Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1893-08-18
!. MAINE, FRIDAY MORNING. AUGUST l8. 1893.

named John Dean, who passed forty years
Of his Life in Rxitixh Columbia, Alaska
and thefeabo0ta His collection comes
chiefly from Queen Charlotte's island, and
everything in il Is ugly beyond the power
Of language to describe. When . man
dies on that island his relatives hollow ont
tree trunk and slide the corpse. enclosed
in many bark wrappings and a rude box,
into il and then plant the trunk on end in
the ground They cover the top To pre-
serve the wood and on that place an image
to scare away the evil spirits. Ii those
shown here do not scare them, they must
be spirits Of some nerve.
1t would b rude. If not unmanly. to set
down the board Of lady managers among
the curiosities, but IL certainly fills more
space in the city papsrs just now than any
other exhibit on the grounds II has
shown more kinds Of hysteria than man
can understand or describe, has displayed
marvellous variety 6 tears and kissing
and making up preparatory to quarreling
again and has outdons the Irish parlia-
ment Of 1859 in vituperative eloqusnce.
One Of the ladies' says she will compile
and publish a work on the boards trou
bles II she writes as she talks that book
will sell. The public is all the more in
terested in it from the fact that nobody
understands what the trouble is about.
Il certainly began In dissatisfaction with
the juriea OF awards, but the present con-
ditions and merits OF II is zone of them
things no fellah can find out"
Another popular curiosity is the babies
annex to the Womanis building. Twas
attracted into it by a series of unearthly
yells and supposed all the infants had
turned loose at once. 1t was all the doings
of one little darky. He was in a rallied
space by himself and no one paid the
slightest attention TO him. All the pretty
playthings and the nice clean bottle Of
warm milk had no charms for him. He
wanted to get out. He would crawl
around, lay hold of the railing
and make desperate effort to
raise himself, then failing would
fall back and give vent to yells that made
the observer wonder how SO much cry
could Be evolved in the little corpus of
baby not q year old. 1t was symbolic Of
the plaint of race. for all the other kids
were happy as clans at high tide.
Everything WAS so neat and so nice.
The little cribs, the clothing, the soft ma
terials ON which the infants tumbled
about and the nursery bottles were as
clean as care could make them and the
children were certainly an assorted lot,
they looked so pink and bright-eyed and
rosy and healthy. All the latest and best
appliances for the care and nurture Of
children are in use and each child receives
two meals and the best Of care all day for
the trifling sum of 25 cents, Yet very few
visitors avail themselves of it. Weary
women carry their infants around, or di-
vide the task with their husbands. Occa-
sionally in any building one hears the
wall of wearied infant, though not often,
for nearly all children are good when car
ricd abosit to see things, and very often
one sees wearied mother stretched out
OH the grass while the baby plays about
her. Perhaps it is sentiment which
,. axes most of these retain their infants
and perhaps they do not know how very
safe and happy the darlings would Be in
the public nursery.