HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1911-8-3, Page 2NVEGEANCE OF OLUEJAYS mstauicr foarssaeivleedn bre' fittraTtwIr to
UPON A. HORSE THAT IAD DE-
STROYED THEIR NEST.
Owner of the Equine Had to
Take a Hand in the Furious
Attack.
•
"I hated b do it," said a. subur-
ban dweller, "for the birds were
io Pretty and had remained about
my place in the country all winter,
serving greatly to brighten things
up during the sombre season, but
I had either to make away with
bheni or let them make away with
my horse.
"Along one side of the field that
stretches away from the rear of
my place is a thick growth of bush-
es. Various kinds of birds find
that thicket favura,ble for their
nesting places. The field itself is
let as a pasture, and in the spring
and early summer the cattle and
horses pasturing there vary their
diet by browsing on the sweet and
tender young foliage of the thicket.
Among the three or four horses in
the field along in May was myt
horse, an unpretending and kindly
old fellow and almost one of the
family.
"One day I was working in my
garden when I heard bluejays
down in the thicket along the field
fence making more noise than is
usual even with those birds of
harsh and strident voice. Looking
down that wav, I sew tour bluejays
engaged in fierce and persisteab
assault on my horse.
"They were darting at him from
all sides, peeking at his face, strik-
ing him in the neck and nipping his
ears, The poor old nag ran first
one trey and then another to es-
cape the assaults of the excited and
SHRIEKING BIRDS,
but be was headed off by them
whichever way he turned.
"As there might be danger of
the horse being blinded by some
well aimed stroke of a bluejay's
sharp bill, I hurried down to lend
him my aid in escaping from the
vicious birds. Even after I arriv-
ed en the scene and took the horse
by the mane and led him away from
the spot the infuriated jays hover-
ed about and followed us, making
frequent bold dashes un the horse
and inflicting jabs that made him
jump,
led the horse to the far side
of the field and the birds returned
to the thieket, where they held
noisy consultation at one particu-
lar spot and seemed to he in great
tribulation. It was evident that
my horse had offended' the blue -
jays in some way, and to discover
if possible in what way I walked
over to the thicket. At the spot
where the clamor of the jays was
ooncentrated I found on the
ground the betties of three newly
hatelied bluejays.
"The four old birds circled about
are with noise ann tory Inc a while
as if inclined to held me respon-
s'bk. in some way for the tragedy.
l'hen they dashed awes across the
told toward where my horse had
resumed his quiet feeding and ar-
riving there angrily renewed their
attack upon him.
"I hurried thither and again
rescued him from
TiJI FURIOUS BIRDS.
and they flew yelling back to the
thicket. As often es the horse was
left to himself in the pasture the
jays attacked him as fiercely as
ever, and I was %impelled to re-
move him from the field. The
birds made no attack on any other
of the horses, although two of them
were feeding near the spot where
the birds were clamoring in the
bushes.
"The jays became quiet after a
while and presumably went about
their business, Believing that the
unfortunate incident was closed X
burned my old horse into the pas
lure again, but he had no sooner
begun to crop the grass than the
jays emerged from; the thicket
slain and renewed the /assault on
hint with all the old fury. I rescued
hint once more and took hint home
•
and shut hint in the barn.
"A road passes along tho field
en the other sick of the thicket and
is Much eravelled by teams. Two
(ty three dills after the affeir bo-
tWCen hinejays and my horse X
hooked the horse to iny buggy fot
a drive to the villas". As he was
logging along by the thicket these
blue:Jays recognized flint and
to put up with, and he took the
bit in his teeth and in spite of all
I could do, ran away.
"A.nd didn't those infernal jays
keep right along with him for balk
a mile,
urging him to still greater
*effort in his runaway stunt by
peeking him and jabbing him and
yelling in his ears I They quit then
pod went back to the thicket, yel-
ling congratulations to one an-
other at the top of their lungs. I
never got the old horse slowed
down until we got to town, about
two miles.
"No damage was done exoept to
my temper. That was wrecked so
that when I got home, returning
by a roundabout way to escape the
danger of another furious bluejay
assault and possibly more damage
to my temper if to nothing else, I
went for those jays with a sho.te
gun.
"I hated to do it, but, I couldn't
stand by and see my horse con-
stantly in jeopardy, and 1 didn't
want to sell him. At the same time
I suppose the jays had some excuse
or their enmity against the horse',
for there is no doubt that while he
was browsing along the edge of
the thicket he had pulled down a
limb on which a family of bluejays
had their nest and tumbled the
young ones out of it to the ground.
The jays were simply wreaking
vengeance on the despoiler of the
nest, although I am sure the old
horse wouldn't have dumped that
nest for all the jU9 foliage there
was in the thicket if he only had
known,"
BELIEVE GRAVE CURSES THEM
Afflicted Parsons Visit Burial Place
in Ireland for Relief.
Two quaint old ceremonies, one
of very ancient date, theorigin
of which is not quite known, have
just taken place, one in Ireland
and the other in the old world
village of Braunstone, in Leices-
tershire.
In North Kilmurry, some Le
miles from Cork there is a grave
to wihch certain country people
still make pilgrimages at certain
periods of the year, believing that
they will be cured of rheumatism
and other ills. On the grave are
a number of crutches and sticks
which have been left by pilgrims
who have been "cured." The pil-
grims bring with them cups and
jars of holy water, which they place
on the burial place, some of them
also tearing off parts of their
clothing, which they hang on a
thorn bush beside the grave. The
tombstone bears the inserip.tion,
"Erected by a friendly hand to
the memory of Rev. Patrick • Dil-
worth ; died January, 1833, aged 66
years."
"elle Holine Meadow," at
Braunstone, is always mown on
the Thursday before "Faust Sun-
day," and the hay taken by the
parish clerk, who, having it remov-
ed to the- village church, has it
strewn all over the aisles. The
origin of the custom is not known,
but it is thought that it had its
beginning in tho time when the
floors of churches and houses wero
on earth and covered with rushes,
Hines in which there took place
each year the ceremony of rush
beating, the villagers going in
processions to the churches to strew
the floors with new rushes.
Few men carry a bigger roll of
bills than the professional detecter
of counterfeits, it is a felony to
have counterfeit money in ene's
possession, but each counterfeit
de -Leder has a special license from
tho treasury department at Wash-
ington to carry about 150 samples
nf bogus money. For each counter-
feit bill tho detector carries a
genuine note of the same kind and
denomination for the purpoed of
comparison. Tho total value of this
good money that is carried side b
side with the had is between eau, -
000 and $60,600. The bilk run
from $1 up to $1,000 in denomina-
tion.
A little hey was learning his kt-
ters, and found it much cm* to
remember them by appearamee than
by name. One day, wishing- to in-
quire the identity of the letter "L"
the puzzled youngster asked:
"Mother, what is this letter that
goes straight out north on one side
and up to God an the otherV' •
SIG]OR!
!
•
It sounds a bit mean of me to say
it was all 'Amy's fault, but it real-
ly was. The idea was berfi, and its
execution was hers. And that was
everything—everything except the
trifling contribution 1 inado to the
sum total of conspiring Orman-
staaoss.
My, affairs bad not been quite so
flourishing as they should have
been, and 1 had put the position
frankly before Amy, as I hold a
husband should be quite frank with
his wife when things are gloomy,
whatever he may do when they are
bright; and we had discussed econ-
omies for four successive evenings,
and finally agreed that rather than
give up our little house and move
into a smaller one or a wretched
fiat, if we could got someone to
share its comforts, conveniences
and expenses, we might meet the
diffioulty.
Amy's cousin' in West Hamp-
stead, had meta similar difficulty
in that way,, and Amy didn't see
why we sho101dn't. The notion
seemed so excellent, indeed, that I
consented, and left the whole mat-
ter for Amy to arrange, the more
readily because she had an idea
that her West Hampstead cousin
hed mentioned to Amy that she—
the cousin—had said to her—that is
to Amy—that her (cousin again)
guest, a German getitleman, had
mentioned having s, friend, also a
foreigner, who was anxious to find
accommodation in a gentleman s
house, where he could pick up Eng-
lish quickly amid congenial sur-
roundings.
For this he was prepared to pay
four or five guineus a, weak, ac-
cording to circumstances. Amy
thought she could get this German
to come to us, if she mentioned the
matter to her cousin; and as he
seemed all right, since he was a
. porsonals-friend of Arny's cousin's
guest, I left the Matter entirely in
her hands, as I said before.
I'm obliged to explain all this in
order to bo understood. But to
justify myself saying to you it wars
all Amy's fault, I must tell you
the rest from her standpoint.
She saw the West Hampstead
cousin the following afternoon, and
was introduced to the Cam— No,
come to think of it, he was an Ital-
ian, though it is not material, since
the real point is that he only spoke
eneugh English to nod affirmative-
ly whem asked a question, and
shrug his shoulders and point when
he required anything. He had come
to England to learn our language
by residing with people who could-
n't make themselves understood in
any other language.
It must have been a trifle difficult
for Amy to make the exact pur-
pose of her visit clear to the dis-
tinguished foreigner, but she was
quite satisfied with her success
when she told me all about it in the
evening.
"A charming man!" she declar-
ed. "What his lips can't say his
eyes can. He is to see his friend
to-morrow—at least, I think so;
and he'll lot me know if and when
his friend will come to us—I fancy
that''hat he meant. A most
charming man, Alfre.c11 So genial
and vivacious. So Alive!"
"Well, I hope his friend will be
equally genial and vivacious and
alive," I observed, not particular-
ly hopefully.
Two days elaps.ed. Then Amy
was summoned to the front door to
"try an' make sense of w'at a nasty
foreigner was sayin'," as Emily,
the housemaid, explained. Amy
rushed out to find her West Hamp-
stead eousin's Italian guest, who
had called to try to make her un-
derstand the arrangements he had
made with his friend. She exper-
.
i ierked great trouble in compre-
hending him, but gathered front
the drift of his volubility and ges-
ture s that his friend would arrive
to take up his abode with us the.
following day.
Her greatest uneasiness arosse
from the fact that the charming It-
alian bad dropped so many words
in his native language that she
hadn't the faintest notion which of
them represented the name of his
friend. However, she consoledher-
self -with the reflection that she
would be perfectly safe in address-
ing the coming guest as "signor,"
and that he himself might have fin-
ished his education in conversation-
al English.
Amy confided .all this to me on
my return home in the evening, and
as she was so sure it was all right,
and 1 was so uncertain that it was-
n't, that I did not disturb her mind
particularly as she was somewhat
ruffled by her anxiety to have ev-
erything prepared for "signor's"
reception on. his arrival the next
day.
It happened most unfortnateuly,
that when 1 arrived at business the.
following morning and went
through my correspondent's:, X
found it would be necessary for itk
to start immediately on the jour-
ney fo Glasgow which I had been
anticipating for some days. It was
extremely awkward having to leave
.Ani7i to receive this straeger, and
entertain him, in my absence; bet
as my trip was in contioctloa with
a hig 3511I of business I never 1108,-
44 about going. t had, indeed,
kept 0, portmanteau ready pack-
ed .at the °face in anticipation of
this summons.
Se I wired Amy, and med. off
North. That was part of my own
personal oontribtioun. to the, beau-
tiful .affair,
OA receiving my wire, Amyat
once telegraphed to Clara Stainer,
it Norwood cousin, to opine and stay
a day or two, and Clara arrived at
live m the afternoon, and was made
aware of the situation just in time
to be looking her nicest, -when Em-
ily announced that the "foreign
gent" had come
"Fresh tea, immediately, Ern-
ily," whispered Amy excitedly, and
hestened to great the haedsome
young foreigner who stood bowing
in the hall,
Re seemed most pleasantly sur-
prised. at the cordiality of ,Amy's
waloome to him, but the difficulty
of the situation were manifest to
Amy at once, 'Ile was terribly ner-
vous, stammering and blushing like
a timid girl and he know se little
of the English language as his
friend Aray's cousin's Italian guest.
I can imagine the scene. I have
done so and laughed outright. It
must have been very droll 1 There
was the broad -shouldered little It-
alian, blushing and stammering to
find a lady of suoh charming ap-
pearaisce greeting him with all the
warmth of old friendship; and there
was Amy, tall, elegantly dressed,
frowning in her bewilderment,
nodding genially to every half -ut-
tered and wholly incomprehensible
sentence or word that escaped him.
With the greatest difficulty—hav-
ing in the end, indeed, to take him
by the arm and lead him—she forc-
ed him to overcome his nervous-
ness sufficiently to enter the draw-
ing -room.
Seeing Clara rising to greet him,
he stopped dead, and looked down
at his feet.
"Bit ze poots, madame," he pro-
tested, grinning. "Ze poots."
"He hasn't rubbed his boots,
perhaps," suggested Clara.
"Ah 1 No—no! Ze poets!" he
exclaimed, waving his hands at his
feet.
Laughingly Amy led him to the
hall mat, and painted down.
He regarded her sorrowfully for
a moment, then sighed profoundly,
and wiped his boots upon the mat.
"Ze shennon—'im—not eom, ah
sal" he inquired with engaging in
nocence.
Amy led him back into the room
and forced tea and cake upon him,
while she went through an elabor-
ate pantomime, employing .a var-
iety of aids and great ingenuity to
convey to him the cause of try ab-
sence and her hope for my safe ansi
speedy return.
This, or the cake and tea, seem -
to satisfy him; he ate heartily,
shrugging his shoulders and settl-
ing widely at everything Amy or
Clara, said. At Best the girls found
it very amusing and refreshing, but
no one who has not experienced
similar difficulties can imagine how
fatiguing it is to keep up an intelli-
gent conversation with a. perfect
stranger by means of smiles, nods,
incomplete sentences, and various
gestures on the lines of Swedish
drilL
There was no getting any sense
from "signor" ; he could not ex-
plain anything as to his route to
the house, luggage, arrival in Eng-
land, or anything else. He assum-
ed an air of blended mystification
and resignation, and he held on to
it doggedly.
At length Amy took him to thew
him his room, and with Olara's as-
sistance she conveyed its meaning
and significance to him, pointingto
the bed and to him ansi nodding,
then pointingto the wash -stand,
and, after pointing to his face,
making a pretense of washing her
own. She had given up talking by
this time.
"Ah, sat" lie, exclaimed with his
chronic smile. "An' ze p9o4s1"
"Put them outside," said Clara,
pointing clown at the lauding -floor,
and nodding. "His boots do seem
a terrible anxiety to him," she
added, aside to Amy.
Theu Amy took him in hand
again, and showed him how to lock
and unlock the door, and used the
clock as an aid to explain to him
that we dined at, eight, and took
breakfast, at eight -thirty.
RS took it all in with the sante
of blended mystification and resig-
nation, and they left him to follow
them down to the drawing -room at
his own sweet pleasure.
Bat he had not put in an appear-
ance when Emily "annonuced din-
ner.
"Run up and knock quickly on
the gentleman's door, and tell
him," said Amy.
After a short absence, Emily,
looking very scared, returned to
say that she could not gat any ans-
wer,
"I tell you what it is," said Cla-
ra, "He's misunderstood us and
thinks you told him to go to
"That's it, sn'in," declared Ent-
ity. 'oard a, 'orrible noise like
suorin', an' there'no light in the
room."
They dismissed it while the vege-
tables got cold. Finally, Amy and
Clara want up to investigate, and
being confirmed in tho belief that
he had retired for the night, Clara
knocked loudly ort his door, with
the heroic intention of trying to ex-
plain his mistake.
It was long before a gruff and
10 lifirij
4 4 gatifortyyd /7 tha
r 1111:11(1".''w4400t
ttfloi
finei:er peetpooes,
PERFU
i I 01111111
11610llitnautolOw
sees.Theel
sleopy voice Answered her, Then
the fun began. There were (Melds
ties; enough in snaking him under-
stand in a good light, by aid of
gestures'intonation, facial expres-
sion; but the difficulties were mul-
tiplied by thirty figures at least to
make him understand - through a
locked door.
But dinner had long been stone
cold before Amy gave up all at-
tempt, It seemed to her the quin-
tessence of inhospitality to order a
traveller to bed at eight oklook,
when he had 'only had a cup of tea
and some cake at six and his leg -
gage had not arrived. There it
was, however, and nothing could
be done.
Clara ,suggested. trying to slip
very thin sandwiches under his
door, but Clara always is silly in
an emergency. There was literally
nothing to be done, except to set a
tray of eatables before his door, so
he could take it in when he put out
his boots, which ho had not yet
done.
Amy gave orders to that effect.
But the tray was still in its place,
untouched, when Amy and Clara
retired for the night, and they sim-
ply had not the courage then t6 at-
tempt to inform him of its pres-
ence.
In the dead of night the house-
hold was suddenly aroused by the
sound of smashing glass and china,
instantly succeeded by come for-
eign exclamations and thud—bump-
ity, bump—thud. Then there was
a beautiful calm, till the shrieking
of Emily and Mary on the top floor
threatened to break every pane of
glass in the house.
Nobody, however, cared to dis-
cover what had happened. Amy
clung to Clara,
and Clara, hugged
Amy; and thus they spent the night
in an agony of suspense.
But daylight kindled a little
courage and curiosity, and detail
by detail the discovery was made
that "signor" had tripped over the
supper -tray a-nd fallen downstairs
in -stealing from his room to fly the
house, He had taken nothing that
was nob his, but he had left dirty
marks from his boots on the sheets
when he had gone to bed to feign
Compliance with Amy's orders.
That was the story I heard on re-
turning home,
"Great Scott !" I gasped. "I
clean forgot to tell you I'd promis-
ed that old pair of tan boots to the
picturesque organ -grinder I took a
likink to. I told him to call one
evening, and—and--"
.Amy always says it was entirely
my fault. I say it was not I And
I leave it at that,—Londo-n Ans-
wers,
CASE OP BLIND JUSTICE.
Peasant Convicted of Murder He
Never Conunilteil.
"John.," she salt' gently, "you
are interested in temiranco move-
tnents, are not "Or course
I am," he answered. "Well, sup-
pose you go and make a few of
them at the pump -handle. IL want
it pail of wetter et 0n10."
The sum of $6,000 has just been
awarded by the Cher Assize Court
in France as compensation for sev-
enteen years' penal servitude un-
dergone by a peasant named
Charles Michaud, who received a
life sentence for a murder he dicl
not commit.
.A rich old peasant farmer was
murdered and Michaud, a neigh-
bor, was convicted, chiefly on the
evidence of a necktie which had
belonged to the dead man and of
some stains on his clothes supposed
to be blood. Michaud protested his
innocence throughout and declared
he knew nothing about the tie and
that the stains were caused by cid-
er. He was txmvicted and sent to
French Guiana for life.
While he was there a fellow cop-
vict confessed or rather boasted
that he had committed Lite
murder.
This man later succeeded in escap-
ing from the penal settlement, but
newspapers having taken up his
case and found confirmation of his
story,, the Cgurt of Cessation de-
cided that his confession was, the
nccessaey naw fact which would al-
low it to set aside the, condemna-
tion and order a new trial.
Michaud, who was twenty-nine
when onvicted. is now 4.6, but looks
like a broken clown old mans His
wife, always convinced of his inno-
cence, was present at the second
trial, His counsel asked for $90,-
000 damages, lint the court awarded
$6.000 and the plaoarding of the
judgment.
4,11
Ito
1111
.4;
itgrooif mottioOtti
BLA.CICBIRD MUSICIANS
One That Accompanied. ' a Band,
Another Gave Cavalry Call.
One Apeit addle studying bird
voices in a wood near a breezy up-
land village in Banffshire Scot-
land, I was startled by a whistler,
who produced again and again Part
of the opening phrases (six notes)
of the fine English song "Should
Re Upbraid," says the Scotsman.
No professional clarinet player
lould have rendered the phrase
with closer attention to quality of
tone and to exactness of time and
pitch. At first I thought that it
had been whistled by a ploughman
who was working in a neighboring
field. Other blackbirds in,the same
wood whistled the phrase, but no
one performed it so well as the
bird I first heard.
Two summers ago a blackbird
that patrolled a small beat in the
gardens to .the south of Buecleuch
place, Edinburgh, whistled a part
(over a dozen notes) of a fixe -fin-
ger exercise for the piano, which
he had without doubt picked up
from some player in ons of the
neighboring houses. Some years
ago in the month of June I attend-
ed a concert in the Luxembourg
Gardens which may be considered
the central point of the Latin
Quartier of Paris.
The performers were the band of
the Garde Rupublicaine (the finest
band in the world), and the pro-
gramme they submitted consisted
wholly of extracts from Beetho-
ven's works. While the Adagio of
the "Senate Pathetique" was be-
ing played a blackbird sitting high
up in a tree near the band stand
accompanied the instruments and
,stopped when they did.
He sang during the whole move-
ment—beautiful, leisurely snatches
of melody. His notes seemed like
an instrument added to the band
and quite equalled in quality any
of the wood winds. The way in
which his extempore melody fitted
in with Beethoven'e composition
was perfectly marvellous.
All through that summer the
heat in Paris was terrific. Often
every day I had occasion to pass
along a torpid old street in the
Latin Quartier, near which I lived,
the Street of the Four Winds—a
narrow thoroughfare, lined by high
white painted houses above which
could be seen a mere ribbon of
dark blue sky.
In this street a cobbler, an ex -
bugler in a Cuirassier regiment,
hid bis booth. Above the booth
hung a large wicker cage in which
was a blackbird with a tremendous
voice—a, "hundred throated" bird
to borrow the adjective which Ten-
nyson qualifies the nightingale.
The ex -bugler had taught his
merle (the French word for black-
bird) a cavalry call, and many
times a day the street reverberat-
ed with the blood stirring sounds.
One broiling day in July an old ab-
be stopped in front of the cobbler's
stall, and began to mop his cnin-
son face. "Monsieur," he said to
the cobbler, "accept my congratu-
lations: your merle is tho most
eloquent preacher in Paris, for his
notes are a battle call to the strong
and a sursum coda, (lift up your
hearts) to the despairing,"
CAREFULLY EXPLAINED.
"Good-bye," said MrS. James to
her husband, as she left Inc a
short visit to her mother. "I've
put everything in order fur yoa.
E you can't find anything write
me and I'll let you know where it
is."
Two days later Mr. Samos missed
a favorite hat of his and wrote to
ask where i't had been put. This
is telineriN
''Illthput it in the wardrobe
in the front bedroom, but if it isn't
there you might try in the hat-
stand drawer,
or the hall -table, ur
hasperhaps it fallen behind the
dressing -table in our bedroom. I
think it's upstairs somewhere.
P, S.—Perhaps after all I changed
it at the door for some ferns.'
*1(
As an old lady who was ill seem-
ed much eesier, the nurse in at-
tendance said: "Now, I think you
will be all right if 1 put this bell
beside you, and I will go mid get
a sleep." "A sleep !" cxelaimed
the only lady .in evident wonder.
"Why, I thought you were's., train.
ed nurse 1" "I am," said the
nurse drily, "hub en fo nun ately
We aro not trained to keen awake
for ever. oblairrAl.
'EMUS ARE 0000 TRADERS
nusxaus DT.m.A.Nt) P PRICES
rot 711IIEIR UE10 S,
Itios$ $ought.for Article is the
Ivory Cribbago
M Ifort MoP4orson, the =oat
.northerly Inc trading pest in
Ada, IslsJa a.musing incident) oecurr-
ad, A lady touriet, who was mak-
ing a collodion of native merles,
liad provided herself before leaving
eivilisaton wth is email outfit of
beads, needles, to,, in the hope
of bartering them to good advant-
age with the aboriginals. Seeing.
somo ivory carvings in a "husky"
tont this lady intimated that she
wished to acquire them, and offer-
ed in exehange first a few pack-
ages of needles, and then eome
beads, both of which were inepect-
al and decorously handed hack to
her with a shake of the head.
After some talking the Esquire -
aux said he would sell for a pipe
anti some tobacco. This looked
easy, as the curio looked cheap at
ea to $7, and the lady went to the
Fludson Bay Company's store ILLKI
bought 1 worth of 'tobacco an'cl a 50c
pipe, These were handed tothe,
Io
"husky," who courteously olred
them over, and then handing the
pipe' back, remarked: "Tobacco
good, pipe no good." The upshot
was that the lady had to invest $5
itca pipe to obtain. the coveted eur-
ios,
The most sought for article of
Esquimaux manufacture is the iv-
ory cribbage hoard, made out of a
'wakes tuck. These make both use-
ful articles and handsome, orna-
ments. The sides and ends are
usually covered with carvings of
wild animals, .such as walruses,
whales, foxes, wolves, etc., and
this work is in many cases extreme-
ly well executed.
A. few years ago these cribbage
boards could be bought for a. com-
paratively trivial sum, but now,
owing to a number of tourists hav-
ing paid absurd figures fon them,
the price has mounted to an almost
prohibitive figure, From $50 to $100
being asked for almost any speci-
men, while for an unusually well
carved board an Esquimaux will
not accept less than $125,
Other sought. after articles pro-
duced by the "huskies" aro bead
and shell earrings, soapstone can-
dlesticks, sealing spcare, ivory fish-
hooks and sinkers, and patchwork
mats manufactured front a mixture
of splices of wild goat, seal and
deerskins, sewn together in a reg-
ular and not unbeautiful pattern.
The trade with the Eskiino is
oonducted on somewhat different
lines to that with the Indians. For
a number of years past whaling
schooners hailing from San Fran-
cisco, have made their Winter
quarters at Herschel Island; so as
to be ready to commence hunting
these valuable mammals as soon as
open water appears. Their crews
halo dealt largely with the Eski-
mos in furs and curios, paying
small prices, and in return selling
them flour, bacon, tea, etc., for
considerably less than the mere cot
of transporting such articles into
the country by the McKenzie River
route, However, the schooner own-
ers, finding that but little of the
profit,' accruing from the transac-
tions found its way into their pock-
ets, have largely put a stop to the
carrying of goods for trading pus -
P0505
As a resnit, a considerable num-
ber of the Eskimo make. their way
by first open water from Herschel
Island and the country east of the
McKenzie River delta to the trad-
ing posts on the lower river. On
arrival they barter their furs fur
whatever pleases them, and then
something special—it sewing mach-
ine, steam tug or what not—catches
a husky's eye, and ho at once wish-
es to purchase it. If it is not for
sate he at once orders one like it
to be brought in uext year. This
the tractor agrees to accomplish,
and the question of price then
comes up. Now the price is not put
to the native in dollars, as thab
would not involve a sufficiently re-
munerative transaction. Instead,
the trader says—in taking an order
for a phonograph, for instance,
ii
"You mst bring mo five lynx
skins, twenty white foxes and two
mink." "Very good," replies tho
husky, and Ilia deal is elosed. He
arrives at the post the following
Summer with the pelts called for,
and he is an angry man it hie
phonograph has not turned up.
A short time ago an Eskimo pur-
chased a steam tug, which he is now
an .adept in operating, and was
charged therefor 100 white foxes,
two No. 1 silver foxes, thirty lynx
and fifty mink, As the. vessel cost
but $1,200 ab the point where sold,
the transection was by no means un-
profitable.
.1.
The Hostess (at informal dinner):
"Dr, Graves, .won't ynu earvol"
Dr. Graves (absently): "Where's
the patient and the chlerofornist"
Contentment has boon defined as
the philosophy of life and the prin-
cipal ingredient in the eup of hap-
piness; a commodity that leun-
dem flitted hi consequnce of the
very low price at which it can be
4, •