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Published by the Tbtbuxis Pnblishix Co. 1
J. H. DEVEAUZ. Masmw* >
VOL. 111.
Questionings.
Tell me, O dying day,
Before thou fadest away
j Kissed by the sun,
j. Hast thou no vague regret,
Now that the sun is set,
That life is done?
Tell me, O rapturous night
If the soft starry light
Fills thy desire?
ast thou no discontent
S 4 en the warm day is spen
Without its fire?
ne, O world remote,
no light shadows float
Over thy sky ?
» me, I fain would know
If longings come and go
After we die.
} —[Sara Jewett.
I RANGY’S WOLF STORY.
uhe evening after Uncle Jimmy Spen
cer, the old hunter of Cranberry Run,
W. Va., had told how bears had treed
his wife and generally demolished
things, we were sitting before a blazing
fire of pitch-pine, listening to the rain
as it pattered and rattled against the
clap-board roof, when the Enquirer cor
respondent asked him if there had not
I b eeu a g reat many wolves in that neigh
borhood when he was a young man.
“Wolves!” said the grizzly old fel
low. “They were roaming these mount
ains in droves, and there are still a
great many in the laurel thickets. I
will get Aunt Nancy to tell you of an
L experience we had with them in ’43, if
you would like to hear it.”
I replied that nothing would suit me
better, and the old man knocked the
ashes out of his pipe and said:
“In the winter of 1843 we were living
in this log house, which we had just
finished, and about the middle of De
cember I found it necessary to go to the
nearest settlement, about forty-five
miles distant, for a supply of salt and
some other things. The weather had
been very cold, and the wolves—big,
gray fellows, not like those misera
puny sneaks you have in
nhe west, which you call coy-
otes —were nearly starved out, and had
become dangerous and bold. I didn’t
think there was much danger, however,
and left with my two horses early in
the morning, leaving Nancy by herself
to take care of the house and cow and
our poultry. The stable in which we
kept our animals and poultry in hard
weather stood about one hundred feet
from the house, with the door at the
end facing the front door of the house.
It was a strong log building, with a big
door which could be fastened with a
pin from the outside. In the lower
right-hand corner of the door was a
small hole cut out for the accommoda
tion of the poultry; this little hole had
a big log wedge for a fastening. I
explain all this so you can understand
| more readily just -what happened. Os
course I didn’t know anything about it
gTantil I returned, when I found the
' Stable half full of big gray wolves and
the cow and poultry devoured. Now,
mother,” said Uncle Jim, “tell your
part of the story.”
k Aunt Nancy, a pleasant-faced old
Mferlady, laid aside her sewing and picked
her knitting, and while her still nim
|HKble fingers rapidly manipulated the
HM&right steel ’ knitting-nee lies, took up
I stary where Uncle Jimmy left oil,
|^'F , “Tjbe day after you left it turned cold
’■’W -ana the snow began to fail until nearly
■' > morning, when the ground was covered
over a foot deep. During the night I
I heard the wolves howling ali around the
f house in the woods, but I didn’t think
K much of it, as it was no uncommon oc
curfence. The next morning 1 went to
HL the stable and fed the cow and the poul-
Htry, and came out and fasteae I the door,
I Rbut somehow I forgot to close the small
■Wtopening at the bottom of the door.
about three o’clock in the after-
I saw a trc >nendou3 gray wolf trot
rag&'g;out of the woods b.hind the house into
opening. He sat down upon his
LfgHJLau aches. and seemed to be scenting
■SHthc wind. Directly he gave a long howl,
(BUfknd then another. In a minute or two
Sgl®.! beard a howl in the woods to the right,
find then another to tho left,
the howling appeared to come
Savannah tribune
from dozens of them. The noise came
closer and closer until after a few min
utes about eighteen or twenty wolves
were gathered about the big fellow, who
seemed to be a leader. They all sat or
lay around on the snow, and appeared
to be holding a council of war. At
least, they seemed to come to some un
derstanding, for after a little while they
all sprang to their feet and disappeared
in the woods. I thought that would be
the last of them, but I was mightily
mistaken, for I had hardly closed the
back door and gone back into the
house, when I heard the whole pack on
the other side of the house, near the
stable. The windows we had then were
single panes of glass set in the logs,
two in front and two at the back. I
looked through one of the windows
and saw the whole pack of wolves,
which I counted and found to be six
teen, making their way to the stable.
Just then it struck me that I had forgot
ten to shut the opening at the foot of the
door,and I opened the door of the house,
intending to run out and close the small
opening, for I saw that they intended
making an attack upon the animals,
but I waited late, as there were at least
half a dozen big brutes between the
house and tho stable. They no sooner
saw me open the door than they sprang
in the direction of the house, and were
so near before I could get the door
closed that another spring would have
brought them right upon me. I was
pretty badly frightened, but not so bad
but that I took down the small rifle
which Uncle Jimmy had left, and, open
ing one of the windows, took aim at
the nearest wolf and shot him through
the head. The others sprang upon the
dead one and tore him to pieces and de
voured him in a few seconds. By this
time I had loaded the gun and fired
again into the struggling, howling
mass.
“I must have hit one of them, for
they all set upon another one of their
number arid soon had his bones picked
clean. I fired three shots more, and
each time I hit one of them, and every
one was eaten as quickly as the first.
I could have killed them all, perhaps,
but unfortunately in loading the gun the
sixth time I got a bullet fast near the
muzzle of the gun, and this stopped my
shooting until I could get it out. While
I was taking the gun to pieces the
wolves turned their attention to the
barn, and it wasn’t long before they
found the opening in the door. I soon
found that they had got into the barn;
in fact, I could see them struggling
near the door, as though they were try
ing to force their way in ahead of each
other. Pretty soon I heard the chickens
and turkeys squawking, and the cow
bawling above the sounds of the snarl
ing and snapping of the wolves. It was
horrible to listen to the poor cow, but
there was no help for it. I
could do nothing but stand at
the window and listen and be
moan the fate of our poor animals. In
a very short time I noticed that all of
the wolves had disappeared through the
hole under the door into the stable,
where they were either feasting upon
poor Betty, the cow, or chasing and
tearing the turkeys and chickens, which
sflill kept up a terrific clatter. The
thought struck me that I might, while
the wolves were engaged in their feast,
slip out of the house and close the hole
under the door with the log which lay
just outside, so looking around again
and seeing nothing more of the biutes I
opened the door and slippe I quietly up to
the barn, and seizing the wedge-shaped
log jammed it into the hole just as the
nose of a big gray fellow appeared. I
struck him with the end of it and forced
him back into the stable, and then
pushed the log in until it fitted so
tightly that it couldn’t be moved, and
then I ran back to the house, fearing
there might be more wolves yet on the
outside, but I didn’t see any more, al
though I stood at the window, half an
hour.
“Having satisfied myself that they
were all dead or fastened up in the
stable, I stole out again and peeped
through the craeks b»,twe?n the logs.
The sight was awful; the floor was cov-
SAVANNAH, GA., SATURDAY. MARCH 31.1888.
ered with feathers of tho chickens and
turkeys, with here and there a bone of
our poor old cow. In one end of the
stable eleven wolves were huddled up,
glaring at me with their big yellow
eyes and snarling with great open bloody
mouths, but they didn’t spring at me;
somehow they appeared to* know they
were prisoners, and that they couldn’t
get oat, and all their courage seemed to
have left them. Well, I went back to
the house, determined to get the bul
let out of the gun and to shoot them all,
but it was stuck so tight that I couldn’t
move it; and, in fact, didn’t get it out until
Uncle Jimmy came back, four days later,
when he soon made short work of the
brutes.
“Now’, there was something strange
in the action of the wolves after they
w’ere fastened up. From that time un
til Uncle Jim’s arrival they didn’t touch
tho remains of the cow, nor did they
leave the corner of the stable where I
first saw them after I had fastened them
in, so far as I could tell. Uncle Jim
shot them all and skinned them, and in
the spring got the bounty for their
scalps and sold the hides for enough to
buy another cow’ and a lot of poultry.
That was the only time the wolves ever
made a wholesale raid on us although
they often afterward stole one sheep,
pigs and small stock.”—[Cincinnati En
quirer.
Engineoring Extraordinary.
A curious engineering operation has
just been carried out in France near the
Belgian frontier. Near the towm of
Conde the river Haine, a navigable
stream, flowed until recently into the
larger river Scheldt. The latter stream,
near the mouth of which is the great sea
port of Antwerp, is of much importance
to inland navigation, and tho shallower
portions have recently been “canalized”
by means of embankments, so as to im
prove and maintain tho waterway. In
canalizing the Scheldt, it was found ad
visable to allow’ tho Haine to cross it,
reaching a different outfall beyond, in
stead of losing itself in it at the original
confluence and the dikes were arranged
in this way. Experience showed, how
ever, that the Haine brought down so
much alluvium as to affect sensibly the
channel of the Scheldt at the intersec
tion, and dredges were kept in almost
constant use to keep tho navigation clear.
To obviate the necessity for this, it was
decided to carry one river entirely under
the other by means of inverted siphons,
and tho work his just been com
pleted. Five riveted wrought-iron
tubes are used, each 11 feet in diameter,
dipping about ten feet below the usual
water level and buried in a mass of con
crete, which is formed to the profile of
the bed of the Scheldt. Each siphon was
made in three pieces, the middle portion
weighing twenty tons and the end pieces
ten tons each, and, after diverting tem
porarily the course of both rivers, the
tubes were laid in place, riveted to
gether, and the concrete filling put in.
At the same time the tubes were lined
with a ring of brickwork covered with
cement, and when all was finished the
water was turned through them. What
will be done with the silt which is sure
to collect in the lower part of the siphon
does not appear, but it is probable that
some simple apparatus will be use 1 for
extracting it, and there is in this case no
navigation to be looked out for.
Canoes that Carry 300 People.
It is a grand sight to see some of the
handiwork of the Maoris before civiliza
tion set in, when they had no tools but
those of stones of their own manufac
ture. You can see canoes today, built
over a hundred years ago, that will carry
three hundred persons. They are con
structed in sections hewn out of solid
logs and laced together with flax cords.
The seams are calked with the fibres of
the flax. These boats never leak and
will stand any weather. As a rule these
canoes have a figurehead carved out of a
solid block of wood, representing tho
head chief of the tribe the canoe belongs
to. These large canoes are called war
canoes, as they were used when one
tribe was at war with another.—[Globe-
Democrat.
A Lost Locomotive.
“In the construction of the Ktnsav
Pacific and Atchison, Topeka and Sc ta
Fe railroads,” said 11. L. Carter, a rtri -
road contractor of St. Joseph, the oliur
day, “ono difficulty of frequent occi.i
rcnco was met with, which, as
far as my experience goer. ii
uni pie in railroad history. I re
fer to the trouble arising from quick
sands. From western Kansas to tho
mountains quicksands are to found in
nearly every stream, no milter how
small, anti to success: ully bridge them
required an expenditure out of all ; ro
portion to tho size of stream to be
crossed. Wc tried pile driving, but tho
longest piles disappeared without touch
ing the bottom. Then filling with earth
and stone was attempted, and met with
equally poor success, as the quick
sand was apparently capable of
swallowing tho entire Rocky mountains.
The only means of crossing a quick
sand was found to bo to build short
truss bridges across them. This was
very expensive, but was tho only thing
to be done. As an instance of tho prac
tically bottomless nature of the quick
sands, I may cite the case of an engine
that ran off tho track at River Bend,
about ninety miles from Denver, on the
Kansas Pacific. Tho engine, a large
freight, fell into a quicksand, and in
twenty minutes had entirely disap
peared. Within two days the company
sent out a gang of men and a wrecking
train to raise the engine. To their sur
prise they could not find a trace of it.
Careful search was made, magnified
rods were sunk to the depth of sixty
feet, but no engine could be found. It
had sunk beyond human ken, and
from that day to this has never
been discovered. Cattle and horses
are frequently lost, tho only ani
mal that is safe being a mule; tho only
animal that never gets caught. No
greater instance of the same intelligence
of this much-maligned quadrupel can
be cited than the skill and care with
which it avoids all unsound bottom.
As its hoofs are much smaller and
narrower than those of a horse, it would
mire down in places where ahorse could
safely pass. Recognizing this fact,
whenever a mule feels tho ground giv
ing away under its feet it draws back
instantly and cannot bo induced to
advance a step, although a whole drove
of horses may have immediately pre
ceded. Those who think that a mule
is stupid arc very much mistaken.” —
[Wichita (Kan.) Beacon.
All Out of That Dish.
Two gentlemen who had come into a
restaurant one day, had scarcely seated
themselves at the table when a waiter
rushed up and asked, “What shall I
bring you, gentlemen?”
“Oh dear,” said one of tho gentlemen
impatiently, “give us a little respite!”
“All right!” said the waiter, and dis
appeared.
They hid been looking over,the bill
of fare about five minutes, and were
waiting rather anxiously for the waiter
to return and take their order, when he
came up suddenly, as if in breathless
haste.
“Sorry, gentlemen,” said he, “but
the respite is all out!”
The Doctor’s Prescription.
The lady was troubled with loss of
appetite and called upon the physician
for relief. He wrote out a prescription,
folded it up and handed it to her.
“Follow this faithfully,” said he, “and
you will be able to sleep and eat, and
will feel as brisk as a child at play.”
The lady took the prescription and
went out. She had scarcely reache I
the stairway before she opened and read
it thus: “Stop at the first shoe store
you come to, buy a pair of boots, and
wear them all out in three months.”
Os No Account.
“Then you do love me, Evaline?” he
said.
“I do.” she murmured.
“And shall I speak to your pa?" he
asked.
“No,” she replied, “speak to ma; pa
isn’t of any account in this family.”
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PEARLS OF THOUGHT.
Ho that fears not tho future may en
joy the present.
Expect nothing from him who prom
ises a groat deal.
You can’t judge a man by his own
recommendation.
Tho man with tho longest sword of
ten gets tho worst of it.
Wc owe to all men tho same duties of
action but not of speech.
Genius would soon starve and pine
away if not ceaselessly fed by memory.
It is not your posterity, but your ac
tions, that will perpetuate your memory.
The dews of justice which did seldom
fall when it dropt, the drops were very
small.
He who builds according to every
man’s advice will live in a very crookod
house.
I know of two beautiful things: Tho
starry heavens above my head, and tho
sense of duty within my heart.
Wo censure tho inconsistency of wo
men when wc are the victims. We find
it charming when wc arc tho objects.
Tho highest mark of esteem a woman
can give to a man ii to ask his friend
ship, and the most signal proof of in
difference is to offer him hers.
Life is too short for us to waste its
moments in deploring bad luck. Wo
must go after success, since it will not
come to us, and wo have no time to
spare. •
In general it will be found that words,
which are, as were, the minute-hands
of tho soul, arc of greater importance
then deeds, which only mark tho out
standing dates.
A Persian Midas.
When passing an Arab’s tent I met a
man from Shuster, who related several
anecdotes to me, among which was the
following version of tho story of Midas
and his ass’s ears. King Shapur hud
horns, of which he was greatly ashamed.
Fearing that his subjects might learn
the fact and that his dignity might be
thus compromised, he ordered every
barber who shaved his head to be put
to death immediately afterward, so that
the secret might not transpire. At
length one who was about to experience
this fate succeeded in persuading tho
king to spare his life, and to employ no
one else, so that the secret, which ho
took a solemn oath not to reveal, might
remain with him alone. For three
years he kept his oath, but at last, tho
secret becoming too heavy a load
for him to bear, to release himself from
it he went to the mouth of a well and
called out: “O, well! Know that
King Shapur has horns.” Shortly after
ward a shepherd passing by the well cut
a reed growing at its edge to make him
self a pipe to pipe his sheep. The first
time he played upon it, instead of music
there only came from it the words:
“Shapur has horns! Shapur has horns!”
The king soon learned th it his secret
had been betrayed and sent for the bar
ber, who confessed that although he
had divulged it to no one, according to
his oath, he had been compelled in con
sequence of the intolerable burden of
keeping it to deliver himself of it at the
mouth of the well. King Shapur ac
cepted his excuse and graciously par
doned him.—[Early Adventures in
Persia.
The Evil of Chewing Cloves.
When I smell cloves in a man’s breath
my first thought is, “That man is a
fool.” He thinks he is concealing tho
smell of whiskey or some other vile
smell, and he is only advertising it.
There is another reason also why he is a
foot The oil of cloves, which is ex
pressed from them by chewing them, is
an active solvent of the enamel of the
teeth. Any one who chews cloves will
soon notice that it makes tho teeth ten
der. That means that their enamel is
disappearing, and tho next step is a
mouthful of decaye 1 teeth, which all
the odors of Araby tho blest can never
sweeten. When will people learn that
the sweetest and rarest smell of all is no
smell at all?--[Chicago Journal.
NO. 24.