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Title: The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1, No. 42, August 26, 1897 - A Weekly Magazine for Boys and Girls
Author: Various
Language: English
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*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1, No. 42, August 26, 1897 - A Weekly Magazine for Boys and Girls" ***
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THE GREAT ROUND WORLD
AND WHAT IS GOING ON IN IT
Vol. 1 AUGUST 26, 1897 No. 42.
[Entered at Post Office, New York City, as second class matter]
[Illustration: A
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[Illustration: THE GREAT ROUND
WORLD
AND WHAT IS GOING ON IN IT.]
VOL. 1 AUGUST 26, 1897. NO. 42
The most important news of the past week is the step which Great Britain
has taken in breaking off the commercial treaties with Germany and
Belgium, which have been in effect since 1865.
By the terms of these treaties, Great Britain gave her word that no
articles manufactured in either of these countries should be charged
higher tariff duties in her colonies than similar articles of British
manufacture.
For instance, on German and Belgian cloth, exactly the same duty is
charged in Canada and Australia and the colonies generally as on the
English cloth. You would have supposed that England, being the mother
country, would have been charged a lower tariff than foreign countries,
but according to the treaties this was impossible.
By breaking these treaties it has, however, become possible for Great
Britain to make arrangements whereby her merchandise can be introduced
into her colonies on terms that are very favorable to herself.
In taking this step England is only closing the last chapter of a volume
of her history, and when she makes her new treaties with her colonies
she will be commencing the first chapter of the new history of the
British Empire that is yet to be written.
This matter is of such vast importance, in the bearing that it will have
on the future, that we must try our best to understand it.
England's importance and wealth lie in her colonies. She is but a "right
little, tight little island" of herself; but when regarded from the
standpoint of her possessions, her territory covers about one-sixth of
the land surface of the globe (see map, page 1189). Her possessions lie
north, south, east, and west, till it is rightly said that "the sun
never sets on England's glory."
All her various dependencies are self-governing. They have their own
legislatures, impose their own taxes, and manage their own affairs
socially, politically, and commercially.
At the same time, the colonies are absolutely a part of the British
Empire. The lands belong to the Crown, and the Crown derives an income
from the profits of the colonies.
Though the legislature is made up of representatives chosen by the
people, the governor of each province or colony is appointed by the
Crown, and governs in the name of the Queen.
The local governments can make what laws they please, but any act of the
colonial parliament that is obnoxious to England can be annulled by the
British Parliament.
While England endeavors to make the colonies independent, she also
insists on their being obedient. She maintains armies to protect them,
stands ready to advance the young colonies money for their development,
and rules them in a kindly and beneficent way.
There is no question of taxing and draining the resources of the country
for the sake of gain, as in the olden days, or as Spain does at the
present; the English policy since Victoria came to the throne has been
to develop and improve the colonies and make them self-supporting and
independent.
The colonies are represented in the British Parliament by the Colonial
Secretary, who is a Cabinet officer, and holds one of the most important
positions in the Government. The wishes and desires of the colonies are
made known to Parliament through him.
For years people have discussed the position of the colonies, and
whether it would not be better if the bonds between the mother country
and her dependencies were more closely drawn. It has often been
suggested that England should band her possessions together into one
vast empire, on the principle of our own United States. Each country
would then have representatives in the British Parliament, just as our
various States are represented at Washington, and all these countries
would be joined together for offence and defence just as we are.
Such a federation would make Great Britain an enormous power. The
British possessions are scattered all over the globe. Were she to
federate with her colonies the declaration of war on her part with any
country would mean that Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and British
South America would all join in the fight, and help to uphold England's
quarrel. England could then dictate to the world, and her power would
exceed that of ancient Rome in its days of greatest glory.
This scheme has always been a dream of ambitious English statesmen, but
the policy of the British Government has always been against it.
The idea was so vast that no one dared advise the taking of the first
step.
The British Ministers feared that the result of the federation would be
a combination of all the rest of Europe against England, so they adopted
the policy of keeping good friends with their European neighbors, and
allowing the colonies to wait yet a little longer for federation.
The modern statesmen have been extending British influence ever further
and further, in the hope of one day accomplishing the great federation.
It was this dream that was behind the Transvaal raid. The Colonial
Secretary, Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, desired to see the whole of South
Africa under the sovereignty of England, and Mr. Cecil Rhodes had no
objection to making the effort to realize this wish, because the scheme
would have proved as profitable to himself as to the Government. That to
accomplish his purpose he had to crush the Boers, and drive them out of
their own country, was nothing to him; he did not hesitate at anything
that was to be for the honor and glory of England--and the subsequent
enriching of Cecil Rhodes.
The scandal over the Raid brought the idea of federation to the front
again, and when the Jubilee celebrations took place a move was made to
secure it.
Eleven of the colonial premiers, or prime ministers, attended the
Jubilee, and during their visit to London they held a conference to
discuss the project.
At this meeting the Colonial Secretary took the old ground that the
matter was of such vast importance that it must not be approached
hastily.
The Canadian premiers were, however, anxious that some step should be
taken, and Sir Wilfrid Laurier, from Canada, voiced the sentiments of
his brother premiers when he stated that the time had come for the
colonies to draw more closely to the empire, or separate from it
altogether.
England found herself in a dilemma. While she had been careful to bring
up her colonies to be independent of her, she had not realized that one
day they might become too independent, and seek to break away from her
rule altogether. She had repeated none of the mistakes of oppression and
greed that had cost her the American colonies, and she had supposed that
her other colonies would be satisfied to belong to the British Crown.
Sir Wilfrid Laurier's hint was enough for her.
She was well aware that the tie which binds Canada to her is so slight
that it might easily be broken, and realizing the danger of the
situation, she determined to throw aside her old foreign policy, and
adopt new measures to bind her colonies more closely to her.
Sir Wilfrid Laurier, who is a statesman of a very high order, had
foreseen what England's answer would be, and last winter prepared the
way for the breaking of the German and Belgian treaties.
He engineered a tariff law, offering about twelve per cent reduction the
first year, and twenty-five per cent thereafter, of tariff dues to all
countries admitting Canadian goods on certain favorable terms.
It was thoroughly understood at the time that England was the only
country which could benefit by such an arrangement. England, as you
know, believes in free trade, and has now but twenty articles subject to
tariff; the most important of these are beer, wine, spirits, tobacco,
tea, coffee, and soap.
With such a very small list of dutiable imports you can readily see how
easy it is for England to be the country which gives the best terms to
Canadian goods.
When this Canadian tariff was first made the other nations smiled at it
as a meaningless piece of legislation, but as they thought over it they
saw its true meaning, and at once denounced it as an attempt to make
England false to her agreement with Germany and Belgium.
England saw the force of this herself, and did not attempt to take
advantage of the reduced rates of the Canadian tariff.
This did not disconcert Sir Wilfrid Laurier in the least. He had put the
new law through for a certain purpose, and he was willing to wait
patiently until he could secure the desired end.
His opportunity came at the Conference.
After the Colonial Secretary had answered the premiers that he thought
it better to wait a while before federating, the Canadian Prime Minister
made a very earnest speech.
Having first stated that the time had come to take some decided action,
he said that he and all the other premiers were of one mind that Great
Britain should make an end of all her treaties with foreign countries
which hampered her trade with her colonies.
He added that if this were done the various governments would see if
some arrangement could not be made by which a preference would be given
to British manufactures.
These remarks met with the most enthusiastic indorsement from the other
prime ministers, who requested that they be embodied in a resolution,
and presented to the Colonial Secretary for parliamentary consideration.
Mr. Chamberlain therefore laid the matter before the government, and it
was thereupon decided to end the two treaties mentioned.
Notice was accordingly sent to both Germany and Belgium that the
existing treaties would cease on July 30, 1898.
Canada and the colonies are highly elated over this matter, for it is
understood that this is but the first step toward federation.
That the foreign Powers will be very much opposed to this plan is a
foregone conclusion.
The foreign journals are speaking very severely about it, and saying
that England is much mistaken if she thinks that such an arrangement
would make her powerful enough to dictate to the world.
The day when federation will be completed is still very far off,
however; the colonies themselves are not federated as yet, and it is
hard to suppose that they are ready to come together and be happy as one
country with England when they are still divided among themselves.
Newfoundland is outside the Canadian federation; Cape Colony, in South
Africa, is divided into several states; Australia has five separate
states, each with its own governor and legislature. These states should
first be joined together before they can safely venture to combine with
the mother country in an alliance which would be against the world.
Germany and Belgium are both incensed that England should seek to put an
end to the treaties. Some hot heads in Germany are urging their
Government to return blow for blow, and commence a tariff war with
England.
* * * * *
With wars and rumors of wars about us, the necessity of being prepared
for any emergency has presented itself very strongly to the Secretaries
of both the Army and the Navy.
While our standing army is small, our military arrangements are such
that we need have little anxiety on the score of the army. We have a
large State Militia always at the service of the country, and we have
the right to call on all able-bodied citizens between the ages of
eighteen and forty-five for military service in case of need. This
brings the number of men capable of bearing arms in our defense up to
the number of ten millions.
Our army, therefore, is on a satisfactory basis.
With our navy, things are different. It has come to be a recognized fact
among nations that countries who wish to be respected abroad must have a
sufficient naval force to compel that respect when necessary.
Our navy is not as large as the importance of our country demands, and
it is the intention of the Secretary of the Navy to ask Congress to
make appropriations to enable him to have several new ships built.
Meanwhile he is in a good deal of difficulty over the armor for the
ships that are being built.
Armor is a covering of thick steel plates with which all the modern
battleships are supplied. It is intended to protect their hulls from the
cannon-balls and projectiles that are now used in warfare.
There are three ships now building for the Government, the _Illinois_,
_Alabama_, and _Wisconsin_, and the cause of the trouble is that no firm
can be found willing to supply the armor-plate for the price fixed by
Congress.
This price is $300 per ton.
Congress had a long discussion about the matter, and decided that this
was a fair and proper price to pay, and instructed the Secretary of the
Navy to buy it for this sum.
The Secretary had his doubts about the possibility of doing as he was
required, because he knew that the iron and steel manufacturers asked a
much higher price.
He, however, did as Congress desired, with the result that the Carnegie
Company refused point-blank, saying they could not possibly manufacture
it for that price. Several other firms also declined, and finally,
giving up all hope of placing the contracts, the Secretary suggested
that the Government should make its own armor-plate.
Agreeably to this suggestion, a board has been formed to look into the
matter, and see whether it is possible for the Government to enter into
this business with profit to itself.
While some people declare that it will cost the Government twice as much
to manufacture the armor, others think that it can be made for
considerably less than the companies ask.
The history of this affair is very interesting.
About 1885, Mr. Whitney, who was then Secretary of the Navy, induced a
private company, the Bethlehem Iron Works, to build the first American
armor plant, by making a number of contracts with them which would keep
them busy furnishing armor for battleships for several years.
The price then fixed was $580 per ton, and the armor to be supplied was
what is known as steel armor.
Before the first contract could be filled, the next Secretary, Mr.
Tracy, had his attention called to some new kinds of armor that were
being introduced.
One kind was being made by an English firm, and another by a French
company.
The English plan was to make what is called compound armor. This was
hard steel welded on to a back of softer metal, the idea being that the
soft back would act as a sort of cushion, and save the front part of the
plate from being cracked by the blows of the shot.
The French system was to make a mixture of steel and nickel. They
claimed that the nickel alloy would give greater strength to the plate.
Secretary Tracy was so anxious that we should have the best possible
armor for our battleships that he ordered a plate from both companies,
and sent them to the Naval Academy at Annapolis to be tested.
The big guns were tried on first one and then the other; the English
armor cracked in four pieces, but on the nickel steel the shot were
shattered into fragments.
Congress immediately voted that the new battleships should be supplied
with nickel-steel armor, and an appropriation was made for this purpose.
Before the new contract could be carried out, President Harrison learned
that a man named Harvey had invented a process for hardening the surface
of the steel used in making tools. This process was found to be so
excellent that it revolutionized the making of tools, which were
thereafter made from the hardened or "Harveyized steel."
This process had never been applied to any large surface, but it was
thought that if Harvey's method could be used for the nickel-steel
plates, a perfect armor would be the result.
The experiment was therefore tried. A large nickel-steel plate was
subjected to the process and then tested at Annapolis.
The result was highly satisfactory; all the projectiles sent against the
plate were shattered, while the plate remained comparatively uninjured.
The success of the Harvey process on the nickel steel was universally
acknowledged; other countries abandoned their previous style of armor,
and the United States set out to build a number of new ships that should
be protected with this invulnerable armor.
It was soon found that the Bethlehem Company was not able to furnish all
the armor needed, and so the Government persuaded the Carnegie Company
to go into the armor-plate business. The Carnegie people were promised
an equal share of the work, and the same prices as the Bethlehem
Company.
Matters went on peacefully until July 10th of last year, when Congress
directed the Secretary of the Navy to inquire into the cost of making
armor-plate, and to give an idea of the price he thought the Government
ought to pay for it. The result of his inquiries was to be made known on
January 1st of this year.
The Secretary did make the inquiries, and found that the actual cost of
making a ton of armor-plate was $197.78.
After an elaborate calculation of profit and loss, and the cost of the
machinery used in making the armor, he decided that the armor could be
made for $250 a ton. He suggested that the Government ought then to
allow the companies a liberal sum per ton for profit on their
enterprise, and suggested that a fair price to pay would be $400 per
ton.
Had Congress accepted this suggestion there would have been an actual
saving of $180 a ton over the price made on the original contracts.
Congress was not, however, satisfied with this. If the Company could
make the iron and come out clear at $250 a ton, it was thought that a
profit of $150 a ton was too much to allow, and therefore Congress voted
that the Government price for armor-plate in future should be $300 per
ton.
They offered at this price to make a contract for twenty new
battleships, which would keep the armor works busy for the next ten
years.
The Carnegie and Bethlehem companies were indignant at this offer, and
refused it absolutely.
They insisted that they could not begin to supply armor for less than
$442 a ton, and that then they would be making little profit on their
work.
They reminded Congress that they had added costly machinery to their
plants to oblige the Government, and that the country ought to be
willing to pay them enough money for their work to reimburse them for
the sums they had laid out.
Congress would not listen to this argument. It declared that the
armor-plate people had formed a trust by which they hoped to force the
Treasury to pay them any price they chose to ask, and finally declared
that if armor-plate could be made at an actual cost of $197.78 per ton,
the Government would no longer pay $558 to benefit the pockets of
private individuals.
Further than this, Congress declared that if the Carnegie and Bethlehem
people would not make the armor for $300 a ton, the Government would go
into the business for itself, and leave these two companies with their
machinery on their hands.
The committee appointed to examine into the cost of establishing
government armor works is to be ready to hand in its report next
December.
In the mean while the three new warships that are building will have to
wait, and no new vessels can be commenced until this very important
matter is settled.
* * * * *
Startling and terrible news reaches us from Spain.
Señor Canovas del Castillo (_Casteelyo_), the Spanish Prime Minister,
has been assassinated!
The whole of Europe is greatly excited by this dreadful news.
[Illustration: Map
The shaded portions are British possessions. Islands owned by Great
Britain have names attached.]
Señor Canovas had overworked himself during the last session of the
Cortes, and this, combined with the worry of Cuban affairs, had broken
down his health.
In the hope of regaining his strength he had gone to the baths of Santa
Aguada, at Guesalibar, on the Bay of Biscay, not far from San Sebastian,
where the court is summering.
[Illustration: Señor Canovas]
He was sitting reading his paper in the grounds of the bath-house when
he was shot and killed by an Italian ruffian.
In Señor Canovas, Spain has lost one of her greatest statesmen. It was
he who put Alfonso XII., the father of the present king, on the throne
of Spain.
During his whole career Spain has been the scene of many stormy trials.
In 1868 the people forced the old Queen, Isabella II., to resign the
throne. She was a very wicked woman, and did so many bad things that the
people would not be disgraced by her any longer. They rose against her,
and she was obliged to flee to France to seek the protection of Napoleon
III.
On her departure a council was appointed to choose a new sovereign.
There were several claimants, among them Alfonso, the son of the deposed
Isabella, and Don Carlos, the grandson of Don Carlos I. (See p. 563.)
The council rejected all the candidates, and chose a German prince.
Napoleon III. objected on Queen Isabella's account; the Germans were
incensed at his interference, and the argument that followed gave rise
to the Franco-German War in 1870.
The Spanish council, disappointed of their German prince, finally chose
a son of Victor Emmanuel of Italy, and made him King of Spain under the
title of Amadeus I.
The new King did not take kindly to his throne. The Carlists were
striving to gain the crown for their candidate, and the country was
plunged into the horrors of a civil war.
After a reign of two years and one month Amadeus abdicated and went back
to Italy, disgusted with the honors that had been thrust upon him.
This did not help the Carlists. A republic was declared which lasted
until 1874. In August of that year the republic was formally
acknowledged by all the countries of Europe except Russia, and in the
following December the people changed their minds once more, and
Alfonso, the son of Isabella, was proclaimed King by the Republican
armies.
Alfonso reigned eleven years, and died in the winter of 1885. In the
spring of 1886 the young King was born, his mother, Maria Christina of
Austria, was declared Regent, and will continue to govern the country
for the young Alfonso XIII. until he is old enough to take care of the
country himself.
During all these troublous times Canovas steadily upheld the crown;
through riot and revolution he never wavered, and was even banished from
Spain on one occasion because of his well-known sympathy for the crown.
When the right moment came he placed himself at the head of Alfonso's
friends, and succeeded in seating him on the throne.
Alfonso XII. never forgot the service Canovas had done him. He made him
his Prime Minister, and during his entire reign was guided by the
Minister's advice.
After Alfonso's death Canovas devoted himself to the service of the
Queen Regent, and has been her faithful ally and counsellor ever since.
The Minister was, however, a haughty and arrogant man. He made many
enemies through his pride, and despite the respect which both King and
Queen had for him, both were more or less afraid of him.
There are two stories about him which show how little he cared how he
offended even such mighty personages as his sovereigns.
On one occasion Alfonso XII., wishing to reward him for some service,
offered to make him a duke. Canovas is said to have replied to the
King:
"Sire, I made you a king--how can you make me a duke!"
One day, during Alfonso's lifetime, the Queen got very much out of
temper with her consort, and allowed herself to give way to her anger
before the court.
Canovas was greatly displeased, and followed the Queen to her
apartments.
"Madam," he said, as soon as they were alone, "the interests of the
monarchy are of more importance than your private feelings. To-morrow
you will leave Spain for Austria, and await my orders in Vienna."
Astonishing as it may seem, the Queen obeyed.
Canovas ruled with a rod of iron. It is stated that his murder was
committed in revenge for some terrible cruelties that were practised in
Barcelona by his orders. A little over a year ago a bomb was thrown into
one of the churches in Barcelona. Four hundred people were arrested, and
it was supposed that the bomb-throwing was the outcome of an Anarchist
plot.
Numbers of the persons arrested were evidently innocent, and the
Government could not find out who was responsible for the outrage.
Canovas refused to believe that any of the people arrested were
innocent, but insisted that they knew all about it if they could only be
made to speak, and so he ordered them tortured in the most inhuman ways
to make them confess.
The man who shot Canovas declared, when he was arrested, that his
brother had been tortured in Barcelona, and that he had killed the
Minister in revenge.
Great statesman and good friend to the crown as Canovas was, he was a
bad friend to the people. He believed in force. It was he who chose
General Weyler to go to Cuba, well knowing his ferocious character, and
that he would be sure to treat the insurgents with great severity.
Now that Canovas is dead the Cubans believe that the war will soon be
brought to a close. They think that Sagasta will be appointed to fill
the place of the murdered Minister, and that he will at once recall
Weyler, and send Campos in his place.
They think that Sagasta will offer them home rule, and if they refuse
it, and show a determination to continue the war, that Sagasta will
weaken and offer to give up the island for a sum of money.
One Cuban, being asked what effect he thought the death of Canovas would
have, replied:
"He has done more to harm Cuba than Weyler, and through his death the
unfortunate island will lose two of her worst enemies. Canovas' death
means Cuba's freedom!" But, naturally, a Cuban's estimate of a Spanish
Minister cannot, be accepted as an unprejudiced one.
To his sovereign and his country Señor Canovas has ever been a most
faithful servant. In him the Queen Regent loses the one man on whom
Spain relied for help out of her present difficulties.
* * * * *
The Coal Strike is still unsettled.
A determined effort is being made to get the Pittsburg miners to join
the strike. There is a great Pittsburg firm called the New York and
Cleveland Gas and Coal Company, of which Mr. W.P. De Armitt is the head.
It is a most important firm, and the strikers think that if they can
only get De Armitt's men to join them they are sure of success.
The De Armitt men are, however, quite content with their treatment, and
not anxious to join the strike. To win them over, large bands of
striking miners have camped near the De Armitt mines, and every morning
they march to the pit's mouth, intercepting the men as they are going to
work, and urging them to join the strike and help their fellows.
They have already persuaded many of the men to leave work.
They have been very orderly so far, and though fears of violence are
entertained, as yet there has been no rioting.
The only person who has got into trouble has been Debs.
When the strike was first organized, Debs and the other labor agitators
declared that it was impossible for the strike to fail if the miners
only held together. They gave such a rosy picture of the whole affair,
that many of the miners believed that the great strike would be settled
with little delay or trouble.
They were quite unprepared for the long and bitter struggle into which
it has developed, and many of them are angry with Debs and the other
agitators for misrepresenting affairs to them. Debs is therefore losing
influence with the miners just now.
On the other hand, the coal-owners are combining against him, declaring
that but for his mischievous intermeddling, everything could have been
adjusted without trouble.
The mine-owners of West Virginia have therefore sought relief through
the law, and obtained a judge's order, forbidding Debs, or any of his
fellow-agitators, from making any efforts to induce the miners to
strike.
They are forbidden to make speeches or conduct parades, or gather crowds
in the mining districts.
This is a severe blow to the agitators. The cooperation of the West
Virginia miners is also considered essential to success.
These men, like De Armitt's, have no grievances of their own for which
they need redress, and it has not been easy to persuade them that they
ought to strike for the sake of their less fortunate brothers.
To obtain any such result it is necessary to have a number of speakers
constantly talking to the men, and teaching them, and urging them.
The order forbidding speaking and persuading is a hard blow to Debs and
his workers.
He, however, declares that he is not discouraged, and that he will win
the strike in spite of every effort of the owners.
While the coal trade has been thus agitated, a curious labor difficulty
has arisen in Paterson, New Jersey.
There are, as you know, labor unions all over the country. Every trade
has its own special union. The members of these unions, when they first
join, bind themselves to be guided by the rules and laws laid down by
the officers of the union.
The United Broad Silk Weavers' Union held a meeting the other day, in
which it adopted a certain scale of wages, and sent out an order that no
member was to work for any other wages than those fixed by the Union.
When this order was sent to Paterson there was great consternation.
Nearly all the weavers there are members of the union, and when they
came to examine the new scale which they were bound to abide by, they
found it to be below the rate of wages which they were at that moment
receiving.
The Paterson weavers have been enjoying good wages, and are in
comfortable circumstances. Since the inauguration of President McKinley
they have gone on strike several times. Their employers thought their
demands were just, and agreed to give them the increase they asked, so
that they have settled their own affairs in a way that is highly
satisfactory to themselves.
Now comes this order from the labor union, and they are in a terrible
dilemma.
If they obey the rules of their order, they will have to go in a body to
their employers, and ask to have their wages reduced.
If they do not, they will be obliged to leave the union; and if in
future their employers try to get the best of them, they will then have
no one to come forward and fight their battles for them.
The outcome of this affair is being watched with a good deal of
amusement and interest.
* * * * *
A scientific expedition, headed by Professor Libbey, of Princeton
University, started early in July to explore a mesa or table-land of
sandstone which rises out of the alkali plains, in the neighborhood of
Albuquerque, New Mexico.
This mesa is seven hundred feet high. Its top has never before been
trodden by man, for it rises from the plain with perpendicular walls
that are inaccessible to even the most experienced mountain-climbers.
The mesa is situated near the Indian village of Acoma, and is called by
the natives the Enchanted Mesa. They have a wonderful legend about it.
The rock is fifteen acres in extent and, according to their story, was
once the dwelling-place of the Acoma tribe. After a while, as the tribe
increased, there was not room enough on the rock for their dwellings and
their fields, so they made a way down the rock, and used to send their
able-bodied men below to sow and reap, while the aged and the young did
the housekeeping on top of the mesa.
The story goes on to say that once, when the young men were away in the
fields, a terrible storm arose; the thunders raged and the winds blew,
and when at last the storm subsided it was found that the rocky
staircase by which the Acomas were used to go up and down had been
entirely swept away.
The Indians ran round and round the rock, but everywhere they found the
straight walls as we see them to-day. It was impossible to climb them;
they could not get up to the friends they had left behind, nor could the
unfortunate people come down to them.
For days they tried every means to reach the top, but they could not do
so. They could see their friends peering over at them, but day by day
the faces grew fewer and fewer, until at last all were gone.
Since then the mesa has been held sacred by the Acomas, and regarded by
them as a city of the dead.
This legend has been so thoroughly believed that scientists have often
discussed the possibility of scaling this rock for the sake of the
wonderful remains that must be on the top. Finally Professor Libbey
determined to make the attempt.
He took with him a life-saving apparatus, of the kind that is used on
the sea-coast for sending a line out to a wrecked vessel. His plan was
to throw the line over the rock, and then have himself hauled up in an
arrangement of ropes, used by sailors for working over the side of
ships, and called by them a boatswain's chair.
The life-saving apparatus was tried, and proved to be most successful. A
rocket was sent up with the life-line attached, and on the second effort
was shot clear over the rock.
The line thus thrown was a thin quarter-inch rope; to this a strong
hawser was attached, and after infinite labor pulled across the mesa's
top. The boatswain's chair was then attached, and with the aid of a pair
of strong horses, who pulled away at one end of the rope, the professor
was hauled to the top of the rock.
To his disappointment he found no traces whatever of former inhabitants,
and no evidences that any human being had ever trodden the rock's
surface before.
He found plenty of water standing in pools, which had evidently been
left from recent rains, and plenty of grass and trees similar to those
found on the summits of the other buttes in the neighborhood, but the
legend of the Acomas was evidently a myth.
He went from end to end of the Mesa, but there was not the slightest
sign of cave or dwelling, nor even a scrap of broken pottery to prove
that the rock had once been inhabited. G.H. ROSENFELD.
INVENTION AND DISCOVERY.
PORTABLE REFRIGERATING CASE.--It must be some one who loves to go on
picnics or excursions who has thought out this delightful contrivance, a
portable refrigerator. It comprises an inner case which holds bottles
and ice, and an outer case with a partition into which the water from
the ice can run, and with means for drawing it off.
[Illustration: Portable Refrigerating Case]
A fair supply of ice would insure bottles of cold water, milk,
ginger-ale, etc, throughout a long day's trip.
LEAK-STOPPER FOR PNEUMATIC TIRES.--This seems to be a very clever and
practical invention.
The bicycle-tape, and the mastic, and the dozen other devices for
mending punctured tires are all very well in their way, but they are not
absolutely reliable.
A punctured tire is a wounded tire, and needs the aid of a bicycle
doctor. All attempts at doing one's own surgery are likely to fail for
the simple reason that we are not experts in the business, and do not
always understand the extent of the damage.
The leak-stopper is merely a bandage to be applied to the wound till
help can be found. It consists of a strap of flexible material, provided
at one end with a buckle and at the other with a pair of tongues.
[Illustration: Leak-Stopper Bandage]
On the inside of the strap is some flexible air-tight material partly
fastened to the strap, and so arranged that it will entirely cover the
lips of the wound.
The edges are covered with adhesive material, and are firmly pressed on
either lip of the wound, drawing it together and covering it with
air-tight material, so that no air can escape.
The strap is then buckled round the tire, holding the ligature in place,
and the air can be pumped in and the rider proceed without fear of any
further difficulty.
[Illustration: Bicycle Propulsion]
BICYCLE PROPULSION.--So much has been invented for and said about
bicycles, that it seems strange that anything is left to say or to do,
yet here is a very novel idea. It is not so very long since wind and
water were the only motor powers, but those days are so clearly
superseded that it is quite a surprising suggestion that a wind-wheel
be attached to bicycles. Machinery connects it with the driving-wheel by
means of a rotary shaft, and the wind-wheel becomes an additional help.
This may prove a very useful contrivance for long-distance riders.
[Illustration: Embroidery Hoop]
EMBROIDERY HOOP.--There are surely among our readers some girls who
embroider and who have experienced difficulty with their embroidery
hoops. The inner hoop is sure to fit so tightly within the outer one
that if the material to be embroidered is at all thick, neither
persuasion nor force will make it slip into place. A new hoop is now
being made which can be adjusted for goods of any thickness. This is
done by means of a split binding-hoop, the two ends of which connect by
a screw-threaded bolt, and can be loosened or tightened at will, a nut
on the threaded end of the bolt holding the ends firmly in place.
* * * * *
=S.T.A. Vertical Writing Pens=
[Illustration]
=PRICES:=
=Per Gross, $1.00; Per Dozen= (samples), =10 Cents=
Vertical writing demands a commercial pen. The "S.T.A." pens are strictly
a commercial pen, made after the famous models designed by John Jackson,
originator of the
------_System of Upright Writing._------
The desirability of teaching children, boys especially, to write with such
a pen as they will use in after life will be recognized by every good
teacher.
_Introduced into the Schools of Denver, Colo., and elsewhere._
* * * * *
A great deal is expected of the teachers in our public
schools at the present day in the way of keeping the pupils
conversant with the political and scientific questions of
the day. While this is as it should be, we believe that if
parents would look well to the quality of reading-matter
placed before their children better results would be
obtained from the teachers' efforts in this line. THE GREAT
ROUND WORLD, AND WHAT IS GOING ON IN IT, is the name of a
newspaper for children, and without exception it is the
finest one of its kind ever published. It comes in magazine
form, and is overflowing with interesting subjects written
in such a bright and yet simple manner that the whole
household unwittingly becomes interested in it.--_Omer,
Mich., Progress, Jan._ 8, 1897.
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=Name ten of the most important events that have been mentioned in
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_In mentioning these events give briefly reasons for considering
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enter the competition.
In making the selection of important events, remember that wars and
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We would advise you to take the magazines starting at No. 1, look them
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For instance: suppose you decide that the death of Dr. Ruiz was one of
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prison of Guanabacoa--because it brought the cruelties practised on
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*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1, No. 42, August 26, 1897 - A Weekly Magazine for Boys and Girls" ***
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