The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1888-02-04

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the attention of farmers, merchants, me-
chanics, business men and taxpayers gen.
orally, as we'll as public officers. as 1t con-
tains valuable information Indispensable
to all classes. The February number con-
tains articles on Farm Law" schools and
School Law" and Public Roads"
Scrtbaer's Magazine for February is rich
In illustrated articles, which are also of un.
usual interest in their text. The leading
article, entitled "Mendelssohn's Letters to
Moscheles," is the first of two which have
been made from remarkable collection Of
manuscripts which has been for nearly
half century In the possession of Felix,
the son of ignaz Moscheles, the eminent
composer and most trusted friend of Men.
delssohn. These letters, which are unusu-
ally intimate and personal in tone, were
recently placed in the hands of William F.
Apthorp, the wellknown musical critic,
and from them he has made judicious
and entertaining selection. He has welded
them with brief commentary, which
throws light on the various illusions in the
correspondence The first article is liber-
ally illustrated with portraits of Mendels-
sohn and his family, of Moscheles, and
with reproductions of several drawings by
Mendelssohn. The concluding paper, to
be published in March, will consist almost
entirely of letters Other articles are on
The Man at Arms, The Law and the Bal.
lot, Volcanoes, &c, &c.
The American reprint Of the Illustrated
Lond0n Necs began in its issue of January
2l new novel by VIM. Black, "The
Strange Adventures of House Boat"
which will add much TO the many other at
fractions of the fine illustrated weekly.
The Daily Ners almanac" for 1888,
now ready and for sale at all news depots,
is very valuable collection of statistics,
especially from a politicians standpoint,
having among others the following con
tents Complete Election Returns of 1887
from all the States, by Counties; The Vote
by Counties on the Adoption Of IA Prohib-
tory Amendment 10 Michigan, Texas Ore
gon and Tennessee; The Vote by Counties
and Cities on Local Option In Missouri :;
Table giving Saloon Statistics for all Cities
having Populate n of over 10000, Mum
Der of Saloons, Amount of License, Arrests
for Drunkenness to the whole number OF
arrests; Political Platforms of all Parties
adopted in 1887; National Platforms of all
Parties, and State Committees of the West
ern States; The Public Debt Statement to
Dec. |, 1887; The Civil Lists of the Gen
eral Government, Illinois, Cook County and
the City of Chicago; The National Guard
In the Northwestern States, immigration
Statistics for the last 4 years; &c, dc.
"The Pisca; or, The Devil among The
Indians" by Hon. p. A. Armstrong, Of
Morris, Illinois, just published, is a very
interesting work 1t is descriptive OF the
famous pictured nondescripts, which for
unR nown ages have Illuminated the rocks
al point on the bank of the Mississippi
river near Alton In this State. These
strange and hideous drawings, representing
two ideal creatures, which Marquette, the
French Missionary, saw in 1913, and de.
scribed as follows: "As we were descend
In p fha rivnr wa sa w ri oh rncls with hide
Gus monsters painted upon them, and upon
which the bravest Indians dare not look
They are as large as a calf, with head and
horns like a goat, their eyes red, beard like
a tigers and face like mans. Their
tails are so long that they pass over their
bodies and between their legs under their
bellies, ending like the tail of fish" Mr.
Armstrong, who has spent years In the
study of the manners, customs and history
of the Indian tribes who once inhabited
this region, and has come TO be authority
on Indian love, has industriously hunted
up the red mems legends concerning these
majestical figures, and gives them, In his
peculiarly graphic and attractive style Ii
is work we'll worth any ones perusal
Price % cts, at Hapeman & Graham's.
The Northwestern Association of Tariff
Reform Democrats will include members
from the States Of Illinois, Iowa. Wiscon-
sin, Minnesota, Michigan, Kansas, Indiana,