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RED BRADBURY'S END.
i "! 0G - o1( 1 man maundered, as he layhis length in the bf and,
■ 100, God bless you, my son. but your dad sno better than ueaa,
, J-.b, lin a powerful sinner, and 1 thank the l,onl tor the same,
I tint. Joe. I’m dying, 1 tell you! Joe, Joe, and 1 can't die game.
“Aye. old man,’’ said the son, "die game Or die like a rat;^
If you please to sneak into heaven I-see no harm in that.
"But the parson, Joe. for pity!” The son leaned forth from his chair,
And the old man shrank and whimpered ami shuddered away irOm ins eta.a
It was night and the wind blew loud, and the rain swept ovhKjhe-moor,
; And one< and again a branch tap-tapped-like a hand at the door;
i The fire' leaped, Dickered, and tell, to rid a -candle guttered and winked,
J And the old man peered at the light till his eyelids reddened and blinked.
“Joe,” he quavered again. “ 'twas cunning, eh, my son?
We stopped the mouths of the rogues, and we fought the law and we won.
But I tell you here as I he, 1 can see those, corpses stand,
Witli a tongue in every wound, all bloody at God's right hand.
“I can’t die yet! I can’t! Oh, mercy! 11l tell! i’ll tell!
Quick fetch me a parson, Joe, and save tny soul out of hell!”
The old man stopped, tor his breath came short, and light crew dim;
, Cut he shicked, "i'm going to God, and I must get right with ,Him!”
i • ,i4 ’ 4 i
"Dad,” said the son, "lie still; die easy; let bygones be.
Now your own no<-k’s tree of the noos-- you shall tell no talcs on me.
We’ve kept our counsel together; get with Gcal if you will;
God tells no tales, but parsons may, undTf f?ay, lie still!”
Then the whole pent rage and Remorse of the old man burst In a cry,
And he hounded up in the heel and he Dung up tils arms on high;
His clenched lists beating the air; then he doubled and fell on the bed.
And his eyt-B were a fear to see; they lived, but the man was dead
—Arthur Hymens, in The Han Francisco Argonaut.
WOLF-MATES.
BY JOHN BIRD I'URN HAM.
The wolves In the arctic prey upon
the barren ground caribou, and arc
born and grow up on the flanks-of
the wandering herds. The gaunt moth
er wolves single out and pull down
suckling calves that their own baby
wolves may grow big and strong, and
capture for thernselveS and their, off
spring other calves in the years to
come. From ages of this kind of liv
ing the wolves have grown to regard
t!*v caribou as belonging to them, in
summer they follow the herds, north
through the barren grounds' to the
shores of the polar ocean, at;d in win-t
ter (hoy retreat with the caribou to.
the shelter of the pine and spruce for
ests just below the arctic circle.
Orice in a while a few wolves be-’
come separated, through’- sickness Or
Injury, from the particular herd,,.that
has been their inheritance, and some
of these recover health and' strength 1 ;
but their lot Is a hard one, '-especially ,
In seasons when rabbits are scarce.
Such wolves, desperate from hunger,
rush Into Indian camps, and carry off
dogs from under their, masters’ r very,,
eyes. Sometimes they fall tiff oh ihS
Indians thoni&hlvcs, -so that it is'by
no means safe for children or unarmed
persons to wander alpne, ih the,forest..
Donald Mckercher and. I had an ex
perience with a pair of these 'stray
■wolves last winter, whilo cahvperl' pn
the Yukon, just below the mouth of
the Pelly. We had selected a cabin
site in a thick spruce growth at one
extremity'of a little arena-like (hit,
and were engaged in sledding supplies
form our boats, which lay wrecked qn
a bar in the ice-locked channel of the
river between two Islands a little more
than quarter of a mile away. At the
time we were living in a tent on the
Island nearest the boats. The day we
began our work Mac, on his return
from a short reconuoitering trip, said
to me:
“Down at yon point there's an old
efcoop camp, and the place is all trod
den up with wolves and wild crea
tures. They’ve been digging in the
snow and rooting out bones. We'd bet
ter put out some poison for the
beasts."
As we were greatly in need of furs
for bedding and storm clothing, and
had some strychnin with us, I assent
ed to Mac’s proposition. He groped
deep In his clothing sack, and present
ly drew forth a roll of red flannel,
from the center of which he produced
a tiny bottle, containing the strychnin.
“Mon, hut’s dangerous stuff to han
dle!” he said. "It’s death in a mustard
seed, as you might say. I’m going over
to the next island to mix it. It would
not be safe to have it so near where
we cook ami cat."
Half an hour later he returned, hold
ing at arm's length a tin lard can cov
er. on which were a dozen or more
cubes of poisoned grease about the,
si/e of caramels. The gloom of the
sunless day was already deepening in
to night, but we could not afford to
lose time in the matter, and so we
started down the river to put the
poison out for the wolves.
At the old sheep camp the place was
so tracked up by wolf trails that it
would be next to impossible io single
out and follow the trail of any parti
cular animal taking cur poison.
“We can’t do anything here tonight.”
said Mac, ruefully. "We will take the
poison out on the river, away from
this tangle, and hide it, and tomorrow
we can come back and select gcod
places and put out the baits.”
We dug a hole in the snow in the
center of the channel between the
mainland and an island, and buried
the poison where the ravens could not
find and devour it.
The following morning we were con
siderably surprised to find the evenly
punctuated footprints cf a walking
wolf paralleling ours of the previous
afternoon, and leading directly to the
poison. There the wolf had pawed
away the snow, and the tin lid and
Its contents were lying on the surface,
exposed plainly to view. We could
not be cure .that the wolf had eaten
any of the bait, as we had neglected
to count the number of pieces. But
the trail made by the wolf on leaving
the spot was significant. It was evi
dent that he- had been galloping tow-’
ard a little column of vapor.
“That’s the steam from open water,’’
said Mac. “Poisoned animals make for
write* the first thing, arid I'm thinking
we’ll be sleeping on a wolf robe be
fore ,a great while.” v
We followed the train, "which became
"•eveWtually ah uncertain ’’zigzag; and
•presently we saw some .ravens fly up
from the sloping river bank into the
trees above. They were, cloaking,
hoarsely. Below them lay a’ groat'
gaunt'white wolf: Here’ and there the.
snow, was,flecked with blood, A fresh
scar in his side showed that the rav
ens had already begun their work.
‘ There was a certain - appearance of
benignity about the dead beast hat
did not at all accord, with our pre
conceived opinion of wolves. The head*
was ret on" aM pqWriiful neck and
erriwped.with an almost leonine ruff of
thiefc. coarge hair. 'The wolf was well,
on ill’years. fliS teeth*were blunted,
ho wait blind in one Aye, and two great
tushes projected from his mouth at
the side.
‘ Half a porcupine quills were
sticking in his-' hose, mute evidence of
the straits 'to \vhij-h. hunger had re
duced thq old .monarch.
Mac raised the \Volf on my should
ders, rum talcing furns, we managed to
carry him (o.ehnip.
Soon Mac went up the river three
miles to, a cache of supplies, and I re
sumed niy laslp of sledding our outfit
to the 'cabin-site. * At . the spot where
the dead wolf had fallen, we had hid
den the poison under the river bank,
forgetting in the'* excitement of the
capture to put out any more. After
Mac had gone, 1 determined to go
down and distribute it in suitable
places before the end of the afternoon.
But something happened which
changed my plans.
On my third trip, as I was plodding
along, dragging the heavily loaded
sled by a rope over one shoulder, I
saw the imprint of a wolf’s claws in
the trail directly over my own foot
marks of a few minutes before. It
was evident that a wolf had been dog
ging my steps. I was totally unpre
pared for defence. I left the sled
where it was, and hurrying to the tent,
secured a rifle. With that in my
hands, I hoped to see the beast.
Why had the wolf been following
me on the open river? If it was seek
ing a chance to attack me, the most
natural course would have been to lie
in wait in the spruce grove through
which I passed to the cabin site. I
continued my trip through this piece of
woodland without molestation, and no
sound broke the stillness.
It was not until I had gone back
to the boats, taken on another load,
and was returning on the sinuous path
that I saw new “sign”—a fresh wolf
trail branching at right angles from
the sled track and heading down riv
er in the direction of the sheep camp.
It was evident that the wolf had been
traveling on the path toward me, and
had only turned aside at the last mo
ment. when a meeting was otherwise
inevitable.
I ran to a place where 1 could see
beyond the island, and, sure enough,
there was the wolf in plain sight, at
that moment climbing the river bank
at the identical spot where the first
wolf had died.
1 threw the rifle to my face, but a
great leap carried the beast out of
sight in the snow-laden forest; and
as It did not come into view again, 1
lowered the gun and stood waiting and
watching. Some ravens flew up from
the ground into a tree nearer my posi
tion than the place where the wolf
had disappeared. Then a red squirrel,
at a point still closer, began chatter
ing. I heard a crackling in the brush
that, grew at the river's edge directly
opposite; but st aiu iu.v eyes as I
would, I could see nothing at which
to aim.
The sounds ceased, and I became
aKvare that my feet were, very cold and
niy body fast growing numb. I could
wait no longer; but before returning
to the sled', I ran across to the main
land, and made ; sure from the evi
dence of the snow that it was the wolf
I had "heard returning under cover of
the timber.
I. saw nothing further of the wolf
that day. After, unloading my sled
at the cache among the spruce, I
made my way to the tent, for it was
fast growing dark and time to knock
off work. It struck me ap odd that
the wolf had touched none of our pro
visions. It had passed close to the
cache several times, and must have
scented the pork and bacon, which
should have been tempting to such a
hungry beast. Near the tent I saw no
wolf tracTks,'and'T rftentioned this to
Mac when recounting the incidents
of the afternoon.
Before we turned in that night .it
began snowing. The fall was' less
than an inch, but it was sufficient to
blot out the old tracks, and leave the
land and frozen river a fresh white
• page. Mac was the first to lenve the
.tent in the morning. ' He was back
again almost immediately, and fram
ing his head in the flaps of the tent,
said:
.“ .“Your wolf’s been after her mate,
mon. She came last, night to within 30
feet of us, where he hangs on the fall
en tree. I surmised when you were
telling her actions that •it was not
you, after all, she was seeking.”
A light broke in upon me, and I
began to realize the meaning of what
had appeared, on the part of the ani
mal, such a contradictory mixture of
daring and timidity.
“She smelled the scent of him on
your clothes,” continued Mac, “and
she feared the worst; but she would
•riot lea,ve the place till .she was con
vinced. It’s usual,” he added, “for
wolves, when they find there’s poison
0ut,.t.0, -disappear as if by magic. This
one’s no common beast.”
. “I believe you are right, Mac,” I re
plied. “Now that she knows the truth,
do you' think she will leave for good
and- all?” '; -.
‘“N.q doubt about it. She’ll go clean
out of the country.”
T But Mac’s judgment was at fault for
Once. The trail from the tent led di
rectly down the river, and anxious to
know more of the wolf’s movements,
we followed. She had gone as the
crow flies, straight across one of the
telands to the spot where the first
wolf died. Mac, who was leading,
paused -.when he reached this place,
and as I' came to his side, he pointed
to a hole in the snow and the over
turned tin which contained our for
gotten poison.
“She’s eaten nearly all of it,” he
announced, in a solemn, awestruck
.tone. “Who would have thought it in;
a beast.”
A little farther on we found the
wolf’s dead body, still warm. One paw
jested on a dead raven, which she had
apparently killed in her last agony;
and warned by their companion’s fate,
the other ravens had not ventured to
approach.
This, wolf was smaller and darker
than the first, and was in better con
dition. Her fur was deep and rich,
and even in death the implied grace
and mobility of action made her. a
beautiful creature. Her eyes were
bright and intelligent, and the ex
pression was that of some great, affec
tionate dog, rather than the cunning
of a wild creature.
We stood a moment in silence, looking
ing at the dead creature, and then
Mac expressed what was in my mind.
“She could not stand it to lose her
mate.” he said, simply. “When she
found he was dead, she could not bear
to live herself. She knew well what
had killed him and where it was to be
had. She felt the grief of a person.
It's well, mon, the poor beast had no
soul to lose.”—From Youth’s Compan
ion.
Prisoner Judges His Own Case.
Hamilton Murray, a wealthy farmer,
was arrested yesterday for intoxica
tion, and was taken before Judge
Gass for trial todal.
The judge recognized Murray as an
old offender, and asked him what he
thought ought to be done with a man
who would get drunk so often. Mur
ray replied that he hardly knew what
he would do, and the court replied
that believing him to be an honest
man he would appoint him judge to try
his own case.
Murray made a short speech in
which he said that some leniency
should be shown on account of the in
fluence of long habit and because his
was never a case of willful violation
of the law. “Nevertheless,” he con
tinued. “for repeated failure to heed
the warnings of this court I fine you
the sum of 510.”
Taking out his pocketbook he hand
ed the clerk 510 and walked out of the
court room.—Muncie (Ind.) Dispatch
to the New' York Sun.
His Views.
Hewitt —Are you in favor of capital
punishment?
Jewett —I thipk capitalists should be
punished.—Judge.
Georgia Briefs
Items of State Interest Culled
From Random Sources.
Must First Organize Distrjct.
In answer to a question from the
comptroller general as to the period
for which a school district may collect
taxes, Attorney General Hart has held
that a district in order to collect taxes
for the year within which it is created
must be organized prior to the date
fixed by law for the return of taxes
* * *
Slow Demand for Fertilizers.
Trade In fertilizers this year indi
cates a falling off of about 16 to 25
per cent, as compared with last year,
according to information received at
the state department of agriculture.
Last year the sales of fertilizers in
Georgia were something more than 700,-.
000 tons. Present indications point to
the fact that this year’s sales are like
ly to fall below 600,000 tons for all
purposes. . . ,
Prisonerse Cremated in Jail.
The ' county jail at Statesville was
destroyed by fire, believed.to he of in
cendiary origin, one nigHt the past
week, and two negro.prisoners burned
to death. One. of the prisoners was
charged with shooting a man named
Westberry in a recent riot between
negro employees of Perkins Brothers, a
sawmill firm, and white citizens and of
ficers, and it is believed that the fire
was an aftermath of this affair. There
has been much ill feeling, between two
factions in the county.
Medicines Subject to Liquor Tax:
John G. Capers of the internal rev
nue department in Washington has
submitted, to the revenue agents in
Georgia a list of 54 inedicinal prepa
rations, any one of which if handled
by a Georgia druggist, will require pay
ment of the internal revenue tax or li
cense. The list shows under analysis,
a sufficient amount of alcohol to re-,
quire payment of this license tax.
Now anew question has arisen with
druggists. How many of these prepara
tions would fall under the ban of the
6tate prohibition law? One druggist
appeals to Attorney General Hart for
instructions.
Electric Road. Seeks Franchise.
Austyn Granville of New York, who
is engaged in gold mining two miles
from Ac worth, has petitioned the Ac
worth city council .for a franchise to
run an electric railway through the
streets of Acworth; Mr. Granville and
his associates, all New York capitalists,
propose to run the ' electric railway
from Ac worth to Kennesaw, Lena,
Noonday, Elizabeth, thence to Mariet
. ta, and north to connect with Allatoo
' na, Bartow, Hugo, Emerson to Car
tersviile. A part of the track has
already been laid and a large amount
of the machinery ordered. Work will
be pushed forward at once.
* * *
Patterson Again Heads Embalmers.
The annual meeting of the Georgia
board of embalmers was held in Macon
the past week. The principal business
of the meeting consisted in admitting
seven applicants as licensed embalm
ers.
H. M. Patterson of Atlanta was
again elected president of the board,
and L. H. Burghard of Macon was
made secretary and treasurer.
The applicants who were admitted as
embalmers Were H. E. Strong of At
lanta, Holt Waterhouse of Macon, E.
D. Newsome of Augusta, W. A. Curry of
Valdosta, H. F. McCoy, Robert Harri
son and Sarah Watson.
Teachers to Meet in Augusta.
Preparations are being made for the
annual meeting of the Georgia Educa
tional Association which is to be held
at Augusta next April 30, continuing
through May 2. Over 1,000 teachers
from every quarter of the state are ex
pected to be present.
Lawton B. Evans of Augusta, presi
dent of the organization, is now arrang
ing a program and flooding every coun
ty with invitations, and is being assist
ed in his efforts to make the meeting
a success by Vice President C. B.
Chapman of Macon, Secretary R. B.
Daniel of Valdosta, Treasurer J. C.
Wardlaw of Milledgeville and by State
School Commissioner J. M. Pound. Com
missioner Pound is particularly eager
to see a large attendance at the con
vention.
* * •
County Clashes With Government.
The read overseers of Catoosa coun
ty, on the Tennessee state line, and
the federal authorities are now in a
tangle over the right of the state of-
STOP AT THE
ZETTLER HOUSE.
The best SI.OO a day house in the
c:ty.
£53 FOURTH ST., MACON, GA„
Mrs. A. L. Zettier, Proprietress.
ficer to make employees of the gov
ernment do road work.
Some weks ago the Catoosa county
road man notified a number of team
sters and other hands working on the
government reservation to appear with
pick and shovel to do a part, in work
on county roads in that section. The
men failed to appear and the road com
missioners caused their arrest and im
prisonment.
The matter was brought to the at
tention of the , federal authorities in
Washington and communication was
opened with the district attorney in At
lanta. Colonel Hen-ley of the district
attorney’s forces went to . Catoosa
county and appearing before Judge
Fite of that circuit secured the release
of the men upon a nominal,bond. The
case will be taken up before Judge
Fite at Cartersville shortly.
C,otton School Work Endorsed.
The 103 farmers attending the Uni
versity Cottori' School adopted resolu
tions in which they stress the import
ance of education and the good work
being done by the --University -.Cotton
School. The resolutions conclude as
follows:
: “Inasmuch . as' the income of the
State is’ -approximately $5,000,000 {a
year, it is certainly not asking too
mqch ■ that one-hundredth part' of ; [this
revenue be set aside for the maiute
riane of agricultural education, which
is the backbone of the state.”
Hon. J. J. Connor, president of the
Georgia Agricultural Society, chairman
of the board of trustees of the agricul
tural college connected with the uni
versity, and also author of the bill
which authorized the appropriation of
SIOO,-000 for the foundation of that col
lege, states that the great success of
the cotton school during its initial ses
sion will undoubtedly result in an ex
tension of the time for the next term.
The interest in the school is growing
by leaps and bounds all over the state.
Seed Crushers to Aid Dairymen.
Secretary C. L., of the
Georgia Dairy and.Live Stock Associa
*•'.**; ;.*. * .*
tion has sent out announcements from
his home at Experiment Station, stating
that the funds of the 'organization are
so low as to cause its ab an don mei> t ■ un -
less more funds-- are secured whereby
to continue this important associa
tion.
He states that those expected to con
tribute most largely to its support, the
faririers, have failed to do so.
One of these circulars. ,w' en t to Pres
ident Harper of the Cotton Seed Crush
ers Association of Georgia and another
•to Secretary Wallace at his home in
Augusta. These officers have, at once,
taken up the work of rescuing the
dairymen’s association by having the
members of the Cotton Seed Crushers
Association in Georgia take out itrem
bership and contribute to its support.
Should the Georgia Dairy and Live
Stock Association have to disorganize
for lack of support, it would be noth
ing short of a calamity, to not only
the farmers who are feeding and rais
ing cattle, but to those who manufac
ture products that are extensively used
in connection therewith, for it is well
known that cotton seed meals and hulls
are the best and cheapest stock food
on the market.
HUSBAND CANNOT HIRE WIFE.
Decision in Novel Case Rendered by Fed
eral Judge Erawley.
According to an interesting decision
filed in the federal court at Columbia,
S. C., by Judge Brawley, a wife is
not entitled to any compensation for
services rendered to her husband, re
gardless of any contract between the
two to that effect, although she Is
entitled to recovery for such services
rendered to another. The case is that
of J. L. Scruggs, a bankrupt merchant
of Fountain Inn, Greenville county.
Mrs. Scruggs put in a claim for 5554
for services as clerk in her husband s
store.
TORPEDO FLOTILLA JOINS FLEET.
Little Fighting Boats Finally Come Up
With Big Battleships.
The American battleship fleet was
joined Friday in the harbor at Rio Ja
neiro, Brazil, by the torpedo boat flo
tilla. The flotilla left Pernambuco, od
January 13th, and met with good weath
er on the voyage.