Newspaper Page Text
WIT AND WISDOM.
A BAtiROAD strike—a collision.
The type lighter—the proof-reader.
Neveb fret; it will .only shorten your
days.
Neveb stand long at a corner of a
Street
Neveb abuse one who was once your
bosom friend.
Nevbb reply to the epithet of a fool,
or a low fellow.
Neveb speak in a contemptuous man
ner of womankind.
Neveb taste an atom when you are not
hungry; it is suicidal.
Hailing cabs is a common thing when
it is hailing pitchforks.
Neveb spend many of your evenings
away from your family.
A chanceby court is one in which jus
tice has an even chance.
Neveb anticipate too much; disap
pointment is not pleasant.
The English policy in Egypt—False
Prophets and quick returns.
Neveb speak of your parents as the
"old man” or “old woman.”
The “one more” drink has made a
hundred thousand drunkards.
A girl may be a good violin player
and yet not be able to draw a beau.
We propose that the phrase “money
no object” be amended to read “money
no objection.”
A poet sings: “The jocund spring io
here.” Yes; we never saw a more
joakin’ spring than this.
Pbofessob : “Mention an oxide.”
Student: “Leather.” Professor: “Oxide
of what?” Student: “Oxide of Beef."
Exit Professor.
An old friend is not always the per
son whom it is easiest to make a confi
dant of ; there is the barrier of remem
bered communications under other cir
cumstances.
He was a likable man; sweet-tempered,
ready-witted, frank, without grins of
suppressed bitterness or other conversa
tional flavors which make half of us an
affliction to our friends.
Lafayette had a great mind, and he
knew what he was doing when he as
sisted the United States. France is
now getting large supplies of canned
frogs from this country.
We often think we are of great im
portance to other people; that they must
be thinking of us and our affairs; that
they watch our actions and shape their
course accordingly. In general we are
quite mistaken.
The craze for lady barbers is dying
out. After a man has his face cut bias,
his throat shirred and his hair pompa
doured and been talked to death, he
naturally returns to the male barber and
takes chloroform.
“Why do bees make wax ?” asks a
farm journal. We do not knew, unless
it is because no one has told tflem that
the honey manufacturers are willing to
make it for them out of paraffine.
Philadelphia Call.
In a fashionable novel the author
flays: “Lady Emma trembled, grew
pale, and immediately fainted.” The
printer, putting “p” instead of “f,”
rendered it, “The lady grew pale, and
immediately painted.”
An agricultural journal says: “Spring
is the best time in the year to move
bees.” It may be; but if a bee settles
on your neck, or any other portion of
your anatomy, in the fall, don’t wait un
til the spring to move it
A dogmatical spirit inclines a man to
be censorious of his neighbors. Every
one of his opinions appears to him
written, as it were, with sunbeams, and
he grows angry that his neighbors do
not see it in the same light.
The small boy feels that it is tempt
ing Providence for a leading grocery
firm to put large and luscious looking
oranges right out on the sidewalk and
label them: “Do not fail to try these
oranges; they are very nice.”
■
The Coming Callie Queen.
Among the droves who alighted from
n cattle caboose at the stock yard in
Chicago was a tall, majestic-looking
woman of about thirty years. Though
not a beauty, she would have com
mand'd attention in a metropolitan
throughfare.
“Men are all frauds,” she said, with a
laugh. “I wouldn’t marry the best one
o! them that ever lived. I prefer to lie
•heir superior by remaining in such cir
cumstances that I can always buy their
labor and esteem.” Miss Mary Meagher
was the name to which the lady an
swered. In Washington Territory she
is known as the coming cattle queen,
the companion celebrity to Miss Biff, of
Denver. In the train she had ten car
loads of cattle which had endured
the experiment of a 2,500-mile ride.
She values the stock at 810,000, and
says if the trip is financially successful
she will return very soon from Walla
Walla with 400 additional head. She
employs a number of cowboys and is
the owner of a large herd of cattle, to
the raising of which she gives her per
sonal attention.
The Frond Poet
Harry . a papa—which wonderfu 1
event does his most awful dignity tre
mendously augment And he has been
a papa for two entire days, which vast
responsibility in grandeur he displays.
An old friend asked young Harry, “How
is the little kid ?” No answer. Papa’s
dignity such freedom quite forbid. The
question was repeated; “How is the kid
to-day ?” A freezing stare from Harry
and, •What, sir, did you say?” “Oh,
1 just asked ‘How is the kid?’ ” Severe
was pa’s disdain; “Oh 1 Ah ! Ahem !
The kid! What kid? Beg pardon,
sir? Explain!” “How is the baby,
then 1” Papa’s importance big did
swell. “Oh, if you mean my SON, sir,
he is, thank yon, very well.”—H Q
Dodge in Chicago Sun.
(Dnjcttc.
VOL. XII.
MY WIFE AND CHILD.
The tattoo beats; the lights are gone,
The camp around in slumber lies;
The night with solemn pace moves on;
The shadows thicken o’er the skies;
But sleep nr weary eves had flown,
And sad, uneasy thoughts arise.
I think of thee, oh, dearest one I
Whose love mine early life hath blest;
Os thee and him—our baby son—
Who slumbers on thy gentle breast.
God of the tender, frail and lone,
Oh, guard that little sleeper’s rest I
And hover gently, hover near
To her whose watchful eye Is wet—
The mother, wife—the doubly dear,
In whose young heart have freshly met
Two streams of love, so deep and clear,
And cheer her drooping spirit yet!
Now, as she kneels before Thy throne,
Oh, teach her, Ruler of the skies I
That while by Thy behest alone
Earth’s mightiest pot ers fall or rise;
No tear is wept to Thee unknown,
Nor hair is lost, nor sparrow dies;
That Thou canst stay the ruthless hand
Os dark disease, and soothe its pain;
That only by Thy stern command
The battle’s lost, the soldier slain;
That from the distant sea or land
Thou bring’st the’wanderer home again.
And when upon her pillow lone,
Her tear-wet cheek is sadly pressed,
May happier visions beam upon
The brightening currents of her breast;
Nor frowning look, nor angry tone
Disturb the Sabbath of her rust 1
Whatever fate those forms may throw,
Lotted with a ytssion almost wild,
By day, by night—in joy or woe—
By fears oppressed or hopes beguiled;
From every danger, every foe,
Oh, God ! protect my wife and child 1
Henry Bootes Jackson.
“RAIN-IN-THE-FACE.”
FBOM “BOOTS AND SADDLES,” BY MBS.
CUSTER,
I must preface my account of the oc
currence by going back to the summer
of the Yellowstone campaign. Two of
the citizens attached to the expedition,
one as the sutler, the other as the vet
erinary surgeon, were in the habit of
riding by themselves a great deal. Not
being enlisted men, much more liberty
than soldiers have was allowed them.
Many warnings were given, however,
and an instance fresh in the minds of
the officers of the killing by Indians of
two of their comrades the year before,
was repeatedly told them. One day
their hour of lingering came. While
they stopped to water their horses,
some Indians concealed in a gully shot
them within sight of our regiment, who
were then fighting on the hill, and did
not find the bodies for some time after
ward. Both of the murdered men
were favorites; both left families, and
regret and sympathy were general
throughout the command.
A year and a half afterward informa
tion came to our post, Fort Lincoln,
that an Indian was then at the agency at
Standing Rock, drawing his rations,
blankets and ammunition from the gov
ernment and at the same time boasting
of the murder of these two men. This
intelligence created intense indignation
in anr garrison. A detachment was
quickly prepared and started out with
sealed orders. No one was aware even
what direction they were to take. Gen.
Custer knew that it was absolutely
necessary that caution and secreay
should be observed. At the next post,
twenty miles below, there were scouts
employed. They would not fail to send
out a runner and warn the Standing
Rock Indians of the coming of the com
mand and its objects, if they could learn
what it was. When the runner carries
important news he starts with an even
gait in the morning and keeps it up all
day, hardly stopping to dnnk at the
stream he crosses. Such a courier would
outstrip a command of cavalry in the
ordinary time it makes on a march.
Accordingly Fort Rice was left behind
many miles before the orders were
opened. They contained directions to
capture and bring back an Uncapapa
Indian, called Rain-in-the-Face, the
avowed murderer of the sutler and the
veterinary surgeon. The command con
sisted of two officers and 100 men. The
General had selectee his brother to assist
in this delicate transaction, as he was
wont to do ever since they began their
life of adventure together during the
war. They arrived on the day that the
Indians were drawing their rations oi
beef. There were 500 at the agency
armed with the latest long-range rifles.
It was more and more clear that toe
much care could not be taken to prevent
the object of the visit being known tc
the warriors. An expedition had been
sent down once before, but news of its
intention had reached the agency in time
for the culprit to escape. He could not
refrain even after this warning from
openly vaunting his crime.
THE CAPTURE. •
In order, then, to conceal the purport
of their appearance at the agency, the
captain in command resolved to a ruse.
He sent fifty men to the camp, ten miles
away to make inquiries for these Indians
who had murdered citizenfl on the Red
River the year before. Col Custer was
ordered to take five picked men and go
to the trader’s store, where the Indians
resort constantly. This required great
coolness and extreme patience, for they
had to lounge about, seemingly indiffer
ent, until they could be certain the right
man was discovered. The cold made the
toe Indians draw their blankets around
; ‘hem and over their heads. There is
. never any individuality about their dresS,
! unless when arrayed for a council or
SUMMERVILLE, GEORGIA. WEDNESDAY EVENING, JUNE 3,1885.
dance. It was therefore almost impos
sible to tell one from the other.
Col. Tom had to wait for hours, only
looking furtively when these wary crea
tures were off guard. At last one of
them loosened his blanket, and with the
meager description that had been given
him Col. Tom identified him as
” KAIN-IN THB-FACE. ”
Coming suddenly from behind, he
threw his arms about him, and seized
the Winchester rifle that the savage at
tempted to cock. He was taken entirely
by surprise. No fear showed itself, but
from the characteristically stolid face
hate and revenge flashed out for an in
stant. He drew himself up in an inde
pendent manner to show his brother
warriors that he did not dread death.
Among them he had been considered
brave beyond precedent, because he had
dared to enter the agency store at all,
and so'encounter the risk of arrest. The
soldiers tied his hands and mounted
guard over him. About thiry Indians
surrounded them instantly, and an old
orator commenced a harangue to the
others, inciting them to recapture their
brother. Breathless excitement pre
vailed. At that moment the captain in
command appeared in their midst. With
the same coolness he had shown in the
war and during the six years of his In
dian campaign, he spoke to them
through an interpreter. With prudence
and tact he explained that he intended
to give the prisoner exactly the treat
ment a white man would receive under
like circumstances; that nothing would
induce them to give him up; and the
better plan to save bloodshed would be
for the chiefs to withdraw and lake with
them their followers. Seeing that they
could accomplish nothing by intimida
tion, or by superior numbers, they had
recourse to parley, and proposed to com
promise. They offered as a sacrifice two
Indians of the tribo in exchange for Rain
in-the-Face.
It was generosity like that of Artemus
Ward, who offered his wife’s relatives on
the altar of his country, for they took
care not to offer for sacrifice any but In
dians of low rank. Rriu-in-the-Face
was a very distinguished warrior among
them, and belonged to a family of six
brothers, one of whom, Iron Horse, was
very influential. The officers prevailed
in the end, and the prisoner was taken
to the cavalry camp. During the time
that the Indians were opposing his re
moval, the troopers had assembled
around the entrance, ready for qny
emergency, and prepared to escort the
murderer away. The Indians instantly
vanished; all went quickly and quietly
Io their camp, ten miles distant. Later
tn the day a party of fifteen mounted
warriors dashed through the agency to
the road beyond, which had to be taken
by our troopers on the way home. Os
course our officers expected an attack
from that party when they began their
homeward march; to their surprise, they
were unmolested. We learned afterward
that the mounted Indians went to the
camp of Two Bears to urge the young
braves there to combine with them in
the recapture of Rain-in-the-Face. Two
Bears had long been friendly to the
white man; he was too old to fight, and
prevented his young men from joining
in the contemplated rescue.
After the command had returned and
the officers reported, Gen. Custer sent
for Rain-in-the-Face, He was tall,
alright and young. His face was quite
imperturbable. In a subsequent inter
view the General locked himself in his
room with him. Through an inter
preter and with every clever question
and infinite patience he spent hours
trying to induce the Indian to acknowl
edge his crime. The culprit’s face
finally lost its impervious look and he
showed some agitation.
THE MURDERS.
He gave a brief account of the mur
der and then made a full confession be
fore all the officers. He said neither of
the white men were armed when at
tacked. He had shot the old man, but
he did not die instantly, riding a short
distance before falling from his horse.
He then went to him and with his stone
mallet beat out the last breath left Be
fore leaving him he shot his body full of
arrows. The younger man signaled to
them from the bushes, and they knew
that the manner in which he held up his
hand was an overture of peace. When
he reached him the white man gave him
his hat as another and further petition
for mercy. But he shot him at once,
first with his gun, and then with
arrows. One of the latter entering his
back; the dying man struggled to pull it
through. Neither man was scalped, as
the elder was bald and the younger had
closely cropped hair.
Two Indians, one of them Iron Horse,
had followed the cavalry from the
agency and asked to see their comrade.
The General sent for Rain-in-the-Face.
He came into the room with a guard at
his heels. He was dressed in mourning.
His leggings were black, and his sable
blanket was belted by a band of white
beads. One black feather stood erect
on his head. Iron Horse supposed that
he was to be hung at once, and that this
would be the final interview. The elder
brother, believing there was no hope,
was very solemn. He removed his
heavily beaded and embroidered buffalo
robe and replaced it with the plain one
that Rain-in-the-Face wore. He ex
changed pipes, also, giving him his
highly ornamental one that he might
afterward present it to the General.
The pipes are valuable, aa the materia
of which the bowls are made has to be
brought from Kansas. Then, finding
that there was a prospect of Rain-in-the-
Face having his trial in Washington, he
took off the medal that had been given
to his father by a former President,
whose likeness was in the medallion, and
placed it over the neck of his brother,
that it might be a silent argument in his
favor when he confronted the “Great
Father.”
It was an impressive and melancholy
scene. Iron Horse charged his brother
not to attempt to escape, saying that if
he did get back to the reservation he
would surely be recaptured. He be
lieved that he would be kindly treated
while a captive, and perhaps the white
chief would intercede for him to obtain
his pardon. After asking him not to
lose courage, they smoked again and
silently withdrew. In about ten days
Iron Horse returned, bringing a portion
of his tribe with him.
The Indians with Iron Horse came
directly to headquarters and asked for a
council. As many as could get into the
General’s room entered. There was
time, while they were preparing, to send
for the ladies, and a few of us were
tucked away on the lonngo with instruc
tions not to more or whisper, for my
husband treated these Indians with as
much consideration as if they had been
crowned heads. The Indiars turned a
surprised, rather scornful glance into the
“ladies’ gallery,” for their women are
always kept in the background. In re
turn for this we did not hesitate to criti
cise their toilets. They were gorgeous
in full dress. Iron Horse wore an elab
orately beaded and painted buckskin
shirt, with masses of solid embroidery of
porcupine quills. The sleeves and shoul
ders were ornamented with
a fringe of scalp locks.
Some of the hair we saw with a shud
der was light and wavy. I could not but
picture the little head “ running over
with curls” from which it had been
taken, for all the Indian locks I have
ever seen were straight and black.
The chief wore on his shoulders a sort
of cape, trimmed with a fringe of snowy
ermine. His leggings were a mass of
bead work. Ho wore a cap of otter with
out a crown, though, for it is their cus
tom to leave the top of the head uncov
ered. Three eagle feathers, that denote
the number of warriors killed, were so
f-steued in that they stood erect. There
were several perforations in each oar
f rom which depended bead car-rings.
He had armlets of burnished brass;
thrown around him was a beaded blanket.
The red clay pipe had the wooden stem
Inlaid with silver, and was embellished
with the breast feathers of brilliantly
plumaged birds. The tobacco bag, about
t vo feet long, had not an inch that was
not decorated. The costume was simply
superb.
Iron Horse began his speech in the
mnal high-pitched, unchangeable key.
He thanked the General for the care of
his brother, and the whole tenor of the
rest was repeated petitions to ask the
reat father in Washington to spare his
life. He then slowly took off his clabo
ate buckskin shirt and presented it to
ly husband. He ended by making
A SINGULAR BEQUEST,
which was worthy of Damon and
Pythias. Two sly young bravos in the
outer circle of the untitled, asked per
mission through their chief to share the
captivity of Rain-in-the-Face. I could
not help recalling what some one had
told me in the East, that women some
times go to the State Prison at Sing Sing
•.nd importune to be allowed to share
‘he imprisonment of their husbands or
brothers; but no instance is found in the
history of that great institution where a
man has asked to divide with a friend or
relative the sufferings ot his sentence.
After his two friends had left him,
Rain-in-the-Faceoccupied apart of the
guard house with a citizen who had
been caught stealing grain from the
storehouse. For several months they
had been chained together and used to
walk in front of the little prison for ex
ercise and air. The guard-house was a
poorly-built, insecure wooden building.
After a time the sentinels became less
vigilant, and the citizen, with help from
his friends outside, who were working
in the same way, cut a hole in the wall
at night and escaped.
He broke the chain attaching him t
the Indian, who was left free to follow
We found afterward that Rain-in-the-
Face did not dare to return to the reser
vation, but made bis way to the hostile
camp. In the spring of 1874 he sent
word from there by an agency Indian
that he had joined Sitting Bull, and was
awaiting his revenge for his imprison
ment
The stained waters of the Little Big
Horn, on June 25,1876, told how deadly
and fatal that was. The vengeance of
that incarnate fiend was concentrated
on the man who had effected his cap
ture. It was found on the battlefield
that he had cut out the brave heart of
that gallant, loyal, and lovable man, our
brother Tom.
Healing.—The healing power of
earthquakes is a subject for discussion
in the Spanish medical press. The state
ment is made that in the recent shake
up at Malaga most of the patients for
got their diseases and took to the open
air. The change agreed with them so
well that a few have only returned to
* the hospital.
A GREAT CROW ROOST.
HOW THE BIROS M AKE THINGS LIVE
1Y IN BUSHKILL, PA.
A Million (’or.. Stealeru <’npf nre the Woods
and Astound the Natives.
A letter from Bushkill, Pa., dated
April 14th, says:—As Simon Trauel, a
farmer, living near High Knob, in the
southwestern portion of this county,
was chopping in the woods about half
way up the mountain on Thursday last,
he was attracted by a flock of crows
which appeared suddenly from a south
ern direction and alighted in a high
tree a hundred yards away. After a
great deal of loud cawing the flock
arose and flew away in the direction
they had come. Trauel then went on
with his work.
About the middle of the afternoon,
an hour after the crows had taken their
departure, he happened to look south
ward, and saw that the sky was black
with some approaching object. In a
few minutes he discovered that it was
a immense flock of crows, which soon
swept into the Knob woods, and with a
thunder of wings and deafening clamor
of throats settled down into the trees,
whose leafless branches became black
ened with the birds from top to bottom.
For three hours flock after flock of
crows poured into the woods, until the
side of the hill for a space of more than
forty acres was covered so thickly with
them that big branches were split from
the trees beneath their weight. It was
nearly dark when the last crow found a
resting place in the woods, and mid
night came before quiet was restored in
the vast congregation.
The crows remained in the woods
until last Monday. Early every morn
ing flocks would start out from the col
ony, taking different directions, and
after being absent for an hour or so
would one after another return. Their
arrival was greeted with the wildest
commotion all through the woods, vo
ciferous cawing and flapping of wings
being kept up for some minutes. Then
other flocks would go out, to be mot
with the same hubbub on their return.
The news of the great crow roost spread
around the thinly-settled region, and
people came from far and near to see
and hear the crows.
On Saturday a number of the natives
agreed that it would boa good thing,
now that they had apparently all the
crows there were in the country within
reach, to make nightly raids on them,
and thus save a great deal of future loss
to cornfields. Accordingly, a party of
seven, armed with guns and long poles,
and some of them carrying torches, be
gan the work of destruction. They
reached the woods where the crows were
sleeping about nine o’clock. The
torches were lit, and the raiders entered
the woods. They had not proceeded far
when they were greeted with a yell of
defiance from 100,000 crows. The yell
was followed by hundreds of the birds
boldly attacking the invading party,
using both beak and claw with such
eflect that the surprised backwoodsmen
were forced to flee to save themselves.
They were followed to the edge of the
woods by flocks of infuriated crows, and
not a shot was fired nor a crow killed.
On Monday morning, for the first
time, not a flock left the woods, but all
was bustle, commotion, and noise among
the trees. Crows were darting in all
directions, uttering peculiar cries, and
evidently anxious to be everywhere at
once. Just before noon matters became
comparatively quiet, and then small
flocks began to emerge from the woods,
going in all directions. This exodus
continued until late in the afternoon,
when every crow had disappeared, and
none came back. The scene in the
piece of woods they had occupied is de
scribed as remarkable. Every tree had
one or more branches torn from it. and
they lay piled about on the ground as if
the trees had been swept by a whirl
wind. Every foot of ground was torn
up, plainly by the crows searching for
insects for food.
“Every spring,” says an old citizen of
toe village, “the crows, like wild
pigeons, gather somewhere about the
country to do their courting and mate.
This spring they happened to select the
High Knob, because the scouts they
sent out liked it, and guided the rest to
the spot. As the love-making pro
gresses flecks of crows go out to select
good nesting and foraging places. They
come back to the roost and report, and
a grand discussion is bad on that. After
these matters are all settled, and every
crow is mated, they form into flocks of
twenty or so, and, after they bid each
other good-by, leave for the respective
nesting places selected for them. Mon
day forenoon, when there was such a
commotion among the crows on the
Knob, they were taking leave of one an
other. There will probably never be
another crow roost in this part of the
country. Next year it may be in Ken
tucky.”
Settled It.—A negro brought suit in
a Georgia Justice’s Court for possession
of two shoats and a sow and pigs, and
gained it His lawyer, as soon as the
case was decided, settled the fees for
himself, Squire A., the lawyer on the
other side, and the court. “Well, Joe,
Squire A. will take one of the shoats.
I’ll take the other one, the Judge will
take the sow and pigs, and you’ve
gained the case.”
NO. 20.
DOMESTIC RECITES.
Julln Corson Tells us How to Cook Fish.
Bboiled Salt Mackebel with Butteb
Sauce.—Soak a salt mackerel over
night, laying it in plenty of cold water,
with the skin uppermost, so that the
salt may fall to the bottom of the water
after it is disengaged from the fish. In
the morning trim off the tail, fins and
point of the head; dry the mackerel,
put it between the bars of a double-wire
gridiron, well buttered to prevent stick
ing, and brown the fish over a hot fire;
while it is being browned boil some
potatoes, as directed in the following
recipe, and make a butter sauce; when
the potatoes' and sauce are ready, serve
them separately in hot dishes, and serve
the fish with some slices of lemon, or a
few sprigs of parsley or watercresses, on
the dish, as a garnish.
Butter Sauce for Broiled Mack
erel. —Put in a saucepan over the
fire a table-spoonful each of butter and
flour, and then stir them until they bub
ble; then gradually stir in a pint of boil
ing water, and when the sauce is smooth
season it with a level tea-spoonful of
salt, quarter of a salt-spoonful of white
pepper, and a table-spoonful of chopped
parsley or capers, if either is available;
after the sauce has boiled for two min
utes, add to it three table-spoonfuls of
butter, cut iu small pieces, and stir the
sauce until the butter is melted; do
not allow the sauce to boil after the but
ter is added; when the butter is melted
put in the juice of half a lemon, and
serve the sauce at once with the
fish.
Boiled Potatoes to Serve with
Fish. —Choose small, smooth potatoes of
even size, wash them and then peel
them, taking care to remove only a very
thin paring and to keep them smooth,
and laying each one in cold water as it
is peeled; when the fish is first put to
cook place the potatoes over the fire in
plenty of salted boiling water, and boil
them for ten minutes, or until they can
be easily pierced with a fork; do not al
low the potatoes to boil until they begin
to break, but drain them as soon as they
are tender; after draining the po
tatoes cover them with a clean
towel, folded several times and place the
saucepan containing them where they
will keep hot without burning until the
fish is done; the folded towel will retain
the beat and at the same time permit
the steam to escape, so that the potatoes
will be mealy and unbroken when they
are served. Potatoes may be boiled in
their jackets the same way, a thin ring
of paring being removed after they are
washed; as is the case with the peeled
potatoes, care must be taken to drain
the potatoes as soon as they are tender
enough to be pierced with a folk, and
they must then be covered with a folded
towel and allowed to steam.
A Chinese Intoxicant.
The spectacle of two Chinamen stag
gering along Smithfield street the other
night, evidently “three sheets in the
wind,” was one that excited some curi
osity. Whether they had been tanking
up after the most approved‘American
style on plain ordinary lager beer or old
Monongahela rye, was the question.
“They have a quiet little still of their
own,” was a remark of a habitue of
City Hall. “Chinaman don’t take kindly
tojjeer or whisky. They go to one
of their countrymen in town who deals
in the article and get a bottle of liquid
distilled from rice. I tell you it’s a
lively drink, too. Why stone fences
and Jersey lightning are like water when
put on a level with incopee. That’s
what the Chinamen call it. The Chinese
storekeepers in San Francisco import the
stuff and ship it to their agents in different
parts of the country. It is put up in
qneer-shaped bottles and looks some
thing like gin. You can get plenty of
it in town if you have a Chinese friend.
Just ask John Chinaman next time he
brings your washing to get you a bottle
of incopee and give him sl. It’s sur
prising how much these Mongols can
stand. They will sip incopee all even
ing and toddle home in single file with
out varying a shade "from a straight
line. Sometines though they get more
than they can carry, just like those
fellows you saw pass by. Why, if an
old toper on whisky were to try incopee
it would knock him out flat in three
rounds. It’s a mighty queer liquor
and a bad thing to fool with. If you
do yon will want to whip your mother
in-law and your best friend in half an
hour.—Ffttshurj? Dispatch.
An Extraordinary Confession.
James S. Lowell, of Lewistown, Me.,
who in 1874 was convicted of wife
murder and sentenced to death, and
whose sentence was afterward commuted
to imprisonment for life, made a full
confession of his crime to the prison
officials at Thomaston.
He said he took his wife to ride, and
when in a secluded spot a quarrel arose,
1 in which he inadvertently choked her to
1 death. He then cut off the head and
1 hid it under a log at a distance from the
> body, to make identification difficult.
'■ The body of the victim was not found
! until two years afterward, and it was
i then but a skeleton, so that the identifi-
• cation was not absolute. It was gen
-1 erally believed that Mrs. Lowell had
* run away with a circus, and many have
hitherto believed Lowell innocent.
THE OPPOSING FORCES.
FACTS ABOUT THE ARMIES OF ENG
LAND AND RUSSIA.
A lliiflainn Staff Offlcer’n Estimate of the
SirciiKtli of the Two Armies.
A reporter of the New York Herald
bad an interview in regard to the Anglo-
Russiau controversy, with a Russian
captain of the general staff, who is now
in New York city. The captain firmly
decfined to say anything concerning his
mission to this country, but spoke free
ly on other subjects.
“Which do you believe is the better
prepared for war, Russia or England ?”
asked the reporter. *
“Russia, certainly,” was the reply;
“and you may easily see that that is so
by comparing the forces of the two con
tending countries. As for Russia I will
give you the following particulars:—The
Russian army is composed of 192 in
fantry regiments of 3,500 men each, or
672,000 men all told; of the sharpshoot
ers, numbering 46,000 men; of the fron
tier battalions, comprising 27,000 men;
of cavalry, 48,000 men, and of Cossacks,
numbering 18,000 men. In the Russian
artillery there are about 80,000 men,
with 2,424 cannon of the foot artillery
and 150 canno n of the horse artillery.
Our engineer corps comprises about
27,000 men. Therefore the Russian
army, ready to move, consists of 920,000
men. Besides, there are the artillery
men stationed at different fortresses all
over the country to the number of not
less than 50,000 men. There are also
many local battalions for local duty. As
to the reserves, I may safely state that
they will amount to a half of the active
army as stated above—that is, about
450,000 men and 1,200 cannon. There
are also special recruiting forces, com
posed of experienced officers and men
and numbering 6,000, who would be
able in a short time to instruct and pre
pare for service ten times as many new
■recruits. In the Afghan war the Cos
sacks would be of great importance.
There are the Cossacks of the Don, of
the Kuban, of Orenburg, of the Trans-
Baikal, of the! Terek, of the Ural, of
Siberia, of Astrakhan and of the Amoor,
numbering 125,000 men ready to move
at short notice. The Cossacks have had
experience in actual war, and particu
larly in Turkestan. So you see in the
Afghan war they would be particularly
serviceable. You must understand that
so far I have spoken of the ordinary or
regular army. In case of need militia
can be called hundreds of thousands
strong. But I don’t believe that we will
need it.
“On the other side, in England,”
continued the captain, “there are about
160,000 men under arms. We may ad
mit that the royal militia numbers also
about 160,000, and the volunteer corps
about 230,000. That will make 550,000
all told, and that counting very liberally.
Now you have 1,545,000 on the Russian
side against 550,000 on the English side.
That is a big dfference, is it not ? Well,
we will not overlook the Indian army,”
continued the captain, after a pause.
“That army is officially stated at 188,-
000, and there are also 280,000 so-called
soldiers belonging to different Indian
princes who are under English rule.
We should also add the Afghan army,
numbering about 60,000. That will
make 528,000 men, which is a good ad
dition to the English forces. This ad
dition, however, is far from balancing
the large Russian army, to say nothing
of the immense inferiority of the In
dians and Afghans to the Russian sol
diers. Take, for instance, the Cossack,
of whom it is said, ‘he was born on
horseback and loves war like his sweet
heart,’ and pnt against him an Afghan
or an Indian, who knows nothing about
a rough, regular war, and you will have
a correct idea of the respective forces.”
*
To Get Her Whole Salary.
The Washington Republican says: It
has been discovered that a young lady
employed iu the Treasury Department
has for nearly two years given one-half
her salary, $62.50, to a lady outside of
the department. She was anxious to
obtain employment, and offered to give
one-half of her salary to anyone who
would secure her a position in the
Treasury. A lady possessed of influence
secured her a position. The young lady
is an excellent clerk, and the authorities
will see that she hereafter gets all of her
pay, even if they have to issue to her
another appointment in order to relieve
her from the obligation under which she
now is to the lady who secured her the
position.
■" -
A Dangerous Experiment.
One day last fall a small boy of White
Plains, N. Y., had his ears filled with
oats by some boys with whom he was
skylarking in a barn. The boy
scratched and cleaned out, as he
thought, all of the grain, and went
about his business. About six weeks
ago the boy was taken with a severe
pain in his ear. His head swelled up,
and he was in awful agony. All reme
dies failed, and his mother took him to
a physician, who removed two kernels
of oats which had sprouted and taken
root in the boy’s ear. He is now per
fectly well.
Q >
The Market.
The war in the Soudan has raised the
price of lions, and the unpleasantness
between England and Russia will put.
a premium on bears. The lookout
for poor people is growing blacker and
blacker; but it may afford them con
solation to know that a war between
the European nations would not in
crease the price of dogs.— Norristown
Herald.
1 -■
A NEW THEORY.
“I tell you all men are liars.
“Oh, not so bad as that”
“Yes, sir; every one of them.”
“How about George Washington ?
“He told the truth just once, and it
was so remarkable an act that they made
it a part of history.”— Chicago News.