A CURSE OF MARTINIQUE THE FER-DE-LANCE. ONE OF THE

DEADLIEST OF SNAKES.

Ui«r AM I

U>ema«lvei> u'Immune by virtue of

their profr*«ton.

Of course, the fer-de-!»nce csme beck. They had been Ilrtiuf the life of terrilled mice In nooks and crannlet for yoais. but enounh of them survived to rehabilitate the snake community as soyn as the enemy dlsap* peansl. New they lord It over ihe eu- ! tire Islands ouwide of the cities, and mun and beast alike walk In constant terror of their fangs —New York Sun. FASHION IN FOOD.

■ ■U •'•riMUea Oee*

oruUr as labia risbes. Foods have their fashions as well as I clothes. For no clear reason we eat certain kinds of flsh, flesh and vegsta- : ble and disdain others which might be ! edible and pleasing to the taste. Queen Elizabeth ate tiie flesh ^whales, but we. today, would turn up our noses at | inch a dish. Yet why? Is the cetacean j flerh dlssustins or tough or tasteless? ! We do not know, for we have never | had It on our tables. Fish soup, gram- ; puses and porpoises v ere dainties to ; the English palate before French cooks I Invaded the tight little isle and im1 posed the gastronomlcal modes of Paris on the British ciislne. It is not | very many years since English and ! American stomachs revolted at the ! delicate legs of frogs, yet we munch j those tender tidbits now with the | mead test nerves and the nicest relish I of their sweetness and flavor. | What untried dainties are there yet i to be found in the world and Introduced to our bored stomachs, hungry for pew sensations? It Is said that the j French. In spite of occasional periods 1 of hostility, revere and love the Jesuits dc cause Jesuit micslonaries first j brought the turkey Into France and J trlight the cooks of Purls Its delicious ; properties. Why should we not eat mice and kittens? Shall we always abhoi the flesh of fat young puppies? Oh. for an epicurean Columbus to open new worlds to^ur appetite! Since we | do cot scruple to eat pork—the fleslf of j the filthy hog. and a very palatable j flesh, too—why should we choke Wt mice, kittens an J puppies? One dsree i say that if the flesh of a puppy were | served under some French nom de I ctiielne we wouil praise It mightily and j call for a second helping, j In our eating, more, perhaps, than j in anything else, we are slaves of prejudice. custom and canrice. We do’not | venture. Our bill of fare does not j grow with civilization. We have a few ‘ staples which we disguise and vary by j means of sauces and French aliases. I We improve^he kitchen range, but'we j de not Improve our dinners. Talley- | rand said that the English had 24 religious and only one sauce. Since then tbe.English hare multiplied their religions. but they have not yet Invented their second auce. As people the English and Americans oppose expansion and Innovation In their dining rooms. When forks were brought over from Italy to London there were stout Britons enough to declare that to eat with a tool, as though pitching hay. rhfl not with the fingers, was to destiny the simplicity ar.d manliness of

old England.

The English speaking peoples have stomachs, but no palate*. They have not enthusiasm for an excellent truffle, they do not feel emotions of pure pleasure in the memories of good dinners. long since digested. Who bCt a Frenchman could throw up his hands and exclaim in praise of a certain green sauce, the recipe for which, alas. Is lost, -With this sauce I could eat my grandfather!" Brillat-SararlB declared that the man who discovers a new dish is a greater benefactor of his race than the mao who discovers a new planet. This Is a truly Gallic opinion, and Is not shared by our saucelesa people. but. when one comes to’ think, it •is curious that the only permanent work of the great soldler-stalesman-ecclesiastic. Armand Richelieu, was the mayonnaise sauce, which he invented, and that the only Idea of the brilliant Cardinal Wolsev. which the world re-

i>ass*r Tl or £s|»l

laly «e Cspodl-

Forraer resident* of Martinique say that the perils of any expedition making exploration or bringing succor to the country aooul St. Pierre will be doubtless gravely mcivaard by the presence of the !er-de-lance. This serpent. srbUh Is the curse of the Island. Is said to b- the deadliest of snakes outside of India, and the Inhabitants of the region 1 Infested by It say that not even the terrible hooded cobra Inflicts death more swiftly or surely. Says one gentli man who lived for sum* years on ,the Island: "I'nleaa all the fer-de-lance in the region of St. Pierre were destroyed by the eruption there is likely to be a considerable mortality from snake bite for the next few weeks. The gulches aiounl the city fairly swarm with the ,vemoaouK repUlrs. It is principally because of their presence that ascents of Mont Pelee. otherwlte not particularly difhcult sr hazardous, have been so Infrequent. "So far as we now know the watercourses of the locality have been chok•d. The vipers all require moistute. and the fer-de-lance is very partial to water. Undoubtedly, then, there has been an exodus from the slopes and gullies down to the watrtfront. "It is a curious fact that In cases of seismic disturbance snakes make for the low land. 1 have heard that when Mont Pelee vtas disturbed In the middle >f the last century the fer-de-lance overran the streets of the town, although they are naturally a grassland snake, and a number of people were killed by

them.

"Suppose, now. that the shore beyond the district where all life has been blotted out ha* become the refuge of these creatures. What will happen to the men who land there, particularly if they are ignorant of the danger? It la not pleasant to think of The fer-de-lance dots not wait to be attacked. He is a born murderer. When he has once set his venomous mind on a man he will follow until one or the other is slain. Add to this natural leaning the tear and fury of the snakes at being driven forth from their own places and I think one van appreciate that their presence will not be the least of dangers following th-: 'atastiophc." The history cf the fer-de-lance In the island of Martinique is a peculiar one. It Is raid that originally this Island was entirely free from poisonous snakes, as Cuba Is now. It was. however. overrun with a particularly active! and voracious specie of rats. Some enterprising inhabitant, hearing that the fer-de-lance'was extremely rough on rats, sent to Trinidad and had some imported. The visitors did their work. In a few years it was said In Martinique that the only surviving rats were these that had learned to climb trees and turned into flying squirrels.' However that may be. the community soon found itself confronted by the Mass aehusetis cutworm and English sparrow proposition, but In a far more serious form, the reme&ial agents proved to be worse than the original pest. So

ibIm, (IrsanpsMa

rspsiav a* v

making teased. It was said that no bitten person recovered except In the case of woodenoppera. Having their axes handy they would. If the bite were on the arm or leg, chop off the member instantly and thus save their lives. It If came a sort of cast-mark for the woodsman to have only three out of his four original limbs. Then the French government got np_ statistics and discovered that Iff proportion to the population the death rate from snakebite was the highest In the world, worse even than In the centre, of India A bounty was offered. Bands Of snake hunters went forth to hunt. Some few of them came back. - At this time there was living In St. Pierre a former South African. He had seen the great snake-eating secretary bird of that continent, and at a very considerable expense had several pairs of the birds sent to him. His neighbors said be was crmxy. They prophesied that the qulckeat-wltted of the birds would he flying swiftly southeast fifteen seconds after they had first seen a fer-de-lance. The secretary birds were turned loose In the Infested districts. Within a month they had grown almost too fat to work. There was a corresponding diminution of vlperine activity, it became quite a common sight to see a fugitive fer-de-lance darting across some dusty roadway with the big vultore-Uke creature in hot pursuit Occasionally a seven-foot snake would give battle. It always ended one way. The bird would receive the viper's Blows on Us wings or heavily feathered breast mean Urns dancing upon it with murderoo? claws, until the venom was enhausted, when a driving peck of the formidable k—k would end the battle. * It wasn't long before the people of St Pierre could till their fields again. As brood after brood of the feather sc Africans spread abroad the area of safety widened. Unfortunately the secretary bird l/a my striking individual. and he has a creel of considerable beauty, not to mentioa his picturesque tall feathers. The young ladles of Martinique desired those faatheru aa millinery. Therefore the youth of the island aet forth to get them. As At secretary bird is some fotuffeet long and s fighter by nature. It is not practicable to catch him and pnll out Ids crest and tall. The Martinique sports went after him with guns and soon the places that had known him knew him no more. Meet of the birds ware anon

strawberries sad cream would go well together.—San Francisco Bulletin. VoleM Of Iks J«. The winter of the far north is not wholly silent although so little Ufa Is manifested at that season. A paragraph from Captain Koldewey's account of his winter'* stay n the east coast of Greenland, remarks the Youth's Companion, makes this fact very clear: All these movements of the Ice—tbe gradual crowding and pressing, bending and-pushing, tbe breaking of the masses of snow lying at the “Icefoot"—do not go on noiselessly, but are generally 1 accompanied by certain rounds, which ire colled “voices" of the ice. Now we beer s low singing, splashing or grumbling alter nstlng wltn various other noises, cracking and snapping; now It squads irregularly from a great distance, like h confusion of human voices, the changing din of a train or a sledging party, or. you fancy you hear the steps and voices of all sorts

ISLAND OF ST. VINCENT.

THE BRITISH POSSESSION DEVASTATED BT A VOLCANO.

II U SI Tided

fcr • Moaalala Rld(«—!U Almost Wholly Karat —

radlac Coa-

Ua—Breeleat Oat break ef La Be a Trier*. From tbe information received It would seem thnt tne present volcanic eruption on the Island of St. Vincent Is almost exactly a counterpart of ‘.hat of 1812, heretofore the greateat went In the history of the Island, ihe next In Importance to It and In havoc wrought being the terric hurricane which on the 11th of September. 1898. •wept from Berbadoee across the Windward Islands, making St. Vincent Us chief victim, although our own Porto Rico suffered severely. A ridge of mountains croases the (aland, dividing It into eastern and western parts. Kingstown, the capital. a town at 8,000 inhabitants, is on Uie southward side and stretching Liong the shores of a beautiful bay, with mountains gradually rising behind It In the form of a vast ampuiheetre. Three streets, broad and lined with good houses, run parallel to the waterfront. There are many yther Interesting highways, some of which lead back to the foothills, from which good roads ascend the moun-

tains.

The majority of the houses have

*ed tile roofing and a goodly number it them are at stone, one story high, with thick walls after the Spanish style—the same types of houses that were In St. Pierre and which are not

inlike the old Roman houses

‘.n all stagoe at ruin and semi-preser-ratlou are found In Pompeii tc this

day.

Behind the great man of the houses it the town looms the governor's resile nee and the bulldinga of the botanl:al gardens overlooking the town. Kings town is the trading center and ^he one town of Importance In the ■land. It contains the churches and tbapels of five Protestant denomina‘.lous and a number of excellent ichools. Away from Kingstown the population is almost wholly rural, ocrupylng scattered villages which consist of negro huts clustering around a

cabins

being 1.100 feet, from which tbe land descends In a series of low terraces on all sides to tbe sea. Tbe aspect of tbe country Is that of a beautiful rural landscape Interspersed with groups of neat bouses and plantations surrounded by gardens and treea and dotted here and there with windmills, which resemble those that are ao marked a feature of tbe landscape of Holland. The whole area of the Island it occupied and of its total acreage of 108,470 every foot Is under cultivation except 6.470 acres occupied by towns, cliffs and blglwrays. Almost Us sole Industry is sugar can* growing, and it has been said that If Cuba were a* closely cultivated as Barbados it would prodnee enough-sugar to supply the entltto world, Th* only foreign trip George Was a Ington ever made was to Barbadoes. when be went there with his brother, Lawrence, and among other adveo tures caught the smallpox.—New York

substantial buildings or of c

grouped about old plantation bulIdlniM* •omewhat aftor the ute-hsllum 4mh

There is a charm In listening Uuse sounds on a sUU nlgbL

Mere Optetaa. The man who la afraid to earn more than be gets never rises very high. No woman can be a her*as to her kitchen maid. Every man has his price, and It Is generally too high. Pity the old bachelor. If he Isn't single because the love cf hla youth lies In her grave or because he must suppert bts widowed mother he is doubly gitlable. When a woman has said ail she has to ear she goes right on and sage mnrs—Chicago ecord-Herald.

The entire population of the Island Is about 46.000. of whom 10,000 are Africans and about S.M0 Europeans, the rest being made up of Asiatics with a sprinkling of mix ad Carlbs. The negroes In many cases are land owners. and arrow root, since the decay of the sugar Industry now all but extinct.

Is the chief export.

In an Island only eighteen miles long by eleven broad there is not room for any distinctly marked mountain range. The whole of St Vincent In fact It a fantastic jumble of hills, culminating in the volcanic ridge which runs lengthwise of the oval shaped ialasd: Beautiful valleys at various points. In fact. Intersect this ridge. The culminating peak of the great volcanic roaas, ter 8t Vincent is nothing more. 1s the MOTue Garou, of which La Soufriere Is a sort of lofty excresence In the northwest and flanking the main peak at some dis-

tance away.

It may be said that all of the volcanic mountains In this part of the West Indies have what tbe people call a "soufriere"—a "sulphur pit." or "sulphur crater"—the name coming, as In the case of past disturbances of Mont Pelee. Martinique, from the strong stench of sulphuretted hydrogen which Issues from them when the volcano becomes agitated. in 1812 It was La Boufriere adjacent to the Morne Garou which broke loose on the Island of Sc Vincent and it Is the same Soufriere which now has devastated'the Island and Is bombarding Kingstown with rocks, lava

and aubes.

The old crater of Morne Gsrou has long been extinct, and. like tbe old crater of Mont Pelee. near St. Pierre. U had far down In Its depths, surrounded by sheer cliffs from 600 to 800 feet high, a lake. GUmpees of the lake of Morne Garou were difficult to get. owing to the thick verdure growing about the dangerous edges of the precipices, but thoee who have seen It describe it sa a beautiful sheet of deep blue wa-

ter.

Despatches from Barbadoes. 100 mile* to the eest of St. Vlnceat, stated that the explosions and mighty volcanic cannonading at St. Vincent were distinctly heard there, that the y was black with the great mass of loke and dust hanging overhead and

Barbadoes

thick coating of

ashes.

This is precisely a. repetition of what happened at the time Of the terrible St. Vincent eruption In 1812. What amaxed people then was that this amoks and the great dense clouds of ashes sad Impalpable dust should

be borne so far seawi

PLENTY FOR A ROBINSON CRUSOE. Lsxary la Which s Mas Coaid IJ»o oo a Castaway dross siosmthlp. It is easy to believe "Robinson Crusoe" after reading the manifest of a

•hip's cargo.

In the holds of the big passenger ship, the dark and intricate alleyways and black and dusty depths wher only members of the crew and the stevedores penetrate, tbe complexity of the world's dee I res is made manifest. The cargoes of any of the North Atlantic passenger boats are of little interest to the average traveler. Few know what

- — , stores of varied objects are packed which j away underneath them. Some may

have peered down the hatches, and noting the orderly aray of boxes, bales, and crates stowed in the dimly lighted and vast Interior of the ship, may have wondfered where all the stuff comes The manifests of the big boats have a curious fascination, because of their stimulating effect on even th*.- most stolid Imaginations. . The Teutonic brought in a miscellaneous cargo on a recent week, ranging from neeales to sulphate ammonia and from cheese to thermometers. Between tl eve extremes woro included such diverse art Idles as cigarette*, rubber bags, chromes, cochineal, copper sheds felt I hats, porter, laces, artificial flowers, hosiery. Venetian-blind tapes, potatoes, blankets, musical instruments, trunks, rabbit skins, tapioca flour, steel bats,

and wax candles.

II a man accustomed to.living at the rate of 810.000 should be stripped and cast on an uninhabited and isolated Island he could live In ease and comfort. and satisfy the complex deminds necessity to him. If he had the contents of any single one of a dozen of the big ships that ply between this country and Europe. Though primarily passenger ships, their stores and carare Indices of the demands of the

lern world.

The lot oi a present- day Rot insen Crusoe would be an enviable one In ao far as material seeds are concerned. Poeecsslnr lees ability than eveu an ordinary artisan, he could erect a modern house and Install lighting and ueating apparatus, electric lights, and bells. The ship’s hold would provide furniture, household fittings, books and pictures. -His home established, Ufore is every chance that he would

8ICKS, CssMiaa

established 1801. FIRST NATIONAL BANK

or care may.

CAPE MAY CITY. N. J. WCSTLCY R. WALES, Ruesfoalf 1CERS SAMUEL F CLDRCOGE Vic* PacaiogNT

GEORGE M. HENDRIC

SAMUEL F. ELDREDGE. A^i^^T^L^ w ** T l-EY R- WALES, PMvaiciAN and DNuaiiisT. WM■ N. NORCROS8, Gnocca. Mava Lanoina. LEWIS T STEVENS, Arronutv-AT-Law A. L. HAYNES HtaviNO Arrasavos. GEO.C. EDMUNDS. Gnocca WcsvCaesMavGEORGE M HENDRICKS, CaaMca Accounts of Merchants and Individuals solicited, certificates of deposit baarIng three per cent. Interest Issued, interest beginning at tbe dale of Issue. Bankers' money orders psysble In all parts of the United States sod Psrslgu exchange, psysble in all parts of tbe world sold at lowest rates. Special attention is given to collection*. N. B.—Poe tags stamps and postal cards always ou band for oonveoleooa ef

Paint! Paint! Paint! properly, apply them thoroughly and rapidly, and esei

smoke and dust hanging o the entire surface of th* waa coVered with a thick

very rhlch

e oppoalte <J

blow toward the southwest The explanation of this phenomenon'- was then, as it Is now, that the force of the explosion, from the volcano hurled the smoke and Utter miles high Into the air until they were way above the trade winds and there met the revi

air currents going In the i

ruction.

Barbadoes Is totally dissimilar in its natural features to any of the volcanic chain of tbe Caribbean Islands. It reseaMee a pear In outline, with

■ting (

the east. In configuration the Island Is elevated, and yet not mountainous, the hlgheet point, near the center. Mount HUlaby.

goes a moder

his trips of exploration about bis Island. He would be sure to have at hand several bicycles. Further search Further search would reveal plenty of clothing and linen from the at--res of the best-known tailors and haberdashers. together with many bales of cloth, from which he might repl^hlah from time to time his large and comprehensive wardrobe. For hla drily sustenance, he might prepare. If he so willed, menus that would be gastronomic lyrics. For the space of a year, and probably longer, he might lit - aa luxuriously, maintaining all the conventions. as a man in any of tbe five great capitals of the world. For his diversion. If he had a Icve lor sport, he would find flshlng-t«i kle and nets, fowling-pieces and guns suitable for the execution of large aid small game On stormy days the modern crusoe might Interest himself Indoors with hk books. At night he could draw hk curtains, and. with his room filled with the soft lignt of candles, set in silver candelabra, reflect on the wondoful strides of a civilization that ensiled him to gratify his slightest desires. A man Friday mould be of alight assist ance to a Robinson Crusoe of today. If he had not mastered the science of pressing trouser* or was a competent chauffeur. An untutored Friday would -be as Irritating end vexatious a burden as any other untrained servant, and would probably he returns 1 to tfk cannibal captors without delay. Compared to the fate of an up-to-date castaway, the luck of Mrs. Locks and Mrs. Alesbiae was no.luck at all, unless It was hard lock.—New York Poet.

A 6IMM7 rrsdlnla* for SSaa. If the lady who la a candidate for county clerk in Hunt county is elected and permitted to take the cith of office, mac as an offlceholdpr will soon be a thing of the pest. We do m t believe that m oman la ellgihl 11- such positions in Texas, but wi understand that the attorney-gener il takes a different view of the qne-tion. and ala oplalcn Is worth more then oars. If women are eligible to omnty offices they will eerie them, and what they eeek they let A man campaigning against a pretty girl or marinating widow would not get vtx-v enough to black tbe bulletin board.

London Bridge, when widened, will bo lighted from the centre, and not from the sides.!

- Jtties, Fillers. Brushes, V and other Coloring Materials of highest quality. liAPAYEiPlTE BeNNEIIIIII 103 Jackson Street, Cape May, N. J. PRACTICAL HOUSE, SIGN AND DECORATIVE PAINTER. AGENT FOR J. E. PATTON’S SUNPROOF PAINTS. ■A®' 1 also give special attention to glass contracts, and handle exclusively the products of the PITTSBURG PLATE GLASS CO. They are of finest quality ted art ower in price than the common grades, which give nothing but dissstisfacdoa. AH kinds of plate, white, window and colored glass earned in stock.

3-sle

MECRAYS’ CENTRAL MARKET, Corner Washington and Ocean Streets, 602 Washington Street, 217, 219, 221 Ocean Street

CHOICE BUTTERS - Stepless' Gilt Edge ■ A SPECIAITI. Country Produce, Fresh Daily from our own Farm. nSH, 0T8TZES, CLAUS Aim TmAPIF. 22ESSET POULTBY. OE^T’The Largest Market in Cape May City.

-v -. BPBBWffi! (MPBlimffi} * o We have just received the latest Imported Goods. Now is the time to get your Spring Clothing Ready. EDWARD VAN EESSEL, Custom Tailoring. 424 Washington Street

Brown Villa, 228 Perry Street CAPE MAY, N. J. UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT. Large Airy Room?; Renovated Throughout; Excellent Tabla; Open all the Year. Mrs. E. W. HAND, Prop.

wm:. s. sh vw, GENERAL CONTRACTOR ’ DRALES Ik LME, BRICKS, SAND, CEMENT AND BUXLDEBS’ ICATEItlAXiS. Telephone No. 30. - 523 Elmirx Street, my GOODS flDD RO©IORS Also a complete stock of heavy and light weight UNDERWEAR DIX WRAPPERS A Specialty. -®t MRS. H. A. CLARK 503 Broadway and Turnpike. CAPE MAY N. J.

FI ©TVEl Ea ©©REJOIN

UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT. RE NOV AY OPEN ALL THE YCAR.

O

CAPE MAY CITY, N. A.

BOARD I NO BY THE DAY OR WEEK138 DECATUR STREET. ' ‘

A. R. CORDON.

CLINTON SOUDER, DEALER IN tyFurniture, Carpets. Oilcloths, Mattresses, Matting, Window Shed— and Awnings. 811-818 MANSION STREET.

SEASIDE STUDIO, ADJOINING'SIDCKTON SURF BATHS.

1«3 ZPXOTTTRBB 38 OEISTTS AJKT33 n -cs-rw erior and Interior Work of ail Kinds. Pictures Cwpcod md Enlarged. Developing and Printing Doc* for Amatuun.

-VIEWS OF CAPE MAY.

W. R. SMITH, ProprieuM-