302
The native evangelists themselves are an ob-
ject lesson of the vitalizing force that is in
mission work. The ways of the people are
studied, and methods adapted to them.
“I have with me,” says one missionary, “a
man who sings the life of Christ in a weird
chant, and the evangelists give the responses.
We take two lanterns and my camp-chair, and
go to the center of the village in the evening,
Three wooden plows tied together are good
to hang the lights on. The people sit on the
"THE WATCHMAN
ground, and the matchless Indian night is our
canopy. By ten o'clock the singing and ex-
plaining will be over, and then comes my turn
to try to impress the story which the people
have heard. In the past year we have had a
hundred such nights.”
It 1s in these quiet ways that vast social
changes are being wrought. The sailing of a
company of missionaries may mean more for
the destiny of nations than great changes in
government or rulers.—Youth's Companion.
ANTIQUITIES have to give way to the needs
The Egyptian council of min-
isters has approved the plan for raising the
Assuan dam across the Nile, a change that
will increase by two and a half times the
amount of water that can be stored in the ir-
rigation reservoir. The raising of the dam
will result in the submerging of the island of
Philee and the flooding of the ruins of the
temples. The island itself is a small granite
rock about a thousand feet long and five hun-
dred feet wide.
of the present.
It was the scene of the wor-
ship of the goddess Tsis. Many pilgrims from
various parts of the ancient world visited the
shrine when the religion of Isis was most
widely spread. The worshipers of other gods
built temples near that of Isis, so that there
appeared on the small island a splendid col-
lection of examples of the best architecture of
the various periods in which they were erected.
The enlarged dam will make possible an annual
increase of the cotton crop of Egypt amount-
ing to between eighteen and twenty million
dollars in value.— Youth's Companion.
XJ
KIND-HEARTED INSECTS
Tur Bible has made ants famous for indus-
try and foresight, and modern naturalists find
few animals more worthy of study. ‘These in-
sects not only are surprisingly intelligent, but
manifest a lively regard for each other's wel-
fare, as the following incident well illustrates.
It is taken from Mr. Belt’s
Nicaragua” :—
“ Naturalist in
“One day, while watching a small column
of these foraging ants, I placed a little stone
on one of them to secure it. ‘The next that
approached, as soon as it discovered its situa-
tion, ran back in an agitated manner to com-
municate the intelligence to the others.
“They rushed to the rescue. Some bit at
the stone, and tried to move it; others seized
the prisoner by the legs, and tugged with such
force that I thought the legs would be pulled
off, but they persevered till they got the cap-
tive free.
“I next covered one up with a piece of clay,
leaving only the ends of his antennz project-
It was soon discovered by its fellows
which set to work immediately, and by biting
ing.
off pieces of the clay, soon liberated it. An-
other time I found a very few of them passing
along at intervals. 1 confined one of these
under a piece of clay, at a little distance from
the line, with its head projecting.
“Several ants passed it, hut at last one dis-
covered it, and tried to pull it out, but could
not. It immediately set off at a great rate,
and I thought it had deserted its comrade; but
it had only gone for assistance, for in a short
time about a dozen ants came hurrying up,
evidently fully informed of the circumstances
of the case, for they made directly for their
imprisoned comrade, and soon set him free.
“The excitement and ardor with which they
carried on their unflagging exertions could not
have heen greater if they had been human be-
ings.”— Selected.
BJ I
THE KEEPERS OF MILE ROCK LIGHT STATION
THE life of the average lighthouse keeper is
at best a rather monotonous one. Sometimes
it is a very lonely one, and again a calling
full of excitement and peril. This last con-
dition will apply to the keeper and his wife
assistant of the famous little light station lo-
cated on Mile Rock.
Mile Rock Station is situated just at the
entrance to San Francisco Harbor, a short
distance west of the Golden Gate. Tt stands
some distance from the mainland on each side
of the wide channel leading into San Francisco
Bay. Originally there was nothing but a mere
ragged point of rock jutting up from the sur-
face of the sullen and ever-restless sea. At
extreme low tide this pinnacle of rock rose
sixteen feet only above the ocean's level: at
the highest, but very little of the rock could
be seen.
To level off this rock and build thereon ga
light station nearly one hundred feet high
proved a most difficult and dangerous engi-
neering feat: but this was finally accomplished,
at a cost of $100,000 to the government. Con-
crete, steel, and iron were used in the con-
struction, and the whole structure was mas-
sively anchored to the rock foundation.
Mile Rock Station stands exposed to the
full sweep of all the terrible gales, to the
force and fury of the open sea and the violent
tidal currents. It is a third-order light, and
1s cared for by a keeper whose wife is his
assistant. Though in full sight of land on
each side of the channel, this couple are as
much isolated as were Robinson Crusoe and
his man Friday. They are amply provisioned,
supplies being landed to do them half a year
at a time. Water is obtained by distilling
There is an abundance of books,
periodicals, and papers to read, and many ves-
sels are passing in and out that attract at-
tention. Still time often drags heavily.
sea water.
It is seldom calm, and the sea is ever tem-
pestuous around this little “lone sea rock”
light station. Heavy storms frequently rage
oft the entrance, lasting for many hours.
Early in December a terrific windstorm swept
over San Francisco and the harbor, lasting for
many hours. It was the most furious ever
known in the history of the city. Houses were
blown down, buildings unroofed, several per-
sons killed, and a number injured, and great
damage done to docks and shipping. For sev-
eral hours the tempest roared around Mile
Rock Station, the wind sometimes reaching a
MILE ROCK LIGHTHOUSE
velocity of over sixty miles an hour, while the
sea was lashed into foam. Grave fears were
entertained for the fate of the keeper and his
wife, as it was thought that the station would
But it braved
the awful blasts, and stood like a miniature
rock of Gibraltar.
Last April, at the time of the fearful earth-
quake, thousands of people thought of Mile
Rock shudderingly.
over into the sea.
everlasting hills.
be blown to the raging ocean.
Surely it would topple
But it stood as firm as the-.
The brave keeper and his
no less courageous assistant have become ac-
customed to the perils of the calling, and are
quite contented with the important and re-
sponsible position they hold in the light sta-
tion service— J. M. Baltimore, in the Chil-
dren's Visitor.