The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Great Round World And What Is Going On
In It, April 22, 1897,  Vol. 1, No. 24, by Various

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org


Title: The Great Round World And What Is Going On In It, April 22, 1897,  Vol. 1, No. 24
       A Weekly Magazine for Boys and Girls

Author: Various

Editor: Julia Truitt Bishop

Release Date: March 26, 2005 [EBook #15471]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GREAT ROUND WORLD ***




Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Emmy and the PG Online
Distributed Proofreading Team. (www.pgdp.net)

"By Sportsmen and For Sportsmen."

Send Postal Card for 16-page illustrated prospectus for 1897, and premium list of guns, pistols, bicycles, fishing-rods, and all other sporting goods offered free for new subscriptions to The Sportsman's Magazine.

Mention The Great Round World.

The news from Cuba this week confirms the story of the capture of Gen. Ruis Rivera.

It seems that the Spanish General, Velazco, was told by some of his scouts that Rivera was encamped in the near neighborhood, and only had a force of one hundred men with him.

Acting on this information, the Spaniards surrounded the camp and attacked the Cubans, who fought bravely until they were finally overpowered.

General Rivera was severely wounded, and was therefore unable to make his escape; the Spaniards captured him, just as his chief of staff was trying to carry him away to a place of safety.

Both men were taken prisoner and conveyed to San Cristobal. They will be tried by court-martial, and it is feared that the General will be shot as a rebel. If Rivera is shot, it will create a great deal of indignation, as it is the custom to exchange prisoners of war, and not to kill them. General Weyler has, however, sent out a proclamation, that any man found outside the Spanish limits without a proper pass shall be shot, and as Rivera of course had no pass from the Spaniards, it is feared that Weyler may take advantage of his proclamation to have the unfortunate General shot.

The Cuban war, however, seems to be on such a strong footing that even the loss of Ruis Rivera cannot seriously hurt the cause. Another General has already been appointed in his place, and though his loss will cause much sorrow, the affairs of the little island will not be interfered with.

It is said that Gen. Julio Sanguily, the Cuban who has just been released from prison through the influence of our Government, will return to Cuba and take command of the army lately commanded by Rivera.

A full account has reached us of the landing of the filibustering expedition that left our shores on board the Laurada, and under the charge of General Roloff.

It appears that the Cubans have done very clever work in this expedition, both in getting the arms on board the Laurada, and in landing them when they reached Cuba.

It was decided that the expedition should land at Banes, an important seaport on the northwestern coast of Santiago de Cuba. A few days before the ship was expected, the Cubans appeared in large numbers at Banes, ready to attack the Spanish soldiers, who occupied a small fort there.

You will remember that Santiago de Cuba is the province which the Cubans have under control, and which is really "Free Cuba."

The Cubans are so strong in this province, that the Spaniards remain in such forts as they hold, and make very few attempts to interfere with the insurgents.

At Banes, the insurgents appeared in such numbers that the soldiers did not venture out of the fort, and left them to occupy the town in peace.

When the Laurada appeared in sight, the commander of the Cuban forces sent word to the fort that the Laurada had some very heavy guns on board, which would be turned on the fort the instant the Spanish made an attempt to interfere with the unloading of the cargo. He added that the Laurada's guns would blow the whole fort to pieces in a very few minutes.

The Spanish commander decided that he would take their word for it, and not trouble the Laurada to prove the truth of the statement. The vessel steamed up to the wharf, and the expedition disembarked with ease and comfort.

Report says that the Cubans and Spaniards were so friendly together, that they even held a peaceful parley, in which the Spanish informed their new friends that they were a little short of water at the fort, and the obliging Cubans sent them up a fresh supply.

It is a great advance for the Cubans to have the free use of a port, where they can safely receive their cargoes, and it shows very clearly that success is indeed, coming to the Cuban arms.

Another filibustering expedition, supposed to be that taken by the Bermuda, has landed in Pinar del Rio, near Mariel, and about fifty miles from Havana.

This section of the country is, however, the stronghold of the Spaniards, and so the insurgents did not have such an easy time in landing as they did in Santiago.

The Spaniards had been warned of the arrival of the vessel, and allowed the cargo and men to be landed without interference, but prepared an ambush for the party, as it was making its way inland.

The Cubans fell into the trap set for them, and were beaten. The Spaniards in their turn were making off with the booty, when a larger body of insurgents arrived on the scene, fought the Spaniards, put them to flight, and carried off the recaptured cargo to a place of safety.

The news from Havana is that Gomez has done exactly as it was said he would: he has slipped past Weyler, and left him hunting for him in Santa Clara. Weyler was sure of catching his enemy this time, for he had divided his army into two columns, and thought that with them he had covered the entire country. But Gomez was too smart for him. He slipped between the two columns, at one time camping within three miles of Weyler; and is now well on his way to join the Western army.

All classes in Havana are uneasy and dissatisfied, and the anger against the Government and its manner of conducting the war is being expressed more openly every day.

The soldiers are in such a state of anger that the officers no longer dare trust them in the towns, for fear that they will mutiny.

The regular soldiers have received no pay for seven months, and are rebellious on that account. The volunteers are furious, because the weapons the Spanish Government gave them when they first enlisted, which were rifles of the very finest kind, have been taken from them, and replaced with old-fashioned weapons that have been in storage on the island since the war ten years ago.

Their fine rifles have been taken from them since the rumors of the Carlist uprising, and they are angry because they declare that the Government is putting all the good weapons in the hands of the home soldiers, so that when they are sent back to Spain they can carry them along.

There is a report that the governments of Spain and Cuba are discussing a plan for making peace.

It is impossible to say whether this is true or false, but it is a splendid thing if true.

Our Government is to send a commissioner to Cuba, to make full inquiries into the death of Dr. Ruiz.

This commissioner will probably be Judge Day, a well-known lawyer of Canton, Ohio, and a personal friend of the President's.

The duties of the commissioner, besides making the most careful investigation into the Ruiz case, will be to find out what the real state of affairs in Cuba is at the present time. If his report is favorable to Cuba, it may induce the President to help the Cubans.

Gen. Fitz-Hugh Lee, our Consul-General in Havana, has absolutely refused to have anything to do with the Ruiz case. He declares that the examination will not be a fair one, and that nothing will be gained by it.

There is very little change in the situation in Crete.

The insurgents are fighting bravely, and the Powers, though doing their best to prevent trouble, are in much the same position that they were a week ago.

The real excitement of the week has been the landing from the British warships of a troop of Highlanders. These soldiers, by their extraordinary dress, caused a panic among the Turks, who, not knowing whether they were friends or foes, mortals or bogies, proceeded to attack them.

The Turkish officers with great difficulty succeeded in quieting their men and persuading them that the Highlanders were men and friends, but the fame and the terror of them spread all over the island.

The insurgents heard that a new race of men had been landed by the allies, and in their ignorance and superstition they fancied that some new and terrible kind of creature had been sent against them.

There was a small panic among the Cretans for a few days, and it was not until they had sent scouts to discover what kind of beings these were, and the report had come back that these terrible Highlanders were but men after all, that they had the courage to continue the fighting.

This is not the first time that the appearance of these men has struck terror into the heart of an enemy, and in truth they are a very imposing body of men, all of them over six feet in height. They walk with the light, springing step that is peculiar to all Highlanders, and they hardly seem to touch the ground as they march over it. They march to the music of the bagpipes, which adds not a little to the awe which, they inspire. The bagpipe is of all instruments the most uncanny and weird. When you see a Highland regiment marching to the music of bagpipes, it seems to be the only true music to which soldiers should march. Its wails and shrieks sound like the groans of the dying, and the drone of the bass notes has a fierce sound as it throbs and marks the tramp of the soldiers' feet, that speaks of battle and conquests, and the advance of a victorious army.

These are not the only things which help to make foreigners believe the Highlanders some uncommon kind of creature. In addition, the costume they wear is so strange, that it is easy to understand how terrible they must appear to foreign eyes.

They are dressed in the old Scotch fashion, with short stockings, bare knees, and kilts (a short skirt which comes nearly to the knee). Over their shoulders hangs the "plaidie," which is a long shawl. They wear a tight coat, and in front of them hangs the sporran, a pocket made of white fur. The crowning glory of the Highland regiment is the bonnet. This is a hideous structure of brown beaver; it is over a foot in height, and from the side hang three mournful black plumes. This curious dress makes the men look about eight feet high, and as they are all strong, broad-shouldered fellows, they seem like giants.

At the battle of the Alma, in the Crimean war, the Forty-Second Highlanders turned the fate of the fight by their appearance.

They were ordered to attack a position held by the Russians, and when they sprang forward to the charge, their kilts and plaids floating around them, their bare knees glistening, and their huge bonnets and waving plumes making them look so tall, the Russians were terror-stricken. Seeing their white sporrans wave as they ran, the Russians mistook them for small horses, and could not believe that these terrible-looking creatures were but men running.

Crying out to each other that the Angels of Death on their snow-white horses were riding them down, the Russians dropped their arms, and fled in the greatest confusion.

Stories without number are told of the way Highlanders, left on the field of battle, have frightened the enemy into letting them escape, and a piper seems to need no protection but his pipes. In the Indian mutiny, one blast of them was enough to scatter a score of natives.

It is not to be wondered at that both Cretans and Turks were a little alarmed at the sight of these brawny, petticoated soldiers.

The main part of the interest in Greek and Turkish affairs is centring itself along the Greek frontier.

The Powers sent word to Greece, that unless the troops are recalled from the frontier, they will blockade all her ports.

In the mean while, the Crown Prince has arrived at Larissa, and taken the command of the troops in Thessaly. The Crown Princess is with him, to organize a Red Cross Society, to give aid to the wounded in case war breaks out. This good, kind woman has put aside all her own feelings, and is working for the benefit of her husband's people.

The Greeks show no disposition to obey the demands of the Powers, and it is said that Russia refused to join in blockading the Greek ports, because she believed that it is no longer possible to keep peace between Greece and Turkey.

The Greek army along the frontier is so large and powerful as to be beyond the control of diplomacy. It is stated, on good authority, that if the King of Greece were to listen to the Powers, and order the troops back from Thessaly, the army would revolt, dethrone him, and carry on a war on its own account.

So incensed are the people against the Turks, that nothing will satisfy them but war, and the winning back of such of their provinces as are still under Turkish control.

It is said that the Greeks are not attempting to make a strongly fortified position for themselves on the frontier. They consider themselves an invading army, and the moment war is declared, they intend to swarm over the border, and, if possible, conquer the provinces that once were theirs.

The inquiry into the Transvaal Raid is still going on.

Dr. Jameson has been called before the Committee, and appears to have told all he knows of the matter.

His story makes things look very black indeed for Mr. Cecil Rhodes, the Prime Minister of Cape Colony, and perhaps for the English Government also, if the whisper is true that Mr. Rhodes and the Government perfectly understood each other as regarded South African matters.

Dr. Jameson said that before the raid occurred, he had various talks with Cecil Rhodes and John Hays Hammond, an American mining engineer, who lived in the town of Johannesburg, and was one of the principal movers in the plot.

They spoke about the troubles of the foreigners in the Transvaal. Mr. Hammond declared that the Boers made life so difficult for foreigners that unless some change was made, the people of Johannesburg would revolt.

Dr. Jameson went to Pretoria at Mr. Hammond's invitation, and saw for himself the condition of things.

Plans were then made to overthrow the government, and to make a pretence of finding out who the people would prefer to have for a President, by taking a man-to-man vote of the whole population. The person chosen by this vote was to be declared President.

Dr. Jameson was to bring his soldiers to Johannesburg, to keep order while the vote of the people was being taken.

This plan, while it was fair enough in sound, was in fact an infamous scheme to trick the Boers out of their rights.

The Uitlanders, as we told you before, far outnumber the Boers.

By taking a vote of the whole population, every Uitlander would have had a vote; these foreigners would of course have voted for the person who would let them have things their own way, and as they outnumbered the natives, the poor Boers would have had their rights taken away from them by foreigners, who, according to their laws, had no right to vote at all.

The scheme was as clever as it was infamous. To the world it would have seemed fair enough, and only those familiar with South African politics would have understood what a shameful trick it was.

There is small doubt that Mr. Hammond was as deep in this fraud as Cecil Rhodes and Dr. Jameson. He may have hoped to win the presidency when Oom Paul Krueger was put out of office, and very probably did not realize that Mr. Rhodes and Jameson intended to annex the Transvaal to the English Territory, after they had stolen it from the Boers.

It is, however, sure, from Dr. Jameson's own words, that the Raid was a deliberate attempt on the part of these three men to rob the Boers of their rights, and divide the spoil when the deed was done.

Both Cecil Rhodes and Dr. Jameson have been bold enough to state this, cloaking their misdeed under a tale of gaining more lands for their beloved sovereign, and both have had the courage to say that they only made one mistake in the Transvaal matter, and that was to fail. Had they been successful, they would have been forgiven.

The angry feeling between the Boers and the English is daily growing stronger. It is feared that war cannot be prevented.

President Krueger is preparing for the worst by allying himself with the Orange Free State, his neighbor on the east.

The treaty has just been made, and is waiting to be ratified by the Congress of each country. It gives the citizens of both republics the right of citizenship in either country, and binds each to fight for the other in case of war.

Mr. Chamberlain, the English Colonial Secretary, is trying his best to upset this treaty.

He declares that, according to an understanding made between England and the Transvaal in 1884, the Boers have the right to govern their country as they please, but they must not enter into any treaties or relations with other countries, without the consent of England.

Mr. Chamberlain says that Her Majesty the Queen will insist upon the terms of this treaty being obeyed.

Though England is taking such a very decided stand in the matter, she is far from feeling at ease as to the result. It seems that Germany is taking more interest in the affairs of South Africa than is pleasant to England.

It is feared that if war does break out in the Transvaal, Germany will join with the Boers and the people of the Orange Free State in fighting England.

Germany already owns a rich province in the neighborhood, and she has for some time been sending arms and soldiers, able to teach the Boers the art of war, across the continent, from her province on the West Coast, to the Transvaal.

She has lately sent three thousand of her soldiers out to South Africa.

While we are on the subject of Africa, we must speak of the expeditions that are being sent out from France to Abyssinia, with the object of making commercial treaties with King Menelik.

England is also sending out an envoy to the same country.

The reason for this sudden interest in Abyssinia comes from the great victory won by the Abyssinians last year, a victory which brought them into importance as a nation.

In 1896 the Italians, who have colonized a portion of Eastern Africa, bordering on Abyssinia, invaded their neighbor's country, with the intention of conquering it and adding it to their own.

The Abyssinians, a race of dark-skinned people whom we have been accustomed to look upon as savages, met the Italians on the open field of battle, and, without ambush or any of the usual savage methods of warfare, defeated them, the Italians leaving twelve thousand killed on the field.

The civilized nations had hardly recovered from their surprise at this defeat, when they were astounded afresh to find that the savage king Menelik had no desire to overrun the Italian country and punish the invaders for their attack, but having put them outside his borders, he settled quietly down to enjoy the blessings of peace.

The eyes of the world were turned on Abyssinia and its wonderful king, and the result has been that the various nations interested in Eastern Africa have decided that the friendship of Menelik is well worth having, and they are all hastening to make friends with this powerful king.

The French have been especially eager to make an alliance with him, before any other nations could get ahead of them. Abyssinia is a country rich in gold and ivory, and the friendship of Menelik is also valuable, because of the trade that can be done with his country. One expedition has been sent by the government to make the treaty, and at the same time another has started under the command of Prince Henry of Orleans.

This last has no political work to do, but is going in the interest of science and commerce. The Prince intends to explore the country, and find out what its chief products are, and what part of its commerce will be of value to his country.

He is writing most interesting accounts of his journey, which are being published in the papers, and we shall probably hear much that is new and interesting of this country.

In one of his letters he gave an amusing account of the astonishment of the natives over a graphophone (a present for King Menelik).

He at first put in a cylinder on which was recorded a song, sung by a great singer.

Strange to say, the natives received this with neither interest nor astonishment; the single voice did not seem anything out of the way to them. When, however, a cylinder with orchestral music, bugle calls, and a stirring march was put in place, their delight and surprise knew no bounds.

The mention of this brings another wonderful invention to mind, the animatograph, the machine which throws pictures on a sheet; the figures in them move as though they are alive.

During the Queen's Jubilee, which will be celebrated in London this spring, it has been arranged to have a number of animatograph pictures taken of the procession and all the finest part of the ceremonies. These, it is said, are to be kept in the library of the British Museum, to show future generations what kind of people lived in the nineteenth century.

This should be a very interesting collection, and probably, if the idea is successfully carried out, we shall have a set of these same pictures brought to this country, and be able to see just how our English cousins celebrated their great festival.

The news of the floods continues to be very serious.

At New Orleans the Mississippi River has reached the danger level, and the severe rain-storms which have visited the country during the past week have made the people in the city very anxious.

Certain of the streets are already swamps, and the river has risen within a foot and a half of the top of the levees.

The convicts have been sent out from the prisons to help pile the sacks of earth on the levees, and companies of engineers are stationed at all the weak spots along them, to guard against the banks giving way.

All along the river people are sending petitions to the various mayors and governors, begging them to forbid the river steamers travelling during the night, and to have them move as slowly as possible during the day. The wash from the paddle-wheels after they pass has done a great deal of damage, and in many places has helped to break the levees.

In several of the river towns all business has been forbidden, and all the men ordered to go to the levees and help to shore them up.

The slightest extra ripple of the waters at New Orleans brings them over the banks and floods the streets, but the banks are still safe.

England has just presented a very valuable manuscript to us, that has long been kept in the Bishop of London's palace at Fulham.

This book is called the log of the Mayflower, and is an account of the first voyage of the Pilgrim Fathers, and a history of the Plymouth Plantation.

Several previous attempts have been made to get this manuscript from England, but it has remained for Ambassador Bayard to secure the gift for us.

The manuscript is supposed to have been written by Gov. William Bradford, and if this is true, it can hardly be the log of the Mayflower, because the log is usually kept by the captain.

Every ship that sails the sea keeps a log, or log-book, in which is entered the progress the ship is making, and any facts of interest as they occur. It is in reality the ship's diary, but it is called a log-book, because its chief object is to record the speed of the vessel.

This speed is found by using an instrument called a log, which is attached to a line, divided into equal spaces by knots. These are placed certain distances apart, so many to a mile. The log is made in such a way that it will remain almost stationary in the water when thrown overboard. The line, wound upon a reel, is allowed to run out for a few seconds; the number of knots that have been paid off the reel are counted, and in this way the speed of the vessel is calculated.

The book in which the record is kept is called a "log"-book.

The book that England is giving to us is probably the diary of William Bradford, which he kept while on board the Mayflower, and it is said to record the account of the colony after the landing, and to contain many interesting accounts of the treaties with the Indians.

It is to be kept in the Boston Public Library.

The Tariff Bill has been hurried through the House of Representatives, and, having passed that House, has now gone up to the Senate.

There seems to have been a good deal of haste in the manner this was done.

Talking over alterations was not allowed, and the bill was forced to a vote, in spite of the fact that many of the Republicans were against it.

Several Congressmen said they would not have voted for it, unless quite sure that it would be much altered by the Senate before it is allowed to pass.

The Senate is still busy with the Arbitration Treaty.

Amendment after amendment has been made, until it is now a very different paper from the one handed in by Mr. Olney. Many of the Senators are so disgusted with all the talk and trouble over it, that they are inclined to vote against it, and put an end to the whole affair.

The Charter of the City of Greater New York has been prepared, and New York City is now ready to begin its life as the second largest city in the world, London being the largest.

Greater New York will take in the whole of Staten Island, Brooklyn, the Lower Bay as far as Far Rockaway, the whole of Queens County Long Island, then across the Sound to Pelham, and along the line of Westchester County, taking in Woodlawn Cemetery, the town of Mt. Vernon, and on until it reaches the Hudson River at Mount St. Vincent.

The new city will come into existence January 1, 1898.

The Charter for its government, which has been prepared, provides that the entire city shall be governed by one mayor, who shall hold office for four years.

The new city can build schoolhouses, public buildings, bridges, docks, tunnels, construct parks, establish ferries, open streets, and make railroads without going to the State Legislature in Albany for permission.

The number of square miles contained in the new city will be 360; the greatest length will be 35 miles, measured from Mt. St. Vincent on the Hudson to Tottenville on Staten Island.

It is expected that with the wonderful harbors and docks the new city will possess, its future as a centre of commerce will be most prosperous.

The Mayor of this great city will be a very important person, and great care must be taken in choosing the right man.

The election of the officers of Greater New York will take place next November.

Genie H. Rosenfeld.

INVENTION AND DISCOVERY.

Fish-Hook Book.—A book has been invented for carrying fish-hooks, and it promises to be of great use to all those who find pleasure in the gentle art of angling.

It is a book arranged somewhat like a wallet. At one end is a strong leather pocket for flies, then stretched across it are four ledges. Each ledge has a number of slits in it. At the end opposite the pocket is the first ledge, and into the slits in this ledge the hooks are placed. The short line attached to the hook is carried to the next ledge, and carefully slipped into a slit opposite to the one which holds the hook. The line is carried over another ledge to be finally anchored in the one nearer the pocket. When the book is closed the ledges fit into each other, and the fish-hooks are kept in place and therefore cannot get tangled.

The book is of a convenient size and is likely to find many admirers.

A patent was lately issued to a man who has invented a means of cutting the pages of the magazines for us.

His idea is to bind a strong thread into every page that needs cutting, and when we would cut the pages there is nothing to be done but to pull the thread and this cuts the page.

The next thing to be invented should be a machine that reads the magazine for us, and tells us what is in them.

The nearest approach we have made to this idea is in reading stories to the phonograph, and having the instrument repeat them to us.

G.H.R.

LETTERS FROM OUR YOUNG FRIENDS.

Another heavy mail this week. The Editor's friends are getting so numerous that a strike of the postmen on the route may be expected.

In reply to your letter asking how Queen Victoria gets her news, I must tell you that she is perhaps the most advanced and progressive woman in the world.

Though she is such an old lady, she keeps herself thoroughly posted about everything that goes on in the world. There is no question as to what she shall be allowed to read—she reads everything that is of interest to her; but that she may not waste her precious time looking over worthless articles, her secretaries are instructed to read the papers first every morning, and see what is worthy the Queen's reading.

From long habit they know the subjects that are of interest to Her Majesty, and these they carefully outline with a blue pencil.

It has always been the custom for one of the Princesses, the Queen's daughters, to read these items to her.

No clippings are sent to the Queen; the papers are marked and sent to her as they are.

Her Majesty really has a Great Round World made for herself every day, for the secretaries are like your Editor—they do their best to call the Sovereign's attention only to such matters as are really important and true.

Editor.

Dear Ernest:—We were very pleased to receive your letter, but we will not publish it, because we think you could write us a much better one, that would be well worth putting in our paper.

Won't you tell us something about golf, or what you see when you go out riding? We think you could write a very interesting letter on either of these subjects.

Editor.

Thank you for your kind letter. We are glad you find The Great Round World interesting.

Editor.

Your loving friend,
Gray F.
Wayne, Nebr., March, 1897.

We enjoyed your letter very much; it is very bright and interesting.

When we read it we said, Master Gray has gone off with his pen and paper all by himself to write to us, and that pleased us very much, because we want all our boys and girls to talk to us in their letters just as if they were speaking to us.

You seem to be a friend of dumb animals. Read Little Friend's letter to us, in No. 19, page 498. Would you not like to form a Band of Mercy to help your animal friends? Think of that poor cat, who was probably half-dead with fright, and the doggie with the can tied to his tail. Would you not like to know just how to help these poor little kindly things, who cannot help themselves?      Editor.

Edith.

We are glad to have your nice letter to publish, and will be pleased to have you read for us.

Editor.

Yours truly,
Sydney G.
Baltimore, Md., March 26th, 1897.

"The American Boy's Book of Sport," published by Charles Scribner's Sons, and mentioned in No. 21 of The Great Round World, will tell you how to make kites of all kinds. We cannot promise that you will find Lieutenant Wise's kite there, because we think he has kept the manner of making his kite a secret, and will do so until he has quite finished his experiments with it.

The Editor.

Yours truly,
Willie T.H.

Singing mice are very rare; but we have been to the store where we get our lizards, and tadpoles, and goldfish, and the man who keeps it has promised to see if he can hear of one. If he is fortunate enough to find such a mouse he is to let us know, and if you send us your address we will tell you how much he wants for it, and where you can see it.

Editor.

Your interested reader,
Florence C.R.

Jersey City, N.J., March 20, 1897.

We have written to the Smithsonian Institution about the cuttlefish. The reply has not reached us in time for this number, but next week we hope to be able to tell you what the scientific men have decided about it. That the monster found was the head of a whale was only the opinion of some of the gentlemen who examined it. We believe that no absolute decision was arrived at.

The Editor.

We were very much pleased to get an account of a gold mine published in a recent number, for we want our boys and girls to write letters describing the different industries of the United States. A number of New York boys a few days since went to Waterbury, Conn., and visited various factories; we publish two of their letters, and hope that we may receive similar letters from boys and girls in different parts of the country. In almost every town there is something which can be written about.

OUR EXCURSION TO WATERBURY.

On Thursday last the three upper classes visited Waterbury, Conn., to inspect some of the numerous industries for which the town is so famous, and returned Friday night, filled with great thoughts of the wonders of Yankee inventive genius.

While there we had the good fortune to be admitted to a pin-factory, an iron-foundry, a watch-factory, and the most extensive brass-works in the world.

I shall here limit myself to a brief description of the last.

Brass is made by melting together in large crucibles certain proportions of copper and zinc. The heat applied must be considerable, for during the fusion of the two metals a white flame from the zinc and a green one from the copper flash from the mouth of the crucible. When properly mixed the molten alloy is poured into rectangular or cylindrical moulds. After cooling, the bars are driven between immense rollers, to be formed into sheet-brass. This process is very much like rolling out dough for pie-crust, and is repeated many times. But the great pressure to which the sheets are subjected makes the alloy very brittle, so that it has to be softened or "annealed," as it is called, by being heated red-hot in very large ovens before each re-rolling. When the sheets have attained the required thinness, they are cut into widths and lengths suitable for easy handling, transportation, and manufacture.

We also saw sheets of copper and German silver made in a similar manner. The latter is simply brass that has had some nickel added to it to make it white like silver.

The cylindrical casts above mentioned are placed in machines that draw them into wire or tubing. The process is a most interesting one, though rather difficult to describe.

A large quantity of the products of these works is used directly in the very town, in factories for making clocks, watches, pins, and other articles.

It is interesting and curious to note how the manufacture of brass in this country originally started.

During the war of 1812 many useful articles became scarce; among these were buttons. A man named Benedict, who lived in Waterbury, began to make them out of bone, and became very prosperous.

About 1830 "Dame Fashion" ordained that brass or gilt buttons should be worn. At first Benedict imported brass from England, but as he could not get it of the required thinness, he resolved to make it himself. As copper was scarce, he travelled about the country, buying up old copper kettles and other things made of copper, which he melted with zinc, and had the resulting brass slabs rolled at a neighboring iron rolling-mill. In this way the great brass industry of the United States started. Its product is now valued at $60,000,000 a year.

H.H. Rogers, Jr.

April 6th, 1897.

PINS.

Among the factories of interest in and around Waterbury, Conn., is the Clinton Pin Factory. This is one of the largest in America, and has perhaps the most highly developed machinery in the world.

It is well to remember that the pin-machine is a purely American invention, and its immense advantage can be fully appreciated if we recall that it does the work that was required of eighteen distinct hands hardly more than fifty years ago.

Pins are made of either brass or iron wire. Those made of the latter are much cheaper, as the price of iron wire varies from three to five cents a pound, while brass wire is usually worth fourteen.

The wire is fed to the machine from large reels. It is first cut into the proper lengths by a small steel knife, so arranged that when the regular length of wire is drawn, the knife descends and cuts it off. Next, each small piece of wire, for we can hardly call it anything else yet, is headed by a sharp rap from a small automatic hammer. Lastly, the blunt ends are pointed by passing over a series of rapidly revolving emery-wheels, and the pin falls, the essentially completed article, into a large box, at the rate of three or four per second.

The pins are now placed in large vats, filled with soft soap and water, to be freed from the dirt and grease gathered while passing through the machine. After being thoroughly washed, they are put in the "hopper," mixed with bran or sawdust, to be dried. The hopper is shaken rapidly, and the clean, dry pins fall out at one side, the sawdust at the other.

The tinning or "silvering" process is next in order. To accomplish this, the pins are put into a vessel containing a solution of cream of tartar and tin, and boiled for four or five hours. From this they come forth bright and silvery-looking, to be dried again as before, previous to the final operation of polishing.

The pins are now ready to be put on papers. The machine which does this is perhaps one of the most ingenious ever constructed. Quantities of pins are thrown from time to time into a rapidly vibrating hopper, which causes them to pass, one by one, into a trough-like slide, that holds the pins by the head; consequently the imperfect ones are automatically rejected. They then slide along a groove to the main body of the machine, where they fall into slits properly distanced, and are pressed into the paper in rows, twelve in all, containing five hundred and sixteen pins.

Shield or safety-pins are made in about the same way, only there are twelve instead of three different stages before the pin issues from the machine absolutely complete. After this it has to be washed and tinned as above described.

The factory has more than fifty machines, which operate themselves so perfectly that they require the supervision of about ten men only.

It has been estimated that more than fifteen thousand gross of pins per day, or five million gross per annum, are turned out by this one concern.

George C. Cannon.

March 29th, 1897.

EXAMINATIONS

Klemm's Relief Practice Maps

For following the EASTERN QUESTION use Klemm's Roman Empire, and record each day's events. Small flags attached to pins, and moved on a map as the armies move, keep the details before you in a most helpful way, especially when you use the Relief Maps.

You have your choice of any wheel in the market if you send us one hundred regular subscriptions to the

"Great Round World"

Show the paper to your friends, and you will soon find one hundred people who will be glad to subscribe. Send the subscriptions in to us as fast as received, and when the one hundredth, reaches us you can go to ANY dealer YOU choose, buy ANY wheel YOU choose, and we will pay the bill.

Six-months' subscriptions will be counted as one-half, three-months' as one-quarter.

End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Great Round World And What Is
Going On In It, April 22, 1897,  Vol. 1, No. 24, by Various

*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GREAT ROUND WORLD ***

***** This file should be named 15471-h.htm or 15471-h.zip *****
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
        https://www.gutenberg.org/1/5/4/7/15471/

Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Emmy and the PG Online
Distributed Proofreading Team. (www.pgdp.net)


Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
will be renamed.

Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
redistribution.



*** START: FULL LICENSE ***

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK

To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
https://gutenberg.org/license).


Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic works

1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.

1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works.  See paragraph 1.E below.

1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.

1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
States.

1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:

1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
copied or distributed:

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
1.E.9.

1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.

1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.

1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
Gutenberg-tm License.

1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.

1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
that

- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."

- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
     License.  You must require such a user to return or
     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
     Project Gutenberg-tm works.

- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
     of receipt of the work.

- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.

1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.

1.F.

1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
your equipment.

1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.

1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
opportunities to fix the problem.

1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.

1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.

1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.


Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm

Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
people in all walks of life.

Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org.


Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
Foundation

The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
https://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.

The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
page at https://pglaf.org

For additional contact information:
     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
     Chief Executive and Director
     gbnewby@pglaf.org


Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation

Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
status with the IRS.

The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
particular state visit https://pglaf.org

While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
approach us with offers to donate.

International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.

Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
donations.  To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate


Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works.

Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.


Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.


Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:

     https://www.gutenberg.org

This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.