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deadly PLAYTHING.
How a Pair of Bears Fooled With
a Can of Nitro-Glycerme.
They Celebrated Fourth of July
By Exploding Jt.
«‘There was an explosion of nitro
glycerine in the oil regions once that
has always been looked upon as one of
the many mysterious happenings of that
country, >’ said J. C. Henry, one of the
early operators in Venango county, “be
cause pcop le would never believe what
I told them about it and the way it
came to occur, My explanation of it
was the truth, though, and I am the
only person who actually knows that
the explosion was not of any mysterious
origin- It was the result of one of the
most curious incidents that ever came
to pass in that curious country.
“I think it was in ’ 64 that Roberts,
the torpedo man, first demonstrated the
utility of his nitro-glycerine torpedoes
for shooting oil wells after they had
been drilled. Soon after they came in
to use I had put down a well in one of
the wildest parts of the region, and any
one who was ever in that section of the
Btate at that time has some idea of what
it means. Nitro-glycerine, being a new
thing, people hadn't got used to hand
ling it yet, and but few safeguards had
been thrown around the carrying and
storing of the deadly stuff, We all
knew that it was apt to go off on very
slight provocation sometimes, and it
was going off every day, here and there
about the region and wiping folks off
the face of the earth as completely as if
they had never been on it.
“Wc struck the sand in my well
along toward the evening of July 3.
There was a good showing for oil, and
all it wanted was a good shot of nitro
glycerine. I had ordered a supply of
the stuff, and it was to have been at the
well that day, but hadn t come, The
next day being the Fourth, aud my men
having made arrangements for celebrat
ing somewhere down along the creek,
we concluded to suspend operations un
til the 5th. I had no idea the nitro
glycerine would be delivered on the
Fourth. I remained at the well that
day, and to my surprise the teamster
came in with a big can of the explosive.
I didn’t care to have it around, and
wanted him to take it back and come
with it the next day, but he wouldn’t
do it, and placed it on tho derrick
floor.
I made up my mind to get away from
there as soon as I could. The woods
were full of wild animals still, and
scarcely a day passed that bear and
wild cats were not seen prowling around.
I stepped into the derrick to get my
coat, and while I was there I heard a
noise in the brush, and looking out saw
two big bears slouching along right to
ward the derrick. 1 wasn’t posted on
hear, and without waiting to think
much about it, being pretty well fright
ep cd, I sprang for the ladder and
climbed up into the derrick, and got on
s beam twenty feet or so above tho floor
to wait for the unwelcome visitors to go
on about their business. It seemed,
though, that they had made up their
minds that their business required them
to make an investigation of the prem
ises, and they came right on and
•hambled in on the derrick floor. They
nosed around among the machinery,
dangled the ropes, and clattered about
generally. They didn’t appear to be in
my hurry at all, and I began to get un
easy.
But if I was uneasy over their fool
ing around among ihe machinery, what
do you suppose my feelings when
the were
bright tin can containing the nitro
glycerine caught the eyes of tho bears,
»nd they began to push and roll it about
on ihe floor? The perspiration rolled off
me in great beads, and I actually be
lieved I could feel my hair turning
*hite. I didn’t know what minute the
bears would thump the can against
something Yhat hard euough to explode it.
the result of such a catastrophe
Would have been ^ nec03sar to
hint at ^
But all the while the bears
Were having great fun with the
% can.
and by one of the bears lifted it in
h>s paws and rose upon his hind feet,
mlding the can at arm’s length, fully
® IX feet ft «m the floor. All. ho had to
10 was to drop it, and all
Would have my men
found when they came back
next day would have been
a Big hole in the ground. As the bear
etood there holding that can of death
Pfimpawon rose up on his hind feet
SCHLEY COTJHTY NEWS.
two ox three yards away, and gazed at
him in an expectant sort of vray. I had
often heard that bears amused them
selves in melon patches in playing
catch with one another by chucking a
melon to and fro between them. I made
up my mind that these two bears were
about to have a little diversion of that
kind with that can of nitro- glvcerine. I
shut my eyes aud wailed for ihe climax
that would surely follow. It didn’t
come, and I looked down again and
found that the bears had changed their
minds about that game of catch, and
were rolling the can a! tout the floor
again.
“By and by a new idea seemed to
strike the jolly pair. A hundred yards
or so from the derrick there was a rocky
ravine. One of the bears rolled the can
out of the derrick, and both of them
began to scramble with it on the
ground, competing with one another in
giving it impetus over the rough surface
in the direction of the ravine. At every
shove the can was liable to be sent flying
against some one of the many big stones
that lay thick on the ground, but by
some good fortune it missed them every
time, and at last the bears had jostled
it along almost to the ravine. I was so
weak and trembling from the fearful
suspense I had bceu subjected to that 1
could hardly keep my hold on my perch.
I regarded the danger as practi
cally over now, aud was putting myself
together to get down from there and
take to the woods, when I saw one of
the bears rear up on his haunches with
the nitro glycerine can in his paws. He
stood close to a big rock. lie raised
the can above his head, and I saw at
once that he had made up his mind to
find out what there was in that can any
how. I threw my arms and legs around
the beam and hung on for dear life.
The bear huiled the can against the
rock. There was a sound as of twenty
claps of thunder rolled into one. The
earth shook, aud my derrick swayed and
rattled. There was a shower of rock and
trees and dirt for acres around. When
that ceased everything was as still as the
tomb. Down where the bears stood
there was a yawning gulf. I got down
somehow from my perch on the derrick,
and made my way to the scene of the
explosion. Among all the debris it had
scattered about there wasn’t any more
trace of bear than if they had been soap
bubbles that had burst. The explos ion
was heard for miles, but people laughed
when I attemp ed to explain it, and to
this day they persist in calling it a pro
found mystery.”— New York Sun.
Tho “American Shoulder” Abroad
The latest thing in fashion? for men
in England is known as the American
shoulder. It consists of a coat padied
at the shoulders in a manner quite
unique. Pieces of lead of quite an im
posing size are employed in the process,
aud when the dude is properly “fixed
up” he appears with a sort of epaulet
arrangement, calculated to transfix the
gaze of the less enlightened observer.
The “American shoulder” i3 only just
coming into vogue, but it was decided
ly conspicuous in Piccadi.ly, London,
last Sunday afternoon, A London
tailor says that he is putting 12 ounce#
of lead into some of his “padding.”—
Chicago Herald.
A Musical Prodigy.
Lou Allen Sprint is tho name of
Baltimore’s musical prodigy. She is
only three and a half years old, but her
piano playing is wonderful. She plays
entirely from ear, and the discovery of
her accomplishment was made by a toy
piano. Her little hands are so small
that she cannot execute in detail the
music that arises in her mind, but her
mp rovlsing is very remarkable, never
theless. She has never had any instruc
tion in music and her genius has had
to work out its own salvation. Balti
moreans claim that Josef Hoffmann is
nothing compared with Lou Allen
Sprint.
A Sententious Epitaph.
The following quaint epitaph on hus
band and wife—the husband having
died first—is to be seen in one of the
Parisian cemeteries: “I nm anxiously
awaiting you.—A. D., 1827.” “Here
Iam.—A. D., 1867.” The good lady
had taken her time about it.— Argonaut.
Wanted a Change.
Waiter (at club restaurant)—“Ready
with your order, sah)”
City Sportsman (back from a week’s
fishing)—“Give me some fish; I’m tired
tp death of other things.”
FARM AND GARDEN.
DtJCKS WITHOUT WATER.
T The idea that ducks and geese abso
lutely need free access to water at all
times is a mistake. For yoi»g ducks,
especially early in the season while the
water is cold too much water is fatal.
The wild birds h .ve become hardened
to it; but even of them a large number
probably succumb, thus keeping their
increase in check. If you give ducks
water enough to drink and take precau
tions to prevent them from getting their
feet into it, you have done better for
their welfare than they know how to do
themselves.— Boston Cultivator.
COI.D SETTING OF MILK.
A New England dairyman describes a
simple device for cold setting of milk in
summer that is well worth the notice of
all intere- ted. No patent creamer, no
ice, no expensive room, is called for.
The milk is set in a can twelve inches
in diameter and deep enough to bold
the milk of six or eight cows. By a
simple windlass this is lowered into a
well where the temperature is uniform
at forty-eight or fifty degrees, aud al
lowed to set twenty-four hours, when
the can is raised and the cream dipped
of!. No one need have any fears but
they would get all the cream under such
conditions. The cream will be thin,
the same as in deep setting, butthe but
ter will be all in it. — New York Obser
v er.
PLANTING BEANS.
Beans may be planted the first week
in June. Tho land should be in good
condition; the common belief that any
kind of poor land is good enough for
beans is a delusion. Twenty-five to
forty bushels of beans per acre can only
be grown upon good land, and at
present prices this yield is profitable.
The marrowfat variety is generally the
most salable, although tho red kidney,
the white pea bean, and the black soup
beans sometimes bring the highest
prices. Beans are usually planted in
drills eighteen inches apart, and three
beans are dropped at intervals of twelve
inches. The bean gr nvn in America is
different from the English bean, belong
ing to a distinct family of plants, and
its manner of growth differs from that
of the English horse bean. This latter
kiud does not succeed in our climate,
being fatally infested with lice, an evi
dence perhaps that weak growth under
unfavorable conditions tends to induce
attacks from parasites. The two kinds
of beans, however, differ very little in
chemical composition and feediug value.
—New York Times.
GIRDLED TREES.
The rabbits, mice and other rodents
usually injure trees in the winter so that
by spring it is necessary to repair them
in some way before summer. Unless
the pests have eaten the inner bark all
around the trees, they will recover with
proper treatment. The best remedy to
apply is to make a stiff plaster out of
clay and cow manure, adding a little
water to make it more plastic. If such
a plaster is placed over the barked por
tion of the tree and secured into position
by a covering of old bagging or cloth,
the wound is likely to heal up in a
short time. If the weather is very dry
it will be necessary to wet the bandage
occasionally. The great object of the
application is to keep the wound moist
while nature heals up the injury. If
the wound is a large and serious one, it
may be necessary to cut off many of the
top limbs of ti e tree. This is to equal
ize the flow of the sap, which is neces
#arily diminished by the wound. Other
remedies for girdled trees are recom
mended, but for a simple and effective
device, which any orchardist can apply,
this one cannot be surpassed. It is an
old-fashioned remedy, but it is as good
today as it was in the days of our fore
fathers.
PLANTING AND CULTIVATION OF CORN.
The general introduction of improved
implements has completely revolution
ized the methods of corfi culture. In
the early years of our older readers the
hoe was almost constantly in hand from
the beginning of planting until the crop
was “laid by.” The corn farmer of
those days was quite ready to echo Dud
ley Warner’s wish for a “cast-iron back
with a hinge in it.” Now the farmer
may “lay down the shovel and the hoe,”
and raiso a much larger and better corn
crop without them. After the land is
plowed—which on large prairie farms
may be $£ne with a double wheel plow
—the pulverizing, disk, or cutaway bar
row reduces the soil to flue tilth, leaving
it ready for the seed. Theoretically
drills are far more productive than
check-rows. Drills three-and-a-half
feet apart, with the stalks six inches
apart in the drill, have a ratio as seven
to four with hills the sumo distance
apart each way. That i , an acre in
drills contains three-fourths more plants
than an acre in check-rows, witli equal
space between. Furthermore, with
plants standing six inches apart, each
one has a better chance for full develop
ment than when crowded into hills.
The only practical difficulty in drilling
corn arises from the waut
of an implement which will
drop two drills at once, with uniform
distance between the kernels in the
drills. With a good smoothing harrow
it is quite as easy to give clean cultiva
tion in drills as in rows. This should
begin before the young corn shows it
self above ground. In case of sudden
showers followed by sunshine soon after
seeding, a hard crust results, which the
smoothing harrow breaks up. This im
plement may be run lengthwise of the
drills or rows at intervals of a week or
less, without injury to the corn, until
the stalk begins to shoot up through the
centre. As to manure, it is too late to
consider it in a general way after the
corn is planted. Stable manure should
have been applied to tlio surface and
plowed under, and commercial fertili
zers are best harrowed into the soil be
fore planting. But a top-dressing of
ashes applied to the hills or drills either
befoie or immediately after the corn is
up will benefit the crop under all con
ditions.
The subsequent cultivation of the
crop, from the timo when it is too largo
for the smoothing harrow, is best per
formed by means of a two-horse culti
vator. There are many excellent pat
terns in the market, aud it is a waste of
time and labor to scratch back and forth
between the rows wi’h a little one-horse
cultivator, when a good two-horse im
plement will do the work bettor in one
fourth the time. Tho ground should
never be stirred so deeply as to cut the
roots. Careful experiments have proved
tho theory of “root-pruning” corn
to be a gross fallacy, Tho plant is a
rank feeder, and needs all its root
growth unimpaired. But the surfaco
must bo kept stirred and free from
weeds unt.l the crop is ready to be “laid
by.” In hot, droughty days a layer of
loose porous soil on the surface acts as a
mulch. On the other hand, a neglected
growth of weeds will draw the water
out of tlie soil, besides robbing the corn
of its plant food.— American AgricuU
turist.
FARM AND GARDEN NOTES.
Be sure tho mower is ready for the
field before hitching to it.
A farmer with a family should never
despise the “truck patch.”
Laziness and farming never did go
hand in hand and make a good crop.
The best management on the farm is
in raising good crops and increasing the
fertility.
Don’t work all the time and never
take “a spell” to read. You cannot
live by bread alone.
Be well prepared to harvest every crop
in good season; delay at this season of
ten proves a serious loss.
You can’t expect a full hay crop if
you pasture the meadow so late that the
mower has to drive tho cows out.
Whatever you plant don t sow any of
the seeds of frotfulness. It is about as
worthless “stuff” as you can raise.
Good roads improve the country in so
many ways, that it will be found a good
plan to take good care to improve them.
Try and find what your farm is best
adapted for. Plow well, use good seed,
plant only what can be cared for, culti
vate often. Don’t try to raiso ten acres
of corn at a loss when five can be grown
with gain.
The farmer of today who succeeds
must take advantage of the improve
ments of the times, keeping up the fer
tility of his soil so that crop# can be
raised on it as cheaply as on the fields
of those with whom be competes.
Some farme s claim they do not have
time enough. This is their excuse for
being eternally behind. Now we do
not believe in that excuse. They have
all the timo thore is; n > ono ha< ra re,
and if they cannot keep up with th#
proper arrangement of plans the man
agement i4 aft fault. k
__
The Silent Lanu.
The Sil#nt Land! What undefined de
sire
Wakes at these words like to the lambent
fire
Seen over marshland wastes, at' dead of
night.
Flickering afar in weird, uncanny flight!
The Silent land, which poets love to name!
Mysterious region, wlv're the present frame
Of all that is, beyond our fancy’s range,
Doth yield itself to supersensual change.
The Silent Land, where, dread as olden
fates.
Vague, sombre shadows guard the entrance
gates,
And where glide through the vapor sudden
gleams,
As ’twere a spectral day’s sunsetting beams.
The Silent Land, whereoa that wan sun
glow
Spreads, as a red moon-ray o’er the plains of
snow;
Upon which birch trees lean across thq
tracks,
Where wolves are wont to race in famished
packs.
The Silent Land, a broad domain so still
That its deep quiet gives the heart a thrill,
As when night fowl sail by on noiseless wing
A thrill such as no sound hath power to
bring.
The Silent Land, which stretches on and on,
Dim outlined as the mist-veiled hills of dawn;
Vistas where human vision feebly gropes,
’Midst the long cypress boughs that gloom th#
slopes.
The Silent Land! No breeze; and yet what
wafts
Are these which play about the portal shaft#
Chilling the white-lipped wanderers who
wait
To pass the boundary of the unknown state?
— William Struthers.
HUMOROUS.
A branch hou c—A log cabin.
Good only when used up—the balloon.
The hired girl lives out all her days.
“How cool this oonservatory is.”
“Yes; papa says there’s nothing like a
hot-house to cool off in.”
A young lawyer has taken to bragging
in a theatrical way. He says: “My busi
ness last season was something fee nom
inal.”
Miss Antique (school teacher)—“What
does w-h-i-t-e spell?” Class—No an
swer. Miss Antique — “What is the
color of my Bkinl” C ass (in chorus)—
“Yellow.”
Mrs. Popinjoy—What does your hus
band think of year new hat? Mrs.
Blobson—He hasn’t looked at it yet.
The bill has attracted his entire atten
tion for the past two days.
The difference between missions and
home church work is this: At home
ministers live off their congregations,
but in mission fields the congregation*
live off the missionaries.
Omaha Bride—* ‘I’m so glad you 1
brought the evening paper. What does
it say about our wedding?” Omaha
bridegroom—“I can’t say, my dear; I
only had time to read the base bal
news.”
Nickelby—“That’s a strange pair of
scales you have there. I suppose they
are of the Ambuscade kind.” Grocer—
“Ambuscade? What is that?” Nickelby
—“Why, they lie in weight, as it
were. ”
Blobson—“We’ve been grossly treat
cd in this one-horso town. I shall shake
the dust of the place from my feet.”
Mrs. Blobson—“For pity’s sake, don’t
you do it, John. Wc shouldn’t be able
to find our way to tho station.”
The editor who advises his reader*
“never to climb a tree after a panther”
may mean well, but his advice i3 super
fluous. He should reverse his admoni
tion, and advise a panther never to
climb a tree after his readers.
Two well-known clergymen missed
their train, upon which one of them
took out his watch, and, finding it to
blame for the mishap, said he would no
longer have aiy faith in it. “But,”
said the other, “isn’t it a question not
of faith, but of works?”
Little Bobby—“Ma, will I go to
heaven when I die?” Mother—“If you
are a good boy you will.” “Will you
go, too/” “I hope so, Bobby.” “And
will pat” “Yes, we will all be ther#
sometime.” (Bobby didn’t seem alto
gether satisfied, but altar some thought
he said:) “I don’t see how I’m going
to have much fun. ”
Customer—How much are those trou
sers? High-Priced Tailor—Twenty dol
lars. By the way, how will you bar#
the pockets arranged? Cmtomor
(gloomily)—You needn’t put in any.
Mai.'*—So you are going to mirry
your father’s cashier? Isabella—Yes.
Pa says that if he runs away with th*
bank’s funds the money will still be ii
Hie family* *