The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, April 7, 1895, Page 15

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 1895. 15 = ACROSS THE Bad luck to t Joseph Walker And the day Likewise to Mr. Tapscott And bis dirty yellow me; —From an old § at sailors the packet ships forty years ago. Standing upon the pier at Birkenhead and looking across over the glassy surface of the Mersey toward the Princess d the eye couldn’t help but seea h 1 v tarred and newly | d ship swinging lazily r anchor in the river. Her br: square and the cotton sails npor tl were neatly stowed with bunts both as the round bottom of a s harbor fashion and as close as the sei on a mainstay. The tide w. wasn’t a ripp! n tk he flood, and yet t THE ISAAC WEBB [Drawn for the “Call” by Coulter.] ATANTIC ©N A BACKBARK kINER | ment, for beside me there stood a young & T sHIP emigrant girl much older than myself who was looking at the compass and she asked » what it was. ‘We're a-goin’ to 'ave a breeze shortly,” heard the pilot say to the captain, who \d just come up out of the cabin and ned him in a walk on top of the after house. “It’s lookin’ dirty way off there to south’ard of east,” he wenton. “I've 1 watchin’ it for some time and it *pears to be risin’.” ot your men together, Mr. Patton,” aptain Stowell, the ship’s com- er, “and heave in the slack chain. few of 'em aloft to cast off the yard- ickets, and when the slack is all in nasthead the topsail yards to be ot sheeting home.” I'he breeze that the pilot predicted came | er than expected, and inside of half an r after feeling its breath the anchor- was in the grip of the shankpainter the Tsaac Webb, the famous Blackball OUTWARD BOUND. broke against the ship’s stern and the few 1kles that were made by the boatmen hey rowed o and from the ships. re wasn't a breath of wind. T ry banner at the peak of the monk hung in folds sluggishly, and the weatlier vane that was fastened to the zzen royal backstay looked as limp and ess as a wet main deck swab that lay he windlass end. hite cotton sails, new manilla run- ar, the crow nng women and 1en, dressed in homespun, about the decks d ng over the r: all went to show e was an outward-bound Yankee nd the house flag at the fore royal truck proved her to a Blackball liner awaiting a breeze and the turn of the tide to get under w: “Look you wantto get x Jere, young fellow, if you n aboard this ship without trou- liner, was gliding down the Mersey and out toward the Irish Sea under a cloud of white canvas that reached from the upper il of the bulwarks to the now mustheaggd oyal yards and we were assisted by the which began to ebb. The breeze which canted the ship’s big bows downstream.when we tripped the an- chor hung to us till we were well abreast of | the northwest lightships, when it shifted to the e nd stiffened, and, bellying the big | topsa ntus reeling along about ten knots, 1 a full cargo and seven hundred gers, all bound for New York. harged the pilot at midnight, later the rattling breeze, v inning down St. George's Cha land gave us such a splendid off- ing, chopped around to the west'ard and Began to howl. For four days and nights we lay to under a close-reefed main and r | THE GIRLS HAD A HARD TIME OF II ON THE SLIPPERY DECK. ble put some more elbow there rag and make the to; nacle shine like a looking-g! We can’t | have any skulkers aboard this ship.” | The coarse voice was Mr. Patton’s, the | chief mate of the Isaac Webb, and he was introducing himself to me as I was busy scouring the brass around the binnacle. | Mr. Patton was a downeaster, tall, an- gular and rawboned. The color of his skin ! irom long years of contact on the| ocean with hail, snow, squalls, fogs and | sunny weather resembled the yellow shoes now worn by dudes. A severe cut which | he once received below the right eye left an ugly scar and a broken nose disfigured | what was once a very handsome face. The | knuckles of his right hand were all broken and he carried a brass knuckle in the star- bonrqdpqckgt of his monkey jacket. Ididn’t like the blustering introdfiction. It made me feel very sheepish at the mo- of that bin- | grease into that | | big | the sexes about even! fore topsail, and part of the time we had her reduced down to a storm staysail. The sea lashed itself into a fury and the reen waves, as they rolled up above us, broke, and their curling crests leaped over the ship's bows, chased each other along the deck, smashed in the weather door of the galley, put the fire out in the range and drove the cooks away. The hatches were all battened down and the companionways closed up tight, makin, the ’tween decks the most miserable of places. All of our passen, ers were young, and X .divided.” They had brain and brawn, and in their composition was the best blood of Europe, It was the soundest angd the best looking of the family that emigrated. The dwarfs and cripples were kept at home. Seven hnndreff of these you;f people, with hopes high burn- ing, braved the dangers of the wild At~ lantic on the Isaac Webb and were stowed away in her 'tween decks, now the foulest of places, with an atmosphere that was suffocating, packed like sardines in a box, with but little air or light, and all seasick. The wet, dirty and dismal ’tween decks with its seasick occupants mingling their moans with the creaking of the ship’s joints as she plunged her knightheads into a sea that flooded the main deck above them, and, when she rolled, washed the waters in a wave that broke against the bulwarks, the fierceness of the gale as it shrieked through. the shrouds and played upon the running-rigging, the big ship un- der a storm staysail struggling with the immense combers that thumped her on the weather-bow and threw her off into the trough of the sea when she’d roll and show her "copper-covered keel to the hungry wild seabirds who were hovering above and about us carefully watching our every move, the cursing of ‘the officers and the growling of the sailors.as they were being washed from the pumps, made a scene which no brush cou‘d truthfully paint nor pen describe. These packet ships carried no waiters, not even a stewardess to look after the comfort of the female portion of the pas- sengers. The provisions, too, were severely lain, the principal item being Indian For yellow) meal, which was served out in the raw state to the emigrants themselves twice a week. The daily allowance of this food they used to carry to the galley and fetch away when ronked}t The galley was located well forward on the main deck and a good distance from the booby hatch, the entrance to the 'tween decks. How often I have witnessed dozens of young girls saluted by a green wave as they tried to reach the galley that swept them off their feet, piled them in a heap on top of each other in the lee scuppers in a most helpless con- dition and washed the food which they were taking to have cooked into the sea to the delignt of the seagulls, who would swoop down and carry it off. Drenched, discouraged, hungry and frightened, we used to come to their as- sistance, lift them out of the floating scup- ers, soothe their fearsand after leading em down the companion ladder to their berths below, still the pangs of hunger by dividing with them our own hard but scanty fare, which consisted of bread skouse, that was sometimes seasoned with too much salt water and a black wash called coffee, sweetened with treacle, that tasted like a mixture of salts and senna. I have many times seen the poor crea- tures, when the ship was pitching. lose hold of the man rope while trying to reach the steerage with cooked food, tumble down and lay prostrate at the foot of the ladder, with their yellow meal stirabout scattered around the decks and on their clothes, There is no comparison between the steerage of the ocean liners of to-day and the 'tween decks of the time of which I write. Those early day emigrants endured sufferings and hardships while crossing the Atlantic which only themselves can ever know. Both owners and captains were careless of their comforts, and I who saw the trials and the troubles of their every day life on board considered them the most miserable of wretches. Many times I went hungry, having shared with the girls that I knew were in want my last bite, and yet they appeared to be more courageous than the men, and despite their femininity made better sail- ors, for when the day broke and the Yankee pilot, who had just boarded us, gave the order to *fill away the main top- sail,” thirty or more of them who heard of his coming, were about and grabbing hold of the frosty braces, rushed along the snow-covered deck singing: Hurrah, my boys, for Paddy’s land, "Tis the land that we adore; May the heavens smile on every child That left the Shamrock shore. It took us six weeks to make the pas- sage, and when we anchored off Castle Gar- den our passengers now in groups, some dancing, more singing, had forgotten all about the long journey and their sufferings vanished as if it were but a dream. DExN1s KEARNEY, RECKONED SHE GOT EVEN, The Woman Who Smuggled Catskin Muffs Across the Canadian Line. The Clerk Told Her What They Were—She Was Angry and Talked Back. “I see by an advertisement of yours,” she said, putting down a big bundle on the counter of a Sixth-avenue furstore and fumbling for her handkerchief, “that your store valuable furs through the summer, and guarantee to keep out the moths. Is that so?” “It is, madam,” said the clerk politely. “Well, I own two mighty fine muffs, and T'd kinder like to store ’em. Wouldn’t think of bringin’ 'em to you, only iast year I put up my best plush coat in camfer—a dollar’s worth of it—and along came them buffaler moths and chawed up the whole back breadth. They just seemed to hanker after camfer, and now I feel a bit skittish about the muffs.” “We'll take good care of them, madam.” “Tain’t too early to put’em away?” “0h, no.” ‘I see they’re having sleighin’ West.” “1t won't last.” 7 “Reckon I ewon’t need them muffs, TR 1 do. o Could I get ’em if it came off cold ?” “You could.” “Well, I guess I'll leave ’em,” concluded the camphor skeptic, untying the string on the bundle. “These are valuable furs, young man,” she added. *“You don’t get no such lynxskins down here. I bought them muifs in Canada last fall, and I didn’t pay no duty gettin’ ’em in, either.” “How’s that?”” asked the clerk. “T wore ’em in.”” “I don’t understand,’ said the clerk. “Don’t hey? Well, I put a foot through each muff. See?” “Weren't they — weren't they rather warm ?”’ ventured the clerk. “Warm? Well, you can bet I perspired and blushed all the way over the border, thongh, of course,” she added, modestly, “them muffs was only just above my shoes.” : “Of course,”’ echoed the clerk, hastily. “May I see the muffs, ma’am?” She opened the bundle, and an expres- sion of surprise crossed his face as he ex- amined the contents. *You said you didn’t pay duty, I be- lieve,”” he asked. “You better believe I didn’t.” ¢ think that cats are on the free list, fnadam.” “Hey?" “I say cats are free.”’ “Suppose they are?” “Merely that your muffs are catskin, treated and dyed, that's all. Shall I give you a receipt L “What?'' asked the woman again, unable to believe her ears. “Catskins, madam.”” The owner of the muffs quietly gathered up her property and arose. “They’re no more catskins than you are,” she said, with an expression of con- tempt., “It’s just envy. You couldn’t bring in a muff the way 1 did to save your neck, because there ain’t enough shape on our whole body, all the way from your ead to your feet, to hold a muff.” By this time she had reached the door, says the New York Advertiser, but she screamed back: : “‘Cats, hey? You pore, skinny little man, with a fishpole shape; mebbe they are cats, bat I reckon we're even.”’ And‘t‘x( the looks of the pale-faced and pop-eyed clerk they were, out \ The Atmosphere of Love Is & pure, sweet breath. This desideratum is one of the results of using SOZODON, which not only invigorates and preserves the teeth but renders the mouth as fragrant as a rose. “How's that for ugliness?” said an ani- mal collector, taking up a tall bottle and holding it against the light as a eonnois- seur would wine. The bottle—a big-mouthed affair—was filled with diluted alcohol and held an ex- traordinary looking insect, that was ap- parently all legs and claws and almost a foot in length. “I have caught any number of curious creatures,” continued the animal-hunter, “but this is the most singular. I was prowling through the forest of one of the South American countries one day in search of specimens when I observed a small bird fluttering violently and evident- ly entangled among the branches of a small tree. Approaching it carefully I saw the supposed branch move, but even then, when within several feet of the bird, I still thought it impaled or caught in some way. Suddenly, as I stretched out my hand to release it, I saw that the little bird was in the grasp of a veritable monster; a gigantic insect that so-imitated the green twigs of the tree upon which it stood that it was almost indistinguishable.” The animal was this fellow I have in the bottle, as you see, a perfect imitation of a jointed green twig; even its small wings are imitations of the leaves of a plant. “It is a gigantic mantis—one of the deli- | 7% LIFE INSECTS THAT GATGH BIRDS the method described by Mme. Merian, who came upon a huge spider devouring a bird that had evidently been caught in a web spun over a crevice in a tree. She de- scribes the monster devouring its prey asa disgusting spectacle, it having covered the nnf%nunutc bird with some secretion and was slowly sucking its blood. “I heard strange stories about the taran- tula. According to the natives it was not always deadly, and gave to the victim a peculiar spasm, so that they appeared to go through a dance. Some were rigid, their movements being very slow. Others threw themselves about in a frantic man- ner, as though mad. . The tarantula, the famous dance of the native Spanish people, is supposed to be modeled after this singu- lar disease, and is often very graceful and attractive. *‘If all the insects which prey upon birds and other animals were collected it would make an interesting showing. One would hardly expect to see an insect preying upon fish, yet in Netw Zealand I have seen a large dragon fly catch small fish. The big insect would skim along the surface and dart into away. The same has been observed in this country. Gosse, the English natural- ist, saw dragon flies catching small fish in MANTIS CATCHING A BIRD. country, but enlarged out of all propor- tions—a veritable giant. It had been rest- ing on the twig or branch unseen, com- pletely protected by its resemblance to the branch, and the bird had possibly alighted in it _and been - clasped in- the trap-like claws that came together like springs. My sympathies were with the bird, but it was such a remarkable occurrence that I stood and watched the tragedy to the finish. The terrible insect remained immovable; only jts two claws clutched the bird, the sharp somts perforating it when it slowly pressed the struggling body against its mouth, apparently sucking the blood. In any event the bird soon died in its em- brace and I threw my insect net over the monster, and here he is. *No, it did not struggle and seemed to be incapable of any quick movement, its limbs being raised almost automatically. It gave me the imsression in all its movements of some weird machine that had been wound up and moved with the regularity of clock- work. Ilearned from the natives that the insect was famousas a bird-catcher, taking birds as large as a sparrow. In_almost every case they must have been deceived by the nngenrance of the insect, thinking it a branch of the tree. “Our ordinary mantis, a little creature hardly an inch or so in length, preys upon other insects, catching them just as this monster did the bird. “‘Before I went to South America,”’ con- tinued the collector, “I had read the story cate little praying fellows common in this | Alabama, while the larve of the drngon | X | fly is known to be an enemy of small ‘‘Among the bird-hunters may be i cluded the xcor;l)ion. In the BEast India Islands a very large specimen is found, and a well-known naturalist actually observed one capture a bird. The scorpion | was a very large one, and it sprang at the’ bird, whlgh was a small one, holdingitin its claws and striking it with its claws, killing it almost instantly. “The South American and African ants are famous in this respect, and often suc- ceed in destroying large animals. A fly in Africa kills thousands of horses and cattle yearly, depu:mnfi its eggs in the bodies, where the young live fora while—illustrat- ing the fact that it is not always the largest animal that is the greatest de- stroyer.” SIX SUCCESSFUL PUPILS. Graduating Exercises of the California School of Elocution and Ora- tory. Six bright young ladies graduated from the California School of Elocution and IOratory in the well-filled auditorium of the Young Men’s Christian Association last night. Two of them, Miss Mabel E. Sweetland and Miss Vida White, both of this city, were from the professional DRAGON FLY CAPTURING A FISH. of Mme. Merian about spiders that caj ture birds, and I must confess I took it with a grain of salt; but when I reached the deep jungle and saw the wonderful butterflies, the gigantic spiders, I. was ready to believe anything and kept my eyes open. More than this, one of my guides, an Indian, told me that the taran- tula lived on birds and he had seen them eating them. *‘I found that the most of the big spiders did_most of their exploring in '.Es night, finding several in my tent—huge hairy creatures that would cover a saucer. One day as we were pushing along the north branch of a sluggish river, on the outlook for game, my man, who was twenty feet to my right with my gun, gave a shout which brought me to his side, and there was the bird and the spider. The former was a good sized sparrow, which had evi- dently been caught in & net of some kind, as it was entangled, and the spider, a great ugly fellow, had just seized it, and despite the blows the bird gave it with its wings and beak, was preumf it to the fatal man- dibles, and soon killed it. “The bird was as large as the spider and was a good illustration of the strength of these insects; but they nndoubtedlgyrel to a great extent upon the effect of th poison, which immediately enters the veins of the victim and tends to paralyze them. “During a long trip I frequently saw these spiders clgptnre fiirdg One method was to crouch upon plants, and when the birds came fluttering around the flowers the tarantula would suddenly seem to strike it down with its ‘rowaflu front claws and in a moment send its mandibles through the flesh. At other times the bird was ap- rmnuy caught in a web that was spun for the purpose of trapping them. This is course. The other successful candidates, who will henceforth be known as the class of 95, were Miss Nellie Averill Armstrong of San Diego, Miss Josie Bryan of San Jose, Miss Esther C. Macomber of Angel Island and Miss Bertha Brosius of this city. The parts they took in the graduat- ing exercises reflected the thoroughness of the traming of their principal, Miss Emily Curtis. ~ The programme of exercises was one of particular merit, a good chance for Del- sartean and vocal display being given in the tableaux mouvants, in which Misses Vida White, Esther C. Macomber, Francis Luse, Mabel E, Sweetland, Josie Bryan and Luln Krieg participated. It illustrated various popular sentimental songs. The recitations of the graduates were as follows: *“The Maiden Martyr,” Miss Josie Bryan; ‘“Ladybird’s Race.” Miss Esther C. Macomber; “A Village Singer,” Miss Bertha Brosius; and ‘‘How the Church Was Built at Kehoe's Bar,” Miss Nellie Averill Armstrong. Miss Mabel E. Sweetland’s rendition was a pantomime, “Tit for Tat.” By way of variety several musical numbers were in- mrfiernd among the exercises, Mrs. Jessie D. Moore giving a v solo, Miss Char- lotte Gruenhagen a violin solo and M. B, ‘Wallach _a ’cello solo. A scene from M Stuart” closed the programme, ‘Miss Vida White impersonating Mary and Miss Bertha Brosius Elizabeth. The California School of Elocution and Oratory was established in 1881, and hasa board of directors composed of ‘prominent. State educators and scholars and a number of ladies and gentlemen of high social standing. Prominent among them are Professor C. W. Childs, principal, and Professor George R. Klufnmr, vice-prin- the water, seize a small fish and bear it | cipal, of the State Normal School at San Jose; President J. N. Beard of the Napa College, and Professor Rockwell D. Hunt, who fills the chair of history in that insti- tution; William T. Ross, a well-known local elocutionist; Arthur P. Chipron, as- sistant secretary of the Youn% Men’s Christian_Association; Hon. C. W. Cross, Rolla V. Watt and Rey. E. R. Dille of this city, Mrs. Mabel Garthwaite Cockroft of Oakland and Mrs. J. S. McCain of Ala- meda. The faculty consists of Miss Emily Curtis, principal; Miss F. M. Estabrook, associate; Miss Yida White, Sigismund Blumann, Miss Jessie D. Moore and Miss Susie W. Nicoll. A DRUMMER IN TROUBLE. James Watson Committed to the County Jail for Contempt. James W. Watson encountered the wrath of the Superior Court yesterday and in consequence was sent to the County Jail for contempt. ‘Watson secured a divorce from his wife, Sierra M. Watson, about a year ago, and was directed to pay $150 attorney’s fees and $75 a month alimony. He neglected to Bay, and a week ago was cited to appear in epartment 4 to show cause why he should not be punished for contempt. He ad- mitted that he had recently sold property for $4000, but could not explain what had become of it. The property was purchased five years previously for §6000, and his wife declared he had admitted having sacrificed it to escape paying alimony. Yesterday he remembered that as re- Fard: the $4000 purchase money he had lost $3000 of it at the races. The court an- imadverted severely on the evasion by the defendant and ordered him into the cus- :iody of the Sheriff until he pay $225 now ue. THE NEW PORT WARDENS Commissibns Are lIssued to Messrs. Provost, Atwood and Harney. The New Board Will Claim Their Seats —A Contest In Prospect. Port Wardens’ commissions were issued yesterday to Nelson Provost, successor to J. W. Gage; H. R. Atwood, vice A.J. Mar- tin, and P. J. Harney, vice B.J. Watson. The three gentlemen were appointed by Governor Budd and confirmed by the Sen- ate during the closing days of the last Legislature. Samuel Braunhart was ap- pointed at an earlier date to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Samuel K. Thornton, whose term expired March 1. The contention was made that the terms of Gage, Martin and Watson did not expire until March 1, 1896, and the Governor, in all probability, has deferred issuing the commissions of their successars until he looked up the law in the case. The old board was appointed by Mark- ham in 1891, and Thornton took his office immediately, but the others failed to ualify until a year later. Thornton was the successor of Port Warden John Mar- tin, who died in 1890. On the. death of the latter Governqr Waterman appointed Alec Badlam his successor, but Badlam was never confirmed, and when Markham took office he ignored Waterman’s appointment and named Thornton the successor of John Martin. The latter’s term, had he lived, would not have expired until March, 1892, Thornton going into office in 1891 his four years of service expired this year. The new Port Wardens intend making a fight for their office, and as soon as their commissions are received they will take the necessary oath and demand the retire- ment of Messrs. Gage, Martin and Wat- son. The latter gentlemen have already expressed themselves in regard to their position in the matter. They will refuse to yield, basing their refusal on the conten- tion that they have yet a year to serve. Budd’s appointees insist that their term of oftice dates from the issuing of their commissions, and claim that the term of the present board has expired. The mat- ter will probably be taken into the courts, and pending a decision the old boa: claims the right to act. Of the new appointees Provost and At- wood are master mariners. Captain Provost was formerly in command of thHe schooner C. H. Merchant and Captain At- wood has for years been the surveyor for McNear. P.J. Harney is the agent of the Bacramento Transportation Company and has been on the water front for many yvears. HUNTINGTON IS COMING, Towne and Mills Will Meet Him at El Paso or New Orleans. These Gentlemen, It Is Said, Will Start on Their Trip To-Day. Afteral several postponements of his proposed trip to this coast C. P. Hunting- ton, president of the Southern Pacilic, has at last got his pressing business affairs in such a shape that he can getaway from New York, and was expected to leave that city last night in his private car. As has been customary for some years in these trips to the West, Mr. Huntington will come by the Sunset route, via New Orleans and El Paso. This will give him an opportunity to inspect the longest stretch of road owned by the company and the part of it which is at present re- ceiving the most attention from that cor- poration. Mr. Huntington seldom travelsat night when going over his own line of road. The plan usually followed is to lay up at some important railroad point every night and travel in the daytime. The inspection which the president gives the road on these annual trips isa thorough one. Over each division he is generally ac- companied by the superintendent in charge, who explains what improvements are be- ing made, those that are contemplated, and receives the orders of his superior. At the offices of the company 1n this city it was reported yesterday that General Manager Towne and General Land Agent Mills wonld leave the city to-day for the purpose of meeting Mr. Huntington at some point along the road. They may stop at El Paso or may conclude to go on to New Orleans. Their mission is fn?posed to be to give the president such information in detail as to the situation here as has not been sup- plied him heretofore by wire or letter. The trip, however, is usually made by some of the officials as a matter of courtesy to the president. It will be several days—probably a week or two—before this city is reached by the suty. Mr. Huntington has expressed a esire to witness the coming festivities at Los Angeles and this may detain him sev- eral days. — e Park Music. The following programme will be given by the band at Golden Gate Park to-da; 0s”. . delssohn (@) A Turkish Dance. (b) Dance of the Sul- DAS....... . ... Polack-Daniel (Barytone solo, Waltz, “Children of Spring Overture, “Robespierre”. “Awakening of Spring” Waltz, - Artist’s Lite”. “Torch Dance,” B majo; Galop, “Storchschnable’ More public money is spent for brass bands th’;n for schools in {Ee Argentine provinces. % [1CH ING SCALY ORS CURE CUIL CUR ELSE SPEEDY CURE TREATMENT- Warm baths with CUEIEURA BOAP, gentle applications of CU- TICURA (ointment},and mild doses of CUTICURA RESOLVENT (blood parifier) speedily eure torturing, disfiguriag, itching, sealy and scrofulons humors when the best physicians and ail gther remedies fall. NOW IS THE TIME TO USE THEM. Pottor Drug & Chemical Corp,, Sole Proprietars, Beston, U. S. A .