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OLDEST AMERICAN CITY.
REMARKABLE DISCOVERIES RECENT.
LY MADE AT COPAN.
The MyMnriou City of llonttiiraa, llio
t r.lille of Muyn Civilization ltelimlni
f Cir-Ht Temple nnd Palaces -A Huge
Structure 800 lct lUgti.
The Central American explorer,
George Byron Gordon, contributes an
article entitled "The Mysterious City
of Honduras," to tlio Century. This
gives nn account of the recent remark
able discoveries made at Copan. Mr.
Gordon says :
Hidden away among the mountains
of Honduras, in a beautiful valley
which, even in that little-traveled
country, w here remoteness is a char
acteristic attribute of places, is unusu
ally secluded, Copan is one of the
Kt-entest mysteries of the ages. After
the publication, in 1810, of Stephens'
account of his risit to the rums, which
male the n known for the first time to
the world, the interest awakened by
hi graphic description, and the draw
ings t'.iat accompanied it from the
skillful pencil of Catherwood, re
lapsed, and until within the last de
cade writers on the subjoct of Ameri
can arcb.'cology wero dependent en
tirely for information concerning
Coj an upon the writings of Stephens,
which were regarded by many with
Hkepticism and mistrust. Not only do
the recent explorations confirm the ac
count given by Stephens as regards
the magnitude and importance of the
ruins, but the collection of relics now
in the 1'eabody museum is sufficient
to convince the most skeptical that
here are the remains of a city, un
known to history, us remarkable and
as worthy of our careful consideration
ns any of the ancient centres of civili
sation in the Old World. Whatever
the origin of its people, this old city
is distinctly American the growth of
American soil and environment. Tho
gloomy forest, tho abode of monkeys
and jaguars, which clothed the valley
at the time of Stephens' visit, was in
great part destroyod ubout thirty
years ago by aeolony from Guatemala,
who came to plant in the fertile soil
of the valley tho tobacco for which,
much moro than for the ruins, that
valley is famous throughout Central
America today. They left tho trees
that grew upon tho higher structures,
forming a picturesque grove, a rem
nant of which still remains a few
cedars and ceibns of gigantic propor
tions, clustered about the ruins of the
temples shrouding them in a sombre
shade, and sending their huge roots
into the crevices and unexplored
chambers and vaults and galleries of
the vast edifices.
The area comprised within the limits
of the old city consists of a level plain
seven or eight miles long and two
miles wide at the greatest. This plain
in covered with the remains of stone
houses, doubtless tho habitations of
the wealthv. The streets, squares and
courtyards were paved with stone or
with w hite cement mado from lime
and powdered rock, and the drainage
was accomplished by menus of covered
canals and underground sewers built
of stone and cement. On tho slopes
of the mountains, too, are found nu
merous ruins, and even on the high
est peaks fallen columns and ruined
structures may be seen.
Ou the right bank of the t'opnu
liver, iu the midst of the city, eland
tho principal group of structures the
temples, palaces and buildings of a
public character. These form part of
what has been called, for want of a
better name, the Main Structure o
vast, irregular pile, rising from the
plain in steps and terraces of masoury
and terminating in several great pyra
midal elevations, each topped by the
remains of a temple which, before our
exc.ivations begun, looked like a huge
pile of fragments bound together by
the roots of trees, while the slopes of
the pyramids and the teriaees and
pavements below are strewn with the
ruins of these superb edifices. This
huge structure, unlike the great pyra
mids of Egypt and other works of a
similar character, is not the embodi
ment of a definite idea, built in accor
dance with a preconceived plan and
for a specific purpose, bnt is rather the
complex result of a long process rede
velopment, corresponding to the
growth of culture and koeping pace
with the expanding tastes of the peo
ple or the demauds of their national
life. Its sides face the four cardinal
points; its greatest length from north
to Fouth is about eight hundred feet,
and from east to west it measured
originally nearly ns much, but a part
of the eastern side has been carried
away by the swift current of the river
which flows directly ngaiiist it. The
interior of the structure is thus ex
posed in the form of a cliff one hun
dred and twenty feet high, presenting
a complicated system of buried walls
and floors down to the water's edge
doubtless the remains of older build
ings, occupied for a time, and aban
doned to serve as foundations for more
elaborate structures, but sculptured
monuments ns well. The theory
of development, though it cannot be
eet aside, seems inadequate to explain
thio curious circumstance; and yet
there is just enough difference between
these art relics nnd those of later
date to indicate a change in style and
treatment. Whetheror not this change
continues in regulur sequence lower
dowu has not yet beon determined.
If, as I am inclined to believe, we
shall find, away down in the lower
levels, tho rude beginnings from which
tbe culture of the later period devel
oped, we shall have pretty conclusive
evidence not only that Copau is the
oldest of the Maya cities, but that the
Copau vn'ley it-elf, with the imniedi
n'e vicinity, was the cradle of the
Mara civilisation.
Asphalt pavement is slippery only
mhvM ' "" l:('l't dean.
VOL. XX. PITTSBORO, CHATHAM
SHE TURNED THE TABLES.
The Uusband'. Iwuri-tnlve J.enaon for
His Wife Wan Lout.
It seemed to him an excellent time
to impress the lesson upon her, so us
ho started for his hat he said to her:
"Suppose you had wanted me to
spend the evening with you before wo
wero married nnd I had plauned to do
something else."
"Suppose I had," she returned.
"What of it?"
"You wouldn't have sulked, would
yon?" he asked.
"Xo-o, I suppose not," she replied
hesitatingly.
"You wouldn't have got cross nud
been disagreeable about it, would
you?"
"Probably not."
"You would have been just as nice
and sweet and clever as you possibly
could be," he asserted. "You would
have been both lovable nnd loving and
would have tried to coaxmetogivo up
my other places. Isn't that so?''
"Perbapa it is," she faltered, "but"
"Never mind the 'huts'" ho inter
rupted, feeling that ho was gaining
his point. "Vhnt I am trying to im
press upon you is that a woman doesn't
seem to think it worth while to try tho
samo arts on a husband that sho does
on a lover. That's where you're both
foolish and unjust. Now, you admit
that before marriage"
"Before marriage," sho broke in,
"if you had spoken of going any
where and I had pouted just tbe least
little bit what would you have dune?"
"I'm ah well, I suppose"
"If you had noticed what seemed to
be even the merest tr.ice of a tear what
would have happened?''
"Why, my dear, I"
"If I had merely looked at you
pleadingly what would have happened
to that other engagement?"
"Really, you don't give me time to
answer. I must confess that iu nil
probability I would have"
"Given it up, of course," she
prompted. "Isn't it worth while to
make the same sacrifices for a wife
that you do for a sweetheart'"
Somehow he couldn't help feeling
that his little lesson was lost on
her, but it is worthy of note that ho
told a business associate tho next day
that any iiiau who went on the theory
that a woman can't reason as clearly as
a man was laying up a largo store of
trouble forhimself. Chicago Post.
Art off limbing Mxira.
One of America's leading physicians
is quoted us saying that few peoplo
understand the art of climbing stair
ways w ithout making themselves tired
before reaching the top. Says our in
formant on this subject :
"I'sunlly a person will trend on the
ball of his foot iu taking each step.
This is very tiresome and wearing on
the muscles, ns it throws the entire
weight of the body on the muscles of
the legs nnd feet. You should, in
walking r climbing stairs, seek for
tho most equal distribution of tho
body's weight possible. In walking
upstairs your feet should be placed
squarely down on the step, heel and
all, and then the work should be per
formed slowly and deliberately. Iu
this way there is no strain upon any
particular muscle, but each one is do
ing its duty in a natural manner. The
man who goes upstairs with a spiing
you may be sure is no philosopher, or,
at least, his reasoning has not been
directed to that subject. Tho doctor
might have gone a little further iu th?
samo line, nnd protested against the
habit which many persons have of
bending over half double whenever
they ascend a flight of stairs. In ex
ertion of this kind, when the heart is
naturally excited to more rapid action,
it is desirable that the lungs should
have full play. But tho crouching po
sitiou interferes with their action, the
blood is imperfectly aerated, nnd there
is trouble right away. Give the lungs
tt chance to do their work everywhere
and at all times."
r.M'n.fl Fowl In Smith All Ion.
The air is brilliant, translucent, keen,
and wonderfully exhilarating. Al
ready nature is fully awake. Just
amid that belt of bush, flinging the
great grass plain yonder, ypu may bee
a big troop of guinea fowl nearly a
hundred of them senrchiug busily
for their breakfast, delving below the
dry soil for those small bulbs in which
they so grently delight. Magnificent
birds they are, heavier and stronger
than their semi-domesticated brethren
at home in England. Last night they
drank as usual at a small desert pool
hard by, the only water within a radius
of fifty miles.
Now aud ngain borne upon tho clear
air you may catch the wonderfully
sharp metallic note of these handsome
game birds calling to one another as
they feed along. They are great pe
destrians; probably they will cover
twenty mile) of ground in the course
of a day. Occasionally in their long
rambles they will roost in some clump
of trees far out in the dry desert, and
not return to water till tho following
evening. But tho wanderer lost in
these trackless aud dangerous wilds
may comfort himself with the thought
that sooner or later, if he follow the
spoor of a troop of guinea, fowl, it will
bring him to water. London Specta
tor. Mrdiattval Hill nr l ine.
An old chronicle preserves a bill of
fare for a Council dinner iu the year
1502. For the first course there were
capons, steamed beef, and old hens,
black game prepared with vinegar ;
second course, steamed carp served
with spiced sauce, sauerkraut with
mutton, and pastry; third course,
roast veal, birds, fried tish, cheese,
fruit, nuts, chestnuts and wafers. The
wine aud game were furnished by the
court; the host received fifteen furtk
iiigs from each person. From
''Stuttgart," in Harper's Magazine.
I GOOD ROADS NOTES, '&
; " A Farmer on Toll ltoa.l -.
A veteran Michigan farmer, writing
to tho ft ran (I Rapids Press, says:
"Toll roa ls do not meet tho wauts of
the farmer; ho wants free roads, not
toll roads, aud wauts all who mo them
to helo make them at a cost that will
not be Lurdeusomo on tho farmer.
The till roads are too costly for tho
firmer. To get the products of the
farm to market ho now pnys enough
taxes in the way of tolls to pay for tho
toll roads in live yearn at p. price they
could bo built, for now. Though the
tax ii paid indirectly it is paid.
Farmers, it? a class, nro opposed to
monopolies, and yet they grant fran
chises to toll road companies which
aro, on a small scale, greater monopo
lies than any of the railroad corpora
tions of the State.
"These toll roads are not only a
public nuisance, but tho owners cf
them are tho worst tax dodgers of the
State, railroad corporations not ex
cepted. Tho farmers in many part
of the county cannot get into the city
without being compelled to pay a toll,
or else drivo a long distance out of
their vvny. Tho farmer's wife cannot
get into tho city with a small basket
of eggs, or p. few pounds of butter,
without paying toll almost as much
as sin receives for what oho has to
sell.
"Tho farmer is opposed to high
rates of interest, nnd if ho wants to
borrow money and tho lender charged
him fifteen per cent, for tho use of it,
he would decline the offer with indigna
tion, and yet the same farmer votes
frauchises to corporations which make
him pay, though indirectly, but none
,tho less surely, over twenty-livo per
ceur. on the money used to build toll
roads for his accommodation, if the
cost of tho roads was figured at what
it would cost to build them at the.
present time. Tho railroad:) of tho
State aro required by law to pay taxes
ou gross receipts, but tho loll ro.-.ds
only on not recsipts. Tho toll-road
lobbyist, when at Lansing, bents the
railroad lob! yist two to one. You
truly say that it is somewhat surpris
ing that the farmers, in view of all tho
facts, nro not more generally in favor
of a system that will givo belter
roads."
FMucsllo.i in liond-Mattlng. r"
Tho Rhode Island AyricuUniAl
College lias made a new departure in
its work of education that deserves
imitation by other institutions of that
character. Its faculty has established
a special department for instruction
in tho theory .aud practice of road
making. The word curriculum is of id
eologically applicable to the pro
posed course of inslrnction, which
covers two years, and the announce
ment of tho details is interesting.
Tho plan is about to bo put into op
eration after consultation with fle.ii
eral Roy Stone, the road expert of the
LTnitod Slates Department of Agricul
ture, and its advocates are enthusias
tic in their predictions that it will
bring intelligent industry to boar in
improving tho highways nnd byways
of the tidy little commonwealth.
It is required that graduates from
this school shall bo competent to draw
specifications and contracts, to man
age all the machinery used in scienlilie
road-building, end to be familiar with
every detail of the profession of road
engineering. For instance, candidates
must pass au examination which in
cludes algebra and geometry .to tho
extant required for admission to any
college. Tho instruction includes
English literature, higher geometry,
trigonometry, surveying, electrical
mechanics, physical geography, min
eralogy, geology and steam engineer
ing. But this is not nil. That thero is
no "royal road to knowledge" w ill be
sternly impressed upon the aspirants
to the degrco of road engineer by a
novel requirement. For ono month
each spring the students will bo ex
pected to work ten hours a day at ac
tual road-making, including nil the
mechanical appliances, from wieldtug
tho pick and shovel to runnim the
most cdaboralo machinery. While
other collepiaus nro training in such
athletics m rowing, running, leaping,
baseball and football, those sturdy
youths of Khodo Island will be bend
ing their backs, strengthening their
muscles and expanding their lungs in
improving aud extending those high
ways which aro tho bands of civiliza
tion. May their ways bo ways of
pleasantness and all their paths be
peace. New York Mail and Express.
Instruction In Knart-niiililliicr.
The opportunities for instruction in
building different kinds of roads af
forded occasionally at fairs nnd insti
tutes, t'aud by samplo sections that
rro beon laid under Government
auspices, have boon very valuable,
,and have aroused the people somewhat
to a realization of tho importance of
regular instruction on this subject.
Tho Worcester (Mass.) Gazette sug
gests that it would be well if the State
spent a portion of tho enormous sum
appropriated annually for the highway
system iu holding institutes of instruc
tion for highway supervisors, commis
sioners, selectmen, and all others who
have to do with road-building. It
thinks tho trouble with tho highway
builder usually is thnt ho does not
consider his business a profession,
and needs to learn from tho experience
of others. "By establishing a school
for instruction in road-building, tho
State could do a greater service to the
public than by using the amount such
a school would cost in building mac
adam roads through the country."
Al.l From thn UnllTi..
In u number of States the railroads
have shown a disposition to help tho
canse of better highways by trans
porting material for road building at
Wtam
COUNTY, N. C THURSDAY, FEBRUARY
very low figures', It Is now reported
that a railway in Indiana is hauling
w ithout charge, and dumping at any
designated point along its right of way,
nil the crushed stone needed by the
commit -doners of Green County. If
one will do it. others certainly will fol-lov.-.
POWES CP A METHODIST BISHOP.
Eighteen Mpii Who Have Spiritual Xtule
Over Many Millions,
Tho Methodist Church is one of tlin
most highly organized, or rather is
i ho most highly organized, of ull tho
Protestant denominations. But with
out going into niinuto detail we rosy
sny briefly that the Board of Bi.-hops
is the highest Order in tho Methodist
system. It consists of twenty-one
persons who aro elected by the general
conference to fill vacancies by death or
deposition a bishop cannot resign.
It is within the power of the general
conference to enlargo this number if,
in its opinion, the needs of the church
require. The pew bishop is ordained
with elaborate i - , ceremonies, nnd,
Methodists clain, with truo apcslolic
succession through the Wesleys.
Of these twenty-one men, eighteen
have supreme and well nigh arbitrary
jurisdiction over world-wide Metho
dism, and two of these ere practically
retired, thus reducing tho active foreo
to sixteen. . How this supervision
shapes itself into routine may bo indi
cated to show the extent and charac
ter of this authority. There aro iu
the Methodist Church 121 conforeneos,
10d of w hich aro in this country, while
twenty-ouo aro distributed through
India, China, South America, Mexico
and Europe. These conferences mny
be called the grand division of Metho
ili iin. They are always subdivided
into two or more districts, nnd repre
sent front liftyto 300 or mcro "charges'"
or churches. Each of these confer
ences holds nn annual session, at
which a bishop must preside. He has
associated with him iu authority on
such occasions what is known as tho
"eubinot," a body composed of tho
bishop nnd tho presiding elders of tho
conference. Tho presiding elder, it
should bo said, is the chief executive
of each district conference, and is
himself n person of great authority.
At each conference tho bishop, in con
sultation with his cabinet, decides
upon, appoints and auuounces the pas
loiTttcs for tho coming year, and from
this decision there is no appeal. A
Methodist minister must cither hike
his assignment or disobey orders and
practically quit the ministry.
Thus, theoretically nt least, theso
twenty-ouo bishops have in their nrbi
trary power tho location and work of
theoO.OdO ministers of tho Methodist
Church a power which cannot find a
parallel outside of tho Roman Catho
lic Church, if indeed it be equalled
there.
It will be observed that the Metho
dist bishops are not confined to a
diocese. Roughly speaking, each
bishop visits tho whole church in from
twelve to lifteen years. The bishop,
however, hns an episcopal residence,
though he may not be much nt home.
Thoso residences are fixed by tho
general conference, nnd the choice is
then made by the bishops themselves
in tho order of their seniority. Thus
it happens that a bishop ofteu officially
resides at a great distance from tho
sccno of tho work with which he is
most prominently identified. Bishop
Vincent's home, for example, is nt
Kansas City, though he is commonly
associated with Chautauqua interests.
In addition to these varied aud im
portant tasks within tho bounds cf
our country, two or more of the twenty-one
bishops are chosen to visil tho
foreign conferences. These men
should be carefully distinguished
from what are known as missionary
bishops, the only Methodist bishop
corresponding to tho Anglican bishop
that is, with a well-defined and per
manent diocese, nnd who therefore
correspond pretty closely to a presid
ing elder, though ho has presiding
eld-rs under him. These visiti ig
bishops travel throughout tho woild
and are effective everywhere.
It will bo seen from this cursory
sketch that tho group of Methodist
bishops are vested with more power
than any body of ecclesiastics in tho
rrotestaut Churoh. As Bishop Fal
lows of the Reformed Episcopal
Church remarked: "A Methodist
bishop has more power in his littlo
finger than I have in my whole body."
It only remains to be said that this
group of men exercise their enormous
powers with raro wisdom, moderation
aud iidelitv. Church Economist.
WIipii ftlnvr Wero Only For Ornnmri.t.
It is interesting to recall the fact
that gloves as a badgo of elegant drcs
scorn' to antedate the use of gloves us
a protection to tho hands. Tho Ro
mans, Greeks and Persians wore gloves
on state occasions. As early as the
days of Charlemagne tho glove indus
try of France was started by granting
to certain monks the right to manufac
ture gloves from tho skins of deer
which were killod for venison.
Wnter Tor Typhoid.
An eminent physician states thnti
typhoid fever cau be washed out of
the system by water. He gives his
patients what would amount to tight
or ten ounces an hour of sterilized
water. Iu cases of cholera, where tho
system secrets a largo amount of fluid,
enormous quantities of hot water are
of great benefit.
The Cr' Reenter.
The Russian scepter is of solid gold,
three feet long, end contains among
its ornnmonts ilflH diamonds, 3G0 ru
bies aud lifteen emeralds.
A Maltese cat brought fromTopeka,
Kan., to Shelby villo, Ind., walked
nvtk to its old home, six hundred
miles away.
ILtti t
MAN'S NET SERVANT.
STARTLING OFFICE PGR THE
IVMGNET.
liron'H J nunc use I'lant fsr separa
ting the MUul from the Otiurtz by
Jlcans of Klci't ii-Mil t; tie lie Attrac"
lion Is Now in Opi r;1 ion.
IMi-ou'u T.iit est Ti'iiniiili.
TliN r-.ni'lii.v 1 1 ! - produced :l itn-t of
thinker. vvnoM- p-'iu'i.tnitc.di of 'iin.1-j
lei !. k"cit oii-crviitinii and caref'.il rca
S'litins have cliaitr'd the forces ol' iui- ;
tu re and londi; lln-in ilie scrviinis ol"
man. ii!' t!nc tiicre ! pr'wiily n. im
mure ili s'-rv lug nt' the highest plnr,
than is Tlwni.'is A. IMison. JIe liar,
ni.-id" inure than n .-- oiv ol' invi-ni ions,
any one of which would cii'lslo him to
a inline and a place anion;.: the fore
most men in tin- sch-ntiiic world, and
yet he i;i)i-i on mid strives for more and
greater coiiti-sls. The ma ivi-loas in
veiitl-ms viili which his name N asso
ciated have not been achievnl in a day,
but are tin- result of patient toil. In
diitnitnl'le h i. vernnco and concentra
tion of purpose. .volhiui! lie has done
lieretol'oiv litis required so nnu-li of his
Individual attention, taxed his inven
tive ingenuity so fully, or iu the agirri;
Siite consumed ills vital powers inure
than his latest neeoni;lishuiciit.
Billions of tons of iron ore lie scat
tered tln-nigli the rocks of the eastern
spurs ol' the Allegheny Mountains. But
the on- Is mixed with the roc!: in such
line particles that it could not be mined
with the ordinary methods, mid was
therefore lonUi d up-ill as one of Hie
wastes of nature. The l'nrnace.s in the
East were compelled to look for their
supply ol" hiuh-graile ore to :i few iso
lated deposits and to ores Imported
from foreign countries. The former
being limited, and tin- cost of procur
ing tin' hitter having almost reached
the prohibitory poiui, the trade in high
graile ore for the ltianufni ture of Bes
semer steel began to shift westward
to Michigan nnd Minnesota. Iron mills
In the Hast were shut down nud many
thousands who depend on the smelting
Industry for a living were thrown out
of employment. Walking along the
Long Island shore IMison one day no
ticed a pi!.- of bia- k sand. lie took
sonic of it home for investigation.
Placing an electro-magnet m-ar the
mass, he was surprised to see little
dark grains leave the heap and move
like so litany ants toward the magnet;
the ants pfov.-d to tc little grains ol'
In.tt ore. On tin- ha-:-- of this find he
evolved his famous oro-separtiiing ma
chine. When the nliove ineu: ioned curi
ous condition of tin- iron ira-le In the
East was brought to Mr. Kdison's at
tention right years ago he remember
ed his experience with the sand, nud
in order to assure himself of the exact
rnndit'on of Hie iron mines in the Bast
he invented a magnetic needle which
would "dip" toward the earth when
ever it was brought over a large de
posit of iron. With this he made a tour
of the mines of New Jersey. Tu his
.-lmaenieiit his in edle hellcated that
the greater portion of the ground over
which lie traveled was underlaid with
Immense deposits of iron.
With his magnetic needle, or, as he
calls it. his "magnetic eye," lie testeil
every large body of gneiss rock ex
tending along the eastern coast of the
I nited Stales, from Lower Canada in
the great Smoky Mountain of North
Carolina.
lie found Immense deposits of Iron,
l-'or instance, in the "..nun acres Imme
diately surrounding the village of Edi
son, there are over oo.iuhi.Oiiii Ions of
low-graili . Iu Ihe (iilire district
there are pi.oon ai ns in which the de
posit Is proporiioii iti ly as large. The
world's annual output of iron ore does
not, tit the present lime, reach !o,ti(in,
IHHl tons; so that iu the paltry I wo
miles surrounding the village of L'di
sou there is i n-nigh iron in the rocks
to keep the Whole World supplied for
one year or tin- Lulled States for three
years, even with the natural Increase.
In demand. S'Meru thousand acres or
twctiij live siptate mile- of land con
tain enough Iron ore to keep the whole
world supplied for seventeen years, al
lowing, of course, for till natural in
crease of demand, due to the needs of
II growing population. These acres
would more ihun supply the Lnin-d
Slates with Iron, Including necessary
exports, for the n-xt seventy years;
and they contain more titan has been
mined heretofore in i ii is country since
its discovery.
Here was an opportunity for the in
venter and he sot to work plan out
a great industry. It has taken him
eight Years to do It, but ihe n -nil ha
justified nil the trouble and money
which he has expended upon it. lin
Ciliecrs used to large clllerprl-es of the
kind have smiled inercdulou-ly . Some
of tlieui have spoken of it a- Kili-on'-hobby,
and others as his lolly. Some
have shown him on paper thai no ina
enme rotlld be eoii-l rttrted powerful
enough to crush live, six and -even ton
rocks, or if such a machine were con
structed il would never stand the jar
and strain exerted upon it. 'I his par
ticular dillieulty Mr. IMison sni-nioun!
ed so completely that !'- than loo
horsepower is li-itllled to reduce rocks
Weighing six and -even Ions to dit-t in
three second- from the time liny are
thrown Into tin- cru-hing machine, lit
is crushing rock- and dropping the re
sulting powder pa-t powerful elect ro
inagncts. The sand i- not attracted by
the magnetism but passes straight on.
the Iron ore is attracted to one side ami
falls In a heap of its own. This is t lu
whole principle; yet in the actual
working out it becomes one of the
most Ireniellili'lls processes ill the
world. Ii is, after all, no small matter
to crush Ihe very vitals out of a moun
tain and then extract till of the ore
from Hie millions of tons of sand.
Tliis is not all a theory which Mr.
Edison litis evolved and left to some
one el-e to put to practical use. In the
tillage of IMison. N. .1.. he has estab
10, 18118. NO. 21,
lished a smelting plan', em thyr1nclp!e
of his invention that Is ff prnnthal
demonstration of the feasibility of lii-
theory. The met hods by which the ore
is extracted lire nil unlike any oilier,
.and all tin- the product of M inventive
genius. The ore-bearing rock Is blasted
into bowlders and then laid on flat ear
with a steam shovel. Ii Is then (
I vi-ycd 10 the crushing plant. The cars
lire pin in under each end of the cril-h-ing
mill. The tray containing the
roil; are lifted by the cralicJ lo the
second sioty of the liiill, where the
ro'-k is dumped into a large square pit.
Ten I'eit beiovv the edge of tin- jilt re
volve liiiDiense Iron rollers weighing
li'ii tons.
Tie- surface of these fuller )s stild-d'-il
with teeth, and the space- Ltd ween
tltoiii Is loss than a foot whir. Never
theless ji six-ton i k dropped Into the
pit pitsses between the roll in less than
H ie" seconds. Ear down beneath tin-so
rolls is ;t!ioiiioi- set of smaller size, but
nearer together. Eroui tin- heavy rolls
above the rock falls Into tlil lower set
.-Hid is crushed still smaller. II lias
now been reduced to pieces the size of
ii man's list, and from the lower set of
rolls drops into nil elevator or endless
ronvryor which carries the pieces up to
Hie top of another part of the building
and dumps them into a shaft leading
down to three more sets of rolls set di
rectly beneath one another. As tho rock
passes through these lolls the latter are
found to be placed nearer and nearer
together until witli the last or third set
ihe two rolls composing It are set
tightly against each other, so that
when Ihe i-in-k ultimately pusses
through il has been reduced to dust.
After the crushing process it is car
ried to the top of the magnet bouse and
dumped Into space to ind its way
through many sieves of varying mesh
es and past many magnet faces of
varying strength. As lr descends 1 he
ore is drawn by the magnet Into a long
pipe by itself while the sand falls to
the ground. The vab!-.- o, the sand
alone is no small ronsiderat ion. It is
sold to builders and emit factors at a
good price, being more suitable for
their purposes than any other obtain
able. The pure ore is now allowed to
drop downward and pass through a
l m where blowers rid il of any dust
that may have accompanied it on its
travel. After h-aving the blower room,
ii is really a stream of purr, finely-divided
iron ore. which drops ptto con
veyors and is carried to a storehouse,
which holds .".mod tons. More It may
irsi temporarily or it may pass on by
means of other ronviyors to ihe mix
ing house. It cannot be smelted in the
form of iron dust. It must be made
into briiiucitcs, and in order to do this
i' must be mixed with some adhesive
substance which will piv.ent ll from
disintegrating when brought under tin
action of the furnace. To make this
substance Mr. Edisun had to perform
li.iioo experiments before lie got it of
such a consistency its to lie satisfactory.
Thus In small plastic nuggets the ore
drops into the bricking machine and
comes out in small blocks which are
thrown on conveyors to be carried to
the great ovens to be baked. On com
ing out of the ovens It is ready for
shipment. Fast freight oars are nt
hand lo haul it away to the furnaces.
From the time the ore is blasted with
its native rock out of the mountainside
until it is loaded in the form of com
mercially pure iron liriquriies on tin
ears, il is not touched by human hands.
The never-eiidiiig and never-resting
stream of material constantly circulates
through the various buildings, crushed
by the stored momentum of gigantic
rolls, hoisted skyward by steam, pulled
earthward by gravity, deflected by
magnetism, dried, sifted, weighed,
gauged, conveyed, changed from rock
into dust, and from dust into compre
hensive lumps, mixed with a due pro
portion of adhesive niateri: ! ; churned,
baked, counted, and sent flying to the
furnaces by fast freight: and not once
in its course Is It arrested or jogged on
ward by hitman agency.
The pockets of ore from which the
Edited States has drawn its chief sup
ply are rapidly becoming exhausted.
There Is, it must be understood, plenty
of Iron lUe iu the country, but it Is not
the kind of ore from which steel can
be made. Steel can only lie made from
ores in which the per cent, of phos
phorus Is very small. IMison with his
crushing process has entirely elimi-'
Hated the phosphorus element from
ihe ore. It therefore remains Inevita
ble that lids must ultimately become
the only serious method of producing
ores from which steel will be made. It
would seem from the prospect, that Ed-i-oii
w ill become the head of ti vast in-ilu-lr.v,
as great us that brought Into
existence by the Invention of the in
candescent light, and in a measure
more imposing, as il enihracrs the
production of what in ooiurjierclal cir
cles is after all the most valuable
i meial on earth. In spite of this, how
I over, tin- man who planned it jdl does
not from his demeanor appear to have
been ovi r iuiprcssed wiih lis import
! iince.
Until Auinu.
She lluvr you really seen that ivmi.
derfid set of pictures tli.it Miss Left
over has had taken, one u each bin li
ds y?
Id- Yes; lull they're very indistinct.
Yon sec. Ihe photos have faded at oue
end of the list, and the subject ut thf
other. - Truth.
Wonderful Oriuinalit.v.
Miss llasideigli - lieolgo llalllby Is
very original, isn't he'
Miss llapgooil-l never noticed it.
What has he done that was original?
Miss Iiashlclgli-IIe handed me a box
of randy la-t night and didn't say,
Sweets to the sweet."
Work Until Wa.VH.
She - IT it wasn't for the old bachelors
tlirrr would be no llirts.
IU If it wasn't for the flirts there
would be no old ba-helors.
Many mean men are meu of means.
&)t hatl)au) tucorfc
BATES
Of
ADVERTISING
One sqnare, one insertion $1.00
One squsre, two insertions. ... 1.50
ii n r. a
jUne square, one moniu
For Jurprt r advertisements libera)
! onl rii'-ts wtd I"' rriB'lrf.
POPULAR SCIENCE.
A mechenica? device recently pat
ented pastes paper labels on 100,00'J
tins in ten hours.
The city vi Santa Fe, Now Mexico,
is without rats, mice and cats, s tuo
air is too r.vclie.l for those, urn mil: .
It is estimated that urcioVr quanti
ties oi gold and silver have hcv.t f.-.ink
in tho sea than are now iu ciivuluuua
in the whole world.
Dr. 15. Kos.-inann, of Charlotten
l,cr;i, Germany, has- c:nred a patent
from the f m p( rial C.ovei rm.mt covrnu:,'
n rust preventing paint c.-moived or
he peroxides cf cuius cf the onuu
group.
The tanner?!, of Newark. Iv. -T-. are
said to get more i.j'.n.-y out of bidn
than anywhere else. Tin ce, and roaie
tiines four, splits -.ve imida and fin
ished. It 1 .Mti,,-.-i'..d Ilia i-lo i
realized per hide and l'-.e yearly busi
ness dono amoiiu' to .-"MO.illVi.liOi.-.
It ha been rah-amlrd tint the hair
of the beard jr-vvs at the rat- of ono
and a half line a w,-el:. This will
give length of r.;. in-.-ie.-in iheconrsn
of a year. For a oigiity year of
age lio le.s than twenty-sewn feet of
beard must have fallen before the edgo
of tho razor.
Through the gift of Mr. Charles;
Pratt, the Trn't Institute, of JJi-ook-lyn,
X. y., !in r:mc into posseio:j
of pw; example of tt-xliU s, rangi.'g
over several rent uric of j '.'irooeaii and
Oriental manufact ,iro. The collection
was purchased from Sig'ior Salvador,
of Florence, Italy, by whom it wc.h
collected, and, it is nail, cannot bo
duplicated.
At Lynn, Mass., there is now in
practical operation n new cot '.on gin
which is attracting much iittentioii.
This is a roll gin, no revolving suw.t
being used which cut the fibre, tho
seed being forced out by a scraping
blade close to the roller. Iu a recent
trial a long staple lint run through
this machine was deeiui ed to bo vwrib.
15 J cents a pound against six cents n
pound when run through the old sylo
gin.
tHMiwc-CMl nud Amliri',
The main sourco of the nmbcr sup
ply isthe seaeoast of the IJaKic Ocean.
It is a fossil gum, originally tho ex
udation nf a species of conifer now ex
tinct. This grow in lti:;uriant profu
sion hundreds of thousands of y.-ar.i
ago ou tho marshy coasts of Northern
Europe, when the climate was much
warmer than it is to-day. The natural
history of amber is thus explained?
The immense forests of nmbcr pino
underwent their natural downfall and
decay. The isin of the woods ac
cumulated in largo qiuiniitie.s in bojjs
and ponds, an I hi the, soil of tho for
ests'. Where the coa-"t vvn-i slowly
sinking, the sea by ami by covered
tho laud, an 1 the amber, which ha-f
been gradually hardening. wa at last
deposited at the ocean bottom, lint,
in tho higher legions lac pin- contin
ued to flourish, and so umber w.-uld
still continue to bo a-dir I down to
the shore and deposited in the l.der
formed green sau-l, and the mil later
formed stratum of li.-cnit or blown
coal.
The gum became I'-ssilicd by i'.s
long burial under ground. ?Iei e than
200 specimens of exti-iet life, animal
and ve.'-,.::'.I 1 ' '" fo-tml im
bedded in amber specim-'ni, iie.'ln.ung
insects, reptiles, plants, leaves, shells,
fruit, etc., which ha 1 been caught in
the liquid gum and entombed Hn-ro
for all time. Some of these .specimen!
are so curiously beautiful ns to bo nt-
most priceless, nud one English col
lector has a cabinet of them which is
valued ut .SVIO.OOO. Ono piece em
balms a lizard about ci.-jiit inches
lone, n little jeweled monster, perfect
in its lorm ami coloring, wi-.u-n nnsno
like in iinylhing existing now. In
deed, iu many iusta'ii'M science is
nble solely through this medium to
study details of animal life which per
ished from the urih many hundred
thousands of jvav a:; . Thero aro
Hies preserved with wings poised ns if
for flight, where, the prismatic sheen
glowing through th-- yellow sepulcher
is ns brilli-iul a" if they wero floating
ulive iu the sunshine.
i lull Cult.-.
"Fruit cures," just now a fal in
Continental Euiope wit't people hav
ing real or imaginary dt-o.i 'c, i i by
no means a new thing. In the tenth
century nn investigator has discovered,
many medical authorities became en
thusiastic in their writings over the
remarkuble curative virtues of grapes,
while a certain Van Swieten of a more
modern date is snid to have 'recom
mended in special cases th- eating of
twenty pounds of strawberries a day."
The same gentleman u!s rep.iris '.
case of phthisis healed by st. a w ber
ries, and cites cases in which maniacs
have regained their rea''.m ly the ex
elusive use of cherries as fo i l. These
instances rather savor of tac miracu
lous, but there is no doubt that tho
so-called grape cure for indigestion
and other evils, is curri-' I on in many
places on the Continent, a i Ith it peo
ple betake themselves to Mi lan, Vo
vay, Ringon, or to Italy and the South
of Franco with the intention of de
voting six weeks to the care, during
which time they nro expected to have
gradually .accomplished the feat of
consuming from three to r ight pounds
of grapes daily, as the case may be.
Grapes nre said to exercise n salutary
action on tho nervous system, nud to
favor the formation of fat; thnt is to
say, when fruit of good quality is em
ployed; if tho grapes aro not sufficient
lyripe and arc watery and sour tho pa
tient may lose rather than gam , iu
weight. The'valnable results obtained
by a fruit diet in cases of biliousness
nre duo to tho fact that noxious germs
habitually present in the alimentary
canal do not thrivo in fruit juices.
Iceberg' Aire.
Icebergs somotimes last 200 yeari
before they entirely melt away.