Chapter II (2)

In a few minutes we came to a man working beside the road, and asked him what it all meant. He looked around in a very mysterious manner, and then half whispered the one word "Vigilantees!" with a strong accent on the last syllable.

"Oh!" said Jack, "vigilance committee."

"Correct," returned the man.

"Horse-thieves, I suppose?" went on Jack.

"Exactly," replied the man. "Stole two horses at Black Bird last night at ten o'clock. Holt County Anti-Horse-thief Association after 'em this morning at four. That's the way we do business in _this_ country!"

We drove on, and Jack said:

"What the Association wants to do is to buy Old Blacky and put him in a pasture for bait. In the morning the members can go out and gather up a wagon-load of disabled horse-thieves that have tried to steal him in the night and got kicked over the fence."

We either met or saw a dozen other men on horseback, always in pairs; but whether or not they caught the thief we never heard.

So far we had had very poor luck in finding game; but in the afternoon of this day Jack shot a grouse, and we camped rather earlier than usual so that he might have ample time to cook it. There were also the plums and grapes to stew. We made our camp not far from a house, and, after a vast amount of extremely serious labor on the part of the cook, had a very good supper.

The next day passed with but one incident worth recalling. In the afternoon we crossed the Niobrara at Grand Rapids on a tumble-down wooden bridge, and turned due west through the Keya Paha country. This was so called from the Keya Paha River (pronounced Key-a-paw), a branch of the Niobrara which comes down out of Dakota and joins it a few miles below Grand Rapids. The country seemed to be much the same as that through which we had travelled, perhaps a little flatter and sandier. Just across the river we saw the first large herd of stock, some five or six hundred head being driven east by half a dozen cowboys.

A short distance beyond the river we came to a little blacksmith shop beside the road. As soon as Jack saw it he said:

"We ought to stop and get the horses shod. I was looking at the holes the calks of Old Blacky's shoes made in the wagon-box last night, and they are shallow and irregular. He needs new shoes to do himself justice. If this blacksmith seems like a man of force of character, we'll see what he can do."

Jack looked at the blacksmith quizzically when we drove up and whispered to us, "He'll do," and we unhitched. The pony had never been shod, and did not seem to need any artificial aids, so we left her to graze about while the others were being attended to.

"Just shoe the brown one first, if it doesn't make any difference," said Jack.

"All right," answered the blacksmith, and he went to work on the decent old nag, who slept peacefully throughout the whole operation.

He then began on Old Blacky. He soon had shoes nailed on the old reprobate's forward feet, and approached his rear ones. Old Blacky had made no resistance so far, and had contented himself with gnawing at the side of the shop and switching his tail. He even allowed the blacksmith to take one of his hind feet between his knees and start to pull off the old shoe. Then he began to struggle to free his leg. The blacksmith held on. Old Blacky saw that the time for action had arrived, so he drew his leg, with the foolish blacksmith still clinging to it, well up forward, and then threw it back, with all his strength. The leg did not fly off, but the blacksmith did, and half-way across the shop. He picked himself up, and, after looking at the horse, said:

"'Pears 's if that ain't a colt any more."

"No," answered Jack; "he's fifteen or sixteen."

"Old enough to know better," observed the blacksmith. "I'll try him again."

He again got the leg up, and again Old Blacky tried to throw him off. But this time the man hung on. After the third effort Blacky looked around at him with a good deal of surprise. Then he put down the leg to which the man was still clinging, and with the other gave him a blow which was half a kick and half a push which sent the man sprawling over by his anvil.

"The critter don't seem to take to it nohow, does he?" said the blacksmith, cheerfully, as he again got up.

"He's a very peculiar horse," answered Jack. "Has violent likes and dislikes. His likes are for food, and his dislikes for everything else."

"I'll tackle him again, though," said the man.

But Blacky saw that he could no longer afford to temporize with the fellow, and now began kicking fiercely with both feet in all directions, swinging about like a war-ship to get the proper range on everything in sight, and finally ending up by putting one foot through the bellows.

"Reckon I've got to call in assistance," said the man, as he started off. He came back with another man, who laid hold of one of Blacky's forward legs and held it up off the floor. The blacksmith then seized one of his hind ones and got it up. This left the old sinner so that if he would kick he would have to stand on one foot while he did it, and this was hardly enough for even as bad a horse as he was. He did not wholly give up, however, but after a great amount of struggling they got him shod at last.

"We'll call him the Blacksmith's Pet," said Jack.

Good camping-places did not seem to be numerous, and just after the sun had gone down we turned out beside the road near a half-completed sod house. There was no other house in sight, and this had apparently been abandoned early in the season, as weeds and grass were growing on top of the walls, which were three or four feet high. There was also a peculiar sort of well, a few of which we had seen during the day. It consisted of four one-inch boards nailed together and sunk into the ground. The boards were a foot wide, thus making the inside of the shaft ten inches square. This one was forty or fifty feet deep, but there was a long rope and slender tin bucket beside it. The water was not good, but there was nothing else to drink. Near the house Ollie found the first cactus we had seen, which showed, if nothing else did, that we were getting into a dry country. He took it up carefully and stowed it away in the cabin to take back home as an evidence of his extensive travels.

For several days we had not been able to have a camp-fire, owing to the wind and dryness of the prairie, for had we started a prairie fire it might have done great damage.

"We don't want the Holt County Anti-Prairie Fire Society after us," Jack had said; so we had been using our oil-stove.

But this evening was very still, and there seemed to be no danger in building a camp-fire within the walls of the house, and we soon had one going with wood which we had gathered along the river, since to have found wood enough for a camp-fire in that neighborhood would have been as impossible as to have found a stone or a spring of water.

We were sitting about on the sods after supper when a man rode up on horseback, who said he was looking for some lost stock. We asked him to have something to eat, and he accepted the invitation, and afterward talked a long time, and gave us much information which we wished about the country. Somebody mentioned the little well, and the man turned to Ollie, and said.

"How would you like to slip down such a well?"

"I'm afraid I'm too big," answered Ollie.

"Well, perhaps you are; but there was a child last summer over near where I live who wasn't too big. He was a little fellow not much over two years old. The well was a new one, and the curb was almost even with the top of the ground. He slipped down feet first. It was a hundred and twenty feet deep, with fifteen feet of water at the bottom, but he fitted pretty snug, and only went down about fifty feet at first. His mother missed him, saw that the cover was gone from the well, and listened. She heard his voice, faint and smothered. There was no one else at home. She called to him not to stir, and went to the barn, where there was a two-year-old colt. It had never been ridden before, but he was ridden that afternoon, and I guess he hasn't forgotten the lesson. She came to my place first, told me, and rode away to another neighbor's. In half an hour there were twenty men there, and soon fifty, and before morning two hundred.

"There was no way to fish the child out--the only thing was to dig down beside the small shaft. We could hear him faintly, and we began to dig. We started a shaft about four feet square. The sandy soil caved badly, but men with horses running all the way brought out lumber from Grand Rapids for curbing. The child's father came too. He listened a second at the small shaft, and then went down the other. Two men could work at the bottom of it. One of the men was relieved every few minutes by a fresh worker, but the father worked on, and did more than the others notwithstanding the changes. All of the time the mother sat on the ground beside the small shaft with her arms about its top. At four o'clock in the morning we were down opposite the prisoner. He was still crying faintly. We saw that to avoid the danger of causing him to slip farther down we must dig below him, bore a hole in the board, and slip through a bar. But a few shovelfuls more were needed. The work jarred the shaft, and the child slipped twenty-five feet deeper. At seven o'clock we were down to where he was again, though we could no longer hear him. We dug a little below, bored a hole, and the father slipped through a pickaxe handle, and fainted away as he felt the little one slip down again but rest on the handle. We tore off the boards, took the baby out, and drew him and his father to the surface. There were two doctors waiting for them, and the next day neither was much the worse for it."

The man got on his horse and rode away. We agreed that he had told us a good story, but the next day others assured us that it had all happened a year before.

[TO BE CONTINUED.]

THE SCIENCE OF FOOTBALL: CATCHING, PASSING, TACKLING.

[_Beginning with this issue, and continuing for four weeks, this
Department will be largely taken up by a series of papers an the
Science of Football, prepared by Mr. W. H. Lewis, of the Harvard
football team of 1893._]

That football is a scientific sport seems to be pretty generally conceded by all. It is more like military science than any other; and it has this in common with all other sciences, that only so much can be learned from the books and blackboard. The student must go to the laboratory for the major part of his knowledge. The laboratory of football is the _gridiron_.

Football as a science divides itself naturally into the Individual and the Team. The Individual may be subdivided into Fundamentals and Position Play. Fundamentals comprehend passing, catching, dropping on the ball, kicking, blocking, making holes, breaking through, tackling. The Team is divided chiefly into two parts--the offence and defence. The offence comprises the direct attack, the indirect or strategic play, and kicking. The defence embraces the general defence, the theory, styles of defence, defence to particular plays, and defence at given points of the field. In this first paper I shall treat of the Fundamentals of Individual Play.

_Passing._--There are three kinds of passes--the straight-arm, the underhand, and the overhand. The straight-arm pass is used generally for long low passes to the open, because of its swiftness and accuracy. The pass is made by taking the ball in the palm of the hand, the ends pointing up and down the arm, the fingers firmly clutched over the end farthest from the body; then extending the arm at an angle with the body of about 65°, using the opposite foot as a pivot, bring the arm and body quickly, with a swing and a snap, directly in line with the object of the throw; then let the ball go, end over end, revolving upon its shorter axis, as in Fig. 7.

The underhand pass is used in passes made by the quarter to the full-back. The ball is held as in the straight-arm pass. The pass should be started from about an angle of 45° to the rear of the body, the arm passing by the body to the front, describing an arc of a circle, letting the ball roll off the tips of the fingers. The body should be well forward and the knees bent, similar to the position of a bowler. See Fig. 8.

The overhand pass starts from the taking of the snap, the arm being carried above the shoulder, going through about a three-quarter circle and then going off on a tangent.

_Catching._--The ball should be caught with the arms and the body. The backs may be allowed more latitude in this matter, however. In fact, the more of a baseball catch they can make, the more quickly can they return the ball. For the forward, the ball should be caught in one of two ways: first, take the ball, whether punted or thrown, on either side, letting the arm on the side where you catch the ball be under the ball, and the other arm and hand hooked over the upper end of the ball, as shown in Fig. 4; second, a punt or thrown ball may be caught by receiving the ball in the groin, right-angling the body around it and placing both hands over it.

_Dropping on the Ball._--There are two kinds of balls the player must learn to drop on--a moving ball and a dead ball. There are just four ways of falling upon a ball: first, dropping upon the knees, to break the fall, then covering the ball with the chest; second, dropping straight from the toes, breaking the fall with the elbows and by landing upon the ball with the chest; third, diving upon the ball, by leaving the ground and leaping in the air, the fall being broken by the elbows and the ball; fourth, sliding, feet foremost, and taking the ball under the arm in passing it. Take first a moving ball. A ball moving away from the runner may be obtained in any of these ways; the first method is the simplest and preferable. Let the player run to within reaching distance of the ball, suddenly drop upon his knees, and then gather the ball up under his chest. A moving ball should not be dived for unless its motion has nearly ceased, because the player is likely to either overreach or underreach it.

To obtain a ball dropped in the rush-line or at the player's feet, the player should throw his feet straight out behind him, falling upon the ball with his chest, breaking the fall with the elbows and ball. There is another moving ball, which the player, strictly speaking, should not fall upon at all. To obtain a ball moving directly towards a player from the front, he should meet it at right angles, throwing the body right across the path of the ball and gathering it up in his arm, as in Fig. 10.

The ball is very seldom "dead" in a game, but it may sometime occur that twenty-two men are after a ball that has lost nearly all motion. In that case the most skilful man at diving upon the ball will be more than likely to get it. The player should run to within about once and a half his length from the ball, and then leave the ground, the same as a swimmer makes a dive, care being taken to land upon the ball, to offset the force of gravity.

_Kicking._--Kicking is one of the fine arts of football. It requires considerable skill, which is only to be obtained by constant, painstaking practice. The requirements for good kicking are cool-headedness, a good eye, a good leg, and a good square-toe shoe. There are three kinds of kicks--a punt, a place, and a drop. Of these, the most important is the punt. There are two kinds of punts--a common punt, which is generally used, and a "twister," or "floater." The latter, which is not of much importance, is made by dropping the ball so that the longer axis will be horizontal, or at right angles to the body (ends resting to and away from the body), and giving the impetus to the ball a little to one side. As to the common punt, there are two styles, known as straight kicking and round kicking. The straight punt is made by facing the direction in which you wish the ball to go. The kicker stands from twelve to fifteen yards back of the line--that is, when the punt is made from a line-up. As the kicker receives the ball, he should step back with the right leg, and bring the body a little forward, and then he is ready for the swing. The kicker ought to be able to make his kick without moving out of his tracks, unless it is necessary to avoid a forward who has broken through; then he should step to the side. The ball should be adjusted quickly, the lacings being turned up, or out, away from the point of contact of the ball with the foot. There are three methods in vogue for holding the ball for a straight-leg punt. One way is to place the right hand under the lower end, and fingers of the left hand on the upper end, holding the ball either vertically or diagonally, with upper end canting away from the body, as in Fig. 1. Second, hold the ball by placing one hand on each side, lacings up, the ends pointing to and from the body, the inner end being higher than the outward one, the ball slanting downward, as in Fig. 2. The third is just the reverse of the second, the end near to the body being lower than the outer, as in Fig. 3. The player should choose the method of holding the ball which is most natural to him and in which he can attain the highest efficiency.

The round kick, or side kick, as sometimes called, is made by a round, instead of a straight, swing of the leg. The ball may be held in any of the three ways, generally the first. A step or two is taken to the kicking side and forward, a kind of right-oblique, and the leg brought into contact with the ball in much the same way as a man makes a swinging blow with the arm, the aim being to get the weight of the body into the drive. The ball should be kicked at about calf-high.

A drop kick is made by letting the ball fall from the hands, and kicking it at the very instant it rises from the ground. If a drop kick is made from behind the rush-line, the kicker should stand about fifteen yards back. The ball should be held as in the first case, by the ends, or by the sides, as in the second case. The ball should be directed towards the ground at just the angle you desire, and then let fall naturally from the hands. The exact spot upon which the ball should be booted will be obtained by practice. Just below the stringing is a good place, but here comes in again the angle at which the ball is dropped. Don't punt your drop kicks. Let the ball strike the ground first.

_Blocking._--Good blocking is one of the primary essentials of the offensive game. No play can be started unless the opposing rushers are prevented from breaking through. Its rudiments, therefore, should be thoroughly mastered by every forward. The player should get his body into a position which is mechanically the strongest, his build and playing position considered. Generally the position of the body which is strongest is the angular form. A fair position is that in which the blocker's body is high enough not to give his opponent a chance to grab him by the head in going through, and low enough not to expose the sternum to a straight blow. The blocker should take his position squarely in front of the man opposed to him. He should stand on his toes instead of his heels, or flat-footed. This position, the rusher will find, gives agility and activity, strength and speed, enabling him to move quickly in any direction, to follow his opponent, in order to block him; besides, the heel striking the ground when an opponent happens to get in first enables him to recover himself, action being equal to reaction in contrary directions.

The blocker should keep as close to his opponent as possible. The less ground he gives, the quicker he can get into his opponent and put him out of the play. The next thing is to watch the man in front of him. He should look him in his eyes, if he can do so without weakening his own position. The principle is like that involved in sparring. The blocker should try to get the start of his opponent. Jump into him first. Every move he makes, pile into him. Go into him hard enough to put him out of the play. The blocker should get under his man. Do not reach too far with the body. Keep your feet under you, so that you can change your position quickly enough to follow your man. The ideal position is to get the body across your opponent's path in the same line where he is directing his attempt to get through. A rough idea of good blocking is given in Fig. 5.

_Making Holes._--Closely connected with the blocking is making holes. Forwards should remember that the backs cannot gain ground except around the line or through the line. Hence the importance of making holes. The player should take his position the same as in blocking. The rusher should allow his opponent to make the holes himself, if possible, by foxing him away from where the hole is called for, then blocking him in or out, as the necessity requires. The forward should manoeuvre for the advantageous position, which is on the side of the man where the hole is called for, but not giving it away. Then he should get lower than the man in front of him, unless his opponent gets his nose on a line with his knees. If he can get lower than his man, he should lift him up and shove him back, and out or in. If he cannot get under him, he should try to pull him forward on his face, so that the backs can hurdle him. In order to make his power effective, he should start before the man in front of him. Listen for the signal for the starting of the ball, if there is such a signal. Go into your man hard and strong. Get your body, head and shoulders, into the side through which the hole is called for, and shove your opponent in the opposite direction. If you cannot shove your opponent out, shove him in.

_Breaking Through._--As good blocking is indispensable for the offence, so breaking through is the prime requisite of the defence. The rushers on the defence should go through hard and fast every time, and tackle the runner behind his own line. The position of the feet and the form of the body are much the same as that in blocking. The forward should remember, however, that the conditions are now reversed. He should keep at arm's distance from his opponent who is trying to block him, but that distance should be in the opponent's territory and not in his own. He should watch the ball, and break through with it, and not after it. The rusher should go through with his arm extended, so as not to be bowled over by the interferers.

The first thing the forward should do in trying to get through, when he faces his man, is to size him up. He should take advantage of his every fault. He should vary his methods of getting through occasionally, so as not to give his man a chance to remedy his faults. A few of the methods of getting through are indicated here:

(1.) If your opponent exposes his chest, spring into him with arms straight and stiff, hard enough to start him backwards off his pins or unsteady him, and then go to either side desired, as in Fig. 9.

(2.) Play for the outside arm of your opponent; once getting hold of this, your opponent, in attempting to free himself, will pull you through, as in Fig. 11.

(3.) Try knocking your opponent's arm down with both of your arms, in the manner of a sabre cut.

(4.) Strike your opponent on one side or make a feint to go in one direction, and quickly dart to the other.

(5.) If your opponent plays too low, take him by the head and pull him to one side or the other.

(6.) If he plays very high, try ducking under his arm occasionally.

(7.) Strike your opponent on either shoulder; the one struck will either give way or meet you. If he does the former, you have the flat side of his body exposed; if the latter, the outer arm is exposed.

(8.) Catch him by the shoulder and twist him around. "Fox" your opponent. Keep him guessing as to what you will do next.

(9.) Rolling around opponent is sometimes used, but is a blind sort of method, and not of much use.

_Tackling._--The object in breaking through is to tackle the runner behind his own line. Once let him reach the line, and he is bound to gain something. Tackle him behind the line, before his interference can get formed and well started, and he is bound to lose ground. There are two kinds of tackling--the lift tackle, and the dive tackle. The lift tackle is made by getting under the runner, or at least within reaching distance, pinning his knees together, and pulling his feet from under him, or, better, lifting him up and throwing him backwards. See Fig. 6.

The dive tackle is used almost entirely to down the runner in the open. Where the runner has any considerable territory, it is, in fact, about the only way to reach him. This tackle is made by leaving the ground, the same as a swimmer makes a dive into the water. The aim should be just below the hips. In that case the tackler is almost sure to reach the knees, because the runner is moving in the opposite direction. The tackler should be sure to get his arms well around the runner to prevent his hurdling, or twisting out of them. The dive tackle may be made in any direction. The straightaway dive is made when the runner is going in the same direction as tackler. The tackler should, in that case, chase the runner to within about his length, then take a sudden spring into him, getting his arms well around the runner. He has simply to hold on, dragging like an anchor, and the struggle or impetus of the runner in the opposite direction brings him down. In making the side dive tackle the tackler should dive so as to get his head and shoulders in front of the runner, or across the line of his direction, and get his arms well around him, then rolling over so that his body or chest shall impede the runner's progress if he should shake him. See Fig. 12.

_Avoiding Injuries._--Injuries in football result either from unnecessary roughness or accident. Those resulting from the former may be easily eliminated. No school or college should allow a man who cannot control his temper, and who is not a _gentleman_, to represent it upon an eleven. The slugger or vicious player is of absolutely no use to a team. A man cannot play his game and play his opponent at the same time. He necessarily neglects his team-work, and reduces the strength of his own side by one. In other words, he is worse than a passenger. Keep such men off the team, and there will be no more injuries from brutality. As to the latter class of injuries, those resulting from accident, the writer has always thought that the beginner or young player might be, and ought to be, taught what the older player acquires by experience--the art of self-protection.

The first thing a player should do in order to avoid accident is to begin training early; get into good condition early, and keep so. Careful attention should be paid to football clothes. An effusion upon the elbow or water on the knee is often the result of not having sufficient padding on the elbows or knees. A dislocated shoulder or collar-bone often comes from lack of pads over the shoulder. A sprained ankle may be avoided by having well-fitting shoes, and keeping them well cleated. Shoes should have new cleats at least once in every two weeks.

Injuries resulting from interference, from being knocked over by an interferer, may be avoided by keeping the body angular, well forward, and arms extended so as to ward off the blocker whose business it is to put you out of the way. Never let an interferer touch you. Keep him off by using your arms. Injuries from mass plays may be avoided by never allowing such a play to reach you on your feet. If it does you are bound to go over on your back or be doubled up under it. Dive into it before it reaches you with your head and shoulders, and then hug the ground flat. Do not attempt to stop a mass play by standing up against it.

There is another class of injuries from tackling. The man doing the tackling will avoid injury by making his tackle sure and breaking his fall with the man tackled. If others pile on, he should remember to keep his feet and legs behind him. The runner need not be hurt if he will fall forward and upon the ball when he is thrown. It is only the man who is thrown backwards who is likely to be hurt.

* * * * *

The Hartford High-School football team has wisely determined not to undertake any regular practice until after the term has actually opened, which will be on September 9. Last year the men did some preliminary work for a week or so before school, but the advantage derived was probably not sufficient to counteract the many disadvantages connected with such preliminary training. There will be only four of Hartford's crack football eleven back in school this fall--Smith, centre; Strong and Twichell, ends; and Sturtevant, quarterback and Captain.

Some good athletes go to college this fall from H.P.H.-S. Luce enters Yale, while Ingalls and Bradin enter Trinity. These men represent about twenty-six points which H.P.H.-S. took at the Connecticut H.-S.A.A. games last spring. It is reported that a gymnasium is about to be built for H.P.H.-S., and as soon as its advantages are open to the Hartford scholars, they will become even more formidable in athletics than they are now.

The Bridgeport High-School eleven, which was so strong last fall, loses all but three men this year, and the Captain will consequently have to depend largely upon new material to make up his team. He had a good second eleven last year, however, and he ought to be able to select from among those who composed it a number of players that will fill the many places left vacant. The struggle between Bridgeport and Hartford will be well worth watching again this fall.

"TRACK ATHLETICS IN DETAIL."--ILLUSTRATED.--8VO, CLOTH, ORNAMENTAL, $1.25.

THE GRADUATE.

* * * * *

FROM THE NEW MOTHER GOOSE.

I had a little husband
No bigger than my thumb;
I put him in a pint pot,
And then I bade him drum.
And he, poor little hubby,
Kept it up so night and day
Our next-door neighbors pounced on him
And took his drum away.

* * * * *

One day during the hot spell in New York, in the early part of August, a bent figure industriously handled a little combination hammer and pick as he scraped some sand together with the pick, and placed his stone in position, tapping it with the hammer end. He was paving a portion of the street, and was alone on the job. Strangely, he worked fast and hard, and this excited the curiosity of the passers-by, and occasionally they stopped and watched him, sometimes speaking to him. The worker kept hard at it, however, and vouchsafed no reply to these people. Quite a group gathered after a while, and finally a rollicking son of the sod happening along, and knowing the industrious workman, addressed him:

"Hullo Tim! Faith yer workin' hard!"

"Shure oi have to, Jim," replied the worker.

"'Pon me soul, Tim, yez must be tryin' to pave the entire street before night."

"No, that's not it; oime tryin' to finish the job before the stones give out, that's all."

ADVERTISEMENTS.

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This Department is conducted in the interest of Bicyclers, and the
Editor will be pleased to answer any question on the subject. Our
maps and tours contain many valuable data kindly supplied from the
official maps and road-books of the League of American Wheelman.
Recognizing the value of the work being done by the L.A.W., the
Editor will be pleased to furnish subscribers with membership
blanks and information so far as possible.

The route this week is general, describing the country around St. Joseph and Benton Harbor, Michigan, and leaving it to the rider to pick out his own particular route. Leaving Chicago by boat at nine in the morning, you arrive in St. Joseph by one.

When the Michigan shore comes in view one is apt to have misgivings as to the roads one will have to travel over, for as far as the eye can reach there is nothing but sand domes.

While it is true that the roads are sandy, and make difficult going, you can generally rely upon finding good side paths; though after a rain-storm I have found some of the sandiest roads firm and hard, and good going.

Your wheel and baggage should be checked for St. Joseph, as this will save you an hour's time at least (unless you are going to stop in Benton Harbor).

Where next to go or what to do will depend upon the person making the trip, the time at disposal, or inclination to long or short trips.

If you decide to make St. Joseph or Benton Harbor your headquarters and take short trips into the country, you can put up at one of the hotels in either town or some near-by resort on the river.

* * * * *

Many have the idea that Benton Harbor is on Lake Michigan shore, whereas it is a mile inland, and east of St. Joseph--is not on St. Joseph River, but connected by canal with it. The two towns are connected by electric street cars and a paved roadway.

Take the main street of St. Joseph (State Street) and ride south, and you are soon among the famous fruit farms of this region.

The road leads along the St. Joseph River, of which you get a view now and then; and often you can take a side road to the river's edge, where an hour can be profitably spent in viewing the surrounding country.

Summer resorts of various degrees of standing are continually being started, so one does not need worry about meals; even, at a pinch, a nickel or dime will bring you a good supply of milk, bread, and fruit in season at any of the fruit farms; and as most of these farms average ten to twenty acres, the houses are close together--so close, in fact, that it reminds one of the suburbs of Chicago.

If you wish, you can cross the river about two miles out from St. Joseph. On this side of the river better roads are to be found.

No regular plan need be carried out, as one can readily inquire the way; and cross-roads are there in abundance, so the trip may be long or short, as you wish.

Paw Paw, on Paw Paw Lake, about fourteen miles inland (northeast of Benton Harbor), is coming into rapid favor as a resort; and while the road from Benton Harbor is not of the best, a little patience and an even temper will bring you through all right. This refers in particular during a spell of dry weather, when the constant travel loosens the road very much.

* * * * *

Leave Chicago on night boat, arriving in St. Joseph about 5.30; breakfast at one of the hotels, and come back to boat-landing; get on board the _May Graham_ for a trip up the beautiful St. Joseph River.

You can have your meals on board the boat, or stop at any of the resorts and await the boat's return. This boat leaves St. Joseph every morning about seven o'clock, and goes up the river as far as the stage of water will allow, returning in the evening loaded with fruit, arriving anywhere from eight to ten in St. Joseph, connecting with boat for Chicago.

Go up the river, say eight or ten miles, on the boat, then get on your wheel and see the surrounding country, and be back at landing at time captain states. You will have at least four or five hours at your disposal ashore.

One word in detraction about the boat trip--do not take fishing-tackle along, for there are no fish worth the bait in the river. What the river lacks in fish is made up in scenery. Turtles there are in plenty; also water-lilies.

A boat also leaves Chicago on Saturdays at 2 P.M.

THE DEFEAT OF GENERAL ZINC.

'Twas night on the nursery battle-field, and as the sun went down
The Wooden soldiers fell back to their camp at Book-case Town,
While General Zinc, the leader of the forces of the Tin,
Put up a stone-block fortress, and he led his army in.

"To-morrow, men," cried General Zinc, "we'll thwack 'em hip and thigh--
We'll conquer all these rebels, and we'll hang their leaders high.
'Twill never be these men of wood shall rout us men of lead--
A notion, O my soldiers brave, to hold fast in your head.

"I've just received from the government some sixty-seven puns
Of the hardest pease you ever saw, with which to load our guns;
And the havoc wrought by a small dried pea on a Wooden soldier's breast
Is known right well, at least to me, and I think to all the rest.

"So sleep to-night, and at beat of drum to-morrow at the dawn,
Our cannon, loaded to the nose, 'fore the enemy will be drawn;
And when these rebels march out from their camp at Book-case Town
We'll snap our cannon at 'em, and the pease will mow 'em down."

But alas for the plan of General Zinc! that night, while his forces
slept,
A spy from the native Wooden force up over the ramparts crept--
Crept up to the heap of hard dried pease, and ere the night was done
Had dumped them into a cauldron hot, and boiled them every one.

So that when the guns of General Zinc were trained on the enemy's town,
The Wood men roared with laughter, and it made the General frown.
"We'll make 'em laugh in another way. Aim low and destroy their walls!"
He roared, "One--two--three--Fire!!! Let fly all our cannon-balls!"

And the gunners snapped their cannon, and the pea balls straightway
flew,
But, woe for poor old General Zinc, tin warrior tried and true!
The havoc that he'd hoped to wreak was naught, and his plot was foiled,
For his cannon-balls were as soft as mush--as dried pease are when
boiled.

And that was the way, my little son, the patriot men of Wood
Their reckless, ruthless foreign foes long years ago withstood,
And that is why in old Book-case Town to-day you're sure to see
The glorious flag of the Wooden folk a-waving proud and free.

CARLYLE SMITH.

Any questions in regard to photograph matters will be willingly
answered by the Editor of this column, and we should be glad to
hear from any of our club who can make helpful suggestions.

Owing to the number of questions, we devote the entire Department to answers this week.

SIR KNIGHT MAX MINER, Charlemont, Mass., in reply to notice from
one of our members asking what kind of a camera was used for the
picture called "Sweeping a Sliding-Place," published in this
column, says: "I used the Rochester Optical Co.'s 'Universal' 5 by
7, and a Morrison R.R. lens, 8-1/2 in. focus, designed for a 6-1/2
by 8-1/2 plate." Sir Max says he has the best success in developing
with pyro-potash or soda--though he likes the two solution
eikonogen nearly as well. He says he never has trouble with pyro
stains, as he uses an alum bath before fixing. Sir Max also adds
that he has taken $54 in prizes.

SIR KNIGHT JOHN W. SOULE asks what is meant by red prussiate of
potash. The druggist, he says, does not know what it is, but he has
something else with the same name, only it is yellow. Read reply
given to Sir Knight Hugo Kretschmar in No. 879 for the difference
between red and yellow prussiate of potash. Druggists do not
usually keep red prussiate of potash. The red prussiate of potash
is known as _ferri_cyanide of potassium, and the yellow as
_ferro_cyanide of potassium. The yellow produces a negative from a
negative, and the red produces a positive from a negative. Sir John
asks what is meant by "hypo" in formula for toning solution. Hypo
is the general term used by photographers for hyposulphite of soda.

LADY NELLIE J. WILDER, Mass., says that she would like a camera
costing only $5, and asks what style could be purchased for that
sum. There are several makes of cameras which can be purchased from
$3 to $5. The Pocket Kodak is a very good camera, but the pictures
are quite small. The "Quad" makes a good-sized picture for a small
camera, the pictures being about three inches square.

SIR KNIGHT WILLS G. WALDO, of Michigan, says that there is a black
streak across his negatives about two inches long, and wishes to
know if it is a defect in his camera or in the films. He says it
has happened in every roll of films which he has bought. The defect
would seem to be in the lens or camera and not in the film. Have
the lens examined by some photographer, and if it is all right,
examine the box for a leak in the bellows.

SIR KNIGHT WILLIAM H. WHITE, JUN., asks for a formula for toning
solio-paper, a formula for developer for kodak films, and a formula
for washing trays. The following is the formula given by the
manufacturers of solio-paper for making a combined bath:

STOCK SOLUTION "A."

Hyposulphite of soda 8 oz.
Alum (crystals) 6 oz.
Granulated sugar 2 oz.
Water 80 oz.

When this is dissolved, add borax, 2 oz., dissolved in 8 oz. of hot
water. Let it stand overnight, and turn off the clear liquid into a
clean bottle, and mark "A."

STOCK SOLUTION "B."

Chloride of gold 7-1/2 grs.
Acetate of lead (sugar of lead) 64 grs.
Water 8 oz.

Mark bottle "B," and shake before using. To mix for toning
solution, take 8 oz. of solution "A" and 1 oz. of solution "B."
Place the prints in this solution without washing. Tone to desired
color, and wash for an hour in running water. For developing
formula see No. 862 (February 25, 1896). Clean trays with a little
nitric or sulphuric acid in water.

SIR KNIGHT P. HOSMER says that he has trouble in developing, as the
film washes off from the plate in the washing water, and wishes to
know the reason and remedy. The reason of the film softening is
because the water is too warm, owing probably to the extreme heat
of the past few weeks. Use alum in the fixing bath to harden the
films, and instead of washing the plates in running water, place
them in a dish of water in which put a small piece of ice not
enough to make the water ice cold, but to lower the temperature to
about 50°. Leave them in the water an hour, changing it two or
three times, and the films will not frill or leave the plate.

SIR KNIGHT JOHN MILLS wishes to know the number of the ROUND TABLE
containing a formula for printing-out paper. Formulas for plain
paper will be found in Nos. 796 and 803 (January 22 and March 19,
1895). A formula for blue-print paper will be found in Nos. 797,
823, and 828. See also No. 869.

SIR KNIGHT A. P. LAZARUS asks when the next competition will take
place, how to take pictures of insects and make them appear sharp
and of good size, and a formula for making blue-print paper. A
photographic contest will probably be conducted some time this
fall. Announcements will be made through the Camera Club. To take
photographs of insects and have them at least two-thirds size one
should use a copying camera. A copying camera has a long bellows
and a lens specially adapted for making pictures at short range.
Formulas for blue-print paper will be found in Nos. 797, 823, and
828.

SIR KNIGHT E. A. STABLER asks if bicarbonate of potash could be
used in place of carbonate of potash, which the formula for
developer calls for. In Professor Mason's table showing the
comparative value of alkaline carbonates in developers, he says
that equal work is done by 165 parts of carbonate of potassa, and
200 parts of bicarbonate of potassa. If the developer formula calls
for 1 oz. carbonate of potassa, 1 oz. of bicarbonate of potassa
could be substituted for the carbonate of potassa. It is better to
use the carbonate of potassa if it can be obtained.

SIR KNIGHT FRANK F. SMITH, P.O. Box 239, Cumberland, Md., asks to
have a notice in the Camera Club that he would like to exchange
some books on photography and electricity for a Pocket Kodak. He
also wishes to know of some corresponding photographic chapter of
the Round Table. Niepce Chapter, of which Arthur F. Atkinson, 1711
I Street, Sacramento, Cal., is the president. Sir Knight John
Chamberlain, 6 Franklin Avenue, Dayton, O., wishes to form a
chapter.

SIR KNIGHT A. SMITH, 3 East State Street, Trenton, N. J., asks if
boiled or filtered water answers the same purpose for photography;
how to make photographs on watch crystals; and would like to
correspond with any member owning a 4 by 5 camera, a Pocket Kodak,
or a Quad Camera. The water should be filtered in order to remove
the impurities, but it is not necessary to boil it. For all
ordinary purposes the simple filtering of the water will be
sufficient, but for delicate operations the distilled water must be
used. See No. 840 for method of making transferrotypes. Pictures
may be transferred to watch crystals by the process there
described.

* * * * *

Here is a laughable incident of the civil war in which General Grant took an active part. It was during the march through the wilderness in the southwestern part of Arkansas. An advance-guard of some eight hundred men, under the command of Lieutenant Wickfield, after marching all the morning came upon a small farm-house. The Lieutenant dismounted, and hailing the inmates, some ladies, desired to know if he could get any food on the premises.

"Who are you, sir?" demanded the lady of the house.

With a most dignified demeanor Lieutenant Wickfield replied, "Brigadier-General Grant."

This produced a sensation among the ladies, and, happy to accommodate the General, they flew around and got him something to eat in short order. The Lieutenant satisfied his hunger, and requested the ladies to let him know how much there was to pay for the very hearty repast he had had the pleasure of eating. They declined, however, to accept any payment, and the Lieutenant went on his way rejoicing.

Shortly after, General Grant himself arrived, and being also in need of food, applied at the farm-house. To his astonishment he was refused, and upon asking why, was told, to his utter amazement, that his betters, namely, General Grant, had but a short time before eaten everything there was with the exception of one solitary pie.

"Humph!" said the General, and, after a moment's thought, "Well, I'll buy that pie, and here is the money for it. Will you kindly keep it for me, and I will send for it later."

Grant then rode on, and when he and his soldiers went into camp for the night he had caught up with the Lieutenant and his advance-guard. Soon the unusual call for full parade sounded through the camp. The parade formed, and after the regular ceremonies the following order was read by one of the officers:

HEADQUARTERS ARMY IN THE FIELD.
_Special Order_.

Lieutenant Wickfield, of the --th Indiana Cavalry, having on this
day eaten everything at the farm-house near the crossing of the
Ironton and Pocahontas and Black River and Cape Girardeau roads,
except one pie, he is hereby ordered to return with an escort of
one hundred cavalry and _eat that pie also_.

U. S. GRANT,
Brigadier-General Commanding.

A broad smile spread over the faces of the soldiers, and rank after rank suppressed a giggle. The Lieutenant blushed, but proceeded to obey the order, and left the camp amidst loud laughter and cheers. The report was that he ate the entire pie, and appeared to enjoy it.

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LI HUNG-CHANG.

Li Hung-Chang, the most famous Chinese statesman and soldier of this century, accompanied by forty secretaries, aides, interpreters, and servants, arrived in New York last week. Li comes from England, where he was received by Queen Victoria, and lionized by the British nation. He came to England from Russia, in which latter country, as representative of the Chinese Emperor, he attended the recent coronation of the Czar.

Li was entertained here for a period of about ten days, after which he sailed from Vancouver for China. General Ruger, representing this government, engaged the state suite of some sixty rooms at the Waldorf Hotel, which Li occupied. Our largest battle-ships formed in array, flew the Chinese dragon at the fore, manned their yards, and fired salutes as he came up the bay. President Cleveland came on from Washington to officially receive him at the Fifth Avenue home of ex-Secretary of the Navy Whitney. Then followed private entertainments galore, a visit to the military academy at West Point, and the placing of a wreath upon the tomb of General Grant at Riverside Drive and 123d Street, New York, in commemoration of the affectionate friendship which originated between General Grant and Li on the occasion of the former's trip around the world.