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About North Georgia times. (Spring Place, Ga.) 1879-1891 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 1887)
*• -. : -*£f “'4 .i.’TSC fiffite*.- K , ■ IA TIMES NORTH i ■ > gyal ipSfi k r.r *’ p;1 pvif ^ ft - a2 ■» Vol. VII, New Series. In Fields of Corn. In Fields of corn tlje sunbeams creep, Where cups of crimson poppies steep And litt^ drpp their drowsy dreams until ■ Th* Winds g^W faint and still, On rriurmurtag leafy seas asleep, In fields of com. V The yollow kernelsfcld and keep X ” The mellow wealththa seasons heap, And happy orioles pause and trill In fields of corn. In fields of corn the truant sheep Through red-tipped tangled tassels peep, Where silky tufts in crinkles spill From silvery 1*41 the ripe ears fill ' ' W hherdadeep, 0 —[Evaleen Stein. JUANITA’S FATE. BY HUBEltT 0. BAXCIIOFT. * , In the early mining days of Califor¬ nia it was very rarely that the rough men laid hands upon a woman to mete out justice to her. About the only sen¬ timent that had withstood the hard life of the mines was that laid iu earlier days by the the tender influence of mother, sister or wife, and this 1 had become soft¬ ly intensified. So woven among the libers of the heart was it, so miugled with the sensuous blood, so wrapped within the folds of passionate imagination that, ^ like ash-covered coals, the dream- the aspect without the warmer glowed the i jBwithii). Ii. Ayhat {nattered she not ;slic so much Jo ... was might be '' or ns wicked as Jezebel, KL 1 ’impersonation of their fan tlio expression of their of the and r ‘^^wj^ild, indeed, must have L Cftl! at T ; 'j "‘“t maddened them 2P >Ulan ’ mu * never wa9 ' 1130n ' rvo ..rath ’ manifest than more .uc miners of the Yuba for miles on either side of Downioville, when on the morning of July 5, 1851, it was known that a comrade had been slain, butchered with a long, sharp lost kliifc^y a woman. S-.x was suddenly s| of, obliterated by the whirl of passion, hlft«#»'.ecat tfhich loft nothing in sight lyttt ‘ Joa- ©amron ‘I | t to tho heart by bithy:? The 1: a woman 1, words were appalling. Joe was the favorite of the camp, the finest fellow that ever swung a pick or dislodged a bowlder.- lie was over six feet high, straight as a poplar, with limbs as cical¬ as those of a newly-barked madrono. His nearly 240 pounds of weight was all muscular, liis chest was like that of an ox, and the arms of Hercules hung from his shoulders. And yet he would uot harm a fly; though his sinews wero hard his heart was softness itself. Joe gone! Stabbed to death, and by a woman 1 Joe was the soul of honor. He knew noth ing of cheating and chicanery. He was not very learned,- being single and sim¬ ple in his thoughts, and doublo dealing no place in liis nature. Ho liked his occasional frolics, but, though lie could laugh and carouse with the best of them, ho was kinder in his cups, if possible, than out of them. There was no poison in his heart that the fiery liquid could bring to the surface. In nobleness ho was a giaut, in guile a child. Joe Cannon dead! Stabbed in the breast, and by a woman! Slowly the full force of the tintli was realized. All along the muddy Yuba and up its discolored tributaries the tidings spread from claim to claim like an electric message, until for miles around Downieville were heard the cries of VMurder!” “Joo Cannon killed!” “Cut to the heart by l” 1 They a woman dropped pick, pan, and shovel; water was left to run to waste and tho gold unwatclied in the bottom of tho sluice boxes; from up and down the Yuba and from its discolored tributaries a stream of angry miners began to pour into town. Five thousand men were gathered in Downieville that day. Mingling with the miners that thronged the streets were traders, packers, gamblers, politicians, and professional rascals. The deed was done at 10 o’clock, and in an hour later a dense crowd pressed around the unfinished tenement of split boards into which the unfortunate man was carried. AVithin lay tho dying miner upon a puncheon floor. Standing around the prostrate form were half a score of miners fresh from their work, with woolen shirt sleeves rolled up above the elbows and overalls tucked into the tops of their ponderous and muddy boots. Silent¬ ly and solemnly they ijtood with grizzled heads uncovered and slightly bowed, while on the contracted brows and com¬ pressed lips sorrow and anger struggled for mastery. Silence within and with¬ out, until at length the murdered miner ceased to breathe; then from the deep stillness a faint murmur began, which gradually grew to a low and terrible buzz. Fresh arrivals came pouring iu. strangers asked. Who is he? Who SPRING PLACE. GEORGIA •RSDAy. DECEMBER 1, 1887. * killed him? Where is the murderer? Presently the centre of the mass began to suTge in a definite direction; they were full enough of purpose then’. Most significant of all was the almost silent buzz, which was the low purring of the blood-thirsty beast about to spring upon its prey. She was only 24, and a little woman, too. Scarcely five feet in height, with slender, symmetri cftl %uve, agile and extremely graceful in her movements; with soft skin of olive hue, l«#g black hair, and dark, dee Iustrom ^ Hev name was ^ ^ y pBnish blood WIS di . '®ed with the aboriginal American. The man she killed could have picked her up with one baud aud tossed her into the Yuba River. Although Joe Cannon was a staDvar Britisher, he could not let the immortal Fourth pass by without assisting m its celebration. Any day was* worthy of celebrating to him in which his com¬ rades would turn out and carouse in company. And this time they had made a glorious night of it. He and the rest of them were very drunk and conse¬ quently very happy. Front store to store, from house to house, up and down alt the streets they went, rapping up.thedmnates, compelling the master of the house to treat and join them. It was rare fun. Passing the * premises of a Mexican Mimic dealer, Joe Cannon kicked at the door. As he was not in a condition to stand steadily on one foot, he gave it a little harder blow than Was necessary; Tor the door was secured only by leather hinges and it fell in. At least the boys told him so next' morning —that he had kicked in the Mexican door. That was all right, said Joe. He knew the monte dealer well, and had often bet an ounce or two in passing his table; the damage could not bo great; he would go round after breakfast, pay for it, and apologize. True, there was the wife; she perhaps mightnot appreciate the foreign patriotism which disturbed her rest— but she. was a bashful, retiring little thing and no one thought of her. Ap- 3im fours!, ths door still down. The' Mexican was within; placing a hand on either- door-post to steady himself, for his head seemed as big as a barrel and his legs were a little shaky, he began to talk to tlio man in broken Spanish, as best ho could. Sud¬ denly from a corner where she had lain concealed the little woman sprang up and quick as a flash threw herself upon the strong man’s breast and buried her knife in his bosom. It was all done in an instant', nnd he who had come to make reparation for n trivial injury com¬ mitted iu a niomfcnt of music, he, the jiunge of physical perfection and the pride of the camp, lay as dead. Why did she do it? Did this man visit her house to insult her? Had they met at any time, and was there ill-will existing on cither side? No one knew. All those miners knew or cared to know w'as that it was a monstrous punishment for so slight a thing. And now, when the enraged miners, with a blow of the list, burst in her door nnd stood beforo her, Juanita mani¬ fested not the slightest four; and yet she knew she must die. It was not defi¬ ance nor brazon impudence; she assumed no character; she acted ouly on tho primary impulse of her nature, and that was stoical submission to inexorable fate. She knew that she must die, and that was the end of it. Within range of a pistol shot were 2,000 men, every one of whom harbored at that moment a deter¬ mined purpose sufficient to insure her death, aud she knew it; the very cer¬ tainty of the result seemed to destroy the sting of death. Hastily putting in place some scattered articles and glanc¬ ing carefully at her dress—she was al¬ ready attired in her best—she signified her readiness to go. The blaze of angry eyes aud the frowning faces were all lost on her; she was thinking of her own af¬ fairs, thinking how she should send something to her friends; thinking about her household, and how her husband would do in lior absence. A large pavilion that had been erected for the celebration ceremonies of the day before still stood near the centre of the town; there was a raised platform with chairs aud table, making it just the place for the occasion, and there the dark-eyed, bashful little murderess was conducted by her guard of 2000. Twelve men eagerly responded to the call for a jury; happy he who could have a part in this gentle strangulation. Glancing at each other and at the min¬ ers around them, they seemed to say: “All is safe and settled; woman or no woman, she hangs.” Lawyers for the defense were backward in presenting themselves, but there were twenty for the prosecution. Probably in tho his¬ tory of mobs there was never a form of trial more farcical than this. Had they hanged the woman immediately, our re¬ spect would be greater^ Than .when we see a criminal so absolutely and univer¬ sally prejudiced and sentenced be¬ fore trial. It was wholly unlike * the procedure of the customary popula tribunal. It seemed that on the instant the miners had not only thrown aside their usual chivalrous adoration of sex, but that now they would wreak their relentless wrath upon the object of their abhorrence with all the force they possessed. That there was so little of this, woman do pulverize and scatter seemed to exasperate them. A humane physician mounted the staud and testified that she was not in a fit condition to be hanged. Wluit such testimony lmd to do with tho case no¬ body knew or cared. A howl of disap¬ proval followed; the good doctor was driven from the stand, driven from the town, and dared uot return or show himself for several days. As there was not a lawyer who had the courage to de¬ fend her, a gentleman attempted a speech iu behalf of the prisoner, but he was beaten oS the platform, kicked from the tribunal, and kicked along the passage-way that opened through the dense crowd without until he reached the limits of the town and was glnd to escape across the river with liis lint and nittte behind him. At a hotel overlook¬ ing fhc tribunal was a candidate running for Congress; he was besought to go out and speak to the mob, but had no nm bitiou that way. He was uot of the stuff of which martyrs are made. There were times aud pinces for all things; a time for advocating law and order, and a timo for refraining from it, and this in the eyes of this country-server clearly was a time for silence. So Juanita was tried; but the trial was a sad, one-sided affair, .» in which there was a total absence of that love for fair play so‘ characteristic of the American miner. Nb one dared to say a word for her; for a moment tho men of that region seemed inspired by Satan to tho doing of Ills infernal will. When tho verdict was formally declared .luauita gave a quiet little laugh, as i f to say, How droll! These great American men think in this aping of ancient forms they have given their prisoner a trial. Juanita made her will, verbally, in tho four hours allowed her before execution, arranged licr affairs; and gave her few effects away. During it all her courage carried her far beyond the usual stolid fortitude of her race. At a time when men tremble nnd pray, she was her natural self, neither gay nor sad. She was as far from looking light¬ ly on the matter as from giving way to senseless sorrow. Near at hand a bridge spanned the Yuba. Its builder had left two uprights, near its middle, with a beam across, us if for tho express pur¬ pose of hanging. It was just the place for tho occasion, and Juanita walked down to the bridge with a light, elastic step,surrounded by licr friends, chatting quietly with them on the way. She shook hands with them all, but not a tear nor a tremor was visible. She mounted a step-ladder to a scantling that had been tied for her to stand upon. She took from her head a man’s hat that had kindly been placed there by some friend, and shied it with lin¬ erring accuracy to its owner, smiling her thanks. Then, with quick dexterity, she twisted up her long black tresses, smoothed her dress, placed the noose over her hend, and arranged the rope carefully. Aud finally lifted her hands, which slic had refused to have tied, exclaimed, “Adios senoresl” and the fatal signal was given. —[Chicago Trib¬ une. A Dish of Scorpions. A curious dish was prepared the other day for a British traveler in Mexico. The attendants served up au omelet, and the servants partook very heartily of the dainty morsel, but the traveler mistrusted the food owing to certain black particles mixed therein. Inquir¬ ing as to the nature of the suspicious in¬ gredients, he could scarcely believe his ears when tlio reply was given, “Oil, those are scorpions,” and an investiga¬ tion proved this to he true, the lower order in Mexico thus utilizing the young scorpions, which are dug out, hundreds in a nest, their sting being cut off be¬ fore cooking. The King Headed the List The King of Persia once ordered his vizier to make eut a list of all the fools in bis dominions. He did so, and put his majesty’s name at the head of them. The king asked him why, and he im¬ mediately answered: “Because you en¬ trusted a lac of rupees to men you don’t know to buy horses for you a thousand miles off, and who’ll never conic hack.” “Ay, but suppose they come back? 1 “Then I shall eraso your name and in¬ sert theirs.” SHAlfc. 111*.' PWm . V. ,v.| f The : ^ k "Captain of the Har f” at San Domingo. ovffqari Divers Defend Thcm selveb From the Monsters. * ‘ ‘Tn-tk about sharks! you should* see the big fellows thoy have in the ^harbor of San Domingo. The speaker Was an old him r-^oaptain explore whose voyages haye o\ led -v> ^Vhat every region the globe 4 wo consider a big shark in these nhters would be a very small one tltereT’ he continued. “The slaugh¬ ter h**ftse ; where beeves aud sheep are kilted .fcwrfy day to supply the city of San tijHiihgo with meats stands upon a rocky eminence overlooking the harbor. Theishark'i come every day at a certain time tq feed upon the offal thrown into tho water. There are hundreds of them, and the way they fight is terrible to see. Some of them jump out of the water in tails, furvjmd *’ lash it into foam with their One big fellow, fully 20 feet iu length, is called by the San Domingoans the “captain of the harbor.’ Ho is ' ex ceedhrgly fierce and lias killed several mtfhjdready, Every seafaring man who has visited the harbor of San Domingo knows him, for lie is the first shark to mak = an appearance in tho wake of a vessel, lie was first seen iu the harbor twent': yenjrs ugo, and lus fouud the living so good thoru that ho has never heft ft since, I suppose he is tho most celebrated shark iu the world. “It is tho popular belief that divers fcrpoarlsjuKl sponges in waters where sharks abound incur terrible risks, but this is not true. A careful ranu has nothing to fear. Ho goes into the water heavily weighted, has a diver’s helmet on Ills head which enables him to re¬ main under the surface for a long time, pnd is usually armed with a long sheath knife. When he sees a shark approach¬ ing, Which iu those clear waters may be perhaps 100 yards off, Ire has only to lie of the sea, and no living shark can harm him. Sharks aro compelled to turn over on their backs before they can seize their prey. Their mouths aro placed so far back of tlioir long snouts that it is only by swimming under their victims nnd turning, that they can use their vicious jaws with effect. Tho diver out¬ wits them by doing as I have described. Sometimes a shark will try to route him out from his position, but a few stabs of the sheath knife settles that matter speoclily. The wounded shark swims off with the speed of an arrow and the diver pulls his rope aud is hauled to tho surface. Most of the men killed in the pearl ami sponge fisheries are native divers who venture into the water naked without any means of defence other than a knife. They cau stay under water for only a minute or two at a time, and if a shark approaches they must cither fight him or rise rapidly to tlio surface and climb into the boats. Even under such disadvantageous circumstances few of them lose their lives. “The greatest danger to bo feared in the presence of a shark is the paralysis of fear. Bhavks unless very hungry will not attack a man while in motion. They swim around with longing eyes waiting for one moment when their victims shall remain quiet, and then make their on¬ slaught. On the coast of Africa tho natives fight sharks fearlessly. They enter the ocean naked, having first oiled their bodies in order that they may slide tnrough the water easily. Their only weapon is a stout stick about two feet in length sharpened at both ends. The water is so clear that they cau see fir hundreds of feet around them. When a shark swims toward them they wait un¬ til the moment he turns on his back and as he opens his jaws to seize them they thrust the stick crosswise into his mouth, and swim off. The shark’s mouth being held open by the stick, he is soon drowned, when tlio natives tow him ashore and feast upon his flesh. For my part I do not believe that sharks are na¬ tive to American waters. I have heard old seamen say that they came from Africa, following iu the wake of the first slavers that came to this country. Those vessels were always so overcrowd¬ ed that many died on the voyage and were thrown overboard. The sharks fed upon their bodies until they reached this side of tho ocean.—[Mail aud Ex¬ press.' A Plausible Theory. Old Mrs. Beutly - (in an art gallery reading the warning: “These are valu¬ able Old Masters and must not be touched.”) — ‘ ‘AVhat’s that fer, d’ye s’pose?’ - Old Mr. Bently-- “I guess the paint t-n ’em ain’t dry yet.--[8iftings. 4 f* A Man’s Wants. Some thoughtless people may imagine tlmtiootting out for one’s self involves no one else's interests. But human beings were made for society, and with wants whigh .Clean require the many East, providers. where do in they not require as much clothing as in coldei climates, gave up all worldly concerns and retired to a wood, where he built a hut and lived in it. His ouly clothing was apiece of cloth which he wore round his waist. But, ns luck would have it, rats h4d were plentiful in the wood, so lie to keep a cat. The cat required milk to keep it, so a cow had to he kept. The cow required tending, so a cowboy was employed. The boy required a house to liv<j in, so a house was built for him. To look.after the liouso a maid had to be engaged. To provide company for the mnid a few more houses had to be built and people invited to live in them. In this manner a little township sprang up. The man said: “The farther we seek to go from the world and. its cares the more they multiply 1” This man must have soon sickened of his passion for solitude; for if he had really wanted to bo alone lie could have succeeded better than ho did. But tho parable is a rough lesson in political economy, showing, that solitude is against the law of nature.—(Good Cheer. An Oriental Morning Prayer. Tho Sultan, writes ©live Harper, stands erect with his face to tho east, and his feet on liis praying carpet, and placing the thumbs of each hand under each ear, ho spreads liis hands like wings, lifting his oars upward as if to catch any sound from heaven, nnd with his hands in this position must turn first to the right and spit then to the left, and then dropping his hands to his side hold them rigid while ho bends his knee and then his whole body forward from his knees until his forehead touches the floor three times. Ho repeats his prayer in this position nnd gets upon his * feet again without touching liis hands to the floor aud again makes wiugs of hit ears and again tepits right and left and his prayer is over. Every Turk be¬ lieves that he has two attendant spirits one good and one evil, and ns he is not sure which side the emissary of shaitan has pre-empted he spits at both to make sure. After his prayer the Sultan frequently goes out into his garden beforo break¬ fast and if he does, no person must re¬ main in sight unless he calls him back. Gardeners, servants, officers and slaves all disappear as quickly as they possibly can if they see him in the distance, as it is considered a profanation to disturb his early morning reflections. The White Topaz. The white topaz found near Pike’s Peak is almost equal in value to the dia¬ mond, says G. F. Hobert in the Globe Democrat. Not many people know this; but I fouud a topaz on the banks of the Platte River this summer and sent it to a lapidary in New York to have it cut. It weighed 828 carats, and the lapidary sent hack word that lie would give me $50 for it. I refused (he offer, and investigation disclosed the fact that if I had solcl the stone it wo- 1,1 have found its way into some of the large jewelry stores of the metropolis, where, cut into innumerable small stones, it would have been offered for sale as genuine diamonds. Clear white topaz is worth $9 a carat. A three or four carat, well-cut stone, will cost you $80 or $40. The white topaz has the brilliancy and hardness of the diamond, and differs from it only in being some¬ what transparent. Its angle of refrac¬ tion differs only slightly from that of the diamond. It is rare, too. The Sphinx of the Sea. Captain E. V. Gager, of the Cromwell Line steamship Louisiana, reports that in crossing the Guif St ream off Hat terns, recently, he found no current, with the water of a peculiar green color, After passing the straits of Florida into the Gulf of Mexico, from the Tortugas to the mouth of the Mississippi River he had a strong southeast current with an unusual amount of gulf weeds. Here is an off-set to the reports of strong cur¬ rents reported in the Gulf Stream some weeks ago, and it looks as if the ocean river were engaged in some strange freaks. The Gulf Stream is the sphinx of the 3ea, and its riddles apparently have not yet been rightly read.—-[Argo¬ naut. Easy to Say. Husband—My dear, what is the largest, highest, deepest, broadest, strongest, greatest and biggest word iu the English language. Wife—I give it up, John, j Husband-<tTone|, NO. 43. The Voice of the Wind. Who hath an eye to find me? Who hath u chain to bind me? My haunts aro earth's fair forests, fields and seas. I blur, the pictured dreams of sleeping fountains, -* Or send my voice along her piney moun¬ tains, Hither and thither going where I please. Men see not, but they hoar me. They love me, yet they fear me. For ne’er a spirit had such changing moods, From wafting heavenward the white winged ships O’er waters calm as lakes, I seize my whips And drive the tempests from the solitudes. Who hath an eye to find me? Who hath a chain to bind me? The vagrant roainer of the homeless sky. Before the hoary mountains were, I lived, Foragesmurmering through their pines have grieved That 1 alone of all things ne’er shall die. —J. P. Rittor, Jr. HUMOROUS. The harder a base ball club works the more it plays. Iu its old age every comb loses its teeth aud hair. A lazy man is always equal to the ex¬ ertion of eating. If a man blows his own trumpet, can liis opinions be sound? The new dynamite gun is determined to make a noise in tho world. It takes nine tailors to make a man, but one tailor can make a dude. The toy balloon maker’s business be¬ ing greatly inflated has an upward tend¬ ency. AVomcu are said to give back talk, but do not men do the same when they crit¬ icise the modern bustle? A man may be able to paint a town red from cud to end, nnd yet possess none of the cardinal virtues. “How it all comes back to mel’ dramatically exclaims tho poet, opening a thick parcel of rejected verses, a wr it er ^ the green appl e was never known-'tof do any- one any,,____ The docldr equhl prnfeiihTy Celt ent story. There are 78,000,000 acres of corn planted iu t his country, and about that number of corn achers ou tho feet of its inhabitants. The men who havo walked barefooted over the burning sand of tho desert al¬ ways know all about the times “that tried men’s soles.” The earth travels at tho rate ofll, 000,000 miles a week; but so far it has never left the track; when it does, some¬ body is going to get hurt. A poet sent to an editor a contribu¬ tion entitled, “Why do I live? The edi¬ tor answered: “Because you sent your contributions by mnil instead of bring¬ ing them in person.” An enthusiastic editor wrote:—“The battle is now opened.” But, iilas! the intelligent compositor spelled “battle” with an “o,” and his readers said they had suspected it all along. Bobby was inspecting the new baby for the first time, aud liis dictum was as follows: “I s’pose it’s nice enough what there is of it,” he said, without en¬ thusiasm: “but I’m sorry it ain’t a par¬ rot.” First masher— “I say, Jack, such a lot of jolly girls smiled at mn as I came down the Parade.” Second masher— “No wonder, my boy; your necktie has got right rouud the other side of your car.” It is said that at least 450,000 meteors fall from the heavens and strike the earth every hour during the year; and yet when a man goes home with a dam¬ aged hat, and tells his wife that he was struck by a meteor, she will not believe him. Why seems the young poet so weary and sacl? Existing under constant restraint? What is it that shuts out every thought that is glad, Is it genius or liver complaint? Quality Not (Quantity. “Do you know,” said the chemist, “that some people believe that this ther¬ mometer gives us a measure of the quan¬ tity of heat? The name itself would in¬ dicate that the origiuntors of it believed it did some such thing. The fact is, a thermometer doesn’t give the slightest information about tho amount of heat. Say you have two one-galion kettles filled with boiling water. The ther¬ mometer marks 212 degrees in each. Now, put them together. The mixture contains twice the quantity of heat that either gallon alone contaiued, and yet the thermometer docs not vary, but still marks 212 degrees. The thormometer ouly gives tho quality of tho heat,”--* fludiaaauolis Journal,
