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Show TERRIBLY STRANGE. TARANTULA'S VICTIMS DANCE FOR THEIR LIVES. ImmIiUi riuH .( Ufa la l.lUnrl Italy Tta IIiiIuIm. laU Daaaara Wka Baata.a till Spirits la Mae Thai Hiatt. HE historic and odc highly civilized little town of Brindisi, la sotnn-eItaly, la a wild plate, In which the fipldi and common abound with scorpions, vlpera and which tarantulae, are dAlly killed by but atill acorea, multiply their race to tb terror of the Inhabitant. Whatever akeptlca may ay, the tarantula1 t'.te dot cause that terrible eihlbltlon. or aerlea of Jump r,M t0 and distortion, which gl the lovely and graceful dance. A recent traveler write from Brin dial: "I have aeen a tarantula and can bear wltneea to It It was when visiting the Puglle province a few year ago that 1 earn acroaa a tarantula dancer. Her eyea were staring wildly, as It she aaw the tarantula still before her. Every second ahe would stretch forward her hands, than hurrladly clasp them together, a If to crush tb horrible beast The only means of healing from the hits, or sting. Is dancing, and for this musicians are engaged by the family. There is also a sacred well about miles from Brindisi, dedicat thirty-a- ll m vie-.Iln- Tl or the greenroom at a theater. The men appear at first without masks, and with long yellow grabs streamer hanging from their heads and waist, 'ins only light cast ob the scene is by torches made of sticks, round which pieces of cloth are wrapped, dipped In pH. To the music of a tarn tam, kept op on one note, the dancer sing a peculiar, wild funeral dirge. In which the spectators often join. Tb dancer begin by slowly moving about, atretcblng the right foot. and bringing the left up to it, and appear as if they were searching for something, during whli b the singing aound like crying They are then asking the devil to appear. There are twenty-fou- r different sorts of devils, and, after the first part, the dancers are constantly changing their clothe to repreaent th entire specie; some wear masks, some don Jaws and terrible teeth reaching to the eai. The jaws open and close h a very realistic manner. A dance laata over two nights, as the whole twenty-fou- r devils have all to be personated before the particular demon who Is afflicting the sick man la pitched on. When he gives signs of his presence the dancers go Into a sort of frensy, which Increases as he take beats possession of them; the tam-tafaster and taster, tbe chanting grows into yells, the men whirl and atamp and tba bell on their ankles Jingle and claah. At this stags the dancers appear to be looking for some object to give the devil In sacrifice, and into which he may past. A chicken Is usually offered by the friend of the sick man, and thla unfortunate bird Is seized upon, twisted and tormented and bitten between the false teeth, until the dancers, worn out, move slower and slower, and the m -- ASCENDED GRAND TETON. DileBsU! r Uiaf icMaylUktS KlerwUsa. Two remarkable feats in mountain climbing have just been accomplished. In on case Mrs Coburn, wife of the pastor of Trinity Episcopal church, Denver, Col., vs) the first woman to step foot on the top of Mount Evans, Colorado. In tbe other, the ascent of the Grand Teton, on tbe border line between Idaho and Wyoming, often attempted unsuccessfully and by many thought to be impossible, wan accomplished by a party made up of the Rev. Frank 8. Spalding formerly of Denver and now of Erie Pa., a ton of Bishop John F. Spalding of the dioce of Colorado; W. O. 0en of Cheyenne. Wyo.; Franks 8. Peterson of Jackson, Wyo., and John Shite of Elk, Wyo. The accent was exceedingly difficult and dangerous. It was by crawling upon their abdomens In one place over a ledge to insecure rock overlooking a precipice with a drop of 3,000 feet, that the summit of the Great Teton was reacbd. Th path In some places was o narrow that progress a as made only by seeking out with the fingers crevice In which to secure s hold to drag the body along. The ascent rivals tbe moat difficult feata of Alpine climbing. The Grand Teton is the subject of hundreds of legends among the Indiana, and Is still a mysterious temple of the Great Spirit to them. It bad always been regarded as folly to attempt to reach tbe summIL WMkl SineU foe DlsoosSi Perhaps the most interesting fact In Connection with Kimberley," the diamond city, Is tbe street washing, which has been a recognized industry for some time past. With the exception of two or three of the principal thoroughfare, all the streets have been subjected to the washing process, and some of the debris washers have dona very well, Th "washing" consists of overhauling the earth for diamonds. At nearly every meeting of tbe borough council applications for permission to wash streets, or portions Th would-b- e of streets, are received. washer has to obtain the consent of persons resident In the street or road, to put the latter into aound repair again, and pay tithe to the municipality In the shape of ten per cent on the gross finds. Last year 960 was paid to th municipality in this way, n good proportion of which represented commission on street finds. "In the early days of the diamond fields th ground was washed In n very primitive style, many diamonds being thrown away In the debris, as it la called. Tbla debris waa subsequently used for street-makipurpose, and now. years after, with better machinery at their disposal, people find It pays to "wash the streets." Many houses built on maiden debris are removed In order to wash tha latter, and stones of comparatively large size are frequently found by th energetic debris washer, who literally work from morn till night, from sunrise till sunset. Pearsons Weekly. ng A VICTIM. d to Bt. Paul, th protector of tarantula vlctlma. acd gvery year these poor ereatnrs make a ptlgrimag thlthar on SL Paul's day, which occurs at tha end of Juba Th water of thla well ii to cur the tarantula's sting. During the Journey the victims are a prey to violent convulsions Those who caanot undertaka the Journey perform the ceremony at homa In n room hung chicken sinks Into n sort of trancs, which la a sign that ths devil has accepted the sacrifice, and ia willing to pass from tha man into th bird. sup-poe- ed with colored handkerchiefs or bite of colored rags, and they dance. Jump and scream aa long aa their strength lasts. Say Us Cam from Ape At the meeting of the Cambridge congress of soology In London last week Prof. Haecket, In a paper on the present knowledge of th descent of man, declared that science haa now established with absoluts certainty that man descended through various stages of evolution from ths lowest form of animal life during a period estimated at 1.000,000.000 years. After going deep Into the scientific feature! of hit Investigations, Prof. Haecket says that man la a primate, and that all primates, monkeys, apes and man. descended from on common stem. The Deal la West Virginia. In West Virginia n duel means something. Two citizens of SIstervllle, that state had a grievance to eettle, and the other day they met face to face on the street. Both drew guns and biased away, and each received two shots from the others weapon. Neither will live. Nor was that all the damage done. A crowd gathered to witness the affair and five other persons received wounds, from the results of which two will die. With four fatally wounded and three more slightly damaged, vs presume West Virginia honor is vindicated. In Franc the affaire would have been managed differently. The principals would have appointed second!, who would bav selected i a quiet, unfrequented (pot, to tfhlch tb duellists would have repaired. An agreed number of paces would hive been counted off, there would have been two quick reports, and th entire party would hive pledged " eternal friendship over a bird and a bottle, the only dead thing being the bird. If the West Virginia object le to kill, th method seems to be the most effective. But if the Idea is merely to satisfy wounded honor In the most pleasant way, then the bird and bottle method of the delicious French Is to he preferred. Philadelphia North American. Another traveler, who vlelted the sacred well, says: Sometimes it takes several days to curs them. The girl I taw was a handsome peasant girl. Her hair, which was magnificent, fell over her Uka a cloak. 8he waa titling on n chair In front of tha house, and waa surrounded by a crowd of relatives and neighbors. When a man once thoroughly underX asked what waa the matter, and was stands the Ins and outs of a wheat cortold Tt la a tarantula.' The glrte head ner he Invariably stays ouL waa moving from aid to aide, as If listening to something. Ia fact, an organ was heard approaching. Little by little, as the orgaa drew nearer, the girl rose from her teat and began to dance wildly. Then, when her strength was spent, the gave one long, load cry and fell as If dead In her mothers arms. The following day ahe daaoed again, and for over twelve hoars,, without ceasing, excepting for short Intervale. The musicians engaged to keep the girt Company were paid 10 franca each tor the day, sad the family consisted only of poor peasants. But how can you afford this? I asked the father of the girt Well, he answered. It must he done, otherwise eur girl would die of the tarantulas poison. And you would not have ua see our girt die before our eyes for the sake of a few francs? w muat starve afterward, but our girl must hsvs muale to help her in her dance.' I always think of this poor girl at ths approach of 8t Paul's dsy." The real Singhalese devil dancers la Ceylon are ferocious and savage fellows. Their dances are revolting and horrible. But their profession Is popular and affords n royal Jiving for ths men who go Into 1L There is a superstition among ths Singhalese that when a man falls sick hs Is supposed to be afflicted by a devil. In order to rid him ' of ths dlaeaaa ths devil dancers art called In to propitiate the demon. Two or more of them go by night to the sick man's house. In front of which a small, square incloeurc, about sir feet high, bae been mad of grasses, mid palm leaves This answers the purpose SINGHALESE DEVIL DANCER. JACOB. 1 Possibly she felt my gaze, for (he turned. And her face waa worthy of her figure. Two bright, blue eye met mine for an instant before their owner walked on. I stood still. I was In loV with that girl, whom ten seconds before I had never aeen. I gazed after her till she waa out of sighL Then I gazed at the sacred spot on the pavement where she bad stood and behold, there lay a little purse. 1 picked It up reverently, and hastened after her; but she was lost in the throng of Regent street. I reached Oxford Circus and turned and retraced my steps, and presently 1 aaw the girls again. She was gazing Into another shop window. I picked my way delicately through the feminine crowd. My arm brushed hers, and the blood rushed from my heart to my ears. She turned. Our eyes met And, by all the saints of heaven, her eye were brown I It was not shq, but some other girl dressed exactly like her. My hand fell from my hat and 1 I was wriggling gasped an apology. away, when a hand grasped my wrist, and tried to wrest tbe puree from me. I turned and beheld a large man In clothes. Ah. would you? he said. "Quiet! He dug his knuckles Into the back of my hand. I restrained a fierce desire to Inflict elmllar treatment on his countenance, and said, Let go, you ass! Can't you see I'm not a pickI picked op thl pure five pocket? minutes ago, and- -' Yes, Ive beard all that before, several times;' r don't ant to' hear if Have you lost your purse, again. mis sr The girl with the brown eyea searched for her pocket, found It, and then felt in 1L Yes, I hsvs! she exclaimed. I broke out Into a cold perspiration. Wrenching my wrist free, I held out the purse. '"But thie le not your purse." But it Is. Oh, you had, wicked man I I felt you take It This settled the matter. I was marched off to Vine street between two pollcemenL The girl and th detective went in a cab. The magistrate waa sitting. Having been searched, I was placed In tbs dock and the girl In the witness box. She made a pretense of being dissolved in tears, and pathetically besought the authorities to release me. But the fatherly magistrate a white-haireold gentleman soothingly explained to her how necessary it was for the protection of honest people that rogues should be punished. At length this wretched woman, committing perjury for the sake of a paltry purse, suffered the oath to be administered and swore the purse was hera Silence, prisoner, said the fatherly magistrate still fatherly, but In a different way; "you will not mond masters by blasphemy, A month. Take him away! I was taken away to the cells and a little later to Pentonvllle. In this Impolite retirement I spent th seven most hideous days and nights of my Ilf. But on the eighth day re- d, ness of her heart was desirous that others should share her good fortune. I. too, had a new drees on the day in question. Miss Mabel Featherstone put ber handkerchief to her face again Mrs. Featherstone bit her lip, but proceeded "The dressmaker bad made the pockets of these dresses ridiculously shallow Mabel declared that she would never dare to put anything in ber pocket for fear of having It taken, but Alice laughed at the Idea and declared that she was competent to guard her pocket if Mabel was not. They went shopping, and Alice Insisted o putting her purse in her pocket It had not been there for five minutes before Mabst, from pure love of mischief took it out unperceived by Alice and put It in her own pocket. The girls became separated In Regent street, and the puise must have fallen out of Malel s pocket when you saw her Alice did not miss it till she saw it In your hand, and then what could she think? Oh, Mr. Felix!" exclaimed Alice, "please forgive me! Oh, p!eae say you will try to forgive me! Mabel and I had a tiff over those wretched pockets, and we did not speak for a whole week till this morning, when she came to make It up. To my horror she presented me with another purse in place of the one she had lost, and then I aaw what a fearful thing I had done. There waa a short silence. And then I laughed, heartily and lung. 1 dined with the Featherstones that evening. And er well, to put the matter In a nutshell, my wife has blue eyes, clear and bright. Ilk glimpses of heaven. To some extent I 'dCkerve ' my Rachel. Did I not serve seven daya for her? The Windsor Magaxlne. l MECHANISM IS INTRICATE. BUT EFFECT IS SUPERB. rui ul Flowara All Sort Kalnbowt, of Design! Can H Mad Large fountain Are Operated by Men Lnder-groun- d Who Chnage the Color. (Special Letter ) ORDS cannot tell the whole story of the wondrous color effects of which the modern electric Illuminated fountain capable. Various. ip t -pretty forms are If made with thou sands of jeU of water, all working In unison under the hand of a skillful operator, and each a thing of beauty Itself. Imagine for a moment the fan shown In one of the accompanying illustrations to be made up of myriad ribs of hue, and you will have some Idea of what an electric fountain really la It has been said that the electric fountain was originally conceived in the prolific mind of a theatrical manager, and that it served a good purpoee in a crude form upon the stage. But this was ogly for a time. Artists and mechanics took It up and developed the Idea, bringing It nearer to" perfection, until, in 1893, It astonished and interested millions of people at the Columbian expoelthm Jm Chicago..,,, In the daytime the electric fountain la not at lta beet It la night that brings out lts beautlea It would perhaps prove too technical to enter Into a complete description of all the tun- - iau ever-changi- BITES OF ANIMALS. Apart from all concomitant danger of blood poisoning, the severity of the bites of flesh-eatianimals Is out of all proportion to the weapons by which they are Inflicted. The teeth, even of th largest carnivora, are merely the but the force which spearheads; works these Instruments Is prodigious. It seems aa if for the moment ths animal threw all its bodily energy Into the combination of muscular action, which we call a bite. In most cases the mere chock ot Impact, as the animal hurls Itself on its enemy is entirely demoral Ixing, or Inflicts physical Injury. ng A muzzled mastiff will hurl a man to the ground In the effort to fasten Its teeth in his throat or shoulder. Then, the driving and crushing force of the Jaw muscles la astonishing. The snapping power of an alligators jaws is more or less lntelljglble. They are long, and furnished with a row of pointed teeth from end to end. But th jaws of a lion, leopard, tiger, otter, A FAN EFFECT. ferret, or baboon are short, and- the nets and arrangement of the thouthe TeS Sew. long and pointed teeth are each of their aperies has a biting power sands of jets which make the 'different displays. These jets are eo arranged which In proportion to Its size Is alto form all manner of different demost Incredible. igns umbrella shapes, whirling demoSir Samuel Baker, who had n long signs, globular showers, criss-cros- s and varied acquaintance with the bites tions in short, everything under the of the carnivora, noticed that the tiger sun. Hie very pretty wheat-ehela usually seized an Indian native by the design, ahown in tbe illustration, sixty-eigwater made of from stream by on one side shoulder, and with one jaw nozzles In a funnel, and when and the other on the other, bit clean nineteen of these sheave are made It The hack. fatal chest and through wound was the bite, which through brings over a thousand stream of water into play. The height of each back and chest, penetrated to th stream Is regulated by the operator, lungs. who Is underground. To go beneath enter the realm of fountain is to the killed are the by Europeans tlgera colored switchboards, bite, aa well aa lacerated by the claws. searchlights, In nearly all cases the bite penetrates glasses, pumpa and everything which to ths lnnga This kind of wound Is makes a good electric plant Two men characteristic of the attacks of many are neceesary to operate an electric of ths felldae. Scarcely any bird re- fountain one to manipulate the lever covers from a cats bite for the same which govern the Jets of water, and reason. Tbe canine teeth are almost the other to govern the searchlights. The chief operator looks out of two or instantly driven through the lung, un- three windows, just above the surface der the wing. The cheetah, which has a very email mouth, always bites of the water in the basin, and through these he can see the effects each through the black buck's throat. The movement of levens or colors. of In front leopard, when seizing smaller animals, of him is a row of levers, each of whjc such aa doga, crushes the head; when to one set of founwater controls the It at alms men biting attacking tain jets, a long board, on which are through th lungs. a number of the various combinations of Erranged A Lssk ea the Franck Bailee. each individual color Is well Mile. Jeanne Granler, the controlled by n button of the same colknown French actress, once met with or. When the operator touches n butan amusing adventure. It happened at ton there immediately springs Into th Marselllea In one of the little pieces air a golden spout of water that return she plays by herself she has for acces- to ths pool changed to myriad dropa of sory ths lay figure ot a man, skilfully Imolten gold. Another button will be articulated and dressed lu a traveling pressed, and lo! the living column has which dances. become a vivid red, and ahe with uR, every drop The figure during the voyage was like a gem. Another lever la pulled, enveloped In a tight fitting covering. and a score of streams playing toward On reaching Marseilles it was left In the center, spring Into existence, folthe luggage room with other thlnga lowed by miniature geysers that asThe curioeity of two ot the railway sume every possible color apparently. employes being aroused at the sight ot Umbrellas of spray appear aa another It, they took off the covering and re- lever la touched, and. these are followed solved to piny n joke on their comby curiously whirling jets that twist rades. They placed the figure In an like snakes of fire. Underground ea arm ehalr at the desk of the cashier every side are great howls of firs that and ahnt the door. When the em- seem to be attached to th round globe ployes on night service came they of glass above by a solid white flame. opened the door and were surprised to These are the searchlights, and the see n man sitting down before the cash globee above are the funnels through box. They Immediately closed and which are eent the rays of color to Illocked the door and ran for assistance. luminate the spouting jets overhead. A policeman arrived, revolver In hand, Many buildings are building electric believing, like the employes, that he fountains as a summer attraction for had to deni with n dangerous thief. their Inhabitant. The cost varies, naHe called on the figure to surrender turally, with the quality of the founand follow him to the station. As It tain. That In Prospect park, Brooklyn, did not ehsy ths summons, the police- eost 124,500. Railway companies are man ahnt the door and want In search finding it of benefit to erect these to surround the fountains In their parka or Is of reinforcements with cities, by supplying the pow- place, and thereby prevent the culprit from escaping. The door waa again er to run the fountain. A valuable reopened, the armed 'force entered, and turn comes to them through the init waa not till they had suddenly creased traffic, and in several cases a pounced on the poor lay robber that fountain haa been made to pay for Itself In n season. they discovered the joke. af ht LET GO. YOU ASS! lease cams. A warder entered my cell and with more respect than 1 had yet received In the prison told me that my Innocence had been discovered and that I had been pardoned for the often I had not committed. My good name and my clothes having been restored to me. I was requested a refreshing change from being ordered to step Into a private room. Here I found three ladlen a majestic matron, the girl with brown eyes who had procured me a weeks living tree of expense, and, marvelous to relate, tke girl with the blue eyes, with whom I waa still la love. Both girls were, except tor their eyes, exactly alike. Twlna I began to see. Th girl with the brown eyes had tears In them. The glri with th blue eye also had her handkerchlsf to her face. But this, ths has elnoe Informed me, was because the humor ot th affair had Just struck her. She was hiding what' might have seemed to me indecent mirth. Th matron said gravely: "Sir, an awful wrong haa been don to yon, tor which I question whether w can make adequate amende. I can, however, express my most deep and sincere regret. But before I endeavor to explain, permit me to Introduce myself. -- 1 am Mrs. Geoffrey Featheretone, and these are my daughters, Mabel and L Alice. . ... ... Pardon me, Mrs Featherstone, I I have already had the honor said. of an introduction to Miss Alice Feath-erston- e. and the result of th Introduction was such that, having no natural taste for penal servitude would rather not pursue The acquaintance. Your anger la Just, Mr. Felix. But you will at leaat permit me to explain. On the day on which this awful thing happened my daughters wore new dresses exactly alike. , Ah, that explain It. I eee now. Doubtless that young lady In the full push-button- i s, Fanalaia Chartty. SL- - Louis heiress teems to "How did you do nr "Pretended I have made qnlte a social hit. , She waa ill. and the doctor left medicine Indeed! He Yes; I understand she which Henry was to give to me every has s dozen prominent society men at her feet She Well, she la fortunate half hour all night long." In hating room there for them. Her Flu. Tve cured my husbands Insomnia. Tlt-Blt- a. .. 1 ELECTRIC FOUNTAINS. 4 He That |
