The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-03-20

| the Franklin school and the earlier
| days Of the Madison school,
His pupils. who have long since,
many of them, gone into the struggle
of active business life, look back with
Gen. Smith used to stand them on
line" for snowballing or other bar
barous violations of school etiquette
1t is with cherished Renaissance that
| they recall those days when the general
and his Indispensable adjutant "Stad-
feldt" corralled them in in droves for
carrying on SNOWFALL warfare on "Mer-
RAMS HILL"
Although along in years the general
| now presides over the Madison school
with an enrolment of over 400 pupils
the largest grammar school in the
state.
His enviable war record, and his long
service as an educator have made him
a thorough disciplinarian, but never
theless with q heart as big as his
rotund form, he has directed the affairs
Of the Madison school for twenty
years with a genius only kindred to a
born schoolmaster.
During his life time the general has
collected what is easily the finest and
most complete collection of minerals,
shells and curios owned by an individ-
comprises oddities and curios from all
parts of the globe.
In making his collection the general
has been assisted by people all over the
| country. Many valuable additions to
the collection have been received from
| friends across the ocean.
During his annual summer vacations
he has spent much of MS time collect
| ing specimens for his cabinets. Sever
al summers in the Tennessee noun
tains, several on each Of the Atlantic
and Pacific coasts; two summers abroad
| and a number of summers In the
Yellowstone Park and Arizona has
enabled him to gather this admirable
collection.
The collection is situated in his Office
at the Madison school, the walls are
lined with high cabinets containing all
sorts Of queer things. The motive Of
the general in making this collection
has been a public spirited one.
At all times the collection is open to
| the pupils and the teachers Of the
schools, who utilize it daily In their
pursuit Of the studies of the school.
The general took pleasure one day
last week in showing G b report
err some of the queer things in his cab
| inets.
This" said the general, holding up
| a formidable bow-shaped arrangement.
| 'is the jaw Of a man-eattng shark, and
I would rather handle him than be
handled by him"
| The Jaw was a perfect specimen, re-
| tanning all Of the teeth in the seven
| rows, each one having an ugly little
saw. The general stated that when he
| first received his sharkship's jaw it
| was very elastic and could be easily
slipped over the head Of man.
"You see those picked snakes up
there" said the general, pointing to a
lofty position on the top Of one Of his
cabinets, well these snakes captured
on my fathers farm when a boy and
have kept them since. That was the
| first Of my collection. Since then
have been adding to 1t constantly"
The general then opened his wood
specimen case. 1t contained several
hundred varieties Of domestic building
| wood, and thirty-three varieties Of
| Chinese wood. It was a significant
fact that nearly every specimen Of
The American wood was brighter and
better looking than the best appearing
Of the Japanese wood. In some cases
the Japanese wood was finer in tex
ture and possibly more compact, but
did not equal the American wood, as
| 1t all was characterized by It's dark
| Oriental appearance.
/ The collection contained a number of
| polished specimens Of the ma,nagr
bush. All stages Of growth from the
roots to the fully developed bough was
included. A queer wood was the royal
palmetto pine, which after reaching
maturity the body of the tree decayed,
leaving a stringy formation. 1t is
| found in Florida. Some excellent Spe-
| cimens of sweet elder were included in
| the collection.
Several sections of a palm tree were
among the varieties of the collection,
showing the compact formation of the
| tree.
Besides these the general had speci-
mems of all kinds Of wood from ma
hogany to pine. This department was
very complete.
A bunch of sycamore berries of large
size, fruits of the tree Of zaccius, and
a bunch Of Caffa corn from Kohmork-
bonkoshi Kumsi, Africa, and some
bread fruit and other things completed
this department of the collection.
When In Washington last year the