Evening Star Newspaper, June 5, 1897, Page 12

HER FIRE LADDIES Alexandria Boasts of a Well-Equipped Department. COLUMBIA ENGINE HAS A RECORD One Machine Was Purchased by General Washington. RECORD OF THE COMP. = NIES The handling of the recent disastrous fire in Alexandria reflects great credit en the nembers of the volunteer fire department, who so g: ntly fought it to a finish, and recalls the fact that for a city of 21,000 in- habitants, Alexandria has one of the best and most completely equipped fire depart- ments in the country. There are only seven paid men in the service, and all the balance. about fifty men to each company, are volunteers. and report at every general alarm. Several times has the Alexandria fire €epartmert been called upon to assist the v ington fire department in disastrous conflagration, and it has always re- spended, to a man, with great pleasure. This was particularly noticeable at the o'd patent office fire, when the Alexandria department did such effective service, and was se highly complimented by the chief of the Washington fire department. Alexandria has two steam fire engines in service, the Columbia and Hydraulion, each of which has one paid engineer and driver, and driver for hcse wagon, and one hook and Iacder company, of which the salary of the driver ts paid by the city. The bai- ance of the men, in all three of the com- ponies, are volunteers, and turn out promptly at every alarm. The Company Records. To write a full description of each and every apparatus and company would re- quire tco much space, but a brief mention of each organization, it is thought, will In the first place, the Co- a Steam Fire Engine Company has a markable record, so far as its en- | hampton No. 4,” is concerned. The Columbia holds the ‘world’s throwing wate i. three other contes certainly thirty-four ever twent ars ago the city council of Alexand inted a ccmmittee, cen- sisting of S. Leadbeater, James Rector Smoot and James Coleman, to go to Phila- hia and negotiate fer the pu e of steum fire engine. On its return the com- nittee submitted a report. showing that a No. 1 steamer, with soo feet of hose on r could be Lought very cheaply ntageous terms. ity council accepted the terms, and which was known as “Co- " was brought to Alexay Joseph H. Young, now de n charge of her at the and ina few days two strong rket house steeple, one The © of by “firemen in love” as one of t idetphia was cor: of it. New Company Organized. 1 the ‘al of the engine in the city Alexandria it became necessary to or- ize 2 r fire company at the ion of Col. M. D. Ball, z num- f applicants for membership met at with Mr. William Kilgore in the chair. Mr. e new | | | Steam Fire as adopt engine w the beard of fire warden turned over to r ‘s were elected March 1871, as ident, Willlam Kilgore: first D. A. Windsor: second vice D. Ball; treasurer, 3 E secretary, A. S. Marshall, and the committee was chosen from among the best citizens of Alexandria. meeting a uniform for the com- asisting of black trousers, Balti- men’s helmet and belt, company and personal name on gray shirt, with trimmings and company number on the front, and each member to wear a black cravat. It did not take long to get the company fully equipped, and it went into service the first time on the occasi the now famous market house fire. The remarkabie feature about the Colum- Dia engine is its ability to throw water from a cold gauge a required distance in the quickest time, having won the ti ‘champion of the world” at Grange Camp, -n the remarkable feat ed of throwing a stream 155 feet. with 4 water in the boiler, in G6 minutes and & seconds. H Next Rest Showing. The nearest approach to this record was made by an engine company at the Chicago tion, which came within eleven sec- of the time made by the Columbia. nother contest, held at Frederick, Md., : seven engines entered the and the Columbia won first prize in inutes and 10 seconds. The ru governing this last contest prescribed that €ach engine should carry one gauge of cold Water, lay a line of hose of 150 feet, and play to water stake set at a distance of 150 Zeet from the nozzle. Water was drawn from a creek through 19 feet of suction ion of hese, and, as state Columbia won the first prize, throwing an inch stream 180 feet, or 30 feet more than the required distance. The next test was at Hagers- town, Md., June 14, 1804, where the Co- lumbia again won first prize, throwing an inch stream 163 feet in 7 minutes and 57 Beconds. The most recent test was June 11, 1806, at Cumberland, Md., when the Columbia won first prize against all competitors, throwing water 193 feet, under the same circumstances, in 7 minutes 1 1-4 seconds. ‘Tne Columbia, which ts noteworthy as a feature of her record, was built by the Amoskeag Company of Manchester, N. H., March, 1863, or over thirty-four years ago. It is today, to all intents and purposes, in as sood condition and as serviceable as it ‘was the day it was made, and thts {s due in a large measure to the care taken by Engt- neer William Wood, who {s an expert ma- ehinist. and who has been assiduous in keepimg the engine tn first-class condition, the company being justly proud of her many handsome performances. Mr. Wood, the engineer, was born in 186%, a became a member of the Columbia Steam Fire Engine Company in 1878. He was an active volunteer, filling the posi- tion of pipeman, and as fireman of the en- gine, until he was elected by a unantmous ‘vote of the company to the post of engi- meer to succeed Mr. Loudoun Campbell,who had resigned to accept more lucrative em- ployment. Mr. Wood {is quite a popular man, besides being very efficient, and his connection with the Columbia, and also in the prize contests, has been of great benefit to the company, and has given the engine the rank of champion. Of course"an engineer cannot successfully fun an engine without a first-class fireman, @nd in this position in the various contests Mr. Frank L. Entwisle has served, and to him is due a large share of the cred- it. Mr. Entwisle has been an active volun- teer fireman for twenty-five years. He be- came a member of the Hydraulion Com- pany at the age of sixteen, and was shortly made fireman under Mr. Joseph H. Young, which place he retained until he was elect- ed foreman. He held that position for two years, when he resigned from the Hydrau- lion and was elected to the Columbia in 1887, where he has since served as fireman, first’ undee Mr. Loudoun Campbell, and Engincer Wood since under Mr. Wood. Mr. Entwisle has fired at all of the contests at which prizes were won. The company now has a membership of about seventy-five, all handsomely uniform- ed and well disciplined. It will, June 9, go to Annapolis, Md., to attend the annual meeting uf the Maryland State Firemen’s Associatica, during which time the Colum- bia will enter the water throwing contest, though from what has been heard on the subject it will have little or no opposition. The people of Alexandria believe that, as usual, the Columbia will return with first houors. Hydranlion Fire Company. The Hydraulion Steam Fire Engine Com- pany, which equals the popularity of the Columbia, is another volunteer organiza- ticn which is always ready and willing to be present whenever there is any ne- cessity for its attendance at a fire. As a rule, the members arrive promptly on the scene, and there is but little difference, if any, usually, in the time of arrival of both of the engines. The Hydraulion was the first steam engine ever brought to this city, and, for « number of years, until tne arrival of the Columbia, had things prac- tically under ts own control. They were well disciplined, handsomely uniformed. and aiways ready to fight fire, no matter what migat be the danger incurred. Tne organization has been kept up through the entire period, and foday presents as cred- itable an appearance, and do as effictent reman Entwisle. . of necessity, as any partment in the state. The service in tt volunteer fire ¢ ; members wade through fire, water and m without considering their persons. <= + 106, have a competent engineer, Mr. William H. Bontz, who has long been a member of the fire department, and had a varied experience in fire work. He giv eminent satisfaction, both to the com pany and to the fire wardens, and is al- ways In place when nceded, and responds to every alarm promptly.” Mr. Dix, the driver for the Hydraulion com- pany, is a ccmpetent horseman, and so far as can be learned, has never had an accident of serious moment, although com- pelled to drive cver the rough cobblestones at 2 rapid gait. There are several firemen among the members of the company, ameng whom are George Pettit, foreman: Banner T. Young, and William Kell, either of whom is in the front rank. so far as firing a steam engine 1s concerned. At the great fire of Wednesday night and Thursday morning, this company dis- Urguished itself. It was the first engine to arrive, and it took but a short while to have strong streams of water flowing into the burning buildings. All night long they kept this up, and today the cttizens are extending to the company their con- gratulations. It will be remembered that it was the Hydraulion engine that did such effective service at the patent office fire in Washington several years ago, when the Washington fire department found it ne- cessary to call on old Alexandria, with its velunteer fire department, fcr assistance, which, by the way, was’ mostechcerfully granted. - Friendship Fire Engine Company. Among the prominent relies of by-gone days, although still in excellent condition and repair, will be found the veteran Friendship fire engine. This engine was built in the days of George Washington, and is worked by hand. With this machine the illustrious George, as foreman of the company, chased over the streets of Alex- andria to some conflagration. The engine is never used nowadays, but is kept fresh- ly painted and in good shape, and docs not show in the least the effect of age nor of a usage that probably was rough in the extreme, judging by the number of huge boulders along the thoroughfares which are by courtesy cajled streets. The veteran Friendship Fire Company is kept up today by a number of its oldest members—those who revere and respect the hallowed memories which cling to ev- ery spoke in every wheel, and to every other part of this dearly beloved old en- gine, and who are glad to revere the mem- ory of Washington, who was one of the organizers and first members of this com- pany. The Friendship Fire Company was or- ganized in Alexandria, Va., by General ‘Washington in 1774, and the engine was purchased by him, at his own expense, in 1775. Visitors Want to See It. No visitors, from whatever section of the country, ever leave the city without having first visited this historic relic of colonial days, which the company is glad to exhibit. The company is equipped fully with hand- some red shirts, white scarfs, and wear black broadcloth trousers, with the regula- tion firemen's hat and cap, and whenever they appear on parade, on public % as they occasicrally do, they always make a showy appearance, and receive round af- ter round of applause. Theirs ts the only veteran fire company in this section of the state. ‘This completes the list of fire engines in the city used, now or at any other time. in service. There is Mr. William, THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, JUNE 5, 1897—28 -PAGES. A. Smoot, which he kindly loans to the city fire department whenever it is found to be necessary to relieve one of the other en- gines, and it is at present doing this serv- ice for the Columbia Fire Company. It make a first-class relief engine; and-is al- ways kept in repair and working order by Mr. William H. Wood, engineer of the Columbia company. The Relict Hook and Ladder. The only truck company in the city is the Relief Hook and Ladder Company, which was organized some fifty years ago by a number of Alexandria’s citizens. A peti- tion was circulated, ard in a short while enough names were signed to it and enough money subscribed to crganize, which was done, and a full coros of officers clected. A small hand truck was purchased, and the Relief Hook and Ladder Company at once became a member of the Alexandria fire department. They managed to do with their old hand truck, coming out at every alarm of fire, until about twelve years ago, when the city furnished them with a hand- some new truck and pair of horses, which have been in use ever since. This com- pany is noted for its promptness in an- swering all alarms, and has always been of great service in fighting fire under many very trying circumstances. This company always turns out on public occasions and invariably makes a creditable showing. The members have a handsome white flannel uniform, beautifully trimmed in gilt. which, with their black trousers, makes them look exceptionally well. Over this department is Mr. Edgar War- field, chief engineer. He has served in this capacity for some time, with credit, not alone to himself, but to the entire fire de- partment. Mr. Warfield is very popular with the men, and is kncwn to be an efh- cient fireman, and a man of excellent judg- ment. ee FAMILIAR QUOTATIONS. The Bench and the Bar Are Respon- sible for Many of Them. Fiom the Lerdon Law Times. Lieut. Col. Dalbiac, the conservative member in the present house of commons for Central Finsbury, has just presented to the public an excellent ‘Dictionary of Quotations,” on which he has been at work for upward of five years. Reference to chapter and verse for each quotation has been given, and a glance at the index of authors will prove in a way that is at once convincing and gratifying how largely the members of the bar and of the judicial bench have contributed to the authorship of the famous phrases which have become familiar in our mouths as household words. Sir Edward Coke and Blackstone are highly technical writers, but Col. Dalbiac has successfully laid both the “Third In- stitutes” and the “Commentaries” under ontribution. To Coke we owe the familiar pression, “A man’s house is his castle,” hile Blackstone gives us the well-known axiom, ‘“‘Man was formed for society.” Lord Bacon, who had “chosen all know!- edge for his province,” is, as might be anticipated, the author of many familiar quotations. Here are a few: “A crowd is not company, and faees are but a gallery of pictures, and talk but a tinkling cymbal where there is no lov ‘A man is but what he knoweth.” “A man’s disposition is never well known till he be crossed.” “Children sweeten labors, but they make misfortunes more hitter; they increase the cares of life, but they mitigate the remem- brance of death.” “Discretion of speech is more than eloquence.” “He that hath a wife and children hath given hostages to fortune, for they are impediments to great enterprises, either of virtue or mischief.” “Knowledge is power.” “Lookers-on many times see more than the gamesters.” “One foul sentence doth more hurt than many foul examples.” ‘Praise is the reflection of virtue.” “Reading maketh a ful! man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man.” “Some books are to be tasted, others are to ‘be swallowed, and some few are to be chewed and digested.” “The knowledge of man is as the waters, some descending from above and some springing from beneath, the one informed by the light of nature and the other inspired by divine revelation.” “The mold of a man’s future is in his own hands.” “The remedy is worse than the disease.” “There fs nothing makes a man suspect more than to know little.” “Wives are young men’s mistresses, companions for middle age and old men's nurses.” John Selden is the author of the immortal sayings, “Old friends are best” and “‘ lables govern the world,” while Jeremy Bentham, the eminent judicial writer of the present century, has given to us: “It is the greatest good to the greatest num- ber which is the measure of right and wrong.” The saying “When rogues fall out and herest men get their own” fell from the lips of Sir M. Hale, when sitting on the judicial bench, and the saying, “The great- er the truth, the greater the libel,” was first uttered by Lord Mansfield in his ca- pacity of chief justice of England. Lord Brougham, speaking in the house of commons, in 1828, first gave utterance to the saying, The schoolmaster is abroad.” The full paragraph of the speech runs thus: “The schoo!m is abroad, and I trust more to him, armed with his primer, than I do to the soldier in full military array for upholding and extend- ing the liberties of the country.” Fielding, whose unique knowledge ot human nature was largely derived from his experience as a police magistrate, has encircled our literature by the saying, “Love and scandal are the best sweeteners of tea.” Nor has the origination of well-known sayings been confined, so far as legal cir- cles are concerned, to those who have passed away. Augustin Birrell, Q. C., M. P., occupies a very conspicuous position in the pages of Col. Dalbiac’s ‘Dictionary of Quotations.” To Mr. Birrell we owe the sayings, “A great poet, like a great peak. must sometimes be allowed to have his head in the clouds;” “That great dust heap called ‘history,’ and “The possession of great physical strength is no mean assist- ance to a straightforward life.” ea PEARL FISHING. How It is Managed by the Proprictors of the Concession, From the San Francisco Call. The agent of the English proprietors of the concession granted by the Mexican re- public for a monopoly of pearl fishing in the gulf of California recently arrived in San Francisco and gave some interesting details of the present methods employed in their industry, which has continued ever since the occupation of the country in the time of Cortez. The whole coast of the gulf of California abounds in pearls, and the concessions con- trol the entire territory. Until within the last few years native divers were employed, and the depth to which they could descend did not exceed thirty-five feet. With the introduction of diving apparatus the limit of depth was increased to thirty fathoms. The best divers could formerly remain under water not to exceed two min- utes. A modern diver thinks nothing of a two-hour stop in water 100 feet in depth, though at greater depths the stay is neces- sarily shortened on account of the enor- mous pressure of the superincumbent wa- ter. A diver when upon the floor of the ocean looks about for the oyster, which he tears from the object to which it is attached, and places it in a small bag hangitg to a rope, which is hayled into the boat on a given signal. Sometimes the number of oysters secured is large, at other times only a few are caught. 2 The diver does not confine himself to the pearl oysters alone, but if he sees a rare specimen of coral or a new species of shell he places it in his bag and sends it to the surface, where it becomes the property of the concession and the sources of its large income. Last year the value of the pearls har- vested in Lower California was alone $350,- 000. In addition, 5,000 tons of shells were exported, which’ were valued at $1,250,000 more. Pearl fishing js the entire occupa- tion of the natives, and La Paz, the head- quarters, a city of the peninsula, with about 2,000 inhabitants, is solely dependent uy the industry. The business is one of chance, and the pursuit is a fascinating one to the natives, who are born gamblers. Every oyster does not contain its pearl, and only at intervals, and rare ones that, is a really valuable pearl discovered. The largest one ever found was about three-quarters of an inch in diameter, and was sold in Paris to the Emperor of Aus- trla for $10,000. Many black pearls are found in Lower California, and are valued higher than the pure white. The | ma- jority are seed pearls and are only of mod- erate value. ————_+e-____ His Advice. From Puck. ‘Wife—“Dear, the doctor says it is neces- sary for me to take a trip across the water. ‘What do you think I would better do?” Husbdnd—“Get another doctor." ~ ~~ THE MAKING OF GOLD . = ome Mr, Brioe Tellé of “His Olaima. and STUDIED ORE ° {ND VOLCANOES Says His First “Success Was in TJ + City. USES LEAD AND ANTIMONY E. C. Brice, whose claim to have created gold and silver has subjected him’ to un- told ridicule, is not afraid to talk about it, To a Star reporter he gave the fol- lowing history of his work: “I could not accept the theory,” says Mr. Brice, “that all substances as we find them in nature were created in the be- girning of time, and that nature had set apart a certain perfod im which to create these substances. I believe that the cre- ation of stone, metals and all of the in- organic kingdom has been going on for ages, and is going on now just as it did centuries ago. Fi “I of course was taught to believe that even the little grains of sand or pebbles, as well as the gold found in the mines, had been created by God and created with- in six days; but my mind refused to ac- cept this theory. Therefore, at a very early age, I began the investigation of minerals, in a crude way, at first. My first efforts were to simply take pebbles, break them open and examine them with the naked eye, to see what was in their interior, to note their structure, etc. Final- ly, I passed from this crude process of investigation to the use of the glass. As time passed on and I began to get a little better educated, I tock these substances, including gold and silver, and then ores, and made a quantitative and quaiitative analysis, enjeavoring-to separate the dif- ferent so-called elements, 80 that by re- compounding tkem I could arrive at the Same result that nature did. Were Belicvers, “In searching over the history of al- chemy, I found that some of the greatest minds had -not. rejected the proposition that the base could be transmitted into the nobler metals. I discovered that Gebir, who has been called the father of mod- ern chemistry; Roger Bacon, the inventor of gunpowder; Basil Valentine, whose re- searches were partly along the line of antl- monial ore: Dumas, the great French chemist, and his still more famous coun- tryman, Lavoireur; Sir Isaac Newton, and last but not least, Sir Humphrey Davy, to whom we are indebted fér the discovery of no less than sixteen of the so-called elements, including sodium, potassium and calcium, had been firm believers that some day this great secret/of nature, which had defied the researches of the ages, would be given to mankind. The great German scientist Brandt, who, in 1684, in Hamburg, discovered the sypposed element phos- phorus, was aiso.a firm believer in the transmutation of: metals, and devoted a large portion of Is long and industrious life to the unearthing. of this great se- cret. The reason,itihowever, that all the encient alchemists: failed to effect what I have accomplished is:that they did not have the proper .eppiances. In the first place, those appli¢nces not having been invented during their ‘time; in the second place, they were itotally ignorant of the existence of exygen, ithe most powerful agent in nature, a&though they must have been aware of its:ioximizing and destruc- tive effects, eal “I reject most emphatically as utterly erroneous the theory that either gold cr silver ‘s an element; and by my process this fact is established«beyond the shadow of a doubt. The custom of the alchemists was tu place certain ingredients in their crucibles, and when they had carried them through thelr different processew they ‘nour- ished the illusive ‘hope that they would find in those vessels virgm gold. This 1s where they made. their mistake, as they failed to recognize the «now well-known step which we find im nature which re- quires the production of an ore from which gold and silver are extracted. It is true that we sometimes find native gold’ and silver—that is, the two metals almost wholly pure; but the majority of the gold of the world ts extracte] from ores througn which it is diffused in minute quantiti quantities so small that they cannot be de- tected with the naked eve. These are the ores from which we procure today the great bulk of gold used in commerce. The al- chemists failed, not because they did aot distinguish between cause and effect, but because the middle step was unRnown to them—that middle step being the creation of the ore. Period of Formation. “In the first exper!ments I procured from nature specimens of. ore, having prior to these experiments minutely studied their formation and surroundings. Having found that gold, while not usually diffused through large quantities of the veinstones and gangue, was, however, diffused through a limited quantity which filled fissures in the réck, and that those fissures could be traced through different strata, such as porphyry, compact limestone, granite and @ great number of other formations, it occurred to me that neither one of the above mentioned substances was really a part of the ore itself. “f discharged from my mind at once all theories as to gold having one particular veinstone, and as these fissures penetrated numerous different strata, I came to the conclusion that these leads or fissures were caused by upheavals due to volcanic ac- tion, and that the volcanic fires far in the interior of the earth had caused the forma- tion of the veins by ejecting the matter that filled thee fissures. “Further evidence of this was the fact that in many veins gold is diffused in min- ute quantities, proving conclusively that it had not been caused by infiltration, but by being ejected from the interior of the earth in an atomic or molecular condition, and that it must have been formed at a later period than the rock or other substances constituting the strata which surrounded i it. “After I had gained a limited -knowl- edge of nature’s work as it was thus pre- sented to my mind, I began a process of reasoning which had for its basis the fact that gold in many instances had been formed at a later period than the rocks surrounding it, as above described. There- fore, I argued, that if my assumption was true, that if gold had been created at a later period than stone, it was right to as- sume that it could be created at the pres- ent time. st Propertics af Gold. “My efforts at fis time were concen- trated on a collect{bri ‘of minerals, and I sought to discover, by; quantitative and qualitative analyses; their constituent sup- posed elements. Titis ‘I did, separating each supposed element’ carefully, and de-: termining its sup, 3, elementary char- acter. Then followgd-the process of re- compounding those:supposed elements, for the purpose of detefmining what. part they played in the form: or creation of gold and silver. Bt: te “In the study ofthe vsupposed elemén- tary creation of ores:I was necessarily compelled to exarhineeinto the peculiar’ properties of gold itself: On investigating the character of this ,mrecious. metal. I found that it was entirely free from with all chemists that gold when dissolved in the compound of nitric and hydrochloric acids would naturally become a nitro mu- rate; but by reference to standard works and processes then in use, I found that this theory was erroneous, and that gold dis- sel in nitric and hydrochloric acids, in- st of being a nitro murate, was in itself a chloride; that the important part played by the nitric acid was simply to evolve the chlorine obtained by the hydrochloride acid and in its evolution the chlorine dis- solved the gold. Therefore, I arrived at the conclusion that the principal substance used in ‘the basic material must be a sub- stance soluble in chlorine water or by hy- drochloric acid. 2 “With these conclusions arrived at and defined, I began my sezrch for that sub- stance which I considered the basic sub- stance contained in gold. which is soluble in chlorine water or by hydrochloric acid. I found many of those substauces in the catalogue of metals, tin, aluminum and 2n- timuny being among them. With all of these I experimented, using Jead, which is soluble in nitric acid, xs a carrier or a Means to an end. The First Result. “I shall now revert to that period of my fe when, after having gathered from the great storehouses of nature all the ma- terials with which I wished to experiment, I directed my attention to solving an al- most equally difficult probiem, viz., to dis- cover how and to what “xteni nature em- ployed ner volcanic hea:s in making goli and silver. With this object In view I crossed the ocean «nd spent some months on the sloves vf Vesuvius. It was while Kabi2 volcano that I sent system of furnaces used by me in the daily production of the precios metals. When I had completed my studies of voleaaic action, I returned to America ,and having - established a lab- oratory in Washington, set myseif serious- ly at work to reduce to practical results the intimate knowledge I had acquired of nature's methods, through years of unceas- ing toil and research. “The first gold made by man was created by me in this laboratory, and wus the cul- mination of a long series of experiments with the minerals I nad collected. “On the night of the 20th of February, 1889, I was working in my laboratory. was 10 o'clock. There were presen‘ in the laboratory my sister Maud, a friend of mune and a colored oy, io attended to my furnaces. The materials with which I was working lay extended on a Jong bench, and as I dropped them one by one into my eractble, I kept a recor of them in a book Prepared for the purpose. A little before 10 o'clock I plunged : testing rod into the crucible in order :o ascertain the state of fusion of its contents. < ai this mo- Ment a question was addressed to me by my friend, and turning to answer him I naturally withdrew the testing rod from the crucible. While in a yertical position, the melten metal ran down the rod, seve! ly burning my hand. I thrust the testing rod back into the crucible, closed the door of the furnace, had sny hand dressed and retired for the night. 1 must have over- turned the crucible, but I did not know this at the time of its occurrence. “At 8 o'clock next morning the cclorcd boy, whom I had previously instructed to save, when rebuilding the fire in my fur- nace, everything which he found on the grate bars, came knocking at my door. He showed me two beautiful specimens of rose-colored quartz which he had found on the grate bars of the furnace. This quartz was plentifully streaked with what looked to me to be free gold; but I did not dare to accept the evidence of my senses. ily dressing myself, I passed into my lab- oratory, and taking the nitric acid bottle from its accustomed place upon the shelf I detached from the surface of the quartz a few grains of the metal and tested them with acid. The acid had no effect upon them whatever. Adding a few drops of hydrochloric acid I formed what is known as aqua regia, and under this compound acid the grains of metal foamed immedi- ately. “My hopes rose high. For a moment or two a dizziness seized me. Had I at last discovered the secret which had defied the ages? Selzing the quartz I placed it in a mcrtar, and rapidly reducing it to powder, placed it in the crucible and prepared it for cupellation. As the base metal con- tained in the button was gradually ab- sorbed in the bone ash I exverienced all the torturing sensations of alternate hope and despair. Finally the last vestige of the base metal was swallowed by the bone ashy and there resting in the center of the cupel lay a bright sphere of the precious metals. I parted this with nitric acid in the usual way known to chemists and found that I had actually created a consid- erable quantity of the purest gold and sil- ver. Antimony Chosen. “My beok showing me what materials had been placed in the overturned crucible, and following out my theories, my first ex- periment was te oxidize in an open iron vessel, at a red heat, lead and tin. This oxide was found to be very refractory, in- asmuch as no heat that I could obtain would reduce it. I had resource to the use of fluxes—notably alkaline fluxes which gave me no result. I then had re- ccurse to the use of carbon in the form of crude petroleum. This, on being fluxe with lead, gave smali results. The resul however, were too insignificant to be of any value. “At this point I recognized two things of importance—the lack of heat and suffi- cient yield, and I came to the conclusion that 1 would be compelled to substitute some ingredient more fusible than the oxide of tin. I finally selected oxide of an- timony. The antimony and lead being first fused together, then converted into a yel- low oxide at a low hea*, compounded with petroleum and fused, gave very much bet- ter results. The results In this case were more gold than silver. “Following up these efforts, I found that the yield would be sufficient to make it profitable if the proper appliances were provided. “At this point the reduction to practice of my discovery began. I saw that I re- quired a furnace, which would reproduce the penetrating heat of volcanic action. This heat, as I have above stated, I studied on the slopes of Vesuvius. After constructing seven furnaces in my Wash- ington plant, I finally succeeded in obtain- ing one which reproduced, as far as man can reproduce on his limited scale, the great volcanoes of nature. “I have been compelled to construct a furnace in which I can get the propcr de- gree of heat and be enabled to control that degree, preventing its variation, the method of accomplishing which apparently hopeless feat with all furnaces hitherto copstructed is marvelcusly iliustrated in the operation of the human lungs. To ac- complish my object did not require so much attention to the fire chambers of the furnace as it did to the flues, which re- quired a minute study in order to prevent the escape of too much heat gencrated; to reach, as far as it was possible, the full virtue of that heat, allowing it to pass so far and no further—all this required a long period of time for its development, and as now applied in my furnace is a marked success. “Passing from the study of heat we are next confronted with the necessity of studying the action of heat upon minerals. ‘The carth is made up of combinations. Separate supposed eiements are exceptions to.the rule. Therefore, nature is a great compounder. These combinations, and also the accepted few of the supposed elements, all have different points of fusion; that is, they fuse at different degrees of heat, and each of them have a temperature at which they are solidified, at which they are a fluid and at which they are a gas. “I do not pretend by any means to have delved deeply into the mysteries of nature. I am only knocking at her portals, but the facts which I have established in to the compound character of many of the so-called erements cannot be refuted. While this statement may evoke the sneers of many so-called scientists of the present day, who insist that gold and sil- ver are uncompounded elements, fresh from the hand of God, I shall shortly be vindicated in the laboratories of those really scientific men, who, conscious of how little we really know, are ever seeking, as 4 = sought and am séeking, the eternal ruth.” . A Frenchman went to an American and said to him, “What ae polar bear?” ‘The American answered: “What does a polar bear do? I don’t know. sits on the ice.” all of it goes to railroads or ayndicates, and ing of his fuel may have cost him some and the actual cash outlay has been pos- sibly not to exceed $5 in all. farmer and the frugal individual who have cess. Cheap ofl is about the only thing that might grain, but it is scarcely possible for oil to ever become cheap enough. The comp=ti- course, the best fuel for the least money hand. 1 : : ; SISSSIO2 BE e $100 worth of quality @ is in that $75 “Victor!” & There is but one or two $100 1897 wheels in the world that can match in fineness this $75 Victor! Crucible steel — the costliest stuff that could be put into a bicycle—is uséd throughout (16 Ibs. 3 in every wheel) in a lavish yet exquisite manner. This wheel is a ‘96 © model made in ’97—and differs from the $100 97 model in having & © less of the '97 improvements. One year’s guarantee given—and our @ guarantees are interpreted in the most liberal way. HOSE buyers are given Pe back 2o0c. out of every doflar , they invest. This is our way to make things lively the e coming week. gS @ @ ee@Geace SWEATERS and GOLF SECOND-HAND_ BI-@ CYCLES to go for practical- @ ROS S@ Agents for °9 VICTORS, ® CLINE B Ls) oeeece S66 EGOSI5O6 GRAIN FUEL IN THE NORTHWEST. QUEEN VICTORIA’S ENGINEER, Precautions Taken to Safeguard Hee Majesty on Her Railway Journeys. From Answers, “Everybody knows that extra care is exercised whenever her majesty travels by rail,” remarked George Lasham, familiarly known among reilway men as the “queen's driver,” to the writer one day recently, “but few people realize how thorough and it is Likely to Supp! ‘t Wood and Coal in the Future. Minnesota Letter in the Chicago Record. The long, cold winter of this northwest section, particularly of the Dakotas and eastern Montana, has developed many new ideas in regard to where the future sup- ply of fuel for the prairie farmer and other individuals of that section must come from, and it is now quite definitely settled that complete are the precautions taken to such supply sooncr or later must be raised ae against any and every possible anger.” upon the farm, for the farmer who does a not own any timber finds that his fuel in| Mr. Lasham, it may be explained, has driven the “Royal Special” over the L y item, wood be- | don and Southwestern system for nearly one winter is a very cos: ing anywhere from $6 to $8 a cord. When - the farmer lives away from the timber belt | forty years, and is therefore an author: y t come by rail, whether he | 0" the subject. Quite recently, on his re ne aeae . oie @ | sented by her majesty with beautiful expensive, and this year few farmers have | Syl] DY ber masesty, with a beautiful ready money. In fact, large numbers ot farmers can afford barely enough fuel to keep their houses in a semi-comforta- ble state. The people are hardly to blame in under- going suffering for the sake of caving ex- pense, but it nas brought them to a sense of practical realization that in the future something must be done to furnish cheav- er fuel. That this will be the next step in domestic economy with them there can scarcely be any doubt. In this county of Lyon many people, acting in line with the grayed with the royal arms. “Before every journey,” he explained, “ne matter how short the distance may be, the engine and tender attached to the special are carefully examined by the chief locomotive superintendent. A pilot engine precedes the train, all ordinary traffi Suspended, and the line for the whol tance is watched by relays of pla To the driver are given the most explicit in- structions as to speed, stoppages, etc, to disregard any one of which would be to - experiment. | Court instant dismissal. Printed instruc- a much greater success than they had rea- | PanYing the train, who is strictly forbl!- eee eet ente They nave co delighted | den to give any information respecting arrangement “It is wrong to suppose, as many with it that they will henceforth use no other fuel. It gives out a very strong, reg- t is wrong to suy ular heat, as does good hardwood, and it | the — ae slips along fante ; lasts nearly as long. The maximum limit: any On = = 4 = matter 0! ~ 3 ae however, would be far better than any re- | ® Standing order that the speed of the queen's train is never to exceed forty miles sults yet obtained, as the methods of burn- | 2S our and it is generally kept well with- ing it are as yet very crude. There can be no doubt, however, that inventors will | {1 even that moderate Hmit. ‘This latter be equal to the emergency and in due time | Te8ulation, however. applies only to her create a nearly perfect corn stove or majesty’s special. The Prince of Wale special furnace which will answer the ustal requirement. As soon us this is done farmers and others who are prepared to take advantage of the benefits may culti- vate their own fuel on. their own land and probably save 50 per cent by doing so. Two tons of corn would be equivalent to about one cord of hardwood, if the corr were burned economically, and corn for fuel would not need, by any means, the care that it would when crown for food. likes to travel as rapidly as possible, and he gencrally has his desire gratified. not, he invariably wants to know the son why. “When any spec jal danger is apprehended utions are redoubled. ystance, during the dynamite sare tn the jubilee year eve plece of coal used j in the furnace was broken into little in the presence of an official before } loaded on the ten¢ in, r. and the interior of $e he boiler was arefully examined and The stalks and blades of corn can be burn- | t 5 a m ed also, which gives a much greater | Scrap: 1 Rae ob, wan, Ot Souter, thd amount of fuel to the acre. They woutd | Same in both insian co guard ageinat the introductic It is not usu of our own roy remuneration upon iv need to be cut into short lengths and the remnants packed tightly .ogether, having the appearance of good-sized sticks of | wood, in order for them to produce a hot extra fire and to last long in a stove or furnace. | (rains. Foreign poteatat But they will certainly pay for the labor See Stine oe - by giving in return a very hot fi aR ere ‘The prejudice and squeamishness for- merly existing against the use of grain for fuel are fast dying away, for the people are realizing that grain is one of nature's fuels, and was intended for that purpose well as to use as a cereal product. uld the people use wood or coal for food, there is not much doubt that they wouid > Empe ror Napoleon, whom the “queen's drive often took from Chislehurst to Windsor, | and who was invariably “good” for a note. It was alwal 1, inclosed in a sealed envelope, by his majesty's private do it, but as they cannot they have 10 | see aecseegel Pagrerll fer eg eng scruples of conscience about burning | Empress Eugenie, kept up until th either. So will the cereals be regarded | °f the prince imperial, when she when every value Is extorted from them. | Cherter “specials The number of cigars presented to the Besides burning cor: iy 2 3 Dds btaa a dlred tices [me epee by distingutshed t many persons have tried the experiment of burning oats and wheat. Both of these | !§ legion. Mos’ of them have long er grains are reported as making most excel- | become dust and ashes, but som) lent substitutes for wood, the ch‘ef difficu!- | been preserved as souvenirs. among these latter is a gigantic specimen, nearly a foot long, presented to Mr. .La- sham by the late czar, and a tiny one, not much bigger than a cigarette, given him by the Empress of Austria. $6 es Kemarknble Swords, From the Boston ‘Nxnseript. Samuel Maxi, a brother of the famous Hiram, inventor of guns, lives tn the little village of Wayne, Kennebee county, Me., and is himself an inventor. Seme time ago his attention was called to the fact that both India and Japan have produced swords that will cut through a gun barrel without losing their edge. This led him to study old Hindoo literature on the sub- ject of steel manufacture, and then to be- gin at Wayne a series cf experiments which soon resulted in the production of a small quantity of stecl possessing a remarkable temper. From these few ounces of steel he had one or two drills forged, and with these he was able to drill holes through an ordinary file without damaging the Grills at all. He has not yet made any steel for sale, nor does his proggss at pres- ent always produce the desired results. ty experienced being the trouble of putting up the fuel in small and compact form convenient for handling and burning. Oat straw or straw wheat may be bound to- gether in small bundles or “logs” so as to last for a considerable time. As it is now, a farmer or individual in @ prairie town pays out $80 for fuel in a winter. Almost ho one jn the vicinity ts profited by it. In all probability he could have saved $50 by using corn, cats or wheat for fuel, or all turee. So he saves by turning his labor into money and keeping his money at home to meet other expenses. Though the rais- time, he finds that he has been the gainer, Up to the present time it is only the made a study of fuel economy who are trying the plan of raising their own fuel, but experiments prove that it will be a suc— make competition against tion will likely be between grains, and, of will win. But it is now predicted with cer- tainty that the era of grain fuel is near at In the public schools in Japan the Eng- lish language is required by law to be taught. Ottawa, Kan., has a population of 7,500 and there is not a joint in the town, but it is full of pops. If you want anything, try an ad. in The Star. If anybody has what you wish, you will get an answer. IN GLE VIRGINIE. Frem Life,