SILK
HOSE A
3 paire ■'
guaran- ^
teed
3 months
Soft, Stylish,
Snug-fitting,
K Seamless.
Six Pairs
Cotton Hose
Guaranteed
to Wear
Six Months
or New
Hose FREE
Valdez Mercantile Co., Inc.
TRUE VALUES
On the basis of Security and Service
we solicit your account.
WE DO A BANKING BUSINESS EXCLUSIVELY.
VALDEZ BANK & TRUST CO.
Job Printing
At The Prospector Office
VERTEBRATE EXTREMES.
Largest and 8malleat. Creatures In tb#
Different Croups.
In an article written for the
American Naturalist Dr. A. W.
Henn compares the largest and
smallest creatures in the different
vertebrate groups. The smallest of
all i« a minute fish of the goby fam
ily from a lake in Luzon, which is
just over half an inch long.
In contrast to this is the great
blue rorqual of the north Atlantic,
a whale that sometimes attains the
enormous length of eighty-five feet.
The smallest known existing
mammal is a shrewmouse from
Madagascar, which is two and thre
quarters inches long. In America
there is another shrew very little
larger. The biggest existing land
mammal is, of course, the African
elephant. Next comes in turn the
Indian elephant and the white rhi
noceros. The tallest member of the
group fs the giraffe, but that animal
was approached, although not actu
ally rivaled in this respect, by the
extinct giraffe camels of North
America.
The smallest bird is a humming
bird from Cuba, which is only two
and a quarter inches long. No men
tion is made by Dr. Henn of the big
gest bird, but this distinction among
living species is enjoyed by the os
trich, which is, however, much
smaller than the extinct New Zea
land moa. The most massive of all
birds was the extinct Patagonian
cariama, which had a 6kull almost
as large as that of a horse, but in
massivenesB of limb some giant
birds of Madagascar exceeded it.
Their remains have given rise to the
legend of the roc. The largest flying
bird is either the giant albatross or
the Chilean and Californian con
dors.
A West Indian gecKo nas a gooa
right to be regarded as the smallest
lizard. Its length is about one and
three-quarter inches. On the other
hand, the great water monitor of the
Indo-Malay countries, which grows
to eight feet in length, is the great
est among living lizards. But it is a
mere dwarf in comparison with an
extinct Australian species, known
solely by detached vertebrae.
Ignoring snakes Dr. Henn regards
the Indian garial, wilich grows thir
ty feet or more, as the largest of all
existing reptiles. But such dimen
sions are insignificant beside those
of the gigantic dinosaurs, which in
some instances are said to have been
100 feet in length.
His Idea of Scoring.
At a country cricket match in
Lanarkshire a local farmer’s boy
was appointed scorer, his duties be
ing carefully explained' to him. The
first inning was not very produc
tive of runs and soon came to an
end, and every one made a rush for
the scorer. Judge of their surprise,
however, when they found that not
a single mark had been made in the
carefully ruled book that had been
provided.
When reproached in somewhat
strong terms the boy was not in the
least disconcerted, but with the most
ingenuous air in the world said:
“I was sae eenterested in the
sport that I quite forgot to mak’
the crosses. But it disna matter—
that wee laddie wi’ the red face is
the smartest runner among ye.”—
London Tit-Bits.
Bismarck’s Intense Hate.
That Prince Bismarck was a good
hater is shown in the reminiscences
of Herr von Tiedemann, formerly
chief of the imperial chancellery.
During the first dinner at which
Herr von Tiedemann was present
with the prince, Bismarck said he
thought Goethe was wrong in saying
that love only beautified life. Hate
did the same service and was quite
as great a vivifier as love. “To me,”
added the prince, “are indispensable
love for my wife and hate for Wind
horst.” One morning Bismarck said
to Herr von Tiedemann, “I have not
been able to sleep; I have hated the
whole night.”
In Bohsmia.
Mr. G. R. Sims tells this story of
the English Bohemia of his younger
days:
“At one club I belonged to there
was a notice posted in the smoking
room requesting members not to or
der hot suppers after 5 o’clock in
the morning! At the same club I
once lost my purse with eighteen
pence in it, and the waiter who aft
erward returned it to me remarked
that it was fortunate the purse had
not been found by one of the other
members!”
, To Clean Glass.
To clean glass put a little pow
dered pumice stone between the
layers of a folded piece of soft mus
lin and stitch round the edges to
prevent the powder from falling
out. Rub lamp glasses or window
panes with this dry cloth and they
will be clean and sparkling almost
immediately. Enough powder will
remain in the doth for xmt many
times.
NITROGLYCERIN.
Dangers Attending the Making of This
Erratic Explosive.
Nitroglycerin does not always be
have in the same way. One day, it
is said, this fickle explosive will “go
off” at the slightest shock, while
the next day one might (if he had
the temerity) strike quite a blow
upon a can of the same substance ;
and live to tell the story. Nitro- !
glycerin’s readiness or reluctance to
explode doubtless depends upon its
quality. One “run” of stock may
he well washed and clean and an
other may be full of impurities. If
a can he filled to the cork so that
the substance within has no oppor
tunity to wash against the sides, it
is thought that it will not explode I
so easily as one which is three-quar- j
ters or seven-eighths full.
It is an interesting sight to be- j
hold the nitroglycerin workers at
their task. Usually the building
wherein the stuff is made contains
several huge wooden vats, a few
pails and barrels, an engine and a
<rreat , iron kettlelike receptacle.
This receptacle is called an “agita
tor.” It consists simply of a small
kettle within a large one. The space
between the two is kept constantly
filled with a stream of cold water.
The inner kettle is fitted with sev
eral paddles turned by a crank.
One will see about 1,500 pounds
of acids, sulphuric and nitric mixed,
poured into the smaller kettle. A
thin but continuous stream of glyc
erin slowly follows; the engine be
gins to pant, the crank revolves, the
paddles churn the glycerin and
acids, and the manufacture of the
powerful explosive is under way.
The flow of glycerin is controlled
by a stopcock, the workman the
while observing with unremitting
vigilance the agitator and the ther
mometer that registers the heat of
the perilous mixture.
.Nitroglycerin is lonnea oy me
action of nitric and sulphuric acids
upon glycerin. When red fumes be
gin to show the greatest caution
must be observed. They indicate
that the oil is on fire, and should
the mixture attain too great a de
gree of heat an explosion will fol
low. When the mercury in the ther
mometer attains 90 degrees C. it be
hooves one not to linger too long in
a nitroglycerin factory. The stream
of cold water constantly circulating
about the base of the agitator keeps
the mixture cool. In warm weather
ice must be used.
After leaving the agitator the
product is placed in the “drowning
i tank.” Then it is transferred to
other tanks and carefully washed.
At the end of a period of four hour6
the milky, amber tinted nitroglycer
in is poured into rectangular tin
cans. These cans are deposited in
a huge iron sale, and the explosive
is then ready for the market.
Much nitroglycerin is used by oil
well “shooters.” The “shooting” of
oil wells is the discharge of nitro
glycerin at the bottom of the wells
in order to increase their flow.
Nitroglycerin, rather than the safer
dynamite, is used because it can be
exploded under water. — Harper’6
Weekly.
Presence of Mind.
An old farmer drove into a small
town the other day and stopped at
the country store. A phonograph
had just been installed and the
farmer decided to have a few cents’
worth of music. The clerk handed
him the ear tubes, placed them in
proper position and immediately
started the machine.
The farmer instantly dropped
the tubes and rushed to the door,
crying:
“Great snakes! Hold on a min
nit, will ye? There’s a gol durned
brass band a cornin’ an’ there ain’t
nobody a-holdin’ my horse.”—Biff.
School Day Wisdom.
English school children are cred
ited with having given these answers
in examinations:
“During the interdict in John’s
reign, births, marriages and deaths
were not allowed to take place.”
“A kelt is part of a Scotchman’s
dress.”
“ ‘Cave canen’ — Beware lest I
sing.”
“A conservative is a sort of green
house where you look at the moon.”
“Parliament assembled in Sep
tember and dissembled in January.”
Dining by the 8hadow.
The most primitive of ancient
Grecian methods of telling the time
of day was by means of a shadow
pointer. This was merely a stick
fixed in the earth, and the length
of its shadow served to indicate the
hour. Greeks were invited to dine
“when the shadow is ten feet long”
—the length of course varying ac
cording to the time of year.
Economy.
Tommy—Mamma, what is econ
omy?
Tommy’s Mamma—Economy, my
son, is what a husband preaches and
a wife practices. — London Tele
graph.
A. M. Dieringer
Valdez Transfer
Company
General Trucking and Freight
ing to all interior points
LIVERY and FEED STABLE
STORAGE
Teaming of all kinds
Positively no coal delivered
unless paid for in advance
CITY EXPRESS
MEETS ALL BOATS
When in a hurry call on me.
“QUICK ACTION”
i« my motto.
Phone 82. J. A. SPENARD, Prop.
PROFESSIONAL
Dr. H. COCKERILLE
Graduate!of National University
-y —■■1 |Waahington,lD. C." ~ -
DENTIST
Phone 92«rwid8il Feurteen years in
Qfjfce iniWhiling building!^ VALDEZ
Next to cable office
DR. GERMAN
Phone 19 THE DENTIST
Office rooms over Owl Drug store. Office hours
9 a. m., to 6 p. m., 7 p. m.. to 9 p. m. Sundays
by appointment All work guaranteed
E. E. RITCHIE
LAWYER
phone 136 Valdez, Alaska
C. E. BUNNELL
A TTORN EY- A T-L A W
Offices Wall Street
Phone 31 VALDEZ
MINING ENGINEER
F. BUTTERWORTH:
Civil Engineer and
U. S. Deputy Land and
Mineral Surveyor
Blue Printing Res Phone. 199
L. W. STORM. E. M.
Valdez, alaska•
Reports or Mines
Patent Surveys
General Mining Engineering
’ Phone /Vo- ios
Geo. f. white
The Assayer
Assaying apd Ore Testing
CORRECT RESULTS
No More, No Less
VALDEZ, ALASKA .
Valdez Lodge
No 168.
Free and Accepted Masons
Regular Communications first Wednesday in
each month in McKinley Hall Visitors always
weloome.
James H. Patterson,.W. M
C. C. Remolds. Sec
FOE
VALDEZ AERIE No. 1971
Meet every Friday. 8 p. m. Eaele Hal
CAMP VALDEZ No. 10
Meet every Tuesday evening at 8 o'clock la
Eaitlel Hall. All members are requested to
ttend- S. McNIECE. Arctic Chief
PIONEERS OF ALASKA
IGLOO NO. 7.
Meets every first and third Mon
day of each month. All visit
ing Brothers welcome.
E. G. AMES, Secretary.