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Fannin County Gazjtt . R ®* MINERAL BLUFF, GA. The famous Cherokee strip “comes high/’ but some of the Western cat¬ tle growers think tncy must have it and have bid $35,000,000 for it. It has been conservatively estimated (hat the lumber cat in the Pacific Northwest this year will be over 2,- 000,000,000 feet, valued at $25,500,- 000 . A Union Club man calmiy mado the 'statement the oilier cay, alleges the New York Tribune, that the Union Clnb’s membership represented a to¬ tal wealth of $700,000,000. f The “Duellist Doctor” of Heidel¬ berg University, Germany, has just been entertained at a “comnsers” of old oorps-stadents. lie has acted as surgeon to tho fighting students for forty yea s, and attended 14,000 duels, of which only two proved fatal. In Franco at present there nro 2,000,000 household* in which there has been no child; 2,500,000 in which there was one child; 2,800,000, two children; 1,500,000, three; about 1,000,000, four; 650,000, five; SaO,- 000, six, and 200 , 000 , seven or more. One by one do our fond illusions vanish, moans the Chicago Herald. Dr. Hall, a New England lecturer, states that the average expense of a Spanish grandee is about $3 per week, board and washing included. Who will sigh for a castle in Spain after this? asks the llerald. The celebrated $2 silver certificate of 1886 is again being put into circula¬ tion in New York City, and the paners of that city arc cautioning merchants of that city to be on their guard against it. It is one of tho cleverest imitations of the genuine bill known, and at first sight would deceive any but au export. The assertion frequently made that Hie publicdBjoain i in jwit Nebraska^ by’# 1 *’ is ex- i lliii n i F land • *• - • ^artnjfuit reports 11,^26,581 acres of ,vacant govtvinncnt Mud in the State. In other words there are 140,332 fa' ins of 80 acres each, or 70,102 farms of 160 acres, which settlers can secure for a song. French criminals are quick to take advantage of any new application of science or any current fad. If the story about robberies on the Lyons mail be correct theso highwaymen arc using hypnotism to aid them in se¬ curing booty. This is a promising suggestion for the sensational novel ists and opens up exciting plots. An exchange is authority for. tho statement that in Detroit, Mich., there has been an exhaustive examination going on for somo time as to the purity of milk supplied to that city, and Dr. Coventry, who has conducted tiie ex¬ amination, reports that 75 per cent, of the milk received was found to bo adulterated, nnd sav3 that if the milk peddlers continue to sell inferior milk, prosecution will be made at once. ! The Chin so arc io have a currency. On the seacoast, whore they havo had to deal with foreigners, they havo u,ed Mexic o! dollars and small Japan¬ ese coins, in ihe interior bars of sil¬ ver were tho medium of exchange. When a purchase was made it was paid for with a slice of tho metal cut off with a hammer nnd chisel. AU this is to end. The government has ordered that the silver mm', be coined and used in that form only under severe penal¬ ties. The Chattanooga (Tenn.) Evening News advocates local bank* of issue, and says: “The national banks are of no use J > die farmer as things arc. They not want tho farmers as cu«- tom , and tho farmer has too much *eu/ r to try to borrow money from without gilt-edge securities. As s'friu.comc of all this the farmer pays Of il'ious interest for money borrowed On an iron-clad mortgage, and the varmcr’s suhstunco and slender earn- logs are inexorably swept away.” The Spider Weft. r Through the long night The builder bullded and the structure grew; With skilful art from spray to spray he drew HU slender thread, while biddea from the sight, And on an ancient pattern huilded there HU castle in the air. And still bethought Of the new home ami what shonld bo there- in, Of the dear friends that he would shortly win To dwell there, and of all that should be brought Of beauty, to make delicate and fall Uls castle in the air. 4t When the morn rose His work was done; woven from stem to stem. Lighted by chandelier of pearl and gem, And shimmering with a thousand rainbow glows; And then be mounted by a silver stair UU castle in the air: When a sptlng breeze Passed by, and brushed him rudely to the ground, Just as his foot had reached the topmost round. Snatch'd off his web from the syringa trees, And left the builder seeking everywhere His castle in the air. A BA0 OF DIAMONDS. lie lmd screwed his courage to the sticking point. After all, Wiiat good to the old man was that bag of gems? What good except to count over, mark their twinkling facets, gloat over their value, and laugh at those who might covet them, Palsied fingers would shako ns the strings of tho chamois skin treasury were rapturously untied, and n moment’* life and energy flash into pinched cheek and faded cvc, as every evening tho revelation of untold wealth woke in a withered heart it* only surviving passion, But what good to the world or to the man was that brief minute of ecstasy? Was it not paid for a liumlredf Id by nights of fear and forebodings of robbery that made life a perpetual horror? How often had Paul heard Ids uncle wake from his montide nap with a dreami ig cry: “My diamonds, my diamonds, is that you Paul? 1 thought it was a roi.ber.” Ills thoughts were to come true to¬ night. Paul tried to persuade him¬ self that the treasures ho had set his on belonged to him as much V,| l>co*Aa f*t lyrBfcw'in I p?ize of the fi'iuer. I oaiiie another thought, His W1I poverty t ami hi* great love, llis uncle's ward was as poor ns himself; poor, proud and beautiful, Such flowers only grow in hard and soli- tarv places; in the nipping air, and uncrowdcd evon by tho obtrusivciicss of love. Straight, slender, full-lined as a rose, with a big soul beaming in her face and eyes, with meek, silent ways, and bearing unflinchingly tho blows of an old man's brutal tongue, this girl had presented to the poet's mind the image of power, of profound passion, of untiring constancy such as had enchanted him and transformed his life. She had been first shy to him then wistfully tender, as if she pitied him. It was in the arbor at the foot of the garden, where he was seated now, be¬ hind the hedge of cl pped yew, that she had nestled closo in his arms, ami they had known the Hist moment of happiness in their deserted lives. “Wo mu*t be patient, Paul.” Patient, did .-lie say? They had been so long enough. }iis plans were ripe now, and lie was watching the light in bis uncle’s window. The old man would sleep well, ho had taken care of that, to-night. If he awoke? Well, that too, was provided for. Ohl men arc not hard to smother. The night, dark and damp, suited dark thoughts. And She sting of long oppression, the blind feeling after revenge for \ ears of cruel -light* and insults, had Ion;; engendered such thoughts. And now came a vision of au earthly heaven, the hope of n new life beyond the seas. “Yes, 1 will fly with you any time yon ask,” the grid had said resolutely. “We shall be happy, rich or poor.” No! not poor, lie would provide against that. The lights in tho windows of the mansion are gone out. Even the win¬ dows on the ground floor, which open on to the piazza, arc dark. That i* iiis uncle’s room. Paul rises from his 6cat. The dripping jasmiue.spray that strikes hi* cheek as lie leaves the little sununer-hotisc makes hi* heart slop for a moment, lie fears even tho faint crunch of his footstep: u the gravel, There is a dog baying (he distance, as if conscious that thL is are about, 11a steals past (ho bij pear tree at the corner of the piazza, and tramp¬ ling in the soft mould of the flower garden, where her jonquils and tulips grow, lie creeps breathlessly to the back porch. The outer door is quickly opened. lie thrusts out bis hand to find the knob of the house door and taking a latch-key from his vest pocket,.iio opens it loo. At the end of the hall is Isis uncle’s room. The house is silent. But 'tark! did ho hear a footfall? It mu') bs a heavy footfall that is heard on the thick car¬ pet and steady floor of oak. lie had never before explored this old ram¬ bling dwelling in darkless, It was ahvnys to him a sad ami dreary place; a place of faded hangings, old- fashioned and tasteless bric-a-brac, paintings insipid in their tarnished frames, and books that echoed the fancy and opinion of^dead yesterday’s* genera¬ tion—flavorless us news. lie lias readied his undo’s door. There he produces a dark lantern from under his cloak. Drawing up the slide for a moment he flashes the cone of light over tho hall and up the stair¬ case. It lights up for a moment oaken wainscoting, crowded hat-rack, tho antlers overhead, and the stRtue of Cupid, pallid ghost, and then falls on the stalrcaselpAs it does so lie snaps down the s Be and ail is dark again. i Yes, nil is dark ;fid quiet. There is no witness to hi itne. What would she os think if she saw him cowering and crouching at his uncle’s door? The nought of her rises like a phantom h ns mind, she is all in white, yet cairn, resolute and beautiful—an angel iu contrast with the Inferno of his own troubled thoughts, and yct v_ ?ni eepens his reso- lution. llo is tho martyr seeing the martyr’s crown, the soldier with the reward of his valor befovu his eyes. In her purity, her strength, her peace, it seem* to him TSTwould find an cs- capo even from the Jorturo and shame of his guilty mind. He would bathe himscif in her presence as in a flood of cleansing water, a second baptism. Her smile, her trustfulness, the music of her voice xvouh] be a heaven in wide! in] rest, anil guiltiness. JU’- lie turns (he handle of the door quietly, gradually, and enters. A del¬ icate scent a* from the folds of silken garments strikes his senses. But ho does not hear a tingle rustle from hi* uncle's bed. The old mau sleeps indeed. Then lie draws up tho slide of his lantern. So violently, with such trembling agitation does ho close it again, the instant after, that the whole thing falls clattering to the ground, and Paul turns and rushes through the room. What has lie seen to overcome him so? A woman, tail and supple as a Greek, stern-eyed asUlytemnestraand twenty times as fair, with black hair and marble arms, eyes of fringed violet—how often had he doted on them! How often had ho felt his heart swell with pity, with admira¬ tion, witli unspeakable love, as the soft voice tremulously rcmoaitralcd with him. “We must be patient, Paul.” And now this saint of his life, this virgin flower of women, this one who was lo be the salt and salvo to his sod, wounded, outraged and rebellious heart—:hero she stands, her right hand under the pi'low of the uncon¬ scious sleeper, her left armed to strike b in down, if lie awake! Paul parsed sb aiihiiv into the gar¬ den again. He went with bound* across the parterre, fiercely trampling the flowers and border*; cursing mcinwhilc, in bis heart, with hitter rage and execration the angel, for¬ sooth! who was thief and murderess. Then lie laughed a wdd trembling laugh such as only grief that borders on frenzy finds utterance in. That night :-s he sat till dawn under the moaning poplars, and over and ovo again repeated to hi* mind tho hideous incidents that lie half believed to be a dream, love turned to hate, ef. fuel to ashes, a* a flower to the blood- rad poison. “It was for love of me,” he mur¬ mured “for love of inc—ah I th..t is the blow that cuts the deepest; tor why? that love of hors is loathsome to me.” “That was forty years ago,” said Miss Perry,” and it seems only yester¬ day.” She looked from the gay area of the Casino at Narragansett, out over the blue, dimp.ing sea, where a yacht wa 8 just coming to anchor. The wriukled old general who di¬ rected the taste of the wealthy New York spinster in the fitting of her art gallery wiped a tear from his glass eye. It was a telling gesture, though the tear was not a tear of sensibility. “But how did you find out that it was he?” he inquired, softiy. “Hand me that fan and I will tell you. I had come down stairs, hear¬ ing a noise and thinking of burglars. I was brave in those days, and seized a heavy pair of scissors, which I car¬ ried daggerwise. I went to my un. cle’s room, felt under his pillow and was relieved to find the bag of dia¬ monds safe. Then there was a mo¬ mentary flash of light, a clatter of a lantern dropped in darkness, and the sound of receding footsteps. I never saw Paul again to this day. The lan¬ tern was identified as his. I felt re¬ lieved at his flight at the moment. But, General, you and I are old peo¬ ple, and for my part 1 can love only once, and you must not speak to me again as you have done today.”—[The Epoch. Mexican Method of Threshing. Between donkeys and men is divi¬ ded also the work of bringing to mar¬ ket fodder from the threshing-floors. The Mexican method of threshing— save on a few great haciendas, where American machinery is used—is of the Scriptural sort; the grain in the car is laid on the threshing-floor, and horses and cal tie or goats arc,driven over it; after which tho straw is removed and the' grain is winnowed from the chad by throwing both together by the* shovelful into the air when a brisk wind is blowing. The straw thus ob¬ tained, being softened and broken into short lengths, is eaten by asses and even by horses with relish—indeed, a serious objection on the part of Mexi¬ can farmers to American threshing machines is that the threshed straw remuius Unbroken and bard. * klder Tr.ylr i< 1 baled to briiig it netting to market b cords, the LiLa f and as tho bales are large anil are packed solidly they make a load that no one but a professional burden- bearer couhl carry far. This whole process is very like that pursued in the south of France, where the grain is threshed on a threshing-floor by dragging it over a heavy wooden roller, and i* winnowed by throwing it against the wind, and where the bruised straw is brought to the barns baled iu sheets; but in France the bales nro loaded on wagon*, not on the backs of men.—[Harper’s "Weekly. Impressed the Governor as a Janitor. The Rev. Myron W. Reed, tho well- known clergyman of Denver, Col., (ells an amusing incident of his mili¬ tary career. During the war his regi¬ ment got into Nashville one morning nnd the following morning ho was tohl to go and relieve the guard at tho Capitol. JJe took up his company, and was told the first business was to put the prisoners to work to clean out the place, lie set them to work with mops, pails and brooms, ami just as they were fairly at work a person came up to him and wanted to know what he w is doing, making such a noise. “Here, I don’t want anything of that,” said Mr. Reed; “just get your broom and help these men.” “D > you know who I nin?” “No, I don’t know,” and lie told him again io get his broom and pail and fall in quick. Then he introduced himself- Aiulrew Johnson, Military Governor of Tennessee. And Mr. Reed excused him.— fNew York Tribune. Minister* Are Like Cats. A prominent clergyman gives this description of tho life of a mini-ter: "My experiences with churches make me think that ministers are like cets. When you go to a new place first everybody says: “‘Como pussy! come pussy 1 nice pussy,’ and you eome. Then they begin to rub vonr fur and say: •Poor pussy !poorpn«»y!’and then they say, ‘Scat! » I! —[New York Tribune. The Stinger Song. Love, the thief, chanced on a day Near the bees to linger, When a naughty one, they say. Stung him on the finger. Oh, the wound, it hurt him sot How be blew and shook it I How he stomped and danced with woe, Then to mother took it. Spreading all his fingers he Sobbed to Aphrodite; “Mother, little Is the bee. But its sting is mighty >* Then the Queen of Passion smiled. And sbe answered merely: “Yon are small yourself, my ehiU, But you wound severely. —[From the Greek of Theocritus. IIUM0B0US. The road-bed rails at the locomotive for running over it. People crossed in love are apt to be very cross afterwards. As they parted—“A lass,” sighed he. “Ah, men,” wept slie. Visitor (admiring the new baby)— She has her mamma’s chin. Father— Indeed she hasn’t, yet. In order to stand up under misfor¬ tune it frequently becomes necessary to stand up one’s friends. It is easier to manage a switch than a train. This is a fashion note or a railway item, just as you please. Teacher—Wliat if absolutely neces¬ sary to enable a man to get along well in tills wicked world? Johuny—A rattling good pair of legs. Bulger—Miss Banger plays like sixly, doesn’t she? Kroger—Well, she’s not fur out of ti e way. lhat passage is marked “forte.” The watchmaker is doomed to per- pclnal apprenticeship. Even when he pretends to be in business for himself he is really “serving his time.” Faker—Simkins has given up prose and is going to devoto himself to poetry hereafter. Wagstcr—That is to say lie is going from bml to verse. Unprejudiced sympathy is always with the under dog in tho fight. In a cat fight sympathy for the under cat is misplaced. The under animal is in scratching position and has the best of it. Mrs. Mater—Have yon seen > Mr. Pater’s |ou since lie got home P'om IT ■ Daughter 1 —Yes, ma; Wim 1 him last\niglit. lias lie iuip-eved much? Awfullyri He’s got a taclie. Jenkins—Say, von know that coflee I got of you the other day. Grocer— I guess I ought to. “Well, my wife can’t get it to settle.” “Then it has kind o’ dropped into the ways of the family.” * “I say. Bobby,” whispered Feath- erly, “did your sisier say that she hoped my trip would do me good?” “Yes, she told mo last night that if Mr. Feathcrly went West she Loped he would go for good.” Tommy—IIow much will yon charge me for a bicycle for this afternoon, Mr. Wheeler? Proprietor—Fifty, cents for the first hour; twenty-five cents an hour after that. Tommy— Well, I think I will come around here an hour later. Snivel}’—I’ve been talking ‘ with your wife, and I’m surprised at her mental power. She has a great mind. Snodgrass—She must have. She has given me a piece of It every day for ten years and 6ecms to have plenty left. ■ Mother—Ella, you have been play. * n s» l * le afternoon with those toy soldiers. Thai’s not a proper amuse. nicnt for a big girl like you. L'augh- * el ’ mamma, I am plat ing with, the soldiers. I picked out tho officers and played with them. Tre<? nesting, conducting The eng , neer8 the snr- vey of the Bunn Ji railway lines havo adopted a novel method for removing the gigantic forest trees obstructing the projected route through tiio jun. gles of tho Irrawaddi River. In¬ stead of felling tho tree by tho slowj process of axe-work, they blast it out of the way by mcams of dynamite cartridges. Their method consists in first firing a rifle-ball into the trunk of the tree, penetrating the green wood to a depth of 6ix or seven inches. Into that aperture they then insert an explosive cartridge, attach a burning fuse and step aside; the result will splinter ami overthrow a tree six feet iu diameter.