davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1889-02-22
ABORIGINAL MONEY.
Queer Articles Which Take the Place oil
Gold and silver.

Queer Articles Which Take the Place of
Gold and silver.
At meeting of the Academy of Sci
ences of San Francisco, a number OF
years since, Mr.. Stearns presented
paper upon the money of uncivilized
man, in which he remarked that the
durability and ease of manipulation Of
shells have long caused them to be en-
ployed in domestic intercourse ana
trade: and. among these, he first
enumerated the common clam of the
eastern coast of the United States, the
purple portion of which constituted the
wampum, or one class of their money,
OF species of Pyrula. In each she'll
about half an inch in diameter of the
inside is of this purple color, and this
was converted into beads. which tn ey
called Suckauhock, or black money.
and had twice the value of their white
money Or wampum proper, which was
made of the Metauhock or Pyrula. This
was used not only among the Indians,
but among the whites; and it is re-
marked that the solid cash with which
the salaries of ministers were formally
paid included black and white wan
pun. The money of the west-coast
Indians is species of tusk-shell, or
Dentalium, resembling a hollow ele-
plants tusk. the worth depending
upon the length of the she'll These
are strung on corns and worked up in
various forms of beaded and other
ornaments, having a distinct value
among the Indians, according to the
size of the shell and their number,
quite as fixed as that of the specie or
the paper money of the United States.
The use of the money cowry IN Africa
is we'll known, many tons of the shells
being annually imported to Great Brit
ain, and again exported for barter
with the native tribes. Christian al
Work
Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1889-02-22
COBBLE PICkERS,
Poor Wretches Who Pick Up a Living
Around Iron Mills.

Poor Wretches Who Pick Up a Living
Around Iron Mills.
A peculiar and not altogether pleas.
ing sight about the iron and stee,
works in this city is the groups of men,
women and children that are con-
stantly prodding and digging in the
cinder dumps, and are known as .cob-
BILE pickers.n The men are always
old and frequently weak and lettering.
The mark of poverty is on all women,
and the children, who are in the ma
jority, are abiect-looking creatures,
and range from the age of eight to
sixteen. Cobbles are the bits OF iron
and steel that remain among the
cinders from the furnaces and are
dumped with them on the cinder-
piles. On the gathering of these bits
of metal the small army of toilers re-
ferred to depend for their living. With
hoes and rales they dig in the cindera
as they are dumped, and struggle and
push and wrangle for the possession of
the metal as it is uncovered.
Each picker has basket in which is
placed the result of the pickings.
Over two hundred persons daily delve
on the grimy dump for cobbles. While
they will use all manner of means to
secure possession of a lucky find in the
dumps, after a picker has filled his
basket and emptied it on his pile a
few feet away, there is not one among
the curious and by no means scrupu-
lous pickers who would touch one Of
the cobbles in it. Each picker has his
or her pile of cobbles, and the iron
company's teams come around at inter-
walls. The driver weighs each pile,
gives the owner voucher. for it. and
takes the accumulated metal to the
scrap heaps TO be melted again.
The earnings of the cobble- pickers
range from $40 to $40 a month, and
there are women who have been on
the dumps for years The case of one
woman and her twelve-year- daugh-
ter is notorious, because they earn not
only their own living, but enough to
feed and clothe the husband and father,
who is an employee of the iron-works,
and gets 500 a month, which he
squanders in drink and riotous living
as soon as he is paid. One old man on
the cobble dumps, who is barely able
to save enough to keep him from starry
ing, was once prominent business
man worth at least $4,000.
The work of contemplating is one of
The lowest forms of human occupation,
and its degrading effect on the young
girls and boys engaged in it is only too
apparent. Many efforts have been
made by church and other societies in
Johnstown to suppress cobble-picking
among the children, but with in6itfer-
snt success. -JohnSt0tcn (Pa.l Special.
Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1889-02-22
GROWTH or ALASKA.
Extracts from the Annual Report u
Governor A. r. sWineford.

CAtrdcts from the annual Report o4
Governor A. p. swineford.
The Governor OF Alaska, A. p.
Swineford, in his annual report to the
Secretary Of the Interior, states that
the white population has greatly in
creased and he estimates that there
are $4,000 natives. The total popula-
ton is 1880 and of this number there
are $500 whites, 1000 Creoles and g.
$50 Aieuts. In regard to the settle
ment of the public lands the Govern
or states that all settlers In Alaska
upon public lands are mere squatters
who are awaiting legislation from Con-
gress which will enable them to secure
titles. All the salmon factories in the
Territory, seventeen in number, are
located on the public lands. He asks
favorable consideration by the depart
ment OF the bill pending before Con-
gress providing for the organization
of the Territory. The Governor saws
that as far as he knows there are no
practical farmers or gardeners in the
Territory. The only obstacle in the
way OF agriculture. in the opinion OF
the Governor, is that the lands are not
available for settlement. He says that
the climate is favorable and the soil
rich. He sees no reason why Alaska
may not ultimately rival Montana and
wyoming as a cattle country. The
stamp mine on Douglass Island, which
the report states is the largest in the
world, has an estimated output of
$l50oO0 in gold per month. Other
gold mines are being developed in the
same, and the report notes the sale of
four claims for 81, 800, 900. Promising
silver discoveries have been made.
The Governor thinks that there is
enough coal in the Territory to supply
the whole of the United States for
centuries. There are fourteen pub
lie schools in Alaska. which last
year were placed under the charge
OF the Territorial board. The Govern
or recommends that the general agent
be made more amenable to the a,rthori-
ty OF the board of which he is MEM
Der and secretary. Last year, the re-
port states, the general agent was alb
sent for six months from the Territory
without leave. In addition to the
public schools, there are eight Protest
ant, two Catholic and seventeen Grace
Russian mission schools. The Govern
or reiterates the charges made in the
annual report relative to the violation
of lav and the ill treatment of the ma
tives by the agents of the Alaska Com
mercial Company. He credits the COM
pany with adhering faithfully to its
contracts with the Government as to
the number of seals to be killed on the
seal islands and the treatment of the
natives, but elsewhere in the Territory,
he says, where the company rule is
supreme, 1.-The people are little better
than serfs of that powerful company
- WdSAiaqton Letter.
Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1889-02-22
ANCIENT WATER WORKS.


Great Engineering Feats Performed Many
Centuries Ago.
The very first thing done by every
community, savage or civilized, is to
provide for water supply. Savages
simplify matters by placing their tene-
ments within easy reach of river or
lake. Civilized people have their
water brought to them. This is not of
easy accomplishment, and some of the
greatest feats of engineering have been
performed in supplying water to
ancient and modern cities.
When the British captured India,
they found. in all parts of the country,
tanks and reservoirs on an enormous
scale, and some of them thousand
years old.
The water works OF Peru were even
older. The Incas built aqueducts from
the slope of the Andes, for a distance
of more than one hundred miles, to the
capital. The water was carried part
ly through tunnels cut in the rocks and
partly on areades on supporting pillars
Of mason work to span valleys, the
channels being composed of cut stone
without cement. From these great
aqueducts number of branch canals
and conduits were laid laterally for
irrigation purposes
The ancient water works at Jerusa-
lem consisted first of wells in the lime
stone ridges on which the city was
built; but as the population increased,
tanks and cisterns for rain water were
placed in secure Enclosures and within
the walls of the temple. An aqueduct
of stone laid in cement was construct
ed to bring water from the pools OF
Bethlehem, about six miles distant
Strabo mentions that it was very rare
occurrence for Jerusalem to suffer from
water famine.
About the year 600 B. c., Polycrates.
King of Samos, built an aqueduct to
supply his capital, bringing water
through tunnel cut through limestone
rock for "a distance of six thousand
yards. About the same time. the peo-
pie of Lycia. in Asia Minor, carried
water across the vale of Petrea through
stone syphon.
Carthage brought water from the hill
ranges on the south, over seventy miles
distant. and the ruins of an ancient
aqueduct may still be seen.
The water works OF Athens were be-
gun about $50 b. c., and consisted OF
stone aqueducts lined with baked clay,
and carried almost wholly on the sur
face of the ground.
The ancient city of Mexico was sup
piled with water through a wooden
aqueduct, built by Montszulna, carried
across causeway. In Egypt and
China, gigantic works for conveying
water have been in existence from re-
mote antiquity. Taken all in all, the
efforts OF the moderns are yet Insignia
cant compared with those OF the
ancients. Golden DAYS
Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1889-02-22
CAUSES OF CONSUMPTION.
Improper Drainage of the Soil Largely Re-
sponsibie for It.

Improper Drainage of the Soil Largely Re-
sponsfbIe for It
Some interesting statistics have been
gathered by DR.. Simon upon the sub
iect OF consumption. In fifteen English
towns recently recorded by DR., Simon
the deaths from consumption fell i'm
mediately when the subsoil was dried
from a system of drainage. In Sails
bury the deaths from consumption fell
80 per cent; in Ely IL per cent. and
Merthyr Tydvil, which gained least.
had its death rate from consumption
lowered IL per cent. From statistics
we know the high mortality from con-
sumption in the British army. and es-
pecially in the Guards, is due to con-
fined air-a mortality which has been
SO affected by better ventilation of bar
racks that the consumptive death rate
fell in the Guards from l25 in 10000 ia
the year 1858 to l6.9 in the year 1875;
that is to say, the deaths from con-
sumption alone in the Guards in 1875
were less than a seventh OF the number
Of 1853
ItcCetA SAiCo vi LII DON vi
Massachusetts, and DR.. Buchanan. OF
England, also strongly confirm that the
comparative degree OF wetness in the
soil is a fair measure of the proportion
OF consumption among the residents
thereon. DR.. Pepper, OF Philadelphia,
attempted an investigation ri the dis
tributiou of the same disease for the
State of Pennsylvania and presented
his data and certain conclusions to the
Genealogical Association as a contri-
button to the Chronological study Of
the disease. His inquiries We're sent
TO $50 of the 5000 physicians distrib-
uted through sixty-seven counties,
and replies were received from 120 cor
respondents in forty-seven counties.
Tie general deductions from the au-
swers are that the localities having
high mortality from consumption are
those of little elevation and large an
nual rainfall, and that the hemlock
regions, which correspond quite closely
with the favorable climatic regions.
have the greatest immunity. A very
small proportion of the respondents
recognize the influence of special local
causes for this disease. such as the
greater dampuess of one house than
another. The hereditary nature of the
disease is almost unanimously admitted,
while its infectious quality is receiving
more general recognition. In race the
negroes seem the most liable and the
Jews the most exempt. but there ara
many other factors than those of ma
tionality to be taken into account. DR.
Pepper regards his paper las the first
crude and imperfect result of an inves-
tigation which he hopes to be able to
continue to a much greater degree of
completeness. The address (for which
the author deserves the highest COM
menda-ion) is accompanied with elabo-
rate maps, charts and tables. I.
Mall and Express.
Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1889-02-22
o,,reN's HOUSEHOLD.


- PARASITES Who Draw Sal.
pigntafies, e,Itont Doing ANY Work.
arr vietoria's household has
ous' thousand officers. snbordi-
rssny attendants. The Lord Stew
naies aa :, ,be head Of all with salary
ord - 90 ooo wear. All officers and SER
~ except those connected with the
yah''' chamber, stable and chapel,
Queen "a 10 his orders. The active
sre 'uV e his officer are performed by
da'i, ,,.ster OF the Household. who gets
u. = ,a o. year The Lord Treasurer
S',sV aort to the Lord Steward and
RAM, 1im in case he is absent. while
acl' ~ is+ him he has the Comptroller
y a'''' Household, who likewise does
o. W. w. The Board of Green Cloth,
lo ,anosed Of the four above named Off
al. sisls, adjudicates on oifenses commit
eia'; !, certain parts of the palace, and
w u alorks and secretary. The clerk
a a,sa kitchen and his clerks keep ac
W. check goods, and give orders
| TOT tradespeoplo.
The,e is a chef and many cooks, a
LAT the confectionery department,
h saso ..ewern or linen department. q
TX hutler, table deckers, men in
' hargs Of the plate, pantry and OF the
sn'l and lamp lighters and dispensers
. salms The Lord Steward is judge
| ',.ha Court Of Marshalsea, with power
~ a;soense Justice among the Queen 8
s,mostic servants, and the court has a
Tn;rht Marshal. The Lord Cham
hsrlain gets $4,000 year and,
-itb the Vice Chamberlain, superin-
lands all the officers and servants of the
nnoers chambers, except the bed
HAMMERS. these being under the
| rroom nj the State as well as the Off
sars Of the wardrobe. The Keeper OF
Her Majesty's Privy Purse is her finan-
cial secretary at salary Of $4,000.
There are the Mistress OF the Robes,
he Groom OF the Robes, Ladies of the
Rod Chamber, Maids of Honor, bed
chamber women. Lords in Waiting,
Grooms in Waiting; Gentlemen Ushers
Of tbe Privy Chamber, Daily Walters,
Quarterly Walters, Grooms of the
pyvv Chambers, Grooms of the Great
Chamber and Gentlemen of the Privy
Chamber. The Marshal of Ceremon-
ies must have an absolute owledge
Of Court etiquette.
The official places many of them
call for no performance of duty. be-
cause with the change of customs the
duties have become obsolete. The
Master Of the Tennis Court does moth
Inc. There are Master of the House,
burgomaster, keeper of the swans, and
hundreds of assistants to the officers
mentioned. All this looks like keep
IN house under difficulties, and Queen
Victoria ought to be well paid for it.
food housekeeping.
Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1889-02-22
A SENSIBLE DUCHESS
=" her Grace Of sasheryaoa st,.
the London Swell.

=" her Grace of satherIand st..,.
the London Swell a.
~ 1a.e duchess OF Sutherland VINO
uurihg the active period of bar liz
INC cause Of no little bewildar,...
ana dlsquietnde among the rank .reyo.
'nl' aeniaens Of that aristoeratic saa
tlon OF ~. james where stswass
, :, stands in gloomy prandanr
iier cosnmon-sense methods If saa,,
'ns convenience. without regard r.
acrimonious formaiities, often startled
me deyotees OF conventionaljtv ami
thriileo the observers with anxiatu
nat her Grace be led astrav by ~.
example OF her husband. whose fad,
u was 10 mingle with the popuIace nm
eAeielng occasions, such as midniaht
nres and riots like that Of HID
nark' some twenty years apo
n'uicniou~ as it may seem to
republican readers. the Duchess was
severely criticised for her habit ~
walking forth alone from her somhor
mansion and calling cab when in a
hurry, instead of letting a half bonr
go 10 waste while the cumbersome
venice appropriate to her station
should be made ready. The entire
precinct was once thrown into a futte,
oy the report, doubtless correct. that
she had personally entered the little
bakery In st. James street in which a
pos'ai agency was established, and had
mere purchased stamps and affixed
them to her letters, precisely as one NJ
Inc untitled multitude might have
done.
In the winter of 1869 the sentinel
VINO mounts guard over the palace
wall of Cleveland Row had the on.
portunity of relieving his dreary
routine by saving child from being
run over--a radical cab-horse from
fall Mall having so forgotten the pro-
prleties as to break loose and endanoer
human life, as well as the drowsy tran
guilty OF that solemn region. A day
or two later the Duchess was seen to
stop and speak to the guardsman. who
was so overcome by agitation that he
could hardly hold his rife steady. He
would have faced the cannon's mouth
with less trepidation than exchange
ten words with the exalted peeress.
The presumption was that Her Grace
desired simply to say kind word in
commentator of the mans behavior.
but the proceeding was regarded with
any thing but approval by the resident
spectators The verdict of the austere
middle class. throughout the neighbour
hood, was that the Duchess had been
repreheHsibly unmindful of the dignity
of her position, and that she would
have done better to send the soldier half
crown by her footman. For this and
similar reasons she was not admired
by the bourgeoisie OF London. And
yet there are people on both sides OF
the Atlantic who profess to wonder
that the social sensibllities of Amer
leans and Englishmen can not at all
points be brought into sympathetic and
symmetrical accord. N 7. Tribune.
Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1889-02-22

The Uncertainties OF Life. Patient
ito young physieian1 You say, doc
tor. that am we'll now, and that nc
further danger is to be expected!
Physician apprehend none, sir; but
life is uncertain" Patient-Perhaps l
had better pay your bill now. '-Dhysi-
cian-'.Well, yes, sir, it might be as
we'll; as have said, life is very uneer-
tain. "-Epoch.
Samantha" said Mr.. Chugwater
rs he entered the family room, Il have
brought Mr.. Yellick, the author of the
famous new book. Random Rehec-
tions.' with me to tea. He is in the
the parlor. | have been telling him
how much we admire the work, and he
seems greatly pleased "tor good
ness sake. Mr.. Chugwater, exclaimed
the wife. take him into some other
room while cut the leaves OF tba'
conv of Random Reflections that on
the narlor tablet Chicago ITl0tAe,
The whole court at Berlin is now
entirely composed of new people. Ihe
friends of the late Emperor have DIS
aprsared and the Emperor and En-
nress are surrounded by people entire
lv of their own choosing and sym
nathies. Those who know say 1t Il
;,n,ossible to imagine any thing more
complete than the placement OF every
trace of the late Emperor and Empress
influence.
Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1889-02-22
a TAME BUTTERFLY.


How its Lis Vas Prolonged Thr0uxh
Whole Winter.
One cold. bleak December morning.
when the sky and all nature wore the
sullen, Responding look 80 peculiar to
our climate at this season, d lady, who
for the FIRST time had risen from bed
of sickness, went into an adjoining
apartment, where she perceived q gay
and beautiful butterfly In the window.
Astonished at finding this creature OF
flowers and sunshine in SO uncongeniaf
q situation, she watched its movements
and operations.
As the sun came out for a bright.
brief space, the butterfly futtered joy
ously about the window, and impaired
TO the sick room an air of cheerfulness
and hope Towards evening, however,
the tiny creature dropped its wings.
The lady then placed it in gIasg tum-
bier on the mantle-piece. During the
night hard frost cana on, and the
room was in consequence very cold. In
the morning the butterfly lay in the
bottom of the tnmbler, apparently dead.
The invalid grieved that her gentle
companion of the previous day should
80 soon perish, made some effort to re-
store its fragile existence. She put it
on her own warm hand. and, breathing
upon it, perceived it gave signs Of re-
turning animation. She then once
more placed it in the glass house on
the rug before the fire. Soon the eIe-
giant little insect spread out its many
colored wings, and flew to the window,
where the sun was shining brightly.
By and by the sun retired, and the
window-paEes getting cold the crea-
| ture sank down on the carpet again.
apparently lifeless. The same means
| were used to restore animation, ard
| with the same success.
| This alienation OF life and death
went on for many days till at last the
grateful little thing became quite tame,
and seemed to be acquainted with its
benefactress- When she went to the
window, and held out her finger, it
would OF its own accord. hop upon it,;
sometimes it would settle for an hour
1t a time upon her hand or neck when
/ SAA~ ." cA7 AOcAIAh5 Va lb5 EOo1
consisted of honey; a drop OF which
the lady would put upon her hand,
when the butterfly would uncurI It's
sucker. and gradually sip it up; then
it usually slipped drop of water in the
same way. The fesding only took
place once in three or four days
In this manner the butterhy's exist
snce was prolonged through the whole
winter and part OF the following spring.
As it approached the END of its career
its wings became quite transparent. and
its spirits apparently detected. 1t
would rest quietly in its crystal
| palace" even when the sun was Woo
ing it to come out, and, at last, one
morning in April, it was found dead
quite dead.-N. 7. Ledger.
Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1889-02-22
-
PERSONAL AND LITERARY.

General Lew Wallace took HIS
mother Is the model for the noble
mother of ben Has"
Elijah H. Halford, who is to be
President Harrlson's private secrc-
tary. is a printe' by trade and jour
aalist by profession.
Mark Twain, who owns nina
senths OF the stock in the house that
published General Grants memoirs,
says that Mrs. Grant will shortly re-
seive over $3.50, 900 as the profits thus
far from the sale Of her husbands
book.
Miss Jane Harrison, noted as a
Hellenic scholar and as d lecturer on
Greek art, is u candidate for the chair
Of archaeology in London University,
made vacant by the retirement OF Sir
Charles Newton. This is the first time
any woman ever sought chair in this
institution.