Newspaper Page Text
—5—^ gr
the mercury.
PUBLISHED EVERT TUESDAY
NOTICE.
DTAll oommanlMttona lnUndftd tor ttili
p»per mart be aeoompanlto with th* tall
D »m* of th* wriur, no* neoMSarlly tor pabll.
«»Uon, but m • *uftr»nte« of good talth.
W« »r« la no way responsible for tho view*
or opinion* of oorreapondent*.
i <*
A. J. JERMGAJi, Proprietor.
VOLUME IV
DEVOTED TO LITERATURE, AGRICULTURE AND GENERAL INTELLIGENCE.
$1. 60 per Annum.
SANDEltSVILLE, GA„ TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1883.
a 0- BBOWW,
attorney at law,
■a**«svWe, On. *
^^gSSSSSSXSf' Mm,M ^
Watches, Clocks
And JEWELRY
unnn n
JBRXTZCAXT.
h. h aoixinxLD,
Physician and Surgeon,
■aaderovlll*, 0*
Ode* not door to Mm Bopnoh allUnorp
,tor* on UftiTln fttroot.
- 0. W- H- WHITAKER,
dentist,
Sandonrllle, Oft.
turns cash.
Office *t hi* Retldenoo, on Harris atreot.
Aorll M. 1M0. _
B. D. IVANS,
ATTORNEY AT LAW,
Bandtrsvlllft, Oft.
April AIMS.
Dr. H. B. Hollifield,
nnitui &ii sunn,
Having recently gradnatod ftt thft Cnlver-
illy cl Maryland and returned bom*, now
ofler* III* proleiftlonftl services to the clllxene
cl Hnuderavlllft »nd vicinity. Office with
Pr. II. N Hull meld, next door Icptra. Bay ne’e
millinery (tor*.
BUY YOUR
SPECTACLES, SPECTACLES,
rnoii
JERNIGAM,
Non* genuine without onr Trade Kerb
On hand and for asl*
SPECTACLE#, NOSE GLASSES, ETC.
MUSIC, MUSIC
QO TO—
JERNIGAN
FOR
WINS, ACCORDIONS,
Bows. Strings,
Rosin Boxes, Etc-
When to Begin Keeping Poultry,
Tliero 1* no doubt that a woll-kept
look of poultry in tho tnonl profitable o(
‘U Inrm stock. But n little floek Well
'-opt, like a little farm well tilled, brings
ho most profit to the farmer. Just as
■nany ns oan be kept without crowding,
ind with cane and convenience, will be
tho moet profitable. Poultry will Mbl
oear crowding any more than sheep or
oigs or people, and it is well known that
vlien any of these are too closely kept
lisenso appears and works misoliieL
It is a necessity of the ease, because
ileanliness must bo sacrificed to necea-
dty.
We would not pnt moro than 50 fowls
.n one yard, nor confine them in a yard
ill tho timo. Success with poultry is
•’tally impossible with close confine
ment. Tho fowls must have a run
ibroad at least half a day, and a grass
run is the best. Thero they secure an
ilmhdnnoo of insects, ss grasshoppers,
(liiw, criekots, beetles, c»terpillars, ante,
uid worms, all of which nro thoir nat
ural food. But on a farm tho number
>f fowls irinst hot oxceod tho limits of
ground provided for them, or, liko Mr.
Mir.awhcr’s financial condition, it will
produce misery. When this goutlemnn
kept his expenses within half a cent of
his incomo his comfort and pleasure
acre unbounded. Tho half-cont was a
perpetual joy to him. But when ho
went half a cent beyond his incomo life
wns a burden. The debt was a source
>f misery. The principle applies strictly
to poultry-keeping. Olio lion too few,
ana hoaltli, comfort, and wealth abound.
Olio bon too mniiy, and disenso, death
aud loss result. The line may txi drawn
right there, for it is so narrow and so
-<tmight that it is quite as easily over-
itopped us that.
But ns with other livo stock, there are
good and bad, profitnblo and nnproflt-
ihlo, fowls. And wo should get tho
best. If a dairyman Were to begin
business ho would buy cows and not
waives. In thoono case his profits would
begin at onco; in tho other liis expenses
only would begin, and liis profits would
bo In tho future. It is the same with
fowls. If one procures a iloson eggs of
mme good kind to begin with, he must
<pend a year and some money before any
income be made. For the price of two
vettings of eggs a trio of fowls can be
procured, and while tho eggs would be
batching and the oliicks rearing the two
liens would lay a hundred or two of eggs
and rear 20 ohicks themselves. Tims it
iB easy to get into stock quickly and at
less cost l>y procuring fowls tlinu by get
ting eggs. And this is tho season for
beginning. Early pullets oan bo pur
chased now quite chenply, while in the
Hiring no breeder will sell them, because
they are making him a profit. In Juuu-
iry or February they will begin laying,
and if a few common hens can bo pro
cured for broodom, n largo number of
jhicks oan be hatched in March by good
management. That is by having a warm
place rprcially for tho hens, where they
will not bo disturbed by anything, and
if need be by putting a small stove in it
to keep it warm. A large sunny window
on tho south sido is very desirable.
Young ohicks are excessively susceptible
to cold, and warmth will cover a multi
tude of mistake! and dangers.—Henbt
Stewart.
A Boat With a Wooden Boiler.
f A Child Kilted by I'rtjfhh
tFrnW the Arknni-ftw Gazette.}
Few people seem to properly estimate
tho great wrong of frightening Children.
Nearly every household has its "ttgbr
old man,” or its "great old bear.’* This
terrible old man and ibis great old boat
afo powerful fnctors in nursery disci
pline.
"Come along here, now,’* a mother of
nurse will sav to a child, ''and let me
iHtmftu FILE* foil Foundations.
W’hr as* Where They Are IJeCrt-Pllee that
bait (lOO Apiece*
put pronto bod."
Machine Needles,
Oil and Shuttles,
FOR ALL KINDS OF MACHINES, tor sal*.
I will alio order parts of Meohlnas
that gat broken, for wliloli new
pleoee are wanted.
A. J. JEBNIGAN.
f. X Hun.
O. H. Rons
HINES & ROGERS.
Attorneys at Law,
SANDERSVILLE, GA„
Will practice tn the oountlee of Washington,
Jefferson, Johnson, Bmanuel and Wllklnaon,
and tn the D. S. Courts for the Southern Dis
trict of Georgia.
Will *ct ea agents In buying, selling or
noting Real Estate.
Office on Weet side ef Public Square.
oct U-tf
Accidents to nn Imperial Family.
A "hole Borici of unlucky accidents
have lately bofuben tho Austrian imper
ial family. Just as tho Empress Eliza
beth wns passing on horseback over a
tmall bridge which spans ft torrent in
the Styrian Alps, near Murzsteg.a plank
gave way under her horse’s hoof. The
animal stumbled nnd throw his rider
over bis head. On the very same day,
at Hie same hour, Archduko William,
brother of Archduke Albert, while super
intending tho cavalry exercises at tho
camp at Bruck, was taken ill, and fell in
a dead faint off his horse; and at the same
moment the Arc\idu chess Cloilda, wife
of Archduke Joseph, .who had been to
yivit a girls’ school near Bnda-Pesth,
having just, stepped out of the house,
accompanied by the young girls, heard
n frightful noise behind her. She
binied. and'found that tlie roof of the
school-room had just fallen in ! What
interpretation will superstitious peoplo
place upon these ooiiieidenees ? Ours
would be that the Archduchess Clotilda
is luckier than her relations.
Wiut Hu Earned.—Jim Smith, wiio
'vub released from tk.i Tennessee State
prison the other day, is a master me
chanic nud toolmaker, who can earn $4
per day. no worked m the machine
2,836 days, aud his good behavior
nt two years and eleven mouths off his
einiottcn years for robbery on tho
nghwiiy. Deducting tho cost of his
Pport, estimated at eighteen cents per
BUt* 06ttrUed * 10 * 74 ^ 94 uet tor
Some time ago it was announced that
a machinist of this city named Joseph
Sutcliffe wns engaged in tho construc
tion of a steamboat boiler from an ordi
nary ale cask. At the time it was men
tioned tho boiler was not quite com
pleted, but since then it has been
launched and tested, and hns stood a
considerable pressure of steam to the
square inch. The wooden boiler was
built to supply a two-horse power rotary
engine, nnd was to be placed on a six
teen-foot boat. Tho boiler wns mado
from an ale cask, and very little change
has taken place in its exterior. On tho
inside of the barrel has been placed ft
fire box which extends well down into
tho cask; this has been fitted with tubes
placed horizontally and vertically to
hold the water. In other boilers tho
water is outside of tho tul>es. The fire
box is supplied with fuel from tho top,
draught being supplied through a tulie
from below. This unique boiler lias
been fairly tested, aud is pronounced n
success for the purpose for which it wns
constructed. Tlio engine is a two-horsc
power rotary, and was also built by Mr.
Sutcliffe.
This novel vessol is a twin screw pro
peller, the screws being ten inches in
diameter. The vessel is not only pro
pelled but is steered by those screws
which act liko tho tail of a fish, A trial
trip was made a few days after it was
launched with fivo persons, and the boat
proceeded about a quarter of a mile up
the river. It was then thought best not
to proceed any further, ns it wns found
tho engine was not in a direct line with
the propeller shaft, which caused con
siderable friction. This trouble has
since been remedied, and tho ongino and
boiler are working very successfully, and
trips are made with the boat up the
river every afternoon. Tho wooden
boiler boat, as it hns bocomo known and
vpoken of on the river, is the cynosure
of all eyes, as it passes up and down the
stream .—Paterson Press.
A Novel Scheme.
on’t want to go now,” tkeehild
replies.
“You’d better oomo on here now, or
I’ll tell thnt ugly old man to come and
take vr>u away. There lie cotnes how.”
Tills has tlie intended effect, and
the child, trembling in fear, submits at
once and goes to bed, probably to Sec
in imagination all kinds of horrible
faces,
The sad death of a littlo girl, which
occurred recently, shows what a strong
impression these “boogers” tunko on the
minds of children, The littlo girl wns a
beautiful child, nnd every one nt the
fashionable boarding-house where her
parents wore spending the summer
months, loved her with tlint purity of
atfectioh which a child so gently yet so
strongly inspires. She would ’stand at
the gnto and clap her littlo hands in
gleo when her father came to dinner,
and when he would take her on his
shoulder, she would shout nnd call to
every ono to look how high slio was.
One day a large shaggy dog enme into
the yard, nnd when she ran to him nnd
held a flower to liis nose, ho growlod
nnd turned away. She was terribly
frightened, slid the black nurse, who
Stood nenr, was not slow in making a
mental note of the impression the dog
bad made. Several nights afterward,
when bedtime came, the child wns un<
usually wakeful.
“Ycr'd better come heali nn git in dis
bed," the nurse commanded.
“I don’t want to."
“All right, den. I’s gwine ont an’
eall dnt olo dog what growled nt yer.
When he oomes nn’ flu’s yer outen de
bed, lie’ll bite yer head off.”
Tlie little girl grew deathly pale.
"Nuthin’ would suit that clog better
den ter git n chance hat yer. ’Totlior
night he eoteh a little girl across de
road an’ eat her up.”
Tlie child screamed.
“Gome on lienh den, an' I won’t let
him ketch yer."
The poor little thing obeyed. Her
father and mother were at an entertain
ment and thore was no appeal from tho
negro woman’s decision.
When morning came tlio little girl did
not awake with her glad “good morniu’
papa an’ mamma. ” She had tossod all
night ami a hot fever hod set tied upon
her. She grow rapidly worse, nnd tho
next day the physician declared thnt
there wns no hope for her. She became
delirious, and struggling would exclnim
“Dog shan’t have mnnimn's littlogirl I”
It was a sorrowing circle that sur
rounded her death lied. The parents
were plunged into a grief which none
but the hearts of fathers and mothers
can feel.
Her last moments were a series of
struggles. How hard the beautiful can
die. She wildly threw up her little
bands and shrieked:
“Go away, dog 1”
A gentle hand wiped the death froth
from her lips.
Again she struggled and shrieked:
“Dog shan’t linve "but she died
pro the sentenoe was finished.
Prison Life In Siberia.
On the 10th of .Tune a steamboat ar
rived at St. Petersburg from Tioumen.
towing a transport with 664 prisoners
on board, bound for Siberia. The trans
port had a terrible passage. Caught in
the iee, it was delayed six days in the trip
from Tioumen to Tomsk. On account
of this dolay the prisoners, on their ar
rival at the latter town, were in a de
plorable condition, deprived of every
thing, and infeoted with diphtheria,
typhus, small-pox and other diseases.
Two days afterward there came from
Tioumen another transport with 638
prisoners. Finally, on the 21st of Juue,
a third vessel came with 700 of those
unfortunates. The prison was too small
for these 2,000 people, but nevertheless
they were crammed into it.
Among them were ono hundred politi
cal prisoners; and this fact is noteworthy
since it cannot be ascertained from
whence they came. Whether they
are condemned to banishment or to
renal servitude in tho mines nobody
mows. Neither can it bo ascertained by
what tribunals they have been tried,
since, according to tho official figures,
the total number of convictions lor polit
ical offenses during tho few years foils
short of so high a figure.
Must we, then, believo that there is
some truth in the rumors according to
which peoplo arrested on tlie charge of
high treason have been brought before
secret tribunals ? Or have the political
prisoners been simply dealt with by tht
administrative branch of the Govern
ment? There is no choice excopt be
tween these two alternatives equally to
be deplored.
Captain Eads proposes a railway to
-oiivey ships overland from ono harbor
to another. The author of the success
ful Jetty System ftt tlio mouth of the
Mississippi proposed this scheme as a
substitute for the canal which De Les
sens engaged to construct through the
Isthmus of Panama. Engineers say
that Captain Eads’s proposition is en
tirely practicable. Steamers and ships
could be hoisted to tho cars on one side
of the Isthmus and conveyed by steam
rower, to be launched ngaiu on the
other side. This would be cven more
practicable on the low-lying sands of the
Isthmus of Suez than in the
lainous regions of Central America.
Dcmorest’s Monthly.
Dbfbrenoh is the most delicate, th
most indirect, ^ the most elegant of *1
compliments
A few sharp, astlimntib puffs o»
steam, followed liy a heavy thud as the
block of iron, a ton weight, falls on the
longspniCQ pile, driving it n foot into
the Solid earth 1 In this manner the
foundations of thanjr Now York build
ings are laid—not exactly on a rook, but
practically as nearly so as if a solid
stone wall was built up from tho gravel
or the hardpau to which tho pile has
renetrated, and at each successive blow
ho pile—often sixty or sevonty foot in
length—sinks deeper, nud when it has
at last touched tho hard bottom, tho
henty iron block rebounds with a ring,
as if it had struck nn anvil. From that
point there 1b no more driving, or the
pile would Ire splintered ns cosily ns a
match. In those portions of tlio city
where tho original nolhhvs In tho hum
have been filled to tho summmllug
grade, a pilo foundation is alwnys driven
when tho building is of any considerable
weight) or tho filling is carted away mid
tjio foundation wnll stnrtcd on iho bed
rock. In the lower portions of the city,
which Were onco swamp bottoms, and
where the rock-ntrntttm is far beneath
tho surface, piles nlso must bo Used, nnd
they are frequently driven through a
foot or moro of water. For a building
r.ow going up in Spruce street, a six-
storied brick structure, I he piles nro
driven to a depth ranging from twenty-
five to forty mot; tlio longest of them
would mnko very respectable telegraph
polos. When tlie mn-sivo abutment of
the Brooklyn Bridge, op)misito tlio
Spruce street building, wpn Constructed,
it wns considered best to begin nt tho
grnrol bottom, and the foundation
stones were laid fifty feet below thp.
street. Under tlie Spruce street struc
ture 600 of these'piles have been plucod,
with a calculation that each pile will sus
tain a weight of six tons, though the
supporting capacity of each is much
greater. They are arranged in sections,
a double row in each section, with
mathematical ncourncy ; tho surface is
filled in with concrete, nnd n floor of
heavy planks, spiked on the piles, pre
pares them to receive the stone layers.
The woodwork is so covered with earth
thnt it is imporvions to the air, nnd it
will lost till long after tlio walls above
have crumbled. In another Inrgo ware
house now going up in Greenwich
street, near Desbrosscs street, a yet
greater number of piles were used, nnd
their avorngo length wns fifty feet.
When the piles do not exceed fifty
feet in length, the cost is comparatively
small for such a foundation. An inferior
grado of spruce is used, such as is not
deemed strnight enough, or thnt is too
full of knots for ship-spars. The cost
is placed at about $10 a pilo, 6xclusivo
of the stonework. There aro many
buildings in tho city where tho piles
have cost much more. In tho founda
tion of the Vanderbilt Elevator, the
large elevator in Jersey City mid that re
cently ereoted nt the mouth of the Wee-
liawken Tunnel, none of the pilos wero
less than seventy feet long. They had
to bo specially selected in Michigan
forests, and the first cost was 850 each.
Under the Weehawkon Elevator 15,000
piles were driven, and many of them
were over fifty feet long.
“It is a curious thing,” said Robert
Brown, an old pile-driver, “how these
piles behave. We start them in with a
blunt end, and if yon should pull one of
them up you would find the point
sharpened like a load-pencil. And there
is no wenr out to them when tlioy get
iuto tho mud. I pulled one old snag out
of the East River in 1863 that hail been
driven in 1811, and, where the mud cov
ered it, there were green leaves sticking
to it yet. They aro solid, too, ns any
foundation. When I was doing some
work for tlio Government in the harbor
a few years ngo, the engineer made a
calculation on some piles I hnd driven
about forty feet, and lie said they would
sustain a weight of 180 tons each."— N.
U. Tribune.
DETECTING FORGERIES.
an PA'ftiltt TKM.rt MOW FOIMlfcttrt
OtHMIlfcAUlf Tllfc.tlMKl.tiil*.
Ife-
curler find n Itrlrclltf In Whirl* the
I,niter Kkiilntna the Mehftft «t fleteetlon.
Tlie Skeleton of a Giant.
DISCOVERY IN INDIANA OP THE BONES OP
A MAN OF GIGANTIC SIZE.
A New Use of the Electric Motor.
Thousands of experiments are now
ider way to develop tho capabilities of
electricity as a motive power. ItB latest
application is on a plewnro hmuch on
the River Thames, m England, me
boat is forty feet long and of good beam.
n propelled by screw driven by a Sie
™ P motor and tho Sellon-Volokmar
mans in There were twenty-one
sr 1 ™*. ‘Bicsr**
hour was made. The expense
is about the same os that of steam, and
the weight of the machinery is ahoutthe
same but the advantage is in the very
” „ token ud bv the acoumula-
electricnl ln,,nch
will allow as much room for passengers
nr freight as a thirty-foot steam launch
Then g it is the very perfection of a
i „««!•« hoat There is no heat, smoke,
IwXam? no smell of oil, and no noise
d „r.v kind This Thames launch will
° f iIrIi ‘hours, when the acoumula-
George Arnold, a farm hand in the
employ of Franklin Boots, who lives
about flfteon miles west of Sholbyvilo,
Ind., miulo a discovery which has ex
cited widespread interest in that county.
The object ef this interest is the skoleton
of what onco was a man of gigantic pro
portions, which was uncovered in a
a gravel pit on Mr. Boot’s farm. The
skeleton was found in a sitting posture,
facing tho east, and about six feet be
neath the surface. Somo of the bones
were badly broken by a caving of the
bank, but the skull and some of the
larger bones wore taken out intact, and
from them may be easily realized tho gi-
gantio statue of the being to whom they
once gave support. A measurement of
tho skull from front to rear, the rule
passing from the eye-socket to tho back
of the head, shows it to have been about
sixteen inches, while the breadth of the
inferior maxillary was eight and one-half
inches, showing that the brain must have
weighed from four and one-half to fivo
pounds. Careful measurement of the
other bones establish the fact that the
man, when alive, was not less than nine
feet in height and large in proportion.
From the appearance of the teeth, whioh
are very large and do not show the
slightest sign of decay, althongh they
are worn down almost to the bones of the
jaw, the man could not have been less
than 100 years old when he died, and of
course he may have been much older.
The bones of the lower jaw are very large
and thick, showing an extent of mus
cular development in that organ which
is far beyond anything of the present day.
How long ngo the body of this giant was
interred where it was unearthed, or to
what tribe or nation he belonged when
he trod the earth in all the majesty of his
strength, it is impossible to say, but it
must have been ages ago, as all the indi
cations show that tho soil where the re
mains were discovered had not been dis
turlred for many generations. Steps havg
been taken to have casts made of tho
bones, and they will be placed either in
the State oolleotion or some of our ool-
legs museum*.
“Uejrond cases in court on expert is
no doubt ofieh Culled in by business
men in instances of doubt ttboftt a signa
ture, I supposo ?” asked a reporter of
Detective Ames of Boston.
“Yes, many times. I was lately sent
for by a bant cashior and informed that
my services were needed. I arrived at
the bank just as ho was leaving. Ho
took mo into his office, however, nnd
took from ft drawer about forty different
cheeks, which he handed to me and
told me to look them over while ho was
gone, io boo if there wns anything tho
matter with them. I at onco sottled
down to a study of them, Wild on pass
ing them through my hands rapidly tho
first time picked ont about fifteen about
which I had the least suspicion. Con
fining myself to these, I found two with
signatures of tho snmo person so exactly
alike that I was convinced there wns
something wrong."
“Why should thnt eironmnUnce be
suspicious ?”
“Beosnso a man never writes hisnnrao
twice exactly alike. I felt snrn that
these names* wore forged, and that the
forgery wns dono by tracing over the
original signature and then retracing
these two. I held them to the light,
and on placing one over tho other found
that they coincided oxnctly, tho size and
form of tho letters, length of tho signa
tures nnd overvthing common to them
beiug exsotly alike. I wns certain then
that tlioy were forgeries and were tho
ou6s suspected. When the onslder re
turned I Mnnded him tho two cheeks
and said:
14 ‘Here sfe your two forged e 1 coks.’
“Ho looked at mo lu wonder nnd ad
mitted that they were. It seems that
the only cause ho hnd for suspicion wns
that ono of tliom overdrew tlio amount
the party liad in the bank and couldn’t
be cashed. The first ono wns cashed
without suspicion."
“A very interesting case," Mr. Ames
continued, “occurred a few years ago,
involving tho amount reoeived by a
farmer for tho salo of his farm. Tlie
farmer claimed that only $300 had been
received, but the purchaser claimed that
88,000 moro had been paid by him, and
on looking nt the bond kept by tho
farmor it wns seen that tho words
‘eighty-three hundred dollars’ did ftp-
dear. ”
“How eonld that happen?” tho repon
ter inquired.
“It seems‘that upon writing the re
ceipt for ‘three hundred dollars’ a space
was left in front to put in the figures.
Tlio farmer neglected to do this, and,
passing it to tho other, requested him
to add the figures, which lie pretendod
to do, and, niter folding the bond, re
turned it, and it was laid away without
lieing oponed. It was my duty to see
if tlie word ‘eighty’was written nt tho
same timo ns tho rest of tlio receipt.
My examination convinced mo tlint it
was not. Tho pen prosuro wns not the
snmo; it was also written above the linse
line of the rest of the writing and tho
general indications were that it wns
written by a different liniid and at a
different time from the rest.”
“How did tho ense come off?” asked
the reporter.
“At tho first trial there wore elovon
for guilty and ono for acquittal, nnd on
the second his counsel, waiving the
question of liis making the writing,
olnimed that tlio indictment should bo
for fraud. Ho was consequently ac
quitted of forgery in this way."
“Where do you find the greatest dif
ficulty in detecting forgery ?"
“Probably tho most difficulty is in tlie
ease of a skillfully executed signature.
Often tlioRo forgeries are made by per
sons ns skillful as the expert. In many
cases it is well nigh impossible for tho
most skillful oxpert to determino beyond
grave doubts os to tlio genuineness of
the writing. Yet it is rare that over a
skillful forger will not overlook some
point or habit in tho genuine. When a
number of pages aro written you will
always find that ns you read further and
further you find tlie writer forgetting
himself and allowing his own peculiari
ties of penmanship to creep in as ho bo-
NUMBER 30.
Mh; the Prairies are Treeless.
Tlio salvation of tlio great new prairie
empire of Americn depends in great
measrtro on the feasibility of cultivating
forests to servo its farmers as windbreaks.
The potenoy of a grofo of loafless trees
in shielding one from tho winter wind is
hardly credible. Its influence on the
open prairie reaches honscs n mile dis
tant. The laws of all tho Northwestern
States fator the planting of forest trees,
nnd the subject employs not a lit lie of
the rattling rhetoric of their numerous
orntofs. The expediency of these laws
was never questioned nntil recently. A
few months since a professor of Harvard
University, after ten yenrs of study, pro
nounced tlieso laws useless nnd unscien
tific. The learned professor announced
THE MERCURY.
■atorerf as toMnd-rta* Mlfcjk Mtalu
dnavUto Pwtofecft, April W, M*
•a—' INI
Soadenville, Wuhliftoa Cawtfft f*.
A.. J. JERNIGAN,
PoomiroB a*» ftMMMB
- ■ - • ■ 1
:• GIT
0*bicrlpttOB-MMM-.-.jMM.^^M^|Jv Y**»
RATTLESNAKE STORY.
TUB FATAL ODOR WHICHIrtTHDOWN
OCT BY U\ r
How tho fmtiM of ii
Coo* TWO Uvop.
It has always been said by o1<
and woodsmen that under i
lions a rattlesnake exudes i
is not only unbearably ,off(
sense of smell, but that
should be snbjected to its
any length of time in a ekwwTdbm the
result would be fatal to him. Tbis has
generally been looked ^xm as f one of
the many superstitions ibat _ prevail
that trees will grow where they ought to I among the residents of’ the bserwoods,
nn.1 ttnll lir.^ t A tlf rollOFO ill AW la... ‘I J _ A A * . 1.■ I ^nai ■■
comes absorbed more in the composition
and less in tho hand writing. You will
find tlie first part a clever imitation.
Turn over to the last pngo and you will
notice a vast difference. His own per
sonality hns crept in and betrayed him.”
grow and will nol grow where they
onght not to grow; that tho great inland
prairie leeks trees because it hns not a
large enough rainfall to support them,
nud thnt the laws encouraging arboricul
ture will be futilo. Iu traveling through
Western Minnesota we explained this
theory with no little prido to our fellow-
trnveier, a teamster. The teamster
mado no reply except to quicken the
pulse of his pipe. At length, having
made sure thnt ha had smoked it to the
bottom of its sockot, lie drew tho pipe
from liis mouth nud pointed its handle
toward a clump of native trees that
skirted one side of a largo mnd Inko.
“Do yon notioo," ho asked, "on whioh
side of tho lake those trees stand ? The
southeast? Well, that settles it."
There are, os ho afterward explained,
hundreds of tlieso lnkos dotting tho
prairie land of Minnesota. Most of tlio
lakes on tho southeastern shores have
clusters of foro-t trees. Tho reason of
this is not far to seek. There are two
winds there prevalent—the northwestern
and southeastern. The southeast
wind is the rain-bringer. Tho north
west is cold and dry. The prnirio fires
are spread by tho northwest, never by
the southeast wind. When the prnirio
tiros swept over tho prairie they homed
the young trees on all sides of tho lake
except tlio southeastern, which was
sheltered by tho water. There could be
no moro oouohisivo proof of the power
of the prnirio fires to destroy tlio growth
of forests than in soil favorable to their
production _
"HIM, TAKA THE OTTN.’
Jnst before tho battle of Mark's Mill,
in Bradley oounty, Arkansaw, «n inci
dent occurred which hns since boen told
at nil re-unions to tlio amusement of all
henrers. Just before tho battle opened,
a federal soout, whilo riding through the
woods, discovered a confederate scout
Hitting under a tree. The federal dis
mounted aud approached .cautiously
from behind. The confederate’s gnn
was leaning against the tree, nnd the
federal renened around and removed it,
stepped forwnrd and exclaimed:
“Oh, yes, I’ve got you 1”
“That’s a fact."
‘ 'Como, got on your horse, and I'll
tnko you in 1”
The two men mounted and started on
through tlie woods iu n direction whioh
the federal supposed to be tht Union
lines, but which the confederate soon
discovered was his own oommond. They
had not got far when n slow fire of miiB-
ketry caused tho federal to ask:
“Yon know who that is over thore?”
“Yes.”
“WhoiRit?”
“Joe Sholby."
“Tho deuce it is 1”
Thov went on n littlo furthor, tlio fed
eral all tho timo kaeping tho confeder
ate's gun lying across tho horse, in front
of him, when the crash of small arms,
and tho boom, boom of cannon, caused
the two men to stop.
Do you know who that is?" asked
the federal.
“Yes."
“Who is it?”
“Mnrmnduke.”
“Tho deuco it is 1”
They wont on again, the federal grow
ing more and more nervous. Pretty
soon heavv firing, and the nwful rebel
yell told tfiat the liattle was opened.
“Do you know who that is up there?”
asked the. federal.
“Yes.”
"Wlio is it?”
"Maxcy with liis Iugins.
“The thunder it is I Hero, yon take
the gun,” aud by the timo tlio exchange
was made the men wero in tlio confeder
ate linos.—Arkansaw lVaveler,
NAUTICAL ELOQUENCE.
A speaker who attempts to use nauti
cal metaphors should bo thoroughly
familiar with the sen and tho working of
a ship, or he will strand his speech. A
clergyman was once supplying a pulpit
by tho seaside. Thinking to improsf
the truth moro distinctly upon the con
gregation, many of whom were seamen,
ne drew the figure of a snip trying to
enter a harbor against a head wind.
Unfortunately for the success of his
metaphor, he knew little of seamanship.
After putting the ship into several singu
lar positions, he cried out in a tone in
tended to bo emphatic:
“What shall we do next ?”
“The Lord only knows,” exclaimed a
disgusted old tar, “unless you let her
drift starn-foremost!’’ _
Thnt prince of sailor-preachers, Father
Taylor, was onco silenced by a compli
ment to liis eloquenoe. He had de
picted the impenitent sinner under tho
figure of a storm-toBsed ship, with her
sails split, and driven by the gale toward
tho rock-bound coast of Cape Ann.
“Oh, liow,” he exclaimed in tones of
despair, “shall this poor sin-tossed siu-
Dor be saved?” .
Instantly an old salt in the gallery,
who hod listened with open mouth and
straining eyes to the preacher, jumped
to his feet, and in a voice that would
linve sounded above a hurricane shout-
“Let him put his helm hard down,
and bear away for Squam 1”—Christian
Advocate.
but a ease Is reported froiri 'tlSFfctoeono
region, in Pennsylvania, which, If true,
and it scorns to be well siibsbuitiated,
would indicate thnt tho belief rounded
on fnct, Hio story is that Wo men
from Now Jersey— B. T. Altaaus and
Samuel 8. Hoy—whilo spending a few
days in that vicinity, looktoffover some
timber land with a view to {Mndusing a
tract, conoludod, for the novelty of tho
thing, to spond one night in tUa woods.
It wns one of the recent very cold nights.
Tho intention of the men was to sleep
in tho open air by a camp-fire, but tho
cold was so intense that they wero
driven to enter an old cabin on the head
waters of the Little Bnskkiil creek,
which 1b used by tlie htintera in fall and
winter. They started^ a drain the fire
place, nnd, stretching ifielnsejves in
front of it, went to sle^p. Shttre time in
the night Roy awoke. There Wes a fool
ing of grent oppression on hie eh ost and
he " as breathing .with difficulty, There
was n peculiarly sickening smell in the
cabin.
Aliemtu was breathing heavily and his
breath oamo nt long intervals. Boy
Imd difficulty in awnkoniqg him,' but fin
ally arose him, and both atrngglcd to
their foot, Tho fire had oeaaed blaxing,
but the room was very hot, a bed of red-
hot ooal remaining on the hearth.
When tho men arose to their loot they
were seized with a dizziness andkiekness
nt tlie stomach. They succeeded in get
ting to tlie door, which they hqd much
difficulty in opening, but finally stag
gered into the open air and fell to the
ground. After a violent spell of vomit
ing nud halt an honr in the open air tho
strange foeling passed off, but left them
weak nud nervous. They remained out
doors until broad daylight. Upon en
tering the cabin in the morning, what
was their horror to see stretched on tlio
hearth not ten feet from where they had
been sleeping five large rattlesnakes,
which crawled away at the approach of
the men and disappeared in ehinks in
the chimney and cracks and hdles in the
floor. Tho peculiar odor was still ap
parent in the cabin, bnt the pure air
that had entered at the open door had
dissipated it to a great degree. The
men associated their strange sickness in
Home way with the snakes, and at first
thought they must have been bitten.
They did not stay at tho cabin to rout
out and kill the snakes, bat lost no timo
in reaching the nearest settlement,
where they were enlightened as to the
theory of the woodmen’s rattlesnake
skin poison. These snakes frequent de-
erh d cabins in the fall, and it is not an
uncommon thing to seo them crawling
from their hiding places even in winter
after a fire has been built in the cabin
long enough to warm them np.
Dirt Eaters of the Amazon.
A Slight Mistake.
He stepped into a cane Btoro in 125th
street, near Third avenue, New York
city, and said to the proprietor:
“You are just tlie mnu I’ve been look
ing for, and your business ought to be
good.”
’It is fair," replied the proprietor.
If yon were near a church your busi-
uoss would be rushing.”
What do you mean ?" asked the cone
merchant.
“Why, I lost mine in n church last
week anil I want to got it baok.”
“Get what back ?"
“My umbrella.”
“Wliat have I got to do with lost um
brellas ?”
“Everything; don’t your sign say so?
Here is my address, send it to me when
you find it.”
“But I don’t understand. I—’’
“Don’t you. Well then look here,”
and tlie man pointed to a sign outside.
“Umbrellas recovered." Explanations.
UNAPPRECIATIVE.
“I fought for your freedom,” said a
gentleman whom a negro po iojman was
conducting to the lock-up.
“ You needn’t try ter fight fur youm,
cap’n, fur if yer does I’ll hit yer,”
“Ain’t you got no respect for a man
who helped to free you?”
“ I ain’t steadyin’ ’bout dat, cap’n. Ei
yer had enuff sonse ter fight fur my
freedom yer aughter hab enuff ter ’habe
yersel’f airter I’so freed. Doan pull
back dat way. I’ll gin yer a lick fust
thing yor know dat’ll ring so loud dat de
fire engines will come out. Yer own
freedom seems ter bodder yor muck
more den mine.”—Arkansaw Traveler.
“Yon say they are dirt eaten ?”
“Yes, sir; and I mean it in its litoral
zeuse. You know the French traveler,
Mn croix, who explored the aouroes of
the River Amazon, found a tribe of In
dians so infernally lazy that, having
eaten np all tho four-footed animals io
their reach, inoluding parrots and mon
keys, snakes and creeping things, were
reduced to live solely on lings and in
sects. These Ottomnes os fully os bad.
They live upon mud-balls wbon the river
is high and fishing ceases. It is a sort
of unctuous clay of a peculiar kind, which
he finds upon banks of streams. It is
soft to the touch, like putty. In its
natural state it is of a yellowish-gray
color, but when hardened before the
fire it assumes a tinge of red, owing to
tho oxide of Iron that it eontains.”
“Is it nourishing ?"
“Not in the least, It merely fills np
—produces a satiety and satisfies the
pangs of hunger. I have been told by
chemists and medical* men who have
analyzed the little balls into which they
roil it to store away that it contained
nothing nourishing, simply silex and
alumina, with 3 or 4 per cent, of lime.
Hu calls these balls poya, and stores
them up into littlo pyramids, jnst as
camion balls are pitted in a fort. Each
ball is three or four inohee in diameter.
Wlion hungry, he takes a ball nnd soft-
enH it by wetting, nnd eats about a pound
a day. There is something in the dirt
eating habit whiih produces a sort of
craving for it. I do not think that the
habit £ confined exclusively to the Ot-
tomocs, but believo that it is generally
known among the Indians of the tropics.
I have heard of a poor class of whites
living in North Carolina who, when
pressed by hunger, eat the mud daub-
ings that aide the chinks in their cabins. ”
—Cincinnati Enquirer.
A minister once asked a condemned
criminal in a Paris jail, “What kind of
a conscience have you ?” "It’s as good
as new,” repled the prisoner, “for I
b ve never used it.”
• ‘A fair outside Is bnt a poor snbstl-
tute for inward worth,” says a writer.
Tlint’s what the small boy thinks, when
lie can’t find a hole under the fence big
enough to crawl through, and has to
content himself with peeping through
the crooks.