Chapter L: A. H

_Answer._—The civil officers of the United States are those employed by the several departments. In 1876, in reply to an inquiry made by order of Congress, the following official statement was made: Department of State, 430; Treasury, 12,482; War Department, 1,489; Navy Department, 131; Postoffice Department, 44,897; Interior, 2,475; Department of Justice, 528. Total number of civil officers, 62,427.

GREAT FIRES.

JOLIET, Ill.

Which was the greatest fire, that of London, Moscow, or Chicago?

AN INQUIRER.

_Answer._—The great fire of London, which occurred in 1666, destroyed about two-thirds of the city; but there is no estimate of the value of the property. The burning of Moscow, in September, 1812, destroyed property which has been valued at $150,000,000. The great Chicago fire of 1871 consumed $192,000,000 worth of property. The area burnt over in the Chicago fire was greater than that covered by either the London or Moscow fire.

PRESIDENT JACKSON’S DOUBLE MARRIAGE.

OWENSVILLE, Ark.

Who was the first husband of Andrew Jackson’s wife, and what was
the cause of the separation?

SUBSCRIBER.

_Answer._—Mrs. Jackson was formerly the wife of Mr. Lewis Robards, of Kentucky. While Mr. Robards and his wife were residing at the home of Mrs. Donelson, the mother of Mrs. Robards, Andrew Jackson became a boarder, and consequently quite intimate with the family. In time, Mr. Robards became intensely jealous of his wife, which culminated in his charging her with adultery and suing for divorce. This charge, however, was neither proven nor generally believed. Through the influence of Jackson, the Legislature in 1791 passed an act legalizing the separation of Mr. and Mrs. Robards, but the legal divorce from the courts was not obtained until 1793. After the act of the Legislature, Jackson married Mrs. Robards, supposing that she was lawfully divorced; but after the decision of the court, in order to remove everything questionable, he was remarried.

THE BUNKER HILL FLAG.

CHICAGO, Ill.

What flag, if any, did the provincials use in the battle of
Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775? What was the first flag used by the
revolutionary army?

H. J. H.

_Answer._—Reference to that standard work, “The Origin and Progress of the Flag of the United States of America,” by George Henry Preble, U. S. N., and other sources of information, shows that it is uncertain what flag, if any, was displayed by the Americans at Bunker Hill, in the famous fight of June 17, 1775. The flag raised on Prospect Hill by General Putnam, a month later, July 18, 1775, was red, with the motto, _Qui Transtulit Sustinet_, (who transplanted still sustains) on one side, and “An Appeal to Heaven” on the other. This latter motto was emblazoned on the white flag with a green pine tree carried by the privateers commissioned by Massachusetts, soon after this. The first cruisers commissioned by Washington also bore “the pine tree flag.” Before the battle of Bunker Hill, indeed, immediately after the battle of Lexington, on the 19th of the preceding April, the provincial troops of Connecticut carried a standard bearing the arms of that colony and the Latin motto above cited. As General Putnam and his Connecticut troops took a prominent part in the battle of Bunker Hill, it is presumable that this flag was displayed in that action, and by parity of reasoning it may be inferred that the colonial flags of Massachusetts and New Hampshire were carried into the action by the militia of those colonies. Precisely what these were it is almost or quite impossible to determine with certainty. Indeed, there seem to have been several different flags. The “union-flags” so frequently mentioned in the accounts left us of the revolutionary movements of 1774 and the early part of 1775 were, in most instances, the English red ensign, with such mottoes as “Liberty and Union,” “Liberty and Property,” or simply “Liberty.” Peculiar devices were employed by the patriots of different neighborhoods. Not until Jan. 2, 1776, was the first common standard raised. This was the “Great Union,” as it was christened, adopted by General Washington, and first displayed at his headquarters in Cambridge, Mass., on the date above given. It consisted of thirteen stripes, alternately white and red, with the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew in the union where the stars now glitter.

ORIGIN OF PORTERHOUSE STEAK.

CHICAGO, Ill.

Can Our Curiosity Shop tell us why steaks cut from the small end of
the sirloin are called porterhouse steaks?

EPICURE.

_Answer._—Colonel Thomas F. De Voe, a New York butcher, author of “The Market Book,” “The Market Assistant,” and other works of similar nature, gives the following account of this now popular cut of beef: Martin Morrison kept a favorite porterhouse at No. 327 Pearl street, New York, near the old Walton House. It was a popular resort with many of the New York pilots, because here they were always sure of a pot of ale or porter and “a hot bite,” including one or two substantial dishes. On one occasion, in 1814, Morrison had enjoyed an unusual number of calls for steaks, and when an old pilot, who dropped in at a late hour, called for something substantial to eat, he was forced to cut from a sirloin roasting piece which he had got for the next day’s family dinner. The old pilot relished his steak amazingly and called for another. This disposed of, “he squared himself in front of his host and vociferated, ‘Look ye here, messmate, arter this I want my steaks off the roasting piece! Do you hear that? So mind your weather eye, old boy!’” The old pilot’s companions soon learned to appreciate these cuts, and it was not long before they were all insisting on having them. Accordingly, Morrison’s butcher, Thomas Gibbons, of the Fly Market, asked him why he had ceased to order the large sirloin steaks. Morrison explained that he had found that cuts from the small end of the sirloin of the beef suited his single customers best, both in size and quality, and directed that thereafter, instead of sending him the sirloin roasts uncut, he have them cut into chops or steaks, as he should direct. Gibbons’ daily order, “Cut steaks for the porterhouse,” soon gave these the name of “porterhouse steaks,” by which they became known all through the Fly Market, particularly as this excellent cut rapidly became popular in all the public houses of the city. The name is now familiar to housekeepers on both sides of the Atlantic, at least wherever the English language is spoken.

SOLDIERS’ HOMESTEADS.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa.

Is a soldier who served more than three years in the army during
the late rebellion, and who almost immediately afterwards took up
a homestead claim of 120 acres of land, whereon he is now living,
entitled to enter forty acres more in another place?

A. N. WILSON.

_Answer._—The following letter from Commissioner McFarland, in answer to a similar inquiry from Mr. A. H. Field, of Indian River, Mich., answers this question officially. Observe that the answer turns upon the important fact that Mr. Field entered his homestead of only eighty acres after the passage of the act approved June 22, 1874, hence the Commissioner holds that he is not entitled to the benefits of the act, whereas if he had made final proof of his claim before June 22, 1874, he would be entitled to an additional eighty acres.

“WASHINGTON, D. C., Feb. 14, 1883.—A. H. Field, Esq., Indian River, Mich.—Sir: I am in receipt of your letter of the 31st ult., in which you state that you served four years in the army during the late civil war, and that in 1878 you made a homestead entry of eighty acres—all that you could get in that locality—and have lived on the same ever since, and made final proof. You ask if you are not entitled to an additional entry of eighty acres. In reply, I have to state that _you are not_. The homestead act of June 8, 1872, provides that any soldier who served for ninety days in the army during the war of the rebellion, and was honorably discharged, who may have _heretofore_ entered under the homestead laws a less quantity than 160 acres, shall be permitted to enter a sufficient quantity of land, which, added to that embraced in the original entry, shall not exceed 160 acres. Such provision was carried into the Revised Statutes of the United States (Sec. 2306), which statutes were approved June 22, 1874, and since that date if such a soldier elects to enter a less amount of land than 160 acres, he must abide by his election. Very respectfully,

“A. C. MCFARLAND, Commissioner.”

Mr. Field writes to THE INTER OCEAN, inclosing this letter from the Commissioner of the General Land Office, and complaining that this law inflicts a hardship on him and other soldiers in the late war, who, like himself, deferred their entries until after the passage of the above act. He says: “It seems that it is unfortunate for me, as an old soldier, that I did not locate my land previous to June, 1874. I ought to be entitled to eighty acres of land more as well as any other class of soldiers.” Whether this complaint is or is not well founded, the fact remains that the law is as above stated.

FINDING ONE’S POSITION AT SEA.

PLYMOUTH, Wis.

By what method do sailors at sea determine their exact position?

DOBS.

_Answer._—The mariner determines his latitude by observing the meridian altitude of a celestial star whose declination or distance from the equator is known. In the northern hemisphere for an approximate answer the pole star is generally taken, the altitude of which is nearly the latitude of the place. If an observer were standing upon the equator and looking to the north he would see the pole star on the horizon, with no altitude. If he should move three degrees north the pole star would have an altitude corresponding. At Chicago it is above the horizon about 41 degrees 50 minutes, corresponding to the latitude of this city. Owing to the apparent revolution of the pole star about a central axis, which is the true pole of the heavens, the accurate latitude can only be obtained by observing its least and greatest altitude and taking one-half their sum. The longitude of any place computed from Greenwich, Washington, or other prime meridian, is easily determined by observing the Greenwich or Washington time when the sun passes the zenith meridian. In other words, knowing the difference in time between Greenwich and the place of observation, the longitude of the place may be readily computed. A difference of time amounting to one hour represents 15 degrees of longitude east or west, as the case may be. The difference in time between Chicago and Washington is forty-three minutes, which makes the longitude of Chicago 10 degrees 45 minutes, reckoning from the legal prime meridian of the United States, which is that of Washington. Every ship carries a marine chronometer, which is a time-keeper of the most careful construction, whose accuracy has been tested with the utmost precision—which is plainly a matter of the utmost importance to a vessel when it is remembered that an error of four seconds of time represents about one and one-tenth statute miles, enough to wreck a ship on a lee shore when the captain, following the chronometer, supposed himself at a safe distance from the shoal or shore.

YEARS FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.

STREATOR, Ill.

Is there any easy rule for finding the years on which Presidential
elections have been held or are to be held?

A. C.

_Answer._—Every year divisible by four, without exception, is the year for the election of President and Vice President of the United States.

U. S. BONDED DEBT—WHEN PAYABLE.

BARTON, Wis.

When and in what sums does the bonded debt of the United States
fall due?

W. MUNGER.

_Answer._—Several of the later issues of bonds are payable at the pleasure of the government, but the following cannot be redeemed except by purchase in the market until specified dates. Four per cents payable July 1, 1907, $738,829,600; 4½ per cents payable Sept. 1, 1891, $250,000,000; Pacific Railway 6’s payable Sept. 1, 1895, $3,002,000; Pacific Railway 6’s payable Sept. 1, 1896, $8,000,000; Pacific Railway 6’s payable Sept 1, 1897, $9,712,000; Pacific Railway 6’s payable Sept. 1, 1898, $29,383,000; Pacific Railway 6’s payable Sept. 1, 1899, $14,526,512.

THE SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC.

GENEVA, N. Y.

Who first devised the signs of the zodiac, and for what purpose?

CHAS. W. SMITH.

_Answer._—Representations of the zodiacal signs are found among the ancient writings of the Hindoos, Persians, and Chinese, and among the carvings on the ruins of Egyptian temples. There is such a degree of similarity in the characters that a common origin must be supposed. The signs of the zodiac embrace the twelve important constellations, which, owing to the motions of the earth, appear to revolve through the heavens within a belt extending nine degrees on each side of the sun’s apparent annual path, and within or near which all the planets revolve. Since the sun appears successively in each of these twelve constellations during the year, the zodiac was divided into twelve equal parts, corresponding to the months. These signs and their subdivisions were used in measuring time and as the basis of astronomical and astrological calculations and predictions. Astronomers now, for convenience, use the same signs, giving to each constellation an extent of thirty degrees, although the constellations vary in size. These signs are Aries representing the ram; Taurus, the bull; Gemini, the twins; Cancer, the crab; Leo, the lion; Virgo, the virgin; Libra, the balance; Scorpio, the scorpion; Sagittarius, the archer; Capricornus, the goat; Aquarius, the water-bearer; and Pisces, the fishes. On the 20th of March the sun enters Aries, and at midnight Virgo, the opposite constellation, will be overhead. During the month of April the sun will pass into Taurus, and at midnight Libra will be overhead. The early astronomers were astrologers, and claimed to be able to predict the future careers of individuals and nations by observing the positions and movements of the planets, and condition of the weather, at the most important periods of men’s lives. A man born when the sun was in the constellation Scorpio was believed to be naturally bent toward excessive indulgence of the animal passions; one born when the sun was in Aries was destined to be a great scholar or ruler; one born when the sun was in Pisces was predestined to grovel or be a servant, and so on. All this is regarded now as exploded superstition, except by fortune-tellers and their dupes.

AREAS OF ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND.

HOUGHTON, Mich.

What are the areas of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales? Also,
what is the area of the county of Cornwall?

W. J. UREN.

_Answer._—England has an area of 50,914 square miles, or 32,584,735 acres; Ireland, 32,524 square miles, or 20,815,460 acres; Scotland, 30,462 square miles, or 19,496,132 acres; Wales, 7,397 square miles, or 4,734,486 acres. The county of Cornwall contains 1,390 square miles, or an acreage of 869,898.

TO SELECT HOUDAN FOWLS.

CLINTON, Iowa.

By what marks can I tell Houdan fowls I am about to purchase a
pair, if they are what they are represented to be—of pure breed.

J. ALLEN.

_Answer._—Houdans stand and walk erectly; the males weigh from eight to nine pounds; the hens from five to seven pounds. They are lumpy in shape, are evenly speckled white and brown, with large comb, crest, and beard. Refuse any that have not pink-white feet, black and white plumage, and good crests.

THE FIRST CABLE MESSAGE.

FAIRPOINT, Minn.

What was the first message sent on the Atlantic cable?

FRANK PALMER.

_Answer._—The first message on the Atlantic cable of 1858, which soon proved a failure, was a congratulatory dispatch from Queen Victoria to President Buchanan. The first message on the successful cable completed in 1866 was the announcement of the treaty of peace between Prussia and Austria.

PRINCE NAPOLEON.

AURORA, Ill.

Will Our Curiosity Shop tell us what relation the Prince Jerome
Bonaparte, lately arrested in France for issuing an insurrectionary
proclamation, bears to Napoleon I. and oblige many readers?

T.

_Answer._—Jerome Bonaparte, the father of this Prince Jerome, was the youngest brother of Napoleon I. In 1803, when he was only 18 years of age, he married Miss Elizabeth Patterson, of Baltimore. This act was displeasing to Napoleon, who passed a decree annulling the marriage on the ground that his brother was not of age and the bans were not published in France. Soon after the return of Jerome to his native country he was made King of Westphalia, and at the suggestion of Napoleon, married Catherine, daughter of the King of Wurtemburg. Of this marriage three children were born—Jerome Napoleon, in 1814, who died in 1847; Napoleon Joseph Charles Paul, the subject of this sketch, in 1822, who afterward took his elder brother’s name, and the Princess Mathilde. The Prince first came into prominence by his denunciation of the government of Louis Philippe and his sympathy with the revolutionists, which caused his banishment in 1845. But, in 1848, he returned and participated in the revolution. In 1852 he took his seat in the Senate and Council of State, receiving the title of Prince and being declared by decree of the Senate the heir of his cousin, Napoleon III., in case the latter should die without issue. He took part in the Crimean war, commanding a reserve force at Alma and at Inkerman. Before the close of the war he was recalled, ostensibly on account of his health, and soon entered upon the duties of several important civil offices. In 1859 he was married to Princess Clothilde, daughter of the late Victor Emanuel, King of Italy, by whom he has three children. In 1861 he visited the United States, and, with his suite and the French Minister, accompanied the Army of the Potomac, pushing as far South as Richmond. After his return he sympathized to a certain extent with the democratic feeling arising in France. For this seeming absurdity he was given the name Plon-Plon. In 1876 he was returned to the French Assembly from Corsica, but in the year following he was rejected. On the death of the Prince Imperial, as the son of Napoleon III. is called, in Zululand, in 1879, Jerome became the head of the Bonaparte family. He was not popular with a majority of the leading Bonapartists, many of whom refused to acknowledge him as their chief, and urged the proclamation of the elder of Jerome’s two sons as the heir of Napoleon III. Of late, however, there has been a reconciliation between the ex-Empress Eugenie and Jerome, and the Bonapartists generally seem disposed to acquiesce; so that, in case of the Bonaparte’s coming to the front once more, his title of Prince may become something more than an empty sound.

THE CORN CROP ESTIMATES FOR 1882.

DUNLAP, Iowa.

How much corn was produced in 1882? Are there any reliable
statistics on the subject?

W. H. DEDRICK.

_Answer._—According to the report of the Department of Agriculture the corn crop of 1882 amounted to 1,624,917,800 bushels. These figures have been questioned, but they are based on the estimates of about 1,500 agricultural observers and reporters employed by the bureau, and they are generally conceded to be a fair estimate. Of course, all our crop statistics are only estimates.

CEDAR COUNTY, NEBRASKA.

MELON, Iowa.

Please give a short description of Cedar County Nebraska.

SUBSCRIBER.

_Answer._—This county lies on the northern boundary of the State, being washed by the Missouri River and drained by the several branches of the Bow and Beaver Creeks. In many portions the land is very rich and yields abundantly wheat, corn, and other cereals. In 1879 the corn crop of Cedar County amounted to 2,826,259 bushels, or 40 bushels per acre, which was the largest yield of any county in the State. Orchards of choice fruit trees have been set out and thrive well. The climate is like that of Southern Dakota and Northwestern Iowa, very warm in summer and cold in winter, which latter, from the dryness of the climate, is rendered more endurable than a higher temperature in some of the more Eastern States. The population in 1880 was 2,899. St. Helena, the county seat, is a thriving little town of 300 inhabitants.

THE SITE OF EDEN.

WESTFIELD, Wis.

In Our Curiosity Shop of Jan. 11, C. A. Sharp asks for the location of the Garden of Eden. The Bible tells us that “a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from thence it was parted and became into four heads.” It then proceeds to give them in the order of distance above the mouth of the Euphrates. But one of these rivers is now known by its original name, and that is the Euphrates. Let us, therefore, go down that and see if we can find the other three tributary to it that will agree with the narrative. The first is a large stream from the north. We at once recognize it as the Hiddekel. This is the third river, and its head is far to the north, as is also that of the Euphrates. The text says, “it goeth toward the east of Assyria.” The marginal reading, I think, will be found to explain this. It says “it goeth east to Assyria,” and the great Assyrian Empire was upon it. As we go down these united rivers we find a considerable stream from the northeast, the head of which is in the mountains toward the Caspian Sea. If this is the second river, the Gihon, the text says it “compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.” This expression has doubtless led to much confusion, as the mind has been turned to Ethiopia, in Africa, and which seemed irreconcilable with the text. But turn to the passage and we find the marginal reading to be Cush, and Cush, or Cutha, was a country east of the Hiddekel, through which this stream flows. We turn again to the narrative and it says the first river is the Pison, and that it compasseth the land of Havilah, where there is gold and precious stones. After leaving the mouth of the second river, the Gihon, we find a stream having its head in the mountains east of the Persian Gulf, and also a place called Havilah. The country abounds in precious stones and valuable minerals, and this, with the other three rivers, seems to fill the conditions of the text. We will now hastily review the above to see more clearly its coincidence with the account as given by Moses 2,500 years afterward, in the second chapter of Genesis. A river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from thence it was parted into four heads. The name of the first is Pison, etc.; this we find in the stream coming from Persia, which fulfills its conditions. The second is the Gihon; it too coming from the land of Cush agrees with the text. The third, the Hiddekel, all admit to be the modern Tigris and its connections with Assyria agree well with the record. The fourth is the Euphrates, which flows as of old. But was there a place called Eden from which these streams flowed? Turn to Isa. xxxvii., 12, in the blasphemous letter sent to King Hezekiah by the commander of the Assyrian army, and among the nations he has destroyed is Eden, which from its connections with the other nations is supposed to have been near the junction of the third and fourth rivers. And in the list of nations trading with Tyre we find Eden connected with the nations in the same vicinity. See Ezekiel xxiii., 23. Here then, at no great distance above the Persian Gulf, near 30 degrees north latitude, in a mild climate on a noble river, we may look for the home of the progenitors of our race.

E. H. FISHER.

OVER 2,700 COUNTIES.

TOPEKA, Kan.

I have just read a statement in a newspaper that there are 2,400
counties in the United States, which is doubted. We therefore ask
THE INTER OCEAN to give us the facts.

R. E. HINCKLEY.

_Answer._—This is an understatement, since in 1880, according to the census, there were 2,671 counties in the United States, including the fifty-nine in Louisiana, locally called parishes. Here is the full list of States and Territories:

No. of
States. Counties

Alabama 66
Arkansas 75
California 53
Colorado 32
Connecticut 8
Delaware 3
Florida 45
Georgia 137
Illinois 102
Indiana 92
Iowa 99
Kansas 113
Kentucky 117
Louisiana 59
Maine 16
Maryland 24
Massachusetts 14
Michigan 82
Minnesota 86
Mississippi 75
Missouri 117
Nebraska 80
Nevada 17
New Hampshire 10
New Jersey 21
New York 60
North Carolina 94
Ohio 88
Oregon 26
Pennsylvania 67
Rhode Island 5
South Carolina 33
Tennessee 94
Texas 232
Vermont 14
Virginia 99
West Virginia 54
Wisconsin 63
—————
2,472

Territories.

Arizona 7
Dakota 94
Idaho 13
Montana 11
New Mexico 14
Utah 27
Washington 25
Wyoming 7
Dis. of Columbia 1
—————
Total 2,671

There have been a number of new counties organized since the census year, particularly in Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, and other States and Territories where the settlement of the country is proceeding most rapidly. There are now about 2,730 counties in the United States.

CARDINAL WOLSEY.

_Colfax_, Ind.

Please give a short biography of Cardinal Wolsey.

SAMUEL SMITH.

_Answer._—Thomas Wolsey, the wily, skillful statesman and ambitious Cardinal, whose life was so intimately associated with that of the profligate king, Henry VIII., studied theology at Oxford, and in 1500, at the age of 29, took holy orders and became the rector at Lymington. He was introduced into the royal court of Henry VII. as chaplain, in which office he obtained the confidence of the king, and was often consulted in important state affairs. His successful diplomacy at the court of the Emperor Maximilian secured for him, as a reward, the deanery of Lincoln. When Henry VIII. ascended the throne he employed Wolsey as his almoner. With the talents of a skillful diplomat, the ambitious priest obtained an influence over this monarch even greater than he had previously held over his royal father. In 1514 he was appointed Archbishop of York, and in the following year became Lord Chancellor of England. The Pope was not unmindful of his able supporter, who in the same year that he became Chancellor was clothed in the resplendent robes of a cardinal. Four years after he became legate. In the height of his power he was the virtual sovereign of the kingdom, and in addition he exercised throughout England and its dependencies, and to some extent beyond these boundaries, nearly all the prerogatives of the sovereign pontiff. His income was scarcely surpassed by that of the king himself. Princes and even monarchs were among the suppliants for his favor and influential offices. He aspired to sit on the papal throne, and twice it seemed as if he would realize this aspiration, but he was defeated through the intrigues and power of Charles V., whose elevation to the imperial throne, left vacant by the death of the Emperor Maximilian, he had opposed in behalf of Henry VIII. His almost regal power continued until Henry desired to put away his wife, Catharine, aunt of Charles V., when Wolsey’s dilatoriness in securing the divorce exasperated the king, and upon his refusing to sanction Henry’s marriage with Anne Boleyn, he was soon dismissed in disgrace. He was stripped of all his honors and estates, but was suffered to retain his episcopal see of Winchester until the following year, 1530, when a conspiracy against the king’s life having been discovered, Wolsey was arrested us an abettor. He was on his way to London to undergo trial on a charge of treason, when he fell ill and died Nov. 29, 1530, at the Monastery of Leicester. Among his last words were the following addressed to the Lord Lieutenant of the Tower: “Master Kyngston, if I had served my God as diligently as I have done the king, He would not have given me over in my gray hairs.” As paraphrased by Shakespeare, these last words of the fallen Cardinal are now immortal.

ALASKA.

ROCK ISLAND, Ill.

How does Alaska compare in size with New York State or Illinois;
and what are its principal natural characteristics?

A. N. BROWN.

_Answer._—Alaska, according to the report of Ivan Petroff, special agent of the census of 1880, contains 531,400 square miles. This is as large as all New England, together with New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and the following seven grand States west of the Alleghanies: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Kentucky, and Tennessee. It is a vast region, 2,200 miles in length from east to west (measuring to the farthest of the Aleutian Islands), and 1,400 miles broad. It has a remarkable coast line of 25,000 miles in extent, which is about two and a half times as much as the sea coast of all the rest of the United States. The islands of Alaska alone, according to the estimate quoted by Dr. Jackson, comprise an area of over 31,000 miles, or twice as much as the total area of Maine. The highest mountains in the United States are in Alaska: Mount Fairweather, 15,500; Mount Crillon, 15,900: Mount Cook, 16,000, and Mount St. Elias, 19,500. It is remarkable for the number and stupendous proportions of its glaciers. Says Dr. Jackson: “From Bute Inlet to Unimak Pass nearly every gulch has its glacier, some of which are vastly greater and grander than any glacier in the Alps.” Hot and mineral springs abound. The Yukon River is one of the largest in the United States, being for the first 1,000 miles from one to five miles wide with five mouths, forming a delta seventy miles across. According to Mr. Robert Campbell, of the Hudson’s Bay Fur Company, including its chief tributary, the Pelly, it is navigable at certain seasons for nearly 3,000 miles.

Nearly all the sealskins used in the markets of the world come from two little islands belonging to Alaska. The skins of the sea otter are also very valuable, and there are many choice land fur-bearing animals. The waters are wonderfully rich in fish. Besides cod, “Alaska can supply the world,” says Dr. Jackson, “with salmon, herring, and halibut of the best quality.” It is also “the great reserve lumber region of the United States.” There are “thousands of square miles of yellow cedar, white spruce, hemlock, and balsam fir that densely cover the southeastern section of Alaska.” Gold and silver mines of considerable importance have been opened, and there are indications that the Territory is rich not only in the precious metals, but in other minerals, especially in iron, copper, and coal. In the interior the climate along the Yukon is not unlike that of Dakota. At Fort Yukon the thermometer often rises above 100 degrees in summer, and indicates from 50 degrees to 70 degrees below zero in winter. Along the immense southern coast and islands the climate is moist and warm. At Sitka, according to records kept for forty-five years, the mean spring temperature is 41.2 degrees; summer, 54.6 degrees; autumn, 44.9 degrees; winter, 32.5 degrees; for the whole year, 43.3 degrees. “The surprising fact is brought to light,” adds Dr. Jackson, who takes the above figures from the Alaska Coast Pilot, “that the winter climate of Southern Alaska for forty-five years past has been the average winter climate of Kentucky and West Virginia, and the average summer climate of Minnesota.” The mild climate of this region is due to the warm Japan current of the Pacific, the Kuro-Siwo. Generally of Alaska, Mr. William H. Dale, of the Smithsonian Institution, says: “I come back convinced, from personal inspection, that Alaska is a far better country than much of Great Britain and Norway, and even part of Prussia.” The total population in 1880 is given at 33,426, of whom 430 were white, 1,756 Creole or mixed races, and the rest Indians—Innuits, 17,617; Aleuts, 2,145; Thlinkets, 6,763; Hyda, 788, distributed as follows: The whites and creoles are nearly all in Southeastern Alaska, the Aleutian Islands, and Kadiak, which is the division including the south coast of the Alaska Peninsula down to Zakharof Bay, with the adjacent islands, the Kadiah group, the coast and islands of Cook’s Inlet, the Kenai Peninsula, the coast of Prince William’s Sound, and valleys of rivers running into the waters of these coasts. Since the census was taken the white population has been greatly increased by the influx of gold miners and speculators. This Territory is still without a regularly constituted civil government. The laws of the United States “relating to customs, lumber, and navigation” are extended over it, and the Collector and Deputy Collectors have authority to arrest persons violating these laws and send them to Oregon or California to be tried in United States courts. Otherwise the government is mainly a provisional one, organized by the people and enforced by general consent. It is high time that this state of things was ended.

THE AGE OF BENEDICT ARNOLD.

OGDENSBURG, N. Y.

What was the true age of Benedict Arnold? No doubt you are aware
that authors do not agree as to the time of the birth of General
Arnold. Will you please give us light?

R. W. J.

_Answer._—It is true that authors differ as to the age of Benedict Arnold. Appleton’s Cyclopedia says he was born Jan. 3, 1740. Lossing’s Cyclopedia of History gives the time as Jan. 3, 1741, and other authorities do not agree. We prefer to adopt the facts given by the Hon. Isaac N. Arnold, of this city, who has just written and published what there is good reason to believe is the most carefully prepared and impartial history of the American arch traitor of Revolutionary times that has ever appeared. This historian fixes Arnold’s birth on Jan. 14, 1741, and his death on June 14, 1801, in London.

METROPOLITAN POLICE.

WARSAW, Ind.

In what respect do metropolitan police differ from city police?

A. B.

_Answer._—Metropolitan police are appointed and supported by the State or central government, while city police receive their appointments from the city magistrates. The city of London is guarded by 11,667 metropolitan policemen and 842 city policemen. At one time the city of New York was protected by metropolitan police, but for various reasons, one of which was because it restricted the free exercise of the spoils system so common with city governments, the act authorizing the appointment of such police was repealed.

WAS CHRIST BORN IN B. C. 4.

CHICAGO, Ill.

Is it certain that Christ was born four years before the Christian
era?

CHICAGO.

_Answer._—All investigations prove conclusively that it is impossible to determine to the satisfaction of chronologists in general either the day, month, or year of Christ’s birth. It is almost universally admitted that this event preceded the commencement of the Christian era as now reckoned. St. Clement, the earliest of the “church fathers,” fixes it on Nov. 18 in the twenty-eighth year of the Emperor Augustus, a little more than two years before the beginning of our era. Since the death of Herod the Great, according to Josephus, must have occurred before Easter of B. C. 4, modern scholars are generally agreed that Christ’s birth could not have been later than B. C. 4; and there is strong reason to believe that it was in B. C. 6 or 7. See McClintock and Strong’s “Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature,” under “Jesus Christ.” As to the day and month of Christ’s birth the differences are still more difficult to overcome. Modern investigation is strongly against Christmas, or any day in mid-winter, as unseasonable either for the shepherds to be watching their flocks in the fields, or for the congregating of the people from all parts of the kingdom to be registered and taxed, which was the occasion of Mary and Joseph’s being at Bethlehem. These two arguments are used, along with others, by the Biblical scholars who hold severally to the opinions that the nativity was not earlier in the year than March, and, one party says, in March, another in April or May, another in June, and still others in July or August.

GROWTH OF ENGLISH INTEMPERANCE.

RANTOUL, Ill.

Is it true that drunkenness continues to increase in England,
notwithstanding the wonderful success of English and American
temperance reformers and the large number of total abstainers
enrolled by the Salvation Army?

A TEETOTALER.

_Answer._—Whatever the explanation, and whether or not it constitutes an additional argument for the temperance movement, it is declared to be a fact that the number of persons charged with drunkenness in 1881 was 1,622 more than the number charged in 1880, being 174,481 to 172,859. Furthermore, according to the excise reports there was 7½ per cent more beer drunk in 1881 than in 1880, the total quantity being 970,785,564 gallons in a population of 26,000,000, or about 31 gallons for each man, woman, and child. The increase in the population during the decade of 1871-1881 was 3,256,020, which is about 1.43 per cent a year, while the increase in drunkenness was nearly 1 per cent in the last year.

TEMPERANCE IN COMMON SCHOOLS.

CHICAGO, Ill.

What is the text of the bill recently proposed in the Illinois
state Legislature to require teachers to give instruction in
temperance? Who introduced it? What are the arguments used in its
favor?

A TEACHER.

_Answer._—The following is the bill introduced Jan. 31 in the General Assembly of this State, by the Hon. Jesse D. Jennings, of Fayette County: “Be it enacted,” etc., “that they (the directors) shall direct that elementary instruction be given in physiology and hygiene, which shall give special prominence to the effects of alcoholic drinks, stimulants and narcotics upon the human system. The certificate of qualification held by any person who desires to teach shall show that satisfactory examination has been passed upon the effect of alcoholic drinks, stimulants, and narcotics upon the human system.” The advocates of the bill maintain that, in view of the admitted evils of intemperance, and particularly the moral and physical injuries to individuals and society resulting from the use of alcoholic drinks, stimulants, and narcotics, it is of the highest practical importance that the youth of the public schools be properly instructed as to the effects of these insanity engendering poisons. They say that since the State, for purposes of revenue, and also professedly with the desire of preventing abuses, has authorized men and women to publicly offer these poisons for sale, it is morally bound to warn the youth of the land not to use them except as medicine, or in the arts, as other poisons are sometimes used. They hold that those who admit the iniquities of intemperance, but are opposed to sumptuary legislation, cannot reasonably oppose this recourse to educational remedies for these appalling evils. If the law requires road commissioners, when repairing the highways, to hang out danger lights wherever they open cess-pools and sewers, or make other perilous chasms in the road, the advocates of this bill argue that it is the duty of the State licensing the opening of liquor shops to throw enough light on the traffic to prevent young people from falling into drunkenness in the dark.

CANADIAN DENOMINATIONAL STATISTICS.

CHICAGO, Ill.

Herewith I hand you the denominational statistics of Canada, as given in the government returns for 1881. Those recently given in Our Curiosity Shop, on the authority of Rand, McNally & Co.’s Atlas of the World, are out of date:

Roman Catholics 1,791,982
Methodists 742,981
Presbyterians 676,155
Church of England 574,818
Baptists 275,291
Congregationalists 26,900
All other denominations 236,683
—————————
Total 4,324,810

K.

TWO INDIANA TEMPERANCE RESOLUTIONS.

OREGON, Ill.

Please give us the temperance planks in the platforms of the
Indiana Democracy and Indiana Republicans, as adopted in their
conventions of last summer.

A PROHIBITIONIST.

_Answer._—The Indiana Democracy met in convention last August: after wrestling with the few prohibition delegates for a brief moment, they adopted the following resolution:

“The Democratic party is now, as it has always been, opposed to all sumptuary legislation, and it is especially opposed to the proposed amendment to the constitution of Indiana known as the prohibitory amendment, and we are in favor of the submission of the proposed amendment, as well as other proposed amendments, to the people, according to the provisions of the constitution for its own amendment: and the people have the right to oppose or favor the adoption of any or all the amendments at all stages of their consideration, and any submission of constitutional amendment to a vote of the people should be at a time and under circumstances most favorable to a full vote, and therefore should be at a general election.” The Republicans, several days later, on Aug. 9, adopted this resolution: “The Republican party resolves that reposing trust in the people as the fountain of power, we demand that the pending amendments to the constitution shall be agreed to and submitted by the next Legislature to the voters of the State for their decision thereon. These amendments were not partisan in their origin, and are not so in character, and should not be made so in voting upon them. Recognising the fact that the people are divided in sentiment in regard to the propriety of their adoption or rejection, and cherishing the right of private judgment, we favor the submission of these amendments to a special election, so that there may be an intelligent decision thereon, uninfluenced by partisan issues.”

PASSION PLAYS.

BERLIN, Wis.

What is the origin and history of the “Passion Play,” of which we
hear so much lately?

F. PECK.

_Answer._—This recent dramatical representation of the passion of Christ claims its origin and justification in sentiments akin to those which it is said inspired the old religious dramas, known as “Moralities,” or “Miracle Plays.” The first composition of this nature is ascribed to Ezekiel, a Jew, who, in the third century, adapted the story of Israel’s exodus from Egypt to the Grecian stage. His object was to arouse the patriotism of his exiled and despondent countrymen and excite in them a hope for the re-establishment of their kingdom in Palestine. In the fourth century, St. Gregory Nazianzen, the Bishop of Constantinople, having noticed the effect of the Grecian drama upon the people, concluded that the readiest method of extending the church of Christ was the dramatic presentation of the sufferings of its author, which he accomplished in the drama entitled “The Passion of Christ.” When the barbarians made their inroads into Southern Europe, and the church began to extend its influence northward into the lands of the Germans, Normans, and Saxons, it found great difficulty in coping with the fascination which the heathen festivals and performances exercised over the uneducated minds of the people. In order to obviate this trouble, miracle plays were introduced. Adapting the drama to the surrounding circumstances, many of the heathen characters, slightly changed, were retained. The play was supplied with humor by the artful caprices of the impersonated devil. In one representation “Judas, assisted by the devil, who sits upon the scaffold, hangs himself. When the hanging is complete both slide down to hell on a slanting rope.” Soon after the Reformation the miracle plays began to decline, and now they are performed in only a few places, mostly in Southern Bavaria and the Tyrol. The passion play of Oberammergau is famed the world over, and attracts an immense concourse of visitors from all lands whenever it is presented. In 1633 the flax in that neighborhood became diseased and unfit for the spindle. To prevent the recurrence of any such calamity the Oberammergau peasants made a vow to God that every ten years they would present the sufferings of Christ upon the stage in this way. This vow was kept until the beginning of the present century, when the further performance of the play was prohibited. Thereupon the peasants appealed to King Maximilian, who granted them permission to continue their celebrations, providing certain objectionable features were removed. This was agreed to, and in 1811 the drama, written by Pastor Weise, was first presented devoid of the devil and comic personages. The gospel story commences with Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and closes with a scene previous to the ascension. In a practical manner, the plot is developed. The money changers are driven from the temple in anger. Judas smarts under the rebuke which he received at the home of Lazarus. They meet and plan the betrayal resulting in the crucifixion. The part of Christ is impersonated by a peasant. The ignorant inhabitants still regard these plays as the most impressive and effective method of teaching the gospel and various moralities. The claim that the passion play now occupying so much of the public attention was inspired by religious motives is rejected by the public generally, and is ridiculed by the press. There is an all but unanimous feeling of opposition in England and in this country to having the passion of the Savior, the solemn tragedy of Calvary, mimicked on the stage by ordinary stage performers. This feeling led the late Mayor Grace, of New York City, to refuse to license the presentation of the play in that city, and his successor, Mayor Edson, has taken the same stand. Salmi Morse, the manager, threatens to test the legality of this interdiction. Such is the attitude of this matter at present.

RATIO OF BEEF TO LIVE WEIGHT.

ROGERS PARK, Ill.

What is the proportion of good meat in a well-fed beef animal
compared with its live weight?

A CONSUMER.

_Answer._—Sixty pounds of dressed beef for each 100 pounds of live weight is considered a fair average, and indicates that the animal was of good stock in first-rate marketable condition. Of course the choice cuts, consisting of the ribs, sirloin and rump steak, constitute only about half of this. So that an animal which weighs 1,000 pounds live weight will produce but about 600 pounds of dressed meat, of which the choice cuts will amount to about 310 pounds and the “coarse meat” to 290 pounds.

NAMES OF CERTAIN BLOOD RELATIVES.

GROVE CITY, Ill.

What relation are children of first cousins? What relation is a
child to its parents’ first cousin?