*S5e# *(A v* pm&. i •. ': - ; r< KliliSHKIiH^^ Mj •-" >. •"> ! %*if 3 ." v § i - "' ..-"V- .fljf*? t -J«s -&*** v *!•/ JT^t By REX BEACH (Copyright, fry ^^vs-v' SECRET OF THE HIDING PLACE OF THE VARONA TREAS *•':«%"*" *5 ,JRE IS LbisT **"; '.•"•*• 9<1< ssik:^ i£k Jttia rl%Wf» Synopsis.--Don Esteban Varona, a Cuban planter, hides his wealth --money, jewels and title deeds--In a well on his estate. The hiding place is knowtj only to Sebastian, a slave. D^n Esteban's wife dies at the birth of twins, Esteban and Rosa. Don Esteban marries the avaricious Donna Isabel, who tries unsuccessfully to wring the secret of the hidden treasure from Sebastian. Angered at his refusal, she urges Don Esteban to sell Evangellna, Sebastian's daughter. Don Esteban refuses, but In the course ofa gambling orgie, he risks Evangelina at cards and loses. ' CHAPTER II--Continued. » •> Don Pablo, la whom the liquor was •dying, cursed Impatiently: "Caraonba I Have I won the treasure of your whole establishment?" he inquired. "Per haps you value this wench, at more than a thousand pesos; if so, you will nay that I cheated you." "No! She's only an 'ordinary girl. My wife doesn't like her, and so I de termined to get rid of her. She is yours, fairly enough," Varona told him. "Then send her to my house. Til t>reed her to Salvador, my cochero. He's the strongest man I have." Sebastian uttered a strangled cry end rose to his feet. "Master ! You must not--" - "Silence!" ordered Bsteban. "Go About your business. What do jJ#u mean by this, anyhow?" But Sebastian, dazed of mind and sick of soul, went on, unheeding. "She 1s my girl. You promised me her free dom. I warn, you--" "Eh?" The planter swayed forward and with biasing eyes -surveyed his slave. "You warn me? Of what?" ke growled. At this moment neither master nor man knew exactly what he said or did. Sebastian raised his hand on high. In reality the gesture was meant to call heaven as a witness to his years of faithful service, but, misconstruing his intent, Pablo Peza brought his riding- whip down across the old man's back, crying: "Ho! None of that." , . A shudder ran through Sebastian's frame. Whirling, he seized Don Pab lo's wrist and tore the whip from his fingers. Although the Spaniard was a strong man, he uttered a cry of pain. At this indignity to a guest Esteban flew into a fury. "Pancho!" he cried. "Ho! Pancho!" When the manager came running, Esteban explained: •"This fool is dangerous. He raised his hand to me and to Don Pablo." Sebastian's protests were drowned by the angry voices of the others. "Tie him to yonder grating," di rected Esteban, who was still in the grip of a senseless rage. "Flog him well and make haste about it." Sebastian, who had no time in which to recover himself, made but a weak resistance when Pancho Cueto locked his wrists into a pair of clumsy, old- fashioned manacles, first passing the chain around one of the bars of the inon window grating which Esteban had indicated. Cueto swung a heavy lash; the sound of his blow* echoed through the quinta, and they summoned, among others. Donna Isabel, who watched the scene from behind her shutter with touch satisfaction. The guests looked <jd approvingly. Sebastian made no outcry, 'the whip bit deep; it drew blood and raised Welts the thickness of one's thumb; nevertheless, for the first few moments the victim suffered less in body than in spirit His brain was so benumbed, so shocked with other excitations, that he was well-nigh insensible to physical pain. That Evangelina, flesh of his tlesh,, had been sold, that, his lifelong faithfulness had brought such reward as this, that Esteban, light of his soul, *ind turned against him--all this was simply astounding. Gradually he be gan to resent the shrieking injustice of it all, and unsuspected forces gathered inside of him. They grew tihtll his frame was shaken by primitive savage impulses. After a time Don Esteban cried: That will dot Cueto! Leave him now for the flies to punish. They will re mind him of his Insolence." Then the guests departed, and Este- fcun staggered into the bouse and went to bed. All that morning Sebastian stood with his hands chained high over his head. The sun grew hotter and ever hotter upon his lacerated back; the blood dried and clotted there; a cloud of flies gathered, swarming over the raw gashes left by Cueto's whip. Since Don Esteban's nerves, or per haps it was his conscience, did not l>ermit him to sleep, he arose about noontime and dressed himself. He was still drunk, and the mad rage of the early morning still possessed him; therefore, when he mounted his horse tie pretended not to see the figure chained to the window grating. Sebas tian's affection for his master was dog- Uke and he had taken his punishment as a dog takes his, more In surprise than in anger, but at this proof of cal lous indifference a fire kindled in the -old fellow's breast, hotter by far than the fever from his fly-blown sores. He was thirsty, too, but that was the least of his sufferings. Some time during the afternoon the negro heard himself addressed through the window against the bars of which he leaned, l^jhe speaker was Donna Isabel. "Do yen suffer, Sebastian?" she be gan in a cone of gentleness and pity. "Yes, mistress." f 1he speaker's tongue was thick and swollen, "Can I help you?" The negro raised his head; he shook his body to rid himself of the insects which were flavouring him. , "Give me a drink of water," he said, hoarsely. "Surely, a great gourdful, all cool and dripping from the well. But first 1 want you to tell me something." "A drink, for the love of heaven,* panted the old man, and Donna Isabel saw how cracked and dry were his thick lips, how near the torture had come to prostrating him. "I'll do more," she promised, and her voice was like honey. "I'll tell Pancho Cueto to unlock you, even if I risk Es teban's anger by so doing. Will you be my friend? Will you tell some thing?" " "What can I tell you I" * *•, "Oh' you know very well! fWSifefced It often enough, but you have lied, just as my husband ha# lied to me. He Is a miser; he has no heart; he cares for nobody, a» you can see. You must hate him now, even as I hate him. Tell me--is there really a treasure, or--?" The woman gasped; she choked; she could scarcely force the question for fear of disappointment. "Tell me there Is, Sebastian. I've heard so many lies that I begin to doubt." The old man nodded. "Oh, yea, there is a treasure," said he. 0 "Oh!. You have seen It?** Isabel was trembling as if with an ague. "What ls.it like? How much Is there? Good Sebastian, I'll give you water; 1*11 have you set free if you tell me." "How much? I don't know. But there Is much--pieces of Spanish gold, silver -coins In casks and In little boxes --the boxes are hound with -iron and have' hasps and staples; bars of precious metal and little paper pack ages of gems, all tied up and hidden in leather bags." . "Yes! Go on." "There are ornaments, too. God knows they must have come from heaven, they are so beautiful r and pearls from the Caribbean as large as plums." "Are you speaking the truth?" "Did I not make the hiding-place all alone? Senora, everything is there just as I tell you--and more. The grants of title from the crown for this quinta and the sugar plantations, they are there, too. Don Esteban used to fear the government officials, so he hid his papers securely. Without them the lands belong to no one. You under stand?" "Of course! Yes, yes! But the Jew els-- Where are they hidden?" "You would never guess J" Sebas tian's voice gathered strength. "Ten thousand men in ten thousand years > "Tell M»--Is There Realty iT¥i%aa- wrs, would never find the place, and nobody knows the secret but Don Esteban and me." "I believe yon. I knew all the time It was here. Well? Where Is It?" Sebastian hesitated and said, plte- ously, "I am dying--" Isabel could scarcely contain herself. "I'll give you water, but first tell me where---whereI God in heaven! Can't you see that I, too, am perishing?" - "I must have a drink." . # J "Tell me first." % Sebastian lifted his head and, meet ing the speaker's eyes, laughed hoarse ly. At the sound of his unnatural merri ment Isabel recoiled as Jf stung. She stared at the slave's face in amazement and then in fury. She stammered, in coherently, "You--you have been-- lying!" "Oh no! The treasure Is there, the greatest treasure in all Cuba, but you shall never know where it is. I'll see to that. It was you who sold my girl ; it was you who brought me to this"; it was your hand that whipped me. Well, m tell Don Esteban how you tried to bribe his secret from met What do you think he'll do then? Eh? You'll feel the lash o», your white back--" "You fool!" Donna Isabel looked murder. 'Til punish you for this; I'll make yott speak If I have to rub your wounds with salt." But Sebastian closed his ®yes wearily. "You can't make me. suffer more than I have suffered," he said. "And now--I curse you. May that treasure be the death of you. May you lire In torture like mine the rest of your days; may your beauty turn to ugliness such that men will spit at you; may you never know peace again until you die In poverty and want--" But Donna Isabel, being supersti tious, fled with her fingers in her ears; nor did she undertake to make good her barbarous threat, realizing oppor tunely that It would only serve to be tray her desperate intentions and put her husband further on his guard. As the sun was sinking beyond the farther rim of the Yumuri and the val ley was beginning to fill with-shadows Esteban Varona rode up the hill. His temper was more .evil than ever. If that were possible, for he had drunk again in an effort to drown the memory of his earlier actions. With him were Pablo Peza, and Mario de Castano, Col. Men- doza y Linares, old Pedro Mlron, the advocate, and others of less conse quence, whom Esteban had gathered from the Spanish club. The host dis mounted and lurched across the court yard to Sebastian. "So, my fine fellow," he began. "Have you had enough of rebellion by this time?" Sebastian's face was working as he turned upon his master to say: "I would be lying If I told you that I am sorry for what I did. It is you who have done wrong. Your soul Is black with this crime. Where is my girl?" "The devil! To hear you talk one would think you were a free man." The planter's eyes were bleared and he brandished his riding-whip threaten ingly. "I do as I please with my slaves. I tolerate no Insolence. Your girl? Well, she's In the house of Salvador, Dob Pablo's cochero, where she be longs." Sebastian had hung sick and limp against the grating, but at these words he suddenly roused. He strained at ills manacles and the bars groaned un der his weight. His eyes began to roll, his lips drew back over his blue gums. Noting his expression of ferocity, Este ban cut at his naked bade with the riding-whip, crying: "Ho! Not subdued yet, eh? You need another flogging." IP "Curse you and all that Is yoijrs, roared the maddened slave. "May you know the misery you have put upon me. May you rot for a million years In hell. May your children's bodies grow filthy with disease; may they starve; may they--" Sebastian was yelling, though his voice was hoarse with pain. The lash drew blood with every blow. Mean while, he wrenched and tugged at his bonds with the fury of a maniac. "Pablo! Your machete, quick!" panted the slaveowner., 'Til make an end of this black fiend, once for all.** Esteban Varona's guests had looked on at the scene with the same mild In terest they would display at the whip ping of a balky horse; and, now that the animal threatened to become dan gerous, It was In their view quite the proper thing to put it out of the way. Eton Pablo Peza stepped toward his "mare to draw the machete from Its scabbard. But he did not hand It to his friend. He heard a shout, and turned In time to see a wonderful and a terrible thing- Sebastian had braced his naked feet against the wall; he had bowed his back and bent his massive shoulders --a back and a pair of shoulders that looked as bony and muscular as those «f an ox--and he was heaving with every ounce of strength in his enor mous body. As I'aWo stared he saw the heavy grating come away from its anchorage in t|h solid masonry, as a shrub Is uprooted from soft ground. The rods bent and twisted; there was a clank and rattle and clash of metal upon the flags; and then--Sebastian turned upon, his tormentor, a free man, save only for the wide Iron bracelets and their connecting chain. He was quite insane. His face was frightful to behold; It was apelike in its animal rage, and he towered above his master like some fabled creature out of the African jungle of his forefathers. Sebastian's fists alone would have been formidable weapons, but they were armored and weighted with the old-fashioned, hand-wrought irons which Pancho Cueto had locked upon them. Wrapping the chain in his fin gers, the slave leaped at Esteban and struck, once. The sound of the blow was sickening, for the whole bony structure of Esteban Varona's head gave ^sy. There was a horrified cry from the other white men. Don Pablo Peza ran forward, shouting. He swung his machete, but Sebastian met him before the blow could descend, and they went down together upon the hard stones. Again Sebastian smote, with his mas sive hands wrapped In the chain and his wrists encased In steel, and this time it was as if Don Pablo's head had been caught between a hammer and an anvil. The negro's strength, exceptional at all times, was multiplied tenfold; he had run amuck. When he arose the machete was in his grasp and Don Pablo's brains were on his knuckles. It all happened in far less time than it takes to tell. The onlookers had not yet recovered from their first conster nation ; In fact they were still fumbling and tugging at whatever weapons they carried, when Sebastian came toward them, brandishing the blade on high. Pedro Miron, the advocate, was the third to fall. He tried to scramble out of the negro's path, but, being mm old man, his limbs were toe stiff to serve him and he Went dowh shrieking. By now the horses had caught the scent of hot hlood 'and were plunging furiously,! the clatter of their hoofs ml Ogling with the blasphemies of the riders, while Sebastian's bestial roar ing made the commotion even more hideous. " • EstebAri's guests fought as much for their live# as fbr vengeance npoh ttie slayer, for Sebastian was like a gorilla { he seemed intent upon kllUng them all. He vented his fury upon whatever came within his reach; he struck at men and animals alike, and the shrieks of wounded horses added to the din. It was a frightful combat. It seemed incredible that one man could work such dreadful havoc in so short a time. arona and two of his friends were dead; two more were badly wounded, and a Peruvian stallion lay kicking on the flagging when Col. Mendoza y Lin ares finally managed to get a bullet home In the black man's brain. Those who came running to learn the cause of the hubbub turned away sick and pallid, for the paved yard was a shambles. Pancho Cueto called upon the slaves to help him, but they slunk back to their quarters, dumb with ter ror and dismay. All that night people from the town belew came and went and the quinta resounded to sobs and lamentations, but of all the relatives of the dead and wounded, Donna Isabel took her be reavement hardest. Strange to say. she could not be comforted. Now, when It was too late, she realized that she had overreached herself, having caused the death of the only two who knew the secret of the treasure. She remem bered, also, Sebastian's statement that even the deeds of patent for the land were hidden with the rest, where ten thousand men in ten thousand years cottld never find them. '* 9 »' £ * U. •V ^ CHAPTER til. < "The O'Reilly." t Age and easy living had caused Don Mario de Castano, the sugar merchants to take on weight He had, in truth, become so fat that he waddled like a penguin when he walked; and when h» rode, the springs of his French vie* torla gave u{) in despair. In disposition Don Mario was pra<S tical and unromantlc; he boasted that tm had never had an Illusion, never au Interest outside of his business. And yet, on the day this story opens, this prosaic personage. In spite of his bulg ing waistband and his taut neckband, in spite of his short breath and his prickly heat, was in a very whirl of pleasurable excitement. Don Mario, In fact, suffered the greatest of all Illu sions: he was In love, and he believed himself beloved. The object of his adoration was little Rosa Varona. the daughter of his one-time friend Este ban. To be sure, he had met Bosa only twice since her return from her Yankee school, but twice had been enough; with prompt decision he had resolved to do her the honor of making her his wife. Notwithstanding the rivulets of per spiration that were coursing down every fold of his flesh, and regardless of the fact that the body of his victoria was tipped at a drunken angle, as if struggling to escape the burdens of his great weight, Don Mario felt a jaunti- ness of body and of spirit almost like that of youth. He saw himself as a splendid prince riding toward the humble home of some obscure maiden whom he had graciously chosen to be his mate. > His arrival threw Donna Isabel into a flutter; the woman could scarcely contain her curiosity when she came to meet him, for he was not the sort of man to inconvenience himself by mere social visits. Their first formal greet ings over, Don Mario surveyed the bare living room and remarked, lugubri ously : "I see many changes here." "No doubt," the widow agreed. "Times have been hard since poor Es teban's death." "What a terrible calamity that was! I shudder when I think of It," said he. EASY TO WRITE WITH TOES Assertion Made That "Accomplish* menf Can Be Acquired In a Com paratively Short Time. When next you go to the zoo, watch the monkeys use their hands, suggests the Popular Science Monthly. Notice how they seize things with their fists. They do not use their finger-ends as we do. While the higher monkeys, such as gorillas and chimpanzees, may be taught to use their fingers, they never learn to use them as easily as do human beings. The monkey is primarily a tree- dweller. It lives In forests and swings from tree to tree, using its hands as hooks with which it grasps the branches. The thumb is not brought into play. Some South American mon keys have lost the thumb through dis use ; all that is left of it Is indicated by a little lump under the skin- In the higher monkeys the wrist Is built like yours. It has the same num ber of bones. But the monkey has never used his wrist, and so it has lost the flexibility. The monkey can uSe his fist to better advantage than his hands. Man, on the other hand, has used his feet bo long simply for the purpose of walking, that he would experience con siderable difficulty in using them as he uses his hands. Yet, it is amazing how quickly a man can learn to use his toes as he does his Angers. If you don't believe this, just try to write with your toes. At first the letters will be very large and awkward. But with a very little practice you will find that you can write with your foot more easily than with your left hand. ^ "V ' ' » < - \ -v -v. "A sbfc^ngaffair, tihall nefer get; out of "Shocking, yes. But what do ytm thtak jof a rich man, like Bsteban. who Wrtild l^ave his family destitute? Who would die without revealing the place where he had stored his treasure?" t Donna Isabel, it was plain, felt her wrongs keenly; she spoke with as much spirit as if her husband bad permitted himself to be killed purely out of spite toward her. "As If It were not enough to loae that treasure," the widow continued, stdrmlly, '"the government most free all *?ur slaves. Tse! Tse 1 And now that there is no longer a profit in sugar, my plantations--" ' "No profit in sugar? What are you saying?" queried the caller. "If your crops do not pay. then Pancho Cueto Is cheating you. Get rid of him. But I didift come here tot talk about Este ban's hidden treasure, nor his planta tions, nor Pancho Cuety. I came here to talk about your step-daughter, Rosa." "So?" Donna Isabel looked vp quickly. "She Interests me. She Is more beau tiful than the stars." Don Mario rolled his eyes toward the high ceiling, which, like the sky, was tinted a vivid ceru lean blue. "She is now eighteen," the fat suitor went on, ecstatically, "and so alto gether charming-- But why waste time in pretty speeches? I have de cided to marry her." "Bosa has a will of her own," guard edly ventured the stepmother. Don Mario broke out, testily: "Nat urally; so have we all. Now let us speak plainly. Yon know me. I am a COLONISTS HAD LAST LAUGH The*Slave Leaped at Esteban, ami Struck, One*. person of Importance, f am rich enough to afford what I want, and I pay well. You understand? Well, then, you are Rosa's guardian and you caa bend her to your desires." "If that were only so!" exclaimed the woman. "She and Esteban--what children! What tempers--Just like their father's! They were to. be their father's heirs, you know, and they TOame me for his death, for our pov erty, and for all the other misfortunes that have overtaken us. We live like cats and dogs." Don Mario had been dramming his fat fingers Impatiently upon the arm of his chair. Now he exclaimed: "Your pardon, senora, but I am Just now very little interested in your do mestic relations. What you say about Rosa only makes me more eager, for I loathe a sleepy woman.. Now tell me, is she-- Has she any--affairs of the heart?" "N-no, unless perhaps a flirtation with that yoong American, Juan O'Reilly." Donna Isabel gave the name Its Spanish pronunciation at "O'Rail- ye." "Juan O'Reilly? O'Reilly? Oh, yes! But what has he to offer a woman? He is little more than a clerk." "That is what I tell hf^ Qh, It hasn't gone far as yet." * ... " , The fat--but rich--sugar mer chant, or the dashing--but pen niless--young American--Rosa must make her choice between the two. The next Installment tells which she chose. (TO BE CONTINUED^ if you are, naturally right-handed. It Is an attractive exercise with which to while away an hour. We know yov will try the experiment As to Remarkable Longevity. We have all read of Thomas Pur, who lived to be one hundred and fifty- two. Likewise of the countess of Des mond, one hundred and forty-five; Margaret Patten, one hundred and thirty-seven; Thomas Damme, one hundred and sixty-four; John Rovln, one hundred and seventy-two; and P»> ter Torton, who reached the age of one hundred and eighty-five; But these cases of extraordinary longevity lack proof. * In the days when those persons lived no accurate chronological records were kept, and dates of occurrences were usually fixed by associating them in memory with other events believed to have happened about the same time. A man's identity was liable to be con fused with that of a grandfather of the same name. Nowadays nobody, lives to any suck ages. Why imagine that the extreme limits of longevity have shrunk wlthlft the last two or three centuries? **Yankee Doodle," Compowd by Brit. lah Officer jn fMdtnile/ Became War Seng of Mfti. History tells tis the origin ©f our national march-:--the famous "Yankee Doodle." For more than 150 years it has led us to victory. Few, perhaps, remember that to an English wit and musical genius we are indebted for the old tune. But true It Is, although it was composed in a spirit of raillery, awakened by the sight of the "Yankee Doodles who came to town" in answer to General Amherst's appeal tJ the col onies" for aid. It was in the summer of 1755 that the British army was encamped on the east' bank of the Hudson, a little below Albany. They were ttt open a campaign against the French Canadians, and the well- disciplined and uniformed troops awaited the arrival of the volunteers. In they came, a motley crowd, old men, middl e-n ged* men and young men. but all with brave hearts beating and strong arms ready to do battle. Some were jYiounted on ponies, others on old farm horses, taken from the plow, and many, with a zeal which knew no fa tigue, hurried In on foot. Each carried his own outfit and pro visions.; No two were dressed allke-t there were long coats nnd short coats, and no coats at all; there were high hats and low hats, covering closely cropped heads, or wigs with flowing curls. In they marched, and the regu lar soldiers made merry at their ex pense. Even the officers were not better mannered, and the surgeon. Doctor Shackburg, entertained his friends at mess by playing "Yankee Doodle," which he had Composed tn derision of the volunteers. Greatly to the amusement of the British officers, the provincials receiv ed the tune In good faith, when Doctor Shackburg gravely assured them that it was a "celebrated air of martial music." and dally It was hestrd played In their camp. Little did those merry Englishmen realize that the time would come when to those ringing notes the same colon ists would march to freedom. Twenty years later "Yankee Doodle' <;heered the heroes of Bunker Hill, and later still, more than ever endeared to American hearts. It was exultantly played as Lord Cornwallls' army marched into Washington's camp at Yorktown. French Rainfall Statistics. The investigation of French rainfall, as plnnned by the central meteorologl cal office, has been carried out for a portion of the country--the northwest provinces. Maps of the average rain fall for 50 years--1851-1900--have been compiled, and comparison has been made with the records of 16 stations In France and across the border In ad Jacent countries. The leading rainfall features for each month and for each year have been summarized. A wide variation over small patches of terri tory is indicated, and while the annual precipitation Is more than 40 Inches at very few stations. It Is 48 Inches In the Monts d'Arree, and only 20 to 24 Inches In the basins of the Seine, the Loire and the Olse. In nearly all parts of the territory, the wettest month Is Oc tober. The rainfall for this month ex ceeds four inches in the country of Caux, the department of the Manche, the western part of Brittany, and the heights of Gatlne. reaching the maxi mum of six inches* at Saussemesnll, nnd the driest areas, with a fall of two to three inches, are the middle valley of the Seine, the basin of the Eure, nnd In the Beauce. The'driest month Is February. Japanese "Fish 8ausage.w The "kamoboko" or "fish sausage" of the Japanese is described by a con sular report as made by chopping the white meat of any fish, passing through a colander, and making Into a paste, with a flavoring of sugar, salt, and rice-brewed alcoholic beverage called "Mirln." The paste is made into loaves, steamed on boards an how and a half to three fcMtfa, SlS *i packed in cans. ̂ _ ' i'-V • Hoe as Freedom's Weapon. "'We, the people of the United States, In gardens Assembled,' might well be the beginning of a new pre amble of American liberty, seating that the people had decided to fight fer freedom with hoes, proclaiming to the world the declaration that the welfare, prosperity and happiness of this na tion are to be maintained; that the freedom of other peoples Is to be guar anteed against oppression," writes Charles Lathrop Pack, president o." the national war garden commission, in tite People's Home Journal. This preamble could state that It had been decided by **an American people armed with hoes" that they would help to raise enough food to win the war. Every man In the army would be doing his duty In the trenches of his own back yard or a nenr-by va cant lot. The work In these trenches Is just as important as that In the front battle lines of Europe. It will constitute as vital a factor ln.jth%Jina! result. ~ * , . No Wonder He Left. According to the camp pastor at Camp Lewis, American Lake, Wash ington, camp record blanks have been found insufficient to accommodate the address tif an Australian who came Indirectly from Spokane, Wash. Jones was the unassuming name of the In dividual, but he hailed originally from LI a nf a wp wi I gwyn gy li gog erayrn dro- pallantlsilogogogoch, of the parish of Nalmigomshira, near Festlniog, An- gleseroy, South Wales. When he Joined the army he held a residence at Waenarlwgdd, 8wansea road, Gov- erton, South Wales.--Methodist Cen tenary Bulletin. Deposit of Mineral Salt Experts employed in the department Of biological studies of Mexico have reported that after careful Investiga tion of the lands reclaimed by the drainage of Lake Texcoco, In the vi cinity of Mexico City, there have been rendered available some 30.000.000 of tons of mineral salts, including com mon salt, caustic soda, bicarbonate of soda, etc., for all of which there Is a large demaud in the republic in vari ous industries. Health Comes First. The human body is kept in health by simple living, which after all is a test of fitness for succes. Without health there can be no success, for gain of fame or gold will not profit a man who barters away his health. The wealth of the world Bome day will be judged by the health and happiness of man kind.--Elmer fiee, M. Dm Lh Health Culture. * flEsronr r : ; ; V -f - * Excellent Start Yields Now Assured Never In the history of W( Canada did the seed enter the under more favorable conditions. Th»- weather during the month of April was perfect for seeding operation^ and from early morning until late a£ -• night the seeders were at work, and every acre that could be profitablf' sown was placed under requisition Farmers entered heart and soul into " the campaign of greater production. ; There was the time and the opportu nity for careful preparation, and as consequence with favorable weather j' from now on there will be a vastly i»\ ' creased yield. They realized it was ' duty they owed to humanity to produc*;' all that they could on the land, not.' only this year but next as well. n»C addition to the patriotic aspect, thear are aware that the more they produo* the greater will be their own retarjit In dollars and cents. In many districts wheat seeding wa# • completed by the 1st of May, oftqf ; which date oats and barley on largdfc^ ? acreages than usual were planted. As has been said, favorable weather-, conditions made possible excellent" seed-bed preparation, and the seed haa ' gone into the ground in unusually good shape. The available moisture in the soil has been added to by rains, which have not been so heavy, however, as ta interfere long with the work in the fields. The grain is germinating rea<|»' ily, and on many fields the young greejT^ blades of the cereal are already sho#>. Ing. An optimistic feeling prevails among , farmers that Western Canada will reap. a record harvest. If the season from now on is as favorable as it has begun, these hopes should be realized. Mr.' J. D. McGregor of the Federal Food Board, who is also an old and success.' ful farmer in Western Canada, assert ed a few days ago at Calgary that crop conditions throughout the Prairie Provinces were excellent. "Speaking generally," he said, "the crops hava never gone into the ground In better shape than this year, and with em even break of luck as far as the weath- er is concerned, there should be sik'-< enormous crop." His present duties hi connection with the Food Oontroi Board, taking him in all parts of fba West, Mr. McGregor has exceptional ̂ opportunities of observing condition®- ' all over the country.--Advertisement* Change of Color. Knlcker--Who has green-goods man? ̂̂ Bocker--The blue-print man* y ; > ^,3 ti:' MAGIC! HAVE IT ON THE DRESSES t" * mftNS STOP HURTING THSMfe -fa LIFT OFF WITH FINGERS. : , ̂ Just drop a little Freexone on that touchy corn. Instantly It stops aching. then yon lift that corn right off. pain at all! Coats only a law csaf, m, ,*'N| •* ; >f' "»' 'V € w! * ' vVI Get a tiny bottle of Freesone for |R ̂ , .; few cents from any drug store. KMpr 9 it always handy to remove hard corn%. soft corns, or corns between the to«%. and the callouses, without soreness 0^ ̂ irritation. You Just try it I je -'v.'-V Freezone is the sensational •17 of a Cincinnati genius.--,)§, ;J , Substitution. • "Are you living on the fat of thljt land?" "To some extent, afford real butter-" We eant . * Dandruff and Itching. To restore dry, falling hair and of dandruff, rub CuOcura Olnbqpeat into scalp. Next morning shampoo Cutlcura Soap and hot water. free samples address, "Cutlcura, X, Boston." At druggists and by Soap 25, Ointment 25 and 50t--Afta. Barridge. "He's consistent, anywaj." "Why?** "He pronounces 'barrage' way he does 'garage.'" WHY WOMEN D OLD AGE Don't worry about old age. Doat' about being in other people's way you are getting oa ia ya«B. Kssp body in good condition and vea on ha aaf kale and hearty in your old dqpa aa^ were when a kid, and glad to see you The kidn^-a and of senile afflictions. in proper working poisonous wastes from tha void uric acid accumn1>tin-- MEDAL Haarlem Oil Cfcpaal and you will find that the ways be in perfect workh •pirits will De eBfivmi, made strong and more the New life, come as you < ^ {our first vigor has" >r awhile taking a eipsdfe or two day. They will km yea in conditio* i prevent a return ot yew treafalea. There is only one guaranteed Haarlem OilCapealea, GOLD Then are many take* oa the market. _ sore yon get the Original GOLD MsllAL Imported Haarlem Oil Cfcpsuk*. Th* are the only reliable. For sale by all finMM draggim.--Adv. The angler's baited breath, the big fish storiea. Stat? look of yoath and health. e V-v . • . UoIiaiLitV ' f . •a&aa&fi- •ft 'w&< Nothing is more gratifying thft*