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€Ije Cnuufm^ Cmuiti) 3 VOL. I. Don’t Blame tlie World. Don’t blame the world because the thorns „ are found among the roses; The day that breaks in storm may be all sunshine when it closes, We cannot hope to always meet with fort¬ une’s fond caressing; And that which seems most hard to bear may bring with it a blessing. The buried seed must rot in earth ere it pro¬ duce the flower, And the weak plant to fructify must have both sun and shower. So man, to gain development, must struggle with life’s crosses, And view with calm philosophy his trials and his losses. A deadly pois’nous weed may yield a salve of surest healing, The sweetest bloom may pois’nous be al¬ though its bane concealing; Things are not always what they seem, but still ’twas heaven designed them, And we should class them all as good, and take them as we find them. tattle we know' of this brief life and nothing of its sequel, Then let us take in humble trust all that may seem unequal. Cod’s ways are not our ways and He should certainly be trusted; All that is wrong in his good time will sure- be adjusted. THE OVERLAND TRAIN. It lias been proved beyond the shad- ow of a doubt that after the Mormons located at Salt Lake they bent all their energies to two things—making friends with the Indians and seeking to pre¬ vent white people not of their own faith fr< m penetrating into that coun¬ try. They did gain the good will of the several tribes of Indians with whom they came in contact to s :ch a degree as made it safe for a Mormon to go any where. Once in awhile one was killed before he could identify himself, but the man who proved himself Mormon need have no fear of the sav¬ ages, who had been trained from in¬ fancy to bate a white man and take his scalp whenever opportunity of¬ fered. This desideratum was accom- plislicd in various ways. They I made common cause with the redskin against the remainder of the white race, promising him all the scalps and plunder. They made him presents, caused him to be- lieve that they w ? ere persecuted because they espoused his cause, and in other ways got such a firm hold on his affec¬ tions that he became the most powerful ally they could have selected. They made him arrow heads and lance heads, they provided him with his first firearms and best tomahawks, they fed him when he was hungry, and helped to outfit him when he went to war. When the California gold fever be¬ gan to push long wagon trains across the country the Mormons saw what the result would be unless they could stop I the rush. Left to themselves the sava- £ cs wou ^ no doubt have attacked in ev ery case where they was hope of suc- cess, but not one person would have been killed where ten actually yielded up their lives but for the assistance of the accursed D-initc 1 These were the . “good men and true” of the Mormon Church—the enthusiasts and fanatics who could be depended upon to carry 0ut an y or dcr and preserve the secrets the Church with their last breath. They knew the country, the trails, the streams and ravines and valleys from Council Bluffs or St. Joseph to their guides—were They acted as elected as captains of I trains—sought every position which I would enable them to play into the I hands of their allies and work the I destruction of trains. This was not |hvl jtven worked suspected, however, until they I fearful slaughter among the gold seekers. No living will man | Itrain rver people be able to give figures on the |in murdered during the years which the overland trail was in daily Ml The first train I went out with con- KNOXVILLE, CRAWFORD CO., GA„ THURSDAY. MAY 22, 1890. rons and 50 men, women and children, Of these 22 were full- grown men and well armed, and each one fully realized the perils which be¬ set the route. It would seem the height of folly for a husband to invest his all in a span of horses and wagon and set out for California with a sickiy wife and three or four children, but plenty of them did so. Indeed, there was no train without its women and children, and their presence always in¬ creased the dangers. Previous to leav¬ ing St. Joe we had to elect a captain of the train, a “boss,” whose word snould be law until we reached the end of our journey. This position naturally fell to some veteran—some hunter, scout or Indian fighter, who w*as posted as to the route and the ways of the In¬ dians. Some such man was always go¬ ing out with a train. In our case the choice lay be¬ tween two—one an old trapper of many years’ experience, who looked honest and seem id to have had plenty of experience, and a man who was a stranger to all, but who was loud in his boasts of how many Indians ^he had killed and what a brave, careful man he was. Idislikei him at first sight, as I he did me, but though I did all I could to defeat him, he was elected to the position of Captain. He was a fel¬ low with an ugly, sulky look to his face; eyes which were constantly roving about and could never look you square in the face, and in my heart I believed he meant us ill. I found one or tw*o others who entirely agreed with me, but the majority were perfectly satisfied that he was all right, and it would not be pru¬ dent for us to say anything until we had a better foundation than mere suspicion. It would have been rebel¬ lion to speak against him or refuse to obey his orders, and he had the power to disarm us and put us under guard. At that date the train which pro¬ gressed one hundred miles into Kansas was sure to find the advance guard of the Indians. On the fourth day out we sighted some at a distance, and I nar¬ rowly watched our captain. He closed the train up in good order, stationed the defenders where they could do tho most good, and exhibited such nerve and caution that I began to feel ashamed of myself for having suspected his loyalty. But for one circumstance I should have banished all susp cion. We saw the first Indians about two hours before sundown. None of them came nearer than half a mile, seeming to be content with an inspection of our strength. An hour later, and when within two miles of the spot where we proposed to camp, the captain, whose name I have neglected to state was Baker, run up a green flag on one of the wagons. This flag, as we afterward concluded, he must have had secreted about his person. He explained that if we run up a flag the Indians would conclude that thero were soldiers with the train and haul off, and no one—no one but me—questionad the truth or policy of the proceeding. It struck me that he raised the flag for a signal, and when I stated my suspicions to two others of the band they agreed with me that he could have no other object. From that time we watched his every movement with the eyes of a fox, but he made no further sign for many hours, When we went into camp he took al! the precau¬ tions the most timid could suggest, and I do not believe he slept two hours be¬ tween dark and dawn. The night passed without an alarm, and it was after noon next day before we saw Indians again. We had been travelling for an hour after the noon halt when we came to a singular bit of ground. It was a ridge about fifty feet wide, with heavy washouts or dry ravines on each side of it. This place could be avoided by turning to either the right or the left, but Baker, who was mounted, as most of the rest of us were, led the way right along this ridge. I was watching him, and I saw that he was further ahead than usual. I alse saw him make • cuious sign. He raised his right arm on a line with his ear, bent the forearm across his head and held it thus for a few sec¬ onds with the palm opened and tow¬ ards his horse’s head, Looking ahead and to the left I thought I caught a brief glimpse of a dark object—some¬ thing like a black head peering above the bank of the ravine. I was close to the head wagon, and ked the man to halt, and in twenty words made him understand that I firmly believed the Indians had prepared an ambuscade for us. I had made him understand this when Baker halted and turned to us with the query: 1 ‘What’s the matter now?” “The route looks dangerous,” 1 an¬ swered.” “The route is all right, bring your wagons.” « 4 Why can’t we go to the left or right?” I asked. ‘ Look here,” he began, as he rode back, “is this train under my orders or yours?” “Yours, sir.” “Then you be careful, if you at- tempt to interfere with me I’ll order you under arrest. Come on with the wagons. ” He turned and galloped forward. As he did so I rode to tho right and a companion to the left to reach a point where we cou Id see into tho ravines. We both saw the same sight—tho dry ditch crowded with redskins, and wo both cried out togethei: “Shoot the villain! He has led us into an ambuscade!” I don’t know who killed him. Five or six of us fired together just as he had put his hor3c on a gallop, and he toppled from his saddle and fell to tho earth. The Indians, seeing that they were discovered, sprang up and made a dash at us ou foot. Although without a leader, we did just the right thing. Every man ruslied to the front, leaving the rear of the train to take care of it¬ self, and we gave the savages a volley which broke them up and left nine of their number dead on the ridge. The living sought cover, ran down tho ditches behind a rise where their ponies were concealed, and made off without firing another shot, although there wore eighty-four of them in the band. Had w*e got the train strung out on that ridge every soul in the train would have been murdered within ten minutes. Baker was, as I found out several years later, an active Danite, and had led more than one hundred emigrants to slaughter.— New Yor i Sun. Leprosy in Civilized Lands. According to Dr. Morell Slackenzie, leprosy, the scourge of the Middle Ages, has not become practically ex¬ tinct among Europeans, but is really spreading. It has between 1000 and 1200 victims in Norway, is found also in Portugal, Greece and Italy, and is rapidly spreading in Sicily, in the Baltic provinces of Russia and m France, while the British Islands are not ex- empt from it. In the United States, cases have been found in California, in some of the states of the Northwest; in Utah and in Louisiana. Many cases exist in New Brunswick. In the Sand¬ wich Islands the disease first broke out in 1853, and there are now 1100 lepers in the Molokai settlement alone. The disease is extending in the West Indies. In Trinidad there were three cases in 1805, 860 in 1878 and probably more than 1000 now. Leprosy ex sts in Australia and New Zealand, and is estimated to have more than a quarter of a million victims in India. It may be added that recent investigations seem to remove all doubts that leprosy is contagious. The cause has teen found by Hansen in a bacillus resembl¬ ing the germ of consumption, and Dr. Arning of Hamburg has produced leprosy in a condemned criminal by in¬ oculation. How African's Hunt the Elephant The Iiuki is a fine, deep stream with a strong current; its water being of a dark hue, the contrast in color between it and the Congo is very discernible at its mouth. Large herds of elephants and buf¬ faloes abound along both sides of the river, which are hunted by the more in¬ land tribes, and the ivory sold to the dwellers upon the banks of the river. These hunters build platforms up in the trees, out of reach of an elephant’s trunk. Hundreds of such platforms are matte all over the woods, the places being, of course, selected where herds of cle- phaats are known to pass to their feed- ing-grounds, or attracted by a plentiful supply of water in the neighborhood. When news iS brought in that there are elephants in a wood wnich has been so prepared, the natives hasten to get into positions on these jdatforms, armed with their deadly spears. They gener¬ ally try to drive their spears between the shoulderi of the brute, and, as a rule, they manage to pick out two or three amongst a herd which pass near enough to the platforms to come within effective range of their weapons. Sometimes they will attack an ele- phant on foot. This is indeed a very plucky proceeding. They stealthily crawl up alongside an elephant, armed only with a spear which has a broal, sharp blade and a long, thick handle. Upon getting near enough to their ponderous game, they either spear him in the groin or hamstring him. Hold- with both hands the haft of the spear, they thrust it in with all their might t and, as a rule, they manage to bring aa elephant down on tho spot, or to wound him so severely that they are able to track him to his re treat, where they finish him off. Of course, as soon as they Lave delivcied their blow they make off, to escape the fury of the wounded animal, and the nature of the ground, covered as it i3 with large, thick-trunked trees, enables them to dodge his mosements or take to the belter of the branches. The Ledger. Quick-witted Birds. 1 Some birds are gifted with a senso of observation approaching* to something very like reasoning faculties, as the fol¬ lowing anecdote proves: At a gentle¬ man’s house in Straffordshire, England, the pheasants are fed out of one of those boxes, the lid of which rises with the pressure of the pheasant standing on the rail in front of the box. A water hen, observing this, went and stood upon the rail as soon as the pheasant had quitted it; but the weight of the bird being insufficient to raise the lid of the box so as to enable it to get at the corn, the water hen kept jumping on the rail to give additional impetus to its weight. This partially succeed¬ ed, but not to the satisfaction of the sagacious bird, which, therefore, went off; and, soon returning with a bird of its own species, the united weight of the two had the desired effect and the successful pair enjoyed the benefit of their ingenuity. A Compromise. In crossing Union square the othei day a lady dropped her handkerchief, and a gamin of 10, who noticed the fact, ran after her and restored it. “Thanks, child, thanks!” she re¬ plied, as she received the dainty fabric from his grimy hand, “Now, then, what can I do for you?” “Nuthink,” he replied. “Oh, but I must reward your action In some way. How shall I do it?” “Well, mum, if you are bound to do it please give me a hundred dollars in- 3 tcad of presenting me with a mansion on Fifth avenue. Taxes is high, and dad is out of work, and we don’t want ao dead horse to carry these hard times.” She made it 10 cents and another vote of thanks, and he seemed perfect¬ ly satisfied.— N. Y. Sun, NO. 14. f SAULS OF THOUGHT Clemency for those we know is rarci than pity for those wo know not. Virtue does not dwell upon tho tip of the tongue, but in the temple of tli purified heart. We often console ourselves for being unhappy by a certain plca^ue that we find in appearing so. We swallow at one mouthful the He that flatters, and drink drop by drop the drop that is bitter. Though you may have known clever men who were indolent, you never knew a great man who was so. Opinions alter, manners change, creeds rise and fall; but the moral law is written on tablets of eternity. Lot us help the fallen still, though they never pay us; and let us lend with¬ out exacting the usury of gratitude. The one who will be found in trial capable of great acts of love is ever the one who is always doing considerate small ones. Men often go up to tempta’ion, from which they should fly, in a self-confi¬ dent way; and they often fly when they should stand and fight. Analyzed a Man. Dr. Lancaster, a London physician, and surgeon, recently analyzed a man and gave the results to his class in chemistry. The body operated upon weighed 154.4 pounds, Tho lecturer exhibited upon the platform 23.1 pounds of carbon, 2. 2 pounds of lime, 22.3 ounces of phosphorus and about one ounce each of sodium, iron, potas¬ sium, magnesium and silicon. Besides this solid residue, Dr. Lancaster esti¬ mated that there were 3.595 cubic feet of oxygen, weighing 121 pounds; 105,- 900 cubic feet of hydrogen, weighing 15.4 pounds, and 52 cubic feet of ni¬ trogen in the man’s body. All of these elements combined in tho following: One hundred and twenty-one pounds of water, 18.5 pounds gelatine, 1.32 pounds fat, 8. 8 pounds fibrin and al¬ bumen and 7- 7 pounds of phosphate of lime and other minerals. A Bare Bird. 3Iuch attention has been drawn to the Great Auk in recent years by the astonishing prices paid by collectors for its skins and egg3, while Pallar’s Cor¬ morant, the extinction of which in the North Pacific corresponds to that of the Great Auk in the North Atlantic, has been scarcely heard of at all. Yet Leonhard Stejnegcr of tho Smithsonian Institution, states that this bird was the largest and handsomest of its tribe. Ouly four specimens are known to exist in museums, no one possesses its eggs, and the first bones found and preserved were obtained by Mr. Stejnegerin 1882, near the northwestern extremity of Behring island. A Prince’s Floral Present. A letter signed Albert El ward Guelph was received by a New York florist recently. It cams through Drexel, Morgan & Co., and it con¬ tained a check for $100 and an order from the Prince of Wales directing him to send two baskets of flowers, to the va’ub of $50 each, to two ladies whom he had met abroad, and who are now living on Fifth Avenue, near Central Park. The flowers were duly de¬ livered. One basket was filled with lilies of the valley and maiden-hair fern, the other with pharleyensis ferns and American beauty roses. A Watch for the Blind. The Swiss watchmakers have invented a watch for the blind. A small peg is set in the middle of each figure. When the hour hand is moving towards a given hour the peg for that hour drops. The owner, when he wants to know the time, finds which peg is down and then counts back to twelve.— St. Louti Jtepvb’ie