The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, April 4, 1897, Page 30

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, APRIL 4, 1897. s ;dyflg -@j‘fib@fi@ d~ /] | save at such a distance below them tnat SER- obstacles in the way of our pursuring 4 ARE apt to tuink of the violet | had never before seen thexe birds in flight | butthere are multiform and multifarious [N loving deen, woodsy vlaces and seciuded corpers. This, certainly, is the idea that the word violet brings to most minds. Yet, a day or two ago, on the chill top of a wind-swept mountain, where ascant inch of soil covers the disinte- grating volcanic rock, I came upon such s field of yellow violets as I have never seen elsewhere. Fully an acre of the sparsa soil is covered with the tiny, close- snuggling plants, and the jolly, yellow flowers, that look very like small, lost Dpansies, are already nodding in the winds that seem never wholly still on that bleak, bare height. 1 was quite lost when I came upon the blossoms, and had been wandering for three hours or more over the hills in the endeavor to find & feasible trail back to familiar haunts. Aliaround me lay huge, round, smooth, biack bowiders, lichen- patched, moss-grown, polished here and there by wind und weather. certain fantastic method in their arrange- ment. Some of them seemed to have been arrested by an unknown powsr in the very act of rolling away down the hillside. It was hard to believe they were not held back bv some mysiic force other than grevitation. As I wandered among them the convic- tion grew upon me that they were not bowlders at all, but the enchanted army of the old Arabian Nights story. Ihadcome by chance upon the magic bill, and pres- ently I encountered the golden enchanter himself; for what but an enchanter could be the great wind-tossed oak, 1n the brave yellow of early foliage—the only sylvan dwe:leronall thuat mountain-top? Straight out from a mighty gray rock it sprang, and in its growth it had split the stony mass asunder. I could see its gnarly black roots thrusting here and there in the crevices, but I could not see that any of them, piercing downward through the rocky pile, found earth Yet there the tree stood, with its back to the wind, its shoulders bracea, its head bent and all its wide branches stretching out like arms toward the enchanted princes and their followers. Suppose some one were to cut that tree down, would the spell cease, do you think, and let the bowlders, restored to life, go galloping down the hill on their fiery princess from durance vile? That were a fine sight could one be there to behold it! But I saw no lifting of enchantment. 1 saw only the little yellow violets, grow- ing bravely about the bowlders and even playing at the very feet of the enchanter himseif, and at the sight all my ioneliness sped away. The wee plants gave me cour- age and strength. There’s no being lost in such company. How the wind blew! It seemed as if each low-growing blade and leaf needed an anchor to keep 1t in the ground. One could see even the zreat oak shiver now and then in the blast. It was interesting tonote the growtns upon the hilitop. Even the weeds were as short as though cropped close. The buttercups blossomad upon stems not more than an inch or two long. The altileria spread out in rosettes, Iying close 1o the ground, and the grasses were small and fine. Everything was close-reefed, so to speak, and made snug against the beating winds, It seemed strange to see the little brown flycatchers up here, yet several were toss- ing about in the wind, and, seeing me, darted beneath a clump of stunted south- ernwood and lupin, where I could hear them scolding as I worked getting some roots of the wviolets for transpianting. The ground was so stony I counld scarcely get my trowel in, but the long white roots of the plant crept in and out everywhere among the broken rock. ¥ar below me two buge hawks suddenly left their perch in a deal tree and began wheeling up- ward until they passed within a few feet of my head. Icaught the flash of the bright, fierce eyes of one and noted that as they flew the birds turned their heads from side to side, surveying the scene be- low. It was fascinating to watch them. I There was a | nd moisture. | steeds to release the | | they looked like mere specks against the | | sky; but this time there was a full minute !during which 1 watched their backs as they circled up the air. They seemed to {use their wings more than is apparent | when they are seen trom below, but this | was probably because they were not soar- ing as in the upper air, but climbing al- | most directly upward, with quick strokes | of their broad pinions, which spread out | & full yara from tip o tip as they flew. | | They were a bandsome pair, for pair I judged them to be. Looking through the glass, I could make out in a forked branch of the dead tree below a dark mass, which was, in all probabiiity, their nest. The bawks may have been looking for ground squirrels. The stony hilitop was | riddled with openings into the burrows of these little creatures, and at one such opening on a sheltered slope, sunning | bimself and blinking in the bright light, I saw a small, light-brown spotted owl. I got a good look at him before he saw me ana retired, very politely, backward into the hole. The disappearance had really a funny air of extreme courtesy. The small bird seemed very much at home, and possibly the squirrel-hole may have been an abandoned one into which he had moved and ret up housekeeping, or he may have been visiting there, as these owls sometimes seem to do, sojourn- | ing for a season and even going so far as | to make an occasional meal off their en- | tertainer’s young family Owls, to a bird, are rather inclined to! | indolence and love ease better than they iove the labor of acquiring it by taeir own exertions, and so it often Lappens that we | see them established in the deserted quar- ters of other birds and animals. An owl of my acquaintance used to live in a wood- pecker's hole in aredwood tree, and an- other dwelt in a rat’s nest in the barnloft, making hisexits and his entrances through a hole the rodents had gnawed in the wall. | During heavy weather, if caught abroad, they take refuge in all sorts of queer places. One morning, aiter an unex- | | pected snowstorm, a year ago, I found a | pretty littlo hornet owl in my stove. He | probably sought shelter in the chimney, 'and, falling through the flue, fluttered | down the pipe. He seemed not at all | alarmed when discovered, but sprang out | | and sat quietly upon the floor until [ | | opened the door, when he flew forth into a | | tree. Doubtless, however, he had great | tales to tell his comrades of his remarka- | able adventure. s | | Securing my violets I wended my way! | around the bill, minded to cross a canyon | | and climb an opposite eminence where, {in the distance, I could see a familiar | | iooking range of fringing trees climbing the slope. We human beings are not so | clever as the bees. T.ese little creatures | can take their bearinzs from the densely | growing tops of forest trees ana fly | straight home across them. while we | must laboriousty blaze ways and make | trails, and if, peradventure, we crossa | nilitop or a ravine and let down one pair of bars rather than another, we are lost, forsooth, and must needs go about makin | & great to-do, until haply we find onr- | selves again. Sometimes, as a matter of | fact, we are lost and never know it, wan- | dering footlooss among the valleys and | mountains and deep canyons of theory | and speculation, calmly confident that we | | are going somewhere. It isonly once in | a while that a dim susp.cion visits us as 10 whether we are after all on the right | track. Ten to one if, then, we do not stop, look about us a bit, rub our mental eyes, say “*hence we infer,” and start on again. I've lived, now, soms good-sized num- ber of years in this worid, and the chief- est conclusion I have come to is that the | great majority of us have but a vague idea of our whereabouts. I question if one out of five hundred of us has any definite purpose and goal in the ful- fillment of which he is steadily mov- | ing and acting. We know the purposes, the goals we wantto bave in view; per- haps we know those we ought to have, | Fourth streets and these. Principai among them is, pernaps, our humanity. The human being who purposes a destiny, who marks out for bimself a career, must set this, in a meas- ure, aside. He must not be turned from his way by minor considerations. If he is, if he hesitates, he is lost. Perhaps atout the mest any one of us can do is to move along so as best to get over the rround without hindering any other one; to “do good and communicate forget not. We find ourselves, after all, through human feliowship, tne fellow- ship of that which makes us human, and which we hold from the divine. It is the multitude of parsonal posses- sions that makes it possible for us to get lost. A lost bee, away from the wealth and possessions of the hive, is a sorry sight. Ants sometimes get lost, and can- not find their way back to the hid treas- ures of grain and cattle (for ants keep cat- tle) and millet seeds, and not even the sluggard could grow wise considering the ways of a lost ant. But who can conceive of a lost bird? He cannot be lost, for the whole realm of the air is his. long journeys by night ana rests by day among his trees. ‘The world is his, 1n general, and therefore he is always at home. Not one tree of it is his in per- sonal, and therefore ne is free, and wher- ever he is he holds his title by nature’s gift, “10 fee simple ab olute.” A NE KNapp. |Sad Result of é Sudden Hug. A very amusing occurrence alternately Geiighted and saddened a crowd of pas- sengers on an eleciric-car of the Mission- street line a few nights since. About6 o’clock or a little later the cars are nightly crowded. The passengers stand | as thick as sardines in a box inside and on the outside of the cars many, often standing on the platforms. Men and women are wedged, with tneir satchels, bags and bundles, into a ciose mass, sway- ing back and forth in unison as the car starts or stops. Within the last few nightsa young husband, whose name it would be cruel to print, has been getting on a car about 6 r. M. between Third and riding out to the vicinity of Twentieth. There he alights and goes home like a new and dutiful husband, laden with delicacies to please his wife. On the night of the occurrence herewith re- corded Mr. Younghusband had in his hand a smail paper bag, which he han- dled very gingerly in vetting in among the crowd. He secured a place in the back part of the car near the unused motor. In the narrow space between the seats were two other persoms, the con- ductor and a large and jovial man, who had evidently been drinking. The car, suddenly starting and stopphg, caused the large man to lurch about like a small boat in a heavy cross sea, but he managed, nevertheless, to keep his feet very well for a time. By and by the car stopped to let off a mother and three young children. Some time was consumed in getting this pre- cious human cargo out. The mother was slow, the children slower, and the crowd impeded. The car was late and both tie motorman and the conductor were pain- fully aware of the fact. They fretted and | fumed and were ready to start up with a rush as soon as that was permissible. The conductor rang the bell; the motorman turned on the power. “We're off,” chuckled the inebriated man. “'Good,” said Mr. Younghusband, look ing at nis watch and thinking of the wait- ing teatable and trim form of the wife. Clang! clang! clang! Some foolish per- son tried at this minute to cross tke track. The motorman pulled up with great sud- denness. Forward lurched the big man with the He makes | | | | | | wasa question which surprised a CALL re- violence of a projectile launched from a catapult. Both hisarms were outstretched to prevent him from falling. His arms encircied Mr. Younghusband with & hng that would have done credit to a grizz'y bear. There was a cracking sound, but not of 7ibs. No: the fat man had hugsed both Mr. Younghusband ana his little paper bag, which had collapsed at once. Mr. Younghusband's face was pale, as if with sudden fear. When the big man drew away the front of his coat and vest was dripping with a yellow liquid. i “Eggs, eggs,” groaned Mr. Younghus- band. “Eggs,” said the fat man, with a fierce frown. “Let me off here,” said Mr. Younghus- band to the conductor, and he made his exit hastily, The conductor glanced at the street corner. “First time he ever got off at Twelfth street,”” he said, with a wink. The big man looked unutterable things. How Tele_ph_ones Hre Tickled | *‘Tickling the telephone” is a compara- tively new diversion in San Francisco, | but it already has several votaries. The nickel-in-the-slot attachment to tele- pbones, which was devised to automat- 1cally vegister the number of switches, is the cause. Never a manufacturer of com- plicated mechanirm devises a ‘“‘burgiar- proof safe” but the alert and ingenious cracksman is found ready to match wits. The nickel-in-the-slot telephones are small game, but they have prompted local in- | genuity to exert itself to ‘“beat the game.” There is another application of the same sort of ingenuity which sets the nickel-in- the-slot music-boxes to going simply by poking a straw through an aperture. Sorae people with seared and hardened con- sciences have been known to while away the tedium of waiting for a late boatat the ferries with a whole concert of tke in- strumental sort provoked and provided | wholly through the use of a straw. But the nickel-in-the-slot telephones cannot be “‘tickled with a straw,” as Shakespeare prophetically wrote. 1t is necessary to have something which will start the buzzer”” like a failing nickel. “Don’t you want to use the telephone?” | porter yesterday. | ““Why?” was asked in response. “Oh, perhaps you'd like to test our in- vention,” was the answer. With this the person who was so free to offer the use of the telephone brought out | a nickel soldered on the end of a long | wire. He took the *“phone” from the hook and listened to hear the telephone girl say, “Drop s nickel, please.” ‘When this familiar utterance was made he smiled maliciously and inserted the | nickel and tne wire in the slot and pushed down. The machine buzzed and | the experimenter was compelled to ask | some questions of the person at the other | end of the wire as a prnalty. This may explain much irrelevant conversation that goes on over the telephone iines. These practices have led telephone man- agers to threzten to discontinue the use of the slot machines. | Easter Fiowers. The roses were the first to hear— The roses trellised to the tomb; Bring roses—hide the marks of spear And cruel nails that sealed His doom. The lilies were the first to see— The lilies on that Easter morn; Bring lilies—crowned with blossoms be The head so lately crowned with thorn. The roses were the first to hear; Ere yet the dark had dreamed of dawn, The faintest rustle reached their e They heard the napkin downward drawn; | They listened to the bresthing low; His feet upon the threshola iail. Bring roses—sweetest buas that blow, His love the perfume of them all. The lilies were the first to ses; They, watching in the morning gray, Saw angels come 5o silently And roll the mighty stone away; They saw Him pass the portal’s gloom; He brushed their leaves—oh, happy dower! Bring lilies—purest buds that bloom, His face reflected in each fiower. The roses were the first to hear, The lilies were the first to see; Bring fragrant flowers from far and near To match the Easter melody! “‘Rabboni!” be on every tongue, And every heart the rapture share Of Mary, as she kneels among The roses and the lilies fair! —Ciarence Urmy in the April Century, —_————— The ezr of the elephant, like his eye, s very small in proportion 10 the size of the animal, althougn the flap of skin which covers it is often of considerable size. The hearing of the elephant, however, is singularly acute. | wou!d be independent and effective for its ad- - HE State Board of Trade displays a great "]‘ £ mauy exhipits in its extensive hall on SIPN Post strcer, aud among them 15 a very noticeable one of the negative class. It isthat of tie lack in mining counties of suflicient enterprise to install in this little California | perpetual exposition attractive and fairly representative exhibits of the mining re- sources of those counties. The exhibit of the State Board of Trade | should include & mining exhisit from every mining county in the State. The display of what the State can do in the horticultural and agricultural line is superb, widely known and is continuing to be us it has long been, | a very effective means of advertising and pop- | ulating the affiliuting counties which have | contributed «xhibits. But there is & very slight represontation of tne great mining industry. But five counties have made any attempt to show that they have any minersl | resources worth inquiring into, and these do | not amount to very much. The best one, such as it is, is from Nevada County, and it makes a vers iavorable im- pression. The four other counties, Shasts, Placer, Calaveras and Amador, are repre- sented by some spec. mens of quartz under the pickled fruits, and the exhibits fail to particu- larly interes: or to suggest ihe great and varied stores of mineral weaith of which these countles are 50 proud and hopeful. None of | the other counties to which mining means so much have any exhibits at all. These thatare in placeare there because there was & Mid- winter Fair some time ago, aud Secretary | Fiicher had these fragments hauled in from | the park. | The point is that the State Board of Trade is & highly efficient advertising medium for counties and this is an opportune time for counties to advertise their minfng deveiop- ment und possibilities at trifing cost. The time is opportune because of the coustantly acceerated movement of capital and enter- prise toward the gold ficlds. A much greater Droportion of those who make izquiries of the State Board of Trade in person or by letter are | interested in mining than two or three years | ago. Thereis a constant stream of visitors irom all over the world to the State Board of Trade exhibit. Many inquiries about mining | matters are made, aud Secretary Filcner gives the information wanted, or refers them to the Mining Bureau or elsewhere. Mining has never been an important feature of the york of this institution, but 1t might be made so with a little effort in the miniag counties. The mining resources of every county are well illustrated in the big museum of the State Mining Bureau, but there the identityofa county is lostin the mass. It isa State ex- nibit. On Post street each county exhibit vertising purpose. A varied display of min- eral specimens effectively labeled, and a showing of pictures and maps, with possibly mine models and relics, woula excite c¢he in- terested attention of every visitor. Secretary Filcher wouid like to see this done and, also, that indispensable accompaniment, pamphlets on each county’s resources in which the mineral resources and possibilities ot each mining count; are described with fitting emphasis. Oaly two counties provide printed information concerning mines. This is the time for every miningregion to shove its chief indusiry to the front, and the State | Board of Trade presents a valuable opportu- tunity to the mining counties. John Muir, who is ever alert in the cause of | forest preser vation, vigorously defends in the Mining aud Scientific Press President Cleve- land’s extensive reservations of timber lands, and Editor John D. McGililvray of that paper thus discusses the relations of the new poiicy t0 the mining industry: “Miners and prospectors generally know that these reservations will prevent large companies from ruining the source of supply of timber for the mines azd be of the greatest benefit to them. “The commission upon whose report these reservations were created concedes that it will be impossible to maintain them unless some provision shall be made which will permit citizens to search for and develop valusble mineral ledges and deposits and to utilize the timber within reasonable limitations. “If this provision is made the miners should consider the reservation of these forests by the Government tae greatest boon that could | be conferred upon their indusiry. Tnere is | many an old and still prosperous mining dis- trict on the Pacific Const that is now suffering through the extravagant and wasteful man- ner 1o which the timber of the immediate neighborhood has been cleared off without regard to the future. Many & mine is paying now twice as much for timber us it wovld had the neighboring forests been carefully con- served and the Umber taken from them wisely.” A. S. Cooper, the new State Mineralogist, took possession of the office on Thursday last, and this year's field work is now fairly under Fisher Ames on the Whist Laws. No name amoig the He is without doubtone of the lesding whist suthorities of the world, and whatever comes from his pen will. command the attention of aillovers of the noble game. The following letter will te read with great Interest: P. J. Tormey, Chairman Committec on Whist Lous—DEAr Sik: In reply to your favor I beg 10 say taat ] earnestly hope the whist code, as it stands to-day, wtil be allowed tostaad with- out material aiteration. Itis in most respects & perpetuation of the Portland Club code, but improved in several importantrespects. Ithasbeen the governing code now for ‘aree or four years and whist- vlayersare used to it. Stability in our laws is of very great importance. There may be points where there is & difference of opinion, but there can be no difference as to this. Itis better that so-called improvements be omitted than to have the present structure disturbed. The laws as 10 exposed cards may not be per. fect, but it would be very difficult to make them &ny more so. Tae committoe worked for three years over these laws and considered this matter of cards liable to be called very carefuliy. 1 hope the new committee will go slow. I think, how- ever, that one or two verbal changas might be made toadvantage and I venture to sugges: them: Law 1 might read: ““A game consists of seven points. Each trick teken sbove six counts one,” etc. The present language is not definite enough. ach trick above six counting one’” isan in- terpotated cleuse and might be considered as | merely hypothetical, whereasI think 1t should be a positive assertion. Law 14, I: 1f any card is faced in the pack— omiiting words “except the last,” us they are not only unnecessary, but in conflict with law 11. If the meaning s that the dealer turns and thus “faces” the last card the woras are #1ill unnecessary, for the card is not faced in the pack, nor, in’ fact, is it *faced” at all until the deal ends by its being turned face up in accordance with law 13, Jaw 16—“Any one aealing,” ete., “may be stopped before the trump card is turned. Atter the trompcard has been turned,” etc. The expression “‘after which™ is awkward and grammatically Imverfect, and I think it would Le batter to change it as above, As you sce, these suggestions are merely verbal. Ishould seriously regret any change iu the substance of tne inws and hope none will be mude. Very truly you FIsHER AMgS. A Nice Point in Jrump Play. The following deal was played by the St whist-piavers of this | country is b:tter known than Fisher Ames’. | | Paul Club against & visiing club. It contains & situation that often arises and that ought to | be grasped by any good player. the piay of | | undertrumping en adversary or refusing to | | overtrump, £0 as to be left with the tenace | over him, thus making two out of three tricks | instead of one. The deal is as follows: AR5 0—-A,Q9,8, | *-J.'10,7, 6, | 00, —A,K,Q.6,4,2 | Six clubs trumps. East to lead. The winning card is underscored: TRICKS. | souTH. Eooil i 30 i &8 | 50 ‘ Q0 | Ko | 88 | "2¢ | 60 | 80 _A0_| Jg ; 38 | 78 Aa | 4% | _d& | 24 | 7o 8% 10 Q& Score : North and South, 9; West, 4. e and COMMENTS ON THE PLAY. It is unnecessary to say that it was not a St. Paul player who opened East's hand with the jack of diamouds, and we think South should have continued the dismonds at trick 3 to give North auother discard, but we shall not comment further on the play oi the deal until our “situation” arisesat trick 11, where tho Play becomes interesting. At this pornt South hes threo “stff” diamonds and leads one; West has no trumps. and North with jack, ten and seven of trumps marks the queen, eight and deuce with East and plays jack, a false card, in order to confuse East and induce him 1o win the trick with queen; as s matier of fact thisis just what East did, but we have changed the play to better iliustrate the point under consideration; Esst can place the ten and seven with North and kunows that if he overtrumps he must lose both the other tricks by leading up to North’s tenace; he therefore undertrumps and Nortn is compelied to give up both of the last two tricks to East. “Gavendish " a Short-Suiter ? Tne whist editor of the New York Evening Post, Mrs. Margaretta Witherell Wallace, gives the short-suiters a hard nut to crack in a re- cent {ssue of that journal. She says: Perhaps the boldest of the many impudent claims of the short-sulters s that tney have a sort of patent right to the exclusive nse of the strengihening card. Presumiog that the whist worid at large is not conv rsant with the litera- ture and history of the game, they have had the audacity (o 1ay claim 10 this lead as an invenilon of thelr own. Now, one hasonly to e familiur with the coutests of Cavendish to know that this especial subject is treated exhaustively on page B4 of the twenty-first edition of that volume, under the heading. “Lead the Highest of a Nu- merically Weak uit.” The twenty-first edition of Cavendish was pub- lished in 1885, 1wo or three years before the pres- ent short-sulters bad been heard of, aad the piopo- sition does not appear by any means for the first time at that date, being found in several earlier edi- tions. The exact words of the writer on this sub- ject are as foliows: “Wheu it is your fate to open & numerically weak suit your object should be to doas iitile harm as possible. You cannot expect 10 win many tricks, 50 you must do all you can io st or strengthen [the ltalics are the wuthor's] your partner by leading bigh or strengthening cards, for by leading the highes: of a sult numeri- cal-y weak you take the bes. hance of keeping tue strengthin your partner’s hand.should he happen to hold it. You will not often be arive. o open & weak sult orfeinally, as one of your suits must contain as many as four cards. But L mav 50 turn out that your four-eard sult is composed of very small cards indeed, in which case you might prefer to open a sult contalning better cards, though numer- leally weaker.” Theattention of ihe reader Is at- iracied 10 the worJs, “You will not of.cn be driven 10 0pen & weak suit origluaily.” for in them lies the keyno.e of the whole situation. The short- sulter ins.ats that a- y one who ever opens asult In the manner here authorized by Cavendish (the §reat master of the loug-suit game) becomes at | pass whi, once a short-suiter. The absurdity of this argu- ment is so apparent that the subject may be dis- missed without farther comment. Whist at Genterville. Charles W. Riscr and H. L. Emerson carried off the prizes in the whist tournament just held in Centerville. The game was rather a unique one. Nine pairs entered and each pair nad to play & match with each other pair, the game or match to consist of 25 points straight whist. Mr. Riser and Emerson won six matenes, and were only four points won ahead of E. Thomp- son and T. Witherly of Irvington, who came out second. Straight whist for match games is no con- test of skill whatever without the number of Points per game is great enough to have luck average up. If Mr. Riser wiil only keep up his £00d Work he wili soon get the boys 1nterested mn duplicate whist, and then they will ask themselves “How was it we stuck to straight whist 50 long?” Schedule of Play for April. TRIST DUPLICATE WHIST, CLUB. Tuesdsy evenings—Pair pay, individual record; two prizes will be given, one to the lady and one to the gentleman making the total highest number of tricks above tne average; on these two prizes no handicap. Wednesday ajternoons—A prize for the lady making the highest number of tricks above the average for the entire month; mno handi- cap. Thursday evenings—The entire club will form themseives in teams of four and play each evening on & system selected by the whist committee, Saturday evening, April 10—Special prize night; two prizes will be awarded to the pair, consisting of a lady and gentleman, making the highest score, subject to handicap; any two gentlemen playing together not eligible. Allother Saturday evenings regular com- “g0 a3 you pleasc,” and also visi- tors' nights. Whist in Sacramento. At last there is to pe one of the best whist clubs in the Siate formed in_the Capital City. About 150 players have already subscribed their names, and, what is better than all, they have sgreed to stick by the club for at least one year. It can beseen between the lines thatsome one with practical experience is at the head of this movement. Whist clubs, like all new organizations, have a hard row to hoe during the first twelve months of their existence, but once safely through that period their success 15 assured. San Francisco Whist Glub for April. Tournament play will proceed every Mon- day, Wednesday and Saturday evenings during the month of April, 1897, ihe nights on which prizes will be played ior being as follows: Monday, April 5 and 19: Wednesday, April 14 and 21. Two prizes will be played foron each of these evenings, the couple makiog the highest score above the average (handicaps deducted) winning. An individual prize will bo given to the person making the highest aggregate above the average for all Monday, Wednesday and Saturday evening play. There will be a contest for teams of four, on Saturday evening, April 10, the members of the tenm making the highest aggregate score, after deducting one-half the aggregate handi- caps previously imposed, each winning a prize. Tuesday afternoon, April 27, ladies will play consolation whist for two prizes,and to this game they may invite their whist friends, but Pprizes will be awarded to members only. All other Tuetday afternoons the piay will be for lady members only, they choosing their part- ners and playing for individual record for the month. Two prizes will be awarded 1o those baving the highest score for the month. Whist talks will be eiven each Tuesday after- noon from 1:30 1o 2 o’clock, to which all lady members are invited. 4 Each Friday morning at 10 o'clock ladies will play whist for individual records. Four prizes will be awarded at the end of each month. The committee wish to impress on all mem- bers the fact that whist is piayed every after- noon and evening in the clubrooms. On Thursday and Friday evenings the duplicate games now being run will be continued. The rooms are for members to use, and they are at liberty to organize among members such whist games as they desire. Members and strangers not provided with partners at any game are requested to notify the member of the contest committea in charge of the game, and partners will be pro- vided as far as possibie. Whistlets. The whist editor of THE CaLL will not pay any attention to anonymous communications. He will always sirictly guard the coufidence of writers who don’t want their names men- tioned in our column: ‘mous letters, he cann: way by his direction. As he has explained in these columns he purposes to make the work ‘of the bureau “prac‘ical.” Oue of his plans is to include in the next official report a map of the State which shall show the location and boundaries of each mine in the State, the scale being made sufficiently large to do this. Messrs, Watts and Fairbanks are now in the field in the southern partof the State, and W. H. Means will in a few days begin a survey of the central portion of the Randsburg district, the results of which will be published in a bulletin. J. J. Crawford received a hand- somely engrossed testimonisl irom the em- | ployes of the burean upon his retiring from the office to_which Mr. Cooper succeeds. Mr. Crawiord will go into miniug operations, and will also hang out his shingle as s mining en- | gineer in this City. The act of Congress restoring the right to locate placer mining claims on public lands bearing petroleum or other mineral olls is as follows: “An actto authorize the entry and patent- | ing of lands coutaining petroleum and other mineral oils under the piacer mining iaws of the United States, ~Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of Amer- ics, in Congress sssembied, that any person authorized to enter lands under the mining lews of the United States may enter and obtain patent to lands containing petroleum or other mineral oils and chiefly valuable therefor under :he provisions of the laws re- laung to vlacer mineral claims; provided, that lands containing such petroleum or other miueral oils whica have heretofore been filed upon, claimed or improved as min- eral, but not yet patented, may be held and patented under the provisions of this act, the same as if sucn filing, cinim or improvement were subsequent to the date of the passage hereoi.” This law, which was called for by the com- paratively recent ruling of the Land Depart- ment that oil was nota mineral, went into effect February 11 last. A rich strike was made a few days ago in the Tarantula mine, Tuolumne County, wh'ch is an old property long idle which was bougnt by an English syndicate last fail for $20,000. A200-foot shaft with hoisting works wiil be sunk. The Miners’ Association is much in nexd of funds, whiah the county associations must { furnish if its invaluable work is to go on suc- cessi S. K. Thornton will make a col- lecting tonr of the mining counties and Secre- tary Julinn Sonntag is making urgent appeals for the support that is due the association. Dr. C. E. Amydon has sold to Joseph C. Cra- mer the Silver Mountain mine near West Point, Calaverss County, Cal., for $30,000. The mines of Buite, Mont, use 1,500,000 pounds of powder yearly. Yee Sing, an employe under the Chinese Consul in San Francisco, in an faterview with a writer on the Tribune in SaltLake, lasi week, stated that there are now in California 5000 Chinese engazed in washing gravel, and that their earnings averaged from 50 c2nts 10 §1 50 a day. The Mountain Copper Company has secured anew bond on the Ballakalals or Windy Camp group of forty claims, in Shasta County, and developmeut work on a large scale will be commenced immediately 10 exploit the large messes of sulphide ores. company are expected to come from England to visit the property this month. The exc¢cutive committee of the California Miners' Association has instructed the legis- lative commilttee 10 vigorously push the min- eral lands bill before the present session of Congress. A statement by the Napa Consolidated Quicksilver Mining Company for the three months ending February 28, show earnings of £40,800 and net earnings $19,160, from which a dividend of 10 cents per share is payable Aoril 1. A 75-horse-power electric power plant will s0on be erected at the Hidden Treasure mine, Placer County. The Junction mine, Tuolumne County, is undergoing promising development under the superintendency of W. H. Storms. Two shaits, the deepest 37 feet, have been sunk, and a steam hoistiug plant has been put in. The vein is from fourteen to thirty inches wide and prospects from $2 to $20 per ton. Promising deposits of copper ore,22 per cent copper and favorably situated, have been found in Yokohl Valley, eighteen miles east of Visalia, and an option on 3700 acres of land including the discovery has been secured by interested people. The new 40-stamp mill of the Baliol Mining Company, operating the old Maximilian mine, east of Sutter Creek, Amador County, was started last week. The Union Consolidated, Amador County, will prospect their ledges at the 500-foot level. They propose to run east to the gouge ledge, | about 130 feet,and west to the Paugh, about 600 feet. ! Almarin B. Paul has returned from Shasta The directors of the | where he instailed an electric ‘National Mining Company. | P Efom wil ind'cations Pinte mountsin, Kery | County, wi:l have a poom. There xre large, well-defiucd ledges, and mavy miror ledgfs from 1 to 3 feet, that bear very rich quary, and the miners wre patiently waiting for t); snow 1o disappear 1o resume work. San Francisco parties bave pur:hased ¥s) acres of gravel property in El Durado Coun upon which & mill is to be erected in a short time; setive work wiil be commenced in a few weeks. The property is within five miles of Placerville. : At Forbestown Mr. Antram has put his min. ing property intothe hands of the Pac: Mining Improvement Company for develo;- ment. They have a 12-foot ledge, the ore low grade, but it is proposed to build a 100-stamp miil.—Oroville Mercury. |~ Cherles Webb Howard of San Francisco, who has had & bond on the Dannebroge and Pex | sylvania mines in Browns Valles, has com. plied with the conditions of the bond and is | now the real owner of those claims. The cor.- | sideration was $35,000 for the Dannebrog: ana §4000 for the Penusylvania. N.D. Ride. out was the seller of the Dannebroge. F.W, Page is Mr. Howard’s general muanager.—Oro- ville Mercury. z Several new prospects on Kings River, in the vicinity of Trimmer's Springs. are re- ported. Among the most Promising is the Bowers lead, which is reported to have been bonded for a large sum recently. A number of other prospects also promise well. Great in- terest is being taken by the prospectors, and it is belleved that the attention of capital will s00m be attracted to that locality. The ledges are all very large.—Fresno Republican. Panamint district seems 1o be having a big boom, as the roads between Pansmint and Randsburg are lined with teams. New towns are aiso springing up, one being laid out at | Pustoflice Springs, and one with the handle of | Ballarat, a mile ana a haif north of Postoflice, has 100 inhabitants.—Inyo Register. The Plumas Imperial mine, Plumas County, | has developed, and is now working an im- mense bauk of suriferous gravel. The bank is 100 fect high, eighty feet of which is excellent- appearing channel wash, the County, Cal | ptent for th channel is about 1200 feet wide. ing is proceeding steadily. The success of the Mountain Copper Com- | pany is now assured. By the shipment of | three anda half cars of matte per day the | output of the smelter will equal the cost of operating the great plant each day. WIith two | furnaces in operation this output is easily sc- | quired. Operations have been retarded by e work of developing the miue &t Iro | Mountain. The Mountain Copper Company have been ruuning their No. 1 furnace steadily, | and on Wednesday completed the repairs on furnace 2 and started it running. Furnace3 is well under way, but it will not be ready for op:ration for some time. At this time nine | train loaas of ore are delivered at the roasting plant every twen(y-four hours from the mine, The train is composed of ten cars of a capacity | of eight tons each. The development of the | mine shows that with the consum ption of 3000 | tons of ore each day there is sufficient ore in sight to last for twenty-five years. Witnan output of 3000 tons of ore per day from the. mive it will be suficient to supply tea fur. neces of equal capacity of those uow in opera- tion.—Redding Press. | A meeting of the leading mine-owners of the Harrison Guleh section was held in Red Bluft last week, umong those present being Captain Roberts, J. W. Franks and others owning val- | uable interests. It was decided to incorporate | s & mining company and withdraw the mir | from the market. The compans wiil organizs with = capitalization of $300,000.—Redding Searchlight. Colorado is talking about a Pacific coast convention of gold mners, The Montana Company, at Marysville, | Mont,, has decided to put in the long-talxed-of | eyanide plant at the Drum Lummoad mine | for working over the tailings dump of about 1,000,000 tons. In Wyoming 4000 men are employea in the cosl mines, producing annually 1,500,000 tons, valued at over $4,000,000. | There is much activity in xold mining, both | piacer and quartz, in the district about Gra: | Pass, Or. Six new quartz mills will be mcu»} [ this season. The Legislature of the State of Washingt has lately passed bills to prevent the deia ment._ mutilation or destruction of mine | location stakes or notices and providing ne alty clause; extending the right of eminent domain o mining and milling companies; appointing an iuspector of coal mines for the | protection of coal miners. A State convention of ininlng men is being arranged in Wroming. Official siatements of the gold production of fiveof the Australian colonles taken in con- nection with the latest estimates regarding the remaining two make the Austraiian gold product for 1896 $44,455,000. This isan in- crease of $1,661,000 over 1895 and is consid- erabiy in excess of the South Africanyield for the year. In regard to the Provincial Miners' Associa- | tion being formed in British Columbia to look after the interests of the industry, as the Cali- fornia Miners’ Association 1s doing so effec. tively here, the correspondent of the London Mining Journal writes: “It owes its initia- tion to H. E. Coasdaile, general manager of the Hall Mines (Limited). Such a society is urgently needed, because the members sent | by the people 1o the local Parliement are ab- | solutely useless. They know nothing of state- | crait, of bill.drafting, even of the require- | ments of their own district beyond & road here ora bridge there. They owe their positions to party influence, and in no way whatever rep- | resent the tremendous Interests that are being developed in their dis(ricts. The new associa- tiou, on the other hand, is already composed of leading mining men who know what they want, are thoroughly acquainted with the nature of their business and how it is cone | ducted 1n other countries, and they also have | the means to make themselves neard.” NEW TO-DAY remaining twenty fest being strata of pipe clay R A IS DR. PIERCE'S ELECTRIC BELT.; | CAUTION 7= o3, vanic Chain Belt” with any electric beits now offered for druggists and traveling fak- elsewhere. Dr. Pierce’s Elec- WITHOUT DRUGS. Thereforeit sellson its merits and is not u: lic should not cone “Dr. Pierce’s Fatent Gal of the inferior so-calied sale by certain * Quacks,” ers in San Francisco and tric B-lt cures disease sed as are some others, merely as bait to atiract viciims to allegea “m d-cal treatments,” ete. No quack doctors are connectad with our establishment in publish misleading nowspaper advertisements and exact fu any maaner whatsoever. Nor do v ncy prices for inferior goods. Our prices range from $5 00 to $25 00 for the bes: belts in the world There are but few people who are experts on the subject toavoid imposition when purchasing an electric belt it woun! turers of estabiished reputati something regarding the merits of the goods which they offer for sale, caution and deal with manuf: till you have seen Dr. Pierce’s. & Free lliustrated Pamphlet No 2 Call or DR. PIERCE & SON, 704 Secramento street, corner Kearny, The following drusgists are Contains price list and full particulars, sireet, below Krarny, San Francitco. GoeIns, Sacramento; HoLpex Drua Co , Stoc Dut tosnswer anony- | pUBTURE, * If ruptured send also for of electricity, thercfore d be well 10 exercise due on, whose word is wort| Bay no B:xB 4 nd for a copy. or 610 Market zent . E. nd GEORGE G. MOREHEAD, Eu-!.;o:o:. free “PAMPHLET No. L” ckion,