wild Bill surrender. The latter jauntily applied some opprobrious epithets to McCandlas, and told him to come and get him. Mc- Candlas, who was dead game, ran at the window and came crashing in—glass, sash and all. He fired a shot just as he broke in the window, but missed Wild Bill. Mc- Candias fell on the floor and never got up, for Wild Bill shot him through the head with a rifle. The other ten all assailed the house at the same time with Mc- Candlas. They were breaking in windows on all sides and shooting as they came. “Wild Bill could never tell the details of the fight. He says he recollects killing six men with his six-shooter, with a rap- idity lke the ticking of a clock. He then drew a nine-inch bowle knife and suc- ceeded in slaughtering the last one of the eleven. When the corpses were collected one man’s arm had been broken in some fashion, either by a wrench which Wild Bill gave him—for he was a very powerful man—or from some accidental blow re- ceived from his own party. Wild Bul was covered with wounds, both from knife thrusts and lead. He was all but faint- ing at the wind-up, but managed to get the door open and staggered to a tub of rain water at the corner of the house to get a rink, “He fainted away and fell with his head in the tub, and would have undoubtedly drowned had it not been for the widow, who came out of the storm cellar and rescued him. They got Wild Bill over the several prairie miles to the Stage sta- tion, and that afternoon he was started for Kansas City on the stage. He was several months recovering, and was at- tended by a woman who still lives in Kan- sas City, “Wild Bill was, like many of his sort, a profound, remorseless gambler. It was ut- terly useless to talk of work or reputable employment to Wild Bill Hickox. Through the war he was a scout for the Union army. He had few convictions, but being born and bred {n Illinois, one of them was an intense antipathy to secession. It was thus he became a scout of ‘the Union army. After the war, wherein he achieved considerable fame for daring, energy and nerve as a scout, Wild Bill established himself at Springfield, Mo. It was there he killed Tutt, who had been chief of scouts in Price's army. “Tutt, Uke Wild Bill, was a gambler, and they often met, and while they were In no degree in love with each other, they managed to get along. Still, there were more men of Tutt's political convictions in Springfield who were on the shoot than there were of Wild Bill's. They made up their minds to run him out or kill him. He owed Tutt some money as the result of @ poker game. One night Wild Bill was playing poker with some parties. Tutt came up and stood looking on. Wild Bill’s gold watch was lying on the table near him. Just as Tutt came up Wild Bil won a jack pot with something like a hun- dred dollars in it. “You seem to be fivsh, Bill,’ said Tutt, in a half ugly tone. ‘Suppose you pay me that $40 you owe me.” “I owe you $0, said Wild Bill, ‘and here it is,’ turning over three ten-dollar bills to Tutt, who took it, put it in his pocket and then said, ‘Give me the other en.” “That's all I cwe you,’ said Wild Bill, ‘and you have got it.’ “Tutt picked up the gold watch that was lying at Wild Bill's elbow, with the re- mark, ‘Well, you still owe me ten, and I'll keep this watch till you pay it.’ He put the watch in his pocket and turned to go. Wild Bill took it very coolly and said noth- ing. Everybody was somewhat amazed, if not disgusted, at the tameness of this young Union scout. “Just as Tutt went out the door he looked back at Wild Bill with a sneer and the re- mark, “You don't seem to keer for this watch much, Bill. I’d supposed you'd have set more store by it. If you begin to feel like you need it, I am going to pack it across the square at ncon tomorrow, and you might be there and get it, if you know he said Mc- ‘I know it by the ow.” a “Wild Bill-made no reply to what was understcod by all present to be a challenge to a duel, and calmly went on with his poker game, while Tutt departed. That night Wild Bill was found by a friend at his hotel very earrestly cleaning and load- ing his pistols. “What are you going to do?’ asked the friend, who was an army officer stationed at Springfield. “TI am going to kill Tutt tomorrow said Wild Bill, ‘or he’s going to kill ™ “The army officer remonstrated, but Wild Bill was clear as glass and cool as ice. “It ain't no use,’ he said. ‘Tutt ana these people have put It up to run me out of town. Now, I ain’t goin’, and that means that I have got to fight. Tutt has seen tit to tap me for my game, and at noon to- morrow I'll be in front of the court house “The next day at noon about all = = i Si In the Tutt came into the square on the east side, while Wild Bill stood in front of the court house, diagon- ally acress one corner of the square from Tutt. were full 15 yards apart, and all the lines ran diagonal to the line of fire between them. I mention it because it makes Wild Bill's shot all the more re- markable. The minute Tutt came in view he pulied his pistol, as did also Wild Bill. ‘They were too far apart for Tutt, who had no idea that Bill could reach him at that distance. But he didn’t know Wild Bill. ————————} He raised his gun and fired like a flash, and Tutt dropped dead with a bullet in his head, and fully 150 yards away. “Wild Bill was so sure of his aim that he never paused, but whirled on the crowd behind him, several of whom were friends of Tutt, and had half drawn their pistols to revenge him. Wild Bill was too prompt and quick. He covered the gang in a gen- eral way with both his pistols, and re- marked, i_Was that on the square, gentlemen? ‘The effect of such witchlike skill on the nerves of the crowd was too much. They were completely subdued by it. The gen- eral view scemed to be that the killing of Tutt was ‘on the square,’ and that ended the business. Wild Bill stayed in Spring- field as long as he pleased after that. ‘Back in ’81 I met the man who was playing cards with Wild Bil when he was killed in the Black Hills. I forget the old fellow’s name, but at the time I met him he was captain of a Missouri river steam- boat, called the ‘Lady Lee,’ running be- tween Kansas City and St. Louis, The bul- let that killed Wild BIll struck the old cap- tain in the forearm, after passing com- pletely through Hickox's head. ‘The old captain told me when Wild Bill ‘as shot he was dealing the cards. ‘They were all playing poker at the time. His assassin shot him in the back of the head. The bullet crashed clear through and came cut under his eye, striking the old river pirate in the arm. Wild Bill never knew y him, and his taking off illustrates that aphorism of the Bible, ‘They that live by, the sword shall perish by the sword.” ‘The remarkable thing about it all was that, although Wild Bil was dealing the cards, and had not the slightest notice of the shot which took his life, yet when he was picked up off the floor, both his pistols Were in his hands, and one was cocked. Some medical man lecturing on latent im- pulses of the nerves mignt get a good lec- ture some time out of the fact that Wild Bill drew and cocked his Pistols after he was dead. —.___ More Highly Appreciated. From the Indianapolis Journal. He—“Woman is much more respected now than in the days of chivalry. In those times when a man went te war he locked his wife up in his castle, under guard of a duenna. That shows how much she was respected.” She—“Well, anyway, if she was not re- spected so much in those days, at least oe shows she was more highly appree clated. ——_-e+___ Has It Come to Thist From the Chicago Record. We hay boiled the hydrant water, wg nave, Sterilized the mil; fe have strais the prow! mi ‘Through the finest kibd of silk: We have bought and we have borrowed Every patent health device; = And at last the doctors tell us t we've got to boll the ice. eS The Inspector's Patent Desis From Fliegende Blatter. ‘When the inspector’s wife calls,