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HIS MONEY A NUISANCE, THE BECKLESS CAREER OF COAL OIL JOHNNY. wn.i l>i..ip.n.p an -i iBBarallrled Rxlra vaeaarr rr*Bt Wealth i. PBBr d .rlyr l l.a.l Coal Oil Johnny la not, as is popularly uppoaed, dead and buried, but alive, hi pretty good condition physically, and in quite comfortable circumstances, says tbe Rochester Herald. And ahocking as it may be to those accustomed to holding him up as a horrid warning to the young tbe fact aeems beyond dis- pute that Coal Oil Johnny's good fin- ancial plight to-day is the direct result of bis having been a reckless, irrespon- sible, drunken spendthrift when young. OUT OF A POORHOUSE. In December. 1867, William McClin- tock. owner of an almost worthless lit- tie farm on Oil Creek, in Kranklin Co.. Pa., accompanied by his wife, went to the county poor house to pick out a boy for adoption, as they had already adopt- ed from tbe same institution a daugh- ter. They selected a lad 12 or 15 years old. to whom tbe name of John Steele bad been attached though how he got U does not appear in the record. A little more than a year later the farm- er died, leaving all his small property to his widow. She bequeathed to her adopted laughter, who was her favorite, the urn of 12.000. tbe total sum she and her husband had. by a lifetime of fru- gality and toil, managed to save. To tbe hoy. John Steele, she left the farm, wbich was possibly worth a couple of hundred dollars at that time. Within a few months after her execution of that instrument, on August 28, 1859, Col. Drake struck oil on tbe first bored well, which was on the McClintock farm. STRUCK IT RICHLY. Col. Drake leased one-eighth of an acre from the widow .''cClintock. for which she received one-half of the yield of the well. Very speedily the farm was leased out in one-eigHh-ef-an-aere palobes and dotted all over with wells. Tbe widow was in receipt of thousands of barrels of oil every day. for which she found ready sale at from f!2 to |15 per barrel, and the sums of money she handled were greater than she had ever before believed existed. As she had no confidence in banks, she got * big safe, which she crammed full of money and bonds. One evening in March, 1862. John Bteele, who had been away with a team haulir.r oil, returned home and found the house in ashes. Tbe charred bones of the widow were picked out of tbe ruina. It was supposed that she had accidentally set herself biasing, and then the house by rashly using petro- leum to start the kitchen fire. HIS HRAD WAS TURNED. As John Steele bad been legally adopted, be was the natural heir to the contents of tbe big safe and the river of revenue from tbe oil-producing farm, his possession of which was fur- ther fortified by the widow's will, made before the change in her fortune. This sudden acquisition of enormous wealth turned bis bead, not all at once, but peeilily. He married the daughter of one of hi- workmen, and she taught him to write hi.s name in a laborious, mechan- ical way. and that was all be ever learned of the art and mystery of leU ters. She tried to keep him straight, but he kne.w too little to comprehend self-respect, felt himself too rick to be After a short time of abject drstitu- timi in which he was deserted by all who had preyeil U|HUI him, he went to work driving the 'jirard House stage, in w liic'li truejtui were carried to and from t be ruilruad depots. Soon be wearied of that aud somebody paid his fare twck to Oil Creek, where he obtained em- ploMiient as a freight handler at the depot, earning $25 a month. TO TUB WEST. His wife raised, by the sale of her jewellery a sum sufficient for the transportation of the family out to Ne- braska, and there, in Lincoln. Coal Oil Johnny settled down. They were very poor, nut managed somehow to live, lor Johnny was a willing worker at any labor he could procure. He took care that his son. a bright lad, should re- ceive as good an education as possible. When the boy was old enough be ob- tained employment as a ticket agent at the Ashland. Neb., railroad station, and there hia father, Coal Oil Johnny that was. plain John Steele, as everyliody about there knows him, works steadily and patiently for the railroad company under the son's direction, handling freight, taking care of the station, and ao on. And ne is hale, hearty, a well preserved man, apparently about 63 years of age. seemingly well contented. FORTUNE AGAIN SMILED. In some way the directors of that Philadelphia bank in which he had made his informal deposit thirty years before, learned of the unhappy condi- tion of the Steele family away out in Nebraska, of the total reformation ii Coal Oil Johnny's habits, and th man- ly struggle be was making to atone for the past. Having assured tbem- ae.l>-s of the identification of their er- ratic depositor, they made up bis ac- count and forwarded to him the sum left in their charge, with interest from the date of iU deposit. How much it was is known only to those concerned, but it is believed to have been some- where about 980,000, probably more ra- ther than leas. With that money 700 acres of choice farming land near Ash- land were purchased, and a good house erected, with barns, outhouses, excell- ent fences, and so forth. There Mrs. Steele in in oonlrol. and if the bad idea should occur to Johnny of a return to the tumultuous delights of earlier days, it is not probable that be would be able to prejudice the family interest in t nat farm. But there are no fears of his doing ao. He has proved himself not a warning. ocean must be wiped off the mishap of the Virgen de los Angeles has aroutwd the British Government, which will send a gunboat to patrol the i . The orew of the Virgen de loa HIS FORTUNE Lay la Mis Balr. Whlck Wai as aar-Ma'4 t a rkaaaleaa. Tbe death in London of Jasper Hend- rick, a Swiss watch- '' is reported. Hendrick was possessed of a bead of hair which excited world-wide atten- tion, and was eventually tbe means of earning an immense fortune for him. Brown, black, white, silver, golden, gray, and even red were all combined in his hair, which was vary long and silky. Several specialists who examined this extraordinary phenomenon were unable to account fer tbe cause of it, although various theories were advanced. The strangest part was that while Hend- rick's hair exhibited all these colors, hiq lieard and mustache were a uniform jet black. Tbe possessor of thia unique hair was born at Lucerne, and came to London at an early age, where be was apprentic- ed to the watchmaking business. Kor a considerable time he succeeded in "" """ """"-.. "-' - _ keeping tbe condition of his hair a se- | . Sundar 1 _ af ^, r ^. 00 ,'\,.' lb ^ net. but one day. happening to come into his shop to serve a customer with- out the wig be uaually wore, be let the oat out of the bag, and from that day be became an object of general m- tei-est. Customers flacked to his shop in bun- ' RIFF PIRATES_ONCE MORE SEA BRIGANDS LOST A BRITISH VESSEL OFF GIBRALTAR. ifcT Arc* M.ndintf Hcaae* I* CBSree Tfc r ITM! . . Ar Well Arrnrd <! Will Kill If I .rrr.l | H,b. Hlr fll.l't r lk i'.rinr Pirates n> by no menu* put and gone. The long. low-lying razor-prow- e<l veoel that carried at her peak the black flag. with iu white skull and croHsbones, m&y not cruise aboat (or prey as it did of yore, but the pirates themselves are still in active business. On the blue waters of the Mediterran- ean only toe other day, just a few mile" off the coast of Morocco, a British feluc- ca. the Virgen de los Angeles was drifting placidly on the tide in a taad calm, when eight long boat*, filled with swarthy Moore, pulled out from the schore with long, vigorous sweeps of the oan. It was the Riff pirates once more, the descendants of that, famous old band of "water raU" that swept the seas just south of the rock of Gibraltar in the Middle Ages. A felucca is but a small craft and has a complement of no more than eight or nine sailors. Re- sistance, therefore, was utterly useless and the Riffs in the long boats were masters of the situation. They did not kill, for the riracjr was too easy. In the twinkling ut an eye they stripped the little ship, taking away THK ENTIRE CARGO, all the spare canvas, the crew's clothing, the captain's belongings and 9600 in good silver coin. The seamen and mas- ter, afraid of their lives, stood passively by and watched their craft denuded of everything except her standing sails. Then the followers of Capt. Kidd sent a few parting shots at the ship, flashed their sharp knives and pulled back to shore. The Riffs for years have ' en a men- ace to commerce and pleasure on the waters of the Mediterranean. They are the only pirates to-day on the edge of civilization. Cruising along the coast of Morocco, especially off the Isle of Alhucemas, where they chiefly abound, is full of risks. Should a calm come up these warrior Moors of the seashore invariably puah their boats through the surf and row out for plunder. All the European governments have protested that these Jttri^ands of the Angeles were fortunate in that they es- caped with their skint whole. Kor it is seldom that piracy by the Riffs is un- marked with murder. Their most notable piracy of the past few months was tbe looting ef the Dutch brigantine Anna early in tbe summer. The Anna had net sail from Hari. a port on the Adriatic, between Hrindisi and the Gulf of Manfredonia. She had aboard a cargo of oil for L'- Orient and Duuamenei. in Brittany, was manned by a crew of six. On becalmed (wren mi lee from the shore, between Mertila and Ceuta. Ceuta is directly opposite the rock of Gibraltar. A boat was observed pulling towards the vemel. U was manned by seven or eight SAVAGE-LOOKING MOORS. dreds. and although at first be con- | at ripped to tbe waist and armed with tinned to wear the wig, be aeon di- | onK knives and breech-loading rifles, carded i I wher. he aaw that he was Their heads were shaved, save for a long able to turn what he bad always con- sidered a misfortune to a profitable ac- count. Ultimately a well-known show- thirsted for a ous gratification, the highest pleasure he was capable of. Only a few months after his marriage he went away to Philadelphia. The life of prodigality and uncontrolled dissipa- tion into which he plunged waa so wild as to lie almost beyond belief. He ordered champagne, not by the bottle, but by the basket. He gave a |:..<KW diamond to a negro minstrel for sing- ing a song that pleased him. He fre- quently Ihiugbt carriages and tbe teams attached when he wished to ride a few block*, and then presented them to the up his business, he Kurope and America on exhiUtion. Dietetic Value of Cheese. There in an old saying t hat cheese "di- tuft of hair on the top. They shouted to the captain to lower ail. and when he refused, began Ktraigbt away to fire on the vessel. The crew armed themselves with hatch- ets and crowbars. The Riff that stood in the bow at ' mpteil to spring aboard, and was struck down by the Anna's mate. -Before he reached the deck a pirate bullet caused that officer to fall like a log. Hut one firearm was aboard the Anna, Wh " a r^^.'^bJch w TnTn inTh."ca- share this household word may have tain's hands. This he promptly fired, bad in the. prevalent depression in the ! but the Iwll had hardly left its cham- Cbeshire and Cheddar cheese trades K is I b r > for hta . !>* nd . waa "haltered by , another from the boat. Other craft. hard to tell, but it would appear that filu%<1 with p j ra tes. were pulling out to the lessened consumption in Kngland of the brigantine wilh long, e-.vift strokes. this, at one time, popular article of diet Ten, a dozen, twenty, and more Kirf* HIS DHITNKKN DEPOSIT. At another time he received a large sum of money from tin- rentals on the farm when he waa on tne street and quite drunk. It was In hank notes, as be always required it, checks being ob- ject* of suspicion with him, and when he had stuffed il into his pockets they bulged out like those of an urchin after a raid on an could not sit well on him. pad money as be was, and he was disgusted. cal journal says that this assumption is by no means correct, and it states, on utensils, provisions. ideli':hn. coru- passes anil even a portion of the cargo. , . the strength of official analysis, especi- They tore the clothes from the back.i of ally undertaken for the purpose of tie- (he crew an ,i even slipped their shoes l lb * q"st'on that Cheddar cheese f rom their fe-t contains a much hu<her percentage.] | n history there are many terriMe both of flenh-fortmnK aubstanc and of talea of the ravages and outrages of fats than meat, even of the finest qual- the llarbary pirates. Centuries ago ity. This view was held by no 1ms an | thefle were the fellows that mckml t be authority than tlie lat Dr. 1'arke*. of MM of the Mediterranean and despoiled hat they had over fl.OOO gun* and a j formidable armament Another band of molrn pirates ar be freebooters of the waters of Malay, | t- ho cruise about in junks and proas. ! 'be crew are on constant watch for be- aimed traders and cargo ship* that re undermanned. These innocent look- up vessels drift leisurely about in pairs ragging between them a huge cable to . lii<-li in fastened a sweep net. It nothing better turns up they make pretense of fishing. But once let <>me unprotected vessel drift, hy.an'l if be waters are clear and no Kiiropean warship is about, they draw in their lets, get out their spears and muskets nd board and ravage the hapleM t rari- ng vessel*, cutting the throats of offi- cers and crew, cleaning out cargo and ittings and then sinking the vessel hey have looted. Many small craft fall victims each ear to the treacherous pirates of tb* .Inlay regions, of Celebes or Java. They ever attack ships that have guns hoard, but there are plenty of unpro- , ected vessels passing over the waters f the east, and the prey is abundant, t is done ao quietly that the civilized world never hears of it. apple orchard. His coat ' Net toy. who persistently maintained every vesBol they could put their claws M-ll on him. padded with tb" 1 cheese contained a verv large ,, The Rifts are their lineal rie.sc. n I amount of albuminoid material in a j n ts the name Riff having a pat mean- ler. and went away, ere that, function- ary could take breath or gather hia wits sufficiently to give any evidence of t be deposit. And when Coal Oil Johnny, as John Sleele was by this time known, tried, in a brief spasm of nobriety, to reuiemlier where he had left all that money, be was quite un- able to do so. And he decided, to hunt it up would involve more trouble than il wa worth. Its loss did not worry him at all. IT TOOK WINGS TO ITSELF. Suddenly hia wealth came to an end. fle had succeeded in squandering even ' morn than his vast income, and was in ] VMI lul , . debt . Of rour.se, he had lieen plundered i .....li.i hnvo "--- right and left, but had lit- , ' it b* "from two to three times an mil ri I |(,f tious as the same money value of ordin- - ary meat." Lost Deltffht There are some pleasures which are inexpensive, but satisfying, particular- ly to tbe childish mind Oh, exclaimed Mnrjorie Manson. as tbe desaeit came, on, how I wlih you In the faiitnesnes of them the have proved them-sclves to be A FEROCIOUS T1UHK of landsmen, and their name i fearec even more by the pcActwble H ul>.iecla ol .Southern Morocco thaji it is by thoae Several time.* the Sultan has his trope against them, but each ex- ha been in vain. He has the attack and simply set a of hills erally thrown away several fortunes, < and creditors, scenting his downfall, were pressing him lie mortgaged I ho farm for a large sum, and plunged afresh into even wilder extravagance and more mcklivu dissipation than lv- forvi. but t in- less te go upon, and t he and came quickly. His mad career waa would it have inquired Mrs. Manson. OK lot. I W **&****: aoutWr, :owt of Kurope. is very' near 11 Iv the least known part of Africa to dav. (let ween the hills are many rich valleys, and these men and women de- scendants of Uarbary rangers are skil fill fariueiH. They nrmn'.'e to mmoiinr t heinsehe-s wilh many comforts, by tbe simple art of am infilling and trailing ally) with smugglers. They are. especially well armed, anc Duveyrinr, a French explorer, Itarnec Kaiy Enough. Ueorge (ncrvmi-ly) I'd like the lies! In the. world. Kilty, to marry you. but I dnn'l know linvi to propose. Kilty (promptly anil prai Tint's all right, George. You've fin- ished with me; now go to papa. AH EXPENSIVE METAL. B < o.i. IBM .. a>ee-lMr Mill Mr Prr r lo. Hclals. Just now there is no metal ao gener- lly esteemed as is gold, but there are a variety of metals more precious, reck- ned in dollars and cents, although heir intrinsic worth is vastly leas. The most expensive of these superior metals is an obscure one. unknown to ame, by the name of gallium. It he- ongs to the same group as does tin and s worth exactly ten times what gold is worth per ounce. It is not used to any extent for any purpose and it is secured by the deposit caused in certain hemical operations, primarily for other purposes. Gold is worth |20 per ounce, gallium t200. Thurium closely resembles pallodium. nit while the latter is worth only |8 >er ounce, its twin, thurium. is sold for 1160 per ounce. Vanadium comes in a black powder and is one of the hardest metals to melt. It is of little use in association with other metals because cheaper me- tals secure the same results that its use would give. Its price is 948 per ounce. Most of these metals are shown in xwder form because they are obtained in that form. It is difficult often to obtain them in globules because they decompose very quickly when exposed ,o the air. If kept in lump they are usually preserved in kerosene. "Tiermanium. clneely resembling tin as t does. is. nevertheless, worth $95 per ounce and is one of the moat expensive metals uaed to any extent. Rubidium is of a greenish gray ap- learance and comes as a powder. Its ralue is $88 per ounce. Beryllium, which resembles lead, is w firt h $80 per ounce. Santatun is a gray mass very much ike rubidium. Its value is $PO per ounce, although at wholesale it would be a trifle cheaper. One can hardly peak of these metals as merchandise. lowever, aa they are rarely sold save as specimens or for unusual experi- ments. Calcium is, of course, well known. It comes in a white powder and is more fadilv melted than many of the others. [t belongs to the aluminum family and M worth $80 per ounce. Indium is very dark, globular, and it. oo, is kept in kerosene. It is worth fTJ per ounce. Didymium when collected is a light tray or dove color. When melted it n one of the whitish gray metals. It worth $72 per ounce. Lithium also is kept under kerosene prevent oxidation, since from con- tact with the air it at once liecomes in oxide ami is wasted. In appearance ,t is a black mass, ami il is so lig^ht that its specific gravity is only about 50. Its value is $M per ounce. l-'rbium is much like cerium, of a bluish gray color, but when melted in {lobules iu real color is gray. It, too, icliings to the aluminum group, and it w worth $m per ounce. Ruthenium is a black powder in ap- pearance and exceedingly difficult to melt. It LS worth $44 per ounce. Cerium is a brownish green mats in appearance, but in malitv it is a white inetal belonging to lite aluminum fam- 'ly. Its value U $10 per ounce. Strontium is kept in kerosene to pre- veut oxidation. It is dark gray in CO|<M before innlting but after it is light gray. Its pricw is $40 per ounce. Rhodium is another metal which it is very difficult to melt. H is a dark inetal. very little used because it is next impossible to absorb it. Its value is |40 per ounce. /iiiMii tiiin comes in flat. thin, gray- ish blue crystals and is worth $40 per ounce. Barium is kept in kermwne.. In <>'l"r it is silver white, and its rioe is $32 per ounce. Borium comes in fine gra.vi.sh black crystals* and is very hard. The crystals much rwwmlile cm TV in appearance, but horiimi will dissolve in hot alumin- um, while other metals of the aame hardnean will not. U is worth 9~o per ounce. It should >v Hiid in reference to many of I hi' costly uwtals thai the reason they are. -in difficult to melt or to com- bine with other mc'-sU is that they oxidise HO quickly when exposed to air 1 li.it in being placed in a crucible great care iniLst be used, and the chemical combinations necessary to secure safe- ty are not STRANOE A Wkctlaiaa <MM An amusing story is related in of the adventure of > genUeiaac had spent a plasaot evening ai a emit with some friends. He returned home on a bicycle, and wa* ao unfortunate as to sustain several fall* on the way. Nor was he more lucky when b* miirr>s< the house in which b* dwelt. Mistak- ing the floor on which his rooms are situated, be rang repe*te<tiy at the door of an apartment occupied by the wittow of an Admiral, who ka at tht preaeet moment away from *owrn. AM no one responded to th* summons be finally effected an entrance by break- ing open the door, and while groping about in search of matches be con- trived to upaet t number of tables and chairs, as well M a couple of vaJuaMe Sevres vases. At laat he reached the bedroom, and it he felt much fatigued by his rid* on the bicycto tn4 by hit wanderings through etoe apartment, us dispensed with the operation ol divest- ing himself of bis garments, tod throw- ing himself on Ihe bad was last kicked in alumber. Hii awakeaing, however, was the reverse of agreeable, tar OB opening Uis iya> after a rouk shaking he beheld bia coocisrg*. flanked by two policemen, who perecnptorily ioqaired what be was doing in the spartoieot of the Admiral's widow. Tken be was compelled to taka a tarn uniad th* rooms, where the havoc be hai wrought in bis search for the matchbox was revealed to his bewildered vision. The conctersre. however, like a good Sa- maritan, spoke s. kind word (or his ten- ant, and toe BoUce, who had been sum- moned under the impression that a gang of burglars had brokaa into tht apartment, obligingly vacated the prem- ises. A meaaage from the concierge to the Admiral's widow was promptly foW lowed by one from tbe unconscious in- truder into her domicile, containing a full apology ami a promise to make up for all the damage that bad been don*. The hero of this adventure ic described aa an Englishman who is a member of several temperance societies, but bolh definitions ma; be received with aqua] reservation. BABE EQUINE. Alpha. UM Laa*M Wcatft* te sat Showmen throughout the country an eager to get possession of a horse that is just now aBtonUhinff London theater- goers, aad tbe probabilities are that it will be brought across the water. Tbt horse is named Alpha, and displays re- markable intelligence. A blackboard is brought upon the stage, and he is asked to show bia arithmetical powers The animal turns to tbe figures, thinks a moment, apparently, and then pawi out on tbe floor, figure after figure, till his subtraction or addition or multipli- cation sum is correctly dune. Seate- times he loakM a iniatake, and with an impatient inake of his mane and a vicious light in his eye* he begin* again and rights tbe wrung. Suuehow tbe British mind refuse* to believe that t borne, even of the Alpha breed, actually "does sums ;" one luispects tome hidden trick by wbich tbe trainer oues his horse to ma.kf eertaia aigos that look like the renult of thought. But whe- ther or not bin trainer employes these "artistic" uio*. tbe result is certain- ly most striking, aud if trick there be, it is concealed in a most marvel OBJ manner. Alpha also plays tbe harmonium, and his reuderinK "' "liod Save the Queen" on an enuruious keyboard is a start- ling performance, anid a more correct one than in many other cases. Thf clever creature aL*> aelecU letters from the alphabet, tells tbe time, plays a trarue of nap. tod firee a gun, for wbicb latter feat, atruigv to sajr, be shows t decided per<tilectt:>o. Tha perfuriuaac* ends with a ;roteK|(M transformation of the beautiful horae into a nurse in skirts, white apron, tartan shawl aad gorgeoua poke bonnet, little Beta, a fat t wiKve>:ir-<>ld pony, wbich is only -t being t rained for an artistic career, is caused to sit un its haunches in t perambulator, and tbe nurse Alpha wheel* him trrosa tbe stage. _ UntmnslaUbla. Father What wat. your mother talk- ing aiioat just now f Bon I don't know. Father Why you sat and heard it all. Son Yea. but aha was talking to the baby. Sal f Denial. Are ye. the same mon. said Mrs. Do- Ian indignantly, that war talkin' to 1'atsy Donovan so brave yesterday, ti Iliii' itn t hut vou loiked to worruk t C)i do I. ike. to worruk but O'iui vsillin' to denoi lueself HIS SKIN AN ARMOR. * u Wh u atBllel freer a I vrln 'e IP Berlin t Singhalese baffles all in- vetitigations by physicians hy the im- peneirability of his skin. The bronied Ka.t truer, a hercule-s in shape, claims to have found an nxilir which will ren- der the human akin impervious to any metal point or sharpened edge, of t knilt or dagr and calls himaelf tbe " Man witb the Iron Skin." It ia true thai it hit- been inuxwsible to even .scratch hL-i -km witfc sharply pointed nails, with finely ground knives and daggers. He u now exhibiting himself and liLs greatral feat it to pats with his entire body through a hoop, tbe inmdt of liicb Is hardly bin enough to admit his bixty and Is cUwely set with sharp knife-p^'ini..-*. dagger*, nails and other equally p!e-i-int trifles Through this In -up lie s(|uo.:i bio body with absolute impunity. IV ptiy.sician.s do uot a^ree a>. t b's immunity ami some of them think that Rhaantn. which U hie niuur. w a fakir who has by long practice *uc- oeetled in hardening himself against tlve itii|irof**i"os of metal u|>>n bis -!'iii The prnfntaorsof the Merlin rUiiic, how- ever, considered u worth while to lec- ture about the man's sk'm, pruuouncing it an inexplicable matter. Sllsneed \Vife-\Vhai ia tbo world do you want with a tiootbone? You know that the until iHMt door has driven as nearly wild by his performance on that iiiHtruiueul. Hubby Calm your- self, uiy dear. That's tbe one I've liougat. the Hard on the System. H!iff*rt w hy dnlri't you ire to Atu-i DinsKW Spvakt-rs' l'.ui>|uet f \Vhiffers I was not fwlin^ well. niiffnrs Afraid to eat anttbingf Whiff era Oh. 1 * wall eno<u|k 'o eat. but I watu't well anough to listen.