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The Toccoa Record
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Vol. XXIX.
& The Smugglers ®
« •
&
On the border line between New
York and Canada is a small sheet
•f water overhung at one point by
a high cliff known as the Smug¬
gler's Shadow, concerning the ori¬
gin of which name is given the fol¬
lowing singular story:
“What did you make of them,
Burk ?”
“They are a s'picious looking
crowd, and I set them down as
United States officers.”
“Jes' my jedgment, and I reckon
the boys had better be put on the
lookout.”
“Co’rect. Tell them to meet
down to Lingo's, and I'll be 'long
later. I jes' wan ter see if every¬
thing is all right at the Horseshoe.”
“Hadn't you better take one of
the boys 'long with you? You”—
“Bah! Do you think Burk Bran¬
don has lost the mettle of this good
right arm ? No; I’ll go to the Horse¬
shoe alone, and I'll come back, too,
in spite of them hounds of the law.”
They were known as farmers by
the few settlers of that thinly pop¬
ulated oountry, though had the
truth been known they, with half a
dozen others, followed the more haz¬
ardous and unlawful vocation of
smuggling.
The appearance of several strange
men in that vicinity had naturally
enough aroused their fears. It had
been less than a year since some of¬
ficers had suddenly appeared search¬
ing for the smugglers supposed to
be lurking succeeded in that locality. Though
they had in throwing the
officials off their track then, it would
be more difficult to do it again.
Anxious each to go his way, the
precious twain separated, the young¬
er hastening to warn their associ¬
ates of the impending danger, while
the other bent his steps toward the
hiding place of their contraband
goods.
“So the hounds think to smell
me out!” muttered the smuggler
chief as he followed his way. “Well,
tnebbe they will, but more'n likely
they'll find that old Burk Brandon
has a keener scent than they I” And
he 6miled grimly, while a latent fire
shone in his small gray eyes.
It was already nightfall that when he
reached by boat part of^the
lake's » overlooked by granite
*M derable height, but the
moon had risen, so the smuggler
was enabled to pursue his course
without difficulty.
Winding his way amid the bowl¬
ders that hemmed in his path and
then wading throug h a shallow pool
of water, he finally came upon a
spot where the cliff overhanging the
water in a semicircle formed a small
cove which could not be seen until
fairly reached.
A narrow shelf about midway on
the side of the precipitous ascent
offered a foothold, and along this
Brandon unhesitatingly threaded
his course.
When reaching the toe of this ■
shoe shaped retreat, he gained an
. opening in the rocky wall where the
curious pathway ended.
Entering within the dark recess,
he lighted a lantern and began to
examine the place, which was in
truth nearly filled with auch articles
as he and his confederates had con¬
cealed there, hoping to dispose of
them at their leisure.
“Poor fools,” he muttered, •‘to
think that 1 shall run the risk of
staying in these part* longer.
Enough of these valuables to make
me independent, nigut. Ha. and ha! I Some am off of thia this
very
old wine will dear my head for the
work before me.”
Speaking thus to himself, with an
occasional potation of the liquor, he
lecting passed perhaps the treasures half an he hour wished in col¬ to
take away with him. Then, with a
farewell look at the balance of their
plunder, he turned to retrace hia
course.
Beaching the mouth of the cav¬
ern, he found that the moon had
risen above the line of the cliff so
that its mellow light Jell full upon
Toccoa, Georgia, October 10 1902.
Horseshoe cove, lighting the place
to almost midday brilliancy.
about Extinguishing the light, he was
to step out on the rocky path¬
way when he started back with a
low cry.
Upon the opposite wall of the
cliff he had discovered the shadowy
outlines of a man with one hand
uplifted and pointed toward him.
At first he thought the wine he
had drunk had bewildered his brain
and that the image was but a hal¬
lucination.
He rubbed his eyes and looked
again to find it still there, and after
a few minutes he waa forced to be¬
lieve his sight.
“Ha, I see!” he chuckled. “'Tia
some one on the cliff, and his shad¬
ow falls on the rock there. Perhaps
'tis one of the officers looking for
me! But his shadow has betrayed
him. I'll wait till he is gone before
1 venture out.”
un account oi a projecting rock
he could not see the pathway from
his covert, and he dared not leave
the cave lest he should be discov¬
ered and fired upon by his foes.
Had he been armed with other than
a knife he would have felt less un¬
easy. As it was he Uy quiet, wait-
ingfor the danger to pass.
The time wore tediously away
while his gaze was riveted on the
shadowy blurred form until his eyes became
and his limbs benumbed.
To his wonder, the figur e contin-
ued motionless, thougn once or
twice he fancied there was a slight
movement.
Several times he was upon the
point of leaving the cave, trusting
to escape, but he refrained from
taking the risk.
“The furies take 'em!” he mut¬
tered. like “They can shoot me down
a dog without my lifting a fin¬
ger.”
He chafed at his helpless position
and blamed himself for coming
higher again to the the great place, round while higher stole ana
moon
up the dark blue dome of night.
Still there was no visible change
In the shadow on the rock. In hi*
bewildered state he never realized
that with the ascent of the moon it*
shape would alter and us position
vary, or if he did give it a passing
thought it only served to intensify
the mystery and increase his fears.
Vainly he waited for it to disap¬
pear—waited until to his feverish
vision it grew plainer in outline, un¬
til the shadowy limbs seemed sub¬
stantial, the body the rounded form
of a living being.
“I can't stand this any longer,!”
he cried at last. “I must take my
chances whatever they be.”
Freeing himself of the plunder
he had hoped to take away, so that
he would not be undulv cumbered,
he crept out upon the snelf.
Not a sound broke the stillness of
the night save the ceaseless murmur
of the sea.
Now that his back was turned
upon the phantom figure and that
his hurried survey of the scene dis¬
covered no one, ne moved forward
with rising hope.
He had passed half of the circular
distance from the cave to the end of
the narrow pathway without any¬
thing to alarm him, though at each
furtive glance he saw the change¬
less shadow, when the sound of
footsteps reached his ears.
A moment later a man's form
came around the edge of the cliff,
and then a second and a third.
With a low cry he turned to re¬
trace his course to the cavern,
knowing that once there he could
defend himself against a dozen, but
in his excitement he missed his foot¬
hold, and, clutching in vain upon
the ledge, he went headlong down its
jagged side upon the rocks below.
A piercing cry that rang far and
elear on the night air, a sullen
splash in the water and a deathlike
silence followed.
The newcomer# proved to be some
of his own confederates, who, anx¬
ious at his nonappearance, had come
in search of him.
The smugglers were ibout to de¬
scend to the side of their unfortu¬
nate leader when they saw for the
first time the shadow of the cliff.
Without stopping to solve the
mystery, they beat a hasty retreat
to their homes.
“Good Will to All Men.’
The next day it was found that
the supposed shadow was the paint¬
ed figure of a man, and, strange
enough, Burk Brandon’s idiotic son
had done the work. He had come
to the place in a boat and, having
singular aptness in this respect, had
performed his self imposed task with
remarkable faithfulness to nature,
In the glimmer of the moonlight
his father's mistake was not unnat-
ural, though it had cost him his
life. With the death of their chief
the smugglers no longer continued
their nefarious business, so that
Witless Jack had unconsciously ren-
dered an inestimable service. That
was several years since, and, though
the figure has faded from the rock,
the place is known as the Smug-
gler's Shadow.
Some Family Talk.
“This is a hard family to live
with!” pouted the piano. “Miss Su-
fie pounds me every day for an hour
or two!”
“Well, at least you don't have to
work,” exclaimed the clock, “My
hands are never idle. They keep
them moving every minute and sec¬
ond.”
“Talk about wo'AJ” cried the ta-
ble. “Why, almost everything is
put on me.
“1 wouldn't mind work,” observed
the lamp, <f but I'm sensitive, and it
isn't pleasant when you're quite
bright to be turned down once or
twice every evening.”
“Sensitive!” sneered the mirror.
*Think of the ugly faces often
turned on me!”
“And think also," said the carpet,
“how the children jump on me. Still
Fm not worn out yet.”
“You may all talk till you're
tired, yet you must admit that not
one of you is »o sat upon as I am,”
finished the chair decisively.
Changed His Mind.
At the Oxford assizes recently a
charge man was placed having in the dock on the
o stolen a horse.
The oase for the prosecution
seemed to leave no doubt on the
minds of those present that a con¬
viction would be sure to follow.
However, it transpired that a very
clever counsel had been engaged for
the defense, and the construction he
put upon the case, together with his
eloquent pleading, had such an ef¬
fect on the jury that they brought
in a verdict of “not guilty,” and the
prisoner was accordingly acquitted.
After he had left the precincts of
the court he was accosted by a “pal”
thus:
“Now, look 'ere, Bill, it's all over
now, and I should like to know the
truth. Did you really steal that
horse?”
“Well ” said Bill, “I don't mind
telling you that when I stepped into
the blooming dock I thought I had,
but after listening to that lawyer
chap I don't believe I did.”—Lon¬
don Answers.
The Elder Dumas.
The old story of Alexandre Du¬
mas' 53 francs has been served up
in a new and better guise. One day,
it is said, Dumas fils found his fa¬
ther working as usual. “How are
you?” “I am very tired.” “You
ought to rest.” Then Dumas open¬
ed his drawer and, showing him two
twenty franc pieces, said: “My dear
boy, when I arrived in Paris in
1823,1 had 53 francs. You see now
I have only 40. I cannot possibly
rest until 1 have managed to catch
up those 13 francs.”
It was Dumas fils who said of his
father, “My climb father is so vain that
he would upon the seat of his
own ple carriage think in order to make peo¬
that he kept a negro
coachman.”
Ae to 8cotch Jokes.
In Scotland there would still ap¬
pear to be gome ground for Scotchman Sydney
Smith'* taunt that the
is wanting in appreciation of hu-
mor. The editor of a certain reli-
gioua Journal announced to his read¬
ers that as the paper “has been re¬
ceived with so much favor and has
so considerable a circulation it will
in future be published once It a is month
instead of once a week.” pos¬
sible, of course, that the editor may
be a wag.— Exchange.
Successor to Toccoa Times and Toccoa News.
THEY ARE PASSING.
Some Are a Little 8low In Going, but
They're Passing.
Take a walk through any of the
cemeteries throughout the country,
and you will believe with us that
fools are slowly but surely passing
away.
With silent tread you pass the
last resting place of the individual
who blew into an empty gun.
The modest tombstone of the
hired girl who lighted the fire with
kerosene and the grass covered
mouud that covers tne mortal re-
mains of a boy who took a mule by
the tail are near by.
The tall monument of the man
who didn't know it was loaded over-
shadows the dugout of the man who
jumped off the cars to save a ten
rod walk.
Side by side lie the remains of the
ethereal creature who always kept
her corset laced up to the last hole
and the intellectual idiot that rode
a bicycle nine miles in ten minutes.
Here repose the young doctor
who took a dose of his own medi¬
cine and the old fool who married a
young wife.
Right over yonder in the north¬
west corner, where the gentle
breezes sigh through the weeping
willows, lies the fellow who told his
mother-in-law she lied.
Down there in the potter’s field,
with hi§ feet sticking out to the
rude blast of winter and the blister¬
ing rays of 'summer's sun, are
stretched all the earthly remains of
the misguided regulator who tried to
lick the editor, while the broken
bones of the man who wouldn't pay
for his paper are piled up in the
fence corner.
Near by, his grave unmarked, re¬
poses the moldering dust of the ed¬
itor who starved to death trying to
run a first class paper in a second
class town.
Over by the entrance repose the
boy who went swimming too early
in the season and the lady who kept
strychnine and baking powder side
by side in the cupboard.
Right there in the path directly
in front of the entrance, obstruct¬
ing the way, is the grave of the mi¬
crobe killer who rinsed himself in¬
side and out with antiseptic solu¬
tions until his agonies were cut
short by acute softening of the
brain.—Exchange.
That Old, Familiar 8ign.
A Frenchman recently propound¬
ed through the columns of the Liv¬
erpool Post a problem which may
not be without interest for Amen*
cans. At any rate it involves a prin¬
ciple of rhetoric which ought not to
be disregarded.
I am in Liverpool since a month,
writes the French gentleman, and I
saw many things the which I stupe¬
fy; but of these this most amaze me.
On your tramcars one writes, “Pas¬
sengers are requested not to board
or leave the car while in motion.”
“Board” I comprehend not. My
friend say it is aborder to go on
ship, therefore one me demanded
not to go on car and not go off
whilst in motion.
How can that be? I see thou¬
sand passengers since four weeks go
on and go off a car, but they all go
whilst in motion. Shall one expli¬
cate how passengers whilst not in
motion have power to go on and off
a car ?
Her Order.
A stylishly dressed woman en¬
tered a restaurant. The waiter
handed her a bill of fare written in
French and said:
“Please mark off the dishes you
wish to order.”
Could a woman dressed in the
height of fashion confess that she
could not read French ? Taking the
pencil, she made a few dashes, and
the order read: “Dinner, 2s., Nov.
20. Vegetables. Please pay at the
desk. Celery.”
The fiendish waiter brought her
beefsteak and onions, but she did
not dare to raise a word in protest.
—London Standard.
ou Know What You are Taking
When you take Grove’s Tasteless Chill
Tonic because the formula is plainly print-
ad on every bottle showing that it is simply
X on and Quinine in a tasteless form. Ne
re, No Pay. flOo.
No. 3 q
. WAGNER'S POVERTY.
Times When the Great Composer Had
to Face Actual Want.
During the sojourn of. the Wag-
ners in Paris, from 1939 to 1842,
they often had to face actual want,
At these crises his wife, Minna, al-
ways tried to help her husband to
the best of her ability. Once when
it seemed utterly impossible to him
to procure even the amount necea-
sary for their daily food he suggeat-
ud to Minna to pawn her f6w trin-
kets. Only then did he learn that
she had already done so and that, in
fact, they had been living for some
time on the proceeds. While mak¬
ing such sacrifices she did every¬
pensesTliiding thing she could to curtail the ex-
from her husband aa
much of the discomfort of their
poor home as possible. She cleaned
house, stood at the washtub, did the
mending and cooking, willingly and
cheerfully. She was a little heroine,
and well might Wagner in after
years speak of her sacrifices at this
time, as he is said to have done,
with tears in his eyes.
Wagner was always sensitive re¬
garding his personal appearance,
and during these years of poverty in
Paris his wardrobe had become sad¬
ly in need of replenishing. Yet
money wherewith to do this was
lacking. Before his birthday cam#
around in May, 1840, Minna, in or¬
der to give him special pleasure on
that day, hunted through Paris un¬
til she found a small German tailor
who, moved by her persuasiveness,
made a suit of clothes in time for
Wagner's birthday, agreeing to wait
for payment until a more if avorabl#
opportunity. To Wagner's credit
be it said that, however much in
later years her lack of appreciation
for his genius may have estranged
him from her, he never, even after
separation, hesitated to acknowledge
her devotion to him during the most
trying periods of his life.—North
American Review.
The Dog Came Back.
A medical man in London lost
his dog. It was not a beauty, but
handsome enough to be stolen, and
it was a great pet of his wife. He
hit upon an ingenious device for re¬
covering it at a cheap price. He
put the the following advertisement in
paper:
“Lost, a small black dog, from
Mayfair street. It is of no value
even to the owner, but kind hearted
persons who have been moved to
take it are warned not to do so, as
the animal has been much experi¬
mented upon for scientific purposes
and may become involuntarily a
source of great danger.”
The dog came back the same day,
in time for afternoon tea.
The Bank Swallow's Nost.
The bank swallow is a bird whos#
nest is a hole excavated in th# earth
along the bluffs of streams. I have
seen a high bank of the Ohio river
made to look like a huge honeycomb
by thousands of these holes, and th#
air was swarming with the birds
that lived in them. It was indeed a
city of sand swallows, a metropolis
where perfect equality prevailed in
the architecture, the internal finis h
and the furniture of the homes. The
houses were as much alike as the
birds themselves.— Maurice Thomp¬
son.
His Hobby.
An old country sexton in showing
visitors round the churchyard used
to stop at a certain tombstone and
say, “This 'ere is the tomb of Turn-
mas 'Ooper an' 'is eleven woivea.”
One day a lady remarked: “Elev¬
en? Dear me, that's rather a lot,
isn't it ?”
The old man looked at her grave¬
ly and replied, “Well, mum, yer see
it was an 'obby of 'is'n."
"Old Grog."
The sailor's word rt ‘grog” got its
origin from Admiral Vernon of the
British navy, who was known as
“Old Grog” because his favorite
clothing was of grogram, a fabric
of silk and mohair. The old sea
dog punished his sailors for derelic¬
tion of duty by diluting their daily
ration of liquor with much water, a