Newspaper Page Text
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.