bod. Both stood with their eyes in the direction of the scund, when round the point below, not three hudred yards. from them, came a thing-a very demon -belching out smoke and fire, uttering the most horrid groans and shrieks. "Oh Lord! oh Lord!" shouted Ichabod. "Sam, Sam, give me that axe! here comes the devil! Give me that axe, you darned old fool! Lord! Lord! Lord! Will the folks to hum ever believe that I come down here to tide water to be took right off by the old devil!" Ichabod whirled the axe around his head in regular back woods fashion, and stood his ground like a man; but on came the devil, apparently straight for the raft. Oh, how the sparks flew, they had not then invented the patent spark catcher,) Ichabod looked round, old Sam was making for the out-shore side of the raft; there was no time to think about it, it was freezing cold, and the ice was floating in small cakes down the river; but Ichabod, dropping the axe and singing out, "You will have a darned good swim to catch me !" made a jump overboard, and struck out for the opposite shore, at least a mile distant. In the meantime Sam, in running across the raft in his fright, caught his foot and down he went. He got up, looked around, the devil had passed, and was puffing and blowing up the hill beyond. Sam called Ichabod back, and they proceeded to the tavern, where they related their adventure much to the amusement of their fellow-raftsmen. A Plea for Cats. COUSINS, I now take up my pen for what, I hope, is a humane purpose. If Mr. Merry thinks this little contribution fit for the Museum, I shall be glad to send another "Plea" for some of the intelligent or loving animals around us. Of course you do not like to see cats tormented. But do you dislike to whip pussy pretty hard, when in her play she has given you a little scratch? I beg of you to have a kind word on your lips, when some loving but perhaps unloved cat comes to your side. Here are a few lines from "The Ancient Mariner." "He prayeth best, who loveth best All creatures great and small; Do not be angry if kitty rubs her head against your hand. She loves you; she trusts in you; would you break that trust? You will be happier to love animals than to hate them, or to bear that sel fish love that must not be troubled. PANSY. Kite-Flying. "SAY, George, did you ever see a kité Soar up to the clouds, and out of sight?" "Indeed," said George, "you must think me green, When out of sight, how could it be seen." A Lake of Pitch. VILLIMAN'S Journal SILLIM contains an account of this remarkable curi osity, the pitch lake of Trinidad, W. I. It is situated on the western shore of the island, near the village of La Braye, which is built on a foundation of hard pitch. The lake stands on a plateau about ninety feet above the village, is circular, and half a mile in diameter, surrounded on all sides by a dense forest. Its face is intersected with a network of water channels, which give it the appearance of marble paper. The surface of the pitch is pretty hard, "Ah! there you have me," said Charles and when the water channels are dry, it "a hit I cannot cope with your ready wit, So we'll drop it there, and see how high We can get our beautiful kite to fly. "Come, boys, hurra! away to the hill, Then off they went at a joyous pace, Huzza! Huzza! shouted one and all- Well, now I see, said Charles, with a sigh, HIRAM. can be passed over on foot. In the centre of the lake, the pitch appears to be rising up en masse, and what is very singular, numerous pieces of wood are silently coming up to the surface from below. These are from one to several feet in length, and are forced by the peculiar pressure to assume an upright position, so as to appear all over the lake like stumps of trees protruding through. It is believed that this pitch lake is boiling slowly below. Streams of sulphureted hydrogen gas frequently issue from beneath, the temperature of which is ninety-seven degrees of Fahrenheit. The centre of the lake is somewhat plastic, but around the sides the pitch is very hard. The water in the streams and small pools is very soft; fish are HOW APES CATCH CRABS, AND CRABS CATCH APES. 151 numerous in them, and alligators make | How Apes catch Crabs, and Crabs them their habitation. Large springs of petroleum are in this vicinity, and about a mile northward there is a bed of brown coal, cropping out upon the sea shore; it is about twenty feet thick, and appears from its depth, as if it had passed under the lake. The pitch is of great depth, for it has been dug into forty-seven feet at many places. It is believed to be a submerged bed of vegetable matter, undergoing slow distillation by volcanic action underneath. This store of bitumen appears to be inexhaustible. It is used with wood for fuel by American steamers plying on the Orinoco rivers. Mixed with gravel and sand, it makes excellent pavements and ground floor for houses. With ten per cent. of rosin oil, it makes a good pitch for ships. The Earl of Dundonald has recently purchased a tract of twentynine acres of it, and has instituted experiments to discover, if possible, some means for using it in the place of India-rubber and gutta-pereha waterproof or vulcanized fabrics; and he has already made some vulcanized cloth, which, from appearances, bids fair of future success. If such a result crown his efforts, and every person must wish him success, such an inexhaustible supply of cheap material as this lake furnishes, will soon bring down the price of such goods in this country, and thus confer unspeakable benefits upon our people. catch Apes. TRAVLLER in Java relates the following amusing scene which he witnessed in the company of the na "After walking close up to the old campaign, they were upon the point of turning back, when a young fellow emerged from the thicket, and said a few words to the mandoor. The latter turned with a laugh to Frank, and asked if he had ever seen the apes catch crabs. Frank replied in the negative, and the mandoor, taking his hand, led him gently and cautiously through the deserted villages, to a spot which the young fellow had pointed out, and where the old man had formerly planted hedges, rendering it an easy task for them to approach unobserved. At length they reached the boundary of the former settlement a dry sandy soil, stript of beach, where all vegetation ceased, and only a single tall pandanus tree, whose roots were thickly interlaced with creeping plants, formed, as it were, the advanced post of the vegetable kingdom. Behind this they crawled along, and cautiously raising their heads, they saw several apes, at a distance of two or three hundred paces, who were pertly looking for something, as they walked up and down the beach, while others stood motionless. It was the long-tailed, brown variety, AND CRABS CATCH APES. extraordinary line with a jerk. At the end of it, however, hung the desired booty, a fat crab, by one of its claws, and swinging it round on the ground with such violence as to make it loose its hold, he took it in his left paw, picked up a stone with the other, and after cracking the shell, devoured the savory contents with evident satisfaction. Four or five he thus caught in succession, on each occasion, when the crab nipped him, making a face of heroic He came so close, that Frank fancied that he must scent them, and give the alarm to the other monkeys, when sud-resignation and pain, but each time he denly passing over a little elevation cov- was successful, and he must have found, ered with withered reedy grass, he here in the dainty dish, revenge for the nip, discovered a party of crabs parading up and abundant satisfaction for the pain and down on the hot sand. With a he endured, or else he would not have bound he was among them, but not set to work again so soon. quick enough to catch a single one; for the crabs, though apparently so clumsy, darted like lightning into a quantity of small holes or cavities, which made the ground here resemble a sieve, and the ape could not thrust his paws after them, for the orifice was too narrow. The mandoor nudged Frank gently, to draw his attention, and they saw the ape, after crawling once or twice up and down the small strip of land, and peeping into the various holes, with its nose close to the ground, suddenly seating himself very gravely by one of them, which he fancied most suitable. He then brought his long tail to the front, thrust the end of it into the cavity, until he met with an obstacle, and suddenly made a face, which so amused Frank, that he would have laughed loudly, had not the mandoor raised his finger warningly, and directly the ape drew out his Thus, then, the ape, quite engaged with the sport, and without taking his eyes off the ground, had approached to within about twenty paces of the party concealed behind the pandanus trees. Here, again, the ground was full of holes, and, looking out the one he conjectured to be the best, he threw in his line once, and probably felt that there was something alive within, for he awaited the result with signs of the most eager attention. The affair, however, lasted longer than he anticipated; but, being already well filled by his past successful hauls, he pulled up his knees, laid his arms upon them, bowed his head, and, half closing his eyes, he assumed such a resigned, and yet exquisitely comical face, as only an ape is capable of putting on under these circumstances. But his quiet was destined to be dis turbed in a manner as unsuspected as it The mandoor at first retained. his gravity; but when the ape, alarmed by the strange sound, looked up and saw men, and then bounded off at full speed, with the tormentor still dangling at the end of his tail, the old man could no longer refrain either, and they both laughed till the tears ran down their cheeks." fishes attracted my attention, and I seized a spear to strike them. The boatman laughed; and asked me how far below the surface I supposed they were? I answered about four feet. He assured me that they were at least twenty from me, and it was so. The water is of the most marvelous transparency. I dropped an ordinary pin in the water forty feet deep, and saw its head with perfect distinctness as it lay on the bottom. As we approached the centre, I noticed a jagged grayish limestone rock beneath us, pierced with holes; through these holes one seemed to look into unfathomable depths. The boat moved slowly on, and now we hung trembling over the edge of the sunken cliff, and far below it lies a dark, yawning, unfathomable abyss. Pushing on, just below its mouth, I dropped a ten cent piece into the water, which is there one hundred and ninety feet in depth, and I clearly saw it shining on the bottom. This seems incredi Remarkable Fountain in Florida. ble. I think the waters possess a mag AKING a nifying power. I am confident that the narrow piece could not be so plainly seen from path, I crossed the top of a tower one hundred and through some dense ninety feet high. We rowed on towards underwood, and all the north side, and suddenly we perat once I stood on ceived the water, the fish which were the banks of Wakulla Spring. darting hither and thither, the long There was a basin of water one flexible roots, and the wide luxuriant hundred yards in diameter, almost grasses on the bottom, all arrayed in circular. The thick bushes were the most brilliant prismatic hues. The growing almost to the water's gentle swell, occasioned by the boat, edge, and bowing their heads under its gave to the whole an undulating motion. unrippled surface. I stepped into a Death-like stillness reigned around, and skiff and pushed off. Some immense a more fairy-like scene I never beheld. |