Evening Star Newspaper, November 26, 1897, Page 15

Z “THE “EVENING STAR, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1897-16 PAGES. — — —— — = z We ith cash purchase ||| | Barber & Ross. |__- Cor. G& With Sts. —e tee en ee case in this office of a man originally in the government service who became a counterfeiter. It is probably an interesting Schemes by Wilich’ They Manage to snaps this week are both numerous and attrattive. We've several Drapery bargains have become Silkaline. Was mahogany fin- silkaline. .... §$ 1 00 50 inche 3 yards by 50 inches, heavy broken lines that we will sell + below cost. Our Saturday quite an institution. goo yards best Three-fold Screens—oak or ish frame— best quality Chenille Portieres, 33 yards by Were $5.00. pairs Tapestry Portiere fringe top and bottom. Were 2 om. We $3. 5 $5.00. «- «55. 12 pairs Scotch Lace Curtains, 33 yards by 60 inches. Were $2 35 $350... oe ¢ 16 pairs Scotch Lace Curtains, good imitation of Renais- sance. Re- duce! eS nai f yards by 50 ches. Re- ced from t2 pairs Ivory Irish Point, 3} need irom 8 pairs White Irish Point, 3} 3} yards by 50 inches. Re- | a } Hl $15.00 to... $7.50 i “Cash or Credit.” n Lansbu rg¢h Furniture Co., i225 F St. N.W. Intend en- tertaining this on? If so we = Melon Minek Je: Sal /4™ ST-FHONE 9: C (sa aaaa ne OWEGP. : ewhat kind of a plant you ? rate, you will find electricity ? . cleanest and most satisf: We supply current for light weve AAARAAAARAAM A «U.S. Electric Lighting Co.,> pw ORNS wow we dere 213 14th st. mw. "Phone Rams vewvey Fora Artificial Teeth (on Rubber), Per Set, $5.00. "Tisn't often we make a special of- fer of this Kind. ‘These se teeth will re ive just as much care as we h sets when sold at a higher Offer good only till January 1. Evans’ Dental Parlors, ee ee Ne NY WO ? the*‘leader 3 3 99 t in hats. 4 ise. In the Hat ** } icknowledges the ° ¢ oa No man's * ¢ ete without a °° 4 Silk or Opera ¢* & ren = one = doe is ae exkaie =< > 4 Son, { 4 * POSS seg In Hair. . form Gray Switches. $4. First-class attendants 3 Shampooing, ete. Imperial Hair Regenerator for restoring gray Lair, Never fails. S. HELLER’S, 720 7th Street N. W. apic-2od ;We Make — No Charge for old Effects from other . ing House or pa bring your Furr yoms holding a larg ure only $3 month. PARCEL MERCHANTS? S20, 9 29-931 D St-———’Phone 659. si PROMOS 4 gO ORLA IONE PPOEI GO GOD | 9° SES: G REATEST ADE IN PALMISTRY. Van Derver—the ouly sicentifie palmist in hington—gives Mfe readings unmistakably ac- curate. Studfe, 1112 ¢ 10 am. to 1 pem.-2 to 5 p.m. Sundays, 3 to 7 p.m, ne25-16d Orders are now being taken for our Delicious New Engiand Sausage —to arrive on Wednesday, the 24th instant. N. W. Burchell, 1325 F St. weil 8 he oe wcse cera ‘There are “breakers” ahead! equal qualities. Heat 5c. day. The famous “Calovit” Gas Heating Stoves will heat a room fel || iM e ‘el 12 by 12 feet for 5c. per day of | 10 hours—cheaper by $2 ‘| half than coal. “Calovit” | Single Heaters only < “Calovit” Double Heaters. . .$3 Other larger sizes and different styles [2 for more money. \e| 4-tube Gas Radiators for.....$3 Cold Kept Out. ‘The stores are fll of Weather Strip- ping. Half of it is not worth tacki up! Of the good kinds ‘Valentine’ Felt Weather Strips are best: We would be pleased to furnish estimate for weather stripping the -entire house. A good Felt Weather Stripping for Tec. foot. ° tempecature- record wf the preceding one. Make ready by weather- stripping the windows, doors and crevices—and buy a Gas or Oil Heating Stove so_you may have the hottest kind of heat at a moment's notice in any part of the heuse. . You couldn't do bet- ter tham let us supply these wants. Barber & Ross, G & 1 1th Sts. KEK Each day will seem to break the ~ cea We undersell the others on Heat 3'Ac. day. ~The splendid “Puritan” Oil Heaters, with cast iron res@rvoir base, costs but 3$c. per day of 10 hours to heat a room 12 by 14 feet. It’s absolutely “leak 4, tan” Oil Heater for.... Big Bargains. things’ needed around the house. ‘They're jnet- samples of how low we sell: “ 50c. proof.” Splendid “Puri- Here are a few big bargains in “little Frrnace Coal Shovels...... Covered Ash Sitters, with gal- vanized fro sieve, solid. Only... strong and Bc “ 16c. Japanned Coal Hcds. € 4 4 prices: Genuine Dongola Spring Heel Hand api Machine-sewed Button aud Laced, 4 to 8. For tomorrow....... AS8c. Misses’ and Child's Spring Heel Kid, Pebble and Box Calf ..69¢. Laced and Button. For tomorrow Misses’ Dongola Kid Dressy and Well-mide Button and Laced. For tomorrow...... 95¢. “Cork Sole” Hand-mide Finest Sizes Misses’, 11 to 2..... ‘ Ladies’ adies’. < Seam’ess Vamp Felt He Slippers, with =< heavy felt soles. >4 Special Price... ..50c. ++ Soft yet Stout Kid Button and Laced Boots, with patent Ups. For tomorrow....... .O5¢. © Extra High-cut Storm Boots of viei kid or ealf-lincd box calf. Special Price... “Cork Sote’* Hand-made Finest Boots, black o: tan, kid or calf. Special Price..........- $2.50 $3 4 (> FREE SOUVENIRS FOR THE LITTLE ONES. Winding Up A Busy Shoe Month. The last few days of the busiest month we've ever ex- perienced in our career shall prove to be the climax of the busiest shoe retailing Washington has ever known. For tomorrow we shall offer the following great wear and weather-resisting Shoes at the following special low For Children. WI. HAHN & CO.’S omen. RELIABLE SHOE HOUSES, Boys’ sizes, 9 to 2, Satin Calf ‘Laced, heeled or spring heel. For tomcrrow....... Boys’ and Youths’ Laced Double-sole Veal or Casco Calf Shoes. For tomorrow. Boys’ “Bulldog” and Opera Shape Donble-sole Exters‘cn-edge Laced. For tomorrow. .... Boys’ “‘Yukon'? Box Calf Bulidog-toe, Wir quilted Laced Shces. Regular $2.50 grade at... Men’s. Our Famous * Casco Calf Tripl-sole, Extension-edze waced Soe For tomerrow.... $1.45 ‘The “YUKON” Oil Silk lined We and Rubber-lin:d Waterproof Dress Shoes. Special nice ccra se Calf-lined Broad-tread Heavy ‘rip'e-sole “Police” Shoes. Special Price. Double, Triple or Cork-sole Stylish’ Hand-made Tan and Black Dress Shoes. $ 3? Regular $4 grades at... i f§ Ss > is 1914 and 1916 Pa. ave., |p 233 Pa. ave. s.e. Ks Two Suns in One Sky. From the Atlanta Constitution. Wonders will never cease. A remarkable phenomenon is thus chronicled by “The Aeworth Post,” one of the best and most reliable of Georgia’s weekly newspapers. “For the last few days we have heard censiderable talk about the two suns that were seen in the heavens last Friday morn- ing at an early hour. Shortly after the sun had risen in the east another sun was dis- tinetly observed in the western horizon, with a magnificent rainbow intervening the The people who witnessed the phe- romenon are much excited over the mat- ter.” Perhaps the above story can be explained y another: Two Georgia farmers who had m haying a “high old time” in town, started home in a wagon at daybreak. “John,” said one to the other, “hanged ef thar ain't two suns shinin’ yander whar e orter be! You're drunk,” said John; “thar ain’t but one.” : “John,” was the reply, “you're a Har!” At this they clinched, and John fell un- rneath. Presently he bawled out: ‘Quit beatin’ of me—I give in! I see sev- en suns, an’ more stars than you kin count! + 0+ ____ Delay Would Be Dangerous. From the Chicago Post. “According to this cablegram they were married in Paris yesterday,” he said. “We must send our congraiulations at .”” she returned. By mail or cable?” he asked. rom what I know of both of them,” she replied, “‘we ought to send them by cable if we wish to be sure that they will be ac- ceptable when they reach them.” OVER THE CORK AND CAPSULE IS NOT BROKEN, AND THAT IT BEARS THE NAME ~. W.A.GAINES & CO” BS TSA COveRNmENT GunranTee For Sale Everywhere. y THE GORDON HIGHLANDERS, The Famous Scottish Regiment That Has Earned a New Title to Fame. om the New York Herald. The Ist Battalion of the Gordon High- larders, of whose explcits on the Indian frontier the cable has recently brought such sad, yet stirring, news, is better Known to Scotsmen by its old title—viz, the h, or Stirlingshire, regiment of foot. It was not until the year 1881 that the Sth Stirlingshire and the 92d, the original “Gordon Highlanders,” were amalgamated as one territorial regiment under the fore- gcing title. This took place when the 75th tcot were stationed the Strada Reale barracks, Malta. Hence they were im- mediately christened the Strada Reale Highlanders, while a popular conundrum among military folk at the time was, “What is the difference between the 92d and the 75th?” the answer being, “The first are real Highlanders, but the others Reale(y) Highlander: Of the two bat- talions, however, the 75th is the older, hav- ing been raised in the autufn of 1787, or seven years before the Gordon Highlanders were formed. Strangely enough, the regi- ment's first taste of glory took place in In- dia, where it was immediately ordered, tak- ing part in the siege and capture of Sering- apatam, 1799, and remaining there until 1806. ’ In 1809 the designation, and with it the uniform, of the regiment was changed from the 75th Highlanders to the Foot, which was retained until 1862, when it be- came the 75th Stirlingshire, in remem- brance of its origin. The regiment, unfor- tunately, did not have any opportunity of taking part in either the Peninsula or Wa- terloo campaigns, but it served with great distincticn in the Kaffir war of 1835, and during the Indian mutiny, where it took part in the siege and capture of Delhi, and in the relief of Lucknow, 1857. ‘The Egyptian campaign of 1882 found the 7th, as the rew united Ist Battalion of the, Gordon Highlanders, marching side by side with the 79th, the 42d and the 74th, thus forming a genuine Highland brigade, urder the cammand of Lieut. Gen. Sir E. B. Hamicy. At the storming of Tel-el-Ke- bir, Gen. Alisonavrites that “it was a noble sight to see the Gordon and Cameron High- landers mingled together in the confusion of the fight, their young officers leading with waving swords, their pipes screaming and that bright gleam in the eyes of the nen which you see only in the hour of suc- cessful battle.” Before leaving Egypt the battalion served in the harassing Nile ex; ition of 1884-85, but was not lucky enough to arrive at Kir- bekan in time for the last action of the campaign. In 1888 the Gordons proceeded to Ceylon and in 1893 moved on to India, where, in the spring of 1895, they experi- enced a foretaste of frontier fighting, being included in the Chitral relief force under Sir Rovert Low. In that “little war,” the London Daily Mail, the old 75th covered itself with glory at the storming of the Malakand Pass, its list of casualties being the longest of any in the brigade. And re- cently ‘the hay their history. ——~ + e+ ______ Bicyclist Blown Up by Dynamite. Elias Olson, while riding his bicycle near Catch thé Gullible PROVE. SUCCESSEUL: IN WASHINGTON < Se 5 Men in the Rotal Districts Are Not the -Orily Victims. TALK WITH CHIEF HAZEN “I want to see Chief Hazen privately,” said a well-dressed man who walked into the office of the secret service bureau of the Treasury Department a few days ago. He acted as if he had something heavy and important on his mind. He was di- Tected to the office’‘of Chief Hazen and found that official at his desk. The man repeated his request for a strictly private interview. Chief Hazen’s clerk withdrew and the door was fastened. “Is there any danger of an intrusion?” the man asked. :s “Certainly not. “Well, I have something to show you,” begen the visitor, his face coloring. He reached into an inner coat pocket and pro- duced a letter. Without opening the letter Chief Hazen said: “Yes, I see. It's a green goods circular.” “How did you know?” the visitor asked, with some alarm. “Oh, I've seen hundreds of them,” was the response. The visitor then began to apologize for having it in his possession, saying he could not conceive how a respectable business man of Washington, like himsel be picked out as dishonest enrets overs gage in the green goods business. ‘It’s no reflection on your honesty,” Chief Hazen, to the great relief of the vic itor. “Thousands of those circulars are sent to honest men throughout this coun. try. Right now they are being sent in every direction. About one man in every ten Is dishonest and nibbles. He may go no further. About one in twenty is not only Gishonest, but a ‘sucker,’ in modern par- lance, and is sold. The green goods man no longer confines his business to country- men, but plies it in all the big cities. He finds plenty of material to work on right here in the city of Washington. Hundreds of men .who receive those circulars say nothing about the matter, because they fear somebody will accuse’ them of being in a receptive mood for such enterprises.” The would-be victim of the New York swindler was satisfied and went away. A Star reporter talked to Chief Hazen later about the green goods busings. Use No Connterfeits. “I receive letters every day,” said Chief Hazen, “from all parts of the country in- closing circulars of the green goods fra- ternity. These circulars are.sent me by men who have received them and who think that my office may run down the rascals or start an investigation. The cir- culars are worded S09 nigely as to give the impression that the government is being Aefrauded. by clever counterfeit money. As a matter of fact the green goods man never deals in cousiterféit money. All the Money hé shows and ses is genuine, He runs* tov many rigks without having the secret service on his; track. We, of course, do nothing with the cireulars sent us.’” ‘The Secret service deals only with coun- terfeiters. ‘The governrtient official who oc- casiondiy goes for thé’ green goods’ man is the post office inspector. He can arrest the swindler for using the mails. State au- thorities also handlg them when they can find them. New York City is ‘of course, the head center of the fraternity which deais in green goods, as.the work is known. Up to a few years ago the swindlers did their business! abnost wholly ‘through’ the mils. They use the mails’ now to ‘rdpe their vietims, but after that’ the’ telegtaph com- panies are dealt with, and the swindler is careful to tell his would-be victims not to write him a letter, as under no circum- stances will he receive it, The whole busi- ness must be transacted by wire. Several yéars ago the post office inspectors began to use decoy letters to catch the swindlers. The capture of one of the profession with a decoy letter in his possession was prima facie-evidence agains® him. The state legisiature of New Jersey tried to Break up the. business In that state a few years ago by passing a bil! preventing telegraph companies sending cipher mes- sages to persons of a suspicious character. The companies fought the bill, and it did not pass. * How the Swindler Begins. The first step of a, shrewd green goods man is to secure names of people in every part of the country. This he does just like patent medicine and all advertising con- cerns. Then he mails to these persons a carefully worded typewritten document like the following: “Confidential. “My Dear Sir: Your name was sent me by my son (who is iny. traveling representative) as a shrewd, reliable and trustworthy man for me to co-operate with in your vicinity, and I therefore take the Mberty of making y t ninety-nine out of 2 hundred up-to-date gladly graxp if they could personally examine 1 work, thereby convincing thengpelves of the absolut safety of my offer. , “The writer is an-expert engraver. having for twenty-two gears beea employed in the bureau of engraving, Washington, D, C., and for twelve years was superintendent of one of the largest bank note companies in the country. During my leisure I took up as a side issue the duplication of ones, fives and tens, and as the int] denominations Thad w pon you can believe me when I say t duplicates. ow, lear sir, I am fully aware of the sus- plcion nd preju you naturally will entar- tain for my proposition, as you will on first thought class it a8 coming from a green goods or sawdust swindler, but if ypu will lay aside that prejudice, apply common sése and look at my_ proposition from a business standpeint, compare it with the metheds of these petty swindlers, and you will credit ma with not bei ol enough to waste my time addressing a man of your intelligence ard starding In the community. “The methods of the so-called green goods swin- dle-s have been exposed from time to time in the dally press: They send out seductive circular let- ters to Iznorant farmers, with a newspaper clipping In regard to counterfeit money, etc., falsely pre- tending they are the parties spoken of in the arti- cle, and offering to sell that which they have not inducing them to send on thelr hard-e: and sendi em a valise of sawdust or a brick, ny te or some such, in return. “The reason these rascals find it profitable to work this game is because they know, and ther take it for granted that the people in general know, that there are hundreds of thousands of dolars— counterfelt—in clreutation, and as men have no nicral scruples against Increasing the money eircu- lation (in fact, the majority of people are in favor of doing it by’ law, as witness the late greenback craze and the present silver agitation), they are in- duced to send on thelr money on the very Iheral terms held out to them—6 eents buying a dollar, or some such absurd prices) of “No intelligent. mamsrould: do it, for thelr very proposition 1s ridiculowsy nat ‘alone the ‘buying of a pig in a bag.’ but a man as only to stop and con- sider the cost of engravings! presses, printing, pa- per, ete., to see the abgurdi ‘of the offer. “Now, compare these: methods with my propost- Firstly, I am znob iafldressing an ignorant farmer. . Secondly, I do not want you to send me one cent. What I want. te know 1s whether you will be willing to co-operate with me in the dis. rosa of my goods prevbdingtl prove to you bevond all doubt that my work is all I claim for it, that it cannot be told from--the—genuine, even by ex- perts. Understand, Talo aa want you to invest one dollar until you have examined my entire stock from one to one hund#d thensand dollars, compare them with the genuinet and. in fact, submit them to any test you sce fity-thth, after you are thor- oughly gatisiied on every ipoint, ‘decide whether you accept may"p) ‘The fact 18, an tnvestmene! of 33500' will give you an immediate return thats 4: Méetime of toil in your resent business would wet ao; this without injur- ing frlends, nelghhors aryour fellow-man. To con- vince you of the safett of the business T will, upon receipt of telegram—astper.Shelosed note—send you a sample of my work{!'and)T will also appoint Place to meet you, s6‘that You personally ex- amine my entire stock.” “If for any reason you decide not to co-operate with me, I trust. as aa honorable man, von honor the will tial’ ‘Confidential 3 “OLDEST STEEL PLATO ENGRAVER IN THE “P. 8. For obvious reasons I ‘Baye omitted all uames, dates, ete., from this sid Inclosed- with ‘the “are careful instructions -how to telegraph the swindler in cipher, so that both.parties to the trans- action will be amply protected. : _\ He Lies Aji the Way. fact that an engraver in the government service would be a poor hand at making a plate for a government counterfeit. Because no engraver in the service ever does more than part of a note. A vignette or portrait engraver has no skill at letter- ing. Each men in the government service is a specialist. He does not do the whole of the front of a note or of the back part. It is the same way with the printers. No one man ever prints all of a note. When a government engraver gets out of work he could not make a counterfeit plate if he decired, no more than a jeweler could make a pair of shoes. “Yhe nearest approach to a scoundrel who has done this kind of work was Charlie Smith, the companion of the famous old man, Brockway. Smith had worked years ago for a bank note company and was the cleverest man who ever made a counterfeit plate. He is serving time with Brockway.” The Next Step. If a man shows an inclination to deal with the swindler and sends him a telegram the would-be victim soon receives another letter. Inclosed in the second letter is a sample of the supposed counterfeit. It is generally a $1 bill, and is as good as any money, as it has been turned out by the government. The would-be victim looks at the money, asks a few questions on the sly of a bank man, and concludes that he has a snap. He then telegraphs the green goods man that he is satisfied and is ready to go to New York to do business on a larger scale. A third letter is then received. It contains minute directions how to reach the alleged counterfeiter. With this third letter is often inclosed an alleged clipping from a newspaper telling about a discovery by the Treasury Department that certain government notes are being counterfeited in such a way that it is next to impossible to detect them. This is to make the victim all the more certain that he has a good thing. The printed slip is in exact imita- tion of a clipping from a daily paper. A big headline over the clipping tells how much the authorities are excited over the discovery of the counterfeits. With the third letter is also a circular giving instructions how to detect counter-. feits. The swindler frequently sends an- other bill or.a part of one along with the third letter. He tells the man that when he reaches New York he may have the other part of the bill. The instructions to the would-be victim are solemn and impressive. In a poorly spelled, scrawling, disguised hand is writ- ten the following: “Go to the Port Jarvis Hotel, Port Jarvis, New York, there 1s Where Wee Will Meet.”” “When you Leave Home Buy your ticket to mentioned on Hotel Slip and Telegraph to . Gordon, Weschester Depot, Weschester, York, When you are about half Way Tele- graph again T Will have plenty time to meet you, the sample enclosed Is Just the Same as all t rest your Pass Word Will be Grain, 154. So lif mean Busincss follow these instructions. no letters Without my Permission, you know. His Special Instructions. Ww ‘special instruc- tion: “The day you start from home go to the post office and see if there ix any further word from if not. follow these Instructions: Irst. Telegraph te me the diy before you leave and simply “All right” and sign your password and number, and also the initials of your telegram. ‘Then go to your nearest large town y a through ticket Gf possible) to the town mentioned on the slip above, and stop at the hotel at the swindler calls are as follows: are about half way here, in i ers, telegraph to me aj 3 you—that is, name the day and will arrive.’ For instance, Will arrive Wi ‘time be written your name » name of vour town, your county and stat, password and number in green ink. T have to be plain in framing these instractions for and I warn you for your own protection to closely follow the ne in each and e y particular. ve v will certainly never seem: don't, h, arrive at th on the hotel, put your wander around the town or hot tention. ish any information how to reach ome boy on the street after you “Pitt! the hotel, speak to Z ¥ from the depot. Do not do this, ever, If you think you ean find the hotel y It certainly is best not to ask any unnecesss tions: indeed, the least said t tt act as if not ast . Be’ bold a self-poasessel. Now, my friend, here fs somethi elxe that I yish to : a something that you member. If any stranger wan’ with you, as ‘old. man’ (o1_ says business), while you on the train or around the depot or on the street, ly impostors, 80 quickly say to them, understand what you are talking about. "You go away from me and Attend to your own business and I will attend to mii ion you not to disobey any st be guided by my advi you will hers are now doing."” What Happens in New York. It is pretty well known what hapvens after the victim reaches the swindler in New York. He pays $200 or $300 in good money for a roll of what looks like $2,000 or $5,000 of fine counterfeit. The top cover of the roll is of gocd money and the inside is of green paper. A Texan who went to New York several years ago caught on to the game while he was being swindled and shot the swindler dead on the spot. He was defended by the late Col. Fellows and was acquitted. Mest of the green goods rascals formerly had places in Courtlandt street, New York city, to do their victims, but they have been run out of the city, and now go over to Leng Island City. It is impossible to give an idea of how many men are swindled. The big majority of them never open their mouths when they find out how they have been sold. A former chief of the secret service rec- ommended that Congress pass a bill mak- ing it a crime for a man to make the sten- cils from which the circulars are issued, to write the circular or to have anything to do with it. is, it was urged, would make the business too dangerous. As an appro- priation of $50,000 was asked fer Congress did not see fit to pass the bill. sages Sure Sign of Prosperity. From the Chicago Times-Herald. “Queer, isn’t it?” said the clothes cleaner to his customer, “but my business indicates the depression or prosperity of trade. When times are booming I do not have the same kind of custom that I do when they are dull. Then people bring their old clothes in here and ask me to make them look as good as new.” “How does your business average this season?” asked the customer. “It is very promising,” said the cleaner, as he routed a moth family from the pack- age before him, “but that does not indi- cate a hard winter, but that people have learned a lesson of economy from past reverses. The indications are that the wearers of those garments are not hard pressed. I have found money, handker- chiefs, gloves, theater checks, lots of stuff in pockets that last season came to me as empty as a last year’s nest. Do you vant this opera glass cleaned?” “Great Scott, no!” said the customer, taking it back. “I forgot all about its be- ing in my pocket. Thanks!” “Don’t mention it. Another straw that shows which way the wind blows is this. Young men who bring their garments here to be renovated are not half so particular about the creases in their trousers as they were last season. Why? I suppose they have a new peir at home. Oh, yes, busi- ness signs like those are very important. Here is the check for your goods.” . then succeed, as —_-----—s0* Hard Luck of the Wanderer. From the Chicago Times-Herald. “ “Talk about hard luck,” said an old Chi- cagoan, who had been away from the gar- den city for a number of years. “It fell upon me the other day. I was broke flat and on my uppers completely. I said to Why? BY RUDYARD KIPLING. Ulustrated by Oliver Herford. The First .one is in THE DECEMBER “ST. NICHOLAS.” 2 THE BEAUTIFUL CHRISTMAS NUMBER. ? “THIS is the beginning of a new series of stories about animals — fantastic stories— which Mr. Kipling has written for “St. Nicholas” to follow his “Jungle Stories” which first ap- peared in the same magazine. oe A serial story by J. T. Trowbridge begins in this number,— one of the most beautiful issues of a . young folks’ magazine ever made. There is nothing like it in the world of children’s literature. 25 cents. A year’s subscription to “St. Nicholas” costs $3.00. Can you think of a more helpful influence in your home? THE CENTURY CO., UNION SQUARE, «. - RANCH. BIG COTTO! It is Located in Mexico and Covers 175 Square Mile: Frem the Two Republics. What is probably the largest individual cotton plantation in the world is located in the republic of Mexico, within the Tla- hualilo cuenca, or cotton belt, that lies be- tween the watershed of the Rio Grande and the Bolson de Mapimi. There are 1 square miles under cultivation, covered with the snowy blossoms for miles. In 1889 a project was formulated for car- rying a ditch across the desert to the head of the Tlahualilo cuenna and converting the whole area into a huge hacienda. Juan Liamedo, Spanish capitalist of Mexico City, undertook the enterprise, in which he was aided by the federal government of Mexico. A preliminary survey showed that the lo est level of the basin to be irrigated was about 100 feet below the point on the river Nazas which it was proposed to dam; that the main canal would require a develop- ment of thirty-nine miles, and that the slope of the lands within the basin was such that about 175 square miles out of the lv composing the basin could be advan- tageously irrigated. Since then by the aid of modern engineering and American ma- chins 175 square miles have been placed under cultivation. This required men and money and a high degree of engineering capability. The plan of irrigation was in- trusted by Mr. Llamedo to Jose Farjas, a Spanish engineer. An estate of 20,000 acres lying on the river Nazas and controlling the Water supply, was purchased, and rip-rap was threwn across the river at a point where it is about 1,500 feet wide at the flood. This constituted a dam, and from the dam the line of the main canal was traced to the entrance of the Tiahuliio basin, thirty-nine miles. The canal was made seventy-two feet wide at the base, six and a half feet deep, with a grade of from eighteen inches to three feet to the mile, except as to one particular section. This canal terminated in a distributing tank to the entrance of the irrigable area, from whence it bifurcated, one arm clasp- ing the western side of the basin and the other the eastern, and both having the same average grade. One of them was fif- teen miles in length, thirty feet wide at the bottom, and with a depth of five feet, while the other subcanal was thirteen miles in length, with a width of thirty-six feet at the bottom and a depth of six feet. Transverse ditches, at right angles to the side branches, were then laid out and all the land thus laid open to irrigation was set out in blocks of uniform size, each con- taining a Mexican sitio, a conventional area measuring a Spanish league on each side and measuring nearly 4,54) acres. The total ditching called for under the plan in- cluded the main canal of thirty-nine miles, the first and second branch canals, respe tively, of fifteen and thirteen miles; twen- ty-nine miles of transverse canals, fifty miles of parallel ditches, and 400 miles of distributing ditches. The total excavation called for was about 3,700,000 cubic yards for the main canal, and for all the other canals and ditches on the first section about 3,400,000 cubic yards. The first sec- tion involved ninety square miles. From 2,000 to 3,000 peons were employed on the work, and a little over a year was occupied in digging the main canal. The most ap- proved agricultural implements and utensils had been imported in advance from the United States. Upon the completion of the ditches each of the sitios was placed under the management of an administrator, and the generai administration was located on the hacienda of Zaragoza, some eight miles down the basin from the distributing tank, and nearly in the center,being prepared for cultivation. Extensive buildings were also NEW YORK. erected, consisting of a steam cotton gin and cil mill for handling the cotton seed oil, & soap factory for utilizing the oil prod- uc! , @ cotton press and an clectric light , Such is a sketch of the big cotton fields in Durango made possibly by modern irri- gation engineering. The rainfail in the Bol- son de Mapimi is confined to a few days of heavy showers about the beginning of June and the beginning of December. But up in the mountains of Durango, where the Na- zas is born, the rainfall at the same season is heavy and protracted, resulting In high Water in the river, which lasts several weeks at a time, and it is during these freshets that the lands of the Nazas dis- trict, and only then, receive any water benefit. In the Tlahualilo basin a week or ten days of irrigation is all that is needed in the course of a year, the water soaking quickly and easily through the almost im. palpable silt, and the hot sun forming protective crust that checks evaporation and retains the moisture in the subsoil. Owing to their long roots, cotton plants strictly require irrigation only once every other year, although corn and wheat must receive it at each planting. Cotton fields of Tilhualilo belt, after the spring irrigation, resemble tracts of new-borr rye, so modest are they in their size of plan but the same fields after the fall irrigation, when they have blossomed in snowy white, show cotton plents so tall as almost to conceal from sight a man on horseback. It is said that the cotton during those few months can almost be seen to grow. At all events. the finest cotton in the country is being produced upon tracts of land, ieague wide, ag only a few years ago were deserts of and. pe ee Tailoring With a Seythe. From the Boston Transcript. Old Jed Buzzell, who lives in the meadow nd near Greenfield, Me., has turned tailor after having passed three-score years on @ farm and Is getting rich by making suits for ‘ew York wholesale firm, as well as for wealthy visitors who go to Maine every autumn. Though none of the garments which he consjructs are made to onder, th 1 give good satisfaction to the p chasers, none of whom complain about tha wearing qualities or the fit of Buzzell’s clothes. This is all the more remarkable because mest of his men are rich men, who are accustomed to purchase the best articles in the market. Buzzell made two hurcred suits last year, and will sell more than five hundred this season. He cuts them with a seythe, sews them up with commor. white wrapping twine, uses manil- la spun yarn for buttons, and sells a com- plete suit for 75 cents. Mr. Buzzell manu- factures grass ducking suits for hunters, and is the only man in New England who is engaged in the bysiness. SS Hot and Cold Penholder. From the Philadelphia Record, An ingenious Frenchman has patented an article which he terms “a hot and cold penholder.” The holder consists of a cylin- der pierced with three small openings at its upper part, and inclosing for winter use a combustible carbon cylinder, or for summer a wad of sponge or cotton im- pregnated with a solution of sal ammoniac. To “start up the works” in the winter time the carbon cylinder is lighted and placed in the holder; the other cylinder with the nib is shld on the latter, and the paper tube is then fixed over both. In summe the chemica:ly saturated wad produces suf- ficient cold to keep the hand cool while us- ing the pen. AN OPEN LETTER To MOTHERS. WE ARE ASSERTING IN THE COURTS OUR RIGHT TO THE EXCLUSIVE USE OF THE WORD “CASTORIA,” AND .“PITCHER’S CASTORIA,” AS OUR TRADE MARK. J, DR. SAMUEL PITCHER, of Hyannis, Massachusetts, was the originator of “PITCHER'S CASTORIA,” the same that has borne and does now bear the fac-simile signature of y This is the original « PITCHERS CASTORIA” which on every wrapper. has been used in the homes of the mothers of America for over thirty years. and has the signature LOOK CAREFULLY at the wrapper and see that it is the kind you have always bought, onthe of LY, lek wrap. per. No one has authority from me to use my name except The Centaur Company of which Chas. H. Fletcher is President. March 8, 1897. Do Not Be Deceived. Do not endanger the life of your child by accepting a cheap substitute which some druggist may offer you (because he makes a few more pennies on it), the in- gredients of which even he does not know. “The Kind You Have Always Bought” BEARS THE FAC-SIMILE SIGNATURE OF