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NORTH GEORGIA TIMES.
c. nr. m«, | Proprietors.
B. B. CARTSR,
Under the Leaves.
A. carpet all of faded brown,
On the g. ay bough a dove that grieves;
Death seemetti hero to have his own,
But the Spring violets nestle down
Under the leaves.
A brow austere and sad gray eyes,
Locks in which care her silver weaves;
Hope seemeth tombod no more to rise,
But God ho kuowoth on what wise
Love for Love’s sun-liiue waiting lies
Under tho leaves.
—William H. Carmth. in Scribner’s.
; An Extraordinary Tale.
The Port of Spain (Trinidad) Oasette
publishes tho following extraordinary
account of the depredations and capture
of a monster snake:
“During the last two months it has
-been a matter of frequent complaint
among the inhabitants of tho districts
■east and north of Arima that their do¬
mestic auimals of all kinds were being
lost in a strange, unexplained manner,
usually at niglvt. Scarcely a day seemed
to past without a goat ora pig, a calf
or a donkey being reported missing, and
latterly even larger animals, some valu
able mules and horses, had gone to join
tho smaller domestic fry that had disap
peared. Among the sufferers, Mr. John
Agostini of Aripo, lost two mules within
five days on his cocoa planta¬
tion, and Mr. J. G. de Cannes, in vis¬
iting somo young cocoa cultivation of
his in Tururo, had lost his horse which
he had left to graze for only half an
hour, at a distance of about a hundred
yards from the spot where he was talk¬
ing with a contractor. At first the peo¬
ple of the district wero inclined to lay tho
blame on thieves of a novel and daring
description, but tho evidence soon be¬
came clear that it was somo wild, mon¬
strous animal that was working tho
havoc among tho stock. A strange
feature of these depredations was that
no trace of blood was ever found at tho
spot visited, or in tho neighborhood, to
show sign of somo struggle with a giant
cayman or carnivorous beast, which the
anoaster was '*at first supposed to be.
Besides no animal of the size required to
carry off a horse or ipulo xvas known to
exist in the island.
“In many of the cases, however, it
was noticed that the ground under the
cocoa tress and tho forest undergrowth
showed signs of having been crushed,
not trampled upon, by the body of some
smooth but gigantic beast. Tho people
began to watch at night, no alarm as yet
making known the passago of the mon¬
ster on his raids, savo the barking of
dogs, a few of which bad also disap¬
peared with dismal howls. It was also
noticed that tho traces through tho vege¬
tation always stopped at streams, and
seemed to vanish altogether after that.
This feature was clearly established in
the case of the Aripo, Turure, and Arima
Rivers. Up to Saturday last tho beast
had succeeded in eluding notice, trans¬
ferring his attention to quarters unvisited
by him, as if aware of tho watch kopt
for him in thcso he had already visited;
and tho neighborhood of streams con¬
tinued to be his favorite resorts from the
mountains north of Arima and Turure.
“On Sunday morning tho inhabitants
of Arima wero thrown into consterna¬
tion by tlio nows that threo children had
■disappeared in the ward of Guanapo
during tho past week, and they were
supposed to have bccomo tho victims of
the raiding monster. Their names were
given as Maria Concepcion, Marc An¬
toine and Carmen Baptista. Tho grief o f
the parents and relatives of the missing
children was described as heartrending
in tho extreme. Mr. Harragin, tho
Warden, accompanied by the magistrate
and others, hastened at once to visit the
scenes of the casualties. Tiie news was
telegraphed to Port of Spain, and the
Warden was instructed by the Governor
to continuo his efforts to track tho
monster, especially by collecting an
armed posse and instituting cnergetie
pursuit,
“Later in thc._ afternoon news was
brought from Aripo that two children,
Paul and Rose Legrand, brother and
sister, had been lost, ono on Saturday
and one on that very morning. In this
instance tho mother had been tho terror
stricken eye witness of the carrying off
of her little boy aged three years. It
seems that'while sitting in a state of semi
stupor, mourning tho loss of her little
daughter Rose, five years old, who had
disappeared in the grounds round her
hut Saturday at noon without any trace
being found of her, she was startled by
the screams of her child Paul, who was
playing a few yards from hor. Rooted
with horror, who then saw her child en-
SPRING PLACE. GA.. THURSDAY., JULY 4, 1889.
vcloped in the coils of the upper part
of the body of a colossal snake, which
glided away with its prey into the
depths of the forost. A number of
residents of the district, armed with
guns, to whoso ranks new accessories
were continually coming, began to scour
the country after tho snako, among
them Jose Concepcion and Paul Le
graud, Sr., fathers of two child vic¬
tims, on whoso grim features was writ¬
ten a quonchless determination to wreak
ve.ngeance deep and dire on tho fiendish
serpent. Dogs were liberally used in
the hunt, but as often as the scent was
obtained and followed for a short dis¬
tance some stream would disconcert the
hopes of tho pursuers. A tendency was
noticed, however, on the part of the
many tracks to show an unmistakable
direction toward tho mountains north of
Arima.
“The wildest and most absurd rumors
now began to be propagated about the
doings and victims of tho snako. He
was given by one cocoa contractor, who
saw him gliding off with his favorite
pig, at least ono hundred feet. But it
was gathered from Catherine Legrnnd,
who had seen him at close quarters on
tho occasion of tho carrying off her
child, that ho must bo something be¬
tween forty and fifty feet long. It was
also surmised from the imperfect de¬
scription sho gave of the approximate
color, ring?, and spots of tho snake, that
it was a survivor of tho extinct race of
gigantic Huillias or looal anacondas, oc¬
casionally to be met with in the old
days in tho Oropouche, Arima, and
other rivers of tlic island.
‘ ‘The excitement in Arima was raised
to tho highest pitch on Tuesday whon
news was brought that the great serpent
had been seen on tho Arima heights, and
that two more children, — Juan Castillo
and Fublo Hernandez,—had been carried
off by him. Tho report of the occur¬
rences stated that the snake had been
distinctly seen on two occasions; that,
consequent on the nlarm given on the
first occasion; the people were on tho
qui vivo, and that a hunter, Emmanuel
Caideron, had twice fired with shot into
the beast as ho had half swallowed the
cradicd body of young Hernandez, but
with the only effect of hastening his pro¬
gress in the direction of Monte Bleu or
Blue Mountain. Tho warden thought
tho news serious enough to request,
through the colonial secretary, some as
tance from tho port of Spain, with rifles
of greater penetrating power than the
guns used by tho majority of tho pur¬
suers. Accordingly Sergeant Giplan
was sent to Arima by the afternoon train
with six policeman, armed with Martini
Henry rifles, and his excellency tho gov¬
ernor added tho consideration of these
extraordinary occasions to tho order of
the day of the central agricultural board
which held its first meeting on Wednes¬
day at noon, when tho colonial secretary
brought forward tho question of the
great snake, stating that ho had obtained
all available information from the War¬
den up to date. Ho then described tho
ravages of the monster, and concluded
by a request for suggestions from mem¬
bers as to the speediest and best way of
ridding the suffering district from this
plague in serpent form.
“Dr. de Verteuil stated as his opinion
that tho snako was evidently a nuillin,
or as tlio old native name in full used to
he, Temccuilicahuila, with tho strength
of five men. It had probably after feed¬
ing on deer and other forost prey, be¬
come acquainted with domestic animals
in the opening of the country by culti¬
vation, and from that point to becom¬
ing a man-cator was only a step in its
amphibious existence. Its wariness was
no doubt duo to tho instinct in avoiding
danger, as denoted by watchful prepar¬
ations on the part of man, so obsorvablo
in the case of other well-known pests.
He thought tho shooting down of the
monster at the earliest opportunity the
clear courso to bo pursued on the occa¬
sion.
“A long discussion ensued on the
subject, and tho board adjourned ou
Messrs. Devenish and McCarthy stating
that they would join in tho pursuit of
the monster, and report fully on tho in¬
formation they gathered at the next
meeting. At 6 P. M. Thursday morn¬
ing a motly cavalcade was seen issuing
out of Arima in a northerly direction.
They were the Warden and his party on
their way to tho Blue Mountain, in tho
neighborhood of which search parties
had located the snake tho day before.
He had been seen by one of tbo hunters
to enter tho Guacharo caves in the hill
separated by a hollow from tho moun¬
tain, and a cordon had gradually been
formed round tho hill to prevent his
sallying out. The Rev. Curo of Arima,
whom they met on the way, further
told them that ho had heard the snako
had tried to issue from the caves on the
southern side, but had beat a retreat in
these dangerous recesses on being greet¬
ed with a volley. With tho Warden’s
party were also the Colonial Secretary,
Mr. McCarthy, Sorgt. Giblan, the armed
police from town, and guides from
among the residents of the Arima
heights. But other parties were also on
tho warpath, and tho party received
several additions on the way. From, all
reports it was now clear that the Iluillia
was at bay. But how best to engage
him and destroy him in the deep cavi¬
ties of the lull, where thero was even a
rushing stream and a kind of Stygian
pool, was the excited subject of discus¬
sion on the way.
“The following plan of campaign
was, however, finally agreed upon. Ho
was to be shot down when and where to
be seen, and dogs would bo used to
traco his exact haunt and give notice of
his coming in case of a rush outward.
Besides the guides, Mr. Devenish was
well acquainted with the immenso cnvo3
where, besides the weird Guacharo, the
great serpent had now taken up his
abode. Thcso caves, like many others
in this island, had long been known to
bo tenanted by tho gloomy Gaucharo or
Diablotin. It was also said that besides
their having entrances in each sido of
the mountain a foaming waterfall ex¬
isted in tho concavities of tho interior,
at the foot of which was a large pool,
tho waters of which were supposed to
flow through dark and sinuous subter¬
raneous passages to become ou the level
of tho valley a tributary or perhaps the
head waters of tho Arlina river itself.
“Tho Warden’s party having reached
the caves and another largo party hold¬
ing the cntranco on tho valley in tho
northern side, a sort of forlorn hope by
the Warden and principal for members
of his party was organized for gradual
entrance into the caverns as far as the
light of day penetrated, preceded by a
couple of dogs held in leash by guides.
Nothing was noticed for somo minutes
as tho party stumbled their way over tho
rough rocks, savo the murmur of llie
fall and tho mournful half screoch of
the dismal Guacharo bird, so expressive¬
ly rendered by the Spanish word ‘ilante,’
But as they drew nearer tho pool at the
foot of the waterfall tho dogs began to
get excited and to evince a decided in¬
clination to run back. Thero was suffi¬
cient light streaming through tho en¬
trances to distinguish pretty clearly all
objects in the interior in the direct line
of the entrances. The party halted,
both on account of tho unruly disposi¬
tion of the dogs and because one of the
guides stated ho had seen something
moving in the pool.
“With rifles cocked, all eyes wore
now fixed upon tho pool. Tho dogs
now began to howl, and whether tho
noise roused the tcrriblo occupant of tho
caves or ho otlicrwiso became awaro of
tho existence of tho party, the head *t a
monstrous snake suddenly appeared on
the surface of the pool, and two large
and lustrous eyes became fixed with
diabolical gleam on the intruders. An
angry hiss, like the plunging of a red
hot beam into the pool, is mod from the
hideous head. A' muttered signal, and
a volley rang with reverberating echoes
through the caves. Largo stones fell upon
tho roof, and tho startled Gimcharos flew
wildly in all directions, uttering their
dismal screech. The Iluiila had not
been killed by tho bullets aimed at his
head. With great rapidity he seemed to
uncoil his length from the depths of tho
pool, and with fully twenty-five feet of
his body raised and curved forward as if
to dart at his assuilers, he seemed to be
emerging from tho pool.
“A few whispered words notified half
tho party to aim at his head and the
.
other half at tho central part of his body.
The second volley produced the desired
effect. The colossal snake leaped wholly
out of tho pool, and with a few tcrriblo
convulsions, in which he lashed the
water and the floor of tho cavern, ho
sank quivering to tho ground, a third
volley for a quietus insuring his certain
death. This fact was then made sure
of, and the caves were soon invaded by
the pursuers.
“Tho monster was dragged out into
tho level and found to measuro 47 feet,
the thickest part of his body having a
diameter of two and a half feet. In
color, he was yellow in tho under part
of his body, dark above, with dark
rings encircling the body, between
which semi-lunar gray disks served as
spots vnnegnto tho skin, ne was
opened with the maclietas of some cocoa
praners under the direction of Mr. Mc¬
Carthy. In him there were found tho
half-digested body of deer, and ;
a a num¬
ber of forma pauperis forms, probably
swallowed by him, with tho body of
some unknown and unfortunate cocoa
contractor.
“By 6.30 P. M. the joyful concourse,
dragging the monster, reached Arima,
where the necessary steps wero taken to
preserve tho carcass for display in tho
Council Hall of Port of Spain. Tho ex
citing occurrences connected with this
monster are stilt the subject of general
discussion and gossip. Tho island has
not for a long time been disturbed by
tragic incidents of this extraordinary
nature.”
Our Future Lumber Supply.
Gov. Russell Alger, of Michigan
recently said tlie^Nicaraguan Canal pro¬
ject would be, in a measure at least, tho
solution of the proboin of tho future
lumber supply of the United States. .
“Very few people appreciate tho ex¬
tent and superiority of tho Washington
Territory fir,” ho said, “ and the only
reason it is not now brought East is tho
necessarily high freight rates by rail.
Som# of it now finds its way to New
York by vessel but tlio voyago is a long
one. For several years appreciating tho
fact that Michigan and Wisconsin pino
lands wero being rapidy exhausted, I
have had my eye opon for new fields and
three-years ago I visited tho Washing¬
ton region, making a personal examina¬
tion of the field. I think I am a fair
judge of timber and I don’t hesitate in
pronouncing tlio product of theso re¬
gions in cvefy way superior to our
.Northern pine and other countries re¬
cognize the fact; Whilo I was in Taco¬
ma I saw nine vessels bound for Eng¬
land, Gormany and China loading at tho
wharves. If the cnnal is built an c’nor
mous lumber traific by water will spring
up arid it will possibly come just at_tho
thn<» we need it most.” *
.
Ho was asked when ho thought the
present fields east would bo exhausted.
“In one way,” ho said, “that is hard
to say. In Michigan many owners have
not good facilities for cutting tho tim¬
ber, whilo others are rapidly clearing
fields and moving to new ones, but,
judged by the output last year, it will
not last more than eight years. In Wis¬
consin I presume it is the same. Wo al¬
ready feel .the effects of tho slope tim¬
ber,” continued General Alger, “in our
own business. Fourteen years ago wo
supplied almost wholly tho ship-build¬
ing firms of Now England and tho cast
with spars and masts. Our trade in this
direction has grown less and less until
at p-esent wc havo altogether lost it.
They all come from Washington Terri¬
tory, which supplies better ones than wo
ever did.”
V
Hereditary Taints.
One result of the labors of physiolo¬
gists has been the clearing of the men¬
tal vision, and tho gradual comprehen¬
sion of tlio great, pervasive and potential
fact of “heredity.” “Tho sins of tho
fathers shall bo visited upon tbo chil¬
dren, ” said Moses more than throe thou¬
sand years ago. Probably ho compre¬
hended in but a very small measure tho
significance of his own utterance. Not
only do parents transmit to their chil¬
dren their mental peculiarities, their
moral tendencies, tho features of tho
face, tho stoop of the shoulders, and the
trick of tho gait, but they pass on to
them their blood, their brain, their
glands, their very soul and life. Wo do
not mean to say that heredity is a tyrant
from which their is no escape, and, that
as is the parent in constitution and con¬
duct, so also must bo the children to the
remotest generation. If that were ono
of the discoveries of physiology, small
thanks would be duo to tho science from
overburdened man. But it is not so.
The parent himself, as is well known,
can modify and mako worse or better
both his constitution and his character.
Similarly, tho child’s constitution and
character may bo changed, until, by the
operation of the law bf heredity itself, a
not very remoto descendant may be the
antipodes of his early progenitors. The
discovery of an existing inherited taint
of diseaae or of vice in a child is not a
cause for regret, but for thankfulness.
Tho diseased taint itself is, of oourse, to
bo deplored,and so is the inherited vice;
but its early discovery is to bo hailed
with gratitude as pointing out lines of
physical and moral treatment which may
load to the practical cnfeeblcment cf the
taint, or even to its eradication.
Vol, IX. New Series. NO. 22.
SCIENTIFIC SCRAPS.
Insulation seems to bo steadily grriw
ing heavier.
The discovery of tho celulnr structure
of plantsis credited to tho naturalists of
^ 10 80vcnlecnt h century.
Electric heat indicators for preventing
spontaneous combustion in ships’ car
S 0C3 nrc being generally introduced,
It is found in practico that tho higher
tho insulation the easier it is to maintain
electric light circuits in running order
| it i s believed that practical electricity
j s a subject to which the architect of the
future will have to pay particular atteu
tion.
Ithas been proved that inliotciimatos
the preparation of wood with sulphate
of copper or with creosote adds littio to
its durability.
Protracted experiments in Franco havo
been made with tho potato with a view
j toward a more abundant yield of starch
producing roots.
The polariscopo has recently boon ap¬
plied to a novel use in Franco in deter-'
mining the temperature of incandescent
iron and other metals.
Ono danger to bo dreaded in tho em¬
ployment of unarmored submarine ca¬
bles lies in the readiness with which it
may be damaged by a grapuol.
Oxygen is now prepared in London at
b cost of not more than $1.75 per thou¬
sand cubic feat, and it bids fair to come
into extensive uso for Various purposes.
It has been practically demonstrated
that speech can bo transmitted by tele¬
phone, when the current is too feeble
for tho most sensitive instrument to de¬
tect.
An emergency stop where electric and
automatic brakes woro used brought a
train of 15 cars to a standstill in 680
feet, tlio speed of the train being 84
miles an hour.
Do not approach contagious disqasos
with an empty stomach, nor sit between
the sick person and tho” fire, as tho draft
from tho chimney loads tho contagious
influences in that direction.
Tho prize offered by tho French
Academy of Sciences for a paper on tho
transmission of power by oleetricity lias
been withdrawn, no paper of sufliciont
merit having been receive!.
To tho changod condition of a vessol’s
magnetism by ind uction during a longthy
voyago may be attributed tho loss of
more vessels than is usually thought to
bo the case among mantimo men.
Ono of tho richest floras is that of tho
Capo of Good IIopo and Natal, in Af¬
rica, which figures up about 10,000
Bpccies. Australia also is rich in species,
about 10,000 being already known.
Some quartz crystals included in an
exhibit of American jewel minerals, pre¬
pared for the Paris exhibition, are curious
on account of their minute size and per¬
fection, they being 7500 to tho ouuce.
In tho Vienna General Hospital a man
lately died from cancer, who had been
infcctod with trichnosis, twenty-fivo
years bofore, and whoso body contained
trichina! estimate 1 to number 4000 mil¬
lions.
Dr. Rutgers, of England, after an ex¬
tensive serios of dietetic experiments,
declares that a vegetable diet can easily
be lived on, and that vegetable albu¬
men is, weight for weight, equal to
animal albumen.
Salt water is beginning to be a groat
nuisance to tho oil and gas resources of
northwestern Ohio. It is invading nearly
all tho wells and making an immenso
amount of trouble, some property having
been altogether abandoned on account
of its presence.
In the new method of obtaining gas
for balloons tbo hydrogen is gotten by
beating slacked lime and powdered
lime and powdered zinc, to bo enclosed
in tho cartridge for safe transportation;
by heating this cartridge in an appara¬
tus provided for the purposo, hydrogen
gas is obtained in sufficient quantities to
inflate an ordinary military balloon in
throe hours.
The Hot Air Cure.
Hot air for consumption is the latest
remedy now before the medical world.
Weigert and others havo administered it
by inhalation with remarkable reported
results. Professor Kohlschutter, of
Hallo, reports that air heated to 350 de¬
grees fahrenheit can bo inhaled by
phthisical patients without any bad ef¬
fects, while the influence of tho inhala¬
tions on the tubercle bacillus seems to
be really destructive. — Sanitary Engin
ecr.
Under the Laurel.
Under the laurel last year’s May,
We sat and talked till the day went oat,
And you bound my temples round about
With a wreath of roses twin’d with bay.
Roses for love and bay for fame;
For the costliest treasure at life’s command,
A woman’s heart you had laid in my hand.
And tinio would give me a soun ling name.
Under the laurel—hush, ah hushl
Memory lurks in the laurel bush.
Under the laurel breezes blow
Soft as they did in last year's spring;
But, 0! what a different song they sing.
For O, what a different tale they know.
Lovo, ah, level it is life's one worth,
Roses for lovo and bay for fame.
Yea, time has brought mo a sounding
name,
But, loYo—they have laid it under the earth.
Under the laurel—hush, ah, hush!
Memory lurks in tho laural bush.
Under the laurel next year’s May—
Comes there a May to an aching heart f
Ye--, and a hope and a glad fresh start;
Thro’ the struggling years in tho narrow
way,
I will sit, perhaps, ns t day and sigh;
But, only a few,more suns in the west,
Let tlio years and tho laurels do their best,
And under tho roses togethor we’ll lie—
Under the roses, safe at last,
When the crown of bay to tho years is
cast.
—Orelta K. Sell in Atlanta Constitution,
HUMOROUS.
An art center—The mosaic.
Up to dots—-Telegraph operators.
“A dead givo awuy”—Bequests by
will.
Always “making faces”—Tlio portrait
painter.
iftiss Wabash (of Chicago)—“I’m not
going jo let Charley flirt with that girl.
I’m determined to put my foot down on
it.” Miss Custique—“How cruel you
are. That would bo n crushor. ”
“John,” said a Milknian-to his assis¬
tant, “go down and buy thoso two
cows we were looking at yestarday, drop
in at the store and ordor feed for this
Vv-eck, and get a new sucker for tho
pump.” '
* ’
Yeast—You havo a practicing physi¬
cian next door, I hear. Crimsonboak
(hearing the sound of a piano)—Wo
have a physician next door, but I think
that is his daughtor doing the prac¬
ticing.
Minister (who has just driven his
horse to a wedding in tho country)—
“Can I hitch out here! ” Prospective
Bridegroom—“Well, no.’ Guess Sal
and tho folks rather havo tho hitchin’
dono in tho house. ”
“Bromley, did you toll Jono3 that I
never told the truth?” “I said, on tho
contrary, that you occasionally inadvert¬
ently told tho truth.” “Well, that’s
something elso. I won’t allow any
man to ultimate that I’m a constitutional
liar. ”
Douglass Jorrold onco made this re¬
mark about a man whom ho had repeat¬
edly written, in vain, for somo money:
“I havo written him,” said Jerrold, to
an acquaintance, “but got nothing.”
-“Strange,” said the other, “for ho is a
man full of kindness.” “Yes,” replied
Jerrold, “un-remitting kindnoss.”
A Remarkable Use for Silk.
Ono of the most remarkable uses to
which silk and other fabrics are being
put of late is the vonceriug of fnney
furniture. This latest wrinkle has not
as yet gone into general use, but tho ex¬
tent to which tho idea can bo utilized
appears well-nigh unlimited. The Phila¬
delphia Record in this connection says:
In tho parlor of a house on West
Walnut street, which is tonanted by a
■wealthy merchant, thero is a very beauti¬
ful display of veneering in silk and
cretonne. The walls of tho large room
are done in raised panels of plain
wood, and over each of thcso panels a
piece of silk, upon which is painted by
liarfti a beautiful design of flowers is
stretched and tacked on the back of tho
panel, so that thero is not a crease to
indicate tho presence of so foreign a
substance. Each alternate panel is cov¬
ered with satin, and tho sheen is simply
beautiful under a mellow gas light The
idea has evon been carried to the fragile
little tabic that stands in the centre of
tho room. That is covered with satin,
on which a pretty baby face is painted
by hand, and the substance has been
treated with numerous coats of trans
parent varnishes which completely fill
up the interstices in tho fabric until it
can scarcely bo distinguished from
highly polished wood. This system of
decoration has been found to be quite
as cheap as the wood-veneering, and in
richness of appearance tho silk veneers
appear fully equal to tho finest effects in
woodwork. ‘
