1375 - 
231 
When runniiif; at this speed, llie feet and legs of the 
bird conid no more be seen than ilie spokes of a rapidi}' 
revolving wheel. Tin- length of its siri<le or step is then 
from twenty two to twenty-eieht feet. There ate nine 
passages in theBiltle whicii are believed to refer to the 
ostrich. In six or seveti of them the Hebrew wordsare 
translated “owls,” in our Enghsli version, tbongh the 
correct reading (ostrich) is given on the margin («ith 
references) in most of these cases. The ostrich is one 
of the tallest of birds, being seven or eight feet high. 
^^»chof its wings, with the feathers, is aliout three feet 
long. The long feathers are geuerallv white. These 
are counted very valuable and are much worn, and 
highly prized, as many of our young readers* know. 
The young people among the Egyptians in the days of 
Moses, liked to wear an ostrich feather, quite as well as 
American girls. It was a part of the head-dress of one 
of their gods, and was a sign ol truth or justice. The 
feathers were also worn by Egyptian soldiers, and by 
priests at religious festivals. When the Arabs wish to 
call anv one very dull, they say: “blupid as an o.s- 
trich.” They say it is stupid, because when hunted it 
slicks its head in a bush, and thinks the hunier does not 
See it, and because it will swallow hair, wood, cords, 
stone, nails, and .ither hard substances, with great vo- 
racity. Date .stones are a favorite food. Dr. Shaw 
saw one swallow some lead bullets, hot from the mold, 
and another trave'er lo.si his pocket-knife and a big 
buckle in the same manner. 
EvoT.irrio.v A.mono thk Ixoi.yNS. — .\mong the Ahts 
of Vancouver Island, [lerhaps the commonest notion of 
origin is that men at first existed as birds, animals and 
fishes. We are told of a cer ain Quawteaht, represented 
somewhat contradictorily, as the first Aht that ever 
lived, thickest and hairy-linibed, and as the chief of 
Aht deity, a purely supei natural being, if not the crea- 
tor, at least the nnaker and shaper of most things, the 
maker of tht land and the water, and of the animals 
that inhabit the one or the other. In each of these ani- 
mals as at first created, there resided the embryo or the 
essence of a man. One day a canoe came down the 
coast, paddled by two personages in the, at that time, 
unknown form of men. The animals were frightened 
out of their wits, and fieil, each from his house, in suc h 
haste that he left bi hind him the human essence that he 
usually cairied in his boily. These embryos rapidly de- 
veloped into men; tiny multiplied, made u.se of the 
huts deserted by the aniniuls and became in every way 
as t he Ahts are now. Tliere exists aiiotlier account of 
the origin of the Ahts, which would make them the di 
reel dercendents of Qnawteaht and an immense bird 
that he married,— the great Thunder Bird, Tootooch, 
with which, under a dilf-uent name and in a different 
sex, we shall become more familiar presently. The 
fia|iping of Tootooh’a wings shook the hills with thun- 
der, tooia'i; and when she put out her forked tongue, 
the lightning quivered across the sky. 
The Ahts Jiavc various legends of the way in which 
fire was first obtained, which legends may be reduced 
to the following: Quawteaht withheld the fire, for some 
reason or other, from the creatures that he had brought 
into the world, with oce excejition; it was always to be 
found burning in the house of the cuttle-fish, telhmp. 
1 he other beasts attempted to .steal ihi' fire, 'but only 
the deer succeeded; he hid a little of it in the joint of 
his hind leg, and e.scaping, introduced the element to 
general use. 
Not all animals, it would appear, were produced in 
the general creation; tlie loon and the crow had special 
origin, being metatiiorpho.sed men. Two fishermen, 
being out at sea in their canoes, fell to quarreling, the 
one ridiculing the other for his small success in fishing. 
Finally the unsuccessful man became so infuriated by 
the taunts of his companion that he knocked him on 
the head, and stule liis fish, cutting out his tongue be- 
lere he paddled off, lest by any chance the unfortunate 
should recover his senses and gain the shore. The pre- 
caution was well taken, for the mutilated man reached 
the land and tried to denounce his late companion. No 
sound, however, could he utter but somethrng lesem- 
bling the cry of a loon, upon, which the Great Spirit, 
t^nawteaht, became so indiscriminately angry at the 
whole affair that he changed the poor mute into a loon, 
and his assailant into a crow. So when the mournful 
voice of the loon is heard from the silent lake or river, 
it is itill the jioor fisherman that we hear, trying to make 
himself understood and to tell the whole .glory of his 
wrongs. — Yiancrofl's Natire llnct’s. 
Foiikst PisESKiiv.vrio.N i.v Eukoi’e. — Responses to 
a circular from the foreign ollice to British diplomatic 
officials in various countries of Euroiie have been pub- 
lished recently, embracing an immense mass of infor- 
mation, showing the effect of the denudation of forest 
lands upon the climate and rain-deposit of the continent. 
The inundations which of late years have had such des- 
tructive sweep in Switzerland have mused both people 
and government to the necessit}' of savin.g the tinilier 
upon their mountain slopes. A couimi.ssion of experts, 
appointed by the federal government in IS-IH, showed 
up in a trenchant report the reckles.s prodigality with 
wliieh the forests were destroyed. This awakened 
public attention to a growing evil, and ctfoits liave hwen 
made, both by legal enactment and oiherwise, to restrict 
the cutting oi limber as well as to re-aflorest the de 
nuded areas. Austro-IIungary has about 10,000,000 
acres capable of producing valuable timber, but it is 
gradually decreasing. AboufOl percent, of the country 
has remained under tree culture, and in some provinces 
50 per cent. But in other portions the destruction of 
forests has been so complete, that it is doubtful whether 
the land has not lost its tree bearing qualities. The soil 
is generally unfit for the purposes of agriculture, and 
hence the destruction of the trees has condemned it to 
utter steriliiy, unless they can again be made to grow. 
The diminiialion of forest areas has already produced 
.serious effects upon the climate, inducing long and des- 
tructive droughts, and exposing the lowlands to the 
blasts of the Cariiathians. The towns and cities are 
made uncomfortable, if not intolerable, during large 
portions of t!ie year, while pulmonary symptoms have 
alarmingly inereised. The government, and many 
enlightened eitizens, are making ever}' effort to avert the 
further destruction of limber, and to encourage its re- 
placement. In Prussia, especiall}’ in the eastern pro- 
vinces, all forest land is more or less under government 
control, and greater care of forest land is exercised than 
perhaps in any other country. Strict precautions are 
taken to secure an annual replant fully equal to the 
area felled. Most of the large forests are mapped out, 
accordii'g to size, quality, and age of the trees. Sweden 
has :l0,000,000 acres, or 42 jicr cent, of her area, in 
forest.trees, nioslly conifers. Of this surface, 5,000,000 
acres are under governiental supervision, and the re- 
mainder in the hands of indiviiluals or corporations, 
either by freehold or by lease fiom the crown. In this 
country, as also in Norway, the indiscriminate felling 
of timbers has had an unfavoiable effect upon the cli- 
mate. The government finds great difficulty in treating 
the case by legislation, but its efforts in this direction 
have been warmly supported bv intelligent and public- 
spirited individuals and corporations. Planting schools 
and nurseries have been established, and many denuded 
districts have been re afforested. The steady decline in 
the exports of timber show the necessit}' of such 
efforts, by revealing the extent of the evil they are at- 
tempting to relieve. 
L(in(f and Water tells of the capture, in the Mysore 
district, India, of a herd of elephants, numbering forty- 
nine head. An irrigatin.g canal winas through a dense 
jungle, at some points approaching a small river, at 
others stretching away from it into the jungle. In one 
place a' bend of the canal forms, wilh the river, an en- 
clo.'.iire in the shape of a horseshoe, containing about 
fifteen acres of wooded ground. To this place ele- 
phants resoit during the monsoon, crossing the canal at 
three or four points where the banks have become trod- 
den down by constant u.se. In order to entrap the en- 
tire herd two lines of chains were stretched across the 
river at the enfts of a horseshoe and a trench was dug on 
the river-bank to cut I'ff escape on that side. The ele- 
phants having crossed into the enclbsure, the fords were 
barricaded wilh cocoanut trees, the canal deepened at 
those places, and two deep trenches cut from the canal. 
Meanwhile a deep, circular trench was dug, enclosing 
about an acre of ground, and two parallel trenches were 
also dug, leading from the horseshoe to this small en- 
closure. Drop-.eates were made to prevent the animals 
leaving this keddah when once they had entered it. 
A large force of men were now directed to drive the 
herd into the keddah. The first attempt failed, the ele- 
phants stampeding back into the horse-shoe after a few 
of them had entered the enclosure. A second affort 
was crowned wilh success. First came a female with 
her calf; then seven other females, and after a while on 
came the eiiiire herd with a rii^h, males, females and 
calves, of all sizes, “ like a herd of rather large pigs, 
jostling and pushing one another through the gateway,”- 
When the last was in, down went the gate, and they 
were all secured. The catching of the elephants, one 
b}' one, was the work of several days. The men ride 
in among them on tame beasts, and put ropes round 
their legs and necks, after which the tame elephants 
drag them out in spite of all resistance, and they are 
chained, one by one, to trees, to he trained at leisure. 
They do not mind the tame elephants mixing with 
them at all, even with men on their backs, but they 
object slrongh’ to tiie men on the ground, who have to 
pul on the ropes. The clever way in which the tame 
elephants hel|) is wonderful. They move close up to 
the wild ones, and understand how to put their legs so 
as to shield the men fr;mi all kicks. They lake hold of 
tlie wild ones’ legs and trunk with their own trunks, 
and arc invaluable. 
Wri.i) SeoiiT IN I.NDiA.— Oil Moiidiiy raorr.in" the two horses be- 
touaiiia to Mr. M., which ho had teft with me, were sent out tweni}' 
in'les from here to a placed called Saimond. I followed on the 
Aral), witli two oilier men— two others going on camels. The road 
was sandy, and one rides here w ithoiit shoes to the horses. Tues- 
day we all ftarted aliont 1) A . M., and found a few |)ig, that gave us a 
short gallop, w ith lots of jumphig ; tlie hedges are euphorbia, a very 
thorny plant; we did nothing that day. Two of the party went 
buck, not having leave. 
Wednesday we started at fi A, m., with a cup of tea as breakfast. 
I rode a country bred horse of M ’s that was very good at jumping, 
but, as the result shows, had not a liking for pigs. We found one, 
and after a short canter lost it. Ne.vt found two, and after going a 
little way ran into one of them, and killed it, S. getting first spear. 
We soon found the lir.-t, who gave us a good guliop, hut M.’s horse 
lind such a hard mouth it was dillicnlt to turn liim. We had a good 
run, and W. got first spear. We then sat down under a tree, at 
about 11 o’clock, and the other two sent for fresh horses. At 12 
noon, very hot, we started again, and went to a place where a fine 
old boar was marked down. The drums were beat, and out he came 
going like anything, champing his teeth. I got a run at him, but 
missed him, and he went down a narrow lane. In going out of this 
I took one side and W. the other of a hedge; be went into another 
lane, and W. touched him with his spear; this infuriated him, and 
on coming out into a broad place, I saw the pig following W.'e 
horse, trying to rip him with his tusks, S. close to him, who just 
touched him, and he went to a hedge. I tried to spear him, but the 
horse swerved, and on we went. Here we lost piggy for nearly an 
hour, and we were all getting very faint when at iast, after tracking 
hint up to a field of castor oil plants, S. jumped in and came across 
the pig. The pig jumped the fence, knocked down a beater, 
charged W.’s horse, who turned, h#ing too close to do anything. 
He then came straight for me. My horse would not move forward 
an inch, and I was afraid he would turn suddenly, so, keeping the 
spurs well in, I waited with the spear low down. \V. holloaed to me 
to take care. On came the pig w ith a violent rush, champing his 
teeth and winking his eyes. The horse stood steady, and the spear 
went in, breaking oS in the pig, who passed on, knocking over and 
stunning another beater. We then had to gallop for it, and lost him 
again. We tracked him up again, and found him; he rushed 
straight out of a thick hedge, and coming upon W.’s near side ripped 
his horse on the flank and then retired. He came ont at me on the 
same side, but missed the horse and got pricked by the spear. SHe 
then bolted off, and W. and T. after him — such jumping, and the 
ground like iron. I passed him, and turned at a gallop to him, and 
caught him as ho charged on the face. He took my spear out of my 
hand, and ran about with it in his forehead, like a unicorn, for a 
minute. M. came up, and straight he went at him, ripped his 
horse, broke his spear, and then off again. “Tally-ho” over the 
hedge, and at last he lay down in a thick hedge, and charged all who 
went near him. My horse stood and kicked as soon as the pig 
charged, instead of going straight on, and so getting ont of the way. 
M.’s pony gave up, and the only animal that would face the pig was 
W.’s horse; he went)beaatifully, and did not flinch in the very least. 
.\t last a fatal wound was given, and piggy was then killed about 5 
p. M. We were all awfully tired and faint from having nothing to 
eat all day. It was 7 p. m. before we got away. The pig was thirty 
inches high, and tusks nine inches long, eight years old. My spear 
could not be found, but on coming in next day it was given to me; 
it had been cut out of the pig, it having gene right in (the one I gave 
him when the horse stood still) . Everyone said they had never 
seen such a determined beast.— /Sporting Oazeite. 
The longevity of toads is again under discussion, owing to a dis- 
covery made near Orsay. In digging up a garden some workmen 
unearthed some terra-cotta vases, which they at first supposed to 
contain treasure. On breaking them, however, two live toads were 
found clad in green velvet. This strange attire showed that they 
must be at least 2(X) years old, as an ancient treatise on magic and 
demonology mentions that at the beginning of the seventeenth cen- 
tury sorcerers dressed up toads in this manner for the achievement 
of certain charms. 
Bitten bv a Copper Snake — Mr. Abraham Park, residing near 
Orleans Cross Roads, W. Pa., while peeling bark from a log in the 
woods near that place Tuesday morning about six o'clock, was bit- 
ten on the index finger of the right band by a copper snake. As 
soon as the reptile had bitten him, he concluded to amputate the 
wounded finger. From this intention he was dissuaded by Mr. 
John Askettle, a friend who was present. Medical assistance was 
then sought and the services of l)r. Beach obtained. Remedies 
were applied, and the doctor thinks Mr. Park will recover. At six 
o'clock yesterday evening he was suffering excruciating pain, and at 
times was quite delirious, so much so as to necessitate close watch- 
ing on the part of his friends to prevent him from harming himself. 
—Cumberland Times. 
Hydrophobia.— We advise people not to be fiightcued by the 
latest reported case of hydrophobia. It is the nopular belief that 
this disease is caused as the rule by the bite of a mad dog, but ac- 
cording to the reports of the death of Andrew Jackson, which oc- 
curred in Brooklyn last week, and who is said by the physicians to 
have lost his life by hydrophobia, there seems to be no more reason 
for this belief than for a good many others which arc carefully cher- 
ished apparently for the sole purpose of making people unhappy. 
Some nine weeks ago Mr. Jackson borrowed a large Kewfoiiad- 
land dog from his employer and took it to his own house. He was 
very fond of the dog and kept it at home the next day. On his com- 
ing into the house in the evening the dog which had manifested home- 
sickness during the day, became extremely playful, and in jumping 
about, in its gladness to see him. struck one of its teeth against thi 
man’s lips, just breaking the skin. The man was alarmed at once, 
and carefully washed the wound out, although he did not cauterize 
it. The next day he took the dog home, and told his employer 
what bad happened. The latter took the animal at once to a dog fan- 
cier and told him to watch the animal carefully for signs of mad- 
ness. Nothing peculiar was seen in the sonduct of the dog, which 
was finally returned to its owner, and is now said to be in the 
country and in good health. 
From the moment of receiving the injury Mr. Jackson seems to 
have been thoroughly frightened, and although the wound healed 
up and physicians whom he consulted assured him that Ije was in 
no danger, he constantly brocHled over the subject. His friends 
tried to laugh him out of his fears and he would confess he had no 
ground for his anxiety. Nevertheless his terror reaiained and in- 
creased, and finally he died in fearful agony, his illness and death 
being attended by all the well-known signs of hydrophobia. The 
physicians say it was of hydrophobia that he died. Now, if the facts 
ot this case are correctly reported, it seems clear either that the 
contact of a heidthy dog’s teeth with human flesh wilt produce hy- 
drophobia, or elec that Mr. Jackson's disease and death were caused 
by imagination. Heretofore it has been difficult enough to procure 
scientific evidence that the intentional bite of a mad dog will pro- 
duce hydrophobia, and it therefore seems impossible of belief that 
an accidental bruise inflicted by tbc teeth of a deg in sound condi- 
tion will occasion this horrible malady. f)n the other hand, many 
diseases are made severe and even fatal by the fear of the jiatient, 
and the imagination alone is capable of producing fears, which, for 
the time being, are as painful as If they were caused by something 
real. This case, then, appears to show, that hydiophobia may be 
canted by intense and persistent fear of it, and to show nothing 
else, during the approaching hot season (when dogs arc mistakenly 
supposed to be more dangerous tlitm in colder seasons of tlio your) 
our citizens should see to it that they are not deluded into suppos, 
lug that they are in danger of hydrophobia, since that delusion fK 
this. instance seems to have been the sole cause of the fatal malady, 
