The sunny South. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1875-1907, February 16, 1878, Image 1
VOL. Ill
J. H. &W.B. SEALS, (pROFMKTOKS
ATLANTA, GA„ SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1t5. 1878.
nY ttiti -1 rn j |3 PER ANNUM
TERMS,) IN ADVANCE.
NO. 131L
KING HAROLD.
BY CHARLES W. HCBNER.
With his lords assembled in grave debate.
In his council hall sits Harold the Great;
On shears and shields, and hanberks bright.
Gleams weird the hearth-tire's flickering light.
Bose-red the flames leap in their play,
Or enllenly sink into darkness away;
Specter-like shadows arise and hill.
And fade, and flare on floor and wall.
Without the incessant thunders smite
The rock-ribbed earth in their terrible might;
And never as far had the Sea-God's host
Swept their white-plumed crests o'er that desolate coast;
But liegeman and lord have as little care
For the wr; ckful sea and the howling air,
As the rosy-tongued flames on the hearth, that defy
With musical prattle the turbulent sky.
Still speaks King Harold, when " whirr ’’—behold !
With wet wings glistening lil e molti n gold,
A wild bird flutters athwart the room—
A glinting flash—he is gone in the gloom I
“ Ah! like you lost and wandering thing
Is the life of man !” sayeth Harold, the King;
“ Out of the darkness we whirl into light,
To perish at last, in storm and in night."
Then Griskar, the Gray-beard, his face aglow
Like the sun-lit heavens, makes answer low:
" Yea. Harold, yet why should our souls despond—
Hath not the birdling his nest bevond I”
From the “Boys and Girls of the South.”
Charley’s Good Luck;
— OR, —
Tony’s Devotion.
By Mary £. Bryan.
‘A little flirt—an arrant deceiver; I thought
her the sweetest, best girl in the world; I was
sure she loved me; her eyes have said so a hun
dred times; and here she is slighting me for
that whiskered fop—laughing at my ‘micro-
soopic moustache,’ as she calls it, and pretend
ing to examine it through her opera-glass—all
to insult me and outrage my feelings. I’ll
make her suffer for it; I’ll kill that hateful,
grinning lawyer she is so sweet upon; and then
I’ll go to California or Texas and wiite her
word sue uas blusieu my hie forever!’
This high-flown tirade sounded funny from
the lips of the speaker, for he was a smooth
faced, pretty boy of seventeen. Ten years
hence he would laugh heartily at the remem
brance of his young romantic folly, bnt just
now it was terribly real. Tears stood in the
bright, hazle eyes, and a flush burned on
his cheek. He was outraged at tke slight
his (sweetheart, pretty Idaline, had put upon
him. He felt like doing something desperate.
To be slighted, and then laughed at; his
budding moustache (his weak point) ridi
culed mercilessly, this was more than seven
teen could bear. He brooded over his wrongs,
and just when he was worked up to the highest
pitch, he fell in with two young men with
whom he was slightly acquainted, and found
that they had come to town to complete their
outfit for a Western trip. They were going to
the Indian Territory to hunt their fortunes,
and cordially invited him to make one of their
party. He seized the offer, and made the few
preparations that were needed that very day.
He had few ties—his mother was dead, and a
step-mother reigned in her place—she and
her children filling his father’s heart so com
pletely that Charley thought there was little
room for him. He had saved some little mon
ey from his clerk’s salary the past year; then
he had a pony, which he found no difficulty
in selling. This money would pay his traveling
expenses and buy him a gun and some ammuni
tion when he reached New Orleans, and per
haps a little stock of beads and ribbons and
mock jewelry to trade with the friendly In
dians when he should reach the Territory.
He did n ot see his false fair one again, but,
the night before he left he serenaded her with
his guitar, and sang—
“Farewell, false-hearted,”
under her window. He was sure he heard a
mocking giggle inside, and something fell at
his feet, which, on picking up, he found to be
a bouquet of cabbage leaves. Indignantly he
went away, more reckless and more determined
to leave than before. He packed his valise in
readiness for the train, told his intentions to
no one of the family except Tony, a faithful ne
gro boy who was only a few years older than
himself, and who had been devoted to Mars
Charley from the time they hunted rabbits and
set bird traps together. He told Tony in con
fidence where he was going, and was much af-
feoted when the faithful fellow burst into tears,
and begged to be allowed to go with him.
‘No, Tony, that can’t be, ’ he said, ‘I haven’t
money to take ns both. Besides, I am going
among the savages and there will be dangers in
plenty. I don’t care how soon I am killed; life
ain’t anything to me now, but I wouldn't like
to have you ‘scalped’ just because of me.’
‘ Mars Charley, dere’s where you makes a
mistake. I’m de very man to go among dem
savunges. Dey can't sculp me, kase dey can’t
gitde grab on dis wool!*
And he took off his battered tile and Bhowed
his woolly head, shaven close.
But this argument did not avail with Char
ley, who reluctantly bade his faithful friend
good-bye. Tony eyed him as he turned away,
and wiping his eyes on his coat-sleeve, ejacu
lated—
•Ef I don’t follow him up and find him you
may skin me—that's all!’
At ten o’clock that night Charley and his two
friends climbed into a second-class car of the
departing train and were soon steaming away
in the direction of New Orleans.
Our party reached the Indian Territory in
safety, and met with success in peddling their
wares, and had many adventures. Charley’s
two friends were sharp fellows, and they traded
to advantage, and found opportunities to send
back for supplies suitable lor the Indian trade.
Finally, lured by hopes of success, they pen-
Petals Plucked from a Sunny
Clime.
As the Weapon came Down, it was Suddenly Dashed Aside by a Blow from Behind.
etrated farther into the country—into a wilder
region, wb'’re the average Indian settlers re
tained their savage and bloodthirsty instincts.
But there had been no recent outbreak, and our
| young commercial travellers met with no hostil-
■ ities, but with great success. One evening, how-
! ever, as they were passing through a belt of
i woods, after having left the prairie home of a
i wealthy Indian stock-raiser, to whose pretty
| daughter they had sold some of their finest orna-
i ments, they were suddenly overtaken by the
! girl riding her Mustang pony and apparently
j much excited.
j She rode up to them and warned them to turn
| back, saying ibat news had just reached her
father, that some United States troops nad had
a brush with a portion of a tribe of hostile In
dians that had been depredating and murdering
the settlers in a part of the country nearly a
hundred miles distant. The Indians had re
treated, committing lawless acts as they went,
and the soldiers had followed and overtaken
them only a dozen miles away. Here they had
had a fight, the Indian’s had been sharply pun
ished, and a good many taken prisoners. The
others had fled and hid in the woods, and the
troops had gone back. ‘But,’ said the girl,
‘numbers of the hostile Indians are lurking in
the woods about here, and there is great danger
that they may kill you. You had better turn
hack and make your way to the nearest settle
ment,’
She spoke in very good English, for NValeeka
was well educated, and had from her infancy,
been trained by an excellent instructess—an
accomplished American lady, to whom she was
greatly attached. The young men thanked her
and promised to take advantage of her friendly
warning. Bending her graceful head to them,
she wheeled her pony and galloped back, her
long black hair floating in the wind. She was
only a third Indian; her father and mother
being both half-breeds, and her complexion was
a rich brunette.
Notwithstanding the warning they had re
ceived, the two companions of Charley decided
to push on through the wood to the houses of a
trio of wealthy Indians that they had been told
were living just beyond the forest. They were
sure of finding purchasers there; afterwards,
they would turn back. Charley remonstrated,
but with no avail. They quickened the pace of
their horses and hastened on through the wood.
Suddenly, as t hey were passing through the
thickest portion, a bullet cut the air just by
Charley's ear, and at the same instant, he saw
one of his companions fall. Another shot fol
lowed, and buried itself in the breast of Char
ley’s horse. He had scarely time to leap from
him before the poor animal fell to the earth
groaning in the agonies of death. Three stal
wart savages now leaped yelling from the woods,
and ran forward brandishing their spears. Char
ley’s remaining comrade spurred his horse, cut
loose his pack, that dropped to tne ground, and
fled. One of the savages caught and mounted
the horse of the man they had killed and started
in pursuit. The other two advanced upon
Charley, having first seized his gnn, which had
unfortunately fallen to the ground in the shock
produced by the sudden attack and the killing
of his horse. He had only his pistol, which he I
fired as they approached, killing the foremost :
Indian. The next instant a bullet from the
other Indian had shattered his right arm. and !
he saw the horrid, painted monster advancing j
upon him. He turned and fled for lif-. the khv- '
age in hot pursuit. Active and swift of limb
was Charley, and he had need of all bis speed at
this moment. He outstripped his pursuer at i
first, but the loss of blood trom his wound told j
on his strength, and he felt his enemy gaining.;
upon him. Nearer and nearer sounded uis foot-
! steps, till they seemed in his ears like thunder,
i He heard the deep panting breath close behind
i him, and the gutters! grunt of triumph as the
savage neared him. His brain swam and he
sank to the ground exhausted; while his horrid
I pursuer, uttering a wild yell, reached liis pros-
| trate form, and elared upon him in horrid sat-
! isfaction. Then, taking his keen spear, the
' savage aimed at the poor boy’s heart. But as
| the weapon came down, it was suddenly dashed
| aside by a blow from behind. As the Indian
i turned to see who his assailant was,received an
other blinding blow across the face; another and
j another, that made the blood spurt, and caused
him, already weil-blown with the long chase, to
stagger and fall. In an instant, Charley’s queer
deliverer leaped upon him and belabored him
fast and furiously with the weapon—which to
his astonishment, was an umbrella. Still more,
to his amazement, the strange figure,as became
down with all the might of his brawny arms
upon the Indian, uttered ejaculations in the
well-known voice of Tony.
‘ Dere, yer murdersome willain! Take dat,
yer ugly, sculping warmintl’ vociferated Tony,
as he plied the umbrella with such terrible
whacks that the savage at last grunted for mer
cy. 'Dere, I done broke dis good umberilla—
all along uv you, yer pisonous Injun. Mars
Charley how yer do ? Told yer I was gwine to
follow yer. Had times gittin’ here, I tell yer—
wucking my way long. Las’ I fell in wid some
sojers cornin’ dis way, arter de savungers. I
cum wid um, cooked and curried horses, and
all dat, till we cum up wid de red raskils; den
we hab a big tight. When it got too hot, I slips
in a holler log and lie dere, like coon, till all
de fuss done wid. When I cums out, all wus
gone but de dead folks. I gedders up dis hat,
and dis sword, and dis umberil what I done
broke now over dis warmint, and I mounts a
a loose hoss, what de rider of him done killed,
and I tuck to de woods. Been ridin’troo ’em all
day thout a mouthful to eat; when all at to onst
I hear guns a poppin’ and cum up jest in time
to see de iDjun runnin’ yer down, Mars Char
ley. I kicked my mustang in de sides, den I
tell yer, and took arter yer, and corned up jes
in time to keep dis red imp from sculping yer,
and gib him a tase of my omberil. He’s broke
it now;so I takes dis sword. | I don’t know well
how to manage de ting , bnt I reckon I can cut
his head off wid a swing like dis.’
‘ Ugh! ugh!’ grunted the savage, who lay, his
face covered with blood, held down by the ne
gro’s big foot upon his breast.
‘ Hoes yer mean by dat grunting talk dat yer
willin’ to behave yerself and quit murderin’
and sculpin’, and be an honest Injun?’ asked
Tony again, flourishing his long sword, before
the eyes of the prostrate savage.
‘ Ugh 1 Ugh 1 ’ muttered the Indian again.
‘Den git up ef yer can and take yerself off,and
mind who yer fool wid nex time. I owes yer a
grudge ferbreakin’ dis good ombrella.’
He removed his foot from the Indian’s breast,
and helped him to rise to his feet. When he
had limped away, Tony turned to his young
master and examined his wound anxiously.
‘Youse pretty bad hurt, Mars Charley,’ he
said ‘ but it mout a been wuss. Lemme help
you on my pony and take you some whar. Dey
tell me some of dese livin’ round here is friend
ly Injuns. I don’t like to truss no red-skin my
self, but it can’t be helped in dis case.’
He managed to assist Charley to mount the
stout mustang that stood where Tony had leap
ed from it when he came up with Chaxley, and
the murdering Indians. After wandering about
some time they struck a path that led to the
house of the wealthy Indian, Waleeka’s father.
The girl was standing iu the door, and at once
c. lied her father and spoke to him in the In
dian language. The chief, for such he was,
came out and assisted Tony to bring in the
wounded youth, whose strength by this time
was utterly exhausted with the pain and the
loss of blood. As they took him from the horse
he fainted and was tenderly borne to a room
and laid upon a couch. A stimulant revived
him anil he was soon able to bear the operation
of setting his broken arm, which was perform
ed by the chief, who seemed to have an intui
tive knowledge of surgery that necessity had
developed.
Charley lay for a long time quite ill, but
under the faithful nursing of Tony and the care
of the young Waleeka, he at last recovered. The
| chief had taken an interest in him and refused
to consent to his .going away. So he remained,
and soon learned to love the life of a stock-mind
er on the great rolling prairies of that beautiful
land of the buffalo and deer.
After three years he decided to return to
his native State to see his father and his for
mer friends. He was no longer the slender,
beardless boy he had been when he went
away, He was tall, luanly-limbed, with a rich,
glowing complexion, and a black moustache
shading his handsome upper-lip. Idaline saw
him at an entertainment the first night of his
arrival, and lost her heart to him without
knowing who he was. When she found out
that the graceful stranger was her quondam
devoted lover, she thought it would be easy
to bring him again to her feet. But she found
her mistake. He paid her courteous attention
but refused to be entrapped. Iu vain she smiled
and sighed, and did everything to renew the
old feeling. Charley had another imagein his
heart—that of a beautiful creature, with the dark,
shy, tender eyes of a fawn, who he knew was
sitting in the vine-wreathed portico of her far
prairie home thinking of him. Her pure,
fresh heart had never known deceit or art, and
it had thrilled with love for him only. He
had loved her ever since she nursed him kind- j
lyduring his long illness, and he recalled now
her sweet, girlish face, was she sat by the win
dow with the vine blossoms touching her i
cheeks, accompanying on her gnitar the songs
she sang—the sweet, wild love-songs of her
race.
No; he could never be untrue to Waleeka, even
were she less beautiful and intelligent than she
was, and his heart reproached him for lingering
from her so long, when he received an agitated
letter begging him to come as soon as possible,
as her father had received a hurt which left him
disabled, and she feared destined to but a short
span of life. He went at once, to the keen dis
appointment of Idaline. He reached Waleeka
in time to soothe her grief in her father’s dying
moments. All the chief’s wealth was left to his
daughter, as his wife had long been dead. Be
fore he closed his eyes forever, he put Waleeka’s
hand in Charley’s, and looked from one to the
other significantly, as if expressing his desire
that they should be united.
They were married a few weeks after the chief-
tau’s death, and now among the happiest as
well as the wealthiest of the large land and
stock owners in that fertile and lovely territory,
is Major Charley Bradley, whose beautiful wife
was last summer the admiration of Saratoga.
Tony—the faithful—still remains his trusty
follower. He became quite a beau among the
dusky damsels, and has long been promoted to
the post of assistant superintendant of his mas
ter's increasing business—an office which he
trustily discharged. Among his most valuable
souvenirs, Charley cherishes the broken um
brella with which Tony thrashed the Indian and
saved his yonng master’s life.
In leaving Fernandina by water we come oat
Amelia Iliver which is formed by the tide from
the Atlantic. We pass Old Town one mile from
Fernandina that has a lookout tower tor pilots
who take vessels across the bar, besides a few
old Spanish residences. Fort Clinch is the last
noticable point before we reach St. John s River
Bar, twenty miles from Fernaudina.
It is the month of January, and a bland breeze
greets us. Our thoughts revert to the earliest
settlement of the country, when the Spanish
galedus, a strange looking craft, navigated these
wators, also ponderous old ships with figure
heads of various devices on their prows, and
high peaked sterns, the timber used being ma
hogany and cedar. Many of them were driven
to pieces in a most merciless manner among the
breakers, scattering their *reuures of silver and
gold, on the strand to tempt the cupidity ot
those who found them.
Vessel’s dread this bar as those drawing six
feet of water are often detained here when going
and returning with their cargoes of lumber, on
account of low water. The white caps wave their
snowy plumes as a warning when the wind
i blows, which sends terror to the hearts of the
I timid,but the more daring say -‘It looks grand!
As we cross the Bar we are in sight of two re-
i sorts. May port and Fott George Island, with
i accommodations for summer, and winter visi-
! tors.
, Mayport was named by the French after May
| River, now called the St. John s where they
formed a settlement. Fishermen also live in
; this diminutive town, employed like the
j Apostles when the Saviour called them in mend-
i ing their nets.
! Shad fishing is very profitable here during the
season. Six miles from the mouth is located St.
, John’s Bluff fifteen feet high, the-site of the
j French Hugenot settlement, called La Caroline.
, It was founded in 1564 by Laudonniere, and de-
! stroyed by Melendez, 1565. It is supposed to
| have been an Indian mound, as human bones,
! beads, pottery Ac. have been dug out here.
From the mouth of the St. Johns to i’ilatka,
; there are numerous bluffs, some of them ten or
■ twelve feet in height, with an understratum ot
[ shells; on these elevations the pine tree tlourish-
/es. The cvpres«. ash, and cabbage palmetto,
grow on the banks above Pilatka.
The weeping cypress, with its leafless coni
cal excrescences, called knees, and dropsical
feet, loves to be alone. Florida gives a friend
ly greeting to the grey moss, which lives and
swings from it’s tallest liuibs.to the lowest twtgs,
forming a complete mantle ot grace to the naked
j appearing trees. This moss has no affinity tor
the pine or palm, which thrives in close prox-
j imity, colonizing and Iraternizing in groups,
; and sometimes solitary sighing or rustling as
the sea breeze comes to meet and kiss it’s leath
ery crown and perennial foliage. A tew of the
i trees are deciduous, as the swamp oak, ash, and
j poplar, most of the others are persistent, the
change of leaves taking place so quietly, it is
j scarcely observed. The mistletoe, with it’s
i green tufled foliage, faster s on the oak, and is
: a regular parasite, a thief, for it deprives the
; tree of vitality. The mistletoe seeds are used
: as an article of food by the birds, and thus tran-
I sposed to the forest trees, where they adhere by
means of a natural gluten until germination
takes place.
The change of flags in 1821, produced a
change with many ot the citizens, when much
local information connected with I lorida was
lost. This province, when ceded to the L nited
States, was divided in two parts, called East
and West Florida. Petitions were frequently
forwardod to Washington, with a request to
have the country remain divided, as it was in
conveniently large.
During the Indian war, which soon followed,
many new explorations were made iu the hid
den hammocks and intricate recesses ol the
country.
The drinking water used in Florida, does not
come from mountain streams nor Arctic regions,
but in many instances is not palatable, unless
mixed with lemon or orange juice. Such a
mixture is healthful as well as ageeable.
Mosquitoes abound in some places on the
coast, and to the dwellers in tents, the impres
sion has no doubt been received, that the air
was made of these insects.
There is a due propotion of fleas in some
parts of Florida, but uot more than in the sandy
soil of other countries.
The olimate is constantly tempered by the
Gulf Stream that conducts away the tropical
heat, returning in a submarine current the cooler
waters from the North, thus producing an at
mosphere of salubrious influence and lite-renew-
ing properties.
No month is without its fresh products and
fruits, while every warm day the mocking-bird
sings above our head on some airy perch.
Many theories have been advanced in regard
to the formation of terra firm# on our conti
nent ; the one most generally received being
that it was all once submerged under water as
a proof of which shells and other marine depos
its have been discovered in elevated positions
which only could have been placed there by the
sea overflowing the land and then receding.
When this conclusion is attained Florida can
not be included, as every year the land aug
ments from the combined efforts of the coral in
sects, Limulus and Barnacles, together with the
debris which is deposited upon these afterwards.
If the disturbing influence along the shore from
fierce gales were less, the increase ot land would
be much greater, as winds and waves are as de
structive to the prosperity of these subterranean
architects as tornadoes and cyclones to tfie
growth of fine forest trees. . . , .
The coral insect is constantly working m his
briny bed, making masonry which resists 1
action of the element in which it is placed, thus
laying the foundation for Islands and conti-
Ttt the work of these madrepores and polyps
which form the reefs that wreck so many ves
sels on the Florida coast and make fortunes for
those who follow salvage entirely as their source
of subsistence and support. bmviA Sunshine.