The Brussels Post, 1892-11-4, Page 3Nov. 4, 1892.
CURIOSITY COLUMN the city last nettled above all in Ilabylonie
prelims 13tblival echohtre throw the weight
of their Opiutote in favor of Bits Nimrod as
A. Deft -Fingered IjiaekAnlit1• Luing the Hite uI the prop:mod heaven -pone.
tretingeh:at, The mine AtL}08pe1ut,which
vonsi0L mainly of Idln-burnt Matto, huge
rough and tint stales and vltritied mortar
almost hidden from eight by the sands
wideli have been accumnlntng for centuries,
ere 108' cot in height mud mutely 800 yards
in eircumioronoc. Sir. it, 1C, Porter, who
has given much tine to exoavetingena pias
and stud inf� the 13irsNimrod ruins believes
its vitrliet appearance to bo the re.
sults of numerous lightening strokes, con.
elusions which (taken in connection with
the tradition Limb thetower was "destroyed
by ilro from heaven") forms an interesting
:subjoin, for thought. l'orbcr also saga that
with the exoepttou of natural aecumnlatioa
and dooay the tower is in his oebimation,.
almost In bite exact 1)110n .0.011 was When
abandoned at the line of the confusion of
tongues. --_
At Nort•lstowu, Maine, W. I3. Logan, a
horseshoer, made mins inllt:t ere horse shoes
from the metal contained in no silver :Bine.
Ertel) shoo has the number of holes usually
found in horseshoes of the ordinary size ;
but, strange to say, the smrlle51 cambric
needle Is too largo Ta bo used as nails in
these miniature wonders. Logan has ',lade
affidavit What every one of these tiny salver
oresceuts were made with thoaanohatmoar
and punish used in mukfng shoos for the
largest stied horse. How it wee over done
is a mystery.
Wonders of Sleep.
There seems to bo no limit to the110seible
accomplishments of the human 'mud while
in Ruth stats known as Bleep, C'onlorcot,
the groat mathematician, solved one of his
most difficult problems while asleep --ono
which he had failed to solve while Musico,
Reichert, of the Unieor.ity cf liavle,wroto a
8001011 while asleep. Cetet•tdgo the "dream.
lug philosopher," composed E. able Khan
while fast asleep. Next morning be marl
that he was sure there had been an acrpliei.
tion to his literature, but he was too aeglI.
gent to write it out, A few drtys later he
attempt° 1 10 recallthe t•el'4e8, but they had
in 111030 101r1 lied frim: his mio 1. The poem
as it now stands is only a fragment,
Borate, the Maori Sea Monster.
The Maoris of Now Zealand and the ad-
joining island have a strange belief con-
cerning the canoe of the ebb and slow of the
tides. These phenomena they attribut-
ed to a huge water breathing dragon whish
they call Parana, who is said to do this work
by powerful and 1e;ular respirations or in-
gurgitations and regurgitations of water.
With one tribe in Australia and miothor in
the Sendwioh Islands it is customary to
speak ofa browned person having fallen into
the great throat of Terata, a superstition
which proves a connection between these
widely separated islands at a remote period
of them history. Teo New Zcalanls also
haven myth which' tells them that their lot -
And wee originally populated by this SAM
water bantling monster, which is said to
have brought a leaded ealoe in his mouth
from some far -away land. A cunning priest
conflated in the monster's month with the
others recited acharm which caused Panda
to disgorge his load in time for those in the
:name to land safely mt the neat of what is
now New Zealand. The words of this charm
are still known to the natives and repealed
in tinges of great clanger.
Superstitions Atont the Au:ora Borealis.
The acients viewed the aurora borealis
with superstitious awe -•always looking
upon it as an omen of direful disaster. It
is not unusual for old time descriptions of
battles to maks allusions to the ' awful"
display of aurora borealis, or " Northern
Lights," which preceded them. The ancient
inhabitants of the lands bordering the Medi.
terranean Sea called tbo aurora by nam( 5
which expressed the different colors -such
sal" °haemato,' ' bolidie," 11 trabes" etc. In
the annals of Clan-blacnoise is to bo found
an account of a great purple aurora winch
lighted up the whole northern skies on the
night before the great battle between Lein•
star and Munster, Ireland. In the Fall of
1859 the people of America witnessed some
of the grandest aurora displays known to
history, and many superstitious people,
both North and South, believe even to this
day that the peculiar appearance of the
skies at the Ile mentioned wore a presage
of the great rebellion. On the 20, 3d, and
2011) of :September, of the year mentioned
in the foregoing, brilliant auroras were re-
ported from every point in the civilized
world.
Wonderful Wooden Libraries.
One department of the town museum at
Cassel, Germany, is made up of the most
singular lot of books that ever •greeted the
sharp admiring eyo of the bibliomanioo-a
library of 500 volumes, each a perfect book
made of a different kind of weed. The
back of each volume is formed of a bark of
its particular tree, the sides of the wood in
its mature state, the toper young, immature
wood, and the bottom of the same after hav-
ing been dried and seasoned. When opened
these remarkable hooks aro found bo be with-
out leaves, the inside being a box containing
the flower, seed, fruit, and leaf of the tree
from which the box book has been made.
Australia has over 1000 species of trees
largo enough to work up into books, and
one Colonel Clamp, modeling front the
Cassel oddities, exhibited in a largo collect -
tion of wooden books et the Colonel exposi-
tion, Each book in the Colonel's collection
was aphahotically arranged and labelled
with both the common end soiontifle name
of the species of tree from which the dainty
little wooden volumes were fashioned. The
collection was formed with the solo idea of
showing up the wonderful possibilities of
the Australian forests,
Tatting advantage of the idea illustrated
in the wooden library at Cassel, and the
oomtnetdablo efforts of Colonel Clamp,
the antipodean wood aolleotor, Russia em-
ployed a cabinet Maker during the entire
Winter of 1877-78 in snaking a library of the
woods found in the so 1100)00 Russia) for-
ests. These wore olassifled and arranged
for the Bunten exhibit at the feria EXPOS -
11,1008 of both 1878 and 1880. As in the
Cassel library, this Russian wood collection
showed the wood in its several growths, as
well as fruit, leaves, and scuds, either
natural or inlilaled in wax.
How the i' Big Dipper " Has Changed.
One artful most notable of examples of
the constant and yet almost imperceptible
ohan es ticking place in the heavens is to be
found in the motion of the seven bright
stare colleotivoly known as "the Big Dip-
per." iinggins, the noted estr000nin, was
for long engaged in proving that five of these
eters aro Moving in one dirsotion, while the
other two aro moving in a direotfon directly
contrary..Profosso0 L'lanlnariou has mine.
ail the Iinggine calculations and theories to
a system, arranging them upon charts.
Those ingeniously constructed heavenly out-
lines show that 100,000 years ago the "Dip.
per "stare worn arranged in the form of a
cross, and that 100,000 years hence they
will have assumed the shape of an elongated
diamond, stretching out over throe or four
times as molt space as they now oecapy.
The Tower of Babel.
Throe different piles of ruins iu 13abylo to
(lain the diatnelio n of being the remnants
of tho otlginal tower, rho building of which
eatl00(1 chs"confusion of tongues." 'rho
first of the throe is the celebrated Nimrod's
Tower, moat Akknrl:of ; the Emmet on bbo
east bank of the Euphrates River, live
miles above the masa rn city 0f 11111111 ;
third, the conlettl nun at l.nowu at Sim
Nimrod, Six 10 lee and a hill; southwest of
A Monster Rose Bush,
THE BRUSSELS
PAST,
PROFESSIONAL MURDERERS, seorching hot day, and after an 11000'e work
s—
ari ativeNnre in Kadin 'With it 8rrenglrt•,
Three ye00H after the ,Sepoy rebellion lied
bocu put down in India, 8.11.1 with the 005l'
try tinder such military and legal dfa"iplin5
as 11 had nearer known before, 1 wee et
Hyderabad, a Mtge town 5011 miles east of
Bombay, in the province of Dok ken, It
was there that a Land of profoesionel thugs,
mmlbot•Ing thirtytwo anon, ('05 captured
500 executed in 18111),' The vigorous search
after and prompt punishment of (triathlete
WWI having It dee effect, mut not ht ogee of
poisoning or strangling had boon known
about llydsrabad for several months, In
fact these two °lessee of murdoros were
supposed to have 1)50011e extinct in tha
pruvl000. Ono morning a ry00, or farmer
was found deed on the public square, and i
woo speedily discovered that lie hail beet
choked to death. The imnprinta proved I
to be the wont of n ebranglo'. The thus,
used it cord, while the ate/urine nod his
we nought the elmrle to reel, Ai 1 WAN
14 01 my pipe for 480101W Neter observed
that he team view thirsty and wunld visit a
spring leo knew of about a ,wiener of at anile
:may. The field on w111011 wo were work.
lug had encu Wen cleared, bat Was now
pretty well grown over with bushes and
email trees. He dieappearotl at my back,
and 1 gave him no further thought for many
minutes. I hied out my book and was:mete.
ing morns field notes when all of a sudden it
wank 1170 that Peter had a peculiar look MS
3m explained how he hall received the
wounds 00 his hands. I remembered that
his face hardened and that there was e
cruel glitter in hbn eyes, 'Things of thio sort
never strike one at the moment, but are
vivid when recalled. When I remembered
his looks 1 wondered that he had not killed
the monkey for attacking Ilam, and I rsfloot-
ed that this mal unlet have a hot temper
when aroused. 1 do nob suppose 1 devoted
over iivo nhinntes to this train of thought.
Al time passed by I forgot my serround-
fingers• Its mortes could "nt i3O alt+taken Inge while boxy with the penotl Peter had
He brought his thumb: wgalbcr 0n bite 11000 3,050 ubumt bhirty mingl:0, as 1 after-
Pho trunk ofa rose bush or true wheel " Adiun'e apple," while Lite eu14 of the tin;
hos been fn fall bloom at Ventura, lief., ora got (hole 00001nt+o just below Lie Din•
one.. 5114. Sn)u,ainhes tis 110(3,,0.0 elute1e,
all Summer ie throe foot in el000513erenee ht5 aura or 1ulr. Ti. " lmu•k ' w•1te alvay,
at the ground. The Ii1:,L brunch, whir 1,1010 10 1,0 s0al 01: 1110 unek. Now and
juts out at ri height abaut four feet from than a vilin» sins at10,3)01 from beliin 1. I
the grouted, is eight 1001105 in diurneto', or sneh ca1.00, the stru gL1'0 thumbs we
about two feet in cilcunforence, It
the brought together on the ha
hank of the 'leek,
taautc•1 h1 1 870 from a slip obtalne 11 hs .,,,,1 his lingers were locked together over
t:cntemnal hxhib.bion, tend, although sever. she 1.ap10,
,1111,lig.
al wagonloads o31fm110 are m11,1104 11011100 Several suepruts wens arrested, but 80th -
off, it 1)010 covers au area of nearly 2, ing 00 emus of ii,
About twenty days aftel
square feet. It is predicted 1)101by the the first eae0 a Weln011 wilts foam) dead wad --
lime 11 le t'0011' five years old ft will 1110 in throe blacks of the public square, and sh
outstripped the giganbte lose tree 51001 -
ogee, whish is t 110(11 to be more than 300
years old, and is less that four feet in cir-
ouonforence,
The Oddest Watoh.
A watchmaker in Newcastle, Eng'and,
recently completed a set of three gold shirt
studs, in one of which there is a wretch that
keeps absolutely correct limo, the dial of
witch is only tbroe•sixtenths of an inch in
diameter. The three studs are connected
by a strip of silver inside the shift boson,
the watch contained in the middle one being
wound up by turning the stud above. To
set the hands it is only necessary to give the
lower stud the proper 001)1.
Luoky Friday.
Tho notion that 1 ridgy is an unlucky day
Is the worst nonsense that ever entered the
human Stead, says the St. Louis Globe•
Democrat. In 0111cag0 there are half a
dozen families of h'rldays who have as good
luck as any other people, and in early Ameri-
can history the flay was peculiarly leaky.
Columbus sailed on 1 rfday, August 21. On
IvridtLZ, October 12, he discotrered land ; on
Friday, .1 anuery4, he started hone to Spain,
on Friday, Marsh 5, ho reached Palos. Ie
1493 bo arrived at Hispaniola on his second
voyage on Friday, November 22, and on
Friday he discovered the continent. Any
other country's history will show as many
iuoky as unlucky Fridays, and no for a man
being named Friday, "what's in a name P"
DICTIONARY OF SNOBBISMS•
Only vulgar women pay visits ; ladies
who are ladies return calls.
People of (on do not break up housekcep.
ing; they relinquish it.
A public speaker is never applauded to
his face, but cheered to the echo.
Illiterate persons will oftentimes any that
the day began, etc. This is bad form. Days
are invariably ushered in.
Itt is only 1n private that musicians play.
In public they coniine their energies fit die -
nursing most eloquent music.
A woman does nob cry ; hot she may oo-
casionallybursbinto team, or scalding tears
may course down her cheeks.
It is vulgar to say that a num got. rich.
The proper caper is to remark that ito
acquired a competence or attained to af-
fluence.
In the bright lexicon of literature there
le no such word es fail, though a man may
become embarrassed or his alfairs go into
liquidation.
A young woman never plays or performs
an the piano; she renders selections from
the great masters and sometimes gives a
recital.
Any new enterprise -ho it a railroad, a
government, a horse race or piggery -is
never begun, or opened, or started ; tnvari.
ably is it inaugurated.
In ordinary convereation it is•woll enough
to speak of doors being opened ; but in
composition never fail to say that the doors
were thrown open.
Remember that when a criminal leaves
this world through the iusbrnmantaliby of
the gallows he falls with a dull, siokenlog
thud, or is launched into eternity.
Ib may be :unnecessary to suggest to young
writers that they never have efterdnrnor
speeches at public banquets, although they
quite conunouly indulge in poobpratldlal elo-
quence.
Ib is social solecism to say that Bob ).'itso-
less has been discharged, or has got the (4.
B. Tho approved farm le : Mr. Robert
'runless has severecl his connection with the
establishment of 1llasfolds R Pabiug.
Never any n man fell to the geonlo0 and
was killed, bat the man tvaspsreipitatetl to
mother cart, a lifeless mass of humanity,
A Melees corpse ie also authorised by osteo•
sive usage, although somewhat in the nature
of pleonasm.
Do nob say that Miss Blank was the cen-
tro of ettrctobmn at the assembly. If yoti.
would maks yourself clear and emplanes
tell your readers that she ,vas the cynosure
of neighboring eyes or the observed of all
observers.
In short, as a general rule, remember that
it is a cardinad principle of polite literature
never to cell a app. ale a emelt:, but that sharp
instrument with whit* the Theban bus•
bandmon lays bare the breast of our groat
mother,
The Largest Serpent.
'.Pio largos: serpent of which Noelralo
measurements have been taken and noted
was an anaconda 0(1100h Dr, Gardner found
deal and suspended to the fork of a tree
clueing hie travels in Mexico, It was drag.
gad out into the open ground by two horses
and was found to measure thirtysevon feet
in length, Inside of it were discovered the
bones and flesh of horeo in at helf•cli(ostod
state, and thorn was 1t0 doubt that it hod
ewellowod the animal whole, Dr, Larclanr
and other erevallers say that 180,0andls,
pythons anal boas attain a length of over
forty feet, but there ie no recorded instance
of one having hen encountered longer, than
thatwhich has boon mentioned, though many
persons have sten aeepelite alive which they
estimate to bo of ooneidorably greeter size.
White pique clrees05 have beenrevivetl,aul
are worn with whored sashes cud full white
nntli nhomisettte of plaotrous beneath
Elgtaro jaokels, for dinners and high tells,
hal also faller: a victim to the strangler,
Not only had she been
01)011•:11 TO 'nitwit,
but her nook was broken. The police were
again oroneed, and bodies of cavalry wow,
ed the country and brought in dozens of
suspicions characters, but as in the other
case nothing could be proved, and all had
to be released. At the investigation aliment
every soaped made the same reply, as fol.
lows
"No, so.hdb, I ani ashamed to admit that
Ian net guilty 01 this :.rima \Ve aro no
longer men, bet slaves. I no longer have
courage, but and a coward and dare not lift
my hand."
Ten lays tater the strangler counted his
third vietfm, and this time it was a Euro.
peen. Only at rare intervals before the
mutiny had a European fallen a victim to
tetra (3 nre,l up, when I was snd'lenly
crotched by h he threat. I was leaning beak
aealnsta tree liar 11y larger 01(1 0, malt's
AVM, and W118 retaining to the lett, 0y eyel
r:ught 110 glimpan of anything, nor hail my
loans detected the slightest sound to put me
oil my guard,
The first a'nsi(tion was exactly like that
of fall Mg. 1 remember a roaring in my
cars and firework. dancing before my eyes,
and I was porfeetly conscious that toy throat
was in the olntoh of human engem, What
saved me was the tree and the position in
width 1 set, I 1114 not realize that I scrag•
gLed to break the clutch, but I did pub forth
t mighty effort. My right shoulder and
arta were a lever against the stranger's right
wrist, and es I heaved I broke his clutoh
and leaped to my feet. It was Peter, as
yon have suspected. Tie had only gone a
few rods away and tionturned and crept
back
ex sen man :t NSA30NT.
Hie route with through bashes mid vines, hat
when 1 mune to go over it I cotdd not find
1ha.thehad broken a twig. Day springing
up, threw flim down, but he was en itis feet
like a ant, end with a cry like that of an
enraged boast he sprang for my throat again.
His eyes were fairly blazing, his face dis-
torted with passion, and I realized in nn
instant that it was this life or urine. .
Under the tow laws no native was allow-
ed to carry a deadly weapon, If one Was
the professionals of any class, It seemed to found provided with knife or pistol he was
be an nederstood thing with all not to mod- sent to prison. On the other hand, all
die with them in any manner. the victim. in Europeans wont armed. 1 hurl a revolver'
this case was a clerk in the civil service de- b001118d around me, and if Peter heel not
pertinent ettaolled to the Tax Collector's been ea sure of strangling me he could have
office, 1 believe.- He had boon ill for a week
or two, and was occupying a room In a
bungalow in the heart of the town. 'Pen or
A dozen clerks kept " bachelors' hull " to-
gether, and then were half a dozou native
servants to tante care of the place. This
clerk, whose name was Adams, had anative
man fora nurse, but was almost naivetes.
cent. One night et ten o'eloek he sent his
nurse with a note to a bungalow half a anile
distant. The nurse was absent shone threes
fuarters of an hour, and upon hie return he
ound Adams dead. There was the mark on
his throat and there was no question about
his having been the victim of aprofessional,
and probably of the same fiend who had
strangled the other two.
The police and the military now quite lost
their heads. During the following week
there were about 700 arrests, some of them
being made 200 miles away. Nothing like
detective work was attempted, and as a
consequence, every suspect had to be dis-
charged for want of evidence against him.
The authorities seemed to go on the idea
that if a sufficient number of people wore
arrested the guilty party would somehow
010TITAk 10I000001,.
Strong olforts were mads in throe or four
eaves to convict on shady testimony, but
after a few weeks every person who had
been arrested wits set at libsrby, 13eiug
new to the country, and having talion n
great interest in the work of exterminating
the " professionals," I asked for informa-
tion 011 every hand. One day in conversing
with a Major Burke on the subject, he ex.
platten'
"In my limo I have inspected the hands
of at least a score of stranglers. Their
strength lies mostly in the wrist and fingers.
Before graduating as professionals they
practice DO dummies, and resort to certain
gynmastice to strengthen the parts I have
named. This elan now among us i0 cer-
tainly a professional. 1f arrested yon will
find his thumb flattener) on the ball. 1f I
were a deteativo I should go about looking
ttt thumbs. In most instances the victim
leaves scratches or cuts on the hands of the
1(0000011, whiolf would further help to idom
tify him in ease of suspicion."
From that time on Iinstinctively glaniorl
at the lands of every native with w•1,nno I
canto in contact, but without the slightest
hope of making any dboonvet'y of value, live
weeks after the murder of the clerk the
stn t tgler}vas heard from again. .Phis time
iris vlatinl was a seeeant of infancy, and
he mot his death on the highway between
the town and the camp. It was about 9
o'clock in the evening when he started for
camp, end it was known that lie was con
siderubly trader the influence of liquor. He
WAS Al 111051 a giant in size and strength, and
ib was reasonable to onnclu,bc that he had
10005 something of a struggle, even tholgh
half drunk end taken 11 103es. Indeed,
when the surgeon came to loot him over
blood was farad in his finger mills to prove
Hutt ho hail lacerated the lihtnls of his mut,
direr. This was a point to go on, hue was
not 5081) considered by the auttorities,
They followod the eonrso previously par.
sued and nlado several hundred arrests.
On the third day after the sergeant's neat)
I hail a bit of chain work to do on a piece of
Ina bolo miles east of the town, and my
helper was a native who hod served in the
department for a yeas He was a Inidtll°-
egod me, very slender, and his weigh b was
not above 120 pounds. He had drifted into
the town at the close of the war, and it was
said of him that he Dame from the north and
had been
03111000 TO T1T11 (Nr1LTanr
during the struggle. \Vial not noting as a
helper in the field he had the care of some
horses belonging to the department. The
only name that as was known by woe Peter.
\Vh0n I sent him word that I wanted him
•, ,a was 111
herottnnod a telly that ho va y but
half an hoar later he pot in nn itpp1a'&nee
and explained that he was fooling better.
We had reached the flolct and hod fairly bo..
gem wont when my attention w7,8 alt rented
to his haldm, The (hacks of both were
scratched end laoorabed, though the wounds
wore half heeled.
"It was tho monkey ahs the stables who
dill it, sahib," ho explained, to he hold up
his hands for inspection. " f was terrain '
him and he got. revenge, I will sell )nim if
I ran find a hosier."
f. knew fro had e monkey at the stables,
and itis explanation watt p^riorily :At 1,hhui•
tory, The natter was forgotten 111 1t 10,1
,null, enol twmdd never batt nv: erre 1 to
enc again but for what followed, it lva; a
secured the weapon as ho °rept tip behind
me. Iso sprang upon me like a wildcat,
seeking my throat at every clutch, and wo
grappled and rolled over and over on the
ground. lie made a dash for my throat
with his right hand as we rolled about, and
I caught the curls of his first two fingers in
my teeth and bitto the bone. That one
bite gave the the victory. Still gripping his
fingers, I struggled to my knees, reached
for my revolver, and I had the muzzle
against his body when the thought flashed
across my mind that he was the profession•
al strangler wanbed by the police. Up to
that instant I had no thought as to why he
attacked ole. When I dropped his fingers
and covered him with the revolver ne made
no further resistance. The native of India,
like the Arab, believes in fate.
" Sahib, you have won," he said, as I
stood over him. " It was to be, and e0 it
is. Do as you will with me."
" Peter, why should you seek my life Y'
I asked, even yet half hoping there might
be some mistake abon1 it,
" IThy did I strangle the others, sahib 7
A voice commanded me and I obeyed,"
" Good heavens' 1 bub you are not the
merchant. of the farmer, the clerk, and the
soldier -you who hove been considered so
faithful to the English 1"
" Even so, Sahib, It was to be, and it
is. Take me to the police and I will admit
everything and die like a man."
I drove him beforelnc until we encounter-
ed a troop of cavalry which had been scour.
ing the country for suspects, and was then
returning to town with no less than twenty-
six prisoners. Had Peter rlenied his sa.
missions to me nothing could have been
proved, and he only would have been
punished for assault. But he felt that fate
had deliverer) him into the bands of his
enemies, end he was willing to help convict
hilnself. He gave the pitrticulars of each
murder with such details that no doubt
could exist. It was the sergeant who had
0.10010 000) (110 11A009.
He Wvas keeping shady while he waited for
them to heal, He would not have aocom-
panierl me that clay bet for the fear that he
might be snspootorl, though as a matter of
feat he would have been among the very
last to fall node• the ban,
"I had no thought of strangling you when
we started out,' be said to me after his
trial. "It was only after you had noticed
my hands. While you appeared indifferent,
I was afraid that you suspected. I could
have snatched away your pistol and shot
you dead, or I could have beaten you to
death with a club, hat my °read would not
permit. I mutat either strangle you or let
you live on. Hatt I been successful I
should have made my way north as fast as
possible,"
Tie did not hesitate to tell the police that
he was a professional stranglerand it was
with considerable pride that lie exhibited
hie flattened thumbs and illustrated the
manner in which the deadly clutch was
made, fie had bean a prnsossional for up-
wards of twenty years, Ifo spent ono whole
day snaking out a list of dates, lnealitoa,
and victims, and the limber of 11001lers
was appalling, 'Phe figures ran up to forty-
two 0e• forty-three, and there were seven
Europeans attiring them, Ho begged no one's
forgiveness -had no apologies to all's,' He
told me very plainly that he was sorry he
hod
not seconded with me, as he believed
Ito could have safely escaped and lived to
gather in ter or twelve more victims, He
had " marked down" six different Enro-
peaus in the town, and but for the iuie•fer-
0nee of fete would have 01rangled them at
inborvels of about four weeps.
Peter went to the willows with the inmost
indifference, HIe did not even betray the
anxiety of a mall walking about t110 street,
Ho Was, I believe the last professional
strangler executed in that province, al.
though his plass flourished elsewhere and
Were picked up ono by 0110 for Many years
after.
A Magnificent Bluff.
Conductor (Alabama Short Line) --Tick.
eta1
Weary Watkins -I gave you my ticket
memo 40 mile back. I guessy01 don't reek.
011100 me. I've glowed these whiskers since
then.
Show ole tho men yon honor•. I know by
that mytn :inn• he1tet' than by any other,
what hind of a, main you aro yeerself; tor
you show 11,0 w11111 your i,101.3 of menheod
is, wlhtt kind of a roan Yen long iurxprusa•
ibly babe,
TIE ALBERTA. DISTRIOT.
A Great lcane)in r seamier -a root lYYrinie
or Prairie--flnnl Wg lyefve'.
A correspondent of the globe who has
been travelling through the North.\Neat,
writes as ',allows of the Alberta A4strict : -
Alberta, south of the Canadian l'aoitle
Railway, and some dietriote to the north
of it, and a portion of AsniniIoda, have
hitherto been given over to racking and
are for some time likely to continuo in that
condition. There fa sneh an ample field of
ohoioo land elecwhere for ag•teulturlsto
and for 'nixed farming that the 1loeke that
range the valley free ere lilt ly to remain
allIlSburbed by settlers for soma time,
Southern Alberta, except as 11(5 mountains
are approached, is a o'sol expanse of rolling
prairie, wooded only in the ravines and by
the margin of water. Its graseso are rich,
and cattle and horses fatten on them,
but 1retn a combination of reeaous the pious
belief is orystaltsinee itself into a nngmll that
hotter revolts will Pie obtained from a large
$
r
When hu next has 11115111058 with a ratan be
is oholted again, to heavy iron is forced into
ilia mount, something is tightly bound to
him and the Moll of a whip 14141111ar1 to hie
hind lege, If he is an animal of spirit he
fights ti11 his heart is broken, and ever :fMet
is apt to remember sone episode of bis
early training and break DIAL, If 110 fs of a
different nature he becomes r( plug. When
Alberta is worked by a greater number of
men with smaller holdings the colts will bo
raised about lbe homestead and will be
gentler and otherwise broken as horses
about, a farm usually are. Harding and
smaller holdings, both of whish are coming,. '+
will snake Southern Alberta a thing of
beauty and a joy for ever.
There is a good deal of country apparent.
ly yet unoccupied along the eouree of the
Old Man River, the valley of which eons*.tutor the pass knownn me the Crow's Neat
Peas, wbieh the Canadian Peeitio Railway
is now preparing to 1180, It is a beautiful
country to the eye, with timber and good
grass, more open then the Ricking Berea
number of small ranchos than frn:n a fee
flims, through which the Railway now goes,
very large ones. iianehers bit world »vet +and to the nnprofooeu' nsl eye appeals to be
]late sebblora, H( 01 1 (010, free soh+etet un ceeMl. ono, It fs less irnponing from a
whatever their cote nial desq;ultt1 ; may lie, xocuic pu111 of view, stn Crow s Nesb Moun-
ami are not maimed U, nolle their Way
Luing tee prittcipal 3)41(11 worthy of
special admiration. iBat travelling in the
Rockies nmtites au observer er ver fastidious, and
in the (:t'ow's Nest I'.tse there aro ranges
which aro really worthy of many eeleeted
adjectives. The name is derived I was told,
from the louality being a rendezvous of the
Crow Indiums toe their periodical invasions-
of
nvasions
of the Blackfoot country to the cast of
them. They came down the valley of the
Old Man River, amnsod themselves in the
fashion of the :toiletry mad then ran away
to this retreat, in which search for them
was difrotllt and a000mpanied with some
risk, and risk is a thing of which an Indian
has a wholesome dread.
Southern Assiniboia is at prosect more
given to sheep raising. It is in parts asplen-
rlid country, heavily grassed and in many
ways meet desirable, but at present some
of the choice districts aro a little inaccessi-
ble. Experience, however, has shown that
In the Northwest au ultime thole of to -day
is on the line of a railway tomorrow. Give
the Canadian Pacific Railway a little breath-
ing time, and by hook or by crook they will
have accommodation for setters before peo-
ple have eeesea speculating upon the po&-
sibility of their appearance.
Y
straight unr their Lurinn eaby, Inst (Immune
objection i net fust to mon end ,ging it the
meront hod», len a large scale. Figures
show the ranching hominess our a large scale
to he over atteu,t1 i by bright and rosy prof-
it 1 actual experience hasdemouatratod the
possibihty of num:pettoil and n iwelrome
shadows, lord when theory and figures look
horns with the results of experience the
brutal facts decline to admit that they are
of 130 000800300000, Sono() of the largo ranch.
es have done very well, particularly the
cattle ranches ; horse -raising information
seomain some oasna to be eonplol with an
excuse and explanation perfectly satisfac-
tory, of dotlrso, as an explanation. On all
sides, however, it is agreed that svbilo any
want of success has arisen froth the tents•
iivo nature of the operations, the result is
surd when the proper plan is adopted and
events aro forcing a change from the old
methods, Smaller holdings and the presence
of the owner on his ranolt will be one step
in the right direet1on ; the herding of tho
tattle and horses will be another. The profit
arises from our old friend the unearned in.
orement, hut if wolves, Indiana and others
continue to help themselves before the own-
er can gather in his gain, the gilt of the
business suitors.
TM's) KINDS O!+ 0010110.
There is a certain annual loss of calves
and colts from wolves. There are two
kinds of these cattle lifters, the titnber wolf
and the coyote, of different habits but of
precisely Medlar gastronomic Mites, The
Coyote usually hunts singly ; the timber
wolf, a larger and more formidable animal,
is fond of society. They are both impudent,
both cowardly and both extremely cunning.
They Stang about the vicinity of cattle and
attack calves or colts that have strayed a
little distance or have been left behind by
bhe bawd. There is no virtue in them while
alive. Dead wolves aro of value as well for
their shins as for the satisfaction and em
couragoment which they afford the rancher.
They are therefore much hunted, and
various breeds of dogs have been imported
far their benefit. But they are fast, cum
niog and stay well, end, having killed an
animal and, with their friends, dined OD
him, they do not return to sup on him, but
look elsewhere. It fa not, therefore, so easy
to find them. They post themselves on con-
venient eminences and leave for parts un-
known directly they observe a cowboy and
doge, no matter low far off he may be.
They have no use for man. The timber
wolves are very powerful animals,and when
run by Scotch deer -hounds either get into
some small brash or seek a oonvcnicntplace
to turn at bay. The Scotch deer hound
then declines to hotel closer converse with a
stranger to whom ile has not been introduc-
ed. '.'Pio boar hound, on the contrary, at
once seeks to thoroughly investigate his
new aoquaintatme, but he is a slow animal,
for whose arrive' the wolf olio only bo in-
daeed to wait by pressing macadam] on
the pert of the other dogs, itonchors
are new crossing several breeds of
hounds to obtain speed, coupled with
power. They have oven tri0(1 crossing with
wolves. Tho new animal cheerfully hunts
his vulpine kindred, bub is not fast enough.
Packs of hounds, more or less of fox hound
relationship, far a dog's parentage is not
always atotlrately determined, have been
tried in Alberta, but it is found that when
tired of running the wolf lays clown, opens
his mouth and invites some one to come on.
This invitation is only accepted when the
wolf's attention can bo engaged by a man,
or otherwise, fn one direction, so that the
hounds can ren in on him in the rear, Then
m0 room is left for complaint. A great many
are killed in ono way or another, but the
cowboys say they are increasing in number,
As we oanped at night between McLeod and
the newly exploited pass through theltock-
ics (the Crow's Neat), we could disttngulsh
the sharp bark of the coyote from the long
howl of the timber wolf, and we knew that
neither of them wore giving tongue merely
for our amusement. are heel passed a good
in any oath) in the, neighborhood. It may
be thoieht that this is a serious evil, but it
is not, or rather will not bo. By herding
the cattle danger from wolves will disappear;
the cost when the work is systematically
done will be trifling, and tate loss of oattlo
from Varlets 00) 505 will be reduced t0 a
minimum.
sons n181TCN1 ST
I found a enrront belief that the semi.
5001,911 halfbteed of Southern Alberta and
his relatives on the reservations were not to
be implicitly trusted when the procuring of
food was concerned. " There are some near
me," seta a cattle ma); "who have no
ostensible means of living, but I knew what
they live on," IL appears that they toil not,
neither do they spin, and yet Solomon in
his pnlnuiest days was not bettor supplied
with beef during the winter than they are,
Tito taw docs not alkyd sufficient protection
to the enttle-raiser, acoording to my inform.
ant.
nfo rm-
a)t. He tna Roil a party shinning ono of
his animals with the flesh yet warm, bub
unless they were aeon Stilling it loo oat do
nothing, for they, of nurse, had either jilst
found ib dead on the prairie or they saw a
man shoot it, who galloped away directly
they came in sight, and in la'v one man's
word is as good as another, if not bettor,
when leo is of a class. When the hordino
arrangements have booth made thele aillienity,
too, will disappear.
There 18 nothing thereon but confidonoe
to be felt in that great ocean of buffalo grass,
with its streams, bills and gullies. There
is room for largo and flourishing popular
Lion, anti opportunity for rapidly seeming
independence and moderato wealth•
And, as with mine, so with horses. • Tho
big ranches aro a mintaka. Already the
brooch", that is the ninth wild hno•se, has
a rpnt10,1 reputation, This 1 was tall by a
limn ran her, es well as by buyers further
/sat 10 whom I swop° en the snbjrot. It is
not to hewondnrod at, The first thin,. a
:ranch arab knows of 4, man in Hint 110 19 al
AMMO that Milli 11111,.1with a krt.
ret 011 then barns them w radhot iron,
WHAT THONDER WAS.
Ito Men's Mind Il seemed tulle eitrl'rIIinga,,.
:many rears Age.
Dfnschenbroeck, for example, (1692.176I,
fc arhnirable in his exposition of the physi-
cal properties of matter as known and ad-
mitted 1)9 the best minds; but when he
passes into the region of conjecture, he ap-
pears to be another and inferior man. It
ie scarcely credible that so able a teacher
should have spoken in the following man-
ner of lightning, of the nature of whish lea
wail ignorant, and that Dr. Johnson, in his
"Dictionary," nyder the word ''thunder,"
should have quoted a f ortion of the same :-
" a 1333. The matter which produces the
fire [1. e., the lighting] is the oil of plants,
attenuated by the heat of the day, and
raised on high. Tanen whatever has exhaled
from the earth that is sulphurous or oily,
which is dispersed up and down in the at-
mosphere, and is not continuous, is set ou
fire by turns, and the flame dilates itself as
far as the tract of that exhalation reaches.
Some other substance pendent and floating-
tho air meets with this also, with which
it excites an effervescence, takes fire, and
Hashes along with it.
"g 1339. Thunder is a most bright flame,
rising on a sudden, moving with great
violence, and with a very rapid velocity
through the air, according to any determiu-
ation, upward from the earth, horizontally
obliquely, iloweiverd, in a right line, or sa
several right lines, as it were in serpentine
tracts, joined at various angles, and com-
monly ending with a loud Horse or rattling.
Lone; Hair and Genius.
Long hair was in vogue among mnsleian
and artists long after it ceased to be worn
by the rest of mankind. The long-haired
artist, with his velvet coat, his sombrero
and his mysterious cloak, has altogether
disappeared, and lengthy locks only lin-.
gor nowadays, with a few exceptions, on
the head of the musician. Indeed, this
luxuriant thatch would appear to exercise a
potent influence on audiences, for it is said
Muth in the agreement of a notable pianist
about to go on a foreign tour there is a
special clause that he shall not have his hair
out. This possibly is an invention, but it is
an extraordinary thing that musicians are
well nigh the only people left who give but
Limited employment to the shears of the
barber. It is also a fact that their hair
flourishes bettor than most people.
I have recently heard a theory that the
greet prevalence of baldness in the present
day is entirely due to the constant close
cropping which has existed for the last five
and twenty years. If you look at the por-
trafts of celebrities of thirty or forty years
ago, you will be perfectly astonished at the
caref ully.arraegerl sof'fur a which meandered
over their coat collars, and you feel inclined
to begin singing, "(let your 'air out." withs
out further delay. Yon will oleo he amazed
to learn that most of them retained this ex-
traordinary growtt to the end of their days.
Ib is sincerely to be hoped that the theory
which had roaontly been started will not be
the means of the introduction of a race of
long•hairsdmien.
Death of a Famous Bandit Chief,
The last nail from Tonquin brings news
of tho death of the Black Flag leader Lunky,
whose operations along the Iced 11iver, and
m the region lying between the Delta and
the Chinese frontier have kopb Northern
T. onquit' in a eon clition bordering on anarchy.
It appears that in the recent daring attack
en a French convoy neat Bac-le, 1n which
two officers and several met were killed by
the pirates, Lunky was himself iu command
of the assailants, and in the course of the
engagement, whi010 was n desperate one, Iso
was slot in the chest and abdomen, and died
in a few home. Forty-one of his followore
were slain at the same time, while the num-
bol of wounded was considerable. He was
buried. in it forest surrounding his camp,
and his younger brother was elected to
mooed him. After his election, it is said.
Lenity's chief lieutenant and it number of
his followers quitted the band,
ROAST DUnes,-Cleat, wash, and wipe
the ducks carefully. To the dressing add s,
little sago (powdered or green), a minced
shallot. Stuff and sow up, reserving , the
giblets for gravy. If tlio ihtolts are tender
they will roast in an been Basto well• Skim
the gravy before putting 111 the giblets and
thickening. Tho giblets should be stowed
in a hitch, water and chopped file, then
added to the 000y in the drippi1111 pan,
with a oh0pl,1 l Atilt 1 and a epoonful of
bre•etted thew, A i ' loll etty with currant
jolly,