THE IRRIGA TION A GE. 



325 



1S T OTES AND REFLECTIONS. 



These are the days when, 



forYou? ? ' U * b as Sydney the Great 

 observed, one would like 

 to take off his flesh and sit in his 

 bones. "Yes," added some ingen- 

 ious sufferer, "take out the mar- 

 row and let the air draw through. " 

 This would certainly be the quin- 

 tessence of coolness, although 

 attended by minor inconveniences. 

 It seems incredible that the hottest 

 portions of the globe are inhabited, 

 yet such is the fact. In Thibet, in 

 the deadly Soudan, and the burn- 

 ing regions of Equatorial Africa 

 are to be found not only native 

 tribes, but representatives of 

 northern civilizations dwelling 

 year by year and, what is still 

 stranger, in comparative comfort. 

 In India the English bear the heat 

 with wonderful complacency, the 

 highest temperatures apparently 

 affecting them little. Indeed, as a 

 general proposition it may be said 

 that man is the only animal capable 

 of adapting himself to every pos- 

 sible climate. Dr. Kane, lying 

 upon the snow in a canvas tent, 

 slept comfortably in a temperature 

 of 65 below zero, and in portions 

 of Persia and Arabia life is sup- 

 portable at 126 above. 



It is to be noted, however, that 

 in hot countries the inhabitants 

 guard against excessive heat either 

 by ignoring habiliments or by 

 adopting rational safeguards: rice- 

 cloth garments, white canvas 

 shoes, pith hats and sun umbrellas. 

 The mischief of it is in temperate 

 climates that one never knows 

 what degree of heat or cold a day 

 may bring forth. After a careful 

 .study of the subject I should say 



that, in Chicago at least, the 

 proper paraphernalia of the sum- 

 mer season would be an ulster, a 

 linen duster, a fur cap, a cork 

 helmet, a palm leaf fan, a Mackin- 

 tosh, and a pair of skates. 



Shillshallying. 



The war in the Phil- 

 ippines drags its slow 

 length along, almost every day 

 bringing its melancholy list of cas- 

 ualities, and the practical subjuga- 

 tion of native tribes appearing as 

 remote as ever. It is idle to dis- 

 guise officially reported facts, and 

 the most ardent surporter of the 

 present administration must feel 

 chagrined at the outcome of so 

 many months of futile effort. Prom- 

 inent among the fatal encounters 

 are those of small and isolated 

 groups of American soldiers, who 

 seem to labor under the delusion 

 that the native troops are to be 

 disdained. The lessons of the past 

 should dispossess their minds of 

 purblind theories regarding the 

 enemy's craft and prowess, and the 

 early experience of the British in 

 South Africa may be studied to ad- 

 vantage. Why not end the misera- 

 ble business by sending 100,000, or 

 200,000 if necessary, determined 

 troops to the island, that the po- 

 sessions which, by every right of 

 conquest and treaty cession, are 

 now American may be forcibly and 

 systematically embodied in our ter- 

 ritory. Such a course would cer- 

 tainly be more humane in the end 

 and show the world that, having 

 entered upon an era of territorial 

 aggrandisement, the United States 

 is perfectly capable of dealing with 

 its new problems with vigor and 

 intelligence^ 



