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wmmmm! ' 4 -a r •'. • " *, , <vttf\ >f as> • *> i > Vtt'v, ' y.< «. •>'- i»< "t^ « ̂ (*V ,•*» INCSft flaindcaler I. VAN SLYKE. PuWIther. MoHENBf, fflPPWBP*" ELUNOia there, then, ami we did a splendid business, tiiy former customer, Kmsch- ke, giving us each a good order, besides what we did with others. In fact, where I sold a bill, I never failed to get' an order for Howard also. The next morning, Friday, w.e took the ® t ' ; ;"il£ COUNVs 1MIIL CI© Ft owl beneath the grout ccrnrt «J%« Onr little four-vcm-olc), ADI' .ullwl t he hanging tassel down Ot line ami silky gold. "Oh, »oe, the corn tins KOI «n hair,* He safd, • iintl Hfe it shmo. And yet it doesn't, curl at nil-- It'ts not at nli like mine *1 wonder low tlio com urould 1 • To have the fanner come * -And comb and brush it every dny And curl it 'round his T humbV I wish that I had hair like this. That would be always lijht. Instead of having tangles pulled Morniog, uoon and uiglit." • bottle on the floor, put oat the light and went to bed. ! I could not sleep, and as soon as I J heard a stir below, I arose, and pretend- j ing I had just discovered the brqkeu • door, I roused Howard and told him I that we had been robbed again. He was thunderstruck, and sprang out of bed and rang the boll violently, and cursed at a terrible rate. The managers stage for Ouray, via Red ^fountain, a small mining town on the summit of the range, but did not 5show our goods there, as we would have had to remain j of the hotel were greatly surprised and there ai> entire day. and with miserable shocked, aa nothing of the kind had I WAS ROBBHL ZAXK BLAND. For Several years I had been travel­ ing through Illinois and Missouri for an hotel accommodations. Jnst before leaving Silver!on, Kruschkehad handed me $980, on his account, aud instead of getting a draft, or not receiving it, I had foolishly brought the money with me; a fact which I mentioned to How ward as wo were starting out of Red Mountain. He only laughed, and remarked that lightning seldom struck twice in the same place; but I felt uncomfortable, nevertheless, and resolved to take no more such chances. We reached Ouray about sunset, one of the most beautifully situated towns in the universe and with as nice a hotel, and after supper I felt all right and laughed at my uneasiness on the way over. It was too late to do an v business •Eastern shoe factory, until my custom-, thatevening, but I thought I would era had come to expect me as much as they did the return of spring and fall; *nd, as the line gave general satisfac­ tion, I had no trouble in keeping up my sales, and was growing lazy; lor I •dreaded unpacking and repacking my eatnples more than I did selling the 4P>ods, and sometimes wished the house would send a packer along with me, but of course this was only on very warm days. About this time - the m^agers .greatly enlarged the capacity of the shoe shops, and this meant new terri­ tory and new salesmen. Instead of ^putting the new salesmen on the new "territory, they put them on the old, and the old ones on the new. My lot fell in Colorado, and a few towns in adja- -«ent territory. It was on my second trip that.I first met Morgan Howard, as J will call him for good reasons, as 1 think. He was in the employ of a large | dry goods firm, and was working the I •Colorado trade. I met him first at | Trinidad. At that time business was | Jiot so much classified as at present; walk over to Fox Bros., the party to j whom I had sold on the previous trip, and let them know I was there. Will, the eider of the two brothers, was a great euchre player, and he soon bantered me for a game. Next door to Fox's shoe store was a drug store, run by Dr. Morse, a man who had spent several years in mining, and having laid by considerable money, had resumed his former business in the. East, that of a druggist He was a j man of sterling integrity and highly esteemed by all who knew him. He had a little room, or office, nicely fitted up in the rear of the store, and back of the prescription case, where of an even­ ing some of his friends often spent a pleasant hour with him at euchre or whist. It was in there that Fox took me, and after introducing me to the doctor, we were soon interested in our game, the doctor watching us the while, when someone called liis attention to the front, and I heard a verv familiar voice ask for chloroform, explaining nothing < ever occurred before. Fox and Dr. Morse were both in the office when I went down, and, when I had told them all about it, were strongly in favor of mobbing hifff, and declared I must at least expose him in the office. This I would not do, but took them up to my room, where Howard still remained On entering, the doctor said to him that he would like to see that bottle of chloro­ form, as he found, he had made a mis­ take, and had given him something else. "Yes,'"* I said, "Howard, thinking I was restless last night, applied some of it to me to quiet me, but it had no effect." If a cannon had exploded in the room he could not have been more shocked. Shame, fear and anger shook him like a leaf. The old doctor in the meantime was prying away at the bottom of the valise. Howard saw him and compre­ hended all. Oh, how he begged and cried for mercy. I never saw a human look so utterly miserable. The doctor cursed him as being a miserable cur, and commanded him to open the bottom of the valise at once, which he did, Re­ turning all he had stolen and borrowed, and offered more. At my urgent request he was allowed to depart, but with a warning from the doctor to never let his carcass be seen in Ouray again. He took the morning stage for Mon­ trose, and I have never seen him since. . „nnA- , ' t that he was subject to severe attacks of •nearly all the dry goods stores also , , | nnt,- ra,-A him » * - |k,'i J; handling boots and shoes, hats and "Cmps, and sometimes clothing. It was in a store of this kind, Hammersly & Page's, a firm whom 1 had sold on my previous trip, that I met him, and Mr. Page introduced him. It does not take traveling men long to get acquainted, •nd as we were handling different lines, «iid found our routes to be almost ex­ actly alike, we had soon agreed to <tnake the trip through the mountains ^together, both for the sake of compan­ ionship and for the reason that in mak­ ing overland trips which we would -often be compelled to do, we would generally save something by going •together. We got through our business in Trin- 5dad on a Saturday morning, and as we ^wanted to Sunday there, I proposed we •drive to El Mora, a small coal town about six miles north, where I had sold « good bill on my previous trip, to a •compauy store, run or managed by Wilcox & Son. Accordingly we drove -over, arriving about noon, and were -lucky enough to find the elder Wilcox, "who did all the buying, at home. I say lucky, as he owned some large cattle canchea which lay several miles away, and where he spent the greater part of Jhis time, leaving the store in charge of 'his son. He had just returned, and ' was in excellent spirits. I introduced Howard, and we both had a very nice •• little order to take back with us. Just ; as we were starting Wilcox handed me $450 on his previous bill, for which I gave him a receipt, and we hurried back toward Trinidad, arriving there -•bout sun-set. At that time, and in <aet yet in a good many of the mount­ ain towns, there were a great many tough characters about; gamblers And criminals who found it unhealthy farther east, and 1 never liked to have -much money about me over night, so • after supper I slipped over to Ham- -jnerslv & Page's, the banks being •dosed, and bad them put the Wilcox anoney in their 6afe. • The hotel being crowded that night, to accommodate the clerk, Howard and I took a room with two beds. Being tired I retired early and slept very aonndly all night, not waking till late £a the morning, and then with a rack­ ing headache, and a nauseous feeling at the stomach. Supposing it was caused *»7 poor ventilation I was looking •found to see the arrangement of the windows, when I was surprised to see the door-casing lying on the carpet and ^the door partly ajar. I got up and Sound my clothing all disarranged and tnv pocket-book, which I always slipped into one of my socks and placed near the middle of my bed under the mat­ tress, lying wide open and empty. I immediately awakened Howard, "who was snoring heavily, and told him •What had happened, and how I felt. We declared he felt the same way. j "rang the bellf and when the boy ap­ peared I sent liim back to tell the clerk to come up at once, which he did, and I told him we had been robbed, and -called his attention to the broken door- •casmg. > "Doyou not smell chloroform?" he „ -i&ked. I replied I could not; nor conld •Howard. Others came in now, aud all •Xttmarked the smell on entering. The .police were at once notified, and all the 'male help and some of the guests were •earched, but with no success. It was done by some inmate of the house, the . night clerk declared, as it was impos­ sible that any one camein the rear way, •e everything was in proper shape on 'Opening up in the morning; aud he had 'teen ill the office all night, and no ore &ad passed that way after the usual 'laed-time. Fortunately, I had but fifty «or sixty dollars taken, my expense jaoney, as I had taken it over to the *atore the evening before, and the thief <bad kindly left my watch. After breakfast, on returning to my ;*?. tooin I could plainly smell the odor of '^Vjifiloroform, and also found a cloth on ijhy pillow which. 1 suppose, had been Saturated with it and thrown over my -lace. Leaving the matter iu the hands •of the police, and the managers of the cramp, and that nothing relieved him so quickly; that he always carried it with him. but had accidentally, let his bottle fall and break. Unnoticed by him, I looked round the side of the prescription case and saw it was Howard, as I had thought from the voice. My suspicions were aroused at once,and for the first time. He knew that I had collected $980 at Silverton. Was he going to rob me? Had he robbed me at Trinidad? I sat down with Fox and resumed my game, and after Howard had left the store aud the doctor had returned, I told them of the affairat Trinidad, and my suspicions. "Then you have been trav­ eling sometime with him?" said the doctor; have you often heard him com­ plain of cramp?" I replied that I had never heard him mention it once. "Well," said he, "let me make a sug­ gestion : do you have the same room to­ night?" I replied that we had, that on our arival he had suggested we take a double room, and that we had been assigned to No. 17, a large front room overlooking the front street. **JuBt An t/'blquitoua Character. iBvery one has met the public nui­ sance, for he is everywhere. You find him in the street car with his feet stretched across the aisle, his breath redolent of tobacco. Sometimes he sings in the cars and cracks jokes taken from the stone age. There he laughs heartily and calls out the names of streets half a mile beyond. The public nuisance makes his home in the car. He is there most of tbe time, and some­ times he stands on the last step of the platform, and yon have to trample over him to get into the van. On the street he always turns to the left, and w his ties "Annie Rooney" through his teeth. Oc­ casionally he carries an umbrella at an angle which permits its point to poke you in the neck, and at other times he g es along merrily eating bananas, al­ ways throwing the hui-ks upon the side­ walk. He frequently visits the theater. He comes late, walks upon the feet of all the people in the aisle, and as the play goes on repeats in a loud voice to his friend the words of the comedian on the stage. Then when the curtain falls he stumbles over the same row of feet in hi* pilgrimage to the saloon, and later on-comes trampling back, throw­ ing out an atmosphere of beer and strong waters. His voice is louder than ever as he proceeds with his ex­ planation of the play, and be is selenely unconscious of the severe glances bent upou him from all directions. He is impervious to such .mild weapons, wait a moment," said he, as he* stepped Sometimes be completes the list of his to the prescription case. He came back presently with a bottle in hi-t hand and handed it to me. "There, said he, "is a bottle exactly like the one I gave your friend, tilled with a harmless volatile liquor With just enough chloroform to give it odor. "Now," continued he, "you must, by some means, change bottles with him and await develop­ ments. If he is innocent, no harm is done; if he is guilty--well you'll find it out if you. are as wide awake as I think you are." • "Good!" exclaimed Fox and I at the same time. We then bade the doctor good night, and went over to the hotel, where we found Howard engaged in a game of billiards. "Now," said Fox, "would be a good time to change the bottles, if he has taken it to the room," and so up we went. His valise was locked, but under > the circum­ stances we thought it proper to open it, if we could. 1 had no key that would fit it, but fortunately Fox had, and iu a trice we had changed the bottles and re- locked the valise. Fox and I now went across to the store where, after smoking a cigar, I left him and returned to the hotel and found Howard waiting for me, and we went directly to bed. As usual I placed my pocket-book in one of ray socks and slipped it under the mattress, remarking to Howard, as I did so, that I hoped the iTrindad busi­ ness would not be repeated, as I had neglected to leave my money at the store, as I did at Trinidad. He said lie apprehended no danger, and as he was already in bed, I turned out the light and got in my own bed, but not to sleep, although I feigned to, soundly. Several times I did almost go to sleep, in spite of everything I could do, and was be­ ginning to fear that I would be unable to lie so still and remain awake, when I heard a slight noise toward Howard's bed. It seemed my hearing was unusu­ ally acute that night; for, although I j veynr's instrument is at fault and he re- was breathing very heavily and regu-1 cord* what, it registers, as it is regis- larly, 1 could hear every movement he j teied by the instrument, that is an made. I heard the key turn in tbe j error; but if he records it differently lock, the paper rustle as he unwrapped j from what the instrument register* it, the bottle, afid the gurgle of the bottle j that is a mistake. This means if the fascinations by eating peanuts with crackling shells. Then murderous thoughts fill your soul; you want to kill him. Once in a while you put on your black suit of clothes and walk in the early morning sunshine. The birds are singing,the sky is blue as turquoise, and you are almost effervescent in your joy. Then comes the public nuisance from the mouth of an alley and dumps a box of ashes where the dust is sure to blow upon you. He never fails. He is always there. A black suit of clothes never escape; the fiend with the ash box. The fellow is seen in other phases and other places. He is driving a load of brick in front of a street car when yon want to catch a train; he puffs a cigar in tbe elevator, and always gets off at the top story in the building, and he is running through a crowd to get upen .« bridge that is swinging. In the hotels he is always standing beside the desk, scanning the names of guests as fast as they are registered. And, then againC he comes up behind yQu on the street and playfully bangs his hand upon your back. He takes considerable comfort in whipping a dusty carpet under your windows. He also likes to tell you that you look bad, and ought to do something for yourself. Just before he goes to bed he opens the window with a crash and coughs bsis- terously into the night, so that every­ body i.i the neighborhood will know that he has reached home. The fellow is all around town. Doubtless you meet him at least three times a day in one place or another. He is a character, after all, and nobodv knows just how we would get along if he were to be taken away from us. ••Error" and "X /•take." These words by no means bear the same definition. A civil engineer claimed that there was a difference be­ tween an error and a mistake, and he illustrates it in this way: "If a sut- as he poured the liquor on or into some­ thing. Very quietly he now approached my bed, stood a moment beudirig over me, and theu applied the wet cloth to mv face. In spite of my firm intention to remain perfectly quiet, I could not refrain from giving a slight start as he applied the wet cloth, but a start was all; I continued to breathe on as before, only more heavily. Presently he took up the cloth and instrument makes u mistake that is an error, but if the man makes an error that is a mistake. Here is food for re­ flection for dictionary makers. The subject is susceptible of many illus­ trations. For instance if your watch is stopped and you wish to set it at twelve o'clock and set it five minutes after twelve, it is an error, but if you set it five minutes after one, that is a mistake. In the light of this discovery there are saturating it again, returned it to my »ti11 people who declare there is nothing T4 <1 It* o ti n * m •« • A fc -- I %• Mr •• *1 A M Alt A n after waiting a little longer, he slipped his hand under me and drew out my money. He then moved away toward his own bed, and lit a Bmall wax caudle which he fastened in some manner to a i Harried in Death. The North China News relates a case in which a Chinese girl, recently de- ^ u,uuuol w ceased, was married to a dead boy in chair. His bed being Eome" distance !tnother ,7*}^ "rt «ot infrequently X ... r • « h a a 9 tt'intAV nvttlnina +1-1** from mine, I could see everything he did across the footboard of mine. After fixing the candle, he sat down on the ^lotel, "I drew inv money front the j floor, took a smkll .Vr7w-7ri'ver"'from •ftore, loaned a hundred to Howard, and I his value, and after reclosing it he mv . I 5 v; ' . 1 *aiwe, ana alter reclosing I ^e started on our way to Durango, in-j turned it upside down, and to lending to stop at one or two points on i "• the way. We intended to wcrk our - Way over to Gunison via Durango, Sil* f<rerton, Ouray and Montrose, making •finch other towns as we thought best, we went along, and expected to reach \^there in about ten or twelve days, and , / Howaid had asked his firm to remit ^ .. ,'*4tim there, explaining that he had been . .Stubbed at Trinidad. We were having an excellent trade, amazement, removed four small round- headed sciews, which I had always sup­ posed were thert to protect the valise, aud removed a'small till, into which lie * "THE ff'RUIT TREE AGENT." ' \ Smnisfc Kxp»*rieu«0* In Moiling Kuriery ' :i* ' Stock. • Was I once a fruit tree agont? says a writer in the Atlanta Constitution: la my t-alad days I was. Let me puff away the fog of time and see again what i once essayed to do. Hold your breath a minute while I recall tho»e beaming days of yore, when I slung my book of beautiful lithographs of sj eckless, rosy apples,blushing peaches and impossible plums over my shoulder and set out to harvest shekels galore. I had studied my "instruction," "important points" and "emergencies" until I felt like a whale, and being abuntautly charged with enthusiasm, I fully believed that 1 was irresistible in persuasive argument. 1 felt fully prepared to collar the toughest old grisly that over steered a plow or swung a hoe and convince him that health, wealth and glory were his if he would only bo wise and cover his broad acres with the trees and vines propagated and disseminated by the nursery I had the honor to represent. This particular nursery was not a common, every day,dirt-and-bush affair, but a "commercial" mmeiy, and it em­ ployed only professional and expert grftfters, builders, cultivators, diggers, heelers, packers, agents, etc., and every one of its officers was a person of con­ sequence. In employing me -- an unprofessional - they said they hud departed from their usual custom only because they were well satisfied that I was O. lv., and would do my utmost to uphold the good name of the firm and bring additional honors to its trade-mark aod ducats to its coffers. I was instructed to sell every­ thing that ever gievv in an orchard or garden, or on a law.ii, because they were prepared to fill orders for any­ thing that ever wore leaves, in flirty minutes by the watch. , Well, the first man I atVuckcd a good old Christian, a mild, pleasant sort of a coon, who sat iii an easy chair and seemed at peace with till the world. With him I labored over an hour, and though lie entiled and smiled, yet not a tree, bush, vine or plant would he buy. The next husbandman I encountered was what might be called a "rusher.", He was at work in his barn, and when I introduced my firm and business, lie used bad language and heaped con­ tumely upon my calling, and then in­ formed me that my extreme youth alone prevented him lrom cracking my skull with a pitchfork. I was filled with fear and fled, congratulating my­ self on the "extreme y« uth," wliic.t had saved me from such dire disaster. I was disheartened and filled with fore­ bodings. buried again. This time I met a farmer, a business man and a gontle- inan. When I told him the name of the nursery I represented, he a-ked me if I knew that it was a ba e fraud. He then informed me that lie had at vthree different times bought trees from agents of that same firm, and of the few that lived not onie had proved true to name. He t-aid my business was all right when honestly conducted, but that the firm I represented was c imposed of a lot of swindlers who we<e buying up the cheap stuff and working it off at a big profit through agents: He then' gave me the addi ess of a firm he knew Was reliable, and said he would give me a small Order if 1 could Mjcnre the agency for that locality. I communi­ cated with the firm, was appointed their agent and began work. Their prices were reasonable and my profits were not half what tbe bogus firm allowed me; but their stock was guaranteed to be exactly as repre-ented. I worked hard, sold considerable .stock and made fair wages, but failed to pile up a great bank account. In a few months I gave it up and hired out to wcrlc on a farm for $16 per month and board and I found this work fully 50 per cent easier than selling trees, and more profitable in the end. Now, as to agents gen­ erally. Of course every tanner dees net meet them with cocked arms and blazing eyes, but chiellv with frowns a sullen aspect and a big dog. The man, be he book, tree, implement or notion agent, is regarded as a double-dyed villain and rapacious robber who comes on evil bent, and in order to frustrate his base designs he must be met with a glowering gaze, a few sharp-edged oaths and a warlike mien. The experi­ enced agent expects these things and hardenth his heart. Instead of intro­ ducing his business in a straightforward manner, showing what" he lias to sell and going right to tbe point, he first seeks to divert the attention of his would-not^be customer to something else until he gets him into a good hu­ mor and wins his confidence to some extent; then lie soon finds his weak points and dextrously gets in his work. Now, how does the genuine business man treat an agent? Does he gnash his teeth at him, and threaten to feed him to his dog? Does he swear and feel for his gnu and make tombstone grimaces at him? Never! He looks at what he has to pell, and within five minutes knows whether he wants it or not. If he wants it, he takes it at once; if not, he stfys so in lia'.f a dozen words and that is the end of it. A sen­ sible man looks upon an agent simply as a person having something to sell! and t!»pats him accordingly. He treats timei in one hour if I had the time. Jinks--Well? Binks--Gave Lim the Watch.--Jewelers' Circular, A bud Cane. . , r '* "Well, here's another, Mr* said the chief inspector to me, as I entered his office in response to a sum­ mons, writes a contributor to The Youth'h Companion. He held out an oj eu letter, aud motioned oe to a seat. I was at that time a PostofHce Inspector, with station at Washington, and had a few days before been detailed to "work up" one of the most unpleasant cases it had ever been my duty to investigate. The Chief Inspector had received several complaints that misdirected let­ ters, returned to the writers from the Dead Letter Office, had been robbed of part of their content". The missive to which my attention was now called was one of this kind; the writer declared that in a letter which had just been re­ turned to him hehadenclosed two bills, a twenty and a ten, while upon its re turn it contained the ten dollar note only. It was noticed that the letters which had been tampered with had one com­ mon feature: none of them mentioning the amount of the enclosure. The cun­ ning thief had taken money only from j those worded thus: "I enclose the amount of my bill;" "I send you all the money I can spare," or "I enclose the amount you request," etc. Further­ more, he had i a variably taken only a portion of the amount enclosed. The clerks whose duty it was to handle the money letters were numerous; many of them were young ladies, and all bore a good reputation. Th£ fasten­ ing of suspicion upon any one of them was a serious matter. After much thought, I prepared a letter purporting to be from an absent husband to his wife, in which he in­ formed her that he had at last been successful in obtaining work, and sent her "all the money he could raise." In the letter I enclosed a five and -a ten- dollar bill, each with a small "x" on the brow of the vignette on the left-hand side. This letter I arranged to have posted in Baltimore bv a railway postal clerk, it being so addressed and signed as to insure its being sent to the Dead Letter Office. In the meantime the record books were carefully watched for its appearance, being examined by me every evening after the departure~of the clerks. For several days the letter did not appear, but at last my search was re­ warded by the discoverv of the entry showing its receipt and disposal. The contents were stated as $5, and the en­ try was initialed in a delicate feminine hand. This discovery so unnerved me that "i could not sleep, and I passed the night in wondering who could be the unfortu­ nate upon whom the blow was to fall iu the morning. At <J o'clock my report was made tti the Chief Inspector,'aud a messenger was di-patclied to the Chief Clerk of the Dead Letter Office, requesting that the clerk whose initials corresponded to the entry in the book should be sent to the Chief Inspector's office at once. The silence for the next few minutes was unbroken except by the scratching of the Chief's pen. Then a gentle raif was heard, and in response to his "Come in," the door was opened by a slender, blue-eved, fair-haired girl of about twenty. "You wished to see me, air,* ahe lal- .tered. A glance at our faces showed her that concealment was useless, and falling upon her knees before a chair and bury­ ing her face in her hands, she sobbed piteously. "O sir," she said, "have pity upon me, and I will confess all." Hastily locking the door, the Chief told her to compose herself and to con­ ceal nothing. Her story was the old one of weak­ ness and envy of her richer friends. Of a good family in reduced circumstances, she moved in a circle composed of girls who were able to dress in a manner far beyond her salary,* and out of a desire to stand well with her "set" she had be­ come a thief. She made restitution of all the money she had stolen, among the bills being the marked one seut in the decoy letter. Then the question arose what further steps should be taken.' So far all knowledge of the case was confined to the Chief Inspector and myself. She pleaded piteously that for the sake of her widowed mother she should be allowed to resign without prosecu­ tion, and after much thought the Chief, who had daughters of his own, con­ cluded that it was not necessary to blight her life for one misstep, and so the only public result of the matter was an item in the evening paper: "Miss , a clerk of the $900 class in the Dead Letter Office, has resigned." Let u« hope ^hat mercy iu this case was well bestowed. 1 have never seen the young woman siuco, but heard casually some years alter that she had married, and was a happy .wire and mother. THE FATHER OF WATERS *S. | e lte- f Wi.» ' Playing with Fire. . With the lengthening evenings of autumn there arises a demand for novel him exactly a^ a graiu buyer treats the | indoor amusements. An English paper farmer who brings him a load of grain. There is a little plain business talk, and in a few minutes each is on his way with no ill-feeling toward the other. When an agent calltj, look at what he tells how one can be had on strictly scientific principles in describing an en­ tertainment at which the writer was present: The lecturer held up a piece of paper, |both of us, and Howard in excel- aud then did the same to his happens," the writer explains, "that the son iu the family dies before he is mar­ ried, and that it is desirable to adopt a grandson. The family cast about for some young girl who has also died re­ cently, and a proposition is made for the union of the two corpses in the bonds of matrimony. If it is accepted there is a combination of a wedding and a funeral, in the process of which the placed my money, apparently counting i deceased bride is taken by a large num- it vary carefully as he did so He now i ber of l)eftrer8 to tl,e cemetery of the replaced the till, relocked his valine i ot,ier family and laid beside her hus- aud came over and again wet my cloth tand>" I" ̂ is case the real motive for after which he deliberately emptied mv lthe ceremony was the desire to have a pockets out on the floor, scattering the i showy funeral at the expense of another contents as well as the clothing about, I lent spirits, full of fun «ud good na­ ture, and I liked hiav better every day. We reached Silverton on Thursday •Auoming. The mines were paying well own. He1 then carefully worked off the fastenings from the door and laid them on the car­ pet, wet a cloth from the bottle and placed it on his own pillow, threw the THE man who howls loudest about the "equality of man" is invariably the man who is most firmly oohvinced that the world contair.r eo one ?qnal to him* sell has to sell; it may be something you which he touched with the still glowing •» " * wick of the y an die. Instantly the paper began to smolder and it smoldered up and down in a narrow line until it had written "God Save the Qneeu." Then other sheets of paper were taken, and on some pat terns were burnt out, on others animals were drawn. On the last there appeared a very fair sketch in stencil of the room in which need badly. It you want it, and are satisfied with the price, take it. If you do not want it tell him so, giving your reasons in a few Words, and settle the matter at once. Sign nothing. If you are an honor­ able man, your word is as good as your signature, and the agent can write your name on his list as well as you can. So many tricks are played with the signa-, the lecture was given. This was mys- tures of unsuspecting farmers that it is j teiious. The papers were handed round best to be on the safe side always, for examination, and though some were Treat an agent like any other business held up to the light 110 pattern could be man. Some of our best nurseries and found on them. business houses send out agents to sell "It is easy enough to prepare such or introduce new articles or lines of 1 papers," said the lecturer. "Takesome goods, and these men are generally, j saltpeter, a common salt known some- straight, clean, polite and good talkers, times as nitrate of potash, sometimes as and can explain the merits of the article potassic nitrate--all meaniog the same they are selling in a very short time. , thing--and dissolve in water till the Occasionally an out-and-out prevarica- I water will take up no more. In fact, tor comes along selling double-grafted, ! make what is known as a saturated so- top-budded, whole-rooted, iron-clad j lution of it. Then with a wooden point trees for which he claims virtues aud j,--such as a match end or a slip of excellencies never before even dreamed ' shaving--use this solution as an ink, and of. Then it w ould be excusable to use draw the pattern on such unsized paper expressive terms and to bid him an em­ phatic farewell. But there is no neces­ sity for-nveetinc: agents with guns and bludgeons, or even with scowls aud dusky insinuations. The farmer who does so is a fool of the first water, and his actions simply ,help * to f make, his class and calling a despicable by-word in the business world. i . i \ > V s r . ; < ' • 1 ~v JINKK--\Vhy, Binks, wilt's become of your watch ? Binks--Sat' in the next to a man who tejxlfdr^oai/. as you *ee. Any paper will do, but the unsized paper wiil not show the mark when the liquid dries, which it very soou will do. But if there is no mark bow are you to know where to start from ? Make a pencil mark at the spot. When you are ready apply to the mark a glowing stick like this. You will see the burning spread right and left until the ends meet, and you have a result like that!" . And uut dropped an elophant.--Tht tlnaneo and Tragedy of the Miglttr tllsriiillipl--Itn Water* Cover tli Mai UN OR the' F»r»t European Who tVaversed Tliem. The history of the Mississippi Kiver *>r the past 350 years is a story of ro­ mance and tragedy. Far back in the Barly days of the sixteenth, century the Spaniards, spurred on by \a thirst for gold, began the exploration 'of the river and the survey of the surrounding coun­ try. But the bold European who first ventured upon the waters of the mighty stream found not in them the gold he songht, but a grave. In 1533 Ferdinand De Soto left the Island of Cuba, over which for some years he had been Gov­ ernor, in his wile's charge and set sail for Florida, lured on by the reports of the boundless wealth in the sunny peninsula's soil. He arrived safeiv and disembarked his men. Then, in order that none should be tempted to return or abandon the entsrpri-e they had entered upon he x-^ut his sl ips back to Cuba. De Soto pushed through .n© strange land with his followers, and alter a roundabout journey reached the Mis­ sissippi at the Bluff's, now known as the "Lower Chickasaw," where the city of Memphis stands. The party crossed the river at this point and explored tho country beyond until tbev came .upon the W hite River some 200 miles from its junction with the great stream. D<i Soto then dispatched a portion of his men to explore the region of the Mis­ souri, bnt the latter encountered such difficulties that they were forced to re­ turn. At the end of two years the ex­ pedition wintered near the hot springa and salt streams of the Washita, but the canoes of the party got entangled in the bayous and marshes of the lied River and were lost. At length the Spaniards succeeded in striking the great river lower down, and the country around was carefully sur veyed, without, however, showing any signs of the gold for which they were seeking. All this time the Spaniards had to reckon with the hostility of the Indians, ever on the alert to attack them. At length, dispirited by the dan­ gers and disappointments he* had en­ dured, the leader succumbed to a ma­ lignant fever which attacked him, and on the 21st of Miv, 1542, after three years of exploration, De Sota died. The story of his burial has been graphically told by tbe historian. "Amid the sorrows of the moment and fears of the future, his body was wrapped in a mantle and sunk in the middle of the river. A requiem broke the midnight gloom and the morning rose upon the consternation of the sur­ vivors. De Sota sought for gold, but found nothing so great as his burial place." Such was the end of the first attempt to explore the Mississippi and the adjacent country. Thousands journey on the mighty river yearly now, but few of those who pass and re pass on its waters have any idea that in the bed of the stream rest the remains of the gallant Spaniard who was the first European to traverse the Missis­ sippi. After tbe death of De Soto the ex­ pedition was under the command of Luis de Moscoso, and, "after enduring every calamity that could befall jnan," the party set to Avork and built seven­ teen brigantines. Having accomplished this they passed out of one of the mouths of tbe river, and, following the coast eastward, reached Caba in the autumn of ^1543. The men lost hi?f of their number in the four years they had been away, only 300 out of the 600 who started returning to the island. For more than a century after De Soto's expedition the talk of further exploring the Mississippi remained in abeyance. But, in 1673, a Catholic priest, named Marquette, and a French trader named Joliet. made an attempt to survey some parts of the river, and there is no doubt that the example set by these two resolute men moved the Chevalier de La Salle to the important work of discovery he took in hand shortly arterward--the most important 'n the history of Mississippi explora­ tion. In the first place La Salle dispatched Father Louis Hennepin to survey the upper waters as far as the falls of St. Anthony, which were discovered by the priest and named after his patron saint. In 1682 La Salle started with twenty-three Frenchmen and eighteen Indians to explore the lower reaches of the river. He entered the Mississippi from Illinois, journeyed down the stream until' he reached the "passes" as they are called, by which the waters make their way to the sea. He sent parties to survey each of the three channels of the Mississippi delta, and sailed in the open Gulf of Mexico. The party then retraced their steps to Quebec, aud La Saile returned to France. In 1684, aided by the French government, tbe Chevalier sailed with four vessels for the Gulf of Mexico in order to enter the Mississippi from the sea, but he failed to accomplish tins task. La Salle lost his ships, and after making a vain attempt to reach the river overland, he was assassinated by oue of his followers iu March, 1087, the second and greater explorer of the stream meeting a fate even more tragic than that which overtook his predeces­ sor, Ferdinand De Soto. Twelve years later the mouths of the Mississippi wee discovered by Iber­ ville. Thesonrce of the river has been sought for at different times by travelers of nearly every nationality. In 1805 the United States government uent Lieutenant Pike to survey the region in which the Mississippi was supposed to have its origin, and in 1820 Governor Cass of Michigan, undertook a similar task, but they were unsuccessful in their attempts to trace it, as the source of the river remained still unkngwn. In 1832 Henry Rowe Schoolcraft explored Lake Itasca, which he regarded as the source of the stream. It had long been suspected, however, that the Mississipi>i had its fountain head higher up than Lake Itasca, and in July 1881, an expedition led by Cap­ tain Willard Glazier discovered a lake south of Itasca, a mile and a half in diameter, and falling into Itasca by s permanent stream. Beyond this there is no water connected with the river, and hence Lake Glazier is now gen­ erally recognized as its source. • To See a KMle Itnllet on It? Way. » ,i By saturating bullets with vaseline they may be easily seen in thiiir course from the rifle to the target; their tra­ jectory course is marked by a beautiful ring of smoke, caused by the vaseline being ignited on leaving the muzzle of the gun, the smoke being suspended for some time in the air, if not toe windy. Much better scores result when grease of some kind is used. Bullets are not so apt to split, tbe recoil is not so great, arid it is believed tlie course of the missile is more true. As TRADE grows dull competition will SOME SAINTLY SA [l rom the Ram's Horn] H EVER step over one d uty \o perform mother. Take the nearest fitist. THE biggest coward iu all the earth is the mau who is afraid to do right. WHEN a farmer expects to raise a big srop. he puts heart iuto his plowing. Iir you want to have a good time in Heaven, pi ay for a hard time on earth. WHKNEVES you are tempted to doubt God's will toward you, look to Calvary. IF the devil can only get your eye, he don't care what becomes of vour teet Do ALL the little things for God you =au, and He will look after the great ones. THE brightest pictures outside of Heaveu are those which hope painted. To HATE the commandments of God is one way of iiudiug uut that you love the devil. THE first words froih the grave cf the risen Cliriat we.n: "u.t Are you doing it? WE are most in uotMtmtt.i u with God when we ate mo&t u.>xiou« to be His Son. You can't sow shoe pegs and harvest » wheat crop. To gev.r>vheat you must JOW wheat. ' KEEP your face toward God, no mat- ler how mjuch mud the devil may throw V yo»r back. To UK meek in spirit is not only to frherit the earth, but to own real estate i.i Heaven. NEVER let the sun go down without doing some kind act tuat will make your pillow softer. THE quickest way to become con­ vinced that there is a devil i« to try to live a Christian. WHENEVER yon look upon a sinner, remember that if he is lost you may be to blame for it. IF people could only buy their salva­ tion, the road to perdition would soon be grass-grown. IF you want to do good, open your eyes, and you will behoid a world full oi opportunity. WE cannot become perfect in our conduct, but we can become perfect in lur love to God. IT is a thousand times better to hav» •ur paradise at the end of life than at .he beginning of it. MEN never find Gcd with the head *ntil they have first come in sight of Him with the heart. BE mindful of God in the small 'lings of li;e, and you will not forget Him in the great ones. KEEP your windows., open toward Jerusalem, have faith in God, and the bines won't trouble you. SOME people are all preach and no practice. It is much bettor to be all practice and no preach. THE greatest of all duties is the pres­ ent one. You can't do business for eternity on a credit basis. THE reason some people have so little to say about God is because they are such great straDgers to Him. IF you are not willing to take all the religion God can give you, there must be something wrong with you* " ̂ *•" 1f An Indian Widow's Hard jtiait, '! According to the account quoted by Dr. Farrow in his valuable work on the Mortuary Customs of the North Amfifci- an Indian," the Tokotins, of Oregon, compelled widows to pass through an ordeal to which the suttee would al­ most be preferable. The body o? the deceased husband was kept for nine days laid out in his lodge. During these nine days the widow is obliged to lie beside it from sunset to sunrise, ho matter what the season or the tempera­ ture. On the tenth day the body is burned, together with whatever properly once appertained to it in the way of clothing and arms. The widow must also lie beside the corpse on the funeral pile. On no account may she move until the doctors so order. This merciful command is never given, however, until the living body of the poor woman is completely covered with blisters. If at any time during the life of her husband she has been known to commit any act of infidelity, or to neglect to minister to his comfort in any way. she is now severely punished. The relatives of the dead warrior will again and again fling ^ier back upon the burning pile, from which her own friends must as many time* drag ber forth, more dead than alive. .When all is over the widow must oollect the larger bones, roll them up in an en­ velope of birch bark and carry them constantly on her back for years. She is now a slave to the whole village, and her least refusal to obey an order is cruelly punished. The ashes of her late husband are collected and buried in a grave, aod should any weeds appear upon this grave she is obliged to root them out with her bare fingers, while her husband's relatives stand over and beat her. ^ ' 2 No Koiisn of Humor. There are various ways of coming to grief, when one attempts telling another person's storio-t. Annie/ tell that aneodote Cousin Olive told, the other night, please," said a young lady to her sister, while they were makiug a call. When Annie had complied, her sister announced, sympathetically, to the company, "You can imagine how funny it was, because Olive tells a story so well 1" Another unfortunate relater of a bor­ rowed tale was a gentleman who ven­ tured to ask an intimate friend, "Why don't you wear a wig?" I'd rather dye." was the answer, and though the pun was an old one it hap­ pened to be new to the hearer, and greatly amused him --not so much that life did not speedily forge? the point. . That night, on returning home, he said to his wife, "Richardson said an awfully good thing this afternoon. I asked him why he didn't wear a wig, and he said he'd rather commit suicide than do such a thing. Why don't you laugh? But then, women haven't auy sense Of humor, to speak of!" .. ' Prompt Meals. Ufc business-like enough to ran your house on schedule time and be prompt with the meals. A hungry man is gen- arallv an ugly man, and then is the time to be philosophical. To kiss bim at this time is to make him crawl. He wants consomme, not caressing. Be ready to receive him when he como3 in to dinner. Be in the doorway and let him see the fire-light or the lamp from the hall. Let him take his overcoat off and his hat and his rubbers, and let him blow his nose if he wants to. Let him solicit a welcome, but don't proffer it if he shows a disposition to get to tbe fire first. It is execrablo taste, but it is the kind lie will manifest if his trousers' legs are damp, his feet wet. and his hand cold. Xork Wori*