Evening Star Newspaper, August 17, 1895, Page 12

THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, AUGUST 17, 1895-TWENTY PAGES. TRACKS OF STORMS IN THE UNITED STATES. AUGUST WEATHER The Tracks of Storms for the Past Twenty Years, WHERE THEY ORIGINATE A Valuable Work Performed by the U. S. Weather Bureau. —_+ — —_ TWENTY-FOUR AUGUSTS Prepared by the U. S, Weather Bureau. The first vivid impression of any student on approaching the practical use of the Weather maps, as they present the seeming- ly endless forms and combinations ef the temperature and pressure lines, is one of confusion. This feeling is also sure to be attended by one of discouragement, and probably the impulse to abandon the task of seeking an underlying pian is more pow- erful to many persons than the incentive, which depends upon curiosity, to know what it all really means. The storms of the United States follow, year after year, a series of tracks, not ca- pricious, but related to each other by very well defined laws. The Storm Line. The positions of these tracks have been determined carefully for the United States j by studies made in the forecast division of the weather bureau, on the long series of maps that have been made during the past twenty years. The line that the central point of a high area or that the center of a storm makes in passing over the country from west to east is laid down on individ- ual charts, these are collected on a group chart, and from this the average ‘ine pur- sved can be readily described. The ac- ccmpanying chart shows the general result of a study of tracks of storms in the United States. It indicates that, in general, there are two sets of lines running west and east, one set over the northwestern boundary, the lake region and the St. Lawrence valley; the other set over the middle Rocky mountain districts and the gulf states. Each of these is double, one for the highs and one for the lows. Furthermore, there are lines crossing from the main tracks to join them together, showing how storms pass from one to the other. On the map the heavy lines all belong to the tracks for the highs, and the lighter lines to the lows, Let us trace them somewhat in detail. A high reaching the California coast may cross the mountains near Salt Lake, and then pass directly over the belt of the gulf states to the Florida coast; or it may move fur- ther northward, cross the Rockeys in the state of Washington, up the Columbia river valley; then turn east, and finally reach the Gulf of St. Lawrence. We may speak of the lower track as the southern circuit, and the upper as the northern circuit. These are located where they are by the laws of general circulation of the atmosphere and the configuration of the North American continent. This movement of the highs from the middle Pacific coast to Florida or to the Gulf of St. Lawrence is confined to the summer half of the year—April to Sep- tember, inclusive. In Winter. In the winter months, on the other hand, the source of the highs is dirferent, though they reach the same terminals. In the months, October to March inclusive, many highs enter the United States near the 115th meridian and flow south, along the Rocky Mountain slope, into the southern circuit, and thus reach the south Carolina coast; or else they turn more abruptly eastward and move in the northern circuit over the lakes | course, many instances occur in which it is hard to satisfactorily classify them. It is seen that wherever the storms may arise, whether in Alberta, on the Pacific coast, in Colorado, Texas, Mexico, or in the West Indian region, they all try, sooner or later, to leave the United States in the neighbor- hood of New England. This is evidently a sufficient explanution of the very variable and the extremely harsh weather that so peculiarly is the lot of that region. If all roads lead to Rome, all storms and weather tracks lead to New England. There are seen on the chart two other systems of lines (1), those marked one day, two days, three days, four days, and (2) that marked wave axis. The former shows the average position of the storms that come in from the northwest in successive days; that is, after one day it will be found on the Rocky mountain slope, in two days near the lower Missouri and Mississippi val- leys, In three days near the Appalachians, in four days decidedly over the ocean. The latter shows the middle frontage of the cold wave system as it comes down from the northwest in the winter season. ‘The August Storms. The sterms of August belong almost en- tirely to those of the above mentioned types, the Alberta, the Colorado and the West Indian. In ten years it was noted that elghty-three storms came into the field of the weather map in the month of August. Of these forty-two originated to the‘northward of Montana or in the north- western districts, and all of them moved eastward over the lakes and the valley of the St. Lawrence to the ocean, a few of them d'ssipating on the way. More than half the August storms begin and move aiong the northern cireutt, like beads on a String, with great regularity. The breadth of the track covered by them Is about 400 miles. This accounts for the fact that in the northern states the alternation of warm and cool days takes place with wave-like regularity, while in the southern states the temperature is almost uniform, though warm, week after week. The next Important place for August storms to come from is the state of Col- orado, and It is found that jn the same ten years twelve storms originated there, moved northeast over the lakes, joined the main branch in that district, and pursued their course eastward to the ocean. These Coloradé storms in summer are apt to be accompanied by the warm wave that seems to set in at the eastern base of the Rock- fes, and to gradually spread over the en- tire country to the Atlantic. ‘The third important system of storms are the hurricanes that arise in the trades of the tropics, move westward to the Gulf of Mexico, curve up northward and enter the United States in the lower Mississippi valley, or skirt the coast districts, or else keep off the shore in the neighbor- hood of the gulf stream. These storms move In parabolic shaped tracks, spread over a very wide belt In the latitude of the guif states, east and west, whence comes the chief uncertainty in forecasting thelr approach to the coast of the United States. Eventually they ad- vance to the seme point of departure, the gulf of St. Lawrence and Newfoundland. ‘Only seventeen other storms were ob- served in the ten years, 1834 to 1803, in- clusive, scattered over the country in a very desultory way. August storms travel at the rate of sixteen to twenty-six miles Fer hour or about 500 miles a day. The question of the rainfall attending these storms is too large to be taken up, but it ean broadly be stated that precipitaticn takes place to the east and south of the storm center. Much of the rain in Au- gust is sporadic, in the form of thunder- storms, and these seem quite as ready to form in connection with the high areas as in the low. This makes it much more difficult to satisfactorily forecast the time and place of these small local storms. The Hurricane Season. ‘The months of August, September and October make up the hurricane season, because these storms are almost unknown outside these months. Of*the twelve hur- ricanes referred to, five first appeared near the Windward Islands. Two of these recurved east of the Florida peninsula, two disappeared over the Gulf of Mexico, and one crossed Cuba cnd the Guif of Mexico in 1886, and upon arriving on the AVERAGE POSITION OF THE AUGUST STORM TRACKS. to Newfoundland. The chief difficulty in the art of forecasting is to decide from the current lines on a map which of these paths will be pursued, and then the probable rate at which the movement will take place. Where Storms Orizinate. The storms or low centers of pressure are strictly dependent for their life upon the highs, being in a word only the natural means of the disintegration of the highs, and the raising of the air by force against gravitation, from lower to higher levels in the atmosphere. The highs have two main places of entry into the United States, but the lows have at least six places of genera- ntrance upon our territory. First, a majority of our storms originate in the region north of Montana, in Alberta, and move eastward, while some make a lgop southward over the mountain slope before ining the northern circuit: second, a number appear on the North Pacific coast and eventually disappear over the Gulf of St. Lawrence, if they live so long; third, a generous number from near Colorado, 2p- parently influenced by the very high moun- ele’ talnous ations of that distri¢t, and usually the northern circuit near Lake Superior; fourth, the lower lands of Texas, catching the Gulf winds and mo’ generate a few storms each year, and the: miove northeastward over the ce al val- leys to the lower lake region, whence they proceed down the St. Lawrence valle} fr ; storms come in from the e st of the Gulf of Mexico, join the southern circuit, near the mouth’ of the ppi river, whence they usually pro- r the Gulf coast and then near the coast to join the great storms to the north and east of New England; sixth, the West Indian storms, or hurricane come in from the southeast near the 25th parallel, recurve northward and hug the Atlantic coast line to Nova Scotia, The Jumping-0f Place. These are the main tracks, though, of Texas -oast on the 20th, destroyed In- dianola; passing thence northwest this storm dissipated over the southern Rocky mountain region during the 2ist and 234. Two cyclones apparently originated near the Bahamas, one of which recurved north- eastward off the North Carolina coast, and the other reached the Louisiana coast and moved thence northeastwerd over the lower Mississippi and Ohio valleys, New England, and Nova Scotia. The remaining five cyclones appeared north of the West Indies and east of the 70th meridian. One of these reached the North Carolina coast August 2 1893, skirted the raiddle At- lantic coast, and crossed New England. Another was the destructive storm which devastated the south Atlantic coast on the 27th and 2Sth of August, 1895. The mechanism of these destructive storms is very interesting, but an account of it must be deferred till another month. The hot waves of August come from two sources. They orlginate in a mass of heated air on the Rocky mountain plains and gradually move eastward from there. On the other hand a high area settling over the south Atlantic and gulf states has the effect of charging the stagnant air with heat, as if the eastward circula- tion in the upper air was quite suspended. An August Reeord. The following is the record for Washing- ton, D. C., for twenty-four years: Mean or normal temperature, 74 degrees. Warmest month, 1892, average, 79 degrees, Coldest month, 1894, average 72 degrees, Highest temperature, August 13, 1881, 101 degrees. ~ Lowest temperature, August 24, 1890, 49 degrees. Average precipitation for August, 4.44 inches. Average number of days with .01 of an inch or more, 12. Greatest monthly prectpitation, 1875, 12.93 Inches. “ne jt monthly precipitation, 1892, 0.85 c) Greatest amount of precipitation recorded in any twenty-four consecutive hours, Au- gust 29, 1875, 2.84 inches. Average number of clear days, 10. Average number of partly cloudy days, 13. “Average number of cloudy days, 8. Prevailing winds have been from the south. The highest velocity, August 5, 1873, 53 miles, from the north. a HOW BEADS ARE MADE. An Interesting Process in Which the Chinese Are Expert. From the Chicago Resor. Chinese are the oldest bead makers in the world. They have made beads so long that even their historians do not mention a time when the industry was not ancient. And the Chinese today do the work Just as their forefathers did, and the styles are exactly the same. After the Chinese, no people are so expert as the Venetians. At present there are more than 1,000 workmen in the Island of Murano alone who are engaged in bead making. The few manufacturers in other parts of the world have all learned the secret of the craft in Venice. For bead making there must be a rope walk connected with the glass factory. A rope walk is a narrow, straight gallery about 150 feet long, and so situated that the middle is not far from the furnaces in which the glass is melted. The first process is the making of ordinary tubes like those used in almost every drug store. Two brawny workmen seize a huge wedge of the “metal,” as the molten glass is called, be- tween their blow pipes, and after it has been blown hollow they gradually stretch it out into a long, swinging rope When it has been reduced to the proper size for the beads about to be made, it is laid away to cool, after which a workman comes along and in a wonderfully deft manner chips it into fragments of uniform size. Often for small beads these are not much larger than a grain of wheat, but so carefully is the work done that little cylind- ers are rarely cracked or spoiled. The pieces are now picked up by boys and placed in a tub with sand and ashes and stirred up carefully. In this way the holes in the embryo beads are stuffed full, thus preventing the danger of the sides flatten- ing together when heat is applied. They are next placed in a skillet—just such a one as the hous2wife uses in frying eggs—and stirred over a very hot fire until the ragged edges where the pieces were broken from the tube are rounded, giving the bead a globular form. As soon as they are cool the ashes and sand are shaken out of them in a sieve, and then they are sep- arated according to size by other sieves. They are taken next to a long table around which a whole flock of boys and girls are sitting. If the glass is colored, as it often is, the piles of beads on the table suggest a rainbow, with every hue, from jet black, through red, green, yellow und blue to white. Each child has a needle and thread, and by long practice the beads are placed on strings with almost inconceivable swiftness. And the children keep an exact ccunt, too, so that the manufacturer knows just how many beads he is sending out. The threads are then tied into bundles. eS Interesting Bicycle Statistics. From the Cleveland Leader. One of the most prominent bicycle man- ufacturers in the United States says that there can be no truth in the reports cir- culated about a syndicate which is said to be preparing to make 400,000 wheels for next season to be suld at a very low price. He insists that money cannot pro- vide either the material or the men for such an addition to the output of bicycles from the factories already established. The limit of possible production he places at about 800,000 bicycles. It is safe to say that the figures given by this authority are within the truth. The indications are that the manufacturers of bicycles and parts of bicycles will outdo their fondest anticipations before mid- summer next year. Under the pressure of an almost unlimited demand, there is no telling at this time what may be accom- plished. The one thing sure is that the supply of bicycles will not much longer lag behind the requirements of the people who want to buy wheels. If the manu- facturers that now make all the tubing and other material used cannot furnish as much as is wanted, it will not be long before more concerns are in the business with ample resources of all kinds. Capital and enterprise will not keep out of so tempting a field. Inside of two years there will be plenty of bicycles to meet every demand, and the price of a good wheel will be much lower than it is now. But at the figures given by the manu- facturer who limits the production of wheels next year at 800,000, think what that means in the way of expenditure by the men and women who will buy and use them! It is safe to say that the riders of these 200,000 wheels to be made for the season of 1896 will pay an average price not lower than $60 or $%. The average may be higher. If the figure which ought to be taken is $62.50, then the total outlay for bicycles next year by the people of the United States will be $50,000,000. That means a dollar for every person in the country old enough to ride a bicycle and not too old to use a wheel. It is more than the combined incomes of all the Van- derbilts, all the Astors and all the Gould family, and the great bulk of the money paid for bicycles will come out of the pockets of the poor and people of moder- ate means. Such expenditures for a luxury, and the bicycle is certainly not a necessity, shows mest strikingly how comfortable the great bulk of the American people are. It is nensense to say that the wheels bought will be an Investment to save car fare. It is not often that a wheelman makes his bicycle more than pay for the repairs and incidental expenses which it entails, and as a rule the investment lasts for not more than two or three seasons. A pov- erty stricken people such as the Ameri- cans are said to be by demagogues could no more pay $9,000,000 for 800,000 bicycles in one year than they could make tours to Europe for pleasure. The prospects of the bicycle market are proof of general prosperity. They show how well the na- tion is getting on, and they leave no room for the stale charge that the profits of industry go only to a small number of rich people. If the army of cyclists continues to in- crease, the calamity howlers will take some bad headers when they tell crowds of hearty and cheerful owners of good ycles that they are all a race of pov- erty stricken and spiritless victims of op- pression. —______-e-___. Fighting One Fire for Forty Years. From the Halifax Herald. The commissioners appointed by the local government to inquire into the “history, causes and effect” of the coal mine fires of Pictou county have just finished taking evidence. The work of the commission was directed mainly to an investigation of the condition of the Foord pit. This mine has been on fire in one place or another since the 50's, and it is burning yet. Explosion after explosion has occurred, and many lives have been lost. When fire broke out in one place the miners resorted to another, sinking a rew shaft. To avoid the fire on an upper level, a shaft was sunk and coal taken out_on the level immediately below the fire. Soon the fire came through, and again the miners were driven out. Noth- ing that the owners could do availed to drive out the fire, and the splendid mine has been practically abandoned, though a little coal has been taken out on a level below a part that is on fire. The object of the commission is to learn whether some- thing cannot be done to save so valuable a property as the Foord pit. +o+—___ ‘Two Keys to Success. From the Shoe Trade Journal. Nothing will draw trade through your docrs quicker than attractive advertise- ments and a well-kept, clean and attractive store. As a Bicycle Agent. From the Slate, “Who Is the best bicycle agent in our town?” “I don't know, but I think Dr. Pellet must be. He recommends bicycle riding to all his patients.” eg A New Way. From Harper's Bazar. “I don’t understand this bill, Mr. Katerer. I do not remember ordering any ice cream from you.” “It was at Mrs. Watkins’ reception, ma’am. You and your daughters ate a quart. The Watkinses have been unable to pay the bill and I'm trying to collect it of those who really got the stuff.” THINGS HEARD AND SEEN “Keep a pushin’ and a shovin’,” is the motto of the knight of the present day who wishes to shbw ‘his lady honor. In- stead of buying ice crgam soda for her he calls in the evenit'gs “Armed with the hire of a bicycle for an bour and shows his prewess and devotion by holding his best girl om the machine nd at the same time propelling it from behind. A few nights ago the moonlight showed a procession of these couples; the girls fran- tically clutching the handle bar, the ma- chines wobbling in a manner suggestive of “jag,” while the perspiring lovers whis- pered words of encouragement. One girl, whose sailor hat had drifted off over her left ear, screamed out at Intervals: “I can’t keep my feet on the pedals, they slip off every time the wheel goes round.” ‘Nothing the mattér with the feet,” re- marked a passer-by. Next came the girl in the pink shirt waist, whose cavalier’s attire showed him to be a wheelman, indeed, for his knicker- beckers, cap and jacket were all the most correct shape, and, if the supporting caives left something to be desired, it was not the fault of sir knight. “It will be so sweet when we can take a spin together on lovely nights, like this,” she twittered, just as she got within ear- shot, and her enamored companion let go the machine for a second to give her hand a responsive squeeze, and over the trio Went in the gutter. When they picked themselves up the Pink Shirt Waist de- cided “‘she didn’t think she wanted to ride any more tonight,” and they passed around the corner, both ‘shoving. _Then there came by the long-suffering youth whose sweetheart’s mother “wanted to try it,” and so, in spite of her gray hairs, she had hoisted herself into position, and with a do-or-die expression on her face, was being pushed gingerly along by her victim, while her daughter walked gloomily alcngs‘de, as though she were conscious of losing both lover and ride through “ma’s giddiness.”* Then came a party of four, the girls hat- less and enthusiastic, interspersing their exclamations of “Isn’t this just too love- ly?” and “It's the next thing to flying,” petty poneaa when the bicycle wobbled, ea extra lures. Ppeals to be taken off at an “Don't be afraid, I've got hold of yo replies one youth, and the other wio is pos- sibly surer of his fate, says under his breath. “Don’t act like such a fool, I'm not golng to let you go over.” It’s my turn now" is the next sound from the middle of the street, and an ex- change is made whereby a touseled but tri- umphant rider gives place to an eager as- pirant, and after repeated adjurations to x my skirt” and “tell me if I’m all right,” during which the cavalier stands in the at- titude of Ajax defying the lightning, with a firm grip on: the bicycle, these seekers af- ter happiness and heat disappear. Society may not learn to ride in just this way, but if it don’t {t misses lots of fun. “I do not think,” remaked the wife of a Prominent official recently, in talking over some of the events. of last winter, “that I ever had my democratic principles flung in my face with such force ag at that last re- ception at the Whi s i s pcorne te House during the past “You remember?” she went on to sa “that the President was particularly an. xious that the reception to the general pub- le should not fall short in any respect of its predecessors, and every one who was to assit In receiving hada quiet suggestion to that effect made to Her. I wore one of my newest and prettltést'gowns and found, as I always do, great pleasure in seeing ‘and greeting the neverénding throng of faces. Finally among the crowd there loomed up down by the door of the red room a countenance whici P'felt sure I had seen before, and under: Very different cireum- stances. It came nearer and nearer, with the ever-increasing impression of distinct acquaintanceship, until, as she paused to take the President's' hand, it came upon me with a flash, ‘it’s my cook.’ “She passed by the glo¥ies of the President and Mrs. Clevelnnd without blinking, but when she saw me'she threw a glance over her shoulder, meditating retreat. But that was impossible; “so with a deprecating glance, as though Bpélogizing for the awk- ward position, sHe hurried past, to my great amusement,’ the unfettered exponent of liberty, equality and’ brotherhood.” The question under discussion on the front steps of an uptown house the other evening was: “What must a girl do when she sees a friend coming out of a saloon? Shal! she speak to him or pass him by as though she knew him not?’ One girl ar- gued that this hot weather a man should have the benefit of the doubt, and it should be assumed that he had just gone in for a cooling draught. 5 “But why not go to a drug store and drink soda water?’ and a young innocent on the top step settled that. “Well, I thought I had settled in my mind that men oughtn’t be spoken to under such circumstances,” said the girl in white organdie; “but the other day I was forced to break through my rule. I was going down the avenue, and as I turned the cor- ner I saw a man I krew very slightly com- ing out from behind a swing door, with an expression of profound comfert on his face. As I had only met him once or twice, I thought I would have no difficulty in not seeing him as we passed; but as I drew nearer, hls companion, who I had not seen before, took his hat off with a most auda- cious flourish, and, as he was a man I could not pretend not to know, there I was speaking to two reprobates, instead of snubLing one.” Soda water for the porchful was the re- sult of this confession. Another porch party a few evening later was trying to find relief from the stifling heat by an animated comparison of notes on German philogophical thought, of which most of the members of the group had made a study during the past winter. “The best thing I have read on the sub- ject,” said Thinker No. 1, “is Kant." “I guess you must mean ‘Don’t’ mur- t™mured a brown-eyed lassie, who was evi- dently more interested in wondering why Charlie had not put in an appearance than in the concentrated wisdom of the ages. There was an indignation meeting held in one of the downtown departments not long ago, when the clerks of a certain division were called on to help pay the funeral expenses of a former co-worker. “I wouldn't mind chipping in so much,” sald one kicker, “If I had not begged that man for the past three years to become a member of our beneficial association, which would have guaranteed to his widow 3300 for actual needs the very day of his death.” “That's so,” spoke up another, “and be- sides that he got $2,000 a year, and I think a man with such a salary should be ashamed to depend upon 25-cent contribu- tions for decent burial.” The result of this outburst was that the association received several new members, who, up to that time, had expected to live forever. A fashionable woman who has a hand- some home on K street advertised for a competent housemaid a few weeks ago. Among the many Who applied in answer was only one who was at all promising in looks. She was,a Small and very black girl. After examining her references and questicning her .the lady concluded she wanted her. She asked the maid's name. “Mary,” she promptly replied. “But Mary fs my cook’s name, and I'll have to call you, something else,” said the mistress. : “Very well, then use my full name; it is- Virgin Mary. They compromiged’on “Virginia.” It was a very hot Sunday morning, and an old gentleman, a wealthy member and pewholder in an uptown Catholic church, thought he would go to mas$ in another church nearer home. Arriving early, he walked down the mid- dle aisle to a pew that was open and seated himself comfortably. While gazing around the edifice and thinking there was more of the homelike feeling than in his own a lady came down the aisle. She stcpped at the pew door and he gal- lantly cpened the door and stepped out to allow her to enter. Th2 good lady with a pious air bent her knee and entered the pew, promptly clos- ing the door behind her. The old gertl2man, scmewhat abashed for a moment, recovered himself quickly. He quietly reached over and got his hat. Mass had not yet begun, so he bent over and said in an audible but very courteous t jadame, you can keep me out of your pew, but you can’t keep me out of heaven.” ‘And with a bow he v-alked to a back seat and went through his devotions, utterly unconscious that he had startled the whole front part of ihe church. There is a lawyer in town who had some extra fine whisky sent him by a New York club man. One day the cook, an old family servant, was caught in a pad rain storm, and got a drenching. The lawyér’s wife, with her natural kindliness, went to the last bottle of whisky and poured out a modest drink. The old colored woman eyed it dubiously. “"Deed, Miss Mary, if you want dat er drink to keep me from takin’ cold, you bet- ter fill it up. 'The lady poured some more in, and know- ing the old woman was not opposed to taking a ‘wee nippee,” told her she had never drunk such fine stuff in her life, and she had better drink it slowly. ‘The woman took it. In this case, instead or going down like velvet, it went down like water. Not even a shiver accompanied it. Then the old wonien looked sympathiz- ingly at her young mistress. “Lor, Miss Mary, you don’t call dat fine whisky. George dun got some at home dat's lots finer'n dat. Why, when I takes it, it burns my throat and then my s:om- ach, and then it seems to burn all over, till I thinks I bus’ wide open. Dat’s fine whisky; and a convulsive shiver went through the old woman at the recollection of it. She'll get no more five-dollar-a-gallon whisky in that house. A young weman well known made an after-dinner call on a young married couple the other evening. It proved to be a most novel visit. The servant said they were “upstairs, just come right up.” There being nothing unusual in their being upstairs, she promptly ascended. ‘The servant took her up and up. When they reached the attic stairs the young woman began to be frightened and thought the servant had turned lunatic. But she smilingly volunteered the information that they were on the roof. The young visitor stepped out, and a novel sight met her ey It was an ordinary level tin roof, but a pretty wooden fence had been put all around it. In one corner was a mass of growing flowers, with the awning drawn back from them. Pretty matting rugs were spread under each easy chair. A wicker table had a pitcher of cool lemon- ade, a plate of dainty cake, a box of Huy- ler’s candy and a box of cigars. ‘There were her friends, each in a favorite easy chair, with books and papers. Indeed, it was an ideal porch scene, and very much cooler than the average porch. The young wife says she just had to fix up some comfortable spot out of doors, as she didn’t propose to go off to the moun- tains and leave her husband behind. One of the returning signs of good times, as announced by a man whose business it Is to deal in statisties of commerce and trade, was the increased trade in to- bacco. Tobacco, he says, always shows the first sign of returning prosperity. This may be accounted for in the fact that la- boring men and others who are out of em- ployment economize by using less tobac- co or giving it up entirely, and resume again when they secure employment or se- cure increased wages. The man who ob- rves this tobacco sign says that there are good times approaching abroad as well as in this country. Amateur photography has got to be a reat fad now, and it is no uncommon thing to find that about every tenth man and twentieth woman indulges in the amusement to more or less extent. Quite a number of army and navy officers are more or less dabblers in the picture-taking art. At least one of the engineer officers of the army illustrates his annual report of river and harbor improvements by use of the camera, and he shows, more- over, that he has become an accomplished artist. Pictures by naval officers of the scenes they visit are not uncommon, and several officers have a pictorial history of their different voyages. ——— A BRAVE SOLDIER. His Modest Description of a Scene Where His Gallantry Was Conspicuous “In view of the fact that you have smelled the smoke of battle,” said a Star writer to a retired army officer, proffering him a cigar, “you won’t be afraid of this killing you.” “Oh,” be said, as he took It, “so long as it isn’t a cigarette I can stand it. But, as I was saying,” he went on, “the oddest speci- men of a soldier I ever knew was Private Jack Scudder, a member of my company when I was a leutenant during the first year of the war. Jack was a stubby little chap, illiterate and satisfied with it, and slouchy and lazy and glad of it. We were doing Virginia in those days and fighting was frequent, and I noticed that whenever there was a skirmish anywhere in sight Jack was likely to be there. One day after we had been at it for several months about twenty of our men were caught on a rocky knoll by a battalion of cavalry from the other side and there was shooting at once, but our men couldn’t stand the odds, and out of their hiding place they came and away they Went, all except Jack; he re- mained hid up among the boulders and kept right on with his fireworks. The cav- alrymen couldn't get up to him without dis- mounting, and he banged away with such fatal results at one or two who tried it that they backed away to get a new start, Jack in the meantime dropping one or two mcre of them and firing so fast that they couldn't tell just how many men might be up there to meet them in case they made an assault. While they were dallying about it a regiment of bluecoats hove in sight and the battalion of grays skedaddled, and Jack came down to meet his rescuers. Every- body had seen the fight, and when Jack got back to camp Je was the hero of the hour, and I was for making a corporal of him. 1 called him up to have a little private talk with him before taking active measures in his behalf and he routed me worse than he had routed the enemy. ““Are you aware, Jack,” said J, ‘that you did a very brave thing in that fight this afternocn?’ “What fight, lieut’nant?” hé responded. ‘Don't be so modest,’ said I; ‘you know what fight.’ “‘You mean the half fight, don't you, lieut’nant? Them rebs didn’t fight. Only blueccats fit.’ ‘Well, none of them did, but you.’ Is that so? I wuzn't noticin’.’ ‘Didn't you know they all ran away and left you there alone?” «Well, I noticed I felt kinder lonesome.” “That's all right, Jack,’ said I, getting to the point. ‘You did as brave an act asa soldier could do, and I want you to be re-, warded for it.’ What did I do, lieut'nant?” ‘ou didn't run away, as the others did, when you would have been perfectly justi- fled in doing exactly as they did.’ “Jack chuckled as though something funny bad occurred to him. “Why, lieut’nant,’ he said, ‘that wasn’t bravery. There wuz a lot of huckleberries up there jist in reach of where I wuz layin’, among the rocks in the sunshine, and I wuz jist too dern lazy to run.” -“T knew there wasn’t much chance after that to do anything with Jack,” said the officer in conclusion, “but I proposed cor- poralship to him as a slight token of es- teem, and it seemed to disturb him and hurt ‘his feelings so that I gave i: up as a bad job.” — A JIncket Bodice.- Here is such a pretty fancy for a jacket bodice. The bodice material is of pale green changeable silk, the kind that has a yellowish sheen. Over this is laid fine sheer embroidered mull, in the shape of an epauletted cape, under-arm pieces and a band of insertion down the back and front. ‘the lower part of the silk sleeves is striped with the insertion. You can see for your- self that it is most lovely, and the ruffle about the bottom of the waist is the that gives it an up-to-date appearan krow that all the new blouses are to have tails. Awfully unbecoming to a stout fig- ure, but really the thin girl must have her inning. —— Took the Paper Regularly. From the Portland (Me.) Argus. One of our popular physicians, who has had considerable trouble about getting his Argus mornings, and who fs cbliged in con- sequence to procure it at The Argus office himself, rather than run nis chances of having it stolen from his house, said that Lis door bell rang early the other morning, evidently by the habitual rounder, as he coolly asked the servant girl, who answer- ed the ring, for the paper, a6 he “did not zee it lying around anywhere.” = jE, ae, FIRST-CLASS OR NOTHING. How an Irate Soldier Refused an Of- fice From Secretary Stanton. One of the officials of the Post Office De- partment was at the breaking out of the rebellion a typo in a little country news- Paper office in Vermont, the home town of ex-Postmaster General, afterward Senator, Jacob Collamer. He left his stick on his case and carried a musket in the first regi- ment which went from that state in the spring of 1861, and after three years and more of continuous service, was badly wounded in May, 1864, and brought to Stan- ton Hospital in this city. Two or three months later, when he had become able to walk around, he met Senator Collamer on Pennsylvania avenue one morning and said that as he had served over three years as a soldier, he thought he would like a clerk- ship in the War Department, that office be- irg the Mecca toward which the eyes of all aie men clerically inclined were direct- ed “I am going up to see Secretary Stanton new,” said the Senator, ‘and think I can arrange matters for you without difficulty.” The civil service commission was not a stumbling block in the way of -persons anxious to serve their country in the de- partmental line in those days, sv the Sena- tor and the soldier visited the great war Secretary. Past a long line of brigadiers, colonels and majors waiting for an au- dience Senator Collamer led his printer- sacs, and reaching the august presence, said: ‘Mr. Secretary, this is my young friend, Mr. Blank, who was a good printer up in my Green mountain home, has been a good soldier since the commencement of the war and I know he will make a first-rate department clerk. I want him to have a good place—not a second or third-rate ap- pointmen The Secretary smiled good-naturedly—he could afford to be good-natured, for Col- jamer was then a presidential possibility— and thought he might be able to find just the kind of place needed. “Come here at 10 o'clock tomorrow morn- ing, Mr. Blank, and we'll see what can te fcund,” he said. The soldier walked out with a light heart, and waited impatiently about like that other little lamb, making kis appearance at the Secretary’s door the next morning rromptly as the clock in the hall struck 10. Nothing had been found, however, by the Secretary, and the waiting son of Mars was told to call at the same hour the next morning. He did so, and continued to call every morning for a week. Finally, dis- heartened, ill-humored and tired, he called one morning and found Maj. Brezk, the chief clerk, standing at the Secretary's desk. “Anything turned up yet, major?” queried the soldier, in a tone that reflected his ex- pectation of the usual disappointment, and he was agreeably surprised at receiving from the major a document inclosed in one of the official envelopes of the department. Stepping to a window, he opened the pa- pers and found he had been appointed to a second-ciass clerkship in the office of the adjutant general. Long waiting and continued disappoint- ments had made him snappish and irritable, and the thought that flashed through his mind was: “If Senator Collamer’s influence isn’t sufficient to get me a first-class clerk- ship, I won't have anything,” and the pa- pers were torn into shreds in a flash and thrown spitefuily into the waste basket, the irate soldier stalking out of the room. leaving behind him a very much astonished chief clerk. Long years afterward, while working in a printing office in one of the western states, the printer stumbled across the information that a second-class clerkship in the depart- ments was two hundred dollars better than a first-class, and the large-sized, long- drawn sigh which gurgled up from the region of his boots ended with an explosive beginning with a large D, as the handful of types he was distributing squabbled in the space box. —_—_.__ WHAT HE WAS THERE FOR. An Enthusiastic Soldier Who Wanted to Put Down the Rebellion. “When the war was on,” remarked an ex-Congressman to a Star writer, “and I felt pretty sure that it was to be no ninety- day affair, I went to work to recruit a company and see what I could do toward settling it. I lived in a community whose men were as willing to take a few risks in that line as myself, and it wasn’t any trouble at all to pick up enough men for a company. I had any number of enthus- iasts in my command, but one boy about sixteen years old had more enthusiasm than all of us combined. He wasn’t very handsome and he wasn’t very xood, but he was full of hurrah, and that was what was wanted,because I felt that hard times were before us and all the surplus effer- vescence would be worked off as soon as we got into the field. This particular young fellow I thought would be about the first to cave, for he talked like a man that was mcre mouth than sand, and I can’t say that I had much confidence in him, except for temporary purpcses. Well, I got the company to- getker in short order and it wasn’t very long until we were crdered to the front with the regiment. One night, shortly af- ter we got into fighting country, we came within range of the Johnnies They were somewhere on the other side of a small stream, with a bridge over it, and my com- pany was sent forward to protect the bridge. As we moved forward there was no sign of the enemy, and we didn’t ex- pect him for a mile, at least, when sud- denly we sprung him in a clump of woods not 300 yards in front of us. I threw my men into line of battle at once to storm the woods, for it was not big, and I knew that not any more men than I had could be hidden there, and I was at that time ready to fight four or five times as many men as I might meet. I waited, however, for some sign before making a move, when all at once a long line of light shot out from the woods and the bullets spatter- ed all around us and two or three of my men went down. This had a cooling ef- fect, and I concluded it was not my time yet to charge, so I let the boys return the fire. They did it with a will, too, and in a very short time the woods were still and the enemy had got out. I ordered my men to cease firing, and the order was obeyed, except as to one man down about the mid- dle of the line, who kept banging away, re- gardless. I spotted him and made a rush caown his way. Se you blamed fool,’ I exclaimed, ‘what do you mean by firing? Didn’ hear the order to cease?” bi “It was my young enthusiast about five paces in advance of the line, and he bang- ed fWhat ue and dropped his gun. ae lo you mean by th: getting hot. ake “Excuse me, cap.,’ he responded with easy familiarity of the volunteer, but J'ined this army to put down the rebellion, and, dod bob my skin, if I ain't goin’ to do it as scon as I can, and right here, too, if you give me half a chance,’ and he pull: ed up his gun and I had to threaten him with my sword before I could quiet him. It wasn’t a bravado, either,” concluded the captain, “for the first man to fall had dropped dead at his feet in the rank in front of him, and what is more, it hadn't been an hour before the scrap that the man killed and the young fellow had had a squabble for the place in the front rank held by the man who went down.” £ ———— FADS IN MANNERS. Men Do Not Offer Their Arm to Dinner Partners, A right pretty custom has been revived abroad, a Star writer is informed, which will probably strike Americans hard, just as did the boil under the arm business. Men no longer offer their arm to ladies in handing them from dining to drawing room, but grasp the tips of the fair partner's fingers and lead them away, just as they used to do in the time of the Louises. Of course, it fs a fad that will make mn ap- pear extremely awkward unless they prac- tice it a good deal, but perhaps that will just suit the women; they will seem that much more graceful by contrast. Another innovation that will cause heart- burn among those women who can nev. hope to do it nicely, to say nothing of gracé fully, is the “curtsey.” It is really an ac- complished fact in the smart set abroad, but it does not seem possible that it can be adopted here without loss of dignity. At one of the state receptions at the White House last season a youthful bud who had been “abroad” and was much imbued with old world fads, essayed the “‘curtsey” as she passed down the line, but :hose who were looking on laughed outright, and those who were in the crowding, pushing, scrambling line behind her walked on her gown so when she got to Mrs. Carlisle in the line she gave it up, and bowed like a well-bred American girl to the others. ABOUT SEA SERPENTS. Dr. Theodore Gill Doubts Whether There Are Giant Species. “Is there such a thing as a sea serpent?"* Yes, indeed, there are many species of sca serpents well known to naturalists.” ‘fhis was the answer given yesterday by Dr. Thecdore Gill, the eminent naturalist of the Smithsonian, to the question above repeated. Dr. Gill is known in scienti‘lc circles as the highest American authority en fishes and other creatures of the sea. He is quoted in all of the world’ jtandard works on ichthyology, besides having writ- ten numerois volumes himself devoted to that particular branch of his life-study. He has given much attention to sea ser- pents, and has revealed many Interestiag facts concerning them in his writings and lectures. “So you place credence in the many sta‘e- ments lately come to hand concerning the appearance of the monster sea serpent in Long Island sound?’ “I do not by any means. As soon as I read the accounts of the large snake found at Blackwell's Island I told several fellow members of the Cosmos Club that it was a large python, or rock snake. There are 1.0 monster sea serpents. There is no animal of gigantic size now living in the see which could be properly classed“as a serpent or even a reptile. There is, however, an abundance of sea serpents in the eastern seas and along the Pacific coasts of tropi- cal America. “There are enough of them in these parts to annoy and threaten the lives of sailors who frequ2nt the waters, but they are very small creatures, as compared with the sea serpents which we read about in popular literature. Most of these are known to scientists as hydridae, which means sea snakes, or, if you like, sea serpents. Thov include numerous families inhabiting the salt water estuaries and tidal streams of the Indian and Pacific oceans, from Mada- gascar to the Isthmus of Panama.” “Some of them are as much as twelve feet long. They are very poisonous, and I have heard that a sailor, once bitten by one, dicd within an hour and a quarter. They have conspicuously small heads and bodies, somewhat like the land snakes, but partica- larly thick in their hind half, and very compressed and flat, or oar-like, at the tail. They live entirely in the sea, and when thrown upon shore are helpless and almost blind. These sea serpents are fre- quently seen in great numbers swimming close to the surface of the water. “But is it not possible that there are giant animals of this kind roving the seas which have not yet been found by scientists?” “Yes, there is a possibility, but no proba- bility, that such an animal still exists. It is possible that a giant selachian may be found related to the frilled shark of Japan. ‘This would have an eel-like body, fin back of the head, and if very long would agree to some extent with descriptions of the ‘great sea serpent.’ As a matter of fact, there was discovered not many y a small snake-like shark, resembling tht gray sharks found in the Pacific. This wou'd have an eel-like tail and a fin extend- ing from the back, behind the head. “Then there are also the ancient zeuglo- donts, with their long tails and horizontal caudal fins, like those of the whales. It may be that one of these with a long neck still exists, having outlived his ancestors of millions of years ago. Duriag the geologi- cal period known as the eocene tertiary, which was many millions of years back, there were living in the seas zeuglodonts somewhat resembling serpents. Some ‘of these were perhaps nearly forty or fifty feet long, but none of them could swim in the water with vertical undulations or be adorned with the mane, both of which are associated with the mythical monster, But, as I said, all of this is a mere possibility, according to the laws of nature. There is no probability that any one will ever enjoy the sight of any of these ‘possibilities.’ “Now. suppose a summer tourist or su- perstitious mariner should catch sight of @ giant basking shark, such as inhabits the north seas? These often measure more than thirty feet in length. It is frequently the case that they travel in pairs, one following the other. The front portion of one and the hind portion of the other of these ap- pearing above the water at the same thne would be sufficient to scare any unsuspect- ing qbserver. I remember hearing Prof, Simon Newcomb, our eminent astronomer, telling how he once thought he saw the veritable sea serpent off Cape Ann. But the supposed monster resolved Itself into @ school of porpoises, one following the othe er.” —_>__. CURE FOR WILD OATS. It Might It Worked in One Case in Others. The Star man was talking to an acquaint- ance the other day, when a young fellow, who has blown in the bulk of a fortune on himself, and is liable to finish it before many moons, passed by, just a little too heavily leaded to be comfortable. “See that young chap?” said the man. “Yes, and it’s a pity about him, too, Nice fellow, and with good abilities, if he would only use them as he should.” “Very true, and he isn't too old to be cvred, if he went about it right.” “If you've got a cure for that sort of thing, and will get it patented, you will be a millionaire before the year is out.” “I can't say I’ve got a cure, but I know of one now in course of experiment.” He didn’t go right ahead, and The Star man nudged him with a question. “What ts it, and where is it?” he asked. “Well, I needn't tell you just that, but Tl tell you what it is. I happen to know @ rich man with a relative who is just such enother chap as the one we have talking about, only more so. That is say, he was that kind, but isn’t now. He was quick and bright, and had a good nose for business, but he would spend money, and rot make any effort to acquire it. Hé had about $50,000 left to him when he wag twenty-one, and he went through it like a train through a tunnel, and then fell back on his uncle, or step-uncie rather, and the old man had him on his hands. He be- came utterly worthless, and was drunk and in trouble all the time. One day, however, he had a sudden attack of common sense, and he braced up and stayed that way for a month. “Then he went to his uncle and made a proposition to him. This pro; ition was to the effect that if the old gentleman would take an insurance policy on his life for $30,000, and let him have $10,000 on it to go into business with, he would guar- antee to pay the $10,000 back, with the Premium, and assume the policy himsel! within five years. If he failed he woul commit suicide, and the old man would make $20,000, less the premiums, which, he thought, was a fair percentage on the in- vestment. It looked to the uncle some- thing like murder, but he thought there was no other way to cure him, so he took the young man up, and the experiment has now been in operation two years, and up to this time the young fellow has been as straight as a string, and is $7,000 io the good, which he has Set aside for emergen- cies, and is going ahead making just as much more as he can. The old man is so pleased about it that I don't believe he will ask the boy—he’s nearly thirty—to fulfill the contract -at the end of five years, in case he shouldn’t have the full amount in his clothes just at that time.” “Where did you say the young man lived?" inquired The Star in. “I didn't say Washington,” he replied. ——.—_—_ More Frequent. From Life. Five-dollar bills and ten-dollar bills Are things I don’t cften see; But four-dollar bills and nine-dollar bills Are presented quite often to me. But not so very.—Truth,