Evening Star Newspaper, March 19, 1900, Page 12

THE EVENING STAR, MONDAY, MARCH 19, 1900-16 PAGES. UAE 25% Off DIAMONDS. Our Diamonds were alreaiy marked ex- having teen purchased be- in- ceedingly low. fore African w cased prices from 25 to 40 per cent. k fs off on our already the South whieh ent which th on st «t sou at 25 per low pric means 50 per cent off others’ prices: $262 nt *, 1 Pure Solitaire Diamond Ring, 9% carats. Werth $575. Now.. 1 Large Opal Cluster Diamond Ring. 15 Diamonds. Worth $55. $40.06 Now nd Cluster Ring; con- not hie” EDS 1 Turquoise and Diamond Cluster Ring, 16 Clamomis, Worth $20. $15 Now. ...- 1 Pearl Breech with fine Diamond $10 Center. Worth $15. Now... Z 1 and Dia tains 14 fine Diem Worth $35. 4 Pearl Sunburst with fine Diamond Cen- Bee om f= S15 ent Diamend Pendant, contain- selling for $100 in for...-. “REMOVAL SALE” HURRIED! R. HARRIS & CO. TEAR DOWN IN 12 DAYS! Just 12 days more of fast and furious selling and we must make way for the builders! During the erection of our magnificent new home on our present corner, 7th and D streets, we shall occupy temporary quarters at 315 7th street, nearly opposite. Z9 discount Early comers secure the best bargains! |Diamonds, Watches, Jewelry, Sterling and Silver-plated Ware, Clocks, Cut Glass, Bric- a-Brac, Umbrellas, Leather Goods, Etc. 1 Large Crescent Brooch, con- taining 23 large Dia- monds. — Su- perb and rea- sonable at our regular selling price of $250. Te- duced "to $175. Blegant Pearl Opera Glass frames, warranted achrom: Value $7.50. gold-plated 93.75 Worth gor For. overs, Sees, $2.50 Men's S Worth $2. Now.. id Gold_Cuff Buttons. ) and $3, Now... $1.37 Gold Shirt Studs, latest pat- ‘orth $2.50 for sets S25 1 Sterling Silver Tea Set, 3 pieces, $50 Men's Solid Worth $1.50. Gola For. of repousse silver. Worth $100. Now Hurry, as there ere only a few left of those Solid Silver Toilet, Manicure and Desk Articles. Worth $1. 20, ; cs Choice. Handsome Cut Gloss Vinaigrettes, with sterling silver tops. Worth $1.50. = nn. AOC. “SNAPS” From Various Depts. Sold at 50c.on the Dollar. One Elegant Hall sie = oak, marouetrie its wi" $30 zip Ou Bat Oe: wan se G9 ‘One Superh Mahogany Hall Clock, 8 fect high, silver dial, English movement xi .$90 Worth $150. LLL ELAINE ARATE ARAL ALENT ARAN ARAL AN ALLELE ALTER ANAR AR ARADAR AAD AR DAD AR TAR ARAN ADAR Now is your opportunity to get a fine > Timeplece for the price of a poor one. Men's 14K. Gold-filled Hunting-case Watches, warranted for 25 years’ wear. Ameri ts. Worth "$12.50 $25. & <7 Mea’s Solid Silver Open-face Ameri- Worth can Stem-witding Watches, $10. Now Ladies’ Solid, God Lanting Case Stem- winding Watches American movements Worth $5. Now Ladies’ 14- K. Gold-filled Honting -case Watches, Amertean movements, Now Ladies’ Open-face Stem-winding Enam Watches, in blue, red and green ename with enameled pips to match. Watch and Pin worth $12. Now. Tso Men's 14-K. Open-face Filled Case Repeaters; strike the bours and quarter bours, wert §37.50 $75. Now. One Gents’ Elegant Solid 14-K. Gold Re- peater, strikes the minutes and $ hours. Worth $175. Now.. nee 100 1S SMALL At Least the Following Story Would Make It So. Fred. Funston’s Badge, Lost in Alaska, Found Under Flooring of Con- vention Halil! is the story of a lost badge—a true and a mysterious one at that. Frederick Funston of Kansas was a college boy he was “rushed,” in fra- ternity parlance, by the Phi Delta Omega fraternity, and in due time was admitted to the secret conciaves of the chapter house of that organization. He was an enthusiastic frat. man,” and was recognized In the col- Jege as one of the leading lights in secret organizations. Col. Funston, up to a few years ago, always proudly wore on his vest, just over his heart, the badge of his frater- nity—a handsome affair of gold and jewels, and he always prided himself upon a mem- bership in that body. Some yeers ago Col. Funston visited Alaska on government bus- ‘and during one of his trips in an open overturned, and lost all of bis ef- ‘ts. Among other things was his much- prized fraternity pin. and he mourned its Tiss a great deal. He thought of it a thou- sand times, and pictured it resting on his choicest waistcoat in the frozen waters of the north. Found Under a Floor. A short time ago a workman engaged in tearing up the floor of the old Ice rink at Convention Hall found a badge of curious design. The possession of such a badge he realized would cause a suspicion of dishon- esty on his part. and he promptly handed it over to a Aispenser of liquor, who reigns supreme behind a modest Lar in the north- east section of the city. The bartender saw on the back of the badge the name Fred, Funston engraved. and wondered to himself if it belonged to that brave Kansas b who had set the world ringing with his dar- ing in swimming a river in the Philippines, under fire. and successfully defeating a large force of rebels. They have a way of talking these things over in the northeast and it was not many hours before the finder badge was relating to Capt. Filer of pension office the finding of the badge its nt disp« ie Convinced that the badze really be- Funston, Capt. Filer visited and possessed himself of the enough. on the sack was the te together with a to be a symbol and in his own mi longed to Col. the t rr Sure name mystic of the fratern’ a letter 2 - bi nm hi - letter wa with instruct iver it to Col. Funston imm rriv he le fter the regimen A Mystery. Sure Enough. Sure enough, it was the missing badge— the badge that had lost in the far north years ago: but bow it ever found its way back to civilization again remains a mystery. Col. Funston thinks so. anyhow, and those who read this story will surely th him. There fs no doubt, to he- that the badge actually lost, Funston saved nothing on that uniform. But how !t got back ion will al me who re Col. Funston at home from the P directed to San Fr: ms to the pe elvco, to di shortly gin wit for Col trip but to eiviliza unless some ‘ed. by 2 trunk containing the clothing of Col. d ashore and picked Id the badge, among the nd in that way it came back owner of the dently regaled himself on the arti- thelial at Convention Hal! nd dropped it. It must have melted its way through the ice to the floor below. where it was found. Col. Fanston’s Letter. The following letter from Col. reply to Capt. Fi ceived a short time ago: “The badge of which you speak in your recent letter was lost by me in Alaska sev- erel years ago. It fs certainly very much ow it ever reached Washing- cognize it from the description y en me. It ts the badge of a colle which I belong. I would be atest obligation to you if you would get hold of it and send it to me; even if it is necessary to pay something to the man who now has it, although he fs in ni titled to it has no right to wear of which he is net a Funston. inquiry, was re- under the Most ely for eed THE HORSEMAN AND THE TAILOR. Blankets» he Equines and for the sers of the Tee. A Washington horseman whose team of trotters is the envy of his fellows whenever he gives them a spin on the Conduit road ssed the plate glass window of a tallor's store not far from The Star building the other afternoon. This horseman is a merci- ful man, and, being such, the care of his pets is ever uppermost In his mind. His coachman had told him that the horse: needed new blankets, and, being a wealthy man, no wool is too fine nor price too high when it comes to the protection of his precious trotters. He stepped in the store. “My friend,” said he to the tailor, “just make me up two pairs of blankets for my team, will you, of good size and long. I will select that piece of brown plaid in the ¢ ner of the window with the stripes as lond as a hand organ and as wide as the Potomac. Trim them in red and send them up to this address at once. Why, what is the matter? Aren't you in business ‘goods? You ought to know me, anyway. Make me an exercising hood of that intensely brilliant scarlet flannel in the other window for my black mare. My wife bright red is becoming to brunettes. What are you get- ting mad about?” The tailor was fingering the sharp edges of his cutting shears very much in the same manner as the hero on the stage, preparatory to running the villain through the heart, fingers the edge of his sword. The horseman had spoken truly. The tailor was mad. “Sir,” said he with sartorial dignity—“sir, you are in error. Your knowledge of cloth does not equal your knowledge of horses. We do not make up horse blankets. There is a place up the street where they do, but here we make men’s clothes. Those bolts of cloth in the window are the very latest from the looms and are the very latest styles of patterns for go‘fing suits for men and women. T pity your ignorance, sir; I pity your ignorance.” The horseman looked uncomfortable. “A plaid for golfing suits cannot be too large nor ‘loud,’ as you inaccurately sald. ‘The larger they are the larger time you will have playing on the green and chasing yourself from tee to tee, and the bigger you will appear in the estimation of the other tee chasers. In ladies’ skirts espe- cially these big plaids are very fetching. They must be cut full and roomy, coming just above the ankle bone, with a double Tow of large buttons in front on each side plait, cut to appear open. And then swing your shinny stick, make a ‘drive’ and let her go. ‘The same styles prevail for men. The scarlet coat with a wide plait across the shoulder blades and the small of the back is the very pink of golfing style. These bright red jackets are for ladies, cut man- fashion, with wide black velvet collar with half an inch of the goods showing around the edges. These sty’es are the most strik- ing and picturesque that golfers have ever worn. It would be hard to improve upon them for effect and color. By this time the horseman was half out of the open door. Golf styles were not in his line. —_——_—_. A RAILROAD TALE. Engine Rounded a Curve After the Inside Rail Was Removed. From the New Orleans Times-Democrat. “The wreck on the Valley road Monday evening is regarded as something of a curiosity in the line of casualties,” said an old engineer, “because the cars left the rails on the Inside instead of the outside cf a curve. As every school boy knows, the tendency of a body moving in a circle is to fly away from the center, by the operation of centrifugal attraction. The consequence is that a train of cars going around a curve at a good gait will be certain to hug the outside rail, and if it happens to jump the track one would naturally infer that It would be on the side where the pressure is greatest. For some reason or other, how- ever, the train on the Valley road reversed the accepted order of things, and took a header in the opposite direction. all of which reminds me of a singular bit of his- tory. It may surprise some of you younger gentlemen when I say that an incident based on the principle I have just described played a star role in whag was possibly the most dramatic passage of the entire civil war. I refer to the pursuit of Andrews’ raiders when they made their desperate dash through north Georgia to destroy rail- road communication with Chattanooga. The raiders, as you know, stole a freight train at Marietta, Ga., and started north- ward at top speed. They were pursued almost immediately by a detachment of our boys on a locomotive, and then ensucd the most thrilling running fight on record. Time and again Andrews and his men at- tempted to obstruct the track behind them, but they were so hard pressed that they were obliged to take to their train before they could do the work. At last they made a spurt that gave them a few moments’ breathing space and tore a short section of rat] out of a curve. Thefr pursuers were coming on at full tilt, and It seemed abso- lutely certain that they would be ditched when they reached that point, but, incred- tble as it may appear, they passed straight over the gap and held their way as if noth- ing had happened. The explanation of the seeming miracle was simply that the raiders in the excitement of the moment had taken the rail from the Inside Instead of the out- side of the curve, and When the locomotive swung around it was going so fast that all its weight was practically on the sound iron. In other words, centrifugal attraction ved the day, and irstead of burning the attanooga bridge Andrews was caught and hanged as a spy. If it hadn't been for at fatal biunder in removing the rail the raiders would doubtiess have accomplished their purpose, and what such a disaster would have meant to the confederacy gives the imagination unlimited leeway for spec- ulatiot se Remarkable Experience of a Bell Ringer. From the Cleveland Leader. A singular accident occurred at the Peo- ple’s Church at Galesburg yesterday morn- ing. The regular sexton being ill, a colored man, formerly body servant to Gen. Shaf- ter, was engaged as a substitute. While ringing the bell for the morning service his neck by some means became encircled by a loop of the rope, and he was drawn upward with such terrific force that his head pene- trated the ceiling, breaking an oak joist three by twelve inches in size. Beyond a slight abraision of the scalp the man suf- fered no injury. —<e-—______ “I won't say that I'm proof against temp- tation,” sald the peaceful citizen, “but I'm blest if I wouldn't rather be right than be governor of Kentucky !"—Puck. OLD-TIME FURNITURE Present Fad to Collect Antique Speci- mens. American Make Quite as Good as the Old English—The Differ- ent Schools. Written for The Evening Star. Longfellow's saying, In the elder days of art Builders wrought with greatest care Each minute and unseen part, may be also applied to furniture. The old Italian sculptors could use the chisel wood as well as on marble, and very few of the great artists but were skillful with both chisel and brush. Furniture is as old as civilization. ‘The Egyptians furnished their houses with luxurious pieces; so did the Greeks and the Romans. The museums of Europe are full of magnificent furniture from the old palaces and the splendidly carved pulpits of the middle ages. Just at present the craze for old furni- ture is leading to the collection of pleces of so-called antique furniture. Much of this is American in make, although it ex- hibits in its main features no great differ- ence from English articles of the same period. This revival of interest may and, it is hoped, will create a demand for really artistic furniture of modern workmanship and give to the cabient makers again the dignity of ranking as artists instead of as artisans. The oldest pieces of furniture of colonial manufacture are undoubtedly the chests of drawers. When the pilgrima came over in the Mayflower, they brought their clothing and few possesions packed in the oaken chests which with many of them were doubtless family heirlooms. Bedding they brought, too, but it {s doubtful if any other pieces of importance were brought over. The heads of the family depended on-hew- ing them out of the rough wood of the forest trees, as do most settlers. ‘These chests were handsomely built, with mor- Used and tenoned joints and paneled or carved sides, and had stout clasps. They were ornamental as well as useful. For Many Uses. They could be used as couches for the children, as tables when they stood high, or as settles when they were low. Inside thes clothing could be packed and the precious belongings of the family locked safe from prying eyes of servants or ene- mies. Among the pilgrims were artisans of no mean skill, When the John Aldens and the Priscillas married, they needed chests of heavy oak, with sturdy locks, for these chests were the colonial banks—the pioneer » deposit vaults. It was natural that ach painstaking craftsman when the or- der was given by a bride's father should be asked to imftate those chests seen in the old homestead, and so the American made chests were paneled and carved to resemble those brought from old England. on! The chests were, until 1700, the fashion- able pieces of furniture and were much used until 174, when people began to stow them away in attics or destroy them to make room for more modern material. The early records of the colonies show conclusively that there were skilled “joiners and carvers” among the colonists. “In an ancient inventory the most important piece of furniture mentioned is a chest valued at £1. Carved boxes were classed with the chests and were intended to hold the val- uable papers and jewels of the family. The chest away back in the middle ages and down to colonial times had been designed to contain the clothing and plate. In American Oak. That many of the chests found in this country are really of American workman- ship can be judged by the patterns, which do not resemble those found in foreign mu- seums or collections of furniture. The American oak, too, differs in quality from the English oak, the Quercus alba, the American furniture oak being much lighter than the English, although age makes it look very dark. Imitations of the age darkened chests, too, are made so skillfully that it 1s almost impossible to detect the difference. In New York city there is one dealer in spurious antiques Who manufac- tures old furniture and to carry out the counterfeit even riddles it with artificial worm holes. The colonial chest does not mean alone the low oaken box. In time manufacturers added a drawer below. So useful were the drawers that in time another drawer was added, and by and by the chest became a chest of drawers, all drawers and sup- plied with four long supports or legs, made more or less ornamental, according to the taste of the maker. The chests without drawers are the oldest, and, although they undoubtedly were made in this country be- fore that date, the oldest authenticated ones date to_ 1698. Cypress and cedar chests were made at a later date, and these were prized by the colonial housewives as a protection against moths. Gradually: the corner cupboards took the place of the chests of drawers, and as the cabinet makers began to manufacture ta- bles, chairs, bookcases and bureaus the chest became less important and less. popu- ‘ar The Chispendale Makes. ‘Thomas Chippendale was an English cabi- net maket, born in Worcester, and succeed- ing his father as’a cabinet maker in Lon- don. His furniture, from his own published books of designs, seems to have been a combination of the Chinese and French styles. The work of any of his contempo- raries, which was but little removed from the usual style, ts usually ascribed to Chip- perdale, although real Chippendale fur- niture, so experts claim, is far rarer than is believed. Skilled workmen from France, owing to political troubles at that time, em- igrated into England and left the impress of their individuality on the furnfture then manufactured. There is no doubt that the colonial governors and persons ef quality jin the colonies who me from England brought specimens of Chippendale furniture to America, and the thrifty Yankee furni- ture makers speedily imitated it, as the American artisans did everything English for which there was a demand. Distinctive Features. Chippendale was fond of using long, slen- der pillars and slender, curved legs, with carvings resembling bow-knots and flowers upon his more pretentious pieces. Indeed, it is said from a study of the designs of the makers of furniture that the articles ade by M another popular cabinet er of the time, far more resemble what consider Chippendale than what is gen- ly edited to him, (Adams, Hepple- thwaite and Sheraton, all later makers, had their styles, and by following the Engilish schools one can have a fair Idea to what period old colonial furnkure belongs. EDITH LAWRENCE, we KAF RS AS SCOUTS. Instinct and Training Have Given ‘Them Almost Supernatural Keennens. From the Landon: Pall Mall Gazette. Whoever, like the African poet, Thomas Pringle, has ridden over the South African yeldt) “with the silent bushbo: (Kaffir or Tottie) “by his side,” will at once know that he has by him a creature endowed with a sense or Instinct that is absolutely inexplicable to the purblind and puzzled European, whose eyes have been bleared by paper examinations and ears dulled by the pounding din of underground railways, traction engines, bells and other inventions of ciyillzation. Here, more or less in his primitive state, is the child of the veldt. From his infancy the ways of birds and beasts have been revealed to him as the leaves of a book, opening page by page, ull the story of the land is revealed. He creeps with naked feet among the big bolders of the Kopjes or Krantzes like the Cape pan- ther itself; he Waits with a patience that 1s abnormal to us for his opportunity of re- connoitering; he compresses his body into the smallest possible dimensions in a way that a Highland deer stalker might well he imitates the stillness of the rock and is keeping every muscle taut in watchful energy. He knows that “fontein” to which the bush doves gather in the early morning to drink, and should it happen that a foraging or scouting party Is there and the bush doves swoop aside in affrighted crowds he is on the alert and takes the hint. There is reason to be doubly cautious no’ Should the smoke of a campfire be permitted incautiously to arise, his eyes will first discern it and separate it, small though it be, from the morning mist that is climbing round the hillside. Should a scout indulge in the strong but withal fragrant and pleasant Boer “‘baccy,” the native will detect it,from afar, should the wind carry it down the kloof. He knows, too, all the alarm notes of bird or beast. Yonder, in the kopje or krartz, he hears the sharp alarm note of a dassie, or rock rabbit, or down jn the recesses of a kloof he notes the cessation, suddenly, of two louris an- swering or challenging one another. Or he knows that such and such a cliff is the haunt of the rock “spreeuw,” or starling. Why do they leave their haunts and go elsewhere? Even the baboons among the ledges of the hill may give their tocsin of alarm, not the rating they give the Cape leopard that may be creeping after one of the unwary and incautious youngsters, but something quite different at the sight of man. The vuiture, too, may have their eyries in the krantzes, and give signs of being disturbed; or, far away in the clear African sky, these birds themselves, swinging in great lazy circles almost out of sight “on the oarage of their wings,” may at last descend upon a certain spot for their obscene feast. But they can tell a story to a watchful ob- server, who, like the ‘native, will guess from their very flight the presence or ab- sence of man, as the case may be. Then in the rhinosterbush on: the hiliside a scolding “knorhaan” may spring up with loud, dis- cordant cry, heard far and near. What does this mean? It may be a jackal return- ing from its midnight prowl, or it may be that arch-enemy map. Or a “clumpjie” of guinea fowl may haye started up from the river side suddenly, where they had been roosting. Their very t will tell what has disturbed them @nd made them depart. So, 100, the Kaffir crane, the harrier-hawk, sitting motionless in, the misty morning on some tall bush, will,each in their way aid the backwoodsman’s search, who will draw his omens from bird,and beast alike. Who will deny that the Idre of the veldt and the cunning of the primitive naturalist are use- ful sometimes? We who have scarcely a bowing acquaintance with the dawn know very little. The child of the veldt knows much. Then, of course, the native has local knowledge. We may be trying to guess what is on the other side of a nek or kopje, but the native knows what is there. Has he not, as a wandering herd minding the flocks of merino sheep or Angora goats, spent hours in the sunshine on the very slope you wish to know about, crooning out the while some old Kaffir refrain, or carving a wooden pipe? He must know every stone, cave and hollow that ts there. ‘Then there is the art of “spooring,” or tracking. The veldt of South Africa, in dry spells, looks, and really is, hard and almost adamantine. Seldom Will a soft place ap- ar for the foot of man or beast-to leave its imprint. In such a@ country old ‘Red Rube” of Exmoor fame would be hopeless- ly ont of it, and+be no better or worse than the most purblind child of elvilization, al- though he might have been able always to “slot' and harbor his deer in Horner Serotec enteteteteenentetetetetneenteteteteteetettnteteietnntetetaeteoinlnloty sentedodotesosntn Hecht’s Greater Stores. Soaseenetoendoegeets aoeecloronseaeneeendosdendeeheteeeeinionleedoeintn most successful event. occasions. purchases as usual. leading New York milliners. the mei most stylishly black, and eq med with new Persian andl of Milan, plain and :ongh Mack- inaw and plain mixed straws of several sorts, here at, Ladies’. misses Neapolitan and plain and fancy straw worth. Special steatent assortment—the senson’s newest shape with flowers. plumes, mall value will bring no ies than $7 Walking hats. Ladies’ and inisses’ ready-to-wear golf snd walking bats, trim- chief effect, wings, silk and velve} 79¢. to $3.48 Untrimmed hats. and children's untrimmed hats. the most wanted shapes and colors, in chip, } in biac shades, instead of 98c. will be sold during the opening for “Opening” continued tomorrow and Wednesday. Notwithstanding overhanging clouds which threatened a downpour of rain every moment, Hecht’s “Opening” up to the time of this writing is a Expressions of appreciation and congratulation are being showered on us —everybody agrees that the store surpasses in attractiveness all previ Weare offering ‘souvenir’ values for these three days and ‘‘charging’’ The exhibit of spring millinery. i Such an exhibit! Such dainty creations! Those from the deft hands of our own milliners vie with the chic conceptions from abroad. There are imported hats here by the score. There are hats from the No source has been overlooked. We have made the millinery parlors en- pancinely beautiful with bowers of flowers and foliage, and we've heightened the effect with clusters of electric lights. The ensemble is beautiful to behold, and we trust you'll look in, if only for a minute. As a “‘souvenir"’ offering in the millinery store for the “Opening’” we shall sell Indies’ and qisses’ trlmmed hats, in in turbans. toques and large and medium-sized bats and bonnets, trim- pastel shades, ons and laces 98 elsewhere. for. in this lot are all the new of the valley. cornfiowers, to sell for 33c., In large bunches of handsome roses, kinaw, anthemums. in all cclors, pansies and folt and all Cc. sell for 49 cents, will be sold for. °o 9 ° od = ° Ladies’ spring tailor-made suits. We can justly claim that ours is the great ble others’ variety. Every day we're told by disinterested ladies who have looked about town. hibit during the “opening” days is of our own stock. We have not, as other stores have done, borrowed elaborate costumes and suits of the manufacturers for this occ the imported novelties—the high-grade gowns—and you'll find we've only marked them what the values for the “opening” day est stock of ladies’ suits Two lots of flowers. One large table fled to overflowing with sprays of Mlac byacinths, roses and foliage, which were bought will be gold fo Another table full of han: sion. You see such here by the dozens— ous $4.98 as weil ax lilies 12"Ac. id chrys- forget-me-nots, clover, ome flowers, em! with follage in the city. We are showing dou- The ex- ‘re for fasblopable suits : for still finer for’ the wey of chevlot serges, sults of | im- acme of ui ° Venetians, bome- ° ported cheviot ° jebni e . spuns and novelty serees. broad = 3 fabrics, in black ney ee * tians, and the like, in bi: ud the t and all the leading shades, with all styles t Peete! SHCREhE ta CA ets of jackets; with box-pleated, — full-flare effects; with well-ttting — akiris; elegantly ‘finished garments, with . Some of these multe are Sar ead at Much style to them as is to be bad w J throughout with taffeta silk and beav- : HE oauits at donble the price. You cannot pos- ily appliqued: you msy be able to buy equal $ Ef sibly equal these suits elsewhere for less stslisbnesa elsewhere for £25, but not for $ than $15, for even those who ara able to less. The assortment ut this price In ex- 4 $ sell them for less are not willing to do so. traordinary, hence the choice is splendid. i = 3 $ $ Hecht and Company, é : $ 513-515 Seventh Street. $ teeter tent ‘ MAG oods. Not so the South African native, | washed out by recent storms, and catlike | cacao is theobrs ; nee hehe creeps safely abovt where civilized man roma, & powerful organic who, indeed, has taught the Boers them- selves much of their savage cunning and crafty ways. He will read the brown sur- face of the veldt as easily as an open book. Let him quarter the ground and give him time, and he will soon tell you whether men or horses have gone up yonder gorge or kloof. If they have, indeed, passed that way, he will go so far as to make a shrewd guess how many of them there were and how long it was since they went. A little bit of half-dried clay or mud will tell him this, or, perhaps, the half-bruised blades of grass off which the dew has been brushed. He will note, too, the difference between the British boot and the Boer veldt schoen, between the shod and the unshod pony, and tell exactly the nails and custom of the shoeing. All will be patent and visible to this sleuthhound of the veldt. If he scouts there will be little danger for himself per- sonally. He is too wide awake, and, be- sides, a gun would be of little real use to een ‘losed th is yet another way, closed to the Buropeat! scout, by which the Kaffir native especially can pick up information, and this is by asking questions in his own language of the native women, children and men he meets.. Whoever has heard or had inter- preted to him the questions and answers of, say, a native herd who is seeking a stray sheep or horse will at once know how per- tinent these questions and answers are. Yonder Kaffir woman, for instance, picking up stick, In the early dawn seemed to have ‘all her wits and eyes about her when she saw the strange animal go up the Kloof. Moreover, the information passing in the native lingo from one mouth to another seems more full and certainly more pictur- esque than when: interpreted. Indeed, the way that accurate news of battles and other great events has been transmitted in South Africa from kraal to kraai has often proved a puzzle even to colonists. The na- tive seems to have some quick and tele- phonic way of passing on news. These na- tives, too, seem to see much better in the gloomy. twilight than the European, and starlight such as streams from a clear South African sky is ample illumination for him. He knows, too, the shadow of dan- ger that slants across a track or rough pathway,esuch as that of a deep sluit, | dettes, would blunder. At outpost duty, as ve- as “spoorers’’ or “‘slotters,”’ the South African native, going with a Eu- ropean and placing his keen faculties of seeing and hearing at his disposal, must be invaluable. It has been said that the Boer cordon around Ladysmith has been kept tight through the help at night of native guards or watchmen, wao are undoubtedly used by the Boer sentinels. The question is, Are We using the native in the most use- ful way? The best scouting survey would | haz been made to exte be done by natives and Europeans moving about in couples, or, at any rate, in such 4 way that a sharp native’s eyes and ears should be always at the disposal of our men. In this Boer campaign, made up of tricks and surprises, such intelligencers es- pecially if checked by the skiliful cross- examination of colonists who Know the lan- guage and the land, must be especially use- ful. It would be well if our gallant yeo- men, disembarRKing on a strange land, where all is unknown, had such trusty “seouts” by their side. ——ser THE USES OF CACAO, Vast Possibilities for This Commodity in the Market. From the South American Journal. Cacao is the principal element.in choco- late and various kinds of* confectionery. As an article of food it is very nutritious, healthful and stimulating. The “butter” of cacao is well known in medicine, and is used in the cure of skin diseases of all kinds with good results. The shells of the seed, roasted and ground, are used for “cocoa,” a drink well known in the coun- tries of the temperate zone, but used here only by the poorer classes. ‘The pulp of the pod is used as fodder for animals. The popuiarity of cacao rapidly increases wherever it is once introduced, and neither fluctuations in prices nor at- tempts to substitute other products, sup- posed to have the same or. better qualitics, have affected its use in localities where it is once well known. The active principle of reagent. The possibilities of the cacao market are vast. The consumption has not bee gun, or at least made any headway. e Asiatic countries, among which Jaj sia and British India may some come important customers, Choc Searcely known in nica, the Bri colonies or Hawali. n Russia, Turkey and Greece are but recently becoming fa- miliar with the product. As there has 3 been a ready market, no special the demand ta new countries. . While some progress has been mad in the utilization of the shell and puip, attempt of importance has bi ma te manufacture the preduct for exoort, al- though there is plenty of van a sug. available for the ereparation: aan ‘es profits would be considerable. Ecuado:ian cacao, being somewhat bitter, has an ad- vantage over that of other countries in assimilating a larger amount of sugar in the manufacture of chocolate, thereby re- ducing the cost of the product. The consumption of cacao is increasing at the rate of 5 or G per 5 inside of eight or ten years the demand will be greater than the supply. The at- tempts to introduce cacao on a large scale in various other tronical countries not been attended with favoral In no other part of the world can Its eulti- vation be brought to the flourishing condi- tion which prevails in Ecuador, where there is still a vast extent of land suitabie for new and productive estates. All that is necessary is capital and energy. whi will be welcomed, and which will surely come when the railway to Quito is bi for no line of agriculture shows such te ing returns. —_—_+e-+—___ In the laundry of an insane asylum ai Pontiac, Mich., electric irons instead of “s irons have proved to be peculiarly adapied for insane asylum service, where most of the werk is done by the patients. There is no chance of their setting anything on fire with the irons, and as the irons are kept —— — temperature, they do not re- quire exercise of judgment in = chang-