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About North Georgia times. (Spring Place, Ga.) 1879-1891 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 24, 1885)
NORTH GEORGIA TIMES. 5&Sum&i COWBOYS WITH A LASSO. Thair Wonderful Skill in , Handling the Lariat. Throwing the Hope With Marvellous Pre¬ cision-Catching a Bull by the Hotns. Ih a letter describing life among the ^cowboys, a Montana letter to the Cleveland Leader says; I noticed a variety of lariats with a round-up party, nearly all of which were made -of the very best quality of hemp, twisted so extremely tight that it was almost impossible to untwist the 'strands. Others were made of sinew cords, and were braided very neatly, the ends or lassoing parts being grfeaSed ao as to slip easily. These lassoes were about sixty or seventy-five feet long, one-third of which forms the ■aoose, and when swinging it is grasped a little above the loop, so as to prevent ‘the same from slipping untjl launched through the air. The lasso is swung over tL- v ead and left shoulder and back over the right shoulder, a pe¬ culiar turn of the wrist a& it begins to return, keeping the loop wide open When flying through the air the noose takes a slightly oval form, but remains open and settles quietly around the object aimed at. McGaigan exhibited to me the modus operandi of handling the rope, and some of his feats per¬ formed in my presence were not only executed with marvellous precision, but were also beautiful to look at. This model cowboy is certainly an ex pert in his profession, perhaps the best rider and lassoist in the whole North¬ west. What Slosson is to billiards, McGaigan is to his profession. One afternoon, while loafing around the camp fire on the Musselshell, Mc¬ Gaigan and I got talking about the skill be had acquired in throwing cat¬ tle and I had little difficulty in per¬ suading him to let me into the secrets of his wonderful dexterity and actu¬ ally showing me some of the finer points of the business. Mounting our bronchos we rode off through the sage brush and out on the open prairie, Where numberless cattle were peace¬ fully munching the luxuriant buffalo grass. My friend had His best lariat fastened to the pommel of the saddle, and first showed me many fancy shots, throwing the lasso from or to any point, over either Shoulder, behind or in front. He caught a tremendous bull by the horns, who looked up in surprise and started off like a steam engine, but the pony bestrode by the cow-boy planted his forefeet firmly in the ground and checked Mr. Bull in his mad career before the latter got well started. The enraged steer went round and round in a circle at a 2.40 gait, the pony acting as a perfect pivot and turning slowly around with him, but it was no use ; the bull was a pris¬ oner and would have remained so had not McGaigan taken pity on him, and passed the wonderful ring down the Hne, upon which the rope leaped from around the horns and fell to the ground. McGaigan remarked that it was no credit to catch a bull by the horns, for he cannot be thrown by them, and is simply held as a prisoner, but the skill in throwing a lasso is to pitch the noose just in front of the animal when he is going at full gallop, so that at the next step he treads into it. He tried it on another bull while both of our ponies were jumping along on a dead run. The old fellow was going about as fast as we were, but the fa¬ tal loop shot through the air at a tan¬ gent and fell, wide open, just in front of him on the ground. The left fore¬ foot plunged square into the circle, the rope was tightened with a sudden jerk and the steer rolled over in the dust, as cleverly caught as anything l ever saw. The broncho, too, under¬ stood his part of the business thor¬ oughly, for he bore at the right mo¬ ment in the opposite direction, else he might have been thrown instead of the bull, to which he was much infe¬ rior in weight. McGaigan also caught great big steers galloping past at an angle by any leg I named. Not once was his judgment at fault The noose whizzing through the air in every di¬ rection went as true to the mark as a bullet shot from a rifle. I was much taken with the free and easy sort of life experienced by this round-up party and enjoyed the trip and camping out experience so hugely that 1 was almost tempted to give Up .profession of a scribe and become a cow-boy myself, and, but although I thought better ,efkit next day DhadHots SPRING PLACE, GEORGIA. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24. 1885. of fun and enjoyment, I concluded that cow-boy life must have its dark as well as its bright, sunny side; Tricking the Condors. Ned Conroy, of Clyde, N. Y., has recently come home from Chili, South America, where he made considerable money shooting condors. To a re¬ porter Conroy said: ‘ The Chili Government pays $5 for every condor’s head brought in, but most of the hunters soon get sick of the business. The condors are thicker than buzzards, but they can see a rifle further than a man can see a horse, and they catch on to all sorts of am¬ bushes in the neighborhood of a dead carcass almost before they are made. The nests are 12,000 feet above the level of the sea, sq it’s little use to hunt them in the mountains. They are trapped occasionally, and some are poisoned, but as a rule the business doesn’t pay, and the condors increase in number.” “How did you manage it ?’’ he was asked. “By playing off sick. Along the coast there are great stretches of sand, without vegetation, which are peril¬ ous to cross at all times, because of the heat and the liability of getting lost. It was my plan to start out at night, well provided with water, and seek a place under a big rock where I could find shelter and to which I could return by landmark. At midday I would start out in the broiling sun, walking briskly and describing a large circle. It was very easy to stagger after a while and fall, and then get up and stagger on again, keeping a good lookout for the birds all the time, lest one suddenly drop on me from behind. It. would take a very short time to bring them swooping around, waiting for the death of what they supposed was a worn-out traveller. Many a poor fellow has fallen down there on those sands and been torn to pieces before he was dead “When 1 found them getting thick I’d back up against the rock and throw stones at them and shout asdf I was wild with fear, and the great vultures would gather around just out of range of the stones, which I didn’t throw very hard, and sit on the sand and look at me sideways. Then was my opportunity. Pulling two navy re¬ volvers from under my coat, I’d let drive at them. They are wonderful in the air, but to get aloft they must-first run along the sand with wings spread for a couple of rods. It wasiaicold day when I didn’t get at least 'three, and one day I captured seven. That was a trick which the condors-didnft learn easily." The Extent of Human Travel. The movement of persons has un dergone quite as important a growth as that of goods. In the “Review ot the World’s Economy,” the number of passengers carried by all the. railroads in all parts of the world, in 1882, is estimated at 2,400,000,000, or an aver¬ age of six aDd a half million, a day. The absolute number of passengers carried on steamers is smaller; but here, as was also the case with goods, they are carried longer distances, and more days’ journeys, than in railrpads; so that, estimated by the mile or the day, the amount both of freight and passenger work the steamers do will appear to much better adva outage. The significance of the facilitation of passenger transportation is derived principally from its effects;, on social conditions, civilization, and customs. One of the most important of these effects is illustrated in emigration, which has assumed grand; dimensions under the operation of the new methods of communication. Of the twelve and a half million emigrants who went to the United States be¬ tween the recognition of “their inde¬ pendence and 1883, not more than a million belong to the timeiprevious to the establishment of regular passen¬ ger communication by steamer with Europe, about 1844. As a result of the establishment of this method of communication, and of the building of the railroads that opened the Miss¬ issippi Valley and the western part of the continent, emigration assumed colossal proportions. Besides; the ame¬ lioration of the voyage, which has be¬ come an affair of not moreithan ten or twelve days for emigrant-vessels, the improved fare, the cheaper rate of pas¬ sage, and the punctuality and in¬ creased safety of the transit, may be marked as circumstances and,contrib¬ uting to this result.— Popular > Science Monthly ; PEARLS OP THOUGHT. The mind grows narrow in propor tlon as the soul grows corrupt Flattery is a species of false coin which only our vanity enables to pass current. He that calls a man ungrateful, suras up ail the evil a man can be guilty of. We In vain summon the mind to in¬ tense application when the body ia in a languid state. If you are determined to live and die a slave to custom see that it is at least a good one. One of the greatest blessings you can enjoy is a tender, honest, enlight¬ ened conscience. Venture not to the utmost bounds of even lawful pleasure; the limits of good and evil join. There is almost no man but sees clearer and sharper the vices in a speaker than the virtues. To avenge one’s self is to confess that one has been wounded, but it is not the part of a noble mind to be wounded by an injury; a great mind, and one which is conscious of its own worth, does not avenge an injury, be¬ cause it does not feel it. A Sharp-Sighted Engineer. “Keep a sharp lookout while on the run ?” echoed an engineer. “Should say we did. The man that tries to run an engine without keeping his eyes peeled gets left sooner or later. I’ve heard about fellows out West that would start out on a run with a board reaching across from the driver’s seat to the fireman’s, and a deck of cards, but I never tried that. J ust to show you how necessary it is for a man to keep his eye on the rails ahead of him let me tell you a little story. “I was running along one night in Ohio some years ago. It was a blowy, rainy, nasty night, and in times like that a man is doubtly watchiul. For hours I never took my eyes from the wet, glistening rails ahead of me, ex¬ cept, of course, when we stopped at stations. All at once I saw in front of me—how far. ahead I couldn't tell —a glimmer of light. Ilf was just a spark. I barely saw it, before it dis¬ appeared. Was it a lightning bug? I hadn’t seen any that night. What was it? That I couldn’t answer. But my instinct told me to stop the train, and stop I did. It was mighty lucky I looked at it that way, for that glim¬ mer of light commenced in the oddest way. You couldn’t guess it in a week “A farmer was walking along the track when he discovered a short bridge so badly washed out by the freshet that to run upon it with a train meant a wreck. He tried to start a fire with paper and his clothing but couldn’t do it. He had one match left He kept that till I got close to him, his plan being to strike that match, hold it in his hat, and wave it across the track as he had seen the brakeman do when they wanted to signal stop. It was his hope that 1 would see the blaze before it was blown out. “He no sooner struck the match than out went the blaze. It was merely a flash, but I saw it, and the farmer had saved the train. What if I hadn’t made it a rule to keep my eyes peeled along the rails every min¬ ute while running ?”—Chicago Herald A Disastrous Practical Joke. A practical joke played upon a Cro¬ atian peasant has nearly oaused the destruction of the chemical laboratory of the University of Agram. The peasant, who was coming with hie wife into Agram, separated from her, agreeing to meet her a few hours later at a certain place. As she delayed her return, he expressed his anxiety to a bystander, who told him in jest, that his wife had probably been kidnapped by the university vivisectors, who made it their business to cut up wo¬ men and children. The wife came up soon afterward and went home with her husband ; but the latter repeated what he had heard, and the resalts have been most serious. On Whit Sunday an infuriated mob of peasants attacked the laboratory, crying, “Down with the hell kitchen!" and had to he beaten off by soldiers. The university has since been watched every day by evil-disposed crowds and there was another attack the succeed¬ ing Sunday. All the servants of the university have left their situations, and the professors have had to ask for police protection, being in terror for their lives. WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN. How Lincoln Might Have Escaped Assassination. _ Postponing an Engagement that Ha Had Made for the Fatal Friday. A Long Branch letter to the Phila delphia 1 imett says : •Had President Lincoln kept an en gageinent lie made with me he might perhaps be living still,” said Mr. Ran¬ dall, of New York, formerly of St. Louis, the other evening. Mr. Ran¬ dall is the father of Mrs. Garrison and t|ie piazza conversation of her residence took place here. on When the urged to tell the story of how this could be, he mentioned that during the latter part of the winter of 1865 he, knowing the state of affairs in the p|rt of Missouri within the confeder lines and in the adjacent States, where Kirby Smith, with 20,000 men, was only held in check and kept from making raids by 60,000 men of the lAiion army, and, being aware that Kirby Smith and his men, having had no pay or clothing issued to them for six months, were greatly dissatisfied, and were maddened by the knowledge of’ the necessities of their wives, children, mothers and sisters, who were actually bare footed as well as otherwise scantily clothed, thought that he would try by peaceable means to rid that part of the country of Smith and his men and prevent their making any more riids. This he sought to do by getting permission for Union men to buy their cotton, which he knew was packed ready for sale, and permitting the destitute Southerners to buy the necessities of life in return. He opened negotiations with Presi¬ dent “DJfck Lincoln at Washington through Yates, who at one time was Governor of Illinois, and represented to him the wise policy of adopting the plgn^ie proposed, for he said there were no other Confederates in arms in that part of the country, and he felt convinced the plan he urged would ef fectjmfiy mei&ind that dispose of Smith and his menejoto buy the nec¬ essaries of life procured by the sale of cotton and the opportunity given to purchase such supplies would, he thought, convert some of them into good union men, whilb it would in¬ duce all to cease raiding. “And if you do not buy their cotton,” Mr. Randall plead, “they will burn it as soon as they see Federal troops approaching to seize it It is ready alike for sale or for the torch.” He wenc to see Presi¬ dent Lincoln finally himself, and suc¬ ceeded in convincing him of the wis¬ dom of the proposed plan and secured the necessary permit to stock a boat with supplies and to send it and pur¬ chasers of cotton to proper points on the Mississippi, whence negotia¬ tions might be opened for the pur¬ chase of the cotton so much needed in Northern factories and for the sale of food and clothing to the starving, rag¬ ged Confederates. All seemed likely to go well, the boat was duly fitted up and stocked at great expense and started on her trip, but unfortunately delays were made by the naval officers commanding our squadron on the Mississippi and by army officers guarding posts on land, and the vessel was not allowed to pro¬ ceed. Finally, after many attempts to set matters right, Mr. Randall de¬ termined to go to Washington again, see Mr. Lincoln, Stanton and Welles and send the boat which had already cost a large sum to its destination President Lincoln first rrfade an ap¬ pointment to see Mr. Randall at the White House on F riday evening, April 14,1865, and the latter was about to take a train from New York, whither he had gone, to Washington to keep the engagement when he received a telegram saying that the President preferred to postpone the conversation until Saturday evening, because he wished to have time, when it took place, to talk at length with Mr. Ran¬ dall and on Friday he wished to go see Laura Keene in “Our American Cousin.” So Mr. Randall started from New York Friday night to keep the en¬ gagement for Saturday evening, and on reaching Baltimore next morning was amazed to find his train under arrest, the order having been issued to allow no trains to leave that city in any direction, and was appalled to learn that the cause of this was the assassination of President Lincoln in Washington the previous night. VOL. V. New Series. No. 33. What Causes Thunder J A Rock Hill (Md.) correspondent ! of the Country Gentleman answers this question as follows: I have often ' [ ... . „ P chlorophyl (the green coloring of leaves) after a thunderstorm, and as bite peculiar blue principle is a nitro genized compound, which, mingling with the yellow, gives the rich green to the foliage, the question may be asked whether an extra supply of ammonia did not enrich the rain after the thunderstorm. To enter more fully into the subject, the inquiry might be further asked, what caused the thunder, and its solution may ex pi a j n the supply of ammonia or nitric ^cid found in the rain after a storm, As is well known, the air is a mixture of 78 parts nitrogen and 22 oxygen. If by any electrical action these two gases are induced to combine together three compounds may appear; first, nitrous acid, 14 parts nitrogen and 24 parts oxygen; second, hypernitrous acid, 14 parts nitrogen and 32 oxygen, and thirdly, nitric acid, 14 parts nitro¬ gen and 40 parts oxygen. The sudden formation of either of these acids in the atmosphere will explain the theo¬ ry of thunder. Again, if by electrical action the suspended water in the air were decomposed, i. e., hydrogen and oxygen separated into a gaseous or normal state, and three parts of hydro¬ gen should suddenly unite with 14 parts of nitrogen, ammonia would suddenly come into full view, followed by a clap of thunder, and the falling rain would quickly carry this ammo¬ nia to the hungry grass or grain. Any one who is familiar with the violent report following the sudden combina¬ tion of the gases in a soap bubble, will fully appreciate what a violent report would follow from the combination of a few pounds of hydrogen and nitro¬ gen, or oxygen and nitrogen. As both of these compounds of nitrate of am¬ monia (nitric acid and ammonia) 1 are found in rain water, the most concen¬ trated form of nitrogen is presented to the plant, without the roundabout way of getting it through old leather, or old hair and wooL • Photograph tho Baby. Apart from the obvious sentimental reason why parents cannot afford to let the days and months slip by with¬ out having their little one photo¬ graphed, there is a more occult and scientific value in a pictured record of progressive child life. The sun is an unflattering reporter. The advance in intelligence and in the healthful development which is beauty of the best kind to the eye of science, or the gradual retrogression in either or both, may escape the eye of persons who are in constant association with the sub¬ ject of the subtle change. Comparison of the sun-portrait of to-day with one taken a year or eighteen months ago will reveal the change to the intelli¬ gent observer. In some instances the stealthy advance of disease has been announced to those most interested in the victim’s welfare by the shock of discerning a new expression in the eye; in noting the altered contour of the face and lines of pain or langour which have been transferred to the sensitive plate. As faithfully it be¬ trays the slight obliquity of vision, the habitual scowl, the truth that one shoulder is higher that the other, or that an inclination to stoop is narrow¬ ing the chest.— Babyhood. Tea-Loving InseWs. Every animal and plant has its para¬ site, and from this general law, it seems, the tea-plant is not exempt. Two insects are described by Science as spending their lives in tea-drinking. They are the plague and pest of the Assam tea gardens, and are known as the “tea-bug” and “tea-mite ” The mites spend their entire lives on the tea plant, and are never known to attack any other leaf. |They live in families and societies on the upper side of the full grown leaf, and spin a del cate web for shelter, They then punc¬ ture the leaves and pump out the liquid in the plant veins. They seem to become very dainty in their tastes, for a sprinkling of muddy water . over their floor and teatable is the only remedy known to check their ravages. Even this is not always effectual. The tea-bug is still more destructive and is evidently possessed of an appre¬ ciation of the best kinds of tea, since it always attacks those of a mild and delicate flavor. Such as afford harsh and rasping liquors are almost entire | ]y free from ita attacks. Chair and Grain. “Each story oi a soul is great; but who shtt11 writ6 {t > for who know » what make* the s r *® tn «“ ? Or, who oan sift it and bring out the grain, "'"Taffr ''”' 1 clea " lrom tha 0W ‘°“ Un # who can the dross dissever from the gold r who estimate the little or the great Even in oue human word T Or who shake oat The tolded feelings of a human heart ? Or who unwind tho ono hour’s ravelled thoughts Of one poor mind even in its idlest day ?" ‘•The balances of man are all untrue; His weights and eyes deceitful. Ho may write The story of a pebble or a rock, The annals ot a bottle or a worm; But the great story of his own vast being, The hills and valleys ot liis life, he cannot; A life made up of but a few short years, And yet containing in its troubled ronnd Tempests and tides and changes, failures, con¬ quests In daily flux and reflux without ond. — Horatim Bonar. HUMOROUS. A caucus—a crow. A commentator—the ordinary boiled one. “You rascal!” “Why do you call me a rascal? i didn’t call you a pumpkin-head.” Slippers are now manufactured en¬ tirely of paper, but the small boy must not prematurely rejoice thereat. The bang is said to be coming in fashion again. On doors closed by servant girls it is worn very loud. “No, sir,” lie said to the captain, “I’m not seasick, but I am deucedly disgusted with the motion of the vessel.” “What is an epistle ?” asked a Sun¬ day-school teacher of her class. "The wife of an apostle,” replied the young hopeful. That ladies easily learn to play the violin is not surprising when their experience in handling beaux is taken into consideration. ’Tis sweat to court Wheu there’re only two. But uphill work If there’re more of you. It is said that .lean Ingelow never gets tired of writing poetry. No, of course not. That’s a way poets have. It’s the ones who read the poems, who get tired. A distinguished physician says pi¬ ano playing will quiet a raving maniac. We may remark that the same is true of hitting a maniac over the head with a base-ball bat. Ross Browne, the traveler, in de¬ scribing Smyrna, remarks that he saw but one person there who seemed to be doing anything, and he was falling from the top of a house. A wise exchange says “only one woman in a thousand can whistle.” This probably results from the fact that so long as a woman can talk she doesn’t care to whistle. Miss Amanda has just had a quiet tete-at-tete with Lieutenant Eligible, and was asked by her guardian how she liked his conversation. “Oh, im¬ mensely. There’s a ring in his voice.” “Johnny, what were you saying to that dog?” asked a mother of her little son. “I was just talking to him. I told him, ‘You have a good time of it. You don’t have to wash your face or comb your hair, and you don’t even have to go to school.’ ” “My son,’ said a fond father to his little son, whom he had been punish¬ ing by the use of the rod for the first time: “my son, I hope this has taught you a lesson.” “Yes, pa,” the little fellow sobingly replied: “it’s taught me that it is better to give than to re¬ ceive." Conjurer (pointing to a large cabi¬ net)—Now, ladies and gentlemen, al¬ low me to exhibit my concluding trick. I would ask any lady in the company to step on the stage and stand in this cupboard. 1 will then close the door. When I open it again the lady will have vanished without leaving a trace behind. Gentlemen (in the front seat aside to his wife)—“I say, old woman, do me a favor and step up!” Cruel Man. “Who made this cake?” asked Dobbs of his young wife as he chewed on a piece. “I did, my dear,” she answered with pride. “Um—urn,” he continued testily, “what kind is it?” “Angel cake, darling.” “Um—um—good name for it—man will be pretty sure to go there if he eats very much of it."—Merchant Traveler .
