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About Haralson banner. (Buchanan, Ga.) 1884-1891 | View Entire Issue (July 12, 1889)
R i @ ;4*3; w‘"§ 2% {t Y e "’»:‘j*;n;ig TR ’;)f \(slwl ) ' aamé ;w»e "'W»{"-“ i ‘A‘j -o7 Ak Ry Wy The clock within rang forth the chime for eight, “A message? Read it—quick—how can you wait?” Her husband, smiling, leaned upon the gate, At arm's length holding in his trembling hand The crisp, white sheet, while he the writing scanned,’ Then read once more, with voice almost un manned: “‘Thy granddaughter salutes thee, ‘“‘Baby Be]l"" Mother and child, thank God, are doing well.” A moment's silence on the proud twain fell, She broke it soon. “Grandfather I con grat’— ‘‘What, me?” the good man cried, lifting his hat— Grandfather’~me? I hadn't thought of that!” —Anna A. Preston, in Harper's. IN THE NICK OF TIME. Miss Lily Somers, night telegraph operator at the Floodwood station, sat before her table on which the telegraph bi‘gatrumeut clicked busily, a thoughtful eXpression on her face. v i Ece whose expression was its charm, that never could be called pret ty, but that, nevertheless, suggested a possibility—only a possibility—of being handsome. For there is a vast differ ence between pretty and handsome. Pretty people seldom know very much; but to be handsome a person must have prains, an inner as well as an outer beauty. Floodwood was a forlornly desolate spot, and one where any woman, except Lily, would have been afraid to come, much less to stay alone all night with nothing but the wind sadly sighing tilrough the wires overhead and theshrill shrieks of the wild cats away up on the mountain side to keep her company through her nightly vigils. But to her *re was something fascinating in the very desolation of the place. From ear ly childhood she had been accustomed to commune with nature in her wilder scenes, and played and wandered at wilil in the mountain glens and canons. With no foolish old woman or silly nurse girl to frighten her childish senses with sto _ries of hideous ' ghosts and monstrous goblins, she had grown to womanhood naturally brave and fearless. In truth gxe did not understand the meaning of the word fear. Her office was nothing more than a roughly built shanty, seven or eight feet square, with a small window in each end and one in the door which faced the railroad track. It had been hurriedly put together with green lumber while | the road was in course of construction, with the intention of only using it temporarily until a better one could be built, but, as usual in such cases, it had done duty for its original purpose ever since. The rough, unpainted boards were badly warped and shrunken by long ex posure to the elements, and in many places large knots had fallen completely out. No doubt in the winter time the bleak mountain wind cheerily whistled through these many apertures, and while one side of the unhappy operator was being nicely browned like a piece of toast by the red-hot stove the other side would be refrigerated like a frozen rabbit. It was about 1 o’clock fn the morning when Lily leceived an order from the train dispatcher, which read as follows: To OPERATOR, FLOODWOOD:—HoId No. 21 until No. 22 arrives. E K C. On receipt of this order she immedi ately displayed the red signal light, which is furnished all telegraph stations for this purpose, in a conspicuous place, in plain sight of passing trains, and also where it could be seen from the office window. ' The necessity for this order and posi tion of the two trains, briefly stated, are as follows: No. 22 had arrived at Silver Cregk, ten miles west of Floodwood, a few minutes after No. 21 had passed Red wood, which was thirteen miles east of Floodwood. As No. 22 was late and could go no futher on the schedule, ac cording to the rules of the road, tbey would be compelled to lay at Silver Oreek until No. 21 arrived there, unless they could get orders by telegraph to meet them at some other station. Flood wood being the only intervening tele graph office between the two trains, the e e W R T R G o’ ST ke B U The intelligent reader will readily un derstand that by means of these orders the two trains would meet each other at Floodwood in perfect safety, notwith standing that one of them knew noth ing of the arrangement. To explain: If No. 21 should arrive first, they would be stopped by the red light, which showed that there were or ders for them at this station. The con “ductor and engineer would immediately proceed to the telegraph office, where the operator would deliver them a copy of the order to hold them for No. 22. This would be sufficient, and they would wait until No. 22 arrived. If No. 22 should arrive first, the execution ; of the order would be yet more simple. No. 22 would take siding, and as soon as they were clear Lily would be at liberty to take down the red signal lantern, and allow No. 21 to pass without stopping. No. 22 having arrived, the object of the order was already fulfilled. If both trains should happen to arrive at the same time, the red signal would stop No. 21,and as No. 22 had instructions to “approach carefully,” they would do so, expecting to find No. 21 occupying the main track, Lily perfectly understood the import ance of the order she had just received, and during the long hour which wore slowly away she kept careful watch of: the signal light which, however, con tinued to burn as brightly as ever. At last she heard a rumbling noise away in the west which gradually became louder and louder and more distinct. By this time she knew that No. 22 was coming and would probably get in on the siding before No. 21 should arrive. : The rumbling became louder and louder each moment; the earth began to tremble, and the peculiar vibration in the air which gives warning of a rapidly approaching train hummed loudly in her ears. : She began to feel anxious, as they were evidently coming at a high rate of speed, and not approaching as carefully as their order had instructed them; she i also had not heard the whistle which is ‘ always sounded by trains when ap proaching a station, and this omission increased her fears that something was wrong. But she was given no time for fur ther reflection, as the train now dashed around, a curve not a hundred yards dis tant, running at full speed. Lily flew out and stood between the rails swinging her hand lamp wildly across the track and shouting at the top of her clear young voice. But no at tention was paid to her signal, the train coming madly on, with sucha rattle and clash that it drowned the sound of her voice. The roaring, rushing train was now _upon her, and she barely had time to ‘ spring from the track and escape with her life. 'With a rattling crash and an awful rush of air the hissing, throbbing monster sped swiftly past her, while the clang, clank of the car wheels passing over a loose splice near by was so rapid that it resembled the rapid hammering on the anvil in a blacksmith shdp. For a moment Lily was unnerved and bewildered, but suddenly arousing her self to action she rushed into the office, and seizing a piece of firebrick that did duty for a stove leg, she turned and hurled it through the window of the caboose that was just passing. An in stant later the red lights in the rear end of the train had disappeared around a curve in the cut,and the rattle of the run away train quickly lessened in the dis tance. ? Lily’s heart throbb ed painfullyand she was seized with a sudden fit of shiver ing, which most persons of delicate or ganizations are subject to when under great excitement. As soon as she had somewhat recovered she went into the office, and calling the train dispatcher, who answered at once, she said: - “‘No 22 passed at full speed and No. 21 not yet arrived!” “‘My God!” telegraphed back the dis patcher as swiftly as hig frightened fin gers could form the letters, ¢‘the crew must be asleep. They will strike in that cut and pile up fifty feet high! Heav ens! This is horrible!” Lily then went on to explain that she had attempted to awaken them by throwing a brick through a cabeose win- AR N TR R W S L e e it b t end of the siding, throw the switch and lot them in on the siding. No. 21 is not due here five minutes, and there is a chance for them lOy o “I have no switch key,” said Lily. ~ “Break the lock with a hammer, a rock, or anything,” was the quick reply. “Run, fly!” j ‘ Lily seized an old ax that was lying handy, and, with a vague idea that she might also need the red light, she took it into her other hand and flew up the the track with speed of the wind, at the imminent risk of falling and breaking her neck in the inky darkness. . Once she stumbled and fell, and the lantern was dashed from her hand and went rolling along the ground far be yond her reach by the sudden impetus which her fall had given it, but without pausing to regain it she sprang to her feet and bounded on. The switch at the end of the siding was fully half a mile from the office, and about the same distance from the beginning of the cut. If No. 22 could back in on the siding in time they would be safe, but if they attempted to back down the main track past the telegraph office they were liable to be overtaken by No. 21 before going hali the dis tance, as, according to the dispatcher’s figures, No. 21 should now be very close. As Lily reached the switch a pair of gleaming red lights suddenly appeared around the curve in the cut, and she knew that the train was already rapidly backing up, and that she had not a mo ment to lose. Feeling for the lock in the darkness, she then struck it several heavy blows with the ax, which she still retained. Luckily, one of the blows taking effect, the broken lock dropped to the ground. She then grasped the switch lever and ried to throw it over, but it resisted her utmost efforts to move it. The train was now only a short dis tance away, and with the energy of de spair she braced her feet against the switch standard, and, putting forth her sirength in one mighty effort, the ob stihate lever came over with a sudden jerk and No. 22 glided safely in on the siding. The shrill scream of a whistle was now heard in the cut, and as soon as the train was clear she again exerted all her strength and threw the switch back to its former position. A headlight now flashed around the curve, and a moment later No. 21 rushed roaring along. Lily, by her bravery, promptness and presence of mind, had averted a terrible calamity. At the official investigation which took place a few days later the entire ‘crew of the runaway train acknowledged that they were asleep, and that the con ductor had been awakened by a brick thrown in at the caboose window. The only excuse they had for their neglect of duty was that they had been on the road for thirty-two consecutive hours without sleep or rest, and that they were completely worn out. Notwithstanding the fact that the management of the rond was responsible for requiring the men to run the long double trip, the entire crew were sum marily discharged for neglect of duty, as though man’s endurance was an infal ible bank, to be drawn on at pleasure! Grim Hamor. It was at Tonquin. The young Count de T——, who was serving as a private in, a light infantry French regiment, had his skull fractured by a bullet during an engagement with the Black Flags. He was taken up for dead, and removed to the ambulance. ¢He won’t recover,” said the surgeon-major; ‘‘one can see the brain.” At this word, the patient suddenly opened both his eyes. ¢‘You can see my brain?” he asked; ¢I beseech you, major, write at once to apprise me father of the fact; he made me join the army, because he pretended I had no brains.”’—drgonaut. B Not an Intentional Smile. Miss May Morningside-—l'm very sor ry to hear of your brother’s death, Mr. Villers; but you'll prrdon me if I say that I see no reason to smile over it! Mr. Yorke Villers—Oh, dear, no! I'm not smiling, don’t you know! It—dtes x'mllst be this eyoglass I'm trying to lwep in A sign writer—The stenographer. Cotrage, s¥Bo did Fndunde, PAR R —_— Methods of Securing the Fish and Trying the Blubber. Along the coast of Maine there are several places where porpoise catehing is carried on extensively, and affords the principal means of support for many of the people living in those localities. The Bay of Fundy is an especially good fish ing ground, and Indian Beach, border ing on the waters of the bay, is more or less occupied the year round by whites ~and Indians who do little else. For years the Passamaquoddy Indians have made a practice of camping on the beach and applying themselves assiduously to porpoise harpooning and shooting. The winter fish are the fattest and give the most oil; that is the valuable part of the catch. The largest porpoises are about seven feet long, will girt five feet, weigh 300 pounds and over, and yield from six to seven gallons of oil. The blubber is an inch or so thick in warm weather, but in the winter double that. A fat fish’s blubber will weigh about 100 pounds. The Indians do their work in much the same way now as they did in early years, the most 1 primitive methods prevailing. In trying out the blubber the appliances are of the rudest kind. The fires are built among piles of stones, over which iron pots are hung. The blubber is cut into small pieces and slowly melted. The oil is skimmed into jars and cans, and when pure is worth 90 cents a gallon. The best oil comes from the jaws of the porpoise. The jaws are hung up in the sun, and the 01l drops down into a ves sel, each pair producing about one-half pint. Watchmakers and others using a very fine oil take it in preference to all other, and it commands a big price. The blubber oil gives a good light, and for years was burned exclusively in the light-houses along the coast. In a good season an Indian will catch nearly 200 porpoises, each yielding about three gallons of oil, but most of them fall a good deal below this, as they are not over-partial to labor, and, as long as the returns of one catch will last, will loaf around the camp rather than go out again., The custom is to get a few gallons of oil, go to the near est market and sell it, then <‘4est” till forced by necessity to make further ex ertions. The porpoise’s flesh is much like pork when cooked, and is a staple article of food. The bravery, skill and endurance de manded of the porpoise-catchers in their work is almost unknown to the outside world. In the morning, when the men are going ‘‘porpoisin’, ”’ the women and children turn out to see the canoes off. Each boat has two men, and when a storm comes up while they are out, or they are unusually late coming in, there is great anxiety among those on shore- It takes years of training to makea good porpoise-hunter, and the big boys begin by going out with the experienced men. No matter what the water’s condition, be it rough or smooth, if there is a trip contemplated, the start is made. In calm weather the blowing of the por poise can be heard a long way, and guides the Indian in the right direction. Bhooting is the most successful method of killing the fish. Long, smooth-bore guns, with big charges of powder ard double B shot are used. Asthe fish is floating, swimming, and diving about the water, first on the surface and then below, the canoe is paddled as near as possible. Then, as the porpoise lifts himself to dive the gun’s charge is let fly. There is seldom a failure to make a sure shot, but the fish is speared to stop his floundering about in the dying strvggle. It is then landed in the ca noe by grasping the pectoral fin with one hand, sticking a couple of fingers in the blow hole, and dragging it over tlie side. Instill water this is easy, but when a high sea i 3 running the under taking is hard and dangerous. Sharks are plenty, and their fins are almost always visible, cutting the water as soon as a porpoise is wounded, the blood attracting them. Noend of stories are told of men having had their arms bit off by ashark while they were reach ing into the water to secure a porpoise, but old fishermen scoff at such a thing, and pay no attention to the dread ocean monsters, as they almost rub their noses ‘against the sides of the canoes.—&st. Louis Globe- Demoerat. g ST ASR e N TR T TR U T T S degree that when used it has allfy properties of good tea mixed withilygs ' most delicious of Jersey mg Himalaya tea has the flavor of . flowers. It is pure and clear and it is supplant ing the Chinese tea in the English ‘mar kets. The tea plant grows wild through these Himalaya hills, and in some of the regions near here it attains the dimen sions of a large tree. Still it is now only about half a century since tea cul ture was commenced in India, and now there are many Indian tea men who prophesy that Indian tea will eventually push Chinese tea out of the markets of the world. The lower hills of these Himalayad are covered with tea plantatians. The plants look not unlike well-trimmed box-wood hedges, and they rise in ter races up the sides of the hills. Here and there you may see a gayly dressed woman picking their leaves, and now and then a low shed in which the firing is done. The seceds are sown in nur scries in December and January, and they are transplanted between April and July. The ground has to be well drained, and I am told that the best tea soil is virgin forest land, which in In dia is very rich. The plants begin to bear about the third year, and they are at their best when they are ten years old. The Indian tea planters get about five pickings a year, and often seven. In China and Japan three pickings is considered good. itV Catching Abalones and Turtles. The coasting trade with Baja Califor nia from San Francisco, San Pedro and San Diego is much larger than is usually thought. Abalone shells and meat form a large portion of the trade. The abalone is an enormous clamlike shellfish; from the interior of the shells is made more than half of the ‘‘mother- of-pearl” used in the world. The shells are chiefly shipped to Paris where they are ground and the article put into a marketable form. The shells bring from $25 to $35 a ton, according -to their quality; and as they often grow as large as a wash bowl, it does not require very many to make a ton. The meat is in very great demand among the Chinese, and is ex ported largely to China where it is worth sllO a ton. More than half the whaling done on this coast is done off the shore of the peninsula, and the hunting of turtles is very profitable. The United States fish commission steamer Albatross returned to San Diego from a trip down the coast. While in the vicinity of Bartholomew bay a big seine was cast as an experi ment. The seine was 400 feet long, and it required thirty-five men to haul it ashore, and when it was landed it was found to contain 167 green turtles, av eraging 125 pounds each. The Hatching of Lobsters.. Mr. E. A. Brackett of the Massachu setts Commission on Fisheries and Game is making arrangements to commence the propagation of lobsters on the Mas sachusetts coast early in June. A steam launch has been purchased by the com mission and is now being fitted for this work. Mr. Brackett has made the drawings for hatching boxes, and they are now being constructed. He expects to be able to turn 40,000,000 young lobsters into Massachusetts waters this season. The experiment will be watched with a great deal of interest by every one interested in fish culture, as this is the first attempt made to propagate* the lobster artificially. The lobster fisher men are interested in the experiment, and have promised to give all the aid and assistance in their power to help the project along, and it is from them that Mr. Bracket expects to secure the fe male lobsters, and, as a female lobster of twelve inches in length carries from 30,000 to 40,000 eggs, he will only re quire from 1200 to 1400 to furnish the requisite number or eggs to make up the enormous number he proposes to hatch this season. Professor 8. Garmen will be detailed from Harvard College to assist Mr. Brackett in this great un dertaking. e & An Exorbitant Charge. Convalescent— ¢‘Doctor, how mauch do I owe you for saving my life?”’ Doctor—¢‘Sixty dollars.” 'Convalescent—¢‘Sixt dollars!” (with an air of conviction) It ain't worth it,”
