Read Ebook: Harper's Young People April 25 1882 An Illustrated Weekly by Various

Font size: 10 px 15 px 20 px 25 px 30 px 35 px

Background color: BlackWhiteGrayLight GrayDark GrayDim Gray

Text color: BlackWhiteGrayLight GrayDark GrayDim Gray

Apply/Save settings

Ebook has 311 lines and 20577 words, and 7 pages

a looker-on to suppose him insane.

There is a method in his madness, however. This remarkable adjustment of the white cloth is supposed to transform the man into a bull or other horned animal. He pretends to paw the earth, tosses his make-believe horns, turns round and round, pretending to scratch himself in true bovine fashion. It is irresistibly comic to watch him, and a little attention generally pleases him to such an extent that he will redouble his efforts and multiply his ridiculous pranks until the spectator is thrown into convulsions of laughter.

There are several distinct varieties of quail in India; they frequent open places near rivers, keeping near the ground when flying, and running rapidly among the grasses. The hunters spread fine nets around two sides of the field, and at the end they place a large cage with one or more decoy birds inside.

The idiotic-looking cow has all his wits about him. He proceeds warily; his keen eye detects the coveys of quail, and sees which way they are running. He is no more like a cow than that respectable animal is like a cucumber, but his ruse succeeds wonderfully. He moves about, tosses his head, switches his ingeniously contrived tail, and so manoeuvres that he keeps the running quail away from the unprotected edges of the field.

When they get to the verge protected by the net they begin to take alarm. They are probably a little uncertain about the peculiar-looking "old cow" behind them, and running along the net, they see the decoy quail apparently feeding in great security and comfort. The V-shaped mouth of the large basket cage looks invitingly open. The puzzling nets are barring the way, and the cow is gradually closing up behind.

As the hunter moves along, he rubs two pieces of dry stick gently up and down his thigh with one hand, thus producing a crackling sound. It is not enough to startle the birds into flight, but alarms them sufficiently to make them get out of the way. One bird, perhaps a little bolder than the others, irritated by the queer crackling sound, now enters the basket, when the others follow like a flock of sheep, and once in, the puzzling shape of the entrance prevents their exit.

Hunters will not unfrequently bag twenty or thirty brace of quail in one field by this absurdly appearing but ingenious method.

MAY I COME IN?

May I come in? My little Grace Peeps round the door with laughing face. I lift my head, and feign surprise At wistful mouth and roguish eyes.

I know she'll trip across to me, And give me kisses, one, two, three. May she come in? Of course she may-- The sweetest thing I've seen to-day.

CHATS ABOUT PHILATELY.

BY J. J. CASEY.

The design of the postage stamps of Surinam, or Dutch Guiana, is shown in the accompanying illustration, the name being spelled, of course, after the Dutch method. In English the final "e" is omitted.

Surinam lies on the northern coast of South America. On the east is French, and on the west British, Guiana. The territory over which the Dutch claim dominion is about fifty-eight thousand square miles in extent, or more than four times the size of Holland, but the actual area under cultivation is a little over two hundred square miles. The principal settlements are in the lower valley of the Surinam River, which at its mouth is three miles wide. The water is of a dirty yellow color, with bubbles on its surface, and its current can be traced far out to sea. Its source has not yet been found.

The Dutch began to visit the coasts of Guiana about 1580. In 1614, the States of Holland granted to any Dutch citizen four years' monopoly of any harbor or place of commerce he might discover in that region. The first settlement in Surinam, in 1630, was made by an Englishman, whose name is still preserved by Marshall's Creek. Thirty-six years afterward the English settlement was taken by the Zealanders, and one hundred thousand pounds of sugar were exacted as a ransom. Finally, the country was confirmed to the Dutch by treaty, in 1674.

The most renowned name connected with Surinam is that of Cornelis van Aerssens, lord of Sommelsdjik, who in 1683 purchased one-third of the territory from the New Dutch West India Company. Sommelsdjik agreed to govern the colony at his own expense, and his rule was marked by rare wisdom and energy. He repressed and pacified the Indians, he erected forts, established a court of justice, introduced the cultivation of the cocoa-nut, and, in short, devoted himself to the welfare of his people. But his soldiery turned against him, and massacred him, after five years of beneficent rule.

Surinam has continued under Dutch rule from 1804, with the exception of a period of eleven years, when it was in possession of the English. Slavery was abolished during this period. There is a House of Assembly, the members of which may never be less than nine nor more than thirteen. Four are appointed by the government, and the others are regularly elected by the colonists. There is one curious provision. A royal decree may overrule a unanimous decision of the Assembly, and not infrequently a command will arrive from Holland undoing all that has been accomplished by that body.

The capital of Dutch Guiana is Paramaribo. It has a population of 22,000, a large proportion of which are negroes. The city is regularly built, and the streets present a pleasant sight, owing to the rows of tamarind and orange trees which line them on both sides. In 1832 the city was nearly destroyed by a band of negro slaves, who set fire to the city. The flames were fortunately subdued before they made any great headway. In order to deter others from making a similar attempt, the negroes who executed the horrible deed were publicly burned alive.

There are about seventeen thousand bush negroes in Surinam. These are descendants of runaway slaves, and consist of three tribes. They retain curious traces of their former connection with Christianity, though they are, and consider themselves, pagans. Their chief god is Gran Gado , his wife is Maria, and his son Jesi Kist. Various minor deities are also worshipped; Ampeeka, the bush god, Toni, the water god, etc. Among themselves these people speak a language based on a corrupt English, mingled with many Dutch, Portuguese, and native elements.

I came near neglecting to state that in Surinam, in addition to postage stamps, there are also in use postal cards, and an extensive series of revenue stamps. These are of two kinds, stamped and unstamped, and in color correspond to the postage stamps of the colony. The cards were introduced in July, 1876. A very neat frame surrounds the card, with the word "Briefkaart" at the top, and four lines for the address.

A card for fifteen cents was first issued; then followed, in 1877, a card for twelve and a half cents. But last year, a change being made in postal rates, a card of seven and a half cents was issued. As an example of the economy so characteristic of the Dutch, the old cards were still kept in use, and the change made by simply printing the new value on them in black figures.

WANTED, A LIVE RATTLESNAKE.

BY FRANK R. STOCKTON.

Few strangers ever came to Cornham after the 1st of April. It was a sleepy little Southern town, and even the approach of spring made it too warm for comfort.

But one morning, when the sun was pouring down its beams with particular brightness, the few loungers at the railway station were astonished by the arrival of a middle-aged gentleman with a red beard and a pair of gold spectacles. He took lodgings at the only tavern in the place--the Bull's Head--and before he went to bed that night he had posted up by the side of the tavern door the following notice:

"WANTED, A LIVE RATTLESNAKE.

"The undersigned will pay for a live rattlesnake, not less than thirty inches long, and with at least three rattles, the sum of one dollar. The fangs of the snake must be extracted before it is offered for inspection, but the animal must not be injured in any other way, and must be perfectly healthy and lively. For a snake four feet long, with six or more rattles, two dollars will be paid.

"JOHN G. HARRIMAN."

This notice attracted the attention of a number of the people of the town, who gathered in a little crowd to read it; and after that had been done, most of the good folks sat down on the benches in front of the tavern to talk about it. It was generally agreed that Mr. Harriman must be either a showman, or one of those scientific fellows who go about the country collecting weeds and bits of stone, and all manner of worms and insects. Whatever he might have been, any one in the town who had happened to own a live rattlesnake would have been glad to let him have it for a dollar; but it was pretty certain that no one possessed such a creature. There were, however, in the stony hills and mountains around Cornham plenty of rattlesnakes, and it was in the hope of inducing some of the villagers to capture one of these for him that Mr. Harriman had put up his notice.

About nine o'clock Tom Welden came walking by the tavern, and stopped to read the notice. Tom was fourteen years old, and was the son of a farmer in the neighborhood. He had finished his morning's work about the barn, and had come into town to get something from the store.

The notice was very interesting to Tom, and he read it twice. A dollar was to him quite a large sum of money, and he was not long in making up his mind to try to get a rattlesnake for Mr. Harriman. If he could catch one four feet long, so much the better. He had nothing in particular to do that day, and he would start off at once for Block Mountain, where it was understood there were always rattlesnakes to be found.

He did not, however, wish to go on such an expedition by himself, and so he called on Charlie Crawford, one of his boy friends, and asked him to go with him.

"Is it to be half and half?" asked Charlie.

Tom hesitated a little at this. He had not thought of dividing the reward.

"All right," said Charlie, laughing. "I don't want any of the money; I'll go for fun."

But Tom was too generous a fellow to consent to anything like that. "We will first get the snake," he said, "and then we will see about dividing the money. But we must hurry up, for I've got to stop at the house on my way to the mountain."

In an hour from this time the boys had begun the ascent of Block Mountain, which was about two miles from the village. They had not gone very far up the mountain-side before they came to a cabin standing by itself on a small level space. An elderly man, very roughly dressed, was sitting on a bench by the door.

"Charlie," said Tom, "I'm going to stop for a moment to speak to old Ramsay. He can tell us more about rattlesnakes than anybody in these parts."

The boys found old Ramsay very willing to talk about rattlesnakes. "If it wasn't for my rheumatism," he said, "I'd just as lief go with you as not. But if you go up to the Break-Neck Rocks, and look around in the sunny places, you'll be sure to find some. You know how to scotch 'em, don't you?"

"Oh yes," said Tom, "I've done it before; but what bothers me is how to get the fangs out of the snake after we catch it. It's got to have its fangs out before it's delivered."

"Don't you try to take 'em out at all," said Ramsay. "Just you get your snake into this basket, and fasten the lid down tight, and then bring it to me. I'll take the fangs out."

The man then handed Tom a small but strong basket, made of split white oak, and thanking him for it, the boys started off again. On the way up Tom cut a pole about six feet long. He whittled off the upper branches, leaving only a small crotch at the top.

The Break-Neck Rocks were near the top of the mountain, but before they got there the boys sat down to rest.

"Tom," said Charlie, "if I'd been you, I would have put on my shoes before I came out to hunt rattlesnakes."

Tom looked at his bare feet in despair. "I never thought of it," he said. "I had so many things to do, that shoes never entered into my head."

"If your feet had entered your shoes, that would have been much better," said Charlie.

"Well, I'm not going back," said Tom, "for it's too far. I'll pick my way gingerly, and I guess I won't tread on a snake."

For some time the boys rested on the side of the mountain, looking out over the country below them, and at the river which flowed not far away. Then they started up again, and soon reached the Break-Neck Rocks.

These rocks covered several acres, and between them were clefts or openings, often a yard or more wide at the top, and extending downward for fifteen or twenty feet. In the middle of the day, when the sun shone down into these great fissures, the ground at the bottom was a favorite resort for rattlesnakes; and here it was old Ramsay had meant the boys to look for them.

Tom and Charlie now began their search, stepping from rock to rock, and carefully looking into every cleft. It was not long before they saw very plainly a large rattlesnake on the ground at the bottom of the cleft. He was coiled up, and evidently fast asleep.

"How are we going to get him?" whispered Charlie. "The pole won't reach down there."

Share on: WhatsApp @Hash Facebook Tweet