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About The Pickens County herald. (Jasper, Ga.) 1887-???? | View Entire Issue (May 7, 1891)
PICKENS COUNTY HERALD VOL. IV. To Sleep, To sleep! to sleep! The long bright day Is done, Aud darkness rises from the fallen sun. To sleep! to sleep 1 Whate'er thy joys, they vanish with the day! Whate’er thy griefs, In sleep they fade away. sleep 1 To sleep! to Sleep, mournful heart, and let the past be past! Sleep, happy soul! all life will sleep at last. To sleep! to sleep! — [Lord Tennyson, in New York Truth. FOUND IN AN ANT-HILL. “Fortunes are made in the West in strange ways. The main thing is to get a start. With a few thousand dol¬ lars a man may do almost anything if he is shrewd. But he must be indus¬ trious aud have good judgment. “The cash for a start is frequently made by some lucky accident, e- Of the men who come West, bringing money to put into business, five out of every six lose all they bring within two years. At least, that is the way it lias been for the last twenty years. After they lose, if they have resolution and persistence, they may make a start, and in ten years become wealthy. I know of several such instances.” As the speaker was well known to be one of those instances himself, the writer felt interested in noting down tho curious story of adventure which he presently related to the little party of gentlemen in the saloon of the chair-car, as our train sped southward from El Faso to Chihuahua. “In 18G8,” said he, “I was engineer and fireman, too, for tho people who were operating a mine away up in the Mogollon mountains, above Florence, Arizona. They called it the Twin Mesa Mine, from two round-topped hills on the slope of one of which the mine was located. “There was no railroad then; but they had hauled a four-stamp mill and boiler up there with mules, and were trying to crush some pretty good quartz for silver. “I was twenty years old, fresh from Iowa, and could find nothing better to do than to put grease-wood under the boiler of this corporation, and try to make steam from it. In fact, I was expected to help cut the grease-wood, up a creek above the mill, and risk my scalp every day; for hostile Apaches were roaming about, and every man of us kept a guu handy, night and day. “The mine had lost six or seven men by these Indians. It was unsafe to stir out without a strong convoy of troops or frontiersmen. The expenses of working were excessive on that ac¬ count; so that, although there was ore in the lead, the mine did not pay, and was abandoned after eighteen months. “About six weeks before word came to stop work, I made a little discovery. The hillside up to th c north of the mill sheds was of a kind of reddish loam, or gravel, packed hard, with hero and there the ragged points of ledges protruding through it; while, scattered over the wholo hill, were bunches of cactus and occa¬ sionally a thorn bush. You all know how those Arizona hillocks look. And amongst the cactus and thorn bushes were dozens of ant-hills, each abou the size and shape of a bushel basket turned bottom up, though some were much larger. “I was out here one day, not more than a hundred and fifty yards from the mill, and had sat down beside a bnsli to look around and rest a bit, when I happened to notice a little clear, yellowish stone in one of these ant-hills, into which I had trust the stock of my gun. “I picked up the stone, for it looked rather pretty, I thought, and examined it. I had no idea what it was then; but I thought it was a beautiful ob¬ ject, and fancied that it might have some value. It was about the size of a small plum stone, and shone with a tawny kind of brilliandV. “I had a dim recollection of seeing such a stone in a brooch, worn by a wealthy lady whom I had once or twice met in Iowa, but I had no great faith that this stone had any value- However, I poked over tho anLhill, and found another; and then found two others of fair size in another ant¬ hill close by it. There were also bits of pale blue stone which I afterwards learned were turquoises. “Apnarentlv the ants had worked “We Seek the Reward of Honest Labor.” JASPER, PICKENS COUNTY, GA„ THURSDAY. MAY 7, 1801. these stones upward from the ground beneath, it may bo from a considerable depth; for the wholo slope was honey¬ combed by their tunnels and passages. They had brought out cartloads of dirt and gravel. “I did not show the stones or say anything about them to the other men at the mill, partly because I had some little hope that they might be valuable, and partly because 1 did not like to bo laughed at for my ignorance. “But I kept them in my pocket, and after the mine was abandoned, and we had all gone to Tucson, I showed one of the stones to an old German jewoller who used to keep a shop on the corner there, beyond the barracks, and asked him how much ho would give me for it. He examined it a long while and tried to find out what I thought it was, where I got it, and so on. But I laughed and kept still. “At last he made an offer of three dollars for it. I knew then that the stone had some real value, and putting it in my pocket, I went to another shop. In fact, I offered it in several places; and an army officer, a captain, told me, later in the day, that the stone was a topaz. The captain was of the opinion that so fine a topaz was worth from thirty to fifty dollars in New York city. Two months after- waads I sold three of the stones for twenty-five dollars apiece in Santa Fe, and I then resolved to go back to the mine and examine the ants’ nests. “I considered the plan for some weeks. At first I thought of taking a party with me, but finally decided to go alone, although the presence of the hostile Apaches in the mountains made prospecting an extremely dangerous proceeding. “From the Top-knot Mine, where I finally outfitted for my start, the dis tance was about forty miles. I made it in two nights’ travel, with thirty pounds’ weight of ham and hard-tack on my back. I carried a coarse sieve, a navy pistol and a Sharps’ rifle. “The - people on the Top-knot thought that I was starting on a gen¬ eral prospecting trip; and they made bets of three to one that the Apaches would get me. “The trail over which the mine ma¬ chinery had been hauled to the Twin Mesa was easily followed; but I found that the Indians had burned the mill. As I looked about the scene of my former labors the place wore a very desolate aspect, in the chilly gray of that early September morning. “The battery of stamps had fallen over; and the tubular end of the boiler, which bad been shored up on blockings, had settled down the hill-side, leaving tho fire-box end tilted almost to an upright position. “I looked down into the fire-box- where 1 had formerly thrown so many six-foot logs of mesquit. The fur¬ nace door was now rusty, and creaked dismally on its hinges. The interior of an old fire-box is not an inviting place, but I had often been inside this one, and it now occurred to me, since there was no other cuddy,that I might put my provisions in it, to keep them from the ants, and perhaps rig up a wicky for myself near by. “With this in view, I laid down my gun. Then, unstrapping my heavy pack, I lowered it into the fire-box. It slid down upon the mass of old ashes, the ham upon the hard bread. As it was now out of my reach, 1 got in myself, to arrange my improvised pantry a little more to my liking. “I had been in there, out of 6ight, for about a minute, when I was startled—and you can imagine, gentle¬ men, how much startled—to hear a gruff‘How!’ apparently close beside the old boiler. “I was so much taken by surprise, that I popped my head out without stopping to think, and there I saw two of those painted Apaehes, standing within twenty feet of the old boiler- head! They had picked up my gun and were laughing at my predicament. “Very likely my astonished and ter¬ rified countenance was quite sufficient to excite their mirth. They were sure they had me caught; and it was plain that they intended to amuse themselves at my expense. Tho fact was that these two Apaches had been camping for the night, with a band of stolen horses, among the bushes on the creek a few steps farther up the hollow. I sup¬ pose they bad heard the creaking of the old furnace door, and had stolen upon me the moment they saw me get into tho fire box. “I know that they would show mo no mercy; and I had no doubt that my last hour had come. Yot tho situ¬ ation was not quite so bad as it ap¬ peared, for my pistol wns still in my bell, and as only my head was out of the door-hole, I could draw tho revol¬ ver without being seen. “I have no doubt that I looked frightened. Both the savages lnid guns. They did not point their pieces at me, however, but stood and laughed, exclaiming ‘IIo! ho!’ and dlow do, tirodder?’ for they under¬ stood a good many English words. “ ‘IIo, brodder, come out!' said one of them, straightening his painted vis¬ age at last. “beginning to collect my scattered wits a little, I shook my head, deject¬ edly. Then they luughed again, and; the other said, ‘No tira! No shoot! No hurt, brodder. Brodder, como out.’ “They were very large Indians, and hideously painted. I was somewhat boyish in appearance at that time and very badly frightened, so that they enjoyed my looks of terror exceedingly. I thought they would burst with laughter. It was the fuu of the cat with the mouse. “I knew enough of their cruelty to be perfectly certain, that, if I should attempt to scramble out, they would shoot me before my feet touched the ground outsido. My only chance lay in using my revolver before they dis¬ covered that I had one. “If Iliad been pusillanimous enough to drop my pistol inside the fire-box and creep forth,to surrender,I should, if spared for tho time being, have been saved only for torture and a hor¬ rible death a few hours or days later. “It was my life or theirs, as I knew fi om the outset. “I parleyed a little, trying to sum¬ mon all my nerve for quick work when the moment came for it. “ ‘No tira?’ I said, quostioningly. “ ‘No tira,’ they replied, laughing. << « All right,’ I replied, after appear¬ ing to hesitate a little. ‘Lay down gun.’ “I made signs to them to put their guns on the ground. “Still laughing, and after exchang¬ ing a word or two in their own lan¬ guage, one of them laid down his gun, while tho other, retiring a step behind him, covertly cocked his own piece. “ ‘Bueno!’ (Good,) I said, pre¬ tending not to see anything suspicious in this. ‘Indian now brodder. White man brodder.’ “I then put my left arm out of the hole, drew myself up a little, and, raising my right hand swiftly through the orifice beside my body, shot the savage who held the musket before lie could level his piece. “With a yell of surprise the fore¬ most savage caught up his guu; but as he cocked it, I fired upon him and brought him to the ground.” “A cool bit of work,” observed one of the little party of listeners. “Well, I don’t know about the cool part,” replied the narrator: “My rec¬ ollection is that I was terribly scared. I felt decidedly thankful that I had escaped the two savages. “But I did not know how many more there might be close by. jumped out quickly, I assure you, picked up the loaded guns and then lay behind the boiler for an hour, on tne lookout. “But these two were all there were in the vicinity. I found their camp and horses, later in the forenoon; and turned the horses loose—for I knew I could not get down to the post-road with them. “Although I was about the mine for a week, sifting over those ant-bills, early and laic, I saw no more Apaches.” “And the topazes?” I inquired. “I found a hundred and forty-two more of those stones,” was the reply; “and the money that I realized from them was what first set me on my feet in the Territory.”—[Youth’s Companion. Well Supplied With Fire Escapes. Drummer—Have you a fire eseaps iu tills hotel? Boniface—We have ten of them. Drummer—Thought so. The fire all escaped from my room last night, and 1 almost froze.— [Jewelers’ Cir¬ cular. Thc worse for ware—Breakage. A OUEER CITY ON ICE. -N* Where Thousands of Men Dwell All Winter Long. Lives They Live, Work They Do, Songs They Sing. What is known as the “City on Ice” is described in Frank Leslie’s Monthly. e This oddly named city is on Saginaw Bay, Mich., springing into being about tho end of October, and breaking up in March, often from beneath the very A ct of tho rash and careless citizens; vanishing in a day like magic, swept out to the inland sea of Lako Huron in a sudden break-up of the floes. Whatever tho name was derived from, the “city’’ is peopled by a great 6oncourse of fishermen, who work throughout the winter at catching fish through the ice, living right at their work in small huts erected each on a low, stout sleigh. These huts aro about 10 feet long by C wide and 7 high, fixed on runners, and drawn by their owners from place to place- Many of them come from great dis¬ tances up the Saginaw liiver, being drawn by dogs to the annual meeting in the bay. For four months these “citizons of waste” isolate themselves from home and friends, and in many cases for¬ ever, the number of casualties being large, owing to the marvelous indiffer¬ ence of tho men to tho atmospheric warnings, the changing seasons, etc., and the chances of drowning, freez¬ ing, getting lost in blizzards, driven out to sea, or devoured by gray wolves, which in extra hard winters are driven from tho dense woods in search of food. The weather is very cold, often falling to 40 degrees below zero for a week at a time, or is varied by a snow-storm that leaves several feet of snow on the dead level in a single night. A curious feature is that the city is not laid out in streets and avenues, but in circles and squares, each con¬ tingent forming a settlement of its own, as far as the fishing is concerned, and the formation of these varied al¬ most day by day, according to the res¬ olutions of their owners or tho amount of lisli obtained. The aggre¬ gate population has varied from 500 to 3000. The dress affected by a number of the men is very picturesque, but so much alike that it is difficult for a stranger to tell one from the other. It is warm, durable and easy to work in, consisting of a pair of bright red Mackinaw trousers, an inch thick, made of coarse woolen material re¬ sembling the coarsest stuff' used in cheap horse-blankets; a shirt of bright blue color in the same goods; a red or blue sash; black or gray stockings, as thick as the shirt and trousers; a pair of high, spike-bottomed lumber- boots, and a wide-biimmed felt hat like that the traditional cowboy is sup¬ posed to wear. When the weather is very cold a cowl, made of worsted, covering the head, is substituted for the hat, making the men look like vari¬ colored clothed Esquimaux. Tne bulk of the fishermen are fine, muscular fellows, who during the summer live in comfhrtablc houses, and in the early fall shoot ducks for a living. Their little houses might easily be mistaken for dog-kennels of a larger growth. They are made of rough pine, with a slanting roof, and a door at one end hinged with leather. Un¬ attractive as is the exterior, the inside is cozy aud warm. Says a midnight visitor: “I remember that many of the men were musicians of no mean calibre, and that each had some instrument, ranging from a jew’s-harp to a har- monicon or zither. Many of them were of German or Swedish extraction, and these formed glee clubs, and through thc clear, frosty air over the lake went ringing flic quaint, charac. teristic melodies of the lumber-camps and folk-gatherings of the old coun¬ try. gathering together called “This was ‘clustering,’ and if thc weather was fine and cold various games were in¬ dulged in; if wet the ‘cluster’ would be more closely drawn, aud some ono would read aloud. “Practical joking is a great feature of Sunday night. Tho huts arc fas¬ tened in their places by means of little wooden pegs thrust through the hinder part of the runner into the ice. Some joker will gently withdraw this peg after the occupant of the hut has re¬ tired, and, either alone or aided by some of his friends, will tow the house miles away, and leave it out in /he open to surpriso the ownor next morn¬ ing. Owing to this inadequate method of anchoring great danger is incurred in the sudden and fierce storms that descend without warning from tlit hills. Frequently, in the middle of the night, all hands have to turn out and ‘belay,’ and many sound sleepers are blown before the gale, houso and all, like pieces of paper. Then comes the danger, if blown too far, or if the gale lasts several days, or a heavy snow follows in the track of the gale, for man and dog cannot got back be¬ fore fuel and food fail, unless rescued by some of the ice-boats sent out in search of castaways. “When any notice of a storm is given the city pulls up stakes and moves in a mass to the Charity islands, situated near the entrance to Lako Huron. These are thickly tenanted with game, and arc now inhabited by the remnants of the once powerful tribe of Kohkahliu Indians. The Indians give the men a warm wel¬ come, because it means a good supply of lish without the trouble of catching them.” Such is the City on the Ice—as curious a place as any one could wish to see. Hebrew Farmers in Palestine. The Jew was a great farmer in tho times of the Scriptures, writes Frank G. Carpenter. You see everywhere in travelling through Palestine tho evi¬ dence of scientific farming. The hills of old Judea were all terraeod, and wall after wall of vines roso in steps from tho valleys to the summit of the mountains. The remains of these ter¬ races are now to bo seen, though the rains of eighteen centuries have al¬ most donuded the limostone rocks of their earth, and the mountains now are only used for grazing. Palestine was formerly a well-wooded country, and it will probably become fertile again if trees aro planted. It produces the finest fruit in the world, and the oranges of Jaffa are equal to those of the Indian liver in Florida. When the million Russians get to Palestine they will probably reculti¬ vate the hills, and an increased rain¬ fall will make the country again a “land flowing with milk and houey.” One of tho Jewish farms is near Jaffa. It has 700 pupils, and it contains some¬ thing like 28,000 acres. There is one on the plains of Sharon, which, by the way, are as rich today as when the Philistines grew fat on them in tho time of Goliali, and it has tens of thousands of vines and olive trees. The Jews arc continually acquiring more property in the Holy Land and while I was in Jerusalem the Roths¬ childs bought another tract of land to add to their school. Causes of Teeth Decay. Charles W. McMichal, a dentist of Boston, Mass., is stopping at the Southern, and in conversation with a Star-Sayings reporter said: “While it is true that the excessive use of candies—especially so in modern times —is injurious to the teeth, at least through the stomach, it is, however, evident to a careful dentist that the great cause of rapid decay of the teeth, among even thc young, is from the poverty of the food used in bone and musclo materials. It is not strange,” said he, “that young ladies of twenty summers, and even younger, may be found witli artificial teeth, when it is known that they have been nearly starved by living or attempting to live on pastry, an article perfectly destitute of the material from which the bone and teeth are formed. I may also say that thc custom of soaking food, thc use of very soft food, rendering teeth scarcely necessary, is another promi¬ nent cause of decay.—[St. Louis Star- Sayings. City vs. Country. Mrs. Dc Flatt (of thc avenue) — Cousin Helen writes that the village has been flooded again, and there is a foot of water in their cellar. I can¬ not understand why people will per¬ sist in living in such places when they can just as well reside in a city like New- Servant (breathlessly) — Please, ma’am, another ’lcctric light pole has tumbled down, an’ the house is alire ag’iu. — rNcw York Weekly. NO. 27. Gather Its Flowers While Ye May. Dark aro the meadows, gray and dull Uia skies, No hint of grass nor blossoms anywhere. The trees with glittering Icicles are bung, A ghostly chill is in the sluggish air. But Spring, joy-giving Spring, will soon be here. Her flowers will wake the moment she ap- . pears, And at her first bright smile the frozen gems That deck the boughs will melt in sunny tears. Oh! if life’s winter thus could pass unto Another spring, if youth once more could bless Our longing hearts with fragrant promises, We’d cherish them with greatest tender¬ ness. But while the earth each year forgets hei snows, And buds grow sweet, and happy song¬ birds sing, Life’s seasons ne’er return; it can but give To us the peerless beauty of one spring. —[Margaret iiytinge, in Detroit Free I’ress. HUMOROUS. A good match—One that doe9 no* go out. The civil engineer is not monarch of all he surveys. Words with a ring—I pronounce you man and wife. It is not every client who is able to keep his own counsel. Moro men have been self-undone than have been self-made. It is to be expected that Anarchists will make bombastic speeches. Tom Bigbce—I say, Upson, what would you do if you had a million? Upson—Nothing. The young man who courted an in¬ vestigation says that courting a girl is much bettor fun. There never was a woman so plain that she preferred to look at the back rather than tho front of a mirror. There are three things that beat a drum for noise—one is a small boy and the other two are drumsticks. Tho ship of matrimony has a com¬ panionway, but there bo many hus¬ bands and wives who never find it. He—Charlotte^ affection? I love you; She—I’m can you not return my afraid I'll liavo to, as I have no use for it. Some men are like blotting-paper: they may bear the impress of a hun¬ dred things and yet they are worth¬ less. A Stickler for Form. Gentleman— And why don’t you go to work? Tramp—’Cause I ain’t never been in- vited. He—What do you think of this car¬ pet I liavo selected for you my dear? She (enthusiastically)—It would be hard to beat my love. If you are told that you resemble a great man say nothing. It may be that the resemblance will cease the moment you open your mouth. “You’re an angel I” said ho, un¬ guardedly. “No, I'm not,” she re¬ sponded, with conviction; “I’m a woman, and I want a new gown next week.” Mr. Figg—Tommy, my son, do you know that it gives me as much pain as it does you when I punish you? Tommy—Well, there’s some satisfac¬ tion in that anyhow. “What became of that Samuels girl that Pottorby was flirting with last Summer?” “You mean tho girl that Potterby thought he was flirting with. She married him.” He—I don’t think the world is ex¬ actly fair to men. She—Why not? He—Well, the man who has a head, for instance, gets ahead, while the man who hasn’t one doesn’t. A wealthy man was asked not long ago to subscribe to a worthy charity, “I should like to contribute,” said he, “but I have $800,000 in the bank not earning a cent and I x-eally can’t af¬ ford it.” “Strange thing how Winks ever got the reputation of being a wit,” said Jaggleby. “Why, the only decent thing he has gotten off" all the evening is his $60 overcoat, and he owes hi! tailor for that.” A statiop.er’s traveler, having had a run of bad luck in prosecuting busi¬ ness, received from the “boss” the fol¬ lowing telegram: “If you can’t make expenses come home at once.” The reply was: “All right. Can make plenty of expenses, but no sales.” Ah, maiden coy and debonair, With visage like the sainted, I fear you’re not one half so fair As I have seen you painted.
