Newspaper Page Text
w. A. SINGLETON, Editor and Proprietor.
VOL. 11.
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER.
Life ia race, where some succeed,
While other* are beginning;
’Tit luck at time*, at other* speed,
That give* an early winning,
But if you chancd to fall behind,
Ne'er *faeken your endeavor,
But keep 'hi* wholesome truth in mind—
'Ti*better la*c than never.
If you can keep ahead, *ti well,
But never trip your neighbor,
Tis noble when you can excel,
By honest, patient labor;
But if you are outstripped at last,
Press on as bold as ever;
Remember, though you are surpassed,
’Tib better late llian never.
Ne’er labor for an idle boast
Of victory over another;
But while you strive your uttermost,
Deal fairly with a brother.
Whate’er your station, do your best,
And hold your purpose ever;
And if you fail to beat the rest,
Tis belter late tbnn never,
Choose well the path iu which you run—
Succeed by noble daring;
T ien, though the last, when once ’tia won.
Your crown is worth the wearing;
Then never fret.ifleft behind,
Nor slacken your'endeuvor,
’Tis better late than never.
The Fortification* of Eizeroum.
Prom the Russian Invilade.]
Erzerouin has a population of 60,-
000 souls. Its defenses consist of de
tached forts, the so called fnitress
proper and the citadel. The foils
are situated on the heights of Kap-
Dagli, both well adap'cd for defense,
and sortie of these forts have arched
casements. The so-called fortress
proper consists of an enceinte inclos
ing the town, being lli verst in
length. It has eleven bastions, con
nected with each other by curtains.
The rampart is from iitteen to i weti y
one feet high and ( r- 111 twenty-five
to thirty feet thick. The moat i
seven y-seven feet wid • ami rom ten
to twenty-four fed deep. The citadel
is in the center of the ploc-, irui
though surrounded by an old wall,
ai.d covered by thirteen small tow , -,
cannot oppose strong resistance.
The defense of the town requires 130
guns and a garrison of 20,000. In
1829, alter having defeated t wo Turk -
ith corps near Lugau’ug, Field Mar
slal Prince Paskewitch took posses
eion ol Erzerouin, with ve y little op
positions, and it is worthy of remark
tbot even at this time, the town is
very poorly fortified.
MOBIL CHARACTER.
There js nothing which adds ho
much to the beauty and power of
inun, as a good moral character. It
is his wealth —hi- inlluence—his life.
It dignities him in every S'ation, ex
alts him in every condition, and glo
rities him at every period of if<\
Such a character is more to be de
sired than anything else on earth.
It make.- a man free and independent.
No servile tool —croaking sycophant
—no treacherous honor-seeker ever
bore such a character. The pure
joys of truib and righteousness never
spring in such a person. If young
men but knew how much a g.od
character would dignity and exalt
them, how glorious it would make
their prospects, even in this life; nev
er should we lind them yielding to
the grovelling and base-born purposes
of human nature.
A Subterranean River.
A subterranean lake or river was
tapped by some men who were bor
ing for coal at Coe, lowa, a few days
ago. When they had penetrated 70
f.et they heard a heavy rumbling
noise which was immediately follow
ed by a rush of water, fill ng the six
inch tube, which raised the drilling
machine, weighing some 700 pounds,
many feet. On moving the drilling
apparatus a volume of water was
thrown into the air twenty feet, and
continues to rise seven or eight feet,
ffuen it spread out into jets like an
artificial lountain. It is estimated
tha it discbargesa barrel a minute.
The water is pure and cold. A stone
thrown into the tuba is hurled back
into the air, as is also a rail, when
forced down into it.
BTTTdNA VISTA.. MARION CO U NTY, GA. JULY 18 1877.
"MEN OF STRAW"
The Origin of the Phrase.
It would seem that the above des
ignation is not exclusively applicable
to the particular class of men who
have borne it in more modern times
—in other words, that despicable
class of individuals who, in ag> s gone
bv, have constituted the “men of
straw,’’equally flourished, and were
patronized in the courts ot modern
Europe and ancl nt Greece. We are
assured, indeed, by a clever writer in
one of the London Quarterlies (the
number we forget) that, in the courts
of ancient Greece, ev n. a class of
men answering precisely to the de
scription given in our caption was to
be found; and from the fact (notori
ous as it would seem) that “Athens
abounded in straw shoes,” the infer
ence is pretty plain that convenient
witnesses were by no means scarce
among the highly cultivated citizens
of Athens. The writer would seem
to intima e, also, that, as in West
minster Hall, formerly, “ihese ‘Men
of Straw’ walked openly in court, with
a straw in one ot their shoes, to sig
nify they wanted employment as wit
nesses,” so the probability would
seem to bn that, while iu the Greek
courts downright perjury was mani
festly connived at by the judges, so
in Christianized England, many years
ago, men could easily be found to
give any evidence upon oath that
might be required—and hence orig
i ated the saving, “lie is a Man of
Straw.” file custom, however, has
high antiquity, and. as commented
upon by the writer in the Quarterly
Review , assumes an interest (we had
almost said a facination) m t easily to
be resisted. We copy his concluding
remarks, verbatim, leaving the read
er to infer how full of novel and ex
citing matter the Quarterly corres
pondent's communication must be.
“We have ali heard of a race of men”
(so the writer concludes his article)
“who ns-d, in former days, to ply
about our courts of law; and who,
from their in inner of making known
their occupation, were recognized by
the none of straw shoes. Au advo
cate or 1 .wyer who wanted a. conve
nient witness, knew by these signs
whereto find no; mid the colloquy
tie 1 ween the parties was Uriel. ‘Dou’t
you ;e'.ember . said the advocate
(the. p u v looked at 'iie fee , anti
gave no g- ; but the tee increased,
the powers of memory increased
with it) —‘to be sure 1 do.’ ‘Then
come into court and swear it!’ and
straw shoes vveut into court and
sworn it.” Only we might be sup
posed to be dealing in that weapon,
flattery, we could mention the names
of some c-ties nearer home where
straw-shues could be found as well
as in Athens. — Fen & Plough.
RATHER ROUGH ON GRANT.
From the Liverpool Mercury.
I ceriainly do not e ivy the lion
hunters who succeed in capturing
Gen. Grant for a dinner patty. He
say 3 literally nothing, and he does
not, tike Count Moitke, impress you
with the couviction that 'e thinks
the more. It is not a case ot being
silent in five languages with the ex
president of the Uni.ed States. If
words lad him, the impression which
h. convoys is that they fail because
ideas fail also. At the Duke of Wel
lington’s he and and break silence once,
however. He had been speech ess dur
dinner, but abet wards he suddenly
Slid te his host: “Duke, wnat was
the largest number of men your fa
ther ever commanded?” The Duke
replied: “Thai was when he was
generalissimo of Europe, aud he had
so inany English (mentioning the
number) so many Germans, so many
Prussians:” and then the Duke nam
ed a figure which was, a very few
hundred thousand. “Then,” said th
victor of Richmond, “I gues-1 beat
the Duke, for I commanded a million.”
removingTstumps.
Tho Home and Farm save: The easiest
way to get rid of stumps is to bore a hole in
the top, .ay one er two inches in diameter,
and eighteen inches deep. Put in the hole
from one to two ounces of saltpeter, fill the
hole with water and plug up tight. In the
spring tako out the plug, pour in a half gill
of kerosene oil, and set fire to it The stump
will burn entirely up, even to the smallest
roots.
-A. DEMOCRATIC IF NEWSPAPER.
Deaths in India from Tigert* Bnakes
and other things.
[Prom the London Telegrajih.]
Returns have reached us from
ing the numbers kitted in .he year 1875
wild beasts and snake-bites. It seems that
between the 31st of December, 1871, and the
Ist of January, 1876, in our Indian empire,
no fowor than 21.391 persons and 48,231 head
of #'.e, perished from these canses. Such
was the war of savage nature against man.
On the other hand, there wero destroyed 22, -
357 wild animals of all kinds, and 270,185
snakes, at a cost to the government of 120,-
015 rupees; or, without taking into account
the depreciation in the value of silver, some
thing like £ 12,000. We are further told that
the losses have been to a great extent tabu
lated, and that, from the returns, which have
been sent in, it has been found that elephants
have killed 61 human beings, and 6 ea tie,
tigers respective!y 828 and 12,423; leopards.
187 and 529; wolves, 1,060 and9,457; hyenas
68 and 2,116; while to “other animals” are
ascribed the totals of 1,446 and 4,401. These
othdr animals are not described with any
minuteness, and we are consequently loft to
conjecture for ourselves what they are, and
how they may have inflicted the mischief laid
to their charge. The Indian buffalo when
roused is a very dangerous antagonist; even
the pacific Arabmany bull will occasionally
knock down and trample upon a child; the
wild goat or markhor of the Himalayas is an
ngly customer to face, and apt to p rove sud
denly pugnacious and dangerous; the mon
goose itself has been known, like the ferret,
*o attack children; and hardly a season
passes but beaters are killed or seriously
wounded in the course of the day’s pig stick
ing. It is, indeed, somewhat remarkable
that, complete as the returns otnerwise are'
the number of deaths due to “horn of hart
and tusk of boar” are not distinctly recorded
among them. At the same time it must be
noticed that 84 deaths axe scored to ibq bear.
The great majority of ihese vieiims v. re
most likely native ehikarries, or herdsmen,
venturing near the haunts of the “anchorite
of the forest."
The oopulation of Russia is, in
round numbe-s, 85,000,000. Its area
is already nearly one-sixth ot the hah
i able globe; its nominal army nearly
2,000,000 men; its government com
pact, vigorous, five from auv present
danger of revolutions at home; its
people, except, perhaps, ihose of
Poland, gen rally and heartily united
in sup lotting 'he present cuisade.
The popul .ti not European Tu key,
exclusive of its .nbutary provinces,
Servia and Roumania, which are al
ready in war again t it, is, in round
number, 8,000,000. Oi'iiib, les ban
one-half are Mahometans, The
Christians bear no arms. They are
hoping for a day of deliverane ; ',_o.
are an inpediment, noi a strung: h,
to Tin key. If 'lie ontir*-population
of all Turkey—Europe, Asiatic Afri
can—be includ and, it numbers not
over 16,000 000 Mahometans. It*
army, all told, scarcely exceeds half
a million “on paper,” and its capital
is tremulous with hidden fires that
may any day break out in volcanic
revolution.
A Singular Case.
Says the Sante Barbara (Cal.) Press:
Aboui a rrouih ag>, a son of Mr. Geo.
Franz who bv>’s about two miles inland
from at Helens, fell from a wagon, strik
ing upon a sharp stump. The points
penetrated the bank part of his head to
the brain, and the stranges part of the
-tory is that the boy got up, took hts
horse to the stable and fed him betore
feeling more pain tha u from an ordinay
fall. In about an hour alter the acci
dent he became faint and appeared to
be dying. Dr Stewart a well-known phy
sician, was sent for, and came immedi
ately. He examined the wound, and
found that part of the brains were gone,
a.id himself removed a portion that pto
traded from the hole. He treated tin
boy a fuW days and succeeded in saving
his life. At last accounts be was able
to walk about, and experiences no
trouble, mentally or physically, from
the loss.
Trying to do busines without ad
vertising is like winking at a pretty
girl in the dark; you know what you
are doing yourself, but nobody else
does.
Very comfortable quarters —twen-
ty-five cent pieces.
SOMETHING IN THE BED.
Max Adeler.
Judg-- Pitman has a habit of slip
ping his watch under his pillow when
he goes.to bed. The other night
.somehow it slipped down, and as the
Judge was restless, it gradually work
ed its way downwaid toward the foot
of the' bed. Alter a bit, while h<- was
lyu.g awake, his foot touched it, and
it felt very cold; he was surprised
and seared, and, jumping front bed.
he said:
“By gracious, Maria 1 there’s a
toad or snake or something under
the covers. I touched it with my
fuOt."
Mrs. Pitman gave a loud scream,
and wrua out on the floor in an instnnt.
“Now, don’t go io hollering and
waking uo the neighbors,” said the
Judge. “You go and get me the
broom or something, and we’ll fix the
thing mighty quick.”
Mrs. Pitman got the broom and
gave it to the Judge with the remark
that she feit as if Mtakes wero creep
ing all up and down her tegs and
back.
“O, nonsense, Maria! Now you
turn down the covers slowly, while I
hold the broum and bang it. Put a
bucket of water alongside the bed,
too, so’s we can shove it in and drown
it.”
Mrs. Pitman fixed the bucket and
gently removed the covers. The
Judge held the broom uplifted, and
as soon as the black ribb n of the
watch was revealed, he cracked away
three or four times with his broom,
Then he pushed the tniug off mb- the
bucket. Then they took Hie bucket
to the light to investigate the matter.
When the Judge saw what it was,
he said :
“I m glit’ve known that. Just like
you women, to go screeching and
fussing about noth ng. Who’s going
to pay me for that watch ? It's ut
terly ruined.”
!. “It was you that made the fuss,
not me,” said Mrs. P. • ‘You needn’t
try to put the blame off on me.”
“O, nush up, and go to bed. I’m
tired ol ht-ai ing vour blather. Blame
me il I ain’t going to get a divorce
and emigrate.”
And the Judge turned in and growl
ed at Maria un il he fell asleep. ■
Tho Scientific American in the
June number in speaking of con
verting the Sahara Desert in Africa
into an inland sea, by canal, has the
following to say:
“It should be considered that this
large inland lake, if once established
would have no fresh water supply
trom rivers; but the sea water
would rush in through the canal, to
mat: np for the evaperaiion, which
w safely sot down 1,500 pounds
of whi-t per yea for every square toot,
this tvu i'd lowe: the level twenty feet
per year, which is one quarter
of the whole quantity of the lake.
This for a whole surface of 4.000,000
square miles, or 100,000,000,000 000
square f*-et, gives 2,000,000,00.\000,-
000 cubic feet of water to be replace i
anudly from the ocean, or nearly 6,-
000,000,000,000 cubic feet per day, or
250,000,000,000 cubic feet per hour, or
4,166,666,666 cubic feet per minute, or
69,444,444 or 525,000 000 gallons per
second. As the German Rhine carries
only 1,000,000 gallons ol water per sec
ond, on an average, the channel bring
ing the supplv to the desert of Suahara
from the ocean would have to carry as
much water as 525 rivers like the Rhine
and from the sail water only pure wa
ter would be evapora'ed, having the
salt behind. As this amount to four
per ceut, or 0"e twenty-filth of the sea
water, and as nearly twenty feel deep,
or one fourth of the water in tbit, nee
lake would only take 4x5, or 100 years,
one single century for all the water to
disappear and a deposit of salt take its
place. Then the u-.w sandy desert
would be changed into a desert <>t salt
which salt would fill the whole basiu,
and would ceriamly be a more serious
xffl ci’ou to Algerm than the present
sauu plain can possibly be.
Old United States coins, dated from
1793 to 1814, if they are in good con
d'tion, ?re woitb from five cents to lor
ty cents; if they are sharp or just as
'hey come from the mint, they are
worth $2 each. Uniied States silver dol
lars dated 1793, 1836, 1838, 1839,
1851, 1852, 1854. 1858, if in good con
dition are worth $3; if they are sharp
they are worth more.
POISONED BY CHEESE.
The village of Oakfield Genesee,
eountv, this S'Me wss greatly excited
the other dav over the sudden illness of
eighteen oi twentv persons, and for a
lime visions of Lucretia Borgia. Mrs.
Sherman, coiorer's inqnest, large funer
al ptoccasions, etc. flitted in rapid sue
-BeSsion through the minds of the people.
Fortunately, me. heal assistance was
promptly obtained and none of the
eases terminated fatally, though several
were seriously ill. Investigation re
vealed the fact that all the parties, who
were taken had eaten cheese procured
at Chamberlain's store. Mr. Chamber
lain among the number. The party of
whom the cheese was bought says it
was of a lot and all the others were per
fectly good, lie has no idea how it
happened to contain poison as il evident
ly did and a quantity of it has been sent
to Buffalo for medical analysis. — N. i.
Mercury.
moody and Beseiging Lovers.
The evangelist Moody is not an or
dained oleryman, and that is a great
disappointment to hundreds of
They want him to marry them. Al
though the knot could be cvangetically
lied the lawyers could soon cut it in
pieces. Moody is daily pestered by
young persons ignorant of his inability
to make them happy in a more tempo
ral seiice.
_
A WEALTHY ST ATE.
Chihuahua, on.a of the northern Mex
ican States which will perhaps fall in
our Ups like a ripe apple very soon, is
immensely valuable. The extent and
dehth of its silver deposits are thought
to he so great that nearly the whole
territory may he called a mine. That
such El Doradoan treasures should lie
at our door, almost untouched, shows
rernakable conservatism on our part.
The State is large, spnisely populated
and Ameiicansto develope its raineia!
resources, California and Nevada might
belhrown in the shade.
A Heavy Contract.
The contract awarded by the Turkish
govei nmen* to a single corperation in
Rhode Island is said to involve ibe
mous sum oi $17,000,000. The Provi
dence tool company is now employing
2,500 raec, and manufacturing 600 Mar
tini-Henry rifles a day. A packing
box company at 6'onth Hadley Falls,
makes 20,000 a year for the Providence
corporation, and in these the rifles are
packed for sipraent to Turkey.
Tell. & Mess, says: We learn that al
ter weeks of effort, Special Agent Brad
bury Williams lias succeed in trapping
a mail thief in the office at Williamsburg
Calhoun county. It- pioved to bo tbe
Postmaster himself, one Griffin, who
was yesterday held in default of $2,000
bail, for bis appearance at tbe fall term
ot tbe Federal Court at Savnuah.
Torpedo balloons are proposed by a
corespondent ol the Scientific American.
The idea is to float tbe balloon over tbe
enemy and drop the torpedo by means
of el. tricity sent over a wire. It is cal
cula'ed that a city could be totally de
stroyed in this way by dropping a suffi
cient quantity of nitm-glycerine.
I was somewhat shocked when a
youugmao got up in our young con
vert’s meeting and said he had carried
a pocket pistol ever since he became
converted. But when he drew it out it
was a testament. I hops every one of
the young converts will carry a pocket
pistol of that kind. — Moody at Boston.
Baltimore has a very queer old man
who every day at oue o’clock, goes
through certain streets and takes his
stand n ar a putnp. Theie he remains
counting aloud the persons who come
alter water until the number reaches
seventeen, when he turns and goes the
way he came to bis home.
Atlanta Constitution says: The
fail nre of the Cl arter Oak life insur
ance company, of Hartford, lays bare
auother nest of rascality. The known
deficit exceeds two millions, and the
entire deficit is probably twice that sum
An attempt to aid a Connelicut railroad
company aud sundry mining enterprises
in tbe west, together with internal mis
management and cor uption, bas ruined
a once prosperous and popular corpora
tion.
Silken purses are in use again and la
dies are knitting them for a pastime.
Annual Subscription $2,00
NO. 40
PLEASANT BEDROOMS.
There is nothing more indicativo
of refinement and a genuine culture
in a family than bright, cheerful and
tastefully decorated bed-chambers.
Tasteful decorations does not necessa
ri’y mean expense, and it is possible
to make a chamber look very pre ty
at a very small ouTay. Indeed, in
many instances, no outlay at all will
be requi ed beyond what would bo
incurred under any circumstances.
The women of a family, especially,
are apt to pass a good portion f
their time in their bed-chamber, and
in some households, the sleeping de
partments are used alike tor sewing
rooms, sitting-rooms, and nurseries.
It is worth while to obtain all the in
nocent pleasure we can find in this
life, and there can be no doubt that
file is pleasanter if most of its hours
are passed in cheerful-lookiDg apart
ments.
CAMELS IN NAVADA.
In IBS'! the United Stales govern
ment made an attempt to introduce cam
els for service in the arid wastes along
the southwestern frontier. Ten Camels
were landed at New York, hut all save
one pair, a male and a female, died soon
after from the >fleets of the Toyage.
The survivors weie transfered to Nava
da whose sandy and sterile soil produc
ed an abundance of prirkly shrubs,
which no other animal would touch.
Ou this kind of food the single pair of
camels flourished and multiplied, aud
their decendants now number ovsr one
hundred. They are hardy useful ani
mals and are capable of good service as
beast of burden in the sandy wastes of
the Soumwest.
COLIC.
Tako one p*ug of tobacco and tear it
up an 1 pul it in an old coffee pot and
and set fire to the tobacco, letting the
smoke come well into the nostrils of the
aDimal effected for ten or fifteen min
utes or until relieved. This is au infal*
ible remedy and never fails to make
a speedy cure,
A Breakfast Gravy.
Pried, beef makes a very nice gravy for
for breakfast cooked in this way: Shave off
the beef thin and put in the frying pan, with
nearly as much water as you wish tor gravy;
lot it boil a few minutes, keeping it covered.
Then thicken with a little flour moistened
with cream; add butter, pepper; and salt to
taste.
I'lie largest gold nugget ever found,
is said to have been found in the Moose
River mines. Nova Scotia a short time
ago. It weighed 22 pounds, and WJ3
valued ai $5,280.
About 200 negroes will be prose
cuted at the next Superior Court in
Mitchell county, for illegal voting.
A Whale thirty or forty feet in
length was recently seen off Santa Rosa
island. This is said to be the only
specimen ever seen in Pensacola bay.
A bachelor editor, who had a pretty
unmarried sister, lately wrote to another
similarly circumstanced: “Ploase ex
change.'’
'‘Hard was he up I” And iu his
bard upness stole a ham. —Western
Poem.
The dogs of the United States de
stroyed last year about 3,000,000
sheep.
The Knoxville Tribune has absorbed
ten different papers in is day.
Turtle eggs are retailed in Wilming
ton N. C. at 10 cents per dozen.
Muoro county has sold $25,000 of dried
fruit this season.
There are eighteen nationalities and 25 or
30 religions iu Canada.
A girl graduates at the head of thirty-eight
young men iu a class in Bates college, Msine.
The name of “Cherokee Baptist Female
College” has been changed to “Shorter Fa
mate College,” after its beneficent benefac
tor.
A lively campaign is in progress in Virginia
over the conservative Gubernatorial nomi
nation. Primary electuns were held in e#v
er al cities last week.
Dr. Hamilton is agaiu to lake charge
of the Andrew Female College.