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diff --git a/old/53928-0.txt b/old/53928-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 88f79b8..0000000 --- a/old/53928-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5981 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Wide World Magazine, Vol. 22, No. 129, -December, 1908, by Various - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Wide World Magazine, Vol. 22, No. 129, December, 1908 - -Author: Various - -Release Date: January 9, 2017 [EBook #53928] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WIDE WORLD MAGAZINE, DEC 1908 *** - - - - -Produced by Victorian/Edwardian Pictorial Magazines, -Jonathan Ingram and the Online Distributed Proofreading -Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - -Transcriber’s Note: Documents in illustrations, where legible, have -been transcribed for this e-text. - - - - - -[Illustration: “THE PYTHON LITERALLY LEAPT AT HER, STRIKING AGAIN AND -AGAIN.” - -SEE PAGE 215.] - - - - -THE WIDE WORLD MAGAZINE. - - Vol. XXII. DECEMBER, 1908. No. 129 - - - - -The Terror in the Sanctuary. - -A CHRISTMAS STORY FROM NATAL. - -BY MRS. K. COMPTON. - - A lady’s account of the fearful ordeal she underwent as a young girl - on an estate in Natal--locked up in a tiny church, whither she had - gone to practise a Christmas voluntary, with a huge python! - - -It was Christmas Eve, and one of the hottest days I remember during my -sojourn in Natal. The recollection of that day, spite of the many years -that have since passed, is so vividly imprinted on my mind that I can -still see the heated atmosphere as it danced and shimmered over the cotton -bushes and the rows of beans down the hillside. - -The last stroke of the twelve o’clock gong summoning the gangs of Kaffirs -to their midday repast and siesta had died away, and never a sound broke -the stifling noontide stillness save the booming of the surf on the lonely -sea-shore, three miles distant from my father’s plantation--the Beaumont -Estate, as it is now called. The eye ached as it travelled over the -glaring, sun-dried landscape that lay stretched before me, and sought -grateful relief in the shady depth of the dark orange grove and spreading -loquat trees that sheltered the veranda on which I lounged on my luxurious -cane couch. - -My father was a retired Anglo-Indian officer, who, having won distinction -during the Indian Mutiny, had taken up a “military grant” of about two -thousand acres of land in the Colony of Natal. He judged this to be an -excellent opening for my brother Malcolm, who, although showing a strong -desire to follow in his father’s military footsteps, lacked the capability -and application requisite to pass the competitive examinations for the -Army. - -We had been, by this time, about three years in the Colony, and had half -the estate under cultivation. Whether father was satisfied with the -results I do not know. But, drowsily reviewing the situation on this -particular afternoon, I came to the conclusion that a man who has spent -the best years of his life in the Army cannot metamorphose himself -immediately into an agricultural success. - -I was aroused from my cogitations by Malcolm’s voice exclaiming: “Why, -Jessie, I do believe you were asleep!” - -“I was, very nearly,” I confessed. “This heat makes the physical exertion -of unclosing my eyelids a task to which I do not feel equal.” - -“When are you going down to the church?” he asked, as he tapped his cane -against the leg of his long riding-boot. - -“Now,” I declared, sleepily, “if you will come with me. Sam says he has -got enough flowers and greenstuff to fill two churches.” Sam, I should -explain, was the Kaffir boy whose duty it was to ring the bell for -service, hand the collection-bag round, and gather the flowers for the -church decorations. St. John-in-the-Wilderness, as it was called, stood on -my father’s land, a shining beacon of corrugated iron and wood. - -Struggling to my feet, I reached for my hat and green-lined umbrella, and -stood ready, waiting to accompany my brother. - -“Don’t take Nellie,” I protested, as the fat old bulldog gambolled about, -panting and snorting in spite of the heat, in anticipation of a walk. But -Nellie proved obdurate alike to threats and entreaties, and presently -scampered off down the hill, leaving us to follow. - -Half-way across the Flat we came to one of those exquisite little streams -that are so frequently met with on the coast of Natal. Crossing this on -stepping-stones, we reached the opposite bank, whence it was but a few -paces through the narrow bush path to the clearing in the jungle where -stood St. John-in-the-Wilderness. - -“Look, Jessie, the door is open!” exclaimed Malcolm. “I suppose that -duffer Sam didn’t lock it properly this morning when he put the flowers -in.” - -“Probably,” I returned, gaining his side on the vestry steps. “The lock -has got so stiff that I cannot turn the key myself, so I am not -surprised.” - -The dim, subdued light inside the church caused us to pause a moment or so -before observing the extravagant profusion of flowers, palms, and ferns -that Sam had gathered--truly more than enough for the decoration of two -churches the size of ours. - -“How glorious!” I cried, kneeling by the side of this floral wealth and -picking up a bloom of the delicately-tinted waxen ginger. “What would they -say to Christmas decorations like this in England?” - -“I think,” announced my brother, ignoring my ecstasies, “that I will just -run over and inspect a gang at work at the other end of the Flat, and then -I’ll join you and we can work undisturbed.” - -[Illustration: THE AUTHORESS, MRS. K. COMPTON, WHO HERE RELATES HER -TERRIFYING ADVENTURE WITH A HUGE PYTHON. - -_From a Photo. by W. J. Hawker._] - -I willingly agreed to this arrangement, as I wanted to practise some hymns -for the morrow. To astonish our scanty congregation I thought I would put -my musical genius to the test and attempt a voluntary. - -Picking up his sun helmet and cane, Malcolm prepared to go. - -“Don’t be long, there’s a dear,” I said. “And I think you had better lock -the door and take the key, because the door won’t keep shut unless it is -locked, and I do not care to have it open.” - -“What are you afraid of?” laughed Malcolm, as he went out once more into -the sunshine. - -“Oh, I don’t know, I’m sure, but when I am alone I prefer to have the door -shut.” Still laughing, he turned the key in the lock and went off. - -Left by myself in the silent little church, I drew off my gloves and -prepared to open the harmonium. - -It occupied a position under a window in the chancel, on the first of the -three wide steps leading to the sanctuary, on the right-hand side of the -church. Immediately opposite was the vestry door by which we had entered, -and between the harmonium and the vestry lay the pile of flowers and -greenstuff for the decorations, so that I, seated at the organ, had my -back towards the flowers. Two rush-bottomed chairs stood near, one bearing -a basket of extra choice white flowers I intended for the altar vases; the -other was on the right side by the harmonium, supporting the small -repertoire of music that I needed for the service. - -I took my seat leisurely, thinking over my voluntary for the morrow. - -I turned over first one piece of music, then another, finally opening a -tattered sheet of an old copy of “The Blacksmith of Cologne.” I settled on -that; it looked so nice and easy. Played slowly, with a proper amount of -expression and a plentiful addition of the tremolo stop, I thought it -would make a very telling and appropriate beginning to the Christmas -service. - -I had barely played a dozen bars of the music when I thought I heard a -rustle of leaves behind me, but attributed the sound to some slight -current of air from an open window. I was too much engrossed to pay the -occurrence much attention, and continued my performance right through to -the end, repeating a passage here and there which I thought required a -different rendering. Then once again I seemed to hear stirring leaves, -and, glancing over my shoulder at the lovely pile of flowers, I noticed -the sound could only have been caused by the spray of wild ginger that I -had carelessly tossed on the top of the other blooms, and which had -apparently rolled down and now lay a few inches apart from the rest. - -Rather amused that such a trifle should cause me to interrupt my -practising, I again turned to the instrument, intent upon perfecting my -piece. - -[Illustration: THE CHURCH WHERE THE ADVENTURE HAPPENED AS IT APPEARED IN -1890.] - -Suddenly I was overtaken by a feeling of unaccountable apprehension, and, -at the same time, became aware of a slow, continuous, rustling sound. -Turning my head sharply over my shoulder, to my horror and intense -surprise I saw the whole mass of leaves and flowers undulating! - -Scarcely daring to breathe or move my fingers from the notes, I -mechanically continued my playing. The fact that I was a prisoner behind a -locked door forced itself on my mind and held me in my place, helpless. -For a moment now and then as I watched the mass of verdure was quiet, only -to begin upheaving again. What could it be? The suspense was becoming more -than I could bear, and I was on the point of shrieking hysterically when -my tongue refused utterance, and I felt as if life and strength were -oozing out of my fingers. - -On the farther side of the beautiful, fragrant pile of ferns and flowers -appeared the head of an enormous snake. Slowly, quietly, with a gentle -dipping movement up and down, it raised itself, and I saw that it was a -python. - -Then the Kaffirs’ legend was indeed true! They had told us a story which -we had regarded in the light of a fable. In spite of our ridicule, they -had maintained that a serpent of gigantic dimensions had its haunt in the -neighbourhood of our little church. They said that it would suddenly -appear from out the bush when the organ was played and lie in the sun as -if listening to the music. We had naturally received the story as a Kaffir -superstition, and gave it no credence. - -But--Heaven help me!--it was no idle tale, but a horrible fact, for there -was the immense snake before me. - -A tempest of fear seized me. My heart seemed to beat all over me at once, -and a singing noise in my head drove me nearly distraught. After a while, -however, it appeared to turn into a voice calling upon me to continue -playing. “It is your only chance, your only hope,” it seemed to say. - -With a supreme effort of will I controlled myself sufficiently to continue -my performance. I compelled my hands and feet to move and perform their -duty. Never once, however, did I move my eyes from the python, which was -gradually drawing the vast length of its body into view. - -A faint hope sprang within me that I might lull its savage proclivities -with the music, and I forced myself to continue a monotonous droning on -the little instrument. Calling to mind the snake-charmers of India, and -imitating to my uttermost the mournful wail they produce on their reed -whistles, I kept this going until the incessant thud, thud of the bellows -seemed to pound on the nerves of my brain and be the only sound I -extracted from the little organ. - -Presently, with a fresh horror, I observed that the creature was rearing -itself up, as if endeavouring to locate the direction whence the music -came. Having done so, it gradually made its way round the heap of flowers -and palms towards me. - -Once the python reared itself to the level of the back rail of the chair -where lay my choice white flowers, and for a space of time remained poised -in that position, surveying its environment from that improved elevation. -During this time its sinuous form quivered in perpetual vibration, and its -changeful, scintillating eye gave indication of its exceedingly sensitive -nature. It was evidently a creature so susceptible to sound that a human -voice, far away across the Flat, borne on the scented, heat-laden air -through the open window, smote its delicate organization and sent a tremor -through its body, making the exquisite, shaded skin shiver, and bringing -into prominence a wonderful iridescent bloom that glistened along the -smooth surface of its coils. - -Once, in its passage towards me, the snake pushed the chair that impeded -its progress an inch or two from its former position, scraping it along -the varnished boards, causing a sharp discordant sound. - -Instantly the python drew back its awful head, assuming a swan-like -attitude. The quivering tongue, as sensitive as a butterfly’s feelers, -played and trembled, and its jewelled eyes narrowed and flashed. The -creature’s whole position was one of threatening defence. How deadly it -looked, how awful in its cruel beauty! - -“Heaven send me help!” I inwardly prayed. “Oh, for some means of escape!” - -Closer and closer the awful creature undulated directly towards me, -pausing now and again as if to prolong my agony of suspense. In reality I -believe it was listening, its sensitive ear--or if, as some scientists -hold, snakes are deaf, then some subtle sixth sense unknown to -us--detecting sounds my dull brain could not catch. - -At length it was so close to me I could have stretched out my hand, had I -wished, and touched it, and a coil of its body actually lay on my skirt as -the creature rested at my side, evidently enjoying the mournful music, -which I verily believed to be my funeral dirge. For the end, I thought, -must come soon. With this deadly creature so close to me, and in such a -position that I could not but disturb it if I moved, I was getting cold -and numb with fear. I felt myself getting faint, and realized that I was -going to fall. Desperately I fought against the feeling, struggling -against my growing weakness. - -How long the serpent lay, like a watch-dog, at my feet, how long I played -I do not know. I could not measure time; I was in a trance, asphyxiated -with fear. - -Suddenly a noise seemed to snap something in my brain, and the spell was -broken. It was a sharp bark from Nellie, just outside the window. - -And, coming nearer through the bush, I heard the echo of my music whistled -back to me, as Malcolm, all unconscious of my peril, took up the refrain -with which I was endeavouring to soothe my dread visitant to rest and -peace. - -And now that help was at hand, a new danger and difficulty confronted me. -How was I to warn Malcolm? How was I to drag my skirt away from under this -monster quickly enough to escape through the open doorway before it struck -me? - -Long ere I was aware of the approach of help the serpent had shown signs -of irritation, its intuitive sensibility detecting the advent of danger, -and at the noise of the key grinding in the rusty lock the python gathered -its sinuous body under it, as if to obtain greater support for a forward -stroke. Then, with its head and a portion of its body reared high above -the floor and darting angrily hither and thither, it waited expectantly. - -Dazzled with the glaring sunlight outside, Malcolm hesitated on the -threshold for a moment, and in that moment Nellie passed him and ran into -the church. Even then I could not move my gaze from the snake, or speak or -move, or give a symptom of warning But I was aware of poor old Nellie -coming towards me, panting and puffing with the heat and fatigue of her -walk, and with greeting and gladness in her soft brown eyes. - -She was scarcely a yard from me, and I heard my brother call to her: “Go -out, Nellie; go out!” - -Then there was a sound as if a whip were cutting through the air, and -something passed before my vision like a flash of forked lightning in the -sky, and I knew that the death-blow had fallen--not on me, but on dear, -devoted old Nellie, the bulldog. The python literally leapt at her, -striking again and again, as it endeavoured to seize her in its awful -coils. - -I waited no longer, but sprang from the chair, upsetting it and the books -in my flight, and fairly flew to the door. I reached Malcolm in safety, -and he dragged me outside, shutting the door behind us, and leaving Nellie -and the python in the church. The dog’s piteous cries of agony and fear -sickened us, and made Malcolm attempt a rescue. He rushed in once again, -calling to the dog, in the vain hope that she might at least die with us -at her side. But she could not see; blinded with fright she ran wildly -about. Her end was horrible to contemplate, and I pressed my hands to my -ears to shut out the sounds, running from the church and close proximity -of the fearful creature under whose spell I had been for so long. I sank -down under the shade of some trees and thanked God I was safe! - -But the cries of poor Nellie, the thud, thud of the bellows, and the -mournful dirge I had repeated over and over again banged and clanged -unceasingly in my head, remaining with me through many days of utter -prostration and exhaustion. - -[Illustration: “THE KAFFIRS, SEEING ITS SKIN STRETCHED IN THE SUN TO DRY, -LOST THEIR SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEF IN THE MAGIC POWERS OF THE CREATURE.”] - -The last music that python heard was the crack of Malcolm’s rifle as he -shot it in the church. That same afternoon the Kaffirs, seeing its skin -stretched in the sun to dry, lost their superstitious belief in the magic -powers of the creature, and marvelled at its huge size. The mottled, -shaded skin now hangs, faded, dull, and dusty, after many years, on the -walls of a college museum, amidst other South African trophies. We buried -what remained of poor Nellie in the shadow of St. John-in-the-Wilderness. - - - - -Across America by Airship. - -THE STORY OF AN ILL-STARRED ENTERPRISE. - -BY ARTHUR INKERSLEY, OF SAN FRANCISCO. - - Now that airships are so much to the fore, this account of the - meteoric career of the largest “dirigible balloon” ever - constructed--larger even than Count Zeppelin’s unfortunate - monster--will be read with interest. The inventor had an ambitious - scheme for running luxuriously-fitted aerial liners between New York - and San Francisco, but his first ship got no farther than the - ascension ground. The photographs accompanying the article are - particularly striking. - - -Some time last year there came from the windy city of Chicago to the -hardly less breezy San Francisco a man named John A. Morrell, who built a -small airship with a balloon of insufficient size to lift the engines and -netting. The craft got loose before the crew of twelve had taken their -places and rose from a hundred to two hundred feet in the air, floating -away in a southerly direction down the San Francisco peninsula and coming -to rest at Burlingame, in San Mateo County, twenty miles from its -starting-point. - -Nothing daunted by this mishap, Morrell organized the “National Airship -Company,” incorporated under the laws of South Dakota, established offices -in a leading street of San Francisco, and put forth a glowing prospectus, -in which people were invited to invest their money in a sure thing--to -wit, an airship a quarter of a mile long, already under construction, and -intended to make regular trips between San Francisco and New York City, -carrying passengers as comfortably as a Pullman car. The chairs in this -remarkable craft were to be made of hollow aluminium tubes and to weigh -only seventeen ounces; the bedsteads, of the same material, weighing -twenty-seven ounces. The mattresses were to be inflated with a very light -gas of a secret nature. Extravagant and fantastic though all this sounds, -Morrell possessed the enthusiasm and glibness of the genuine promoter, -contriving to obtain many thousands of dollars from credulous people in -support of his wild project. - -[Illustration: MORRELL’S MONSTER AIRSHIP BEING INFLATED, READY FOR ITS -FIRST ASCENT, IN THE PRESENCE OF A VAST CROWD. - -_From a Photograph._] - -The National Airship Company established shops in San Francisco, and went -to work upon the airship, which was named “Ariel.” The construction was -under the direction of George H. Loose, who has had considerable -experience in building aeroplanes and airships. It was intended that Loose -should be first officer of the aerial liner, but, when the time for making -the first ascent came, Loose wisely threw up his job, because Morrell had -disregarded his advice in the construction. - -[Illustration: A NEAR VIEW OF PART OF THE AIRSHIP, SHOWING ONE OF THE -ENGINES AND PROPELLERS--NOTICE THE FLIMSY NETTINGS AND THE MATTRESSES -INTENDED TO SUPPORT THE CREW. - -_From a Photograph._] - -Nearly every well-known principle of airship construction was violated. -The proportions were impracticable, the craft being four hundred and -eighty-five feet long and having a diameter of only thirty-four feet. The -gas-bag was like a huge snake, having no rigidity, either horizontally or -vertically, and not being stiffened by trussing of any adequate sort. A -gas-bag of such length and proportionately small diameter should have been -strengthened by a vertical framework, or by trusswork of rope or wire, so -as to impart rigidity; but nothing of this sort was done. The motive-power -was supplied by six separate four-cylinder forty-horse-power automobile -engines, hung below the balloon at intervals. - -[Illustration: THE AIRSHIP LEAVING THE GROUND AMID THE CHEERS OF THE -EXCITED ONLOOKERS. - -_From a Photograph._] - -These concentrated weights were carried on a platform, not of planks, but -of mattresses, laid down on mere canvas, supported by the netting which -covered the gas-bag. Ropes placed round the gas-bag at the points where -the engines were situated cut deeply into it, and no arrangements whatever -were made to meet the special stresses caused by the steering of so -long-drawn-out an affair. Loose’s chief reasons for refusing to make the -ascent were that if the envelope were filled with enough gas to render it -rigid the emergency valves would open, and if these were tightened the -envelope was liable to burst. - -Serious as the various defects mentioned were, the most fatal one was the -fact that nothing had been done to prevent collapse or deformation caused -by sudden expansion or contraction of the gas from changes of temperature. -The balloon was one great, undivided bag, containing from four hundred -thousand to five hundred thousand cubic feet of gas, but having no -compartments or internal air-bags. Its lifting capacity was from eight to -ten tons, so that it was much the largest airship ever built in America, -even exceeding in dimensions the great “dirigible” of Count von Zeppelin. - -It might be supposed that it would be pretty hard to get together a score -of persons who would be willing to risk their lives in such an unpractical -affair as the Morrell airship; but, strangely enough, the greatest -difficulty was experienced in keeping people off the craft. One man, a -well-known aeronaut named Captain Penfold, repeatedly begged Morrell to -let him make the ascent, but his request was flatly refused. Yet so eager -was Penfold that at the last minute he smuggled himself on to the craft -and went up with it and--a few moments later--came down with it. - -[Illustration: THE “ARIEL” IN MID-AIR. ITS NOSE HAD A DECIDED TILT -DOWNWARDS, AND THIS INCREASED UNTIL ALL EQUILIBRIUM WAS LOST. - -_From a Photograph._] - -Some time before the attempted ascent was made the airship was conveyed -from San Francisco across the Bay to Berkeley, in Alameda County, Cal. The -trial trip was fixed for Saturday, May 23rd, and on that morning thousands -of excited people were on hand to watch the ascent. The airship was -released from its moorings and began to mount into the air, its nose -having a decided tilt downwards. The machine had risen scarcely two or -three hundred feet when the rear of the balloon had an upward inclination -of as much as forty-five degrees. - -Morrell shouted to his crew, consisting of engineers and valve-tenders, -numbering fourteen or fifteen, to go aft, so as to depress the stern of -the machine and cause it to resume its equilibrium. But the shouts and -cheers of the people below drowned his voice so that he could not be -heard. A moment later the gas rushed into the after-end of the bag with -great force, bursting the oiled cloth of which the envelope was -constructed, and the cheers had hardly died away before the -horror-stricken crowd saw the great balloon collapse and come headlong to -the ground, with its nineteen passengers, who included Morrell, eight -engineers, five valve-tenders, two photographers with their assistants, -and the aeronaut already mentioned. - -[Illustration: “THE HORROR-STRICKEN CROWD SAW THE GREAT BALLOON COLLAPSE -AND COME HEADLONG TO THE GROUND WITH ITS NINETEEN PASSENGERS.” NOTICE THE -VALVE-TENDER SCRAMBLING WILDLY ALONG THE NETTING ON TOP OF THE GAS-BAG; -HIS AGILITY STOOD HIM IN GOOD STEAD, FOR HE ESCAPED ALMOST UNINJURED. - -_From a Photograph._] - -The unfortunate men were entangled in the wreckage of flapping cloth, -network, and machinery, running the danger of being struck by the -propellers of the engines or of being suffocated by the great volumes of -escaping gas. One valve-tender, who was on the top of the great bag, can -be seen in one of the photographs climbing along the netting. His agility -stood him in good stead, for he escaped from the wreck almost uninjured. - -[Illustration: GATHERING UP THE WRECKAGE AFTER THE COLLAPSE OF THE -AIRSHIP. - -_From a Photograph._] - -It might be supposed that nearly all the men on the ill-fated craft were -killed; but, remarkable to relate, not one lost his life. Morrell himself -sustained severe lacerations, and had both his legs broken by one of the -propellers; Penfold, the persistent, had his right ankle and left instep -broken; Rogers, an assistant engineer, suffered a broken right ankle; and -another engineer met with broken ribs and ankles. Others were bruised or -rendered unconscious by the gas. - -Morrell ascribed the disaster to the fact that he was forced by impatient -stockholders in the National Airship Company to make the attempted flight -before he had worked out certain details of the vessel’s construction -thoroughly. It is believed by those who saw the luckless craft that it was -constructed flimsily of poor materials and not inflated sufficiently. The -ill-starred aeronautic adventure not only cost many broken bones, but some -forty thousand dollars (more than eight thousand pounds) in money. - -It would naturally be supposed that so complete and disastrous a failure, -after the expenditure of so large a sum of money, would have destroyed all -confidence in Morrell as a designer of airships, and would have put him -out of the business of aerial navigation for all time. But it was not so; -the enthusiast still asserts that he has discovered the true principle of -the navigation of the air, and that the National Airship Company is ready -to proceed with the construction of another craft, much larger and -costlier than the first one. - -The new airship is to be seven hundred and fifty feet long and forty feet -in diameter, equipped with eight gasolene engines, developing nearly three -hundred and fifty horse-power and operating sixteen propellers. The inside -bag will be of light silk and the outside bag of heavy silk interwoven -with a material known as “flexible aluminium,” of which Morrell possesses -the secret. The new balloon is to have more than a hundred compartments, -many of which might be broken without disturbing the buoyancy or -equilibrium of the vessel. - -A rigid platform is to be substituted for the canvas and netting cage in -which the unfortunate participants in the attempted ascent of the “Ariel” -rode. The new vessel is to cost one hundred thousand dollars (more than -twenty thousand pounds), and to be capable, if the inventor is to be -believed, of a speed of a hundred miles an hour. The really marvellous -things about the whole business are the unquenchable enthusiasm of the -inventor and the unfailing credulity of those who believe in him. - - - - -FIGHTING A TYPHOON. - -BY A. P. TAYLOR, CHIEF OF DETECTIVES, HONOLULU, HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. - - The story of the most disastrous voyage in the annals of the United - States transport service. The steamship “Siam” left San Francisco - with a cargo of three hundred and seventy three picked army horses - and mules, destined for “the front” in the Philippines. She landed - two mules alive at Manila. In this narrative Mr. Taylor, who was a - passenger on the ill-fated vessel, tells what became of the - remainder. - - -When the Japanese Government recently offered for sale the former Austrian -steamship _Siam_, a prize of the late war, there was concluded one of the -most remarkable romances of the United States army transport service. Four -flags have so far flown over this steamer, but her career is not likely to -conclude under the ensign of the Land of the Chrysanthemum. - -Christened on the banks of the Clyde in the early ’nineties as the British -tramp steamer _Resolve_, the vessel later passed into the hands of an -Austrian corporation at Fiume, and was renamed the _Siam_. Fate and -charterers sent her to the Pacific Ocean in the second year of the -Filipino insurrection, and she was chartered by an American firm of San -Francisco, and entered the coal trade between Nanaimo and the Bay City. - -In the summer of 1899 the United States War Department assembled at -Jefferson City, Missouri, one of the finest trains of experienced army -mules and horses ever organised for foreign service. From Cuba, from the -northern borders of the United States, from frontier army posts, and, in -fact, from every part of the United States where the quartermaster’s -insignia were in evidence, these animals were brought to the common -rendezvous in Missouri. They were the pick of the army--staid old mules -and horses that had been in the service for years, and knew almost as much -of military discipline as the men in blue. Their transhipment to the -Presidio at San Francisco followed in July, and then the War Department -cast about for a vessel in which to ship them to Manila, where General -Otis was even then delaying important army movements in order that these -animals might accompany the troops to “the front.” - -[Illustration: THE AUTHOR, MR. A. P. TAYLOR, CHIEF OF DETECTIVES, -HONOLULU, HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. - -_From a Photograph._] - -The _Siam_ had just returned from Nanaimo with a cargo of coal. She was a -fine, big, ten-knot boat, with Austrian officers and sailors. The War -Department decided, although she flew the flag of the Emperor Joseph, that -she was just the vessel needed. Early in August, after several weeks of -hammering, sawing, and building of superstructures, three hundred and -seventy-three horses and mules were sent aboard and placed in separate -stalls for the long voyage to Manila. The loading of the animal cargo was -a matter of much concern to the War Department, with the result that -almost the pick of the packers and teamsters of the army--fifty-six in -all--were chosen for the voyage. - -In command of these rough-and-ready plainsmen was Captain J. P. O’Neil, -25th Infantry, United States Army. Captain O’Neil was just the sort of man -to deal with the cowboys--no army dandy, but a true-blue soldier, and the -men admired and loved him. - -Among the horses was the thoroughbred presented to General “Joe” Wheeler, -United States Army, by the citizens of Alabama after his return from the -Cuban campaign. “Beauty” he was called by the men, and he was given a -place of honour near the officers’ cabin. Yet another splendid animal was -the horse belonging to Miss Wheeler, daughter of the General, who was then -an army nurse in the Philippines. - -The officers and crew were all Austrians, with the exception of two -engineers. The commander was Captain Sennen Raicich, sailor, gentleman, -and postage-stamp connoisseur. His hobby was rare stamps, and his cabin -was filled with cases containing valuable specimens. Every day he went -over his collection, labelling, classifying, and docketing the new ones -which he had purchased at the last port. The collection was valued at -about twelve thousand dollars, and was insured. Messrs. Xigga and -Stepanovich were his two officers. Captain, mates, and crew all hailed -from the section of Austria nearest Fiume. - -Ten days after leaving San Francisco the _Siam_ reached Honolulu, and the -horses and mules were taken ashore and sent to the Government corrals, -where they recuperated for two days. During this time Captain O’Neil spent -much time considering the arrangement of the stalls. These were arranged -along the main deck and in the first hold below. Over the exposed portions -of the main deck superstructures had been raised to protect the animals -from the elements. The forward deck was loaded with hay and grain for use -during the voyage, while between decks was a stock of forage. Over the -officers’ section a deck-house was built, and used as a sleeping-place for -the cowboys. - -The Honolulans took great interest in the horses, and hundreds examined -the stalls, which were arranged along the sides of the steamer, the -animals facing inward. Small chains hasped to the supports on either side -led to the rings of the halters. Cleats were nailed to the flooring to -give the animals a footing during storms. The leisure time of the cowboys -was spent in making canvas “slings,” intended to be placed beneath the -bellies of the animals during bad weather, the ends fastened to rings in -the deck above, to assist the animals in keeping on their feet should the -vessel roll awkwardly. The transport service had much to learn, and the -use of slings was a costly lesson. - -For several days the voyage toward the Philippines was delightful. -Half-cloudy days and trade winds maintained an even temperature throughout -the ship. Officers, crew, cowboys, the few passengers, and the animals -were on the best of terms. Captain O’Neil cheerfully looked forward to the -day when the _Siam_ should steam into Manila Bay and he could report the -voyage successfully ended and without the loss of an animal. Captain -O’Neil’s enthusiasm was communicated to the cowboys, and they resolved to -make a reputation for the voyage and land their animals safe and sound. -Alas for human hopes! That voyage was to prove the most disastrous in the -annals of the American transport service. - -[Illustration: GENERAL WHEELER’S HORSE “BEAUTY” BEING TAKEN ON BOARD THE -“SIAM.” - -_From a Photograph._] - -On the morning of September 17th came a change in the direction of the -wind. The officers consulted the barometer, and the land-lubbers, taking -amateurist observations of their own, saw that it was falling. Then came a -few gusts, the sky changed, and in a little while a terrific storm burst -over the steamer. The vessel rolled, and the horses, unused to such a -motion, had difficulty in retaining their feet. Clouds of spray dashed -over the bridge and tons of water broke upon the decks. The stalls were -flooded and became slippery, and the animals frequently fell. Sometimes a -lurch threw at least fifty from their feet. Instantly there was a -struggling, kicking mass of horse and mule flesh on the decks. The -cowboys, although experiencing the first real nausea during the voyage, -bravely went among the helpless brutes and assisted them to their feet. -For two days and nights this went on, and few men were able to sleep. -Finally things got so bad that Captain O’Neil sent a written request to -Captain Raicich to change the course of the vessel to any direction that -would give the least motion to the ship. - -Those who have never been to sea may not know the danger of putting a -vessel about in a sea which is piling up angrily from every direction. The -order was sent through the ship that she was to go about, and everyone -clung to a support during the manœuvre. Gradually the vessel answered her -helm; the roaring wind beat against her hull, heeling her far over, until -the landsmen clung desperately to anything handy to prevent them sliding -into the boiling sea. At length the manœuvre was safely executed, and all -hands breathed a sigh of relief. The vessel scudded before the wind, -riding more easily, though she was going far out of her course. - -[Illustration: “A TERRIFIC STORM BURST OVER THE STEAMER.”] - -When the sun broke through the clouds a tropical-looking island loomed up -on the horizon, which proved to be the island of Saipan, of the Ladrones -group, just to the north of Guam. Whether it was inhabited those aboard -did not know, for there was not on the ship a chart or book bearing upon -the island. A mysterious column of smoke shot up from a grove of trees as -the vessel passed by, followed by a second and a third. A “council of war” -was held. Were the mysterious smoke signals sent up by shipwrecked sailors -or by natives with questionable intentions? Captain Raicich cut the -Gordian knot with the statement that the _Siam_ was under contract to the -United States Government at six hundred dollars a day, and as considerable -time had already been lost he could not for a moment think of detaining -the vessel while an investigating committee went ashore. - -After that storm the ship was a hospital, for two hundred and thirty-three -horses and mules were more or less injured, and every man devoted his -whole time to caring for them. Strange to say, many of the cowboys and -mules had been associated for years in Government work, and they were -therefore old friends, and the men were sympathetic veterinarian nurses. -Six animals died of their injuries. - -That storm was a heartrending set-back to the ambitions of Captain O’Neil. -However, he made the best of the experience by preparing for similar -episodes. One day the engines gave out, and the vessel lay to for several -hours while the engineers and firemen worked like Trojans to repair the -damage. At first it was decided that the vessel, being then near the -Philippines, could make port with the one uninjured engine, but it was -finally decided that it would be best to repair the damage at sea. It was -well that this decision was arrived at, otherwise the _Siam_ would never -have reached port. - -On September 29th the steamer was close to Cape Engano, on the northern -coast of the island of Luzon. On the morning of September 30th the sky -became overcast, the wind freshened, and the barometer fell. In the -afternoon there was a peculiar glow in the clouds, which behaved most -curiously; they seemed caught in currents of wind and were stretched out -across the heavens in orderly lines, parallel with the horizon. To the -landsmen none of the signs were ominous, but the ship’s officers sent -orders quietly among the crew. - -[Illustration: CAPTAIN SENNEN RAICICH, OF THE “SIAM.” - -_From a Photo. by Antonio Funk._] - -A passenger, going into the chart-room, from which an officer had made a -hurried exit, saw a book on navigation lying there. It was open at a -chapter on typhoons, and there were under-scorings where “China Sea,” “The -Philippines,” “Yellow Sea,” etc., occurred in the text. The passenger -looked at the barometer again, saw that it had fallen, and began to -understand. There was an ominous silence throughout the vessel, and a -peculiar stagnant feeling impregnated the air. The growing sense of menace -affected every living thing aboard; the plainsmen had long since stopped -chaffing and the animals stamped uneasily. - -Meanwhile the crew were very busy. Canvas shields were taken in, rigging -was examined, and the captain went below to the engine-room and consulted -with the engineers. - -Evening came on, the sea began to stir, and the crests of little waves -broke sharply. The _Siam_ was now in sight of the northernmost portion of -Luzon, and as Cape Engano was approached she was slowed down, but the -captain and officers looked in vain for the lighthouse on the cape. At ten -o’clock the commander changed the course of the vessel from west to north, -thereby keeping out of the channel above the cape, for he would not risk -entering the waterway without first picking up the light. - -It was well that he formed this decision, for at eleven o’clock the -heavens and the sea seemed to meet in a mighty clash. There was one mighty -reverberating roar, the steamer heeled over, the wind howled through the -rigging, and the stern, lifting high out of the water, permitted the -propeller to race, shaking the vessel from stem to stern. The gong and -bells rang sharply in the engine-room, the propeller stopped racing, -stopped altogether, spun again. The tramping of feet sounded along the -decks; orders were shouted from the bridge in Austrian. The cowboys -gathered on the main deck and waited anxiously--for what, they did not -know. Then the passenger transmitted the knowledge of the open book in the -chart-room to the landsmen. A typhoon was on, perhaps, he suggested. -“Typhoon” in the China Sea, “hurricane” in the Atlantic, “pampero” off the -South American coast, “cyclone” on land--all mean much the same thing. The -most terrifying storm a vessel could encounter held the _Siam_ in its -mighty grip. - -Then, almost without warning, a demoniacal sea and a fearful wind, with -legions of horrible, never-to-be-forgotten night terrors, appeared to leap -upon the ship from the darkness. - -A sickening dread crept into my heart. In fifteen minutes the whole fury -of the typhoon was upon us. It was almost midnight of September 30th when -we realized, by a glance at the captain’s face as he rushed into the -chart-room, that a battle for our lives was upon us. It was human science -matched against the ungovernable fury of the elements. Which would win? - -I made my way to the bridge, clinging now to a rope, and now down upon my -knees with my arms around a stanchion. By main force I held on to the -wheel-house, where the captain and his two mates directed the course of -the stricken ship. Their faces were set with grim determination, their -eyes staring fiercely now at the compass and then at the boiling seas, -which pitched and rolled us about like a paper box. The wheel flew round -from side to side. One end of the bridge rose and towered above me until I -leaned over almost upright against the ascending deck, and as suddenly it -fell until it seemed to plough the water. The wind, blowing at eighty -miles an hour, tore canvas and rigging to shreds. - -Suddenly the bow lifted high upon a monster wave. Higher, higher, higher -it rose, while the stern sank down into a yawning chasm. Simultaneously a -huge wave struck us abeam. Down came the bow, and over heeled the steamer -upon her side. From below came the nerve-racking bellowing and screaming -of the terrified animals as they strove madly to keep their feet. Hoarse -shouts came up from the lower decks, where the cowboys were endeavouring -to help their charges. Now and then there was a crash as an animal was -flung bodily out of its stall across the deck, where it smashed stalls and -set other animals loose. Each time the ship rolled I set my teeth, for -each swing seemed about to plunge us into the boiling black abyss below. -Often my heart seemed to stand still, and I waited for the moment when our -devoted band would be hurled into eternity. - -Presently half-a-dozen of us descended to the stokehold in order to send -ashes up to the deck to be spread under the hoofs of the struggling -animals. Out of that stifling hole bucketful after bucketful was hoisted -until the deck was strewn with _débris_. But the heat of the stokehold and -the unusual labour caused the amateur stokers to sicken, and, exhausted -and nauseated, we climbed to the deck again and lay there gasping. - -With morning the storm grew worse. At nine o’clock Captain Raicich -determined to heave the ship to, but the plan had to be abandoned, owing -to stress of weather. The steamer was compelled to head directly into the -wind, which eddied in dizzy concentric circles around a larger -circumference. My diary contains the following notes jotted down on the -afternoon of October 1st, written mainly in shorthand while I lay ill in -my bunk:-- - -“Good heavens! Another such day and night as we have been having and I -believe I shall become insane. Buffeted and tossed about like a feather, -careening, rolling, and pitching, the _Siam_ seems ready to take her final -plunge. Just now a great wave lifted the bow until it seemed the vessel -would stand straight upon her stern; the stern went down and threw us up -again with a terrific lift. A wave strikes the bow and races the full -length of the vessel, tearing everything loose it can rip from its -fastenings. It is sickening. I am writing this in the very midst, the -centre, of the worst kind of storm one can encounter at sea. The men are -shouting and cursing, the animals pawing and uttering plaintive sounds. - -“We don’t know where we are. We know we are heading north-east to get away -from ragged reefs which lie to the north of Luzon. We are steaming -directly in the face of the typhoon and make no progress. The barometer -has fallen twelve points since noon. May Heaven have mercy on us! - -“7 a.m., October 2nd.--What terrible sights I have witnessed during this -awful time! The storm increased every hour of the night, the barometer -going down from 82 to 30, disclosing the fact that we were heading -directly toward the centre of the typhoon. We have rolled so heavily that -the rail goes under at each dip. The men remained at their posts in the -stable division, striving to keep the animals from plunging out of their -stalls from sheer terror. Suddenly a mule falls. Men hurry to raise it. A -return lurch, and down go a score--a mass of maddened, screaming brutes. -From every part of the ship whistle-signals are heard calling for help. -None can be offered, and there the poor beasts lie piled up on each other, -sliding upon their sides and backs from one side of the ship to the other, -tearing strips of flesh from their bodies, causing them to groan piteously -in their helplessness. The ship is tossed every way, up and down, side to -side. Heavy seas break across the decks. - -“Crash! There goes the cowboys’ bunk-house on the poop deck. It is -flooded, and the men’s belongings are sweeping into the sea. The water is -pouring down into our cabins. Destruction everywhere. Another crash--the -rending of timbers in the stable sections. I hear the men shouting -warnings and hear their feet tramping across the decks. The stalls have -given way entirely. Horses are plunging through the hatchways into the -lower stable divisions. A thud, a groan, and they are dead. The rest are -piled up in sickening, agonizing masses, rolling, snorting, kicking, and -endeavouring to get upon their feet. No man dare move from his -holding-place. One has to stand almost upon the cabin wall to keep erect. - -“There they lie, all our pets, the captain’s thoroughbred, General -Wheeler’s own charger. There are twenty horses dead in one heap. A mule -has plunged right down into the engine-room, breaking its legs. It lay -there for two hours before Captain O’Neil could shoot the suffering beast. -The engineers crawled over the carcass as they stood at the throttles to -ease the engines down as the propeller races. - -“The terrific battle of the elements outside beggars any description from -me. Intensify any storm you have experienced on land a couple of thousand -times, add all the terrors that darkness can furnish, add the thoughts of -terrible death staring you in the face every minute, with the sights and -sounds of Dante’s Inferno, and then perhaps you can gain some idea of our -misery. - -[Illustration: “A MASS OF MADDENED, SCREAMING BRUTES.”] - -“At daylight the seas swept across and filled up our decks. Then it was -that Spartan measures had to be taken. The hatches were ordered to be -battened down, thus confining in a death-trap nearly two hundred mules. We -knew it meant death by suffocation to those that were still living, but -our own lives were at stake, and to save our own the animals must be -sacrificed. - -“I am now writing in the chart-room. If we sink, I don’t want to be -caught like a rat down in my cabin, although there will be no chance for -life in any case if we go down. - -“To make our terror worse the Austrian firemen have mutinied. They heard -that the captain had given up the ship. They were right, for he told us to -prepare for the worst. Think of knowing that we have got to drown! Our -boats are all smashed and hanging in bits at the davits. The firemen -tumbled up on the deck looking like demons from the underworld. Then -Captain O’Neil showed his true nature. He became the hard, steel-like -soldier. He sternly ordered them below, but the men did not move. The -cowboys knew instinctively that without steam to turn the engines we must -surely founder. Two of the cowboys seized the ringleader, and, placing the -ends of a lasso about his wrists and thumbs, started to draw the rope over -a guy wire, threatening to string him up by the thumbs. Captain O’Neil had -turned away when these men took the prisoner in charge. Immediately the -frightened crew turned and fled down to the stokehold. - -“Who can blame the poor beggars? Life is as sweet to them as to us. Two -hours later they came up again, but the display of an army revolver in -Captain O’Neil’s hand caused them to retreat. - -“The chief engineer, an Englishman, has gone insane. Thirty-three years at -sea, and now he has gone to pieces! The terror of the long vigils at the -throttle unnerved him. I passed him a little while ago; he was sitting in -his cabin wailing piteously, his face blanched with terror. The little -Scotch second engineer has been on duty almost every hour since the night -of the 30th. His whole back was scalded by steam. Dr. Calkins bound it up -in cotton and oil, and he is working as if nothing had happened, brave -little fellow. - -“6 a.m., Tuesday morning, October 3rd.--Another chapter in my experience -of Hades. No one is on duty except the ship’s officers. It is a ship of -the dead. I have just taken a look down the upper stable division, and the -sight sickened me. The poor brutes of horses and mules, mangled and torn, -lay in heaps, the live ones trying to extricate themselves from the dead. - -“At last the typhoon has spent itself, and by to-morrow morning we shall -probably be able to get back on our course and make a fresh start for -Manila. Nearly all the horses and about two hundred mules are wounded as -far as we can ascertain. Soon the hatches will be taken off, and we can -learn the horrible truth. - -“October 4th.--All morning long the dead animals have been hoisted out and -thrown overboard. How horrible it all is! The men working in the lower -holds are overpowered and compelled to come up on deck every few minutes. -We have three steam-winches going. We found only one live mule in the -lower hold. Captain O’Neil has been shooting most of the live animals, for -they are beyond hope in their terrible condition. - -“Captain Raicich told me to-day that for four hours yesterday he did not -know whether the ship would pull through. The _Siam_ got into the trough -and could not be steered. He said he was prepared then for death. He said -he has never before experienced such a terrible storm. We don’t know just -where we are yet, as we can take no observations. - -“What a terrible change in Captain Raicich’s appearance! He never left the -bridge for three days and nights. He, as well as the two men at the wheel, -were lashed to stanchions. He wore two oil ‘slickors,’ but they are in -ribbons, and the tar from them has sunk into his hair and beard and deep -into his skin. He is dirty and wretched-looking. His cheeks are sunken and -there is an almost insane glare in his eyes. He looks like a wreck, but in -spite of his terrible ordeal he is as decisive in manner as before. Poor -fellow, he hardly ate anything during the whole of the typhoon. He saved -our lives. - -“We have just located our position. We are a hundred miles north of Luzon, -and close by are the dreaded coral-teeth we tried to avoid. - -“October 5th.--We are now nearing Manila Bay and have cleared up the -vessel fairly well and thrown most of the carcasses overboard. The ship is -a wreck; everything seems to have been twisted, broken, torn, or damaged -in some way. Up to last night we got overboard three hundred and -fifty-five carcasses. This morning four more were found dead and two -others had to be shot. We now have only twelve animals left, some of which -we may land at Manila alive. This is all we have left out of three hundred -and seventy-three. Dozens of sharks follow in the wake of the vessel. The -_Siam’s_ expedition has been the most disastrous in the transport -service.” - -As a matter of fact, the _Siam_ actually landed only two animals at -Manila. They were little Spanish mules which had been thrown into the -coal-hold and, strange to say, had not a scratch upon them. They were and -are still known in and about Manila as the “Million-Dollar Beauties” of -the quartermaster’s department. - -[Illustration: “HE NEVER LEFT THE BRIDGE FOR THREE DAYS.”] - -I accompanied Captain O’Neil to General Otis’s head-quarters in the -ancient Spanish palace in old Manila. When informed of the disaster the -General was greatly grieved, and remarked that it would have a serious -effect on the plans he had made. Captain O’Neil then presented him with -the following report of the voyage, which, although an official document, -contains much of the romance connected with the disastrous expedition:-- - - UNITED STATES TRANSPORT “SIAM.” - - Adjutant-General Eighth Army Corps, Manila, P.I. - - SIR,--I have the honour to report my arrival with the steamship - _Siam_, chartered as a United States animal transport. I left San - Francisco, California, on the night of the 19th of August with three - hundred and seventy-three animals aboard. We experienced ordinary - weather, and arrived in Honolulu, H.I., August 29th, leaving there - September 6th. - - After leaving Honolulu, and until the 17th of September, we had - fairly good weather, and up to this date (a month away from San - Francisco) all the animals were in perfect condition. The duties of - horse veterinary and nurses were then sinecures. On the morning of - the 17th a heavy swell from E.N.E. and N.N.E. struck the ship and - made her roll considerably. This swell continued. The next day, - Monday, the 18th, the wind rose from S.S.E., and continued to - increase in force until it became a gale, blowing from S. and - S.S.E., with a big swell from S.S.W. and S.E. This rough sea was - extremely trying on the animals; as many as fifty would be thrown - from their feet at the same time, and for forty-eight hours I was - not able to spare a moment for sleep, and the greatest rest that any - man of my detachment had was six hours. I, at this time, sent a - written order to the captain of the ship to change the course of the - vessel to any direction that would give her the least roll. - According to this order, he changed the course to S.E. We were - driven several hundred miles out of our course. Wednesday morning - the wind abated; we were able to resume our course, and passed the - Ladrones, north of Saipan. Wednesday morning the storm began to - abate; Wednesday evening and night we were busy caring for the - injured and taking stock of our animals. I found two hundred and - thirty-three animals injured more or less severely; of these, six - (6) died. The greatest care was given to the injured, and they all - pulled through remarkably well. - - Everything ran smoothly, fair winds and fair seas, until Saturday - night, September 30th. We arrived at the head of the island of Luzon - (Cape Engano). It was after dark--there was no light--the weather - looked threatening. The captain and I discussed the matter and - finally decided that it was not safe to try and go through this - passage on a stormy night without being able to locate any - landmarks. The captain was directed to cruise outside until - daylight. About twelve o’clock that night the wind started blowing - from N.N.W., gradually increasing into a gale; the vessel was headed - into the wind and sea and rode very smoothly until Sunday morning, - October 1st, when the wind began to shift, increasing in force, and - for the next two days continued changing direction. Until the storm - abated Tuesday morning, the wind was blowing from the S.E. The sea - raised by this circular wind was tremendous. From Saturday night at - twelve o’clock, for fifty-six hours, every man on board the vessel - worked like a Trojan. Animals were continually being thrown from - their feet, and the men worked getting them to their proper places. - As the storm increased, so increased the labour--the men, almost - exhausted, continuing their task. I cannot give them too much praise - for their utter disregard of danger, and the heroism they displayed - in trying to save their charges. - - Monday morning, October 2nd, at five o’clock, the captain of the - ship gave orders to close the hatches to save the ship, and just - then a tremendous sea swept over the vessel, throwing from their - feet every animal on the port side of the ship and most of the - animals on the starboard side; the vessel continued to do sharp - rolling, so that these animals would shoot from one side of the deck - to the other. It was absolutely impossible to do anything for them; - some men had been injured, and I gave up the fight. I ordered every - man to a place of safety in the forecastle, cabins, and chart-room, - and we were forced to let the animals stay where they were. - - Three hundred and sixty odd animals shifted from side to side of the - vessel, and it became too great a risk to make men face it when - nothing could be accomplished. When I knew the captain had ordered - the hatches closed (which I felt meant suffocation for those animals - still alive in the holds), I knew he would not take this step if - ingenuity or human skill could possibly avoid the danger. For a few - hours I had no confidence in or hope of saving even the vessel. The - wind was so strong that she was perfectly helpless; she would not - mind her helm though going at forced speed, but had to drift - helplessly in the direction the wind drove her. - - As soon as it was possible to go upon deck, every effort was made to - rescue those animals still living. A few that were fortunately - thrown on top of the heap of mangled horses and mules were brought - out. Many died from their injuries. Six were saved, but I doubt if - they will be of any service for a long time to come. - - It is my opinion, and also the opinion of everyone on board this - vessel, that had the weather continued as fair as it was up to - September 17th, the ship would have arrived in the port of Manila - without the loss of a single animal. As it was, every animal that - died on this trip did so from the effect of the storms encountered. - - A detailed report and copy of the orders on which this vessel was - run, and such suggestions as I have been able to make from the - experience I had in these two storms, accompany this report. - - I have the honour to remain, - - Yours respectfully, - - (Signed) J. P. O’NEIL. - Capt. 25th Infty., A.Q.M., U.S.A. - - (Dated) Manila Bay, P.I., October 6th, 1899. - -[Illustration: A CUTTING FROM THE “PACIFIC COMMERCIAL ADVERTISER,” -REFERRING TO THE “SIAM’S” DISASTROUS VOYAGE. - -Major J. P. O’Neill, 30th Infantry, who was army quartermaster on the -transport Siam in the latter part of 1899, is a passenger aboard the -transport Sherman. Major O’Neill ran across Chief of Detectives Tailor -yesterday, both having been aboard the Siam on her memorable trip to -Manila in October, 1899, when 370 out of the 373 horses and mules -aboard were killed during a four days’ typhoon off the coast of Luzon. -That trip of the Siam was the most disastrous in the transport service -history and the vessel barely weathered the storm. On that trip Captain -O’Neill was called upon to put down two mutinies among the Austrian fire -crew, and at one time he threatened to string up the ringleader by the -thumbs. The English Chief Engineer became unbalanced during the storm -and had to be placed in irons by O’Neill. The Siam arrived at Manila a -perfect charnelship. During the Japan-Russo war the Siam was captured by -the Japanese while carrying coal to Vladivostok and was sold back to the -Austrian company through the prize court.] - - - - -A State Trial in Montenegro - -BY MRS. HERBERT VIVIAN. - - The recent State trial for high treason at Cetinje was a most - sensational affair, the prisoners--many of them ex-Ministers and - politicians of high rank being accused of a conspiracy to destroy - the Montenegrin Royal Family root and branch. Mrs. Vivian was the - only woman present, and her photographs were the only ones taken. - Her description of the trial, with its picturesque environment and - mediæval atmosphere, will be found extremely interesting. - - -I feel quite spoilt for home-made pageants or foreign processions after -assisting at the sensational State trial for high treason in Montenegro--a -sight which transports one at once into mediæval times again. The ordinary -person may imagine that it is quite an everyday affair, and that -conspirators grow like blackberries on the hedges of Montenegro, but then -the ordinary person knows little about foreign lands apart from Norway, -Switzerland, or Italy, and less than nothing about the Near East. When I -was in Montenegro my family was besieged with inquiries after my safety -and hopes that I might escape unhurt from the brigands and bandits who -must infest the Black Mountains; whereas in Montenegro the remark that -greeted me was that it was very brave of me to pass through so many lands -on the way to the principality, but that now I was there all was well. - -I think it is time, therefore, to explain that the trial, far from being -an everyday affair, was something unheard-of in a land where everyone, -though, of course, warring against the fiery Albanian and enjoying a -certain amount of friendly sparring with neighbours, adores his beloved -Prince and looks on him as chieftain, father, and general Providence all -rolled into one. - -[Illustration: PRINCE NICHOLAS OF MONTENEGRO--THE CONSPIRATORS PLOTTED TO -DESTROY NOT ONLY THE PRINCE, BUT THE ENTIRE ROYAL FAMILY. - -_From a Photograph._] - -Indeed, Prince Nicholas must be counted among the lucky ones of this -earth. He has not only been blessed with talents and tact above those -bestowed on the ordinary man, but he has also been watched over by the -gods and allotted more luck than falls to the lot of most mortals. Like -King Edward, he is popular wherever he goes, and he has a genius for -statecraft. When he came to the throne forty years ago Montenegro was -absolutely unknown; probably barely one in a hundred of educated people -knew that such a place was to be found in the atlas. During those forty -years the Prince has fought successful wars against the Turk, more than -doubled his territory, married his daughters to some of the greatest -_partis_ in Europe, and made the name Montenegro a household word for -valiant men and deeds of daring. - -But Prince Nicholas, unluckily for himself, married his eldest daughter to -a certain Prince Peter Karageorgevitch. This lady died many years ago, and -in the course of time Prince Peter was called from his haunts in -Switzerland to take the Crown of Servia from the hands of the regicides. -Whether he knew anything of their evil plans beforehand need not be -discussed here; but, at any rate, ever since the day he entered Belgrade -he has been their tool, and as wax in the hands of the ringleaders. -Nevertheless, people were astonished when it was discovered last October -that bombs were being smuggled over the Turkish frontier, coming from -Servia. A plot was discovered to blow up the whole of the Montenegrin -Royal House--not only the Prince and his two sons, but the Princess and -her two daughters, her daughters-in-law, and even the poor little -grandchildren, so that the entire family might be exterminated root and -branch! - -[Illustration: THE EXTERIOR OF THE COURT-HOUSE, SHOWING SENTINEL ON GUARD. - -_From a Photograph._] - -The affair was engineered in Belgrade, and the bombs were manufactured by -a Servian officer at the State Arsenal of Kragujevats. It was also -rumoured by those who might be expected to know that the dreams of the -blood-stained authorities in Belgrade are to unite Montenegro, a Slav -nation speaking the Servian language, with Servia, and the idea was that -if there were no member of the House of Petrovitch left alive the throne -might possibly fall to the share of a Prince Karageorgevitch, one of the -sons of Prince Nicholas’s eldest daughter. - -The Crown Prince George of Servia is not exactly one’s ideal of a model -ruler. This young gentleman, whose hobby is said to be to bury cats in the -ground up to their necks and then stamp them to death, is more one’s idea -of a youthful Nero or Caligula, and Heaven help the nation delivered over -to his tender mercies. Before the trial, however, rumours were all that -one heard; so everyone was on tiptoe with expectation, wondering what -sensational revelations would come to light. - -By great good luck we happened to arrive in Montenegro just a week before -the trial began. We steamed in one of the excellent boats of the Austrian -Lloyd past the grey mountains of Istria and through the wonderful fjords -of the Bocche di Cattaro till we cast anchor under the peak of Lovcen. In -a victoria drawn by two tough little Dalmatian horses we climbed the -mountain side in zigzags, persevering up the vast rocky wall till we found -ourselves some four thousand feet above the sea below. I have neither time -nor words to describe the view, a task which needs the pen of a poet like -Prince Nicholas himself, but must dash on, like our game little horses, to -Cetinje, down the steep sides of silver mountains, which gleam in the -tropical sun without a vestige of green to relieve their Quaker-like hues. - -[Illustration: THE JUDGES IN THEIR GORGEOUS NATIONAL COSTUMES--TO THE -RIGHT OF THE SOLDIER WILL BE SEEN THE BOMBS WHICH WERE AN IMPORTANT -“EXHIBIT” IN THE TRIAL. - -_From a Photograph._] - -As a town Cetinje is not thrilling, but it lies in a lovely neighbourhood -and is peopled with perhaps the most picturesque race in the world. For -the Montenegrins are not only the most magnificent specimens of humanity -in point of size, clad in gorgeous raiment which, I feel sure, Solomon in -all his glory could not have beaten, but they have behind them a past -which can scarcely be beaten by any fighting race on earth. - -Some five hundred years ago the Turks defeated all South-Eastern Europe in -the Battle of Kossovo, and Servia and Bulgaria entirely, and Roumania to a -certain extent, fell under the sway of the Ottomans. Then, the story goes, -the bravest and the noblest of those lands, disdaining to live beneath the -banner of the Crescent, withdrew to the eyries of the Black Mountains, -where, thanks partly to their valour and partly to the favourable position -of the land (which is a natural fortress), they defied the Turks. They -never intermarried with the inferior races, and so have preserved the -magnificent physique and extraordinary distinction of bearing which -strikes every stranger who visits Tsernagora. Indeed, if it comes to a -question as to who should be the dominant race in Servia and Montenegro, -it seems more fit that Servia should be taken under the wing of a race -which has done deeds all these centuries instead of merely talking. - -We found at the hotel that half the newspapers of the Near East and Vienna -were sending correspondents, and we therefore felt ourselves lucky in -getting a room in the front looking down the main street, where everything -in Cetinje happens, and where, towards sundown, when the siesta is over -and the air becomes cool and pleasant, you may find anyone you want to -see. Half-way down we saw a crowd of people in national costume (for in -Cetinje, thanks to the Prince’s influence, it is universally worn) -standing outside a house. “They are waiting to try and get a seat in court -to-morrow,” I was told, “but only a score or so will succeed, for there -are thirty-two prisoners, each one guarded by a soldier, besides all these -journalists to be made room for.” - -Through the good offices of the Prince’s secretary, to whom His Highness -had confided us, we were provided with tickets, which was lucky for us, -for when we arrived within sight of the court-house we found a cordon of -soldiers guarding it. We were stopped and our passes examined before we -were allowed to proceed. When we reached our destination, a long, low, -grey stone building with the Montenegrin two-headed eagle over the door, -an officer took us in hand and led us with ceremony to our places. I -looked round me with great satisfaction from my red velvet arm-chair in -the ranks of the Diplomatic Corps. Not only was I the only English person -there save one, but I was the only woman in the whole place. - -It was the most thrilling trial I have ever witnessed. At the top of the -room, behind a long table beneath the picture of Prince Nicholas, sat the -nine judges, all save one in the most gorgeous national costume: long -coats of pale green cloth, heavily braided, with waistcoats of vivid -carnation red, crossing over to one side and covered with beautiful gold -embroidery. Baggy breeches of ultramarine blue and smart top-boots -continued the gay effect, which was completed by a bulky sash of striped -and gold silk wound round the waist, and containing an assortment of -daggers and revolvers; for a good Montenegrin would as soon think of -coming out without them as an Englishman without his collar. - -In the middle sat the President, a person of extreme distinction and great -dignity, who conducted the proceedings in an irreproachable manner. A -small table stood before him, on which a pair of high tapers were placed, -and between them was a copy of the Gospels, bound in red velvet and gold -metal-work, and a crucifix. On his left hand sat a Mohammedan judge, with -red Turkish fez and simpler costume than that of the Montenegrins; and on -his right the bombs were all set out on a little table as evidence, -guarded by an immense soldier about six-foot-six in height and of a -forbidding aspect. It gave one a certain creepy sensation to see, only a -few feet away, enough of these infernal machines to send the whole of the -court-house into the clouds, and to know that close by were thirty-two -desperate men who would stick at no kind of devilry. The bombs were little -square flasks of grey metal with screw tops, almost like the fittings of a -common dressing-bag or luncheon hamper, and certainly did not betray by -their appearance what terrible things they really were. For these -particular bombs were manufactured in a very ingenious fashion, and were -enough to make an Anarchist tear his hair with envy. At the foot of the -table was the black bag in which the infernal machines had been smuggled -over the frontier. - -A story is told of the conspirator’s journey which brings a touch of -comedy into the affair. When he passed through Austria he had the bag -registered as luggage, for it was so heavy that he feared it might attract -attention if placed in the rack. A mistake was made by the clerk and he -was overcharged. The honest official discovered his mistake directly the -train started, and telegraphed off to the junction to describe the man, -giving orders that the money should be refunded. At the junction the -conspirator was found, and the station-master came up to him to inquire if -he had not registered a black bag. Overcome with terror and dismay, and -thinking he was discovered, the man seized the bag and bolted, leaving the -official greatly perturbed and convinced that he had to do with a madman. - -The court-house itself was long, low, and white, with a blue ceiling and a -boarded floor. A long table ran half-way down either side of the hall to -accommodate the journalists, and half-a-dozen arm-chairs were arranged in -a good position for the diplomatists. These were almost empty on the first -day, and my next-door neighbour, a polite young Turkish attaché, -considerately moved out of the way whenever he saw that I was trying to -take a photograph. And, indeed, it was not the easiest task in the world -to get pictures of the proceedings. The prisoners were a restless set of -people, who fidgeted, sprang constantly to their feet, and interrupted the -speakers in a very tantalizing way. As there was not very much light a -fairly long exposure had to be given, and there were difficulties in -propping the camera up satisfactorily and also in disguising my intentions -as much as possible. However, I had the satisfaction of knowing that mine -were the only photographs taken, for the local photographer who had been -commissioned by the authorities to take some pictures declined to try, -owing to the obstacles. - -The thirty-two prisoners, guarded by soldiers on either side, occupied -benches all down the centre of the hall. Some of them were in European -dress, thus differing from the majority of Montenegrins. Amongst them were -all sorts and conditions of men, from peasants to ex-Ministers of the -Crown. It is not often one finds a former Prime Minister, four -ex-Ministers, three high State officials, and several Deputies all in one -trial for high treason. As a rule, the accused were puny, furtive-looking -striplings, a contrast to their stalwart compatriots; but their -imprisonment of several months may have had something to do with this. -Many were students who had gone to Belgrade to complete their studies and -had there imbibed Anarchistic and revolutionary principles. The judge -showed great tact and firmness in dealing with them. - -[Illustration: THE CONSPIRATORS LISTENING TO THE READING OF THE -INDICTMENT. - -_From a Photograph._] - -As the long indictment which contained all the particulars of the plot was -being read out by the counsel for the Crown--a handsome man in full -Montenegrin costume--first one prisoner and then another started from his -seat, rudely interrupting and violently contradicting. A clamour then -arose from the whole thirty-two. The judge expostulated, begged them to be -reasonable, and finally touched a silver hand-bell. The soldiers pulled -them down to their seats again, but seemed as gentle in their methods as -policemen with Suffragettes. As names were mentioned now and again in the -indictment, exclamations of derision and protest were heard from the -prisoners. They next complained bitterly that they had no note-books or -pencils with which to take down the points and prepare their defence, -whereupon the President ordered that paper and pencils should be brought -to them at once. The indictment was long, and it finally asked for the -death penalty as punishment. At this loud clamours arose, and the -excitement grew so intense that a nervous feeling communicated itself to -the public. The President by this time despaired of keeping order, and -directed that the prisoners should be taken back to their prisons. One -alone remained, Raikovitch, the man who brought the bombs into Montenegro, -and the principal prisoner. - -Raikovitch was a rather good-looking young man, dark and sallow. He had a -large, round nose, a round chin, and even his forehead seemed to bulge. -But his black, beady eyes struck me as shifty, and he appeared somewhat -ill at ease. In spite of his confident manner he would glance round at the -pressmen’s table every few seconds to note what effect his defence was -having on them. But he had an amazing fluency, and his story flowed on -like a river. There was no bullying by Public Prosecutor or judges. - -Every now and then the President, tapping his fingers with a pencil, would -interrupt the prisoner with a short, sharp question, evidently very much -to the point, and he pulled up the prisoner’s counsel very sharply on one -occasion for attempting to prompt his client. Presently there was a small -stir, for Raikovitch was heard to denounce Vukotic, the nephew of Princess -Milena, Prince Nicholas’s wife, as having been in communication with and -paid by the conspirators. No one seemed to know who would be accused next, -and the Servian Minister, who was present, must have experienced feelings -of uneasiness. Raikovitch was next led to the table to examine the black -bag, to identify it as his luggage, and acknowledged that those were the -bombs he had brought into the country. His defence lasted for the rest of -the day. - -[Illustration: SOME OF THE AUDIENCE. - -_From a Photograph._] - -Next morning, when the prisoners were brought back, the sitting was even -more agitated. The ex-Deputy Chulavitch was accused. He leapt to his feet, -and in a voice of thunder shouted that he had been betrayed--he had been -sold! Later on, however, he acknowledged that he had received thirteen -napoleons for his help in the plot. Various other prisoners were accused, -but all had answers and excuses at first. Some said they acted on behalf -of others. Others said they had taken no active part, but had only known -of the conspiracy. They would confess one day, and the next flatly deny -everything they had said before. Later on in the trial, however, they -found means of communicating with each other, and arranged on a line of -common action. - -[Illustration: INSIDE THE PRISON AT CETINJE--THE CELL DOORS ARE GENERALLY -OPEN AND THE PRISONERS ARE ALLOWED TO TAKE EXERCISE IN THE YARD. - -_From a Photograph._] - -Few documents could be produced in evidence against the accused, but a -great sensation was caused by the reading of a letter from a Montenegrin, -now an officer in the Servian army, to his brother. In it he promised both -moral and material support for the plot and enclosed a thousand francs -from King Peter. At this there was profound silence in the court, and a -deep impression was left on the minds of the public. - -A student named Voivoditch then gave the details of the plot. He had -brought bombs from Belgrade with the express intention of killing Prince -Nicholas and Prince Mirko. It was arranged that various Government offices -were to be set on fire and in the confusion bombs were to be thrown -against the palace, a small building which would be easily destroyed. -Then, acting on the lines of the Servian regicides, the Ministers and -principal people in Cetinje were to be assassinated and their houses -wrecked. - -The trial lasted several weeks, for with fifty persons accused and -thirty-two prisoners to examine and hear, things cannot be done in a -moment. But the principal witness against the prisoners was a certain -Nastitch, a Servian journalist from Serajevo. He brought the gravest -charges against the Servian Government. As he had been present at the -manufacture of the bombs he said that he was entitled to speak with some -authority. Last year he was sent to Kragujevats State Arsenal by a Captain -Nenadovitch, cousin of King Peter, who gave him a letter to the Commander -from the Servian Crown Prince. In this letter the Prince begged the -Commander to allow Nastitch to stay ten days in the arsenal whilst the -bombs were being made. They were then given to him to be consigned to -Captain Nenadovitch in Belgrade, who told him that they were to be -employed in a patriotic enterprise. A little later he was informed that -the police had sequestrated the bombs, as Pasitch, the Prime Minister, had -been informed of his stay in Kragujevats. - -Nastitch then began to perceive that some mischief was being hatched, and -that Nenadovitch was trying to throw dust into his eyes. He put two and -two together and got a shrewd suspicion of what was really up. So he -crossed over to Semlin, in Hungary, from Belgrade, as no letters are safe -from being opened by the Servian secret police, and communicated with -Tomanovitch, Prime Minister of Montenegro. He asserted that he did not -fear denials, since he had documents to prove the truth of what he said. -He next produced specifications of the bombs, and then asked the judges to -have those in their possession examined to see whether they were not -identical. At the conclusion of his evidence Nastitch was applauded loudly -by the public, and was cheered as he left the court. - -There were several rather interesting little touches in the evidence of -other prisoners. One was found to be sending secret messages to a friend -written in microscopic handwriting under the postage-stamps of the letter. -Under one was written: “Is it true that Stevo has confessed everything?” -Stevo being Raikovitch. - -Raikovitch was brought up a second time and confronted with various -prisoners, who accused him of inventing the whole plot. He met every -accusation with complete calm and cynicism. Indeed, it seemed impossible -to disturb his sang-froid. He proclaimed aloud that he would laugh even -when climbing the steps of the gallows. He was the type of the complete -_poseur_, considering himself the centre of attraction, choosing his -language with the utmost care, and throwing himself into appropriate -attitudes. When asked if he was not a Socialist, he replied, “Of course I -am a Socialist. I must confess, however, that I am not _absolutely_ sure -what Socialism is!” - -[Illustration: THE GOVERNOR OF THE PRISON (ON RIGHT) AND A MONTENEGRIN. - -_From a Photograph._] - -The ex-Prime Minister, Radovitch, was the most interesting of the -villains, and was quite a story-book scoundrel. He had enjoyed the favour -of the Prince, and had been Court Chamberlain for some years. It was -expected that he would make a favourable impression on the public, for -when he had come back from Paris to deliver himself up, arriving -dramatically the very morning of the opening of the trial, he had been -cheered all along the streets of Cetinje, and flowers had been thrown at -his feet; but in court he cut a sorry figure indeed. For six weary hours -he spoke unceasingly, and all the time about himself only! According to -his own version he is the cleverest, the most capable of Montenegrins--in -a word, he is the only patriot in the land. He alluded contemptuously to -the judges, and cried theatrically to the President: “I am proud and happy -to stand before you as defendant, for I would not change places with you, -my Lord President!” He boasted of the Prince’s affection for him and -openly betrayed that he expected to be let off easily. - -The trial lasted over a month. This is no joke in a sweltering Montenegrin -summer, and both judges and prisoners must have heaved sighs of relief -when every witness was heard and the suspense was nearly over. Six were -condemned to death, but only two of these, Chulavitch and Voivoditch, were -in custody; the others had escaped abroad. Raikovitch and the Minister -Radovitch were sentenced to fifteen years’ imprisonment. Thirteen others -received sentences varying from two to ten years, and several were -discharged either because they were innocent or from lack of proof. - -[Illustration: A WARDER, WITH THE HEAVY CHAINS AND ANKLET WORN BY -PRISONERS. - -_From a Photograph._] - -I was interested in visiting the prisons of Cetinje and Podgoritza. Both -are very small, which speaks well for the state of the country. Few -murders are committed, and these are rarely for gain, but usually acts of -revenge. The men concerned in the plot were confined at Cetinje, in a -small and somewhat primitive building, but when they had been sentenced -they were removed to Podgoritza. Both prisons are built round a courtyard -in which exercise can be taken, for the doors of the light and roomy cells -were open all day long. Nearly every cell contained an oven, and the -prisoners were allowed to cook their food themselves. The daily rations -consisted of two pounds of bread and the sum of fourpence, with which they -could buy what they liked. - -I was taken over the place by the Governor, a very kindly-looking giant, -who seemed as if he could not hurt a fly. If I am ever unlucky enough to -be put under lock and key, I should like to have a jailer just like him. -He and a Montenegrin officer, who spoke most excellent French, were very -kind in helping me to take photographs. Some of the prisoners wore irons -which I rather wanted to photograph, but they thought it might hurt the -men’s feelings, so they offered to lend me a jailer to be manacled and -snap-shotted. He thought it the greatest joke in the world, and quite -entered into the spirit of it all. Just as I was about to press the button -he gesticulated wildly. He had remembered that there was a little -collection of a dozen or so weapons of warfare in his capacious belt, and -these were not at all in keeping with the irons. So he pulled out daggers -and pistols galore, and looked quite thin by the time he had finished. - -We also visited the prison at Podgoritza, a large town some forty miles -from Cetinje. Here we found a strange collection of men and women. There -was a saintly-looking pope, who had appropriated the funds of his church. -He was dressed in priest’s robes and did the honours of the place. We saw -several convicts who were being kept in solitary confinement, and pushed -cigarettes to them between the bars. They seemed to feel the boredom most; -otherwise they have an easy time. They do little work in summer and still -less in winter, and a great part, of the day is spent in sleep. The cells -looked far more comfortable than barrack-rooms, and prisoners in -Montenegro evidently have little to complain of. - -There were ten or twelve women there. These were nearly all guilty of -infanticide. When I came into their quarters they rushed at me, seized my -hands and kissed them, and tried to make me sit down and talk to them. -But, as I could not understand a word they said, and one of them looked -very mad, I made my escape as soon as possible. - -It will be long before I forget that strange trial, which for spectacular -effect might have taken place in Venice in the magnificent Middle Ages. -The splendid figures of the judges rivalled the signori in all their -glory, and the gigantic soldiery in gay and glowing colour made one almost -forget the prisoners, until their primitive, almost savage, behaviour -reminded one of their existence and of the fact that even nowadays in -Europe things happen that eclipse the achievements of mediæval criminals. - - - - -CROSSING THE RIVER. - -BY J. T. NEWNHAM-WILLIAMS, OF SALISBURY, MASHONALAND. - - A trader’s story of the appalling catastrophe which, almost in the - twinkling of an eye, wiped out the fruits of a lengthy and arduous - expedition and cost him the lives of two faithful “boys.” - - -It was about the end of October, 1902, when I was returning from a trading -and hunting expedition which had taken me into the wild bush-country lying -to the north-west of the Limpopo valley, that the following incident -occurred--an incident which neither myself nor any of the “boys” who -accompanied me are ever likely to forget. I had started out from -Pietersburg, in the Transvaal, about five months before, taking with me a -good “salted” horse, a wagon and sixteen oxen, and half-a-dozen boys. I -had loaded up with a good deal of the usual trading gear, and had made a -very successful trip. - -It was always my rule, on returning from these expeditions, to shoot the -whole of my way back, and I arranged my departure from civilization so -that I could get through with my trading in good time and have the game -season well in hand on the home trek. - -The rains had commenced rather earlier than usual, and, although we had -only had a few showers as yet, I felt that there was not much time to lose -if I wished to get back to Pietersburg before they had fairly set in. I -had started out in the morning from a little native village called -M’Sablai, and meant to push on through the day in order to get to a native -“staad” called Wegdraai, which lay on the opposite side of the Limpopo -River, better known as the Crocodile. Everything went well during the day, -and towards five o’clock in the afternoon I sighted the group of kopjes by -which Wegdraai was surrounded. Telling the boys to make all possible haste -and follow me, I spurred my horse and rode forward to find a suitable -ford. - -The river at this point is about a quarter of a mile in width, and in the -dry season is very shallow, the water usually lying about in pools. It -presents a very pretty appearance at this time of the year, being dotted -with innumerable verdure-clad islands. I did not anticipate much trouble -in crossing, and, on reaching the bank, soon selected a suitable spot. -There was rather more water than usual, but this was only to be expected, -as it had been raining a little the day before. - -Having picked out the ford, I watered my horse and rode slowly back to -meet the wagon. When it came in sight, creaking and rumbling, I dismounted -and, throwing the reins over the horse’s head, sat down and lit my pipe -whilst waiting for it to come up. I had been smoking for a few minutes, -thinking of nothing in particular, when my attention was attracted by a -curious murmuring sound, very faint and far away; it sounded like the roar -of a train travelling at a high speed. - -I glanced uneasily towards the river, but as far as the eye could reach it -looked peaceful enough. I knew the sound only too well, however--it was -the noise of flood-water coming down stream. When the wagon arrived, my -head boy, Jim, called my attention to the murmur, at the same time -advising me not to attempt to get across. I had half a mind to follow his -advice and outspan then and there, but it occurred to me that the river -might remain “up” for several days, and then, if more rain came, I should -not be able to get across for weeks. It seemed to me to be a case of -getting across at once or waiting for an indefinite period. - -We were moving steadily forward all the time, and when we came to the -river-bank I noticed that by this time the water was looking slightly -disturbed, little swirling eddies being plainly visible about half-way -across. I looked doubtfully up the river, which here ran nearly straight -for about a mile, but, seeing nothing of the wall of water which usually -comes down when a river is rising in flood, I threw prudence to the winds -and determined to get across. Tying my horse to the rear of the wagon, and -shouting to the boys to look after the brake, I seized the long whip which -the driver was carrying, and, making it whistle around the ears of the -oxen, urged them down the bank. I could see that the boys were -scared--they knew the treacherous nature of the river only too well--but I -thought that we could gain the opposite bank long before the water reached -us. - -Urged on by wild yells and shrieks, such as only a Kaffir wagon-boy can -utter, the team moved slowly on through the river-bed, and in a very short -time were half-way across. It was then that I observed for the first time -that the water was slowly rising, and, looking backward, I saw that what -had been a dry place a few seconds before was now entirely covered. -Glancing down, I saw that the water beneath us, motionless a moment ago, -was now slowly running. Alarmed, we redoubled our efforts, but without -avail. The oxen moved slower and slower as the water increased in volume -and depth, until, the wagon listing slightly in a small hole, they stopped -altogether. - -I could see there was nothing for it now but to cut loose the oxen and -abandon the wagon, so, shouting to the boys to assist me, I loosened the -trek chain and tried to whip the oxen across. By this time, however, the -poor beasts had scented their danger, and lowing piteously they huddled -together and became hopelessly entangled in the long chain. Jim, whipping -out his hunting-knife, shouted, “Sicca, baas, sicca lo n’tambo” (“Cut the -reins”), and immediately began slashing at the reins which bound the yokes -to the oxen. I saw that it was the only thing to do, and promptly followed -suit. We were just then quite close to one of the larger of the islands -which stood well out of the water, and as the leading oxen were freed they -made for this. - -[Illustration: “I SUDDENLY HEARD A WILD SNORT, FOLLOWED BY AN AGONIZED -SCREAM FROM THE REAR OF THE WAGON.”] - -We had cut most of them loose and the water had risen above our waists, -when I suddenly heard a wild snort, followed by an agonized scream from -the rear of the wagon, and the next moment my horse was down, and three of -the boys, with yells of terror, were making for the island. “Hurry up, -baas,” remarked Jim, coolly; “lo ingwania” (crocodiles). As he spoke -there was a huge splash alongside me, and down went one of the oxen, the -water round us turning a sickening red. - -I must confess that at that moment I lost heart completely, and shouting -to the other two boys, who had climbed on to the wagon, to make for the -island, I grabbed Jim by the arm and literally had to drag him away, the -brave fellow wanting to remain and loosen the remainder of the oxen. We -reached the land in safety, and, turning to look for the other two boys, -saw that they were still on the wagon, being afraid to venture into the -momentarily-deepening water. I shouted to them to come away, but without -avail. Just then Jim touched me on the shoulder and pointed up the river. -Looking in the direction indicated, I beheld a line of foam stretching -from bank to bank, and coming towards us like an express train. The two -boys on the wagon also saw it, and one of them plunged off into the water, -which was now running swiftly, and in a few seconds was carried down to -us, Jim catching hold of him and hauling him up on to the higher ground. -There was not a moment to spare, for we could plainly see that the -onrushing water would overwhelm us where we now stood. - -Yelling to the boys to follow my example, I made a rush for a good-sized -tree which stood on the summit of the island--now looking little more than -a large mound. Getting a lift from Jim, I was soon in its topmost -branches. Three of the boys were already perched in trees, but the fourth, -the boy who had swum from the wagon, not having recovered his wind, was -clinging helplessly round a tree-trunk, too exhausted to pull himself up. -Noticing his predicament, Jim rushed across and, giving him a shove, sent -him up on to the lower branches. The water was now almost upon us, and I -shouted to Jim to follow the boy up the tree, but my voice was drowned by -the roar of the flood. He ran towards me, then hesitated, glanced round, -and saw the roaring wall of water within about fifty yards of him. The -sight seemed to paralyze him for a moment; then, with a spring, he reached -a small tree which was within a few yards of him, and, clambering like a -monkey, reached the top just as the water struck the wagon. The heavy -vehicle was picked up in the swirling tide as though it had been a straw, -the boy Zuzi clinging to the top until it was nearly abreast with us. Then -it rolled over and over, and he disappeared from view, never to be seen -again. - -I had scarcely had time to realize that the boy was gone when I noticed -that the remainder of the oxen which had been standing beneath us were -adrift. The poor beasts swam desperately, but it was no use--they were -carried away like flies on the raging torrent. - -Darkness was now falling fast, and the water had completely covered the -island, while the trees were swaying in a manner which brought my heart -into my mouth; I expected every moment to see them torn out by the roots. -What made matters worse was that pieces of timber, uprooted trees, etc., -coming down-stream at racing pace, would strike the trunks of the trees we -were sheltered in with terrific force, and the smaller trees were one by -one uprooted and carried away in this manner. - -I clung desperately to my perch for about two hours, expecting every -moment that my frail support would give way. By that time it was -pitch-dark, and, feeling cold and stiff in my wet clothes, I shifted my -position a little; I could see nothing of the boys in the darkness, and -shouting brought me no answer. I moved about as carefully as possible, -seeking a better position, and at length found a more comfortable place in -a fork a little lower down. Here--cold, wet, and miserable--I could do -nothing but wait for daylight. I had now lost everything I possessed, my -wagon and oxen representing nearly the whole of my capital. I felt deeply -for the loss of the poor boy Zuzi and my faithful old horse, and would -willingly have sacrificed the wagon and oxen could I have saved these two. -I blamed myself bitterly for having made the foolhardy attempt to cross, -and with these and other equally bitter reflections the long hours of -darkness dragged slowly through. When, after what had seemed ages, the -first faint streaks of dawn appeared, I uttered a prayer of thankfulness; -and as the daylight became clearer and surrounding objects visible, I -looked anxiously round to see how my boys were faring. - -I first caught sight of the three boys who had escaped when the crocodiles -pulled my horse down, and a little farther on I saw Pete, who had been -helped up by Jim, but of Jim himself I could see no trace. Trembling with -horror, I began to realize that he had gone. The flood had by now -practically spent itself, and the top of the island was again visible. I -called out to the three boys who were nearest the spot where Jim’s tree -had been, and, in a voice which I could scarcely recognise as my own, -asked them where Jim was. Their answer only confirmed my worst fears. - -“Jim hambili, baas, blakla futi” (“Jim gone, master, tree and all”). - -[Illustration: “THE HEAVY VEHICLE WAS PICKED UP IN THE SWIRLING TIDE AS -THOUGH IT HAD BEEN A STRAW.”] - -This was the worst blow of all, for Jim, though only a raw native when I -had first got him, had been with me for over five years and was deeply -attached to me. Bitterly I cursed my folly in not taking his advice, -trying to console myself with the reflection that he might somehow have -managed to reach the opposite bank, though in my inmost soul I knew this -to be almost an impossibility, as the river was full of crocodiles, who -lurked on the lower side of all the small islands, awaiting their -opportunity to rush out and seize anybody or anything that might be -carried past them by the water. The water was now going down slowly but -surely; and, as it sank, our little island grew larger and larger. It must -have been about nine o’clock when I climbed down out of the tree and -stretched my stiffened limbs once again. I called the boys down, and they -came gladly, but all the time casting anxious glances around them, fearful -of a visit from the crocodiles again. I did not apprehend much danger from -these brutes now, however, as those in the immediate vicinity would -probably have gone farther down the river after the cattle. - -The morning passed slowly away and I began to feel hungry, but there was -nothing to eat. About eleven o’clock some natives came down to the -river-bank from the “staad” on the opposite side, and shouted to us to -remain where we were until the afternoon; the river, they thought, would -have gone down sufficiently by that time to enable us to make an attempt -to reach the mainland. The sun had dried the greater part of the island by -this time, and, telling one of the boys to keep a look-out, I lay down -under a tree and was soon fast asleep. I slept on until about four -o’clock, when a boy awakened me, and, glancing round, I saw that the water -had gone down enough to warrant our making an attempt to get across. The -natives who had been on the bank in the morning had meanwhile returned, -and were gesticulating and shouting to us to come away. The boys, whilst I -had been asleep, had made a long strip of “n’tambo” (rope) from the bark -of the trees, and, fastening this around my waist, I secured the others to -it, each boy being as far from the next as the length of the rope would -permit. Then, with myself leading, we started off. The current was still -very strong, and, had we not been roped together, would undoubtedly have -carried us off our feet. We could stand all right in the shallower places, -but when I came to a strip of deep water the boys let out the rope until I -had got over, then I in turn would pull them over. In this manner we -finally reached the bank and were helped out by the natives from the -“staad.” After resting a little I accompanied them to their kraal, where -my boys were fed and rested. - -Learning from the headman that he had already sent a number of men down -the river-bank in search of anything that might have been washed up, I -partook of a little mealie meal, which was the best he could offer, and, -having washed it down with copious draughts of new milk, lay down on a -bundle of skins and once more fell asleep, being utterly exhausted by the -previous night’s hardship and the struggle we had made to get out of the -river. - -I must have been asleep several hours when I was awakened by a light -touch, and, sitting up, saw the headman, who explained that his boys had -returned, having found several cases of provisions, etc., and asked me if -I would not like some food. I made a good meal and once more retired to -rest, sleeping soundly until sunrise the following morning. Rising early, -I sent a number of men to search the river-banks whilst I was having my -breakfast, telling them that I would follow later. They had been gone -about an hour, and I was preparing to follow them, when one of my own boys -came running towards me from the direction of the river, breathlessly -informing me that they had found Jim, and that he was alive, but had been -badly mauled about by a crocodile. I immediately started off at a run, the -boy leading the way through the bush to a spot where the river turned off -to the left, about a mile farther down. There, under a tree, surrounded by -half-a-dozen natives, lay Jim. He was in a fearful plight, one arm being -almost eaten away and the whole side of his body mangled in an awful -manner; he was still conscious, however, and recognised me immediately. I -at once set to work to construct a kind of litter with branches and -boughs, and, laying him carefully on it, ordered the boys to carry him -back to the kraal. As they were moving off I asked one of the natives -where they had found him. Pointing to what at first sight looked like a -large hole in the ground, the boy answered, “Lapa, baas, hya ka lo -ingwania” (“Here, mas’er, in the crocodile’s house”). I approached the -place and, looking down the hole, was astonished to see a large chamber -beneath and a small tunnel which seemed to lead down to the water. The -ground forming the roof of the chamber had been worn away a good deal, and -the crocodile, in turning round in the hole with his victim, had evidently -broken the crust above, thus exposing his hiding-place. - -I followed the boys back to the kraal, and pulling poor Jim in a hut -carefully washed his wounds, doing all I could for him. He remained -conscious the whole morning and told me that during the night, whilst he -was on the island, his tree, which was not a very strong one, had been -struck several times by floating driftwood. Towards midnight, as near as -he could remember, a heavier log than usual had crashed into it, carrying -it away completely. He had clung desperately to the branches in the hope -of reaching the bank when he got to the curve in the river, and had -managed to keep himself above water until he found himself floating in a -place where the water was smoother and running less rapidly. Divining that -he must be near one of the banks, he tried to reach it by swimming, but -had only made a few strokes when he suddenly felt himself seized by one -arm, and was immediately dragged under the water. He had just had time to -realize that it was a crocodile which had got him when he lost -consciousness. When he recovered his senses again he found himself in a -hole, lying on dry ground, with the sunlight streaming in through a small -opening above. There was no sign of the crocodile, and suffering agonies -from his wounds he managed to drag himself up to the orifice, where he at -last gut out his hunting-knife, which still hung on to his belt, and, -digging at the edges of the cavity, tried to enlarge it so that he could -crawl through. Weakness overcame him, however, and he fainted again. At -last, hearing voices above him, he once more tried to get out, and, -managing to put his uninjured arm up through the hole, had attracted the -attention of the boys, who were searching near. - -[Illustration: “IN THIS MANNER WE FINALLY REACHED THE BANK.”] - -I could plainly see that the poor fellow was past all hope, but I did all -I could to ease his last moments for him. In the afternoon he became -unconscious again, and at about five o’clock passed quietly away. I buried -him under a large tree, near the entrance to the circle of small kopjes by -which the “staad” was surrounded, and, cutting a small wooden cross, -nailed it to the tree, with the simple inscription, “JIM. 21-10-’02.” - -Next day, sad at heart, I started off to Pietersburg, having to walk the -whole way. Here I reported the matter to the police, who sent out a patrol -to investigate the affair, and there the matter ended so far as I was -concerned. I never recovered any of the oxen, and the wagon, or the -remains of it, so far as I am aware, still lies in the river-bed. I have -never done any trading in that district since. - - - - -A Belgian Smoking Competition. - -BY A. PITCAIRN-KNOWLES. - - There is more tobacco per head consumed in Belgium than in any other - country in the world. It is therefore fitting, perhaps, that one of - the favourite pastimes of the menfolk should be smoking - competitions, at which valuable prizes are awarded to the man who - can make his pipeful of tobacco last the longest. Our representative - was recently the guest of honour at a competition held by the - premier smokers’ club of Belgium, and here describes and illustrates - what he saw. - - - BRUGSCHE ROOKERSCLUB. - - HONOURED SIR AND MEMBER,--Once more an honour is being bestowed upon - us. Mr. A. Pitcairn-Knowles, the representative of three journals of - world-wide reputation, will be present at our general meeting on - Friday next, and will give an account of this gathering in one or - perhaps in all of those papers. We have, therefore, decided to - commence the meeting at an earlier hour. We shall assemble at 8.30 - p.m., and open the entertainment with a grand prize competition, and - we urgently beg you to put in an appearance, as the reputation of - our club depends to a great extent upon the success of the fête. As - true smokers you should look upon it as your duty to join us at 8.30 - p.m. sharp, on Friday, the 11th inst. Accept, honoured Sir and - Member, the greetings of your devoted committee.--(For the - President) The Second Secretary, L. MONBALLIU. - -[Illustration: THE GORGEOUS BANNER OF THE BRUGES SMOKING CLUB. - -_From a Photograph._] - -Such were the contents of a printed notice in Flemish sent out to all -members of the Bruges Smoking Club, as a result of my expressing a desire -to the indefatigable secretary of this most famous of all Belgian -“Rookersclubs” to witness one of their quaint smokers’ competitions. - -I am glad to be able to state that the invitation issued to the Bruges -devotees of the fragrant weed had the desired effect, and when I reached -the cosy Graenenburg Estaminet of the Grande Place I found the obliging -secretary and the genial president of the Smokers’ Club preparing for a -record attendance, which, judging from the number already present, seemed -assured. My introduction to the assembly was looked upon as needless, -since everyone present was acquainted with the reason for my admission -within the precincts of the club, and the most strenuous efforts were made -to render my visit to the Graenenburg an agreeable one. - -In response to the invitation of the secretary, I ascended a steep -staircase leading from the café to a room reserved for the club. It was -there that the solemn function of admitting new members took place, and -general regrets were expressed that my visit had not been made upon a day -which would have presented an opportunity for witnessing such a ceremony. -As it was, I had to content myself with an inspection of the paten, to -which, on such an occasion, the would-be member had to press his lips -after taking an oath in the following words: “I pledge myself solemnly to -be a faithful and honest member of the club, and to conform strictly to -the rules.” Previously to installation, he had to furnish proof of his -suitability for election by smoking a pipe in the presence of the -committee. - -[Illustration: A CURIOUS AND VERY ANCIENT PIPE-RACK IN THE POSSESSION OF -THE BRUGES SMOKING CLUB. - -_From a Photograph._] - -Although I had not the good fortune to be present at such an inauguration, -time did not hang heavily on my hands while waiting for the smokers to -prepare for the contest. - -[Illustration: THE JUDGES WEIGHING OUT THE COMPETITORS’ ALLOWANCES OF -TOBACCO AND FILLING THE PIPES. - -_From a Photograph._] - -Glancing around the room I noticed with interest a large shield adorning -the wall, upon which was arranged an assortment of most curious pipes, -representing all corners of the globe. In fact, the place was a veritable -museum of pipes, giving silent testimony of the character and degree of -culture attained, as well as of the individual taste of smokers of almost -every nation of the world. The lordly meerschaum, elaborately carved; the -Turkish chibouque; the “hubble-bubble,” in which the fumes pass through -water; the long German pipe, with its china bowl adorned with a gay -picture; the Indian’s pipe of peace--all, their functions finished, now -hang side by side in idle repose. A huge pipe carved from the stump of a -tree and a pipe with a sea-shell for a bowl were conspicuous among the -curiosities of the collection. - -After my inspection of the museum the labour of deciphering the rules of -the club, in Flemish, came as a less welcome task, but the secretary, -always ready to be of service, aided my efforts, and I was able to -discover the real objects of the association. - -A casual observer might be somewhat surprised to find that a society of -this kind should require numerous laws and regulations, but a glimpse at -the workings behind the scenes of a Belgian “Rookersclub” furnishes -convincing proof that the number of rules is in no way excessive, -considering the importance of the institution, for the strictest -discipline is a _sine quâ non_ in a well-conducted “Rookersclub.” - -Many are the duties of the members and the regulations for competitions. -No applicant can be elected unless he has reached the age of eighteen. -Cigars and cigarettes are tabooed, the pipe being looked upon as the only -justifiable means of satisfying that craving which makes us slaves to the -weed. The chief object of the club being to teach, through its disciples, -the world at large the use of tobacco and to guard against its abuse, it -wisely refrains from over-indulgence, and asks no more from its members -than that they should “smoke at least one pipe at every club meeting.” - -[Illustration: THE CONTEST IN FULL SWING. - -_From a Photograph._] - -The picture the words “smoking competition” call up to the mind’s eye of -the uninitiated, of competitors sitting in a room made almost unbearable -by the dense volumes of smoke they are vigorously puffing from their -pipes, is as far from the reality as it is possible to imagine. When I -stepped into the spick and span Café Graenenburg I was certainly under the -impression that I was conversant with the science of smoking, though I -must own I had up to that time been willing to accept with blind faith its -dictionary definition as “a continuous drawing in and puffing out of the -fumes of burning tobacco,” which is, I assume, what nine hundred and -ninety-nine out of a thousand of my fellow-smokers look upon as the -desideratum of their enjoyment. - -[Illustration: “SMOKE, PLEASE!” A COMMITTEEMAN DEMANDING PROOF THAT A -COMPETITOR’S PIPE IS STILL ALIGHT. - -_From a Photograph._] - -Now, however, after half the term usually allotted for mankind’s existence -upon this earth had run out, the truth dawned upon me that I had hitherto -been chasing shadows, and would have to learn all over again. Smoking was, -I began to realize, not the simple, easy pastime I had considered it to -be, but an art which one might only expect to master after careful study, -silent pondering, and steady practice. In this humble frame of mind I lost -no time in repairing to an expert for instruction in the management of a -pipe, so that all fatal mistakes should be avoided at the outset of my -second schooling; and now that I am on the high road towards experiencing -hitherto dimly-conceived moments of unalloyed bliss, let me impart my -experience as a valuable secret to those who lie under the same mistaken -impression which I once fostered. In the words of my preceptor: “The true -art of smoking consists in reducing the combustion to a minimum, and yet -never allowing the pipe to go out while a particle of tobacco remains in -the bowl. The object is not to smoke quickly or much--we are not -locomotives bent upon producing force, but men on the quest of solace and -enjoyment.” - -But now let us see the outcome of his doctrine, as displayed by the -members of the “Rookersclub” on the occasion of my visit to their -meeting-place. - -The preliminary arrangements for the battle of pipes having been -completed, I was led back to the café, where the committee were busily -engaged at a table putting the finishing touches to their work. Before -them lay the empty pipes, all of equal length and size. Tobacco taken out -of a jar was being apportioned into little heaps to be weighed on a small -pair of scales. As each competitor’s share, consisting of exactly -forty-five grains, left the scales to replenish the pipe awaiting it, the -eyes of the judge roved anxiously from the balance to the hands of the -colleague to whom the filling of the bowls had been entrusted. Unerring -fairness characterized the operations of the committee. Around another -table the competitors were seated indulging in “bocks” while waiting to -take part in the struggle for supremacy in serious smoking. - -At last a general wave of excitement showed that the proceedings were -about to begin. The pipes were placed in the hands of their claimants, the -matches put within easy reach, and the president, in his capacity of -judge, called for attention. - -“You have two minutes in which to light your pipes!” he announced, watch -in hand; then, presently, “One minute!” “Half a minute!” “One quarter of -a minute!” These successive announcements were followed by the ringing of -a bell, and then, almost simultaneously, twenty hands holding burning -matches were raised to set the pipes alight. All but one or two, whom -anxiety to be in time had slightly flurried, delayed setting the match to -the tobacco until the very last moment. One unfortunate competitor -procrastinated too long, and was promptly disqualified before he could -apply the light. No time had been wasted in removing the matches from the -table, and as soon as the time-limit had been reached every one but the -disappointed straggler was beginning very slowly to draw short puffs. At -this critical moment, when all the rivals were applying themselves with -slow caution to the initial whiffs, on which the final issue frequently -depends, so complete a silence reigned that one might have heard the -proverbial pin drop. It is said by many that the secret of success is -found in the way of lighting, but as to which is the correct _modus -operandi_ there exists a great diversity of opinion, for while one expert -will attribute his success to the fact that he lights the tobacco nearest -the side of the bowl, another equally practised smoker believes in -applying the match to a central spot. Be that as it may, there is no -denying the fact that to ensure obtaining a satisfactory start both -experience and intelligence are essential factors. - -[Illustration: “IN DISTRESS.” - -_From a Photograph._] - -But to return to our friends of the “Rookersclub.” Ten minutes had -elapsed, and all were still in the running except the disappointed man who -had been ejected at the outset. Some had become quite communicative, -trusting to their pipes to look after themselves while they exchanged -views on politics. Others, not losing for one moment their sense of the -importance of the occasion, kept the stems between their teeth, without -allowing their tense expressions to relax into the faintest suspicion of a -smile. One competitor in particular looked as if he were made of wax, even -the chaffing of his colleagues failing to upset his gravity. He had been -pointed out to me as a winner of many prizes and the fortunate possessor -of a temperament any smoker might envy. - -“Ting-a-ling” went the bell, the announcement of the extinction of a -pipe--the first defeat--and this early failure was received with general -merriment. - -[Illustration: AN OPEN-AIR CONTEST IN THE COUNTRY. - -_From a Photograph._] - -[Illustration: A MEETING OF CHAMPIONS. - -_From a Photograph._] - -But hark! The bell was heard again. This time the victim was a man who had -been trying to give me some faint idea of the magnitude of the feats he -intended to accomplish, his loquacity being undoubtedly the cause of his -premature downfall. As he made his exit amid roars of laughter I attempted -to assuage his mortification by promising to convince myself on a future -occasion of the grounds for his self-praise. He was forced to the -indignity of becoming a looker-on, and tried to find consolation by -critically regarding the performance of each candidate. Each time the -judge’s bell gave the signal for the departure of another competitor he -had some infallible theory to expound in regard to the unsuccessful -smoker’s faults and follies, and upon those who still possessed a winning -chance he generously showered well-meant, but unsolicited, counsel. - -Slowly but surely the tobacco of the remaining competitors burnt itself -out, and every quarter of an hour, when the clock of the world-famed -belfry on the opposite side of the square pealed forth one of its -melodious airs, the number of the possible victors had diminished. - -After the lapse of about three-quarters of an hour the judge’s bell set up -a continuous tinkle. It was now time for those who acted as controllers to -keep a sharp look-out, and every now and then the order “Smoke, please,” -could be heard, as a committee-man pointed at the bowl of an apparently -extinguished pipe, whereupon the faintest cloud of smoke would rise into -the air from the clay of the cunning laggard, or the bell would announce -another failure. - -[Illustration: TOASTING THE WINNER AT A COUNTRY COMPETITION. - -_From a Photograph._] - -Presently the fiftieth minute arrived, and the number of smokers had -dwindled down to six. Opinions differed as to which would “live” to bear -the palm. Among the favourites was the amiable secretary himself, one of -the most skilful of the Bruges “Rookers,” who, strange as it may seem, is -practically a non-smoker when outside the precincts of the club. In the -president of the club he possesses a most formidable rival, who enjoys the -reputation of being able to win one of the first prizes whenever he -chooses to do so. - -An hour and five minutes had passed when the secretary and three other -members were found to be the sole survivors. Then the unexpected happened. -The secretary was seen to be in distress. His efforts to entertain a guest -of the club--I had been given the honour of sitting beside him--had -diverted his attention from his difficult task; and once more the bell -made itself heard as he laid down his pipe, unable to respond to the -judge’s request of “Smoke, please.” - -One hour and ten minutes had run their course, and only two men were -competing. The excitement became intense as the members gathered round the -two valiant champions to get a close view and offer encouragement to the -one or the other. To outward appearance both were calm and confident. They -allowed the tiniest cloud of smoke to escape at intervals from their -pipes, and it looked as if these motionless and imperturbable men might -survive long enough to eclipse the famous club-record achieved by a -champion who succeeded in making sixty grains of tobacco last as long as -one hundred and twenty minutes. - -[Illustration: A SUCCESSFUL COMPETITOR RECEIVING A MONEY PRIZE. - -_From a Photograph._] - -But suddenly one of the rivals became agitated. He was beginning to -realize that the end of his resources was last approaching, for the spark -in his pipe became more and more difficult to keep alive. Anxiously he -blew into the stem, but only with the wasteful result of dispersing a tiny -particle of fire, the last that remained, as it proved, for the pipe was -empty. Sadly he laid down his clay, leaving the victory to his opponent. -The latter smoked on with an unmoved countenance, allowing not the -smallest sign of elation to escape him, as he continued to foster, by an -almost imperceptible inhalation, the tiny spark in the clay bowl which had -now become the sole object of attention in the crowded room. A hasty -movement on the part of the victor as if to settle himself more -comfortably in his chair to prepare for a long-dreamt-of record, a -slightly more animated whiff to counteract the effect of this incautious -action, and the mischief was done--the smoker drew an extinguished pipe -from his mouth. He had won, sure enough, but only by twelve short seconds. -“One hour twenty-one minutes and thirty-three seconds,” announced the -judge. “And to think that I might have held on another half-hour with a -little more care!” sighed the disappointed winner. - -Then followed the ceremony of presenting the prizes, the successful -candidates being allowed to make their choice of rewards in the order in -which they were placed. A bread-basket, a pocket-knife, a flower-vase, and -other useful and ornamental souvenirs were handed over to the fortunate -ones, after which victors and vanquished assembled once more around the -long table to enjoy a pipe in the ordinary way, without restraint or -restriction. - -Nowhere in Belgium are competitions of the kind I have described conducted -in a more correct and business-like manner than in Bruges; in fact, the -“Brugsche Rookersclub” can be considered in every respect as -authoritative and exemplary in matters pertaining to the world of -“pipenrookers,” as the smoker of the pipe is called in Flanders. It is -among the quaint Flemish people that smoking clubs and smoking -competitions enjoy more widespread popularity than in any other part of -King Leopold’s little dominion, and nearly every village, no matter how -small, can boast of a “Rookersmaatschappij,” which almost unpronounceable -word is the equivalent for what we term “smokers’ club.” In the country -districts it is the custom to compete for money prizes, and to decorate -the winner with some floral adornment, which is pinned on his breast as a -visible proof of the honour he has achieved. Many of the _estaminets_, -which thrive in countless numbers in thirsty Flanders, endeavour to -stimulate the desire of customers for refreshment by organizing a -“Prijskamp in Het Rooken,” and offering prizes to those who best -understand the art of making a little tobacco go a very long way. - -[Illustration: THE JUDGE DISTRIBUTING ARTIFICIAL FLORAL FAVOURS AMONG THE -PRIZE-WINNERS. - -_From a Photograph._] - -Smoking for prizes is a curious way of killing time and may not appeal to -the Anglo-Saxon, who prefers to devote his leisure to more active and -health-giving occupations, but it possesses certain advantages over other -pastimes which must be taken into consideration. It is not costly, it is -not dangerous, it is sociable, and, as my kind hosts of the “Brugsche -Rookersclub” were at pains to convince me, it is a form of rivalry from -which much excitement can be gained. But above all it teaches one the use, -as distinguished from the abuse, of tobacco, which is undoubtedly the best -_raison d’être_ for smokers’ clubs and smokers’ contests in a country -whose army of smokers forms no less than a third of its entire population, -and whose annual consumption of tobacco is six and a quarter pounds per -head. This is more than three times the amount consumed in the United -Kingdom, and six times as much as in Italy. In fact, little Belgium’s -appreciation of tobacco reaches limits unattained in any other part of the -world. - -[Illustration] - - - - -The Adventures of “Wide World” Artists. - -BY J. SYDNEY BOOT. - - It has always been our rule, in order to obtain accurate pictures, - to entrust the illustration of our stories only to artists who have - actually visited or lived in the various countries referred to, and - are consequently familiar with the conditions of life prevailing - there. The result of this custom is that our artistic staff is - composed of men who have travelled extensively, roughing it in many - remote parts of the world. In the course of their journeyings our - illustrators have themselves met with exciting and unusual - experiences, some of the most interesting of which are here given, - each artist depicting his own adventure. - - -II. - -Mr. Charles M. Sheldon, the well-known war artist, who has done splendid -work for THE WIDE WORLD, has had several exciting experiences in the -course of his career. He was the special artist for _Black and White_ -during the Dongola Campaign in 1896, and received the Khedivial medal with -two clasps awarded to the correspondents. He went through the -Spanish-American War in Cuba, was dispatched to South Africa at the time -of the Jameson Raid, and has also represented his paper in India. Mr. -Sheldon has a studio full of interesting souvenirs of his various -campaigns. - -[Illustration: MR. CHARLES M. SHELDON, WHOSE JOURNEY DOWN THE HANNOCK -CATARACT ON THE SIDE OF A CAPSIZED BOAT IS HERE DESCRIBED. - -_From a Photograph._] - -It was during the Dongola Campaign that Mr. Sheldon met with his most -exciting adventure, and the fact that he is alive to-day is more owing to -good fortune, he says, than to any skill on his part on that occasion. - -Mr. Sheldon joined the column advancing on Dongola under the command of -the Sirdar, then Sir Herbert Kitchener, at Wadi Halfa, and was present at -the Battle of Firket. After the battle, and while the railway was being -brought up, the army camped for a couple of months at Kosheh, where, in -addition to the terrible heat and sandstorms, cholera broke out, and -threatened at one time to annihilate the camp. When the railway was -completed as far as Kosheh, the force marched across an arm of the desert -to Hafir, where the gunboats drove the dervishes from their forts with -such loss that Dongola fell after very little resistance. The country -being cleared of the enemy, and the war for that year at an end, the -correspondents made hasty preparations for their journey to Cairo on their -way back to England. In order to reach rail-head, they decided to travel -by boat down the Nile to Firket, Mr. Sheldon and Mr. Seppings Wright, the -artist of the _Illustrated London News_, arranging to make the journey -together. Having sold their horses and camels and discharged their native -grooms, with the exception of one camel-man, they packed their baggage and -war-trophies on board a boat--purchased from Mr. H. A. Gwynne, now editor -of the _Standard_--and started down the river. They expected to accomplish -the journey in about six days and nights, and for the first three days the -conditions were delightful, as, floating mainly with the swift current, -they made rapid progress, enjoying to the full their enforced ease after -the hard work of the campaign. As they approached the Hannock, or third -cataract of the Nile, however, the voyage became more exciting, and -extreme caution was necessary on the part of the pilot in charge of the -boat. The Hannock cataract is, indeed, a formidable menace to navigation, -consisting as it does of about sixty miles of shelving ledges of rock and -groups of huge boulders, over and among which the water rushes headlong in -a series of whirlpools and rapids. It was here that several of the boats -taking part in Sir Garnet Wolseley’s campaign were overturned and many -lives lost. - -[Illustration: THE ROUGH SKETCH OF THE RAPIDS WHICH MR. SHELDON WAS MAKING -WHEN THE DISASTER OCCURRED--IT WAS AFTERWARDS RECOVERED FROM THE WRECK OF -THE BOAT.] - -The first few miles of the cataract were negotiated in safety in the early -morning, and Mr. Sheldon had just finished making a sketch of the rapids -when sudden and dire disaster overtook the party. The boat was a stoutly -built, three-quarter-decked craft, with one huge wing-like sail, and the -pilot had given the sheet into the care of the camel-man, who, to save -himself trouble, tied it, unobserved, to one of the seats. Finding it -necessary to tack across the river, to take the boat through a safe -channel between the rocks, the pilot, to bring the sail over, shouted to -the man to let go the rope. As it was securely fastened to the seat, -however, he was unable to do so, and in an instant, as the strong wind -caught the tacking boat, it capsized, flinging its occupants with -startling suddenness into the water. - -Mr. Sheldon sank, but, after what seemed to him an interminable time, rose -to the surface, and, dashing the water from his eyes, found himself -battling with the full force of the seething current, which threatened -every instant to hurl him against the rocks. He realized immediately that -he would have a hard fight for his life, and at once struck out for the -boat, which was floating on her side some distance off. The only other -alternative was to swim to the nearest shore, but, as that was a quarter -of a mile or more away, Mr. Sheldon knew that he would be unable to reach -it alive in such a terrific current. - -After a desperate struggle he gained the boat and pulled himself up -astride the gunwale. Mr. Seppings Wright had also managed to reach the -boat, which, under their combined weight, was floating but six inches out -of the water; while the pilot and camel-man hung on to the mast and -spar--all of them looking, as Mr. Sheldon says, more like half-drowned -rats than anything else he can think of. - -It was quite evident that their position was critical, their one hope -being to cling to the boat, which was being carried down the Nile at an -alarming rate. At any moment it might go to pieces among the great masses -of rock and huge basalt boulders which projected from the surface of the -river throughout the entire length of the cataract. Indeed, their chances -of ever setting foot again on dry land appeared to be well-nigh hopeless. -It was only with extreme difficulty that they managed to cling to the -little craft as it plunged and kicked in the swirling eddies of the -cataract, and, once at the mercy of the furious torrent, they knew full -well that nothing short of a miracle could save them. - -Both men discarded most of their clothing, for, as the wreck carried them -down the smooth slides over the ledges of rock--for all the world like -weirs--the boat was continually being sucked under the surface of the -water. When this happened and they were unable to retain their hold, it -was only by swimming with all their strength that they were able to -regain the boat when she rose again. Their baggage and cherished war -trophies had all been thrown into the water, and most of them went -straight to the bottom. But here and there they could see saddles, -valises, boxes, helmets, and other articles bobbing about in the current -until hurled against the rocks and destroyed, or detained far behind in -eddies. - -[Illustration: “ON AND ON THE BOAT CARRIED THEM, SEEMINGLY ENDOWED WITH -HUMAN INTELLIGENCE AS IT DODGED THE ROCKS.”] - -On and on the boat carried them, seemingly endowed with human intelligence -as it dodged the rocks and found a way for itself through the intricate -channels of the cataract, while the shipwrecked crew could but cling to -the gunwale with all their strength and trust to Providence for their -ultimate safety. - -In this way mile after mile of the cataract was passed, with Mr. Sheldon -and his companions hoping against hope that the current would take them -near enough to the shore to swim for it. In this, however, they were -disappointed, for their craft kept well in the middle of the stream. -Presently, moreover, they drifted into another and worse rapid, where, -caught suddenly in a huge eddy, they were carried round and round until -the boat, after twisting and ducking in a manner that threatened to break -it up, incontinently sank beneath them--for good and all, it seemed. This -time it was a swim for life, and they were all but exhausted when, dazed -and spluttering, they succeeded in once more regaining the boat, which had -come up, in this instance, behind them. The principal danger they feared -was that the boat, which was continually swinging round, would drift -broad-side on to the rocks and break up completely. - -Again and again, as they continued their mad career, a huge boulder would -loom up threateningly from out a smother of foam, and it looked as though -nothing could save the wreck from final disaster, but invariably the -self-navigated vessel would win a way for itself, at times actually -shaving the very side of the rock. - -During their passage down the cataract the artists saw several native -villages and also some large ghyassas (native boats) drawn up on the bank, -but their frantic signals for help were either absolutely ignored, or the -natives, in their usual way, expended their energy in urging one another -to do something until the capsized boat was far out of sight. - -Hour after hour they raced along--sometimes for a mile or two in -comparatively easy water, but more often struggling to retain their hold -as the vessel rolled and pitched in the rapids. - -The afternoon waned at last, and with evening came a welcome abatement of -the sun’s pitiless rays, but still the anxious journey continued, with -current and rapid in long succession. The strength of the two weary -artists and the natives had by this time all but given out, and, -thoroughly exhausted and battered as they were, it was evident that if -they did not reach the shore before the rapidly-approaching darkness fell -it would certainly be all up with them. Then, providentially, a curve in -the river took the current close into the bank, carrying the boat to -within some thirty yards of the shore. The castaways realized at once that -this was a golden opportunity, but in their weak state it was exceedingly -doubtful if they would be able to swim to the bank. As luck would have it, -however, a number of natives appeared on the spot. They had been watching -the capsized craft with evident curiosity, and now, in response to urgent -signals for help, they put off to the assistance of Mr. Sheldon and his -companions. They easily reached the boat, bringing with them the curious, -wedge-shaped floats, constructed of reed-like sticks of ambatch wood, -which they use in crossing the Nile. With the timely aid of this primitive -form of river craft, Mr. Sheldon, Mr. Seppings Wright, and the natives -reached the bank in safety. Their voyage down the dangerous Hannock -cataract on the side of a derelict boat, lasting as it did from nine -o’clock in the morning until sunset, in the course of which they were -carried through some sixty miles of rock-strewn rapids, is, it is safe to -say, unique as a record of endurance and long-drawn-out peril, fraught -with possibilities of the most alarming description. - -On reaching the shore they sank down dead-beat on the bank. Their -condition was most wretched, such little clothing as they retained -consisting of soaked and tattered rags. They had no means of making a -fire, which they badly needed, as, with the setting of the sun, the -terrific heat of the day was succeeded by the chill night air of the -desert. To make matters worse, the natives either could not or would not -give them anything to eat, and the only food they had of their own was a -tin of preserved ginger, found in a valise which one of the natives -rescued from the current. - -The night, as may well be imagined, was passed in misery and discomfort, -but with the morning the welcome discovery was made that directly -opposite, a mile away on the farther bank, was one of the hospital camps -established by the Egyptian field force. Mr. Sheldon thereupon bribed a -native at the cost of a razor, also found in the valise, to swim the river -and obtain help for the party. - -Now, at length, their troubles were ended. The commandant of the camp -signalled to a steamer, which carried them over to the other side, where -the officer provided them with dry clothes and what they most appreciated, -comfortable beds to sleep in. - - * * * * * - -There are but few artists, even marine artists, who have actually followed -the sea as a profession. A well-known name among the few who have done so -is that of Mr. E. S. Hodgson, whose strong, vigorous illustrations of -seafaring adventures are a familiar feature in The Wide World. A casual -glance at his drawings is sufficient to show that he has an intimate -acquaintance with the life and customs of a sailor, and they are executed -with a realistic touch that could not be attained except by personal -experience. - -Mr. Hodgson, while on a voyage, once met with a serious accident which -nearly cost him his life; and it was entirely owing to the effects of this -mishap that he gave up the sea and decided to become an artist. Mr. -Hodgson has provided us with the following account of what happened to him -for inclusion in our series of “Adventures of WIDE WORLD Artists.” His -ship, the barque _Her Majesty_, six hundred tons register, sailed from the -London Docks bound for the West Indies with a cargo of bricks and rice for -the prisons in Martinique. - -For some weeks nothing out of the ordinary routine of life aboard ship -occurred, _Her Majesty_ bowling along with a favourable wind and making -good headway. - -The north-east trades had only just been reached, however, when bad -weather was encountered, storms and squalls succeeding each other day -after day. - -[Illustration: MR. E. S. HODGSON, WHO FELL FROM THE MAST OF A SHIP TO THE -DECK BELOW, A DISTANCE OF OVER A HUNDRED FEET. - -_From a Photograph._] - -“All hands on deck,” was the order one bleak, dark night when a sudden -blustering gale arose, and Mr. Hodgson, with the rest of the crew who were -keeping their watch below, tumbled up, none too pleased at the prospect of -a night on deck instead of in their bunks. - -“Jump up there, my lad, and make fast the fore-royal,” was the skipper’s -order to our artist. - -“Aye, aye, sir,” he replied, as he made for the foot of the shrouds. The -gale was blowing at a terrific rate, causing the ship to plunge and roll -heavily, and Mr. Hodgson’s task would have been a dangerous one even for a -much more experienced sailor. The order had been given, however, and up he -had to go. - -It was a perilous journey up into the blackness of the night, and he had -literally to feel his way rope by rope, hanging on by hands and toes. The -oscillation of the ship was so violent that he expected every moment to be -flung into the sea, while the thudding of the clewed-up sails threatened -to carry the masts overboard. Higher and higher he climbed until he -reached the top-gallant rigging, where the fury of the gale literally -pinned him to the ropes, but at length he managed to crawl out on to the -yard. The foot-ropes were shallow, making it necessary for him to kneel on -them, but once out on the yard Mr. Hodgson applied himself to the work of -securing the sail with all possible speed, a task which the pitch-darkness -of the night and the plunging of the ship rendered one of extreme -difficulty, perched as he was over a hundred feet above the level of the -deck. He had bent over to gather the madly-slatting canvas when suddenly -it bellied up over the yard and bore him irresistibly backwards with it. -In a flash he saw his danger and, with a frantic clutch, tried to grasp -the sail--missed it--and realized that he was falling! The accident had -happened so suddenly that for the moment he was unconscious of the full -extent of his peril; his brain was unable to take in the terrible -significance of what had occurred, and the situation seemed unreal--a -passing freak of the imagination that would presently be dispelled. Then -the blackness seemed to lessen slightly and, coming slowly towards him, he -could see the top-gallant yard and the men on it busy furling the sail. -Mr. Hodgson says the sensation he experienced was that of floating easily -and gently in the air; he did not seem to be actually falling. Next the -upper topsail yard appeared to pass him, brushing gently by him on its way -“up.” Then, with a vague sense of wonder, he noticed that he could make -out clearly all the details of the deck, which seemed to be rushing up -towards him with a gigantic leap. At once, as his brain cleared, the -appalling truth dawned on him that he was falling down, down, through the -darkness, and with a feeling of unutterable horror he realized that, -powerless to help himself, he must, in the course of the next few seconds, -be dashed to his death on the deck, or to an equally certain fate in the -roaring seas alongside. - -The various objects now began to lose their shape and the darkness closed -in again; then came oblivion, for, mercifully, Mr. Hodgson lost -consciousness before he reached the deck. - -“Poor laddie! I doot he’s gone. This will be sore news to send home.” This -remark, coming to him as though from far away, was Mr. Hodgson’s first -intimation that he was still alive. He recognised the skipper’s voice, -and, opening his eyes, discovered that he was lying on the deck, -surrounded by the entire ship’s crew, with the captain bending over him. -He was in such frightful agony, however, that he promptly fainted away -again, and did not recover consciousness for a week. He then found out -that his leg was fractured in three places, and as the ship was three -weeks’ journey from the nearest port, and there was no doctor on board, -Mr. Hodgson experienced a long period of excruciating agony, and, in fact, -thought that he was dying. - -[Illustration: “HE TRIED TO GRASP THE SAIL--MISSED IT--AND REALIZED THAT -HE WAS FALLING!”] - -What doctoring he did get was of an exceedingly rough and ready -description, and was provided by one of the fo’c’s’le hands who had at one -time had his own leg fractured, and on the strength of this claimed to -know all about broken bones. It may have been that he was specially gifted -in this respect, or it may have been sheer luck, but he certainly made a -very fair job of it, all things considered. - -Three weeks later, when _Her Majesty_ reached St. Pierre, after an -exceptionally long passage out of ninety-eight days, a medical man was -sent for at once, who was not at all satisfied with the methods of his -unprofessional rival. In fact, he announced that Mr. Hodgson would never -be able to walk again, and advised the immediate amputation of his injured -limb. Mr. Hodgson, however, decided that if he was to return home at all -he would do so as a whole man, and flatly refused his consent. Fearing -that the operation would be performed against his will, he declined, for -days together, to touch any of the food offered him, in case it should -have been “doctored” and he would wake up minus his leg. After _Her -Majesty_ had unloaded her cargo and taken another on board she sailed for -home, and Mr. Hodgson went with her, but his troubles were by no means -over, as the ship foundered in a gale and the crew took to the boats. As -may well be imagined, Mr. Hodgson, in his enfeebled state, was in no fit -condition for such an experience, and during the eight days’ journey in -open boats that followed until the island of Santa Cruz was reached his -sufferings were beyond description. - -Mr. Hodgson went to sea for a year or two after his accident, but as the -unskilled treatment of his amateur doctor was not entirely successful the -bones of his leg were never properly set. Although the limb was sound -enough for all ordinary purposes it was not strong enough to stand the -continual strain of a seafaring career, and he accordingly made a fresh -start in life as an artist, with what success is well known to our -readers. - -Mr. Hodgson says, “Until you have known me quite a long time you would not -think that I was any the worse for my accident,” and as he fell over a -hundred feet the wonder is that he was not killed on the spot. His escape -from death was, in fact, little short of miraculous. - - * * * * * - -Mr. Norman H. Hardy’s record of travel is certainly as extensive as that -of any artist whose work appears in the pages of THE WIDE WORLD--or of any -other magazine, for that matter. He was for seven years in Australia as -the special artist of the _Sydney Mail_, and in the course of his -wanderings has visited the South Sea Islands, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, -New Hebrides, New Britain, China, Siam, India, and Egypt. His latest trip -was on a roving commission to Central Africa during the early part of this -year. - -[Illustration: MR. NORMAN H. HARDY, WHO WAS ATTACKED BY A MOB OF -INFURIATED SHEEP-SHEARERS ON STRIKE IN AUSTRALIA. - -_From a Photograph._] - -While in Australia Mr. Hardy met with some exciting experiences in -connection with the New South Wales sheep-shearing strike in 1894, one -which he will always remember as an occasion on which he was lucky to -escape with his life. The strike was brought about by the union -sheep-shearers, who objected to the employment of “free” or non-union men -who were willing to work at a lower rate of pay, and caused wild -excitement throughout New South Wales. The unionists struck work in a body -and resorted to “picketing,” threatening the free labourers with violence -if they persisted in carrying on their work. This affected many thousand -men, as in New South Wales sheep-shearing is a trade of such importance -that the welfare of the entire State was involved. To such a height did -the excitement rise that the bad feeling between the opposing factions -grew to alarming proportions, resulting in serious loss of life, and the -country rang with reports and rumours of outrages perpetrated by the -incensed unionists. The seriousness of the situation was such that the -late Sir George Dibbs, then Premier of New South Wales, issued a -proclamation in which he threatened to call out the military to quell the -riots. - -Burrowang station, in New South Wales, was regarded as the stronghold of -the unionists, and it was recognised that on the turn of affairs there the -ultimate issue of the strike depended. - -Mr. Hardy was accordingly dispatched to Burrowang as the special -correspondent of the _Sydney Mail_, making the journey in the company of -some forty “free” men, under the charge of a Mr. Campbell. The men were a -very mixed lot, drawn from all classes of society, and were sent out by a -non union pastoral organization to take the places of the shearers who -were on strike. - -A special train had been chartered, and as, at six o’clock in the evening, -the closely-packed cars left Sydney it was evident that there was a -feeling of uneasiness among the passengers, for it was well known that the -unionists were in strong force at various points along the line. Some of -the younger men had undertaken the journey from pure love of adventure, -but the older men were mostly out-of-luck miners and shearers who were -genuinely in search of work. While on their way to Sydney a number of them -had already come into contact, at Circular Quay railway station, with some -of the unionists, and a fierce fight had ensued; this fact undoubtedly -helped to increase the alarm of the rest of the men in the train. - -At Emu Plains station, where the train halted, the less resolute were -seized with an attack of panic, and had literally to be driven back into -the cars when the train was ready to start again, where they sat in gloomy -apprehension of danger as they approached nearer and nearer their -destination. - -The journey from Sydney to Burrowang is made, in the ordinary course, by -train to Forbes, and thence by horse-buggies. But as at the latter place -an angry mob of unionists was awaiting the arrival of the “free -labourers’” train, it was decided to resort to strategy to avoid the risk -of an ugly fight between the two parties. - -Accordingly, although, as a blind, coaches and mounted police were ordered -to meet the special train at Forbes, the driver was instructed to stop at -the small station of Droubalgie, where a second contingent of four-horsed -cars, also guarded by mounted police, were waiting to convey the men to -Burrowang, thus avoiding the unwelcome attentions of the rioters at -Forbes, whose anger, when they found they had been outwitted, speedily -brought them into conflict with the police. - -The men were in a tremendous state of excitement as the train drew up at -the station, and many of them were afraid to take their seats in the -buggies; but at length, when it was seen that there were no union men in -sight, Mr. Campbell and Mr. Hardy were able to induce them to take their -seats. There was scarcely room for all, and the cars were uncomfortably -crowded, but Mr. Hardy, owing to the fact that he was popularly supposed -to be a detective from Sydney, was given a box-seat. Just as they were -starting two horsemen, who turned out to be union men who had got wind of -the “blacklegs’” arrival, appeared on the scene. They tried hard to induce -the “free” men to join them, but without success, and finally galloped off -to Forbes, after having announced their intention of informing the waiting -crowds of the arrival of the train at Droubalgie and bringing them in -pursuit. The buggies containing Mr. Hardy’s party thereupon started off -with all speed, led by the mounted police. The going was bad, frequently -over long stretches of quagmire and marsh land, occasional stoppages being -necessary when one or other of the coaches became bogged, sinking -axle-deep in the mud and requiring terrific exertion to move it. - -[Illustration: THE COACHES ON THE ROAD FROM DROUBALGIE TO BURROWANG, -GUARDED BY MOUNTED POLICE. - -_From a Photograph._] - -Another uncomfortable night was spent in the bush, the men camping out by -the side of the coaches, strict silence being enforced in order not to -attract the attention of the unionists. Following an early and meagre -breakfast a start was made, and after a journey of some hours the men -became easier in their minds, as it was thought that the pursuit had been -abandoned. Soon after, however, as the coaches emerged from a belt of -timber and scrub into open ground, it was seen that a number of unionists -were waiting for them. The strikers were all mounted and at once charged, -yelling fiercely, and started pelting the coaches with stones. It looked -as though there was bound to be serious trouble, but the mounted police, -with characteristic promptitude, drew their carbines and prepared to open -fire. - -The attitude of the troopers had its effect on the strikers, who, after a -slight show of resistance, drew off and allowed the coaches to proceed on -their way. Some few of them, however, had managed to get to close -quarters, and hard knocks were exchanged, resulting in injuries to both -sides, happily none of them severe. - -As it turned out, this was the only real excitement that occurred during -the journey, and a few hours later Mr. Hardy and the rest of the party -made their entry into Burrowang. - -A meeting was at once held at which both sides were well represented, Mr. -Hardy attending in the ranks of the non-unionists. The conference provoked -a considerable amount of bad feeling, and was broken up in wild disorder -by the strikers when they found they could not induce the new arrivals to -join them. The presence of the police, however, prevented any serious -fighting, only one man being badly injured. - -[Illustration: THE COACH ON WHICH MR. HARDY WAS RIDING WHEN HE WAS -ATTACKED BY THE STRIKERS. - -_From a Photograph._] - -Mr. Hardy soon discovered that he was a marked man, as it was thought that -he was either a detective or else an official of the non-unionist -organization, and for the next few days it was only by seeking police -protection that he avoided bodily harm at the hands of the mob. The whole -place was in a suppressed state of excitement owing to the attitude of the -strikers, who, it was evident, were liable to break out at any moment, and -neither life nor property was regarded as safe. Several attempts were made -to burn down the wool-sheds, but happily they were in every case -discovered before serious damage was done. Under police supervision the -new men started work, but it was at once apparent that they were, in most -cases, absolutely unfitted for the work of sheep-shearing, and as the -season was by now well advanced skilled labour was soon at a premium. The -situation was critical, and at length the union men were approached and -asked to resume work at their own terms. This offer they unanimously -refused unless every “free” man was discharged. - -At length, having treated the strike from every possible point of view, -Mr. Hardy decided to return to Sydney, and accordingly booked his place on -the next mail-coach running to Forbes, as it was not possible to get a -conveyance to Droubalgie on his way back. The strike was still at its -height, and the route to Forbes and that town itself were strongly held by -the unionists. Mr. Hardy was prepared for an exciting journey, as all -coaches were subjected to the closest scrutiny, and he himself was -suspected of non-unionist sympathies. - -When the Forbes coach drew up at Burrowang for the mails, and the coachman -discovered that he was to have as a passenger Mr. Hardy, who had taken an -active part in the strike, he was in an exceedingly perturbed state of -mind. In spite of his fears, however, the start was made quietly enough. - -The day’s journey through bush and scrub proved uneventful, and towards -evening the coach drew up at a small bush station, where a halt was made -for the night. - -In the morning three more passengers put in an appearance--all non-union -men--and also a new driver, who was to take the reins as far as Forbes, -where, the latest report had it, the strikers were in an extremely -dangerous mood. The new driver, when he had taken stock of his passengers, -appeared to be even more terror-stricken than his predecessor. He warned -them that there was likely to be serious trouble, as the only practicable -road took them close to the unionist camp just outside Forbes. He was -also particularly anxious to know whether any of the party possessed -unionist passes. These were simply small scraps of paper scrawled over in -a peculiar manner in blue pencil; but, as they enabled their holders to -pass through the camps without molestation, they were extremely useful, -and Mr. Hardy remembered with regret that he had been offered one at -Burrowang. Attaching little importance to the offer at the time, however, -he had declined it. - -As the coach neared Forbes two mounted union men were seen, who on the -approach of the vehicle at once turned about and galloped back, with the -object, it was thought, of informing the strikers of its arrival. Their -action proved too much for two of the passengers, who promptly insisted on -being put down. The journey was then resumed with Mr. Hardy and the driver -on the box, and the remaining passenger inside, cowering under the seat. - -As the camp came in sight an outburst of shouting gave ample proof of the -hostile attitude of the strikers, a number of whom at once made a rush to -meet the coach. - -A short distance along the road was a bridge spanning a small creek, and -at this point a strong guard of strikers was posted to hold up all -traffic. On previous occasions their method of procedure had been to haul -out any passengers who were without passes, rob them of everything they -possessed, and, after treating them with the utmost brutality, set them to -work in a menial capacity about the camp. The driver of the coach, when he -found that he was in actual danger, plucked up his courage and, lashing -his horses into a gallop, made a dash for the bridge at a furious pace. - -Mr. Hardy was immediately recognised by the foremost of the strikers, who, -with hoarse cries of rage, shouted to the men on the bridge to stop the -coach at all costs. - -The terrific rate at which the horses were travelling showed plainly that -it was the driver’s intention to ride down any opposition, and this action -provoked such an outburst of fury among the mob that it was perfectly -clear that if they did manage to stop the coach both he and Mr. Hardy, -even if they escaped with their lives, would be treated with savage -violence. - -Mr. Hardy’s presence on the coach--it will be remembered that the men -suspected him of being a detective--had the same effect on the strikers as -a red rag on a bull, and with an ungovernable fury of rage and at imminent -risk of their lives they literally hurled themselves at the horses’ heads, -meanwhile calling on the driver, with the vilest imprecations, to halt. - -By way of reply the Jehu applied the whip to his team still more -vigorously, yelling at the same time at the top of his voice that anyone -who dared to stop the Royal Mail would get ten years for his trouble. His -threat, however, was ignored, and presently the sharp crack of a revolver -rang out. Mr. Hardy felt a bullet whiz past his head, missing him by -inches. The shot was followed the next instant by another, and it was only -the celerity with which he ducked down to avoid the bullet that saved his -life. - -The sound of the firing caused the frightened horses to rear and kick, -knocking down the men who had seized their bridles and almost stopping the -coach. - -The check, however, was only momentary, and as the horses plunged forward -again some of the more excited strikers, who, with wild curses, had -endeavoured to climb the side of the coach to get at Mr. Hardy, were flung -back into the roadway. - -The panic-stricken horses in their mad struggles had dragged the coach -across the road, and nearly over the side of the bridge into the creek -below, but the driver, applying his whip freely, soon had his team under -control again, and, scattering the crowd to right and left, the flying -coach crossed the bridge, followed by a volley of sticks, bottles, and -stones. Mr. Hardy, crouching low over the seat, was struck with such -violence by a brick on the left shoulder that he at first thought it was -fractured, but happily he escaped further injury. With the horses maddened -and excited, the coach dashed at a furious pace along the short stretch of -road to Forbes, where it drew up at a small hotel. The coachman was white -to the lips from the strain, and the inside passenger alighted trembling -with fright, while Mr. Hardy confesses that he felt more than a little -shaky. - -A large crowd soon collected, anxious to learn the cause of the -excitement, and the hotel-keeper, when he heard the driver’s story, -promptly dragged Mr. Hardy indoors, telling him, if he valued his life, to -keep out of sight. The presence of the police prevented an attack being -made on the place, and when things had quietened down a little our artist -was able to slip out unnoticed. After another coach ride, this time a -peaceful one, he made his way back by rail to Sydney. - -In the end the unionists gained the day at Burrowang, going back to work -on their own terms, and thus virtually ending the strike throughout New -South Wales. - -[Illustration: “THE FLYING COACH CROSSED THE BRIDGE, FOLLOWED BY A VOLLEY -OF STICKS, STONES, AND BOTTLES.”] - - * * * * * - -Mr. Inglis Sheldon-Williams is an artist with a grievance. He complains -that, although he has travelled a great deal and roughed it in various -parts of the world--and for so young a man his record is remarkable--he -has not met with a single first-class adventure of a really hair-raising -nature. That he ought to have done so is an obvious fact, he says, and, -indeed, on several occasions he has been perilously near as much -excitement as would last any man a lifetime. In fact, it may be said that -he has been out looking for trouble most of his life, and he is to be -accounted lucky in that he has never found it. - -Early in his career he emigrated to Canada, where for some years he lived -the rough-and-tumble life and endured the manifold hardships that fall to -the lot of a farmer in the back-woods. At the call of art, however, he -returned to England to study, but with the longing for adventure strong -upon him he later enlisted in the Imperial Yeomanry and took part in the -South African Campaign, where he saw some considerable amount of fighting. - -When the war between Japan and Russia broke out, Mr. Sheldon-Williams was -early in the field as the special artist for the _Sphere_, and was in -China and Manchuria during the earlier stages of the campaign. He has -also visited India and attended the Durbar. - -[Illustration: MR. INGLIS SHELDON-WILLIAMS, SOME OF WHOSE VARIED -EXPERIENCES ABROAD ARE HERE RELATED. - -_From a Photograph._] - -On numerous occasions he has congratulated himself that he was at last -placed in a critical situation, only to finish up with an anti-climax. - -When he was in Canada, for instance, he lost himself on the prairie while -in charge of a team of oxen. A terrific blizzard came on, and, as the snow -was absolutely blinding and the temperature many degrees below -freezing-point, all sorts of unpleasant things might easily have happened. -Mr. Sheldon-Williams had visions of wandering about for days in the snow, -starving and frostbitten, with a mere possibility of rescue when he was in -the last stages of exhaustion. But although _he_ was lost, his oxen were -not, and they took him safely home. - -On another occasion he attempted to rescue a duck from the depths of a -well, but fell in himself--into sixteen feet of water. Any other man -placed in this situation would have been drowned without any bother at -all. But Mr. Sheldon-Williams had not been in the water more than a few -minutes before he was discovered and hauled out by the united efforts of -his mother and sister. - -It was just the same in South Africa--no luck at all, simply a lot of -dramatic situations which fizzled out miserably. On one occasion Mr. -Sheldon-Williams’s company occupied a farm-house near Johannesburg, and -the very night on which he was absent, having ridden into town to deposit -some money in the bank, was the one selected by the Boers to attack the -place. His bed was close up against a window through which the Boers fired -volley after volley. Had Mr. Sheldon-Williams occupied it as usual, he -would undoubtedly have been shot! - -On another occasion he got leave of absence from a patrol, as the -neighbourhood was supposed to be clear of the enemy, in order to do some -sketching. The patrol was, of course, ambushed, and the man who took his -place shot dead. - -Another piece of particularly bad luck occurred when Mr. -Sheldon-Williams’s troop was attacking Klip River Kopje. The Boers had -actually been seen on the ridge, and in the morning he was one of the men -selected for scouting purposes. As he rode up the hill it certainly looked -as though he had a fine chance of figuring in the next list of killed and -wounded. But, as Mr. Sheldon-Williams says, “It was not my fault that the -Boers had left overnight!” - -At Diamond Hill it was just the same. A mere handful of Yeomanry, Mr. -Sheldon-Williams among them, held an exposed position throughout the night -in the face of the enemy, determined to do or die. As it happened they did -neither, for the next day they were told that there had been an armistice -on all the time. - -Before Pretoria Mr. Sheldon-Williams was in the firing-line, which was -strung out on the left of the advance. The Boer shell-fire had set the -grass alight, depriving them of anything like adequate cover, and in the -open the rifle-fire from the Boers was nothing more or less than a leaden -hailstorm, but he was not even wounded. Presently the order to withdraw -was given, but, having fallen asleep, he failed to notice it, and was the -last man to leave. As he thus offered himself as a suitable target for a -little individual sniping, a Boer marksman took careful aim at him and -fired. He was a remarkably good shot, but, needless to say, he missed Mr. -Sheldon-Williams, who at that precise moment stooped down to pick up a -discarded rifle, the bullet passing close over his head! All things -considered, therefore, Mr. Sheldon-Williams has certainly received -exceptional treatment at the hands of Dame Fortune, but so long as she -continues to serve him in the same way it is difficult to see that he has -any just cause for complaint. - - - - -_Hunting the Hippopotamus._ - -BY LIEUTENANT PAUL DURAND. - - The hippopotamus--that enormous pachydermatous creature whose shape - reminds us of the antediluvian monsters--was formerly met with over - a large part of Africa, but it has been so pitilessly pursued by - hunters that it is every day becoming scarcer and scarcer. Within a - hundred years, perhaps, the hippopotamus will be numbered among the - vanished curiosities of the animal world. In this article a French - sportsman describes his exciting experiences while in quest of - “river horses,” and furnishes a number of very impressive - photographs. - - -[Illustration: MALE AND FEMALE HIPPOPOTAMI ON THE BANKS OF AN AFRICAN -RIVER. - -_From a Photograph._] - -Not many months ago the habitués of the Jardin des Plantes, the Paris -“Zoo,” were much astonished to notice that one of their favourites--Jack, -the hippopotamus--displayed signs of unwonted irritation. The change in -the animal’s temper had been quite sudden. Hitherto Jack had been -extraordinarily docile; now, whenever it became necessary to make him -change his quarters, either for the purpose of cleaning the cage or to -show him off to better advantage to visitors, he yielded with manifest -surliness. - -Then there came a day when the keeper in whose charge Jack had been for a -great number of years found it quite impossible to induce the animal to -leave his bath for the open enclosure, beyond the bars of which a score or -two of nurses and children were eagerly waiting to feast their eyes upon -him. The more insistent the keeper grew, the more did it become evident -that the great, unwieldy beast was determined to try conclusions with its -human tormentor. On his side the keeper was equally obstinate, but -blandishment being clearly of no avail he resorted to more convincing -measures. - -Poor fellow, he little realized his danger! To the unutterable horror of -those present the animal’s enormous jaws suddenly flew apart, disclosing a -cavernous mouth and throat. By the time those jaws had closed again the -unfortunate keeper had ceased to be numbered among the living! - -Appeased, apparently, by this act of savage ferocity, Jack has since been -as docile as he ever was. His diminutive, befogged brain had, no doubt, -suddenly shown him, as in the mirage of fever, some dimly recognisable -vision of the luxuriant African landscapes he was eternally severed from. -He may--who knows?--have thought of other creatures like himself, lazily -enjoying existence in sun-warmed, muddy streams, browsing at will on -unspeakably luscious herbage. Then, perhaps, an illuminating flash of -lightning rage showed him instantaneously the long tale of wrongs -inflicted upon his dull-witted race by the white man. Because his ivory is -finer-grained than that of the elephant and because it does not so easily -become yellow, because his hide--cut into narrow strips--makes -superexcellent sticks, not an instant’s respite from persecution is -accorded to the poor “river horse.” Pitilessly is he harried and -massacred, the hunter’s rifle vomiting forth a constant stream of -bullets--“dum-dum,” explosive, or steel-pointed--to pierce the massive, -narrow skull. - -As a consequence of this ceaseless warfare the rivers are so rapidly -becoming depopulated that the day cannot be far distant when, like the -American buffalo, the African hippopotamus will be nothing but a memory. -Possibly the domesticated “dark continent” of to-morrow will piously -preserve in some park, national or international, a model herd of the only -surviving representatives of this once prolific race. Learned men will -then bring forward convincing arguments to prove the propriety of -favouring the propagation of such useful animals; but the useful animals -themselves, wearied out by the last years of their persecuted existence, -will probably refuse to breed. Already the hippopotamus is scarce enough -to make us realize some of the good that is in him. The knowledge has come -too late; the “river horse,” it seems, is doomed to disappear. Under these -circumstances, perhaps, the recital of my own recent experiences while -hunting hippopotami may be found of interest. - -To the African traveller the hippopotamus is a species of game -particularly desirable, for its ivory and its hide are both valuable, -while the not inconsiderable danger involved in its pursuit provides the -delicious emotion without which every kind of hunting is tame and insipid. -Moreover, the obligation under which the leader of the expedition lies to -feed his servants and carriers adequately makes one of these enormous -beasts, twelve feet long or so and disproportionately wide, a perfect -godsend. Not only does the hippopotamus furnish a formidable amount of -meat, but that meat has the inestimable merit of keeping fresh much longer -than any other, principally owing to the fact that flies seem to have an -insurmountable horror for it. I must admit that for a long time I -thoroughly sympathized with the flies! Alive, the hippopotamus has a very -peculiar odour, somewhat resembling musk, which discloses the presence of -the animal from afar, when he happens to be to windward of one. In the -flesh of the dead animal this odour--or the taste of it, rather--persists, -and is much appreciated by the natives, though Europeans take a long time -to get accustomed to it; some are never able to support it. - -Once, when I was in the neighbourhood of the Chari River, my men informed -me that a herd of hippopotami were in possession of a series of ponds not -far from our camp. I immediately marched in their direction. As we -approached the water we heard the trumpeting of the leader of the herd, -and almost simultaneously caught sight of him. Erect on a small bank, his -formidable mouth widely opened, he was uttering that characteristic -neighing sound in which there are notes that remind one both of the lowing -of a cow and the roar of a lion. On the surface of the ponds, moving -quickly from place to place, were to be seen what appeared to be large -balks of some kind of dark wood; these were the muzzles of the remaining -members of the herd. - -I succeeded in getting round the water unobserved to a spot where I was -concealed from the animals by a small islet which occupied the middle of -the pond. To this island I transported myself by means of a small and -primitive canoe, which two of my men had brought on the chance of its -being required. - -By this time the old male had taken to the water again. The whole herd -were now vaguely alarmed, for from my place of ambush I could obtain only -fleeting glimpses every now and then of a muzzle momentarily showing -itself on the surface of the water--just long enough for the animal to -take breath--and then disappearing. - -After waiting some time I grew impatient and began to salute each of these -distant apparitions with a shot from my Express rifle. Nothing, however, -is so deceptive as to shoot across water, especially when situated, as I -then was, facing the sun; and I was not successful in lodging even one -bullet in the targets I aimed at. - -I then made up my mind to lie low for such time as might be necessary to -reassure the animals. I had to wait some considerable time--certainly more -than an hour; but finally my patience was rewarded. The old male, still -swimming, was actually coming in my direction. His head, carried well -clear of the water, presented a marvellous target at a distance of about -twenty-five feet from me--a regular tyro’s shot. And yet something or -other made my hand tremble, and as I pulled the trigger I realized that I -had missed! - -I also realized more than this. In order to make the effect of the ball -the surer I had employed my largest gun, and I had given it a full -elephant charge. The shock of the recoil was so tremendous that I was -thrown on my back several paces away, with a feeling as if my shoulder had -been put out of joint. When I got on my feet once more all the natives -were shrieking with laughter, for this misadventure to their white master -appeared to them highly diverting. - -[Illustration: A GLANCE AT THIS TRULY FORMIDABLE PAIR OF JAWS WILL ENABLE -THE READER TO REALIZE HOW IT IS THAT THESE GREAT BRUTES ARE ABLE TO -DEMOLISH CANOES SO EASILY. - -_From a Photograph._] - -Meanwhile, in the pond a terrible scene was in progress. Maddened with -rage and pain, the old hippopotamus was swimming furiously, first in one -direction, then in another. Now he would mount on a sandbank, now plunge -with a tremendous splash into the water, which was reddened with his -blood. He was seeking an enemy on whom he might be avenged, and blindly -pursued his fellows under the water. The ball had struck him in the chest, -whereas the only immediately vital spot in the hippopotamus is situated -just beneath the eye, the ball thence penetrating the brain. My bullet, -though it had not killed him outright, must have caused terrible internal -injuries, for very soon I saw him turn completely over several times, -displaying successively above the surface of the water his head and his -feet. Then, all at once, he sank and did not again reappear. - -[Illustration: THE ALARM! A BOAT HAS APPEARED IN THE DISTANCE, AND THE -GIGANTIC LEADER OF THE HERD ROARS OUT HIS WARNING. - -_From a Photograph._] - -[Illustration: A DEAD HIPPOPOTAMUS WHICH HAS BEEN DRAGGED IN TO THE RIVER -BANK. - -_From a Photograph._] - -A dead hippopotamus invariably sinks to the bottom, and it is only after -an interval which varies between two and eight hours that the body rises -and floats on the surface. For this reason, if you kill a hippopotamus in -a river the current of which is at all rapid, you must, in nine cases out -of ten, give up all hope of ever recovering your quarry. The carcass may -be carried a great distance under the water, reappearing at the surface -miles away, where it furnishes a providential feast to the native -inhabitants on the banks, who call down ironical blessings upon the -infallible rifle of the white man. - -In the present instance there was no necessity for me to trouble about the -carcass, which by the following morning, if not that very evening, I knew -I should find floating placidly on the surface, waiting to be hauled -ashore. In any case it would have been sheer madness to try to recover it -at that moment, as the pond was infested with crocodiles. - -[Illustration: THE HUNTER DRIFTING DOWN STREAM IN A PRIMITIVE NATIVE -CANOE. - -_From a Photograph._] - -That day every member of the unfortunate herd--there were six in all--fell -a prey to my rifle; the massacre occupied about two hours in all. When I -returned on the morrow half-a-dozen enormous carcasses lay stretched out -among the aquatic herbs, some floating on the surface of the water, others -stranded on the banks. - -It was not without difficulty that I persuaded my men to carry out the -ropes necessary for hauling in the carcasses that were out of reach, the -pond, as I have said, being full of crocodiles. One of their number, -however, at last volunteered to do the job. While he was engaged in his -somewhat perilous undertaking the rest of the natives set up a chorus of -the most atrocious howling it is possible to imagine, meanwhile thrashing -the surface of the water, creating by one means and another so discordant -a concert that the saurians, terrified no doubt out of their wits, must -have sought refuge in the most hidden depths, for we saw nothing of them. - -To cut up a hippopotamus is no easy task. In some places the hide is -almost two and a half inches thick, and before you have got through a -hand’s-breadth your knife has completely lost its edge, and requires to be -resharpened. The head and the feet are put on one side to be preserved as -trophies of the chase, while the remainder of the flesh is cut into long, -thin strips which, after they have been dried by hanging them on the -tree-branches, will keep good for a very long time. The ivory of the teeth -and tusks, which is of very fine quality, used to be employed almost -exclusively in the manufacture of false teeth; nowadays it is turned to -all the purposes of ordinary ivory. - -As for the hide, cut into strips it is made into sticks, which are as good -defensive weapons as one could wish to possess. Treated with oil they -become as transparent as tortoiseshell, and look quite pretty. Out of -hippopotamus-hide bullock-drivers likewise make thongs for their whips -which are positively everlasting, and fetch, relatively speaking, quite a -good price. - -In this particular expedition the only trouble I had was that involved in -shooting the animals. Things do not always go off so smoothly, however, -and hunting hippopotamus may turn out to be a more dangerous sport than -almost any other. - -On one occasion, when we were descending the course of the Chari in -canoes, we perceived a number of the great beasts in the river, playing -some clumsy sort of game among themselves and throwing up in the air jets -of water, somewhat similar to those ejected by whales through their -blow-holes. We could distinctly hear the animals’ powerful breathing. - -Carried away by the nearness of the game, I forgot entirely how dangerous -the pursuit of the hippopotamus may become when the hunter is in a boat. - -Meanwhile we were advancing steadily, and every time a huge frontal bone -or a giant muzzle appeared above the level of the water I pulled trigger. -There were frequently quite long intervals, for the hippopotamus is able -to remain over three minutes under water without coming up for breath. - -Presently, out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a female and her -little one on the river bank; then I saw her take to the water. My -attention, however, was riveted on a spot in the river where I had seen an -old male plunge. Every instant I expected him to reappear. - -Suddenly, ere I fully realized what was occurring, I found myself -projected upwards in the air with incredible violence. Before I descended -I had time to see a gigantic jaw open wide, and then close with a snap on -the unfortunate canoe which followed mine. An instant later I was in the -water, striking out madly for the bank, almost persuaded that I felt the -sharp teeth of a crocodile nipping off a thigh or an arm. I was fortunate -enough to reach the shore, however, without mishap. Then we called over -the roll. At first I supposed nobody was missing, but we soon perceived -that our number was one short. We never saw the poor fellow again. -Doubtless he had been injured when the jaws of the hippopotamus closed -over his canoe, and was thus unable to reach the bank. At that moment, -probably, a crocodile was devouring his body at the bottom of the river. - -By dint of a few questions I was able to piece together what had happened. -The female, thinking to defend her young, had thrown herself upon the -canoe behind mine, and almost simultaneously the old male had emerged from -the water with irresistible violence beneath my own craft, pitching me -upwards. It was a very narrow escape, all things considered, and I can -assure you that, for the rest of that day at least, we left the poor -“river horses” in peace. - - - - -The Tale the Doctor Told. - -A CHRISTMAS STORY OF THE WESTERN PLAINS. - -WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED BY STANLEY L. WOOD. - - Concerning this narrative, Mr. Wood writes: “I was a boy at the - time, living with my parents on the plains, the nearest point of - civilization being Fort Hayes, now Hayes City, Kansas. The doctor - had occasion to ride out to our place, and told us of his adventure, - and the sequel, much as I have set it down.” - - -It was Christmas Eve. - -“Hear that wind?” said Dr. McDonnell. “It sounds like a pack of wolves, -the way it howls; and the snow means to keep on coming.” - -“Yes, and stayin’,” answered the cow-puncher, nodding gravely at the -stove. - -“Not a nice night to go walking,” ventured the tenderfoot; “in fact, I -think I’d rather be here. It’d take a bit to get me out--and Christmas -Eve, too. As you say, doctor, the wind _does_ sound like wolves; and no -doubt if one were out they’d find the wolves--or the wolves find them.” - -“No doubt whatever, young feller,” remarked the puncher, dryly. “Wolves -_are_ out this weather for grub; and when they’re out for grub they’re out -on a business trip, dead sure.” - -The doctor bit the end off a fresh cigar. - -“Do you boys want a story?” said he. - -“Go ahead, doc,” replied the cow-puncher, proffering a match. And the -doctor, after lighting up, went ahead to the following effect. - - * * * * * - -Well, boys, it’s a long time ago now--a Christmas Eve, too--way back in -the ’seventies, when things on the prairies were very different. It was -usual in those days to get a brush with the Utes or the Cheyennes pretty -regularly once or twice a month. - -The twenty-third of December was a bright, sunny day, with not more than -three or four inches of snow on the plains. Over the thin snow-crust -galloped Jimmie Dink--“Darky Dink” we called him, because of his swarthy -hair and skin. - -“Doc,” said he, pulling his broncho up short before me, “Wolfie Jim’s -about done. Can’t you go to him? He’s ’most busted up.” - -Poor old Wolfie! I knew why. - -Some time previously he had run in among his dogs, which were attacking a -timber wolf they had turned up on the creek bank. He intended to knife it, -as he had done many a time before, but the old fellow, maybe, was not so -agile as formerly, and things had gone a bit wrong. Anyhow, he’d knifed -the wolf all right, but the wolf bit his foot badly, and Wolfie doctored -it in his own peculiar manner with unlimited bad whisky, taken both -outside and in. Well, the foot didn’t heal, and Wolfie couldn’t understand -it. - -He was one of the old fur-cap-and-buckskin-shirt trappers who never -consulted even a medicine-man, let alone a white doctor. I’d stopped at -his shack once or twice and got a liking for the quaint old fellow, so I -told Darky to get one of the boys to put a saddle on my old horse Pete -while I got my “murder-bag,” as they called my medicine outfit, and was -soon ready for Wolfie and his trouble. - -Away loped Pete over the beautiful glistening prairie; I could have found -my way to Wolfie’s with my eyes shut. - -It occurred to me soon that I was foolish not to have brought a heavier -overcoat, but I knew if I didn’t start on my return journey before sundown -I could either stay with old Wolf or borrow something to make me warm; -besides, although it was December, it was one of those prairie days that -would almost fool a wise man into the belief that it was spring. - -I shall never forget the shock I received as I pushed the door of the -little hut open. I had started with my case full of all I thought I -should want--even to vitriol, in case of a last resource. But Wolfie was -beyond my skill. He lay stretched out on his blankets, dead, with his two -dead hounds beside him. There was a half-empty bottle in his left hand and -a big six-shooter in his right. There were three cartridges in the -revolver and three empty shells. The old man and both hounds had each been -killed with a bullet through the head. - -[Illustration: “HE LAY STRETCHED OUT ON HIS BLANKETS, DEAD, WITH HIS TWO -DEAD HOUNDS BESIDE HIM.”] - -I examined the injured foot and understood the whole thing. - -Wolfie had doctored himself, but the wound had got worse and worse, and at -last the old fellow, in awful, never-ending pain, had drunk himself -half-dead and completed the work with his trigger finger. - -Meanwhile the weather had been growing gradually colder, and the wind -started to moan as I fastened the door from the outside, after quitting -that abode of death. The sky, too, was rapidly darkening, and Pete shook -his head up and down and stamped uneasily. - -Mounting, I rode off; but I had not been going long when, away in the -distance, I heard the dismal, long-drawn howl of a prairie wolf, then -another, and another. Not till that moment did it flash upon me what an -all-round fool I was. - -I had brought no revolver with me. It had started to snow, evening was -drawing in, and there were those gaunt brutes in the distance--yet I had -no protection against either the weather or the wolves. I touched up old -Pete, and we started to travel fast for home. - -We had not gone more than a mile farther before a real, genuine blizzard -sprang up. How it came down! Waves, absolute waves of snow, whirred, cut, -and beat about my face, while the wind howled and shrieked dismally. - -Then I did the worst, most foolish thing a man could have done. I tried to -guide old Pete! I steered him, and, though Pete knew better, he obeyed; -and so, between a good old horse and a fool of a young man, we made a fine -mess of it. We got lost, tangled up, with the snow whirling about us in -sheets. Every minute it got deeper and thicker, and at last poor old Pete -staggered, tried vainly to right himself, fell over, and collapsed. - -Try as I would I couldn’t get him up, and--well, I fear I lost my nerve, -what with the blinding snow and the distant howl of those wretched wolves. - -As the snow beat down upon me, piling up pitilessly over the now -stiffening form of the poor old horse, I thought it time to move on. To -stay where I was meant being frozen to death, to go on might mean the -same; but there was just a chance, and I stumbled forward and took the -chance. - -Heaven only knows how long I ploughed and pushed through those awful -snow-drifts with the falling flakes eddying about me in clouds; I lost all -account of time. I went stumbling blindly forward until I seemed not to be -myself, but just some machine without feeling or hope, mechanically -pulling one foot before the other, and groping through the freezing dark. - -I was just beginning to experience a drowsy, comfortable feeling, -when--bump!--the little sense left in me was nearly knocked out as my head -struck against something hard. - -That deadly, comfortable feeling left me at once. I felt about in the -darkness and touched boards. It was a cabin! With my half-frozen hands I -hammered at the woodwork, and I shall never forget my feelings as a door -opened and I was pulled in out of the storm, the door banging to behind -me. - -I couldn’t speak for a minute, and my eyes were blurred coming in from the -darkness and snow, but when they got accustomed to what little light there -was I didn’t feel I wanted to say much. - -Before me was a giant. He must have stood a good six-foot-six, but all I -could see of his face was his eyes. He was masked in what was called in -those days a “storm-cap,” which completely hid the face of the wearer, -showing only the eyes. A long, heavy overcoat, with collar upturned, -reached to his ankles. - -“Having arrived here, stranger,” he remarked, in an unpleasant, metallic -sort of voice, with a half laugh, “and it now being near Christmas Eve, -I’d be interested in knowing how you managed to bump up against this -building.” - -This was not the sort of greeting one would have expected under the -circumstances, and the man’s language did not smack of the prairie, but I -was too weak after my exertions and too thankful to be out of the storm to -notice trifles, and so I told him as briefly as possible that I was lost, -and should be grateful if he would give me shelter for the night. - -“Shelter?” said he. “Shelter? Yes, why not? All the shelter a man could -want. I wouldn’t turn a dog out such a night like this. Yes, stranger, you -can sleep here to-night, nice and quiet. I’ve nothing to give you to eat, -but there’s whisky here. Being nearly Christmas Eve, drink up, and -then--_go_ up!” - -As he spoke he poured whisky from a demi-john into two tin mugs and picked -up a lantern. Then, for the first time, I saw there was a rough ladder, up -which he went to a room above. - -Now all shacks, dug-outs, and cabins I had seen hitherto were of only one -storey. There was something uncanny about the man and the place, and tired -and knocked up as I was I did _not_ drink the whisky; I just wetted my -lips with it as my host’s feet clumped around above, and ere he descended -I carefully poured the contents of the tin cup into the ramshackle stove. - -“Now, up you go and sleep the sleep you’ve asked for,” said he, when he -came down. “A merry Christmas to you!” With that he tossed off his whisky -at a gulp. - -Up I went through the rough opening; it was not a trap-door, for there was -no flap to shut down. I found myself in a kind of loft, in which was a -wooden apology for a bed, heaped over with some evil-smelling blankets. -All this I saw by the light of a guttering candle stuck in the neck of a -cracked bottle. Though I was very, very weary, all thoughts of going to -sleep went out of my head. I distrusted that sinister-looking fellow -below. - -Pulling my flask from my pocket, I look a long drink, and the neat spirit -gradually warmed me. Then I sat down in the semi-darkness to think. - -Suddenly an inspiration came to me. Taking out my medicine-case I quickly -charged a syringe with whisky. This frail thing, in case of attack, was my -only weapon, with the exception of the cracked bottle holding the candle. - -As I crouched there in the attic there came crowding into my memory -stories of lonely travellers lost on these plains who had left not even a -button to tell how or where they had gone. There had been talk during the -last month of at least three men, settlers near the Fort, who had -mysteriously vanished, leaving not the faintest clue to their whereabouts. -At first their disappearance had been put down to raiding parties of Utes, -but careful scouting by some of the best men disproved this theory. - -Why should these thoughts come to me now? I asked myself, uneasily. Could -that villainous-looking giant below have had anything to do with the -disappearances? Lying prone, I peered cautiously through the trap, -striving to see what was going on below. Indistinctly I saw the big man -fill his tin cup three times and drain it off, muttering the while. Then, -struck by a sudden inspiration, I went back to the bed, pulled off my -coats, and heaped them up in a bundle on the bed to resemble as much as -possible a sleeping form. Next I took off my boots and hat and placed them -also in such a position, partly covered with the blankets, as to suggest -the idea that, worn out with fatigue, I had thrown myself down to sleep -fully clothed. Then I blew out the light and, keeping the bottle in my -hand, crept again to the opening by the ladder head. - -What I saw made my blood, which was chilly already, go colder yet. - -The big man was taking off his overcoat. He threw it to the floor, and -from his waist detached a belt from which dangled a heavy revolver and a -long bowie-knife. The latter he drew from its sheath, running his thumb -caressingly along the edge; then he laid it on the table. - -Crossing the room he returned with an iron bar about three feet long. I -heard it ring as he dumped it down on the table near the knife. - -Then, tossing off more whisky--this time from the demi-john--he snatched -up the bar and lantern and unsteadily approached the ladder. So my -half-formed suspicions were correct; he meant to murder me! - -With my heart beating like a sledge-hammer, I silently crouched behind the -bed. - -Never, if I live to be a hundred, shall I forget the next few minutes. He -emerged through the opening, tiptoed to the bed, swung up the bar, and -with a dull thwack brought it down just where my head might have lain. -Again and yet again he thrashed and beat the tumbled clothes. Then, as he -paused, from my place of concealment I squirted the whisky from the -syringe straight into his eyes. Dropping the bar, he staggered and rubbed -at his eyes, swearing horribly. As he reeled, half blinded, I sprang up -and brought the bottle down with all my strength on his head, at the same -time giving him a sideways push that sent him crashing through the opening -to the floor below. - -[Illustration: “I SENT HIM CRASHING THROUGH THE OPENING TO THE FLOOR -BELOW.”] - -I was trembling in every limb with excitement, but I managed to get my -boots, hat, and coats on. - -Then I cautiously descended. I had no doubt that the fall had killed him, -but I felt no pity; it was either his life or mine. Greatly to my -surprise, however, the giant was still breathing. He lay huddled up at the -ladder-foot, with blood on and about him. I tied his hands with a rope, -and then, turning him on his chest, cut away the back part of his flannel -shirt collar with his own villainous bowie-knife. Next, taking the small -phial of vitriol from my case, I spilt a few drops on the back of his bare -neck. The awful burning partly restored his senses, and he moaned. I had -no compunction, but proceeded to tear the visored cap from his head. - -I have never seen such a fiendish face in all my wanderings! The lower -part was covered with a thick jet-black beard and moustache, but the face, -taken altogether, was that of a murderer--the most horrible, -wolfish-looking visage I have ever gazed on. Like a cornered wolf, even as -he slowly revived he struggled and snapped to break the cords that bound -him, cursing savagely in his semi-drunken frenzy. - -Many a man would have shot him out of hand with his own weapon; but I -could not bring myself to that. I had left an indelible mark on him, -however, that he would carry with him to the grave, and should we ever -meet again there could be no disguising those awful eyes and his enormous -proportions. But, unless I killed or disabled him, it was obviously unsafe -to remain in the cabin. The storm had now ceased, so taking the villain’s -revolver, and leaving him struggling to unfasten his bonds, I set out to -try to find my way to the Fort, hoping against hope that I should soon -sight some familiar landmark. - -How long I blundered over the snow before I lost consciousness I do not -know, but I remember it flashed upon me once that this was the dawn of -Christmas Eve! Then I felt myself getting drowsier and drowsier. - -When I recovered my senses it had to be explained to me how I came to be -in bed back at my old quarters at Fort Hayes, minus two toes, which I had -bequeathed to “Jack Frost” during my stroll over the snow-clad prairies. - -A merciful Providence and three friendly Utes had found me and brought me -in. If it had not been for Black Cloud, one of the three Indians, and a -pretty big chief in his way, this story would never have been told. He was -the means of saving my life, and I thankfully presented him with the big -revolver I had taken from the rascal at the hut. - -Guided by Black Cloud, some of the boys and scouts a few days later -located the spot where the Indians had found me unconscious, slowly -freezing to death. From there they hunted in all directions, and at last -found the two-storeyed hut--empty. - -It was miles from the way I ought to have taken when I left the trapper’s -shack, which showed that trying to guide my poor old horse was the worst -thing I could have done. - -Later, when the weather broke and I was able to get about, I got two of -the boys to ride over to the hut with me. - -My tale had sent search-parties scouring the countryside to try to run the -would-be murderer down, but they never got him. What made the settlers and -the sheriff more than keen to catch him was the gruesome discovery the two -scouts and I made at the hut--three male skeletons, with their skulls -smashed in, roughly buried in the earth! I thought of the iron bar and -shuddered at my narrow escape. - -Three years after I happened to stroll into a crowded court-house in San -Jaleta, Southern Texas. A man was on trial for the murder of a lonely -rancher, and seemed likely to be acquitted, for the evidence was too -slight to convict him. There was no doubt that the motive of the crime had -been robbery; and there was no doubt, when I’d had a good look at the -prisoner, as to who he was. He was clean-shaven now, but, nevertheless, I -remembered those awful eyes. Making my way to the front, I asked -permission to give evidence for the prosecution. - -After I had told my story--although it took five men to master the -prisoner--the sheriff at last laid bare the scar on the neck where my -vitriol had branded him the night of the storm. - -Some of the crowd in court were pretty well worked up over the manner in -which the lonely ranchman had been done to death, and the tale I told did -not help to calm them. That night the jail at San Jaleta was “held up” by -an armed mob, and when the sun rose it shone down on the body of a giant -dangling from a telegraph pole at the end of a lariat. - -That’s my story, and every word of it is true. I am afraid it’s taken a -bit long in the telling, but I never hear the wind howling and moaning on -a Christmas Eve as it does to-night without thinking of that other -Christmas Eve on the Kansas plains so many years ago. - - - - -A White Woman in Cannibal-Land. - -BY ANNIE KER. - - Some incidents of a lady’s life in the wilds of New Guinea. Miss Ker - went out to Papua--as the country is now called--attached to a - mission, and describes the many strange, amusing, and exciting - experiences she encountered during her seven years’ sojourn among - the natives, who, not so very long ago, were always fighting and - much addicted to cannibalism--a practice which still prevails among - the wild tribes of the unexplored interior. - - -II. - -In many Papuan villages the visiting magistrates have raised one of the -chief men to the rank of local policeman, rewarding him with the princely -salary of ten shillings per annum (usually paid in tobacco) and two -uniforms. The latter consist of a neckless tunic with long sleeves, and a -strip of dark blue cloth covering the wearer from waist to knee. A flaming -red belt lends colour to the costume. - -The Wedau policeman lived a peaceful life on the whole, though when an -energetic magistrate swooped suddenly down on the village the -functionary’s life was, for the time being, scarcely worth living. -Luckily, the magistrate’s little vessel could be seen directly it rounded -the cape and long before it had crossed the bay, so that there was time -for preparations. Women set frantically to work with handfuls of stiff -stalks, which served as brooms, and swept fallen leaves into heaps, which -were immediately burned. Children buzzed backwards and forwards, carrying -loads of stones and rubbish, which they threw into the swamp on the beach. -“Gabemani” (Government) had ordered it to be filled in long ago, but the -villagers preferred swarms of malaria-disseminating mosquitoes rather than -exerting themselves to do away with the cause of them. - -[Illustration: THE HOUSE AT WAMIRA WHERE THE AUTHORESS LIVED FOR SEVEN -MONTHS, SPENDING AN EXCITING TIME OWING TO “EVIL SPIRITS” AND NATIVES -“RUNNING AMOK.” - -_From a Photograph._] - -The magistrate would find the village suspiciously neat and clean, and -after trying a few cases of petty theft would sail away satisfied, leaving -the policeman to distribute small portions of the tobacco he had received -and to enjoy his hard-earned rest. - -Another of the officer’s duties was to make journeys into the interior and -capture murderers, when such were heard of, and convey them down the coast -to Samarai to be tried. I saw one insignificant-looking little man on his -way to jail, whom I knew to have committed a cruel murder. A white man -named Sexton, a “fossicker,” whom we had entertained at the mission -station, had gone a few miles inland in quest of gold. One day, while -seated at his midday meal, he was seized from behind and his throat cut. -It seemed that a native of the village had died while working for a white -man; therefore, in accordance with Papuan ideas of justice, the next man -of that race who came along had to be slain in revenge for the native’s -life. - -The first photograph shows a house at Wamira where I lived for seven -months soon after my arrival in Papua. The missionary for whom it was -built was going on furlough, and during her absence I was in charge there. -It was situated on the edge of a coral cliff which rose straight up out of -the sea, so that the Pacific Ocean was, so to speak, at the door. Close by -was another house, used as a dormitory for the village girls who came as -boarders to the mission. There was also a boys’ dormitory and a kitchen. -This kitchen one day caught fire and was burnt to the ground in a very -little while. I rushed in and saved the pudding from the oven, while the -pupil-teacher, a Papuan boy, brought out our tin of kerosene before it -ignited. The kitchen was the only building that suffered, and the -villagers promptly built me a new one for five shillings, labour and -materials included! From this it will be obvious that there is not much -scope for a fire-insurance agent in Papua. - -My house was divided into two apartments, a bed and a sitting room, and -was built of native timber, the walls being composed of plaited coco-leaf -and the roof of grass. The floor was made of slender strips of wood laid -side by side, and, though airy, was anything but durable. It was slightly -discomposing to see a small boy enter at the doorway and then suddenly -disappear through a gap in the floor, though, having sufficient presence -of mind to spread out his arms, he was able to hold himself in that -position until someone could rescue him. For windows I had openings in the -leaf walls, closed when necessary by means of wooden shutters. - -Soon after I took charge the girls became much alarmed on account of some -midnight visitor who, they said, had tried to get into their house. The -natives were inclined to think the intruder was a prowling “bariawa,” or -spirit, and there were frightened faces and hushed voices among them as -night fell. Unfortunately, I was a heavy sleeper, and was usually only -roused by the girls’ shrieks after their mysterious visitor had left. A -few of the elder boys sat up one night, but saw nothing. Some barbed wire -was sent me, and complicated and formidable entanglements were constructed -between the girls’ house and mine. Soon after they had been placed there, -however, when we were congratulating ourselves that we were safe at last, -a little village child who was playing near fell over the wire and -severely injured himself, so I had to order the entanglement to be taken -away. One of the missionaries then lent me a revolver, but I am sure I -should never have been able to use it, even on a spirit. However, I showed -it to the old chief, and published the news of my acquisition, and soon -afterwards we were relieved to find that our mysterious visitor came no -longer. - -Another source of excitement at Wamira was a kind of madness which -attacked a man now and again, a state of exaltation somewhat resembling -the Malay “amok.” At first the victim only sat in the house suffering from -“heat in the heart.” Then, after muttering unintelligibly, he would seize -a handful of spears, rush out of the house, and career wildly through the -villages, flinging the spears to right and left and shouting as he ran. -Women would come shrieking to my house and take refuge inside the fence, -hoping to be safe with the “foreigner.” Once one of these half-crazed men, -exhausted after an attack, came up the path and demanded water. I gave him -some particularly nauseous medicine, which he drank greedily, afterwards -asking for more. On another occasion one of them, who had already aimed a -spear at a villager, came on to the school, where the pupil teacher and I -had our flock of fifty or sixty children. Seeing him approaching, however, -we hastily closed and barricaded the doors, standing the siege until the -old chief influenced our would-be assailant to withdraw. - -When my predecessor returned to her work a somewhat similar house to the -one I have described was built for me at Wedau, where I remained for -nearly two years. Ordinary village houses are built in very much the same -style: they possess only one room, and the supporting piles are higher. -The means of access to the interior is a sloping pole. These odd -“staircases” have slight notches cut in them, which afford very slight -purchase for a shod foot, though the nimble natives run up and down them -easily enough. - -While I was living at Wamira news was brought of a murder in the hills. -The girl who came to tell me said that her uncle had taken a journey there -to obtain betel-nut. On the way he heard voices and promptly hid himself. -From his place of concealment he saw two men attacking a third. One held -the victim’s arms while the other cut his throat with a “gatigati” (long -knife). As he did so the dying man cried, “Au dobu, au dobu!” (“Oh, my -home!” or, literally, village). The hidden onlooker, being a Papuan, did -not dream of interfering. His “skin trembled,” he said, and he hastily -made his way back to safety. - -[Illustration: A TYPICAL PAPUAN HUT. - -_From a Photograph._] - -The village policeman went out to capture the miscreants, and was -successful in bringing one to punishment. The crime, it was discovered, -had been committed for a very simple reason. The dead man had been -visiting a sick friend, who was the murderer’s brother. The invalid -received every kindness from his friend, but eventually, in the course of -nature, died. Therefore, argued the murderer, it was clear that the -visitor had bewitched the sick man and caused his death, and his own life -must necessarily be forfeited. - -The hill-folk generally only came into prominence through committing -murders or other crimes. Being removed from the coast, and able to hide in -many obscure caves and lurking-places, they naturally stood less in awe of -the power of Government than the coastal tribes. - -One day we were visited by two hill-women who had run away from their -husbands. Their bodies were covered with hideous raised scars, the result, -they assured us, of spear-thrusts inflicted on them by their inhuman -partners. They were in much fear of being pursued, but were given shelter -for the night at Dogura, the head station on the hill behind Wedau, where -I was living. - -That same evening I was startled by cries from the village. The natives -called to me to bring my lantern, and I ran down to find the place in an -uproar. The men were rushing about, searching and looking up in the trees, -while the women were huddled together, talking excitedly. I managed to -make out that the husbands of the two fugitives had traced them as far as -Wedau. One of the men had lurked outside a house in the village, and, so a -woman averred, would have speared her as she came out, thinking her to be -his missing wife. Fortunately for herself, however, she spoke, and he, -knowing her by her voice to be a Wedauan, ran off in the darkness. - -The villagers searched in vain, and the tumult subsided, but rumours soon -reached us that the baffled husbands were collecting a force and intended -to visit the head station at night and carry off the recalcitrant wives by -force. - -It was not thought safe for me to sleep alone in the village, so I went up -the hill to add one more to the crowded house. Our girl boarders were -packed in dozens into the different bedrooms, having forsaken their native -dormitories for the night, and I was accommodated with a cane lounge. It -was not furnished with mosquito curtains, and I decided by morning that -even the hill men’s spears could scarcely be sharper than the bites of the -vicious insects. No invaders arrived, however, so we put the story of -their intended raid down as an idle rumour. The women stayed with us for -some weeks and then slipped away. Some months later a policeman from up -the coast told me that the brothers of one of the injured wives had taken -summary vengeance on her husband, who paid for his cruelty with his life. - -We got excellent drinking water from a little stream, though care was -necessary in selecting the place from which to draw it, as the village -pigs were only too apt to bathe indiscriminately. The natives used -water-bottles made from hollowed coco-nut shells, fitted with a stopper of -twisted leaves, and carried six or seven at a time in a netted bag -suspended from the head. One of my girls, with a fine disregard for -proportion, styled them “New Guinea tanks.” - -[Illustration: “TOMMY” AND “TEDDY,” THE TWO LITTLE MITES WHO WERE SAVED BY -THE MISSIONARIES FROM BEING BURIED ALIVE. - -_From a Photograph._] - -The natives of Papua have some very curious superstitions, giving rise to -barbarous customs. For instance, a woman gave birth to twin boys. The -mother died, and the villagers, coming to the conclusion that the infants -were accursed, decided to bury the hapless babies alive on the woman’s -grave! This terrible deed would actually have been carried out had not a -native who had come under mission influence told his teacher what was -intended before it was too late. The missionary was thus able to save the -little mites, who were taken care of by a nurse. She is seen in the -annexed photograph with “Tommy” and “Teddy” when they were a year or two -old. Other babies, for various superstitious reasons, have been killed at -birth or hung in trees to die a slow and terrible death from starvation. - -[Illustration: A PAPUAN SERPENTINE--NATIVE BOYS SAILING THEIR HOME-MADE -BOATS IN A LAKE. - -_From a Photograph._] - -A favourite pastime with the village boys was sailing model boats, which -were surprisingly well made. The picture at the bottom of the page shows -lads sailing their “sikunas” (schooners) at a Papuan “Serpentine,” for all -the world like youngsters at home. - -[Illustration: PAPUANS FISH-SPEARING. - -_From a Photograph._] - -Favourite sports, though their object was utilitarian enough, are -fish-spearing and pig-hunting. The natives are wonderfully quick in -detecting the presence of a fish under the surface, and the many-pronged -fish-spear, shooting violently downwards, is more often than not recovered -with a brightly-coloured victim impaled upon it. The snapshot above shows -a group of Papuans, spear in hand, watching for fish in the shallow -water. - -The lower picture shows a number of fishing-nets hung up to dry. These are -made, of course, by the natives themselves. The twine is woven from the -peelings of liquorice-stalks netted together, the floats are light pieces -of wood, and the sinkers are cockle shells in which holes have been bored. - -[Illustration: A NATIVE WAITING TO SPEAR DRIVEN PIGS. - -_From a Photograph._] - -Pig-hunting is carried out in a very thorough fashion. Stout nets are -placed across the forest paths and clearings, and one party of natives -then beat the jungle, driving the game before them, while the spearmen -wait, as seen in the photograph, for the arrival of the quarry. - -[Illustration: DRYING NETS--THE NETS ARE MOST INGENIOUSLY MADE FROM THE -PEELINGS OF LICORICE-STALKS, WITH WOODEN FLOATS AND COCKLE-SHELL SINKERS. - -_From a Photograph._] - -Although stationed in a village, I often took short trips to other places, -travelling either by canoe or whale-boat. The native canoes are made of -logs, hollowed out with much labour, having an outrigger attached and a -small platform lashed between the two at either end. This the -passengers--myself and often Maebo, my little girl friend--shared with the -cargo. Canoes were of many shapes, varying according to the tribe of the -maker. Canoe travelling was idyllic in calm weather. Sometimes a turtle -would lift his lazy head and take a long look at us before diving, and we -could gaze far down into the depths of the crystal water and watch -brilliantly-hued fish disporting themselves among the branches of still -more dazzlingly-tinted coral, while the golden sunlight filtered mistily -down in cloudy rays. The crews paddled well, and we crossed the bay in -fine style, the men being quite content with a penny each as wages. - -[Illustration: A GROUP OF NATIVE CANOES--THE AUTHORESS MADE MANY TRIPS IN -THESE FRAIL CRAFT. - -_From a Photograph._] - -But, alas! it was very different in rough weather. Tired and hungry, -perhaps several miles from my destination, the captain would call to me, -“Misika (my native name), you’ll have to get out and go by the beach, for -the wind is rising.” My heart would sink, and I would beseech him to make -the crew paddle on; but the wind caught us up, and the waves broke -mercilessly over the little vessel, which was hugging the shore. Then, -perforce, after a thorough drenching, I got out, the canoe was hauled up, -and we tramped wearily home, the captain carrying me over the streams on -his back. This was rather a pleasant mode of crossing; but when the stream -was very deep I had to sit on the boy’s shoulders and hold on to his chin, -which--I speak from bitter experience--is a very unsafe position. Once, -with myself thus perched on high, we attempted to cross a wide river at -the mouth of which some natives were fishing with a drag-net. It so -happened that when we reached mid-stream--I holding only too insecurely to -a wobbly chin--something very special, I don’t know what, occurred in -connection with the fish, and we were ordered to remain where we were! It -seemed impossible, but there I remained, clinging desperately to my human -steed, until the slow old fishermen had gathered their net in and--to my -rather malicious satisfaction--discovered not a single fish in the meshes. - -[Illustration: MAEBO, MISS KER’S LITTLE TRAVELLING COMPANION. - -_From a Photograph._] - -My little girl companion, Maebo, who is seen in the annexed photograph, -had much charm of manner, but was not exactly pretty. She wore, as did all -Wedauan woman, several skirts of shredded coco-nut leaf; she had even, -while teeth, pretty hands and arms, and a satiny brown skin. On the many -occasions when she shaved her head, and even her eyebrows, her appearance -was certainly not improved. She was a nice child, however, and accompanied -me on many journeys. - -Maebo was betrothed to a village boy by her father when she was only ten -years old, though that did not prevent many others from wishing to marry -her. But she would have none of them, not even the highly educated, who -applied for the honour of her hand by letter. She would not marry out of -her village, she said, for fear of her life being taken by a sorcerer. A -short time ago her _fiancé_ became her husband, and so I lost my -travelling companion. - -Suicide is committed in Papua for what would seem very inadequate reasons -to white people. For instance, if a man goes on a long journey without -bidding farewell to his nearest relatives, one of them may feel it -incumbent on him to climb a coco palm and fling himself off it to his -death. A village girl who was very anxious to accompany me on a trip up -the coast finally reluctantly refused to go. If she did, she said, her -father would “throw himself from a high tree.” - -Ridicule and opposition are always very trying to a Papuan, and a sad case -of double suicide took place in consequence of the latter. - -A girl and a young man became much attached to each other and met -regularly. Each morning, however, the girl’s father and mother would say -to her, “Why do you talk to that boy? He is poor, and has not enough food -to give you.” At the same time the boy’s parents told him continually how -foolish he was to have anything to do with a girl who would never do good -work for him at the gardens. The constant opposition told on the unhappy -couple and at last the girl’s patience wore out. She said to her -lover--the speech is truly characteristic of a Papuan--“The tongues of our -people will never be silent. Let us cease to live, and their talk will be -done!” And the boy agreed. - -The next night they decked themselves in their best ornaments--necklaces, -shell armlets, and sweet-scented flowers--so that they appeared as though -dressed for a feast. Then they took a piece of tough jungle creeper and, -having made nooses, bade farewell to each other. They were found when -morning came hanging dead in the same tree. - -[Illustration: THE MISSION LAUNCH UNDER REPAIR--PRACTICALLY EVERY KIND OF -MISHAP SHORT OF BEING BLOWN UP HAS BEFALLEN THIS HARD-WORKED LITTLE -VESSEL. - -_From a Photograph._] - -The mission launch was, on the whole, my quickest mode of travelling--that -is to say, as long as it was whole. As seen in the accompanying picture, -it is being repaired after one of its many mishaps. It would be quite -beyond me to relate all the adventures that have befallen it during its -period of existence. It has not, I believe, been blown up yet, though it -came perilously near it when on fire once, for an over-zealous native, -imagining the benzine tank to hold water, was only hindered just in time -from chopping it open with an axe! - -(_To be concluded._) - - - - -SHORT STORIES. - - The second instalment of a budget of breezy little - narratives--exciting, humorous, and curious--hailing from all parts - of the world. This month we publish a humorous Canadian episode and - a terrible affair which occurred on an American train. - - -A BLUFF THAT WORKED. - -BY J. K. STRACHAN, J.P., OF BRITISH COLUMBIA. - -This amusing little story was told to me by Mr. John Wood, in the Tecumseh -Hotel at Winnipeg. He happened to see there the character I have called -“Slippery Dick,” whom he had known in 1881 or 1882 at a small village near -London, Ontario, where he then lived, and the sight of the man recalled -the facts to his mind. As most of the parties concerned are still living, -I have thought it advisable to alter the names. - - * * * * * - -Dick Small was his name, but we called him “Small Dick,” or “Slippery -Dick,” on account of his small and mean ways. Well, one night Sam Smart -and I and several other boys were in Steve Brown’s bar, “talking horse,” -when old Dick came meandering in, and, of course, chipped in with some of -his usual boasting. - -“I’ve got the best little mare in the settlement,” he told us, “and don’t -you forget it. I’m game to back that little bit of horseflesh for fifty -dollars for a mile, twice round the half-mile track, against anything you -can produce in these parts. Who’s got anything to say? I’ll run her now, -to-morrow, or any time.” - -“You ain’t produced the collateral,” put in Sam, quietly. - -With that old Dick thrust his hand into his back pocket and drew out quite -a wad. Counting out five ten-dollar bills, he put them on the counter. - -“Now, Steve, you’re stakeholder,” he said. “Who’s going to cover ’em? It’s -put up or shut up.” - -Sam got up, and, putting a fifty-dollar bill on top of Dick’s, replied, -“I’ll jest take that bet. Hold the stakes, Steve.” - -“All right,” said Steve, and pushed the money into his safe. - -The boys all looked at Sam, puzzled like, and old Slippery was wondering -what it all meant. - -“Didn’t know you had a horse, Sam,” he remarked. - -“You don’t know everything, Dick,” returned Sam, “but I ain’t surprised, -for I only brought him home to-day. Well, let’s settle the time for the -match. To-morrow morning at eight o’clock will suit me. I don’t want a -crowd to know too much of my horse’s points, so we’ll do it on the quiet.” - -The old man agreed to this, and Sam went on: “And now, as I’ve got to see -some business, I’ll say good-bye, boys. Say, Steve, a word with you before -I go.” - -Steve and Sam went into the back room, and in about five minutes Sam came -out and walked off. - -The boys and Slippery hung around, and you could see the old miser was -uneasy about his fifty dollars. So he began a-trying to pump Steve. “Say, -Steve,” said he, “what kind of a horse has Sam got?” - -“Don’t know; ain’t seen him,” replied Steve. - -“You don’t know anything about him, I suppose?” inquired Dick. - -“Only what Sam told me, and I don’t suppose he wanted me to repeat it. But -as the bet’s made I don’t see that it matters. He told me that he covered -fifteen miles with the horse yesterday in less than three-quarters of an -hour, and he landed it fresh as paint; hadn’t turned a hair.” - -“Gee whizz!” ejaculated Slippery, in dismay. “I’m a goner! I don’t know -what I’d better do. I’ve a note to meet at the bank to-morrow, and if Sam -wins my money I sha’n’t be able to come up to time on the note, and it’ll -go to protest. Everybody’ll know it and my credit will be gone. What a -fool I was!” - -“Well, Dick,” said Steve, “I’m sorry for you, but it’s your own fault; -nobody asked you to bet. Say, Sam’s not a bad sort when he’s treated -right; couldn’t you tell him you forgot an important engagement for -to-morrow, and ask him to agree to draw the bet? Maybe he would if you put -it to him right.” - -“Think he would, Steve?” asked Dick, doubtfully. “Wonder where I could -find him?” - -“I think I know where he could be located, and if you like I’ll send my -boy Jim to bring him along.” - -“Thanky, Steve. I wish you would,” said old Dick. - -Soon after the boy returned, and close behind him came Sam. Looking round, -and seeing old Slippery and nearly all the boys still there, he asked, -“What’s up? Want to double the bet, Dick? If so, you can be accommodated.” - -Steve, pretending to side with old Dick, explained that the old man had -forgotten a particular engagement and had to go away for some days. As -accidents might happen, he thought it would be better to cancel the bets -and arrange a fresh match later on. - -But Sam took it badly, angrily demanding what sort of idiot they took him -for. “Draw bets? Not much!” he cried. “I’ll double it, if you like.” - -Then he turned upon Dick Small, who was looking mighty miserable. “You old -rascal,” he went on, “I know what it is--you’re afraid you’ll lose your -money. Serve you right! You wanted to back your old mare, didn’t you? No -one asked you to. Draw bets, you say? No, siree, not by a jugful!” - -“Look here, Sam,” said Steve, “don’t be too hard. You think you’ve got a -sure thing, but accidents might happen even on your side. Why don’t you -two compromise? Supposing Dick allows you something for your trouble and -sets up drinks for the crowd?” - -“What do you mean by a compromise?” demanded Sam. “If Dick forfeits half -his bet, that would be about fair, I should say.” - -“Oh, I couldn’t do that, really,” cried old Slippery, in great distress. - -“Very well,” said Sam, “then the bet stands. Good-bye; I’m busy.” - -“Hold on a bit,” put in Steve, and, drawing the old man aside, he -whispered to him for a minute or two. You should have seen the different -emotions which chased over old Dick’s face! At last, however, he seemed to -agree with Steve; and then Steve, addressing the crowd, told us that he -quite understood the matter. The proposition he had to make was that Dick -should pay Sam ten dollars and stand a double treat round for the crowd. -If the boys now present considered that fair, he added, he thought Sam, as -a sportsman, should accept. - -“Do as you like,” said Sam. “I’m tired of the whole thing.” - -So Steve took the votes of the company. A few thought the bet ought to -stand; but the majority, being pretty thirsty, were in favour of the -proposition, and it was finally carried, Sam getting back his fifty -dollars and ten dollars of old Slippery’s. Steve charged three dollars for -the two rounds, and gave the old man back the remaining thirty-seven -dollars. - -“Say, Sam,” said old Dick, just as he was going, “I should like to see -your horse, if you have no objection.” - -“Why, certainly,” replied Sam. “Any time you like; if I’m not at home, ask -the missus.” - -When Dick had gone the boys all started asking questions about Sam’s -horse, but all he would say was, “You’ll know all about it by and by.” - -Next day, as Sam expected, old Dick went up to Sam’s place. There was only -the missus at home; Sam took care to be out of the way. - -“Mornin’, Mrs. Smart,” said Slippery, politely. - -“Good morning, Mr. Small,” answered Mrs. Smart. “What brings you round -these parts?” - -“Why, Sam said I might see the new horse if I came up.” - -“I don’t see why you should be interested in such a thing,” said Mrs. -Smart, looking puzzled, “but you can see it if you want to. It’s in the -kitchen.” - -Old Slippery was taken aback; he thought he must surely have misunderstood -her. - -“In the kitchen?” he echoed. - -“Yes, in the kitchen, standing by the stove,” replied the woman. “You can -go right in and look at it if you want to, but what there is to see in it -I can’t make out.” - -The old man, not comprehending things at all, went through into the -kitchen and looked around. But the only horse he saw there, if he expected -to see any other in such a place, was a new four-legged clothes-horse with -a few articles hanging on it to dry! - -In an instant he realized the trick that had been played upon him, and -very nearly went crazy. He stamped and swore, while poor Mrs. Smart -wondered what it all meant, or if the old man had suddenly gone mad. -Presently, however, she commenced to smell a rat. - -“What fool trick has that man of mine been up to now?” she asked. - -“I don’t know about a fool trick,” screamed the old man, “but I do know -that he has swindled me out of ten good dollars, besides making me pay -three dollars for a double round of drinks for all the thirsty loafers -down at Steve Brown’s saloon. But I’ll get even with him, the swindler, -and with Steve Brown, too, and all his gang! It was a put-up job; I can -see it all now. What a double-dyed fool I’ve been! But I’ll sue him--I’ll -show him up!” - -[Illustration: “I’LL SUE HIM--I’LL SHOW HIM UP!”] - -And away he went, leaving Mrs. Smart quite in the dark as to the cause of -his wrath. - -Still raving, the foolish old man came down town, where he saw Sam and -Steve and some more of the boys. He promptly called them all a lot of -thieves and crooks and swindlers, said it was all a put-up job, and that -he would report Steve to the Licence Commissioners, get his licence -cancelled, and make Sam return the ten dollars and Steve the three dollars -he had for the drinks. - -Steve heard him out quietly, and then told him to get out of his house. -Dick would hear from him later, he said. - -When Dick had gone, Sam and Steve went over to the town and told the whole -story to Lawyer Harris. Sam said he had never thought of making any bet, -but could not stand the old man’s everlasting boasting, so the idea struck -him that he would work off a “bluff” on Small. He certainly had stated -that he and his “horse” covered fifteen miles under forty-two minutes. It -was quite correct, for he brought it in on the train. Moreover, he had -stated that it landed “as fresh as paint”; that was true again--it had -been freshly painted. He had said, further, that it didn’t turn a hair, -and it didn’t--for the best of reasons. - -The lawyer roared with laughter; it was the best joke he had heard for a -long time, he said, and served the old skinflint right. “I’ll write and -claim two hundred and fifty dollars each for Steve and Sam for malicious -slander,” he added, “and threaten him with a writ if he doesn’t pay up.” - -The lawyer sent his clerk over to deliver the letter to old Dick, who read -it over two or three times before he understood it. Then he nearly had a -fit, but the clerk advised him to keep quiet and come over and see Mr. -Harris, and perhaps they could settle things. - -When Small arrived the lawyer let him have it hot and strong. He told him -he was always thrusting himself in where he wasn’t wanted, and now, -because for once he had overreached himself, he couldn’t take his medicine -quietly, but must go calling people thieves and swindlers, in spite of the -fact that he would have been glad enough to pocket Sam’s fifty dollars. If -he defended the suit, the lawyer said, he would certainly have to pay -damages and costs, besides making himself the laughing-stock of the -country for miles around. - -Dick saw the point and began to climb down, and finally Mr. Harris let him -off on paying ten dollars each to Sam and Steve, another ten dollars for -lawyer’s fees, and signing a letter of apology. And that’s the whole -story, but I don’t think old Dick has ever made a bet since. - - -THE YELLOW FIEND. - -BY JULIAN JOHNSON, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA. - -[Illustration: MR. CONLISK, WHO WAS THE CONDUCTOR OF THE TRAIN AT THE TIME -THIS ADVENTURE HAPPENED. - -_From a Photograph._] - -Much of the history of railroading in Western America reads like a chapter -from some “penny dreadful,” but none of the thrilling pioneer episodes -surpasses in dramatic interest an incident which occurred a few years ago -on one of the regular passenger trains of the Denver and Rio Grande. - -The principal surviving actor in this singular tragedy is John Conlisk, -who has now retired from active railroad service, and is at present living -quietly at 2,717, Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, California. - -At the time of our story--March, 1892--Mr. Conlisk was a passenger -conductor on the Denver and Rio Grande, running between Ogden, Utah, and -Grand Junction, Colorado, making his home in the Utah city. This brief -introduction is sufficient, however, and the rest may be narrated just as -he told it to the writer recently. - - * * * * * - -The morning was crisp and clear and promised a bright March day. Shortly -after two o’clock I was on the platform at Grand Junction waiting for No. -7, which I was to take back to Ogden. She came in on time, the few -preliminaries attending the exchange of crews were finished as usual, and -at three I was ready to go, when the conductor for the other division ran -across the platform to me. - -“Jack,” he said, “there’s a Chinaman in the ladies’ wash-room in the -chair-car. He’s been in there two or three hours, and we can’t get him -out. He’s in an ugly temper, and you may have trouble with him. If I were -you I’d call the station officer.” - -So I started on a hunt for that person, but he was not to be found -anywhere, and after delaying the train two or three minutes I concluded to -settle the matter with my own crew and passed the signal to the engineer. -As we swung on board I spoke to my head brakeman, a young fellow named -James Genong. - -“There’s a Chinaman in the ladies’ wash-room in the chair-car,” I told -him. “He’s locked himself in, for some heathen reason or other, and I wish -you’d see if you can get him out without making any disturbance.” - -I had a heavy load of passengers, probably two hundred in all, and after -making my rounds, of course not disturbing the people in the sleepers, I -went into the coach just ahead of the chair-car, and, with my train-box -before me, sat down to count my tickets. - -I had hardly finished my work when the door flew open, as though hurled by -a violent gust of wind. Jim was behind it, with a pale, excited face. “Got -a gun about you?” he asked, in a hoarse, frightened whisper. - -“Why?” I asked, in astonishment. - -“That Chinaman’s stabbed me!” he replied, looking furtively over his -shoulder. - -“Jim,” I said, getting up at once, “this thing may be serious, but it -can’t be settled by indiscriminate shooting in a train-load of passengers. -We’ve got to find another way.” - -I must here interrupt my story for a moment to tell you what had actually -happened. Jim, thinking the Celestial an easy conquest, started after him -before the train was fairly under way. In those days chair-cars carried -the time-honoured stove and wood-box, and the brakeman, putting one foot -on the edge of the latter and the other on an opposite ledge, peered down -over the transom and ordered the Chinaman to come out in language that -admitted of no misinterpretation. And the Chinaman _did_ come out, ducking -fairly under Jim in his elevated position. As he ducked he slashed upward -with a great curved hunting-knife. The slash caught the white man on the -inside of the thigh, producing a wound that bled profusely and probably -gave a deal of inconvenience, but which was not really dangerous. - -Seeing Jim streaming with blood, and believing that the yellow man was -actually running amok, I started for the door, first telling the -passengers in that car to lie down on the floor if they heard any shooting -going on beyond. - -The train was making good speed, but as I stood on the platform I could -hear the culprit jabbering about, “Fiftleen hundled dolla! Me got plenty -monee!” He commanded his end of the car, from which practically all the -passengers had retired panic-stricken. The only exceptions to the general -decampment were a fine-looking young chap from Bunker Hill, Illinois, who -sat in a forward chair reading a book, and an army officer’s wife with a -little baby, bound for Salt Lake City--in the seat opposite. These were -directly under the Chinaman’s eye, and whenever they attempted to move he -waved them back with a ferocious gesture of his great glittering knife. - -Going to the door, which was locked, I rapped sharply on it with my -ticket-punch. I had no revolver with me, but I hoped to distract his -attention. And I did! Turning, he saw me, and with his face distorted with -an expression of the most hideous savagery he drew back his arm, and sent -it and the knife through the glass, clear to the shoulder, the blade just -missing me! - -Without more ado I pulled the bell-cord and ran into the forward car, -where I borrowed a big Colt’s revolver from a cowboy I knew. Then, -returning to the platform, I waited until the train had almost stopped, -and dropped to the ground, catching the rear platform of the chair-car as -the wheels ground down to their final revolution. - -The frightened people were packed so densely against the door that I had -to fight my way in, and then through them. The Chinaman, with his two -quiet prisoners, had the whole front end of the car to himself. I called -to him, exhibiting the pistol. - -At the sight of that gun the most awful frenzy blazed in his eyes. He was -a big fellow, and now, with the greatest deliberation, he rolled up his -wide sleeves, disclosing a tremendous pair of arms, covered with heavy -black hair. He looked like a typical Boxer on the war-path. - -Then he started in my direction, but in a moment changed his mind about -leaving a foe in his rear, and with the most calculating, revolting -cruelty that I have ever seen swirled his great blade down over the seated -boy’s head, and plunged it to the hilt in his body. Women shrieked and -fainted, and I felt myself all but falling. - -Raising my revolver I fired, and the ball broke his legs under him. He -fell, and the army officer’s wife, with a terrible shriek, raised her baby -to her shoulder and started down the car. - -But in an instant the Chinaman was on his feet, wounded as he was, and -struck the woman an appalling blow over the shoulder. She dropped like a -stone--apparently stabbed to the heart. - -I waited no more on the possibility of a high bullet glancing into the car -ahead, but fired straight at his heart. Even with the crash of my pistol -another sounded just behind me, and the yellow fiend fell headlong between -two chairs. - -Someone went over and kicked him, but the body gave no sign of life, and -we devoted our attention to the unfortunate young man, who now lay huddled -in a pathetic and bloody heap in his seat. - -Others crowded around us, and at length I saw my cowboy friend -approaching. Just as he reached me I was stooping over the Celestial’s -first victim, in an attempt to raise him, when I heard the puncher yell, -in an agonized voice, “For Heaven’s sake, Jack, look out!” - -I glanced backward, and there was that colourless, diabolical countenance -again blazing into mine. He was standing erect, and the knife was poised -for a blow which would have given me my quietus. As I looked, certain that -death was coming, I felt a wrench at my hip-pocket. It was the cowboy -tearing his revolver out of my clothes. Even as the knife descended, my -saviour jammed his weapon squarely into the Chinaman’s ear--and fired. - -The big bullet, at that distance, almost tore his head to pieces. Blood -was spattered over all of us, in the most sickening way that could be -imagined. Hating to touch the body, we pushed it under a seat and turned -our whole attention to the wounded. - -[Illustration: “EVEN AS THE KNIFE DESCENDED, MY SAVIOUR JAMMED HIS WEAPON -SQUARELY INTO THE CHINAMAN’S EAR.”] - -The officer’s wife, strangely enough, had not a scratch on her. She was in -a dead faint, but both she and the child were practically uninjured. The -explanation of her escape seems to have been that the Chinaman’s wrist -fell with full force on the baby, thus preventing the knife from doing any -damage to either. - -The poor boy, though conscious, was plainly mortally wounded. He made no -complaint, and smiled faintly as we carried him back to a vacant berth in -one of the Pullmans. - -About daylight, at one of the longer stops, several of the passengers -dragged the murderer’s horribly-battered body forward to the baggage-car. -They did not carry him, but dragged him, and, as it was in the spring, the -road-bed was very muddy. When the body reached the baggage-car the -features were absolutely hidden in a combined coating of dried blood and -slime. - -Then, as we got under way again, a physician on the train, with myself and -others, searched the remains. The dead man had on two pairs of trousers, -and, sewn inside his shirt, fifteen hundred dollars in greenbacks. In his -purse he had a first-class ticket from Pittsburg to San Francisco and, -what was still more singular, a paid-up life insurance policy for five -thousand dollars in favour of one Ah Say, of Evanston, Wyoming. - -We rolled the body into a corner and looked over his few effects. -Presently one of the men, who was sitting on a trunk facing us, gave a -peculiar gasp and turned as white as blotting-paper. His eyes were fixed -staringly on something behind our backs. We turned with one accord. - -The supposedly dead Chinaman--a Chinaman with a body as full of holes as a -sieve--was sitting up! I cannot convey in words the indescribably hideous -effect of that face, caked as it was with gore and filth. Only a ghastly -red crack of mouth was visible, grinning in demoniac vacancy, and two -burning black slants which indicated his eyes. - -The doctor was the only man who had his nerve in that excruciating moment. - -“Well, John, how d’you feel now?” he said, speaking in a tone that was -even jocular. - -The Chinaman did not deign to answer, but first felt carefully all over -himself. Then he put his hand to what should have been his trousers -pocket, and at length ran his fingers violently around the place in his -shirt from which we had taken his greenbacks. That frightful malevolence -came back into his eyes, and, never taking those snaky optics from our -faces, he began to hitch painfully across the floor towards a stand in -which were kept guns for emergency use, in case of train robbery. To me, -his actions seemed like those of some dreadful automaton. Every man of us -watched him--held motionless, as a rattlesnake holds its victim, by the -spell of terror. - -Slowly, painfully, he progressed. He gained inch by inch, and at last was -almost within reaching distance. He stretched out his arms to the guns, -and partially rose; then he fell over stone-dead--dead this time for good -and all. - -The doctor examined him, and reported his survival to be due to opiates, -which he had taken in enormous quantities. - -At Salt Lake City I received an order from Mr. W. H. Bancroft, then -receiver of the road, to stop there with the crew, which included James -Donohue, engineer, and Charles Francis, fireman. - -We arrived there about three o’clock, and the young man was still alive, -though fast weakening. In an ordinary conversational manner he told us -that his home was in Bunker Hill, Illinois, that his father was a banker, -and that, after leaving school, he had been sent on a Western trip before -assuming the business himself. Informed of his grave condition, he -expressed his best wishes for all of us, and went under the anæsthetic -with a happy smile. He died without ever returning to consciousness. - -At the coroner’s inquest it was decided that the Chinaman had suddenly -gone insane from an overdose of opium, for, as the evidence showed, he had -been pleasant enough during the day, and had talked to several ladies in -the car, telling them that he had been recently converted to Christianity -and that he proposed to preach in San Francisco. After his burial expenses -had been paid, the balance of his money was forwarded to the Chinese -Consul in the city toward which he was bound. - -There was an amusing sequel to the tragedy, though an exasperating one in -some ways. Some months afterwards the keeper of one of the -eating-stations, calling me to one side, inquired rather pointedly, “Have -you noticed that the Chinese seem to be afraid of you?” - -I replied that I hadn’t given the matter any thought, either way. - -“Well,” he added, “Agent ----, of the U.P. (an opposition road), has told -all the Chinks in the State that you killed their countryman for his -money!” - - - - -My Experiences in Algeria. - -BY THE BARONESS DE BOERIO. - - The Baroness’s husband, an officer in the French army, was ordered - to Algeria, and took his wife and children with him. There, located - at a tiny post far from civilization, in the midst of fierce and - unruly tribes, the authoress met with some very strange adventures, - which she here sets forth in a chatty and amusing fashion. - - -I. - -How well I remember the day when my husband, an officer in the French -army, was nominated for service in Algeria! I was still plunged in slumber -when I was suddenly aroused by a diabolical yell (if you ask my husband he -will hotly deny this, but men can never be believed). I sat up, thinking -the end of the world had come, and saw my husband frantically waving a -white paper and shouting: “Named in Algeria--1st Regiment of Spahis! With -a wife and children it’s impossible! Why am I married?” - -“Well!” I said, still half asleep, but seizing the sense of the remark -that referred to me. “_You_ ought to know why you are married. What’s the -matter with you? Do you want a divorce?” - -“Don’t be frivolous; it is a serious matter,” he groaned, holding out the -paper for my inspection. “Do you understand? I am nominated to an African -regiment, the 1st Spahis, and in a fortnight I must be _there_.” - -“Do you mean that we--you and I--are going out to North Africa?” I cried. -“Really? Hip, hip, hurrah!” - -“Are you mad?” he demanded, in astonishment. - -“Yes; mad with joy,” I replied. “I’m tired to death of poky French -garrison towns. We’ll go out to the sun and be stewed, have our throats -cut by Arabs, and enjoy ourselves down to the ground.” - -“My dear girl,” said my husband, with as much calmness as he could muster, -“we are ordered to a post in the mountains, Teniet-el-Haad. In all -probability you will get no servants to go with you, and there may not -even be a fit house to live in. A lady _cannot_ go there!” - -“An English one can--_we_ follow our husbands,” I said, stoutly. - -“I shall have to go alone,” he said, quietly, “unless I can find some -fellow to exchange.” - -“You can do as you like,” I answered, loftily, “but I am going to join!” - -And so I did, in his company and that of my three children. - -I was sadly disappointed in Algiers; it appeared to my jaundiced eyes -quite an ordinary town. Its arcades, filled with elegant Parisian-looking -women and top-hatted, frock-coated men straight from the Champs Elysées -and Bois de Boulogne, gave me quite a shock. However, I consoled myself -with the thought that our station was far away up in the wild mountains of -the Tell, where real live Arabs, hyenas, jackals, and a panther here and -there would advantageously replace these civilized banalities. - -[Illustration: “A WHEEL HUNG FOR AN INSTANT OVER BOTTOMLESS SPACE.”] - -Our journey from Algiers to Affreville was just like any other railway -journey. At the last-named town we got out, had a nice breakfast at the -station buffet, and at twelve got into the coupé of a diligence so -dilapidated and prehistoric in appearance that my heart sank within me; -but that was only the beginning. This vehicle was drawn by eight skinny -white horses, each of whom seemed to have his own private opinion as to -the manner of drawing the vehicle--and all their opinions seemed to differ -vastly from that of the driver, whose face wore an “I give it up” sort of -expression. So bored was the good man by things in general that during -the journey he indulged in sundry snoozes. This was bearable whilst the -road was wide and on the flat, but when it wound like a narrow white -ribbon round and round the mountains, and one gazed up on the left at a -grey wall of rock, and on the right down fathomless precipices, we glanced -at our slumbering Jehu and held on by the skin of our teeth, whilst the -skinny horses dashed headlong round narrow corners and a wheel hung for an -instant over bottomless space. This nightmare ride lasted for eight hours, -during which time I tried hard to feel that I was enjoying myself, despite -the cramp in my legs and the stiffness of my neck--necessarily slightly -bent on account of the lowness of the roof. Finally we arrived at -Teniet-el-Haad, which appeared to be composed of one narrow street hemmed -in abruptly on either side by the mountains. Thankfully we crawled out of -the diligence and walked up the hill to the “bordj,” or fort, where a -flat had been provided for us by the Government. So this was to be my -home! I gazed eagerly round at the small rooms with their bare, -whitewashed walls, and then--when I had a box to sit on--I sat down and -cried. - -“Nice place, Algeria, isn’t it?” mildly remarked my husband. I felt at -that moment as though I could have throttled him cheerfully. - -[Illustration: A VIEW OF TENIET-EL-HAAD. - -_From a Photograph._] - -Truly my position was not enviable. Accustomed hitherto to be waited on -hand and foot, I now found myself without a servant of any kind, save my -husband’s orderly. I was in a strange country, and was expected to do -everything for myself. However, repining would not help matters, so I set -to work to teach the orderly the rudiments of the culinary art, he knowing -nothing more about it than--than I did. What hard days those were, to be -sure! I wonder my husband survived them. My fried potatoes fell into -greasy bits instead of frying, my scrambled eggs flew up the chimney, my -omelettes were sickening messes, and the meat either would not cook at all -or exaggerated the matter and turned into coal. Then there was the washing -and ironing. I never thought--until I essayed the work--that there was -much difficulty about it; it seemed quite easy. You took soiled things -off, put them in water and soaped them; then you wrung them out, ironed -them, and there you were. Our linen, however, grew greyer and greyer, -yellower and yellower, and I became pensive. “What _do_ you think is wrong -with it?” I asked the orderly, who had become our washerman, there being -no other. - -“Well, madam,” he said, diffidently, “I think it wants sort of boiling -gently with something or other. I remember my mother----” - -“Oh, what did your mother do?” I asked, eagerly. - -“Well, she washed it first, and then put it in a barrel with a hole in the -bottom and--and boiled it, I think. Leastways, it was somehow all right -after.” - -“But you can’t boil in a barrel; it would catch fire,” I objected. “And -why a hole? Surely the water would run out?” - -He looked shy and unhappy. - -“Well, there may be something wrong about the boiling in the wooden -barrel. I misremember that, but”--a slow grin spread over his face--“I’m -sure about the hole, because I used to stop it up, and mother was awfully -wild.” - -After some weeks, however, the orderly began to see light, and, helped by -an Arab boy, managed these tiresome domestic matters well enough to allow -of my going out riding and seeing a little of the country. - -The mountains, burnt yellow by the hot summer sun when I first saw them, -were growing rapidly green after a few hours’ torrential rain. In the -forest all the spring flowers sprang to life again, flowering hastily on -tiny short stems as though fearing they would not find time before being -cut off by the winter frosts. A carpet of blue and white iris and crocus -spread out under the shade of the mighty cedars, together with all sorts -of bright creeping plants. Orchids and narcissi peeped up from every damp -corner, and in the crevices of the rocks wild carnations and geraniums -made a dash of bright colour. - -One day whilst out mushrooming I felt rather thirsty, and proposed to my -husband to go and ask for some goats’ milk at a tent I saw peeping through -the underwood higher up. He acceded, and, talking and picking flowers, we -wandered up slowly. Never in my life have I seen so dilapidated a tent. It -had been mended again and again with rags so various in shape and colour -that little of the original _felidga_ was left. Around it was the -traditional artificial hedge of jujube trees, whose thick, fine, long -thorns protected the inmates from thieves and wild beasts. A sad-looking -donkey and a few goats grazed around, while a particularly savage dog -began barking violently and straining at a very rotten cord at our -approach. Thin and mangy, he looked as if he could thoroughly enjoy a -steak out of my husband’s substantial calves, but he soon retired, with -more haste than dignity, when my better half stooped to pick up a stone. -All Kabyle dogs have a settled opinion about stones, and the gesture is -sufficient for them. - -The noise brought out the owner of the tent, and he stood gazing -majestically at us, draped in dirty white rags. A woman followed him. Her -thin, bony, brown face, scraggy neck and shoulders, skinny arms and legs -might have been those of an old woman, yet something told me that she was -young, but worn out by over-work and under-feeding. Such sights are often -seen and fill one with pity. Behind her came five little children, all, -except the two girls--who each modestly wore a red handkerchief on their -curly heads, and a necklet of wooden beads--clothed in sunbeams. - -My husband asked if we could have some milk. With a lordly gesture the -Arab signed to the woman, who slowly caught a goat by its hind leg and -began milking it into a broken yet clean-looking earthen bowl. -Nevertheless, I brought out my little picnic mug and made her milk into -that. - -My husband offered ten sous to the Arab, but he turned away disdainfully. -“He who drinks at my tent is welcome,” he said. “He is God’s guest, and -between him and me no money can pass.” - -And yet how the want of money showed itself on every side! - -I made up for it to myself by slipping a few pennies into the brown little -hands of the children, who had finally decided that I was not likely to -bite and had approached me. Delighted, they ran with them to their mother, -who seized them feverishly, with a terrified side-look at her husband. -Filled with pity, I slipped a silver piece into her lean hand--rather too -well rewarded by the ardent kisses she showered on my hands, my shoulders, -and the edge of my dress. I then asked the Arab to show me the interior of -his tent. He seemed pleased at my demand, but I regretted it deeply when I -beheld the dirtiness of it. Dirt was the principal furniture, together -with several wooden spoons, an “aguesseau” for rolling the semolina into -cous-cous, a “kess-kess” for cooking it by vapour, and a heap of -terrible-looking rags. On this heap lay an indistinct form, from which -came slow, painful gasps--the gasps of a departing life. Shuddering, I -bent down and saw a venerable woman--so small, so wizened, so -extraordinarily thin that I could not imagine how there was any life in -her. She opened her eyes and turned them slowly on the Arab; and I read -pitiful supplication, mingled with bitter reproach, in their cavernous -depths. - -The Arab looked down gloomily, and a wave of emotion swept over his -hitherto impassive face. - -“What is the matter with her?” I asked. - -“She has not eaten for two days,” he answered. - -“But why? Is she ill? Give her some milk at once. At once, do you hear?” - -I felt angry at the calmness of these people in the presence of this dying -woman. - -“She is dying,” he said, obstinately. - -“But you are doing nothing to save her,” I cried. - -My husband pulled my sleeve. - -“Come, come, dear,” he whispered, “you are giving yourself useless pain.” - -“But I will make him give this old woman something,” I persisted. “She is -his mother, perhaps, and is trying to ask him for food with all her -strength. Give her some milk,” I cried. - -The man mumbled something; I understood that he was telling me she was -old, worn out, and that it was waste to feed her. - -Overwhelmed with horror, I gasped: “Then you are letting her die--on -purpose! She--she is dying because you have let her starve to death?” - -He bowed his head. Then, as if he felt that some explanation was due to -the _roumia_ who was his guest, he added, in a low voice, “Her children -will have her share. They want it.” - -I seized my husband’s arm. “Come--come away from this horror,” I cried; -and quickly we ran down the hill to where the fragrant narcissi grew, and -there I flung myself on the ground and sobbed. - -Presently the sweet, balmy air was filled with sharp shrieks and -yells--the cries of mourning of the Arab women as they tear their faces -with their nails. And I knew that the poor old woman had passed away, and -that those who had starved her to death were now bemoaning her loss, and -consoling themselves by saying, “_In cha Allah!_” (“It is the will of -God”). - -[Illustration: “‘GIVE HER SOME MILK,’ I CRIED.”] - -I went home a wiser and a sadder woman; I have never forgotten the horror -of the incident. - -From my window in the fort I had a beautiful view. In front was the range -of mountains along which the cedar forest runs. I could just discern the -rock where General M----’s first lion tried to get at him, and the small, -scrubby tree up which the gallant General swarmed just in time. Lions are -very rare nowadays in these parts, though a forester signalled the passage -of one on the other side of the forest during my stay. On the left of my -window I could see the bee-hive habitations of a race of negroes who live -on the hill rising up immediately behind the chief street of Teniet. I -think I have never seen such inhuman-looking, hideous specimens of the -human race. Monkeys are far superior in looks to them, and their utter -malignity and wickedness of expression lent additional ugliness to their -distorted, pointed features. Murders were--well, if not daily occurrences, -at least very frequent among them, and at last I grew quite accustomed to -the diabolical shrieks and shouts which the warm, balmy air wafted to me -from the opposite hill. - -More often than not the rows originated over some very trivial matter. No -European would venture for love or money into this negro village, and -several French Spahis told me that they would not guarantee the life of -the white man who dared to enter it even in broad daylight. The Arabs held -the same opinion, and no honest man among them would visit the place on -any account. Thieves and murderers, however, were certain to find a safe -refuge, and many a one, I was informed, had hidden there, married a -negress, and become one of the sinister tribe. The police never thought of -entering the hamlet, and always abandoned pursuit of a criminal at its -boundaries. I cannot imagine why the whole place was not burnt down and -its lawless inhabitants dispersed. - -I failed to obtain a photograph of one of these beauties. They objected to -being taken, and no one dared to insist. The next picture, however, -depicts the village itself, as seen from Teniet-el-Haad. - -[Illustration: THE THIEVES’ VILLAGE AS SEEN FROM TENIET-EL-HAAD. - -_From a Photograph._] - -Talking of murders brings to my mind a double suicide which occurred in -the fort. One night I was awakened by a revolver-shot just outside my -window. I got up and looked out, but at first could see nothing, so black -was the night. After a time, however, I saw a dark mass on the ground and -heard a faint moaning. I was about to give the alarm when the sentry -passed, stooped down, and uttered an exclamation. Then he went away, to -return immediately with others. There was a murmur of voices, and finally -they carried something away. My husband was absent, so I was forced to -await morning in order to ascertain the facts of the matter. “_Cherchez la -femme_” is, alas! a very true adage. The shot was fired by one of our -non-commissioned officers, who had killed himself as he walked to and fro -in the barrack-yard smoking and talking with his best friend, whom he had -just discovered was a successful rival for the heart of the girl he loved -and meant to marry as soon as his service was over. Having had suspicions, -he had determined to draw the truth from his friend, who was perfectly -oblivious of there being any engagement between him and the girl, and -confessed freely when pressed that they loved each other and meant to be -married later on. Drawing a revolver from his pocket, the unhappy -_sous-officier_ cried, “She was to have been my wife!” and, before the -other understood what the phrase meant, pulled the trigger and fell dead -at his horrified comrade’s feet. - -The morning after, the friend, another non-commissioned officer, was -raving mad. When the girl learnt of the tragedy she had caused, we learnt -afterwards, she grew very white, but said nothing. All day she sat silent -with fixed eyes, deaf to the reproaches of her parents, who did not spare -their abuse. The next morning they found her asleep in death--she had -poisoned herself! - -I noticed here and there whilst riding about the country trees from whose -branches hung long shreds of different-coloured cloth. On making inquiries -I was told they were marabout, or holy, trees. Each district has one or -more of these sacred trees, and to them come all the women to beseech of -Allah to grant their prayers. In order to obtain the intercession of the -holy tree, they hang pieces of their clothing on the branches, which are -sometimes almost entirely covered with coloured rags, fluttering in the -breeze, and giving the tree a most curious appearance. - -A marabout is a saint, or holy man, and it is not given to every man to be -a saint, however pious he may be. Real saintship among the Arabs is -hereditary, and is one of the three castes of nobility. The sons are heirs -to the fathers’ piety, and, though often far from worthy, reap the benefit -of their birth-right. This religious nobility has great influence, and can -excite or quell revolts, as, Koran in hand, they preach its precepts, -often explained to satisfy their own wishes. - -Apart from the hereditary marabouts there are the “little” marabouts, who -live miserably on public charity beside the tomb of some ancestor who died -in the odour of sanctity. Many of these so-called marabouts manage their -affairs uncommonly well and are really wealthy men. Here is a story I have -been told, which gives one an idea of the way these “little” marabouts set -up in business. - -Mohammed ben Mohammed was a marabout whose affairs were in a most -flourishing condition. Pilgrims visited his ancestor’s tomb by hundreds, -leaving many and rich offerings, and Mohammed ben Mohammed grew fatter and -wealthier daily until his servitor, Ali ben Ali, became tired of watching -his master’s increased wealth and bulk, whilst his own pocket was as flat -as his body was thin. So one dark night he silently took his departure, -riding on the back of a young ass belonging to his master. - -After a march of about thirty miles the ass had enough of carrying Ali. It -was a young ass, and knew no better, so it went on strike, lay down, and -forthwith died. Thereupon Ali dug a big hole and put the ass in, piling a -great mountain of stones over it. Then, sitting down beside the heap, he -began to pray. A traveller passing inquired by whose tomb he prayed so -fervently. Ali was filled with astonishment. “What! Had he never heard of -the great Saint Amar ben Amar (literally ‘an ass, the son of an ass’)? All -the people of the country round came there to pray.” The traveller did not -fail to mention the Marabout Amar ben Amar’s tomb, and soon pilgrims -flocked to it with offerings, and Ali ben Ali grew fat and rich. The -faithful neglected Mohammed ben Mohammed, who at last, furious, abandoned -his marabout in order to pay a visit to his rival. Great was his -astonishment when he recognised his runaway servitor. - -Taking him aside, he whispered, “Tell me the truth. Who is your marabout?” - -“The ass I stole from you. And now tell me--who is your marabout?” - -“The mother of the ass you stole from me!” - -I conclude that the two Arabs chuckled together and continued to exploit -the faithful in common, but history does not relate any more of their -doings--nor, indeed, does it vouch for the complete veracity of the story. -It is, however, to my personal knowledge quite the sort of thing one might -expect to happen. - -[Illustration: THE AUTHORESS AND HER CHILDREN IN THE CEDAR FOREST NEAR -TENIET-EL-HAAD. - -_From a Photograph._] - -(_To be continued._) - - - - -My Alaskan Christmas. - -BY W. E. PRIESTLY, OF FAIRBANKS, ALASKA. - - We have published a number of stories of adventure in the icy North, - but none giving a more realistic impression of the hardships and - dangers which lie in wait for the traveller and prospector in these - inhospitable regions than this. Mr. Priestley and his partner set - out with dog-teams for a new goldfield, but the partner lost heart - and turned back, leaving him to struggle on alone. Death dogged his - footsteps through the great white wilderness, and but for the - intelligence of his leading dog he would undoubtedly have lost his - life. - - -It was my fortune, or misfortune, to be present in San Francisco at the -time of the earthquake and fire of April 18th, 1906. Although I gained a -good deal of valuable experience as my share of the catastrophe, I lost -all my belongings to offset the bargain. - -I stayed in San Francisco until June 1st, and then resolved to try my luck -in another country, where earthquakes and such petty worries are unknown. -Fate directed my roving footsteps to Alaska, glowingly described by the -transportation companies as “The Golden North--the land of fur, fish, and -gold.” I thanked the companies for their information, but did not avail -myself of their kind offer to sell me a ticket. Both Nature and Fate -seemed to have destined me for a rover, and one of the main tenets of a -roving life--to say nothing of my financial status--demanded and ordained -that I must travel at the least possible expense. I accordingly made -arrangements, and worked my passage from San Francisco to St. Michael’s, -_viâ_ Nome, on the ss. _Buckman_. St. Michael’s is a port on the Bering -Sea, and is the principal shipping port for the Yukon River and Central -Alaska. - -[Illustration: THE AUTHOR, MR. W. E. PRIESTLY, IN HIS ALASKAN COSTUME. - -_From a Photograph._] - -From St. Michael’s I found a boat was leaving for the Tanana district, and -again luck favoured me, for I got the chance to work my way up to that -part of the country. We traversed the Yukon River as far as Fort Gibbon, -and from there proceeded up the Tanana River to the mining camp of -Fairbanks, which is situated about four hundred miles up-stream from Fort -Gibbon. - -I arrived in Fairbanks on July 1st, having travelled nearly four thousand -miles since leaving San Francisco, and found myself about twenty-five -dollars better off than when I started. I stayed in the Fairbanks district -until the end of November. The physical features of this country are best -described as “eight months iceberg and four months swamp.” - -Towards the end of November rumour began to circulate reports that a new -goldfield of incredible richness had been discovered. Tales of “eight -dollars to the shovelful” were passed through the camp, and all kinds of -stories, real and imaginary, were discussed with feverish excitement. - -The new diggings were known as the Chandelar, and were situated at the -head-waters of the Chandelar River, a tributary of the Yukon, having its -source in the Arctic slope and entering the Yukon River about twenty miles -below Fort Yukon. - -I was anxious to try my luck in the newly-discovered country, but this was -a matter that could not be lightly considered. The diggings were about -four hundred miles due north of Fairbanks, and a good deal of preparation -was necessary before a trip of this kind could be undertaken. I was a -new-comer in the country (locally termed a “chechaco”); I was unused to -the ways of the trail; there was no food in the new district, except, of -course, wild game; and, finally, the temperature at that time was about -forty degrees below zero, with every possibility that it would drop to -sixty or seventy below zero by the end of December. - -I made up my mind that the first thing I must do would be to get a -travelling partner who could be depended on. I finally made arrangements -with an old-timer in the country, named Bartlett, who was also going up to -the Chandelar. He had been in the Klondike rush of ’98, and as he sat by a -hot stove and related his marvellous exploits on the trail, his thrilling -adventures and hair-breadth escapes, in a state of “chechaco” simplicity -that was almost pitiable I congratulated myself on my choice of a partner. - -Finding that I had not enough money to purchase everything necessary, I -spoke to two friends of mine, and they agreed to put seventy-five dollars -each into the trip; in return, they were to have a one-third interest -between them of any mining property that I located in the Chandelar. This -is a common occurrence in Alaska, and is generally known as a “grubstake -proposition.” - -[Illustration: A FACSIMILE OF THE AUTHOR’S POWER OF ATTORNEY, GIVING HIM -AUTHORITY TO STAKE GROUND ON BEHALF OF HIS PARTNERS. - -KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS: That We, R.L. MENIFEE, and G.L. BLACKWELL, -of Fairbanks, Alaska, have made constituted and appointed, any by these -presents do hereby make, contribute and appoint, F. Priestley, of the -same place, our true and lawful attorney for us and in our name, place -and stead, and for our use and benefit, to locate stake and record for -us, places mining property in the CHANDELAR DISTRICT, in the Region of -Alaska, North of the Yukon River: [three lines erased here] - -hereby giving and granting onto W. PRIESTLEY as said attorney full power -and authority to do and perform all and every act and thing whatsoever -requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully -to all intents and purposes as we might or could do if personally -present, hereby ratifying and confirming all that our said Attorney, -W. PRIESTLEY, shall lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue of these -presents. - -In WITNESS WHEREOF, we have hereupon set our hands and seals this 3rd -day of December, A.D. 1905. - -SIGNED, SEALED & DELIVERED IN THE PRESENCE OF: [signatures]] - -Agreements were drawn up between us, one being styled a “grubstake -agreement” and the other a “power of attorney.” The “grubstake agreement” -stated that in return for the sum of one hundred and fifty dollars the -parties of the first part drew up this agreement in order that they might -have legal claim to a one-third interest in all placer and mining ground -staked by party of the second part in the Chandelar district and north of -the Yukon River. - -The power of attorney was simply a legal document, giving me permission to -stake ground for the benefit of absent parties. - -Having settled all legal matters and received my “grubstake,” I purchased -my outfit--four dogs, a fur robe, a Yukon sled, and a Yukon stove. In -addition I had to purchase dog harness, a gun, ammunition, axe, tent, and -compass, as well as dog-feed, a good supply of provisions, and suitable -clothing for the trip. - -My four dogs were of different breeds, only one being a pure native dog or -“malamute.” My leader deserves special mention. The most intelligent dog -is always placed in the lead, as the dogs are not driven by reins, but -simply by word. To tell the dogs to travel straight ahead, the command is -“Mush!” or “Mush on!” which is evidently a corruption of the term used by -the French-Canadian trappers of the Hudson Bay Company, who would -naturally say “Marchez” when ordering their team to travel. To travel to -the right the command is “Gee!” and to the left “Aw!” - -My leading dog was born in Circle City and had been christened Nellie. She -had both the native and the outside strain--a dog whose intelligence and -faithfulness cannot be questioned, as after-events will prove. - -We left Fairbanks on December 12th, my partner and myself each having four -dogs. We had an outfit consisting of tent, stove, guns, ammunition, robes, -snow-shoes, one hundred pounds of dog-feed, and about five hundred pounds -of food. It was our intention to proceed to Circle City, and there to -complete our outfit. - -For the first few miles the trail was in excellent condition and we made -good time. It was rather late when we started, and by the time we had -covered sixteen miles it was already dark. It must be remembered that in -the middle of winter there is only a very short period of daylight in -Alaska. The first night we stayed at a mining camp known as Golden City, -consisting of two saloons and a number of dilapidated cabins, the majority -being minus doors or windows. - -Next day we made an early start, as we had a very steep hill to climb, -known as Cleary Dome. There had been a light fall of snow during the -night, and this made the trail very heavy. We found it impossible to get -the loads up the hill, so we hitched the eight dogs on to one sled, and, -having dragged it to the top of the Dome, we took the dogs down again for -the other sled. From the summit there was a steep decline, and it took me -all my time to hold back the sled, to prevent it cutting the hind legs of -the wheeler dog. - -The trail was in bad condition, as it had been cut to pieces by some heavy -freight teams. The track at this point ran along the side of a hill down -into the valley, and the sleds were on one runner most of the way. Every -few minutes they would upset, and a good deal of physical energy would be -expended to right them again. The loads were lashed to the sleds, so -little actual damage was done. - -That night we stayed at Cleary Creek, having accomplished ten miles as the -result of the day’s trip, but as the greater part of the ten miles -consisted of the ascent and descent already mentioned we were both -satisfied. - -Next morning we started off, following the trail down Cleary Creek until -we struck the Chatanika River, and here we met our first big obstacle. Our -course lay up the Chatanika for about seventy miles, but as soon as we -arrived on the banks of this river we found it impossible to travel any -farther, on account of overflows. It may be as well to explain for the -benefit of the uninitiated what is meant by an overflow. - -The Chatanika is a river over one hundred miles in length, but is full of -gravel bars. At the beginning of winter the stream, of course, freezes, -and where the gravel bars are situated it freezes solid to the bottom, -owing to the fact that the water is very shallow at these points. - -There is always a large body of water flowing from the subterranean -springs at the source of this river, and, as this water cannot make its -way through the barriers of ice and gravel, it forces itself up through -the ice and flows over the top until such time as it freezes or finds its -way under the ice again. In some places the overflows thus formed are -three or four feet deep. - -Now, it is a serious matter to wade through water when the thermometer is -a long way below zero. It is the easiest thing in the world for a man to -lose his feet in this way, for as soon as one gets wet the moisture -freezes into a cake of ice, and unless precautions are immediately taken -the limbs may become so badly frozen that amputation is necessary, in -order to prevent mortification. - -When we found the river was so full of overflows we judged it best to wait -a few days and give the water a chance to freeze, as the weather was very -cold at this time. We found a deserted cabin, minus door and window, and -proceeded to make ourselves as comfortable as possible under these -circumstances. We had a stove with us, and as there was plenty of wood -handy we soon had the cabin warm. - -We stayed at this place over two weeks, waiting for the overflows to close -up. Time began to drag heavily on our hands, for the days were very short -and game scarce, so all we could do was to eat and sleep and wait for the -flood-water to freeze. Our Christmas Day--that day of all the year so -eagerly looked forward to in happier climes--we spent as follows. During -the few hours of daylight I took my gun and went off into the woods. I -found the tracks of a wolverine, but was unable to follow them up, as it -was already getting dark, though I could see that the tracks were newly -made. - -That night we did our best to celebrate Christmas properly. We prepared a -feast, which consisted of caribou steak, evaporated potatoes, evaporated -onions, canned butter, canned pears, and baking-powder bread. Such little -luxuries as plum-puddings and mince-pies were chiefly conspicuous by -their absence, and I finished my repast with a bad attack of -home-sickness, which was perhaps natural, but hardly in keeping with my -_rôle_ of dauntless pioneer. - -We waited by the banks of the Chatanika until January 1st, and then, as -the overflows still showed no signs of freezing over, we determined to -start the New Year and our trip up the river at the same time, and trust -to that special Providence which is supposed to guard sailors, fools, -drunken men, and little children. The dogs were in good condition, as they -had done nothing for two weeks but eat, sleep, and grow fat. They showed a -distinct dislike to their harness at first, which was perhaps natural, but -after a time resigned themselves to the inevitable. - -For the first two miles we managed to pick out a land trail, but after -that we had to take to the river, as the timber became too thick. After we -had travelled about two miles on the river trail, we began to congratulate -ourselves on the condition of the track, for by picking our way carefully -and avoiding the stretches of open water we were making good time. - -All at once we saw smoke issuing from a small cabin, so we halted the dogs -in order to make inquiries regarding the overflows higher up the river. We -found the cabin to be occupied by two hunters, who told us that round the -bend of the river there was an overflow over three feet deep, which it was -impossible to get through. They had been waiting for a week to see whether -it would freeze over. We, however, had had enough of delays, so we -determined to see whether we could get through. - -Reaching the overflow we found it covered with a thin coating of ice. We -had just succeeded in getting on to this “glare” ice when, with a crack, -it broke under us, and we sank up to our knees in ice-cold water, while -the poor dogs were nearly covered. Having once got wet, we thought we -might as well try to get through; but it was impossible for the dogs to -pull, as they could not get a foothold, and the noses of the sleds were -blocked with “slush” ice. We accordingly hitched our eight dogs on to one -sled, and I walked ahead in order to encourage the animals to follow me. - -Every time I put my foot down I broke through the ice, and it was easy to -follow my course by the holes I left behind me in the trail. The farther I -went the deeper the water became, and at last I realized that the only -thing to be done was to return to the cabin, as it was impossible for -either dogs or men to stand the deadly cold of the water much longer. As -soon as I arrived at this decision the two hunters, who had come out to -assist us, went back to the cabin and prepared a big fire and hot coffee. - -We succeeded in getting the dogs on to solid ice again, and the water on -the dogs, sleds, and harness--to say nothing of ourselves--immediately -turned to ice. - -We reached the cabin in a few minutes, got the dogs inside in order to -thaw them out, and proceeded to change our frozen clothes. The cabin could -hardly be described as pretentious, as the dimensions were only about -eight feet by ten, by five feet in height. Put four men and eight dogs, -all ice-coated, in this space, with a big fire going, and it will be -easily seen that the atmosphere is likely to become somewhat oppressive. -To add to our discomfort, the cabin became so hot that the snow on the -roof commenced to melt and find its way through the numerous cracks. The -floor, consisting as it did of plain mother earth, soon began to take on -the form of a small duck-pond, so we were compelled to make a thick carpet -of spruce boughs. - -Next morning, after a hearty breakfast, we were ready to try the overflow -again. My partner at this time began to show himself in his true colours. -He was ready to return to Fairbanks, for he had developed a disease -variously termed “cold feet,” “crawfish,” or “white feather.” - -Reaching the overflow again, we repeated the previous day’s programme, -with the same result, but we found that the ice was a little thicker than -before. We returned to the cabin, resolved to wait a few days. After -staying two more days in the cabin, in an atmosphere resembling a Hindu -bazaar or a Turkish bath, another man came up the river with four dogs, -and we determined to make a combined attempt to get through. - -We therefore hitched the twelve dogs on to one sled, and after a -tremendous effort succeeded in getting the sled through the overflow on to -solid ice. The first sled taken through contained the tent and stove, and -while my partner and myself returned for the other sleds our latest ally -pitched the tent and lit the stove, and by the time we got back with the -second sled a good cup of coffee was waiting for us. We then returned for -the third sled, and having succeeded in dragging it through to the tent we -unanimously decided to knock off work, for, although we had only travelled -about half a mile from the hunters’ cabin, we were all satisfied that we -had done a good day’s work. - -Next morning we started before daybreak, determined to put in a long day’s -“mush.” The thermometer was down to forty below zero, and we all had the -hoods of our “parkas” drawn tight. - -We passed Kokomo Creek and had travelled for about six miles when to our -dismay we came to a place where the river was open, as far as we could see -it round the bend. - -The same dreary programme of Chatanika overflow was repeated. Three -journeys were made through the water, which was in some places waist deep -and was over half a mile long. At the end of the first trip my partner -stayed to light a fire. After we had again succeeded in getting the three -sleds high and dry we changed our clothes in front of the fire, and, after -knocking the ice off the harness and sleds, we made a forced march to an -Indian camp about a mile farther ahead. We stayed here for two days, in -order to rest the dogs, as their feet had been badly cut by the ice. - -At the end of two days my partner and myself started on alone and, after a -hard struggle through water and drifts, succeeded in reaching a cabin -known as “Cy’s Place,” which is about thirty miles from Cleary Creek. My -partner here threw up the sponge and said he was going back to Fairbanks. -I told him that I was not in the habit of turning back, so we finally -decided to separate, he to go back to Fairbanks, while I made up my mind -to try and reach Circle City, and there wait for some party going to the -Chandelar. - -A bad wind-storm had arisen during the night, and up-river no signs of a -trail could be seen, so I left the dogs at “Cy’s Place” and tied on my -snow-shoes. Going ahead I “broke trail” for about six miles, returning at -night to Cy’s. Next morning I started off on my lone trip, and soon came -to the end of my beaten trail. I walked on ahead, wearing my snow-shoes, -and the dogs followed as best they could. Every few yards the nose of the -sled would bury itself in a drift, and the dogs would lie down until I -turned back and dragged it loose. - -After I had covered about nine miles in this way the wind began to blow -again. It was getting dark, so I tried to pitch the tent, but found it -impossible on account of the wind. The only thing left for me to do was to -light a big fire and make myself as comfortable as I could until morning. -Fortunately there was a good supply of dry wood handy, and I soon had a -big fire under the trees. I laid spruce boughs on the snow, and, having -fed myself and the dogs, rolled myself in my robe and slept till morning. -Of course I had to replenish the fire two or three times during the night, -and each time I awoke I found the dogs lying almost on the top of me for -warmth. - -Next morning, after a rather cheerless breakfast, I started off again. The -dogs seemed reluctant to travel, as though aware of some danger ahead. I -intended, if possible, to reach a cabin at the mouth of Faith Creek, which -was about twenty miles from my camp. I found the trail very heavy, and the -only way I could make any progress was to fasten a rope to the sled, tie -the other end round my waist, and pull with the dogs. Time and again the -sled would be buried in the drifts; but, notwithstanding this, by about -half-past two in the afternoon I had made some fourteen miles. It was just -commencing to get dark, and the temperature was about forty degrees below -zero. I was hoping to get into Faith Creek before five o’clock, as I had -not been bothered with overflows, when, suddenly turning a bend in the -river, I saw, straight ahead, a stretch of “glare” ice, which warned me to -look out for an overflow. I fully realized my serious position. With the -weather so cold I was running a chance of freezing to death if I got wet, -for the wood all round seemed to be green, and there was now no partner to -help me in case I got stuck. - -I walked ahead, with the dogs close at my heels, looking for solid ice. -Presently, without warning, there was a loud crack, and myself, dogs, and -sled were precipitated into the water. The thing happened so suddenly that -almost before I realized what had occurred I found myself standing in four -feet of water, with the dogs struggling to keep themselves afloat. - -My first thought was for them, so I drew out my hunting knife and cut them -loose from the sled. They scrambled out as best they could, dragging -themselves to solid ice. I next tried to haul the sled out of the water, -but found it impossible, so I cut the ropes, let the load sink under the -ice, and pulled out the empty sled. With all my food, clothes, dog-feed, -and everything else lost, I managed to flounder through the water with the -sled on my shoulder. When I got to solid ice once more I began to reflect -upon the serious nature of my position. I was at least six miles from any -cabin; from feet to neck I was covered with a solid coat of ice; and when -I tried to light a fire the green wood refused to burn and my fingers -began to freeze. Owing to the ice upon my clothes, I found it impossible -to bend my knees, and I realized that my only chance of salvation lay in -reaching Faith Creek, six miles away. - -Without wasting any further time, I fastened the dogs to the sled and -started off. The wind commenced to blow again, and the trail was -completely obliterated. The only thing I could do was to trust to the -instinct of Nellie, my leading dog. She struggled on gamely through drifts -and snow-banks, and the other dogs and myself followed her. The trail was -so bad and my clothes were frozen so stiff that I could only travel at -about a mile an hour. - -[Illustration: “THERE WAS A LOUD CRACK, AND MYSELF, DOGS, AND SLED WERE -PRECIPITATED INTO THE WATER.”] - -The night grew darker, and it was soon almost impossible to see the trees -on either side of the river, except at such times as the trail veered to -one side or the other; then the trees would be discernible, standing up -stark and naked, like gigantic skeletons rising from the snow. In the -zenith the Polar star glowed brilliantly, while as far as the eye could -reach the snow lay like a gleaming shroud on the earth. Not a sound was to -be heard save the panting of the dogs, the crunch of snow under my frozen -moccasins, and, somewhere in the distance, the howl of an animal. I cared -for nothing, thought of nothing, desired nothing, save to reach Faith -Creek. Time and again I was ready to drop, but I still kept on, spurred by -the thought that I was fighting for my life, for I knew that once I gave -way to the lassitude that seemed to be gripping my senses, my life would -pay the forfeit. I had heard so much of lone “mushers” on the trail, who -had lain down on the snow for a sleep from which they never awoke, that I -was prepared to struggle on to the last. - -Soon the dogs began to tire, and it was only by persistent effort that I -could keep them from lying down in the snow. They were so weary, poor -brutes, that it was cruelty to whip them; all I could do was to pat them -and encourage them with my voice. Nellie tried to lick my frozen gauntlet, -or, half in play, to bite my numbed hand. - -Still I kept on, hoping against hope that I should soon see the light in -the Faith Creek cabin. I kept shouting, but all the answer I got was a -mocking echo. Blundering through snow-drifts, with the wind-blown snow -driving against my face like particles of glass, the dogs panting with -exertion or moaning from the pain of their lacerated feet, without a sign -of a trail or landmark, and with my feet in a peculiar condition of -insensibility, still I staggered blindly but persistently towards my goal. - -At eight o’clock I was still on the trail; but somehow a doubt began to -take possession of me that perhaps I had missed the cabin altogether and -was wandering towards the Twelve-mile Divide. - -[Illustration: “I SAW TWO MEN APPROACHING ME, AND AT ONCE STRUGGLED TO MY -FEET.”] - -All at once the dogs stopped, and on stepping ahead to see what was the -matter I found they were tangled in their harness. I tried to bend over to -release them, but my clothes were so stiff that I found it impossible, and -I lurched over, falling head-foremost into a drift. - -I tried to raise myself to a sitting position, only to fall back weakly. A -new sensation seemed to be taking possession of me. I no longer desired to -struggle; a mysterious warmth appeared to surround me, and a drowsiness -stole over my senses. My only wish was to be left alone to sleep. I was -just dozing off when Nellie, my leading dog, lifted up her nose and gave -vent to a weird, wolf-like howl, which she repeated after a few seconds’ -interval. I gazed at her with an almost ludicrous amazement, wondering -stupidly why she was making such a noise. Almost simultaneously with her -second howl I heard a shout and, to my amazement, saw a lantern shining -through the trees. I at once realised that help was at hand, and -immediately the desire for sleep left me. A wild longing for life, for -warmth, for food, asserted itself instead, and I gave a yell that must -have sounded like the war-whoop of an Apache Indian. A moment later I saw -two men approaching me, and at once struggled to my feet. Through the -trees came the shouted query, “Are you all right?” “I’m all right,” I -answered. “Where’s the cabin?” By this time the two men had reached me, -and one of them, looking hard into my face, exclaimed, “Why, your nose is -frozen!” - -He put his arm round me and helped me to the cabin, while the other man -took charge of my dogs. I found that the cabin was only about a hundred -yards from the place where I had lain down to sleep, but, owing to the -fact that it was built in a grove of trees, it was impossible to see it -until one was close to it. It seems almost ironical that had it not been -for the howl of a dog I would surely have died within a hundred yards of -warmth and shelter. - -Once in the cabin the men examined me, and found that my nose, ears, and -fingers were frozen, but not dangerously so. Without any hesitation they -took a knife and cut off my socks and moccasins. My feet, from the toes to -the ankles, were as white and as hard as marble. They thawed them out with -snow, and for three hours I suffered indescribable torment as the -congealed blood began to circulate. - -Next morning my feet were so swollen and looked so bad that I was wrapped -in furs, packed in a dog-sled, and taken to the hospital at Fairbanks, -which was reached in three days. I lay in the hospital for three months, -but fortunately did not lose any portion of my feet. It will be many -months, however, before I shall be able to walk as well as formerly, but I -count myself as one of the most fortunate, because I escaped with my life. - -[Illustration: A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE AUTHOR’S ADVENTURE TAKEN FROM THE -“FAIRBANKS (ALASKA) TIMES.” - -PRIESTLY MAY LOSE TOES ON EACH FOOT - -_Young Englishman Who Was Frozen on Chatanika, Now at St. Joseph’s -Hospital--No Use of His Feet_ - -William Priestly, a young English man, was brought to St. Joseph’s -hospital yesterday suffering from frozen feet. It is possible that he may -recover the use of them, but it is more probable, judging from the -diagnosis of the doctors, that he will lose a few toes of both feet. - -It was the cursed Chatanika that caused Priestly’s suffering, for it was -in the treacherous overflows of that stream that he got his feet wet while -on the way to the Chandlar strike. - -He laid up at Cy’s for some time until he could be brought to the -hospital. Priestly’s feet are in fearful shape, and were frozen far up on -the instep. In fact it seems odd that his toes were not snapped off so -solid were they frozen it is said. - -It will be many long days before he can use his feet again, no matter -whether the toes can be saved or not. - -Priestly was in San Francisco at the time of the earthquake and fire, -afterward serving on the special police and relief corps. He it was who -last June told what great graft had been carried on in San Francisco and -said the Times was the first paper to publish the corruption, which few -believed at that time existed.] - -It only remains for me to add that Nellie is still with me; I intend never -to part with her. Very few men can say that they have cheated death -through the howl of a dog, and I consider it my duty to care for the -animal who, by her devotion and intelligence, saved my life that day on -the Circle trail. - -[Illustration: THE AUTHOR AND HIS DOGS--THE CENTRE ANIMAL IS NELLIE, WHO -SAVED HIS LIFE. - -_From a Photograph._] - - - - -THE WIDE WORLD: In Other Magazines. - - -THE HINDU IN THE COLONIES. - -[Illustration] - -The photograph reproduced herewith is taken from “The Captain,” and shows -a Hindu employed on a farm in British Columbia carrying on his head a load -of boxes of apples over six feet in height and weighing one hundred and -twenty-five pounds. The photograph incidentally gives a very good idea of -the grand scenery in this flourishing colony. - - -A MARKET FOR OLD HATS. - -The group of islands known as the Nicobars, about one hundred and fifty -miles south of the Andamans, has been but little explored, though the -manners and customs of the inhabitants offer very interesting -peculiarities to the ethnologist. One of the most noticeable of these is -the passion for old hats. Young and old, chief and subject alike, -endeavour to outvie one another in the singularity of shape, no less than -in the number of old hats they can acquire during their lifetime. On a -fine morning at the Nicobars it is no unusual thing to see the surface of -the ocean in the vicinity of the islands dotted over with canoes, in each -of which the noble savage, with nothing on but the conventional slip of -cloth and a tall white hat with a black band, may be watched catching fish -for his daily meal. Second-hand hats are in most request, new ones being -looked upon with suspicion and disfavour.--“TIT-BITS.” - - -EXTERMINATING BIG GAME IN BRITISH COLUMBIA. - -Numbers of irresponsible men ride along the trails in spring, when the -deer are in deplorable condition after a hard winter, and almost too weak -to get out of the way, taking pot shots at the poor brutes with revolvers, -hardly troubling to see whether they make a kill, and never following a -wounded animal. Almost every district which has had a mining excitement -has had the game almost entirely depleted in this manner. The more -outrageous offences have certainly been stopped to some extent; but there -is still a great deal of this sort of thing going on, and now that the -laws are being more strictly enforced many of these irresponsible persons -take out a miner’s licence so as to render themselves safe from -prosecution.--“COUNTRY LIFE.” - - -DICKENS STORIES IN CHINA. - -The Chinese are rapidly taking up Western ideas, and translations of -English and French novels are now in increasing demand. Our romantic and -sentimental treatment of love-affairs, however, is a thing so foreign to -Oriental ethics that the hero of the ordinary European novel appears to -the Chinese mind as a person of perverted moral sense and doubtful sanity. -Translations of Dickens, therefore, impress the Chinese reader less than -they amaze him, and detective stories and tales of adventure command a -more sympathetic audience.--“WOMAN’S LIFE.” - - -“THE VIRGIN’S TREE.” - -[Illustration] - -The annexed photograph shows a famous tree growing in the little Egyptian -village of Matariyah, which is partly built on the ruins of Heliopolis and -situated about four and a half miles to the north of Cairo. It is usually -called “The Virgin’s Tree,” from the tradition that the Virgin Mary sat -and rested under its shadow during her flight to Egypt. It is also said -that by remaining hidden in the hollow tree by means of a -marvellously-twisted cobweb she succeeded in escaping her -persecutors.--“THE STRAND MAGAZINE.” - - - - -Odds and Ends. - - The “Shark Papers”--A Mysterious Archway--British Columbian “Poverty - Socials,” etc., etc. - - -[Illustration: THE FAMOUS “SHARK PAPERS” OF JAMAICA, WHICH HAVE A MOST -CURIOUS AND ROMANTIC HISTORY. - -_From a Photograph._] - -Few exhibits in the Institute of Jamaica, British West Indies, possess a -more curious history than the famous “Shark Papers,” a photograph of which -is reproduced herewith. The story is, briefly, as follows: On August 28th, -1799, a naval officer named Hugh Wylie, in command of H.M. cutter -_Sparrow_, while cruising off the coast of Hayti, gave chase to, and -eventually captured, the American brig _Nancy_. The prize was sent in to -Port Royal, and a fortnight later a suit for salvage was brought on behalf -of Wylie against “a certain brig or vessel called the _Nancy_, her guns, -tackle, furniture, ammunition, and apparel, and the goods, wares, -merchandise, specie, and effects on board her, taken and seized as the -property of some person or persons, being enemies of our Sovereign Lord -and King, and good and lawful prize on the high seas, and within the -jurisdiction of this Court.” A claim for the dismissal of the case with -costs, backed with affidavits, was put in by the owners of the brig, in -which, as it subsequently turned out, they perjured themselves freely. -While the case was proceeding Lieutenant Michael Fitton, in command of the -_Ferret_, and Wylie in command of the _Sparrow_ (both tenders of H.M.S. -_Abergavenny_, the flagship at Port Royal), put out to sea with the object -of earning for the stationary flagship a share of the prizes which were -constantly being taken by the cruisers. On rejoining after an accidental -separation, Fitton invited Wylie by signal to come to breakfast. While -waiting for him to come aboard the _Ferret_ crew captured a huge shark, -which, on being opened, was found to contain a sealed packet of papers. -During the breakfast Wylie mentioned that he had detained an American brig -called the _Nancy_. Fitton thereupon said he had her papers. “Papers?” -answered Wylie. “Why, I sealed up her papers and sent them in with her.” -“Just so,” replied Fitton; “those were her false papers. Here are her real -ones; my men found them in the stomach of a shark!” These papers, together -with others of an incriminating nature found on the _Nancy_ some time -after her capture, carefully concealed in the captain’s cabin, led to the -condemnation of the brig and her cargo on the 25th November, 1799. The -head of the shark which swallowed the papers is still preserved in the -United Service Museum at Whitehall, London, S.W. - -[Illustration: A MYSTERIOUS ARCHWAY IN THE TONGAN ARCHIPELAGO--IT IS OF -VAST ANTIQUITY, AND IS BELIEVED TO POINT TO THE FACT THAT THE PACIFIC -ISLANDS WERE ONCE ONE VAST CONTINENT. - -_From a Photograph._] - -The archway here shown, made of enormous slabs of coral rock neatly -chiselled and mortised, is one of the many interesting problems of the -Pacific. If, as is generally believed, the South Sea Islands are of -comparatively recent volcanic and coralline formation, who built this -archway, which is situated on one of the smallest islands of the Tongan -group? The oldest native inhabitants of the islands know nothing of its -origin, and from its appearance the monument is of great antiquity. From -this and other indications it has been claimed that the “Milky Way” of the -Pacific was in prehistoric times one vast continent, inhabited by peoples -of whom the present-day world has lost all record. - -[Illustration: THE LAST RELICS OF AN ILL-STARRED ENTERPRISE, A “HORSE -RAILWAY” ACROSS AN AMERICAN DESERT. - -_From a Photograph._] - -“Travelling recently on donkey-back across a trackless portion of the -Conchilla Desert in South-Eastern California,” writes a correspondent, “we -sighted ahead of us above the sage-brush a nondescript object which on -nearer approach resolved itself into the two dilapidated tramcars shown in -the next photograph. They formed the equipment of a ‘horse railway’ across -the sands ten or twelve years ago to connect a solitary station on the -Southern Pacific Railway with an agricultural colony several miles -distant. The farming enterprise, however, failed utterly, and the ‘horse -railway’ with it. The incongruous sight of these two abandoned cars in the -midst of drifting sands is all that remains to-day to tell the tale of -shattered hope.” - -The amusing handbill shown below refers to a curious function which is -very popular in British Columbia--the “poverty social.” This is an -entertainment of the kind formerly known in more conventional circles as a -“conversazione.” Whereas the latter is chiefly distinguished for its -formality and general uncomfortableness, these “poverty socials” are -delightfully free and easy; indeed, the people attending them are actually -fined if their clothes are considered at all stylish or savouring of -ostentation, the idea, of course, being that everyone--rich and poor -alike--shall feel entirely at their ease. Needless to say, the bad -spelling and the mistakes made in the printing of the bill are all -carefully designed to heighten the homely effect of the gathering. - -[Illustration: THIS AMUSING HANDBILL REFERS TO A BRITISH COLUMBIAN -“POVERTY SOCIAL,” A FORM OF ENTERTAINMENT WHICH IS EXTREMELY POPULAR. - - _you air Axed to A Poverty Soshall_ - - THAT US FOLKS OF THE EPWORTH LEAGUE - - _Air A-goin Tu hAve in_ THE SCULE ROOM, - - _Queen’s Ave. Methodist Church_ - - _NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C._ - - THURSDY NITE, APRIL 26, 1906 - - RULS AND REGELASHUNS - -I. All wimmin wil be xpected tu bee togged out in kaliker dresses & good -Gingem apirins: rufles, flounces, etc. air not konsiddered stiLish and -oners aer lible too fyne. - -II. Evry man hoo is cawt wearin a biled shiRt or stannup kalar wil bee -find 5 sense. Hum-maid chees-cloth Nektys & ol Kentuk-ky Jeens wyll be -reKkonD senSible aS wel as ornimentl. - - A PRYSE - -Wil be givn tu the maN & Wuman havin the wurst lukin rig in the rhume. -These RulS wil be enforced tu the Letar. A Kompetent Komitty wil introDuce -Strangirs & Luk after Bashful Fellars. Al extrees & artikles of Adornment -wil Be Find. - -_Kum & hav Sum pHun & git sumpn tu eat._ - -Admishun to the Bilding 15 (fiftene) sense.] - -[Illustration: HALF-A-DOZEN ORANGES TRAVELLING DOWN THE THROAT OF A -CALIFORNIAN OSTRICH. - -_From a Photograph._] - -It is questionable if any animal on earth could duplicate the swallowing -feat that is to be seen daily (or as often as a tourist comes along) at -the Cawston Ostrich Farm in South Pasadena, California. The ostriches on -this farm are veritable giants of their race, having responded generously -to the genial climate, good food, and scientific care. Oranges are one of -their great dainties--the big “navel” oranges of California, measuring -upwards of three and a half inches in diameter. One old patriarch named -“Emperor William” will catch the oranges one after another, full ten feet -above the ground, until an even dozen may be seen at the same time slowly -bumping down his long expanse of neck, to be finally lost in the ruffle of -feathers where neck and body join! “William” has been known to gulp -thirty-five or forty oranges in succession, and the fact that he is in -robust health at twenty-three years of age seems to indicate that -California oranges agree with him. - -[Illustration: THE UBIQUITOUS GAME--A NATIVE OF BHUTAN PLAYING “DIABOLO” -AT DARJEELING. - -_From a Photograph._] - -An Indian reader writes: “I enclose a photograph which I recently took -whilst paying a visit to the Indian hill station of Darjeeling. The -picture represents a Bhutia, or native of Bhutan, playing ‘Diabolo.’ -Although the game has made big strides both at home and abroad, I think -that probably Darjeeling, at an altitude of seven thousand feet, -represents the highest point it has touched at present.” - -[Illustration: LOVE-MAKING IN MEXICO--THIS YOUNG MAN HAS PATIENTLY WAITED -UNDER THE WINDOW OF HIS INAMORATA UNTIL SHE CHOSE TO COME TO THE GRATING -AND SPEAK TO HIM. - -_From a Photograph._] - -In Spanish-speaking countries young women are allowed but little of the -liberty that they enjoy in lands where English is the native tongue. They -rarely meet young men at social entertainments, and are never permitted to -converse with them except in the presence of older people. They do, of -course, contrive to carry on flirtations, but chiefly with the eyes. In -every town in a Spanish-speaking country there is a _plaza_, where a band -plays on one or two evenings of the week. The young men and women -congregate there, the former walking round and round in one direction and -the latter in the opposite direction. Thus they are constantly meeting and -making eyes at each other, but they do not pair off or sit down on the -benches together. When a young man wants to pay his attentions to a girl, -he must get notes smuggled to her or “play the bear”--that is, stand under -the window of her room and try to attract her attention, either by -serenading her with some musical instrument, or, if he has no gift that -way, by simply waiting patiently until she chances to look out and cast -him an encouraging glance. In spite, however, of all difficulties and -obstacles, Cupid contrives to find a way, and young people fall in love -and marry just as in lands where etiquette is less strict and -opportunities for _tête-à-tête_ conversations more frequent. - -[Illustration: A PLAGUE OF LOCUSTS ON THE NORTH-WEST FRONTIER OF -INDIA--THEY COVERED THE HILLS FOR MILES, STRIPPED ALL THE LEAVES OFF THE -TREES, AND IN SOME CASES EVEN ATE THE BARK! - -_From a Photograph._] - -The striking little photograph above was sent by Colonel the Hon. H. E. -Maxwell, D.S.O., from the remote post of Cherat, on the North-West -frontier of India. “It was taken during a flight of locusts,” he writes. -“They covered the hills for miles in every direction, and during their two -or three days’ stay caused enormous damage to the few trees and shrubs -with which we are blessed, stripping them entirely of their leaves, and in -some cases even eating away the bark!” - -[Illustration: THE MAP-CONTENTS OF “THE WIDE WORLD MAGAZINE,” WHICH SHOWS -AT A GLANCE THE LOCALITY OF EACH ARTICLE AND NARRATIVE OF ADVENTURE IN -THIS NUMBER.] - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Wide World Magazine, Vol. 22, No. 129, -December, 1908, by Various - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WIDE WORLD MAGAZINE, DEC 1908 *** - -***** This file should be named 53928-0.txt or 53928-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/3/9/2/53928/ - -Produced by Victorian/Edwardian Pictorial Magazines, -Jonathan Ingram and the Online Distributed Proofreading -Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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