i
Che Cljatljam Octora.
Olfe dljotljan) Occorlr
y
EDITOR AND PROPOSTOR
fill! I I I l fill! I
rEAiis of soasbanc
$1.50 PER YEAR
St fctly in JlSvco.
ja. j
ll.U'TKK NV.(tutiif k,U
t
i'miim' me it 1 si tit r.irtuhns.
Tiny
i-ian: 'lu t, 1 am bnrcr
hi ih1u.i ion from ou. brnth-
,f .1 Iflit-r f .
f .i .-lilnllti r, a.
!! I mi .1 fVw
ul n. my May in yoi r :ty
hour, 1 mint I'lier it
it a plant c, Kir, 'hut
f.T '.It'!'. 1 .111 M'f ,
.in tl i i-MiT broth,,
. .
r or my townsa
frVn-1. . tuoii KHIok.
ami the do -
V
Si'i.'iii) linrriisllv ilrtv t.
t.'. iti.- i-iti:so! a rlosely wrU ,en ret
Y:i. wi-!l. I am glad to ee you, i
. Vu f.w t-hcly m letter I hn
i1 - i;: ri:ii.s Pi-rived from my brother. I
1", lliwit. ni!w rue to introduce Dr.
St.
?!'
TV
nf Wilmington, North Lrtrolitirt,
fiiuily plitVu-iaa of my brother A mow.
ii:iijr ni:in is my won, HotKTt. Drw
;i i-hair for the doctor, Robert."
Ai'i'T urasii'.r.K the hands of he three
11. :i .ivsi-,;t, lr. Strong seated himself
n -li. 1 i-.fffietl chair with the remark:
"V.f. my departure from Wilmington
ry Kiidden. Yonr brother informed
i:u that lie had but just written you, but
' .l.'sin'd iv.e to bring his nieces back
v iii n:t if the iuvalid could underpo the
;;!! vy. My business here is not of a
i:v.n' to detain me for an hour. It was
!! to place a son in your medical col
.;. 1 desire to return on the evening
train. I have left patients at home v.-ho
v. i" need my attention."
Y were just discussing my daughter's
wi'iapjT condition," said the banker. "Dr.
I'.ewit pronounces her unable to take the
4"i:niev. lie regards her case as almost
i-peJess."
My Mod! Is it so bad as that?" ex
(i.iiincd Dr. Strong.
The banker himself was surprised at
the physician's vehemence.
"1 have little hore for the patient," said
!-. llcwir. "I had just stated to Mr.
Ke'.Jogc that in my opinion Janette could
survive the journey. Of course I did
then know that a physician would at-
!. ud her."
"I nm extremely glad to have met you
! :e. doctor. If the patient is not utterly
'vend hope and we can give her a com
j 'ete change of atmosphere and surround
:: g, the result might justify the risk of
t!ie removal."
"True! The case has thwarted me at
nery turn. I thai) be gjul to have you
v;t the sufferer with me."
"Let us go at once," said the Wilming
ton physician.
i will accompany you(" announced the
Vnnker.
HoK'rt, who was greatly gratified over
the arrival of Dr. Strong, accompanied
ti e party to the carriage, and took a seat
Wide the newcomer, at that gentleman's
Mi:e?t.
Hnt a short time elapsed before the
1; nker and the two physicians stood by
tl bedside of the patient.
The widow had been greatly surprised
ft meeting the Wilmington physician on
the l!oir below, and she followed the par
ty perhaps with no little apprehension as
t what might be the result of the doctor's
i;'t.
No sooiier had Dr. Strong's eyes rested
m the wan. pain-drawn features of the
nift'erer on the Ited. than involuntarily the
words escaped his lips.
"V ry like! Very like! The cases are
Men Ileal."
'"This gentleman is Dr. Strong, dear,"
iid Mr. Kellogg. "He is from your un
cVs home in North Carolina and has call
H to see you."
"I am very glad to see you, doctor,"
Janette said faintly; "but but I think I
mi leyond help."
"Jteyond help! Not a bit of it. my dear
Not a bit of it!" said the doctor as
I'e raised one white hand and placed a
finger on the pulse. "Why," he contin
u'd, "doctor, her pulse is .much better
than I would have expected. Her condi
tion, with siich care as she will receive,
"ill justify her removal."
"You will agree with me, I . think"
these last words in an undertone to Dr.
Hewit) "that it is a last resort. Certain
ly there is no hope otherwise. God help
ing me, Twill save this girl."
"Your will is mine, doctor; I place her
i:i your hands."
"IlemovalV" moaned Janette. "Oh, doc
t r. I shall soon le removed but "
"Certainly you will be, dear; I am not
p'ing back to North Carolina alone, and
'eii't you believe it, little girl. I shall
lave company. Do you know who will
1 f company me? I do. Two sisters, Laura
Mid Janette are their names. They are
roing to visit their North Carolina cous
ins and find fresh sea breezes that will
'Ting back roses into pale cheeks and
rength into weak limbs. Oh, it is all
titled. We shall leave on the three
o'clock train this day."
"Why, it caumn be possible!" exclaim
ed the widow. "In her condition she
could not "
"Madam." and Dr. Strong's voice, firm
nnd decided, silenced her, "two physicians
have decided what is best in this case."
Elinor's handkerchief immediately
found its way to her eyes.
"Oh, doctor," exclaimed Laura, "I
thank (iod for this! I know that our
'ear friend, Dr. Hewit, has done' all that
" nld be done for Janette in this climate,
' 'k aunt and I have nursed her night
:id day. There must be a change. Papa
- you "
"It is already decided, my child. You
"11 st now make haste aud prepare for the
j' tirney. Take nothing but what you will
"'d at once. On your arrival at your
uncle's we can forward all else."
"See, seel" cried Laura. "Janette
"-rns brizht and boneful already. Are
Jiu not pleased, sister?"
I am content." said Janette. I am
wi!ling to co if it is best. I I wish, to
I dislike to lenTe dear aunt; but"
"It is for the best, my child," Dr,
Strong said, stroking her soft hair.
Elinor Kelloce had repaired to her
apartmentssobbing.
"Itobert." said the banker to his son,
ho now entered the room, "you had best
remain at the house aud assist Laura and
J'our aunt in packing what is needful.
Your fcisters start South at 3 P. m. I will
way n
1 a. It K n I I km
vol. xxi. pittsboro, Chatham
11
go irith the doctor and engare sleenin
car accommodations." seeping
'Glrlly, father, gladly f
''1Lpt V at,once." r. Strong said.
There is one other matter I wish to at
tend to. lint flret- there Ihe doctor pro
duced a phial from one of hi. pockets,
filled a glass one-third full of water
hrst rinsing the gla., then Into the glass
dropped twenty drops of a fluid), "here,
my dear;' ami .Tan.4te, resting her head
on the doctor a arm, drained the glass.
Ihe physician hniirt k. ui.t
Lauru. 10
Twenty drops in one-third of a glass
of water." he said, "each hour until we
Am. 1,0 w e,eTn o'clock."
u uocior jingered behind as the others
,,"nuu'11 IU "airs. Robert and Laura
"" "aiming beside him.
I can and will save the life of rour
ter. be said: "but one of you must be
"M,.,nUy at ner bedxide until she is re
inoreu rroni the house. All- .
. pass her hps save these drops. Nothing!
fA . r...- miivrii h disposition to partake of
l J on, jus j,aura, must prepare it
l.f. M...y. 1 our aunt, I fear, is too sym
pao. ne is so anxious for your sis
er'a .'wj' that she might desire to
gk h w,ne or something she should not
have."
"Aunt n her om ?Try day," said
Lnu 1 ,",T eiveu her some. Dr.
ewitfprescrt. 'Hvl U ln ml quantities."
:'8h must Jh lve DO more.until we are
en route i Ik ' South. Nothing, aaTe
as I have inform J". Your failure to
see that these iu'r ,ctions are carried out
to the letter will cwt Ja"tte her life. Say
nothing to your aurt'f what I haw told
you unless she tendrs 8nithing 'to Ja
nette, then state that 1. Jon allow
nothing save the drop IO tbnt Pial to
pass her lips. Can I rel oV you?"
"You can, doctor," saVl Robert.
"Certainly," Laura sa d.
"Remember, not an in.Uaut bu' one of
you 'must be at her side." The servants
might tender her somethii ig."
Five minutes later Thomias was driving
the party rapidly from the banker's resi
dence. Dr. Hewit left the carriage-at his office,
while the others went on. A half hour
later a private compartment i tt a through
sleeper was secured.
At one o'clock Mr. Kellogj; re-entered
the bank, where the doctor "wns to meet
him an hour lf.ter.
The physician himself was conferring
in a room at his hotel with the man who
had accompanied him from Wilmington
Mr. Sella rs, tht Southern detective.
For thirty minunes they sat in close con
versation, at the nd of which time the
doctor arose aud, iaking the detective by
the hand, said:
"I must go now. Svllars. Have you ev
erything needful? Everything you re
quire?" "Yes," was the reply, "everything. You
will certainly see the young man?"
"Y'es; he will be waiting for me."
"All right. I will take up the case to
morrow." At 2:10 the carriage containing the-loc-tor
and Mr. Kellogg was again tnrfore
the Dearborn avenue residence.
The doctor was first to a?end the stairs
to the invalid's room. He glanced anx
iously at the figure reilining on the couch.
"Oh, you are ready, my girl!" he ex
claimed. "You have ."taproTetl fifty per
cent already. Miss LiVira, she has had!
nothing "
"But as you directed, doctor, though
aunt three times "
"Never mind you can relalo that after
we are started. Yon are ready .'"
"All ready, doctor." . ,
"Oh. a rainnte with you, Ibert." the
doctor said. And walking t a window
facing the street, he handed the young
man a letter.
"You will find the geutleixan whoso
name appears on the envelope at the plae?
stated. I wish you to call thre at ten
o'clock to-morrow mornin;; and present it.
He is my friend and will state to you his
desires. You may trust him implicitly.
You may be able to aid him greatly."
"I will present the letter at ten o'clock,"
said Robert, as he glanced et the super
scription on "the envelope. The tname
that appeared there was of one unknown
to him. The envelope bore this address:
"John Thorn, Esq..
"Sherman House."
The widow accompanied the party when
Janette was borne, to the carriage She
appeared greatly disturbed. Evidently
her heart was near breaking over the peril
her dear uiece was about to be subjected
to.
She kissed her a tender farewell as she
did so, also Laura, and entered the house
sobbing as the carriage was drivem away.
At three o'clock an iron horse exhaust
ed a volume of steam as it pulled its laden
cars from beneath the depot shed.
A happy Wilmington physician sat in
a private compartment of one of t&e sleep
ers. His eyes rested tenderly on the fea
tures of a "sleeping girl in a berth before
him. A smiling young lady was seated
by his side.
"Oh, doctor, ' she suddenly exclaimed,
I feel that you have rescued' Janette."
"From a peril, my dear, of which you
little dream. In twenty-four hours she
would have been a corpse.
"And now?"
"Safe, thank God, safe! Ve have left
peril behind us and are southward
bound."
CHAPTER XVI.
At ten o'clock on the morning of the
sixteenth, Robert Kellogg repaired to the
Sherman House, where his first step was
to scan the hotel registered arrivals of
the previous day.
He soon found the name, "D. M.
Strong.. M. D., North Carolina," and di
rectly beneath it in bold letters was that
of the gentleman to whom he was to pre
sent his letter "John Thorn, Georgia."
"Is Mr. Thorn of Georgia in the hotel?"
he asked of the clerk.
"In his room, I think," was the reply.
"Please' send up my card."
The porter was immediately dispatched
with it.
He soon returned, and Robert accom
panied him to the second floor, where he
was ushered into the room occupied by
one who, for many years in his particular
line, .was pne of the most remarkable
characters that the South .has exer pro
duced.
The man to whom he presented his let.
ter was Lang Sellars of North Carolina,
alias John Thorn of Georgia.
Sellars was at this time in his fortieth
year. He was of no ordinary physique,
being six feet two inches In height,
strong and compactly built, and almost
as nprlght when standing Mth long-leaf
pines of his native State.
"I was expecting yon," lie said as he
motioned the young man to a chair. "Dr.
Strong and your sisters left the city at
three o'clock yesterday, I suppose."
"They did, I am happy to be able to
state that my father this morntng re
ceived a telegram from the doctor., saying
Janette was bearing the journey well."
Sellars was presumably reading the dec
tor's letter. In reality he was studying
the features of the banker's son. Fea
tures, the contour of the face, the 'shape
of the head, the expression of tlie eyes,
the appearance of the individual, in fact
nil these combined, were to the Southern
detective an index of the character of the
man.
"The doctor," he said presently, "did
not inform you as to th0 nature of my
business in Chicago?"
"He did not," was the reply. "He mere
ly requested me to present the letter you
hold in your hand. Whatorer your busi
ness, if I can in any way .aid you, I shall
be pleased to do so."
"Thanks, young man. many thanks. My
friend. Dr. Strong, has sad the life of
your sister, and I feel thai I can rely on
you.. I shall therefore be .candid. First,
then, I am not John Thornv neither am I
from Georgia."
"Why, then, my letter is not in the
hands it was designed to reach. You
should not "
"Rest easy, young man. Your letter
has rached its destination. But John
Thorn -tvas a name borrowsd for an oc
casion. Throughout the South I am
known as Lang Sellars. and am, by pro
fession, me of that unfortunate class
known as detectives."
"Is it possible ?" exclaimed Robert. "I
hare often heard and read of the mys
teries unraveled by that wonderful man.
I am glad to hare met you, Mr. Sellars.
But why, Tj, the name, 'John Thorn,
on the hotef a egister?"
"Oh, with ;oome detectives it is often
necessary to raord on hotel registers oth
er names than their own. Somehow, I
find that Lang &llars has become known
outside the confines of the 'Old South
State. For certah' reasons I do not wish
it known that I an in Chicago. Tho
morning journals, aa you are aware, pub
lish a list of arm mis at hotels. I had no
-wish that the nan to. Lang Cellars, should
appear in that lisr."
"I see."
"I should probalty be visited by your
police officials, who, in the matter I pro
pose to take in hand, have so far failed.
And there may be othTs in your city
whom I wish kept ia tguorance of my
presence here."
"It is perfectly plain to me now, Mr.
SaJlars."
"Yes? Well, I thought I could make it
so. 1 am here for a double purpose. Partly
to- bring to the bar of justice the man, or
en, who assaulted and nobbed the col
lector of the Union Express Company;
partly, well, of that hero after."
"If I could but be of aid to yon. But I
think you will find it a -difficult matter
to even obtain a clew."
"Oh, as to clews clews are sometimes
very obscure. A gt-neral knowledge of
the facts as they occurred and a certain
intuitive perception has before now led
10 the detection of the ierpetrators of
grave crimes. I shall not wait for clews
n the matters I have in hand, though in
one of them "
"What can I do, Mr. Sellars?"
"There is one young man I dei.ire to
have a conference with. On yesf rday I
visited the officer, of the repress company
nd interviewed Collector Eh-worth, with
whose statement in regard to this rob
bery the detective force of yir city are
familiar. He yet j-vdheres to his state
ment that the man he believes to have as
saulted and robbed him lore a striking re
semblance in form and icntutes to Earl
Newberry.".
"Earl Kellogg now."
"Yes, I undeistand. "Well, later in the
dav I paid a visnt to your fathers bank.
I saw, of course, both tho cash.er and the
teller. Earl I hate seen many times on
the streets of Wilmington."
"Oh. then he recognized you.
"Not at all. I was Johu Thorn when I
entered the bank. I preserted little the
appearance that I do now. I had no wish
to be recognized'
"You saw my father?"
"As he entered the carriage before the
door of the bank with Dr. Strong. You
were of the company. I desire that your
father be kept in ignorance of the fact
that I am here, or have taken up the ex
press case, oit
The detective did not finish the sen
tence. "My father kept in ignorance? And
why. pray?"
Oh,-for several reasons. But one will
sufBce Ivprefer to co-operate with young
er men, those more matured and of your
years."
(To be continued.)
Nature's Gardens In Alaska.
The most extensive, least spoiled and
most unspoilable of the gardens of the
continent are the vast tundras of Al
aska. Every summer they extend
smooth, even, undulating, continuous
beds of flowers and leaves from about
latitude 02 degrees to the shores of the
Arctic Ocean; and In winter sheets of
snow flowers make all the country
shine, one mass of white radiance like
a star. Nor are these arctic plant peo
ple the pitiful, frost-pinched unfortun
ates they are guessed to be by those
who have never seen them. Though
lowly ln stature, keeping near the
frozen ground as if loving It, they are
bright and cheery, and speak Nature's
love as plainly as their big relatives of
the south. Tenderly happed and tuck
ed in beneath downy snow to sleep
through the huge white winter, they
make haste to bloom in the spring
without trying to grow tall, though
some rise high enough to ripple and
wave in the wind and display masses
of color yellow, purple and blue so
rich they look like beds of rainbows
and are visible miles and miles away.
And in September the tundra
glows In creamy golden sunshine, and
the colors of the ripe foliage of the
hearthworts, willows, and birch red,
purple and yellow in pure bright tones
are enriched with those of berries which
are scattered everywhere as if they
had been showered down from the
clouds like hail; their colors, with those
of the leaves and stems, blending har
moniously with the neutral tints of the
ground of lichens and mosses on which
they seem to be painted. John Muir
to the Atlantic
Q
county, n. c Thursday, august 24,
HOW BASEBALL BEGAN.
ORIGINATED OVER HALF A CENTURY
AGO IN NEW YORK CITY.
The First Mitch Game Was Played Jane
10, 1840, at noboken, N. J. -.The
uoiacn Age or the Sport Causes of
Its Decadence Old -Trine Champions.
The first match game of baseball
was played Jane 19, 1846, atHobokeu,
JN. J., the contestants being the
Knickerbocker and New York Baseball
Clubs. The sport had begun to take
lorm nearly nine months before. Base-
oan is the result of evolution. It
grew gradually out of tho olJ English
school-boy game of "rounders," which
gradually became "town ball.' In
the latter sport, instead of bases,
41. - m
mere were corners. xuese wore
unguarded, and the runners were put
out by being hit with the ball, which
was tnrown directly at them by the
fielders. Tho ball used was neces
sarily, therefore, much softer and
smaller than the baseball of to-day,
and was composed wholly of rubber.
Origin of Baseball.
A number of New York gentlemen,
relates the Washington Star, were in
the habit of assembling ou a vacaut
lot, then a long way out of town, and
now covered by the Madison Square
Garden, every Wednesday and Satur
day afternoon to play town ball. At
length some of them began to think
that certain modifications would
greatly improve the sport. Numerous
iuformal discussions took place, and
it was finally decided to adopt cer
tain changes. Among these was the
substitution of bases for "corners,"
the adoption of a hard ball with a
rubber centre wound with yarn and
covered with leather, the placing of
men to guard the bases, aud having
the ball thrown to them instead of
directly at tho base runners. It was
also decided to change the name of
tho sport from town ball to "base
ball" on account of the bases forming
so important a factor of it. On Sep
tember 23, 1845, tho gentlemen who
had decided upon these changes
formed themselves into an association,
to which they gave the name of the
Knickerbocker Baseball Club, at the
same time adopting the proposed
changes ia the gtune of town ball, and
voting that their new game should
thereafter be known by the name of
baseball. Thus the national game
was born, and it has undergone in
numerable changes and modifications
during the long period that has
elapsed since its birth, but it is
doubtful if it has thereby been made
any more enjoyable a a sport, pure
and simple. One baseball club causes
others, and soon there were a num
ber of these organizations in and
around New York, and the first match
game followed. It consisted of only
four innings, the rnle then, being
that the club first making twenty-one
runs in even innings was the winner.
The gradual extension of baseball
from New York to other parts of the
country was slow, though the
metropolitan newspapers did all iu
their power to foster the sport. Town
ball continued to be played in ether
parts of the country aud its players
seemed reluctant to substitute base
ball for it.
Extension Throughout the Count ry.
Baseball was not introducod in
Philadelphia, only ninety miles from
New York, until 1860, fifteen years
after its birth. Iu that year the
Olympio Club of the Quaker City,
which had been organized in 1833 to
play town ball, and had done so ever
since, decided thereafter to play base
ball instead. The first match game
of baseball in Philadelphia did not
take plaoe till June 11, 1860, aud was
between the Equity and Winona clubs.
The first match game of the na
tional sport in San Francisco took
place February '22, 1860, nearly four
months prior to the match in Phila
delphia. Baseball was not played in
the New England States until five or
six years after its origination, and
then only in such a modified form
that it was known as the "New Eng
land game," to distinguish it from the
game as played in New York.
Purely an Amateur Sport.
The originators of the national game
were gentlemen who played baseball
only for recreation, and would have
held in very low esteem any man who
sought to transform it into a means of
gaining a livelihood. It was their in
tention, as well as that of other gen
erations of enthusiastic baseball play
ers who followed them, that baseball
Bhould be purely a gentleman's game.
As clubs multiplied throughout -the
country it became necessary to estab
lish some general organization having
authority to control and regulate the
interests of the sport, to make such
changes in the playing rules as might
from time to time seem necessary and
in every possible way to protect and
improve the national sport.
TiTo meet this necesfity there was
formed the National Association of
Baseball Players, in which any club
was entitled to membership, with the
privilege of sending delegates to the
annual meeting. The playing rules
adopted by this organization were the
standard ones for the game, and were
respected and adopted by all clubs,
whether members of the association
or not. Almost the first .rule adopted
by this national association was one
positively debarring from membership
and rendering liable to expulsion any
club iu which there waB a man who
played baseball for hire or emolument
of any kind. . ;
The Golden Age of the Game.
The result was that baseball flour
ished between the years 1866 and
1871. The club were literally le
gion, and in every large city the num
ber of matches that were played daily
was almost incredible. The grounds
were usually upon some vacant lot or
common, and were iree-to an. as a
consequence the crowds at these con
tests were very great, from 10,000 to
80,000 persons being by no means an
unusual attendance. In tho city of
New York, for example, there were
five different baseball grounds within
a stone's throw of each other, and
scarcely a day passed during the base
ball season that there was not a match
in progress upon each of theso
grounds, and the same is true of
other large cities. It is no exaggera
tion to say that thirty years, ago 200
games were played for every one that
is played now.
Some idea of the old-time interest
and attendance may be gained from
the fact that at a game between the
Atlantic Club of Brooklyu and the
Athletics o Philadelphia, in the lat
ter city, October 1, 1866, the attend
ance inside and outside the ground
the . housetops being covered with
spectators was estimated at 40,000,
and, though the price of admission to
this game was $1 for general admis
sion, even to the bleaching boards.
tho crowd inside the gates ' was so
enormous that, in order to find room
to stand it had to spread itself over
the field to such an extent that it was
impossible for the players to move
about, and the game had to be post
poned after the first inning.
Amateur games the onlv kind
then known such as thirty years ago
drew immense crowds of the friends
and neighbors of the participants, are
played now by college and athletio
club teams. Thirty years ago a base
ball club was an organisation of gen
tlemen for recreation in exercise sim
ply. Now it is a corporation with
no object save to make as much money
as possible out of the hired players.
Beginning of Professionalism.
The encroachment of the professional
player was gradual. The rivalry be
tween clubs became so great that iu
order to strengthen itself and to win
victory over some rival each trould
leave nothing undone to obtain the
best players. Thus inducements were
held out to men who had shown au
unusual aptitude for the game to in
fluence them to play only with a par
ticular club. A wealthy gentleman,
for instance, desiring to see -his club
in the front rank, would offer some
young man of rare baseball playing
ability a position in his business
house, with a private understanding
that his commercial duties were purely
nominal, while his real ones were to
play baseball. Thus there were num
erous clubs in the country which were
virtually professional ones long before
professional playing was openly per
mitted and while the stringent law
against it was still in force in the code
of ihe American Association of Base
ball Players. This was notably the
case with those famons old-time op
ponents, the Atlantic Club of Brook
lyn and the Athletics of Philadelphia.
By 1871 the number aud influence o?
professional clubs was such that their
representatives met in New York
March 17 of that year, avowed them
selves such and cut loose from the Na
tional Association of BasebaU Players,
and adopted rules for championship
contests, tho most important being
that the club winning the largest num
ber of games in a series of five with
every one of the other professional
clubs should be declared champion,
championship ganie hating been pre
viously unregulated.
Baseball Championship.
The baseball championship origin
ated about 1858. At the Elysian
Fields in Hoboken, N. J., the Atlantic
of Brooklyn had beaten the crack Hew
York clubs, the Empires, Knickerbock
ers, Gotham and Eagle, and were gen
erally regarded champions. From
that time until the establishment of
tho championship rnles by the profes
sionals whichever club won two games
out of three from the champion club
became champion in its turn. From
the organization of the professional
clubs in 1871 amateur playing steadily
declined. Many no longer cared to
engage personally in a sport which had
been made a business. The game
came to be looked upon as a. monoy
making scheme instead of recreation.
Then, too, the steady increase of popu
lation and consequent demand for new
building sites and ornamental parks
did away largely with the vacant lots
and commons upon which the amateur
games had been played.
Injurious Changes.
The recognition of professional
players is not solely responsible for
baseball s decadence. The changes
in the game are also to blame. Take
pitching, for example; The old rule
required the pitcher io actually pitch
the ball, and at the moment of deliv
ery his hand had to be below his
waist. The word pitcher is now
wholly a misnomer, for the ball is no
longer pitched, but thrown to the bat.
In the old days the pitcher was re
quired to pitch the ball " just where
the batsman wanted it. The latter
would call for a ball "shoulder high,"
"hip high," "knee high" or a "low
ball," the last named being a ball be
tween the knee and the ankle. Now
he must strike at any ball that goes
over the plate. Curtailing the rights
of the batsman and giving more' li
cense to the pitcher was ; done with
the intention of reducing the scores.
This has tended to greatly diminish
the popularity of baseball. Good
batting and base running are the most
attractive features of the sport, and
games i here man after man retires at
the home plate on strikes and short
flies, or at first on feeble tips to tho
infielders, resulting in scores of 1 to
0, or 2 to 4, are simply tiresome: to
many.
To have the bases' kept filled with
runners, and to see run after run
scored not by fielding errors, but Jby
good batting jtnd base running-
many believe would draw twenty
persons to every one now auenuing
. 11 " !
naseoaii games. f
More charts have been rhade of, S.
ble Island than probably of any spo-t
in the world.
1899. no. 52.
A HEMP FAKM IN LUZON.
ODD PHASES OF LIFE THAT CON
FRONT AN AMERICAN THERE.
First He Host Slake the Acquaintance of
tue Alleged Great-Grand fat her of
Mankind An Unpleasant Predicament
'With Snakes Fruit-Eat Ing Vampire.
A Manila correspondent of the
Youth's Companion writes as follows
detailing some of his experiences on a
hemp farm on the island of Luzon:
An American has much to learn and
many odd phases of life to which to
become habituated, before he "gets
tho hang of things" in the Philip
pines. . Among other novelties he will make
the acquaintance of the great-grandfather
of mankind according to the
evolutionists in the person of a lit
tle owl-faced, big-eyed creature, with
long, slender fingers and toes, called
bytheTagals a magou, and by the
scientific professors the tarsius. Also
he must come to know a long-tailed,
green monkey, called a chongo, that
does great mischief in the corn and
sweet potato plantations. When
hunting in the jungle, he will learn to
recognize a tamarau "tunnel" and
keep out of it, as otherwise ho will
stand a good chance of being run over,
incontinently, by a panicky little
dwarf buffalo.
"When selecting a plantation, ho
will do well to inquire whether the
district is infested by the babni, the
wild hog of these islands, which,
when numerous, makes all agriculture
impossible, and also about another
devastator of gardens, the kalong.
Concerning this animal, I shall have
more to say presently.
In fact, our fellow-countrymen will
find that life whether human, ani
mal or vegetable is on quite a differ
ent key in Lnzon. To illustrate the
surprises in store for him, I will re
count a bit of my own experience at a
hemp plantation, a few leagues out of
Manila.
I hope my patriotism will not be
questioned if I say that I took up this
hemp farm in company with a young
Spaniard who came into possession of
it after the death of his father; for al
though, theoretically, a Spaniard may
be au enemy, practioally he need not
be, and certainly I have found Senor
Emilio Arenas a very good friend and
partner. I doubt net that in time he
will become an estimable American
citizen.
At present our plantation is- small,
but there is plenty of chance to en
large. In the hope of increasing our
business we have been experimenting
with a new steam-power machine for
stripping the hemp fibre. The boiler
and engine a small one of four
horse power are at the foot of the
hilly hemp-fields. These border a
long, wide swamp through the impas
sable jungles of which meanders a
sluggish tributary of the Pasig Biver.
To shelter the engine and fibre
machine from the weather, a shed of
corrugated iron was put up and painted
white to radiate the rays of the tropi
cal sun. The structure is thirty-five
feet in length by sixteen in width,
and as some of the native laborers are
apt to steal the tools, and so forth, we
found it economical to provide the
door with a spring lock. There are
no windows, and that part of the shed
containing the boiler is quite dark.
There is a loft there, just above one's
head with a loose floor, where we put
broken tools, hemp poles, iron rods
and other spare gear.
During August we ran the machine
continuously, until the uncertainties
of Aguinaldo's leadership began. The
vagaries of this insular patriot were
past predicting. Filipino bushwhack
ers threatened us, so making every
thing as snug as possible, Senor Emilo
and I left all in charge of Miguel, our
native foreman, of whose fidelity we
were assured, and went to Manila to
wait for Philippine politics to calm
down. Trouble was indeed brewing,
but General Otis carried so steady a
hand with the patriots in Manila, that
no outbreak occurred during the
autumn, and by Christmas we con
cluded that American authority would
prevail without bloodshed. There
was a week or more of pleasant feel
ing, even the. armed band of Filipinos
appeared good-humored, and on the
twenty-eighth of the month, I ven
tured to ride up to our hemp works
again. Senor Emilio meanwhile had
gone to Hongkong to put upon the
market what fibre we had stripped.
Proceeding on horseback along the
raised highways scene of the more
recent bloody engagements I reached
the plantation next day, without inci
dent worth recording. Indeed, I met
but , few natives abroad, for the day
was wet, and for Manila very cold.
No one was" about the boiler shed
as I approached. Miguel was at his
hut, for although the distance was
half a league, X could hear the chug,
chug of his rice mortar. His native
wife was at work pounding out their
paddy crop. - Heavy fog lay on the
great swamp below the shed, and I
could hear the alligators grunting
down there.
The sodden heaps of abaca shuck
around the shed were sprouting with
mushrooms, and several of the odd
brown native rats rose on their long
hind legs, to peep at me, as I unlocked
the door. There had been s much
wet weather that everything was inold
and rust within. All ironwork rnsts
quickly. in this climate.- Having left
in haste, we had not properly covered
or coated the engine with oil. I now
bethought myself to remedy this over
sight at once, since a few weeks of
neglect may ruin valuable machinery
here.
A tier of our wood fuel still re
mained in the shed, and as a prelim
inary, to dry off the wet, I filled the
boiler with water from the tank and
kindled a fire in the furnace.
Thejirewas soon crackling cheer
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9
fully, for the fuel had been kept fair
ly dry. I stood and watchod the
steam pressure as indicated by tho
dial gage mount slowly from five to
ten and twenty pounds, then, inci
dentally, I tried the "pop off" to see
if it would work. It was rusted and
stuck. I pulled an empty box forward
to staf d on while I examined tho safety-valve,
but had hardly stirred the
box, when two snakes scurried from
beneath it pretty large snakes, too.
It was far from light iu the shed, for
the door was open only a crack. Tho
snakes ran in back of the boiler. I
was afraid they might be venomous.
There are two or three "bad snakes"
in Luzon. "
Throwing open tho furnace door to
get more light, I took tho furnace
poker, an iron rod about six feet long,
and began prodding to drive them out.
One started out immediately a yellow,
spotted snake and headed for the
outer door. I sprang to strike at it
with the rod, as it ran. It gained the
door, but I whacked it about a foot
from its tail, whereat it thrashed back
at me, to strike with its fangs. I
broke its neck, however, with another
blow and threw it out, swinging the
door back as I turned to find the other
snake.
But cither a gust of wind from out
side, or the draught of air, caused by
the open door of the furnace, made
the outer door swing to.with sufficient
force to catch and spring the lock.
The instant I heard it click, I remem
bered that I had lett the key in the
lock outside, and realized that I had
now foolishly got myself locked into
the shed.
Not a pleasant predicament, for
there was the other snake behind the
boiler; and then there was, besides, the
rusted "pop off" to deal with and1
that at once, for a glance at tho gagei
showed eighty pounds of steam, with
the pointer jumping higher every
moment.
Forgetting the snake for a moment,
in the urgent need of preventing a
boiler explosion, I hurriedly closed
the furnace door and the draught
slide to deaden the fire, and of course
made it quite dark inside the shed.
Then I jumped on the box to start the
"pop off." It still stuck, but two or
three blows from the poker started it,
when with a loud plu-r-r-r-p, a gush:
of steam spurted up into the roof of
the shed.
The effect of that blast of steam was
like black magic! A conjuror's wand
never called forth a more startling
horde! In an instant, the shed was
full of rushing, flapping things that
squawked horribly and struck me
from before and behind! Nasty,
clammy hands seemed to buffet my
face! Claws clutched my hair!
Teeth chattered in my ears!
To protect my face I threw up my
arms, lost my balance and fell off the
box. Horrid furry surfaces rubbed
and flapped against my hands. Some
thing bit ttij left wrist and clung
there. I shook it off by main,
strength, and struck right and left
with the fire rod.
Every moment I hit some flying
thing, with a soft thud, and they fell
all around me, squaking, hissing and
flapping about underfoot in tliejlark
ness! "With every blow of the poker the
uproar doubled. The whole interior
of the shed seemed to be alive with
madly fluttering pinions, snapping
teeth and hideous, squeaking sounds.
Regardless now, either of snakes ou
the floor, or overcharged boilers, 1
lashed out with that rod. I knocked
everything loose iu tho shed, and
brought down upon my head almost
everything in the loft. In tho midst
of the racket, the door suddenly
opened, and Ihere stood Miguel. He
had seen the smoke of the boiler
stack and had hastened to the shed.
Tho light showed me to be, literally,
knee-deep among floppiug, hissing
creatures which I had struck down
around me. "Por el amor de Dios!
kalong!" exclaimed Miguel. "Tiene
malo, senor?' (Are you hurt, sir?) ;
ThatwasmyfirsUntoduction to the
kalong, the "flying foxes," the great
fruit-eating- vampire of the Philips
pines; a brown bat as largo as a cat
which knaws and spoils unlimited
quantities of fruit in the native gar
dens. Twenty-nine of them, some of
which had a spread of wing of fully
five feet, .lay gasping and snapping
where I had knocked them down, and
we drove out fully as many more
from the loft. They had come in
through the ventilator on the roof,
and no doubt had found tho place a
snug, comfortable haven daiiug the
cold rains.
Department Stores In'Germany.
In view of the agitaliou in this
country, aud particularly in ihe West,
against the existence of the great de
partment stores, the State Depart
ment, Washington, has published u
report from Consul-General Mason, at'
Berlin, on special taxation for depart
ment stores in Germany. Mr. Mason
shows that a movement began in Ger
many iu 1896 to restrict the growth of
these stores, and he describes in de
tail the various measures that were
proposed in the Reichstag and else
where to effect this purpose. As in
some of tho Western States, a pro
gressive tax was the basis of most of
the suggestions, but the German Gov
ernment, so far, has been unable to
find any measure that doei not vio
late the higher law of the Empire.
The reportincludes, incidentally, a
short history of the result of French
legislation on the subject, and refer
ence is made to." 4he organization of a
retail league of 40,000 members, all
merchants, to oppose the department
stores. According to the statement
of tho founder of one department
store, it had supplanted at the outset
and soon extinguished about 900,
small retail shops and store?, and now
does a business of $30,SS0,000 aul
nually, sufficient' to maintain 1800 to
2000 snail stores,
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