The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 13, 1898, Page 23

THE SAN FR NCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1898 23 BUILT A BIG HOUSE Strange Life Led by IN THE. TOP an Ingenious Robin- son Crusoe in the Wilds of Nica MONG the jungles of Eastern Nicaragua there lives an Ameri can Crusoe, fortified in a tal ebo tree. The name of this strange in dividual is S >1 Wilderson, ragua, the enemy had disappeared. Perhaps - she did not like the looks of the lens 1 and feared an explosion. I did not see her again. But I was not yet out of trouble. Two Chinamen poked their heads-.out of - the shanty on the ground, while I was His house, or citadel, elevated forty preparing to secure a second photo- feet, above the earth, is impregnable graph, and engaged in a rapid-fire to the attacks d beasts and Mongolian conversation, making fre- poisonous repti Sven pestilential’ quent gestures in my direction. I paid fevers, hovering over he de- DO apparent attention to the antics of by 3 = " i these fellows, but quickly reloaded and e ‘.'“'g'ol“”_ I,icannaL IBoeS hlg‘h. snapped away at the tree house again, This Crusoe fears not that trouble heing determined to secure a good neg- which befell the celebrated giant who ative, Meanwhile I kept an observant lived on the top of Jac beanstalk. eve upon the open window above, sus- The wood of the ebo is hard as iron, Pecting that hot water might be tossed and long before a marauder armed with n ax could ma unk, C e with his s out of the kitchen window would able to discharge effective quantities of buckshot. When I visited the domain n it was not without doubt ich dent in the 1otgun pointed be of this . out without proper precautionay sig- nals. . Fortunately no such calamity occurred, and 1 finally packed up my apparatus and safely retreated to the boat. Crusoe Wilderson's house, as will be seen from the accompanying picture, is three stories in height. The ebo tree ns up through its center to the roof. D O O it I ot haa The structure ltself is solidly bullt of floated out of the forest conce whipsawed lumber and is painted his notions and his methods of reported to have cost its A e ot B B 00 in cash, in addition to S Ao ke R nen months of hard personal labor. The s g T hohe lower story is used as a kitchen, the Sk 3 middle story as a living room and the r people declared t ed an intent d on his domain spot at the proper focal i the camera box, took and began adjusting hes deep ed around i to proj and a gor- ed itself out. The at you a doin’ down dar?” 1 the head. 5 at once. It w , but a ing the noise. ted not male I did argu- _shrieked the d the lens di- swer, but quickly into position in the pneumatic »—three—click! T had it. ed up at the window again at his had upper as bathroom! I' could not rderstand what whim had led Crusoe into this last mentioned extravagance. Perhaps he intended it to ease -his of conscience over ‘the dirty to be tolerated below. the bath tub rain is caught from the roof in barrels located’ inside the house. The tropical rains are frequent and heavy and there is seldom a short supply in the barrels. The house is reached from the ground by means of a hoisting cage. The rope which is attached to it passes over a qualms condition To suppt pulley in the kitchen and suspends a heavy iron weight at the other end. When Crusoe enters the cage his weight about counterbalances that of the iron v a hand-to-hand pull the cage up and the weight goes down. operation is reversed in descend- The idea is worked on the elevator ciple. The rooms are furnished in an ex- ceedingly simple style. Nicaraguan s has it that there are few arti- of luxury and no carpets. A cles plain pine table in the sitting room and chairs and cots complete the Down in the Kkitchen the cooking 1s"show signs of antiquity, and said that they®could be wondrous- oved in appearance and even in capacity by the erosive action of sand- paper, Ive and soft soap. As it is, they are gradually thickening and losing ca- pacity. Crusoe Wilderson has the faced Carib for a housekeeper. ght be incidentally mentioned that rried man and left his fam- hen he started for ragua ears ago. A report had it that his wife had sent word of r intention to visit him. v on built his house on the the- v that fevers would not assail him » far above the earth So far neither the miasma nor the chills have selzed him, and his theory has a respectable standing in consequence. But, then, there is an ever nresent possibility that a boa constrictor will enter one of his windows on a dark night and carry off OF A TREE either the housekeeper or himself. Boas have a fancy for life among the limbs of the ebo trees. The particular trunk which supports the house is four feet in diameter and is aided in sustaining the enormous weight by four slender wooden columns placed at the corners of the structure. E. HAZARD WELLS. EL WILDERSEN iN A TREETOP IN THE WILDS OF NICARAGUA. From a photugraph. OUR EARTH WILL SEE SHOWERS OF METEORS THI!S MONTH Its Course for the Next Thirty Days Will Lie Along a Path Where There JAre Swarms of Them. URING the present month we may expect to see two well-de- fined showers of meteors, as the earth rushes through the richly clustering part of two meteor swarms—viz., the Leonids, so called because they apparently radiate from a point in the heavens in the con- stellation Leo, and the Andromedes, which radiate from the constellation Andromeda. Meteor swarms pursue regular, well- defined paths around the sun, and the earth-can only encounter them when they happen to intersect each other's paths at the same time. Therefore the great star showers occur only rarely, the Leonids returning once in about thirty-three years, on November 1 within a day or, two, and the Andro- medes about once in thirteen years, on the 27th or 28th of the same month. The last great display of the Leonids took place in 1866, and occurs again in 1899 or 1900, so that this year we may only expect to see the advance guard of this celestial army, yet we are very near the “gem of the meteoric ring,” as it has been prettily, though not scientifically, termed. It may be as well to call attention to the fact that the meteors on this spe- cial occasion must be looked for at the right time and in the right direction. Much disappointment and vexation of spirit may be spared by using the fol- Jowing directions: The November me- teors (of this particular family) radiate from the sickle-shaped group of stars in Leo, and this constellation rises somewhat to the north of the east point shortly before midnight. Consequently the meteors radiating from this point must be looked for between midnight and dawn. At the display of November 13 and 14, 1866, many observers waited patiently from nightfall to midnight for the promised display of celestial fireworks, finally retiring in disgust, weary with waiting and angry with the astrono- mers for setting them an apparently useless task. Now, the fact of the mat. ter is those patient watchers might just as well have been resting peacefully from 6 to 11 o’clock as watching for the display of November meteors. Dur- ing those hours no meteors could be seen, for the same reason which ren- dered the Spanish fleet invisible for a time—'‘The Spanish fleet you cannot see because it's not in sight.” From observations and discoveries made in 1866 it was ascertained that the November meteors travel around the sun in orbits extending beyond the path of the planet Uranus. In the vear 1865 the earth had passed some- what in front of the head or richest part of the November meteor system. In the year 1866 the earth had passed somewhat behind the head and through a region so rich that for six hours meteors positively rained upon the earth, or rather upon the shield of air which protects it from the downfall of meteors. But the enormous range of the me- teoric orbit of this system requires about thirty-three years for its com- pletion, and hence we hav~ every rea- son to expect a fine displ this year, a preliminary skirmish, as it were, giv- ing promise of a regular bombardment by this celestial army at its return in 99. In 1866, when the earth rushed through a very rich portion of the sys- tem on the morning of November 14, the passage lasted so short a time that while England ‘had a magnificent dis- play of falling stars none was seen in the United States. On the other hand, in 1867, when a display of hardly in- ferior splendor was seen, America caught the shower and Europe missed it almost entirely. Probably the most remarkable of all - meteoric showers seen in this country occurred on November 12, 1833, in the early morning, when the sky seemed fairly ablaze with stars. An observer remarked that' “he never saw snow- flakes thicker in a storm than were the meteors in the sky at some moments.” During tke five or six hours of the display 250,000 meteors were counted by observers in Boston. The colored peo- ple in the Southern States were over- come with terror, and supposed the end of the world was at hand. A planter was aroused from slumber by one of his slaves, who knocked at the door, shrieking: “Get up, massa; The angel Gabriel will have done blown his trump if vou ain’t up soon!” In “Starland” Professor Bell relates the experience of a Mr. Kirkwood of South Carolina, who describes the effect of the meteoric display on the plantation workers as folows: “I was suddenly awakened by the most distressing cries, that ever fell on my ears. Shrieks of horror and cries for mercy could be heard, and, while earnestly listening for the cause, I heard a faint voice near the door call- ing my name. I arose, and, taking my sword, stood at the door. At this mo- ment I heard the same voice beseeching me to arise, and crying out that the world was on fire. “I then opened the door, and it is difficult to say which excited me the most—the awfulness of the scene or the distressed cries of the men. Upward of a hundred lay prostrate on the ground —some speechless, and some, with the bitterest cries, raising their hands and praying for mercy. The scene was truly awful, for never did rain fall much thicker than the meteors fell toward the earth.” The path pursued by the Leonids is millions of miles long and thousands of miles in width, the particles in the swarm being probably only small peb- bles, a few ounces in weight, and sepa- rated from each other bv a distance of two or three miles. Each pebble pur- sues an independent path around the sun, and is as submissive to the con- trolling law of gravity as the more se- date members of the solar family—the planets. Meteors make their presence known to us by fitful flashes of light, seen at a height of eighty to a hundred miles, the length of their path varying from fifty to five hundred miles, and the velocity from forty to ten miles a second at the moment when they first become visible, diminishing to one or two miles per sec- ond at the time they disappear. A comet must be very small indeed which has not a head 50,000 miles or so in extent, so_the head of the coming comet might be expected to extend far beyond the 20,000 miles separating its track from the earth. In other words, the earth would probably pass through the outer portions of the comet’s head. The Andromedes are of a ruddy hue and with only short trains, moving slowly as compared with the Leonids, since they drift along in the same di- rection as the earth. o000 00000 CO0CO0CCC000000000000000C0N0000000C0000000000 0C000000000000000000000000000000CCLCO0CO0000000000000CCOCO0000000000CCC0 0000 By the Columbia Theater Press Agent OOMRA SAMI, an old Mahatma i , is the hero of a A as quaint as it is unusual. known, the M are the most h native Hindoos. Their of a weird sort, perhaps, thoroughly well accredited accomplished things that Representatives of the Orpheum and the Columbia Pencils and Unbridled Consciences ordinary mortals at the ve: clar e human impossibiliti. These priests have a power over the people that the British will never suc- ceed in stamping out. In addition to the five senses possessed by ordinary beings, they are said to have knowledge and the ability to ap- dge in a most startling Tourists to India have de- wonderful necromancy: v outset de- ply this know heir apparent power to hypnotize owds of people on the streets and make them believe they see things which really do not exist. In addition. it is claimed for them that they have the astral power, that is, can enter a state of coma and project their astral or spirit form to remote parts of the earth with the rapidity of thought. Magician Kellar claims to be the onlv American who has ever made the Ma- hatmas a subject of thorough study. During his tour of the world he spent many months in India, at Simla. at Delh! at Allahabad and Calcutta., here he devoted his time almost en- tirely to the mastery of their weird magic. While he has not pretended to explain their produced their methods of his startling manner. When. in Delhi, Kellar learned the story of Koomra Sami. For some rea- son or other, the old priest had incurred spleasure of his fellow craftsmen threatened with death. He s the astral power ful exploits by own, in an equally freres, to whom he declined to divulge he inner secrets of the mystery. The ime came when he had to leave his wumble home and flee for his life. He vas pursued by his enemies far into he mountains, but just as they seemed bout to capture him he mysteriously lisappeared, only to reappear at a nore distant point, yet in full view. In the end, however, he found himself upon the brink of a precipice. The mountain trail ended abruptly and he ould not advance. His enemies were closing in upon him rapidly. Suddenly, with a majestic wave of his thin hand, with his long white hair falling like a silver sheen about his shoulders, he seated himself upon a rock, and, to the astonishment of his pursuers, gradually faded away into thin air. A few seconds after the pro- cess of dissolution began the outlines of the rock were seen through his form. Thinner and more gauze-like his figure became, until only its dim, misty shape remained—then it was wafted away upon the breeze. The priests stood dumfounded. That it was the astral power they well knew, but that it was developed to a far higher degree than aught they had heard of they also agreed. They knew the trick of leaving the physical body and causing the spirit-body to go to distant places, but it must return again to the earthly form it had left. Koomra Sami, how- ever, caused his physical body to melt away before their very eyes. No credence could be placed upon this odd story were it not for the fact that it was proved true by Kellar, who has reproduced the phenomenon in every detail. It really seems like ask- ing a good deal to expect intelligent people to believe such a statement, but the sensation Kellar has created in the Fast since the first presentation of this wonderful illusion leaves no room for doubt. Stepping down to the footlights on the stage, he narrates the story of old Koomra Sami briefly, and declares that the phenomena accomplished by the old priest were simple in the ex- treme when understood. He then seats himself upon a chair and continues his chat with the audience. The stage is fully lighted; as is also the entire theater. His face and form gradually become indistinet; the back of the chair upon which he sits shows through his figure. He continues talking, in a most entertaining ;manner, meanwhile fading away into a ghostly mist, which van- ishes altogether, in the bright light of the electric lamps. And just then, while the audience Theater Present Magicians to the Great American Public, and With Fanciful Sketch the Merits of Their Respective Stars. watches the chair with keenest interest, and in the smallest fraction of a sec- ond, Kellar, smiling with satisfaction at their discomfiture, steps out of the wings from a remote corner of the stage, continuing his story as if nothing had’ happened. . . By the Orpheum Press Agent N his travels over the world and in strange lands Carl Hertz, the ma- gician, has had many thrilling ex- periences, but perhaps the most exciting of all occurred in Borneo. After this adventure Mr. Hertz has the distinction of probably being the only man who has ever had to offer himself up as a burnt offering in order to rid himself or a Princess who would marry him whether or no. The Princess in question hod witness- ed several performances by Mr. Hertz and considering his skill in magic she had concluded that he was about the right sort of a fellow to have in the family, but Mr. Hertz could not see it in that light, and so far as the Princess yet knows he burned himself alive. It was about two years ago that Carl Hertz visited Borneo, and his fame as a magician reached even the slow-going, methodical natives of the interior. A ruler of the Dyaks of an in~ terior province heard of Mr. Hertz and summoned him to appear at the palace and give his entertainments. Several of the King’s barges, with a retinue of servants, were sent down the river and the magician and his outfit conveyed to the palace of the King of Dyaks. As is customary in that country, the King was seated on a raised platform, for it is beneath the dignity of any Oriental ruler to appear in public seated on the same level with their subjects. On the same platform reposed his favorite daughter. - She expressed her approval of the clever work of Mr. Hertz not by clap- ping of the hands, after the manner of an English audience, but in true native style by a number of short grunts. When Mr. Hertz performed his tricks with money and plucked coins from the air the Princess expressed her approval by long grunts that at first rather dis- comfited the magician, for he was not yet accustomed to such style of ap- plause. When he came to what is known as the Phoenix trick, such us he does at the Orpheum this week, it was then that the Princess concluded that he was just the fellow she wanted. In this illusion the magician appears to have the power to burn up people. The Princess concluded that if she only had a husband like Carl Hertz she would start several conflagrations. His experience with the Princess Mr. Hertz tells as follows: “It is a fact that among the natives of the interior of almost any of the Oriental countries it is quite impos- sible to make them believe that the magician dees not really perform all that he pretends to, and this is the se- cret of why a magician is regarded as some sort of a supernatural being. When the Princess had seen me pick coins out of the air and take handfuls of gold from the pockets of people who were never known t¢ have a plece of gold in their lives she naturally con- ciuded that I could perform such mir- acles at will, at any time and at any place. I have several times as ‘ad- Some of the Mystifying Things Those Same Magicians Do.-fAcco{dmg vertisement when I would be about to pay money to the natives pretended to search through my clothes without finding as muach as a piece of siiver. Then I would make a few passes and pick a coin cut of the air. “It is the same with the Phoenix il- lusion. They believe that 1 actually burn up a live man, and in several in- stances I have had hard work to con- vince the authorities who have got after me that I do not really burn up the man. They think that my trick is in convincing them that I do not burn the body. “The Princess no doubt concluded that a man who could produce coins of any denomination at will, and who could by merely making a few passes cause the clothing of another person to break into flames would be a valua- ble addition to the household of the woman who was destined to rule the province. 1 was summoned the third time to the palace to repeat my per- formance. As I varied my tricks each evening the Princess naturally con- cluded that there was no limit to the things I could do. “It was at the end of the third per- formance that she proposed marriage. I replied that I was married already. She told me that that made no differ- ence, that she would be a sister to my first wife and together they would rule all other wives I might acquire. “My wife, who was present when the interpreter told us this, thought it was all a joke and was for jumping up and throwing her arms about her new-found sister. “But I could see that there was a very serious side to the matter. To refuse the Princess was to insult the King, and perhaps meant death, and in those interior provinces the rulers are au- tocrats with more power than the Czar. So long as they do not interfere with the administration od( anybtm;elgn ‘glrlw- rnment they o about as they !emve a mind t.o"nd‘nfl no one bothers to ask questions, much less to bring them to an accounting. There is even a way to Thelr; Press ‘Agents,' Without Half Trying, Which Wins? whereby they can circumvent the inter- ference of foreign powers. There is a law in Borneo that whenever war is declared all foreign subjects, no matter to what nation they may belong, are subject to draft into the army. All they have to do is to inform an Amer- ican, an Englishman, a German or any body else that he is wanted in the army and he has to serve. “I asked the Princess to delay the matter for a day or two. I privately went to the British Consul and laid the matter before him. He informed me that a father of the Princess had the power at any moment to conscript me into his army and that in such an event he (the Consul) would be power- less to help me. He advised me inasmuch as I was a magician to get out of the difficulty by the practice of my own art, and left me to devise the means and methods. “I thought the matter all over and concluded that the best way was to make myself a sacrifice in the Phoenix illusion and let the Princess think that I had really burned myself up. I sent word to the palace that I would give my last performance that evening, and I also conveyed the information to the Princess that I would also give her an answer. “I gave them my entertainment of magic and closed with the Phoenix il- lusfon, but instead of using my, wife as the burned offering, as I do at the Orpheum, when it came time for the persons to take their positions over the pot of fire, I brughed my wife to one side and jumped into the pot myself. “As the flames began to rise round me I'waved my hand in farewell to the Princess, who shrieked and would have dashed into the cabinet after me had not her servant thought that she would really be going into a caldron of fire, and for this reason they restrained her. “Of course my assistants were in- formed and I was packed closely ina big basket, as I did not dare show myself even to a native after the illusion. My wife pretended to be in great grief and THE SUNDAY CALL'S GRAND ANNUAL CONTEST OF PRESS RGEHIS. % would not stay even over night in the place where she had lost her husband. She therefore ordered everything packed that night and she started at once for the seaport. “As soon as we were safely on the river she opened the basket and let me out. But it was an experience I do not care to go through again, not even for a Princess.”