lie
VOL. I.-NO. 8.
THE COLUMBIAN,
A Dorriocratic Nowspapor,
M roDLunBD roa ins moriitrroKs dt
DHOCKWAY St PHEEZE,
BVEBV FIIIDAY MOUSING AT
Blotmbirf, Columbia County, Pa.
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BUOCKWAY Jt FltEUZK,
"CbluflWun Q0,"
rtLMOUSBUnO, I'A.
Trtnted at Ttoblsoci'a HulldlDga, near tho Court
Quom, by Ciias. M. VAnjIMWLICI,
Frank K. Knvdiii.
IXCHANGR HOTEL,
li liLooiiHiiuua, com'muIa consTY, pa.
The nnderslKUod having purchased this well,
knowa and oentrully-located house, the Exchange
Hotel, situate on MAIN BTUKET, In Illoomkburg,
luiruodlaudy opposite the Columbia County Court
House. reaiJlulJy Informs his friends and the
public In general that hU Iiouko Is now In order
tor tho reception and cuterulnment or tnmneis
bo laay bo disposed to favor It with thiir ens-
turn. Ho lias sparwl nu lupcnuu lu preparing the
Exeliauge for tlio cimrbilni'ieiit uf his guest..,
urlther shall there bo tins thing wanting (on his
port) to minister to their personal iiunfurt. Dis
ks mm is spocloav, und enjoys nu ixrelit nt imsi
fcea ligation.
Oiunlbuo rnn at all limes beiwin th JIx
sbanga Hot! and the YiirUA- railroad dejuits, by
wbleJi travelers will lo plejisantly eonveyid to
Mid from the respective stations lu due tluiu to
.t the JOHN I'. t'AKI.OW.
l.76iH, Msr Of, IW
POETRY.
SONG.
rareftmiEli A' " ""Wcvcr, It has ; bein
III his last bin Blr Peter lies,
tt no knew not what it was to frown I
Death took him mellow, by surprise.
Through all our land wo could not boast
A knight more gay, moro prompt than ho
To rlio and fill a bumper toast,
And pass It round with "Three times three I"
Nono better knew the featto sway,
Or keep mirth's boat In better trim ;
For nature hail but Utile day
lAUthatot Ivhteh ihr tnnl,l,,t 1,1m
The meanest guest that graced his lword
Was there tho freest of the free.
Ills bumper toast when Peter poured
I'uoseu u rounu witii "inrco times three,"
He kept at truo good humor's mark
Tho social flow of pleasure's tide ;
He never mado a brow look dark,
Nor caused a tear hut wlmn It .1ln.1
No sorrow round his tomb should dwell ;
Jioro pleased his gay old ghost would be,
For funeral song and passing bell,
10 near no sound but "Threo times three I"
MISCELLANEOUS.
IN A BIN.
nv c. HiiAcicr.n'om),
Ono night, coming out of tlio theatre,
I saw a man vlgilently watching tho
"guttcr-rats," "rough," anil workmen
pushing and crowding out of tlicgallerv
exit. Ho was a thin, haggard, wills-
ucreu lenow, with a wild glare in ills
eyes, hair uncombed, anil n liberal
tprlnklliig of shavings over his wrin
kled clothes. Leaning against a lamp
post, tho crowd, as it surged Iieavilvbv.
jostled him from his position, and I
saw, rrom Ii is empty coat sloove, that
his left arm was gone. There was some
thing peculiar about tho man, perhaps
the painful eagerness of look and man
ner ho exhibited, that caused me to
loungo against tlio building and await
results. Tho crowd dispersed, and tho
man and I were left together.
"Were you looking for anyone?" I
inquired, stepping Into tho light. His
wild eyes scanned my person from hat
to boots.
"Yes," ho answered.
"A friend?"
" "An oIdacquaintauce,"andhoturned
away from me.
"Stop a minute," I said seeing his an
noyance. "I am called a queer fellow,
and you must excuso mo If I ask you If
you wold like a good warm supper?"
I am hungry," he answered energet
ically, and moistening his lips with his
tongue.
"And thirsty!"
"Very."
"You shall have pomething to cat and
drink, upon ono condition." .
"Well?"
"That you tell mo how you lost your
arm."
"Aro you a detective, mister?" he
suspiciously demanded.
"No."
"Then I'll go with you, thank you,"
and he began to brush thoshavings from
his clothes, and to clumsily smooth tho
unkempt hair.
There was a restaurant close by, where.
I ordered a substantial meal for my
guest. That finished, and with a pitch
er of something warm within his reach,
lie told tho following story, beginning
in a moralizing strain, and stopping at
times to fill his glass from tho pitcher,
or to walk tlio llttlo compartment with
a nervous step that seemed to ease his
heart a little. I did not interrupt him
to question or comment on his story,
told in a deep base voice, with a broad
accent that made tho interview strange
ly musical. His narrative, pruned of
many inaccuracies of expression, began
as follows :
"If, as I have somewhere, read, (and
I have read a little,) a man's life is mado
up of accidents, then tho history of my
life would, 1 think, prove tho truth or
that assertion, for I am scarcely out of
ono trouble, great or small, before an
other treads on its heels and trips me
up. I am a poor man, always havo been
one, if poverty has any blessings, any
salve for the ragged wounds it gives to
tlio ragged men and women, 1 know
littlo or nothing of them.
"I havo seen women string beads;
black and white and red and blue beads
held on a needle for a second, then
pushed downwards to make room for
more. That Is the way tho thread of
my life has been strung with troubles,
and there's been very little of the puru
white among that kind of beads. It's
been tawny white and sooty white, ami
Jet black, and bruised green, and blue,
but littlo that was pure ami unsoiieiij
no beads of amber, pearl, or gold.
"I'm not complaining; for years of
troublo have ruined that miserable way
of relief. After thirty years of conllict
with tho world, I am like a blind man
In a light j overybody hits mo when I
don't sco 'em ; accidents and Incidents
bruiso body and soul, and I can not see
whither they como or whenuo they go.
What's the ue of such u fellow as I am?
He's no use to any one not even him
self. . . , .
"You wanted to know how I lost my
arm. Shouldn't you think that was a
pretty bad mibfortuiio? I count that as
ono of tho dingy white beads of my life,
for, though I lost my arm, I Kived my
life, anil I cling to llfo us If it wcro full
of happiness. This may teem unreason
able, yet It's natural.
"If it had n't been for Kngland and
Chicago, I lon't think my left slcevo
would bo empty. There's nriddlo you
cau't gui'i-K. No ono can guess it who
tlotn't know my whole lire; una rm
iP-?ifol,owini! Jiul'illo drinking catch Is by
v.V Jl'm!!.M. Ixlv. v' n" "'! l found in
nn.?r.'.Mrl,iJ'y 1'1"1' V"1 od "Hiadlong Hall." The
BLOOMSBTJHG,
the only ono whoknowltsalphabet from
A to wclll almost to .for I don't
think I've many moro years to live.
"Perhaps you'll not think much of
my riddle when tho story's told ; but
you must not forget that It cost mo my
arm, and you'd placo a big price on your
arm Yes 1 upon a littlo bit of your lit
tlo linger I Mino was a dear adventure,
therefore ; but, through It, I got some
thing I can't sell; nor can I buy that
which went for nothing. I've said that
if it hadn't been for England and Chi
cago I should havo what I havo not,
and should not havo what I have a
dangling sleeve. To make this plain,
I must go back ten years or so, to show
how tho whole thing happend.
"My parents, a buxom, hale, and
cheer couple, with n heartiness of life
and living that sweetened their food
with wholcsomo llavor, wero small far
mers In England. They were poor, and
had six children. Children aro the teeth
of poverty, and bltohard. llutmygood
parents kept cheerful and worked hard,
and tho teeth stopped biting after a
while. My mother used to say that her
children kept Iterative; because so long
ns they were they dependent upon her
she coultlnH give up ; and when they be
came Independent, slio could not get out
of tho old habits. Anyhow, they had
tho children, of whom I was the eldest.
When I was about twenty-two years
old, I came to the conclusion that I had
milked tho cows anil held the plow nnd
trampled In Its furrows about long
enough to prove that I couldn't succeed
in life in filch a way. It's tho hardest
kind of an existence, tills farm work,
and I've always wondered how young
men of spirit could enduro its dullness
when they were working for somebody
besides themselves. Shino and storm
brings no relief, and finally the boy
grows up to bo a man, with mighty lit
tle spirit, and whoso thoughts areall for
plowing and sowing tho ground and
getting out of it food enough to feed the
stomach of those belonging to him. I
thought it would bo with me as with
my father and bis father, and for gene
rations of fathers and sons.
"Even now I cannot decido whether I
was right or wrong in going to another
country. At that time we had lots of
stories of how poor people thrived in
America; how they had a little ease
and comfort and independence iti that
country before they died. Hero and
there I managed to save a littlo money,
and I resolved to leave tho home folks
and go to America, believing that I
should not fail of success. The old peo
ple had children to comfort and care for
them while I was gone. Ah! those
were grand hope, of mine! And you
see mo now !
"It was all arranged among ourselves,
and father out of his little savings, gave
mo money which I was to return to him
if I got along finely in my new homo.
But I did not intend to set out on this
long nnd lonesome Journey without ta
king with me, as my wife, a littlo fair
halrcd las as modest and industrious
a girl as could bo found in the country.
This lass was liesiio Tlllot. Ono day I
spoke out my love.
'"Bessie, dear, will you go to Ameri
ca with me? Do you love me enough
for that?'
"She put her arms about my neck and
looked up into my faco with her great
hazel eyes.
"'Hobcrt.'sho said, 'I will go with
theo anywhere, and bo glad all tho time.'
Then she kissed me.
"'But, Bessie, girl, I'm poor, you
know. And there's the great ocean to
bo crossed. When that's betwixt us
and tho old folks, we'll ho among stran
gers, and havo much to suffer. There's
hard work to bo done, and, worst of all,
there's tearful loneliness and hoiue-slck-ness.
Eh ! Bess, can you bear liuuger
in many a way?'
'"Try mo! I'll go with thee, Bob,
and help thee all 1 can, and bo a good
wife.' I knew she was as truo as steel.
"Ono night, going homo from a visit
to Bess, I met Tom Brlnton. Ho was
waiting for mo at tlio big elm Just by
tho turn lu tho road. An idlo fellow
given to beer drinking and low compan
ions, he had moro money than any ono
in his station In lire. Where ho got his
money was uncertain. Learned in horses
and in Jockeying, ho had a knack of
ticklclng tho prldo of owners of nico
nags lu the neighborhood. Ho was not
a handsome fellow by nny means ; but
his smart ways and speeches mado him
a favorite with many of both sexes.
The way I como to know him was be
caiiso wo lived within a milo of each
other and met on tho highways and nt
country fairs and frolics. I had seen him
too, a half-dozen times ntTillott's house
during previous years. I had never
liked, oulv endured him. knowing him
as a very muscular fellow, a good wrest
ler ami no mean player with his lists;
in fact, a bully, as you call that kind ol'
a man in this country. Ho was sitting
on a log by the roadside.
''Ciond evening, Bob,' ho said, as I
camo opposite him. 'doing away soon,
I hear,'
'"A fortnight hence,' I replied, not
stopping in my walk. Seeing this, ho
jumped up from tho log nnd c.uno after
me.
'"Stop, Bob,' he commanded. 'Stop!
I've something to hay to you; and I
want to say It to-night, now, because
I'm going away in tho morning.'
'"Well, what is it?' 1 said, stopping.
'I'm in a hurry.'
"Yes, yes ! And your truly going to
America?' ho asked onto moro inn mu
sing sort of way, and looking at mo
from toe to head. 'Antl-nnd -confound
PA., FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1867.
you! is Bess going with you?' ungrlly.
"'Yes I'
'"Do you know, Bob Campbell, that
I loved that girl, that I love her now?
nnd she said'
" 'There, there, don't tell mo your se
crets!' I cried, with a wish in my heart
to get peaceably away from tho fellow,
who, it was plain to mo had been drink
lug. " 'But I tctll tell thee. Why not listen
quietly until I've done. 1 loved her
nnd told iter so. And she refused ; but
sho did not tell mo sho loved you. That
1 found out yesterday. Sho threw mo
off for your baby-faco nnd tho few
pounds you've begged of'
"'Stopl' I commanded, pushing him
away from me. 'I'll hear no more such
vile stuff,' and walked off. But I had
not gone threo steps when I felt Ills
nrms clasped around my waist, holding
my arms closo to my side.
"'You shall hear me, curso you!' ho
shouted,closo to my ear. 'I'vowoltedfor
you to tell you that I hate you hato
you because you're going to tako away
from mo tho only woman on earth I can
love. You needn't try to get away. Bo
still, or I'll kill you. So long as I 11 vo
you will havo an enemy. You'd better
remember that.'
"Just then I heard tho rumbling of a
wagon toniing toward us. He heard it
too, and for a minute stood and listened.
Then with an oath, ho suddenly whirled
mo around and struck mo three heavy
blows full in the face with his huge list,
knocking mo senseless to the ground.
Wnen I opened my eyes again a farmer,
a neighbor of ours, had my head on his
knee and was wiping tlio blood from
my face ; tho rascal had given mo ono
blow that had cut open my cheek, and
left a mark until this day. Tom Brln
ton had run Uko a deer across the fields,
the farmer said. Anyhow, that was the
last seen of him in the place as long as
I remained. Bess nnd I wero married
and camo to America as happy and lov
ing a couple as ever crossed tho waters.
When I lauded in Now York my pocket
was picked of all my money tho few
pounds I had saved to buy mo a littlo
land nnd I was friendless. It was an
awful time that followed, sir."
The poor fellow seemed overcomo by
tho memory. Tho perspiration beaded
from his forehead, his eyes filled with
tears and ho nervously fingered tho glass
that still contained a few drops of liquor.
Then, with a determined eflort show
ing Itself in his compressed Hps, With a
gulping noise In his throat nnd a dash
of his arm acro-s his faco ho struggled
with his feelings to continue tho story.
"Alter this misfortune, I tried to ob
tain work. Now nnd then I got a job
that gave mo enough to buy us a little
food. But what could I, a farmer and a
farmer's son, do In a great city that
needed urticans, not farmers ? It was a
hard and bitter struggle for life. I had
just got a place as porter, at good wages
when when my dear, darling Bessie
when sho sho died."
His groans and tears and sighs mas
tered his firmness and ho bowed his
head upon the table. I could understand
the loneliness of his life, and that the
dead wife was a being worshiped above
all else in the world. It seemed so cru
el of mo to obtain from my guest so sor
rowful n story, to recall memories so
fragrant with keen, undying grief, that
I placed my'hand upon tho head of tho
weeper, and tried by words of sympa
thy ami of cheer, to lead him away rrom
tho sad story of his life and leave it un
told. But after a littlo while ho raised
his head tho faco white and tho eyes
tearful.
"You must excuse me this weaknes-i,"
he said. "It Is nothing new. I suirer
every day, as now. I cannot forget my
darling. Only when I'm dead will the
trouble end, and the hcart-acho stop,
and tho tears be unshed. It doesn't
seem right, perhaps, for a poor man to
nurse his sorrow for so many years. Yet
many a man does it, nnd no one knows
it but himself. Ono cannot forget the
happiness nnd misery of tho past ; tlio
memory of them grows upon him liken
cloud. I ask Clod that it may soon end."
Font littlo while ho was silent, his
eyes closed and his lips moving ns if in
prayer.
"After Bessio'i death," ho continued,
with a shudder, "I took to liquor Jnt to
stop thinking, to havo nn easy spell.
But I only mado matters worse, and fi
nally, after a touch of tho tremens, I
went on board ship nnd sailed to Capo
Town, in Africa. It was fivo years be
fore I got back to America. I was tired
of sailing and of life; but not having
tlio cowardico to commit suicide, though
I was always wishing myself dead, I
struggled along as of old to get my dal
ly bread. Drifting hither nnd thither,
working n week In ono place, a month
in another, 1 finally brought up ns a la
borer In an elevator In Chicago. It Is
not nice work, 1 must say; but one
grows to bo proud of tho great things
that dot tho wharves along tho nasty
creek. To mo an elevator always seemed
a monster, restless with hungry life;
and wo poor fellows did nothing but
tend to its wants, running up stairs and
down stairs through clouds of choking
dust, and deafened with tho din of rat
tling machinery no light Job, sir, 1 can
assure you, seeing that an elevator Is
seven, eight, ten stories high, and big
enough to hold tho houses of a small
village. Ah, they aro wonderful things
those elevators! And now that I am
away from them I feel tho strength of
their size, and what a little thing 1 was
in such a place. Then tho rattle of tho
cups going up or down with their fill of
grain mado music to my cars, and start
ed many n quwr Ihouirht In my rnlnd
as I went through my hours of day or
nlgld work. It was strange to sco how
quick their armies of banded cups
would drink to emptiness a car or ves
sel loaded with grain, and carry It up to
giddy heights to bo tumbled Into huge
bins. Tlieso bins, sir, are forty to sixty
feet deep, nnd funnel-shaped nt tho bot
tom, where there Is a sort of valve or
gate, which, when opened, lets thograln
Into a spout. If tho gate h opened when
n bin has six or seven thounnd bushels
In It, you can Judge, sir, that there
would be a whirlpool that would suck
down tho strongest mnn to a horrible
death. Wonderful, terrible monsters
nro tlieso elevators, with their humps of
houses on their roofs, their awkward
ppouts, their dizzy heights, and dinnal,
dusty, chasms of empty bins. It makes
mo sick to think of them now."
Tho man really did look a littlo whi
ter In tho face, and nervously lingered
the empty sleeve of his Jacket ; but he
was over wlth.tho feeling In a minute,
and went on with his story :
"I had been nt work about week In
ono of tho largest of these elevators,
when, one afternoon, I wns sent, In
company with another laborer n big
whiskered, swearing, ruffian fellow, to
tend to a bin that was about to be emp
tied. Wo were sitting on the edge of
tho bin waiting for tlio grain to run,
when my companion, who seemed to
bo under tho iulluenco of liquor, called
out:
" 'I say, Mike.'
"As I havo said, tlio fellow was a ruf
fian in appearance. He seemed to have
quite a liking for me, as lie tried to bo
with mi) in my wiirk as much as possi
ble; but I couldn't bear him, nnd did
everything to bo rid of him. Ho knew
my name well enough, nnd it angered
mo to have him call me in this way, so
I said, sharply:
'"My name is not Mike!'
"'How should I know'." ho asked,
looking angrily Into my face, ns if lie
wished to mako me quarrel with him.
" 'You havo heard it more than once,'
I said. 'You know very well what it
is, Joe, and there is no sene In giving n
man a name as does not belong to him.'
'"Then don't call mo Joe! that ain't
my name; it's a couutcrficit. I'm Tom,
which Is a better name.'
"He bad a piece of chalk in his hand
and began to print with it on tho big
beam on which wo sat. T-o-m, T-o-m,
T-o-m, he scratched in largo scraggly
letters, all tho whilelooklngat mo from
under his heavy eyebrows. Then ho
made a B, and rubbed his hand across
it as soon as it was maile.
"'Bob, it's a long way down there,'
pointing into tlio half-filled bin.
" 'Twenty feet, perhaps.'
" 'Twouldn't kill a man, the fall, eh ?'
moving closer to mo.
"'No!'
" 'But it's as good as water to drown
him If tho grain bo moving, and the
dust and chuff flying?'
"'Ho wouldn't live long, that is
siirel'
" 'Then go down thero !' ho yelled,
giving mo a blow and a push that
hurled me headlong from my seat. 'Go
down there! stay thero! die there! rot
there! Bob Campbell ; and don't forget
when your u-dylng, that Tom Brlnton
rent you.'
"That fall didn't hurt mo a bit, and I
began to crawl toward tho ropo ladder
hanging against tho side of tho bin,
thanking Clod that the grain hadn't be
gun to move, elso 1'tl bo a dead man in
mi time; but us soon as tho ruffian saw
what I was aftor, ho went round and
pulled up tho ladder.
'"Let that alonol' I shouted, feeling
how littlo hope of escape I had with the
ladder nut of my reach. Ho laughed,
and filing tho ropes over tho beam.
"'Do you mean to murder mo?' I
cried.
"'No! I'm going to leave you there,
Bob. You've fallen in you sco ; that'll
bo tho verdict when they find your
body. You'll want your shovel, man,
to mako the thing look natural ; I'll
throw it to you in a minute.'
" I felt quite sure that it was so dark
in tho bin that ho couldn't seo mo very
plainly, if at nil, and that ho tried to
lilt me with thoshovel. I crawled clne
to the side, witli ono cheek against tho
wood. Looking up, I could seo him,
directly nbovo me, peering down into
tlio gloom, and with that shovel In his
outstretched hand, ready to spear at me
as If I wero a fish. Thero followed a
stillness that continued for fivo minutes
during which ho stood on his guard.
Sudd"!tly, I heard-tho muffled rattle of
machinery, and felt n strango power
pulling nt my feet, whllo my whole
body seemed to bo sliding gently down
,u bottomless pit. In nn Instant I know
what was happening.
" The (rain imj running I
"I madly Hung out my arms, and
my fingers clutched ono or tho upright
beams. As I drew up against the rece
ding torrent, I heard a laugh above mo,
and tho words :
'"llemember Bossio Tillott, Bob
Campbell, and that I loved her, anil the
words I spoke to you by tho big elm !
(lood-by !'
"When I looked up tho man was
gone rrom my sight. I don't know ex
actly how I managed to climb that big
beam. I think thero wcro nails here
and thero that helped my feet anil
hands, for nfter I was rescued, my body
was round to bo covered rrom head to
root with great gushes or scratches.
Anyhow, slowly nnd painfully, I man
aged to reach tho top, and threw my
left nrm over tha edge of tho bin, and
j;w?ed hr hrepth, Then "hen I "'fl
so near to safety, to hope, to lire, I felt
a horrible, sickening blow upon my
arm a blow from something neither
dull nor sharp. I scented to feel tho
cutting of -tho flesh, nnd to hear the
breaking of tho bono. Tho nrm, bat
tered and broken, lost Its grnsp, nnd I
fell back Into tho horror and darkness
of the bin. Hardly had I touched tho
yielding wheat when my shovel was
thrown from above, nnd struck within
it few Inches or my head. Though my
arm hurt mo terribly, I didn't faint, I
was helpless; tho dint wits stifling,
tlio grain was whirling, and tumbling
and hissing, as It slid towards tho vor
tex a few feet distant. I heurd the
murmur of machinery In motion, nnd
tho rushing sound of the wheat as It
poured Into tho spout. Where I lay
tho grain had not yet begun to inovo
luto the littlo whirlpool ; but I knew it
would only be a minute or two before I
should bo toeing and struggling in that
treacherous quicksand, and then stifled,
mutilnted, and dead, at the spout. The
dint seemed to circle nbovo me, and
leave me a little air to gasp.
"Lying thus, hopeless nnd helpless, a
carelessness or death came upon inc.
My lire came to mo in all Its details, Its
Joys and sorrows. I had visions or green
Ueld,and heard tho soft gurglo or brooks
and tho songs or birds, nnd tho rustling
of leaves. Then Bessie's sweet face, as
it was when we wero married, smiling
and pretty with dimples, seemed to bo
above, and close to mine, as if waiting
for a kiss, as lu tho oldeu time, before
sho was taken rrom me. I mrgot nil
elso but her race. 1 had only n con
sciousness that 1 was going to her that
sho was waiting Tor my release that she
might go with me on the last great jour
ney. It seemed as IT tho great roller
would never como nnd givo mo to my
darling.
"I mut have been growing uncon
scious, I think, ibr a sudden throb or
pain in my arm robbed mo of my wife's
face, and brought back tlio old feeling
of resistance against death. I felt that
I was going downward, gently, but ir
rcsistably that every grain beneath
mo was moving nnd shifting and slowly
descending. Tlio circle of tho whirl
pool had reached me, and was dragging
mo down to torture and to death. I
couldn't 1 wouldn't submit to such n
death ! It was horrible ngony of soul
and body, sir. T screamed for help ;
but the tlust, entering my mouth, nose,
and eyes, strangled and blinded me. 1
looked for the shovel; it had disappear-1
etl. I wtw going, too. Maimed and
gapping for breath, I fought against the
power that was slowly, but surely, drag
ging mo down. I plunged my arm deep
into the wheat, nnd tried to pull myself
up. In the dismal, murky light or tills
hideous den, I struggled as but few men
have ever struggled. I was a giant in
my battle for life. I thought no more
of my broken arm. I was burning with
lieal, parched with thirst, blinded nnd
choked with the lino dust ; but I fought
and shrieked for help nil the time. In
my fierceness I tore my clothes from my
hotly nntl Hung them away, and tho
grains of wheat scraped my wounds
and pierced my naked flesh as I tried
to spring forward ; but nothing hurt
me, not even my nrm.
"Hard as 1 struggled I could not get
clean away from tho whirlpool. H 1
leaped forward, or crawled a littlo way
over the treacherous surface, I found,
when I stopped, that I was swiftly slid
ing hack again to my old place. It
seemed as If I struggled in tills way for
hours, yet I accomplished nothing.
Tired nnd breathless, I looked around,
and felt sure that In less than three
minutes I should bo In tho spout, and a
dead man. My efforts wero In vain ;
there was a certain circle beyond which
I could not go. Onco tho thought camo
into my mind that, to savo inyseir rrom
tho horrors or the death before me, I
had better open a vein nnd bleed t(
death ; but I could not find my knife,
and had I found it, I might not have
been able to uso it. Well, I saw every
thing plainly. There was no hope for
mo; I mut die, nud must look and
wait for my death. When hope divert
ed me, a kind or resignation to my fato
succeeded, ami I closed my eyes weari
ly, never thinking to open the"m again.
"Gradually my body slid downward.
Tho noise of the grain ru-hing through
tlio valvo or gate became louder ami
louder ; tho stilling dust was thicker
and heavier. A thoiiMtid unseen, irre
sistible forces were drawing mo to de
struction. Suddenly my body fell sev
eral feet. I felt the tremendous suction
of the whirlpool. Tho grain crept up
legs ; it reached nntl pressed heavily up
on my breast nnd luck as ir to squeeze
(he life out or me; it ascended higher
and I cla-pcd my throat. Then I closed
my eyes and waited for death, lno
longer feared Its tcrrt.rs.
"At this nioueut I felt that there wa
astraugosllenco; oven in my half-con-scions
condition I realized a ehango In
my surroundings. Tlio dust began to
settle. I realized what had happened.
" The ftilrc iron elnted,
"At the very gate of death opened to
r..ni.!v. im. tln.ro wns nil nh-ltlclo. nnd I
. i.. g. , - , -
: fainted away with Joy. When 1 became '
conscious again, I heard a voice crying (
out, I
" 'Is nnyho.ly down thero ?' said this i
voire. That question was twice repeat
ed before I could answer, and so faintly
that It was but a husky whisper.
" 'It's nil humbug, a falsealarm .Urn.'
saltl another voice. 'Wo are fooling by
traveling up anil down thens twenty
storiec. Wo can't strip work for fiich
nonsense.'
" 'It's not n humbug,' saltl the ono
who had llrsit spoken.1 'You saw as
well ns I, the shovel, ami hat, and shirt
como through the spout. There's a
man to follow, this way or that. Uilloo
there 1'
"It seemed to mo iw If I had tho
nightmare, so hard did I try to teak
out, but I didn't mako a noise. Yot,
when I heard them going twvny, leav
ing mo to my horrible death, tho nolso
In mo got the better of my throat, and
I yelled so that I inyseir was frightened .
The men camo back.
'"I knew ho was there,' wild Jim,
'Aro you hurt man? Of course he, la,
or ho would not bo there. Where tho
devil Is theladder? That looksstrnngo
It's hanging over the beam. Clivo mu
the rope and lantern.'
"1 saw the light, a blessed star or ro
ller, como slowly down against tho wall
or tho bin. A littlo later, I was raised,
as tenderly us possible, to tho top or tho
bin nnd thence carried to earth. A sur
geon was soon obtained. Ho looked ut
my nrm that was making mo cry with
pain.
'"Mortification. Amputation,' wns
tlipjudgihont, nnd the arm was cut off.
That is nil,' said my guest, drinking bin
liquor and raising from his sent.
" 'And what has become or Tom
Brlnton ?' I asked as he reached tlio
door.
" 'I'm looking for him,' he answered
with the old ugly look about the oyw
and mouth, and ho stalked out or tho
doorlntotho night." lkadWs Monthly.
AETEMU3 WAItD'S THHE9HINQ
MACHINE.
My wire's n exceedingly practycul
woman. I luv her muchly, however.
nnd humor her littlo ways. It's n reck
less falsehood that sho henpecks rae.
and that the young man In our neigh
borhood who said to mo ns I was dis
tending my diafrmno with a gentlo
cocktail at tlio villago tavern who said
to mo in these very langwidge, "Go,
home, old man, onless you want anoth
er tea pot throwed at you by B. J."
probly regrets having saltl so. I said,
"Betsy Jane is my wife's front nntno,
gentlo youth, ai.d I permits no person
toallood to her as B. J., outside tlio
family circle, of which I nm it princi
pally myself. Your other observation
I scorn and disgust, and I must polish
you off." He was a able-bodied young
mnn, nnd removln his coat ho inquired
if 1 wanted to be ground to powder T
I said yes, if there was a powder grind
1st handy, nothiu' would afford mo
greater pleasure, when he struck mo a
painful blow into my rigid eye, causiu'
me to mako a rapid retreat into the lire
place. I hadn't no Idea that the enemy wa
so well organized. But I rallied nnd
went for him in a rather vigris style for
my time of life. His parents lived near
by, and I will simply state that fifteen
minutes hail only elapsed after tho first
hit, when ho was carried home on a
shutter. His mammy met the solium
procession at the door, and after keer
folly lookin' her offspring over, sho
said : "-My son, I see how It Is dlstlno
ttmlly. You've been foolin' around a
thrnshlu' masheen. You went in at
the place where they put tho grain Into
the thingumajig, and let tho hossw
treatl on youl didn't you my son?" Tho
pen of no Ilvln orthor could describe
that disfortunato young man's sltawa
tion moro clearer. Butl was tiory for
him, nud missed him till ho got well.
His reg'lar original fattier bad been
sent to tlio war. I toltl him I would bo
a father to him myself. He smiled n
sickly smile, and said I'd already been
wuss than two fathers to him.
Tnr. Miskuiiw ok a BACHKixm.
What a pitiful thing nn old bachelor U,
with his cheerless liouso and his rueful
phiz, nn n bitter colli night, when tho
cold winds blow, when tho earth is cov
ered with snow. When tho firo is out
and in shivering dread, ho slips 'ncath
the sheets of his lonely bod. How ho
draws up Ills toes, all encased in yarn
hose, and ho buries his noso 'noath tho
chilly bed clothes; that his nose and
his toes still encased In yarn hose, may
not clmnco to get froze. Then ho puff
and ho blows, and liosayj that ho knows
no mortal on earth ever suffered such
woes ; and with all's ! anil with oh's 1
with his limbs to dispose, so that neith
er his tocfl nor his noso may bo froze, to
his slumbers in silenco the bachelor
goes. In tho morn when the cock
crows, and I ho sun had just rost, from
beneath the lied clothes, pops the bache
lor's nn-e, nntl as you may "iippose,
when ho hears how the wind blows, sro
the windows all froze, why back 'ncath
tho clothes, pops tlu poor fellow's noso,
for full well ho knows, if from that bed
ho rose to put on his clothes, that he'd
surly be froze.
A Di'tciiman out west lately married
a second wife, a week after the loss of
wifo No. 1. Tho Sabbath following, tha
bride nsked her lord to take her riding,
nnd was "out up" with the following
response: "You link I rldonut mlt nn
ruler woman, so soon after the death of
mine frau? No.no."
Tun Sand tumid, on the 'I'ittbiirg
and Conncllsvlllc railroad, is at Inst cut
through. Its total length ! 4,700 Tett,
being 1,000 feet more than tho long tun
nel on tlio Pennsylvania Central rail
way through tho Alleghanips, between
Altooiin nntl Cre-sson. It U Intruded
for n double track, nnd Is twenty-txri
feet wide by nlncte? n feot in height.