fl It HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher. NIL DESPERANDUM. Two Dollars per Annum. VOL. IV. RIDGrAVAY, ELK COUNTY, PA., THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1874. NO. 44. Tlio Letter. I read it by the sea, love, As tho stntoly ships wont by j When the birds, with snowy bosoms, Flew merrily o'er the sky j And the spirit you touched glowed wanner To tho shijis on tho sunny sea j And caroled the wild birds sweeter From tho thoughts you had sant to me. I read it in tho dale, love, In the midst of a summer dream j When your voice seemed strangely mingled With the sweet, melodious stream ; Awl tho far-n(T children's laughter, And the sound of tho maidens' glee, Kd seem to my heart the puror From the thoughts you had sent to me. I read it in the eve, love, When the meadows and woods were still ; When the murmuring sea broke softer, And the mist slept calm on the hill ; When the nightingale sang 'mid the tassels Of ho bright laburnum-tree, .AwJ his song to my heart was dearer From the thoughts you bad sent to me. I've kept it in my heart, love, As a jewel within a slirnie ; And it tills mv life with beauty Of a love that is half divine : And oft. in the midst of itB presence. I dare not think what would bo Were my eoiO to be sundered forever From the thoughts you have Bent unto mo. THE (JALLAXT TRAPPER. Ebon Gardner was n Minnesota trap per r.nd hunter u mighty man in his field and vocation. His cabin was fur away out in the woods, and stood by itself, occupied by himself and his little family. That his wife did not like to lead this desolate life was certain. " It's what I nver expected," she said, " when I mar ried, to be dragged out here, like goods and chattels, among rattlesnakes and wild Injuns. I can't sleep in my bed at night for thinking the red-skins are crawling through the bush." Red-skins ! pooh !" exclaimed Eben, polishing away tit his gun-barrel with the sleeve of his hunting-shirt. " There hasn't been an Injun raid in these parts for more than five years, and ain't likely t i be, with a fort only twenty miles oil' full of government troops to protect the settlers. You may sleep like the dead for nil the red-skins will do to you." They had been talking that day about a young hunter mimed Eph, of whom Eben spoke highly, .but whom the good wife thought too much like a savage. While they were speaking tho sharp report of a rifle rang through the woods, and at the same moment the graceful, lithe form of the young trapper leaped like a cat out of the woods. He held his O'icked piece in his hand. His hunting shirt of buckskin, Vitk gayly dyed frin ges, was open at tho throat ; his head I was bare, his eyes glittered, and his I bronzed face was strangely pale. i Eben sprung to his feet. " Eph ! j what's the matter c" j " The red-skins !" The young man, j throwing back the dense clusters of cuny almost ! brown hair from his forehead hissed the words through his blanched lips. i "Oh, the 'red-skins!" shrieked Mrs. I Gardner, as she caught the words in the i interior of the cabin. " Be still !" said Eben, stertdy ; and i he stood up and clutched his rifle. " I heard at Brashear," Eph added, ; bringing his words out with wonderful i coolness and precision, " that the red- , skins were out on the war-path after ! plunder and sculps. I turned in my , tracks. I covered every step of the way. i I crept through the woods. Five miles j below the Bend, at Tuttle's, they have I murdered all the pale-faces and set fire ' to the settlement. " j " And Tuttle's babies, the twins j them pretty flaxen-haired poppets he '. wa i so proud of " asked Eben, in a kind j of gasp. j " Brained 'em," returned Eph, laconi cally, " and the girl fifteen years old." Bessie uttered a fearful shriek. The worn "Mi were clinging together in a frightened group, and the old man's be- i wildered, hulf-vaeaut face made a pa- ; thetic background. A terribly grim look i came into Eben's face. ' i There was further talk and prepara tion, for all felt that the Indians would hoon be upon them mid there was need lor work now Eph had hastily driven the cattle and I norses into the sheds. Everything was put iu a state of siege. The heavy plank window-shutters were barred, and it was through tho small openings of these, which made a dim twilight in the inte rior of tho cabin, that the two frontiers men proposed to repulse their assailants. Eph's mouth was drawn into a grim hard line, but there was a kind of glow about liia fine dark eyes. He felt a wild joy he could but half conceal, for his op portunity had come to defend the girl he loved with the whole force of his im petuous, half-tamed nature. At least he could die with her, Rnd to a being like Eph that alternative was far better than living without her, Hanny had been busy on her own line of defense. She was supple and spry as a cat. Flushed with excitement, the I child's dark face was almost handsome, j What do you aoout, nanny i asked : Eben " Getting my gun ready," said Hanny, coolly. Sho had rummaged out an old fowling-piece from some corner of the cabiu. "You know you said yourself, father, I could make a first-rate shot. You have always been wishing for a boy. I'll be your boy, father, and stand close beside you, and we'll show the redskins some tall shooting." " You're a trump, Hanny, a regular little brick," choked Eben, feeling a lump in his throat ; and he passed his hand softly over the girl's thick hair. "But that old gun is no good. You shall be my other hand, and help me load. Only, child, when the firing be gins, you must get behind my bock." " Hist !" said Eph, listening with his head bent low. "I hear them coming through the woods." Bessie, in the obscurity of the cabin, flung herself down at Eph's feet. Oh, Eph," she moaned, " you told me the other night you loved me, that you ' had never loved a woman before. If you love me still, promise that you will kill ma before I fall into the hands of those savage before they do to me what they did to poor Mary Tuttlo. Oh, don't lot them scalp me, Eph I Put vonr j rifle to my hond and blow my broins out. I x irai a cowuru, or i couiu lo it myself, ! for thoro is a sharp kuifo hiddou here in j the bosom of my dress. Promise me, 1 Eph, mid I'll reward you if God spares us." Eph'fl face was portentously pale. He gave her an indescribable look, and ! said, curtly, " I promise." A dark living stream came flowing out j of the bushes and undergrowth. All I that could bo seen were waving plumes, and tho glow of wur-paiut, and gleaming ! murderous eyes, and the shining gun j barrels held beforo them ready for n I deadly spring. " llie bloody cusses have drove along all the cows and horses they could gob ble," muttered Ebon, "and hoppled tliem ou the edge of the woods. They expect to find only women and children and the old man at home. They don't drenm of the warm welcome we've got ready for them, Eph. There, now they begin to smell mischief ; the shanty looks too quiet. Who's that big brawny fellow crawling ahead i" "Big Pine-Tree," whispered Eph, with his eye to the opening. " He and his braves killed every settler in Sloeuni alley last year. Don't fire yet ; lay low. iiet em our men There creep up closer. We must pick every tune." was a blaze, a sharp report, a cloud of smoke ; then a yell went up from the savages, as they sprang to their feet, that shook the tas'seled com like a great wind. "How many bit the dust that time, Eph ?" Eph held up two fingers. "Let me loud for you," wliispered Hanny. " I'm your other arm. Take the old gun ; it won't kick this time." Eben looked over his shoulder, and was Bessie crouching on tho floor behind him. " Go comfort your grandfather," said lie, sternly. The old man sat gazing with pale vacant face and bewildered eyes at the scene before him. A low monotonous moan, like the cryof some animal in rain. issued from his lips. Bessie dracrsred , herself to him, put her arms round lus neck, and drew his head down on her ! bosom. Mrs. Gardner had hung a great kettle of water over the fire ; it was all she could do. She crept to the bed ou her knees, with her apron over her head, and began rocking back and forth in the intensity of silent prayer. The yells and hoots'and howls of the savages were like the beating of storm waves on the shore. Every shot from inside of the little fortress told fatally upon the enemy. There were wild wait ings and death-songs from a band chosen to carry off the dead and wounded. "Only two rounds left," whispered Eph, wiping away the powder and smoke from his eyes. The decisive moment of the assau had come. There was a scrambling of feet up the side of the cabin, and the sound of dull, heavy blows ou the roof, which, fortunately, was made of timber of great thickness, just squared by the ax. Eben mounted the ladder to ward ou t'ie afwau!t m tllnt quarter as best he uuuiu viiu ma one arm, wmie, resolute and rigid as a man of iron, Eph, with hatchet in hand, took up his station at tho door, where the trunk of a large hemlock-tree had been brought to act as a battering-ram. Tho red-skins, frenzied by their losses, had attempted to kindle a lire under one corner of the cabin, but the ground and f uel being damp from re- cent showers, it failed to ignite. There was a dense cracking and snap- j ping and bursting asunder of the planks j of the door from the terrible coucussiou : of the missile directed against it. The . blows of the assailants upon the roof ! miugieii witii ino.se Delow. It was an orgy of demoniac noi3C3. There muy have been shrieks and wails from within, but they were drowned in the tempest that raged without. At last they had succeeded in kindling a slow fire under the angle of the house where the wind drove the flames against the wall. A suffocating smell of smoke began to creep in between the logs. Hauuy had dropped her gun, and was now passing boiling water up the ladder to Ebon, who, judging from the un earthly yells of the half-intoxicated savages, was using it to good effect. Splinters from the door flew about in all directions. It groaned in a kind of agony. Slowly the tough plank yielded untu tu?re was an npwtnre large enough to admit a head a head with a pair of snaky, glittering, evil eyes. Eph, stand ing a little in the shadow, brought down his ax. It clove the skull of Big Pine Tree tlirough bone and bruin. Then followed the sharp report of a rifle. It was the lust Eph knew. His arm dropped lax and nerveless at his side. His head fell forward a little ; he sank to his knees, and finally fell prone. Bessie uttered a heartrending cry. " Hark !" said Mrs. Gardner, holding her back, for she would have rushed to Eph at the risk of her life. " There's something coming through the woods. It's either the judgment-day or an earth quake, It was a crashing and rushing and ! rending through brush and undergrowth with the steady, even, measured beat of horses' hoofs pressed to their utmost speed. The loss of Big Pine-Tree had dis organized tho attack below for a moment, and the breach tlirough the door was not yet large enough to admit a man's body. Eben was engaged still in a close hand-to-hand fight upon the roof, dashing the boiliug water upon the foe, and using it at the same time to put out the fire. In a moment's breathing space he happened to look toward the wood, where the openings in the trees rendered visible any moving object behind them. Then he raised his voice in a mighty shout : "The soldiers I the soldiers 1" he cried. Deliverance was close at hand. When Eph feebly came to conscious ness, his eyes seemed half full of blood ; there was a strange whirring in his head. His limbs were of as little use to him as if they had belonged to anther body. Some one was fumbling and feeling about his side with a gentle hand, and then he heard Eben's voice. " There may be two or three ribs broken ; I can t tell yet until we get him on to the bed ; but I know the wound ain't mortal He's young, and tough as a pine knot. Come, Celindy, hurry along ; bring me some bandages out of tho chest ; tear up a Blurt if there isn't anvtliing else handy." It was a minute or two beforo Eph could concentrato his strength on the act of opening his eyes. Then all was mist a mist of pain ; for he was con scious of a terrible ache somewhere. But presently he saw a patch, of the cabin floor with sunlight lying on it, and knew, though he did not see them, that a group of men were gathered about the door. Hanny was by the fire-place feed ing her grandfather something out of a bowl. Where was he ? Who was sup porting him? With this thought Eph feebly directed his gaze upward until it rested on Bessie's face. She was holding his head in her lap, and he saw that a little pearly tear was stealing down her cheek. In an electric flash all the past came back to him. " What has happened to me ?" He motioned out the words rather than spoke, for his tongue and lips seemed made of east iron. " You got hurt, Eph," and the tears dropped down ou his face ; " but I hope not much. You won't die, Eph, you're so young and strong. Father says it isn't a mortal wound, and he is a kind of natural bone setter." There were other question's in Eph's eyes, to which he could not give voice. " The soldiers came from the fort," Bessie went on, " just as the fire got un der way and was about to smother us all. They drove off the red-skins and are now chasing them through the woods, only a few that staid to help father put out the flames. But you saved us, Eph, when you held them back from breaking down the door. Not any of us are hurt. Father didn't get a scratch. Oh, what a miserable) coward I was ! I could do nothing to help ; but you, Eph you would have given your life to save us. " Bessie's face quivered, and she covered it with her trembling hands. Eph never removed from her his eyes. His gaze was profound, searching, inscrutable, going down into the very depths of her being. With all his impetuosity, there was in him soinetliiug of the deep reti cence of the savage. " Do you want mo to live ?" he said, at last. And then he added, slowly, " I don't want to live any longer after what you told me the other day. You couldn't ! i like nn ignorant fellow brought up like ' a bear s cub in the Imsu. A painful crimson tide swept over ; .Bessie's neck and cheek. "Eph," said i she, "I-was a foolish, silly girl, not i worthy of you. This day has taught me ! the value of a brave, true man." Then I she bent her head lower, and added, in a ' whisper, " You are dearer to mts than ! life, and I must have been loving you all ! the time." j Eph's face was trausfigured. He ; i stretched out his hand. Besftie under- j I stood the motion, and clasped it in hers. , , Then, with a great sense of weakness 1 coming over him, he fell asleep. j Elien was examining the old man for i the third or fourth time to see that he j 1 was uninjured. " Hearty, ain't you, I : father ; only a little shook up ?" j The old face smiled vaguely. "I i know you'd take care of me, Eben. You i : alwavs held to your word." " Well, Celindv," to Mrs. Gardner. , ' who had been waiting on tho soldiers, giving them such supplies of food as she ! had at hand, "you was right about the red-skins, after all. I shall stick by the shanty, though. Jle anil the old man, ! i we'll stay, and Hanny too, I guess. That ' girl, she's worth her weight in wild-cats. , , But if you feel scary about staying, you ! might go and stop a while with your sis- J ; ter Dorcas until we get cleared up a lit-1 : tie more. I can't breathe in a thicker- settled place than this. I must have lots of fresh air ; anil now I've fit the Indians ; and overcome, I've drove down the stake I j for a good long spell." j " The Lord has given us a great de-1 liverance," said Mrs. Gardner. " It was j , in direct answer to my prayer, and you ; won't hear mo complaining any more i after to-dav. There's nothing like look ing death in the face to bring folks to gether, and make them of one heart and one mind. We'll stay and civilize to- i gether, Eben, and the wilderness shall ! blossom as the rose. A Beautiful Swiss Custom. There has come to be something stirring and sweet in tho very name of "Alpine Horn," its associations are all so musical and fidl of the breath of the hills. What must it be to actually henr it und hear it, too, on occasions such as is described below, when the voice of the instrument takes its finest meaning. Among the lofty mountains and elevated valleys of Switzerland the Alpine horn has another use besides that of sounding the far-famed " Banz des Vaches," or "Cow Song," and this is of a very solemn and impressive nature. When the sun has set in the valley, and only the snowy summits of the mountains gleam with golden light, the herdsman who dwells upon the highest habituble spot takes his horn and pronounces audibly and loudly through it as tlirough a speaking trumpet, " Praise tho Lord God '" As soon as the sound is heard by the neighboring huntsmen, they issue from their th"t3' A4'iue,horn8 d 1.1 J'l-ltV 111V.' I l 111V IT VS .. -U. A A. i T lasts a quarter of an hour, and the name of the Creator resounds from all the mountains and rocky cliffs around. Silence at length settles over the scene, All the huntsmen kneel and pray with uncovered heads. In the meantime it has become quite dark. "Good-night 1" calls the highest herdsman again through his horn. " Good-night !" again resounds from all the mountains, the horns of the hunts men, and the rocky cliffs. The moun taineers then retire to their dwellings and to rest. A Puzzle. An exchange offers to any of its sub scribers who will solve the following puzzle an order for S3 worth of goods, or to any one not a subscriber a year's subscription : PRSVRYPRFCTMN. VRKPTHSPRCPTSTN. The above letters were written over the ten commandments in a Welsh church, and remained there a whole century be fore they were interpreted. Now, al most every child's puzzle book in the land contains the puzzle, and its answer the use of the vowel "E" between each letter. THE OIL QUESTION. Its Imnortniire to the 1'iiltrd Htn(p In. K-rcitlnK Htnllsllcs. Among tho important developments of the natural resources of the United States, tho discovery of petroleum must be regarded as one of considerable value ; the domestic trade in the orticle is very large, and it is a most valuable addition to our imports. Petroleum was known to the Seneca Indians in the last century, having bpeu found by them upon On creek, a branch of the Alleghany ; but its existence in any vast amount was not known until 1845, when a spring was "struck" while boring for salt near Tarentum, on the Alleghany river, sev eral miles above Pittsburgh. Little, however, was done towards its utilization until 1857, when experiments were made which proved that the constituents of petroleum were the same as the artificial carbon oil, and its purification was at tempted by the same process as was ap plied to it. The success which attended the bor ing for oil in Pennsylvania, says an ex change, was remarkable, and before the close of the year 1800 the number of wells and borings were estimated at about 2,000. In 1859 a fountain was reached on Oil creek at a depth of 71 feet, which gave a daily product of 400 gallons. Of the large wells, 74 were yielding iu 1800, by the aid of pumps, over 1,100 barrels daily of crude oil. Subsequently wells were simk to the depth of COO or 600 feet, and so profuse was tho flow that some of the single wells would produce 3,000 gallons daily, and the less productive from fifteen to twenty barrels. In 1859, 325 barrels of petroleum were sent from the Pennsyl vania oil regions, ' and in 1801 the num ber was increased to 134,927 barrels, brought to market by the Suubury and Erie railway alone ; and the quantity shipped by all routes was about 500,000 barrels. 'From 1859 to 1873 inclusive, the product of petroleum in Western Pennsylvania was 53,512,295 barrels. There are refineries iu Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, the oil regions, Cleveland, Ohio, the city of New York, Buffalo, and other places in New York State. The estimated capacity of those in Pennsyl vania, Cleveland, and in New York city was, on January 1st, 1874, 40,000 barrels per day. The foreign imports from Philadelphia of refined, crude, naphtha and benzine were, in 1871, 55,901,590 gallons ; in 1872, 50,350,068 gallons, and in 1873, 80,643,013 gallons. The exports from New York were in 1871, 94,910,584 gal lons ; 1872, 93,306,213, and in 1873, 140,801,172 gidlons, and from Boston and Baltimore in 1873, about two mil lions and a half gallons each. The vast importance of this addition to the commerce of the country in ex ports alone iu a financial point of view, may be judged by the fact that tho value of "the articles in 1871 was 830,454,482 ; in 1872, .$33,701,687 ; and iu 1873, $45, 930,307. The aggregate value of the ex ports for tliree years being $116,237,536. Structure of a Cow's Horn. I find that over the brain of the cow, says Buckland, a strong roof of bone is thrown, in the shape of an arch, so as to form a substantial foundation for the horns. This roof is not solid, but is again strengthened below by a series of bony arches, that are so distributed as to form a series of hollow chambers, thus forming a structure uniting strength with lightness. The problem now is, how to fasten tho horn on each side on to this buttress. The horn itself must be formed of horn proper, i. c, hardened hair. In the rhinoceros we find a horn composed entirely of a solid mass of what is really a bunch of hair agglutinated to gether ; but this kind of horn would have been much too heavy for the cow's convenient use. What is to be done ? Why, hollow out the center of the horn, of course ; but stay this will not do, be cause how is the horn to be supplied with blood-vessels ? in fact, how is it to grow ? Let us see how it is done by the Great Designer. Cut the horn right across with a saw, and you will find in side another horn, only made of bone. If the section is made about one-third of tho way down the length of the horn, you will bo able to pick out a piece of bono in tho shape of a cone, ou which, or rather round which, the horn proper has shaped itself. This bone fits the cavity with the greatest accuracy ; it is as light os the thinnest paper, and yet as strong us a cone of tin. It is every where perforated with holes, which m life contained the nerves, the veins, and arteries, and we know a cow has all these in her horns ; nerves, proved by tho fact that cows do not like their horns touched, and that they can scratch a fly off their hides with the tip of the horn ; arteries and veins, proved by the fact that a horn, when broken, will bleed, and tliat the horn of a living cow feels quite warm when held in the hand, be sides which the nerves and arteries form a union between the internid core of bom and the external covering of horn paper. If we now cut the rest of the horn into sections, we shall find that the inside of the bony part is really hollow, but that very strong buttresses of bone are thrown (about every inch or so) across the cavity of the horn in such a maimer as to give it the greatest possible support and strength. I have cut a cow's horu and skull into several sections to show these buttresses of bone, and now that the preparation is finished, I have another specimen to show that there is design and beauty in all created objects. Union op the Chubch.. The Chris tian Wi7ie88 is very exultant over tho organization of tho Christian Union Church, which was effected at the recent Cincinnati Convention. It says that when the " basis of uniou was put to vote, and imanimously adopted by a rising vote, a song of praise and thanks giving burst from the hearts and lips of all present, aud the convention, devoutly kneeling, was led in solemn prayer that God would own, bless, and establish the work of our hands." The new church will comprise Chris tians of both Northern and Southern States; " How much did he leave ?" inquired a gentleman of a wag, on learning of the death of a wealthy citizen. "Every, thing I" responded the wag ; " he didn't take a dollar with him." Whiter Approaches. We reproduce the following timely re marks from tho Prairie Farmer t As wo write, the first sngw-flakes of the sea son come eddying past the window. Tho wind bears down from tho north and whips the gold ami crimson leaves from the trees. Tho tender plants have with ered in the frost. Though the sun may shine brightly ou tho morrow, all nature bears the impress of a dying season that winter is at hand, and that the field of labor of the year is over. Before the whiter closes in upon us, however, there are various chores about the house, the barn, and the farm that should be at tended to if one wants the reputation of being a thrifty, tidy farmer. Out in the field, perhaps, lies a new reaper, a rake, a plow, or some of the smaller tools of the farm. These need shelter as much as tho stock you feed, in an economicid sense. See to it that all implements are properly oiled and housed. It will save you twenty per cent, iu durability, Over yonder the fence is down, a stake is broken, or a board is off. The rails or boards, if upon the ground, will lose more in the course of the winter than iu years in their proper places. There are drains whose outlets should be seen to, or they will add tenfold to the labor of getting them in order in the spring ; besides, at that time there is so much to do that you will hardly find the time to look after them at all. Perhaps there is a drain to be maile; now is a most excellent time. A new fence is to be built ; now is a most excellent time to build it. The roads are iu excellent condition for the fall rains have not yet set iu. It is true that the ground is rather too dry for digging post-holes or driving stakes, but the ease with which hauling can be done, and the comfort of working in the beau tiful Indian summer days more than compensates for the trouble with the hard ground. Of corn-gathering it is not necessary to speak. That is a mat ter that ail farmers attend to ; we are now merely mentioning some of the oft neglected matters of the farm. About the fields, the garden, the house-yard and the barns are bits and pieces of boards and timbers that may be saved by carefully collecting and piling iu a well protected place. There are weeds that have gone to seed in tho garden, the yard, and along tho roadside iu front of the house. It would have been far bet ter to have attended to them two weeks ago, but much good may be done now by collecting and burning them. The grape vines shoidd be laid down and generally covered with a slight protec tion of nay or straw. The vegetables should be gathered and carefidly pitted or stored in the celkir. And that same cellar is it clean and wholesome ? If not, before packing away tho winter's fruit and vegetables, have it us cleanly as the parlor above. The cellar drain must also be looked after. How about tho supply of fuel ? Ciui you find a better time in all the year to get iu an ample supply I Get it into the wood shed or house, if you have one, and if not construct a cheap one. The wife and daughters deserve this at your hands, and that it not only be got in, but that it be prepared for use ; that there be plenty of kindlings, and no grumbling about fiu-nisluug them. The walks about the yards and to the barns and to tho out-houses should be prepared for the wet, sloppy weather of winter and spring. This also is due to the women of the household, to whom you look for com fort and happiness iu yoiu" home. There are u hundred and one more little chores about the homestead that will suggest themselves to the members of the farm er's family. Heed them well for the sake of comfort and for economy's sake. " Brigandage in Italy. In the south of Italy a rich landed proprietor, named Laracca, was captured by the brigands. A day or two after La raeca's capture, 20 ducats and some articles of food were sent by his wifo as his ransom ; but the chief being irritated by the smalluess of the sum, ordered his ear to be cut oft', and, supplying him with pen, ink and paper, told him to write from his dictation. The letter, stained with Luracca's blood, set forth that the unfortunate man was dying by inches at the hands of tho brigands, and unlass three thousand, five hundred ducats were sent he would be killed. This letter awakened all the fears and zeal of the family, and 6,000 lire were collected and dispatched, but as the sum was fur below that demanded, they murdered the unfortunate man and fled, as tho troops were upon them. On the next day two other persons were cap tured, and the father of one came und tried to reduce the ransom. His wife also presented herself and begged per mission to accompany her husband, when the savage Aliauo, the brigand, cut oft his ear and threw it into her bosom. Not, however, to multiply such facts, it is asserted on evidence that in one week Aliano and his companions committed two barburous murders and one violent rape, sequestrated five persons, extorted 15.00C lire, and cut off three ears and one head. Arrival of Immigrant. The Secretary of the Castle Garden Immigrants' landing iu an official state ment puts the total number of arrivals since January 1, 1874, to December 1 at 145,362, which is 121,456 less than for tho whole of the previous year. The number from Ireland who arrived in the last eleven mouths is 40,314 ; from Ger many, 39,992 ; England, 19,156 ; Russia, .7,320; Scotland, 5,287; Sweden, 4,005; Norway, 3,568 ; Denmark, 3,238 ; Bo hemia, 3,189. To show the westward flow of popula tion from the Old World to the New for a series of years, also to afford a com parison, we give the following : 1865, 196,352; 1866, 233,418; 1867, 242,731; 1868, 213,695; 1869,258,989 ; 1870, 212, 170 ; 1871, 229,639 ; 1872, 294,581 : 1873, 266,818 ; 1874, 145,302. For eleven mouths. A New Cement. An excellent subsi tute for gum arabio may b prepared as follows : Milk is first curled with aoetio acid and the precipitated casein washed with clean water. It is then dissolved in a saturated solution of borax. A clear liquid is obtained of considerable con sistency, very adhesive, and with a tine luster. HOWLS IN THE RING. Terrific (nmbnt Br I wren a Male nnd Fnninle Ithlnoccros The Fright of the I.loua nnd Tiftcra nnd Leopards nnd Ilcnrs. Among the animals iu a New York circus are a male and female rhinoceros. Tho female is about two-thirds tho size of the male, and was put into the circus about a month ago. The male, a monster of strength and ugliness, is kept iu a pen, surrounded by iron bars, iu the east end of the menagerie, nnd next to the four elephants. The female was con fined until recently in the cago in which she has traveled for a number of years. About a week ago the proprietor in structed the corpenters to enlarge the pen of the male animal to double its original size so that the female might be admitted. The work of transferring the animals was begun. The elephants were driven into one of the large dressing rooms, and the male rhinoceros was driven into the elephmit pen. Tho cago containing the female was drawn up, and she was Bufely landed in the largo pen. Then tho male was driven back to his old home. He waddled in, passed the door, and then suddenly stopped. He had just caught sight of the female as she calmly eyed him from tho other side of the pen. The monster paused only a moment. Then with a roar of rage he started for tho intruder. She was in no mood to play tho coward. She firmly braced her soll against tho solid planks of tho pen, and awaited the collision. Tho hard, horny noses of the two animals clashed. The male drew back again, and eyed his unwelcome visitor. Then, his mouth foaming, with a loud roar, he rushed forward agaiu. He struck the femide with his horn on the left side, cutting a deep gash, lifted her about six feet from the ground, and nearly threw her over the wall of the pen. The fight was getting desperate, and the attendants hastened to rescue tho female. Pitchforks, wagon bars, and every weapon that was attainable was used upon the infuriated monster. He was held at bay for a time, and large planks were shoved tlirough tho bars to form a fence between the beasts. The male made one furious dash, car ried the barricade away iu an instant, and again the poor female was raised upon his horny nose, aud thrown into the air. The bellowings of the com batants were echoed bv the roar of the lions, nnd the fearful laugh of the hyenas. The wild beasts scented blood, and every cage in tho great menagerie was a scene of wild excitement. The lions and the tigers, the leopards and tho bears, jumped und howled and roared, aud above all arose the dismol wail of the frightened elephants. For over an hour the combat lasted, and the male rhinoceros, being the larger of the two, was rapidly using up the weaker female. At one time tho two huge beasts came together with a crash against tho iron bars of the pen, bend ing them like so many wires, aud the heavy planking of the framework cracked and broke like reeds. Tho beasts were frothing at the mouth, aud the cow was bleeding. At length, just as the male was preparing for another attack, one of the employees thrust a pitchfork into his mouth, the only vulnerable point that could be reached from the outside, and with a roar of mingled pain and rage, the brute drew buck, and for a few moments stood in his corner, eyeing his antagonist. Advantage was taken of this lull in the fight, aud tho two were separuted by a fence of planks and wagon bars, which were thrust across the pen from tho outside, and securely hushed to tho bars. Over this was thrown a piece of cauvas, and the beasts were thus shut from each other's view. It required two hours more of coaxing to get the cow back to her old cage. Not withstanding the thickness of her hide, which is like iron, tho horn of her antago nist had gored her frightfully. On the left side were two deep gashes, from which the blood was flowing freely. The male was uninjured, having only a slight wound back of the left ear. He ran as nimbly as a rhinoceros can run around his pen, and seemed to glory in his victory. As soon as the cow was re moved he became as gentle to his keepers as ever. A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing. Au intense excitement was created at a Philadelphia boarding school at tho dis covery that one of the favorite pupils was a man a wolf in sheep's clothing. Not long ago an elderly gentleman drove up to the door, disembarked his trunks nnd introduced his " daughter " to tho mat ron. The daughter was tall and hand some, tastefully dressed, and promised to be quite a popular pupil. Iu fact, just such a one as the preceptress could take a pride sending forth to the world fin ished for society. So when the father wanted t j put her ut the school she was gladly accepted both for theue reasons and for pecuniary considerations. Then the father said good-bye, and after leav ing special instructions iu regard to the cure over the young girl, drove uway. Next a room was selected for her iu com pany, of course, with tho usual number of room mates. Soveral days passed by ; the new-comer was growing very popular with the other girls as well as with the teachers. Her warilrolie was extensive, her manners attractive, and there seemed to be a certain charm about her that all recognized, but none could explain. She herself seemed happy, her disposition was pleasant and she laughed a great deal. Sometimes the'girls couldn't un derstand why she laughed ; but a slight explanation satisfied. Well, a month passed away ; the young lady was a great favorite, hardly less so with idl the girls than with her room-mates, and she was becoming quite accomplished. But one day she sent a trunk off for some reason and pretty soon she left quietly herself. Most of the household were astonished, and immediately the alarming story spread that she wasn't a girl at all. The teachers tried to hush it up, but it wouldn't be hushed. The room-mates of the decamped young lady were be- biieged for information. Then the story got out oi tne school, it nas Doen verinea, and the result has been a perceptible commotion in society circles. A party of eight or ten men, some of them experienced gold miners, are about to start from Holyoke, Mass., to seek their fortune iu the South African dia mond fields. Items of Interest. Boston claims to have more students of music than any other city in America. A brass band in Virgina City, Nevada, has been earnestly requested to practice exclusively in the isolated passage of a mine 600 feet under ground. An insect inspector for every town in Massachusetts is proposed. His duty Would be to examine orchards, and order the destruction of infested trees. A Chinese servant in San Francisco, by way of revenge upon his mistress, broke with a pair of pincers n piece out of every dish in a valuable dinner set. The saying, " He is as good n mau as ever lived, but he can't keep a hotel," was original with Mat Peel, o negro minstrel, who died in Buffalo in 1859. The highest prize in a Chinese lottery is twenty-nine cents, and the mau who draws it has his mime in the papers, and is looked upon as a heap of a fellow. Men in New York State who get diunk in a saloon, and then break nil the glass ware in tho place, cannot be made to pay the damage. The seller of the liquor is, under the present law, liable for all tho injury done by the drinker. A suicide iu New York left tho follow ing note : " This net of self-destruction is entirely voluntary. I am brought to it by incurable disease, want of employ ment, utter pecuniary destitution, semi sturvation, no fuel, nor means to pay any rent." The British Goverment is engaged in malting such improvements to Cork har bor that, when finished, it will bo ono of the best harbors of refuge in tho world. Tho entrance will bo protected by forts armed with guns of the heaviest calibre. A young lady and gentleman, aged respectively twelve nnd thirteen yenrs, were married at Gouldtown, Mich., re cently. When last seen they were quar reling over a pound of mixed candies, and throwing out vague intimations about divorce. "When music, heavenly maid, was young," she would have been startled, says the London Echo, if not absolutely frightened from the world, could sho have foreseen the terrible prices her votaries would have to pay to hear tho warbling of her delicious strains. Poor young thing ! She fainted away at the washtub, and her pretty nose, -went kerslop into tho soapsuds. Some said it was overwork ; others, however, whis pered that her beau had peeped over tho back feuce und called out : " Hullo, there, Bridget, is Miss Alice at homo t" The trick that the boys played on Dr. Wheeler, at Holden, Mass., wns to not fire to a load of hay upon which ho was riiling. It burned beautifully, the horse ran away, and, to cap the climax of fun, the doctor fell off and broke his leg. That was a memorable day for tho boys. A tailor in Harrisburg, Penn., adver tises that when people " with sallow, ir regulur, and homely faces " are clad hi garments of his making, they are looked upon with love aud veneration, their couutenanoes being regarded as the index of pure and compassionate spirits According to the statistics of 1874 there are in America 30,178 German Methodist members ; local preachers, 378 ; churches, 552 ; Sunday-schools, 647 ; scholars, 32,011. Tho Northern Methodist Church lias had newly 100, 000 accessions to its membership this past year. Diphtheria has been very provident in Australia, aud one of the most successful remedies is said to have been a few drops of sulphuric, acid iu a tumblerful of water. The result of this mixture is said to be a cougulation of the diphtheritic membrance and its ready removal by coughing. A big brother in Pottsville has been brought to shame. His sister had a beau who was obnoxious to him. One dark night on the steps sho seemed to be affectionately kissing tlus beau good night. The brother crept up softly and kicked hard, aud down fell au elaborate scarecrow. Mrs. Flanagan, of Philadelphia, who is a daughter of Judge Strong, of tho United States Supremo Court, is said to have received the most valuable wedding presents of nil the brides this season. Among her gifts were a $10,000 Het of silver and gold, a $5,000 pair of diamond earrings, a $5,000 set of pearls, and four India shawls. While workmen were sinking a well in Kay Aounty, Mo., receutly, they came to what appeared to be the bed of a lake about twenty feet beueath the sur face, which showed petrified stalks of water lilies, embedded iu sandstoue, and a fish about four feet long, with a very large head and prominent eyer, Mrs. Wrisley's watch has had nn event ful history iu Haydenville, Mass. It was stolen and recovered, the thief going to State prison. It was again stolen, and returned upon the payment of a reward. Then the Mill river flood came along and swept it away. Recently it was found hanging under the floor of a house that had been overturned bo the water. A country deacon went home ono evening and complained to liis wifo that he had been abused down at the store shamefully. One of the neighbors, ho said, called him a liar. Her eyes flashed with indignation. ' Why didn't you tell him to prove it?" she exclaimed. "That's the very thing that's the trouble," replied the husband ; " I told liim to prove it, and he did prove it." A clergyman was one day much an noyed by those who dropped iu after the services had commenced, invariably closing the door after them. He bore the vexation with Job-like patience ; but, at length, being fairly exhausted from that, he vociferated to an offender : " Friend, do for goodness sake let the door be open. I believe if I wero preaching in a bottle you would put the com in r The social function of Albert Wagner, of Berne, Albany county, N. Y., is to act as arbitrator in nearly all of the disputes that arise in that town. Sometimes quite important matters, such as disputed laud questions, or disagreements in families, are submitted to him. His decision is usually final, and his informal court js free, because he charges no fees. Ue is au old man, and for more than twenty years has arbitrated for his neighbors acceptably.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers