The Norman Transcript. (Norman, Okla. Terr.), Vol. 03, No. 37, Ed. 1 Saturday, June 25, 1892 Page: 3 of 8
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REDRUTH HOUSE;
or, Th9 Master of the Mine.
>
BT BCB1RT BCCOAXASI.
CHAPTER XVI. —CONTLN USD. 1
"It's o' suinmat else I'm thinklnc, lad." he
said, altera pause; "summit that were tawld
me t'other day, by John lludd. Three or
four days arter Annie went away, John
lludd he law her In Falmouth, uiawmj wi'
that Yankee chap. Johnson, the overseer."
lie noticed ray start of surprise, and con-
tinued:
"They were standing talking together 011
the quay, and Annie were crying. Maybe
there's summat in it, and maybe nawt; but
sin'the night she went, overseer chap lias
been away—folk say, in London. Putting
this and that tag-ether, Hugh, my lad, what
do It all mean?"
1 was as puzzled as himself; but 1 hasten-
ed to assure him of oiie thine—the utter im-
possibility of theft being any intimate rela-
tionship between my cousin tuid the pseudo-
American. lie looked somewhat incredulous,
for in Ids simple eyes Johnson was a stylish
and important person, very likely to liad fa-
vor In the eyes of a young woman.
He rose wearily, and held out his hand.
"Some day, perhaps yon will returrT' ' ehtn In tier hamK E drath Rlanrert toward
"Perhaps—I cannot tell," she replied, sad- her aud shrugged his shoulders.
ly, and turning on her heel, she walked slow- "1 never go near niggers," lie retorted;
ly Uiwanl the apot where Antia wai lying, "can't stand them. Perhap- Irelawnej is
The girl looked up and showed her w hite not so particular," he added, with au tnsuf-
teeK1., smiling; the smile broadened asher ferabie sneer.
mistress spoke to her rapidly In Portuguese. Our eyes met, anil a sharp retort was on
"Anita is of inv opinion," said Madeline; my tongue, when Madeline broke in, witli a
"she thinks this English climate detestable, touch of his own cutting niunner.
and slio ion^s for the palms and temples of 1 "Anita is not what you so politely call
the West. I ftipposa 1 shall have to send her; and as for Mr. Trelawney, ho Is at least
her back. The people think her a wild sav- a gentleman, Incapable of -making coarse re-
age because 6(ie does not understand their marks, even at th expense of a social lufep
A CREEDK THEATER.
HOW THE MINERS ENJOY THE
BALLET DANCES.
barbarous dialect, and she will never settle
in England."
1 had my own suspicion that Madeline was
laughing at me, and that Anita's smile had
a quite different meaning; but I was too hap-
py in tiie mere presence of my darling to
trouble myself on that head. Merely to stand
by her side, anil look into her tae', and hear
her musical voice, was joy sufficient; for
never had she seemed more bright and beau-
tiful. She wore a rich sealskin cloak, tightly
tilting, and descending to her knees; a pretty
sealskin hat to match; and tlie parasol she
lor."
Tills euloginm of myself seemed to afford
George lledruth intense amusement. Possi-
bly be thought the word "gentleman," had
an odd sound applied to a person of my posi-
tion. 1 flushed to tiie temples, but did not
trust myself to make any olwervatlon. With-
out even looklm at Kedrutli. I raised my hat
to Madeline, uiid walked rapidly away.
CHAPTER XVfll.
I RECEIVE MY CONGE.
Absorbed as 1 w as in my newly-awaken-
carried was more for use as a walking-stick eii love Tor Madeline, I failed to notice tor
than for a safeguard against the sun. The some time the clianges which were going on
sea breeze had brought the color to her deli- about us; but I was soon brought from dream-
cate cheek, and her dark eyes were unusual- imui by the attitude whioh the young luas-
ly light and happy. tor chose to take.
For the time being 1 forget the social gulf j( 800n became clcar to me that his resent-
between us, between her wealth and my ment, from whatever source it sprung, was
'Lea' me to think it out, lad. My mind be poverty, ami talked freely and unrestrained- i,.Veled against me; and in a short time I dis-
fixed that snmmat's wrong, and 1 sha'n't
sleep till I lcnaw the truth, the whole Gospel
truth. I ha' been praying and praying that
things be nawt as 1 ha' feared, for if any
living man had played the villain wT my
Annie, Lawd help him! Lawd keep liiui
from the reach o' my hands!"
As I looked into his face, I could not help
echoing the prayer. 1 felt certain at the
same time, tlmt his fears and suspicions lmd
shot greatly in excess or the truth. I knew
that scandal was busy with poor Annie's
ly of many things. The old constraint left | covered that the innocent cause of all theso
ine, 1 suppose to the Improvement of my eruptions was Madeline herself
manners, tor Madeline seemed to look at me George lledruth had made up his mind to
and listen to me with unusual interest ,voo iladuline Graham, and he honored me
"And you?' she said, presently. "Shall so as ,0 (,,ar that my presence in St. Gur
you remain in this lonely Cornwall all your iutfg might be the means ol preventing him
life'"' winning Ids cousin's hand. A marriage w itli
The question took me by surprise, and was Madeline would bo advantageous to him,
difficult to answer. | principally because Ills own position was be
"Who can tell'.1'' I said. "1 have often Comiii ^ very insecure, lie having gambled
thought of trying my fortune across the anj bet away moat of his fortune, and so be
ocean, but habit has kept mo chained to a in danger of losing the position w hich
n Intriffitlne CUimp** llehlnd tlir
Scenes « -* it Mining; C'un {
— Illonries ami UrunettM t.ulore—Stag*
Munagrr, Trial*.
•Now then, all get together an' try
an' march as if you had a wine party in
sipht an* not like a lot of tfoats. Steady
there in the center. Suaie. yon (five
iiip a pain in the neck. Can't you keep
in line? What's the matter with you
name, and tliftt much of the scandal must dull place and a cheerless occupation. Sonic- ninnov xvfV m
have reached his cars; but I could not yet J times, do you know, Miss Graham, I think it |')0 w.lt(l|,
bring myself to believe that Annie's flight is all fatality, ltsecins so strange, for ex-
ample. that I should have been brought here
betokened anything seriously wrong. Of
one thing 1 felt, nevertheless, certain—that
if wrong had been done, George Ueuruth
was in some way responsible.
I stood and watched my uncle, as he wan-
dered away in the direction of our home;
then I turned my face again toward the sea,
and wandered on. As I went, the moor
grew opener and wilder, sti 11 with great
stones and bowlders liko fr ments of the
wreck of some past world; some huge as
menhirs translated thither in some prehis-
toric period of wondrous floods—when the
arid waste on which I trod was the oozy bot-
tom of a troubled sea.
Here and there fed wild cattle, Mack and
horned, like those that haunted the woods
of ancient Britain. In solitary places the
ouzzard h^vereu, and by the brink ot lonely
tarns the heron waded, rising up as 1 ap-
proached, with sleepy waft of wing.
At last, after a ramble ot several miles, 1
approached the sea margin. My path was
now on tiie stony edge of low-lying cliffs, at
the base of which the waters thundered lor
ever. Here 1 found a lonely promontory of
black granite, stretching out into the sea,and
whitened at its limits by the chalky drop-
pings of innumerable sea-birds. On a rocky
ishiul a few yards from the extreme point of
the promontory, sat a Hock of cormorants;
as I approached, they turned their snake-
like necks, but did not rise.
The sun was warm and bright, the sea calm
and shimmering like steel. 1 threw myself
down on the rocks, and, with face-upturned
to the clear skies, closed my eyes. A large
black winged gull wheeled, screaming, over
me, and then sailed slowly away. All 1
heard was the low murmur ot' the billows
breaking sadly on the rocks beneath me—
that sound which "deepens silence," and has
such solemn meanings lor the troubled hu-
man soul.
Suddenly another sound, broke upon my
ear. I started, and listened. The sound
seemed to come from the sea itself, and was
like a mermaid singing. 1 rose quickly, and
crossing the rocks, walked in the direction
from which tiie voice came.
Approaching the edge of the crags, 1 look-
ed down, and saw beneath me, in the very
shadow
The rocli
sandy beach, some twenty .
closed by the still waters of the sea, which
broke in a thin fringe of white foam on a
sunny slope of white pebble and golden
sand.
It was a nook just such as the fabled mer-
women or sirens might have chosen when
the world was haunted, and such fair crea-
tions brightened the sunshine. But what sid
I saying? It was haunted still, and by one
far sweeter and more winsome than a*y
mere creation of a poet's fnncy!
at all, and that even in so unlikely a place,
we should have been once more thrown to-
gether."
"It is fortunate for mc, at any rate, that
you became a Cornishman."
"How so?"
"Because, otherwise, I might not have sur-
vived—to thank you for my life!"
Was it gratitude, or an even tendered sen-
timent, that lilied her eyes with such tender
meaning, and after one long look, made her
blush and turn her head away? I cannot
tel!; but the look made my heart leap, while
a new thrill of rapturous hope trembled
through my veins. 1 glanced at Anita: she
was basking again, with closed eyes. Car-
ried beyond myself by the inspiration of the
moment, 1 took my darling's hand.
"MissGraham," I said; "Madeline—may I
call you again by that dear name?—ever
since we parted, years ago, you have been
the one memory of my life; and when we t
met again "
1 would have continued impetuously; but
gently disengaging her hand, she cried:
"Anita! come, it is tijno to go home."
The girl seemed to understand for she
sprung to her feet and pointed eagerly up 1
the rocks. For myself, I stood stupefied and
ashamed; but turning again to me with a
light smile,'Madeline continued:
"Are you returning to the village, Mr.
Trelawney? If so, let us walk together."
Something in her manner convinced me
that I had better encroach no further, but
make the best of my immediate chance of
happiness. So I answered eagerly that 1 was
at her service, and the next minute! was
piloting her up the rocks. The way was '
troublesome, and she often needed and ac-
cepted the help of my hand, thrilling me
through and through with her warm touch.
At last we left the rock-sown promontory
behind us, and stepped out on the open
heath. We two led the way, while Anita
followed behind, so slowly that we were soon
left practically alone
restore to him. Thus it
was that lie watched the growing friendship
between myself and his cousin with ever in-
creasing anger: and finding he could not
openly co *ol her, he determined, 1 after-
ward learned, to gain his ends by treachery.
It was not to these things, however, which
I was able at this time to give my entire
thoughts; other and more painful matters
occurred which for a time drove the young
master from my mind.
At home things were going very badly
with us. My uncle remained in the same
desponding state, while every day fresh
wrinkJes appeared in my aunt's face—the
tears were often wet upon her cheek. It
seemed a sin for me to be happy while so
much grief remained at home; and 1 some-
times felt inclined to go light away and not
return till 1 could bring our lost one along
with me.
I began to wonder, too, if my uncle could
be right when he said that the new overseer
had a hand in poor Annie's downfall. It was
strange, but since the night of Annie's dis-
appearance Johnson's face had not been
seen In St. Gurlott's. I was pondering over
a solution of all these mysteries when one
day an event happened which threatened to
bring matters to a climax indeed.
I had come up from the mine after a pro-
longed inspection of it, and stood at the en-
trance, blinded with tallow and droppings,
when suddenly 1 heard a wild sound oi
voices, and looking round I saw two men
face each other, and looking as if they were
about to close in a deadly grip. One of the
men was my uncle, the other was Johnson,
the overseer.
At sight of the man whom he believed to
be his bitterest foe, all my uncle's feebleness
seemed to fall miraculously from him. He
towered above the other, and raised hss
clinched list as if to strike.
"You villain!" he cried, "Yon cowardly,
treacherous villain! Tell me, whar Is my
lass? Tell me, or, by the Lawd, 1 strike ee
dead before me!"
In another moment the arm would have
descended, for Johnson was paralyzed with
forward aud caught it
THE C'lU I DK UAI.LKT.
.... ' " . ,,.,,11- cn t innnir tear; but I sprung forward aud caught it
M5ui,ci°"im-
flies, from St. Giirlott'i
j ' oh, I came out early, and the sunshine 1
of the promontory, a quiet creek, j tempted mc on. 1 did not think that we had I
ks fell asunder, leaving a space of wandered such a distance, l'oor Anita will
yards broad, and j (,e tired out."
"And you?"
"Oh, I love a long walk!'' she replied,
gayly. "Even in Duncrara 1 used to wan- j
der for hours and hours in the woods; and '
once 1 was nearly lost. Night came down
suddenly, and I had to creep into the bole of
a great tree; and 1 wasn't frightened,
thouch I could hear tiie tiger-cats crying all
TO r.E CONTINUED.
A BIG APPETITE.
round me; for the fire-flies made it almost ns
I light as day. I3ut poor papa nearly went out
Lying like a basking seal on the loose t of his mind. and. after that, would never let
shingle just under the rocks, and looking up | me enter the woods alone."
at me with sparkling eves, was the colored 'How did the> find j oil?
and standing on the I "By beating the woods. 1 hero were about
girl from Demerara;
water's edge, with her face looking seaward,
was Madeline Graham.
a hundred coolies carrying torches, and mak-
gomo of the Gro.it lllsmirck's Eiploltl
at Tabta.
The French tell these stories of Bis-
marck while stationed atafcut Paris at
the timo of the capitulation. It was
at Versailles ono day, Bismarck drove
i up and called out to his servant to
"bring him a prisoner." Tho man
understood at onco, and soon camo
back bearing him an immense silver
j bowl, a couple of bottles of claret and
| a goodly quantity of broth. Bismarck
uncorked the bottle quietly, and, pour-
ing its contents into a bowl, emptied it
CHAPTER XVII.
A WAI.K ACROSS THE MOOR.
Full of delight at the unexpected vision, 1
ran down the rocks, and soon leapt down
was soon forgiven,
"It would be a hard heart," 1 murmured,
upon the beach, close to the spot where j tenderly, "that would not forgive j/oii any
Anita was lying. She uttered a merry cry i tll*,}g •
i ing noise enough to wake the dead. At last, at a draught
j as they were passing, I popped out of my ; He then disposed of tho broth with
hiding-place, and cried, quite coolly, 'Here I ule 8aine alacrity, and finished as rap-
am, papal' lie was terribly angry, but 1 taiy the second botUo. "That is how
in Spanish, which caused her mistress to look
in my direction. Madeline exhibited no sur-
prise, but after a momentary glance, contin- All, you don t k
k ued her occupation, that of writing or draw- he were alive, coulc
\ ing something on the sand with the point of I was always as;
f , . ; ney."
She looked at me merrily, and shook her
head.
Ah, yon don't know met Poor papa, if
rid tell you a different tale.
I take prisoners; the broth is between
two bottles of wine!" he exclaimed
gleefully. Within the hour ho had
sat down to dinner with his appetite
rather sharpened than otherwise by
this refreshment. Another day, dur-
ing an excursion in his part of the
You'd think yer tried to roll a sue'eer
and he was broke.
"O, go back! (Jo back! What's the
matter with you girls? Kiralfy would
have a lit if he saw you.
"Get in line again. Now when the
orchestra goes ta-ta ta-ta-ta-ta, come
right along to an' don't stand there as
if you were petrified."
,'Twas a rehearsal of the Jack the
Ripper ballet at the Creede Comique
the other afternoon, and the Chronicle
man dropped in to vat I'll its progress.
Jimmy Kmmerson, tiie stage man-
ager, was having a hard tune of it, try-
ing to make the girls execute an Ama-
zon match.
There were fifteen girls on the
singe; tliut is, some of tliem were girls,
while, others were old enough to
take first choice ill any ballet corps
ever organized. Those who wva'e
young were giddy anil didn't think
much of the march, but it was a ques-
tion of stick to the work or get no
salary; so they stuck.
"Once more, ladies," sang out the
ihstructor. "Now, I'll fine the next
jay that gets out er line, an' that set'
ties it. 1)0 you think I'm goin' ti
stand here all day like a bo s lecturer
at a side show an' give you points when
you ain't half woke up yet'.'
'•Now, then—ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta! Come
on! Maud, if you don't eome quicker
when the music goes I'll set a dog on
you.
"Form fours! There, that's more
like it. Now twos, an' then single file.
Lizzie, don't swing yer nrins as if you
were washin' out yer wardrobe. Keep
'cm still. There. Now you can rest
awhile an' I'll get a drink."
"This ballet business makes me
tired,Irene," said a symphony in black
to a rocky poem in a plaid ulster. "If
1 could get me earrings out of soak I'd
quit the town." "Oh, it catches the
guys," was the reply. "I sold twenty-
two bottles of beer after 1 came oft'
last night and liis whiskers—you know
him, the duck that has the squeak in
his voice—he tolls me that 1 made a
l«it with him, so 1 just blowed him foi
all lie had with him."
"Those tights of mine make me leary
every time I put tliem on," was the re-
mark of a blonde Amazon to her part-
ner who had just made the discovery
that she had failed to cash in two per-
centage checks the previous night, and
was correspondingly happy. "Why'.1''
r.lie inquired. "Well, they don't fit
rue. Jessie, an but the reporter
failed to learn tlie exact nature of til
trouble.
A front seat was reserved for the
dramatic critic of this paper, and the
rustlers were instructed not to "work
him for the beer" that evening, so li
attended.
The fairies were attired in fleshing:
and loomed up in great shape. They
marched fairly well and flirted with
the audience in a manner which woul
have driven Jennie Kimball crazy had
she been around. Some of them earrie
large property knives and pasteboar
shields, while others carried their
weight of woe, which was not partieu
larlv heavy.
QUEER REPTILES.
.tin Ab« ut the Wonderful Tump
s,mkes of Dukotn.
In Central Dakota, on the "Missouri
bottoms," there exists one of nature's
strangest freaks. The settlers term it
the "pmnp snake." Hovr it came there
and where it came from is yet un-
known. It first made its appearance
n Emmons county in the springtime
of ISStl. A full-giown pump snake
measures about sixteen feet in length
and about three inches in diameter.
They are of gregarious habits, room-
ing the prairies in large herds, as many
100 having been counted in a single
flock, hi dissecting one of these rep-
tiles there is found a tul>c which ex-
tends from the root of the jaw to the
xtremity of the tail and terminates
in an opening. Tills tube is about two
inches in diameter and lined with a
tough, yielding substunee similar to
rubber. The pump snake is easily
trained to answ er the call of man. fl lie
inhabitants of this section trap tliem in
large numbers.
A farmer on Cat Tail creek has a
Hock of twenty pump snakes trained
to a remarkable degree of proficiency
At the blast of a whistle tho snakes as-
semble on the banks of the creek. The
leader (there is always a leader to a
herd of these snakes, who is elected by
a two-thirds majority) dashes into the
water of the creek, leaving only the
extremity of its tail on the bank. An-
other snake immediately grasps the
end of the leader's tail In its jaws, a
third snake takes a hold of the second
snake's tail in a similar manner, and
so on, extending to the water troughs
in the cattle yards, 300 feet away. The
leading snake begins to swallow or
pump the water of the creek, which
passes through the long line of snakes
as it would through a hose, and falls
into a heavy stream into the trough.
The agriculturalist told of an extra-
ordinary circumstance which occurred
i short time ago. While working in
he field near his home he observed
Haines issuing from the roof of his
tarn. Wild with excitement he bur-
ied to the burning building, only to
ec that it was a hopeless task for him-
self alone to attempt to extinguish the
flames. In despair he gazed on the
lestruction. Suddenly ho heard n
rustling in the tall grass, whence is-
sued his herd of pump snakes on the
run. The leader hurried himself into
the creek, the rest instantly adjusting
themselves heads and tails from til
creek to the burning building.
The last snake, standing on its head.
ing something
her parasol.
1 walked toward her, and greeted her by
name. She smiled and nodded, but still coil
tinued intent upon the sand beneath her. 1
followed the direction of her eyes, and to my
astonishment read my name, thus:
Hr-on Tkelawney. St. Grtu.OTT's.
The hot blood rushed to my cheek; but lied
again almost immediately, as 1 read close by
the words;
Geoiioe HF.nr.utii, Esq.
Both the master's name and my own were
printed large and bold. Close by them,
smaller In size and in running writing, were
the incomplete letters on which she was then
busy—
Matieijnf. Or.—
But no sooner had she reached the "r" than
she glanced up at me, laughed merrily, r.nd
obliterated it all with her little, daintily
booted foot
"What brought you here, Mr. Trelawney'."'
she said. "I thought that you would have
been at church."
"I thought the same of you," I replied, ,
smiling.
"Then you did not follow us?"
"Certainly not; though bail I known, I
might very possibly have done so. Hut who
could have dreamed of finding you In this
solitary place, so far away from home?'
"My truo home is far away indeed," she
answered; and raising her hand, she pointed
right out to sea. "V-nderl Sometime 1
wish that, as the Scripture ^ays, I had wings
like a bird that 1 might fly hack 1'
And I saw that her beautiful eyes were
dim with tears.
"Have you relations there? 1 aslted. Ot
friends whom you love?"
"Neither friends nor relations. When my
dear father died 1 wa* left «ulto solitary.
But 1 lived so long there, and was so happy 11
spoilt child, Mi. 1'ielaw COuntry, ho called at a farm and asked
ney."
Thus lightly talking, and playing with the
merest threads of conversation, to avoid
touching themes of more dangerous interest,
we walked across the moor. Though it was
wintertide, the air was very close and wann
if they could give htm something to
eat. If they had nothing ready he
would manage with fifty eggs! The
eggs, duly counted, were converted
into a gigantic omelette, which disap-
witli sunlight, and Anita lagged more anil poared speedily, washed down by a
more behind. At last we came in sight of
the village, anil paused by the side of the
moorland tarn where I had parted with my
uncle. My eyes were fixed earnestly on
Madeline. Suddenly I saw her start anil
change color.
Following the glance of her eyes, 1 caught
sight of a well-known figure approaching.
It was George lledruth, elegantly dressed,
and carrying a walking-cane.
Be came up rapidly, and I saw by the ex-
pression of his face that he was ill-pleased,
lie glanced at me angrily and contemptuous-
ly, and then addressed his cousin.
"Where have you been?" cried. "1
have been looking for you everj ..here. Do
you know that it is three o'clock?"
"I did not know it was so late," replied
Madeline, quietly. "Anita and I went wan-
dering across the moor and down to the sea-
side, where we found Mr. Trelawney."
He looked at me again, aud 1 saw his brow-
blacken more and more.
"Lunch was served at half-past one," he
muttered, "and my mother has driven over
to afternoon service. I won't trouble Tre-
lawney any further. Take my arm, and let
me see you home."
lie spoke with the air of authority habitual
with him. I was not surprised to sec Made-
line flush angrily, and decline the proffered
arm.
"There is plenty of time for that," she ex-
claimed. "See! poor Auita is almost ex-
hausted—it would be a charity to assist her;
it is none to assist me!
number of flagons of cider.
ItloMback Mexican#.
A recent traveler in Mexico says the
natives are unwilling to adopt modern
ways, and it is nearly impossible to
make them change. An Englishman
engaged in mining put up a hoisting
plant, but found at once that it was
inonoy thrown away, as the workmen
would not consent to its use. They
had long been accustomed to carry the
ore in sacks supported by a broad can-
vass band passing over their foreheads,
and to receive so much for each sack
delivered at the mouth of tho shaft.
To get it there an ascent of over 200
feet had to be mado by means of lad-
ders, and accordingly progress was
very slow. But nothing would induce
them to use the hoisting machinery,
and it had to be abandoned, every man
working in the old fashion.
Softening Fully.
As it is often of importance to gla
ziers and others to remove glass from
frames without breaking it, they will
be glad to know, that a strong solution
of caustic potash, or caustic soda, ap-
plied round the panes for a few hours.
— - . . ... Indeed, Anita seemed dead beat. She was by laying upon them an old rag dipped
And South Amtrioa In «o beautliul, so aiuer- ^ seat(;(| on a ston6i about a hundred yards be- : in the solution will have the desii*ed
*nt from thin dreary land I I hind us, resting her elbows on her knees, her ,
1 watched her nervously.
waved its long and flexible body, from' oesirod direction.
CARVING THE TEA ROOT,
Induitry Whlrh Furnishes Employment to
Mhii.v IV lent lulu.
For more than a hundred genera-
tions there has been a guild of artists
in this populous prov.nce of Fo-kien
whose life-work is tho i onvers on of
the gnarled and interlaced roots of the
tea tree into tilings of beauty, that is.
beauty from a celestial point of vi«,w.
says a writer in the Collector. Tho
herb whose leaves gladden western
palates in the form of Oolong. Hyson
and Souchong, is a hardy plant and
takes a firm hold on mother earth.
Its roots seems to have no regular
law of growth. Sometimes they de-
velop very much as a beard sprout3
from the chin; at others they separata
and move along parallel lines as if
they wero a ligr.oso centipede. In
goueral it may bojsaid that thoy make
ono large, clumsy mass from wh ch
shoot out any whore from three to
thirty rootlets. Their surface is never
smooth, but always irregularly cor-
rugated. Tho value of a root depends
upon its size, its outline, its free-
dom from decay and its suggestive-
ness of some ovcryday object It I*
rare that a tnaln root mass is mora
than six inches in diameter. Such
belonging to treos ranging in ago from
thirty yoars to a century. Infre-
quently they attain to twelve and
tifteen inches, and are then said by
Chinese experts to be 400 and 500
years old.
Tho roots aro dug from the soil and
allowed to thoroughly dry in the open
nir under a shed or else in a mod-
erately warm room. Tho loose earth
is carefully removed, ns is the loose
bark and all pieces doeayed. cracked
or wormeaton. The artist then
determines what it is to bo. Tho
favorite types aro dragons, buffaloes,
cows, carnivores, bears, mandarine
priest^ howling dervishos, dancers or
mythic heroos. If the root cannot be
worked into ono of these shapes it is
converted Into a pedestal or platform
for a liguro piece. Tho primary
operation consists in sawing it into
rough shape. This is dono with a
lino cross-cut and tho cloan edges
reinovod by rubbing them on tiles or
bricks. Sometimes a root is bent by
softening It with steam or boiling
t water and then twisting it in any
the tail of which issued a stream of
water that was thrown with terrific
force on the burning building. Back
and forth dashed the tail end of the
living hose, squirting the water where
it would do the most good, while the
loud pumping of the leader could be
heard above the roar of conflagration.
Within fifteen minutes the last spark
was out. Then, and not until then,
did the pump snakes quit work. They
A QL'EF.n IlEI'TII.E.
wore completely exhausted, the lead
having fainted dead away. The main
part of the building and its contents
wore saved, thanks to the presence of
mind of these wonderful snakes,
A Little Milkmaid.
The 4-year-old daughter of Charle
Brandt, a dairyman, near Lebanon
I'a., milks six cows every day. She is
small 'or her age, aud it is more con-
venient for her to stand up than to sit
while milking. Only the gentlest
cows are allotted to her. She began
the practice a couple of weeks ago of
her own accord, asking permission tc
try her hand after having watched the
milkmaids of their work.
Pavements < f Chicago.
Chicago, 111., with :i total of a little
over 2,000 miles of streets laid down
uses tiie following1 paving* material:
Wooden block, 47(J. :M miles; macadam.
25(1.31 miles; stone, 23.34 miles; block
asphalt, 3.50 miles; sheet asphalt, 0.01
miles; brick pavement, 0.i'.7 mi'.e, and
burned clay, mile. The total of
paved streets claimed by the city au-
thorities is 77).30 miles, exclusive of
2.39 miles of wood pavement on via-
ducts and approaches. The city has
2,240 miles of wooden sidewalk out of
2,872 miles. The wood is being* slowly
replaced with stono and concrete.
Habits of Itees.
Honey bees from somewhere haunt
the flowers and blossoming trees of
New York, especially the horse chest-
nuts. The blossoms of this tree have
a peculiar fascination for bees of all
sorts, and in regions where bees are
plentiful there is a noise as of a swarm
about each horse chestnut. It is an
old tradition that the horse chestnut
blossom contains an intoxicant which
makes the honey seekers drunk, and
causes them to drop senseless to the
ground, where they become tho prey
of ants.
Highest In tho World.
Golden Gate park, San Francisco, is
to have an artificial waterfall, said to
be the highest of tiie kind in the world.
It will start from the upper reservoir
of Strawberry hill and have a fall of
seventy-five feet. A gorge is to lie cut
in the face of the hill as nearly like a
natural ravine as possible. This will
be aligned on either side with semi-
aquatic plants and flowers, and at the
base large bowlders will be arranged
to throw the water into separate
streams and dash it out into sprays.
An automatic system of warning the
inhabitants of towns and villages situ-
ated near rivers of ail approaching in-
undation lias been satisfactorily tested
by two French scientists. The method
is based ou the well-known principle
of fluids seeking the same level when
in communicating vessels. The water
in the river is connected by a pipe with
a small reservoir containing an alarm
of simple mechanism. As the level til
tho stream rises the volume of the
water in the receptacle increases in a
corresponding measure, anil the alarm,
following the movement, gives, accord-
ing to the respective elevations, electric
warnings at a great distance.
Water and Yellow l'over.
In connection with a view that the
emanations from the water itself are
associated with the production of yel
low fever, the South American Journal
relates the following circumstance.:
While in the Santos the captain of one
of tiie lloyal Mail steamers gave strict
orders that the decks were not to be
washed, but merely swept and then
sprinkled with a solution of carbolic
a:1 ui. Not a single case of yellow fever
occurred on this ship, though both the
succeeding anil preceding steamers
which used the harbor water for wash-
Now comes the hardest task of all.
Tho most valuod ptoce to that which
shows no urt and seems perfectly
natural. Tho carver goes over tho
block, removing here a liber and there
a sot of roots, hero thinning out ono
on tho under 8ido and forcing it down,
and thore burning another and ex-
panding it at tho burned point. I
have ono in my drawing-room which
is a capital figure of a dragon, rear-
ing and opening his jaws as if to
spring upon his prey. Careful ex-
amination shows that nothing has been
added to tho mass, but that hundreds
of fibers, knots and corrugations have
been skillfully removed.
In nearly every Instance a human
figure made iu tho same manner or
carved from a wood gf the same color
or else partly made from tea roots and
partly from carved wood is added
to tho first piece. Tho designs are
endless in tho field. Learned inon.
lecturing birds, mandarins standing on
dragons, boys riding 011 cows and other
ridiculous quadrupeds, dancing beg-
gars, men lighting each other aro the
commonest groups, but of the more
uncommon there are thousands. One
famous artist in Foochow claims to
have produced, with the aid of his
apprentices, over fifty thousand dif-
ferent designs, and. judging from his
stock on hand, his claim seems reason-
able enough.
The tea-root carvings are seldom
very costly, running from 60 cents to
iflO '. Nine-tenths bring loss than $2
each. A handsome sot of a dozen can
bo purchased for $'J0. which will dec-
orate a drawing-room or hall better
than bric-a-brac many times moro ex-
pensive. The figures are strong, dur-
able and in no danger of fraeturo by
Bridget or Ah Sin. Outside of their
;i sthetic value they aro of interest in
showing the wonderful ingenuity and
economy of our Chinese cousins.
A Kemody lor Anything.
The venerable Dr. Slop of Blank,
town, was a doctor of the experimen-
tal and electic school of medicine
years ago. It was a rule of the doc-
tor's never to have anything wasted;
and, therefore, when any prescription
romained untaken after tho patient
had died or recovered, he would
empty it in a bottlo kept for the pur-
pose. which becamo the receptaclo of
a heterogeneous compound that
science could not analyze. A younger
member of the faculty noted this as a
very singular fact, and asked of him
the reason for it The doctor hesi-
tated a little, and then replied that,
though in ordinary cases ho knew well
what to do. there were instances when
all his medical skill fa led, and he was
floored with doubt At such times, it
was his custom to resort to the big
bottle, and leave nature aud accident
to accomplish tho cure. "And will
you beliove it." said he. "some of my
most brilliant successes have resulted
from it?"—Argonaut.
ing
down the decks were infected.
A I^art;p Stone Itlock-
The Bedford Stone Quarries company
of Bedford, Ind., shipped, a few days
ago, tho largest block of stono ever
quarried in the United States. The
block was )feet 8 inches long, 0 feet
3 inches high, and li feet 3 inches wide,
containing 500 cubic feet, and weighed
100,000 pounds. The car on wliicli it
was shipped had to be ordered specially
for it.
Hemlrlk Hudson's Ship.
From Holland an offer has been
made to the Holland Society of New
York and the St. Nicholas Society of
Brooklyn to construct and present to
them an exact reproduction of the
Half Moon, the ship in which Hendrik
Hudson discovered and explored the
river which bears his name. The so-
cieties named have accepted tho offer
and are planning to fit up the ship as
a club house and to take it to Chicago
both to bo exhibited and to be occu-
pied by their members during the
exposition.
A uomet),* Convenience.
Garson—Have you hot water In
your house?
I)e Long—Yes; my wife's mother
lives with us.—Kate Field's Wash-
ington.
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Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Ingle, E. P. The Norman Transcript. (Norman, Okla. Terr.), Vol. 03, No. 37, Ed. 1 Saturday, June 25, 1892, newspaper, June 25, 1892; Norman, Oklahoma Territory. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc137047/m1/3/: accessed April 25, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.