Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1882-01-11

1
States is ascertained to be 3.0250.600
square miles. The land surface covers
2,9f0000 square miles, and the water
| 55, 500 The water surface is again
| divided into %, 900 miles of lakes and
ponds, l4,500 miles of rivers and
smaller streams, and 1900 miles of
coast waters, or bays, gulf sounds and
! creeks.
The man who came to this town
from Allegheny city some tine ago,
and was shortly after stricken win
smallpox has recovered, and the dis
case wa- prevented from spreading
even 80 the memhersof his own family.
Robert dc;. ciiand Of ,his place came
home rom PiJtsbnrgh wGere ne bad
been working, few days ago, aud is
now sick of varioloid, at his mothers
house on Water street This is the
only case of the kind in Butler, and as
it is in an out of the way place. we
see no reason why it should prevent
people from coming to town.
The discovery of a deserted city,
sixty miles long, cut out of the rocky
face of winding cliff, rewarded the
efforts of Mr.. StevensoD's Smithsonian
Institution exploring party during it's
researches in New Mexico and Arizo-
MIA the past season. This is by far the
most important find yet made among
the ancient haunts of the cliff dwellers
Sor,o &c ,bo houoao oonfo;, fo,r or G,,o
dwellings, one on top of the other, and
oD the plateau above the cliff were
found many ruins of temples of worship
built of well-cut square stones A
comparison of the collections of pot
terry and implements gathered in the
cliff houses by the exploring party with
those obtained in the Pueblo villages
strengthens the theory that the Pueblo
Indians are the degenerate descend
ants of the once powerful race that
built the ruined cities of the plains,
and then, retreating before some more
warlike foe, carved out these singular
dwellings on the sheer walls of dizzy
precipices, and found in them, it may
be for centuries, both fortresses and
homes. Perhaps the hieroglyphic in
scriptions seen by Mr. Stevenson will
one day be deciphered and be found to
contain the tragic history of the vast
ing away by wars and famines of this
ill-fated people who, like the coneys. of
the Bible, made the rocks their refuge.
The announcement by the Treas
urer of Pennsylvania that the State
will probably have this year a surplus
revenue of million of dollars, has the
natural result of drawing out sundry
suggestions how to dispose of the ex.
cess. The revenue commission took
the view that they should reform it
altogether by the reduction of taxes,
and doubtless this will be the most ap-
proved plan. There is plausibility,
however, in the suggestion of one of
the State newspapers, the Times of
Reading, that the surplus million
should be distributed, as the school
fund is, to the various townships and
boroughs throughout the State, for use
in the improvement of the public roads.
To secure systematic and judicious
expenditure of the money, it proposes
to establish a department of public
roads, with State, county and town
ships supervisors, (the last-named al
ready EXIST to carry out the details of
the work 1t must be admitted by
all that the..country roads are in great
want Of some comprehensive and sys-
tematic SCENE of improvement. Many
of them are substantially unusable dur
ing four or FIVE months of the year,
and can never be entirely depended on
in the seasons Of rains TO improve
the roads of the State up to the mark
demanded by oxr assumed advance
ment in civilization, would be one of
the greatest steps in material progress
that Pennsylvania could take The
american.