The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 25, 1896, Page 34

30" THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 25, 1896. The Worldly Speculations of a Tuolumne Preacher, and How They Panned Out (f ELL on to a halfcentury ago I was w roused from an unsteady sleep by \_145\9 aloud,coarse voicewhich madean unceremonious request on me to “git out.” Somewhat addled in mental parlance, out he went from the interior of a stagecoach which had been brougkt to stand before a respectable 10oking house, about the front of which were some twenty-five men who seemed to take a great interest in the en- vironments. On realizing the fact of being at the termination of a long stege route and in response to inauiries, he was informed that he was in ‘‘Columby” 1 the southern mines and in front of the best hotel in southern Tuolumne. This being the point where it was pro- posed to tarry a whiie the writer was duly installed in his new home, and in time he commenced a series of investigations into the mineralogical, biological, meteorologi- cal and botanical departments of nature, for which work he was no better qualified than scores of others. In course of time, however, he became quite familiar with matters connected with these and other topics, including considerable details of general personal history. In fact he was pronounced by the oracle of the town as being a “‘smart chap,” on the evidence of making a cor- rect diagnosis of a piece of dry sedimen- tary clay, which said oracle presented to him asa test to measure his intellectual development. It was impossible to 1gnore the splendid climate and the sublime scenery of this part of California. In wandering around the circuit of a few miles there was no end to the intellectual feast whicu greeted the traveler. Directly adjoining the suburb of Columbia to the south was a nice fertile plain of over a mile square, whose beauty had fallen a victim to the pick and shovel, for it had been discovered that nature had filled in this space with huge limeston boulders and hidden them with a deposit of auriferous gravel. Thislatter commodity was beinz rapidly transferred to flumes and carried down the bed of an adjoining creek, the gold being collected in the flumes. Thus this once begutiful plain, stripped of all vege- tation, became a rough, naked field, with cabins pprched here and there on the sur- face of large bowlders. On its southern borders was the town of Springfield, from the midst of which a schoolbouse and a church reared their pretentious spires. In time it was discovered that the foundation timbers of the church had | commerced to decay, and the builaing be- came unsafe for occupancy. A public mesting was called under the prestige of the Methodists, and it was resolved to construct & new church of brick. A com- mittee was appointed to attena to this matter, and in due course of time a new church was constructed and handed over to the congregation, with a bill of $1000 deficiency in expenses. There being no urgency fund todraw from two venerable elders of the church became sponsors | therefor, and mutual satisfaction pre- vailed. A short distance frcm the church there was a neat cotlage founded on a horizontal surface of a large boulder and occupied by the owner of th: surrounding claim.® He was the fortunate possessor of a wile and five children and a zealous member of this church. Prosperity had gently smiled on his daily toil and an aimosphere of quiet happiness seemed to rest about his home. But the bland sunshine of life is never uniform. Fleeting clouds will sometimes condense their unwelcome vapor on the brightest mirror and storms spend their force over beds of cherished flowers. Time came when the bedrock was laid bare be- tween the boulders and shovels scraped * over its petreous surface in vain. Pick and pan lay idle by the cabin door, | side, as they went rollicking down the flume ceased to enliven an expectant household. Disheartened and sad the miner sat in profound contemplation on an old box near the doorway of his cabin, alternately glancing at his helpless offspring and faithful wife, then surveying the hali- consumed contents of the flour sack, next measuring with his eyes the daily de- creasing area of a side of bacon which hung upon a nail, seeming to apprehend impending want in a land teeming with hidden gold. What could be done? How many have asked the same question as they struggled with the asperities of life, strangers in a strange land, having near them no sympathizing soul to whom they | could unload the hidden sorrows of the | heart ? But he thought he heard a voice of inspiration, under the influence of which he bent his knees in fervent prayer to One who never rejects the approval of a mellowed heart, nor fails to bathe it with consolations of a holy love. When he rose to his fest it was witha resolve to struggle manfully against im- pending poverty by seeking a new field of enierprise. He did rot forget to promise a bonus of one share of any new claim he might locate for the benefit of the new church. Next morning he packed his blankets, threw a pick and shovel over his shoulders, and bidding adieu to his house- hold, started off on a precarious mission, facing the east, in which direction vague rumors had indicated the discovery of new mining grounds, Night came on, and his bed was beneath the shadow of a pine tree, dimly lighted by a host of twinkling stars. Day after day this same experience was | repeated and he began to feel the further | he got from home the chances of success in his mission decreased as the square | of the distance increased. His pluck, how- ever, did not abate, and though disheart- ening emotions would somtimes intrude themsalves on his attention, they would be driven off in a short time by an elastic imagination which painted the brightest of pictures on the darkest of groundwerk. One day, feeling particularly sad and lonely, he sat down in the cool shadow of a rock and began to masticate the noon- day meal. Atthe conclusion of this he took an inventory of his stock of dry bread, bottled pork and beans and a few hardtack biscuit. Three days’ rations, and four days from bhome! This dispro- portion between latent energy and wast- 1ng power was by no means an agreeable | fact, for he had not seen a human habita- tion since leaving home. Bracing him- self up to renewed exertion he went for- ward, true Yankee as he was. During the afternoon journey he observed some straggling pieces of quartz along the way- which, increasing in number, he ultimately laid his pack aside and pro- ceeded to examine the situation. An hour's prospecting realized the fact that be was on a quartz lode of a gold-bearing character. A systematic inspection fol- lowed, with a very favorable result, so that within forty-eight hours the miner set his stakes on the claim with four names and one for the church, and | turned his face backward toward Spring- field. The joy with which his presence was received, and the increase of joy fol- lowing the announcement of his discovery may be easily imagined. The parties interested in this enterprise were soon equipped for operations, and headed by the devout miner, who felt like a small Moses leading the people to a promised !and, they traveled on un er his guiding genius and in time made camp in proximity to the golden iedge. The necessary inspection accomplished, they constructed ap arastra and obtained a blind old vlughorse for motor power to turn the shaft, one of the company face- horse should not be an exception to the general rule. And so the primitive mill commenced operations, and the work was carried on with so much good sense and judgment that it yielded a lit.le more than was sufficient to pay expenses from ths very start. Meanwhile the rock improved in quality, so much so that in the course of a few months it was deemed advisable to levy an assessment for the construction of a small stamp-mill, a xood water-power having been discovered at & convenient point. Notice of this assessment was duly served on every member of. the company and on the church, and the resident own- ers immediately proceeded to put their resolve into execution. Up to this time the church enjoyed a vlacidity which was commendable to its T AT T \\\'\gfiw SN i i ARTR this unhappy conflict seemed only to con- firm a steady divergence of vievs and to engender & bitterness of feeling which forebode no good to the welfare of the church. About this time there came to Columbia a new pastor, whose field of spiritual labor included this bellicose district. Now, it sometimes happens that a parson is as- signed to a locality where his contention is against that triple ailiance of ‘‘the world, the flesh and the devil,” and it is not always that he can carry on a success- ful conflict against this solid combination of opposing forces. Young and untried ministers, after being fully imbued with the pure and spiritual character of their calling, are often sent off to some mining town to sustain and propagate the gospel family was provided with everything nec- essary to make a comfortable home. His ministerial functions now commenced, and in due course of time he became ac- quainted with the disturbed condition of his Springfield congregation, which af- forded an opportunity o bring into ac- tivity some of the most precious qualities inherent in a Christian minister! To soothe breasts excited by the storms of passion; to restore the sunshine of broth- erly love in hearts which had apparen:ly cast off its divine spirituality are works which belong to the discipleship of the Great Master. With these and kindred feelings stimu- lating his devotional soul he made his way to the camp of the rebeilious flock, and calling the members together invoked The Miners Listened to the Preacher’s Proposition. without being provided with gold for their | the spirit of prayer; but the zoats seemed Thi spiritual character. Unfortunately there is no locality exempt from the mephitic exudarions which flow from the kingdom of Satan. No sooner was the demand for assessment made upon the church than a grand protest was announced by the devout elaers who had loyally stood 1n the breach of its pecuniary necessities. They averred that the church was poor enough already, without going into the ungodly and gambling schemes of quartz mining, and to zive emphasis to their denuncia- tions, they put their property beyond the reach of contingencies. This stigma on an bonest business pursuit in which more of their fellow members were engaged produced much dissatisfaction, which found expression in Jangnage quite as emphatic as was compatible with the tiously remarking that as everybody had and the music of turbid waters and stones to “‘go it blind” in mining operations, the ethics of good society. The frequent con- ferences which were called to heal over purses or scrip for their journey. new incumbent, arriving at his fiel labor, discovered to his chagrice predecessor had left a chig parsonage with bare wid congregation, scatterg In this dilemma he toral visits, in fuy necessities of his, be provided. peal to the with that which is ew heart, and ! Drinking in They raised his pay five cents a day, But they stopped his grog forever, Macaulay says in one of his essays that “‘the merit ot poetry, in its wildest forms, still consists in its truth.” This may be epplied to the above lines, founded upon ihe fact that in 1863 the navy ‘grog"” ration was abolished. And this change that came over the navy in the matter of temvperance is, in the New York Tribune, credited to the influence of Rear-Admural A. H. Foote, who commanded the squad- ron that captured Fort Henry, on the Tennessee River, on February 6, 1862. Prior to this it was rare to find a wman-of-warsman who did not appear at “the mast” vpromptly at “eight beils” and “splice the mainbrace,” as serving out the spirit ration was called. But the Navy Departmentdid not arbitrarily deprive ‘“Jack” of what he needed or of what he really wanted. On the contrary, the commanders of squad- rons and of individual vessels were asked for their views aupon the vroposition, and were also directed to submit the question to the crews, with the result that the whisky ration in the early morning, be- fore breakfast, and in the afternoon was discontinued. Jack is admitted to be the better for it, and so is the navy. In theold navy a fondness of drink among the officers was not thought to be more than a *‘gen- tlemanly weakness,” but the abuses of the drinking babit became so extensive after the civil war began, especially among officers of the volunteer navy, that any sort of prohibitory regulation was gratify- ing. The cause of this was the privilege allowed to officers to have liquor always on tap if they wished. As this privilege was denied to the crew grog was issned morning and evening, when each man got a drink called a “tot,” of half a gill of the best whisky or rum. The ‘“‘grog ration” was replaced by an allowance of 5 cents a day, or §1 50 2 month (equivafent to 214 cents for eacn drink), and this allowance each officer and en- listed man received when serving on board ship. One of the sections of the navy regulations, in fact, reads that no intoxi- cating liquor of any kind shall be allowed on board ship; while another regulation says, “Only beer and light wines shall be allowrd on board.” ‘But this latter regulation applies to officers’ messes only, while the prohibitory’ regula- tion applies to the crew. But prohibition does aot prohibit on board ship, although it is the duty of the officer of the deck to see that the corporal of marines carefully examines every man coming from shore to be certain that he has no liquor con- cea'ed on him. But tkis is not always ef- fective, for 8 man-of-warsman is an invet- erate rogue. Instances have been known where sailors hav- concealed in the roof of their large round-top caps a tube filled with liguor or have carried a loiig bologna- skin filled with it. When vessels are lying in harbor members of the crew have been “nalf seas over,” although not a single one had been on shore for a week. Did the officers bring the liquor on board to the men? In the first place Jack the Navy of wouldn’t think of putting such implicit confidence in the officers; and secondly, no officer would be guilty of such a viola- tion of the rules which define ‘“‘conduct unbecoming a gentleman.” The secret lay with the “bumboat’’ man, or the “bumboat” woman; and the secret would be disclosed by examining the loaves of bread or the large claws of the lobster, which make good conveyances .of liquor. The bum- boat men of Gibraltar used to be the most expert, and several years ago the whole company of an American war vessel be- came drunk one day on “loaves of bread” purchased from the boats when out in the stream half a mile from the shore. On the second day the officer of the deck secured three loaves of bread and in each was a half-pint flask of cognac. But these schemes have become so well known ‘that they are seldom practiced now, aithough the sailor finds a surreptitious way of get- ting his “‘toddy.” If you ask him where he got his liquor he would likely reply, ““Why, I tapped the foremast.” Another instance of Jack’s inventive genius occurred on one of the vessels an- chored in the harbor. One of the boats went ashore with some of the officers, and after it had returned to the ship one of the men was discovered trying to smug- gle a bucket of stuff on board. The offi- cer of the deck ordered the man to go to the side of the ship and “empty that stuff overboard.” Recognizing that the order was meant to be obeyed, the man went to the side and poured out the contents of the bucket. But another sailor below held a canvas bucket out of a porthole and caught nearly ail of the liquor, and a little later the *‘boys in blue” were “splic- ing the mainbrace” on the berthdeck. Uncle Sam Another trick was resorted to recently, when & bask t containing a half dozen bottles of champagne was being taken to the shipin a steam-launch. Cne of the sailors dropped a large wrench, acciden- tally, of course, into the basket, and several of the bottles were broken. On the way to the ship the sailors became unusually thirsty. They frequently dipped the cup into the tub in which they had set the basket, and thus had a feast of cham- pagne before they r ached the ship. Wh n on shore hiberty some of the sail- ors enjoy the removal of the prohibitory regulations, and probavly drink too much occasionally, but as a rule they go ashore and return to the ship as gentlemen, self- respecting and sober. It must not be charged that American man-of-warsmen are a set of drunkards. Such is far from the truth. Tke sailor loves liberty and he may drink 100 much sometimes, but the United States navy never had a more re- spectable or law-abiding set of enlisted men than it has to-day—a wonderful change in thirty years, for which Admiral Foote and many other officers may take much credit to themselves. Running the Engine. John Jacob Assor’s exploit in acting as the engineer of an Illinois Central train a few days ago is but another illustration of the pecuoliar facination that a railway locomotive bas for rich young men who inherit or acquire interests in raiiroads, Mr. Astor has for several years been a di- rector of the Illinois Central road, and on previous official inspections he has “run the engine,”” He has a natural taste for mechanics, and his love of railroading is much like that of Dr. W. Seward Webb, In the Adirondacks Dr. Webb and his at a high rate road. When a dashes through tY 01d Forge to MaloX the simple mountain¥ to his summer boarder Webb is running that ally the trackmen, on th rounds, will find the wreck of & lying at the bottom of the raiiroaa e bankment, or several yards from tne track at the edge of the woods. Their in- variable comment will be: *“The Doctor must have been here last night.”” It is seldom that anybody is hurt on such oc- casions, for the Adirondack railroad men are experts in jumping from bandcars. George J. Gould was able to handle a locomotive long before he became a rail- road president. Like Dr. Webb, he is a genuine sportsman and enjoys the sensa- tion of going fast. While making his periodical 1nspections of the several lines in the Southwestern system President Gould frequently relieves the locomotive engineer for hours at a time. Frank Thomson, vice-president of the Pennsyl- vania lines, knows how to ‘‘run the en- gine’’ almost as well as any veteran. Two of the sons of James J. Hill, the president of the Great Northern, are said to be as much at home in the cab of a locomotive as they are in the dining-room of their father’s house. 8. H. H. Clark, president of the Union Pacific, has taken all of the degrees of railroading, and he can *‘brake” & train as well as handle an engine. Chauncey M. Depew, with all of his versatility, has never yet undertaken to operate a locomofive.—New York Times. —————— The science of physiognomy dates from the writings of Lavater, who was born in 1741 and died 1n 1801, to be in the ascendent, there was no stem, The low murmurings of Slually culminated in an words with much moral cyclone be forthcoming, provided the church would give uhim the claim after this in- debtedness was expunged. The more he reflected on this proposition the more favorable it became, so much so that after a few days he concluded tocall his unruly flock to another conference. The sum- mons went out, and everybody came, as everybody will come when there is a fair prospect of a fight. The meeting being cailed to order and the fighting blood being warmed, the audi- ence waited till the parson should throw the first stone. But herein the people were disappointed. In a mild and dispas- sionate tone he repeated the foregoing proposition, and scarcely had taken his seat before the old elders jumped from their chairs and moved that the proposi- tion should be accepted by the church. The motion was seconded by the young men and in less than an hour the agree- ment was ratified and the war cloud sud- denly dissipated, nobody knew how. The meeting adjourned after singing a Thanxs- giving hymn as long and loud as it ever was sung before. The parson was highly gratifiea at this triumph of peaceful measures, but as he returned home he was seriously disturbed from the consciousness of not having a doilar toward the paymentof the impend- ing assessment. A thousand gloomy specters crossed his mental vision as he reflected on the immense responsibility he had assumed without means to meet it, for, as already seen, he was “‘strapped,”’ in the lan.uage of the day, and he had not wherewithal sufficient to meet family necessities. There was one source of world- ly com fort leit on which one can always rely in the dark hours of life—that was his wife. To her he poured out the troubled emotions of his soul, and she, with womaniy sympathy, instead of asking for a divorce, ; ave him a loving kiss and bade him remember the promises which are given 1n that gospel which beexpounded to others. Now came one of those remarkable epi- soaes which occasionally develop a rain- bow on the dark clouds of life. While this trouble wes agitating the church a temporary mill of small capacity was sub- stituted for the arastra and a run made of picked rock. To the surprise and joy of every one, when a ‘‘clean-up’” was made, a golden bar was turned out of such value as renaered it unnecessary to call in the assessment which had produced so much disturbance in the church. In a few days after the forementioned occurrence, and while the parson was at his wits’ end 1o resolve some plan of re- lief, notice of this fact came from the mine, This unexpected information razed the mountain from his mind, which at one time threatened both spiritual and temporal embarrassment, and with alight and grateful heart he became more zealous than ever in his ministerial mis- sion. The little mill continued to prosper un- der judicious management and yielded meonihly dividends, which, in the course of events, enabled the parson to pay off the indebtedness of the church, and this fact brought again into the field of activity the same venerable elders who in times past had been so painfully exercised at ihe idea of the church gambling in quartz lodes. They now maintained that their minister was only the appointed agent of the church to pay its indebtedness, and this function having been performed the property in the lode should rightfully re- vert to tne church. They urged wonder- fully profound arguments to sustain their position, and even appealed to the con- ference to deprive their minister of his just rights. Public sentiment was in his favor, and the committee apjpointed by the conference to investizate this matter confirmed the parson’s right to the pos- session of the property. The young di- vine was the recipient of many dividen '~ 8o that his fleld of spiritual labor was not overgrown by the weeds and thistles of worldly growth, How frequently do we notice confirmae tions of the old saying that misfortunes and blessings never coma singly. Super- pgi!ion has inverted this adage, with asiz- nificance bordering on the supernatural, 8o that i}: many instances causes of Dbe: nomena if not unknown are entirely over- looked. About this time there died in an Eastern State an old lady who had adopted in former years an orphan child and educated and schooled her in the da- ties of life. The foster-mother of tne child manifested herinterest ana affection by the bequest of a considerable portion ot her estate, which was now being distrib. uted among the heirs. This orphan chilq became the wife of our parson, so that here was an important addition to his in- creasing stock of worldly treasures. Nor was the influx of prosperity arrested here, The period of his labors in the land of gold was about expiring and the success of his mission as a minister and peace- mager was probably instrumental in nis being assigned a church near the bay shore, with a good salary. The treasures of this world and those of the kingdom were now brought in juxtaposition, and all the moral power at the command of the parson was essential to maintain the center of religious gravity. On removing to his new field of labor it became a ques- tion of some importance to decide on the proper investment of his material wealth, and it was ultimately concluded to estab- lish an additivnal sheepfold within cli ping distance of the one over which presided. In conformity with this plaug- ible determination his golden fleece was exchanged for one of those peaceful fields of nature which form the border line of the American River and which was peo- pled by stock of the same kind of animals that Jacob took charge of when he bar- gained with the old patriarch for a lovely wife, To say that this enterprise succeeded swimmingly is but a literal version of the fact. The history of the American River, in common with other affluents of the Sac- ramento, shows that its banks, once widely separated, have been gradually contracted by the immense amount of debris which is carried down stream by winter rains ‘and summer thaws, The alluvial deposit on each side of the river from this cause has formed productive farming soil, to se- cure which in place levees have been con- structed on each bank, sufficiently high to allow of arise of water without flooding the surrounding country. It was on a portion of this that the parson located a ranch, and the quiet gratification with whicn he surveyed his flocks as they grazed over the verdant plain made him both thankful and happy. But the poetry of life has no persistent vroperties. Like vernal showers it comes and goes with the inconstant currents of the atmosphere. The sudden develop- ment of a storm wiil quickly change a gentle and placid stream into an irresist- able and destructive torrent. An annual flood of unusual magnitude came booming down the American River from mountain gorges packed with melting snow and broke the feeble escarpment which was intended to hold the torrent within its lines. + There was mo- high land on the par- son’s domain on which his stock could find a safe retreat,and horses and cows and sheep became victims to the merciless flood as though they were but straws on the troubled surface of the water, Thus ended the worldly speculations of the young divine, and though the wool of his merinos slipped from his possession he still retained the fleece of his pastoral flock. W. P. GisBON. rseless Sleighs of the East invention for Porseless sleighs. %s wagon bas had a Pench genius has ex- Faeels for runners, and in - wue dainty drag is the twoand a half ted sleigh—two and a half seated because there is a little seat for the driver 1n front and room for four persons in the body of the sleiga. Perhaps it may seem a little out of place to talk about driving a horsel:ss sleigh, but if an engineer drives an engine why is it not possible for a pretty girl to drive a horseless sleigh propelled by a gasoline motor? Thet is just what is going to happen, for fashion has so decreed. Everybody knows that fashion is ex- ceedingly well posted and, wise dame that she is, always familiarized herself with novelties before the less clever world knows that they are in existence. Thusit is thatthe New York carriage manufac- turer who has just announced that the honor of introducing the French invention is to be his will be the envy of all his fel- lows, because the fact that he is first and foremost with this novelty is proof posi- tive that he is fast friends with fashion herself. A very excellent idea of just how this sleigh, that moves without the aid of horses, looks, can be obtained from the accompanying illustration. In general appearance it does not differ from the reguiation affair on runners that we see every winter. However, careful examina- tion shows beneath the body of the vehicle the apparatus that moves the runners in- stead of making the wheels go round. The sharp-toothed wheel that is seen is what makes the sleigh move. it digs into the frozen earth, propels the runners after the same fashion, only with reverse mo- tion, that the propeller of the steamship forces the craft through the waters of the ocean. The teeth of this wheel are very strong indeed. In fact, no ordinary substance would affect them in the least. A paving- stone has no terror for these teeth and as for asphalt pavement the wheel makes merry with it. Possibly this may be con- sidered an argument against the horseless sleigh, but then that is borrowing trouble, From this it may be seen that the wheel with its sharp teeth is like unto the king- pin ot the wagon. Without it locomotion would be very difficult. Just back of the wheel and only observ- able after close scrutiny is the motor, or ratber the casing thereof. It is situated directly under the last seat in the horse- less sleigh and the gasoline which moves it is contained in a little tank that feeds a burner from which proceeds the tiny flame that results 1n such surprisin: power. The steering apparatus of the sleigh reminds one of a book and ladder truck or a cable-car, or possibly of the brake of a freightcar. Anyway the wheel lies in an almost horizontab position secured tightly at the end of a bar which inclines with a curve toward the person who is sitting in the seat of the driver. To guide the sleigh it is necessary to turn the wheel from right to left or left to right in accordance witk the direction in which it is desired to go. The wheels turn very easy and it is really less effort to steer the horseless sleigh than to pull the rein attached to the bit of a spirited horse. For this reason it is not at all surprising that in advance of the coming of the new- est of sleighs the new women are arrang- ing to enjoy rides all by themselves. There is no danger of the sleighs running away. There is nothing about the steer- ing apparatus or the motor itsslf which the simplest mind cannot comprehend. It was the fashion at several of the sum- mer resorts last season to form bicycle clubs exciusively composed of women. In arranging for these sleighing parties there- fore, the young women are simply helping a summer fad over the bridge of autumn and into the land of winter. It is merely further evidence that while the new woman of fashion means to be as chic and pretty as ever she intends to firmly impress upon the young man of the period the fact that he is by no means indispensable, and that she can get along without him in a sleigh just as easily as she can on a wheel. It may be just as well that the young women are going to ride by themselves, for unless a hired man were taken along to perform the duties of driver, or pilot, or guide, or whatever the person who offi- ciates at the wneel is rightfully calted, 1t would be a rather difficult matter to in- duce one of the male members of the party to go and sit in front by himself and leave the other fellow to enjoy the companion- ship of the girl he left behind bim. However that may be, one thing 1is cer- tain, and that is that hand in handin the matter of horseless sleighs, just as they are in millinery, France and America will cut a wide swath this winter in matters of society. The beauty of it all isthat though it is old the sleigh is something entirely new. This queer method of locomotion has conjured into a novelty a pleusure that has been enjoyed ever since the days when those good old people who came over in the Mayflower landed at Plymouth. To think of & sleigh ride being a novelty in the northern section of the country is almost as much a novelty as the novelty itseif. That is why if those who frequent the New York boulevaras the coming winter hear the clang of a gung bebind them they need have no fear of being snnihi- lated by some sort of fire apparatus or braving the danger of the ambulance. It is more than likely to be the horseless sleigh which siguals its approach in the same though louder fashion in which the bicycle heralds its coming. Look out for the horseless sleigh. It will be & beauty and worth any one’s while to see. il n i bt A Ncble Moose. One of the largest bull mooses ever se. cured was shot recentlv in Maine. The ammal weighed fully 1200 pounds and, stood tweanty-one hands or seven feet high from the ground to the top of th witvers, measuring ten feet from tip of nose to tail. His noble head was crowned by a splen- did set of antlers, as lordly a pair as ever adorned a wall, with a spread of fifty inches. The right side bad tweive prongs and the left thirteen. .Some were twelve | inches long, with a spread of thirteen inches.in front and twelve inches along its sides.—Boston Journal, A