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A CITY'S SLUMS.
ON THE STALE BEER
1)1 VKS OF NEW YORK.
ffiiM.au Degradation a Seen by Me
tropolitan Policemen—\n Vged Ex*
Biitfaiul —Over rV.OOO Ar~est'
in Eitchteen Month-.
“ h man must be a policeman in th*
Bit Li rcinct to realize the utter degra
datii ■ to which human beings cau sink.'
jrmu **-d Police Captain John McCul
lagi. as he toasted his toes before a
il.t/ coal tin in his cosy privatf room
at ti.< Elizabeth street station. “ No,'
be ( i i.tinued, f don’t mean the Chinamen
or the Italians. lam -(leaking of the
*tub beer fiend- If you care to see it.
we'll t..id th>- iaie beer dive-., and you
can m< for yourself."
The doorman was called in, and in
structed by the captain to wake up the
re.serv section and to tell them to turn
out ar.d dre. In a few minute* the big
tigna gong rung thre. raps and thirty
lever stalwart policemen. headed by Ser
geant ( olegrove and a big roundsman
walked out into the front room. The ser
geant reported the men ready for duty.
The i aptain put on his overcoat, and di
viding the men up into squads of from
three to eight each, told them that the
places to b> raided were Nos. Ho, 87, 39,
41, 56 59 and <ls Mulberry street. The
word of command was given at 11
•’clock, and the men tramped out of the
etatior.
“I’m afraid,” said the captain, “that
we won’t make a big haul to-night. This
is the second raid this week. Still, there
will be enough to give you a fair idea of
what the places are. There has been no
chance for them to get warning, because
up tc the time the men were called not a
soul except you and myself had any idea
that there was going to be a raid.’’
The policemen were evidently accus
tomed to the work they had in hand, for
by the time the captain and the reporter
reached Mulberry and Bayard streets not a
policeman was in sight. A few dirty,
ragged men and women stood on the
sidewalk, attracted by the police, and
waiting for the fun.
“Dat’s de Cap,” said one ill-smelling
fellow to an equally ill-smelling com
panion, aa the captain passed. “He's
going to make another pull. Lucky we
got here late. Let’s us wait and see de
sport. ”
“You had better light your cigar,”
remarked Captain McCullagh, as he
stopped in front of No. So Mulberry
street. “This is the first place, and uti
les* you have a remarkably strong stom
ach you’ll need something to kill the
stench “As he stepped down three or
four steps and walked into a narrow pas
sageway a policeman saluted.
“ Many here?” asked the captain.
• ‘About fifty, sir, ” was the reply.
The captain pushed open the first door.
A sickening stench that would have given
points to the Tombs prison pen on a busy
Sunday morning, issued from the interior.
When the eyes became accustomed to the
tim hazy light, and by a couple of super
anuated kerosene lamps, the sight was
worthy the pencil of Hogarth. The
room was not over eight feet square. In
one corner was a little closet just about
big enough to hold a man. Common
board benches ran around the sides to the
room, and a small sheet-iron stove in the
centre gave out the heat of an oven.
There were no less than twenty-three
men and women there, in various stages
of intoxication. The women were, as a
rule, frowsy, black-eyed hags, who could
barely be distinguished as human beings.
There were, however, in the lot two
young girls barely seventeen. Yet these
were even more hardened than their older
companions. The men were several de-
Sees lower than the tomato-can tramp,
at may be seen draining lager beer kegs
in the summer time. When the door was
opened, the inmates of the room glared at
the captain and his companion in a stupid
sort of way, but not a word Avas spoken,
and no objection was made as the captain
kicked in the door of the closet and found
a man and a woman lying on the floor.
A few feet up the hallway another door
was opened and another batch of
drunken, stupid, degraded wretches were
found. Two other rooms were used as
stale beer dives in the same building. In
the last room the inmates had not had
time to thoroughly stupefy themselves,
ami when the captain entered he was
gre cted by a storm of profanitv.
Take them all to the house as fast
you can," was the order given and the
captain started for the next number. A
dark, narrow alleyway slippery with
dirt and mud. led into a small court
yard, ornamented with piles of all kinds
of filth.
“There was a light in the place when
1 came in,” reported the officer, pointing
to a door leading into a half cellar. “But
it’s out now.”
A sharp rap with the club'' beought no
response, and the officer gave the door a
kit k. which sent it off its hinges. Only
two Italians and a woman were found*.
They were added to the procession on its
way to the station. The next three
places visited showed evidences of the
repeated raids, and comparatively few
prisoners were secured. The big catch
of the night was made at No. 59. All the
nooks and crannies on the lower two
floors of this building are used as dives.
Officer .Toliu Wiramer. the stale beer ex
pert of the Sixth precinct, knows all of
them, and under his guidance the cap
tain went up rickety steps, down into
foul, ill-smelling cellars, and into dark
rooms. Hardly a word was heard from
any of the inmates. They knew their
man. In one of the cellar rooms was an
old man, who looked as though he might
have been anywhere from 100 to 200
years old.
‘‘That," said the captain, “is one of
the most curious characters in the pre
cinct. He is over eighty years old, and
was in his youth a brigand in Italv.
Forty years of his life has been spent in
Italian prisons. He is said to be the
greato-t expert with the stiletto in this
country, and there is not an Italian in
Mulberry street aylio isn't afraid of him,
despite his eighty years."
By this time there was a steady stream
of prisoners on their way to the*station.
Tuey were driven in gangs of four or
five like geese. The fresh air had ap
parently revived them a little from their
stupor, and while they made no resist
ance. the air was fairly sulphurous with
their blasphemous ravings. By 12:40
the - r "pedigrees had been taken after
a fashion, and they were all locked
up. Iu the big lodging rooms where
they were imprisoned, it was pande
monium unloosed, and the scenes that
were enacted cannot be described.
“I have made over -5.000 arrests in
that block alone in the last eighteen
months,” said the captain. “That
doesn't include the ITS that we got to
night. I have made up my mind to
break up this stale beer business in my
precinct, if I havu to make a raid every
night in the week. It doesn't do much
Smd to arrest these people, however,
alf of them will be in the next raid.
They will be taken to court in the morn
ing and sent to the Island for term*
ranging from ten days to three months,
! but the island people don't want them,
and they’ll be back again in two or three
days.— New York Tribune.
WORDS OF WISDOM.
Conscience is a judge placed in the in
terior of our being.
The more honesty a man has the less
iie affects the air of a saint.
Method is the very hinge of business,
md there is no method without punc-
U it y.
Ah! the youngest heart has the same
wares within it as the oldest, but with
out the plummet which can measure their
depths.
If you have built castles in the air your
work need not be lost; that is where
they should be. Now put the founda
tion under them.
A man has no more right to say an un
-1 civil thing than to act one; no more
right to say a rude thing tojanother than
to knock him down.
There can be no surer way to success
than by disclaiming all confidence in our
selves, and referring all things to God
with an implicit affiance.
We should manage our fortune as we
do our heart—-enjoy it when good, be
patient when it is bad, and never apply
violent remedies except in an extreme
necessity.
He that does good to another man does
also good to himself; not only in the
consequence, but in the very act of doing
it; for the consciousness of well-doing is
; an ample reward.
The enemy of art is the enemy of na
ture. Art is nothing but the highest
sagacity and exertion of human nature,
and what nature will he honor if he
honors not the human?
Every human being has a work to
carry on within, duties to perform
abroad, influences to exert, which are
peculiarly his, and which no conscience
but his own cau teach.
A Thanksgiving Day Question.
Rev. John Anketell, presbyter of the
diocese of New York, has witten to the
governors of the States in the Union, ask
ing their opinions on the advisability of
changing our national Thanksgiving Day
from the last Thursday in November to
October 12, the alleged date of the dis
covery of America by Columbus. Some
twenty-one governors have responded,
and the tenor of most of the answers is to
the effect that any date will do, and so
they see no very good reason for the
| change. Beside, historians differ as to
the exact date of the discovery.
The governors of Tennessee, Arkansas
and Kentucky think the suggestion a
good one. Most of the others do not
quite understand the affair, and their
answers are interesting.
Governor Hill’s private secretary writes
to say that the people of New York are
satisfied with the present date. The
j governor of Missouri says briefly, and to
| the point:
If turkeys are good on that day I see no
objection. ’
John S. Marmaduk*.
The Governor of Rhode Island writes
to put another day on his list:
| I have always thought that we, as a people,
have too few public holidays, and believe
that perhaps an additional one, so admirably
| chosen on the 12th of October, might well be
added to our list.
Geo. Peabody Wetmore.
The Governor of Connecticut kuows
his New England constituents, and says:
The people are apt to adhere very tena
ciously to their ancient customs, without be
ing much influenced by any efforts to change
them. H. B. Harrison.
The gentleman who presides over the
destinies of Indiana knows history. He
says:
1 fail to see the importance of one day over
another, especially when the exact time of
the discovery of America is in controversy,
and likely to remain so.
Isaac P. Gray.
The New England conservatism crops
out again ia the reply of Massachusetts
governor that—
The associations which cluster around the
time now usually fixed are very precious to
the people of Massachusetts because of the
adherence to the well-kept custom of so many
! years. Geo. D. Robinson.
“Absurd and preposterous,” says the
governor of Minnesota, and the cautious
governor of Ncav .Jersey carefully guards
himself in the folloAving reply:
I prefer not to express an opinion at pres
ent on the subject matter of your letter.
Leon Abrett.
Governor Pingree, of Vermont, speaks
of the senseless flummery of thirty
eight proclamations following that of
the President, and the governor of
Texas writes:
Formal thanksgivings are rather distaste
ful to me, and Avhen thanksgivings become
fixed facts and come as a matter of course
and pro forma, the heart of the people will
not be much in it. Jno. Ireland.
The replies are interesting as indicat
ing the immense variety of subjects upon
which the gubernatorial opinion is
Avanted. These are only samples of
scores of similar letters received every
week by the thirty-eight governors in
the Union.— New York World.
Nature’s Grand Spectacles.
As of the woods so of all forms of na
ture. Man cannot tire of them in a
thousand years, for they change and re
new themselves day by day. The great
miracle play lasts through the entire
year. What are the greatest spectacles of
cities, for which you must pay your
money, and to Avitness which you must
! sit in hot and croAvded rooms at un
j healthy hours, and go from tired and dis
pirited, compared Avith the spectacles
Avhich nature furnishes free to all who
have eyes, morning, noon and uight in
her chosen solitudes? Can any stage
effect rival the magnificence of an autumn
wood, of a blossoming orchard, of a
mountain sunrise or a moonlit prairie?
Can the gas and smoke of cities make up
to us in the loss of the scent of new
mown hay or the odor of violets? Can
brick wails and dark streets give the
freedom of delight of country lanes or
the outlook of the sea ? —Hattie Tying
G-risivold.
Seals Hunting Salmon.
Mr. Cook, who is engaged iu ashing
for Avinter salmon at Lewis river, was in
the city yesterday. He accounts for the
great scarcity of salmon in the market at
present by the fact that the river is swarm
ing with seals, which destroy great num
bers of fish. He says that as soon as a
ti-li strikes his net a seal goes for it. and
sets it, before a fisherman can reach it.
I Shooting the seals has no effect, except
on the one shot, as others take their
places. At night the seals fairly swarm
into the river and take the very fish out
of the nets. Salmon are scarce this sea
son, and the seals are determined to have
fiist choice. Before loug the fisherman
of the Columbia will lave to begin a war
of extermination on the seals "and sea
lions which prey on the salmon they need
in their business. —To tlooid £>*■
BURNING THE DEAD.
BI'RIAIi PRACTICES OF THE
ALASKAN NATIVES.
Cremating the Bodie-. and Preserv
ing t he Cab ined Remains in Min
iature Honsis -An Alaskan
Funeral Described.
On the Alaska coast the reputable dead
are usually cremated, and the bones col
lected into a box and preserved. The
calcined remains are carefully placed in
miniature houses like the shaman's (the
native medicine man'); but. instead of
Iwing isolated from each other, the
houses are grouped in a common ceme
tery, as in civilized communities. The
sites are chosen with respect to pietur
esque attraction on grassy islands, shapely
ridges of land, and curves of the shore.
On a burial island near Methlakatla the
Indians have fashioned a number of fir
trees into very artistic patterns. At
Sitka there is a loug ridge lined with
! several score of these mortuary recep
tacles painted in gaudy colors and ar
ranged in parallel rows, interspersed
with fanciful totem poles in quaint de
vices, on the apex of each one of which
is a bear, a raven, or an eagle, denoting
the clan to Avhich the deceased belonged.
These houses are seldom more than
five or six feet cube, with a pyramidal
roof, sometimes surmounted by a carved
image and are very creditable bits of
architecture, considering that the boards
have been split Avith an ax and smoothed
with an adze. There arc cemeteries else
where Avhich are enclosed Avith neat
whitewashed palings, and you often see
j small jackstaffs with pennants of white
and colored cotton £j*>th standing by the
graves. This is where the method of in
| ferment lias been adopted from the
Avhites, the bodies beiug placed in the
I earth and carved slabs set up in lieu of
headstones. There are no less than three
other modes of sepulture in Alaska—bur
ial in tents and in canoes raised on stad
diesoutof reach of animals, aquatic bur
| ial beneath the waves, and in canoes
turned adrift.
AVith so many various methods in vogue
| in the same region, one hesitates to lay as
much stress as some ethnologists do upon
j the assumed significance of mortuary
rites and burial as indicating the relig
| ious belief of those who practice them,
;It depends much upon circumstances
and present convenience, as Avell as
the liability to subsequent disturbance,
how Indians, or any other people, bury
; their dead. However, it may be said
| Avith regard to cremation, which has long
been the popular form in Alaska, that
the natives believe that the souls of those
| who are cremated enter into heaven. The
raven is consequently a sacred bird all
| over the country, and is never molested.
He is known as “tilacum (friend) and it
|is considered a good omen when
1 one of the dismal ercatures is
in attendance at a cre
mation. In Sitka, the presence of ravens
is as common as of buzzards in some
; Southern cities, so that the people have
1 no lack of family associations. The wel
fare of those who are not cremated is not
so positively vouched for.
There was a death and obsequies when
I was in Sitka, and I walked one morning
down to the end of the Indian “ranch,”
| as it is called, which constitutes the out
skirts of every white settlement on the
coast, to examine the remains of the
funeral pile where the cremation had
taken place. I found nothing bnt a small
quantity of charred coals. The uncon
sumed brands had all been carefully
carried away, while the bones of the
corpse had been picked out and wrapped
in a mat. and laid away in a dead house.
Some of these houses have compartments,
and are the receptacles of as many as a
dozen separate bundles of bones.
There is very little ceremony now at a
cremation, but in earlier times a bereaved
AvidoAv was subjected to a good deal of
cruelty, being repeatedly thrown upon
the pyre by sympathizing friends or
demonstrative mourners, and seldom es
caping without: serious burns. Very I'cav
had courage to inflict the sacrificial
torture upon themselves. Other near
relatives displayed their sincerity of grief
by various barbarous mutilations.
Previous to the cremation there is a
good deal of formality at the house of
mourning. In Alaskan houses a dais or
platform runs around the four sides of
the interior, Avhich is a single apartment
or reception room, opening into small
staterooms on the side opposite the en
trance. A brick or flagged hearth occu
pies the centre of the quadrangle, the
smoke from the fire escaping through a
flat! cupola in the roof, there being no
chimneys. Four totem poles of fantastic
carving ami color, showing the geneal
ogy of the deceased and the elan to
which he belonged, are set up at the four
corners of the court. They are kept cov
ered while the body sits in state, for the
dead Indian is not laid out on a bier, but
is set up on the dais opposite the en
trance. Avith liis face painted red, a fan
ciful crown on his head, and a blanket
over hi* shoulders, as if living. The
wall behind him is appropriately draped
and sometimes festooned with small
American flags.
On the evening of the day before the
funeral the totem poles are uncovered
and the Availing begins. The whole
space betAveen the dais and the central
fire i* crowded with mourners of both
sexes, clad in their l>est blankets, who
beat the ground with sticks in time Avith
a doleful chant. This lugubri
ous singing and shaking of
rattles and beating of the flour with
lung staffs is kept up all night. When
the hour of cremation comes the body is
hoisted out through the roof and carried
to the funeral pile. A corpse is never
take i out of the door of a house. It
Avould l>c “bad medicine.” and defile the t
temple. Some tribes of Indians burn the
bark or skin lodge avliosc inmate dies, or
they set up the lodge apart from habi
tations and place the dead body in it, as
i* also done in Alaska in some instances. j
But this practice would be expensive
where- the houses are substantial audhard
to build, as is the cae with most of the
winter residences in Alaska.
The funeral pile is made of resinous
spruce poles of the proper length, built
up in cob-house fashion, Avith fat pine
stick* placed inside of the crib, on which [
the body is laid wrapped iu its blanket.
Legs are then added above the body,
crossing other logs at the corners, and
then the whole is set on fire. An intense ;
heat and conflagration results, and a few \
of the Indians remain to keep the fire |
alive with their long poles, while a bevy j
of sad women contemplate the ghastly j
procedure from their seats on the grass !
not far away. When everything is con- j
sumed the relations will cull out the j
whitened bones and level the ashes de- 1
corously. There is no odor, and every
thing is done silently, decently and in
order.
It is customary to place the dead man's
property beside the bundle of bones,
which represents all that ho was corpore
ally. and occasionally his canoe is
i
brougm up oeside the tomb, allegor
ically to continue the voyage of life, but
in fact to remUin until it falls to decay.
Of late years inquisitive visitors, as well
as avaricious vandals, have robbed the
dead houses of all their contents, and
even despoiled them of their bones.
The canoes have been cut up or stolen,
and the sepulchres otherwise shamefully
desecrated. Grass and weeds have
grown up inside to their very roof-, and
if a chance stranger attempts to explore
the violated precincts, he finds a satis
factory inspection prevented by au almost
impenetrable jungle of undergrowth,
whose luxuriant - is everywhere notice
able on the Pacific coast. And all this
neglect and disc.sler is done and suffered
at the capital ofVhe Territory, and there
seems to be no official authority to iut r
diet or protest.— New York Sun.
Bald Heads.
are asked to answer these three
questions "for the benefit of a vast num
ber of the readers of the Sun." and Ave
can understand why so many of our
friends have a 'great interest in the sub
ject to Avhich our attention is called:
“Is there any way, either by a course of
diet or the application of a preparation, by
which the hair ean he prevented from fall
ing out
"ls there any way to strengthen the hair
and make it thick i
"Why is it that the majority of men are
either bald or part ially bald?”
There are multitudes of preparations
offered for the cure of baldness, but
either they do not work infallibly or a
great part of the men are so little dis
turbed by their bald heads that they fail
to give them a fair trial. Iu every assem
blage of men bald pates are numerous,
and many of those which show the least
hair belong to comparatively young fel
lows—of thirty and forty.
We infer from this fact that it is not.
easy to start anew crop of hair Avhen the
old has fallen out for any other than a
merely temporary reason, because young
men especially most dislike to go
about Avith heads almost as bald as
those of babies, aud Ave do not
doubt that they spare no pains to make
the hair groAV again, and only desist from
the effort when they find it hopeless. In
stead of seeing fresh hair coming, they
may find that they only make their pates
the shinier by rubbing them Avith the
preparations. And yet it is probably in
disputable that some men have been able
to thicken th?ir hair by the use of the
hair restoratives so frequently advertised;
but perhaps they A\ r ere nor of the kind
doomed to early baldness.
For the majority of men are either bald
or partially bald, according to recent
scientific authority, because the human
race is to lose the hair on its head, and
they are only the forerunners of the uni
versal baldness which is to be. The
bald heads of this day may, therefore,
pride themselves on being further along
in the development of man than the men
Avho glory in their luxuriant locks.
The theory is that men will be born
without hair roots on their heads, or with
1 only a very temporary supply of hair,
Avhich they will lose when they mature as
they lose other features of the child. Of
course, if that is sound, there is no use in
j trying to oppose the general tendency
with hair invigorators. —New York Sun.
Feminine Influence at Washington.
A great many outsiders have laughed
at the announcements which frequently
appear in the society papers, says a Wash
ington correspondent in the San Fran
cisco Post , that “Mrs. Jones of the army
will receive on AVednesdays in January,”
or that “Airs. Smith of the navy will
give a tea party oif ~i uesday,” but per
haps “Mrs. Jones ” and “Airs. Smith”
have really more to say in relation to some
of the most important matters concern
ing the service than their husbands.
Women are matchless in the manage
ment of the hundreds of intrigues which
abound everywhere at the capital, and
which have for their object the advance
ment of one officer or the humiliation of
another. Strange to say, some of the
most poAverful lady schemers are the
Avives of retired officers of the army and
navy. If one of these elderly dames
happens to have an’ eligible daughter the
young officer on duty here must be very
sure of his ground before attempting
either to Avin or avoid her. If his con
duct is not satisfactory he Avill suddenly
find himself ordered away with a celerity
that Avill stop his breath. It may be that
he will not be able to understand how it
Avas accomplished and the reason therefor,
but he will at least realize that he knoAvs
who received the blow. An instance of
this kind happened here only a short time
ago. A young officer connected Avith
the naval establishment, and who has
been on duty here for some months, be
gan paying the most assiduous attention
to the fair daughter of a lady who is a
[lower in the ring. He Avas poor, but
proud; handsome, but impecunious. As
a brilliant alliance is expected by the
old lady, she made up her mind to put
an end to the affair, Avhich really had not
progressed very far. One fine day this
officer received au official document or
dering him to a station about 3,000 miles
away. While he was making the neces
saiv preparations the young lady was
sent out of tOAvn “ to spend the holidays”
with some friends. Her whereabouts
was unknown to the officer, so he was
obliged to take his departure without the
painful pleasure of a sweet parting. Some
of the officer's friends have ascertained
that the mother actually secured the
orders.
The Easy Life of Wealthy Brazilians.
Botofogo is that quarter of Rio in
which are the palaces of the great and
wealthy. And they are veritable palaces.
There are galleries of paintings, immense
salons and elaborate banquet halls in
these palaces and a large retinue of slaves
and servants keep them in perfect order.
But it is on his plantation or “faciendo”
that the wealthy Brazilian lives in the
most baronial style. There he is an ab
solute autocrat, and over all the broad
acres, white with coffee blossoms, he Ls
the load and seigneur. His hundreds of
slaves regard the will of their master as
paramount to everything, and when later
on the barons and. counts leave Petropolis
to pay a visit to their estates in the coun
try their retainers will welcome them
with fireworks and feasting. Altogether
the life of a Brazilian gentleman runs in
pleasant channels, and if he is not in
debt to the coffee brokers of Rio or har
assed by wondering what he shall do for
labor on his plantation when slavery i3
finally ended, he is about as happy as it
is possible for mortal to be. — New York
Tribune.
Paper Railroads.
The paper rail seems about to become
a practical reality, a large establishment
for the manufacture of rails of compressed
Daper being projected at 9t. Petersburg.
Among the advantages claimed for this
material are extreme durability, a cost
about one-third as great as steel, light
ness, greater adhesion to the driving
wheels of the engine, and a reduction in
the wear and tear of both the road aad
the rolling stock.
ON THE MARCH.
VU IssITCDES OF ARMY LIFE
di king the civil war.
t orilWleiMtes Greater Sufferers than
the I Vilerals —Terrors of a Forced
M irrti Confederate Suffer
ing* After Gettysburg.
T. J. Murray, writing for the Wash
ing Re/mhliotn. *uys:
I h • Confederates undoubtedly suffered
lir grv’t'T \ ici'-itude- thin the Union
armies, for apart from those hard*hips in
cident i > even army in the field, they
Averc [■ . r'.y clothed and fed, which was
not the c.isc with tlicit- opponents, as a
rub*.
V\ > v ill suppose a command i* ordered
to v :u b an indented jx>int within a given
tim-.', eitli -r to surprise an enemy or to
h dd a threatened and important position.
And in thi> 1 am writing from my recol
lection of experiences in the SeA'euteenth
Virginia regiment, of Pickett's division
of Con federates.
Th men are drawn up, aud those who
have knapsacks are ordered to pile them.
Then the company officers see to it that
no man carries more than a single blanket.
Two extra packages of cartridges are
served out, making, with those in the
cnr.ridge box. six*- rounds, a pretty
heavy weight in itself wli-.-u the calibre of
the rifles was fifty fight, as was usually
th? case. Next, three days' rations of
hardtack and bacon are issued to last four
or five davs, or uutil more could be pro
cured.
The line of march is taken up and the
quickstep ordered from the first. Now,
it must be remembered that a soldier,
with liis rifle, ammunition, blanket, pro
visions, etc., is weighted down by about
fifty pounds or over, and this dead
weight, instead of being distributed over
the body,bears chiefly upon the shoulders.
Those who have never been there gen
erally suppose that the actual contact of
battle is the hardest and most trying to
the nerves and pluck in the phases of a
soldier’s life. This is a fallacy. Many
a time have 1 heard my comrades express
satisfaction, after a long and distressing
march, at having got at last Avithin
striking distance of the foe. Ido not
believe that the man lives, or has lived,
who could honestly say that he never felt
fear while on the eve of battle, or rather
when first going under fire.
But a forced march is a terror to the
best of troops, no matter hoAvever Avell
they have been disciplined. What do
the readers of this paper suppose that a
forced march means? It means torture
of mind and torture of body; it means a
dull aching of every joint and bone aud
marrow of the bones; it means no simply
utter weariness and pain, but almost a
complete prostration of the physical
powers; it means that one falls asleep for
a minute while mechanically plodding
along and to awake Avitli a start Avhile
staggering to a fall; it means, when the
ten minutes’ rest comes at every tAvo
miles, to sink doAvn in one’s tracks like
an empty bag and to be asleep before
you touch the ground. When the ten
minutes’ rest expires and the command,
“Fall in!” is given, one awakes and gets
up from mere force of habit and resumes
the grinding task, stiffer and sorer, if
possible, than before.
It means, finally, that one would barter
a million cheerfully, for an hour’s rest and
sleep, and, while feeling bound to obey
the inexorable command “forward,” one
is in such a state of mental and physical
wretchedness that he is ready almost to
curse God and die. And then, too, when
the day’s march is concluded, sometimes
far in the night, what must be the condi
tion of those detailed to guard their
sleeping comrades? Surely no galley
slave Avas ever tortured like this.
And such a march often occurs in the
most inclement weather, whether the sun
was blazing hot, and the roads so dusty
that one could not see ten yards before
him, or the air bitter cold and the snoAv
and slush a foot deep on the ground. I
recollect that after the second battle of
Bull Run, when General Lee made his
forced march across the country in
order to ford the Potomac be
fore his opponent could reach the op
posite bank, the day was so hot and
dusty and the pace so rapid that hun
dreds of the men who had been en
feebled by a week’s constant marching
and fighting fell (sunstruck) out of the
ranks by the wayside, and dozens of them
died, as the surgeon did not stop to pay
them any attention.
After the battle of Gettysburg, Corse's
brigade of Pickett's division, Avhich had
been left behind to guard the line of rail
road between Gordonsville and Richmond,
was ordered to Winchester. We made
a forced march over the mountains, and
when we got to the east branch of the
Shenandoah Ave found it full and too
deep for a small man to ford, so the six
footers formed a cordon across the rush
ing stream and passed the shorter men
along the line until all were safely over.
Then without stopping to dry clothes,
we pushed ahead, but rain soon after
ward came doAvn in torrents and every
little valley in that hilly country soon
became overrun with a deep, muddy
stream, through which we had to wade
breast high. When the command got to
Winchester the feet of the men, from the
constant rasping of the water
and the sand in their shoes, were in
a terrible condition, and their shoulders
were galled like those of a tow-path
mule. Had the enemy's cavalry come on
us next day, as was folly expected, for
they had advanced to Berryville, the
brigade could not possibly have ma
noeuvred rapidly enough to give them a
stiff fight, unless by taking up positions
behind the stone fences and staying
there.
The last march from Petersburgh to
Appomatox was the most terrible to the
retreating army of any I have read of in
history, except the French retreat from
Moscow. It is true that the Aveather
was generally mild during the seven
days’ march, but there was only four
hours of sleep and rest out of the twenty
four,. and for four days we were entirely
out of provisions.
I don’t see to this day how the beaten
army managed to sustain any sort of or
ganization under the frigetful hardships
they endured. And never did the Cos
sack hordes pursue more relentlessly the
broken columns of Napoleon amid the
Russian wastes and snows than did
Sheridan the veteran army of Lee after
Amelia Court House was passed. The
attacks upon the retreating column were
incessant day and night, and the noise
of rifle and cannon firing lulled the brave
but exhausted men to sleep and greeted
their ears in reveille at daybreak. Oh! it
was a terrible time, but, thank God,
those who survived the fearful ordeal
can now look back at it as a troubled
dream, and without a particle of ill will
to those who caused it.
* ‘Say, waiter, this beefsteak looks as if
it had been hammered on an anvil.”
“Yes, sir, we buy it by the pound,”'*
Boston Budget.
NOTICE TO
FARMERS!
IF YOU WANT TO PURCHASE A
COTTON SEED OIL
MILL!
A Cotton Gin,
A Cttoon Feeder,
A Cotton Condenser,
A Cotton I
SAW MILL, .
Pulleys, Shafting, Hangers, and
MILL WORK.
Write to us tor PRICKS and DISCOUNTS. We can make KTO
YOU ft INTEREST to buy direct From us.
E. VAN WINKLE & CO.,
MANUFACTURERS,
ATLANTA, GEORGIA,
B®- NO 1 ICE 10 THE IR.\DE. —We give Discounts to tbe trade
FURMAN FARM IMPROVEMENT CO~
OUT 1
I FERTILIZERS AND CHEMICALS.
i-A r nl S iw? , * pa V y control 1110 sole right to manufacture and sell PARISH FURMAN'S
I rOKAI LA, the great Georgia Farmer's Chemicals tor Compost for Cotton, as
I niipioAei. tiv the late PARISH (.11 UMAX, President of the Company at the time
| oi his death. None genuine unless branded “Furman’s Formula.”
BUFFALO BONE GUANO, u high grade Standard Guano.
FURMAN HIGH GRADE GUANO, a Special Brand —Black.
FURMeN S FORMULA AMMONIATED, a complete fertilizer for Cotton and Wheat.
GOLDEN GRAIN GUANO, OR "FURMAN’S FORMULA FOR OATS"
j None genuine unless branded
j FURMAN FARM IMPROVEMENT CO.
Factory East Point—Office, 40 Marietta Street, Atlanta, Ga. Write for Pamph
lets and Certificates.
©sr* Err sale by D. J. PROCTOft, Forsyth, Ga.
THE
FARQUHAR COTTON PLANTER!
- • v' W*'
•wr h •?***■■ :• :..4- ■
THE BEST IN USE.
It drops the unrolled Seed with perfect regularity and in any desired
amount. Never skips. Opens, drops and covers.
War Send for Prices.
A. B. FARQUHAR & CO.,
MACON, GEORGIA.
W. T. MAYNARD & SON, Agents, Forsyth, Ga.
NEW JEWELRY STORE!
IN BARNESVILLE.
#and (especially the Ladies,) to our beautiful Jewelry es
tablishment; just opened in the Swatt’s Building, No. 3
Main st. We are pleased to announce that we are°agaidon
foot with everythin gnew and sparkling, and expect to
merit a continuance of past favors by keeping in 6tock aline
We will handle PIANOS AND ORGANS from the best
manufacturers, and keep on band eelect sheet Music for
CLOCKS & WATCHES!
Wre first clas and guaranteed with price to compete with any house in the South. We
will carry a full line of JULIUS KING’S
SPECTACLES, the reputation of which is not
excelled by any. Gold Pens and Pencils a fi
specialty. Silver Ware from the best makers. h' t \
Our REPAIR DEPARTMENT is complete and \
we guarantee all work to he done witn dispatch
and to give satisfaction. Thanking the public for past favors and most earnestly and
respectfully soliciting a continuance of the same we are Your ob’t servants,
0. S. HIGGINS & SON Barnesville, Ga.
wall paper
WINDOW DRAPERY HOUSE
45 Marietta Street, ATLANTA, GEORGIA
Tb tbe people of Monroe I have to say that I am carrying the latest and most exten
sive line of WALL PAPERS in the city.
Goods all New & Prices Reasonable
I have also an ek-gant stock oi Window Shades, from 50 cents each ud Dranerv
Fringes, Upholstery Goods, Window Poles, Cornices, Laces’
Prompt attention given to 11 orders.
j JAMES T. WHITE, Agent.
J. J. COOK, 1
Manufacturer and Dealer In
HARNESS, ETC.,
Corner next to Alexander & Son's Drug Store, FORSYTH, GA
Would respectfully inform the citisons of Monroe and adjacent counties that he ha*
opened a first class Harness estahlisnment where they can secure anything in my lina,
or have it made to order. Special attention will be given to all kinds of Repairing. All.
WORK WARRANTED.
Pnoci reasonable and aatisfartiDn guaranteed. Patronage solicited, All work the best.