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THE GREAT ROUND WORLD
AND WHAT IS GOING ON IN IT
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And WHAT IS GOING ON IN IT.]
VOL. 1 MARCH 25, 1897. NO. 20
* * * * *
A Committee has been appointed by the English Parliament to inquire about
the raid made by Dr. Jameson into the Transvaal in December, 1895.
All London is deeply interested in this matter, so much so that a number
of the great English peers are present at the meetings, even the Prince of
Wales having attended several of them.
These meetings are held in Westminster Hall, which is one of the most
interesting buildings in London.
It was begun by King William Rufus, about 1090, and was used by the early
English Kings as a banqueting hall.
All the Kings and Queens of England until the time of George IV. were
crowned in Westminster Hall, and in this same building Charles I. was
condemned to death, and Oliver Cromwell was declared Protector of England,
and here the first Parliaments sat.
Westminster Hall after a while became part of the King's palace of
Westminster, where the famous Henry VIII. lived. This palace was destroyed
by fire except the grand old Hall, which was left standing alone until
the new Houses of Parliament were built on the ground where the palace had
once stood, and the Hall became a part of the Houses of Parliament.
This grand old building with its wonderful arched roof has seen many great
assemblies in its 800 years of life, but this inquiry into the affairs of
the Transvaal is by no means the least interesting of them.
If you take your map, you will see that the southern part of Africa is
divided into several states and colonies.
Cape Colony, the most southerly of all, belongs to England. Then comes the
Orange Free State, and then the South African Republic, or the Transvaal,
as it is called. You will notice that the English possessions creep up the
coast in front of the Transvaal, and also form its western or land
boundary.
The Transvaal is a Republic originally settled by the Dutch. Its
inhabitants are called Boers, and they are a race of sturdy farmers. It is
from their employment that they get their name of Boer. In the Dutch
language boer means a peasant, a farmer, or a tiller of the soil. It is
the same word as the German _Bauer_, a peasant.
These Boers are governed by a clever old man named Paul Krüger,--Oom (or
Uncle) Paul, as his people call him.
England, as you will see by your map, owns vast tracts of land in South
Africa, and according to her regular practice she is trying to enlarge her
possessions still further. Wherever England establishes a colony, she
reaches out on either side of her, and takes, if possible, a little piece
of land here, and another little scrap there, until by and by she has
laid hold of the greater part of the land around her.
She has been following her usual custom in South Africa.
But the Boers are not fond of the English, and they have been trying with
all their power to keep these neighbors of theirs as far away from them as
possible. As the English have advanced, the Boers have retreated, even
giving up the diamond mines of Kimberly in the process of moving.
One day, however, rich gold-fields were discovered on the Witwaters Rand.
A Rand is the high land on either side of a river valley.
This settled matters for the Boers. From the moment gold-fields were
discovered, Englishmen poured into the Transvaal.
The Boers, who, as we have said, are a quiet farming people, were not
pleased with this invasion of foreigners. They christened them Uitlanders,
which means outsiders, and they are decidedly not in love with them.
The capital of the Transvaal is a town called Pretoria. It is the seat of
the government, and is a simple, unpretentious town, situated in the
centre of the little Republic.
When the Uitlanders poured over the borders into the gold-fields, they
desired to have a town somewhat nearer to the Rand and the gold-fields
than Pretoria was, so they founded Johannesburg.
This town flourished amazingly, and soon far outstripped Pretoria in size
and importance, just as the Uitlanders had outstripped the Boers in point
of numbers and wealth.
The native population of the Transvaal is very scattered. They are a
nation of farmers, and at the present time there are only about 15,000
Boer men in the whole territory, while of the English-speaking Uitlanders
there are more than five times that number.
No sooner did Johannesburg grow to be a powerful city, than the
Uitlanders, her citizens, demanded that they should have a voice in the
government of the country.
They complained that they were hardly used by the Boers, and made to pay
heavy taxes.
The taxes are certainly heavy, but they are levied upon the gold miners,
who have come to the Transvaal for the sole purpose of making fortunes out
of the gold deposits; these fortunes they wish to carry away with them to
their own country.
The Boers, very naturally, think that some portion of these riches should
be paid to the country which gave them, and they cannot see by what right
these foreign gold-hunters expect to have a voice in the government.
One of the great grievances of the Uitlanders is that the Boers will not
have English taught in the schools, and that their children are obliged to
learn the language of the country if they go to the public schools.
These demands of the Uitlanders will seem all the more absurd when it is
understood that they do not ask for a voice in the government as citizens
of the country. None of these English-speaking people have so much as
offered to become citizens of the Transvaal. They are not even willing to
be. They wish to keep their right of citizenship in their own country,
that they may have the protection of England, and be able to return there
as soon as they have made their fortunes.
However, while they are in the Transvaal, digging their gold out of its
soil, they want to be able to govern the country in their own way, and are
loud in their outcries against the Boers for preventing them from doing
so.
Under the laws of the Transvaal it is very easy to become a citizen.
A man has only to live there two years before he can become a citizen, and
have all the share in the government that he is entitled to.
But this the Uitlanders are not willing to do. They want everything for
nothing.
Does not their request seem outrageous?
The Uitlanders kept up their demands for a share in the government, and
the Boers steadily refused them.
Then the population of Johannesburg began to arm itself, and the Boers
quietly watched them.
At last, word was sent to Dr. Jameson from the leading Uitlanders in
Johannesburg that the Boers were up in arms, and that the people of
Johannesburg were in danger of their lives.
They begged Dr. Jameson to come to their aid, in the name of humanity.
Dr. Jameson did not send this appeal on to his superiors, and wait for
orders, as he should have done, but thinking that he was doing a glorious
deed, he gathered a little force of eight hundred men together, and
cutting down the telegraph wires behind him, so that no orders could reach
him and stop him, he dashed into the Transvaal to the relief of
Johannesburg.
Almost within sight of Johannesburg he was met by the Boers, under their
leader, General Joubert.
Here a dastardly thing happened.
The Uitlanders, who had sent for this brave but foolish man, did not raise
a finger to help him, but stayed like cowards within the walls of their
city, while the little body of men, worn out with their long march, were
cut to pieces by their enemy.
At last, when all hope was at an end, and but a hundred and fifty were
left of his party, Dr. Jameson surrendered, and he and the remnant of his
men were taken prisoner and conveyed to Pretoria.
Great excitement was felt in both Cape Colony and England. Nobody wanted
to take the blame for the raid, but every one felt that if Dr. Jameson had
succeeded instead of having failed, England would have added the Transvaal
to her possessions, and said as little about it as possible.
Dr. Jameson having failed, matters were very different.
President Krüger demanded to know why England had allowed an armed force
to enter the territory of a country with which she was at peace, and
wished to know by whose authority the raid was made.
England at once declared that she had had no hand in the matter, and asked
that Dr. Jameson and the rest of the prisoners might be sent to her, to be
dealt with according to her laws.
After some delay President Krüger agreed to do this, and the remnant of
the famous raiders was shipped to England.
On their arrival they were tried for breaking the laws, and the officers
and Dr. Jameson were sentenced to various terms of imprisonment, varying
from five to fifteen months.
This ended the matter as far as Dr. Jameson was concerned--but not for the
Government.
The Boers presented a claim to the British Government for damages
sustained by them from the raid. Their claim is for $8,000,000.
They ask three millions for material damage, which means the cost of the
men and arms they used to defeat the raiders, and five millions for "moral
and intellectual damage," which means wounded feelings and general
annoyance.
There was much amusement in the British Parliament when the claim was
made, and the members laughed heartily at the idea of moral and
intellectual damage.
In the same way that we manage these matters in our Senate, the affair was
referred to a committee.
This committee has to inquire into the matter, see if the claim is a just
one, and whether England ought really to pay money to the South African
Republic.
It is this committee which is sitting in Westminster Hall.
All London was interested when Mr. Cecil Rhodes was called before it and
put on the stand as a witness. Mr. Rhodes was the Prime Minister of Cape
Colony, and resigned his position when the trouble came about the Raid.
He is perhaps the most important man in all South Africa. It is his desire
to bring the whole of this territory under English rule, and it is thought
that this ambition was at the root of the Jameson Raid, and that Cecil
Rhodes is really the person who is responsible for it.
It is also whispered that the English Government looks favorably upon his
plans, and that the Raid was only a part of a deep-laid scheme to
overthrow the Boer Government, and seize the Transvaal for England.
The Boers evidently believe this side of the story, for at the opening of
their Parliament the other day, Oom Paul, the valiant old President,
stated that it was the object of the enemy to destroy the Republic, but
that the Boers must rely upon the help of God. He closed his speech with
the solemn words:
"The Lord will not forsake His people!"
Mr. Cecil Rhodes has been asked by the Committee of Inquiry to explain the
trouble in South Africa, and he has done so at great length.
His explanation is, however, a trifle funny to fair-minded persons who
believe that the old maxim, "What is mine is mine, and what is thine is
thine," should be strictly obeyed.
Mr. Rhodes has made a long complaint against the Boers for not allowing
strangers and foreigners to help them govern their own country. He has
pictured the woes of the Uitlanders because they are not allowed to
govern, and because their children are not taught English in the schools,
and moreover, because they are made to pay heavy taxes for the gold they
mine and carry away. They have still another grievance. Any favor that the
Boers show at all is shown to Germans, and not to Englishmen. The Boers
will not allow any of the products of Cape Colony within their borders,
but prefer to do their trading with Germany. A dreadful offence truly,
that they choose their own markets!
The Commission has heard Mr. Rhodes with great seriousness and a good deal
of sympathy.
So far, strange to say, it does not seem to have occurred to any member of
the august assembly which is making the inquiry, that the Uitlanders are
mere squatters in the Transvaal, and that if they don't like the ways of
the country they are visiting, there is nothing to prevent them from
packing up their traps, and going back whence they came.
Mr. Cecil Rhodes has not attempted to hide the fact that he did his best
to stir up the uneasy feeling in Johannesburg that led to the Jameson
Raid.
He admits that he sent Dr. Jameson to the borders of the Transvaal with
orders to hold himself in readiness for an emergency.
He does not allow that he is responsible for the actual raid itself,
because Dr. Jameson acted without orders when making it.
He does not deny, however, that he hoped to overthrow the Boer Government,
and President Krüger.
One of the members of the committee asked him if he meant to make himself
President in the place of Oom Paul, but he denied that he had any such
idea.
He gave, as a final reason why the cause of the Uitlanders was a just
cause, that "no body of Englishmen will ever remain in any place for any
period, without insisting on their civil rights."
There is quite a sprinkling of Americans among the Uitlanders, but it is
to be hoped that they understand the duties of citizenship too well to be
among the discontents who demand its privileges without being willing to
undertake its penalties.
The Boer Parliament has, since the sitting of the committee in London,
refused the Uitlanders' last appeal for a voice in the government, and it
is thought that England will refuse to pay the money damages claimed by
the Republic.
It is thought that the result of the matter will be a war with the Boers,
in which England will struggle to overthrow the other South African
governments, and secure the control of the whole of that vast territory
for herself.
* * * * *
Matters in Greece are growing more serious. Much has happened within the
last few days.
On further consideration of the offers of the Powers, Greece refused home
rule for Crete, and declared her intention of carrying out her plan of
reunion with the island.
She boldly defied the Powers, and declared that she would yield only to
superior force.
In replying to the note from the Powers ordering her to withdraw her
troops from Crete, her Prime Minister, Delyannis, said that while Greece
would not leave Crete, there should be no fighting with the Turks unless
an attempt was made by them to carry the war into Greece itself. Unless
the Turks invade Greece, the Greek army would only remain in Crete to
protect the Christians there. If, however, the Powers made matters too
difficult for Greece in Crete, she would of course have to protect
herself.
This reply put Europe in a very difficult quandary. Greece says she is
ready to fight the whole of Europe rather than leave her brothers in
Crete in the power of the Turks.
The Powers, having threatened to make her obey if she refused to comply
with their wishes, are now aghast at the prospect of having to fight with
the heathen Turks against the Christian Greeks, or else steam back to
their respective countries, snubbed and ridiculous.
They have long been conferring together to prevent any further misrule in
Turkey, and to efface this monarchy, which is a disgrace to Europe, and
they find that, by their too hasty interference, they have put themselves
in the position of having to uphold the Turkish misrule against their own
convictions.
The Turks are so convinced that Europe is going to stand by them, that
large bodies of them are parading the streets of Canea, crying for the
blood of the Christian "dogs," as they call them, and apparently expecting
that the Powers are going to help them in a general massacre of the
Greeks.
This state of affairs is particularly dreadful, because, at the time of
the massacre of the Armenians by the Turks, not one of the European Powers
fired a shot to prevent it. All that was done was accomplished by talks
and conferences with the Ambassadors.
Now, when Greece tries to free her Christian brothers from the grasp of
the Turks, these same Powers train their guns on the Greeks, and lend the
Turks their aid to force the Christians back under the control of the
murdering Turks!
It is a monstrous situation, and one that makes every honest man hate the
diplomacy and politics of nations that make such things possible and
necessary.
When Greece sent her defiant answer to the Powers, they had a long
conference, and after much talk, decided to send their Ultimatum to
Greece.
An Ultimatum means a final condition, which, if refused, will break off
all attempts at settling matters peaceably.
The Ultimatum of the Powers was written in two separate letters.
The first requested Greece to withdraw her ships and soldiers within six
days.
This has been presented.
In case Greece refuses to withdraw, the second note will be given her.
This states that the Powers will immediately use force to make her do as
they desire. This of course means that war will be declared.
It is said that the Greeks are not likely to obey the wishes of the
Powers, and that the King of Greece intends to refuse, and then to take
his own course.
It is said that King George has declared himself quite ready for a war
with Turkey, and that he does not intend to allow the Powers to tell him
what he is to do.
Greece is making preparations for war, has called out her army reserves,
and is massing her troops all along the Turkish frontier, expecting that
the war will be on the mainland, and not on the island of Crete. Greece
expects that should war be declared Turkey will at once try to cross her
borders and conquer her. If Turkey does not attempt this, Greece will
cross into Turkish territory, and endeavor to reconquer the various
ancient Greek provinces which are now under the rule of Turkey. The
Servians, Bulgarians, and Montenegrins are also arming and rising, and
will side with Greece in case the war breaks out.
If you look these little countries up on the map, you will find that they
lie on the Northern side of European Turkey, while Greece is on the
Southern side. If these countries do really come to the aid of Greece,
Turkey will find herself between two enemies, and will have a difficult
war to fight.
[Illustration: Types of Greek Fighters.]
It is not true that Russia is at the bottom of this Cretan trouble.
She has evidently been acting sincerely this time. She has warned Greece
to stop her quarrel with Turkey, has sent word to her that she very much
disapproves of the way she is behaving, and as Greece has not listened to
her protests, she has finally broken off all diplomatic relations with
her. This, you remember as in the case of Venezuela, means that Russia and
Greece are no longer on speaking terms.
Russia is very angry with Greece for refusing her advice, and Greece feels
very bitterly toward Russia for helping in the bombardment of the Greeks
at Akrotiri.
So deep is the feeling between them, that when the Russian court sent the
appointment of Honorary Admiral of the Russian Navy, as a compliment, to
Queen Olga of Greece, she returned it indignantly, saying she could not
hold any rank in a navy that had fired upon Greeks and Cretans.
Europe is still looking around for some one on whom to cast the blame for
the Cretan muddle. The present idea is that England is the guilty party.
This last report may not have any more truth in it than that about Russia,
but it is now, said that England is bent upon conquering the Transvaal,
and securing South Africa for herself, and that she has stirred up all
this Cretan mischief, so that Germany and the other European Powers may be
too busy at home to look after her abroad.
Whoever is to blame, the Greeks are going steadily ahead. Fighting
continues, the Greek arms being mainly successful.
Turkey has tried to send fresh troops to Crete, but has been prevented by
the Powers.
The ports of Crete are closely blockaded, and the island is running short
of food.
There is a story that when the Greek fleet was ordered to leave Cretan
waters by the Powers, its commander, Commodore Reinecke, replied that he
would only obey the orders of his own government, and that, though the
Powers sank his ship, he would not move until he had his country's orders
to do so.
* * * * *
Good has come out of evil.
The cruel death of the unfortunate Dr. Ruiz in Cuba has aroused and
alarmed the government into looking more closely after our citizens there.
For one reason or another, Mr. Olney chose to disbelieve the stories from
Cuba, and tried to throw discredit on General Lee, declaring that his
action in the Ruiz matter had been hasty and unwarranted, and that things
were not so bad in Cuba as he stated them to be.
Mr. Cleveland and the Senate refused to be satisfied with this statement,
and demanded that all the papers relating to our citizens who are
imprisoned in Cuba should be laid before them.
At the same time, Senator Morgan offered a joint resolution, demanding the
immediate release of General Julio Sanguily.
General Sanguily, who was a famous Cuban general in the previous war
against Spain, has been many months in Cuban prisons, and was at one time
condemned to penal servitude at the Spanish settlement in South Africa.
Through the representations of our government a new trial was secured for
him, and he was finally set free.
The manner of freeing him was very Spanish. Word was sent to him that if
he would declare himself guilty of treason against Spain he would be given
his liberty. This he refused to do. He had not very much faith in the
Spaniards, and he was not sure that it might not be a trap which they were
setting for him. He feared that if he declared himself guilty, they would
make it a pretext for putting him to death.
Mr. Olney however, persuaded him to do as Spain wished, Minister de Lome
having explained to him that Spain would graciously pardon General
Sanguily if he acknowledged his guilt.
So the farce was played according to Spain's wishes, and the innocent
Sanguily declared himself guilty, that he might he pardoned for an offence
which he had never committed. He was thereupon set free, and made the best
of his way over to America and security.
This Sanguily farce has been made to answer another purpose.
Spain is very tired of Weyler, and the complete failure of the great
campaign in which he was going "to eat up the Cubans at his leisure," has
made Spain lose faith in him.
The constant battles in the provinces which he had declared pacified, the
ease with which Gomez crossed the Trocha which had cost Spain so much
money, and the repeated defeats of the Spanish arms, settled the business,
and it was decided that Weyler must be removed from Cuba.
For some unknown reason, Spain does not want to disgrace Weyler, in spite
of his failures, so they have allowed him to use the release of Sanguily
as a pretext for disagreeing with the government, and resigning his
position in Cuba. The Spaniards seem to be most careful of their friends'
feelings, and most polite in all their dealings with one another. It is a
pity that this very delicate code of honor does not prevent them from
murdering helpless prisoners, and insulting defenceless women.
The release of Sanguily has aroused some very bitter feeling in Havana,
and the Spaniards are saying that Spain ought not to submit to it, nor to
General Lee's conduct in regard to the murder of Ruiz.
These murmurs are so loud and threatening, that all the Americans who can
do so are leaving the island with all possible speed.
Should the Spanish attack them, they have no means of defence; the
Consulate is an unprotected building, and Consul Lee has no men at his
disposal to protect them.
Gomez appears to be advancing toward Havana.
From the last reports a large body of insurgents was seen at Cienfuegos.
They mustered about 5,000 men, and were supposed to be commanded by
General Gomez himself. The news was brought by bands of Spanish soldiers
who had fled at his approach.
They said the army was marching in long lines, two foot-soldiers abreast,
with the cavalry covering them on the two sides, one horseman behind the
other.
Cienfuegos is about two hundred miles from Arroyo Blanco, where Gomez won
his great fight. To reach this place he has crossed the great Eastern
Trocha, and is now but a hundred and fifty miles from Havana.
It is reported that General Weyler came back to Havana suddenly and
unexpectedly, and it may have been in consequence of the approach of
Gomez.
* * * * *
The filibusters are busy again.
Word was sent to the Treasury Department the other day, that a large
steamer, supposed to be carrying arms and men to Cuba, had left Barnegat,
on the Jersey Coast.
It was reported that this steamer was the _Laurada_, the famous
filibuster, about which we spoke in Numbers 6 and 9 of THE GREAT ROUND
WORLD.
The _Laurada_ came back from her Spanish trip, and appeared to be
conducting herself like a good, peaceable steamer; but, if reports are
true, she has suddenly commenced her tricks again.
She took on coal and provisions at Baltimore, pretending she was going to
Philadelphia, but she has not yet been heard of at that port.
A steamer answering to her description has appeared off Barnegat, taken on
quantities of arms and ammunition, and about a hundred men, among whom it
is supposed was General Carlos Roloff, the insurgent Minister of War.
The little revenue cutter _Manhattan_ was ordered out of New York Harbor,
to arrest her; and loaded with arms, and with four United States Deputy
Marshals, she hurried off in chase of the naughty steamer.
She made all haste to Barnegat, having to make her way through heavy seas
that tried the nerves and the stomachs of the passengers.
When she arrived, there was no _Laurada_ in sight; that saucy vessel had
made the most of her opportunities, and was a hundred and fifty miles down
the coast. The marshals got nothing for their trouble but a chilly trip
and a bad attack of sea-sickness.
It seems that the secret of the expedition was ferreted out by some
Pinkerton detectives, who are in the employ of the Spanish.
These worthies heard about the expedition, and hired a boat and went out
after the _Laurada_. They came up with her as she was taking on her cargo,
but she was far enough away from the coast to be what is termed "on the
high seas," too far out for interference from anything but a man-of-war or
a revenue cutter.
The story goes, that the tug which carried the Pinkerton men circled round
the _Laurada_ several times, and saw the men being transferred from the
barge to the steamer. These men, in their pleasure at having outwitted the
Spanish detectives, beguiled the moments of waiting by making ugly faces
at the Pinkerton men, and calling them various foreign names, until the
detectives finally steamed off to give information, and get revenge.
There are rumors that two other expeditions have sailed for Cuba, or are
about sailing. The _South Portland_ is supposed to be already on her way,
and the _Bermuda_ to be waiting off Long Island for a large party.
It is supposed that the filibusters hope the change in the Administration
may have made things a little easier for them. They appear to have waited
for President McKinley's election to try once more to help their friends.
It remains to be seen what action our new President will take in the
matter.
* * * * *
The case of the _Three Friends_ has been up in courts again.
You remember how she was seized, and the case against her was dismissed
because Judge Locke decided that, as President Cleveland had declared
there was no state of war in Cuba, the vessel could not be breaking any
laws in carrying merchandise to Cuba.
This decision was appealed against, and was taken into the higher courts
for further consideration.
The higher court has decided that as it was known that troubles of a
warlike nature were going on, the _Three Friends_ was guilty of breaking
the laws, and should never have been set free. Chief Justice Fuller
therefore decided that a new trial must be held, and the steamer once more
taken into custody.
* * * * *
News comes from Siam that the government there has agreed to arbitrate the
Cheek Teakwood claim, in the endeavor to settle which our Vice-Consul, Mr.
Kellett, was wounded, as we told you in Numbers 16 and 17 of THE GREAT
ROUND WORLD.
The Siamese government has also agreed to look into the matter of the
assault on Mr. Kellett, and punish the guilty persons.
As you will see in Number 17, Mr. Olney hinted that Consul-General Barrett
had been over-hasty, and that the Siamese were not to blame.
He made similar remarks about General Lee in Cuba.
He does not seem to want our Consuls to protect our citizens in foreign
countries, and it is perhaps a good thing for the nation that he has no
longer the power to hinder them in the performance of their duties.
Consul-General Barrett's claim proves to have been just and right, by the
action of the Siamese government.
* * * * *
Blondin, the celebrated tight-rope walker, has just died in London, at the
age of seventy-three.
The performance which made him famous was the crossing of Niagara Falls on
the tight-rope.
Blondin was a Frenchman, his father having been one of Napoleon's
soldiers.
A story is told of him that when he was five years old he saw an acrobat
performing on a tight-rope.
He was so pleased with what he saw, that when he got home he stretched a
rope between two posts, and, as soon as his mother was out of the way,
took his father's fishing-rod, and, using it as a balancing pole, made his
first appearance as a tight-rope walker.
He was trained for an acrobat and tight-rope walking, and came to this
country with a troup of pantomimists.
While here he visited Niagara Falls, and the idea at once struck him that,
if he dared to cross those terrible waters on a rope, his fortune would be
made. He made up his mind to try it, and stayed in the village of Niagara
for weeks, until he had learned just how it would be possible for him to
perform the feat.
Then he set about getting the scheme well advertised, and securing plenty
of money for himself if he succeeded in accomplishing it.
On August 17th, 1859, he made the trip across the Falls in the presence of
50,000 spectators.
His rope was 175 feet above the waters.
He was not satisfied with merely walking across; he crossed again
blindfolded, and then carrying a man on his back, and once again wheeling
a barrow before him.
In the summer of 1860 he crossed once more in the presence of the Prince
of Wales, and carried a man on his back, whom he set down on the rope six
times, while he rested.
* * * * *
News has reached us that a great avalanche of snow has fallen upon the
Monastery of St. Bernard, and has destroyed the left wing of the building,
though happily without costing any lives.
[Illustration: The St. Bernard at home.]
The Great St. Bernard is a mountain pass in the Swiss Alps, and the
monastery was built in the year 963 by a nobleman named Bernard de
Menthon, for the use of pilgrims on their way to Rome.
As the years have passed away, the pilgrims have become tourists, but
still the monastery's doors have been open for all who asked for shelter
there. There is sleeping accommodation for one hundred people, but in bad
weather as many as six hundred guests have been sheltered at one time.
Snow avalanches like the one which has destroyed the wing of the monastery
are of frequent occurrence there. An avalanche is a mass of snow, which,
getting loosened from the mountain heights, falls down to the valley,
often bearing masses of rock and earth with it. As it sweeps down the
mountain side it carries all before it, and when it is finally checked in
its course, it smothers everything around in its mantle of white.
It has always been a part of the monks' duties, after one of these
dreadful avalanches has passed over, to go out into the mountains and
search for travellers who may have been buried by it.
To help them in this work they keep a number of the St. Bernard dogs,
which we all know and love so well.
The monks usually go out each day in couples, taking dogs and servants
with them.
The dogs can scent out any poor creature who may lie buried in the snow,
and they run around, sniffing and seeking, seeming thoroughly to
understand what is expected of them. When they find any one, they howl,
and scratch at the snow till their masters come to them.
They are so clever that they often show the monks the way home, when all
traces of the road are shut out by the snow.
Sometimes, when the storm is so bad that the monks dare not venture, the
dogs are sent out alone, each with a little keg of brandy tied round his
neck. They find the travellers, and show them the way to the monastery.
One of these wonderful dogs, named Barri, saved twenty persons from a
horrible death.
GENIE H. ROSENFELD.
We stated, in regard to Oscar of Sweden, that the Prince Oscar who married
Lady Ebba Munck was the eldest son of King Oscar.
We should have said the second son.
THE EDITOR.
LETTERS FROM OUR YOUNG FRIENDS.
The Editor has much pleasure in acknowledging letters from Robertson B.,
Grace K., and M.T.W.
We are very glad to know that the trees that were moved are alive and
doing well.
DEAR MR. EDITOR:
I read THE GREAT ROUND WORLD and I think it very nice.
I am glad to read in the number for February 25th about the
moving of Katonah, for I live in Katonah myself.
The people of Katonah do not want to have it thought that New
York city has made them move because they are careless about
their drainage. It is because the city is going to make a new
reservoir where the old village of Katonah now stands. Katonah
has three churches, a public library and reading-room, a village
improvement association, and a graded school, and _was_ proud of
itself.
We hope the new village will be even nicer than the old one. The
trees that were moved are living and doing well.
Yours truly,
ROBERTSON B. (Age 11).
KATONAH, N.Y., March 2d, 1897.
DEAR EDITOR:
I have been reading THE GREAT ROUND WORLD for three or
four months, and like it very much. I am particularly interested
in the Cubans, and hope they will soon gain their freedom.
I have just finished "Little Women," and perhaps the other
little girls and boys have read it, too. I think it is splendid.
I am eleven years old, and this is my first letter, so I hope
you will publish it.
Wishing THE GREAT ROUND WORLD continued success, I am
Yours truly,
GRACE K.
GREENSBORO, N.C., Feb. 27th, 1897.
DEAR MR. EDITOR:
My teacher subscribes for your paper for children, so that I
learn a great deal. I liked the account about the Nicaragua
Canal very much last week, as I know little about it.
I look every week with pleasure for the coming of THE GREAT
ROUND WORLD, as I am so interested in all the news you give
us. Wishing your paper great success, I am
Your little reader,
M.T.W. (Age 9).
NEW YORK, March 3d, 1897.
INVENTION AND DISCOVERY.
A _new paper doll_ has been invented by a Brooklyn woman.
It is so arranged that the arms and legs are fastened on movable discs,
and Miss Dolly, instead of being the flat, uninteresting thing that most
paper dolls are, can move her arms and legs, and attend tea parties, and
take refreshments, just as any well brought-up stuffed dolly can.
She is to wear a great many beautiful dresses, which will take on and off
easily, and will be a very nice companion for the little women who live in
apartments, and have not much room for their dollies.
* * * * *
_Scissors_ or _shears_.
This is a very useful invention for a boy's tool-box or for mamma's
work-table.
It is a combination affair. In the first place, it looks like an ordinary
pair of scissors. But when you open them to cut anything, you get the
first surprise: one of the blades is marked off in inches, half-inches,
quarters, eighths, and sixteenths.
[Illustration]
Then when you are prepared for the wonders these shears have to show, you
find that on one handle is a hammer-head, and that they can be used as a
hammer. Close to the hammer-head a screw-driver is arranged. At the point
of the shears is an awl for boring holes; and, most practical of all, the
scissors when they are opened out form a perfect carpenter's square.
This wonderful tool was invented by Benjamin Ford, of Newcastle, Maine.
Any boy who has such a pair of shears, and a paper of screws in his
pocket, can build and make to his heart's content, and the happy mother
who has this tool on her work-table is done forever with breaking her back
over the tool-chest, to find some particularly elusive screw-driver or
gimlet.
* * * * *
_Photographs in relief._
A new plan in regard to photographs has been invented.
[Illustration]
It is to take a photograph, similar to the one that is to be embossed,
and, after cutting it in a certain way, press the portions outward that it
is desired shall stand in relief.
An open mask of the same shape as the photograph is then used, and the two
photographs are dampened and pressed tightly together until the face and
figure stand out from the card, and the picture looks as if it had been
carved in wood.
This is a very ingenious invention, but the work is very difficult, and
can only be done by people who are regularly trained to do it.
G.H.R.
* * * * *
FIRST BOUND VOLUMES
OF....
=The Great Round World=
_Containing Nos. 1 to 15_
=WILL BE READY MARCH 20TH=
THESE VOLUMES WILL BE IN STRONG CLOTH, WITH TITLE ON BACK AND SIDE, WITH A
HANDSOME DESIGN....
=Price, Postage Paid, $1.25=
Subscribers wishing their numbers bound will send them (express paid),
enclosing 35 cents to cover cost of binding. Missing numbers or
supplements will be supplied until exhausted, at regular price.
* * * * *
WILLIAM BEVERLEY HARISON
_3 & 5 West 18th Street, New York City_
* * * * *
FOUR FAMOUS BOOKS
Every boy and girl is interested in what is going on about them. The
authors of this series have gathered together the most interesting kind of
information, and have told it in a most entertaining way.
Copies will be sent post-paid to any address upon receipt of price named.
1. =Foods and Beverages=, by E.A. BEAL, M.D. Contains
reading lessons on the various kinds of Foods and their hygienic
values; on Grains, Fruits, and useful Plants, with elementary
botanical instruction relating thereto; and on other common
subjects of interest and importance to all, old and young. 281
pages. Cloth, 60 cents.
2. =Every-Day Occupations=, by H. WARREN CLIFFORD, S.D.
Quantities of useful facts entertainingly told, relating to work
and workers. How Leather is Tanned; How Silk is Made; The
Mysteries of Glass-Making, of Cotton Manufacture, of
Cloth-Making, of Ship and House Building; The Secrets of the
Dyer's Art and the Potter's Skill--all and more are described
and explained in detail with wonderful clearness. 330 pages.
Cloth, 60 cents.
3. =Man and Materials=, by WM. G. PARKER, M.E. Shows
how man has raised himself from savagery to civilization by
utilizing the raw material of the earth. Brings for the first
time the wonderful natural resources of the United States to the
notice of American children. The progress of the Metal-Working
arts simply described and very attractively illustrated. 323
pages. Cloth, 60 cents.
4. =Modern Industries and Commerce=, by ROBERT LOUIS,
PH.D. Treats of commerce and the different means of
conveyance used in different eras. Highways, Canals. Tunnels,
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Light, Atlantic Cable, the Telephone, and the principal newer
commercial applications of Electricity, etc. 329 pages. Cloth,
60 cents.
* * * * *
WOOD'S
Natural History Readers.
By the REV. J.G. WOOD, M.A.,
_Author of "Homes without Hands," etc._
=First Reader.= Short and simple stories about Common Domestic Animals 25
cts.
=Second Reader.= Short and simple stories about Animals of the Fields,
Birds, etc. 36 cts.
=Third Reader.= Descriptive of Familiar Animals and some of their wild
relations 50 cts.
=Fourth Reader.= The Monkey Tribe, the Bat Tribe, the Mole, Ox, Horse,
Elephant, etc 65 cts.
=Fifth Reader.= Birds, Reptiles, Fishes, etc. 65 cts.
=Sixth Reader.= Mollusks, Crustacea, Spiders, Insects, Corals, Jelly Fish,
Sponges, etc. 65 cts.
* * * * *
=WILLIAM BEVERLEY HARISON=
=3 & 5 West 18th Street, - - - - NEW YORK=
* * * * *
THE GREAT ROUND WORLD
NATURAL HISTORY
STORIES.
A Series of True Stories
BY
JULIA TRUITT BISHOP.
Attractively Illustrated by Barnes.
* * * * *
These stories will be issued in parts. Price, 10 cents each. Subscription
price (12 numbers), $1.00. Part 1. issued as supplement to GREAT ROUND
WORLD. 19.
* * * * *
=Author's Preface.=
The stories published in this little volume have been issued
from time to time in the Philadelphia _Times_, and it is at the
request of many readers that they now greet the world in more
enduring form. They have been written as occasion suggested,
during several years; and they commemorate to me many of the
friends I have known and loved in the animal world. "Shep" and
"Dr. Jim," "Abdallah" and "Brownie," "Little Dryad" and
"Peek-a-Boo." I have been fast friends with every one, and have
watched them with such loving interest that I knew all their
ways and could almost read their thoughts. I send them on to
other lovers of dumb animals, hoping that the stories of these
friends of mine will carry pleasure to young and old.
* * * * *
=WILLIAM BEVERLEY HARISON,=
=3 & 5 West 18th Street.=
* * * * *
Great Round World Polisher
=Will take rust off your wheel, will polish your skates, your
gun, your fishing-reel--any and every polished metal surface can
be kept clean with it. .. .. .. .. .. ..=
* * * * *
It will polish knives--can be used as a knife sharpener. Put up in small
packages convenient to carry in your bicycle tool-bag; full directions
with each package.
=BEWARE OF IMITATIONS. THIS POLISHER IS FULLY WARRANTED BY "THE GREAT
ROUND WORLD."= If it does not do all that we say, and a great deal more,
we will refund amount paid at any time. =CHEAP AND DURABLE=--will remain
good until last morsel is used up. =NON-POISONOUS!!=
Every boy or girl, man or woman, can use it safely.
* * * * *
=Price, 25 cents (13 two-cent stamps), postage paid to any address.=
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* * * * *
WILLIAM BEVERLEY HARISON,
5 West 18th Street, New York City.
* * * * *
=EVERY PACKAGE BEARS THIS NAME.=
* * * * *
SUPPLEMENT TO
[Illustration: THE GREAT ROUND
WORLD
AND WHAT IS GOING ON IN IT.]
* * * * *
VOL. 1 MARCH 25, 1897. NO. 20
* * * * *
ABOUT GREECE AND CRETE.
Do you know, my dear young friends, that you and I ought to be very glad
and grateful that we are _Americans_?
Does it ever occur to you that while millions of people in other lands are
to-day suffering unspeakably from cruelty and oppression, it is your happy
lot to live under a government which makes such wrongs impossible?
You have seen what Cuba is willing to suffer, if she can only get away
from the oppression of Spain. You have seen that she considers no
sacrifices too great, that she will surrender fortune, happiness, and life
itself, will endure lingering tortures and death in solitary dungeons; and
all this, just that she may secure the very freedom which you and I enjoy
so carelessly!
And now, from the Southeastern end of Europe, there has come another
supplicating voice, from another island.
The little island of Crete, in the grasp of a hand infinitely more cruel
than Spain's, has declared she would rather perish than remain longer at
the mercy of the Turk.
What could such a little atom of a country do alone? One can only wonder
that she ever dared to _dream_ of freedom! But a desire for freedom makes
frail, weak bodies marvellously strong sometimes. She resolved that she
would not longer endure the Turkish yoke; and she called to her old
kinsmen in Greece to come and take her into their Christian kingdom. She
said: "We are the same in race and in religion, let us become one in
country, too."
This is not the first despairing cry that has come from the Sultan's
dominions. Again and again have they rung through Europe in the last
century.
The rule of the Ottoman Empire (or Turkey) is the most corrupt, cruel, and
degrading in the world. We have seen that Spain is grasping, avaricious,
and a hard mother to her distant Colonies, which she treats like slaves
rather than children. But for all that Spain is brave and chivalric. She
has a _sense_ of honor and of justice, even if she violates it, and--she
is _Christian_.
But Turkey--Mohammedan Turkey, has not one of these qualities. She has no
conscience, no shame, no remorse for terrible deeds done; indeed, the
murder of Christians is the surest and swiftest passport to her heaven!
Thousands and thousands of Christians perish by the sword every year in
the Ottoman Empire, and awful cruelties are committed every day upon the
living.
Now you ask why the Christian nations of Europe permit these things to
be; and you naturally suppose it goes on because they cannot help it. Not
at all.
Any one of the great nations of Europe could sweep the decaying old
Mohammedan Empire out of existence in one campaign; and the six combined
Powers, England, Russia, Austria, Germany, France, and Italy, could do it
in six hours! Then why do they not?
Simply because Turkey occupies the most important and valuable
_strategical position_ on the earth. And each of these great nations is in
mortal fear that some of the others will get possession of it.
I have already told you about the immense importance of these "strategic
points" in the great game of European politics or diplomacy, and how
eagerly the nations are all the time watching for opportunities to secure
them.
If you will look at your map, you will see that Turkey lies at the gateway
which separates the Eastern world from the Western. The vast and beautiful
region ruled by the Sultan, and known as the "Ottoman Empire," lies partly
in Asia, partly in Europe, and partly in Africa.
Stretching over a vast expanse behind the Sultan is _India_--that India,
which has been for centuries the coveted treasure-house of the world. With
his back turned upon this marvellous India, the Sultan's face is turned
toward Europe, where six great Empires are looking with eager and longing
eyes at the golden prize behind him in the East; and each glaring
suspiciously and defiantly at the other at the slightest move toward the
coveted land, to which the Ottoman Empire bars the way.