Newspaper Page Text
Postoffice statistics show that last year
279,000,000 stamped envelopes were sold
by the government. They were worth
$7,773,000. Envelopes which in 1869
co-t $4.80 per 1,000 can now be eold for
per 1,000, and the extra letter size,
then costing SO, are now sold for $2.40.
The proposals for bids for the next four
years will include two sizes called baron
ial, about three or four inches, for the
benefit of ladies who like to use fancy
note papers.
In Egypt, on the Itiver Nile, as well as
in Italy, on the Do, the custom of travel
ing for bee pasturage has been continued
from the remotest age? to the present
time, as there about seven weeks dif
ference in the vegetation on the l pper
and Lower Nile. They use large fiat
boats holding from sixty to one hundred
hives of bees and float slowly along as
the vegetation advances. The sinking
of a boat to a certain depth in the water
indicates when they have filled the hives
with honey.
The area of practical agricultural lands
in this country is immensely extended by
practical irrigation. In all the Terri
tories west of 100th degree of longitude
this method has added millions to the
value of the producing soils and wonder
fully extended their capacity. InAii
zona, especially, irrigation is aiding the
rapid development of the Territory and
demonstrating its productiveness. The
practice is to flood small grain from
two to four times during the season.
Fruit and grass need less water. The
Arizona canal is over forty miles long,
and irrigates nearly 100,000 acres of
land. Other canals are uow in progre-s
on the I ower Gila which will irrigate
over 200,000 acres. In New Mexico,
along the Rio Grande, a large canal was
recently completed which is expected to
bring m ire than 200,000 acres into cul
tivation. "While these great water sup
plies are of first-rate consequence to the
development of the rainless districts,
they are nevertheless the origins of gi
gantic land monopolies.
A recent investigator lias made analy
ses of j opular brands of paper cigarettes,
and has been rewarded with some start
ling discoveries. In the manufacture of
one of the best known brands he finds
that valerian and tincture of opium are
used in large quantities to give the cigar
ettes their deli ate flavor and well-known
soothing property. Another flavoring
material is made from the tonka
which gives the so-called “Havana fla
vor” to a cigarette. It is known that this
bean contains a deadly poison called mcl
lolotis, seven grains of which have been
found sufficient to kill a dog. Otli r
diugs and substances equally deleterious
to the health are used in doctoring, col
oring and flavoring the tobacco from
which c'gareltes ere manufactured, and
° J '• *-' ■■< uwu
them to excess for a long time. The
only remedy is to give them up entirely
or “taper off," as most cigarette smokers
are oblige 1 to do, at fre iuent intervals.
So overpowering, however, is the force
of the ii bit that when its victim ouc e
gives hunselfany license stall, the num
ber that he will smoke every day is only
limited by the number of opportunities
afforded.
Lieutenant Greely, to whom Arctic
adventure ought, one would suppose, to
be a nightmare, is confident that new
Arctic expeditions wil soon be under
taken. Lieutenant llovgaard is plan
ning one which is to take Cape t helyus.
kin, in Siberia, for its base, and 1 ran?
flosef I,and for its objective point. How
near Franz Josef I and extends toward
the coast of Asia, we arc without knowl
edge. Hovgaard's plan is a joint land
and water expedition, the men to travel
on sleds over islands and ice, and in theii
ships when clear water offers. Two
English expeditions are projected, one
of which proposes to reach Franz Josef
Land directly from a Scotch port, fol
lowing the course which has been sailed
by Leigh Smith; the other passing west
of Spitzbergen, and establishing its base
at the Seven Islands. Nordeoskjold is
going to East Greenland with an expedi
tion, which, if fair weather should prove
tempting, may strike across for Franz
Josef Land, passing north of Spitzber
gcn. T? wiil he noticed that all the Arc
tic explorers—English, Amerieau, Dan-
J sh, Swedish and Austrian—agree that if
the Pole is ever reached, it must be bv
way of Franz Josef Land. The Russian
government alone is pushing a party—
largely a sledge party—by way of the
Yana River to the rew Siberian Islands,
which a e nine hundred geographical
miles f.om the Pole. And this country
has a sledge party in Alaska, whn h will
push forward to the southern shore of
the Arctic Ocean, and will e-tablish a
base for future operations somewhere
near Point Barrow. Arctic expeditions
are kept up, not so much by their yield
of scientific knowledge, but by the spirit
of adventure which animates our race.
Young men volunteer because it is a
plucky thing to do, and they want fame,
tso far as practical results are concerned,
they have added little to our stock of
knowledge. But they have tended to
keep alive an instinct of adventure, and
a readiness to endure suffering and to
confront th grave, which are the best
traits iu human nature. The courage
which Lads a young man to sail into the
jaws of almost certain death in the ever
lasting ice masses of the North Pole,
merely to solve a geographical problem,
is the quality which makes great soldiers
and pa riots, and furnishes a country
with leaders against times which try
men's souls.
The strongest intoxicating liquor in the
world is probably the Sham-sho, used by
the natives of Bujmah, and said to be ;
made of rice and lime. It is so power- j
ful that it will dissolve a ride-bullet in !
thirty njinutes, ~ ' i
TIIB MONROE ADVERTISER: FORSYTH. GA.. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21. 1886.'-'EIGHT PAGES.
New Mexico newspapers tell of a
“northe." that passed over the northern
edge of Lin'oln county a few weeks ago,
* accompanied by hailstones as large a* a
man's fist, do ng great damage to sheep.
One man lost 3,000 killed, another .7,000,
a third 4.000 out of a herd of 5,000 Me
rinos and Costwolds. Several beeves
mid some catt’e were killed, and it was
| rumored that the hail killed two h rders
also.
General Juba! A. Early writes to the
i Lynehburgh (Ya.) News to contradict the
str.rv that during the closing davs of the
j ° .
I civil war General Lee intentionally ex
posed him-elf to death. General Early,
j who can speak on the subject from per
sonal acquaintance, says: ‘ No; while
G<n ral i.ee did expose himself very
grt a lv, often to the great distress of his
o fleer and soldiers, he did not seek
death bccau e he foresaw defeat, but be
determined from the beginning to share
the fale o r his people in victory or de
feat. ’’
The National Board oi Fire Under
writers celebrated the twentieth anniver
sary of their organization at New York,
recently, Vice-President Heald deliver
ing an address reviewing the experience
of twenty years. The amount paid out
for fire losses last year in this country
was $53,000,000, and in twenty-five
years the losses paid amount to $738,-
000,000, which is more than half the re
maining national debt. Our total losses
by fire average $100,000,000 a year,
equivalent to one fifth of our annual
growth in wealth, and this burden is
growing faster than wealth grows,in Mr-
ITeald’s opinion.
There is a rising prima don. the
West, according to a newspaper writer
in los Angeles, Cal. Hewiites: “There
is a woman here who is selling small
fruit and vegetables to educate herself
in music. She has been, she says,
‘starved for music all her life,’ but now,
at forty years of age, in spite of poverty
and discouragement, she is cultivating
her voice, which is really a fine one. Au
; odd and pitiful sight was this woman,
with her broad sun hat and linen duster,
at the piano the other clay, playing and
singing for a wealthy invalid, while liei
vegetable wagon stood waiting at the
door.”
Texas and Rhode Is’and have been en
gaged in endeavoring to define their
boundaries. The big State has a claim
of sundry hundreds of thousands of acres
l against the United States lying on the
j head waters of the Red River, and the
! little State has a claim of sundry scores
! of acres at the mouth of the Pawcatuclc.
! The Texas and the United States Coin
| missioners have adjourned without ng.ee
i ing, the former claiming everything up
; to the North Fork of the Red River, and
cut seem likely to come to terms, and it
has been reported that the former will
acquire four acres in Narrgansett Bay,
which will be a handsome addition to
her domains, even though the new r ac
quisition is all under water, and its popu
lation natives in their oyster beds.
Lieutenant Schwatka, in command of
the New York 7 'imes's exploring expe
dition in Alaska, is over six feet high,
and weighs two hundred and fifteen
pounds. It was he who discovered in
King William’s Land, in the arctic seas,
evidences that Sir John Franklin and his
party had really perished. It was he
who. a few years la’er, saiied twelve
hundred miles on a raft on the dangerous
A ukon River, in the polar regions, and
explored also the remaining eight hun
dred miles of that previo isly unknown
stream. To-day the Lieutenant Is sup
posed to be climbing Mount St. Elias, the
highest peak of North America, its ele
vation being almost four miles. If he
reach 's the sn >wy summit, he will be the
first person to have ; ccomplished that
feat. The Smithsonian Institution wanted
to send him cn the same errand, but was
out of funds. He expects to bring back
many facts and specimens valuable to
science and deposit them in the Museum
of Natural History at the Central Park,
Jnd in the mu eum of Princeton College,
where his assistant, Mr. libbey, is a pro
fessor.
The New A ork Graphic says that
“nothing is more interesting to those who
live on Staten Isluud or at one of the lit
tle bayside villages thau to watch the in
coming and outgoing steamers and ves
sels on the daily trips up and down the
bay. The first th'ng that one realizes is
that Great Britain rules the ocean, for
her blood red flag is found on nearly
every ship, from the colossal Atlantic
liner to the moribund and leaky fishing
smack fr m Canada Most of the Brit
ish flags, however, are oa iron ships.
The wooden vessels that are to be seeu. bv
the thousands in the bay fly th: flag- of
Norway. Germany, Portugal, Spam aad
Italy. A good many of them seem too
rotten to cross Lake Michigan, much le-s
the ocean. Some Norwegian “ships”
come in that are not 100 feet long. But
when you see sn American ve-sel she is
worth looking at. and is conspicuous
among those of other nations by reason of
her towering but graceful masts, long,
sharp hull, trim and taut top hamper and
general tidy appearance. Most of the
sea-going American shl s are encaged in
the California trade. Some Fnglish ocean
tramps are se; n that ni:gp easily be mis
taken for first ciass Atlantic liners. The
majority of the iron freight steamers ap
pear to be engaged in the transportation
of live cattle, and are easily distinguished
by the rough wooden houses that run the
whole length of the and ek. They lie ou;
in the bay and the cattle walk aboard
from a lighter alongside, when it would
seem much less Troublesome and expen
sive for the steamer to go right up to the
dock and take the cattle from the cars,
thereby saving one transhipment,”
THE GREAT RACE.
Tilt! MAYFLOWER Hi AS THE
A MERICA CEP.
Crowds to Witness tlie Great Race-Great
Excitement at the Finish—.Wayflower
Two Miles Ahead.
& fcCM*'. tiu VCF*
THE AMERICA’S CUP.
It has been decided upon which side
! of the Atlantic the American cup shall
j stay, for at lead another year. It re
sulted in a glorious victory for the sloop
-Mayflower. Wheu she finished, at 6h, 1
m., 405., the Galatea was nearly two miles
astern. The course was twenty miles to
the leeward and return from Scotland
lightship. The race was sailed in a
breeze that blew fresh from the north
west for three hours. Then canting two
points to the westward it fell light, the
last hour of the contest being little bet
ter than a rift. The Mayflower only had
eight minutes and twenty seconds spare
time when she crossed the finish line, as
| the time of limit of the race was seven
1 hours. The Galatea was defeated on ev
| coy point of sailing by the Mayflower.
In the run out to the outer mark, with
spinnakers set, she was beaten thirteen
minutes and forty-five seconds, and in
the windward work over half an hour.
There is great rejoicing among yacht
men here, while the Bostonians are fairly
wild with delight.
The judges’ boat, Luckenbach, for the
third time left pier B, East river; this
time a half hour earlier than usual, the
committee, Messrs Chase and Robinson,
being anxious to start the yachts early
from Sandy Hook. By 8:45 the Luck
enback and Scandinavian had taken the
Galatea and Mayflower in tow and were
leaving Bay Ridge for the starting point,
j As they proceeded, the breeze freshened,
and there was every indication of enough
wind to furnish a fine day’s sport. Off
; Whistling buoy at 10:15 the Galatea was
cast off. Her crew soon made sail,while
| the Mayflower’s crew did the same, both
| setting club topsails. When the judges’
boat ran alongside the Galatea, Lloyd
Phenix, representing the New York
j yacht club, told the regatta committee,
that Lieutenant Henn was very sick in
jl, ■’ ' ■> • ■- - ramcuu m
| twenty, so as to be sure to finish within
a reasonable time. In case it should
calm, he wished the Luckenbach to tow
the cutter back, if the race was not com
pleted early, so he could see a doctor.
Secretary Robinson said he would con
suit with General Paine as to the length
i of the course. That gentleman said he
would leave the matter in the hands of
the committee. They decided that the
course should be southeast twenty miles,
and steaming back to the Galatea that
course was given them. Captain Bnd
ford was sailing the cutter. Beavoir-
Webb looked after the sails, while Mrs.
1 Tenii peeped out of the companion way
with an anxious look in her eyes, for her
husband’s condition alarmed her.
■^s
- k
C;.
THE MAYFLOWER.
At 10:35 Messrs. Hyslop and Olsen, on
board the Scandinavian, were given their
coiuse and told to start as quickly as pos-
Le and log out twenty miles. She start
<d i rom Scotland lightship at 10:40. The
preparatory whistle was given thirtv
minutes later, when she was' well down
i in the distance. As the race was to be
dead before the wind and the yachts
would carry all the light sails, the com
mittee thought it best to give the tu°- a
good start. °
A fleet of steam and sailing craft
nearly as large as that of Thursday, had
by this time assembled near the starting
point. o
M hen the start was given at 11 :20 the
in excel!ent position,
square to the northwest of an imaginary
line drawn between Scotland lightship
and the Luckenbaeh. lying a cable’s
length to the northward of it. Her
spinnaker boom was down to the port
and thirty seconds after the signal the
great sail blossomed out amid wild cheer-:
front thousands on the Grand Republic.
With her main boom broad off to the
standard, hc-r pyramid of snowy duck
g.earning in the sunlight and a smother
of loam at her sides, the Boston beauty
flashed across the line well in the lead.
The cutter was full quarter of a minute
to the westward when the whistle blew.
>1:0 came along with the wind abeam till
*he crossed the bow of the lightship close
aboard, then squaring away, herspinnaker
was sheeted out exactly on line, and the
third day's battle had begun. The offi
cial time of the start was: Mayflower. 11.
40; the Galatea, 11, 24. 10. The
tier was erne minute thirty seconds in
:be -loop s wake. With a twenty mile
.";-i Ik.-fore them, there was an excellent
bauce to test the speed in a steady
i- zc. That a stern chase is a long one
:i ' never better illustrated thau in that
" euty mile ran. For about twenty
minutes the Galatea held her own with
’-he sloop, but after that was practically
out of the race, for the Mayflower was
catling her nearly a mile when half the
’.istance to the outer mark was covered.
Steamboat captains regarded past waru
ogs and kept well away.
At 12:50 the outer mark hove in sight,
mb in half an hour the fleet of steamers
Lumbering thirteen in all, had gathered
round it to await the yachts. The wind |
:;:d fallen light and had canted a point I
i the westward Down they came like j
-■Lite-winged birds on wing. The May- j
'lover's balloon jib topsail came in at 1:41 i
L Four minutes later in came her spin- !
iker, and at 1:53 she gibbed to port and j
ame for the mark close hauled on star- i
oard tack, luffing grandly around it a
few moments later. The Galatea gibed
>t 1:52,30, having housed her spinnaker
three minutes before. The time of round
ing the outer mark, with elapsed time,
v. as : Mayflower, turn 1:55,5; elapsed
kmc, 2:32,25. Galatea, turn, 2:10,20;
lapsed time, 2:46,10. The sloop had
!>eaten the cutter 13:45.
The Galatea made a very pretty picture
.s she laid down to her scuppers and be
gan a chase to windward after the sloop.
Both had about all the wind they wanted.
the galxtea.
Captain Stone put the Mayflower about
at 1 :55, and stood to the northward.
Webb sailed the Galatea. Captain Stone
n ought the sloop round again. She was
i mile on the cutter’s weather beam. Two
minutes before going about the sloop
took in a club topsail. Both the yachts
went about at 4 :20 and stood to the north.
They were off Deal Beach now, the wind
growing lighter. The Mayflower wa3
lucky to hold light air under land, with
Galatea almost becalmed twenty minutes.
.Vs the Mayflower slowly approached the
finish the excitement was intense on the
-teamers. There was no fear that the
Mayflower would be defeated, but it was
feared the limit of time would expire;
aid as all hope was dying out,
the breeze freshened and the sloop
shot across the finish line, close hauled
m port tack, just as the sun sank to rest,
with but eight minutes to spare. The
cheering and whistling lasted fully ten
minutes, the crew of the victorious sloop,
waving and cheering themselves, until
the yacht was long past the finish. The
Boston Herald tug, Henry Roussell, with
.-Robbins, artist, on board, towed the
Mayflower to anchorage. The Galatea
finished thirty-one minutes and twelve
seconds afterwards. As she came to
iiehor, the Mayflower’s crew gave her
three rousing cheers, which the English
men answered. The Galatea is defeated
i:v twenty-nine minute? and forty-eight
-(■funds actual, and twenty-nine minuttf?
md nine seconds, corrected time.
FirewU ics were displayed on all the
PERSONAL MENTION.
The wife of President Diaz, is not yet
twenty-six years old.
Mr. lua D. Saxk’ey, Mr. Moody’s musical
associate, has sailed for Europe.
Some one accuses the Princess of Wales of
enameling to preserve the beauty of her face.
It is said that Cornelius and William K.
Vanderbilt get as many as 100 begging letters
every day.
General Booth, the Commanfler-in-Chief
of the Salvation Army, is soon to sail for the
United States.
The Czar has presented the Sultan of
Turkey with a set of blue fox furs. They
are valued at $• 5,0C0.
Lieutenant Greely is now in better
health than at any time since his return
from Lady Franklin Bay.
Minister S. S. Cox is to sail for America
on the 2d of October. It is said he will run
for Congress again from a New York district.
Charles Townsend, of the Smithsonian
Institution is going to British Honduras to
* udy the natural history of that country.
Rev. Sam Jones claims as his greatest
achievement the reclamation of a man who
had traveled with a show for six years and
1 1ayei the calliope.
Senator Evarts is recovering rapidly
from the effects of his recent accident. He
sleeps well, eats light food and suffers little
from his injused ankle.
Alexander H. H. Stuart, who was one
of President Fillmore’s Cabinet officers, is
still in robust health and has been summer
ing at Greenbrier Springs, Va.
General Sherman aud Cyrus W. FiM
were met by the Mayor and a largo denota
tion of citizens on their arrival at Winnipeg,
British America, and were driven about the
city in carriages, winding up wdth a big ban- j
quet in the even ng.
When Prin e Karamoke, the heir to do- i
mains on the Senegal, now visiting Paris, !
v,sited the Ministry of Marine recently, he !
w-as attired in a tunic ot green silk em- !
broidered with gold and partly covered by j
a long white robe reaching to the ground. I
He had on red leather boots and a turban I
ornamented wdth nlates of silver.
NEWSY GLEANINGS.
Omaha’s population is 80.000.
There are 725,000 more females than males
in England.
Apples are falling from the trees from :
premature rot in Indiana.
Astrologers are about to pick out a wife
for ihe Emperor of China.
The Church of Rome has declared itself
positively against cremation.
White woodchucks have been seen the
past summer in Redding township, Ind.
Modoc County, Cal., has just paid a
bounty on 20,000 rabbit scalps, amounting to
s4*oo.
In a convict camp in Georgia there are
eighty-six negro convicts, of whom thirty
five are preachers.
It is estimated that the proposed bridge
across the HudsoD River at Poughkeepsie
will cost §10,000,000.
The drought has caused a large reduction
in nearly all the field crops throughout the
Dominion of Canada.
During last year, 779,000 carcasses of
frozen mutton and 603,000 of domestic sheep
were consumed in London.
An Indian runner recently traveled from
the Clip mine to Yuma, Cat, a distance of
seventy-five mile-, in seven hours.
The wheat crop of India is reported at
8,0>0.00) bushels below the average, and at
44,‘Mj,000 bushels less thau last year's fine
crop.
Rev. A. K. Nelson, a Presbyterian min
ister, who died at Chambersburg, fa., re
cently at the age of ninety-three, had occu
pied his rulpit in that place for more than
sixty years."
A peach of the lata Crawford variety
weighing fourteen oun es an I measuring
eleven and a half inches in circumference,
raised at Vacaville, Cal., is on exhibition at
can Francisco.
VotNG Matkox — Levy, I have jusi
I ... this newspaper the Czar as beint
up by being late for dinner
L v ey—Most married men meet with t
different fate, *
THE WINDS.
1
The North wind's howling legic*®
Swept down from boreal regions,
From the pallid zone where winter's throne
Was wrought in the wide waste, wan and
lone,
Unnumbered years ago;
They come on wings whose flutterings
Bestrew the world with snow,
And their icy breath is bitter and atb,
Their footfall ouly woo.
The East wind conies with sadness
And pain, and midnight madness,
From a solitude where curses brood
And poisoned dews on the dales are strewed,
And sorrow throttles gladness;
ft comes like a gho;t from spectral coast
Where eypre s branches wave,
And out of its plumes fall ghastly glooms
-Like those that encircle the grave.
The South wind comes a-sighing,
To buds and blooms replying,
He comes in quest of love and rest,
And presently, on a rose's breast,
In i apture lies a-dying;
He conies like dreams, and only seems,
His cradle is his tomb;
His life is a song to murmuring streams,
His death—a rich perfume.
The zephyr, fragrance laden,
Brings balm to man and maiden—
Brings dove-eyed rest to the troubled breast
From the mystical regions of the West—
From love's enchanted Aiden;
It comes with news as fresh as the dews
That gather in starry- hours,
With wonderful store of tender lore
From the sweet book of the flowers.
—Gzorge K. Camp.
ATTACKED BY PIRATES.
James Torrence was a foremost hand
on the British bark Huntress, and one
morning in the seventies we left Singa
pore, bound to the South by way of the
Straits of Sunda. We had sixteen hands
on the bark, and for a mament we had
a nine-pounder mounted on a carriage
and a good supply of muskets and pikes, j
All of the seas to the north of Australia i
are suspicious waters for an hone t :hip.
Pirates have abounded there ever since
ships began to sail, and I'm thinking it will
be long before the business is wiped out.
There are hundreds of islands in the Java
and Banda Seas, and each one of them
offers a secure headquarters for a gang j
of native pirates. They are not as bold j
as before the goverumeut cr. Hers got or- j
ders to patrol those waters, and sink
every craft which could not show honest j
papers; but they are there still, and the
temptations are too great to expect they I
can ever be entirely suppressed. On our j
way up, when off the Red Islands, on the
northwestern coast of Sumntra, we over
hauled an Italian brig called the Cam
pello. She was stripped of sails, cordage
and most of her cargo, and had been set
fire to and scuttled. For some reason
the flames died out, and the water came
in so slowly that she was floated six
hours after the p'ra'es abandoned her.
Our mate was sent off to board her, and
he found a shocking state of affairs. She
had been laid aboard without resistance by
two native boats, armed only with muskets
and pistols. The crew had at once been
made prisoners, and set to work to strip
the ship and hoist out sucti cargo ns the
pirates coveted. She was run iu beli nd
one of the islands and anchored, and for
ihjfw 'vce. a ml. nitrMsjAlWi
crew worked under a guard during the
day. and at night Captain and all were
secured in the forecastle. The cre.v
numbered fourteen.
Toward evening of the third day the
pirates had secured all their plunder. Sev
everal native crafts had been loaded and
sailed up the coast to some rendezvous,
and only one remained to take on the last
of the plunder. As no actual violence
had been offered Capta’n or c ew during
the three days, there was hope that the
pirates would go away and leave them in
possession of the robbed and dismantled
brig. Just what shift they would have
made in this case I cannot say, for the
craft was left without sa 1, rope, block
or provisions. About 4 o’clock in ih
afternoon the crew were ordered forward,
while the natives collected aft, and at a
given signal fire was opened on the de
fenceless men. To their credit ! et it be
recorded that they seized whatever weap
ons they could lay hands on and dashed
at the pira’cs, but it was simply to die
like brave men. In ten minu cs the last
one was shot down. The pirales then
raised the anchor and got it into their
boat, bored holes in the ship’s bottom,
and started a fire in the hold amidships,
dhe information I have given you came
from a little chap on board who wav
making his first voyage as an apprentice
He was, if I remember right, only thirteen
years old. On the morning of the third
day he managed to hide among the
cargo, and the pirates completed thei
work and sent tne hulk dri ting out to
sea without having missed him. He was
on deck to catch the painter of the
mate s boat when she drew alongside,
and to one of our crew who cou'd speak
Italian he gave the story as struight a
the Captain could have ta krd.
We reported the affair at Sing pore*
and a British gunboat was sent oil lo in
vestigate. She returned before wj had
completed our loading, and reported
that she had made no discoveries It
was a warning for our ( aotain, and he
wisely determined to he and it. Wc to k
on shell and grape for our cann u, a i
dozen revolvers were purchased for the
crew, and on the very day we left, the
Captain brought ab ard two verv heavy
rifles which he had picked up somewhere
at a bargain. I call them rifles, but they
were young cannon, carrying a three*
ounce ball, with powder enough b hind
it to kick the marksman half i:a y across
the ship. We left Singapore as well pre
pared as a m rchant vessel could be, and
it seems that the Captain was advised to
bear well up toward Borneo, and give
the Red Islands a wide berth. We
crosse 1 the equator at least a hundred 1
miles to the east of the islands, as I over
heard the Captain say. and then altered j
our course to the southeast, calc dating
to pass to the east of Biliton Island be
fore hauling away for Sun da Strait
The bark made good weather of it,
and we Lad crossed the equator and run
down on the new course until Biliton ;
might hive been sighted from the must
head, when the e came a calm. The
w,nd had died away about mid for* noon,
and the drift of the bark was to th • i
north. We looked for a change at sun
set. but nothing came, an 1 th’ night 1
pas-ed Without wind enough to move a
feather. My watch w.ts below when da\ -
light tame, and we got the word to turn
up lively. To the Northeast, off th
coast of Borneo, two or three green
islands were in sight, and between us I
and the islands were two native craft !
bearing down upon us. These craft were
about the size of pilot boats, half deck'd !
over, and rigged like a catboat. They
had been s'ghtea when six or seven mile, i
away, and as my ’ atch < ame on de k
the mate descended from the perch aloft
h- had been usd ibe ?!; s a ■
reported to the *aVuin that the *r._ t
were approaching us by the vto? oi>weeps, j
The calm still held, but it tra* eiear
enough to a sailor's eye that we should
have a bree eas soon as the sun began
to climb up. No ma t asked himself*
the errand of those boats making out for
the Huntress. At that time audio ality
there could be but one answer. The
Captan presently called us aft and sad:
‘ Men, the craft which you sec pulling
out for us are pirates. We shall have a
breeze within an hour, but they will be
here first. If we cannot beat them off.
| we are dead men. They take no prisoners,
j I look to see every man do Ids duty.'
We gave him a cheer, and bqgan our
! preparations. The cook was oruered to
till his coppers full of water and start
a rousing fire, and the arms wre
brought up and served out. There were
three or four men who had served at a
heavy gun, and these took charge of the
; cannon, and the piece was loaded u ith
a shell. When the Captain called for
someone to use the rifles, the only man
| who answered was an American, lie took
them aft, loaded them with his own
hands, and by the time the pirates were
within a mile we were as ready as we
| could be. The bark was lying with lier
I head to the east, and the fellows were
approaching us from the north, on our
, broadside. The mate kept his glass
going and announced that both craft
were crowded with men, but that he
could spe no cannon. They ma le slow
progress, and we were impatient to open
the fight. By and by, when they might
hive been three quarters of a mile away,
the Captain passed word for the gunners
to send them a shot. In a few seconds
the big gun roared, and we all saw- that
the shell flew over the pirates and burst
in the air. It was a good line shot and
something to encourage, but. before the
cannon sent another shot the American
had a try with one of the rifles. The
mate was watching his shot from the
rigging, and the report had scarcely died
away before he shouted:
‘‘Good for the Yankee! lie hit at least
a couple of them.”
The second shMl from the cannon burst
over one of the boats and took effect on
some of the men, as reported by the
mate. The American then fired again,
and again his bullet told. \Yc were doing
bravely and were full of enthusiasm, but
the struggle was yet to come. The fel
lows bent their energies to creeping
closer, and pretty soon they opened on us
with musketry, and the balls began to
sing through the rigging in a lix cly man
ner. We had our musdets ready, but
the Captain ordered ire to hold our lire
and keep sheltered behind the rail. One
of the piratical craft was a quarter of a
mile in advance of the other, and the
third shell from the cannon burst aboard
of her, and must have killed and
wounded a dozen or more men. There
w-as great confusion aboard, and she re
mained stationary until the other craft
came up. During this interval the Ameri
can got in two more shots, which found
vict ms. We now looked upon the vic
tory as assured, and there was cheering
from one end of the ship to the other. We
were a little ahead of time. The th'rd
I shot from our big gun burst it, and al
though no oue was hurt, we were thus
deprived of a great advantage.
As soon as the Captain knew what had
! happened, be called upon all the cr w to
shelter themselves and wait to lire at
close quartets. One man was detailed to
assist the cook iv'tli the hot water, and
powder and bullets were placed handy
for reloading the muskets 1 was sta-
JSifc' carriage, and 1 no
foot. The American kept firing away
with the rifles, knocking over a pirate
at every shot, and pre ty soon the two
craft were near enough for us to open
lire with the muskets. I presume we
wasted a good many shots, for we were
green hands and greatly excited, but I
am likewise certain that we also did
great exe ution. We had a plunging
arc down upon a mass of half-nake 1* fel
ows, and we must have weeded out a
full third of them. There was no air
stirring, and the smoke soon grew thick
about us. By and by the shouts and
yells of the pirates sounded close at hand,
and their craft were iai 1 alongside and
they began climbing the rail. We now
flung down the muskets and used the re
volvers and pikes. When the revolvers
were empty wc used capstan bars, clubbed
markets, or whatever we could lay
han Is upon. Our rail was clear in half
a minute, and then I picked up a shell
and a burning wad and ran forward. A
dozen natives had gained tiic bow and
were pushing our men back. I lighted
the fuse and gave the shell a roll along
the deck into the crowd, and I give you
my word that not one of them was left
alive after the explosion. One of our
men on the quarter threw a second shell,
and I brought the third one and threw it
from t lie bow.
! The fight was ende 1. A bit of wind
! ble v the sm-ke away, and we looked
down upon a terrible sight. The beats
seemed full of a- aand and wounded, the
living sought shelter under the half
deck'. Why, there were bodies without
leads, heads without bodies, and arms
and legsand pieces of bloody m*-at enough
to make the bravest turn p ile. As we
cut their lashings they drifted off. and
the Ame ica i w ith his big ridcq an I two
or three of the men with musket g kept
up a fire on eve: y thing that moved. 1 res
entiy the breeze came up, and as we made
'•ail and got the b.nk where wc could
li in He her we ran down for the dhows.
They were ligh built, and it needed
only a fai- blow to < rush them. The first
one we struck oa he - starboard quarter,
and, although th° bark glanced off. we
crushed in liert mbe s, ao i she tilled and
went down inside of five minutes. There
wore about twenty living men on the
other, and as we bore down for her at
a good pace they uttered shouts of terror
and made signs of surrender. Lur Cap
tain had no mercy for them. We put
the ship right at the dhow’s broads : d?,
and we cut her square in two ax* rolled
the bow one way and the stern the other,
while the living, wounded, and dead
went into the sea together. Ne>n York
Sun
Odd Ears and Eyes.
With reference to the discovery by the
Troy 7'• te/raui that a large number ol
persons in its city are becoming deaf in
one ear—a fact which the Tdejram seems
inclined, without much reason, to at
tribute to the use of the telephone—a
“Traveler’" writes to the Buffalo Courier:
“I made some extended experiment!
with the telephone some ri\ years ago
and developed the fact that nearly every
subject, out of some thousands, heard
better with one ear—usually the left—
than the other.He also learned after
ward that it was quite common for the
eyesight of one e\ r e to be better than the
other.
Nutmegs Poisonous.
The common nutmegs are poisonous
in large doses. In a case which came
under medical treatment, a lady had
eaten a whole nutmeg and a half, which
caused extreme drowsiness, then great
nervous excitement, followed bv subse
quent depression and pain in the region
of the heart. This case :-<*int- to* the
j res cnee of an active principle which
should be investigated
NEGLECT.
Morn, with music and perfume
Burst shining in the eastern room,
And made my eager heart elate
W.th promises of life and bloom,
tea. Tinkled with the crystal dew,
Tli >;c came an Angel to the gate.
And said: "I have a task for you.”
A:ul 1 replied: “Good Angel, wait:
The day will be so long, so long.
An 1 I am blithe with dance and song;
The sun is not an hour high:
1 11 do your bidding by-and-by—
Have patience with me. then, and wai*.'
The glaring sun stood overhead.
The guests were met, the board was spread,
An 1 high the feast and revel grew,
When, tainting with the midday heat,
The Angel rested at the gate,
And said: ‘,l have a task for you.”
And I replied: “Good Angel, wait;
The festival is at its height.
The lips are warm, the eyes are bright;
The suu is yet half-heavens high;
I'll do your bidding by-and-by—
Have patience with me, pray, and wait.”
The sky is dull, the daylight wanes.
The sleet beats on thu western panes;
The festive wreaths lie where they fell,
l.ike withered garlands on a tomb.
Their dust the only thing to tell
That there was ever love or bloom;
The story of my day is told.
The music hushed, the revel gone;
The eyes are dimmed, the lips are cold,
Tii > brightness flown, I sit alone
And watch the dreary night creep on.
Ah, had I but the duty now
I counted irksome till too late;
Come back, O Augel at the gate,
And give me yet the task to do!
— J. T. Goodman, in Argo t
PITH AND PRINT.
Going tlic rounds—Climbing the lad
der.— Bifti nqs.
“By their works shall yc know them. ’
—Watches. — Merchant Ira rctcr.
The more you cheque a spendthrift
the faster he goes.— National Weekly.
The barber can be relied upon for data
in the making up of “crop'’ reports.—
Yonkers Gazette.
A way to get even with the Canadians
on the fishery question: Make them eat
shad. Bouton Post.
A theatrical manager in London says
that 150,000 persons in that city live by
playing.— Free Press.
One does not need a thermometer in
summer to find that it grows warmer by
degrees.— Pittsburg Chronvie.
“This,” said the tramp, as he arose
from a hearty meal, “seems to till a long
felt want.” — Philadelphia Call.
Illinois butter is remarkably strong. A
churn burst at Elgin, in that state, and
killed two men.— Burlington Free Press.
“Don't be so stuck up,” as the feather
bed said to the wall paper “You are
down enough for both of us,” replied
the paper.
If a dealer in grave stones were to fail,
some newspaper would be sure to refer
to the disaster as “a bust in marble.”—r
Norristown Herald.
A young man who lives on a rich
mother-in-law is not necessarily a Canni
bal, but approaches that tribe for lazi-
Australia has had a ball game, but as
the Australians have not learned to kick
at the umpire’s decisions, it was not very
exciting.— Lowell Citizen.
“I know what the nights of labor are,”
said the mother of six boys as she sat
down to repair the pile of trousers and
jackets.— Boston Courier.
The price of Jamaica ginger goes up
when the price of watermelons goes
down. It is the see saw of commercial
adjustment.— l‘hiladclphin Call.
She—“ John, will you put up the ham
mock ?” He—“ Jessie, you forget that I
put up the hammock last fall and got
only ten cents on it.”— Tid-Bits.
“We more than hold our own,” says
an exchange. Yes, that’s why your
neighbors have all locked up their chick
en coops. —Marathon Independent.
“Over the valley the soft winds are blowing,
Ki sing the shadows asleep 'neith the hill;
While under thi trees, without any one
knowing,
Sallie, sweet Bailie, is kissing her Bill.
What is more pathetic than to see the
simple faith with which a bald-headed
man will buy an infallible hair restora
tive from a b.ild-headed barber?— Detroit
Free Press.
Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes used to be
an amateur photographer. When he pre
sented a picture to a friend, he wrote on
the back of it: “Taken byO. W. Holmes
A Sun.” —Detroit Free Press.
Bornsternc Bornson, the Norwegian
poet, wants to come to America for a
yis-L ijj.jjjjjj.j-] Those j’s belong
in the name somewhere, and the reader
can distribute them to suit his taste.—
Nortrich Bulletin.
"What every married man in this- coun
try wants is a trained, tierce-looking lit
tle me use that will appear whenever
called. It will stampede a family
in less time than it takes to proxflb
one. —Moron Telegraph.
“Have you heard Miss Simp-on sing
since she returned from Europe?” “Sev
eral times.” “Do you think she has im
proved?” “Very much.” “In what
particular : “She doesn't sing as much
as she used to.”— Musical Journal.
Now dips and sways the laden grain.
The hay-cocks dot the mead.
Thro’ leafy shades a golden ran
Sprays fern and lissome reed ;
One snowy cloud—like ermine rug—
floats calmly o’er the scene,
4V hile jet the sleek potato bug
Doth browse on Paris-green.
Yonkers Gazette.
___ “Horace, why don’t you sit down ?
,You've been standing there for over an
hour.” “t awn t sit down. Fweddic.
Going- to the reception, you know.”
“Well, what of that ? It's early yet.”
“Just had my twowsers eweased, Fwed
die. Do you think I’ve got s-s-s-soften
of the bwain ?”— Life.
Corrected by His Wife.
The first written speech read in the
Lnited States Senate w-as bv Isaac Hill
of New Hampshire, a firm supporter of
General Ja kson. When about half way
through he suddenly lost the thread of
hi-i discourse, and stopped, evidently
embarrassed. His wife, who sat in the
gallery almost dire tlv over him. coih
prehended the situation, and said in a
T°w 0 I h * s l rd ali ovtr the Senate chamber-
Mr. Hill you’ve turned over two leaves
at once. He immediately corrected his
mistake and pro ceded with his remarks
amid a roar of laughter. ’
AH Asia has only about as many rail
roalsas Illinois, and seven-eighths of
these are in British America.
Fat ick Bergen, of Fullarton, Ont i,
10, years of age, and yet is still able to
h 'e potatoes and do similar work.