The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 3, 1902, Page 14

14 THE SUNDAY CALL. REMINISCENQES OF WILLIAM HENRY MILBURN, BLIND CHAPLAIN OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE. tting very close to people who le history to talk with Wil- m Henry Milburn, the blind chap- f the United States Senate. r. M has been the contem- rary of £ nerations of public men, = g w second generation of m th has produced. “lay and Webster knew Jefferson Davis, Lincoln and a score s—men, all of them, nes to most of us. e chaplain is in Californis. ape the Eastern Francisco he has rather how to keep keep cool. Thus he n his couch in the Douglas. Pre: fourscore and the « S8 ut it is not because urscore that Dr. le. It is because lecturing in Lin- prostrated by heat. as age had allow ph; th the fulfill- sion Dr. me in Wash- two adopted lives to him, prayer, which ser lips, he when movement of his Ik of great men i inference goes back to the first to t century. by him are d give. w g have the Senate?” s r Sherman of Ohio and Senator who went to the fathers and again i two terms ppose when first Two yeas with high hor ¥ of physical whic e strug- s affliction. he lost the f the other ege e work fi elf wit was when, ad, but never rce which instantly or sentence from s petuation of letter at a time, al- reading truly twenty years, with e hand upon beneath the eye to , with the beaded tears trickling painful organ, RS was prepared himself for the e Methodist Episcopal further handicap of him from entering the s he very year he left college. He for one of them ough almost to wishes before he mood was coming, and I reminiscent mood to and preaching, in this country lectured in every pt Florida, ved next door to Florid ason for staying away of the odd things thai € yet vears 1 went back to the House of as chaplain In the been chaplain to Con- as much in the but during my y changed Senate ce the in So when I went back st administration I was e. In 1833 I was elect- where I have since been ty years in the chap- other man has ap- t generation of public men with the genera- Clay, Daniel Web- Calhoun were a part. nk we have no men as big as Henry ted was t whi ster and John ods in the mar those to-day. Otherwise, the general aver- age of the House and Senate has greatly improved, but we have not the equals of those Titans. “The biggest man I have known?” re- peated this man, who has had personal friendship with practically all the big men the country can claim since Wash- ington’s day. “I have known so many it is hard say. 1 suppose, really, Mr. er was the greatest man I have to knew it was a surprise, for he “I knew Mr. Lincoln, too. I grew up in Jacksonville, Tll, which was next to Springfield, where Mr. Lincoln lived. In those days the State was divided into dis- tricts, and prominent lawyers traveled about the circuit with the Judge when he went to hold court at the various county seats. In this way Lincoln came lo Jack- sonville every three months, and he not only argued his cases in court, but he al- ways made political speeches. ile was an old Whig and afterward became a Re- publican, as so many Whigs did, and he made Whig speeches. His speeches were funny and they abounded in funny sto- ries, so boys as well as men went to hear him. I knew him and his wife before they were married, which period of my acquaintance with Mr. Lin- coln. “Lincoln was calied upon to.act in more important business than Webster was. Webster died before those stirring times was the special died of heartbreak after his defeat by the Whig party for the Presidency, and thus you could not tell what he would have e o reea containing the head is then fitted to THE &RKYNG OF FOYSONED ARROWS. and of obtain vith - which mu the confine 15t »m Namaqua- of a fixed in ists n head rich § ut in such leaves f joints shaft and the of these joints is readily = ose ar imal has received thc f he would naturally s h y ar the v s could be ma d in one = er, but where he has to pull rs ne shaft nd then the little eeds t are jpined into on r, the poison will have plenty of p » the bloed, and the animai T'here 13 ¢f Bushmen obtain- owheads from the « probably t y obtained it from the segais dropped by other natives. From the small size of the heads it is evident they were obliged to rigidly economiz their little store of metal. The = of the arrow is made out of a jointed reed. A small kind about four fect high and growing in swampy places is generally used, but as these rarcly grow straight they must be treated be- fore t an be used. The nodes, or sclid joints in the stem, are first broken through, so that one can see rignt down the middle. The reed is then soaked in water several hours. Meanwhile a stone is prepared, having a groove in its flat surface deep enough to held the shaft, and is placed in the embers of a fire un- til it is abite hot. The socked reed groove and cove when. b is then a4 with means of the mc it mes soft and fle turred in ali directions. By looking through the hollow shaft the Bushmen cyn see if the reed is straight or not, with- ont removing it from the stone, and he it about until it is straight. When has straigitened it to his satisfaction stone’ with its contents is allowed to and upon taking the reed out it is perfectly stiff and rigid. The short bit of put into the warm _sand, sture and heat, ible, and can be be he the one end, and single hawk's feather tied to the other, and t ary is complete. Many methods of preparing the poison to ccording said to the plant “giftbol,” used Lave bee one authority, extracted ed described and, the poison the root toxicariz ctract follo e is of from ca 3u but hane as seems a resin. But belleve be a Namaqualand. The Bu: scme resin, probably ctus-like plar abounding ce placed the sticky stuff on a tene. Then he goes to find the “ring- hake,” or black night adder—not the puff adder, which is sometimes called the “rirg-hake,” too. Having found the for least chtained from some of the men C in that place, and the snake, by thrust of t! ick the animal is impr oned just behind the head by the two prongs of the stick. The prepared stone is then placed in the mouth and the up- per jaw forced right back. By this rough treatment the poison .glands are com- ssed and two deadly drops are caught the stone. The poison is then well with the resinous matter and i for use. - In earlier days the ser vices of a “‘witch doctor”” were required. The whole hcad of a puff adder was a clever 0 T e e e e e e e S done in a case like that {n which Lincoln was called upon to act. Opportunity has so much to do with making a man. Lin- coln by reason of the conspicuous part he had to perform in the most consplcu- ous period of the nation's history has eclipsed to some extent the genius and service of Webster. But Webster's fame is rising more and more. The wild e: citement which prevailed in the nation at that time and which seemed to shroud his genius and character has subsided, and he is more appreciated now than he was in the latter part of his life. “Both Webster and Clay wanted to be President, but in rising to their positions they made a great many enemies. People were envious of them in their own party, and with their opponents outside of their party formed such combinations as to of while the weird doctor made Loiled, na in a pot along with all sorts ¥ mixtures and herbs, incantations of the witech the excitement intense and terrible. The fumes of this horrible brew often got into the head of the operator and sometimes the climaxed the wan falling head foremost into pot and being se by the the contents of the vessel wera v mixed the sticky compound was collected by stirring it with a stick, to which the matter adhered, and, when made a black kijob on the stic which was then sold. ' In shooting the Bushman aims high in’ the air, letting rrow strike the animal from above, object being simply to wound his quarry,.not to maim it. After the animal died, then the little Bushman carefully cut the flesh into long, flat strips as broad as he could make them. The first strip was cut, and without slicing it right off he an- other strip in a reverse direction, beneath the first, and =0 on until at last he had a band of meat several yards long. This he then wound around his body, Whe it became dried into a sort biltong. Th these strange natives alwa had a supply of food upon their persons which, considering how often they were attacked by larger tribes, was certaini of an advantage, even though the horril odor must have been too sickening to im- agine. CARLOTTA REYNAL. defeat them. It is hard to tell why they should never have reached the goal of their ambition. “Yes, perhaps it was that they were statesmen rather than politicians. The pipe lay forgotten. One Goes not nced even this gentle aid to Inspiration when one’s hero is the subject of conver- sation. “Tll have another match, dearie,” and willing hands held a light to the nowl. I* only took 1 puff or two to recall the first great event of the chaplain’s experience in Congress. “It was the Mexican war,” he iis was all Mexican country was there first. Andrew Johnson afterward Pr = said. when I of Ten- sident of the United s a member of the House at was a member of the House, but resign- ed to go home and raise a regiment for the war, which he did under Zachary Taylor; and Stephen A. Douglas of Il- linols, afterward so comspicuous .n the Senate as the originator of the Kansas and Nebraska bill—for at that time Kan- sas ard Nebraska were occupied by In- dians and a few white settlers. “Then tbere was George P. Marsh of Vermont, who was the distinguished scholar of Congress, afterward Minister to Turkey and to Italy; and John Quincy Adams, son of the second President and himself sixth President, was a member of the House. Clay had resigned h in the House to become a candidate the Presidency, and, although defeated by Polk of Tennessee, had not_yet returned to the Senate. But Webster was there, and Calhoun and Benton of Missouri. “These were the men who, after the Mexican war was fought out, had to de- cide the question of what territory should be taken from Mexico in consequence uf the war and questions of this character took as much discussion then as they do now. This country here that is‘now the State of California was taken possession of by the United States; part of Utah, New Mexico, the Indian Territo and Texas itself came in as a State dur- ing my first term of service. s seat for also “Sam Houston, as he was rfamiliarly called, was a member of the Senate, and the sergeant-at-arms of the Senat used to provide regularly a lot sticks for him to whittle while th was in session. That habit of Sam too, of pi Senate Houston's remi me of one of William H. Seward’s pecu- larities. Seward had been ome of the rulers of politics in New York State be fore coming to the Senate, and wa therefore, very prominent in the e of the public. He was in the habit of writ- ing out the speeches he made in the Sen- ate, and his pile of manusecript lay on his desk when he rose to He could give the speech exactly as it was written without consulting the man- useript, provided it was before him; but if it was taken away he could not say a wor “In there try the next Congress was a general upris of what was ca Up to that time and Democrats been clected th but only lived a year President Fillmor It was at tha next Whi Webster expe I served, in 1853, ng in the coun- the Knownothing the parties wera General Taylor lene bhad 1848, Vice dent. that Daniel the nemination of the‘vpa to Pres| or t becar Presi- nvention to receive r the Pres- idency, but instead the Wh nominated General Scott, who was commander chief of the army. and he was t dously beaten by General Plerce, been in the Senate and resigned his seat when the Mexican war broke out, voluu- teered and was appointed a general andeér General Taylor. ‘General Taylor was more of a soldier than tesman, and his election to the Presidency was the outcome of war thusiazm. “I remember during the there was a Democratic ing a hurrah crowd out in the street. his talk he said: ‘Fellow citizen: going to elect this man, al Ta He soldier, but his ambition leads him to the desire to be President. In- Geed, I may say that ever since the battle of Buena Vista he has had his eye on the Presidential chair.’ “At this moment some supporter of Tay- lor shouted, ‘Yes, and on the 4th of next March he will have his coattails in that chair.’ And that broke up the meeting.” The pale face brightened, for the doctor loves the laughing side of life, and his mind is not one of those stuffy store- houses of soiemn and serious facts and nothing else. He thinks his mind is no longer keen, but no one could agree with him on that. He has grown more indifferent about forming mental pictures of the people he meets. “At one time,” he said, “I went about the streets alone, and by shaking hands and speaking with people I was able to tell the height, weight, complexion and even something of the temperament of slmost every one I met. “As my children grew up it was their great pleasure to act as guide for me, so I grew to depend more upon them and less upon myself. Now my children are ail gone, but I have these little ones,” as he affectionately calls the daughters of a close friend of his earlier years, who have adopted him, as he has adopted them. There was just a touch of wearmess in the voice that is wonderfully pure and gentle. But he was too good-natured to be let off quite so easily. Just one more question. To answer it he went back again over more than a half-centu “The most exciting time I have seen in the Senate was the introduction by Ste- phen A. Douglas of what was called squatters’ sovereignty, giving people of Territories the right to decide whether slavery should or should not exist. ‘““There had been great excitement and a aylor canva speaker addre you Genes vier? is a . 4 slavery. Clay was then in the House and Webster. After a tremendous wran- gle over the admission of Missouri as & State a compr measure was intro- duced by Clay, known as the Missouri ¢ ing lind be m »y which the divid- ween slavery and freedom in the new Territ s and States admitted to the Union should be the parailel of 36 degrees 30 minutes—the boundary line be- tween N Arkansas—and that line was to r west as the terri- tory of the United States extended In Senator Douglas’ bill that compro- mise was wiped out, and instead of the matter being by Congress the bitl provided that State and Terri- tory - should ¢ the_slavery question for its “There had been a tremendous uprising throughout the co on account of the great immigration oreigners and the sway of the Cathoiic church, and the Knownothing party swept into Congress with a majority in the House, takmg the place of the old Whig party. The Sen- ate majority was so- easily changed, because a Senator term X years. In that body and the Douszla made a the Democrats had a majority bill was passed, bug it cat row ar riost ex »f the Senate, stion of the debate in 1861 f the old Whigs ed to the citing debate in the with the possible e the Civil W over Knownothings caused and the e new lges to be run, and then this meas- ure of Douglas’ produced such a tremend- excitement e nation 1sed the birth of the Republican throughout it cz party Jot connectéd who tory C. Fremont was so closely with of California, ated by the Republicans in 1856, | Buchanan, and that was nomi defeated led to the election of Lincoln in 1860, and that brought on the Civil War. In other w the excitement of . that Thirty- third Congress, which was my second term, led to the most important results in the history of the nation. And now, my dear, I think I have talked enough.” and he held out his hand to say Bood-by BERTHA H. SMITH. NEW EXPERIMENTS BY THE DE- PARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. es=HAT the American pig has long been | a slandered and abused creature is I the opimion of the Department of Agriculture. The reputation for general untidiness and lack of neatness phich the pig _bas borme is due, in the dpinion of the ITEwexperts of the depart- me rot to any inherent defect in p nature, but the surroundings whict have been forced upon the porker from his infaney yree the tiest person to Yiv d s the pig 18 obliged to endure and his or her love of cleanliness would scon vanish, Under this theory the Department of Agriculture Is about to begin a series of experiments, with a view to the redemp- tion of the pig. Should these experiment prove a success there will be a great fu- ture fi the Ameri He may e live to see tie day no pretty girl e up will be with- y. pet piz. The parade cf pigs on Fifth avenue will £ the events of the season. iments begun by the depart- bea of cleanliness is im-~ igs chosen for redemp- tion Special pens have been prepared for them and care is taken to have these pens provided with the clean- est of sand. ry pig is given his daily bath. Care is taken that the food pro- i and dainty. There is talk aside prizes which will be given - piggies who appear to best in the weekly inspections which will form one of the features of the training. The experts in charge say that in this way an appeal will be made to porcine seli-interest, as well as to the conscience which the pig is supposed to possess in an undeveloped state. After the pigs have enjoyed this training long enough for it to have made an im- pression on them (m\l touched their pig- gish hearts there will come the real test. Each pig will be placed between two pens —one the clean, dainty one of the re- formed pig, the other the dirty, untidy pen to which so many of our best pigs have been accustomed from their youth up. If the hopes of,the pig experts are justified every pig Will turn with scorn from the pen of his unregenerate days. He will hasten to the modern ven, the pen so clean and dainty that it might well be called a “modern pig’s boudoir.” And a great step will have been taken toward the reformation of the pig_race. Even if the pigs prove a disappointment when the test comes’ their educators do not mean to feel disappointed. The habits of generations cannot be eradicated in a month. The failure of the pigs to comse up to the standard will be taken as an evidence of the strength of inherited ten- dencles. The gospel of cleanliness will be taught not only to the original pigs now being educated, but to their children and grandchildren. In the end it is hoped that a race of pigs any one might be proud to have as pets will be bred. The far-reaching effects of this plan on, the future of pigs cannot be overesti- mat Unless the experts in pigology are greatly mistaken pigs will grow daint- ier and daintier in their tastes. The pig of the future will demand his daily bath. Pie and milk and clean napkins will take the piace of the troughs into which the food of the abused pigs is now poured The up-to-date will require his man- icurist, as well as his barber. Pig mas- sage may come to be a fad. And as for fashions in pigtail curls, there will be no vided is of setting to the lit advantage that time. Jefferson Davis of Mississippi fierce contest in 1820 on the subject of limit to their variety. THE CALYFORNYA RATF(BONE STSTERS. Continued From Page Nine. bone Sisters of California, was organized Sacramento April 13, 1891. The last official report of the grand mistress of records and correspondence, Mirs. Holmes, shows the condition of the Rathbone Sisters in California to be as follows Whole - of temples December Instituted during terms ending June December 31, 1901... at num , 1900.48 30 and Total Surrendered Numbeg of temples ending December 31, 1901.54 Instituted and revived from January 1, 1902, to April 30, 1902 Number of temples. ... + Sy O Mayflower No. 20, San Ardo—This temple paid its last per capita tax on October 1, 1901— §5 50. 1901; them This amount squared them to June 30, since then no word has been received from SUMMARY OF MEMBERSHIP. Kni! 1900.... shts. Sisters 1516 1481 Memborship December 31, Initiated term ending June 30, 1901. 318 Reinstated term ending June 30, (o G S N %4 6 14 Admitted by card term ending June 1901 Pl 5 15 Initiated term ending December 3 1901 s eI 178 Reinstated term ending December 31, 1901... T 9 Admitted by card term ending De- cember 7 15 Total .. 2030 Suspended term ending June 1901 N .. 119 102 Withdrawn term ending ‘June 30, 1901 re . 18 44 Dicd term ending June 30, 1901. T 3 Suspended term ending December S I TR 6 s Withdrawn term ending December g i901.. .1 28 Died term ending December 1901 7 6 Total deductions .. 251 Number of members December 31, 1901.. CORRSRE | B Net gain....... 298 The officers of the Grand Temple of California are as follows: Past grand chief, - Mrs. Lilly Samuels, Oakland: grand chief, Mrs. Ella S. Pringle, Santa Cruz; grand senior, Mrs. Maud Sheehan, Sacramento: grand -junior, Mrs. Annie Wyatt, Salinas; grand manager, Mrs. Bettie Nickell, Los Angeles: grand mis- tress of records and correspondence, Mrs. Lovise Holmes, Oakland; srand mistress ot finan Mrs a Simpson, Santa Rosa; grand protecic Mrs. Clara E. Martin, Stockton: grand outer guard, Mrs. Ida Brooks, San Franeisco; supreme representatives, Mrs. Mary A. Fitzgerald and Mrs. Weldon. —_—————————— ar 1902 bids fair to be a record lovemaking in Berlin. Not even t inhabitant can recall such an epicemic of betrothals. During the past few werks the demand for engagement gs Las been simpl »ssal. One firm of jewelers alone has sold 13,000 rings. "his means 00 ensagements, since the wears a ring as weil as the woman in Germany. -