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Much of the desolate appearance no- ticed by strangers in the southern coun- try, is due to the exhaustion of the soil by continuous tobacco growing. A very large proportion of what was known as to- bacco land, has been thus reduced to a condition of poverty, in which it has been “turned out" to grow up to old field pine or broom sedge. As every fault brings with it its own punishment. so this has done, not only in the loss of the use of the land for many years, and the cost of reclaiming it, but also in the injury which results from the adverse impress- ion upon the minds of visitors from other states, who are seeking homes in the sun- ny and fertile south. This fault should be prevented in the future, and there is no need to stop growing tobacco either. Tobacco is the cash crop of the southern farmer, and every farmer requires a cer- tain amount of money coming in, to meet expenses which must be paid in cash. But first of all, the food and fodder crops should be grown for fodder for pigs, cattle and sheep. These may be sowed after two crops of tobacco have been taken from new land, and one tobacco crop may safely follow after either clover or cow- peis have been plowed in to enrich the so The Patagonian, in the upper part of his body, is of large build. His trunk and head are large, his chest broad, his arms long and muscular. 0n horseback, he seems far above the ordinary size of man. When he dismounts, however, it is seen that his legs are unproportionafely short and slender; they frequently bend outward. His walk is heavy and lumber- ing. These are the well-known peculiar- ities which are found in the Tartars, and in all races of men who spend most of their time, like the Patagonians, on horse- back. But it is only a little over two can- turies since the horse was introduced into this region. The natives who were first seen chased the swift guanaco and ostrich over their immense plains on foot. Such activity required long, straight and mus- cular legs. It is not too much to suppose that the total change in their habits of life, which has occurred siuce they be- came a nation of horsemen, has detracted at least two inches from their stature. Adding these lost inches to their present height, we recover the giants who as- to.hed the companions of Magellan, and vindicate the narratives which later writ- ers have discredited. “Do you egal- hear any strange noises uggnq it?” asked-the r_eport.er. “I fancy sometimes I hear a moane or some indistinct mutterings, but it may be only imagination,” replied the brakeman. The engineer said yesterday he heard a human voice in it, but, upon looking all around the car, saw no one. The fact of the matter is, I do not have much to do with the old thing, and I wish the com- pany would draw it off. " At this point in the conversation Martin s train pulled up from the new depot, and he boarded it, and was soon engaged with the duties at- tending his line of business. Oar 11,088 is considered haunted by nearly all the railroad boys. “All the train men say ltla,” continued Martin, “and the fact that it will often move on a level track shows that some- thing in wrong. at Jun Been tlm Scene of Three murders, and Sunny; Sound. are Ileard In It. "II: often start: 011' on a perfectly level hack, and we have to keep the brake on III the while in order to keep it quiet," said J Mk Max-bin, a. brakemnn on the San Pedro road. “The car must be haunted,” remarked Martin’s companion, who listened to the Ltory with the closest attention, “and I _would not aleepln in for a hundred dol- “I think it is haunted. At least all the boys say it is. It may and it may not be ; but it is certain that the car often moves when no one is near it." The c it in question was an old one and stood on a side track. It had just been brought up from San Pedro and had been emp- tied of six tons of iron for the cable rail- road. Continuing, Martin said: “That car has a strange history. No less than three murders haVe been committed in it. Three years ago it was brought out from Boston loaded with fine furniture 101‘ a 'hotel in Sacramento. Somewhere in Ne- vada the door was broken open and two tramps entered and closed the door. They were anxious to get to 'Frisco, and being supplied with food and water they pro- posed to go throth without charge. N 0 one knows how the deed was done ; but when the car was opened at Sacramento the body of one of the tramps was dis- covered. His throat was cut and an ugly wound was found on his right side. The other tramp could not be found. The car was sidetracked at Sacramento three months, and was then loaded with flour for Stockton. While at the depot at the latter place a couple of railroad hands oc- cupied it one night, and during a game of cards one of them, named John Dewey, stabbed his companion. He died in a few moments. The trial was a long one, and Dewey was sentenced to San Quentin for twenty years. He claimed he acted in self-defence. When arrested, however, he had about $38 in his possession, while his dead companion did not have a nickel. That looked rather suspicious. Well, the next we heard of No. 11,088 she was the scene of another mysterious afl‘air. This was about a year ago at El Paso. During a strike among a lot of Italian laborers at that place this car was boarded by half a dozen of them. A quarrel ensued over some trifle, and one of them was beaten so badly that he died before medical aid could be summoned. “What’s the matter with the car '1" ukgd [slyeprenop addressed. .o'nthern Tobacco Growing. The Giants of Patagonia. CAR 11,088 There are no public librarlea in Phila- delphia. the nearest approach to an In- stitution of that character being the Rldg- way Library, for reference. There is in New Zealand a tree which proves fatal to birds in an altogether sin- gular way. The seed vessels give ofl‘ a stlcky fluid, and many a fly finds itself imprisoned in the gummy stuff. These files, in turn, attract small birds. and they also get so covered with the fluid that they are unable to flutter. The fruit, too is an object of desire, and the birds be- come, as it were, glued to the ripe clus- ters which they proposed to eat. The wee birds cannot escape without help, and so they lie there, a prey to other animals. A black cat took up its home near one of these trees for the purpose of dining on the, poor birds, and the pussy herself had to obtain aid every now and then in order to remove the sticky pods that got into her fur. In loitering through Italian towns, nothingstrikes the youthful stranger more than the extraordinary grace and beauty of the women, and he naturally desires to express his gratitude to those who have lent a new loveliness to life. Inthe north this is easy enough. “How beautiful she is!" echoes whereversmail feet fall lightly on the pavement of any city from Venice to Florence, and now even to Rome. Dainty little ears hear the words not unkindly, and soft, sweet voices will some- times argue not quite kindly as to whom they were intended for. But in Naples we must be silent and discreet. The noblemen have revolvers and the laz- zaroni long knives hidden away some- where out of sight of the police, but yet within easy reach. Let the young man be careful, and, if he must give vent to an admiration too passionate to be sil- enced, let him draw his right hand down his face from the cheek bones to the chin. That means, “Oh how lovely she isl" and the slower the movement is, so long as it is clearly perceptible, the more deep and lasting is the impression supposed to be indicated. Every woman, he she peeress or peasant, understands this sign, and will go home the happier for having seen it. Whether it was of yore a symbol of worship for the old Etruscans we can- not tell. It is certainly one of the most sincere forms of adoration that modern Naples knows. Sir J. Lubbock, after many experiments on the power of hearing in bees and ants. states that he never could satisfy himself that these insects heard any sounds he could produce. in the case of bees it would be a great surprise to many to hear that they are absolutely incapable of hear- ing, and it must not be assumed that they are so because experiments have as yet yielded no satisfactory results. From time immemorial it has been the habit with rustic beekeepers at the time of swarming to invoke the aid of noise to hasten the lighting of the bees. With some it takes the form of drumming on a tin kettle; others beat candiesticks to- ge.her, or put their faith in the strains of a concertina or violin. Every one has his own theory as to the object of this per- formance. One does it to over-power the hum of the swarm, so that the indi- vidual bees may think they are left alone and so make haste to slight Another does it to keep the bees in the neighbor- hood with the charms of the music. nnd a third hopes to drown the notes of the music which may be ready to lead 011‘ the to distant parts previously explored in search of an eligible spot to slight in. It is remarkable, however, that all agree in assuming that the bees hear and are acted upon by the noise produced. .â€" It is, however, remarkable that bees certainly do seem to hear on some occa- sions. The note with which the old queen threatens the royal orood as they come to maturity, and swarming time approaches, and so well known to apiarists under the name of “ piping,” can often be distinctly heard some distance from the hive, and it is evidently intelligible to the young queens, for they respond in tones per- fectly audible to the listener. Although bees will take no notice of a very loud noise even close to the hive, it is, how- ever, remarkable that the slightest tap on the hive itself, or any of its attachments, or even a heavy tread some distance ofl', immediately disturbs them. Some honey was placed on a musical box on his lawn, and the box was kept going: for a fortnight, during which time the bees regularly helped themselves to the honey. The box and honey were then removed out of sight into the house, and, although placed near an open window and only seven yards from the previous position. the bees failed to find the honey, although those brought to it in its new position afterward found the way readin enough. He, however, declines to say that bees are incapable of hearing, and thinks it not impossible that insects may perceive higher notes then we can hear, and may even possess a sense or perhaps sensations of which we can form no idea; for although we have no special organs adapted to certain sensations, there .s no reason why it should be the case with other animals, while the prob- lematicai organs possessed by some of the lower forms favor this suggestion. He is of opinion that the sounds which bees hear may be not the low loud sounds, but the higher overtones at the verge of or beyond our range of hearing. Sir John Lubbock has recently tried a further series of interesting experiments to decide the question as to how far the power of hearing is developed iu bees. To what extent music has power to charm the bee or guide her instincts may be judged from the result of an experiment of which he read an account at a meeting of the Linuean Society in November, 1882 The Hearing Faculty in Bees Beautiful Women. An interview has been had with Mrs. Riel. mother of Louis Riel. the rebel lead- er, who lives at St. Vital, a short distance from Winnipeg. ‘ She received a letter from her son the day after she reached Regina asking his brother Joseph to go to Batoche and bring his wife and bov, about three years old, and a girl about two years, who were in a starving condition, downjto St. Vital and care for them, as he feared they would perish if left up there. He said to take no trouble about his trial, as he would be able to make arrangements for his defence and would try and manage as well as he could, but he urged for God's sake that his wife and children be taken care of, He said he had given himself up to Middleton in obedience to a letter from him asking him to do so. He had been well treated by Middleton, and had suf- fered no indignities from any of his atten- dants. He concluded by asking to be re- membered to all his friends, and by say- ing that he was in God’s hands and would be taken care of. His mother says he has been in trouble ever since 1879. “He left me when he was 11 years old, but he never forgot his poor old mother and al- ways, when he had a cent to give, he gave it cheerfully. I know he was not work- ing for himself in this case.” There is a large rusty nail in the house ; when asked about it, the mother said it was sent to Louis by Pope Pius lX., in recognition of his (Riel’s) services during the Red River rebellion. The Pope also sent a large medal to Louis, who has has ever since worn it about his neck. Our inter- est was naturally aroused when we were told that the Pope had assured Riel that the nail was actually from the cross. _ “Yduâ€"waaâ€"rlght. Iâ€"kinâ€"I kinâ€" go. “Where dear '1” “Youâ€"saidâ€"I cculd,â€"andâ€"Iâ€"kInâ€"- 307â€"130”â€" V The little outstretched arms fell. and that last loving word was spoken on the other side of the great river. "Youâ€"wasâ€"rigfit,â€"miaana.” They raised hlm higher, and he whis- penal,â€" The lights were turned up, and noise- less feet hurried to and fro, while willing hands raised the little form from the pil- low; brighter grew the eyes, as they seem- ep to gaze at something toward which the little yearning arms were outstretch- ed. Fainter and fainter came the breath, ieebler and feebler grew the voice. “Say what: makes me feel so queer? I feel,” and the words came with more diffi- culty, “a.sâ€"thoughâ€"uomethln'â€"heavyâ€" wanâ€"restin’â€"onâ€"me. " V She kissed hlmand he dropped off to sleep, but not for long. The minute-hand had not reached the half hour when he wekg with a. cry end start ‘ \Vho '3" “My mother.” No she can’t do that, but maybe you will be able to go to her.” “\Vhen'l" “Pretty soon.” He dozed again, and the hands of the great clock dragged themselves wearin on. In his sleep he was again with his mates. Now he was calling “shine!” now he was counting his money, laughing with his comrades, and eagerly plying his trade, happy in his humble box as lordly princes on their jeweled thrones. Oh sleep! it is you who llfcfl from us our cares and sor- rows. The hsnds of the clock had barely psased the hour of two when he agaln awoke. "Missus." “Yes dear.” “Won’t yer kiss me agin? It seems as though my mother was close to me when you do that." “She used to do that. Say, I'd like to ae§_l_1_tjr_§gin.”r “Well: perhaps you will. But there, don’t talk any more.” A short silence followad, but presently he inquired,â€" “Kln she come back '3” “Spy, where be I '3" "You are in a good place, child. " It was still again for a moment, and then.â€" “Say, missus, where’s my box '2" “I don't know. I expect it was lost.” “Lost? Oh yea, now I know. I was runned over, wasn't I ?" “Yes. What is your name 7” “Tommy.” “Tommy what" “Jest Tommy." “But; you must have another name." “No’m, I slut." “Well, what in your mother’s name 7" “I nlnt got no mother. I had onoet, bit he's dead." The kind face bent down to klu him, and he min-meted.â€" I‘he hospital slept, all but one sllent. watcher, who kepb her vigll beside one llbtle cot. rising an intervals to scan the little pale face that lay on the pillow. No sound but the breathing of the patients and the monotonous tlck-tlck of the great clt ck broke the stillness. Sleep had granteda respiteâ€"1mm suffering and care. Presently Ehere was a moveEefifiJVfinfid the little white face turned its eyes to- ward the watcher. and a feeble voice ask- ed â€" :‘gpy, where be I 7" The morning papers contained among their casualties the following paragraph: Run Ovenâ€"Yesterday afternoon an un- knownbmtblack, aged about; eight), was run over at the corner of Blank Street. Cit] Honpltal." Only one short, sharp cry, followed by the hoarse shouts of several men, that was all, They carried him to the side- walk, and as the crowd stopped and gathered ronnd him, some one coming by stoppedmndasked, “Whatwas It? ' “Unly another bootblack hurt,” was the careless response, and the quesvioner passed on. The ambulance came. The crowd made way, then separated, and the Incident was forgotten. Nobody knew him, nobody cared. Riel's Mother. A Cmualty. The leader of the half-breed revolt in Canada. Riele a man who fancied he had a mission to free the world from the pow- er of the Church of Rome. Riel is a strong Unitarian, and to tackle the church that excited his ditllke he went to an ob- scure point and began operations by kill- ing 06 many who were as pronounced in their hatred of a. very strong church as he was. But Riel finds himself safely locked up in goal. Unitarianism and all, while the Roman Church is going right on in its work, jast the same as if it had never ex- lsted.â€"Chicago News. Gen. Booth, of the Salvation Army, who will arrive in Toronto in July, has or- dered the Tel-onto detachment to form a brigade for service in the North-West among Indiana and half-breeds. A large number have volunteered and several Montreal members have signified ade- slre to join the brigade. Amongst Poundmaker’s captured “out- fit” by the mounted police, was a photo- graph of Todd's sharpshooters, which was taken in Winnipeg. It must have been taken from the captured bullock brain. A halfbreed taken prisoner by the Guards. had poor Osgoode’s tuque in his poaesaion. It is believed he will be tried for the murder of Osgoode, as one of the Indlans has said that he was the man who fired the fatal shot. Red Pheasant cent; in to Gen. Middle- ton a large amount of settlera’ effects which he took from the Indiana. Big Child's band of Indians also came in to Battletord to pay his respects to the Gen- eral. The “boys” enjoy the pow-wows and say they are as good as a circus par- ade. Sergt. Maynard Rogers was greath taken by surprise on reading his own ob- ituary in some of the papers. If Louis Riel ls actually 9 citizen of the United Stakeâ€"that) is. if he belongs to usâ€"we give him most freely to the Can- adlan ant Jorlbiea on conditlon that they will hang him high and ab 0nce.â€"0hicago N ews‘ The bacon which was served out to the troops has been condemned by a board of surgeons, and hard-tack and tea is again the bill of fate, com beef extra.â€" There is a scarcity of fresh beef. Butter $1.50 3 1b., and milk 350. per qt. is what “ our boys ” have to pay at Battleford. “ The tired and weary war- rior now layeth out his aheckels which the grasping settler acoopeth 1n." The scouts have brought In several horses and a. large herd of cattle, nearly all of which have been claimed by set- tlera as their property which had been stolen by Ponndmakar's band. The Battle river was dammed by our troops and & fish-net strung across for the capture of sturgeon which abounds in the vicinity. The troops at Bsttleford have got down to real camp life and almost every day there is amusement In the athletic line for the force. At a. foot ball match the Queen's Own best the 90'h Rifles. At base-ball the Mldlanders beat the scouts, and at cricket a draw game was called be- tween the batteries and the Midlanders. Moosomin’s turnout at Battleford the day be surrendered was “ superbly hor- rible. ” First came a mounted Indian with grave and solemn faceâ€"a toss up which was the prettiest, his or the mule's which he rode. Next, seated in a wagon, came what was supposed to be his Sat- anic Majesty, but turned out to be the chief, who wore a black plug hat, three or four ostrich feathers stuck in it. black frock coat with various kinds of brass buttons and blanket trousers. The rings in his ears were conspicuous fortheir size. and in fact one of them was the journal plate of a watch’s works attached to a stove pipe wire. Seated on his right was a dusky standard bearer, holding aloft a white flag. on which was inscribed “Moosomin's Indians" (evidently painted by some of the whites). On his left a squaw, gorgeously arrayed in old bits of shoe leather and brass tack l‘eads, sat without the slightest observation of any- thing that was going on around her. In another seat three other lesser Indian lights were calmly seated smoking old stone pipes. They still had their war paint on, and the feathers in the head gear gave them a hideous appearance. Following in rear of this cavalcade was a troop cf Mobsomin’s Indians mounted on “cayusses.” The prosession slowly weuded its way to the brigade tent. where they were received by Colonel Straubeuzie, in the absence of the General. A letter from New York. dated 28th March. and addressed: “General Louis Riel, Carlton. " has been intercepted in the delayed Prince Albert mail. It was written by a. person well acquainted with the Northwest, and speaks of several plane, advising the rebels to make a stand at Batoche. The letter was written in reply to one sent by Riel, and the writer ofl'ers five hundred men, with arms and ammunition and hand grenades. Several persons are referred to under fictitious names. Private letters frcm the aharpahoo'era intimate that when they return to Oh haw; they will bring the bodies of Osgoode and Rogers, knlled at Out Knife Hill, with 1h 11: for interment. Alexander Rlel, brother of the rebel chief, is trying to raise money to defray the expenses of counsel. Louis. is anxious to have good counsel in the ap- proaching trial. Last fall both Big Bear and Dumont told a traveller, in speaking of what they would do if they were forced to retreat that they would, under such circumstan- ces, endeavor to make their way to the Peace river counflry, where he could live comfortably. He would divide his followers into numerous bands, who would each take a difl'erent route to reach their destination. Big Bear has, it would appear, fully carried out this plan. Stray Shots [tom the Scene offlpo'auons. THE BBB ELLloN. “ Talking about funny things,” said a big, bronzed, bearded man, “the funniest thing'I ever heard of happened in my saw-mill out in Michigan. We used a heavy upright saw for sewing heavy timber. One day not long ago the men had all gone to dinner leaving the saw, which ran by- water power, going at full speed. While we were away a big black bear came into the mill and went nosing around. The aw caught his fur and twitched him alittle. Bruin didn’t like this for a cent, so he turned around and fetched the saw a lick with his paw. Re- sult: a badly-cut paw. A blow with the other paw followed and it was also cut. The hear was by this time aroused to per- fect fury and rushing at the saw caught it in his grasp and gave a tremendous hug. It was his last hug and we lived on bear steaks for a week. When we came up from dinner, there was half a bear on each side of the saw, which was going ahead as nicely as though it had never seen a bear. This is a fact, so help me, Bob," and the big lumberman bit ofl‘a fresh chew of tobacco. These doings of Timur appear the more barbarous when we remember that he was, himself a mussulman sacking a menu!- man king’s city. and slaying by the hun- dred thousand his mussulman subjects. He had not the excuse which he rubse- quentiy alleged in support of his expedi- tion against China, that he was carrying the faith of the Prophet into a heathen country. The kingdom founded by Mo- hammad of Ghor was essentially Muslim, and its invasion by Tameriane was as purely arbitrary an act of plunder as was the conquest of his own suecessors by Na dir Shah. the Persian freebooter of the eighteenth century. Timur died of drinking too muchlced water, on the march to China In 1405. As was to be expected, his kingdom, or empire, fell to pieces, and for a hundrea and twenty years a series of parvenn em- perors of all sorts reigned at Delhi, be- sieging its, taking it, and holding It as they were able. How Bruin Hugged a Busy Saw. Timur. the wild chew-player, signal- ized his successes in India by a series of barbarous massacres. At one time on one day alone he murdered one hundred thousand prisoners in cold blood. lest they should turn against him. Having conquered the weak Mahmoud III. be- fore Delhi, he entered the city. and had himself pr’claimed emperor in all the mosques on Friday (the Muslim Sunday), and immediately left the city to the mercy or his Moghul soldiers, who burned, plun- dered, and slew till they were weary. He afterward returned, and gave evidence of his tastefor the beautiful by ordering the famous mosque of FerOse, which had es- caped the flames, to be copied in Samar» kand. It is said that Timur Beg was a arave man, of quiet manners. halt of one hand and one foot, and delighting in the game of chess, which be greatly complicated by doubling the number of pieces from thirty-two to sixty-four. He is described as ruling his household with calm equity, by no means sparing his‘sons from the observance of . the law : temperate and regular in his life, and aiming ever a. the establishment of an ideal kingdom where a child might carry a purse of gold in safety from east to west of the Asian con- tinent. How a man of such character could at the same time be so emphatically the arch-destroyer of mankind is not clear. As for the authority he exercised over his children, it is at least certain that when he invaded India, his grandson Pir Mohammad had made a little war for himself at Multan, and would have per- ished miserably had his grandfather not come to his rescue. How young Pi: went out to conquer India on his own ac- count is not told, but it is certain that Timur was not provoked to any act of sharp justice. Timur’s sons seemed to have only waited for his death to tear each other to pieces at their leisure. “His successors." says Gibbon, r“ex- tended their sway from the mountains of Kashmir to Cape Comorin, and frcin Kan- uahar to the Gulf of Bengal. Since the reign of Aurungzebe their empire has been dissolved. their treasures of Delhi have been rifled by a Persian robber (Nadir Shah), and the richest of their kingdoms is now possessed by a company of Christian merchants of a remote island in the Northern Ocean." Tamer-lane. There is probably no chapter of the world's histor, so crammed with fighting as that which chronicles the doings in India. from the tenth century to the four- teenth, and to endeavor to condense any account. of the numerous sieges suflered by Delhi and by many another city of northern India during that period would be to produce a picture of mceasing bloodshed and of wearisome sameness. The character of Timur Beg, or Tamer- lane, however, is so very extraordinary as to merit description. From him dates the famous Moghul Empire, finally extinguished in the present century by absorption into the East India Company. “11:, ,, , ,D____ The sweet length of the new telegraph line to Fort Macleod is: frwm Dunmore to Lethbridge a few feet over 107 miles from Lethbrldge to the barracks at Mac- Leod one-tenth short (f 9 miles. or a to- tal of a little less than 136 miles. The posts are 400 feet up xrt, double the ordin- ary distanca, but Intermediate post: will be put in afterwards. The instruments are an arranged that either the telegraph or telephone cm: be switched on at pleu- ure. The line was cnnstrncted under the direct snperv‘sion of Mr. F N. Giabome. None of the Ottawa toot gv‘rds VIII volunteer for the force to rennin for: period after the return of force. If there is any fighting to be done they will stay wad see in out; but for garrison duty they can be counted out. The Northwest field force has been di- vided into three brigades, and known as the first second and thitd brigades.