Newspaper Page Text
NEWS OP THE WEEK.
WEST.
The temperance movement is said to
be spreading in Indiana.
A schooner is loading at Chicago with
corn to sail direct to Cork, Ireland.
There is a speck of war in Wisconsin
over the law recently passed by the legisla
ture regulating fares on railroads. The rail
road companies peremptorily refuse to obey
the law.
The wholesale liquor dealers of San
Francises have perfected their organization
for the purpose of protecting customers in
the interior from crusaders, and ihe local
opposition will raise a very large fund to de
fray the expense of fighting both in the
courts.
A passenger train on the Pittsburg,
Fort Wayne and Chicago railroad, bound east,
were thrown from the track at Summit station
on the 4th, by a misplaced switch, and all the
cars, except the refrigerator, caught fire and
were totally consumed. A large mass of mail
and express matter, including the California
mail, was burned.
EAST.
On the morning of the 30th ult., the
house of John Hamnet, near Homestead, Pa.,
was destroyed by fire. The entire family,
consisting of Hamnet, his wife and two chil
dren, a hired man and boy, whom they were
raising, six persons in all, were burned to
death. But two recognizable bodies were
found. It is almost certain that the entire
amily was murdered, and the suspicion rests
upon am in employed on tho place. One of
the bodies, found among the ruins, showed
that the throat had been cut.
SOUTH.
Louisville, Ky., burned up a $20,000
lanyard on the 4th.
A fire in Gadsden, Ala., on the 22d
inst., destroyed about $20,000 worth of prop
erty.
The stockholders of the St. Louis and
Iron Mountain road have voted to consolidate
with the Cairo and Fulton.
It is estimated that not less than
$2,000,000 worth of cotton has passed through
Nashville since September 1.
The stockholders of the Memphis
and Charleston railroad have, by a unanimous
vote, decided to take back the road.
Five million acres of cotton, sugar
and other cro i-producing land in Louisiana
are said to have been submerged by the pres
ent inundation.
Uncle Frank Preston, one of the
band of pioneer hunters, which had made
Kentucky famous, died last week at his home
near Maysville, Ky.
Wheat in the southern states is fine,
though it has sustained some injury by the
constant rains which have fallen recently.
Oats are damaged with rust.
A flat boat man named Eastwood was
murdered on his boat, twelve miles above New
Orleans, on bayou Lafourche, Saturday morn
ing by three negroes, who made their escape.
North Georgia papers continue to ex
press apprehensions of rust in wheat, and
those of southern Georgia to report rust in
oats. *
Both houses of the Texas legislature
have passed a joint resolution instructing
senators and representatives in congress to
support Col. Tom Scott’s Texas Pacific rail
road bill.
Hopewell cotton factory, the property
of John Thompson, situated in Elbert county,
Ga., was destroyed by fire at midnight of the
20th inst. Loss, $100,000; insurance, $58,000,
in the Liverpool, London and Globe compa
nies.
Three men were drowned Monday, at
the Pearl crossing of the Mobile and New Or
leans railroad. Superintendent Scranton says
it will take thirty days to repair the damage
by the recent flood and gat the road in thor
ough order.
At Boughton, on the Cairo and Ful
ton railroad, one hundred miles below Little
Rock, fifteen citizens followed a gang of horse
thieves, and on Sunday got into a fight with
them, and killed three and lost ono of their
own men hv being killed, and had another
wounded.
State Senator Alexander E. Barber
and Bradford R. Davis, both colored, have
brought suits against the Louisiana jockey
club, each claiming five thousand dollars
damages, because, as petitioners aver, said club
refused to sell them quarter badges during the
recent races on account of their color,
they being of African descent; that such re
fusal and exclusion were not only in violation
of the principles of natural justice, but also
of the rights guaranteed to them by the
constitution and statutes of the state.
A Georgia exchange expatiates as fol
lows on the gold outlook in that state : “The
mines are being dereloped in a more systemat
and energetic manner than heretofore. The
principal operations are on the Chestatee riv
er, which rises in the Appalachian mountains,
iu Lumpkin county, and flows southward to
Hall county, where it empties into the Chat
tahoochee. Both these rivers traverse the
gold belt, mostly at right angles to the strata
of the gold veins, and rich deposits are found
m their beds. The Chestatee from its mouth
to its junction with the Tesnateo has not been
worked excepting at tlia shoals, which yield
largely. Two companies are now engaged in
preparations to work the bed of the river—one
from Ohio, which is cutting a canal and tun
neling through a ridge so as to make available
three miles of gold deposits; the other con
trolled by J. It. Bartlett, of Boston, who has
engrossed nearly ten miles of the river. Oth
er companies are preparing to operate in the
same region.”
FOREIGN.
Belgium thinks of formally abolish
ing capital punishment. Practically it has
been abolished for the last thirty years.
It is repot ted that a famine prevails
in Asia Minor, and it is stated that in the
town of Angora alone one hundred deaths
occur daily from starvation.
Much joy was manifested by the cit
izens of Lisbon over the entry into Bilboa of
the Spanish republican troops. Crowds of
people headed by bands of music, paraded
the streets shouting “ Bilboa and liberty.”
A decree by Captain General Concha
esUb’ishes the extraordinary contribution of
ten per cent, on all incomes exceeding $ 1.000
annua ly, only the army and navy excepted.
The proceeds of the tax is de*-tiued to the pay
ment of the public debt and redemption of
the currency.
Additional dispatches from Bilboa
state that parties of Carlisle are surreurmriug
in hope of amnesty. The main body, how
ever, is retreating in disorder in the direction
of the province of Guipuzcoa. Bilboa is re
suming its wonted appearance and trade is re
viving. The obstructions placed in the river
Nervian to prevent the approach of govern
ment war vessels have been removed.
A dispatch from the city of Mexico
says Quiripo Rubio, another of the murderers
of the Rev. Mr. Stephens, is condemned to
death. The cold weather has killed the wheat
crop in Micboacau. The Apaches are raiding
in Chihnahua. It is reported that two Guada
lajar i journalise, who attacked the Catholics
on account of 'he murder of Sfephens, havo
been foully dealt with, one poisoned and the
other disappeared.
GENERAL.
Cincinnati has shipped $2,000 worth
of provisions to Louisiana.
Steerage passengers are now booked
from Liverpool to New York for £ls.
Mr. A. B. Mullett, supervising archi
tect of the treasury department, pronounces
THE STANDARD AND EXPRESS.
Knoxville marble unequaled in the United
States.
The federal council of the Interna
tionals has resolved to dissolve, the organiza
tion having proved a complete failure in the
United States.
The Executive committee of the Na
tional Grange have sent SI,OOO to the master
of the Louisiana State Grange for distribution
among the distressed.
The Freedmen’s Saving and Trust Cos.
have informed its depositors that sixty days’
notice will be required before any money can
be withdrawn. Arrangements are making to
help the needy depositors.
The Loudon Times, commenting on
the failure of the senate to pass the currency
bill over the president’s veto, remarks that it
is probable the danger of increasing paper
currency has been permanently avoided, and
adv.ses the substitu.ion of treasury currency
for the present national bank issues.
Frederick Douglass, president of the
Freedman’s saving bank, says depositors need
give themselves no uneasiness and should not
dispose of their claims at a sacrifice. Those
employed at the bank assure him that if the
depositors will be patient for a very short time
the bank and its branches will be able to pay
dollar for dollar.
ARKANSAS.
President Grant has received a dis
patch fro m Gov. Baxter, of Arkansas, stating
that an armed insurrection exists in the State,
and asking for aid to protect the State against
domestic violence. Gov. Baxter says he tele
graphed for aid the 19th of April, but under
stands the President never received the requi
sition. Gov. Brooks has already made a simi
lar request, and now has two lawyers in Wash
ington looking after his interests. The ques
tion. whe is the actual Governor, will be pre
sented to the President for decision unless
some other means of settlement shall inter
vene.
A special to the Gazette from Helena
says that there was a very large meeting at
that place Monday night for the purpose of
raising volunteers for Brooks. The meeting
was composed principally of colored people.
After the warriors made speeches, Hon. J. T.
White, (colored,) Commisr-iouer of Public
Works and late Senator, advised the colored
men to stay at home and let the Legislature
settle the matter. This speech had the effect
to prevent the enrollment of a single man. A
company of Baxter men took possession of
the Ft. Smith train to-day near Lewisburg, to
prevent seme reinforcements for Brooks from
reaching the city. Capt. Wm. F. Graves, of
tho Brooks force, left the State-house this
evening and came into the Baxter lines, stat
ing he’qnit that party. A telegram from Pine
Bluffs'states that the Brooks party have ad
vices from Washington at the General Gov
ernment will no longer interfere. The Baxter
men are jubilant. They claim that the Gov
ernment has decided iu their favor.
Joseph Brooks and Elisha Baxter,
each siguiug himself as governor of Arkansas,
have published letters in the New York papers
giving their story of their troubles iu Arkan
sas. Baxter says, speaking of his rupture with
Senators Clayton andDorsey, “that an individ
ual, representing himself as theiragent, called
upon him, and requested, in their name, his
complicity in frauds sufficient to carry the state
in their interests, and when he refused, di
rectly offered as the price of his complicity,
the United States judgeship, and as much
money as he wanted.” Here-asserts his assur
ance that he will abide by the decision of the
legislature, which he has convened, and which
he says the Supreme court has decided as
alone capable of disposing of the subject.
Brooks, on the contrary, says “the legislature
can only decide the question of who is gover
nor when the question is presented lo it by a
contest. It cannot count or recount a vote on
its own motion. I don’t propose to have any
thing to do with this legislature, nor can I re
cognize the right of Baxter to call it without
recognizing him as governor, and this I will
not do. I shall abide the decision of the
courts cheerfully, and I have appealed the
case iu order to bring it before the Supreme
court at the Juno term.” Attorneys represent
ing both parties in the Arkansas dispute for
the governorship have called on the attorney
general, and will submit written arguments in
support of their respective claims. The decis
ion of the president will be made after a thor
ough consideration of the arguments thus pre
sented. Attorney-General Williams will pre
pare tho opinion for the executive.
Gen. King (white), who has charge of
Baxter’s forces at Pine Bluff, hearing that a
party of Brookites were assembled at New
Gascony, in Jefferson county, committing dep
redations, moved a column of two hundred
men down to that point for the purpose of dis
persing them. A dispatch to Gen. Newton,
from Tine Bluff, says White sent forward a flag
of truce to order the men to disperse, but they
fired upon tho party and a regular battle en
sued in which nine of the Brooks party were
killed and twenty wounded. The remaiuder
were taken prisoners, disarmed and sent home.
Gen. White reports seven men of his owncom
maud wounded and three horses killed.
The situation at Little Bock is prac
tically unchanged. Baxter’s headquarters are
still at the Anthony House, and he has about
liim some three hundred men. Brooks still
occupies the state-house with a force which is
estimated at five hundred, mostly colored.
The United States troops still occupy a posi
tiou between the opposing forces. In an ad
dress to the people Gen. J. F. Fagan, a major
general iu the confederate army, assumes
command of the Brooks forces throughout the
state, and calls on his old comrades to rally to
his standard. Both parties seem to be wait
ing for some definite news from Washington.
Judges Bennett and Seailes, of the
supreme court, were captured on the 4th by a
body of about ten armed men. When the
train from Memphis arrived at Argenta, they
were taken off the train and carried off, where,
no one seems to know. The Brooks men charge
that it was a Baxter squad who made the ar
rest. On the other hand the Baxter men say
it was a Brooks crowd. It was reported that
the supreme court was to hold a special ses
sion and pass upon Judge Wliytock’s judgment
in the Brooks Baxter case, and that the Brooks
men spirited the judges away to prevent them
from reaffirming the quo warranto decision.
The Brooks men charge that the Baxter men
captured the judges to prevent them from
affirming Whytqpk’s decision.
Reports from Jefferson state that a
squad of Gen. White’s men encountered a
body of sixty of Brooks’ men above Arkansas
Post on the evening of the 3d, and dispersed
them. One report says five men were killed,
though it needs confirmation. The prepara
tion on both sides looks very warlike, and all
sorts of reports are afloat, one to the effect
that Brooks intends to assault Baxter, and
another that- Baxter intends to assault Brooks.
Tue United States troops occupy their old po
sition between both parties.
Hon. J. R. Berry, who claims to have
been elected auditor on the same ticket with
Brooks, and who was prevented from prosecu
ting his claims iu the courts by a prohibition
against the circuit court issued by the supreme
court, publishes a letter favoring the submis
sion of the whole matter to the legislature.
Mr. Brooks publicly announces be will not
abide by any decision of the legislature. The
Gazette and other conservative journals favor
a call by the legislature of a constitutional
convention, with a view of re-submitting the
whole matter to the people.
The sheriff of Pulaski county, Ark.,
telegraphs to the secretary of war, stating
that he has asked the commander of the Uni
ted States troopß at Little Rock for aid to
servs writs of habeas corpus for the judges
arrested at Argenta. Brooks te egraphs Pres
ident Graut, requesting him to a-k the com
manding officer at Little Rock to demand the
surrender of the arrested parties.
CONGRESSIONAL.
Iu the senate, on the 27th, eulogies
were delivered on the late Senator Sumner,
and resolutions of respect passed.
In the house, on the 27th, bills were
introduced to facilitate the resumption of
specie payments, and to prevent fluctuations
iu the value of United States notes ; repeal
ing all laws imposing a tax on state banks;
t ‘ impose a tax of five per cent, on all incomes
of individuals and corporations exceeding $5,-
000 ; declaring it oppressive to impose addi
tional taxation, and inexpedient to retrench on
necessary appropriations alreadv made in the
interest of commerce, and providing as a meas
ure of temporary relief, for the issue of the
additional £50,000,000 of legal-tender notes ;
t) provide a free system of national banking
and for the resumption of specie payment
Eulogies on the late Senator Sumnerconaumed
the rest of the sessieu.
In the senate, "on the 28th, Mr. Ste
venson presented a preamble and resolutions
of the president and directors of the Louis
ville and Portland canal company, denying
that they were opposed to the government
paying bonds and taking possession of the
work, but that they were legally advised not
to surrender until all the debts be paid by the
govemmeat. They further stated that the re
ceipts of the company for the past nine years
had been but little over $164,000, instead of
$350,000 per annum The judiciary com
mittee reported unfavorably on bills to restore
the political disabilities of J. W. Bennett, of
Maryland, John Forsyth, of Alabama, John
T. Pickett, of Virginia, D. A. Tiffain, of North
Carolina, and Raphael Semmes, of Alabama.
Most of these bills did not have the necessary
petitions from the parties named, and the lat
ter one the committee was not disposed to con
sider favorably. The committee was dis
charged from their further consideration
After some discussion of the Louisiana bill
the senate t ook un the finance bill, with the
president's veto. The roll was called and the
bill was lost—34 to 30—less than two-thirds.
In the hoHse, on the 2Stb, a bill was
passed appropriating $90,000 for the purchase
of rations to he used in the relief of persons
suffering from the inundation of the lower
Mississippi... .The judiciary committee was
instructed to inquire whether Judge Wm. Sto
ry, United States district judge of the wes
tern district of Arkansas, should be impeached
for high crimes and misdemeanors... .The
legislative appropriation bill was passed—ls3
to 53 -and the house adjourned.
In the senate, on the 29th, nothing of
importance was done except the discussion
of the supplementary civil rights bill.
In the house, on the 29th, bills were
introduced amendatory of the act for the re
demption of the 3 per cent, temporary loan
certificates and for an increase of national
bank notes, and to amend the national curren
cy act and establish free banking The bill
to carry into execution the provisions of the
14 1; amendment to the constitution, and to
define certain rights of United States citizens
in foreign countries, was taken up and dis
cussed.
Iu the senate, on tbe 30th, some dis
cussion was had on a resolution to print 2.500
copies of Prof. Hayden’s final report, and the
resolution was laid over A bill was intro
duced to promote commerce among the states,
and the transportation of persons and prop
erty between the Atlantic seaboard and the
western states and territories The hill to
increase the pay department of the army, fix
ing the number of paymasters at fifty’, with
rank, pay, and emoluments of majors of cav
alry, was passed—2l to 18—and it now goes to
the house. Should the bill become a law, six
new appointments in the paymaster’s depart
ment will be made.
In the house, on the 30th, considera
tion was had of the senate amendments to
house bill, relative to the Louisville and Port
land canal, and it was passed. It now goes to
the president for signature Th“ select com
mittee made a report on the Utah contested
election, that Mr. Cannon, the sitting member,
is entitled to the seat, and that Mr. Maxwell,
the contestant, is not. Adjourned.
In the senate, May Ist, the chair pre
sented the credentials of Wm. B. Washburn,
United States senator from Massachusetts to
fill the vacancy caused by the death of Mr.
Sumner... .House bill to enable the secretary
of war to carry out the act of April 23, 1874,
to provide for the relief of persons suffering
by the overflow of the Mississippi river, was
passed. The bill appropriates $90,000 for
that purpose The bill enabling claimants to
lands within the limits of the territory of New
Mexico to institute proceedings to try the va
lidity of their claims, was discussed at some
length and passed Mr. Sprague ca led up
senate bill to confirm the purchase made by
the executive depat tment of three acres of
land iu the vicinity of Nashville, Tenuessee,
known as the site of Fort Hudson, and to do
nate and convey the same to Fisk university
for e lueationai purposes. Pending the dis
cussion the seuate went into executive session
and soon after adjourned.
In the house, May Ist, nothing was
done beyond the passage of a few local bills.
In the senate, on the 4th, Mr. Pease
submitted a resolution requesting tbe house to
return to the senate the bill of last week ap
piopriating $90,000 for the relief of persons
suffering from the overflow of the Mississippi
river. He said his object in submitting the
resolution was to have the bill again before
the senate that he might move to increase the
appropriation. The resolution was agreed to.
Tne committee on pensions reported,
with an amendment, a bill amendatory of the
act to amend and consolidate the laws relat
ing to pensions. Placed on calendar. It re
lates to that class of invalid pensioners who
have lost an arm at or above the elbow, and
increases their pensions from $lB to S2O per
month The judiciary committee reported
unfavorably on the bill for tho better organi
zation of the United States courts in Louisiana.
Placed on the calendar with the advance re
port A resolution was agreed to instructing
the finance committee to inquire and report
whether tho provisions of the law forbidding
the sale of tobacco by the producer thereof to
any person not a licensed dealer ought not to
be repealed A bill relating to army distinc
tion was reiferied. It provides for repealing
those sections of tne act of 1868, which lim
its the service of colored men to a certain
number of regiments, and proposes to open
all regimental and company organizations, and
all other branches of the military service,
alike to all American citizens, regardless of
race or col or Mr. Goldtli waite introduced a
hill to aid the construction of a steamboat
canal fro u;Gadsden toJJWetumpka, Alabama.
It provides for a government guarantee of
the interest of thirty years’ bonds of the com
pany to the extent of $30,000 per mile, and
for a grant of eight sections of public lands
for each mile of canal along Coosa river. The
whole canal, 140 miles in length, to be comple
ted within six years, and to transport govern
ment troops and supplies free of charge....
Consideration of the supplementary civil
rights bill was resumed and Mr. Norwood con
cluded his argument against its passage. He
argued that tho Jbill was unconstitutional in
its provisions, and read at length from judi
cial decisions in support of h s position.
In the house, on the 4th, bills were
introduced: To relieve Raphael Ssmmes
from political (usabilities, for the construction
of Fort Bb. Phillip’s canal, in Louisiana, at a
cost not exceeding estimates, the yearly in
stallments not to exceed four million dollars;
granting aid in the construction of a canal
from Romo, Georgia, to Macon, and a canal
connecting the Tennessee and Coosa rivers,
by guaranteeing bonds of the companies—iu
the first es se not to exceed twenty three mil
lion dollars, and in the latter case fourteen
million dollars....A resolution was adopted
instructing the committee on ways and means
to inquire into the propriety of repealing the
tax on|leaf tobacco, and of chauging the char
acter of fines and penalties for the violation
of intermiJ revenue law. Also, the southern
claims commission to report to congress with
out delay all cases before it which have been
decided. Adjourned
THE PUBLIC DEBT.
Regular Month ’ y Statement—Decrease
in April, •4,005,45 I.
The public debt statement for April
has just been issued, of which the fol
lowing is a recapitulation :
DEBT BEARING INTEREST IN COIN.
Bonds at 8 pr cent • 214,2*1,5C0 P 0
Bonds at 5 per cent 609i802,250 Of
Total l, 24,0:6,750 00
DEBT BEARING INTEREST IN LAWFUL MONET.
Lawful money debt $ 14 674,000 00
Matured debt 6,164,77 j 00
DEBT BEARING NO INTEREST.
L"ga! tender notes $ 352,076.777 f 0
Certificate,i on deposit 51,660.1 00 00
Fractional currency 47,436,620 O>
Coin certificates i 3,710,800 00
Total without interest. $ 515,084,198 00
Total debt 2 259,963,718 00
Total interest 37,181,584 00
CASH IN THE TREASI-RT.
Coin f 9,031,952 00
Currency 5,258,074 00
Special deposit held for redemp
tion of certificates of deposit 51,860,000 00
Total in trsaaary | 147.420,026 00
DEBT LESS CASH IN TREASURY.
Debt less cash in treasury J2,1i9.7:te,277 00
Decrease of debt during'past moatu 2 265,'451 00
BONDS ISSUED TO PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANIES.
Principal out.-taeding I 64,623,512 00
Interest accrued and not yet paid. 1.292.470 CO
Interest paid by the United States.. 22.386,691 00
Interest paid by transportation of
mails, etc 5,051,418 00
Balance cf interest paid by the
United States 17,335,27* 00
E.vgljSHln are in high spirits over
the wondrous change that seems to have
come over the queen. Ordinarily very
solemn, not to say severe, she seems of
late to have recovared her former
elasticity of spirits, and at the Windsor
review, as on one or two other recent oc
casions, was smiling and bowing in the
most affable manner. Some say that this
change lias been occasioned by the
Duchess of Edinburg, who, beside* be
ing bright and lively, has bo fear of her.
stately mother-in-law,
CARTERSVILLE, GEORGIA, WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 1874.
BROWN HANDS.
ET KBS. HATTIE F. BELL.
Pall many a pige has been written.
And the gifted have sung, in the praise
Of lily-white hands and Augers,
In a score of poetical ways;
This is all very well for a lady
Who lives among diamonds and silk,
But sometimes iu life a farmer’s wife
Is obliged to do housework and milk.
And woman's best mission thro’out our dear land
Is fulAlledin the strength of the little brown ham’.
When the roses are blushing the sweetest,
And the vines climb up to the eaves—
When the robins are rocking their birdies
To sleep 'mong the maple leaves ;
The snnshine smiles down ’cross the threshold,
When the labor of love seems but rest.
Whether rocking the household birdies
Or keeping the dear home-nest—
Oh 1 I pity you all who can’t understand
The wealth and the worth of a little brown hand.
If I were a man with a fortune,
A million laid by on the shelf—
If I were a youth—if I wasu’t, in truth,
If I wasn’t a woman myself—
I know what I’d do in a minute
(White Augers have often misled),
I’d seek after those who*e rich tinting shows
Acquaintance with puddifigs and bread ;
I’d use all the elegance words could command,
And be proud might I win a little brown hand.
AUNT SARAH’S GHOST.
“It’s all very well to laugh at ghosts
and spirits,” said Aunt Sarah, looking
solemnly at us, “but, my dears, there
are more things in this world than you
know of.”
“ That’s from Shakspeare, Aunt
Sarah.”
“ Suppose it is ? ” replied the old
lady, adjusting her cap; “ it’s true,
nevertheless.”
“Oh, it’s quite true; but did you
ever really see a ghost ? ” we asked, all
anxiety to hear her strange experi
ence.
“ I’ve seen a ghost,” answered Aunt
Sarah, slowly, “ just a3 plainly as I see
you now.”
“ Oh, how dreadful! ” we all ex
claimed. “Tell us about it, Aunt
Sarah.” And we drew our chairs
closer around the table, and wondered if
Thom s wasn’t coming soon to light the
gas.
Annt Sarah smiled upon us with the
conscious superiority of wisdom, but,
well pleased to be the center of so at
tractive a circle, put aside her knitting
and commenced as follows :
“ A great many years ago I was stay
ing, with a number of other guests, at
a friend’s house in the country. Among
the various people, old and young, who
were gathered there, was a maiden lady
of rather mature age ; in fact, she ought
long ago to have taken her degree as a
confirmed old maid. Some people so
dread the approach of age that they
cling to the semblance of youth almost
with the tenacity of despair. Miss Big
iow—that was her name—was one of
this kind ; and so, by the aid of pains,
powder and false hair, she really made
herself look twenty years younger than
what we knew to be her actual age. It
was even whispered, that her cheeks
owed their seeming plumpness to some
mysterious cause not attributable "to
nature. Now, girls,” said Aunt Sarah,
pausing for a moment, and looking
sternly upon us, “ T hate this deception,
and hope none of you paint, or powder,
or wear false hair.”
“ Goodness, Aunt Sarah ! You don’t
think we wear false hair, do you?”
cried Bessie Gray, putting up her hand
to ascertain if her chignon was in its
right place.
“lam sure I don’t know, my dear,
but I hope not. Well, one day an elder
ly gentleman arrived at the house, in
tending to spend a week in fishing,
hunting, or idling about, as most of us
were doing. This gentleman was very
rich, and avowedly looking for a wife.
Under these circumstances it is not sur
prising that he at once became tbe lion
of the day.
“ The evening on which he arrived
saw Miss Biglow painted and powdered
to the verge of distraction—wherever
that may be—and looking, to an unprac
tised eye, almost girlish.
“ It was really wonderful, my dears,
to see bow the eligible bachelor—Mr.
Goodman —took to her from the first.
We really became afraid that she would
carry off a prize for which so many
blushing young ladies had angled in
vain.
“Miss Biglow seldom came down
stairs in the morning, and when she
ventured out always wore a thick veil
to protect her skin, which she said was
very tender indeed. Of course we knew
the reason, but Mr. Goodman, like nil
other men, was as blind as a bat, and
ns easily taken in by a woman as any
chFd would be. It would not have
been fair for us to undeceive him, you
kn;w, for I think women ought tore
spect each other’s little secrets.”
44 Honor among thieves,” murmured
Bessie.
“My dear, that is not a pretty sim
ile,” said Aunt Sarah, gravely. “ But
let me go on with my story. One even
ing we were all sitting at the open win
dow, in the moonlight, and, by some
means or other, the conversation turned
upon the habit of wearing false hair,
and other deceptions of a like nature.
“‘I never want to marry a woman
who would wash out like a cotton um
brella in the first shower,’ said Mr.
Goodman.
“ 4 I quite agree with you,’ answered
Miss Biglow. 4 lt must be dreadful to
use all those things that you were talk
ing about.’
“Mr. Goodman glanced approvingly
toward her, but Gertie Edmonds pinched
my arm and whispered:
“‘l’ll bet a pair of gloves that she
won’t stand washing.’
“ 4 I’d like to try it,’ I answered.
“ Girls are always thoughtless and
foolish,” said Aunt Sarah, sagely, 44 and
I was no exception to the rule. That
speech of Mr. Goodman’s suggested a
wicked thought to Gertie Edmonds; it
was that we should all go out iu the
boat next day, taking, if possible, Miss
Biglow with us; and when in quite
shallow water, manage to upset the
boat.”
44 And then,” said Gertie, 44 it would
be such fun to see the paint wash off her
face.”
“I regret to say, my dears, that I en
tered into this wicked joke with a hear
ty good will, but was repaid for my
share in it by what happened afterward,
as you will see by and by.
44 At first Miss Biglow absolutely re
fused to go on the water at all, but by
Mr. Goodman’s earnest solicitations she
at last consented to makeone of t hepar ty.
Besides Mr. Goodman there were two
other young gentlemen, oonsins of Ger
tie’s, and I need scarcely tell you that
they entered with delight into our plot
against the unfortunate Miss Biglow.
“Next day we dressed ourselves as
plainly as jKissible, not caring to ruin
our best things by our contemplated
ducking in the lake. Everything went
on as well as could be wished, and we
pushed ont gently from the shore, with
our unsuspec mg' victim on board. We
had agreed to row along the shore tea
place where we girls sometimes went in
bathing, and then, at a given signal,
manage to upset the boat.
“Mr. Goodman was whispering some
soft nonsense into Miss Biglow’s ear,
when Henry Edmonds gave the precon
certed signal, and we all headed over at
onoe to pick a water lily. Over went
the boat, and in an instant everybody
was floundering about in three feet of
water. A terrific scream from Miss Big
low, some violent splashing and trem
bling on the part of Mr. Goodman, and
than we saw him rescue her bodily from
the water, and carry her triumphantly
to the shore.
“We followed without delay, and
found Mr. Goodman sitting on the bank,
gazing in direst dismay at the object he
had so gallantly carried to shore. Poor
Mis* Biglow did not look prepossessing;
and the two rude young oonsins of
Gertie’S bunt out laughing when they
saw her, which was very unkind and
thoughtless of them.”
“Did you laugh, Aunt Sarah?” we
asked.
“ Well, my dears, laughing is very
contagious, and I could not help join
ing in. • She sat on a stone, looking, as
that naughty Gertie said, just like an
ancient mermaid, just risen from the
sea. In the struggle her hat had come
off, taking with it the wealth of hair
which had been Mr. Goodman’s especial
delight. In its place was a tight little
knot with a wiry wisp of hair stretching
out at right angles, and asserting itself
in a most obtrusive manner. But her
face represented the most astonishing
change, for the paint had been washed
into stripes and patches, and the cheek
which had rested upon her cavalier’s
shoulder was quite white, while the
other was a stripy red color, very pe
culiar indeed. For some reason she
had not spoken a word since reaching
the shore, but sat with her hand
kerchief to her mouth, looking about
her with an expression of intense
anxiety.
“Harry had fished up her hat with
all the back hair hanging to it, and now
presented it to her on the end of a stick.
The position was too ludicrous, and we
burst out laughing in her very face. At
first she looked at the hair in a bewild
ered sort of way, not seeming to under
stand what we were laughing at; then
putting up her hand felt the little top
knot at the back of her bead; as she
did so, the whole horrible truth flashed
upon her; and she sprang to her feet
trembling with fury.”
“ Yipers !” she said ; and we saw that
she hadn’t a tooth in her head. “Scor
pions !” And, without taking her back
hair with her, she fled toward the house.
We all followed, iuwardly wondering
what she would do, and whether she
really thought we upset the boat inten
tionally. She did not appear at dinner,
so our hostess went up-stairs, and was
closeted with her for about an hour;
when she came down we fancied she
looked rather gravely at us, but “ guilty
conscience,” you know, and we began to
feel very guilty.
“ Will you come down to the lake
with me, Sarah?” she said.
“Goodness, Gertie!” I answered.
“ It’s almost twelve o’clock, and what
do you want to go there for ?”
“ I must go,” she said, determinedly.
“ You never noticed it, but I lost all my
back hair in those nasty rushes, and
must get it to-night; I fastened the veil
over the back of my head, so you did
not see it going.”
Of course I went with her, and, creep
ing out of the house by a back door, we
ran, hand in hand, down the dark patch
to the lake, and soon reached the spot
so fatal to Miss Biglow’s hopes. As we
stood for a moment silently watching
the moonbeams on the water, a tall
figure, robed in white, rushed out of
the bushes into the water at our feet.
My blood froze within me, and I almost
fell to the ground.
“What is it?” I asked, in a low,
terrified whisper, clutching hold of
Gar tie.
“ A ghost! ” she answered, her teeth
chattering as she spoke. “Oil, what
shall we do ? ”
The spectral figure turned round
just then, and, seeing us standing on
the shore, stretched out both arms and
came toward us quickly as possible.
At tbe same moment the moon was
hidden by a cloud, and wo were in total
darkness. Gertie gave a piercing
scream, and fled with the desperation
of despair toward the house, followed
by myself as quickly as possible ;
every moment I fancied that dreadful
thing would spring out from behind
some dark cluster of evergreen, and
clutch me with its ghostly hands.
We reached our rooms at last, and
bolting the door I threw myself on tho
bed, half dead with teiror.
Next morning we resolved not to say
anything about our adventure, lest we
should be laughed at; but our nervous,
startled manner, and pale faces showed
that something had happened.
“Oh, Sarah!” whispered Gertie,
coming to mo after breakfast, and,
speaking to me in an awe-struok voice,
said, “she’s gone.”
“ Who’s gone ?” I asked.
“ Miss Biglow ; no one has seen her
since last night; and we saw her ghost.”
Gertie shuddered and trembled vio
lently.
We found it really so. Miss Biglow
had disappeared, and no one knew
where she had gone. We hunted high
and low, but fonnd not the slightest
trace of her, and Gertie and I came to
the conclusion that she had drowned
herself, and that we saw her spirit that
night on the banks of tbe lake.
Harry told Gertie that our hostess
knew where she had gone, and that Miss
Biglow left a note explaining her sud
deu departure, and blaming us for the
whole affair. Of course we knew bet
ter, and to this day I am convinced that
she drowned herself, and that we saw
her ghost.
“ What nonsense, Aunt Sarah. She
was probably looking for her false teeth,
or something else; and besides, how
could vou tell that it was Miss Biglow
at all ?”
“ I recognized her at once by the lit
tle top-knot on the back of her head,
with the wisp of hair sticking ont. ”
“ Ob, it wasn’t a ghost at all, Annt
Sarah.”
“My dears, I knew you would laugh
at me, but I have lived long enough to
know a ghost when I see it. I hope, my
dears, that this may be a warning to
you all not to improve your good looks
by wicked artifices. Give me my knit
ting, Bessie, and ring for lights.”
Soul hern Crop Ne ws.
Wo learn from farmers that the cotton
caterpillar fly has made its appearance
in this and adjoining counties. If the
cotton crop is destroyed in this section
by these pests this year as it was last,
the majority of our farmers will be ut
terly bankrupt. —Evfaula (-4 1a.) News.
We learned yesterday from a well
known planter, who runs several large
farms in Lee and Dougherty counties,
that the late rains have given all grow
ing crops a serious “set-back.” Before
the rains the prospect was as fine as
could have been desired, particularly as
to oats. Now, however, rust has male
its appearance everywhere, and the loss
on that crop will be heavy. Cotton is
tying out every day, and corn look-*
yellow and sickly. —Macon Telegraph
and Messenger.
Thousands of acres of corn in East
Mississippi will, in consequence of the
unpropitious weather that we have had
of late, have to be planted over again,
and if this entailed no greater loss than
that of seed, it would be a heavy bur
den to our farmers. We have heard of
some few good stands of corn in this
county, but as a general rule those who
have not planted have saved time and
labor and 6eed.— Aberdeen (Miss.) Ex
aminer.
Cremation.
All the current newspaper-talk about
the substitution of cremation for burial
owes its inspiration to a passage in the
will of a rich English eccentric, dying a
few months ago, whereby the sum of
fifty pounds was bequeathed to the
London gas company on condition that
said corporation should cause the testa
tor’s dead body to be consumed .to
ashes in one of their great retorts. In
parts of India where the dead are’ burn
ed the nse of peculiar ointments and
woods in the pyre prevents all gaseous
exhalations, while a winding-sheet of
asbestos preserves the ashes in *
of absolute purity.
THE FLOODS.
Clrvutuilauttal Account of the Kxtent of
the Damage til Louisiana.
From tlie New Orleans Picayune.
Now that the great flood may be con
sidered as having done its worst, and
the occurrence of new crevasses regar
ded as improbable, it becomes interest
ing to take a glance at the nature and
extent of the damage and to form such
estimates as may be possible of the con
sequences. Engineers calculate the
quantity of water thrown out on the
state by crevasses to be less than one
half the amount during the great over
. flow in 1867, when the break in the
Grand levee took place; yet the damage
to the crops of the state will be fully
equal to that sustained in 1867, because
of the bad condition of the Atcbafalaya
and its levees. Bat as the records of
the flood of 1867 are very impel feet and
do not show the velocity of the water at
the crevasses, this estimate is quite un
certain.
The present crevasses at Hickey’s and
Morganza levees, and at other places
which throw their waters into the Atch
afalaya, pass about 300,000 cubic feet of
water per second, and the average ve
locity of the crevasses is about seven
feet per second, equal to four and two
third miles an hour.
The break at Morganza levee in 1867
was 6,000 feet wide and six feet deep,
with a velocity of eight feet per second,
equal to a current of four and a half
miles an hour.
The break at Morganza at present is
4,000 feet wide, 6 feet deep, and the ve
locity is 5J feet per second, equal to a
current of 3j miles an hour.
The Hickey crevasse is 10 feet deep,
1,500 feet wide, and has a velocity of 14
feet per second, which is equal to a cur
rent of 6J miles an hour.
From some of these crevasses the rich
districts of Lafourche, Terrebonne and
Afctakapas, the largest, most fruitful
and most populous rice and sugar re
gions of Louisiana, are overflowed.
Though lying far distant from the river,
they are subject to its misfortunes, and
thousands upon thousands of acres are
now being slowly but surely submerged
bv the waters flowing through the
Hickory and Morganza breaks.
We have already sho in that the en
tire Ouachita Valley is under water. It
would be difficult now to estimate the
number of acres covered, bnt it is
known that the whole population is
drowned out, and that from one end of
valley to the other the citizens*are liv
ing on rafts and the tops of their houses.
This extract of a letter just received
from Monroe gives further confirmation
of the gloomy story; “ Everything at a
stand-still up here. Pargoud’s upper
and lower levee broken. Monroe sur
rounded by a sea of water; can go no
where except in boats. Trenton entirely
under. The river higher than ever
known. Twelve inches above the high
water mark of 1828.”
In the imperfect information before
us with regard to the number of planta
tions destroyed and injured by tbe flood
we cannot give an exact statement, yet,
alter careful examination of all the re
ports on the subject, and referring to
Mr. Bouchereau’s sugar book and the
map of Louisiana, we submit the fol
lowing as an approximation:
Our information from Concordia par
ish shows considerable loss. The par
ish of Avoyelles and a small part of
Rapides as high as Cheneyville, have
suffered from the overflow of Bed river
and the Glasscock crevasse on the Mis
sisippi. These parishes are chiefly cot
ton districts, yet there are msny large
sugar plantations which are hurt.
In Pointe Coupee parish there was in
cultivation last year forty-two sugar
plantations. Two-thirds of them being
situated fronting on the Mississippi,
the damage will not be so great; still
we may estimate the partial damage to
one-third and ruin to one-fifth.
As we are now taking an account of
the sugar plantations, we ceme next in
to the parish of West Baton Hogue.
In this parish we estimate, of the thir
ty-five or forty sugar plantations in cul
tivation, one-half the number under wa
ter and one-fourth badly or slightly
damaged.
East Baton Rogue has been damaged
by the McCiillen crevasse, which is
about three miles below the town of
Baton Bouge. In this parish about
thirty sugar plantations are reported
badly damaged—the greatest part of
them more than half submerged.
All the east bank of the Bayou Teche,
in the parishes of St. Landry, St. Mar
tire, Iberia, St. Marys and all the coun
try situated on Grand lake and Lake
Verret comprising the most productive
regions of the state, are overflowed.
The number of sugar plantations in cul
tivation, damaged in this region, cannot
be readily estimated, but may be set
down at one-fourth of those in cultiva
tion—the number in cultivation being
over three hundred. The water in this
region is rising six inches a day.
Assumption will also suffer severely;
tbe crevasse waters are rising rapidly,
and if the overflow extends to the Bayou
Lafourche the damage to sugar planta
tions will be immense.
The foregoing remarks are confined
to the State of Louisiana and to the su
gar interests of the state ; but the cot
ton and rice planting interests have to
be considered also.
If we undertook to examine the cot
tan interests, it would be necessary to
l:egin the examination of the overflowed
country from above Memphis, and all
the tributaties of the Mississippi in the
southern country.
The sugar crop' of Louisiana will
probably be cut short one-third by the
floods, and the cotton will no doubt be
lessened 300,000 bales by the floods and
rains up to the present date. By the
time the waters subside and the ground
becomes dry enough to plant cotton, it
wi 1 be too late to make a crop with any
prospect of success.
This is a gloomy picture, but it is a
true one. We are appealing to the
country for succor under misfortunes
which we ourselves are powerless to
meet. It is well that the country should
know to what extremities we have been
reduced.
A Steamboat In a Tornado
A New Orleans paper of a recent
date describes a disaster in the follow
ing vivid style : “On the 15th instant,
as the well-known and splendid steam
boat Natchez was coming down the
river, and while opposite the lower end
of Natchez Island, some twenty miles
this side of the city of that name, she
was struck by a terrible tornado from
the Louisiana side, which in a secoud
had wrenched her immense chimneys
ti om their sockets, broken all the stanch
ions loose, cut short off the steam pipes,
and thrown them into a wreck on the
upper deck on the right side, which,
giving way with their weignt, broke
and fell with a terrible crash on the
lower deck, whence it was tumbled into
the river. The offioers in charge, even
though the tornado struck without a
moment's warning, rushed to their
posts, and clearing the wreck, the
Eilots stood by the wheel aDd urged
eron to the island. The scene was
terrible in the extreme ; the river was
one mass of yellow foam, the skv was
as black as night, and the wind of such
terrific violenoe that no man could
stand against it. In this emergency all
rested on the skill and determination of
the offioers and pilots. The position of
these latter was one of great danger.
Elevated in a frail pilot-house a hun
dred feet above the river, with its sup
ports gone, its stanchions smashed and
trembling in every timber, as if it would
follow the chimneys, they expected
every moment to be hurled into eternity.
The smoke apd escaping steam rushed
through tbe upper decks almost smoth
ering the pilots and inducing them to
believe the steamer was on fire. Not a
man of them moved, bnt, clinging to
the wheel with all their strength for
twenty minutes, they kept her to the
wind, and running under the shelter of
the islan l, the steamer was safe. The
storm subsided as fast as it had risen,
and, backing out, the steamer contin
ued on her way down the river.”
EADS’ JETTIES.
Depth ol Twenty-eight Feet and Width
of Six Hundred tor Kive Million*.
The seuate select committee on trans
portation has agreed to report a bill
in favor of the jetty project of Captain
Eads for tbe mouth of the Mississippi
river, with the object of bring the sub
ject before the senate.
The bill provides that Jag. B. Eads
and his associates shall be authorized to
proceed with tbe deepening of the
channel of one of the outlets of the
Mississippi river into the Gulf of Mex
ico, to be selected by himself, by per
manent jetties at its month, and may
construct such jetties, levees, etc., as
may be necessary, provided tbathes all
not interfere with the navigation of any
channel now used. The work must be
begun within eight months from the
approval of the act, and prosecuted
with due diligence. Unless Capt. Eads
shall within thirty months secure twen
ty feet of water, congress may revoke
the privilege hereby granted. Congress
may also revoke the privileges granted
unless Capt. Eads shall, after securing
twenty feet of water, secure two feet of
water additional each succeeding year,
until twenty-six feet shall have been se
cured, and two feet additional within
two years after having secured twenty
six feet. In case of failure to meet
these conditions for any period of twelve
months in excess of the time fixed in
each case, then the act shall be null and
void without any action by congress.
Section two provides that whenever
Eads and his associates shall have suc
ceeded in establishing and maintaining
twenty feet depth of water at ordinary
flood tide by means of his works, and
such ‘outlet or pass shall have a clear
width of six hundred feet between the
works or jetties, or so that ships draw
ing twenty feet of water may be naviga
ted safely and expeditiously through
out the channel, and such depth shall
be wide enough to allow two such ships
to be passed by each other in safety,
then the government is to pay said Eads
or his legal representative $1,000,000 at
a time stated. When two additional
feet of water shall be secured, an addi
tional million thall be paid, and so on,
a million for each additional two feet,
until $5,000,000 shall be paid in all.
Section three provides that when it
shall appear that Eads and his associ
ates have established and maintained a
navigable channel-way of twenty-eight
feet depth, he shall be entitled to an
additional sum of six million dollars.
Section four provides for a commis
sion of United States officers, to be ap
pointed by the president, to ascertain
and report the facts upon each notifica
tion by Eads that a required depth of
water "has been secured and maintained,
and for the payment of money upon a
favorable report.
Section five enacts that to guard the
United States against doubtful tempo
rary results, payments for the work
shall be delayed, and also conditioned
on the permanency of the respective
depths of water. The conditions being
complied witlq $1,000,000 is to be paid
within six months after twenty feet of
water is permanently obtained, and so
on until the twenty-eight feet shall be
secured, the next million to be paid
three years after permanently obtaining
twenty-eight feet, and the remaining
payments by installments during the pe
riod of nine years after securing tbe
twenty-eight feet depth of water.
Other sections provide for the protec
tion of the works by the government,
and for completing the werk, in case of
Capt. Eads death, by his legal repre
sentatives, and that he shall have the
right to use any adjacent material with
in twenty miles from the mouth of the
river.
The bill is very carefully drawn so as
to protect the interest of the govern
ment. The report refers to the fact
that the engineer corps is not prepared
to recommend work upon the proposed
canal without further surveys, and cites
the report by the board of United States
engineers to sbo v the cost of such canal
to be $10,273,000.
Tbe adverse repor: of Gen. Barnard,
nre-enting objections to tbe canal, is
quoted freely and emphasized. The
committee therefore arrived with regret
at the conclusion that it cannot now re
commend the adoption of the bill for
the construction of the canal, but re
commends appropriations for additional
surveys.
The committee next cites the various
authorities for the jetty s) stem, and
argues that it ought to have a trial, as
only two and a half years is required by
the contractors to solve the problem at
their own expense, unless they’ succeed
in getting twenty feet of water. Gen.
Humphrey’s work on the Mississippi is
cited to overthrow his present positions
against the jetty system, with decided
effect. After stating the cost of the jet
ty plan, the committee says that it would
not be greater than would be adequate
compen-ation for the work propose!,
and concludes that Eads ought_ to be
allowed to make the trial at his own
cost and risk. An open river month, it
is affirmed, is the first consideration.—
Cor. Courier-Journal.
A Ton of Dead Chinamen.
The average American contemplates
in stupid bewilderment the tenacious
faith of the disciples of Confucius in the
religious necessity that wherever death
may overtake them their dust must be
sent back to the Flowery Kingdom to
rest in the bosom of Mother Earth.
Possibly, it is a silly superstition, but
our|“heathen Chinee” fellow-beings live
up to it ever so much more consistently
that we live up to our mperstitions.
The Oriflamme, from Portland, a few
days ago, brought down over a ton of
the mortal remains of Mongolians who
had shuffled off their coils in Oregan.
This qneer cargo is to be reshipped
from this port to China. The fact that
so thrifty a people as the Chinese Bhonld
incur the great expense they do for
such a purpose, proves the strong hold
which the custom has upon them. The
mere preparation of the bodies to be
shipped costs $25 each ; and when the
expenses of packing, freight, reship
met, etc., is added, it must amount
to about as much as an industrious Chi
naman, living upon the mo3t economical
principles, can save in a year, —San
Francisco Chronicle.
The Registered Letter Hu sines*.
On the first of January the postmas
ter general reduced the rate lor regis
tered letters from fifteen cents and the
regular postage to eight cents and the
postage. Since that time the business
has increased over one hundred per
cent., the average increase in large
cities being from fifty to seventy-five
per cent. The present rates compare
very favorably with those of England,
although there are many difficulties in
this oountry not to be met with in the
■mailer and more thickly populated
countries of the Old "World. The last
annual reports show that in Canada
the loss in registered letters and pack
ages was 112, in Great Britain 20, and
in the United States 400. If the in
crease of business continue- through
out the year, five million registered
letters will be sent, against two and a
half millions last year.
A DISASTROUS SYSTEM.
The Cotton Plante s of the Sontli and
Their Tribulation*.
From the New York Tribune.
The cotton region embraces a smaller
area than northern people generally
suppose. While North Carolinr and
Tennessee, for instance, raise a large
amount of cotton, they cannot be < ailed
cotton states ; even Northern Geoigiai
not a cotton region. Still, the great
staple is raised so far north as Son them
Virginia, Southern Illinois and Mis
souri, bnt the fields are scattered
and small and the yield is unsatisfactory.
The greater part of the crop is rained in
South Carolina, in three-fourths of Geor
gia, in most of Alabama and Missis iippi,
in half of Louisiana and Arkansai, and
in a good portion of Texas. If the
whole the state of Georgia were in cot
ton, the area would be greater than the
aggregate cotton districts of all the rest
of the states. This shows how limited
is the cotton region; but where so; 1 and
climate are especially adapted to any
product, a comparatively small area
will furnish a full supply. This is no
tably the Case with corn, for less than
one hundred counties furnish the su rp! us
that enters into the commercial market.
Where cotton planting is a bu 6 ness,
little else is raised, and provisions of all
kinds, manufactured articles, end even
the necessary hay and grain, are
brought in from the outside world.
North Carolina, Tennessee, and Ken
tucky furnish butter, eggs, frnit, and
some flour; Ohio, Illinois, and Mis
souri send immense quantities of corn,
bacon, lard, agricultural implements,
and manufactured articles, all of which
are paid for with cotton.
The disastrous results of this system,
after a lapse of more than forty years,
are now fnllv apparent. A grea*. ma
jority of the planters are said to ye in
debt, and there does not seem to l<e the
slightest prospect of their deliverance
so long as the present mode of pie nting
is continued. A wide-spread spi -it of
speculation, or of gambling, by which
wealth is to be acquired without work,
has been the outgrowth of this sy stem.
The remedy that has been repeatedly
proposed is that the planter shall raise
his ewn supplies, and thus save the im
mense sums that now go to merchants,
railroads, and middlemen. More corn
and less cotton is the proposed motto.
And yet but little impression hai been
made, for money most be bad to pay
debts, or, at least, interest, and nothing
brings ready money bnt cotton. So
more money is borrowed to raise more
cotton; there is no time, no sk 11, no
taste for other crops. Meanwhile the
border states of Tennessee, North Car
olina, and Kentucky, which are tenders
to the cotton state's, complain bitterly
of the reaction of these adverse condi
tions upon them; money is scare a and
business is dull, and those who would
seek a remedy in “ going west ” ere un
able to do so becanse they cannot make
sales of real estate.
There is no doubt that the system
which the cotton planters have estab
lished is a vicious one, and that it is
only a question of time as to when it
shall be superseded by a better. Even
the annual purchase of fertilizi rs for
raising cotton will, in time, lead to dis
aster. There are, perhaps no statistics
of the millions of dollars paid every
year for superphosphate and guano, but
the total i3 certainly enormoua, and
fully equal to the immense sum paid
for supplies. Whether these fertilizers
really replace what is abstracted oy the
cotton may be questionable; bit the
land does not grow richer, and the ef
fect of the fertilizers on the soil seem
analogous to that of alcohol on the
human system—stimulating it for a time
to greater effort, and leaving it in a
state of collapse. The trouble wth all
the up! and of the cotton states in that
it is naturally thin, and a few years’
cropping wears it out. The millions
upon millions of acres that are to be
seen, beginning even at Mount Y ernon
and running down through tbe Caro
linas into Georgia, which were once in
cultivation, and have now grown up to
pine, are sufficient evidence of i thin
soil. Nor are the supply states snch
as Tennessee and the like, much better
off. The absence of bowlders all
through the south is significant, for
they are evidence of a rich soil, one
that endures long, and is highly favor
able for all the grasses. The bisis of
the larger part of the southern soil is
sand rock, and the value of Buoh ma
terial is nowhere great. In those limi
ted regions where lime rock is the basis,
the farms have great valne; for in
stance, in parts of northern Georgia,
Alabama, and Tennessee, and notably
in the blue grass region of Kentucky.
Vicious and mistaken as the system
of the cotton planter really is, gn at and
almost insurmountable obstacles oppose
the raising of his own supplies. In the
first place, it hardly pays to raise ten
and fifteen bushels of corn, fr r e and
eight bushels of wheat, and ten and
twenty of oats to tlie acre ; and recond
ly, the proprietor himself is inexperi
enced, while the negro help is decidedly
untrustworthy. A varied industry im
plies and demands varied capabilities,
which neither master nor man possesses.
While an acre of cotton is almost cer
tain to bring from S2O to S4O, individu
al planters will not sow another crop
worth less than half as much, in order
that general prosperity may bo pro
duced, and that the ideas of the theo
rists may be carried out. One thing
the planter and the negro both under
stand, and that ia how to raise cotton.
The land is ready, the implements are
bought, and even the mules know when
to go to work ; the seasons of picking
and ginning are foreordained, and the
ships are waiting for their cargoen.
From the Shadow of the Guillotine.
One of the most remarkable (scapes
ever made was made by M. de Cl ateau
brun during the Reign of Terror n Par
is. He was sent io execution with
twenty other prisoners; but af' er the
fifteenth head had fallen the guillotine
got out of order, and a workman was
sent for to repair it. The six ren aining
victims were left standing in front of
the machine with their hands ti ed be
hind them. A French crowd is very
carious, and the people kept p -essing
forward to see the man arranging the
guillotine. By degrees M. de Ciiateau
brnn, who was to the rear of his com
panions, found himself in the fre nt line
of the spectators, then in the second,
and finally well behind those wao had
come to see his head cut off. Before
the man could get the guillo ine in
working order night began to full, and
M. de Chateaubrun slipped away.
When in the Champs Elvsees ho told a
man that a wag had tied his hands and
robbed him of his hat, and this simple
individual ent him free. A fev days
later M. de Chateaubrun escaped from
Fiance.
A zEAiiOUs Burlington, lowa, crusader
has cut off her husband’s whiskers, and
says she’ll razor rumpus with h a beerd
the next time he comes home wit h it on;
nobody is going tc come arouxd that
house beered. She whipped on 3of the
boys because she saw him whisk around
the corner of the house, and tl ien shut
him up in the closet, because I e wined
about it. The other night her husband
offered to supporter, and she sud he’d
better let her catch her at it. She’ll
break up this guzzling if" it gei s her at
lagerheads with every member of her
family. That’s the kind of a man she is.
Somebody boasts in a western news
paper of being the happy posse sor of a
first-class oroide watch which rang an
hour iu forty minutes, and with the as
sistance of two hands has gained enough
to pay for itself in three weeks.
VOL. 15--NO. 20.
SAYINGS AND DOINGS.
Straining sweetness—Kissing through
a veiL
Fu.vek.al baked meats are coming into
fashion again.
Virginia has just incorporated " The
Rising Sons of Lignmnvit.” They
most be a hard lot.
How Patrick proposes to get over hi
single blessedness—by proving to
Bridge-ik
A Yankee wanted the Bridge of Sighs
pointed out to him, and then offered to
bet America had several bridges twioe
the size.
A wealthy Italian baron was recently
taken prisoner by a party of brigands in
* icily, and had to pay 812,500 ransom
for his release.
A subscriber wants to know if it is
grammatical to say : “ She has a oork
leg?” Of oouree it is, bnt we wouldn't
want to tell her so.
A Colquitt (Georgia) minister hav
ing beoome a father the thirty-second
time, a local paper suggests that thaboy
benamed “Call Quit,
She tied the halter to her waist, and
led the cow to water; the brute took
fright, and gave a twist— “ My daugh
ter ! oh, my daughter J”
Seven Sandusky women started out
on a crusade, but meeting a lady with a
new spring bonnet on, they turned and
gossipped and went home.
The marriage license of Mr. J efferson,
the will of George Washington, and the
will of Kosciusko have been placed in
the Virginia state library. ‘
The height of ability consists in a
thorongh knowledge of the real value
of things, and of the genius of the age
we live in.— Hochefoneauld.
If ever there is a time when a man is
justified in changing.the subject sudden
ly, it is when his wife asks if he posted
that letter to mother promptly.
A married woman of fifty in Dayton,
Nevada, has eloped with a youth of fif
teen, and it isn’t stated whether she pro
poses to be his mother or grandmother.
If a Kentucky man will shoot his best
friend im a dispute about a fiftv-cent
umbrella, what would he do in cate
someone drove his J best oow to .the
pound?
Jennie June wants the women to
wear cork bustles to save themselves
from drowning, bnt a safer way would
be to strap on a yawl boat and provisions
for three days.
Daniel Graves, an Alabamian, was
praying in church the other day, when
his revolver went off and shot him in
the leg. There seems to be a moral
here somewhere.
A New York paper says that a Vir
ginia mule is two pegs above a New
York coroner in point of intelligence and
sagacity, though it doesn’t want to hurt
any coroner’s feelings.
“Have the jury agreed?” asked the
sheriff, as he met a court attache on the
stairs with a large pitcher in his hand.
“Yes, sir ; they agreed to have a half
gallon of beer, and sent me out for it.”
An lowa judge has decided that it is
mere of a sin to steal a horse than to
elope with another man’s wife, because
there are 8,000,000 woman in the Uni
ted States and only 3,000,000 horses.
When yon see a bare-headed man
following a oow through the front gate,
and filling the air with garden imple
ments and profanity, yon may know that
his cabbage plants have been set out.
A whole generation of parents al
ready occupies this mundane sphere who
cannot describe to inquiring childhood
a warming-pan, foot-stove, a tinder-box,
a brick-oven, a crane, or a candle-mold.
Boston claims to have a diamond ring
which once belonged to Sir Isaac New
ton. That is nothing. St Louis lias
the lead pencil with which Noah checked
off the animals that went into the ark
The Bishop of Manchester has declai ed
in favor of cremation, and states that the
Almighty can raise a man from the dead
whose body had been burned, just as
easily as he could raise one whose body
had been buried.
When New Orleans proudly shows
Quebec a shirt front stained with fresh
strawberry juice, the latter triumphantly
exhibits to New Orleans a sore on the
side of the nose, made by a mosquito of
this year’s growth.
—Advices from Little Rock represent
Brooks’ men as out of meat. When
those Arkansas fellowsoomplainofbemg
out of meat yon may rest assured that
the chickens of the neighborhood are
roosting uncommonly high.
The West Chester (T nnsylvania)
News takes a practical view of the cre
mation question. It Bays: “ With some
peop’e cremation is only a question of
time. If it don’t come in this world it
is sure to come in the next.”
Thebe is something very sensible in
tbe impromptu remark of a pretty girl :
“If onr Maker thought it wrong for
Adam to live single when there was not
a woman on earth, how criminally wrong
are the old bachelors, with the world
full of pretty girls !**
—Sylvanus thinks it would be a good
thing to say, when the governor blows
np and yon as obstinate as a mule:
“Like enough, when you have an ass
for a father.” Sylvanus does not mean
to try this himself. He has no occasion.
Any boy that wants it may have it.
She entered the omnibus and looked
around, and said loudly to her grand
daughter : “No seat! Well, let’s get
cut; unless that man will give me his
seat.” The man didn’t do anything of
the kind, but she sat down, and pulled
two dress skirts eff the belts and was
happy
A man in the Philadelphia insane
asylum imagines himself a woman. He
dresses in female attire and parts his
hair in the middle. Daring the day he
associates with the females and does
sewing and embroidery of the finest
kind. He has been reserved for the
centennial.
A neat reply was made by a Minneso
ta editor to a man who stopped his
paper, giving as one reason that his
wifesaid “it won’t even clean lamp-ohim
nevs.” The editor stated that the sub
scriber could be no gentleman, for he
had “no right to betray what his wife
told him in confidence.”
Though many are familiar with the
word blackguard, few know its origin.
It was given, according to Ben Jonson,
to a regiment of low, mean dependents,
who hang about the palaces of the great,
doing the most menial eervioes, aDd
when they were en route, with pot and
pan, coal and ashes, the people said,
There go the blackguards.”
The editor of the Indianapolis sen
tinel wagered SIOO with a young
lady that she could not refrain from
speaking during an entire week. He
escorted the young lady Of>era,
bribed members of the family to try
and entrap her, and resorted to various
other expedients for starting her
tongue, but she won the bet, and the
editor of the Sentinel is probably a
wiser man on the woman business than
he was one week ago.
An electric light of new invention has
been put in the tower of St. Ignitions
college, San Francisco. The apparatus
cost $5,000, and weighs about as many
pounds. It consists of a great number
of coils of copper wire revolving close to
magnets, in such a way that sparks of
electricity are nroduoed in unceasing
streams. ” These currents are concentra
ted and carried through heavy copper
wires to the il uminatieg P® 1 ' 15
tower, where the focus fP^f 8 a *B l
equal to'four hundred gas jets.-