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NORTH GEORGIA ■*
C. V. KIVU, i proprietor
M. is. CARTER, t
“BLIND KNOWLEDGE.”
The Remarkable Powers of Four
Sightless People.
They Tell Color by Touch and
Easily Describe Stmgers.
A remarkable story of “blind
knowledge” was told to a Pittsburg
correspondent of the New York Sun
by an oil man who is operating in the
AVest Virginia petroleum fields.
“Between Pone Town and Statler’s
Bun Postoffice, in Alonongalia county,
live four blind persons—George, Ma
linda, Elizabeth and Beulah Tennant—
who can do somo of the most Wonder¬
ful things I ever heard of. George
can tell the color and breed of a horse
or cow by feeling its hair; can tell
the size aud complexion of a man
after lie has talked to him a few min¬
utes, describe his features quito accu¬
rately and tell his age. This man was
born blind, but he works on his farm
much tho same as if lie could see, and
even drives to mill with his grain, a
distance of about a mile.
“Tne gms are no less remarkable.
They are ■known, either personally or
by reputation, to everybody in Monon¬
galia and Marion counties as ‘the
blind girls.’ They live in a modest
two-story brick farm housiyt where
their parents lived before them. They
go about their household duties much
as other women do, sewing, cooking,
washing dishes, spinning—for the old
fashioned wheel has not yet altogether
disappeared from West Virginia—and
baking. In fact, they do everything
necessary for their own comfort, aud
help sonic in the hilly fields of the
homestead farm which was willed to
them by- their father.
“George is married and lives with
his wifo and three bright-eyed chil¬
dren, who can see as well as you can,
on one end of the farm. One sister,
who is piH J»liHd r .sbwa#.-m#st-of the
time with t he th ree blind girls, Their
father was a Well-to-do farmer and
stock drover, considered wealthy by
his simple neighbors, and ho sent these
blind children away to school. They
can and do read and write quite readi¬
ly, which is more than many of their
neighbors with good eyes enn do. Al¬
together Noah Tennant and his wife
had ten children, half of whom were
born blind. George was the first. The
next one could see. Aluliuda, the old¬
est of the blind girls, was born next,
and the next was a boy with good eyes,
and so on—every other clrld was born
blind. One blind boy, Edward, died
when he was a young man.
“Naturally I was very skeptical
about the stories I heard of ‘the blind
girls’ and their brother George, and
so were my fellow oil men. However,
they wore vouched for by the most
responsible people at Alaunington and
Fail-view, and one day five of us rode
out onto Jake's Bun to see them our¬
selves. AVe knew they had already
leased t heir lands to Charley Ford, and
the leases were held by the South Penn
Oil Company, but we thought an effort
to buy their royalty would he excuse
enough to introduce us, and possibly
we might get the royalty, too, which
by recent developments about Fair
view, looks valuable. 1 was riding a
fine Kentucky saddle horse, sorrel,
which, though a tine saddler, was a
‘kicker’ in harness. One of my com
panions bestrode a bay Hambletoniun.
The others were riding livery horses
of mongrel breed, one a gray, one
chestnut brown, aud one a sorrel. AVe
stopped first at George’s house, aud he
came out to the road to talk to us.
AVe talked business for some time,
and then approached the subject of his
blindness. He didn't consider it a
very great misfortune, as he was still
able to work and enjoy life.
“Some one suggested he could not
have the pleasure of knowing how
things looked, but he said he had a
mental vision and could tell colors by
touch. He first passed his hand over
the flank of my horse and a little way
down his leg, then went to his head
and rubbed his nose. ‘This horse,’
said he, ‘is a Kentucky sorrel, and is a
little vicious. He kicks sometimes.’
We were stupefied. lie happened next
to get hold of tho other sorrel, and at
•nee toid its color, but said it was no
particular breed. AVe all felt the two
animals as he did, and could all detect
a difference in the breed, but none of
us could detect any similarity to indi-
SPRING PLACE. GA.. THURSDAY. JANUARY 29, 1891.
cate the color. Ho pronounced cot»
rcctly on all of our horses, and then
turned his attention to ourselves, telfc
ng ns how we looked. He was sO
accurate that we looked all around for
a confederate, but there was none.
Ho explained that his parents hal de¬
scribed people to him and his blind
sisters aud they came to detect differ¬
ences in tone, and breathing, aud so
on.
“AVe then went to the brick house,
where tho three blind women lived,
and, as it wa3 near dinner time, we
begged to stay for dinner. I tell you
it was astonishing to see those blind
women getting dinner, setting tlie
table, and all that. They were a lit¬
tle slow in their movements, and had a
kind of gliding motion, keeping their
feet close to the floor and evidently on
the lookout for chance obstructions.
They got us a very good dinner, and
we were greatly edified and enter¬
tained while disposing of it. They
said they could easily recognize ac¬
quaintances by the sound of their
voices, even though they had not met
for several years at a time, and could
recognize their intimates by touch. It
is the most remarkable family I ever
heard of. I have heard of the acute¬
ness of the senses of touch, hearing,
aiid smell of blind persons before, but
1 never would have believed they
could tell tho color of an animal if I
hadn’t seen it done.
“We heard many othei remarkable
things about George Tennant’s powers.
He could tell if liis wifo was even
slightly ill by her breathing, though
she thought s®- little of it herself to
make no complaint. He could also de¬
tect any slight- illness of his sisters o»
friends tho safne way. lie could tell
one of his children from the others by
merely touching a finger to tho rosy
cheek. You can verify these state¬
ments by reference to any resident o i
any place in that section.”
Culling,a Bottle in Tno with Twine.
The other night, whilo sitting with
some friends in the clubhouse, I no¬
ticed a young man at a table near us,
apparently tired of waiting for the
waiter, strike the neck of the wine
bottle a sharp, quick stroke with his
knife in such a manner that the bottle
was broken squarely off just below the
cork as neatly and cleanly as if it had
been cut off with a diamond.
“That was very welt done,’’remark¬
ed one of my friends, “but did you
ever see a method some sailors have
for opening a bottle of wine? Several
years ago, when the Grand Duke
Alexis of Russia was here, in com¬
mand of a small fleet, I was invited
over to visit the flagship—the Svet¬
lana—by one of the officers with whom
I had become acquainted. AVhile we
were on the ship our host sent for
some wine, and, learning that we
never had witnessed the sailor’s
method of opening it, he called three
lusty fellows into the cabin to perforin
tho operation.
“One man held the ends of *ihe bot¬
tle in his hands, whilo tho second
wound a piece of stout twine around
it and pulled the ends violently and
swiftly backward and forward, thus
heating the glass by the friction. The
third man then dashed some cold
water upon the bottle, and the glass
cracked with a snap. The man who
held the two ends lifted them upright
so quickly aud dexterously that scarce¬
ly a drop was spilled. The bottle was
converted, practically, into two glasses
—one not unlike an ordinary tumbler
and the other having the cork in the
bottom of it.”—[New York StaF.
A AVenderful Mine.
Tho Alount Morgan gold mine, near
Rockhampton, Queensland, New
South AVales, continues to be the
wonder of the world. It is believed
to be paying larger profits than any
other investment in the range of com¬
merce. During the past year divi¬
dends to the amount of $5,353,000
have been paid and the entire property
is now valued at the enormous sum of
$72,997,000. Yet thi| little hill was
bought a few years ago for $3115, and
the original owner, who held the
property without dreaming it was of
any value, is now a very poor man.
From the base to the summit this so
called mountain is only about 700 feet
high. The ore is of remarkably high
grade, and there seems no prospect
that it will be exhausted for many
years. — [Ti mes-Demoerat.
HUNTING BUFFALO.
Adventures of an Expedition on
an American Desert
Two Small Herds of Buffalo
Sighted In Wyoming.
Two miserable months on a dreary
segment of Sahara, two buffalo hides,
two heads with the short horns of the
wild cow of the prairies. This in
brief is the history of the exploits ijAf
an expedition of groat hopes orgm
Jzcd at Lamarie, Wyoming, last Au¬
gust, and in the field from early in
September to November. The party
included J. C. Bobbin=, Jack Hill,
Frank Kollev, Willis Woodruff and
William Hopkins, all brave boys, who
havo ridden the range for ycars.oTheir
project was to capture the band of
buffalo running on Bed desert, 120
miles north of the Union Pacific in tlm
center of the State. They proposed
establishing on the Laramie plains a
buffalo ranch similar to the preserve of
C. J. Jones near Garden City, Kas.
The project has been abandoned after
a trip full of incident.
of made .
A couple light storms trav¬
el difficult, and they were two weeks
from this place before the desert was
reached. They skirted the northern
edge of the waste by way of rcconnoi
tering, then plunged into the expanse
of alkali, greasewood and water holes.
There first adventure was the meeting
of ten lodges of Arapahoe Indians,
who had come out into fho desert to
hold some sort of a powwow. The
reds were friendly and told the hunt¬
ers of a lake where they could camp
and be reasonably certain of sighting
the buffalo they sought. The hunters
traveled as directed and reached the
murky shoot in two days. In the for¬
ty-eight hours they crossed seventy
miles of veritable bad land—a broken
oountry without ve getation and with,
scarcely any waten'. • ‘Tl.ly remained
hero eight days, hunting all the time.
During breakfast the first morning
Hill sighted a herd of buffalo with his
field glasses. The buru4 numbered
fifteen and they were grazing quietly.
Before the hunters could get into action
the game had disappeared and was not
found again. A few days later they
came upon a magnificent bull, four
fine cpws and a yearling. The bull
charged them. They shot to frighten
him off, and were altogether too suc¬
cessful in tins direction. Hill roped
one of the cows. The animal worried
herself so that she died after being
“hog tied.” A buffalo will struggle
till completely exhausted and rarely
recovers. The only other capture was
that of another cow, which soon suc¬
cumbed to the necessitated choking.
Bobbins satisfied himself that this
herd was not from the National Park,
as has been so often reported of late.
The Indians told him that in 1884 the
herd numbered 300. Three years later
it contained but 100 and, is now not
over 20. The reds killed many and
the remainder died during the severe
winter of 1889-90.
During their desert travels the hun¬
ters encountered several herds of
wild horses. They were the regular
mustangs,small and spirited and look¬
ing unkempt in their winter coats.
Bobbins, manager of the expedition,
says he has had enough buffalo hunt¬
ing to satisfy him tho rest of his life.
—[Sau Francisco Chronicle.
A Cure for Felons.
An “iron” man tells the Scientific
American how to cure felons. lie
writes: “I was engaged in marking
iron with white lead and turpentine,
and having a felon coming on my
finger, dipped it frequently into the
mixture. As the iron was quite warm
which I was marking at the time, I
found the next morning that there was
a small yellow spot where I felt the
felon. I opened this, and had no
more trouble from it. The next time
I felt one coming I procured some tur¬
pentine and bathed the part affected
frequently, and held it near a warm
surface to dry, willi the same result.
Since then I have used it several times,
always with the same result. I also
have had others try it, among them
some of our men who work in the
rolling-mill, whose hands are covered
with a very hard skin, and every one
of them who tried it met with the same
results, saving them a great deal of
time, money and pain.
An Amazon River Phenomenon.
Shortly after the tida had stopped
running’ out, they saw something com¬
ing toward them from the ocean in a
long white line, which grew bigger
and whiter as it approached. Then
there was a sound like the rumbling
of distant thunder, which grow louder
and louder as the white lino came
nearer, until it seemed as if the whole
ocean had risen up aud was coming,
charging and thundering down upon
them, boiling over the edge of this
pile of water like an endless cataract,
from four to seven metres high, that
spread out across the whole eastern
horizon. This was the pororoca!
When they saw it coming, the crow
became utterly demoralized, and fell
to weeping and praying, in the bottom
of the boat, expecting that it would
certainly bo dashed to pieces, and
they themselves drowned. The pilot,
however, had the presence of mind to
heave anchor before the wall of wa¬
ters struck them; and, when it did
strike, they were first pitched violent*
ly forward, and then lifted, and left
rolling and tossing like a cork on the
foaming sea it left behind, the boat
nearly filled with water.
.• But their trouble was not ended;
for, before they had emptied the boat,
two other such seas came down on
them at short intervals, tossing thorn
in the same manner, and finally leav¬
ing them within a stone’s-throw of the
river-bank, where another such wave
would have dashed them upon the
shore. They had been anchored,- be¬
fore the waves struck them, near tire
middle of the stream, which at this
place isf several miles wide.
The First Descent In a Diving Suit.
Tiiis first plunge leaves no agreeable
memories. They dress you as if you
had to, endure the cold of Siberia, a
precaution which I have found useless
in tho Mediterranean. With knit
woolen hose, 4) and shirt, I have
cap
nev^JMj^lt-tber cold. Then cornea the
"ample coat, which we get into through
the neck-hole, and the casque, which
resounds as if one Had his head in a
kettle. Then they put on you a bolt
with a dagger, shoes with loaded soles
and lead at your breast and back. Now
you are so loaded tiiat you could hardly
stand straight if the boat should tip—
then you go down into the water where
all the weight is no longer felt.
Now a different feeling begins. At
tho command, “Pump!” some ono
rapidly screws down the glass in front
of your casque, and you hear » noise
to which you have to accustom your¬
self—pah! pah I pah!—accompanied
by a hissing of the air. Little whiffs
of air come to you, scented with ma¬
chine oil and caoutchouc. The begin¬
ner fails to manage tho escape, and
his coat and sleeves become inflated,
so that, when he wants to go down, he
floats like those frogs wo used to blow
up when wo wero boys, and then
throw upon the water to amuse our¬
selves with their vain struggles to get
under it.—[Popular Science Alonthly.
A Poisonous Liquid.
The New York Telegram says:
“Professor Brown-Sequard, whose
elixir of life caused so short-lived a
sensation, is reported to havo lately
nformod the French Academy of Sci¬
ence that by condensing the watery
vapor coming from the human lungs
he obtained a poisonous liquid capable
of producing almost immediate death.
‘The poison is an alkaloid (organic),
and not a microbe or series of mi¬
crobes. He injected this liquid under
tho skin of a rabbit, and the effect was
speedily mortal without convulsions.
If this alarming discovery does not
discourage the practice of kissing, it
ought at least to emphasize the neces¬
sity for ventilating the apartments in
which folks live and sleep, as well as
the public halls, theatres and churches
they frequent.
Last Century’s Jack the Ripper,
It is a strange coincidence that ex¬
actly 100 years ago young girls in
London were in constant terror of
meeting the “Jack the Ripper” of that
day. lie attacked and wounded sev¬
eral ladies in different parts of the
town, cutting their garments and gash¬
ing them in the body with a sharp
pointed instrument, although ho never
went so far as murder. In April,
1790, a large reward was offered for
the apprehension of “The AIonster,’>
as he was popularly called.— [Chicago
Herald.
Vol. X. New Series. NO. 52
JAY GOULD.
Some Facts of Interest About
the Njted Financier.
»v
His Methods of Operating in
Wall Street.
Jay Gould has no end of securities
upon which ho can borrow millions
upon millions. There is no doubt, if
it wore necessary for tho success of
his operations, that ho could get to¬
gether by the use of his credit $75,.
000,000 in cash. He is rated as worth
a round 8100,000,01)0.
It has long been said to be the am¬
bition ot Mr. Gould’s life to be the
richest individual m the world. The
distinction now rests between William
Waldorf Astor, New York’s real estate
monarch, and John I). Bockefeller,
tho Standard Oil magnate. Mr.
Rockefeller has made money so fast
within the past few years that it is
probable he is the richer of the two.
The latest estimate of his fortune is
$125,000,000. Mr. Astor’s wealth is
little under that figure.
The belief by many Wall street men
is that Air. Gould sees, or thinks ho
sees, in the present speculative situa¬
tion an opportunity to increase his
fortune beyond the limits of either that
of Astor or Bockefeller.
If Mr. Gould's preconceived con¬
clusions as to results prove correct he
will make enormous profits on his
stock investments. It is not far out
of tho way to say that ho now holds
1,000,000 shares of stock altogether.
He believes that in time there will be
au advance of from 25 to 50 per cent,
in their market value. If he increases
his holdings to 2,000,000 shares, as he
is quile likely to do, an advance of 10
per cent, in their value would increase
his wealth by $20,000,000, and an ad¬
vance of 25 per cent, would increase
it by .$50,000,000. \
A cool Hoad is requ
street. The coolest head there is Jay ■
Gould’s. Under all circumstances ho is
the same unperturbed, self-possessed,
calculating man. He is both a strate¬
gist and a diplomatist. In days past
as many as 200 brokers were execut¬
ing Air. Gould’s orders at one time.
It should not bo understood that Air.
Gould employed all these brokers him¬
self. They would have overwhelmed
his office for instructions and have
upset his calculations altogether. He
gave his orders to a number of broker¬
age houses, and they distributed them
among brokers. There were twenty
five telegraph instruments in his office,
connected with as many different
brokerage concerns.
Between tho hours of 10 in the
'.norning and 3 in the afternoon, during
which time tho Stock Exchange is
open, these instruments kept up a
noisy clatter. Orders were going and
reports were coming through them in¬
cessantly. There were many days in
which Air. Gould traded in as high as
250,000 shares of stock, and at par
value these would be worth $25,000,
000. There were times also when Mr.
Gould’s speculative interest in the
market wholly independent of his in¬
vestment interest reached 500,000
shaves of stock, equivalent, at par
value, to $50,000,000.
Air. Gould kept his plan of opera¬
tions wholly to himself. One broker¬
age concern was never allowed to
know what another was doing for
him. Ail he asked was that Ills in¬
structions should be followed. He
might order one house to buy a stock
and at the same time order another
house to sell the same stock. Such a
transaction is known as “washing.”
The purpose of it is to give an appear¬
ance of activity in the stock. There
are houses.in tire street which are rec¬
ognized as acting for bull operators
and others for bear operators. If Mr.
Gould desired to bull a stock, or in
other words to advance its price, ho
would give large purchasing orders to
a house which was well known to be
acting for a prominent bear. The be¬
lief would thus be excited that this
particular bear was covering his shorts
in the stock.
When trading Mr. Gould watches
the tape almost incessantly. He can
pick out from tho transactions the
stocks bought or sold for him as easily
as if ho were on the floor of the Stock
Exchange, of which, singularly
enough, he is not a member, although
his eldest sons, George J. aud Edwin,
are.
The market “went against” Mr.
Gould on more than one occasion, but
he forced it to go his way on so many
more occasions that whenever he
struck a balance the showing was a
heavy one on his side. Many combi¬
nations were made up against him,
but they were rarely successful, be¬
cause he was able to make up stronger
ones to fight them.—[NewYork World
furious Hens’ Nests.
That the hen has a taste for th«
unique in nest hunting is evidenced
by the many curious places she finds
in which to deposit eggs. Certain
hens of ours would always come into
the house to lay, as if they feared they
could find protection nowhere else so
well. There is often wisdom in the
choice, or why docs the hen go to the
ash-heap in the corner of an out-kitch¬
en, aud after scratching herself a nitre
Utile hollow, leave her eggs there
for the same reason that, troubled
with vermin, she destroys the parasites
by wallowing in ashes. How wise,
then, to hatch her little ones, sweet
and clean, and free from such added
cares!
Chickens much petted love the house,
and take advantage of every open
door. Once a large, long-legged
rooster brought a timid pullet to tho
house to lay her first egg. He coaxod
her into the kitchen, step by step,
jumped into tho woodbox, with beak
and claws made a cosey nest among a
pile of shavings, then, jumping out,
“clut, clut, clutted,” as if ho was urg¬
ing her to test the softness of the nest,
and then, while she was trying it, he
stood by her to the end, and was a*
proud as she was over the now-laid
egg
Generally, however, the hen seeks
her own nost without 1ielp from her
liege lord, and he seems content to let
her have her own way; set it is reason¬
able to suppose that our aforesaid timid
pullet has expressed her fears to the
teeter, aud. that
Wa had
that laid in thfpNSS' 'STan old tin
plate stove, arif she sought warmtl}
for tho biMics to comer * V ■
Another nested in a cfel-ofl cbjyrier
pot; another in baby’a craii|et another
in the folds of a manV^ht; and,
most comical of all was the "hen who
used to go each day into a bedroom
and leave an egg on tho soft, plump,
newly made bed. When she got
ready to sit her mistress made her a
nice straw nost in a box under the bed,
and every egg hatched, as if in reward
for tho kindness. Frequently among
the humble people out lowly friends
are made almost companions of; and
they love back, and thrive according¬
ly. It always pays to treat with kind¬
ness the dependent creatures around
us.—[New York Tribune.
Pennsylvania’s Anthracite Beds.
By actual survey there are in the
anthracite regions of Pennsylvania 472
square miles of coal. The amount of
coal mined to the aero is about 60,000
tons, but the wastage is so great that
well-informed owners and scientific
miners assert that with careful meth¬
ods of mining, the product to the acre
could be increased one-half—that is
to 90,000 toiiB. On the basis of 75,
000 tons to the acre, an easy calcula¬
tion will show that an annual average
of 34,000,0.00 tons, about tho amount
mined in 1885, and making allowance
for what lias already been taken out is
the past fifty years, tho coal of this
anthracite region will last 616 years—
[Commercial Advertiser.
Beneath Rim.
Cleverton (who knows that Dash
array has been trying vainly for years
to know the Yon Blumers)—I didn’t
see you at the Von Blumers’ ball last
night.
Dashaway (carelessly)—No. I pre¬
sume you know that Von Blumer’a
grandfather was an undertaker?
Cleverton (pursuing tho subject)—
But did you receive an invitation?
Dashaway—Aly dear boy, do you
suppose that 1 would allow myself to
remember whether I had received an
invitation from the grandson of an
undertaker?—[New York .Sun.
Making Sure of It.
He—Y”ou remember you said last
night that you would be a sister to me
all my life?
She—Yes, I did.
He—Well, I proposed to your sister
Kate this afternoon, and, judging by
what she said, 1 rather think you wiU>